Petrology of the Proterozoic Potato River Layered Intrusion, Northern Wisconsin, USA

The Potato River intrusion is a Keweenawan (1100 Ma) mafic plutonemplaced in Keweenawan volcanics and earlier Proterozoic metasedimentaryrocks along the southeastern flank of the Lake Superior syncline.It comprises the following lithostratigraphic zones: a thinto absent Border zone of altered olivine gabbro; a Lower zoneof olivine gabbro; a Picritic zone of picrite and troctolite;a Middle zone of olivine gabbro and leucogabbro; an Upper zoneof quartz leucogabbro and ferrogabbro; and a Roof zone of granophyricand granitic rocks. Fractional crystallization is evident fromcompositional changes in the rocks and cumulus minerals withstratigraphic height. Elements concentrated in the cumulus mineralsolivine and plagioclase (Mg, Fe²⁺, Al, Ca, Ni, Co, Cr, Sr) decreasewith height; elements concentrated in the trapped liquid (Na,K, La, Y, Zr, Nb, Rb, Ba) increase with height; and other elements(Ti, Fe³⁺, P, Ga, V, Sc, Cu, Zn) show complicated behavior relatedto the appearance of additional cumulus phases such as clinopyroxene,Fe-Ti oxides, and apatite. Lower zone rocks contain some sulfide,probably from sulfur derived from the country rock, and theUpper zone has sulfides probably precipitated from an immisciblesulfide liquid. The sulfide-bearing rocks have similaritiesto those of other intrusions, such as Bushveld, Stillwater,and Skaergaard. The picritic and troctolitic rocks of the Picritic zone indicatethat the intrusion was open to additional injections of maficmagma. Roof zone granophyric rocks are residual liquids intrudedalong the upper margin of the intrusion during regional tilting,but Roof zone granitic rocks are probably melted country rock.An attempt is made to estimate by reverse stratigraphic summationthe compositional path of the magma that solidified above thePicritic zone. The first compositions are highly aluminous,which suggests that the upper part of the intrusion has beenenriched in plagioclase by convection-aided crystal sorting.A complementary unit of mafic rocks is not exposed, but it couldbe present down dip. Some of the later compositions are similarto typical Keweenawan high-Al tholeiites. The magma did notundergo extreme iron enrichment, probably because of oxygenfugacity buffering.     

Reconstruction of palaeosalinity using carbon isotopes and benthic associations: a comparison

Carbon and oxygen isotopes were determined on 40 recrystallized shells of Late Jurassic bivalves from the Lusitanian Basin of Portugal. In contrast with the oxygen isotopes, which exhibited considerable diagenetic distortion, the carbon isotopes are thought to preserve a record of the salinity of the Jurassic marginal marine seas in which these bivalves lived. The reconstructed palaeosalinities range from 35%o (euhaline) to 5% (oligohaline). Comparing these values with the palaeosalinity reconstructed from a palaeoecological analysis of 17 stratigraphic levels within the basin, the independently derived values agree in most cases. Strongly differing values are explained as being due to biotic factors and to diagenetic distortion of the isotopic signal; they are less likely to be due to smallscale time-averaging or insufficient microstratigraphic sampling. On the whole, the carbon isotope analyses are thought to produce reasonable palaeosalinity values, although data from infaunal, originally aragonitic bivalves appear to be less reliable than those from epifaunal bivalves with a predominantly or exclusively calcitic shell. As diagenetic alteration of the carbon isotope signal is, however, unpredictable and biotic effects on the isotopic composition are insufficiently known, palaeosalinity reconstructions based on stable isotope data should be supported by palaeoecological data.     

Changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in the CMIP5 ensemble

Twenty-year temperature and precipitation extremes and their projected future changes are evaluated in an ensemble of climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), updating a similar study based on the CMIP3 ensemble. The projected changes are documented for three radiative forcing scenarios. The performance of the CMIP5 models in simulating 20-year temperature and precipitation extremes is comparable to that of the CMIP3 ensemble. The models simulate late 20th century warm extremes reasonably well, compared to estimates from reanalyses. The model discrepancies in simulating cold extremes are generally larger than those for warm extremes. Simulated late 20th century precipitation extremes are plausible in the extratropics but uncertainty in extreme precipitation in the tropics and subtropics remains very large, both in the models and the observationally-constrained datasets. Consistent with CMIP3 results, CMIP5 cold extremes generally warm faster than warm extremes, mainly in regions where snow and sea-ice retreat with global warming. There are tropical and subtropical regions where warming rates of warm extremes exceed those of cold extremes. Relative changes in the intensity of precipitation extremes generally exceed relative changes in annual mean precipitation. The corresponding waiting times for late 20th century extreme precipitation events are reduced almost everywhere, except for a few subtropical regions. The CMIP5 planetary sensitivity in extreme precipitation is about 6 %/°C, with generally lower values over extratropical land.     

Metadolerite age relationships in the Dalradian of northwest Donegal,Ireland and their orogenic significance

The structural relationships of several intrusive sheets belonging to the extensive metadolerite suite of the Appin (lower) Dalradian rocks of the Creeslough area, northwest Donegal, Ireland have been examined. It is concluded that, relative to the regional chronology of deformation of the enclosing metasediments, sheet emplacement has occurred: pre-D2; syn-D2; between D2 and D3; and syn-D3. The height of activity came in the post-D2, pre-D3 interval and coincided with the peak of regional metamorphism in the area. These relationships in Donegal are compared with those of the pretectonic basic rocks of the southwest Highlands and models are discussed.     

Authigenic iron and titanium oxides in triassic red beds: (St. Bees Sandstone), Cumbria,Northern England

Authigenic iron and titanium oxides occur in three main textural varieties in the St. Bees Sandstone, a Triassic red bed succession in Cumbria. These are: (a) overgrowths of haematite, titaniferous haematite, anatase, and rutile which generally occur on detrital host grains of similar compositions. The overgrowths may occur as syntaxial rim cements or rhombohedral and prismatic projections and are always in optical continuity, (b) discrete crystals of anatase (including octahedrite) and haematite 10-40 μm in size occur in pore spaces, and (c) fine grained ( < 1 μm) pigmentary haematite occurs as grain coatings around detrital grains and in the interstitial matrix. The euhedral nature and pore-filling habit clearly indicate the authigenic origin of these iron- and titanium oxides. All three textural varieties are believed to have been precipitated from ground waters containing dissolved ferrous and titanium ions. These ions were derived from the intrastratal solution of detrital iron and titanium bearing grains including ferromagnesian silicates and iron-titanium oxides. The precipitation of iron oxides from migrating ground waters in the manner described here goes some way to explaining how thick, uniformly red successions can be formed.     

Revised identifications in the 5C2 survey

In the present paper revised distances of optical objects from radio sources of the 5C2 survey are given. A statistical investigation of the data is given for blue objects and galaxies by the statistical method of the “first neighbour”. The identification rate on blue plates for both the blue objects and galaxies amounts to about 40% out of the total number of 26 identifications. For every blue object and galaxy which are proposed as an identification the statistical reliability is given.     

Photometrische Kalibrierung von Schmidtspiegelaufnahmen durch ein bildteilendes Hilfsprisma

Plates of the Tautenburg Schmidt can be calibrated with the aid of a beam-splitting prisma only if Schraffierkassette plates are used. The effects of image structure, scintillation and intermittence on in-focus images are different for the main component and the prismatic companion. Therefore, such plates cannot be used to set up a photometric scale.     

Possible Interpretations of B2 and 5C Quasar Candidate Counts and the “Cut off” in Quasar Density

Optical quasar candidate counts in the far reaching radio surveys B₂ and 5C are consistent either with a luminosity function containing a high percentage of low luminosity objects and a cut off in quasar density or, more probably, with a normal number of quasars at high redshifts and a less steep luminosity function. The absence of high redshifted objects in currently available samples is to be expected of q₀ ≈︂ o and if some of the few quasars observed at z>2.2 are exceptionally bright intrinsically and not typical for the bulk.     

Atmospheric discharge as a source of emission during the Tunguska disaster

Based on the fact that such events as an explosion of the Tunguska cosmic body, which caused the fall of trees in a wide area and the release of radiant energy during the Tunguska disaster, proved to be separated not only in space but also in time, it is concluded that these events are interrelated but different. The assumption is justified that the emission during the Tunguska disaster was caused by the atmospheric discharge at altitudes of 10–90 km above the Earth’s surface. The emission energy, released during this discharge, could reach ～10¹⁰ J.