Exceptional preservation of Upper Carboniferous (lower Westphalian) fossils from Edlington,Doncaster, South Yorkshire,UK

A new fossil‐bearing, Upper Carboniferous (lower Westphalian) locality in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK, is reported and an account of the fossils is presented. The diverse flora and fauna consists of plants, bivalves, arthropods (primarily xiphosurans), tentaculitids (microconchids), fish scales, shark egg capsules and coprolites. Fossils are preserved in siderite nodules and shales, and display excellent preservation and detail. Previous collecting of Carboniferous fossils in the Doncaster area has been minimal. The discovery of this locality addresses this deficit and is of further importance as such localities in the UK are diminishing in number with the cessation of coal‐mining and the reclamation of mine dumps, further demonstrating the importance and recognition of the Edlington site. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hybrid Iterative Ensemble Smoother for History Matching of Hierarchical Models

Mathematical Geosciences - The choice of a prior model can have a large impact on the ability to assimilate data. In standard applications of ensemble-based data assimilation, all realizations in...     

The construction of a simple portable electromagnetic vibrator from commercially available components

Since its introduction in the late 1950s, hydraulic vibrators have become the dominant source for land seismic surveys. The hydraulic vibrators typically used for commercial land seismic acquisition, however, are large, costly to operate and expensive to purchase. This inhibits their use for small-scale and short-duration surveys as well as Vibroseis research. In this paper we describe, in detail, the construction of a portable vibrator from commercially available components for a cost of less than $US2,000. Data shows that the vibrator is able to successfully transmit sweeps from 15 to 180 Hz with different spectral contents. The vibrator produces a stronger signal than a sledgehammer and we estimate its output to be around 1 kN. The frequency content of the data was concentrated at lower frequencies (<100 Hz) and the ground-roll was far more energetic than that produced using a sledgehammer.     

Correlations between sound velocity and related properties of glacio-marine sediments: Barents sea

Statistical analysis of laboratory-measured compressional wave (sound) velocity, porosity, wet bulk density, and selected textural parameters of surface sediments from the Barents Sea reveals that clay content and mean grain size are the best indices to sound velocity. These parameters are followed closely by porosity and wet bulk density, while sand content provides the weakest index. Although Barents Sea surface sediments are characterized by fairly high variability, the results of the present study are in general agreement with studies of similar sediment types in other continental shelf environments.     

Radioactivity induced background noise in space-borne astronomical gamma-ray telescopes employing inorganic scintillation spectrometers

Based on monoenergetic proton beam tests of both NaI and CsI, a method for estimating the spallation background, due to the cosmic ray protons and trapped protons, has been developed. Comparisons between the calculated background noise and those measured by telescopes on board satellites are made. Good agreements of these comparisons demonstrate that the approach is capable of providing realistic estimates for specific space borne gamma-ray telescopes in well defined orbits.     

Temperature dependence of CO2 solubility in high pressure quenched glasses of diopside composition

The temperature dependence of carbon dioxide solubility in glasses of diopside composition, quenched from 20 kbar, has been investigated using a combination of high-temperature mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy.CO₂-charged diopside glasses were synthesized in a piston-cylinder apparatus. Because of diffusion of hydrogen through the platinum capsules, significant amounts of H₂O, CH₄ and CO were detected along with CO: in the diopside glasses. All three carbon species show a bimodal release pattern in the mass pyrograms. The CO₂ solubility shows a linear and negative temperature dependence. We do not observe any maxima in the solubility curve as was reported previously (Mysen and virgo, 1980a).None of the additional bands observed in Raman spectra of CO₂-charged diopside glasses compared to those in the spectrum of diopside glass can be assigned to molecular CO₂. These bands are caused by CO^?2₃ ions and indicate that the physical solubility of molecular carbon dioxide is negligible. The bimodal release pattern observed for CO₂ in the mass pyrograms, is consistent with the Raman data which strongly suggests that CO^?2₃ ions are present in at least two distinct sites in the glass.     

A climate-related oxidizing event in deep-sea sediment from the Bering Sea

Many cores from the deep basins of the Bering Sea have a thin oxidized zone within otherwise reduced sediment. This oxidized zone began to form about 6000 yr ago and represents an interval of about 3200 yr. Mineralogically, the oxidized and reduced sediments are similar, but chemically they differ. Concentrations of Fe and C are lower, and concentrations of Mn, Ba, Co, Mo, and Ni are higher in the oxidized than in the reduced sediment. Mn is enriched about 10-fold in the oxidized zone relative to its concentration in the reduced sediment, Mo about threefold, and Ba, Co, and Ni about twofold. These data suggest that the oxidized zone developed diagenetically as the result of the balance between the flux of organic matter and the available dissolved oxygen in bottom and interstitial waters.We propose that the Bering Sea was substantially ice covered when global glacial conditions prevailed. during the transition to global interglacial conditions, seasonal meltwater from thawing sea ice formed a lens of fresh water that decreased organic productivity. During the winter seasons, however, sea ice reformed and caused downwelling of dense, oxygen-rich waters to recharge bottom waters. The combination of lower organic productivity and more oxygen-rich bottom water allowed oxidized sediment to accumulate. Once full interglacial conditions were established, the volume of sea ice produced was insufficient to affect either productivity or the supply of dissolved oxygen and so bottom conditions again became reducing.Similar events probably occurred during the onset of global glacial conditions, and similar oxidized layers probably formed at these times. Such oxidized zones are highly unstable, however, in a reducing environment and, once buried beyond the influence of bacterial and infaunal activities, are depleted of their available oxygen and converted to reduced sediment.     

The saturation of the cosmic diffuse γ-ray background by the Seyfert galaxy component

The nature of the diffuse cosmic background in the low -ray energy range has been widely discussed but not definitively solved. Unresolved active galaxies have become good candidates for its origin ever since they have been identified as -ray emitting objects. In particular, the summed contribution of Seyfert galaxies is expected to be dominant to such an extent that a straight forward calculation, based on their volume emissivity, predicts a considerable excess above the observed level of the isotropic background flux. In this letter we explore different ways to reconcile the observational data on these active galactic nuclei with the measured intensity of the cosmic diffuse -radiation.