A New Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer Channel Selection and Assessment of Its Impact on Met Office NWP Forecasts

A new set of Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer(IASI) channels was re-selected from 314 EUMETSAT channels.In selecting channels,we calculated the impact of the individually added channel on the improvement in the analysis outputs from a one-dimensional variational analysis(1D-Var) for the Unified Model(UM) data assimilation system at the Met Office,using the channel score index(CSI) as a figure of merit.Then,200 channels were selected in order by counting each individual channel's CSI contribution.Compared with the operationally used 183 channels for the UM at the Met Office,the new set shares 149 channels,while the other 51 channels are new.Also examined is the selection from the entropy reduction method with the same 1D-Var approach.Results suggest that channel selection can be made in a more objective fashion using the proposed CSI method.This is because the most important channels can be selected across the whole IASI observation spectrum.In the experimental trial runs using the UM global assimilation system,the new channels had an overall neutral impact in terms of improvement in forecasts,as compared with results from the operational channels.However,upper-tropospheric moist biases shown in the control run with operational channels were significantly reduced in the experimental trial with the newly selected channels.The reduction of moist biases was mainly due to the additional water vapor channels,which are sensitive to the upper-tropospheric water vapor.     

Strontium Isotope Abundance Studies and Rubidium--Strontium Age Determinations on Tertiary Igneous Rocks from the Isle of Skye North-West Scotland

The isotopic abundance of strontium has been measured in representativerock-types from the Tertiary igneous suite in the Isle of Skye,north-west Scotland. The isotopic abundance of Sr⁸⁷, expressedas the Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratio, for twelve basalts, dolerites, gabbros,and peridotites is 0.7058?0.0010. On the other hand, the averageinitial Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratio for one granite from the Eastern RedhillsComplex and for three granites from the Western Redhills Complexis 0.7124?0.0015. The three principal members of the marscoitesuite of the Western Redhills Centre, namely, ferrodiorite,porphyritic felsite, and marscoite, also have significantlyhigher initial Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios than the basaltic rocks. Itis concluded that the rocks with high initial ratios were derivedfrom a source with significantly higher Rb/Sr ratio than thatof the basaltic rocks. The hypothesis which is most in accordwith the isotopic evidence is that the granitic rocks and themarscoite suite were produced by partial melting of ancientLewisian rocks, which form the underlying basement at no greatdepth in this area. Rb—Sr (and K-Ar) age determinations were carried out onsome representative rocks from the Eastern and Western RedhillsCentres. It was not possible to establish a significant agedifference between any of the rock units from either Centres.The mean age is 54?3 m.y. and suggests that intrusion of thegranitic rocks of Skye occurred during a relatively short periodof time within the Lower or Middle Eocene peroid.     

Behaviour of rigid objects during deformation and metamorphism: a test using schists from the Bolton syncline, Connecticut, USA

The behaviour of spherical versus highly ellipsoidal rigid objects in folded rocks relative to one another or the Earth’s surface is of particular significance for metamorphic and structural geologists. Two common porphyroblastic minerals, garnet and staurolite, approximate spherical and highly ellipsoidal shapes respectively. The motion of both phases is analysed using the axes of inflexion or intersection of one or more foliations preserved as inclusion trails within them (we call these axes FIAs, for foliation inflexion/intersection axes). For staurolite, this motion can also be compared with the distribution of the long axes of the crystals. Schists from the regionally shallowly plunging Bolton syncline commonly contain garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts, whose FIAs have been measured in the same sample. Garnet porphyroblasts pre-date this fold as they have inclusion trails truncated by all matrix foliations that trend parallel to the strike of the axial plane. However, they have remarkably consistent FIA trends from limb to limb. The FIAs trend 175° and lie 25°NNW from the 020° strike of the axial trace of the Bolton syncline. The plunge of these FIAs was determined for six samples and all lie within 30° of the horizontal. Eleven of these samples also contain staurolite porphyroblasts, which grew before, during and after formation of the Bolton syncline as they contain inclusion trails continuous with matrix foliations that strike parallel to the axial trace of this fold. The staurolite FIAs have an average trend of 035°, 15°NE from the 020° strike of the axial plane of this fold. The total amount of inclusion trail curvature in staurolite porphyroblasts, about the axis of relative rotation between staurolite and the matrix (i.e. the FIA), is greater than the angular spread of garnet FIAs. Although staurolite porphyroblasts have ellipsoidal shapes, their long axes exhibit no tendency to be preferentially aligned with respect to the main matrix foliation or to the trend of their FIA. This indicates that the axis of relative rotation, between porphyroblast and matrix (the FIA), was not parallel to the long axis of the crystals. It also suggests that the porphyroblasts were not preferentially rotated towards a single stretch direction during progressive deformation. Five overprinting crenulation cleavages are preserved in the matrix of rocks from the Bolton syncline and many of these result from deformation events that post-date development of this fold. Staurolite porphyroblast growth occurred during the development of all of these deformations, most of which produced foliations. Staurolite has overgrown, and preserved as helicitic inclusions, crenulated and crenulation cleavages; i.e. some inclusion trail curvature pre-dates porphyroblast growth. The deformations accompanying staurolite growth involved reversals in shear sense and changing kinematic reference frames. These relationships cannot all be explained by current models of rotation of either, or both, the garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts. In contrast, we suggest that the relationships are consistent with models of deformation paths that involve non-rotation of porphyroblasts relative to some external reference frame. Further, we suggest there is no difference in the behaviour of spherical or ellipsoidal rigid objects during ductile deformation, and that neither garnet nor staurolite have rotated in schists from the Bolton syncline during the multiple deformation events that include and post-date the development of this fold.     

The Turiy Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia: Isotopic and Geochemical Evidence for Multi-source Evolution

The Turiy Massif, lying within the Kandalaksha Graben, and onthe southern coast of the Kola Peninsula, contains carbonatites,phoscorites, melilitolites, ijolites and pyroxenites withinone central and four surrounding satellite complexes. Sr–Ndisotopic data from the central complex phoscorites and carbonatites,and the nearby Terskii Coast kimberlites, combined with otherrecently published data on the Devonian Kola Alkaline Province,allow us to redefine the position of the Kola Carbonatite Line(KCL) of Kramm (European Journal of Mineralogy 5, 985–989,1993). We propose that the revised-KCL mantle sources includea lower-mantle plume, and a second enriched source, which alsocontributed to the Terskii Coast and Archangelsk kimberlites.The Turiy Massif silicate rocks and northern complex carbonatiteshave more enriched isotopic signatures than the distinct, anddepleted signatures of the central complex phoscorites and carbonatites,particularly with respect to     

Soft-sediment deformation of sandstone related to the Dwyka glaciation in South Africa

Sandstones of the uppermost Witteberg Group in the Cape fold belt of South Africa exhibit unusual and distinctive soft-sediment deformation structures. These structures include folds, axial planar cleavage and micro-fold lineations. Interfering fold patterns and intersecting sets of lineations are indicative of repeated deformation. The sandstones are immediately overlain by glacial and proglacial sediments of the Carboniferous Dwyka Group, indicating that the deformation was related to glaciation. Possible environments of deformation include: (a) subglacial dragging of unconsolidated material, (b) subaqueous slumping beyond the limit of floating ice, and (c) englacial deformation of material incorporated by freezing into the base of the glacier.     

The role of deformation partitioning in the deformation and recrystallization of plagioclase and K-feldspar in the Woodroffe Thrust mylonite zone, central Australia

ABSTRACT In the Woodroffe Thrust mylonite zone, central Australia, recrystallization in plagioclase and K-feldspar involved subgrain rotation, assisted by grain-boundary or kink band boundary bulging, without contribution from a change in the chemical composition from host grains to new grains. The size of subgrains and new grains changes across the mylonite zone, apparently as a function of the strain rate and the H2O content of the rock. The partitioning of deformation into zones of progressive shearing and progressive shortening controls the sites of recovery and recrystallization in feldspar during mylonitization. The size of feldspar porphyroclasts in well developed mylonites is governed by the scale of deformation partitioning reached in the earlier stages of mylonitization, before the formation of a large proportion of fine-grained matrix that can accommodate the progressive shearing component of the deformation. Recrystallization occurs in microcline, apparently without involving a translation to a monoclinic structure, as microcline-twinned new grains are common adjacent to microcline-twinned host grains. K-feldspar triclinicity values calculated from XRD traces increase from the margins to the interior of the mylonite zone, in conjunction with deformation intensity. K-feldspar host grains locally have cores of orthoclase or untwinned microcline, surrounded by mantles of twinned microcline, suggesting a relationship between the presence of microcline twinning and the degree of K-feldspar triclinicity.     

The Petrology and Geochemistry of Cone-sheets from the Cuillin Igneous Complex, Isle of Skye: Evidence for Combined Assimilation and Fractional Crystallization during Lithospheric Extension

The origin and evolution of the magma(s) involved in the formationof the olivine tholeiite cone-sheets which invade the 60-MaCuillin Igneous Complex, Isle of Skye, have been investigatedusing mineral chemistry data together with whole-rock major-and trace-element and isotope (Sr and Nd) geochemistry data.The most primitive compositions identified are almost identicalto those of the basalts being erupted at the present day alongthe spreading centre in Iceland. Rare examples of lavas fromthe slightly older lava pile of west-central and north Skye,together with a large number of dykes from the axial zone ofthe Skye Main Swarm, are of similar composition and are referredto as being of the Preshal More Basalt type (spelling is accordingto current Ordnance Survey of Great Britain maps). The intra-suitecompositional variation exhibited by the cone-sheets can beexplained in terms of relatively low-pressure fractionationof the three-phase assemblage olivine+clinopyroxene+plagioclasein their cotectic proportions of 10: 35: 55. Modelling of major-and compatible trace-element data indicates that the most evolvedcomposition may be derived by 60% crystallization of the leastevolved composition. Incompatible trace-element modelling impliesgreater degrees of crystal-liquid fractionation: Y and Zr indicate64 and 68% crystallization, respectively, whereas the rare earthelements (Eu, Yb, Gd, and Ce) indicate between 71 and 75% crystallization.This decoupled behaviour of compatible and incompatible elementsis attributed to the cone-sheet magma(s) evolving in a subjacentmagma chamber, before final emplacement in the overlying crust.Sr- and Nd-isotope data indicate that the cone-sheet magma(s)assimilated upper-crustal lithologies during fractional crystallization,most likely involving amphibolite facies gneiss of the LewisianGneiss Complex. This style of simultaneous assimilation andfractional crystallization (AFC) process in the upper crustfor the Skye cone-sheet magma(s) is in direct contrast to theprocesses identified for the magmas which produced the bulkof the lava field of west-central and north Skye, where assimilationoccurred after fractionation. The cone-sheet magmas were generatedby relatively large degrees of partial melting of a depletedmantle source associated with significant lithospheric stretching.The cause of this depletion, together with the temporal relationshipsbetween the cone-sheet magmas and the dominant transitionalmagmas of the Skye lava field and sill complex, are also discussed. ^* Reprint request to B. R. Bell     

Edge‐roundness of boulders of Torridonian Sandstone (northwest Scotland): applications for relative dating and implications for warm and cold climate weathering rates

Kirkbride, M.P. & Bell, C.M. 2009: Edge‐roundness of boulders of Torridonian Sandstone (northwest Scotland): applications for relative dating and implications for warm and cold climate weathering rates. Boreas, 10.1111/j. 1502‐3885.2009.00131.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. The relative ages of late Quaternary morainic and rock avalanche deposits on Late Precambrian Torridonian Sandstone are determined from the characteristic edge‐roundness of constituent boulders. Because weathering of sandstone is manifest as edge‐rounding by granular disintegration, a relative chronology can be derived by measuring the effective radii of curvature of a sample of boulder edges. Thirteen samples totalling 597 individual boulder edges fall into two statistically distinct groups. Moraines of inferred Younger Dryas age (12.9–11.5 kyr BP) are distinguished from moraines of the Wester Ross Re‐advance (≤14.0 kyr BP). One moraine previously assumed to be of Younger Dryas age is reassigned to the older group. The method allows spatial extrapolation of deposit ages from dated sites where lithological and sampling criteria are met. Calculated rates of edge‐rounding imply that granular disintegration was several times more rapid during cold stadial climates than during the Holocene. Used as a proxy for boulder ‘erosion rate’, this indicates that surface loss of grains in glacial climates exceeds that during interglacials by a factor of 2–5, with implications for the calculation of exposure ages from cosmogenic nuclides.     

Stratigraphic and sedimentological observations from seismic data across the Chicxulub impact basin

Abstract Seismic data across the offshore half of the Chicxulub impact crater reveal a 145 km‐diameter post‐impact basin to be a thickening of Tertiary sediment, which thickens by ?0.7 sec from the basin margin to the basin center. The basin existed long after the impact and was gradually infilled to its current flat surface. A suite of seismic horizons within the impact basin have been picked on four reflection lines across the crater. They reveal that the western and northwestern parts of the impact basin were filled first. Subsequently, there was a dramatic change in the depositional environment, indicated by an unconformable surface that can be mapped across the entire basin. A prograding shelf sequence downlaps onto this unconformity in the eastern basin. The seismic stratigraphic relationships suggest a marine regression, with sedimentation becoming gradually more passive as sediments fill the eastern part of the impact basin. The central and northeastern parts of the basin are filled last. The onshore hole Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1), which was drilled on the flanks of the southern basin, has been projected onto the offshore seismic data to the west of the crater center. Using dates obtained from this onshore well and regional data, approximate ages have been placed on the most significant horizons in the offshore seismic data. Our preliminary interpretation is that the western and northwestern basins were almost entirely filled by 40 Ma and that the marine regression observed in the eastern basin is early Miocene in age. Offshore seismic stratigraphic analyses and onshore data within Yax‐1 suggest that the early Paleocene is highly attenuated across the impact basin. The Mesozoic section appears to be ?1 km thicker offshore than onshore. We calculate that, given this offshore thickening, the volume of Mesozoic rocks that have been excavated, melted, or vaporized during impact is around 15% larger than expected from calculations that assume the offshore thickness is equal to that onshore. This has significant consequences for any environmental calculations. The current offset between the K‐T boundary outside and inside the crater is ?700 m. However, infilling of basins with sediments is usually accompanied by subsidence, and immediately following the impact, the difference would have been smaller. We calculate the original topographic offset on the K‐T boundary to have been between 450 and 700 m, which is in agreement with depth‐diameter scaling laws for a mixed target.     

How useful are ‘millipede’ and other similar porphyroblast microstructures for determining synmetamorphic deformation histories?

ABSTRACT Oppositely concave microfolds (OCMs) in and adjacent to porphyroblasts can be classified into five nongenetic types. Type 1 OCMs are found in sections through porphyroblasts with spiral-shaped inclusion trails cut parallel to the spiral axes, and commonly show closed foliation loops. Type 2 OCMs, commonly referred to as ‘millipede’ microstructure, are highly symmetrical, the foliation folded into OCMs being approximately perpendicular to the overprinting foliation. Type 3 OCMs are similar to Type 2, but are asymmetrical, the foliation folded into OCMs being variably oblique to the overprinting foliation. Type 4 OCMs are highly asymmetrical, only one foliation is present, and this foliation is parallel to the local shear plane. Type 5 OCMs result from porphyroblast growth over a microfold interference pattern. Types 1 and 2 are commonly interpreted as indicating highly noncoaxial and highly coaxial bulk deformation paths, respectively, during porphyroblast growth. However, theoretically they can form by any deformation path intermediate between bulk coaxial shortening and bulk simple shearing. Given particular initial foliation orientation and timing of porphyroblast growth, Type 3 OCMs can also form during these intermediate deformation paths, and are commonly found in the same rocks as Type 2 OCMs. Type 4 OCMs may indicate highly noncoaxial deformation during porphyroblast growth, but may be difficult to distinguish from Type 3 OCMs. Thus, Types 1–3 (and possibly 4) reflect the finite strain state, giving no information about the rotational component of the deformation(s) responsible for their formation. Furthermore, there is a lack of unequivocal independent evidence for the degree of noncoaxiality of deformation (s) during the growth of porphyroblasts containing OCMs. Type 2 OCMs that occur independently of porphyroblasts or other rigid objects might indicate highly coaxial bulk shortening, but there is a lack of supporting physical or computer modelling. It is possible that microstructures in the matrix around OCMs formed during highly noncoaxial and highly coaxial deformation histories might have specific characteristics that allow them to be distinguished from one another. However, determining degrees of noncoaxiality from rock fabrics is a major, longstanding problem in structural geology.