Computation of maximum water temperature in the Beloyarskoe Reservoir

Presented is a three-dimensional model for computing hydrothermodynamic processes in the Beloyarskoe Reservoir used as a basin-cooler of the Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant. In view of the designing of new power units for the station and due to the absence of reliable reservoir-analogs in the region under consideration, the computation is carried out of the distribution of maximum water temperature in the reservoir for natural conditions. The results of these computations are subsequently used as background parameters for designing a system of technical water supply of NPP and for the ecological feasibility report.     

Observations of mid-troposhheric circulation from water vapour radiances of polar orbiting satellites

Water vapour tracers can provide useful information on winds at ≈ 500mb by observing the 6·7μ radiances. This fills the data gap in the cloud motion winds provided by conventional meteorological geostationary satellites. There is no geostationary satellite at present over the Indian Ocean with 6·7μ imaging capability to provide mid-tropospheric winds. The potentials of 6·7μ radiances, available from polar orbiting satellites, for mid-tropospheric circulation features have been examined in this study. Tiros-N satellite data of May 1979 and ECMWF level-IIIb wind data were analysed to relate the radiances with the streamlines. We find that the radiances of 6·7μ from orbiting satellites agree well with the wind field.     

Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic systematics of the East Antarctic Manning Massif alkaline trachybasalts and the development of the mantle beneath the Lambert-Amery rift

Summary Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic investigations have been carried out on samples forming a sequence from the bottom to the top of a suite of K-rich olivine trachybasalts from the Manning Massif in the northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica. Several separate flows, each 3.5-6.5 m thick, occur as individual small outcrops and are related to the Lambert-Amery rift. Nd-Sr isotopic features of the volcanics are similar to those for lherzolite xenoliths from the Mesozoic alkaline ultramafic rocks of the adjacent Jetty Peninsula area, but the trace element abundances and patterns are consistent with the occurrence of minor phases such as apatite, amphibole, ilmenite and perovskite in the source region. According to Nd-Sr isotopic characteristics (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.512026-0.512269;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.707765-0.708046), the trachybasalts were generated from an enriched mantle source. These features are suggested here to result from isotopic mixing between peridotite wall-rocks similar to the Jetty Peninsula xenolith samples and melts derived from ultramafic veins in the lithosphere. A synthesis from isochron and model ages on volcanics and xenoliths indicates formation of the lithosphere at about 1.2 Ga, followed by two episodes of subsequent enrichment at 0.91.0 Ga and ca. 0.6 Ga. The¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values for the volcanics show a wide range, but are more enriched for the bottom part of the suite, becoming more depleted towards the top. This may be explained by a steadily decreasing vein/wall-rock ratio from 35% to 10% due to progressive heating of the source region. This variation in ENd is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, which constrains both vein and wall-rock characteristics quite closely: the wall-rock was an enriched peridotite, whereas the vein assemblage comprised dominantly clinopyroxene and amphibole with a lesser, but essential, amount of phlogopite. REE-rich accessory phases such as apatite and perovskite were present in the vein, but were rare, so that the vein as a whole had high Sr/Nd. Rb-Sr age determination on Manning Massif bulk rocks gives an apparent isochron age of 40±1.2 Ma (I_Sr = 0.70762), although the age is probably falsified by the mixing processes during melting.

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Sm-Nd und Rb-Sr Isotopenuntersuchungen an alkalischen Trachybasalten des ostantarktischen Manning Massivs: Entwicklung des Mantels unter dem Lambert-Amery Rift

Zusammenfassung Sm-Nd- und Rb-Sr-Isotope wurden in einer Abfolge von K-reichen OlivinTrachybasalten im Manning Massiv in den nördlichen Prince Charles Mountains, Ost-Antarktis, untersucht. Proben wurden systematisch von mehreren sich überlagernden Lavaströmen genommen, die Mächtigkeiten von 3,5 bis 6,5 m erreichen und dem Lambert-Amery Rift zugeordnet werden. Nd-Sr Isotopenzusammensetzung der Vulkanite sind ähnlich wie in Iherzolithischen Mantelxenolithen aus alkalischen Ultramafiten der Jetty Halbinsel. Allerdings deuten die Spurenelementgehalte sowie die Spurenelementverteilungen auf die Anwesenheit von Apatit, Amphibol, Ilmenit und Perowskit in der Quellenregionhin. Nd-Sr Isotope der Trachybasalte (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd= 0.512026–0.512269;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.707765–0.708046) weisen auf eine angereicherte Mantelzusammensetzung hin. Für die hier gefundenen Werte wird ein Mischungsmodell zwischen einem Peridotit-Nebengestein ähnlich wie in den Jetty Halbinsel Xenolithen und einer Schmelze vorgeschlagen, die aus ultramafischen Gängen innerhalb der Lithosphäre stammte. Die Kombination aus Isochronenalter und Modellalter der Vulkanite und der Xenolithe zeigt, daß nach der Bildung vor 1.2 Ga die Lithosphäre zwei Anreicherungsereignisse vor 0.9-1.0 Ga und 0.6 Ga erfahren hatte. Trotz der hohen Variation der¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd Verhältnisse ergeben sich für die unteren Lavaströme höhere Werte, während die oberen Bereiche an¹⁴³Nd verarmt sind. Dies kann auf eine stetige Abnahme des Gang/Peridotit Verhältnisses von 35% auf 10% zurückgeführt werden, das auf eine fortschreitende Aufheizung der Quellenregion hinweist. Die Variation im¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd System wird aber nicht von einem Anstieg des⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr Verhältnisses begleitet, was mit ähnlichen Werten sowohl für die Gänge als auch für den angrenzenden Peridotit erklärt werden kann: das Nebengestein bestand aus einem angereicherten Peridotit, während die Gänge hauptsächlich aus Klinopyroxen und Amphibol zusammengesetzt waren. SEE-reiche Phasen wie Apatit und Perowskit kamen in so geringen Mengen vor, daß die Gesamtzusammensetzung der Gänge hohe Sr/Nd-Verhältnisse hatte. Rb-Sr Altersbestimmungen an Gesamtgesteinen der Manning Massiv-Vulkanite ergeben eine scheinbare Isochrone von 40±1.2 Ma (I_Sr = 0.70762), obwohl diese Altersinformation vermutlich durch die Mischungsprozesse während des partiellen Schmelzens verfälscht ist.

     

Two contrasting granite types: 25 years later

The concept of I‐ and S‐type granites was introduced in 1974 to account for the observation that, apart from the most felsic rocks, the granites in the Lachlan Fold Belt have properties that generally fall into two distinct groups. This has been interpreted to result from derivation by partial melting of two kinds of source rocks, namely sedimentary and older igneous rocks. The original publication on these two granite types is reprinted and reviewed in the light of 25 years of continuing study into these granites.     

Greening international shipping through private governance: A case study of the Clean Shipping Project

This article aims to generate insights into both private governance and partnerships within the shipping industry, but also tries to improve understanding of the complex process of institutionalisation.This is achieved through a case study of the Clean Shipping Project, a public/private partnership that aims to promote sustainability in the shipping industry. A set of enabling and constraining factors are examined that shape the institutionalisation process and determine to what extent the Clean Shipping Project can establish and expand authority as an industry norm.Overall, the Clean Shipping Project cannot yet be considered a full-fledged private governance institution, because of an insufficient level of collaborative advantage mainly due to weak system robustness and unfavourable market characteristics and conditions. However, institutionalisation is an ongoing process and the future outlook for the Clean Shipping Project remains promising. The Clean Shipping Project is certainly a relevant supplement to existing regulations and there is a basic level of commitment and cohesion within the partnership, so it is not unlikely that in the future this initiative may help to uncouple growth in shipping activities from environmental harm.     

Late Quaternary contourites and glaciomarine sedimentation in the Fram Strait

Two sites in the eastern Fram Strait, the Vestnesa Ridge and the Yermak Plateau, have been surveyed and sampled providing a depositional record over the last glacial‐interglacial cycle. The Fram Strait is the only deep‐water connection from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic and contains a marine sediment record of both high latitude thermohaline flow and ice sheet interaction. On the Vestnesa Ridge, the western Svalbard margin, a sediment drift was identified in 1226 m of water. Gravity and multicores from the crest of the drift recovered turbidites and contourites. ¹⁴C dating indicates an age range of 8287 to 26 900 years BP (Early Holocene to Late Weichselian). The Yermak Plateau is characterized by slope sediments in 961 m of water. Gravity and multicores recovered contourites and hemipelagites. ¹⁴C ages were between 8615 and 46 437 years BP (Early Holocene to mid‐Weichselian). Downcore dinoflagellate cyst analyses from both sites provide a record of changing surface water conditions since the mid‐Weichselian, suggesting variable sea ice extent, productivity and polynyas present even during the Last Glacial Maximum. Four layers of ice‐rafted debris were also identified and correlated within the cores. These events occurred ca at 9, 24 to 25, 26 to 27 and 43 ka, asynchronous with Heinrich layers in the wider north‐east Atlantic and here interpreted as reflecting instability in the Svalbard/Barents Ice sheet and the northward advection of warm Atlantic water during the Late Weichselian. The activity of the ancestral West Spitsbergen Current is interpreted using mean sortable silt records from the cores. On the Vestnesa Ridge drift the modern mass accumulation rate, calculated using excess ²¹⁰Pb, is 0·076 g cm^?2 year^?1. On the Yermak Plateau slope the modern mass accumulation rate is 0·053 g cm^?2 year^?1.     

A NEW APPROACH TO MAGNETIC PROFILE INTERPRETATION*

By using two components of anomalous magnetic fields and a formulation including complex numbers it is possible to calculate the position parameters of thick plates and both magnetization and position of thin plates directly from any two or three points of anomaly profiles. The formulae (interpretation operators) allow automatic topographic corrections to be made. The new two-component operators give more reliable results than the conventional methods of interpretation. The variance of the parameter values obtained with subsequent points of an anomaly measures directly, the total error of interpretation. The application of infinite thin plate operators to a long profile results in characteristic patterns, from which the estimation of the number of plates and their approximate position is possible.     

A Landsat-based evaluation of lake water clarity in Maine lakes

Temporal trends in water clarity and land-use/land-cover (LULC), as well as the relationship between changes in water clarity and LULC, were analyzed using water clarity values extracted from Landsat images from 1986 to 2008, acquired for east-central Maine. Of 40 lakes identified using satellite imagery, our analysis found one lake with a significant decrease in water clarity. In a second data-set, with 99 lakes, we identified two lakes with a significant increase in water clarity. Analyses of the relationship between temporal changes in the water clarity and LULC did not identify any clear, consistent, relationships between changes in the water quality variables and LULC. Overall, the results of this study aid in the identification of the relationship between water clarity and LULC, and identify temporal changes in water clarity. The findings of this study support the previous research that demonstrates the ability of satellite imagery to be used in assessments of water clarity, thus enabling evaluation at broader spatial scales and longer temporal scales than assessments that rely solely on ground-based data.     

Origin and significance of mud-filled incised valleys (Upper Cretaceous) in southern Alberta, Canada

Seven mud-filled incised valleys (MFIVs) in the paralic facies of the Dinosaur Park and Horseshoe Canyon formations (Upper Cretaceous) of southern Alberta were studied to better understand their morphology, geometry and depositional histories in an estuarine context. Two preservational geometries occur: simple, U-shaped forms; and internally complex forms. Both types of MFIV record deposition in the central zone of low energy (turbidity) in an estuarine setting. Simple, U-shaped MFIVs have sharp basal erosional surfaces and consist of mudstone-dominated heterolithic fills of channel-wide, concave-up laminae. Associated fossil assemblages are marine to brackish. Each simple MFIV records a cut-and-fill history associated with a cycle of relative sea-level drop and rise. Low-energy depositional settings, loss of channel form during infilling, and associated shoreface deposits, as well as the absence of clear tidal indicators suggest a coastal plain estuarine setting, along a wave-dominated, barred coastline. Complex MFIVs are rarer, and consist of imbricated, wedge-shaped sets of inclined-to-horizontal heterolithic strata. Tidal deposits and/or nonmarine-to-marine macrofossils occur locally. Complex MFIVs were infilled in meandering reaches of the central zone of low energy in tide-dominated estuaries. Their rarity compared to simple MFIVs and their freshwater palaeontological content suggest that they were contiguous landward with extensive fluvial channels. A complex MFIV near Onefour comprises three in-channel depositional cycles. Each cycle consists of an erosional surface overlain by lateral accretion bedding and a conformable transition to vertically aggraded strata. Each cycle reflects a cut-and-fill event under the control of changes in relative sea-level that culminated in overbank flooding. All MFIVs formed in low-gradient settings (≤0.03%) where estuarine zones were stretched out over many tens of kilometres. Tide-dominated estuaries apparently exhibited simple, straight-to-meandering upstream transitions and extensive landward penetration (≥200 km) of tidal backwater effects. Few modern estuaries serve as adequate modern analogues to these ancient, tide-dominated estuaries. Radiometric data indicate that MFIV cut-and-fill cycles were 100 000-400 000 years in maximum duration and thus, equivalent to 4th order sea-level cycles. However, negative evidence tentatively suggests that these cycles took place over time intervals 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller (5th order or higher sea-level cycles).     

Partitioning of Nb,Ta, Ti,Ce, and La between Granitoid Magmatic Melts and Minerals

Doklady Earth Sciences - Experimental data on the Nb, Ta, Ti, Ce, and La concentrations in felsic magmatic melts of various alkalinity and alumina content upon dissolving ilmenorutile,...