Momentum and energy balance equations for compacting sediments

Coupled energy and momentum balance equations are derived for a one-dimensional sequence of compacting sediments. These transient, nonlinear partial differential equations represent the one-dimensional equations of state for an accumulating sedimentary basin. A numerical solution is presented which provides a first-order approximation for porosity, temperature, and fluid pressures in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It seems that compaction disequilibrium is the primary mechanism for development of excess fluid pressures. Furthermore, the coupling of the equations demonstrates that temperature and pressure cannot be treated independently as may have been done in diagenetic studies. Some areas for further investigations are indicated.     

Simulating the response of a closed‐basin lake to recent climate changes in tropical West Africa (Lake Bosumtwi,Ghana)

Historical changes in the level of Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, have been simulated using a catchment‐scale hydrological model in order to assess the importance of changes in climate and land use on lake water balance on a monthly basis for the period 1939–2004. Several commonly used models for computing evaporation in data‐sparse regions are compared, including the Penman, the energy budget, and the Priestley–Taylor methods. Based on a comparison with recorded lake level variations, the model with the energy‐budget evaporation model subcomponent is most effective at reproducing observed lake level variations using regional climate records. A sensitivity analysis using this model indicates that Lake Bosumtwi is highly sensitive to changes in precipitation, cloudiness and temperature. However, the model is also sensitive to changes in runoff related to vegetation, and this factor needs to be considered in simulating lake level variations. Both interannual and longer‐term changes in lake level over the last 65 years appear to have been caused primarily by changes in precipitation, though the model also suggests that the drop in lake level over the last few decades has been moderated by changes in cloudiness and temperature over that time. Based on its effectiveness at simulating the magnitude and rate of lake level response to changing climate over the historical record, this model offers a potential future opportunity to examine the palaeoclimatic factors causing past lake level fluctuations preserved in the geological record at Lake Bosumtwi. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A large shock vein in L chondrite Roosevelt County 106: Evidence for a long‐duration shock pulse on the L chondrite parent body

A large shock‐induced melt vein in L6 ordinary chondrite Roosevelt County 106 contains abundant high‐pressure minerals, including olivine, enstatite, and plagioclase fragments that have been transformed to polycrystalline ringwoodite, majorite, lingunite, and jadeite. The host chondrite at the melt‐vein margins contains olivines that are partially transformed to ringwoodite. The quenched silicate melt in the shock veins consists of majoritic garnets, up to 25 μm in size, magnetite, maghemite, and phyllosilicates. The magnetite, maghemite, and phyllosilicates are the terrestrial alteration products of magnesiowüstite and quenched glass. This assemblage indicates crystallization of the silicate melt at approximately 20–25 GPa and 2000 °C. Coarse majorite garnets in the centers of shock veins grade into increasingly finer grained dendritic garnets toward the vein margins, indicating increasing quench rates toward the margins as a result of thermal conduction to the surrounding chondrite host. Nanocrystalline boundary zones, that contain wadsleyite, ringwoodite, majorite, and magnesiowüstite, occur along shock‐vein margins. These zones represent rapid quench of a boundary melt that contains less metal‐sulfide than the bulk shock vein. One‐dimensional finite element heat‐flow calculations were performed to estimate a quench time of 750–1900 ms for a 1.6‐mm thick shock vein. Because the vein crystallized as a single high‐pressure assemblage, the shock pulse duration was at least as long as the quench time and therefore the sample remained at 20–25 GPa for at least 750 ms. This relatively long shock pulse, combined with a modest shock pressure, implies that this sample came from deep in the L chondrite parent body during a collision with a large impacting body, such as the impact event that disrupted the L chondrite parent body 470 Myr ago.     

Highly siderophile element (HSE) abundances in the mantle of Mars are due to core formation at high pressure and temperature

Highly siderophile elements (HSEs) can be used to understand accretion and core formation in differentiated bodies, due to their strong affinity for FeNi metal and sulfides. Coupling experimental studies of metal–silicate partitioning with analyses of HSE contents of Martian meteorites can thus offer important constraints on the early history of Mars. Here, we report new metal–silicate partitioning data for the PGEs and Au and Re across a wide range of pressure and temperature space, with three series designed to complement existing experimental data sets for HSE. The first series examines temperature effects for D(HSE) in two metallic liquid compositions—C‐bearing and C‐free. The second series examines temperature effects for D(Re) in FeO‐bearing silicate melts and FeNi‐rich alloys. The third series presents the first systematic study of high pressure and temperature effects for D(Au). We then combine our data with previously published partitioning data to derive predictive expressions for metal–silicate partitioning of the HSE, which are subsequently used to calculate HSE concentrations of the Martian mantle during continuous accretion of Mars. Our results show that at midmantle depths in an early magma ocean (equivalent to approximately 14 GPa, 2100 °C), the HSE contents of the silicate fraction are similar to those observed in the Martian meteorite suite. This is in concert with previous studies on moderately siderophile elements. We then consider model calculations that examine the role of melting, fractional crystallization, and sulfide saturation/undersaturation in establishing the range of HSE contents in Martian meteorites derived from melting of the postcore formation mantle. The core formation modeling indicates that the HSE contents can be established by metal–silicate equilibrium early in the history of Mars, thus obviating the need for a late veneer for HSE, and by extension volatile siderophile elements, or volatiles in general.     

Satellite measurements of the moon's magnetic field: A preliminary report

A preliminary analysis of the data from the UCLA magnetometer on board the Apollo 15 subsatellite indicates that remnant magnetization is a characteristic property of the Moon, that its distribution is such as to produce a rather complex pattern or fine structure, and that a detailed mapping of its distribution is feasible with the present experiment. The analysis also shows that lunar induction fields produced by transients in the interplanetary magnetic field are detectable at the satellite orbit so that in principle the magnetometer data can be used to determine the latitudinal and longitudinal as well as radial dependences of the distribution of electrical conductivity within the Moon. Finally, the analysis indicates that the plasma void or diamagnetic cavity which forms behind the Moon when the Moon is in the solar wind, is detectable at the satellite's orbit and that the flow of the solar wind near the limbs is usually rather strongly disturbed.Publication No. 981. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.