In situ U–Pb SIMS (IN-SIMS) micro-baddeleyite dating of mafic rocks: Method with examples

An in situ U–Pb SIMS (IN-SIMS) method to date micro-baddeleyite crystals as small as 3 μm is presented with results from three samples that span a variety of ages and geologic settings. The method complements ID-TIMS geochronology by extending the range of dateable crystals to sizes smaller than can be recovered by physical separation. X-ray mapping and BSE imaging are used to locate target grains in thin section, followed by SIMS analysis on a CAMECA ims 1270, using the field aperture in the transfer column to screen out ions from host phases. Internal age precisions for the method are anticipated to range from 0.1% for Precambrian rocks to 3–7% for Phanerozoic rocks. Results establish a 2689 ± 5 Ma age for mafic dikes in the Wyoming craton, USA, a 1540 ± 30 Ma age for a subaerial lava flow from the Thelon Basin of northern Canada, and a 457 ± 34 Ma age for mafic dikes in the platform sequence of southeastern Siberia. The method is ideal for relatively non-destructive dating of small samples such as extraterrestrial rocks and precious terrestrial samples.     

Analytical expressions to determine the isothermal compressibility tensor and the isobaric thermal expansion tensor for monoclinic crystals: application to determine the direction of maximum compressibility in jadeite

Expressions are presented to allow the simple determination of the magnitudes and directions of the principal axes for the isothermal compressibility tensor and the isobaric thermal expansion tensor for monoclinic crystals. The method is applied to re-evaluate the apparently contradictory results that have recently been obtained for the direction of maximum compressibility in jadeite. The term ‘unit strain’ to describe these second rank tensors is discouraged and the use of the representation quadric for visualisation of second rank tensors is recommended.     

Multi-zone fusion crust formation and classification of the 2004 Auckland meteorite (L6, S5, and W0)

On June 12, 2004, a meteorite passed through Earth's atmosphere and landed under the television in the living room of a house in Auckland, New Zealand. Textural characteristics, the chemistry of olivine (Fa_23–24) and orthopyroxene (Fs_20.7), and the bulk rock triple oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁷O + 3.1; δ¹⁸O + 4.2‰) from the interior of the completely unweathered (W0) 1.3 kg meteorite, hereafter referred to as Auckland, suggest it to be a strongly metamorphosed fragment from the interior of a low iron ordinary chondrite (L6) parent asteroid. The occurrence of maskelynite but shock fracturing of olivine and pyroxene indicates Auckland experienced extreme shock metamorphism (S5), likely during Ordovician fragmentation of the asteroid parent. The fusion crust consists of three zones: (1) an innermost zone containing narrow Fe-Ni-S-bearing veins that migrated along pre-existing shock fractures in olivine and pyroxene; (2) a middle zone in which the meteorite partially melted to form a silicate glass and immiscible blebs of metal and troilite, and is accompanied by unmelted silicate minerals; and (3) an approximately 0.1 mm wide vesicular-rich outermost layer that largely melted, volatilizing sulfides, before quenching to form glass and olivine. Oxygen isotope values of the bulk rock and/or maskelynite of melted rim and modified substrate are 2–3‰ greater than the meteorite interior and indicate that up to 19% of terrestrial atmospheric O₂ was incorporated into the fusion crust during the formation. The fusion crust migrated inwards as ablation occurred, enabling melting, migration, and re-precipitation ± loss of sulfide and metal components, with the prominent glassy rim therefore forming from an already chemically modified zone.     

Local knowledge on plants and domestic remedies in the mountain villages of Peshkopia (Eastern Albania)

Ethnobotanical studies in the Balkans are crucial for fostering sustainable rural development in the region and also for investigating the dynamics of change of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which has broad-sweeping implications for future biodiversity conservation efforts. A survey of local botanical and medical knowledge and practices was conducted in four mountainous villages of the Peshkopia region in northeast Albania, near the Macedonian border. Snowball sampling techniques were employed to recruit 32 informants for participation in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of the local flora for food, medicinal, veterinary and ritual purposes. The uses of 84 botanical taxa were recorded as well as a number of other folk remedies for the treatment of both humans and livestock. Comparison of the collected data with another ethnobotanical field study recently conducted among Albanians living on the Macedonian side of Mount Korab shows a remarkable divergence in medicinal plant uses, thus confirming the crucial role played by the history of the last century in transforming TEK. Most noteworthy, as a legacy of the Communist period, a relevant number of wild medicinal taxa are still gathered only for trade rather than personal/familial use. This may lead to unsustainable exploitation of certain taxa (i.e. Orchis and Gentiana spp.) and presents some important conservation challenges. Appropriate development and environmental educational frameworks should aim to reconnect local people to the perception of limitation and renewability of botanical resources.     

Chemistry of the heavily urbanized Bagmati River system in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: export of organic matter, nutrients, major ions, silica, and metals

Water quality in less-developed countries is often subject to substantial degradation, but is rarely studied in a systematic way. The concentration and flux of major ions, carbon, nitrogen, silicon, and trace metals in the heavily urbanized Bagmati River within Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, are reported. The concentrations of all chemical species increased with distance downstream with the exceptions of protons and nitrate, and showed strong relationships with population density adjacent to the river. Total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dominated by NH₄, was found in high concentrations along the Bagmati drainage system. The export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and TDN were 23 and 33 tons km^?2 year^?1, respectively, at the outlet point of the Kathmandu Valley, much higher than in relatively undeveloped watersheds. The cationic and silica fluxes were 106 and 18 tons km^?2 year^?1 at the outlet of the Bagmati within Kathmandu Valley, and 36 and 32 tons km^?2 year^?1 from the relatively pristine headwater area. The difference between headwaters and the urban site suggests that the apparent weathering flux is three times higher than the actual weathering rate in the heavily urbanized Bagmati basin. Fluxes of cations and silica are above the world average, as well as fluxes from densely populated North American and European watersheds. End-member composition of anthropogenic sources like sewage or agricultural runoff is needed to understand the drivers of this high rate of apparent weathering.     

Observations on the crystal structures of lueshite

Laboratory powder XRD patterns of the perovskite-group mineral lueshite from the type locality (Lueshe, Kivu, DRC) and pure NaNbO₃ demonstrate that lueshite does not adopt the same space group (Pbma; #57) as the synthetic compound. The crystal structures of lueshite (2 samples) from Lueshe, Mont Saint-Hilaire (Quebec, Canada) and Sallanlatvi (Kola, Russia) have been determined by single-crystal CCD X-ray diffraction. These room temperature X-ray data for all single-crystal samples can be satisfactorily refined in the orthorhombic space group Pbnm (#62). Cell dimensions, atomic coordinates of the atoms, bond lengths and octahedron tilt angles are given for four crystals. Conventional neutron diffraction patterns for Lueshe lueshite recorded over the temperature range 11–1,000 K confirm that lueshite does not adopt space group Pbma within these temperatures. Neutron diffraction indicates no phase changes on cooling from room temperature to 11 K. None of these neutron diffraction data give satisfactorily refinements but suggest that this is the space group Pbnm. Time-of-flight neutron diffraction patterns for Lueshe lueshite recorded from room temperature to 700 °C demonstrate phase transitions above 550 °C from Cmcm through P4/mbm to \(Pm\overline{3} m\) above 650 °C. Cell dimensions and atomic coordinates of the atoms are given for the three high-temperature phases. The room temperature to 400 °C structures cannot be satisfactorily resolved, and it is suggested that the lueshite at room temperature consists of domains of pinned metastable phases with orthorhombic and/or monoclinic structures. However, the sequence of high-temperature phase transitions observed is similar to those determined for synthetic NaTaO₃, suggesting that the equilibrated room temperature structure of lueshite is orthorhombic Pbnm.     

Exploring Mobility Indoors: an Application of Sensor‐based and GIS Systems

The popularization of tracking devices, such as GPS, accelerometers and smartphones, have made it possible to detect, record, and analyze new patterns of human movement and behavior. However, employing GPS alone for indoor localization is not always possible due to the system's inability to determine location inside buildings or in places of signal occlusion. In this context, the application of local wireless networks for determining position is a promising alternative solution, although they still suffer from a number of limitations due to energy and IT‐resources. Our research outlines the potential for employing indoor wireless network positioning and sensor‐based systems to improve the collection of tracking data indoors. By applying various methods of GIScience we developed a methodology that can be applicable for diverse human indoor mobility analysis. To show the advantage of the proposed method, we present the result of an experiment that included mobility analysis of 37 participants. We tracked their movements on a university campus over the course of 41 days and demonstrated that their movement behavior can be successfully studied with our proposed method.     

The Pleistocene evolution of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Prydz bay region: stable isotopic evidence from ODP Site 1167

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 188, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica is part of a larger initiative to explore the Cenozoic history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet through direct drilling and sampling of the continental margins. In this paper, we present stable isotopic results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1167 located on the Prydz Channel Trough Mouth Fan (TMF), the first Antarctic TMF to be drilled. The foraminifer-based δ¹⁸O record is interpreted along with sedimentary and downhole logging evidence to reconstruct the Quaternary glacial history of Prydz Bay and the adjacent Lambert Glacier Amery Ice Shelf System (LGAISS). We report an electron spin resonance age date of 36.9±3.3 ka at 0.45 m below sea floor and correlate suspected glacial–interglacial cycles with the global isotopic stratigraphy to improve the chronology for Site 1167. The δ¹⁸O record based on planktonic (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s.)) and limited benthic results (Globocassidulina crassa), indicates a trend of ice sheet expansion that was interrupted by a period of reduced ice volume and possibly warmer conditions during the early–mid-Pleistocene (0.9–1.38 Ma). An increase in δ¹⁸O values after 900 ka appears to coincide with the mid-Pleistocene climate transition and the expansion of the northern hemisphere ice sheet. The δ¹⁸O record in the upper 50 m of the stratigraphic section indicates as few as three glacial–interglacial cycles, tentatively assigned as marine isotopic stages (MIS) 16–21, are preserved since the Brunhes/Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal (780 ka). This suggests that there is a large unconformity near the top of the section and/or that there may have been few extreme advances of the ice sheet since the mid-Pleistocene climate transition resulting in lowered sedimentation rates on the Prydz Channel TMF. The stable isotopic record from Site 1167 is one of the few available from the area south of the Antarctic Polar Front that has been linked with the global isotopic stratigraphy. Our results suggest the potential for the recovery of useful stable isotopic records in other TMFs.     

Point pattern analysis of north polar crescentic dunes, Mars: A geography of dune self-organization

The geographic signature of dune distribution and self-organization as measured by the R-statistic offers a viewpoint on the geography of crescentic eolian systems and proposes an index from which to determine the degree of self-organization across a variety of spatial scales. Fields of simple dunes (dome, barchan, barchan-seif) are comparatively less regular in distribution than are those fields, or part thereof, that consist of compound (barchanoid) morphologies whose patterns are more highly regular.     

Observations of the evolution of the aerosol, cloud and boundary‐layer characteristics during the 1st ACE‐2 Lagrangian experiment

During the 1st Lagrangian experiment of the North Atlantic Regional Aerosol Characterisation Experiment (ACE‐2), a parcel of air was tagged by releasing a smart, constant level balloon into it from the Research Vessel Vodyanitskiy . The Meteorological Research Flight's C‐130 aircraft then followed this parcel over a period of 30 h characterising the marine boundary layer (MBL), the cloud and the physical and chemical aerosol evolution. The air mass had originated over the northern North Atlantic and thus was clean and had low aerosol concentrations. At the beginning of the experiment the MBL was over 1500 m deep and made up of a surface mixed layer (SML) underlying a layer containing cloud beneath a subsidence inversion. Subsidence in the free troposphere caused the depth of the MBL to almost halve during the experiment and, after 26 h, the MBL became well mixed throughout its whole depth. Salt particle mass in the MBL increased as the surface wind speed increased from 8 m s⁻¹ to 16 m s⁻¹ and the accumulation mode (0.1μm to 3.0 μm) aerosol concentrations quadrupled from 50 cm⁻³ to 200 cm⁻³. However, at the same time the total condensation nuclei (>3 nm) decreased from over 1000 cm⁻³ to 750 cm⁻³. The changes in the accumulation mode aerosol concentrations had a significant effect on the observed cloud microphysics. Observational evidence suggests that the important processes in controlling the Aitken mode concentration which, dominated the total CN concentration, included, scavenging of interstitial aerosol by cloud droplets, enhanced coagulation of Aitken mode aerosol and accumulation mode aerosol due to the increased sea salt aerosol surface area, and dilution of the MBL by free tropospheric air.