Stable isotope constraints on the fluid source of hydrothermal breccia pipes in the Tankwa Karoo depocentre,South Africa: Breakdown of authigenic minerals during sill intrusion

The Karoo Basin covers much of South Africa and is an area of prospective shale gas exploration, with the Whitehill Formation the target shale unit. However, the sedimentary succession, including the Whitehill, has been intruded by a series of sills and dykes associated with the Karoo Large Igneous Province (~183 Ma), which are expected to have modified the thermal history of the basin dramatically. Here, we investigate a secondary effect of these intrusions: a series of hydrothermal vent complexes, or breccia pipes, focusing on using O, H, and C isotopes to constrain the origin and evolution of fluids produced during the intrusion of basaltic sills. A cluster of breccia pipes have been eroded down to the level of the Ecca Group at Luiperdskop on the western edge of the Karoo basin; a small isolated pipe of similar appearance crops out 13 km to the east. The Luiperdskop pipes are underlain by a Karoo dolerite sill that is assumed to provide the heat driving fluidization. The pipes consist of fine‐grained matrix and about 8% clasts, on average, of mostly sedimentary material; occasional large rafts of quartzite and dolerite are also present. The presence of clasts apparently from the Dwyka Group is consistent with the depth of formation of the pipes being at, or near, the base of the Karoo Supergroup, between 400 and 850 m below present surface. The presence of chlorite as the dominant hydrous mineral is consistent with an emplacement temperature between 300 and 350°C. The major and trace element, and O‐ and H‐isotope composition of the Tankwa breccias is homogenous, consistent with them being derived from the same source. The δ¹⁸O values (vsVSMOW) of the breccias are relatively uniform (7.1‰–8.7‰), and are similar to that of the country rock shale, and both are lower than expected for shale. The water content of the breccia is between 2.7 and 3.1 wt.% and the δD values range from ?109‰ to ?144‰. Calcite in vesicles has δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O (VSMOW) values of ?4.2‰ and 24.0‰, respectively. The low δD value of the breccia rocks does not appear to be due to the presence of methane in the fluid. Instead, it is proposed that low δD and δ¹⁸O values are the result of the fluid being derived from the breakdown of clay minerals that formed and were deposited at a time of cold climate at ~290 Ma.     

Flexural deformation controls on Late Quaternary sediment dispersal in the Garo-Rajmahal Gap,NW Bengal Basin

Subsurface deformation is a driver for river path selection when deformation rates become comparable to the autogenic mobility rate of rivers. Here we combine geomorphology, soil and sediment facies analyses, and geophysical data of the Late Quaternary sediments of the central Garo-Rajmahal Gap in Northwest Bengal to link subsurface deformation with surface processes. We show variable sedimentation characteristics, from slow rates (<0.8 mm/year) in the Tista megafan at the foot of the Himalaya to nondeposition at the exposed surface of the Barind Tract to the south, enabling the development of mature soils. Combined subsidence in the Tista fan and uplift of the Barind Tract are consistent with a N-S flexural response of the Indian plate to loading of the Himalaya Mountains given a low value of elastic thickness (15–25 km). Provenance analysis based on bulk strontium concentration suggests a dispersal of sediment consistent with this flexural deformation—in particular the abandonment of the Barind Tract by a Pleistocene Brahmaputra River and the current extents of the Tista megafan lobes. Overall, these results highlight the control by deeply rooted deformation patterns on the routing of sediment by large rivers in foreland settings.     

Variation in Coronal Activity from Solar Cycle 24 Minimum to Maximum Using Three-Dimensional Reconstructions of the Coronal Electron Density from STEREO/COR1

Three-dimensional electron density distributions in the solar corona are reconstructed for 100 Carrington rotations (CR 2054?–?2153) during 2007/03?–?2014/08 using the spherically symmetric method from polarized white-light observations with the inner coronagraph (COR1) onboard the twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). These three-dimensional electron density distributions are validated by comparison with similar density models derived using other methods such as tomography and a magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model as well as using data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO)-C2. Uncertainties in the estimated total mass of the global corona are analyzed based on differences between the density distributions for COR1-A and -B. Long-term variations of coronal activity in terms of the global and hemispheric average electron densities (equivalent to the total coronal mass) reveal a hemispheric asymmetry during the rising phase of Solar Cycle 24, with the northern hemisphere leading the southern hemisphere by a phase shift of 7?–?9 months. Using 14 CR (\(\approx13\)-month) running averages, the amplitudes of the variation in average electron density between Cycle 24 maximum and Cycle 23/24 minimum (called the modulation factors) are found to be in the range of 1.6?–?4.3. These modulation factors are latitudinally dependent, being largest in polar regions and smallest in the equatorial region. These modulation factors also show a hemispheric asymmetry: they are somewhat larger in the southern hemisphere. The wavelet analysis shows that the short-term quasi-periodic oscillations during the rising and maximum phases of Cycle 24 have a dominant period of 7?–?8 months. In addition, it is found that the radial distribution of the mean electron density for streamers at Cycle 24 maximum is only slightly larger (by \(\approx30\%\)) than at cycle minimum.     

Long term evolution of distant retrograde orbits in the Earth-Moon system

This work studies the evolution of several Distant Retrograde Orbits (DROs) of varying size in the Earth-Moon system over durations up to tens of millennia. This analysis is relevant for missions requiring a completely hands off, long duration quarantine orbit, such as a Mars Sample Return mission or the Asteroid Redirect Mission. Four DROs are selected from four stable size regions and are propagated for up to 30,000 years with an integrator that uses extended precision arithmetic techniques and a high fidelity dynamical model. The evolution of the orbit’s size, shape, orientation, period, out-of-plane amplitude, and Jacobi constant are tracked. It has been found that small DROs, with minor axis amplitudes of approximately 45,000 km or less decay in size and period largely due to the Moon’s solid tides. Larger DROs (62,000 km and up) are more influenced by the gravity of bodies external to the Earth-Moon system, and remain bound to the Moon for significantly less time.     

Preliminary assessment of the ATHENA/WFI non-X-ray background

We present a preliminary assessment of the non-X-ray background for the WFI on board ATHENA conducted at IAAT in the context of the collaborative background and radiation damage working group activities. Our main result is that in the baseline configuration originally assumed for the camera the requirement on the level of non-X-ray background could not be met. In light of the results of Geant4 simulations we propose and discuss a possible optimization of the camera design and pinpoint some open issues to be addressed in the next phase of investigation. One of these concerns the possible contribution to the non-X-ray background from soft protons and ions funneled to the focal plane through the optics. This is not quantified at this stage, here we just briefly report on our ongoing activities aimed at validating the mechanisms of proton scattering at grazing incidence.     

Second-order wave maker theory using force-feedback control. Part I: A new theory for regular wave generation

Second-order wave maker theory has long been established; the most extensive and detailed approach given by Schäffer [1996. Second-order wave maker theory for irregular waves. Ocean Engineering 23, 47–88]. However, all existing theories assume the wave paddle is driven by a position-feedback motion controller. Early research in the wave power field led to the design of a force-controlled absorbing wave machine [Salter, S., 1982. Absorbing wave-makers and wide tanks. In: Directional Wave Spectra Applications, pp. 185–200]. In addition to operating as an excellent absorber, this machine seemed to introduce very little spurious harmonic content when driven with a first-order command signal. The present paper provides a mathematical model for the operation of wave makers using force-feedback control and seeks to explain this apparent advantage. The model is developed to second-order so that a command signal compensating for the remaining spurious wave is also provided. Due to the complexity of the problem, the model has been limited to flap-type wave machines and the generation of regular waves. A variety of numerical tests in force-control mode have been conducted, indicating that the spurious wave content is greatly reduced when compared to the position-control mode. A separate experimental study validating the theory is presented in a part II paper by the same authors.     

Altering intertidal sediment topography: effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

Sedimentary marine systems are often highly productive and perform important nutrient regeneration functions as they efficiently decompose organic material. In recent years the role of habitat effects and of species composition in ecosystem functioning has become of interest. Estuarine environments are frequently subject to considerable anthropogenic pressures whilst supporting a variety of habitats ranging from well sorted soft muds through biogenically stable sediments to highly mobile coarse sands. There is therefore considerable spatial complexity in habitat type and faunal composition. This study set out to observe the effects of altering the topographical habitat features of an estuarine mudflat on a range of porewater nutrient concentrations (NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, PO₄³⁻ and SiO) collected from four depths (3, 5, 9, and 12 cm) and on faunal composition. Two treatments (Shelled Nets and Net Controls) were used to alter the topography from simple mud to a mussel shell crumble and were compared to un-manipulated Control areas. Sediment granulometry and organic matter content analyses alongside biological traits analysis of the fauna were also conducted.
Differences were observed in porewater nutrient concentrations between the Control and both netted treatments at 5 cm depth only; the species diversity and abundance were also different in the netted treatments compared to the Controls, although no difference between the two manipulated treatments were observed. The changes in faunal composition were attributed solely to the altered topography and the observed nutrient changes were attributed to the faunal alteration rather than the topographical manipulation.     

Exploring uncertainty in remotely sensed data with parallel coordinate plots

The existence of uncertainty in classified remotely sensed data necessitates the application of enhanced techniques for identifying and visualizing the various degrees of uncertainty. This paper, therefore, applies the multidimensional graphical data analysis technique of parallel coordinate plots (PCP) to visualize the uncertainty in Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data classified by the Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and Fuzzy C-Means (FCM). The Landsat TM data are from the Yellow River Delta, Shandong Province, China. Image classification with MLC and FCM provides the probability vector and fuzzy membership vector of each pixel. Based on these vectors, the Shannon's entropy (S.E.) of each pixel is calculated. PCPs are then produced for each classification output. The PCP axes denote the posterior probability vector and fuzzy membership vector and two additional axes represent S.E. and the associated degree of uncertainty. The PCPs highlight the distribution of probability values of different land cover types for each pixel, and also reflect the status of pixels with different degrees of uncertainty. Brushing functionality is then added to PCP visualization in order to highlight selected pixels of interest. This not only reduces the visualization uncertainty, but also provides invaluable information on the positional and spectral characteristics of targeted pixels.     

Large area forest inventory using Landsat ETM+: A geostatistical approach

Large area forest inventory is important for understanding and managing forest resources and ecosystems. Remote sensing, the Global Positioning System (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS) provide new opportunities for forest inventory. This paper develops a new systematic geostatistical approach for predicting forest parameters, using integrated Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images, GPS, and GIS. Forest parameters, such as basal area, height, health conditions, biomass, or carbon, can be incorporated as a response variable, and the geostatistical approach can be used to predict parameter values for uninventoried points. Using basal area as the response and Landsat ETM+ images of pine stands in Georgia as auxiliary data, this approach includes univariate kriging (ordinary kriging and universal kriging) and multivariable kriging (co-kriging and regression kriging). The combination of bands 4, 3, and 2, as well as the combination of bands 5, 4, and 3, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and principal components (PCs) were used in this study with co-kriging and regression kriging. Validation based on 200 randomly sampling points withheld field inventory was computed to evaluate the kriging performance and demonstrated that band combination 543 performed better than band combination 432, NDVI, and PCs. Regression kriging resulted in the smallest errors and the highest R-squared indicating the best geostatistical method for spatial predictions of pine basal area.