The chronology of a large ice-dammed lake and the Barents–Kara Ice Sheet advances, Northern Russia

Beach and shoreface sediments deposited in the more than 800-km long ice-dammed Lake Komi in northern European Russia have been investigated and dated. The lake flooded the lowland areas between the Barents–Kara Ice Sheet in the north and the continental drainage divide in the south. Shoreline facies have been dated by 18 optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates, most of which are closely grouped in the range 80–100 ka, with a mean of 88±3 ka. This implies that that the Barents–Kara Ice Sheet had its Late Pleistocene maximum extension during the Early Weichselian, probably in the cold interval (Rederstall) between the Brørup and Odderade interstadials of western Europe, correlated with marine isotope stage 5b. This is in strong contrast to the Scandinavian and North American ice sheets, which had their maxima in isotope stage 2, about 20 ka. Field and air photo interpretations suggest that Lake Komi was dammed by the ice advance, which formed the Harbei–Harmon–Sopkay Moraines. These has earlier been correlated with the Markhida moraine across the Pechora River Valley and its western extension. However, OSL dates on fluvial sediments below the Markhida moraine have yielded ages as young as 60 ka. This suggests that the Russian mainland was inundated by two major ice sheet advances from the Barents–Kara seas after the last interglacial: one during the Early Weichselian (about 90 ka) that dammed Lake Komi and one during the Middle Weichselian (about 60 ka). Normal fluvial drainage prevailed during the Late Weichselian, when the ice front was located offshore.     

Impact of sediment organic matter quality on the fate and effects of fluoranthene in the infaunal brittle star Amphiura filiformis

Hydrophobic contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) readily adsorb to organic matter. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of the quality of sedimentary organic matter for the uptake, biotransformation and toxicity of the PAH, fluoranthene (Flu), in the infaunal brittle star Amphiura filiformis. Brittle stars were exposed to a base sediment covered by a 2 cm Flu-spiked top layer (30 microg Flu/g dry wt. sed.), enriched to the same total organic carbon content with either refractory or labile organic matter. The labile carbon source was concentrated green flagellate: Tetraselmis spp. The refractory carbon source was lignin from a paper mill. Tissue concentrations of Flu both in disk and arm-fractions were determined as total Flu, parent Flu (i.e. untransformed), aqueous Flu-metabolites, polar Flu-metabolites and tissue residue Flu (i.e. unextractable). Our results showed that sediment particle ingestion is a pathway by which Flu can enter benthic food webs. Flu toxicity (measured as arm-regeneration), but not net accumulation, was dependent on the nutritional quality of the ingested sediment particles. Flu bioaccumulation could not be attributed solely to equilibrium partitioning between organism lipid content and organic content of the sediment. Biotransformation of Flu by brittle stars was very limited and unaffected by organic matter quality. A. filiformis contributed to the downward transport of Flu from the surface sediment to the burrow lining. The limited breakdown of parent Flu by brittle stars and/or microorganisms was relatively higher in burrows compared to surface sediment, and highest in the presence of labile organic matter. Tissue concentrations were higher in disk than in arms, but the proportion of metabolic products relative to parent Flu was higher in arms than in the disk fraction. We estimate that the yearly mobilization of sediment-associated Flu by arm-regeneration in A. filiformis is in the range of 3.8-29.4 microg total Flu eq. m(-2) year(-1) at a sediment concentration of 30 microg Flu/g dry wt. sed.     

Numerical viscoelastic modelling by the spectral Laguerre method

Seismic wave propagation in a viscoelastic media can be described by a system of integro-differential equations. The solution of such equations requires special methods when using finite-difference techniques in the time domain. In the frequency domain, the integral terms are represented by complex elastic parameters. This paper presents an efficient algorithm for viscoelastic modelling based on the integral Laguerre transform for the approximation of temporal derivatives and for the calculation of convolution integrals. For the calculation of spatial derivatives, it is possible to use various methods: finite-difference and finite-element techniques, spectral and pseudo-spectral methods. We then obtain a system of algebraic equations with a matrix independent of the parameter m , i.e. the degree of the Laguerre polynomials. In this case, only the right-hand side of the system has recurrent dependence on the parameter m , which is an analogue of the temporal frequency in the frequency domain. The obtained system with a large number of right-hand sides can be solved using fast methods, where the matrix is transformed only once, as opposed to the frequency-domain approach, when the matrix is transformed for each temporal frequency.     

Neoproterozoic accretionary and collisional events on the western margin of the Siberian craton: new geological and geochronological evidence from the Yenisey Ridge

The geological, structural and tectonic evolutions of the Yenisey Ridge fold-and-thrust belt are discussed in the context of the western margin of the Siberian craton during the Neoproterozoic. Previous work in the Yenisey Ridge had led to the interpretation that the fold belt is composed of high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks comprising an Archean and Paleoproterozoic basement with an unconformably overlying Mesoproterozoic–Neoproterozoic cover, which was mainly metamorphosed under greenschist-facies conditions. Based on the existing data and new geological and zircon U–Pb data, we recognize several terranes of different age and composition that were assembled during Neoproterozoic collisional–accretional processes on the western margin of the Siberian craton. We suggest that there were three main Neoproterozoic tectonic events involved in the formation of the Yenisey Ridge fold-and-thrust belt at 880–860 Ma, 760–720 Ma and 700–630 Ma. On the basis of new geochronological and petrological data, we propose that the Yeruda and Teya granites (880–860 Ma) were formed as a result of the first event, which could have occurred in the Central Angara terrane before it collided with Siberia. We also propose that the Cherimba, Ayakhta, Garevka and Glushikha granites (760–720 Ma) were formed as a result of this collision. The third event (700–630 Ma) is fixed by the age of island-arc and ophiolite complexes and their obduction onto the Siberian craton margin. We conclude by discussing correlation of these complexes with those in other belts on the margin of the Siberian craton.     

Natural and Human-Induced Variations in Water and Sediment Runoff in the Danube River Mouth

Long-term natural and human-induced variations in water and sediment runoff in the Danube Delta head were studied on the basis of analysis of an extremely long series of observations (1840–2002). A considerable reduction of sediment runoff in the second half of the 20th century related to sediment accumulation in reservoirs was revealed. It was found that human activities had an insignificant impact on the water runoff variations and the period of 1961–2002 turned out to be abnormally water-abundant.     

Conditions of pocket formation in the Oktyabrskaya tourmaline-rich gem pegmatite (the Malkhan field, Central Transbaikalia, Russia)

Coexisting melt (MI), fluid-melt (FMI) and fluid (FI) inclusions in quartz from the Oktaybrskaya pegmatite, central Transbaikalia, have been studied and the thermodynamic modeling of PVTX-properties of aqueous orthoboric-acid fluids has been carried out to define the conditions of pocket formation. At room temperature, FMI in early pocket quartz and in quartz from the coarse-grained quartz–oligoclase host pegmatite contain crystalline aggregates and an orthoboric-acid fluid. The portion of FMI in inclusion assemblages decreases and the volume of fluid in inclusions increases from the early to the late growth zones in the pocket quartz. No FMI have been found in the late growth zones. Significant variations of solid/fluid ratios in the neighboring FMI result from heterogeneous entrapment of coexisting melts and fluids by a host mineral. Raman spectroscopy, SEM EDS and EMPA indicate that the crystalline aggregates in FMI are dominated by mica minerals of the boron-rich muscovite–nanpingite CsAl₂[AlSi₃O₁₀](OH,F)₂ series as well as lepidolite. Topaz, quartz, potassium feldspar and several unidentified minerals occur in much lower amounts. Fluid isolations in FMI and FI have similar total salinity (4–8 wt.% NaCl eq.) and H₃BO₃ contents (12–16 wt.%). The melt inclusions in host-pegmatite quartz homogenize at 570–600 °C. The silicate crystalline aggregates in large inclusions in pocket quartz completely melt at 615 °C. However, even after those inclusions were significantly overheated at 650±10 °C and 2.5 kbar during 24 h they remained non-homogeneous and displayed two types: (i) glass+unmelted crystals and (ii) fluid+glass. The FMI glasses contain 1.94–2.73 wt.% F, 2.51 wt.% B₂O₃, 3.64–5.20 wt.% Cs₂O, 0.54 wt.% Li₂O, 0.57 wt.% Ta₂O₅, 0.10 wt.% Nb₂O₅, 0.12 wt.% BeO. The H₂O content of the glass could exceed 12 wt.%. Such compositions suggest that the residual melts of the latest magmatic stage were strongly enriched in H₂O, B, F, Cs and contained elevated concentrations of Li, Be, Ta, and Nb. FMI microthermometry showed that those melts could have crystallized at 615–550 °C.

Crystallization of quartz–feldspar pegmatite matrix leads to the formation of H₂O-, B- and F-enriched residual melts and associated fluids (prototypes of pockets). Fluids of different compositions and residual melts of different liquidus–solidus P–T-conditions would form pockets with various internal fluid pressures. During crystallization, those melts release more aqueous fluids resulting in a further increase of the fluid pressure in pockets. A significant overpressure and a possible pressure gradient between the neighboring pockets would induce fracturing of pockets and “fluid explosions”. The fracturing commonly results in the crushing of pocket walls, formation of new fractures connecting adjacent pockets, heterogenization and mixing of pocket fluids. Such newly formed fluids would interact with a primary pegmatite matrix along the fractures and cause autometasomatic alteration, recrystallization, leaching and formation of “primary–secondary” pockets.     

Some general relations of the development of complex molecular objects at early stages of biosphere formation as a consequence of the physical properties of condensed medium

We analyzed the character of molecular transformations under conditions of condensed media, in which intermolecular interactions always occur. It was shown that, instead of discrete transfer of external energy into the molecule, the energy characteristics of the condensed medium (appearance of zones) could result in gradual accumulation of internal energy in reaction centers owing to sequential thermal collisions with particles of the medium initiating the chemical reaction. This does not require high temperatures. The established physical properties related to the energy characteristics of condensed media could play an important role in molecular transformations and, consequently, formation of complex molecular objects at early stages of biosphere formation.     

Determination of the Spins of Supermassive Black Holes in FR I and FR II Radio Galaxies

The spins of supermassive black holes in FR I and FR II radio galaxies are estimated using two models for the generation of the relativisitic jets, based on the Blandford–Znajek and Blandford–Payne mechanisms: the hybrid model of Meier and a flux-trapping model. The magnetic field at the event horizon is estimated assuming equipartition between the energy densities of the magnetic field and the accreting material. The magnetic field near the inner edge of the accretion disk is estimated assuming equipartition between the magnetic pressure and the radiation pressure, and also assuming proportionality between the magnetic field and the spin. In the case of FR I objects, both mechanisms for the generation of the jets (the hybrid model of Meier and a flux-trapping model) are efficient. For the FR II objects, equipartition between the energy densities of the magnetic field and the accretion flow facilitates stronger retrograde rotation of the supermassive black hole. Plots of spin versus mass suggest a predominantly chaotic character for the accretion in both types of radio galaxies.     

Deficit of Large Aftershocks as an Indicator of Afterslip at the Sources of Earthquakes in Subduction Zones

Doklady Earth Sciences - A relative decrease in the fraction of large aftershocks in the first days after earthquakes in subduction zones is demonstrated, and a connection of this phenomenon with...