Rock classification by characteristics of aerial gamma-ray measurements

Two approaches are described to classify aerial radiometric data. The first procedure establishes categories that may correspond with recognized lithologic types, and the second method permits samples to be classified as possible U host or source rocks in the context of mineral-deposit models. The study is based on published analytical data for Th, U, and K concentrations in igneous rock samples and on aerial gamma-ray spectrometer data from the Basin and Range region and the Denver NTMS Quadrangle. The latter data were obtained as part of the U.S. Department of Energy National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program. The results for the Basin and Range region are compared with estimates of world abundances for Th, U, and K for various lithologic types.The study demonstrates that radiometric classification of “formation” data and “outcrop” data into lithologic categories can be accomplished in arid regions based on highsensitivity, aerial gamma-ray spectrometer measurements of Th and K. The methods make it practical to use the gamma-ray data to estimate geochemically the degree of regional U enrichment, or depletion, with respect to, Th or K in the search for uraniferous provinces and potential U source or host rocks.     

Petrochemistry of the lavas from proterozoic dalma volcanic belt,Singhbhum, eastern India

The Dalma volcanic belt of the Singhbhum Precambrian terrain in eastern India is developed along the median zone of a linear basin flanked by Archaean cratonic basement to the south. The lavas, in a low grade metamorphic environment, preserve a strong compositional bimodality, with highly magnesian picritic volcanics developed at the base and low-K basalt flows above, constituting the bulk of the lava pile. The ultrabasic lavas have low concentrations of immobile incompatible elements, ratios of which are probably controlled by the source character. Dalma mafic flows are closely comparable in geochemical character to modern day mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORB) with a dominance of light-REE-depleted basalts and ferrobasalts. However, in terms of certain element ratios (Th/Ta), deviation from MORB characteristics toward island arc tholeiites is apparent. In this respect the Dalma basalts appear to have a modified MORB composition and the closest chemical analogy may be basalts from back-arc basins, i. e. a supra-subduction zone environment. The bimodality of ultrabasic and mafic lavas is reminiscent of Archaean komatiitic provinces. The geochemical signature of the Dalma lavas, and the geological framework of the terrain, strongly point to a marginal basin domain developed in this crustal segment during the Proterozoic.

---

Zusammenfassung Der Vulkangürtel von Dalma liegt in der präkambrischen Region Singhbhum in Ostindien. Aufgeschlossen ist der Dalma-Gürtel im mittleren Bereich eines geradlinigen Bekkens, das im Süden durch Basement des Archaikums begrenzt wird. Die Laven befinden sich in einer geringmetamorphen Umgebung und weisen eine bimodale Zusammensetzung auf. An der Basis sind Magnesium-reiche und darüber Kalium-arme Basalte entwickelt, die repräsentativ für den Durchschnitt der Laven sind. Die ultrabasischen Laven enthalten niedrige Konzentrationen an immobilen nicht kompatiblen Elementen, deren Verhältnis wahrscheinlich von den Eigenschaften der Lavaquelle gesteuert wird. Der geochemische Charakter der mafischen Dalma-Vulkanite entspricht weitgehend den heutigen Basalten der ozeanischen Rücken (MORB). Dabei dominieren leicht abgereicherte REE-Basalte sowie eisenreiche Basalte. Vergleicht man allerdings Elementverhältnisse wie das von Th/Ta, wird eine Abweichung von dem typischen MORB-Charakter hin zu Inselbögen-Tholeiten deutlich. Berücksichtigt man diese Beobachtungen, scheinen die Dalma-Basalte eine modifizierte MORB-Zusammensetzung zu haben, die in ihrem Chemismus am ehesten den Basalten von Back-Arc-Becken, z. B. in einem Gebiet einer Supra-Subduktionszone, zu entsprechen. Die Bimodalität der ultrabasischen und mafischen Laven erinnert an archaische komatiitische Regionen. Die geochemische Zusammensetzung der Dalma-Laven sowie der geologische Rahmen des Gebietes deuten auf ein randliches Becken hin, das sich während des Proterozoikums entwickelt haben könnte.

---

Résumé La ceinture volcanique de Dalma, dans le Précambrien de Singhbhum (Inde Orientale) est située dans la partie médiane d'un bassin linéaire bordé au Sud par un socle cratonique archéen. Les laves se trouvent dans un environnement de faible degré de métamorphisme et présentent une composition nettement bimodale: volcanites picritiques très magnésiennes à la base, surmontées de coulées basaltiques pauvres en K, qui constituent l'essentiel de l'ensemble. Les laves ultrabasiques montrent de faibles concentrations en éléments immobiles incompatibles dont les rapports sont probablement déterminés par le caractère de la source. Les coulées basiques de Dalma sont très comparables, dans leurs propriétés géochimiques, aux basaltes récents des rides océaniques (MORB), avec une dominante de basaltes pauvres en terres rares légères et de ferro-basaltes. Toutefois, les rapport de certains éléments (Th/Ta) font apparaître, par rapport au MORB, une déviation vers les tholéiites d'arcs insulaires. A ce point de vue, les basaltes de Dalma montrent une composition de MORB modifée et une analogie avec les basaltes de bassins d'arrière-arc, c'est-à-dire en situation de supra-subduction. La bimodalité laves ultrabasiques/laves basiques est une réminiscence des provinces komatiitiques archéennes. Le signalement géochimiques des laves de Dalma et leur situation géologique plaident en faveur d'un domaine de bassin marginal développé dans ce segment central au cours du Protérozoïque.

---

, . , , . , , . , , . , . : MORB. , . , , .: /, MORB . , , , MORB, , .: . . , , .

     

The PSCz catalogue

We present the catalogue, mask, redshift data and selection function for the PSC z survey of 15 411 IRAS galaxies across 84 per cent of the sky. Most of the IRAS data are taken from the Point Source Catalog, but this has been supplemented and corrected in various ways to improve the completeness and uniformity. We quantify the known imperfections in the catalogue, and we assess the overall uniformity, completeness and data quality. We find that overall the catalogue is complete and uniform to within a few per cent at high latitudes and 10 per cent at low latitudes. Ancillary information, access details, guidelines and caveats for using the catalogue are given.     

Regions of Potential Existence of Free Water (Ice) in the Near-Surface Martian Ground: Results from theMars OdysseyHigh-Energy Neutron Detector (HEND)

We report results of the analysis of the data on global mapping of neutron fluxes from the Martian surface, which have been obtained during the first ten months of measurements carried out by the Russian high-energy neutron detector HEND mounted aboard the AmericanMars Odysseyorbiter. This analysis allowed us to separate regions where free water (in ice form) prevailed in the surface layer (with a thickness of up to 2 m) of the Martian ground from regions where physically and chemically bound ground water was most likely to be the dominant form of water. The global mapping of regions with increased ice content in the ground-surface layer revealed a direct correlation with regions of polygonal terrains morphologically similar to terrestrial polygonal forms of permafrost origin. The potential content of bound water forms in the ground of circumpolar areas of the planet is also estimated.     

Search for Traces of Chemically Bound Water in the Martian Surface Layer Based on HEND Measurements onboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft

Analysis of the distribution of the epithermal and fast neutron fluxes from the Martian surface within the ±60° latitude zone measured by the High-Energy Neutron Detector (HEND) from mid-February through mid-June 2002 has revealed regional neutron-flux variations outside the zones of climatic effects, which appear to be attributable to the presence of chemically bound water. With the exception of the epithermal neutron fluxes in Arabia and southwest of Olympus Mons (Medusae Fossae), these variations show no correlation with the geologic structure of the terrain at the level of global geologic maps. The lack of such a correlation probably implies that to the formation depth of the epithermal neutron flux (1–2 m), let alone the fast neutron flux (20–30 cm), much of Mars is covered by a surface material that bears little relation in composition to local bedrocks. Clearly, this is an aeolian cover whose fine-grain component was mixed by dust storms in the geologic time on the scale of large regions. The decrease in the flux of epithermal neutrons in Arabia and southwest of Olympus Mons (Medusae Fossae) appears to be attributable to an enhanced concentration of materials containing chemically bound water (clay minerals, palagonite, hydroxides, and hydrosalts) in the surface layers of these regions.     

Maximum-likelihood astrometric geometry calibration of interferometric telescopes: application to the Very Small Array

Interferometers require accurate determination of the array configuration in order to produce reliable observations. A method is presented for finding the maximum-likelihood estimate of the telescope geometry, and of other instrumental parameters, astrometrically from the visibility timelines obtained from observations of celestial calibrator sources. The method copes systematically with complicated and unconventional antenna and array geometries, with electronic bandpasses that are different for each antenna radiometer, and with low signal-to-noise ratios for the calibrators. The technique automatically focuses on the geometry errors that are most significant for astronomical observation. We apply this method to observations made with the Very Small Array and constrain some 450 telescope parameters, such as the antenna positions, effective observing frequencies and correlator amplitudes and phaseshifts; this requires only ∼1 h of CPU time on a typical workstation.     

Search for causes of the low epithermal neutron flux anomaly in the Arabia Terra region (Mars)

A geologic analysis of 274 images acquired by the high-resolution MOC camera onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft within the Arabia Terra low neutron flux anomaly (which is indicative of an anomalously high abundance of hydrogen: up to 16 wt % of the equivalent amount of water) was performed. Correlation between the enhanced abundance of equivalent water with the presence of dust on the surface was found. Since dust plays a key role in condensation of water from the atmosphere, we suppose that the anomalies could result from the retention of atmospheric moisture. To analyze this suggestion, we performed a theoretical modeling that allowed us to map the planetary-scale distributions of several meteorological parameters responsible for the atmospheric moisture condensation. Two antipodal regions coinciding rather well with the Arabia Terra anomaly and the geographically antipodal anomaly southwest of Olympus Mons were found in the maps. This suggests that the anomalies are rather recent than ancient formations. They were probably formed by a sink of moisture from the atmosphere in the areas where present meteorological conditions support this sink. Geological parameters, primarily the presence of dust, only promote this process. We cannot exclude the possibility that the Martian cryosphere, rather than the atmosphere, supplied the studied anomalies with moisture during their formation: the thermodynamic conditions in the anomaly areas could block the moisture flux from the Martian interior in the upper regolith layer. The moisture coming from the atmosphere or from the interior is likely held as chemically bound water entering into the structure of water-bearing minerals (probably, hydrated magnesium sulfates) directly from the vapor; or the moisture precipitates as frost, penetrates into microfissures, and then is bound in minerals. Probably, another geologic factor—the magnesium sulfate abundance—works in the Arabia Terra anomaly.