n-Alkanes and lignin in bottom sediments of the West European Basin (area of the battleship Bismark wreck site)

Three bottom sediment cores were collected from the top, slope, and foot of a small topographic high located near the West European continental rise within the Porcupine abyssal plain at the battleship Bismark wreck site. Using high-efficient gas chromatography technique we determined content and examined molecular composition of n-alkane fraction of hydrocarbons and phenol compounds of lignin. n-Alkane and phenol concentrations in bottom sediments of all three cores were low both in values per unit mass of sediments and in organic matter composition that is typical for pelagic deposits of the World Ocean. They vary from 0.07 to 2.01 µg/g of dry sediment and from 0.0001 to 0.01% of TOC; phenol ranges are from 1.43 to 11.1 µg/g and from 0.03 to 0.6%. Non-uniform supply of terrigenous matter to the bottom under conditions of changes in sedimentation environment in different geological epochs is the principal reason for significant variations in n-alkane and lignin concentrations with depth in the cores. Lignin and its derivatives make the main contribution to formation of organic matter composition of the region in study. With respect to n-alkane and lignin concentrations organic matter of deposits of the West European Basin is composed of remains of higher plants and of autochtonous organic matter of marine flora; they have mixed terrigenous-autochtonous (terrigenous-planktonogenic) origin.

Chemical composition of phosphorites, Fe-Mn nodules and crusts, and basalts from the West Pacific

The monograph gives the first systematic description of ore-bearing guyots from the West Pacific. It is mostly based on data obtained in numerous expeditions of Russian vessels during 1984-1992. Ore deposits located on upper parts of all slopes and tops of the guyots include phosphorites associated with cobalt- and platinum-rich ferromanganese crusts. Location, origin and prospecting of mineral deposits are discussed on the base of new data on metallogenic factors (geodynamics, tectonics, magmatism, sedimentation and morphostructures).

Element analyses and isotope composition of basalts from the West Valley segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeast Pacific

The 50 km-long West Valley segment of the northern Juan de Fuca Ridge is a young, extension-dominated spreading centre, with volcanic activity concentrated in its southern half. A suite of basalts dredged from the West Valley floor, the adjacent Heck Seamount chain, and a small near-axis cone here named Southwest Seamount, includes a spectrum of geochemical compositions ranging from highly depleted normal (N-) MORB to enriched (E-) MORB. Heck Seamount lavas have chondrite-normalized La/Sm en -0.3, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70235 - 0.70242, and 206Pb/204Pb = 18.22 - 18.44, requiring a source which is highly depleted in trace elements both at the time of melt generation and over geologic time. The E-MORB from Southwest Seamount have La/Sm en -1.8, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70245 - 0.70260, and 206Pb/204Pb = 18.73 - 19.15, indicating a more enriched source. Basalts from the West Valley floor have chemical compositions intermediate between these two end-members. As a group, West Valley basalts from a two-component mixing array in element-element and element-isotope plots which is best explained by magma mixing. Evidence for crustal-level magma mixing in some basalts includes mineral-melt chemical and isotopic disequilibrium, but mixing of melts at depth (within the mantle) may also occur. The mantle beneath the northern Juan de Fuca Ridge is modelled as a plum-pudding, with "plums" of enriched, amphibole-bearing peridotite floating in a depleted matrix (DM). Low degrees of melting preferentially melt the "plums", initially removing only the amphibole component and producing alkaline to transitional E-MORB. Higher degrees of melting tap both the "plums" and the depleted matrix to yield N-MORB. The subtly different isotopic compositions of the E-MORBs compared to the N-MORBs require that any enriched component in the upper mantle was derived from a depleted source. If the enriched component crystallized from fluids with a DM source, the "plums" could evolve to their more evolved isotopic composition after a period of 1.5-2.0 Ga. Alternatively, the enriched component could have formed recently from fluids with a lessdepleted source than DM, such as subducted oceanic crust. A third possibility is that enriched material might be dispersed as "plums" throughout the upper mantle, transported from depth by mantle plumes.

Sulfur compounds in bottom sediments and interstitial waters of the Pacific Ocean to the east of Japan

In near-shore Pacific bottom sediments to the east of Japan unusually high content of free H2S ocurs. H2S resulting from bacterial reduction of sulfates from interstitial waters has a number of derivatives; pyrite dominates among them. Contents of other derivatives of H2S: sulfide sulfur and organic sulfur do not exceed 0,01%, content of organic sulfur does not exceed 0.1%. Due to reduction content of sulfates can reduce to 0,03% S. Capacity of the process of sulfate reduction, estimated by sum of all reduced forms of S - derivatives of H2S, is a function of organic matter content in sediments. Ability of bottom sediments to accumulate free H2S depends on content of reactive forms of Fe. Spatial distribution of reduced forms of S in the studied sediments is considered.

Tab. 1: Mass changes and balances 1982/83 for stakes on the Inland Ice at Päkitsup ilordlia north-east of Jakobshavn

In connection with hydropower investigations in West Greenland mass balance measurements have been carried out 1982/83 on the Inland lce at Päkitsup ilordlia north-east of Jakobshavn. The mass balance was measured at seven stakes drilled into the ice at altitudinal intervals of 200 metres from 300 m to 1500 m a.s.l. The measurements show that mass balance conditions in the Jakobshavn area must have been abnormally positive for the 1982/83 hydrological year.

The Mirage of the State: Why the West has failed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and Central African Republic? Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 14 No. 15, July 2014

The state still matters. However, the members of the Euro-Atlantic community may be misinterpreting this crucial baseline prior launching their military interventions since 2001. The latest violence and collapse of the state of Iraq after the invasion of Northern Iraq by a radical Sunni Muslim terrorist group, so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), demonstrate once again the centrality and requirement of a functioning state in order to maintain violent forces to disrupt domestic and regional stability. Since 2001, the US and its European allies have waged wars against failed-states in order to increase this security and national interests, and then have been involved in some type of state-building.1 This has been the case in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali, and Central African Republic (CAR). France went into Mali (2012) and CAR (2013), which preceded two European Union military and civilian Common Security and Defense Policy missions (CSDP), in order to avoid the collapse of these two states. The threat of the collapse of both states was a concern for the members of the Euro-Atlantic community as it could have spread to the region and causing even greater instabilities. In Mali, the country was under radical Islamic pressures coming from the North after the collapse of Libya ensuing the 2011 Western intervention, while in CAR it was mainly an ethno-religious crisis. Failed states are a real concern, as they can rapidly become training grounds for radical groups and permitting all types of smuggling and trafficking.2 In Mali, France wanted to protect its large French population and avoid the fall of Mali in the hands of radical Islamic groups directly or indirectly linked to Al-Qaeda. A fallen Mali could have destabilized the region of the Sahel and ultimately affected the stability of Southern European borders. France wanted to avoid the development of a safe haven across the Sahel where movements of people and goods are uncontrolled and illegal.3 Since the end of the Cold War, Western powers have been involved in stabilizing neighborhoods and regions, like the Balkans, Africa, and Middle East, which at the exceptions of the Balkans, have led to failed policies. 9/11 changes everything. The US, under President George W. Bush, started to wage war against terrorism and all states link to it. This started a period of continuous Western interventions in this post-9/11 era in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and CAR. If history has demonstrated one thing, the members of the Euro-Atlantic community are struggling and will continue to struggle to stabilize Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and Central African Republic (CAR) for one simple reason: no clear endgame. Is it the creation of a state à la Westphalian in order to permit these states to operate as the sole guarantor of security? Or is the reestablishment of status quo in these countries permitting to exit and end Western operations? This article seeks to analyze Western interventions in these five countries in order to reflect on the concept of the state and the erroneous starting point for each intervention.4 In the first part, the political status of each country is analyzed in order to understand the internal and regional crisis. In a second time, the concept of the state, framed into the Buzanian trinity, is discussed and applied to the cases. In the last part the European and American civilian-military doctrines are examined in accordance with their latest military interventions and in their broader spectrum.