The Triassic age for oceanic eclogites in the Dabie orogen: Entrainment of oceanic fragments in the continental subduction

Low-temperature and high-pressure eclogites with an oceanic affinity in the western part of the Dabie orogen have been investigated with combined Lu–Hf and U–Pb geochronology. These eclogites formed over a range of temperatures (482–565 °C and 1.9–2.2 GPa). Three eclogites, which were sampled from the Gaoqiao country, yielded Lu–Hf ages of 240.7 ± 1.2 Ma, 243.3 ± 4.1 Ma and 238.3 ± 1.2 Ma, with a corresponding lower-intercept U–Pb zircon age of 232 ± 26 Ma. Despite the well-preserved prograde major- and trace-element zoning in garnets, these Lu–Hf ages mostly reflect the high-pressure eclogite-facies metamorphism instead of representing the early phase of garnet growth due to the occurrence of omphacite inclusions from core to rim and the shell effect. An upper-intercept zircon U–Pb age of 765 ± 24 Ma is defined for the Gaoqiao eclogite, which is consistent with the weighted-mean age of 768 ± 21 Ma for the country gneiss. However, the gneiss has not been subjected to successive high-pressure metamorphism. The new Triassic ages are likely an estimate of the involvement of oceanic fragments in the continental subduction.     

Velocity of finer fragments from impact

We describe the method and the result of a new experiment to obtain velocity distribution of fine ejecta fragments, from a few to a hundred microns in size, produced from basalt targets by impacts of nylon projectiles at a velocity of 3.7 km s⁻¹. The size distribution of holes perforated by the ejecta fragments on thin films and foils placed around the targets was investigated, and the size-velocity relation was determined with the aid of an empirical formula for threshold penetration (McDonnell and Sullivan, Hypervelocity Impacts in Space, Unit for Space Sciences, University of Kent, 1992). The velocity of the fastest fragments, at a given size, is from the extrapolation of the size-velocity relation for 1–100 mm fragments (Nakamura and Fujiwara, Icarus92, 132–146, 1991; Nakamura et al, Icarus100, 127–135, 1992). The laboratory results are also compared with those obtained from the study of secondary craters around large lunar craters (Vickery, Icarus67, 224–236, 1986, Geophys. Res. Lett. 14, 726–729, 1987). All these data provide a smooth size-velocity relationship in the normalized fragment size range of four orders of magnitude.     

Physical parameters identification for full-scale ten-story reinforced concrete building with degrading tri-linear model by modal iterative error correction method

To assess the post-earthquake seismic safety of buildings, it is crucial to predict seismic response, and it is necessary to set the appropriate physical parameters of the response analysis model. Numerous methods have been proposed to identify physical parameters. However, most of them are limited to linear systems, and previous researches on nonlinear systems have difficulties in practical applications. In this paper, a nonlinear response analysis model is identified for a full-scale ten-story reinforced concrete building with the degrading tri-linear stiffness model by the modal iterative error correction (MIEC) method, and the accuracy of this technique is discussed by comparing with the shaking table test.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000917

Important ecological changes of the Earth(oxidization of the atmosphere and the ocean) increase in nutrient supply due to the break-up of the super continent(Rodinia) and the appearance of multi-cellular organisms(macroscopic algae and metazoan) took place in the Ediacaran period,priming the Cambrian explosion.The strong perturbations in carbon cycles in the ocean are recorded as excursions in carbonate and organic carbon isotope ratio(δ~(13)C_(carb) and δ~(13)C_(org)) from the Ediacaran through early Cambrian periods.The Ediacaran-early Cambrian sediment records of δ~(13)C_(carb) and δ~(13)C_(org),obtained from the drill-core samples in Three Gorges in South China,are compared with the results of numerical simulation of a simple one-zone model of the carbon cycle of the ocean,which has two reservoirs(i.e.,dissolved organic carbon(DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon(DIC).The fluxes from the reservoirs are assumed to be proportional to the mass of the carbon reservoirs.We constructed a model,referred to here as the Best Fit Model(BFM),which reproduce δ~(13)C_(carb) and δ~(13)C_(org) records in the Ediacaran-early Cambrian period noted above.BFM reveals that the Shuram excursion is related to three major changes in the carbon cycle or the global ecological system of the Earth:(1) an increase in the coefficient of remineralization by a factor of ca.100,possibly corresponding to a change in the dominant metabolism from anaerobic respiration to aerobic respiration,(2) an increase of carbon fractionation index from 25‰ to 33‰,possibly corresponding to the change in the primary producer from rock-living cyanobacteria to free-living macro algae,and(3) an increase in the coefficient of the organic carbon burial by a factor of ca.100,possibly corresponding to the onset of a biological pump driven by the flourishing metazoan and zooplankton.The former two changes took place at the start of the Shuram excursion,while the third occurred at the end of the Shuram excursion.The other two excursions are explained by the tentative decrease in primary production due to cold periods,which correspond to the Gaskiers(ca.580 Ma) and Bikonor(ca.542 Ma) glaciations.     

Pristine stratospheric collection of interplanetary dust on an oil‐free polyurethane foam substrate

We performed chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic studies of the first interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the stratosphere without the use of silicone oil. The collection substrate, polyurethane foam, effectively traps impacting particles, but the lack of an embedding medium results in significant particle fragmentation. Two dust particles found on the collector exhibit the typical compositional and mineralogical properties of chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP‐IDPs). Hydrogen and nitrogen isotopic imaging revealed isotopic anomalies of typical magnitude and spatial variability observed in previous CP‐IDP studies. Oxygen isotopic imaging shows that individual mineral grains and glass with embedded metal and sulfide (GEMS) grains are dominated by solar system materials. No systematic differences are observed in element abundance patterns of GEMS grains from the dry collection versus silicone oil‐collected IDPs. This initial study establishes the validity of a new IDP collection substrate that avoids the use of silicone oil as a collection medium, removing the need for this problematic contaminant and the organic solvents necessary to remove it. Additional silicone oil‐free collections of this type are needed to determine more accurate bulk element abundances of IDPs and to examine the indigenous soluble organic components of IDPs.     

Effects of experimental aqueous alteration on the abundances of argon‐rich noble gases in the Ningqiang carbonaceous chondrite

Abstract— Ar‐rich noble gases, the so‐called “subsolar” noble gases, are a major component of heavy primordial noble gases in unequilibrated ordinary chondrites and some classes of anhydrous carbonaceous chondrites, whereas they are almost absent in hydrous carbonaceous chondrites that suffered extensive aqueous alteration. To understand the effects of aqueous alteration on the abundance of Ar‐rich noble gases, we performed an aqueous alteration experiments on the Ningqiang type 3 carbonaceous chondrite that consists entirely of anhydrous minerals and contains Ar‐rich noble gases. Powdered samples and deionized neutral water were kept at 200 °C for 10 and 20 days, respectively. Mineralogical analyses show that, during the 10‐day alteration, serpentine and hematite formed at the expense of olivine, low‐Ca pyroxene, and sulfide. Noble gas analyses show that the 10‐day alteration of natural Ningqiang removed 79% of the primordial ³⁶Ar, 68% of the ⁸⁴Kr, and 60% of the ¹³²Xe, but only 45% of the ⁴He and 53% of the primordial ²⁰Ne. Calculated elemental ratios of the noble gases removed during the 10‐day alteration are in the range of those of Ar‐rich noble gases. These results indicate that Ar‐rich noble gases are located in materials that are very susceptible to aqueous alteration. In contrast, heavy primordial noble gases remaining in the altered samples are close to Q gas in elemental and isotope compositions. This indicates that phase Q is much more resistant to aqueous alteration than the host phases of Ar‐rich noble gases. In the 20‐day sample, the mineralogical and noble gas signatures are basically similar to those of the 10‐day sample, indicating that the loss of Ar‐rich noble gases was completed within the 10‐day alteration. Our results suggest that almost all of the Ar‐rich noble gases were lost from primitive asteroids during early, low‐temperature aqueous alteration.     

Candidates for families in Apollo-Amor type asteroids

The asteroids whose perihelion distances (q) are smaller than 0.983 AU and aphelion distances (% MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaiGc9yrFr0xXdbba91rFfpec8Eeeu0x% Xdbba9frFj0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs% 0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaacaqabeaadaqaaqGaaO% qaaiqadgfagaqeaaaa!3D1C!\[\bar Q\]) are larger than 1.017 AU are called Apollo type objects. Similarly Amor type objects are defined by the conditions: 0.987 AU < % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaiGc9yrFr0xXdbba91rFfpec8Eeeu0x% Xdbba9frFj0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs% 0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaacaqabeaadaqaaqGaaO% qaaiqadghagaqeaaaa!3D3C!\[\bar q\] < 1.382 AU and % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaiGc9yrFr0xXdbba91rFfpec8Eeeu0x% Xdbba9frFj0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs% 0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaacaqabeaadaqaaqGaaO% qaaiqadgfagaqeaaaa!3D1C!\[\bar Q\] > 1.666 AU. Both types are peculiar asteroids and have common dynamical behaviors. So, we regard these two type asteroids as one group and try to search for families among them.     

Seismic scattering and shallow structure of the moon in oceanus procellarum

Long, reverberating trains of seismic waves produced by impacts and moonquakes may be interpreted in terms of scattering in a surface layer overlying a non-scattering elastic medium. Model seismic experiments are used to qualitatively demonstrate the correctness of the interpretation. Three types of seismograms are found, near impact, far impact and moonquake. Only near impact and moonquake seismograms contain independent information. Details are given in the paper of the modelling of the scattering processes by the theory of diffusion.Interpretation of moonquake and artificial impact seismograms in two frequency bands from the Apollo 12 site indicates that the scattering layer is 25 km thick, with a Q of 5000. The mean distance between scatterers is approximately 5 km at 25 km depth and approximately 2 km at 14 km depth; the density of scatterers appears to be high near the surface, decreasing with depth. This may indicate that the scatterers are associated with cratering, or are cracks that anneal with depth. Most of the scattered energy is in the form of scattered surface waves.Communication presented at the Lunar Science Institute Conference on Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration of the Moon and Planets, January 10–12, 1973.     

Case a evolution of massive close binary systems

We present in this paper the evolutionary characteristics of the systems belonging to two evolution types, designated as 1C2COf and 1Nc2COf, among seven evolution types which were studied in the preceding paper of this series. These two types are most complicated and interesting in the evolutionary behaviour, which consists of repeated detached, semi-detached, and contact phases. We discuss observational aspects of the results. Evolutionary behaviour of the systems are also discussed, compared with the thermal relaxation oscillation model.