A possible 5 km wide impact structure with associated 22 km wide exterior collapse terrain in the Alhabia–Tabernas Basin,southeastern Spain

The Tabernas–Alhabia Basin is a structural depression situated in the province of Almería, southeastern Spain. The basin is filled with Neogene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene sediments resting discordantly on a Paleozoic metamorphic basement. During the marine Tortonian sedimentation, a bed of breccia (Gordo megabed) was formed. It consists of rotated sedimentary megablocks commonly capped and/or surrounded by a polymict breccia composed mainly of up to dm-sized clasts of the crystalline (schist) basement. Previous work has suggested the bed to be a seismite corresponding to events induced by earthquakes. Here, we link the formation of the Gordo megabed with an ∼5 km wide, rimmed depression with exposed breccias on the northern flank of the Sierra de Gádor mountain. This semicircular structure, developed in mainly schists and dolostone of the basement, is delimited to the W, S, and E by an up to 350 m high escarpment with overturned stratigraphy. Toward the north, this crater-like structure opens toward the Gordo megabed of the Tabernas Basin. In the southern sector, the overturned strata transform outward for into a blocky allochthonous breccia with decreasing thickness and clast size. In the interior of the structure, there are occurrences of graded breccia and arenite superposed on a blocky, autochthonous breccia. Based on the presence of mineralogical shock metamorphic evidence, potential shatter cones, and a high Ir anomaly (∼500 ppb) as well as the position of the structure near the town of Alhama de Almería, we propose to call it the Alhama de Almería impact structure.     

Particle fluxes dynamics in Blanes submarine canyon (Northwestern Mediterranean)

Within the framework of the multidisciplinary RECS project and with the aim of describing the particle flux transfer from the continental shelf to the deep basin, an array of five mooring lines equipped with a total of five pairs of PPS3/3 sequential-sampling sediment traps and RCM-7/8 current meters were deployed 30 m above the bottom from March 2003 to March 2004 inside and outside the Blanes Canyon. One mooring line was located in the upper canyon at 600 m depth, one in the canyon axis at 1700 m depth and other two close to the canyon walls at 900 m depth. A fifth mooring line was deployed in the continental open slope at 1500 m water depth.The highest near-bottom downward particle flux (14.50 g m⁻² d⁻¹) was recorded at the trap located in the upper canyon (M1), where continental inputs associated with the presence of the Tordera River are most relevant. On the other hand, the downward fluxes (4.35 g m⁻² d⁻¹) in the canyon axis (M2) were of the same order as those found in the western flank (M3) of the canyon. Both values were clearly higher than the value (1.95 g m⁻² d⁻¹) recorded at the eastern canyon wall (M4). The open slope (M5) mass flux (5.42 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) recorded by the sediment trap located outside the canyon system was three orders of magnitude lower than the other values registered by the inner canyon stations. The relevance of our data is that it explains how the transport pathway in the canyon occurs through its western flank, where a more active and persistent current toward the open ocean was recorded over the entire year of the experiment.Off-shelf sediment transport along the canyon axis showed clear differences during the period of the study, with some important events leading to strong intensifications of the current coupled with large transport of particle fluxes to the deepest parts of the canyon. Such events are primarily related to increases in river discharge and the occurrence of strong storms and cascading events during the winter.In summary, in this study it is shown that the dynamics of the water masses and the currents in the study area convert the sharp western flank of the Blanes Canyon in a more active region that favors erosion processes than the eastern flank, which has a smoother topography and where the absence of erosional conditions yields to steadier sedimentary processes.     

Jupiter approaching asteroids and their possibilities for activity

Jupiter‐family comets (JFCs) may often, closely and/or slowly approach Jupiter. A list of their close approaches within 0.21 AU from Jupiter between 1970 and 2030 is presented to determine the typical changes in some of their orbital elements and their relation to any triggered activity. A few JFCs from the list were temporary satellites of Jupiter. There are also several JFCs which originally had asteroidal provisional designations due to their low activity at discovery. But Jupiter is also approached by asteroids. The presented list of their approaches within 0.60 AU from Jupiter between 1960 and 2040, together with their orbital changes can be compared with the list of comets. Some of the orbital changes are large enough to cause an extremely low or short‐lived activity. Usually, quick and dedicated observations by large‐aperture telescopes are missing to confirm or refute it. Currently, the most important cometary candidate among Jupiter approaching asteroids is 2004 FY140. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Nuclear field shift effect as a possible cause of Te isotopic anomalies in the early solar system—An alternative explanation of Fehr et al. (2006 and 2009)

Abstract— We explore the possibility that Te isotopic anomalies measured in Ca‐Al‐rich inclusions (Fehr et al. 2009) and in leachates of carbonaceous chondrites (Fehr et al. 2006) may be due to mass‐independent effects controlled by nuclear field shift rather than to nucleosynthetic processes. Fehr et al.'s spectrum of mass‐independent anomalies of Te isotopes shows a smooth correlation with mass number and nuclear charge distribution. Ratios of even to odd isotopes, as the ¹²⁵Te/¹²⁶Te ratio used by these authors for normalization are particularly prone to nuclear field shift effects. We show that the alternative normalization of isotopic ratios to ¹³⁰Te/¹²⁶Te strongly reduces the trend of isotopic fractionation with mass number, leaving only ¹²⁵Te as truly anomalous. For both normalizations (¹²⁵Te/¹²⁶Te and ¹³⁰Te/¹²⁶Te), Fehr et al.'s results fit the theory of Bigeleisen (1996), which suggests that the nuclear field shift effect can potentially account for the observed Te isotope abundances, as an alternative to nucleosynthetic processes. We propose that these mass‐independent effects may be acquired during accretion of sulfides from the solar nebula.     

Investigations into an unknown organism on the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001

Abstract— Examination of fracture surfaces near the fusion crust of the martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 have been conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and has revealed structures strongly resembling mycelium. These structures were compared with similar structures found in Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities. On morphology alone, we conclude that these features are not only terrestrial in origin but probably belong to a member of the Actinomycetales, which we consider was introduced during the Antarctic residency of this meteorite. If true, this is the first documented account of terrestrial microbial activity within a meteorite from the Antarctic blue ice fields. These structures, however, do not bear any resemblance to those postulated to be martian biota, although they are a probable source of the organic contaminants previously reported in this meteorite.     

EIT: Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope for the SOHO mission

The Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) will provide wide-field images of the corona and transition region on the solar disc and up to 1.5 R above the solar limb. Its normal incidence multilayer-coated optics will select spectral emission lines from Fe IX (171 ), Fe XII (195 ), Fe XV (284 ), and He II (304 ) to provide sensitive temperature diagnostics in the range from 6 × 10⁴ K to 3 × 10⁶ K. The telescope has a 45 x 45 arcmin field of view and 2.6 arcsec pixels which will provide approximately 5-arcsec spatial resolution. The EIT will probe the coronal plasma on a global scale, as well as the underlying cooler and turbulent atmosphere, providing the basis for comparative analyses with observations from both the ground and other SOHO instruments. This paper presents details of the EIT instrumentation, its performance and operating modes.     

3-D Structure of the Galactic Interstellar Matter: A Contribution from GAIA

We investigate the possibilities for tracing interstellar extinction with the ESA's astrometric space mission GAIA. The analysis is based on detailed simulations of the GAIA photometry, which are used to derive the distribution of interstellar matter in a modelled Galaxy. We find that `small' diffuse clouds (diameter D = 4 pc, E <sub>B-V</sub> = 0.06) will be easily traced with GAIA up to the distances of ∼ 800 pc. `Large' diffuse interstellar clouds (D = 10 pc, E _B-V = 0.13) will be located up to the distances of ∼ 2.5 kpc. This holds for the reddening tracers of spectral types O – K2 brighter than V = 17. Inmost cases, due to their low spatial density, the early type stars (O– A2) cannot provide reliable information about the distribution of interstellar matter. None of the reddening tracers measured by GAIA will provide reliable identification of the individual interstellar clouds beyond the distances of ∼ 3 kpc. Therefore, we conclude that the information available from photometric observations will be not sufficient for the detailed reconstruction of the 3-D distribution of Galactic interstellar matter. It is therefore extremely important to define the new strategies which would allow to combine all the available information, including the earlier space- and/or ground-based investigations, together with the information which will be provided by GAIA itself (parallaxes, E _B-V etc.). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structural evolution history of the Red Sea Rift

The Red Sea Rift has been an object of comprehensive studies by several generations of geologists and geophysicists. Many publications and open-file reports provide insights into the geological history of this rift. Paleogene and Cretaceous rocks, which are considered to be prerift, are locally exposed at the margins of the Red Sea Rift. At the same time, some evidence indicates that at least some of these rocks are related to the early stage of the evolution of the Red Sea Rift. The available geological data suggest that the Red Sea region started its active evolution in the Cretaceous. As follows from lithostratigraphic data, the Cretaceous-Paleogene trough that predated the Oligocene-Quaternary rift covered this region completely or partially. The pre-Oligocene magmatism and geological evidence show that the Cretaceous-Paleogene trough was of the rift type. The Cretaceous-Eocene and Oligocene-Quaternary phases of rifting were separated by an epoch of uplifting and denudation documented by the erosion surface and unconformity.     

Binary asteroid population. 2. Anisotropic distribution of orbit poles of small,inner main-belt binaries

Our photometric observations of 18 main-belt binary systems in more than one apparition revealed a strikingly high number of 15 having positively re-observed mutual events in the return apparitions. Our simulations of the survey showed that it cannot be due to an observational selection effect and that the data strongly suggest that poles of mutual orbits between components of binary asteroids in the primary size range 3–8 km are not distributed randomly: The null hypothesis of an isotropic distribution of the orbit poles is rejected at a confidence level greater than 99.99%. Binary orbit poles concentrate at high ecliptic latitudes, within 30° of the poles of the ecliptic. We propose that the binary orbit poles oriented preferentially up/down-right are due to either of the two processes: (i) the YORP tilt of spin axes of their parent bodies toward the asymptotic states near obliquities 0° and 180° (pre-formation mechanism) or (ii) the YORP tilt of spin axes of the primary components of already formed binary systems toward the asymptotic states near obliquities 0° and 180° (post-formation mechanism). The alternative process of elimination of binaries with poles closer to the ecliptic by dynamical instability, such as the Kozai effect due to gravitational perturbations from the Sun, does not explain the observed orbit pole concentration. This is because for close binary asteroid systems, the gravitational effects of primary’s irregular shape dominate the solar-tide effect.