New activity cycle of the classical symbiotic star V1413 Aql

We present the results of our photometric UBV JHKLM observations in 2008?C2011 for the classical symbiotic star V1413 Aql. At the end of 2008, the hot component of V1413 Aql experienced the next strong outburst (??V > 2 _· ^m 5). According to the photometric criterion (B-V ?? 0 _· ^m 9 ± 0 _· ^m 2), the star was in an active state even in the period preceding the strong 2008 outburst. Two eclipsing minima of the same amplitude were observed for V1413 Aql in 2010 and 2011. Our analysis of the 2011 eclipse has allowed us to estimate the sizes of the components with respect to the orbital semimajor axis if the system is seen edge-on: the radius of the cool component is R _g/a = 0.28 and the radius of the hot component is R _h/a = 0.17. However, judging by the B-V color index, the eclipse may be noncentral.     

Numerical simulation of seismic waves in models with anisotropic formations: coupling Virieux and Lebedev finite-difference schemes

Anisotropy is widespread in the Earth’s interior. However, there is a number of models where anisotropic formations comprise as few as 10–20?% of the volume, and this includes fractured reservoirs, thin-layered packs, etc. while the major part of the medium is isotropic. In this situation, the use of computationally intense anisotropy-oriented approaches throughout the computational domain is prodigal. So this paper presents an original advanced finite-difference algorithm based on the domain decomposition technique with individual scheme used inside subdomains. It means that the standard staggered grid scheme or the Virieux scheme is used in the main part of the model which is isotropic, while the anisotropy-oriented Lebedev scheme is utilized inside domains with anisotropic formations. Finite-difference consistency conditions at the artificial interface where the schemes are coupled are designed to make the artificial reflections as low as possible, namely, for the second-order scheme, the third order of convergence of the reflection coefficients is proved.     

Postglacial environmental change in the valley of Malye Chily River (the basin of Lake Teletskoye), northeastern Russian Altai

The evolution and current state of landscapes around Lake Teletskoye have not previously been studied in detail. In the valley of the Malye Chily River, which flows into Lake Teletskoye, the timing of dam failure and draining of two moraine-dammed lakes has been identified. Botanical analysis, ash content determination, and radiocarbon dating of two peat profiles provide insight into postglacial evolution of wetlands related to this landscape. We found clear evidence of the disappearance from the peat of higher vascular species that, today, grows mostly in the plains of Siberia. Correlation of the data obtained with the accepted chronology of the Holocene events in the Russian Altai suggests the following stages of postglacial environmental change in the Malye Chily River valley: (1) the continuation of the Late Würm glaciation degradation (before 7000?cal. yr BP); (2) Holocene Climate Optimum (7000–5000?cal. yr BP); (3) Akkem cooling (5000–4200?cal. yr BP); (4) warm period (4200–3700?cal. yr BP); and (5) Historical cooling (3700–1600?cal. yr BP).     

Probabilistic assessment of rogue wave occurrence in directional wave fields

Ocean Dynamics - In this study, the relation between rogue wave occurrence statistics and properties of the directional wind-wave spectrum is investigated. The study is conducted by means of the...     

Spectral evolution of the classical symbiotic star V1413 Aql during a new activity cycle

We present the results of our spectroscopic observations for the classical symbiotic star V1413 Aql performed in 2008–2011. Various states of the hot component are considered: almost quiescence in 2008, very slow outburst onset in 2009, outburst maximum in 2010, and gradual brightness decline in the erupted hot component in 2011. We have established that, according to a spectroscopic criterion, in 2008 the system was in quiescence. We have shown that the parameters of the hot component during its outburst can be determined only by modeling the differences of the spectra taken at different eclipse phases. The active hot component of V1413 Aql at the outburst maximum is shown to have had the record late (for a symbiotic star) spectral type K2. At various stages of the new activity cycle, we have modeled the continuumenergy distribution based on a standard three-componentmodel, a model including a standard accretion disk and a red giant, and amodel including a supergiant (of various spectral types) and a red giant. The parameters of the system’s components have been determined.     

Infrared photometry of Sakurai’s object (V4334 Sgr) in 2000

The infrared photometric observations of V4334 Sgr in 2000 are presented. They show that a gradual, but nonmonotonic increase in the optical depth of its dust envelope, which was formed early in 1997, had continued until the mid-summer. In July 1999 and July 2000, τ(1.25 µm)≈7.7 and 11.3, respectively. From July through October 2000, the optical depth decreased appreciably. From October 1998 (the first deep minimum of visual brightness) until now, the amplitude of the bolometric-magnitude variations in V4334 Sgr is $ \sim 0^m .5$ . The relation between the bolometric and L magnitudes (m _bol, L) can be fitted by a linear function, m _bol = 1.25L + 4.04. In the dust-envelope model chosen, the percentage of large (a _gr=0.2–0.3 µm) dust grains by particle number increased by a factor of ～4. In the summer of 2000, their fraction by mass was ～78%, and they mainly contributed to the optical depth of the dust envelope. No appreciable correlation between optical depth and bolometric flux was observed.     

A Global Inventory of Burned Areas at 1 Km Resolution for the Year 2000 Derived from Spot Vegetation Data

Biomass burning constitutes a major contribution to global emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, greenhouse gases and aerosols. Furthermore, biomass burning has an impact on health, transport, the environment and land use. Vegetation fires are certainly not recent phenomena and the impacts are not always negative. However, evidence suggests that fires are becoming more frequent and there is a large increase in the number of fires being set by humans for a variety of reasons. Knowledge of the interactions and feedbacks between biomass burning, climate and carbon cycling is needed to help the prediction of climate change scenarios. To obtain this knowledge, the scientific community requires, in the first instance, information on the spatial and temporal distribution of biomass burning at the global scale. This paper presents an inventory of burned areas at monthly time periods for the year 2000 at a resolution of 1 kilometer (km) and is available to the scientific community at no cost. The burned area products have been derived from a single source of satellite-derived images, the SPOT VEGETATION S1 1 km product, using algorithms developed and calibrated at regional scales by a network of partners. In this paper, estimates of burned area, number of burn scars and average size of the burn scar are described for each month of the year 2000. The information is reported at the country level. This paper makes a significant contribution to understanding the effect of biomass burning on atmospheric chemistry and the storage and cycling of carbon by constraining one of the main parameters used in the calculation of gas emissions.     

Results of locating the IASPEI GT(0-5) reference events using the standard ISC procedures

The International Seismological Centre (ISC) is charged with production of the definitive global bulletin of seismic events, based on the most comprehensive set of parametric data collected from all over the world. Almost every event in the bulletin retains the original hypocentral solutions reported to the ISC by contributing agencies. In addition, where possible, the ISC computes its own solution, which is intended to be the most accurate where the data from several networks are used. It is because of the requirement for consistency of the bulletin over the years that the procedures used at the centre to compute hypocentres have remained rather conservative despite considerable advances made in the field of earthquake location.The ISC has developed and put into operation a new data management system. As a result, it is now possible to review and subsequently introduce more up-to-date methods of locating seismic events into the operations. The ISC Governing Council called for a workshop dedicated to location procedures, which was held during the 2005 IASPEI General Assembly in Santiago, Chile.To compare the accuracy of different location algorithms, a list of 156 reference events (IWREF) was selected prior to the workshop. The list includes geographically well distributed earthquakes and explosions with positions known with an accuracy of up to 5 km. It covers the period of 1954-2001 and includes all station readings and hypocentral solutions of different agencies available for these events in the ISC bulletin. Although the original ISC solutions are included, these may be different from the solution obtainable now due to changes in the ISC procedures over the years. This paper presents the results of relocation of these events using standard ISC location procedures as of 2005. These new ISC locations and analysis of their shifts with respect to reference locations present a benchmark for further improvement.     

A re-analysis of the marine bird Asiahesperornis from northern Kazakhstan

Fossil bird material is exceptionally rare in the Mesozoic of western Asia. With the notable exception of the Upper Cretaceous foot-propelled diving bird Asiahesperornis bazhanovi from northern Kazakhstan, the only bird fossils described from this region have been bone fragments from the Upper Cretaceous of Uzbekistan. In this paper, all material referred to date to the hesperornithiform Asiahesperornis is reviewed and re-described. New postcranial elements of this taxon from the holotype Kushmurun locality (Maastrichtian Zhuravlovskaya Svita) are presented, and the taxonomic history and likely affinities of this ocean-going bird are discussed.     

Modelling Indonesian rainfall with a coupled regional model

Long-term high-resolution coupled climate model simulations using the Max Planck Institute Regional Climate Model and the Max Planck Institute Ocean Model have been performed with boundary forcings from two reanalyses: firstly from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and secondly from the joint reanalysis of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. This study employs a special coupling setup using a regional atmospheric model and a global ocean model. The latter model applies a special conformal grid from a bipolar orthogonal spherical coordinate system, which allows irregular positions of the poles and focuses on the detail over the Maritime Continent. The coupled model was able to simulate stable and realistic rainfall variabilities without flux correction and at two different ocean resolutions. The coupled system is integrated for a period between 1979 and 1993 and the results are then compared to those from uncoupled runs and from observation. The results show improved performance after coupling: a remarkable reduction of overestimated rainfall over the sea for the atmospheric model and of warm SST biases for the ocean model. There is no significant change in rainfall variability at higher ocean model resolution, but the ocean circulation shows less transport variability within the Makassar Strait in comparison to observations. This paper has not been published or considered by any other journal in any language.