Calorimetric study of high-pressure phase transitions among the CdGeO3 polymorphs (pyroxenoid,garnet, ilmenite,and perovskite structures)

At high pressures, CdGeO₃ pyroxenoid transforms to garnet, then to ilmenite, and finally to perovskite. Enthalpies of transition among the four phases were measured by high temperature calorimetry. The entropies of transition and slopes of the boundaries were calculated using the measured enthalpies and free energies calculated from the phase equilibrium data. Pyroxenoid and garnet are very similar energetically. However garnet is a high pressure phase because of its lower entropy and smaller volume. The pyroxenoid-garnet transition has a small positiveP-T slope. Ilmenite is intermediate in enthalpy between garnet and perovskite, but is lower in entropy than both phases. Therefore the garnet-ilmenite transition has a positivedP/dT, while a negativedP/dT is calculated for the ilmenite-perovskite transition. The thermochemical data for the CdGeO₃ phases are generally consistent with the observed high pressure phase relations. The high entropy of perovskite relative to ilmenite, observed in several ABO₃ comounds including CdGeO₃, is related to the structural features of perovskite, in which relatively small divalent cations occupy the large sites of 8–12 fold coordination. The thermochemistry of the CdGeO₃ polymorphs shows several similarities to that of the CaGeO₃ system.     

Garnet-ilmenite-perovskite transitions in the system Mg4Si4O12-Mg3Al2Si3O12 at high pressures and high temperatures: phase equilibria, calorimetry and implications for mantle structure

Phase relations in the system Mg₄Si₄O₁₂-Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ were examined at pressures of 19-27 GPa and relatively low temperatures of 800-1000 °C using a multianvil apparatus to clarify phase transitions of pyroxene-garnet assemblages in the mantle. Both of glass and crystalline starting materials were used for the experiments. At 1000 °C, garnet solid solution (s.s.) transforms to aluminous ilmenite s.s. at 20-26 GPa which is stable in the whole compositional range in the system. In Mg₄Si₄O₁₂-rich composition, ilmenite s.s. transforms to a single-phase aluminous perovskite s.s., while Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂-rich ilmenite s.s. dissociates into perovskite s.s. and corundum s.s. These newly determined phase relations at 1000 °C supersede preliminary phase relations determined at about 900 °C in the previous study. The phase relations at 1000 °C are quite different from those reported previously at 1600 °C where garnet s.s. transforms directly to perovskite s.s. and ilmenite is stable only very close to Mg₄Si₄O₁₂. The stability field of Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ ilmenite was determined at 800-1000 °C and 25-27 GPa by reversed phase boundaries. In ilmenite s.s., the a-axis slightly increases but the c-axis and molar volume decrease substantially with increasing Al₂O₃ content. Enthalpies of ilmenite s.s. were measured by differential drop-solution calorimetry method using a high-temperature calorimeter. The excess enthalpy of mixing of ilmenite s.s. was almost zero within the errors. The measured enthalpies of garnet-ilmenite and ilmenite-perovskite transitions at 298 K were 105.2±10.4 and 168.6±8.2 kJ/mol, respectively, for Mg₄Si₄O₁₂, and 150.2±15.9 and 98.7±27.3 kJ/mol, respectively, for Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂. Thermodynamic calculations using these data give rise to phase relations in the system Mg₄Si₄O₁₂-Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ at 1000 and 1600 °C that are generally consistent with those determined experimentally, and confirm that the single-phase field of ilmenite expands from Mg₄Si₄O₁₂ to Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ with decreasing temperature. The earlier mentioned phase relations in the simplified system as well as those in the Mg₂SiO₄-Fe₂SiO₄ system are applied to estimate mineral proportions in pyrolite as a function of depth along two different geotherms: one is a horizontally-averaged temperature distribution in a normal mantle, and the other being 600 °C lower than the former as a possible representative geotherm in subducting slabs. Based on the previously described estimated mineral proportions versus depth along the two geotherms, density and compressional and shear wave velocities are calculated as functions of depth, using available mineral physics data. Along a normal mantle geotherm, jumps of density and velocities at about 660 km corresponding to the post-spinel transition are followed by steep gradients due to the garnet-perovskite transition between 660 and 710 km. In contrast, along a low-temperature geotherm, the first steep gradients of density and velocities are due to the garnet-ilmenite transition between 610 and 690 km. This is followed by abrupt jumps at about 690 km for the post-spinel transition, and steep gradients between 700 and 740 km that correspond to the ilmenite-perovskite transition. In the latter profile along the low-temperature geotherm, density and velocity increases for garnet-ilmenite and ilmenite-perovskite transitions are similar in magnitude to those for the post-spinel transition. The likely presence of ilmenite in cooler regions of subducting slabs is suggested by the fact that the calculated velocity profiles along the low-temperature geotherm are compatible with recent seismic observations indicating three discontinuities or steep velocity gradients at around 600-750 km depth in the regions of subducting slabs.     

新疆阿勒泰红柱石-矽线石型递增变质带特征及其PT条件研究

新疆阿勒泰地区发育了红柱石-矽线石型递增变质带,由绿泥石-黑云母带、黑云母-石榴石带、石榴石-十字石带、十字石-红柱石带和矽线石带组成,根据石榴石成分环带、变质与变形关系、矿物共生组合演化等特征,将变质作用分为峰前期、峰期和峰后期3个演化阶段。峰前期、峰期为连续的递增变质过程,形成典型的中-低压过渡型递增变质带,峰后期属于退变质过程。据石榴石一斜长石一黑云母-白云母-石英组合内部一致地质温压计估算出峰期温度-压力：T=580℃～670℃,P一0．4GPa～0．5GPa。变质作用演化具有顺时针的PTt轨迹,代表陆壳有一定程度的构造增厚,但幅度不大,没有大规模的陆壳俯冲或拆沉作用,这种增厚可能以陆壳的构造叠置机制为主。总体相当于地体间斜向走滑兼有一定垂直分量的拼合过程的地球动力学机制。     

Effects of frozen soil and snow cover on cold‐season soil water dynamics in Tokachi,Japan

Despite the potential impact of winter soil water movements in cold regions, relatively few field studies have investigated cold‐season hydrological processes that occur before spring‐onset of snowmelt infiltration. The contribution of soil water fluxes in winter to the annual water balance was evaluated over 5 years of field observations at an agricultural field in Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. In two of the winters, soil frost reached a maximum depth of 0·2 m (‘frozen’ winters), whereas soil frost was mostly absent during the remaining three winters (‘unfrozen’ winters). Significant infiltration of winter snowmelt water, to a depth exceeding 1·0 m, occurred during both frozen and unfrozen winters. Such infiltration ranged between 126 and 255 mm, representing 28–51% of total annual soil water fluxes. During frozen winters, a substantial quantity of water (ca 40 mm) was drawn from deeper layers into the 0–0·2 m topsoil layer when this froze. Under such conditions, the progression and regression of the freezing front, regulated by the thickness of snow cover, controlled the quantity of soil water flux below the frozen layer. During unfrozen winters, 13–62 mm of water infiltrated to a depth of 0·2 m, before the spring snowmelt. These results indicate the importance of correctly evaluating winter soil water movement in cold regions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The infrared variability of a dust model for Seyfert galaxies

Assuming a dust model of Reeset al. (1969), we study the time dependence of the infrared emission from grains which absorb variable ultraviolet radiation. A time scale for the variability is shown to be fairly small compared with the light travel-time across the infrared emitting region, of which size depends on the wavelength strongly. Comparison of calculated infrared light curves with observations of NGC 4151 leads to the conclusion that the variability at 2.2 is consistent with interpretation by the infrared emission on the basis of thermal process.     

Simulating the diurnal cycle of rainfall in global climate models: resolution versus parameterization

The effects of horizontal resolution and the treatment of convection on simulation of the diurnal cycle of precipitation during boreal summer are analyzed in several innovative weather and climate model integrations. The simulations include: season-long integrations of the Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) with explicit clouds and convection; year-long integrations of the operational Integrated Forecast System (IFS) from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts at three resolutions (125, 39 and 16 km); seasonal simulations of the same model at 10 km resolution; and seasonal simulations of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) low-resolution climate model with and without an embedded two-dimensional cloud-resolving model in each grid box. NICAM with explicit convection simulates best the phase of the diurnal cycle, as well as many regional features such as rainfall triggered by advancing sea breezes or high topography. However, NICAM greatly overestimates mean rainfall and the magnitude of the diurnal cycle. Introduction of an embedded cloud model within the NCAR model significantly improves global statistics of the seasonal mean and diurnal cycle of rainfall, as well as many regional features. However, errors often remain larger than for the other higher-resolution models. Increasing resolution alone has little impact on the timing of daily rainfall in IFS with parameterized convection, yet the amplitude of the diurnal cycle does improve along with the representation of mean rainfall. Variations during the day in atmospheric prognostic fields appear quite similar among models, suggesting that the distinctive treatments of model physics account for the differences in representing the diurnal cycle of precipitation.     

Elemental and isotopic abundances of lithium in chondrule constituents in the Allende meteorite

Elemental and isotopic abundances of lithium in chondrule constituents in the Allende CV3 meteorite were determined using secondary ion mass spectrometry. Olivines and mesostasis dominated by a feldspathic phase are depleted in Li ( and , respectively). In contrast, low-Ca pyroxenes and mesostasis dominated by a Na-rich phase are enriched in Li ( and , respectively) and the interchondrule matrix is generally enriched in Li ( on average). The Li isotopic abundance of olivine ranges from to 21. The spatial distributions of elemental and isotopic abundances of Li in olivines within individual chondrules exhibit no systematic pattern. This suggests that the distribution of Li in olivine was not disturbed during aqueous alteration or thermal metamorphism on the Allende meteorite parent body. Although mesostasis is the last crystallizing phase from a chondrule melt and is expected to be enriched in Li, in the Allende meteorite it is generally depleted in Li. We suggest that during aqueous alteration on the CV asteroid, Li in mesostasis was leached out by aqueous fluids. The Li-enriched Na-rich mesostasis was probably produced later by infiltration of Na-rich fluids. It seems likely that aqueous fluids sequestered alkali elements from the Allende-chondrite region in the CV parent asteroid, although significant amounts of Li are preserved in ferrous olivine in the interchondrule matrix.     

Groundwater-wetland ecosystem interaction in the semiarid glaciated plains of North America

The prairie wetlands of northern USA and Canada exist in numerous topographical depressions within the glaciated landscape. The wetlands are disconnected from each other most of the time with respect to surface-water drainage. The wetland water balance is controlled by snowmelt runoff and snowdrift from the surrounding uplands, precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater exchange, and occasional “fill-spill” connections to other wetlands. Salinity of water and the seasonal variability of water level in these wetlands have a strong influence on the ecosystem. Clay-rich glacial tills, covering much of the region, have very low (0.001–0.01 m/yr) hydraulic conductivity, except for the top several meters where the factures and macropores increase conductivity up to 1,000 m/yr. Transpiration in the wetland margin induces infiltration and lateral flow of shallow groundwater from wetland ponds through the high-conductivity zone, which strongly affects the water balance of wetlands. In contrast, groundwater flow in the deeper low-conductivity till has minor effects on water balance, but has a strong influence on salinity because the flow direction determines if the salts accumulate in wetlands (upward flow) or are leached out (downward flow) under wetlands. Understanding of the roles of shallow and deep groundwater systems will improve the hydrological conceptual framework for the management of wetland ecosystems.