Dynamics of the Kopački Rit (Croatia) wetland floodplain water regime

Kopa?ki Rit Nature Park is part of the Danube River natural floodplain and one of the last oases of wild life in the Danube River Basin. Due to its extraordinary value, it was inscribed on the list of Wetlands of International Importance in 1993. More than 2,000 species have been registered in this area, which consists of lakes, canals, grassland, marshland and forests. Even the number of investigations which have been performed on its biological and ecological features, hydrological and water resources characteristics, as a prerequisite for ecohydrological analyses, are still rather unknown in the scientific community. Mainly the Danube River and partly the River Drava cause flooding of Kopa?ki Rit and inundations enter the area from both the northern and southern parts. Results of hydrological and meteorological analysis show a decreasing trend of both mean and minimum, annual water levels in the Rivers Drava and Danube (respectively 1.8 and 1.38 cm/year). These reductions in water level can reduce the replenishment periods of Kopa?ki Rit Nature Park. In addition, a significant rise of mean annual air temperature and consequently water temperature (data 1988–2011) may be causing increasing evapotranspiration and loss of water within Kopa?ki Rit. But an encouraging counteracting finding is that, the results of frequency analysis show, even a discharge of 5-years’ return period on the River Danube inundates 70 % of the Danube floodplain and Kopa?ki Rit Nature Park.     

Groundwater quality on the territory of Kikinda municipality (Vojvodina,Serbia)

This paper provides insight into the quality of groundwater used for public water supply on the territory of Kikinda municipality (Vojvodina, Serbia) and main processes which control it. The following parameters were measured: color, turbidity, pH, KMnO₄ consumption, TDS, EC, NH₄ ⁺, Cl^?, NO₂ ^?, NO₃ ^?, Fe, Mn, total hardness, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, SO₄ ²⁺, HCO₃ ^?, K⁺, Na⁺, As. The correlations and ratios among parameters that define the chemical composition were determined aiming to identify main processes that control the formation of the chemical composition of the analyzed waters. Groundwater from 11 analyzed sources is Na–HCO₃ type. Intense color and elevated organic matter content of these waters originate from humic substances. The importance of organic matter decay is assumed by positive correlation between organic matter content and TDS, HCO₃ content. There is no evidence that groundwater chemistry is determined by the depth of captured aquifer interval. The main processes that control the chemistry of all analyzed water are cation exchange and feldspar weathering.     

Environmental impact of blasting at Drenovac limestone quarry (Serbia)

In present paper, the blast-induced ground motion and its effect on the neighboring structures are analyzed at the limestone quarry "Drenovac" in central part of Serbia. Ground motion is examined by means of existing conventional predictors, with scaled distance as a main influential parameter, which gave satisfying prediction accuracy (R > 0.8), except in the case of Ambraseys–Hendron predictor. In the next step of the analysis, a feed-forward three-layer back-propagation neural network is developed, with three input units (total charge, maximum charge per delay and distance from explosive charge to monitoring point) and only one output unit (peak particle velocity). The network is tested for the cases with different number of hidden nodes. The obtained results indicate that the model with six hidden nodes gives reasonable predictive precision (R ≈ 0.9), but with much lower values of mean-squared error in comparison to conventional predictors. In order to predict the influence level to the neighboring buildings, recorded peak particle velocities and frequency values were evaluated according to United States Bureau of Mines, USSR standard, German DIN4150, Australian standard, Indian DMGS circular 7 and Chinese safety regulations for blasting. Using the best conventional predictor, the relationship between the allowable amount of explosive and distance from explosive charge is determined for every vibration standard. Furthermore, the effect of air-blast overpressure is analyzed according to domestic regulations, with construction of a blasting chart for the permissible amount of explosive as a function of distance, for the allowable value of air-blast overpressure (200 Pa). The performed analysis indicates only small number of recordings above the upper allowable limit according to DIN4150 and DMGS standard, while, for all other vibration codes the registered values of ground velocity are within the permissible limits. As for the air-blast overpressure, no damage is expected to occur.     

Late cretaceous radiolarians and age of flyschoid sediments in the Struganik section (Western Serbia)

The succession of radiolarian assemblages in the Struganik section of western Serbia is described for the first time. The following radiolarian beds are defined in carbonate flyschoid sequences represented by thin-platy limestones with calcarenite and bentonite clay intercalations (from the base upward): Theocampe urna-Dictyomitra koslovae (presumably lower Santonian); Afens perapediensis-Clathropyrgus titthium (presumably uppermost lower Santonian-basal upper Santonian); Alievium gallowayi-Crucella espartoensis (upper Santonian). The examined assemblages are characterized by high taxonomic diversity. The upper Santonian Alievium gallowayi-Crucella espartoensis Assemblage exhibits significant similarity with the coeval radiolarian assemblage of the Crimean Mountains (Ukraine). Archaeocenosphaera (?) karamatai sp. nov. is described.     

Forcing mechanisms of a heavy precipitation event in the southeastern Adriatic area

The aim of this study was to identify the main mesoscale features and mechanisms responsible for the generation of an extreme precipitation event as a contribution to improving the modelling of processes that produce HPEs. The event occurred during the morning hours on 22 November 2010 over the Dubrovnik coast in Croatia and the hinterland mountain range of the southern Dinaric Alps and caused severe flash floods and landslides and consequent interruption of traffic and electricity supply as well as other infrastructural damage. The analysis is geographically focused on the southern portion of the eastern Adriatic region, which is prone to relatively frequent heavy precipitation events that occur mostly in autumn. This area is one of the rainiest in Europe with expected annual amounts of precipitation greater than 5,000 mm in the mountainous hinterland. The mechanisms responsible for the formation of convection were analysed using synop measurements, satellite data and numerical experiments performed with the WRF model, which was set up at the convection-permitting resolution in the innermost domain. Satellite data were used to identify the precipitation systems and to estimate the intensity of the precipitation during the period of interest. The development of the precipitation system was connected to a strong large-scale ascent over the southern Italy and southern Adriatic due to the advection of warm air and cyclonic vorticity advection, which increases with height. The numerical simulations highlighted the essential role of a southerly low-level jet stream in the transport of warm and moist air towards the affected area. The convergence of two branches of low-level marine air favoured convection triggered over the coast and sea. Furthermore, numerical sensitivity experiments suggested that the orography of the Dinaric Alps plays an essential role in the precipitation maximum over the mountainous hinterland, but also that the orography was not the crucial factor in the heavy precipitation near Dubrovnik. This study highlights the need for a dense network of observations, especially radar measurements, to validate the simulated mechanisms and improve numerical forecasts via data assimilation.     

Preservation of diagenetic products of β-carotene in sedimentary rocks from the Lopare Basin (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Sedimentary rocks from the saline formation of the Lopare Basin were investigated. Sediments contain a moderate amount of immature to marginally mature algal organic matter deposited under slightly reducing to anoxic and slightly saline to hypersaline conditions. Almost all of the samples contain β-carotane in a relatively high quantity, and in some, it represents the most abundant compound in the total distribution of hydrocarbons. The objective of the study was to determine the conditions that are favourable to precursors of β-carotene and/or the preservation of the carotenoid hydrocarbon skeleton. Moreover, the dominant transformation pathways of β-carotene under different redox and salinity conditions, which lead to the formation of aromatic carotenoids were defined.     

The crystal structure of bøgvadite (Na2SrBa2Al4F20)

The crystal structure of bøgvadite, Na₂SrBa₂Al₄F₂₀, has been solved and refined to a R₁ factor of 4.4 % from single-crystal data (MoKα X-ray diffraction, CCD area detector) on a sample from the cryolite deposit at Ivittuut, SW Greenland. Bøgvadite is monoclinic, P2₁/n space group, with unit cell parameters a?=?7.134(1), b?=?19.996(3) and c?=?5.3440(8) Å, β?=?90.02(1)^o. A close proximity of the crystal structure to an orthorhombic symmetry and the presence of the two twin components in a nearly 1:1 ratio suggest that the investigated bøgvadite crystal has originally formed as a high-temperature orthorhombic polymorph which on cooling transformed to the stable low temperature monoclinic structure. The bøgvadite crystal structure has groupings of cation-fluoride coordination polyhedra similar to those found in the crystal structures of the genetically closely associated minerals jarlite and jørgensenite. However, its structure type is different from the latter two. The fluoridoaluminate framework of bøgvadite consists of infinite zig-zag chains of cis-connected AlF₆ coordination octahedra. The ¹ _∞[AlF₅] chains are interconnected by infinite chains of Na-F coordination polyhedra which extend in the same direction. Na is coordinated by nine F atoms if its full surrounding is taken in consideration, but makes significant chemical bonds only to closest five. The chains of AlF₆ and NaF₉ coordination polyhedra form double layers. In the centre of layers, relatively large voids in the form of pentagonal antiprisms are occupied by Sr atoms which make chemical bonds with the closest six F atoms. Between the SrF₁₀ coordinations in the centre of layers run empty channels. The double layers are interconnected by Ba atoms which are coordinated by eight F atoms and fill the spaces between the layers. Bøgvadite belongs to the group of fluoridoaluminates with infinite chains of cis-connected AlF₆ coordination octahedra, alike those found in the crystal structures of Ba-fluoridoaluminates.     

Vulnerability to natural disasters in Serbia: spatial and temporal comparison

The frequency of natural disasters and the extent of their consequences at a global level are constantly increasing. This trend is partially caused by increased population vulnerability, which implies the degree of population vulnerability due to high-magnitude natural processes. This paper presents an analysis of vulnerability to natural disaster in Serbia in the second half of the twentieth and the early twenty-first century. Vulnerability changes were traced on the basis of demographic–economic indicators derived from statistical data for local government units (municipalities) provided by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Calculations were performed in the geographical information system environment. The results of the study show that spatial and temporal vulnerability variations are causally correlated with changes in the selected components. Significant rise of vulnerability is related to urban areas, while lower values are characteristic for other areas of Serbia; this is primarily a consequence of different population density.     

Photometric and spectrophotometric observations of Nova Delphini 1967

Photographic, photovisual and photoelectric (V) observations of Nova Delphini 1967 were made from August 8 to October 31 (Table I, Figure 1). Simultaneously spectrophotometric measurements of the continuum were made on objective prism exposures extending to November 26, and spectrophotometric gradients derived (Tables II and III; Figures 3, 4, and 5). The continuum of Nova near its flat maximum is close to that of an early-type star in contrast to late-type absorptionline spectrum.     

Meridional Motion and Reynolds Stress from Debrecen Photoheliographic Data

The Debrecen Photoheliographic Data catalogue is a continuation of the Greenwich Photoheliographic Results providing daily positions of sunspots and sunspot groups. We analyse the data for sunspot groups focussing on meridional motions and transfer of angular momentum towards the solar equator. Velocities are calculated with a daily shift method including an automatic iterative process of removing the outliers. Apart from the standard differential rotation profile, we find meridional motion directed towards the zone of solar activity. The difference in measured meridional flow in comparison to Doppler measurements and some other tracer measurements is interpreted as a consequence of different flow patterns inside and outside of active regions. We also find a statistically significant dependence of meridional motion on rotation velocity residuals confirming the transfer of angular momentum towards the equator. Analysis of horizontal Reynolds stress reveals that the transfer of angular momentum is stronger with increasing latitude up to about \(40^{\circ}\), where there is a possible maximum in absolute value.