The new Martian nomenclature of the international Astronomical Union

A new nomenclature for Martian regions and topographic features uncovered by Mariner 9, as officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union, is described. About 180 craters, generally of diameters >100 km, have been named, as well as 13 classes of topographic features designated catena, chasma, dorsum, fossa, labyrinthus, mensa, mons, patera, planitia, planum, tholus, vallis, and vastitas. In addition seven craters and the Kepler Dorsum are named on Phobos, and two craters on Deimos. Coordinates and maps of each named features are displayed.     

Lithology and geochemistry of Albian-Cenomanian sandy sequences of the Voronezh Anteclise and their paleogeographic implication

The paper proposes subdivision of Albian and Cenomanian monotonous sandy sequences of the Voronezh anteclise on the basis of textural-structural features and distribution of accessory minerals. Distribution of rare earth, trace, and major elements was studied in sandy rocks and early diagenetic formations (glauconites and phosphorites). Dependence of the distribution on tectonic factor is noted.Translated from Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, No. 2, 2005, pp. 159–171.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Sirotin, Shatrov, Koval, Bugelskii, Voitsekhovskii, Nikulshin.     

Petrology of plagiogranites of the Yenisei Batholith, Western Sayan

The tonalite-plagiogranite (tonalite-trondhjemite) association only occasionally occurs in the form of large granitoid bodies, such as the Yenisei Batholith (>500 km² in area). The granitoids of the Yenisei Batholith belong to Na-rich tholeiitic rock series and differ from granitoids of the calc-alkaline series in having lower contents of alkalis and alumina (12–14 wt % Al₂O₃) and low contents of granitophile elements (Rb, Li, Cs, Be, Nb, Ta, and W), Cr, and Ni. The Cr/V (<0.10) and Rb/Sr (0.01–0.1) ratios of these rocks are at a minimum, and their K/Rb (600–1000) and Na/K (5–10) ratios are at a maximum compared to those of the rocks of the most widely spread granitoid batholiths. The plagiogranites typically have REE concentrations higher than those in oceanic plagiogranites and display weakly fractionated REE patterns (La/Yb = 1.4–3.4) with weak (or without) Eu anomalies. The lower initial Sr ratios of these rocks (0.704) and their relatively high concentrations of Pb, Zr, and B testify to the predominantly mantle provenance of their protolithic material. Geological and geochemical characteristics of the Yenisei pluton suggest that its genesis can be considered within the scope of the model of retrograde-type magmatic replacement and that the batholith was produces by the earliest granitization processes in the oceanic crust. The granitic melt was derived at low pressures (<5 kbar) and intermediate temperatures (～700°C), at the inflow of an aqueous transmagmatic fluid into the magma-generating area and the subsequent fluid-magmatic differentiation. Considering the volumes and compositions of rocks composing the Yenisei Batholith, the latter can be attributed, similarly to other typical granitoid batholiths, to crustal plutons, which differ from both oceanic plagiogranites in ophiolitic belts and continental trondhjemites. The rocks can be regarded as an individual geochemical type of crustal plagiogranites.     

Kyiv meridian axial circle with CCD camera

We describe the modifications made in the design of the Kyiv meridian axial circle (MAC) and in the observation technique after the instrument was equipped with a CCD camera with an array of 1040×1160 pixels. The observations are performed in the drift-scan mode (time-delay imaging) with an effective exposure time of 108 s for equatorial stars. The MAC photometric system reproduces the standard V system; the limiting magnitude is V = 17 ^m . The observations made with the modified MAC in 2001–2003 served as the basis for the KMAC1 catalog which contains positions, proper motions, and magnitudes B, V, R, r′, J for 100 000 stars in the sky areas with the ICRF objects. The errors of positions and V magnitudes in the catalog are 50–90 mas and 0.1 ^m , respectively, for stars with V = 15 ^m . Stars in the equatorial sky areas and radio stars are presently observed with the aim to determine their exact positions, proper motions, and magnitudes. The catalogs are available in the data base of the Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg (ftp.cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr) and on the site of the Main Astronomical Observatory (http://www.mao.kiev.ua).     

Distribution of structural impurities and fluid microinclusions in cubic and coated diamond crystals from the Udachnaya pipe,Yakutia, Russia

FTIR microspectroscopic data were used to construct two-dimension maps showing the distribution of structural impurities and mineral microinclusions in cubic and coated octahedral diamond crystals from the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe in Yakutia. Elevated concentrations of hydrogen and total nitrogen are detected in parts corresponding to the early growth of single-episode growth regions of diamond crystals. These concentrations decrease toward the peripheral portions of these regions. The microinclusions contain water and polyphase mineral associations that preserve a high residual pressure. Microinclusions in the coats of octahedral diamond crystals are dominated by silicates, in which the intensity of IR spectral bands increases toward the peripheries, whereas the cubes posses irregularly distributed domains rich in these phases. The carbonate phases of the microinclusions are distributed according to growth zones of the crystals, and their distribution is often not correlated with the concentrations of structural impurities. The facts that microinclusions in the diamond cuboids are dominated by carbonates and that the rims of the octahedra are dominated by silicates suggest that the diamonds crystallized from dominantly carbonate and silicate fluids/ melts, respectively. The chemical composition of the microinclusions point to an eclogitic paragenesis of the crystals. Facts are obtained that provide support for the earlier hypothesis that cubic diamond crystals and coated octahedral crystals grow at metasomatic interaction between deep fluids and eclogitic rocks in the lithospheric mantle.     

Zoning of Faults and Secondary Mineralization of Host Rocks of Kimberlites of the Maiskoe Diamond Deposit,Nakyn Field,Yakutia

Study of faults and secondary mineralization of host rocks of diamond-bearing kimberlites yields important data for local prediction of kimberlite bodies. Of special methodological interest are exploration data on deposits where the study of host rocks is based on a dense observation network. Factual material for this paper was collected from cores of all inclined exploration boreholes of the Maiskoe diamond deposit found in the Nakyn field in Yakutia in 2006. The paper shows a nonuniform distribution of tectonic deformations, stringer mineralization, O and C isotopes of calcite, and CO₂ content of Lower Paleozoic host carbonate rocks of kimberlites. Our data agree with different diamond potentials of two areas of the Maiskoe kimberlite body, which can be used to search for and explore deposits.