Japan's 2011 Tsunami: Characteristics of Wave Propagation from Observations and Numerical Modelling

We use a numerical tsunami model to describe wave energy decay and transformation in the Pacific Ocean during the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. The numerical model was initialised with the results from a seismological finite fault model and validated using deep-ocean bottom pressure records from DARTs, from the NEPTUNE-Canada cabled observatory, as well as data from four satellite altimetry passes. We used statistical analysis of the available observations collected during the Japan 2011 tsunami and of the corresponding numerical model to demonstrate that the temporal evolution of tsunami wave energy in the Pacific Ocean leads to the wave energy equipartition law. Similar equipartition laws are well known for wave multi-scattering processes in seismology, electromagnetism and acoustics. We also show that the long-term near-equilibrium state is governed by this law: after the passage of the tsunami front, the tsunami wave energy density tends to be inversely proportional to the water depth. This fact leads to a definition of tsunami wave intensity that is simply energy density times the depth. This wave intensity fills the Pacific Ocean basin uniformly, except for the areas of energy sinks in the Southern Ocean and Bering Sea.     

Spatial and seasonal dynamics of soil loss ratio in mountain rangelands of south-western Kyrgyzstan

Vegetation cover is the main factor of soil loss prevention. The C-factor of the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) was predicted with NDVI, ground data and exponential regression equation for mountain rangelands of Kyrgyzstan. Time series of C-factor, precipitation and temperature were decomposed into seasonal and trend components with STL (seasonal decomposition by loess) to assess their interrelations. C-factor, precipitation and temperature trend components indicated significant lagged correlation, whereas seasonal components indicated more complex relations with climate factors which can be promoting as well as limiting factors for vegetation development, depending on the season. Rainy springs and hot summers may increase soil loss dramatically, whereas warm and dry springs with rainy summers can decrease it. Steep slopes indicated higher soil loss ratio, whereas flat areas were better protected by vegetation.     

The results of application of the VES-IP method during the study of sand–gravel mixes in Mosalsk district,Kaluga oblast

Vertical electrical sounding (VES) is a traditional method of exploration of sand–gravel mix (SGM) deposits. Geophysicists are challenged not only to determine the boundaries of SGM deposits, but also to determine their basic properties, for example, to locate the zones with high gravel contents within SGM deposits or determine the content of clay particles in sands. In order to meet these challenges, it is necessary to use new methods, in particular, the method of induced polarization (IP). This paper presents the results of direct-current VES-IP surveys that were carried out in the territory of Mosalsk district, Kaluga oblast, in 2015. The measurements were made at both known SGM deposits that are under development and new areas under prospecting where drilling has not been performed as yet. The study results show that all SGM deposits are characterized by high values of induced polarization. The complex adjustment of the apparent resistivity and apparent polarizability curves significantly confine the limits of equivalent models when interpreting the data in complex geological situations when sand-and-gravel deposits weakly differ from the host rocks or are superimposed with a thick layer of conducting clay loams.     

On the behavior of stratospheric ozone in the western Arctic during the 2003–2004 winter and spring

We present the results of simultaneous measurements of variations in the ozone layer in the north-western Arctic conducted with the help of different instruments. It is shown that, in the winter of 2003–2004, when the stratosphere was relatively warm and the wave activity was high, spatial inhomogeneities in the field of ozone distribution were observed. For April 2004, we detect a decrease in the ozone content in the range of heights between 25 and 40 km. This decrease was recorded simultaneously by the HALOE, SAGE, and POAM satellite instruments.     

The creation of a geophysical observatory at the Aleksandrovka research base of the geological faculty of Moscow State University in the Kaluga region

Since May 2011, long-period magnetotelluric (MT) data have been collected in the non-magnetic pavilion at the geophysical base of Moscow University in the Kaluga Region. The non-magnetic pavilion was constructed in compliance with the following conditions: selection of non-magnetic materials, control of local magnetic field anomalies, and setting the basement for magnetometers separately from the main building. Recording equipment with fluxgate and optomechanical magnetometers with three sets of electric lines with different electrodes was installed. The parallel testing of channels was performed. Currently, the seismo-logical equipment and meteorological station are being prepared for installation.     

What makes a planet habitable?

This work reviews factors which are important for the evolution of habitable Earth-like planets such as the effects of the host star dependent radiation and particle fluxes on the evolution of atmospheres and initial water inventories. We discuss the geodynamical and geophysical environments which are necessary for planets where plate tectonics remain active over geological time scales and for planets which evolve to one-plate planets. The discoveries of methane–ethane surface lakes on Saturn’s large moon Titan, subsurface water oceans or reservoirs inside the moons of Solar System gas giants such as Europa, Ganymede, Titan and Enceladus and more than 335 exoplanets, indicate that the classical definition of the habitable zone concept neglects more exotic habitats and may fail to be adequate for stars which are different from our Sun. A classification of four habitat types is proposed. Class I habitats represent bodies on which stellar and geophysical conditions allow Earth-analog planets to evolve so that complex multi-cellular life forms may originate. Class II habitats includes bodies on which life may evolve but due to stellar and geophysical conditions that are different from the class I habitats, the planets rather evolve toward Venus- or Mars-type worlds where complex life-forms may not develop. Class III habitats are planetary bodies where subsurface water oceans exist which interact directly with a silicate-rich core, while class IV habitats have liquid water layers between two ice layers, or liquids above ice. Furthermore, we discuss from the present viewpoint how life may have originated on early Earth, the possibilities that life may evolve on such Earth-like bodies and how future space missions may discover manifestations of extraterrestrial life.     

Detection of Large Fluctuations in Ozone Content in the Middle Atmosphere during Sudden Stratospheric Warmings and Subpolar Latitudes of the Arctic

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The results of microwave radiometry studies of the ozone-content dynamics in the middle atmosphere above Peterhof during stratospheric warmings of two winters,...     

Estimation of Extreme Sea Level in the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Area

Russian Meteorology and Hydrology - Possible extreme fluctuations of sea level in the area of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant induced by tsunami, wind, waves, and tides are discussed. The...     

Possibilities of magnetotelluric methods in geophysical exploration for ore minerals

In the past decade, the applications of magnetotelluric method in the electric prospecting for ore bodies have been rapidly progressing. In the present work, we summarize the first results on this way. We discuss the specificity of the geoelectrical models in the problems of mining prospecting for ore bodies. The state-of-the-art capabilities of the method, which rely on the synchronous observation systems and the procedure of joint inversion of magnetotelluric and magnetovariational responses, are considered in the context of ore mineral exploration. The results of modeling a typical mining audio-magnetotelluric survey for ore minerals are presented. On the basis of these simulations and the data provided by in-situ soundings, the efficient approaches to the processing, analysis, and inversion of these data are discussed and illustrated. The future trends in magnetotellurics as applied to the mining prospecting are analyzed.