A 640 kyr geomagnetic and palaeoclimatic record from Lake Baikal sediments

Magnetic remanence vectors for 1737 samples from two ∼100 m cores of Lake Baikal sediments are reported along with complete magnetic susceptibility profiles obtained from a pass-through system. Chronological control is established by means of two independent correlations; first, by matching susceptibility variations to the oceanic oxygen isotope record and second, by matching the relative palaeointensity variations to the SINT-800 global reference curve. These both imply an average deposition rate of 15 cm kyr^–1 and a basal age of ∼640 ka. Spectral analysis reveals the presence of Milankovitch signals at ∼100 kyr (eccentricity), ∼41 kyr (obliquity) and ∼23 and ∼19 kyr (precession). Stable remanence vectors are almost all of normal polarity. The few exceptions comprise brief intervals of low and/or negative inclinations which probably represent geomagnetic excursions. However, these are far less numerous than the high sedimentation rate would lead one to expect. Furthermore, only four of them can be readily matched to the—still poorly understood—global pattern. These are the Laschamp, the Albuquerque, the Iceland Basin and perhaps the West Eifel excursions which occurred at ∼38 000, ∼146 000, at 180 000–190 000 and at 480 000–495 000 yr ago, respectively.     

Melt inclusions in detrital spinel from the SE Alps (Italy–Slovenia): a new approach to provenance studies of sedimentary basins

Detrital spinel is a widespread heavy mineral in sandstones from the Maastrichtian–Middle Eocene sedimentary basins in the SE Alps. Chemistry of detrital spinels from the Claut/Clauzetto and Julian Basins (N Italy and NW Slovenia) is used to constrain petrological and geochemical affinities and tectonic provenance of the source rocks. In addition, we have analysed melt inclusion compositions in the detrital volcanic spinels to better constrain the nature of their parental magmas. This is the first study of melt inclusions in detrital spinels. Two principal compositional groups of detrital spinels are recognised based on their TiO₂ and Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺; one derived from peridotites, the other from basaltic volcanics. Peridotitic spinels are more abundant and have TiO₂ < 0.2 wt% and high Cr/Cr + Al (40–90), characteristic of suprasubduction zone harzburgites. Significant chemical variations among volcanic spinels (TiO₂ up to 3 wt%, Al₂O₃ 12–44 wt%) suggest multiple sources, with geochemically distinct characteristics, including MORB-type and backarc basin basalts, subduction-related magmas and tholeiites produced during early continental rifting. Compositions of homogenised melt inclusions in spinels with TiO₂ > 0.2 better distinguish the differences between the compositions of their host spinels and help to further clarify the geodynamic provenance of extrusive source rocks. Several compositional groups of melt inclusions have been recognised and represent diverse magmatism of marginal basins, including MORB- and subduction-related geochemical types, as well as magmas characteristic of early continental rifting. These results, combined with the data on regional ophiolitic complexes and tectonic reconstructions favour the Internal Dinarides of Yugoslavia as a possible source area for the SE Alps sediments. Received: 20 January 2000 / Accepted: 25 April 2000     

Nematode species distribution patterns at the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano (Norwegian Sea)

The Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano (HMMV) is a methane seep that is densely populated by the bacteria Beggiatoa spp. as well as by tubeworms of the Family Siboglinidae. Analyses of samples from seven stations located in five different habitats (bare sediments, bacterial mats, siboglinid fields, sediments with small patches of siboglinids and areas of ‘normal’ sea floor) revealed differences in the density and species‐level diversity of nematode communities. Total densities increased from stations inside the mud volcano and on its rim towards the ‘normal’ areas outside the volcano. Nematode species diversity was similar in samples from the siboglinid fields and the bare HMMV sediments. However, the sediment with patches of siboglinids collected outside the volcano was characterised by a diverse nematode community comprising 47 species, whereas the control sediments without siboglinids yielded only 27 species. The nematode assemblage at the bacterial mat site included only two identified species, Halomonhystera disjuncta and Sabatieria ornata, with H. disjuncta being strongly dominant. Terschellingia distlamphida, S. ornata and Aponema ninae dominated nematode communities at the siboglinid fields and in bare HMMV sediments. Species dominating at stations inside the caldera were found in comparable low densities in the sediment with siboglinid patches collected outside the volcano, but were missing in the background samples, where species of Endeolophos, Acantholaimus and Desmoscolex were dominant. Species diversity generally decreased with sediment depth. A subsurface‐dwelling nematode community was observed in the siboglinid fields and the bare sediments. Background sediments showed a sharp decline with 18–20 species at 0–2 cm versus three species at 3–5 cm sediment depth. The trophic composition of the nematode fauna at the HMMV showed a prevalence of deposit feeders at almost all stations, whereas background sediments exhibited a uniform distribution of non‐selective and selective deposit feeders and epistrate feeders. The high percentage of deposit feeders inside the mud volcano could be related to the grain‐size distribution and the significantly higher bacterial biomass compared to the control sediments.     

Re-testing the JET-X Flight Module No. 2 at the PANTER facility

The Joint European X-ray Telescope (JET-X) was the core instrument of the Russian Spectrum-X- γ space observatory. It consisted of two identical soft X-ray (0.3–10 keV) telescopes with focusing optical modules having a measured angular resolution of nearly 15 arcsec. Soon after the payload completion, the mission was cancelled and the two optical flight modules (FM) were brought to the Brera Astronomical Observatory where they had been manufactured. After 16 years of storage, we have utilized the JET-X FM2 to test at the PANTER X-ray facility a prototype of a novel X-ray polarimetric telescope, using a Gas Pixel Detector (GPD) with polarimetric capabilities in the focal plane of the FM2. The GPD was developed by a collaboration between INFN-Pisa and INAF-IAPS. In the first phase of the test campaign, we have re-tested the FM2 at PANTER to have an up-to-date characterization in terms of angular resolution and effective area, while in the second part of the test the GPD has been placed in the focal plane of the FM2. In this paper we report the results of the tests of the sole FM2, using an unpolarized X-ray source, comparing the results with the calibration done in 1996.     

Magnetic indicator of global paleoclimate cycles in Siberian loess–paleosol sequences

The loess–paleosol sequences of China, Siberia, Alaska and many other regions, along with lake sediments and glaciers, provide the only accurate paleoclimatic terrestrial records for intervals of thousands to hundreds of thousand years. The frequency dependence (FD) of magnetic susceptibility (MS) in such sequences has become the leading parameter for analyzing climatic change and Milankovitch (astronomical) periodicity in Siberian sequences; it is always higher in soil horizons than in loess. The enhanced FD parameter in soils is associated with ferromagnetic minerals, mostly magnetite, produced during pedogenesis. The MS and FD parameters of 670 samples from five sections in Siberia are reported here. Inter-section correlation is used to produce a combined FD time series for the studied sections. Chronological control is established by absolute dating and stratigraphic correlation. Spectral analysis of the FD time series reveals the presence of Milankovitch signals at ～100 kyr (eccentricity), ～40 kyr (obliquity) and ～23 kyr (precession) and demonstrates that Siberian loess–paleosol sequences are excellent continental recorders of long-term paleoclimatic changes. This suggests that the FD parameter can potentially be used more widely for evaluation of climate periodicity in loess/paleosol sequences in other parts of the world.     

On the determination of the effect of horizontal ionospheric gradients on ranging errors in GNSS positioning

An alternative approach to the traditionally employed method is proposed for treating the ionospheric range errors in transionospheric propagation such as for GNSS positioning or satellite-borne SAR. It enables the effects due to horizontal gradients of electron density (as well as vertical gradients) in the ionosphere to be explicitly accounted for. By contrast with many previous treatments, where the expansion of the solution for the phase advance is represented as the series in the inverse frequency powers and the main term of the expansion corresponds to the true line-of-sight distance from the transmitter to the receiver, in the alternative technique the zero-order term is the rigorous solution for a spherically layered ionosphere with any given vertical electron density profile. The first-order term represents the effects due to the horizontal gradients of the electron density of the ionosphere, and the second-order correction appears to be negligibly small for any reasonable parameters of the path of propagation and its geometry for VHF/UHF frequencies. Additionally, an “effective” spherically symmetric model of the ionosphere has been introduced, which accounts for the major contribution of the horizontal gradients of the ionosphere and provides very high accuracy in calculations of the phase advance.     

Potassic primary melts of vulsini (Roman Province): evidence from mineralogy and melt inclusions

The origin and the relationships between the high potassic (HKS) and potassic (KS) suites of the Roman Comagmatic Province and the nature of their primary magmas have been intensively debated over the past 35 years. We have addressed these problems by a study of mineralogy (olivine Fo_92-87, Cr-spinel and diopside) and melt inclusions in olivine phenocrysts from a scoria sample of Montefiascone (Vulsini area). This rock is considered as one of the most primitive (MgO=13.5 wt%, NiO=340 ppm; Cr=1275 ppm) in the northern part of the Roman Comagmatic Province. The compositions of both the olivine and their melt inclusions are controlled by two main processes. In the case of the olivine Fo<90.5, fractional crystallization (olivine + diopside + minor spinel) was the principal mechanism of the magma evolution. The olivine (Fo_92-90.5) and the Cr-spinel (Cr#=100. Cr/(Cr+Al)=63-73) represent a near-primary liquidus assemblage and indicate the mantle origin of their parental magmas. The compositions of melt inclusions in these olivine phenocrysts correspond to those of poorly fractionated H₂O-rich ( 1 wt%) primary melts (MgO=8.4-9.7 wt%,FeO^total=6-7.5 wt%). They evidence a wide compositional range (in wt%: SiO₂=46.5-50, K₂O=5.3-2.8, P₂O₅=0.4-0.2, S=0.26-0.12; Cl=0.05-0.03, and CaO/Al₂O₃= 0.8-1.15), with negative correlations between SiO₂ and K₂O, Al₂O₃ and CaO, as well as positive correlations between K₂O, and P₂O₅, S, Cl, with nearly constant ratios between these elements. These results are discussed in terms of segregation of various mantle-derived melts. The high and constant Mg# [100.Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺)] 73-75 of studied melts and their variable Si, K, P, Ca, Al, S contents could be explained by the melting of a refractory lithospheric mantle source, heterogeneously enriched in phlogopite and clinopyroxene (veined mantle source).     

Debris flows of 28 June 2014 near the Arshan village (Siberia,Republic of Buryatia,Russia)

On 28 June 2014, high intensity rainfall resulted in seven simultaneous debris flows going down the slopes of the Tunka Ridge in the vicinity of Arshan village, which is a balneological and alpine resort (51° 54′ 31″ N, 102° 25′ 44″ E). The debris flows caused one life loss and several injuries, 112 buildings were damaged, and 15 were completely destroyed. The total volume of the transported deposits amounted to 3?×?10⁶ m³. Debris flows’ formation began with the failure of weak sediments in the hanging cirques. Similar phenomena had not been recorded in the study area for over 40 years. The article presents a complete picture of the event and analysis of geological, geomorphological, and meteorological conditions for debris flows formation, for which extreme local rainfall was the major cause.