Geodynamics of the Russian Arctic Shelf and Relief-Forming Processes in the Central Kara Basin

Oceanology - The article deals with the issues of the geodynamic evolution of the Kara–Barents Sea shelf and influence of structure-forming processes on the nature of relief formation. The...     

Regularities of ore formation in mid-ocean ridges

The regularities of the concentration of ore matter in the mid-ocean ridges are considered, and the mechanisms of hydrothermal and cumulative treatment of the crust by ore elements are substantiated.     

The response of the electromagnetic field to the catastrophic earthquake of March 11, 2011

The electric and magnetic variations observed during the earthquake of March 11, 2011 that occurred in the Pacific close to the northeastern coast of Honshu Island in Japan are analyzed. The variations in the electric voltage were measured at the decommissioned submarine telecommunication cable laid on the bed of the Sea of Japan. The neighboring observatories recorded the anomalous geomagnetic variations during the studied time interval; the sources and spatial location of these anomalies are studied. The seismic signals were identified from the seismograms recorded by the broadband seismometer STS-2 at the nearest seismic station.

     

The degradation of submarine permafrost and the destruction of hydrates on the shelf of east arctic seas as a potential cause of the “Methane Catastrophe”: some results of integrated studies in 2011

On the basis of the analysis of published data and in the course of the authors’ long-term geochemical and acoustic surveys performed in 1995–2011 on the East Siberian shelf (ESS) and aimed to research the role of the Arctic shelf in the processes of massive methane outbursts into the Earth’s atmosphere, some crucially new results were obtained. A number of hypotheses were proposed concerning the qualitative and quantitative characterization of the scale of this phenomenon. The ESS is a powerful supplier of methane to the atmosphere owing to the continued degradation of the submarine permafrost, which causes the destruction of gas hydrates. The emission of methane in several areas of the ESS is massive to the extent that growth in the methane concentrations in the atmosphere to values capable of causing a considerable and even catastrophic warning on the Earth is possible. The seismic data were compared to those of the drilling from ice performed first by the authors in 2011 in the southeastern part of the Laptev Sea to a depth of 65 m from the ice surface. This made it possible to reveal some new factors explaining the observed massive methane bursts out of the bottom sediments.     

Geoelectric section of the tectonosphere in the junction zone between the Sea of Japan depression and its continental framing

New data on the deep geoelectric structure of the tectonosphere in the junction zone between the Sea of Japan and continental structures are presented. The geolelectric section was modeled using unique data on the monitoring of the electric field variations in the JASC submarine trans-Japan communication cable and segments of land cables in the Primorye region. The monitoring was accompanied by recording of the geomagnetic field at the VLA, KHB, MMB observatories and PPI stationary site. In addition, magnetotelluric data from 80 field MTS sites in the territory of the Hankai Massif and Sikhote-Alin fold belt were used.     

Researches in Cruise 38 of the R/V Akademik Nikolaj Strakhov in the Barents Sea

Oceanology - First results of the multidisciplinary expedition onboard the R/V Akademik Nikolaj Strakhov in the Barents Sea in August–September 2018 are presented. Hydrophysical sounding has...     

Analysis of the magnetometer response to the passage of seismic wave

Results of synchronous recording magnetic variations and seismic vibrations caused by an earthquake with a magnitude M = 6.7 at a distance of 806 km from the observation site are considered. Measurements are carried out at the VLA observatory. Different patterns of seismic noise generation and their contributions to the magnetic variations recorded by torsion magnetometer are analyzed. As well, the correlation between the seismic and magnetic components is studied. The close correlation between the seismic accelerations of rocks and the magnetic variations is revealed, and its transfer coefficient is estimated. Such correlation in other types of magnetometers is supposed to hinder the measurement of seismomagnetic signals, which will require the seismic noise parameters to be known for different types of magnetometers.     

New Data on Dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous Sediments of the Southern Urals

Doklady Earth Sciences - We describe a new find of a dinosaur in the Southern Urals, a fragment of long bone of a large dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Santonian–Lower Campanian)...     

General forecast of the evolution of the coastal zone of the Eurasian Arctic seas in the 21st century

Principal regularities of the evolution of the Arctic coasts of Eurasia in the 21st century related to the climate warming and sea level rise are assessed. It is stated that the most significant changes may be expected in the most ice-covered seas of the Arctic Ocean, where the area of the ice cover may significantly decrease while the duration of the ice-free periods will grow. Thermoabrasive coasts will be the most subjected to the changes; the rate of their recession will increase 1.5–2.5 fold. The further development of accumulative coasts in the Arctic seas will proceed against the background of a transgression; meanwhile, in the 21st century, one can expect no catastrophic changes such as washing away of coastal accumulative features.