Lagrangian fronts in the ocean

We introduce the concept of Lagrangian fronts (LFs) in the ocean and describe their importance for analyzing water mixing and transport and the specific features and differences from hydrological fronts. A method of calculating LFs in a given velocity field is proposed. Based on altimeter velocity fields from AVISO data in the northwestern Pacific, we calculate the Lagrangian synoptic maps and identify LFs of different spatial and temporal scales. Using statistical analysis of saury catches in different years according to the Goskomrybolovstvo (State Fisheries Committee of the Russian Federation), we show that LFs can serve as good indicators of places that are favorable for fishing.     

Trophic ecology of Pomatoschistus microps within an intertidal bay (Roscoff,France), investigated through gut content and stable isotope analyses

The diet of Pomatoschistus microps has been studied using both gut content and stable isotope analyses. In the Roscoff Aber Bay (Brittany, France), this fish is commonly found on sandy muddy intertidal flats. Gut content analyses were also interpreted using trophic indices. Owing to the large diversity of prey consumed, these indices emphasised the opportunistic feeding behaviour of P. microps. Here, this species fed mainly on endofauna with meiofauna being of high relative importance. The main biotic components of its trophic habitat, characterized by δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, provided evidence of a major trophic pathway based on drift Enteromorpha sp. Trophic positions estimated by both diet analyses and isotopic analyses led to similar results. In this bay, P. microps is a first‐order predator with a low degree of omnivory. Despite a preferential consumption of the amphipod Corophium arenarium, we assumed that this goby behaves as a generalist feeding on a uniform variety of endofauna taxa.     

Geoelectric section of the Central Tien Shan: Sequential inversion of the magnetovariational and magnetotelluric data along the Naryn Line

The paper presents the results of 2D inversion of deep magnetotelluric (MT) and magnetovariational (MV) soundings along the Naryn Line. The method of partial (sequential) inversions is used. According to this method, at the first stage, magnetovariation responses are used for the localization of deep anomalies of electrical conductivity, and then the magnetotelluric sounding data are invoked to refine the structure of the host medium and the structural details in the upper part of the section. It is shown that this approach enables one to estimate the informativeness of separate components of the electromagnetic field, to reduce the distorting influence of the near-surface geoelectric inhomogeneities, and to increase the stability of the final solution of the inverse problem.     

The arrow of time

Why does time apparently fly one way, when the laws of physics are actually time-symmetrical? Paul Davies proposes a quantum solution, in the Whitrow Lecture 2004, given on 8 October 2004.     

Accuracy estimates for some global analytical models of the Earth’s main magnetic field on the basis of data on gradient magnetic surveys at stratospheric balloons

Two global analytical models of the main magnetic field of the Earth (MFE) have been used to determine their potential in deriving an anomalous MFE from balloon magnetic surveys conducted at altitudes of ～30 km. The daily mean spherical harmonic model (DMSHM) constructed from satellite data on the day of balloon magnetic surveys was analyzed. This model for the day of magnetic surveys was shown to be almost free of errors associated with secular variations and can be recommended for deriving an anomalous MFE. The error of the enhanced magnetic model (EMM) was estimated depending on the number of harmonics used in the model. The model limited by the first 13 harmonics was shown to be able to lead to errors in the main MFE of around 15 nT. The EMM developed to n = m = 720 and constructed on the basis of satellite and ground-based magnetic data fails to adequately simulate the anomalous MFE at altitudes of 30 km. To construct a representative model developed to m = n = 720, ground-based magnetic data should be replaced by data of balloon magnetic surveys for altitudes of ～30 km. The results of investigations were confirmed by a balloon experiment conducted by Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow Aviation Institute.     

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Diatoms and aquatic palynomorphs in surface sediments of the White Sea bays as indicators of sedimentation in marginal filters of rivers

Diatom algae, aquatic palynomorphs, and the grain-size of surface sediments from bays of the White Sea were investigated in a program dedicated to the study of marginal filters (MF) in the Severnaya Dvina, Onega, and Kem rivers. Three microalgal assemblages are established in surface sediments, which replace each other successively with distance from river mouths and are characterized by a gradual decrease in a share of freshwater species of diatoms and Chlorophyceae algae, significantly varying concentrations of marine diatoms and dinocysts due to changes in water salinity, grain-size composition of sediments, quantitative distribution of suspended particulate matter (SPM), and water productivity at different marginal filter stages.