scholarly journals Terrestrial atmospheric responses on Svalbard to the 20 March 2015 Arctic total solar eclipse under extreme conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2077) ◽  
pp. 20160188 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Pasachoff ◽  
M. A. Peñaloza-Murillo ◽  
A. L. Carter ◽  
M. T. Roman
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Solar Insolation ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Abrupt Changes ◽  
Science Community

This article reports on the near-surface atmospheric response at the High Arctic site of Svalbard, latitude 78° N, as a result of abrupt changes in solar insolation during the 20 March 2015 equinox total solar eclipse and notifies the atmospheric science community of the availability of a rare dataset. Svalbard was central in the path of totality, and had completely clear skies. Measurements of shaded air temperature and atmospheric pressure show only weak, if any, responses to the reduced insolation. A minimum in the air temperature at 1.5 m above the ground occurred starting 2 min following the end of totality, though this drop was only slightly beyond the observed variability for the midday period. Eclipse-produced variations in surface pressure, if present, were less than 0.3 hPa. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.

scholarly journals Satellite observations of surface temperature during the March 2015 total solar eclipse

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2077) ◽  
pp. 20150219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Good
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Full Characterization ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Infrared Imager ◽  
Land Surface Temperatures

The behaviour of remotely sensed land surface temperatures (LSTs) from the spinning-enhanced visible and infrared imager (SEVIRI) during the total solar eclipse of 20 March 2015 is analysed over Europe. LST is found to drop by up to several degrees Celcius during the eclipse, with the minimum LST occurring just after the eclipse mid-point (median=+1.5 min). The drop in LST is typically larger than the drop in near-surface air temperatures reported elsewhere, and correlates with solar obscuration ( r =−0.47; larger obscuration = larger LST drop), eclipse duration ( r =−0.62; longer duration = larger LST drop) and time ( r =+0.37; earlier eclipse = larger LST drop). Locally, the LST drop is also correlated with vegetation (up to r =+0.6), with smaller LST drops occurring over more vegetated surfaces. The LSTs at locations near the coast and at higher elevation are also less affected by the eclipse. This study covers the largest area and uses the most observations of eclipse-induced surface temperature drops to date, and is the first full characterization of satellite LST during an eclipse (known to the author). The methods described could be applied to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) LST data over North America during the August 2017 total solar eclipse. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.

scholarly journals The effect of the total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006 on meteorological variables in Greece

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (21) ◽  
pp. 5543-5553 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Founda ◽  
D. Melas ◽  
S. Lykoudis ◽  
I. Lisaridis ◽  
E. Gerasopoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Global Radiation ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Temperature Drop ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse ◽  
Meteorological Variables ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Meteorological Model

Abstract. This paper examines the effect of the total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006 on meteorological variables across Greece. Integrated micrometeorological measurements were conducted at Kastelorizo, a small island within the path of totality, and other sites within the Greek domain, with various degrees of solar obscuration. The observations showed a dramatic reduction in the incoming global radiation and subsequent, pronounced changes in surface air temperature with the lowest temperature values occurring about 15 min after the full phase. The amplitude of the air temperature drop was not analogous to the obscuration percentage but was principally determined by the surrounding environment (mainly the sea influence), the background meteorological conditions and local cloudiness. Surface wind-speed decreased in most sites as a result of the cooling and stabilization of the atmospheric boundary layer. This perturbation provided a unique opportunity to apply a sensitivity analysis on the effect of the eclipse to the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) numerical mesoscale meteorological model. Strong anomalies, not associated with a dynamic response, were simulated over land especially in surface air temperature. The simulated temperature drop pattern was consistent with the observations.

A possible atmospheric pressure wave from the total solar eclipse of 22 July 1990

1992 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barrie W. Jones ◽  
Gerald J. Miseldine ◽  
Robert J.A. Lambourne
Keyword(s):  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Pressure Wave ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse

scholarly journals Effects of vernal equinox solar eclipse on temperatures and wind directions in Switzerland

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Eugster ◽  
Carmen Emmel ◽  
Sebastian Wolf ◽  
Nina Buchmann ◽  
Joseph P. McFadden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Wind Direction ◽  
Temperature Drop ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Vernal Equinox ◽  
Cold Air

Abstract. The vernal equinox total solar eclipse of 20 March 2015 produced a maximum occultation of 65.8 to 70.1 % over Switzerland during the morning hours (09:22 to 11:48 CET). Skies were generally clear over the Swiss Alps due to a persistent high-pressure band between the UK and Russia associated with a rather weak pressure gradient over the continent. To assess the effects of penumbral shading on near-surface meteorology across Switzerland, air temperature data measured at 10-minute intervals at 184 MeteoSwiss weather stations that reported air temperature at 10-minute intervals were used. Wind speed and direction data were available from 165 of these stations. Additionally, six Swiss FluxNet eddy covariance flux (ECF) sites provided turbulent measurements at 20 Hz resolution. During maximum occultation the temperature drop was up to 5.8 K at a mountain site where cold air can pool in the topographic depression of the weather station. The bootstrapped average of the maximum temperature drops of all 184 MeteoSwiss sites during the solar eclipse was 1.51 ± 0.02 K (mean ± SE). A detailed comparison with literature values since 1834 showed a temperature decrease by 2.6 ± 1.7 K (average of all reports) with extreme values up to 11 K. On fair weather days under weak larger scale pressure gradients, local thermo-topographic wind systems develop that are driven by small-scale pressure and temperature gradients. At one ECF site, the penumbral shading delayed the morning transition from down-valley to up-valley wind conditions, and at another site, it prevented this transition from occurring at all. Data from the 165 MeteoSwiss sites measuring wind direction did not show a consistent pattern of wind direction response to the passing of the penumbral shadow. These results suggest that the local topographic setting had an important influence on the temperature drop and the wind flow patterns during the eclipse. Still, results tend to lend support to a recent theory that the anticyclonic cold-air outflow from the center of the eclipse only extends ≈ 1600 km outwards, with cyclonic flow beyond that distance. This contrasts with an earlier theory that the anticyclonic outflow should reach as far as ≈ 2400 km from the center of the eclipse, which would have included all of Switzerland during the 2015 eclipse. Nevertheless, a significant cyclonic effect of the passing penumbral shadow was found in the elevation range ≈ 1700–2700 m a.s.l., but not at lower elevations of the Swiss Plateau. Thus, measurable effects of penumbral shading on the local wind system could be even found at ≈ 2000 km from the path of the eclipse (that is, Switzerland during the 2015 eclipse).

Spectral Characteristics of Daily to Seasonal Ground Motion at the Piñon Flats Observatory from Coherence of Seismic Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 1948-1967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Qin ◽  
Frank L. Vernon ◽  
Christopher W. Johnson ◽  
Yehuda Ben‐Zion
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Deep Borehole ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Frequency Bands

Abstract We investigate coherences of seismic data recorded during three years (2015–2017) at the Piñon Flats Observatory (PY) array and a collocated 148 m deep borehole station B084, along with oceanic data from a buoy southwest of the PY array. Seismic and barometric recordings at PY stations are analyzed with a multitaper spectral technique. The coherence of signals from seismic sources is >0.6 at 0.05–8 Hz between closely spaced (<65  m) surface stations and decreases to ∼0.2 in frequency bands in which the wavelengths are smaller than interstation distances. There are several local coherence increases at 1–8 Hz between nearby (<65  m) surface stations, whereas large coherence values between a surface and 148 m deep borehole stations are only present at the secondary microseism (∼0.14  Hz). These points to significant modification of seismic recordings in the top crust, and those continual near‐surface failures might produce shallow rapidly attenuating signals at surface stations. Incoherent local atmospheric effects induce incoherent seismic signals in low‐ and high‐frequency ranges through different coupling mechanisms. Between 0.003 and 0.05 Hz, atmospheric loadings generate ground tilts that contaminate the two horizontal seismic recordings and decrease their coherence, whereas the vertical component is less affected. At 1–8 Hz, coupling of atmospheric pressure with surface structures transmits incoherent signals into the ground, degrading the seismic coherence in all three components. The two horizontal coherences show seasonal variations with extended coherent frequency bands in winter and spring, likely to be produced by seasonal variations in microseisms and local ground tilts. The coherences also contain high anomalies between 2 and 4 Hz resulting from anthropogenic activities. The results provide useful information on instrument characteristics and variations in the shallow crustal response to earthquakes, seasonal and ambient sources of seismic energy, along with atmospheric pressure–temperature changes and anthropogenic activities.

scholarly journals Analysis on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and wind speed profiles during total solar eclipse 9 March 2016 using time series clustering

2016 ◽  
Vol 771 ◽  
pp. 012009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lala Septem Riza ◽  
Yaya Wihardi ◽  
Enjang Ali Nurdin ◽  
Nanang Dwi Ardi ◽  
Cahyo Puji Asmoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse ◽  
Time Series Clustering

scholarly journals Surface Radiation during the Total Solar Eclipse over Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, on 20 March 2015

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Maturilli ◽  
C. Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Radiation Data ◽  
Exchange Processes ◽  
First Time

Abstract. On 20 March 2015, a total solar eclipse occurred over Ny-Ålesund (78.9° N, 11.9° E), Svalbard, in the high Arctic. It has been the first time that the surface radiation components during the totality of a solar eclipse have been measured by a Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station. With the Ny-Ålesund long term radiation data set as background (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.150000), we here present the peculiarities of the radiation components and basic meteorology observed during the eclipse event. The supplementary data set contains the basic BSRN radiation and surface meteorological data in 1-minute resolution for March 2015, and is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.854326. The eclipse radiation data will be a useful auxiliary data set for further studies on micro-meteorological surface-atmosphere exchange processes in the Svalbard environment, and may serve as a test case for radiative transfer studies.

scholarly journals Effects of the March 2015 solar eclipse on near-surface atmospheric electricity

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2077) ◽  
pp. 20150215 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Rays ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
Atmospheric Electricity ◽  
Geomagnetic Latitude ◽  
Field Potential ◽  
Potential Gradient ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Electric Field Potential

Measurements of atmospheric electrical and standard meteorological parameters were made at coastal and inland sites in southern England during the 20 March 2015 partial solar eclipse. Clear evidence of a reduction in air temperature resulting from the eclipse was found at both locations, despite one of them being overcast during the entire eclipse. The reduction in temperature was expected to affect the near-surface electric field (potential gradient (PG)) through a reduction in turbulent transfer of space charge. No such effect could be unambiguously confirmed, however, with variability in PG and air–Earth current during the eclipse being comparable to pre- and post-eclipse conditions. The already low solar radiation for this latitude, season and time of day was likely to have contributed to the reduced effect of the eclipse on atmospheric electricity through boundary layer stability. The absence of a reduction in mean PG shortly after time of maximum solar obscuration, as observed during eclipses at lower geomagnetic latitude, implied that there was no significant change in atmospheric ionization from cosmic rays above background variability. This finding was suggested to be due to the relative importance of cosmic rays of solar and galactic origin at geomagnetic mid-latitudes. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document