Is special relativity a key to the ‘enigma’ of non-locality phenomenon,in the end?

An idea is put forward that the events considered in the non-locality phenomenon are co-local and simultaneous in the reference frame of information moving with the velocity of light. Then, the special relativity can explain many aspects of the issue. Furthermore, the impact of the idea is discussed in relation to problems of the Mach principle and those of the Planck era connected to the closeness or openess of our Universe.     

Polarization properties of silicate-like grains in circumstellar envelopes of late-type stars due to temperature variations

The influence of temperature changes in circumstellar silicate-like envelopes upon the polarization effects is investigated. It is shown that under the assumption that ΔT _g>50° and conductivity of silicate grains is indirectly proportional toT _g this mechanism can be responsible for the observed dependence of intensity vs polarization in some late-type stars, e.g. V CVn. The same effects can be produced by dirty ices and graphite grains. It is suggested that irradiation by electrons and/or protons can affect the circumstellar envelopes in a similar way, especially those of early-type stars, and irradiation by neutrons can exert an influence on the envelopes of supernovae.     

Cosmic gamma-ray emission and comet collisions with compact stars

The probability that γ-ray bursts may be generated by the infall of comet-like objects on the neutron stars, as recently proposed by Harwit and Salpeter (1973), is reexamined. Although hypothetical cometary clouds around the parent star may survive the supernova outburst virtually untouched, the frequency of γ-outbursts due to the comet impact on the neutron star or white dwarf is only about 10^?3 of the observed occurrence. A considerably higher rate of comets passing per year at critical periastron distance must be assumed if the γ-ray outbursts are to be due to the collision of coments with compact stars.     

Triaxiality of Halley's Comet

There are many aspects of observational evidence that cometary nuclei have irregular or nonspherical shape. The triaxial figure of the Halley's Comet nucleus is a well known fact. Therefore, the nucleus shape plays a significant role in consideration of the formation and evolution of comets and several attempts have been made to explain their nonsphericity. These studies were mainly based on the random-walk schemes for the aggregation processes. Although some results indeed lead to irregularities and deviation from sphericity, the spherical or irregular shape seem to be prevailing results. On the other hand the triaxial figure can be formed by the tidal and rotational forces. Thus, the assumption that the shape of the cometary nucleus due to some of these effects is in principle acceptable. In here assumed scenario already evolved cometary nucleus is situated as a satellite in the gravitation field of a planetary-like body. Since the rigidity of the nucleus is low, it may be easily transferred in the state of a synchronous satellite and in its shape could be imprinted the dynamical effects from this epoch. Here presented results indicate, that such a possibility should be seriously considered. The theory of this process is applied to the nucleus of comet Halley. It is shown, that the nucleus might be synchronously orbiting around a planetary-like hypothetical body with a period of 0.7 days. The minimal bulk tensile strength of the cometary material of about 10² N m^–2 is estimated.     

A comparison of shelf observation platforms for assimilation in an eddy-resolving ocean model

An assessment of the likely benefits of assimilating in situ temperature (T) and salinity (S) observations from repeat glider transects and surface velocity observations from high-frequency radar arrays into an eddy-resolving ocean model is presented. The deployment of new shelf observation platforms around Australia is being undertaken through the Australian Integrated Marine Observing System program. In this study, various options for an observing system along the coast of New South Wales, Australia, are assessed for their benefits to an ocean forecast and reanalysis system. The forecast system considered here uses ensemble optimal interpolation (EnOI) for data assimilation. Using error estimates from the EnOI scheme, estimates of the theoretical analysis errors are calculated for different observing systems that include a range of remotely sensed and in situ observations. The results demonstrate that if HF radar observations are assimilated along with the standard components of the global ocean observing system, the analysis errors are likely to reduce by as much as 80% for velocity and 60% for T, S and sea-level in the vicinity of the observations. Owing to the relatively short along-shore decorrelation length-scales for T and S near the shelf, the glider observations are likely to provide the forecast system with a more modest gain.     

Hydrologic impacts of climate change on the Nile River Basin: implications of the 2007 IPCC scenarios

We assess the potential impacts of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Nile River basin using a macroscale hydrology model. Model inputs are bias corrected and spatially downscaled 21st Century simulations from 11 General Circulation Models (GCMs) and two global emissions scenarios (A2 and B1) archived from the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). While all GCMs agree with respect to the direction of 21st Century temperature changes, there is considerable variability in the magnitude, direction, and seasonality of projected precipitation changes. Our simulations show that, averaged over all 11 GCMs, the Nile River is expected to experience increase in streamflow early in the study period (2010–2039), due to generally increased precipitation. Streamflow is expected to decline during mid- (2040–2069) and late (2070–2099) century as a result of both precipitation declines and increased evaporative demand. The predicted multimodel average streamflow at High Aswan Dam (HAD) as a percentage of historical (1950–1999) annual average are 111 (114), 92 (93) and 84 (87) for A2 (B1) global emissions scenarios. Implications of these streamflow changes on the water resources of the Nile River basin were analyzed by quantifying the annual hydropower production and irrigation water release at HAD. The long-term HAD release for irrigation increases early in the century to 106 (109)% of historical, and then decreases to 87 (89) and 86 (84)% of historical in Periods II and III, respectively, for the A2 (B1) global emissions scenarios. Egypt’s hydropower production from HAD will be above the mean annual average historical value of about 10,000 GWH for the early part of 21st century, and thereafter will generally follow the streamflow trend, however with large variability among GCMs. Agricultural water supplies will be negatively impacted, especially in the second half of the century.     

Climate benefits of changing diet

Climate change mitigation policies tend to focus on the energy sector, while the livestock sector receives surprisingly little attention, despite the fact that it accounts for 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions and for 80% of total anthropogenic land use. From a dietary perspective, new insights in the adverse health effects of beef and pork have lead to a revision of meat consumption recommendations. Here, we explored the potential impact of dietary changes on achieving ambitious climate stabilization levels. By using an integrated assessment model, we found a global food transition to less meat, or even a complete switch to plant-based protein food to have a dramatic effect on land use. Up to 2,700 Mha of pasture and 100 Mha of cropland could be abandoned, resulting in a large carbon uptake from regrowing vegetation. Additionally, methane and nitrous oxide emission would be reduced substantially. A global transition to a low meat-diet as recommended for health reasons would reduce the mitigation costs to achieve a 450 ppm CO₂-eq. stabilisation target by about 50% in 2050 compared to the reference case. Dietary changes could therefore not only create substantial benefits for human health and global land use, but can also play an important role in future climate change mitigation policies.     

An Estimation of Spatial Variations of Magnetic Field and Superthermal Electron Distribution in cm-Radio Burst Sources

The paper presents a new method of the estimation of spatial variations of the magnetic field and superthermal electron distribution in solar cm-radio burst sources. The method is based on minimization of the difference between the theoretical and observed radio fluxes and on the analysis of several burst spectra recorded in different moments of time. Several solar cm-radio bursts are analyzed by this method. It is found that the measure of the spatial variations of the superthermal electron distribution in the radio source is always larger than that for the magnetic field.     

Holocene environments and climate in the Mongolian Altai reconstructed from the Hoton-Nur pollen and diatom records: a step towards better understanding climate dynamics in Central Asia

This study presents the results of the palynological and diatom analyses of the sediment core recovered in Hoton-Nur Lake (48°37′18″N, 88°20′45″E, 2083 m) in 2004. Quantitative reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation and climate dynamics in the semiarid Mongolian Altai suggests that boreal woodland replaced the primarily open landscape of northwestern Mongolia at about 10 kyr BP (1 kyr = 1000 cal yr) in response to a noticeable increase in precipitation from 200–250 mm/yr to 450–550 mm/yr. A decline of the forest vegetation and a return to a predominance of open vegetation types occurred after 5 kyr BP when precipitation sums decreased to 250–300 mm/yr. Prior to 11.5 kyr BP diatom concentrations are relatively low and the lake is dominated by planktonic Cyclotella and small Fragilariaceae, suggesting the existence of a relatively deep and oligotrophic/mesotrophic lake. The great abundance of Staurosirella pinnata from the beginning of the record until 10.7 kyr BP might imply intensified erosion processes in the catchment and this is fully consistent with the presence of scarce and dry vegetation and the generally arid climate during this period. From about 10.7 kyr BP, more planktonic diatom taxa appeared and increased in abundance, indicating that the lake became more productive as diatom concentration increased. This change correlates well with the development of boreal woodland in the catchment. Decrease in precipitation and changes in the vegetation towards steppe are reflected by the rapid increase in Aulacoseira distans from about 5 kyr BP. The Holocene pollen and diatom records do not indicate soil and vegetation cover disturbances by the anthropogenic activities, implying that the main transformations of the regional vegetation occurred as a result of the natural climate change. Our reconstruction is in agreement with the paleomonsoon records from China, demonstrating an abrupt strengthening of the summer monsoon at 12 kyr BP and an associated increase in precipitation and in lake levels between 11 and 8 kyr BP, followed by the stepwise attenuation of the monsoon circulation and climate aridization towards the modern level. The records from the neighboring areas of Kazakhstan and Russia, situated west and north of Hoton-Nur, demonstrate spatially and temporally different Holocene vegetation and climate histories, indicating that the Altai Mountains as a climate boundary are of pivotal importance for the Holocene environmental and, possibly, habitation history of Central Asia.     

Robotic optical telescopes global network MASTER II. Equipment, structure, algorithms

Presented paper describes the basic principles and features of the implementation of a robotic network of optical telescopes MASTER, designed to study the prompt (simultaneous with gamma radiation) optical emission of gamma-ray bursts and to perform the sky survey to detect unknown objects and transient phenomena. With joint efforts of Sternberg astronomical institute, High altitude astronomical station of the Pulkovo observatory, Ural state university, Irkutsk state university, Blagoveshchensk pedagogical university, the robotic telescopes MASTER?II near Kislovodsk, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk and Blagoveshchensk were installed and tested. The network spread over the longitudes is greater than 6?h. A further expansion of the network is considered.