Sources of Error and the Statistical Formulation of M S: m b Seismic Event Screening Analysis

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), a global ban on nuclear explosions, is currently in a ratification phase. Under the CTBT, an International Monitoring System (IMS) of seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasonic and radionuclide sensors is operational, and the data from the IMS is analysed by the International Data Centre (IDC). The IDC provides CTBT signatories basic seismic event parameters and a screening analysis indicating whether an event exhibits explosion characteristics (for example, shallow depth). An important component of the screening analysis is a statistical test of the null hypothesis H ₀: explosion characteristics using empirical measurements of seismic energy (magnitudes). The established magnitude used for event size is the body-wave magnitude (denoted m _b) computed from the initial segment of a seismic waveform. IDC screening analysis is applied to events with m _b greater than 3.5. The Rayleigh wave magnitude (denoted M _S) is a measure of later arriving surface wave energy. Magnitudes are measurements of seismic energy that include adjustments (physical correction model) for path and distance effects between event and station. Relative to m _b, earthquakes generally have a larger M _S magnitude than explosions. This article proposes a hypothesis test (screening analysis) using M _S and m _b that expressly accounts for physical correction model inadequacy in the standard error of the test statistic. With this hypothesis test formulation, the 2009 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea announced nuclear weapon test fails to reject the null hypothesis H ₀: explosion characteristics.     

A Motion-Stabilized W-Band Radar for Shipboard Observations of Marine Boundary-Layer Clouds

Cloud radars at X, Ka and W-bands have been used in the past for ocean studies of clouds, but the lack of suitable stabilization has limited their usefulness in obtaining accurate measurements of the velocity structure of cloud particles and the heights of cloud features. A 94 GHz (W-band) radar suitable for use on shipboard studies of clouds has been developed that is small and lightweight and can maintain the radar’s beam pointing in the vertical to reduce the affects of the pitch and roll of the ship. A vertical velocity sensor on the platform allows the effects of the ship’s heave to be removed from the measured cloud particle motions. Results from the VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-Rex) field program on the NOAA vessel Ronald H. Brown demonstrate the improvements to the cloud measurements after the ship’s motion effects are removed. The compact design of the radar also makes it suitable for use in aircraft studies. The radar is being repackaged to fit in an aft bay of a NOAA P3 aircraft to observe sea-spray profiles during ocean storms.     

An examination by GC×GC-TOFMS of organic molecules present inhighly degraded oils emerging from Caribbean terrestrial seeps of Cretaceous age

For our ancestors, oil seeps were both a fascination and a resource but as the planet's reserves of high quality low density oil becomes increasingly depleted, so there is now a renewed interest in heavier,biodegraded oils such as those encountered in terrestrial seeps. One such seep is Pitch Lake in the Caribbean island of Trinidad, which is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world. At the northern end of the Caribbean, oil emerges along a tectonic contact on the island on Cuba. The sources of the oils from these seeps are relatively recent and both are subject to intense weathering due to the tropical conditions. When analysed by gas chromatography(GC) both oils appear as unresolved complex mixtures(UCM) and show a very high degree of biodegradation thus presenting an analytical challenge. In this case study, these two Caribbean seep oils were analysed by comprehensive two dimensional GC with time of flight mass spectrometry(GC×GC-TOFMS) to expose many thousands of the individual compounds that comprise the UCM. The high chromatographic resolution of the GC×GC-TOFMS produced good quality mass spectra allowing many compounds including molecular fossil ‘biomarkers' to be identified. Compound classes included diamondoid hydrocarbons, demethylated hopanes and secohopanes, mono-and tri-aromatic steroids. D-ring aromatised structures of the 8,14-seco-hopanes,including demethylated forms were present in both oils but further demethylation, probably at position C-25 during biodegradation, was only observed in the Pitch Lake oil. Many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were absent although the fungal-derived pentacyclic PAH perylene was present in both oils. The presence of the angiosperm biomarker lupane in the Pitch Lake oil constrained the age to the Late Cretaceous. The higher degree of biodegradation observed in the Cuban oil was likely due to relatively slow anaerobic processes whereas oil within Pitch Lake was probably subject to additional more rapid aerobic metabolism within the lake.     

The role of aluminium in the preservation of microbial biosignatures

Demonstrating the biogenicity of presumptive microfossils in the geological record often requires supporting chemical signatures, including isotopic signatures. Understanding the mechanisms that promote the preservation of microbial biosignatures associated with microfossils is fundamental to unravelling the palaeomicrobiological history of the material. Organomineralization of microorganisms is likely to represent the first stages of microbial fossilisation and has been hypothesised to prevent the autolytic degradation of microbial cell envelope structures. In the present study, two distinct fossilisation textures(permineralised microfossils and iron oxide encrusted cell envelopes)identified throughout iron-rich rock samples were analysed using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry(NanoSIMS). In this system, aluminium is enriched around the permineralised microfossils, while iron is enriched within the intracellularly, within distinct cell envelopes. Remarkably,while cell wall structures are indicated, carbon and nitrogen biosignatures are not preserved with permineralised microfossils. Therefore, the enrichment of aluminium, delineating these microfossils appears to have been critical to their structural preservation in this iron-rich environment. In contrast,NanoSIMS analysis of mineral encrusted cell envelopes reveals that preserved carbon and nitrogen biosignatures are associated with the cell envelope structures of these microfossils. Interestingly, iron is depleted in regions where carbon and nitrogen are preserved. In contrast aluminium appears to be slightly enriched in regions associated with remnant cell envelope structures. The correlation of aluminium with carbon and nitrogen biosignatures suggests the complexation of aluminium with preserved cell envelope structures before or immediately after cell death may have inactivated autolytic activity preventing the rapid breakdown of these organic, macromolecular structures.Combined, these results highlight that aluminium may play an important role in the preservation of microorganisms within the rock record.     

Interaction of cuprite with dialkyl dithiophosphates

The interaction of freshly abraded surfaces of cuprite, Cu₂O, with neutral or mildly alkaline aqueous solutions of diethyl or di-n-butyl dithiophosphate (DTP) has been investigated by means of conventional and synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. It was confirmed that DTP adsorbs readily on Cu atoms in the surface layer of the mineral treated with solutions of the collector at pH values near 7 and 9 in the presence of air, and renders the surface hydrophobic. When cuprite is treated with relatively high concentrations of DTP for sufficiently long periods, collector can also be adsorbed as CuDTP, but the coverage does not exceed a thin layer of CuDTP on the adsorbed DTP monolayer, unlike the situation with Cu metal or chalcocite where a thick multilayer can be formed.     

An X-ray excited optical luminescence study of a zoned quartz crystal from an emerald-bearing quartz vein,Hiddenite, North Carolina,USA

The optical luminescence excited with synchrotron radiation along a preferential orientation of a quartz crystal has been investigated. It is found that the crystal is composed of two distinct regions, only one of which luminesces upon X-ray excitation. This luminescence is generally uniform and exhibits emission bands in the blue (470 nm with a shoulder at 522 nm) and in the UV (340 nm) regions of the spectrum. The branching ratio for the intensity of these bands is sensitive to the excitation energy across the Si K-edge. XANES spectra collected by partial luminescence yield (PLY) suggest that both emission bands originate from the de-excitation of Si atoms in the quartz. The possible defect sites within the crystal structure that could account for the observed luminescence are investigated and discussed. Additional experiments are proposed to verify this assignment of the optical emission bands.     

Sustainability of groundwater in Mali,West Africa

The following paper describes the goals and some preliminary work in the Bani sustainability study, an ongoing project in Mali, West Africa. Rural communities in Mali are increasingly relying on hand-pumps, which tap groundwater resources, as a means of obtaining potable water. The long-term sustainable yield of groundwater resources is not known but can be evaluated in sustainability study. In 2005, a groundwater sustainability study was established along the Bani River of Mali. The Bani study collected groundwater levels that were used in a conceptual groundwater flow model—the Bani model—to develop an understanding of current aquifer conditions and to make limited predictions of sustainability under various future scenarios. The Bani model showed the climatic parameters of recharge (derived from precipitation) and evapotranspiration to influence simulated groundwater levels and groundwater volume available, while increased pumping rates, due to population growth, showed little effect. When considered in the context of the actual Bani sustainability study area, the change in groundwater levels resulting from climatic parameters may have negative implications, especially during several consecutive years of decreased precipitation, such as drought, or if downward trends anticipated for precipitation continue.     

Insights into Wasatch fault vertical slip rates using the age of sediments in Timpanogos Cave, Utah

Timpanogos Cave, located near the Wasatch fault, is about 357 m above the American Fork River. Fluvial cave sediments and an interbedded carbonate flowstone yield a paleomagnetic and U–Th depositional age of 350 to 780 ka. Fault vertical slip rates, inferred from calculated river downcutting rates, range between 1.02 and 0.46 mm yr^− 1. These slip rates are in the range of the 0–12 Ma Wasatch Range exhumation rate ( 0.5–0.7 mm yr^− 1), suggesting that the long-term vertical slip rate remained stable through mid-Pleistocene time. However, the late Pleistocene (0–250 ka) decelerated slip rate ( 0.2–0.3 mm yr^− 1) and the accelerated Holocene slip rate ( 1.2 mm yr^− 1) are consistent with episodic fault activity. Assuming that the late Pleistocene vertical slip rate represents an episodic slowing of fault movement and the long-term (0–12 Ma) average vertical slip rate, including the late Pleistocene and Holocene, should be  0.6 mm yr^− 1, there is a net late Pleistocene vertical slip deficit of  50–75 m. The Holocene and late Pleistocene slip rates may be typical for episodes of accelerated and slowed fault movement, respectively. The calculated late Pleistocene slip deficit may mean that the current accelerated Wasatch fault slip rate will extend well into the future.     

Diamond dissolution and the production of methane and other carbon-bearing species in hydrothermal diamond-anvil cells

Raman analysis of the vapor phase formed after heating pure water to near critical (355-374 °C) temperatures in a hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell (HDAC) reveals the synthesis of abiogenic methane. This unexpected result demonstrates the chemical reactivity of diamond at relatively low temperatures. The rate of methane production from the reaction between water and diamond increases with increasing temperature and is enhanced by the presence of a metal gasket (Re, Ir, or Inconel) which is compressed between the diamond anvils to seal the aqueous sample. The minimum detection limit for methane using Raman spectroscopy was determined to be ca. 0.047 MPa, indicating that more than 1.4 nanograms (or 8.6 × 10⁻¹¹ mol) of methane were produced in the HDAC at 355 °C and 30 MPa over a period of ten minutes. At temperatures of 650 °C and greater, hydrogen and carbon dioxide were detected in addition to methane. The production of abiogenic methane, observed in all HDAC experiments where a gasket was used, necessitates a reexamination of the assumed chemical systems and intensive parameters reported in previous hydrothermal investigations employing diamonds. The results also demonstrate the need to minimize or eliminate the production of methane and other carbonic species in experiments by containing the sample within a HDAC without using a metal gasket.