Interplay between scintillation and ionization in liquid xenon Dark Matter searches

We provide a new way of constraining the relative scintillation efficiency L_eff for liquid xenon. Using a simple estimate for the electronic and nuclear stopping powers together with an analysis of recombination processes we predict both the ionization and the scintillation yields. Using presently available data for the ionization yield, we can use the correlation between these two quantities to constrain L_eff from below. Moreover, we argue that more reliable data on the ionization yield would allow to verify our assumptions on the atomic cross sections and to predict the value of L_eff. We conclude that the relative scintillation efficiency should not decrease at low nuclear recoil energies, which has important consequences for the robustness of exclusion limits for low WIMP masses in liquid xenon Dark Matter searches.     

Mineralogy of the lower mantle: A review of ‘super-deep’ mineral inclusions in diamond

Starting from the late 1980s, several groups of lower-mantle mineral inclusions in diamond have been found. Three associations were established among them: juvenile ultramafic, analogous to eclogitic, and carbonatitic. The juvenile ultramafic association strongly predominates, and it is composed of ferropericlase, MgSi-, CaSi- and CaTi-perovskites, stishovite, tetragonal almandine-pyrope phase (TAPP), and some others. The association analogous to the upper-mantle eclogitic association, formed from subducting lithosphere, comprises: majorite, CaSi-perovskite bearing compositional Eu anomalies, phase ‘Egg’ with a tetragonal structure, and stishovite. The carbonatitic association is represented by various carbonates, halides, and associated minerals. Some mineral associations (wüstite + periclase and native iron + iron carbides) are, possibly, related to the D″ layer at the core/mantle boundary. The mineralogical composition of the lower mantle is now understood to be more complex than had been suggested in theoretic and experimental works. The proportion of ferropericlase in the lower mantle is higher than it was suggested before, and its composition is more iron-rich (mg = 0.36–0.90) as compared to experimental and theoretical data. Free silica (stishovite) is always present in lower-mantle associations, and a separate aluminous phase (TAPP) has been identified in several areas. These discrepancies suggest that the composition of the lower mantle differs to that of the upper-mantle, and experiments based solely on ‘pyrolitic’ compositions are not, therefore, applicable to the lower mantle. These data indicate a probability of an alternative to the CI-chondrite model of the Earth's formation, for example, an enstatite-chondrite model.     

Numerical simulation of waves in the Caspian Sea: calibration and verification of the observation-based source terms

Ocean Dynamics - Third-generation models employ a host of parameterization schemes to consider the input wind forcing and the wave energy dissipation under different physical settings and...     

Column tests to enhance sulphide precipitation with liquid organic electron donators to remediate AMD-influenced groundwater

Dump groundwaters in the former East-German lignite-mining district are characterized by high amounts of ferrous iron and sulphate. Both the pyrite weathering products endanger the surface water quality when discharged into lakes. Only the precipitation of both contaminants in the subsurface can prevent the further contamination of surface waters. The two-step process of microbial catalyzed sulphate reduction and iron sulphide precipitation is limited by the low availability of natural organic substances as electron donators. Therefore, a new remediation technique is developed based on the injection of a liquid organic electron donator (methanol) into the contaminated aquifer. The saturated aquifer is used as a bioreactor, where iron monosulphides are precipitated in the groundwater-filled pore space. Column experiments were performed under natural pressure and temperature conditions with natural anoxic groundwater and original sediments to test the remediation technology. The test showed that a complete iron removal (4 mmol/l), even under rather acid conditions (pH 3.8), is possible after having established an active sulphate reducer population. The turnover of the added organic substance with sulphate is complete and the amount of the resulting sulphide controls the effluent pH. In addition, intensified microbial activity triggers the turnover of natural organic substances. Also, natural Fe(III) hydroxides react with the sulphide produced. Considering the long natural retention times (decades), artificially enhanced FeS precipitation is spontaneous, although it shows kinetic behaviour in the range of days. In light of the promising results, the development of a field scale application of this technique is considered to be necessary. It will have to focus on the improved precipitation control of the FeS in the subsurface.     

U–Pb LA-SF-ICP-MS zircon geochronology of the Serbo-Macedonian Massif, Greece: palaeotectonic constraints for Gondwana-derived terranes in the Eastern Mediterranean

The Pirgadikia Terrane in northern Greece forms tectonic inliers within the Vardar suture zone bordering the Serbo-Macedonian Massif to the southwest. It comprises Cadomian basement rocks of volcanic-arc origin and very mature quartz-rich metasedimentary rocks. U–Pb laser ablation sector-field inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses of detrital zircons from the latter reveal a marked input from a Cadomian–Pan-African source with minor contribution from Mesoproterozoic, Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean sources. The metasedimentary rocks are correlated with Ordovician overlap sequences at the northern margin of Gondwana on the basis of their maturity and zircon age spectra. The Pirgadikia Terrane can be best interpreted as a peri-Gondwana terrane of Avalonian origin, which was situated close to the Cadomian terranes in the Late Neoproterozoic–Early Palaeozoic, very much like the Istanbul Terrane. The second unit investigated is the Vertiskos Terrane, which constitutes the major part of the Serbo-Macedonian Massif in Greece. It comprises predominantly igneous rocks of Silurian age and minor metasedimentary rocks of unknown age and provenance. U–Pb analyses of detrital zircons from a garnetiferous mica schist of the Vertiskos Terrane indicate derivation from 550 to 1,150 Ma-old source rocks with a major Cadomian peak. This, combined with minor input of >1,950 Ma-old zircons and the absence of ages between ca. 1.2 and 1.7 Ga suggests a NW Africa source. The protolith age of the garnetiferous mica schist is presumably Early Ordovician. One sample of garnet-bearing biotite gneiss, interpreted as meta-igneous rock, comprises predominantly subhedral zircons of igneous origin with late Middle Ordovician to Silurian ages. We suggest that the rock association of the Vertiskos Terrane is part of an ancient active-margin succession of the Hun superterrane, comparable to successions of the Austro- and Intra-Alpine Terranes. The new data of this study provide evidence of occurrences of Avalonia- and Armorica-derived terranes in the Eastern Mediterranean and moreover help to clarify palaeogeographic reconstructions for the peri-Gondwana realm in the Early Palaeozoic.     

Neoproterozoic ‘anomalous’ kimberlites of Guaniamo, Venezuela: Mica kimberlites of ‘isotopic transitional’ type

In Venezuela, kimberlites have so far only been found in the Guaniamo region, where they occur as high diamond grade sheets in massive to steeply foliated Paleoproterozoic granitoid rocks. The emplacement age of the Guaniamo kimberlites is 712±6 Ma, i.e., Neoproterozoic. The Guaniamo kimberlites contain a high abundance of mantle minerals, with greater than 30% olivine macrocrysts. The principal kimberlite indicator minerals found are pyrope garnet and chromian spinel, with the overwhelming majority of the garnets being of the peridotite association. Chrome-diopside is rare, and picroilmenite is uncommon. Chemically, the Guaniamo kimberlites are characterized by high MgO contents, with low Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ contents and higher than average FeO and K₂O contents. These rocks have above average Ni, Cr, Co, Th, Nb, Ta, Sr and LREE concentrations and very low P, Y and, particularly, Zr and Hf contents. The Nb/Zr ratio is very distinctive and is similar to that of the Aries, Australia kimberlite. The Guaniamo kimberlites are similar in petrography, mineralogy and mantle mineral content to ilmenite-free Group 2 mica kimberlites of South Africa. The Nd-Sr isotopic characteristics of Guaniamo kimberlites are distinct from both kimberlite Group 1 and Group 2, being more similar to transitional type kimberlites, and in particular to diamondiferous kimberlites of the Arkhangelsk Diamond Province, Russia. The Guaniamo kimberlites form part of a compositional spectrum between other standard kimberlite reference groups. They formed from metasomatised subcontinental lithospheric mantle and it is likely that subduction of oceanic crust was the source of this metasomatised material, and also of the eclogitic component, which is dominant in Guaniamo diamonds.     

PC1 with a broad frequency spectrum — “Goose pulsations”

Geomagnetic pulsations in the frequency range of Pc1 pearl waves with the dynamic spectra having a very narrow spectrum width at the beginning of the event and a very broad spectrum width (Δf/f₀ ∼ 1) in the later part of the event are analyzed. One of the observed events shown by the dynamic spectrum resembles a goose with the beak at the beginning of the event and with the wing in the later part of the event. Various interpretations of these geomagnetic pulsations are presented taking into account nonlinear effects, quasilinear interaction of electromagnetic ion-cyclotron waves with energetic, anisotropic protons and modulation of plasma parameters in the magnetosphere by Pc3–5 hydromagnetic waves. The ionospheric effect in the signal formation is determined by the ionospheric Alfvén resonator. It can control the frequency range of the dynamic spectra, but not the internal structure of the signal.     

The mechanism of formation of the Baikal basin

The Baikal is a deep long and narrow basin in East Siberia which follows a huge fault zone adjoining the Siberian Platform. The basin was formed by rapid subsidence of continental crust during the pas 3–4 Ma. It is bounded by normal faults which indicate extension of the crust during the subsidence. According to seismic reflection profiling data, the intensity of extension is not large (3–7%). It is much smaller than the thinning of the crystalline crust under the basin (up to 38%). The thinning and crustal subsidence can be explained by the transformation of gabbro in the lower crust into dense garnet granulites. The latter rocks (with V_p 7.7−7.8 km/sec) are still located under the remnant part of the crust. Rapid transformation took place due to an inflow of catalyzing fluid along the fault zone from the asthenospheric upwelling. This upwelling, which is at a depth of 80–90 km, caused a general uplift of a broad area in the south of East Siberia.     

EUREC<Superscript>4</Superscript>A: A Field Campaign to Elucidate the Couplings Between Clouds,Convection and Circulation

Trade-wind cumuli constitute the cloud type with the highest frequency of occurrence on Earth, and it has been shown that their sensitivity to changing environmental conditions will critically influence the magnitude and pace of future global warming. Research over the last decade has pointed out the importance of the interplay between clouds, convection and circulation in controling this sensitivity. Numerical models represent this interplay in diverse ways, which translates into different responses of trade-cumuli to climate perturbations. Climate models predict that the area covered by shallow cumuli at cloud base is very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, while process models suggest the opposite. To understand and resolve this contradiction, we propose to organize a field campaign aimed at quantifying the physical properties of trade-cumuli (e.g., cloud fraction and water content) as a function of the large-scale environment. Beyond a better understanding of clouds-circulation coupling processes, the campaign will provide a reference data set that may be used as a benchmark for advancing the modelling and the satellite remote sensing of clouds and circulation. It will also be an opportunity for complementary investigations such as evaluating model convective parameterizations or studying the role of ocean mesoscale eddies in air–sea interactions and convective organization.