Energy transfer, cross-scale coupling, and dissipation in astrophysical plasmas remain fundamental unresolved problems. The velocity-shear-driven Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), ubiquitous in plasmas, is a key multiscale mechanism enabling plasma mixing, particle energization and the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, making it a critical process for understanding how plasma flow energy is converted from large to kinetic scales. Although in situ observations and simulations have linked KHI to turbulence onset and plasma heating, the precise pathways of energy transfer remain unexplored. By leveraging high-resolution, multi-point Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations, we quantify, for the first time, KHI energy conversion channels via pressure-strain and diagnostics. Inside vortices, thermal-to-flow energy transfer dominates, coinciding with local non-thermal features. Notably, energy pathways seem influenced by vortex evolution: rolled-up vortices tend to convert flow energy into thermal energy, whereas early-stage vortices mostly convert thermal energy back into flow. This study provides the first energy-balance-based description of KHI dynamics and further reveals the complexity of velocity shear energy dissipation into heat.
This study presents a comprehensive statistical comparison of solar wind measurements between the OMNI database which contains data collected at L1 that is shifted to the bow shock nose, and near-Earth observations from MMS, Cluster, and THEMIS missions near the bow shock nose. Using a threshold-based classification methodology, the analysis encompasses approximately 353 days (MMS), 283 days (Cluster), and 125 days (THEMIS) of solar wind intervals. Bisector regression analysis reveals that the anti-sunward flow component demonstrates exceptional agreement across all missions with near-unity slopes and correlation coefficients of 0.92 for THEMIS and 0.97 for MMS and Cluster. However, perpendicular velocity components show progressively degraded performance: exhibits correlation coefficients of 0.63-0.77 with intercepts ranging from 21.57 km/s (MMS) to 47.49 km/s (THEMIS), while shows weaker correlations (0.42-0.72) with intercepts of 4.73-11.94 km/s. Ion density measurements reveal systematic mission-specific biases: MMS and THEMIS show ion density regression slopes below unity (0.59 and 0.54, respectively), while Cluster shows a slope above unity (1.14) compared to OMNI measurements. Magnetic field measurements show higher consistency, with near-unity slopes and correlation coefficients exceeding 0.84 for most components. The northward magnetic field component exhibits elevated variance ratios and reduced correlations across all missions, reaching 0.74 for THEMIS. These results quantify inherent uncertainties in cross-platform solar wind comparisons and assess the accuracy of time-shifted solar wind measurements in the OMNI database as proxies for actual near-Earth conditions, with implications for space weather applications, multispacecraft studies, and magnetohydrodynamic simulation validation requiring accurate upstream boundary conditions.
This study examines the relationship between far-right populism and rural areas in Italy through Lega (formerly Lega Nord). Drawing on literature and textual analysis of party materials and national press, it shows how rural spatial imaginaries constructed by the party shaped its identity and messaging over three decades. These imaginaries intersect with discourses of spatial justice, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of Lega's engagement with rurality amid leadership and ideological shifts. The paper also proposes a methodology for other populist parties, providing a framework to explore how spatial grievances are discursively produced and mobilised to consolidate rural support.
Livestock farmers in the United Kingdom must balance productivity and economic viability with numerous sustainability goals, particularly those related to achieving net zero and nature restoration. Resultantly, interest is growing among stakeholders in organic and regenerative agriculture as potential routes to a sustainable food future. To explore the sustainability of these systems, a systematic literature review, following the PRISMA protocol, was conducted comparing the management practices used on organic and regenerative cattle and sheep farms in the UK. The relationship between farming system and management practices on outcomes for animal health, animal welfare, productivity, finances and biodiversity were compared to conventional. A total of 45 papers were included, revealing a gap in research on regenerative ruminant systems (2 documents), compared with organic systems (43 documents). Research on organic farming demonstrates that, compared to conventional farming, financial performance is improved, productivity is decreased, and no difference is frequently observed on animal health and welfare, and biodiversity. In contrast, empirical research on regenerative livestock farms only assessed earthworm abundance, as a soil health indicator, indicating the need for studies examining a broader range of outcomes. Comparisons were not possible between farm types due to heterogeneous study designs, highlighting the need for standardised methodologies to produce comparable evidence on sustainable farming practices. Methods used in organic research may be valuable for the design of studies evaluating regenerative livestock systems. Key management practices undertaken on livestock farms included rotational grazing, use of multi-species pastures, crop-livestock integration and improving biodiversity via practices like hedgerow maintenance.
Our Earth contains extensive evidence of astronomic bombardment in the form of meteorite impact craters. This paper offers an interpretive account of impact craters as archives that operate as mineral resources, data repositories modelling collision risk, sites of colonial dispossession, and apocalypse-themed tourist spectacles. They also function more prosaically as venues for environmental and cosmological consciousness-raising posing questions about life, death, judgement, and the final destiny of humankind. The paper examines how impact craters are compiled into an archive and epistemologically secured through spectacularizing grammars of astrophysics and geophysics that occlude situated knowledges and ontologies. A critical analysis of how craters are made visitable on-the-ground reveals important patterns of exclusion hidden behind apparently neutral and objective Western scientific frameworks of interpretation. Impact craters, understood as archives, show that just as meteorites are regularly made known through an astro-colonial gaze, the places marked by their landing, craters, are similarly subject to exclusionary re-coding. Nonetheless, they provide important opportunities to re-cast our planetary politics in more plural and inclusive ways.
