Three-dimensional inversion of the single-profile magnetotelluric data

It is preferable to use the three-dimensional (3D) magnetotelluric inversion, which provides volumetric geoelectric models, to handle the array input data. However, the soundings are frequently conducted on the single profiles or on the profiles that are considerably spaced apart from each other. We explore the possibilities of the 3D inversion of such data by the example of a three-layer model containing three local inhomogeneities. We previously showed that the simple processing of the data and their 1D or 2D inversion enable reconstructing the background cross section and locating all the three inhomogeneities. In the present paper, we use this information for constructing several versions of the starting model and carrying out the smoothing 3D inversion of the data. The experiments show that if the background cross section is incorporated into the starting model, the final model provided by the inversion closely reproduces the real distribution of all geoelectric parameters. At the same time, if the starting model that hosts the inhomogeneities has the form of a homogeneous half-space, the inversion is not able to reconstruct an adequate final model.     

Geoelectric section of the Central Tien Shan: Analysis of magnetotelluric and magnetovariational responses along the Naryn geotraverse

During the past two decades, at the Research station (Bishkek) more than a hundred magnetotelluric and magnetovariational soundings were carried out on the Naryn geotraverse that intersects the Tien Shan region from Lake Balkhash to the Tarim Basin along the 76° E meridian. Integration and complex interpretation of the data of these soundings with improved resolution and reliability of the geoelectric model of the Central Tien Shan section became an urgent challenge. Our paper presents a complex of methods for processing and invariant analysis of the electromagnetic data developed for the solution of this problem. Its application allowed us to validate the choice of the 2D interpretation model for the Naryn Line and to form the adequate ensemble of the data to be inverted. The developed approaches will also be useful in similar studies in the other mountain regions.     

Electromagnetic soundings of the sedimentary cover and consolidated crust in the transition zone from the Moscow syneclise to the Voronezh anteclise: Problems and prospects

The methods and results of electromagnetic soundings (EMS) performed in the transition zone from the Moscow syneclise to the Voronezh anteclise in the vicinity of the MSU geophysical base are considered. This base is located in the village of Aleksandrovka in the Yukhnov district of Kaluga area. The composite EMS curves characterizing rock complexes composing the sedimentary cover are constructed, and changes in these complexes within the specified transition zone are traced. The standard curves of magnetotelluric (MT) and magnetovariational (MV) soundings are constructed from the results of long-term measurements at the ALX observation point located at the Moscow State University’s (MSU) geophysical base. The maps of thickness and total longitudinal conductance of the sedimentary cover are constructed from the results of interpretation of MT data obtained in the region. A conductor in the consolidated Earth’s crust is identified within the Voronezh anteclise. Prospects for further investigations of the region are associated with the tracing of the crustal conductor within the Voronezh anteclise, as well as with the organization of an observatory at the MSU’s geophysical base in order to perform long-term measurements of the electromagnetic (EM) and other geophysical fields.     

Blazars with spine-sheath structures

Multi-frequency (5, 8, 15 GHz) total intensity and polarization VLBA images of three sources from a complete sample of BL Lac objects (0745+241, 1418+546, and 1652+398) are presented together with global VLBI images of the quasar 1055+018 at 1.6 and 5 GHz. These images show signs of a spiral magnetic field in the central channel of the jet, as well as a region of longitudinal magnetic field in “sheaths” at the jet edges, which may indicate an interaction between the jet and the surrounding medium on spatial scales of several parsecs.     

Investigation of the deuteration of crystalline layer forms of silica and alumina in liquid D2O

The mechanism of hydrogen-deuterium isotopic exchange was studied in crystalline layer forms of silica (hydrous and cation-substituted SiO₂-X₂ and SiO₂-Y varieties) and alumina (hydrargillite and boehmite) in contact with liquid D₂O at temperatures of 20–200°C and saturated vapor pressure. Extensive exchange was observed between adsorbed H₂O and D₂O molecules via the self-diffusion mechanism in all silica varieties and boehmite at a temperature of 20°C. Deuterium substitution for hydrogen in structural OH groups was observed at 20°C only in the H-form of SiO₂-Y (0.7%) and boehmite (1.2 or 17% with molecular deuteration). When the temperature of the hydrothermal treatment of samples was raised up to 200°C, the degree of structural deuterium exchange increased up to 12% (35% with molecular deuteration) in the former case and up to 34% in the latter case. In the former case, the process of isotopic exchange occurred by the nucleophile substitution S_Ni near surface silicon atoms, and in the latter case, the electrophile substitution E_Ni in surface OH groups.     

Ankaramite: A New Type of High-Magnesium and High-Calcium Primitive Melt in the Magnitogorsk Island-Arc Zone (Southern Urals)

This work describes the geological position, mineral and chemical composition of high-Mg effusive ankaramites occurring as dykes and lava flows. They were found in the mélange zone of the western margin of the Magnitogorsk island arc zone in the Southern Urals. Data on the liquidus association of phenocrysts and on the composition of the matrix of effusives are given. According to the data obtained, the conclusion was drawn that the ankaramites studied can be attributed to the primary island arc melts, which were not subject to essential differentiation. This type of effusives has not been distinguished previously among island arc volcanogenic formations of the Urals. It is shown that ankaramites can be considered to be primary melts parental for dunite–clinopyroxenites–gabbro complexes of Ural–Alaskan type. The occurrence of ankaramites in the Paleozoic island arc formations of the Urals indicates the wehrlite composition of the mantle as the reason for the extremely wide development of wehrlites and clinopyroxenites in different mafic–ultramafic complexes of the Urals.