Estimation of satellite position,clock and phase bias corrections

Precise point positioning with integer ambiguity resolution requires precise knowledge of satellite position, clock and phase bias corrections. In this paper, a method for the estimation of these parameters with a global network of reference stations is presented. The method processes uncombined and undifferenced measurements of an arbitrary number of frequencies such that the obtained satellite position, clock and bias corrections can be used for any type of differenced and/or combined measurements. We perform a clustering of reference stations. The clustering enables a common satellite visibility within each cluster and an efficient fixing of the double difference ambiguities within each cluster. Additionally, the double difference ambiguities between the reference stations of different clusters are fixed. We use an integer decorrelation for ambiguity fixing in dense global networks. The performance of the proposed method is analysed with both simulated Galileo measurements on E1 and E5a and real GPS measurements of the IGS network. We defined 16 clusters and obtained satellite position, clock and phase bias corrections with a precision of better than 2 cm.     

Diurnal fluctuations in glacier ice deformation: Haut Glacier d'Arolla,Switzerland

Measurements of surface velocity, ice deformation (at 42 and 89% ice depth) and proglacial stream discharge were made at Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, to determine diurnal patterns of variation in each. Data are analysed in order to understand better the relationship between hydraulically induced basal motion and glacier ice deformation over short timescales. The data suggest that hydraulically induced localized basal ‘slippery’ spots are created over diurnal cycles, causing enhanced basal motion and spatially variable glacier speed‐up. Our data indicate that daily glacier speed‐up is associated with reduced internal deformation over areas previously identified as slippery spots and increased deformation in areas located adjacent to or down‐glacier from slippery spots. We interpret this pattern in terms of a transfer of mechanical support for basal shear stress away from slippery spots to adjacent sticky areas, where the resulting stronger ice–bed coupling causes increased ice deformation near the bed. These patterns indicate that basal ice is subjected to stress regimes that are variable at a high spatial and temporal resolution. Such variations may be central to the creation of anomalous vertical velocity profiles measured above and down‐glacier of basal slippery zones, which have shown evidence for ‘plug flow’ and extrusion flow over annual timescales. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2011

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2011. During this period, 522 earthquakes and 92 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. With a total of only 10 events with M _L????2.5, the seismic activity in the year 2011 was far below the average over the previous 36?years. Most noteworthy were the earthquake sequence of Sierre (VS) in January, with two events of M _L 3.3 and 3.2, the M _L 3.3 earthquake at a depth of 31?km below Bregenz, and the M _L 3.1 event near Delémont. The two strongest events near Sierre produced shaking of intensity IV.     

Halogen contamination in Antarctic H5 and H6 chondrites and relation to sites of recovery

The distribution of the elements F, Cl, Br and I was analysed in layers removed stepwise from Antarctic H5 and H6 chondrites. All meteorites show higher concentrations of these elements on their surfaces than in their interiors. The degree of halogen enrichment cannot be correlated with the degree of visual weathering and is proportional to the time the meteorites were residing on the surface of the Antarctic ice. During this period, aerosols, salts and gaseous components are deposited on the surfaces of the meteorites and diffuse into their interior. The observed contamination level of the meteorites is influenced by leaching properties and diffusion behaviour of the individual halogens. The major contamination source for F, Cl and probably Br is air-borne seaspray; for I it is the gaseous compound methyl iodide (CH₃I) produced by biological processes in the sea. Methyl iodide and its oxidation products formed in the Antarctic atmosphere (e.g., I₂) can be transported over longer distances to the interior of Antarctica than air-borne seaspray. Therefore, the ratio of the halogen contamination is related to the collection site of the meteorites. All meteorites that were found in the Antarctic interior are contaminated to a lesser degree by F, Cl and Br relative to I than those found near the coast. The measured enrichment ratio of I/F is a function of the distance between the collection site and the open sea, and increases from the Allan Hills to the Thiel Mountains. By revealing the degree of contamination of a meteorite it is possible to determine its maximum surface residence time on the Antarctic ice.     

AN UPPER BOUND TO THE SOLAR OBLATENESS

Solar Physics - For more than a decade, it has been suggested that the diameter of the Sun may vary in time. This not only concerns variations of the equatorial diameter, but also any other...     

Luna 20 soil: abundance of 17 trace elements

Luna 20 soil is remarkably similar to Apollo 16 soil, in its content of 17 mainly volatile or siderophile elements: Ag, Au, Bi, Br, Cd, Cs, Ge, In, Ir, Rb, Re, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, U, and Zn. Like other highland soils, it seems to contain an ancient meteoritic component of fractionated, volatile-poor composition. The bulk soil has a high $\text{Tl}\text{Cs}$ ratio (9.4 × 10^?2), similar to that in Apollo 16 soils (5.4 × 10^?2), but higher than that in samples from other sites (1.1 × 10^?2). It is severely contaminated with Ag, Cd, Re, and Sb, judging from a comparison with a 1.7 mg soil breccia sample from the coarse fraction of the soil.     

U(Th)Pb systematics and ages of Himalayan leucogranites, South Tibet

The age and origin of five leucogranites from the High and Tethys Himalaya, and two country-rock gneisses were investigated by UPb dating of zircon fractions and single grains, and fractions of monazite. Additionally, ThU concentrations in whole rock powders and isotopic compositions of Pb in leached K-feldspars were determined. Monazites yield ages of 16.8 ± 0.6 m.y. for the Nialam migmatite-granite, 15.1 ± 0.5 m.y. for the Lhagoi Kangri granite, 14.3 ± 0.6 m.y. for a granite from Mt. Everest, and 9.8 ± 0.7 m.y. and 9.2 ± 0.9 m.y. for two varieties of the Maja granite. These data, together with monazite ages of 21.9 ± 0.2 and 24.0 ± 0.4 m.y., determined earlier on the Makalu granite [1], substantiate a period of intracontinental granite emplacements from 24 to 9 m.y. ago, i.e. from uppermost Oligocene to late Miocene times. Such a period of plutonic activity is consistent with the view that all these granites result from intracrustal melting following the collision of India with Eurasia. Furthermore, the individual ages, together with structural relationships between granites and country rocks suggest that granite formation and tectono-metamorphism occurred as alternating and strongly related processes with a periodicity of 7 to 9 m.y. Inherited lead components, present in all granite zircons point to large proportions of Precambrian material in the magma source regions, up to 2200 m.y. old.ThU systematics between monazite and country rocks indicate that U has been leached from most of the granites after crystallisation of monazite.Zircon dating of the Kangmar granite gneiss, which occurs in a window through the Tethys Himalayan sediments, shows that this pluton, transformed to a gneiss during the Alpine orogeny, crystallised in lowermost Palaeozoic times 562 ± 4 m.y. ago.     

U–Pb,Re–Os,and <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar geochronology of the Nambija Au-skarn and Pangui porphyry Cu deposits,Ecuador: implications for the Jurassic metallogenic belt of the Northern Andes

New U–Pb, Re–Os, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates are presented for magmatic and hydrothermal mineral phases in skarn- and porphyry-related ores from the Nambija and Pangui districts of the Subandean zone, southeastern Ecuador. Nambija has been one of the main gold-producing centers of Ecuador since the 1980s due to exceptionally high-grade ores (average 15 g/t, but frequently up to 300 g/t Au). Pangui is a recently discovered porphyry Cu–Mo district. The geology of the Subandean zone in southeastern Ecuador is dominated by the I-type, subduction-related, Jurassic Zamora batholith, which intrudes Triassic volcanosedimentary rocks. The Zamora batholith is in turn cut by porphyritic stocks, which are commonly associated with skarn formation and/or porphyry-style mineralization. High precision U–Pb and Re–Os ages for porphyritic stocks (U–Pb, zircon), associated prograde skarn (U–Pb, hydrothermal titanite), and retrograde stage skarn (Re–Os, molybdenite from veins postdating gold deposition) of the Nambija district are all indistinguishable from each other within error (145 Ma) and indicate a Late Jurassic age for the gold mineralization. Previously, gold mineralization at Nambija was considered to be Early Tertiary based on K–Ar ages obtained on various hydrothermal minerals. The new Jurassic age for the Nambija district is slightly younger than the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Re–Os ages for magmatic–hydrothermal minerals from the Pangui district, which range between 157 and 152 Ma. Mineralization at Nambija and Pangui is associated with porphyritic stocks that represent the last known episodes of a long-lived Jurassic arc magmatism (∼190 to 145 Ma). A Jurassic age for mineralization at Nambija and Pangui suggests that the Northern Andean Jurassic metallogenic belt, which starts in Colombia at 3° N, extends down to 5° S in Ecuador. It also adds a new mineralization style (Au-skarn) to the metal endowment of this belt. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.