Uranium at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Denmark

Uranium is significantly enriched (up to two orders of magnitude) in the Danish Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary beds relative to the underand overlaying sediments. Both the predominant oxic and some anoxic deposits have a high uranium content. To investigate the geochemical behaviour of the element, a series of sections was analysed for uranium by means of the delayed-neutron counting technique. Uranium contents in the carbonate rocks from different parts of the Danish Sub-basin are generally low but show slight regional trends. Experiments that involve cold acid extractions suggest that uranium is associated with the non-carbonate residues. The uranium distribution with depth in the offshore drill core from the Central Graben area (North Sea) suggests that the element is associated with clay in the Danian part. Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary beds from Stevns Klint and other localities in the Danish sub-basin have anomalously high uranium contents compared with the values for chalk. Uranium is not correlated with iron, non-carbonate carbon or aluminium. The highest uranium values within boundary sections are not found in the lower part of the sections as is the case for iridium. The only boundary beds that show typical anoxic depositional affinity have a total uranium accumulation that is one order of magnitude lower than that found in the oxic sections. High amounts of uranium within Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary beds are suggested to be related to diagenetic processes such as compaction and dehydration. Uranium is thought not to cause the extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary because of the relatively low contents found at the actual extinction level.     

Circumstellar molecular envelopes of AGB and post-AGB objects

The line Li I 6708 has been sought in a sample of spectra of slow-rotating Ap stars, selected on the basis of their richness in metallic lines. The problem of the determination of the atmospheric parameters T _eff and log g from colour indices is discussed. More than 20 per cent of the stars show an absorption line at 6708, but the presence of this feature, among Ap stars, appears to be erratic. Its identification as Li I is discussed and the parameters needed to obtain meaningful lithium abundances are examined.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), La Silla, Chile and at the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP), Saint Michel l'Observatoire, France.     

Surface studies of asteroids with the Faint Object Camera of the Space Telescope

Minor planets have been observed in the last few years for physical properties using photometry, polarimetry and IR-radiometry. Using the Faint Object Camera (FOC) of the Space Telescope (ST) it will be possible for the first time to observe a large number of asteroids with direct imaging systems.We propose to use the FOC with high resolution mode to examine minor planets with respect to (a) diameters and shapes, (b) surface and detail studies, (c) densities and (d) possible binary nature of selected asteroids.Paper presented at the European Workshop on Planetary Sciences, organised by the Laboratorio di Astrofisica Spaziale di Frascati, and held between April 23–27, 1979, at the Accademia Nazionale del Lincei in Rome, Italy.     

Three-Phase Secondary Migration of Hydrocarbon

The objective of this work is to study the migration of hydrocarbons from a source rock into possible reservoirs. In particular, we consider simultaneous migration of gas and oil through a water-filled carrier bed and how this flow might result in characteristics that could be interpreted by nontraditional exploration methods. In the modeling, one-dimensional, immiscible, isothermal flow is assumed, and capillary effects are excluded. The seal is modeled as a layer of very low permeability. Our analysis is based on the method of characteristics and simple wave theory. Waves are changes in saturation(s) that move through a reservoir or carrier bed at a characteristic velocity. The analysis does not require capillary forces to trap hydrocarbons, but relies on nonlinear wave phenomena to explain migration and entrapment. No doubt, capillary forces are important in secondary migration and entrapment. Our treatment can be viewed as being part of a more complete theory on secondary migration, considering hydrodynamic effects here. We demonstrate that capillary forces are not the only mechanism that can cause trapping of hydrocarbons. We focus on the role of gas in the trapping of oil. If the seal is slightly permeable, some oil will flow through it. With gas present, the efficiency of the seal can increase, and oil can be completely trapped by a structure that would otherwise be permeable. For example, gas, being much more mobile than oil, can form a bank at the interface between two layers that have a modest permeability contrast. This gas bank will have a relatively large gas saturation. This will decrease the relative permeability to oil and completely trap subsequently migrated oil. Oil can also be trapped even when no gas bank is formed at the permeable seal. Features of this problem that might affect a seismic signal are (1) the existence of gas above (caused by a stow leakage of gas) and below a modest seal, (2) the gas leakage itself, (3) modest saturations in the oil column, and (4) overpressuring in the gas column.     

Northern hemisphere atmospheric response to changes of atlantic ocean SST on decadal time scales: a GCM experiment

Analyses indicate that the Atlantic Ocean seasurface temperature (SST) was considerably colder at the beginning than in the middle of the century. In parallel, a systematic change in the North Atlantic sea-level pressure (SLP) pattern was observed. To find out whether the SST and SLP changes analyzed are consistent, which would indicate that the SST change was real and not an instrumental artifact, a response experiment with a low-resolution (T21) atmospheric GCM was performed. Two perpetual January simulations were conducted, which differ solely in the Atlantic Ocean (40° S-60° N) SST: the cold simulation utilizes the SSTs for the period 1904–1913; the warm simulation uses the SSTs for the period 1951–1960. Also, a control run with the model's standard SST somewhat between the cold and warm SST was made. For the response analysis, a rigorous statistical approach was taken. First, the null hypothesis of identical horizontal distributions was subjected to a multivariate significance test. Second, the level of recurrence was estimated. The multivariate statistical approaches are based on hierarchies of test models. We examined three different hierarchies: a scale-dependent hierarchy based on spherical harmonics (S), and two physically motivated ones, one based on the barotropic normal modes of the mean 300 hPa flow (B) and one based on the eigenmodes of the advection diffusion operator at 1000 hPa (A). The intercomparison of the cold and warm experiments indicates a signal in the geostrophic stream function that in the S-hierarchy is significantly nonzero and highly recurrent. In the A-hierarchy, the low level temperature field is identified as being significantly and recurrently affected by the altered SST distribution. The SLP signal is reasonably similar to the SLP change observed. Unexpectedly, the upper level stream-function signal does not appear to be significantly nonzero in the B-hierarchy. If, however, the pairs of experiments warm versus control and cold versus control are examined in the B-hierarchy, a highly significant and recurrent signal emerges. We conclude that the cold versus warm response is not a small disturbance that would allow the signal to be described by eigenmodes of the linear system. An analysis of the three-dimensional structure of the signal leads to the hypothesis that two different mechanisms are acting to modify the model's mean state. At low levels, local heating and advection are dominant, but at upper levels the extratropical signal is a remote responce to modifications of the tropical convection.This paper was presented at the International Conference on Modelling of Global Climate Change and Variability, held in Hamburg 11–15 September 1989 under the auspices of the Meteorological Institute of the University of Hamburg and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Guest Editor for these papers is Dr. L. Dilmenil.AWI Publication no. 254     

Observations of energetic ions in inverted V events

Simultaneous measurements of keV ions and electrons with the ESRO 1A satellite have shown the following ion characteristics among others. Ions of about 6 keV energy are strongly field-aligned on the flanks of the inverted V events (mainly through the disappearance of the ion flux near 90° pitch angle). Field-aligned electron fluxes are often found in the same regions of the inverted V events where the ions are field-aligned. At the centre of inverted V events isotropization occurs (except in some small events). The 1 keV ion flux at large pitch angles (80°) is generally not reduced very much when the 6 keV, 80° ion flux shows strongly decreased values. The ratio of the 1 to 6 keV ion flux has a maximum near the centre of an inverted V event where the electron spectrum is hardest and the 6 keV ions are isotropic (or nearly isotropic).The observations are interpreted in terms of a model with two oppositely directed field-aligned electrostatic potential drops: one upper accelerating electrons downward and one lower, produced by the electron influx, which accelerates ions downward. Ion scattering in turbulent wave fields is proposed to be responsible for the observation that the 1 keV ion flux at large pitch angles does not decrease strongly where the 6 keV ion flux does and as an explanation of the isotropization at the centre of the event. The source problem for the ions is eliminated by the precipitating electrons ionizing continuously the thin neutral atmosphere even at altitudes of a few thousand kilometers.     

Observations concerning the relationship between the quiet-time ring current and electron temperatures at trough latitudes

The relationship between the simultaneously observed positions of the maximum omnidirectional flux of the quiet-time ring current positive ions (Λ_φ) and the maximum electron temperature Λ_T in the trough is studied in the midnight sector of the topside ionosphere. Λ_φ maps to the inner edge of the plasma sheet where ring current fluxes change from nearly isotropic to trapped. At altitudes near 2500 km, the electron temperature at trough latitudes were always sharply peaked. Although Λ_φ varied with the level of geomagnetic activity, (Λ_φ ? Λ_T) did not. These observations support the hypothesis that the quiet-time ring current is the source of elevated electron temperatures found near the plasmapause. Below 1300 km, peaked electron temperature distributions in the trough were not consistent features of the data. It is shown that (Λ_φ ? Λ_T) increased with decreasing altitude. The possible influences of a westward component to the convective electric field and ionospheric refraction of ion cyclotron waves are discussed.