Land use contribution to the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases in Russia in 2000–2011

Presented is the assessment of the contribution that such major types of the land use in Russia as arable lands, forage lands, settlements, and peatery make to anthropogenic fluxes of carbon dioxide CO₂, methane CH₄, and nitrogen oxide N₂O, The assessment is based on the methods of computation monitoring carried out in the period from 2000 to 2011. The results of the study demonstrated that every year arable lands cause the emission of CO₂ and N₂O of about 117.0 and 74.9 million t CO₂ equiv, and peatery, 0.54 and 105.4 thousand t CO₂ equiv, respectively. The balance of soil carbon in hayfields and pastures is close to zero. The average emissions of CH₄ and N₂O from the manure of pasture animals amount to 0.2 and 5.0 million t CO₂ equiv/year, and those from grass fires, 276.1 and 372.5 thousand t CO₂ equiv/year, respectively. The carbon balance in permanent soils of settlements is also almost close to zero, and newly built-up lands are the source of CO₂ (9.5 million t/year). The natural overgrowing of fallow lands leads to the accumulation of the soil carbon (about 92.4 million t CO₂/year). It was revealed that the intensity of CO₂ emission is defined by the soil carbon balance and that of other gases, by the amount of nitrogen fertilizers, plant residues, and manure coming to the soil. The total emission from the land use is 106.9 million t CO₂ equiv/year that makes up 4.9% of the total anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases in the Russian Federation.     

Adjustment of neutron multiplicities in a neutron monitor

A method for registration of neutron multiplicities in a neutron monitor is presented. It performs automatic adjustments with allowance for the effect of coincidence. Changes in the cosmic-ray energy spectrum were analyzed using variations in the mean neutron multiplicity in October 2003, January 2005, and December 2006. Neutron multiplicities are shown to be almost inapplicable without adjustments for the coincidence effect and can yield a reverse result.     

Effect of snow in cosmic ray variations and methods for taking it into consideration

This paper describes a method, which makes it possible to eliminate the effect of snow cover from the neutron component of secondary cosmic radiation. For many circumpolar, high-latitude, and mountain stations, where cosmic rays are continuously registered, it is exclusively important to take the presence of snow into consideration. Comparisons are made for manual and automated measurements, which are corrected for the snow effect based on the developed algorithm. The described method was tested for a number of cosmic ray stations where considerable snow masses are accumulated during the winter period near or above a detector: Magadan, Mount Hermon, Jungfraujoch, and Nain.     

On the possibility of a secondary explosion in the antipode of a large meteorite impact point

At large distances, due to atmospheric absorption and the dispersion of high-frequency components, the airwaves from the fall of large meteorites or heavy-yield explosions are transformed into an infrasonic wave train propagating over large distances via atmospheric sound channels. In approaching the antipode, the amplitude of infrasonic oscillations increases significantly and the nonlinear effects may trigger the formation of a blast wave, that is, another explosion. The condition which allows such a phenomenon to happen was obtained in this study. Infrasonic waves from the Tunguska fall event and waves generated by the largest nuclear explosions were considered in this study.     

Estimation of expected inflow in the AB1 bed by GWI data on the basis of C/O logging

The expected inflow in the AB1 bed at the Samotlor deposit is estimated by GWI data on the basis of C/O logging. The terrigenous AB1 beds of the Varta arch consist of sandstone, clay, and intermediate varieties. The beds are distinguished by the high clay content of the rocks and frequent interstratification of major facies. The filtration properties of the complex polymictic reservoirs can be estimated only with the use of C/O logging. The investigation results, which correspond to the bed exploration data, are reported.     

Spectrographic analysis of events in cosmic rays in October–November 2003

Based on the multiplied neutron registration with the Magadan neutron monitor, the parameters of the spectrum of variations in the cosmic ray hardness and variation in geomagnetic cutoff rigidity for Forbush decreases and intensity increases, related to registration at a level of solar cosmic ray observation, have been determined using the spectrographic method. Results of an analysis indicate that the spectral index (represented in the power form) increases for Forbush decreases and decreases for increases in CR intensity. In the analyzed cases, geomagnetic cutoff rigidity decreases for intensity increases and Forbush decreases.     

Increased Carbon Sink in Temperate and Boreal Forests

An intense search is under way to identify the `missing sink' in the world carbon budget of perhaps 2 Pg year^–1 (petagrams, or billiontonnes) of carbon, but its location and mechanism have proved elusive. Here we use a new forest inventory data set to estimate the carbon sink and the carbon pool of woody biomass in 55 countries that account for nearly all temperate or boreal forests and approximately half the world's total forest area. In each country there was a net accumulation of biomass; together, the carbon sink of woody biomass was 0.88 Pg year^–1 during the 1990swith estimated uncertainty from 0.71 to 1.1 Pg year^–1. Thisestimate, already about half of the missing sink, would probably be even larger if carbon accumulation in soil and detritus were also accounted for, but we are unable to quantify that additional sink. The sink is twice that estimated for the woody biomass of these forests a decade ago due to higher estimates for tree growth throughout the region and decreased timber harvests in Russia. In contrast, the new data indicate a carbon pool that is smaller than earlier estimates because of improved data for Russia and Australia.     

Orbital Motion and Attitude Control of the Spectrum–Röntgen–Gamma Space Observatory

Astronomy Letters - The Spectrum–Röntgen–Gamma (SRG) space observatory was launched from Baikonur on July 13, 2019, and is currently on a flight trajectory in the vicinity of the...     

The Einstein polarization interferometer for cosmology (EPIC) and the millimeter-wave bolometric interferometer (MBI)

We provide an overview of a mission concept study underway for the Einstein Inflation Probe (EIP). Our study investigates the advantages and tradeoffs of using an interferometer (EPIC) for the mission. We also report on the status of the millimeter-wave bolometric interferometer (MBI), a ground-based pathfinder optimized for degree-scale CMB polarization measurements at 90 GHz.