Hydrothermal alterations in the Echassières granitic cupola (Massif central,france)

Detailed petrographic and mineralogic investigations of an albite-lepidolite granite at Echassières (Massif Central, France; scientific deep drill program) shows the existence of hydrothermal stages which are closely related to the magmatic and structural history. According to fluid inclusion data, K-Ar datations and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O-D/H compositions of secondary minerals, two successive hydrothermal periods have been recognized. The early one (273–268 million years) produced a series of aluminous phyllosilicates: muscovite, pyrophyllite, donbassite, tosudite, kaolinite which are observed as vein deposits (<10 mm wide) and alteration products of primary minerals in wall-rocks. The vein system was sealed by monomineralic assemblages during a cooling period (400–150°C). This early hydrothermal alteration stage was controlled by interactions of rock with low salinity (1–10 wt% NaCl equivalent) fluids expelled from the granitic body during the cooling processes. The chemical properties of these fluids were the following: low pH, very low Mg and Fe and high Li, Na and K contents. Thermodynamic calculations show that the sequence pyrophyllite, Li-bearing donbassite, tosudite is mostly temperature dependent. From the chemical composition of secondary minerals and isotopic data it can be deduced that these fluids, which have a meteoric origin, have been expelled from the granite body during its cooling period and after interaction with it at high temperature. The late hydrothermal stage corresponds to deposits of fluorite and Fe-Mg rich illite (151 million years) in subvertical fractures. Temperature conditions did not exceed 250° C and fluids came through the surrounding metamorphic rocks into the granitic body. IIlite/smectite mixed-layer minerals have been identified in subvertical fractures which were opened during Tertiary periods. In the host micaschists, successive hydrothermal alterations took place during the cooling of the Beauvoir granite. Early magmatic fluids interacted with these micaschists. Locally, the metamorphic assemblage is replaced by a metasomatic one. Secondary topaz and (F, Li)-rich mica crystals were formed over a range of 450 of 150°C. Later hydrothermal fluids reacted with the country rocks to form phengite-biotite, chlorite-illite and kaolinite over a range of 300 to 150°C. Illite/smectite mixed-layer minerals crystallized in the roof micaschists and within the Beauvoir granite during the Tertiary alteration period. Meteoric water invaded open fractures producing supergene alteration mineral assemblages.     

XMCD at Fe L<Subscript>2,3</Subscript> edges,Fe and S K edges on Fe<Subscript>7</Subscript>S<Subscript>8</Subscript>

Pyrrhotite (Fe₇S₈) is a natural iron sulphide that can participate in rock magnetisation. Its electronic structure is not yet surely described. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at Fe L_2,3 edges on Fe₇S₈, coupled with multiplet calculations, shows that iron is present only as Fe²⁺ in this magnetic iron sulphide. It reveals a strong magnetic orbital moment. XMCD at Fe and S K edges shows the quite strong polarization of both Fe and S in Fe₇S₈.     

Surface chemistry and reactivity of biogenic silica

The surface chemistry of cultured diatoms was compared to that of biosiliceous material in Southern Ocean sediments, using potentiometric titrations and aluminum adsorption experiments. Aerosil 200, a well-studied synthetic amorphous silica, served as reference solid. Surface charge development and aluminum adsorption on cultured diatom shells were comparable to Aerosil. The surface chemical properties of biosiliceous material buried to depths of 15-25 cm in Southern Ocean sediments, however, deviated markedly from those of the cultured diatoms. In pH range 4-8.5, the surface charge density was systematically lower for biogenic silica from the sediments. In addition, the aluminum adsorption edge on the biosiliceous sediments was shifted to higher pHs by about 0.4 units. The results indicate that ionizable surface silanol groups on diagenetically altered diatom shells are less abundant and, possibly, less acidic than on freshly cultured diatoms. The observed differences in surface chemical structure are consistent with the progressive loss of reactivity, or aging, of biogenic silica which promotes its preservation in sediments.     

An Observational Study of the Mesoscale Mistral Dynamics

We investigate the mesoscale dynamics of the mistral through the wind profiler observations of the MAP (autumn 1999) and ESCOMPTE (summer 2001) field campaigns. We show that the mistral wind field can dramatically change on a time scale less than 3 hours. Transitions from a deep to a shallow mistral are often observed at any season when the lower layers are stable. The variability, mainly attributed in summer to the mistral/land–sea breeze interactions on a 10-km scale, is highlighted by observations from the wind profiler network set up during ESCOMPTE. The interpretations of the dynamical mistral structure are performed through comparisons with existing basic theories. The linear theory of R. B. Smith [Advances in Geophysics, Vol. 31, 1989, Academic Press, 1–41] and the shallow water theory [Schär, C. and Smith, R. B.: 1993a, J. Atmos. Sci. 50, 1373–1400] give some complementary explanations for the deep-to-shallow transition especially for the MAP mistral event. The wave breaking process induces a low-level jet (LLJ) downstream of the Alps that degenerates into a mountain wake, which in turn provokes the cessation of the mistral downstream of the Alps. Both theories indicate that the flow splits around the Alps and results in a persistent LLJ at the exit of the Rhône valley. The LLJ is strengthened by the channelling effect of the Rhône valley that is more efficient for north-easterly than northerly upstream winds despite the north–south valley axis. Summer moderate and weak mistral episodes are influenced by land–sea breezes and convection over land that induce a very complex interaction that cannot be accurately described by the previous theories.     

Evaluation of a high-resolution regional climate simulation over Greenland

A simulation of the 1991 summer has been performed over south Greenland with a coupled atmosphere–snow regional climate model (RCM) forced by the ECMWF re-analysis. The simulation is evaluated with in-situ coastal and ice-sheet atmospheric and glaciological observations. Modelled air temperature, specific humidity, wind speed and radiative fluxes are in good agreement with the available observations, although uncertainties in the radiative transfer scheme need further investigation to improve the model’s performance. In the sub-surface snow-ice model, surface albedo is calculated from the simulated snow grain shape and size, snow depth, meltwater accumulation, cloudiness and ice albedo. The use of snow metamorphism processes allows a realistic modelling of the temporal variations in the surface albedo during both melting periods and accumulation events. Concerning the surface albedo, the main finding is that an accurate albedo simulation during the melting season strongly depends on a proper initialization of the surface conditions which mainly result from winter accumulation processes. Furthermore, in a sensitivity experiment with a constant 0.8 albedo over the whole ice sheet, the average amount of melt decreased by more than 60%, which highlights the importance of a correctly simulated surface albedo. The use of this coupled atmosphere–snow RCM offers new perspectives in the study of the Greenland surface mass balance due to the represented feedback between the surface climate and the surface albedo, which is the most sensitive parameter in energy-balance-based ablation calculations.     

Aerosol polarized phase function and single-scattering albedo retrieved from ground-based measurements

Aerosol optical parameters, polarized phase function and single-scattering albdeo, have been retrieved from ground-based sun photometer measurements in Beijing 2003. The measured aerosol optical thickness varies from 0.12 to 0.77 with an average value of 0.39. The measured Ångström coefficient ranges from 0.75 to 1.47 with an average value of 1.21. The retrieved single-scattering albedo at 870 nm is within the 0.76–0.94 range and the average value is 0.85, suggests there are considerable aerosol absorptions in Beijing. The maximum value of retrieved polarized phase function at 870 nm ranges from 0.068 to 0.225 with an average value of 0.16, and it illustrates good correlations with the Ångström coefficient, i.e. the relative size of aerosol particles. Analyses of measurements and theoretical calculations show the polarized phase function is sensitive to aerosol size distribution and complex refractive index, especially the imaginary part of the refractive index which denotes aerosol light absorbing effects. These results suggest that the polarized phase function is an effective and unique aerosol optical parameter and is able to improve the retrieval of aerosol physical properties.     

Climate variability and trends in downscaled high-resolution simulations and projections over Metropolitan France

In order to fulfill the society demand for climate information at the spatial scale allowing impact studies, long-term high-resolution climate simulations are produced, over an area covering metropolitan France. One of the major goals of this article is to investigate whether such simulations appropriately simulate the spatial and temporal variability of the current climate, using two simulation chains. These start from the global IPSL-CM4 climate model, using two regional models (LMDz and MM5) at moderate resolution (15–20 km), followed with a statistical downscaling method in order to reach a target resolution of 8 km. The statistical downscaling technique includes a non-parametric method that corrects the distribution by using high-resolution analyses over France. First the uncorrected simulations are evaluated against a set of high-resolution analyses, with a focus on temperature and precipitation. Uncorrected downscaled temperatures suffer from a cold bias that is present in the global model as well. Precipitations biases have a season- and model-dependent behavior. Dynamical models overestimate rainfall but with different patterns and amplitude, but both have underestimations in the South-Eastern area (Cevennes mountains) in winter. A variance decomposition shows that uncorrected simulations fairly well capture observed variances from inter-annual to high-frequency intra-seasonal time scales. After correction, distributions match with analyses by construction, but it is shown that spatial coherence, persistence properties of warm, cold and dry episodes also match to a certain extent. Another aim of the article is to describe the changes for future climate obtained using these simulations under Scenario A1B. Results are presented on the changes between current and mid-term future (2021–2050) averages and variability over France. Interestingly, even though the same global climate model is used at the boundaries, regional climate change responses from the two models significantly differ.     

The Greenland ice sheet through the last glacial-interglacial cycle

The evolution of the Greenland ice sheet during the last 150,000 years, in response to a climate history derived from a Greenland ice-margin oxygen-18 record, is simulated by means of a three-dimensional, time-dependent ice-sheet model. The calculations indicate that the ice sheet displayed considerable thinning and ice-margin retreat during the last interglacial (the Eemian) and during a warm interstadial c. 100,000 yr B.P., resulting in a splitting up of the ice sheet into a central-northern and a southern part. However, the ice sheet in Central Greenland survived the warm stages with almost unchanged surface elevations as compared with the present.     

A polarimetric study of Asteroid 25143 Itokawa

The near-Earth Asteroid 25143 Itokawa, the target of the Japanese space mission Hayabusa, was observed in June, 2004 with the Torino photopolarimeter attached at the 2.15 m telescope of the El Leoncito Observatory (Argentina). The degree of linear polarization in five colors was measured over a wide range of phase angles, between 40° and 80°. The data obtained are sufficient to derive an estimate of the asteroid's albedo of 0.24±0.01, which is in good agreement with the S-type taxonomic classification of this object. The phase-polarization curve has been sampled in UBVRI colors, covering a wide range of phase angles that cannot be reached by Earth-based observations of Main Belt asteroids.     

The impact of future climate change and potential adaptation methods on Maize yields in West Africa

Using recent advances in statistical crop yield modelling and a unique dataset consisting of yield time series for Russian regions over the period from 1955 to 2012, the study investigates the potential impact of climate change (CC) on the productivity of the three most important grains. Holding current grain growing areas fixed, the aggregate productivity of the three grains is predicted to decrease by 6.7% in 2046–2065 and increase by 2.6% in 2081–2100 compared to 1971–2000 under the most optimistic representative emission concentration pathway (RCP). Based on the projections for the three other RCPs, the aggregate productivity of the three studied crops is assessed to decrease by 18.0, 7.9 and 26.0% in the medium term and by 31.2, 25.9 and 55.4% by the end of the century. Our results indicate that CC might have a positive effect on winter wheat, spring wheat and spring barley productivity in a number of regions in the Northern and Siberian parts of Russia. However, due to the highly damaging CC impact on grain production in the most productive regions located in the South of the country, the overall impact tends to be negative. Therefore, a shift of agricultural production to the Northern regions of the country could reduce the negative impact of CC on grain production only to a limited extent. More vigorous adaptation measures are required to maintain current grain production volumes in Russia under CC.