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.     

Influence of anthropogenic pressure and seasonal upwelling on coral reefs in Nha Trang Bay (Central Vietnam)

The growing coastal development, dredging and dumping activities, overfishing and expansion of marine cage culture in Nha Trang Bay (NTB) of Central Vietnam since the beginning of the 2000s have resulted in a dramatic decrease of live coral cover. Surveys conducted in April–May 2013 and the same period in 2014 revealed that with an increase in distance from the outer part of the bay towards the mainland, the rivers’ influxes and dredged areas, coral cover decreased from 75% to 0.6% and species richness from 63 to 5, while the abundance of macroalgae increased from 0% to 56%. These changes correlate with differences in the concentration of suspended sediments on the same gradient. The abundance of the crown‐of‐thorns starfish Acanthaster planci and of the echinoid Diadema setosum significantly increased between the first estimation in 1998 and the survey in 2014, from 0 to 1.7 individuals (ind.) per 100 m^?2 and from 50.8 to 94.5 ind. per 100 m^?2, respectively, contributing to coral loss and intensive bioerosion of the reef framework in the bay. The large sizes of adult colonies of tabulate Acropora on the remote stations with negligible sedimentation and eutrophication loads were inconsistent with the assumptions that temperature‐induced coral bleaching or cyclones could be the major impacts in Nha Trang Bay. Analysis of the 16‐year thermal history of the bay did not reveal any instances in which the coral thermal bleaching threshold had been exceeded up to the present study. Seasonal upwelling, which occurs annually in the vicinity of Central Vietnam, may contribute to mitigation of thermal anomalies within NTB and to the maintenance of healthy coral communities on the remote reefs with relatively low anthropogenic impact.     

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.     

Increasing Accuracy of the GLONASS Time Service

GLONASS time is the reference for all time scales aboard GLONASS satellites. It is derived from the Central Synchronizer (CS), which consists of an ensemble of hydrogen clocks (HC) having a instability of (1...3) × 10⁻¹⁴ (averaging interval 24 hours). The CS time is compared to UTC(SU) in a differential mode using a TV channel of the Technical TV Center. Presently the error of GLONASS time is within 20...150 ns; however, there is a potential to decrease this value to 15 to 50 ns (3σ). The paper discusses the possible benefits of mutual phase comparisons between the HCs to determine the grouped frequency standard. These comparisons are averaged daily. The approach yields an accuracy of better than 10 ns (3σ) for CS, bringing the expected GLONASS time accuracy to the level of 15 to 50 ns (3σ). ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Analyzing ice dynamics using Sentinel-1 data at the Solheimajoküll Glacier,Iceland

ABSTRACT

The climate in southern Iceland has warmed over the last 70 years, resulting in accelerated glacier dynamics at the Solheimajoküll glacier. In this study, we compare glacier terminus locations from 1973 to 2018, to changes in climate across the study area, and we derive ice-surface velocities (2015–2018) from satellite remote-sensing imagery (Sentinel-1) using the offset-tracking method. There have been two regional temperature trends in the study period: cooling (1973–1979) and warming (1980–2018). Our results indicate a time lag of about 20 years between the onset of glacier retreat (?53 m/year since 2000) and the inception of the warming period. Seasonally, the velocity time series suggest acceleration during the summer melt season since 2016, whereas glacier velocities during accumulation months were constant. The highest velocities were observed at high elevations where the ice-surface slope is the steepest. We tested several scenarios to assess the hydrological time response to glacier accelerations, with the highest correlations being found between one and 30 days after the velocity estimates. Monthly correlation analyses indicated inter-annual and intra-annual variability in the glacier dynamics. Additionally, we investigate the linkage between glacier velocities and meltwater outflow parameters as they provide useful information about internal processes in the glacier. Velocity estimates positively correlate with water level and negatively correlate with water conductivity between April and August. There is also a disruption in the correlation trend between water conductivity and ice velocity in June, potentially due to a seasonal release of geothermal water.     

Spectral photometry of selected areas of the lunar surface during maximum solar activity

Photoelectric observations have been carried out during maximum solar activity in order to investigate the variation of the brightness of the lunar surface with the solar cycle and to detect the possiblity of existing colour anomaly. The brightness data, using a wide-passband filter, do not show any evidence of variation with the solar cycle. No colour anomaly is found for the investigated lunar regions, and the doubt that has been felt by some investigators about the nonexistence of certain colour indices' variation with phase is not confirmed.     

Magma fragmentation dynamics: experiments with analogue porous low-strength material

 Experiments were conducted on the fragmentation of analogue low-strength porous material (plastiprin) by rapid decompression in a shock-tube-type apparatus. The porous samples (length=365 mm, cross-section dimensions 40×40 mm) pressurized by air to pressures up to 0.9 MPa, were rapidly decompressed to 0.1 MPa. Rapid decompression of samples caused fragmentation and ejection of the fragmentation products into a large volume tank. The process of analogue material fragmentation was documented using high-speed cinematography and dynamic pressure measurements. The duration of the fragmentation event is significantly shorter than that of the ejection event. The fragmentation of material precedes the acceleration of fragments. As a result of fragmentation, sub-parallel fractures are generated. The characteristic fragment size decreases as the initial pressure differential increases. The ejected fragments obtain velocities of 60 m/s. The mechanisms of material fragmentation during unloading and fragmentation wave propagation are discussed. The experimental results provide insight into the fragmentation dynamics of highly viscous magmas in which brittle failure at high strain rate is possible. Received: 23 July 1997 / Accepted: 23 November 1997