Estimating the global flux of methane into the atmosphere and its seasonal variations

A new method of estimating the global fluxes of methane into the Earth’s atmosphere is proposed. This method allows one to take into account the whole spectrum of methane sources irrespectively of their location and calculate seasonal variations in methane fluxes. The results of numerical calculations of the amount of methane emitted into the atmosphere on the basis of this method are supported by data obtained from field measurements. In the Northern Hemisphere (NH), during fall, maximum concentrations of CH₄ are due to methane sources in the arctic region which have not been taken into account before. For the condition of balance between the emission and sink of methane to be fulfilled, the total capacity of its sources amounts to no less than ～530 Tg/year for the NH and ～470 Tg/year for the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The results of our calculations and an analysis of the behavior of the concentration and mass of methane in the Earth’s hemispheres show that the global flux of methane from the surfaces of the lithosphere and ocean into the atmosphere may amount to more than ～1000 Tg/year.     

Formation of nano-and microspherules of minerals in ore deposits depending on depth of host rock occurrence

The cavitation and cavitation-ablation mechanisms of formation of mineral nano-and microspherules in hydrothermal fluids are considered. The formation conditions of nano-and microspherules were studied with regard to the depth of host rock occurrence on the basis of the theory describing the cavitation mechanism. It is shown that the temperature and pressure of hydrothermal fluid as functions of the depth of host rock occurrence may markedly affect the dimensions of cavitation bubbles, the temperature within them at the moment of greatest compression, and the time of bubble collapse in the fluid. the dimensions of nano-and microspherules produced by cavitation depend only slightly on the depth of host rock occurrence and are mainly controlled by the thermophysical properties of their constituents. Characteristic dimensions of nanospherules formed as a result of ablation from the surface of overheated material have been obtained.     

Manifestation of the Lunar–Solar Tide and Free Oscillations of the Earth in the Variations of the Magnetic Field

The results of processing and analyzing the instrumental observations of the Earth’s magnetic field at the Geophysical Observatory Mikhnevo of the Institute of Geosphere Dynamics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IGD RAS) for 2010–2015 are presented. Quasi-harmonic components with the periods close to the lunar–solar tidal waves are revealed in the spectra of geomagnetic variations over a period of 0.4 to 30 days. The elliptical S₁ tidal wave which is detected in the geomagnetic variations has modulations with periods of 1/3, 1/2, and 1 year. The spectra of the geomagnetic variations contain peaks corresponding to the free oscillations of the Earth. The analysis of the time series of the magnetic field for the period of the strong earthquakes in the absence of geomagnetic disturbances revealed the fine structure of the Earth’s fundamental spheroidal mode ₀S₂, which splits into five singlets. The established features of the spectrum of geomagnetic variations are helping the development of the new method for studying the deep structure of the Earth and the properties of the inner geospheres for estimating the viscosity of the Earth’s outer core and dynamics of the current systems in the outer (liquid) core, as well as for exploring, with the use of empirical data, the general regularities governing the regimes of energy exchange processes in the geospheres.     

Blasting-induced seismicity in the European part of Russia

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - The paper focuses on the increasing contribution of blasting operations to the energy balance of seismic processes. Although the progress in blasting...     

Parameters determining the portion of energy radiated during dynamic unloading of a section of rock massif

Presented are the main results of laboratory experiments aimed at studing the regularities of transition of the cumulated deformation energy to the kinetic one when a block exhibits stick-slip along model fracture filled with geomaterials with different properties. It was shown that even a small variation of material composition of the fault principal slip zone may result in a significant variation of the portion of seismic energy radiated during dynamic unloading of the enclosing rock massif.     

Precursors of dynamic failure on a tectonic fault

A new method for controlling the dynamic shear stiffness of interblock contact during stick-slip is proposed. This method enables us to reveal changes in the mechanical properties of the contact long before the macroscopic slip will be recorded. In the experiments conducted, the time of precursor manifestation was about 1/3 of the duration of the “seismic cycle.”