Nonlinear propagation of electromagnetic waves in magnetized electron-positron plasmas

The nonlinear interaction of the external magnetic field-aligned circularly polarized electro-magnetic radiation with a cold electron-positron plasma is considered. A set of nonlinear equations is derived describing the coupling of the radiation with cold electrostatic oscillations. Modulational instabilities and wave localization are discussed.     

Inertia driven tearing modes in electron-positron plasmas

It is shown that the particle inertia can cause a tearing instability in an electron-positron collisionless plasma with sheared magnetic fields. An approximate analytical expression for the growth rate is obtained. It characterizes the magnetic reconnection timescale in a magnetized electronpositron plasma.     

High-resolution profile of stable isotopes and iridium across a K/T boundary section from Koshak Hill, Mangyshlak, Kazakhstan

Oxygen and carbon isotopes were measured to a high depth resolution in a nannoplankton carbonate sequence spanning the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary at Koshak Hill, Mangyshlak Peninsula, Kazakhstan. The boundary is characterized by the presence of a ∼ 1 cm thick clay layer having a sharp peak in iridium concentration with a maximum value of 3.7 ng g^-1. The δ¹⁸O data reveal rapid (∼10³ years) excursion of sea-surface temperature at the boundary where an initial cold pulse is followed by a persistent warm period. The δ¹³C data, in contrast, indicate only a gradual change in productivity across the boundary. The observations suggest a biogeochemical scenario for the boundary event pertaining to shallow epicontinental seas.     

Highly heterogeneous Precambrian basement under the central Deccan Traps, India: Direct evidence from xenoliths in dykes

Crustal or mantle xenoliths are not common in evolved, tholeiitic flood basalts that cover huge areas of the Precambrian shields. Yet, the occasional occurrences provide the most direct and unequivocal evidence on basement composition. Few xenolith occurrences are known from the Deccan Traps, India, and inferences about the Deccan basement have necessarily depended on geophysical studies and geochemistry of Deccan lavas and intrusions. Here, we report two basalt dykes (Rajmane and Talwade dykes) from the central Deccan Traps that are extremely rich in crustal xenoliths of great lithological variety (gneisses, quartzites, granite mylonite, felsic granulite, carbonate rock, tuff). Because the dykes are parallel and only 4 km apart, and only a few kilometres long, the xenoliths provide clear evidence for high small-scale lithological heterogeneity and strong tectonic deformation in the Precambrian Indian crust beneath. Measured ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in the xenoliths range from 0.70935 (carbonate) to 0.78479 (granite mylonite). The Rajmane dyke sampled away from any of the xenoliths shows a present-day ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.70465 and initial (at 66 Ma) ratio of 0.70445. The dyke is subalkalic and fairly evolved (Mg No. = 44.1) and broadly similar in its Sr-isotopic and elemental composition to some of the lavas of the Mahabaleshwar Formation. The xenoliths are comparable lithologically and geochemically to basement rocks from the Archaean Dharwar craton forming much of southern India. As several lines of evidence suggest, the Dharwar craton may extend at least 350–400 km north under the Deccan lava cover. This is significant for Precambrian crustal evolution of India besides continental reconstructions.     

Relationships of surface ozone with its precursors,particulate matter and meteorology over Delhi

Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry - The paper presents the temporal variations of surface ozone (O3) and its precursors (oxides of nitrogen (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and non-methane...     

Petrology, geothermobarometry and C-O-H-S fluid compositions in the environs of Rampura-Agucha Zn-(Pb) ore deposit, Bhilwara District, Rajasthan

The massive Zn-(Pb) sulfide ore body at Rampura-Agucha in Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, occurs within graphitic metapelites surrounded by garnet-biotite-sillimanite gneiss containing concordant bodies of amphibolite. These rocks and the sulfide ores have been studied to estimate the pressure, temperature and fluid composition associated with upper amphibolite facies metamorphism. Geothermobarometric calculations involving garnet-biotite and garnet-hornblende pairs, as well as sphalerite-hexagonal pyrrhotite-pyrite and garnet-plagioclase-sillimanite-quartz assemblages indicate that the most pervasive P-T condition during peak of regional metamorphism was 650°C and 6 kb, and was attained between the first and second deformations in the region. Some temperature-pressure estimates also cluster around 500°C–5.1 kb which probably represent retrograde cooling during unloading. Consideration of devolatilization equilibria in the C-O-H-S system at the pervasive metamorphic conditions mentioned above shows that the metamorphic fluid was H₂O-rich ( ) but also had a substantial component of . and were the other important phases in the fluid. CO (X_CO = 0.002) and were the minor phases in the fluid. It is probable that a part of this aqueous fluid was consumed by re-/neocrystallization of hydrous silicate phases like chlorite during the retrogressive metamorphic path, so that fluid entrapped in quartz below 450°C was rendered CO₂-rich (Holleret al 1996).     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Holigarna</Emphasis> (Anacardiaceae) from the early Eocene of Western India and its palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatological significance

Thick lignite deposits on the western margin of India were preserved on account of thick vegetation which got buried underneath due to tectonic activities that occurred in northwestern part of India during the early Palaeogene. Study of the fossil flora preserved in these beds is important to deduce the palaeoclimate of the region. Therefore, a field work was undertaken to collect plant fossils from the Tarkeshwar lignite mine, Surat district, Gujarat (western India) which is still unexplored as far as the plant mega-remains are concerned. A fossil wood is systematically described from the Cambay Shale Formation of the mine considered to be of early Eocene in age. It shows close affinities with Holigarna (Anacardiaceae), particularly with H. beddomei and H. grahamii. This genus is evergreen in nature and grows in the Indo-Malayan region, while both the modern analogues of the fossil are endemic to semi-evergreen to evergreen forests ofWestern Ghats, south India, located at the equator. This not only confirms the palaeolatitudinal position of the Indian subcontinent at the equator during the early Palaeogene, but also indicates the presence of equatorial rain forest in the Indian subcontinent during the period. Based on the timetree, Sapindales started to diverge in the early Palaeocene (62–57 Ma) as its oldest fossil is from the K-Pg boundary. Discovery of the present anacardiaceous fossil (belonging to Sapindales) from the early Eocene strengthens the above phylogenetic view.     

Discovery of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elephas</Emphasis> cf. <Emphasis Type="Italic">namadicus</Emphasis> from the late Pleistocene strata of Marginal Ganga Plain

We describe an elephant skull recovered from a cliff section of Dhasan river of Marginal Ganga Plain. The dental morphology and cranial features of the skull have been compared with the known species of Elephas from the Indian subcontinent. Although it shows very near resemblance to Elephas namadicus, but being an isolated specimen its specific identity cannot be proclaimed with certainty. As such, the specimen is provisionally referred as E. cf. namadicus. The Optically Stimulated Luminescence ages place this find at ~56 ka BP. This is the first chronologically well constrained report of E. cf. namadicus from the Ganga Plain.