Os Isotopes and the Origin of the Tasmanian Dolerites

New Os isotope data obtained for oxides separated from samplesof the Jurassic dolerites of Tasmania (Australia) are used toconstrain the petrogenesis of the Ferrar continental flood basaltprovince. It is proposed here that the unradiogenic initialOs ratio (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os = 0·145 ± 0·049 2     

Non-tidal changes in the length of the day: 700 BC to AD 1982

Occultations and eclipses from ancient times down to the present are analysed to determine changes in the length of the day. By subtracting the expected tidal contribution from the observed changes, the non-tidal variations are obtained. The non-tidal varations are shown to occur on time-scales of decades and millennia.     

Distribution of nutrient salts in the southern North Sea during early 1974

Nutrient salt surveys in the southern North Sea have shown that the level of phosphate and nitrate off the continental coast during January, 1974 was two to three times higher than during the same period in 1962. The level of phosphate has also increased in the Thames Estuary but to a lesser degree. It is suggested that these increases are related to the discharge of waste material from terrestrial sources and that such changes must be considered in the context of eutrophication in the southern North Sea.     

A procedure for identifying significant environmental aspects in sea ports

A new methodology has been designed to identify and rank the significant environmental aspects in sea ports. The main objective of the Strategic Overview of Significant Environmental Aspects (SOSEA) is to help port managers to identify significant environmental aspects and to reinforce the awareness about them in order to prioritise work in environmental management. Developed in close collaboration with port environmental managers and tested in a set of ports, it is a user-friendly tool that can be applied in approximately half a working day. It is based on ISO 14001 vocabulary and requirements and it can be considered as the base for the implementation of any Environmental Management System for port communities.     

Sm–Nd and Sr isotope systematics of scheelite from the giant Au(–W) deposit Muruntau (Uzbekistan): implications for the age and sources of Au mineralization

The application of the Sm-Nd isotope system of scheelite to dating of low-sulfide, quartz-vein hosted Au mineralization is still under discussion. In the present work, new Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr data for scheelite from the giant Muruntau/Myutenbai Au deposit (Kyzylkum, Western Uzbekistan) are discussed. Based on the geological relationship, mineralogical properties, and trace element characteristics, two types of scheelite can be distinguished within the deposit. The first one is represented by early bluish luminescent and weakly coloured scheelite (generation 1) found within strongly deformed flat quartz veins. The apparent isochron defined by this scheelite (351ᆪ Ma) is interpreted as a mixing line. Typically brownish to orange and yellowish luminescent scheelite from steeply dipping veins (generation 2) defines a Sm-Nd isochron age of 279ᆦ Ma ()_Nd=-9.5ǂ.3; MSWD: 1.5). No evidence for mixing or disturbance by late alteration were found for these scheelites. This Sm-Nd isochron age agrees with the Rb-Sr and K-Ar age range for wall rock alteration in this deposit reported previously. The age of 280 Ma is interpreted to date the high-grade ore formation in the Muruntau deposit. There are currently no reliable age data available on the magmatic events in the Muruntau region. Probably, there is some overlap in time of the Hercynian gold deposition with the intrusion of lamprophyric dykes. The Nd and Sr isotopic signatures of scheelite define the wall rocks (mainly metasiltstones and metasandstones) as the most probable sources for these elements in scheelite.     

The Moon 35 years after Apollo: What's left to learn?

With the cancellation of the Apollo program after Apollo 17 returned from the Moon in 1972, the focus of NASA switched to other areas of the Solar System. Study of the Moon did continue through analysis of the returned samples and remotely sensed data sets (both orbital and surface), as well as through Earth-based telescopic studies. In the 1990s, new orbital data were obtained from several missions (fly-by and orbital), the first being Galileo that allowed the lunar farside to be mapped, followed by global mapping by the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions.Interest in the Moon started to increase at the beginning of the 21st century as other nations focused their space exploration programs on the Moon. The speech by President Bush in January 2004 put the Moon back into the critical exploration path for NASA, paving the way for humans to return to the lunar surface by 2020. This return will be critical for developing technologies and protocols for the eventual human exploration of other parts of the solar system. At the time of writing (June 2008), the SELENE/Kaguya mission (Japan and Chang’e-1 (China) are orbiting the Moon, with Chandrayaan-1 (India) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (USA) being scheduled to launch later in 2008.The past (and present) exploration of the Moon begs the question “what's left to be done?” With the renewed focus on the Moon, now that it is on the pathway for the exploration of Mars (and beyond) a similar question has been raised - what should the astronauts do on the Moon? The publication of the New Views of the Moon book [Jolliff et al., 2006. New Views of the Moon, Reviews in Mineralogy, vol. 60. American Mineralogical Society, 721pp] highlighted a number of important scientific questions that remain unanswered as well as posing many more on the basis of the currently available data. These questions resonated in three Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) reports pertinent to this discussion, which were also published (on line) during 2006 (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/leag), and in the National Research Council of the National Academies [2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 112pp] report entitled “The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon”. This paper synthesizes these recent studies, along with those from the 1980s and 1990s, to emphasize the lunar science questions that remain unanswered. In addition, it summarizes the missions already flown to the Moon along with those that are planned in order to give the reader an idea of exactly what lunar science has been and will be conducted in the hope that it will inspire proposals for missions to address the outstanding science questions.