Origin of biotite-apatite-rich enclaves, Achala batholith, Argentina

The Achala batholith of Argentina contains very unusual layered enclaves containing up to 30% apatite and 50% biotite in some layers. This modal mineralogy produces bulk-rock compositions that cannot represent liquids, having as little as 29% SiO₂ and up to 8% P₂O₅. Nor can the enclaves represent metasedimentary xenoliths because: (1) none of the Precambrian wall rocks has these compositions; (2) none of the metasedimentary xenoliths present within the batholith shows any degree of transition to the mica-apatite-rich enclaves; (3) the compositions and textures in the enclaves are inconsistent with metasediments; (4) a geochronological study of zircon from an enclave gives an age of 368 ± 2 Ma, the exact age of zircons in the granitic host rocks. For these reasons, we conclude that the enclaves are neither xenoliths of Precambrian wall rocks nor restite of a Precambrian source. The identical age of the enclave and the host granites, coupled with textural, mineralogical, and bulk-rock characteristics of the enclaves, indicates that the enclaves are magmatic segregations, i.e., cumulates. The F-rich nature of the stubby-shaped apatites and biotites indicates a high F content of the magma parental to the enclaves. We infer that the viscosity of the melt was lowered sufficiently to allow cumulates to form in spite of the granitic composition of the melt. Received: 12 December 1996 / Accepted: 11 August 1997     

智利中部因M8.8地震而最终破裂

智利是世界上部分大地震的发生地：那里大概平均每十年就会发生一次8级地震。这些地震都发生在俯冲带：有的发生在南美和Nazca板块之间的界面上,称为板问破裂;有的发生在Nazca俯冲板块内部,称为板内事件。每个世纪都会发生几次巨大的板内、     

Preface to the Special Issue on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate:Past,Present and Future

<正>The Antarctic, including the continent of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, is a critically important part of the Earth system. Research in Antarctic meteorology and climate has always been a challenging endeavor. Studying and predicting weather patterns in the Antarctic are important for understanding their role in local-to-global processes and facilitating field     

Particle-size effects on dissolved arsenic adsorption to an Australian laterite

In this study, arsenic adsorption to an Australian laterite has been examined for a particle-size range between 38 μm and 25 mm. The results show that particle size influences both kinetic and equilibrium characteristics of arsenic adsorption. The equilibrium adsorption capacity increases from around 100 mg kg^?1 for laterite particles coarser than 4 mm, to around 160 mg kg^?1 for laterite particles between 75 μm and 4 mm, and to over 200 mg kg^?1 for laterite particles finer than 75 μm. The kinetic adsorption data can be fitted with the pseudo-second-order reaction model, in particular for finer particles where the film diffusion and/or surface reaction are important processes. The model-fitted rate constant remains steady for laterite particles coarser than 2 mm, increases moderately with particle size in the range between 75 μm and 2 mm, and increases dramatically for laterite particles finer than 75 μm. These arsenic adsorption behaviours can be explained by the relative importance of two particle-size-dependent processes: quick external-surface adsorption (more important for fine particles) and slow intraparticle adsorption (more important for coarse particles). Most of the external-surface adsorption completes in the first hour of the experiment. To apply the studied laterite for dissolved arsenic removal, it is recommended that fine particles, in particular finer than 75 μm, should be used if the contact time is the limitation, and that coarse particles, in particular 2–4 mm, should be used if sufficient contact time is available.     

Simulations of high-latitude spots on Jupiter: Constraints on vortex strength and the deep wind

We combine high-resolution observations of the dynamical behavior of small vortices (diameters ?5000 km) located at latitude 60°N on Jupiter with forward modeling, using the EPIC atmospheric model, to address two open questions: the dependence of the zonal winds with depth, and the strength of vortices that are too small to apply cloud tracking to their internal structure. The observed drift rates of the vortices can only be reproduced in the model when the zonal winds increase slightly with depth below the cloud tops, with a vertical shear that is less than was measured at 7°N at the southern rim of a 5-μm hotspot by the Galileo Probe Doppler Wind Experiment (DWE). This supports the idea that Jupiter's vertical shear may vary significantly with latitude. Our simulations suggest that the morphology of the mergers between vortices mainly depends on their maximum tangential velocities, the best results occurring when the tangential velocity is close to the velocity difference of the alternating jets constraining the zone in which the vortices are embedded. We use this correlation, together with the high-resolution data available for the White Ovals, to derive an empirical relationship between the maximum tangential velocity of a jovian vortex and its size, normalized by the strength and size of the encompassing shear zone. The Great Red Spot stands out as a significant anomaly to this relationship, but interestingly it is becoming less so with time.     

Fast identification of transits from light-curves

We present an algorithm that allows fast and efficient detection of transits, including planetary transits, from light-curves. The method is based on building an ensemble of fiducial models and compressing the data using the moped compression algorithm. We describe the method and demonstrate its efficiency by finding planet-like transits in simulated Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) light-curves. We show that our method is independent of the size of the search space of transit parameters. In large sets of light-curves, we achieve speed-up factors of the order of 10³ times over an optimized adaptive search in the χ² space. We discuss how the algorithm can be used in forthcoming large surveys like Pan-STARRS and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and how it may be optimized for future space missions like Kepler and COROT where most of the processing must be done on board.