Imaging coronal emission lines under high sky-background conditions

We have obtained images in solar coronal emission lines under high sky-background conditions by making precise differential measurements between the coronal emission line and the near-by continuum, which is primarily due to scattered light from the solar disk. Chopping between the two wavelengths was performed at 100 kHz to avoid artifacts from fast-flying dust particles and other aerosols, and also from seeing effects. The differential signal was detected with a novel CCD camera that demodulates signals up to 100 kHz. These preliminary observations show coronal emission at the 0.2% level of the scattered-light background and pave the way to efficient and precise imaging of coronal emission features under less than ideal coronal-sky conditions.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.     

Aqueous alteration of the Bali CV3 chondrite: evidence from mineralogy, mineral chemistry, and oxygen isotopic compositions

A petrographic, geochemical, and oxygen isotopic study of the Bali CV3 carbonaceous chondrite revealed that the meteorite has undergone extensive deformation and aqueous alteration on its parent body. Deformation textures are common and include flattened chondrules, a well-developed foliation, and the presence of distinctive (100) planar defects in olivine. The occurrence of alteration products associated with the planar defects indicates that the deformation features formed prior to the episode of aqueous alteration. The secondary minerals produced during the alteration event include well-crystallized Mg-rich saponite, framboidal magnetite, and Ca-phosphates. The alteration products are not homogeneously distributed throughout the meteorite, but occur in regions adjacent to relatively unaltered material, such as veins of altered material following the foliation. The alteration assemblage formed under oxidizing conditions at relatively low temperatures (<100 degrees C). Altered regions in Bali have higher Na, Ca, and P contents than unaltered regions which suggests that the fluid phase carried significant dissolved solids. Oxygen isotopic compositions for unaltered regions in Bali fall within the field for other CV3 whole-rocks, however, the oxygen isotopic compositions of the heavily altered material lie in the region for the CM and CR chondrites. The heavy-isotope enrichment of the altered regions in Bali suggest alteration conditions similar to those for the petrographic type-2 carbonaceous chondrites.     

Mineralogical and chemical transformation of Oldoinyo Lengai natrocarbonatites, Tanzania

The minerals of Oldoinyo Lengai natrocarbonatite lavas are unstable under atmospheric conditions. Subsolidus mineral assemblages in natrocarbonatites were studied in 105 samples from contemporary eruptions ranging from present day to about 100 years old. The subsolidus minerals in natrocarbonatites were formed (i) along cracks on the lava surface from hot gases escaping during cooling, (ii) as atmospheric alteration by solution of water-soluble minerals, in particular halides and gregoryite, and by hydration of nyerereite under the influence of meteoric water and (iii) by reaction with fumarole gases. After solidification, the lavas were cut by a network of thin cracks, the edges of which are covered by polymineralic encrustations. Samples collected 2–24 h after eruption contain nahcolite, trona, sylvite, and halite with accessory kalicinite and villiaumite. Atmospheric humidity results immediately (≥ 2 h after eruption) in alteration of black lavas that is marked by the appearance of white powdery thermonatrite with nahcolite on the lava surface. Subsequent reaction (weeks, months, years) of natrocarbonatite with meteoric water and the atmosphere results in the formation of pirssonite, gaylussite, shortite, trona, thermonatrite, nahcolite and calcite. Generally, the first important step is the formation of pirssonite and the end-members are calcite carbonate rocks or loose aggregates. Fumarolic activity is common for the active northern crater of the volcano. Reaction of hot (54–141 °C) fumarolic gases with natrocarbonatite leads to the formation of sulphur, gypsum, calcite, anhydrite, monohydrocalcite, barite and celestine. Changes in mineralogy of the natrocarbonatite lead to substantial chemical transformation. The most obvious chemical changes in this process are the loss of Na, K, Cl and S, combined with an increase in H₂O, Ca, Sr, Ba, F and Mn. The oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of altered natrocarbonatites shows a significant shift from the primary “Lengai Box” to high values of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C. Calcite exhibits δ¹³C values between − 2‰ and − 4‰ PDB and δ¹⁸O values of + 23‰ to + 26‰ SMOW. The observed assemblages of secondary minerals formed by reaction with atmosphere and meteoric water, the changes in chemical composition of the natrocarbonatite and field observations suggest that alteration of natrocarbonatite is an open-system low-temperature process. It takes place at temperatures between 8 and 43 °C with the addition of H₂O to the system and the removal of Na, K, Cl and S from the carbonatites. Low-temperature thermodynamic models developed for alkali carbonate systems can be used for the interpretation of Oldoinyo Lengai subsolidus mineralization.     

DNAPL Characterization Methods and Approaches, Part 2: Cost Comparisons

Contamination from the use of chlorinated solvents, often classified as dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) when in an undissolved state, pose environmental threats to ground water resources worldwide. DNAPL site characterization method performance comparisons are presented in a companion paper (Kram et al. 2001). This study compares the costs for implementing various characterization approaches using synthetic unit model scenarios (UMSs), each with particular physical characteristics. Unit costs and assumptions related to labor, equipment, and consumables are applied to determine costs associated with each approach for various UMSs. In general, the direct-push sensor systems provide cost-effective characterization information in soils that are penetrable with relatively shallow (less than 10 to 15 m) water tables. For sites with impenetrable lithology using direct-push techniques, the Ribbon NAPL Sampler Flexible Liner Underground Technologies Everting (FLUTe) membrane appears to be the most cost-effective approach. For all scenarios studied, partitioning interwell tracer tests (PITTs) are the most expensive approach due to the extensive pre-and post-PITT requirements. However, the PITT is capable of providing useful additional information, such as approximate DNAPL saturation, which is not generally available from any of the other approaches included in this comparison.     

Temporal variations in magma composition at Merapi Volcano (Central Java, Indonesia): magmatic cycles during the past 2000 years of explosive activity

Merapi Volcano (Central Java, Indonesia) has been frequently active during Middle to Late Holocene time producing basalts and basaltic andesites of medium-K composition in earlier stages of activity and high-K magmas from 1900 ¹⁴C yr BP to the present. Radiocarbon dating of pyroclastic deposits indicates an almost continuous activity with periods of high eruption rates alternating with shorter time spans of distinctly reduced eruptive frequency since the first appearance of high-K volcanic rocks. Geochemical data of 28 well-dated, prehistoric pyroclastic flows of the Merapi high-K series indicate systematic cyclic variations. These medium-term compositional variations result from a complex interplay of several magmatic processes, which ultimately control the periodicity and frequency of eruptions at Merapi. Low eruption rates and the absence of new influxes of primitive magma from depth allow the generation of basaltic andesite magma (56–57 wt% SiO₂) in a small-volume magma reservoir through fractional crystallisation from parental mafic magma (52–53 wt% SiO₂) in periods of low eruptive frequency. Magmas of intermediate composition erupted during these stages provide evidence for periodic withdrawal of magma from a steadily fractionating magma chamber. Subsequent periods are characterised by high eruption rates that coincide with shifts of whole-rock compositions from basaltic andesite to basalt. This compositional variation is interpreted to originate from influxes of primitive magma into a continuously active magma chamber, triggering the eruption of evolved magma after periods of low eruptive frequency. Batches of primitive magma eventually mix with residual magma in the magmatic reservoir to decrease whole-rock SiO₂ contents. Supply of primitive magma at Merapi appears to be sufficiently frequent that andesites or more differentiated rock types were not generated during the past 2000 years of activity. Cyclic variations also occurred during the recent eruptive period since AD 1883. The most recent eruptive episode of Merapi is characterised by essentially uniform magma compositions that may imply the existence of a continuously active magma reservoir, maintained in a quasi-steady state by magma recharge. The whole-rock compositions at the upper limit of the total SiO₂ range of the Merapi suite could also indicate the beginning of another period of high eruption rates and shifts towards more mafic compositions.     

The origin of organic matter in the solar system: evidence from the interplanetary dust particles

The detailed examination of meteorites and interplanetary dust particles provides an opportunity to infer the origin of the organic matter found in primitive Solar System materials. If this organic matter were produced by aqueous alteration of elemental (graphitic or amorphous) carbon on an asteroid, then we would expect to see the organic matter occurring preferentially in interplanetary materials that exhibit evidence of aqueous activity, such as the presence of hydrated silicates. On the other hand, if the organic matter were produced either during the nebula phase of Solar System evolution or in the interstellar medium, we might expect this organic matter to be incorporated into the dust as it formed. In that case pre-biotic organic matter would be present in both the anhydrous and the hydrated interplanetary materials. We have performed carbon X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy on primitive anhydrous and hydrated interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected by NASA from the Earth's stratosphere. We find that organic matter is present in similar types and abundances in both the anhydrous and the hydrated IDPs, and, in the anhydrous IDPs some of this organic matter is the “glue” that holds grains together. These measurements provide the first direct, experimental evidence from the comparison of extraterrestrial samples that the bulk of the pre-biotic organic matter occurs in similar types and abundances in both hydrated and anhydrous samples. This indicates that the bulk of the pre-biotic organic matter in the Solar System did not form by aqueous processing, but, instead, had already formed at the time that primitive, anhydrous dust was being assembled. Thus, the bulk of the pre-biotic organic matter in the Solar System was formed by non-aqueous processing, occurring in either the Solar nebula or in an interstellar environment. Aqueous processing on asteroids may have altered this pre-existing organic matter, but such processing did not affect in any substantial way the C=O content of the organic matter, the aliphatic C-H abundance, or the mean aliphatic chain length.     

Low-frequency 3-D seismic survey of upper crustal magmatic intrusions in the northeastern Pannonian basin of Hungary

A specially designed 700-km² grid survey, deploying 1000 regularly distributed low-frequency seismic recording systems, successfully investigated one of the most complex geologic environments of the Pannonian basin. The wide-angle signals penetrated through over 1000 m of multi-phase igneous lithology and recognized, for the first time, the underlying enigmatic Permian to Early Triassic basement rocks. Tomographic inversion of the first arrival grid data resulted in determination of an accurate three-dimensional (3-D) velocity field, to a depth of 4 km. The anomalous changes of the spatial velocity data outline the regional extent of the Late Miocene magmatic intrusions, which are covered by over 2000 m of Mid-Miocene to Pleistocene clastics. Complex relationship was found between the surface potential data and the intrusive bodies. This multi-faceted geophysical data analysis established a functional technique for mapping a subsurface with intricate acoustic and structural complexity.     

Oxygen‐18 dynamics in precipitation and streamflow in a semi‐arid agricultural watershed,Eastern Washington,USA

Understanding flow pathways and mechanisms that generate streamflow is important to understanding agrochemical contamination in surface waters in agricultural watersheds. Two environmental tracers, δ¹⁸O and electrical conductivity (EC), were monitored in tile drainage (draining 12 ha) and stream water (draining nested catchments of 6‐5700 ha) from 2000 to 2008 in the semi‐arid agricultural Missouri Flat Creek (MFC) watershed, near Pullman Washington, USA. Tile drainage and streamflow generated in the watershed were found to have baseline δ¹⁸O value of ?14·7‰ (VSMOW) year round. Winter precipitation accounted for 67% of total annual precipitation and was found to dominate streamflow, tile drainage, and groundwater recharge. ‘Old’ and ‘new’ water partitioning in streamflow were not identifiable using δ¹⁸O, but seasonal shifts of nitrate‐corrected EC suggest that deep soil pathways primarily generated summer streamflow (mean EC 250 µS/cm) while shallow soil pathways dominated streamflow generation during winter (EC declining as low as 100 µS/cm). Using summer isotopic and EC excursions from tile drainage in larger catchment (4700‐5700 ha) stream waters, summer in‐stream evaporation fractions were estimated to be from 20% to 40%, with the greatest evaporation occurring from August to October. Seasonal watershed and environmental tracer dynamics in the MFC watershed appeared to be similar to those at larger watershed scales in the Palouse River basin. A 0·9‰ enrichment, in shallow groundwater drained to streams (tile drainage and soil seepage), of δ¹⁸O values from 2000 to 2008 may be evidence of altered precipitation conditions due to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the Inland Northwest. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intercrystalline cation partitioning between minerals of the triplite-zwieselite-magniotriplite and the triphylite-lithiophilite series in granitic pegmatites

Minerals of the triphylite-lithiophilite, Li(Fe, Mn)PO₄, and the triplite-zwieselite-magniotriplite series, (Mn, Fe, Mg)₂PO₄F, occur in the late stage period of pegmatite evolution. Unfortunately, neither are the genetic relationships between these phosphates fully understood nor are thermodynamic data known. Consequently, phosphate associations and assemblages from 8 granitic pegmatites — Clementine II, Rubicon II and III, and Tsaobismund (Namibia); Hagendorf-Süd and Rabenstein (Germany); Valmy (France); Viitaniemi (Finland) — have been tested for compositional zoning and intercrystalline partitioning of main elements by electron microprobe techniques. Although the selected pegmatites display varying degrees of fractionation, and the intergrowth textures indicate different genetic relationships between the phosphates, the plots of mole fractions X _Fe=Fe/(Fe+Mn+Mg+Ca), X _Mn=Mn/(Fe+Mn+Mg+Ca), and X _Mg=Mg/(Fe+Mn+Mg+Ca) can be fitted relatively well with smooth curves in Roozeboom diagrams. Their deviations from symmetrical distribution curves are mainly dependent upon X _Mg or X _Ca, and upon non-ideal solutions. Surprisingly small differences between the partition coefficients were detected for intergrowths of different origin. However, the partitioning of shared components among coexisting phases is clearly dependent upon the conditions of formation. Compositional zoning is observed only when both Fe–Mn phosphates are intergrown mutually or with other Fe–Mn–Mg mineral solid-solutios. Thus, the zoning does not seem to be due to continuous crystallization, but to later diffusion processes. The triplite structure has preference for Mn, Mg, and Ca, while Fe prefers minerals of the triphylite series. A quantification of main element fractionation between minerals of the triphylite and the triplite series is possible in the cases where diffusion can be excluded. For the Fe/(Fe+Mn) ratios of core compositions an equation with a high correlation coefficient (R=0.988) was determined: Fe/(Fe+Mn)_Tr=[Fe/(Fe+Mn)_Li]/{2.737-(1.737)[Fe/(Fe+Mn)_Li]} (Tr=triplite series, Li=triphylite series). Consequently, the Fe/(Fe+Mn) ratio of the triplite series can now also be used in the interpretation of pegmatite evolution, just like that of the triphylite series which has been successfully applied in the past.