Long-term Geomechanical Observation in the Jeroným Mine

Geomechanical measurements have been carried out in the medieval Jeroným Mine since 2001. At first quarterly observation and later also continual monitoring by distributed measurement network were used. The network includes a number of different sensors that have been installed in selected places of underground spaces. There have not been any manifestations documenting dangerous changes of stability during the period of monitoring (2001–2015). The results of accomplished measurements from all convergence profiles confirm the total stability of all underground spaces. However, a number of places have been documented as potentially unstable. Measured values of selected parameters are presented in the paper, namely, movements along fractures, changes of stress tensor and fluctuations in the level of mine water table.     

Efficiency of stimulating precipitation from convective clouds using salt powders

Comparative estimates of the efficiency of hygroscopic reagents for the seeding of convective clouds to obtain additional precipitation are performed based on numerical simulation. It is shown that the use of polydisperse salt powders has many benefits over other known hygroscopic reagents. The effect of seeding with salt powders manifests itself at mass concentrations of hygroscopic particles an order of magnitude less than when pyrotechnic flares are used. With salt-powder seeding, it is possible to obtain precipitation from warm convective clouds of moderate thickness from which precipitation does not typically fall. In this case the effect of “reseeding” of clouds, which can be observed in seeding with hygroscopic reagents having narrow size distributions of particles, does not reveal itself.     

Relative dispersion in the Liguro-Provençal basin: From sub-mesoscale to mesoscale

Relative dispersion in the Liguro-Provençal basin (a subregion of the Mediterranean Sea) is investigated using clusters of surface drifters deployed during two Marine Rapid Environment Assessment (MREA) experiments covering different months in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The clusters have initial radii of less than 1 km, or an order of magnitude below a typical deformation radius (approximately 10-20 km). The data set consists of 45 original pairs and more than 50 total pairs (including chance ones) in the spatial range between 1 and 200 km. Relative dispersion is estimated using the mean square separation of particle pairs and the Finite Scale Lyapunov Exponents (FSLEs). The two metrics show broadly consistent results, indicating in particular a clear exponential behaviour with an e-folding time scale between 0.5 and 1 days, or Lyapunov exponent ?? in the range of 0.7-1 days⁻¹. The exponential phase extends for 4-7 days in time and between 1 and 10-20 km in separation space. To our knowledge, this is only the third time that an exponential regime is observed in the world ocean from drifter data. This result suggests that relative dispersion in the Liguro-Provençal basin is nonlocal, namely controlled mainly by mesoscale dynamics, and that the effects of the sub-mesoscale motions are negligible in comparison. NCOM model results are used to complement the data and to quantify errors arising from the sparse sampling in the observations.     

Energy of the Jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and of Their Eddies in the Surface Layer of the Southern Ocean

Oceanology - The kinetic energy of six jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and of the cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies generated by these jets is studied in application to the...     

Multiple magnetic clouds in interplanetary space

An interplanetary magnetic cloud (MC) is usually considered the byproduct of a coronal mass ejection (CME). Due to the frequent occurrence of CMEs, multiple magnetic clouds (multi-MCs), in which one MC catches up with another, should be a relatively common phenomenon. A simple flux rope model is used to get the primary magnetic field features of multi-MCs. Results indicate that the magnetic field configuration of multi-MCs mainly depends on the magnetic field characteristics of each member of multi-MCs. It may be entirely different in another situation. Moreover, we fit the data from the Wind spacecraft by using this model. Comparing the model with the observations, we verify the existence of multi-MCs, and propose some suggestions for further work.     

Evidence for a sunspot in A.D. 939 in an Arabian Source

It is the purpose of this paper to present evidence concerning the appearance of a sunspot in A.D. 939 observed by Arabs from the Iberian Peninsula. The sunspot record appears in the Arab source known as al-Muqtabis V.