Eozoic complexes of the U.S.S.R.

Soviet geologists consider the Precambrian to be divided into two groups — Archaean and Proterozoic; but such a division is unsatisfactory. A major unconformity separates Proterozoic volcanic and sedimentary formations from an underlying sequence that contains two supergroups of supercrustal formations. The oldest of these is unanimously considered to be Archaean. Rocks of that supergroup play an essential part in the composition of the Baltic, Ukrainian, Aldan and Anabar Shields and of the ancient fold belts of the East-European and Siberian platforms.Distinctive features in the composition, tectonic structure, metamorphism and metallogeny of Archaean complexes lead to the conclusion that they were formed in specifically mobile areas, different from geosynclinal areas.The other supergroup of high-grade metamorphic rocks has no clear place in the accepted two-fold stratigraphic scheme of the Precambrian, and it is considered sometimes to be Archaean and sometimes to be Early Proterozoic. We propose restoring the forgotten name “Eozoic” for that supergroup. Eozoic complexes are characterized by peculiarities of composition and inner structure, which signify changes in the tectonic regime of the earth at the lower and upper boundaries of the Eozoic Supergroup. These peculiarities give grounds for distinguishing the Eozoic Supergroup as an independent stratigraphic division.The Stanovoy Complex of the southern part of the Aldan Shield is a stratotype for the Eozoic Supergroup. Many well-known stratigraphic subdivisions of the Siberian Platform (e.g., the Eniseiskaya, the Birusinskaya series and others), the Taratash Complex of the Urals, the Goranskaya and Shahdarinskaya series of the South-West Pamir, the Tikitch complex and Aulskaya series of the Ukrainian Shield, and in part the Belomorsky Complex of the Baltic Shield, as well as some others, are also Eozoic.The Eozoic complexes are characterized by the following specific features: only some supercrustal formations are typical for them; the small number of rock types which have a total thickness about 5–6 km; relatively monotonous mineral composition of the rocks; variable quantitative ratios of rocks; absence of contrasting marker beds; regional metamorphism and ultrametamorphism in the amphibolite facies; wide development of ultrametamorphic granitoids and migmatites; distinct tectonic differentiations of the basin of sedimentation.Dates determined by isotopic analyses, which mostly reflect the metamorphism of the deposits, fall predominantly in the range 2600–3100 Ma.     

Effects of voids and volume changes on the behaviour of frictional materials

Development of constitutive models for engineering materials is often based on a framework of elasticity and plasticity theories as developed for metals. Prsented here is a review of some of the basic differences in the experimentally observed behaviour of metals and frictional materials. Two of the distinguishing characteristics between metals and frictional materials are the absence or presence of voids and the tendency to change or maintain constant volume during compression and shear. These differences must be recognized in order to develop reasonable constitutive models for frictional materials.     

Transfer of resonance radiation in moving media

Astrophysics - The above examples show that the method of calculating profiles of resonance lines based on the replacement of the exact equation for the source function (1) by an equation of...