Spread <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis> in the Midlatitude Ionosphere According to DPS-4 Ionosonde Data

The results of studying spread F obtained from the DPS-4 ionosonde data at the observatory of the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation (Moscow) are presented. The methodical questions that arise during the study of a spread F phenomenon in the ionosphere are considered; the current results of terrestrial observations are compared with previously published data and the results of sounding onboard an Earth-satellite vehicle. The automated algorithm for estimation of the intensity of frequency spread F, which was developed by the authors and was successfully verified via comparison of the data of the digisonde DPS-4 and the results of manual processing, is described. The algorithm makes it possible to quantify the intensity of spread F in megahertz (the dFs parameter) and in the number of points (0, 1, 2, 3). The strongest spread (3 points) is shown to be most likely around midnight, while the weakest spread (0 points) is highly likely to occur during the daytime. The diurnal distribution of a 1–2 point spread F in the winter indicates the presence of additional maxima at 0300–0600 UT and 1400–1700 UT, which may appear due to the terminator. Despite the large volume of processed data, we can not definitively state that the appearance of spread F depends on the magnetic activity indices Kp, Dst, and AL, although the values of the dFs frequency spread interval strongly increased both at day and night during the magnetic storm of March 17–22, 2015, especially in the phase of storm recovery on March 20–22.     

Geological Conditions of the Formation and Dissociation of Gas Hydrates in the Sea of Okhotsk: Tectonic and Genetic Aspects

Lithology and Mineral Resources - The paper is dedicated to gas hydrate fields and active underwater gas seeps found in the Sea of Okhotsk. The study of geological conditions of the generation and...     

Distant earthly reflections on ionograms of the intercosmos-19 satellite

Complex ionograms from the Intercosmos-19 satellite with strongly delayed and sometimes multiple reflections from the Earth are considered. An analysis shows that these reflections are usually associated with sharp horizontal gradients of the ionospheric plasma. Such gradients are formed on the walls of the main ionospheric trough, at peaks of electron density, and on the inner and, especially frequently, on the outer slope of the crest of the equatorial anomaly. In one case, distant reflections from the Earth (DREs) formed near the equator, when the satellite in perigee was lower than the F2-layer maximum height. A quantitative interpretation of the most typical cases of DREs is given based on ray tracing. For this purpose, the model of the ionosphere under the satellite is developed, ray paths are calculated, and model ionograms are formed. The good agreement between experimental and model ionograms allows us to conclude that the task of interpreting complicated ionograms obtained by Intercosmos-19 with DRE has been solved successfully.     

Integrated Geological–Geophysical and Oceanographic Research in the South China Sea: Cruise 88 of the R/V “Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev”

Oceanology - Abstract—The paper gives brief results of comprehensive studies in the South China Sea obtained from a joint Russian–Vietnamese expedition in November 2019 (cruise 88 of...     

Large-volume platinum ore deposits in zonal mafic-ultramafic complexes of the Ural-Alaskan type and the outlook for their development

The results of mineralogical-technological studies of PGM mineralization in zonal mafic-ultramafic complexes of the Ural-Alaskan type are given. All studied massifs in the Urals and Kamchatka are characterized by similar evolution of mineral assemblages. The chromite (platinum-chromitite-dunite) and dunite (platinum-pegmatoid dunite) geological-economic types of small platinum deposits and occurrences are separate enriched sites (ore shoots) of large-volume platinum ore deposits. These are rather thick and extended zones of recrystallized dunites with attributes of high-temperature structural deformations and intense fluid reworking. Low Pt grade in ore (<0.5 gpt) is determined by fine and very fine (grain size class — 80 μm) euhedral PGM crystals distributed rather uniformly in ore mass. The high and occasionally anomalous Pt contents (up to 1 kgpt and higher) are related to large xenomorphic segregations of PGM, which concentrate largely in the marginal parts of separate chromite segregations. The significant part of productive Pt-bearing mineralization is hosted in olivine matrix of igneous rocks, so that recovery of platinum cannot be associated only with separation of chromite ore. The direct gravity concentration of platinum ore without preliminary separation of chromite concentrate is recommended as the main technique of platinum recovery. The technological scheme provides for two-stage comminution of ore with between-cycle separation of coarse the PGM fraction into the concentrate as a commodity product. The results obtained allow us to regard the aforementioned mineralization as a new geological and economic type of lode platinum deposits, whose potential is comparable with active platinum reserves in the complex Cu-Ni ores of the Noril’sk district.     

Possibilities of X-band nautical radars for monitoring of wind waves near the coast

We present the results of development and testing of a coastal X-band radar system for monitoring wind waves and currents at the Black Sea (near Gelendzhik) created on the basis of nautical radars. Radar measurements of wave heights were validated by data from a wave buoy and a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The conditions for successful radar measurements of waves in the coastal environment have been determined. It was shown that a radar with an aperture 1° could successfully measure wave heights at a distance of 1.2 km from the radar, when waves arrive at an angle of ±31° to the main sensing direction. In this case, for wave height measurements, the correlation coefficient between the radar and independent data is 0.82 and the standard deviation is 0.26 m.     

Detection of a large-scale irregularity in the region of the main ionospheric trough according to the data of topside sounding on board the Intercosmos-19 satellite

Complicated ionograms of topside sounding on board the Intercosmos-19 satellite, which were registered on November 26, 1980, in the dusk sector (1800 LT) at the latitudes of the equatorward wall (55°–62° ILAT) of the main ionospheric trough (MIT), are analyzed. They are characterized by the presence of two extra traces at distances larger than the main traces. Approaching the MIT minimum, all traces become more scattered, converge, and join into one strongly diffusive trace. An attempt of interpretation of the complicated ionograms on the basis of trajectory calculations performed by the method of characteristics in the “complex” two-dimensional version (in two mutually intersecting planes) is undertaken. The modeling shows that the extra traces could be related to the presence of a large-scale irregularity stretched along the geomagnetic meridian at the equatorward wall of the MIT. The calculations make it possible to estimate the parameters of the irregularity: the intensity is δfoF2 ∼ 30%, the length is several hundred kilometers, the semi-thickness is 50–60 km, and the height is 350 km. The possible formation causes of the irregularity are discussed. The intensification of the diffuseness of all traces is related to the increase in the intensity of small-scale irregularities, which is usually observed when approaching the MIT minimum.     

Formation of methane concentration and electromagnetic-field anomalies in southwestern Peter the Great Gulf (Sea of Japan)

We report methane concentrations in the bottom water layer and the upper layer of bottom sediments and the results of acoustic explorations of methane seeps on the shelf bordering the continental slope of the Sea of Japan region, in which electromagnetic Schumann’s resonance oscillations were earlier recorded at continental-slope water depths of 500, 1000, and 2000 m. The occurrence of Schumann’s resonances at such great depths is explained by an increase (a factor of more than 25) in the electrical resistivity of a ~ 2000 m thick sediment layer with the pore space largely filled with free methane. A new method is proposed for determining the depth of the sources of anomalous concentrations of methane in bottom sediments or in the bottom water layer on a deep shelf. The method is based on recording Schumann’s resonances during measurements of the natural electric field at a series of increasing depths in areas bordering the continental slope.     

Pearl diffuse structures on ionograms of Intercosmos-19 associated with irregularities of the low-latitude ionosphere

Unusual complex ionograms obtained by the Intercosmos-19 satellite are considered, in which four diffuse clouds with a characteristic shape are strung like pearls on the main path of the reflected signal. Ray tracing has been used to show that they are associated with 26 layers of irregularities located at altitudes from hmFs2 up to ~900 km. The sizes of the irregularities range from a few kilometers to 100 kilometers, and the intensity of δNe reaches 100%. The heights of irregular layers increase towards the equator, together with a rise of the F2 layer, and are not associated with magnetic field lines. Complex ionograms have been observed on the outer slope and at the top of the crest of the equatorial anomaly. They are probably caused by the processes occurring in the equatorial ionosphere.