Type-II Spicules as Important Sources of Both Heating and Sustain the Mass Loss of Solar Corona

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Heat fluxes from hot open magnetic flux tubes into the surrounding corona as a possible source of corona heating are determined. In order to compensate for radiation and...     

Linear weathering crusts in the upper Amur region

The upper Amur region comprises weathering crusts (waste mantle developed at copper-nickel sulfide deposits included), which appreciably hamper the prospecting for such deposits. In order to develop their prospecting criteria, the composition of linear weathering crusts above a nickeliferous cortlandite dike and barren pyroxenite dike, as well as in the fracture zone above metamorphic rocks, was investigated. The chemical composition of material in the weathering crust and the mineral composition of newly formed clay fractions and heavy concentrate were determined. It was established that weathering crust in the nickeliferous cortlandite dike is characterized by the prevalence of fine jarosite fraction with crystobalite admixture. The heavy concentrate samples contain jarosite along with a small amount of relict sulfides (pyrite and galena) and native gold. These criteria can be used in the prospecting for copper-nickel sulfide mineralization in the upper Amur region and other similar regions.     

Structural features of the subauroral ionosphere during the origination of the polarization jet

Narrow jets of rapid westward ion drifts were registered near the plasmapause projection at the F-region altitudes on the Cosmoc-184 satellite and were called “a polarization jet.” In this work, the effect of this polarization jet on the ionospheric structure has been studied, using a three-dimensional model of the high-latitude ionosphere, when strong local magnetospheric electric fields were originated. The calculations indicated that a narrow trough in the latitudinal variations in the electron density at the F-region maximum was formed in the zone where the electric field was switched on. This trough was more pronounced in the early evening hours, when the electron background density was still high, and was less distinct at low back-ground levels during premidnight hours. A comparison of the calculations and experimental data indicated that they were in good agreement with one another, which made it possible to state that the polarization jet was the main mechanism by which narrow electron density troughs were formed in the subauroral ionosphere.     

Pulsations of non-thermal emissions from the solar flare of November 5, 1992 and the trap-plus-precipitation model

The fine structure of the time variations of microwave and hard X-ray emissions from the solar flare of November 5, 1992 was analyzed. On the basis of the wavelet analysis, pulsations of intensity with a period of about 6 s were revealed in both the data sets. The observed time delay between the coronal plasma emission measure maximum and the temperature maximum is consistent with the concept of chromospheric evaporation. The anticorrelation observed between the time profiles of the microwave and hard X-ray emissions and the nature of the time delays between the peaks are associated with the excitation of radial fast magneto-acoustic oscillations in the flare loop (a coronal trap). Consequences of the obtained results are discussed.     

Ballooning Instability in Coronal Flare Loops

Within the framework of ideal magnetohydrodynamics the excitation of the ballooning instability in a toroidal coronal loop with a radius of cross section a and a radius of curvature R is analyzed by using the energy method. Kink oscillations are able to excite the ballooning instability when the plasma beta parameter β>2a/R. It has been suggested that this can result in the formation of cusp-shaped coronal loops. Modulation of gyrosynchrotron emission caused by kink oscillations is considered. The intensity of gyrosynchrotron emission for optically thin sources is the most sensitive to Alfvén disturbances. The obtained theoretical results are discussed in the light of Yohkoh, SOHO, TRACE, RHESSI, and Nobeyama observations.     

Observations of internal undular bores on the Japan/East Sea shelf-coastal region

Observations are presented of internal undular bores (IUBs) on the Japan/East Sea coast. We found three types of IUB amplitude modulation functions. The first type (IUB₁) has a leading edge, which is formed by the soliton with maximal amplitude. The second type (IUB₂) has a soliton with maximal amplitude (SMA) located between the leading and trailing edges. The third type (IUB₃) consists of 2–3 solitons, which have identical amplitudes. The evolution of the IUB₂ from the moment of generation to the moment of maximal development was analyzed. The speed of the IUB₂ approached to the phase speed of linear internal waves with a period of 12.4 h. The amplitude modulation function of the IUB₂ is believed to be unique in ocean observations. Observations are discussed in the context of recently raised hypotheses concerning the evolution of IUBs in the coastal environment.     

Behavior of mercury in the supergene zone of geothermal deposits,southern Kamchatka

Mercury distribution was determined in all types of solid materials from the supergene zone of geothermal deposits in southern Kamchatka: rocks, hydrothermally altered rocks (metasomatic rocks), soils, soil—pyroclastic cover, bottom sediments of perennial and intermittent streams, hydrothermal clays, artificial siliceous precipitates, and iron sulfides formed owing to thermal water discharge from a well. The mercury content varies from background values for the Kurile-Kamchatka region in fresh rocks to high and extremely high values in hydrothermal clays and monomineralic pyrite samples. The sources, migration conditions, and concentration mechanisms of mercury were evaluated. Mercury is supplied to the surface of geothermal deposits and thermal fields by a deep hydrothermal flow and is concentrated on thermodynamic barriers in hydrothermal clays, siliceous sinters (silica gel), and soils showing high salinity owing to the deposition in them of silica, sulfates, and other compounds from a vapor-water mixture. Newly formed clay minerals, iron sulfides (pyrite), silica gel, and biological materials (peat) can probably efficiently sorb mercury under geothermal conditions at atmospheric pressure and temperatures from 20°C to 120°C.