Nickel Isotope Variations in Terrestrial Silicate Rocks and Geological Reference Materials Measured by MC‐ICP‐MS

Although initial studies have demonstrated the applicability of Ni isotopes for cosmochemistry and as a potential biosignature, the Ni isotope composition of terrestrial igneous and sedimentary rocks, and ore deposits remains poorly known. Our contribution is fourfold: (a) to detail an analytical procedure for Ni isotope determination, (b) to determine the Ni isotope composition of various geological reference materials, (c) to assess the isotope composition of the Bulk Silicate Earth relative to the Ni isotope reference material NIST SRM 986 and (d) to report the range of mass‐dependent Ni isotope fractionations in magmatic rocks and ore deposits. After purification through a two‐stage chromatography procedure, Ni isotope ratios were measured by MC‐ICP‐MS and were corrected for instrumental mass bias using a double‐spike correction method. Measurement precision (two standard error of the mean) was between 0.02 and 0.04‰, and intermediate measurement precision for NIST SRM 986 was 0.05‰ (2s). Igneous‐ and mantle‐derived rocks displayed a restricted range of δ^60/58Ni values between ?0.13 and +0.16‰, suggesting an average BSE composition of +0.05‰. Manganese nodules (Nod A1; P1), shale (SDO‐1), coal (CLB‐1) and a metal‐contaminated soil (NIST SRM 2711) showed positive values ranging between +0.14 and +1.06‰, whereas komatiite‐hosted Ni‐rich sulfides varied from ?0.10 to ?1.03‰.     

First experimental investigation of dual-reciprocating drilling in planetary regoliths: Proposition of penetration mechanics

The search for life in the solar system requires sub-surface exploration capabilities of extra-terrestrial bodies like the Moon and Mars. To do so different techniques are being developed: from the classical rotary drilling techniques widely used on Earth to more original techniques like ultrasonic drilling. Dual-reciprocating drilling (DRD) is a bio-mimetic drilling principle inspired by the manner wood-wasps drill into wood to lay its eggs. It was proposed as an efficient extra-terrestrial drilling technique requiring low over-head force. To deepen the understanding of this novel drilling technique, DRD has been tested for the first time in planetary regolith simulants. These experiments are reported here. To do so a new test bench was built and is presented. The soil forces on the drill bit are analysed and the final depth reached by the DRD system is compared to the final depth reached by static penetration. The experiments have shown very high levels of slippage (defined here specifically for DRD). The observations of the surface deformations and the importance of slippage lead to the proposal of DRD penetration mechanics in regoliths. Finally a re-evaluation of previous DRD experiments conducted on low compressive strength rocks also show the high levels of slippage during DRD.     

Albatross predation of juvenile southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) on the Campbell Plateau

Dietary samples collected at Campbell Island in summer 1997 indicate that southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) formed the bulk of the food of black‐browed albatrosses (Diomedea melanophrys impavida) during the chick‐rearing period. Birds preyed upon a single size class of fish with a mode at 80–90 mm standard length; fish were 4–5 months old and belonged to the 0+ age group. Satellite tracking showed that, when performing trips of short duration, adult albatrosses foraged within the 1000 m depth contour in the subantarctic zone north of Campbell Island. The feeding ecology of albatrosses thus suggests that juvenile (0+) southern blue whiting are pelagic and occur in dense schools in the top 5 m of the water column over the Campbell Plateau during the summer months. The high reliance of birds on juvenile southern blue whiting during the chick‐rearing period has implications for the management of the southern blue whiting fishery and the conservation of black‐browed albatrosses and other marine predators occurring in the New Zealand subantarctic area.     

Preface

Identification of Seismic Sources—Earthquake or Underground Explosion Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Voksenåsen, Oslo, Norway, September 8–18, 1980, edited by E. S. Husebye and S. Mykkeltveit. (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Company, published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division, NATO Advanced Study Institute, Series C, Vol. 74, 1981), 876 p.

Current Research in Earthquake Prediction I edited by T. Rikitake, Report No. 2, Developments in Earth and Planetary Sciences, Centre for Academic Publications, Tokyo, (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1981), 383 p.

Air‐Sea Interaction: Instruments and Methods edited by F. Dobson, L. Hasse, and R. Davis. (New York: Plenum Press, 1980), 692 p.

Structure of Transition Zone edited by S. Asano. Published by Center for Academic Publications Japan, Tokyo. (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Company. 1980.

The Sea Floor: An Introduction to Marine Geology by E. Seibold and W. H. Berger (Berlin: Springer‐Verlag, 1982), 288 p. $20.00.

Reference Coordinate Systems for Earth Dynamics Proceedings of the 56th Colloquium of the International Astronomical Union held in Warsaw, Poland, September 8–12, 1980, edited by E. M. Gaposchkin, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A., and B. Kolaczek, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland (D. Reidel Publishing Company Dordrecht, the Netherlands/Boston, U.S.A./London, England, 1981) 414 p. hard cover.

The Geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef by David Hopley (New York; John Wiley &; Sons, 1982) $59.95.     

Chemical and K–Ar systematics of a mylonitic mica after natural and experimental interactions with varied fluids

Flow-through and batch-leaching experiments combining mineralogical, chemical and K–Ar isotopic analyses of mica separates from a mylonitic sample of the Tyndrum faulting system in Scotland (U.K.) were conducted to evaluate and simulate the natural interaction with H₂SO₄-loaded river water at pHs of 3–4. The flow-through experiments with H₂SO₄-loaded and pure deionized water completed by a batch-leaching experiment with 1 M HCl at room temperature had varied effects on soluble mineral phases, such as Fe-sulfates and Ca/Mg-carbonates, that were present in the varied mica size fractions, but none caused the mineralogical and K–Ar characteristics of the mica to differ from separates of the natural environment.Despite the limited number of K–Ar ages, size fractionation of the mylonitic mica identified two generations of mica with different REE patterns. The coarser (2–8 μm) fraction yielded a high La/Yb ratio of 4.3 and crystallized at 359 ± 6 Ma at a temperature of 250–300 °C, probably during a major tectonic-thermal activity. The smaller (< 0.5 μm) fraction yielded a La/Yb ratio of 2.1, a younger K–Ar age at 315 ± 5 Ma and a lower crystallization temperature of about 200 °C.     

Geology and metamorphism of the Ladakh Terrane and Shyok Suture Zone in the Chogo Lungma – Turmik area (northern Pakistan)

Abstract

Metamorphism of the Askore Amphibolite, metabasaltic and metasedimentary medium-grade hornblendebearing schists at the northernmost portion of the Ladakh Terrane and of the Shyok Suture Zone, mainly a low-grade volcano-sedimentary series, has been studied in the area between the Chogo Lungma glacier and the Indus river halfway between Skardu and Rondu.

In the Askore Amphibolite the peak assemblage in the amphibolite facies defines the regional metamorphic foliation, and is overprinted by a later static recrystallization at comparable P-T conditions. In spite of similar peak temperatures (630–650°C), geobarometry based on amphibole composition reveals a marked difference between garnet – epidote – andesine amphibolites exposed just above the Main Mantle Thrust at the head of Turmik valley, which equilibrated at high pressures (about 10 kbar) in late Miocene (Tortonian), and biotite – epidote – oligoclase amphibolites outcropping at the mouth of Turmik valley, which equilibrated at pressures of c. 6 kbar before late Eocene (Priabonian).

The Dasu Ultramafite and other smaller lens-shaped bodies of low- to medium-grade metaperidotite separate the Ladakh Terrane from the Shyok Suture Zone. They are antigorite serpentinites, often with talc and magnesite, in which relict cumulitic structures are locally recognisable. The ultramafites may represent remnants of oceanic lithosphere separating the Ladakh-Kohistan island arc from the Asian plate, or they may be deep crustal rocks stripped from the basement of the arc.

The mostly greenschist-facies Shyok Suture Zone shows the lithology of a calc-alkaline volcano-sedimentary series. It is supposed to be a remnant of a back arc basin of early Cretaceous age, separating the arc from the southern margin of Asia. Chloritoid, kyanite and biotite have been found in individual thrust sheets occurring at different structural levels and totally subordinate in volume to very low- and low-grade rocks. Such sharp differences in mineral paragenesis, together with field evidence of local shear, suggest a complex internal structure for the Shyok Suture Zone. From the head of Chogo Lungma glacier to the Basha valley, close to the contact with the Karakorum Metamorphic Complex, the rocks of the Shyok Suture Zone record a late Miocene metamorphic event at medium pressures and temperatures. Thermobarometric and geochronological evidence suggests that this event can be related to the exhumation and thrusting of the Karakorum metamorphic core over the Shyok Suture Zone.     

Comparison of two snowmelt modelling approaches in the Dudh Koshi basin (eastern Himalayas,Nepal)

Abstract

The glaciers in the Nepalese Himalayas are retreating due to rising temperatures. Lack of data and information on Nepal’s cryosphere has impeded scientific studies and field investigations in the Nepalese Himalayas. Therefore, IRD France and Ev-K2 CNR Italy have conducted the PAPRIKA (CryosPheric responses to Anthropogenic PRessures in the HIndu Kush-Himalaya regions: impacts on water resources and society adaptation in Nepal) project in Nepal with the financial support of the French and Italian scientific agencies. This project aims to address the current and future evolution of the cryosphere in response to overall environmental changes in South Asia, and its consequences for water resources in Nepal. Thus, two hydrological models, the GR4J lumped precipitation–runoff model and the snowmelt runoff model (SRM), were used in the Dudh Koshi basin. The GR4J model has been successfully applied in different parts of Europe. To obtain better results in such a harsh and rugged topography, modifications needed to be made, particularly in the snow module. The runoff pattern is analysed herein both for past years and, in a sensitivity analysis, for possible future climatic conditions (i.e. precipitation and temperature) using the SRM and GR4J modelling approaches. The results reveal a significant contribution of snow- and glacier-melt to runoff, and the SRM model shows better performance in Nepalese catchments than the GR4J model.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor D. Gerten     

Evaluation of satellite-based rainfall products for hydrological modelling in Morocco

ABSTRACT

Several satellite-based precipitation estimates are becoming available at a global scale, providing new possibilities for water resources modelling, particularly in data-sparse regions and developing countries. This work provides a first validation of five different satellite-based precipitation products (TRMM-3B42 v6 and v7, RFE 2.0, PERSIANN-CDR, CMORPH1.0 version 0.x) in the 1785 km² Makhazine catchment (Morocco). Precipitation products are first compared against ground observations. Ten raingauges and four different interpolation methods (inverse distance, nearest neighbour, ordinary kriging and residual kriging with altitude) were used to compute a set of interpolated precipitation reference fields. Second, a parsimonious conceptual hydrological model is considered, with a simulation approach based on the random generation of model parameters drawn from existing parameter set libraries, to compare the different precipitation inputs. The results indicate that (1) all four interpolation methods, except the nearest neighbour approach, give similar and valid precipitation estimates at the catchment scale; (2) among the different satellite-based precipitation estimates verified, the TRMM-3B42 v7 product is the closest to observed precipitation, and (3) despite poor performance at the daily time step when used in the hydrological model, TRMM-3B42 v7 estimates are found adequate to reproduce monthly dynamics of discharge in the catchment. The results provide valuable perspectives for water resources modelling of data-scarce catchments with satellite-based rainfall data in this region.

Editor M.C. Acreman; Associate editor N. Verhoest     

Internal waves near the turning point

Abstract

A uniformly valid solution of internal wave equations is presented, using Langer's method, for an arbitrary density profile. The dispersion relation and mean square values of the velocity components are obtained. Particular emphasis is placed on the turning point problem and on estimating the errors involved in the approximations in a recent paper by Garrett and Munk (1972). Expressions are given for various spectral ratios of interest.     

Adaptation of the SNOWMAP algorithm for snow mapping over eastern Canada using Landsat-TM imagery

Abstract

The snow mapping algorithm SNOWMAP was adapted to Landsat-TM data and to the context of eastern Canada. Six Landsat-5 TM scenes were used. It was found that the original version of SNOWMAP greatly underestimates snow cover extent. The modification made to the original algorithm, by cancelling the minimum threshold of 0.1 on the NDVI value, allows gaps to be filled in. In addition, a spatial correction procedure applied to the modified SNOWMAP algorithm results improves snow detection under coniferous forests. Based on a limited data set of ground-based observations (only 40 sites were available), the modified SNOWMAP seems to perform better in snow detection than the original version of the algorithm. An application case is presented in order to demonstrate the relevance of the modified SNOWMAP results as a high spatial-resolution reference for the validation of historical snow maps derived from medium spatial-resolution satellite data.

Citation Chokmani, K., Dever, K., Bernier, M., Gauthier, Y. & Paquet, L.-M. (2010) Adaptation of the SNOWMAP algorithm for snow mapping over eastern Canada using Landsat-TM imagery. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(4), 649–660.