NMR studies of chemical structural variation of insoluble organic matter from different carbonaceous chondrite groups

Solid-state ¹H and ¹³C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic experiments have been performed on isolated meteoritic Insoluble Organic Matter (IOM) spanning four different carbonaceous chondrite meteorite groups; a CR2 (EET92042), a CI1 (Orgueil), a CM2 (Murchison), and the unique C2 meteorite, Tagish Lake. These solid state NMR experiments reveal considerable variation in bulk organic composition across the different meteorite group’s IOM. The fraction of aromatic carbon increases as CR2 < CI1 < CM2 < Tagish Lake. The increases in aromatic carbon are offset by reductions in aliphatic (sp³) carbon moieties, e.g., “CH_x,” and “CH_x(O,N).” Oxidized sp² bonded carbon, e.g., carboxyls and ketones grouped as “CO,” are largely conservative across these meteorite groups. Single pulse (SP) ¹³C magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR experiments reveal the presence of nanodiamonds with an apparent concentration ranking in the IOM of CR2 < CI1 < CM2 < Tagish Lake. A pair of independent NMR experiments reveals that, on average, the aromatic moieties in the IOM of all four meteoritic IOM fractions are highly substituted. Fast spinning SP ¹H MAS NMR spectral data combined with other NMR experimental data reveal that the average hydrogen content of sp³ bonded carbon functional groups is low, requiring a high degree of aliphatic chain branching in each IOM fraction. The variation in chemistry across the meteorite groups is consistent with alteration by low temperature chemical oxidation. It is concluded that such chemistry principally affected the aliphatic moieties whereas the aromatic moieties and nanodiamonds may have been largely unaffected.     

Isotopic fractionation of iron, potassium, and oxygen in stony cosmic spherules: Implications for heating histories and sources

Atmospheric heating alters the compositions and textures of micrometeorites. To understand the changes and to test a proposed relationship between a micrometeorite’s petrographic texture and its degree of heating, we made elemental and multiple isotope analyses of stony cosmic spherules (sCS) collected from the South Pole Water well. Specifically, we analyzed the elemental compositions of 94 sCS and the isotopic ratios of Fe, K and O, on 43, 12 and 8 of these sCS, respectively.Our results show that sCS classified as strongly heated generally have lower concentrations of volatile and moderately volatile elements. Of the 43 spherules analyzed for Fe isotopes, only 5 have δ⁵⁷Fe >5‰. In contrast, enrichment of ⁴¹K is pervasive (δ⁴¹K >0 in all 12 spherules analyzed) and large (up to 183‰). The determination of K isotope abundances in sCS may therefore be useful in deciphering thermal histories. Three of the eight sCS analyzed for O isotopes are mass fractionated with δ¹⁸O >30‰. We attribute two of these three δ¹⁸O enrichments to evaporative losses of oxygen in the atmosphere and the third to the presence in the parent material of an exotic phase, perhaps a sulfate or a carbonate. The K isotope and O isotope data are broadly consistent with the proposed textural classification.Because most spherules were not heated enough to fractionate Al, Mg, or Si, we compared the measured Mg/Al and Si/Al ratios directly to those of conventional meteorites and their matrices. ∼30% of the sCS have compositions outside the range defined by the bulk and the matrix compositions of known meteorite groups but consistent with those of pyroxene- and olivine-rich materials and may be samples of chondrules. The other 70% have Mg/Al and Si/Al ratios similar to those of CI, CM, CO, and CV chondrites. Natural variability of the Mg/Al and Si/Al ratios precludes the assignment of an individual sCS to a particular class of C-chondrite.     

Longwave Measurements for the Coast of British Columbia and Improvements to the Tsunami Warning Capability

A few years ago the Canadian Hydrographic Service initiated a major upgrade toall tide gauges and tsunami stations on the coast of British Columbia (B.C.). Thisprogram was undertaken to address shortcomings of the earlier digital systems andwas driven by concerns about emergency response continuity in the year 2000. By1999, thirteen tide gauge stations had been installed and were operational. Three ofthese stations (Tofino, Winter Harbour, and Langara) were selected for use as tsunamiwarning stations. Several years of continuous, high quality data have now been collectedat these stations and used for analysis of long waves in the tsunami frequency band.Careful examination of these data revealed two weak tsunamis recorded by severalB.C. stations: a distant tsunami of June 23, 2001 generated by the Peru Earthquake(M_w = 8.4), and a local tsunami of October 12, 2001 induced by the Queen Charlotte Earthquake (M_w = 6.3$). Spectral characteristics of these two tsunamis are compared with the spectral characteristics of long waves generated by a strong storm (October, 2000) and of ordinary background oscillations. The topographic admittance functions (frequency responses) constructed for all stations showed that most of them (in particular, Winter Harbour, Tofino, Bamfield, Port Hardy, and Victoria) have strong resonance at periods from 2.5 to 20 min, indicating that these locations are vulnerable to relatively high-frequency tsunamis. The Winter Harbour station also has two strong resonant peaks with periods of 30 and 47 min and with amplification factors of about 7. The estimated source functions show very clear differences between long waves associated with the seismic source (typical periods 10–30 min) and those generated by a storm, which typically have shorter periods and strong energy pumping from high-frequencies due to non-linear interaction of wind waves.     

A two-dimensional fuzzy random model of soil pore structure

A new conceptual model for soil poresolid structure is formalized. Soil poresolid structure is proposed to comprise spatially abutting elements each with a value which is its membership to the fuzzy set “pore, ” termed porosity. These values have a range between zero (all solid) and unity (all pore). Images are used to represent structures in which the elements are pixels and the value of each is a porosity. Twodimensional random fields are generated by allocating each pixel a porosity by independently sampling a statistical distribution. These random fields are reorganized into other poresolid structural types by selecting parent points which have a specified local region of influence. Pixels of larger or smaller porosity are aggregated about the parent points and within the region of interest by controlled swapping of pixels in the image. This creates local regions of homogeneity within the random field. This is similar to the process known as simulated annealing. The resulting structures are characterized using one and twodimensional variograms and functions describing their connectivity. A variety of examples of structures created by the model is presented and compared. Extension to three dimensions presents no theoretical difficulties and is currently under development.     

2,3-Dimethylbiphenyl: Kinetics of its cyclisation reaction and effects of maturation upon its relative concentration in sediments

The rate constants of the cyclisation reaction of 2,3-dimethylbiphenyl to give 1-methylfluorene under non-catalytic conditions have been obtained at five temperatures between 460 and 500°C. The activation energy, activation entropy and frequency factor for the reaction have been determined from the experimental data. These kinetic parameters were then used to calculate the temperature ranges where the reaction occurs under natural conditions in sedimentary sequences which have experienced different heating rates. The coincidence of the measured and calculated values has been taken as evidence that the cyclisation reaction occurs in sediments under non-catalytic conditions.     

IGU Commission on Geographic Information Systems

The International Geographical Union Reports

IGU Commission on Geographic Information SystemsGoegraphic information systems in higher education — A workshop — Columbus, Ohio, June 10–11, 1989     

Magnetic field at the core boundary in the nearly symmetric hydromagnetic dynamo z

Summary The behaviour of the poloidal and toroidal magnetic field at the core-mantle boundary is analysed in more detail, assuming that the conductive layer in the lowest mantle is thin. We can conclude that, in the case of the Z-model of the nearly symmetric hydromagnetic dynamo, the poloidal field may be considered potential everywhere in the mantle and that the azimuthal field depends on the geostrophic azimuthal velocity in the same manner as derived in[1] and[3].

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