On the emergence of life via catalytic iron-sulphide membranes

We propose that the precipitation of a gelatinous iron-sulphide membrane is the necessary first step towards life. Membrane vesicles were inflated with alkaline, sulphide-bearing hydrothermal (<200°C) solution and grew on a submarine sulphide mound in acid iron-bearing Hadean seawater. Once a critical size had been reached (0.1–1 mm) vesicles would have budded contiguous self-similar daughters. We assume that the membrane was rendered insulating by the adsorption and/or oxidative precipitation of organic and organosulphur compounds. As a consequence of the naturally induced proton-motive (chemiosmotic) force, and the activity of the iron monosulphide redox catalysts within the membrane, organic compounds would have accumulated within the vesicle. Osmotically driven growth therefore became more significant with time. The geochemical environment envisaged as responsible for this first step towards life is consistent with that widely accepted for the early Earth.     

Earliest high-Ti volcanism on the Moon: 40Ar-39Ar,Sm-Nd,and Rb-Sr isotopic studies of Group D basalts from the Apollo 11 landing site

Abstract High-Ti basalts from the Apollo collections span a range in age from 3.87 Ga to 3.55 Ga. The oldest of these are the common Apollo 11 Group B2 basalts which yield evidence of some of the earliest melting of the lunar mantle beneath Mare Tranquillitatis. Rare Group D high-Ti basalts from Mare Tranquillitatis have been studied in an attempt to confirm a postulated link with Group B2 basalts (Jerde et al., 1994). The initial Sr isotopic ratio of a known Group D basalt (0.69916 ± 3 at 3.85 Ga) lies at the lower end of the tight range for Group B2 basalts (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.69920 to 0.69921). One known Group D basalt and a second postulated Group D basalt yield indistinguishable initial ?_Nd (1.2 ± 0.6 and 1.2 ± 0.3) and again lie at the lower end of the range for the Group B2 basalts from Apollo 11 (+2.0 ± 0.4 to +3.9 ± 0.6, at 3.85 Ga). A third sample has isotopic (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.69932 ± 2; ?_Nd = 2.5 ± 0.4; at 3.59 Ga; as per Snyder et al., 1994b) and elemental characteristics similar to the Group A high-Ti basalts returned from the Apollo 11 landing site. Ages of ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar have been determined for one known Group D basalt and a second postulated Group D basalt using step-heating with a continuous-wave laser. Suspected Group D basalt, 10002, 1006, yielded disturbed age spectra on two separate runs, which was probably due to ³⁹Ar recoil effects. Using the “reduced plateau age” method of Turner et al. (1978), the ages derived from this sample were 3898 ± 19 and 3894 ± 19 Ma. Three separate runs of known Group D basalt 10002, 116 yielded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 3798 ± 9 Ma, 3781 ± 8 Ma, and 3805 ± 7 Ma (all errors 2σ). Furthermore, this sample has apparently suffered significant ⁴⁰Ar loss either due to solar heating or due to meteorite impact. The loss of a significant proportion of ⁴⁰Ar at such a time means that the plateau ages underestimate the “true” crystallization age of the sample. Modelling of this Ar loss yields older, “true” ages of 3837 ± 18, 3826 ± 16, and 3836 ± 14 Ma. These ages overlap the ages of Group B2 high-Ti basalts (weighted average age = 3850 ± 20 Ma; range in ages = 3.80 to 3.90 Ga). The combined evidence indicates that the Group D and B2 high-Ti basalts could be coeval and may be genetically related, possibly through increasing degrees of melting of a similar source region in the upper mantle of the Moon that formed >4.2 Ga ago. The Group D basalts were melted from the source first and contained 3–5×more trapped KREEP-like liquid than the later (by possibly only a few million years) Group B2 basalts. Furthermore, the relatively LREE- and Rb-enriched nature of these early magmas may lend credence to the idea that the decay of heat-producing elements enriched in the KREEP-like trapped liquid of upper mantle cumulates, such as K, U, and Th, could have initiated widespread lunar volcanism.     

Investigating the Astrophysical Applicability of Radiative and Non-Radiative Blast wave Structure in Cluster Media

We describe experiments that investigate the capability of an experimental platform, based on laser-driven blast waves created in a medium of atomic clusters, to produce results that can be scaled to astrophysical situations. Quantitative electron density profiles were obtained for blast waves produced in hydrogen, argon, krypton and xenon through the interaction of a high intensity (I ≈ 10¹⁷ Wcm⁻²), sub-ps laser pulse. From this we estimate the local post-shock temperature, compressibility, shock strength and adiabatic index for each gas. Direct comparisons between blast wave structures for consistent relative gas densities were achieved through careful gas jet parameter control. From these we investigate the applicability of different radiative and Sedov-Taylor self-similar solutions, and therefore the (ρ,T) phase space that we can currently access.     

Transmission electron microscopy of minerals in the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001

Abstract— We have studied carbonate and associated oxides and glasses in a demountable section of Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001) using optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to elucidate their origins and the shock history of the rock. Massive, fracture‐zone, and fracture‐filling carbonates in typical locations were characterized by TEM, X‐ray microanalysis, and electron diffraction in a comprehensive study that preserved textural and spatial relationships. Orthopyroxene is highly deformed, fractured, partially comminuted, and essentially unrecovered. Lamellae of diaplectic glass and other features indicate shock pressures >30 GPa. Bridging acicular crystals and foamy glass at contacts of orthopyroxene fragments indicate localized melting and vaporization of orthopyroxene. Carbonate crystals are >5 mm in size, untwinned, and very largely exhibit the R3c calcite structure. Evidence of plastic deformation is generally found mildly only in fracture‐zone and fracture‐filling carbonates, even adjacent to highly deformed orthopyroxene, and appears to have been caused by low‐stress effects including differential shrinkage. High dislocation densities like those observed in moderately shocked calcite are absent. Carbonate contains impactderived glasses of plagioclase, silica, and orthopyroxene composition indicating brief localized impact heating. Stringers and lenses of orthopyroxene glass in fracture‐filling carbonate imply flow of carbonates and crystallization during an impact. Periclase (MgO) occurs in magnesite as 30–50 nm crystals adjacent to voids and negative crystals and as ?1 μm patches of 3 nm crystals showing weak preferred orientation consistent with (111)_MgO//(0001)_carb, as observed in the thermal decomposition of CaCO₃ to CaO. Magnetite crystals that are epitaxially oriented at voids, negative crystals, and microfractures clearly formed in situ. Fully embedded, faceted magnetites are topotactically oriented, in general with (111)_mag//(0001)_carb, so that their oxygen layers are aligned. In optically opaque rims, magnetites are more irregularly shaped and, except for the smallest crystals, poorly aligned. All magnetite and periclase crystals probably formed by exsolution from slightly non‐stoichiometric, CO₂‐poor carbonate following impact‐induced thermal decomposition. Any magnetites that existed in the rock before shock heating could not have preserved evidence for biogenic activity.     

Quantifying wave measurement differences in historical and present wave buoy systems

Ocean Dynamics - An intra-measurement evaluation was undertaken, deploying a NOMAD buoy equipped with three National Data Buoy Center and two Environment and Climate Change Canada-AXYS...     

Biogeochemistry of sterols in plankton, settling particles and recent sediments in a cold ocean ecosystem (Trinity Bay, Newfoundland)

In the context of a multidisciplinary study to determine current and past ecosystem health and the relative contributions of sources of organic matter (marine vs. terrestrial and natural vs. anthropogenic input), sterols were determined in plankton, settling particles and sediments from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, a sub-polar Atlantic Ocean ecosystem. The centric diatoms Chaetoceros spp., Thalassiosira spp. and Leptocylindrus danicus were all prominent in the plankton samples, and centric diatoms predominated in the settling particles. Plankton samples contained 0.4±0.4 mg/g dw (1995) or 1.4±1.3 mg/g dw (1996) total sterols, with cholesta-5,24-dien-3β-ol (mean 26% of total sterols), cholest-5-en-3β-ol (24%) and cholesta-5,22(E)-dien-3β-ol (13%) chief among these, denoting diatom and zooplankton sources. In settling particles, the prominence of cholesta-5,24-dien-3β-ol (24%), cholest-5-en-3β-ol (24%), cholesta-5,22(E)-dien-3β-ol (13%) and 24-methylcholesta-5,22(E)-dien-3β-ol (9%) again suggested mainly marine sources. The sterol composition of plankton and settling particles from different sampling periods showed a high degree of consistency. Higher plant C₂₉ sterols (notably 24-ethylcholest-5-en-3β-ol, 9–26%) were prominent in sediments from both inshore and offshore sites. No decreasing trend in total or individual sterols was observed down the 30-cm sediment cores, suggesting good overall preservation. No 5β-stanols such as 5β-cholestan-3β-ol (coprostanol) were detected in offshore sediments, plankton or settling particles, with only low levels (5β-cholestan-3β-ol max. 4.4%, 5β-cholestan-3α-ol max. 5.1%) in certain inshore sediments. This suggests that raw sewage discharges in rural Newfoundland are being efficiently degraded or dispersed, or that inputs are highly localized. Source apportionation of organic matter in the sediment samples based on sterol composition was attempted. This highlighted the large terrestrial contribution to the sterols in marine sediments (up to 58% of sterols inshore, 24% offshore) and suggests either degradation or effective recycling of marine sterols.     

Atmospheric inversion strength over polar oceans in winter regulated by sea ice

Low-level temperature inversions are a common feature of the wintertime troposphere in the Arctic and Antarctic. Inversion strength plays an important role in regulating atmospheric processes including air pollution, ozone destruction, cloud formation, and negative longwave feedback mechanisms that shape polar climate response to anthropogenic forcing. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument provides reliable measures of spatial patterns in mean wintertime inversion strength when compared with available radiosonde observations and reanalysis products. Here, we examine the influence of sea ice concentration on inversion strength in the Arctic and Antarctic. Correlation of inversion strength with mean annual sea ice concentration, likely a surrogate for the effective thermal conductivity of the wintertime ice pack, yields strong, linear relationships in the Arctic (r?=?0.88) and Antarctic (r?=?0.86). We find a substantially greater (stronger) linear relationship between sea ice concentration and surface air temperature than with temperature at 850?hPa, lending credence to the idea that sea ice controls inversion strength through modulation of surface heat fluxes. As such, declines in sea ice in either hemisphere may imply weaker mean inversions in the future. Comparison of mean inversion strength in AIRS and global climate models (GCMs) suggests that many GCMs poorly characterize mean inversion strength at high latitudes.     

Tropical influence on boreal summer mid-latitude stationary waves

While organized tropical convection is a well-known source of extratropical planetary waves, state-of-the-art climate models still show serious deficiencies in simulating accurately the atmospheric response to tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and the associated teleconnections. In the present study, the remote influence of the tropical atmospheric circulation is evaluated in ensembles of global boreal summer simulations in which the Arpege-Climat atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM) is nudged towards 6-h reanalyses. The nudging is applied either in the whole tropical band or in a regional summer monsoon domain. Sensitivity tests to the experimental design are first conducted using prescribed climatological SST. They show that the tropical relaxation does not improve the zonal mean extratropical climatology but does lead to a significantly improved representation of the mid-latitude stationary waves in both hemispheres. Low-pass filtering of the relaxation fields has no major effect on the model response, suggesting that high-frequency tropical variability is not responsible for extratropical biases. Dividing the nudging strength by a factor 10 only decreases the magnitude of the response. Model errors in each monsoon domain contribute to deficiencies in the model??s mid-latitude climatology, although an exaggerated large-scale subsidence in the central equatorial Pacific appears as the main source of errors for the representation of stationary waves in the Arpege-Climat model. Case studies are then conducted using either climatological or observed SST. The focus is first on summer 2003 characterized by a strong and persistent anticyclonic anomaly over western Europe. This pattern is more realistic in nudging experiments than in simulations only driven by observed SST, especially when the nudging domain is centred over Central America. Other case studies also show a significant tropical forcing of the summer mid-latitude stationary waves and suggest a weak influence of prescribed observed SST in the northern extratropics. Results therefore indicate that improving the tropical divergent circulation and its response to tropical SST anomalies remains a key issue for increasing the skill of extratropical seasonal predictions, not only in the winter hemisphere but also in the boreal summer hemisphere where the prediction of heatwave and drought likelihood is expected to become an important challenge with increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.     

Iron geochemical zonation in a tidally inundated acid sulfate soil wetland

Tidal inundation is a new technique for remediating coastal acid sulfate soils (CASS). Here, we examine the effects of this technique on the geochemical zonation and cycling of Fe across a tidally inundated CASS toposequence, by investigating toposequence hydrology, in situ porewater geochemistry, solid-phase Fe fractions and Fe mineralogy. Interactions between topography and tides exerted a fundamental hydrological control on the geochemical zonation, redistribution and subsequent mineralogical transformations of Fe within the landscape. Reductive dissolution of Fe(III) minerals, including jarosite (KFe₃(SO₄)₂(OH)₆), resulted in elevated concentrations of porewater Fe²⁺ (> 30 mmol L^?1) in former sulfuric horizons in the upper-intertidal zone. Tidal forcing generated oscillating hydraulic gradients, driving upward advection of this Fe²⁺-enriched porewater along the intertidal slope. Subsequent oxidation of Fe²⁺ led to substantial accumulation of reactive Fe(III) fractions (up to 8000 μmol g^?1) in redox-interfacial, tidal zone sediments. These Fe(III)-precipitates were poorly crystalline and displayed a distinct mineralisation sequence related to tidal zonation. Schwertmannite (Fe₈O₈(OH)₆SO₄) was the dominant Fe mineral phase in the upper-intertidal zone at mainly low pH (3–4). This was followed by increasing lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) and goethite (α-FeOOH) at circumneutral pH within lower-intertidal and subtidal zones. Relationships were evident between Fe fractions and topography. There was increasing precipitation of Fe-sulfide minerals and non-sulfidic solid-phase Fe(II) in the lower intertidal and subtidal zones. Precipitation of Fe-sulfide minerals was spatially co-incident with decreases in porewater Fe²⁺. A conceptual model is presented to explain the observed landscape-scale patterns of Fe mineralisation and hydro-geochemical zonation. This study provides valuable insights into the hydro-geochemical processes caused by saline tidal inundation of low lying CASS landscapes, regardless of whether inundation is an intentional strategy or due to sea-level rise.     

Old Smokey coal fire, Floyd County, Kentucky: Estimates of gaseous emission rates

Vent emissions of the Old Smokey coal fire, Floyd County, Kentucky, were studied in May and July, 2010. Vent emissions were generally lower in July, perhaps due to a shift in the fire front, change in vent structure, or another unidentified factor. Volatile organics in the vent gasses contain dangerous levels of toxic, carcinogenic, and other hazardous compounds. Benzene ranges to nearly 400 parts per billion (volume) at one vent. Toluene exceeds 104 parts per billion (volume) at the same vent.Flux rates for CO₂ and CO range to 85,000 mg/s/m² and 89 mg/s/m², respectively, for various vents for the two measuring times. Estimates of total CO₂ emissions, possibly less than 1000 t/year, are within the range of other eastern Kentucky coal fires.