Turbulence is ubiquitous and occurs in our everyday lives on Earth, such as when milk is stirred into coffee, or in the stormy motions of the ocean and the atmosphere. Media in space and astrophysical systems can also develop turbulence, but the physics is different because the medium is in an ionized state (known as the plasma state) and the flow motion is strongly coupled to electromagnetic fields. Furthermore, space plasma is collisionless because the medium is so dilute that the particles do not collide with each other. How does plasma develop into turbulence? How is the fluctuation energy distributed in collisionless turbulence? Turbulence in space plasma remains a mystery in physics.  

An international research team from the Technische Universität Braunschweig and University of Tokyo in cooperation with Tohoku University, Kyushu University, Osaka University, and multinational research institutes has now demonstrated, for the first time, a reversal phenomenon of magnetic field rotation in space turbulence. A structure emerges within the unstructured space plasma. The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 

UC Irvine, NASA JPL scientists’ computer model shows Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is melting more aggressively than previously projected. In new simulations, researchers account for larger area beneath ice sheet that is coming into contact with warm, pressurized ocean water. Models predict up to 30 millimeters of sea level rise from Thwaites, doubling previous projections. 

How did life begin on Earth? Can plants adapt to a changing climate? What can the rhythmic abilities of aquatic mammals reveal about the evolution of communication? These are among the questions explored in HFSP Science Digest #5, published today by the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO).

To the point:

Late arrivals: Birdwatchers' observations show that New Zealand banded dotterels reach Australia after fall migration about four days later each year on average, cutting their estimated stay in their non-breeding residencies by about a quarter in just over a decade.

Climate change connections: The delay is linked to changes in Southern Ocean westerly winds, bringing New Zealand calmer, milder weather in winter.

Potential loss of behaviour: If this trend continues, scientists suspect the migration could all but disappear, leaving most birds in New Zealand all year.