Radar observations of Itokawa in 2004 and improved shape estimation

Abstract— We present June 2004 radar images of asteroid 25143 Itokawa (1998 SF36) that improve upon the longitude‐latitude coverage of images obtained in 2001 by Ostro et al. (2004) and use the 2001–2004 data to refine that paper's constraints on Itokawa's shape. The 2004 images, the first of the asteroid's southern side, look distinctly different from the 2001 images, revealing leading edges that are much more curved and rugged than the nearly convex leading edges seen at northern latitudes in 2001. Itokawa is shaped like a slightly asymmetrical, bent, lumpy ellipsoid with dimensions along the principal axes within 10% of 594 times 320 times 288 m. To illustrate the uncertainty space associated with shape reconstruction from images with suboptimal orientational coverage, we present two alternative three‐dimensional models of the object.     

Weibull statistical analysis of granite bending strength

Summary  This paper describes and discusses the adequacy of Weibull statistical analysis to analyse the bending strength of granite. The experimental results show that strength variability is related with a specific origin of failure. This conclusion is based on analysing the influence of the surface condition (extrinsic defects) on the bending strength results treated by the Weibull statistics. The conclusions drawn from this study have been validated by analysing the results of the critical flaw dimension estimated by applying the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) formulae. Results obtained from fractographic examination also have been used to describe the location of the origin of the fracture and understand the distribution of defects; i.e., there is a unimodal distribution of defects (intrinsic defects), despite the fact that some outlier values are normally observed in the fractured surfaces. Correspndence: P. M. Amaral, Department of Materials Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal     

Palaeobotanical evidence of wildfires in the Late Palaeozoic of South America – Early Permian, Rio Bonito Formation, Paraná Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Fossil charcoal, as direct evidence of palaeowildfires, has repeatedly been reported from several plant-bearing deposits from the Late Palaeozoic of the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast charcoal reports from the Late Palaeozoic deposits of the Southern Hemisphere are relatively rare in comparison to the Northern Hemisphere. Although the presence of pyrogenic coal macerals has repeatedly been reported from Late Palaeozoic coals from South America, no detailed anatomical investigations of such material have been published so far. Here is presented an anatomical analysis of charcoal originating from Early Permian sediments of the Quitéria Outcrop, Rio Bonito Formation, Paraná Basin, located in the central-eastern portion of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This charcoal comes from two different coaly facies, and it was possible to scrutinize between three types, based on anatomical characters of the charcoal. Two of these charcoal types can be correlated to gymnosperm woods, and the other type corresponds to strongly permineralized bark with characteristic features of lycopsids. The presence of charcoal in different facies, ranging from parautochtonous to allochtonous origin, indicates that different vegetation types, i.e. plants which grew under wet conditions in the lowland as well as in the more dry hinterland, have experienced wildfires. Taking into account previous petrographic and lithological analyses from the facies in which the charcoal occurs and from the conditions of the wood and bark fragments, it was possible to speculate that the intensity of such wildfires most probably corresponds to forest-crown fires. Moreover, it is possible to state that wildfires have been a more or less common element in distinct Late Palaeozoic terrestrial ecosystems in the South American part of Gondwana. The data support previous assumptions on the occurrence of wildfires in the Early Permian of the Paraná Basin which were based solely on coal-petrographic data.     

Turnover of hepatic hemoproteins in rainbow trout

The hepatic mixed function oxidase system in the fish differs from that in mammals in its responses to the two classic mammalian inducers. The cytochrome P-448-type inducers (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) stimulate monooxygenase activity, but phenobarbital, a P-450-type inducer, does not.¹ We have compared the effects of phenobarbital (PB) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) on the turnover of hepatic microsomal hemoproteins in trout (PCB's are P-448- and P-450-type inducers in mammals, which in fish induce only cytochrome P-448). We show here that neither PCB nor PB treatment changed the turnover rate. However, both the rates of synthesis and degradation were much slower than in the rat.     

Assessing degradation capability of aerobic indigenous microflora in PAH-contaminated brackish sediments

A study was conducted to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) distribution and microbial population changes in brackish sediments from an Italian lagoon included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. The presence and level of PAH-degrading bacteria were estimated by the most probable number (MPN) enumeration technique, whereas degradation capability towards target compounds was checked against loss of spiked PAHs (Phenanthrene, Anthracene and Fluoranthene) in MPN tubes after incubation in optimal conditions. Chemical analyses and microbiological counts suggested a potential for PAHs biodegradation by natural occurring populations of sediment microorganisms, thus indicating an "optimal range" in sediment PAHs concentrations, outside of which the natural selection of the indigenous microflora did not occur. The MPN procedure here described, provided an effective and reliable way to simultaneously determine microbial population densities and subsequent confirmation of the biodegradation capability of sediment indigenous microflora when exposed to laboratory and environmental concentrations of PAHs.     

Accurate local upscaling with variable compact multipoint transmissibility calculations

We propose a new single-phase local upscaling method that uses spatially varying multipoint transmissibility calculations. The method is demonstrated on two-dimensional Cartesian and adaptive Cartesian grids. For each cell face in the coarse upscaled grid, we create a local fine grid region surrounding the face on which we solve two generic local flow problems. The multipoint stencils used to calculate the fluxes across coarse grid cell faces involve the six neighboring pressure values. They are required to honor the two generic flow problems. The remaining degrees of freedom are used to maximize compactness and to ensure that the flux approximation is as close as possible to being two-point. The resulting multipoint flux approximations are spatially varying (a subset of the six neighbors is adaptively chosen) and reduce to two-point expressions in cases without full-tensor anisotropy. Numerical tests show that the method significantly improves upscaling accuracy as compared to commonly used local methods and also compares favorably with a local–global upscaling method.     

Metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high-grade rocks from the central Mozambique Belt of Tanzania: crustal recycling of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material during the Pan-African orogeny

New data on the metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high‐grade rocks in the central Mozambique Belt (MB) of Tanzania show that this part of the orogen consists of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was structurally reworked during the Pan‐African event. The metamorphic rocks are characterized by a clockwise P–T path, followed by strong decompression, and the time of peak granulite facies metamorphism is similar to other granulite terranes in Tanzania. The predominant rock types are mafic to intermediate granulites, migmatites, granitoid orthogneisses and kyanite/sillimanite‐bearing metapelites. The meta‐granitoid rocks are of calc‐alkaline composition, range in age from late Archean to Neoproterozoic, and their protoliths were probably derived from magmatic arcs during collisional processes. Mafic to intermediate granulites consist of the mineral assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–quartz–biotite–amphibole ± K‐feldspar ± orthopyroxene ± oxides. Metapelites are composed of garnet‐biotite‐plagioclase ± K‐feldspar ± kyanite/sillimanite ± oxides. Estimated values for peak granulite facies metamorphism are 12–13 kbar and 750–800 °C. Pressures of 5–8 kbar and temperatures of 550–700 °C characterize subsequent retrogression to amphibolite facies conditions. Evidence for a clockwise P–T path is provided by late growth of sillimanite after kyanite in metapelites. Zircon ages indicate that most of the central part of the MB in Tanzania consists of reworked ancient crust as shown by Archean (c. 2970–2500 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (c. 2124–1837 Ma) protolith ages. Metamorphic zircon from metapelites and granitoid orthogneisses yielded ages of c. 640 Ma which are considered to date peak regional granulite facies metamorphism during the Pan‐African orogenic event. However, the available zircon ages for the entire MB in East Africa and Madagascar also document that peak metamorphic conditions were reached at different times in different places. Large parts of the MB in central Tanzania consist of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was reworked during the Pan‐African event and that may have been part of the Tanzania Craton and Usagaran domain farther to the west.     

Response of suspended sediment particle size distributions to changes in water chemistry at an Andean mountain stream confluence receiving arsenic rich acid drainage

Acid drainage is an important water quality issue in Andean watersheds, affecting the sustainability of urban, agricultural, and industrial activities. Mixing zones receiving acid drainage are critical sites where changes in pH and chemical environment promote the formation and dissolution of iron and aluminum oxy/hydroxides. These particles can significantly change the speciation of toxic metals and metalloids throughout drainage networks via sorption, desorption, and settling processes. However, little is known about the behavior of particle size distributions (PSDs) in streams affected by acid drainage and their relationship to metal speciation. This work studied: (a) the PSDs for a wide range of mixing ratios found at a fluvial confluence affected by acid drainage, and (b) the response of PSDs and arsenic speciation to environmental changes found when the particles approach complete mixing conditions. The confluence between the Azufre River (pH ~ 2, high concentration of dissolved metals) and Caracarani River (pH = 8.6, low concentration of dissolved metals) was used as a representative model for study. Field measurements show a bimodal PSD with modal diameters of ~50 and 300 μm. At shorter distances from the junction, the smaller modes with smaller particle volumes were dominant across the stream cross‐sections. A systematic shift towards larger particle sizes and larger particle volumes occurred downstream. The analysis of laboratory PSDs for Azufre/Caracarani mixing ratios between 0.01 and 0.5 (pH from 6.2 to 2.3) showed a bimodal trend with ~15 and 50 μm characteristic diameters; larger particles formed at pH>4. When particle suspensions were transferred in laboratory experiments from very low pH to full mixing conditions (pH ~ 2.8 and mixing ratio ~ 0.25) particle sizes varied, and the dissolved arsenic concentration decreased. The observed reaction kinetics were slow compared to the time scale of advective transport, creating opportunities for engineered controls for arsenic. This work contributes to a better understanding of the chemical‐hydrodynamic interactions in watersheds affected by mining, and identifying opportunities to improve water quality at points of use.