Abundances of isotopes in planetary atmospheres

Carbon and oxygen isotopes show no large anomalies on Venus (10–15%) or Mars (<5%); the high value of¹⁵N/¹⁴N found on Mars is explained by non-thermal escape of nitrogen. The isotopes of non-radiogenic noble gases in the atmosphere of Mars exhibit abundance patterns similar to those in the primordial component of meteoritic gases and in the Earth's atmosphere. This implies that gas fractionation took place in the inner solar nebula prior to planet formation. The relatively high value of¹²⁹Xe on Mars emphasizes its deficiency on Earth, implying a difference in accretion histories of volatiles for the two planets. In the outer solar system, we find normal isotope ratios for nitrogen and carbon on Jupiter, and for carbon on Saturn, but precision is low (±15% at best). Controversy exists about the correct value of D/H, with current estimates ranging from 2.3±1.1 to 5.1±0.7×10^–5. Planetary missions planned for the next few years should add considerably to the quantity and quality of these data.Paper presented at the Conference on Protostars and Planets, held at the Planetary Science Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, between January 3 and 7, 1978.     

Production of organic molecules in the outer solar system by proton irradiation: Laboratory simulations

In the past few years considerable attention has been given to the determination of likely compounds that could account for the various colors observed in the outer solar system: and to possible formation mechanisms for these compounds. Many experiments have been done using electrical discharges (Chadha, M. S., et al., 1971, Icarus15, 39) and ultraviolet light (Khare, B. N., and Sagan, C., 1973, Icarus20, 311) on mixtures of CH₄, NH₃, and H₂S, which are most likely the dominant minor constituents of the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, and possibly the other satellites early in their histories. Colored polymers, usually brownish-red, have been produced in these experiments. With the passage of Pioneer 10 around Jupiter, there is another source of energy worthy of consideration, energetic protons (and electrons). Preliminary experiments to investigate the formation of colored polymers and other interesting molecules by the irradiation of gas mixtures by protons are discussed. Two to four Mev protons were used, with corresponding beam fluxes (as measured at 6R_J from the planet) equivalent to approximately 80 Earth years at Jupiter per hour of exposure. As in the other types of experiments, colored polymers have been produced. An important feature of this work is the presence or absence of absorption at 5 μm in the different materials produced; Titan is quite dark at this wavelength and Io is fairly bright. Such features may provide criteria for accepting or rejecting various materials produced in these experiments as reasonable coloring agents for the outer solar system.     

Isotopic partitioning between scallop shell calcite and seawater: effect of shell growth rate

The relationship between molluscan shell growth rate and skeletal δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C was investigated in a detailed field study for the scallop, Pecten maximus. Seasonal variation in shell growth rate was found to be a governing factor influencing shell δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C. At low shell growth rates, shell δ¹⁸O were more positive (of the order +0.4‰) and δ¹³C more negative (up to −2‰) as compared with predicted values for precipitation of inorganic calcite in isotopic equilibrium with seawater. The deviations in δ¹⁸O were hypothesized as reflecting possible differences in solution carbonate chemistry at the site of mineralization in the extrapallial fluid as compared with that of the external seawater medium. The deviations in shell δ¹³C were consistent with incorporation of isotopically depleted respiratory ¹³C (i.e., a metabolic effect). A trend toward more depleted shell δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values occurred at higher shell growth rates, with negative δ¹⁸O values as compared with predicted equilibrium at shell growth rates above 0.13 mm per day. These simultaneous negative deviations in skeletal δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C were interpreted as resulting from a kinetic effect. The implications for environmental reconstruction from molluscan isotopic records are discussed in light of a model of isotopic behavior based on the findings of the study.     

Migmatites from Grenville, Quebec: metamorphic P-T-X conditions in transitional amphibolite/granulite-facies rocks

Migmatitic rocks near Grenville, Quebec, preserve features indicative of reactions at the onset of granulite facies metamorphism. In this area, metapelites and metacarbonates of the classic Grenville Series are spatially associated with granitic gneiss and metabasite, and flank a Paleozoic, Fe-rich syenite stock. Near this intrusion, the metapelite is diatexitic and nearly devoid of biotite, indicating the involvement of biotite during melting in the contact aureole of this intrusion. Outside of the contact aureole, metapelites and associated rocks contain biotite and are metatexitic. These features suggest two episodes of migmatization, the earlier predating the syenite, the later, synchronous with this intrusion.

Hornblende-rich metabasites near the syenite contain a two-part neosome consisting of coarse-grained leucosome veins and patches that are enclosed by fine-grained, pyroxene-rich envelopes. Migmatization is attributed to dehydration melting in the presence of CO₂-rich fluids possibly derived from nearby carbonate rocks prior to and/or during emplacement of the syenite. The occurrence of isolated mafic clots in the mesosome and rarity of melanosome seams on leucosomes suggest that some melts were mobile on an outcrop scale. These observations suggest that the leucosomes formed by the segregation of melts, which, coupled with CO₂ flux, dehydrated the wallrock along narrow margins, forming the pyroxene-rich neosomes. Back-reaction with residual fluids led to the local scapolitization of plagioclase and the concomitant formation of coronal garnet on pyroxene in neosomes. Thermobarometry of corona structures within the contact aureole generates diffusional Mg-Fe blocking temperatures ( 550 °C at 5.5 kbar). Extrapolated up-temperature, P-sensitive equilibria for the coronas yield similar pressures (8–9 kbar) as texturally-equilibrated assemblages for which high temperatures ( 750 ± 50 °C; X_CO2 = 0.90−0.95) were determined for rocks sampled inside and outside of the contact aureole. This suggests that the Grenville migmatites had not been substantially decompressed by the time that the syenite was emplaced.     

Age of Gimli beach of Lake Agassiz based on new OSL dating

Gimli beach in Manitoba is one of the lowest elevation beaches in the southern Lake Agassiz basin, and is a distinct ridge composed of bedded sand and gravel that rises above the lake plain and extends for more than 40 km. Ten new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from Gimli beach yield ages mostly ranging from 9.7 ± 0.7 to 10.5 ± 0.8 ka (average 10.3 ± 0.5 ka), which is older by 0.6 to >1.0 ka than age estimates of previous researchers. Two of our new OSL ages are notably older than the others, dating to ~11.3 ± 0.8 and 13.9 ± 1.0 ka, which we attribute to poorly bleached sands. We ascribe an age of about 10 ka to Gimli beach, which is several centuries before overflow from Lake Agassiz and its vast drainage basin shifted from the western Great Lakes to glacial Lake Ojibway and the St. Lawrence Valley.     

Using volatiles in magma to decipher subglacial eruption dynamics

Eruptions beneath ice sheets and glaciers can generate hazardous ash plumes and powerful meltwater floods, as demonstrated by the recent Icelandic eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 and at Grímsvötn in 2011. A key scientific objective for volcanologists is to better understand the factors controlling subglacial eruptions, but the eruptions are mostly hidden beneath ice that is often hundreds of metres thick, thereby preventing direct observation. New approaches are therefore needed to reconstruct the factors driving explosive activity and the response of the overlying ice. The dissolved volatile content, preserved in glassy volcanic rock, offers a useful means of reconstructing palaeo‐ice thicknesses. However, for subglacial rhyolite at least, there seems to be little or no correlation between loading pressure and eruptive style. Instead, there is a strong correlation between the pre‐eruptive volatile content, degassing path and eruptive behaviour. It seems that the style of many subglacial eruptions is controlled by the same mechanisms as subaerial eruptions, with explosivity strongly influenced by degassing and magmatic fragmentation.     

Calcareous algae and cyanobacteria

Algae is an informal term used to describe a broad group of simple organisms from the plant kingdom. The organisms included within this grouping are aquatic photosynthetic biota with an extensive range of life habits and forms. These organisms range from micron-sized unicellular forms to giant seaweeds and kelps, which can grow to several metres long. Both benthic and planktonic modes of life are known and display a wide variety of life cycles.     

The role of hydrothermal fluids in sedimentation in saline alkaline lakes: Evidence from Nasikie Engida,Kenya Rift Valley

Saline alkaline lakes that precipitate sodium carbonate evaporites are most common in volcanic terrains in semi‐arid environments. Processes that lead to trona precipitation are poorly understood compared to those in sulphate‐dominated and chloride‐dominated lake brines. Nasikie Engida (Little Magadi) in the southern Kenya Rift shows the initial stages of soda evaporite formation. This small shallow (<2 m deep; 7 km long) lake is recharged by alkaline hot springs and seasonal runoff but unlike neighbouring Lake Magadi is perennial. This study aims to understand modern sedimentary and geochemical processes in Nasikie Engida and to assess the importance of geothermal fluids in evaporite formation. Perennial hot‐spring inflow waters along the northern shoreline evaporate and become saturated with respect to nahcolite and trona, which precipitate in the southern part of the lake, up to 6 km from the hot springs. Nahcolite (NaHCO₃) forms bladed crystals that nucleate on the lake floor. Trona (Na₂CO₃·NaHCO₃·2H₂O) precipitates from more concentrated brines as rafts and as bottom‐nucleated shrubs of acicular crystals that coalesce laterally to form bedded trona. Many processes modify the fluid composition as it evolves. Silica is removed as gels and by early diagenetic reactions and diatoms. Sulphate is depleted by bacterial reduction. Potassium and chloride, of moderate concentration, remain conservative in the brine. Clastic sedimentation is relatively minor because of the predominant hydrothermal inflow. Nahcolite precipitates when and where pCO₂ is high, notably near sublacustrine spring discharge. Results from Nasikie Engida show that hot spring discharge has maintained the lake for at least 2 kyr, and that the evaporite formation is strongly influenced by local discharge of carbon dioxide. Brine evolution and evaporite deposition at Nasikie Engida help to explain conditions under which ancient sodium carbonate evaporites formed, including those in other East African rift basins, the Eocene Green River Formation (western USA), and elsewhere.     

An abnormal pygidium of the trilobite Brachymetopus ornatus Woodward from the Lower Carboniferous of Derbyshire

A pygidium of Brachymetopus ornatus Woodward shows an abnormally developed left side affecting the whole of the pleural area and its rib development. Such an extensive abnormality, which does not extend beyond the axial furrow and shows none of the signs of resulting from injury, is currently unique. It is interpreted as a teratological condition in which a genetic or developmental malfunction resulted in the partial mimicking of thoracic pleurae rather than the construction of the normal pygidial pleural ribs. The effects of this are progressively greater from the posterior to the anterior parts of the affected pleural region. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.