Connection between ozone concentration and atmosphere circulation at peak Moussala

Connection between ozone concentration and atmosphere circulation is investigated based on measurements at BEO station, peak Moussala (2,925 m a.s.l.), for the period 09 August 2006 to 29 January 2008. Ozone concentration data are collected with UV-analyzer “Environnement O₃ 42” and meteo data with weather station “Vaisala”. There are measurements of ⁷Be. Data from NOAA HYSPLIT model for particle trajectories are also used. Eight wind directions and three ranges of wind velocities are employed in the analysis. A comparison of ozone concentrations in upward and downward air transport according to HYSPLIT model is made. The number of cases with ozone concentration above 63 ppb has been counted. Mann–Whitney nonparametric test is employed as a basic statistical method. Correlation between atmosphere pressure and tropospheric ozone content is made. The same is done for ⁷Be and ozone. The main conclusion is that there is not any local or regional pollution effect detectable at peak Moussala, but most of the ozone measured is due to emissions of hydrocarbons and NO _x over a larger region. There could be some regional sources of ozone building substances in southwest direction from peak Moussala. Air transported from the north quarter has higher ozone concentrations compared to the south quarter. In vertical direction, upward transport of air masses shows higher values of ozone concentration. Higher wind velocity is associated with low ozone concentrations at peak Moussala. The annual course of ozone concentration has summer maximum and winter minimum. There is right connection between air pressure and ozone concentration. The same is valid for the correlation between ⁷Be and ozone. Diurnal ozone course shows daytime maximum in winter and nighttime maximum in summer.     

Field studies of a geo-engineering method of maintaining a modern climate with aerosol particles

The paper describes the results of the field experiment on studying solar radiation transmission in the visible wavelength range through model aerosol media formed in the lower troposphere with the help of generators installed aboard helicopters. The refractive index and the average size of the aerosol particles formed are close to those characteristic of the natural stratospheric aerosol. The composition of the equipment complex used to control aerosol optical and microphysical aerosol parameters is considered. The measurement results are in satisfactory agreement with the results of theoretical and experimental studies in simulation chambers.     

Experimental evidence for flexibility of a building foundation supported by concrete friction piles

This article explores the possibility to measure deformations of building foundations from measurements of ambient noise and strong motion recordings. The case under study is a seven-storey hotel building in Van Nuys, California. It has been instrumented by strong motion accelerographs, and has recorded several earthquakes, including the 1971 San Fernando (M_L=6.6, R=22 km), 1987 Whittier–Narrows (M_L=5.9, R=41 km), 1992 Landers (M_L=7.5, R=186 km), 1992 Big Bear (M_L=6.5, R=149 km), and 1994 Northridge (M_L=6.4, R=1.5 km) earthquake and its aftershocks (20 March: M_L=5.2, R=1.2 km; 6 December, 1994: M_L=4.3, R=11 km). It suffered minor structural damage in 1971 earthquake and extensive damage in 1994. Two detailed ambient vibration tests were performed following the Northridge earthquake, one before and the other one after the 20 March aftershock. These included measurements at a grid of points on the ground floor and in the parking lot surrounding the building, presented and analyzed in this article. The analysis shows that the foundation system, consisting of grade beams on friction piles, does not act as a “rigid body” but deforms during the passage of microtremor and therefore earthquake waves. For this geometrically and by design essentially symmetric building, the center of stiffness of the foundation system appears to have large eccentricity (this is seen both from the microtremor measurements and from the earthquake recordings). This eccentricity may have contributed to strong coupling of transverse and torsional responses, and to larger than expected torsional response, contributing to damage during the 1994 Northridge, earthquake.     

Strong variation in weathering of layered rock maintains hillslope‐scale strength under high precipitation

The evolution of volcanic landscapes and their landslide potential are both dependent upon the weathering of layered volcanic rock sequences. We characterize critical zone structure using shallow seismic V_p and V_s profiles and vertical exposures of rock across a basaltic climosequence on Kohala peninsula, Hawai’i, and exploit the dramatic gradient in mean annual precipitation (MAP) across the peninsula as a proxy for weathering intensity. Seismic velocity increases rapidly with depth and the velocity–depth gradient is uniform across three sites with 500–600 mm/yr MAP, where the transition to unaltered bedrock occurs at a depth of 4 to 10 m. In contrast, velocity increases with depth less rapidly at wetter sites, but this gradient remains constant across increasing MAP from 1000 to 3000 mm/yr and the transition to unaltered bedrock is near the maximum depth of investigation (15–25 m). In detail, the profiles of seismic velocity and of weathering at wet sites are nowhere monotonic functions of depth. The uniform average velocity gradient and the greater depths of low velocities may be explained by the averaging of velocities over intercalated highly weathered sites with less weathered layers at sites where MAP > 1000 mm/yr. Hence, the main effect of climate is not the progressive deepening of a near‐surface altered layer, but rather the rapid weathering of high permeability zones within rock subjected to precipitation greater than ~1000 mm/yr. Although weathering suggests mechanical weakening, the nearly horizontal orientation of alternating weathered and unweathered horizons with respect to topography also plays a role in the slope stability of these heterogeneous rock masses. We speculate that where steep, rapidly evolving hillslopes exist, the sub‐horizontal orientation of weak/strong horizons allows such sites to remain nearly as strong as their less weathered counterparts at drier sites, as is exemplified by the 50°–60° slopes maintained in the amphitheater canyons on the northwest flank of the island. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generation of the Katrine hurricane during the geomagnetic extrastrom at crossing of the heliospheric current sheet: Is it an accidental coincidence or physical essence?

Attention is paid to the generation of the Katrine hurricane with destructive consequences during the geomagnetic extrastorm of August 24, 2005, at a repeated crossing of the strongly disturbed IMF sector boundary. This fact is discussed in the light of the Eigenson-Usmanov hypothesis that solar activity can affect generation of hurricanes. According to the law of enhancement, solar activity and corresponding geomagnetic disturbances increase baric contrasts in the lower atmosphere over oceans on the Earth’s dayside hemisphere and decrease background pressure at tropical latitudes. It has been assumed that this can be one of the factors facilitating triggering of the positive feedback mechanisms necessary for generation and maintenance of hurricanes according to the Golitsyn [1999] model.     

Response of the Arctic benthic community to excessive amounts of nontoxic organic matter

The paper presents a study of the effect of excessive amounts of organic matter (OM) on Arctic benthos. The source of nontoxic OM is from the mariculture of blue mussels in the White Sea (north-western area of Russia). The use of multivariate analysis procedures made it evident that in the Arctic conditions benthos is incapable of annual utilization of more than 1.5 kg dry OM m⁻² from an external source. Mineralization of OM accumulated in sediments will deteriorate the oxygen regime. The critical concentration of OM in sediments is 9–10%. An excess over this threshold leads to the formation of oxygen-free zones at the bottom, and degradation of benthos community.     

Copper in natural waters in Transbaikalia

Cu concentrations in surface (river and lake) and subsurface waters are determined. The geographic pattern of Cu distribution in natural water is identified. This pattern is controlled by the difference between its concentrations in drained rocks and soils and the geochemical redox conditions of its migration. Territories with low, medium, and elevated Cu concentrations in natural waters are identified. The concentrations of Cu in natural waters of the region are found to be generally lower than the Clarke values.     

Latitude-time evolution of the large-scale magnetic field in the 21st and 22nd cycles of solar activity

Using the observational data of the Stanford observatory on photospheric magnetic fields for 1976?C2001, we separate open and closed configurations of the magnetic field with a filter of a specified spatial scale and demonstrate that the 11-year solar cycle passes two significantly different phases.     

Evaluation of equivalence between different methods for enumeration of fecal indicator bacteria before and after adoption of the new Bathing Water Directive and risk assessment of pollution

The quality of bathing water is of considerable public importance due to the possibility of fecal contamination. In 2009, Croatia implemented the new European Bathing Water Directive (BWD, 2006/7/EC) establishing stricter microbiological standards for new parameters with new reference methods. This study aims to evaluate the equivalence of different methods according to the old and revised BWD and to provide the possibility of data comparison. Furthermore, the directive requires the establishment of the bathing water profile (BWP) for pollution risk assessment. The estimation of consistency of pollution risk assessment with obtained microbiological results was also performed.