Seasonal variations of oceanic conditions near the southeastern coast of Sakhalin Island

Seasonal variations of hydrological conditions in the area adjoining the southeastern coast of Sakhalin Island are described based on the analysis of monthly mean temperature and salinity obtained over standard oceanic sections Makarov-Cape Georgii and Cape Svobodny-the sea and from nine oceanic surveys. The Poronai River runoff that promotes the formation of a warm surface layer with low salinity largely influences the water area of Terpeniya Bay in the northern part of the area studied. In spring, these waters primarily spread southward along the coast; in summer, they flow southeastward, forming a weak vortex structure at 144° E. In the fall, major changes occur below 20 m, where waters of the cold intermediate layer are replaced by warmer waters (4–6°C) of low salinity connected with the Amur River runoff. The destruction of the CIL core near the shelf edge at depths of about 100 m resulting from the fall intensification of the East Sakhalin Current is pronounced in the southern, abyssal part of the region. The coastal area is covered by waters with salinity below 32‰ connected with the Amur River runoff. The volume of low-salinity waters coming through the Cape Svobodny-the sea section into the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk is estimated at 3000 km³ taking into account instrumental measurements of flow rates.     

Registration of the Simushir and Nevelsk tsunamis in the port of Kholmsk

The November 16, 2006, Simushir and August 2, 2007, Nevelsk tsunami records obtained by bottom pressure gauges in Kholmsk Bay are analyzed. The dominant role of the zero mode of eigen oscillations in the bay during the the wave field formation is shown: in the initial record interval (for the remote tsunami source) and 1.5 h after the first wave (for the nearly tsunami). Numerical modeling showed that the longer waves propagated toward Kholmsk in the case of the Nevelsk earthquake and they did not generate eigen oscillations of the bay. These oscillations were generated 1.5 h later when the shorter waves reflected from the Primorye coast arrived.     

The Spatial Angular Function of Thermal Emission of the Moon

New satellite measurements of the lunar-surface radiation temperature are used to construct the spatial angular function of thermal radiation of the Moon in the infrared (10.5–12.5 m) spectral range. The basic material for investigations is the scanned cosmic spectrozonal images of the lunar surface transmitted by the first Russian geostationary artificial meteorological satellite GOMS. The formulas for calculating the angular parameters are given, and the photometric function of thermal radiation of the Moon is plotted as a function of the incidence angle, the reflection angle, and the azimuthal angle between the planes of the incident and reflected rays.     

Monitoring Tidal Conditions in Estuaries of the Karelian Coast of the White Sea

In September 2000, July 2001, and August 2002, three marine expeditions onboard the R/V Ekolog were carried out to study physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes in two estuaries of Karelian coast of the White Sea. A wide complex of modern methods of marine field work was used. The most recent biochemical studies on the estimation of mechanisms of adaptive reactions of hydrobionts to environmental factors (including anthropogenic) were used.     

On the origin of subhorizontal compressive stresses and deformations in a mobile belt

Subhorizontal compressive stresses and deformations play a leading role in the formation of the tectonic structure of mobile belts. These stresses and deformations can arise due to either a lateral convergence of lithospheric plates, subplates, and other lithospheric units or an increase in the volume of layered rocks between fixed walls. Results of geodetic measurements indicate a great role of the latter process.     

The sumatra earthquake of December 26, 2004, as an event unrelated to the plate-tectonic process in the lithosphere

The Sumatra (Indonesia) earthquake of December 26, 2004 (M _w = 9.0?9.3), is among the strongest seismic events (occupying the second to fourth place) recorded in the epoch of instrumental seismological observations. In addition, this earthquake appears to be the first event of such a scale for which results of up-to-date high-precision geodetic measurements are available. Therefore, it is of particular interest for studies of geodynamics of mobile belts, seismogenic zones, and the Earth’s crust as a whole. The available geological, geophysical, and geodetic data for the Mediterranean-Caucasian segment of the Alpine-Himalayan mobile belt, the Greater Caucasus, and the Tajik depression suggest that the tectonic structure, geological zonality, seismicity, and present-day geodynamics of these structural elements of the Earth’s crust are controlled by the interaction of two different mechanisms of tectogenesis. First, this is the mechanism of independent self-development of the aforementioned structural elements and, first of all, the mobile belt as a whole; this mechanism acts through an intense increase in the volume and area of laminated rocks of the crust/lithosphere, apparently, due to the influx of additional mineral material supplied by an ascending flow of deep fluids. The second type of mechanisms is related to the external plate-tectonic action on the mobile belt and the other structural elements due to lateral movements of lithospheric plates. The joint analysis of geological, geodetic (GPS), and seismological data on the Sumatra earthquake area shows that these two mechanisms also act in the Indonesian part of the Alpine-Himalayan mobile belt. However, the Sumatra earthquake itself is a result of an independent (unrelated to plate tectonics) process in the mobile belt rather than the convergence of adjacent lithospheric plates.     

Contraction of Spawning Areas in the Baksan River and Pollution of Superficial Water of Adjacent Territories

Doklady Earth Sciences - Geochemical study of water samples taken from the Malyi Mukulan and Bol’shoi Mukulan creeks and watercourses and trickling from the pile dike of tailing pond no. 3(1)...     

Comparison of physical and chemical properties of the surface in the regions of operation of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lunokhod-1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yutu</Emphasis> rovers on the Moon

Through the example of comparison of the natural features of two regions in the northern part of Mare Imbrium, that were directly investigated in detail with remotely controlled rovers on the lunar surface, the capabilities of combining orbital remote measurements of the physical and mechanical properties and the chemical composition of the lunar soil with their direct measurements have been shown. From the remotely determined spectropolarimetric and gamma-spectrometric characteristics of the regolith surface layer, the exposure age (the maturity), the mean effective size of particles of the fine fraction, the absolute age of the formations, and the iron content in the soil were estimated. To compare the characteristics of the considered regions, the results of the investigations carried out directly on the lunar surface by the Lunokhod-1 rover and the analogous vehicle Yutu were used.