Drainage spacing regularity on a fault-block: A case study from the eastern Ruahine Range

Abstract:  Recent research has indicated river basin outlets draining linear sections of large, uplifting mountain belts often show a regularity of spacing, transverse to the main structural trend. A morphometric analysis of part of the Ruahine Range, on the North Island was undertaken to test whether drainage regularity may exist in smaller, younger mountain ranges. The ratio, R , of the half-width of the mountain belt, W , and the outlet spacing, S , was used to characterize drainage networks on the eastern side of the range. The spacing ratio for the range of 1.31 is lower than R results from studies of larger mountain belts ( R  = 1.91–2.23). We suggest the cause of this lower ratio is related to eastward migration of the Ruahine drainage divide.     

Superdense CO2 inclusions in Cretaceous quartz–stibnite veins hosted in low-grade Variscan basement of the Western Carpathians, Slovakia

CO₂ inclusions with density up to 1,197 kg m⁻³ occur in quartz–stibnite veins hosted in the low-grade Palaeozoic basement of the Gemericum tectonic unit in the Western Carpathians. Raman microanalysis corroborated CO₂ as dominant gas species accompanied by small amounts of nitrogen (<7.3 mol%) and methane (<2.5 mol%). The superdense CO₂ phase exsolved from an aqueous bulk fluid at temperatures of 183–237°C and pressures between 1.6 and 3.5 kbar, possibly up to 4.5 kbar. Low thermal gradients (∼12–13°C km⁻¹) and the CO₂–CH₄–N₂ fluid composition rule out a genetic link with the subjacent Permian granites and indicate an external, either metamorphogenic (oxidation of siderite, dedolomitization) or lower crustal/mantle, source of the ore-forming fluids.According to microprobe U–Pb–Th dating of monazite, the stibnite-bearing veins formed during early Cretaceous thrusting of the Gemeric basement over the adjacent Veporic unit. The 15- to 18-km depth of burial estimated from the fluid inclusion trapping PT parameters indicates a 8- to 11-km-thick Upper Palaeozoic–Jurassic accretionary complex overlying the Gemeric basement and its Permo-Triassic autochthonous cover.     

Single frequency processing of Ørsted GPS radio occultation measurements

The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation measurements obtained using the TurboRogue GPS receiver on the Danish satellite Ørsted have been processed using the single frequency method. Atmospheric profiles of refractivity and temperature are derived and validated against numerical weather prediction data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). Results from the Ørsted GPS measurement campaign in February 2000 indicate that the single frequency method can provide retrievals with accuracy comparable to that of using two frequencies. From comparisons between measured dry temperature profiles and corresponding dry temperature profiles derived from ECMWF analysis fields, we find a mean difference of less than 0.5 K and a standard deviation of 2–4 K between 500 and 30 hPa in height. Above 30 hPa the impact of the ionosphere becomes more dominant and more difficult to eliminate using the single frequency method, and the results show degraded accuracy when compared to previous analysis results of occultation data from other missions using the dual frequency method. At latitudes less than 40° (denoted low latitudes), the standard deviation is generally smaller than at latitudes higher than 40° (denoted high latitudes). A small temperature bias is observed centered at 200 hPa for low latitudes and at 300 hPa for high latitudes. This indicates that the ECMWF analyses do not adequately resolve the tropopause temperature minimum. In the lowest part of the troposphere an observed warm bias is thought to be due to erroneous tracking of the GPS signal in cases of atmospheric multipath propagation.     

Advances in lithium analysis in solids by means of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy: an exploratory study

Lithium is an important geochemical tracer for fluids or solids. However, because the electron microprobe cannot detect Li, variations of Li abundance at the micrometric scale are most often estimated from bulk analyses. In this study, the Li intense emission line at 670.706 nm in optical emission spectroscopy was used to perfect the analysis of Li at the micrometric scale by means of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). To estimate lithium content for different geological materials, LIBS calibration of the emission line at 670.706 nm was achieved by use of synthetic glasses and natural minerals. The detection limit for this method is ∼5 ppm Li. Three applications to geological materials show the potential of LIBS for lithium determination, namely for Li-bearing minerals, melt inclusions, quartz, and associated fluid inclusions.For spodumene and petalite from granite pegmatite dikes (Portugal), the Li₂O concentrations are 7.6 ± 1.6 wt% and 6.3 ± 1.3 wt%, respectively, by use of LIBS. These values agree with ion microprobe analyses, bulk analyses, or both. For eucryptite crystals, the Li concentrations are scattered because grain size is smaller than the LIBS spatial resolution (6 to 8 μm). Lithium concentrations of melt inclusions from the Streltsovka U deposit (Siberia) are in the range of 2 to 6.2 wt% (Li₂O) for Li-rich daughter minerals. Lithium estimations on silicate glasses display values between 90 and 400 ppm.Lithium was also analyzed as a trace element in quartz. Transverse profiles were performed in hydrothermal barren quartz veins from the Spanish Central System (Sierra de Guadarrama). The highest Li concentrations (250 to 370 ppm) were found in specific growth bands in conjunction with the observed variation in optical cathodoluminescence intensity. Considering the fluid inclusion analysis, the source of fluid responsible to the Li enrichment in quartz is probably high-salinity fluids derived from sedimentary basins.     

Uncertainties in quantitative time-lapse seismic analysis

Most seismic time-lapse studies so far have been of a qualitative nature. Identification of areas with minor or no seismic changes has been used to plan new infill drilling targets. Increased accuracy in seismic acquisition methods, in both conventional streamer surveys and newer methods such as multicomponent sea-bed seismic and permanent sensors, opens possibilities for the next step: quantitative time-lapse analysis. Quantitative methods here mean the estimation of, for instance, a change in fluid saturation from 20% water to 90% water or the estimation of a pore pressure change of 5 MPa. Explicit expressions for the uncertainties associated with estimated changes in, for instance, reservoir pressure and fluid saturation are derived. These formulae can be used to compare relative uncertainties between estimated parameters as well as to identify the critical factors in various estimation techniques. The importance of accurate rock physics input, as well as that of highly repeatable time-lapse seismic data, is emphasized. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis can be used to find optimal weight factors when the same parameter (e.g. saturation change) is estimated by two or three different techniques.     

电离层水平不均匀性对无线电掩星资料反演的影响

电离层水平不均匀结构是引起掩星资料反演的主要误差源.本文模拟不均匀结构对无线电掩星资料反演的影响.首先利用3-D全球射线追踪技术进行了模拟.结果指出:电离层电子密度20%的变化可能引起GPS的时延增加约12m.其次,将90%的掩星时延对应的路径长度,定义为电离层掩星测量的水平分辨率,其值为1200-2000 km.最后,计算了不同纬度电离层当地正午、子夜和日出时的电离层水平不对称指数.它表明:低纬夏季日出时,不对称指数达-78%,反演结果可能有较大误差.     

The molecular universe

Helen J Fraser , Martin R S McCoustra and David A Williams present a simple guide to astrochemistry.
Molecules play a fundamental role in many regions of our universe. The science where chemistry and astronomy overlap is known as astrochemistry, a branch of astronomy that has risen in importance over recent years. In this article we review the significance of chemistry in several astronomical years. IN this article we review the significance of chemistry in several astronomical environments including the early universe, interstellar clouds, starforming regions and protoplanetary disks. We discuss theoretical models, laboratory experiments and observational data, and present several recent and exciting results that challenge our perception of the "molecular universe".     

Multiparametric Traveltime Inversion

In conventional seismic processing, the classical algorithm of Hubral and Krey is routinely applied to extract an initial macrovelocity model that consists of a stack of homogeneous layers bounded by curved interfaces. Input for the algorithm are identified primary reflections together with normal moveout (NMO) velocities, as derived from a previous velocity analysis conducted on common midpoint (CMP) data. This work presents a modified version of the Hubral and Krey algorithm that is designed to extend the original version in two ways, namely (a) it makes an advantageous use of previously obtained common-reflection-surface (CRS) attributes as its input and (b) it also allows for gradient layer velocities in depth. A new strategy to recover interfaces as optimized cubic splines is also proposed. Some synthetic examples are provided to illustrate and explain the implementation of the method.