Zircon and whole-rock Nd-Pb isotopic provenance of Middle and Upper Ordovician siliciclastic rocks, Argentine Precordillera

Graptolite‐bearing Middle and Upper Ordovician siliciclastic facies of the Argentine Precordillera fold‐thrust belt record the disintegration of a long‐lived Cambro‐Mid Ordovician carbonate platform into a series of tectonically partitioned basins. A combination of stratigraphic, petrographic, U‐Pb detrital zircon, and Nd‐Pb whole‐rock isotopic data provide evidence for a variety of clastic sediment sources. Four Upper Ordovician quartzo‐lithic sandstones collected in the eastern and central Precordillera yield complex U‐Pb zircon age spectra dominated by 1·05–1·10 Ga zircons, secondary populations of 1·22, 1·30, and 1·46 Ga, rare 2·2 and 1·8 Ga zircons, and a minor population (<2%) of concordant zircons in the 600–700 Ma range. Archaean‐age grains comprise <1% of all zircons analysed from these rocks. In contrast, a feldspathic arenite from the Middle Ordovician Estancia San Isidro Formation of the central Precordillera has two well‐defined peaks at 1·41 and 1·43 Ga, with no grains in the 600–1200 Ma range and none older than 1·70 Ga. The zircon age spectrum in this unit is similar to that of a Middle Cambrian quartz arenite from the La Laja Formation, suggesting that local basement rocks were a regional source of ca 1·4 Ga detrital zircons in the Precordillera Terrane from the Cambrian onwards. The lack of grains younger than 600 Ma in Upper Ordovician units reinforces petrographic data indicating that Ordovician volcanic arc sources did not supply significant material directly to these sedimentary basins. Nd isotopic data (n = 32) for Middle and Upper Ordovician graptolitic shales from six localities define a poorly mixed signal [ɛ_Nd(450 Ma) = −9·6 to −4·5] that becomes more regionally homogenized in Upper Ordovician rocks (−6·2 ± 1·0; T_DM = 1·51 ± 0·15 Ga; n = 17), a trend reinforced by the U‐Pb detrital zircon data. It is concluded that proximal, recycled orogenic sources dominated the siliciclastic sediment supply for these basins, consistent with rapid unroofing of the Precordillera Terrane platform succession and basement starting in Mid Ordovician time. Common Pb data for Middle and Upper Ordovician shales from the western and eastern Precordillera (n = 15) provide evidence for a minor (<30%) component that was likely derived from a high‐μ (U/Pb) terrane.     

Formalization of assessing radioactive waste burial site seismic regime parameters from seismological and geological data

A model is proposed that shows the relation of the block structure of the crust and earthquake sources (Sadovskii, 1979; Rodionov, 1979, 1984, 1994; Bugaev, 1999, 2011, 2014, 2015). The model can formalize how to assess the prediction of seismic regime parameters depending on the elastic limit and conditions and rate of deformation of the Earth’s crust. The spent nuclear fuel repository site in Olkiluoto (Finland) and a site in the area of the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine are considered as examples. It is demonstrated that the parameters of the prediction graphs limit the location of the points of magnitude repeatability graphs calculated for a site based on samples of earthquakes in the area according to different authors. This makes it possible to recommend predictive assessment of seismic regime parameters for stability monitoring of the seismic regime and safety analysis of a geological environment’s insulation properties for waste sites from the results of seismological monitoring and high-precision observations of modern movements of the Earth’s crust.     

The motion of an emission-line region near the center of the galaxy NGC 4151

Possible orbits for the motion of a region in the gravitational field of the central body of the galaxy NGC 4151 are presented. The region is manifest through its line emission, observed in the red wing of the Hα, Pβ, and other broad lines. We carried out a computer selection of all Keplerian orbits for which the measured radial velocities of the emission-line region could be observed. We used radial-velocity data obtained by us at the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute, as well as data from the literature. The computation results can be used to determine the mass range for the central body of NGC 4151 that provides the best agreement with the observational data: (61–65)× 10⁶ M _⊙. Suitably designed monitoring of active galactic nuclei can be used to verify these results, and to carry out similar analyses for other Seyfert galaxies.     

Behavior of the cosmic ray density during the initial phase of the Forbush effect

Variations in the cosmic ray density during the initial phase of the Forbush effect during the first hours after the arrival of the interplanetary shock wave have been studied with the use of data on variations in the cosmic ray density with a rigidity of 10 GV obtained by the global survey method by the world network of neutron monitors in 1957?2012. It is found that behavior of this parameter after the arrival of the shock wave demonstrates high variability. A small (~1/5 of total number), though distinct, group of Forbush effects, in which the density of the cosmic ray increases (not decreases) after the arrival of the shock wave, is defined. As a whole, the initial variation in cosmic ray density is correlated with the Forbush effect magnitude and the strength of the associated geomagnetic disturbance.     

In situ Raman observation of the crystallization in NaNO3–Na2SO4–H2O solution droplets

Several double salts have been detected in building materials and most of these salts are incongruently soluble compounds. In contrast to single salts, however, no systematic investigations of the crystallization behavior and deleterious effects of incongruently soluble double salts exist. To assess the damage potential of these salts, a systematic investigation of their highly complex behavior is desirable. This paper deals with the crystallization behavior of various solids in the ternary mixed NaNO₃–Na₂SO₄ system including the formation of the double salt darapskite, Na₃NO₃SO₄·H₂O. The crystallization sequence during droplet evaporation experiments at room conditions was determined using Raman and polarization microscopy. The basic idea of this research is to use deviations of the crystallization sequence of a salt or a mixed salt solution from the equilibrium pathway as an indicator to detect the degree of supersaturation. The observed crystallization pathway includes the formation of the metastable phases Na₂SO₄(III), Na₂SO₄(V) and darapskite. The experimental observations are discussed on the basis of the NaNO₃–Na₂SO₄–H₂O phase diagram and the results provide evidence for crystal growth from highly supersaturated solutions in both systems. If the crystals growing under these conditions are confined, these supersaturations result in substantial crystallization pressures.     

Modeling of type III bursts dynamic spectra

The one-dimensional process of spatially limited electron stream propagation in the solar corona is simulated. It is shown that the beam instability development results either in strong relaxation in velocity space and inhibition of spatial diffusion (high-stream density) or in velocity space relaxation decrease and simultaneous growth of spatial stream length (low-stream density). Assuming a profile of background plasma density to be exponential, dynamic spectra of type III bursts are modeled, which shows that the emission source velocity is constant, and a duration of the burst emission at a given frequency reduces for high-stream densities.     

Decay of a highly eccentric satellite

The re-entry phase of a highly eccentric satellite is discussed. Numerical simulations allowing the prediction of the exact date of re-entry of a highly eccentric satellite are exposed.It is shown that under very particular circumstances the life of the satellite can be extended by a few days. The number of final revolutions of the rapidly contracting orbit depends critically on the air density between 70 km and 100 km.Re-entry of the European scientific satellite HEOS-1 predicted for 28 October, 1975 is near such a situation.     

Über den Eisengehalt von Alumosilikaten aus Quarzknauern

Zusammenfassung Der Eisengehalt von Andalusiten und Disthenen aus Quarzknauern im Gebiet des Ötztaler—Stubaier Altkristallins wurde regional untersucht. Der Gehalt and Gesamteisen in primären Disthen liegt zwischen 0,17 und 0,22 Gew.% Fe₂O₃, während primäre Andalusite zwischen 0,26 und 1,93 Gew.% Fe₂O₃ schwanken. Dieser Unterschied in den Andalusiten wird auf ein wechselndes Angebot von Fe₂O₃ aus dem Nachbargestein der Knauern zurückgeführt.Ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem Eisengehalt der Andalusite und den verschiedenen Umwandlungsstadien Andalusit—Disthen konnte nicht nachgewiesen werden.

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On the iron content of alumosilicates in quartz nodules

Summary A determination of the regional distribution of the ironcontent of andalusites and kyanites in quartz-segregations of the Oetztal—Stubai crystalline complex gave values of 0.17–0.22% for the total iron in primary kyanite and 0.26–1.93% in andalusite. This difference is probably due to a variation in the Fe₂O₃-content in the country rocks of the quartz veins. No relationship between the iron-content in andalusite and the different stages of transformation from andalusite to kyanite could be established.