Ozone abundance on Mars from infrared heterodyne spectra: I. Acquisition, retrieval, and anticorrelation with water vapor

Observations of ozone on Mars were made using the Goddard Space Flight Center's Infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer and Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind and Composition at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. Ozone is an important observable tracer of martian photochemistry. Infrared heterodyne spectroscopy with spectral resolution ?¹⁰⁶ is the only technique that directly measures ozone in the martian atmosphere from the surface of the Earth. Ozone column abundances down to the martian surface were acquired in seven data sets taken between 1988 and 2003 at various orbital positions (LS=40°, 74°, 102°, 115°, 202°, 208°, 291°). Ozone abundances are compared with those retrieved using ultraviolet techniques, showing good agreement. Odd hydrogen (HO_X) chemistry predicts anticorrelation of ozone and water vapor abundances. Retrieved ozone abundances consistently show anticorrelation with corresponding water vapor abundances, providing strong confirmation of odd hydrogen activity. Deviation from strict anticorrelation between the observed total column densities of ozone and water vapor suggests that constituent vertical distribution is an additional, significant factor.     

Dynamical Evolution of High Velocity Clouds

HI observations of high-velocity clouds(HVCs) indicate that they are interacting with their ambientmedium. The question on the dynamical and thermal stabilization of a cold dense neutral cloud in a hot, thin, and magnetized ambient halo plasma is investigated by plasma-neutral gas simulations.The simulations show the formation of a comet-likehead-tail structurecombined with a magnetic barrier whichexerts a stabilizing pressure on the cloud and hindershot plasma from diffusing into the cloud.     

Rutile chemistry and thermometry as provenance indicator: An example from Chios Island,Greece

In the present study we focused on detrital rutile separated from 12 psammitic samples that belong to three different sedimentary successions (Carboniferous, Permo-Carboniferous, Permo-Triassic) occurring on Chios Island, Greece. The Ti, Cr, Al, Fe, Nb, Zr, Si, and V contents of the rutiles were obtained by electron-microprobe analyses to trace their provenance.The Cr and Nb concentrations of the analysed rutile grains show a wide range and indicate that this mineral in the Carboniferous succession is mainly derived from metamafic rocks, whereas in the Permo-Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic successions stem from a metapelitic source. The calculated formation temperatures using the Zr-in-rutile thermometer range from ca. 520 to 850 °C with “hotter” rutile being encountered in the Permo-Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic successions. This feature together with the rutile chemistry indicate a change in source-rock lithology through time, which could either reflect an increasing depth of erosion of an exhumed ‘Variscan’ nappe pile of heterogeneous composition in the hinterland or a change in the style of accretion and erosion of different terranes at the southern margin of Laurussia during the subduction of a branch of the Palaeotethys Ocean in the Late Palaeozoic. In general, this study underscores the importance of rutile chemistry and thermometry in quantitative single-mineral provenance analysis and in chemostratigraphic analysis of clastic sedimentary rocks.     

Citizen monitoring during hazards: validation of Fukushima radiation measurements

Citizen-led movements producing scientific hazard data during disasters are increasingly common. After the Japanese earthquake-triggered tsunami in 2011, and the resulting radioactive releases at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants, citizens monitored on-ground levels of radiation with innovative mobile devices built from off-the-shelf components. To date, the citizen-led Safecast project has recorded 50 million radiation measurements worldwide, with the majority of these measurements from Japan. The analysis of data which are multi-dimensional, not vetted, and provided from multiple devices presents big data challenges due to their volume, velocity, variety, and veracity. While the Safecast project produced massive open-source radiation measurements at specific coordinates and times, the reliability and validity of the overall data have not yet been assessed. The nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant provides a case for assessing the Safecast data with official aerial remote sensing radiation data jointly collected by the governments of the United States and Japan. This study spatially analyzes and statistically compares the citizen-volunteered and government-generated radiation data. An assessment of the Safecast dataset requires several preprocessing steps. First, it was necessary to convert the data from the Safecast ionized radiation sensors since they were collected using different units of measure than the government data. Secondly, the normally occurring radiation and decay rates of cesium from deposition surveys were used to properly compare measurements in space and time. Finally, the GPS located points were selected within overlapping extents at multiple spatial resolutions. Quantitative measures were used to assess the similarity and differences in the observed measurements. Radiation measurements from the same geographic extents show similar spatial variations and statistically significant correlations. The results suggest that? actionable scientific data for disasters and emergencies can be inferred from non-traditional and not vetted data generated through citizen science projects. This project provides a methodology for comparing datasets of radiological measurements over time and space. Integrating data for assessment from different Earth sensing systems is paramount for societal and environmental problems.     

Modeling the multi-level plumbing system of the Changbaishan caldera from geochemical,mineralogical, Sr-Nd isotopic and integrated geophysical data

Changbaishan, an intraplate volcano, is characterized by an approximately 6 km wide summit caldera and last erupted in 1903. Changbaishan experienced a period of unrest between 2002 and 2006. The activity developed in three main stages, including shield volcano(basalts), cone-construction(trachyandesites to trachytes with minor basalts), and caldera-forming stages(trachytes to comendites). This last stage is associated with one of the more energetic eruptions of the last millennium on Earth, the 946 CE, VEI 7 Millennium Eruption(ME),which emitted over 100 km3 of pyroclastics. Compared to other active calderas, the plumbing system of Changbaishan and its evolution mechanisms remain poorly constrained. Here, we merge new whole-rock,glass, mineral, isotopic, and geobarometry data with geophysical data and present a model of the plumbing system. The results show that the volcano is characterized by at least three main magma reservoirs at different depths: a basaltic reservoir at the Moho/lower crust depth, an intermediate reservoir at 10–15 km depth, and a shallower reservoir at 0.5–3 km depth. The shallower reservoir was involved in the ME eruption, which was triggered by a fresh trachytic melt entering a shallower reservoir where a comenditic magma was stored. The trachytes and comendites originate from fractional crystallization processes and minor assimilation of upper crust material, while the less evolved melts assimilate lower crust material. Syn-eruptive magma mingling occurred during the ME eruption phase. The magma reservoirs of the caldera-forming stage partly reactivate those of the cone-construction stage. The depth of the magma storage zones is controlled by the layering of the crust.The plumbing system of Changbaishan is vertically extensive, with crystal mush reservoirs renewed by the replenishment of new trachytic to trachyandesitic magma from depth. Unlike other volcanoes, evidence of a basaltic recharge is lacking. The interpretation of the signals preceding possible future eruptions should consider the multi-level nature of the Changbaishan plumbing system. A new arrival of magma may destabilize a part of or the entire system, thus triggering eruptions of different sizes and styles. The reference model proposed here for Changbaishan represents a prerequisite to properly understand periods of unrest to potentially anticipate future volcanic eruptions and to identify the mechanisms controlling the evolution of the crust below volcanoes.     

Pattern‐process relationships in surface hydrology: hydrological connectivity expressed in landscape metrics

The degree of hydrological connectivity is mainly determined by the spatial organisation of heterogeneity. A meaningful and aggregate abstraction of spatial patterns is one of the promising means to gain fundamental insights into this complex interaction and can, moreover, be used as a tool to acquire a profound understanding of the major controls of catchment hydrology. In order to disclose such controls, pattern‐process relationships and the explanatory power of landscape metrics were tested by simulating the runoff of differently patterned virtual basins, generated by neutral landscape models and fractal networks and solved by a surface hydrological model composed of kinematic wave routing and Green‐Ampt infiltration. A total of 23 landscape metrics quantified the spatial patterns and were subsequently related to the functional connectivity, assessed as the proportion of internal runoff generation constituting the hydrological response at the outlet. Landscape metrics allowed the identification of dominant features of heterogeneity that explained the observed connectivity, and to disclose changes in control with class abundance. Therefore, landscape metrics are a useful tool for basin comparison and classification in terms of the dominant processes and the corresponding model structure requirements. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dependence of clinopyroxene composition on cooling rate in basaltic magmas: Implications for thermobarometry

The compositional variation of clinopyroxene and the partitioning of major elements between clinopyroxene and melt are estimated as a function of the cooling rate. Clinopyroxenes were crystallized under variable cooling regimes (15, 9.4, 3, 2.1, and 0.5 °C/min from 1250 down to 1000 °C) and at isothermal conditions of 1000 °C from a basaltic composition at a pressure of 500 MPa under anhydrous and hydrous (H₂O = 1.3 wt.%) conditions. The clinopyroxene chemistry shows that, as the cooling rate increases, crystals are progressively depleted in Ca, Mg, Fe²⁺ and Si and enriched in Na, Fe³⁺, Al (mainly Al^IV), and Ti. Di and Hd versus CaTs and CaFeTs form a continuous binary solid solution characterized by higher amounts of tschermakitic components with increasing cooling rate. Two parameters (DH = Di + Hd and TE = CaTs + CaFeTs + En) are calculated to describe the effect of cooling rate on the clinopyroxene composition. The variation of DH/TE with increasing cooling rate evidences the kinetic process induced by rapid cooling in basic rocks under hydrous and anhydrous conditions.Dynamic crystallization conditions affect the partitioning of major elements between clinopyroxene and melt; with increasing cooling rate, the value of crystal–melt partition coefficient departs from that obtained at the isothermal condition. However, in spite of these variations, the values of ^cpx–meltKd_Fe–Mg remain almost constant. Therefore, the Fe²–Mg exchange between clinopyroxene and melt is not suitable to prove the (dis)equilibrium conditions in basaltic cooling magmas, giving rise to possible mismatches in the application of thermobarometers. The results of our study are consistent with that observed at the margin of dikes or in the exterior portions of lavas, where the cooling rate is maximized and disequilibrium compositions of clinopyroxene have been found.     

Is there a possibility to correct fossil n-alkane data for postsedimentary alteration effects?

The long chain n-alkane composition of plant material can significantly differ between plant groups e.g. trees and grasses. Due to their relative recalcitrance, they have been employed in paleoecological research as molecular proxies for different types of vegetation. Most of those paleoenvironmental studies rely on the assumption that characteristic molecular fingerprints of plant material are preserved in the fossil organic material without significant alteration. However, there exists evidence that n-alkane distributions may change in the course of plant litter degradation. Here, the authors propose and discuss a conceptual approach to the correction of n-alkane patterns in paleosols and terrestrial sediments for postsedimentary alteration effects. This might have potential to improve paleoenvironmental reconstructions derived from these molecular fossils. In soil depth profiles typically a correlation between the OEP (odd over even predominance) and paleoecological valuable long-chain n-alkane ratios (LARs) can be found. Similar relationships have been also obtained from n-alkane records in paleosols. With the OEP serving as a proxy of microbial reworking, the correction procedure applies OEP vs. LAR regression functions to correct fossil LARs for degradation effects. The regression functions have been derived from modern soils. The application of the procedure and its significance for paleoecological interpretations is demonstrated on a case study of a loess-paleosol sequence (∼400–700 ka) in Romania. It is shown that changes in the C27/C31 n-alkane ratio at this site are closely related to degradation effects rather than to changes in the paleovegetation (e.g. tree vs. grass abundance). However, it was found that the C29/C31 ratio is a more suitable paleoenvironmental proxy at the Mircea Voda site. The results indicate that there is a future potential to correct fossil n-alkane ratios via the OEP/LAR relationship, however at the moment a general straight forward application of this approach might be critical due to lack of extended and diverse n-alkane records from modern soils. The need of more systematic n-alkane studies on soil profiles is highlighted to improve knowledge concerning dynamics and actual mechanisms of postsedimentary LAR and OEP changes.