Numerical model of nonhydrostatic ocean dynamics based on methods of artificial compressibility and multicomponent splitting

An algorithm is proposed for solving three-dimensional ocean hydrodynamics equations without hydrostatic approximation and traditional simplification of Coriolis acceleration. It is based on multicomponent splitting of the modified model with artificial compressibility. The original system of equations is split into two subsystems describing the transport of three velocity components and adjustment of the density and velocity fields. At the adjustment stage, the horizontal velocity components are represented as a sum of the depth means and deviations; the two corresponding subsystems are derived. For barotropic dynamics, the compressibility effect is represented as the boundary condition at the free surface, while for the baroclinic subsystem, it is introduced as ε-regularization of the continuity equation. Then, the baroclinic equations are split into two subsystems describing the hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic dynamics. The nonhydrostatic dynamics is computed at a separate splitting stage. The algorithm is included into the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences model based on “primitive” equations and verified by solving the hydrodynamics problem for the Sea of Marmara.     

Simulation and prediction of climate changes in the 19th to 21st centuries with the Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, model of the Earth’s climate system

This paper presents results from a simulation of climate changes in the 19th–21st centuries with the Institute of Numerical Mathematics Climate Model Version 4 (INMCM4) in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP5). Like the previous INMCM3 version, this model has a low sensitivity of 4.0 K to a quadrupling of CO₂ concentration. Global warming in the model by the end of the 21st century is 1.9 K for the RCP4.5 scenario and 3.4 K for RCP8.5. The spatial distribution of temperature and precipitation changes driven by the enhanced greenhouse effect is similar to that derived from the INMCM3 model data. In the INMCM4 model, however, the heat flux to the ocean and sea-level rise caused by thermal expansion are roughly 1.5 times as large as those in the INMCM3 model under the same scenario. A decrease in sea-ice extent and a change in heat fluxes and meridional circulation in the ocean under global warming, as well as some aspects of natural climate variability in the model, are considered.     

Numerical model of the hydrodynamics of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov with variational initialization of temperature and salinity

A numerical primitive-equation model of the hydrodynamics of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in σ-coordinates is proposed. The model has a resolution of ～4 × 4 km in horizontal coordinates with 40-σ levels in the vertical and includes the four-dimensional variational initialization of temperature and salinity fields. A numerical initialization algorithm combines splitting methods and adjoint equations. Flow, temperature, sea level, and salinity fields driven by atmospheric forcing are calculated for the year 2008. The calculations are made in a variational initialization — prediction regime. Temperature and salinity fields are initialized at the end of each month. The optimality system includes forward and adjoint transport-diffusion equations for heat and salt that are linearized on the assimilation interval. Results of three numerical experiments with different sets of assimilated data in comparison with the prediction obtained from the forward model are discussed.     

Nuclear activity of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7469 in 1990–2006: Observations from the Mt. Maidanak Observatory

We present the results of UBV RI observations of the nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 7469 performed in 1990–2006 at the Mt. Maidanak Observatory of the Ulug Beg Astronomical Institute in Uzbekistan. Light curves for various apertures are plotted for all the filters. Our analysis of these light curves indicates the presence of short-time-scale (from several days to several weeks) and long-term (∼8–9 years) variability of the nucleus. The character of the brightness variations in all the optical filters is the same, with the relative amplitude of the variations decreasing from U to V, but being higher in R than in V. A comparison with earlier observations (prior to 1990) indicates an increase of the time scale for the long-term variability, from three to six years to eight to nine years, providing evidence for changing emission conditions in the accretion disk. We present the results of a statistical analysis of the light curves and an analysis of the color characteristics during different activity periods. Color-index measurements using various apertures demonstrate that the color becomes bluer towards the galaxy nucleus.     

Seeing and atmospheric extinction at Mt. Maidanak observatory from observations with the 1.5-m AZT-22 telescope

We have determined the realistic seeing of the 1.5-m AZT-22 telescope of the Mt. Maidanak Observatory (Astronomical Institute, Uzbek Academy of Sciences) using more than 20 000 CCD frames with stellar images in the UBV RI bands acquired in 1996–2005: ε = 1.065″ in the V band. The characteristic seeing reduced to unit air mass, ε _med ^V (M(z) = 1), is 0.945″. We derived color equations for the CCD detectors used with the telescope. Atmospheric-extinction coefficients in different photometric bands were also determined. The mean V -band atmospheric extinction is 0.20 ^m ± 0.04 ^m . The time needed for the conditions to settle, in the free atmosphere as well as inside the telescope dome, is 2–2.5 hours after the end of astronomical twilight. For nights with ε _med ^V > 0.9″, we find a persistent difference between the seeing found at this telescope and measured simultaneously with a differential image motion monitor, amounting to ∼0.1 ^m .     

Correlative and comparative characterization of main ion concentrations in laterite groundwater in semi-arid northern Burkina Faso

About 24 samples from hand-dug wells and boreholes were used to characterize concentrations of the main inorganic ions in a laterite environment under semi-arid climatic conditions in Tikaré, northern Burkina Faso. It was found that the most represented groundwater anion in groundwater was HCO₃ ⁻ with average levels of 49.1 mg/L in the dry season and 33.5 mg/L in the rainy season. The most represented cation was Ca²⁺ with mean concentrations of 13.7 and 9.5 mg/L, respectively. The main processes, which influence the concentrations of these ions, are evaporation (dry season), local enrichment of recharge water in some elements, ion exchange and fixation by clay minerals (in case of K⁺). The best correlations were found between Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ (r = 0.95), Cl⁻ and Na⁺ (r = 0.95), HCO₃ ⁻ and Mg²⁺ (r = 0.89), HCO₃ ⁻ and Ca²⁺ (r = 0.89), and between HCO₃ ⁻ and Na⁺ (r = 0.80). In general, the quality of the groundwater from the different wells sampled for this study was good enough to serve as drinking water. However, there were situations where the quality of water was polluted because of anthropogenic contaminants (mainly NO₃ ⁻, K⁺, Cl⁻) from septic tanks and manure pits located in the vicinity of some sampled wells. In addition, application of fertilizers also represents a potential anthropogenic contamination source with regard to SO₄ ²⁻, Ca²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺, and Mg²⁺. Considering the high concentrations of SO₄ ²⁻, Mg²⁺, Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ found in one borehole, the deeper, fractured aquifers were also likely to be enriched in these elements. In contrast, the shallow aquifers are likely to be contaminated with Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻ and K⁺. Cl⁻ and K⁺ seem to be locally present in recharge water as shown by their relative higher mean concentrations in the rainy season samples.     

Possible Climate Change Impact on River Runoff in the Different Regions of the Globe

The possibility ofassessing changes in river runofftill 2100 for a number oflarge river basins of the world for a wide range of natural conditions is investigated. The assessment is based on the SWAP (Soil Water–Atmosphere–Plants) model using meteorological data as inputs which were simulated with different general atmosphere–ocean circulation models in accordance with the RCP climate change scenarios. The possible climatic changes in annual runoff for some rivers by the end of the 21st century are compared with the natural interannual variability of river runoff caused by weather noise.     

青海省东北部地区春季空中水资源潜力分析

采用动力气象学原理计算了青海高原东北部春季水汽输送、辐合辐散情况 ,利用微波辐射计观测总水汽含量 (V)、液态水 (L)的情况。经计算 ,青海高原东北部大气水汽状况为输入大于输出 ,且有近 83%的水汽影响该地区后移出青海 ,有较大的潜在水资源 ;从液态水含量情况来看 ,尽管水汽含量比平原地区少 ,但液态水含量却比平原地区偏高。另外还计算了 1997年 3月下旬至 5月上旬的云总凝结水和降水效率 ,大气总凝结水量为 2 84× 10 8t,但实际降水量为 34× 10 \+8t,平均降水效率为 0 .12。如果能提高 1%的降水效率 ,则可增加约 2 .5× 10 8t降水 ,且具有较好的人工增雨潜力。