Radar and photoelectric observations of asteroid 2100 Ra-Shalom

Results of 13-cm-wavelength radar observations and V-filter photoelectric observations of Ra- Shalom during its 1981 Aug–Sep apparition are reported. The radar data yid detections of echoes in the same sense of circular polarization as transmitted (i.e., the SC sense) as well as in the opposite (OC) sense. The estimate of the ratio of SC to OC echo power, μ_c = 0.14 ± 0.02, indicates that most, but certainly not all, of the backscattering is due to single reflections from surface elements that are fairly smooth at decimeter scales. The value obtained for the OC radar cross section on Aug 26 (1.2 ± 0.3 km²) is about three times larger than those obtained on Aug 23, 24, and 25. The echo bandwidth appears to be within about 1.5 Hz of 5.0 Hz on each date. The photoelectric data suggest a value, P_syn = 19.79 hr, for the synodic rotation period, and yield a composite lightcurve with two pairs of extrema. Combining this value for P_syn with a firm lower bound (4 Hz) on the maximum echo bandwidth yields a lower bound of 1.4 km on the maximum distance between Ra-Shalom's spin axis and any point on its surface.     

Eolian evidence for spatial variability of late Quaternary climates in tropical Africa

Study of the eolian fraction of late Quaternary sediments from the tropical Atlantic reveals that two modes of long-term climate variability have existed in tropical Africa during the last 150,000 yr. Tropical northwest Africa (i.e., the southwestern Sahara and Sahel) was driest during glaciations and stades, but wetter than at present during interglaciations and interstades. This may be a response to ice sheets at higher latitudes, via equatorward displacement of the westerlies and the subtropical high. In contrast, central equatorial Africa (southeast of the Sahara) was most arid during interstades and times of ice growth, and most humid during deglaciation. Wet periods in this area correspond to insolation maxima in northern hemisphere summer. A 23,000-yr precessional rhythm is suggested, supporting a direct link between African Monsoon intensity and orbitally modulated insolation. The late Holocene is the only time observed when both areas are arid during an interglacial episode. This may reflect, in part, anthropogenic disturbance of late Holocene climates.     

Clastic matrix in EH3 chondrites

Abstract— Patches of clastic matrix (15 to 730 μm in size) constitute 4.9 vol% of EH3 Yamato (Y‐) 691 and 11.7 vol% of EH3 Allan Hills (ALH) 81189. Individual patches in Y‐691 consist of 1) ?25 vol% relatively coarse opaque grain fragments and polycrystalline assemblages of kamacite, schreibersite, perryite, troilite (some grains with daubréelite exsolution lamellae), niningerite, oldhamite, and caswellsilverite; 2) ?30 vol% relatively coarse silicate grains including enstatite, albitic plagioclase, silica and diopside; and 3) an inferred fine nebular component (?45 vol%) comprised of submicrometer‐size grains. Clastic matrix patches in ALH 81189 contain relatively coarse grains of opaques (?20 vol%; kamacite, schreibersite, perryite and troilite) and silicates (?30 vol%; enstatite, silica and forsterite) as well as an inferred fine nebular component (?50 vol%). The O‐isotopic composition of clastic matrix in Y‐691 is indistinguishable from that of olivine and pyroxene grains in adjacent chondrules; both sets of objects lie on the terrestrial mass‐fractionation line on the standard three‐isotope graph. Some patches of fine‐grained matrix in Y‐691 have distinguishable bulk concentrations of Na and K, inferred to be inherited from the solar nebula. Some patches in ALH 81189 differ in their bulk concentrations of Ca, Cr, Mn, and Ni. The average compositions of matrix material in Y‐691 and ALH 81189 are similar but not identical‐matrix in ALH 81189 is much richer in Mn (0.23 ± 0.05 versus 0.07 ± 0.02 wt%) and appreciably richer in Ni (0.36 ± 0.10 versus 0.18 ± 0.05 wt%) than matrix in Y‐691. Each of the two whole‐rocks exhibits a petrofabric, probably produced by shock processes on their parent asteroid.     

Tropical soils could dominate the short-term carbon cycle feedbacks to increased global temperatures

Results of a simple model of the effects of temperature on net ecosystem production call into question the argument that the large stocks of soil carbon and greater projected warming in the boreal and tu ndra regions of the world willlead to rapid efflux of carbon from these biomes to the atmosphere. We show that low rates of carbon turnover in these regions and a relatively greater response of net primary production to changes in temperature may lead to carbon storage over some limited range of warming. In contrast, the high rates of soil respiration found in tropical ecosystems are highly sensitive to small changes in temperature, so that despite the less pronounced warming expected in equatorial regions, tropical soils are likely to release relatively large amounts of carbon to the atmosphere. Results for high-latitude biomes are highly sensitive to parameter values used, while the net efflux of carbon from the tropics appears robust.     

The stress release hypothesis of magma formation

The possibility of magma formation due to the release of stresses in the Crust and Upper Mantle of the Earth is examined for both tensile and compressive failure. The correlation of volcanic activity with shallow and intermediate focus earthquakes is examined in the light of new experimental data on the strength of rocks, and recent theories of the thermal history of the Earth. It is found that in association with earthquakes, granitic magmas may be generated between depths of approximately 15 and 50 kilometers; basaltic magmas between 50 and 100 kilometers; while duntic magmas are unlikely to be generated in this manner.     

Isotopic and geochemical evidence for magma mixing in the petrogenesis of the Coire Uaigneich Granophyre,Isle of Skye,N.W. Scotland

Field relations, petrographic features, major and selected trace element compositions, and Sr- and Pb- isotope characteristics indicate that the Coire Uaigneich Granophyre (CUG) was formed by the mixing of two magmas. One of these, a liquid of high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio (ca. 0.731) formed by the anatexis of late Precambrian Torridonian sediments, contained relict quartz and zircon. The other liquid was an acid differentiate of basaltic magma and was enriched in incompatible elements such as Zr and Y. The two magmas mixed in the proportions of approximately two parts anatectic melt to one part acid differentiate. Hydrothermal metamorphism had no significant effect on the bulk chemistry of the CUG.     

Garnet growth in a metapelite from the Moinian rocks of Northern Sutherland,Scotland

Compositional profiles of a series of garnets, extracted from a pelitic schist occurring in the Moinian rocks of Northern Sutherland, have been established. The profiles are complex and do not conform to a simple fractionation model. A model to explain them is suggested.     

BEACH RIDGES AND PALEOGEOGRAPHY,CENTRAL BAJA CALIFORNIA,MEXICO

Two spatially separated sets of beach ridges were studied in Baja California. Each set contains several well-preserved beach ridges and each is adjacent to an arroyo mouth. Modern beach ridges mark coastal location whereas abandoned paleobeach ridges record coastal change. Paleobeach ridges were dated by absolute and relative techniques for rate-change, chronology, and longshore correlation purposes. With time, shape becomes more planar, foreslope angle is reduced, and there is a progressive tendency for constituent shingle to disintegrate and develop both rinds and surficial roughness. One paleobeach ridge on the lowest emergent terrace was assigned a 1,150 ± 230 yr. B.P. radiocarbon date whereas another beach ridge 18 km farther north has a partially overlapping date. Older but undated beach ridges also exist on the lowest emergent terrace as well as on the highest persistent terrace. Those beach ridges on the highest persistent terrace are highly weathered and Pleistocene in age. All beach ridges have paleogeographic implications and suggest that shoreline orientation has been generally stable although its position has shifted laterally by up to 720m westward in the last 1,150 ± 230 years.