Origin,organic geochemistry,and estimation of the generation potential of Neogene lacustrine sediments from the Valjevo-Mionica Basin,Serbia

This paper reports an investigation of 60 samples of lacustrine sedimentary rocks of Neogene age lying at depths of 0–400 m in the Valjevo-Mionica Basin, Serbia. The goal of the study was to determine the origin and type of primary organic matter (OM), the degree of thermal alteration, the generation potential of OM from the rocks of this basin, and conditions in the sedimentation environment during the formation of the rocks. The potential of OM of the rocks was estimated on the basis of the thermolysis of a representative sample after its preliminary debituminization.     

Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation in Vojvodina,Serbia

Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation observed at 92 stations in Vojvodina (Serbia) were analyzed during the period 1946–2006. The rainfall series were examined by means of the empirical orthogonal functions (EOF). The first set of singular vectors explains from 68.8 % (in summer) to 81.8 % (in winter) of the total variance. The temporal variability of the time series associated with the main EOF configurations (the principal components, PCs) was examined using the Mann–Kendall test and the spectral analysis. The time series of PC1 revealed decreasing trend in the winter and spring precipitation and increasing trend in the autumn, summer, and annual precipitation. The relationships between the first PC and circulation patterns, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic (EA) pattern, and East Atlantic/West Russia pattern, were also investigated. The PC1, displaying temporal behavior of the first mode, demonstrated evident correspondence with the NAO index in analysis of the annual, winter, and autumn precipitation. Power spectra of the PC1 show statistically significant oscillations of about 3.3 years for the spring precipitation and about 8 and 15 years for the winter precipitation. Comparisons with spectral analysis of authors for some regions in Europe, most of them in the Mediterranean domain, show that similar periodicities are detected.     

A critical evaluation of using bulk sediment instead of fine fraction in environmental marine studies, investigated on example of Rijeka harbor, Croatia

This work tested the preferential use of fine (<63 μm) or bulk sediment (<2 mm) in environmental research of marine sediments in the Eastern Adriatic. Fine fraction sediment containing silt and clay (<63 μm), predominating in the studied area, was examined to evaluate past and present anthropogenic inputs and to test our hypothesis that investigation of bulk sediment should be preferred. Following aqua regia digestion, chemical analyses of 58 elements were performed by ICP/OES, ICP-MS and cold vapor AAS, and statistical analysis was performed. The concentrations of the majority of the analyzed elements increased with age of the sediment, except for Ag and Sn, which had higher concentrations in recent sediments. The previous main sources of metal contamination in Rijeka harbor were now abandoned municipal-sewage outflow and oil refinery, and continuing harbor activities and antifouling paint use. All activities except of antifouling paint use have been decreasing significantly. Anomalies of selected elements were determined by the box-plot method. More anomalies were found in the bulk sediment than in the fine fraction. Results of Q-modality clustering and factor analysis in the fine fraction almost correlate with that applied on bulk sediments. Thus, it can be said that the differences between the element distribution in the bulk and fine fraction are not statistically significant. Our conclusion is that analysis of bulk marine sediment gives a better insight into the state of pollution and supports previous recommendations to use bulk sediment as a chosen media for environmental studies.     

Effects of sinuosity factor on hydrodynamic parameters estimation in karst systems: a dye tracer experiment from the Beyyayla sinkhole (Eskişehir,Turkey)

The sinuosity factor (SF) is a critical value in karst systems in terms of estimating their hydrodynamic parameters including groundwater velocity, coefficient of dispersion, etc., through dye tracer experiments. SF has been used in a number of different dye tracer experiments in karstic systems to estimate a representative flow path. While knowing SF is crucially important in the estimation of hydrodynamic parameters, its calculation is associated with significant uncertainty due to the complexity of subsurface karstic features. And yet, only a few studies have discussed its uncertainties, which might lead some errors in estimation of hydrodynamic parameters from dye tracer experiment. In this study, dye tracer experiments were conducted in two consecutive years (2003 and 2004) representing low and high flow conditions in the Beyyayla sinkhole (Eski?ehir, Turkey) where the flow path is well known. Uranine was used in experiments as a tracer and QTRACER computer program was used to determine the hydrodynamic properties of the Beyyayla karst system as well as to gain insights into the effects of SF from dye tracer experiments on estimated parameters. The results showed that the breakthrough curve follows a unimodal and a bimodal distribution in low and high flow conditions, respectively. These different distributions stem from the water transport mechanisms, where velocities were calculated as 58.2 and 93.6 m h^?1 during low and high flow conditions observed in a spring emerging from the south side of the studied system. The results also show that the coefficient of dispersion, Reynolds number, and Peclet number increased and longitudinal dispersivity decreased with the higher flow rate. Furthermore, the estimated parameters did not vary with either the flow conditions or the tracer transit time, but they have shown some variations with SF. When SF was increased by 50 %, a change in these parameters was obtained in the range of 50–125 %.     

Preservation of diagenetic products of β-carotene in sedimentary rocks from the Lopare Basin (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Sedimentary rocks from the saline formation of the Lopare Basin were investigated. Sediments contain a moderate amount of immature to marginally mature algal organic matter deposited under slightly reducing to anoxic and slightly saline to hypersaline conditions. Almost all of the samples contain β-carotane in a relatively high quantity, and in some, it represents the most abundant compound in the total distribution of hydrocarbons. The objective of the study was to determine the conditions that are favourable to precursors of β-carotene and/or the preservation of the carotenoid hydrocarbon skeleton. Moreover, the dominant transformation pathways of β-carotene under different redox and salinity conditions, which lead to the formation of aromatic carotenoids were defined.     

青海省都兰县阿拉克湖地区水系沉积物地球化学特征及找矿方向

分析了区内的水系沉积物地球化学参数特征及其元素的相关性,认为元素(地球化学)异常(高值区)严格受东昆中断裂带、东昆南断裂带、布青山南坡乌断裂带,以及阿尼玛卿蛇绿岩带和东昆中蛇绿岩带,古-中元古代地层、岩体接触带、热液活动、脉岩等因素联合控制。根据异常特征与成矿地质条件,圈定了找矿远景区5个,且为该区下一步的找矿工作指明了方向。     

Direct detection of the secondary spectrum of the interacting eclipsing binary TX UMa

Eclipsing binary TX UMa was observed with the D.A.O. high-dispersion spectrographs in 1969–1970, with emphasis on the detailed coverage of the primary minimum. One spectrum was taken exclusively within totality, thus exhibiting an uncontaminated spectrum of the secondary component. This leads to spectral reclassification of the secondary (F6 IV). The narrowing of the line profile of the H-line in totality is interpreted in terms of synchronous rotation of the secondary (v sini80 km s^–1) while the primary rotates faster (v sini130 km s^–1) than synchronously (v sini50 km s^–1). Although the secondary does not fill in its Roche lobe fully, the system exhibits pronounced indications of rather strong physical interaction. This is now supported also by the profound changes of the line profiles of the H-line with phase.