Temperature-dependent Fe2+–Mn2+ order–disorder behaviour in amphiboles

The partitioning of Fe and Mn between the large M(4) site and the octahedral sites, M(1,2,3) in the amphibole structure has been investigated in two natural manganogrunerites of compositions Ca_0.1Mn_1.9 Mg_1.25Fe²⁺ _3.56Fe³⁺ _0.38Si_7.81O₂₂(OH)₂ and Ca_0.24Mn_1.57 Mg_2.27 Fe²⁺ _2.76Fe³⁺ _0.32Si_7.84O₂₂(OH)₂. The long-range cation distribution in the two samples has been elucidated by in situ neutron powder diffraction revealing that Mn is preferentially ordered onto M(4) ? M(2) >M(1) >M(3) in both samples. Partitioning of Mn from M(4) into the octahedral sites begins at 350 °C, with site exchange energies of ?16.6 kJ mol^?1 and ?14.9 kJ mol^?1, in samples containing 1.90 and 1.57 Mn apfu, respectively. Mössbauer and infrared spectroscopy have been used to study the samples at room temperature, and Mössbauer data agree well with the diffraction results, confirming that high-temperature cation distributions are retained during cooling. The fine structure in the hydroxyl-stretching region of the IR absorption spectra has been used to discuss qualitatively the site occupancies of the coordinating M(1)M(3)M(1) triplet, linked by O(3). On the basis of such modelling, we conclude that a degree of local clustering is present in both samples.     

二叠系长兴阶全球界线层型剖面和点位

二叠系乐平统长兴阶底界全球界线层型和点位(GSSP)确立在我国浙江长兴煤山D剖面长兴灰岩的下部、4a-2层之底,以牙形石演化序列Clarkina longicuspidata-C.wangi中C.wangi的首现为标志。该点位位于长兴组底界之上88cm处,与长兴期特征的■类化石Palaeofusulina sinensis和大巴山菊石类的首次出现层位一致。界线层的碳同位素存在明显的负漂移,正磁极性带出现在吴家坪晚期的反极性带之上。在煤山D剖面以西300m处的C剖面出露较多的龙潭组地层,清晰地反映出龙潭组—长兴组连续的沉积序列,被列为辅助层型剖面。     

Relationships between air mass properties and mesoscale rainfall in New Zealand's Southern Alps

This paper identifies relationships between air mass properties and mesoscale rainfall when moist air blows over New Zealand's Southern Alps from the Tasman Sea. Around 50% of the variance in six-hourly rain volumes summed across three separate cross-mountain raingauge transects and in six-hourly rain volume spilling across the alpine divide are statistically explained by the following properties of the approaching air mass: relative humidity, wind velocity normal to the mountains, air mass stability and synoptically induced upward motion. These factors also explain about 25% (r≈0.5) of the variance in the downwind distance reached by the spillover rainfall. For the highest 10% of six-hourly rainfalls, spillover distance and magnitude are negatively correlated with the 700 or 500 hPa temperature. Multiple linear regression equations suitable for predicting rainfall intensity and spillover are developed. A progression is described in the magnitude and depth of vertical motion and resulting condensation rates over the mountains as the properties of the incoming air mass evolve through a storm. These changes, together with greater downwind advection of ice particles compared to raindrops, explain the observed statistical relationships between the air mass properties and mountain rainfall.     

Inclined K–Ar illite age spectra in brittle fault gouges: effects of fault reactivation and wall‐rock contamination

K–Ar clay fraction ages of brittle faults often vary with grain size, decreasing in the finer size fractions, producing an inclined age–grain‐size spectrum. K–Ar ages and mineralogical characterization of gouges from two normal faults in the Kongsberg silver mines, southern Norway, suggest that inclined spectra derived from brittle fault rocks reflect the mixing of inherited components with authigenic mineral phases. The ages of the coarsest and finest fractions constrain faulting at c. 260–270 Ma and reactivation around 200–210 Ma, respectively. This study demonstrates how wall‐rock contamination influences the K–Ar age of the coarsest size fractions and that authigenic illite and K‐feldspar can crystallize synkinematically under equivalent conditions and thus yield the same K–Ar ages.     

Surfactant and irrigation effects on wettable soils: runoff,erosion, and water retention responses

Surfactants are chemical compounds that can change the contact angle of a water drop on solid surfaces and are commonly used to increase infiltration into water repellent soil. Since production fields with water repellent soil often contain areas of wettable soil, surfactants applied to such fields worldwide will likely be applied to wettable soil, with unknown consequences for irrigation‐induced erosion, runoff, or soil water relations. We evaluated surfactant and simulated sprinkler irrigation effects on these responses for three wettable, Pacific Northwest soils, Latahco and Rad silt loams, and Quincy sand. Along with an untreated control, we studied three surfactants: an alkyl polyglycoside (APG) in solution at a concentration of 18 g active ingredient (AI) kg^?1, a block copolymer at 26 g kg^?1, and a blend of the two at 43 g kg^?1. From 2005 to 2009 in the laboratory, each surfactant was sprayed at a rate of 46·8 l ha^?1 onto each soil packed by tamping into 1·2‐ by 1·5‐m steel boxes. Thereafter, each treated soil was irrigated twice at 88 mm h^?1 with surfactant‐free well water. After each irrigation, runoff and sediment loss were measured and soil samples were collected. While measured properties differed among soils and irrigations, surfactants had no effect on runoff, sediment loss, splash loss, or tension infiltration, compared to the control. Across all soils, however, the APG increased volumetric water contents by about 3% (significant at p≤0·08) at matric potentials from 0 to ? 20 kPa compared to the control. With a decrease in the liquid–solid contact angle on treated soil surfaces, surfactant‐free water appeared able to enter, and be retained in pores with diameters ≥ 15 µm. All told, surfactants applied at economic rates to these wettable Pacific Northwest soils posed little risk of increasing either runoff or erosion or harming soil water relations. Moreover, by increasing water retention at high potentials, surfactants applied to wettable soils may allow water containing pesticides or other agricultural chemicals to better penetrate soil pores, thereby increasing the efficacy of the co‐applied materials. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Jurassic planktonic foraminifera from the United Kingdom

Unequivocal planktonic foraminifera have been discovered in Oxfordian strata from Dorset and Scotland. These assemblages are, in part, coeval with previously reported occurrences of planktonic taxa in the Oxfordian of Normandy and Seine Maritime (France). Three species are now reported from the United Kingdom for the first time: Globuligerina oxfordiana ( Grigelis, 1958 ), Haeuslerina helvetojurassica ( Haeusler, 1881 ) and Compactogerina sp. cf. C. stellapolaris ( Grigelis, 1977 ). There appears to be a close relationship between the distribution of these planktonic taxa in the UK and a marked sea-level highstand.     

Monte Carlo simulation of pair creation using petawatt lasers

Irradiating high-Z targets such as gold with ultra-intense lasers creates electron-positron pairs. In particular, the positron density in the plasma created by this procedure is higher than that obtained via other laboratory-based methods, with theoretical maximum densities exceeding 10¹⁸ cm⁻³. All of the significantly contributing processes are well-known and hence we can study this phenomenon using Monte Carlo simulation. We focus on the latter part of this procedure, the passage of high-energy electrons through the target creating pairs. In particular, we discuss the usefulness of CERN’s GEANT4 Monte Carlo code in simulating this process. Once this code is successfully calibrated, we will use it to perform parameter studies, and design future targets to optimize the positron yield.     

VARIATIONS IN DEW-POINT TEMPERATURES IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES

Atmospheric humidity as measured by dew-point temperatures is an important component of the climate of the southern United States. The South experiences the country's highest dew-point temperatures throughout the year. A gradient is established between moist air along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts inland toward the drier areas of northwestern Texas. This gradient is strongest in winter and weakest in summer when consistent southerly circulation maintains humid conditions throughout the region. Interannual variability also is largest in the winter and smallest in summer. Dew-point temperatures are strongly related to air temperatures in the non-summer season, but are more fundamentally linked to air mass and circulation changes. Recent increases in southerly flow in the spring and autumn seasons have led to a significant increase in dew-point temperatures in many portions of the region. However, there is no evidence at this time to suggest that increased evaporation from greenhouse warming has altered dew-point temperatures in the southern United States.     

Age and significance of the Platypus Tuff Bed,a regional reference horizon in the Upper Permian Moranbah Coal Measures,north Bowen Basin

The Platypus Tuff Bed in the Permian Moranbah Coal Measures provides a basin‐wide marker horizon traceable for over 300 km along strike. The bed is a tephra event unit, the product of a large‐scale volcanic eruptive episode involving a pyroclastic volume > 10 km³. The relatively even thickness (～1–1.5 m) of the tuff across the entire northern Bowen Basin (～10 000 km²) implies a distant source. The tuff is ash‐rich and its original geochemistry has been compromised by diagenetic alteration. Crystal content (10–15%) is dominated by quartz, suggesting a rhyolitic association. SHRIMP U–Pb analysis of zircons indicates an age of 258.9 ± 2.7 Ma for the Platypus Tuff Bed, confirming the Late Permian age that has generally been assigned to the Blackwater Group. The age framework now apparent for the coal‐bearing Blackwater Group suggests an average depositional rate ranging from ～133 m/10⁶ years for its eastern depocentre in the northern Bowen Basin to ～70 m/10⁶ years in more marginal settings to the west.