Subgrade-reinforcement techniques for the dangerously deforming sections of railway lines in the north of the Russian Far East

This paper lists difficult railway construction conditions that are typical for the northern areas of the Russian Far East. Permafrost-bound issues of railway and highway construction and operation are described. Some of the authors'' developments for subgrade stabilization in the foregoing conditions are given as examples.     

The ecosystem of Lake Kenon: past and present (Transbaikal Territory,Russia)

Present-day conditions of the Lake Kenon ecosystem are determined by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors.We have estimated the effects of a complex of factors on the condition of the abiotic environment and on specific biological components in the lake ecosystem.Change in biogenic load has caused an increase in the role of phytoplankton in the general balance of organic matter during the high-water period.Charophytes are the main dominants of bottom vegetation.Anthropogenic load has caused a decrease in both fish species and fish capacity.The lake application as a water reservoir-cooler has influenced the average annual water mineralization(from 420 mg/L to 530.0 mg/L with a maximum 654 mg/L in 1993) and fluctuations in its hydrochemical composition.The present composition of the lake is sulfate-hydrocarbonate-chloride calcium-sodic-magnesium in character.SO 4 – content is twice as much as the maximum permissible concentration in fishery waters.Water drainage from an ash disposal area to the lake has caused an increase in chemical-element concentrations including the heavy metals.Hg concentration in Perca fluviatilis muscles is 0.5 μg/g dry wt.Thus,understanding directions in the ecosystem of the water reservoir-cooler under changing hydrological conditions will let us forecast the consequences of new combined heat and power plant operation.     

Formation of river terraces in conditions of high seismicity

We have investigated the river terraces on the left bank of the Irkut river in the Torskaya depression a short distance from the village of Guzhiry. On the basis of lithological-geological findings and radiocarbon datings of buried soils from two sections of the second terrace (12–14 m), we identified nine formation stages of the terrace in the latter half of the Late Neopleistocene and in the Holocene. They reflect multiple changes of the leading exogenous process, implying a variety of the genetic types of deposits (soils, and aeolian and alluvial sediments) during the Early and Mid-Holocene. The formation stages of alluvium are correlated with periods of high water. It is found that the final transition of alluvial to cover deposits is associated with incision of the river to 2–4 m and is dated to 5.2–4.5 cal. ka. We examine the alternation of the natural factors for the formation of deposits of the second terrace of the Irkut river in the Late Neopleistocene and Holocene. One (hydroclimatic) factor implies accumulation of deposits of the alluvial and cover complex depending on climate and water runoff fluctuations, landscape changes, and on variation in the base level of erosion. The other (seismic) factor is correlated with data on high activity of the Tory paleoseismogenic structure, which seems to have caused the lowering as well as the rise of the bottom of the depression at the time of strong earthquakes and, as a consequence, erosion or accumulation of deposits of the channel facies of alluvium. It is established that the chief causes for the change of the terrace’s deposit types were the natural-climatic changes, the character and directedness of tectonic movements, the variations in the base levels of erosion, and the height of floo ds.     

Distribution of Sessile Invertebrates in a Rocky Sublittoral Community off Rimsky‐Korsakov Islands (Sea of Japan)

Abstract. The dependence of the vertical distribution of sessile macrobenthos upon environmental physical factors was studied in a community inhabiting rocky substrata at 2 to 15 m depth near the Rimsky‐Korsakov Islands (Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan). Three separate groups of species were distinguished within this community. The main dominant species are the anthozoan Metridium senile and the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus. Water movement, bottom inclination and topographic position of the studied sites in respect to prevailing water flows influence the spatial structure of sessile invertebrates. No vertical zonation in the scale of the studied sublittoral area below the 2 m depth level was observed. The studied factors are believed to condition the observed mosaic of patches characterized by specific composition, with a single species being dominant.     

Woolly rhino discovery in the lower Kolyma River

A nearly complete frozen mummy of a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis Blum., 1799) was discovered in a gold mine on the lower reaches of the Kolyma River, north–eastern Siberia. This is the first find of the whole body of woolly rhino in permafrost. A large part of the mummified body was preserved, including the left part of the body, covered by skin, including skin of the head and ear, fore and hind legs. The skull with 2 horns and the lower jaw were also preserved. Most of the internal organs were lost, except the intestines, stomach, and their contents. A rib fragment from this individual was dated by AMS-radiocarbon method to 39,140 ± 390 years BP (OxA-18755). Spore and pollen analyses of the stomach contents indicate that grasses and sagebrushes formed the main part of the diet of C. antiquitatis in this region of Arctic Siberia.     

Water vapor variability in the north polar region of Mars from Viking MAWD and MGS TES datasets

Atmospheric water vapor abundances in Mars’ north polar region (NPR, from 60° to 90°N) are mapped as function of latitude and longitude for spring and summer seasons, and their spatial, seasonal, and interannual variability is discussed. Water vapor data are from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Viking Orbiter (VO) Mars Atmospheric Water Detector (MAWD). The data cover three complete northern spring-summer seasons in 1977-1978, 2000-2001 and 2002-2003, and shorter periods of spring-summer seasons during 1975, 1999 and 2004. Long term interannual variability in the averaged NPR abundances may exist, with Viking MAWD observations showing twice as much water vapor during summer as the MGS TES observations more than 10 martian years (MY) later. While the averaged abundances are very similar in TES observations for the same season in different years, the spatial distributions in the early summer season do vary significantly year over year. Spatial and temporal variabilities increase between L_s ∼ 80-140°, which may be related to vapor sublimation from the North Polar Residual Cap (NPRC), or to changes in circulation. Spatial variability is observed on scales of ∼100 km and temporal variability is observed on scales of <10 sols during summer. During late spring the TES water vapor spatial distribution is seen to correlate with the low topography/low albedo region of northern Acidalia Planitia (270-360°E), and with the dust spatial distribution across the NPR during late spring-early summer. Non-uniform vertical distribution of water vapor, a regolith source or atmospheric circulation ‘pooling’ of water vapor from the NPRC into the topographic depression may be behind the correlation with low topography/low albedo. Sublimation winds carrying water vapor off the NPRC and lifting surface dust in the areas surrounding the NPRC may explain the correlation between the water vapor and dust spatial distributions. Correlation between water vapor and dust in MAWD data are only observed over low topography/low albedo area. Maximum water vapor abundances are observed at L_s = 105-115° and outside of the NPRC at 75-80°N; the TES data, however, do not extend over the NPRC and thus, this conclusion may be biased. Some water vapor appears to be released in plumes or ‘outbursts’ in the MAWD and TES datasets during late spring and early summer. We propose that the sublimation rate of ice varies across the NPRC with varying surface winds, giving rise to the observed ‘outbursts’ at some seasons.     

Search for companions of nearby isolated galaxies

The radial velocities are measured for 45 galaxies located in the neighborhoods of 29 likely isolated galaxies in a new catalog. We find that about 85% of these galaxies actually are well isolated objects. 4% of nearby galaxies with V _LG < 3500 km/s are this kind of cosmic "orphan" Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 203–210 (May 2009).     

Libration celestial mechanics experiment

The exploration of planet moons and minor bodies (Avduevskii et al., 1996) is a basic task for comprehending the nature of the processes occurring in our Solar System. Knowing the current state of the moons, we can better describe their past and look into the future. This knowledge is important, first of all, for understanding the origin of the Solar System. Interest in the Martian moon Phobos has been displayed during recent decades. The interest is caused by some questions to which there have been no answers up until now (Sagdeev et al., 1988; 1989). For example, there is a question regarding the origin of the moon: whether it is an asteroid captured by Mars’ gravitational field or it is an accumulated body in the Martian orbit. In connection with this, it is interesting to conduct studies aimed at answering this question. If Phobos appears to be an asteroid, then investigations regarding the chemical and isotopic compositions of the moon as the primary matter of the Solar System as well as its evolution are of great interest.     

Natural frost in improvement of construction properties of ground in hydroengineering and industrial and civilian construction

Artificial freezing of ground by refrigerating machines requires considerable power and expense, so it is comparatively seldom applied and almost always for a short period. In the regions of severe climate, seasonal freezing and long-term preservation of low temperatures in a mass of frozen ground can compete in effectiveness and economy with the traditional methods of loose ground stabilization, quicksand and boggy—clayey deposits, in particular. In practice, different methods and systems are applied for freezing the ground using the cold atmosphere air as a heat-absorbing medium. Systems with forced pumping of the intermediate heat carrier or of the air itself are more economic than machine freezing, but they are unreliable and maintenance is very expensive.

Freezing devices using natural circulation of a single-phase and double-phase heat carrier in hermetically sealed cavities or thermosiphons permit effective control of the temperature regime of the ground in the seasonal and annual cycles of temperature variation of the ground and atmosphere air with the minimum operating expense.

The paper considers the operational features of freezing systems and different devices, and gives examples of the utilization of artificially frozen ground in hydraulic structures and in foundations of industrial buildings and dwelling houses. The possibility of creating artificially frozen masses used as foundations of the structures built in severe climatic regions is considered, and examples of the existing buildings constructed on the artificial lenses of frozen ground are given.