The magnetisation of Rosemary Bank Seamount,Rockall Trough,northeast Atlantic

Rosemary Bank is a non-uniformly magnetised seamount in the northern Rockall Trough. The reversely magnetised major component of the anomaly field was simulated by a numerical method and modelled using the Talwani three-dimensional magnetics program. The results suggest a higher Koenigsberger ratio than earlier reported for Rosemary Bank and a remanent magnetisation vector compatible with post-Jurassic formation and probably of a Late Cretaceous to Tertiary age. The limited depth to the base of the model implies that Rosemary Bank post-dates the underlying basement in agreement with a volcanic origin. The residual of the observed anomaly field is interpreted as being caused by normally magnetised bodies within and on top of the bank. This suggests subsequent volcanic activity during an interval of normal polarity.     

Age and structure of the southern Rockall Trough new evidence

The Rockall Trough separates the Rockall Plateau microcontinent from the shelf and slope west of the British Isles. The structure and age of the trough has been the source of considerable discussion. Although widely considered to be of oceanic origin, postulated ages for the spreading range from Permian to Cretaceous. New seismic profiles linked to the IPOD sites in the Bay of Biscay and to oceanic anomalies of known age are used to present a new assessment of the age and structure of the southern Rockall Trough. It is concluded that about 120 km of ocean crust is present in the trough and that spreading took place in the Albian-Maastrichtian interval.     

Palaeomagnetic evidence for large-scale dextral movement along the Trollfjord-Komagelv Fault,Finnmark, north Norway

Palaeomagnetic data from Late Precambrian dykes from the northern part of Varanger peninsula, north Norway, suggest a two-axis magnetization structure. The dominant component is considered to be syn- to late-tectonic and probably acquired at around 640 m.y. B.P. Superposed on this magnetization is a minor component which is compatible with the relative Lower-Middle Palaeozoic field; i.e. it was most likely imposed during the climax of the Caledonian orogenic movements in north Norway. The estimated relative Late Precambrian palaeopole cannot easily be reconciled with the European Late Precambrian polar path. This disagreement can be accounted for by assuming a post-magnetization dextral megashear, of the order of 500–1000 km, along the Trollfjord-Komagelv fracture zone. This type of displacement is in line with geological evidence and the palaeomagnetic reconstruction supports the long-held view of there having been continuity between the depositional environments of the Varanger Peninsula Barents Sea Group, the Eleonore Bay Group of east Greenland and the Hecla Hoek Formation of east Spitsbergen. The character and age of the horizontal displacement, post-640 to pre-500 m.y. B.P., is seen in conjunction with the opening up of the lapetus Ocean and reactivation of ancient deep-seated fractures during both the spreading and the contraction phases of ocean development.     

Carbonaceous chondrites—I. Characterization and significance of carbonaceous chondrite (CM) xenoliths in the Jodzie howardite

Mineralogical, chemical, textural, and isotopic studies of the abundant carbonaceous inclusions in the Jodzie howardite are consistent with CM characteristics. These CM xenoliths show regolith alteration on a level comparable to the Murray and Murchison meteorites but less than Nogoya, flow-oriented development of phyllosilicates and ‘poorly characterized phases’, and partial oxidation of sulfides. Temperature-programmed pyrolysis mass spectrometry (25°–1400°C) indicates that gas release patterns of volatiles and hydrocarbon components and percent contents of N(0.15), C(2.3) and S(2.4) are typical of CM meteorites. Release of significant amounts of SO₂ is attributed to the thermal breakdown of ‘poorly characterized phases’ (Fe-Ni-C-S-O) that formed during low temperature aqueous alteration in the CM parent body.Noble gas abundances are well within the reported range of CM meteorites. The fact that the Ne composition is typical for ‘solar’ values and the isotopic structure of Xe is ‘planetary’ argues that these gases were entrapped by different mechanisms. Cosmic ray exposure ages for the xenoliths (³He, 5 × 10⁶; ²¹Ne, 6.7 × 10⁶; ³⁸Ar, 6.9 × 10⁶ yr) agree with the reported exposure age for the eucritic host. Volatile abundances, presence of intact organic molecules, and phyllosilicates in the CM xenoliths preclude regolith temperatures in excess of 200°C after CM incorporation. Mixing of the host and xenoliths probably occurred during a low-velocity collision of main belt asteroids.     

Regional metamorphism of some Dalradian pelites in the Buchan area,N.E. Scotland

Regional metamorphic zones, based on mineral assemblages in pelites, are presented for the Dalradian rocks of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire, in the type area of Buchan metamorphism; electron microprobe analyses of cordierite (C), staurolite (S), chlorite (Chl), biotite (B) and white mica (Ms) are reported for rocks from the classic sections of the Banffshire coast and the valley of the Ythan.A low grade biotite zone, separates two NE-SW trending sets of higher grade zones, in which the sequence s defined by the entry of cordierite, andalusite (A) and (in the west only) staurolite. The zones are characterised by the assemblages (with quartz and muscovite) B-Chl, C-B-Chl, A-C-B and S-A-B.The western sequence contains a transition towards higher pressure, Barrovian type, metamorphism. The isograds arise from continuous reactions affecting rocks of restricted bulk composition (M/FM). With increasing grade, there is a regular trend towards more magnesian ranges of composition for the assemblages C-B-Chl, A-C-B and finally (as P increases in the west), S-A-B. The isograds form when these assemblages intersect the most Fe⁺⁺-rich rock compositions present which occurs in each case when the biotite M/FM=40. A complex of divariant equilibria, derived for the system KFMASH, is used to model the natural reactions.     

Egg extrusion as a kepone-clearance route in the blue crab,Callinectes sapidus

The concentration of Kepone in extruded egg masses and the backfin muscles of the blue crab,Callinectes sapidus, collected from seven stations in the lower James River and lower Chesapeake Bay was determined. Crabs from the lower James River were generally more contaminated than those from the lower Chesapeake Bay. Extruded eggs contain approximately three times more Kepone than backfin muscle. Egg extrusion is concluded to be a major route of Kepone clearance from female blue crabs.     

The measurement of dissolved organic carbon released by phytoplankton

The effects of applied filtration vacuum and incubation time on the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by natural phytoplankton populations dominated by diatoms were examined. The rate of primary production and release of DOC remained reasonably constant during a 5 hour incubation period. The measured release of DOC was found to be quite sensitive to the applied filtration vacuum, ranging from near 2 percent of fixed carbon (neglecting respiration) for gravity-filtered samples to 36 percent for samples filtered at 40 cm Hg vacuum.     

A study of conditions at the inner core boundary of the earth

A study is made of the thermal and compositional conditions which the liquid outer core must satisfy at the inner core boundary, assuming the inner core to be growing by continual solidification of the heavy component of the liquid alloy in the outer core. It is found that the outer core is strongly destabilized by the compositional gradients driven by the separation process associated with the freezing. Further, it is argued that all the freezing necessary for the growth of the solid inner core cannot occur on a flat interface; most of it must occur above the solid boundary in a region labeled the slurry layer.     

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope exchange reactions between clay minerals and water

The extent of hydrogen and oxygen isotope exchange between clay minerals and water has been measured in the temperature range 100–350° for bomb runs of up to almost 2 years. Hydrogen isotope exchange between water and the clays was demonstrable at 100°. Exchange rates were 3–5 times greater for montmorillonite than for kaolinite or illite and this is attributed to the presence of interlayer water in the montmorillonite structure.Negligible oxygen isotope exchange occurred at these low temperatures. The great disparity in D and O¹⁸ exchange rates observed in every experiment demonstrates that hydrogen isotope exchange occurred by a mechanism of proton exchange independent of the slower process of O¹⁸ exchange.At 350° kaolinite reacted to form pyrophyllite and diaspore. This was accompanied by essentially complete D exchange but minor O¹⁸ exchange and implies that intact structural units in the pyrophyllite were inherited from the kaolinite precursor.     

Bandpass calibration of a wideband spectrometer using coherent pulse injection

We present a relatively simple time domain method for determining the bandpass response of a system by injecting a nanosecond pulse and capturing the system voltage output. A pulse of sub-nanosecond duration contains all frequency components with nearly constant amplitude up to 1 GHz. Hence, this method can accurately determine the system bandpass response to a broadband signal. In a novel variation on this impulse response method, a train of pulses is coherently accumulated providing precision calibration with a simple system. The basic concept is demonstrated using a pulse generator-accumulator setup realised in a Bedlam board which is a high speed digital signal processing unit. The same system was used at the Parkes radio telescope between 2–13 October 2013 and we demonstrate its powerful diagnostic capability. We also present some initial test data from this experiment.