Variations of Total Nitrogen Oxide Content in the Atmosphere over the North Caucasus

The data are presented on total nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) content in the atmosphere from 1979 to 2009 at the high-mountain scientific station located in the unpolluted area in the North Caucasus at the height of 2070 m above the sea level (43.7° N, 42.7° E). The total content of NO₂ was measured on the basis of attenuation of direct solar radiation over slope pathways after the sunrise and before the sunset. Characteristics features are analyzed of temporal variability of total NO₂ content in the atmosphere related to its diurnal and seasonal variations, 11-year solar activity, volcanic eruptions, quasi-biennial oscillations of tropical circulation, and the El Niño effect.     

Estimation of Aerosol Radiation Effects under Background and Smoke-haze Atmospheric Conditions over Siberia from Empirical Data

The results of numerical simulation of downward solar radiation fluxes for background and smoke-contaminated atmospheric conditions are discussed. Vertical profiles of aerosol characteristics are obtained from the empirical model based on the data of aircraft sounding of profiles of angular scattering coefficients and content of absorbing particles in the lower troposphere. The background model was created using the results of measurements obtained under cloudless and mostly cloudless atmospheric conditions in 1999–2011. Optical parameters of smoke aerosol are determined from the data of aircraft measurements in the period of long-term wildfires in Siberia in the summer 2012. It is demonstrated that deficiency in diurnal values of total solar radiation at the surface level caused by the formation of the optically dense smoke layer as compared to background conditions, is more than 13 MJ/m².     

Distribution of methane content and methane fluxes in the Sea of Japan,Sea of Okhotsk,and near-Kuril Pacific

The spatial distribution of methane content and methane fluxes in the water in the north-western part of the Sea of Japan, in the Kuril basin of the Sea of Okhotsk, and in the near-Kuril part of the Pacific Ocean is studied using the data of marine research expeditions in 2005, 2010, and 2011. The studies revealed the significant variability of the methane flux depending on the source presence and on the sea surface conditions. The high emission of methane from water to the atmosphere is registered in the areas where its concentration exceeds the equilibrium values with the atmosphere. The use of the model of computation of the fields of currents and contaminant transport for the investigated water area enabled explaining the formation of the high concentration of methane in the center of vortices in the zones of sea water convergence in the water areas under study.     

Long-term estimates of parameters of the vertical distribution of cloud layers from atmospheric radiosounding data

Based on the global aerological dataset and on the method for determination of the boundaries and amount of cloudiness using the profiles of temperature and humidity obtained from the atmospheric radiosounding data [23], the estimates are computed for the parameters of atmospheric temperature- humidity separation into cloud and intercloud layers from the surface to the height of 10 km. The base and top of cloud layers and their total thickness and frequency are selected as layering parameters. The computations are based on the data for the observational period of 1964-1998. To specify the spatiotemporal features of atmospheric layering, long-term geographic distributions of mean values and standard deviations of the mentioned parameters are constructed for January and July, and the amplitude of their variations is determined.     

Spatiotemporal variations in climate moisture indices in Georgia under global warming

Using observational data from 50 weather stations in Georgia for the period of 1936-2013, the following climate indices of moisture regime are studied: maximum 1-day precipitation, maximum 5-day precipitation, the simple daily intensity index, the number of days with precipitation equal to not less than 10, 20, and 50 mm, number of consecutive wet and dry days. Geoinformation maps of the spatial structure are plotted, and the dynamics of these indices is studied for the period of global warming. Expected changes in the moisture regime in different physiographic regions in Georgia are assessed.     

Ozone content over the Russian Federation in the second quarter of 2016

The review is compiled on the basis of the operation of the total ozone (TO) monitoring system in the CIS and Baltic countries that functions in the operational regime at the Central Aerological Observatory. The monitoring system uses the data from the national network equipped with M-124 filter ozonometers under methodological supervision of the Main Geophysical Observatory. The quality of the functioning of the entire system is under the operational control based on the observations obtained from the OMI satellite equipment (NASA, the United States). The basic TO observation data are generalized for each month of the second quarter of 2016 and for the quarter as a whole. The data of routine observations of surface ozone content carried out in the Moscow region and Crimea are also presented.     

Circulation anomalies in the atmospheric centers of action during the Eastern Pacific and Central Pacific El Niño

Based on the statistical analysis the teleconnections between circulation anomalies in the atmospheric centers of action and sea surface temperature anomalies are revealed for two types of El Niño. It is demonstrated that for the Eastern Pacific El Niño stronger teleconnections are registered in the Northern Hemisphere whereas the response to the Central Pacific El Niño is much stronger in the Southern Hemisphere. The Central Pacific El Niño is characterized by the more rapid signal propagation from the tropical zone to distant regions. In some cases the pattern of interaction with the atmospheric circulation considerably differs for two types of El Niño that defines differences in the fields of weather anomalies.     

Variations in climatic and hydrological parameters in the Selenga River basin in the Russian Federation

The variations in average annual surface air temperature, precipitation, and runoff in the Selenga River basin (within Russia) are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the considerable increase in average annual temperature of surface air layers occurred in the 1980s-1990s. The decrease in peak water discharge in the rivers and the increase in the frequency of low-water periods were revealed in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of the Selenga River basin in 2001-2010. In the southwestern mountain regions (the Dzhida River basin) the river runoff increased during that period.