Simultaneous Determination of Cd,In, Tl and Bi by Isotope Dilution‐Internal Standardisation ICP‐QMS with Corrections Using Externally Measured MoO+/Mo+ Ratios

A method for the simultaneous determination of Cd with In, Tl and Bi by isotope dilution‐internal standardisation (ID‐IS) ICP‐QMS using the same aliquot for rare earth element and other trace element determinations was developed. Samples mixed with an enriched ¹⁴⁹Sm spike were decomposed using a HF‐HClO₄ mixture, which was evaporated and then diluted with HNO₃. After determination of Sm by ID‐ICP‐QMS and Cd, In, Tl and Bi concentrations were determined using the ¹⁴⁹Sm intensity as an internal standard. The interference of MoO⁺ on Cd⁺ was corrected using the MoO⁺/Mo⁺ ratio separately measured using a Mo standard solution, and the validity of the externally determined oxide‐forming ratio correction was evaluated. The MoO⁺/Mo⁺ ratios measured using the standard solution and samples were ～ 0.0002 and < 0.002, respectively. Detection limits for Cd, In, Tl and Bi in silicate samples were at levels of < 1 ng g^?1 with a total uncertainty of < 7%. Cadmium in the carbonaceous chondrites, Orgueil (CI1), Murchison (CM2) and Allende (CV3) as well as Cd, In, Tl and Bi in the reference materials, JB‐2, JB‐3, JA‐1, JA‐2, JA‐3, JP‐1 (GSJ), BHVO‐1, AGV‐1, PCC‐1 and DTS‐1 (USGS) and NIST SRM 610, 612, 614 and 616 were determined to show the applicability of this method.     

EIDOSCOPE: particle acceleration at plasma boundaries

We describe the mission concept of how ESA can make a major contribution to the Japanese Canadian multi-spacecraft mission SCOPE by adding one cost-effective spacecraft EIDO (Electron and Ion Dynamics Observatory), which has a comprehensive and optimized plasma payload to address the physics of particle acceleration. The combined mission EIDOSCOPE will distinguish amongst and quantify the governing processes of particle acceleration at several important plasma boundaries and their associated boundary layers: collisionless shocks, plasma jet fronts, thin current sheets and turbulent boundary layers. Particle acceleration and associated cross-scale coupling is one of the key outstanding topics to be addressed in the Plasma Universe. The very important science questions that only the combined EIDOSCOPE mission will be able to tackle are: 1) Quantitatively, what are the processes and efficiencies with which both electrons and ions are selectively injected and subsequently accelerated by collisionless shocks? 2) How does small-scale electron and ion acceleration at jet fronts due to kinetic processes couple simultaneously to large scale acceleration due to fluid (MHD) mechanisms? 3) How does multi-scale coupling govern acceleration mechanisms at electron, ion and fluid scales in thin current sheets? 4) How do particle acceleration processes inside turbulent boundary layers depend on turbulence properties at ion/electron scales? EIDO particle instruments are capable of resolving full 3D particle distribution functions in both thermal and suprathermal regimes and at high enough temporal resolution to resolve the relevant scales even in very dynamic plasma processes. The EIDO spin axis is designed to be sun-pointing, allowing EIDO to carry out the most sensitive electric field measurements ever accomplished in the outer magnetosphere. Combined with a nearby SCOPE Far Daughter satellite, EIDO will form a second pair (in addition to SCOPE Mother-Near Daughter) of closely separated satellites that provides the unique capability to measure the 3D electric field with high accuracy and sensitivity. All EIDO instrumentation are state-of-the-art technology with heritage from many recent missions. The EIDOSCOPE orbit will be close to equatorial with apogee 25-30 RE and perigee 8-10 RE. In the course of one year the orbit will cross all the major plasma boundaries in the outer magnetosphere; bow shock, magnetopause and magnetotail current sheets, jet fronts and turbulent boundary layers. EIDO offers excellent cost/benefits for ESA, as for only a fraction of an M-class mission cost ESA can become an integral part of a major multi-agency L-class level mission that addresses outstanding science questions for the benefit of the European science community.     

PSDF: Particle Stream Data Format for N-body simulations

We present a data format for the output of general N-body simulations, allowing the presence of individual time steps. By specifying a standard, different N-body integrators and different visualization and analysis programs can all share the simulation data, independent of the type of programs used to produce the data. Our Particle Stream Data Format, PSDF, is specified in YAML, based on the same approach as XML but with a simpler syntax. Together with a specification of PSDF, we provide background and motivation, as well as specific examples in a variety of computer languages. We also offer a web site from which these examples can be retrieved, in order to make it easy to augment existing codes in order to give them the option to produce PSDF output.     

Anomalous behavior of cristobalite in helium under high pressure

We have investigated the high-pressure behavior of cristobalite in helium by powder X-ray diffraction. Cristobalite transformed to a new phase at about 8 GPa. This phase is supposed to have a molar volume of about 30 % larger than cristobalite, suggesting the dissolution of helium atoms in its interstitial voids. On further compression, the new phase transformed to a different phase which showed an X-ray diffraction pattern similar to cristobalite X-I at about 21 GPa. On the other hand, when the new phase was decompressed, it transformed to another new phase at about 7 GPa, which is also supposed to have a molar volume of about 25 % larger than cristobalite. On further decompression, the second new phase transformed to cristobalite II at about 2 GPa. In contrast to cristobalite, quartz did not show anomalous behavior in helium. The behavior of cristobalite in helium was also consistent with that in other mediums up to about 8 GPa, where the volume of cristobalite became close to that of quartz. These results suggest that dissolution of helium may be controlled not only by the density (amount of voids) but also by the network structure of SiO₄ tetrahedra (topology of voids).     

Equation of state of silicate melts with densified intermediate-range order at the pressure condition of the Earth’s deep upper mantle

The knowledge from the compression behavior of densified SiO₂ glass suggests that SiO₂ melt may behave as a single phase having a densified network structure (intermediate-range order) at the pressure condition of the Earth’s deep upper mantle, including the transition zone. A simple and easy-to-use equation of state of silicate melts which is applicable to a wide range of chemical composition at the pressure condition of the deep upper mantle is proposed based on the assumption that SiO₂ component is in its densified state (or phase). The equation of state proposed in this study is consistent with all the available density data of silicate melts with an SiO₂ content of about 35–55 mol% measured with large-volume presses at pressures between 8 and 22 GPa. The equations of state in previous studies differ considerably from each other. The main reason for the discrepancies seems to be that the compression behavior of multiple states (or phases) of silicate melts has been described in most cases with a single equation of state. It is necessary to consider that silicate melts are in their densified states (or phases) in the deep upper mantle.     

Experimental constraints on permeable gas transport in crystalline silicic magmas

The gas and fluid transport in magmas via permeable flow through interconnected bubble networks controls the rate of outgassing from magmas ascending in volcanic conduits and the fluid transport in the mushy boundary layer of magma reservoirs. Hence, clarifying its mechanism and rate is crucial to understanding the explosivity of volcanic eruptions and the evolution and dynamics of a magma reservoir. Recent experimental studies have determined the gas permeabilities in crystal-free rhyolite and basalt. However, no experimental study has investigated the effect of the crystal contents on the permeable gas transport in magmas. In this study, we performed decompression experiments for hydrous rhyolitic melts having crystallinities of 30 and 50 vol% to examine the effect of crystals on the bubble microstructure and gas permeability during magma vesiculation. Size-controlled (100-meshed) corundum crystals were used as an analog of the phenocrysts in silicic magmas. Microstructural analyses using X-ray CT showed that bubbles coalesce and their connectivity increases with a decrease in the final pressure after the decompression, that is, an increase in the vesicularity. As long as the vesicularities of melt part in the crystal-free basis (melt vesicularity) were similar, no clear effect of the crystallinity on the degree of bubble coalescence and connectivity was observed at melt vesicularities <68 vol%. The corundum showed a large contact angle with aqueous fluid as well as plagioclase and alkaline feldspar; this failed to induce the efficient heterogeneous nucleation and coalescence of bubbles on its surface. The gas permeabilities of all the run products were lower than the detection limits of the present analysis (the order of 10⁻¹⁶ m²) at melt vesicularities <68 vol%. These results show that silicic magmas containing 30 and 50 vol% phenocrysts with a large contact angle have low gas permeabilities until the vesicularity becomes large (at least >68 vol%). This result indicates that the permeable fluid transport through a deep volcanic conduit, which has been proposed on the basis of the observations of volcanic gases and natural products, is so slow that other processes, like shear deformation or magma convection, may be needed to explain the observations.     

Development of an automatic volcanic ash sampling apparatus for active volcanoes

We develop an automatic system for the sampling of ash fall particles, to be used for continuous monitoring of magma ascent and eruptive dynamics at active volcanoes. The system consists of a sampling apparatus and cameras to monitor surface phenomena during eruptions. The Sampling Apparatus for Time Series Unmanned Monitoring of Ash (SATSUMA-I and SATSUMA-II) is less than 10 kg in weight and works automatically for more than a month with a 10-kg lead battery to obtain a total of 30 to 36 samples in one cycle of operation. The time range covered in one cycle varies from less than an hour to several months, depending on the aims of observation, allowing researchers to target minute-scale fluctuations in a single eruptive event, as well as daily to weekly trends in persistent volcanic activity. The latest version, SATSUMA-II, also enables control of sampling parameters remotely by e-mail commands. Durability of the apparatus is high: our prototypes worked for several months, in rainy and typhoon seasons, at windy and humid locations, and under strong sunlight. We have been successful in collecting ash samples emitted from Showa crater almost everyday for more than 4 years (2008–2012) at Sakurajima volcano in southwest Japan.     

The 2011 Tohoku-oki Earthquake Tsunami: Similarities and Differences to the 869 Jogan Tsunami on the Sendai Plain

A post-tsunami field survey following the 2011 Tohoku-oki Earthquake Tsunami was carried out to asses inundated area in Sendai Plain, Northeast Japan. The type of inundation was classified into two categories (major and minor) according to the amount of accumulated debris, garbage and sediment. Major and minor inundations were identified up to 4 and 5 km from the coastline, respectively. Many artificial geomorphological features, such as roadway embankments and canals, were believed to have affected the run-up process of the tsunami. The inundation area of the 2011 tsunami on the Sendai Plain is compared with that of the 869 Jogan tsunami, which was reconstructed using numerical modeling based on available historical and geological records. The inundation area of the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami is comparable to that of the 869 Jogan tsunami, although a direct comparison is difficult due to differences in geomorphological contexts between the paleo period and the present.     

The period–luminosity relation for type II Cepheids in globular clusters

We report the result of our near-infrared observations ( JHK _s) for type II Cepheids (including possible RV Tau stars) in galactic globular clusters. We detected variations of 46 variables in 26 clusters (10 new discoveries in seven clusters) and present their light curves. Their periods range from 1.2 d to over 80 d. They show a well-defined period–luminosity relation at each wavelength. Two type II Cepheids in NGC 6441 also obey the relation if we assume the horizontal branch stars in NGC 6441 are as bright as those in metal-poor globular clusters in spite of the high metallicity of the cluster. This result supports the high luminosity which has been suggested for the RR Lyr variables in this cluster. The period–luminosity relation can be reproduced using the pulsation equation     assuming that all the stars have the same mass. Cluster RR Lyr variables were found to lie on an extrapolation of the period–luminosity relation. These results provide important constraints on the parameters of the variable stars.
Using Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) data, we show that the type II Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) fit our period–luminosity relation within the expected scatter at the shorter periods. However, at long periods (   P > 40  d, i.e. in the RV Tau star range) the LMC field variables are brighter by about one magnitude than those of similar periods in galactic globular clusters. The long-period cluster stars also differ from both these LMC stars and galactic field RV Tau stars in a colour–colour diagram. The reasons for these differences are discussed.