Benthic foraminifers in upper Quaternary sediments of the southern Bering Sea: Distribution and paleoceanographic interpretations

Composition and distribution of benthic foraminifers, being coupled with isotopic-geochemical data on Upper Pleistocene and Holocene sediments from the southern Bering Sea (Core GC-11; 53°31′ N, 178°51′E, water depth 3060 m), demonstrate variations in bottom water properties during the last 54 kyr. Their abundance increased to some extent during short periods corresponding to warm Dansgaard-Oeshger interstadials 14, 12, 8, and 2 of marine isotopic stages (MIS) 3 and 2. The first and second deglaciation phases separated by the Younger Dryas cooling episode are marked by significant abundance peaks of benthic foraminifers (an order magnitude higher than in the glacial period), although their share in community of benthic and planktonic foraminifers taken together decreases. Species typical of stable high-productivity areas gain the dominant position. A significant proportion of agglutinated species in the Holocene sediments is indicative of Ca ions deficiency that accelerates dissolution of carbonate tests up to their disappearance approximately 2.5–3 ka ago.     

Evaluation of the first GOCE static gravity field models using terrestrial gravity,vertical deflections and EGM2008 quasigeoid heights

Recently, four global geopotential models (GGMs) were computed and released based on the first 2 months of data collected by the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) dedicated satellite gravity field mission. Given that GOCE is a technologically complex mission and different processing strategies were applied to real space-collected GOCE data for the first time, evaluation of the new models is an important aspect. As a first assessment strategy, we use terrestrial gravity data over Switzerland and Australia and astrogeodetic vertical deflections over Europe and Australia as ground-truth data sets for GOCE model evaluation. We apply a spectral enhancement method (SEM) to the truncated GOCE GGMs to make their spectral content more comparable with the terrestrial data. The SEM utilises the high-degree bands of EGM2008 and residual terrain model data as a data source to widely bridge the spectral gap between the satellite and terrestrial data. Analysis of root mean square (RMS) errors is carried out as a function of (i) the GOCE GGM expansion degree and (ii) the four different GOCE GGMs. The RMS curves are also compared against those from EGM2008 and GRACE-based GGMs. As a second assessment strategy, we compare global grids of GOCE GGM and EGM2008 quasigeoid heights. In connection with EGM2008 error estimates, this allows location of regions where GOCE is likely to deliver improved knowledge on the Earth’s gravity field. Our ground truth data sets, together with the EGM2008 quasigeoid comparisons, signal clear improvements in the spectral band ~160–165 to ~180–185 in terms of spherical harmonic degrees for the GOCE-based GGMs, fairly independently of the individual GOCE model used. The results from both assessments together provide strong evidence that the first 2 months of GOCE observations improve the knowledge of the Earth’s static gravity field at spatial scales between ~125 and ~110 km, particularly over parts of Asia, Africa, South America and Antarctica, in comparison with the pre-GOCE-era.     

Trends in the solubility of iron,aluminium, manganese and phosphorus in aerosol collected over the Atlantic Ocean

The solubility of iron, aluminium, manganese and phosphorus has been determined in aerosol samples collected between 49°N and 52°S during three cruises conducted in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the European Union funded IRONAGES programme. Solubilities (defined at pH 4.7) determined for Fe and Al in samples of Saharan dust were significantly lower (medians 1.7% and 3.0%, respectively) than the solubilities of these metals in aerosols from other source regions (whole dataset medians 5.2% and 9.0%, respectively). Mn solubility also varied with aerosol source, but the median solubility of Mn in Saharan dust was very similar to the median for the dataset as a whole (55% and 56%, respectively). The observed solubility of aerosol P was ∼ 32%, with P solubility in Saharan aerosol perhaps as low as 10%. Laboratory studies have indicated that aerosol Fe solubility is enhanced by acid processing. No relationship could be found between Fe solubility and the concentrations of acid species (non-seasalt SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻) nor the net acidity of the aerosol, so we are unable to confirm that this process is significant in the atmosphere. In terms of the supply of soluble Fe to oceanic ecosystems on a global scale, the observed higher solubility for Fe in non-Saharan aerosols is probably not significant because the Sahara is easily the dominant source of Fe to the Atlantic. On a smaller scale however, higher solubility for aerosol Fe may alter our understanding of Fe cycling in regions such as the remote Southern Ocean.     

Copper sulphide formation chemistry at low temperatures

Summary Covellite, blaubleibender covellite, djurleite and chalcocite have been synthesized by the reaction between Cu₂O with aqueous Na₂S solutions at low temperatures. Digenite was produced by heating the dried products of the aqueous experimentation at 105°C for 50 days, but not directly from aqueous solution. Anilite was formed through air oxidation of chalcocite at room temperature. The pH and Eh conditions of formation of these phases have been studied and it has been shown that the synthetic results broadly reflect the theoretical stability fields for these compounds, inasmuch as more reduced copper sulphides are formed under higher pH and lower Eh conditions. Studies of the changes in these parameters during the course of the experiments have been used to outline the mechanisms involved in the reactions. It has been demonstrated that the form of the copper sulphide produced around neutral pH values is almost independent of the oxidation state of the copper reactant, but highly sensitive to the presence and concentration of elemental sulphur. A detailed discussion of the formation chemistry of copper sulphides in low temperature aqueous solutions is presented.

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Chemie der Kupfersulfidbildung bei niedrigen Temperaturen

Zusammenfassung Covellin, blaubleibender Covellin, Djurleit und Chalkosin wurden durch Reaktion zwischen Cu₂O und wäßrigen Na₂S-Lösungen bei niedrigen Temperaturen synthetisiert. Digenit entstand, wenn die getrockneten Produkte aus wäßrigen Lösungen 50 Tage bei 105°C getempert wurden, aber nicht direkt aus wäßriger Lösung. Anilit bildete sich aus Chalkosin bei Zimmertemperatur durch Oxidation an der Luft. Die pH- und Eh-Bedingungen für die Bildung dieser Phasen wurden untersucht und es wurde gezeigt, daß die Syntheseergebnisse im wesentlichen den theoretischen Stabilitätsfeldern dieser Verbindungen entsprechen, indem sich die stärker reduzierten Kupfersulfide unter höherem pH und kleinerem Eh bilden. Untersuchungen über die Änderung dieser Parameter im Verlauf der Experimente wurden zur Umreißung der Reaktionsmechanismen benützt. Es wurde gezeigt, daß die Art des Kupfersulfides, welches sich um neutrale pH-Werte bildet, fast nicht vom Oxidationszustand des reagierenden Kupfers, aber stark von der Anwesenheit und der Konzentration von elementarem Schwefel abhängt. Die Chemie der Bildung von Kupfersulfiden in wäßrigen Lösungen niedriger Temperatur wird ausführlich diskutiert.

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With 2 Figures     

Structure of Cu-bearing orthopyroxene, Mg(Cu.56,Mg.44)Si2O6, and behavior of Cu2+ in the orthopyroxene structure

Cu-bearing pyroxene, Mg(Cu.₅₆,Mg.₄₄)Si₂O₆, has been synthesized by a flux method and crystal structure refinement has been performed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. It is found that the crystal structure is orthorhombic (space group Pbca) with unit cell dimensions of a=18.221(4), b=8.890(1), c=5.2260(7)Å and the cell volume of 846.5( )3ų. In the M2-site one of the M-O bonds(M-O3B) is extremely expanded from 2.444(2) in enstatite to 2.732(2), thus the coordination polyhedron around M2-site is regarded as square pyramidal rather than square planar or octahedral. It is also found that the M1-site in the pyroxene structure is occupied almost exclusively by Mg, while the M2-site is almost evenly occupied by Mg and Cu. The observed extreme site preference shown by Cu²⁺ is unusual among the divalent cations with similar ionic sizes.     

B-polarization induction in two thin half-sheets coupled to the mantle by a conducting crust—II. Solution by the mode-matching method, the fields above the conductors, and example results

The mode-matching method is used to obtain an exact analytical solution to the problem of B -polarization induction in two adjacent thin half-sheets, lying on a conducting layer that is terminated by a perfect conductor at finite depth. These components of the model represent, respectively, the Earth's conducting surface layers, crust, and mantle. In dimensionless variables, the model has three independent parameters, these being the two thin-sheet conductances and the layer thickness. The mode-matching solution obtained in this paper is shown to be identical lo that derived via the Wiener-Hopf method in a companion paper (Dawson 1996), and so provides additional verification of that solution. As was shown in the companion paper, the solution for the present model contains, as special limiting cases, those for three models considered earlier by various authors. The second part of the present paper addresses the solutions for the electric fields in the non-conducting half-space above the conductors, which represents the atmosphere. In the final part, sample numerical calculations are presented to illustrate the solution.     

A search for posteclipse brightening of Io in 1973. I

Eight eclipse reappearances of the innermost Galilean satellite, Io, were observed during the fall of 1973. The measurements were made using photometers specially designed to cope with the problem of scattered light from Jupiter. Posteclipse brightening of Io was not detected and, if present, was less than our estimated detection threshold of about 0.02 mag.     

Classifying GRB 170817A/GW170817 in a Fermi duration–hardness plane

GRB 170817A, associated with the LIGO-Virgo GW170817 neutron-star merger event, lacks the short duration and hard spectrum of a Short gamma-ray burst (GRB) expected from long-standing classification models. Correctly identifying the class to which this burst belongs requires comparison with other GRBs detected by the Fermi GBM. The aim of our analysis is to classify Fermi GRBs and to test whether or not GRB 170817A belongs—as suggested—to the Short GRB class. The Fermi GBM catalog provides a large database with many measured variables that can be used to explore gamma-ray burst classification. We use statistical techniques to look for clustering in a sample of 1298 gamma-ray bursts described by duration and spectral hardness. Classification of the detected bursts shows that GRB 170817A most likely belongs to the Intermediate, rather than the Short GRB class. We discuss this result in light of theoretical neutron-star merger models and existing GRB classification schemes. It appears that GRB classification schemes may not yet be linked to appropriate theoretical models, and that theoretical models may not yet adequately account for known GRB class properties. We conclude that GRB 170817A may not fit into a simple phenomenological classification scheme.     

Whipple telescope observations of LS I +61 303: 2004–2006

In this paper we present the results of the past two years observations on the galactic microquasar LS I +61 303 with the Whipple 10 m gamma-ray telescope. The recent MAGIC detection of the source between 200 GeV and 4 TeV suggests that the source is periodic with very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission linked to its orbital cycle. The entire 50-hour data set obtained with Whipple from 2004 to 2006 was analyzed with no reliable detection resulting. The upper limits obtained in the 2005–2006 season covered several of the same epochs as the MAGIC Telescope detections, albeit with lower sensitivity. Upper limits are placed on emission during the orbital phases of 0→0.1 and 0.8→1, phases which are not included in the MAGIC data set.