GENIE – The Darwin demonstrator

Darwin is a cornerstone mission of the Horizons 2000+ program of the European Space Agency. It has the express purpose of carrying out the first direct search for terrestrial exoplanets, and to achieve unprecedented spatial resolution in the infrared wavelength region. The detection and study of terrestrial exoplanets promises to usher in a new era in science and will affect a broad spectrum of disciplines. Further, the time line for implementation of such an instrument is now likely to be of the close order of 10 years, leading to possible answers to one of mankind's most fundamental questions in the second decade of the 21st century. It has been found that in order to realize am interferometer in space in the next 10–15 years, it is necessary to prepare the way through a number of intermediary steps – both on the ground and in space. In this context, we here describe GENIE – a ground based nulling interferometry experiment to be implemented at the VLTI in a partnership between ESA and ESO. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Longevity of fluorine-bearing tremolite on Venus

There is a general belief that hydrous minerals cannot exist on Venus under current surface conditions. This view was challenged when Johnson and Fegley (2000, Icarus 146, 301-306) showed that tremolite (Ca₂Mg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂), a hydrous mineral, is stable against thermal decomposition at current Venus surface temperatures, e.g., 50% decomposition in 4 Ga at 740 K. To further explore hydrous mineral thermal stability on Venus, we experimentally determined the thermal decomposition kinetics of fluorine-bearing tremolite. Fluor-tremolite is thermodynamically more stable than OH-tremolite and should decompose more slowly. However how much slower was unknown. We measured the decomposition rate of fluorine-bearing tremolite and show that its decomposition is several times to greater than ten times slower than that of OH-tremolite. We also show that F-bearing tremolite is depleted in fluorine after decomposition and that fluorine is lost as a volatile species such as HF gas. If tremolite ever formed on Venus, it would probably also contain fluorine. The exceptional stability of F-bearing tremolite strengthens our conclusions that if hydrous minerals ever formed on Venus, they could still be there today.     

North European last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT; 15–9 ka) tephrochronology: extended limits and new events

High‐precision correlation of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records is crucial for testing hypotheses of synchronous change. Although radiocarbon is the traditional method for dating late Quaternary sedimentary sequences, particularly during the last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT; 15–9 ka), there are inherent problems with the method, particularly during periods of climate change which are often accompanied by major perturbations in atmospheric radiocarbon content. An alternative method is the use of tephras that act as time‐parallel marker horizons. Within Europe, numerous volcanic centres are known to have erupted during the LGIT, providing considerable potential for high‐precision correlation independent of past radiocarbon fluctuations. Here we report the first identification of the Vedde Ash and Askja Tephra in Ireland, significantly extending the known provenance of these events. We have also identified two new horizons (the Roddans Port Tephras A and B) and tentatively recognise an additional horizon from Vallensgård Mose (Denmark) that provide crucial additional chronological control for the LGIT. Two phases of the Laacher See Tephra (LST) are reported, the lower Laacher See Tephra (LLST) and probably the C2 phase of the Middle Laacher See Tephra (MLST‐C2) indicating a more northeasterly distribution of this fan than reported previously. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamics of Two Planets in the 3/2 Mean-motion Resonance: Application to the Planetary System of the Pulsar PSR B1257+12

This paper considers the dynamics of two planets, as the planets B and C of the pulsar PSR B1257+12, near a 3/2 mean-motion resonance. A two-degrees-of-freedom model, in the framework of the general three-body planar problem, is used and the solutions are analyzed through surfaces of section and Fourier techniques in the full phase space of the system.On the possibility of existence of a fourth planet in distant orbit, see Wolszczan et al., 2000     

Composition of brines in halite‐hosted fluid inclusions in the Upper Ordovician,Canning Basin,Western Australia: new data on seawater chemistry

Analyses of primary and early diagenetic fluid inclusions in the halite from the Late Ordovician Mallowa Salt, Canning Basin, Western Australia indicate a Ca‐rich composition and high concentration of parent brines in the basin which were close to sylvite and carnallite precipitation. The salt‐bearing series in the sampled interval was overheated up to 62 °C. The recorded differences in gas compositions result from the input of several gas sources including dispersed organic matter in the salt series and hydrocarbon deposits in the underlying rocks. The high concentration of the brines in fluid inclusions does not allow quantitative reconstruction of the chemical composition of Late Ordovician parent seawater. Using the information from Early Cambrian and Late Silurian basins as a proxy, however, the new data indicate that Late Ordovician seawater was undoubtedly Ca‐rich and, in comparison with modern seawater, had a similar K content, considerably lower Mg content (c. 30%), approximately three times the Ca content and one‐third the SO₄ content.