Nature of the Martian uplands: Effect on Martian meteorite age distribution and secondary cratering

Abstract— Martian meteorites (MMs) have been launched from an estimated 5–9 sites on Mars within the last 20 Myr. Some 80–89% of these launch sites sampled igneous rock formations from only the last 29% of Martian time. We hypothesize that this imbalance arises not merely from poor statistics, but because the launch processes are dominated by two main phenomena: first, much of the older Martian surface is inefficient in launching rocks during impacts, and second, the volumetrically enormous reservoir of original cumulate crust enhances launch probability for 4.5 Gyr old rocks. There are four lines of evidence for the first point, not all of equal strength. First, impact theory implies that MM launch is favored by surface exposures of near‐surface coherent rock (≤10² m deep), whereas Noachian surfaces generally should have ≥10² m of loose or weakly cemented regolith with high ice content, reducing efficiency of rock launch. Second, similarly, both Mars Exploration Rovers found sedimentary strata, 1–2 orders of magnitude weaker than Martian igneous rocks, favoring low launch efficiency among some fluvial‐derived Hesperian and Noachian rocks. Even if launched, such rocks may be unrecognized as meteorites on Earth. Third, statistics of MM formation age versus cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) age weakly suggest that older surfaces may need larger, deeper craters to launch rocks. Fourth, in direct confirmation, one of us (N. G. B.) has found that older surfaces need larger craters to produce secondary impact crater fields (cf. Barlow and Block 2004). In a survey of 200 craters, the smallest Noachian, Hesperian, and Amazonian craters with prominent fields of secondaries have diameters of ?45 km, ?19 km, and ?10 km, respectively. Because 40% of Mars is Noachian, and 74% is either Noachian or Hesperian, the subsurface geologic characteristics of the older areas probably affect statistics of recognized MMs and production rates of secondary crater populations, and the MM and secondary crater statistics may give us clues to those properties.     

Longitudinal dispersion compensation for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer

The Very Large Telescope Interferometer [1,13] will be operated in air which will introduce small optical path fluctuations due to internal turbulence [4,6] and dispersion effects. Both may contribute to fringe contrast decrease. Longitudinal dispersion effects can be corrected by inserting an appropriate glass of variable thickness in one arm of the interferometer [3,5,11,12]. This paper presents a new method applied to VLTI in order to select the optimum glass, according to both the observing wavelength and the spectral bandpath, and to calculate its thickness. Results are presented in terms of improvement on the fringe contrast.     

A 20 cm2 CCD mosaic camera for a dark matter search part I : Mechanics,optics and cryogeny

A 20cm ² CCD mosaic camera has been especially built to search for dark galactic halo objects by the gravitational microlensing effect. The sensitive area is made of 16 edge-buttable CCDs developped by Thomson-CTS, with 23×23 µm ² pixels. The 35 kg camera housing and mechanical equipment is presented. The associated electronics and data acquisition system are described in a separate paper. The camera resides at the focal plane of a 40 cm, f/10, Ferson reflector. The instrument has been in operation since December 1991 at the La Silla Observatory (ESO).     

Hα Photometry of Two Contact Binaries

We carried out optical and Hα photometry of two contact binaries (V861 Herculis, EQ Tauri). The light curve modeling revealed stellar spots in both contact systems and strong Hα excess in the position of the observed stellar spots. A correlation was found between the V−R and R−H_α colour indices of V861 Her.     

Der Pyroxentuff vom Heilsberg im Hegau

Zusammenfassung Das Tuffvorkommen vom Heilsberg bei Gottmadingen im Hegau wurde neu kartiert und mineralogisch untersucht. Die Korngrößenverteilung zeigt ein deutliches Maximum bei 0,6–1,2 mm. Der Tuff besteht aus 40% magmatogenem Material und 60% Bestandteilen des durchschlagenen Untergrundes. Die magmatogenen Komponenten sind 17% Einzehnineralien, 10% Grundmasse und 13 % Auswürflinge. Unter den Einzelmineralien wiegt der Pyroxen (Fassait) vor, daneben kommen Amphibol, Biotit und Magnetit, ferner Apatit und Analcim sowie einige seltenere Mineralien vor. Für Pyroxen, Amphibol, Biotit und Magnetit werden chemische Analyse und optische Eigenschaften mitgeteilt. Die größte Menge der magmatogenen Auswürflinge sind kugelförmige Lapilli, die hinsichtlich ihrer Entstehung genauer untersucht und chemisch analysiert wurden. Seltener sind grobkristalline, dunkle und belle Bomben, deren Mineralgehalt und chemische Zusammonsetzung genauer beschrieben werden. Sic stellen wahrscheinlich Differentiate des Heilsbergmagmas dar. Die ehemals glasige, magmatogene Grundmasse des Tuffs liegt heute als ein Gemenge von Montmorillonit und Calcit vor.Aus den nichtmagmatogenen Bestandteilen kann auf den Untergrund im Bereich des Heilsbergvulkans geschlossen werden. Aus dem Deckgebirge wurden Tertiär, Mahn, Dogger, Jura, Keuper und Muschelkalk nachgewiesen. Das Grund-gebirge besteht hauptsächlich aus granodioritischen bis granitischen Gesteinen und enthält auffallenderweise nur wenig Gneise. Der Herd der Eruption dürfte mindestens 4000 m tief liegen.Der Chemismus des Heilsbergmagmas ist hornblenditisch. Es ist dem Magma der Melilithite verwandt und leitet zu den Phonolithen des Hegau über. Das Gestein ist als hornblenditischer Pyroxen-Analcim-Tuff zu bezeichnen.Zwei unabhängige Bestimmungen nach der K-Ar-Methode ergaben für den Biotit des Tuffs ein obermiozänes Alter von 14,0 bzw. 14,5 Mill. Jahren.Mit 2 Textabbildungen     

Relative molar mass distributions of chromophoric colloidal organic matter in coastal seawater determined by Flow Field-Flow Fractionation with UV absorbance and fluorescence detection

A new method for the characterization of chromophoric colloidal organic matter in seawater has been applied to samples from the Baltic Sea, Kattegatt and Skagerrak seas. Size fractionation of the sample by Flow Field-Flow Fractionation and measurement of the fluorescent and UV absorbing properties of the individual size fractions result in a relative molar mass distribution (RMM) of the optical properties. The RMM distributions have been used to estimate number and weight average relative molar masses, and polydispersity indices. At least two sources of coloured organic matter were identified from the ratio of fluorescence to UV: the Baltic surface water and the Skagerrak deep water. The dominating processes were mixing and dilution, but processes such as photo bleaching of fluorescence are also believed to be important. The RMM distribution derived from UV detection (1150–1300 Dalton) increased with increasing salinity while that derived for fluorescence (1500–1250 Dalton) decreased with increasing salinity. The specific UV absorbance taken as a proxy of the aromaticity of the chromophoric organic material showed decreasing trend with both increasing salinity and increasing UV derived weight average relative molar mass. Increasing polydispersity of the colloidal material was also observed as a function of salinity.     

A systematic algorithm for obtaining SODAR wind profiles

Summary Current methods of obtaining wind profiles from SODARs generally employ ad hoc strategies for Doppler spectrum peak selection, profile smoothing, and consistency checks. This paper addresses the problem of systematically obtaining vertical profiles of wind vectors from a SODAR. A new approach is to regard every spectrum frequency as a possible estimator of the radial wind component, but to weight these Doppler estimates according to the spectral power at each frequency. This allows the peak detection, smoothing, and assimilation of a priori information to be combined into a constrained linear inversion methodology. The inversion process also allows an estimation of signal-to-noise ratio, degrees of freedom, and information content versus height. Examples are given of profiles obtained using this new inverse method. The relationship to the physical limitations of the SODAR instrument and the atmosphere is discussed.