Poikilitic chromfite in komatiitic cumulates

Summary Chromite is a widespread accessory mineral in olivine-rich cumulates derived from komatiitic lavas. The distribution and crystal habit of chromfite is related to the degree of differentiation of the parent magma as reflected in the composition of cumulus olivine. Cumulates with olivine forsterite content greater than 93 mol percent typically contain no chromfite at all, while chromfite forms clusters of disseminated euhedral grains in cumulates with forsterite less than 91 mol percent. In the forsterite 91–93 interval, chromite may develop lobate interstitial habits. In the Six Mile Well ultramafic complex in the Yakabindie region of the Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt, and in other olivine-rich komatiitic units within this belt, chromfite shows well developed poikilitic textures enclosing olivine.The absence of intercumulus silicate phases in these rocks and the low normative chromfite content of the parent magma make it impossible for these chromfite grains to have crystallised from intercumulus trapped liquid. These rocks must be cotectic chromite-olivine adcumulates, owing their unusual texture to differing relative rates of nucleation and growth of chromfite and olivine, crystallising togetherin situ. This observation provides further evidence for a cumulus origin for oikocrysts in layered intrusions, and casts doubt on the usefulness of cumulus terminology.

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Poikilitischer Chromit in komatiitischen Kumulaten

Zusammenfassung Chromit ist in Olivin-reichen Kumulaten, die von komatiitischen Laven abstammen, ein häufiges akzessorisches Mineral. Die Verteilung und der Kristallhabitus von Chromit hängt vom Grad der Differentiation des Stammagmas, der in der Zusammensetzung der Kumulus-Olivine zum Ausdruck kommt, ab. Für Kumulate mit Olivinen mit einem Forsterit-Gehalt von über 93 mol.% ist es charakteristisch, daß sie überhaupt keinen Chromit enthalten, während Chromit in Kumulaten mit Olivinen mit weniger als 90 mol.% Forsterit Cluster aus fein verteilten, idiomorphem Körnern bildet. Im Intervall Forsterit 90–93 kann Chromit lobate, interstitielle Formen ausbilden. Im ultramafischen Komplex Six Mile Well in der Yakabindie-Region des Agnew-Wiluna-Grünsteingürtels und in anderen Olivin-reichen komatiitischen Einheiten in diesem Gürtel zeigen die Chromite gut entwickelte poikilitische Texturen mit eingeschlossenen Olivinen.Da silikatische Interkumulus-Phasen in diesen Gesteinen fehlen und der normative Chromitgehalt des Stammagmas niedrig ist, können diese Chromitkörner nicht aus einer Interkumulus-Schmelze auskristallisiert sein. Diese Gesteine müssen daher kotektische Chromit-Olivin-Adkumulate sein, die ihre ungewöhnliche Textur den variierenden relativen Keimbildungs- und Wachstumsraten von Chromit und Olivin, die gemeinsam in situ kristallisierten, verdanken. Diese Beobachtung stellt einen weiteren Beweis für die Entstehung von Oikokristallen als Kumulusphase in geschichteten Intrusionen dar und läßt die Zweckmäßigkeit der Kumulus-Terminologie als zweifelhaft erscheinen.

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With 5 Figures     

Sakmarian geography

The known palaeontological and stratigraphical evidence is used as a basis for the construction of maps of the continents showing the extent of their inundation by the sea in Sakmarian time in the Upper Palaeozoic. In the northern hemisphere apart from India the evidence is sufficiently reliable to give reasonable maps, and the great extent of the inundations suggests that the climate would be considerably modified from that of today; no undoubted Sakmarian glacials occur there. In Southern continents and India, the Gondwana biogeographical province has made correlation with the northern continents controversial, but reasons are given for assuming that Gondwana glacial deposits were at least in part Sakmarian; the resultant maps show that the Gondwana land surfaces were but little reduced in area, and that the main glacials (except for India) lie within a belt between 40 S and 20 S. Present lack of knowledge of Sakmarian conditions in Antarctica makes reconstructions of climatic belts too hazardous for possible use in enunciating or checking hypotheses of continental drift and polar wandering.     

Theory of the electromagnetic transient response of the ionosphere for plane wave excitation

Summary The reflection and transmission of a transient plane wave by an ionosphere with a linear electron density profile and constant collision frequency are calculated. The exact frequency domain solution is inverted numerically, and the resultant reflected and transmitted waveforms are found to satisfy causality. A linearly varying, nondispersive dielectric half-space is also considered, but the nonphysical nature of the model causes the reflected waveform to be noncausal. Using convolution the waveforms for a step modulated sinusoid excitation are also obtained from the impulse response of the ionosphere. The results provide insight into the physical mechanism involved in the ionospheric propagation of HF electromagnetic pulsed signals.     

Subsurface electric fields of a grounded cable of finite length for both frequency and time domain

Summary The subsurface electric fields of a current-carrying cable are examined for both steady-state and transient situations. Closed form expressions are obtained for two of the electric field components, and a numerical integration is used to obtain the third component. Waveforms for a stepfunction current excitation are displayed. The results have possible application to pulsed downlink communication in mine rescue operations.     

Variations in solar sub-surface rotation from GONG data 1995–1998

We have completed an analysis of the first 35 GONG Months (1 GM = 36 days) covering the last solar minimum and the rising phase of cycle 23. The mode parameters have been estimated from 33 time series, each of 3-GM duration, with centers spaced by 1 GM. We report on the temporal evolution of the rotational splitting coefficients up to 15th order. The coefficients do not correlate well with any surface magnetic flux measure yet considered, but we find small but significant trends in their temporal evolution. Inverting the coefficients for two-dimensional rotation information and looking at deviations from the mean produces a picture of a systematic zonal flow migrating towards lower latitudes during the rising phase of the cycle. This flow is probably associated with the torsional oscillation. Similar trends are seen in the 1986–1990 BBSO data.     

Oceanography of Glacier Bay,Alaska: Implications for biological patterns in a glacial fjord estuary

Alaska, U.S.A, is one of the few remaining locations in the world that has fjords that contain temperate idewater glaciers. Studying such estuarine systems provides vital information on how deglaciation affects oceanographic onditions of fjords and surrounding coastal waters. The oceanographic system of Glacier Bay, Alaska, is of particular interest ue to the rapid deglaciation of the Bay and the resulting changes in the estuarine environment, the relatively high oncentrations of marine mammals, seabirds, fishes, and invertebrates, and the Bay’s status as a national park, where ommercial fisheries are being phased out. We describe the first comprehensive broad-scale analysis of physical and iological oceanographic conditions within Glacier Bay based on CTD measurements at 24 stations from 1993 to 2002. easonal patterns of near-surface salinity, temperature, stratification, turbidity, and euphotic depth suggest that freshwater nput was highest in summer, emphasizing the critical role of glacier and snowmelt to this system. Strong and persistent tratification of surface waters driven by freshwater input occurred from spring through fall. After accounting for seasonal nd spatial variation, several of the external physical factors (i.e., air temperature, precipitation, day length) explained a large mount of variation in the physical properties of the surface waters. Spatial patterns of phytoplankton biomass varied hroughout the year and were related to stratification levels, euphotic depth, and day length. We observed hydrographic atterns indicative of strong competing forces influencing water column stability within Glacier Bay: high levels of freshwater ischarge promoted stratification in the upper fjord, while strong tidal currents over the Bay’s shallow entrance sill enhanced ertical mixing. Where these two processes met in the central deep basins there were optimal conditions of intermediate tratification, higher light levels, and potential nutrient renewal. These conditions were associated with high and sustained hlorophylla levels observed from spring through fall in these zones of the Bay and provide a framework for understanding he abundance patterns of higher trophic levels within this estuarine system.     

The magnetic field and rotational period of 53 Camelopardalis

The magnetic Ap star 53 Cam has been described as the best object for testing theories of elemental diffusion in the presence of a stellar magnetic field. It is thus vital to determine the rotational period of this very important star as accurately as possible. An improved period (8.026 81±0.000 04 d) is derived here by combining new measurements of the effective magnetic field with previously published values.     

Systematics of the spinel structure type

Systematic trends in the geometry of 149 oxide and 80 sulfide binary and ternary spinels have been examined from the standpoint of ionic radius and electronegativity. The mean ionic radii of the octahedral and tetrahedral cations, taken together, account for 96.9 and 90.5% of the variation in the unit cell parameter, a, of the oxides and sulfides, respectively, with the octahedral cation exerting by far the dominant influence in sulfides. The mean electronegativity of the octahedral cation exerts an additional, but small, influence on the cell edge of the sulfides. The equation a=(8/3√d)d _tet+(8/3)d _oct, where d _tet and d _oct are the tetrahedral and octahedral bond lengths obained from the sum of the ionic radii, accounts for 96.7 and 83.2% of the variation in a in the oxides and sulfides, respectively, again testifying to the applicability of the hard-sphere ionic model in the case of the spinel structure. Comparison of observed and calculated u values for 94 spinels indicates that up to 40% of the experimentally measured anion coordinates may be significantly in error. In addition to these compounds, u values are given for 52 spinels for which no data have previously been determined. Diagrams are presented for the rapid interpretation of the internal consistency of published data and the prediction of the structural parameters of hypothetical or partially studied spinels.