TEM study of a special grain boundary in a synthetic K-feldspar bicrystal: Manebach Twin

 A monoclinic KAlSi₃O₈ feldspar Manebach twin boundary was synthesized by diffusion bonding and examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The sharp (001) twin boundary is straight and free of strain. The boundary width is smaller than d₀₀₁. There is no rigid body shift observed at the twin boundary, and the feldspar structure is arranged symmetrically across (001). The twin boundary structure consists of bridged tetrahedral crankshafts, which are characteristic of the feldspar lattice. The grain boundary structure is in good agreement with the geometrical model of Taylor et al. (1934). The grain boundary composition of K_1/2H_1/2AlSi₃O₈ differs from their model. Received: 13 February 2002 / Accepted: 24 December 2002 Acknowledgements We thank M. Rühle, S. Hutt, J. Mayer, A. Strecker and U. Salzberger at MPI, Stuttgart, for their support and valuable advice in preparing TEM sections of bicrystals.     

Water in minerals detectable by electron energy-loss spectroscopy EELS

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy EELS of the oxygen K edge of OH^– containing minerals and minerals with molecular water reveals a peak at about 528 eV prior to the onset of the O-K edge at 532 eV. This peak is never observed in minerals without water or OH^– groups. The intensity of the signal at 528 eV increases with increasing water content of the minerals. The peak at 528 eV is attributed to OH groups or water molecules. From the observations it is concluded that EELS provides a new method to determine the OH^– or water content of minerals with a spatial resolution far beyond that of optical spectroscopy. Received: 28 April 1997 / Revised, accepted: 25 July 1997     

Comments on “Evidence for global runoff increase related to climate warming” by Labat et al.

We have examined the evidence presented by Labat et al. and found that (1) their claims for a 4% increase in global runoff arising from a 1 °C increase in air temperature and (2) that their article provides the “first experimental data-based evidence demonstrating the link between the global warming and the intensification of the global hydrological cycle” are not supported by the data presented. Our conclusions are based on the facts that (1) their discharge records exhibit non-climatic influences and trends, (2) their work cannot refute previous studies finding no relation between air temperature and runoff, (3) their conclusions cannot explain relations before 1925, and (4) the statistical significance of their results hinges on a single data point that exerts undue influence on the slope of the regression line. We argue that Labat et al. have not provided sufficient evidence to support their claim for having detected increases in global runoff resulting from climate warming.     

Polymorphic phase transition in Superhydrous Phase B

We synthesized superhydrous phase B (shy-B) at 22 GPa and two different temperatures: 1200°C (LT) and 1400°C (HT) using a multi-anvil apparatus. The samples were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), single crystal X-ray diffraction, Raman and IR spectroscopy. The IR spectra were collected on polycrystalline thin-films and single crystals using synchrotron radiation, as well as a conventional IR source at ambient conditions and in situ at various pressures (up to 15 GPa) and temperatures (down to −180°C). Our studies show that shy-B exists in two polymorphic forms. As expected from crystal chemistry, the LT polymorph crystallizes in a lower symmetry space group (Pnn2), whereas the HT polymorph assumes a higher symmetry space group (Pnnm). TEM shows that both modifications consist of nearly perfect crystals with almost no lattice defects or inclusions of additional phases. IR spectra taken on polycrystalline thin films exhibit just one symmetric OH band and 29 lattice modes for the HT polymorph in contrast to two intense but asymmetric OH stretching bands and at least 48 lattice modes for the LT sample. The IR spectra differ not only in the number of bands, but also in the response of the bands to changes in pressure. The pressure derivatives for the IR bands are higher for the HT polymorph indicating that the high symmetry form is more compressible than the low symmetry form. Polarized, low-temperature single-crystal IR spectra indicate that in the LT-polymorph extensive ordering occurs not only at the Mg sites but also at the hydrogen sites.     

Oblique oceanic opening and passive margin irregularity,as inherited in the Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt

The Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt of SW Iran represents deformation of the former Arabian passive margin since Permian–Triassic opening of the Neo‐Tethys ocean. The Zagros belt is characterized by a present‐day structural salient‐recess setting inherited from past marginal embayment‐promontory geometry, which was involved in discontinuous ophiolite obduction and diachronous continental collision. We examine outcrop‐scale Mesozoic extensional brittle tectonics, preserved as syn‐depositional normal faults within the folded strata, in terms of stress tensor inversion. The result is then integrated with belt‐scale isopach, seismic and topographical data to delineate the geometry of a major irregularity along the passive margin originating from oblique oceanic opening. The implication of this configuration within the tectonic framework of oceanic closure is discussed.     

Microtexture,nanomineralogy, and local chemistry of cryptocrystalline cosmic spherules

The paper reports scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data on three cryptocrystalline (CC) cosmic spherules of chondritic composition (Mg/Si ≈ 1) from two collections taken up at glaciers at the Novaya Zemlya and in the area of the Tunguska event. The spherules show “brickwork” microtextures formed by minute parallel olivine crystals set in glass of pyroxene–plagioclase composition. The bulk-rock silicate chemistry, microtexture, mineralogy, and the chemical composition of the olivine and the local chemistry of the glass in these spherules testify to a chondritic source of the spherules. The solidification of the spherules in the Earth’s atmosphere was proved to be a highly unequilibrated process. A metastable state of the material follows, for example, from the occurrence of numerous nanometer-sized SiO₂ globules in the interstitial glass. These globules were formed by liquid immiscibility in the pyroxene–SiO₂ system. Troilite FeS and schreibersite (Fe,Ni)₃P globules were found in the FeNi metal in one of the spherules, which suggests that the precursor was not chemically modified when melted in the Earth’s atmosphere. Our results allowed us to estimate the mineralogy of the precursor material and correlate the CC spherules with the chondrule material of chondrites. The bulk compositions of the spherules are closely similar to those of type-IIA chondrules.     

基于势流理论和OpenFOAM的耦合模型对多向不规则波浪的模拟

基于势流理论的数值水池可以快速计算波浪的传播及其对建筑物的作用,但是势流理论是基于波浪的无黏性假设的,而在工程中,通常需要在固体边界及波浪破碎的区域考虑黏性效应。针对基于求解Navier-Stokes方程的黏性水池计算量较大、速度较慢的缺点,采用耦合的方法模拟多向不规则波浪的传播,即在外域通过基于势流理论的数值水池产生多向不规则波浪,内域采用求解Navier-Stokes方程和流体体积法(VOF方法)对自由表面进行追踪,通过外域所提供的边界波浪,内域计算可以在较小区域进行计算,从而达到减少计算量、提高计算效率的目的。     

Synthesis of monticellite–forsterite and merwinite–forsterite symplectites in the CaO–MgO–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> model system: influence of temperature and water content on microstructure evolution

Homogeneous single crystals of synthetic monticellite with the composition \({\text{Ca}}_{0.88}{\text{Mg}}_{1.12}{\text{SiO}}_4\) (Mtc I) were annealed in a piston-cylinder apparatus at temperatures between 1000 and \(1200\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\), pressures of 1.0–1.4 GPa, for run durations from 10 min to 24 h and applying bulk water contents ranging from 0.0 to 0.5 wt% of the total charge. At these conditions, Mtc I breaks down to a fine-grained, symplectic intergrowth. Thereby, two types of symplectites are produced: a first symplectite type (Sy I) is represented by an aggregate of rod-shaped forsterite immersed in a matrix of monticellite with end-member composition (Mtc II), and a second symplectite type (Sy II) takes the form of a lamellar merwinite–forsterite intergrowth. Both symplectites may form simultaneously, where the formation of Sy I is favoured by the presence of water. Sy I is metastable with respect to Sy II and is successively replaced by the latter. For both symplectite types, the characteristic spacing of the symplectite phases is independent of run duration and is only weeakly influenced by the water content, but it is strongly temperature dependent. It varies from about 400 nm at \(1000\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) to 1200 nm at \(1100\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) in Sy I, and from 300 nm at \(1000\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) to 700 nm at \(1200\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) in Sy II. A thermodynamic analysis reveals that the temperature dependence of the characteristic spacing of the symplectite phases is due to a relatively high activation energy for chemical segregation by diffusion within the reaction front as compared to the activation energy for interface reactions at the reaction front. The temperature dependence of the characteristic lamellar spacing and the temperature-time dependence of overall reaction progress have potential for applications in geo-thermometry and geo-speedometry.