New constraints on the HIMU mantle from neon and helium isotopic compositions of basalts from the Cook–Austral Islands

High ⁴He/³He ratios of 100 000 to 160 000 found at HIMU ocean islands (“high μ,” where μ is the U/Pb ratio) are usually attributed to the presence of recycled oceanic crust in the HIMU mantle source. However, significantly higher ⁴He/³He ratios are expected in recycled crust after residence in the mantle for periods greater than 1 Ga. In order to better understand the helium isotopic signatures in HIMU basalts, we have measured helium and neon isotopic compositions in a suite of geochemically well-characterized basalts from the Cook–Austral Islands. We observe ⁴He/³He ratios ranging from 56 000 to 141 000, suggesting the involvement of mantle reservoirs both more and less radiogenic than the mantle source for mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). In addition, we find that the neon isotopic compositions of HIMU lavas extend from the MORB range to compositions less nucleogenic than MORBs. The Cook-Austral HIMU He–Ne isotopic compositions, along with Sr, Nd, Pb, and Os isotopic compositions, indicate that in addition to recycled crust, a relatively undegassed mantle end-member (e.g., FOZO) is involved in the genesis of these basalts. The association of relatively undegassed mantle material with recycled crust provides an explanation for the close geographical association between HIMU lavas and EM (enriched mantle)-type lavas from this island chain: EM-type signatures represent a higher mixing proportion of relatively undegassed mantle material. Mixing between recycled material and relatively undegassed mantle material may be a natural result of entrainment processes and convective stirring in deep mantle.     

Oxidation of CO on surface hematite in high CO2 atmospheres

We propose a mechanism for the oxidation of gaseous CO into CO₂ occurring on the surface mineral hematite (Fe₂O₃(s)) in hot, CO₂-rich planetary atmospheres, such as Venus. This mechanism is likely to constitute an important source of tropospheric CO₂ on Venus and could at least partly address the CO₂ stability problem in Venus’ stratosphere, since our results suggest that atmospheric CO₂ is produced from CO oxidation via surface hematite at a rate of 0.4 petagrammes (Pg) CO₂ per (Earth) year on Venus which is about 45% of the mass loss of CO₂ via photolysis in the Venusian stratosphere. We also investigated CO oxidation via the hematite mechanism for a range of planetary scenarios and found that modern Earth and Mars are probably too cold for the mechanism to be important because the rate-limiting step, involving CO(g) reacting onto the hematite surface, proceeds much slower at lower temperatures. The mechanism may feature on extrasolar planets such as Gliese 581c or CoRoT-7b assuming they can maintain solid surface hematite which, e.g. starts to melt above about 1200 K. The mechanism may also be important for hot Hadean-type environments and for the emerging class of hot Super-Earths with planetary surface temperatures between about 600 and 900 K.     

A focal plane detector design for a wide-band Laue-lens telescope

The energy range above 60 keV is important for the study of many open problems in high energy astrophysics such as the role of Inverse Compton with respect to synchrotron or thermal processes in GRBs, non thermal mechanisms in SNR, the study of the high energy cut-offs in AGN spectra, and the detection of nuclear and annihilation lines. Recently the development of high energy Laue lenses with broad energy bandpasses from 60 to 600keV have been proposed for a Hard X ray focusing Telescope (HAXTEL) in order to study the X-ray continuum of celestial sources. The required focal plane detector should have high detection efficiency over the entire operative range, a spatial resolution of about 1mm, an energy resolution of a few keV at 500keV and a sensitivity to linear polarization. We describe a possible configuration of the focal plane detector based on several CdTe/CZT pixelated layers stacked together to achieve the required detection efficiency at high energy. Each layer can operate both as a separate position sensitive detector and polarimeter or work with other layers to increase the overall photopeak efficiency. Each layer has a hexagonal shape in order to minimize the detector surface required to cover the lens field of view. The pixels would have the same geometry so as to provide the best coupling with the lens point spread function and to increase the symmetry for polarimetric studies.     

Experimental investigation of spatially varying effect of ground motions on bridge pounding

Pounding between adjacent bridge structures with insufficient separation distance has been identified as one of the primary causes of damage in many major earthquakes. It takes place because the closing relative movement is larger than the structural gap provided between the structures. This relative structural response is controlled not only by the dynamic properties of the participating structures but also by the characteristics of the ground excitations. The consequence of the spatial variation of ground motions has been studied by researchers; however, most of these studies were performed numerically. The objective of the present research is to experimentally evaluate the influence of spatial variation of ground motions on the pounding behaviour of three adjacent bridge segments. The investigation is performed using three shake tables. The input spatially varying ground excitations are simulated based on the New Zealand design spectra for soft soil, shallow soil and strong rock using an empirical coherency loss function. Results confirm that the spatially nonniform ground motions increase the relative displacement of adjacent bridge girders and pounding forces. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A benchmark comparison of numerical methods for infinite Prandtl number thermal convection in two-dimensional Cartesian geometry

Abstract

A comparison is made between seven different numerical methods for calculating two-dimensional thermal convection in an infinite Prandtl number fluid. Among the seven methods are finite difference and finite element techniques that have been used to model thermal convection in the Earth's mantle. We evaluate the performance of each method using a suite of four benchmark problems, ranging from steady-state convection to intrinsically time-dependent convection with recurring thermal boundary layer instabilities. These results can be used to determine the accuracy of other computational methods, and to assist in the development of new ones.     

A method of determining proximity of marginal seas to an ocean

On any area of continental shelf the foraminiferal assemblage in the bottom sediment is likely to be composed of an indigenous benthic component and an allochthonous planktonic component sedimented from the water column above. Planktonic forminiferids are essentially oceanic and it seems clear that their presence in shelf sediments is often due to transport from an oceanic source. Evidence from the Celtic Sea, northwestern Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf and Andaman Sea shows that with passage away from the ocean there is a reduction in the planktonic—benthic ratio in the bottom sediment, a progressive decrease in size of the planktonic tests and a reduction in diversity of the planktonic assemblage. Thus a study of the relationships between the planktonic and benthic foraminiferids in these areas gives a measure of proximity to or isolation from the ocean. It is suggested that these relationships are useful tools in the interpretation of palaeoecology and in the reconstruction of former patterns of water circulation.     

Hydro-geochemical processes in an area with saline groundwater in lower Shire River valley, Malawi: An integrated application of hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses

Our ability to adapt to changes in groundwater quality, arising from a changing climate and/or local pressures, is dependent on comprehension of the governing controls of spatial variation in groundwater chemistry. This paper presents results of an assessment of dominant hydro-geochemical processes controlling groundwater chemical composition, using an integrated application of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) of a major ion dataset of groundwater from lower Shire River valley, Malawi. The area is in the southernmost part of the western section of the East African Rift System (EARS) and has localised occurrence of saline groundwater. HCA classified samples into three main clusters (C1-C3) according to their dominant chemical composition: C1 (dominant composition: Na-Cl; median TDS: 3436 mg L⁻¹), C2 (dominant composition: Na-HCO₃; median TDS: 966 mg L⁻¹) and C3 (dominant composition: alkali earths-HCO₃; median TDS: 528 mg L⁻¹). These clusters were in turn described by the principal components PC1, PC3 and PC2, respectively, resulting from the PCA. The results of the PCA and geochemical interpretation suggest that the spatial variation of groundwater quality in the area is influenced by the following processes: C3 samples result mainly from H₂CO₃ weathering of aluminosilicate minerals by percolating water supersaturated with CO₂. In addition to aluminosilicate weathering, C2 samples are influenced by the processes of cation exchange of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in the water for Na⁺ on clay minerals, and carbonate precipitation. The increase in ionic strength of C2 samples is attributed to mixing with high TDS groundwater in proximity with C2 samples. The saline/brackish C1 groundwater results from the processes of evaporation (for samples with high water table close to the Shire marshes) and dissolution of Cl⁻ and SO₄-evaporative salts followed by mineralised seep from sedimentary Karoo and Cretaceous Lupata sandstones.     

State-of-the-art report — engineering practice in artificial ground freezing

In the present paper an attempt has been made to summarize the current state-of-theart of engineering practice in artifical ground freezing. The paper shows the tremendous increase in knowledge and diversified applications in ground freezing over the past ten years and, together with other papers ih the Symposium, provides a useful background against which practicing engineers may. gain an understanding of ground freezing. As discussed in this paper, there are gain an understanding of ground freezing. As discussed in this paper, there are However, it is the author's assessment that the current state of knowledge is sufficient for safe designs and that future refinements in the area of structural analysis will only lead to more accurate deformation predictions and to possibly thinnerdesign frozen sections. Since the sizes of frozen sections are often more a function of construction practicality rather than design requirements, it is questionable whether potentially thinner sections will have a significant impact on actual construction.

An area that promises to have tremendous impact on the competitive nature of freezing for soft-ground tunneling is in improved horizontal drilling techniques. Several contractors are currently developing drilling equipment for horizontal drilling over large distances, whereas today the maximum economical distance is in the range of 30–40 m.