The mass ratio of Charon to Pluto from Hubble Space Telescope astrometry with the fine guidance sensors

The mass ratio of Charon to Pluto is a basic parameter describing the binary system and is necessary for determining the individual masses and densities of these two bodies. Previous measurements of the mass ratio have been made, but the solutions differ significantly (Null et al., 1993; Young et al., 1994; Null and Owen, 1996; Foust et al., 1997; Tholen and Buie, 1997). We present the first observations of Pluto and Charon with a well-calibrated astrometric instrument—the fine guidance sensors on the Hubble Space Telescope. We observed the motion of Pluto and Charon about the system barycenter over 4.4 days (69% of an orbital period) and determined the mass ratio to be 0.122±0.008 which implies a density of 1.8 to 2.1 g cm⁻³ for Pluto and 1.6 to 1.8 g cm⁻³ for Charon. The resulting rock-mass fractions for Pluto and Charon are higher than expected for bodies formed in the outer solar nebula, possibly indicating significant postaccretion loss of volatiles.     

Biological and granulometric controls on sedimentary organic matter of an intertidal mudflat

A variety of measures of organic matter concentration and quality were made on samples collected from the top few mm of intertidal mudflat sediment over the course of a year, in order to assess the relative importance of biological and sedimentological influences on sedimentary organic matter. Winter and summer were times of relatively fine-grained sediment accumulation, caused by biological deposition or stabilization processes and resulting in higher organic matter concentrations. Stable carbon isotope and Br:C ratios indicated a planktonic source of bulk organic matter. Ratios of organic carbon to specific surface area of the sediments were consistent with an organic monolayer coverage of sediment grains. Correction for changing grain size during the year showed no change in the organic concentration per unit surface area, in spite of organic matter inputs by in situ primary production, buildup of heterotroph biomass and mucus coatings, and biodeposition of organic-rich seston. There were also no indications of changes in bulk organic quality, measured as hydrolyzable carbohydrates and amino acids, in response to these biological processes. It is concluded that biological processes on a seasonal time scale affect the bulk organic matter of these sediments via a modulation of grain size rather than creation or decay of organic matter.     

Scanning electron microscopy,cathodoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy of experimentally shock‐metamorphosed quartzite

Abstract— We studied unshocked and experimentally (at 12, 25, and 28 GPa, with 25, 100, 450, and 750°C pre‐shock temperatures) shock‐metamorphosed Hospital Hill quartzite from South Africa using cathodoluminescence (CL) images and spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy to document systematic pressure or temperature‐related effects that could be used in shock barometry. In general, CL images of all samples show CL‐bright luminescent patchy areas and bands in otherwise nonluminescent quartz, as well as CL‐dark irregular fractures. Fluid inclusions appear dominant in CL images of the 25 GPa sample shocked at 750°C and of the 28 GPa sample shocked at 450°C. Only the optical image of our 28 GPa sample shocked at 25°C exhibits distinct planar deformation features (PDFs). Cathodoluminescence spectra of unshocked and experimentally shocked samples show broad bands in the near‐ultraviolet range and the visible light range at all shock stages, indicating the presence of defect centers on, e.g., SiO₄ groups. No systematic change in the appearance of the CL images was obvious, but the CL spectra do show changes between the shock stages. The Raman spectra are characteristic for quartz in the unshocked and 12 GPa samples. In the 25 and 28 GPa samples, broad bands indicate the presence of glassy SiO₂, while high‐pressure polymorphs are not detected. Apparently, some of the CL and Raman spectral properties can be used in shock barometry.     

Partial Melting and Counterclockwise P T Path of Subducted Oceanic Crust (Sierra del Convento Melange, Cuba)

Partial melting of subducted oceanic crust has been identifiedin the Sierra del Convento mélange (Cuba). This serpentinite-matrixmélange contains blocks of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-derivedplagioclase-lacking epidote ± garnet amphibolite intimatelyassociated with peraluminous trondhjemitic–tonalitic rocks.Field relations, major element bulk-rock compositions, mineralassemblages, peak metamorphic conditions (c. 750°C, 14–16kbar), experimental evidence, and theoretical phase relationssupport formation of the trondhjemitic–tonalitic rocksby wet melting of subducted amphibolites. Phase relations andmass-balance calculations indicate eutectic- and peritectic-likemelting reactions characterized by large stoichiometric coefficientsof reactant plagioclase and suggest that this phase was completelyconsumed upon melting. The magmatic assemblages of the trondhjemitic–tonaliticmelts, consisting of plagioclase, quartz, epidote, ±paragonite, ± pargasite, and ± kyanite, crystallizedat depth (14–15 kbar). The peraluminous composition ofthe melts is consistent with experimental evidence, explainsthe presence of magmatic paragonite and (relict) kyanite, andplaces important constraints on the interpretation of slab-derivedmagmatic rocks. Calculated P–T conditions indicate counterclockwiseP–T paths during exhumation, when retrograde blueschist-faciesoverprints, composed of combinations of omphacite, glaucophane,actinolite, tremolite, paragonite, lawsonite, albite, (clino)zoisite,chlorite, pumpellyite and phengite, were formed in the amphibolitesand trondhjemites. Partial melting of subducted oceanic crustin eastern Cuba is unique in the Caribbean realm and has importantconsequences for the plate-tectonic interpretation of the region,as it supports a scenario of onset of subduction of a youngoceanic lithosphere during the early Cretaceous (c. 120 Ma).The counterclockwise P–T paths were caused by ensuingexhumation during continued subduction. KEY WORDS: amphibolite; Cuba; exhumation; partial melting; trondhjemite; subduction     

The Bering Sea—A dynamic food web perspective

The Bering Sea is a high-latitude, semi-enclosed sea that supports extensive fish, seabird, marine mammal, and invertebrate populations and some of the world's most productive fisheries. The region consists of several distinct biomes that have undergone wide-scale population variation, in part due to fisheries, but also in part due to the effects of interannual and decadal-scale climatic variation. While recent decades of ocean observation have highlighted possible links between climate and species fluctuations, mechanisms linking climate and population fluctuations are only beginning to be understood. Here, we examine the food webs of Bering Sea ecosystems with particular reference to some key shifts in widely distributed, abundant fish populations and their links with climate variation. Both climate variability and fisheries have substantially altered the Bering Sea ecosystem in the past, but their relative importance in shaping the current ecosystem state remains uncertain.     

Storminess and vulnerability along the Atlantic coastlines of Europe: analysis of storm records and of a greenhouse gases induced climate scenario

Identification of the distinctive circulation patterns of storminess on the Atlantic margin of Europe forms the main objective of this study; dealing with storm frequency, intensity and tracking. The climatology of the extratropical cyclones that affect this region has been examined for the period 1940–1998. Coastal meteorological data from Ireland to Spain have been linked to the cyclone history for the North Atlantic in the analysis of storm records for European coasts. The study examines the evolution in the occurrence of storms since the 1940s and also their relationship with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Results indicate a seasonal shift in the wind climate, with regionally more severe winters and calmer summers established. This pattern appears to be linked to a northward displacement in the main North Atlantic cyclone track.

An experiment with the ECHAM4 A-GCM at high resolution (T106) has also been used to model the effect of a greenhouse gases induced warming climate on the climatology of coastal storms in the region. The experiment consists of (1), a 30-year control time-slice representing present-day equivalent CO₂ concentrations and (2), a 30-year perturbed period corresponding to a time when the radiative forcing has doubled in terms of equivalent CO₂ concentrations. The boundary conditions have been obtained from an atmosphere-ocean coupled OA-GCM simulation at low horizontal resolution. An algorithm was developed to allow the identification of individual cyclone movements in selected coastal zones. For most of the northern part of the study region, covering Ireland and Scotland, results describe the establishment by ca. 2060 of a tendency for fewer but more intense storms.

The impacts of these changes in storminess for the vulnerability of European Atlantic coasts are considered. For low-lying, exposed and ‘soft’ sedimentary coasts, as in Ireland, these changes in storminess are likely to result in significant localised increases in coastal erosion.     

Sediment mobility in the Pomeranian Bight (Baltic Sea): a case study based on sidescan-sonar images and hydrodynamic modelling

Sidescan-sonar surveys were performed on a 2×4 km area of seafloor in the southern Baltic Sea (Pomeranian Bight) in 1996 and 1998. Overlapping sub-areas of the individual surveys showing characteristic details were processed into geographically referenced mosaics. Sediment types were identified from echo characteristics and by comparison with granulometric data. The sea bottom covered by the mosaics consists predominantly of sand, with subordinate lag sediments with stones and small ripple fields consisting of coarse sand to fine gravel. A comparison of the two mosaics did not reveal any significant changes of the sea bottom over the 2-year period. Characteristic sedimentary features remained almost unchanged over this period on detailed sonar images of smaller sub-areas. Substantial transport of sandy sediments can thus be excluded in the course of the observation period. Grid files of advective velocity components and orbital velocity of wave motion of a three-dimensional hydrodynamical model for the period from September 1996 to October 1997 were used to estimate the current regime in the study area for the interval between the two sidescan surveys. Comparing critical velocities for the dominant sediment types with the results of the numerical bottom current simulations and the observations from sidescan images, it is apparent that strong current events during the modelled time interval were still too weak to resuspend and transport sand of any grain size, even though maximum current velocities of 30 cm/s at the seafloor were modelled. Only a few patches of newly accumulated (acoustically soft) material (mud, fluff and/or soft plant remnants), with a horizontal extension of about 10 m at a terrain step feature, were recognised in the 1998 mosaic. Our results imply that sand deposits in the southern Baltic Sea can remain stationary over time periods of several years, and that the transport of organic material, nutrients and associated pollutants to depositional areas in deeper water is predominantly accomplished by the movement of material finer than sand. A significant portion of this fine material is evidently transported in the bottom boundary layer under conditions of moderate hydrodynamical forcing.     

Mercury levels in some species of fish from the coast of Lebanon

The muscle tissue of 266 fish caught along the coast of Lebanon from Beirut to Tyre (85 km) were analysed for total mercury content. The mean levels for the 13 species ranged from 0·028 mg/kg of wet tissue for Siganus rivulatus to 0·0.54 mg/kg for Mullus barbatus. Whereas no significant differences (P < 0·05) in mercury levels were noted between species, in most cases a direct relationship was found between the weight or length of fish of the same species and total mercury content. Similarly, there were no significant differences (P < 0·05) between herbivore and carnivore species, nor between resident and migrant ones. All of the values obtained in the present study fall below the widely accepted limit of 0·5mg/kg of edible tissue.