Mass Spectrometric Isotope Dilution Analyses Of Barium in Geochemical Reference Samples

Twenty-four geochemical reference samples have been analysed far barium using the stable isotope dilution technique. These include five CRPG, ten ANRT, six Nimroc and two CCRMP samples together with the Tonalite from Tanzania, Duplicate analyses have been made in each case and our values for barium are believed to be accurate to approximately 3 %. In general, our results are in good agreement with the published data except for Nimroc samples where our data are consistently lower than the presently accepted values. No evidence of sample inhomogeneities was observed in the present work.     

Mössbauer study of Meridiani Planum,the first iron‐nickel meteorite found on the surface of Mars by the MER Opportunity

Abstract— –Meridiani Planum is the first iron meteorite found on Mars. It was discovered in 2005 by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (MER‐B). Mössbauer spectra (MS) of the unbrushed and brushed meteorite species were acquired in 10 degrees temperature windows in the range of 210–260 K. Earlier examinations of these MS have led to the conclusion that the meteorite, which contains ～～7 wt% Ni, belongs to the IAB meteorite group. Here, making use of a recently developed calibration/folding procedure for MER MS, we report the results of the MS analyses for the single temperature windows m5 (210–220 K), m6 (220–230 K), m7 (230–240 K), and m89 (240–260 K). All spectra consist of a sextet and a ferric doublet. The hyperfine field of the sextet, extrapolated to room temperature, is ～～34.5 T, which is, based on Mössbauer studies of meteorites found on Earth, indeed consistent with the presence of kamacite. The fractional spectral area of the sextet is ～～0.96 of the total spectrum. The ferric doublet has an average quadrupole splitting of 0.70 mm/s and is not diagnostic of any specific Fe mineral.     

Environmental correlates of large-scale spatial variation in the δ13C of marine animals

Carbon stable isotopes can be used to trace the sources of energy supporting food chains and to estimate the contribution of different sources to a consumer's diet. However, the δ¹³C signature of a consumer is not sufficient to infer source without an appropriate isotopic baseline, because there is no way to determine if differences in consumer δ¹³C reflect source changes or baseline variation. Describing isotopic baselines is a considerable challenge when applying stable isotope techniques at large spatial scales and/or to interconnected food chains in open marine environments. One approach is to use filter-feeding consumers to integrate the high frequency and small-scale variation in the isotopic signature of phytoplankton and provide a surrogate baseline, but it can be difficult to sample a single consumer species at large spatial scales owing to rarity and/or discontinuous distribution. Here, we use the isotopic signature of a widely distributed filter-feeder (the queen scallop Aequipecten opercularis) in the north-eastern Atlantic to develop a model linking base δ¹³C to environmental variables. Remarkably, a single variable model based on bottom temperature has good predictive power and predicts scallop δ¹³C with mean error of only 0.6‰ (3%). When the model was used to predict an isotopic baseline in parts of the overall study region where scallop were not consistently sampled, the model accounted for 76% and 79% of the large-scale spatial variability (10¹–10⁴ km) of the δ¹³C of two fish species (dab Limanda limanda and whiting Merlangus merlangius) and 44% of the δ¹³C variability in a mixed fish community. The results show that source studies would be significantly biased if a single baseline were applied to food webs at larger scales. Further, when baseline δ¹³C cannot be directly measured, a calculated baseline value can eliminate a large proportion of the unexplained variation in δ¹³C at higher trophic levels.     

P–T–t evolution and textural evidence for decompression of Pan-African high-pressure granulites, Lurio Belt, north-eastern Mozambique

Pan‐African high‐pressure granulites occur as boudins and layers in the Lurio Belt in north‐eastern Mozambique, eastern Africa. Mafic granulites contain the mineral assemblage garnet + clinopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz ± magnesiohastingsite. Garnet porphyroblasts are zoned with increasing almandine and spessartine contents and decreasing grossular and pyrope contents from core (Alm₄₆Prp₃₂Grs₂₁Sps₂) to rim (Alm₅₂Prp₂₆Grs₁₉Sps₃). This pattern is interpreted as a retrograde diffusion zoning with the preserved core chemistry representing the peak metamorphic composition. Mineral reaction textures occur in the form of monomineralic and composite plagioclase ± orthopyroxene ± amphibole ± biotite ± magnetite coronas around garnet porphyroblasts. Thermobarometry indicates peak metamorphic conditions of up to 1.57 ± 0.14 GPa and 949 ± 92 °C (stage I), corresponding to crustal depths of ～55 km. Zircon yielded an U–Pb age of 557 ± 16 Ma, inferred to date crystallization of zircon during peak or immediately post‐peak metamorphism. Formation of plagioclase + orthopyroxene‐bearing coronas surrounding garnet indicates a near‐isothermal decompression of the high‐pressure granulites to lower pressure granulite facies conditions (stage II). Development of plagioclase + amphibole‐coronas enclosing the same garnet porphyroblasts shows subsequent cooling into amphibolite facies conditions (stage III). Symplectitic textures of the corona assemblages indicate rapid decompression. The high‐pressure granulite facies metamorphism of the Lurio Belt, followed by near‐isothermal decompression and subsequent cooling, is in accordance with a long‐lived tectonic history accompanied by high magmatic activity in the Lurio Belt during the late Neoproterozoic–early Palaeozoic East‐African–Antarctic orogeny.     

孟加拉湾超级风暴费林对西藏强降水的影响分析

利用NCEP/NCAR(2.5°×2.5°)再分析资料和常规、非常规观测资料,通过环境场和中尺度特征较全面细致地分析了孟加拉湾风暴费林（Phailin）对西藏特大暴雪的影响。研究表明：“费林”对强降水的影响主要是登陆减弱为低压后,低压云系分两个阶段形成三个中尺度对流云团,对流云团在南支槽的作用下上高原。而强降水的发生和南风风速的大小有直接的对应关系,西南低空急流建立后西藏南部才出现强降水,而低空急流的建立是靠南支槽的贡献。南风风速和强降水的这一重要关系为此类天气提供了预报着眼点。     

Analysis of Cassini/CIRS limb spectra of Titan acquired during the nominal mission II: Aerosol extinction profiles in the 600–1420 cm spectral range

We have analyzed the continuum emission of limb spectra acquired by the Cassini/CIRS infrared spectrometer in order to derive information on haze extinction in the 3–0.02 mbar range (∼150–350 km). We focused on the 600–1420 cm⁻¹ spectral range and studied nine different limb observations acquired during the Cassini nominal mission at 55°S, 20°S, 5°N, 30°N, 40°N, 45°N, 55°N, 70°N and 80°N. By means of an inversion algorithm solving the radiative transfer equation, we derived the vertical profiles of haze extinction coefficients from 17 spectral ranges of 20-cm⁻¹ wide at each of the nine latitudes. At a given latitude, all extinction vertical profiles retrieved from various spectral intervals between 600 and 1120 cm⁻¹ display similar vertical slopes implying similar spectral characteristics of the material at all altitudes. We calculated a mean vertical extinction profile for each latitude and derived the ratio of the haze scale height (H_haze) to the pressure scale height (H_gas) as a function of altitude. We inferred H_haze/H_gas values varying from 0.8 to 2.4. The aerosol scale height varies with altitude and also with latitude. Overall, the haze extinction does not show strong latitudinal variations but, at 1 mbar, an increase by a factor of 1.5 is observed at the north pole compared to high southern latitudes. The vertical optical depths at 0.5 and 1.7 mbar increase from 55°S to 5°N, remain constant between 5°N and 30°N and display little variation at higher latitudes, except the presence of a slight local maximum at 45°N. The spectral dependence of the haze vertical optical depth is uniform with latitude and displays three main spectral features centered at 630 cm⁻¹, 745 cm⁻¹ and 1390 cm⁻¹, the latter showing a wide tail extending down to ∼1000 cm⁻¹. From 600 to 750 cm⁻¹, the optical depth increases by a factor of 3 in contrast with the absorbance of laboratory tholins, which is generally constant. We derived the mass mixing ratio profiles of haze at the nine latitudes. Below the 0.4-mbar level all mass mixing ratio profiles increase with height. Above this pressure level, the profiles at 40°N, 45°N, 55°N, at the edge of the polar vortex, display a decrease-with-height whereas the other profiles increase. The global increase with height of the haze mass mixing ratio suggest a source at high altitudes and a sink at low altitudes. An enrichment of haze is observed at 0.1 mbar around the equator, which could be due to a more efficient photochemistry because of the strongest insolation there or an accumulation of haze due to a balance between sedimentation and upward vertical drag.     

Titan trace gaseous composition from CIRS at the end of the Cassini-Huygens prime mission

This paper reports on the results from an extensive study of all nadir-looking spectra acquired by Cassini/CIRS during the 44 flybys performed in the course of the nominal mission (2004-2008). With respect to the previous study (Coustenis, A., and 24 colleagues [2007]. Icarus 189, 35-62, on flybys TB-T10) we present here a significantly richer dataset with, in particular, more data at high northern and southern latitudes so that the abundances inferred here at these regions are more reliable. Our enhanced high-resolution dataset allows us to infer more precisely the chemical composition of Titan all over the disk. We also include improved spectroscopic data for some molecules and updated temperature profiles. The latitudinal distributions of all of the gaseous species are inferred. We furthermore test vertical distributions essentially for acetylene (C₂H₂) from CIRS limb-inferred data and from current General Circulation Models for Titan and compare our results on all the gaseous abundances with predictions from 1-D photochemical-radiative models to check the reliability of the chemical reactions and pathways.     

Reconstructing Holocene palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography in Ìsafjarðardjúp,northwest Iceland,from two fjord records overprinted by relative sea‐level and local hydrographic changes

We reconstruct palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography of the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord system from two cores – one from the inner fjord and one near the fjord mouth – while separating the potential overprinting of relative sea‐level (RSL) and local fjord hydrographic changes on these records. The inner fjord core (B997‐339) reflects local fjord hydrography; the outer fjord core (MD99‐2266) reflects the regional oceanic signal. Glacial marine conditions ended at ca. 10 200 cal. a BP, indicated by both ice‐rafted debris records. The other proxy records show spatial and temporal variability within the fjord system. At the inner fjord site (B997‐339) foraminiferal assemblages and the δ¹⁸O record indicate lowered RSL between ca. 10 600 and 8900 cal. a BP and document the onset of fjord water overturning at ca. 8900 cal. a BP, which obscured the climate record. At the fjord mouth (MD99‐2266) mass accumulation rates suggest lowered RSL between ca. 10 200 and 5500 cal. a BP and local freshwater and/or reduced salinities of the Irminger Current water masses affected the δ¹⁸O signal between ca. 10 200 and 7900 cal. a BP. At MD99‐2266, foraminiferal fauna record the Holocene Thermal Maximum between ca. 8000 and 5700 cal. a BP and the onset of modern oceanic circulation at ca. 7000 cal. a BP. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Critical Appraisal of the Global Warming Debate

Major changes are occurring in the global warming debate. Popular alarmist views are giving way to more balanced assessments of the situation. There is now greater emphasis on the lack of consensus among climatologists on fundamental scientific issues related to climate change.