Cadmium release caused by the die-back of the saltmarsh cord grass Spartina anglica in Poole Harbour (UK)

As in many other areas, the perennial cord grass Spartina anglica C.E. Hubbard has been extremely successful at colonising the English and Irish south coasts, but it is dying back for reasons that are not completely understood. The present study considers the relationship between die-back and metal concentrations in estuarine sediment. No obvious impact of the metal contamination on the S. anglica growth/die-back could be detected in the study zone, Poole Harbour, although the die-back did seem to have substantially influenced the metal concentrations in the sediments of the estuary. Based on core profiles, the remaining patches of S. anglica still retain elevated concentrations and the overall cadmium concentrations in the sediments have risen since 1925. However, considerable quantities of the cadmium stored in the sediment by S. anglica appear to have been washed out rapidly in the die-back zones. Should serious erosion of the saltmarsh occur, triggered for example by sea-level rise, then sudden and high levels of cadmium release may cause harmful effects to marine biota.     

Phenomenology of the Lense-Thirring effect in the solar system

Recent years have seen increasing efforts to directly measure some aspects of the general relativistic gravitomagnetic interaction in several astronomical scenarios in the solar system. After briefly overviewing the concept of gravitomagnetism from a theoretical point of view, we review the performed or proposed attempts to detect the Lense-Thirring effect affecting the orbital motions of natural and artificial bodies in the gravitational fields of the Sun, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. In particular, we will focus on the evaluation of the impact of several sources of systematic uncertainties of dynamical origin to realistically elucidate the present and future perspectives in directly measuring such an elusive relativistic effect.     

Ca II resonance lines in non-homogeneous chromospheres

Profiles of the K line of Caii are computed for a two component solar chromosphere, chosen to simulate with a simple geometry the chromospheric supergranular network. Each component rises above the BCA photosphere, the boundary component representing the bright network with a sharp temperature rise and the cell component representing the darker region with an extended temperature minimum. Theoretical intensity profiles of the Can K core, calculated as weighted averages over the projected areas of the components, are produced for = 0.6 and 0.3. The line source function and the optical depth are obtained from a self-consistent treatment of the steady state and radiative transfer equations, with complete redistribution assumed for scattering in the line. The atomic model consists of two bound levels and a continuum. It is found that a 4600 K minimum can lead to the successful theoretical prediction of the observed limb darkening and 4300 K radiation temperature of the K1 feature only when very large values of turbulent velocity are assumed to exist in the cell region.Publications of the Goethe Link Observatory, Indiana University, No. 95.     

Satellites and Riemannian geometry

In an axially symmetric three-dimensional Riemann-spaceg _ik(u ¹,u ²)?u ³ represents the cyclic parameter-, a gravitational potential ?(u ¹,u ²) is given. For all masspoints with equal total energy and equal angular momentum there exists a function Ψ(u ¹,u ²) by means of which the equations of motion can be reduced to a simple ordinary second-order differential equation. The function ? can be interpreted as the velocity with which the masspoint moves in the two-dimensional spaceu ¹,u ². Of particular interest is the case where the spaceu ¹,u ²,u ³ is Euclidean. Ifu ¹,u ² are Cartesian coordinates in a planeu ³=const., and if the tangent vector of the trajectoryu ¹(t)u ²(t) has the components cosω, sinω it is shown that the triple integral $$\smallint \smallint \smallint \psi du^1 du^2 d\omega $$ is an invariant integral in Cartan's sense, in other words, if the integral is extended over a domain in a meridian plane at timet=0, it keeps its value at any time.     

Formation of the Ca ii K-line core with arbitrary temperature minima

The formation of the solar Caii K-line core is studied under the assumption of a two component chromosphere for many atmosphere models, which are tested by comparing observed and calculated average intensity profiles at several places on the solar disk. Non-LTE-line profile calculations are made using model atoms of two and three bound levels while the value and depth of the temperature minimum and turbulent velocity gradient are varied. A critique of several broad types of models is provided.Limb darkening of the entire core, a K1 radiation temperature of 4300 K and increasing limbward separation of the K2 peaks are predicted by a combination of a cool component, covering 90% of the solar disk, and a hot component, representing the bright calcium network. The optimum cool component is characterized by a 4200 K temperature minimum and low ( 1 km/sec) microturbulent velocities. The hot component begins its outward temperature rise in the photosphere at 4300 K and is never more than 500 K hotter than the cool component.Publications of the Goethe Link Observatory, Indiana University, No. 116.Presently at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico.     

A source for hyperbolic cosmic dust particles

Earlier analyses of the Pioneer 8 and 9 experimental meteoroid data have shown that the detectors on these two spacecraft are intercepting meteoroids with hyperbolic orbital parameters. It is shown in this paper that these results are entirely consistent with and, indeed, to be expected from other observations of the interplanetary meteoroid complex. Collisional breakup of meteoroids and post-collision radiation pressure modification of their orbits is found to be a sufficient cause for the observed results. Details of the calculations as well as of the results are presented.     

Radium isotopes in sub-Arctic waters

Measurements of the²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratio in the waters of the Greenland, Norwegian and Labrador Seas and Baffin Bay reveal strong horizontal gradients in the surface waters. The coastal waters are dominated by²²⁸Ra injection from nearshore sediments. There is an inverse correlation between the²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratio and salinity in the 30–36‰ salinity range. Vertical profiles indicate that the²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratio is also strongly coupled toσ_θ except for some regions where²²⁸Ra is being injected into higher density water as these isopycnals intersect coastal areas. We use these measurements in the area of formation of North Atlantic Deep Water to estimate that this water mass forms with a²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratio of 0.10.     

Experimental determination of the solubility of Au in silicate melts

Summary We report here new data on the solubility of Au in silicate melts of anorthite-diopside eutectic composition at a wide range of oxygen fugacities, from pure oxygen to 10^–8 atm, and at a temperature range of 1300 °C to 1480 °C. Because experiments were done with metal loops at temperatures above the Au-melting temperature, PdAu-metal-alloys had to be used. Pd-solubility data derived from the same set of experiments agree with earlier data obtained from experiments with pure Pd-metal (Borisov et al., 1994a). The results of the present experiments show that Pd-solubilities are by a factor of 2 to 6 higher than Au-solubilities. Both, Au and Pd solubilities decrease with decreasing oxygen fugacity. At oxygen fugacities below the iron-wiistite buffer (IW) Au solubility increases with decreasing fO₂ probably reflecting formation of Au-silicides at such reducing conditions. Compared to Pd, Au has higher activity coefficients in Fe-metal and lower solubility in silicate melts. This leads to similar metal-silicate partition coefficients for both elements. At a temperature of 1350 °C and an oxygen fugacity corresponding to IW-2 D^Au (met/sil) is about 2.5 · 10⁷ and D^Pd (met/sil) about 1.6 · 10⁷. Thus similar behavior is expected during metal separation in planetary bodies including core formation in the Earth. The metal/silicate partition coefficient of Ir is, however, by several orders of magnitudes higher (Borisov and Palme, 1995a). Equilibration with chondritic metal will therefore lead to grossly non-chondritic Pd/Ir or Au/Ir ratios in coexisting silicate phases. Chondritic ratios are thus indicative of the presence of unfractionated meteoritic components. Samples from the upper mantle of the Earth, for example, reflect the admixture of a late unfractionated (chondritic) veneer (e.g.,Kimura et al., 1974;Jagoutz et al., 1979).Solubilities of Pd and Au in silicate melts are much higher than the contents in terrestrial basalts implying that the abundances of these two elements are not buffered by residual PGE- and Au-containing alloys. The most likely process for fractionating PGEs in terrestrial magmas are mineral-melt (e.g., olivine/melt) equilibria.

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Experimentelle Bestimmung der Löslichkeit von Au in Silikatschmelzen

Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird über die Ergebnisse der Bestimmung der Löslichkeit von Au in Silikatschmelzen mit der Zusammensetzung des Anorthit-Diopsid Eutektikums berichtet. Die Versuche wurden mittels Metallschlaufe über einen weiten Sauerstoffpartialdruckbereich, von reinem Sauerstoff bis zu 10^–8 atm und in einem Temperaturbereich von 1300 °C bis 1480 °C, durchgeführt. Da diese Temperaturen jedoch den Au-Schmelzpunkt überschreiten, wurde mit AuPd-Legierungen gearbeitet. Die Ergebnisse der dadurch zusätzlich erhaltenen Pd-Versuche stimmen mit früher bestimmten, mit reinen Pd-Schlaufen durchgeführten Pd-Löslichkkeiten überein (Borisov et al., 1994a). Die auf reine Metalle zurückgerechneten Löslichkeiten von Pd sind um einen Faktor 2 bis 6 mal höher als die entsprechenden Au-Löslichkeiten. Die Löslichkeiten beider Metalle nehmen mit abnehmendem Sauerstoffpartialdruck ab. Unter noch stärker reduzierenden Bedingungen (Eisen-Wüstit Gleichgewicht) nimmt die Löslichkeit von Au jedoch zu. Dies könnte auf die Bildung von Au-Siliziden zurückzuführen sein.Im Vergleich zu Pd sind die Aktivitätskoeffizienten von Au in metallischem Eisen höher, die Löslichkeiten in Silikatschmelzen jedoch niedriger. Das führt zu ähnlichen Metall/Silikat Verteilungskoeffizienten von Au und Pd. Bei einer Temperatur von 1350 °C und einer Sauerstoffugazität von IW-2 ergeben sich für D^Au (met/sil) 2.5 · 10⁷ und für D^Pd (met/sil) 1.6* 10⁷. Der Metall/Silikat-Verteilungskoeffizient von Ir ist jedoch unter den gleichen Bedingungen um mehrere Größenordnungen höher (Borisov andPalme, 1995a). Ein chondritisches Pd/Ir- oder Au/Ir-Verhältnis kann also auf die Anwesenheit einer unfraktionierten chondritischen Komponente zurückgeführt werden. Dies gilt beispielsweise für Proben aus dem oberen Erdmantel. Hier handelt es sich vermutlich um Zumischung einer späten chondritischen Akkretionskomponente, die sich nicht mehr mit einer metallischen Phase (Kern) ins Gleichgewicht gesetzt hat (z.B.Kimura et al., 1974,Jagoutz et al., 1979).Die Löslichkeiten von Pd und Au in Silikatschmelzen sind wesentlich höher als ihre Gehalte in basaltischen und komatiitischen Laven. Dies bedeutet, daß Au und Pd in Schmelzen aus dem Erdmantel nicht durch residuale Au- und/oder Pd-haltige Metall phasen bestimmt sind. Gleichgewichte zwischen Schmelze und Mineralen (z.B. Olivin) sind die wahrscheinlichsten Fraktionierungsmechanismen für Platingruppenelemente in terrestrischen Magmen.

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With 5 Figures