Molecular indicators for palaeoenvironmental change in a Messinian evaporitic sequence (Vena del Gesso, Italy). II: High-resolution variations in abundances and 13C contents of free and sulphur-bound carbon skeletons in a single marl bed

The extractable organic matter of 10 immature samples from a marl bed of one evaporitic cycle of the Vena del Gesso sediments (Gessoso-solfifera Fm., Messinian, Italy) was analyzed quantitatively for free hydrocarbons and organic sulphur compounds. Nickel boride was used as a desulphurizing agent to recover sulphur-bound lipids from the polar and asphaltene fractions. Carbon isotopic compositions (delta vs PDB) of free hydrocarbons and of S-bound hydrocarbons were also measured. Relationships between these carbon skeletons, precursor biolipids, and the organisms producing them could then be examined. Concentrations of S-bound lipids and free hydrocarbons and their delta values were plotted vs depth in the marl bed and the profiles were interpreted in terms of variations in source organisms, 13 C contents of the carbon source, and environmentally induced changes in isotopic fractionation. The overall range of delta values measured was 24.7%, from -11.6% for a component derived from green sulphur bacteria (Chlorobiaceae) to -36.3% for a lipid derived from purple sulphur bacteria (Chromatiaceae). Deconvolution of mixtures of components deriving from multiple sources (green and purple sulphur bacteria, coccolithophorids, microalgae and higher plants) was sometimes possible because both quantitative and isotopic data were available and because either the free or S-bound pool sometimes appeared to contain material from a single source. Several free n-alkanes and S-bound lipids appeared to be specific products of upper-water-column primary producers (i.e. algae and cyanobacteria). Others derived from anaerobic photoautotrophs and from heterotrophic protozoa (ciliates), which apparently fed partly on Chlorobiaceae. Four groups of n-alkanes produced by algae or cyanobacteria were also recognized based on systematic variations of abundance and isotopic composition with depth. For hydrocarbons probably derived from microalgae, isotopic variations are well correlated with those of total organic carbon. A resistant aliphatic biomacromolecule produced by microalgae is, therefore, probably an important component of the kerogen. These variations reflect changes in the depositional environment and early diagenetic transformations. Changes in the concentrations of S-bound lipids induced by variations in conditions favourable for sulphurization were discriminated from those related to variations in primary producer assemblages. The water column of the lagoonal basin was stratified and photic zone anoxia occurred during the early and middle stages of marl deposition. During the last stage of the marl deposition the stratification collapsed due to a significant shallowing of the water column. Contributions from anaerobic photoautotrophs were apparently associated with variations in depth of the chemocline.     

Powder- and single crystal Mössbauer spectroscopy on synthetic fayalite

Mössbauer measurements on synthetic iron orthosilicate Fe₂SiO₄ (fayalite) were carried out in the antiferromagnetic spin state below T _N 65 K. The Mössbauer parameters isomer shift , inner magnetic field H(0), angle between H(0) and the z-component of the electric field gradient (efg), quadrupole splitting QS and asymmetry parameter were determined as a function of temperature. These parameters could be attributed to the two crystallographic sites M1 and M2.The smaller isomer shift on M1 with respect to M2 displays the more covalent character of the Fe-O bond on M1, which is supported by previous neutron diffraction experiments. H(0) shows a Brillouin-type behaviour with different fields on the two crystallographic sites (stronger on M1) and a small discontinuity at T = 23 K which corresponds with previous magnetic measurements. The quadrupole splitting is equal on both sites within error bars, in agreement with previous theoretical results and in contradiction to previous Mössbauer refinements published elsewhere.     

The Panafrican Stratoid Granites of Madagascar: Alkaline Magmatism in a Post-Collisional Extensional Setting

A major alkali province of late Panafrican age occupies centralMadagascar and takes the form of a thick sequence of ‘stratoid’(sheet-like)granites emplaced in a mid-crustal gneissic basement This alkalinemagmatism has been interpreted as a consequence of extensionaltectonics accompanying the collapse of the Mozambique belt.The rocks belong to three petrographic types: subsolvus granites,hypersolvus alkaline granites and syenites. Major and traceelement analyses have typical A-type characteristics. Two distinctmagmatic suites are recognized: a mildly alkaline suite includingall the subsolvus granites and a strongly alkaline suite includingthe hypersolvus alkaline granites and the syenites. We proposethat the mildly alkaline suite was derived from a granodioriticcrustal protolith. Some of the strongly alkaline granites andthe quartz syenites display low ¹⁸O isotopic signatures of around+6.The parental magmas for this suite are most probably of mantlederivation. The more evolved compositions are consistent withcrystal fractionation processes. Contemporaneous alkaline silicicplutonismoccurs in many parts of the Panafrican belt of Eastern Africa;however, sheet-like intrusions have rarely been described. Asa large-scale province, the nearest analogues of the stratoidgranites of Madagascar are the rapakivi granites of earlierProterozoic age in Scandinavia and Greenland. KEY WORDS: alkaline granite; Madagascar; Panafrican; pastcollisional magmatism ^*Corresponding author     

High resolution simulations of January and July climate over the western Alpine region with a nested Regional Modeling system

Summary High resolution January and July present day climatologies over the central-western Alpine region are simulated with a Regional Climate Model (RegCM) nested within a General Circulation Model (GCM). The RegCM was developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and is run at 20 km grid point spacing. The model is driven by output from a present day climate simulation performed with the GCM ECHAM3 of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI) at T106 resolution (~ 120 km). Five January and July simulations are conducted with the nested RegCM and the results for surface air temperature and precipitation are compared with a gridded observed dataset and a dataset from 99 observing stations throughout the Swiss territory. The driving ECHAM3 simulation reproduces well the position of the northeastern Atlantic jet, but underestimates the jet intensity over the Mediterranean. Precipitation over the Alpine region in the ECHAM3 simulation is close to observed in January but lower than observed in July. Compared to the driving GCM, the nested RegCM produces more precipitation in both seasons, mostly as a result of the stronger model orographic forcing. Average RegCM temperature over the Swiss region is 2–3 degrees higher than observed, while average precipitation is within 30% of observed values. The spatial distribution of precipitation is in general agreement with available gridded observations and the model reproduces the observed elevation dependency of precipitation in the summer. In the winter the simulated elevation of maximum precipitation amounts is lower than observed. Precipitation frequencies are overestimated, while precipitation intensities show a reasonable agreement with observations, especially in the winter. Sensitivity experiments with different cumulus parameterizations, soil moisture initialization and model topography are discussed. Overall, the model performance at the high resolution used here did not deteriorate compared to previous lower resolution experiments.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.With 11 Figures     

Possible creep-related tilt precursors obtained in the Central Apennines (Italy) and in the Southern Caucasus (Georgia)

Daily averaged tilt component data from two sites of the Central Apennines (Italy) and of the Southern Caucasus (Georgia), respectively, revealed intermediate-term tilts as possible precursors to earthquakes (M=3.0÷4.7) which occurred in the above-mentioned seismic areas within a distance of 50 km from the sites. A good temporal correlation as well as a fair spatial correspondence between these residual tilts (with amplitude and duration of some microradians and months, respectively) and main shocks were pointed out, by removing both secular trends and seasonal thermoelastic effects from the raw tilts. An attempt was made to justify the above-mentioned results, based on the assumption that the observed intermediate-term preseismic tilts are the manifestation of aseismic creep episodes of comparable duration in the fault materials of thrust faults close to the tilt sites. The mechanism refers to a strain field slowly propagating from the preparation focal area to the tilt site, through crustal blocks separated by weak transition zones. This propagation is thought to be the cause of the local aseismic fault slip recorded by the tiltmeters. Previously, both discrete structures and strain propagation effects were revealed in the Central Apennines and are thought also to exist in the Southern Caucasus. As in the past, the rheological properties of fault materials are revealed as viscoelastic ones. In fact, creep equations obtained by applying several viscoelastic models on our data, proved to fit quite well some of the observed tilt precursors, producing viscosity and rigidity values very similar to those reported in literature.Professor Petr Viktorovich Manjgaladze died during the writing of this paper     

Analysis of COMPTEL gamma-ray burst locations and spectra

In its first three years of operation, the COMPTEL instrument on theCompton Gamma-Ray Observatory has measured the locations (mean accuracy 1°) and spectra (0.75-30 MeV) of 18 gamma-ray bursts and continues to observe new events at a rate of 1/month. With good angular resolution and sensitivity at MeV energies, the growing COMPTEL burst catalog is an important new piece of evidence in the on-going GRB mystery. The COMPTEL burst locations are consistent with an isotropic distribution of sources, yet the spatial coincidence of two of the bursts indicates the possibility of repetition. The COMPTEL burst spectra are in most cases consistent with a single power law model with spectral index in the range 2–3. However, two bursts show evidence of a spectral break in the MeV range. Measurement of rapid variability at MeV energies in the stronger bursts provides evidence that either the sources are nearby (within the Galaxy) or the gamma-ray emission is relativistically beamed. We present an overview of analysis results obtained from the COMPTEL burst catalog concentrating on the search for burst repetition and the implications of highly variable MeV emission.     

Search for low energyν e,μ,τ andv e,μ,τ in coincidence with BATSE gamma ray bursts

A search for low energy neutrinos of all flavours in correlation with 553 ray bursts detected by BATSE aboard the Compton Observatory has been performed by the LSD (Liquid Scintillator Detector) neutrino telescope. No excess ofe,, orv _e,, candidate has been detected by LSD during the time interval in which BATSE detected the 90% of the photon flux for any of the GRBs analyzed. Upper limits on the neutrino fluxes are given in the paper.     

Numerical simulation of the general circulation of the atmosphere of Titan

The atmospheric circulation of Titan is investigated with a general circulation model. The representation of the large-scale dynamics is based on a grid point model developed and used at Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique for climate studies. The code also includes an accurate representation of radiative heating and cooling by molecular gases and haze as well as a parametrization of the vertical turbulent mixing of momentum and potential temperature. Long-term simulations of the atmospheric circulation are presented. Starting from a state of rest, the model spontaneously produces a strong superrotation with prograde equatorial winds (i.e., in the same sense as the assumed rotation of the solid body) increasing from the surface to reach 100 m sec-1 near the 1-mbar pressure level. Those equatorial winds are in very good agreement with some indirect observations, especially those of the 1989 occultation of Star 28-Sgr by Titan. On the other hand, the model simulates latitudinal temperature contrasts in the stratosphere that are significantly weaker than those observed by Voyager 1 which, we suggest, may be partly due to the nonrepresentation of the spatial and temporal variations of the abundances of molecular species and haze. We present diagnostics of the simulated atmospheric circulation underlying the importance of the seasonal cycle and a tentative explanation for the creation and maintenance of the atmospheric superrotation based on a careful angular momentum budget.     

Bipolar outflows from stars and galaxies as a tornado phenomenon

At an early stage in the lives of stars and galaxies when they are surrounded by discs, vorticity in the disc concentrates into a central vortex, thus converting a Keplerian velocity fieldu _ø r ^–1/2 into an irrotational velocity fieldu _ør ^–1, which implies inward transfer of angular momentum. Centrifugal forces due to spin-up of the inner region and gravity dominant in the outer region then squeeze gas at intermediate layers, increasing pressure gradient in the axial direction sufficiently to drive a wide-angle low-velocity bipolar outflow from the disc. A logarithmic singularity of vorticity at the axis implies strong centrifugal forces which expand plasma to radiusR where pressure gradient balances centrifugal force density of ions; the much weaker centrifugal force density of electrons cannot balance pressure gradient, so that electrons are driven inwards relative to ions until charge separation limits the relative displacement. Now the radial gradient ofu _øcauses ions to rotate at a different rate to electrons, generating an azimuthal current densityj _øwhich is the source of an axial magnetic fieldB _zin the core of the central vortex. Centrifuging carries lines of B to the core wall, where they are wound into helical force-free configuration with B j. An annular channel of radiusR and thickness R into which parallel helical lines ofj andB are compressed constitutes a magnetic vortex tube (MVT). An MVT separates an inner high-velocity highly collimated outflow from the outer low-velocity wide-angle outflow, and is responsible for jets. Magnetic pinches in the MVT may constrict the core flow at HH objects.     

Magnetically-aided evolution of protoplanetary disks

We investigate the global evolution of a turbulent protoplanetary disk incorporating the effects of Maxwell stress due to a large-scale magnetic field permeating the disk. A magnetic field is produced continuously by an dynamo and the resultant Maxwell stress assists the viscous stress in p roviding the means for disk evolution. The most striking feature of magnetized disk evolution is the presence of the surface density bulge located in the magnetic gap, the region of the disk where the degree of ionization is too low to allow for coupli ng between the magnetic field and the gas. The bulge persists for a time of the order of 10⁵–10⁶ yr. The presence and persistence of the surface density bulge may have important implications for the process of planet formation and the overall characteristics of resultant planetary systems.Operated by USRA under contract No. NASW-4574 with NASA.