Planar deformation features and impact glass in inclusions from the Vredefort Granophyre,South Africa

Abstract— The Vredefort Granophyre represents impact melt that was injected downward into fractures in the floor of the Vredefort impact structure, South Africa. This unit contains inclusions of country rock that were derived from different locations within the impact structure and are predominantly composed of quartzite, feldspathic quartzite, arkose, and granitic material with minor proportions of shale and epidiorite. Two of the least recrystallized inclusions contain quartz with single or multiple sets of planar deformation features. Quartz grains in other inclusions display a vermicular texture, which is reminiscent of checkerboard feldspar. Feldspars range from large, twinned crystals in some inclusions to fine‐grained aggregates that apparently are the product of decomposition of larger primary crystals. In rare inclusions, a mafic mineral, probably biotite or amphibole, has been transformed to very fine‐grained aggregates of secondary phases that include small euhedral crystals of Fe‐rich spinel. These data indicate that inclusions within the Vredefort Granophyre were exposed to shock pressures ranging from <5 to 8–30 GPa. Many of these inclusions contain small, rounded melt pockets composed of a groundmass of devitrified or metamorphosed glass containing microlites of a variety of minerals, including K‐feldspar, quartz, augite, low‐Ca pyroxene, and magnetite. The composition of this devitrified glass varies from inclusion to inclusion, but is generally consistent with a mixture of quartz and feldspar with minor proportions of mafic minerals. In the case of granitoid inclusions, melt pockets commonly occur at the boundaries between feldspar and quartz grains. In metasedimentary inclusions, some of these melt pockets contain remnants of partially melted feldspar grains. These melt pockets may have formed by eutectic melting caused by inclusion of these fragments in the hot (650 to 1610 °C) impact melt that crystallized to form the Vredefort Granophyre.     

Isolation of resonance in acoustic backscatter from elastic targetsusing adaptive estimation schemes

It has been shown that at certain frequencies the acoustic backscatter from elastic targets exhibits certain resonance behavior which closely relates to the physical properties of the target such as dimension, thickness, and composition. The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated approach for identifying the presence of resonance in the acoustic backscatter from an unknown underwater target by isolating the resonance part from the specular contribution. An adaptive transversal filter structure is used to estimate the specular part of the backscatter and consequently the error signal would provide an estimate of the resonance part. An important aspect of this scheme lies in the fact that it does not require an underlying model for the elastic return. The adaptation rule is based upon fast recursive least squares (RLS) learning. The approach taken in this paper is general in the sense that it can be applied to targets of unknown geometry and thickness and, further, does not require any a priori information about the target and/or the environment. Test results on acoustic data are presented which indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach     

Spatial measurements of stream baseflow,a relevant method for aquifer characterization and permeability evaluation. Application to a hard‐rock aquifer,the Oman ophiolite

The structure, functioning and hydrodynamic properties of aquifers can be determined from an analysis of the spatial variability of baseflow in the streams with which they are associated. Such analyses are based on simple low‐cost measurements. Through interpreting the hydrological profiles (Q = f(A)) it is possible to locate the aquifer(s) linked to the stream network and to determine the type of interrelated flow, i.e. whether the stream drains or feeds the aquifer. Using an analytical solution developed for situations with a positive linear relationship, i.e. where the baseflow increases linearly with increasing catchment size, it is also possible to estimate the permeability of the aquifer(s) concerned at catchment scale. Applied to the hard‐rock aquifers of the Oman ophiolite, this method shows that the ‘gabbro’ aquifer is more permeable than the ‘peridotite’ aquifer. As a consequence the streams drain the peridotites and ‘leak’ into the gabbro. The hydrological profiles within the peridotite are linear and positive, and indicate homogeneity in the hydrodynamic properties of these formations at the kilometre scale. The permeability of the peridotite is estimated at 5 · 10^?7 to 5 · 10^?8 m/s. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolutionary Processes in Low-Mass Binary Systems

We consider the evolution of certain low-mass binaries, incorporating models of (a) internal evolution, (b) tidal friction, (c) dynamo activity driven by an elementary α,Ω dynamo, (d) stellar wind driven by the activity, and (e) magnetic braking as a consequence of wind and poloidal dynamo-generated magnetic field. In some circumstances the stellar wind is found to remove mass on a nuclear timescale, as is necessary to explain some observed systems. We can hope that various uncertainties in the model may be clarified by a careful comparison of the models with such observed quantities as rotation periods. These are modified by processes (a), (b) and (e). Assuming that stellar evolution is slow, rotation rate should in some circumstances represent a balance between magnetic braking trying to slow the star down and tidal friction trying to spin it up. Preliminary attempts are promising, but indicate that some fine tuning is necessary. When there is a third body present, in an orbit which is inclined but not necessarily of short period, the eccentricity of a close binary can be strongly modified by ‘Kozai cycles’. We show that this may complicate attempts to account for spin rates of stars in close binaries.     

Cygnus A

Cygnus A was the first hyper-active galaxy discovered, and it remains by far the closest of the ultra-luminous radio galaxies. As such, Cygnus A has played a fundamental role in the study of virtually all aspects of extreme activity in galaxies. We present a review of jet theory for powering the double-lobed radio emitting structures in powerful radio galaxies, followed by a review of observations of Cygnus A in the radio, optical, and X-ray relevant to testing various aspects of jet theory. Issues addressed include: jet structure from pc- to kpc-scales, jet stability, confinement, composition, and velocity, the double shock structure for the jet terminus and the origin of multiple radio hotspots, the nature of the filamentary structure in the radio lobes, and the hydrodynamic evolution of the radio lobes within a dense cluster atmosphere, including an analysis of pressure balance between the various gaseous components. Also discussed are relativistic particle acceleration and loss mechanisms in Cygnus A, as well as magnetic field strengths and geometries both within the radio source, and in the intracluster medium. We subsequently review the classification, cluster membership, and the emission components of the Cygnus A galaxy. The origin of the activity is discussed. Concentrating on the nuclear regions of the galaxy, we review the evidence for an obscured QSO, also given the constraints on the orientation of the radio source axis with respect to the sky plane. We present an overview of models of central engines in AGN and observations of Cygnus A which may be relevant to testing such models. We conclude with a brief section concerning the question of whether Cygnus A is representative of powerful high redshift radio galaxies. Received October 10, 1995     

Kinematics of stars in Kovalsky-Kapteyn figures. II

Rostov State Pedagogical Institute; All-Union Scientific Research Institute Gradient. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 379–393, November–December, 1990.     

The geochemistry of lead in rivers,estuaries and the continental shelf of the Southeastern United States

Transport by southeastern rivers has insignificant influence on the lead concentration of southeastern shelf waters. If the rate of mobilization and transport of lead by these rivers is representative of uncontaminated fluvial transport during the Pleistocene, only about 5% of the prehistoric output of lead to the North Atlantic can be accounted for by river input.Lead concentrations in southeastern shelf waters are similar to those of North Atlantic Water from the upper 1000 m, which is probably similar to the intrusion source water for the shelf. Atmospheric inputs to the shelf of the same magnitude as observed for the Western North Atlantic are difficult to reconcile given the residence time of shelf waters and their lead concentration unless the rate of loss of lead to shelf sediments is about the same as the atmospheric flux.     

Pressure-induced incipient amorphization of α-quartz and transition to coesite in an eclogite from Antarctica: a first record and some consequences

Monocrystalline quartz inclusions in garnet and omphacite from various eclogite samples from the Lanterman Range (Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica) have been investigated by cathodoluminescence (CL), Raman spectroscopy and imaging, and in situ X‐ray (XR) microdiffraction using the synchrotron. A few inclusions, with a clear‐to‐opalescent lustre, show ‘anomalous’ Raman spectra characterized by weak α‐quartz modes, the broadening of the main α‐quartz peak at 465 cm^?1, and additional vibrations at 480–485, 520–523 and 608 cm^?1. CL and Raman imaging indicate that this ‘anomalous’α‐quartz occurs as relicts within ordinary α‐quartz, and that it was preserved in the internal parts of small quartz inclusions. XR diffraction circular patterns display irregular and broad α‐quartz spots, some of which show an anomalous d‐spacing tightening of ～2%. They also show some very weak, hazy clouds that have d‐spacing compatible with coesite but not with α‐quartz. Raman spectrometry and XR microdiffraction characterize the anomalies with respect to α‐quartz as (i) a pressure‐induced disordering and incipient amorphization, mainly revealed by the 480–485 and 608‐cm^?1 Raman bands, together with (ii) a lattice densification, evidenced by d‐spacing tightening; (iii) the cryptic development of coesite, 520–523 cm^?1 being the main Raman peak of coesite and (iv) Brazil micro‐twinning. This ‘anomalous’α‐quartz represents the first example of pressure‐induced incipient amorphization of a metastable phase in a crustal rock. This issue is really surprising because pressure‐induced amorphization of metastable α‐quartz, observed in impactites and known to occur between 15 and 32 GPa during ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) experiments at room temperature, is in principle irrelevant under normal geological P–T conditions. A shock (due to a seism?) or a local overpressure at the inclusion scale (due to expansion mismatch between quartz and its host mineral) seem the only geological mechanisms that can produce such incipient amorphization in crustal rocks. This discovery throws new light on the modality of the quartz‐coesite transition and on the pressure regimes (non‐lithostatic v. lithostatic) during high‐pressure/UHP metamorphism. In particular, incipient amorphization of quartz could favour the quartz‐coesite transition, or allow the growth of metastable coesite, as already experimentally observed.