Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay: Physical and Chemical Evolution

Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay is a large (around 18,000 km²) and shallow (few meters deep) lagoon located east of the Caspian Sea. Its water surface was several meters to several dozens cm lower than in the Caspian Sea, so water flows from the Caspian Sea through a narrow strait into the bay, where it evaporates. Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world; its water salinity amounts to 270–300 g/l. Different kinds of salts available in this natural evaporative basin has been used commercially since at least the 1920s. In March 1980, in order to decelerate a continuous fall of the Caspian Sea level, which in 1977 was the lowest over the last 400 years (?29 m), the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Strait was dammed. In response to this human intervention, the bay had already dried up completely by November 1983. In 1992, the dam was destroyed, and Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay had been filling up with the Caspian Sea water at a rate of about 1.7 m/year up to 1996 as observed by the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimetry mission. Since then, Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay level evolution with characteristic seasonal and interannual oscillations has been similar to that of the Caspian Sea. Physical and chemical evolution of the bay in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is traced in detail in the paper.     

Turbulent measurements in the stable atmospheric boundary layer during SHEBA: ten years after

This paper surveys results of the comprehensive turbulent measurements in the stable boundary layer (SBL) made over the Arctic pack ice during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean experiment (SHEBA) in the Beaufort Gyre from October 1997 through September 1998. Turbulent fluxes and mean meteorological data were continuously measured and reported hourly at five levels on a 20-m main SHEBA tower. Eleven months of measurements during SHEBA cover a wide range of stability conditions, from the weakly unstable regime to very stable stratification, and allow studying the SBL in detail. A brief overview of the SBL regimes, the flux-profile relationships, the turbulent Prandtl number, and other parameters obtained during SHEBA is given. The traditional Monin—Obukhov approach, z-less scaling, and gradient-based scaling are evaluated and discussed based on the data from SHEBA.     

Composition and origin of holotype Al‐Cu‐Zn minerals in relation to quasicrystals in the Khatyrka meteorite

We investigated the khatyrkite–cupalite holotype sample, 1.2 × 0.5 mm across. It consists of khatyrkite (Cu,Zn)Al₂, cupalite (Cu,Zn)Al, and interstitial material with approximate composition (Zn,Cu)Al₃. All mineral phases of the holotype sample contain Zn and lack Fe that distinguishes them from khatyrkite and cupalite in the Khatyrka meteorite particles (Bindi et al. 2009 , 2011 , 2012 , 2015 ; MacPherson et al. 2013 ; Hollister et al. 2014 ). Neither highly fractionated natural systems nor geo‐ or cosmochemical processes capable of forming the holotype sample are known so far. The bulk chemistry and thermal history of khatyrkite–cupalite assemblage in the holotype sample hint for its possible industrial origin. Likewise, the aluminides in the Khatyrka meteorite particles may also be derived from industrial materials and mixed with extraterrestrial matter during gold prospecting in the Listvenitovy Stream valley.     

The Critical Richardson Number and Limits of Applicability of Local Similarity Theory in the Stable Boundary Layer

Measurements of atmospheric turbulence made over the Arctic pack ice during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean experiment (SHEBA) are used to determine the limits of applicability of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (in the local scaling formulation) in the stable atmospheric boundary layer. Based on the spectral analysis of wind velocity and air temperature fluctuations, it is shown that, when both the gradient Richardson number, Ri, and the flux Richardson number, Rf, exceed a ‘critical value’ of about 0.20–0.25, the inertial subrange associated with the Richardson–Kolmogorov cascade dies out and vertical turbulent fluxes become small. Some small-scale turbulence survives even in this supercritical regime, but this is non-Kolmogorov turbulence, and it decays rapidly with further increasing stability. Similarity theory is based on the turbulent fluxes in the high-frequency part of the spectra that are associated with energy-containing/flux-carrying eddies. Spectral densities in this high-frequency band diminish as the Richardson–Kolmogorov energy cascade weakens; therefore, the applicability of local Monin–Obukhov similarity theory in stable conditions is limited by the inequalities Ri < Ri _cr and Rf < Rf _cr. However, it is found that Rf _cr  =  0.20–0.25 is a primary threshold for applicability. Applying this prerequisite shows that the data follow classical Monin–Obukhov local z-less predictions after the irrelevant cases (turbulence without the Richardson–Kolmogorov cascade) have been filtered out.     

Stable Boundary-Layer Scaling Regimes: The Sheba Data

Turbulent and mean meteorological data collected at five levels on a 20-m tower over the Arctic pack ice during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean experiment (SHEBA) are analyzed to examine different regimes of the stable boundary layer (SBL). Eleven months of measurements during SHEBA cover a wide range of stability conditions, from the weakly unstable regime to very stable stratification. Scaling arguments and our analysis show that the SBL can be classified into four major regimes: (i) surface-layer scaling regime (weakly stable case), (ii) transition regime, (iii) turbulent Ekman layer, and (iv) intermittently turbulent Ekman layer (supercritical stable regime). These four regimes may be considered as the basic states of the traditional SBL. Sometimes these regimes, especially the last two, can be markedly perturbed by gravity waves, detached elevated turbulence (‘upside down SBL’), and inertial oscillations. Traditional Monin–Obukhov similarity theory works well in the weakly stable regime. In the transition regime, Businger–Dyer formulations work if scaling variables are re-defined in terms of local fluxes, although stability function estimates expressed in these terms include more scatter compared to the surface-layer scaling. As stability increases, the near-surface turbulence is affected by the turning effects of the Coriolis force (the turbulent Ekman layer). In this regime, the surface layer, where the turbulence is continuous, may be very shallow (< 5 m). Turbulent transfer near the critical Richardson number is characterized by small but still significant heat flux and negligible stress. The supercritical stable regime, where the Richardson number exceeds a critical value, is associated with collapsed turbulence and the strong influence of the earth’s rotation even near the surface. In the limit of very strong stability, the stress is no longer a primary scaling parameter.     

A review of the stratigraphy and geological setting of the Palaeoproterozoic Magondi Supergroup,Zimbabwe – Type locality for the Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion

The Palaeoproterozoic Magondi Supergroup lies unconformably on the Archaean granitoid-greenstone terrain of the Zimbabwe Craton and experienced deformation and metamorphism at 2.06–1.96 Ga to form the Magondi Mobile Belt. The Magondi Supergroup comprises three lithostratigraphic units. Volcano-sedimentary rift deposits (Deweras Group) are unconformably overlain by passive margin, back-arc, and foreland basin sedimentary successions, including shallow-marine sedimentary rocks (Lomagundi Group) in the east, and deeper-water shelf to continental slope deposits in the west (Piriwiri Group). Based on the upward-coarsening trend and presence of volcanic rocks at the top of the Piriwiri and Lomagundi groups, the Piriwiri Group is considered to be a distal, deeper-water time-equivalent of the Lomagundi Group. The Magondi Supergroup experienced low-grade metamorphism in the southeastern zone, but the grade increases to upper greenschist and amphibolite facies grade to the north along strike and, more dramatically, across strike to the west, reaching upper amphibolite to granulite facies in the Piriwiri Group.     

Moderately compact helix antennas with cutoff patterns for millimeter RTK positioning

GPS Solutions - Helical antennas have been developed that feature a cutoff pattern and are suitable for practical positioning at millimeter level. The antennas are in the form of a tube with...     

The updated version of SPONSOR land surface scheme: PILPS-influenced improvements

The parameterization scheme SPONSOR (Semi-distributed ParameterizatiON Scheme of the ORography-induced hydrology) participating in PILPS (Project for Intercomparison of Land-surface Parameterization Schemes) experiments since 1993 is described in more detail than before, taking into account a range of recent modifications. Improvement of the scheme in several aspects (e.g., soil water movement) resulted in significantly improved results for the Cabauw site (used for PILPS (2a) experiments). Then, parameterization of cold seasons/regions processes (water phase transformations within soil and snow cover) was developed for PILPS (2d) experiments carried out with Valdai data. Testing of the scheme against the data of Kolyma water balance station shows that it is able to reproduce the main features of heat and water exchange at the land surface in the permafrost zone quite satisfactorily. It was found that the scheme results are rather sensitive to the soil heat conductivity, especially in the cold seasons. The original method for the calculation of this parameter was developed using a square root function. The surface temperature and dates of crossing the 0°C temperature threshold for Kolyma station were reproduced with satisfactory accuracy. The temporal variation of the deep soil layers' temperatures was modelled satisfactorily too, but the seasonal amplitude of deep soil temperatures was overestimated by the scheme. This disadvantage can possibly be improved by inclusion of vertical inhomogeneity of soil thermal and hydraulic properties in the model.