On the atomic constants of ReI

We have experimentally studied the excitation of the rhenium atom by collisions with slow monoenergetic electrons and measured 47 excitational cross sections for lines of ReI at an electron energy of 50 eV. Previously published information about the probabilities of radiative transitions of ReI is analyzed. The data for two experimental studies of the ratios Iλ/gA for transitions with a common upper level differ by three orders of magnitude.     

Physicochemical parameters of the melts participating in the formation of chromite ore hosted in the Klyuchevsky ultramafic massif,the Central Urals,Russia

The results of melt inclusion study are reported for chromites of the Klyuchevsky ultramafic massif, which is the most representative of all Ural ultramafic massifs localized beyond the Main Ural Fault Zone. The massif is composed of a dunite-harzburgite complex (tectonized mantle peridotite) and a dunite-wehrlite-clinopyroxenite-gabbro complex (layered portion of the ophiolitic section). The studied Kozlovsky chromite deposit is located in the southeastern part of the Klyuchevsky massif and hosted in serpentinized dunite as a series of lenticular bodies and layers up to 7–8 m thick largely composed of disseminated and locally developed massive ore. Melt inclusions have been detected in chromites of both ore types. The heated and then quenched into glass melt inclusions and host minerals were analyzed on a Camebax-Micro microprobe. The glasses of melt inclusions contain up to 1.06 wt % Na₂O + K₂O and correspond to melts of normal alkalinity. In SiO₂ content (49–56 wt %), they fit basalt and basaltic andesite. The melt inclusions are compared with those from chromites of the Nurali massif in the southern Urals and the Karashat massif in southern Tuva. The physicochemical parameters of magmatic systems related to the formation of disseminated and massive chromite ores of the Klyuchevsky massif are different. The former are characterized by a wider temperature interval (1185–1120°C) in comparison with massive chromite ore (1160–1140°C).     

Detection of radio recombination lines of hydrogen ionized by cosmic-ray protons in the cool interstellar medium

The emission of hydrogen radio recombination lines from a cloud of cool interstellar matter toward the radio source Cassiopeia A has been detected. The formation of the radio recombination lines is initiated by cosmic rays. The rate of ionization of the interstellar hydrogen by cosmic-ray protons measured from the radio recombination lines using the most direct method is ζ_H = (1 ± 0.25)×10⁻¹⁶ s⁻¹. This value of ζ_H is compared with measurements obtained using other methods.     

Petrology of the tin-bearing granite-leucogranites of the Piaoak Massif, Northern Vietnam

The Piaoak tin-bearing granite-leucogranites located in the Caobang Province of Northern Vietnam compose a stock-like hypabyssal body. Host rocks are represented by Early Devonian carbonate sequences and Early Triassic ??black?? shales. The geochronological age of the Piaoak granite-leucogranites corresponds to the Late Cretaceous: T = 83.5 ± 6.2 Ma, ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr method; T = 89.7 ± 1.0 Ma, ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar method. The massif has a simple basic to acid order: two-mica and muscovite granite-leucogranite ?? raremetal aplites, pegmatites ?? tin-bearing greisens and hydrothermal veins. The petrographic and microstructural studies revealed a sharp change in crystallization conditions of the granite-leucogranite magma at the late magmatic stage and formation of muscovite via incongruent melting of protolithionite. The study of melt and coexisting fluid inclusions showed that solidus crystallization occurred under fluid-saturated conditions at 635?C600°C. In composition, the granite-leucogranites of the Piaoak Massif correspond to the raremetal-plumasite geochemical type (according to L.V. Tauson), and reach Li-F facies in terms of their rare-element composition. The composition of aplites and pegmatites demonstrates that granite-leucogranite magma did not accumulate lithophile and volatile components in the residual melt during differentiation, but was initially enriched in rare-metals. It is most probable that the melt was generated from Proterozoic lithotectonic complexes and overlaying Lower Triassic ??black?? shales.     

Reservoir induced seismicity in the Koyna–Warna region,India: Overview of the recent results and hypotheses

The state of the art in the geological and geophysical study of the region of Koyna and Warna water reservoirs is reviewed. The probable geodynamical factors of induced seismicity are discussed. The detailed geophysical surveys, satellite geodetic data, and time history of the seismicity in the region reveal a complicated pattern of the structure and recent geodynamics of the region. The existing data suggest that the induced seismicity is here most likely to be caused by the regional (intraplate) stresses driving the displacements along the orthogonal network of the faults whose strength has dropped and continues decreasing due to the reservoir impoundment and operation processes. The evolution of the seismicity which started immediately after the rapid filling of the Koyna reservoir in the region of the dam, then rapidly expanded southwards and eventually became concentrated in the region of the subsequently constructed Warna reservoir shows that seismic events can be initiated by a number of factors whose contributions may vary with time. The key ones among them include reservoir loading and its seasonal variations; water saturation of the faults which guide the propagation of the front of fracture, increased permeability, and, probably, mineral transformations (hydrolysis) under the water level fluctuations in the reservoirs; and displacement of the front of the high pore pressure down to the main source zone of the earthquakes at a depth of 6–8 km. Based on the analysis presented in the paper, we outline the directions of the future research aimed at studying the nature and dynamics of induced seismicity in the region of large water reservoirs.     

Error analysis of integrated water vapor measured by СIMEL photometer

Water vapor plays a key role in weather and climate forming, which leads to the need for continuous monitoring of its content in different parts of the Earth. Intercomparison and validation of different methods for integrated water vapor (IWV) measurements are essential for determining the real accuracies of these methods. CIMEL photometers measure IWV at hundreds of ground-based stations of the AERONET network. We analyze simultaneous IWV measurements performed by a CIMEL photometer, an RPG-HATPRO MW radiometer, and a FTIR Bruker 125-HR spectrometer at the Peterhof station of St. Petersburg State University. We show that the CIMEL photometer calibrated by the manufacturer significantly underestimates the IWV obtained by other devices. We may conclude from this intercomparison that it is necessary to perform an additional calibration of the CIMEL photometer, as well as a possible correction of the interpretation technique for CIMEL measurements at the Peterhof site.     

Study of the ice conditions in the Gulf of Ob

The results of theoretical studies of fracture lines in the ice floes of the Gulf of Ob as a function of the coefficient of internal sliding are presented in this paper. An estimate of the fractal dimensions of the emerging topological structures and the results of the calculation of stresses in the ice cover of the Gulf of Ob are presented as functions of different directions of external forcing caused by the joint action of winds and currents on the ice. The geographical locations of the zones of possible loads are shown, together with the estimates of the hummock sizes in the zones of the maximal compression of the ice floes in the Gulf of Ob.     

Study of the mutual influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation processes and the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations

On the basis of the nonlinear techniques for the estimation of coupling between oscillatory systems from time series, we investigate the dynamics of climatic modes characterizing global and Northern Hemisphere (NH) processes. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation indices and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices are analyzed in terms of the most reliable data from 1950 through 2004 and earlier data since the 19th century. These indices characterize changes in NH atmospheric pressure (specifically, sea-level pressure in the North Atlantic and NH extratropical latitudes as a whole) and in equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature and sea-level pressure to which the strongest variations of global surface temperature and global climate on interannual time scales and of regional climatic anomalies in the NH are linked. The methods used are based on phase-dynamics modeling and nonlinear prediction models (a nonlinear version of Granger causality). From both methods and various ENSO indices, the inference about the ENSO effect on the NAO during the latter half of the 20th century and in the early 21st century is made with confidence probability of at least 0.95. The influence is characterized by a time delay of about two years. No inverse influence is found with a similar degree of reliability. Results of estimating the coupling between the ENSO and the NAO depend on the type of index that is used to describe the NAO. The ENSO effect on the NAO is detected with sufficient confidence when the NAO index is chosen to be a larger scale characteristic. However, when a more local index of the NAO is used, no statistically significant coupling to the ENSO is found. Increasing the length of the analyzed ENSO and NAO series (over more than 100 yr) does not lead to any more reliable detection of coupling. Analysis of the data for different time intervals during 1950–2004 has revealed a strengthening of the ENSO effect on the NAO, although this inference is not reliable.