Structure of Phytocenoses of the Yenisei Estuary and Adjacent Kara Sea Shelf in Late Spring

Oceanology - The research is based on the materials collected during cruise 66 of R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in the Yenisei estuary and over the adjacent Kara Sea shelf in the latitudinal range...     

Scalloped depressions and small-sized polygons in western Utopia Planitia,Mars: A new formation hypothesis

Flat-floored depressions with scalloped-shapes and spatially associated small-sized polygons (diameter <～100 m) dot the landscape of western Utopia Planitia (centered at 45°N–95°E). The scalloped depressions are thought to be the result of ice-rich regolith undergoing degradation by sublimation or thaw. Current models suggest that the formation and development of the depressions occur in a poleward direction due to the enhanced sublimation of their equator-facing slopes. By contrast, we propose a conceptual model that shows the equatorward growth of depressions due to preferential degradation by sublimation of their pole-facing slopes. Our model is based on a geomorphological study of the depressions and small-sized polygons in western Utopia Planitia (80°–110°E, 35°–50°N), using images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and topographical data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and a HiRISE stereo Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Here we describe (i) a morphological evolution of small-sized polygons within the depressions, from low-centered to high-centered, that facilitates one's understanding of depression growth and development; and (ii) occurrence of v-shaped alcoves, failure cracks and semicircular hollows that point to a retrogressive degradation of the pole-facing slopes of depressions. We propose that the development of the depressions is due to heightened insolation of their pole-facing slopes, leading to enhanced sublimation of ground-ice. Based upon the inferred asymmetric insolation, we suggest that the equatorward expansion of depressions occurred during recent high-obliquity periods of Mars.     

Tsunami Measurements in Bays of Shikotan Island

Bottom pressure gauges deployed in bays of Shikotan Island (South Kuril Islands) recently recorded two tsunamis: the Simushir (Kuril Islands) tsunami of January 13, 2007 generated by a local earthquake with magnitude M _w = 8.1 and the Peruvian tsunami of August 15, 2007 generated by a distant earthquake, M _w = 8.0. The records enabled us to investigate the properties of these two tsunamis and to estimate the effect of the regional and nearshore topography on arriving tsunami waves. Eigen periods and spatial structure of resonant oscillations in particular bays were examined based on results of numerical modeling. Significant amplification of the fundamental (Helmholtz) resonant modes in Malokurilskaya Bay (19 min) and in Krabovaya Inlet (29 min) and some secondary modes was caused by the Simushir tsunami. The considerably different geometry and bottom topography of these bays, located on the inner coast of the island, determine the differences in their eigen periods; the only mutual peak, which was found in both basins, had a period of 5 min and was probably related to the source features. The Peruvian tsunami was clearly recorded by the bottom pressure gauge in Tserkovnaya Bay on the outer (oceanic) coast of the island. Three dominant periods in the tsunami spectrum at this bay were 60, 30 and 19 min; the latter period was found to be related to the fundamental mode of the bay, while the other two periods appear to be associated with the shelf resonant amplification of tsunami waves arriving in the region of the South Kuril Islands. The prevalence of low-frequency components in the observed tsunami spectrum is probably associated with the large extension of the initial source area and faster decay of short period waves during the long trans-oceanic tsunami propagation.     

Geomagnetically Induced Currents and Space Weather: Pi3 Pulsations and Extreme Values of Time Derivatives of the Geomagnetic Field’s Horizontal Components

The problem of estimating the time derivatives of the horizontal components of the geomagnetic field and forecasting the probability of the occurrence of perturbations that exceed a given threshold level (the over-threshold perturbations) arises in the applications concerned with the geomagnetically induced currents (GICs). In this work, we consider the temporal and spatial structure of the Pi3 pulsations with quasi-periods of 10² to 10³ s during which the auroral and subauroral stations of the IMAGE network record over-threshold values in the derivatives of the meridional (along the longitudinal circle) B_X component and latitudinal (along the latitudinal circle) B_Y component. The extreme |dB_X/dt| values mainly develop against the background of the Pi3 pulsations with a complex frequency content, whereas the extreme |dB_Y/dt| values appear when the buildup (decay) phases of the bay-like disturbance associated with the evolution of a substorm coincide with the respective phases of the field of pulsations. The conditions under which the derivatives |dB_X/dt| and |dB_Y/dt| reach their over-threshold values are studied for subauroral latitudes by the technique of superposed epoch analysis. The extreme values of the derivatives most frequently occur during the main phase of moderate magnetic storms or beyond the storm—during high substorm activity under the conditions of a negative vertical component of the interplanetary magnetic field. The probability of the occurrence of over-threshold values increases at high amplitudes of the Pi3 pulsations and depends on their spectral content. The problem of analyzing and forecasting the over-threshold |dB_Y/dt| perturbations is complicated by the fact that the scale of the perturbations is small along the lines of latitude and large along the meridians. This can result in GIC excitation in the North–South oriented electric power lines by the geomagnetic perturbations localized within a narrow band in longitude which can be missed during the measurements.     

Results of U–Pb LA–ICP–MS dating of detrital zircons from Ediacaran–Early Cambrian deposits of the eastern part of the Baltic monoclise

Here we present the results of U–Pb LA–ICP–MS dating of detrital zircons from the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian deposits of the eastern part of the Baltic monoclise (Leningrad Region). The obtained age spectra of the detrital zircons suggest that, in the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian, the main clastic material source to the northwest of the Russian Platform was the Baltic Shield. Then in the Early Cambrian along with the Baltic Shield provenance, a clastic source from the Timanian margin of Baltica (northeast in modern coordinates) contributed to the deposits. The obtained data either somewhat set limits of the Timanian orogen formation as older than the previously suggested Middle Cambrian (about 510 Ma), based on the “absence of a Proto–Uralian–Timanian provenance signal” in the Sablino Formation rocks in the south Ladoga, or suggest another rearrangement of detritus transportation paths at the end of Stage 3 (Atdabanian).     

Observations of magnetic anomaly signatures in Mars Express ASPERA-3 ELS data

Mars Express (MEX) Analyser of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-3) data is providing insights into atmospheric loss on Mars via the solar wind interaction. This process is influenced by both the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the solar wind and by the magnetic ‘anomaly’ regions of the martian crust. We analyse observations from the ASPERA-3 Electron Spectrometer near to such crustal anomalies. We find that the electrons near remanent magnetic fields either increase in flux to form intensified signatures or significantly reduce in flux to form plasma voids. We suggest that cusps intervening neighbouring magnetic anomalies may provide a location for enhanced escape of planetary plasma. Initial statistical analysis shows that intensified signatures are mainly a dayside phenomenon whereas voids are a feature of the night hemisphere.     

The impact of recreation in the Black Sea region on surface and sea water quality — Sochi case study

Sochi, the largest health resort in the country, is taken as an example to analyze a negative anthropogenic impact on the Black Sea coast environment, in particular on surface and sea waters. The paper gives the results of an integrated pollution study in Sochi, based on stationary systematic observations in the city of Sochi and Caucasus Biosphere Reserve, as well as on an integrated field survey of the resort's environment.     

Sources of Eocene Magmatism in Western Kamchatka by the Geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb Isotope Characteristics of Basites

Doklady Earth Sciences - The isotope and geochemical characteristics of Eocene–Oligocene igneous rocks of Western Kamchatka were studied. It was shown that igneous rocks of the Eocene Kinkil...