Initial Characterisation of SK01 Sanidine: A Candidate 40Ar/39Ar Reference Material

The precision and accuracy of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates are ultimately linked to co-irradiated reference materials of known age. Here we provide new data from the SK01 sanidine, which was analysed in three different laboratories to evaluate it as a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar reference material. Aliquots of 5 mg, incrementally heated in two laboratories, yielded indistinguishable results with a weighted mean age of 27.58 ± 0.06 Ma (95% confidence level). Single-crystal step heating and single-crystal total fusion analyses of SK01 sanidine were undertaken in the third laboratory to further test the intracrystalline homogeneity. For the seven step-heating analyses, six crystals yielded nearly concordant age spectra with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages ranging from 26.853 ± 0.094 Ma to 26.963 ± 0.067 Ma, whereas one crystal gave an older age of 27.774 ± 0.071 Ma with a slightly discordant age spectrum. Twenty-three single-crystal total fusion analyses yielded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages ranging from 27.070 ± 0.108 Ma to 27.736 ± 0.062 Ma with a dispersion of ~ 3.8%. The older ages from single-crystal total fusion dates are interpreted to reflect an inherited or excess argon component in some crystals. This is an initial characterisation of the SK01 sanidine, and additional work needs to be conducted to further evaluate the age dispersion so that it can be utilised as a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar reference material.     

Projected changes in meteorological drought over East Africa inferred from bias-adjusted CMIP6 models

Natural Hazards - The ongoing global warming has caused unprecedented changes in the climate system, leading to an increase in the intensity and frequency of weather and climate extremes. This...     

The most frequent interfaces in olivine aggregates: the GBCD and its importance for grain boundary related processes

Rocks consist of crystal grains separated by grain boundaries that impact the bulk rock properties. Recent studies on metals and ceramics showed that the grain boundary plane orientation is more significant for grain boundary properties than other characteristics such as the sigma value or disorientation (in the Earth’s science community more frequently termed misorientation). We determined the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) of synthetic and natural polycrystalline olivine, the most abundant mineral of Earth’s upper mantle. We show that grain boundaries of olivine preferentially contain low index planes, in agreement with recent findings on other oxides (e.g. MgO, TiO₂, Al₂O₃ etc.). Furthermore, we find evidence for a preferred orientation relationship of 90° disorientations about the [001] direction forming tilt and twist grain boundaries, as well as a preference for the 60° disorientation about the [100] axis. Our data indicate that the GBCD, which is an intrinsic property of any mineral aggregate, is fundamental for understanding and predicting grain boundary related processes.     

Petrology and trace element geochemistry of Tissint,the newest shergottite fall

The fall and recovery of the Tissint meteorite in 2011 created a rare opportunity to examine a Martian sample with a known, short residence time on Earth. Tissint is an olivine‐phyric shergottite that accumulated olivine antecrysts within a single magmatic system. Coarse olivine grains with nearly homogeneous cores of Mg# >80 suggest slow re‐equilibration. Many macroscopic features of this sample resemble those of LAR 06319, including the olivine crystal size distribution and the presence of evolved oxide and olivine compositions. Unlike LAR 06319, however, no magmatic hydrous phases were found in the analyzed samples of Tissint. Minor and trace element compositions indicate that the meteorite is the product of closed‐system crystallization from a parent melt derived from a depleted source, with no obvious addition of a LREE‐rich (crustal?) component prior to or during crystallization. The whole‐rock REE pattern is similar to that of intermediate olivine‐phyric shergottite EETA 79001 lithology A, and could also be approximated by a more olivine‐rich version of depleted basaltic shergottite QUE 94201. Magmatic oxygen fugacities are at the low end of the shergottite range, with log fO₂ of QFM‐3.5 to ‐4.0 estimated based on early‐crystallized minerals and QFM‐2.4 estimated based on the Eu in pyroxene oxybarometer. These values are similarly comparable to other depleted shergottites, including SaU 005 and QUE 94201. Tissint occupies a previously unsampled niche in shergottite chemistry: containing olivines with Mg# >80, resembling the enriched olivine‐phyric shergottite LAR 06319 in its crystallization path, and comparable to intermediate olivine‐phyric shergottite EETA 79001A, depleted olivine‐phyric shergottite DaG 476, and depleted basaltic shergottite QUE 94201 in its trace element abundances and oxygen fugacity. The apparent absence of evidence for terrestrial alteration in Tissint (particularly in trace element abundances in the whole‐rock and individual minerals) confirms that exposure to the arid desert environment results in only minimal weathering of samples, provided the exposure times are brief.     

Improved methods for estimating equilibrium climate sensitivity from transient warming simulations

Climate Dynamics - Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) refers to the total global warming caused by an instantaneous doubling of atmospheric CO2 from the pre-industrial level in a climate system....     

A spar buoy design for oceanographic data telemetry

Abstract

The design of a spar buoy, employed as one component of a current monitoring system deployed during 1980 in Davis Strait, and some of its response characteristics to ocean waves are presented. The buoy was 36.5 ft (11.13 m) in length with upper and lower masts 0.5ft (15.2 cm) in diameter and buoyancy hulls, centrally located, 2 ft (61.0 cm) in diameter. Power for the system was supplied from lead‐acid batteries in a ballast tank on the lower end. Telemetry electronics were located in a 1‐ft (30.5‐cm) diameter case on the upper end, below the antenna. The buoy weighed about 1,635 lb (746kg) and could be man‐handled at sea with relatively light lifting equipment. It had a damped period of 16s and a significant heave response of about 62% of the significant wave height of the forcing spectrum. Scale model tests indicated that the buoy would be operational in heavy sea swell up to about 20ft in height with pitching angles of less than 10° off vertical. Observations at sea have shown that the buoy followed swell waves better than the 62% heave response figure would imply and had negligible pitching motions except during severe storms. The design was judged to be successful in providing a stable base for VHF transmission and is recommended for use in other applications.     

Systematics of superoutbursts in dwarf novae

Photometric properties of known and suspected members of the SU UMa subclass of dwarf novae are tabulated and discussed. The precessing disc model of superoutbursts gives a satisfactory quantitative explanation of the periods of superhumps and their changes during superoutburst. The systems such as WZ Sge and HV Vir that have very long intervals between superoutbursts are deduced to be beyond the orbital period minimum, and have degenerate secondaries. The systems such as V1159 Ori that have extremely short recurrence times have high rates of mass transfer and are the equivalent of the Z Cam subclass that occurs at longer orbital periods.A simplified analytical approach to the theory of accretion discs is able to explain the correlations between normal and superoutburst recurrence times. It also explains the slope of the plateau region of superoutbursts, and why the slope is shallower in the very short recurrence time systems.     

Uy phoenicis: RR lyrae variable,not dwarf nova

Stellar and atomic systems obey analogous angular momentum/mass relationships and analogous angular momentum/magnetic dipole moment relationships. The dimensional constants in both pairs of angular momentum laws appear to be related by a simple set of self-similar scaling equations, suggesting that atomic and stellar systems may be self-similar.     

Geological overview and cratering model for the Haughton impact structure,Devon Island,Canadian High Arctic

Abstract— The Haughton impact structure has been the focus of systematic, multi‐disciplinary field and laboratory research activities over the past several years. Regional geological mapping has refined the sedimentary target stratigraphy and constrained the thickness of the sedimentary sequence at the time of impact to ?1880 m. New ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dates place the impact event at ?39 Ma, in the late Eocene. Haughton has an apparent crater diameter of ?23 km, with an estimated rim (final crater) diameter of ?16 km. The structure lacks a central topographic peak or peak ring, which is unusual for craters of this size. Geological mapping and sampling reveals that a series of different impactites are present at Haughton. The volumetrically dominant crater‐fill impact melt breccias contain a calcite‐anhydrite‐silicate glass groundmass, all of which have been shown to represent impact‐generated melt phases. These impactites are, therefore, stratigraphically and genetically equivalent to coherent impact melt rocks present in craters developed in crystalline targets. The crater‐fill impactites provided a heat source that drove a post‐impact hydrothermal system. During this time, Haughton would have represented a transient, warm, wet microbial oasis. A subsequent episode of erosion, during which time substantial amounts of impactites were removed, was followed by the deposition of intra‐crater lacustrine sediments of the Haughton Formation during the Miocene. Present‐day intra‐crater lakes and ponds preserve a detailed paleoenvironmental record dating back to the last glaciation in the High Arctic. Modern modification of the landscape is dominated by seasonal regional glacial and niveal melting, and local periglacial processes. The impact processing of target materials improved the opportunities for colonization and has provided several present‐day habitats suitable for microbial life that otherwise do not exist in the surrounding terrain.