Comparison of Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray Fluorescence with Conventional Techniques for the Analysis of Sedimentary Samples

A comparison is made of elemental analyses of sediment samples (lake bottom sediments and sediments from the petroliferous Bazhenovka Formation) by five competitive methods (synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF), INAA, ICP-MS, AAS and traditional XRF). The object of this study was to identify the most suitable analytical techniques for applications in sedimentary geochemistry. Advantages and shortcomings of the five techniques were considered with respect to applications related to studies of palaeo-climate changes recorded in sedimentary cores from Lake Baikal and the geochemical stratigraphy of the Bazhenovka Formation, which is rich in organic material. We have concluded that SR-XRF was the best technique for producing extensive analytical data series, from the point of view of its speed, ease of application, cost, non-destructive nature and sensitivity, which allowed for the simultaneous determination of more than twenty elements of geochemical interest in small samples of sediments. An additional benefit of the method was demonstrated when used for the independent certification of geological reference materials. International reference samples BIL-1 and SDO-1 were certified by means of this method without use of reference materials. Analyses were based on the physics of the theory of energy transport.     

Multi-Wavelength Synchrotron Radiation XRF Determination of U and Th in Sedimentary Cores from Lake Baikal

A new technique for the determination of uranium and thorium in lacustrine sediments is based on non-destructive synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence analysis (SR-XRF) of sediment samples using monochromatic beams of different energies as excitation sources, with the recording and subsequent iterative processing of the X-ray fluorescence spectra. The technique has a multielement capability and enables fast, simultaneous analysis of a few tens of elements. The proposed SR-XRF technique was tested against INAA and ICP-MS methods and showed a number of advantages with a generally good correlation of results by the three methods. Uranium and Th profiles have been measured at a time resolution of 2 kyr in a drill core (BDP-96) from Lake Baikal bottom sediments deposited between 780 and 40 kyr B P. During this time span, peaks in the U and U/Th concentration marked warm climates. Oscillations of U and U/Th in Baikal bottom sediments during the Brunhes chron reflect climate-induced global change in the volume of polar ice, controlled by long-term cyclicity of the Earths orbital parameters. The response of these warm periods is similar to that observed earlier in shorter cores that span the two last interglacials (220-0 kyr BP).     

Gravitationally unstable protoplanetary discs

The possibility that protoplanetary gaseous discs are dynamically unstable to axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric gravity perturbations (e.g. those produced by spontaneous disturbances) with characteristic scales larger than the vertical scale height is discussed analytically, using a local Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approach. It is shown that such discs might be clumpy, and these gravitationally bound clumps may later collapse to become giant planets ('hot Jupiters'). The chief aim in this paper is to underscore a fact of vital importance for application in the planetary formation process: gravitationally unstable non-axisymmetric (spiral) perturbations can effectively transport both the angular momentum and the mass in a spatially inhomogeneous disc.     

Wave refocusing for linear diffractor using the time-reversal principle

One of the problems encountered in a variety of near-surface investigations is detecting and mapping localized heterogeneities. The heterogeneities may be classified under two kinds of objects: (1) a point diffractor that can be considered as an approximation of a small quasi-isometric, such as small karstic cavities and caves; (2) a linear diffractor roughly approximating an elongated object, such as a tube or fault plane. The point and linear diffractors generate two types of seismic diffraction: tip and edge waves, respectively. During the last few decades, different methods were proposed by many researchers for detecting these heterogeneities utilizing seismic waves diffracted by them. An alternative method for detecting point diffractors using a time-reversal principle combined with focusing analysis is proposed in this study: we present an extension of the time-reversal method for linear diffractors. It consists of a coherent summation of seismic energy along edge-diffraction traveltimes. Real data examples show the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.     

Simulations of stellar disks in galaxies with non-Newtonian interactions

We describe gravitationalN-body simulations to investigate whether various non-Newtonian interactions between the stars of a system could explain the flat rotational curves which are characteristic of actual isolated spiral galaxies. It is shown that replacing the standard Newtonian interaction by the models of Sanders (1984), Kuhn and Kruglyak (1987) and Milgrom (1983), no massive halo (or dark matter) is required to produce the flat rotational curves of the systems under consideration. All models also generate the exponential surface mass density distribution which is in agreement with that observed in disk-shaped galaxies. In relation to the spiral structure of galaxies, we present the evidence that the non-Newtonian interactions can reproduce the multiple armed patterns in stellar disks without dark matter.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus species in the coastal and shelf waters of Southeastern North Carolina, Mid-Atlantic U.S. coast

The diversity of small-scale wetlands, high salinity tidal creeks, salt marshes, estuaries, and a wide and shallow shelf with the Gulf Stream close to the break makes the coastal zone of south-eastern North Carolina (U.S.) a natural laboratory for the study of the cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in coastal and shelf waters. We assessed the summer concentrations, forms, and ratios for each N (total dissolved N, nitrate + nitrite, ammonium and dissolved organic N) and P (total dissolved P, o-phosphate and dissolved organic P) pool as these nutrients travel from tidal creeks, salt marshes and two large estuaries to Long and Onslow Bays. Additionally, we measured ancillary physical (temperature, salinity and turbidity) and chemical (dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and pH) water properties. Highest concentrations of all individual N and P compounds were found in the upper parts of each tributary and were attributed to loads from agricultural and urban sources to the coastal watersheds, continuing downstream to receiving estuaries. In all areas, dissolved organic N and P species were predominant constituents of the total dissolved N and P pools (64–97% and 56–93%, respectively). The lower parts of estuaries and surface shelf waters were characterized by oceanic surface values, indicating removal of N and P downstream in all tributaries. The different watershed and hydrological characteristics also determined the different speciation of N and P pools in each estuary. Despite a high level of anthropogenic pressure on the uppermost coastal waters, there is self-regulation in this coastal ecosystem with respect to human perturbations; i.e. significant amounts of the N and P load are retained within estuarine and nearshore waters without reaching the shelf.     

Direct measurements of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) over a fractured rock aquifer in Flamengo Bay Brazil

Measurements of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) along the South American coast and over fractured rock aquifers are rare. The rate and distribution of SGD was measured using three types of vented benthic chambers on the floor of Flamengo Bay located at the southeast coast of Brazil. Discharge rates were found up to almost 400 cm day⁻¹, although typically less than 100 cm d⁻¹. Large variations in SGD rates were seen over distances of a few meters which are attributed to the geomorphologic features of the fracture rock aquifer underlying a thin blanket of coastal sediments; clustering of fractures and the topography of the rock–sediment interface might be focusing or dispersing the discharge of groundwater. SGD was modulated by the tides with the highest values occurring at times of low tide, but the interaction was non-linear and, the correlation was weak at tidal ranges less than 1 m. The effect was masked by devices that integrated the SGD, but detected on continuously recording devices.     

A large collection of Presbyornis (Aves,Anseriformes, Presbyornithidae) from the late Paleocene and early Eocene of Mongolia

We describe a large collection of fossil ‘waterfowl’ bones that are referable to the extinct clade Presbyornithidae (Anseriformes). All of these fossils were collected between 1971 and 1994 from Upper Paleocene and Lower Eocene sediments at the Tsagaan Khushuu site in the Gobi Desert of southern Mongolia. The collection includes specimens referred to a new small species within the genus Presbyornis Wetmore, 1926 as well as large numbers of bones that we place in the genus Presbyornis. On this basis of the Tsagaan Khushuu collection we suggest that several species of Presbyornis likely coexisted in this region; indeed, the presence of large numbers of middle‐sized, morphologically consistent but probably ecologically disparate species at the Tsagaan Khushuu site is consistent with the range of variation seen, for example, in taxa of extant dabbling ducks (Anatini). Although the anatomy and phylogenetic position of Presbyornithidae (in particular Presbyornis) are well known, this material from Mongolia further demonstrates the prevalence of these birds in aquatic and semi‐aquatic habitats by the earliest Paleogene. Because presbyornithids are also well documented from the late Cretaceous, their palaeoecology and morphological diversity provides a clue to selective avian survivorship across the Cretaceous‐Paleogene (K‐Pg) boundary. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A two-color CCD survey of the North Celestial Cap: I. The method

We describe technical aspects of an astrometric and photometric survey of the North Celestial Cap (NCC), from the Pole (δ=90°) to δ=80°, in support of the TAUVEX mission. This region, at galactic latitudes from ∼17° to ∼37°, has poor coverage in modern CCD-based surveys. The observations are performed with the Wise Observatory one-meter reflector and with a new mosaic CCD camera (LAIWO) that images in the Johnson–Cousins R and I bands a one-square-degree field with sub-arcsec pixels. The images are treated using IRAF and SExtractor to produce a final catalogue of sources. The astrometry, based on the USNO-A2.0 catalogue, is good to ∼1 arcsec and the photometry is good to ∼0.1 mag for point sources brighter than R=20.0 or I=19.1 mag. The limiting magnitudes of the survey, defined at photometric errors smaller than 0.15 mag, are 20.6 mag (R) and 19.6 (I). We separate stars from non-stellar objects based on the object shapes in the R and I bands, attempting to reproduce the SDSS star/galaxy dichotomy. The completeness test indicates that the catalogue is complete to the limiting magnitudes.     

Grey Milky Way extinction from SDSS stellar photometry

We report results concerning the distribution and properties of galactic extinction at high galactic latitudes derived from stellar statistics using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We use the classical Wolf diagram method to identify regions with extinction, and derive the extinction and the extinction law of the dust using all five SDSS spectral bands. We estimate the distance to the extinguishing medium using simple assumptions about the stellar populations in the line of sight.
We report the identification of three extinguishing clouds, each a few tens of pc wide, producing 0.2–0.4 mag of g '-band extinction, located 1–2 kpc away or 0.5–1 kpc above the Galactic plane. All clouds exhibit grey extinction, i.e. almost wavelength independent in the limited spectral range of the SDSS. We discuss the implication of this finding on general astrophysical questions.