Dinosaur- and mammal-bearing aeolian and associated deposits of the Upper Cretaceous in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia)

The Barun Goyot Formation (? Campanian-Maastrichtian) consists of continental red-bed type sandstones. The formation was interpreted in terms of intertonguing and/or alternating dune deposits and sediments of intermittent lakes and streams. The mega cross-stratified sandstone units which show considerable lateral continuity and little variation of foresets dip were described as buried transverse dunes. They are rather poor in animal fossils. Most dinosaurs and mammals occur in water-deposited interdune sediments. This is due to ecological differences between bare dunes and the interdune depression which had a vegetation cover.     

Chemistry of waters from selected caves in Slovakia—a reconnaissance study

The chemical composition of water samples was studied from different caves in Slovakia. The water samples were collected from caves of two karst regions: (1) the Demänovský Cave System (DCS), situated in the Low Tatra Mountains (Northern Slovakia), which is mainly formed of limestone and dolomites; and (2) the Slovakian Karst to the Southeast is formed of limestone. A considerable difference between water from the two regions was shown. The waters from the DCS, that were controlled by vadose water percolating through different types of host rocks, contained more Mg ions than those from the Slovakian Karst caves whereas, the concentration of SO₄ was controlled by the dissolution of displacive gypsum and/or oxidation of pyrite. The distribution of NO₃ in the studied samples was random, hence nitrates probably derived from few pollution sources. The total mineralization of the water was covariant with calcite and aragonite saturation indices. In general, both parameters are higher in the Slovakian Karst caves than in the DCS. It is controlled probably by differences in climatic conditions, soil and plant covers between these two regions. The main goal of this article is to characterize the major-ion water chemistry within the studied caves as well as some microelements. The results have confirmed the dominant role of the bedrock petrography in forming the general chemistry of cave waters.     

Subaerial terminoglacial fans I: a semi-quantitative sedimentological analysis of the proximal environment

Fans formed under subaerial terminoglacial (previously called ice-contact) conditions have several characteristics that differ from those formed under other conditions. Twenty-five such fans in NE Poland were investigated to model the dominant genetic processes involved. These fans show, as do other types, a proximal, a middle and a distal environment. The present study deals with the proximal environment. The fans date from the last, i.e. Weichselian or Vistulian, glacial. The proximal terminoglacial fan comprises abundant gravelly sediments, resembling the glacial deposits from which they were derived. Three facies, each subdivided into two subfacies, can be distinguished; these are dominated by mass flows, unchannelised flows, and stream (= channelised) flows, respectively. The characteristics of the facies are described and illustrated. It is concluded that the irregular supply of water by the nearby ice masses dominates the sedimentary processes.     

Design criteria for roadway supports to resist dynamic loads

Summary Conditions under which dynamic loads occur in mines are briefly described and the special vulnerability of roadways in coal mines to fail under dynamic load is considered. A method for assessment of shock load energy anticipated is proposed, based on the volume of rock and the velocity of rock particles induced by rapid rock failure and/or seismic tremors. Case examples from Upper Silesian coal mines are given and the safety factor of steel supports against the shock energy from rockbursts is discussed. The shock energy damping ability of various parts of steel supports and support systems is calculated as a basis for rational support design. Results of six mine experiments where various types of roadway support were installed and then loaded dynamically by blasting within surrounding rocks are discussed.     

A Lower Palaeozoic shallow water sequence in the eastern European Variscides (SW Poland): provenance and depositional history

The Gackowa Formation of inferred Cambrian —Ordovician age is part of the metamorphosed pre-Variscan basement of the southern Kaczawa Mountains of the Sudetes region, south-west Poland. Previously variously interpreted as lavas, tuffs and sandstones, it is shown to consist of about 200 m of originally well-sorted siliclastic sedimentary rocks within a sequence of predominantly mafic volcanic rocks. Four facies have been distinguished based on relict sedimentary structures and textures and these suggest that deposition took place on a storm-dominated shelf, mostly above the wave base. The petrography, detrital zircon morphologies and geochemistry suggest affinity with, and derivation in large part from, acid volcanic rocks at a comparable stratigraphic position in a separate tectonostratigraphic unit to the south. The Gackowa Formation and its acid volcanic source rocks have a clear continental geochemical signature, in contrast with the mantle-derived basic/bimodal volcanic rocks below and above; it is suggested that the parent acid magma originated by crustal melting during the ascent of these mantle-derived magmas. A continental crust setting is inferred for the deposition of the Gackowa Formation sandstones, thus suggesting a continental setting for the associated within-plate basalts. The entire volcanic/sedimentary succession resembles elements of the Lower Palaeozoic of Germany, and all may have formed in an initial rift setting during Late Precambrian to Ordovician times.     

The efficiency of gravitational diffusion for the separation of elements in the prestellar gas

The gravitational separation of iron atoms with respect to hydrogen is evaluated by simple models of globular clusters and spherical galaxies before star formation, as well as in a column of gas perpendicular to the galactic plane in the solar neighborhood. The changes of the iron abundance are small, but qualitatively consistent with the observed facts: (1) there is a positive correlation between the mass number of the element and the steepness of its abundance gradient; (2) there is a connection between the mass and the density concentration of the globular clusters and their chemical composition; (3) the changes of the chemical content in the galactic plane are very small during the life of the galactic disk, but are increasingly significant in the upper layers.     

Static spherical configurations of cold matter in the Einstein-Cartan theory of gravitation

We investigate static, spherical configurations of cold catalized matter in the Einstein-Cartan theory of gravitation. Assuming that density of spin is proportional to the number density of baryonsn and using an equation of state of a degenerate, relativistic Fermi gas, we numerically integrated the relativistic equation of equilibrium. We have also studied the stability of those configurations. Configurations with central number densityn _c such that where is the effective pressure, are very similar to general relativistic configurations with the same central density. In the Einstein-Cartan theory there exists another disjoint family of equilibrium configurations for which but . Those configurations have very small masses 10^–6 g and raddi 10^–34 cm and are unstable.Supported in part by Research Grant MR-I-7.     

Comparison of Two Wavelet Transform Coherence and Cross-Covariance Functions Applied on Polar Motion and Atmospheric Excitation

The wavelet transform techniques were applied to compute time-frequency spectra, coherence and cross-covariance functions between complex-valued polar motion and atmospheric excitation functions. These wavelet transform approaches are based on the classical wavelet transform with Morlet wavelet and the harmonic wavelet transform. The computed coherence and cross-covariance functions enable comparison of polar motion and atmospheric excitation functions data in the chosen frequency band. In the study we concentrate on short period oscillations with periods ranging from several to about 250 days. The time lag functions show frequency dependent time lags corresponding to maxima of the modules of cross-covariance functions between the polar motion and atmospheric excitation functions.     

Assessment of long‐term Holocene soil erosion rates in Polish loess areas using sedimentary archives from closed depressions

Soil erosion is a particularly important problem in the loess areas of Central Europe. Numerous studies of past and present soil erosion based on colluvial sediments have so far been conducted. The main problem is the fact that colluvia usually do not represent the complete sedimentation record. Closed depressions (CDs) collect all colluvial sediments from their catchment, therefore, constitute sediment stores enabling the calculation of soil erosion rates. Colluvial sediments and fossil soils, infilling four CDs in the Polish loess belt, were OSL and C‐14 dated. Human settlements near the studied CDs were analyzed. Phases of soil erosion and colluviation from the Neolithic (5400–2900 bc ), from the Middle Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age (1600–0 bc ), and from the Early Middle Ages to Modern Times (500 AD until today) were documented within the CDs studied. Phases of low soil erosion rate and pedogenesis occurred from the Late Vistulian to the Early Neolithic and from the Iron Age to Early Middle Ages. This study reveals that these phases are not synchronous with the soil erosion phases in Central Europe, as the latter mainly occurred in the Bronze Age, Roman Period and Middle Ages. The obtained soil erosion rates were compared with erosion rates in different areas of Central Europe. This study indicates that in loess regions with long‐term agricultural land use, mean erosion rates (i.e. 3.7–5.9 t ha^‐1 yr^‐1) from the Middle Ages to Modern Times were ten times higher than during the entire prehistoric period (0.39–0.67 t ha^‐1 yr^‐1). The mean soil erosion rates for forested CDs was 0.24–0.74 t ha^‐1 yr^‐1. Soil erosion phases are most probably caused by human activities (i.e. land use change) but the early Holocene erosion phase (7.96 +/‐ 0.67 kyr) could have been induced by a climatic fluctuation (e.g. a 8.2 kyr Bond event). Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.