Argon isotope fractionation induced by stepwise heating

Noble gas isotopes are widely used to elucidate the history of the rocks in which they have been trapped, either from distinct reservoirs or by accumulation following radioactive decay. To extract noble gases from their host rocks, stepwise heating is the most commonly used technique to deconvolve isotopically different components, e.g., atmospheric, in situ radiogenic, or excess radiogenic from mantle or crustal reservoirs. The accurate determination of the isotopic composition of these different components is of crucial importance, e.g., for ages obtained by ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar stepheating plateaus. However, diffusion theory-based model calculations predict that the stepwise thermal extraction process from mineral phases induces isotope fractionation and, hence, adulterates the original composition. Such effects are largely unconsidered, as they are small and a compelling experimental observation is lacking. We report the first unequivocal evidence for significant mass fractionation of argon isotopes during thermal extraction, observed on shungite, a carbon-rich Precambrian sedimentary rock. The degree of fractionation, as monitored by ³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios, very well agrees with theoretical predictions assuming an inverse square root dependence of diffusion coefficient and atomic mass, resulting in easier extraction of lighter isotopes. Hence, subatmospheric ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios obtained for argon extracted at low temperatures may not represent paleoatmospheric argon. Shungite argon resembles modern atmospheric composition, but constraints on the timing of trapping appear difficult to obtain, as shungites are multicomponent systems.In ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar stepwise heating, the isotope fractionation effect could cause systematic underestimations of plateau ages, between 0.15 and 0.4% depending on age, or considerably higher if samples contain appreciable atmospheric Ar. The magnitude of this effect is similar to the presently achieved uncertainties of this increasingly precise dating technique. Our results also indicate the importance of thermally activated diffusion as a possible fractionation mechanism, e.g., for hydrothermal gas exhalations, or for carbonaceous carrier phases such as “Q” in meteorites that have been suggested as carriers of highly fractionated noble gas residues from the early solar nebula.     

Chemical and biological features of the saline Lake Krasnovishnevoye (Baraba,Russia) in comparison with Lake Malinovoe (Kulunda,Russia): a reconnaissance study

The Baraba and Kulunda steppes are located in southwestern Siberia in an area with an arid continental climate. This paper presents results of the first study of the hypersaline Lake Krasnovishnevoye(Baraba steppe, TDS(total dissolved solids)=297 g/L, pH 7.88). The major chemical, mineralogical and biological features of the lake were studied and compared to those of Lake Malinovoe, a typical saline neutral lake of Kulunda steppe(TDS=396 g/L, pH 7.63). The phytoplankton composition and the culturable diversity of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria from Lake Krasnovishnevoye correspond to the ones in the Kulunda lakes. Nevertheless, the peculiarities of water composition and regime of Lake Krasnovishnevoye reduce the biodiversity to prokaryotes and unicellular algae.     

An applied model for the height of the daytime mixed layer and the entrainment zone

A model is presented for the height of the mixed layer and the depth of the entrainment zone under near-neutral and unstable atmospheric conditions. It is based on the zero-order mixed-layer height model of Batchvarova and Gryning (1991) and the parameterization of the entrainment zone depth proposed by Gryning and Batchvarova (1994). However, most zero-order slab type models of mixed-layer height may be applied. The use of the model requires only information on those meteorological parameters that are needed in operational applications of ordinary zero-order slab type models of mixed-layer height: friction velocity, kinematic heat flux near the ground and potential temperature gradient in the free atmosphere above the entrainment zone. When information is available on the horizontal divergence of the large-scale flow field, the model also takes into account the effect of subsidence, although this is usually neglected in operational models of mixed-layer height owing to lack of data. Model performance is tested using data from the CIRCE experiment.     

X-ray single-crystal and Raman study of knorringite,Mg3(Cr1.58Mg0.21Si0.21)Si3O12, synthesized at 16 GPa and 1,600 °C

The crystal structure of a knorringite-type compound, Mg₃(Cr_1.58Mg_0.21Si_0.21)Si₃O₁₂, synthesized in a multi-anvil press at P = 16 GPa and T = 1,600 °C, was refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data up to R = 2.36 % for 314 independent reflections. Garnet was found to be cubic and have space group Ia $\overline{3}$ d, with the unit cell parameters a = 11.5718 (1) Å, V = 1,549.54 (2) Å³. The knorringite crystal studied contains 21 mol% of majorite end-member. The structural characterization of knorringitic garnet is important because the study of its thermodynamic constants provides new constraints on thermobarometry of peridotitic garnet assemblages of the lowermost upper mantle. The Raman spectra of synthetic knorringite have been obtained for the first time.     

Ocean environment and developing of oceanic iron-manganese ores

This work is devoted to some problems of the genesis, chemical composition, and forming rates of iron-manganese ores (IMOs) in the ocean bed due to real outlooks of their development in the years 2015–2020. It is particularly accentuated that ores are continuously originating on the ocean bed with rates of several millimeters per million years. IMO accumulation in modern oceans is greatly more than the age of the mobile ocean bed. These unique ores are not only sorbents of some strategic microelements, but also store easily mobilized oxygen, which is able to supersaturate water in endogenic processes on the ocean bed, blocking their expansion in a limited volume. Thus, iron-manganese ores must be mined only with nonpolluting methods and under the control of competent authorities.     

Characteristic Features of Solar Cosmic Rays in the 21st–24th Solar-Activity Cycles According to Data from Catalogs of Solar Proton Events

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Homogeneous series of solar cosmic-ray events for four solar-activity cycles against the background of decreased activity in cycles 23 and 24 are considered. The number...     

Satellite-based analysis of the spatial patterns of fire- and storm-related forest disturbances in the Ural region,Russia

Natural Hazards - Large-scale wildfires and windstorms are the most important disturbance agents for the Russian boreal forests. The paper presents an assessment of fire-related and wind-induced...     

Wind-driven diversion of summer river runoff preconditions the Laptev Sea coastal polynya hydrography: Evidence from summer-to-winter hydrographic records of 2007–2009

This paper examines the role of atmospheric forcing in modifying the pathways of riverine water on the Laptev Sea shelf, using summer-to-winter hydrographic surveys from 2007 to 2009. Over the two consecutive winter seasons of 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 in the area of the winter coastal polynya, our data clearly link winter surface salinity fields to the previous summer conditions, with substantially different winter salinity patterns preconditioned by summer atmospheric forcing. In the summer of 2007, dominant along-shore westerly winds in the cyclonic regime force the Lena River runoff to flow eastward. In contrast, in the summer of 2008, dominant along-shore easterly winds over the East Siberian Sea and on-shore northerly winds over the Laptev Sea in the anticyclonic regime lock the riverine water in the vicinity of the Lena Delta. Over the coastal polynya area in the southeastern Laptev Sea these patterns precondition a surface salinity difference of 8–16 psu between the winters of 2008 and 2009. Overall, this indicates a residence time of at least half a year for riverine water on the Laptev Sea shelf. Future climate change associated with an enhanced summer cyclonicity over the eastern Arctic may turn more riverine water eastward along the eastern Siberian coast, resulting in weaker vertical density stratification over the Laptev Sea shelf, with possible impact on the efficiency of vertical mixing and polynya dense water production.