Types of sedimentary environment in alluvial sediments distinguished on the basis of its chemical constitution: the example of the lower course of the Obra river (Western Poland)

Research concerning chemical constitution of alluvial sediments was done in the lower course of the Obra river (Western Poland). The fragment of vertical profile, which consisted of various alluvial sediments (fine sands, peats, and sandy silts) was chosen for detailed analysis. The main research problem was to determine if lithology and chemical constitution of alluvial deposits are interconnected in a distinct way within studied section of the Obra river valley, and, if changes of chemical elements’ concentration could be used to illustrate depositional processes, which take place in riverbed and floodplain. Concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, and K were determined in collected sediment samples. Next, geochemical groups of alluvial sediments were distinguished using cluster analysis. Investigated changes of chemical elements’ concentration show that there is a distinct border between the environment of organic sediments, which marks the place of former functioning of the Obra riverbed, and sandy silts, which were deposited within floodplain during floods. Besides, floodplain sediments, riverbed sediments, and reductive environment within peat deposits were singled out on the basis of the analysis.     

Space–time foam and cosmic-ray interactions

It has been proposed that propagation of cosmic-rays at extreme-energy may be sensitive to Lorentz-violating metric fluctuations (“foam”). We investigate the changes in interaction thresholds for cosmic-rays and gamma-rays interacting on the CMB and IR backgrounds, for a class of stochastic models of space–time foam. The strength of the foam is characterized by the factor (E/M_P)^a, where a is a phenomenological suppression parameter. We find that there exists a critical value of a (dependent on the particular reaction: a_crit3 for cosmic-rays, 1 for gamma-rays), below which the threshold energy can only be lowered, and above which the threshold energy may be raised, but at most by a factor of two. Thus, it does not appear possible in this class of models to extend cosmic-ray spectra significantly beyond their classical absorption energies. However, the lower thresholds resulting from foam may have signatures in the cosmic-ray spectrum. In the context of this foam model, we find that cosmic-ray energies cannot exceed the fundamental Planck scale, and so set a lower bound of 10⁸ TeV for the scale of gravity. We also find that suppression of p→pπ⁰ and γ→e⁻e⁺ “decays” favors values aa_crit. Finally, we comment on the apparent non-conservation of particle energy–momentum, and speculate on its re-emergence as dark energy in the foamy vacuum.     

Application of Web-GIS and Geovisual Analytics to Monitoring of Seabed Evolution in South Baltic Sea Coastal Areas

Regular surveys of coastal zone seabed deliver important information about geomorphologic processes such as silting of waterways. The recent introduction of the Sentinel series of sensors has allowed for the use of satellite sensing for shallow bathymetry morphology monitoring. In this context, this article presents a dedicated Geographic Information System for Baltic Sea shallow water depth monitoring on the basis of Sentinel-2 imagery. The system employs Geovisual Analytics for differential analysis of bathymetry changes as well as monitoring the visibility of known wrecks in the coastal waters of Southern Baltic Sea. Results are verified with regard to known changes in shallow water bathymetry between 28 June 2015 and 3 March 2017.     

Monitoring ionospheric scintillations and TEC at the Polish Polar Station on Spitsbergen: instrumentation and preliminary results

As a partial contribution to the International Polar Year, the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences has installed on the Polish Polar Station, located in the region of the Hornsund Bay in southern Spitsbergen, the equipment intended to monitor ionospheric scintillation and total electron content. We describe the equipment setup and the aims of the experiment. As an illustration of data analysis, we present the reconstruction of irregular structure of the ionosphere from the complex amplitude data, and the estimate of the form and drift of diffraction pattern based on the spaced receiver measurements.     

Analysis of labile form of aluminum and heavy metals in bottom sediments from Kongsfjord, Isfjord, Hornsund fjords

The paper presents study results obtained for the bottom sediment samples of fjords Kongsfjord, Isfjord, Hornsund in the form of surface samples and their core profiles. The concentrations of labile form of aluminum and heavy metals were determined using the single-stage extraction with 3 mol L^?1 HCl. The obtained results allowed defining the occurrence of variability of labile aluminum form in the samples of bottom sediments of the studied fjords depending on the point and depth of sample collection. The conducted chemometric analysis allowed for the study of spatial variability of aluminum occurrence in the area of the investigated fjords. Based on the analysis, the correlations between aluminum and heavy metals were determined.     

On hyperelasticity for clays

Under purely elastic conditions a constitutive model for clays should be conservative. This can be achieved by using a hyperelastic stress–strain relation derived from an elastic potential. To circumvent problems connected with formulation of a suitable potential a simple concept of back-stress elasticity is proposed. Several elastic models are critically reviewed, two of which had been originally incorrectly classified as hyperelastic. A novel elastic potential which can be used to generate various hyperelastic models is proposed. Its salient feature is that the resulting stiffness is a homogeneous function of order 1 with respect to stress. An example of Mathematica calculation with tensorial differentiation is enclosed (Wolfram S. Mathematica. A system for doing mathematics by computer. Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1988). ©     

Seismic wave velocities in the sedimentary cover of Poland: Borehole data compilation

A knowledge of seismic wave velocities in the sedimentary cover is of great importance for interpreting reflection and refraction seismic data, deep seismic soundings and regional and global seismic tomography. This is particularly true for regions characterized by significant thicknesses and a complex sedimentary cover structure. This paper presents the results of an analysis of seismic P-wave velocities in the sedimentary cover of Poland, a complex area of juxtaposition of major tectonic units: the Precambrian East European Craton, the Palaeozoic Platform of Central and Western Europe, and the Alpine orogen represented by the Carpathian Mountains. Based on vertical seismic profiling data from 1188 boreholes, the dependence of velocity versus depth was determined for regional geological units and for successions from the Tertiary and Quaternary to the Cambrian. The data have been approximated by polynomials, and velocity-depth formulas are given down to 6000 m depth. The velocities in the sedimentary cover have been compared with those from other areas in Europe.     

Assimilation and diffusion during xenolith-magma interaction: a case study of the Variscan Karkonosze Granite, Bohemian Massif

Magmatic enclaves from the Rudolfov quarry near Liberec (Czech Republic) are interpreted to represent remnants of lamprophyric melt that intruded the Karkonosze granite at a stage at which the granite was not fully solidified. Based on the observation that larger enclaves are generally more circular than the smaller ones, we conclude that bigger blobs of mafic magma became more spherical during flow in the gravity field (sink or float). This flow is also interpreted to be responsible for the incorporation of mineral grains into the enclaves and may have facilitated the assimilation of granitic melt. Linear mixing trends on Harker diagrams for most network-forming and mainly slow-diffusing or fluid-immobile elements indicate such an assimilation process between granite and lamprophyre. In contrast, all fast-diffusing or fluid-mobile elements display scattered element distributions, implying that chemical diffusion also played a role. Pressure and temperature for this late magmatic stage are estimated at around 1 kbar and 500°C. These results suggest that two processes modified the composition of the enclaves in the Karkonosze granite: (1) assimilation (mechanical mixing) of granitic melt during the injection of the lamprophyric melt and the subsequent flow of the forming enclaves in the gravity field (responsible for the linear mixing trends) and (2) diffusion-controlled redistribution of elements between both solidifying rock types at the magmatic stage and/or due to late-stage magmatic fluids (responsible for the scattering and deviation from the linear mixing trends).