Electronic atlas of the Russian Arctic coastal zone

A set of digital maps including geology, Quaternary sediments, landscapes, engineering-geological, vegetation, geocryological and the series of regional sources have been selected to characterize the Russian Arctic coast. Based on this data, new maps of engineering geocryological zoning and zoning of the coast with respect to the intensity of exogenous geological processes and risk of technogenic impacts have been generated at the scales of 1:4,000,000–1:8,000,000. These maps are a tool to assess the impact of industry on the Arctic coast of the country.     

On the instability of “folded” equilibria of a flexible nonstretchable thread attached to the satellite in a circular orbit

The author considers a problem of Lyapunov's stability of relative equilibria of a flexible nonstretchable thread attached to the satellite moving in a circular Keplerian orbit in the first approximation. When it is in the position of relative equilibrium, the thread is known to be situated either along the radius vector of the orbit (the radial equilibrium) or along the circular orbit (the tangential equilibrium) and in each case the thread can be in a folded state. The author shows that folded radial equilibria of the thread are always unstable while tangential ones are unstable if the thread is sufficiently short in comparison with the radius of the orbit. The generalized Chetaev functional has been constructed to prove the instability.     

Some results of biogeographic research on meadows in the Dyje-Svratka basin in the Czech Republic

Some results of biogeographic research on meadows in the Dyje-Svratka basin in the Czech Republic. The paper shows one example of biogeographic inventory of natural ecosystems in an unflooded meadow in the Dyje-Svratka basin. It is part of the complex physio-geographic research of the Geographic Department of the Masaryk University in Brno aimed at gaining a basis for territorial interpretation of ecological regularities and territorial application of general ecological optimizing principles. A segment of biocenosis of Ulmi-fraxineta carpini has been analyzed (Zlatník 1956).The endeavour of Czech geographers to study geosystems of various dimensions completely gets in the limelight. In question is the understanding of mutual relationship of components of geosystems based on the exchange of mass and energy. There are two ways of studying them: spatial relations or approaches concentrated on processes. In contrast to the above unilateral concept, the endeavour to make the approaches compatible appears rarely. This complex view is made possible by geobiocenologically taken biogeography in papers of Zlatník and Rauer, their students and successors. This paper shows only one example of the results of biogeographic stock-taking of meadows in the Dyje-Svratka basin, indicating relations of eco- and geosystems which confirm the necessity of ecological orientation of the present biogeography and its potential contribution to ecology.     

Analysis of Karst Tufa from Guangxi, China

The paper presents an analysis of characteristic karst tufa from Guangxi, China, which has not been studied before. A comparison with tufa from Dinaric Karst of Croatia is discussed in view of the C-type climate. The major mineral is calcite. Minor minerals are quartz and dolomite, depending on location. The content of calcium carbonate varies from 65% to 92%, and that of magnesium carbonate from 0.03% to 1.77%. Among other elements, the most abundant are Fe, from 0.02% to 1.50%, and Ti, from 0.15% to 0.27%. Many other trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Hg and Pb) are also present. Specific activity of radionuclides 40K, 232Th, 137Cs, 226Ra and 238U varies from sample to sample. Concentration of U in tufa is close to that reported for sedimentary carbonate. Low concentration of 137Cs indicates that this part of the world was not exposed to nuclear explosions. The concentration of 226Ra is the highest in Mashan County. The ratio 238U/226Ra (0.21-0.71) in tufa from Mashan Co     

Elasticity of tetragonal end-member majorite and solid solutions in the system Mg4Si4O12-Mg3Al2Si3O12

 The adiabatic elastic moduli of polycrystalline En₅₀Py₅₀ and En₈₀Py₂₀ majorite-garnet solid solutions (where En=4MgSiO₃, Py=Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂) and the end-member En₁₀₀ tetragonal majorite were determined at ambient conditions using Brillouin spectroscopy. The adiabatic bulk modulus, K, and shear modulus, μ, of En₅₀Py₅₀ were found to be K=173.1 (20) and μ=92.3 (10) GPa, and are indistinguishable from those of the end-member pyrope, Py₁₀₀. The moduli of the more majorite-rich samples are significantly lower and are virtually identical to each other (K=162.6(11) and μ=85.7(7) for En₈₀Py₂₀; K=166(5) and μ=88(2) for En₁₀₀). In combination with previously reported moduli for this system, we conclude that both K and μ are constant over the compositional range from Py₁₀₀ to a majorite content of about 70–80%, whereupon the moduli decrease substantially. For compositions ranging from En₈₀Py₂₀ to the end-member majorite, the moduli are also approximately independent of composition, but at a lower value. An alternative model with a continuous decrease in moduli with increasing majorite content cannot be excluded, within the uncertainties of existing measurements. The contrast in moduli between aluminous pyrope garnet and Al-free majorite are small compared with the modulus changes accompanying the pyroxene – majorite phase transformation. Received August 16, 1995 /Revised, accepted January 12, 1996     

Sr isotopic composition of Paleoproterozoic C-rich carbonate rocks: The Tulomozero Formation,SE Fennoscandian Shield

Rb–Sr systematics has been studied in ¹³C-rich carbonate rocks of the Paleoproterozoic (2.09 ± 0.07 Ga) Tulomozero Formation in the northern Onega Lake area, the SE Fennoscandian Shield. The formation is divided into eight members (A–F) consisting of greenschist-facies-grade, variegated sandstones, siltstones, mudstones, stromatolitic dolostones and subordinate crystalline limestones. Samples of carbonate rocks were obtained from two overlapping drillholes intersecting the entire thickness of the Tulomozero Formation. Prior to isotope analysis, the rocks powders were treated with 1N ammonium acetate for partial removal of the late epigenetic carbonate phases. Major resetting of the Rb–Sr systems in the Tulomozero carbonate rocks appears to take place during the Svecofennian regional metamorphic event, and it was screened by using Mn/Sr, Fe/Sr, Mg/Ca, and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios. High Sr content (up to 2080 μg/g in limestones, and 530 μg/g in dolostones) coupled with low Fe/Mn (<0.40) ratios in the Tulomozero carbonate rocks of Members A, B (the lower part), D, F, and E are consistent with accumulation of original carbonate sediments in evaporitic lacustrine, playa, and sabkha environments. A decrease in the Sr content with concurrent increase in the Fe/Mn ratio (>0.40) in dolostones of the upper part of Member B, and of Members G and H is indicative of seawater influxes (sea transgression) into the Tulomozero basin. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values in the least altered (Mn/Sr < 2.0) marine dolostones are 0.70418–0.70442 and 0.70343–0.70409 for the earlier and late phases of the marine transgression, respectively. The decrease in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in ca. 2.1 Ga seawater is attributable to an increase in hydrothermal flux Sr into the Palaeoproterozoic ocean.     

Authigenic mineral formation in fluid permeability zones in the West Siberia Permafrost

Basic chemical and mineralogical anomalies in permafrost caused by hydrocarbon migration are considered. Direct evidence for bacterial oxidation of light hydrocarbons, primarily methane, were first obtained in fluid permeability zones in the permafrost as a stepwise formation of authigenic minerals such as iron sulfides and oxides, carbonates, silicates, and gypsum.     

Identification Features of the Transition and Intermediate Layers in the Polygonal Peatlands in Northwestern Siberia

Doklady Earth Sciences - The upper part of the subsurface component of the Earth’s cryosphere—polygonal peatlands—are considered in this paper. The polygonal peatlands are...     

Redshift Measurements for Galaxies in Clusters by Multislit Spectroscopy at the 1.5-m Telescope RTT150

Astronomy Letters - An example of simultaneous spectroscopic redshift measurements for a large number of galaxies in a cluster by multiobject spectroscopy with the medium- and low-resolution TFOSC...