Vol 41, No 9 (2016)

Five paleoclimatic reconstructions for the extratropical Northern Hemisphere are decomposed into quasiperiodic variations using the spectral analysis methods. The existence of ∼1000-, ∼500-, ∼350-, and ∼200-year periodicities is established which define the climatic variability over the past four millennia. Based on the identified quasiperiodicities, the climate forecast for the Northern Hemisphere extratropical zone is obtained. The forecast demonstrates that the currently observed warm climate will generally be kept for 500 years. However, the strongly pronounced trend towards the gradual cooling is expected in the 22nd century.

The results of synchronous radar, radiometric, and lightning-detection measurements are analyzed to reveal interrelations between the parameters of electric discharges and the parameters of cumulonimbus clouds developing in the North Caucasus. The dependences of electric activity of the cloud on radar parameiers as well as on the parameiers reirieved from Meteosat SEVIRI radiometer measurements are considered. Electric discharges (intracloud discharges and lightnings) were registered for 1 hour 40 minutes (the maximum frequency was equal to 448 discharges per minute). The relation ships are identified that connect the parameters of electric discharges with the precipitation rate and with the field of cloud top temperaiure. It was found that the frequency of eleciric discharges increases as the precipitation rate increases. The maximum frequency is reached at the precipitation rate equal to 70 mm/hour. Normalized autocorrelation functions ofthe field ofcloud top temperature retrieved from the satellite data are constructed. The high correlation is revealed between the scale of inhomogeneity of the field of cloud top temperature and the frequency of electrical discharges.

Spatiotemporal variability of the internal gravity waves in the Sea of Japan shelf zone (in the Peter the Great Bay) is analyzed basing on the results of the experimental data processing. It is shown that, as for autumn water structure, the tidal internal waves moving towards the coast are transformed due to the non-linear effects and may reach significant amplitudes (of about 10 meters). Such waves are usually referred to as strongly non-linear. The main characteristics of such intense waves were estimated. An example of the disintegration of solitary temperature depression into the package of short-period intense internal waves is given.

The variations in average annual surface air temperature, precipitation, and runoff in the Selenga River basin (within Russia) are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the considerable increase in average annual temperature of surface air layers occurred in the 1980s-1990s. The decrease in peak water discharge in the rivers and the increase in the frequency of low-water periods were revealed in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of the Selenga River basin in 2001-2010. In the southwestern mountain regions (the Dzhida River basin) the river runoff increased during that period.

According to the data of the Agency for Hydrometeorology of the Republic of Tajikistan, the volume of the Zeravshan glacier significantly reduced in 1927–1991 (by more than 2 km³), and its further degradation by 30–35% is expected by 2050. To monitor the meteorological conditions in the Zeravshan River basin, in particular, the area of the Zeravshan glacier, air temperature variations in 1931–1961 and 1981–2011 are analyzed. It was found that the period of 1931–1961 is characterized by stable air temperature and its significant rise began in 1981. The trend towards the decrease in water discharge of the Zeravshan River is observed in 1931–1961. It is demonstrated that the average long-term runoff decreased from 6.08 km³ in 1931–1961 to 5.36 km³ in 1981–2011. The similar measurements were carried out in the basin of the Yaghnob River being the tributary of the Zeravshan River. It was revealed that the difference in average long-term runoff between the periods of 1931–1961 and 1981–2011 is insignificant and makes up not more than 2%. Besides, it was found that the results of meteorological observations in 1931-1961 do not agree with the real picture of the Zeravshan glacier degradation.

The review is compiled on the basis of the operation of the total ozone (TO) monitoring system in the CIS and Baltic countries that functions in the operational regime at the Central Aerological Observatory. The monitoring system uses the data from the national network equipped with M-124 filter ozonometers under methodological supervision of the Main Geophysical Observatory. The quality of the functioning of the entire system is under the operational control based on the observations obtained from the OMI satellite equipment (NASA, the United States). The basic TO observation data are generalized for each month of the second quarter of 2016 and for the quarter as a whole. The data of routine observations of surface ozone content carried out in the Moscow region and Crimea are also presented.