Multiscale Intermittency and Avalanching in Nature and Simulations

Vadim M. Uritsky

Institute for Space Research, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB Canada

I present a novel approach for quantifying multiscale intermittency in complex natural systems. The method is based on spatiotemporal decomposition of a continuum time-dependent turbulent field into a set of discrete dissipation events. The approach is illustrated by a variety of examples, including flaring activity in the solar corona, electron precipitation dynamics in the auroral zone, and bursty magnetic energy transport in turbulent MHD simulations. In each of these applications, the proposed intermittency measures provide significant new information about the scaling regimes, predictability, correlation patterns and the underlying thermodynamic states of the studied systems.