V različnih slovenskih muzejih in zasebnih zbirkah hranijo več zbirk vzhodnoazijskih predmetov, od katerih so v zadnjih letih nekateri postali objekt večjega znanstvenega zanimanja. V prispevku je ...predstavljen primer kamna za črnilo iz zbirke osebnih predmetov Alme M. Karlin (1889–1950), ki jo hrani Pokrajinski muzej Celje. Pred to raziskavo so bile osnovne informacije o predmetu iz omenjene zbirke redke, konkretni podatki o njegovi zgodovini pa pomanjkljivi. S to študijo primera je bila določena provenienca in osnovni podatki, hkrati pa predstavljen tudi metodološki aparat, uporabljen za raziskovanje in končno potrditev izvora obravnavanega predmeta. Osrednji del članka se osredotoča na raziskovanje pomena na kamnu izrezljanega pečata in na razrešitev ročno napisanega zapisa na spodnji strani predmeta. Oba zapisa sta tudi postavljena v širši kulturnozgodovinski kontekst vzhodnoazijske regije in v kontekst potovanja Alme Karlin.
Uralian parietal and rock art (cave paintings and pictographs, or “pisanitsy”) represents a unique archaeological and cultural phenomenon, comprising 90 sites stretching for more than 800 km from ...north to south, which date from the Paleolithic era extending into the present Holocene epoch. The identification of the nature of prehistoric colorants provides an insight into their provenance, manufacture and utilization, as well as contributing to the conservation and restoration of drawings. The studies of mineral, elemental and organic phase composition of the colorant micro-samples from the drawings of Ignatievskaya cave and Idrisovskaya II and Zmiev Kamen’ pictographs (Southern and Middle Urals, Russia) discussed in the present work were carried out using a special set of microspectroscopic methods (SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy) offering high spatial resolution. The fatty acid composition of the organic phase was analyzed by GC–MS. The technology of colorant manufacture could have included thorough grinding and mixing of unheated hematite with an organic binder made from animal fat and a clayey extender in order to achieve the desired hue and intensity of the color. It is possible that the colorant was applied in layers (Idrisovskaya II and Zmiev Kamen’ pictographs). The development of authigenic phosphate and sulfate (gypsum) mineralization, which is observed in all studied sites, as well as oxalate encrustation on the Idrisovskaya II pictograph, indicates the conditions and processes of secondary mineral formation.
—We present the rock-magnetic and palaeomagnetic results of the Sarmatian-Maeotian (Upper Miocene) sediments of the key sections of Cape Popov Kamen and Cape Panagia from Taman Peninsula (Eastern ...Paratethys) and forming the flanks of a single synclinal fold. A three-component composition of magnetization has been detected. The first is the viscous component
A
, the second is the component B, which is intermediate between the components
A
and the third component C, which tends to zero in the Zijderveld diagram. The directions of component
B
are characterized by northern–northeastern–eastern declinations and positive inclinations in the stratigraphic coordinate system; the fold test for the Popov Kamen and Panagia results is negative, and the magnetization is post-folding. The directions of component
C
have negative inclinations and southern declinations in the stratigraphic coordinate system. Paleomagnetic results for two sections showed the test fold positive, magnetization preliminary and the magnetization is pre-folding. Components
B
and
C
, on the basis of which the polarity of the magnetozones is determined, are of different ages, and the palaeomagnetic record of component
B
is the result of complete or partial remagnetization, which makes it impossible to use magnetostratigraphy for section dating. Our work affects an important question about the reliability of palaeomagnetic data on the Miocene deposits of the Kerch-Taman region (Eastern Paratethys).
Chalcophile elements and lithium (Li) isotopes were measured on lavas from a 220‐km transect across the Kamchatka arc in order to investigate the fluid variations below arc volcanoes and to trace the ...geochemical behaviour of Li in convergent plate margins. From the Eastern Volcanic Front (EVF), through the Central Kamchatka Depression (CKD), into the Sredinny Range (SR) volcanic zones, chalcophile element ratios (e.g., As/Ce and Sb/Ce) show clear across‐arc variations, decreasing (e.g., As/Ce: 0.20 to 0.03 and Sb/Ce: 0.013 to 0.002) with increasing depth above the slab (110 to 400 km). This clearly indicates a gradually decreasing influx of slab‐derived fluids added to the mantle wedge as the slab subducts below Kamchatka. In addition, the anomalously high U/Th, La/Sm, and B/Nb ratios in the CKD lavas suggest lawsonite breakdown reaction dominates the fluid release in this area. However, Li/Y (0.07 to 1.78) and δ7Li (+1.8 to +5.4‰, with an exception of +8.6‰ in CKD) show limited variations and values similar to the MORB mantle. A dehydration model suggests that slab‐derived fluids, which are characterized by high Li concentration and high δ7Li, do not control the Li budget in Kamchatka arc lavas. Therefore, the isotopic heavy Li from slab‐derived fluids likely equilibrates in the sub‐arc mantle, which acts as a buffer for Li systematics. In addition, based on the Li isotopic signatures of Klyuchevskoy volcano, our study demonstrates insignificant Li isotopic fractionation during mantle melting and subsequent differentiation.
Key Points
The Kamchatka arc lavas show across‐arc variations in chalcophile elements, suggesting that the amount of fluid decreases with depth
Slab‐derived fluids have a negligible contribution to the Li budget of the Kamchatka arc lavas
CKD lavas have high U/Th, Li/Y, La/Sm, and B/Nb ratios, indicating that lawsonite breakdown reaction dominates the water release
The lower Maeotian sedimentary rocks of the Popov Kamen section (Russia, Taman Region, Eastern Paratethys) were investigated by cyclostratigraphy methods based on magnetic susceptibility ...measurements. Time series analysis (Lomb–Scargle and REDFIT periodograms, wavelets, Gaussian filters) revealed statistically significant signals with 5.2–6.0m wavelength corresponding most likely to the 41,000-year obliquity cycle. These new data imply a duration of the early Maeotian regional substage of 0.9Myr, and this sets the age of the Sarmatian–Maeotian boundary to about ~7.6Ma. These astronomically tuned lower Maeotian sediments of the Popov Kamen section result in an average sedimentation rate of about 11–12cm/kyr (=90.9–83.3yr/cm) for the whole section. In the relatively deep-water setting of the lower Maeotian Popov Kamen section, no major hiatuses were detected, with the exception of an insignificant gap in the upper part of the successions. The marine transgression in the Eastern Paratethys at the beginning of Maeotian was probably caused by the opening and consequent deepening of Rifian Corridor. At the end of the Tortonian (~7.6Ma), this tectonic event terminated the restricted conditions in the Mediterranean and re-established the connection between the Mediterranean Sea and Paratethys. Therefore, the Tortonian–Messinian transition in the Mediterranean probably corresponds to the clays of the lower part of the lower Maeotian record in Paratethys, which is located above the first bryozoan build-ups and below the 1.8m thick diatomite bed in the Popov Kamen section. Our astronomically calculated age for the beginning of the Maeotian at ~7.6Ma strengthens the connection between these two transgressive events.
James Alan Bassham, known to many as Al, was born on November 26, 1922, in Sacramento, California (CA), USA. He died on November 19, 2012, in El Cerrito, CA. To celebrate his life at his 3rd death ...anniversary, we present here a brief biography, comments on his discoveries, but most importantly, remembrances from family and friends; we remember this wonderful and modest person who had played a major pivotal role in the discoveries that led to what he would like to call the P(hotosynthetic) C(arbon) R(eduction) cycle, known to many as the Calvin Cycle, the Calvin–Benson Cycle, or the Calvin–Benson–Bassham Cycle. Based on a personal request by Bassham himself to one of us (Govindjee), we refrain from including his name in the cycle—in recognition of his many students and associates he would have liked to honor.
Blockchain, digital twins, digital familiars, digital business platforms, digital currencies-all complex, arcane, and even magical-seeming inventions-are being conceived by a counterculture of ...academics, students, researchers, inventors, hackers, and hobbyists intent on changing the world. While a resemblance might be that the car and Segway both solve problems of air pollution-it was widely thought that the advent of the automobile would end air pollution in cities caused by horse manure being pulverized into fine dust by buggy wheels (Bettmann 1974)-the resemblances are few and unimportant. ...the majority of cars within cities are commuters and not ones making short trips. ...although it may be true that Segway can turn a 30-minute walk into a 10-minute ride, it does not follow that that will shrink cities to the point that cars will be unnecessary. The Segway came to market with an impressive weight of authority behind it. Besides its inventor Dean Kamen- inventor of the first drug-infusion pump, the first portable insulin pump, the first portable dialysis machine, and heart stents, and holder of more than 400 patents-the Segway also attracted the support of a number of tech luminaries:
Among the many Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian reef structures that are known worldwide, a Lower Permian 360 m long succession of reefal rocks in the Urals, interpreted as representing skeletal ...mounds, stands out for its complexity. The abundance of lime mud material, both in the skeletal mounds and in the adjacent sediments, indicates that they grew below fair‐weather wave base. An important feature of these Lower Permian organic buildups in the Urals is the widespread development of synsedimentary biologically induced cements, which often prevail in the rock volume. One of the most representative (and unique) skeletal mounds sequences in the Northern Urals is the Pisanyi Kamen’ section located on the Un'ya River. This paper aims to identify changes in the character of the palaeocommunity in the Pisanyi Kamen’ section. In the skeletal mounds development in the Lower Asselian interval of the Pisanyi Kamen’ section, seven events are distinguished. These are: (a) stabilisation of a soft sea floor by bryozoans and heterotrophic microbes; (b) colonisation of a hard sea floor by bryozoans and the appearance of abundant bioinduced cements; (c) displacement of bryozoans by a phylloid algae community; (d) appearance of a higher diversity community; (e) the mound top reaching the fair‐weather wave base; (f) collapse of the ecosystem; and (g) recurrent colonisation of a hard sea floor by phylloid algae. This work summarises the current state of knowledge regarding the Lower Permian skeletal mounds structure of the Northern Urals. The description of the ecological succession offers a new tool for the analysis of similar structures.
The Pisanyi Kamen’ section on the Un'ya River, Northern Urals, from the Lower Asselian stratigraphic interval is the central part of a succession of skeletal mounds that are composed of biocementstones. Palaeoecological analysis allows the pioneer stages of the ecological succession, representing the stabilisation and colonisation stages, to be established. A succession of ecosystem biotic composition during the different phases of skeletal mound ontogenesis was determined.