Orthopyroxene oikocrysts in the MG1 chromitite layer of the Bushveld Complex: implications for cumulate formation and recrystallisation

Two typical mineral textures of the MG 1 chromitite of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, were observed; one characterised by abundant orthopyroxene oikocrysts, and the other by coarse-grained granular chromitite with only minor amounts of interstitial material. Oikocrysts form elongate clusters of several crystals aligned parallel to the layering, and typically have subhedral, almost chromite-free, core zones containing remnants of olivine. The core zones are surrounded by poikilitic aureoles overgrowing euhedral to subhedral chromite chadacrysts. Chromite grains show no preferred crystal orientation, whereas orthopyroxene grains forming clusters commonly share the same crystallographic orientation. Oikocryst core zones have lower Mg# and higher concentrations of incompatible trace elements compared to their poikilitic aureoles. Core zones are relatively enriched in REE compared to a postulated parental magma (B1) and did not crystallise in equilibrium with the surrounding minerals, whereas the composition of the poikilitic orthopyroxene is consistent with growth from the B1 magma. These observations cannot be explained by the classic cumulus and post-cumulus models of oikocryst formation. Instead, we suggest that the oikocryst core zones in the MG1 chromitite layer formed by peritectic replacement of olivine primocrysts by reaction with an upwards-percolating melt enriched in incompatible trace elements. Poikilitic overgrowth on oikocryst core zones occurred in equilibrium with a basaltic melt of B1 composition near the magma-crystal mush interface. Finally, adcumulus crystallisation followed by grain growth resulted in the surrounding granular chromitite.     

A survey of groundwater quality in Tulum region,Yucatan Peninsula,Mexico

The city of Tulum, in the state of Quintana Roo (Mexico) depends almost exclusively on groundwater for water supply. The groundwater is exploited from a coastal aquifer which contains a karst network that is considered as one of the largest ones on earth. Given the nature of karst aquifers, the whole area is very sensitive to contaminants and bacteria transport, because flow paths, residence time and degradation rates differ significantly from what can be observed in the porous aquifer. The present study focuses on isotopes (¹⁸O and ²H), dissolved ions’ concentration and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The result of our survey points out the anthropic impact on groundwater quality. Furthermore, the chloride concentrations illustrate the influence of seawater mixing and geological heterogeneity over the study area. Due to an exponential growth of the tourism industry, the needs in terms of water supply and water treatment increase significantly. Tulum is a coastal city, facing a coral reef and is bordered by the Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve, therefore, an environmental issue is added to the sanitary issue, both being the basis of the local economic development. Our results show that E. coli remains a major issue, as several samples tested were contaminated, in particular those in the city center. Ions’ survey shows an anthropic impact through nitrate, phosphate and fluoride concentrations, but the obtained values are not alarming. Considering the saline intrusion, chloride concentrations indicate that the area below the Tulum city center seems to be less permeable (and maybe less karstified) than the surrounding areas, as groundwater is less subject to seawater mixing than other sampling sites at similar distance to the coast.     

Erwiderung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Gamma ray signatures of ultra high energy cosmic ray accelerators: electromagnetic cascade versus synchrotron radiation of secondary electrons

We discuss the possibility of observing ultra high energy cosmic ray sources in high energy gamma rays. Protons propagating away from their accelerators produce secondary electrons during interactions with cosmic microwave background photons. These electrons start an electromagnetic cascade that results in a broad band gamma ray emission. We show that in a magnetized Universe (B≳10⁻¹² G) such emission is likely to be too extended to be detected above the diffuse background. A more promising possibility comes from the detection of synchrotron photons from the extremely energetic secondary electrons. Although this emission is produced in a rather extended region of size ∼10 Mpc, it is expected to be point-like and detectable at GeV energies if the intergalactic magnetic field is at the nanogauss level.      

Modulation of the high energy γ-ray flux from PSR B1259-63/SS2883 due to the orbital variation of the maximum energy of accelerated electrons

The inverse Compton (IC) scattering of ultrarelativistic electrons accelerated at the pulsar wind termination shock is generally believed to be responsible for TeV gamma-ray signal recently reported from the binary system PSR B1259-63/SS2883. In such a system the acceleration takes place in the presence of a dense radiation field provided by a companion Be2-type star. Thus it is natural to expect an orbital phase dependence of the acceleration efficiency in the system. The HESS collaboration reported the tendency of reduction of TeV γ-rays around the periastron. In this paper we study a possible explanation of this effect by the “early” (sub-TeV) cutoffs in the energy spectrum of accelerated electrons due to the enhanced rate of Compton losses close to the periastron.     

Size and shape characteristics of drumlins,derived from a large sample,and associated scaling laws

Ice sheets flowing across a sedimentary bed usually produce a landscape of blister-like landforms streamlined in the direction of the ice flow and with each bump of the order of 10² to 10³ m in length and 10¹ m in relief. Such landforms, known as drumlins, have mystified investigators for over a hundred years. A satisfactory explanation for their formation, and thus an appreciation of their glaciological significance, has remained elusive. A recent advance has been in numerical modelling of the land-forming process. In anticipation of future modelling endeavours, this paper is motivated by the requirement for robust data on drumlin size and shape for model testing.From a systematic programme of drumlin mapping from digital elevation models and satellite images of Britain and Ireland, we used a geographic information system to compile a range of statistics on length L, width W, and elongation ratio E (where E = L/W) for a large sample. Mean L, is found to be 629 m (n = 58,983), mean W is 209 m and mean E is 2.9 (n = 37,043). Most drumlins are between 250 and 1000 metres in length; between 120 and 300 metres in width; and between 1.7 and 4.1 times as long as they are wide. Analysis of such data and plots of drumlin width against length reveals some new insights. All frequency distributions are unimodal from which we infer that the geomorphological label of ‘drumlin’ is fair in that this is a true single population of landforms, rather than an amalgam of different landform types. Drumlin size shows a clear minimum bound of around 100 m (horizontal). Maybe drumlins are generated at many scales and this is the minimum, or this value may be an indication of the fundamental scale of bump generation (‘proto-drumlins’) prior to them growing and elongating. A relationship between drumlin width and length is found (with r² = 0.48) and that is approximately W = 7 L ^1/2 when measured in metres. A surprising and sharply-defined line bounds the data cloud plotted in E–W–L space, and records a scale-dependent maximum elongation limit (approximated by E_max = L^1/3, when L measured in metres). For a given length, for some reason as yet unknown, drumlins do not exceed the elongation ratio defined by this scaling law. We also report and compare our statistics to an amalgamated sample (25,907 drumlins) of measures derived from around 50 published investigations. Any theory must be able to explain the drumlin statistics and fundamental scaling properties reported herein and they thus provide powerful tests for drumlin modelling.