Experimental calibration of oxygen isotope fractionation between quartz and zircon

We report the results of an experimental calibration of oxygen isotope fractionation between quartz and zircon. Data were collected from 700 to 1000 °C, 10–20 kbar, and in some experiments the oxygen fugacity was buffered at the fayalite–magnetite–quartz equilibrium. Oxygen isotope fractionation shows no clear dependence on oxygen fugacity or pressure. Unexpectedly, some high-temperature data (900–1000 °C) show evidence for disequilibrium oxygen isotope partitioning. This is based in part on ion microprobe data from these samples that indicate some high-temperature quartz grains may be isotopically zoned. Excluding data that probably represent non-equilibrium conditions, our preferred calibration for oxygen isotope fractionation between quartz and zircon can be described by:

This relationship can be used to calculate fractionation factors between zircon and other minerals. In addition, results have been used to calculate WR/melt–zircon fractionations during magma differentiation. Modeling demonstrates that silicic magmas show relatively small changes in δ¹⁸O values during differentiation, though late-stage mafic residuals capable of zircon saturation contain elevated δ¹⁸O values. However, residuals also have larger predicted melt–zircon fractionations meaning zircons will not record enriched δ¹⁸O values generally attributed to a granitic protolith. These results agree with data from natural samples if the zircon fractionation factor presented here or from natural studies is applied.     

Block and boulder accumulations along the coastline between Fins and Sur (Sultanate of Oman): tsunamigenic remains?

The rocky coastline of the Sultanate of Oman between Fins and Sur is decorated by a number of large blocks and boulder accumulations forming ramparts. The blocks occur as individual rocks of up to 40 tons, as imbricated sets and as ??boulder trains.?? Landward, the deposits change into a sand/boulder mixture and distal into sands. The coast is made up of Tertiary folded limestones and beach rock of Quaternary age, both also constitute the megaclasts. The transport distance from the fractured seaward platform of 6?C10?m above mean sea level varies between 20?m and more than 50?m. We found individual blocks of recent corals and overturned blocks with attached oysters and rock pools. Terrestrial laser scanning was used to analyze geomorphologic features as well as for volumetric estimates of the block weights. Tropical cyclones such as Gonu in 2007 or Phet in 2010 are known to have affected Oman??s coastline in the past. The coastal changes during recent cyclones were minor; therefore, we interpret the block deposits as tsunamigenic. However, this interpretation is not unambiguous. The most likely source area for a tsunami is seen in the Makran Subduction Zone situated in the northern Indian Ocean. Here, at least 4?C5 tsunamigenic earthquakes are documented.     

A Mesocyclone over the Northern Sea of Japan in February 2013

Oceanology - The article considers a particular event in the influence of a mesoscale cyclone (MC) on the northern Sea of Japan on February 10–11, 2013. The passage of the MC was accompanied...     

The Structure of the Bazhenov Horizon in the Northeast Part of West Siberia

A new variant of the structural-facies zonation of the Bazhenov horizon (Tithonian–Lower Berriasian) in the northeastern part of West Siberia was considered using lithofacies and structural analysis. The low content of terrigenous sedimentary material in the high-carbon facies of the Bazhenov Formation is explained by the capturing of the material by the relatively deep Pur–Taz Paleobasin, where the fan of the Yenisei–Khatanga strait was formed. The Pur–Taz Paleobasin was filled by the sediments of the Yanovstanov Formation. In the northeast the basin borders the vast and relatively shallow Ob Paleobasin, where the black shales of the oil-source Bazhenov Formation were accumulated.     

Dating of mine waste in lacustrine sediments using cesium-137

For over a century Medicine Lake in northern Idaho has received heavy-metal-laden tailings from the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Establishing the depositional chronology of the lake bottom sediments provides information on the source and rate of deposition of the tailings. Cesium-137, an isotope produced in the atmosphere by nuclear bomb tests, was virtually absent in the environment prior to 1951, but reached its apex in 1964. Our analysis of cesium-137 in the sediments of Medicine Lake revealed that 14 cm of fine-grained tailings were deposited in the lake from 1951 to 1964 and tailing deposition downstream was greatly reduced by the installation of tailings dams in the district in 1968. Cesium-137 analysis is accomplished by a fairly simple gamma-ray counting technique and should be a valuable tool for analyzing sedimentation in any lacustrine environment that was active during the 1950s and 1960s.     

Global ENSO-streamflow teleconnection,streamflow forecasting and interannual variability

Abstract

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been linked to climate anomalies throughout the world. This paper presents an overview of global ENSO-streamflow teleconnection and identifies regions where the relationship may be exploited to forecast streamflow several months ahead. The teleconnection is investigated by fitting a first harmonic to 24-month El Niño streamflow composites from 581 catchments worldwide and the potential for forecasting is investigated by calculating the lag correlation between streamflow and two indicators of ENSO. The analyses indicate clear ENSO-streamflow teleconnections in many catchments, some of which are consistent across large geographical regions. Strong and regionally consistent ENSO-streamflow teleconnections are identified in Australia and New Zealand, South and Central America, and weaker signals are identified in some parts of Africa and North America. The results suggest that the ENSO-streamflow relationship and the serial correlation in streamflow can be used to successfully forecast streamflow. The streamflow forecasts can be used to help manage water resources, particularly in systems with high interannual variability in Australia, southern and drier parts of Africa and some areas of North America.     

Seismicity of the northern part of Russian plate and its glaciostatic nature

The comparison of seismological materials with the front boundary of the latest continental glaciation has shown that all revealed really tectonic earthquakes occur exclusively in the occurrence area of a thick cover of this glaciation. The thickness of the glacier at a distance of about 50–100 km from its front could have reached 1 km, and the amplitude of glacioisostatic lowering and subsequent uplifts could have reached 0.3 km. The total amplitude of these movements, which were taking place during 20 thousand years, is comparable with the amplitudes of vertical neotectonic movements, which were taking place during 35–37 million years and on the average were three orders of magnitude more intense than neotectonic movements. With such amplitudes and speeds of vertical glacioisostatic movements, it looks quite plausible that the buried rupture zones could be revived recently (including in Holocene) with block movements of crystalline basement with an amplitude of a few tens of meters. This explains the localization of modern seismicity, which is a hazard to construction, within the occurrence domain of the latest glacial shield.     

Analysis of the intensities and profiles of the spectral line Mg xii 8.42 Å in the solar X-ray spectrum

High resolution profiles of the Mg xii 8.42 Å line in the solar X-ray spectrum were recorded from the Intercosmos 7 satellite. The Mg xii line intensity provides a sensitive indicator of the hot plasma content (T ? 3 × 10⁶ K) in coronal condensations and X-ray flare volumes. The ratio of the line intensity to the intensity of the adjacent continuum has been used to compute approximate thermal models of the emitting regions. For all the investigated coronal condensations the temperature distribution of plasma has been found to be a function monotonically decreasing with temperature. But for some X-ray bursts there occurred a distinct excess of the hot plasma of temperature between 6–10 × 10⁶K. FWHM values of the Mg xii line profiles have been used to estimate ion temperature in the emitting regions.