Temperature calibration of amino acid racemization age implications for the Yuha skeleton

D/L of aspartic acid ranged from 0.52 to 0.56 for femur samples of the Yuha skeleton. Subsurface temperature measurements made at the burial site indicate average annual temperature is 18°C and diagenetic temperature is 21.6°C. These data and a relation derived for the dependence of the aspartic acid rate constant on diagenetic temperature indicate an age of 23,600. The result is consistent with¹⁴C and²³⁰Th dating of calcrete found coating the bones.     

Ore transport and deposition in the Red Sea geothermal system: a geochemical model

Thermodynamic calculation of distribution of dissolved aqueous species in the Red Sea geothermal brine provides a model of ore transport and deposition in good agreement with observed accumulations of base metal sulfides, anhydrite, and barite.The Red Sea brine is recirculated seawater that acquires high salinity by low-temperature interaction with Miocene evaporites and is subsequently heated to temperatures in excess of 200°C by interaction with recent rift zone intrusive rocks. At temperatures up to 250°C, NaSO^?₄ and MgSO⁰₄ are the dominant sulfur-bearing species. H₂S forms by inorganic sulfate reduction at the higher temperatures but is maintained at a uniform concentration of about 2 ppm by the strength of the sulfate complexes.Chloride complexes solubilize metals at the higher temperatures, and thus sulfide and metals are carried together into the Atlantis II Deep. Below 150°C, the brine becomes supersaturated with respect to chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, and iron monosulfide due to chloride-complex dissociation. Sulfide precipitation rates, based on the rate of brine influx, are in good agreement with measured sedimentation rates. Anhydrite precipitates as crystalline fissure infillings from high-temperature inflowing brine. Barite forms from partial oxidation of sulfides at the interface between the lower hot brine and the transitional brine layer.     

Cosmic‐ray exposure ages of six chondritic Almahata Sitta fragments

The Almahata Sitta strewn field is dominated by ureilites, but contains a large fraction of chondritic fragments of various types. We analyzed stable isotopes of He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe, and the cosmogenic radionuclides ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ³⁶Cl in six chondritic Almahata Sitta fragments (EL6 breccia, EL6, EL3‐5, CB, LL4/5, R‐like). The cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) ages of five of the six samples have an average of 19.2 ± 3.3 Ma, close to the average of 19.5 ± 2.5 Ma for four ureilites. The cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations in the chondrites indicate a preatmospheric size consistent with Almahata Sitta. This corroborates that Almahata Sitta chondrite samples were part of the same asteroid as the ureilites. However, MS‐179 has a lower CRE age of 11.0 ± 1.4 Ma. Further analysis of short‐lived radionuclides in fragment MS‐179 showed that it fell around the same time, and from an object of similar size as Almahata Sitta, making it almost certain that MS‐179 is an Almahata Sitta fragment. Instead, its low CRE age could be due to gas loss, chemical heterogeneity that may have led to an erroneous ²¹Ne production‐rate, or, perhaps most likely, MS‐179 could represent the true 4π exposure age of Almahata Sitta (or an upper limit thereof), while all other samples analyzed so far experienced exposure on the parent body of similar lengths. Finally, MS‐179 had an extraordinarily high activity of neutron‐capture ³⁶Cl, ~600 dpm kg^?1, the highest activity observed in any meteorite to date, related to a high abundance of the Cl‐bearing mineral lawrencite.     

Cosmochemical and spectroscopic properties of Northwest Africa 7325—A consortium study

This work is part of a project to build an infrared database in order to link IR data of planetary materials (and therefore possible Mercury material) with remote sensing observations of Mercury, which will probably be obtained by the MERTIS instrument on the forthcoming BepiColombo mission. The unique achondrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7325, which has previously been suggested to represent the first sample from Mercury, was investigated by optical and electron microscopy, and infrared and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, the oxygen, strontium, xenon, and argon isotopes were measured and the abundance of selected trace elements determined. The meteorite is a cumulate rock with subchondritic abundances of HFSE and REE and elevated Sr contents, which underwent a second heating and partial remelting process. Oxygen isotope measurements show that NWA 7325 plots in the ureilite field, close to the ALM‐A trachyandesitic fragment found in the unique Almahata Sitta meteorite breccia. On the other hand, mineralogical investigations of the pyroxenes in NWA 7325 provide evidence for similarities to the lodranites and acapulcoites. Furthermore, the rock is weakly shocked and argon isotope data record ancient (~4.5 Ga) plateau ages that have not been reset. The sample records a cosmogenic exposure age of ~19 Ma. Systematics of Rb‐Sr indicate an extreme early volatile depletion of the precursor material, similar to many other achondrite groups. However, despite its compositional similarities to other meteorite groups, our results suggest that this meteorite is unique and unrelated to any other known achondrite group. An origin for NWA 7325 as a sample from the planet Mercury is not supported by the results of our investigation. In particular, the evidence from infrared spectroscopy indicates that a direct relationship between NWA 7325 and the planet Mercury can be ruled out: no acceptable spectral match between laboratory analyses and remote sensing observations from Mercury has been obtained. However, we demonstrate that infrared spectroscopy is a rapid and nondestructive method to characterize mineral phases and thus an excellent tool for planetary surface characterization in space missions.     

The Allende multicompound chondrule (ACC)—Chondrule formation in a local super‐dense region of the early solar system

In Allende, a very complex compound chondrule (Allende compound chondrule; ACC) was found consisting of at least 16 subchondrules (14 siblings and 2 independents). Its overall texture can roughly be described as a barred olivine object (BO). The BO texture is similar in all siblings, but does not exist in the two independents, which appear as relatively compact olivine‐rich units. Because of secondary alteration of pristine Allende components and the ACC in particular, only limited predictions can be made concerning the original compositions of the colliding melt droplets. Based on textural and mineralogical characteristics, the siblings must have been formed on a very short time scale in a dense, local environment. This is also supported by oxygen isotope systematics showing similar compositions for all 16 subchondrules. Furthermore, the ACC subchondrules are isotopically distinct from typical Allende chondrules, indicating formation in or reaction with a more ¹⁶O‐poor reservoir. We modeled constraints on the particle density required at the ACC formation location, using textural, mineral‐chemical, and isotopic observations on this multicompound chondrule to define melt droplet collision conditions. In this context, we discuss the possible relationship between the formation of complex chondrules and the formation of macrochondrules and cluster chondrites. While macrochondrules may have formed under similar or related conditions as complex chondrules, cluster chondrites certainly require different formation conditions. Cluster chondrites represent a mixture of viscously deformed, seemingly young chondrules of different chemical and textural types and a population of older chondrules. Concerning the formation of ACC calculations suggest the existence of very local, kilometer‐sized, and super‐dense chondrule‐forming regions with extremely high solid‐to‐gas mass ratios of 1000 or more.     

Shock stage distribution of 2280 ordinary chondrites—Can bulk chondrites with a shock stage of S6 exist as individual rocks?

The brecciation and shock classification of 2280 ordinary chondrites of the meteorite thin section collection at the Institut für Planetologie (Münster) has been determined. The shock degree of S3 is the most abundant shock stage for the H and LL chondrites (44% and 41%, respectively), while the L chondrites are on average more heavily shocked having more than 40% of rocks of shock stage S4. Among the H and LL chondrites, 40–50% are “unshocked” or “very weakly shocked.” Considering the petrologic types, in general, the shock degree is increasing with petrologic type. This is the case for all meteorite groups. The main criteria to define a rock as an S6 chondrite are the solid‐state recrystallization and staining of olivine and the melting of plagioclase often accompanied by the formation of high‐pressure phases like ringwoodite. These characteristics are typically restricted to local regions of a bulk chondrite in or near melt zones. In the past, the identification of high‐pressure minerals (e.g., ringwoodite) was often taken as an automatic and practical criterion for a S6 classification during chondrite bulk rock studies. The shock stage classification of many significantly shocked chondrites (>S3) revealed that most ringwoodite‐bearing rocks still contain more than 25% plagioclase (74%). Thus, these bulk chondrites do not even fulfill the S5 criterion (e.g., 75% of plagioclase has to be transformed into maskelynite) and have to be classified as S4. Studying chondrites on typically large thin sections (several cm²) and/or using samples from different areas of the meteorites, bulk chondrites of shock stage S6 should be extremely rare. In this respect, the paper will discuss the probability of the existence of bulk rocks of S6.     

Real-time envelope cross-correlation detector: application to induced seismicity in the Insheim and Landau deep geothermal reservoirs

We develop and test a real-time envelope cross-correlation detector for use in seismic response plans to mitigate hazard of induced seismicity. The incoming seismological data are cross-correlated in real-time with a set of previously recorded master events. For robustness against small changes in the earthquake source locations or in the focal mechanisms we cross-correlate the envelopes of the seismograms rather than the seismograms themselves. Two sequenced detection conditions are implemented: After passing a single trace cross-correlation condition, a network cross-correlation is calculated taking amplitude ratios between stations into account. Besides detecting the earthquake and assigning it to the respective reservoir, real-time magnitudes are important for seismic response plans. We estimate the magnitudes of induced microseismicity using the relative amplitudes between master event and detected event. The real-time detector is implemented as a SeisComP3 module. We carry out offline and online performance tests using seismic monitoring data of the Insheim and Landau geothermal power plants (Upper Rhine Graben, Germany), also including blasts from a nearby quarry. The comparison of the automatic real-time catalogue with a manually processed catalogue shows, that with the implemented parameters events are always correctly assigned to the respective reservoir (4 km distance between reservoirs) or the quarry (8 km and 10 km distance, respectively, from the reservoirs). The real-time catalogue achieves a magnitude of completeness around 0.0. Four per cent of the events assigned to the Insheim reservoir and zero per cent of the Landau events are misdetections. All wrong detections are local tectonic events, whereas none are caused by seismic noise.     

Coal Mining Induced Seismicity in the Ruhr Area, Germany

Over the last 25 years mining-induced seismicity in the Ruhr area has continuously been monitored by the Ruhr-University Bochum. About 1,000 seismic events with local magnitudes between 0.7 ≤ M _L ≤ 3.3 are located every year. For example, 1,336 events were located in 2006. General characteristics of induced seismicity in the entire Ruhr area are spatial and temporal correlation with mining activity and a nearly constant energy release per unit time. This suggests that induced stresses are released rapidly by many small events. The magnitude–frequency distribution follows a Gutenberg–Richter relation which is a result from combining distributions of single longwalls that themselves show large variability. A high b-value of about 2 was found indicating a lack of large magnitude events. Local analyses of single longwalls indicate that various factors such as local geology and mine layout lead to significant differences in seismicity. Stress redistribution acts very locally since differences on a small scale of some hundreds of meters are observed. A regional relation between seismic moment M ₀ and local magnitude M _L was derived. The magnitude–frequency distribution of a single longwall in Hamm was studied in detail and shows a maximum at M _L = 1.4 corresponding to an estimated characteristic source area of about 2,200 m². Sandstone layers in the hanging or foot wall of the active longwall might fail in these characteristic events. Source mechanisms can mostly be explained by shear failure of two different types above and below the longwall. Fault plane solutions of typical events are consistent with steeply dipping fracture planes parallel to the longwall face and nearly vertical dislocation in direction towards the goaf. We also derive an empirical relation for the decay of ground velocity with epicenter distance and compare maximum observed ground velocity to local magnitude. This is of considerable public interest because about 30 events larger than M _L ≥ 1.2 are felt each month by people living in the mining regions. Our relations, for example, indicate that an event in Hamm with a peak ground velocity of 6 mm/s which corresponds to a local magnitude M _L between 1.7 and 2.3 is likely to be felt within about 2.3 km radius from the event.     

The Rumuruti chondrite group

Since 1994, the Rumuruti (R) chondrites have been recognized as a new, well-established chondrite group differing from carbonaceous, ordinary, and enstatite chondrites. The first R chondrite, Carlisle Lakes, was found in Australia in 1977. Meanwhile, the number has increased to 107 (December, 2010). This group is named after the Rumuruti meteorite, the first and so far the only R chondrite fall. Most of the R chondrites are breccias containing a variety of different clasts embedded in a clastic matrix. Some textural and mineralogical characteristics can be summarized as follows: (a) the chondrule abundance in large fragments and in unbrecciated rocks is ∼35–50 vol%; (b) Ca,Al-rich inclusions are rare; (c) the olivine abundance is typically 65–78 vol%; (d) the mean chondrule diameter is ∼400 μm; (e) in unequilibrated R chondrites, low-Ca pyroxene is dominating, whereas in equilibrated R chondrites it is Ca-rich pyroxene; (f) the typical olivine in a metamorphosed lithology is ∼Fa_38–40; (g) matrix olivine in unequilibrated, type 3 fragments and rocks has much higher Fa (∼45–60 mol%) compared to matrix olivines in type 4–6 lithologies (∼Fa_38–41); (h) spinels have a high TiO₂ of ∼5 wt%; (i) abundant different noble metal-bearing phases (metals, sulfides, tellurides, arsenides) occur. The exception is the metamorphosed, type 5/6 R chondrite La Paz Icefield 04840 which contains hornblende, phlogopite, and Ca-poor pyroxene, the latter phase typically occurring in low-grade metamorphosed R chondrites only.In bulk composition, R chondrites have some affinity to ordinary chondrites: (a) the absence of significant depletions in Mn and Na in R chondrites and ordinary chondrites is an important feature to distinguish these groups from carbonaceous chondrites; (b) total Fe (∼24 wt%) of R chondrites is between those of H and L chondrites (27.1 and 21.6 wt%, respectively); (c) the average CI/Mg-normalized lithophile element abundances are ∼0.95 × CI, which is lower than those for carbonaceous chondrites (≥1.0 × CI) and slightly higher than those for ordinary chondrites (∼0.9 × CI); (d) trace element concentrations such as Zn (∼150 ppm) and Se (∼15 ppm) are much higher than in ordinary chondrites; (e) the whole rock Δ¹⁷O of ∼2.7 for R chondrites is the highest among all meteorite groups, and the mean oxygen isotope composition is δ¹⁷O = 5.36 ± 0.43, δ¹⁸O = 5.07 ± 0.86, Δ¹⁷O = +2.72 ± 0.31; (f) noble gas cosmic ray exposure ages of R chondrites range between ∼0.1 and ∼70 Ma. More than half of the R chondrites analyzed for noble gases contain implanted solar wind and, thus, are regolith breccias. The 43 R chondrites from Northern Africa analyzed so far for noble gases seem to represent at least 16 falls. Although the data base is still scarce, the data hint at a major collision event on the R chondrite parent body between 15 and 25 Ma ago.