Observations of the supernova 1985F with a new spectrograph

We present the spectrum of the supernova 1985F over the wavelength range 4600 to 10000 Å as recorded in one 200 s exposure on 16 May, 1985, when its age was estimated to bet240 days. This wideband measurement with a resolution of 20 Å was made with the new Faint Object Spectrograph on the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos. Broad line features were observed for the ionsOi,Oii, andOiii, Caii, and Nai although broad H was noteably absent. This suggests type I rather than type II properties but Filippenko and Sargent (1985c) have concluded this object to be of neither type and of a new peculiar class. We have observed the Caii infra-red triplet at 8600 Å which has not been previously reported in the spectrum of SN1985F and alsoCi] at 9800 Å.     

Improving Automated Geological Logging of Drill Holes by Incorporating Multiscale Spatial Methods

Mathematical Geosciences - Manually interpreting multivariate drill hole data is very time-consuming, and different geologists will produce different results due to the subjective nature of...     

The Development of Laser Ablation ICP-MS and Calibration Strategies: Examples from the Analysis of Trace Elements in Volcanic Glass Shards and Sulfide Minerals

This contribution presents a review of the recent developments in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. We describe the important developments which have occurred in the laser systems used, leading to a spatial resolution of around 20 (im, and give an overview of the major instrument developments which have affected the geological applications of laser ablation ICP-MS. We describe the calibration of laser ablation for the analysis of trace elements in two different matrices: volcanic glass shards and sulfide minerals. We show how single glass shards can be analysed using the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) glass certified reference materials for calibration and demonstrate the effect of using single spot analyses compared to rastering of the calibration sample. We show the importance of inter-shard variation and demonstrate that averaged single shard analyses produce data which compare well with bulk analyses. The calibration of the laser system for sulfide mineral analysis is discussed and two different strategies are proposed, one using spiked pressed powder pellets of sulfides and the other metal reference materials. We present conclusions and recommendations for the calibration of laser ablation ICP-MS instruments.     

Hidden melting signatures recorded in the Troodos ophiolite plutonic suite: evidence for widespread generation of depleted melts and intra-crustal melt aggregation

The main plutonic complex of the Troodos ophiolite, north of the Arakapas Fault Zone, has been re-examined both from field and geochemical perspectives. Ion microprobe analyses of clinopyroxene crystal cores show that the range of melt compositions added to the lower crust far exceeds that of published lavas in the main Troodos massif. This suggests that the lower crust acted as a filter into which a large range of melt compositions were added and out of which a homogenised (and generally fractionated) derivative was extracted. This crustal-level aggregation homogenised diverse melt fractions from a broad range of degrees of melting. Depleted melts with U-shaped rare earth element (REE) patterns were a significant component of the melts added to the crust, but because of their low incompatible element abundances, mixing with less depleted melts prior to eruption masked their signature in the lavas. The discovery that highly depleted melts constituted a significant component of the melts added to the Troodos crust, but not of the lavas, demonstrates that the spatial distribution of lava-types is not necessarily a good indicator of where different parental melt compositions are generated within the mantle. Compared with normal mid-ocean ridge basalts, the Troodos parental melts were (1) generally depleted in immobile incompatible trace elements, (2) less depleted in light REE (LREE) than would be expected for the concomitant depletion in middle and heavy REE, (3) enriched in Sr with respect to the LREE and (4) more oxidised. Modelling of these characteristics suggests a mantle source that had previously lost a significant melt fraction under relatively reducing conditions. This was followed by remelting under more oxidising conditions in an environment in which Sr and LREE were added to the source consistent with previous models of a supra-subduction zone setting.     

Environmental controls on phytoplankton community composition in the Thames plume, U.K.

The aim of this study was to investigate controls on the phytoplankton community composition and biogeochemistry of the estuarine plume zone of the River Thames, U.K. using an instrumented moored buoy for in situ measurements and preserved sample collection, and laboratory-based measurements from samples collected at the same site. Instrumentation on the moored buoy enabled high frequency measurements of a suite of environmental variables including in situ chlorophyll, water-column integrated irradiance, macronutrients throughout an annual cycle for 2001 e.g. nitrate and silicate, and phytoplankton biomass and species composition. The Thames plume region acts as a conduit for fluvial nutrients into the wider southern North Sea with typical winter concentrations of 45 μM nitrate, 17 μM silicate and 2 μM phosphate measured. The spring bloom resulted from water-column integrated irradiance increasing above 60 W h m^− 2 d^− 1 and was initially dominated by a diatom bloom mainly composed of Nitzschia sp. and Odontella sinesis. The spring bloom then switched after  30 days to become dominated by the flagellate Phaeocystis reaching a maximum chlorophyll concentration of 37.8 μg L^− 1. During the spring bloom there were high numbers of the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Gyrodinium spirale and Katodinium glaucum that potentially grazed the phytoplankton bloom. This diatom–flagellate switch was predicted to be due to a combination of further increasing water-column integrated irradiance > 100 W h m^− 2 d^− 1 and/or silicate reaching potentially limiting concentrations (< 1 μM). Post spring bloom, diatom dominance of the lower continuous summer phytoplankton biomass occurred despite the low silicate concentrations (Av. 0.7 μM from June–August). Summer diatom dominance, generally due to Guinardia delicatula, was expected to be as a result of microzooplankton grazing, dominated by the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans, controlling 0.7–5.0 μm ‘flagellate’ fraction of the phytoplankton community with grazing rates up to 178% of ‘flagellate’ growth rate. The Thames plume region was therefore shown to be an active region of nutrient and phytoplankton processing and transport to the southern North Sea. The use of a combination of moorings and ship-based sampling was essential in understanding the factors influencing nutrient transport, phytoplankton biomass and species composition in this shelf sea plume region.     

An Infra-Red model of the zodiacal emission

The Infra-Red Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) observations of the zodiacal dust emission are used to fit the dust grain composition and distribution in the ecliptical plane. We obtain a good fit to the data for a density distribution of black-body grains given by p = pr ^{0.66/log(1.7r/R)} for r < 0.87R and r < 3oR     

Infrared emission from interstellar grains heated by supernovae

The infrared emission from interstellar grains heated by a supernova in eruption is investigated. The dependence of the emission on various physical parameters, such as the depth of the supernova into the dust plane of the parent galaxy, the inclination of the galaxy to the line-of-sight, are investigated. The possibility of detecting this emission is discussed. The prospects are hopeful as far as cryogenically-cooled instruments in Earth orbit are concerned.