Nº 3 (2021)

The new methodology of high-energy physics in the atmosphere is characterized by the consistent application of particle physics and nuclear spectroscopy to reveal the details of the operation of electron accelerators that arise directly over our heads in thunderclouds. Together with the lasting minutes fluxes of high-energy electrons and γ-rays from the relativistic runaway electron avalanche (RREA), hour-lasting isotropic fluxes of low-energy γ-rays from 222Rn isotopes were also recorded at the Aragats research station. Each type of cosmic ray brings its own specific evidence of the structure and strength of the atmospheric electric field. The muon deceleration effect observed simultaneously with the largest recorded increase in the flux of electrons and γ-rays on Mount Lomnicki Shtit makes it possible to estimate the maximum value of the atmospheric electric field. By measuring the energy spectra of natural γ-radiation, we have discovered a new effect of the circulation of Radon progeny during thunderstorms. Comparison of the energy spectra of electrons and γ-rays during thunderstorm ground-level exceedances (TGEs) allows to study the emerging electrical structures in the atmosphere, which accelerate the seed electrons of cosmic rays to ≈70 MeV. Simultaneous measuring the fluxes of neutrons and γ-rays with a neutron monitor and a SEVAN hybrid particle detector supports the photonuclear origin of atmospheric neutrons.

The first pterosaur finding in Russia dates back to 1911; it was done in the Upper Cretaceous sediments of Penza Oblast. The discovered cervical vertebra fragment (the holotype of Bogolubovia orientalis) was subsequently referred to the Pteranodontidae and Azhdarchidae. New findings in the Upper Cretaceous of Saratov Oblast demonstrate coexistence of two pterosaurian taxa, azhdarchids and pteranodontids. Volgadraco bogolubovi, the second taxon of Volga pterosaurs, is also attributed to the Pteranodontidae. New findings show that pteranodontids were flourishing and widely distributed group of Late Cretaceous pterosaurs.

A unique natural object — the relict Lake Mogilnoye on the Kildin island in the Barents Sea — has been known for a long time. In the scientific and popular literature, there are many publications about the multilayer structure of its water column, as well as about its unusual inhabitants. The article is devoted to the history of microbiological research and to the microbiologists who have been working on Lake Mogilnoye for more than a century, as well as to the amazing microorganisms for which scientists seek to visit the harsh island of Kildin.

The article presents the memoirs of a faithful student of Nikolai Vasilyevich Belov (1891–1982), the Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, a well-known outstanding scientist in crystallography, crystal chemistry, and geochemistry, the founder of the Russian school of structural crystallography.