Geochemistry of Suspended Matter from Waters of the Amazon Basin

The geochemical study of the suspended matter in the waters of the Amazon River and its tributaries revealed that the chemical composition of this material ranges widely; however, generally, it is similar to the average composition of the suspended matter in the rivers and clayey sedimentary rocks around the world. Against this background, an essential regional Hg enrichment due to the anthropogenic factor is distinguished. The suspensions from the so-called clear waters from the tributaries of the Amazon River—Xingu and Trombetas—demonstrate the local enrichment in Pb, Sn, Zn, and organic carbon indicating the ore mineralization of the drainage basin, and points to the presence of metal-organic complexes.     

Invariant manifolds, phase correlations of chaotic orbits and the spiral structure of galaxies

In the presence of a strong   m = 2  component in a rotating galaxy, the phase-space structure near corotation is shaped to a large extent by the invariant manifolds of the short-period family of unstable periodic orbits terminating at L ₁ or L ₂. The main effect of these manifolds is to create robust phase correlations among a number of chaotic orbits large enough to support a spiral density wave outside corotation. The phenomenon is described theoretically by soliton-like solutions of a Sine–Gordon equation. Numerical examples are given in an N -body simulation of a barred spiral galaxy. In these examples, we demonstrate how the projection of unstable manifolds in configuration space reproduces essentially the entire observed bar–spiral pattern.     

Seismic hazard monitoring in Kamchatka and its applications to the M = 6.6 earthquake of 6 October 1987

The earthquake of 6 October 1987 (M = 6.6), which occurred near the Shipunsky Cape, Kamchatka, was the largest crustal event in the vicinity of the main city of Kamchatka — Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky — during the last three decades. It was followed by numerous aftershocks. This earthquake allowed us to test the effectiveness of the seismic hazard monitoring in Kamchatka, including the seismological, geodetic and hydrogeochemical surveys. The seismic survey provided the location and source nature of the main shock and aftershocks and the seismic environment of the main shock. The geodetic and hydrogeochemical surveys have yielded data on the response to earthquakes of the Earth's surface deformations, water level, and chemical elements concentration in the underground water. As a result, the following data were obtained:

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The earthquake of 6 October had a seismic moment 4–10 E18 Nm, thrust type of faulting and the source volume of 20 × 20 × 10 km³. The maximum intensity was VI–VII (MSK-64 scale) and maximum acceleration 88 cm/s².

Before this event, a relative increase in the number of the upper mantle (depth more than 100 km) moderate magnitude earthquakes during 5 years and a one-year period of seismic quiescence for small shallow earthquakes, were recognized. Significant anomalies in HCO₃ and H₃BO₃ concentrations in the underground waters were observed in the wells a week before the main shock.

     

Automated mapping of rock slope geometry,kinematics and stability with RSS-GIS

A GIS-implemented, deterministic approach for the automated spatial evaluation of geometrical and kinematical properties of rock slope terrains is presented. Based on spatially distributed directional information on planar geological fabrics and DEM-derived topographic attribute data, the internal geometry of rock slopes can be characterized on a grid cell basis. For such computations, different approaches for the analysis and regionalization of available structural directional information applicable in specific tectonic settings are demonstrated and implemented in a GIS environment. Simple kinematical testing procedures based on feasibility criteria can be conducted on a pixel basis to determine which failure mechanisms are likely to occur at particular terrain locations. In combination with hydraulic and strength data on geological discontinuities, scenario-based rock slope stability evaluations can be performed. For conceptual investigations on rock slope failure processes, a GIS-based specification tool for a 2-D distinct element code (UDEC) was designed to operate with the GIS-encoded spatially distributed rock slope data. The concepts of the proposed methodology for rock slope hazard assessments are demonstrated at three different test sites in Germany.     

Observations of estuarine circulation and solitary internal waves in a highly energetic tidal channel

Despite vigorous tidal and wind mixing, observations in an estuarine tidal inlet in the Wadden Sea show that during part of the tidal cycle, vertical stratification and internal waves may still develop. Acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and conductivity, temperature, depth observations, collected over the past 6 years at 13 h anchor stations (ASs), reveal that these occur especially during slack tide, when there is little wind and large freshwater discharge from nearby Lake IJssel. Measurements with a moored ADCP show that in the same tidal phase, strong cross-channel circulation develops, which may suddenly reverse circulation sense due to passing density fronts. In the vertically stratified phase that follows after the front passage, propagating mode-one solitary internal waves are observed. These are resonantly generated during decelerating tidal ebb currents when the (shear) flow passes a transcritical regime (Froude number equal to 1). A combination of photographs (including one from the International Space Station), bathymetric data, and ASs data leads to the discovery of yet another source of internal waves in this area, produced during slackening tide by propagating lee waves that develop over a deep trench. We suggest that both the cross-channel circulation as well as the (solitary) internal waves may locally be of importance for the (re)distribution and transport of sediments and nutrients and may influence tidally averaged transports.     

Comparative assessment of the relationship of satellite data with the above ground biomass of Sal trees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Shorea robusta</Emphasis>) determined from phenologically different time periods

The Above Ground Biomass(AGB) estimates of vegetation comprise both the bole biomass determined through a volumetric equation and litter biomass collected from the ground.For mature trees,the AGB estimated in phenologically different time periods is directly affected by the litter biomass since the Diameter at Breast Height(DBH) and height(H) of such trees that are used in the estimation of bole biomass would remain unchanged over a reasonable time period.In the present study,we have determined the AGB of Sal trees(Shorea robusta) in two contrasting seasons:the peak green period in October being devoid of lit-ter on the ground and the leaf shedding period in February with abundant amount of litter present on the ground.Estimation of AGB for the month of February included the litter biomass.In contrast,the AGB for October represented only the bole biomass.AGB was estimated for ten different plots selected in the study area.The AGB estimated from ten sampling plots for each time period was re-gressed with the individual tree parameters such as the average DBH and height of trees measured from the corresponding plots.The regression analysis exhibited a significantly stronger relationship between the AGB and DBH for the month of October as compared to February.Furthermore,the correlation between the remotely sensed derived data and AGB was also found to be significantly higher for the month of October than February.This observation indicates that inclusion of the litter biomass in AGB will tend to decrease the re-gression relationship between AGB and DBH and also between the remotely sensed data and AGB.Therefore,these conclusions invite careful consideration while estimating AGB from satellite data in phenologically different time periods.     

Grain-scale variations in trace element composition of fluid-altered zircon,Acasta Gneiss Complex,northwestern Canada

SEM back-scattered electron images of zircon separates from a 2.9 Ga granitic dyke from the Acasta Gneiss Complex, Slave Province, reveal primary igneous oscillatory zoning which is transgressively overprinted by irregular alteration domains. Electron microprobe analyses show that altered zircon domains are depleted in Zr and Si relative to unaltered zircon while retaining a constant Zr/Si ratio. SIMS trace element analyses indicate that LREE are preferentially enriched in the altered domains. Altered zircon contains elevated concentrations of Ba (up to 580 ppm), Ca (up to 2% weight of the element) and common Pb (>50 ppb). The presence of LREE, Ca, Ba and common Pb in the zircons is interpreted to be the result of secondary alteration by an aqueous fluid, and not by primary incorporation during crystallization. We propose that the alteration-related elements are located in amorphous zircon domains.     

Rock magnetic properties and palaeomagnetic results of sediments from a stone implement layer in the Bose Basin,Guangxi

Directional samples were taken to study rock magnetism and palaeomagnetic records from the Dong- sheng profile, which is 5 m thick and on the northwest edge of the Bose Basin. Mineralogy and rock magnetism of typical samples indicate that coarse granular titanomagnetite, and fine-grained hematite, superparamagnetic maghemite formed by pedogenesis are in the sediment, which has undergone many transformative processes during different stages of pedogenesis. Parallel samples were taken for thermal demagnetization (TH) (0 to 680℃) and alternating field (AF) demagnetization (0 to 80 mT) respectively. Experimental results of these two kinds of demagnetization illustrate that there are two or more magnetic components in the samples. Intensity of NRM decreases by almost 60% to 90% rapidly when the temperature ranges from 100℃ to 350℃, with a steady magnetic component. It is impossible to analyze the magnetic components at high temperature because those fluctuate widely when the temperature is higher than 400℃. Steady magnetic components from 100℃ to 350℃ indicate that the remanence was mainly carried by fine-grained hematite formed by pedogenesis, reflecting a change in the geomagnetic field while the magnetite was being oxidized into hematite by chemical weathering after deposition. The formative age of the sediments cannot be obtained by magnetic methods in this profile.