Geochronology of the American-Antarctic Ridge

A new map of chrons for the American-Antarctic Ridge area has been compiled. Its analysis and the calculations performed showed that the seafloor spreading with respect to its axis started before 85 My B.P. The spreading directions were 115° (chrons C34-C29), 145° (chrons C29-C21), 110° (chrons C21-C5C), and 85° (chrons C5C-C1). The maximum rates of about 4 cm/year were reached earlier than 52 My B.P.; subsequently, a progressive general decrease in the spreading rate has been observed. According to our forecast, the spreading may cease in the following 3.5 My.     

Mercury speciation in surface and deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Mercury speciation and its distribution in surface and deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea were studied during two oceanographic cruises on board the Italian research vessel URANIA in summer 2003 and spring 2004 as part of the Med Oceaneor and MERCYMS projects. The study included deep water profiles of dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM), reactive Hg (RHg), total Hg (THg), monomethyl Hg (MeHg) and dimethyl Hg (DMeHg) in open ocean waters. Average concentrations of measured Hg species were characterized by seasonal and spatial variations. Overall average THg concentrations ranged between 0.41 and 2.65 pM (1.32 ± 0.48 pM) and were comparable to those obtained in previous studies of the Mediterranean Sea. A significant fraction of Hg was present as “reactive” Hg (average 0.33 ± 0.32 pM). Dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM), which consists mainly of Hg⁰, represents a considerable proportion of THg (average 20%, 0.23 ± 0.11 pM). The portion of DGM typically increased towards the bottom, especially in areas with strong tectonic activity (Alboran Sea, Strait of Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), indicating its geotectonic origin. No dimethyl Hg was found in surface waters down to the depth of 40 m. Below this depth, its average concentration was 2.67 ± 2.9 fM. Dissolved fractions of total Hg and MeHg were measured in filtered water samples and were 0.68 ± 0.43 pM and 0.29 ± 0.17 pM for THg and MeHg respectively. The fraction of Hg as MeHg was in average 43%, which is relatively high compared to other ocean environments. The concentrations reported in this study are among the lowest found in marine environments and the quality of analytical methods are of key importance. Speciation of Hg in sea water is of crucial importance as THg concentrations alone do not give adequate data for understanding Hg sources and cycling in marine environments. For example, photoinduced transformations are important for the presence of reactive and elemental mercury in the surface layers, biologically mediated reactions are important for the production/degradation of MeHg and DGM in the photic zones of the water column, and the data for DGM in deep sea indicate the natural sources of Hg in geotectonicaly active areas of the Mediterranean Sea.     

Age of the western Black Sea basin according to an analysis of the anomalous magnetic field and geological data

Until recently, the ideas about the age of the Black Sea deep-water basin have been based on land geological observations in the coastal areas at the interaction periphery, underwater observations from manned submersibles, and on the data of seismic reflection and refraction studies and drilling. Formerly, the scarcity of the information led to a wide scattering of the age determinations: from the Jurassic to the Eocene. Recently, with the appearance of reliable geological and geophysical data, the range of the age estimates has been considerably reduced during the last few years, although there is no commonly accepted opinion on this issue. Therefore, the first attempt to determine the age of the Western Black Sea basin using an analysis of the anomalous magnetic field is of certain interest. The following results were obtained: the basin probably opened between 71.338 and 71.587 My B.P. (subchron C32n.1r). During the interval 68.737–71.071 My B.P. (subchron C31r), extinction of the spreading axes took place. Thus, the total duration of the Campanian-Maestrichtian phase of the opening was about 3 My (interval from 71.587 to 68.737 My B.P.). This result does not agree with the geological and geophysical data available to date. To solve this problem, collection of new geological data and further studies of the structure of the anomalous magnetic field are required.     

A comparison of Hα and soft X-ray characteristics of spotless and spot group flares

A comparative analysis of spotless and spot group flares recorded at Hvar and Kanzelhöhe Observatories during the 21st cycle of solar activity is presented. The rate of occurrence of two-ribbon flares was found to be significantly higher for the spotless flares. In comparison with spot group flares of corresponding H importance, the soft X-ray peak values have been systematically lower for the spotless flares. The highest peak values and the energy released in soft X-rays was found for flares with a H ribbon protruding over a major spot umbra. It was found that the effective plasma temperatures in spotless flares have been considerably lower than the temperatures in spot group flares.     

A study on the polarimetric properties of various features using SIR-C data

Spaceborne Imaging Radar (SIR-C) data acquired over Gujarat, India in 1994 were processed and analysed using differnet techniques applicable to polarimetric SAR data such as polarization signatures, polarization index, decomposition of the signal and polarization phase difference and limited groundtruth data. It has been observed that multi-frequency polarimetric data enhances the potential of retrieving geo-physical parameters. The polarization signatures are found to vary with the nature of the target. Target decomposition of the returned signal will be useful for the classification of various features. Polarization Phase Difference (PPD) gives good information about the vegetation parameters.     

Tunneling and interference of Alfvén waves

The propagation and interference of Alfvén waves in magnetic regions is studied. A multilayer approximation of the standard models of the solar atmosphere is used. In each layer, there is a linear law of temperature variation and a power law of Alfvén velocity variation. The analytical solutions of a wave equation are stitched at the layer boundaries. The low-frequency Alfvén waves (P > 1 s) are able to transfer the energy from sunspots into the corona by tunneling only. The chromosphere is not a resonance filter for the Alfvén waves. The interference and resonance of Alfvén waves are found to be important to wave propagation through the magnetic coronal arches. The transmission coefficient of Alfvén waves into the corona increases sharply on the resonance frequences. To take into account the wave absorption in the corona, a method of equivalent schemes is developed. The heating of a coronal arch by Alfvén waves is discussed.     

Petrology and geochemistry of orthoamphibolites from the Variscan metamorphic sequences of the South Tisia in Croatia – an overview with geodynamic implications

In the southern Pannonian Basin, the Variscan Barrovian- and overprinted Abukuma-type progressive metamorphic sequences of the South Tisia in Slavonian Mts. (SM) and Mt. Moslava)ka Gora (MG) are interlayered with orthoamphibolites. These sequences represent part of a disrupted Variscan belt that extends southeastwards of the Bohemian Massif through the Carpathians to the Caucasus. Orthoamphibolites contain hornblende (Mg-hornblende, tschermakite, pargasite, and edenite), plagioclase An_48-98 (MG) and An_26-35 (SM), biotite, grossular (MG) and almandine (SM) enriched garnet, diopside (MG), with accessory ilmenite, titanite, and clinozoisite. Based on major and trace element analyses and CIPW norms, these orthoamphibolites, which originally were olivine tholeiites to slightly alkalic basalts, can be correlated with tholeiites of consuming plate margins. '¹⁸O of orthoamphibolites varies from 5.8 to 7.1‰, the measured ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio from 0.70435 to 0.70665, which indicates slight continental crust contamination, and the calculated ratio from 0.70262 to 0.70535, indicating an upper mantle origin of the original basaltic melts. For associated penecontemporaneous I-type granitoids, the calculated initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio also have upper mantle values ranging between 0.70293 and 0.70368. Geochemical data for orthoamphibolites and the associated penecontemporaneous I-type granites, and the occurrence of alpine-type ultramafic bodies within the Barrovian sequence, indicate that they have many features in common with orogenic associations related to recent subduction-related settings. Some characteristic element ratios suggest back-arc basin environments and the Ce/K vs. Ce diagram suggests a pargasite-lherzolite source. Its partial melting gave primitive basaltic melts of olivine tholeiite to slight alkalic affinities that produced at first differentiated mafic rocks by olivine fractionation (future orthoamphibolites) and, afterwards, a strongly differentiated suite of I-type granitoids by amphibole fractionation. Magma emplacement and subsequent AFC processes took place in subduction environments preceding the main Variscan deformational metamorphic event during which orthoamphibolites were generated. This interpretation is compatible with geodynamic modeling of this part of the Paleotethys.     

Use of Chemotaxonomy To Study the Influence of Benzalkonium Chloride on Bacterial Populations in Biodegradation Testing

Contradictory results are reported for the behaviour of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in sewage treatment plants (STPs). QACs may sorb onto activated sludge. Only little information is available with respect to effects of QACs against bacteria in STPs. Only 5 to 15 % of bacteria present in sewage sludge can be detected by means of culture dependent microbiological methods. The shift of the bacterial populations due to effects of test compounds have not been studied up to now with culture independent methods. The microbial populations shift was studied in situ using culture independent chemotaxonomy profiling ubiquinones and polyamines. Additionally, toxic effects of QACs against bacteria present in the test vessels of the Zahn‐Wellens test (OECD 302 B) were assessed with a toxicity control in the test. The ubiquinone profiles representing changes in Gram‐negative populations mainly showed that the activated sludge was affected only in test vessels containing benzalkonium chloride. According to chemotaxonomy Acinetobacter or/and some members of Pseudomonas spp. have been selected by benzalkonium chloride after some adaptation period (8 to 12 days).