Marking done

Finished off the final bit of marking and did associated admin

Also a bit of philosophy to do with the wider program involving representing an ionic gas in neutral gas parameters. Interesting.

...more and more and more...

Marking, 'bout halfway through

One run ended and was analysed. Saturn500 doing the 12eV SD-2 run. This leaves one run going on Keter, and six ready to make their reappearance once the queueing system has gone through...

Marking

Last lot of the Raman stuff has arrived. Fantastic... the undergraduates have mostly vanished...

Seminar on Young Stellar Objects too. Quite interesting for once (I mean, "as usual")

Work!

Makenzie has produced a corrected profile to be modelled. That with Alex's stuff should keep me going (plus validation graphs).

But first - marking. Now done (Howarth that is... have asked Raman and should get his stuff tomorrow/monday)

Supercomputer queues are to be altered again, making it possible to rerun the six 'dead' runs.

Have spoken with Alex about the proton oval

Also have interpolated out the CTIP atmosphere for the runs. I have the energies from the DMSP thing, bit worried about not having H, He at least (also N and Ar), which could reduce the overall ionisation rate (not so much Ar, but at the top, definately H and He). We shall see... shouldn't be too bad as O remains about ten times the next thing, and has a larger cross-section...

...even so...

Oh yes, and attended Steve's H3+ talk. As well as a later one involving Makenzie's profile...

So, now marking's over what's left to do?

Alex stuff - 19 runs of a million electrons into a modified version of RIDE Earth according to DMSP energies
Makenzie stuff - fit profile (there, sounds easy)
Grodent stuff - validation
Thesis stuff - write up whichever of the above gets done first...

Marking - whenever

we'll see...

Have checked the Ovation model Alex/George are using to define the auroral oval - it includes ions!

More TIROS and marking

Have answered some simple questions on TIROS

Plus recovered posters from old office

Marking Howarth

Moving, just keep moving...

The major part of the day was spent shifting from one office to another

Also had chat with Alan about final six months, though he seemed unprepared, which makes me wonder why he insisted on a chat (or at least did on Monday).

Got files off Alex giving temps, densities etc for pressure levels in the CTIP run. Need to find out the top altitude just to get a final feel for what is going on. Once that is done, run can be dun. Then on to the more complex bits... for Alex. Adjusting for dip angles, changing constituents, changing pressure level heights etc etc etc. In the dim and distant future, pitch angle spectra for the energy channels could also be dreamt up and a few runs could be used to angle those properly...

Then there's protons...

It'll make a good chapter and a good template for work to do with BAS and Steve.

Marking. Howarth.

Bits and bobs

Group meeting occured on the topics of the Move and the Rolling Grant, plus a little bit about computing.
The Move: The meeting took place in the new PhD office. People have been assigned to the office and a further meeting was to happen afterwards to decide desk allocation. This has happened, room has been rearranged, and asides from grabbing a couple of sofas and a coffee table, all is ready.
The Rolling Grant: All I heard was "moan, moan, moan" which translates as "they've changed the way the grants are assessed". Should be fun...
Computing: After yesterday's events, APL has threatened to withdraw funding from UCL's supercomputers by using the Miracle grant. We'll see how negotiations with getting serial jobs back on the fast processors go. Steve is all for trying to renegotiate everything back. Alan wants to pull us out...

Other things.

Howarth handed me more marking and left a message with my officemates about him mailing me the model answers later. This was not conveyed until Howarth returned and made them convey it...

Anasuya got her marking back in the group meeting. I wasn't missing a script.

One run finished, or rather hit the time limit... The only one that was ever likely to. It has been reset off on Rimmer, where it joins a long CMAT2 run already going, which means both of Rimmer's processors are now in use. Where's Alun...

Antionio Hales is our newest Dr

Grodent stuff moving along slowly.

Atmospheres

Have arranged (after some negotiation) O, O2 and N2 from CTIP, but will have to wait until they arrive...

Just had a visit from the shadowy heads of computing complaining that I actually use the machines... They made a miscalculation. They looked at the run that finished yesterday, noticed it ended close to midnight on the 13th of March, noted that it was set off on the 12th of feb, then forgot that february has 28 days, they seemed to have counted it as 31, meaning the run lasted 32 days. Three doctorates and a professorship between them...

All of anasuya's additional marking done. I assume... All those marked IOT (in on time?) and one handed in not on the sheet. Though there is a name on the sheet, not marked as being IOT, which was missing from the folder. Curious.

...more and more and more...

Another run ended

Saturn1000 was the 12eV GS1m run. It has been analysed.

Demonstrating also happened, 2 hours of waves optics and accoustics in the maths problem class. That is now over and done with eternally. No more problem classes!!!!!!!!!

Anasuya sent another problem paper through alan, proving some things never end. Not alan...

Runs

News of more marking from Anasuya...

Two runs finished overnight and have been analysed. All runs are either going or done, so no recoding and resetting off anymore.

SaturnX was the 12eV GS100m run. This was analysed, completing the GS100m set.

Saturn50000 was the 12eV BSR0.25 run. This was also analysed, changing 12eV's grade to a pass and completing the BSR0.25 set.

This leaves 12 runs filling fourteen slots (as the middle run of the three sets is the control run, which is the same for all three).

Have looked at thesis. Looks the same as always

Ok, back onto things for the paper (remember that). Grodent gave me examples of his stuff for maxwellian energy distributions of characteristic energy: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 200, 500 keV, equivalent to mean energies of: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100, 200, 400, 1000 keV. For it to work best, I'll keep the mean at 40keV at the top, 2 at the bottom and 10 and 20 in the middle - ie use the 1, 5, 10 and 20 keV maxwellian results to run this.

These need to be normalised to 50 erg cm-1 s-1 (although I then need to pull slowly away from cgi units...). For each of them, I need to generate an electron distribution, with appropriate normalisation. I then need to extract the atmosphere from each of the Grodent datafiles and then run the generated electron spectrum into the atmosphere using RIDE.

Have sorted out some emails that needed deleting. What's that about avoidance?

Electron numbers now calculated.

More and more and more...

Computer problems to start the day off. Following the collapse of APL email, starlink email and UCL email, the APL server got fried.

Finished off Raman marking. Got given some mysterious scripts of Howarth that had evaded the last tranche of marking... odd. They were dealt with and returned to sender.

Also worked with Alex to create a second TIROS replacement, not linked to the BAS one. Could this mean I publish two new auroral oval models for the same atmospheric model in direct competition with each other? Not really, the BAS one is a substorm extension, the Alex one is a quiet time model, in effect we'll switch between them depending on what we're doing as the BAS one will be more computer intensive.

...and of course keep TIROS just incase something goes wrong...

But at least with Alex first stage is done, formatting the spectrum, chopping it up and deciding what will happen to it. The next stage is generating profiles, the third stage will then be doing all my little additions (literally back of the envelope, the envelope is next to the comp - I need a touch pad to doodle onto the Mac with) to conserve energy (yes that minor second law of thermodynamics thing). As Eddington said (ish), if your theory goes against Maxwell's equations, so much the worse for Maxwell, but if your theory contravenes the second law of thermodynamics, there's nothing to do but throw up your hands in defeat...

Must press the case for protons in both models...

Hmmm, looks like a million or so electrons will do for each of these levels. No adjustments required for RIDE to operate as it all ends at 30keV, well below RIDE's current nominal upper limit.

Marking

Ramn style

More marking

Delivered hot off the press. Raman stuff. Anasuya's marking now done and handed back.

Problem class, penultimate one, also done today

Same stuff

Yep, marking. Halfway through the physicists.

Also discussed some stuff with Alan about a new version of TIROS. Looks like electrons fluxes etc can be generated through a set of calcs. I then have to come up with some sort of CSDA model seeded by my own that does the rest. Very possible. Have worked out enough for it to be better than TIROS, just a case of how much better.

Quick note

More marking

Marking

Weekend marking and a couple of observations of the Lunar Eclipse (hey, its work, I'm in an astrophysicvs group!)

Last runs set off

For the sensitivities thing. Excluding all the required reruns that'll follow in April, of course. Decided to wait no longer and have everything going continuously until they relent and finish.

Speaking of relentless. Marking time. Had a late script off Howarth and still have stuff from anasuya to do.

Howarth done. All astro/medical Anasuya scripts done. Just leaves the physicists behind. As ever.

More marking

Getting through anasuya's stuff today... and tomorrow...

Bit of stuff

One run completed today, the Saturn5000 40eV SD+1 run. This was the final 40eV run, and was analysed, recoded and set off as 12eV SD+1, meaning all 12eV SD runs are off, all 40eV runs are done, and, indeed, asides from the 100keV run, and 12eV runs, all is done. Sometime after the first week in March, the 12eV results should start rolling in, though this final run is taking a long while to set off due to TAMPA choosing today to launch mulitple copies of every program they have with no regard for proper submission protocols...

Also did all Howarth's marking.

Back to it

Meetings to do with seminar feedback today. Very positive.

Finished off Raman marking, then got some papers off Howarth, including one of the last lot, which has been dealt with, also saw anasuya about her marking, which needs swiftly shifting.

Problem class.

One run finished. Saturn500 finished the 40eV SD-1 run, was analysed recoded as 12eV SD-2 and reset off. This was the penultimate 40eV run remaining and means only two non 12eV runs remain to be completed. Also, only one of the SD 12eV slots is yet to be set off.

Bits, pieces (and that's just me)

First thing was dropping off the poster at the graduate school poster competition, under Alan's orders

Then marked half the remaining scripts, as well as correcting the already marked scripts for an error in the model answers...

Seminar finesed and transfered to a laptop for presentation

Emails sent to arrange cover for my extra demonstation session from Mill Hill

Seminar performed

Looong night at Mill Hill, with observations of...

The International Space Station (naked eye)
The Orion Nebula (Fry, Radcliffe, plus CCD on Meade)
The Moon (Fry, Radcliffe)
Saturn (Radcliffe)
Cloud (naked eye, Fry, Radcliffe, Meade)

...enclosing an additional hour of work. So, marking left for tomorrow

Run, marking, seminar

That's the plan.

The run that finished overnight was Saturn100, a 50eV SD-C run. It was analysed, recoded and set off as SD-C for 12eV. The analysis showed that it was the final 50eV run, meaning all energies except 12, 40 and 100,000 are done, with the remaining 100k and 40eV runs underway. Half of all the remaining to be completed and analysed 18 runs are SD runs.

Ok seminar. Three bits. Modelling, Photon, Auroral morphology - not in that order.

Begin with the Earth, starting at Bolearis, then shift outwards, until the Earth is just another planet. Show that visible light is just one of the emissions and the list of emissions on all eight planets (including the null of Mercury). Talk about ENAs at Mercury and why it hasn't an aurora. Talk about the dynamo at Venus, the swept aurora and how this is being applied to Mars. Move onto the Giant Planets, with Jupiter's internal dynamo, Saturn's state of affairs, and mention the other two. Then talk about how particle interactions change the current only analogy sometimes used. Have the photon as an anology. Then use it to introduce RIDE and shine up a result or two. Then finish and run off to Mill Hill to avoid questions...

Ok, most the way through it now. Finished off tomorrow.

Marking

...and TIROS

Marking

Marking

Plus updated TIROS entry and had quick meeting with Steve about Makenzie's stuff.

Stuff to do

Demonstrating in problem class done (special relativity...)

Marking for physics of the solar system next

Marking

...and a small interlude with a phone call from BAS asking about upward flowing electrons.

Three mechanisms:

Scattering - electrons are just particles bouncing around. They occasionally bounce back, indeed plenty do, though this creates a small upward flux far lower than the downward flux (and increasingly comparitively smaller the higher the energy of the forward flux).

Charge reallignment - this affects any ionising thing that enters the atmosphere. Ionisation leads to most the momentum going to the small electron seperating from the big particle, leaving a static positive layer in the position of greatest ionisation and a layer where the electrons (those that don't themselves then head up) end up. Background electrons then move away from the negative layer towards the positive layer to neutralise this.

Birkland currents - dumping massive amounts of negative charge into the ionosphere leads to a negatively charged ionosphere (I know, I was as surprised as you are...), which cannot be. This is negated by a current of opposite polarity completing the circuit between the ionosphere and the magnetosphere. This takes the form of either protons flowing in or electrons flowing out, or a combination of the two.

There you are.

Also did some marking

...as well as some preparation for taking people on a tour of Mill Hill tomorrow. Scary. For them, not me...

Marking, marking, marking.

Marking

Ok, one run finished too. Saturn500 finished the 40eV SD-C run, was analysed, recoded and set off as SD-1. Analysis brought no grade changes, but SD finally hit the 80% complete mark. overall, just over 89% complete... 23 runs left to finish, eleven of which are currently going.

Marking

Have created a title for my seminar (under great duress) and grabbed a couple of images. Also tried to book the day off from Mill Hill...

Marking for Howarth done.

Grrr

Marking

Problem class

Marking

Mill Hill

Marking

Admin

Lunch with seminar speaker

Handed back Raman's marking to various points

Recieved Howarth's marking

Continued with Anasuya's marking.

Quick note

One run and a bit of marking done so far today.

Saturn100 finished the 50eV SD-2 run, and was recoded and set off as the 50eV SD-C run, the only unfilled slot of that energy. Analysis revealed no grade changes.

Three runs - and marking

Three runs have finished overnight (well, they didn't finish in an overnight burst, they just happened to finish, after a long time, between me leaving last night and arriving today... but you know what I mean.. don't you?)

Saturn12 is the 12eV BSR1.0 run, finished with a day to spare... It was recoded, analysed and reset off as BSR0.9. Analysis gave no grade changes, but it did finally finish off the BSR1.0 set of runs, the first of the BSRs to finish.

Saturn50 is the 50eV GS10m run. This was analysed and then recoded as SD-1 (since the last 50eV GS run is already being done) and set off, meaning all six slots that are destined to attack the SD 12eV runs are in the SD block, ready to roll once they've done their stuff on 40, 50 and 1000 eV. No grade changes.

Saturn50000 was the 12eV BSR0.1 run. This was analysed and recoded as BSR0.25. Analysis revealed no grade chages, but BSR0.1 became the second BSR set to finish.

A good day for 12eV!

...and some marking...

Marking, marking, marking.

It hasn't stopped... Raman's stuff may be done and ready to be shipped off, but Anasuya's stuff remains... it becomes today's task. And tomorrow's etc etc etc...

One run has come to an end, Saturn12000 doing the 1keV SD+C thing. This was analysed, recoded and set off as the SD+2 1keV run, which will be the last of the 1keV runs.

Marking, marking, marking.

Raman's stuff remains...

Just got some spam from an oscilloscope maker...!

A run finished. SaturnX doing the 12eV GS10k run. That has been analysed, recoded and reset off as 12eV GS100m. No grade changes yet, but GS10km is now utterly complete. And it is another 12eV run down.

Marking done! Unless Raman has more hidden away... Anasuya's next...

Not much today

Problem class done

Marking for Raman's course now begins in earnest... ok, in this room, but either way...

More

...of the same.

Saturn1000 finished the last of the 100keV GS runs, was analysed with no surprises or grade changes (though GS is now at the 90% complete mark along with BSR, whilst SD languishes at just above 70%). Saturn1000 is now running the 50eV GS1m run.

Now, Martian cross-sections, where was I?

Ionisation cross-sections now laboriously transferred.

Dissociation cross-sections now laboriously transferred. I think my fingers are now half their previous length...

eCheck and eLevel now adjusted (the arrays which say which species I have excitation cross-sections for (echeck) and what energy of excitation level this corresponds to (elevel)). The excitation cross-section array has also been suitably annexed. Cross now belongs to the Martians...

Module state of play:
randgen - ready
atom - ready
cross - ready
electron - needs conversion
strike - needs conversion
proton - needs conversion
proton1 - needs conversion
selectron - needs conversion
recoil - needs conversion
back - needs conversion
hit - needs conversion

...and the inputs are ok too. Also have a paper with energy spectrum to use if and when this gets ready to roll. Should I get the mag field, then the pitch angle spectrum is also available.

So, in the dying embers of the day, lets see what can be dealt with:
electron - Adjusted common blocks, declarations, code, compiled, done!
strike - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compiled, done!
proton - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compiled, done!
proton1 - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compiled, done!
selectron - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compile, done!
recoil - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compiled, done!
back - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compiled, done!
hit - adjusted common blocks, declarations, coded, compiled, done!

So, in theory a complete Martian model. Of course, a theoretically complete fortran model means only one thing - Segmentation faults lie in wait... we shall see.

And so we have... bastard thing. The debugger's no good too.

Right, trying Keter out, debugger works for once...

Model running

Model still running

Model still... WHY!!!! Did I wrong Mars in another life?

Suppose I'd better leave it there if it's going to run and run. Well, it won't go too long as I have imposed a twenty four hour limit on operations. We'll see if this thing really does work...

Have been told Anasuya's marking is now due!

Mars is finished. Really, finished... end of day.

...again...

Marking

Worked on thesis chapter two, adding in a table of planets/wavelengths of observed aurora as well as a definition of aurora used in the model...

Marking, marking, marking.

as it says in the title...

I did plan on doing a PhD sometime...