Main stages and geodynamic regimes of the Earth’s crust formation in East Antarctica in the Proterozoic and Early Paleozoic

Geological, geochemical, and isotopic data (U-Pb for zircon and Sm-Nd for whole-rock samples) are summarized for Proterozoic and Early Paleozoic geological complexes known from various regions of East Antarctica. The main events of tectonothermal and magmatic activity are outlined and correlated in space and time. The Paleoproterozoic is characterized as a period of rifting in Archean blocks, their partial mobilization, and formation of a new crustal material over a vast area occupied by present-day East Antarctica. In most areas, this material was repeatedly reworked at the subsequent stages of evolution (1800–1700, 1100–1000, 550–500 Ma). Complexes of Mesoproterozoic juvenile rocks (1500, 1400–1200, 1150–1100 Ma) arising in convergent suprasubduction geodynamic settings are established in some areas (basalt-andesite and tonalite-granodiorite associations with characteristic geochemical signatures). The evolution of the Proterozoic regions in East Antarctica may be interpreted as a Wilson cycle with the destruction of the Archean megacontinent 2250 Ma ago and the ultimate closure of the secondary oceanic basins by 1000 Ma ago. The Mesoproterozoic regions make up a marginal volcanic-plutonic belt that combines three provinces of different ages corresponding to consecutive accretion of terranes 1500–1150, 1400–950, and 1150–1050 Ma ago. The Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic tectonomagmatic activity developed nonuniformly. In some regions, it is expressed in ductile deformation, granulite-facies metamorphism, and postcollision magmatism; in other regions, a weak thermal effect and anorogenic magmatism are noted. The evolution of metamorphic complexes in the regime of isothermal decompression and the intraplate character of granitoids testify to the collision nature of the Early Paleozoic tectonomagmatic activity.     

Zeolite potential of Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene sedimentary rocks in the eastern and southeastern Russian Plate

More than 70 samples of Turonian-Danian samples from the eastern and southeastern Russian Plate were studied by the X-ray phase analysis and classical wet chemistry. It has been established that zeolites occur in all studied types of carbonate, siliceous, and clayey rocks. Steadily high zeolite concentrations were revealed in sections of the Santonian formation. Character of zeolite formation was examined simultaneously in both spatiotemporal and lithogenetic aspects. Analysis of the stagewise distribution of zeolites supports the concept of primary volcanogenic nature of the zeolite-forming material and actually represents an indicator of the activity of explosive volcanism in the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene. It is emphasized that high zeolite concentrations in Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene formations are a prospecting guide for zeolite raw material. They can serve as scientific basis for the formulation of prognostic-revision and prospecting works in the study region     

Impact of early prehistoric farming on chironomid communities in northwest Ireland

This study explored the utility and performance of chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) autecology in the investigation of prehistoric farming impacts on freshwater lake systems. Chironomid subfossils, lake sediment geochemistry (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C:N), pollen and macroscopic charcoal analyses were used in a comparative limnological assessment of three archaeologically rich study sites in northwest Ireland. At all three study sites, pastoral farming and its associated nutrient inputs, as represented by non-arboreal pollen indicative of grassland/pasture (NAPp) and lake sediment geochemistry, are concomitant with increases in eutrophic chironomid taxa. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and partial RDAs established that δ¹⁵N and NAPp were controlling factors of chironomid community compositional change during the Neolithic (4000–2500 BC) and Bronze Age (2500–600 BC). Bronze Age farming had a considerably greater impact on the lake systems than Neolithic farming, as indicated by a higher proportion of eutrophic taxa and increases in δ¹⁵N, C:N and δ¹³C values, consistent with increased erosion and agricultural inputs. Findings emphasise the importance of identifying the natural, pre-impacted state of a lake system to determine the extent of agricultural impact accurately. The timing and magnitude of change show that Neolithic and Bronze Age farming exhibited a strong control over chironomid communities at all three sites.     

Mali’s many shields of its past

There is a civilization at risk. In the middle of West Africa, just south of the Sahara, where the Niger River spills into a vast floodplain (the Middle Niger), an indigenous urban civilization emerged around two thousand years ago. The story of that civilization is just beginning to be uncovered from the thousands of tells (ancient settlement mounds) that litter the Middle Niger, but archaeologists have until recently been loosing the race with the looters who plunder these sites for ancient statues and bronze art. The nation of Mali, and the local community of Jenne at the epicenter of this looting recently invented effective shields for the remains of this civilization, protections against local looters in the employ of a syndicate of wealthy European antiquities dealers. In the person of the new, democratically-elected archaeologist-President, the nation has articulated a vision of Mali’s future linked to the preservation of its past. The government has promulgated effective regulations and education programs, and initiated with the United States the world’s first bilateral import ban between a major “source” and a major “market” nation. This 1993 bilateral accord has become a prototype for many nations. In that same year, Mali established a Cultural Mission at Jenne to reinforce local pride in a local past. This local pride, in only a short period, has turned into a total protection of some 200 sites within a ten-kilometer radius of Jenne. These indigenous actions have, in less than a decade, transformed the nonrenewable archaeological resources of the Jenne region from surely one of the world’s most endangered, to a case study in local and national protection     

Biomarker Compounds as Indicators of Paleoenvironments

In an attempt to assess the paleoenvironments of terrestrial sediments,some twenty-two representa-tive Chinese non-marine sediment samples were studied using the molecular organic geochemistry method.The sediment samples stuied include oilshale,shale,mudstone and glauber salt from Tertiary to Cretaceous in age.Judging from geological/geochemical data and paleosalinity data,the samples studied are of lacustrine sedimentary origin and can be divided into three different types:fresh water,brackish and saline/hypersaline lake sediments.The aliphatic fractions were separated from the extracts of the samples and analysed by means of GC and GC/MS instruments,giving a number of parameters such as relative abundances of alkanes and cycloalkanes as shown in the mass chromatograms.     

暴雨洪水灾害人口损失评估方法研究进展

在气候变化与城市化背景下,暴雨洪水灾害损失风险加剧,给人口生命安全带来极大威胁,评估暴雨洪水灾害的人口损失成为灾害风险研究关注的焦点问题。本文基于灾害系统理论,归纳了基于“致灾因子(H)—承灾体(V)—孕灾环境(E)—人口损失(D)”的暴雨洪水灾害人口损失评估的概念框架;基于现有国内外典型研究,梳理了相应的指标体系和研究方法,以“影响指标—损失指标—分析方法”多维图显示,认为“综合影响因素—人口损失”关系分析是评估暴雨洪水灾害人口损失的核心。目前人口损失的评估方法依据其考虑的要素可划分为：基于“H-D”关系的脆弱性曲线法、基于“H-V-E-D”关系的多要素综合法和刻画过程的灾害系统模拟法等。着重从数据可获取性和方法有效性两方面进行综述,认为单一方法不能满足人口损失风险评估的需求,因此从灾害系统角度出发,从单一要素向多要素综合发展、从指标统计分析向过程动态模拟发展、从单一方法向综合集成方法发展是人口损失及风险定量评估的发展趋势。     

Geomaterials related to photovoltaics: a nanostructured Fe-bearing kuramite,Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>SnS<Subscript>4</Subscript>

The successful synthesis of nanoparticles of Fe-bearing kuramite, (Cu,Fe)₃SnS₄, is reported in this study. Nanocrystalline powders were obtained through a mild, environmentally friendly and scalable solvothermal approach, in a single run. The sample was the object of a multidisciplinary investigation, including X-ray diffraction and absorption, scanning electron microscopy and microanalysis, electron paramagnetic resonance, diffuse reflectance and Mössbauer spectroscopy as well as SQUID magnetometry. The nanoparticles consist of pure Fe-bearing kuramite, exhibiting tetragonal structure. The valence state of the metal cations was assessed to be Cu⁺, Sn⁴⁺ and Fe³⁺. The material presents a band gap value of 1.6 eV, which is fully compatible with solar cell applications. The uptake of Fe by nanokuramite opens a compositional field where the physical properties can be tuned. We thus foster the application of Fe-bearing nanokuramite for photovoltaics and energy storage purposes.     

New data about structure and time of formation of the Khamar-Daban terrane: U-Pb LA-ICP-MS zircon ages

This paper provides new data on the age of detrital zircons from metaterrigenous rocks of the Khamardaban Group (Kornilovskaya and Shubutuiskaya formations) which crown the succession of the Khamar-Daban terrain. It was established that the accumulation of the protoliths of both formations occurred in the interval between the Late Riphean and Early Ordovician. In this case, there is a difference between sequences of Shubutuiskaya and Kornilovskaya formations due to a sharp change in a provenance area and depositional conditions, which is a consequence of the change in the paleogeodynamic environment. In addition, this indicates the tectonic juxtaposition of these sequences and probability of accumulation of deposits of the Shubutuiskaya Formation within Dzhida island arc system.     

Investigations of the development of thunderstorm with hail. Part 1. Cloud development and formation of electric discharges

The results of synchronous radar, radiometric, and lightning-detection measurements are analyzed to reveal interrelations between the parameters of electric discharges and the parameters of cumulonimbus clouds developing in the North Caucasus. The dependences of electric activity of the cloud on radar parameiers as well as on the parameiers reirieved from Meteosat SEVIRI radiometer measurements are considered. Electric discharges (intracloud discharges and lightnings) were registered for 1 hour 40 minutes (the maximum frequency was equal to 448 discharges per minute). The relation ships are identified that connect the parameters of electric discharges with the precipitation rate and with the field of cloud top temperaiure. It was found that the frequency of eleciric discharges increases as the precipitation rate increases. The maximum frequency is reached at the precipitation rate equal to 70 mm/hour. Normalized autocorrelation functions ofthe field ofcloud top temperature retrieved from the satellite data are constructed. The high correlation is revealed between the scale of inhomogeneity of the field of cloud top temperature and the frequency of electrical discharges.     

On intense internal waves in the coastal zone of the Peter the Great Bay (the Sea of Japan)

Spatiotemporal variability of the internal gravity waves in the Sea of Japan shelf zone (in the Peter the Great Bay) is analyzed basing on the results of the experimental data processing. It is shown that, as for autumn water structure, the tidal internal waves moving towards the coast are transformed due to the non-linear effects and may reach significant amplitudes (of about 10 meters). Such waves are usually referred to as strongly non-linear. The main characteristics of such intense waves were estimated. An example of the disintegration of solitary temperature depression into the package of short-period intense internal waves is given.