Thermal emission spectroscopy (5.2-38 μm) of three Trojan asteroids with the Spitzer Space Telescope: Detection of fine-grained silicates

We present thermal emission spectra (5.2-38 μm) of the Trojan asteroids 624 Hektor, 911 Agamemnon, and 1172 Aneas. The observations used the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. Emissivity spectra are created by dividing the measured Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) by a model of the thermal continuum. We employ the Standard Thermal Model (STM), allowing physical parameters (e.g., radius and albedo) to vary in order to find the best thermal continuum fit to the SED. The best-fit effective radius (R) and visible geometric albedo (pv) for Hektor (R=110.0±7.3, ) and Aneas (R=69.1±5.1, ) agree very well with previous estimates, and for Agamemnon (R=71.5±5.2, ) we find slightly a smaller size and higher albedo than previously derived. Other thermal models (e.g., thermophysical) result in estimates of R and pv that vary a few percent from the STM, but the resulting emissivity spectra are identical. The emissivity spectra of all three asteroids display an emissivity plateau near 10-μm and another broader rise from ∼18 to 28 μm. We interpret these as indications of fine-grained silicates on the surfaces of these asteroids. The emissivity spectra more closely resemble emission spectra from cometary comae than those from solid surfaces and measured in the laboratory for powdered meteorites and regolith analogs. We hypothesize that the coma-like emission from the solid surfaces of trojans may be due to small silicate grains being imbedded in a relatively transparent matrix, or to a very under-dense (fairy-castle) surface structure. These hypotheses need to be tested by further laboratory and theoretical scattering work as well as continued thermal emission observations of asteroids.     

Seasonal Diatom Variability and Paleolimnological Inferences – A Case Study

The seasonality of physical, chemical, and biological water variables is a major characteristic of temperate, dimictic lakes. Yet, few investigations have considered the potential information that is encoded in seasonal dynamics with respect to the paleolimnological record. We used a one-year sequence of diatoms obtained from sediment traps and water samples, as well as the sedimentary diatom record covering the past ca. 1000 years in Bates Pond, Connecticut (USA), to investigate which variables influence the seasonal distribution of diatoms and how this can be used for the interpretation of the fossil record. The seasonal patterns in diatom assemblages were related to stratification and, to a lesser extent, to nitrate, silica, and phosphorus. During mixing periods in spring and autumn, both planktonic and benthic species were collected in the traps, while few lightly silicified, spindle-shaped planktonic diatoms dominated during thermal stratification in summer. Changes in fossil diatom assemblages reflected human activity in the watershed after European settlement and subsequent recovery in the 20th century. A long-term trend in diatom assemblage change initiated before European settlement was probably related to increased length of mixing periods during the Little Ice Age, indicated by the increase of taxa that presently grow during mixing periods and by application of a preliminary seasonal temperature model. We argue that the analysis of seasonal diatom dynamics in temperate lakes may provide important information for the refinement of paleolimnological interpretations. However, investigations of several lakes and years would be desirable in order to establish a more robust seasonal data set for the enhancement of paleolimnological interpretations.     

Assessing redox properties of standard humic substances

Redox properties of humic substances (HS) control important biogeochemical processes. Thus, accurate estimation of redox properties of HS is essential. However, there is no general consensus regarding the best available measurement method of HS redox properties. In this study, we compared several common HS redox property measurement methods using anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) as model compound, and standard Elliot soil humic acid (1S102H, ESHA), reference Pahokee peat (1R103H, PPHA), and Suwannee River natural organic matter (1R101N, SRNOM) as representative HS. We found that the H₂/Pd reduction method followed by incubation with ferric citrate (FeCit) reagent was incomplete, and the H₂/Pd reduction method followed by incubation with potassium ferricyanide (K₃Fe(CN)₆) was insensitive. Stannous chloride (SnCl₂) reduction followed by titration of excess stannous (Sn²⁺) by potassium dichromate (K₂Cr₂O₇) was found to be most accurate. These findings will help in future investigations on detailed characterizations of functional groups of HS responsible for oxidation/reduction reactions.     

U-Pb age and genetic significance of heterogeneous zircon populations in rocks from the Favourable Lake area,Northwestern Ontario

The study evaluates the relationships between measured U-Pb ages and zircon characteristics of five morphologically, texturally, and isotopically complex zircon populations and compares the zircon development stages to the orogenic evolution of the Favourable Lake area. Two distinct zircon types from a hornblendite xenolith in a granitoid batholith of the Sachigo subprovince of the Superior Province yield U-Pb ages of 2729.0±6.8 Ma and 2714.8 _–6.4 ^+7.4 Ma, which date specific metamorphic phases coinciding with major plutonic pulses in the batholith. Zircons from a metamorphosed felsic dike, crosscutting the hornblendite, consist of an old zircon component with a minimum age of 2788 Ma possibly reflecting igneous crystallization 2950 Ma ago, and a younger component with an inferred age of 2725±15 Ma, probably reflecting metamorphism during batholith emplacement.In the Berens River subprovince to the south, granodiorite forms both a late tectonic phase in a large batholith and a post-tectonic pluton intruded into the batholith, yet zircons from these granodiorites have identical ages of 2697.3±1.7 Ma and 2696.2±1.2 Ma, respectively. The late tectonic granodiorite also contains inherited zircons with a minimum age of 2767 Ma which are indirect evidence for the presence of old sialic crust in this subprovince. Zircons from a sheared monzonite near the boundary fault between the two subprovinces yield an upper intercept age of 2769 _–26 ⁺⁶³ Ma, which we interpret as the intrusion age of the monzonite. This rock is older than most dated units in the surrounding batholiths and suggests that the boundary is a long-lived Archean structure.A lower intercept age of about 1750 Ma for zircons of the hornblendite is the result of chemical alteration of the zircons. This, and a similar lower intercept age shown by the sheared monzonite zircons, are thought to reflect increased fluid activity and possibly shearing during the Early Proterozoic Hudsonian orogeny which occurred in the Churchill Province to the northwest. A later Pb-loss mainly from near-surface domains of the zircons is indicated by lower intercept ages of about 500–100 Ma.Publication approved by the Director, Ontario Geological Survey     

Fractionation analysis of transport engine-generated soot particles with respect to hygroscopicity

Combustion-derived particles emitted by various transport engines are analyzed with respect to their morphology and composition. Soot particles collected behind an aircraft gas turbine engine combustor, in the diesel engine exhaust pipe, and at the end of ship pipe demonstrate heterogeneous morphological structures and different chemical identities. Individual particle analysis allows the characterization of emitted soot particles into three fractions, namely C-O, C-O-S, and Fe-C-O, with the dominant presence of chain soot agglomerates, irregular internally mixed soot, and particles of distinct morphology, respectively. The influence of oxygen and sulfur concentrations on the ability of soot to uptake water is proposed as a method for categorizing transport engine-generated particles. Categories of hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles within non-hygroscopic soots can be defined based on the amount of water uptake relative to several reference laboratory-made soots comparable to transport engine emissions. This method of characterizing hydrophobic/hydrophilic and hygroscopic soots in combustion emissions will help to determine the potential impacts of the combustion emissions on CCN/IN formation in the atmosphere.     

Deterministic strong ground motion study for the Sitamarhi area near Bihar–Nepal region

We explore the challenges of avalanche and debris flow hazard assessment for urban areas exposed in the Sakhalin region. Avalanches are a threat to more than 60 settlements in the region and debris flows to more than 30. Data are provided for avalanche and debris flow events that occurred in the Sakhalin region between 1928 and 2015. In this paper, the method for the design of hazard maps for snow avalanches and debris flows is described, providing the starting point for any planning constraints in general settlement planning schemes. These maps further allow conducting an assessment of avalanche and debris flow risk within a short time period for a larger territory and at minimum cost.     

Environmental tracers as indicators of karst conduits in groundwater in South Dakota,USA

Environmental tracers sampled from the carbonate Madison aquifer on the eastern flank of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA indicated the approximate locations of four major karst conduits. Contamination issues are a major concern because these conduits are characterized by direct connections to sinking streams, high groundwater velocities, and proximity to public water supplies. Objectives of the study were to estimate approximate conduit locations and assess possible anthropogenic influences associated with conduits. Anomalies of young groundwater based on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), tritium, and electrical conductivity (EC) indicated fast moving, focused flow and thus the likely presence of conduits. δ¹⁸O was useful for determining sources of recharge for each conduit, and nitrate was a useful tracer for assessing flow paths for anthropogenic influences. Two of the four conduits terminate at or near a large spring complex. CFC apparent ages ranged from 15 years near conduits to >50 years in other areas. Nitrate-N concentrations >0.4 mg/L in groundwater were associated with each of the four conduits compared with concentrations ranging from <0.1 to 0.4 mg/L in other areas. These higher nitrate-N concentrations probably do not result from sinking streams but rather from other areas of infiltration.     

An automated strategy for calculation of phase diagram sections and retrieval of rock properties as a function of physical conditions

We formulate an algorithm for the calculation of stable phase relations of a system with constrained bulk composition as a function of its environmental variables. The basis of this algorithm is the approximate representation of the free energy composition surfaces of solution phases by inscribed polyhedra. This representation leads to discretization of high variance phase fields into a continuous mesh of smaller polygonal fields within which the composition and physical properties of the phases are uniquely determined. The resulting phase diagram sections are useful for understanding the phase relations of complex metamorphic systems and for applications in which it is necessary to establish the variations in rock properties such as density, seismic velocities and volatile‐content through a metamorphic cycle. The algorithm has been implemented within a computer program that is general with respect to both the choice of variables and the number of components and phases possible in a system, and is independent of the structure of the equations of state used to describe the phases of the system.     

Optimisation of the Population Monte Carlo algorithm: Application to constraining isocurvature models with cosmic microwave background data

We optimise the parameters of the Population Monte Carlo algorithm using numerical simulations. The optimisation is based on an efficiency statistic related to the number of samples evaluated prior to convergence, and is applied to a D ‐dimensional Gaussian distribution to derive optimal scaling laws for the algorithm parameters. More complex distributions such as the banana and bimodal distributions are also studied. We apply these results to a cosmological parameter estimation problem that uses CMB anisotropy data from the WMAP nine‐year release to constrain a six parameter adiabatic model and a fifteen parameter admixture model, consisting of correlated adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations. In the case of the adiabatic model and the admixture model we find that the number of sample points increase by factors of 3 and 20, respectively, relative to the optimal Gaussian case. This is due to degeneracies in the underlying parameter space. The WMAP nine‐year data constrain the admixture model to have an isocurvature fraction of 36.3 ± 2.8 %. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)