Mineralogical and spectroscopic investigation of the Tagish Lake carbonaceous chondrite by X‐ray diffraction and infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Abstract– We have carried out a sample‐correlated spectroscopic and mineralogical investigation of samples from seven different collection sites of the Tagish Lake C2 chondrite. Rietveld refinement of high‐resolution powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) data was used to determine quantitative major mineral abundances. Thermal infrared (400–4500 cm⁻¹, 2.2–25.0 μm) spectra of the same samples were obtained using diffuse (biconical) reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). Our results are in good agreement with previous studies of the mineralogy of the Tagish Lake meteorite; we find however that Tagish Lake is more varied in major mineralogy than has previously been reported. In particular, we observed two new distinct lithologies, an inclusion‐poor magnetite‐ and sulfide‐rich lithology, and a carbonate‐rich, siderite‐dominated lithology in addition to the previously documented carbonate‐rich and carbonate‐poor lithologies. Grain density for each Tagish Lake sample was calculated from the measured mineral modal abundances and known mineral densities. For powders from three originally intact inclusion‐rich samples, the calculated grain density is 2.77 ± 0.05 g cm⁻³, in excellent agreement with those reported in the literature for other intact inclusion‐rich Tagish Lake samples. Tagish Lake disaggregated samples have a significantly higher calculated grain density due to their lower saponite‐serpentine content, likely a result of mineral separation in the meltwater holes from which they were collected; the disaggregated samples may not therefore adequately represent bulk samples of the Tagish Lake meteorite. The predominance of very fine‐grained material in the Tagish Lake samples investigated in this study is expected to produce infrared spectra representative of asteroidal regolith. Gypsum and talc have been found by XRD in powders from the inclusion‐rich, intact Tagish Lake samples in this study, and may have been present in the parent body; if present, these hydrous sulfates would complicate the interpretation of possible hydrated mineral features in asteroid infrared spectra.     

QUE 94204: A primitive enstatite achondrite produced by the partial melting of an E chondrite‐like protolith

Abstract– Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94204, an enstatite achondrite, is a coarse‐grained, highly recrystallized, chondrule‐free and unbrecciated rock dominated (about 70 vol%) by anhedral, equigranular crystals of orthoenstatite of nearly endmember composition (Fs_0.1–0.4, Wo_0.3–0.4) with interstitial plagioclase, kamacite, and troilite. Abundance of approximately 120° triple junctions and the close association of metal–sulfide and plagioclase‐rich melts indicate that QUE 94204 has undergone limited partial melting with inefficient melt extraction. Mineral chemistry indicates a high degree of thermal metamorphism. Kamacite in QUE 94204 contains between 2.09 and 2.55 wt% Si, similar to highly metamorphosed EL chondrites. Plagioclase has between 4.31 and 6.66 wt% CaO, higher than other E chondrites but closer in composition to plagioclase from metamorphosed EL chondrites. QUE 94204 troilite contains up to 2.55 wt% Ti, consistent with extensive thermal metamorphism of an E chondrite‐like precursor. Results presented in this study indicate that QUE 94204 is the result of low degree, (about 5–20 vol%, probably toward the lower end of this range) partial melting of an E chondrite protolith. Textural and chemical evidence suggests that during the metamorphism of QUE 94204, melts formed first at the Fe,Ni‐FeS cotectic near approximately 900 °C, followed by plagioclase‐pyroxene silicate partial melts near approximately 1100 °C. Neither the Fe,Ni‐FeS nor the plagioclase‐pyroxene melts were efficiently segregated or extracted. QUE 94204 belongs to a grouplet of similar “primitive enstatite achondrites” that are analogous to the acapulcoites‐lodranites, but that have resulted from the partial melting of an E chondrite‐like protolith.     

Geospatial method for computing supplemental multi-decadal US coastal land use and land cover classification products,using Landsat data and C-CAP products

This paper discusses the development and implementation of a method that can be used with multi-decadal Landsat data for computing general coastal US land use and land cover (LULC) maps consisting of seven classes. With Mobile Bay, Alabama as the study region, the method that was applied to derive LULC products for nine dates across a 34-year time span. Classifications were computed and refined using decision rules in conjunction with unsupervised classification of Landsat data and Coastal Change and Analysis Program value-added products. Each classification’s overall accuracy was assessed by comparing stratified random locations to available high spatial resolution satellite and aerial imagery, field survey data and raw Landsat RGBs. Overall classification accuracies ranged from 83 to 91% with overall κ statistics ranging from 0.78 to 0.89. Accurate classifications were computed for all nine dates, yielding effective results regardless of season and Landsat sensor. This classification method provided useful map inputs for computing LULC change products.     

Gender and Water in Mongolia

Global institutions, academics, and practitioners have long acknowledged the need to consider gender in creating sustainable water management plans. However, for most countries a dearth of context-specific information on gender and water relations hinders gender-sensitive plan development. Mongolia is particularly poorly represented in the gender and water literature. This article presents fieldwork revealing distinctive gendered practices around water use, decision making, and management including an unusually high degree of men's participation in water collection. This research adds new context-specific data to the understanding of actual gender and water relations and underscores the need for further investigation into the Mongolian context.     

Spatial Analysis of 1991 Gulf War Troop Locations in Relationship with Postwar Health Symptom Reports Using GIS Techniques

Spatial autocorrelation analysis was used to identify spatial patterns of 1991 Gulf War (GW) troop locations in relationship to subsequent postwar diagnosis of chronic multisymptom illness (CMI). Criteria for the diagnosis of CMI include reporting from at least two of three symptom clusters: fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and mood and cognition. A GIS‐based methodology was used to examine associations between potential hazardous exposures or deployment situations and postwar health outcomes using troop location data as a surrogate. GW veterans from the Devens Cohort Study were queried about specific symptoms approximately four years after the 1991 deployment to the Persian Gulf. Global and local statistics were calculated using the Moran's I and G statistics for six selected date periods chosen a priori to mark important GW‐service events or exposure scenarios among 173 members of the cohort. Global Moran's I statistics did not detect global spatial patterns at any of the six specified data periods, thus, indicating there is no significant spatial autocorrelation of locations over the entire Gulf region for veterans meeting criteria for severe postwar CMI. However, when applying local G* and local Moran's I statistics, significant spatial clusters (primarily in the coastal Dammam/Dharhan and the central inland areas of Saudi Arabia) were identified for several of the selected time periods. Further study using GIS techniques, coupled with epidemiological methods, to examine spatial and temporal patterns with larger sample sizes of GW veterans is warranted to ascertain if the observed spatial patterns can be confirmed.     

Identification of Anomalous Aluminium Contents in Surface and Ground Water in the Alba Territory (NW Italy)

Aluminium was determined in surface and ground waters in the Alba region of NW Italy to provide information on natural and anthropogenic sources of contamination. Determinations were made by a spectrophotometric method based on the aluminium-pyrocatechol complex. The total aluminium content of waters was determined as well as the toxic form of monomeric aluminium, obtained from samples that had been passed through 0.20 μm cellulose filters to remove colloidal and particulate material. Results were correlated with mortality data associated with Alzheimer's disease. There appeared to be a correlation between mortality data and areas having the highest aluminium content of water.     

PCBs and PAHs in surficial sediments from aquatic environments of Mexico City and the coastal states of Sonora,Sinaloa, Oaxaca and Veracruz (Mexico)

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in 13 surficial sediment samples collected at three lacustrine locations in the surroundings of Mexico City and four coastal areas of the States of Sinaloa, Sonora, Oaxaca and Veracruz. Total PCB concentrations span the interval 3.18–621 ng g⁻¹. The highest values (63.7–621 ng g⁻¹) were found in Mexico City, which is a highly anthropogenically impacted area, whereas low concentrations (3.18–12.9 ng g⁻¹) were characteristic of seven places, some of them subject to intense hydrodynamics. In these latter cases, values increase by 18–73 times if normalised against the fine fraction (silt plus clay) content in sediment. Two samples from Mexico City exceed the ERM (Effect Range Median) guidelines and are likely to cause adverse effects. Samples contain only lower chlorinated PCBs (mainly 2-, 3- and 4-CB), thus suggesting that the most used PCB commercial mixture was Aroclor 1242. The homologue composition of the sample taken close to the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde is identical to this commercial mixture. PAHs in the same samples have relatively low concentrations (14.9–287 ng g⁻¹), well below ERL (Effect Range Low) guidelines. The composition of PAH mixtures accounts for the influence of both petrogenic and pyrolitic sources, with these latter prevailing at some places in Mexico City.     

Fish bile as a biomarker for metal exposure

Fish accumulate several trace elements in muscle, gills and liver, however studies also indicate that metals can be excreted through bile. Since metal contamination leads to modifications in bile composition, biliary excretion offers an alternative way to evaluate the presence of trace-elements. Bile is easier to obtain than other organs and presents a simpler matrix, making it easier for chemical pre-treatment. To verify if bile can be useful as a biomonitoring tool for metal contamination, liver and bile trace element concentrations were determined and correlated. The Artificial Neural Networks statistical technique was used to verify if liver trace-element quantification could be substituted by bile analysis. Results show that significant correlations were obtained between trace elements in bile and liver and the ANN validated the hypothesis that certain trace-elements in bile could be utilized instead of liver trace-elements. Further studies in this field are of interest to further validate this biomarker.