Extreme Climatic Events in the Altai-Sayan Region as an Indicator of Powerful Volcanic Eruptions

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Analytic data on anomalies of the tree-ring structure of Siberian larch on the transect, passing through the Russian part of the Altai-Sayan Mountain...     

Simulating the Propagation of Infrasonic Waves and Estimating the Energy of the Chelyabinsk Meteoroid Explosion Observed on February 15, 2013

Results obtained from simulating the propagation of infrasonic waves from the Chelyabinsk meteoroid explosion observed on February 15, 2013, are given. The pseudodifferential parabolic equation (PDPE) method has been used for calculations. Data on infrasonic waves recorded at the IS31 station (Aktyubinsk, Kazakhstan), located 542.7 km from the likely location of the explosion, have been analyzed. Six infrasonic arrivals (isolated clearly defined pulse signals) were recorded. It is shown that the first “fast” arrival (F) corresponds to the propagation of infrasound in a surface acoustic waveguide. The rest of the arrivals (T1–T5) are thermospheric. The agreement between the results of calculations based on the PDPE method and experimental data is satisfactory. The energy E of the explosion has been estimated using two methods. One of these methods is based on the law of conservation of the acoustic pulse I, which is a product of the wave profile area S/2 of the signal under analysis and the distance to its source E _I [kt] = 1.38 × 10^–10 (I [kg/s])^1.482. The other method is based on the relation between the energy of explosion and the dominant period T of recorded signal E _T [kt] = 1.02 × (T [s]²/σ)^3/2, where σ is the dimensionless distance determining the degree of nonlinear effects during the propagation of sound along ray trajectories. According to the data, the explosion energy E _I,T ranges from 1.87 to 32 kt TNT.     

Faecal indicator bacteria in New Zealand freshwater fish: a pilot study

Recent studies have suggested that poikilothermic animals, such as fish, may represent a previously overlooked source of the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) used for the assessment of water quality. However, quantitative studies of FIB in poikilotherms are scarce. We investigated the presence of FIB in the faeces of five freshwater fish species. E. coli and enterococci were detected in 71 and 76% of faecal samples, respectively. Concentrations were highly variable, with maximum concentrations (2.1?×?10⁴ E. coli and 1.3?×?10⁶ enterococci per gram of faecal material) up to four orders of magnitude higher than present in the water column. FIB were not detected in faecal samples from marine fish. Our findings suggest that FIB ingested from the environment may be capable of replication within the fish gut, making fish a potential source and transport mechanism for FIB in New Zealand freshwaters. This may have implications for water quality monitoring.     

Bathymetry,substrate and fishing areas of Southeast Atlantic high-seas seamounts

Most of the Southeast Atlantic Ocean is abyssal, and global bathymetries suggest that only ～3.2% of the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ; also known as the high seas, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]) are shallower than 2 500 m. This study mapped bathymetry and characterised substrates in selected seamount summit areas, including several that have been or may become fishing areas. The southernmost location, the Schmitt-Ott Seamount, has exposed volcanic bedrock with surrounding flats covered by thin biogenic sediments and/or coral rubble that appears ancient. At Wüst, Vema, Valdivia and Ewing seamounts the basaltic base appears to be overlain by coral caps and other coral substrates (sheets, rubble). Adjacent summit plains have biogenic sediments of varying thickness. Vema has a flat, roughly circular summit, <100 m deep, with the shallowest point being a 22-m-deep summit knoll; the upper slopes have ancient coral framework, but the summit has a mixture of coralline and volcanic rock and coarse sediments, including extensive areas with coralline algae and kelp forests. Valdivia Bank is a 230-m-deep, flat, rocky area (～11 × 5 km), protruding steeply from the extensive multi-summit Valdivia subarea of the Walvis Ridge. The distribution of past fisheries in the Convention Area of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was considered in relation to the new information on bathymetry and substrate.     

Field Placement and Evaluation of Stabilized Dredged Material (SDM) from the New York/New Jersey Harbor

Since the 1997 local ban on ocean dumping of dredged sediments, the States of New York and New Jersey have pursued a policy of environmentally sound solutions to the management of dredged material, including beneficial use of stabilized dredged material (SDM) in transportation applications. A pilot study was initiated in 1998 to evaluate the use of SDM in the construction of highway embankments. Utilizing 80,000 cubic yards of dredged material, two embankments were constructed from SDM on a commercial development area adjacent to the Harbor. Geotechnical properties and handling of SDM were evaluated both during and one year post - construction. This article presents the evaluation of the embankments themselves, including constructability and performance. The results demonstrate that SDM satisfies most of the geotechnical criteria for fill construction, except those for durability, requiring proper coverage and protection similar to that provided for fills constructed on cohesive soils. This same characteristic precludes long term stockpiling of SDM prior to final placement, limiting applications to those that have schedules overlapping with dredging projects. Increased costs for the use of SDM can be as high as $8 per cubic yard over traditional fills; however, this cost may be recouped through management fees collected from dredging projects.     

Past and present sedimentary activity in the Capbreton Canyon, southern Bay of Biscay

Located in the south-eastern part of the Bay of Biscay, the Capbreton Canyon incises the continental shelf up to the 30 m isobath contour, and acts as a natural conduit for continental and shelf-derived sediments. EM1000 multibeam bathymetry shows two main features characterising the canyon — a deeply entrenched meandering channel, bordered by fluvial-like terraces constituting large sediment traps. A dataset of cores and seismic profiles together with a multibeam bathymetry map has enabled the characterisation of recent sedimentary activity in the axial channel and on the terraces. Data analysis evidenced the major role of the canyon head in recent sediment dynamics. This part of the canyon is a temporary reservoir for sediments, accumulated by coastal hydrodynamic processes. Exceptional climatic, tectonic or hydrodynamic events can mobilise the sediments and generate gravity-driven flows. Under the present-day sea-level highstand conditions, these flows are not powerful enough to bring their bedload to the deep sea, and are confined mainly to the upper part of the canyon. Turbidity currents model the axial channel pathway and are at the origin of terrace formation. Terraces in the Capbreton Canyon are not typical but rather are reduced to confined levees. Three factors control the vertical growth of a terrace: (1) the amount of overspilled sediments brought by turbidity currents, (2) hemipelagic sedimentation and (3) terrace height. The amount of sediment spilling over a terrace decreases with increased terrace elevation. Concurrently, the proportion of hemipelagic fallout depositing on a terrace increases. Terraces are considered to be fossil when the height of the terrace prevents further deposition by overspilling. The terraces studied in this paper are interpreted as having formed during the Holocene, implying that the sediment dynamics of the Capbreton Canyon is continuous through time. Highstand periods differ from lowstand periods because they show a decrease in the energy of erosive processes. Temporal variations in erosive and depositional processes in the canyon are controlled by the Adour River, which delivers large amounts of sediment to the system.     

Persistent volcanic signature observed around Barren Island, Andaman Sea, India

This study delineates the formation of a warm pool (>34°C) of air to the west (downwind) of the active volcano of the Barren Island during October–November 2005. Barren Island is located in the Sumatra–Andaman region, about 135 km east of Port Blair, and lies within the Burma microplate, the southern tip of which experienced a submarine earthquake (M _w 9.3) causing a tsunami in December 2004. Barren Island is the only volcano, which has shown sustained eruptive activity since shortly after the Great Sumatran Earthquake of December 2004. Our observations require further corroboration to relate how submarine earthquakes activate volcanoes and how far these thermal emissions influence climate changes. Because it links global warming and climate changes to the frequent emissions from a volcano activated by submarine earthquakes, this case study is of special interest to the earth-ocean-atmosphere sciences community.     

On the use of poorly soluble hygroscopic substances for modification of warm clouds and fogs

From analysis of the relationships between the equilibrium state of condensation nuclei and the relative humidity, a conclusion is made concerning the preferred use of poorly soluble substances for the generation of artificial condensation nuclei (ACN) designed for modification of warm clouds and fogs with the purpose of their dissipation and precipitation formation. The advantage of poorly soluble substances over commonly used soluble salts is that the finely dispersed part of the spectrum of the poorly soluble ACN does not deliquesce and so is not involved in the formation of cloud droplets. For experimental testing of the conclusions, preference was given to cement, whose main soluble substance is calcium oxide with a solubility of about 1 g/l. The spectrum of dispersed cement particles was measured and compared with the spectra of pyrotechnic flares widely used for modification at present. The process of formation of the cloud droplet spectra was simulated in the aerosol chamber of the Institute of Experimental Meteorology by decreasing the preliminarily generated excess pressure. It was found in these experiments that, compared to the spectra of particles formed on background condensation nuclei, the introduction of dispersed cement leads to the broadening of spectra and to a decrease in the concentration of droplets. Even at the early stage of condensation, droplets with radii of ∼20 μm appear. In this case, no “overseeding” phenomenon is observed, which, for soluble substances, manifests itself in an increase in the concentration of cloud droplets with a large ACN concentration. These effects indicate that, according to the existing concepts about the mechanism of warm-cloud modification with hygroscopic substances, the introduction of poorly soluble ACN (in particular, dispersed cement) below the base of cumulus clouds should stimulate coagulation processes and accelerate rain-formation processes. Considerations are given that the introduction of poorly soluble ACN into the already existing cumulus or stratocumulus clouds or fogs should also result in the acceleration of precipitation-formation processes or cloud dispersal. Comparison of cement powder with the well-known means of warm-cloud and fog modification is carried out. Original Russian Text ? N.P. Romanov, A.S. Drofa, N.S. Kim, A.V. Savchenko, G.F. Yaskevich, 2006, published in Izvestiya AN. Fizika Atmosfery i Okeana, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 80–91.     

Ageostrophic dynamics of the upper ocean layer: Measurements over the transatlantic section along 53° N

Some aspects of the upper ocean layer dynamics are considered, including the Ekman transport, the relation of the thickness of the quasi-homogeneous layer to the thickness of the layer of rotation of the drift current vector, and the correlation between the level of the turbulent energy dissipation and the thickness of the quasi-homogeneous layer.