Comparison of the LEW88516 and ALHA77005 martian meteorites: Similar but distinct

Abstract By mineral and bulk compositions, the Lewis Cliff (LEW) 88516 meteorite is quite similar to the ALHA77005 martian meteorite. These two meteorites are not paired because their mineral compositions are distinct, they were found 500 km apart in ice fields with different sources for meteorites, and their terrestrial residence ages are different. Minerals in LEW88516 include: olivine, pyroxenes (low- and high-Ca), and maskelynite (after plagioclase); and the minor minerals chromite, whitlockite, ilmenite, and pyrrhotite. Mineral grains in LEW88516 range up to a few mm. Texturally, the meteorite is complex, with regions of olivine and chromite poikilitically enclosed in pyroxene, regions of interstitial basaltic texture, and glass-rich (shock) veinlets. Olivine compositions range from Fo₆₄ to Fo₇₀, (avg. Fo₆₇), more ferroan and with more variation than in ALHA77005 (Fo₆₉ to Fo₇₃). Pyroxene compositions fall between En₇₇Wo₄ and En₆₅Wo₁₅ and in clusters near En₆₃Wo₉ and En₅₃Wo₃₃, on average more magnesian and with more variation than in ALHA77005. Shock features in LEW88516 range from weak deformation through complete melting. Bulk chemical analyses by modal recombination of electron microprobe analyses, instrumental neutron activation, and radiochemical neutron activation confirm that LEW88516 is more closely related to ALHA77005 than to other known martian meteorites. Key element abundance ratios are typical of martian meteorites, as is its non-chondritic rare earth pattern. Differences between the chemical compositions of LEW88516 and ALHA77005 are consistent with slight differences in the proportions of their constituent minerals and not from fundamental petrogenetic differences. Noble gas abundances in LEW88516, like those in ALHA77005, show modest excesses of ⁴⁰Ar and ¹²⁹Xe from trapped (shock-implanted) gas. As with other ALHA77005 and the shergottite martian meteorites (except EETA79001), noble gas isotope abundances in LEW88516 are consistent with exposure to cosmic rays for 2.5–3 Ma. The absence of substantial effects of shielding from cosmic rays suggest LEW88516 spent this time as an object no larger than a few cm in diameter.     

The Lilloise Intrusion, East Greenland: Fractionation of a Hydrous Alkali Picritic Magma

The Lilloise is an 8 km4 km layered mafic intrusion which cutsthe plateau basalts of the East Greenland Tertiary province.Lilloise was intruded at 50 Ma, 4–5 Ma after cessationof the voluminous tholeiitic magmatism which accompanied riftingof the East Greenland continental margin. Lilloise is unusualamong layered intrusions in the province because it had a hydrousalkali picrite parent magma and generated a late-stage effluxof magmatic water from the intrusion into the aureole rocks.The three major subdivisions of the layered rocks are: olivine-clinopyroxene,olivine-clinopyroxene-plagioclase and plagioclase-amphibolecumulates. Massive subsidence of the intrusion before completesolidification resulted in deformation of the internal layeringand downturn of the bedding in the surrounding basalts. A strikingfeature of the intrusion is the injection of the layered rocksby a plexus of magmatic sheets which formed at the time of subsidence.The composition of these sheets is representative of the fractionationtrend of the intrusion and ranges from hawaiite to mildly saturatedquartz trachyte. The fractionation trend is successfully explainedby extraction of cumulus minerals of the layered rocks froma parent magma represented by alkali picrite dykes of a contemporaneousregional dyke swarm. Saturated to mildly over-saturated syenitesare a major component of the East Greenland province and theLilloise intrusion is illustrative of an important magmatictrend towards such compositions at this stage in the openingof the North Atlantic. KEY WORDS: Lilloise intrusion; East Greenland; alkali picrite magma; layered intrusion; magmatic differentiation ^*Corraponding author     

A framework for sourcing of evaporation between saturated and unsaturated zone in bare soil condition

ABSTRACT

Sourcing subsurface evaporation (E_ss) into groundwater (E_g) and unsaturated zone (E_u) components has received little scientific attention so far, despite its importance in water management and agriculture. We propose a novel sourcing framework, with its implementation in dedicated post-processing software called SOURCE (used along with the HYDRUS1D model), to study evaporation sourcing dynamics, define quantitatively “shallow” and “deep” water table conditions and test the applicability of water table fluctuation (WTF) and “bucket” methods for estimation of E_g and E_u separately.

For the “shallow” and “deep” water table we propose E_g?>?0.95E_ss and E_g = 0 criteria, respectively. Assessment of the WTF method allowed sourcing of very small fluxes otherwise neglected by standard hydrological methods. Sourcing with SOURCE software was more accurate than the standard “bucket” method mainly because of greater flexibility in spatio-temporal discretization. This study emphasized the dry condition relevance of groundwater evaporation which should be analysed by applying coupled flow of heat, vapour and liquid water.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Kanae     

Coral recruitment onto an experimental pulverised fuel ash-concrete artificial reef

An experimental artificial reef was deployed in December 1993 at Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park, Hong Kong. This is the first study documenting natural scleractinian coral recruitment onto a stabilised pulverised fuel ash (PFA)-concrete artificial reef. Visible recruits were first recorded 9-10 months after the placement of reef blocks, i.e., in the autumn of 1994. Two scleractinians, Oulastrea crispata and Culicia japonica, were recruited. The recruit density of the former was much greater than the latter. The spatial recruitment pattern of the corals was observed to be affected by the orientation of the attaching surface. O. crispata settled predominantly on the undersides of the reef blocks. There was an edge effect on O. crispata recruitment. C. japonica, however, had a preference for exposed surfaces. O. crispata did not show a preference for block composition whereas C. japonica favoured blocks with high (75% by volume) PFA levels. This shows that PFA-concrete is a potential substratum for artificial reef construction, especially when such reefs aim at rehabilitating corals.     

Geochemical Changes in Metal and Nutrient Loading at Orplands Farm Managed Retreat Site, Essex, UK (April 1995–1997)

Salt marshes have recently been considered to be a major part of the coastal system and have played a key role in the development of the UK coastal management strategy. Managed Retreat (MR) is a process aimed to restore salt marshes by realignment of the seawalls allowing tidal inundation of low value agricultural land. The resultant marshes are expected to function both as an integral part of the flood defence system and as an ecological conservation area. We report on the effects of salt marsh restoration on metal and nutrient loading of the sediment at the Orplands Farm MR site, Essex, UK. Surficial grab and sediment cores were collected from the two fields that comprise the site. The heavy metals, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Ni and Zn were analysed to determine changes in anthropogenic inputs to sediments. The major ions, Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn and Na were also monitored to identify changes in sediment geochemistry. Analysis of the cored sediments after inundation for Na and Sr demonstrated that penetration of estuarine water had, within 2 yr of exposure, reached an average depth of 20 cm. The study observed that input of heavy metals had occurred to the sediments with the most significant being that of Pb, however increases were also observed for Cr and Cu. However, concentrations of Cd in the MR sediments decreased from 1995 to 1997. For the major metals within both fields it was found that the dominant changes were those of enrichment of marine associated metals, Ca, K, Mg and Na via inputs from tidal inundation. The concentration of Ca in the sediments was further enriched by the deposition of carbonates to the sediments. One field demonstrated a significant loss of Fe from sediments which corresponded to changes in redox potential of the sediments. Differences observed in geochemical profiles between the two fields of the site were attributed to differences in land use prior to flooding.     

Marine and limnic radiocarbon reservoir corrections for studies of late- and postglacial environments in Georgia Basin and Puget Lowland, British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA

Models of late-glacial environmental change in coastal areas are commonly based on radiocarbon ages on marine shell and basal lake sediments, both of which may be compromised by reservoir effects. The magnitude of the oceanic reservoir age in the inland waters of the Georgia Basin and Puget Lowland of northwestern North America is inferred from radiocarbon ages on shell-wood pairs in Saanich Inlet and previously published estimates. The weighted mean oceanic reservoir correction in the early and mid Holocene is −720±90 yr, slightly smaller than, but not significantly different from, the modern value. The correction in late-glacial time is −950±50 yr. Valley-head sites yield higher reservoir values (−1200±130 yr) immediately after deglaciation. The magnitude of the gyttja reservoir effect is inferred from pairs of bulk gyttja and plant macrofossil ages from four lakes in the region. Incorporation of old carbon into basal gyttja yields ages from bulk samples that are initially about 600 yr too old. The reservoir age declines to less than 100 yr after the first millennium of lake development. When these corrections are accounted for, dates of deglaciation and late-glacial sea-level change in the study area are pushed forward in time by more than 500 yr.     

Predictions of Energy and Helicity in Four Major Eruptive Solar Flares

In order to better understand the solar genesis of interplanetary magnetic clouds (MCs), we model the magnetic and topological properties of four large eruptive solar flares and relate them to observations. We use the three-dimensional Minimum Current Corona model (Longcope, 1996, Solar Phys. 169, 91) and observations of pre-flare photospheric magnetic field and flare ribbons to derive values of reconnected magnetic flux, flare energy, flux rope helicity, and orientation of the flux-rope poloidal field. We compare model predictions of those quantities to flare and MC observations, and within the estimated uncertainties of the methods used find the following: The predicted model reconnection fluxes are equal to or lower than the reconnection fluxes inferred from the observed ribbon motions. Both observed and model reconnection fluxes match the MC poloidal fluxes. The predicted flux-rope helicities match the MC helicities. The predicted free energies lie between the observed energies and the estimated total flare luminosities. The direction of the leading edge of the MC’s poloidal field is aligned with the poloidal field of the flux rope in the AR rather than the global dipole field. These findings compel us to believe that magnetic clouds associated with these four solar flares are formed by low-corona magnetic reconnection during the eruption, rather than eruption of pre-existing structures in the corona or formation in the upper corona with participation of the global magnetic field. We also note that since all four flares occurred in active regions without significant pre-flare flux emergence and cancelation, the energy and helicity that we find are stored by shearing and rotating motions, which are sufficient to account for the observed radiative flare energy and MC helicity.     

Estimation of contaminant transport parameters for a tropical sand in a sand tank model

This research describes the goals, design and implementation of a quasi natural gradient, laboratory scale, sand tank (aquifer) model experiment. The model was used to study the transport of an inorganic tracer (Chloride) in groundwater, within a tropical aquifer (porous medium) material. Three-dimensional sand tank (1.8 m × 0.3 m × 0.8 m) experiments were conducted to investigate contaminant transport and natural attenuation within the sand tank. In all, 360 samples were collected during 24 sampling sessions, for the three days of the tracer experiments in the Sand Tank. The Owena sand is a poorly graded sand with 88.1 % sand and 11.9 % gravel. Geotechnical properties including; coefficient of uniformity C_u = 2.53, coefficient of gradation C_z = 0.181, hydraulic conductivity K = 5.76 × 10^?4 m/s, bulk density p = 1.9 Mg/m³, effective porosity n_e = 0.215 and median grain diameter D₅₀ = 0.55 mm, were determined. Other relevant hydraulic and solute transport parameters, such as dispersion coefficients and dispersivities were also established for the tropical soil.     

Splash-saltation trajectories of soil particles under wind-driven rain

It is usually recognized that relatively large amounts of soil particles cannot be transported by raindrop splashes under windless rain. However, the splash-saltation process can cause net transportation in the prevailing wind direction since variations in splash-saltation trajectory due to the wind are expected in wind-driven rain. Therefore, determining the combined effect of rain and wind on the process should enable improvement of the estimation of erosion for any given prediction technique. This paper presents experimental data on the effects of slope aspect, slope gradient, and horizontal wind velocity on the splash-saltation trajectories of soil particles under wind-driven rain. In a wind tunnel facility equipped with a rainfall simulator, the rains driven by horizontal wind velocities of 6, 10, and 14 m s⁻¹ were allowed to impact three agricultural soils packed into 20×55 cm soil pans placed at both windward and leeward slopes of 7%, 15%, and 20%. Splash-saltation trajectories were measured by trapping the splashed particles at distances downwind on a 7-m uniform slope segment in the upslope and downslope directions, respectively, for windward and leeward slopes. Exponential decay curves were fitted for the mass distribution of splash-saltation sediment as a function of travel distance, and the average splash-saltation trajectory was derived from the average value of the fitted functions. The results demonstrated that the average trajectory of a raindrop-induced and wind-driven soil particle was substantially affected by the wind shear velocity, and it had the greatest correlation (r=0.96 for all data) with the shear velocity; however, neither slope aspect nor slope gradient significantly predicted the splash-saltation trajectory. More significantly, a statistical analysis conducted with nonlinear regression model of C₁(u_*²/g) showed that average trajectory of splash saltation was approximately three times greater than that of typical saltating sand grain.