The First Results of U–Pb Isotope Dating of Detrital Zircons from the Upper Mesoproterozoic Gulliksenfellet Quartzite (Southern Part of Wedel Jarlsberg Land,Southwest Spitsbergen)

The first results of U–Pb isotopic dating (LA–ICP–MS) of detrital zircons from metasedimentary rocks of the pre-Devonian basement of the SW part of western Spitsbergen (from Upper Mezoproterozoic Gulliksenfellet quartzite) showed ages ranging from 1700 ± 25 to 2948 ± 27 Ma.     

Chemical analysis of natural objects by ion chromatographic method in combination with a priori calculations using IONCHROM software

This paper briefly describes original developments in the theoretical and practical ion chromatography. It is demonstrated that new methods may be applied for the highly-selective analysis of complex natural objects. The determination of different species of sulfur and other ions in the condensates of fumarolic gases is considered in detail as an example.     

The Bashilsky swell: an Upper Pleistocene extrusion in the Verkhnechegemskaya caldera (Northern Caucasus)

This work describes a young extrusive massif in the uppermost reaches of the Chegem River (Bashilauzu-su River), which had been considered as a feeder of the great sequence of Upper Pliocene rhyolite ignimbrites of the Verkhnechegemskaya caldera. The Upper Pleistocene age of the stratum, extrusive origin of automagmatic breccias and fluidolites, as well as its difference from rhyolites of the caldera are proven. The Bashilsky swell, located in the Late Pleistocene glacial trough, is evidence of young volcanism in this area, which has not been previously proposed.     

The upper Bajocian of the Crimean Mountains: Paleogeography and sedimentation conditions from palynological data

Based on the spore-pollen data, the mineral composition of clay rocks, analyzed structures and facies, and a general paleogeographic analysis, the sedimentation conditions and landscapes of islands located during the Late Bajocian in the region of the present-day the Crimean Mountains have been reconstructed. It is shown that the sublatitudinally elongated insular land zone had a width of 30 km, the heights of the islands were no more than 1 km, with steep mudflow-affected northern slopes and with an extensive river system on the southern slopes.     

Ionospheric response to a rocket launch from the Vostochnyi Cosmodrome

The atmospheric disturbances caused by the first rocket launch from the Vostochnyi Cosmodrome on April 28, 2016, were registered 10–24 min after the launch using the signals of the GPS/GLONASS global navigation satellite systems. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the disturbances allowed the conclusion that the launch vehicle moved northwest from the cosmodrome, which corresponds to a trajectory of the satellite movement to the orbit with an inclination of 98º.