Velocity of small-scale auroral ionospheric current systems over Indian Antarctic station Maitri

The Indian Antarctic station Maitri (geog. 70‡45’S, 11‡45’E, geom. 66‡.03S, 53‡.21E) occupies a sub-auroral location during magnetically quiet conditions(Σκρ < 10), but attains an auroral position when the auroral oval shifts equatorwards with increasing strength of magnetic disturbance. At the latter times, triangulation with 3 fluxgate magnetometers located at the vertices of a suitable triangle provides a means of monitoring mobile auroral ionospheric current systems over Maitri. The spacing between the magnetometers is typically kept at 75–200 km, keeping in mind the scale-sizes of ∼ 100 km for these mobile current systems. This work reports the results of two triangulation experiments carried out around Maitri in January 1992 and January 1995, both during Antarctic summer. The velocities estimated for pulsations of the Pc4 and Pc5 type were about 0.59 km/sec in the direction 102‡.7 east of due north, in the first case, and about 1–3 km/sec in the second case in the east-west direction. While several magnetometer arrays exist in the northern auroral regions (e.g., the Alberta array in Canada, the Alaskan array in the U.S. and the IMS Scandinavian array), there is no report in literature of triangulation through arrays in Antarctica, except for a one-day study by Neudegget al 1995 for ULF pulsations of the Pc1 and Pc2 type. The velocities obtained for the Pi3 type of irregular pulsations over Antarctica in the present study tally well with those obtained for northern auroral locations.     

Fairweather atmospheric electricity at Antarctica during local summer as observed from Indian station,Maitri

Surface measurements of the atmospheric electrical parameters like Maxwell current, electric field and conductivity studied at the Indian station, Maitri (70.75° S, 11.75° E, 117 m above mean sea level), Antarctica, during austral summer have been analyzed for the years 2001 to 2004. A total of 69 days were selected which satisfied the ‘fairweather’ conditions, i.e., days with absence of high winds, drifting or falling snow, clouds, and fog effects. The diurnal variation curve of electric field and vertical current averaged for 69 fairweather days is a single periodic with a minimum at 03:00 UT and a maximum near 19:00 UT, which is very similar to the Carnegie curve. The correlation coefficient between these measured parameters has a high value (more than 0.9) for all the days. During fairweather days the measured current and field variations are similar and hence it is clear that the conductivity is more or less stable. During magnetically disturbed days, the dawn-dusk potential drop has clear influences on the diurnal variation and it modifies the conductivity. Apart from the day-to-day variation in low latitude thunderstorm activity, there are diurnal, seasonal, inter-annual variations in the electric potential and the currents, as well as solar influences on the measured parameters. This study will help us to examine the impact of solar and geophysical phenomena like solar flares, geomagnetic storms and substorms on the global electric circuit.     

Quasi-periodic VLF emissions observed during daytime at a low latitude Indian ground station Jammu

This paper reports quasi-periodic pulsing hiss emissions recorded during daytime in the frequency range of 50 Hz-15 kHz at low latitude station Jammu (geomag. lat. = 22°26′N; L = 1.17). It is noted that pulsing VLF emissions are a rare phenomena at low latitudes. The various spectrograms of pulsing VLF hiss emissions presented in this paper clearly show band limited spectrums regularly pulsing with almost equal period of the order of few seconds in the frequency range of ∼3–8 kHz. Generation and propagation mechanism of these emissions are briefly discussed.     

Quaternary Antarctic Bottom-Water history: Deep-sea benthonic foraminiferal evidence from the southeast Indian Ocean

Distinct assemblages of Recent deep-sea benthonic foraminifera from the southeast Indian Ocean have been shown to be associated with Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and Indian Bottom Water (IBW). The AABW assemblage is divided into two groups. One is dominated by Epistominella umbonifera and is associated with AABW having temperatures between ?0.2° and 0.4°C. The second group is dominated by Globocassidulina subglobosa and is associated with AABW having temperatures between 0.6° and 0.8°C. The IBW assemblage is marked by the strong dominance of Uvigerina spp. and Epistominella exigua. The faunal-water-mass relationships have been used to infer the history of bottom-water circulation over the last 500,000 yr in this region using faunal data from four Eltanin cores. One core was taken from the Southeast Indian Ridge in association with IBW, and three were taken from the flank of the ridge associated with AABW flowing within a western boundary contour current in the South Australian Basin. Little faunal variation exists in the core beneath IBW (E48-22), indicating that IBW was present on the Southeast Indian Ridge during the last 300,000 yr. A record of the intensity of AABW circulation during the last 500,000 yr is inferred from the benthonic foraminiferal data in the three cores located within the western boundary contour current. Marked oscillations in the relative proportions of AABW and IBW faunal assemblages are found in one core, E48-03. The faunal variations are inferred to have resulted from variation in intensity of AABW circulation between 500,000 and 195,000 yr B.P. In E48-03, the AABW assemblage was present most of the time between 500,000 and 195,000 yr B.P., with low intensity of AABW circulation occurring primarily during the equivalent of stages 8 and 7 (t = 305,000 to 195,000 yr B.P.). The intensity of AABW circulation varied, with a maximum occurring during the equivalent of stage 11 (t = 420,000 yr B.P.). Two additional cores, E45-27 and E45–74, show relatively constant intensity of AABW circulation from 195,000 yr B.P. to the present. The intensity of AABW circulation at the present appears to be intermediate between a maximum during the equivalent of stage 11 (t = 420,000 yr B.P.) and the minimum during the equivalent of stage 8 (t = 275,000 yr B.P.). AABW production has occurred during both glacial and interglacial episodes. Bottom-water productivity has been suggested to play an important role in glacial/interglacial oscillations during the late Quaternary (Weyl, 1968; Newell, 1974). In this study, the relationship between bottom-water circulation and climatic fluctuations appears to be more complex than had been previously suggested, since a simple relationship between Quaternary bottom-water circulation and paleoclimatic fluctuations is not shown.     

First megafossil evidence of Cyatheaceous tree fern from the Indian Cenozoic

A part of the compressed tree fern axis with leaf and adventitious root scars in unusual arrangement from Plio–Pleistocene sediments of Arunachal Pradesh, India is described as Cyathea siwalika sp. nov. This record suggests that Cyathea was an important component of tropical evergreen forest in the area during the Plio–Pleistocene and this group subsequently declined in importance within the local vegetation.     

Aerosol optical depths at Mohal-Kullu in the northwestern Indian Himalayan high altitude station during ICARB

First time observations of spectral aerosol optical depths (AODs) at Mohal (31.9°N, 77.11°E; altitude 1154 m amsl) in the Kullu valley, located in the northwestern Indian Himalayan region, have been carried out during Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB), as a part of the Indian Space Research Organisation-Geosphere Biosphere Program (ISRO-GBP). AODs at six wavelengths are obtained using Microtops-II Sunphotometer and Ozonometer. The monthly mean values of AOD at 500 nm are found to be 0.27 ± 0.04 and 0.24 ± 0.02 during March and April, 2006 respectively. However, their monthly mean values are 0.33 ± 0.04 at 380 nm and 0.20 ± 0.03 nm at 870 nm during March 2006 and 0.31 ± 0.3 at 380 nm and 0.17 ± 0.2 at 870 nm during April 2006, showing a gradual decrease in AOD with wavelength. The Ångstrom wavelength exponent ‘α’ had a mean value of 0.72 ± 0.05, implying reduced dominance of fine particles. Further, the afternoon AOD values are higher as compared to forenoon values by ～ 33.0% during March and by ～ 9.0% during April 2006 and are attributed to the pollutant lifted up from the valley by the evolving boundary layer. Besides the long-range transportation of aerosol particles by airmass from the Great Sahara and the Thar Desert regions to the observing site, the high values of AODs have also been influenced by biomass burning and frequent incidents of forest fire at local levels.     

First fossil evidence of Connaraceae R. Br. from Indian Cenozoic and its phytogeographical significance

Fossil leaflet impression described here as a new species Rourea miocaudata sp. nov., showing close resemblance with the modern leaflets of Rourea caudata Planch. (Connaraceae R. Br.), has been recorded from the lower part of the Siwalik sediments (Dafla Formation, middle–upper Miocene) exposed at the road-cutting section of Pinjoli area in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh. The important morphological characters of the fossil are its narrow elliptic leaflet, cuneate base, long caudate apex, entire margin, eucamptodromous to brochidodromous secondary veins, presence of intersecondary veins, percurrent and reticulate tertiary veins and orthogonally reticulate quaternary veins. This is the first authentic record of the occurrence of leaflet comparable to R. caudata of Connaraceae from the Cenozoic sediments of India and abroad. At present R. caudata does not grow in India and is restricted only in southeast Asia especially in China and Myanmar. This taxon probably migrated to these southeast Asian regions after lower Siwalik sedimentation (middle–upper Miocene) due to climatic change caused by post-Miocene orogenic movement of the Himalaya. The recovery of this species and other earlier-described evergreen taxa from the same formation, suggests the existence of a tropical, warm and humid climatic conditions during the depositional period.     

Preliminary results from very long period data collected by a broad band digital seismic station

Preliminary analysis of seismograms recorded by a wide band high dynamic range digital seismograph installed under a collaborative research programme between IPG, Paris and NGRI, Hyderabad, indicates that the crust and upper mantle structure below the Indian continent are characterized by high velocity up to a depth of 500 km. Both the group and phase velocities in the period range of 100–350s are found to be faster by 3–4% and 1–3% respectively compared with global models such as the preliminary reference earth model.     

First results derived from a drop-tower testing system for granular flow in a microgravity environment

Because of the low-gravity on the Moon and Mars, landslides there have characteristics that are very different from those observed in a conventional gravity environment. These include highly marked dynamic characteristics, evidence of fierce movement at high speed and on a large scale. One of the key problems in extra-planetary exploration is understanding the behavior of granular material flows under the influence of low gravity. A drop-tower testing system situated in Beijing has been developed and used to investigate granular flow in a microgravity environment. A set of granular flow tests was performed in both normal and microgravity environments, during which the configurations of sand flows were captured by the monitoring system. Preliminary results provide fundamental information for the future exploration of planetary landscapes.     

Accretion of juvenile crust at the Early Palaeozoic Antarctic margin of Gondwana: geochemical and geochronological evidence from granulite xenoliths

Geodynamic models for the Antarctic sector of the active Early Palaeozoic Palaeo-Pacific margin of Gondwana are based on the nature and age of the deep crust of the Robertson Bay terrane, the outermost lithotectonic unit of the margin. As this crustal block is covered with thick turbidite deposits, the only way to probe the deep crust is through the analysis of granulite xenoliths from Cenozoic scoria cones. Low-K felsic xenoliths yield the oldest (Middle Cambrian) laser-probe U–Pb ages on zircon areas with igneous growth zoning. This finding, along with the positive whole-rock ε_Nd(500Ma), suggests that these felsic rocks derived from a juvenile magma formed during the Early Palaeozoic Ross orogenic cycle. Mafic xenoliths have geochemical-isotopic compositions similar to those of modern primitive island arcs, suggesting the involvement of subducted oceanic crust in their magma genesis and accretion of juvenile crust at the Antarctic margin of Gondwana.     

Changes in structural style of normal faults due to failure mode transition: First results from excavated scale models

The effects of failure mode transition from tensile to shear on structural style and fault zone architecture have long been recognized but are not well studied in 3D, although the two modes are both common in the upper crust of Earth and terrestrial planets, and are associated with large differences in transport properties. We present a simple method to study this in physical scale models of normal faults, using a cohesive powder embedded in cohesionless sand. By varying the overburden thickness, the failure mode changes from tensile to hybrid and finally to shear. Hardening and excavating the cohesive layer allows post mortem investigation of 3D structures at high resolution. We recognize two end member structural domains that differ strongly in their attributes. In the tensile domain faults are strongly dilatant with steep open fissures and sharp changes in strike at segment boundaries and branch points. In the shear domain fault dips are shallower and fault planes develop striations; map-view fault traces undulate with smaller changes in strike at branches. These attributes may be recognized in subsurface fault maps and could provide a way to better predict fault zone structure in the subsurface.     

First results of the U-Pb isotopic (LA-ICP-MS) dating of detrital zircons from the Lower Paleozoic of Spitsbergen

This work presents the first results of dating of detrital zircons (dZr _s) from the Lower Paleozoic terrigenous-carbonate rocks of the Cambrian Blåstertoppen (samples 08-137 and 08-142, south of the Wedel Jarlsberg Land) and Ordovician Wiederfjellet (sample K06-17, north of the Land) sequences, which are widespread to the north and south of the Hornsund Fjord, on the southwestern coast of Spitsbergen Island. Against the background of sporadic values of 1–3 Ga, samples K06-17 and 08-142 showed similar spectra of the age distribution of dZr _s with dominant compact numerous age groups of ～1.8–1.9 Ga and peaks of the maximum of the probability density of 1850 and 1862 Ma, respectively. The only noticeable difference in these spectra is the presence of a young grain of 541 Ma in sample 08-142 (with a very good value of concordance), which is close to the suggested Cambrian age of formation of the Blåstertoppen sequence. The distribution of the dZr ages in sample 08-137 is significantly distinct. First, the general age range is narrower: 1.15–1.95 Ga (no Archean ages). Second, the age of 1.8–2.0 Ga dominant in the other two samples corresponds to only one grain. Thus, although samples 08-137 and 08-142 were taken from closely located levels of the section of the Cambrian Blåstertoppen sequence (in the same interception), the age spectra of dZr _s from these samples differ cardinally. The statistical Kolmogorov-Smirnov test quantitatively supports the visual similarity of age spectra of dZr _s from samples K06-17 and 08-142 (p = 0.913) and the distinction of those from samples 08-142 and 08-137 (p = 0). Thus, the provenance areas, which supplied the clastic material to the sedimentary basin, whose remnants are presently located in the southwestern part of Spitsbergen, abruptly changed in the Cambrian. The basal levels of the Cambrian section of this basin (sample 08-137) were mostly formed due to accumulation of the erosion products of the local (Spitsbergen) sources: metarocks of the Eimfjellet Group located in the south of the Wedel Jarlsberg Land and of the Smerenburgfjord Group abundant on the Albert I Land. The dZr _s age spectrum is a print of the ages of the Late Paleoproterozoic-Mesoproterozoic (pre-Grenville) basement unaffected by assemblage of Rodinia. Then the conditions changed and the basin became to accumulate the material from the remote regions, significant parts of which were the areas of ancient cratons, including Archean blocks. The general sedimentation conditions did not change considerably, because the rock type remained the same.     

Phase-mineral and chemical composition of fractions separated from composite fly ashes at the Soma power station,Turkey

The phase-mineral and chemical composition of six fractions recovered from two fly ashes (FAs) produced in the Soma power station (Turkey) was characterized to predict their possible environmental concerns and potential utilization directions. A combination of conventional separation procedures including sieving, hand picking, sink–float and magnetic separations, as well as leaching and evaporation, was used to isolate the following fractions: (1) char concentrates (CCs); (2) light fractions (<1 g cm⁻³) (LFs); (3) water-soluble residues (WRs); (4) magnetic fractions (MFs); (5) nonmagnetic coarse-grained fractions (>63 μm) (NCFs); and (6) nonmagnetic fine-grained fractions (<63 μm) (NFFs). CCs (3.3–3.4%) are composed of char (61–68%) and some inorganic phases, and are highly enriched in U>S>Mn>Mo>Fe>Sb. LFs (0.4–0.8%) contain porous cenosphere, spongy, and vesicular char types (21–54%) impregnated by calcite, anhydrite, portlandite, and clay minerals. These fractions show high concentrations of Sb>Se>As. WRs (1.7–2.6%) consist of gypsum, portlandite, Ca oxalate, and calcite (92–98%), and are highly enriched in water-soluble Sb>Mo>S>Ca. The greatest amounts (1–37%) leached from FAs reveal Sb>Mo>S>Ca>Sr>Se>(B, Na)>Li. MFs (1.4–2.3%) are concentrated in magnetite, hematite, and Fe-spinel (31–39%), and are highly enriched in Mn>Fe>Co>Cu>Ni>Zn>(Mo, Yb)>(Lu, Tm, Y)>(Er, Ho, Mg)>Sb. NCFs (49–56%) include mostly coarse-grained glass, quartz, calcite, and mullite, and these are the poorest in trace elements fractions. NFFs (39–47%) contain dominantly fine-grained glass, calcite, quartz, char, and mullite, and are slightly enriched in some chalcophile elements. Possible environmental concerns are related mainly to the trace element mobility in WRs, LFs, and CCs, while the potential utilization directions are connected mostly with the composition of MFs, WRs, CCs, LFs, and NFFs.     

黄河兰州段河水搬运花粉与累积花粉组合特征初步研究*

对从2011年9月至2012年6月在黄河兰州段采集的24个水样进行了孢粉分析,并探讨了河流搬运花粉组合随时间变化的特征以及累积花粉的组合状况。结果表明,河流中花粉组合和花粉浓度随时间具有明显的变化,春夏时段花粉组合以榆属、杨属、柳属和桦属等乔木花粉为主,秋冬时段以蒿属、藜科等草本花粉为主,且花粉浓度和河流含沙量有较好的正相关关系。根据河水流量与花粉浓度积分计算得出样品采集时段的累积花粉通量,其组合特征与各时间点的花粉组合具有明显的差异,表明单个时间节点花粉组合由于影响因素较多不能够反映流域植被状况,而累积花粉组合可以指示泥沙和花粉源区的植被状况。本研究中黄河兰州段河水搬运花粉可能指示黄河兰州段以上至刘家峡水库之间黄土区的植被情况。     

First results of U/Pb dating of detrital zircons from middle Riphean sandstones of the Zigalga Formation,South Urals

The results of U/Pb dating of detrital zircons from sandstones of the Zigalga Formation, which is the base level of the Middle Yurmatu Group of the Bashkir uplift, southwestern Urals, are presented. The U/Pb ages of detrital zircons from sandstones of the Lower, Middle, and Upper Riphean are compared.     

First results on the LPO-derived seismic properties of iron ores from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region, southeastern Brazil

The role of hydrothermal fluids in assisting the activity of strike-slip faults is investigated using a range of new geological, geophysical, and geochemical data obtained on the Argentat fault, Massif Central, France. This fault zone, 180-km-long and 6 to 8 km-width, has experienced coeval intense channeling of hydrothermal fluids and brittle deformation during a short time span (300–295 Ma). According to seismic data, the fault core is a 4-km-wide, vertical zone of high fracture density that rooted in the middle crust (~ 13 km) and that involved fluids in its deeper parts (9–13 km depth). If stress analyses in the fault core and strain analyses in the damage zone both support a left-lateral movement along the fault zone, it is inferred that hydrothermal fluids have strongly influenced fault development, and the resulting fault has influenced fluid flow. Fluid pressure made easier fracturing and faulting in zones of competent rocks units and along rheological boundaries. Repeated cycles of increase of fault-fracture permeability then overpressure of hydrothermal fluids at fault extremity favored strong and fast development of the crustal-scale strike-slip fault. The high permeability obtained along the fault zone permitted a decrease of coupling across the weak fault core. Connections between shallower and lower crustal fluids reservoirs precipitate the decrease of fault activity by quartz precipitation and sulfides deposition. The zones of intense hydrothermal alteration at shallows crustal levels and the zones of fluid overpressure at the base of the upper crust both controlled the final geometry of the crustal-scale fault zone.