Landscape planning of the “Ukok Quiet Zone” Natural Park (Altai Republic)

A case study of the “Ukok Quiet Zone” Natural Park has furnished an opportunity to resolve the related landscape planning issues trough the use of GIS. The development goals focusing on the geosystem components were assessed and defined, an integral concept of territorial balanced development was formulated, and the promising long-term areas of nature management were identified.     

Geosystems of the Upper Yenisei basin

We examine the methodological issues and some results of landscape mapping of the Upper Yenisei basin (the Nazarovskaya, Kanskaya, Minusinskaya and Tuvinskaya depressions) at a scale of 1:1 000 000. A fragment of the map of the geosystems is provided, and the territory’s landscape structure is described.     

Unusual Photometric Activity of the Weak-line T Tauti Star V715 Per

The results of many-year photometric observations of the weak-line T Tauri star V715 Per in the optical (V RI) and infrared (JHK) photometric bands are presented. The period of the star’s lowamplitude brightness variations in the V RI bands detected earlier, 5.23d, is confirmed. This period persists during the entire 14-year time interval of the observations, but its amplitude varies with time. The same period was found in the variations of JHK infrared fluxes, with the brightness variations in the two ranges being almost synchronous. The most probable origin of these variations is periodic eclipses of the star by its own disk, perturbed by its interaction with the magnetosphere (AA Tau-type variations). In addition to the periodic brightness variations, the star also displayed sporadic Algol-like minima characteristic of UX Ori stars during several years (2005–2011). The amplitude of these variations increasedmonotonically, reaching approximately 1^m in the V band by the end of 2010, after which the deep fadings ended. During this entire time interval, the amplitude of the periodic variations was observed to decrease. After 2011, the periodic component began to become stronger again. These changes of the photometric activity of V715 Per can be explained by an increasing rate of gas accretion onto the star, decreasing the radius of warped regions of the disk and leading to accompanying Algol-like fadings. This model assumes a low inclination of the circumstellar disk in V715 Per to the line of sight.     

Longitudinal variations in the hydroxyl emission: 1. Temperature

Data on longitudinal variations in the hydroxyl emission have been obtained based on long-term studies of the mesopause temperature and hydroxyl (OH) emission at different ground stations in the Northern Hemisphere and based on temperature measurements on the UARS WINDII satellite. Maximums at longitudes of Eurasia and North America and minimums over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans have been revealed in the global longitudinal temperature distribution. The average longitudinal temperature values show distinct seasonal variations. Local nonstationary large-scale inhomogeneities in the form of temperature maximums and minimums up to 30 K relative to the average temperature, correlating with the variations in the irregularity dimensions reaching several tens of degrees in longitude and latitude (which corresponds to several thousand kilometers), exist against a background of the average global temperature variation, reflecting the surface topography.     

Evaluation of the impact of oceanic heat transport in the North Atlantic and Barents sea on the Northern Hemispheric climate

In this work, we evaluate the impact of terminated oceanic heat flux in the North Atlantic and Barents Sea on the Northern Hemisphere climate in January by numerical experiments with a coupled model of atmospheric general circulation and a thermodynamic model of the upper mixed layer of the ocean. We analyze the variations in the atmospheric circulation and near-surface temperature. We found that the termi-nation of the oceanic heat flux leads to a depression in atmospheric centers of action in the Northern Hemi-sphere (by 3?C5 hPa) and a significant cooling over the continents with the strongest temperature decrease down to ?10°C in northwestern Eurasia.     

Modern Arctic Climate Research: Progress,Change of Concepts,and Urgent Problems

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - A review of some major advances in studies of Arctic climate change in the last decade is presented. Mechanisms of positive feedbacks leading to...     

Influence of the ocean surface temperature and sea ice concentration on regional climate changes in Eurasia in recent decades

Numerical experiments with the ECHAM5 atmospheric general circulation model have been performed in order to simulate the influence of changes in the ocean surface temperature (OST) and sea ice concentration (SIC) on climate characteristics in regions of Eurasia. The sensitivity of winter and summer climates to OST and SIC variations in 1998–2006 has been investigated and compared to those in 1968–1976. These two intervals correspond to the maximum and minimum of the Atlantic Long-Period Oscillation (ALO) index. Apart from the experiments on changes in the OST and SIC global fields, the experiments on OST anomalies only in the North Atlantic and SIC anomalies in the Arctic for the specified periods have been analyzed. It is established that temperature variations in Western Europe are explained by OST and SIC variations fairly well, whereas the warmings in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, according to model experiments, are substantially (by a factor of 2–3) smaller than according to observational data. Winter changes in the temperature regime in continental regions are controlled mainly by atmospheric circulation anomalies. The model, on the whole, reproduces the empirical structure of changes in the winter field of surface pressure, in particular, the pressure decrease in the Caspian region; however, it substantially (approximately by three times) underestimates the range of changes. Summer temperature variations in the model are characterized by a higher statistical significance than winter ones. The analysis of the sensitivity of the climate in Western Europe to SIC variations alone in the Arctic is an important result of the experiments performed. It is established that the SIC decrease and a strong warming over the Barents Sea in the winter period leads to a cooling over vast regions of the northern part of Eurasia and increases the probability of anomalously cold January months by two times and more (for regions in Western Siberia). This effect is caused by the formation of the increased-pressure region with a center over the southern boundary of the Barents Sea during the SIC decrease and an anomalous advection of cold air masses from the northeast. This result indicates that, to estimate the ALO actions (as well as other long-scale climatic variability modes) on the climate of Eurasia, it is basically important to take into account (or correctly reproduce) Arctic sea ice changes in experiments with climatic models.     

Empirical model of variations in the helium 1083 nm emission. 1. Intensity

The model of variations in the orthohelium 1083 nm emission intensity has been constructed based on the measurements at different stations. The analytical approximations of the nighttime intensity variations depending on the phase age of the Moon, season, solar activity during the 11-year cycle, and geomagnetic disturbances are presented.     

Empirical model of variations in the helium 1083 nm emission. 2. Temperature

Based on the measurements of the ortho helium 1083 nm emission intensity during twilights and on the calculation of its variations depending on the solar zenith angle, the method for determining the atmospheric temperature at heights of 300–1000 km during the nighttime period of day has been developed, taking into account the diurnal and seasonal conditions.