Influence of local geological conditions on the macroseismic effects in the town of Strazhitza

Damage caused by the earthquake of 7 December 1986 (M = 5.7) and its aftershocks in low-storey residential buildings in the town of Strazhitza, Bulgaria, situated in the epicentral zone are systematized. A scale of damages is compiled for two types of buildings which is coordinated with the MSK-64 scale. The territorial distribution of the seismic intensity is compared with the results of the detailed engineering-geological study. A correlation between the Quarternary deposit thickness and the observed seismic intensity is obtained.Paper presented at the 21st general assembly of the European Seismological Commission held in Sofia, 1988.     

An exploration of potential raw materials for prehistoric pottery production in the Tao River Valley,Gansu Province,China

Northwest China is known for its Majiayao-style Neolithic painted pottery which has received much praise for its high level of craftsmanship, yet its chain of production, in particular the step of raw material selection, is still poorly understood. To fill this lacuna, the present study explores the raw materials used in producing these wares from a geological and technological perspective. At its core stands the first geoarchaeological survey conducted around the eponymous site of Majiayao which collected 47 samples of raw materials suitable for ceramic production including clay, loess and rocks, which were all analysed macroscopically. A selection was analysed using thin-section petrography, and a subset of the clay and loess samples were subjected to firing experiments. Additionally, three clay samples were analysed by scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer to understand their composition and behaviour in ceramic production. These were then compared to archaeological ceramics, thus providing insights into raw-material availability and selection that will be of importance not only for research on Majiayao-style pottery but also for later-period ceramics produced in the area. This research shows how an archaeologically informed geological survey can contribute insights into human–environment interaction in early pottery production, especially the interplay between raw-material availability, technological know-how and potters' choices.     

The ecosystem of Lake Kenon: past and present (Transbaikal Territory,Russia)

Present-day conditions of the Lake Kenon ecosystem are determined by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors.We have estimated the effects of a complex of factors on the condition of the abiotic environment and on specific biological components in the lake ecosystem.Change in biogenic load has caused an increase in the role of phytoplankton in the general balance of organic matter during the high-water period.Charophytes are the main dominants of bottom vegetation.Anthropogenic load has caused a decrease in both fish species and fish capacity.The lake application as a water reservoir-cooler has influenced the average annual water mineralization(from 420 mg/L to 530.0 mg/L with a maximum 654 mg/L in 1993) and fluctuations in its hydrochemical composition.The present composition of the lake is sulfate-hydrocarbonate-chloride calcium-sodic-magnesium in character.SO 4 – content is twice as much as the maximum permissible concentration in fishery waters.Water drainage from an ash disposal area to the lake has caused an increase in chemical-element concentrations including the heavy metals.Hg concentration in Perca fluviatilis muscles is 0.5 μg/g dry wt.Thus,understanding directions in the ecosystem of the water reservoir-cooler under changing hydrological conditions will let us forecast the consequences of new combined heat and power plant operation.     

North Atlantic warming: patterns of long-term trend and multidecadal variability

Climate fluctuations in the North Atlantic Ocean have wide-spread implications for Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This study assesses the relative contribution of the long-term trend and variability of North Atlantic warming using EOF analysis of deep-ocean and near-surface observations. Our analysis demonstrates that the recent warming over the North Atlantic is linked to both long-term (including anthropogenic and natural) climate change and multidecadal variability (MDV, ~50–80 years). Our results suggest a general warming trend of 0.031 ± 0.006°C/decade in the upper 2,000 m North Atlantic over the last 80 years of the twentieth century, although during this time there are periods in which short-term trends were strongly amplified by MDV. For example, MDV accounts for ~60% of North Atlantic warming since 1970. The single-sign basin-scale pattern of MDV with prolonged periods of warming (cooling) in the upper ocean layer and opposite tendency in the lower layer is evident from observations. This pattern is associated with a slowdown (enhancement) of the North Atlantic thermohaline overturning circulation during negative (positive) MDV phases. In contrast, the long-term trend exhibits warming in tropical and mid-latitude North Atlantic and a pattern of cooling in regions associated with major northward heat transports, consistent with a slowdown of the North Atlantic circulation as evident from observations and confirmed by selected modeling results. This localized cooling has been masked in recent decades by warming during the positive phase of MDV. Finally, since the North Atlantic Ocean plays a crucial role in establishing and regulating the global thermohaline circulation, the multidecadal fluctuations discussed here should be considered when assessing long-term climate change and variability, both in the North Atlantic and at global scales.     

The Nu Expression for Probabilistic Data Integration

The general problem of data integration is expressed as that of combining probability distributions conditioned to each individual datum or data event into a posterior probability for the unknown conditioned jointly to all data. Any such combination of information requires taking into account data interaction for the specific event being assessed. The nu expression provides an exact analytical representation of such a combination. This representation allows a clear and useful separation of the two components of any data integration algorithm: individual data information content and data interaction, the latter being different from data dependence. Any estimation workflow that fails to address data interaction is not only suboptimal, but may result in severe bias. The nu expression reduces the possibly very complex joint data interaction to a single multiplicative correction parameter ν ₀, difficult to evaluate but whose exact analytical expression is given; availability of such an expression provides avenues for its determination or approximation. The case ν ₀=1 is more comprehensive than data conditional independence; it delivers a preliminary robust approximation in presence of actual data interaction. An experiment where the exact results are known allows the results of the ν ₀=1 approximation to be checked against the traditional estimators based on assumption of data independence.     

Synthesis and characterization of peptides after high-energy impact on the icy matrix: Preliminary step for further UV-induced formation

In the interstellar medium, the most probable source of organic molecules could be non-equilibrium processes driven by photons, cosmic rays, shock waves and solid bodies’ collisions. The dense cold phase of ISM host icy dust grains—important chemical catalyst during its life cycle. Such particles consist of mineral core composed by silicate or olivine admixed with metal sulfides and oxides, with the water-icy envelope containing organic molecules. Organic molecules in the ISM evolve and become later incorporated in solar system material (comets and meteorites).The formation of polypeptides from single amino acids was traced in simulation experiments representing the inner structure of icy dust grains. Experimental chamber was irradiated at subzero temperatures at the dosage of 2.54 kRad/min. Solid frozen solutions of Gly and Phe were taken as the experimental samples inserted into the metal tube kept at subzero temperatures in the presence of liquid nitrogen. Formation of di- and tri-peptides was demonstrated after applying mass-spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques.Having polypeptides within the icy matrix, dust grains with ice mantles are transported to warm, dense and active protostellar regions, where ultraviolet irradiation may become important and alter the grain composition. Furthermore UVC radiation may contribute to the formation of additional amounts of polypeptides, since short-wave photons are totally adsorbed by a thin outer layer. This presumption coincides with our previous investigations concerning UV impact on prebiotic formation of the main biological molecules. Combination of two irradiation types in different stages of interstellar flight could compensate the effects of low reagents concentration and temperature. Since the primordial Earth had no atmosphere, the natural carriers could get freely onto its surface and thus raise the concentration of organic molecules.     

Alumovesuvianite,Ca19Al(Al,Mg)12Si18O69(OH)9, a new vesuvianite-group member from the Jeffrey mine,asbestos, Estrie region,Québec,Canada

Mineralogy and Petrology - Alumovesuvianite (IMA 2016–014), ideally Ca19Al(Al,Mg)12Si18O69(OH)9, is a new vesuvianite-group member found in the rodingite zone at the contact of a gabbroid...     

Lake-margin ecosystems of saline lakes of the Borzya group （Zabaikalsky Krai,Russia） during the initial filling phase

This article presents the results ofhydrochemical and hydrobiological studies of shallow saline lakes of the Borzya group （Zabaikalsky K_rai, Russia） at the initial filling phase. The lake-margin ecosystems of the studied lakes are characterized by varying degrees of salinity from polyhaline to brine water. Cyclical variations of meteorological conditions and high salinity determined that the compositions of the aquatic organisms are specific, mostly between stenohaline and euryhaline species, the quantities are low, and the community structures are simple.     

Daytime ionosphere of Venus as studied with Veneras 9 and 10 dual-frequency radio occultation experiments

We present results of the dual-frequency radio sounding of the Venusian ionosphere carried out by the Venera 9 and 10 satellites in 1975. Thirteen height profiles of electron density for different solar zenith angles varying from 10 to 87° have been obtained by analyzing the refraction bending of radiorays in the sounded ionssphere. The main maximum of electron density at a height of 140–150 km depends on the solar zenith angle and is 1.4 to 5 × 10⁵ cm^?3. The lower maximum is determined definitely to be at ～130 km high. In the main and lower maxima the electron density variations with solar zenith angle are in good agreement with the Chapman layer theory. For the first time it is found that the height of the upper boundary for the daytime ionosphere (h_i) depends regularly on the solar zenith angle. At Z_⊙ < 60°, h_i does not exceed 300 km while at Z_⊙ > 60°, it increases with Z_⊙ and comes up to ～ 600 km at Z_⊙ ～ 80°.