Barium in the Antarctic Ocean and implications regarding the marine geochemistry of Ba and226Ra

Ba distribution in the ocean correlates linearly with that of ²²⁶Ra, reflecting little fractionation of the two elements in their uptake by marine organisms. The weight ratio of ²²⁶Ra/Ba is estimated to be (0.714 ± 0.08) × 10^?8. A wide range of Ba/Si and Ra/Si values is noted in siliceous plankton collected from different oceans. This corraborates with the observations that, although silica co-varies with Ba and²²⁶Ra, the Ba/Si and²²⁶Ra/Si ratios in seawater vary from one area to another. Sediment pore water contains higher Ba concentrations than the overlying seawater. The resulting diffusive flux of Ba through the sediment-sea interface is estimated to be no more than 20% of the river input. The apparent oversaturation of dissolved Ba in pore fluids with respect to barite supports the idea that complexing of Ba with organic ligands may be important. Box model calculations show that: (1) on a per unit area basis, ²²⁶Ra flux from the continental shelf sediments is higher than that from the deep sea floor; (2) in the deep ocean, the magnitude of diffusive input of ²²⁶Ra from sediments is about equal to the loss due to radioactive decay.     

Stress modeling of tectonic blocks at Cape Kamchatka, Russia using principal stress proxies from high-resolution SAR: new evidence for the Komandorskiy Block

A new data set of 851 lineaments mapped from European Remote Sensing satellites 1 and 2 full resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data are interpreted as geological proxies for stresses resulting from plate and block collision near the Cape Kamchatka region of the Kamchatka Peninsula using a Geographical Information Systems-based analysis. Numerical Manifold Method (NMM) analysis is used to model the stress field within the Cape Kamchatka region resulting from the collision of lithospheric plates and blocks. Results of our NMM model, using different plate motion and plate configuration in the region, are compared with orientation data for the mapped set of lineaments. These data suggest that the lineaments observed in SAR cannot be fully explained by a simple two-plate model in this in the Cape Kamchatka region. As an alternative, we propose that the data can be explained by the existence of the previously proposed Komandorskiy Block. Recent Global Positioning Satellite measurements in the Aleutian Islands support our lineament-derived model and show that the near Islands/Komandorskiy Island block of the extreme western Aleutians is moving independently of the North American Plate.     

Hydrologic variation during the last 170,000 years in the southern hemisphere tropics of South America

Despite the hypothesized importance of the tropics in the global climate system, few tropical paleoclimatic records extend to periods earlier than the last glacial maximum (LGM), about 20,000 years before present. We present a well-dated 170,000-year time series of hydrologic variation from the southern hemisphere tropics of South America that extends from modern times through most of the penultimate glacial period. Alternating mud and salt units in a core from Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia reflect alternations between wet and dry periods. The most striking feature of the sequence is that the duration of paleolakes increased in the late Quaternary. This change may reflect increased precipitation, geomorphic or tectonic processes that affected basin hydrology, or some combination of both. The dominance of salt between 170,000 and 140,000 yr ago indicates that much of the penultimate glacial period was dry, in contrast to wet conditions in the LGM. Our analyses also suggest that the relative influence of insolation forcing on regional moisture budgets may have been stronger during the past 50,000 years than in earlier times.     

An estimate of probabilistic seismic hazard for five cities in Greece by using the parametric-historic procedure

A probabilistic procedure was applied to assess seismic hazard for the sites of five Greek cities (Athens, Heraklion, Patras, Thessaloniki and Volos) using peak ground acceleration as the hazard parameter. The methodology allows the use of either historical or instrumental data, or a combination of both. It has been developed specifically for the estimation of seismic hazard at a given site and does not require any specification of seismic sources or/and seismic zones. A new relation for the attenuation of peak ground acceleration was employed for the shallow seismicity in Greece. The computations involved the area- and site-specific parts. When assessing magnitude recurrence for the areas surrounding the five cities, the maximum magnitude, m_max, was estimated using a recently derived equation. The site-specific results were expressed as probabilities that a given peak ground acceleration value will be exceeded at least once during a time interval of 1, 50 and 100 years at the sites of the cities. They were based on the maximum peak ground acceleration values computed by assuming the occurrence of the strongest possible earthquake (of magnitude m_max) at a very short distance from the site and using the mean value obtained with the help of the attenuation law. This gave 0.24 g for Athens, 0.53 g for Heraklion (shallow) and 0.39 g Heraklion (intermediate-depth seismicity), 0.30 g for Patras, 0.35 g for Thessaloniki and 0.30 g for Volos. In addition, the probabilities of exceedance of the estimated maximum peak ground acceleration values were calculated for the sites. The standard deviation of the new Greek attenuation law demonstrates the uncertainty and large variation of predicted peak ground acceleration values.     

Point-to-curve ray tracing in complicated geological models1

Boundary-value problems (BVPs) for seismic rays generally have multiple solutions. In practical applications the number of solutions can be large. The algorithm presented below solves a one-parameter family of BVPs and makes it easy to obtain all the solutions of a BVP.     

Estimation of earthquake hazard parameters for incomplete and uncertain data files

The maximum likelihood estimation of earthquake hazard parameters (maximum regional magnitudem _max, activity rate λ, and theb parameter in the Gutenberg-Richter distribution) is extended to the cases of incomplete and uncertain data. The method accepts mixed data containing only large (extreme) events and a variable quality of complete data with different threshold magnitude values. Uncertainty of earthquake magnitude is specified by two values, the lower and upper magnitude limits. It is assumed that such an interval contains the real unknown magnitude. The proposed approach allows the combination of different quality catalog parts, e.g. those where the assignment of magnitude is questionable and those with magnitudes precisely determined. As an illustration of the method, the seismic hazard analysis for western Norway and adjacent sea area (4–8°E, 58–64°N) is presented on the basis of the strongest earthquakes felt during the period 1831–1889 and three complete catalog parts, covering the period 1890–1987.     

Effects of an ultrasonic field on the flotation selectivity of barite from a barite-fluorite-quartz ore

The influence of an ultrasonic field frequency of 22 kHz and intensity of 0.5 W/cm² has been examined on the flotation of barite, fluorite and quartz as well as on their ability to adsorb dodecyl- and cetylsulphates. The tests affected the flotation of pure minerals in a Hallimond tube as well as the flotation of a natural barite-fluorite ore. It has been found that ultrasonic pretreatment of minerals causes an increase in the flotation rate of barite and a decrease in the flotation rate of fluorite. Ultrasonic pretreatment of the natural barite-fluorite ore before its flotation is the most advantageous. In this case it is possible to obtain concentrates of barite composed of a low amount of CaF₂. This may be explained by the different effects of ultrasonic vibrations on barite and fluorite which cause some improvement of the selectivity of their flotation separation.For a full explanation of these results the effects of ultrasonic pretreatment of the minerals on their adsorption properties and surface topography have been investigated, as well as the direct influence of ultrasound on the adsorption process.     

Incorporation of Be isotopes and other trace metals into marine ferromanganese deposits

Two-to threefold inward increase of ¹⁰Be, ⁹Be, Cu and Ni have been found in surface layers of marine ferromanganese deposits. We interpret this phenomenon as reflecting the manner in which the Be isotopes and probably other trace metals (e.g. Cu and Ni) are incorporated. On reaching the sea floor exchangeable Be is released from its carrier phase to the pore water of the ferromanganese deposits, diffuses inward and gets fixed into the deposits. The fixation process may be related to the mineralogical reorganizations suggested by previous studies. We have modeled this concept and applied it to a Mn crust on which detailed analyses of Cu, Ni and natural decay-series nuclides, as well as Be isotopes are made. Post-depositional fixation of Th isotopes may also occur. The redistributions of Be and Th isotopes are confined to regions very close to the surface of the deposits. For all practical purposes, they will not affect growth rate determinations conventionally done using these isotopes. The “linearly” extrapolated ${}^{10}\text{Be}{}^9\text{Be}$ ratio to the surface from deep layers of a Mn deposit does not necessarily represent that ratio in sea water.     

Response of the ionosphere to the Baltic Sea earthquake of 21 September 2004

GPS observations of the European permanent network were used to identify seismo-ionospheric precursors of Baltic Sea earthquake of 21 September 2004. It is a very rare event for this region of Europe (magnitude of about 5.0). This value is the threshold for the occurrence of seismic effects in the ionosphere. In total electron content (TEC) data over the region of the earthquake, a specific ionospheric anomaly appeared one day before the earthquake was detected. The ionospheric variability had a positive sign with an enhancement of about 4–5 TECU (1 TECU = 10¹⁶ electrons/m²) relative to the non-disturbed state of the ionosphere. The anomaly had a duration of 4–5 hours in the day time. The special size of this anomaly was about 1000 km. The characteristic parameters of the anomaly show that it can be associated with ionospheric precursors of an earthquake.