Molecules of Non-Photospheric Origin in Red Giants and Supergiants Revealed by the ISO SWS

Overall SEDs based on ISO SWS observations show fair agreement with photospheric model predictions for red (super)giant stars. However, some details of molecular spectra cannot be explained by a photospheric origin. In particular, fine structure in the H2O 2.7 μm band can be clearly resolved by the SWS and is identified in an early M giant, whose photosphere will never produce H2O. This is definite evidence for H2O of non-photospheric origin in an early M giant. Also, the observed H2O and CO2 bands in a late M giant are too strong to be explained by a photospheric origin alone. Further, the H2O 2.7 μm band is found in four early M supergiants in the h + χ Persei clusters (three of which show UIRs) and is especially strong in the M4 supergiant S Per (which also shows a highly peculiar SED). Thus, against a belief that H2O is found only in the latest M giants such as Miras, the SWS has revealed the presence of H2O in a wider region of the HR diagram. The origin of this H2O is unknown but is probably in a non-photospheric extra envelope. Such a H2O envelope appears to be a general feature through early M (super)giants to cool supergiants such as S Per, where the envelope has finally developed to be optically thick. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Rare gases in a phlogopite nodule and a phlogopite-bearing peridotite in South African kimberlites

Rare gas isotopes in a phlogopite nodule and a phlogopite-bearing peridotite nodule in South African kimberlites were studied to examine the state of rare gases in the deep interior of the kimberlite region.Within the experimental error of 1 ～ 2%, rare gas isotopic compositions are atmospheric except for radiogenic⁴He and⁴⁰Ar. No excess¹²⁹Xe was observed.In phlogopite, Ne is more depleted, whereas the heavier rare gases are more enriched than the atmospheric rare gases relative to³⁶Ar.Together with other data these results suggest that the state of rare gases in the upper mantle of the South African kimberlite region might have been changed from the typical primitive mantle by a process such as mixing of crustal materials.     

Fluorine geochemistry of basaltic rocks from continental and oceanic regions and petrogenetic application

Fluorine contents in about 300 samples of various types of basalts and related rocks from continental (southwestern U.S.A.; Zaire; Deccan and South Africa) and oceanic regions (Hawaii and Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 23° N and 40° N) were determined by a selective ion-electrode method.Of all of the major components in these basaltic rocks, F shows good correlation only with K₂O. It increases regularly from tholeiite to perpotassic basalt on continents, and from tholeiite to nephelinite on Hawaii. In the F-K₂O diagram all the basaltic rocks from continents and Hawaii plot between the origin of the coordinate axes and the field of phlogopite in peridotite xenoliths in South African kimberlites. Accordingly, the major proportions of F, K₂O and also H₂O in these basaltic magmas are derived from phlogopite at the source regions in the upper mantle. On the other hand, F in abyssal tholeiites is relatively higher than that of the other tholeiites at equal K₂O content, and it is suggested that most of F, K₂O and H₂O are derived from pargasites.When it is assumed that the upper mantle phlogopite contains about 10% K₂O, 0.4% (0.3–0.5%) F and 4% H₂O, H₂O content in basaltic magmas from continental including island arc and oceanic island regions can be qualitatively estimated based on their proportions of K₂OFH₂O. Similarly, H₂O content in abyssal basaltic rocks is also estimated on the basis of FH₂O in pargasites (Table 2).A suite of Deccan tholeiites shows remarkable F enrichment with increasing K₂O due to separation of anhydrous and K-free minerals during fractionation. F in tholeiitic and alkali basalt magmas in Hawaii also increases regularly with K₂O during progressive fractionation until the later stages, where rhyodacite and trachyte exhibit a relative decrease owing to the effective subtraction of F-bearing amphibole and apatite in addition to anhydrous minerals.     

Some clinopyroxenes from ultramafic inclusions in Dreiser Weiher,Eifel

Eight clinopyroxenes from wehrlites and clinopyroxenites and three clinopyroxenes of crystal lapilli in tuff of Dreiser Weiher in Eifel, Germany, have been separated and chemically analysed. One hornblende and two phlogopites from a wehrlite and clinopyroxenites have also been analysed. The rocks enclosing these inclusions are alkali basalts of basanite composition. The analysed clinopyroxenes contain considerable amounts of Al₂O₃ (3.87–10.84 wt%). The calculated Tschermak's component ranges from 5.9 to 18.4 mol per cent. All of the analysed clinopyroxenes are clearly different from chromian diopsides in lherzolite inclusions in basaltic rocks in Dreiser Weiher and other localities; the former has higher contents of total FeO, CaO and TiO₂ and lower contents of MgO and Cr₂O₃ than the latter. Two clinopyroxenes separated from apatite-bearing clinopyroxenites show high contents of Fe₂O₃ with about 2 per cent of Na₂O, indicating the presence of considerable amounts of acmite component in addition to Tschermak's component. The relative proportions of Al in the tetrahedral site and that in the octahedral site in the analysed clinopyroxenes are clearly different from those of the common igneous clinopyroxenes and eclogites, and similar to those of the clinopyroxenes from other inclusions in basaltic rocks and granulites. It is suggested that all the analysed clinopyroxenes and their host inclusions have crystallized from alkali basalt magmas in relatively deep levels of the continental crust.     

Clay minerals in the deep-sea cores from the North Pacific

Clay minerals in the <2 fraction of the four deep-sea cores collected from the northeast and central North Pacific are studied. In the surface layers of the cores, illite is more dominant in the pelagic samples than in the near-shore ones, and montmorillonite is vice versa. Chlorite in the near-shore sample is relatively abundant in the areas of higher latitude than in those of lower latitude. Kaolinite content is less than 10 percent in all samples. The presence of particles of amphibole in the clay-size was confirmed by X-ray analysis in the whole of the core-st. 18 taken from the northeastern portion of the area. This fact suggests that, for a long time probably since the Tertiary age, particles of amphibole have been supplied from source areas. In the three cores except the core-st. 18 it is shown that montmorillonite clearly increases downward. It is suggested that montmorillonite has been derived from volcanic glassy material by a diagenetic change. Montmorillonite in the bottom layer (400–405 cm) of the core-st. 9 is particularly rich in iron.     

Aeolian dust experiment on climate impact: An overview of Japan–China joint project ADEC

The Aeolian Dust Experiment on Climate Impact (ADEC) was initiated in April 2000 as a joint five-year Japan–China project. The goal was to understand the impact of aeolian dust on climate via radiative forcing (RF). Field experiments and numerical simulations were conducted from the source regions in northwestern China to the downwind region in Japan in order to understand wind erosion processes temporal and spatial distribution of dust during their long-range transportation chemical, physical, and optical properties of dust and the direct effect of radiative forcing due to dust. For this, three intensive observation periods (IOP) were conducted from April 2002 to April 2004.The in situ and network observation results are summarized as follows: (1) In situ observations of the wind erosion process revealed that the vertical profile of moving sand has a clear size dependency with height and saltation flux and that threshold wind velocity is dependent on soil moisture. Results also demonstrated that saltation flux is strongly dependent on the parent soil size distribution of the desert surface. (2) Both lidar observations and model simulations revealed a multiple dust layer in East Asia. A numerical simulation of a chemical transport model, CFORS, illustrated the elevated dust layer from the Taklimakan Desert and the lower dust layer from the Gobi Desert. The global-scale dust model, MASINGAR, also simulated the dust layer in the middle to upper free troposphere in East Asia, which originated from North Africa and the Middle East during a dust storm in March 2003. Raman lidar observations at Tsukuba, Japan, found the ice cloud associated with the dust layer at an altitude of 6 to 9 km. Analysis from lidar and the radio-sonde observation suggested that the Asian dust acted as ice nuclei at the ice-saturated region. These results suggest the importance of dust's climate impact via the indirect effect of radiative forcing due to the activation of dust into ice nuclei. (3) Studies on the aerosol concentration indicated that size distributions of aerosols in downwind regions have bimodal peaks. One peak was in the submicron range and the other in the supermicron range. The main soluble components of the supermicron peak were Na⁺, Ca²⁺, NO₃⁻, and Cl⁻. In the downwind region in Japan, the dust, sea salt, and a mixture of the two were found to be dominant in coarse particles in the mixed boundary layer. (4) Observation of the optical properties of dust by sky-radiometer, particle shoot absorption photometer (PSAP), and Nephelometer indicated that unpolluted dust at source region has a weaker absorption than originally believed.A sensitivity experiment of direct RF by dust indicated that single scattering albedo is the most important of the optical properties of dust and that the sensitivity of instantaneous RF in the shortwave region at the top of the atmosphere to the refractive index strongly depends on surface albedo. A global scale dust model, MASINGAR, was used for evaluation of direct RF due to dust. The results indicated the global mean RF at the top and the bottom of the atmosphere were − 0.46 and − 2.13 W m^− 2 with cloud and were almost half of the RF with cloud-free condition.     

Transmission and reflection of the Rossby waves in a stratified ocean with bottom topography

Transmission and reflection coefficients are calculated for Rossby waves incident on a bottom topography with constant slope in a continuously stratified ocean. The characteristics of the coefficients are interpreted in terms of the quasigeostrophic waves on the slope. In the parameter range where only the barotropic Rossby waves can propagate in the region outside the slope, the bottom trapped wave plays the same role as the topographic Rossby wave in a homogeneous ocean, and hence the transmission is weak unless phase matching takes place. When both of the barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves can propagate outside the slope, the total transmission can be strong. The bottom trapped wave affects the transmission and reflection, and it leads to the possibility that the Rossby wave is transmitted as a mode different from the incident mode. When the number of the wavy modes on the slope is smaller than that of the Rossby wave modes outside the slope, strong reflection occurs.The results for an ocean with linear distribution of the squared Brunt-Väisälä frequency are compared to those in a uniformly stratified ocean. The weakening of the stratification near the bottom is almost equivalent to reducing the effect of the slope.     

Pyroxenes from lherzolite inclusions of Itinome-gata,Japan

The lherzolites have recrystallized to plagioclase lherzolites consisting of olvine, pyroxenes, chromian spinel, plagioclase and pargasite at a depth of 20 to 25 km in the uppermost part of the mantle. It is believed that the garnet lherzolites and spinel lherzolites were originally derived from depths of 50–75 km and 30–50 km respectively. The clinopyroxenes contained about 10 mol. % of jadeite and Tschermak's molecules, respectively and the orthopyroxenes also included about 5–10% of Tschermak's component. Transported upward, the garnet was transformed through pyroxene-spinel symplectite to olivine, plagioclase and spinel aggregates, and most of the jadeite amd some Tschermak's components in the pyroxenes formed secondary pyroxenes and pargasite, and finally plagioclase under isochemical conditions.     

Formation of density inhomogeneity in laser produced plasmas for?a?test bed of magnetic field amplification in supernova remnants

Density inhomogeneities for a test bed of magnetic field amplification in supernova remnants (SNRs) were created in laser produced plasmas. The density inhomogeneity is considered to be essential to the large magnetic field amplification to account for the very fast cosmic ray acceleration. In order to model the density variations about an order of magnitude in an interstellar medium, we performed three types of experiments using a high-power laser system: (1) irradiating a plastic (CH) plane with a single focal spot beams, (2) the same target with spatial separation of laser focal spots, and (3) irradiating a striped target of thin and thick CH plane. By irradiating a CH plane target with a single focal spot laser beams, a plasma plume was produced with the large density range. On the other hand, when the several laser beams with displacements of the focal spots, bumpy structures of electron density were produced. Making thin stripes on a CH plane target, density and velocity inhomogeneities were produced by irradiating the striped target with the laser beams. In the all methods the density variations were very large, which can be used for a model experiment of the magnetic field amplification.     

Petrology of kaersutite-bearing ultramafic and mafic inclusions in Iki Island,Japan

Kaersutite-bearing peridotite, clinopyroxenite, gabbro and hornblendite inclusions up to 5 cm in size and megacrysts of kaersutite, andesine and titanomagnetite occur in alkali basalt scoria at Takenotsuji, Iki Island, Japan. New analyses are presented for seven kaersutite-bearing basaltic rocks, three inclusions, three clinopyroxenes and six kaersutites.From the petrography and chemistry of the inclusions and recent experimental work at high pressures and temperatures on natural rock systems, it is suggested that kaersutite-bearing inclusions have been produced from alkali basalt magmas under hydrous conditions at a depth of about 25 to 30 km in the lowest part of the crust.