Geomagnetic Variations Observed on the Earth’s Surface and Associated with Strong Earthquakes

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The intensification of geomagnetic variations due to a number of strong remote earthquakes is studied using a chain of ground-based...     

On the Geomagnetic Variations Observed on the Earth’s Surface in the Period Range of Planetary Waves

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The spectra of geomagnetic variations calculated in the period range close to planetary waves—5, 10, and 16 days—are analyzed. The...     

Reversals of the Geomagnetic Field: Constraint on Convection Intensity in the Earth’s Core

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Modern geodynamo models allow the generation of a magnetic field without reversals and with frequent reversals. The transition from one regime to another is associated...     

Towards a More Realistic Depiction of the Earth’s Surface on Maps

In 2000, the shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) produced the most complete, highest resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the Earth. These data were used to create global 3″ DEM and to correct 30″ DEM which are both available on the internet. After a careful survey in the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Poland, these elevation data were recognized as extremely valuable and worth developing a unique form of visualization. As a result, a new design of a physical map of Europe at scale of 1:10 million was developed. For depicting the shape of the terrain, an original modification of combined shaded relief was employed, to reveal all the nuances of elevation data. True colors of the Earth’s surface represented on the map originated from MODIS satellite image. The combination of true colors and terrain features made a realistic map, showing the landscapes as if from a point above the Earth. The image of the terrain is extremely detailed as it is based on the abundance of data defining the elevation of each point of land.     

Global Cloud Cover and the Earth’s Mean Surface Temperature

The well-known 11-year cycle in low cloud cover amount for Solar Cycle Number 22 and the trend with time for Solar Cycle Number 23 are interpreted as being due to similar changes, but of opposite phase, in the mean global surface temperature of the Earth. An analysis of cloud amounts in two higher altitude bands shows that they, and the surface temperature, are roughly in phase with each other. The suggested mechanism to explain this result is that a warming of the Earth’s surface causes low clouds to rise and to be reclassified in the next upper category. The energetics of the process are shown to be satisfactory for this to be the correct explanation.     

Studying the Dynamics of Cosmic Dust Flux on the Earth’s Surface from Peat Deposits

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Peat cores sampled from different climatic zones are studied. The petromagnetic and microprobe methods are used to find peat layers enriched with cosmic...     

Geomagnetic Field Variations Caused by the Processes Occurring at Different Depths in the Earth’s Crust and Upper Mantle

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The results of geomagnetic studies in the Tashkent and Fergana geodynamic test sites, Uzbekistan, are presented. Detail analysis of anomalous...     

Method for Determining the Ultimate Strain for Rocks of the Earth’s Crust from the Magnitude of Relative Slips on the Earth’s Surface after a Strong Earthquake

The ultimate strain value for rocks in aggregate with their other physicomechanical characteristics plays a substantial role when solving different problems related to the bearing capacity and behavior of soils. These include determination of the maximum displacement, velocity, and acceleration values of soils during earthquakes and estimation of the potential strain energy accumulated in a medium during strong earthquake preparation. The latter parameter is also key in predicting earthquakes from the ultimate strain of rocks. The paper describes a technique developed by the author for determining the ultimate strain of soil columns under natural conditions from their relative slope on the surface after a strong earthquake. The empirical dependences of the ultimate strain of rocks on earthquake magnitude, relative slip, rupture length, and the seismic moment are obtained by analyzing their values calculated by the proposed method for 44 strong earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.6–8.5. A comparative analysis of the ultimate strain values obtained by other researchers by geodesic triangulation is performed.     

Impact of Ponderomotive Forces on the Earth’s Magnetosphere

The theory of plasma density redistribution and polar wind acceleration acceleration under the affect on the magnetosphere of the ponderomotive forces induced by the ultra-low frequency electromagnetic waves is presented. Our attention is focused mainly on the important question about the necessity of experimental verification of fairly certain theoretical predictions. It is pointed out that experimental validation is not only necessary for the development of the theory but also for replenishing the knowledge about the structure and dynamics of the near-Earth space. An original method for indirect verification is presented. The idea of this method is based on the dependence of the foreshock locations on the orientation of the field lines of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in front of the magnetosphere relative to the plane of the geomagnetic equator.     

The Effects of the Earth’s Curvature on Gravity and Geoid Calculations

While it is obvious that large-scale gravity studies should account for the sphericity of the Earth, each case should be examined. If a geometry model is very large for the 3D-gravity calculation, it cannot be correctly defined in Cartesian coordinates. Because of the Earth’s curvature it is necessary to use spherical coordinates, the importance of which is shown in this paper. The calculation of the gravity for a cylinder reveals, 1 m above the center of the cylinder, a relative difference of 13% between the models with Cartesian and spherical coordinates.     

Possible impact of interplanetary and interstellar dust fluxes on the Earth’s climate

This article considers the process of entry of cosmic substance into the Earth’s atmosphere and the further evolution of the formed extraterrestrial aerosol. It is shown that meteorite-derived aerosol generated in the atmosphere may affect the Earth’s climate in two ways: (a) particles of meteoric haze may serve as condensation nuclei in the troposphere and stratosphere; (b) charged meteor particles residing in the mesosphere may markedly change (by a few percent) the total atmospheric resistance and, thereby, affect the global current circuit. Changes in the global electric circuit, in turn, may influence cloud formation processes. The obtained results argue for the fact that the meteoric dust in the Earth’s atmosphere is potentially one of the important climate-forming agents. It is shown that the amount of interstellar dust in the Earth’s atmosphere is too small to have a considerable affect on atmospheric processes.     

Influence of Total Solar Irradiance on the Earth’s Climate

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The results of analysis of variations in the total solar irradiance in the 17–24th solar activity cycles and their relation to the climate global warming are...     

Global Plate Motions and Their Impact on the Earth＇s Surface Area Change

Based on their Euler poles,we calculated the relative velocities between every two plates in the typical global plate motion models,respectively,and estimated the area change along these boundaries. In our calculations,plates on both sides accommodated area changes depending on the boundary types: extensional, convergent or transform, so we can estimate area change of each plate and then globally. Our preliminary results show that the area of the southern hemisphere increased while that of the northern hemisphere decreased over the past 1 million years,and global area has increased by 26,000km2 to 36,000km2,which corresponds to the 160m～250m increment on the Earth's radius if all these area increments are attributed to Earth's expansion. Taking the NUVEL-1 model as an example,of the 14 plates in this model,11 are decreasing,but the global area has increased because of the larger increment amount from Africa,North America and Antarctica. Finally,we also discussed factors affecting the global area change such as subduction zone retreating and back-arc spreading.     

Thermal Regime of the Earth’s Lithosphere and the Mantle: Geothermal Studies at IPE RAS

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - This paper is devoted to the historical development of geothermal research in the former Soviet Union. The history of the Laboratory of geothermics at the...     

Atmospheric Broadband Model for Computation of Solar Radiation at the Earth’s Surface. Application to Mediterranean Climate

—This paper deals with a new broadband atmospheric model designed for predicting the total and diffuse solar radiation incident on the earth’s surface in medium or large-sized coastal or near-coastal cities, under a clear or cloudy sky. The revised solar spectrum is used. The atmospheric transmittance of each atmospheric parameter contributing to solar radiation depletion, water vapor, ozone, uniformly mixed gases, molecules and aerosols, is calculated using parameterized expressions resulting from integrated spectral transmittance functions. The beam and diffuse radiation components are obtained as a function of the specific atmospheric transmittances. The model requires the following parameters as inputs: total water vapor and ozone amount in a vertical column, sunshine duration and the surface albedo. The model has been used for validation purposes at two stations with slightly different characteristics (NOA and Penteli) in the Athens basin, where total and diffuse radiation measurements are available, for a period of 34 months for NOA and 23 for Penteli. The NOA station is located on a small hill (107 m a.m.s.l.) near the center of Athens, while the Penteli station (500 m a.m.s.l.) is situated in a relatively less polluted area in northern Athens. The clear sky part of the model was tested for 70 individual “clear” days with 2-minute intervals, while the whole model was checked with monthly “mean” days and mean hourly values. A close agreement between the calculated and the measured values of total and diffuse solar radiation is observed.     

Properties and origin of energetic particles at the duskside of the Earth’s magnetosheath throughout a great storm

We study an interval of 56 h on January 16 to 18, 1995, during which the GEOTAIL spacecraft traversed the duskside magnetosheath from X ≅ −15 to −40 R_E and the EPIC/ICS and EPIC/STICS sensors sporadically detected tens of energetic particle bursts. This interval coincides with the expansion and growth of a great geomagnetic storm. The flux bursts are strongly dependent on the magnetic field orientation. They switch on whenever the B_z component approaches zero (B_z ≅ 0 nT). We strongly suggest a magnetospheric origin for the energetic ions and electrons streaming along these “exodus channels”. The time profiles for energetic protons and “tracer” O⁺ ions are nearly identical, which suggests a common source. We suggest that the particles leak out of the magnetosphere all the time and that when the magnetosheath magnetic field connects the spacecraft to the magnetotail, they stream away to be observed by the GEOTAIL sensors. The energetic electron fluxes are not observed as commonly as the ions, indicating that their source is more limited in extent. In one case study the magnetosheath magnetic field lines are draped around the magnetopause within the YZ plane and a dispersed structure for peak fluxes of different species is detected and interpreted as evidence for energetic electrons leaking out from the dawn LLBL and then being channelled along the draped magnetic field lines over the magnetopause. Protons leak from the equatorial dusk LLBL and this spatial differentiation between electron and proton sources results in the observed dispersion. A gradient of energetic proton intensities toward the Z_GSM= 0 plane is inferred. There is a permanent layer of energetic particles adjacent to the magnetosheath during this interval in which the dominant component of the magnetic field was B_z.     

Monitoring the Processes of Interseismic Accumulation and Coseismic Release of Stresses in the Medium Nearby Earthquake Sources Based on the Analysis of Tidal Response of the Earth’s Surface

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The Global Seismographic Network (GSN) incorporating more than 150 seismic stations all over the world allows recording not only...