Electron microprobe dating of monazite substantiates ages of major geological events in the southern Brazilian shield

To obtain the chemical Th^*–Pb isochron ages and surface maps of monazite crystals in igneous and metamorphic rocks from the southern Brazilian Shield, we employ Th–U-total Pb dating by an electron probe microanalyzer. The ages of two Trans-Amazonian metamorphic events are given by a felsic, garnet-bearing granulite from the Santa Maria Chico granulitic complex. The age of the first event, at approximately 2.35 Ga, was obtained by surface mapping in a grain included in garnet. The dating of the second event, 1899±43 Ma, is in agreement with previous data obtained in zircon crystals with sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe. Other determinations belong to the Brasiliano cycle. In the São Gabriel block, an age of 643±129 Ma was obtained on monazite from a staurolite-garnet schist of the Cambaizinho Formation, whereas a staurolite-bearing schist from the Passo Feio complex yielded a 510±68 Ma age. Several units in the Dom Feliciano belt were dated, including the biotite-sillimanite gneisses of the Várzea do Capivarita complex (552±90 Ma), the sillimanite-garnet gneisses of Camboriú complex (565±77 Ma), the Três Figueiras granite (558±57 Ma), and the Plaza Itapema granite (545±55 Ma). The ages presented in this study, obtained through monazite chemical dating, are confirmed through comparison with previous data regarding zircon crystals from the same geological units.     

A wind-driven model of the ocean surface layer with wave radiation physics

Ocean Dynamics - Surface windstress transfers energy to the surface mixed layer of the ocean, and this energy partly radiates as internal gravity waves with near-inertial frequencies into the...     

Insights into bedload transport processes of a large regulated gravel‐bed river

A comprehensive monitoring programme focusing on bedload transport behaviour was conducted at a large gravel‐bed river. Innovative monitoring strategies were developed during five years of preconstruction observations accompanying a restoration project. A bedload basket sampler was used to perform 55 cross‐sectional measurements, which cover the entire water discharge spectrum from a 200‐year flood event in 2013 to a rare low flow event. The monitoring activities provide essential knowledge regarding bedload transport processes in large rivers. We have identified the initiation of motion under low flow conditions and a decrease in the rate of bedload discharge with increasing water discharge around bankfull conditions. Bedload flux strongly increases again during high flood events when the entire inundation area is flooded. No bedload hysteresis was observed. The effective discharge for bedload transport was determined to be near mean flow conditions, which is therefore at a lower flow discharge than expected. A numerical sediment transport model was able to reproduce the measured sediment transport patterns. The unique dataset enables the characterisation of bedload transport patterns in a large and regulated gravel‐bed river, evaluation of modern river engineering measures on the Danube, and, as a pilot project has recently been under construction, is able to address ongoing river bed incision, unsatisfactory ecological conditions for the adjacent national park and insufficient water depths for inland navigation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RAPTOR‐UAV: Real‐time particle tracking in rivers using an unmanned aerial vehicle

River system measurement and mapping using UAVs is both lean and agile, with the added advantage of increased safety for the surveying crew. A common parameter of fluvial geomorphological studies is the flow velocity, which is a major driver of sediment behavior. Advances in fluid mechanics now include metrics describing the presence and interaction of coherent structures within a flow field and along its boundaries. These metrics have proven to be useful in studying the complex turbulent flows but require time‐resolved flow field data, which is normally unavailable in geomorphological studies. Contactless UAV‐based velocity measurement provides a new source of velocity field data for measurements of extreme hydrological events at a safe distance, and could allow for measurements of inaccessible areas. Recent works have successfully applied large‐scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) using UAVs in rivers, focusing predominantly on surficial flow estimation by tracking intensity differences between georeferenced images. The objective of this work is to introduce a methodology for UAV based real‐time particle tracking in rivers (RAPTOR) in a case study along a short test reach of the Brigach River in the German Black Forest. This methodology allows for large‐scale particle tracking velocimetry (LSPTV) using a combination of floating, infrared light‐emitting particles and a programmable embedded color vision sensor in order to simultaneously detect and track the positions of objects. The main advantage of this approach is its ability to rapidly collect and process the position data, which can be done in real time. The disadvantages are that the method requires the use of specialized light‐emitting particles, which in some cases cannot be retrieved from the investigation area, and that the method returns velocity data in unscaled units of px/s. This work introduces the RAPTOR system with its hardware, data processing workflow, and provides an example of unscaled velocity field estimation using the proposed method. First experiences with the method show that the tracking rate of 50 Hz allows for position estimation with sub‐pixel accuracy, even considering UAV self‐motion. A comparison of the unscaled tracks after Savitzky–Golay filtering shows that although the time‐averaged velocities remain virtually the same, the filter reduces the standard deviation by more than 40% and the maxima by 20%. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Communicating landscape hydrology — the water cycle in a box

Physical models are a well‐established tool in education to strengthen hydrological understanding. They facilitate the straightforward visualization of hydrological processes and allow the communication of hydrological concepts, research and questions of general interest to the public. In order to visualize the water cycle in a landscape of postglacial sediments, in particular the subsurface part, a physical model was constructed. In two videos, (1) a detailed construction manual and (2) visualization examples of hydrological concepts and processes are presented. With our contribution, we like to encourage professionals in the field of hydrology to share methods and tools of knowledge transfer and communication of hydrological concepts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Origin of lunar fragmental matrix breccias—Highly siderophile element constraints

Ejecta at North Ray crater (Apollo 16) sampled a unique section of the lunar highlands not accessible at most other landing sites and provide important constraints on the composition of late accreted materials. New data on multiple aliquots of four fragmental matrix breccias and a fragment‐laden melt breccia from this site display a variety of highly siderophile element patterns which may represent the signatures of volatile element‐depleted carbonaceous chondrite‐like material, primitive achondrite, differentiated metal, and an impactor component that cannot be related to known meteoritic material. The latter component is prevalent in these rocks besides characterized by depletions in Re and Os compared to Ir, Ru and Pt, chondritic Re/Os, and a gradual depletion of Pd and Au. The observed characteristics are more consistent with fractionations by nebular processes, like incomplete condensation or evaporation, than with lunar crustal processes, like partial melting or volatilization. The impactor signature preserved in these breccias may stem from primitive meteorites with a refractory element composition moderately different from known chondrites. The presence of distinct impactor components within the North Ray crater breccias together with observed correlations of characteristic element ratios (e.g., Re/Os, Ru/Pt, Pd/Ir) in different impact lithologies of four Apollo landing sites constrains physical mixing processes ranging from the scale of gram‐sized samples to the area covered by the Apollo missions.     

Simulation of rock failure modes in thermal spallation drilling

Acta Geotechnica - Thermal spallation drilling is a contact-less means of borehole excavation that works by exposing a rock surface to a high-temperature jet flame. In this study, we investigate...     

Crystallization and very rapid exhumation of the youngest Alpine eclogites (Tauern Window,Eastern Alps) from Rb/Sr mineral assemblage analysis

Multimineral Rb/Sr internal isochrons from eclogite facies rocks of the Eclogite Zone (Tauern Window, Eastern Alps) consistently yield an Early Oligocene age of 31.5±0.7 Ma. This age has been obtained both for late-prograde, dehydration-related eclogitic veins, and for rocks variably deformed and recrystallized under eclogite facies conditions (2.0–2.5 GPa, 600°C). Initial Sr-isotopic equilibria among all phases indicate absence of significant post-eclogitic isotope redistribution processes, therefore the ages date eclogite facies assemblage crystallization. Equilibria also prove that no prolonged pre-eclogite facies history is recorded in the rocks. Instead, subduction, prograde mineral reactions, and eclogitization proceeded rapidly. Fast exhumation immediately after eclogitization, with minimum rates >36 mm/a is inferred from a 31.5±0.5 Ma internal mineral isochron age of a post-eclogitic greenschist facies vein assemblage. Such rates equal typical subduction rates. Late Eocene to Early Oligocene subduction of the European continental margin, with subsequent rapid exhumation of high-pressure nappe complexes has previously been recognized only in the Western Alps. The new data signify synchronous continental collision all along the Alpine belt. Our results demonstrate the unique potential of Rb/Sr assemblage system analysis for precise dating of both eclogite facies and post-eclogitic events, thus for precisely constraining exhumation rates of deep-seated rocks, and for straightforward linkage of petrologic evidence with isotopic ages.     

Detection of the first X-ray selected large AGN group

We have examined the spatial distribution of 856 AGN detected by the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) using a direct search for structures with the minimal spanning tree. The AGNs were compiled from an area of ∼7000 deg², in which optical identifications of RASS sources were made with the help of the digitized objective prism plates of the Hamburg Quasar Survey (HQS). Redshifts were taken from the literature or from own follow-up observations. The sample probes the spatial distribution at low redshifts, because the redshift distribution peaks at z ∼0.1. The application of the minimal spanning tree led to a 1.8 σ discovery of an AGN group with seven members in a volume V ∼140×75×75  h ⁻³ Mpc³ in the Pisces constellation. With a mean redshift z =0.27 this group is only the third discovered group at redshifts z <0.5. The RASS offers excellent possibilities to study large-scale structure with AGNs at low redshifts, once these redshifts are determined.