Baroclinic seiches in rotating basins of variable depth in the case of two-layer density stratification

We solve a plane problem of linear baroclinic seiches in closed rotating basins of variable depth with two-layer density stratification. In the long-wave approximation, we get a boundary-value problem for a system of ordinary differential equations and propose a numerical procedure for finding internal seiches. The analytic solutions of the problem are obtained for a basin of constant depth. The numerical analysis of seiches is performed for the distributions of depth corresponding to the zonal and meridional sections of the Black Sea and model basins including the cases of a shelf zone and an underwater ridge. It is shown that the baroclinic seiches become more intense in shallow-water regions and that the intense longshore currents caused by Earth’s rotation are formed in the shelf zones and over the underwater ridges.     

Convection Regime of the Development of an Impulse–Buoyant Transient Jet Submerged in a Homogeneous Fluid

An intergral model of a transient vertical impulse–buoyant jet is suggested. The model contains a universal equation describing the propagation of the upper boundary of the convection front depending on the strength of the point source of buoyancy and momentum. The convective regime of jet propagation is considered, which includes a class of self-similar solutions corresponding to the buoyancy sources, whose strength varies with time following power and exponential laws. The obtained numerical solutions are compared with available experimental data on the profiles of vertical velocity and buoyancy on the jet axis.     

The role of palaeolimnology in assessing eutrophication and its impact on lakes

Eutrophication is perhaps the most pervasive form of pollution. Here we first review its effects on lake ecosystems based largely on modern ecological investigation. The longer time scale afforded by palaeolimnological investigation has seen an increase in the number of the publications since 1990 with a disproportionate increase in citations demonstrating the increasing use and usefulness of palaeolimnology to help understand lakes ecosystems and their response to eutrophication. We summarise briefly the history and origins of palaeolimnological investigation into eutrophication and its impacts in lakes. Then we review quantitative and qualitative palaeolimnological methods for tracking change in nutrient concentrations, algal community and abundance, macrophyte community composition and abundance and zooplanktivorous fish density. The usefulness of stable isotope analysis on sediment organic matter to track eutrophication is assessed and alternative methods discussed. A current challenge is to determine the effects of recent climate change on lake ecosystems. The impacts of climate change and eutrophication on the ecology of lakes have many similarities making it difficult to disentangle the impact of one from the other, in particular where the eutrophication impacts are greatest. We review a number of recent palaeolimnological studies, in particular those integrating long term monitoring data, which have gone some way to identifying when nutrients or climate may be having the greatest impact. Finally, we discuss possible future directions for the discipline, such as the greater integration of studies of evolutionary change using molecular techniques.     

A new approach to the automatic computation of partial volumes of river runoff with various degrees of pollution (a case study for the Selenga River)

Proposed are the methods and software package that enable estimating automatically the degree of the pollution of annual and long-term river runoff at the joint processing of large volumes of standard (routine) hydrological and hydrochemical information. As a result of computations, the individual quality certificate of river runoff was created for the part of the river under study. Computation methods include regulations concerning the parameters that connect the water runoff volume with water quality; the parameters that may connect the computation of the pollution degree using RD 52.24.643-2002 adapted for the partial volumes of the annual runoff according to these methods, with the subsequent classification of the pollution degree. The computation technique was worked out and used for the first time. The informativeness of estimates is demonstrated for one of the discharge section lines of the Selenga River.     

Active tectonics and erosional unloading at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Introduction The eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, adjacent to the Sichuan Basin (Figure 1), has become a testing ground for a variety of models that contrast mechanisms of extrusion and crustal thickening associated with the India-Asia collision (Avouac and Tapponnier 1993, England and Houseman 1986),but that also address the extent to which the upper crust and upper mantle are coupled (Royden et al. 1997, Holt 2000). The margin is characterized by topographic relief of over 5 km an…     

The political-geographical aspects of problematic statehood (exemplified by Somalia)

We examine the phenomenon of “collapsed” states by using, as an example, Somalia that is being faced with a vast array of problems: collapse of state institutes, civil war, separatism, terrorism, radical Islamism, and piracy. It is found that clannishness and tribalism of Somali society are complicating the process of political settlement and national reconciliation. It is pointed out that some of the tribes and groups, including under the action of external forces, are actually forming the country’s political space. It is shown that the pseudo-state entities in Somalia are unstable, and their boundaries of “flowing” so that they are incapable of exercising a full control over the territory. It is emphasized that the problem of Islamic extremism can be treated as deriving from failure of the state institutes; the peak of activity and territorial expansion of Islamist groups in the country is now in the past, and the area of their activity is bounded by the area inhabited by the Somali ethnos. It is found that the piracy problem is determined by the geographical location of Somalia, and its solution is impossible without the reestablishment of the state institutes and the economic system of the country. Two potential cores of reestablishment of Somali statehood have been revealed: Federal Government in Mogadishu as well as the Autonomous Republic of Puntland. It is forecasted that the international community will be gradually recognizing the Republic of Somaliland. It is concluded that the federalization of the country as declared by authorities is formal in character but yields first results implying that the negotiation process between the groups of clans has been led into a political channel.     

Seismicity and isostasy

Both a theoretical treatment and observed data show that the isostatic gravity field and the seismicity are closely related. The equation for harmonic loading shows that large deviations from isostatic equilibrium lead to large shear stresses in the crust. High seismic activity correlates well with large isostatic gravity anomalies and with large horizontal gradients of isostatic gravity anomalies. Studies of seismicity should consider the isostatic gravity field.     

Shock Wave Effects from the Impacts of Cosmic Objects with Diameters from 20 m to 3 km

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—Destruction on the Earth’s surface caused by a shock wave is one of the most important and dangerous effects from asteroid and comet...     

Valuing the non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation

The non-CO₂ climate impact of aviation (NO_x and contrails) is assessed and emissions weighting factors (EWFs) i.e., the factor by which aviation CO₂ emissions should be multiplied to get the CO₂-equivalent emissions for annual fleet average conditions are estimated. The EWFs are estimated using two economic metrics. One is based on the relative damage cost between non-CO₂ forcers and CO₂. The other is based on the cost-effective valuation between the non-CO₂ forcers and CO₂ given an upper ceiling on the global annual average surface temperature (set at 2?K above pre-industrial levels). We also estimate EWFs using three physical metrics, Global Warming Potential (GWP), Global Temperature change Potential (GTP) and Sustained GTP (SGTP) and compare our results with the economics based metrics. Given best estimates on the forcing contributions from CO₂, contrails and NO_x from aviation and by using a discount rate of 3%/year, the RDC based metric gives an EWF equal to 1.4 (slightly higher than EWFs based on GWP and SGTP using a 100?year time horizon). EWF using the cost-effective approach depends on the time that remains before stabilization occurs. It is roughly equal to unity until a few years before the temperature reaches its ceiling, and approximately 2 when stabilization has taken place. EWFs based on GTP resemble those based on CETO when the time left to when stabilization occurs is sufficiently large. Once stabilization has occurred CETO values resemble RDC based values. If aviation-induced cirrus clouds are included, uncertainties increase and the EWFs for GWP, SGTP and RDC based metrics end up in the range 1.3–2.9, while EWFs for GTP and CETO remain close to unity in the near term.