Starspots and active regions on IN Com: UBVRI photometry and linear polarization

The activity of the variable star IN Com is considered using the latest multicolor UBVRI photometry and linear polarimetric observations carried out during a decade. The photometric variability of the star is fully described using the zonal spottedness model developed at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO). Spotted regions cover up to 22% of the total stellar surface, with the difference in temperatures between the quiet photosphere and the spot umbra being 600 K. The spots are located at middle and low latitudes (40°–55°). The intrinsic broad-band linear polarization of IN Com and its rotational modulation in the U band due to local magnetic fields at the most spotted (active) stellar longitudes were detected for the first time.     

Geochemical technique of organic matter research in deposits enrich in kerogene (the Bazhenov Formation,West Siberia)

The international interest in shale oil has recently provoked special attention to the Russian unconventional oil-source formations, including the Bazhenov Formation of West Siberia, domanik deposits in the Volga–Ural region, and the lower Maikop Group of the Cis-Caucasus. High contents of para-autochthonous soluble organic matter (bitumen) in clayey–carbonate, clayey–siliceous, carbonate–clayey–siliceous rocks with low filtration–capacity properties results in significant uncertainties in the identification of the generation potential of organic matter (OM). Examination of a large database on the OM of the Bazhenov Formation allowed us to propose an optimum complex technique for study of the source rock potential and assessment of the amount of produced hydrocarbons in the kerogen-rich sediments. The investigations include a combination of Rock Eval pyrolysis prior to and after extraction with different solvents, the comparison of bituminological and pyrolytic characteristics, and the determination of the group composition of soluble organic matter, as well as chromatography and chromato-mass spectrometry.     

Petrochemical systematics of amphibolites from the Archean section of the Kola Superdeep Borehole

This paper addresses the problem of the systematization of amphibolites from the Archean part of the section of the SG-3 Kola Superdeep Borehole. It was shown that a combined petrochemical and geochemical approach allows one to classify these rocks with high confidence and to distinguish supposedly Archean and Proterozoic varieties among them. It was found that Proterozoic rocks account for about 50–70% of basic rocks in the Archean section. Homologues of the basic metavolcanics of the Matert Formation were detected among the Proterozoic metaigneous rocks of the Archean section of the SG-3, which casts doubt on the conclusion of some authors on the allochthonous origin of the upper levels of the northern Pechenga section, including its productive horizons. This result has very important metallogenic implications. Original Russian Text N.E. Kozlov, E.V. Martynov, N.E. Kozlova, T.V. Kaulina, Yu.P. Smirnov, 2007, published in Geokhimiya, 2007, No. 2, pp. 150–158.     

The experience in estimating the sedimentary basin petroleum potential on the basis of study of mud volcanic breccia clasts (an Example from the Deep Part of the Gulf of Cadiz)

Mud volcanism is a natural phenomenon well-known for on-shore and off-shore environments. Its major driving forces are deeply seated fluid accumulations and lithology and tectonism favorable for creating overpressure within deep strata with subsequent breakthrough of solid, liquid, and gaseous products of mud volcanism towards a ground surface. The mud breccia clasts provide information about the sedimentary section (up to several kilometers thick) through which the mud volcano erupted. Geochemical investigation of mud breccia clasts with characteristics of source rocks can help in understanding the petroleum potential of entire basin prior to expensive offshore exploration drilling. This is an especially important and useful method for initial estimation of petroleum potential of deep continental margin basins. The method of geochemical investigation of organic matter in the mud breccia clasts allowed to identify the Miocene and Upper Cretaceous clayey and carbonate deposits in the sedimentary sequence in the deep part of the Gulf of Cadiz as having the highest petroleum potential.     

Marine Tests of a Digital Holographic Module Using a Measuring Technological Platform

The paper presents the results of marine testing of a digital holographic module for recording and measuring zooplankton. The tests based on the use of measuring-technological platform earlier developed at IO RAS were performed in summer 2016 in the Kara Sea during cruise 66 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. The upper water layer was sensed down to the 240 m horizon, which resulted in successful recording of about 100 Gb of digital holographic frames with reference to continuous depth profiles of electric conductivity in situ. Tests conducted under summer Arctic sea conditions confirmed the validity of the technical solutions. Based on the results, a list of upgrades to the holographic module was compiled for successful implementation of the latter in ocean research.     

The He I 10830 Å Line as an Indicator of Solar Activity

The behavior of the He I 10830 Å infrared triplet parameters in active and quiet solar regions was traced from 1976 until 2000. We analyze the correlation between the central depth of the main He I line component and other solar activity indices: the Wolf number, the radiation flux at a frequency of 2800 MHz, the mean number of flares in sunspot groups, and the mean solar magnetic field. We show that the strong correlation between the He I 10830 Å line depth and the phase of the 11-year solar cycle allows this depth to be effectively used as a new solar activity index both on long time scales (years) and on times scales of the order of a month or even days. The suggested new activity index is shown to have advantages over the universally accepted indices. The depth of the He I 10830 Å line in quiet regions was found to increase from the phase of minimum solar activity to the phase of maximum by a factor of about 2. In active regions, this increase is less than 30%. The differences between the cyclic variations of the chromospheric He I 10830 Å line radiation in active and quiet structures on the solar disk are indicative of the probable differences in the nature of cyclicity and its manifestations in magnetic fields of different spatial scales. The background magnetic fields appear to vary during the solar cycle more strongly than do the local fields associated with sunspots, faculae, and activity complexes. We suggest using regular observations in the He I 10830 Å line to predict solar activity.     

The Area of Cold Traps on the Lunar Surface

We numerically calculate the probability and area of permanent shadowing as a function of the selenographic latitude as well as the total area of the permanently shadowed surface for various hierarchical models of the lunar surface. The permanently shadowed area is shown to rapidly increase with increasing number of hierarchical surface levels. For a two-level model of the lunar relief, where the surface of craters is complicated by a random small-scale relief with a Gaussian distribution of heights and slopes, the area of the doubly shadowed regions of the lunar surface is approximately an order of magnitude smaller than the area of the singly shadowed regions. A comparison of the permanently shadowed area calculated by using averaged statistical relations and data on the actual distribution of craters near the lunar poles shows almost complete agreement.