Anomalous Decimeter Radio Noise from the Region of the Atmospheric Front: I. Characteristics of the Detected Radio Noise and Meteorological Parameters of the Frontal Cloudiness

An extraordinary experimental fact is presented and analyzed, namely, a rather intense broadband radio noise detected during the passage of an atmospheric front through the field of view of UHF antennas. Local atmospheric properties and possible sources of the extraordinary noise, including the thermal noise from cloudiness and extra-atmospheric sources, are considered. A conclusion is made about the presence of an additional nonthermal source of radio noise in the frontal cloudiness. According to the proposed hypothesis, these are multiple electric microdicharges on hydrometeors in the convective cloud.     

On the Change in the Sea Surface Temperature in the Benguela Upwelling Region: Part II. Long-Term Tendencies

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The issue of long-term tendencies in the sea surface temperature (SST) in the Benguela upwelling region and their causes is examined using the daily...     

Simulation of the quasi-biennial oscillations of the zonal wind in the equatorial stratosphere: Part II. Atmospheric general circulation models

The problem of simulating quasi-biennial oscillations (QBOs) of zonal velocity in the equatorial stratosphere in atmospheric general circulation models is considered. In accordance with the results from Part I of this study on the basis of the models developed at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INM RAS), the possibility of implementing (in these models) mechanisms of QBO excitation through both the interaction of planetary waves with the mean flow and breaking of short gravity waves is investigated. A new high-resolution 2° × 2.5° × 80 version of the INM RAS model is designed, a climate simulation with the two 2° × 2.5° × 39 and 2° × 2.5° × 80 versions of the INM RAS model is briefly described, results of spectral analysis of equatorial wave activity are presented, and the QBO formation processes in these models are considered in detail. For the new 2° × 2.5° × 80 model, realistic QBOs of zonal wind are obtained as the result of the action of both mechanisms.     

Acoustic monitoring of gas emissions from the seafloor. Part II: a case study from the Sea of Marmara

A rotating, acoustic gas bubble detector, BOB (Bubble OBservatory) module was deployed during two surveys, conducted in 2009 and 2011 respectively, to study the temporal variations of gas emissions from the Marmara seafloor, along the North Anatolian Fault zone. The echosounder mounted on the instrument insonifies an angular sector of 7° during a given duration (of about 1 h). Then it rotates to the next, near-by angular sector and so forth. When the full angular domain is insonified, the “pan and tilt system” rotates back to its initial position, in order to start a new cycle (of about 1 day). The acoustic data reveal that gas emission is not a steady process, with observed temporal variations ranging between a few minutes and 24 h (from one cycle to the other). Echo-integration and inversion performed on the acoustic data as described in the companion paper of Leblond et al. (Mar Geophys Res, 2014), also indicate important variations in, respectively, the target strength and the volumetric flow rates of individual sources. However, the observed temporal variations may not be related to the properties of the gas source only, but reflect possible variations in sea-bottom currents, which could deviate the bubble train towards the neighboring sector. During the 2011 survey, a 4-component ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) was co-located at the seafloor, 59 m away from the BOB module. The acoustic data from our rotating, monitoring system support, but do not provide undisputable evidence to confirm, the hypothesis formulated by Tary et al. (2012), that the short-duration, non-seismic micro-events recorded by the OBS are likely produced by gas-related processes within the near seabed sediments. Hence, the use of a multibeam echosounder, or of several split beam echosounders should be preferred to rotating systems, for future experiments.     

Seismic Effects and Anomalous Animal Behavior: Case Study of the September 21, 2020, Mw 5.5 Bystraya Earthquake (Southern Baikal Region)

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - In this article we consider the animal behavior caused by seismic effects of the relatively strong (Mw = 5.5) Bystraya earthquake of September...     

河口硅酸盐物理化学过程研究——Ⅳ、河口活性硅转移机理的分析

河水带下较多量的溶解硅酸盐(用“硅钼黄法”测出量称为“活性硅”),在河口处与海水混合过程中,溶解硅酸盐有没有一部分转移到非溶解相?是生物吸收转移为主还是无机化学转移为主?最后转移形成什么物质并归宿到何处?有多大部分重新参加硅的地球化学循环?如何循环?这些过程搞清楚,对研究硅在海洋中的地球化学、河口及近海海底沉积的形成与性质、港湾的淤积与变迁、生物的初级生产力以及河口各种水化学特征(进而涉及到河口各种污染物质的分布转移机理),都会有所帮助.它们一直是近十几年来国际上海洋化学工作者所注意的问题之一,然而直到现在仍然争论不休,没有取得一致见解.     

The Satellite Atmospheric Sounder IKFS-2: 2. Validation of the Temperature Sounding of the Atmosphere

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The validation of measurements of vertical temperature profiles by the IKFS-2 instrument (the Meteor-M no. 2 satellite) in cloudless conditions was...     

Anomalous Ozone Depletion in the Arctic from January to April 2020: Polar Vortex Dynamics under the Influence of Planetary Waves

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - In the winter–spring period of 2020, the unprecedented destruction of stratospheric ozone over the Arctic (in terms of duration and depth) was...     

Reproduction of the large-scale state of water and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean from 1948 to 2002: Part II. The state of ice and snow cover

This paper presents the results of reconstructing the state of ice and snow covers on the Arctic Ocean from 1948 to 2002 obtained with a couplod model of ocean circulation and sea-ice evolution. The area of the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean north of 65° N, excluding Hudson Bay, is considered. The monthly mean ice areas and extents are analyzed. The trends of these areas are calculated separately for the periods of 1970–1979, 1979–1990, and 1990–2002. A systematic slight underestimation by the model is observed for the ice extent. This error is estimated to fit the error of 100 km in determining the position of the ice edge (i.e., close to the model resolution). In summer the model fails to reproduce many observed polynias: by observational data, the ice concentration in the central part of the Arctic Ocean constitutes around 0.8, while the model yields around 0.99. The average trend for the area of ice propagation in 1960–2002 is 13931 km²/year (or approximately 2% per decade); the trend of the ice area is 17643 km²/year (or approximately 3% per decade). This is almost three times lower than satellite data. The calculated data for ice thickness in the late winter varies from 3.5 to 4.8 m, with a clear indication of periods of thick ice (the 1960s–1970s) and relatively thin ice (the 1980s); 1995 is the starting point for quick ice-area reduction. The maximum ice accumulation is in 1977 and 1988; here, the average trend is negative: −121 km³/year (or approximately 5.5% per decade). In 1996–2002, the average change in the ice thickness constituted +1.7 cm/year. This speaks to the relatively fast disappearance of thin-ice fractions. This model also slightly underestimates the snow mass with a trend of −2.5 km³/year (almost 0.35 mm of snow per year or 0.1 mm of liquid water per year). An analysis of the monthly mean ice-drift velocity indicates the good quality of the model. Data on the average drift velocity and the results of comparisons between the calculated and satellite data for individual months are presented. A comparison with observational data from 1990–1996 in the Fram Strait shows that the model yields 3.28 m for the average ice thickness against the observed value of approximately 3.26 m. For the same period, the model yields a monthly mean transport of 291.29 km³ as compared to the observed value of 237.17 km³. A comparison between the measured and calculated drift velocities in the Fram Strait indicates that the model value is around 9.78 cm/s, which is comparable to the measured value of 10.2 cm/s. The existing problems with describing the ice redistribution by thickness gradations are illustrated by comparing data on ice thickness in the Fram Strait.     

Statistical analysis of estuarine profiles: II application to arsenic in the Tamar estuary (S.W. England)

By combining field observations with a statistical approach and a simple but effective estuarine analogue, the main features of the cycling of arsenic in the Tamar estuary have been elucidated. As(III) and As(V) enrichment in the water column is due to a combination of localized inputs and effective recycling of sediment interstitial waters. The profiles of As(V) are similar to those of NH₄⁺ and are dominated by an estuarine maximum resulting from an input from the sediments. As(III) profiles are correlated with those of dissolved manganese and exhibit both fresh water and estuarine maxima. As(III) appears to be effectively removed at the freshwater/brackish water interface by a combination of heterogenous oxidation, catalysed by hydrous manganese dioxide, and adsorption on to iron oxyhydroxide. The estuarine distribution of As(III) within the water column is consistent with the published rates of oxidation of As(III) to As(V) by both inorganic and microbiological processes. The reduction of As(V) to As(III) in the sediments is incomplete. On the basis of our observations a tentative estuarine arsenic cycle is presented.     

海岸沙丘的沉积构造及其形成原因的探讨——以秦皇岛市海岸风成沙丘为例

沙丘层理由高角度板状交错层理、楔状交错层理以及平行层理组成,由于风向、风速的变化,常见再作用面。     

Numerical modeling of the arctic ocean deepwater formation: Part II. Results of regional and global experiments

In this study the specific features of deepwater generation in an area of wind polynia and the capability of numerical models to transport bottom-density anomalies from shelf to deepwater areas are considered. The results of regional modeling indicate that the displacement method presented in the first part of this study leads to a considerable supply of dense deep waters at the expense of waters generated in shelf areas of the Barents and Kara seas. With the help of the given parametrization, these waters are shown to be able to numerically transport at significant distances from where they are generated to a shelf edge and deepwater oceanic areas with slightly changed initial density characteristics. This technique was tested within a large-scale combined ocean-ice model for the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. With the displacement method, the numerical model was shown to have a less clearly expressed trend of decreasing the total amount of deep waters. However, this method does not eliminate the problem of adequately reproducing bottom waters in a large-scale numerical model. Based on a trend analysis of the numerical results, we found that a longer period of atmospheric influence with a prevalent cyclonic circulation leads to a decreased amount of deep waters in the Arctic Ocean, while a prevalent anticyclonic-type circulation leads to its recovery.     

On the Diurnal Periodicity of Representative Earthquakes in Greece: Comparison of Data from Different Observation Systems

Due to the initiation of the Hellenic Unified Seismic Network (HUSN) in late 2007, the quality of observation significantly improved by 2011. For example, the representative magnitude level considerably has decreased and the number of annually recorded events has increased. The new observational system highly expanded the possibilities for studying regularities in seismicity. In view of this, the authors revisited their studies of the diurnal periodicity of representative earthquakes in Greece that was revealed earlier in the earthquake catalog before 2011. We use 18 samples of earthquakes of different magnitudes taken from the catalog of Greek earthquakes from 2011 to June 2016 to derive a series of the number of earthquakes for each of them and calculate its average diurnal course. To increase the reliability of the results, we compared the data for two regions. With a high degree of statistical significance, we have obtained that no diurnal periodicity can be found for strongly representative earthquakes. This finding differs from the estimates obtained earlier from an analysis of the catalog of earthquakes at the same area for 1995–2004 and 2005–2010, i.e., before the initiation of the Hellenic Unified Seismic Network. The new results are consistent with the hypothesis of noise discrimination (observational selection) explaining the cause of the diurnal variation of earthquakes with different sensitivity of the seismic network in daytime and nighttime periods.     

A numerical experiment on the variations of western boundary currents: Part II. Response to a moving typhoon

Response of the barotropic western boundary current to typhoon passage is investigated by the use of the numerical models described in Part I. Steady states obtained in Part I are chosen as the initial conditions for undisturbed currents. In these models it is assumed that an axially symmetric typhoon (radius = 100 km, maximum wind speed = 27.4 m/sec) moves parallel to the western boundary.For the model with a flat bottom the boundary flow diminishes its strength and broadens its width after the passage of the typhoon offshore. For the model with a continental slope the effect of the typhoon is significantly different depending on the distance of the path of the typhoon from the western boundary. Specifically the north wind on the continental slope causes the formation of cyclonic vortex, which progresses southwards along the slope in the northern hemisphere. Linear theory of continental shelf waves indicates that the phase speed of the propagation of the vortex is 2.4 m/sec. Anomalies of the water level along the coast are also calculated from geostrophic relationships.