Metamorphosed calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions in CK carbonaceous chondrites

CK chondrites are the only group of carbonaceous chondrites with petrologic types ranging from 3 to 6. Although CKs are described as calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusion (CAI)‐poor objects, the abundance of CAIs in the 18 CK3–6 we analyzed ranges from zero to approximately 16.4%. During thermal metamorphism, some of the fine‐grained CAIs recrystallized as irregular assemblages of plagioclase + Ca‐rich pyroxene ± olivine ± Ca‐poor pyroxene ± magnetite. Coarse‐grained CAIs display zoned spinel, fassaite destabilization, and secondary grossular and spinel. Secondary anorthite, grossular, Ca‐rich pyroxene, and spinel derive from the destabilization of melilite, which is lacking in all CAIs investigated. The Al‐Mg isotopic systematics measured in fine‐ and coarse‐grained CAIs from Tanezrouft (Tnz) 057 was affected by Mg redistribution. The partial equilibration of Al‐Mg isotopic signatures obtained in the core of a coarse‐grained CAI (CG1‐CAI) in Tnz 057 may indicate a lower peak temperature for Mg diffusion of approximately 540–580 °C, while grossular present in the core of this CAI indicates a higher temperature of around 800 °C for the metamorphic event on the parent body of Tnz 057. Excluding metamorphic features, the similarity in nature and abundance of CAIs in CK and CV chondrites confirms that CVs and CKs form a continuous metamorphic series from type 3 to 6.     

The Meteoritical Bulletin,No. 101

Meteoritical Bulletin 101 contains 2639 meteorites accepted by the Nomenclature Committee in 2012, including 1 fall (Battle Mountain), with 2308 ordinary chondrites, 156 carbonaceous chondrites, 63 HED achondrites, 17 relict meteorites, 16 Rumuruti chondrites, 15 enstatite chondrites, 15 ureilites, 10 iron meteorites, 9 lunar meteorites, 9 primitive achondrites, 8 ungrouped achondrites, 7 mesosiderites, 4 Martian meteorites, and 2 Pallasites, and with 1812 from Antarctica, 437 from Asia, 301 from Africa, 43 from South America, 21 from Europe (including Russia), 21 from North America, 3 from Oceania, and 1 from unknown. Information about approved meteorites can be obtained from the Meteoritical Bulletin Database (MBD) available on line at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/ .     

Aircraft observations of Venus' near-infrared reflection spectrum: Implications for cloud composition

We have obtained measurements of Venus' reflection spectrum in the 1.2 to 4.1-μm spectral region from a NASA-Ames operated Lear jet. This was accomplished by observing both Venus and the sun with a spectrometer that contained a circular, variable interference filter, whose effective spectral resolution was 2%. The aircraft results were compared with computer generated spectra of a number of cloud candidates. The only substance which gave an acceptable match to the profile of Venus' strong 3-μm absorption feature, was a water solution of sulfuric acid, that had a concentration of 75% or more H₂SO₄ by weight. However, our spectra also show a modest decline in reflectivity from 2.3 μm towards 1.2-μm wavekength, which is inconsistent with the flat spectrum of sulfuric acid in this spectral region. We hypothesize that this decline is due to impurities in the sulfuric acid droplets.We also compared our list of cloud candidates with several other observed properties of the Venus clouds. While this comparison does not provide as unique an answer as did our analysis of the 3-μm band, we find that, in agreement with the results of Young (1973) and Sill (1973), concentrated sulfuric acid solutions are compatible with these additional observed properties of the Venus clouds. We conclude that the visible cloud layer of Venus is composed of sulfuric acid solution droplets, whose concentration is 75% H₂SO₄, or greater, by weight.     

Oil Spills and Community Resilience: Uneven Impacts and Protection in Historical Perspective

Louisiana's coastal residents have endured centuries of hurricanes and decades of oil spills. Locally based, inherent resilient practices have enabled them to persist in place. This paper documents the evolution of actions taken by Louisiana's coastal residents that constitute effective resilient activities in the aftermath of disruptive events. It compares the efforts that arose from coastal communities that were rooted in local environmental knowledge with generic external programs designed to enable hazard mitigation, emergency response, and recovery form damaging hurricanes and oil spills. Additionally, it will identify points of opportunity to fortify resilience by integrating inherent and formal resilience.     

Coloring the Field: Gender, “Race,” and the Politics of Fieldwork

My experiences combining research and activism within the Japanese-Canadian community reflect a growing concern among feminist and anti-racist scholars with the politics of work among people marginalized by racism and sexism. This concern arises within a context where “other voices” are being heard, but the legitimacy of one individual or group to represent another is being challenged. Such challenges require that essentialism and naturalism be addressed politically and theoretically, a difficult irony given the need to utilize essentialist categories to address the oppressive conditions under which they emerged. To do so, a critical theory of political construction is required.     

Chronology and palaeoenvironmental implications of the ice‐wedge pseudomorphs and composite‐wedge casts on the Magdalen Islands (eastern Canada)

The Magdalen Islands are a valuable terrestrial record, evidencing the complex glacial and periglacial history of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Thirteen structures interpreted as ice‐wedge pseudomorphs or composite‐wedge casts were observed at four sites on the southern Magdalen Islands and testify to the former presence of permafrost under periglacial conditions. These features truncate Carboniferous sandstone or Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glacial and glaciomarine diamicts, both overlain by subtidal or coastal units. Six optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and four radiocarbon ages were obtained from both host and infilled sedimentary units. These ages provide the first absolute chronological data on these structures, shedding new light on the relationships between glacial and periglacial phases. Our chronostratigraphic data suggest that, after the deglaciation and the emersion of the archipelago, thermal contraction cracks grew during the cold period of the Younger Dryas (11–10 ka; 12.9–11.5 cal. ka BP). The Younger Dryas, which is well documented in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, occurred after a pedogenesis phase associated with the Allerød warm period evidenced by the well‐developed palaeopodzol ubiquitous on the Magdalen Islands.     

Surface water–groundwater exchange dynamics in a tidal freshwater zone

In coastal rivers, tides can propagate for tens to hundreds of kilometres inland beyond the saltwater line. Yet the influence of tides on river–aquifer connectivity and solute transport in tidal freshwater zones (TFZs) is largely unknown. We estimate that along the TFZ of White Clay Creek (Delaware, USA), 11% of river water exchanges through tidal bank storage zones. Additional hyporheic processes such as flow through bedforms likely contribute even more exchange. The turnover length associated with tidal bank storage is 150 km, on the order of turnover lengths for all hyporheic exchange processes in non‐tidal rivers of similar size. Based on measurements at a transect of piezometers located 17 km from the coast, tides exchange 0.36 m³ of water across the banks and 0.86 m³ across the bed per unit river length. Exchange fluxes range from ?1.66 to 2.26 m day^?1 across the bank and ?0.84 to 1.88 m day^?1 across the bed. During rising tide, river water infiltrates into the riparian aquifer, and the downstream transport rate in the channel is low. During falling tide, stored groundwater is released to the river, and the downstream transport rate in the channel increases. Tidal bank storage zones may remove nutrients or other contaminants from river water and attenuate nutrient loads to coasts. Alternating expansion and contraction of aerobic zones in the riparian aquifer likely influence contaminant removal along flow paths. A clear need exists to understand contaminant removal and other ecosystem services in TFZs and adopt best management practices to promote these ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.