Coma Morphology of Three Non-periodic Comets

The coma morphology and short-term evolution was investigated of three non-periodic comets in retrograde orbits, C/2001 Q4 (NEAT), C/2002 T7 (LINEAR), and C/2003 K4 (LINEAR). All three comets display distinct coma features, which were very different from one comet to the next and remained rather constant in shape during the observational period. A single, broad feature perpendicular to the sun-tail direction dominated the coma of C/2003 K4 in all used filters (B,V,R,I), whereas the coma of Comet C/2002 T7 exhibited different features in blue and red filters. C/2001 Q4 showed rather complex coma morphology with clear short-term variability in coma brightness. Therefore, these non-periodic comets neither show a featureless coma nor any similarities of the features detected. The overall distribution of coma material was investigated from the shape of radial coma profiles averaged around the comet nucleus. For C/2001 Q4 and C/2002 T7, the slopes fitted to the linear part of these profiles are flatter in the blue than in the red, which can be explained by the presence of coma gas. For C/2003 K4 no such difference is indicated in the May observations (r = 2.3 AU), while in July (r = 1.7 AU) the profiles in the B-filter are flatter than in V, R, and I, hence gas contamination was relevant at least in the B filter. The R and I filter images were used to determine approximate Afρ values of each comet as a function of time.     

Geochemistry, petrology and ages of the lunar meteorites Kalahari 008 and 009: New constraints on early lunar evolution

Kalahari 008 and 009 are two lunar meteorites that were found close to each other in Botswana. Kalahari 008 is a typical lunar anorthositic breccia; Kalahari 009 a monomict breccia with basaltic composition and mineralogy. Based on minor and trace elements Kalahari 009 is classified as VLT (very-low-Ti) mare basalt with extremely low contents of incompatible elements, including the REE. The Lu-Hf data define an age of 4286 ± 95 Ma indicating that Kalahari 009 is one of the oldest known basalt samples from the Moon. It provides evidence for lunar basalt volcanism prior to 4.1 Ga (pre-Nectarian) and may represent the first sample from a cryptomare. The very radiogenic initial ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf (εHf = +12.9 ± 4.6), the low REE, Th and Ti concentrations indicate that Kalahari 009 formed from re-melting of mantle material that had undergone strong incompatible trace element depletion early in lunar history. This unusually depleted composition points toward a hitherto unsampled basalt source region for the lunar interior that may represent a new depleted endmember source for low-Ti mare basalt volcanism. Apparently, the Moon became chemically very heterogeneous at an early stage in its history and different cumulate sources are responsible for the diverse mare basalt types.Evidence that Kalahari 008 and 009 may be paired includes the similar fayalite content of their olivine, the identical initial Hf isotope composition, the exceptionally low exposure ages of both rocks and the fact that they were found close to each other. Since cryptomaria are covered by highland ejecta, it is possible that these rocks are from the boundary area, where basalt deposits are covered by highland ejecta. The concentrations of cosmogenic radionuclides and trapped noble gases are unusually low in both rocks, although Kalahari 008 contains slightly higher concentrations. A likely reason for this difference is that Kalahari 008 is a polymict breccia containing a briefly exposed regolith, while Kalahari 009 is a monomict brecciated rock that may never have been at the surface of the Moon.Altogether, the compositions of Kalahari 008 and 009 permit new insight into early lunar evolution, as both meteorites sample lunar reservoirs hitherto unsampled by spacecraft missions. The very low Th and REE content of Kalahari 009 as well as the depletion in Sm and the lack of a KREEP-like signature in Kalahari 008 point to a possible source far from the influence of the Procellarum-KREEP Terrane, possibly the lunar farside.     

Spatial and temporal variability of microplankton and detritus, and their export to the shelf sediments in the upwelling area off Concepción, Chile (∼36°S), during 2002-2005

Seasonal variations in diversity and biomass of diatoms, tintinnids, and dinoflagellates and the contribution of microplankton and faecal material to the vertical flux of particulates were investigated at one time series station T (station 18) between 2002 and 2005 and at a grid of stations during November 2004 in the coastal and oceanic area off Concepción (36°S), Chile. The variations were analysed in relation to water column temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrient concentration, offshore Ekman transport, and chlorophyll-a concentration. Abundance was estimated as cell numbers per litre and biomass in terms of biovolume and carbon units.A sharp decrease with depth was observed in the abundance of both phytoplankton and microzooplankton during the whole annual cycle; over 70% of their abundance was concentrated in the upper 10 m of the water column. Also, a clear seasonality in microplankton distribution was observed at station T, with maxima for diatoms, tintinnids, and dinoflagellates every summer (centred on January) from 2002 to 2005.On the grid of stations, the maximum integrated (0-50 m) micro-phytoplankton abundances (>1 × 10⁹ cells m⁻²) occurred at the coastal stations, an area directly influenced by upwelling. A similar spatial distribution was observed for the integrated (0-200 m) faecal carbon (with values up to 632 mg C m⁻²). Tintinnids were distributed in all the first 300 miles from the coast and dinoflagellates were more abundant in oceanic waters.At station T, the average POC export production (below 50 m depth) was 16.6% (SD = 17%; range 2-67%; n = 16). The biological-mediated fluxes of carbon between the upper productive layer and the sediments of the continental shelf off Concepción depend upon key groups of phytoplankton (Thalassiosira spp., Chaetoceros spp.) and zooplankton (euphausiids) through the export of either cells or faecal material, respectively.     

Non-spherical source-surface model of the heliosphere: a scalar formulation

The source-surface method offers an alternative to full MHD simulation of the heliosphere. It entails specification of a surface from which the solar wind flows normally outward along straight lines. Compatibility with MHD results requires this (source) surface to be non-spherical in general and prolate (aligned with the solar dipole axis) in prototypical axisymmetric cases. Mid-latitude features on the source surface thus map to significantly lower latitudes in the heliosphere. The model is usually implemented by deriving the B field (in the region surrounded by the source surface) from a scalar potential formally expanded in spherical harmonics, with coefficients chosen so as to minimize the mean-square tangential component of B over this surface. In the simplified (scalar) version the quantity minimized is instead the variance of the scalar potential over the source surface. The scalar formulation greatly reduces the time required to compute required matrix elements, while imposing essentially the same physical boundary condition as the vector formulation (viz., that the coronal magnetic field be, as nearly as possible, normal to the source surface for continuity with the heliosphere). The source surface proposed for actual application is a surface of constant , where r is the heliocentric distance and B is the scalar magnitude of the B field produced by currents inside the Sun. Comparison with MHD simulations suggests that k 1.4 is a good choice for the adjustable exponent. This value has been shown to map the neutral line on the source surface during Carrington Rotation 1869 (May–June 1993) to a range of latitudes that would have just grazed the position of Ulysses during that month in which sector structure disappeared from Ulysses magnetometer observations.     

The orion-IRc2 outflow observed in COJ=4-3

A CO J=4-3 map of the Orion-IRc2 region (size 80, beam 15) is presented. The outflow has a bipolar structure observed nearly pole-on. We interpret our observations in terms of an hierarchy of tubes where the fastest gas proceeds through the narrowest, innermost cone. The gas has an inhomogeneous temperature distribution and must be highly clumped. Most of the properties derived comply with the picture developed for the few known extreme high velocity outflows; however, this outflow contains exceptionally dense gas ( > 10⁶ cm^–3).     

Narrow-line dynamics in Seyfert and starburst nuclei

Rotating disks and expanding supershells of ionized gas are supposed to be kinematical components essential for the formation of emission-like profiles from starburst nuclei and the narrow-line regions of Seyfert galaxies. Simple models predict a few typical features of line profiles by which disks may be recognized.A giant supershell is identified SE of the nucleus of the starburst galaxy NGC 253. We suggest that the variously reported outflow cones in Seyfert nuclei are also induced by superbubble dynamics. Observations of NGC 4151 are shown to be consistent with this scenario.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

Evolution of the late Cenozoic Chaco foreland basin, Southern Bolivia

Eastward Andean orogenic growth since the late Oligocene led to variable crustal loading, flexural subsidence and foreland basin sedimentation in the Chaco basin. To understand the interaction between Andean tectonics and contemporaneous foreland development, we analyse stratigraphic, sedimentologic and seismic data from the Subandean Belt and the Chaco Basin. The structural features provide a mechanism for transferring zones of deposition, subsidence and uplift. These can be reconstructed based on regional distribution of clastic sequences. Isopach maps, combined with sedimentary architecture analysis, establish systematic thickness variations, facies changes and depositional styles. The foreland basin consists of five stratigraphic successions controlled by Andean orogenic episodes and climate: (1) the foreland basin sequence commences between ～27 and 14 Ma with the regionally unconformable, thin, easterly sourced fluvial Petaca strata. It represents a significant time interval of low sediment accumulation in a forebulge‐backbulge depocentre. (2) The overlying ～14–7 Ma‐old Yecua Formation, deposited in marine, fluvial and lacustrine settings, represents increased subsidence rates from thrust‐belt loading outpacing sedimentation rates. It marks the onset of active deformation and the underfilled stage of the foreland basin in a distal foredeep. (3) The overlying ～7–6 Ma‐old, westerly sourced Tariquia Formation indicates a relatively high accommodation and sediment supply concomitant with the onset of deposition of Andean‐derived sediment in the medial‐foredeep depocentre on a distal fluvial megafan. Progradation of syntectonic, wedge‐shaped, westerly sourced, thickening‐ and coarsening‐upward clastics of the (4) ～6–2.1 Ma‐old Guandacay and (5) ～2.1 Ma‐to‐Recent Emborozú Formations represent the propagation of the deformation front in the present Subandean Zone, thereby indicating selective trapping of coarse sediments in the proximal foredeep and wedge‐top depocentres, respectively. Overall, the late Cenozoic stratigraphic intervals record the easterly propagation of the deformation front and foreland depocentre in response to loading and flexure by the growing Intra‐ and Subandean fold‐and‐thrust belt.