Disturbances of the ionospheric conductivity owing to the generation of magnetic pulsations in the Pc1 frequency range by means of the heating of electrons by a ground-based high-power high-frequency transmitter

Experiments on the generation of artificial electromagnetic pulsations constitute an important part of investigations of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system with the use of an active action. The investigation of the generation of magnetic pulsations in the Pc1 frequency range has shown that the response of the ionosphere to heating is detected only in a few experiments. Although the primary perturbed parameter is the electron temperature, the efficiency of the generation of pulsations is determined by the perturbations of the ionospheric conductivity. The magnitude of these hertz perturbations depends complexly on the electron density profile and the parameters of a pump wave. The numerical experiment demonstrates the determining effect of the electron density in the D region on the magnitude of perturbations of the ionospheric conductivity. Under conditions of a low electron density, it is impossible to create a large perturbation of the conductivity in the Pc1 frequency range, although perturbations of the electron temperature can be large in this case. In view of a large number of electrons at altitudes of 70–90 km, which absorb a considerable fraction of the energy of a high-frequency wave, the electron temperature in the E region of the ionosphere cannot be sharply increased, but the amplitude of the variations of the ionospheric conductivity in this case is larger than that for the profiles with a low electron density. In the presence of the developed D region, the efficiency of the modification of the conductivity in the indicated frequency range can be increased by choosing the optimal frequency and polarization of the pump wave. A low efficiency of the experiments on the generation of artificial magnetic pulsations in the Pc1 frequency range is apparently explained by the fact that they were performed in winter in the absence of a well-developed D region of the ionosphere.     

New geochronometer for the direct isotopic dating of native platinum minerals (190Pt-4He method)

A new method of isotope geochronology was proposed for dating native platinum minerals on the basis of the ??-decay of the natural isotope ¹⁹⁰Pt. The analysis of the thermal desorption of helium in the crystal lattice of native metals, including platinum, allowed us to predict a very high thermal stability (retentivity) of radiogenic ⁴He in native platinum minerals up to their melting temperatures. In order to validate the proposed ¹⁹⁰Pt-⁴He method, direct isotopic dating was performed for isoferroplatinum from the Galmoenan dunite-clinopyroxenite and Kondyor alkaline ultramafic massifs. The results of dating obtained by this method for primary ore platinum from the Galmoenan Massif (70 ± 5 Ma) are consistent with geological observations and mean Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic age estimates. The ¹⁹⁰Pt-⁴He age obtained for placer isoferroplatinum from the Kondyor Massif (112 ± 7 Ma) also agrees with geological observations and is close to the K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages of koswites (phlogopite-magnetite pyroxenites, gabbros, nepheline syenites, and metasomatic rocks after dunites). Our experimental data demonstrated that the ¹⁹⁰Pt-⁴He method is a promising tool for dating native platinum minerals.     

Effect of neutral particle density in the upper atmosphere on the generation of artificial magnetic pulsations in the Pc1 range

A series of experiments on modification of the ionosphere by a powerful ground HF transmitter was performed using the EISCAT heating facility in order to generate artificial magnetic pulsations in the frequency range 0.1–3 Hz. In several cases, the ionospheric electric field and the electron density vertical profile were measured with the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar. The measurement of the background values of the ionospheric parameters made it possible to verify the numerical model for generating artificial emissions. The calculated amplitudes of magnetic pulsations correspond to the values measured on the Earth’s surface. However, the model cannot explain the sporadic nature of artificial signals, which indicates that this model is incomplete. Disturbances of the neutral particle density in the upper atmosphere are one of the possible causes explaining a difference between the calculations and the experimental values. The numerical simulation indicated that the amplitude variations caused by such disturbances can be 20%. For artificial emissions whose intensity is comparable with the intensity of artificial noise, variations in the neutral components can result in the disappearance of an artificial signal on the spectrogram.     

190Pt–4He Dating of Placer-Forming Minerals of Platinum from the Chad Alkaline–Ultramafic Massif: New Evidence of the Polycyclic Nature of Ore Formation

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of 190Pt–4He dating of placer-forming platinum-group minerals (PPMs) from the placer deposits of Mokhovoi Creek, its tributaries, and eluvial and...     

190Pt–4He Age of Native Platinum Minerals of the Baimka Gold Placer Cluster,Western Chukotka

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of 190Pt–4He dating of placer-forming minerals of platinum (PMP) from the Baimka gold placer cluster (Western Chukotka, Russia) are reported. PMPs are...     

<Superscript>190</Superscript>Pt–<Superscript>4</Superscript>He age of PGE ores in the Alkaline–Ultramafic Kondyor Massif (Khabarovsk District,Russia)

A new ¹⁹⁰Pt–⁴He method for dating isoferroplatinum has been developed at the Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Here we publish the first results of dating of isoferroplatinum from the main mineralogical and geochemical types of PGE mineralization in dunite. The obtained ¹⁹⁰Pt–⁴He age of isoferroplatinum is 129 ± 6 Ma. The gained ¹⁹⁰Pt–⁴He age of isoferroplatinum specimens of different genesis (magmatic, fluid–metamorphogenic, and metasomatic) from the Kondyor Massif indicates that the PGM mineralization took place synchronously and successively with evolution of primarily picrite, followed by subalkaline and alkaline melts of the Mesozoic tectonic–magmatic activation of the Aldan Shield.     

Bortnikovite,Pd<Subscript>4</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>Zn,a new mineral species from the unique Konder placer deposit,Khabarovsk krai,Russia

Bortnikovite, a new mineral species that is an intermetallic compound of Pd, Cu, and Zn with the simplified formula Pd₄Cu₃Zn has been detected at the unique Konder placer deposit in the Ayan-Maya district, Khabarovsk krai. The primary source of this placer is a concentrically zoned alkaline ultramafic massif. The X-ray diffraction pattern is indexed on the assumption of a tetragonal unit cell: a = 6.00 ± 0.02 Å and c = 8.50 ± 0.03 Å, V = 306 ± 0.01 ų, Z = 3, probable space group P4/mmm. The calculated density is 11.16 g/cm³; the mean microhardness VHN is 368 kg/mm². In reflected light, the new mineral is white with a slight grayish beige tint; bireflectance, anisotropy, and internal reflections are not observed. The reflectance spectrum belongs to the concave group of the anomalous type. The measured values of reflectance are as follows: 56.9 (470 nm), 61.7 (546 nm), 63.4 (589 nm), and 65.4% (650 nm). The new mineral is intergrown with isoferroplatinum, titanite, perovskite, V-bearing magnetite, bornite, and chlorite. The origin of bortnikovite is related to the effect of alkaline fluid on ultramafic rocks. The new mineral is named in honor of Professor Nikolai Stefanovich Bortnikov, a prominent mineralogist and researcher of ore deposits and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Bortnikovite is the first platinum group mineral that contains Zn as a major mineralforming element.     

New Evidence of the Polycyclic Genesis of Platinum Placer-Forming Formations of the Kondyor Alkaline-Ultramafic Massif: Results of 190Pt–4He Dating

Doklady Earth Sciences - This article presents the 190Pt–4He dating results of native platinum group minerals from a unique platinum-metals placer deposit in the basin of the Kondyor and...