Variable Tl,Pb, and Cd concentrations and isotope compositions of enstatite and ordinary chondrites—Evidence for volatile element mobilization and decay of extinct 205Pb

New Tl, Pb, and Cd concentration and Tl, Pb isotope data are presented for enstatite as well as L- and LL-type ordinary chondrites, with additional Cd stable isotope results for the former. All three chondrite suites have Tl and Cd contents that vary by more than 1–2 orders of magnitude but Pb concentrations are more uniform, as a result of terrestrial Pb contamination. Model calculations based on Pb isotope compositions indicate that for more than half of the samples, more than 50% of the measured Pb contents are due to addition of modern terrestrial Pb. In part, this is responsible for the relatively young and imprecise Pb-Pb ages determined for EH, L, and LL chondrites, which are hence only of limited chronological utility. In contrast, four particularly pristine EL chondrites define a precise Pb-Pb cooling age of 4559 ± 6 Ma. The enstatite chondrites (ECs) have highly variable ε^114/110Cd of between about +3 and +70 due to stable isotope fractionation from thermal and shock metamorphism. Furthermore, nearly all enstatite meteorites display ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −3.3 to +0.8, while a single anomalous sample is highly fractionated in both Tl and Cd isotopes. The majority of the ECs thereby define a correlation of ε²⁰⁵Tl with ε^114/110Cd, which suggests that at least some of the Tl isotope variability reflects stable isotope fractionation rather than radiogenic ingrowth of ²⁰⁵Tl from ²⁰⁵Pb decay. Considering L chondrites, most ε²⁰⁵Tl values range between −4 and +1, while two outliers with ε²⁰⁵Tl ≤ −10 are indicative of stable isotope fractionation. Considering only those L chondrites which are least likely to feature Pb contamination or stable Tl isotope effects, the results are in accord with the former presence of live ²⁰⁵Pb on the parent body, with an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = (1.5 ± 1.4) × 10⁻⁴, which suggests late equilibration of the Pb-Tl system 26–113 Ma after carbonaceous chondrites (CCs). The LL chondrites display highly variable ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −12.5 to +14.9, also indicative of stable isotope effects. However, the data for three pristine LL3/LL4 chondrites display an excellent correlation between ε²⁰⁵Tl and ²⁰⁴Pb/²⁰³Tl. This defines an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10⁻⁴, equivalent to a ²⁰⁵Pb-²⁰⁵Tl cooling age of 55 + 12/−24 Ma (31–67 Ma) after CCs.     

Antenna phase center calibration for precise positioning of LEO satellites

Phase center variations of the receiver and transmitter antenna constitute a remaining uncertainty in the high precision orbit determination (POD) of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites using GPS measurements. Triggered by the adoption of absolute phase patterns in the IGS processing standards, a calibration of the Sensor Systems S67-1575-14 antenna with GFZ choke ring has been conducted that serves as POD antenna on various geodetic satellites such as CHAMP, GRACE and TerraSAR-X. Nominal phase patterns have been obtained with a robotic measurement system in a field campaign and the results were used to assess the impact of receiver antenna phase patterns on the achievable positioning accuracy. Along with this, phase center distortions in the actual spacecraft environment were characterized based on POD carrier phase residuals for the GRACE and TerraSAR-X missions. It is shown that the combined ground and in-flight calibration can improve the carrier phase modeling accuracy to a level of 4 mm which is close to the pure receiver noise. A 3.5 cm (3D rms) consistency of kinematic and reduced dynamic orbit determination solutions is achieved for TerraSAR-X, which presumably reflects the limitations of presently available GPS ephemeris products. The reduced dynamic solutions themselves match the observations of high grade satellite laser ranging stations to 1.5 cm but are potentially affected by cross-track biases at the cm-level. With respect to the GPS based relative navigation of TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X formation, the in-flight calibration of the antenna phase patterns is considered essential for an accurate modeling of differential carrier phase measurements and a mm level baseline reconstruction.

Holocene landscape reconstruction in the surroundings of the Temple of Pepi I at ancient Bubastis,southeastern Nile Delta (Egypt)

In ancient Egypt, lakes, canals, and other water bodies were an essential part of the sacred landscape in which temples were embedded. In recent years, geoarchaeological research at the site of the Temple of Bastet at Bubastis in the southeastern Nile Delta has proven the existence of two water canals surrounding the temple. It has now been investigated whether these canals were connected to the Temple of Pepi I (2300–2250 B.C.E.), located approximately 100 m to the west of the Temple of Bastet. To explore the Holocene landscape genesis of the Temple of Pepi I, 15 drillings and six geoelectrical profile lines were performed in the surroundings of the temple in spring 2022. The results show loamy to clayey sediments in deeper sections of all drillings with a maximum thickness of 1.70 m, indicating a marshy or swampy depositional environment. Based on the recovered sediment sequences and archaeological remains in the vicinity of the Temple of Pepi I, the marshy or swampy area existed before the Fourth Dynasty. During the Old Kingdom (ca. 2850–2180 B.C.E.), the former marshland either dried up through natural processes or was intentionally drained and filled with sediments for subsequent use for occupation. Regarding the original research question, there is as yet no evidence for a direct connection to the canals of the Temple of Bastet.