Application of laser strainmenters to the study of earthquake physics

The paper considers possibilities of applying laser strainmeters for the study of earthquake physics. One of laser strainmeters is described. A high efficiency of using the laser strainmeters for the study of earthquakes and their precursors is shown. In records of the spaced laser strainmeters, anomalous deformations propagating from the east to the west with the speed comparable with that of migration of earthquakes were found.     

Stratospheric NO2 content according to data from ground-based measurements of solar IR radiation

Atmospheric NO₂ content data obtained from regular ground-based measurements of solar IR radiation in the St. Petersburg region using a spectrometer with a high spectral resolution are analyzed. The absorption spectra of the NO₂ multiplet in the vicinity of ～2915 cm^?1 allow one to obtain data on variations in the stratospheric total content of NO₂ in 2009–2011. The accuracy of these data is estimated from their comparison with data obtained from independent ground-based and satellite measurements. The parameters of the seasonal cycle of the stratospheric content of NO₂ are estimated. The body of data accumulated during these measurements in the IR region made it possible to isolate the component of a daytime photochemical increase in the stratospheric content of NO₂ and estimate its rate.     

Geochemistry of cryoconite and soils in the Central Caucasus region and its environmental implications

Climate change and deglaciation are active processes in current changing environments.In the Central Caucasus region rapid degradation of glaciers is caused oft...     

Evidence for a binary companion to the central compact object 1E 1207.4-5209

Unique among neutron stars, 1E 1207.4-5209 is an X-ray pulsar with a spin period of 424 ms that contains at least two strong absorption features in its energy spectrum. This neutron star is positionally coincident with the supernova remnant PKS 1209-51/52 and has been identified as a member of the growing class of radio-quiet compact central objects in supernova remnants. From previous observations with Chandra and XMM-Newton, it has been found that the 1E 1207.4-5209 is not spinning down monotonically as is common for young, isolated pulsars. The spin frequency history requires either strong, frequent glitches, the presence of a fall-back disk, or a binary companion. Here, we report on a sequence of seven XMM-Newton observations of 1E 1207.4-5209 performed during a 40 day window between 2005 June 22 and July 31. Due to unanticipated variance in the phase measurements during the observation period that was beyond the statistical uncertainties, we could not identify a unique phase-coherent timing solution. The three most probable timing solutions give frequency time derivatives of +0.9, ?2.6, and +1.6×10^?12 Hz s^?1 (listed in descending order of significance). We conclude that the local frequency derivative during our XMM-Newton observing campaign differs from the long-term spin-down rate by more than an order of magnitude. This measurement effectively rules out glitch models for 1E 1207.4-5209. If the long-term spin frequency variations are caused by timing noise, the strength of the timing noise in 1E 1207.4-5209 is much stronger than in other pulsars with similar period derivatives. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the spin variations are caused by the same physical process that causes timing noise in other isolated pulsars. The most plausible scenario for the observed spin irregularities is the presence of a binary companion to 1E 1207.4-5209. We identified a family of orbital solutions that are consistent with our phase-connected timing solution, archival frequency measurements, and constraints on the companions mass imposed by deep IR and optical observations.     

On diapycnal mixing induced by internal tidal waves in the Arctic Ocean

In order to reproduce the diapycnal mixing induced by internal tidal waves (ITWs) in the Arctic Ocean, we use a modified version of the three-dimensional finite-element hydrothermodynamic model QUODDY-4. We found that the average (over the tidal cycle) and integral (by depth) baroclinic tidal energy dissipation rate in individual areas of the Siberian continental shelf and in the straits between the Canadian Arctic archipelago are much higher than in the open ocean and its values on ridges and troughs are qualitatively similar to one another. Moreover, in the area of open-ocean ridges, the baroclinic tidal energy dissipation rate increases as it approaches the bottom, but only in the bottom boundary layer; on the Mid-Atlantic and Hawaii ridges, such an increase is observed within a few hundreds of meters away from the bottom. The average (in area and depth of the open ocean) coefficient of diapycnal mixing defined by the baroclinic tidal energy dissipation rate is higher than the coefficient of molecular kinematic viscosity and only a few times lower than the canonical value of the coefficient of vertical turbulent viscosity, which is used in models of global oceanic circulation. Coupled with the reasoning on the localization of baroclinic tidal energy dissipation, this fact leads to the conclusion that disregarding the contribution that ITW-induced diapycnal mixing makes to the ocean-climate formation is hardly justified.     

Analysis of solutions to the inverse problem on the retrieval of the microstructure of stratospheric aerosol from satellite measurements

A statistical ensemble of microphysical parameters of the background stratospheric aerosol at altitudes of 15 to 30 km is modeled on the basis of experimental data. The aerosol attenuation coefficients (AACs) in the wavelength range 0.38–16.3 μm are calculated for all realizations of the ensemble by algorithms of the Mie theory. Analysis of correlations between the AACs and the microphysical parameters indicate that the AAC correlates most strongly with the total volume V and area S of all particles. The errors of determining the microphysical parameters from AAC measurements are analyzed via the method of linear regression. It is shown that, if the AAC is measured with an error of 5%, the errors of determining both the particle size distribution (PSD) for particles with sizes of 0.4 to 4 μm and the parameter S are an order of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty, whereas the error of determining V is two orders of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty. Schemes of AAC measurements with the SAGE III, ISAMS, CLAES, HALOE instruments and an IR interferometer in the visible and IR regions are discussed. It is shown that combining the schemes makes it possible to extend the range of particle sizes for which the PSD is retrieved with a satisfactory accuracy and to increase the accuracy of determining S and V substantially and the accuracy of determining the total number of particles N _opt to a lesser extent. Examples of interpreting AAC measurements carried out simultaneously with the SAGE III and HALOE instruments within the same spatial region are presented. A systematic discrepancy between vertical profiles of S and V obtained from SAGE III and HALOE measurements is revealed.     

Seasonal variability of surface and internal M<Subscript>2</Subscript> tides in the Arctic Ocean

The modeling results of surface and internal M₂ tides for summer and winter periods in the Arctic Ocean (AO) are presented. We employed a modified version of the three-dimensional finite-element hydrothermodynamic model QUODDY-4 differing from the original model by using a rotated (instead of spherical) coordinate system and by considering the equilibrium-tide effects. It has been shown that the modeling results for the surface tide differs little from the results obtained earlier by other authors. According to these results, the amplitudes of internal tidal waves (ITWs) in the AO are significantly lower than in other oceans and the ITWs proper have the character of trapped waves. Their source of generation is located at the continental slope northwest of the New Siberian Islands. Our results are consistent with the fields of average (over a tidal cycle) and integral (by depth) densities of baroclinic tidal energy, the maximum baroclinic tidal velocity, and the coefficient of diapycnic mixing. The local rate of baroclinic tidal energy dissipation at the AO ridges increases as it approaches the bottom, as was observed on Mid-Atlantic and Hawaii ridges (but merely within the bottom boundary layer) and is two to three orders of magnitude lower than in other oceans. The ITW degeneration scale in the AO is several hundreds of kilometers in summer and winter, remaining within the range of its values between 100 and 1000 km in mid- and low-latitude oceans. In both seasons, the integral (over the AO area) rate of baroclinic tidal energy dissipation is two orders of magnitude lower than the global estimate (2.5 × 10¹² W).     

Using the quantile regression method to analyze changes in climate characteristics

Possibilities to use the non-parametric regression analysis method, named the quantile regression, for the estimation of changes in climate characteristics are considered. When analyzing the trends of climatic series, the quantile regression method enables to get the information on trends along the whole range of quantile values from 0 to 1 of dependent variable distributions, that is more informative than the use of traditional regression technique, based on the least-squares method (LSM) and enabling to obtain trend estimations for average values of the dependent variable only. Trend estimation errors for various methods are analyzed. The computation of quantile regression parameters for real climatic series is executed. Series of meteorological variables of the diurnal resolution, which characterize the surface climate (minimal, average, and maximal diurnal temperatures) and free atmosphere climate (temperature of isobaric surfaces up to 30 hPa inclusive) are considered. Seasonal peculiarities in trend manifestation at different parts of quantile range of these meteorological values are discussed. Concerning the problem of the analysis of climate trends, the quantile regression method seems to be perspective from the point of view of more detailed understanding of processes in the climate system, such as the surface and tropospheric warming, stratospheric cooling, long-period changes in characteristics of climate variability and extremity.