Pliocene ignimbrites of the Elbrus area in the Neogene-Quaternary volcanism history within the Greater Caucasus (isotope-geochronological data)

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Geochemical features of processes on the ground floor of the marginal filter in the river-sea system

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Another Source of Atmospheric Methane

The atmospheric concentration of methane is steadily increasin.Lacking of precise estimates of source and sink strengths for the atmospheric methane severely limits the current understanding of the global methane cycle.Agood budget of atmospheric methane can enhance our understanding of the global carbon cycle and global climate change,The known estimates of the main source and sink strengths are gresented in this paper,In terms of carbon isotopic studies,it is evidenced that the earth‘s primodial methane,which was trapped in the earth during its formation,may be another source of methane,with extensive,earth‘s degassing which is calleld the “breathing“ process of the earth and played an important role in the formation of the promitive atmosphere,large amounts of methane were carried from the deep interior to the surface and then found its way into the atmosphere.     

Microzoning of agates as a reflection of their formation dynamics

Agates are natural hierarchicalal structural assemblies composed largely of silica minerals: chalcedony, quartz, and quartzine. Microstructural heterogeneities, most typical of those of agate-forming minerals, are characterized by variations in periods of helicoidal twisting of chalcedony and by micrometric rhythmic alternation of zones with a low refractive index within the matrix of normal chalcedony, quartz, and quartzine. A study of the degree of crystallization of chalcedony using the Barsanova-Yakovleva method showed that neither helicoidal twisting nor refractive index zoning brought about any significant disturbance in the chalcedony structure. Helicoidal twisting is a result of the stresses caused by substitution of Si⁴⁺ for Al³⁺ asymmetric with respect to chalcedony crystal. It is suggested that layering by the refractive index developed due to accumulation of small portions of gel consisting of high silica polymers at the front of crystal growth.     

Development of Methods for Navigational Referencing of Circumlunar Spacecrafts to the Selenocentric Dynamic Coordinate System

Astronomy Reports - The initial form of present-day space optical observations contain considerable geometrical and brightness distortions. This problem can be solved based on geometrical...     

Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties Degradation and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Coal Rock Caused by CO2 Injection

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Geological sequestration of greenhouse gases has gained extensive attentions in recent years, but the degradation law of mechanical parameters and the...     

Some Investigations on Early Organization of Karst System

Karstsystemsaredynamicsystemsinspontaneoussuc-cessiveevolutionarisenfromtheinteractionbetweenwaterflowandsolub1emedium-Thecircu1ationofwaterprogres-sivelyandcontinuouslymodifiesthestructureofmediumfield,consequentlymodifyingthehydraulicbehaviorofthesystemitself'Someauthors(e.g.,FordandWilliams,l989)believedthatmostcarbonaterockswillbecomeconduitaquifersifsurficialerosionisnegligibleorsufficienttimeisgiven.Karstsystemsfailtodevelopconnectedconduiteitherduetoincompleteextension(becauseinsuffici…     

Geochemical types of Volkhovites and possible diamond resource potential of areas occupied by Holocene fluidisites

Volkhovites—tektite-like glasses—have been detected in the Holocene glacial drift along the right bank of the Volkhov River. A cryptomagmatic model of their formation and pre-Holocene age of volkhovite melts, cinder, and frothed glasses has been suggested (Skublov et al., 2007). Four geochemical types of volkhovites are distinguished: (1) manganous (Mn, Fe, Cr, V, Si, Nb, Pb, H), (2) magnesian (Mg, Al, Ti, F, B), (3) potassic (K, Rb, Cs), and (4) calcic (Ca, REEs, Ba, U, Th, Ta, Hf, Y, Sc, Cl). In light of the geochemical data, volkhovites are regarded as natural silicate glasses of kimberlite-carbonatite composition. Their types are called kimberlitic (Mn type), kimberlitic-carbonatitic (Mg type), lamproitic-carbonatitic (K type), and carbonatitic (Ca type). Volkhovites are suggested to be indicators of undiscovered diamond mineralization of kimberlite or carbonatite (Chagatai) types.     

Natural polycomponent solid solutions of the Ru–Os–Ir–Pt–Fe system from the eastern Witwatersrand (South Africa)

This study presents compositional features of platinum-group element mineralization derived from the Late Archaean placers in the eastern part of the Witwatersrand basin. The significant presence of platinum-group minerals, formed by polycomponent solid-solution series in the system Ru–Os–Ir–Pt(±Fe), was determined using an electron microprobe analysis. Compositional data indicate that the source for polycomponent solid solutions of the Ru–Os–Ir–Pt–Fe system was the Archaean mantle of the Earth, slightly differentiated with respect to platinum-group elements.     

Suprathermal ions in solar-wind outflows from coronal holes at 1 AU

The energy spectra and relative abundances of ³He, ⁴He, C, O, and Fe ions with energies of ~0.04–2 MeV/nucleon are studied using data from the ULEIS instrument on board the ACE spacecraft obtained during quiescent periods in 2006–2012. During the unique, prolonged minimum between cycles 23 and 24, 35 quiescent periods were distnguished, during which solar-wind flows from near-equatorial coronal holes (CHs) were detected. It is shown that the C/O and Fe/O ratios for suprathermal ions correspond to the relative abundances of the corresponding thermal ions in the fast and slow (Maxwellian) solar wind (SWICS/ACE), while the ⁴He/O ratio exceeds the corresponding ratio in the solar wind by a factor of two. The intensities of the ³He, ⁴He, C, O, and Fe suprathermal ions in outflows from CHs grow with the speed of the solar wind. This indicates that, in periods ofminimumsolar activity, suprathermal ions from CHs represent a high-temperature “tail” of the solar wind. An additional flux of suprathermal helium ions may also be contributed by other external sources.