Numerical simulations of granular dynamics II: Particle dynamics in a shaken granular material

Surfaces of planets and small bodies of our Solar System are often covered by a layer of granular material that can range from a fine regolith to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Therefore, the dynamics of granular materials are involved in many events occurring during planetary and small-body evolution thus contributing to their geological properties.We demonstrate that the new adaptation of the parallel N-body hard-sphere code pkdgrav has the capability to model accurately the key features of the collective motion of bidisperse granular materials in a dense regime as a result of shaking. As a stringent test of the numerical code we investigate the complex collective ordering and motion of granular material by direct comparison with laboratory experiments. We demonstrate that, as experimentally observed, the scale of the collective motion increases with increasing small-particle additive concentration.We then extend our investigations to assess how self-gravity and external gravity affect collective motion. In our reduced-gravity simulations both the gravitational conditions and the frequency of the vibrations roughly match the conditions on asteroids subjected to seismic shaking, though real regolith is likely to be much more heterogeneous and less ordered than in our idealised simulations. We also show that collective motion can occur in a granular material under a wide range of inter-particle gravity conditions and in the absence of an external gravitational field. These investigations demonstrate the great interest of being able to simulate conditions that are to relevant planetary science yet unreachable by Earth-based laboratory experiments.     

Multi-angle backscatter classification and sub-bottom profiling for improved seafloor characterization

This study applies three classification methods exploiting the angular dependence of acoustic seafloor backscatter along with high resolution sub-bottom profiling for seafloor sediment characterization in the Eckernförde Bay, Baltic Sea Germany. This area is well suited for acoustic backscatter studies due to its shallowness, its smooth bathymetry and the presence of a wide range of sediment types. Backscatter data were acquired using a Seabeam1180 (180 kHz) multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler data were recorded using a SES-2000 parametric sonar transmitting 6 and 12 kHz. The high density of seafloor soundings allowed extracting backscatter layers for five beam angles over a large part of the surveyed area. A Bayesian probability method was employed for sediment classification based on the backscatter variability at a single incidence angle, whereas Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were applied to the multi-angle layers. The Bayesian approach was used for identifying the optimum number of acoustic classes because cluster validation is carried out prior to class assignment and class outputs are ordinal categorical values. The method is based on the principle that backscatter values from a single incidence angle express a normal distribution for a particular sediment type. The resulting Bayesian classes were well correlated to median grain sizes and the percentage of coarse material. The MLC method uses angular response information from five layers of training areas extracted from the Bayesian classification map. The subsequent PCA analysis is based on the transformation of these five layers into two principal components that comprise most of the data variability. These principal components were clustered in five classes after running an external cluster validation test. In general both methods MLC and PCA, separated the various sediment types effectively, showing good agreement (kappa >0.7) with the Bayesian approach which also correlates well with ground truth data (r²?>?0.7). In addition, sub-bottom data were used in conjunction with the Bayesian classification results to characterize acoustic classes with respect to their geological and stratigraphic interpretation. The joined interpretation of seafloor and sub-seafloor data sets proved to be an efficient approach for a better understanding of seafloor backscatter patchiness and to discriminate acoustically similar classes in different geological/bathymetric settings.     

Chemical and structural relations of epitaxial xenotime and zircon substratum in sedimentary and hydrothermal environments: a TEM study

Xenotime overgrowths on detrital zircon in siliciclastic sediments have been reported in numerous studies. However, in natural samples, solid solution of zircon and xenotime is limited to near-end-member compositions. In order to characterize the interface region between both minerals and to draw inferences on the growth mechanisms of authigenic xenotime, we studied xenotime overgrowths on detrital zircon grains from two Phanerozoic sandstone samples with contrasting post-depositional histories. In one sample, the small (≤10 μm), pyramidal xenotime overgrowths are of diagenetic origin and grew without major discontinuity on the detrital zircon grain. The second sample shows up to >50-μm-wide, porous and inclusion-rich, hydrothermal xenotime overgrowths on detrital zircon, whereas the transition zone between both minerals is accompanied by large pore volume. Chemical compositions of the xenotime precipitates from the two samples differ particularly in Y, REE, Th and Sc concentrations, whereas high MREE availability in the diagenetic sample and the presence of Sc in the hydrothermal sample, respectively, appear to have promoted xenotime growth. Transmission electron microscopy on electron-transparent foils cut from the interface region shows that both the diagenetic xenotime and the hydrothermal xenotime are crystalline and grew in optical and crystallographic continuity to their detrital zircon substrata. Only a narrow transition zone (≤90 nm—diagenetic sample, 200–300 nm—hydrothermal sample) between zircon and xenotime is in part made up of nanometre-scale crystalline domains that are slightly distorted and may have formed from dissolution–re-precipitation processes at the zircon rim along with precipitation from the respective fluid.     

Forest Beliefs in an Urbanizing World: Views on and Usage of Forest Areas Among Persons with and Without a Migration Biography in Germany and Sweden

Previous studies have shown that environmental values of inhabitants of urban areas differ to some extent from those of people living in rural contexts. In the light of increasing urbanization, it is sometimes argued that these differences are becoming even greater, as people are becoming more and more alienated from nature. In the context of a larger survey study on beliefs about forests and forest management among the general public in Germany and Sweden, the influences of people’s migration biographies on their patterns of forest usage, their environmental concerns about forests, and the expectations and values they ascribe to forests are explored. While previous findings on differences between urban and rural populations are confirmed, we also find variation within these groups depending on their history of moving between the two spatial categories. This study thus adds a dynamic aspect to the discussion on the urban–rural perspective on beliefs about forests.     

Metamorphic Evolution of Neoproterozoic Manganese Formations and their Country Rocks at Otjosondu, Namibia

Manganiferous chemical sediments of Neoproterozoic age in Namibiawere subjected to high-T–low-P metamorphism during theDamara Orogeny and display unique phase assemblages. The manganeseformations are embedded in iron formations and siliciclasticcountry rocks. This sequence is petrographically subdividedinto restricted lithotypes which bear specific mineral assemblagesand compositions depending on their protolith type. In puremanganese ores the critical assemblage braunite + haematite+ jacobsite + rhodonite is frequently developed, whereas interlayeredimpure silicate ores bear various proportions of spessartine,Mn³⁺-bearing andradite–calderite and andradite garnets,rhodonite, manganoan aegirine–augite, aegirine, Ba–K–Na-feldspars,barite and rare kinoshitalite. Petrological constraints derivedfrom country rock lithologies indicate peak metamorphic conditionsof 660–700C at estimated pressures of 35–45 kbar.Numerous Ba-rich pegmatitic veins restricted to the ore horizonstestify to the production of partial melts from siliciclasticstrata within the manganese formations. They are correlatedwith peak pressure conditions between 5 and 6 kbar, accompanyingthe main deformation event and pre-dating the thermal peak.An early H₂O-rich generation of fluid inclusions is interpretedas a manifestation of prograde dehydration reactions in theore horizons. This caused hydraulic fracturing of the ores and,subsequently, triggered the formation of partial melts whichintruded the fracture planes in situ. Peak metamorphism thenoccurred under strainfree conditions allowing equilibrium recrystallizationof all minerals to develop. Phase relationships of manganeseoxides and silicates modelled in the system Mn–Fe–Si–Oreveal variable chemical compositions of braunites, jacobsitesand haematites depending on their paragenesis. They indicatevery restricted oxygen reservoirs within specific strata ofthe manganese ores and eliminate a prominent mass exchange evenon a small scale. This is supported by ¹⁸O analyses of silicateassemblages which further exclude mass transfer between manganeseores and country rocks, and indicate preservation of the exchangeequilibria during cooling. The uplift path of the sequence canbe constrained using different decrepitation patterns of H₂Ofluid inclusions and a syn-to late-metamorphic CO₂-rich fluidinclusion population, which indicate high geothermal gradientsof 70C/km and more. The P–T–D evolution of thishigh-T–low-P metamorphic belt conforms with the palaeotectonicsetting of the study area at the southernmost part of the CongoCraton, representing the continental buttress colliding withthe Kalahari Craton during the Pan-African orogeny. KEY WORDS: manganiferous sediments; Damara Orogeny; Namibia; metamorphism; oxygen isotopes; fluid inclusions ^*Corresponding author. Present address Institut fr Geowissenschaften und Lithosphrenforschung, Senckenbergstrasse 3, D-35390 Giessen, Germany