Mesoscale eddies and baroclinic instability over the eastern Sakhalin shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk: a model-based analysis

Based on an eddy-permitting numerical model, the mesoscale variability in the East-Sakhalin Current is investigated during the winter-spring period. Analysis of necessary conditions for the development of baroclinic instability showed that the nearshore component of the East-Sakhalin Current is potentially baroclinic unstable in the first half-year. The simulated circulation uncovered a generation of anticyclonic eddies on the eastern Sakhalin shelf. It was established that a spatial scale of these eddies and the first baroclinic Rossby radius of deformation are values of the same order; a lifetime of these eddies varies from 4 to 6 weeks, given the Rossby number varies from 0.05 to 0.2. Analysis of the rate of eddy energy conversion on the eastern Sakhalin shelf showed that the generation of the revealed mesoscale eddies results from, mainly, baroclinic instability, whereas barotropic instability can be both favoring and preventing to the generation of these eddies.     

Adaptive POD-Galerkin Technique for Reservoir Simulation and Optimization

Mathematical Geosciences - This paper introduces a novel method using an adaptive functional basis for reduced order models based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). The method is intended to...     

Lithodemes in the new millenium: a bibliographical survey

The term “lithodeme” was proposed 30 years ago for the purpose of crystalline rock stratigraphy. However, there are inconsistencies in its understanding. For example, it is unclear whether it is suitable to apply this term to layered intrusions or not: different specialists/organizations offer different approaches. A bibliographical survey of the geological literature published after 2000 demonstrates that the term “lithodeme” is used too rarely, although its use for magmatic and metamorphic rocks is well balanced. In addition 65% of all papers considering lithodemes deal with North and South America. Moreover, some specialists employ genesis and age when they delineate lithodemes, whereas other do not. If modern geology really still needs the lithodemic approach, researchers should work towards reaching consensus on what the term “lithodeme” means, and they should also devote effort to promote this approach internationally.     

X-ray single-crystal and Raman study of (Na<Subscript>0.86</Subscript>Mg<Subscript>0.14</Subscript>)(Mg<Subscript>0.57</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>0.43</Subscript>)Si<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>6</Subscript>, a new pyroxene synthesized at 7 GPa and 1700 °C

A new pyroxene with formula (Na_0.86Mg_0.14)(Mg_0.57Ti_0.43)Si₂O₆, synthesized in a high-pressure toroidal ‘anvil-with-hole’ apparatus at P = 7 GPa and T = 1700 °C, was characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The compound was found to be monoclinic (R1 = 2.56 %), space group C2/c, with lattice parameters a = 9.687(2), b = 8.814(1), c = 5.290(1) Å, β = 107.853(2)°, V = 430.08(1) ų. The coexistence of Mg and Ti⁴⁺ at the M1 site does not induce strong modifications either to the M1 site or to the adjacent M2 site. The Raman spectrum of synthetic Na–Ti-pyroxene was obtained for the first time and compared with that of Mg₂Si₂O₆ (with very low concentrations of Na and Ti). The structural characterization of the Na–Ti–Mg-pyroxene is important, because the study of its thermodynamic constants provides new constraints on thermobarometry of the upper mantle assemblages.     

European glacial relict snails and plants: environmental context of their modern refugial occurrence in southern Siberia

Knowledge of present‐day communities and ecosystems resembling those reconstructed from the fossil record can help improve our understanding of historical distribution patterns and species composition of past communities. Here, we use a unique data set of 570 plots explored for vascular plant and 315 for land‐snail assemblages located along a 650‐km‐long transect running across a steep climatic gradient in the Russian Altai Mountains and their foothills in southern Siberia. We analysed climatic and habitat requirements of modern populations for eight land‐snail and 16 vascular plant species that are considered characteristic of the full‐glacial environment of central Europe based on (i) fossil evidence from loess deposits (snails) or (ii) refugial patterns of their modern distributions (plants). The analysis yielded consistent predictions of the full‐glacial central European climate derived from both snail and plant populations. We found that the distribution of these 24 species was limited to the areas with mean annual temperature varying from ?6.7 to 3.4 °C (median ?2.5 °C) and with total annual precipitation varying from 137 to 593 mm (median 283 mm). In both groups there were species limited to areas with colder and drier macroclimates (e.g. snails Columella columella and Pupilla loessica, and plants Kobresia myosuroides and Krascheninnikovia ceratoides), whereas other species preferred areas with relatively warmer and/or moister macroclimates (e.g. snails Pupilla turcmenica and P. alpicola, and plants Artemisia laciniata and Carex capillaris). Analysis of climatic conditions also indicated that distributional shifts of the studied species during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were closely related to their climatic tolerances. Our results suggest that the habitat requirements of southern Siberian populations can provide realistic insights into the reconstruction of Eurasian, especially central European, glacial environments. Data obtained from modern populations also highlight the importance of wet habitats as refugia in the generally dry full‐glacial landscape.