Adaptive optics near-infrared imaging of NGC 2992 – unveiling core structures related to radio figure-of-8 loops

We present near-infrared adaptive optics, Very Large Array (VLA) radio and Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) optical imaging of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. Spiral structure and an extension to the west are traced down to the core region at the limiting resolution of our near-infrared images. A faint, diffuse loop of near-infrared and radio emission is also observed to the north, embedded within the prominent 2-arcsec radio loop previously observed to the north-west. Near-infrared colour maps and CO narrow-band imaging are then used to identify which regions may not be purely reddened stellar populations. Our new data provide evidence that the VLA radio-loop morphology in the shape of a figure of 8 represents two components superimposed: (1) outflow bubbles out of the plane of the disc, coincident with the extended emission-line region (EELR); (2) star formation along the spiral arm within the galaxy disc and through the dust lane. The near-infrared continuum emission associated with the outflowing radio bubbles suggests that the radio loops are driven by the active nucleus.     

是彗星导致的大洪水吗

一条巨蛇的多条尾巴令人恐怖地缠绕在一起,一只尖角从头顶伸出.这个怪物似乎正在遨游星球的海洋,或它正在攀爬一个陡峭的玄武岩悬崖?美国洛斯阿拉莫国家实验室的环境考古学家Bruce Masse 看到这个古代古刻,坚定地认为,这是一颗慧明.……     

Some Xenoliths from the alkalic rocks of Teneriffe,Canary Islands

1. Xenoliths of ultrabasic, ultramafic, gabbroic or syenitic type occur in Teneriffe: dunites and clino-pyroxenites in the old alkalic basalt formations of Teno and Anaga peninsulas; gabbroic xenoliths in the Pedro Gil region; nepheline-syenite xenoliths in the Las Canadas and Vilaflor regions where intermediate and phonolitic lavas are abundant; ultramafic, clino-pyroxenite and syenitic xenoliths in the Anaga peninsula where there are many intrusions of nepheline-syenite and phonolitic syenite. Several xenoliths show signs of cataclasis, recrystallisation or reaction of their minerals with the host liquids.
2. The ultrabasic, ultramafic and anorthoclase-rich xenoliths appear to be of cumulus origin, subtracted from basic to intermediate alkalic liquids. Major cumulus phases are: magnesium-rich olivine, sub-silicic, aluminous pyroxene, titanomagnetite, sub-silicic potassic kaersutite, and anorthoclase. It is suggested that the xenoliths formed at depths between 11 km and 30 km, largely under wet conditions that helped suppress formation of cumulus plagioclase.
3. The subtraction of kaersutite from liquids of intermediate composition is thought to be a means of producing the gap in silica content between the Teneriffe trachybasalts and the more siliceous trachyphonolites and phonolites. It is also suggested that the subtraction of kaersutite and anorthoclase would considerably deplete residual liquids in alumina whilst enriching then in soda and this might be the means of producing peralkaline liquids.
4. The presence of the xenoliths supports the geophysical data that indicated that Teneriffe has a sub-crustal structure of plutonic rocks. Correlation of the Teneriffe plutonic xenoliths with exposed plutonic basement rocks from other Canary Islands, which are believed to have similar sub-crustal structures, is considered necessary.

     

An infrared spectroscopic study of lawsonite to 20 GPa

The infrared spectrum of CaAl₂Si₂O₇ · H₂O-lawsonite, has been characterized to pressures of 20 GPa at 300 K. Our results constrain the response to compression of the silicate tetrahedra, hydroxyl units, and water molecules in this material. The asymmetric and symmetric stretching and bending vibrations of the Si₂O₇ groups (at zero pressure frequencies between 600 and 1000 cm⁻¹) increase in frequency with pressure at rates between 3.6 and 5.9 cm⁻¹/GPa. All silicate modes appear to shift continuously with pressure to 20 GPa, although the lowest frequency stretching vibration becomes unresolvable above 18 GPa, and a splitting of the main bending vibration is observed near this pressure. The O-H stretches of the hydroxyl units exhibit a discontinuity in their mode shifts at ∼8–9 GPa, which we interpret to be produced by a pressure-induced change in hydrogen bonding. The stretching and bending vibrations of the water molecule are relatively unaffected by compression to 20 GPa, thus demonstrating that the structural cavities in which water molecules reside are relatively rigid. Significant changes in the amplitude of the O-H stretches of the hydroxyl and water units are observed at this pressure as well; nevertheless, our results demonstrate that the dominant structural units in lawsonite persist metastably at 300 K with only modest structural modifications well beyond the known stability field of this phase. Received: 10 July 1998 / Revised, accepted: 23 October 1998     

Proterozoic copper deposits in NW Queensland,Australia: Sulfur isotopic data

Sulfur isotopic disequilibrium is commonly observed between associated pyrite and copper sulfides in NW Queensland. A sulfur isotopic study of copper mineralization in dolomites at Paradise Valley and arenites at Mammoth has allowed the significance of such disequilibrium to be evaluated. Copper mineralization at Paradise Valley is characterized by a greater enrichment in ³⁴S, with δ³⁴S values often greater than +30‰, for both copper sulfides and associated syngenetic/diagneetic pyrite. At Mammoth, copper sulfides have isotopic compositions (δ³⁴S=?15.9 to ?0.3‰) transitional between disseminated syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite (δ³⁴S=?5.7 to ?1.7‰) and epigenetic vein pyrite (δ³⁴S=?17.9 to ?7.1‰) suggesting progressive reaction and replacement of syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite by a copper-bearing mineralizing fluid under oxidizing conditions. The isotopic data, within the constraints imposed by geological and geochemical factors, support a model of reaction between copper-bearing mineralizing fluids and pre-existing syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite for both the carbonate- and arenite-hosted deposits.     

Geology of the Victor Kimberlite, Attawapiskat, Northern Ontario, Canada: cross-cutting and nested craters

The pipe shapes, infill and emplacement processes of the Attawapiskat kimberlites, including Victor, contrast with most of the southern African kimberlite pipes. The Attawapiskat kimberlite pipes are formed by an overall two-stage process of (1) pipe excavation without the development of a diatreme (sensu stricto) and (2) subsequent pipe infilling. The Victor kimberlite comprises two adjacent but separate pipes, Victor South and Victor North. The pipes are infilled with two contrasting textural types of kimberlite: pyroclastic and hypabyssal-like kimberlite. Victor South and much of Victor North are composed of pyroclastic spinel carbonate kimberlites, the main features of which are similar: clast-supported, discrete macrocrystal and phenocrystal olivine grains, pyroclastic juvenile lapilli, mantle-derived xenocrysts and minor country rock xenoliths are set in serpentine and carbonate matrices. These partly bedded, juvenile lapilli-bearing olivine tuffs appear to have been formed by subaerial fire-fountaining airfall processes.

The Victor South pipe has a simple bowl-like shape that flares from just below the basal sandstone of the sediments that overlie the basement. The sandstone is a known aquifer, suggesting that the crater excavation process was possibly phreatomagmatic. In contrast, the pipe shape and internal geology of Victor North are more complex. The northwestern part of the pipe is dominated by dark competent rocks, which resemble fresh hypabyssal kimberlite, but have unusual textures and are closely associated with pyroclastic juvenile lapilli tuffs and country rock breccias±volcaniclastic kimberlite. Current evidence suggests that the hypabyssal-like kimberlite is, in fact, not intrusive and that the northwestern part of Victor North represents an early-formed crater infilled with contrasting extrusive kimberlites and associated breccias. The remaining, main part of Victor North consists of two macroscopically similar, but petrographically distinct, pyroclastic kimberlites that have contrasting macrodiamond sample grades. The juvenile lapilli of each pyroclastic kimberlite can be distinguished only microscopically. The nature and relative modal proportion of primary olivine phenocrysts in the juvenile lapilli are different, indicating that they derive from different magma pulses, or phases of kimberlite, and thus represent separate eruptions. The initial excavation of a crater cross-cutting the earlier northwestern crater was followed by emplacement of phase (i), a low-grade olivine phenocryst-rich pyroclastic kimberlite, and the subsequent eruption of phase (ii), a high-grade olivine phenocryst-poor pyroclastic kimberlite, as two separate vents nested within the original phase (i) crater. The second eruption was accompanied by the formation of an intermediate mixed zone with moderate grade. Thus, the final pyroclastic pipe infill of the main part of the Victor North pipe appears to consist of at least three geological/macrodiamond grade zones.

In conclusion, the Victor kimberlite was formed by several eruptive events resulting in adjacent and cross-cutting craters that were infilled with either pyroclastic kimberlite or hypabyssal-like kimberlite, which is now interpreted to be of probable extrusive origin. Within the pyroclastic kimberlites of Victor North, there are two nested vents, a feature seldom documented in kimberlites elsewhere. This study highlights the meaningful role of kimberlite petrography in the evaluation of diamond deposits and provides further insight into kimberlite emplacement and volcanism.     

RESPONSES OF A GLOBAL CGCM TO CO_2 INCREASE

The responses of the climate system to increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO_2)arestudied by using a new version of the Bureau of Meteorological Research Centre(BMRC)globalcoupled general circulation model(CGCM).Two simulations are run:one with atmospheric CO_2concentration held constant at 330 ppm,the other with a tripling of atmospheric CO_2(990 ppm).Results from the 41-year control coupled integration are applied to analyze the mean state,seasonal cycle and interannual variability in the model.Comparisons between the greenhouseexperiment and the control experiment then provide estimations of the influence of increased CO_2on climate changes and climate variability.Especially discussed is the question on whether theclimate changes concerned with CO_2 inerease will impact interannual variability in tropical Pacific,such as ENSO.     

Climate change affecting temperature and aridity zones: a case study in Eastern Inner Mongolia, China from 1960–2008

Recent climate change is substantially affecting the spatial pattern of geographical zones, and the temporal and spatial inconsistency of climatic warming and drying patterns contributes to the complexity of the shifting of temperature and aridity zones. Eastern Inner Mongolia, China, located in the interface region of different biomes and ecogeographic zones, has experienced dramatic drying and warming over the past several decades. In this study, the annual accumulated temperature above 10 °C (AAT10) and the aridity index, two key indicators in geographical regionalization, are used to assess warming and drying processes and track the movements of temperature and aridity zones from 1960 to 2008. The results show a significant warming at the regional level from 1960 to 2008 with an AAT10 increase rate of 7.89 °C·d/year (p?<?0.001) in Eastern Inner Mongolia, while the drying trend was not significant during this period. Spatial heterogeneity of warming and drying distributions was also evident. Analysis of warming and drying via piecewise regression revealed two separate, specific trends between the first 31 years (1960–1990) and the subsequent 18 years (1991–2008). Generally, mild warming and very slight wetting occurred prior to 1990, while after 1991 both warming and drying were significant and enhanced. Continuous warming drove a northward shift of temperature zones from the 1960s to 2000s, while aridity zones displayed enhanced temporal and spatial variability. Climate change effects on temperature and aridity zones imply that the patterns of cropping systems, macro-ecosystems, and human land use modes are potentially undergoing migration and modification due to climate change.     

The eastward shift of the Walker Circulation in response to global warming and its relationship to ENSO variability

This study investigates the global warming response of the Walker Circulation and the other zonal circulation cells (represented by the zonal stream function), in CMIP3 and CMIP5 climate models. The changes in the mean state are presented as well as the changes in the modes of variability. The mean zonal circulation weakens in the multi model ensembles nearly everywhere along the equator under both the RCP4.5 and SRES A1B scenarios. Over the Pacific the Walker Circulation also shows a significant eastward shift. These changes in the mean circulation are very similar to the leading mode of interannual variability in the tropical zonal circulation cells, which is dominated by El Niño Southern Oscillation variability. During an El Niño event the circulation weakens and the rising branch over the Maritime Continent shifts to the east in comparison to neutral conditions (vice versa for a La Niña event). Two-thirds of the global warming forced trend of the Walker Circulation can be explained by a long-term trend in this interannual variability pattern, i.e. a shift towards more El Niño-like conditions in the multi-model mean under global warming. Further, interannual variability in the zonal circulation exhibits an asymmetry between El Niño and La Niña events. El Niño anomalies are located more to the east compared with La Niña anomalies. Consistent with this asymmetry we find a shift to the east of the dominant mode of variability of zonal stream function under global warming. All these results vary among the individual models, but the multi model ensembles of CMIP3 and CMIP5 show in nearly all aspects very similar results, which underline the robustness of these results. The observed data (ERA Interim reanalysis) from 1979 to 2012 shows a westward shift and strengthening of the Walker Circulation. This is opposite to what the results in the CMIP models reveal. However, 75 % of the trend of the Walker Circulation can again be explained by a shift of the dominant mode of variability, but here towards more La Niña-like conditions. Thus in both climate change projections and observations the long-term trends of the Walker Circulation seem to follow to a large part the pre-existing dominant mode of internal variability.     

Reflectance spectroscopy of interplanetary dust particles

Abstract Reflectance spectra were collected from chondritic interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), a polar micrometeorite, Allende (CV3) meteorite matrix, and mineral standards using a microscope spectrophotometer. Data were acquired over the 380–1100 nm wavelength range in darkfield mode using a halogen light source, particle aperturing diaphrams, and photomultiplier tube (PMT) detectors. Spectra collected from titanium oxide (Ti₄O₇), magnetite (Fe₃O₄), and Allende matrix establish that it is possible to measure indigenous reflectivities of micrometer-sized (>5 μm in diameter) particles over the visible (VIS) wavelength range 450–800 nm. Below 450 nm, small particle effects cause a fall-off in signal into the ultraviolet (UV). Near-infrared (IR) spectra collected from olivine and pyroxene standards suggest that the ～1 μm absorption features of Fe-bearing silicates in IDPs can be detected using microscope spectrophotometry. Chondritic IDPs are dark objects (<15% reflectivity) over the VIS 450–800 nm range. Large (>1 μm in diameter) embedded and adhering single mineral grains make IDPs significantly brighter, while surficial magnetite formed by frictional heating during atmospheric entry makes them darker. Most chondritic smooth (CS) IDPs, dominated by hydrated layer silicates, exhibit generally flat spectra with slight fall-off towards 800 nm, which is similar to type CI and CM meteorites and main-belt C-type asteroids. Most chondritic porous (CP) IDPs, dominated by anhydrous silicates (pyroxene and olivine), exhibit generally flat spectra with a slight rise towards 800 nm, which is similar to outer P and D asteroids. The most C-rich CP IDPs rise steeply towards 800 nm with a redness comparable to that of the outer asteroid object Pholus (Binzel, 1992). Chondritic porous IDPs are the first identified class of meteoritic materials exhibiting spectral reflectivities (between 450 and 800 nm) similar to those of P and D asteroids. Although large mineral grains, secondary magnetite, and small particle effects complicate interpretation of IDP reflectance spectra, microscope spectrophotometry appears to offer a rapid, nondestructive technique for probing the mineralogy of IDPs, comparing them with meteorites, investigating their parent body origins, and identifying IDPs that may have been strongly heated during atmospheric entry.