On the effects of resolution in dissipationless cosmological simulations

We present a study of numerical effects in dissipationless cosmological simulations. The numerical effects are evaluated and studied by comparing the results of a series of 64³-particle simulations of varying force resolution and number of time-steps, performed using three of the N -body techniques currently used for cosmological simulations: the Particle–Mesh (PM), the Adaptive Particle–Particle–Particle–Mesh (AP³M) and the newer Adaptive Refinement Tree (ART) codes. This study can therefore be interesting both as an analysis of numerical effects and as a systematic comparison of different codes.
We find that the AP³M and the ART codes produce similar results given that convergence is reached within the code type. We also find that numerical effects may affect the high-resolution simulations in ways that have not been discussed before. In particular, our study revealed the presence of two-body scattering, the effects of which can be greatly amplified by inaccuracies in time integration. This process appears to affect the correlation function of matter, the mass function, the inner density of dark matter haloes and other statistics at scales much larger than the force resolution, although different statistics may be affected in a different fashion. We discuss the conditions for which strong two-body scattering is possible and discuss the choice of the force resolution and integration time-step. Furthermore, we discuss recent claims that simulations with force softening smaller than the mean interparticle separation are not trustworthy and argue that this claim is incorrect in general, and applies only to the phase-sensitive statistics. Our conclusion is that, depending on the choice of mass and force resolution and the integration time-step, a force resolution as small as 0.01 of the mean interparticle separation can be justified.     

Characterization of seasonal local recharge using electrical resistivity tomography and magnetic resonance sounding

A groundwater recharge process of heterogeneous hard rock aquifer in the Moole Hole experimental watershed, south India, is being studied to understand the groundwater flow behaviour. Significant seasonal variations in groundwater level are observed in boreholes located at the outlet area indicating that the recharge process is probably taking place below intermittent streams. In order to localize groundwater recharge zones and to optimize implementation of boreholes, a geophysical survey was carried out during and after the 2004 monsoon across the outlet zone. Magnetic resonance soundings (MRS) have been performed to characterize the aquifer and measure groundwater level depletion. The results of MRS are consistent with the observation in boreholes, but it suffers from degraded lateral resolution. A better resolution of the regolith/bedrock interface is achieved using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). ERT results are confirmed by resistivity logging in the boreholes. ERT surveys have been carried out twice—before and during the monsoon—across the stream area. The major feature of recharge is revealed below the stream with a decrease by 80% of the calculated resistivity. The time‐lapse ERT also shows unexpected variations at a depth of 20 m below the slopes that could have been interpreted as a consequence of a deep seasonal water flow. However, in this area time‐lapse ERT does not match with borehole data. Numerical modelling shows that in the presence of a shallow water infiltration, an inversion artefact may take place thus limiting the reliability of time‐lapse ERT. A combination of ERT with MRS provides valuable information on structure and aquifer properties respectively, giving a clue for a conceptual model of the recharge process: infiltration takes place in the conductive fractured‐fissured part of the bedrock underlying the stream and clayey material present on both sides slows down its lateral dissipation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The evolution of eccentricity in the eclipsing binary system AS Camelopardalis

In 2002,2004 and 2017 we conducted high precision CCD photometry observations of the eclipsing binary system AS Cam.By analysis of the light curves from 1967 to 2017(our data + data from the literature) we obtained photometric elements of the system and found a change in the system's orbital eccentricity of ?e = 0.03 ± 0.01.This change can indicate that there is a third companion in the system in a highly inclined orbit with respect to the orbital plane of the central binary,and its gravitational influence may cause the discrepancy between observed and theoretical apsidal motion rates of AS Cam.     

Kamenetsk—A new impact structure in the Ukrainian Shield

The Kamenetsk impact structure is a deeply eroded simple crater that formed in crystalline rocks of the Ukrainian Shield. This study presents structural, lithologic, and shock metamorphic evidence for an impact origin of the Kamenetsk structure, which was previously described as a paleovolcano. The Kamenetsk structure is an oval depression that is 1.0–1.2 km in diameter and 130 m deep. The structure is deeply eroded, and only the lower part of the sequence of lithic breccia has been preserved in the deepest part of the crater to recent time, while the predominant part of impact rocks and postimpact sediments was eroded. Manifestations of shock metamorphism of minerals, especially planar deformation features in quartz and feldspars, were determined by petrographic investigations of lithic breccia that allowed us to determine the impact origin of the Kamenetsk structure. The erosion of the crater and surrounding target to a minimal depth of 220 m preceded the deposition of the postimpact sediments. The time of the formation of the Kamenetsk structure is bracketed within a wide interval from 2.0 to 2.1 Ga, the age of the crystalline target rocks, to the Late Miocene age of the sediments overlaying the crater. The deep erosion of the structure suggests it is probably Paleozoic in age.     

Isotopic composition of gas hydrates in subsurface sediments from offshore Sakhalin Island, Sea of Okhotsk

Hydrate-bearing sediment cores were retrieved from recently discovered seepage sites located offshore Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. We obtained samples of natural gas hydrates and dissolved gas in pore water using a headspace gas method for determining their molecular and isotopic compositions. Molecular composition ratios C₁/_C2+ from all the seepage sites were in the range of 1,500–50,000, while δ¹³C and δD values of methane ranged from ?66.0 to ?63.2‰ VPDB and ?204.6 to ?196.7‰ VSMOW, respectively. These results indicate that the methane was produced by microbial reduction of CO₂. δ¹³C values of ethane and propane (i.e., ?40.8 to ?27.4‰ VPDB and ?41.3 to ?30.6‰ VPDB, respectively) showed that small amounts of thermogenic gas were mixed with microbial methane. We also analyzed the isotopic difference between hydrate-bound and dissolved gases, and discovered that the magnitude by which the δD hydrate gas was smaller than that of dissolved gas was in the range 4.3–16.6‰, while there were no differences in δ¹³C values. Based on isotopic fractionation of guest gas during the formation of gas hydrate, we conclude that the current gas in the pore water is the source of the gas hydrate at the VNIIOkeangeologia and Giselle Flare sites, but not the source of the gas hydrate at the Hieroglyph and KOPRI sites.     

Determining Effects of Area Burned and Fire Severity on Carbon Cycling and Emissions in Siberia

The Russian boreal forest contains about 25% of the global terrestrial biomass, and even a higher percentage of the carbon stored in litter and soils. Fire burns large areas annually, much of it in low-severity surface fires – but data on fire area and impacts or extent of varying fire severity are poor. Changes in land use, cover, and disturbance patterns such as those predicted by global climate change models, have the potential to greatly alter current fire regimes in boreal forests and to significantly impact global carbon budgets. The extent and global importance of fires in the boreal zone have often been greatly underestimated. For the 1998 fire season we estimate from remote sensing data that about 13.3 million ha burned in Siberia. This is about 5 times higher than estimates from the Russian Aerial Forest Protection Service (Avialesookhrana) for the same period. We estimate that fires in the Russian boreal forest in 1998 constituted some 14–20% of average annual global carbon emissions from forest fires. Average annual emissions from boreal zone forests may be equivalent to 23–39% of regional fossil fuel emissions in Canada and Russia, respectively. But the lack of accurate data and models introduces large potential errors into these estimates. Improved monitoring and understanding of the landscape extent and severity of fires and effects of fire on carbon storage, air chemistry, vegetation dynamics and structure, and forest health and productivity are essential to provide inputs into global and regional models of carbon cycling and atmospheric chemistry.     

Fluorite Deposits at Voznesenka in the Khanka Massif, Russia: Geology and Age of Mineralization

Abstract. A huge fluorite deposit at Voznesenka in the Khanka massif, Far East Russia is concluded to have formed at ca. 450 Ma in Late Ordovician time based on the K‐Ar ages for Li‐micas in the fluorite ore and greisenized leucogranite within the deposit. This conclusion is inconsistent with the current view of Devonian mineralization that stemmed from widely scattered whole‐rock Rb‐Sr isotope data for the heterogeneous leucogranite stocks influenced by strong alteration. The Voznesenka and neighboring fluorite deposits may have formed in Cambrian limestone in relation to the intrusion of the Li‐F‐rich felsic magma which has a similar chemistry to representative Li‐F‐rich felsic rocks including topaz granite and ongonite or topaz rhyolite; these rocks may be classified as a specific group of highly fractionated felsic magmas. Biotite granite plutons exposed in the Voznesenka district are divided in age into two groups based on the CHIME age data for zircon, monazite and xenotime: Ordovician and Permian. The Ordovician plutons seem to be coeval to the fluorite deposits and are characterized by F‐rich chemistry, reduced nature and association of tin mineralization with the deposition of fluorite and tourmaline. The biotite granite magmas of initially enhanced F contents could have been highly fractionated to form Li‐F‐rich leucogranite cupolas that provided fluorite deposits within the host limestone. Future prospecting for similar fluorite deposits is to be focused on areas of intersection between Ordovician Li‐F‐rich granite and Cambrian carbonate sequences. The Permian granite of southeastern margin of the Grodekovo batholith is characterized by lesser F content, oxidized nature and the lack of tin and fluorite mineralization in contrast to the Ordovician granite. The result of Permian age does not support the current view of Silurian age for the batholith and requires overall chronological reinvestigation in connection with the tectonic history of the Khanka massif because the Grodekovo is a representative of Paleozoic batholiths in Primorie.     

A spatial comparison of four satellite derived 1 km global land cover datasets

Global change issues are high on the current international political agenda. A variety of global protocols and conventions have been established aimed at mitigating global environmental risks. A system for monitoring, evaluation and compliance of these international agreements is needed, with each component requiring comprehensive analytical work based on consistent datasets. Consequently, scientists and policymakers have put faith in earth observation data for improved global analysis. Land cover provides in many aspects the foundation for environmental monitoring [FAO, 2002a. Proceedings of the FAO/UNEP Expert Consultation on Strategies for Global Land Cover Mapping and Monitoring. FAO, Rome, Italy, 38 pp.]. Despite the significance of land cover as an environmental variable, our knowledge of land cover and its dynamics is poor [Foody, G.M., 2002. Status of land cover classification accuracy assessment. Rem. Sens. Environ. 80, 185–201]. This study compares four satellite derived 1 km land cover datasets freely available from the internet and in wide use among the scientific community. Our analysis shows that while these datasets have in many cases reasonable agreement at a global level in terms of total area and general spatial pattern, there is limited agreement on the spatial distribution of the individual land classes. If global datasets are used at a continental or regional level, agreement in many cases decreases significantly. Reasons for these differences are many—ranging from the classes and thresholds applied, time of data collection, sensor type, classification techniques, use of in situ data, etc., and make comparison difficult. Results of studies based on global land cover datasets are likely influenced by the dataset chosen. Scientists and policymakers should be made aware of the inherent limitations in using current global land cover datasets, and would be wise to utilise multiple datasets for comparison.     

Joint use of TEM and MRS methods in a complex geological setting

Transient Electromagnetic (TEM), known also as Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) and Magnetic Resonance Sounding (MRS) methods were applied jointly to investigate variations in lithology and groundwater salinity in the Nahal Hever South area (Dead Sea coast of Israel). The subsurface in this area is highly heterogeneous and composed of intercalated sand and clay layers over a salt formation, which is partly karstified. Groundwater is very saline, with a chloride concentration of 100–225 g/l. TEM is known as an efficient tool for investigating electrically conductive targets like saline water, but it is sensitive to both the salinity of groundwater and the porosity of rocks. MRS, however, is sensitive primarily to groundwater volume, but it also allows delineating of lithological variations in water-saturated formations. MRS is much less sensitive to variations in groundwater salinity in comparison with TEM. We show that MRS enables us to resolve the fundamental uncertainty in TEM interpretation caused by the equivalence between groundwater resistivity and lithology. Combining TEM and MRS, we found that the sandy Dead Sea aquifer filled with Dead Sea brine is characterized by a bulk resistivity of ρ_x > 0.4 Ωm, whereas zones with silt and clay in the subsurface are characterized by a bulk resistivity of ρ_x < 0.4 Ωm. These observations are confirmed by calibration of the TEM method performed near 18 boreholes.     

Geochemical investigation and characterisation of Neogene sediments from Valjevo-Mionica Basin (Serbia)

Sediments from the Valjevo-Mionica Basin of Neogene age were investigated in this study using different geochemical methods. The results of the inorganic part analyses suggest that during genesis of the sediments, the contents of Na₂O, B and As changed the most, which indicates that genesis of the investigated sediments was followed by climate changes and volcanic activity. The quantity of other macro- and microelements did not vary significantly. Investigations of the organic substance showed that it is native organic matter, which has been preserved to a significant extent, formed predominantly of algal precursor organisms, which provided good quality, deposited under reducing conditions and that it is at a low maturity level. As it has been established that genesis of the investigated sediments was mostly affected by an arid climate with more intensive salinity, the aim of this study, was also to identify the processes which were the most affected by the change in salinity, as well as biomarkers which are the most sensitive to this change. The results led to the conclusion that the salinity increase in the depositional environment had a primary effect on the preservation of the organic substance and the formation of the mineral searlesite. In addition, it was noticed that besides the Sq/nC₂₆ ratio, the parameters nC₁₇/nC₂₇, CPI and Ph/nC₁₈, are also significantly sensitive to salinity change in a depositional environment in case of immature organic substance deposited under reducing conditions.