Petrology and geochemistry of Yamato 984028: a cumulate lherzolitic shergottite with affinities to Y 000027, Y 000047, and Y 000097

We report the petrography, mineral and whole-rock chemistry (major-, trace-, and highly-siderophile element abundances, and osmium and oxygen isotope compositions) of a newly recognized lherzolitic shergottite, Yamato (Y) 984028. Oxygen isotopes (Δ¹⁷O = 0.218‰) confirm a martian origin for this meteorite. Three texturally distinctive internal zones and a partially devitrified fusion crust occur in the polished section of Y 984028 studied here. The zones include: 1) a poikilitic region with pyroxene enclosing olivine and chromite (Zone A); 2) a non-poikilitic zone with cumulate olivine, interstitial pyroxene, maskelynite and Ti-rich chromite (Zone B) and; 3) a monomict breccia (Zone C). The pyroxene oikocryst in Zone A is chemically zoned from Wo_3–7En_76–71 in the core region to Wo_33–36En_52–49 at the rim, and encloses more Mg-rich olivine (Fo_74–70) in the core, as compared with olivines (Fo_69–68) located at the oikocryst rim. Constraints from Fe–Mg partitioning between crystals and melt indicate that constituent minerals are not in equilibrium with the corresponding bulk-rock composition, implying that Y 984028 represents a cumulate. The whole-rock major- and trace-element compositions, and initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os value (0.1281 ± 0.0002) of Y 984028 are similar to other lherzolitic shergottites and this sample is probably launch-paired with Y 793602, Y 000027, Y 000047, and Y 000097. The Os isotopic composition and highly-siderophile element (HSE) abundances of Y 984028 and other lherzolitic shergottites are consistent with derivation from a martian mantle source that evolved with chondritic Re/Os.     

Waves in Jupiter's atmosphere observed by the Cassini ISS and CIRS instruments

The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) reported a North Equatorial Belt (NEB) wave in Jupiter's atmosphere from optical images [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541-1547] and thermal maps [Flasar, F.M., and 39 colleagues, 2004. Nature 427, 132-135], respectively. The connection between the two waves remained uncertain because the two observations were not simultaneous. Here we report on simultaneous ISS images and CIRS thermal maps that confirm that the NEB wave shown in the ISS ultraviolet (UV1) and strong methane band (MT3) images is correlated with the thermal wave in the CIRS temperature maps, with low temperatures in the CIRS maps (upwelling) corresponding to dark regions in the UV1 images (UV-absorbing particles) and bright regions in the MT3 images (high clouds and haze). The long period of the NEB wave suggests that it is a planetary (Rossby) wave. The combined observations from the ISS and CIRS are utilized to discuss the vertical and meridional propagation of the NEB wave, which offers a possible explanation for why the NEB wave is confined to specific latitudes and altitudes. Further, the ISS UV1 images reveal a circumpolar wave centered at 48.5° S (planetocentric) and probably located in the stratosphere, as suggested by the ISS and CIRS observations. The simultaneous comparison between the ISS and CIRS also implies that the large dark oval in the polar stratosphere of Jupiter discovered in the ISS UV1 images [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541-1547] is the same feature as the warm regions at high northern latitudes in the CIRS 1-mbar temperature maps [Flasar, F.M., and 39 colleagues, 2004. Nature 427, 132-135]. This comparison supports a previous suggestion that the dark oval in the ISS UV1 images is linked to auroral precipitation and heating [Porco, C.C., and 23 colleagues, 2003. Science 299, 1541-1547].     

Jupiter's White Oval turns red

Jupiter's remaining White Oval changed color in late 2005 and became noticeably red in early 2006, as reported by amateur observers. We present wind and color analyses from high spatial resolution images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys in April 2006. These images suggest that the recent color change was tied to a strengthening of this storm, as implied by increased vorticity, causing it to become more like the Great Red Spot. From a historical perspective, the current activity may be consistent with the generation of new anticyclones at this latitude in the coming months and years.     

What have natural and human changes wrought on the foraminifera of San Francisco Bay late Quaternary estuaries?

In this study we compare the foraminifera of modern South San Francisco Bay with fossils from sediments of a previous estuary at 125 ka to provide a basis for interpreting the impact of natural and human change on the benthic ecosystem. All the species found in the Pleistocene sediments of this study are estuarine and/or shallow-water species occurring commonly in San Francisco Bay today, except for the introduced foraminifer Trochammina hadai, a native of Japan that was not found in samples taken in San Francisco Bay before 1983. The biodiversity and species composition of the fossil and modern assemblages before the introduction of T. hadai are nearly identical, suggesting that the environmental and physical changes in the 125,000-year-old and modern estuaries have not had a significant effect on the meiofauna of the Bay. In contrast, modern anthropogenic change in the form of species introductions has impacted the modern foraminiferal assemblage: T. hadai began to dominate the modern assemblage a decade after its introduction. Similar to the recorded impacts of introductions of marine metazoan invertebrate species, the dominance of T. hadai changed species proportions in the post-1980s foraminiferal assemblage, however no known extinctions in the native foraminiferal fauna occurred.     

Mineralogical and geochemical constraints on the shallow origin, ancient veining, and multi-stage modification of the Lherz peridotite

New major- and trace-element data of bulk-rocks and constituent minerals, and whole-rock Re-Os isotopic compositions of samples from the Lherz Massif, French Pyrenees, reveal complex petrological relationships between the dominant lithologies of lherzolite ± olivine-websterite and harzburgite. The Lherz peridotite body contains elongate, foliation parallel, lithological strips of harzburgite, lherzolite, and olivine-websterite cross-cut by later veins of hornblende-bearing pyroxenites. Peridotite lithologies are markedly bimodal, with a clear compositional gap between harzburgites and lherzolites ± olivine-websterite. Bulk-rock and mineral major-element oxide (Mg-Fe-Si-Cr) compositions show that harzburgites are highly-depleted and result from ∼20-25 wt.% melt extraction at pressures <2 GPa. Incompatible and moderately-compatible trace-element abundances of hornblendite-free harzburgites are analogous to some mantle-wedge peridotites. In contrast, lherzolites ± olivine-websterite overlap estimates of primitive mantle composition, yet these materials are composite samples that represent physical mixtures of residual lherzolites and clinopyroxene dominated cumulates equilibrated with a LREE-enriched tholeiitic melt. Trace-element compositions of harzburgite, and some lherzolite bulk-rocks and pyroxenes have been modified by; (1) wide-spread interaction with a low-volume LREE-enriched melt +/− fluid that has disturbed highly-incompatible elements (e.g., LREEs, Zr) without enrichment of alkali- and Ti-contents; and (2) intrusion of relatively recent, small-volume, hornblendite-forming, basanitic melts linked to modal and cryptic metasomatism resulting in whole-rock and pyroxene Ti, Na and MREE enrichment.Rhenium-Os isotope systematics of Lherz samples are also compositionally bimodal; lherzolites ± olivine-websterite have chondritc to suprachondritic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os values that overlap the range reported for Earth’s primitive upper mantle, whereas harzburgites have sub-chondritic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os values. Various Os-model age calculations indicate that harzburgites, lherzolites, and olivine-websterites have been isolated from convective homogenisation since the Meso-Proterozoic and this broadly coincides with the time of melt extraction controlled by harzburgite Os-isotope compositions. The association between harzburgites resulting from melting in mantle-wedge environments and Os-rich trace-phases (laurite-erlichmanite sulphides and Pt-Os-Ir-alloys) suggests that a significant portion of persistent refractory anomalies in the present-day convecting mantle of Earth may be linked to ancient large-scale melting events related to wide-spread subduction-zone processing.     

Synthesized Model of Geospatial Thinking

Since the National Research Council (2006) report Learning to Think Spatially formalized geospatial thinking, researchers and educators have recognized the importance of investigating and understanding geospatial thinking. Conceptual frameworks have been developed and applied to individual research projects. Although useful in these contexts and potentially extendable to other related inquiries, they also overlap and conflict with one another. Moreover, the separate frameworks are built on different constructs, resulting in a disparate rather than a cohesive theoretical foundation for geospatial thinking. This article synthesizes existing frameworks and generates a model that represents conceptual advances and provides a foundation for research question generation.     

Propagating error in land-cover-change analyses: impact of temporal dependence under increased thematic complexity

We examined the impact of temporal dependence between patterns of error in classified time-series imagery through a simulation modeling approach. This research extended the land-cover-change simulation model we previously developed to investigate: (1) the assumption of temporal independence between patterns of error in classified time-series imagery; and (2) the interaction of patterns of change and patterns of error in a post-classification change analysis. In this research, the thematic complexity of the classified land-cover maps was increased by increasing the number of simulated land-cover classes. Simulating maps with increased categorical resolution permitted the incorporation of: (1) higher-order, more complex spatial and temporal interactions between land-cover classes; and (2) patterns of error that better reproduce the complex error interactions that often occur in time-series classified imagery. The overall modeling framework was divided into two primary components: (1) generation of a map representing true change; and (2) generation of a suite of change maps that had been perturbed by specific patterns of error. All component maps in the model were produced using simulated annealing, which enabled us to create a series of map realizations with user-defined spatial and temporal patterns. Comparing the true map of change to the error-perturbed maps of change using accuracy assessment statistics showed that increasing the temporal dependence between classification errors did not improve the accuracy of resulting maps of change when the categorical scale of the land-cover classified maps was increased. The increased structural complexity within the time series of maps effectively inhibited the impact of temporal dependence. However, results demonstrated that there are interactions between patterns of error and patterns of change in a post-classification change analysis. These interactions played a major role in determining the accuracy associated with the maps of change.     

Longitudinal variation and waves in Jupiter’s south equatorial wind jet

A detailed study of the chevron-shaped dark spots on the strong southern equatorial wind jet near 7.5°S planetographic latitude shows variations in velocity with longitude and time. The presence of the large anticyclonic South Equatorial Disturbance (SED) has a profound effect on the chevron velocity, causing slower velocities to its east and increasing with distance from the disturbance. The chevrons move with velocities near the maximum wind jet velocity of ～140 m/s, as deduced by the history of velocities at this latitude and the magnitude of the symmetric wind jet near 7°N latitude. Their repetitive nature is consistent with a gravity-inertia wave (n = 75–100) with phase speed up to 25 m/s, relative to the local flow, but the identity of this wave mode is not well constrained. However, for the first time, high spatial resolution movies from Cassini images show that the chevrons oscillate in latitude with a 6.7 ± 0.7-day period. This oscillating motion has a wavelength of ～20° and a speed of 101 ± 3 m/s, following a pattern similar to that seen in the Rossby wave plumes of the North Equatorial Zone, and possibly reinforced by it. All dates show chevron latitude variability, but it is unclear if this larger wave is present during other epochs, as there are no other suitable time series movies that fully delineate it. In the presence of multiple wave modes, the difference in dominant cloud appearance between 7°N and 7.5°S is likely due to the presence of the Great Red Spot, either through changes in stratification and stability or by acting as a wave boundary.     

The isotopic composition and fluence of solar‐wind nitrogen in a genesis B/C array collector

Abstract– We have measured the isotopic composition and fluence of solar‐wind nitrogen in a diamond‐like‐carbon collector from the Genesis B/C array. The B and C collector arrays on the Genesis spacecraft passively collected bulk solar wind for the entire collection period, and there is no need to correct data for instrumental fractionation during collection, unlike data from the Genesis “Concentrator.” This work validates isotopic measurements from the concentrator by Marty et al. (2010, 2011) ; nitrogen in the solar wind is depleted in ¹⁵N relative to nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere. Specifically, our array data yield values for ¹⁵N/¹⁴N of (2.17 ± 0.37) × 10^?3 and (2.12 ± 0.34) × 10^?3, depending on data‐reduction technique. This result contradicts preliminary results reported for previous measurements on B/C array materials by Pepin et al. (2009) , so the discrepancy between Marty et al. (2010, 2011) and Pepin et al. (2009) was not due to fractionation of solar wind by the concentrator. Our measured value of ¹⁵N/¹⁴N in the solar wind shows that the Sun, and by extension the solar nebula, lie at the low‐¹⁵N/¹⁴N end of the range of nitrogen isotopic compositions observed in the solar system. A global process (or combination of processes) must have operated in interstellar space and/or during the earliest stages of solar system formation to increase the ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratio of the solar system solids. We also report a preliminary Genesis solar‐wind nitrogen fluence of (2.57 ± 0.42) × 10¹² cm^?2. This value is higher than that derived by backside profiling of a Genesis silicon collector ( Heber et al. 2011a ).