Anomalous Decimeter Radio Noise from the Region of the Atmospheric Front: II. On the Nonthermal Mechanism of UHF Noise

The intensity and spectrum of nonthermal radiation from a cloud of oppositely charged drops as a possible explanation for the anomalous UHF radio noise originating from frontal clouds have been considered. It has been shown that the noise intensity is determined by the dimensions of charged particles and the particle electrification rate, which must equal 0.1–0.3 C/s km³. The radiation spectrum in the UHF range strongly depends on the resistance of microdischarge channels between drops. The frequency dependence of the radiation agrees with experimental data if R ≤ 377 Ω, i.e., if oscillations of the discharge current appear.     

Earthquake of February 3, 2016 in the Middle Baikal Region: Source Parameters and Macroseismic Effects

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - We study in detail the source parameters, seismotectonic position, and macroseismic effects of the February 3, 2016, earthquake that occurred in the...     

Seismic Effects and Anomalous Animal Behavior: Case Study of the September 21, 2020, Mw 5.5 Bystraya Earthquake (Southern Baikal Region)

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - In this article we consider the animal behavior caused by seismic effects of the relatively strong (Mw = 5.5) Bystraya earthquake of September...     

Acoustic monitoring of gas emissions from the seafloor. Part I: quantifying the volumetric flow of bubbles

Three decades of continuous ocean exploration have led us to identify subsurface fluid related processes as a key phenomenon in marine earth science research. The number of seep areas located on the seafloor has been constantly increasing with the use of multi-scale imagery techniques. Due to recent advances in transducer technology and computer processing, multibeam echosounders are now commonly used to detect submarine gas seeps escaping from the seafloor into the water column. A growing number of en-route surveys shows that sites of gas emissions escaping from the seafloor are much more numerous than previously thought. Estimating the temporal variability of the gas flow rate and volumes escaping from the seafloor has thus become a challenge of relevant interest which could be addressed by sea-floor continuous acoustic monitoring. Here, we investigate the feasibility of estimating the volumetric flow rates of gas emissions from horizontal backscattered acoustic signals. Different models based on the acoustic backscattering theory of bubbles are presented. The forward volume backscattering strength and the inversion volumetric flow rate solutions were validated with acoustic measurements from artificial gas flow rates generated in controlled sea-water tank experiments. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to investigate the behavior of the 120-kHz forward solution with respect to model input parameters (horizontal distance between transducer and bubble stream, bubble size distribution and ascent rate). The most sensitive parameter was found to be the distance of the bubble stream which can affect the volume backscattering strength by 20 dB within the horizontal range of 0–200 m. Results were used to derive the detection probability of a bubble stream for a given volume backscattering strength threshold according to different bubble flow rates and horizontal distance.     

Experimental study of the Rhone plume. Part I: physics and dynamics

The complicated dynamic processes occurring when fluvial waters mix with marine waters control the nature and the fluxes of materials exported by rivers to the sea. Understanding these processes is of primary importance in evaluating budgets. In wide-open estuarine situations these processes take place under the influence of an intense turbulence induced by tides. Conversely, the Rhone waters spread into the Mediterranean Sea in the form of an easily distinguishable buoyant plume often extending far offshore from the mouth of the river. The aim of this study is to describe the dynamic and hydrological fields on the basis of eulerian VHF radar mapping of surface currents coupled with lagrangian in situ physical or geochemical measurements. This paper focuses mainly on physical processes. Data analysis provides an insight into the typical scales of variability of the phenomena, either vertically or horizontally. It is shown that morphological fluctuations can occur (mainly in orientation and offshore extent) according to wind and outflow forcing conditions, and that the vertical structure variations can range from an almost unaltered two-layer distribution to an evolving and deepening mixed layer situation, or even to a more complex superimposed multi-layered structure. The simultaneous examination of radar maps and lagrangian drifter tracking allows the main dynamic tendencies of the Rhone plume to be sketched out.     

Kinetic simulation of hydrocarbon generation from lacustrine type I kerogen from the Songliao Basin: Model comparison and geological application

Eight lacustrine Type I kerogen samples from the Songliao Basin were pyrolyzed using the Rock-Eval equipment, and parallel first-order reaction models including the model with a single frequency factor and a discrete distribution of activation energies (SFF model) and the model with multiple frequency factors and a discrete distribution of activation energies (MFF model) were adopted to analyze kinetic characteristics of hydrocarbon generation of the Type I kerogen samples. The results show that the MFF and SFF models can satisfactory simulate hydrocarbon generation under laboratory conditions and the Type I kerogen shows relatively concentrated activation energy distributions (activation energies of MFF model range from 190 kJ/mol to 250 kJ/mol, activation energies of SFF model range from 220 kJ/mol to 240 kJ/mol), which indicates a homogeneous chemical bond structure of the Type I kerogen. The hydrocarbon generated curves from Type I kerogen were calculated by using the two models with a linear heating rate (3.3 K/Ma). It indicates that the hydrocarbon generation potentials (reaction fractions) are underestimated by using the SFF model during the kerogen thermal degradation for the components with chemical bond of lower and higher activation energies, while this problem can be avoided by using the MFF model. The calculated temperatures for 50% transformation ratio (TR) of all samples differ by as much as 20 °C. For the SFF model, the hydrocarbon generation curve obtained by using the weighted averaged kinetic parameters and the SFF model almost includes every curve calculated by using its own kinetic parameters. While the curve obtained by using the weighted averaged kinetic parameters and the MFF model cannot include every curve for all samples, it lies at the position of the averaged curve of all samples. The application of the MFF model in Songliao Basin shows that if TR 10% is taken as the onset of hydrocarbon generation, the threshold depth of hydrocarbon generation is about 1700 m, which is consistent with other geochemical parameters, such as S₁/TOC, S₁/(S₁ + S₂) and HC/TOC.     

An Inshore Poleward Current in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula Detected from Satellite Images, and its Relation withG. catenatum and D. acuminata Blooms in the Galician Rias

Toxic Gymnodinium catenatum blooms usually occur in the Galician Rias at the end of the upwelling season, which necessitates a ban on harvesting shellfish extraction, with subsequent economic losses for this sector. One of the possible causes cited in the literature is the advection of populations from outside the area but no evidence was available to substantiate this.Oceanographic conditions at the end of the upwelling season in the NW coast of the Iberian Peninsula (39°–43°N) have been studied for the years 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1998. Sea surface temperature data from satellite images, wind data, drifter tracks and in situ oceanic data from the Galician Rias have been combined to clarify the oceanographic structures in the area at the commencement of the blooms. On the inner shelf, an inshore poleward current advecting warm water has been identified after the cessation of upwelling. On the middle and outer shelf, a tongue of cold water as a remnant of the previous upwelling continued to move southward. On the slope and offshore, the poleward counter current reported by several authors was detected carrying warm oceanic water northwards.It is suggested that the inshore poleward current, not previously reported in the literature, could advect initial populations of dinoflagellates to the Rias from northern Portuguese waters. This would explain why blooms such as G. catenatum have been found usually in Portuguese waters several weeks before the Galician Rias, showing an apparent northward movement, but cells of this toxic dinoflagellate species have not been found in waters of the offshore poleward counter current.     

Estimating biomass of phytoplankton in the Jiaozhou Bay I. Phytoplankton biomass estimated from cell volume and plasma volume

I~IOXPhytoplankton is the doAnnant primary producer O'f the pelagic realm, converting inorganicmaterials (e. g., nitrate, phosphate) into new organic compounds (e. g., proteins, lipids) by theprocess of photosynthesis and thereby starting the marine food chain (Lalli and Parsons, 1993).Historically, phytoplankton abundance has primarily been measured and expressed as cellnumbers based on enumeration of the phytoplankton in an aliquot of the sample. Such measurements have established four ba…     

Allochthonous salt, structure and stratigraphy of the north-eastern Gulf of Mexico. Part I: Stratigraphy

Major sequence boundaries associated with eustatic sea level changes are correlated to the general stratigraphy of the north-eastern Gulf of Mexico. The details of a Middle Cretaceous Flooding Surface, marking a major break in sedimentation, are documented. The sequence stratigraphic work provides an example of the ‘stratigraphic signature of the Neogene’. Three major episodes of sediment accumulation are represented by: (1) Late Jurassic (150.5 Ma) to Middle Cretaceous (94 Ma) aggradation and progradation of sediments with significant sediment accumulation in the present shelf and slope areas; (2) an extended period of starved sedimentation during 94-30 Ma corresponding to Middle Cretaceous flooding events (93.5 and 91.5 Ma) and the lack of sediment supply; and (3) since Late Oligocene time, unusually rapid sedimentation rates that characterize the deep water study area. These patterns of sediment accumulation directly affect the formation of allochthonous salt in the study area.     

西太平洋富钴结壳矿物学和地球化学特征——以麦哲伦海山和马尔库斯-威克海山富钴结壳为例

本文对分别取自西太平洋麦哲伦海山和马尔库斯-威克海山的两块富钴结壳进行了系统的矿物学和地球化学特征的研究,运用XRD、ICP-AES(MS)等测试技术分析了结壳的矿物物相组成、主微量元素和稀土元素的组成和赋存相态,并在此基础上探讨了结壳的成因类型及成矿物质来源。研究表明,结壳主要由锰、铁相矿物组成,其中锰相矿物主要为水羟锰矿,含少量钡镁锰矿及钠水锰矿,铁相矿物为针铁矿及隐晶质-非晶质相;两结壳样品的Mn、Fe、Co、Cu、Ni平均值与中太平洋及西北太平洋富钴结壳相比基本相当,分别是20.08%和19.01%、16.28%和16.52、0.68%和0.64%、0.15%和0.09%、0.34%和0.39%,但Mn/Fe比值均偏低;∑REE平均值分别为2 182.89×10-6和1 367.29×10-6,其中,麦哲伦海山结壳的稀土元素平均值明显比中太平洋及西北太平洋结壳高,而马尔库斯-威克海山结壳则略低;LREE/HREE平均值分别为10.14和7.67,均富集轻稀土,同时具有不同程度的Ce,Gd,Ho正异常和Y的负异常。相态分析结果显示,样品中Mn、Ni、Ba、Co、Cu、Zn、Sr、Ti、REE等元素主要赋存在锰相中,Fe、Al、Pb等元素则主要赋存在非晶质和结晶质铁相中;两结壳样品均属于水成成因,未受明显成岩作用和磷酸盐化作用的影响。     

Progressive deformation of an evaporite-bearing accretionary complex: SeaMARC I,SeaBeam and piston-core observations from the Mediterranean Ridge

The Mediterranean Ridge is an arcuate ridge of deformed sediment caught up in the convergent plate margin between the African plate and the Aegean. An intensive campaign of SeaMARC I and SeaBeam surveys followed by piston coring has been conducted along the contact between undeformed turbidites of the Sirte Abyssal Plain and folded and faulted sediments of the Mediterranean Ridge. Along the outer edge of the Ridge, surficial sediments have been deformed into sinusoidal ridges and troughs (wavelengths 0.5–2 km, amplitude 20–150 m), which we interpret as folds. In plan view, the ridge and the trough fabric parallels the NW-SE trending regional contours, suggesting that the folds formed in response to compression orthogonal to the Mediterranean Ridge. The outermost ridge is shedding a debris apron out onto the abyssal plain, implying that uplift and deformation are ongoing. We show that the geometry of the outermost folds can be produced by elastic bending of a packet of 5–10 relatively strong layers, each 10–20 m thick, interbedded between weaker layers; we equate the strong layers with gypsum beds in the Messinian upper evaporites. Folding the seafloor from a flat layer into the observed ridge and trough topography would shorten the layer by less than 2%. Two percent shortening (equals two percent thickening) is insufficient to create the observed relief of the Mediterranean Ridge even if the entire sediment column down to basement were involved; we infer that additional shortening/thickening is accommodated by thrust faulting above a decollement at the top of the Messinian salt layer. At distances > 15 km from the deformation front and more than 500 m from the abyssal plain, sharp-edged, fine-grained side-scan lineations with very little vertical relief cut across the kilometer-scale ridge and trough topography. These fine-grained lineations fall in two groups trending N/S to NNE/SSW and ~ENE. We interpret these lineaments as traces of conjugate strike-slip faults formed in the same compressional regime which formed the NW/SE trending folds. The onset of strike-slip faulting may coincide with the cessation of imbricate thrust fan development above the initial salt-controlled decollement surface. The following characteristics of the Mediterranean Ridge are attributed to the presence of evaporites in the incoming sedimentary section: (1) initial deformation by folding rather than thrust faulting; (2) narrow taper; (3) rapid rate of outward growth; (4) karstification.     

Experimental Studies of Aerosols in the Atmosphere of Semiarid Landscapes of Kalmykia: 1. Microphysical Parameters and Mass Concentration of Aerosol Particles

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - This paper summarizes the results of long-term (2004–2016) comprehensive experimental studies of microphysical parameters and the mass...     

Studies in seawater and lake water on interactions of trace metals with humic substances isolated from marine and estuarine sediments: I. Characterisation of humic substances

Two humic acids, HAL and HAN, isolated from marine sediments (Adriatic and Norwegian Sea) and humic (HAM) and fulvic (FAM) acids isolated from an estuarine sediment (Mahakam, Borneo) were characterized.The following characteristics: carbon content, hydrophobicity, degree of condensation and the content of aliphatic groups, are most pronounced for HAN, less pronounced for HAL and the least pronounced for HAM. The abundance of trace metals in the humic acids decreases in the following order: Al > Cu > Zn > Pb > Cd.Fulvic acid (FAM) has a lower carbon and a higher oxygen content than humic acids. It is hydrophilic and hardly any aliphatic groups were recorded. At pH 7 the predominant fraction of FAM has the apparent molecular weight of 20 000 daltons while the humic acids are of higher molecular weight.     

A survey on Hydroidomedusae from the upwelling region of southern part of the Taiwan Strait of ChinaⅠ.On new species and records of Anthomedusae

Through the examination of 377 samples of the Anthomedusae, eight new species and one new record are described.     

Mathematical Modeling of Climate,Dynamics Atmosphere and Ocean: to the 95th Anniversary of G. I. Marchuk and the 40th Anniversary of the INM RAS

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Introductory article on the issue of the journal Izvestiya RAN, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, 2020, vol. 56, no. 3 dedicated to the 40th anniversary...