Emission features in the solar corona after the perihelion passage of Comet 1979 XI

On the coronograph spectrophotographic records taken on 31.372 UT, August 1979, some faint emission features were found which can be ascribed to Siii and Niii. These emissions were obviously a transient phenomena which were detected only 10 hr after the supposed fall of Comet 1979 XI in the Sun's photosphere. It cannot be excluded that the appearance of Si and Ni lines was triggered by the evaporation of dust particles with a high abundance of heavier elements in the solar corona. This assumption is also supported by intensity distribution of the Fex coronal line around the Sun's limb. The maximum coincide with the position angle of the projected path of the comet.     

The landslides threatening Tasova town (Central Anatolia, Turkey) and their environmental impacts

There exist a number of landslides along the north Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) between Tasova and Alparslan in Amasya province in Turkey. These landslides extending over an area of 2.5 × 6.0 km are triggered by steepening of slopes due to undercutting by the Yesilirmak River and groundwater fluctuations. The landslides have affected 30 buildings in the western part of Tasova. In this study, in order to investigate the engineering geological characteristics of the landslides and their environmental impacts, representative samples from geological units were collected and a total of six boreholes were drilled. Plastic pipes were installed into the boreholes to measure the groundwater fluctuations and to determine the position of the sliding surface. For a two-year monitoring period, using a GPS linked to a fixed station system, the magnitude of the movements ranged between 11.7 and 17.6 cm at the toe of landslide. The landslides that occurred in the study area were in the form of retrogressive circular and multiple circular failures. The factor of safety along a number of cross-sections calculated by the limit-equilibrium method of analysis is 0.96 in static condition. After further analyses, construction of a toe buttress with surface drainage may be suggested as a remedial measure to minimize the effects of these landslides.     

Hydrocarbons and other volatile components in alkaline rocks from the Ukrainian shield and Kola Peninsula

Gas chromatography and other analytical techniques (EMR, PMR, and IR spectroscopy) were used to examine volatile components (CH₄, C₂-C₃, CO₂, CO, H₂, H₂O, and others) in alkaline rocks and minerals from the Ukrainian Shield (eight massifs and dikes of grorudites) and from the Khibina and Lovozero massifs in the Baltic Shield. The alkaline rocks from the Ukrainian Shield are mostly of Proterozoic (1.7–2.1 Ga) age. The alkaline rocks from the Kola Peninsula were confirmed to be rich in methane (21 ± 14 μl/g on average) and other hydrocarbons, whereas the analogous rocks from the Ukrainian Shield are poor in methane (2.1 ± 1.6 μl/g on average at a maximum of 14 μl/g). The latter rocks are richer in CO₂, which is one of the major volatile components of alkaline rocks, including agpaitic nepheline syenites from the Kola Peninsula. The rocks from the Ukrainian Shield often have elevated contents of nitrogen (up to 20 μl/g). The reasons for the differences in the composition of volatile components of rocks from the Kola Peninsula and Ukrainian Shield are as follows: the agpaitic crystallization trends of large massifs in the Kola Peninsula and much less clearly pronounced agpaitic trends in the small massifs in the Ukrainian Shield, the affiliation of these rocks with different complexes, the deeper erosion levels of the Ukrainian alkaline massifs, different ages of these rocks, etc.     

The choice of oil-pollution criteria for organogenic bottom sediments by chromatography-mass-spectrometry

The results of studying the hydrocarbon composition of organogenic bottom sediments of oil-polluted lakes and lakes of similar types remote from centers of anthropogenic activity are given. To correctly assess the oil pollution of organogenic materials one has to take into account the presence of native hydrocarbons in their composition and to choose the main criterion of oil pollution based on the presence of specific oil components not characteristic of aquatic ecosystems in their natural state. The most promising among such components are alkylbenzenes С₁₅–С₂₅, which slowly degrade under the conditions typical of northern aquatic ecosystems and can be retained for a long time by organogenic matrix.     

Geochemistry of volatiles in PGE ore of the Western Pana layered pluton in the Kola Peninsula

The distribution of volatiles in ore units of the Western Pana layered mafic pluton in the Kola province was studied with pyrolytic gas chromatography. In comparison with barren rocks, the rocks containing Pt-Pd mineralization are characterized by a much higher concentration of volatiles, especially H₂S, SO₃, and CH₄. With a drop in temperature, the redox potential of the fluid phase in the ore-magmatic system increased. PGE mineralization was largely formed at the postcumulus stage with participation of volatiles under variable redox conditions.     

Modeling optical contrast for thin organic films on the sea surface

A continuation of the work dedicated to the study of slicks and film formations on the sea surface is presented. A vector model for the calculation of reflected radiation by the wavy sea surface with respect to the contribution of upwelling radiation from under the sea surface (the second type of waters) is described briefly in [5]. This work contains an analysis of numerical calculations according to the developed procedure and the search for optimal conditions of slick detection. The best conditions for detecting slicks on the sea surface are reached when a P-polarization component of reflected radiation is recorded. In this case, the value of contrast between a slick and a clean surface is 30% higher on average than in recording a contrast without using a polarization filter and is 50% higher than in the case of recording a contrast with a filter oriented to the maximum transmission of S polarization component of reflected radiation. It is shown that, under clear sky conditions, the optimal condition for recording slicks on a sea surface is videotaping in the plane of solar vertical at viewing angles sliding towards the sea surface and when a polarization filter that identifies the Р polarization component of sea radiation is used. In contrast, under overcast sky conditions, it is best to perform observations in the plane that has a wind velocity vector.     

Nanostructural Study of a Devonian Sporoderm

The results of sporoderm studies for Paleozoic spores are obtained for the first time on a nanotomographic scanner. They are comparable to the results obtained on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmitting electron microscope (TEM), verifying the interpretation of structures of the external and internal structure of the sporoderm for the objects studied. A nanotomographic scanner enables us to carry out complex studies of different sporoderm projections and to visualize the relationships and arrangement of its components without damaging the integrity of the object and losing unique Paleozoic material. Application of a nanotomographic scanner also reduces the time taken for object preparation for examination on a SEM or TEM. The nanosculpture of the exosporium of Devonian Kryshtofovichia africani Nikitin megaspores is revealed to show its two-layer structure, with the thicknesses and locations of the layers established.     

Replacement of nickelhexahydrite with retgersite: Polymorphic-metasomatic structures

The polymorphous transition that occurs during the process of metasomatic replacement was observed in the experiment on the retgersite paramorph formation after nickelhexahydrite crystals. This process runs through a solution film formed on the primary crystal surface and then penetrated into the crystal along with the replacement front. One or several secondary mineral grains have ingrown into a comparatively perfect crystal up to the complete replacement; these grains are randomly oriented with regard to the crystal. A finegrained mass replaces the imperfect crystals. An aggregate of mineral grains incorporated into the fine-grained mass is an intermediate case. Single-crystal pseudomorphs have been synthesized for the first time as products of the nonisomorphic interaction. Conditions of the nickelhexahydrite metastable equilibrium and the retgersite stable equilibrium are closely related and determine the structural features of the replacement reactions for these two compounds. A relatively low supersaturation with retgersite in the vicinity of the eutonic point resulted in the nucleation and growth of secondary single crystals. A deviation from the eutonic point gives rise to the increasing supersaturation and mass precipitation of the secondary phase.