Long-term air temperature variability on the Crimean Peninsula

A comparison is made of the calculated values of solar radiation incident on the upper atmospheric boundary with the measured values of surface temperature on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. It is shown that the long-term temperature regime on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula is characterized by a stability. It is determined that the stability of the long-term regime of mean annual surface air temperatures is associated with the characteristics of the latitudinal distribution of solar radiation incident on the upper atmospheric boundary. The incident solar radiation increases in the regions of heat sources and decreases in the regions of heat sink. Stability of long-term mean annual values of surface air temperature is associated with the location of the Crimea on the boundary of the regions of heat sources and sinks. The study revealed the chronological structure of long-term changes in surface air temperature. The anomaly in the long-term surface air temperature variability is characterized by short-duration variations. An analysis is made of the chronological structure of interannual variability in surface air temperature on the territory of the peninsula. The dominant interannual and 2–3-year periodicities in the temperature regime variations are correlated with variations in incident solar radiation. In 62.7% of cases, the sign of interannual variability in surface air temperature corresponds to the sign of interannual variability in incident solar radiation. Thus it is shown that a small tendency in the long-term surface air temperature variability on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula, and the characteristics of its variations are determined largely by the specific character of the input and distribution of solar radiation incident on the upper atmospheric boundary.     

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.     

Statistically average atmospheric bending angle model based on COSMIC experimental data

The retrieval of profiles of meteorological variables from radio occultation observations requires knowledge of bending angle profiles up to heights of no less than 60–70 km. Because of the residual error of the ionospheric correction, retrieved profiles become too noisy by a height of about 40 km. In order to invert the bending angle profiles, the statistical optimization is used. This makes it possible to construct an optimal linear combination of the a priori estimate of the average bending angle profile and a posteriori noisy estimate based on observations. The estimate of the average bending angle profile for the given coordinates and the time of year is usually based on the climatological atmospheric model. MSIS and CIRA models that have been used for this purpose are now obsolete and do not describe the global changes in the atmospheric state. The model of average bending angles BA–IAP (Bending Angle–Institute of Atmospheric Physics) is built based on the processing of the array of COSMIC radio occultation observations during 2006–2013. The proposed model is statistically validated based on the COSMIC database. It is shown that our model describes the average bending angle profiles more accurately than the MSIS model.     

Analysis of the optics of the 2.5-m telescope of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute

The results of alignment and acceptance tests of the optics system of the 2.5-m telescope installed at the Caucausus Mountain Observatory of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in 2013–2015 are reported. The optical elements of the Ritchey–Chrétien system of the telescope were manufactured by REOSC (France). Measurements of aberrations were carried out using a specially manufactured Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor. Adjustment of the load-distribution mechanisms of the primary mirror and automatic correction for bending of the structure have made it possible to achieve the target image quality at all operational positions of the telescope, corresponding to 80% of the energy being concentrated in a circle 0.3″ in diameter. Factory interferograms of the mirrors and methods for measuring their abberation using stellar images are presented.     

The problem of past megatsunami reconstructions on the southern Kurils

Tsunamis are reconstructed on the basis of distribution of tsunamigenic sediments in coastal lowland sections. Reflections of anomalous tsunamis are recorded in detail in the lacustrine–boggy sections of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, while only fragments of these sediments have been found on the islands of the Greater Kuril Ridge. The distribution and composition of the sediments left by recent large-scale tsunamis (locally documented 1994 and 1894 Shikotan tsunamis and transoceanic 2011 Tohoku tsunami) are analyzed for the purpose of understanding deposition features during large and megatsunamis. Interregional correlation of the events during the last ~2.5 kyr is carried out with estimation of their scales. It is established that large events took place in the 17th and 18th centuries and approximately at 1.0, 1.4–1.6, 1.7–1.8, and 2.0–2.1 ka ago. New data on large tsunami chronology since the Middle Holocene are presented. A unique natural peatland section with abundant tsunamigenic sand layers is studied on the Pacific side of Zelenyi Island (Rudnya Bay), where deposition continued through the entire Holocene. The largest tsunamis which happened on the South Kuril Islands during the last ~7.5 kyr and can be classed as megatsunamis are revealed.     

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...     

An unusual anomaly of ice conditions in the eastern seas of the Russian Arctic and in the arctic basin in summer 2007

It is demonstrated that during the whole annual cycle of ice cover evolution in 2006–2007 in the eastern seas of the Russian Arctic and in the Arctic basin, the factors whose effect led to the formation of an extremely large anomaly of ice conditions in summer 2007 were revealed. By the end of summer, the ice melted on the huge water area of 3500000 km². In September, the ice edge between the meridians of 150° E-170° W reached the parallel of 85° N. The estimates of the open water area being formed due to the ice melting and its drifting edge shift are given.     

Alpine-type tectonics in the Paleoproterozoic Lapland-Kola Orogen

The Kola region in the northeastern Baltic Shield is characterized by diverse Paleoproterozoic collision processes. The Keivy Terrane is one of the major tectonic units in the northeastern foreland of the Paleoproterozoic Lapland-Kola Collisional Orogen, which markedly differs in a number of parameters from other tectonic units of the Kola region. The study of the Keivy Terrane allowed us to unravel one more basic difference: the large Paleoproterozoic sheath synform of the Serpovidny (Crescentic) Range localized in this terrane. Its core is occupied by volcanic and sedimentary rocks, which correlate with the fill of the Imandra-Varzuga Rift; the limbs are composed of metamorphosed mature sedimentary rocks known as Keivy paraschists of Neoarchean or Paleoproterozoic age. The lower limb of the Serpovidny Synform is strongly squeezed, whereas the upper limb consists of almost undeformed rocks. The deformed rocks underwent ductile flow under conditions of simple or general shear. In the degree of its asymmetry and main parameters, the Serpovidny Synform is similar to the plunging and recumbent anticlines in the Helvetic nappes of the Alps. It is concluded that the Paleoproterozoic core of the Serpovidny Sheath Synform, or plunging anticline, is a fragment of the almost completely eroded deep Serpovidny Nappe of the Helvetic type. During the collision related to the Lapland-Kola Orogeny (1.9–2.0 Ga), this nappe was pushed out northward from the Paleoproterozoic Imandra-Varzuga Rift, which is situated 50 km south of the Serpovidny structure, and thrust over the Keivy paraschists. The latter, together with underlying the Lebyazhka Gneiss, were folded in the process of thrusting and were involved in the structure of the Serpovidny Synform. The Keivy paraschists make up a para-autochthon or a separate nappe of the Pennine type. The Archean Lebyazhka metafelsic volcanics underlie the Keivy paraschists and overlie granitoids of the Archean basement that remained undeformed during thrusting. Most likely, they also belong to the para-autochthon; however, it cannot be ruled out that, like the Keivy paraschists, they occur as a Pennine-type nappe. The large sheath folds known in the Paleoproterozoic and Phanerozoic orogens are genetically related to deep-seated nappes or channel-flow tectonics. Paleoproterozoic and Phanerozoic orogens are similar in this respect.     

Permafrost warming in the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia

The general features of alpine permafrost such as spatial distribution, temperatures, ice content, permafrost and active-layer thickness within the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia are described. The modern thermal state of permafrost reflects climatic processes during the twentieth century when the average rise in mean annual air temperature was 0.006–0.032 °C/yr for the different parts of the Tien Shan. Geothermal observations during the last 30 yr indicate an increase in permafrost temperatures from 0.3 °C up to 0.6 °C. At the same time, the average active-layer thickness increased by 23% in comparison to the early 1970s. The long-term records of air temperature and snow cover from the Tien Shan's high-mountain weather stations allow reconstruction of the thermal state of permafrost dynamics during the last century. The modeling estimation shows that the altitudinal lower boundary of permafrost distribution has shifted by about 150–200 m upward during the twentieth century. During the same period, the area of permafrost distribution within two river basins in the Northern Tien Shan decreased approximately by 18%. Both geothermal observations and modeling indicate more favorable conditions for permafrost occurrences and preservation in the coarse blocky material, where the ice-rich permafrost could still be stable even when the mean annual air temperatures exceeds 0 °C.