Spectroscopic Variability of the Compact Planetary Nebula Hb 12

Astronomy Letters - We present the results of our new low-resolution spectroscopic observations of the young compact planetary nebula Hb 12 performed in 2011–2020 with SAI MSU telescopes. We...     

REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS UNDER GLOBAL WARMING IN KAZAKHSTAN

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of regional climate change scenarios for Kazakhstan as the result of increasing of CO₂ concentration in the global atmosphere. These scenarios are used in the assessment of climate change impacts on the agricultural, forest and water resources of Kazakhstan. Climate change scenarios for Kazakhstan to assess both long-term (2× CO₂ in 2075) and short-term (2000, 2010 and 2030) impacts were prepared. The climate conditions under increasing CO₂ concentration were estimated from three General Circulation Models (GCM) outputs: the model of the Canadian Climate Center Model (CCCM), the model of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and the 1% transient version of the GFDL model (GFDL-T). The near-term climate scenarios were obtained using the probabilistic forecast model (PFM) to the year 2010 and the results of GFDL-T for years 2000 and 2030. A baseline scenario representing the current climate conditions based on observations from 1951 to 1980 was developed. The assessment of climate change in Kazakhstan based on the analysis of 100-years observations is given too. As a result of comparisons of the current climate (based on observed climate) the 1× CO₂ output from GCMs showed that the GFDL model best matches the observed climate. The GFDL model suggests that the minimum increase in temperature is expected in winter, when most of the territory is expected to have temperatures 2.3–4.5 °C higher. The maximum (4.3 to 8.2 °C) is expected to be in spring. CCCM scenario estimates an extreme worming above 11 °C in spring months. GFDL-T outputs provide an intermediate scenario.     

Photometric and spectroscopic evolution of the symbiotic nova V1016 Cygni after its outburst

We have constructed the light curves of the symbiotic nova V1016 Cyg for the period 1971–2007 in a homogeneous photometric system close to UBV using our observations with the Zeiss-600 SAI telescope. Based on the observational data obtained with the 125-cm SAI telescope in 2000–2007, we have performed absolute spectrophotometry of the star in the range λ3700–9300 Å. The derived line intensities are compared with the data of other authors in the preceding years (1965–1988). The behavior of nebular lines showed the variations in electron density and, probably, electron temperature in the [OIII] emission region caused by a variable stellar wind from the hot component. All the available observations of the star confirm the theoretical conclusion that the nova-like outburst of V1016 Cyg was produced by a thermonuclear flash in the accreted envelope of a white dwarf.     

Faunal communities at sites of gas- and oil-bearing fluids in Lake Baikal

Macro- and meiofaunal communities were examined at four geomorphologically distinct sites with different gas- and oil-bearing fluid characteristics in the northern, central and southern basins of Lake Baikal. All sites had elevated concentrations of bicarbonate, nitrate, sulphate and chloride ions in pore fluids, with highest values at the Frolikha vent. Elevated levels of iron ions were found in pore waters of the St. Petersburg methane seep and the Gorevoy Utes oil seep. The chemical composition of pore waters at the Malenky mud volcano was similar to that reported in earlier work. Consistent with published data, the Frolikha vent (northern basin) and the St. Petersburg methane seep (central basin) were characterised by methane of mixed genesis (thermogenic + biogenic), whereas the methane source was mainly thermogenic at the Gorevoy Utes oil seep (central basin) and biogenic at the Malenky mud volcano (southern basin). In contrast to marine seep ecosystems, the macrofauna was dominated only by amphipods, giant planarians and oligochaetes, whereas bivalves were absent; the meiofauna was similar to its marine counterpart, being dominated by nematodes, cyclops, harpacticoids and ostracods. A statistically significant positive relationship was revealed between faunal abundance and the availability of bacterial mats on seep sediments. Moreover, ANOVA tests showed significant increases in both meiozoobenthic and macrozoobenthic densities at “hot spot” vent/seep sites relative to discharge-free reference sites. The isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen at various trophic levels of these benthic vent/seep communities was found to differ markedly from that reported by earlier studies for the pelagic and other benthic food webs in Lake Baikal. As in marine seeps, the macrofauna had variable isotopic signatures. Light δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values suggest the utilization of chemosynthetically fixed and/or methane-derived organic matter. By contrast, the heavy δ¹³C signatures of some mobile amphipods likely reflect consumption of photosynthetically derived carbon. These findings would at least partly explain why Lake Baikal is a notable outlier in global temperature–biodiversity patterns, exhibiting the highest biodiversity of any lake worldwide but at an extremely cold average temperature.     

Signature of long supercycles in the Pleistocene history of Asian limnic systems

The analysis of sediment chemistry and biota in drill cores from Lake Khubsugul in Mongolia (KDP-01) and Lake Baikal in Siberia (BDP-96/1), two great Eurasian freshwater lakes, detected prominent climate and biological events at 460–420 and 670 kyrs BP in addition to the orbital cycles of precession, tilt and eccentricity. The revealed long-term events were associated with notable changes in biodiversity and geography/landscapes, mainly in water budgets and weathering patterns. The span between 460–420 and 670 kyrs BP was the time when the climate and geographic conditions differed from those before and after these events. The corresponding 33–24 m (670–460 kyr) interval of the Khubsugul core lacked the usual signature of the Milankovitch glacial/interglacial cycles. Events of approximately these ages were found in some other continental ecosystems and in oceanic δ¹³C records. The two events may mark the phases of a 300–500-kyr long supercycle (or megastadial) in the evolution of continental ecosystems. Among other causes (e.g., regional tectonic events), this periodicity, being globally correlated, may be associated with the 400-kyr cycle of the Earth’s orbital eccentricity.     

Photometric variability of the protoplanetary nebula LSIV-12°111

We present our photometric observations of an early B supergiant with an infrared excess, the protoplanetary object LSIV-12°111, and the previously suspected variable star NSV 24971. We confirm its photometric variability. During two observing seasons (2000–2001), the star exhibited rapid irregular light variations with amplitudes $\Delta V \sim 0\mathop .\limits^m 3$ , $\Delta B \sim 0\mathop .\limits^m 3$ , and $\Delta U \sim 0\mathop .\limits^m 4$ and a time scale of ～1^d. There is no correlation between the colors and magnitudes of the star. The variability patterns of LSIV-12°111 and two other hot post-AGB stars, V886 Her and V1853 Cyg, are shown to be similar.     

Light variations in the candidate for protoplanetary objects HD 179821=V1427 Aql in 1899–1999

We present photoelectric and photographic observations of the supergiant HD 179821 with a large infrared excess, a candidate for protoplanetary objects. Over, ten years of our UBV observations, the star exhibited semiregular light variations with amplitudes $\Delta V = 0\mathop .\limits^m 10$ , $\Delta B = 0\mathop .\limits^m 15$ , and $\Delta U = 0\mathop .\limits^m 25$ , as well as systematic color and light variations. From 1990 until 1996, the yearly mean U-B and B-V color indices decreased by 0.25 and 0.15, respectively. After 1996, the motion of the star in the two-color (B-V)-(U-B) diagram upward and to the left slowed down. The color excess that we derived from our observations, by assuming that the star’s spectral type was F3 I in the 1990s, is E(B-V)=1.0. The photographic observations of HD 179821 from 1899 until 1989 show that its brightness m _pg generally increased while significantly fluctuating. An analysis of the observational data suggests that HD 179821 is most likely a post-AGB star of intermediate or low mass.     

Chemical composition and sulfur forms in saline lakes of Kulunda Plain(Russia)

正1 Introduction On the territory Kulunda Plain,located to the south-west of the Ob’plateau,there are more than 3,000 fresh and salt lakes with water TDS range from 1 to 430 g/L.The interest in these lakes was associated mainly with the study of