Magnetic fields in methanol maser condensations based on data for related regions. Seven sources: Astrophysical parameters

The astrophysical parameters of seven OH maser condensations are estimated based on magnetic fields obtained from polarization observations carried out on the Nan cay Radio Telescope (France) in the 1665 and 1667 MHz lines in four Stokes parameters. Regions in the studied sources containing the observed clusters of maser condensations, as well as clusters of Class I and II methanol masers, have been identified. The associations of the masers are real; i.e., the magnetic field in the clusters can also extend to groups of methanol masers. The linear dimensions of these associations have been found. The ratio of the mass to the magnetic flux, ratio of the thermal to the magnetic pressure, and virial relationships between energies (kinetic, magnetic, and gravitational) in the regions containing the OH andmethanol masers have been obtained. In sources whose magnetic fields have been determined fairly reliably, the ratio of the mass to the magnetic flux exceeds a critical value, and the energies of chaotic motions and of the magnetic field are considerably smaller than the gravitational binding energy. On the other hand, in all cases, the ratio of the thermal to the magnetic pressure is <1, suggesting that the clouds may be in amagnetically dominated regime. This inconsistency is related to probable uncertainties in the the magnetic field values and the estimated distances to the sources, which may lead to overestimation of the sizes of the regions studied.     

The detection of coronal mass ejections in the interplanetary medium using scintillation observations

Daily observations of scintillating radio sources obtained from July 2011 through June 2012 on the Big Scanning Antenna of the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute at 111 MHz using a 16 beams system are analyzed. Variations in the observed scintillation indices are compared with data on solar X-ray flares and geomagnetic disturbances. Comparison of the observed scintillation indices on successive days enables the detection of most propagating disturbances associated with coronal events of class M5.0 and higher.     

Spectral distribution of the polarized radiation from standard accretion disks in Active Galactic Nuclei: Observational analysis

Spectropolarimetric observations of a number of Active Galactic Nuclei obtained using the SCORPIO-2 aperture focal reducer installed on the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences are used to estimate physical parameters of these objects. The measured polarization and its wavelength dependence are consistent with the expectations of a standard accretion-disk model taking into account the effect of Faraday depolarization over the mean free path of the emitted photons. Estimates of the magnetic field in the accretion disk near the innermost stable orbit and the spin of the accreting central black hole are obtained. It is concluded that supermassive black holes with standard accretion disks and equal magnetic and radiative pressures are primarily Kerr black holes.     

Yasny lode-placer cluster: Geological and structural features and gold potential

The geological and structural features and gold potential of the Yasny lode-placer cluster in Amur province have been investigated. The lode-placer cluster is an intrusive domal uplift elongated in the nearmeridional direction and surrounded by Neogene loose sediments. The cluster comprises placers that yielded 15 t gold mined from there and small occurrences of gold-quartz and gold-base-metal lodes. Association of native gold with cinnabar in the Yasny Creek placer allows us to forecast a new source of gold-mercury mineralization in the basin of this creek, which could be compared with the Kyuchyus deposit in Yakutia. Gold nuggets 79 kg in total weight were mined from Gar-2 River placer. They are comparable in weight and association with quartz to the world’s largest Holtermann Plate nugget from Australia. Gold-quartz lodes have been forecasted in the basin of the Gar-2 Creek.     

Silver-cobalt mineralization in the Upper Seymchan ore cluster,Northeastern Russia

This paper is focused on the Early Cretaceous Ag-Bi-Co-sulfoarsenide mineralization atypical of northeastern Asia, which contains diverse Co-Ni sulfoarsenides, Se-bearing Bi sulfotellurites, and Ag-Bi-Pb sulfosalts. The Upper Seymchan ore cluster is located at the boundary between the Paleozoic Omulevka Terrane of carbonate platform and the In’yali-Debin Synclinorium of the Kular-Nera Terrane. These ore-bearing sequences are represented by the Middle Jurassic terrigenous rocks that rest upon the Upper Triassic sandshale rocks of the upper structural stage. The sedimentary rocks are cut through by high-Al granitic plutons and younger granite-porphyry dikes. The orebodies that are superposed on igneous rocks were formed during (1) the quartz-chlorite-tourmaline stage of metasomatic alteration, (2) the main economic tourmaline-chlorite-quartz-sulfoarsenide vein stage, (3) the polysulfide-quartz stage with Ag, Se, Bi minerals, and (4) the postore quartz-calcite stage with fluorite. The epithermal veins of festoon chalcedony-like quartz with Sb-bearing arsenopyrite occupy a special position. In particular orebodies, the chlorite-quartz ore veins dominate at the upper levels, whereas the quartz-tourmaline veins occur at the lower levels. Wall-rock alteration is represented by metasomatic chloritization and tourmalinization up to the formation of monomineralic metasomatic zones. Sulfides and sulfoarsenides are distinguished by anomalous enrichment of sulfur in the light isotope (δ³⁴S = ?12.8 to ?16.7‰) in contrast to the sulfur isotopic composition of Sb-asenopyrite (?1.7‰) from the genetically different epithermal veins. The oxygen isotopic composition of calcite (the third stage) is uniform at all studied deposits and reveals a tendency to updip enrichment in δ¹⁸O within a vertical interval of 200 m. Quartz from ore-bearing and epithermal veins has an almost identical δ¹⁸O value (±2‰) but differs from quartz at the tin deposits related to granites of the Canyon Complex and enriched in the light isotope in its oxygen isotopic composition. The mineralization in the Upper Seymchan ore cluster, which is genetically linked to the Early Cretaceous calc-alkaline dike suite pertaining to the period of postcollision late orogenic extension, is formed from magmatic fluids diluted with meteoric water (salinity reaches 20 wt % NaCl equiv) at temperatures varying from 400-380°C to 220-150°C and under a pressure of 970 to 60 bar. The direct vertical mineral zoning is expressed in the change of mineral species with depth and in variable compositions and properties of particular minerals.     

Mixed precision parallel preconditioner and linear solver for compositional reservoir simulation

Reservoir simulation role in value creation and strategic management decisions cannot be over emphasized. Simulation of complex challenging reservoirs with millions of grid blocks especially in compositional mode is very time-consuming even with fast modern computers. On the other hand, high price of cluster supercomputers prevents them for being commonly used for fast simulation of such reservoirs. In recent years, the development of many-core processors like cell processors, DSPs, and graphical processing units (GPUs) has provided a very cost-effective hardware platform for fast computational operations. However, programming for such processors is much more difficult than conventional CPUs, and new parallel algorithm design and special parallel implementation methods are needed. Using the computational power of CPUs, GPUs, and/or any other processing unit, Open Computing Language (OpenCL) provides a framework for programming for heterogeneous platforms. In this paper, OpenCL is used to employ the computational power of a GPU to build a preconditioner and solve the linear system arising from compositional formulation of multiphase flow in porous media. The proposed parallel preconditioner is proved to be quite effective, even in heterogeneous porous media. Using data-parallel modules on GPU, the preconditioner/solver runtime reduced at least 1 order of magnitude compared to their serial implementation on CPU.     

Boron-polymetallic metallogeny of the north and northeast of the Sino-Korean Craton

Based on published data and original investigations, it has been shown that the combination of widely known Ag, Fe, and Fe-Mn ore deposits, as well as boron and Pb-Zn world-class deposits, is typical for metallogenic zones in the north and northeast of the Sino-Korean Craton. The ore genesis was spatially inherited and lasted from the Archean to Mesozoic. The Archean metallogenic zones are related to the protocontinental margin terranes of the craton basement and they comprise banded iron ore and Cu-Zn sulfide deposits. The proterozoic-Early Paleozoic metallogenic zones are related to rift basins, where the ore-bearing Archean folded basement is overlain by volcanic and sedimentary complexes. The Proterozoic metallogenic zones host quartz veins and schistosity zone-related Au deposits, banded iron and Cu-Zn ore deposits, large sedimentary-metamorphogenic borate and magnesite deposits, Cu-W deposits in tourmalinites, exhalation-sedimentary Pb-Zn ore deposits, and large polygenic REE-Fe-Nb ore deposits. The Riphean-Cambrian terrigenous-carbonate strata are represented by stratiform Pb-Zn and fluorite deposits. Mesozoic metallogenic zones related to volcano-plutonic complexes of intraplate series coincide with zones where the folded basement is made of Precambrian ore-bearing series. Gold deposits are typical of all the metallogenic zones, but most of them are related to Mesozoic volcano-plutonic complexes.     

Nature of Co-bearing ferromanganese crusts of the Magellan Seamounts (Pacific Ocean): Communication 2. Ion exchange properties of ore minerals

The results of experimental studies of ion exchange properties of Co-bearing ferromanganese crusts in the Magellan Seamounts (Pacific Ocean) are discussed. Maximum reactivity in reactions with the participation of manganese minerals (Fe-vernadite, vernadite) is typical of Na⁺, K⁺, and Ca²⁺ cations, whereas minimum activity is recorded for cations Pb²⁺ and Co²⁺. The exchange complex of ore minerals in crusts is composed of Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Mn²⁺ cations. The exchange capacity of manganese minerals increases from the alkali metal cations to rare and heavy metal cations. Peculiarities of the affiliation of Co²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Mg²⁺ cations in manganese minerals of crusts are discussed. In manganese minerals, Co occurs as Co²⁺ and Co³⁺ cations. Metal cations in manganese minerals occur in different chemical forms: sorbed (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb²⁺); sorbed and chemically bound (Mg²⁺, Ni²⁺, Y³⁺, La³⁺, and Mo⁶⁺); and only chemically bound (Co³⁺). It is shown that the age of crust, its preservation time in the air-dry state, and type of host substrate do not affect the ion exchange indicators of manganese minerals. It has been established that alkali metal cations are characterized by completely reversible equivalent sorption, whereas heavy metal cations are sorbed by a complex mechanism: equivalent ion exchange for all metal cations; superequivalent, partly reversible sorption for Ba²⁺, Pb²⁺, Co²⁺, and Cu²⁺ cations, relative to exchange cations of manganese minerals. The obtained results refine the role of ion exchange processes during the hydrogenic formation of Co-bearing ferromanganese crusts.     

Significance of ancient sulfide PGE and Re–Os signatures in the mantle beneath Calatrava,Central Spain

Spinel lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths from the Cenozoic Calatrava volcanic field carry the geochemical imprint of metasomatic agents that have affected the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath Central Iberia. Some xenoliths (mainly wehrlites) were enriched in REE, Sr, P, and CO₂ by silicic-carbonate-rich metasomatic melts/fluids, while others record the effects of subduction-related hydrous silicate fluids that have precipitated amphibole and induced high Ti/Eu in primary clinopyroxene. The petrographic observations and geochemical data suggest that interstitial glass in the xenoliths represent the quenched products of Si-rich melts that infiltrated the mantle peridotite shortly before the entrainment of the xenoliths in the host magmas that erupted ca 2 million years ago. During their infiltration, the metasomatic melts reacted with peridotite, resulting in silica enrichment, while remobilizing grains of iron-rich monosulfide solid solution (Fe-rich Mss) initially enclosed in, or intergranular to, primary olivine and pyroxenes. In situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysis of single sulfide grains reveals that the Fe-rich Mss in glass shows platinum-group element (PGE) patterns and ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os compositions identical to the Fe-rich Mss occurring as inclusions in, or at grain boundaries of primary silicates. Moreover, independent of its microstructural position, Fe-rich Mss exhibits PGE and ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os signatures typical of Mss either residual after partial melting or crystallized directly from sulfide melts. Our findings reveal that young metasomatic melt(s)/fluid(s) may carry remobilized sulfides with PGE and Os-isotopic signatures identical to those of texturally older sulfides in the peridotite xenolith. These sulfides thus still provide useful information about the timing and nature of older magmatic events in the subcontinental mantle.