The Effect of the Canadian Shield on Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Density

The Canadian Shield is a large area of exposed bedrock that covers a significant portion of Canada. The focus of this research is on the Canadian Shield in northeastern regions of the Canadian Prairie provinces, the Northwest Territories, and northwestern Ontario. Observations of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes show a distinct reduction in lightning density when crossing the southern boundary of the Canadian Shield. Statistical tests were used to determine whether there was a statistically significant change between the average cloud-to-ground lightning density gradient near the Canadian Shield and away from it. Most regions had a statistically significant change at the 95% confidence level across the boundary. However, regions that contained large lakes or significant topography did not, suggesting that the large open water and rough topography have a greater effect than the Canadian Shield.

Three reasons for the distinct change across the Canadian Shield were explored: less lightning is detected, less lightning occurs with the same number of thunderstorms, and less lightning occurs because fewer thunderstorms occur. Some evidence suggested that less lightning is detected because the Canadian Shield has lower electrical conductivity. The low conductivity distorts the lightning waveform and contributes to higher errors and lower detection efficiency. There is also some evidence that a sharp change in land cover from lusher, higher transpiring forest to sparser lower transpiring forest could be reducing the instability causing fewer, weaker thunderstorms.     

Crustal contamination of mafic magmas: evidence from a petrological, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Os–O isotopic study of the Proterozoic Isortoq dike swarm, South Greenland

The mid-Proterozoic Isortoq dike swarm in the Gardar Province, South Greenland, comprises a variety of alkaline rocks ranging from gabbroic to syenitic in composition. Major magmatic mineral phases are olivine, clinopyroxene, Fe–Ti oxides, amphibole, plagioclase and alkali feldspar. Quartz occurs in some samples as a late magmatic phase. Liquidus temperatures of olivine-bearing samples range between 1120 and 1145 °C and solidus temperatures are 850–930 °C. Calculated silica activities are highly variable between 0.53 and unity. Oxygen fugacities vary from −3 to +1 log units relative to the fayalite–magnetite–quartz buffer.

The rocks have MgO contents <6 wt.% with Mg# between 53 and 17. Primitive mantle-normalized trace element patterns show a relative enrichment of LIL elements with Ba peaks and Nb troughs. Clinopyroxenes show a general enrichment in REE relative to chondritic values with variable slightly positive to prominent negative Eu anomalies. Two of the dikes were dated with Sm–Nd three-point isochrons at 1190±44 and 1187±87 Ma, respectively. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of mafic mineral separates range from 0.70289 to 0.70432 and initial _Nd values vary from +0.3 to −10.7. Whole-rock initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios are highly variable including very radiogenic values of up to 7.967. δ¹⁸O_v-smow values of separated clinopyroxene and amphibole range from +5.2‰ to +6.2‰ and fall within the range of typical mantle-derived rocks, although mixing with a lower crustal component is permitted by the data. Using energy-constrained assimilation-fractional crystallization (EC-AFC) modeling equations, the Sr–Nd isotope data of the more radiogenic samples can successfully be modeled by addition of up to 10% lower crustal granulite-facies Archean gneisses as contaminants. The Os isotopic data also suggest the involvement of old radiogenic crust. In accordance with seismic data, we conclude that a wedge of Archean crust extends from West Greenland further to the south below the present erosion level.     

Determination of the Tin Stable Isotopic Composition in Tin‐bearing Metals and Minerals by MC‐ICP‐MS

This study uses MC‐ICP‐MS for the precise analysis of the stable tin isotopic composition in ore minerals of tin (cassiterite, stannite), tin metal and tin bronze. The ultimate goal is to determine the provenance of tin in ancient metal objects. We document the isotope compositions of reference materials and compare the precision of different isotope ratios and the accuracy of different procedures of mass fractionation correction. These data represent a base with which isotopic data of future studies can be directly compared. The isotopic composition of cassiterite and stannite can be determined after reduction to tin metal and bronze, respectively. Both metals readily dissolve in HCl, but while the solutions of tin metal can be directly measured, the bronze solutions must be purified with an anion exchanger. The correction of the mass bias is best performed with an internal Sb standard and an empirical regression method. A series of Sn isotope determinations on commercially available mono‐element Sn solutions as well as reference bronze materials and tin minerals show fractionations ranging from about ?0.09‰ to 0.05‰/amu. The combined analytical uncertainty (2s) was determined by replicate dissolutions of reference materials of bronze (BAM 211, IARM‐91D) and averages at about 0.005‰/amu.     

Cenozoic intra-plate magmatism in the Darfur volcanic province: mantle source, phonolite-trachyte genesis and relation to other volcanic provinces in NE Africa

Chemical and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions of Late Cenozoic to Quaternary small-volume phonolite, trachyte and related mafic rocks from the Darfur volcanic province/NW-Sudan have been investigated. Isotope signatures indicate variable but minor crustal contributions. Some phonolitic and trachytic rocks show the same isotopic composition as their primitive mantle-derived parents, and no crustal contributions are visible in the trace element patterns of these samples. The magmatic evolution of the evolved rocks is dominated by crystal fractionation. The Si-undersaturated strongly alkaline phonolite and the Si-saturated mildly alkaline trachyte can be modelled by fractionation of basanite and basalt, respectively. The suite of basanite–basalt–phonolite–trachyte with characteristic isotope signatures from the Darfur volcanic province fits the compositional features of other Cenozoic intra-plate magmatism scattered in North and Central Africa (e.g., Tibesti, Maghreb, Cameroon line), which evolved on a lithosphere that was reworked or formed during the Neoproterozoic.     

Systematics of internal zircon morphology in major Variscan granitoid types

The internal morphologies of zircon crystals from different types of granitoids (alkaline, calcalkaline and anatectic) are revealed by cathodoluminescence imaging and are described in terms of growth rates of the crystal faces relative to each other. Zircons in the alkaline granitoids are characterized by high and constant growth rates of {010} relative to the pyramidal forms and by symmetric grwoth of {011}. Zircons in the calcalkaline and anatectic granitoids are characterized by fluctuating or gradually decreasing relative growth rates of {010}, by asymmetric and highly variable growth of {011}, and by a tendency of {110} to become grwoth-inhibited. Corrosion events are interspersed during zircon growth in the calcalkaline magmas. In the calcalkaline and anatectic magmas, a discontinuity breaks the morphological evolution at late stages of crystallization. The discontinuity coincides with a sharp drop in cathodoluminescence. The growth behaviour of each crystal form is analysed and compared with predictions made by the periodic bond chain (PBC) theory. It is argued that the relative growth rate of {010} depends on supersaturation, that the growth rates of {011} faces are changed in response to different ratios of adsorbing cations (Na, K, Al), and that {110} faces become growth-inhibited by the adsorption of H₂O or trace elements enriched in the residual liquid. Morphological and chemical discontinuities at late stages of crystallization are reasonably explained by the formation of larger growth units (from smaller ionic entities) in the residual liquid. Important factors controlling the zircon morphology in different types of granitoids are: high cooling rates (alkaline magmas), magma mixing (calcalkaline magmas), enrichment of H₂O and trace elements in residual liquids (calcalkaline and anatectic magmas), and the major element chemistry of the magma, possibly the ratio of Na and K to Al (agpaicity).     

Two UBV sequences,north and south of the galactic cluster NGC 5823

Photoelectric UBV observations of 69 stars, distributed in two sequences north and south of the galactic star cluster NGC 5823, are reported.     

The recent capture of the periodic comet P/Scotti (2000 Y3)

Numerical integrations of 99 orbits centered on that of comet P/Scotti (P/2000 Y3), and of the nominal orbit, were made 4000 days backwards in time, and 73000 days into the future. The integrations show that this comet has been transferred into its present orbit as recently as 1998. The future orbital evolution indicates a stable period for almost 150 years, when another close encounter with Jupiter may lead to further drastic changes of the present orbit.