Focused ion beam technique and transmission electron microscope studies of microdiamonds from the Saxonian Erzgebirge, Germany

A focused ion beam of Ga ions is a relatively new technique that has been developed for microelectronic industries. Now researchers of the Earth sciences find it to be a promising tool for studying various geological materials. Using the FIB technique and an FEI Strata DB 235 dual beam system, we have successfully prepared several electron-transparent foils, which crossed μm-sized diamonds included in host minerals such as zircon and garnet from quartzofeldspathic rocks of the Saxonian Erzgebirge, Germany. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy applied to these foils revealed that the diamonds contain crystalline nanometric inclusions. These inclusions consist of minerals of known stoichiometries such as SiO₂ and Al₂SiO₅, whereas others are characterized by different combinations of Si, K, P, Ti, and Fe in the presence of oxygen (stoichiometries are not clear at this stage of research). One suite of inclusions is assumed to be represented by archerite, KH₂PO₄, which is known to be stable at pressures of 4–22 GPa, and one nanocrystal containing Pb, oxygen and carbon is interpreted to be Pb_xO_y or PbCO₃. Along with solid crystalline inclusions, the diamonds contain cavities filled by liquid/gas that escaped during sample preparation. These are associated with dislocations of diamond growth. Our data are consistent with the concept of diamond crystallization from a COH-rich multicomponent supercritical fluid and suggest that the composition of such a fluid is more consistent with a local crustal source rather than that of a mantle origin.     

Frequency-dependent anisotropy due to meso-scale fractures in the presence of equant porosity

Fractured rock is often modelled under the assumption of perfect fluid pressure equalization between the fractures and equant porosity. This is consistent with laboratory estimates of the characteristic squirt-flow frequency. However, these laboratory measurements are carried out on rock samples which do not contain large fractures. We consider coupled fluid motion on two scales: the grain scale which controls behaviour in laboratory experiments and the fracture scale. Our approach reproduces generally accepted results in the low- and high-frequency limits. Even under the assumption of a high squirt-flow frequency, we find that frequency-dependent anisotropy can occur in the seismic frequency band when larger fractures are present. Shear-wave splitting becomes dependent on frequency, with the size of the fractures playing a controlling role in the relationship. Strong anisotropic attenuation can occur in the seismic frequency band. The magnitude of the frequency dependence is influenced strongly by the extent of equant porosity. With these results, it becomes possible in principle to distinguish between fracture- and microcrack-induced anisotropy, or more ambitiously to measure a characteristic fracture length from seismic data.     

Dublin days: the 2003 NAM

Mark E Bailey and Tom Ray give an overview of the National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin, where record numbers of astronomers went to talk, listen and network.     

Determination of Roughness Lengths for Heat and Momentum Over Boreal Forests

The roughness length for momentum (z_0m), zero-plane displacementheight (d), and roughness length for heat (z_0h) are importantparameters used to estimate land-atmosphere energy exchange. Although many different approaches have been developed to parameterizemomentum and heat transfer, existing parameterizations generally utilizehighly simplified representations of vegetation structure. Further, a mismatch exists between the treatments used for momentum and heat exchange and those used for radiative energy exchanges. In this paper, parameterizations are developed to estimate z_0m, d, and z_0h for forested regimes using information related to tree crown density and structure. The parameterizations provide realistic representationfor the vertical distribution of foliage within canopies, and include explicit treatment for the effects of the canopy roughness sublayer and leaf drag on momentum exchange. The proposed parameterizationsare able to realistically account for site-to-site differences in roughness lengths that arise from canopy structural properties.Comparisons between model predictions and field measurements show good agreement, suggesting that the proposed parameterizations capture the most important factors influencing turbulent exchange of momentumand heat over forests.     

Partition, die Wende, and German unification

This paper provides a geographical context and overview of the critical steps leading to German unification on 3 October 1990. It examines the extent to which the whole process was typical of the sequence of events in other states that have been partitioned and have subsequently reunited, with particular reference to the so-called Wende in East Germany. This was a spontaneous, popular movement for internal reform which, spurred on in late 1989 by the impending collapse of the East German government and its protector, the Soviet Union, became a rallying point for German unification.     

Yucatán karst features and the size of Chicxulub crater

The buried Chicxulub impact structure is marked by a dramatic ring of sinkholes (called cenotes if containing water), and adjacent less prominent partial rings, which have been shown to coincide with maxima in horizontal gravity gradients and a topographic depression. These observations, along with the discreteness and spacing of the features, suggest a formation mechanism involving faulting in the outer slump zone of the crater, which would thus have a diameter of approximately 180 km.
An opposing view, based primarily on the interpretation of gravity data, is that (he crater is much larger than the cenote ring implies. Given the association of the known cenote ring with faults, we here examine northern Yucatan for similar rings in gravity, surface features and elevation, which we might expect to be associated with outer concentric faults in the case of a larger, possibly multiring, structure.
No such outer rings have been found, although definite patterns are seen in the distribution of karst features outside the crater rim. We explain these patterns as resulting mainly from deformation related to the block fault zone that parallels tbe shelf edge of eastern Yucatan.