On the influence of DC railway noise on variation data from Belsk and Lviv geomagnetic observatories

Geomagnetic variation data from the observatories in Belsk (BEL, Poland) and Lviv (LVV, Ukraine) significantly suffer from disturbances caused by direct current (DC) electric railways. The aim of this study is to quantify the impact of these disturbances on quantities derived from such data, as the K index of magnetic activity and the induction arrow used in the geomagnetic deep sounding method to indicate lateral contrasts of electric conductivity in the solid earth. Therefore, undisturbed data have been reconstructed by means of a frequency-domain transfer function that relates the horizontal magnetic field components of the observatory to the ones synchronously recorded at a noise-free reference station. The comparison of the K index derived from original and reconstructed data shows an increase of quiet time segments by 29% for LVV and by 14% for BEL due to our noise removal procedure. Furthermore, the distribution of the corrected K indices agrees well with the one from the Niemegk observatory in Germany.     

Monitoring ionospheric scintillations and TEC at the Polish Polar Station on Spitsbergen: instrumentation and preliminary results

As a partial contribution to the International Polar Year, the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences has installed on the Polish Polar Station, located in the region of the Hornsund Bay in southern Spitsbergen, the equipment intended to monitor ionospheric scintillation and total electron content. We describe the equipment setup and the aims of the experiment. As an illustration of data analysis, we present the reconstruction of irregular structure of the ionosphere from the complex amplitude data, and the estimate of the form and drift of diffraction pattern based on the spaced receiver measurements.     

Calcareous nannofossil and inoceramid biostratigraphies of a Middle Turonian to Middle Coniacian section from the Opole Trough of SW Poland

Well-preserved and rich nannofossil assemblages from Turonian-Coniacian (Upper Cretaceous) marlstone deposits of the Opole Trough in SW Poland have been analysed. Nannoplankton zones (and subzones) UC6 through UC10 were determined. Apparent discrepancies between the Turonian substage ages indicated by the nannofossil zones, which are based on correlations with the standard ammonite zones, and those based on inoceramids are revealed. This illustrates poor correlation between the inoceramid and ammonite events used to indicate the substage boundaries, rather than diachroneity in the nannofossil events.     

Light curves of relativistic charged neutron star

Gravitational lensing properties and the influence of the electric charge on the light curves of a slowly rotating neutron star whose exterior is described by the Reissner-Nordström metric are considered. The polar cap emission model is assumed. No effect of the magnetosphere except for its possible contribution to the total charge is taken into account. In general, the lensing effect is reduced by the charge and the light curves become more similar to those typical in flat space rather than to the Schwarzschild spacetime.     

Fronts and the boundary layer – some numerical studies

In this paper, we consider boundary-layer effects on atmospheric fronts. For this purpose we developed a dry, hydrostatic, two-dimensional numerical model with turbulence parameterized with the 1/2 -order eddy viscosity closure of Mellor and Yamada. In the surface layer we use Monin–Obukhov similarity and there is an interactive soil model to obtain lower boundary conditions for the atmospheric model. First, effects of turbulence are studied without thermal forcing at the surface and comparisons are made between inviscid and turbulent conditions. Sensitivity studies with respect to surface roughness are also performed. Subsequently we study effects of surface thermal forcing on fronts. The results show that, during summer, fronts display strong diurnal variation. Vertical velocities increase significantly during the day while gradients in temperature and vorticity across the front strengthen in the evening and at night. In winter the diurnal variation is much less pronounced. We attempt to find physical mechanisms responsible for such frontal behaviour and we compare our results with available observations.     

Chemically induced deformation of a porous layer coupled with advective–dispersive transport. Analytical solutions

In this paper a chemically induced deformation of porous material taking place during advective–dispersive transport of a chemical is considered. Linearized governing equations are derived and analytical solutions of 2 one‐dimensional problems for a homogeneous layer with drained boundaries are developed. Numerical results for a particular clayey material and a chemical migrating through the layer showing distributions of concentration of chemical, changes in porosity of the material and pore fluid pressure, and evolution of settlement of the layer as functions of time are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural sources in order to plan for needs of low carbon economy at local level in Poland

Agriculture is often not included in the baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories created for local low carbon economy plans in Poland and other European countries. We therefore estimate the size of the carbon footprint from agricultural sources and indicate the share of agriculture in the total GHG emissions in selected Polish communes (LAU level 2). We propose a solution whereby local government units can estimate their carbon footprint independently and monitor the impact of actions taken to reduce emissions. The value of the carbon footprint from agriculture in the selected communes varies from .5 to 46.5 thousand Mg CO₂eq/year, with a mean value of 12.6 thousand Mg CO₂eq/year and a standard deviation of 11.4 thousand Mg CO₂eq/year. Per capita, these values range from 10 kg CO₂eq/year to 8.4 Mg CO₂eq/year, with a mean of 1.1 Mg CO₂eq/year and a standard deviation of 1.5 Mg CO₂eq/year. In all communes, the contribution of agriculture to total emissions is at an average of 14% (values range from .2 to 57.4%). The obtained results confirm the appropriateness of including emissions from the agricultural sector and other related sources in low carbon economy plans.