Disseminated gold–sulfide mineralization at the Zhaima deposit,eastern Kazakhstan

The Zhaima gold–sulfide deposit is located in the northwestern part of the West Kalba gold belt in eastern Kazakhstan. The mineralization is hosted in Lower Carboniferous volcanic and carbonate rocks formed under conditions of marginal-sea and island-arc volcanic activity. The paper considers the mineralogy and geochemistry of primary gold–sulfide ore and Au-bearing weathering crusts. Au-bearing arsenopyrite–pyrite mineralization formed during only one productive stage. Disseminated, stringer–disseminated, and massive rocks are enriched in Ti, Cr, V, Cu, and Ni, which correspond to the mafic profile of basement. The main ores minerals are represented by finely acicular arsenopyrite containing Au (up to few tens of ppm) and cubic and pentagonal dodecahedral pyrite with sporadic submicroscopic inclusions of native gold. The sulfur isotopic composition of sulfides is close to that of the meteoritic standard (δ³⁴S =–0.2 to +0.2). The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of three sericite samples from ore veinlets corresponds to the Early Permian: 279 ± 3.3, 275.6 ± 2.9, and 272.2 ± 2.9 Ma. The mantle source of sulfur, ore geochemistry, and spatial compatibility of mineralization with basic dikes allow us to speak about the existence of deep fluid–magmatic systems apparently conjugate with the Tarim plume.     

Barents Sea upstream events impact the properties of Atlantic water inflow into the Arctic Ocean: Evidence from 2005 to 2006 downstream observations

Inflow of Atlantic water (AW) from Fram Strait and the Barents Sea into the Arctic Ocean conditions the intermediate (100–1000 m) waters of the Arctic Ocean Eurasian margins. While over the Siberian margin the Fram Strait AW branch (FSBW) has exhibited continuous dramatic warming beginning in 2004, the tendency of the Barents Sea AW branch (BSBW) has remained poorly known. Here we document the contrary cooling tendency of the BSBW through the analysis of observational data collected from the icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn over the continental slope of the Eurasian Basin in 2005 and 2006. The CTD data from the R.V. Polarstern cruise in 1995 were used as a reference point for evaluating external atmospheric and sea-ice forcing and oxygen isotope analysis. Our data show that in 2006 the BSBW core was saltier (by ～0.037), cooler (by ～0.41 °C), denser (by ～0.04 kg/m³), deeper (by 150–200 m), and relatively better ventilated (by 7–8 μmol/kg of dissolved oxygen, or by 1.1–1.7% of saturation) compared with 2005. We hypothesize that the shift of the meridional wind from off-shore to on-shore direction during the BSBW translation through the Barents and northern Kara seas results in longer surface residence time for the BSBW sampled in 2006 compared with samples from 2005. The cooler, more saline, and better-ventilated BSBW sampled in 2006 may result from longer upstream translation through the Barents and northern Kara seas where the BSBW was modified by sea-ice formation and interaction with atmosphere. The data for stable oxygen isotopes from 1995 and 2006 reveals amplified brine modification of the BSBW core sampled downstream in 2006, which supports the assumption of an increased upstream residence time as indicated by wind patterns and dissolved oxygen values.     

Character of gold mineralization in the late Cenozoic alluvium of the Bauntov area (Vitim highland, Transbaikal region)

Study of gold potential of the Late Cenozoic alluvium in the Bauntov area is based on the Taloi basin and Sivo sector (China River basin). Primary placer-forming gold is mainly represented by endogenous varieties. In contrast to alluvium of streams in the Taloi basin, Middle-Upper Quaternary alluvium of the Sivo sector (China River basin) is enriched in fine and tiny gold (smaller than 0.25 mm). The paper presents data testifying to a low Au content in the silt fraction of slimes from boreholes drilled in the Cenozoic alluvium (alluvium-deluvium) from transverse valleys in the Taloi basin and, hence, to an significant manifestation of the chemogenic concentration of this metal therein. Issue of the existence of specific conditions favorable for the formation of hydrogenic gold in the northern high-latitude zones requires further studies. The results show that lithochemical gold aureoles have an important prospecting significance. They also suggest the practical significance of accumulations of fine and tiny gold in the syn-stratal alluvium and alluvium-deluvium of large ore placer areas.     

Wind-driven diversion of summer river runoff preconditions the Laptev Sea coastal polynya hydrography: Evidence from summer-to-winter hydrographic records of 2007–2009

This paper examines the role of atmospheric forcing in modifying the pathways of riverine water on the Laptev Sea shelf, using summer-to-winter hydrographic surveys from 2007 to 2009. Over the two consecutive winter seasons of 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 in the area of the winter coastal polynya, our data clearly link winter surface salinity fields to the previous summer conditions, with substantially different winter salinity patterns preconditioned by summer atmospheric forcing. In the summer of 2007, dominant along-shore westerly winds in the cyclonic regime force the Lena River runoff to flow eastward. In contrast, in the summer of 2008, dominant along-shore easterly winds over the East Siberian Sea and on-shore northerly winds over the Laptev Sea in the anticyclonic regime lock the riverine water in the vicinity of the Lena Delta. Over the coastal polynya area in the southeastern Laptev Sea these patterns precondition a surface salinity difference of 8–16 psu between the winters of 2008 and 2009. Overall, this indicates a residence time of at least half a year for riverine water on the Laptev Sea shelf. Future climate change associated with an enhanced summer cyclonicity over the eastern Arctic may turn more riverine water eastward along the eastern Siberian coast, resulting in weaker vertical density stratification over the Laptev Sea shelf, with possible impact on the efficiency of vertical mixing and polynya dense water production.     

Unconventional gold placers of the China tectonic depression (Vitim Plateau,East Siberia)

Holocene shallow (0.5–4.5 m, rarely more) and Pliocene–Pleistocene deep (> 25 m) placers occur within the China tectonic depression. The shallow placers are associated with the formation of the present-day drainage valleys of the China River under permafrost conditions, and the deep ones are localized within the preglacial paleovalleys of the river basin. An integrated geological and geochemical study was carried out at ten shallow commercial placers, eight of which are classified as poorly studied and “unconventional.” Placers are considered “unconventional” based on their technological characteristics (commercial gold is small (? 0.25 to + 0.1 mm), thin (? 0.1 mm), and micron-sized or “bound” (invisible)), geomorphologic conditions of formation, confinement to the oxidized zone of active permafrost, significant portion of fine hydrogenic gold, and several other minor features.The formation of shallow “unconventional” placers is controlled by the conditions of active permafrost. Under aerobic conditions, suprapermafrost waters form an oxidized zone, in which iron hydroxides impart a yellowish reddish color to water-bearing rocks. Long-lived geochemical barriers (biogenic, reduction, electrochemical, sorption, and others), including gravitational differentiation, play an important role in the concentration of small and thin gold.Alluvial deposits in Meso-Cenozoic tectonic depressions, such as the China basin, are the most promising in terms of “unconventional” placers. The main factors favoring the formation of these localities and the criteria for their assessment are large feeding sources of gold (mainly carbonaceous and sulfide) mineralization, endogenic and exogenic dispersion aureoles with thin and invisible gold; increased thickness of the suprapermafrost active layer and its temporal and spatial stability, contributing to the formation and functioning of oxidized horizons with the accumulation of ferric hydroxide and hydrogenic gold; specific morphologic varieties of hydrogenic gold, which are the fundamental criterion for primary gold mineralization with migratable metal; fine-clastic clay-rich composition of recent alluvial or alluvial-talus sediments, produced by water reworking of ancient gold-bearing weathering crusts; and development of broad floodplains filled with Holocene sediments and their junction with talus-solifluction erosional slopes.     

Study of the Kinetics of Metastable Molecular Nitrogen in the Atmospheres of the Earth,Triton, Titan,and Pluto

Solar System Research - In the interaction of high-energy electrons with gases of planetary atmospheres where the primary component is molecular nitrogen, a significant fraction of particle energy...     

Authigenic Gold in Stale Tailings of Cyanide Leaching of Gold—Sulfide—Quartz Ores (Komsomol’skii Gold-Extracting Factory,Kemerovo Region)

Doklady Earth Sciences - Based on complex mineralogical and geochemical analysis, high concentrations of dissolved and metallic native forms of Au were registered in the tailing store near-surface...     

Planetary distribution of the intensity of Auroral luminosity obtained using a model of Aurora precipitation

A model of auroral precipitation (AP) developed on the basis of statistical processing of DMSP F6 and F7 satellite data (Vorobjev and Yagodkina, 2005, 2007) was used for the calculation of the global distribution of the auroral luminosity in different spectral ranges. The algorithm for the calculation of the integral intensity in bands N₂ LBH (170.0 nm), ING N ₂ ⁺ (391.4 nm), 1PG N₂ (669.0 nm), and (OI) 557.7-nm emission is shown in detail. The processes of formation of electronically excited atoms O(¹S) as a result of the transport of excitation energy from metastable state N₂(A³Σ _u ⁺ ), excitation of O(³P) by primary and secondary electrons, and dissociative recombination were taken into account to calculate the intensity of emission at 557.7 nm. A high correlation between the model distribution of the auroral luminosity in the UV spectral range and the observations of the Polar satellite is demonstrated.     

Model of vibrational level populations of Herzberg states of oxygen molecules at heights of the lower thermosphere and mesosphere

The paper presents a model of the kinetics of electronically excited O₂(c¹Σ_u⁻,v), O₂(A′³Δ_u,v), O₂(A³Σ_u⁺,v) molecules at heights of the lower thermosphere and mesosphere with allowance for electronic excitation transfer processes during molecular collisions. The model is used to calculate the relative O₂(A³Σ_u⁺,v) and O₂(A′³Δ_u,v) populations at heights of 80–110 km. The calculated populations are compared with the available literature results on experimental estimates, and good agreement is obtained. It is shown how the increase in the quenching rates of the considered states by oxygen atoms affects the calculation results.