Compositional heterogeneity of distal tephra deposits from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, Alaska

Physical and chemical analyses of distal tephra from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, Alaska, show considerable variations in glass and mineral compositions. A combination of a 150°C range in temperature deduced from iron-titanium oxide geothermometry, and curved patterns in bivariant element plots of glass compositions indicate that a chamber of compositionally zoned magma existed prior to the eruption. Magma-mixing cannot explain these features. The magma chamber may have resembled the model recently proposed by McBirney (1980). A highly silicic, quartz-phyric magma with mean phenocryst compositions of An₂₅ plagioclase, Fs₄₂ orthopyroxene, at a temperature of 880°C and a water pressure of 1.4 kbar, was located above a more mafic, hotter magma, bearing phenocrysts of An₄₅ plagioclase and Fs₃₅, orthopyroxene.Our results on distal tephras compare favorably with those from a recently completed study at source by Hildreth (1983), suggesting that useful petrologic information about distant volcanoes can be obtained from both types of deposits. Compositionally heterogeneous abyssal tephra layers are common in the Gulf of Alaska. Eruptions from chambers of zoned magma may account for many of these layers.     

Compositional time series analysis for Air Pollution Index data

The increasing importance of understanding the structure of Air Pollution Index (API) makes it necessary to come out with a compositional of API based on its pollutants. This will be more comprehensible for the public and easier to cooperate with authorities in reducing the causes of air pollution. Since five pollutants contribute in determining the API values, API can be shown as a compositional data. This study is conducted based on the data of API and its pollutants collected from Klang city in Malaysia for the period of January 2005 to December 2014. The proportion of each pollutant in API is considered as a component with five components in a compositional API. The existence of zero components in some pollutants, that have no effect on API, is a serious problem that prevents the application of log-ratio transformation. Thus, the approach of amalgamation has been used to combine the components with zero in order to reduce the number of zeros. Also, a multiplicative replacement has been utilized to eliminate the zero components and replace them with a small value that maintains the ratios of nonzero components. Transforming the compositional data to log-ratio coordinates has been done using the additive log ratio transformation, and the transformed series is then modeled by using a VAR model. Four criteria are used to determine the number of lags p of VAR(p) and these are: the Akaike Information, the Schwartz, the Hannan–Quinn and the Final Prediction Error criteria. Based on the results, A VAR (1) model with no constants or trend is considered as the best fitted model and it is used to forecast 12 months ahead. In addition, API values are mainly determined by PM₁₀ that has a proportion close to one most of the time during study period. Therefore, authorities and researchers need to study the sources of PM₁₀ and provide the public with useful information and alternatives in term of reducing the air pollution.     

The ionospheric response to the acoustic signal from submarine earthquakes according to the GPS data

The ionospheric response to the transit of acoustic waves from a number of the strongest submarine earthquakes with magnitudes M _w ≥ 7.7, which occurred during the past few years, is analyzed. The amplitude of the response in the detrended TEC is studied as a function of the magnitude and vertical component of the surface deformation. It is shown that the geomagnetic field can significantly modulate the shape of the ionospheric response, depending on whether the perturbation propagates equatorward or polarward.     

不同地震台站水管倾斜仪数据资料对比分析

通过对呼和浩特地震台与包头地震台DSQ型水管倾斜仪的观测环境、仪器安装运行情况及2015—2017年观测资料的观测精度、稳定性、连续性和可靠性等方面进行对比,做出质量评定,运用多种处理方法进行了系统计算和分析。使用维尼迪柯夫调和分析得出M₂波潮汐因子均方差质量指标,得出内在质量精度。应用契比雪夫多项式对年度观测资料拟合分析,从而得出仪器的相对噪声水平,进行两台指标对比分析。对台站地形变观测资料前兆观测系统做出正确的认识和客观的评价,为今后的地震前兆研究和预测具有重要的实际意义。      

Deep structure of the East European platform according to seismic data

The paper presents a review and analysis of new seismic data related to the structure of the mantle beneath the East European platform. Analysis of observations of long-range profiles revealed pronounced differences in the structure of the lower lithosphere beneath the Russian plate and the North Caspian coastal depression. The highest P-velocities found at depths around 100 km are in the range 8.4–8.5 km s^?1. Deep structure of the Baltic shield is different from the structures of both these regions. No evidence of azimuthal anisotropy in the upper mantle was found. A distribution of P-velocity in the upper mantle and in the transition zone consistent with accurate travel-time data was determined. The model involves several zones of small and large positive velocity gradients in the upper mantle, rapid increases of velocity near 400 and 640 km depths and an almost constant positive velocity gradient between the 400 and 640 km discontinuities. The depth of the 640 km discontinuity was determined from observations of waves converted from P to SV in the mantle.     

Superlong-period oscillations of sunspots according to SOHO MDI data

The work is devoted to the study of the oscillation properties of the magnetic and velocity fields of sunspots with typical periods of up to about 10⁴ min. These oscillations were revealed at the beginning of the 1980s (Gopasyuk, 1981) but remain understudied. Using SOHO MDI data and a technique that allows for measurements of magnetic field H and the heliographic coordinates of sunspots φ and λ with higher accuracy than direct measurements of individual pixels, we have studied 72 sunspots observed on the Sun’s visible hemisphere during no less than 9–11 days (±60–70° from the central meridian) with a time resolution of 1 min. Estimates of random errors of a measurement give σ _H ≈ 60 Gs, σ_φ ≈ 0.055°, and σ_λ ≈ 0.050°. It is found that the main periods of the maximum superlong-period oscillations of sunspots are equal to eight days, according to earlier ground-based measurements. Space observations allow the effect of the Earth’s atmosphere to be totally eliminated; therefore, on the basis of recent data, one can conclude that long-period oscillations of sunspot parameters are a real Sun phenomenon.     

Analytical model of the near-Earth magnetopause according to the data of the Prognoz and Interball satellite data

Based on the magnetopause observations near the Earth by the Prognoz/Interball satellites in 1972–2000, the empirical model of this boundary has been proposed, and the magnetopause behavior at different parameters of the oncoming solar wind has been studied. For the first time, it has been detected that the Earth’s magnetopause is compressed by ∼5% in the direction perpendicular to the plane including the vectors of the solar wind velocity and IMF. At the same time, any dependence of the subsolar magnetopause position on the IMF B _z component has not been revealed in the Progrnoz/Interball data. The proposed magnetopause model can be used to model the position and shape of the near-Earth bow shock.     

Longitudinal variations in the daytime low-latitude ionosphere according to the data of topside sounding from the intercosmos-19 satellite

Using the data of the topside ionosphere sounding from the Intercosmos-19 satellite, longitudinal variations in foF2 at low latitudes at the daytime hours are considered. It is obtained that these variations in particular days in the majority of cases have a regular wave-like character with periods of about 75°–100° in longitude and amplitudes on the average of 2–4 MHz. In other words, along the valley and crests of the equatorial anomaly, a structure with four maximums and four minimums which have a tendency to be located near certain longitudes (the same in all seasons) is observed. The variations in foF2 along the crests of the equatorial anomaly are usually in anti-phase to variations along its valley. Comparing the characteristics of this wavelike structure at the daytime and nighttime hours, we obtained that the average positions of its extremes at the nighttime hours are shifted eastwards by 10°–50° relative to the daytime extremes. As a cause of formation of such a structure, high harmonics of atmospheric tides are assumed which, uplifting from below to heights of the E region, via the electric currents in this region influence the longitudinal structure of the electrodynamic plasma drift over the equator and by that impact the structure of the entire daytime low-latitude ionosphere.     

Studying large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances according to the data of oblique-incidence sounding

The morphological features of wave-like ionospheric disturbances with periods of 1–2 h and the spatial extent exceeding 1000 km are studied. Oblique-incidence sounding data of the ionosphere, obtained in eastern Siberia during several continuous monthly experiments on three radio paths from 2006 to 2010, have been used. Large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances generated during magnetic storms and large-scale wave-like ionospheric disturbances registered during geomagnetically quiet periods are considered. Small-scale ionospheric structures were also observed against a background of large-scale traveling iono-spheric disturbances considered in this study.     

Variations in the characteristics of acoustic gravity waves according to simulation data

The characteristics of different-scale acoustic gravity waves (wavelengths of 100–1200 km, periods of 10–50 min) under different geophysical conditions have been studied using a numerical model for calculating the vertical structure of these waves in a nonisothermal atmosphere in the presence of an altitudedependent background wind and in a situation when molecular dissipation is taken into account. It has been established that all considered acoustic gravity waves (AGWs) effectively reach altitudes of the thermosphere. The character of the amplitude vertical profile depends on the AGW scales. The seasonal and latitudinal differences in the AGW vertical structure depend on the background wind and temperature. A strong thermospheric wind causes the rapid damping of medium-scale AGWs propagating along the wind. Waves with long periods to a lesser degree depend on dissipation in the thermosphere and can penetrate to high altitudes. A change in the geomagnetic activity level affects the background wind vertical distribution at high latitudes, as a result of which the AGW vertical structure varies.     

Waveguide radio-wave propagation in the equatorial ionosphere according to the Interkosmos-19 data

Additional strongly remote (up to 2000 km) radio-signal reflection traces on Intercosmos-19 ionograms obtained in the equatorial ionosphere have been considered. These traces, as a rule, begin at frequencies slightly lower than the main trace cutoff frequencies, which indicates that an irregularity with a decreased plasma density exists here. The waveguide stretched along the magnetic-field line is such an inhomogeneity in the equatorial ionosphere. The ray tracing confirm that radio waves propagate in a waveguide and make it possible to determine the typical waveguide parameters: ?δN _e ≥ 10%, with a diameter of 15–20 km. Since the waveguide walls are smooth, an additional trace is always recorded distinctly even in the case in which main traces were completely eroded by strong diffusivity. Only one additional trace (of the radio signal X mode) is usually observed one more multiple trace is rarely recorded. Waveguides can be observed at all altitudes of the equatorial ionosphere at geomagnetic latitudes of ±40°. The formation of waveguides is usually related to the formation of different-scale irregularities in the nighttime equatorial ionosphere, which result in the appearance of other additional traces and spread F.     

Resonance of liquid core according to the data of tidal gravity observations in Talgar

The method of contrast separation of wavelets near the resonance frequency of liquid core is proposed, based on the elimination of principle waves from the series being analyzed with the subsequent automatic minimization of the noise level and with the repeated spectral analysis of the residual curve. The minimization of noise is achieved due to (1) the sliding spectral analysis with automatic step selection and (2) the automatic optimization of the shape of the window. It is shown that for the two-year-old series of observations already after the fourth-fifth iterations this method makes it possible to obtain stable values of the gravimetric factor for the Ψ₁ and Φ₁ waves with an uncertainty of 40% and 20% respectively, whereas the standard methods of spectral analysis enables one to obtain the same accuracy only for an appreciably longer time series (with a duration of no less than three-four years even for considerably less noisy data, obtained with the aid of cryogenic gravimeters).     

Short scale heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle: insights from PcP-P and ScS-S data

We compare lateral variations at the base of the mantle as inferred from a global dataset of PcP-P travel time residuals, measured on broadband records, and existing P and S tomographic velocity models, as well as ScS-S travel time data in some selected regions. In many regions, the PcP-P dataset implies short scale lateral variations that are not resolved by global tomographic models, except under eastern Eurasia, where data and models describe a broad region of fast velocity anomalies across which variations appear to be of thermal origin. In other regions, such as central America and southeastern Africa, correlated short scale lateral variations (several hundred kilometers) are observed in PcP and ScS, implying large but not excessive values for the ratio R=∂ ln V_s/∂ ln V_p (∼2.5). On the other hand, in at least two instances, in the heart of the African Plume and on the edge of the Pacific Plume, variations in P and S velocities appear to be incompatible, implying strong lateral gradients across compositionally different domains, possibly also involving topography on the core-mantle boundary. One should be cautious in estimating R at the base of the mantle from global datasets, as different smoothing and sampling of P and S datasets may result in strong biases and meaningless results.     

Theoretical analysis of thermomagnetic properties, low-temperature hysteresis and domain structure of titanomagnetites

Magnetic hysteresis of coarse-grained titanomagnetites at room temperature is characterised by low coercive force, low relative remanence, and a high ratio of coercivity of remanence to coercive force. These properties are generally interpreted in terms of multidomain structure. At low temperatures, however, ulvöspinel-rich compositions exhibit hysteresis properties similar to those of single-domain assemblages, and on this basis Radhakrishnamurty and Deutsch have proposed an alternative interpretation of the domain structure of titanomagnetites having x 0.3 in terms of a mixture of single-domain and superparamagnetic particles. Low apparent Curie temperatures are attributed to the effects of thermal agitation above the blocking temperature.

We have examined theoretically the effects of thermal agitation on the low- and high-field thermomagnetic curves and find that observed Curie temperatures in general represent an intrinsic property of the magnetic mineral present, rather than reflecting thermal agitation. The high coercive force and relative remanence at low temperatures for titanomagnetites having x > 0.5 can be explained on the basis of the interaction of domain walls with crystal defects when the large increases in magnetocrystalline anisotropy and magnetostriction with decreasing temperature are taken into account. We discuss the evidence for the existence of domain walls in coarse-grained ulvöspinel-rich titanomagnetites and conclude that multidomain structure is well established.

It is also shown that fine titanomagnetite grains may have more than one blocking temperature. In any temperature interval for which superparamagnetic grains are present they will disproportionately influence susceptibility and low-field hysteresis.     

Field-aligned currents of zones 1 and 2 in the magnetosphere according to the experimental data

The discrepancy between the model and measured magnetic fields, which can be described by the contribution of field-aligned currents, has been determined. The division of the initial data array into the individual data sets with different IMF values makes it possible to estimate the dependence of field-aligned currents on IMF.     

Paleoseismogenous deformations around ulan bator according to geological and geophysical data

The Gunzhin system of NE-trending active faults is described on the basis of results of special seis-motectonic studies carried out for the first time around Ulan Bator, Mongolia. This system crosses watershed parts of stream valley. It is named after one of them. The total length of the fault segment traced on aerial photos is 15–20 km. In valleys of some temporary stream flows there are considerable visible horizontal displacements attaining 20–25 m, which testify to the right lateral slip (Khundullun River). Revealed structural parageneses of thrusts and overthrusts, divergent as a fan-shaped system to the both sides from the axial sub-vertical shift zone, are reliably confirmed by the data of geophysical investigations. Taking into account the known correlation relationships between seismodislocation parameters (length and maximum displacement amplitude) and earthquake magnitudes, it is possible to suggest that the Gunzhin Fault generated two paleoearthquakes with the magnitude of about 7.0 in the Late Holocene. It means that displacements along that fault could attain the intensity of 9–10 degrees in the Ulan Bator territory according to the MSK-64 scale. This result must be taken into account in estimation of seismic hazard in the territory discussed.     

The effects of scene heterogeneity on soil moisture retrieval from passive microwave data

The τ–ω model of microwave emission from soil and vegetation layers is widely used to estimate soil moisture content from passive microwave observations. Its application to prospective satellite-based observations aggregating several thousand square kilometres requires understanding of the effects of scene heterogeneity. The effects of heterogeneity in soil surface roughness, soil moisture, water area and vegetation density on the retrieval of soil moisture from simulated single- and multi-angle observing systems were tested. Uncertainty in water area proved the most serious problem for both systems, causing errors of a few percent in soil moisture retrieval. Single-angle retrieval was largely unaffected by the other factors studied here. Multiple-angle retrievals errors around one percent arose from heterogeneity in either soil roughness or soil moisture. Errors of a few percent were caused by vegetation heterogeneity. A simple extension of the model vegetation representation was shown to reduce this error substantially for scenes containing a range of vegetation types.     

Velocity structure of the upper mantle of the East European platform according to seismic noise data

Cross-correlation functions of noise are constructed on 119 interstation paths from seismic noise records at stations of Eastern Europe. Dispersion curves of the group velocity of Rayleigh waves obtained from the cross-correlation functions are used for constructing the three-dimensional distribution of the velocity of transverse waves on the East European platform and in adjacent regions by methods of surface-wave tomography. The mean velocity in the crust is minimum in the region of the Caspian depression and Black Sea basin (<3.3 km/s) and maximum in the Baltic shield area (>3.7 km/s). The upper mantle beneath the Baltic and Ukrainian shields is characterized by increased velocity and the absence of the asthenospheric layer. Reduced velocities are noted in the upper mantle of the Black Sea basin. A low-velocity anomaly in the shape of a vertical column is revealed at depths of 200–300 km in the central part of the Dnieper-Donets aulacogen, which confirms the existence of a paleorift in this region.