First record of metazoan eggs and embryos from early Cambrian Chert Member of Deo ka Tibba Formation,Tal Group,Uttarakhand Lesser Himalaya

The phosphatized globular to sub-oval metazoan eggs with distinctively ornamented covering and phosphatized polar lobe forming embryos are recorded for the first time from the black phosphatic chert lenticles and bands of early Cambrian Chert Member of Deo ka Tibba Formation, Tal Group, Uttarakhand Lesser Himalaya. Similar metazoan eggs have been recorded earlier from early Cambrian rocks of Shaanxi Province, China, northwestern Canada, Australia, Mongolia, Siberia and Kazakhstan. These eggs are found in association with Small Shelly Fossils (SSF) and may belong to them. However, polar lobe forming embryos have been earlier recorded from Neoproterozoic rocks of southwestern China only. Similar embryos are common in modern molluscs and bilaterians.     

Thomson Thick X-Ray Absorption in a Broad Absorption Line Quasar, PG 0946+301

We present results of new ASCA observations of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 4579 obtained on 1998 December 18 and 28, and we report on the detection of variability of an iron K emission line. The X-ray luminosities in the 2-10 keV band for the two observations are nearly identical (LX approximately 2x1041 ergs s(-1)), but they are approximately 35% larger than that measured in 1995 July by Terashima et al. An Fe K emission line is detected at 6.39+/-0.09 keV (source rest frame), which is lower than the line energy 6.73+0.13-0.12 keV in the 1995 observation. If we fit the Fe lines with a blend of two Gaussians centered at 6.39 and 6.73 keV, the intensity of the 6.7 keV line decreases, while the intensity of the 6.4 keV line increases, within an interval of 3.5 yr. This variability rules out thermal plasmas in the host galaxy as the origin of the ionized Fe line in this LLAGN. The detection and variability of the 6.4 keV line indicates that cold matter subtends a large solid angle viewed from the nucleus and that it is located within approximately 1 pc from the nucleus. It could be identified with an optically thick standard accretion disk. If this is the case, a standard accretion disk is present at the Eddington ratio of Lbol/LEdd approximately 2x10-3. A broad disk-line profile is not clearly seen, and the structure of the innermost part of accretion disk remains unclear.     

Late Archean Cu-Au-Mo mineralization at Gameleira and Serra Verde, Carajàs Mineral Province, Brazil: constraints from Re-Os molybdenite ages

New Re-Os molybdenite ages provide constraints on the timing of Late Archean Cu-Au-Mo mineralization in the northern Carajás Mineral Province. Molybdenite from the Gameleira iron oxide Cu-Au-Mo deposit yielded an age of 2,614±14 Ma. This age overlaps within its analytical error with Re-Os ages of molybdenite from the Serra Verde Cu-Au-Mo vein deposit (2,609±13 Ma) and from the nearby small Garimpo Fernando gold mining operation (2,592±13 and 2,602±13 Ma), which is probably related to the latter. The geochronological data imply that the hydrothermal Cu-Au-Mo mineralization in these three deposits was epigenetic and coincides with a regional tectonic regime changing from dextral transtension and clastic sedimentation at 2.7–2.6 Ga to sinistral transpression and inversion at 2.6 Ga. Previously reported stable isotope and microthermometric data are compatible with a magmatic affiliation of the Cu-Au-Mo ores at Gameleira and Serra Verde. A genetic relationship of mineralization may therefore exist with 2.56–2.76 Ga Archean alkaline granitoids or with 2.6–2.7 calc-alkaline to tholeiitic volcanic-arc type magmatism.Editorial handling: F. Tornos     

Analysis of seasonal and annual rainfall trends for Ranchi district,Jharkhand, India

The aim of this study was to investigate temporal variation in seasonal and annual rainfall trend over Ranchi district of Jharkhand, India for the period (1901–2014: 113 years). Mean monthly rainfall data series were used to determine the significance and magnitude of the trend using non-parametric Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator. The analysis showed a significant decreased in rainfall during annual, winter and southwest monsoon rainfall while increased in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon rainfall over the Ranchi district. A positive trend is detected in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon rainfall data series while annual, winter and southwest monsoon rainfall showed a negative trend. The maximum decrease in rainfall was found for monsoon (? 1.348 mm year^?1) and minimum (? 0.098 mm year^?1) during winter rainfall. The trend of post-monsoon rainfall was found upward (0.068 mm year^?1). The positive and negative trends of annual and seasonal rainfall were found statistically non-significant except monsoon rainfall at 5% level of significance. Rainfall variability pattern was calculated using coefficient of variation CV, %. Post-monsoon rainfall showed the maximum value of CV (70.80%), whereas annual rainfall exhibited the minimum value of CV (17.09%), respectively. In general, high variation of CV was found which showed that the entire region is very vulnerable to droughts and floods.     

Geochemical,mineralogical and Re-Os isotopic constraints on the origin of Tethyan oceanic mantle and crustal rocks from the Central Pontides,northern Turkey

Mineralogy and Petrology - Chromite, ultramafic and mafic rocks from Eldivan, Yapraklı, Ayli Dağ, Küre, Elekdağ and Kızılırmak in northern Turkey have been...     

Modeling of chemo-hydromechanical behavior of unsaturated porous media: a nonlocal approach based on integral equations

Acta Geotechnica - Unsaturated clay is a heterogeneous porous medium consisting of three phases, namely solid soil skeleton, pore water, and pore air. It has been well recognized that the variation...     

The transition region and coronal explorer

The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) satellite, launched 2 April 1998, is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) that images the solar photosphere, transition region and corona with unprecedented spatial resolution and temporal continuity. To provide continuous coverage of solar phenomena, TRACE is located in a sun-synchronous polar orbit. The ∼700 Mbytes of data which are collected daily are made available for unrestricted use within a few days of observation. The instrument features a 30-cm Cassegrain telescope with a field of view of 8.5×.5 arc min and a spatial resolution of 1 arc sec (0.5 arc sec pixels). TRACE contains multilayer optics and a lumogen-coated CCD detector to record three EUV wavelengths and several UV wavelengths. It observes plasmas at selected temperatures from 6000 K to 10 MK with a typical temporal resolution of less than 1 min.     

Biofiltration of Pyridine by Shewanella putrefaciens in a Corn‐Cob Packed Biotrickling Filter

In this study, a new strain of microorganism Shewanella putrefaciens was used for biofiltration of a pyridine laden air stream in a corn‐cob packed biotrickling filter. In the biotrickling filter tested with S. putrefaciens, the maximum removal of pyridine is determined to be 100% at less than the average inlet concentration of 0.653 g m^–3 and more than 93% at a higher average inlet concentration of 1.748 g m^–3 (phase VIII) with an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 106 s. However, when the biotrickling filter was operated at a low EBRT of 53 s and almost the same average inlet concentration of 1.752 g m^–3 (phase VII), the removal level attained was not greater than 85%. The maximum elimination capacity (EC) of the biotrickling filter was 102.34 g m^–3h^–1 at an inlet pyridine load of 119.62 g m^–3h^–1 with an EBRT of 53 s in phase VII. The maximum deviation of the EC from the 100% conversion line varied from 0.257 to 10.166% when going from phase I to VIII. Kinetic analysis showed that the maximum removal rate, r_max, and saturation constant, K_s, values for pyridine were calculated as 0.24 g m^–3h^–1 and 6.44 g m^–3, respectively, with a correlation coefficient, R², of 0.9939 and a standard deviation of error of 23.94%. The information contained herein indicates that the corn‐cob packed biotrickling filter inoculated by S. putrefaciens should provide excellent performance in the removal of gaseous pyridine.