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Abstract. The paper examines the possible relationship of anomalous variations of different atmospheric and ionospheric parameters observed around the time of a strong earthquake (M w 7.8) which occurred in Mexico (state of Colima) on 21 January 2003. These variations are interpreted within the framework of the developed model of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere coupling. The main attention is focused on the processes in the near ground layer of the atmosphere involving the ionization of air by radon, the water molecules' attachment to the formed ions, and the corresponding changes in the latent heat. Model considerations are supported by experimental measurements showing the local diminution of air humidity one week prior to the earthquake, accompanied by the anomalous thermal infrared (TIR) signals and surface latent heat flux (SLHF) and anomalous variations of the total electron content (TEC) registered over the epicenter of the impending earthquake three days prior to the main earthquake event. Statistical processing of the data of the GPS receivers network, together with various other atmospheric parameters demonstrate the possibility of an early warning of an impending strong earthquake.Keywords. Atmospheric composition and structure (Ion chemistry of the atmosphere) -Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (Atmospheric electricity) -Ionosphere (Ionosphere-atmosphere interactions)

The preliminary design of the new space gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 for the energy range 100 MeV -3 TeV is presented. The angular resolution of the instrument, 1-2° at E γ ~100 MeV and ~0.01º at E γ > 100 GeV, its energy resolution ~1% at E γ > 100 GeV, and the proton rejection factor ~10 6 are optimized to address a broad range of science topics, such as search for signatures of dark matter, studies of Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources, Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, gamma-ray bursts, as well as high-precision measurements of spectra of cosmic-ray electrons, positrons, and nuclei.