Том 54, № 7 (2018)

The results of archeoseismological investigations of medieval architectural monuments—the Uzbek Mosque and Indzhi-Bey-Khatun Madrasah (Uzbek Madrasah–Mosque Complex)—in the town of Staryi Krym (eastern Crimean Peninsula) are presented. The character of revealed destructions and collapses unambiguously indicates their seismic origin. Local seismic intensity was apparently VIII ≤ I ≤ IX on the MSK-64 scale. Using this data, we reveal traces of at least two significant seismic events. According to the results of our archeological study, the first occurred at the beginning of the 15th century: this was likely the Yalta earthquake of 1423, with the maximum integrated seismic effect then being directed along the submeridional axis. The second strong earthquake occurred later. The preserved illustrations and photographs suggest destructions took place in the late 18th–19th century, between 1797 and 1888–1889(?). The maximum integrated seismic effect of this later earthquake was directed along the WNW–ESE axis. The Yalta earthquakes of 1927 did not significantly damage either the mosque or the madrasah.

The procedures and results of measuring radon volume activity (concentration) in Azerbaijan (in residential and industrial premises, soil air, thermal waters, and mud volcanoes) are described. It was established that indoor radon concentrations vary in a wide range: from 20 to 1110 Bq/m³; about 7% of the total amount of measurements exceed the maximum permissible limits in Azerbaijan (200 Bq/m³). Based on these data, maps of the distribution of indoor radon volume activity in Azerbaijan are constructed for the first time. The enhanced radon concentrations are confined to fold-mountain massifs of Greater and Lesser Caucasus and Talysh. Results of measurements of radon concentrations in indoor air are very consistent with the data of radon content in soil air. The content of radon in thermal waters is not high generally, except for the waters of one carbon source in the Talysh region, where its concentration is above the maximum permissible level accepted for drinking water. Enhanced values of radon volume activity in mud volcanoes (especially in gases released from the gryphons) have also been revealed. Based on the complex processing of the data, a conclusion is drawn about the natural origin of enhanced values of radon volume activity in this part of the examined residential premises in Azerbaijan.

The processes leading to the formation of toxic beryllium-containing aerosol particles at the stages of beryllium hydroxide production using a new innovative technology of ore processing at the Ermakovskoe deposit are considered. In order to create a conceptual structure of experimental samples of the units for control emissions and discharges of pollutants in the production of beryllium hydroxide, the processes of aerosol formation at various technological stages of beryllium production have been studied. A diffusion model is proposed for droplet evaporation during the leaching and hydrolysis of beryllium concentrates, which makes it possible to determine the rate of evaporation, temperature, size, and lifetime of a droplet depending on the environmental conditions. The results of model calculations (for the diffusion model) of the dispersed composition of beryllium-containing aerosol particles are presented. The most hazardous stages of emissions and discharges of beryllium-containing aerosols in the production of beryllium hydroxide according to a new technology have been identified; the ecological risks arising during emissions of aerosol particles into the atmosphere are assessed.

The Arctic is the most important, as well as the most vulnerable, region in the Northern Hemisphere with respect to climate changes. It is natural that climate changes observed on the globe in recent decades affect the environment in northern regions and processes determining climate. An analysis of time variations in these processes is important in understanding observed phenomena and in estimating their possible consequences. In this work, 30-year data series on the frequency of air-mass transport from Europe, Asia, and North America to the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya and Wrangel Island have been analyzed, and statistical regularities observed in atmospheric-circulation processes in different seasons have been studied using atmospheric-circulation indices. The atmospheric concentrations of anthropogenic heavy metals (HMs) and their fluxes onto the surface of the Russian Arctic islands have been analyzed. The frequency of air-mass transport to the Russian Arctic from the continents has decreased over the last 30 years. Therefore, the composition of the atmosphere and precipitation over the Arctic becomes more and more maritime, which may affect variations in the properties of surface natural objects such as soil, water, vegetation, etc. Interannual variations in atmospheric-circulation processes are wide, which results in wide interannual variations in the atmospheric concentrations of anthropogenic HMs and their fluxes onto the surface. This also explains interannual variations in the content of HMs accumulated in the snow cover every year during the snowy season. Within some months and years, the maximum concentrations of nickel and copper in the air and snow cover of the Arctic islands may reach their concentration levels observed in less remote regions on the mainland. On the other hand, there are years, when no anthropogenic pollutants are transported to the Russian Arctic islands during the summer months. The main reason for seasonal variations in the concentrations of anthropogenic pollutants in the Arctic regions is in seasonal variations in the rate of precipitation of HMs onto the surface during their long-range transport.

We present the results of a statistical analysis of geomagnetic activity measured at the Mikhnevo Geophysical Observatory of the Institute of Geosphere Dynamics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (54.960° N; 37.774° E) located in Moscow region (central part of the Eastern European Platform) and its relation to the solar activity. We use the station geomagnetic K-index as a characteristic of the geomagnetic activity. We apply the results of instrumental observations of the geomagnetic field carried out at the Mikhnevo Geophysical Observatory from 2009 to 2015 to calculate the K-index using the method of adaptive smoothing. The geophysical situation of the Moscow region is characterized by a significant number of days with a disturbed state of the geomagnetic field (in the period analyzed here, magnetic storms were recorded in 181 cases and a disturbed geomagnetic situation was identified in 333 cases). At the same time, there is a tendency for an increase in geomagnetic activity with time: from 2009 to 2015, the number of days with disturbed geomagnetic conditions increased almost eight times. The recurrence of geomagnetic disturbances is characterized by clearly pronounced periodicity with characteristic periods of about 2 weeks, 27 and 60 days, half a year, and 1 year. The total duration of geomagnetic disturbances, which is characterized by K ≥ 4, varies significantly with time. The evaluation of the correlation between the total monthly number of geomagnetic disturbances characterized by a value of K ≥ 3 and the parameter determining the intensity of solar radio emissions (flux density) at a frequency of 2800 MHz (with a wavelength of 10.7 cm) (F 10.7) provide evidence about the significant correlation between the number of geomagnetic disturbances and solar activity.

According to the literature, solar activity affects the functioning of the human brain. However, its effect has not been studied on experimental animals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether factors of solar activity influence the behavior of rats. From October 26 to December 24, 2011, the behavior of individual rats or small groups of them (N = 19) was recorded in an open field test and operant food-uptake behavior test. Parameters of solar activity were obtained from public databases on the Internet. Results of the correlation analysis have demonstrated that the number of sectors travelled by the rats in the open field test, number of holes they investigated, and number of food pellets they earned while learning a food-uptake task were positively associated with solar activity on the day of the study and in the days before and after that. Such associations were revealed for the number of sunspots, the intensity of solar radiation in the radio range, and number of solar flares in the X-ray and Hα ranges. Factor analysis made it possible to distinguish two factors positively associated with the behavior of rats. One of them closely correlated with the solar radio flux and can therefore be presumably attributed to its electromagnetic component. The other is closely related to the 3-h planetary index of oscillations of the Earth’s magnetic field K, and this indicates its corpuscular nature. These results correspond to the literature data on the association between the parameters of solar and geomagnetic activity and the characteristics of electrical activity of the brain of humans and animals. The behavior of rats is associated most closely with the number of sunspots on the day of the study, the parameter of which significantly correlates with both factors of solar activity. Therefore, this index can be used to consider the influence of solar activity on the behavior of rats in experimental practice.

Analysis of the results of instrumental observations of the electric field and micro-variations in the atmospheric pressure in the surface atmosphere during strong thunderstorms in Moscow in the period 2014−2016 is carried out. It is shown that the arrival of a thunderstorm front has been preceded by long-period (~10 min) variations in the electric field strength, internal gravity waves, and increased magnitudes of impedance acoustic correlation. After the arrival of a cold atmospheric front, as well as in the periods of thunderstorm events, high-frequency (~1 min) variations in the electric field and increased turbidity of the atmosphere are observed. Wind motions in the atmosphere are almost absent in the atmosphere, but internal gravity waves are observed at the final stage of the phenomena. The period of variations in the electric field increases up to ~15 min.

On May 12, 2008, a catastrophic earthquake with magnitude M_S = 8.0 occurred in Wenchuan County, Sichuan, China. Its epicenter was located in the Longmen Shan mobile tectonic belt and its hypocentral depth was 14 km. The mainshock produced the system of primary seismodislocations (ruptures) on the surface: Beichuan–Yingxiu Fault of more than 240 km long, Guanxian–Anxian Fault of about 70 km long, and Xiaoyudong Fault of 7 km long. The maximum measured vertical and dextral displacements along the faults were up to 10 m and 4.8 m, respectively. The rupturing and manifold landslides, rockfalls, and rock avalanches that followed caused significant destructions in a number of localities, damaged roads, and led to massive human deaths. Data collected on the distribution of primary and secondary effects of earthquakes has helped outline zones with shaking intensities of IX, X, and XI. Notably, the seismic intensity of surface shaking was anomalously low even close to the fault system. We have conducted a comprehensive seismotectonic study of the epicentral zone of the Wenchuan earthquake. When assessing the shaking intensities, we apply the Earthquake Environmental Effects (EEE) scale developed in the framework of INQUA project (2004–2016). A comparison shows that the isoseismals identified from macroseismic data on damages in buildings and structures coincide with the locations of zones with various seismic effects on the EEE scale.