Erosion processes in karst landscapes of the Russian plain northern taiga,based on digital elevation modeling

This paper considers the problems of the potential development of erosion processes in the natural landscapes of northern taiga in the Russian plain. It is considered that in forest ecosystems, erosion processes are slow and are weakly reflected in the terrain. However, the situation changes radically if the vegetation cover integrity is violated, which is inevitable with the modern methods of developing northern territories. Furthermore, global changes in average annual temperatures and the occurrence of karst processes may be the reason behind the development of erosion processes. The authors suggest a method for determining territories with a varying occurrence probability of erosional processes, based on digital elevation modelling. The territory of the Pinezhsky Nature Reserve (Arkhangelsk region) was chosen as the test plot. Direct field studies were previously used to detect exogenous geological processes in this territory. The authors were the first to suggest digital elevation modelling as a method that allows determining the potential danger of erosion in karst landscapes of the northern taiga. The geomorphometric studies resulted in the determination of areas with the greatest and lowest occurrence probability of erosion processes in the Pinezhsky Nature Reserve. It was established that the most significant erosion type was linear erosion, represented by incised river valleys and karst ravines. Sheet erosion is less significant and occurs as sinkholes, local declines, and chasms over the valleys of subterranean rivers.     

Early Evolution of Apocrita(Insecta,Hymenoptera)as Indicated by New Findings in the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou,Northeast China

<正>The classification and phytogeny of the basal Vespina(=Orussoidea+Apocrita)are reconsidered based primarily on rich and well preserved material from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou in Inner Mongolia,China. Comparatively smooth morphological transitions are traced from a Xiphydriidae-like ancestor toward Orussoidea via the Jurassic family Karatavitidae,and through Karatavitidae and the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous family Ephialtitidae independently to Stephanidae,to Evanioidea,and,via the extinct Jurassic Kuafuidae fam.nov.to the remaining Apocrita.New hypothesis is proposed concerning development of the characteristic wasp-waist of Apocrita,which is supposed to appear independently and in different ways in Evanioidea and in the rest of Apocrita.As a result,six infraorders are proposed for the suborder Vespina with the following taxonomic structure:infraorder Orussomorpha including the only superfamily Orussoidea(Karatavitidae+Paroryssidae + Orussidae),infraorder Stephanomorpha with the only superfamily Stephanoidea(Ephialtitidae+Stephanidae), infraorder Evaniomorpha with the only superfamily Evanioidea of traditional composition,infraorder Ceraphronomorpha with the superfamilies Ceraphronoidea s.str.and monotypical Megalyroidea and Trigonaloidea,and the infraorders Proctotrupomorpha,Ichneumonomorpha,and Vespomorpha of traditional composition.The family Kuafuidae is unplaced to infraorder because it is putatively paraphyletic with respect to Ceraphronomorpha,Proctotrupomorpha,Ichneumonomorpha and Vespomorpha.Described as new are Karatavites junfengi sp.nov,Praeratavites wuhuaensis sp.nov.,P.perspicuus sp.nov.,Postxiphydria daohugouensis gen.et sp.nov.,P.ningchengensis gen.et sp.nov.,Postxiphydroides strenuus gen.et sp.nov.,Praeratavitoides amabilis gen.et sp.nov.,Proapocrtius densipediculus sp.nov.,P.sculptus sp.nov.,P.longantennatus sp.nov., P.formosus sp.nov.,P.atropus sp.nov.,P.elegans sp.nov.,Stephanogaster pristinus sp.nov.,Asiephialtites lini sp. nov.,Praeproapocritus vulgatus gen.et sp.nov.,Sinaulacogastrinus solidus gen.et sp.nov.,Sinevania speciosa gen. et sp.nov.,Eonevania robusta gen.et sp.nov.,Kuafua polyneura gen.et sp.nov.(all from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou),as well as Kuafuidae fam.nov.including Kuafua gen.nov.as well as Arthrogaster Rasnitsyn,1975,and Leptogastrella Rasnitsyn,1975 from the Upper Jurassic of Karatau in Kazakhstan.     

Raman spectroscopic study of PbCO3 at high pressures and temperatures

Cerussite (PbCO₃) has been investigated by high-pressure and high-temperature Raman spectroscopy up to pressures of 17.2 GPa and temperatures of 723 K. Two pressure induced phase transitions were observed at about 8.0(2) and 16.0(2) GPa, respectively. The post-aragonite transition (PbCO₃-II) at 8.0(2) GPa is accompanied by softening of the v ₂-out-of-plane mode of the CO ₃ ^2? group and disappearance of the B_1g (v ₄-in-plane band of the CO ₃ ^2? group) mode. Stronger shifts of the carbonate group modes after the phase transition suggest that the new structure is more compressible. The formation of a second high-pressure polymorph begins at about 10 GPa. It is accompanied by the occurrence of three new bands at different pressures and splitting of the v ₁-symmetric C–O stretching mode of the CO ₃ ^2? group. The transitions are reversible on pressure release. A semi-quantitative phase diagram for PbCO₃ as a function of pressure and temperature is proposed.     

Effects of long-term medieval agriculture on soil properties: A case study from the Kislovodsk basin,Northern Caucasus,Russia

The chemical properties and biological activities of soils were studied in the vicinity of the medieval settlement Podkumskoe-3 in the Kislovodsk basin (Northern Caucasus, Russia). Between the 5th and 8th centuries this area was ploughed regularly, but it was then abandoned up to the present day. It has been established that past human activity leads to soil undergoing significant transformations in terms of microbial communities and enzyme activity, and that such changes are maintained over long periods. Long-term manuring in the middle of the first millennium AD led to an increase in organic carbon content and the accumulation of nitrate nitrogen. Soils of ancient abandoned fields are associated with increases in microbial biomass, number of saprotrophic bacteria, urease activity, and fungal mycelium biomass. The observed changes in the microbiological and biochemical properties of soil were conditioned by secondary anthropogenically induced succession after the abandonment of arable lands.     

Hydrochemistry of the Amur River: Weathering in a Northern Temperate Basin

We report the dissolved major element, organic carbon, and δ¹³C_DOC, δ¹³C_POC, δD, δ¹⁸O, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr composition of 19 summer samples from the Amur River. The Amur transported 2.6 Tg C/year of total organic carbon to the Sea of Okhotsk. The physical weathering rate (PWR) based on suspended particulate material was 13 (1.4–14) tons/(km² year), and the chemical weathering rate based on total dissolved solids was 7 (4.3–46) tons/(km² year). We further quantified the sources of the dissolved cations using an inverse model: rain accounted for 2 (0.6–5)%, evaporite 3 (0.7–7)%, carbonate 51 (29–74)%, and silicate 45 (25–64)%. The silicate weathering rate (SWR) in the Amur basin was 23 (15–98) × 10³ mol/(km² year) or 0.67 (0.40–2.81) tons/(km² year), comparable to those of the Siberian rivers and the Mackenzie at higher latitudes. The SWR of the Amur was negatively correlated with elevation and relief, and positively correlated with runoff.     

单斜星叶石矿物的穆斯堡尔光谱学研究

本文对产于俄罗斯希宾地区的单斜星叶石进行了不同的温度条件下的穆斯堡尔光谱效应研究,通过在温度分别在298 K,180 K和80 K条件下的分析,发现单斜星叶石由2个Fe~(2 )和1个Fe~(3 )四极双峰组成,并进行了单斜星叶石中的畸变参数包括八面体键角(σ~2)和键长变量(Δ)的计算。但是,在两个畸变参数之间存在着明显的差异,将无法对它们的穆斯堡尔参数和四极双峰进行指派。本文对温度在同质异能位移和四极分裂中的作用进行了探讨,根据通过穆斯堡尔效应和f(Fe~(3 )(O))/f(Fe~(2 )(O))的平均值获得的三价铁对全铁的比值,改写了单斜星叶石的化学式。     

Shear-wave polarizations in the Peter the First Range indicating crack-induced anisotropy in a thrust-fault regime

Summary. Three-component seismograms of small local earthquakes recorded in the Peter the First Range of mountains near Garm, Tadzhikistan SSR, display shear-wave splitting similar to that previously observed near the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey. The Peter the First Range is in a region of compressional tectonics, whereas the North Anatolian Fault is a comparatively simple strike-slip fault. Detailed analysis of the Turkish records suggests that the splitting is diagnostic of crack-induced anisotropy caused by vertical microcracks aligned parallel to the direction of maximum compression. Preliminary examination of paper records from Garm shows that most shear waves arriving within the shear-wave window display shear-wave splitting, and that the polarizations of leading shear-waves are consistently aligned in a NE/SW direction. The area is complicated and the tectonics are not well-understood, but the NE/SW direction is approximately perpendicular to the compressional axis in many of the fault-plane mechanisms of the earthquakes. These earthquakes are usually at depths between 5 and 12 km, although there are some deeper events nearby.
Parallel shear-wave polarizations, such as those observed, are expected to indicate the strike of nearly vertical parallel microcracks, which would be aligned parallel to the direction of maximum compression. Thus the shear-wave polarizations in the Peter the First Range indicate that the directions of principal stress are reversed in the rock above the earthquake foci where thrust faulting is taking place.     

Post-glacial diatom and geochemical records of ecological status and water level changes of Lake Vorota,Western Beringia

Journal of Paleolimnology - In this study, radiocarbon-dated geochemical and diatom records from Lake Vorota located within the informal meteorological ‘pole of cold’ of the northern...