Study of Local Seismic Events in Lithuania and Adjacent Areas Using Data from the PASSEQ Experiment

The territory of Lithuania and adjacent areas of the East European Craton have always been considered a region of low seismicity. Two recent earthquakes with magnitudes of more than 5 in the Kaliningrad District (Russian Federation) on 21 September 2004 motivated re-evaluation of the seismic hazard in Lithuania and adjacent territories. A new opportunity to study seismicity in the region is provided by the PASSEQ (Pasive Seismic Experiment) project that aimed to study the lithosphere–asthenosphere structure around the Trans-European Suture Zone. Twenty-six seismic stations of the PASSEQ temporary seismic array were installed in the territory of Lithuania. The stations recorded a number of local and regional seismic events originating from Lithuania and adjacent areas. This data can be used to answer the question of whether there exist seismically active tectonic zones in Lithuania that could be potentially hazardous for critical industrial facilities. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to find any natural tectonic seismic events in Lithuania and to obtain more general view of seismicity in the region. In order to do this, we make a manual review of the continuous data recorded by the PASSEQ seismic stations in Lithuania. From the good quality data, we select and relocate 45 local seismic events using the well-known LocSAT and VELEST location algortithms. In order to discriminate between possible natural events, underwater explosions and on-shore blasts, we analyse spatial distribution of epicenters and temporal distribution of origin times and perform both visual analysis of waveforms and spectral analysis of recordings. We show that the relocated seismic events can be grouped into five clusters (groups) according to their epicenter coordinates and origin and that several seismic events might be of tectonic origin. We also show that several events from the off-shore region in the Baltic Sea (at the coasts of the Kaliningrad District of the Russian Federation) are non-volcanic tremors, although the origin of these tremor-type events is not clear.     

Total mercury in terrestrial systems (air-soil-plant-water) at the mining region of San Joaquín,Queretaro, Mexico

Deficient management of cinnabar mining left the San Joaquín region with high concentrations of mercury in its soils (2.4 – 4164 mg kg^-1). Numerous cinnabar mines have contributed to the dispersion of mercury into agricultural (0.5 –314 mg kg^-1) and forest (0.2 – 69 mg kg^-1) soils. Sediments are a natural means of transportation for mercury, causing its spreading, especially in areas near mine entrances (0.6 – 687 mg kg^-1). The nearness of maize crops to mines favors mercury accumulation in the different plant structures, such as roots, stems, leaves, and grain (0.04 – 8.2 mg kg^-1); these being related to mercury volatilization and accumulation in soils. Mercury vapor present in the settlements could indicate a constant volatilization from lands and soils (22 – 153 ng m^-3). The mercury levels found in the soils, in maize grain, and in the air resulted greater than the standards reported by the Official Mexican Norm (NOM) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Mercury in rainwater is due mainly to the presence of suspended atmospheric particles, later deposited on the surface (1.5 – 339 μg |^-1). Mercury dissolution was found in the drinking water (10 – 170 ng |^-1), with concentrations below those established by the NOM and the WHO. The contamination existing in the San Joaquín region does not reach the levels of the world’s greatest mercury producers: Almaden (Spain) and Idrija (Slovenia). It is, however, like that found in other important second degree world producers such as Guizhou (China). The population of San Joaquín, as well as its surrounding environment, are constantly exposed to mercury contamination, thus making a long term monitoring necessary to determine its effects, especially to people.     

Long-term trends in solar activity. Variations of solar indices in the last 40 years

We analyze long-term variations of several solar activity indices(AIs) that have been measured over the last 40 years. With this goal, we study the AIs that characterize the fluxes from different areas in the solar atmosphere. Our consideration of mutual correlations between the solar indices is based on the study of relationships between them in the period from 1950 to 1990. This period of time, covering activity cycles 19–22, is characterized by relatively stable relations between the indices. We investigate the normalized variations of these indices in recent time in relation to their values which were calculated by considering radiation from the Sun in the radio range at a wavelength of 10.7 cm(F10.7) in 1950–1990.The analysis of time series, representing variations of the normalized AI(AIFF) in solar cycles 23–24,shows different trends exist for different indices in terms of their long-term behavior. We assume that variations of normalized International Sunspot Number(SSN), F530.3 and Flare Index, which have shown sharp decreases in the last 40 years, are possibly associated with a decrease in the intensity of large-scale magnetic fields in the photosphere(SSN) and in the corona(the coronal index and the Flare Index).     

The Influence of the Electron κ-Distribution in the Solar Corona on the Fe VIII – Fe XV Line Intensities

Changes in the excitation equilibrium of Feviii – Fe xv in the solar corona due to the electron non-thermal κ-distribution are studied. The shape of the distribution affects the electron excitation rate and thus the relative intensities of the spectral lines. Since the shape of the electron distribution function influences also the ionization equilibrium of Fe, both effects change the final intensities of the lines. Possibilities for diagnostics of the shape of the electron distribution in the solar corona are discussed. Synthetic spectrum of Fe for T = 1.58× 10⁶ K and n_e = 10⁸ cm⁻³ is shown together with the synthetic spectra computed with DEM for the quiet Sun.     

Paleolithic archeology and the paleogeographical study of loess-paleosol sequences in Eastern Europe

The paper is concerned with problems of the study of Paleolithic sites in the loess regions of the Russian Plain. It is of great significance to correlate prehistorical settlement with Upper Pleistocene cycles of loess and soil formation — not solely in the reconstruction of paleoenvironments. From the cultural layers at various sites paleontological finds and objects were collected for radiocarbon dating. A complex analysis of archeological objects embedded in the loess-paleosol sequence helps us date Upper Pleistocene loess formation cycles. The data acquired from the investigation of the lithological properties of loess and their modification through time and their dependence on relief characteristics permitted a correlation between the various paleoenvironments and the dust accumulation cycles, which played a decisive role in the selection of the most habitable sites.     

On very-low-frequency atmospherics at Roburent,Northern Italy

Summary The diurnal and seasonal variation of the VLF sferics pulse rate recorded at Roburent, Northern Italy, on 27 kHz since 1966 is derived. By analyzing the sunrise effect, the minimum distance of the thunderstorm centers providing at that time an unperturbed behaviour of the sferics pulse rate is obtained: this distance varies in azimuth and with the seasons and lies between 600 and 1300 km. In the time of the equinoxes, however, it is more stable between 700 and 900 km. The role of the groundwave propagation, generated by thunderstorm center within a radius of less than 500 km, is emphasized.

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Zusammenfassung Der Tagesgang und der Jahresgang der Sferics-Impulshäufigkeit werden abgeleitet. Diese Sferics-Häufigkeit ist seit 1966 auf 27 kHz in Roburent, in Nord-Italien, registriert worden. Der Mindestabstand der Gewitterherde, welche zur Zeit des Sonnenaufgangs ein ungestörte Bild der Impulshäufigkeit geben, wird mit Hilfe des Sonnenaufgangseffekts abgeleitet: der Abstand liegt — abhängig von der Jahreszeit und der Einfallsrichtung — zwischen 600 und 1300 km; jedoch bewegt er sich in dem engeren Rahmen zwischen 700 und 900 km zur Zeit der Tag-und Nachtgleichen. Betont wird die Rolle der Bodenwelle, welche von Gewitterherden in einem Abstand von weniger als 500 km erzeugt wird.

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Contribution No. 241 of the Istituto Geofisico e Geodetico, Università di Genova,Genoa, Italy. This work has been supported by a grant from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Comitato Nazionale per le Scienze Fisiche), Roma.     

Comparison of convergence towards invariant distributions for rotation angles, twist angles and local Lyapunov characteristic numbers

Using the standard map as a model problem and in the spirit of cluster analysis we have studied the invariance of the distributions of different indicators introduced to detect and measure weak chaos. We show that the problem is less straightforward than expected and that, except for very strong chaotic dynamical systems, all the complexities (islands, sticking phenomena, cantori) of mixed Hamiltonian systems are reflected into the indicators of convergence towards invariant distributions.     

Solar constant and sunspots

Summary The relationship, already found by the authors, between sunspot numbers and the solar constant, as deduced from the highest global irradiance values at noon, is here reexamined and confirmed. Some attempts at explanation and further inferences are presented.