A normalizing procedure for comparing chemical variations in pyroxenes in mafic granulites

Data from analyses of three coexisting pairs of pyroxenes with a wide range of Fe content from each of two localities are used to show the large systematic variation and predictable correlation of Fe (or Mg) of a pyroxene with its content of Al, Mn and Na in mafic granulites. Comparisons of pyroxenes can then be made more meaningful by normalizing Al, or other elements, to an appropriate Mg value. As both P and T may affect the element distribution of the two pyroxenes differently (especially Al and Na) the factor used in normalizing is found to vary from region to region.     

Recrystallization and peristerite formation in albite

Plagioclase in the range An₂-An₁₀ in a relatively undeformed Quartz—feldspar pegmatite is compared with similar material in a strongly deformed and recrystallized shear zone. Optical and transmission electron microscope observations and chemical data are discussed in terms of established mechanisms of strain induced recrystallization.Recrystallization occurs by the formation of subgrains from recovery, and their subsequent growth by boundary migration or coalescence by rotation. It is suggested that the recrystallization and grain growth are enhanced by a small increase in the anorthite content. Peristerite formation in the recrystallized grains is associated with the migration of high angle boundaries under upper greenschist facies conditions.     

Aluminium in coexisting pyroxenes as a sensitive indicator of changes in metamorphic grade within the Mafic Granulite Terrane of the Fraser Range,Western Australia

Three pairs of coexisting pyroxenes of mafic granulites from each of two locations 100 km apart show large chemical differences, especially in Al, Fe, Mn, Ti and Na. Al content of the pyroxenes at the higher pressure locality is more nearly independent of Al of the host rock than are the pyroxenes from the lower pressure locality. All the data confirm that although no significant difference in temperature has emerged, there was a large difference in pressure between the two localities. Al is found to be a more effective discriminant of metamorphic conditions than . As the three pairs of pyroxenes cover a wide range of Fe at each locality, the close relationship of Al and Na (and of Ca-tschermak and jadeite) to Fe becomes evident. This shows that a normalizing procedure should be adopted before comparing localities with different Al, Mn, Ti, Na and other elements or derived components such as jadeite and Ca-tschermak.     

TheD/H ratio of cellulose as a biochemical thermometer: A comment on “climatic implications of theD/H ratio of hydrogen in C-H groups in tree cellulose” by S. Epstein and C.J. Yapp

Epstein and Yapp's criticism of our paper is answered. It is shown that for all trees so far studied, the cellulose laid down in a warmer period contains C-H hydrogens depleted in deuterium with respect to cellulose laid down in a colder period. Since this is the opposite to that predicted by thermodynamics it is probably due to the temperature effects on one or more of the biochemical reactions leading to cellulose.     

Growth defects in metamorphic biotite

Metamorphic biotites examined by transmission electron microscopy contain planar defects on the (001) plane, superlattices, twins and a microstructure causing streaking of k≠3n rows. Analysis of the fringe contrast shows that the fault vectors associated with the planar defects are either R ₁=±1/3 [010], R ₂=±1/6 [310] or R ₃=±1/6 [3 \(\bar 1\) 0]. Structural considerations indicate that a stacking fault R ₁, R ₂ or R ₃ is most likely to exist in the octahedral layer rather than the potassium layer. The result of such a fault on a unit layer of mica is effectively to rotate it through ±120° about c* (equivalent to the common mica twin law). These stacking faults can provide the mechanism for producing the ±120° rotations associated with the common mica polytypes. Furthermore, many of the observed microstructures can be generated by these stacking faults.     

Feeding ecology of mesopelagic zooplankton of the subtropical and subarctic North Pacific Ocean determined with fatty acid biomarkers

Mesopelagic zooplankton may meet their nutritional and metabolic requirements in a number of ways including consumption of sinking particles, carnivory, and vertical migration. How these feeding modes change with depth or location, however, is poorly known. We analyzed fatty acid (FA) profiles to characterize zooplankton diet and large particle (>51 μm) composition in the mesopelagic zone (base of euphotic zone ?1000 m) at two contrasting time-series sites in the subarctic (station K2) and subtropical (station ALOHA) Pacific Ocean. Total FA concentration was 15.5 times higher in zooplankton tissue at K2, largely due to FA storage by seasonal vertical migrators such as Neocalanus and Eucalanus. FA biomarkers specific to herbivory implied a higher plant-derived food source at mesotrophic K2 than at oligotrophic ALOHA. Zooplankton FA biomarkers specific to dinoflagellates and diatoms indicated that diatoms, and to a lesser extent, dinoflagellates were important food sources at K2. At ALOHA, dinoflagellate FAs were more prominent. Bacteria-specific FA biomarkers in zooplankton tissue were used as an indicator of particle feeding, and peaks were recorded at depths where known particle feeders were present at ALOHA (e.g., ostracods at 100–300 m). In contrast, depth profiles of bacterial FA were relatively constant with depth at K2. Diatom, dinoflagellate, and bacterial biomarkers were found in similar proportions in both zooplankton and particles with depth at both locations, providing additional evidence that mesopelagic zooplankton consume sinking particles. Carnivory indices were higher and increased significantly with depth at ALOHA, and exhibited distinct peaks at K2, representing an increase in dependence on other zooplankton for food in deep waters. Our results indicate that feeding ecology changes with depth as well as by location. These changes in zooplankton feeding ecology from the surface through the mesopelagic zone, and between contrasting environments, have important consequences for the quality and quantity of organic material available to deeper pelagic and benthic food webs, and for organic matter sequestration.     

Location,location, location: changes in the diversity of animal resources exploited by Tardiglacial humans in northern Spain

Prey diversity of Homo sapiens in north Iberia exhibited shifts associated with climate warming after the Last Glacial Maximum, as deduced from animal remains obtained from Upper Palaeolithic caves in Asturias (northern Spain). Significant association of prey diversity and river proximity was found during adverse climate conditions, indicating opportunistic predation. A high increase of prey diversity was found when small animals (including fish) were taken into account in archaeological records, highlighting the importance of this type of prey in Palaeolithic diets. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Growth of ferruginous oncoliths in the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) of Europe

Limonitic oncoliths from the Bajocian of Europe, widely known as ‘snuff-boxes’, grew by accretion of bundles of laminae on one side, followed by overturning and accretion of laminae on the other side. A diverse hard-substrate encrusting fauna grew interleaved with the ferruginous laminations. The palaeoecological preferences of this fauna indicate that its growth, and hence the accumulation of the laminations, took place on the gloomy undersides of the oncoliths. This upsidedown growth is supported by characteristics of the lamination bundles themselves, and by the predominant present-day orientations of the snuff-boxes. The abundance of the associated fauna and the lack of carbonate-dissolving macroborers cutting the laminae suggest an original ferric composition. Precipitation was probably under the control of non-photosynthetic microorganisms that inhabited the microenvironments represented by the oncoliths' lower surfaces.     

WASP-1b and WASP-2b: two new transiting exoplanets detected with SuperWASP and SOPHIE

We have detected low-amplitude radial-velocity variations in two stars, USNO-B1.0 1219–0005465 (GSC  02265–00107 = WASP–1  ) and USNO-B1.0 0964–0543604 (GSC  00522–01199 = WASP–2  ). Both stars were identified as being likely host stars of transiting exoplanets in the 2004 SuperWASP wide-field transit survey. Using the newly commissioned radial-velocity spectrograph SOPHIE at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, we found that both objects exhibit reflex orbital radial-velocity variations with amplitudes characteristic of planetary-mass companions and in-phase with the photometric orbits. Line-bisector studies rule out faint blended binaries as the cause of either the radial-velocity variations or the transits. We perform preliminary spectral analyses of the host stars, which together with their radial-velocity variations and fits to the transit light curves yield estimates of the planetary masses and radii. WASP-1b and WASP-2b have orbital periods of 2.52 and 2.15 d, respectively. Given mass estimates for their F7V and K1V primaries, we derive planet masses 0.80–0.98 and 0.81–0.95 times that of Jupiter, respectively. WASP-1b appears to have an inflated radius of at least 1.33 R _Jup, whereas WASP-2b has a radius in the range 0.65–1.26 R _Jup.