Ejection behavior characteristics in experimental cratering in sandstone targets

Abstract– Within the frame of the MEMIN research unit (Multidisciplinary Experimental and Numerical Impact Research Network), impact experiments on sandstone targets were carried out to systematically study the influence of projectile mass, velocity, and target water saturation on the cratering and ejection processes. The projectiles were accelerated with two‐stage light‐gas guns (Ernst‐Mach‐Institute) onto fine‐grained targets (Seeberger sandstone) with about 23% porosity. Collection of the ejecta on custom‐designed catchers allowed determination of particle shape, size distribution, ejection angle, and microstructures. Mapping of the ejecta imprints on the catcher surface enabled linking of the different patterns to ejection stages observed on high‐speed videos. The increase in projectile mass from 0.067 to 7.1 g correlates with an increase in the total ejected mass; ejecta angles, however, are similar in range for all experiments. The increase in projectile velocity from 2.5 to 5.1 km s^?1 correlates with a total ejecta mass increase as well as in an increase in comminution efficiency, and a widening of the ejecta cone. A higher degree of water saturation of the target yields an increase in total ejecta mass up to 400% with respect to dry targets, higher ejecta velocity, and a steeper cone. These data, in turn, suggest that the reduced impedance contrast between the quartz grains of the target and the pores plays a primary role in the ejecta mass increase, while vaporization of water determines the ejecta behavior concerning ejecta velocity and particle distribution.     

World space observatory-ultraviolet among UV missions of the coming years

Continuous access to the UV domain has been considered of importance to astrophysicists and planetary scientists since the mid-sixties. However, the future of UV missions for the post-HST era is believed by a significant part of astronomical community to be less encouraging. We argue that key science problems of the coming years will require further development of UV observational technologies. Among these hot astrophysical issues are: the search for missing baryons, revealing the nature of astronomical engines, properties of atmospheres of exoplanets as well as of the planets of the Solar System etc. We give a brief review of UV-missions both in the past and in the future. We conclude that UV astronomy has a great future but the epoch of very large and efficient space UV facilities seems to be a prospect for the next decades. As to the current state of the UV instrumentation we think that this decade will be dominated by the HST and coming World Space Observatory-Ultraviolet (WSO-UV) with a 1.7 m UV-telescope onboard. The international WSO-UV mission is briefly described. It will allow high resolution/high sensitivity imaging and high/low resolution spectroscopy from the middle of the decade.     

Geochemical characteristics and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope compositions of mantle xenoliths and host basalts from Assab, Eritrea: implications for the composition and thermal structure of the lithosphere beneath the Afar Depression

The Afar Depression offers a rare opportunity to study the geodynamic evolution of a rift system from continental rifting to sea floor spreading. This study presents geochemical data for crustal and mantle xenoliths and their alkaline host basalts from the region. The basalts have enriched REE patterns, OIB-like trace element characteristics, and a limited range in isotopic composition (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70336–0.70356, ε _Nd = +6.6 to +7.0, and ε _Hf = +10.0 to +10.7). In terms of trace elements and Sr–Nd isotopes, they are similar to basalts from the Hanish and Zubair islands in the southern Red Sea and are thus interpreted to be melts from the Afar mantle. The gabbroic crustal xenoliths vary widely in isotope composition (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70437–0.70791, ε _Nd = −8.1 to +2.5, and ε _Hf = −10.5 to +4.9), and their trace element characteristics match those of Neoproterozoic rocks from the Arabian–Nubian Shield and modern arc rocks, suggesting that the lower crust beneath the Afar Depression contains Neoproterozoic mafic igneous rocks. Ultramafic mantle xenoliths from Assab contain primary assemblages of fresh ol + opx + cpx + sp ± pl, with no alteration or hydrous minerals. They equilibrated at 870–1,040°C and follow a steep geothermal gradient consistent with the tectonic environment of the Afar Depression. The systematic variations in major and trace elements among the Assab mantle xenoliths together with their isotopic compositions suggest that these rocks are not mantle residues but rather series of layered cumulate sills that crystallized from a relatively enriched picritic melt related to the Afar plume that was emplaced before the eruption of the host basalts.     

Age constraints on faulting and fault reactivation: a multi-chronological approach

Movement within the Earth’s upper crust is commonly accommodated by faults or shear zones, ranging in scale from micro-displacements to regional tectonic lineaments. Since faults are active on different time scales and can be repeatedly reactivated, their displacement chronology is difficult to reconstruct. This study represents a multi-geochronological approach to unravel the evolution of an intracontinental fault zone locality along the Danube Fault, central Europe. At the investigated fault locality, ancient motion has produced a cataclastic deformation zone in which the cataclastic material was subjected to hydrothermal alteration and K-feldspar was almost completely replaced by illite and other phyllosilicates. Five different geochronological techniques (zircon Pb-evaporation, K–Ar and Rb–Sr illite, apatite fission track and fluorite (U-Th)/He) have been applied to explore the temporal fault activity. The upper time limit for initiation of faulting is constrained by the crystallization age of the primary rock type (known as “Kristallgranit”) at 325 ± 7 Ma, whereas the K–Ar and Rb–Sr ages of two illite fractions <2 μm (266–255 Ma) are interpreted to date fluid infiltration events during the final stage of the cataclastic deformation period. During this time, the “Kristallgranit” was already at or near the Earth’s surface as indicated by the sedimentary record and thermal modelling results of apatite fission track data. (U–Th)/He thermochronology of two single fluorite grains from a fluorite–quartz vein within the fault zone yield Cretaceous ages that clearly postdate their Late-Variscan mineralization age. We propose that later reactivation of the fault caused loss of helium in the fluorites. This assertion is supported by geological evidence, i.e. offsets of Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments along the fault and apatite fission track thermal modelling results are consistent with the prevalence of elevated temperatures (50–80°C) in the fault zone during the Cretaceous.     

GGR Biennial Review: Reference Materials in Geoanalytical and Environmental Research – Review for 2008 and 2009

This review gives an overview of the literature on reference materials of geochemical and environmental interest for the two-year period 2008–2009. Reference materials play an increasingly important role in all fields of geoanalytical research. This is demonstrated by the large number of publications containing data on reference materials. Although many reference materials exist, there is still a great need for certified samples, so-called delta zero materials for stable isotopic work and homogeneous microanalytical reference materials. This review focuses on six topics: developments of certification processes of reference materials mainly postulated in ISO guidelines and the IAG protocol, new developments of the GeoReM database, investigations of powdered rock reference materials, Chinese reference materials published in Chinese journals, microanalytical reference materials and isotopic reference materials.     

2002年和2003年夏季波弗特海海冰叶绿素a和小型生物的研究

海冰在极地海洋中是个较为独特的生境,海冰卤道系统中的光照强度、温度、盐度和生存空间随着季节更替发生显著变化[1].春天,在北极新冰和多年冰的底部冰藻旺发,随后浮游植物生产力上升[2,3].     

193nm ArF准分子激光系统对LA-ICP-MS分析中不同基体的剥蚀行为和剥蚀速率探究

探究LA-ICP-MS分析中不同基体的剥蚀行为和剥蚀速率,可为激光参数设定、基体匹配选择、数据质量保证等方面提供重要参考。本文研究了193 nm ArF准分子激光系统对人工合成/地质样品玻璃、常见矿物和粉末压片的剥蚀行为,同时探究了激光参数(束斑直径、能量密度和剥蚀频率)对剥蚀速率的影响情况。从剥蚀坑形貌可知,193nm ArF激光对玻璃和绝大多数矿物的剥蚀行为良好,但对石英相对较差,这可能与石英内含有微观包裹体,剥蚀过程中局部受热不均有关。粉末压片的剥蚀行为呈现出不可控,可通过提高粉末压片的压制压力或降低粉末颗粒的粒径来改善剥蚀行为;当剥蚀深度大于1.5倍束斑直径时,剥蚀速率随剥蚀深度的增加而逐渐减小,剥蚀深度最多可达束斑直径的两倍左右(RESOlution M-50型号激光系统,3.0 J/cm2激光能量密度);剥蚀速率随激光能量密度的增加而增大,但基本不受剥蚀频率(2~20 Hz)影响。不同基体具有特征的剥蚀速率,本文报道了43种基体的剥蚀速率参数,总体而言,NIST系列玻璃的剥蚀速率大于地质样品玻璃,碳酸盐矿物和硫化物矿物大于硅酸岩矿物,粉末压片大于玻璃和常见矿物。     

CGSG系列标准物质元素分馏效应及主量微量元素单元内均匀性探究

探究CGSG系列标准物质(CGSG-1、CGSG-2、CGSG-4、CGSG-5)的元素分馏效应及均匀性问题有助于开展其质量评估和应用推广。本文采用电子探针(EMPA)和激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)研究了CGSG标准物质中的元素分馏效应、主量和微量元素单元内均匀性,并报道了主量和微量元素分析数据。结果表明,在50μm激光束斑下,CGSG系列标准物质的元素分馏效应可忽略不计。EMPA均匀性指数结果显示,CGSG标准物质主量元素的单元内均匀性满足要求;以MPI-DING标准物质为参照,LA-ICP-MS测试CGSG标准物质中的大多数微量元素的单元内均匀性良好。与已报道的数据相比,本文报道的EMPA主量元素数据偏差在2%以内;LA-ICP-MS主量元素数据偏差在5%以内,微量元素数据基本匹配,少数元素由于分析不确定度较大等原因,如Cr、Ge、Cd、As、Tl等与已报道数据偏差较大。总体上,本文报道的分析数据可为CGSG定值数据库提供进一步的补充。     

EAST ASIA SUMMER MONSOON ONSET DATE CALCULATED FROM OBSERVED, REANALYZED AND COMBINED DAILY RAINFALL

In this paper, the East Asia summer monsoon onset date lines in East China are calculated by the definition similar to the traditional one, with the ECMWF reanalyzed 850 hPa daily wind and observed, reana-lyzed and combined daily rainfall during 1980～1993. To make the onset date line as close as possible to the previous work, the earliest onset date limits have to be applied for the regions with different latitude and the daily mean datasets have to be smoothed by space before calculation, therefore their space-resolution is reduced to about 3 longitude ×1°latitude. The results show that the multiyear mean summer monsoon onset date lines are quite similar to each other. Compared with the one from the reanalysis, the 14-year average onset date line form combination is obviously improved in the southern Sichuan Basin and the correlation between observed and combined onset date is also slightly higher over the Huaihe valley and Northeast China. Since daily rainfall combination also improved the long term daily mean and standard deviation through the pentad CMAP, if no better daily dataset is available, such a kind of daily rainfall combination can be used to get reasonable result in the Indian monsoon region without sufficient observatories or over the North Pacific without any ground observation at all in future study.     

On the climate response to zero ozone

Although ozone appears in the Earth’s atmosphere in a small abundance, it plays a key role in the energy balance of the planet through its involvement in radiative processes. Its absorption of solar radiation leads to the temperature increase with height defining the tropopause and the stratosphere. Moreover, excluding water vapor, O₃ is the third most important contributor (after CO₂ and CH₄) to the greenhouse radiative forcing. Thus, the total removal of O₃ content in an Earth-like atmosphere may cause interesting response of the climate system that deserves further investigation. The present paper addresses this issue by means of a global climate model where the atmosphere is coupled with a passive ocean of a given depth. The model, after reaching the statistical equilibrium under present climate conditions, is perturbed by a sudden switch off of the O₃ content. Results obtained for the new equilibrium suggest that the model gets in a colder state mainly because of the water vapor content decrease. Most of the cooling occurs in the Southern Hemisphere while in the Northern Hemisphere the ice cap melts quite consistently. This process appears to be governed by the northward cross-equatorial heat transports induced by changes in the general circulation.