Oxidation state and electronic configuration determination of copper in tetrahedrite group minerals by L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy

L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy employing a synchrotron radiation source has been used to study the electronic structure and valency of Cu in the chemically and structurally complex tetrahedrite group of minerals. Mechanical mixtures of Cu²⁺O and Cu⁺FeS₂ were used to estimate the relative cross sections of Cu²⁺ and Cu⁺; the absorption of Cu²⁺ at 931 eV is 25 times greater than that of Cu⁺ at 945 eV. Using this calibration, Cu²⁺/Cu ratios were found to vary from 0.00 to 0.054 in the tetrahedrite samples studied; the highest proportion of Cu²⁺ occurs in synthetic tetrahedrites with a composition close to Cu₁₂Sb₄S₁₃. This study reveals the utility of the technique for determining the valence state of copper in complex minerals, allowing the crystal chemistry to be more fully characterised.     

Global photometric properties of Asteroid (4) Vesta observed with Dawn Framing Camera

Dawn spacecraft orbited Vesta for more than one year and collected a huge volume of multispectral, high-resolution data in the visible wavelengths with the Framing Camera. We present a detailed disk-integrated and disk-resolved photometric analysis using the Framing Camera images with the Minnaert model and the Hapke model, and report our results about the global photometric properties of Vesta. The photometric properties of Vesta show weak or no dependence on wavelengths, except for the albedo. At 554 nm, the global average geometric albedo of Vesta is 0.38 ± 0.04, and the Bond albedo range is 0.20 ± 0.02. The bolometric Bond albedo is 0.18 ± 0.01. The phase function of Vesta is similar to those of S-type asteroids. Vesta’s surface shows a single-peaked albedo distribution with a full-width-half-max ∼17% relative to the global average. This width is much smaller than the full range of albedos (from ∼0.55× to >2× global average) in localized bright and dark areas of a few tens of km in sizes, and is probably a consequence of significant regolith mixing on the global scale. Rheasilvia basin is ∼10% brighter than the global average. The phase reddening of Vesta measured from Dawn Framing Camera images is comparable or slightly stronger than that of Eros as measured by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission, but weaker than previous measurements based on ground-based observations of Vesta and laboratory measurements of HED meteorites. The photometric behaviors of Vesta are best described by the Hapke model and the Akimov disk-function, when compared with the Minnaert model, Lommel–Seeliger model, and Lommel–Seeliger–Lambertian model. The traditional approach for photometric correction is validated for Vesta for >99% of its surface where reflectance is within ±30% of global average.     

The evolution of the Dutch and Belgian coasts and the role of sand supply from the North Sea

During the Holocene, the Dutch and Belgian coasts evolved, controlled by post-glacial eustatic sea-level rise, spatially varying vertical subsurface motions (glacio-isostatic crustal rebound, compaction, tectonics) and spatially varying sediment supply (mainly marine sand). The marine sand supply changed as the tidal dynamics and the wave climate changed due to the changing geometry and depth of the North Sea during the Holocene transgression. These changes influenced the coastal evolution. This study compares the results of separate numerical model calculations of the large-scale Holocene tide- and wave-induced sand transport in the southern North Sea with existing geological data of the Dutch and Belgian large-scale coastal evolution, resulting in a qualitatively good correlation. The large-scale coastal evolution is interpreted in terms of the oceanographical forcing, and an integrated conceptual model of the Holocene evolution of the Dutch and Belgian coasts is proposed. The large-scale wave-driven bed-load transport was an order of magnitude smaller than the tidal transports. The modelled tidal transport direction changed from onshore before 6 ka BP to along shore at present for the Zeeland and Holland coasts; the influence that waves may have had on the tidal transport by suspending sand gradually decreased. This change in direction caused the modelled tidal sand supply to the coast to decrease for the Belgian, Zeeland and Holland coasts. While the offshore area of the Holland coast remained a zone of (small) deposition due to decreasing northward sand transports, the offshore area of the Zeeland coast became increasingly erosional after 6 ka BP due to the encroaching divergence of the tidal transports. Due to uncertainty in the magnitude of the modelled sand transports, but robustness in the transport patterns, the focus is on the qualitative rather than the quantitative model results. When compared with the trend of closure, expansion and later erosion and reopening of the coast, the above decrease in sand supply must have been slow enough compared with the decrease in sea-level rise to cause a temporary sand surplus which decayed to a slight deficit as the decrease in supply and the rise in sea level continued. The Wadden Sea coast exchanged little or no sand with the adjacent deeper North Sea throughout the Holocene.     

Post‐Palaeozoic uplift history of southeastern Australia revisited: Results from a process‐based model of landscape evolution

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are widely relied upon as representations of the Earth's topographic morphology. The most widely used global DEMs available are ETOPO5, TerrainBase and JGP95E at a 5‐arc‐minute spatial resolution, and the GTOPO30 and GLOBE (version 1) global DEMs at a 30‐arc‐second spatial resolution. This paper presents the results of intercomparisons of these global DEMs over Australia, and with the GEODATA 9‐arc‐second DEM (version 1) of Australia. These DEMs were also compared to an independently produced, altimeter‐derived orthometric height database. This allows not only a totally independent assessment of the quality of these different DEMs over Australia, but also an insight into the ERS‐1 radar altimeter's ability to measure orthometric heights on land. The results of all these comparisons reveal large differences among the DEMs, with the greatest difference between JGP95E and ETOPO5 (mean 49 m, standard deviation ±274 m). The comparison with the altimeter‐derived database shows good agreement with the version 1 GEODATA DEM (mean 2 m, standard deviation ±27 m), thus demonstrating that the altimeter is a viable method for quality assessment of DEMs in lowland regions. A further conclusion is that the representation of the Australian land surface in both the JGP95E and TerrainBase global DEMs is more accurate than the higher resolution GLOBE (version 1) global DEM, even though JGP95E displays a disparity along the 140°E meridian because of the different data sources used in its construction.     

The radial velocity of the companion star in the low-mass X-ray binary 2S 0921–630: limits on the mass of the compact object

In this paper we report on optical spectroscopic observations of the low-mass X-ray binary 2S 0921–630 obtained with the Very Large Telescope. We found sinusoidal radial velocity variations of the companion star with a semi-amplitude of  99.1 ± 3.1 km s⁻¹  modulated on a period of 9.006 ± 0.007 d, consistent with the orbital period found previously for this source, and a systemic velocity of  44.4 ± 2.4 km s⁻¹  . Owing to X-ray irradiation, the centre of light measured by the absorption lines from the companion star is probably shifted with respect to the centre of mass. We try to correct for this using the so-called K -correction. Conservatively applying the maximum correction possible and using the previously measured rotational velocity of the companion star, we find a lower limit to the mass of the compact object in 2S 0921–630 of   M_X sin³ i > 1.90 ± 0.25 M_⊙  (1σ errors). The inclination in this system is well constrained since partial eclipses have been observed in X-ray and optical bands. For inclinations in the range  60° < i < 90°  we find  1.90 ± 0.25 < M_X < 2.9 ± 0.4 M_⊙  . However, using this maximum K -correction we find that the ratio between the mass of the companion star and that of the compact object, q , is 1.32 ± 0.37, implying super-Eddington mass-transfer rates; however, evidence for that has not been found in 2S 0921–630. We conclude that the compact object in 2S 0921–630 is either a (massive) neutron star or a low-mass black hole.