Geochemistry and petrography of basalt grindstones from the Karak Plateau,central Jordan

Seventeen basalt grindstone fragments from central Jordan's Karak Plateau were studied. Most of these artifacts are vesicular or amygdaloidal with calcite as the dominant mineral filling the voids. The major minerals are olivine (with iddingsite rims), plagioclase, clinopyroxene, magnetite, and apatite. Glass is present in some samples. One basalt fragment is quite different in appearance and composition and may have come from flows closer to the Dead Sea. Grindstone fragment compositions plot in the tephrite‐basanite and basalt fields. A plot of the concentrations of niobium, zirconium, and yttrium reveal that the sample compositions plot in the “within‐plate alkali basalt” and “within‐plate tholeiite” fields. The acquisition of basalts for preparing such implements appears to have been random. Some may have been introduced through trade and migration. Archaeological and environmental studies on the Karak Plateau are urgently needed because Jordan's population growth and economic development are destroying many sites and their environmental contexts. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Paleomagnetism of carboniferous formations of the Russian platform: Reinvestigation of old collections

The collections of Carboniferous rocks from sections of the Russian Platform (Gzhelian, Moscovian, Bashkirian, and Visean stages) are studied. The new mean paleomagnetic poles are obtained from the Gzhelian, Moscovian, and Visean layers of the Carboniferous of the Russian Platform. In the redbed Gzhelian and Moscovian rocks, the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) components with the inclination shallowing are revealed, which is due to the presence of the large hematite particles or particle aggregates associated with the interaction between the magnetic and clay particles. Based on the obtained determinations and the results contained in the World paleomagnetic database, the trajectory of the apparent polar wander path (APWP) for the East European Platform is constructed in the interval from the Devonian to Early Permian. The Carboniferous kinematics of the East European Platform is estimated.     

Microbarograph

The microbarograph of a new design has been offered, and the general principle of its operation is considered. The microbarograph is distinguished from well-known ones; it incorporates a compensatory spring eliminating a zero-point drift of the measuring spring, two additional springs that upgrade the angular displacement sensitivity of the microbarograph, and a control and calibration block that makes it possible to perform the remote calibration of the microbarograph and to control it.     

Optimum absorber parameters for various combinations of response and excitation parameters

In recent papers the author has shown that when determining optimum parameters for an absorber which minimizes the vibration response of a complex system, the latter may be treated as an equivalent single degree-of-freedom system if its natural frequencies are well separated. Emphasis was on minimizing the displacement response when the excitation was a harmonic force. In the present paper simple expressions for optimum absorber parameters are derived for undamped one degree-of-freedom main systems for harmonic and white noise random excitations with force and frame acceleration as input and minimization of various response parameters. These expressions can be used to obtain optimum parameters for absorbers attached to complex systems provided that optimization is with respect to an absolute, rather than a relative, quantity. The requirement that the natural frequencies should be well separated is investigated numerically for the different cases. The effect of damping in the main system on optimum absorber parameters is investigated also.     

Application of laser strainmenters to the study of earthquake physics

The paper considers possibilities of applying laser strainmeters for the study of earthquake physics. One of laser strainmeters is described. A high efficiency of using the laser strainmeters for the study of earthquakes and their precursors is shown. In records of the spaced laser strainmeters, anomalous deformations propagating from the east to the west with the speed comparable with that of migration of earthquakes were found.     

Wave forces on, and water-surface fluctuations around a vertical cylinder encircled by a perforated square caisson

The wave forces and moments on and the water surface fluctuations around a vertical circular cylinder encircled by a perforated square caisson were experimentally investigated. The porosity of the outer square caisson was varied from 4.24 to 14.58%. The in-line wave forces on the inner vertical cylinder are influenced by changing the porosity of the outer caisson, whereas the variations in the water surface fluctuations are less influenced in this porosity range. The in-line moment on the vertical cylinder is relatively less sensitive when the porosity is increased from 4.24 to 8.75%, but varies substantially when it is increased from 8.75 to 14.58%. The force and moment ratio (i.e. the ratio of the force or moment on the vertical cylinder, when it is encircled by the perforated caisson to the force or moment on the cylinder without any protection around it) reduces with increased wave height, H, and wave length, L, whereas the wave height ratio (ratio of the wave height at a point in the vicinity of the structure to the incident wave height) is less sensitive for the varying H and L. A new non-dimensional parameter, p^1.5 (D/L)/(H/d), is introduced to predict the in-line force and moment on the inner vertical cylinder, where d is local water depth, D is the diameter of the inner cylinder and p is the porosity of the outer caisson in percentage. Simple predictive equations for forces, moments and water surface fluctuations are provided.     

Comparative toxicities of chlorinated biphenyls on sea urchin egg fertilisation and embryogenesis

The aim of this study was to compare the biological actions of selected chlorinated biphenyls (CB's) (with different degrees of chlorine substitution), using the sea urchin test system, for their ability to affect fertilisation, embryogenesis and mitotic activity. Sea urchin embryos were exposed to the test agents throughout larval development or for shorter intervals (e.g. before or after hatching). Sperm or eggs were exposed before fertilisation, thereafter the contaminants were removed from embryo cultures. The results showed maximal activities from medium-chlorinated (tetra- and hexachloro-substituted) compounds, as compared to low- and high-chlorinated biphenyls (mono-, di- and octachloro-substituted), at nominal levels ranging from 10⁻⁶m to 10⁻⁵m. This held true for the different parameters and treatment schedules. Developmental defects were only detected following post hatching exposure of embryos to CB's, whereas pre-hatching exposure failed to reveal any embryological or cytogenetic abnormalities.     

Microseismicity in Local Areas: The Southeastern Part of the Fennoscandian Shield

This paper summarizes the observations of microseismic emissions by these authors in several areas of the Russian part of the Fennoscandian Shield to assess the potential of microseismicity to determine the present-day activity of local features in the upper part of the geologic medium. We give amplitude–frequency characteristics and the space–time distribution of naturally occurring microseismic events that are hypothesized to be of endogenous origin. We discuss the relationships these characteristics have to the regional geodynamic setting, average dimensions, and petrographic composition of active rock blocks.