Coastal dynamics at the Barents and Kara Sea key sites

The results of permafrost and coastal dynamics investigations at four key sites on the shores of the Kara and Barents Seas are discussed. Three ACD key sites, Marre-Sale, Shpindler, and Kolguev, characterize areas with active thermal erosion; key site Cape Bolvansky is found on a relatively stable coast. It is found that the coastal retreat rate has spatial and temporal variability, which is typical of the entire Arctic coast. Coastal deposits on the Kara and Barents Seas have a low organic carbon content. Annual input of material into the Kara Sea resulting from coastal degradation reaches 35–40 million t, including about 7.5 million t of ice, 0.35 million t of organic carbon, and 0.3 million t of soluble salts

EFFECTIVENESS OF RADIOFREQUENCY DENERVATION FOR PAIN RELIEF IN HIP DEGENERATIVE DISEASES

Objective - to compare the effectiveness of radiofrequency denervation (RFD) and conservative treatment of patients with hip degenerative diseases. Material and methods. 66 patients with various stages of hip degeneration were followed up for 12 months, including 36 patients who underwent RFD and 30 patients of control group with conservative treatment. Treatment results were assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Harris Hip Score before treatment, during the first day, 2 days later, as well as at 1, 6 and 12 months. Results: RFD patients demonstrated significantly better results compared with conservative group. Patients with coxarthrosis stage I and II, besides higher efficiency had prolonged period of remission, while patients with coxarthrosis stage III returned to the near-baseline level of pain only in 3-6 months. Conclusions: RFD is an effective treatment modality for patients with initial coxarthrosis stages, which helps to reduce significantly the disability period compared with conservative therapy. RFD is the only method of effective hip pain relieve in patients with severe comorbidities allowing to reduce analgesic consumption. This method is minimally invasive, has low cost, permits repeated procedures, making it attractive for both physicians and patients

Arctic coastal dynamics of Eurasia – results of two ACD-related INTAS projects : extended abstract

Under the framework of the Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) program two projects of the International Association for the Promotion of Co-operation with Scientists from the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (INTAS) focused on ACD related topics. The objectives of the first project "Arctic coastal dynamics of Eurasia: classification, modern state and prediction of its development based on GIS technology" (2002-2004) had been to develop a coastal classification and to generate GIS based map products for the coastal Zone of the Eurasian Arctic. The Russian Part of the circum-Arctic ACD classification and segmentation has been completed within this project. The overall objective of the second project "Arctic coasts of Eurasia: dynamics, sediment budget and carbon flux in connection with permafrost degradation" (2002-2005) is to quantify the material flux through coastal erosion in order to improve our understanding of the Arctic sediment and organic carbon budget. This presentation summarizes the main results of the two projects and provides an overview of more specific results which are shown in a series of Posters

(Table 2) Chemical composition of quenched glasses from the Mohns and Knipovich Ridges

The aim of this project was a petrogeochemical study of igneous rocks in the areas of the Mohns and Knipovich Ridges, both being the northern extensions of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), using data available for quenching glass samples collected during Cruises 36 and 38 of R/V Akademic Mstislav Keldysh and during Cruise 15 of R/V Professor Logachev. Results of igneous rock studying from the Mohns and Knipovich Ridges at the background of evolution of the total North Atlantic Province, which had been identified earlier from tectonic and geophysical data, showed that igneous rocks of the Knipovich Ridge can be ranked as shallow tholeiites, primary melts of which were relatively rich in Na and Si and poor in Fe. This type of magma is characteristic of colder regions of the oceanic lithosphere. Its occurrence in the Knipovich Ridge and its potential propagation up to the Gakkel Ridge suggest that igneous rocks of this region originated under conditions of passive spreading in contrast to the MAR region in vicinity of Iceland and Azores, where substantial contribution of hotter material of a rising plume contributed to formation of the oceanic crust. The North Atlantic Ocean is the youngest province in terms of ocean-floor opening. Geologically and geophysically it is one of well studied regions of the World Ocean. Nevertheless some basic key items of its origin still remain to be clarified. In 1975 Scatler et al. proved specifics of this region manifested in growth of the gravity field, and also in relative height of the ocean floor in the region of 33-70°N, which was associated by them with rise of the hotter mantle, as compared with common regions of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Later this view was confirmed by character of magmatism, which differed in depth of generation and by melting degree of the resulting primary magma. Uniqueness of the North Atlantic region was also proved by the fact that this region was marked by extensive geochemical anomalies associated with Azores, Iceland, and Jan Mayen. All of these data allow to consider the northern part of the MAR (north of 33°N) as an united global geotectonic province. The Mohns and Knipovich Ridges located north of Iceland locate at the northern end of this province. This is the least known region. Therefore, new data for ridge areas of 73-77°N are needed for more complete geologic history of the Arctic Basin. The aim of this study was to carry out a complex comparison of magmatism at the Mohns and Knipovich Ridges with magmatism at large segments of the MAR northern province and to reconstruct mechanisms of primary magma formation, as well as conditions of their fractionation. This paper was based on results of studying quenched glasses, which reflect evolution of melt in the course of its formation

Bacteriohopanepolyols in the Yenisei River and its outflow in the Kara Sea, SPM and sediments

Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are ubiquitous bacterial membrane lipids, encountered in soils, river and marine suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediments. Their abundance and distribution provides a direct means to identify bacterial inputs and can be used to trace soil-derived bacterial organic matter (OM) and in some cases the presence of bacterial groups and their activities in aquatic systems. We have studied the BHP distribution in the SPM of a major Siberian River (Yenisei River) that crosses a large latitudinal gradient, draining a large part of Mongolia and Siberian Russia. The Yenisei River is the main river to flow into the Kara Sea, a shelf sea of the Arctic Ocean. We show that the BHP distribution and concentration of SPM and surface sediments of the Yenisei Outflow in the Kara Sea allow to trace soil-marker BHPs and evaluate the performance of the R'soil index, a proxy developed to trace bacterial soil-derived OM. Soil-marker BHPs are present in the Yenisei River, and their concentration decreases from the Yenisei River Outflow into the offshore marine sediments. The R'soil correlates well with an independent proxy for bacterial OM, the BIT-index (r**2 = 0.82) and has a moderate correlation with the d13Corg values, a bulk OM proxy for terrigenous input (r**2 = 0.44). Consequently, the R'soil index performs well in the Kara Sea, strengthening its application for tracing bacterial OM in the Arctic Ocean, both in modern and downcore sediments. Furthermore, a suite of BHPs that are characteristic for methanotrophic bacteria, i.e. 35-aminobacteriohopane-30,31,32,33,34-pentol (aminopentol) and 35-aminobacteriohopane-31,32,33,34-tetrol (aminotetrol), is encountered in the Yenisei Outflow sediments. These components are partly sourced from terrigenous sources, but are likely also produced in-situ in the marine sediments. The distribution of the pentafunctionalized cyclitol ether BHP in the marine systems is noteworthy, and indicates that it can possibly be applied as a marker for cyanobacterial biomass in marine sediments