Asymptotic methods of calculating the propagation of centimeter radio waves in the atmosphere in space-space paths

Asymptotic methods of calculating the propagation of centimeter radio waves in a neutral atmosphere in space-space paths are considered. The methods are based on the technique of Fourier integral operators. The approximations that allow the representation of the corresponding operators as compositions of nonlinear coordinate changes, multiplications by reference signals, and Fourier transformations are constructed. The approximations are based on a technical procedure using a linearized canonical transform. This approach makes it possible to devise fast numerical algorithms. Numerical simulations are conducted with the use of realistic global gridded fields of meteorological parameters including the turbulence. The numerical simulations show high accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methods.     

The Oldest Evidence for Human Habitation in the Baltic Region: A Preliminary Report on the Chronology and Archaeological Context of the Riadino‐5 Archaeological Site

We report the discovery of the oldest evidence for human presence in the southeastern Baltic Sea region. This paper presents an overview of the Riadino‐5 archaeological site in the lower course of the Šešupė River (Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia) and direct infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) ages for the culture‐bearing sediments from the site, which place the time of occupation well within the range of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (ca 57–26 ka). Luminescence ages were determined using the multiple‐aliquot additive‐dose technique, applied to sand‐sized potassium feldspar. Four of the six IRSL samples from the site come from the cultural deposits, while two are from the surrounding sediments. The luminescence age of the deposits implies that human occupation of the southeastern Baltic Sea region occurred at least between 50 ka and 44 ka during the first half of MIS 3 and the Middle‐Upper Paleolithic.     

The Fe–C–O–H–N system at 6.3–7.8 GPa and 1200–1400 °C: implications for deep carbon and nitrogen cycles

Interactions in a Fe–C–O–H–N system that controls the mobility of siderophile nitrogen and carbon in the Fe⁰-saturated upper mantle are investigated in experiments at 6.3–7.8 GPa and 1200–1400 °C. The results show that the γ-Fe and metal melt phases equilibrated with the fluid in a system unsaturated with carbon and nitrogen are stable at 1300 °C. The interactions of Fe₃C with an N-rich fluid in a graphite-saturated system produce the ε-Fe₃N phase (space group P6₃/mmc or P6₃22) at subsolidus conditions of 1200–1300 °C, while N-rich melts form at 1400 °C. At IW- and MMO-buffered hydrogen fugacity (fH₂), fluids vary from NH₃- to H₂O-rich compositions (NH₃/N₂?>?1 in all cases) with relatively high contents of alkanes. The fluid derived from N-poor samples contains less H₂O and more carbon which mainly reside in oxygenated hydrocarbons, i.e., alcohols and esters at MMO-buffered fH₂ and carboxylic acids at unbuffered fH₂ conditions. In unbuffered conditions, N₂ is the principal nitrogen host (NH₃/N₂?≤?0.1) in the fluid equilibrated with the metal phase. Relatively C- and N-rich fluids in equilibrium with the metal phase (γ-Fe, melt, or Fe₃N) are stable at the upper mantle pressures and temperatures. According to our estimates, the metal/fluid partition coefficient of nitrogen is higher than that of carbon. Thus, nitrogen has a greater affinity for iron than carbon. The general inference is that reduced fluids can successfully transport volatiles from the metal-saturated mantle to metal-free shallow mantle domains. However, nitrogen has a higher affinity for iron and selectively accumulates in the metal phase, while highly mobile carbon resides in the fluid phase. This may be a controlling mechanism of the deep carbon and nitrogen cycles.     

Constraining groundwater modeling with magnetic resonance soundings

Magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) is a noninvasive geophysical method that allows estimating the free water content and transmissivity of aquifers. In this article, the ability of MRS to improve the reliability of a numerical groundwater model is assessed. Thirty-five sites were investigated by MRS over a ～5000 km(2) domain of the sedimentary Continental Terminal aquifer in SW Niger. Time domain electromagnetic soundings were jointly carried out to estimate the aquifer thickness. A groundwater model was previously built for this section of the aquifer and forced by the outputs from a distributed surface hydrology model, to simulate the observed long-term (1992 to 2003) rise in the water table. Uncertainty analysis had shown that independent estimates of the free water content and transmissivity values of the aquifer would facilitate cross-evaluation of the surface-water and groundwater models. MRS results indicate ranges for permeability (K = 1 × 10(-5) to 3 × 10(-4) m/s) and for free water content (w = 5% to 23% m(3) /m(3) ) narrowed by two orders of magnitude (K) and by ～50% (w), respectively, compared to the ranges of permeability and specific yield values previously considered. These shorter parameter ranges result in a reduction in the model's equifinality (whereby multiple combinations of model's parameters are able to represent the same observed piezometric levels), allowing a better constrained estimate to be derived for net aquifer recharge (～22 mm/year).     

MRS applicability for a study of glacial sedimentary aquifers in Central Jutland, Denmark

Intensive geophysical measurements are currently being carried out in Denmark to comply with the Danish Government's environmental plans of dense hydrogeological mapping to ensure high quality non-treated drinking water supply based solely on groundwater. A MRS-TDEM combined geophysical survey was conducted to measure the applicability and the contribution of MRS to running drilling programs.Despite complicated electromagnetic noise conditions, the MRS method proved to be applicable in the Danish context. An example of the practical application of MRS combined with TDEM in two selected areas of the former County of Vejle in Denmark, demonstrates the efficiency of the technique. The MRS results clearly suggest optimal locations for water supply boreholes within subsurface structures with homogeneous resistivity conditions mapped by TDEM. These results reveal the interest of using MRS as a new geophysical tool for the Danish water supply policy, which can provide a foundation for optimising drilling site locations within areas with resistivities in the aquifer range. However, more MRS soundings need to be carried out in order to improve MRS calibration in the Danish context, which will allow quantitative MRS characterization of aquifers.     

Survey of Geomagnetic Observations Made in the Northern Sector of Russia and New Methods for Analysing Them

An overview of the geomagnetic observations made in the northern part of Russia is presented from a historical perspective. Several stations were deployed on the territory of the former Soviet Union during the International Geophysical Year, 1957–1958, with the active participation and guidance of the Interagency Geophysical Committee which is inherited by the Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (GC RAS). In the 1990s, the majority of these stations, especially those in the remoter regions, were closed. Nowadays, the geomagnetic network, including the observatories of the INTERMAGNET program, has been restored. Examples of high-latitude geomagnetic variations in the Russian longitudinal sector are shown, and maps and trends of the secular variation over the territory of Russia presented. Particular attention is paid to the automated processing of data and to the analysis methods used. To process the growing amount of high-resolution geomagnetic data, sophisticated mathematical methods based on the fuzzy logic approach and new discrete mathematical analysis algorithms have been developed. The formal methods and algorithms for recognizing both artificial and natural disturbances in the magnetograms are described.     

Application of the data on the lithospheric magnetic anomalies in the problem of recognizing the earthquake prone areas

For the first time, an attempt is made to apply the data on the lithospheric magnetic anomalies of the Earth for determining the areas prone to strong earthquakes by means of the pattern recognition algorithms. The Caucasian region with the threshold magnitude of the strong earthquakes M₀ = 6 is considered. It is established that the data on the lithospheric magnetic anomalies are informative from the standpoint of recognizing the strong earthquake prone areas. Application of these data is promising for solving the similar problems for different seismically active regions.     

Reconstruction of the Internal-Wave Parameters in the Atmosphere from Signal Amplitude Fluctuations in a Radio-Occultation Experiment

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - In this paper, we discuss a method for reconstructing the parameters of internal gravitational waves (IGWs) in the stratosphere from amplitude...