Archaeal Communities of Frozen Quaternary Sediments of Marine Origin on the Coast of Western Spitsbergen

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The archaeal composition of permafrost samples taken during the drilling of frozen marine sediments in the area of the Barentsburg coal mine on the east...     

Rock salt mass in the Paleoproterozoic sequence of the Onega trough in Karelia (from the Onega parametric well data)

A thick (200 m) rock salt mass covering Late Archean granitoids was exposed for the first time in the Early Proterozoic volcanogenic-sedimentary formations in the Onega trough of the east Baltic Shield by the Onega parametric well. The mineral composition of salts, their geochemical features, and the isotopic composition of carbonate carbon and oxygen have been studied. After fluid inclusions present in salts, their metamorphism temperature and isotopic composition of helium and argon were determined. The obtained results give evidence of the fact that rock salts and magnesites associated with them were formed in an evaporate basin with participation of deep crustal processes. The age of the underlying granitoids (2.716 ± 9 Ma) is determined using the Pb—Pb method.     

Focusing and spatial resolution of electromagnetic three-coil sounders

Doklady Earth Sciences - Distribution density functions for the sensitivity of a three-coil sounder are constructed as the weighted mean rock volume between the in-phase surfaces of running...     

Mantle(?) xenoliths in the carbonatites of northern Transbaikalia

The composition and nature of high-Cr minerals in lithic clasts from the carbonatites of the Veseloe occurrence, northern Transbaikalia, were considered. In order to determine their source, the Cr-bearing phases were compared with chromite, magnetite, and rutile from ultrabasic rocks, mantle xenoliths, and eclogites. It was suggested that the xenoclasts studied were formed at great depths, whereas the carbonatites were directly derived from the mantle rather than formed by the crustal differentiation of a silicate-carbonate melt.     

Erosion and aggradation on persistently active volcanoes—a case study from Semeru Volcano,Indonesia

Erosion processes on active volcanoes in humid climates result in some of the highest sediment yields on Earth. Episodic sediment yields after large eruptions have been evaluated, but not the long-term and continuous patterns on persistently active volcanoes. We have used high-spatial resolution satellite imagery and DEMs/DSMs along with field-based geologic mapping to assess accurately sediment budgets for the active Semeru Volcano in Java, Indonesia. Patterns of aggradation and degradation on Semeru differ from that of other active volcanoes because (1) both episodic pyroclastic density currents (PDC) and continuous supplies of tephra generate pulses of sediment, (2) sediment is transferred via cycles of aggradation and degradation that continue for >15 years in river channels after each PDC-producing eruption, and (3) rain-triggered lahars remove much greater material than fluvial transport during long, intense rainfall events. The geomorphic response of two of Semeru’s rivers to volcanic sediment migration indicates that (1) each river experiences alternating aggradation and degradation cycles following PDC-producing eruptions and (2) spatial patterns of sediment transfer are governed by geomorphic characteristics of the river reaches. Usually high degradation in the steep source reach is followed by a long bypassing middle reach. Aggradation predominates in the depositional reaches further down valley on the ring plain. Average sediment yields (10³–10⁵ t/km²/year) at persistently active volcanoes are two to three orders of magnitude lower than sediment yields after large and infrequent eruptions, but the continuous and steady sediment transfer in rivers removes more sediment on a mid-term (10 years) to long-term (30 years) basis. In contrast to the trend observed on composite cones after large and infrequent eruptions, decay of sediment yields is not exponential and river channels do not fully recover at steadily active volcanoes as episodic inputs from BAF eruptions, superimposed on the background remobilization of daily tephra, have a greater cumulative effect.     

Fault structures and their geoelectric parameters in the epicentral zone of the 27 September 2003 Chuya earthquake (Gorny Altai) from resistivity data

This paper presents an integrated measurement technique based on DC methods (vertical electrical sounding, electrical resistivity tomography) which was used to identify faults and determine their geoelectric parameters in the western part of the Chuya basin. New information on the structure of the Chagan River valley located in the zone of the disastrous 27 September 2003 Chuya earthquake has been obtained from the results of these methods. Geoelectric cross-sections of the sedimentary sequence and the upper part of the basement were obtained from VES data, showing the block structure of the study area. Electrical resistivity tomography sections confirm the presence of a major fault between basement blocks of different heights and indicate the presence of faults bounding the valley on its right side and in the southwestern part.     

A sedimentation model of the maikop deposits of the Tuapse Basin in the Black Sea according to the results of 2-D and 3-D seismic surveys and field works in the Western Caucasus and Crimea

This work is based on the results of 2-D and 3-D surveys in the Tuapse Basin and field works in the Crimea-Caucasus region. Seven zones were outlined in the model of sedimentation starting from the eroded mountain structure of the Greater Caucasus down to deep water sediments of the Tuapse Basin. The slope and deep-water sediments of channels and fan complexes are characterized. Volume models of the sedimentation system in the Black Sea are shown for the first time.