The outgassing and composition of Comet 19P/Borrelly from radio observations

Radio spectroscopic observations of Comet 19P/Borrelly were performed during the 1994 apparition and at, and near, the time of the Deep Space 1 flyby in 2001. HCN, CS, CH₃OH, and H₂CO were detected using the 30-m telescope of the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and their production rates relative to water are estimated to be 0.06-0.11, 0.07, 1.7, and 0.4%, respectively. Only upper limits are derived for H₂S and CO. The upper limit for CO/H₂O (<15%) is not very constraining, while the upper limit for the H₂S/H₂O ratio of 0.45% is near the bottom of the range of values measured for other comets. Observations of the OH radical at the Nançay radio telescope provide water production rates a few weeks before the 1994 and 2001 perihelia. Observations of the 1₁₀-1₀₁ water line at 557 GHz with the Odin satellite yield a water production rate of (2.5±0.5)×10²⁸ s⁻¹ on September 22, 2001, at the time of the Deep Space 1 encounter, and (3.3±0.6)×10²⁸ s⁻¹ averaged over the September 22-24, 2001 period. The line shapes are asymmetric and blueshifted by V₀∼−0.18 km s⁻¹ for the best observed HCN lines recorded one week after perihelion. The HCN line shapes, and the similar OH and HCN velocity shifts over the September-November 1994 and August-September 2001 periods, favor anisotropic outgassing towards the Sun. Strong outgassing directed along the primary dust jet seen on visible images is not excluded by the HCN line shapes, but unrealistically high gas expansion velocities are required to explain the line shapes in that case.     

Formation of todorokite from vernadite in Ni-rich hemipelagic sediments

Todorokite is considered to form from vernadite in nature and commonly concentrates nickel. However, this mineralogical transformation has never been imaged nor explained mechanistically, and its effect on the uptake of nickel has never been quantified at the molecular-level. We have characterized these reactions at the macroscopic, microscopic, nanoscopic and atomic scales in a marine manganese concretion by combining transmission electron microscopy, electron and X-ray microprobe analysis, powder and micro X-ray diffraction, and Mn and Ni K-edge EXAFS spectroscopy. The concretion was collected during the Ticoflux II expedition near the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, and is representative of Mn deposits in hemipelagic sediments. It consists of 5 to 25 μm aggregates, shaped like sea-urchins, with a core of 7Å-vernadite (1.0 wt% Ni), a rim of 10Å-vernadite (3.8 wt% Ni), and an outermost region of todorokite fibers (1.9 wt% Ni) that extend outwards. The crystallites of 7Å-vernadite are single- to bi-layered, with hexagonal layer symmetry (a = b = 2.83 Å), and an average structural formula of . The crystallites of 10Å-vernadite contain 10 to 20 layers semi-coherently stacked in the ab plane and uniformly separated in the [0 0 1] direction by ∼9 Å due to the intercalation of hydrated Mg²⁺ cations. The average structural formula of 10Å-vernadite is if the layers contain vacancy sites, or alternately , if they contain Mn³⁺. The average formula of todorokite is .A genetic model is proposed based on combining these new data with previously published results. The thermodynamically unstable 7Å-vernadite transforms via dissolution-recrystallization to semi-ordered Mg-rich 10Å-vernadite. Nickel is released from dissolved biogenic silica or reduced organic matter, and taken up mainly in the Mn layer of 10Å-vernadite. Interlayer magnesium serves as a template to the further topotactic transformation of 10Å-vernadite to todorokite. The dimension of the todorokite tunnels in the [0 0 1] direction is uniform and determined by the size of the hydrated Mg²⁺ ion (8.6 Å). The tunnel dimension in the [1 0 0] direction depends on the density of Mg²⁺ in the interlayer and the superstructure of the phyllomanganate layer. If the parent phyllomanganate contains high amounts of Mg²⁺ (i.e., high layer charge), or Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ cations ordered following the Mn³⁺-Mn⁴⁺-Mn⁴⁺ sequence as in synthetic triclinic birnessite, then the tunnel dimension is ideally 3 × 3 octahedral chain widths in both crystallographic directions. Otherwise, the tunnel dimension is incoherent in the [1 0 0] direction (i.e., T(3,n) tunnel structure), as has been observed in all natural todorokites. Natural todorokite is defective because the precursor natural phyllomanganates either have a layer charge deficit below 0.33e per octahedral site, or rarely are triclinic birnessite. The abundance of Mg in seawater and its key role in converting phyllomanganate to tectomanganate with T(3,n) tunnel structure explain why todorokite is common in marine ferromanganese oxides, and seldom present in terrestrial environments. The topotactic phase transformation described here is the only known route to todorokite crystallization. This implies that all natural todorokites may be authigenic because they are formed in situ from a phyllomanganate precursor.     

The wider context of the Lower Jurassic Toarcian oceanic anoxic event in Yorkshire coastal outcrops,UK

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ～183 Ma) was characterized by enhanced carbon burial, a prominent negative carbon-isotope excursion (CIE) in marine carbonate and organic matter, and numerous geochemical anomalies. A precursor excursion has also been documented at the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary, but its possible causes are less constrained. The T-OAE is intensively studied in the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK, whose sedimentary deposits have been litho-, bio- and chemostratigraphically characterised. Here, we present new elemental data produced by hand-held X-ray fluorescence analysis to test the expression of redox-sensitive trace metals and detrital elements across the upper Pliensbachian to mid-Toarcian of the Cleveland Basin. Detrital elemental concentrations (Al, Si, Ti, Zr) are used as proxies for siliciclastic grain content and thus, sea-level change, which match previous sequence stratigraphic interpretations from the Cleveland Basin. The timescale of the event is debated, though our new elemental proxies of relative sea level change show evidence for a cyclicity of 350 cm that may be indicative of ～405 kyr eccentricity cycles in Yorkshire. Trends in total organic carbon and redox-sensitive elements (S, Fe, Mo, As) confirm scenarios of widespread ocean deoxygenation across the T-OAE. The correlation of comparable trends in Mo across the T-OAE in Yorkshire and the Paris Basin suggests a similar oceanic drawdown of this element accompanying widespread anoxia in the two basins. Data from Yorkshire point to a transgressive trend at the time of the Mo drawdown, which contradicts the “basin restriction” model for the euxinic conditions that characterise the CIE interval.     

The Characterization of a Former World War I Battlefield by Integrating Multiple Signals from a Multireceiver EMI Soil Sensor

World War I (WWI) battlefields contain a large diversity of buried features that are situated just below the plough layer. A noninvasive interdisciplinary approach is preferred to characterize the buried heritage embedded within its soil landscape. In this study, the potential of integrating both electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements from a multireceiver electromagnetic induction (EMI) instrument at a heavily shelled WWI battlefield was evaluated. Primarily, both measurements allowed the attribution of approximate depth interval to the buried trench remains. These remains proved dominantly present within the 0.4–0.8 m depth interval. Subsequently, both apparent electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements were separately integrated to improve the contrast between buried features and their surrounding background. Trenches that were ditches filled with topsoil material could be distinguished from trenches that were continuously or partially filled with metal reinforcements or debris. To conclude, integrating multiple signals from a multireceiver EMI system allowed for a more straightforward discrimination of the buried WWI relicts.     

Structural contribution from the Oman ophiolite to processes of crustal accretion at the East Pacific Rise

A comprehensive model for the activity of the elementary accretion segment at fast‐spreading ridges relies on integration of structural data from the Oman ophiolite and geophysical results from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) around 9°N, which are of comparable size and spreading rates. The axial melt lens at shallow crustal level provides a link between Deval segmentation at the seafloor and a lower melt sill at Moho level, imaged at the EPR as a crustal melt zone (CMZ) and mapped in Oman as the Moho transition zone (MTZ). Both are attached to a mantle upwelling at the EPR, and to a frozen diapir in Oman. The physical link between diapiric mantle uprising at the Moho and Devals segmentation at the seafloor is the melt being injected from the mantle into the lower MTZ, ponding there, and then being released by powerful injections into the upper melt lens. The magma chamber covers the diapir at a distance of 5 km from the ridge axis.     

Observations of Saturn's outer ring and new satellites during the 1980 edge-on presentation

Observations of Saturn's satellites and external rings during the 1980 edge-on presentation were obtained with a focal coronograph. A faint satellite traveling in the orbit of Dione and leading it by 72° has been detected, together with the two inner satellites already suspected (cf. J. W. Fountain and S. M. Larson, 1978,Icarus36, 92–106). The external ring has been observed on both east and west sides; it may extend up to $\text{?8.3}$ Saturn radii, and appears structured.     

Influence of the coorbital resonance on the rotation of the Trojan satellites of Saturn

The Cassini spacecraft collects high resolution images of the Saturnian satellites and reveals the surface of these new worlds. Tiscareno et?al. succeeded to determine the Epimetheus rotation from the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem data, initiating studies on the rotation of Epimetheus and its companion Janus (Tiscareno et?al., Icarus 204:254?C261, 2009; Noyelles, Icarus 207:887?C902, 2010; Robutel et?al., Icarus 211:758?C769, 2011). Especially, Epimetheus is characterized by its horseshoe shape orbit and the presence of the swap has to be introduced explicitly into rotational models. During its journey in the Saturnian system, Cassini spacecraft accumulates the observational data of the other satellites and it will be possible to determine the rotational parameters of several of them. To prepare these future observations, we built rotational models of the coorbital (also called Trojan) satellites Telesto, Calypso, Helene, and Polydeuces, in addition to Janus and Epimetheus. Indeed, Telesto and Calypso orbit around the L ₄ and L ₅ Lagrange points of Saturn-Tethys while Helene and Polydeuces are coorbital of Dione. The goal of this study is to understand how the departure from the Keplerian motion induced by the perturbations of the coorbital body, influences the rotation of these satellites. To this aim, we introduce explicitly the perturbation in the rotational equations by using the formalism developed by érdi (Celest Mech 15:367?C383, 1977) to represent the coorbital motions, and so we describe the rotational motion of the coorbitals, Janus and Epimetheus included, in compact form.     

Sector collapse at Kick 'em Jenny submarine volcano (Lesser Antilles): numerical simulation and landslide behaviour

Kick 'em Jenny volcano is the only known active submarine volcano in the Lesser Antilles. It lies within a horseshoe-shaped structure open to the west northwest, toward the deep Grenada Basin. A detailed bathymetric survey of the basin slope at Kick 'em Jenny and resulting high-resolution digital elevation model allowed the identification of a major submarine landslide deposit. This deposit is thought to result from a single sector collapse event at Kick 'em Jenny and to be linked to the formation of the horseshoe-shaped structure. We estimated the volume and the leading-edge runout of the landslide to be ca. 4.4 km³ and 14 km, respectively. We modelled a sector collapse event of a proto Kick 'em Jenny volcano using VolcFlow, a finite difference code based on depth-integrated mass and momentum equations. Our models show that the landslide can be simulated by either a Coulomb-type rheology with low basal friction angles (5.5°–6.5°) and a significant internal friction angle (above 17.5°) or, with better results, by a Bingham rheology with low Bingham kinematic viscosity (0 < ν _B < 30 m²/s) and high shear strength (130 < γ ≤ 180 m²/s²). The models and the short runout distance suggest that the landslide travelled as a stiff cohesive flow affected by minimal granular disaggregation and slumping on a non-lubricated surface. The main submarine landslide deposit can therefore be considered as a submarine mass slide deposit that behaved like a slump.     

Sensitivity of coastal polynyas and high-salinity shelf water production in the Ross Sea,Antarctica, to the atmospheric forcing

Coastal polynyas around Antarctica are the place of intense air–sea exchanges which eventually lead to the formation of high-salinity shelf waters (HSSW) over continental shelves. Here, the influence of atmospheric forcing on coastal polynyas in the Ross Sea is studied by contrasting the response of a regional ocean/sea-ice circulation model to two different atmospheric forcing sets. A first forcing (DFS3) is based on ERA40 atmospheric surface variables and satellite products. A second forcing (MAR) is produced on the basis of ERA40 with a dynamical downscaling procedure. As compared to DFS3, MAR forcing is shown to improve substantially the representation of small-scale patterns of coastal winds with stronger katabatic winds along the coast. The response of the ocean/sea-ice model to the two forcing sets shows that the MAR forcing improves substantially the geographical distribution of polynyas in the Ross Sea. With the MAR forcing, the polynya season is also shown to last longer with a greater ice-production rate. As a consequence, a greater flow of dense water out of the polynyas is found with the MAR forcing and the properties of HSSW are notably improved as compared to the DFS3 forcing. The factors contributing to the activity of Terra Nova Bay and Ross Ice Shelf polynyas in the model are studied in detail. The general picture that emerges from our simulations is that the properties of HSSW are mostly set by brine rejection when the polynya season resume. We found that coastal polynyas in the Ross Sea export about 0.4 Sv of HSSW which then flows along three separate channels over the Ross Shelf. A 6-month time lag is observed between the peak of activity of polynyas and the maximum transport across the sills in the channels with a maximum transport of about 1 Sv in February. This lag corresponds to the time it takes to the newly formed HSSW to spread from the polynya to the sills (at a speed of nearly 2 cm s⁻¹).