Temporal Evolution and Petrogenesis of an Archaean Crustal Segment at Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada

Geochronology of several Archaean rock units in the Slave Provinceestablishes a sequence of events which may be treated as a singletectonic cycle, approximately 75 m.y. in duration, leading tothe formation of a new crustal segment. The oldest rocks (2650m.y.) are basic metavolcanics with largely calc-alkaline characteristics.Metamorphic adjustment to greenschist facies conditions is largelyisochemical but departures from regular serial variation inalkalis are noted. Comparison with experimental studies suggeststhat the basalt-dacite volcanic association is probably theearly extrusive expression of the subcrustal processes whichled to the intrusion of calc-alkaline batholiths into the deformingvolcanic-sedimentary pile. Zircon U-Pb and whole rock Rb-Sr isochron ages of 2620–2640m.y. are recorded for the syn-kinematic quartz diorite batholithsand 2590–2610 m.y. for the major late-kinematic bodies.Pegmatitic adamellites (2575±25 m.y.) are the youngestplutonic units. Regional metamorphism of the andalusite-sillimanitefacies series reflects the relative unimportance of load pressurein the thin-crustal Kenoran deformation. Comparison of the resultsobtained by the three radiometric methods confirms that an intervalof over 100 m.y. may elapse between the time of emplacementof a given rock unit and the subsequent closure of the biotiteK-Ar system. The sequence of K-Ar mineral dates is in accordwith the relative argon retentivities of the various minerals.     

Gauribidanur Low-Frequency Solar Spectrograph

A new radio spectrograph, dedicated to observe the Sun, has been recently commissioned by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at the Gauribidanur Radio Observatory, about 100 km North of Bangalore. The instrument, called the Gauribidanur Low-frequency Solar Spectrograph (GLOSS), operates in the frequency range≈40?–?440 MHz. Radio emission in this frequency range originates close to the Sun, typically in the radial distance range r≈1.1?–?2.0 R_⊙. This article describes the characteristics of the GLOSS and the first results.     

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.     

Automatic Tracking of Active Regions and Detection of Solar Flares in Solar EUV Images

Solar catalogs are frequently handmade by experts using a manual approach or semi-automated approach. The appearance of new tools is very useful because the work is automated. Nowadays it is impossible to produce solar catalogs using these methods, because of the emergence of new spacecraft that provide a huge amount of information. In this article an automated system for detecting and tracking active regions and solar flares throughout their evolution using the Extreme UV Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft is presented. The system is quite complex and consists of different phases: i) acquisition and preprocessing; ii) segmentation of regions of interest; iii) clustering of these regions to form candidate active regions which can become active regions; iv) tracking of active regions; v) detection of solar flares. This article describes all phases, but focuses on the phases of tracking and detection of active regions and solar flares. The system relies on consecutive solar images using a rotation law to track the active regions. Also, graphs of the evolution of a region and solar evolution are presented to detect solar flares. The procedure developed has been tested on 3500 full-disk solar images (corresponding to 35 days) taken from the spacecraft. More than 75 % of the active regions are tracked and more than 85 % of the solar flares are detected.     

Grooves on small saturnian satellites and other objects: Characteristics and significance

High-resolution images from the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) show parallel sets of grooves on Epimetheus and Pandora. Grooves have previously been observed on other satellites and asteroids, including Phobos, Gaspra, Ida, Eros, and minor occurrences on Phoebe. Sets of parallel grooves are so far observed only on satellites known or likely to be subject to significant tidal stresses, such as forced librations. Grooves on asteroids and on satellites not subject to significant forced librations occur in more globally disorganized patterns that may reflect impacts, varying internal structures, or even thermal stresses. The patterns and individual morphologies of grooves on the tidally-affected satellites suggest fracturing in weak materials due to tidal stresses and forced librations.     

Three tenuous rings/arcs for three tiny moons

Using Cassini images, we examine the faint material along the orbits of Methone, Anthe and Pallene, three small moons that reside between the orbits of Mimas and Enceladus. A continuous ring of material covers the orbit of Pallene; it is visible at extremely high phase angles and appears to be localized vertically to within ±25 km of Pallene's inclined orbit. By contrast, the material associated with Anthe and Methone appears to lie in longitudinally confined arcs. The Methone arc extends over ∼10° in longitude around the satellite's position, while the Anthe arc reaches ∼20° in length. The extents of these arcs are consistent with their confinement by nearby corotation eccentricity resonances with Mimas. Anthe has even been observed to shift in longitude relative to its arc in the expected manner given the predicted librations of the moon.     

Sorted stone circles in Elysium Planitia, Mars: Implications for recent martian climate

We have found sorted stone circles and polygons near the equator of Mars, using new 25 cm/pixel NASA HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images. The sorted circles occur in geologically recent catastrophic flood deposits in the equatorial Elysium Planitia region, and are diagnostic of periglacial processes: sorted polygons do not form from volcanic activity, as has been suggested for non-sorted polygons in this region. These landforms indicate that (i) a long-lived, geologically recent, active cryoturbation layer of ground ice was present in the regolith, (ii) there was some degree of freeze-thaw, and thus (iii) there were sustained period(s), likely within the last 10 Ma, in which the martian climate was 40 to 60 K warmer than current models predict.