Goltsov phenomenon as a natural-technogenic electromagnetic discharge of the lithosphere

The article presents data on an unusual natural phenomenon that occurred on November 30, 1984 in the village of Goltsovka, Zmeinogorsky District, Altai Territory. It manifested itself in the passage above the village of a luminous ball, which was accompanied by an impact on the surface of the earth and led to some damage to structures and buildings. A detailed description of this unusual phenomenon in the published scientific literature, as far as we know, is practically absent. The article describes this phenomenon, based on data collected soon after the event, with the addition of upto-date clarifying information. A comparison is made with several known cases of ball lightning and a whirlwind. The conclusion is made about an unusually large energy release in the Goltsovka event

СРЕДНЕМИОЦЕНОВЫЕ ПОСЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬНОСТИ ВЫСОКО- И УМЕРЕННО-MG ВУЛКАНИЧЕСКИХ ПОРОД НА ВИТИМСКОМ ПЛОСКОГОРЬЕ, ЮГ СИБИРИ: ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЕ ПОДЛИТОСФЕРНОГО КОНВЕКТИРУЮЩЕГО МАТЕРИАЛА НА ЛИТОСФЕРУ

A comparative study of major elements, trace elements, and isotopes in high- and moderate-Mg volcanic sequences of 16–14 and 14–13 Ma, respectively, has been performed in the Bereya volcanic center. In the former (small volume) sequence, contaminated by crustal material basalts and trachybasalts of K–Na series were followed by uncontaminated basanites and basalts of transitional (K–Na–K) compositions and afterwards by picrobasalts and ba­salts of K series. From pressure estimates using equation [Scarrow, Cox, 1995], high-Mg magma originated at the deep range of 115–150 km. In the latter (high-volume) sequence, basalts and basaltic andesites of transitional (Na–K–Na) compositions and basalts of Na series were overlain by basalts and trachybasalts of K–Na series. First, there was a strong melting of its shallow garnet-free part with coeval weak melting of more deep garnet-bearing portion, then only a deep garnet-bearing portion of the lithospheric mantle melted. It is suggested that the sequential formation of high- and moderate-Mg melts reflected the mid-Miocene thermal impact of the lithosphere by hot material from the Transbaikalian low-velocity domain, which had the potential temperature Tp as high as 1510 °С. This thermal impact triggered the rifting in the lithosphere of the Baikal Rift System.В восточной части Витимского плоскогорья, в Береинском вулканическом центре, выполнено сравнительное изучение вариаций петрогенных оксидов, микроэлементов и изотопов в последовательностях высоко- и умеренно-Mg вулканитов, извергавшихся, соответственно, 16–14 и 14–13 млн лет назад. В первой (малообъемной) последовательности определена смена контаминированных коровым материалом базальтов–трахибазальтов K–Na-серии неконтаминированными высоко-Mg базанитами–базальтами переходного (K–Na–K) состава и пикробазальтами–базальтами K-серии. По оценкам давлений с использованием уравнения [Scarrow, Cox, 1995], высоко-Mg магмы выплавлялись в глубинном интервале 115–150 км. Во второй (крупнообъемной) последовательности выявлена смена базальтов–андезибазальтов переходного (Na–K–Na) состава и базальтов Na-серии базальтами–трахибазальтами K–Na-серии. Сначала произошло сильное плавление малоглубинной безгранатовой части литосферной мантии (или с небольшим содержанием граната) с одновременным слабым плавлением более глубинного субстрата, обогащенного гранатом, а затем продолжал слабо плавиться только ее более глубинный субстрат. Предполагается, что последовательное образование высоко- и умеренно-Mg выплавок отразило среднемиоценовое термальное воздействие на литосферу горячего материала Забайкальского низкоскоростного домена, обладавшего высокой потенциальной температурой (до 1510 °С). Это термальное воздействие вызвало рифтогенез в литосфере Байкальской рифтовой системы

Biological Earth observation with animal sensors.

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change

Constraining modern day silicon cycling in Lake Baikal

Constraining the continental silicon cycle is a key requirement in attempts to understand both nutrient fluxes to the ocean and linkages between silicon and carbon cycling over different timescales. Silicon isotope data of dissolved silica (δ30SiDSi) are presented here from Lake Baikal and its catchment in central Siberia. As well as being the world's oldest and voluminous lake, Lake Baikal lies within the seventh largest drainage basin in the world and exports significant amounts of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean. Data from river waters accounting for c. 92% of annual river inflow to the lake suggest no seasonal alteration or anthropogenic impact on river δ30SiDSi composition. The absence of a change in δ30SiDSi within the Selenga Delta, through which 62% of riverine flow passes, suggest a net balance between biogenic uptake and dissolution in this system. A key feature of this study is the use of δ30SiDSi to examine seasonal and spatial variations in DSi utilisation and export across the lake. Using an open system model against deep water δ30SiDSi values from the lake, we estimate that 20-24% of DSi entering Lake Baikal is exported into the sediment record. Whilst highlighting the impact that lakes may have upon the sequestration of continental DSi, mixed layer δ30SiDSi values from 2003 and 2013 show significant spatial variability in the magnitude of spring bloom nutrient utilisation with lower rates in the north relative to south basin

Remnants of the devil's staircase of phase transitions in the model of dimer adsorption at nonzero temperature

The model of dimers adsorption on hexagonal lattice with different orientations to surface and hard-spheres lateral interactions has been studied at nonzero temperature. The transfer-matrix method was used as the main one and the Monte Carlo method was used for checking of some extreme cases. Adsorption isotherms, dependencies of the entropy from the density of the adsorption layer and of the energy from the system temperature at certain points of the phase space, were computed. It was found that at least the first ten phases of the ground state still persist at nonzero temperatures

Erratum to: Volumetric thermal expansion coefficients of the equiatomic Na–K and K–Rb melts (Russian Metallurgy (Metally), (2017), 2017, 8, (625-626), 10.1134/S0036029517080043)

Page 625, left column, line1, should read: “coolants in nuclear reactors” instead of “heat-carrying agents in nuclear rectors.” Symbol “αp” should read instead of “αm”. © 2018, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

MID-MIOCENE SEQUENCES OF HIGH- AND MODERATE-MG VOLCANIC ROCKS IN VITIM PLATEAU, SOUTHERN SIBERIA: IMPACT OF A SUB-LITHOSPHERIC CONVECTIVE MATERIAL ON THE LITHOSPHERE

A comparative study of major elements, trace elements, and isotopes in high- and moderate-Mg volcanic sequences of 16–14 and 14–13 Ma, respectively, has been performed in the Bereya volcanic center. In the former (small volume) sequence, contaminated by crustal material basalts and trachybasalts of K–Na series were followed by uncontaminated basanites and basalts of transitional (K–Na–K) compositions and afterwards by picrobasalts and ba­salts of K series. From pressure estimates using equation [Scarrow, Cox, 1995], high-Mg magma originated at the deep range of 115–150 km. In the latter (high-volume) sequence, basalts and basaltic andesites of transitional (Na–K–Na) compositions and basalts of Na series were overlain by basalts and trachybasalts of K–Na series. First, there was a strong melting of its shallow garnet-free part with coeval weak melting of more deep garnet-bearing portion, then only a deep garnet-bearing portion of the lithospheric mantle melted. It is suggested that the sequential formation of high- and moderate-Mg melts reflected the mid-Miocene thermal impact of the lithosphere by hot material from the Transbaikalian low-velocity domain, which had the potential temperature Tp as high as 1510 °С. This thermal impact triggered the rifting in the lithosphere of the Baikal Rift System