Increase of the mean Sun–Earth distance caused by a secular mass accumulation

Based on many planetary observations between the years 1971 and 2003, Krasinsky and Brumberg (Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 90:267–288, 2004) have estimated a rate of increase in the mean Sun-Earth distance of (15±4) m per century. Together with other anomalous observations in the solar system, this increase appears to be unexplained (Lämmerzahl et al. in Astrophys. Space Sci. Lib., vol. 349, pp. 75–101, 2008). We explain these findings by invoking a recently proposed gravitational impact model (Wilhelm et al. in Astrophys. Space Sci. 343:135–144, 2013) that implies a secular mass increase of all massive bodies. This allows us to formulate a quantitative understanding of the effect within the parameter range of the model with a mass accumulation rate of the Sun of (6.4±1.7)×10¹⁰ kg?s^?1.     

New evidence for persistent impact‐generated hydrothermal activity in the Miocene Ries impact structure,Germany

The extent of impact‐generated hydrothermal activity in the 24 km sized Ries impact structure has been controversially discussed. To date, mineralogical and isotopic investigations point to a restriction of hydrothermal activity to the impact‐melt bearing breccias, specifically the crater‐fill suevite. Here, we present new petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic data of postimpact carbonate deposits, which indicate a hydrothermal activity more extended than previously assumed. Specifically, carbonates of the Erbisberg, a spring mound located upon the inner crystalline ring of the crater, show travertine facies types not seen in any of the previously investigated sublacustrine soda lake spring mounds of the Ries basin. In particular, the streamer carbonates, which result from the encrustation of microbial filaments in subaerial spring effluents between 60 and 70 °C, are characteristic of a hydrothermal origin. While much of the primary geochemical and isotopic signatures in the mound carbonates have been obliterated by diagenesis, a postimpact calcite vein from brecciated gneiss of the subsurface crater floor revealed a flat rare earth element pattern with a clear positive Eu anomaly, indicating a hydrothermal fluid convection in the crater basement. Finally, the strontium isotope stratigraphic correlation of the travertine mound with the crater basin succession suggests a hydrothermal activity for about 250,000 yr after the impact, which would be much longer than previously assumed.     

Crater morphology in sandstone targets: The MEMIN impact parameter study

Abstract– Hypervelocity (2.5–7.8 km s^?1) impact experiments into sandstone were carried out to investigate the influence of projectile velocity and mass, target pore space saturation, target‐projectile density contrast, and target layer orientation on crater size and shape. Crater size increases with increasing projectile velocity and mass as well as with increasing target pore space saturation. Craters in water‐saturated porous targets are generally shallower and larger in volume and in diameter than craters from equivalent impacts into dry porous sandstone. Morphometric analyses of the resultant craters, 5–40 cm in diameter, reveal features that are characteristic of all of our experimental craters regardless of impact conditions (I) a large central depression within a fragile, light‐colored central part, and (II) an outer spallation zone with areas of incipient spallation. Two different mechanical processes, grain fragmentation and intergranular tensile fracturing, are recorded within these crater morphologies. Zone (I) approximates the shape of the transient crater formed by material compression, displacement, comminution, and excavation flow, whereas (II) is the result of intergranular tensile fracturing and spallation. The transient crater dimensions are reconstructed by fitting quadric parabolas to crater profiles from digital elevation models. The dimensions of this transient and of the final crater show the same trends: both increase in volume with increasing impact energy, and with increasing water saturation of the target pore space. The relative size of the transient crater (in percent of the final crater volume) decreases with increasing projectile mass and velocity, signifying a greater contribution of spallation on the final crater size when projectile mass and velocity are increased.     

PETROLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE GARRAF,SPAIN CHONDRITE

Microscopic and electron microprobe studies indicate that the Garraf meteorite is a highly-recrystallized chondrite of petrologic type 6. Olivine (Fa24.7; PMD 1.1) and low-Ca pyroxene (Fs20.9; PMD 1.1) compositions indicate that it belongs to the L-group. Based on contents of noble gases, pervasive fracturing of silicates, common undulose extinction of olivine and plagioclase, and the lack of melt pockets and maskelynite, we place Garraf into shock facies b. We conclude that Garraf is a highly recrystallized L6b chondrite that, after recrystallization, was cataclased and comminuted by shock.     

Isotopic evidence (He,B, C) for deep fluid and mud mobilization from mud volcanoes in the Caucasus continental collision zone

The Caucasian orogenic wedge formed as a consequence of the closure of the Tethyan Ocean, and numerous fields of active mud volcanoes pepper the area adjacent to the Black and Caspian Seas. Stable isotope ratios of boron, helium, and carbon have been measured for gas, fluid and sediment samples from active mud volcanoes of Taman Peninsula and Georgia to estimate the sources and mobilization depths of the fluid phase and mud. Boron concentrations in mud volcano fluids were found to be 5–35× higher than seawater. Fluid isotope ratios vary between ¹¹B=22 and 39, while isotope ratios of the smectite- and illite-rich extruded mud are considerably depleted in heavy ¹¹B (¹¹B=–8 to +7). B contents of these muds are ~8× higher than modern marine sediments. This suggests that liquefaction prior to mud volcanism was accompanied by both B enrichment and isotope fractionation, most likely at an intermediate depth mud reservoir at 2–4 km.The hydrocarbon-generating source beds to the mud volcanoes are located at 7 to >10 km depth in the folded Maikop Formation and are of proposed Oligocene–Miocene age. The most likely mechanism is re-hydration of these shales by both hydrocarbons and a geochemically mature fluid from greater depth within the orogenic wedge. Such a deep fluid source is supported by our results from gas analyses, which imply an admixture of minor amounts (less than 1%vol) of ³He (Georgia), thermogenic ¹³C in methane as well as "ultraheavy" ¹³C in CO₂ (both Taman and Georgia). The overall results attest active local flow of geochemically different fluids along deep-seated faults penetrating the two study areas in the Caucasian orogenic wedge, with the waters as well as the gases coming from below the Maikop Formation.     

Flow exchange between the deep and shallow groundwaters in the Sbeϊtla synclinal basin (Tunisia): an isotopic approach

Stable (¹⁸O, ² H) and radiogenic (³H, ¹⁴C) isotopes of water have been used to constrain the source, origin, age, migration pathway and mixing processes in the Sbeïtla (Tunisia) system. The system is composed of an upper unconfined Middle Miocene aquifer with a variable thickness from 10–300 m, an intermediate confined/unconfined Lower Miocene aquifer about 100 m thick and a deeper confined Lower Cretaceous aquifer about 150 m thick separated by a thin clay layer. A total of 53 groundwater samples from the three aquifers and spring samples were collected during February and March 2000 and isotopically analysed using conventional methods. The stable isotopes composition of waters establishes that the deep groundwater (depleted as compared to present corresponding local rainfall) is ancient water recharged probably during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods. The relatively recent water in the superficial aquifer is composed of mixed waters resulting presumably from upward leakage from the deeper groundwater. The radiogenic (³H, ¹⁴C) isotopes data confirm that the recent water, with a tritium content between 6.5 and 19 TU, represents post-nuclear recharge and the ancient groundwater with low carbon-14 contents between 7 and 26 pmC infiltrated between 8,000 to 20,000 years ago. When used in conjunction with the stable isotopes data, the mixing process can be clearly identified, especially in the Sbeïtla sill area. Groundwater of the upper aquifer exhibits isotopic signatures of both the old and recent waters. By using isotopic mass balance, the computed contribution of the deep groundwater in recharging the upper aquifer is up to 94%.     

Numerical Studies on the Harmonic Downward Continuation of Band-Limited Airborne Gravity

In this paper, the numerical stability and efficiency of methods of harmonic downward continuation from flying altitudes are treated for sampled gravity field data. The problem is first formulated in its continuous form, i.e. as the inverse solution of the spherical Dirichlet problem, and is then approximated by Gaussian quadrature to yield a finite system of linear equations. The numerical stability of this system is investigated for both error-free gravity data and for the noisy and band-limited gravity measurements usually obtained from airborne gravity surveys. It can be shown that the system becomes ill-conditioned, once the ratio between flying altitude and data sampling rate exceeds a certain limit. It can also be shown that noisy measurements tend to generate a solution that is practically useless, long before the system becomes ill-conditioned. Therefore, instead of treating the general solution of the discrete downward continuation problem, the more modest question is studied, for which range of flying altitudes and sampling rates, the numerical solution of the discrete linear system can be considered as practically useful. Practically useful will be defined heuristically as of sufficient accuracy and stability to satisfy the requirements of the user. The question will be investigated for the specific application of geoid computation from gravity data sampled at flying altitudes. In this case, a stable solution with a standard deviation of a few centimeters is required. Typical flight parameters are heights of 2–6 km, a minimum half-wavelength resolution of 2 km, and data noise between 0.5 and 1.5 mGal. Different methods of geoid determination, different solution techniques for the resulting systems of linear equations, and different minimization principles will be compared. As a result operational parameters will be defined which, for a given noise level, will result in a geoid accuracy of a few centimeters for the estimated band-limited gravity field spectrum.