Effects of short-term weather changes in Naberezhnye Chelny city on people suffering from ischemic heart disease

Studied are the effects that variations of meteorological parameters at different time scales in Naberezhnye Chelny city produce on people suffering from ischemic heart disease. The number of ambulance calls from 2010 to 2012, meteorological parameters, and some biometeorological indices are compared by the cross-correlation analysis. Demonstrated is the absence of statistically significant correlation between the daily series of ambulance calls due to ischemic heart disease during the period under study, on the one hand, and average daily series of major meteorological parameters and the most frequently used biometeorological indices, on the other hand. Revealed is the correlation between the number of ambulance calls and the intradaily variations of air pressure and air temperature at the time scale of 3 hours. Proposed is a parameter (biometeorological index of weather effects, IWE) taking into account the total effects of intradaily variations of air pressure and air temperature and characterized by statistically significant correlation with the number of ambulance calls made by people suffering from ischemic heart disease.     

Effect of wave-induced Stokes drift on the dynamics of ocean mixed layer

The wave-forcing ’Coriolis-Stokes forcing’ and ’Stokes-vortex force’ induced by Stokes drift affect the upper ocean jointly.To study the effect of the wave-induced Stokes drift on the dynamics of the ocean mixed layer,a new three-dimensional(3D) numerical model is derived using the primitive basic equations and Eulerian wave averaging.The Princeton Ocean Model(POM),a 3D primitive equation ocean model is used with the upper wave-averaged basic equations.The global ocean circulation is simulated using the POM model,and the Stokes drift is evaluated based on the wave data generated by WAVEWATCH III.We compared simulations with and without the Stokes drift.The results show that the magnitude of the Stokes drift is comparable with the Eulerian mean current.Including the Stokes drift in the ocean model affects both the Eulerian current and the Lagranian drift and causes the vertical mixing coefficients to increase.     

Feasibility investigation on deep ocean compact autonomous Raman spectrometer developed for in-situ detection of acid radical ions

A newly developed Deep Ocean Compact Autonomous Raman Spectrometer(DOCARS) system is introduced and used for in-situ detection of acid radical ions in this paper. To evaluate the feasibility and capability of DOCARS for quantitative analysis of the acid radical ions in the deep ocean,extensive investigations have been carried out both in laboratory and sea trials during the development phase. In the laboratory investigations,Raman spectra of the prepared samples(acid radical ions solutions) were obtained,and analyzed using the method of internal standard normalization in data processing. The Raman signal of acid radical ions was normalized by that of water molecules. The calibration curve showed that the normalized Raman signal intensity of SO24 ˉ,NO ˉ 3,and HCO ˉ 3 increases linearly as the concentration rises with correlation coefficient R 2 of 0.99,0.99,and 0.98 respectively. The linear function obtained from the calibration curve was then used for the analysis of the spectra data acquired in the sea trial under a simulating chemical field in the deep-sea environment. It was found that the detected concentration of NO ˉ 3 according to the linear function can refl ect the concentration changes of NO ˉ 3 after the sample was released,and the detection accuracy of the DOCARS system for SO24 ˉ is 8%. All the results showed that the DOCARS system has great potential in quantitative detection of acid radical ions under the deep-sea environment,while the sensitivity of the DOCARS system is expected to be improved.     

Advanced methods for correcting measured precipitation and results of their application in the polar regions of Russia and North America

The WMO recommendations on solid precipitation correction, based on generalized results of precipitation gauge intercomparisons performed in 1985–1996, do not take into account systematic errors in precipitation measurements such as wind-induced at high winds and false precipitation blown by wind into the precipitation gauge during strong blizzards at low temperatures, typical of high latitudes. To eliminate these biases in solid precipitation measurements in the Arctic latitudes, special procedures are proposed for three different national methods of precipitation measurement in Russia, the United States (Alaska), and Canada. Differences in the correction methods in these countries are caused by differences in the design of instruments, observation technique, climate, and content of data archives for calculating the measurement errors. Results of application of the proposed procedures for precipitation correction in the Arctic regions of the above-mentioned countries are discussed. The results are compared against the maps of corrected precipitation in the world water budget and snow, ice resources atlases and in the Handbook for Climate of the USSR.     

Velocity structure of the lithosphere on the 2003 Mongolian-Baikal transect from <Emphasis Type="Italic">SV</Emphasis> waves

The S wave velocity distribution in the Earth’s crust and the first two hundred kilometers of the upper mantle is inferred from data of a seismological linear network including 18 broadband stations installed in the framework of the international teleseismic experiment carried out in 2003 in the south of Siberia and in Mongolia. Models were constructed by using P-to-S received function inversion beneath each station. Vertical cross sections of S wave velocities from the surface to depths of 65 and 270 km covering the entire 1000-km profile are constructed by the linear spline interpolation of individual velocity models. The vertical sections are also represented as anomalies relative to the standard velocity model. The most intense low velocity anomalies (from ?3 to ?6%) in the crust and upper mantle are identified beneath the Sayan, Khamar-Daban, and Khangai highlands and the Djida fold zone and agree both with other geophysical data and with the distribution of Late Cenozoic volcanic fields. The results of this work suggest that the activation of Mongolian-Siberian highlands is largely connected with uplift of the asthenosphere to the base of the crust.     

Dynamics of the earth radiation belts during strong magnetic storms based on <Emphasis Type="Italic">CORONAS-F</Emphasis> data

The results of an experimental study of the variations in the intensity of the fluxes of the Earth radiation belt (ERB) particles in 0.3–6 and 1–50 MeV energy intervals for electrons and protons, respectively, are reported. ERBs were studied during strong magnetic storms from August 2001 through November 2003. The results of the CORONAS-F mission obtained during the magnetic storms of November 6 (D _st = ?257 nT) and November 24, 2001 (D _st = ?221 nT), October 29–30 (D _st = ?400 nT) and November 20, 2003 (D _st = ?465 nT) are analyzed. The electron flux is found to decrease abruptly in the outer radiation belt during the main phase of the magnetic storms under consideration. During the recovery phase, the outer radiation belt is found to recover much closer to Earth, near the boundary of the penetration of solar electrons during the main phase of the magnetic storm. We associate the decrease in the electron flux with the abrupt decrease of the size of the magnetosphere during the main phase of the storm. Note that, in all cases studied, the Earth radiation belts exhibited rather long (several days) variations. In those cases where solar cosmic-ray fluxes were observed during the storm, protons with energies 1–5 MeV could be trapped to form an additional maximum of protons with such energies at L >2.     

Long-term observations of the evolution of the southern seasonal cap of Mars: Neutron measurements by the HEND instrument onboard the 2001 <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mars Odyssey</Emphasis> spacecraft

We present the results of five-year observations of the southern seasonal cap of Mars based on neutron spectroscopy of the surface fulfilled by the Russian HEND instrument onboard the NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The numerical modeling of the observational data allowed us to reconstruct the curves of the variations of the total mass of the southern seasonal cap of Mars for different years (three Martian years) and to find the year-to-year variations of the seasonal cycle.     

Analysis of the lithium lines in the atmosphere of the roAp star HD 24712

We use the synthetic spectrum technique to analyze two lithium lines in the spectrum of the roAp star HD 24712. The synthetic spectra are calculated in the ranges λλ 610.2–610.4 nm and 670.5–670.8 nm. We take into account the magnetic splitting of the lines and their blending by the lines of rare-earth elements. The effect of the magnetic field on absorption lines is estimated by the synthetic spectrum software SynthM developed by S.A. Khan. The upper limit for the lithium abundance turns out to be log N/N _tot = ?10.0.     

Bimetasomatic zoning in the CaO-MgO-SiO2-H2O-CO2 system: Experiments with the use of natural rock samples

Experiments reproducing the development of bimetasomatic zoning in the CaO-MgO-SiO₂-H₂O-CO₂ system were conducted at elevated P-T parameters with the use of samples of naturally occurring quartzdolomite and calcite-serpentinite rocks. In order to maintain mass transfer exclusively via the diffusion-controlled mechanism, we used the method of the ensured compaction of the cylindrical sample surface with a thin-walled gold tube. In the course of the experiments, a single diopside zone ～2.5 × 10^?5 m thick was obtained at the quartz-dolomite interface at T = 600°C, $P_{H_2 O + CO_2 } $ = 200 MPa, and $X_{CO_2 } $ = 0.5 for 25–40 days and a succession of metasomatic zones at T = 750°C, $P_{H_2 O + CO_2 } $ = 300 MPa, and $X_{CO_2 } $ = 0.4 for 48 days. The metasomatic zones were as follows (listed in order from quartz to dolomite): wollastonite ‖ diopside ‖ tremolite ‖ calcite + forsterite; with the average width of the diopside zone equal to ～1.3 × 10^?5 m and the analogous part of the wollastonite zone equal to ～2.6 × 10^?5 m. Two zones (listed in order from calcite to serpentine) diopside and diopside-forsterite (the average widths of these zones were ～6 × 10^?4 and ～8 × 10^?4 m, respectively) were determined to develop at contact between serpentine and calcite during experiments that lasted 124 days at T = 500°C, $P_{H_2 O + CO_2 } $ = 200 MPa, and $X_{CO_2 } $ = 0.2–0.4. In the former and latter situations, the growth rate of the zoning ranged between 3.1 × 10^?12 and 1.2 × 10^?11 m/s and between 5.6 × 10^?11 and 7.5 × 10^?11 m/s, respectively. The higher growth rate in the latter case can be explained by the higher water mole fraction in the fluid, with this water released during serpentinite decomposition in the experiments. The development of the only diopside zone in the experiments modeling the interaction of quartz and dolomite at T = 600–650°C and $P_{H_2 O + CO_2 } $ = 200 MPa is in conflict with theoretical considerations underlain by the Korzhinskii-Fisher-Joesten model. The interaction of quartz and dolomite in the CaO-MgO-SiO₂-CO₂-H₂O system at the P-T- $X_{CO_2 } $ parameters specified above should be attended by the origin of a number of reaction zones consisting of various proportions of talc, forsterite, tremolite, diopside, and calcite. The saturation of the fluid with respect to these minerals was likely not reached, and this resulted in the degeneration of the respective stability fields in the succession of zones. Conceivably, this was related to the insufficient rates of quartz and dolomite dissolution and the relatively low diffusion rates of the dissolved species in the low-permeable medium. In the experiments with interacting calcite and serpentine, the zoning calcite ‖ diopside ‖ diopside + forsterite ‖ serpentine developed in its complete form, in agreement with the theory. Equilibrium was likely achieved in these experiments due to the higher diffusion coefficients.