Origin and crystallization history of Permian tholeiites from the Saar-Nahe trough,SW Germany

The Hirschberg and Rödern diatremes, within the Permian Saar-Nahe trough, SW Germany, are composed chiefly of basaltic tuffs, with associated small intrusions of K-rich tholeiites. Several tholeiite bodies carry 2–20 mm crystals of magnesian clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene, the latter containing up to 5.5% Al₂O₃ and often extensively resorbed and rimmed by fine-grained olivine and clinopyroxene. Experimental duplication of these pyroxenes has been achieved under conditions of Pload=6–10 kb, T=1280–1080° C and 2–4 wt.-% H₂O, confirming that they represent a rare occurence of high pressure phenocrysts in tholeiitic basalts.These conditions of pyroxene crystallization also place constraints on processes of magma generation, indicating that the tholeiites originated by partial melting of unusually hydrous peridotite mantle (0.4–0.8% H₂O) beneath a relatively thin continental crust (maximum thickness approximately 30 km). Water present in the mantle at the site of magma generation may have been derived from the dehydration of oceanic lithosphere prior to the formation of the Saar-Nahe trough. This lithosphere probably underwent subduction at the margin of the Palaeozoic European continent during the Hercynian cycle of sedimentation, andesitic volcanism and folding. The termination of this cycle was followed by a period of basin-range type tensional faulting, leading to the formation of the Permian basins of present-day Central Europe, and widespread bimodal basalt/rhyolite volcanism.     

An experimental study of illite dissolution kinetics as a function of ph from 1.4 to 12.4 and temperature from 5 to 50°C

Dissolution rates of natural illite (Illite du Puy) were measured from Si release rates during closed system experiments at pH ranging from 1.4 to 12.4 and temperatures ranging from 5 to 50°C. Experiments performed at 4<pH<11 exhibited reactive fluid Si/Al concentration ratios that were inconsistent with stoichiometric illite dissolution likely due to secondary phase precipitation. In contrast, after an initial preferential release of aluminum relative to silicon, the reactive fluid Si/Al concentration ratio evolution was consistent with stoichiometric illite dissolution for all experiments conducted at 4>pH>11. Si release rate decreased with time during all experiments; for those experiments performed at 4>pH>11 this observation can be attributed to either 1) changing reactive surface area; 2) the effect of initial fine particle dissolution; or 3) a negative order of the illite dissolution reaction with respect to aqueous Al and/or Si. Measured dissolution rates exhibited a typical variation with pH; rates decrease with increasing pH at acid conditions, minimize at near to neutral pH and increase with increasing pH at basic conditions. An empirical expression describing rates obtained in the present study is given by

     

Methane Abundance on Titan, Measured by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

Although methane is the dominant absorber in Titan's reflection spectrum, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has only been determined to an order of magnitude. We analyzed spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, looking at both a bright surface region (700-km radius) and a dark surface region. The difference between the spectra of the two regions is attributed to light that has scattered off the surface, and therefore made a round-trip through all of Titan's methane. Considering only absorption, the shape of the difference spectrum provides an upper limit on methane abundance of 3.5 km-am. Modeling the multiple scattering in the atmosphere further constrains the methane abundance to 2.63±0.17 km-am. In the absence of supersaturation and with a simplified methane vertical profile, this corresponds to a surface methane-mole fraction near 3.8% and a relative humidity of 0.32. With supersaturation near the tropopause, the surface methane mole fraction could be as low as 3%.     

Monitoring of atmospheric deposition in European forests and an overview on its implication on forest condition

Forest conditions in Europe have been monitored over 20 years jointly by the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) and the European Union (EU). Maps for mean bulk SO₄, NO₃ and NH₄ deposition at around 400 intensive monitoring plots in the years 1999–2001, as well as time trends for the period 1996–2001, are presented. Mean bulk SO₄ deposition at 169 plots mostly located in central Europe decreased from 7.4 to 5.8 kgS ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. Mean NH₄ bulk deposition decreased from 6.2 to 5.3 kgN ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. Nitrate bulk deposition fluctuated around 5 kgN ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. On average, throughfall deposition was considerably higher than bulk deposition. Time trends for mean tree crown defoliation as an overall indicator for forest condition show a peak in the mid 1990s for most of the monitored main tree species and a recent increase for the years 2003 and 2004. Multivariate linear regression analyses show some significant relations between deposition and defoliation. These relations depend on the tree species and site characteristics. Effects of deposition are moderated by the influence of biotic stress factors such as insects and fungi and by abiotic stress factors, such as weather.     

Do stratocumulus clouds detrain? FIRE I data revisited

Analyses of aircraft observations of the stratocumulus-topped boundary layer during the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment (FIRE I) show the frequent presence of clear, but relatively moist, air patches near the stratocumulus cloud-top interface. A conditional sampling of measurements in these clear air patches shows that their thermodynamic properties do more resemble boundary-layer air characteristics than those of free troposphere air. From an aircraft leg through cloud tops it is demonstrated that turbulent mixing across the cloud-top interface can lead to the local dissipation of the cloud top. Analogous to the terminology used for shallow cumulus parameterizations this process can be considered as detrainment, with which we mean that after a mixing event across the cloud-top boundaries, mixed unsaturated parcels become part of the clear environment of the cloud.     

On the volcanology of the Gibeon Kimberlite Field, Namibia

Kimberlite volcanism in the Upper Cretaceous Gibeon Kimberlite Field, southern Namibia, consisting of at least 42 diatremes and a number of associated dykes, is closely related to carbonatitic and ultrabasic volcanic and intrusive activity which occurred at the margin of the Field. The volcanology of the diatremes and dykes as well as their structural setting is reported here. Because of the paleohydrogeological setting, and since juvenile kimberlite occurring in dykes, intrusive plugs, and spherical lapilli is devoid of vesicles, a phreatomagmatic eruption mechanism is proposed for the genesis of the kimberlite diatremes. Karoo dolerite, basalt and sediment xenoliths in the diatremes provide evidence for the former extent of Karoo strata at the time of eruption.     

Detailed observational study of a weak Echo region

High resolution 3-cm weather radar was used to observe the three dimensional structure of a weak echo region of a severe convective storm in northern Minnesota, U.S.A. Observations show that a seemingly steady-state updraft in the lower portion of the storm broke into an unsteady structure in the upper levels. This is interpreted as indicating that precipitation loading gradually decelerated the upper reaches of the updraft, resulting in periodic breakout of a new updraft core on the inflow side. This periodic behavior of the updraft may be related to hailstreaks and what has been termed the multi-celled storm.     

Novel photosensors for neutrino detectors and telescopes

The volume and the photosensitive area of next generation detectors of the numerous rarely occurring phenomena will greatly exceed the sizes of the current experiments. These phenomena include cosmic neutrinos, atmospheric neutrinos, long-baseline neutrino beams from accelerators, geo-neutrinos, geo-reactor neutrinos, and hypothetic proton decays. Similar requirements hold for a new type of a large scanning device for homeland security and nuclear proliferation control, and for the future widely accessible medical imaging devices. Photon detectors are the most important component of such detectors. Existing photosensors are based on vacuum tubes and dynode electron multipliers that are essentially hand-made, expensive and nearly impossible to produce in large enough quantities. Silicon detectors are too small for experiments requiring a very large photosensitive area. Our laboratory is developing novel detectors with a large photosensitive area that can be mass-produced, similar to large flat panel TV displays.     

Hydrocarbon lakes on Titan

The Huygens Probe detected dendritic drainage-like features, methane clouds and a high surface relative humidity (∼50%) on Titan in the vicinity of its landing site [Tomasko, M.G., and 39 colleagues, 2005. Nature 438, 765-778; Niemann, H.B., and 17 colleagues, 2005. Nature 438, 779-784], suggesting sources of methane that replenish this gas against photo- and charged-particle chemical loss on short (10-100) million year timescales [Atreya, S.K., Adams, E.Y., Niemann, H.B., Demick-Montelara, J.E., Owen, T.C., Fulchignoni, M., Ferri, F., Wilson, E.H., 2006. Planet. Space Sci. In press]. On the other hand, Cassini Orbiter remote sensing shows dry and even desert-like landscapes with dunes [Lorenz, R.D., and 39 colleagues, 2006a. Science 312, 724-727], some areas worked by fluvial erosion, but no large-scale bodies of liquid [Elachi, C., and 34 colleagues, 2005. Science 308, 970-974]. Either the atmospheric methane relative humidity is declining in a steady fashion over time, or the sources that maintain the relative humidity are geographically restricted, small, or hidden within the crust itself. In this paper we explore the hypothesis that the present-day methane relative humidity is maintained entirely by lakes that cover a small part of the surface area of Titan. We calculate the required minimum surface area coverage of such lakes, assess the stabilizing influence of ethane, and the implications for moist convection in the atmosphere. We show that, under Titan's surface conditions, methane evaporates rapidly enough that shorelines of any existing lakes could potentially migrate by several hundred m to tens of km per year, rates that could be detected by the Cassini orbiter. We furthermore show that the high relative humidity of methane in Titan's lower atmosphere could be maintained by evaporation from lakes covering only 0.002-0.02 of the whole surface.