Role of the Maritime Continent in the remote influence of Atlantic Niño on the Pacific.

Atlantic Niño, the dominant climate mode in the equatorial Atlantic, is known to remotely force a La Niña-like response in the Pacific, potentially affecting seasonal climate predictions. Here, we use both observations and large-ensemble simulations to explore the physical mechanisms linking the Atlantic to the Pacific. Results indicate that an eastward propagating atmospheric Kelvin wave from the Atlantic, through the Indian Ocean, to the Pacific is the primary pathway. Interaction of this Kelvin wave with the orography of the Maritime Continent induces orographic moisture convergence, contributing to the generation of a local Walker Cell over the Maritime Continent-Western Pacific area. Moreover, land friction over the Maritime Continent dissipates Kelvin wave energy, affecting the strength of the Bjerknes feedback and thus the development of the La Niña-like response. Therefore, improving the representation of land-atmosphere-ocean interactions over the Maritime Continent may be fundamental to realistically simulate Atlantic Niño's impact on El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

Diabatic heating governs the seasonality of the Atlantic Niño.

The Atlantic Niño is the leading mode of interannual sea-surface temperature (SST) variability in the equatorial Atlantic and assumed to be largely governed by coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics described by the Bjerknes-feedback loop. However, the role of the atmospheric diabatic heating, which can be either an indicator of the atmosphere's response to, or its influence on the SST, is poorly understood. Here, using satellite-era observations from 1982-2015, we show that diabatic heating variability associated with the seasonal migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone controls the seasonality of the Atlantic Niño. The variability in precipitation, a measure of vertically integrated diabatic heating, leads that in SST, whereas the atmospheric response to SST variability is relatively weak. Our findings imply that the oceanic impact on the atmosphere is smaller than previously thought, questioning the relevance of the classical Bjerknes-feedback loop for the Atlantic Niño and limiting climate predictability over the equatorial Atlantic sector.

Calibration of Off-the-Shelf Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Magnetometers.

Magnetometers based on the anisotropic magnetoresistive effect are used in many applications for orientation determination, by measuring the magnetic field of the Earth. As sensors of this type are commercial, off-the-shelf components, manufacturers provide limited information on their measurement performance. Therefore, we present a (to date) unprecedented comprehensive calibration study on three state-of-the-art digital anisotropic magnetoresistance magnetometers, to precisely determine various performance parameters and stability across different sensors of the same model. With the evaluation of sensitivity, noise, offset, and orientation determination, as well as considering dependencies on temperature and frequency, the performance of each sensor can be improved significantly, enabling their implementation in demanding fields of application (such as in satellites). Different measurement and calibration techniques, specifically aimed at the characteristics of the examined magnetometers, were utilized, using a sophisticated magnetic laboratory that has served as a calibration facility for several interplanetary space missions. Our study allows operators to decide whether to consider anisotropic magnetoresitance magnetometers for their application and, more importantly, to be able to (at least partially) skip a time-intensive and complicated calibration by using the sensor parameters given in this paper. To that end, the most promising sensor is recommended. The sensor examination suggests a good comparability of different sensors of the same model, and shows the importance of noise regarding the sensor performance with a noise floor up to 124 nT/Hz at 1 Hz. Additionally, depending on the sensor model, the sensitivity is 14 nT at best, and the attitude determination error can be reduced to about 0.3° with the given calibration.

COMETARY SCIENCE. The nonmagnetic nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Knowledge of the magnetization of planetary bodies constrains their origin and evolution, as well as the conditions in the solar nebular at that time. On the basis of magnetic field measurements during the descent and subsequent multiple touchdown of the Rosetta lander Philae on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P), we show that no global magnetic field was detected within the limitations of analysis. The Rosetta Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor (ROMAP) suite of sensors measured an upper magnetic field magnitude of less than 2 nanotesla at the cometary surface at multiple locations, with the upper specific magnetic moment being <3.1 × 10(-5) ampere-square meters per kilogram for meter-size homogeneous magnetized boulders. The maximum dipole moment of 67P is 1.6 × 10(8) ampere-square meters. We conclude that on the meter scale, magnetic alignment in the preplanetary nebula is of minor importance.

Cometary science. Birth of a comet magnetosphere: a spring of water ions.

The Rosetta mission shall accompany comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from a heliocentric distance of >3.6 astronomical units through perihelion passage at 1.25 astronomical units, spanning low and maximum activity levels. Initially, the solar wind permeates the thin comet atmosphere formed from sublimation, until the size and plasma pressure of the ionized atmosphere define its boundaries: A magnetosphere is born. Using the Rosetta Plasma Consortium ion composition analyzer, we trace the evolution from the first detection of water ions to when the atmosphere begins repelling the solar wind (~3.3 astronomical units), and we report the spatial structure of this early interaction. The near-comet water population comprises accelerated ions (<800 electron volts), produced upstream of Rosetta, and lower energy locally produced ions; we estimate the fluxes of both ion species and energetic neutral atoms.

Spirocyclic zwitterionic lambda5Si-silicates with two bidentate ligands derived from alpha-amino acids or alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids: synthesis, structure, and stereodynamics.

A series of zwitterionic lambda(5)Si-silicates with a (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinio)methyl group and two identical bidentate ligands derived from glycine, (S)-alanine, (S)-phenylalanine, glycolic acid, (S)-lactic acid, (S)-3-phenyllactic acid, or (S)-mandelic acid were synthesized and structurally characterized (solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy; single-crystal X-ray diffraction). The chiral lambda(5)Si-silicates with ligands derived from optically active alpha-amino acids or alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids were isolated as enantiomerically and diastereomerically pure compounds that undergo a (Lambda)/(Delta)-epimerization in solution.

The hexacoordinate silicate dianions mer-tris[glycolato(2-)-O(1),O(2)]silicate and fac-tris[benzilato(2-)-O(1),O(2)]silicate: syntheses and structural characterization.

Treatment of tetramethoxysilane with glycolic acid and morpholine (molar ratio 1:3:2) in methanol, followed by crystallization from methanol/tetrahydrofuran, yielded morpholinium mer-tris[glycolato(2-)-O(1),O(2)]silicate (mer-7). Treatment of benzilic acid with sodium hydride, followed by addition of tetrachlorosilane and triethylamine (molar ratio 3:4:1:2), afforded, after crystallization from 1,4-dioxane/acetonitrile/diethyl ether/n-pentane, triethylammonium fac-tris[benzilato(2-)-O(1),O(2)]silicate-hemi-1,4-dioxane (fac-8.(1)/(2)C(4)H(8)O(2)). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies showed that the Si-coordination polyhedra of the hexacoordinate silicon(IV) complexes mer-7 and fac-8.(1)/(2)C(4)H(8)O(2) are distorted octahedra. Both compounds were additionally characterized by solid-state VACP/MAS NMR studies ((13)C, (29)Si), and fac-8.(1)/(2)C(4)H(8)O(2) was studied in solution by (1)H, (13)C, and (29)Si NMR experiments. The structural investigations were complemented by computational studies (MP2 studies, TZP level) of the dianions of fac-7 and mer-7.