<Superscript>230</Superscript>Th/U Chronology and Geochemistry of Irinovskoe Hydrothermal Field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)

The results of ²³⁰Th/U dating and mineralogical–geochemical studies of sulfide ores from the Irinovskoe hydrothermal field and the Severo-Zapadnoe ore occurrence (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) are presented. Sulfides are represented primarily by copper–sulfide ores with 12–30% Cu content; sulfur- and zinc-sulfide ores are distributed less frequently. The analysis of a change in the composition of sulfides over time has made it possible to identify three stages of formation. Each stage assumes that mineral associations are changed from high-temperature (sulfur and copper sulfide) to medium temperature (Zn–Cu and Zn-sulfide) sulfide ores. The whole age range of formation of the hydrothermal deposits falls within the time interval of about 58000–8000 for the Irinovskoe field and 69000–11000 years ago for the Severo-Zapadnoe ore occurrence.     

Strontium Isotope Stratigraphy: Principles and State of the Art

The methodical basis, development, and current state of a new method of chronostratigraphic studies, i.e., strontium isotope stratigraphy (SIS), are considered. This method makes it possible to date and correlate geographically distant sedimentary sequences without involving the biostratigraphic and isotope geochronological data. SIS is based on secular variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in the paleocean, resulting from the redistribution of the roles of two global strontium flows formed in the mantle and continental reservoirs of the Earth. Isotopic homogeneity of Sr in the paleoceans and in the linked seas leads to the fact that the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in the sea basins is individual for each geological time point and is inherited in marine chemogenic sediments under deposition of dissolved Sr as an isomorphic impurity. Low-Mg calcite and also fragments of fossilized paleontological remains buried in situ are the best minerals that are capable of retaining the Sr isotopic signature of the sedimentation environment. SIS is carried out with geochemical diagnostics of secondary alteration of the studied material and selective dissolution of the samples to produce a carbonate material that adequately reflects isotopic signature of the sedimentary basin. Interregional correlations of the Proterozoic and Cenozoic sea sediments and their relation to the SIS-based stratigraphic scale are given as an example.     

Peri-Gondwanan Blocks in the Structure of the Southern and Southeastern Framing of the East European Platform

Geotectonics - Synthesis of the results of U–Pb dating of detrital zircons (dZr) from the Uppermost Precambrian–Phanerozoic strata of the southern and southeastern framing of the East...     

Sr Isotope Composition of Mud Volcanic Waters in the Kerch–Taman Province

Doklady Earth Sciences - Waters at seventeen mud volcanoes of the Kerch–Taman province in the Northwestern Cis-Caucasus region have been analyzed for Sr isotope composition. The 87Sr/86Sr...     

Pb–Pb Age of Carbonate Rocks of the Kamo Group,Baikit Anteclise of the Siberian Platform

Doklady Earth Sciences - The first direct Pb–Pb dating of carbonate rocks of the Kamo Group has been carried out. The Pb–Pb age of carbonates of the lower units (the Madra, Jurubchen,...     

Results of the Study of Zircon (SIMS) from Granitoids of the Konstantinovskii Stock (Area of the Sukhoi Log Gold Deposit): Age,Sources, and Geological Consequences

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of U–Pb geochronological (SIMS) study of zircons from granitoids of the Konstantinovskii Stock located 6 km from the Sukhoi Log gold deposit are reported....     

Regularities of C<Subscript>org</Subscript> distribution in bottom sediments of the Russian part of the Sea of Azov

The principal regularities were ascertained for the spatiotemporal distribution of organic carbon in the water and bottom sediments of the Russian part of the Sea of Azov. The relationships between allo- and autochthonous organic matter in water and bottom sediments from different parts of the sea aquatic area were found. The behavior of organic carbon in the water-bottom sediments system was characterized as the effect of the variability of hydrochemical, biological, and hydrological factors ad processes.     

Heavy metals in the benthic animals from hydrothermal vents: Results of neutron activation analysis

A series of samples of inhabitants of hydrothermal vents were collected during the 12th cruise of R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in Guaymas Basin (the Gulf of California) and the Axial Seamount area (Juan de Fuca Ridge). The concentrations of trace and heavy metals in the tissues of Ridgeia piscesae, Riftia pachyptila, and Paralvinella palmiformis were analyzed. The neutron-activation analysis revealed significantly higher concentrations of uranium in the tissues of Paralvinella palmiformis as compared to the ambient seawater. The possible reasons for such phenomenon are discussed. The data obtained by the neutron-activation method are compared with those obtained by the atomic-absorption method for the same tissues analyzed.     

A study of the spatial structure of the atmospheric boundary layer with a Doppler-Sodar network

The studies conducted in 1991–2004 by scientists of the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry yielded data on the structures of the surface air layer (to a height of 20 m) and both subinversion and inversion layers (to heights of from 800 m to 1 km), where arid aerosol is transported. One of the main objectives of the 2007 experiment was to record the space-vortex structures within a layer of 30–700 m that directly provide the removal and long-range transport of fine-dispersed (<5 µm) desert aerosol. This paper describes the organization of the Khar-Gzyr 2007 experiment (Black Lands, 2007) to study the convective removal of arid aerosol from desertificated lands, and it presents some data obtained from the remote sensing of the atmospheric boundary layer with a sodar network in the course of this experiment. The sodar network, which was developed to study a spatial structure of coherent vortices, included three identical minisodars (with carrier frequencies of 3.8 kHz) located at the apices of a triangle, each side of which was about 3.5 km, and a sodar (with a carrier frequency of 1.7 kHz). The vertical profiles of the three wind-velocity components and the characteristics of air temperature fluctuations were determined. The procedure of identifying coherent vortex structures is described. The variations in the vertical and horizontal wind-velocity components and the scales characteristic of such structures are estimated.     

Probing Twisted Magnetic Field Using Microwave Observations in an M Class Solar Flare on 11 February, 2014

This work demonstrates the possibility of magnetic-field topology investigations using microwave polarimetric observations. We study a solar flare of GOES M1.7 class that occurred on 11 February, 2014. This flare revealed a clear signature of spatial inversion of the radio-emission polarization sign. We show that the observed polarization pattern can be explained by nonthermal gyrosynchrotron emission from the twisted magnetic structure. Using observations of the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, Nobeyama Radio Observatory, Radio Solar Telescope Network, and Solar Dynamics Observatory, we have determined the parameters of nonthermal electrons and thermal plasma and identified the magnetic structure where the flare energy release occurred. To reconstruct the coronal magnetic field, we use nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) and potential magnetic-field approaches. Radio emission of nonthermal electrons is simulated by the GX Simulator code using the extrapolated magnetic field and the parameters of nonthermal electrons and thermal plasma inferred from the observations; the model radio maps and spectra are compared with observations. We have found that the potential-magnetic-field approach fails to explain the observed circular polarization pattern; on the other hand, the Stokes-\(V\) map is successfully explained by assuming nonthermal electrons to be distributed along the twisted magnetic structure determined by the NLFFF extrapolation approach. Thus, we show that the radio-polarization maps can be used for diagnosing the topology of the flare magnetic structures where nonthermal electrons are injected.