A focal plane detector design for a wide-band Laue-lens telescope

The energy range above 60 keV is important for the study of many open problems in high energy astrophysics such as the role of Inverse Compton with respect to synchrotron or thermal processes in GRBs, non thermal mechanisms in SNR, the study of the high energy cut-offs in AGN spectra, and the detection of nuclear and annihilation lines. Recently the development of high energy Laue lenses with broad energy bandpasses from 60 to 600keV have been proposed for a Hard X ray focusing Telescope (HAXTEL) in order to study the X-ray continuum of celestial sources. The required focal plane detector should have high detection efficiency over the entire operative range, a spatial resolution of about 1mm, an energy resolution of a few keV at 500keV and a sensitivity to linear polarization. We describe a possible configuration of the focal plane detector based on several CdTe/CZT pixelated layers stacked together to achieve the required detection efficiency at high energy. Each layer can operate both as a separate position sensitive detector and polarimeter or work with other layers to increase the overall photopeak efficiency. Each layer has a hexagonal shape in order to minimize the detector surface required to cover the lens field of view. The pixels would have the same geometry so as to provide the best coupling with the lens point spread function and to increase the symmetry for polarimetric studies.     

Unusual large-scale phytoplankton blooms in the equatorial Pacific

Unusual large-scale accumulations of phytoplankton occurred across 10,000 km of the equatorial Pacific during the 1998 transition from El Niño to La Niña. The forcing and dynamics of these phytoplankton blooms were studied using satellite-based observations of sea surface height, temperature and chlorophyll, and mooring-based observations of winds, hydrography and ocean currents. During the bloom period, the thermocline (nutricline) was anomalously shallow across the equatorial Pacific. The relative importance of processes that enhanced nutrient flux into the euphotic zone differed between the western and eastern regions of the blooms. In the western bloom region, the important vertical processes were turbulent vertical mixing and wind-driven upwelling. In contrast, the important processes in the eastern bloom region were wave-forced shoaling of nutrient source waters directly into the euphotic zone, along-isopycnal upwelling, and wind-driven upwelling. Advection by the Equatorial Undercurrent spread the largest bloom 4500 km east of where it began, and advection by meridional currents of tropical instability waves transported the bloom hundreds of kilometers north and south of the equator. Many processes influenced the intricate development of these massive biological events. Diverse observations and novel analysis methods of this work advance the conceptual framework for understanding the complex dynamics and ecology of the equatorial Pacific.     

Seagrass landscape-scale changes in response to disturbance created by the dynamics of barrier-islands: A case study from Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal)

This study documents long-term changes of a Zostera noltii landscape induced by a natural cyclic event in a coastal lagoon. The barrier-islands forming this system are very dynamic with drifting movements controlling ecological patterns and processes occurring in this area. Changes in the areal extent of the Z. noltii meadows were assessed using historical aerial photographs from 1940, 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998. Landscape indices such as total patch area (TA), mean patch size (MPS), number of patches (NP), mean shape coefficient of variation (CV) and landscape fractal dimension (D) were calculated for each year and related to an index of disturbance intensity. The spatial distribution of the Z. noltii meadows varied greatly during the studied period and changes observed were related to the disturbance created by the barrier-islands' spatial dynamics. After an artificial inlet relocation the Z. noltii area, number of patches, patch mean size and coefficient of variation decreased. The fractal dimension of the Z. noltii landscape increased by 50% showing that besides a decrease in total area, number of patches, and patch mean area, patch fragmentation was an important consequence of this anthropogenic disturbance.Seagrass natural distribution patterns changed in response to natural and human-induced activities. This study emphasizes the importance of the landscape approach and the historical perspective when studying seagrass changes and the importance of taking into consideration long-term changes in seagrass landscapes to avoid confusion between man-induced effects with natural cyclic events.     

Spatial variability in growth and reproduction of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) along the west European coast

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was introduced in Europe for commercial purposes in the mid 1960s. It was initially thought that low winter temperatures would restrain this species' reproduction and settlement; however, its present distribution in areas where no introduction has taken place suggests that natural invasion and expansion has occurred. Along the European coast, wild populations of Pacific oysters are already found from northern Germany to southern Portugal. Whether C. gigas will continue to further expand through northern waters will depend on its physiological performance. In this study, the performance of wild oyster populations has been studied in terms of growth and reproduction at three stations: La Rochelle (France; 46°N), Yerseke (Oosterschelde estuary, The Netherlands, 51°N), and Texel (Wadden Sea estuary, The Netherlands, 53°N). The French population had the lowest somatic-shell mass ratio and an increase in maximum shell length, somatic and gonadal mass was observed from France to the Netherlands. In addition, mean oocyte diameter decreased significantly from south to north. The combination of increasing gonadal mass and decreasing oocyte volume suggests an increasing reproductive output in terms of egg numbers from France to The Netherlands. Differences in temperature between locations will at least be partly responsible for the observed patterns; however, other environmental factors (such as food availability, predation pressure, sediment type and/or seston concentration) cannot be excluded. Since smaller eggs (oocytes) are thought to have a longer development time, the environmental conditions along the Dutch coast may result in increased larval dispersal and possibly in further population expansion.     

Tunneling and interference of Alfvén waves

The propagation and interference of Alfvén waves in magnetic regions is studied. A multilayer approximation of the standard models of the solar atmosphere is used. In each layer, there is a linear law of temperature variation and a power law of Alfvén velocity variation. The analytical solutions of a wave equation are stitched at the layer boundaries. The low-frequency Alfvén waves (P > 1 s) are able to transfer the energy from sunspots into the corona by tunneling only. The chromosphere is not a resonance filter for the Alfvén waves. The interference and resonance of Alfvén waves are found to be important to wave propagation through the magnetic coronal arches. The transmission coefficient of Alfvén waves into the corona increases sharply on the resonance frequences. To take into account the wave absorption in the corona, a method of equivalent schemes is developed. The heating of a coronal arch by Alfvén waves is discussed.     

Holocene record of productivity in the NW Iberian continental shelf

A multiproxy approach (textural characteristics, heavy metal concentrations and benthic foraminifera data) was adopted to study the OMEX core KSGX 40, collected at the Galicia Mud Deposit (NW Iberian outer continental shelf) and recording the last ca. 4.8 ka cal BP. Geochemical profiles of Fe, Mn, Zn, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Al and Ca show significant temporal variations. Benthic foraminifera productivity proxy suggests that the recorded muddy events were contemporaneous of a higher C_org flux to the marine benthic environment. The higher flux of organic matter, following a long-term intensification of the upwelling and coinciding with a finer sedimentation, led to depressed levels of oxygen beneath the water-sediments interface and to early diagenetic processes of several redox-sensitive elements.     

HP–LT Variscan metamorphism in the Cubito-Moura schists (Ossa-Morena Zone, southern Iberia)

Multi-equilibrium thermobarometry shows that low-grade metapelites (Cubito-Moura schists) from the Ossa–Morena Zone underwent HP–LT metamorphism from 340–370 °C at 1.0–0.9 GPa to 400–450 °C at 0.8–0.7 GPa. These HP–LT equilibriums were reached by parageneses including white K mica, chlorite and chloritoid, which define the earliest schistosity (S₁) in these rocks. The main foliation in the schists is a crenulation cleavage (S₂), which developed during decompression from 0.8–0.7 to 0.4–0.3 GPa at increasing temperatures from 400–450 °C to 440–465 °C. Fe³⁺ in chlorite decreased greatly during prograde metamorphism from molar fractions of 0.4 determined in syn-S₁ chlorites down to 0.1 in syn-S₂ chlorites. These new data add to previous findings of eclogites in the Moura schists indicating that a pile of allochtonous rocks situated next to the Beja-Acebuches oceanic amphibolites underwent HP–LT metamorphism during the Variscan orogeny. To cite this article: G. Booth-Rea et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Zircon geochronology and Sm–Nd isotopic study: Further constraints for the Archean and Paleoproterozoic geodynamical evolution of the southeastern Guiana Shield, north of Amazonian Craton, Brazil

The eastern part of the Guiana Shield, northern Amazonian Craton, in South America, represents a large orogenic belt developed during the Transamazonian orogenic cycle (2.26–1.95 Ga), which consists of extensive areas of Paleoproterozoic crust and two major Archean terranes: the Imataca Block, in Venezuela, and the here defined Amapá Block, in the north of Brazil.

Pb-evaporation on zircon and Sm–Nd on whole rock dating were provided on magmatic and metamorphic units from southwestern Amapá Block, in the Jari Domain, defining its long-lived evolution, marked by several stages of crustal accretion and crustal reworking. Magmatic activity occurred mainly at the Meso-Neoarchean transition (2.80–2.79 Ga) and during the Neoarchean (2.66–2.60 Ga). The main period of crust formation occurred during a protracted episode at the end of Paleoarchean and along the whole Mesoarchean (3.26–2.83 Ga). Conversely, crustal reworking processes have dominated in Neoarchean times. During the Transamazonian orogenic cycle, the main geodynamic processes were related to reworking of older Archean crust, with minor juvenile accretion at about 2.3 Ga, during an early orogenic phase. Transamazonian magmatism consisted of syn- to late-orogenic granitic pulses, which were dated at 2.22 Ga, 2.18 Ga and 2.05–2.03 Ga. Most of the ε_Nd values and T_DM model ages (2.52–2.45 Ga) indicate an origin of the Paleoproterozoic granites by mixing of juvenile Paleoproterozoic magmas with Archean components.

The Archean Amapá Block is limited in at southwest by the Carecuru Domain, a granitoid-greenstone terrane that had a geodynamic evolution mainly during the Paleoproterozoic, related to the Transamazonian orogenic cycle. In this latter domain, a widespread calc-alkaline magmatism occurred at 2.19–2.18 Ga and at 2.15–2.14 Ga, and granitic magmatism was dated at 2.10 Ga. Crustal accretion was recognized at about 2.28 Ga, in agreement with the predominantly Rhyacian crust-forming pattern of the eastern Guiana Shield. Nevertheless, T_DM model ages (2.50–2.38 Ga), preferentially interpreted as mixed ages, and ε_Nd < 0, point to some participation of Archean components in the source of the Paleoproterozoic rocks. In addition, the Carecuru Domain contains an oval-shaped Archean granulitic nucleus, named Paru Domain. In this domain, Neoarchean magmatism at about 2.60 Ga was produced by reworking of Mesoarchean crust, as registered in the Amapá Block. Crustal accretion events and calc-alkaline magmatism are recognized at 2.32 Ga and at 2.15 Ga, respectively, as well as charnockitic magmatism at 2.07 Ga.

The lithological association and the available isotopic data registered in the Carecuru Domain suggests a geodynamic evolution model based on the development of a magmatic arc system during the Transamazonian orogenic cycle, which was accreted to the southwestern border of the Archean Amapá Block.     

The effect of thermal treatment on the 57Fe Mössbauer spectrum of beryl

Mössbauer spectra (MS) of blue, green and yellow beryl (ideally Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈) containing approximately 1% of iron were obtained at 295 and 500 K. Room temperature (RT) spectra of both blue and green samples showed the presence of an asymmetric Fe²⁺ doublet (ΔE _Q~2.7 mm/s, δ~1.1 mm/s), with a very broad low-velocity peak. There is no clear evidence for the presence of a ferric component. The MS of the yellow sample at RT consists of an intense central absorption with parameters typical for Fe³⁺ (ΔE _Q~0.4 mm/s, δ~0.29 mm/s), plus an apparently symmetrical Fe²⁺ doublet. This sample acquires a light-blue shade upon heating in air at about 620 K. Thermal treatments at high temperatures caused no significant changes in the MS, but the green and yellow beryl acquire a blue colour. All these results are interpreted in relation to the existence of channel water and the distribution of iron among the available crystallographic sites.     

Effect of heat treatment on tourmaline from Brazil

The crystal-chemical behaviour of tourmaline from Araçuaí, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, when subjected to heating in air atmosphere has been studied by several techniques, including EMPA, UV–Vis, TGA, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The tourmaline samples are typically intermediate members of the elbaite-schorl series. The origin of colour and of its change after treatment has been discussed in terms of local disorder, presence of metal transition elements, oxidation of ferrous iron at the octahedral site, and simultaneous trap of the excess electron. These findings may be used to enhance the colour in tourmaline crystals or generate wanted colour changes.