Genetic variability of the Lessepsian migrant mussel Brachidontes pharaonis (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) in Tunisia

The present study used two mitochondrial markers (16S rRNA and COI) to assess the genetic diversity of a newly founded Lessepsian migrant mussel, Brachidontes pharaonis, in Tunisian waters. The species appears to be restricted to only one population in Rades Harbour, in the northern part of the country. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the monophyly of B. pharaonis in Tunisia. Both molecular markers revealed high genetic variability of the B. pharaonis population. Haplotype networks and demographic analyses confirmed the recent expansion events within this population. Multiple human-mediated introduction events involving several founder populations and intensive population growth rates are probably the main causes of the high polymorphism observed within this invasive mollusc.     

Using Models of the Deep Structure of the Earth’s Crust and Upper Mantle Based on GOCE Gravity Data in Metallogenic Analysis

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Gravimetric data obtained by the GOCE spacecraft contributes to the development of global models of the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and...     

Ekman Convective Layer Flow of a Viscous Incompressible Fluid

Analytical solutions for generalizing the Ekman stationary flow of a viscous incompressible fluid in an infinite layer are obtained. The solution of an overdetermined system of the Oberbeck–Boussinesq equations is considered. It is suggested to use a class of exact solutions for this problem. It is shown that the structure of the solutions allows one to preserve the advective derivative in the heat-conductivity equation; this makes it possible to model the stratification of the temperature and pressure fields and describe the oceanic countercurrents.     

Nonlinear model to study filamentation instability of circularly polarized dispersive Alfvén waves in solar wind plasmas

This paper examines the small-scale solar wind turbulence driven in view of the Alfvén waves subjected to ponderomotive nonlinearity. Filamentation instability is known to take place for the case of dispersive Alfvén wave (DAW) propagating parallel to the ambient magnetic field. The ponderomotive force associated with DAW is responsible for wave localization and these webs of filaments become more intense and irregular as one proceeds along the spatial domain. The ponderomotive force associated with pump changes with pump parameters giving rise to different evolution patterns. This paper studies in detail the nonlinear evolution of filamentation instability introduced by dispersive Alfven waves (DAWs) which becomes dispersive on account of the finite frequency of DAW i.e., pump frequency is comparable to the ion cyclotron frequency. We have explicitly obtained the perturbation dynamics and then examined the impact of pump magnitude on the driven magnetic turbulence using numerical simulation. The results show steepening at small scales with increasing pump amplitude. The compressibility associated with acoustic fluctuations may explain the variation in spectral scaling of solar wind turbulence as observed by Alexandrova et al. (Astrophys. J. 674:1157, 2008).     

Extreme Climatic Events in the Altai-Sayan Region as an Indicator of Powerful Volcanic Eruptions

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Analytic data on anomalies of the tree-ring structure of Siberian larch on the transect, passing through the Russian part of the Altai-Sayan Mountain...     

Parameters of Acoustic Signals Generated by the Atmospheric Meteoroid Explosion over Romania on January 7, 2015

System spectral analysis of temporal variations in the level of acoustic signals recorded at a number of European infrasound stations is carried out. The prevailing periods that varied within 3–5 s are found. Initial kinetic and acoustic energies of the Romanian meteoroid and infrasound parameters are calculated: celerity (280 m/s), acoustic efficiency, and stratospheric wind velocity (about 20 m/s). Parameters of cylindrical and explosive shock waves are found: duration, characteristic size, and amplitude. The dependence of the attenuation of infrasonic waves on distance is estimated. The results of the estimates are in good agreement with the results of the observations.     

On the coplanar eccentric non-restricted co-orbital dynamics

We study the phase space of eccentric coplanar co-orbitals in the non-restricted case. Departing from the quasi-circular case, we describe the evolution of the phase space as the eccentricities increase. We find that over a given value of the eccentricity, around 0.5 for equal mass co-orbitals, important topological changes occur in the phase space. These changes lead to the emergence of new co-orbital configurations and open a continuous path between the previously distinct trojan domains near the \(L_4\) and \(L_5\) eccentric Lagrangian equilibria. These topological changes are shown to be linked with the reconnection of families of quasi-periodic orbits of non-maximal dimension.     

Estimating average shock pressures recorded by impactite samples based on universal stage investigations of planar deformation features in quartz—Sources of error and recommendations

Planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz are the most widely used indicator of shock metamorphism in terrestrial rocks. They can also be used for estimating average shock pressures that quartz-bearing rocks have been subjected to. Here we report on a number of observations and problems that we have encountered when performing universal stage measurements and crystallographically indexing of PDF orientations in quartz. These include a comparison between manual and automated methods of indexing PDFs, an evaluation of the new stereographic projection template, and observations regarding the PDF statistics related to the c-axis position and rhombohedral plane symmetry. We further discuss the implications that our findings have for shock barometry studies. Our study shows that the currently used stereographic projection template for indexing PDFs in quartz might induce an overestimation of rhombohedral planes with low Miller–Bravais indices. We suggest, based on a comparison of different shock barometry methods, that a unified method of assigning shock pressures to samples based on PDFs in quartz is necessary to allow comparison of data sets. This method needs to take into account not only the average number of PDF sets/grain but also the number of high Miller–Bravais index planes, both of which are important factors according to our study. Finally, we present a suggestion for such a method (which is valid for nonporous quartz-bearing rock types), which consists of assigning quartz grains into types (A–E) based on the PDF orientation pattern, and then calculation of a mean shock pressure for each sample.