Qualitative and quantitative determination of the iron-bearing phases in deep sea-nodules by Mössbauer spectroscopy

The iron-bearing phases in nodules from two regions (the Pacific Ocean — Clarion-Clipperton, and the Indian Ocean — Central plain) have been studied by Mössbauer Spectroscopy. The major compounds are established to be Fe(OH)₃, (FeOOH·H₂O) and FeCO₃. The value of the recoilless absorption probability f′ is measured for Fe(OH)₃. Meisel's method for quantitative determination of iron containing compounds has been adapted for the case of nodule samples. By taking into account the f′ values, the error of quantitative determination is considerably reduced. The Fe²⁺ distribution in the nonequivalent M1 and M2 positions of pyroxene has been studied. It is shown that the pyroxene crystals in the silicate material originated as a result of rapid cooling of the magma in ocean water.     

Structure and Production Potential of Summer Phytoplankton of Lake Baikal in the Present Period

Water Resources - A study of the structure and production parameters of phytoplankton (biomass, photosynthesis rate, chlorophyll a content, and assimilation numbers) in the coastal and pelagic...     

Microbial processes of the carbon and sulfur cycles in the Kara Sea

The results of microbiological, biogeochemical, and isotope geochemical studies in the Kara Sea are described. The samples for these studies were obtained during the 54th voyage of the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in September 2007. The studied area covered the northern, central, and southwestern parts of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob. The quantitative characteristics of the total bacterial population and the activity of the microbial processes in the water column and bottom sediments were obtained. The total population of the bacterioplankton (BP) varied from 250000 cells/ml in the northern water area to 3000000 cells/ml in the Gulf of Ob. The BP population depended on the content of the water suspension. The net BP production was minimal in the central water area, amounting to 0.15–0.2 μg C/(l day), and maximal (0.5–0.75 μg C/(l day)) in the Gulf of Ob. The organic material at the majority of the stations in the Ob transect predominantly contained light carbon isotopes (−28.0 to −30.18‰) of terrigenous origin. The methane content in the surface water layer varied from 0.18 to 2.0 μl CH₄/l, and the methane oxidation rate changed in the range of 0.1–100 nl CH₄/(l day). The methane concentration in the upper sediment layer varied from 30 to 300 μl CH₄/dm³; the rate of the methanogenesis was 44 to 500 nl CH₄/(dm³ day) and that of the methane oxidation, 30 to 2000 nl CH₄/(dm³ day). The rate of the sulfate reduction varied from 4 to 184 μg S/(dm³ day).     

Methane cycle in the Barents Sea

Biogeochemical cycle of methane in the Barents Sea was studied using isotope geochemistry to determine the rates of microbial methane oxidation. It was established that microbiological processes (glucose consumption, ¹⁴CO₂ assimilation, sulfate reduction, and slow methane oxidation) in oxidized surface and weakly reduced sediments are marked by only insignificant change in SO ₄ ^2? concentration and absence of notable growth of total alkalinity and N/NH₄ downward the sediment core. Microbial methane productivity was 0.111 × 10⁶ mol day^?1. Taking into account the volume of water column, microbial methane consumption therein can be as much as 1.8 × 10⁶ mol day^?1.     

Longitudinal distribution of periphyton algae in the Moskva river under eutrophication

Variations of the species structure of periphyton algae community on submerged plants have been studied along the longitudinal profile of the Moskva R. with the use of multivariate statistical methods. The results of principal-coordinates analysis show the flow velocity and biogenic load to be the major factors governing the spatial variations of periphyton structure. Mantel test shows the difference in the species structure to be correlated more closely with local variations in the environmental factors than with the distance along river channel. Therefore, the spatial distribution of periphyton in the Moskva R. agrees better with the concept of patch dynamics than the concept of river continuum. Estimation of the indicator potential of three ecological guilds of diatoms (low profile, high profile, and motile) has shown a positive response of motile diatoms to an increase in the concentration of biogenic compounds. The effect of other factors, such as light intensity in macrophyte stands and the microdistribution of diatoms in periphyton layer, can disturb the relationship between biogenic substance concentrations and the abundance of low profile and high profile diatoms.     

230Th/U Dating of Travertines Related to Paleoearthquakes in Gorny Altai: First Results

Doklady Earth Sciences - First 230Th/U-dating results have been obtained for six Quaternary travertine deposits from the southeastern Gorny Altai associated with zones of active faults that bound...     

Genesis of organic and carbonate carbon in sediments of the North and Middle Caspian basins inferred from the isotope data

Isotopic compositions of organic (δ¹³C-C_org) and carbonate (δ¹³C-C_carb) carbon were analyzed in the particulate matter (hereafter, particulates) and sediments from the North and Middle Caspian basins. Isotopic composition of C_org was used for assessing proportions of the allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter in the particulates. Difference between the δ¹³C-C_org values in surface sediments and particulates is explained by the aerobic and anaerobic diagenetic transformations. Isotopic composition of C_org in sediments may be used as a tool for reconstructing the Quaternary transgressive-regressive history of the Caspian Sea.     

Geoelectrical studies of the Chuya basin sedimentary fill (Gorny Altai)

The VES method was used to determine the geoelectric parameters of Cenozoic rocks in the Chuya intermontane basin. It was shown that the polyfacies and polychromous sediments filling the basin are well differentiated by their electrical parameters. A combination of methods used in data acquisition and processing, due to their high resolution capacity at shallow depths, provided information on the structure and physical properties of the Chuya rocks from surface to depths of 250–300 m. Despite a reasonable consistence among these methods to the above depths, the VES method is a more effective tool for detecting shallower layers. Interpretation of the VES data proved the existence of a large outburst channel as new geological evidence for an ice-dammed origin of the Middle Neopleistocene lake. A more detailed layering of the topmost part of the geoelectrical section across the Irbistu–Kokozek interfluve using the VES data revealed a number of fine-grained lenticular structures of the ancient lakes in the Chuya depression, which are hidden beneath a cover of fluvioglacial and lacustrine bouldery pebbles and moraine diamictons.     

Biogeochemical processes of carbon and sulfur cycles in sediments of the outer shelf of the Black Sea (Russian Sector)

Within the mass of recent (unit-I) and ancient Black Sea (unit-II) sediments on the outer shelf of the Russian sector of the Black Sea, the rates of anoxic processes participating in diagenetic transformations of carbon and sulfur compounds were first measured using ³⁵S and ¹⁴C radioactive tracers. The main energy source for biogeochemical processes in (unit-I) sediments is the organic matter (OM) supplied to the bottom from the water mass. In (unit-II) sediments, this is methane in a migratory form proved by the excess of its oxidation rate over that of its generation. In recent silt, the primary microbial process is sulfate reduction; in unit-II, this is methane anoxic oxidation by the consortium of archeides and sulfate reductants. The organic matter produced in methane oxidation, in turn, acts as an energy source for the community of anaerobic heterotrophic microorganisms in the bottom sediments, which are remote from the water-sediment interface.