Radio OH observations of 9P/Tempel 1 before and after Deep Impact

We observed 18-cm OH emission in Comet 9P/Tempel 1 before and after Deep Impact. Observations using the Arecibo Observatory 305 m telescope took place between 8 April and 9 June, 2005, followed by post-impact observations using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory 100 m Green Bank Telescope 4-12 July, 2005. The resulting spectra were analyzed with a kinematic Monte Carlo model which allows estimation of the OH production rate, neutral gas outflow velocity, and distribution of the out-gassing from the nucleus. We detected typically 24% variability from the overall OH production rate trend in the two months leading up to the impact, and no dramatic increase in OH production in the days post-impact. Generally, the coma is well-described, within uncertainties, by a symmetric model with OH production rates from 1.6 to , and mean water outflow velocity of . At these low production rates, collisional quenching is expected to occur only within 20,000 km of the nucleus. However, our best-fit average quenching radius is 64,200 ± 22,000 km in April and May.     

Spectroscopy of K-complex asteroids: Parent bodies of carbonaceous meteorites?

This is the first focused study of non-Eos K asteroids. We have observed a total of 30 K-complex objects (12 K-2 Sk- and 13 Xk-type asteroids (from the Bus taxonomy), plus 3 K-candidates from previous work) and we present an analysis of their spectral properties from 0.4 to 2.5 μm. We targeted these asteroids because their previous observations are spectrally similar enough to suggest a possible compositional relationship. All objects have exhibited spectral redness in the visible wavelengths and minor absorptions near 1 micron. If, as suggested, K-complex asteroids (including K, Xk, and Sk) are the parent bodies of carbonaceous meteorites, knowledge of K-asteroid properties and distribution is essential to our understanding of the cosmochemical importance of some of the most primitive meteorite materials in our collection. This paper presents initial results of our analysis of telescopic data, with supporting analysis of laboratory measurements of meteorite analogs. Our results indicate that K-complex asteroids are distinct from other main belt asteroid types (S, B, C, F, and G). They do not appear to be a subset of these other types. K asteroids nearly span the range of band center positions and geometric albedos exhibited by the carbonaceous chondrites (CO, CM, CV, CH, CK, CR, and CI). We find that B-, C-, F- and G-type asteroids tend to be darker than meteorites, and can have band centers longer than any of the chondrites measured here. This could indicate that K-complex asteroids are better spectral analogues for the majority of our carbonaceous meteorites than the traditional B-, C-, F- and G-matches suggested in the literature. This paper present first results of our ongoing survey to determine K-type mineralogy, meteorite linkages, and significance to the geology of the asteroid regions.     

New indices and calibrations derived from the distribution of crenarchaeal isoprenoid tetraether lipids: Implications for past sea surface temperature reconstructions

Several studies have shown that there is a strong relationship between the distribution of crenarchaeotal isoprenoid glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) and sea surface temperature (SST). Based on this, a ratio of certain GDGTs, called TEX₈₆ (TetraEther indeX of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbon atoms), was developed as a SST proxy. In this study, we determined the distribution of crenarchaeotal isoprenoid GDGTs in 116 core-top sediments mostly from (sub)polar oceans and combined these data with previously published core-top data. Using this extended global core-top dataset (n = 426), we re-assessed the relationship of crenarchaeal isoprenoid GDGTs with SST. We excluded data from the Red Sea from the global core-top dataset to define new indices and calibration models, as the Red Sea with its elevated salinity appeared to behave differently compared to other parts of the oceans. We tested our new indices and calibration models on three different paleo datasets, representing different temperature ranges. Our results indicate that the crenarchaeol regio-isomer plays a more important role for temperature adaptation in (sub)tropical oceans than in (sub)polar oceans, suggesting that there may be differences in membrane adaptation of the resident crenarchaeotal communities at different temperatures. We, therefore, suggest to apply two different calibration models. For the whole calibration temperature range (−3 to 30 °C), a modified version of TEX₈₆ with a logarithmic function which does not include the crenarchaeol regio-isomer, called , is shown to correlate best with SST: (r² = 0.86, n=396, p <0.0001). Application of on sediments from the subpolar Southern Ocean results in realistic absolute SST estimates and a similar SST trend compared to a diatom SST record from the same core. , which is defined as the logarithmic function of TEX₈₆, yields the best correlation with SST, when the data from the (sub)polar oceans are removed: (r² = 00.87, n = 255, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, gives the best correlation for mescosm data with temperatures ranging between 10 and 46 °C. For Quaternary sediments from the tropical Arabian Sea, both and yield similar trends and SST estimates. However, the extrapolation of calibration on a sediment record from a greenhouse world ocean predicts more reliable absolute SST estimates and relative SST changes in agreement with estimates based on the δ¹⁸O of planktonic foraminifera. Based on the comparison of and derived SSTs using the core top data, we recommend applying above 15 °C and below 15 °C. In cases where paleorecords encompass temperatures both below and above 15 °C, we suggest to use .     

The emotions of racialization: examining the intersection of emotion, race, and landscape through public housing in the United States

This paper analyzes racialization—the social construction of ‘race’ as a normative dimension of everyday life—and shows that emotion plays a central role in this process. My focus is the representation of post-World War II public housing, a key site of white-black racialization in the United States. Representations of filth, decay, and danger separate African-Americans from mainstream, white society as disturbingly different. I argue that this particular representation carries heavy emotional value, specifically that of disgust and fear. It is disgust and fear that racializes this landscape, giving meaning and force to an ideology that views African–Americans as inherently inferior to whites. Policy is framed by these emotions, impacting decisions made about public housing. I explore these ideas through contemporary representations of public housing by federal officials in Washington, DC and by newspapers in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as the federal program HOPE VI.     

Review study on near-natural conditions of Central European mountain streams, with particular reference to debris and beaver dams: Results of the “REG meeting” 2000

This paper summarises the results of the “Rhithron Ecology Group” meeting in Essen (March 2000), supplemented by a literature evaluation.An extended view of small mountain streams in Central Europe under “potentially natural conditions” is presented. We focus on the potential impact of natural transverse structures (debris dams and beaver dams) on stream morphology, hydrology, habitat composition and communities. Furthermore, impact of other stream morphological features, which are presently lacking in the Central European landscape, is described.We suggest that Central European mountain streams are characterised by a higher proportion of lentic zones under “potentially natural conditions”. Morphological degradation leads to a loss of lentic zones and to an increase of current velocities and corresponding changes in faunal composition, particularly higher abundance and proportion of rheophilic species and a decrease of species preferring lentic zones. This should be regarded in future stream assessment.     

Tephra layers in the Byrd Station ice core and the Dome C ice core, Antarctica and their climatic importance

Volcanic glass shards from tephra layers in the Byrd Station ice core were chemically analyzed by electron microprobe. Tephra in seven layers have similar peralkaline trachyte compositions. The tephra are believed to originate from Mt. Takahe, on the basis of their chemical similarity to analyzed rocks from Mt. Takahe and because dated rock samples from the volcano are younger than 250,000 years old. Glass shards from 726 m deep in the Dome C ice core, which is 2400 km from Byrd Station, are composed of peralkaline trachyte and may have also been derived from Mt. Takahe. The tephra could have resulted from eruptions which were triggered by increased ice loading during the late Wisconsin glaciation. Preliminary grain size data suggest the eruptions were only minor and they were unlikely to have instantaneously altered global climate as have explosive eruptions in the tropics. Nevertheless, the effect of this localized volcanic activity upon the Antarctic energy budget warrants further investigation.     

The relationship between freezing and desiccation tolerance in the marine snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Stimpson)

Temperature acclimation influenced the desiccation tolerance of the marine snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Nassarius obsoletus). I. obsoleta acclimated to 35‰ seawater at 18°C could survive for 116 hours, and tolerate a 57% loss of body water when desiccated at 15 °C in air with a relative humidity of 35%. In contrast, I. obsoleta acclimated to 3°C seawater survived for only 76 hours, and could not tolerate more than a 37% loss of body water. These results were used to support the proposition that freezing and desiccation tolerance are closely related in I. obsoleta.     

Fission track dating of kimberlitic zircons

The only reliable method for dating kimberlites at present is the lengthy and specialized hydrothermal procedure that extracts²⁰⁶Pb and²³⁸U from low-uranium zircons. This paper describes a second successful method by fission track dating of large single-crystal zircons, 1.0–1.5 cm in dimension. The use of large crystals overcomes the limitations imposed in conventional fission track analysis which utilizes crushed fragments. Low track densities, optical track dispersion, and the random orientation of polished surfaces in the etch and irradiation cycle are effectively overcome.Fission track ages of zircons from five African kimberlites are reported, from the Kimberley Pool (90.3 ± 6.5 m.y.), Orapa (87.4 ± 5.7 and 92.4 ± 6.1 m.y.), Nzega (51.1 ± 3.8 m.y.), Koffiefontein (90.0 ± 8.2 m.y.), and Val do Queve (133.4 ± 11.5 m.y.). In addition we report the first radiometric ages (707.9 ± 59.6 and 705.5 ± 61.0 m.y.) of crustal zircons from kimberlites in northwest Liberia. The fission track ages agree well with earlier age estimates. Most of the zircons examined in this study are zoned with respect to uranium but linear correlations are established (by regression analysis) between zones of variable uranium content, and within zones of constant uranium content (by analysis of variance). Concordance between the fission track method and the U/Pb technique is established and we concluded that track fading from thermal annealing has not taken place. Kimberlitic zircons dated in this study, therefore, record the time of eruption.     

MnO/TiO2/P2O5: a minor element discriminant for basaltic rocks of oceanic environments and its implications for petrogenesis

A ternary diagram using MnO, TiO₂, P₂O₅ can discriminate between five petrotectonic environments of basaltic rocks (45–54% SiO₂). Fields for mid-ocean ridge, island arc tholeiite, island arc calc-alkaline, ocean island tholeiite, and ocean island alkalic rocks were distinguished on the basis of 507 analyses from well-defined environments. Boninites plot within island arc fields. Continental tholeiites, such as the Columbia River basalts, are high in P₂O₅ relative to MnO and TiO₂, and overlap portions of all five oceanic fields.MnO is depleted relative to TiO₂ in mid-ocean ridge analyses and may be controlled by early fractionation of olivine and/or clinopyroxene under conditions of lowf_O2. In island arc rocks, MnO is enriched relative to TiO₂ due to early crystallization of titanomagnetite in a high-f_O2 environment. Primitive mid-ocean ridge and arc tholeiites have similar MnO/TiO₂/P₂O₅ ratios which indicate a grossly similar parent magma. Increasingly differentiated basaltic rocks are more easily classified by the diagram. High relative abundances of TiO₂ and P₂O₅ in ocean island rocks are consistent with their derivation from a separate source.Despite the purported high mobility of MnO, the MnO/TiO₂/P₂O₅ discriminant diagram may be applied to unspilitized and moderately spilitized zeolite to greenschist facies greenstones with good agreement between the environment determined by MnO/TiO₂/P₂O₅ and by other means such as trace elements, REE, or field relations.