Ocean wave characteristics around New Zealand

Nearly 17 years wave records from deep water and shore‐based stations are used to describe the ocean wave characteristics around New Zealand. The wave environment is dominated by west and southwest swell and storm waves generated in the temperate latitude belt of westerly winds. As a result, the west and south coasts are exposed, high energy shores, the east coast is a high energy lee shore, and the northern coast from North Cape to East Cape is a low energy lee shore sheltered from these winds and waves. South of New Zealand, wave energies are extremely high; the prevailing deep water wave is 3.5–4.5 m high and has a 10–12 s period, with a slight increase in wave heights in winter.

The west coast wave environment is mixed, and consists of locally generated westerly and southerly storm waves, and swell waves generated to the south. The prevailing wave is t.0–3.0 m and 6–8 s period. There are no strong seasonal rhythms, only shorter period cycles of wave height (5 day) associated with similar quasi‐rhythmic cycles in the weather.

The east coast also has a mixed wave climate with southerly swells, originating in the westerlies south of New Zealand, and locally generated southerly and northerly storm waves. The prevailing wave is 0.5–2.0 m and 7–11 s period. A short period rhythmic cycle, similar to that on the west coast, is superimposed on a weak seasonal cycle. The seasonal, cycle results from an increase in the frequency of local northerly waves in summer.

The prevailing wave on the north coast is a northeasterly, 0.5–1.5 m high and 5–7 s period. Subtropical disturbances and southward‐moving depressions generate a mixed wave environment and a possible seasonally reflecting a winter increase in. storminess.     

In situ U–Pb age determination and Nd isotopic analysis of perovskites from kimberlites in southern Africa and Somerset Island,Canada

Determination of the emplacement ages and initial isotopic composition of kimberlite by conventional isotopic methods using bulk rock samples is unreliable as these rocks usually contain diverse clasts of crustal- and mantle-derived materials and can be subject to post-intrusion sub-aerial alteration. In this study, 8 samples from 5 kimberlites in southern Africa and twelve samples from 7 kimberlites from Somerset Island, Canada have been selected for in situ perovskite U–Pb isotopic age determination and Nd isotopic analysis by laser ablation using thin sections and mineral separates. These fresh perovskites occur as primary groundmass minerals with grain-sizes of 10–100 μm. They were formed during the early stage of magmatic crystallization, and record data for the least contaminated or contamination-free kimberlitic magma. U–Pb isotopic data indicate that the majority of the southern Africa kimberlites investigated were emplaced during the Cretaceous with ages of 88 ± 3 to 97 ± 6 Ma, although one sample yielded an Early Paleozoic age of 515 ± 6 Ma. Twelve samples from Somerset Island yielded ages ranging from 93 ± 4 Ma to 108 ± 5 Ma and are contemporaneous with other Cretaceous kimberlite magmatism in central Canada (103–94 Ma). Although whole-rock compositions of the kimberlites from southern Africa have a large range of ε_Nd(t) values (? 0.5 to + 5.1), the analysed perovskites show a more limited range of + 1.2 to + 3.1. Perovskites from Somerset Island have ε_Nd(t) values of ? 0.2 to + 1.4. These values are lower than that of depleted asthenospheric mantle, suggesting that kimberlites might be derived from the lower mantle. This study shows that in situ U–Pb and Nd isotopic analysis of perovskite by laser ablation is both rapid and economic, and serves as a powerful tool for the determination of the emplacement age and potential source of kimberlite magmas.     

The ∼1100 Ma Sturgeon Falls paleosol revisited: Implications for Mesoproterozoic weathering environments and atmospheric CO2 levels

During the active rifting stage of the ∼1100 Ma Midcontinental Rift in North America, alluvial sediments were deposited intermittently between basalt flows on the north and south shores of present day Lake Superior. At times of depositional quiescence, paleosols developed in both areas on the alluvial sediments and on the antecedent basalt. New results from the Sturgeon Falls paleosol in Michigan characterizing the weathering processes at the time of its formation indicate moderate maturity, high degrees of hydrolysis and leaching, and a low degree of salinization. Geochemical provenance indices indicate a homogeneous source for the paleosols, and in contrast to earlier work, there is little evidence for K metasomatism. As a result, atmospheric CO₂ levels of 4–6× pre-industrial atmospheric levels were calculated using a mass-balance model. This result is consistent with previous calculations from nearly contemporaneous paleosols from the other side of the Keweenawan Rift and from the ∼100 Ma younger Sheigra paleosol in Scotland. The calculated CO₂ values are also consistent with the calculated weathering environment proxies that indicate weak to moderate weathering at this time frame and suggest that the higher greenhouse gas loads indicated by Paleoproterozoic paleosols had dissipated by the mid-late Mesoproterozoic.     

Ottawa: the knowledge city and a labyrinth of obstacles

This research provides a comparative examination of Ottawa as an archetype of a knowledge city. Among Canada’s four largest cities, Ottawa is unique in terms of the characteristics of its labor force, the nature of its employment mix, and its infrastructure. Since the high-tech downturn of 2001, some of Ottawa’s options as a knowledge city seem to be contracting, despite some simultaneously encouraging signs (like recovering employment levels in the high-tech sector). This raises a question about Ottawa’s potential longevity as a knowledge center. The challenge is to understand the inventory of obstacles faced by the city, and address the sort of alchemy required to maintain and improve its competitiveness as a knowledge city.     

Iron oxides in comet 81P/Wild 2

Abstract– We have used synchrotron Fe‐XANES, XRS, microRaman, and SEM‐TEM analyses of Stardust track 41 slice and track 121 terminal area slices to identify Fe oxide (magnetite‐hematite and amorphous oxide), Fe‐Ti oxide, and V‐rich chromite (Fe‐Cr‐V‐Ti‐Mn oxide) grains ranging in size from 200 nm to ～10 μm. They co‐exist with relict FeNi metal. Both Fe‐XANES and microRaman analyses suggest that the FeNi metal and magnetite (Fe₂O₃FeO) also contain some hematite (Fe₂O₃). The FeNi has been partially oxidized (probably during capture), but on the basis of our experimental work with a light‐gas gun and microRaman analyses, we believe that some of the magnetite‐hematite mixtures may have originated on Wild 2. The terminal samples from track 121 also contain traces of sulfide and Mg‐rich silicate minerals. Our results show an unequilibrated mixture of reduced and oxidized Fe‐bearing minerals in the Wild 2 samples in an analogous way to mineral assemblages seen in carbonaceous chondrites and interplanetary dust particles. The samples contain some evidence for terrestrial contamination, for example, occasional Zn‐bearing grains and amorphous Fe oxide in track 121 for which evidence of a cometary origin is lacking.     

Sub-Micrometre Resolution FIB-SEM-based ToF-SIMS Used to Map Geochemical Zoning in Four Zircon Reference Materials

Zircon geochemistry can vary over micrometre scales; therefore, natural reference materials need to be well characterised before being used to calculate trace element mass fractions in unmeasured samples. Moreover, reference material homogeneity needs to be ensured with the accelerating rate of geoanalytical developments to map mineral chemistry at increasingly finer scales. Here, we investigate trace element zoning in four widely used zircon reference materials: 91500, Mud Tank, Temora and Plešovice, as well as zircon crystals from the Mount Dromedary/Gulaga Igneous Complex, Australia. Sub-micrometre resolution focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) based time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and 5 μm resolution LA-ICP-MS mapping show that trace elements are zoned in all reference materials, though 91500 exhibited the least zonation. We demonstrate that FIB-SEM-based ToF-SIMS can rapidly resolve variations in trace elements (e.g., U, Th, Sc, Y, Gd, Dy, Yb and Li) at sensitivities down to the μg g^-1 level with a spatial resolution of 195 nm for areas 100 × 85 μm to 959 × 828 μm. Zircon 91500 is recommended for future quantitative analyses provided that (1) the spatial distribution of elements is imaged before analysis of unknown samples and (2) it is used in conjunction with a doped glass as the primary reference material.