The production of light elements in unconventional cosmologies with VMOs

The abundances of light elements (deuterium, helium and lithium) are calculated in unconventional cosmologies in which these elements are produced by interaction of fast -particles ejected by massive pregalactic stars with a purely hydrogenous cosmological substrate. The number density and energetics of such stars needed for suitable production of light elements are estimated. It is shown that the models always lead to overproduction of lithium. The intensity of ultraviolet, X-ray, and -ray emission caused by explosions of pregalactic massive stars is calculated. The distortions of cosmic background radiation by Compton losses of electrons heated by explosive stars are also calculated.     

Dangerous geological processes in the Baikal rift zone and adjacent territories

In the context of active endogenic, exogenic, and technogenic factors, the dynamics of developing geological hazards and risks is estimated for the linear transport systems that run across the strong earthquake epicentral areas of the Baikal rift zone and adjacent territories. The presence of ancient and new seismic structures in the modern relief can be regarded as an indicator of places of intense development of exogeodynamic processes and zones of hazard.     

Using Models of the Deep Structure of the Earth’s Crust and Upper Mantle Based on GOCE Gravity Data in Metallogenic Analysis

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Gravimetric data obtained by the GOCE spacecraft contributes to the development of global models of the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and...     

Time-dependent convection at high latitudes

A fully time-dependent ionospheric convection model, in which electric potentials are derived by an analytic solution of Laplaces equation, is described. This model has been developed to replace the empirically derived average convection patterns currently used routinely in the Sheffield/SEL/UCL coupled thermosphere/ionosphere/plasmasphere model (CTIP) for modelling disturbed periods. Illustrative studies of such periods indicate that, for the electric field pulsation periods imposed, long-term averages of parameters such as Joule heating and plasma density have significantly different values in a time-dependent model compared to those derived under the same mean conditions in a steady-state model. These differences are indicative of the highly non-linear nature of the processes involved.     

Glacial advances constrained by Be exposure dating of bedrock landslides, Kyrgyz Tien Shan

Numerous large landslide deposits occur in the Tien Shan, a tectonically active intraplate orogen in Central Asia. Yet their significance in Quaternary landscape evolution and natural hazard assessment remains unresolved due to the lack of "absolute" age constraints. Here we present the first ¹⁰Be exposure ages for three prominent (> 10⁷ m³) bedrock landslides that blocked major rivers and formed lakes, two of which subsequently breached, in the northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Three ¹⁰Be ages reveal that one landslide in the Alamyedin River occurred at 11–15 ka, which is consistent with two ¹⁴C ages of gastropod shells from reworked loess capping the landslide. One large landslide in Aksu River is among the oldest documented in semi-arid continental interiors, with a ¹⁰Be age of 63–67 ka. The Ukok River landslide deposit(s) yielded variable ¹⁰Be ages, which may result from multiple landslides, and inheritance of ¹⁰Be. Two ¹⁰Be ages of 8.2 and 5.9 ka suggest that one major landslide occurred in the early to mid-Holocene, followed by at least one other event between 1.5 and 0.4 ka. Judging from the regional glacial chronology, all three landslides have occurred between major regional glacial advances. Whereas Alamyedin and Ukok can be considered as postglacial in this context, Aksu is of interglacial age. None of the landslide deposits show traces of glacial erosion, hence their locations and ¹⁰Be ages mark maximum extents and minimum ages of glacial advances, respectively. Using toe-to-headwall altitude ratios of 0.4–0.5, we reconstruct minimum equilibrium-line altitudes that exceed previous estimates by as much as 400 m along the moister northern fringe of the Tien Shan. Our data show that deposits from large landslides can provide valuable spatio-temporal constraints for glacial advances in landscapes where moraines and glacial deposits have low preservation potential.     

Age and isotopic studies of some Pan-African granites from North-Central Nigeria

Twenty-nine Rb-Sr whole-rock isotopic analyses and three U-Pb zircon analyses on foliated granites and largely unfoliated charnockitic rocks indicate that the central part of the Pan-African belt in west Africa was characterised by intense orogenic plutonism. These data and Rb-Sr analyses on muscovite books from late cross-cutting pegmatites indicate that the peak of magmatic activity occurred 610 ± 10 m.y. ago.Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios for the granitic and charnockitic rocks are in the range 0.7065–0.7125, and indicate a significantly older crustal component in the magmas.     

Regional Problems in Water Use in Siberian Industrial Agglomerations

Water Resources - The basic indicators of regional water use have been identified and assessed as a component of a single social–natural–technogenic system. These indicators have been...     

Nature of the small main belt Asteroid 3169 Ostro

We present a set of rotational lightcurve measurements of the small main belt Asteroid 3169 Ostro. Our observations reveal an unambiguous, double-peaked rotational lightcurve with a peak-to-peak variation up to 1.2±0.05 mag and a synodic period of 6.509±0.001 h. From the large flux variation and the overall shape of the lightcurves, we suggest that 3169 Ostro could be a tightly bound binary or a contact binary, similar to the Trojan Asteroid 624 Hektor. A shape model of this system is proposed on the assumption that 3169 Ostro is a Roche binary described by a pair of homogeneous elongated bodies, with a size ratio of 0.87, in hydrostatic equilibrium and in circular synchronous motion around each other. The direction of the spin axis is determined modulo 180° by its J2000 ecliptic coordinates λ₀=50±10°, β₀=±54±5°. The binary interpretation and the pole solution adequately fit the earlier photometric observations made in 1986 and 1988. However, additional supporting lightcurves are highly desirable especially in the next mutual events occurrence of 2008 and 2009 in order to remove the pole ambiguity and to confirm unambiguously the binary nature of 3169 Ostro.     

Allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter in surface waters in Karelia

A relationship between indirect chemical indices of organic matter content of surface waters and light absorption in the visible and ultraviolet ranges is discussed. The allochthonous and autochthonous types of organic matter are found to essentially differ in the rate of light absorption. Techniques are proposed for the calculation of the concentrations of allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter by the integral rate of light consumption in the visible region and the bichromate oxidability of water, as well as by three indirect indices: chemical oxygen demand, permanganate oxidability, and water color index. The mean concentrations of allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter in large lakes (Ladoga, Onega, and Baikal) and in rivers and smaller water bodies in Karelia (>300 water objects) are analyzed. Allochthonous organic matter was found to predominate in most surface waters of Karelia (>80%), while allochthonous organic matter predominates only in lakes with a small specific catchment area (supposedly, <5) and in highly eutrophic lakes.     

“Pure” supernovae and accelerated expansion of the Universe

A special class of type Ia supernovae that is not subject to ordinary and additional intragalactic gray absorption and chemical evolution has been identified. Analysis of the Hubble diagrams constructed for these supernovae confirms the accelerated expansion of the Universe irrespective of the chemical evolution and possible gray absorption in galaxies.