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Gravity wave (GW) activity is analyzed using temperature (T) data retrieved from a Rayleigh light detection and ranging (lidar) at Río Gallegos, Argentina (51.6°S, 69.3°W). GW characteristics are derived from 302 nights of observations providing more than 1,018 hr of high-resolution lidar data between 20- and 56-km height from August 2005 to December 2015. T measurements are performed by a Differential Absorption Lidar instrument. This lidar was the southernmost outside Antarctica until the end of 2017. Río Gallegos is an exceptional place to observe large amplitude GW. Every lidar measurement is classified according to its relative position to the polar vortex. The lidar measurements are compared with collocated Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry and Global Positioning System-Radio Occultation data. The different instruments show different windows of the GW spectrum, providing complementary observations. In general, the geometric mean of the specific GW potential energy (PE) is larger during winter and spring than during summer and autumn. The largest geometric mean of PE is found inside the vortex and decreases monotonically at its edge, outside it and when there is no vortex. The same behavior is observed with satellite data. On average, it can be seen that lidar observations provide larger PE values than limb sounding measurements. From a Morlet continuous wavelet transform analysis, three distinct modes are captured from Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry and from Global Positioning System-Radio Occultation data at the upper and lower stratosphere, respectively. In particular, a systematic 3.5- to 4-year oscillation, possibly related to El Niño–Southern Oscillation is observed. Fil: Llamedo Soria, Pablo Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ingeniería. Laboratorio de Investigación Desarrollo y Transferencia - Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Laboratorio de Investigación Desarrollo y Transferencia; Argentina Fil: Salvador, Jacobo Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación en Láseres y Aplicaciones; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Río Gallegos; Argentina Fil: de la Torre, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ingeniería. Laboratorio de Investigación Desarrollo y Transferencia - Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Laboratorio de Investigación Desarrollo y Transferencia; Argentina Fil: Quiroga, Jonathan Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación en Láseres y Aplicaciones; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Río Gallegos; Argentina Fil: Alexander, Pedro Manfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Hierro, Rodrigo Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ingeniería. Laboratorio de Investigación Desarrollo y Transferencia - Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Laboratorio de Investigación Desarrollo y Transferencia; Argentina Fil: Schmidt, T.. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam; Alemania Fil: Pazmiño, A.. Université Pierre et Marie Curie; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Universite de Paris VI; Francia Fil: Quel, Eduardo Jaime. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina

Three year long current-meter arrays were deployed in the Malvinas Current at 418S below a satellite altimeter track at about 10 years intervals. Surface geostrophic velocities (SGV) derived from satel- lite altimetric data are compared with the in situ velocities at the upper current meter (􏰁300 m). Multisatel- lite gridded SGV compare better with in situ observations than along-track SGV. In spite of the proximity of the moorings to the complex Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) region, satellite SGV are significantly corre- lated with the 20 day low-passed in situ velocities (0.85 for along-isobaths velocities, 0.8 for cross-isobaths velocities). The recent in situ measurement period (2014?2015) stands out in the altimetry record with a long-lasting (4 months) high level of eddy kinetic energy at the mooring site and a southernmost location of the Subantarctic Front (SAF). The first two modes of variations of sea level anomaly (SLA) over the BMC remarkably match the first two modes of the low-passed in situ velocities. The first mode is associated with a latitudinal migration of the SAF, and the second with a longitudinal displacement of the Brazil Current overshoot. The two modes dominate the 24 year long record of SLA in the BMC, with energy peaks at the annual and semiannual periods for the first mode and at 3?5 months for the second mode. The SLA over the Southwest Atlantic was regressed onto the two confluence modes of SLA variations and showed remarkable standing wave train like structures in the Argentine Basin. Fil: Ferrari, Ramiro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina Fil: Artana, Camila Indira. Universite de Paris VI; Francia Fil: Saraceno, Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina Fil: Piola, Alberto Ricardo. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Provost, Christine. Universite de Paris VI; Francia

Two populations of twisted magnetic field tubes, or flux ropes (hereafter, FRs), are detected by in situ measurements in the solar wind. While small FRs are crossed by the observing spacecraft within few hours, with a radius typically less than 0.1AU, larger FRs, or magnetic clouds (hereafter, MCs), have durations of about half a day. The main aim of this study is to compare the properties of both populations of FRs observed by the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. To do so, we use standard correlation techniques for the FR parameters, as well as histograms and more refined statistical methods. Although several properties seem at first different for small FRs and MCs, we show that they are actually governed by the same propagation physics. For example, we observe no in situ signatures of expansion for small FRs, contrary to MCs. We demonstrate that this result is in fact expected: small FRs expand similarly to MCs, as a consequence of a total pressure balance with the surrounding medium, but the expansion signature is well hidden by velocity fluctuations. Next, we find that the FR radius, velocity and magnetic field strength are all positively correlated, with correlation factors than can reach a value >0.5. This result indicates a remnant trace of the FR ejection process from the corona. We also find a larger FR radius at the apex than at the legs (up to three times larger at the apex), for FR observed at 1 AU. Finally, assuming that the detected FRs have a large-scale configuration in the heliosphere, we derived the mean axis shape from the probability distribution of the axis orientation. We therefore interpret the small FR and MC properties in a common framework of FRs interacting with the solar wind, and we disentangle the physics present behind their common and different features., 13 pages, 8 figures, Accepted in JGR

We present Cassini Langmuir probe measurements of the highest electron number densities ever reported from the ionosphere of Titan. The measured density reached 4310 cm−3 during the T85 Titan flyby. This is at least 500 cm−3 higher than ever observed before and at least 50% above the average density for similar solar zenith angles. The peak of the ionospheric density is not reached on this flyby, making the maximum measured density a lower limit. During this flyby, we also report that an impacting coronal mass ejection (CME) leaves Titan in the magnetosheath of Saturn, where it is exposed to shocked solar wind plasma for at least 2 h 45 min. We suggest that the solar wind plasma in the magnetosheath during the CME conditions significantly modifies Titan's ionosphere by an addition of particle impact ionization by precipitating protons. Fil: Edberg, N. J. T.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Andrews, D. J.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Shebanits, O.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Agren, K.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Wahlund, J. E.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Opgenoorth, H. J.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Roussos, E.. Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research; Alemania Fil: Garnier, P.. University of Toulouse; Francia Fil: Cravens, T. E.. University of Kansas; Estados Unidos Fil: Badman, S. V.. University of Leicester; Reino Unido Fil: Modolo, R.. UVSQ/LATMOS-IPSL/CNRS-INSU; Francia Fil: Bertucci, Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Dougherty, M. K.. Imperial College London; Reino Unido

We present electron temperature and density measurements of Titan's cold ionospheric plasma from the Langmuir probe instrument on Cassini from 52 flybys. An expression of the density as a function of temperature is presented for altitudes below two Titan radii. The density falls off exponentially with increased temperature as log(ne) = −2.0log(Te) + 0.6 on average around Titan. We show that this relation varies with location around Titan as well as with the solar illumination direction. Significant heating of the electrons appears to take place on the night/wake side of Titan as the density-temperature relation is less steep there. Furthermore, we show that the magnetospheric ram pressure is not balanced by the thermal and magnetic pressure in the topside ionosphere and discuss its implications for plasma escape. The cold ionospheric plasma of Titan extends to higher altitudes in the wake region, indicating the loss of atmosphere down the induced magnetospheric tail. Fil: Edberg, N. J. T.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Wahlund, J. E.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Ågren, K.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Morooka, M. W.. Swedish Institute of Space Physics; Suecia Fil: Modolo, R.. LATMOS; Francia Fil: Bertucci, Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Dougherty, M. K.. Imperial College London; Reino Unido