Space weather hazards and their impact on human cardio-health state parameters on Earth

Recent multi-disciplinary heliobiological and biometeorological researches reveal that the human organism is sensitive to environmental physical activity changes and reacts to them through variations of the physiological parameters of the human body. In this study, electrocardiograms of functionally healthy persons, who were digitally registered at the Laboratory of Heliobiology located in the Medical Centre INAM (Baku, Azerbaijan), were studied in relation to different levels of cosmic ray activity and geomagnetic field disturbances. In total, 1,673 daily digital data of heart rate values and time series of beat-to-beat heart rate intervals (RR intervals) were registered for the time period July 15, 2006?CMarch 31, 2008, which includes the period of December 2006, when intense cosmic ray events and strong geomagnetic disturbances occurred. The statistical significance of the influence of geomagnetic activity levels and cosmic ray intensity variations on heart rate and RR intervals was estimated. Results revealed that heart rate increase and RR intervals variations were more pronounced for high levels of geomagnetic activity and large cosmic ray intensity decreases, whereas very small or even minimum cosmic ray intensity variations did not affect heart rate dynamics. Moreover, heart rate increased on the days before, during and after geomagnetic storms with high intensities and on the days preceding, and following cosmic ray intensity decreases.     

Analysis of causes for the beryllium-10 variations in deep sea sediments

A critical evaluation of the available ¹⁰Be data shows that its concentration of marine sediments appears to be affected by climate, cosmic ray (C.R.) intensity variations, magnetic reversals and changes in sedimentation rates in that order. Possible variations in the C.R. intensity would have averaged ≦ ±30% for selected periods of the order of 10⁵ yr during the last 2 m.y.     

Cosmogenic isotope and track records in meteorites and their implications to cosmic ray fluxes

Study of several cosmic ray effects, such as VH track density, spallogenic²⁶Al and⁵³Mn activity,²¹Ne and²²Ne/²¹Ne ratio, made in the same sample or in cores taken from different meteorites can identify parameters related to the exposure history of meteorites and cosmic ray flux variations. Meteorites with single or multiple exposure can be distinguished from a track production rate —²²Ne/²¹Ne correlation diagram and cosmic ray flux variations over 10⁶–10⁷ years can be deduced from a three-isotope correlation diagram of²⁶Al,⁵³Mn and²¹Ne. Isotopic data based on chondrites with simple, one-stage exposure are consistent with the same average galactic cosmic ray intensity over the past 2 million years as that during the past 10⁷ years.     

Variations of the cosmic ray fluxes as a possible earthquake precursor

Variations of the air pressure, cosmic ray fluxes, sunspot numbers, and interplanetary magnetic field in connection with strong earthquake occurrences are studied. The results of this investigation permits one to consider the variations of the cosmic rays as one of the possible cause of air pressure variations and one of the possible earthquake precursors.     

Cosmic ray produced isotopes in terrestrial systems

Continuing improvements in the sensitivity of measurement of cosmic ray produced isotopes in environmental samples have progressively broadened the scope of their applications to characterise and quantify a wide variety of processes in earth and planetary sciences. In this article, I will concentrate on the new developments in the field of nuclear geophysics, based on isotopic changes produced by cosmic rays in the terrestrial systems. This field, which is best described as cosmic ray geophysics, caught roots with the discovery of cosmogenic¹⁴C on the Earth by Willard Libby in 1948, and grew rapidly at first, but slowed down during the ’60s and ’70s. In the ’80s, there was arenaissance in cosmic ray produced isotope studies, thanks mainly to the developments of the accelerator mass spectrometry technique capable of measuring minute amounts of radioactivity in terrestrial samples. This technological advance has considerably enhanced the applications of cosmic ray produced isotopes and today we find them being used to address diverse problems in earth and planetary sciences I discuss the present scope of the field of cosmic ray geophysics with an emphasis ongeomorphology. I must stress here that this is the decade in which this field, which has been studied passionately by geographers, geomorphologists and geochemists for more than five decades, has at its service nuclear methods to introduce numeric time controls in the range of centuries to millions of years.     

A study on the various types of arrhythmias in relation to the polarity reversal of the solar magnetic field

Over the last few years, various researches have reached the conclusion that cosmic ray variations and geomagnetic disturbances are related to the condition of the human physiological state. In this study, medical data concerning the number of incidents of different types of cardiac arrhythmias for the time period 1983–1992, which refer to 1902 patients in Tbilisi, Georgia, were used. The smoothing method and the Pearson r-coefficients were used to examine the possible effect of different solar and geomagnetic activity parameters and cosmic ray intensity variations on the different types of arrhythmias. The time interval under examination was separated into two different time periods, which coincided with the polarity reversal of the solar magnetic field occurred in the years 1989–1990, and as a result, a different behavior of all the above-mentioned parameters as well as of the different types of arrhythmias was noticed during the two time intervals. In addition, changing of polarity sign of the solar magnetic field was found to affect the sign of correlation between the incidence of arrhythmias and the aforementioned parameters. The primary and secondary maxima observed in the solar parameters during the solar cycle 22, also appeared in several types of arrhythmias with a time lag of about 5 months.     

Power spectrum analysis of geomagnetic indices

Using the method of maximum entropy spectral analysis (MESA) by Burg and the least-squares linear prediction (lslp) (also calledFABNE) by Barrodale and Erickson, the spectra of geomagnetic indices Ap, AN, AS, AE, AU, AL, Dst and cosmic ray neutron intensity at Deep River are obtained for 1965 and 1969 from daily means and for longer periods from monthly means. A large number of peaks of periodicities from 2 days to several years is obtained, many of which are shown by all the indices. Some of these are probably harmonics of the 27 days solar rotation period and the 20–22 years double sunspot cycle period. Comparison is made with results of earlier workers who reported fewer peaks.     

孤岛综放面冲击地压前兆信息识别及多参数预警研究

孤岛综放工作面强烈的动压显现使得其发生冲击地压的可能性大大增加,通过运用微地震和电磁辐射综合监测手段分析孤岛综放工作面两次强动压显现事件,获得了工作面煤体发生冲击地压前后能量积聚与释放规律及相应微震和电磁辐射监测数据变化规律,认为工作面煤体发生冲击地压前一般存在一个短暂的能量积聚期,在能量积聚期内微震系统监测到的微震事件的次数和总能量均较少,同时能量积聚期内煤体电磁辐射强度值和脉冲数均持续升高。将工作面微震事件的沉默期以及煤体电磁辐射强度值、脉冲数的持续升高期作为冲击地压的综合前兆信息,并将其转换为量化的预警参数和指标,建立了工作面冲击地压多参数预警方法。现场实践表明,危险识别与灾害预警效果良好。     

Rainfall patterns for shallow landsliding in perialpine Slovenia

This paper presents two types of analysis: an antecedent rainfall analysis based on daily rainfall and an intensity-duration analysis of rainfall events based on hourly data in perialpine Slovenia in the ?kofjelo?ko Cerkljansko hills. For this purpose, eight rainfall events that are known to have caused landslides in the period from 1990 to 2010 were studied. Over the observed period, approximately 400 records of landslides were collected. Rainfall data were obtained from three rain gauges. The daily rainfall from the 30 days before landslide events was investigated based on the type of landslides and their geo-environmental setting, the dates of confirmed landslide activity and different consecutive rainfall periods. The analysis revealed that the rainfall events triggering slope failure can be divided into two groups according to the different antecedent periods. The first group of landslides typically occurred after short-duration rainstorms with high intensity, when the daily rainfall exceeded the antecedent rainfall. The second group comprises the rainfall events with a longer antecedent period of at least 7 days. A comparison of the plotted peak and mean intensities indicates that the rainfall patterns that govern slope failure are similar but do not necessarily reflect the rainfall intensity at the time of shallow landslides in the Dav?a or Poljane areas, where the majority of the landslides occurred. Because of several limitations, the suggested threshold cannot be compared and evaluated with other thresholds.     

太阳活动及其对地球环境的影响

太阳活动及其对地球环境影响的研究至今已发展成一门涉及太阳物理学、空间物理学和地球物理学的边缘学科,它研究三者的关系及相互作用的过程。本文将太阳活动分成缓变型和爆发型两类,分别介绍了它们的主要成员冕洞、总辐射、太阳黑子、太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射的性质及特征;分别讨论了这两类太阳活动对地球环境的影响,还指出了太阳活动对固体地球的作用。     

Irradiation history and atmospheric ablation of meteorites: Results from cosmic ray track studies

The dominant component of nuclear tracks observed in meteoritic minerals poor in uranium is produced by cosmic ray very heavy (vh:Z>20) nuclei. Studies of cosmic ray tracks and other cosmogenic effects in meteorites give us information on the irradiation history of these meteorites and enable us to estimate the extent of ablation during their atmospheric transit, and hence their pre-atmospheric masses. In a specific type of meteorite, known asgas-rich meteorite, one finds individual grains and xenoliths that have received solar flare and galactic cosmic ray irradiation prior to the formation of these meteorites. Detailed studies of these exotic components give insight into the accretionary processes occurring in the early history of the solar system. Some of the important results obtained from such studies and their implications to meteoritics are summarized.     

10Be和26Al在地表形成和演化研究中的应用

地球表面丰富多样的地形、地貌是地球内外动力相互作用的结果。宇宙射线辐射地表岩石、沉积物等产生的¹⁰Be和²⁶Al放射性核素（半衰期分别为1．5Ma和0．71Ma）,它们的浓度主要取决于由地理位置和地形、地貌条件所决定的宇宙射线辐射的通量和时间,从而能够记录地表的形成和演化历史。因此,宇宙成因核素是研究地表形成历史和作用过程的有力工具。     

Origin of fossil meteorites from Ordovician limestone in Sweden

Based on the analysis of data in [1, 2] on the concentrations of noble gases and the cosmic ray exposure age (CREA) of chromite grains in fossil meteorites, it was demonstrated in [3] that the distributions of gas concentrations and cosmic ray exposure ages can be explained under the assumption of the fall of a single meteorite in the form of a meteorite shower in southern Sweden less than 0.2 Ma after the catastrophic destruction of the parental body (asteroid) of L chondrites in space at approximately 470 Ma. This assumption differs from the conclusion in [1, 2, 4] about the long-lasting (for 1–2 Ma) delivery of L chondrites to the Earth, with the intensity of the flux of this material one to two orders of magnitude greater than now. The analysis of newly obtained data on samples from the Brunflo fossil meteorite [5] corroborates the hypothesis of a meteorite shower produced by the fall of a single meteorite. The possible reason for the detected correlations between the cosmic ray exposure ages of meteorites and the masses of the samples with the ²⁰Ne concentrations can be the occurrence of Ne of anomalous isotopic composition in the meteorites.     

藏东南地区复杂下垫面辐射收支特征分析

利用藏东南地区进行的地气交换观测数据, 分析了典型晴天和阴天不同下垫面辐射过程的特征及其差异. 结果表明: 藏东南地区典型晴天不同下垫面总辐射均呈现出明显的日变化规律, 典型阴天各下垫面总辐射日峰值与典型晴空天气下的总辐射日峰值差值不大, 日均值显著减小; 反射辐射日变化趋势与总辐射变化一致, 但变化曲线比总辐射离散, 阴天地表反射辐射受总辐射和下垫面的综合影响; 向上长波辐射日变化幅度和量值都大于向下长波辐射, 下垫面类型对向下长波辐射没有影响. 净辐射具有明显的日变化特征, 和总辐射的相位一致, 农田净辐射的日峰值和日均值最大.     

Dependence of the neutron and gamma-ray emission of Mercury on its surface composition and temperature

Results of computations of the energy spectrum of neutrons radiated by the planet Mercury, generated by the action of cosmic rays, are presented. The dependence of the neutron radiation on both the temperature and composition of the subsurface layers of the planetary regolith are investigated. The fluxes of γ-rays in lines of aluminum (²⁷Al, 7.7240 MeV), silicon (²⁸Si, 3.5390 MeV), calcium (⁴⁰Ca, 1.9427 MeV), and iron (⁵⁶Fe, 7.6312 and 7.6456 MeV) generated during neutron capture by these nuclei are also calculated. The intensity of the radiation in these lines depends on both the composition and temperature of the surface. This must be taken into account when interpreting measurements of γ-ray radiation from nuclear lines produced in neutron capture reactions on the substance of Mercury.     

Analysis of indices of extreme temperature events at Apizaco,Tlaxcala, Mexico: 1952-2003

In recent years in Mexico and around the world, the scientific community has shown great interest in acquiring knowledge regarding the behavior of extreme climate events due to their increasing number and intensity. The objective of this research was to analyze variations in extreme temperature events using extreme climate indices. We conducted a case study for the municipality of Apizaco, Tlaxcala, Mexico, using data sets of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures for the period from 1952 to 2003. Six indices related to maximum and minimum temperatures were calculated: frost days, summer days, warm days, cool days, warm nights and cool nights. All of the index results were evaluated annually and only four of the indices were analyzed according to the seasons. A trend based on a linear least squares regression model was fit to the indices to determine their behavior. The index results showed that extreme events related to maximum temperatures corresponded to greater changes and an increased number of summer days and decreased cool days. Additionally, there was an increase of frost days, associated with a greater number of days with minimum temperatures below 0 °C. In general, the results indicated that warmer and colder extreme temperatures are occurring. The detection of those trends in the extreme events can be seen as a first step in any study of the attribution of those observed changes (e.g., land use change, regional climate change, etc.). This attribution aspect will not be discussed in the present study.     

Radionuclide depth profiles in Dhajala chondrite

Spallation produced radionuclides¹⁰Be,²²Na and²⁶Al and low energy neutron capture radionuclide⁶⁰Co have been measured in several fragments of the Dhajala chondrite, their shielding depth in space having been established by measurement of cosmic ray track density. These data enable us to obtain depth profiles of production rates of these nuclides within the meteoroid body. These profiles are discussed in terms of their dependence on size of the meteoroid and variations of galactic cosmic ray fluxes in time and space. The slowing down density of neutrons of 0.1 neutrons/cm³ sec is determined near the centre of the Dhajala meteoroid based on⁶⁰Co.     

1960-2012年祁连山东段古浪河流域极端气候事件研究

全球变暖引发极端气候事件频发、加剧,是干旱区研究关注的热点科学和社会问题。通过分析祁连山东段古浪河流域1960-2012年日气温、降水数据,研究表明：古浪河流域升温显著,作物生长期、夏日高温日数和热持续日数均在频次和幅度上显著增加,显示出对全球变暖的良好响应。降水存在准3年和准8年的高频波动特征,强降水对年降水影响日趋显著,普通日降水强度则反映出区域差异性,持续干燥日数显示本区呈现湿润化。上述认识可为古浪河流域水资源研究及生态服务提供科技支撑。     

Spatio-temporal variations in precipitation on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain from 1963 to 2012

Spatio-temporal variations in precipitation are affecting agricultural production in China in the context of climate change. Based on daily precipitation data from 63 national meteorological stations on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain from 1963 to 2012, this paper analysed the spatio-temporal variations in precipitation in terms of precipitation days and intensity, using spatial interpolation, linear trend estimation and wavelet analysis. The results indicated that: (i) from 1963 to 2012, the number of annual precipitation days and intensity decreased gradually from the southeast to the northwest. Additionally, the distribution of the extreme precipitation index was similar to that of the annual precipitation index; (ii) the number of annual precipitation days and heavy precipitation days gradually decreased, while precipitation intensity and extreme precipitation days and extreme rainfall intensity remained relatively stable or decreased. The spatial patterns of annual variation trends were considerably different. The annual precipitation days and intensity trends are consistent with the overall trend, while that of the extreme rainfall index in some regions differs from the overall trend; (iii) the precipitation index displayed different periodic oscillations during the period, and the precipitation index values differed at different time scales. However, all the precipitation index values exhibited a 28-yr oscillation.     

Long-term galactic cosmic ray variations over the last billion years based on the cosmic-ray exposure ages of iron meteorites

The distribution of the cosmic-ray exposure ages (T) of iron meteorites was analyzed to establish the possible variations in the intensity of the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) over the last billion years. The analysis was made for the entire data set containing ~80 age values from the literature (Voshage et al., 1983) and the corrected set after the exclusions of paired meteorites (using the Akaike information criterion). The dependence of the criterion χ² in the distribution of the phase values Ph = T/t–int(T/t) on the values of the assumed period (t) of GCR variations was analyzed for both sets of meteorites. The significant deviations of these parameters from the respective average values were found for t ~ 400–500 Myr and, in part, for t ~ 150 Myr. These deviations were interpreted by numerical modeling using the values of ages randomly distributed in the range of 0–1000 Ma. It was found that for variations with a period of 450 Myr, the distribution of the phase values and cosmic-ray exposure ages in the model data set is similar to that of iron meteorites. These results testify to the existence of the GCR variations with a period of ~400–500 Myr during the last 1 Gyr. The variations in the GCR flux can be explained by periodic galactic spiral arm crossings of the solar system. The GCR variations with a period of ~150 Myr discussed in the previous studies (Shaviv, 2002; 2003; Scherer et al., 2006) appears to be less certain.