Environments of the Russian Plain during the Middle Valdai Briansk Interstade (33,000–24,000 yr B.P.) Indicated by Fossil Mammals and Plants

Abundant mammal (45 localities) and plant (52 sections) fossil data collected from the Russian Plain deposits of the Middle Valdai Briansk Interstade indicate a period of noticeable warming. These materials were jointly analyzed. The data were organized in the database software PARADOX and then moved to the GIS program ARC/INFO. Mathematical methods as well as traditional research methods were used for the analysis. The reconstructed biogeographical provinces illustrate the specific environmental and climatic conditions of the Briansk Interstade. Analogues of modern natural zones did not exist at this time on the Russian Plain. The Briansk landscapes reflect the moderate-cool climate of this period, when the majority of northern subarctic plant and mammal species extended their ranges considerably to the south to the Central Russian Plain. At the same time, steppe species penetrated farther north and west. This combination shows that the continuous forest zone was destroyed during the Briansk Inter-stade. Five biogeographical provinces have been reconstructed from the north to the south for the Russian Plain during the Briansk warming on the basis of joint analysis of mammalian and botanical data.     

Directed Evolution of the Biosphere: Biogeochemical Selection or Gaia?

At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, a few Russian scientists proposed an interrelated hypothesis on the coevolution of life and the environment. Because political, linguistic, and cultural barriers between Russia and the rest of the world existed through most of the twentieth century, many of their concepts are not well known in Western science. The synthesis of their works presented in this article leads to the concept of directed evolution of the global ecosystem. Similar to the influential Gaia hypothesis, this concept predicts evolution of the global ecosystem toward conditions generally favorable for organisms. Unlike the Gaia hypothesis, however, the directed evolution in works of Russian scientists results from the superposition of “micro–forces” controlled on local and regional scales by the universal criterion of biogeochemical selection.     

Automatic detection and correction algorithms for magnetic saturation in the SMFT/HSOS longitudinal magnetograms

A longitudinal magnetic field often suffers the saturation effect in a strong magnetic field region when the measurement is performed at a single-wavelength point and linear calibration is adopted.In this study,we develop a method that can judge the threshold of saturation in Stokes V/I observed by the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope(SMFT)and correct it automatically.The procedure is to first perform the second-order polynomial fit to the Stokes V/I vs.I/I_m(I_m is the maximum value of Stokes I)curve to estimate the threshold of saturation,then reconstruct Stokes V/I in a strong field region to correct for saturation.The algorithm is demonstrated to be effective by comparing with the magnetograms obtained by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager(HMI).The accuracy rate of detection and correction for saturation is~99.4%and~88%respectively among 175 active regions.The advantages and disadvantages of the algorithm are discussed.     

Forbidden transition probabilities of astrophysical interest among low-lying states of V III

Electric and magnetic multipole transitions among low-lying states of doubly ionized vanadium were computed using the multi-configuration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) method with Breit-Pauli (BP) corrections to a non-relativistic Hamiltonian. Energy levels were determined up to and including 3d ²(¹ G)4s b ² G _7/2 and computed energies were found to be in good agreement with experiment and other theories. In addition to Einstein A _ki coefficients for some E2 and M1 transitions, lifetime data and selected weighted oscillator strengths are also reported.     

Environmental changes in the northern Altai during the last millennium documented in Lake Teletskoye pollen record

A high-resolution pollen record from Lake Teletskoye documents the climate-related vegetation history of the northern Altai Mountain region during the last millennium. Siberian pine taiga with Scots pine, fir, spruce, and birch dominated the vegetation between ca. AD 1050 and 1100. The climate was similar to modern. In the beginning of the 12th century, birch and shrub alder increased. Lowered pollen concentrations and simultaneous peaks in herbs (especially Artemisia and Poaceae), ferns, and charcoal fragments point to colder and more arid climate conditions than before, with frequent fire events. Around AD 1200, regional climate became warmer and more humid than present, as revealed by an increase of Siberian pine and decreases of dry herb taxa and charcoal contents. Climatic conditions were rather stable until ca. AD 1410. An increase of Artemisia pollen may reflect slightly drier climate conditions between AD 1410 and 1560. Increases in Alnus, Betula, Artemisia, and Chenopodiaceae pollen and in charcoal particle contents may reflect further deterioration of climate conditions between AD 1560 and 1810, consistent with the Little Ice Age. After AD 1850 the vegetation gradually approached the modern one, in conjunction with ongoing climate warming.     

Stoneley wave generation by an incident P-wave propagating in the surrounding formation across a horizontal fluid-filled fracture

This study investigates the generation of the low-frequency borehole Stoneley wave (tube wave) by a plane P-wave propagating through the surrounding elastic formation, which is intersected by a fluid-filled fracture. A model is constructed taking into account the dynamic fluid coupling between the borehole interior and the fluid-filled fracture of infinite extent with parallel walls. The basic mechanism of such coupling is due to the contraction of the fracture walls by the incident P-wave, leading to seismic radiation into the fracture. The dynamic fluid flux from the fracture into the borehole interior, and vice versa, is the source of the low-frequency Stoneley wave. An expression for the monopole pressure source, exciting the tube wave, is obtained. The tube-wave equation in the long-wave approximation is derived in the presence of a fluid-filled fracture of infinite extent. Amplitudes and waveforms of Stoneley waves are analysed in the seismic wavelength range for P-wave pulses of various shapes. It is shown that the amplitude and waveform of the Stoneley wave depends significantly on the two dimensionless parameters of the problem: (1) the ratio of the borehole radius to the dominant wavelength of the incident pulse; (2) the ratio of the fracture width to the borehole radius. It is found that the amplitude of the generated Stoneley wave can be of the order of the P-wave amplitude in the borehole fluid. Stoneley waveforms are found to be completely different from those of the incident pulse.     

A new assessment of climate change impacts on food production shortfalls and water availability in Russia

While previous studies have focused on impacts of average climate change on Russian agriculture and water resources, this study takes into account the impact of changing frequency and spatial heterogeneity of extreme climate events, and the reliance of most of Russia on a few food producing regions. We analyze impacts of the IPCC A2 and B2 climate scenarios with the use of the Global Assessment of Security (GLASS) model (containing the Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) crop production model and the Water-Global Assessment and Prognosis (WaterGAP 2) water resources model). As in previous studies we find that decreased crop production in some Russian regions can be compensated by increased production in others resulting in relatively small average changes. However, a different perspective on future risk to agriculture is gained by taking into account a change in frequency of extreme climate events. Under climate normal conditions it is estimated that “food production shortfalls” (a year in which potential production of the most important crops in a region is below 50% of its average climate normal production, taking into account production in food-exporting regions) occur roughly 1–3 years in each decade. This frequency will double in many of the main crop growing areas in the 2020s, and triple in the 2070s. The effects of these shortfalls are likely to propagate throughout Russia because of the higher likelihood of shortfalls occurring in many crop export regions in the same year, and because of the dependence of most Russian regions on food imports from a relatively few main crop growing regions. We estimate that approximately 50 million people currently live in regions that experience one or more shortfalls each decade. This number may grow to 82–139 million in the 2070s. The assessment of climate impacts on water resources indicates an increase in average water availability in Russia, but also a significantly increased frequency of high runoff events in much of central Russia, and more frequent low runoff events in the already dry crop growing regions in the South. These results suggest that the increasing frequency of extreme climate events will pose an increasing threat to the security of Russia's food system and water resources.     

Holocene Paleohydrology and Paleoclimate at Treeline, North-Central Russia, Inferred from Oxygen Isotope Records in Lake Sediment Cellulose

Lake-water oxygen-isotope histories for three lakes in northern Russia, derived from the cellulose oxygen-isotope stratigraphies of sediment cores, provide the basis for preliminary reconstruction of Holocene paleohydrology in two regions along the boreal treeline. Deconvolution of shifting precipitation δ¹⁸O from secondary evaporative isotopic enrichment is aided by knowledge of the distribution of isotopes in modern precipitation, the isotopic composition of paleo-waters preserved in frozen peat deposits, as well as other supporting paleoclimatic information. These data indicate that during the early Holocene, when the boreal treeline advanced to the current arctic coastline, conditions in the lower Yenisey River region were moist compared to the present, whereas greater aridity prevailed to the east near the lower Lena River. This longitudinal moisture gradient is consistent with the suggestion that oceanic forcing (increased sea-surface temperatures in the Nordic Seas and reduced sea-ice cover) was a major contributor to the development of a more maritime climate in western Eurasia, in addition to increased summer insolation. East of the Taimyr Peninsula, large tracts of the continental shelf exposed by glacial sea-level drawdown may have suppressed maritime climatic influence in what are now coastal areas. In contrast, during the late Holocene the two regions have apparently experienced coherent shifts in effective moisture. The similarity of the records may primarily reflect reduced North Atlantic influence in the Nordic Seas and southward retreat of coastline in eastern Siberia, coupled with declining summer insolation.     

Draconids 2011: Outburst Observations by the Croatian Meteor Network

The predicted Draconid meteor shower outburst during October 2011 had been observed by a portion of the Croatian Meteor Network whose stations encountered clear weather. A total of 95 Draconid orbits have been calculated from 18 contributing stations, and in this paper we present results for 63 orbits obtained from the fully automatic observation and processing pipeline. Two methods of trajectory estimation were applied, showing better fit results using a linearly changing velocity model versus a constant velocity model. The estimated mean radiant position has been found to be at RA = 262.6°, Dec = +55.7°, with estimated geocentric velocity Vg = 20.7 km/s.