The abundances of the heavy elements

Abundance regularities for heavy nuclei (A>58) are investigated and formulated as abundance rules. Abundance values of carbonaceous chondrites of type 1 and 2 as well as most probable values for primordial abundances are listed. The abundance rules definitely require minor connections of the empirical values. A measurement of the (n, ) cross-section of Pd¹⁰⁴ would make possible to decide whether type-1 or type-2 carbonaceous chondrites have a more primitive elemental composition.Paper dedicated to Prof. Harold C. Urey on the occasion of his 80th birthday on 29 April, 1973.     

Solar wind: The quasi-radial approximation and its limitations

The mathematical basis for approximating the solar wind expansion as nearly radial is examined and defined, removing earlier restrictions thought to occur in the presence of a magnetic field and large variations in latitude. The equations and side conditions governing quasi-radial flow are derived and solved for a simple example to illustrate how this technique can be used for global models of the solar wind.     

The Cold Carbonate Connection Between Mono Lake, Californiaand the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

Ikaite is a rare form of carbonate – calciumcarbonate hexahydrate (CaCO3·6H2O) and isthe precursor to thinolites. Metastable 'ikaite'crystals, discovered in unconsolidated marinesediments in the King George Basin in the BransfieldStrait, Antarctica, are related to diageneticremineralization reactions of organic matter. StableC, O, and H-isotopes track the response of ikaitecrystals, during growth, to changing interstitialfluid conditions as a result of bacterial sulphatereduction and methanogenesis. Ikaites form inpreference over calcite or aragonite at the prevailingsurface sediment conditions of -1.6 °C and 200bar in the King George Basin.The calcareous tufa towers of the terrestrial,hypersaline Mono Lake of northern California areCaCO3-precipitates formed by the influx ofsubmerged springs of calcium-rich freshwaters enteringthe alkaline lake (CO2 = 0.5 m, pH =9.8). Under current climatic conditions the mineralcalcite precipitates, but during the colder Tiogaglacial period of Late Wisconsian age (12,000 to 9,000years BP), and possibly present day during the winterseason, the monoclinic calcium carbonate hexahydrate(ikaite) was the dominant phase formed. Thesepaleo-ikaites have since recrystallized to form thecalcitic pseudomorph 'thinolites'. They are foundelsewhere in recent and ancient sediments of polarregions, e.g., as 'glendonites'. The environmentaloccurrence of ikaites and their pseudomorphs deem themas potential paleoclimatic indicators of coldenvironments. The larger crystals are typicallyrestricted to colder, deeper organic-rich sediments orin moderately evaporitic basins. In these cases, theikaite formation and decomposition may be influencedby additives such as phosphate or amino acids.     

Industrialization affects heavy metal and carbon isotope concentrations in recent Baltic Sea sediments

Recent sediment cores of the western Baltic Sea were analyzed for heavy metal and carbon isotope contents. The sedimentation rate was determined from radiocarbon dates to be 1.4 mm/yr. The ‘recent age’ of the sediment was about 850 yr. Within the upper 20 cm of sediment, certain heavy metals became increasingly enriched towards the surface; Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu increased 7-, 4-, 3- and 2-fold, respectively, whereas Fe, Mn, Ni and Co remained unchanged. Simultaneously, the radiocarbon content decreased by about 14 per cent. The enrichment in heavy metals as well as the decrease in the ¹⁴C-concentration during the last 130 ± 30yr parallels industrial growth as reflected in European fossil fuel consumption within that same period of time. The near-surface sediments are affected by residues released from fossil fuels at the rate of about 30 g/m² yr for the past two decades. The residues have a pronounced effect on the heavy metal and carbon isotope composition of the most Recent sediments allowing estimates to be made for sedimentation, erosion and heavy metal pollution.     

Fluid venting activity on the Costa Rica margin: new results from authigenic carbonates

Carbonate precipitates on mounds and along tectonic scarps off the Costa Rica margin are manifestations of subduction-induced dewatering. The long-term dewatering history is recorded in mineralogical, petrological and isotope signals of carbonates recovered from these sites. The carbonates are strongly depleted in ¹³C (–11 to –53 PDB) and enriched in ¹⁸O (+4 to +8 PDB). Thermogenic methane and biogenic methane were identified as sources of the carbon. Chemoherm carbonates and seepage-associated carbonates formed in a focused flow regime have lighter ¹³C values, while others formed in a more diffusive flow regime have slightly enriched C isotope values. Three fluid components were inferred based on the calculation of equilibrium ¹⁸O: clay dehydration water, gas hydrate water and seawater. Calculated equilibrium ¹⁸O values of carbonates from different down-core depths as well as from different precipitation stages show that the ¹⁸O of the precipitating fluid is progressively depleted with time. Dolostones showing a methane-C source and a well constrained O-isotope signature are thought to have formed at depth in the sediment and subsequently became exhumed. Glauconitic sandstones cemented by methane-derived carbonate provide evidence that fluid and solid material have been expelled by the mud volcano.     

MAGNETIC FLUX TUBES AT 3 AU?

We present an analysis of plasma and magnetic field data acquired by the Ulysses spacecraft on May 1994. Our study is motivated by the result of Poletto et al. (1996) who found some evidence for a peak in the power spectrum of magnetic pressure at a frequency 2 × 10–⁵ Hz, during that period. A re-evaluation of the plasma pressure power spectrum, on the basis of better data than used in the previous work, gives only marginal evidence for a peak at that frequency. If both spectra had excess power in the same spectral range, one might hypothesize that the Pressure Balanced Structures (PBS) detected in the data trace periodically distributed coronal structures which maintain their identity up to large distances. A careful data analysis, however, shows that this interpretation is hardly tenable. Hence, we consider the alternative hypotheses that the observed PBS are either a bundle of magnetic flux tubes, with no characteristic periodicity, in pressure equilibrium with the ambient, or the manifestation, at large distances, of waves generated close to the Sun. To prove the latter case, we made a test simulation of the evolution with heliocentric distance of an ensemble of Alfvén and slow mode waves, generated close to the Sun, and show that structures similar to those we analyzed may form in the interplanetary medium. Our simulations also seem to show that together with PBS, magnetic holes, frequently observed in the Ulysses data, could also originate from the nonlinear evolution of large amplitude slow waves in quasi-perpendicular propagation. We conclude that the observed PBS most likely arise via an in situ generation mechanism, rather than being remnants of solar structures.     

Tritium in the Caspian Sea

The tritium content of the surface water on the south shore of the Caspian Sea was determined in samples taken in two- to three-month intervals for the period of time from 1960 to 1970. Tritium concentrations following the massive H-bomb testing in 1962 and 1963 were particularly high in this water, much higher than in the surface waters of the open oceans. The data are interesting in connection with the tritium inventories on the continents and with the persistence of inert chemical pollutants in the surface layers of water masses.     

Mineral phases formed in anoxic sediments by microbial decomposition of organic matter

Microbial decomposition of organic matter in recent sediments of the Landsort Deep—an anoxic basin of the central Baltic Sea—resulted in the formation of a characteristic assemblage of authigenic mineral precipitates of carbonates, sulfides. phosphates and amorphous silica, The dominant crystalline phases are a mixed Mn-carbonate [(Mn_0.85Ca_0.10Mg_0.05)CO₃]. Mn-sulfide [MnS] and Fecarbonate [FeCO₃]. Amorphous Fe-sulfide [FeS]. Mn-phosphate [Mn₃(PO₄)₂] and a mixed Fe-Ca-phosphate [(Fe_0.86Ca_0.14)₃(PO₄)₂] were identified by their chemical compositions only. The variability in composition of these solid phases and their mode of occurrence as a co-existing assemblage constrains the conditions and solution composition from which they precipitated. Estimates of activities for dissolved Fe. Mn. PO₄, CO₃ and S in equilibrium with such an assemblage are close to those found in recent anoxic interstitial water-sediment systems. It is important to have detailed knowledge of the composition and stability conditions of these solid precipitates in order to refine stoichiometric models of interstitial nutrient regeneration in anoxic sediments.     

Secular non-random variations of cosmogenic carbon-14 in the terrestrial atmosphere

The time dependence of the¹⁴C content of bristlecone pine wood samples dated by their tree rings and grown during the last 8000 years was examined. The¹⁴C values as measured by the La Jolla Radiocarbon Laboratory were used for the investigation.Two different smoothing techniques were used for constructing values for equal time intervals. In this manner the introduction of regularities, that could have resulted from applied mathematical techniques, could be excluded.There is good evidence for non-random features in the power spectrum, in particular for a 200-year periodicity.The regularities in the power spectrum are further indications supporting the assumption that the¹⁴C variations reflect a property of the sun.