Cosmological Parameters from Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies: Status and Prospects

A survey is made of the present constraints on cosmological parameters from Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

African linkage of Precambrian Sri Lanka

New age and isotopic data show that the high-grade basement rocks of Sri Lanka were not linked to the Archaean granulite domain of southern India but experienced their main structural and metamorphic development during the Pan-African event some 950 to 550 Ma ago. This occurred when West Gondwana and East Gondwana collided to form one of the longest collisional structures in the Supercontinent — the Mozambique belt that extends from Mozambique to Ethiopia and Sudan. A major tectonic boundary, interpreted as a thrust zone, divides the Highland/Southwestern Complex in the central part of Sri Lanka from the Vijayan Complex in the E and SE. The former is interpreted to represent the remnant of a once extensive passive margin extending west, in a Gondwana reconstruction, via Madagasgar to Tanzania and Mozambique. The Vijayan Complex may have been part of a separate continental margin plutonic assemblage, and its collision with the Highland/ Southwestern Complex marks the final amalgamation of East and West Gondwana into a supercontinent some 550 Ma ago. The Sri Lankan granulites cannot be correlated with the distinctly older granulites of the Eastern Ghats belt of India, and this suggests that Sri Lanka was situated close to the SE coast of Madagascar in a Gondwana reconstruction.

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Zusammenfassung Neue Isotopen- und Altersdaten aus dem metamorphen Grundgebirge von Sri Lanka zeigen, daß dieses Gebiet nicht, wie vielfach vermutet, Teil des archaischen Granulitkomplexes von Südindien war, sondern seine strukturelle und metamorphe Entwicklung während der panafrikanischen Orogenèse zwischen ca. 950 Ma und ca. 550 Ma hatte. Diese Orogenèse ist das Resultat der Kollision zwischen West-Gondwana (Afrika und Südamerika) und Ost-Gondwana (Südindien, Australien und Antarktis) und führte zur Bildung eines der längsten Kollisionsgürtel des Superkontinentes, dem Mosambik-Gürtel, der sich von Mosambik bis nach Äthiopien und in den Sudan erstreckt. Der West- und Zentralteil Sri Lankas mit den Wanni und Highland/Southwestern Komplexen wird vom Vijayan Komplex im Osten und Südosten durch eine Überschiebungszone getrennt, die möglicherweise eine Sutur darstellt. Die Gesteine im Westen und in den Highlands werden als der Rest eines ehemals weiträumigen passiven Kontinentalrandes interpretiert, zu dem wohl auch die lithologisch ähnlichen Abfolgen der hochmetamorphen Gebiete in Mosambik, Tansania und Madagaskar gehörten. Der Vijayan Komplex war wohl Teil der separaten plutonischen Suite eines aktiven Kontinentalrandes, und seine Kollision mit dem Highland/ Southwestern Komplex markiert das endgültige Verschweißen von West- und Ost-Gondwana zu einem Superkontinent vor ca. 550 Ma. Die Granulite Sri Lankas können nicht mit den deutlich älteren Granuliten des Gürtels der Eastern Ghats in Südost Indien korreliert werden sondern ähneln eher den hochgradigen Gesteinen in Südost Madagaskar. Damit ist die Lage Sri Lankas nahe Madagaskar in einer Gondwana Rekonstruktion wahrscheinlicher als nahe der Südostküste Indiens.

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Résumé De nouvelles données isotopiques et géochronologiques montrent que les roches métamorphiques du socle du Sri Lanka ne constituent pas, comme on l'a souvent cru, une partie du complexe granulitique archéen de l'Inde méridionale, mais qu'elles ont vécu leur propre histoire tectono-métamorphique au cours de l'orogenèse panafricaine, entre 950 et 550 Ma. Cette orogenèse est le résultat de la collision entre le Gondwana occidental (Afrique et Amérique du Sud) et le Gondwana oriental (Inde du sud, Australie et Antarctique) et constitue une des plus grandes chaînes de collision du Supercontinent: la chaîne du Mozambique, qui s'étend du Mozambique jusqu'au Soudan et en Ethiopie. Un contact tectonique majeur, interprété comme un charriage, sépare le »Highland/South-western Complex« (partie centrale du Sri Lanka) du »Vijayan Complex« (partie est et sud-est). Le premier de ces complexes est interprété comme un reste d'une ancienne marge passive de grande étendue, à laquelle appartenaient aussi les séries lithologiquement analogues du domaine très métamorphique du Mozambique, de Tanzanie et de Madagascar. Le «Vijagan Complex« a pu être une partie d'un ensemble plutonique séparé de marge active; sa collision avec le »Highland/Southwestern Complex« marque la réunion finale en un super-continent il y a quelque 550 Ma, des Gondwanas oriental et occidental. Les granulites du Sri Lanka ne peuvent pas être corrélées avec celles de la chaîne des Eastern Ghats (Inde du sud-est) qui sont nettement plus anciennes; elles se rapprochent plutôt des roches très métamorphiques du sud-est de Madagascar. On en déduit que la position du Sri Lanka, dans une reconstruction du Gondwana, devait être plus proche de Madagascar que de la côte sud de l'Inde.

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Main sequence for rotating stars of intermediate mass

We have investigated the evolutionary behaviour of intermediate mass (2, 3, 4, 5, and 7M ) Population I stars, assuming two different rates of rotation at the threshold of stability.In the first part of the study, stars are assumed to start with a critical rotation (fast rotation model) and to progress to the point of rotational instability. The stars evolve by losing mass and become rotationally unstable before they reach the zero-age Main Sequence. It is argued that multiple star systems might be formed through the evolution of rapidly rotating stars. An expression for the rotational mass loss rate is derived as a function of the physical parameters of stars.In the second part of the study, stars are assumed to rotate at a rate below the critical value (slow rotation model). The evolution of slowly rotating stars is followed as far as zero-age Main Sequence on the theoretical Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and compared with that of normal stars. The evolutionary paths are found to be more or less similar to those of normal stars; but their positions on the Main Sequence are characterized by effective temperatures and luminosities lower than those of normal stars. The zero-age Main-Sequence times of these stars are longer than those of normal stars. The rotational rates obtained for the zero-age Main Sequence are in good agreement with observed values.     

Time scale of an early to mid-Paleozoic orogenic cycle of the long-lived Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Inner Mongolia of China: Implications for continental growth

We present a detailed, new time scale for an orogenic cycle (oceanic accretion–subduction–collision) that provides significant insights into Paleozoic continental growth processes in the southeastern segment of the long-lived Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). The most prominent tectonic feature in Inner Mongolia is the association of paired orogens. A southern orogen forms a typical arc-trench complex, in which a supra-subduction zone ophiolite records successive phases during its life cycle: birth (ca. 497–477 Ma), when the ocean floor of the ophiolite was formed; (2) youth (ca. 473–470 Ma), characterized by mantle wedge magmatism; (3) shortly after maturity (ca. 461–450 Ma), high-Mg adakite and adakite were produced by slab melting and subsequent interaction of the melt with the mantle wedge; (4) death, caused by subduction of a ridge crest (ca. 451–434 Ma) and by ridge collision with the ophiolite (ca. 428–423 Ma). The evolution of the magmatic arc exhibits three major coherent phases: arc volcanism (ca. 488–444 Ma); adakite plutonism (ca. 448–438 Ma) and collision (ca. 419–415 Ma) of the arc with a passive continental margin. The northern orogen, a product of ridge-trench interaction, evolved progressively from coeval generation of near-trench plutons (ca. 498–461 Ma) and juvenile arc crust (ca. 484–469 Ma), to ridge subduction (ca. 440–434 Ma), microcontinent accretion (ca. 430–420 Ma), and finally to forearc formation. The paired orogens followed a consistent progression from ocean floor subduction/arc formation (ca. 500–438 Ma), ridge subduction (ca. 451–434 Ma) to microcontinent accretion/collision (ca. 430–415 Ma); ridge subduction records the turning point that transformed oceanic lithosphere into continental crust. The recognition of this orogenic cycle followed by Permian–early Triassic terminal collision of the CAOB provides compelling evidence for episodic continental growth.     

A geological and geotechnical investigation of the settlement area of Zümrüt Building (Konya, Turkey) which caused 92 fatalities due to its collapse

This study examines the local geological conditions and soil structure as possible causes of the collapse of the Zümrüt Building 2 February 2004. This catastrophe resulted in 92 fatalities and 35 injuries. This study also examines other views which claim weak soil structure, elastic and consolidation settlement of soil and excessive groundwater extraction as well as subsidence resulting from the underground silt erosion as possible factors. Zümrüt Building was constructed on normally consolidated, low plasticity clay. The underground water table was 30 m in depth. The internal friction angle of soil was 8°–30°, its cohesion was between 34 and 127 kN/m² and standard penetration test numbers varied between 11 and 50. The underground water level beneath Zümrüt Building had risen 4.5 m since its construction. Therefore the claim that subsidence resulting from the decrease of underground water level contributed to the collapse is incorrect. Secondly the settlement, resulting from the filling up of the pores created by the silt receding with the underground water, was 4.4 mm in total, and attributing this as the primary cause of the collapse is also incorrect. Soil properties, in situ and laboratory test results showed that the existing and/or expected settlement and the differential ground settlement in the Zümrüt building vicinity had the potential to cause structural damage. The tensile stresses caused by differential settlements recorded here are thought to be an indicator, but not the main cause contributing to the collapse of the building. The Zümrüt Building collapse was due to several compounding mistakes during the construction phase. These were geotechnical and other project faults and the use of low quality construction materials. The resulting catastrophe caused 92 fatalities, 35 injuries and a material loss of approximately US$7 million.     

Zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic study of gneissic rocks from the Chinese Altai: Progressive accretionary history in the early to middle Palaeozoic

Gneissic rocks in the Chinese Altai Mountains have been interpreted as either Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks or Precambrian basement. This study reports geochemical and geochronological data for banded paragneisses and associated gneissic granitoids collected along a NE–SW traverse in the northwestern Chinese Altai. Petrological and geochemical data suggest that the protoliths of the banded gneisses were possibly immature sediments with significant volcanic input and that the gneissic granitoids were derived from I-type granites formed in a subduction environment. Three types of morphological features can be recognized in zircons from the banded gneisses and are interpreted to correlate with different sources. Zircons from five samples of banded paragneiss cluster predominantly between 466 and 528 Ma, some give Neoproterozoic ages, and a few yield discordant Paleoproterozoic to Archean ages. Zircon Hf isotopic compositions indicate that both juvenile/mantle and crust materials were involved in the generation of the source rocks from which these zircons were derived. In contrast, zircons occur ubiquitously as elongated euhedral prismatic crystals in the four samples of the gneissic granitoids, and define single populations for each sample with mean ages between 380 and 453 Ma. The general absence of Precambrian inheritance and positive zircon ?Hf values for these granitoids suggest insignificant crustal contribution to the generation of the precursor magmas. Our data can be interpreted in terms of a progressive accretionary history in early to middle Palaeozoic times, and the Chinese Altai may possibly represent a magmatic arc built on a continental margin dominated by Neoproterozoic rocks.     

On the longitudinal distribution of the solar surges

After re-examination of data presented by Verma (1984), some misuse of solar parameteres published in Solar Geophysical Data is presented. Consequently some conclusions made by Verma (1984, 1986) on about the longitudinal distribution of cool solar surges based on these misuses are discussed.     

Zircon M257 ‐ a Homogeneous Natural Reference Material for the Ion Microprobe U‐Pb Analysis of Zircon

We introduce and propose zircon M257 as a future reference material for the determination of zircon U‐Pb ages by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. This light brownish, flawless, cut gemstone specimen from Sri Lanka weighed 5.14 g (25.7 carats). Zircon M257 has TIMS‐determined, mean isotopic ratios (2s uncertainties) of 0.09100 ± 0.00003 for ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U and 0.7392 ± 0.0003 for ²⁰⁷pb/²³⁵U. Its ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U age is 561.3 ± 0.3 Ma (unweighted mean, uncertainty quoted at the 95% confidence level); the U‐Pb system is concordant within uncertainty of decay constants. Zircon M257 contains ～ 840 μg g^?1 U (Th/U ～ 0.27). The material exhibits remarkably low heterogeneity, with a virtual absence of any internal textures even in cathodoluminescence images. The uniform, moderate degree of radiation damage (estimated from the expansion of unit‐cell parameters, broadening of Raman spectral parameters and density) corresponds well, within the “Sri Lankan trends”, with actinide concentrations, U‐Pb age, and the calculated alpha fluence of 1.66 × 10¹⁸ g^?1. This, and a (U+Th)/He age of 419 ± 9 Ma (2s), enables us to exclude any unusual thermal history or heat treatment, which could potentially have affected the retention of radiogenic Pb. The oxygen isotope ratio of this zircon is 13.9%o VSMOW suggesting a metamorphic genesis in a marble or calc‐silicate skarn.     

Geophysical and geochemical evidence of Proterozoic collision in the western marginal zone of the Baltic Shield

New continental crust was formed in the Svecofennian domain of the Baltic Shield c. 1.9 Ga ago. Approximately 0.1–0.15 Ga later, new crust accreted to the SW part of the Shield. In this paper an attempt is made, on the basis of gravity measurements and lithogeochemistry, to describe the tectonic processes responsible for the continental growth c. 1.75–1.8 Ga ago. The Transscandinavian Granite Porphyry Belt (TGPB) separates the Svecofennian domain from the polymetamorphic terrain of the SW Swedish gneiss region. Red orthogneisses occurring immediately west of the TGPB are the deformed equivalents of the TGPB type granitoids, while grey orthogneisses, displaying a tonalitic-granodioritic trend and situated further west, were generated in a »volcanic arc« environment. The TGPB granitoids and the red SW Swedish gneisses represent a transition from this volcanic arc type rock to contemporaneous »within-plate« type granites intruded in the Svecofennian crust. The volcanic arc was forced against the Svecofennian crust in which large tensional fracture zones ensued with strike directions normal to the collision front. In such tensional environments the »withinplate« type granites were generated. In the collision zone the crust was down-warped, and huge amounts of granitic melts were generated at the base of the crust. This TGPB Magma rose upwards utilizing the fracture zone between the arc rocks, generated slightly earlier, and the Svecofennian crust. A relatively thin upper part of the TGPB that spread laterally westwards became strongly deformed during the collision (i.e. the red SW Swedish gneisses), while the major deep-reaching TGPB root zone that was not completely solidified yet, acted as a buffer against the foliation front.

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Zusammenfassung Vor 1,9 Milliarden Jahren kam es zur Neubildung von kontinentaler Kruste im svecofennischen Bereich des Baltischen Schildes. Ungefähr 100–150 Millionen Jahre später wurde im Südwesten des Schildes neue Kruste hinzugefügt. In diesem Artikel wird auf der Basis von Gravimetriemessungen und Lithogeochemie der Versuch unternommen die tektomschen Vorgänge, die zu diesem 1,75–1,8 Milliarden Jahre alten Krustenzuwachs führten, zu beschreiben.Der Transskandinavische-Granit-Porphyr-Gürtel (Transscandinavian-Granite-Porphyry-Belt/TGPB) trennt das Svecofennium von der polymetamorphen, im Südwesten Schwedens gelegenen Gneis-Region. Ein direkt westlich des TGPB gelegenes Vorkommen roter Orthogneise entspricht den deformierten TGPB Granitoiden. Graue Orthogneise, die weiter im Westen aufgeschlossen sind, zeigen eine mehr tonalitische bis granodioritische Zusammensetzung und werden auf einen vulkanischen Inselbogen zurückgeführt. Die TGPB Granitoide und die roten südwest-schwedischen Gneise stellen einen Übergang von den Inselbogen-Vulkaniten zu den zeitgleichen »Intra-Platten-Graniten« der svecofennischen Kruste dar. Der Inselbogen kollidierte mit der svecofennischen Kruste, es entstanden großräumige Bruchzonen mit Streichrichtungen senkrecht zur Kollisionsebene. Während des Zustands der hohen Druckspannung des Gebietes intrudierten die »Intra-Platten-Granite«. Innerhalb des Kollisionsbereiches wurde die Kruste nach unten gebogen, und so entstanden an der Basis der Kruste große Mengen granitischen Magmas. Dieses TGPB Magma stieg entlang der Störungszone innerhalb der Inselbogengesteine, die nur wenig älter sind, und der svecofennischen Kruste, auf. Nur ein, von relativ geringer Mächtigkeit, weiter westlich gelegener Teil des TGPB, die roten südwest-schwedischen Gneise, wurde während der Kollision intensiv deformiert. Dagegen war der Hauptanteil der tiefreichenden TGPB Wurzelzone noch nicht vollständig erstarrt und wirkte deshalb wie eine Pufferzone gegen die Schieferungsfront.

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Résumé De la croûte continentale nouvelle s'est formée il y a 1,9 Ga dans le domaine des Svecofennides (Bouclier baltique). Environ 100 à 150 Ma plus tard, de la croûte nouvelle s'est accrétionnée à la bordure sud-ouest du bouclier. Cette note basée sur des mesures de gravité et la lithogéochimie, présente un essai d'analyse des processus tectoniques responsables de cette croissance continentale d'âge 1,75 à 1,8 Ga. Le «Transcandinavian Granite Porphygry Belt» (TGPB) sépare le domaine svécofennien des gneiss polymétamorphiques du sud-ouest de la Suède. Immédiatement à l'ouest de TGPB affleurent des orthogneiss rouges qui représentent l'équivalent déformé de granitoïdes du TGPB, tandis que des orthogneiss gris de tendance tonalitique-granodioritique, situés plus à l'ouest, ont été engendrées dans un environnement d'arc volcanique. Les granitoïdes du TGPB et les gneiss rouges du sud-ouest de la Suède représentent une transition entre ces produits d'arc volcanique et les granites intra-plaque de même âge intrudés dans la croûte svécofennienne. L'arc volcanique a été accrétionné à la croûte svécofennienne avec production dans celleci de grandes fractures d'extension perpendiculaires au front de collision. C'est dans ce domaine en extension que les granites intra-plaque se sont mis en place. Dans la zone de collision, la croûte s'est incurvée vers le bas et de grandes quantités de liquides granitiques ont été engendrées à la base de la croûte. Ces magmas TGPB sont montés à la faveur de la zone fracturée entre les roches de l'arc engendrée un peu plus tôt, et la croûte svécofennienne. Seule une fraction supérieure relativement mince du TGPB, développée vers l'ouest, a subi une déformation importante au cours de la collision, pour former les gneiss rouges du sud-ouest de la Suède; par contre, la partie principale de la racine profonde du TGPB, qui n'était pas encore entièrement solidifiée, a joné le role tampon en avant du front de foliation.

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