Analysis of solutions to the inverse problem on the retrieval of the microstructure of stratospheric aerosol from satellite measurements

A statistical ensemble of microphysical parameters of the background stratospheric aerosol at altitudes of 15 to 30 km is modeled on the basis of experimental data. The aerosol attenuation coefficients (AACs) in the wavelength range 0.38–16.3 μm are calculated for all realizations of the ensemble by algorithms of the Mie theory. Analysis of correlations between the AACs and the microphysical parameters indicate that the AAC correlates most strongly with the total volume V and area S of all particles. The errors of determining the microphysical parameters from AAC measurements are analyzed via the method of linear regression. It is shown that, if the AAC is measured with an error of 5%, the errors of determining both the particle size distribution (PSD) for particles with sizes of 0.4 to 4 μm and the parameter S are an order of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty, whereas the error of determining V is two orders of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty. Schemes of AAC measurements with the SAGE III, ISAMS, CLAES, HALOE instruments and an IR interferometer in the visible and IR regions are discussed. It is shown that combining the schemes makes it possible to extend the range of particle sizes for which the PSD is retrieved with a satisfactory accuracy and to increase the accuracy of determining S and V substantially and the accuracy of determining the total number of particles N _opt to a lesser extent. Examples of interpreting AAC measurements carried out simultaneously with the SAGE III and HALOE instruments within the same spatial region are presented. A systematic discrepancy between vertical profiles of S and V obtained from SAGE III and HALOE measurements is revealed.     

Paleontological records indicate the occurrence of open woodlands in a dry inland climate at the present-day Arctic coast in western Beringia during the Last Interglacial

Permafrost records, accessible at outcrops along the coast of Oyogos Yar at the Dmitry Laptev Strait, NE-Siberia, provide unique insights into the environmental history of Western Beringia during the Last Interglacial. The remains of terrestrial and freshwater organisms, including plants, coleopterans, chironomids, cladocerans, ostracods and molluscs, have been preserved in the frozen deposits of a shallow paleo-lake and indicate a boreal climate at the present-day arctic mainland coast during the Last Interglacial. Terrestrial beetle and plant remains suggest the former existence of open forest-tundra with larch (Larix dahurica), tree alder (Alnus incana), birch and alder shrubs (Duschekia fruticosa, Betula fruticosa, Betula divaricata, Betula nana), interspersed with patches of steppe and meadows. Consequently, the tree line was shifted to at least 270 km north of its current position. Aquatic organisms, such as chironomids, cladocerans, ostracods, molluscs and hydrophytes, indicate the formation of a shallow lake as the result of thermokarst processes. Steppe plants and beetles suggest low net precipitation. Littoral pioneer plants and chironomids indicate intense lake level fluctuations due to high evaporation. Many of the organisms are thermophilous, indicating a mean air temperature of the warmest month that was greater than 13 °C, which is above the minimum requirements for tree growth. These temperatures are in contrast to the modern values of less than 4 °C in the study area. The terrestrial and freshwater organism remains were found at a coastal exposure that was only 3.5 m above sea level and in a position where they should have been under sea during the Last Interglacial when the global sea level was 6–10 m higher than the current levels. The results suggest that during the last warm stage, the site was inland, and its modern coastal situation is the result of tectonic subsidence.     

俄罗斯-蒙古地学断面地壳模型的地质-地球物理资料综合研究

地学断面是指地壳的垂直剖面,主要通过对地质和地球物理资料的综合分析来揭示构造带的性质及其空间关系。横断面的研究所采用的数据基本包括100 km宽区域地质图、上地壳的地质剖面图、重磁图(沿横断面的重磁剖面图)以及地壳的地震波速度、密度和其他地球物理属性的剖面图。这些数据被用于构建综合的数据剖面图(结果图),以展示各种地球动力学条件下(裂谷、海洋、碰撞带、造山盆地、大陆地台和岩浆弧,包括安第斯岛弧、活动大陆边缘、海沟、弧前和弧后盆地)的特定的岩石组构。本项目的研究目标是根据研究区现存的地质和地球物理数据的综合解释,统一图例,建立研究区深部剖面,以确定地体的空间关系及其在板块构造方面的地球动力学性质。 前人已分别对东西伯利亚南部和蒙古境内的多个地体进行了构造划分,并对它们的地球动力学性质和时空关系进行了分析。研究结果显示该系列地体为早古生代、中晚古生代和晚古生代—早中生代的岛弧和微大陆。此外,研究还识别出了中—晚古生代和晚古生代—早中生代安第斯型活动大陆边缘、晚古生代—早中生代被动大陆边缘和早白垩世裂谷。与岛弧和安第斯型活动大陆边缘相关的岩体被推覆至相邻大陆和微陆块上,部分推覆宽度可达150 km。目前已开展泥盆纪到晚侏罗世时期蒙古-鄂霍次克海地区的古地球动力学重建。 “非地槽”型花岗岩类岩浆作用在板块构造方面找到了直接且合理的解释,其中泥盆纪—石炭纪和二叠纪—三叠纪岩浆作用区域对应于安第斯型活动大陆边缘,中—晚侏罗世岩浆作用则与西伯利亚/蒙古-中国大陆板块碰撞有关。碰撞岩浆作用中亚碱性(地幔)元素的存在及其所在的构造区域在很大程度可以说明蒙古-鄂霍次克海闭合后,巨厚大陆岩石圈下曾经发生过持续的大洋裂谷活动(地幔热点)。在早白垩世时期,大陆裂谷活动影响到了同一时期正在发生的大陆汇聚作用。 西伯利亚南部边界大部分具有安第斯型活动大陆边缘性质,这也是蒙古—鄂霍次克缝合线沿线蛇绿岩数量较少的原因。因为当汇聚大陆一个具有安第斯类型的活动边缘,而另一个具有被动边缘时,前者的大陆地壳会最终逆冲到后者之上,并因此破坏掉先前出露的蛇绿杂岩体。部分被破坏的蛇绿岩块是俯冲带保留下来的海山残余,其可能成为增生-俯冲楔体的混沌复合体的一部分。然而,由于快速俯冲作用,这种楔形体在晚二叠世—早侏罗世的积累并不是西伯利亚活动边缘的典型特征。 沿地学断面综合的地质和地球物理资料分析表明,亚洲大陆是在显生宙时期由部分前寒武纪微陆块构造拼贴而成的。前寒武纪地块间存在不同宽度的已变形且剥蚀强烈的显生宙火山弧,它们也被归类为特定地体。     

New Orbit and Estimate of the Mass of the Star 61 Cygni Based on Observations of it in 1819-2019

Astrophysics - This paper is a continuation of our earlier work devoted to determining the orbit and mass of the star 61 Cyg and the changes in the photometric characteristics of its components....     

Polar stratospheric clouds from satellite observational data

The spectral aerosol-extinction coefficients (SAECs) obtained from SAGE III measurements are used to study the physical and integral microphysical characteristics of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). Different criteria for PSC identification from SAEC measurements are considered and analyzed based on model and field measurements. An intercomparison of them is performed, and the agreement and difference of the results obtained with the use of different criteria are shown. A new criterion is proposed for PSC identification, which is based on the estimate of how close the measured vector of the spectral attenuation coefficient is to a model distribution of the PSC ensemble. On the basis of different criteria, cases of PSCs are isolated from all SAGE III observations (over 30000). All selection criteria lead to a qualitatively and quantitatively similar space-time distribution of the regions of PSC localization. The PSCs observed in the region accessible to SAGE III measurements are localized in the latitudinal zones 65°–80° in the Northern Hemisphere and 45°–60° in the Southern Hemisphere during the winter-spring period. In the Northern Hemisphere, PSCs are observed within the longitudinal zone 120° W–100° E with the maximum frequency of PSC observation in the vicinity of the Greenwich meridian. In the Southern Hemisphere, the region of PSC observation is almost the same in longitude but with a certain shift in the maximum frequency of PSC observation to the west. This maximum is observed in the vicinity of 40°W, and the region of usual PSC observation is the neighborhood of 60° of the maximum’s longitude. The physical parameters of PSCs are estimated: the mean heights of the lower and upper boundaries of PSCs are 19.5 and 21.9 km, respectively, and the mean cloud temperature is 191.8 K. The integral microphysical parameters of PSCs are estimated: the total surface of NAT particles S _NAT = 0.41 μm²/cm³; the total volume of NAT particles V _NAT = 1.1 μm³/cm³; and, for all aerosol and cloud particles together, S is 2.9 ± 1.5 at a standard deviation of 2.7 μm²/cm³ and V is 2.8 ± 1.5 at a standard deviation of 4.2 μm³/cm³. A high frequency of PSC occurrence and high values of S and V in PSCs both for all particles and for NAT particles have been noted in January–February 2005 as compared to the rest of the period of SAGE III measurements for 2002–2005.     

Modeling Arctic Ocean heat transport and warming episodes in the 20th century caused by the intruding Atlantic Water

This study investigates the Arctic Ocean warming episodes in the 20th century using both a high-resolution coupled global climate model and historical observations. The model, with no flux adjustment, reproduces well the Atlantic Water core temperature （AWCT） in the Arctic Ocean and shows that four largest decadalscale warming episodes occurred in the 1930s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, in agreement with the hydrographic observational data. The difference is that there was no pre-warming prior to the 1930s episode, while there were two pre-warming episodes in the 1970s and 80s prior to the 1990s, leading the 1990s into the largest and prolonged warming in the 20th century. Over the last century, the simulated heat transport via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea was estimated to be, on average, 31.32 TW and 14.82 TW, respectively, while the Bering Strait also provides 15.94 TW heat into the west- ern Arctic Ocean. Heat transport into the Arctic Ocean by the Atlantic Water via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea correlates significantly with AWCT （ C = 0.75 ） at 0- lag. The modeled North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） index has a significant correlation with the heat transport （ C = 0.37 ）. The observed AWCT has a significant correlation with both the modeled AWCT （ C =0.49） and the heat transport （ C =0.41 ）. However, the modeled NAO index does not significantly correlate with either the observed AWCT （ C = 0.03 ） or modeled AWCT （ C = 0.16 ） at a zero-lag, indicating that the Arctic climate system is far more complex than expected.     

Determination of the Total Ozone Content in Cloudy Conditions based on Data from the IKFS-2 Spectrometer onboard the Meteor-M no. 2 Satellite

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - A new technique has been developed to obtain the total ozone content (TOC) under cloudy conditions from the spectra of outgoing thermal IR radiation...     

Geochronology of Alkaline Rocks of the Aryskan Rare Metal Deposit,East Sayan

Doklady Earth Sciences - The temporal relations between alkaline rocks of the Aryskan rare metal (Y, REEs, Nb, Ta) deposit are determined using metamict zircon with high U and Th contents, which...