The Winchcombe fireball—That lucky survivor

On February 28, 2021, a fireball dropped ∼0.6 kg of recovered CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites in South-West England near the town of Winchcombe. We reconstruct the fireball's atmospheric trajectory, light curve, fragmentation behavior, and pre-atmospheric orbit from optical records contributed by five networks. The progenitor meteoroid was three orders of magnitude less massive (∼13 kg) than any previously observed carbonaceous fall. The Winchcombe meteorite survived entry because it was exposed to a very low peak atmospheric dynamic pressure (∼0.6 MPa) due to a fortuitous combination of entry parameters, notably low velocity (13.9 km s⁻¹). A near-catastrophic fragmentation at ∼0.07 MPa points to the body's fragility. Low entry speeds which cause low peak dynamic pressures are likely necessary conditions for a small carbonaceous meteoroid to survive atmospheric entry, strongly constraining the radiant direction to the general antapex direction. Orbital integrations show that the meteoroid was injected into the near-Earth region ∼0.08 Myr ago and it never had a perihelion distance smaller than ∼0.7 AU, while other CM2 meteorites with known orbits approached the Sun closer (∼0.5 AU) and were heated to at least 100 K higher temperatures.     

Circulation and mixing at the New England shelfbreak front: Results of purposeful tracer experiments

We present the results of six dye tracer experiments that measured the mixing and circulation at the shelfbreak front on the New England Shelf. The last three were conducted during the New England Shelfbreak Productivity Experiment (NESPEX) with concurrent isopycnal float deployments. The results are consistent with the Chapman and Lentz [Chapman, D.C., and Lentz, S.J. (1994). Trapping of a coastal density front by the bottom boundary layer. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 24, 1465–1479.] model prediction of the separation and upwelling along the shelfbreak front of bottom boundary layer (BBL) water forced by an Ekman buoyancy flux, but show considerable variability. Cross-shelf velocities at the detachment point are 2–3 × 10⁻² m/s. But seaward, over the slope region, dye tagged water was sheared from the main patch into small filaments that upwelled along the front with cross-shelf speeds up to 0.1 m/s. Cross-shelf diffusion was of order 10 m²/s in the mixed bottom layer and 1 m²/s in the interior along the front. Within the stratified front, the mean vertical diffusivity was K_z  4 × 10⁻⁶ m²/s. The dispersion of shelfwater in the slope region is effected by turbulent flow with advective speeds exceeding the small scale diffusive mixing. The mean flux of the detached BBL water is sufficient to account for the net loss of shelf water during its transit from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras.     

The importance of data discovery and management in advancing ecosystem-based management

The aim of the Geospatial Assessment of Marine Ecosystems (GAME) project is to develop an inventory of habitat-related data within the Gulf of Mexico and East coast of Florida. This will serve as a foundation to develop a spatial framework for ecosystem-based management associated with regulatory and planning programs and areas of governmental coordination.     

Geochronology of unconformity-related uranium deposits in the Athabasca Basin,Saskatchewan, Canada and their integration in the evolution of the basin

The importance of geochronology in the study of mineral deposits in general, and of unconformity-type uranium deposits in particular, resides in the possibility to situate the critical ore-related processes in the context of the evolution of the physical and chemical conditions in the studied area. The present paper gives the results of laser step heating ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of metamorphic host-rock minerals, pre-ore and syn-ore alteration clay minerals, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) U/Pb dating of uraninite from a number of basement- and sediment-hosted unconformity-related deposits in the Athabasca Basin, Canada. Post-peak metamorphic cooling during the Trans-Hudson Orogen of rocks from the basement occurred at ca 1,750 Ma and gives a maximum age for the formation of the overlying Athabasca Basin. Pre-ore alteration occurred simultaneously in both basement- and sandstone-hosted mineralizations at ca 1,675 Ma, as indicated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of pre-ore alteration illite and chlorite. The uranium mineralization age is ca 1,590 Ma, given by LA-ICP-MS U/Pb dating of uraninite and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of syn-ore illite, and is the same throughout the basin and in both basement- and sandstone-hosted deposits. The mineralization event, older than previously proposed, as well as several fluid circulation events that subsequently affected all minerals studied probably correspond to far-field, continent-wide tectonic events such as the metamorphic events in Wyoming and the Mazatzal Orogeny (ca 1.6 to 1.5 Ga), the Berthoud Orogeny (ca 1.4 Ga), the emplacement of the McKenzie mafic dyke swarms (ca 1.27 Ga), the Grenville Orogeny (ca 1.15 to 1 Ga), and the assemblage and break-up of Rodinia (ca 1 to 0.85 Ga). The results of the present work underline the importance of basin evolution between ca 1.75 Ga (basin formation) and ca 1.59 Ga (ore deposition) for understanding the conditions necessary for the formation of unconformity-type uranium deposits. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Reactive transport modelling of reflux dolomitization in the Arab‐D reservoir,Ghawar field,Saudi Arabia

It has long been recognized that the Arab‐D reservoir in Ghawar field has been significantly dolomitized and that the distribution of dolomites is highly heterogeneous across this reservoir. Previous studies indicated that dolomite occurs with either a stratigraphic or non‐stratigraphic distribution; when mapped, dolomite tends to form several parallel linear trends across the field. Although stratigraphic dolomite was suggested to be formed early from highly evaporated pore fluids sourced from overlying evaporite deposits, non‐stratigraphic dolomite was thought to be generated primarily from hydrothermal fluids sourced from below. This study focuses primarily on these non‐stratigraphic dolomites, and proposes that: (i) these dolomites initially formed via seepage reflux, but were reinforced by late stage hydrothermal dolomitization; and (ii) reflux is also responsible for the formation of parallel, linear trends of dolomite. The reflux model hypothesizes that an evaporative lagoon (which is the source of dolomitizing fluids) formed during the falling stage systems tract of a depositional sequence, and that with continuing sea‐level fall this lagoon migrated progressively towards deeper parts of an intrashelf basin adjacent to the Ghawar field, leaving behind lines of dolomite bodies along a series of temporary coastlines. Two‐dimensional reactive transport models have been built to test this hypothesis, and have resulted in a predicted pattern of dolomite bodies that agrees with both the observed vertical distribution of non‐stratigraphic dolomite, as well as the mapped lateral distribution of the dolomite trends. In addition, the major ion compositions of Late Jurassic seawater are calculated based on fluid inclusion data in the literature. Using Jurassic seawater in current models leads to the absence of anhydrite cements and less potential of over‐dolomitization than using modern seawater.     

Bulk density optimization to determine subsurface hydraulic properties in Rocky Mountain catchments using the GEOtop model

Integrated watershed models can be used to calculate streamflow generation in snow‐dominated mountainous catchments. Parameterization of water flow is often complicated by the lack of information on subsurface hydraulic properties. In this study, bulk density optimization was used to determine hydraulic parameters for the upper and lower regolith in the GEOtop model. The methodology was tested in two small catchments in the Dry Creek Watershed in Idaho and the Libby Creek Watershed in Wyoming. Modelling efficiencies for profile‐average soil–water content for the two catchments were between 0.52 and 0.64. Modelling efficiencies for stream discharge (cumulative stream discharge) were 0.45 (0.91) and 0.54 (0.94) for the Idaho and Wyoming catchments, respectively. The calculated hydraulic properties suggest that lateral flow across the upper–lower regolith interface is an important driver of streamflow in both the Idaho and Wyoming watersheds. The overall calibration procedure is computationally efficient because only two bulk density values are optimized. The two‐parameter calibration procedure was complicated by uncertainty in hydraulic conductivity anisotropy. Different upper regolith hydraulic conductivity anisotropy factors had to be tested in order to describe streamflow in both catchments.     

Clastic injectites,internal structures and flow regime during injection: The Sea Lion Injectite System,North Falkland Basin

This paper details and describes a suite of 143 sub-seismic-scale clastic injectites encountered within the early Cretaceous, early post-rift of the deep-lacustrine North Falkland Basin. The injectites, referred to here as the Sea Lion Injectite System, are encountered below, above and in between the hydrocarbon-bearing, deep-lacustrine turbidite sandstones of the Bleaker 30, Sea Lion North, Sea Lion, Casper and Beverley fans. Sedimentary structures are documented within the injectites including: planar laminations, mud-clast imbrication and clast alignment. Clasts align along centimetre-scale foresets formed through ripple-scale bedform migration in a hydraulically-open fracture. The style of flow within the injectite system is interpreted as initially through fluid turbulence during an open fracture phase, which was followed by a later stage where laminar flow dominated, most likely during the closing phase of the fracture system. The host rocks display evidence for ductile deformation, which along with ptygmatic folding of dykes and internally injected mud-clasts, suggests a period of injection into relatively uncompacted sediments. Evidence for brittle fracturing, in the form of stepped margins may be indicative of a separate phase of emplacement into more-compacted sediments. This variability in deformation styles is related to multi-phased injection episodes into host strata at different stages of consolidation and lithification at shallow burial depths. Injectites have been identified in four stratigraphic groupings: above the Bleaker 30 Fan and within/above the Sea Lion North Fan; within the hydrocarbon-bearing Sea Lion Fan; overlying the Sea Lion Fan; and above/below the hydrocarbon-bearing Casper and Beverley fans. This spatial association with the hydrocarbon-bearing fans of the North Falkland Basin is important, considering the ability of injectite networks to form effective fluid-flow conduits in the subsurface. Consequently, the findings of this study will improve the characterization of sub-seismic scale injectites (and therefore fluid conduits) within otherwise impermeable strata.     

Quantifying uncertainty in extreme values of design parameters with resampling techniques

In this paper, a methodology for the selection of statistical models for describing the extreme wave heights on the basis of resampling techniques is presented. Two such techniques are evaluated: the jackknife and the bootstrap. The methods are applied to two high-quality datasets of wave measurements in the Mediterranean and one from the East Coast of the USA. The robustness of the estimates of the extreme values of wave heights at return periods important for coastal engineering design is explored further. In particular, we demonstrate how an ensemble error norm can be used to select the most appropriate extreme probability model from a choice of cumulative distribution functions (CDFs). This error norm is based on the mean error norm of the optimised CDF for each resampled (replicate) data series. The resampling approach is also used to present confidence intervals of the CDF parameters. We provide a brief discussion of the sensitivity of these parameters and the suitability of each model in terms of uncertainty with resampling techniques. The advantages of resampling are outlined, and the superiority of the bootstrap over the jackknife in quantifying the uncertainty of extreme quantiles is demonstrated for these records.