Sedimentogenesis in the White Sea: Vertical Fluxes of Suspended Particulate Matter and Absolute Masses of Bottom Sediments

Oceanology - A new approach has been applied to studying marine sedimentation using dispersed sedimentary material in sediment traps compared to the surface layer of bottom sediments. Based on...     

Research Results on Ecological Hazard Objects in Abrosimov Bay (Novaya Zemlya,Kara Sea)

Oceanology - The article presents results of field research on environmental assessment in Abrosimov Bay (Yuzhny Island of Novaya Zemlya) in connection with the existing RW disposal sites in this...     

Mini-inflation prior to the cosmic confinement transition?

The onset of the confinement transition in the early universe is studied within the Friedmann model. Exploiting a bag model equation of state for the deconfined matter, which is generalized to include also metastable states, the possibility of a mini-inflationary epoch is demonstrated. A criterion of metastability is derived to estimate parameters of this mini-inflation.     

Essential properties of the cD galaxy in Abell 1795 — II. Radio structure

We consider current problems connected with the evolution of central dominant (cD) galaxies in clusters. In the second part of this series, internal properties of the cD galaxy — in particular its radio structure — are related to the appropriate ones of the cluster. The observations point to an earlier jet ejection along the major axis of the galaxy and a following change of the jet axis. From the existence of “hot-spot” like regions in different directions it is suggested that the radio engine would have to be intermittent with a relatively short period. Alternatively to the intermittent ejection scenario, the radio morphology of 4C 26.42 can be explained in the frame of the “standard” beam or jet model. The radio structure of 4C 26.42 being an inversion-symmetric configuration, which is probably due to galactic cannibalism, could be interpreted as a transition at the inner hot spots (at about 1 kpc) from supersonic, stable Fanaroff-Riley type II jets to subsonic, unstable FR I type structures (“plumes”). A quantitative investigation of the two scenarios for jet interaction with the surroudning interstellar/intercluster medium in 4C 26.42 gives parameter values in reasonable agreement with the ones discussed in the literature for related objects.     

Can sediment supply variations create sequences? Insights from stratigraphic forward modelling

Classic sequence stratigraphy suggests depositional sequences can form due to changes in accommodation and due to changes in sediment supply. Accommodation‐dominated sequences are problematic to define rigorously, but are commonly interpreted from outcrop and subsurface data. In contrast, supply‐dominated sequences are much less commonly identified. We employ numerical stratigraphic forward modelling to compare stratal geometries forced by cyclic changes in relative sea level with stratal geometries forced by sediment discharge and water discharge changes. Our quantitative results suggest that both relative sea‐level oscillations and variations in sediment/water discharge ratio are able to form sequence‐bounding unconformities independently, confirming previous qualitative sequences definitions. In some of the experiments, the two types of sequence share several characteristics, such as an absence of coastal‐plain topset deposits and stratal offlap, something typically interpreted as the result of falling relative sea level. However, the stratal geometries differ when variations in amplitude and frequency of relative sea‐level change, sediment/water discharge ratio, transport diffusion coefficient and initial bathymetry are applied. We propose that the supply‐dominated sequences could be recognised in outcrop or in the subsurface if the observations of stratal offlap and the absence of coastal‐plain topset can be made without any strong evidence of relative sea‐level fall (e.g. descending shoreline trajectory). These quantitative results suggest that both supply‐dominated and accommodation‐dominated sequences are likely to occur in the ancient record, as a consequence of multiple, possibly complex, controls.     

Strain analysis of a seismically imaged mass‐transport complex,offshore Uruguay

Strain style, magnitude and distribution within mass‐transport complexes (MTCs) are important for understanding the process evolution of submarine mass flows and for estimating their runout distances. Structural restoration and quantification of strain in gravitationally driven passive margins have been shown to approximately balance between updip extensional and downdip contractional domains; such an exercise has not yet been attempted for MTCs. We here interpret and structurally restore a shallowly buried (c. 1,500 mbsf) and well‐imaged MTC, offshore Uruguay using a high‐resolution (12.5 m vertical and 15 × 12.5 m horizontal resolution) three‐dimensional seismic‐reflection survey. This allows us to characterise and quantify vertical and lateral strain distribution within the deposit. Detailed seismic mapping and attribute analysis shows that the MTC is characterised by a complicated array of kinematic indicators, which vary spatially in style and concentration. Seismic‐attribute extractions reveal several previously undocumented fabrics preserved in the MTC, including internal shearing in the form of sub‐orthogonal shear zones, and fold‐thrust systems within the basal shear zone beneath rafted‐blocks. These features suggest multiple transport directions and phases of flow during emplacement. The MTC is characterised by a broadly tripartite strain distribution, with extensional (e.g. normal faults), translational and contractional (e.g. folds and thrusts) domains, along with a radial frontally emergent zone. We also show how strain is preferentially concentrated around intra‐MTC rafted‐blocks due to their kinematic interactions with the underlying basal shear zone. Overall, and even when volume loss within the frontally emergent zone is included, a strain difference between extension (1.6–1.9 km) and contraction (6.7–7.3 km) is calculated. We attribute this to a combination of distributed, sub‐seismic, ‘cryptic’ strain, likely related to de‐watering, grain‐scale deformation and related changes in bulk sediment volume. This work has implications for assessing MTCs strain distribution and provides a practical approach for evaluating structural interpretations within such deposits.