Impact melting of the Cachari eucrite 3.0 Gy ago

Both the host phase and glass veins of the Cachari eucrite have been analyzed by microprobe and neutron activation analysis for their chemical compositions and by mass spectrometry for their ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar gas retention ages. Cachari is chemically similar to other non-cumulate eucrites. The vesicular glass veins vary from pure glass, to devitrified glass, to areas that are substantially crystalline. The glassy areas have nearly the same concentrations of major and trace elements as the unmelted portions of Cachari, but some differences, probably due to preferential dissolution, occur along melt contacts. The glass formed by shock melting of Cachari host or of rock identical to it. ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar data for the host and glass suggest distinctly different ages of 3.04 ±.07 Gy and 3.47 ±.04 Gy, respectively. The time of glass formation, which may also be the time of brecciation, is most likely given by the 3.0 Gy age of the host. The higher age for the glass is interpreted to represent incomplete Ar degassing during the 3.0 Gy event due to the greater resistance to Ar diffusion shown by the glass compared to the host. Event ages significantly younger than 4.5 Gy have now been determined for several eucrites and howardites and suggest a long dynamic regolith history for the parent body.     

15,000-yr pollen record of vegetation change in the high altitude tropical Andes at Laguna Verde Alta, Venezuela

Pollen analysis of sediments from a high-altitude (4215 m), Neotropical (9°N) Andean lake was conducted in order to reconstruct local and regional vegetation dynamics since deglaciation. Although deglaciation commenced 15,500 cal yr B.P., the area around the Laguna Verde Alta (LVA) remained a periglacial desert, practically unvegetated, until about 11,000 cal yr B.P. At this time, a lycopod assemblage bearing no modern analog colonized the superpáramo. Although this community persisted until 6000 cal yr B.P., it began to decline somewhat earlier, in synchrony with cooling following the Holocene thermal maximum of the Northern Hemisphere. At this time, the pioneer assemblage was replaced by a low-diversity superpáramo community that became established 9000 cal yr B.P. This replacement coincides with regional declines in temperature and/or available moisture. Modern, more diverse superpáramo assemblages were not established until 4600 cal yr B.P., and were accompanied by a dramatic decline in Alnus, probably the result of factors associated with climate, humans, or both. Pollen influx from upper Andean forests is remarkably higher than expected during the Late Glacial and early to middle Holocene, especially between 14,000 and 12,600 cal yr B.P., when unparalleled high values are recorded. We propose that intensification of upslope orographic winds transported lower elevation forest pollen to the superpáramo, causing the apparent increase in tree pollen at high altitude. The association between increased forest pollen and summer insolation at this time suggests a causal link; however, further work is needed to clarify this relationship.     

Analyse des Standards de L'U.S.G.S. : GXR-1 a GXR-6 par Activation Neutronique et Fluorescence X

Six roches standards de I'USGS : GXR-1 à GXR-6 ont été analysées par activation neutronique instrumentale (INAA) pour le dosage de 17 éléments traces et par fluorescence X (XRF) pour les autres éléments difficiles à doser par activation neutronique. Les travaux précédemment publiés par Gladney et al. ont été pris comme référence en particulier les valeurs recommandées (R.V.) qui sont généralement en bon accord avec nos résultats. Quelques remarques et corrections sont proposées pour expliquer certaines disparités.
Six United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Geochemical Exploration References Samples (GXR) have been analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for the determination of seventeen trace elements and by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS) for other trace elements difficult to determine by INAA. Our results compare favourably with the values recommended by E.S. Gladney et al. Some suggestions and corrections are proposed to explain some discrepancies.     

The Fayette County,Texas, meteorites

Abstract— We report the first petrologic examination of all stone meteorites of Fayette County, Texas. The 10 stones represent four or five different fall events. The three recovered Bluff stones represent two falls. Bluff (a), which includes the 145.5-kg Bluff #1 stone, is classified as L5(S4), whereas Bluff (b) is classified as L4(S3) and is represented by a single stone. The studied Cedar stones are classified as H4(S3), and all four Cedar stones appear to define a strewnfield. Round Top (a), classified as L5(S3) and represented by two stones, is unrelated to either Bluff or Cedar. Round Top (b) [H4(S3); 1 stone], whose exact provenance is unknown, might be a transported fragment of the Cedar shower.     

Deuterium in interstellar clouds

Increasing numbers of observations of deuterium ratios have revealed that all is not as it seemed in interstellar space. Tom Millar describes how fractionation theory has confirmed the importance of interstellar grains in cosmic chemistry.     

Experimental petrology of alkalic lavas: constraints on cotectics of multiple saturation in natural basic liquids

Experimental study of natural alkalic lava compositions at low pressures (pO₂QFM) reveals that crystallization of primitive lavas often occurs in the sequence olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, nepheline without obvious reaction relation. Pseudoternary liquidus projections of multiply saturated liquids coexisting with plagioclase (±olivine±clinopyroxene±nepheline) have been prepared to facilitate graphical analysis of the evolution of lava compositions during hypabyssal cooling. Use of (TiAl₂)(MgSi₂)_–1 and Fe³⁺ (Al)_–1 exchange components is a key aspect of the projection procedure which is succesful in reducing a wide range of compositions to a systematic graphical representation. These projections, and the experiments on which they are based, show that low pressure fractionation plays a significant role in the petrogenesis of many alkalic lava suites from both continental and oceanic settings. However, the role of polybaric fractionation is more evident in the major element chemistry of these lava suites than in many tholeiitic suites of comparable extent. For example, the lavas of Karisimbi, East Africa, show a range of compositions reflecting a polybaric petrogenesis from primitive picrites at 1360° C/18 kb and leading to advanced low pressure differentiates. Evolved leucite-bearing potassic members of this and other suites may be treated in a nepheline-diopside-kspar (+olivine+leucite) projection. Compositional curvature on the plagioclase+clinopyroxene+olivine+leucite cotectic offers a mechanism to explain resorption of plagioclase in alkalic groundmass assemblages and the incompatibility of albite and leucite. This projection is useful for evaluating the extent of assimilation of the alkalic portions of crustal granulites. Assimilation appears to have played some role in the advanced differentiates from Karisimbi.     

Statistical analysis of isotopic ratios in MORB: the mantle blob cluster model and the convective regime of the mantle

A statistical examination of isotopic distributions for MORB from various ocean ridges leads to the “blob cluster model”, in which the oceanic crust accreting at ridges results from the mixing of two components within the ascending mantle. These are (1) upper mantle material and (2) discrete rising blobs of more radiogenic material. The blobs are fractionated to a variable degree and are distributed in the upper mantle circulation in a manner that is related to the spreading rate.(1) Themean values of the isotopic distributions allow us to calculate the probabilities of the two types of material within the mantle. The results show that theproportion of asthenospheric material in the mixtureincreases with the spreading rate, in agreement with the hypothesis of blob dilution within the upper mantle convection.Mass fluxes can be estimated for the rising blobs from these probabilities, which depend on the respective concentrations in the sources of the two types of material. If the blobs originate in the lower mantle, this flux estimation would suggest that a significant part of the lower mantle has been injected into the upper mantle during earth history.(2) Thestandard deviations of the distributions depend on the “efficiency” of the mixing process:the more imbricated are the asthenospheric and blob materials in the mixture,the smaller is theisotopic spread. This efficiency parameter is shown to increase with the spreading rate, as already suggested by previous comparisons between the East Pacific Rise and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Moreover, this feature may also be correlated with other data such as ridge bathymetric variations.     

Uncertainty analysis in statistical modeling of extreme hydrological events

With the increase of both magnitude and frequency of hydrological extreme events such as drought and flooding, the significance of adequately modeling hydrological extreme events is fully recognized. Estimation of extreme rainfall/flood for various return periods is of prime importance for hydrological design or risk assessment. However, due to knowledge and data limitation, uncertainty involved in extrapolating beyond available data is huge. In this paper, different sources of uncertainty in statistical modeling of extreme hydrological events are studied in a systematic way. This is done by focusing on several key uncertainty sources using three different case studies. The chosen case studies highlight a number of projects where there have been questions regarding the uncertainty in extreme rainfall/flood estimation. The results show that the uncertainty originated from the methodology is the largest and could be >40% for a return period of 200 years, while the uncertainty caused by ignoring the dependence among multiple hydrological variables seems the smallest. In the end, it is highly recommended that uncertainty in modeling extreme hydrological events be fully recognized and incorporated into a formal hydrological extreme analysis.     

China’s national carbon emissions trading scheme: lessons from the pilot emission trading schemes,academic literature,and known policy details

Upon completion, China’s national emissions trading scheme (C-ETS) will be the largest carbon market in the world. Recent research has evaluated China’s seven pilot ETSs launched from 2013 on, and academic literature on design aspects of the C-ETS abounds. Yet little is known about the specific details of the upcoming C-ETS. This article combines currently understood details of China’s national carbon market with lessons learned in the pilot schemes as well as from the academic literature. Our review follows the taxonomy of Emissions Trading in Practice: A Handbook on Design and Implementation (Partnership for Market Readiness & International Carbon Action Partnership. (2016). Retrieved from www.worldbank.org): The 10 categories are: scope, cap, distribution of allowances, use of offsets, temporal flexibility, price predictability, compliance and oversight, stakeholder engagement and capacity building, linking, implementation and improvements.

Key policy insights

• Accurate emissions data is paramount for both design and implementation, and its availability dictates the scope of the C-ETS.

• The stakeholder consultative process is critical for effective design, and China is able to build on its extensive experience through the pilot ETSs.

• Current policies and positions on intensity targets and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits constrain the market design of the C-ETS.

• Most critical is the nature of the cap. The currently discussed rate-based cap with ex post adjustment is risky. Instead, an absolute, mass-based emissions cap coupled with the conditional use of permits would allow China to maintain flexibility in the carbon market while ensuring a limit on CO₂ emissions.