Three-dimensional inversion of the single-profile magnetotelluric data

It is preferable to use the three-dimensional (3D) magnetotelluric inversion, which provides volumetric geoelectric models, to handle the array input data. However, the soundings are frequently conducted on the single profiles or on the profiles that are considerably spaced apart from each other. We explore the possibilities of the 3D inversion of such data by the example of a three-layer model containing three local inhomogeneities. We previously showed that the simple processing of the data and their 1D or 2D inversion enable reconstructing the background cross section and locating all the three inhomogeneities. In the present paper, we use this information for constructing several versions of the starting model and carrying out the smoothing 3D inversion of the data. The experiments show that if the background cross section is incorporated into the starting model, the final model provided by the inversion closely reproduces the real distribution of all geoelectric parameters. At the same time, if the starting model that hosts the inhomogeneities has the form of a homogeneous half-space, the inversion is not able to reconstruct an adequate final model.     

Geochemistry of organic matter in bottom sediments of the Ashadze hydrothermal field

Comparative studies of the composition and distribution of the dispersed organic matter (DOM) were performed for the bottom sediments from active areas of the Ashadze hydrothermal field (the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 13° N) and for background sediments from the area treated (sampled during the cruises of R/V Professor Logachev in 2003 and 2007). The content of hydrocarbons (HCs) in the hydrothermal samples is about 20 times as high as the background values. The HCs composition includes both low-transformed (isoprenoids, hopenes, ββ-hopanes, and ααα27R-steranes) and geologically mature chemofossils (C₁₆-C₃₅ n-alkanes, geohopanes, moretanes, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons). The polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are mainly represented by phenanthrene and its alkyl homologues, i.e., by possible products of the diagenetic transformation of biogenic precursors. The results obtained point to the mixed genesis of the hydrothermal DOM, which is caused first by the diversity of the biota composition in the considered region, as well as by the specificity of the processes of the DOM’s maturing under the extreme environmental conditions.     

The Porcupine Bank Canyon coral mounds: oceanographic and topographic steering of deep-water carbonate mound development and associated phosphatic deposition

The head of a canyon system extending along the western Porcupine Bank (west of Ireland) and which accommodates a large field of giant carbonate mounds was investigated during two cruises (INSS 2000 and TTR-13). Multibeam and sidescan sonar data (600?C1,150?m water depth) suggest that the pre-existing seabed topography acts as a significant factor controlling mound distribution and shape. The mounds are concentrated along the edges of the canyon or are associated with a complex fault system traced around the canyon head, comprising escarpments up to 60?m high and several km long. The sampling for geochemical and petrographic analysis of numerous types of authigenic deposits was guided by sidescan sonar and video recordings. Calcite-cemented biogenic rubble was observed at the top and on the flanks of the carbonate mounds, being associated with both living and dead corals (Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora oculata and occasional Desmophyllum cristagalli). This can plausibly be explained by dissolution of coral debris facilitated by strong currents along the mound tops and flanks. In turn, the dissolved carbon is recycled and precipitated as interstitial micrite. Calcite, dolomite and phosphatic hardgrounds were identified in samples from the escarpment framing the eastern part of the survey area. The laterally extensive phosphatic hardgrounds represent a novel discovery in the region, supplying hard substrata for the establishment of new coral colonies. Based on existing knowledge of regional oceanographic conditions, complemented with new CTD measurements, it is suggested that water column stratification, enhanced bottom currents, and upwelling facilitate the deposition of organic matter, followed by phosphatisation leading to the formation of phosphate-glauconite deposits. The occurrence of strong bottom currents was confirmed by means of video observations combined with acoustic and sampling data, providing circumstantial evidence of fine- to medium-grained sand. Evidently, slope breaks such as escarpments and deep-water canyon headwalls are important structural elements in the development of mature carbonate mounds induced by deep-water coral growth. Stable isotope data show no evidence of methane-derived carbon in the carbonates and lithified sediments of the Porcupine Bank Canyon mounds.     

Investigation of the relative abundance of one-fold neutrons in an incident flux of the cosmic rays from neutron monitors data

The behaviour of relative content of one-fold neutrons in the incident flux of cosmic rays during Forbush-decreases and solar cosmic ray flares is considered based on the network of cosmic ray stations. The barometric dependence of this value on the network of cosmic ray stations. The barometric dependence of this value on the latitude and see level altitude of a cosmic ray station is obtained.     

Catalog of stars with the big proper motion

The catalogue (astrometric and astrophysical parameters) of 555200 stars with high proper motions (more than 0.04″/year) was compiled on the basis of original definitions from the catalogues FONAK1.1, Hipparcos, Tycho-2, UCAC2, CMC (STAR 11), PPM, NPM1, NPM2, XZ80Q, Pul-3, Pul2, NLTT, GCVS, LHS, Lowell Proper Motion Service, and Bruce Proper Motion Service as well as of the information from about 770 other published sources—ftp://ftp.mao.kiev.ua/pub/astro/h-pms2.dat.     

Active filaments as the main source of the solar wind plasma in the Earth’s orbit

The works on the relations of active filaments to geomagnetic disturbances, performed in 1953–1974 in the Geophysical Institute of Czechoslovakia [Bednarova-Novakova and Halenka, 1974], and to interplanetary MHD disturbances, performed in 1996–2006 in IZMIRAN by the author of this work with the collaborators, are briefly reviewed. The results of these works form the basis for the conclusion that the coronal-chromospheric plasma related to active filaments is the main source of plasma in the solar wind streams in the Earth’s orbit.     

Shelf-basin exchange in the Laptev Sea in the warming climate: a model study

GCM-based forecast simulations predict continuously increasing seasonality of the sea ice cover and an almost ice-free, summer-time, Arctic Ocean within several decades from the present. In this study we use a primitive equation ocean model: NEMO, coupled with the sea ice model LIM2, to test the hypothesis that under such an increased range in seasonal ice cover the intensity of shelf-basin water exchange will significantly increase. We use the simulated results for the Laptev Sea from a global model run 1958–2007 and compare results for two years with anomalously high and low summer sea ice extents: 1986–1987 and 2006–2007. The shelf–basin fluxes of volume, heat and salt during specific seasons are evaluated and attributed to plausible driving processes, with particular attention to dense water cascading. Analyses of the model temperature distribution at the depth of the intermediate maximum, associated with Atlantic Water, have shown a marked increase of the amount of the local origin cold water in late winter 2007 in the region, where dense water typically appears as a result of its formation on the shelf and subsequent downslope leakage. Calculation of the shelf-basin exchange during March-May in both years confirmed a substantial increase (a factor of two) of fluxes in “ice-free” 2007 compared to the “icy” 1987. According to several past model studies, dense water production on Arctic shelves in winter driven by ice freezing and brine rejection is not likely to cease in a warmer climate, but rather to increase. There is also observational evidence that cascading in the seasonally ice covered seas (e.g. the Barents Sea) is much more efficient than it is in the permanently ice covered Arctic Ocean, which supports these model results.     

Displacement of large-scale open solar magnetic fields from the zone of active longitudes and the heliospheric storm of November 3–10, 2004: 2. “Explosion” of singularity and dynamics of sunspot formation and energy release

A more detailed scenario of one stage (August–November 2004) of the quasibiennial MHD process “Origination ... and dissipation of the four-sector structure of the solar magnetic field” during the decline phase of cycle 23 has been constructed. It has been indicated that the following working hypothesis on the propagation of an MHD disturbance westward (in the direction of solar rotation) and eastward (toward the zone of active longitudes) with the displacement of the large-scale open solar magnetic field (LOSMF) from this zone can be constructed based on LOSMF model representations and data on sunspot formation, flares, active filaments, and coronal ejections as well as on the estimated contribution of sporadic energy release to the flare luminosity and kinetic energy of ejections: (1) The “explosion” of the LOSMF singularity and the formation in the explosion zone of an anemone active region (AR), which produced the satellite sunspot formation that continued west and east of the “anemone,” represented a powerful and energy-intensive source of MHD processes at this stage. (2) This resulted in the origination of two “governing” large-scale MHD processes, which regulated various usual manifestations of solar activity: the fast LOSMF along the neutral line in the solar atmosphere, strongly affecting the zone of active longitudes, and the slow LOSMF in the outer layers of the convection zone. The fronts of these processes were identified by powerful (about 10³¹ erg) coronal ejections. (3) The collision of a wave reflected from the zone of active longitudes with the eastern front of the hydromagnetic impulse of the convection zone resulted in an increase in LOSMF magnetic fluxes, origination of an active sector boundary in the zone of active longitudes, shear-convergent motions, and generation and destabilization of the flare-productive AR 10696 responsible for the heliospheric storm of November 3–10, 2004.