Rock magnetism and magnetostratigraphy of the loess-sol series of Ukraine (Roksolany,Boyanychi, and Korshev sections)

The results of the rock magnetic and paleomagnetic studies for the Quaternary loess-sol deposits of Ukraine are reported. The magnetic properties of the rocks composing the sections in the Pre-Black-Sea Depression (Roksolany) and Volyn Upland (Boyanychi and Korshev) are compared. Based on the highly precise measurements by modern instruments, the primary magnetization component is isolated in the rocks and its polarity is reliably determined in both the loess and soil horizons. The position of the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary in the Roksolany section is determined at a depth of 46.6 m at the contact of the Lubenskii and Martonoshskii soil horizons. This is consistent with the present-day notions of the group of Ukrainian scientists about the Quaternary stratigraphy of the south of Ukraine and inconsistent with the previous results that placed this boundary at a depth of 34 m in loesses above the PK₇ level.     

Middle Paleozoic impact event in the southwest of the East European Platform

A zone with high remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility has been identified at the boundary between Lower Devonian gray- and red-colored deposits in the basin of the Dniester River in the southwest of Ukraine (in the southwest of the East European Platform). The microparticles of native iron and nickel and iron-nickel intermetallic compounds found here might be markers of an impact event in the Lochkovian (~ 415 Ma). Electron microscope examination and probe microanalysis of the chemical composition, morphology, structures, and textures of specific microobjects showed that they are the product of melting of meteoritic substance and target rocks caused by an impact explosion. Explosive dispersion and deposition of microparticles on the Earth’s surface result in a rapid differentiation of their substance. The obtained data can be used as evidence of a reference impact event during the fall of an iron-stone meteorite, and a characteristic set of minerals and geochemical parameters can help to identify catastrophic events in the geologic history.     

Tectonics of the drake Passage-Scotia sea zone in the southern ocean

The relief and geophysical characteristics of the sea floor in the Drake Passage-Scotia Sea zone have been studied quite well in general. The oceanic floor within this zone is usually considered as a collage of small fragments of the continental bridge and of young oceanic plates formed by spreading under the large-scale motions of large lithospheric plates. The authors suppose an alternative version of the genesis of the Drake Passage-Scotia Sea lithospheric zone as an area of large fragments of the continental bridge subjected to basification under the conditions of temperate extension and local rifting.     

Geomagnetic disturbances and earthquakes in the Vrancea zone

Based on the example of the Vrancea zone of concentrated seismicity, it is shown how the stress-strain state of the medium responds to a disturbance of the geomagnetic field. Geomagnetic conditions are examined in relation to earthquakes in the Vrancea zone in the period 1988–1996. It is established that the seismic energy release in the Vrancea zone is associated with differences (“gradients”) in the H component of the geomagnetic field. Such a gradient preceding earthquakes is shown to be the midnight polar substorm and the degree of its mid-latitude effect. The time interval from the maximum of the substorm development to a shock (τ, h) is directly related to the focal depth. The seismic characteristics K _en and h (km) are demonstrated to be related to morphological features of the substorm development, namely, its duration T (min), intensity, and background. Differences in the duration of polar substorms before crustal (shallow) and deep earthquakes are revealed. Morphological features of the spectrum of geomagnetic variations preceding the seismic energy release are established.     

Varved clay paleomagnetism: Sedimentogenesis and secular variation record

The genesis, varve, and paleomagnetic informativeness of glaciolacustrine sediments are considered based on paleomagnetic and lithological studies. The magnetic properties of varved clays from periglacial basins have been considered using the sedimentological model of formation of varved clays as products of glacial turbidity currents, which explains the differences in the magnetic characteristics and degree of paleomagnetic informativeness of these clays. The distal zone sediments (formed due to precipitation from glacial turbidity currents, suspension, and sometimes along the periphery of the proximal zone) are most successfully used to study secular variations. The possible errors of the secular variation records in varved clays and such errors in estimating annual bedding of these clays have been analyzed. It has been indicated that information about the composition, concentration, and magnetic fraction size should be completed with detailed lithological studies, which make it possible to reconstruct the character of clastic material income into a basin and to decipher a paleomagnetic record. An analysis of the magnetic susceptibility anisotropy parameters and the magnetization formation in a sediment makes it possible to take into account disturbances caused by the sedimentation process and, thereby, to detect a pure geomagnetic signal