Hydrothermally altered hyaloclastites at the Earth’s surface in the rift zone of Iceland: Problem of the biochemogenic accumulation of trace elements

Results of the mineral and chemical study of surface-altered hyaloclastites from the Theistareykir and Nämafjall geothermal zones, the North Iceland rift, are considered. The paper scrutinizes the composition of hydrothermally altered rocks mainly consisting of clay minerals related to the transformation of bedrock hyaloclastites. The clay minerals also make up slope talus or proluvial deltas around highlands. The major clay minerals in areas of the present-day fumarole activity are kaolinite and smectite, while the redeposited talus-proluvial sediments are mainly composed of smectites. The studied rocks contain framboids, globules, rods, and other structures with morphology and size similar to those of mineralized bacteria. The local concentration of Ag in proluvial deposits is attributed to the intense bacterial activity. It is supposed that elevated contents of some trace elements could be related to an intense microbiotic influence.     

Determination of wave characteristics of VLF-waves by means of multicomponent electromagnetic field measurements

The multicomponent data of the electromagnetic field obtained on the Aureol-3 satellite were studied. On the basis of the application of the multispectral analysis, nonlinear interactions on the harmonics of the proton gyro-frequency were determined. By the power spectra of the low frequency radiation components, the principal regulations of behaviour of the vectors of the wave normal and of the wave distribution function from the frequency and the invariant latitude L were found. It is noted, that at frequencies below the proton gyro-frequency there often arises the second maximum in the form of a wave distribution function, that can be interpreted as a reflected wave.     

Latitudinal Distribution of the Parameters of Internal Gravity Waves in the Atmosphere Derived from Amplitude Fluctuations of Radio Occultation Signals

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The method of reconstructing the global distribution of statistical parameters of internal gravity waves (IGWs) in the atmosphere has been tested using...     

Geological Structure of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago (West Russian Arctic) and Peculiarities of the Tectonics of the Eurasian Arctic

Geotectonics - Our study considers the structure and tectonics of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, located in the west Russian Arctic and part of the Eurasian Arctic: (i) the age of the Pre-Paleozoic...     

Meteorological conditions at the Caucasus Observatory of the SAI MSU from the results of the 2007–2015 campaign

Based on the measurements performed from 2007 to 2015 at the summit of Mount Shatdzhatmaz adjacent to the 2.5-m telescope at the Caucasus Observatory of the SAI MSU, we have determined the statistical characteristics of basic meteorological parameters: the ambient air temperature, the ground wind speed, and the relative humidity. The stability of these parameters over the entire period of our measurements and their variations within an annual cycle have been studied. The median temperature on clear nights is +3.2°C, although there are nights with a temperature below ?15°C. The typical ground wind speed is 3 m s^?1; the probability of a wind stronger than 10 m s^?1 does not exceed 2%. The losses of observing time due to high humidity are maximal in the summer period but, on the whole, are small over a year, less than 10%. We have estimated the absolute water vapor content in the atmosphere, which is especially important for infrared observations. Minimum precipitablewater vapor is observed in December–February; the median value over these months is 5 mm. We additionally provide the wind speeds at various altitudes above the ground (from 1 to 16 km) that we obtained when measuring the optical turbulence. We present the results and technique of our measurements of the annual amount of clear night astronomical time, which is, on average, 1320 h, i.e., 45% of the possible one at the latitude of the observatory. The period from mid-September to mid-March accounts for about 70% of the clear time. A maximum of clear skies is observed in November, when its fraction reaches 60% of the possible astronomical night time.     

Comparison between refraction angles measured in the Microlab-1 experiment and calculated on the basis of an atmospheric general circulation model

The differences between the refraction angles measured and calculated for the reanalyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts were statistically analyzed on the basis of 64 radio occultation events recorded by the Microlab-1 satellite. It is shown that, for minimum ray heights below 20 km, the main contribution to the differences is made by spatial refractive-index fluctuations neglected by the model. The power spectral density of these fluctuations is mainly concentrated within the vertical wave-number range 0.5–10 rad/km. For heights above 30 km, the deviations are mainly determined by ionospheric disturbances and may vary several times during changes of the site and time of observations. This suggests that the results of satellite radio-occultation sounding of the neutral atmosphere can be used as an indirect quantitative estimate of local discrepancies between the actual field of the refractive index and its values calculated on the basis of a hydrodynamic atmospheric general circulation model.     

Natural monocrystalline α-carbyne

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

The Last Permafrost Maximum (LPM) map of the Northern Hemisphere: permafrost extent and mean annual air temperatures, 25–17 ka BP

This paper accompanies a map that shows the extent of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere between 25 and 17 thousand years ago. The map is based upon existing archival data, common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, that include ice‐wedge pseudomorphs, sand wedges and large cryoturbations. Where possible, a distinction is made between areas with continuous permafrost and areas where permafrost is either spatially discontinuous or sporadic. The associated mean annual palaeo‐temperatures that are inferred on the basis of present‐day analogues increase understanding of the possible changes in permafrost extent that might accompany current global warming trends. Areas with relict permafrost and areas that were formerly exposed due to lower sea level (submarine permafrost) are also mapped. Mapping is mostly limited to lowland regions (areas approximately <1000 m a.s.l.). Striking features that appear from the map are (i) the narrow permafrost zone in North America, which contrasts with the broader LPM permafrost zone in Eurasia (that may be related to different snow thickness or vegetation cover), (ii) the zonal extent of former LPM permafrost (that may reflect sea‐ice distribution), which contrasts with the present‐day pattern of permafrost extent (especially in Eurasia) and (iii) the relatively narrow zones of LPM discontinuous permafrost (that may indicate strong temperature gradients).     

STATISTICAL APPROACHES TO IMAGE PROCESSING AND THE MODELING OF FEATURE EDGES

The authors describe a method of nonlinear modeling of the space of feature edges on remote sensing imagery, which is used to derive algorithms for the identification of edge features, and subsequently the production of feature classification maps. Translated from: Metody kompleksnykh aerokosmicheskikh issledovaniy Sibiri, L. K. Zyat'kova, ed. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1985, pp. 60–63.     

An asymptotic method of modeling radio occultations

A short-wave asymptotic method of modeling radio signals registered during radio occultation experiments is discussed. The method uses the theory of Fourier integral operators. Use of this method allows for a faster simulation of radio occultation data as compared to the method of multiple phase screens. The method was tested using global fields from analyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast. The comparison of the asymptotic solution with the multiple phase screen method shows their good agreement. The limits of the applicability of the new method are discussed.