60-Year Cycle in the Earth’s Climate and Dynamics of Correlation Links between Solar Activity and Circulation of the Lower Atmosphere

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Possible causes of the ~60-year periodicity observed in climatic characteristics and the evolution of long-term correlation links between the circulation of the lower...     

60-Year Cycle in the Earth’s Climate and Dynamics of Correlation Links between Solar Activity and Circulation of the Lower Atmosphere: New Data

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - In this work we continue studying possible reasons for a roughly 60-year periodicity in the evolution of correlation links between pressure in the lower atmosphere and...     

Characteristics of Soft X-Ray Radiation of the Solar Active Region NOAA 1024 Registered by the PINGVIN-M Device in July 2009

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The paper presents the results of processing of data on the soft X-ray solar radiation obtained by the PINGVIN-M instrument aboard the KORONAS-FOTON spacecraft in July...     

Nano-mechanical Properties and Pore-Scale Characterization of Different Rank Coals

Characterization of coal micro-structure and the associated rock mechanical properties are of key importance for coal seam exploration, coal bed methane development, enhanced coal bed methane production and CO₂ storage in deep coal seams. Considerable knowledge exists about coal chemical properties, but less is known about the nanoscale to the micro-scale structure of coals and how they change with coal strength across coal ranks. Thus, in this study, 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography (with a voxel size of 3.43 µm) and nano-indentation tests were conducted on coal samples of different ranks from peat to anthracite. The micro-structure of peats showed a well-developed pore system with meso- and micro-pores. The meso-pores essentially disappear with increasing rank, whereas the micro-pores persist and then increase past the bituminous rank. The micro-fracture system develops past the peat stage and by sub-bituminous ranks and changes into larger and mature fracture systems at higher ranks. The nano-indentation modulus showed the increasing trend from low- to high-rank coal with a perfect linear relationship with vitrinite reflectance and is highly correlated with carbon content as expected.

     

Odyssey of Aleutian eddies

Ocean Dynamics - Long-lived and large-scale anticyclonic Aleutian eddies (AEs), detaching from the Alaskan Stream to the west of 180∘ and propagating southwestward or almost zonally in the...     

Early Holocene M~6 explosive eruption from Plosky volcanic massif (Kamchatka) and its tephra as a link between terrestrial and marine paleoenvironmental records

We report tephrochronological and geochemical data on early Holocene activity from Plosky volcanic massif in the Kliuchevskoi volcanic group, Kamchatka Peninsula. Explosive activity of this volcano lasted for ~1.5 kyr, produced a series of widely dispersed tephra layers, and was followed by profuse low-viscosity lava flows. This eruptive episode started a major reorganization of the volcanic structures in the western part of the Kliuchevskoi volcanic group. An explosive eruption from Plosky (M~6), previously unstudied, produced tephra (coded PL2) of a volume of 10–12 km³ (11–13 Gt), being one of the largest Holocene explosive eruptions in Kamchatka. Characteristic diagnostic features of the PL2 tephra are predominantly vitric sponge-shaped fragments with rare phenocrysts and microlites of plagioclase, olivine and pyroxenes, medium- to high-K basaltic andesitic bulk composition, high-K, high-Al and high-P trachyandesitic glass composition with SiO₂ = 57.5–59.5 wt%, K₂O = 2.3–2.7 wt%, Al₂O₃ = 15.8–16.5 wt%, and P₂O₅ = 0.5–0.7 wt%. Other diagnostic features include a typical subduction-related pattern of incompatible elements, high concentrations of all REE (>10× mantle values), moderate enrichment in LREE (La/Yb ~ 5.3), and non-fractionated mantle-like pattern of LILE. Geochemical fingerprinting of the PL2 tephra with the help of EMP and LA-ICP-MS analyses allowed us to map its occurrence in terrestrial sections across Kamchatka and to identify this layer in Bering Sea sediment cores at a distance of >600 km from the source. New high-precision ¹⁴C dates suggest that the PL2 eruption occurred ~10,200 cal BP, which makes it a valuable isochrone for early Holocene climate fluctuations and permits direct links between terrestrial and marine paleoenvironmental records. The terrestrial and marine ¹⁴C dates related to the PL2 tephra have allowed us to estimate an early Holocene reservoir age for the western Bering Sea at 1,410 ± 64 ¹⁴C years. Another important tephra from the early Holocene eruptive episode of Plosky volcano, coded PL1, was dated at 11,650 cal BP. This marker is the oldest geochemically characterized and dated tephra marker layer in Kamchatka to date and is an important local marker for the Younger Dryas—early Holocene transition. One more tephra from Plosky, coded PL3, can be used as a marker northeast of the source at a distance of ~110 km.     

Equal-Area Projections of the Triaxial Ellipsoid: First Time Derivation and Implementation of Cylindrical and Azimuthal Projections for Small Solar System Bodies

Many small solar system bodies such as asteroids or small satellites have irregular shapes, often approximated by the reference surface of a triaxial ellipsoid. Map projections for the triaxial ellipsoid are needed to present the incoming data in the form of maps. In this paper the formulae of equal-area cylindrical and azimuthal projections of the triaxial ellipsoid were derived and practically implemented for the first time using as an example the asteroid 253 Mathilde. This paper is the final in a series of papers devoted to all main classes of projections of the triaxial ellipsoid. Before this, the authors obtained equidistant along meridians projection and Jacobi conformal projection for the triaxial ellipsoid.     

Influence of climatic factors on the past atmospheric content of the C-14 isotope

Reconstructions of solar activity in the past epochs based on information on the past atmospheric content of the cosmogenic ¹⁴C isotope are nowadays actively discussed. The ¹⁴C isotope is generated in the atmosphere of the Earth under the influence of cosmic rays, and its concentration in annual tree rings carries information on the past solar activity. However, the concentration of this isotope in annual tree rings may also be influenced by climatic factors. In the present work, the possible correlation between variations in the ¹⁴C atmospheric content and in the Earth’s global temperature from the late 14th century to the middle of the 19th century is studied. It is shown that variations in global temperature may produce changes in the ¹⁴C atmospheric content and consequently have to be taken into account in reconstructions of the past solar activity.     

Evolution of clusters in dynamic point patterns: with a case study of Ants' simulation

Recent developments in sensing and tracking technologies have enabled large geographical databases to be established that represent spatial dynamics of ‘behavioral entities’. Within this type of dynamics there are several levels and modes of organization that need to be revealed. Clusters are high‐level groupings of entities, where change in their location and form, including split and merge events, represents self‐organization and functioning patterns. Such information may contribute for better understanding spatially complex dynamic patterns. The main objective of this article is to develop an adaptable methodology that facilitates exploration of spatial order and processes in point pattern dynamics. The approach presented here utilizes data‐clustering at each snapshot of the moving pattern, and then involves pairwise linking between the clusters identified at each snapshot and those identified in the following snapshot. Such linking is based on a new methodology that defines well globally optimized solutions for numerous possible linking combinations based on Linear Programming. A preliminary assessment of the approach was conducted with an existing Ants' simulation tool, capable of creating data sets covering in detail a substantial portion of the nest's life cycle.     

Long-Term Modulation of Galactic Cosmic Rays in the Heliosphere by Curvature of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field

Long-term changes of the GCR intensity in the heliosphere were analysed making use of records of cosmogenic isotopes abundances (¹⁰Be and ¹⁴C) in natural archives and neutron monitor data. These data contain information about short-term, 11-year, 22-year, centennial and two-centennial cycles of solar activity. A mechanism to explain the long-term modulation of GCR due to changes in the curvature of the interplanetary magnetic field, resulting from changes in solar activity, is suggested.