CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COLD PERIOD IN UFA

The article presents the results of a study of the climatic characteristics of the cold period in the city of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan in the modern period. For the analysis, the authors used traditional processing methods. To identify climate changes, different base periods were considered (1961-1990, 1981-2010, 1991-2020). In some cases, time series of long-term observations were available only since 1973, so in these cases two base periods were distinguished. The statistical characteristics and changes in air temperature and its amplitude, the dates of the beginning/end and duration of the cold period, the amount of precipitation, relative humidity, the height of the snow cover and its moisture reserves, the dates of establishment/destruction and the duration of the snow cover are analyzed. Correlations between climatic indicators are shown. The study revealed that in all months of the cold period there is a tendency to increase air temperature, while the greatest contribution is made by an increase in minimum temperatures. A steady reduction in the duration of the cold period was found due to the shift of the start date to a later date, and the end date to an earlier one. The amount of precipitation tends to increase. Due to the reduction of the cold period, the duration of the snow cover in the city of Ufa decreases.

Siberian Arctic black carbon: gas flaring and wildfire impact

As explained in the latest Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) report released in early 2021, the Arctic has warmed three times more quickly than the planet as a whole, and faster than previously thought. The Siberian Arctic is of great interest largely because observations are sparse or largely lacking. A research aerosol station has been developed on the Bely Island, Kara Sea, in Western Siberia. Measurements of equivalent black carbon (EBC) concentrations were carried out at the “Island Bely” station continuously from August 2019 to November 2020. The source origin of the measured EBC, and the main contributing sources were assessed using atmospheric transport modelling coupled with the most updated emission inventories for anthropogenic and biomass burning sources of BC. The obtained BC climatology for BC during the period of measurements showed a seasonal variation comprising the highest concentrations between December and April (60 ± 92 ng/m3) and the lowest between June and September (18 ± 72 ng/m3), typical of the Arctic Haze seasonality reported elsewhere. When air masses arrived at the station through the biggest oil and gas extraction regions of Kazakhstan, Volga-Ural, Komi, Nenets and Western Siberia, BC contribution from gas flaring dominated over domestic, industrial, and traffic sectors, ranging from 47 to 68 %, with a maximum contribution in January. When air was transported from Europe during the cold season, emissions from transportation became important. Accordingly, shipping emissions increased due to the touristic cruise activities and the ice retreat in summertime. Biomass burning (BB) played the biggest role between April and October, contributing 81 % at maximum in June. Long-range transport of BB aerosols appear to induce large variability to the Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE) with values ranging from 1.2 to 1.4. As regards to the continental contribution to surface BC at the “Island Bely” station, Russian emissions dominated during the whole year, while European and Asian emissions contributed up to 20 % in the cold period. Quantification of several pollution episodes showed an increasing trend in surface concentrations and frequency during the cold period as the station is directly in the Siberian gateway of the highest anthropogenic pollution to the Russian Arctic.

EVALUATION OF THE ACCURACY OF EVPOTRANSPIRATION IN THE EVAPO MOBILE APPLICATION

The article presents the results of the study on the accuracy of evapotranspiration in the EVAPO mobile application. The aim of the work is to provide recommendations on the effective use of the mobile application for the prompt, low-cost and convenient determination of evapotranspiration and planning the irrigation regime. Materials and methods. The study was conducted in the autumn of 2020 and in the summer of 2021 using meteorological data from Kherson Regional Hydrometeorological Station, which were used for reference calculations of evapotranspiration according to the method recommended by FAO (Penman-Monteith equation) in the ETo Calculator software. The calculated values of the reference evapotranspiration and those obtained in the EVAPO mobile application were compared with each other through the computation of the correlation coefficients, determination coefficients and mean absolute percentage errors to assess the accuracy of the data on the studied agrometeorological index in the mobile application. Statistical calculations and graphical models were performed using Microsoft Excel 365 spreadsheet processor. Polynomial regression was applied to calibrate and enhance the performance of original EVAPO application. Results. It was found that the EVAPO mobile application without additional calibration cannot provide the proper accuracy of the evapotranspiration calculation. During the cold period of the year (October-November) the mean absolute percentage error was 137.02 %, and during the warm period (May-August) it was 41.43 %. The general error of the calculation in the mobile application compared to the ETo Calculator reference values was 88.75 %. At the same time, EVAPO makes it possible to accurately track the trend of evapotranspiration dynamics, the coefficient of determination of the model is 0.86. In the warm period of the year, there is a tendency to overestimate the value of evapotranspiration, and in the cold period of the year, no clear pattern was found. The evapotranspiration values adjusted by the polynomial regression model obtained in the EVAPO mobile application allow their use in operational irrigation planning. Conclusions. The EVAPO mobile application is a convenient, accessible tool for the rapid assessment of evapotranspiration. However, its implementation on the territory of Ukraine cannot be recommended without preliminary calibration for each specific agroclimatic zone due to enormous errors in the estimation of evapotranspiration value.

The Matuyama—Brunhes boundary in the loess-palaeosol sequence of Dolynske, southern Ukraine

We present the results of a palaeomagnetic study of the Early—Middle Pleistocene deposits exposed on the left bank of the River Danube at Dolynske, southern Ukraine. A thick succession of water-lain facies is succeeded by stratigraphically complete loess-palaeosol sequence; these constitute a unique palaeoclimate archive in the southern margin of the East European loess province. The Matuyama—Brunhes boundary (MBB) has been detected at the bottom of the Lower Shyrokyne (S7S3) subunit and not in the Martonosha (S6) unit as previously thought. New data align with previous results from the Roksolany and Vyazivok sections, where the MBB was determined at the same stratigraphical level in the S7S3 soil. In contrast to terrestrial Pleistocene records in China and сentral Europe, where the MBB was regularly determined in a loess layer (representing a cold period), the MBB in the Ukrainian subaerial succession is located in the soil unit (representing a warm period). Furthermore, eight, and not seven, glacial-interglacial cycles are recorded in the Brunhes chron. This may indicate the stratigraphic completeness of the loess-soil succession of Ukraine, which can be compared with the reference global marine and terrestrial palaeoclimatic archives. Further palaeomagnetic studies of loess-palaeosol sequences of other regions of Ukraine will allow revision and correlation of still inconsistent stratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic schemes of the Pleistocene deposits.

Features of the thermal regime formation in the downcast shafts in the cold period of the year

In the cold period of the year, to ensure the required thermal regime in underground mine workings, the air supplied to the mine is heated using air handling systems. In future, the thermodynamic state of the prepared air flow when it is lowered along the mine shaft changes due to the influence of a number of factors. At the same time, the processes of heat and mass exchange between the incoming air and its environment are of particular interest. These processes directly depend on the initial parameters of the heated air, the downcast shaft depth and the presence of water flows into the mine shaft. Based on the obtained experimental data and theoretical studies, the analysis of the influence of various heat and mass transfer factors on the formation of microclimatic parameters of air in the downcast shafts of the Norilsk industrial district mines is carried out. It is shown that in the presence of external water flows from the flooded rocks behind the shaft lining, the microclimatic parameters of the air in the shaft are determined by the heat transfer from the incoming air flow to the underground water flowing down the downcast shaft lining. The research results made it possible to describe and explain the effect of lowering the air temperature entering the underground workings of deep mines

Seasonal and multiannual dynamics of sedentary species populations of hunting interest

The aim of the research was to study the number dynamics of the populations of dominant sedentary species of hunting interest as a theoretical context in arguing sustainable measures for the management of economic interest fauna. The studies between 2000-2021 shows that after a period of depression in the populations of sedentary species of hunting interest in 2004-2012 there is an increase from 2016-2017 till present of reproductive stocks in all studied species on average by 95%. The losses in the cold period of the year varied depending on the climatic conditions of the cold period of the year, as well as the age structure at the end of the reproductive period: for the hare between 14% and 30%, with an average of 23%; in grey partridge from 56% to 71% and in pheasant they fluctuate between 48% and 56% of the autumn number, being lower in warm winters (37%). Analyzing the dynamics of annual increases in sedentary small game species in different climatic conditions, it was found that arid conditions during nesting and offspring growth, decrease annual increases by 143% in pheasants, 122% in hares, and only 74% in partridges, which is a species less dependent on aridizations in the vegetative period.

The potential of Hudson Valley glacial floods to drive abrupt climate change

The periodic input of meltwater into the ocean from a retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet is often hypothesized to have weakened the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and triggered several cold periods during the last deglaciation (21,000 to 8,000 years before present). Here, we use a numerical model to investigate whether the Intra-Allerød Cold Period was triggered by the drainage of Glacial Lake Iroquois, ~13,300 years ago. Performing a large suite of experiments with various combinations of single and successive, short (1 month) and long (1 year) duration flood events, we were unable to find any significant weakening of the AMOC. This result suggests that although the Hudson Valley floods occurred close to the beginning of the Intra-Allerød Cold Period, they were unlikely the sole cause. Our results have implications for re-evaluating the relationship of meltwater flood events (past and future) to periods of climatic cooling, particularly with regards to flood input location, volume, frequency, and duration.

Effect of Gibberellic Acid (GA3) on the Yield Attributing Traits during a Cold Period in Rice

Gibberellic acid is an essential growth promoter that aids in the systematic plant growth. Studies on the impact of GA3 during cold period discovered a positive effect on the growth of rice plants. The current study evaluated the impact of various concentrations of GA3 on the yielding attributes of rice during cold stress in the rice varities, JGL 1804, BPT 5204, and RNR 15048. All the quantitative traits showed significant variation among the genotypes and treatments. Gibberellins applied at low concentrations during seedling stage (1, 2 or 3 gm/200 m2 of nursery area) revealed higher quantitative trait values compared to higher concnetartions (5 and 10 gm). Among all the three varities, RNR 15048 was found to be the best variety than the others in terms of yielding triats. Therefore, GA3 applied at a concentration of 1gm, 2gm or 3gm promotes the rice plant growth during cold periods and results in higher yield. Among these, 2 gm of GA3 for 200 m2 of nurcessary area was found to be the best in aiding the crop growth during cold phase.

Feeding behavior of the great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major in the south of the european part of Russia (Stavropol region)

Кормовое поведение самцов и самок большого пёстрого дятла (БПД) Dendrocopus major исследовано в Ставропольском крае в период 2013-2021 гг. В целом, зарегистрировано 58 посещений дятлами 12 видов кормовых деревьев. Выявлено предпочтение БПД следующих видов деревьев: дуб (22%), граб (20%), ясень (17%). Проведено сравнение кормовых предпочтений самцов и самок БПД в различные сезоны года. В холодный период БПД предпочитали разыскивать корм на стволах и толстых ветвях деревьев, где было больше шансов обнаружить зимующих беспозвоночных. Выявлены различия в кормовых методах, используемых самцами и самками БПД. We studied the feeding behavior of males and females of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (GSW) Dendrocopos major in the Stavropol Region over 2013-2021. In general, 58 woodpeckers’ visits to 12 forage tree species were recorded. The preference of GSW of the tree species was as following: oak (22% of visits), hornbeam (20%), ash (17%). A comparison of the feeding preferences of males and females of GSW in different seasons revealed that in the cold period the GSW preferred to search for food on the trunks and thick branches of trees, where it was more likely to find wintering invertebrates.

Rationalization of Electricity and Water Consumption Used in Mosques for Ablution Using the Techniques of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)

If we look at the verses of the Holly Quran, we can find a lot of wise verses that shows man the importance of the presence of water in his life, and it is a great blessing from God to the human beings; this research aims to rationalize the consumption of water used in the ablution process by the worshipers in mosques and use it to irrigate the gardens of these mosques and clean sanitary facilities instead of precious fresh water; as well as reducing the consumption of electrical energy used in ablution for water heating in the cold period of the years. The researcher chooses this area to conduct his research due to the importance of these two vital elements (water & electricity) and due to the variety of social and age groups using the ablution area in the mosque every day making it fertile places of wasting water and electricity during the ablution process. The PLC techniques are used in this research to simulate the operations of monitoring and controlling the usage of water and electricity in the ablution area.