A Relationship Between the Solar Rotation and Activity Analysed by Tracing Sunspot Groups

The sunspot position published in the data bases of the Greenwich Photoheliographic Results (GPR), the US Air Force Solar Optical Observing Network and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USAF/NOAA), and of the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data (DPD) in the period 1874 to 2016 were used to calculate yearly values of the solar differential-rotation parameters \(A\) and \(B\). These differential-rotation parameters were compared with the solar-activity level. We found that the Sun rotates more differentially at the minimum than at the maximum of activity during the epoch 1977?–?2016. An inverse correlation between equatorial rotation and solar activity was found using the recently revised sunspot number. The secular decrease of the equatorial rotation rate that accompanies the increase in activity stopped in the last part of the twentieth century. It was noted that when a significant peak in equatorial rotation velocity is observed during activity minimum, the next maximum is weaker than the previous one.     

Karst rivers’ particularity: an example from Dinaric karst (Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina)

The very complex system of sinking, losing and underground transboundary Karst rivers, lakes and aquifers in the central part of the deep and bare Dinaric karst in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is analysed. The groundwater and surface water are hydraulically connected through numerous karst forms which facilitate the exchange of water between the surface and subsurface. A complex underground conduit system is an inherent characteristic karst system analysed. Groundwater and surface water exchange with both adjacent and distant aquifers through underground routes or inflows from surface streams and artificial reservoirs. Because of a complex surface and underground karst features, which strongly influenced its hydrological and hydrogeological regime, the main open stream flow, with a longitude of about 106 km, undergoes eight name changes. In this paper, it is noted as “the eight-name river”. In fact, it represents one river with losing, sinking and underground stream sections. Different surface and underground karst forms play crucial roles in the way the water flowing over the surface and on the underground sections of its catchment. The analysed area is full of varied and often spectacular surface landforms, including for example the Blue and Red Lakes and the Kravice Waterfall. The analyses made in the paper show the existence of a decreasing trend of mean annual discharges on the eight-name river, which can cause numerous problems in the regional water resource management of this transboundary river and catchment.     

Requirements Elicitation for Geo-information Solutions

Geo-information solutions can achieve a higher level of quality if they are developed in accordance with a user-centred design that requires definition of the user requirements in the first step of solution construction. We treat a geo-information solution as a system designed to support human-based activities in a specific context through which solutions to contextual problems can be achieved via geographic knowledge. Geographic knowledge is a result of geo-data exploration, analysis, interpretation and dissemination with a given geo-information system. Taking the characteristics of geo-information systems into account, existing methods and techniques of requirements engineering may be applied for the design and implementation of geo-information solutions. Based on these considerations, here we present a generic framework that can aid geo-information experts, geo-informaticians and cartographers in the design and construction of more efficient, effective and satisfactory solutions.     

Geochemical history of a Lower Miocene lake,the Cypris Formation,Sokolov Basin,Czech Republic

The intracontinental Lower Miocene Cypris paleo-lake originated during progressive subsidence in the Sokolov Basin, part of the Cenozoic Oh?e Rift, after the deposition of coal seams. The Cypris Fm. consists almost entirely of lacustrine clays with variable mineral composition and organic matter, where this succession is 70–120 m thick. The main objective of this study was to interpret the geochemical history of the Lower Miocene Cypris Fm. using high-resolution, down-core geochemical records and study of the organic matter. This work revealed that the lower part of the lacustrine sediment sequence was deposited in a freshwater lake, in an open hydrological system. An increase in the K/Zr and K/Ti ratios towards the upper part of the Cypris Fm. indicates a gradual increase in the pelitic fraction of the local sediments and/or a decline in input of volcanic material. Simultaneously, increasing Ca/K and Sr/K ratios indicate the precipitation of carbonates, predominantly dolomite and siderite. In the upper part of the Cypris Fm., there is a significant increase in Na/K, Na/Zr, and Na/Ti ratios, suggesting increasing salinity (alkalinity) of the paleoenvironment in a closed hydrological system. Reaction between the Na-rich water and clastic components of the sediment in an alkaline medium gave rise to the formation of zeolites, mixed-layer clay minerals and smectite. Abundant remains of aquatic organisms, especially algae, increased with greater salinity in the upper part of the Cypris Fm. This is reflected in the greater hydrogen index (HI_{Rock Eval}), and the growing proportion of liptinite group macerals of aquatic origin in the bulk organic matter. During the entire history of sedimentation in the Miocene lake, repetitive changes in the sediment geochemistry occurred at both micro- and macroscales, and fluctuations of K/Ti, K/Zr, and Sr/Ca ratios over meters to tens of meters are observed. These changes probably reflect either long-term climate fluctuations during the Lower Miocene or oscillations caused by changes in the rate of subsidence of the basin floor. Variations in the elemental composition of sediments can be used to correlate individual boreholes across the entire sedimentary basin.     

Understanding the influence of climate elements on traffic: the wind impact approach

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Due to intense highway congestion in Europe, increased percentage of highway accidents, as well as mortality rate, safety is an imperative in highway planning...     

Adriatic seiche decay and energy loss to the Mediterranean

A salient feature of sea level records from the Adriatic Sea is the frequent occurrence of energetic seiches of period about 21 h. Once excited by a sudden wind event, such seiches often persist for days. They lose energy either to friction within the Adriatic, or by radiation through Otranto Strait into the Mediterranean.The free decay time of the dominant (lowest mode) seiche was determined from envelopes of handpassed sea level residuals from three locations (Bakar, Split and Dubrovnik) along the Croatian coast during twelve seiche episodes between 1963 and 1986 by taking into consideration only time intervals when the envelopes decreased exponentially in time, when the modelled effects of along-basin winds were smaller than the error of estimation of decay time from the envelopes and when across-basin winds were small. The free decay time thus obtained was 3.2±0.5 d. This value is consonant with the observed width of the spectral peak.The decay caused by both bottom friction and radiation was included in a one dimensional variable cross section shallow water model of the Adriatic. Bottom friction is parameterized by the coefficient k appearing in the linearized bottom stress term _ρ0u (where u is the along-basin velocity and ρ₀ the fluid density). The coefficient k is constrained by values obtained from linearization of the quadratic bottom stress law using estimates of near bottom currents associated with the seiche, with wind driven currents, with tides and with wind waves. Radiation is parameterized by the coefficient f appearing in the open strait boundary condition ζ =auh/c (where ζ is sea level, h is depth and c is phase speed). This parameterization of radiation provides results comparable to allowing the Adriatic to radiate into an unbounded half plane ocean. Repeated runs of the model delineate the dependence of model free seiche decay time on k and a, and these plus the estimates of k allow estimation of a.The principle conclusions of this work are as follows.

1. (1) Exponential decay of seiche amplitude with time does not necessarily guarantee that the observed decay is free of wind influence.

2. (2) Winds blowing across the Adriatic may be of comparable importance to winds blowing along the Adriatic in influencing apparent decay of seiches; across-basin winds are probably coupled to the longitudinal seiche on account of the strong along-basin variability of across-basin winds forced by Croatian coastal orography.

3. (3) The free decay time of the 21.2 h Adriatic seiche is 3.2±0.5 d.

4. (4) A one dimensional shallow water model of the seiche damped by bottom stress represented by Godin's (1988) approximation to the quadratic bottom friction law ρ₀C_Du|u| using the commonly accepted drag coefficient C_D = 0.0015 and quantitative estimates of bottom currents associated with wind driven currents, tides and wind waves, as well as with the seiche itself with no radiation gives a damping time of 9.46 d; radiation sufficient to give the observed damping time must then account for 66% of the energy loss per period. But independent estimates of bottom friction for Adriatic wind driven currents and inertial oscillations, as well as comparisons between quadratic law bottom stress and directly measured bottom stress, all suggest that the quadratic law with C_D=0.0015 substantially underestimates the bottom stress. Based on these studies, a more appropriate value of the drag coefficient is at least C_D=0. In this case, bottom friction with no radiation leads to a damping time of 4.73 d, radiation sufficient to give the observed damping time then accounts for 32% of the energy loss per period.

     

Influence of atmospheric pressure variations on measurements made with Sharpe and Worden gravimeters

Summary The paper deals with the influence of the atmospheric pressure variations on Sharpe gravimeters CG 2 No. 226 and 280 and on the Worden gravimeter No. 978, equipped with a thermostat.Dedicated to RNDr. Jan Pícha, CSc., on his 60th Birthday     

Trypanosome infections of marine fish in the southern Barents Sea and the invasive red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus

The red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus was introduced to the Barents Sea from the North Pacific in the 1960s. A previous study concluded that it may be indirectly responsible for increased transmission of Trypanosoma murmanense to cod Gadus morhua in the southern Barents Sea by promoting an increase in the population of the leech vector Johanssonia arctica. Eleven species of fish, totalling 681 individuals, caught in October 2002 along the coast of Finnmark, were examined for trypanosome infections. The aims were to investigate changes in levels of infection in cod since 1999–2001, and to extend the sampling to other fish species. Relatively high infection levels were found in cod, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus and long rough dab Hippoglossoides platessoides, while other species were lightly infected or uninfected. In cod, no significant geographical differences in levels of infection were found, but haddock were significantly more heavily infected in western Finnmark.