Ground-based Instruments Research Articles

Sudden changes in nitrogen dioxide emissions over Greece due to lockdown after the outbreak of COVID-19

Abstract. The unprecedented order, in modern peaceful times, for a near-total lockdown of the Greek population as a means of protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, commonly known as COVID-19, has generated unintentional positive side-effects with respect to the country's air quality levels. Sentinel-5 Precursor/Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (S5P/TROPOMI) monthly mean tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) observations show an average change of −34 % to +20 % and −39 % to −5 % with an average decrease of −15 % and −11 % for March and April 2020 respectively, compared with the previous year, over the six larger Greek metropolitan areas; this is mostly attributable to vehicular emission reductions. For the capital city of Athens, weekly analysis was statistically possible for the S5P/TROPOMI observations and revealed a marked decline in the NO2 load of between −8 % and −43 % for 7 of the 8 weeks studied; this is in agreement with the equivalent Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)/Aura observations as well as the ground-based estimates of a multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy ground-based instrument. Chemical transport modelling of the NO2 columns, provided by the Long Term Ozone Simulation European Operational Smog (LOTOS-EUROS) chemical transport model, shows that the magnitude of these reductions cannot solely be attributed to the difference in meteorological factors affecting NO2 levels during March and April 2020 and the equivalent time periods of the previous year. Taking this factor into account, the resulting decline was estimated to range between ∼ −25 % and −65 % for 5 of the 8 weeks studied, with the remaining 3 weeks showing a positive average of ∼ 10 %; this positive average was postulated to be due to the uncertainty of the methodology, which is based on differences. As a result this analysis, we conclude that the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown and the restriction of transport emissions over Greece is ∼ −10 %. As transport is the second largest sector (after industry) affecting Greece's air quality, this occasion may well help policymakers to enforce more targeted measures to aid Greece in further reducing emissions according to international air quality standards.

Atmosphere Escape Inferred from Modeling the Hα Transmission Spectrum of WASP-121b

Abstract The escaping atmospheres of hydrogen driven by stellar X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) have been detected around some exoplanets by the excess absorption of Lyα in the far-ultraviolet band. In the optical band the excess absorption of Hα is also found by ground-based instruments. However, it is not certain if the escape of the atmosphere driven by XUV can result in such absorption. Here we present the XUV-driven hydrodynamic simulation coupled with the calculation of detailed level population and the process of radiative transfer for WASP-121b. Our fiducial model predicts a mass-loss rate of ∼1.28 × 1012 g s−1 for WASP-121b. Due to the high temperature and Lyα intensity predicted by the fiducial model, many hydrogen atoms are populated into the first excited state. As a consequence, the transmission spectrum of Hα simulated by our model is broadly consistent with the observation. Compared with the absorption of Hα at different observation times, the stellar XUV emission varies in the range of 0.5–1.5 times fiducial value, which may reflect the variation of the stellar activity. Finally, we find that the supersonic regions of the planetary wind contribute a prominent portion to the absorption of Hα by comparing the equivalent width of Hα, which hints that a transonic outflow of the upper atmosphere driven by XUV irradiation of the host star can be detected by a ground-based telescope and that Hα can be a good indicator of escaping atmosphere.

The polarization-encoded self-coherent camera

Context. The exploration of circumstellar environments by means of direct imaging to search for Earth-like exoplanets is one of the challenges of modern astronomy. One of the current limitations are evolving non-common path aberrations (NCPA) that originate from optics downstream of the main wavefront sensor. Measuring these NCPA with the science camera during observations is the preferred solution for minimizing the non-common path and maximizing the science duty cycle. The self-coherent camera (SCC) is an integrated coronagraph and focal-plane wavefront sensor that generates wavefront information-encoding Fizeau fringes in the focal plane by adding a reference hole (RH) in the Lyot stop. However, the RH is located at least 1.5 pupil diameters away from the pupil center, which requires the system to have large optic sizes and results in low photon fluxes in the RH. Aims. Here, we aim to show that by featuring a polarizer in the RH and adding a polarizing beamsplitter downstream of the Lyot stop, the RH can be placed right next to the pupil. This greatly increases the photon flux in the RH and relaxes the requirements on the optics size due to a smaller beam footprint. We refer to this new variant of the SCC as the polarization-encoded self-coherent camera (PESCC). Methods. We study the performance of the PESCC analytically and numerically, and compare it, where relevant, to the SCC. We look into the specific noise sources that are relevant for the PESCC and quantify their effect on wavefront sensing and control (WFSC). Results. We show analytically that the PESCC relaxes the requirements on the focal-plane sampling and spectral resolution with respect to the SCC by a factor of 2 and 3.5, respectively. Furthermore, we find via our numerical simulations that the PESCC has effectively access to ∼16 times more photons, which improves the sensitivity of the wavefront sensing by a factor of ∼4. We identify the need for the parameters related to the instrumental polarization and differential aberrations between the beams to be tightly controlled – otherwise, they limit the instrument’s performance. We also show that without additional measurements, the RH point-spread function (PSF) can be calibrated using PESCC images, enabling coherent differential imaging (CDI) as a contrast-enhancing post-processing technique for every observation. In idealized simulations (clear aperture, charge two vortex coronagraph, perfect DM, no noise sources other than phase and amplitude aberrations) and in circumstances similar to those of space-based systems, we show that WFSC combined with CDI can achieve a 1σ raw contrast of ∼3 × 10−11 − 8 × 10−11 between 1 and 18 λ/D. Conclusions. The PESCC is a powerful, new focal-plane wavefront sensor that can be relatively easily integrated into existing ground-based and future space-based high-contrast imaging instruments.

Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Aura nitrogen dioxide standard product version 4.0 with improved surface and cloud treatments

Abstract. We present a new and improved version (V4.0) of the NASA standard nitrogen dioxide (NO2) product from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. This version incorporates the most salient improvements for OMI NO2 products suggested by expert users and enhances the NO2 data quality in several ways through improvements to the air mass factors (AMFs) used in the retrieval algorithm. The algorithm is based on the geometry-dependent surface Lambertian equivalent reflectivity (GLER) operational product that is available on an OMI pixel basis. GLER is calculated using the vector linearized discrete ordinate radiative transfer (VLIDORT) model, which uses as input high-resolution bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) information from NASA's Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments over land and the wind-dependent Cox–Munk wave-facet slope distribution over water, the latter with a contribution from the water-leaving radiance. The GLER combined with consistently retrieved oxygen dimer (O2–O2) absorption-based effective cloud fraction (ECF) and optical centroid pressure (OCP) provide improved information to the new NO2 AMF calculations. The new AMFs increase the retrieved tropospheric NO2 by up to 50 % in highly polluted areas; these differences arise from both cloud and surface BRDF effects as well as biases between the new MODIS-based and previously used OMI-based climatological surface reflectance data sets. We quantitatively evaluate the new NO2 product using independent observations from ground-based and airborne instruments. The new V4.0 data and relevant explanatory documentation are publicly available from the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/OMNO2_V003/summary/, last access: 8 November 2020), and we encourage their use over previous versions of OMI NO2 products.

On the best locations for ground-based polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) observations

Abstract. Spaceborne observations of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) with the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite provide a comprehensive picture of the occurrence of Arctic and Antarctic PSCs as well as their microphysical properties. However, advances in understanding PSC microphysics also require measurements with ground-based instruments, which are often superior to CALIOP in terms of, for example, time resolution, measured parameters, and signal-to-noise ratio. This advantage is balanced by the location of ground-based PSC observations and their dependence on tropospheric cloudiness. CALIPSO observations during the boreal winters from December 2006 to February 2018 and the austral winters 2012 and 2015 are used to assess the effect of tropospheric cloudiness and other measurement-inhibiting factors on the representativeness of ground-based PSC observations with lidar in the Arctic and Antarctic, respectively. Information on tropospheric and stratospheric clouds from the CALIPSO Cloud Profile product (05kmCPro version 4.10) and the CALIPSO polar stratospheric cloud mask version 2, respectively, is combined on a profile-by-profile basis to identify conditions under which a ground-based lidar is likely to perform useful measurements for the analysis of PSC occurrence. It is found that the location of a ground-based measurement together with the related tropospheric cloudiness can have a profound impact on the derived PSC statistics and that these findings are rarely in agreement with polewide results from CALIOP observations. Considering the current polar research infrastructure, it is concluded that the most suitable sites for the expansion of capabilities for ground-based lidar observations of PSCs are Summit and Villum in the Arctic and Mawson, Troll, and Vostok in the Antarctic.

Adjustment on the received optical power of a ground-based optical instrument by a corner cube retroreflector with a curved front-face.

The dihedral angle errors (DAEs) and flatness errors of a nonideal corner cube retroreflector (CCR) determine a ground-based optical instrument's received optical power. The smaller tolerance of the dihedral angle with lower divergence is theoretically beneficial to improving the received optical power but could increase the difficulty in the fabrication and bring about a higher manufacturing cost. We propose a new method that is just dependent on the curvature radius of the front-face (CROF) of the CCR to compensate for the divergence of the output beam from the CCR caused by the DAEs. We build up a mathematical model of the received optical power based on the far-field diffraction pattern (FFDP) of the CCR and the layout of the optical instrument and investigate the effects of the DAEs and the CROF on the FFDP and the received optical power for both the coated and uncoated CCRs. Meanwhile, we present a fitting equation between the compensative CROF and the DAEs based on the principle of maximizing the received optical power. The results demonstrate that the compensative CROF has no dependence on whether the reflecting-faces of the CCR are coated or not and is inversely proportional to the absolute value of DAEs. The received optical power is promptly enhanced by utilizing the compensative CROF. Therefore, it is more feasible to improve the received optical power of the ground-based optical instrument by manipulating the CROF of the CCR rather than the DAEs.

Proton Aurora and Optical Emissions in the Subauroral Region

Optical structures located equatorward of the main auroral oval often exhibit different morphologies and dynamics than structures at higher latitudes. In some cases, questions arise regarding the formation mechanisms of these photon-emitting phenomena. New developments in space and ground-based instruments have enabled us to acquire a clearer view of the processes playing a role in the formation of subauroral structures. In addition, the discovery of new optical structures helps us improve our understanding of the latitudinal and altitudinal coupling that takes place in the subauroral region. However, several questions remain unanswered, requiring the development of new instruments and analysis techniques. We discuss optical phenomena in the subauroral region, summarize observational results, present conclusions about their origin, and pose a number of open questions that warrant further investigation of proton aurora, detached subauroral arcs and spots, stable auroral red (SAR) arcs, and STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement).

Electron Densities in the Solar Corona Measured Simultaneously in the Extreme Ultraviolet and Infrared

Abstract Accurate measurements of electron density are critical for determination of the plasma properties in the solar corona. We compare the electron densities diagnosed from Fe xiii lines observed by the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) onboard the Hinode mission with the near-infrared (NIR) measurements provided by the ground-based Coronal Multichannel Polarimeter (CoMP). To do that, the emissivity-ratio method based on all available observed lines of Fe xiii is used for both EIS and CoMP. The EIS diagnostics is further supplemented by the results from Fe xii lines. We find excellent agreement, within 10%, between the electron densities measured from both extreme-ultraviolet and NIR lines. In the five regions selected for detailed analysis, we obtain electron densities of log(N e [cm−3]) = 8.2–8.6. Where available, the background subtraction has a significant impact on the diagnostics, especially on the NIR lines, where the loop contributes less than a quarter of the intensity measured along the line of sight. For the NIR lines, we find that the line center intensities are not affected by stray light within the instrument, and recommend using these for density diagnostics. The measurements of the Fe xiii NIR lines represent a viable method for density diagnostics using ground-based instrumentation.

The Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Strong Earthquake Predictability

This paper provides theoretical and practical arguments regarding the possibility of predicting strong and major earthquakes worldwide. Many strong and major earthquakes can be predicted at least two to five months in advance, based on identifying stressed areas that begin to behave abnormally before strong events, with the size of these areas corresponding to Dobrovolsky formula. We make predictions by combining knowledge from many different disciplines: physics, geophysics, seismology, geology, and earth science, among others. An integrated approach is used to identify anomalies and make predictions, including satellite remote sensing techniques and data from ground-based instruments. Terabytes of information are currently processed every day with many different multi-parametric prediction systems applied thereto. Alerts are issued if anomalies are confirmed by a few different systems. It has been found that geophysical patterns of earthquake preparation and stress accumulation are similar for all key seismic regions. The same earthquake prediction methodologies and systems have been successfully applied in global practice since 2013, with the technology successfully used to retrospectively test against more than 700 strong and major earthquakes since 1970.

Development of an Imagewise Stacking Method to Mitigate Atmospheric Effect With an Application to Lianyan Railway

Much attention has been paid to the subsidence monitoring of large-scale man-made linear features, which are usually characterized by long-distance, large-scale, and nonuniform distribution. The multitemporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique can provide ground deformation maps for a large area with high spatial resolution and millimeter precision at low costs. The technique overcomes the limitations of ground-based survey instruments. However, the variable atmospheric turbulent component in flat areas has impacts on InSAR detection capability, especially over low-amplitude quasi-stable deformation areas. We propose an imagewise stacking method, which can improve the InSAR time-series analysis by reducing residual noise while retaining the ground deformation signal. We integrate persistent scatterer and distributed scatterer in our processing strategy and conduct a tentative test on the roadbed subsidence monitoring of the Lianyan high-speed railway using 47 medium-resolution Sentinel-1 images. Comparing the InSAR displacement time series and the results with a continuous BeiDou navigation satellite system network, the standard deviation of 3.3 mm and the mean absolute error of 2.2 mm are obtained. The proposed method reduced the above two error measures by 66.3% and 65.6%, respectively, compared with the spatiotemporal filtering. Moreover, the analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics of the railway deformations also tells that the railway under study is stable.

Advances in optical engineering for future telescopes

Significant optical engineering advances at the University of Arizona are being made for design, fabrication, and construction of next generation astronomical telescopes. This summary review paper focuses on the technological advances in three key areas. First is the optical fabrication technique used for constructing next-generation telescope mirrors. Advances in ground-based telescope control and instrumentation comprise the second area of development. This includes active alignment of the laser truss-based Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) prime focus camera, the new MOBIUS modular cross-dispersion spectroscopy unit used at the prime focal plane of the LBT, and topological pupil segment optimization. Lastly, future space telescope concepts and enabling technologies are discussed. Among these, the Nautilus space observatory requires challenging alignment of segmented multi-order diffractive elements. The OASIS terahertz space telescope presents unique challenges for characterizing the inflatable primary mirror, and the Hyperion space telescope pushes the limits of high spectral resolution, far-UV spectroscopy. The Coronagraphic Debris and Exoplanet Exploring Pioneer (CDEEP) is a Small Satellite (SmallSat) mission concept for high-contrast imaging of circumstellar disks and exoplanets using vector vortex coronagraph. These advances in optical engineering technologies will help mankind to probe, explore, and understand the scientific beauty of our universe.

The Implementation of Log Periodic Dipole Antenna (LPDA) and CALLISTO system on Solar Radio Bursts Observation

Solar activity is very important to be observed in order to study its effects to Earth’s climate and space weather generally. In order to understand the behavior of the Sun and its activity, developing ground-based instruments is one of the ways to record the occurrence of the activity other than satellites data. We present in this paper our work on the implementation of Log Periodic Dipole Antenna (LPDA). The LPDA has been successfully set up at UiTM Shah Alam, Malaysia in 2016 with high performance with 8.4-meter height and it has achieved gain as high as 7.28 dB. It mainly records solar radio bursts during the occurrence of solar activity and has been operating at frequency range of 45-870 Hz. This project is done under International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) by using CALLISTO spectrometer at the same frequency range to monitor solar observations in supporting developing countries with latest technologies of instrument. Beneficially in Malaysia, our station contributes half of the data on e-CALLISTO website due to 12 hours Sun exposure compared to other stations in different countries. All types of solar bursts obtained by e-CALISTO are presented in this paper.

Case study of an Equatorial Plasma Bubble Event investigated by multiple ground-based instruments at low latitudes over China

Observational evidence is insufficient to understand how equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) form over low latitudes. The mechanism of plasma-density enhancement (formation of “plasma blobs”) at low latitudes is in dispute. In this paper, we use data from multiple ground-based instruments (one all-sky airglow imager, five digisondes, and one Fabry–Perot interferometer) to investigate the evolution of an EPB event that occurred at low latitudes over China on the night of 06 December 2015 (06-Dec-2015). We provide observational evidence that an enhanced equatorward wind most likely induced by a substorm could have initiated the Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) that destabilized several EPB depletions in an upwelling region of a large-scale wave-like structure (LSWS) in the bottomside ionosphere. Those EPB depletions were forced to surge poleward, from nearly 10° to 19° magnetic latitude, two hours before midnight. Smaller-scale bifurcations evolved rapidly from tips of airglow depletions by a secondary E × B instability when the aforementioned substorm-induced southwestward wind blew through. During the growth phase of the EPB depletions, a westward polarization electric field inside the LSWS is likely to have compressed plasma downward, inducing the two airglow-type blobs observed in the bottomside ionosphere, by a mechanism of LSWS-blob connection that we propose. We also provide observational evidence of brightness airglow depletions. We find that an enhanced poleward wind associated with a passing-by brightness wave (BW) is likely to have transported plasma to fill the airglow depletions, which finally evolved into brightness airglow structures. This study investigates the physical processes accompanied by the EPB event and those two-airglow blobs observed at low-latitudes over China.

Analysis of the long lasting events of ionospheric irregularities near the equatorial region of East Asia based on various observations

Using the ground-based multi instruments observations in Hainan and Southeast Asia, as well as space-based observations, the long lasting events of ionospheric irregularities occurred in the equatorial region of East Asia on the night of March 31, 2014 are studied. Concurrent observations at Hainan station indicate that ionospheric irregularities measured with different instruments showed distinct spatial structures and temporal variation, mainly from sunset to midnight (19-23LT) and even to post midnight. The 3-m-scale irregularities detected by VHF radar first attenuated and disappeared at 01LT, then the 400-meter-scale irregularities (GPS scintillations) vanished at 03LT, and finally the larger-scale irregularities (spread F) ended at 05LT. It provides a directly observational evidence that the larger the scale is, the latter the irregularities decay after midnight. Ionospheric irregularities near the magnetic equator (ME) and the equatorial abnormal peaks (EAPs) mainly occurred from after sunset to midnight (19-01LT), but there were distinct morphological differences after midnight. The irregularities near ME were attenuated and disappeared rapidly, while irregularities near EAPs weakened obviously, but lasted until dawn. The plasma depletions observed by the SWARM satellite in the latter half of the night were clearly related to the TEC fluctuations at JOG2 site, the ionospheric scintillations and spread F at Hainan station. The quasiperiodic structures of plasma bubbles observed by C/NOFS satellite were clearly related to the occurrence of ionospheric irregularities in Hainan and Southeast Asia, which indicated that the seeding of atmospheric gravity waves may play an important role in the generation of ESF/EPB irregularities, even in the latter half of the night.

Water vapor line profile at 183-GHz: Temperature dependence of broadening, shifting, and speed-dependent shape parameters

The water vapor line at 183 GHz was studied over the temperature range of 219–358 K using a spectrometer with radioacoustic detection of absorption, providing a signal-to-noise ratio of up to 8000. The study includes the first measurement of speed-dependent collisional broadening and shifting of this line for both self- and air-broadening, and their temperature dependences. The sign of self-shifting changes at about 280 K. Line-shape parameters are obtained for Voigt and quadratic speed-dependent Voigt shape factors. Temperature dependences of the line parameters are analyzed using empirical models from the literature. Theoretical Modified Complex Robert–Bonamy calculations of the line shape parameters, their temperature and speed-dependence are made over the temperature range of 200–3000 K. The measurements and calculations show very good agreement, although with some discrepancies for line shift parameters. The impact of the newly-measured line parameters on atmospheric water-vapor estimation from ground-based and satellite instruments is evaluated by simulation of downwelling and upwelling brightness temperatures and retrieved water-vapor mixing ratio, for atmospheric conditions typical of six climate zones. For the case of ground-based or limb-scanning radiometry with a background of cold space, the impact of speed-dependence is comparable to or exceeds that of measurement error and will introduce systematic errors if neglected. Therefore, consideration of speed-dependence is necessary for accurate estimation of water vapor with this line. The impact on upwelling brightness temperature is smaller.

The Bolzano Tracer Experiment (BTEX)

AbstractThe paper describes the observational and modeling efforts performed under the Bolzano Tracer Experiment (BTEX). BTEX focused on the basin surrounding the city of Bolzano, at the junction of three tributary valleys on the southern side of the Alps, to characterize the ground-level impact of pollutants emitted by a waste incinerator close to the city, and atmospheric factors controlling dispersion processes in the whole basin, under different winter weather situations. As part of the experiment, two controlled releases of a passive gas tracer (sulfur hexafluoride, SF6) were performed through the stack of the incinerator on 14 February 2017 at two different times, starting respectively at 0700 and 1245 LST, representative of distinct phases of the daily cycle. Samples of ambient air were collected at target sites, and later analyzed using a mass spectrometer, allowing a detectability limit down to 30 ppt. Meanwhile, meteorological conditions were continuously monitored by means of a high-resolution, nonconventional network of ground-based instruments, including 15 weather stations, one temperature profiler, one sodar, and one Doppler wind lidar. Data from the above measurements represent one of the rare examples of integrated datasets available to the community for the characterization of dispersion processes in a typical mountainous environment. In particular, they offered a reference benchmark for testing and calibrating a series of combined numerical modeling suites for weather prediction and pollutant dispersion simulation in such a complex terrain, as shown in the paper.

Vertical structure of the cool island in a large urban park

Greening of cities is one of the mitigation strategies for urban hot environments in summer, because green parks in cities have a lower temperature than the surrounding built environment in summer, called cool islands phenomena. This study took the micro-meteorological measurements in an urban park (Shinjyuku Gyoen, Tokyo Japan) and analyzes the vertical structure of a cool island at night. Vertical profiles of air temperature were measured simultaneously in the park and the nearby town area by the tethered balloons. In the park area, a cold air pool was present in the first 50 m from the ground, as opposed to neutral stratification in the town area. The cold air pool grew vertically at night. Meanwhile, surface air temperature difference between the park and the town increased up to 2 °C.The ground-based instruments recorded the park breeze which is cold airflow to town area for 21 nights over two summer months. In most cases, the park breeze had at least 16 m depth and traveled for more than 122 m from the park edge. It is hypothesized that the park breeze is the gravity current. The observations made in our study can aid evaluating worth of urban green.

Detection of short high-energy transients in the local universe with SVOM/ECLAIRs

The coincidental detection of the gravitational wave event GW 170817 and the associated gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A marked the advent of multi-messenger astronomy and represented a milestone in the study of GRBs. In this context, the launch of SVOM in mid-2022, with its two wide-field high-energy instruments ECLAIRs and GRM, will foster the possibilities of coincidental transient detection with gravitational waves and gamma-rays events. The purpose of this paper is to assess the ability of SVOM/ECLAIRs to detect and quickly characterize high-energy transients in the local Universe (z<0.3), and to discuss the contribution of this instrument to multi-messenger astronomy and to gamma-ray burst(GRB) astrophysics in the 2020s. A list of local HE transients, along with their main characteristics, is constructed through an extensive literature survey. The detectability of these transients with ECLAIRs is assessed with detailed simulations using tools developed for the SVOM mission, including a GEANT4 simulation of the energy response and a simulated trigger algorithm representative of the onboard trigger algorithm. The SNR for almost all detections will be sufficiently high to allow the on-board ECLAIRs trigger algorithm to detect and derive the localisation of the transient, transmitting it to the SVOM satellite and ground-based instruments. Coupled with the anti-solar pointing strategy of SVOM, this will enable an optimal follow-up of the events, allowing the observation of their afterglows, supernovae/kilonovae counterparts, and host galaxies. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the unique contribution expected from SVOM and of the possibility of simultaneous GW detection for each type of transient in our sample.

Analysis of Long Term Variation of the Total Column and Tropospheric Ozone over the Indian Region

Ozone plays a significant part in regulating climate change and the chemical characteristics of the atmosphere. Changes in atmospheric ozone can be studied in more detail using ground-based and satellite-based instruments. Studies on the long-term global changes in total column ozone have begun more than three-decade ago using satellite data. The main objective of this work is to analyze the Total Column Ozone (TCO) variations, and tropo-spheric ozone variations over different twenty locations in the Indian sub-continent by using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and AURA OMI/MLS data. The long-term analysis of total column ozone is divided into two phases (1979-1994 and 2005-2018), and tropospheric ozone for one phase (2005-2018) in order to detect changes in the ozone trend pattern. The results of linear regression analysis show a declining trend of total column ozone, and an increasing trend of tropospheric ozone over the selected locations. The impact of wind pattern on the variation of ozone has been analyzed by using NCEP reanalysis data, and found that wind patterns played a prominent role in spatial and temporal changes in total and tropospheric ozone distribution over the subcontinent. Latitudinal variation of total column ozone from Nagarcoil to Anantanag has also been studied for the years 1979, 1994, 2005, and 2018, which indicates an increase in ozone concentration with latitude.

Iterative Tomography: A Key to Providing Time-Dependent 3-D Reconstructions of the Inner Heliosphere and the Unification of Space Weather Forecasting Techniques

Over several decades, UCSD has developed and continually updated a time-dependent iterative three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction technique to provide global heliospheric parameters—density, velocity, and component magnetic fields. For expediency, this has used a kinematic model as a kernel to provide a fit to either interplanetary scintillation (IPS) or Thomson-scattering observations. This technique has been used in near real time over this period, employing Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Japan, IPS data to predict the propagation of these parameters throughout the inner heliosphere. We have extended the 3-D reconstruction analysis to include other IPS Stations around the Globe in a Worldwide Interplanetary Scintillation Stations Network. In addition, we also plan to resurrect the Solar Mass Ejection Imager Thomson-scattering analysis as a basis for 3-D analysis to be used by the latest NASA Small Explorer heliospheric imagers of the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere mission, the All Sky Heliospheric Imager, and other modern wide-field imagers. Better data require improved heliospheric modeling that incorporates non-radial transport of heliospheric flows, and shock processes. Looking ahead to this, we have constructed an interface between the 3-D reconstruction tomography and 3-D MHD models and currently include the ENLIL model as a kernel in the reconstructions to provide this fit. In short, we are now poized to provide all of these innovations in a next step: to include them for planned ground-based and spacecraft instruments, all to be combined into a truly global 3-D heliospheric system which utilizes these aspects in their data and modeling.