Magnetized spherical body rotation in plasma

The problem of isotropic plasma flow near a rotating magnetized ideally conducting spherical body has been numerically solved. The methods of lines and shooting have been used to construct the numerical solution. The effect of super-rotation, when the angular velocity of plasma is higher than that of spherical body rotation, is observed near the surface of this body.     

Satellite monitoring of the sea surface temperature using the NOAA satellite data

A method of obtaining the operative sea surface temperature (SST)t using satellite scanner observations in the spectral ranges 3.53–3.94 m and 10.3–11.3 m is realized. The method represents a combination of McClainet al.'s formula (1983) and expressions suggested by the authors which describe the universal angular structures of the radiation temperature fields. The RMS error of reconstructingt at scanning angles of 0–55^o is equal to 0.2–0.3°C for atmospheric states corresponding to the SST variation within the limit 6–28°C. An atlas of temperature maps on the grid 0.5×0.5^o with temporal averaging from 5 days to 1 month is compiled using the data obtained on board the RVAkademik Vernadsky in the Atlantic Ocean in 1987–1989.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Radiation Energetics of the Ocean–Atmosphere System and the Earth Derived from Satellite Data

Within the framework of a correct model, by using long-term satellite information, we study the relations radiation–cloudiness, which are the most important characteristics of energy redistribution between the ocean and the atmosphere. They determine the spatial, seasonal, and interannual oscillations of solar and long-wave radiation in these media and stimulate circulation processes. The annual radiation regime of land and polar oceanic areas shows the present tendency towards global warming. On the average for a year, the radiation budget of the ocean–atmosphere system for the latitudinal zone between 63°N–63°S is stable towards significant variations of the conditions of cloudiness. In this region, the World Ocean acts as a factor stabilizing the global climate. The Earth represents a self-regulating system at the present stage of its evolution, and its climate varies slightly according to certain cycles.     

Validation of Atmospheric Numerical Models Based on Satellite Measurements of Ozone Columns

The time series of ozone columns measured with the SBUV satellite instrument over three subarctic stations (Saint Petersburg, Harestua, and Kiruna) are analyzed. The daily and monthly mean ozone values in the layers of 0–25, 25–60, and 0–60 km are compared with the results of simulations with RSHU and EMAC numerical models for the period of 2000–2015. Model data are in good agreement with satellite data both in general and in the cases of rapid short-term ozone loss. However, there are some differences between the models and measurements as well as between the two considered models. These differences require the more detailed analysis in order to modify model parameters. Experimental data demonstrate the increase in ozone columns in the layer of 25–60 km which amounts to 2.1 ± 0.7, 2.4 ± 0.7, and 1.5 ± 0.8% per decade for Saint Petersburg, Harestua, and Kiruna stations, respectively. The results of numerical simulations do not contradict these estimates.     

Research of thermal processes in the soil during the development of oil fields in the Far North by the compression method with heating

In this paper, the hazard of adverse heat effect on permafrost soil as a result of viscous oil production in the Far North is studied with the method of thermocompression supply of superheated water steam to the oil-bearing layer. It is found that, due to the divergent nature of heat transfer and convective complex movement of air in the space between the tubing and the casing, the temperature of the latter in the area of load-bearing elements heated to 130°C is about 70°C. The heterogeneity of the temperature field is leveled up to 4–5% at a distance of 400–420 mm from the axis of the tubing. The thickness of the melting layer of ground ice within 90 days of operation of the tubing depends on the percentage of water-filled pores in the soil. With the minimum (10%) percentage of water-filled pores in the soil layer, the thickness of the ground ice melting layer for 90 days of operation of the tubing does not exceed 2.6 m.     

Ground-based measurements of total ozone content by the infrared method

To interpret the ground-based measurements of the spectra of direct solar infrared radiation with the help of a Brucker Fourier-spectrometer, a technique for determining the total ozone content (TOC) was developed and implemented. The TOC was determined using six spectral intervals of an ozone-absorption band of 9.6 μm and the shortwave panel of a carbon-dioxide-absorption band of 15 μm, where the impact of other atmospheric parameters on the measured solar radiation was reduced to a minimum. The potential errors of the infrared method for determining the TOC for the chosen spectral scheme with the influence of measurement errors and vertical profiles of temperature are less than 1% for different signal-to-noise ratios and zenith angles of the sun. We analyzed 269 high-resolution (0.005–0.008 cm^?1) spectra of solar infrared radiation measured in Peterhof over 52 days from March to November, 2009. The resulting values of TOC were compared with the results of independent ground-based TOC measurements in Voeikovo (Main Geophysical Observatory) using a Dobson spectrophotometer and an M-124 ozonometer, as well as with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data. The mean errors between the results of TOC measurements with the help of the three ground-based probes constitute no more than 0.4%. The rms errors between data obtained by the Brucker spectrometer and the given satellite and ground-based probes constitute 3–4%. A comparison between different series of measurements indicated that the upper estimate for the error of TOC measurements by the Brucker spectrometer was 2.5–3% (when the possible spatial and temporal errors in measurements are disregarded). An analysis of the diurnal variations in the TOC measurements for stable atmospheric conditions yields an upper estimate of ～3 DU (around 1%) for the random component of error in TOC measurements by the Brucker spectrometer.     

Dissipation of baroclinic tidal energy and diapycnal mixing in the White Sea

The modeling results obtained using the original version of the three-dimensional finite-element hydrostatic model QUODDY-4 testify that the spatial distributions of dissipation of baroclinic tidal energy and the related coefficient of diapycnal mixing in the deepwater stratified subdomain of the White Sea (the Basin and Kandalaksha and Dvina bays together) are highly similar to those found for low- and midlatitude oceans. It is in the open part of the sea that their values remain equal to the minimum possible values determined by the molecular kinematic viscosity; at its lateral boundaries (not all boundaries, but only individual segments (sites of mixing)), their values increase. In the shallow homogeneous subdomain of the White Sea, the dissipation of baroclinic tidal energy is considerably larger than in the deep stratified subdomain. Accordingly, the vertical eddy viscosity in the first subdomain is a few orders of magnitude higher than the coefficient of diapycnal mixing in the second subdomain. This is caused by an increased tidal velocity due to reduced depths.     

Manifestation of the 399-day variations in solar wind parameters

Astronomy Letters - Based on a large series (N = 14 038) of daily solar wind densities, we obtained the fluctuation power spectrum. The spectrum shows that the 399-day variation (the synodic period...