Ancient porosity preserved in ordinary chondrites: Examining shock and compaction on young asteroids

We use a combination of 2D and 3D petrographic examination and ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar analyses to examine the impact histories of a suite of seven ordinary chondrites (Baszkówka, Miller, NWA 2380, Mount Tazerzait, Sahara 98034, Tjerebon, and MIL 99301) that partially preserve their ancient, but postaccretionary, porosity ranging from 10 to 20%. We examine whether materials that seem to be only mildly processed (as their large intergranular pore spaces suggest) may have more complex shock histories. The ages determined for most of the seven OCs studied here indicate closure of the ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar system after primary accretion, but during (Baszkówka) or shortly after (others) thermal metamorphism, with little subsequent heating. Exceptions include Sahara 98034 and MIL 99301, which were heated to some degree at later stages, but retain some evidence for the timing of thermal metamorphism in the ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar system. Although each of these chondrites has olivine grains with sharp optical extinction (signaling an apparent shock stage of S1), normally indicative of an extremely mild impact history, all of the samples contain relict shock indicators. Given the high porosity and relatively low degree of compaction coupled with signs of shock and thermal annealing, it seems plausible that impacts into materials that were already hot may have produced the relict shock indicators. Initial heating could have resulted from prior collisions, the decay of ²⁶Al, or both processes.     

Energy propagation by interacting Rossby Waves

Abstract

An explanation is sought for the rapid dispersal of Rossby‐wave energy over large distances such as is often observed at mid‐latitudes. In the proposed mechanism, a pair of Rossby waves is allowed to resonantly interact with an ultra‐long wavelength primary wave fixed in position by orographic or thermal forcing. The group velocity associated with the slow spatial modulation of the pair is shown to strongly depend upon the amplitude of the primary and can achieve meteorologically‐significant values for modest amplitudes. These velocities are maintained even for slight deviations from exact resonance. The implication then is that the mechanism might be relevant in the real atmosphere provided a mechanism to lock the waves into a condition of near resonance for a few days is found.     

Iron Distribution in Size‐Resolved Aerosols Generated by UV‐Femtosecond Laser Ablation: Influence of Cell Geometry and Implications for In Situ Isotopic Determination by LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS

The influence of ablation cell geometry (Frames single‐ and HelEx two‐volume cells) and laser wavelength (198 and 266 nm) on aerosols produced by femtosecond laser ablation (fs‐LA) were evaluated. Morphologies, iron mass distribution (IMD) and ⁵⁶Fe/⁵⁴Fe ratios of particles generated from magnetite, pyrite, haematite and siderite were studied. The following two morphologies were identified: spherules (10–200 nm) and agglomerates (5–10 nm). Similarity in IMD and ablation rate at 198 and 266 nm indicates similar ablation mechanisms. ⁵⁶Fe/⁵⁴Fe ratios increased with aerodynamic particle size as a result of kinetic fractionation during laser plasma plume expansion, cooling and aerosol condensation. The HelEx cell produces smaller particles with a larger range of ⁵⁶Fe/⁵⁴Fe ratios (1.85‰) than particles from the Frames cell (1.16‰), but the bulk aerosol matches the bulk substrate for both cells, demonstrating stoichiometric fs‐LA sampling. IMD differences are the result of faster wash out of the HelEx cell allowing less time for agglomeration of small, low‐δ ⁵⁶Fe particles with larger, high‐δ ⁵⁶Fe particles in the cell. Even with a shorter ablation time, half the total Fe ion intensity, and half the ablation volume, the HelEx cell produced Fe isotope determinations for magnetite that were as precise as the Frames cell, even when the latter included an aerosol‐homogenising mixing chamber. The HelEx cell delivered a more constant stream of small particles to the ICP, producing a more stable Fe ion signal (0.7% vs. 1.5% RSE for ⁵⁶Fe in a forty‐cycle single analysis), constant instrumental mass bias and thus a more precise measurement.     

Challenges for creating a site-specific groundwater-use record for the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system (central USA) from 1900 to 2010

Hydrologic budgets to determine groundwater availability are important tools for water-resource managers. One challenging component for developing hydrologic budgets is quantifying water use through time because historical and site-specific water-use data can be sparse or poorly documented. This research developed a groundwater-use record for the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system (central USA) from 1900 to 2010 that related county-level aggregated water-use data to site-specific well locations and aquifer units. A simple population-based linear model, constrained to 0 million liters per day in 1900, provided the best means to extrapolate groundwater-withdrawal rates pre-1950s when there was a paucity of water-use data. To disaggregate county-level data to individual wells across a regional aquifer system, a programmatic hierarchical process was developed, based on the level of confidence that a well pumped groundwater for a specific use during a specific year. Statistical models tested on a subset of the best-available site-specific water-use data provided a mechanism to bracket historic groundwater use, such that groundwater-withdrawal rates ranged, on average, plus or minus 38% from modeled values. Groundwater withdrawn for public supply and domestic use accounted for between 48 and 74% of total groundwater use since 1901, highlighting that groundwater provides an important drinking-water resource. The compilation, analysis, and spatial and temporal extrapolation of water-use data remain a challenging task for water scientists, but is of paramount importance to better quantify groundwater use and availability.     

Seeing through the magnetite:Reassessing Eoarchean atmosphere composition from Isua(Greenland) ≥3.7 Ga banded iron formations

Estimates of early atmosphere compositions from metamorphosed banded iron formations(BIFs)including the well-studied ≥3.7 BIFs of the Isua supracrustal belt(Greenland)are dependent on knowledge of primary versus secondary Fe-mineralogical assemblages.Using new observations from locally well preserved domains,we interpret that a previously assumed primary redox indicator mineral,magnetite,is secondary after sedimentary Fe-clays(probably greenalite)±carbonates.Within ~3.7 Ga Isua BIF,pre-tectonic nodules of quartz+Fe-rich amphibole±calcite reside in a finegrained(≤100 μm)quartz+magnetite matrix.We interpret the Isua nodule amphibole as the metamorphosed equivalent of primary Fe-rich clays,armoured from diagenetic oxidative reactions by early silica concretion.Additionally,in another low strain lacunae,~3.76 Ga BIF layering is not solid magnetite but instead fine-grained magnetite+quartz aggregates.These magnetite+quartz aggregates are interpreted as the metamorphosed equivalent of Fe-clay-rich layers that were oxidised during diagenesis,because they were not armoured by early silicification.In almost all Isua BIF exposures,this evidence has been destroyed by strong ductile deformation.The Fe-clays likely formed by abiotic reactions between aqueous Fe~(2+)and silica.These clays along with silica±carbonate were deposited below an oceanic Fe-chemocline as the sedimentary precursors of BIF.Breakdown of the clays on the sea floor may have been by anaerobic oxidation of Fe~(2+),a mechanism compatible with iron isotopic data previously published on these rocks.The new determinations of the primary redoxsensitive Fe-mineralogy of BIF significantly revise estimates of early Earth atmospheric oxygen and CO_2 content,with formation of protolith Fe-rich clays and carbonates compatible with an anoxic Eoarchean atmosphere with much higher CO_2 levels than previously estimated for Isua and in the present-day atmosphere.     

Isotopic constraints on time scales and mechanisms of slab material transport in the mantle wedge: evidence from the Simcoe mantle xenoliths, Washington, USA

Spinel harzburgite and websterite mantle xenoliths from Simcoe volcano in southern Washington represent fragments of mantle lithosphere from the back-arc side of the Cascade arc front. Previous studies have shown that metasomatism by either silica-rich fluids or hydrous melts crystallized phlogopite, imparted high oxygen fugacities (0.3 to 1.4 log units above QFM), and more radiogenic Os isotopic compositions on these peridotites. These features are consistent with part or all of the metasomatic agent being derived from the Juan de Fuca slab. New Re–Os, Sm–Nd, Sr, and U–Th–Pb isotopic data shed further light on the origin and composition of the metasomatic agent. The clinopyroxenes from the xenoliths have correlated Pb isotopic compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.63–19.55, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=15.56–15.63, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=38.22–38.87). The most radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions extend beyond the most radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions for the Cascade arc lavas and display a shallower trend. Mixtures between Juan de Fuca basalts and pelagic or terrigenous sediments would result in Pb isotopic compositions that are not radiogenic enough in ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb at the high ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb end of this array. Therefore, models for rapid transfer of components from the slab to the mantle lithosphere are not viable in this case. Instead, a multi-stage model is preferred. In the first stage, the slab component is transferred via fluid or melt into, and reacts with the hanging wall mantle. This results in a residual slab depleted in Pb relative to U and Th, and consequent high U/Pb and Th/Pb. Additional dehydration or melting of the slab imparts this chemical signature to the peridotite in the hanging wall. In the second stage, the hybridized hanging wall peridotite evolves for tens of million years until corner flow drags it down to deeper levels in the mantle wedge where melting occurs in response to higher temperatures. In the third stage, this melt migrates upward where it metasomatizes the mantle lithosphere represented by the Simcoe xenoliths. Trace element compositions of the clinopyroxenes, and the presence of high alkali glasses in the xenoliths, are consistent with the metasomatic agent derived from the hybridized hanging wall being alkali-rich, and possibly similar to potassic-rich lavas found in arc and back-arc settings. These data therefore demonstrate the importance of the hybridized hanging wall mantle above slabs as a source for melts which can be metasomatic agents in the upper mantle, and as a site for storage of material derived from the slab for periods of at least tens of million years.     

A rapid, partial leach and organic separation for the sensitive determination of Ag, Bi, Cd, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, and Zn in surface geologic materials by flame atomic absorption

A solution of dilute hydrochloric acid, ascorbic acid, and potassium iodide has been found to dissolve weakly bound metals in soils, stream sediments, and oxidized rocks. Silver, Bi, Cd, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, and Zn are selectively extracted from this solution by a mixture of Aliquat 336 (tricaprylyl methyl ammonium chloride) and MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone). Because potentially interfering major and minor elements do not extract, the organic separation allows interference-free determinations of Ag and Cd to the 0.05 ppm level, Mo, Cu, and Zn to 0.5 ppm, and Bi, Pb, and Sb to 1 ppm in the sample using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The analytical absorbance values of the organic solution used in the proposed method are generally enhanced more than threefold as compared to aqueous solutions, due to more efficient atomization and burning characteristics. The leaching and extraction procedures are extremely rapid; as many as 100 samples may be analyzed per day, yielding 800 determinations, and the technique is adaptable to field use.The proposed method was compared to total digestion methods for geochemical reference samples as well as soils and stream sediments from mineralized and unmineralized areas. The partial leach showed better anomaly contrasts than did total digestions. Because the proposed method is very rapid and is sensitive to pathfinder elements for several types of ore deposits, it should be useful for reconnaissance surveys for concealed deposits.     

The effect of early diagenesis on the Fe isotope compositions of porewaters and authigenic minerals in continental margin sediments

Iron isotope compositions in marine pore fluids and sedimentary solid phases were measured at two sites along the California continental margin, where isotope compositions range from δ⁵⁶Fe = −3.0‰ to +0.4‰. At one site near Monterey Canyon off central California, organic matter oxidation likely proceeds through a number of diagenetic pathways that include significant dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) and bacterial sulfate reduction, whereas at our other site in the Santa Barbara basin DIR appears to be comparatively small, and production of sulfides (FeS and pyrite) was extensive. The largest range in Fe isotope compositions is observed for Fe(II)_aq in porewaters, which generally have the lowest δ⁵⁶Fe values (minimum: −3.0‰) near the sediment surface, and increase with burial depth. δ⁵⁶Fe values for FeS inferred from HCl extractions vary between ∼−0.4‰ and +0.4‰, but pyrite is similar at both stations, where an average δ⁵⁶Fe value of −0.8 ± 0.2‰ was measured. We interpret variations in dissolved Fe isotope compositions to be best explained by open-system behavior that involves extensive recycling of Feflux. This study is the first to examine Fe isotope variations in modern marine sediments, and the results show that Fe isotopes in the various reactive Fe pools undergo isotopic fractionation during early diagenesis. Importantly, processes dominated by sulfide formation produce high-δ⁵⁶Fe values for porewaters, whereas the opposite occurs when Fe(III)-oxides are present and DIR is a major pathway of organic carbon respiration. Because shelf pore fluids may carry a negative δ⁵⁶Fe signature it is possible that the Fe isotope composition of ocean water reflects a significant contribution of shelf-derived iron to the open ocean. Such a signature would be an important means for tracing iron sources to the ocean and water mass circulation.     

Holocene landscape evolution and the development of models for human interaction with the environment: An example from the mississippi headwaters region

Integration of a record of Holocene landscape evolution with the cultural record from a multicomponent archaeological site in northern Minnesota has fostered the development of a regional model of human interaction with the changing physical environment. Excavation of 21-CA-169 near Nushka Lake revealed two components, an aceramic Archaic zone where processing of large mammals was the major activity and an upper zone with artifacts suggestive of wild rice processing. Seasonal occupation of the lower zone occurred during a period of falling regional lake levels resulting from natural stream network evolution. The upper zone represents human occupation in a physical and biological setting that was quite different than during earlier occupation. Integration of the geomorphic history of the region along with an interpretation of the types of cultural activities occurring on the changing landscape have provided a model to understand land use and to predict the location of other sites. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.