Electricity of the convective atmospheric boundary layer: Field observations and numerical simulation

The electric state of the middle-latitude convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is investigated during a point in time when it is not disturbed by clouds, precipitation, mist, or industrial aerosols. A numerical model is developed that estimates the electroaerodynamic state of the convective ABL. The model is parameterized using results of field observations and laboratory experiments. According to the model, vertical profiles of atmospheric electric field strength, space charge density, electric conductivity, and atmospheric electric current density are calculated in the horizontally homogeneous approximation with a high space-time resolution.     

Radon volumetric activity and ion production in the undisturbed lower atmosphere: Ground-based observations and numerical modeling

The results of in situ ground-based observations of radon volumetric activity carried out at the Borok Geophysical Observatory of Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences (58°04′ N; 38°14′ E) are presented. Modeling the characteristic diurnal variation in the ion production rate in the undisturbed midlatitude lower atmosphere above land is carried out. The Lagrangian stochastic model of turbulent transport is developed in application to determining the vertical profiles of radon activity for 222Rn and 220Rn isotopes and their radioactive decay products. The results calculated by the Lagrangian stochastic model are matched with the analytical solution for the free atmosphere. Based on the model, the estimate is obtained for the rate of radon outflow from the convective boundary layer to the free clear sky atmosphere. The implications of temperature stratification of the atmosphere for the vertical distribution of the ion production rate at the different radon emission rate are explored.     

Variations in Ultrasonic Signal Spectra for Triaxial Testing of Rock Samples

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—Experiments on sandstone, basalt and granite were carried out on a controlled hydraulic press under triaxial loading conditions at confining...     

Response of a Magnetospheric Storm in the Atmospheric Electric Field of the Midlatitudes

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The response of strong magnetic storms in variations of the electric field of the near-ground atmosphere of the midlatitudes are studied according to data from long-term...     

Ore mineral assemblages from intrusive traps of the western sector of the Siberian Platform

Ore mineral assemblages associated with various types of intrusive traps from the western sector of the Siberian Platform are reviewed. It was shown that various types of mineralization (Norilsk magmatic copper-nickel, Angaro-Ilim skarn-magnetite, and hydrothermal with Zn, Pb, Ag, and other metals) appear during the evolution of the fluid-magmatic systems. A suggestion about the high potential perspectives of this area for the revealing of large accumulation of various ore types was postulated.     

Initiation of Rock Fracture by Fluids of Different Viscosities

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—The acoustic emission (AE) patterns observed in laboratory conditions at the initiation of fracture in rock samples by fluids of different...     

Evolution of Ore-Forming Metasomatic Processes at Large Skarn Iron Deposits Related to the Traps of the Siberian Platform

The paper presents systematized and synthesized data on the parameters and evolutionary sequence of metasomatic processes that accompanied interaction between Permian–Triassic trap complex and rocks of the sedimentary cover of the Siberian Platform at the large skarn iron deposits. Relations of the textural–compositional, morphological, and genetic diversity of the skarns and ores with the phases and stages of the origin of ore-bearing volcano-tectonic edifices are demonstrated with reference to the Korshunovskoe and Rudnogorskoe deposits. The genetic reconstructions are based on survey materials and data on the mineralogy of the rocks and ores (obtained by optical and scanning electron microscopy, microprobe analysis, EPR, Raman and IR spectroscopy, and by studying inclusions in minerals). A principally important feature of the volcano-tectonic edifices of the large mineral deposits is their multistage evolution and combinations of fluid-conducting zones, which are related to (1) volcanic apparatuses, (2) shallow-depth magmatic chambers (laccoliths) hosted in carbonate–salt rocks, and (3) multistage fracture structures produced by the collapse of the leached space. The major ore-bearing structures were formed simultaneously with the development of an intermediate magmatic chamber hosted in Cambrian carbonate–salt rocks beneath a seal of terrigenous sedimentary rocks. Magmatic-stage magnesian skarns with disseminated ores in them and in the calciphyres were produced during the prograde stage in the apical parts of the laccoliths, at contacts between the dolerites and dolomites. During the early prograde stage, skarn–ore bodies developed around injection bodies of globulated dolerites, laccoliths, and sills; stockworks and steep bodies of fragmentary magnesian and calcic skarns and ores were formed within the diatremes; and conformable bodies and veins were produced in the splay fracture zones. The later reactivation of faults and fractures and the involvement of connate brines and solutions from the evaporite complex triggered the redeposition of the ore masses, crystallization of the mineral assemblages of hydrated skarns, development of large domains of serpentine–chlorite–epidote–amphibole rocks, calcic skarns, and ores. Data on multiphase fluid inclusions in the forsterite, apatite, and halite indicate that the mineral-forming fluid initially was a highly concentrated solution–melt (total salinity of 60%) with high-density reduced gases. The magnesian skarns were formed during the following stages: (1) forsterite + fassaite + spinel + first-population magnetite (820–740°C); (2) phlogopite + titanite + pargasite + second-population magnetite (600–500°C), and (3) clinochlore + serpentine + tremolite + pyrrhotite + chalcopyrite (≥450°C).     

Formation of electrically active layers in the atmosphere with temperature inversion

The dynamics of the electric field in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) is thoroughly studied from in situ observations of the aeroelectric field and the height profiles of the wind-velocity components in the conditions of temperature inversion and incipient convection. It is established that the formation of a layer with temperature inversion is accompanied by a positive trend in the intensity of the aeroelectric field and by the generation of short-period aeroelectric pulsations. The transfer of a spatially nonuniform space charge and the formation of electrically active layers in PBL are studied by numerical modeling. The response of the electric field to the motion of the space charges simulating the coherent structures of electrogasdynamical turbulence is investigated for the vicinity of the observation point. The key parameters of the model distributions of the space charge are analyzed. The linear dimensions of the model structures range from 20 to 500 m, and the density of the transported charge varies from 0.1 to 1 nC/m³. The layer containing the model structures is located at a height of 60–300 m. It is shown that the spatial distribution and the transfer of the space charge form the dynamical component of the aeroelectric field in the surface layer. The short-period aeroelectric pulsations are induced by the transfer of the spatially heterogeneous space charge in PBL, while the positive trend is due to the accumulation of the space charge below the inversion layer. When the inversion was recorded by a sodar, the intensity of the field at the onset of the convection increased at a rate of 100 V/(m h) on average.     

Midlatitude <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pc</Emphasis>1 Geomagnetic Pulsations: Results of Observations and Statistical Estimates

An algorithm is developed for automated detection of the short-period Pc1 geomagnetic pulsations (frequency band f = 0.2–3 Hz) from the continuous time series of digital recording during 1998–2014 at the midlatitude Borok station. A digital catalog with the indication of time intervals of the presence and main morphological characteristics of Pc1 pulsations is created. Based on this catalog, the annual, seasonal, and diurnal dynamics of the midlatitude Pc1 pulsation activity is studied for 1998–2014. It is shown that the annual variation of the Pc1 occurrence has a maximum in 2005, i.e., at the end of the solar cycle decay phase, just as in the previous cycles. It is found that the minimum of the cases of Pc1 occurrence is observed in 2009, i.e., not at the maximum, just was the case in the previous cycles, but during the deep minimum of solar activity, which testifies to the untypical conditions in the magnetosphere during the unusually long minimum of the 23rd cycle. The seasonal variation of the Pc1 occurrence has a summer minimum when the series of Pc1 pulsations occur almost thrice as rarely as in winter. Besides, there are relatively small maxima at equinox. The diurnal behavior of Pc1 pulsations has the maxima in the morning and midnight sectors of the magnetosphere. By the superposed epoch analysis technique it is established that the maximal number of the cases of occurrence of Pc1 pulsations at the Borok observatory is observed on the fourth day after the global geomagnetic disturbances. The statistical distributions of pulsations amplitude and duration are obtained.