62 research outputs found
Molecular biomarkers in Batagay megaslump permafrost deposits reveal clear differences in organic matter preservation between glacial and interglacial periods
The Batagay megaslump, a permafrost thaw feature in north-eastern Siberia, provides access to ancient permafrost up to âŒ650âkyr old. We aimed to assess the permafrost-locked organic matter (OM) quality and to deduce palaeo-environmental information on glacialâinterglacial timescales. We sampled five stratigraphic units exposed on the 55âm high slump headwall and analysed lipid biomarkers (alkanes, fatty acids and alcohols). Our findings revealed similar biogeochemical signatures for the glacial periods: the lower ice complex (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 16 or earlier), the lower sand unit (sometime between MIS 16â6) and the upper ice complex (MIS 4â2). The OM in these units has a terrestrial character, and microbial activity was likely limited. Contrarily, the n-alkane and fatty acid distributions differed for the units from interglacial periods: the woody layer (MIS 5), separating the lower sand unit and the upper ice complex, and the Holocene cover (MIS 1), on top of the upper ice complex. The woody layer, marking a permafrost degradation disconformity, contained markers of terrestrial origin (sterols) and high microbial decomposition (iso- and anteiso-fatty acids). In the Holocene cover, biomarkers pointed to wet depositional conditions and we identified branched and cyclic alkanes, which are likely of microbial origin. Higher OM decomposition characterised the interglacial periods. As climate warming will continue permafrost degradation in the Batagay megaslump and in other areas, large amounts of deeply buried ancient OM with variable composition and degradability are mobilised, likely significantly enhancing greenhouse gas emissions from permafrost regions
Quantum magnetism in two dimensions: From semi-classical N\'eel order to magnetic disorder
This is a review of ground-state features of the s=1/2 Heisenberg
antiferromagnet on two-dimensional lattices. A central issue is the interplay
of lattice topology (e.g. coordination number, non-equivalent nearest-neighbor
bonds, geometric frustration) and quantum fluctuations and their impact on
possible long-range order. This article presents a unified summary of all 11
two-dimensional uniform Archimedean lattices which include e.g. the square,
triangular and kagome lattice. We find that the ground state of the spin-1/2
Heisenberg antiferromagnet is likely to be semi-classically ordered in most
cases. However, the interplay of geometric frustration and quantum fluctuations
gives rise to a quantum paramagnetic ground state without semi-classical
long-range order on two lattices which are precisely those among the 11 uniform
Archimedean lattices with a highly degenerate ground state in the classical
limit. The first one is the famous kagome lattice where many low-lying singlet
excitations are known to arise in the spin gap. The second lattice is called
star lattice and has a clear gap to all excitations.
Modification of certain bonds leads to quantum phase transitions which are
also discussed briefly. Furthermore, we discuss the magnetization process of
the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the 11 Archimedean lattices, focusing on
anomalies like plateaus and a magnetization jump just below the saturation
field. As an illustration we discuss the two-dimensional Shastry-Sutherland
model which is used to describe SrCu2(BO3)2.Comment: This is now the complete 72-page preprint version of the 2004 review
article. This version corrects two further typographic errors (three total
with respect to the published version), see page 2 for detail
Bose-Einstein Condensation in Magnetic Insulators
The elementary excitations in antiferromagnets are magnons, quasiparticles
with integer spin and Bose statistics. In an experiment their density is
controlled efficiently by an applied magnetic field and can be made finite to
cause the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Studies of magnon
condensation in a growing number of magnetic materials provide a unique window
into an exciting world of quantum phase transitions (QPT) and exotic quantum
states.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Late pleistocene sedimentation history of the Shirshov Ridge, Bering Sea
The analysis of the lithology, grain-size distribution, clay minerals, and geochemistry of Upper
Pleistocene sediments from the submarine Shirshov Ridge (Bering Sea) showed that the main source area was
the YukonâTanana terrane of Central Alaska. The sedimentary materials were transported by the Yukon
River through Beringia up to the shelf break, where they were entrained by a strong northwestward-flowing
sea current. The lithological data revealed several pulses of ice-rafted debris deposition, roughly synchronous
with Heinrich events, and periods of weaker bottom-current intensity. Based on the geochemical results, we
distinguished intervals of an increase in paleoproductivity and extension of the oxygen minimum zone. The
results suggest that there were three stages of deposition driven by glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations and
glacial cycles in Alaska
Hydrodynamics of a fluidized bed in the intertube space of staggered and in-line tube bundles
A study of the isotopic ratio U234/U238 in aqueous extracts from uranium-phosphate-zirconium ores in connection with their origin
Hydrodynamics and external heat transfer in granular beds with rotating cylinders placed in them
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