Exsolution of Ca-amphibole from glaucophane and the miscibility gap between sodic and calcic amphiboles

Transmission and analytical electron microscopy (TEM/AEM) of glaucophane from glaucophane + Ca-amphibole-bearing blueschist and eclogite from two Vermont localities (Ecologite Brook and Tillotson Peak) and one California locality (Cazadero) has revealed the first evidence from exsolution for the miscibility gap between sodie and calcic amphiboles. The Tillotson Peak samples and the Cazadero samples contain coarsegrained glaucophane—actinolite pairs, while the Eclogite Brook samples contain coexisting glaucophane and actinolitic hornblende. Ca-rich glaucophanes contain abundant fine-scale lamellae of Ca-rich amphibole. These lamellae are usually oriented near (100) and . High-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images show them to be coherent. The exsolution lamellae are so narrow, beyond the resolution of AEM, that their true Ca contents are obscured by analytical contributions from the surrounding host. The AEM data suggest that the lamellae are either winchite or actinolite, depending on the true Ca concentration. In most cases, the exsolution lamellae have very curved interfaces and show variable orientation. This is attributed to the close similarity of unit-cell parameters for the two amphiboles. Three-dimensional optimal phase-boundary calculations using EPLAG (Fleet 1982) show that the observed 100 and orientations are consistent with the minimization of area strain between the two lattices along the interface. Some samples show evidence for incipient exsolution in the form of homogeneously distributed, fine-scale precipitates. These results suggest that Ca-rich glaucophanes from other glaucophane—actinolite assemblages may be exsolved at the TEM scale. The coexisting amphiboles from Eclogite Brook also have been studied using the electron microprobe (EMP). The compositional gap defined by the Eclogite Brook pairs is consistent with previously reported results, but shows a wider break along the glaucophane—actinolite pseudobinary join, suggesting very limited solid solution up to temper-atures of about 500–550°C. The glaucophanes are relatively poor in Ca, except for one anomalous grain containing Ca-amphibole lamellae. Ferric iron, estimated by normalization to fixed cation numbers, is strongly partitioned into the actinolitic hornblende and the glaucophanes are very poor in the riebeckite component.     

Quasi-thermal Noise Spectra Measured by a Dipole Antenna in the Upper Hybrid frequency band

Quasi-thermal noise (QTN) spectroscopy is one of the most effective tools for in situ diagnostics in space plasmas (Meyer-Vernet et al., 1998; Meyer-Vernet and Perche, 1989; Chugunov and Trakhtengerts, 1978). This method produces routine measurements of the bulk electron density and temperature; recently it has been extended to measure the ion bulk speed. Among the advantages of the method its immunity to spacecraft potential and photoelectron perturbations should be noted. Quasi-thermal noise spectroscopy is used particularly on Ulysses and Wind. However for the interpretation of QTN data the calculation of the noise voltage induced on antennas under different conditions is necessary. This question is especially complicated and so far insufficiently studied in magnetized plasmas. In the present paper we calculate the spectrum of the noise voltage induced on a dipole antenna in the upper hybrid frequency range. The computations are adapted to the interpretation of data acquired on the Ulysses and Wind spacecraft. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The importance of the geophysical context in statistical evaluations of climate reconstruction procedures

A portion of the debate about climate reconstructions of the past millennium, and in particular about the well-known Mann-Bradley-Hughes (“MBH” 1998, 1999) reconstructions, has become disconnected from the goal of understanding natural climate variability. Here, we reflect on what can be learned from recent scientific exchanges and identify important challenges that remain to be addressed openly and productively by the community. One challenge arises from the real, underlying trend in temperatures during the instrumental period. This trend can affect regression-based reconstruction performance in cases where the calibration period does not appropriately cover the range of conditions encountered during the reconstruction. However, because it is tied to a unique spatial pattern driven by change in radiative balance, the trend cannot simply be removed in the method of climate field reconstruction used by MBH on the statistical argument of preserving degrees of freedom. More appropriately, the influence from the trend can be taken into account in some methods of significance testing. We illustrate these considerations as they apply to the MBH reconstruction and show that it remains robust back to AD 1450, and given other empirical information also back to AD 1000. However, there is now a need to move beyond hemispheric average temperatures and to focus instead on resolving climate variability at the socially more relevant regional scale.     

Salinity history of coastal marshes reconstructed from diatom remains

Sediment cores were collected from three Louisiana coastal marsh ponds, dated with radioisotopes, and analyzed for diatom remains to determine if long-term salinity changes were evident in the sediment record. A diatom-based salinity index formulated from a statistical comparison of available salinity data and changing diatom assemblages demonstrated that diatom remains appear to preserve salinity signals in coastal brackish and salt marsh environments. The salinity index was applied to sediment cores spanning the late 1600s to the 1990s and provided a more complete record of salinity than field data, which were temporally and spatially incomplete. The salinity reconstructions indicated that salinity has increased at two sites and decreased at a third since the early 1900s. The salinity changes are less than 1‰ per decade in all cases, and may be due to natural variability as depicted by the wide range of salinities observed between the late 1600s and 1900. Salinity regimes may be very localized (<2 km from a hydrologic source), indicating single-site studies may not be applicable to regional inferences. This study demonstrates that diatoms can be used to reconstruct past salinity in coastal marsh environments and can provide a useful tool with which to study the changing hydrology of river-influenced ecosystems.     

Modeling Arctic Boundary Layer Cloud Streets at Grey-zone Resolutions

To better understand how model resolution affects the formation of Arctic boundary layer clouds, we investigated the influence of grid spacing on simulating cloud streets that occurred near Utqia?vik(formerly Barrow), Alaska, on 2 May2013 and were observed by MODIS(the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). The Weather Research and Forecasting model was used to simulate the clouds using nested domains with increasingly fine resolution ranging from a horizontal grid spacing of 27 km in t...     

Methane emission measurements in urban areas in Eastern Germany

We have investigated methane emissions from urban sources in the former East Germany using innovative measurement techniques including a mobile real-time methane instrument and tracer release experiments. Anthropogenic and biogenic sources were studied with the emphasis on methane emissions from gas system sources, including urban distribution facilities and a production plant. Methane fluxes from pressure regulating stations ranged from 0.006 to 24. l/min. Emissions from diffuse sources in urban areas were also measured with concentration maps and whole city flux experiments. The area fluxes of the two towns studied were 0.37 and 1.9 g/m²/s. The emissions from individual gas system stations and total town emissions of this study are comparable to results of similar sites examined in the United States.     

Seismic Precursors to Space Shuttle Shock Fronts

—?Seismic precursors to space shuttle re-entry shock fronts are detected at TXAR in Southwest Texas when the ground track of the orbiter vehicle passes within ～150–200?km of the observatory. These precursors have been termed “shuttle-quakes” because their seismograms superficially mimic the seismograms of small earthquakes from shallow sources. Analysis of the “shuttle-quake” seismograms, however, reveals one important difference. Unlike ordinary earthquakes, the propagation azimuths and horizontal phase velocities of the individual phases of the “shuttle-quakes” are functionally related. From a theoretical model developed to account for the origin of these precursors it is found that the seismic phases of “shuttle-quakes” are “bow” waves. A “bow” wave originates at the advancing tip of the shock front trace (i.e., intersection of the re-entry shock front with the surface of the earth) when the ground speed of the orbiter vehicle exceeds the horizontal phase velocity of a particular seismic phase. “Bow” waves are shown to differ in two important respects from the ordinary seismic phases. They vanish ahead of the advancing tip of the shock front trace and their propagation azimuths and horizontal phase velocities are functionally related. The ground speed of the orbiter vehicle exceeds the horizontal phase velocities of crustal seismic phase over much of the re-entry flight profile. As a result, P,S, and R _g “bow” waves will be seen as precursors to the re-entry shock front at stations located within a few hundred km of its ground track.     

Interaction of the sea breeze with a river breeze in an area of complex coastal heating

A three-dimensional finite-element mesoscale model is used to study the interaction of two different but related mesoscale phenomena in an area having a complex pattern of surface heating. The model simulations have been compared with temperature and wind fields observed on a typical fall day during the Kennedy Space Center Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment on the east coast of Florida.Numerical results and observations both show that the meso- scale flow field is significantly modified from the conventional coastal-flow patterns by the smaller meso- scale irregular geographic features in this area. A local river breeze is observed to develop around the Indian River almost the same time as the Atlantic sea breeze. A comparison of the sea and the river breezes shows a large difference in their horizontal circulations but only slight differences in their vertical scales. The sea breeze intensifies more rapidly than the river breeze, so that a lag of 1 to 1.5 h exists between their most developed stages. The river breeze is relatively stationary, whereas the sea breeze propagates inland, with an eventual merger of the two circulations occurring about 6–8 h after their onset.Different synoptic wind regimes create different flow structures. Well-defined sea- and river-breeze circulations become established under calm, weak offshore, and weak alongshore synoptic-wind conditions. Maximum vertical velocities occur in the sea-breeze front (river-breeze front) in the cases of calm (offshore winds). The sea breeze and the river breeze are weaker when the synoptic winds are stronger.Finally, the results from numerical experiments designed to isolate the rivers' effect indicate that the convergence in the sea-breeze front is suppressed when it passes over the cooler surface of the rivers.Journal Paper No. J-14150 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, Project No. 2779     

Post‐Late Paleozoic Collisional Framework of Southern Great Altai

We outline the post-Late Paleozoic (latest Permian to Cenozoic) collisional framework of the southern Great Altai (Central Asia) produced by the convergence between the Tuva-Mongolia and Junggar continental terranes (microplates). The collisional structures in the region classified on the basis of their geometry and deformation style, dynamic metamorphism, and compositions of tectonites are of three main types: (1) mosaic terranes made up of large weakly deformed Paleozoic blocks separated by younger shear zones; (2) contractional deformation systems involving structures formed in post-Late Paleozoic time, parallel faults oriented along collisional deformation systems, and relict lenses of Paleozoic orogenic complexes; and (3) isolated zones of dynamic metamorphism composed mostly of collisional tectonites different in composition and alteration grade.