New data on the Holocene evolution of the Dvina Bay (White Sea)

Doklady Earth Sciences - The Holocene sediments from the inner part of the Dvina Bay of the White Sea (core no. 6042) were analyzed with multidisciplinary methods for the first time. The age of the...     

Vertical Fluxes of Suspended Sedimentary Matter in Arctic Sedimentogenesis of Intracontinental Seas

Doklady Earth Sciences - Based on long-term studies of a small sea in the Arctic Ocean, new regularities in the sedimentary process under the conditions of Arctic sedimentogenesis were established....     

Hydrothermal Mineral Assemblages at 71° N of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (First Results)

Oceanology - The article discusses the preliminary results of plume and bottom sediment studies of the Trollveggen hydrothermal vent field based on data from cruise 68 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav...     

The supply of trace elements from the atmosphere recorded in a natural archive by the example of the Ilas ombrotrophic bog in the White Sea drainage basin

The results of studies are presented for the elemental composition of peat from the Ilas ombrotrophic bog (White Sea drainage basin). The calculations of enrichment factors of trace elements over the section of the bog peat relatively to the average composition of the Earth’s continental crust showed that the concentrations of most of chemical elements is determined by the contributions of lithogenic and biogenic sources, and the content of trace elements is equal to the background level. Enrichment growth since the beginning of intense development of European industry until the early 21th century was revealed only for Zn, Sb, Pb, and Cd. These elements were supplied to the bog resulting from long-range air transport and precipitation from the atmosphere. No pronounced heavy-metal contamination caused by the Arkhangelsk agglomeration was revealed for the peat in the Ilas bog.     

Vertical Distribution of Radiation and Energy Balance Partitioning Within and Above a Lodgepole Pine Stand Recovering from a Recent Insect Attack

The current outbreak of mountain pine beetle (MPB) that started in the late 1990s in British Columbia, Canada, is the largest ever recorded in the north American native habitat of the beetle. The killing of trees is expected to change the vertical distribution of net radiation ( $Q^*$ Q ? ) and the partitioning of latent ( $Q_\mathrm{E}$ Q E ) and sensible ( $Q_\mathrm{H}$ Q H ) heat fluxes in the different layers of an attacked forest canopy. During an intensive observation period in the summer of 2010, eddy-covariance flux and radiation measurements were made at seven heights from ground level up to 1.34 times the canopy height in an MPB-attacked open-canopy forest stand $(\hbox {leaf area index} = 0.55~\mathrm{{m}}^{2}\ \mathrm{{m}}^{-2})$ ( leaf area index = 0.55 m 2 m - 2 ) in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The lodgepole pine dominated stand with a rich secondary structure (trees and understorey not killed by the beetle) was first attacked by the MPB in 2003 and received no management. In this study, the vertical distribution of the energy balance components and their sources and sinks were analyzed and energy balance closure (EBC) was determined for various levels within the canopy. The low stand density resulted in approximately 60 % of the shortwave irradiance and 50 % of the daily total $Q^*$ Q ? reaching the ground. Flux divergence calculations indicated relatively strong sources of latent heat at the ground and where the secondary structure was located. Only very weak sources of latent heat were found in the upper part of the canopy, which was mainly occupied by dead lodgepole pine trees. $Q_\mathrm{H}$ Q H was the dominant term throughout the canopy, and the Bowen ratio ( $Q_\mathrm{H}/Q_\mathrm{E}$ Q H / Q E ) increased with height in the canopy. Soil heat flux ( $Q_\mathrm{G}$ Q G ) accounted for approximately 4 % of $Q^*$ Q ? . Sensible heat storage in the air ( $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,H}$ Δ Q S , H ) was the largest of the energy balance storage components in the upper canopy during daytime, while in the lower canopy sensible heat storage in the boles ( $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,B}$ Δ Q S , B ) and biochemical energy storage ( $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,C}$ Δ Q S , C ) were the largest terms. $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,H}$ Δ Q S , H was almost constant from the bottom to above the canopy. $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,C}$ Δ Q S , C , $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,B}$ Δ Q S , B and latent heat storage in the air ( $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,E}$ Δ Q S , E ) varied more than $\Delta Q_\mathrm{S,H}$ Δ Q S , H throughout the canopy. During daytime, energy balance closure was high in and above the upper canopy, and in the lowest canopy level. However, where the secondary structure was most abundant, ${\textit{EBC}} \le 66\,\%$ EBC ≤ 66 % . During nighttime, the storage terms together with $Q_\mathrm{G}$ Q G made up the largest part of the energy balance, while $Q_\mathrm{H}$ Q H and $Q_\mathrm{E}$ Q E were relatively small. These radiation and energy balance measurements in an insect-attacked forest highlight the role of secondary structure in the recovery of attacked stands.     

Paleochannels on the Northern Slope of the Derbent Basin,Caspian Sea

The results of studies in the paleochannel of the Volga River, which was discovered earlier on the northwestern slope of the Derbent Basin, Caspian Sea, are presented. Seismoacoustic profiling in the paleochannel, combined with placement of submerged buoy stations equipped with current gauges, water temperature gauges, and sediment traps showed that the channel is not silted and cold heavy water is transported along it to the deep sea part of the sea, avoiding the general water transit along the western coast of the Central Caspian Sea. The preliminary calculations show that water discharge through the channel to the near-bottom part of the sea can be about 8–10 km³/yr.

     

Features of trace metal distribution in the components of the ecosystem of the Lost City hydrothermal vent field (North Atlantic)

The biogeochemical features of the microelement distribution in the components of the ecosystem of the Lost City low-temperature field of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are determined by the processes of serpentinization in ultrabasic rocks. In the Lost City biotope water, the concentration of trace metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Ni, Cr, Pb, and As) is from n × 10 to 10⁴ times higher than in the ocean water. The microelement content demonstrates a similar character of distribution in both types of calcite biominerals forming the carbonate matrix of the bivalve mussels Bathymodiolus and the scleractinian corals Anthozoa.     

Geochemistry of terricolous lichens in the White Sea catchment area

This paper presents new data on the multielemental composition of terricolous lichens in the White Sea catchment area. The content of 51 chemical elements was determined in 31 samples using modern analytical methods. It was shown that the chemical composition of terricolous lichens varies widely and depends on many factors. The lithogenic dust plays the main role in accumulation of Ti, Cr, Co, Ga, Fe, Zr, Nb, Ga, Th, U, and REE. Long-range transport from remote pollution sources is important for Pb, Zn, Cd, Bi, Hg, and Se. The Kostomuksha ore dressing mill provides the local enrichment of the lichens in Fe, whereas the Monchegorsk copper-nickel enterprise affects large distances and additionally enriches the lichens in Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, and Cd in comparison with the background regions. The marine impact is reflected in elevated contents and enrichment factors in Na, Mg, and the Na/K ratio.     

Seismic anisotropy — the state of the art: II

Summary. The theory, causes, observations, and possible applications of seismic anisotropy in the Earth have developed considerably since the previous state of the art paper was published in 1977. The behaviour of waves in layered anisotropic media is now much better understood and the evidence for seismic anisotropy indicates that anisotropy is likely to be present throughout much of the crust and upper mantle. The top few hundred kilometres of the mantle appears to be anisotropic with the orientations aligned by the present or palaeo stress-field. The upper part of the crust is frequently anisotropic, probably due to cracks differentially aligned by the non-lithostatic stresses. The possibility of being able to monitor crack geometry by seismic techniques opens a wide range of applications in currently important activities.