Europium redox equilibria in aqueous solution

Thermochemical data and recent advances in theoretical aqueous solution chemistry enable prediction of the relative stabilities of aqueous Eu²⁺ and Eu³⁺ over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. At low temperatures, near earth surface conditions, the aqueous geochemistry of europium should be dominated by the trivalent state, except possibly in the most reducing, alkaline pore waters of anoxic marine sediments. However, at temperatures greater than about 250°C and elevated pressures, divalent europium should predominate. Even with significant amounts of complexing, trivalent europium is not stable at elevated temperatures and pressures. Consequently, under most hydrothermal and metamorphic conditions, europium in aqueous solution should be divalent. At intermediate temperatures, around 100°C, significant activities of both Eu²⁺ and Eu³⁺, and related complexes, can occur in aqueous solutions, depending on the oxidation state and the pH of the solutions, and the activities of potential ligands such as sulfate, carbonate and chloride. The predicted stability of divalent europium in aqueous solution at elevated temperatures is consistent with the large positive europium anomalies in rare earth element patterns of high-temperature barites of hydrothermal and metamorphic origin reported by Guichard et al. [5] and with the observed depletion of europium as a result of high-temperature sericitization of feldspar-bearing assemblages discovered by Alderton et al. [1]. It is suggested that significant fractionation of europium relative to the other rare earth elements may take place during high-temperature hydrothermal alteration processes, such as in the mid-oceanic ridge systems, because of the expected stability of divalent europium during these processes.     

Multi-view dense matching supported by triangular meshes

We present a new procedure to compute dense 3D point clouds from a sequential set of images. This procedure is considered as a second step of a three-step algorithm for 3D reconstruction from image sequences, whose first step consists of image orientation and the last step is shape reconstruction. We assume that the camera matrices as well as a sparse set of 3D points are available and we strive for obtaining a dense and reliable 3D point cloud. Three novel ideas are presented: (1) for sparse tracking and triangulation, the search space for correspondences is reduced to a line segment by means of known camera matrices and disparity ranges are provided by triangular meshes from the already available points; (2) triangular meshes from extended sets of points are used for dense matching, because these meshes help to reconstruct points in weakly textured areas and present a natural way to obtain subpixel accuracy; (3) two non-local optimization methods, namely, 1D dynamic programming along horizontal lines and semi-global optimization were employed for refinement of local results obtained from an arbitrary number of images. All methods were extensively tested on a benchmark data set and an infrared video sequence. Both visual and quantitative results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.     

The age and palæoenvironmental significance of the Kalahari Sands in western Zimbabwe: a thermoluminescence reconnaissance study

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating, has been applied to 10 samples from the æolian Kalahari Sands of western Zimbabwe using the total bleach (additive dose) and regeneration techniques on coarse-grain quartz separates. The results suggest that the main phases of sand accumulation occurred between 10 and 96 ka. This Upper Pleistocene age is consistent with current opinions and argues against an important period of Holocene æolian activity. The oldest sands were found in the Victoria Falls area where they overlie a ferricrete horizon. Based on our age determinations, we were able to constrain the age of this horizon to between 96±8 and 160±23 ka, which approximately coincides with the Last Integlaciation in the high latitudes. The youngest ages were obtained for sands from the southeastern part of the Hwange dune field but our limited sampling permits assigning only a minimum age of ca 20 ka to the ferricrete horizon observed in this area. Thus, we cannot ascertain if this ferricrete horizon is isochronous with the one at Victoria Falls or if it developed during a younger humid phase.Dune building activity most probably occurred in recurrent cycles of aridity interspersed with periods during which æolian activity was limited or non-existent. Unfortunately, besides the ferricrete horizons, no other stratigraphical evidence of climatic fluctuation has been observed in the study area. However, it is possible that palæosols have been entirely eroded before the subsequent deposition of new sediment, resulting in an incomplete stratigraphical record. The possibilities and limitations of luminescence dating for elucidating phases of climatic fluctuation in such situations are discussed briefly. In addition, we noticed serious discrepancies between the results yielded by the different techniques that were used for determining the dose rate. Hence, further work is needed to validate the accuracy of our dose rate measurements that may cause our TL ages to be about 30% too young.     

The dynamics of two massive planets on inclined orbits

The significant orbital eccentricities of most giant extrasolar planets may have their origin in the gravitational dynamics of initially unstable multiple planet systems. In this work, we explore the dynamics of two close planets on inclined orbits through both analytical techniques and extensive numerical scattering experiments. We derive a criterion for two equal mass planets on circular inclined orbits to achieve Hill stability, and conclude that significant radial migration and eccentricity pumping of both planets occurs predominantly by 2:1 and 5:3 mean motion resonant interactions. Using Laplace-Lagrange secular theory, we obtain analytical secular solutions for the orbital inclinations and longitudes of ascending nodes, and use those solutions to distinguish between the secular and resonant dynamics which arise in numerical simulations. We also illustrate how encounter maps, typically used to trace the motion of massless particles, may be modified to reproduce the gross instability seen by the numerical integrations. Such a correlation suggests promising future use of such maps to model the dynamics of more coplanar massive planet systems.     

A new challenge: Bar formation and secular evolution in lenticular galaxies

To further enhance our understanding on the formation and evolution of bars in lenticular (S0) galaxies, we are undertaking a detailed photometric and spectroscopic study on a sample of 22 objects. Here we report the results of a 2D structural analysis on two barred face-on S0's, which indicate that presently these galaxies do not possess disks. We discuss two possibilities to explain these surprising results, namely strong secular evolution and bar formation without disks. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The growth of supermassive black holes in pseudo-bulges, classical bulges and elliptical galaxies

Using results from structural analysis of a sample of nearly 1000 local galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we estimate how the mass in central black holes is distributed amongst elliptical galaxies, classical bulges and pseudo-bulges, and investigate the relation between their stellar masses and central stellar velocity dispersion σ. Assuming a single relation between elliptical galaxy/bulge mass, M _Bulge, and central black hole mass, M _BH, we find that  55⁺⁸₋₄  per cent of the mass in black holes in the local universe is in the centres of elliptical galaxies,  41⁺⁴₋₂  per cent in classical bulges and  4^+0.9_−0.4  per cent in pseudo-bulges. We find that ellipticals, classical bulges and pseudo-bulges follow different relations between their stellar masses and σ, and the most significant offset occurs for pseudo-bulges in barred galaxies. This structural dissimilarity leads to discrepant black hole masses if single   M _BH– M _Bulge  and   M _BH–σ  relations are used. Adopting relations from the literature, we find that the   M _BH–σ  relation yields an estimate of the total mass density in black holes that is roughly 55 per cent larger than if the   M _BH– M _Bulge  relation is used.     

250 years of sardine and anchovy scale deposition record in Mejillones Bay, northern Chile

Marine oxygen-deficient environments with high sedimentation rates and high primary productivity can provide relevant information regarding variations of ocean–climatic conditions in the past. In the Humboldt current ecosystem, which now hosts huge populations of pelagic fishes (mainly anchovy and sardine), fish scale abundance in the sedimentary record may be useful indicators of environmental change. Here we assess such a proxy record in a 42 cm-long sedimentary core collected from 80 m in Mejillones Bay (23°S, northern Chile). We also analyse fish remains in surface sediment sampled along a bathymetric transect (from 10 to 110 m water depth) in the same bay. In the core-top record, the fluctuations of sardine and anchovy scale deposition rates (SDR) agreed with those of industrial catches for these two species in northern Chile, tending to validate the SDR as a proxy of local fish biomass when bottom anoxic conditions prevail. However, apparent SDR for records prior to 1820 have probably been influenced by dissolution processes linked to the oxygenation of the bottom environment of Mejillones Bay, as suggested by other proxy records. After 1820, the fluctuations in the relative abundance of sardine and anchovy scales point to alternating warm and cold conditions during about 30 years and then a progressively cooler period. Since ca. 1870, marked fluctuations of SDR of both species are observed, probably as a consequence of the onset of a different oceanographic regime characterized by intensified upwelling, stronger subsurface oxygen deficiency, higher primary productivity, and enhanced “ENSO-like” interdecadal variability. While anchovy SDR fluctuated in periods of 25–40 years, only two peak periods of sardine SDR occurred (late 19th century and late 20th century), suggesting that sardine abundance depends on other ocean–climatic factors.