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Abstract. The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha′apai volcano erupted on 15 January 2022, launching Lamb waves and gravity waves into the atmosphere. In this study, we present results using 13 globally distributed meteor radars and identify the volcanogenic gravity waves in the mesospheric/lower thermospheric winds. Leveraging the High-Altitude Mechanistic general Circulation Model (HIAMCM), we compare the global propagation of these gravity waves. We observed an eastward-propagating gravity wave packet with an observed phase speed of 240 ± 5.7 m s−1 and a westward-propagating gravity wave with an observed phase speed of 166.5 ± 6.4 m s−1. We identified these waves in HIAMCM and obtained very good agreement of the observed phase speeds of 239.5 ± 4.3 and 162.2 ± 6.1 m s−1 for the eastward the westward waves, respectively. Considering that HIAMCM perturbations in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere were the result of the secondary waves generated by the dissipation of the primary gravity waves from the volcanic eruption, this affirms the importance of higher-order wave generation. Furthermore, based on meteor radar observations of the gravity wave propagation around the globe, we estimate the eruption time to be within 6 min of the nominal value of 15 January 2022 04:15 UTC, and we localized the volcanic eruption to be within 78 km relative to the World Geodetic System 84 coordinates of the volcano, confirming our estimates to be realistic. 

Shipping is the cornerstone of international trade and thus a critical economic sector. However, ships predominantly use fossil fuels for propulsion and electricity generation, which emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and air pollutants such as particulate matter, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. The availability of Automatic Information System (AIS) data has helped to improve the emission inventories of air pollutants from ship stacks. Recent laboratory, shipborne, satellite and modeling studies provided convincing evidence that ship-emitted air pollutants have significant impacts on atmospheric chemistry, clouds, and ocean biogeochemistry. The need to improve air quality to protect human health and to mitigate climate change has driven a series of regulations at international, national, and local levels, leading to rapid energy and technology transitions. This resulted in major changes in air emissions from shipping with implications on their environmental impacts, but observational studies remain limited. Growth in shipping in polar areas is expected to have distinct impacts on these pristine and sensitive environments. The transition to more sustainable shipping is also expected to cause further changes in fuels and technologies, and thus in air emissions. However, major uncertainties remain on how future shipping emissions may affect atmospheric composition, clouds, climate, and ocean biogeochemistry, under the rapidly changing policy (e.g., targeting decarbonization), socioeconomic, and climate contexts. 

Paralamium (Lamiaceae) is a monotypic genus within the subfamily Lamioideae and has a sporadic distribution in subtropical mountains of southeast Asia. Although recent studies have greatly improved our understanding of generic relationships within Lamioideae, the second most species-rich subfamily of Lamiaceae, the systematic position of Paralamium within the subfamily remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the phylogenetic placement of the genus using three datasets: (1) a 69,276 bp plastome alignment of Lamiaceae; (2) a five chloroplast DNA region dataset of tribe Pogostemoneae, and (3) a nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region dataset of Pogostemoneae. These analyses demonstrate that Paralamium is a member of Pogostemoneae and sister to the monotypic genus Craniotome . In addition, generic-level phylogenetic relationships within Pogostemoneae are also discussed, and a dichotomous key for genera within Pogostemoneae is provided. 

Abstract The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a large liquid scintillator detector designed to explore many topics in fundamental physics. In this study, the potential of searching for proton decay in themode with JUNO is investigated. The kaon and its decay particles feature a clear three-fold coincidence signature that results in a high efficiency for identification. Moreover, the excellent energy resolution of JUNO permits suppression of the sizable background caused by other delayed signals. Based on these advantages, the detection efficiency for the proton decay viais 36.9% ± 4.9% with a background level ofevents after 10 years of data collection. The estimated sensitivity based on 200 kton-years of exposure isyears, which is competitive with the current best limits on the proton lifetime in this channel and complements the use of different detection technologies. 

Abstract We present the detection potential for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), using the inverse-beta-decay (IBD) detection channel on free protons. We employ the latest information on the DSNB flux predictions, and investigate in detail the background and its reduction for the DSNB search at JUNO. The atmospheric neutrino induced neutral current (NC) background turns out to be the most critical background, whose uncertainty is carefully evaluated from both the spread of model predictions and an envisaged in situ measurement. We also make a careful study on the background suppression with the pulse shape discrimination (PSD) and triple coincidence (TC) cuts. With latest DSNB signal predictions, more realistic background evaluation and PSD efficiency optimization, and additional TC cut, JUNO can reach the significance of 3σ for 3 years of data taking, and achieve better than 5σ after 10 years for a reference DSNB model. In the pessimistic scenario of non-observation, JUNO would strongly improve the limits and exclude a significant region of the model parameter space. 

A bstract We study damping signatures at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a medium-baseline reactor neutrino oscillation experiment. These damping signatures are motivated by various new physics models, including quantum decoherence, ν 3 decay, neutrino absorption, and wave packet decoherence. The phenomenological effects of these models can be characterized by exponential damping factors at the probability level. We assess how well JUNO can constrain these damping parameters and how to disentangle these different damping signatures at JUNO. Compared to current experimental limits, JUNO can significantly improve the limits on τ 3 / m 3 in the ν 3 decay model, the width of the neutrino wave packet σ x , and the intrinsic relative dispersion of neutrino momentum σ rel . 

Abstract The OSIRIS detector is a subsystem of the liquid scintillator filling chain of the JUNO reactor neutrino experiment. Its purpose is to validate the radiopurity of the scintillator to assure that all components of the JUNO scintillator system work to specifications and only neutrino-grade scintillator is filled into the JUNO Central Detector. The aspired sensitivity level of $$10^{-16}\hbox { g/g}$$ 10 - 16 g/g of $$^{238}\hbox {U}$$ 238 U and $$^{232}\hbox {Th}$$ 232 Th requires a large ( $$\sim 20\,\hbox {m}^3$$ ∼ 20 m 3 ) detection volume and ultralow background levels. The present paper reports on the design and major components of the OSIRIS detector, the detector simulation as well as the measuring strategies foreseen and the sensitivity levels to U/Th that can be reached in this setup. 

A bstract JUNO is a massive liquid scintillator detector with a primary scientific goal of determining the neutrino mass ordering by studying the oscillated anti-neutrino flux coming from two nuclear power plants at 53 km distance. The expected signal anti-neutrino interaction rate is only 60 counts per day (cpd), therefore a careful control of the background sources due to radioactivity is critical. In particular, natural radioactivity present in all materials and in the environment represents a serious issue that could impair the sensitivity of the experiment if appropriate countermeasures were not foreseen. In this paper we discuss the background reduction strategies undertaken by the JUNO collaboration to reduce at minimum the impact of natural radioactivity. We describe our efforts for an optimized experimental design, a careful material screening and accurate detector production handling, and a constant control of the expected results through a meticulous Monte Carlo simulation program. We show that all these actions should allow us to keep the background count rate safely below the target value of 10 Hz (i.e. ∼ 1 cpd accidental background) in the default fiducial volume, above an energy threshold of 0.7 MeV. 

Abstract Atmospheric neutrinos are one of the most relevant natural neutrino sources that can be exploited to infer properties about cosmic rays and neutrino oscillations. The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) experiment, a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector with excellent energy resolution is currently under construction in China. JUNO will be able to detect several atmospheric neutrinos per day given the large volume. A study on the JUNO detection and reconstruction capabilities of atmospheric $$\nu _e$$ ν e  and $$\nu _\mu $$ ν μ  fluxes is presented in this paper. In this study, a sample of atmospheric neutrino Monte Carlo events has been generated, starting from theoretical models, and then processed by the detector simulation. The excellent timing resolution of the 3” PMT light detection system of JUNO detector and the much higher light yield for scintillation over Cherenkov allow to measure the time structure of the scintillation light with very high precision. Since $$\nu _e$$ ν e  and $$\nu _\mu $$ ν μ  interactions produce a slightly different light pattern, the different time evolution of light allows to discriminate the flavor of primary neutrinos. A probabilistic unfolding method has been used, in order to infer the primary neutrino energy spectrum from the detector experimental observables. The simulated spectrum has been reconstructed between 100 MeV and 10 GeV, showing a great potential of the detector in the atmospheric low energy region.