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.     

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.     

Symbiotic Relations of Sediment-Agglutinating Nematodes and Bacteria in Detrital Habitats: The Enzyme-Sharing Concept

Abstract. A new concept (‘enzyme sharing’) concerning the interaction of marine nematodes and microbes in the degradation of sedimentary detritus is presented. Elements of this concept are (1) the notorious tendency of many aquatic nematodes to agglutinate detrital particles by mucus secretions, (2) new observations on the stimulation of microbial growth by nematodes in agar plates, and (3) literature data on limited endogenous proteolytic capacities of aquatic nematodes.
Observations on nematode‐microbe associations in agar plates prompted the conceptual synthesis. In agar medium without the addition of any nutrients a spectacular growth of bacteria was visible on the sinusoidal crawling trails of nematodes only 2 – 3 days after introduction of the worms (species of Adoncholaimus, Anoplostoma and Sabatieria). Juveniles of Anoplostoma that hatched in the agar cultures left their minute trails in the medium and these were rapidly occupied by bacteria. The nematodes repeatedly visited their bacterial trails, which persisted as a peculiar biotic structure for more than one year and survived the nematodes.
In sterile agar preparations containing the fluorogenic methylumbelliferyl‐β‐glucoside in the presence of the nematode Adoncholaimus, an enhanced fluorescence of the medium was visible, indicating β‐glucosidase activity. We therefore assume that oncholaimid nematodes discharge enzymes that alone, or in concert with microbial activities, contribute to the hydrolytic cleavage of refractory polysaccharides containing β‐glucosidic bonds such as agar components and cellulose. The sugars thus produced may then be taken up by the nematodes and concomitantly support the conspicuous growth of microbes. Since we did not observe any feeding of the nematodes on the associated microbes in agar plates, we question the nutritive potential of intact microbial cells for a number of nematodes abounding in detrital habitats, and call attention to the significance of ambient dissolved or adsorbed organic monomeric nutrients.
Consequently, we perceive the puzzling perpetual accretion of detrital organic particles to sediment agglutinations by nematodes as an adaptation for operating an ‘enzymatic reactor’ for the production of dissolved nutrients. We hypothesise a relationship of mutual commensalism of nematodes and heterotrophic microbes in detrital habitats and propose the term ‘enzyme sharing’ for this relationship. Both parties invest in a common enzyme pool that decomposes organic detritus for their nutrition. We present here evidence that nematodes contribute β‐glucosidase, which is involved in the cellulase system. Data from the literature suggest that microbial enzymatic processing of detrital proteins yields amino acids available to nematodes, which apparently have no efficient proteolytic enzyme system in their intestines.     

The GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam/Groupe de Recherche de Gèodésie Spatiale satellite-only and combined gravity field models: EIGEN-GL04S1 and EIGEN-GL04C

The recent improvements in the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) tracking data processing at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and Groupe de Recherche de Géodésie Spatiale (GRGS) Toulouse, the availability of newer surface gravity data sets in the Arctic, Antarctica and North-America, and the availability of a new mean sea surface height model from altimetry processing at GFZ gave rise to the generation of two new global gravity field models. The first, EIGEN-GL04S1, a satellite-only model complete to degree and order 150 in terms of spherical harmonics, was derived by combination of the latest GFZ Potsdam GRACE-only (EIGEN-GRACE04S) and GRGS Toulouse GRACE/LAGEOS (EIGEN-GL04S) mean field solutions. The second, EIGEN-GL04S1 was combined with surface gravity data from altimetry over the oceans and gravimetry over the continents to derive a new high-resolution global gravity field model called EIGEN-GL04C. This model is complete to degree and order 360 and thus resolves geoid and gravity anomalies at half- wavelengths of 55 km at the equator. A degree-dependent combination method has been applied in order to preserve the high accuracy from the GRACE satellite data in the lower frequency band of the geopotential and to form a smooth transition to the high-frequency information coming from the surface data. Compared to pre-CHAMP global high-resolution models, the accuracy was improved at a spatial resolution of 200 km (half-wavelength) by one order of magnitude to 3 cm in terms of geoid heights. The accuracy of this model (i.e. the commission error) at its full spatial resolution is estimated to be 15 cm. The model shows a reduced artificial meridional striping and an increased correlation of EIGEN-GL04C-derived geostrophic meridional currents with World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) data. These improvements have led to select EIGEN-GL04C for JASON-1 satellite altimeter data reprocessing. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Dike rock generation and magma interactions in the Bir Safsaf igneous complex,south-west Egypt: Implications for the Pan-African evolution in north-east Africa

The geological setting, ages, petrography and geochemistry of late Pan-African ( 580 Ma) calc-alkaline and tholeiitic dike rocks in the Bir Safsaf igneous complex of south-west Egypt are discussed. These basaltic to rhyolitic dikes intruded contemporaneously and shortly after the intrusion of granitoids. The major and trace element data, Sr and Nd isotope relations, in combination with textural observations, confirm complex interactions between most of the intermediate calcalkaline dike melts and plutonic melts, with different degrees of mixing, assimilation, replenishment and tapping of magma chambers. Trachytic and rhyolitic dikes are strongly differentiated melts from the granitic pluton. The tholeiitic dikes evolved dominantly by fractional crystallization processes. It is inferred that open system and closed system processes operated in calc-alkaline magma chambers, and that the calc-alkaline melts came from a garnet-and amphibole-bearing mantle, modified by a subduction component. Tholeiitic rocks were formed later by fractional crystallization and assimilation processes. Magma ascent of both dike types took place in an extensional environment and the presumed subduction zone has to be seen in connection with the Atmur-Delgo suture zone.