An alkaline spring system within the Del Puerto Ophiolite (California,USA): A Mars analog site     

J.G. Blank  S.J. Green  D. Blake  J.W. Valley  N.T. Kita  A. Treiman  P.F. Dobson 《Planetary and Space Science》2009,57(5-6):533-540

Mars appears to have experienced little compositional differentiation of primitive lithosphere, and thus much of the surface of Mars is covered by mafic lavas. On Earth, mafic and ultramafic rocks present in ophiolites, oceanic crust and upper mantle that have been obducted onto land, are therefore good analogs for Mars. The characteristic mineralogy, aqueous geochemistry, and microbial communities of cold-water alkaline springs associated with these mafic and ultramafic rocks represent a particularly compelling analog for potential life-bearing systems. Serpentinization, the reaction of water with mafic minerals such as olivine and pyroxene, yields fluids with unusual chemistry (Mg–OH and Ca–OH waters with pH values up to ～12), as well as heat and hydrogen gas that can sustain subsurface, chemosynthetic ecosystems. The recent observation of seeps from pole-facing crater and canyon walls in the higher Martian latitudes supports the hypothesis that even present conditions might allow for a rock-hosted chemosynthetic biosphere in near-surface regions of the Martian crust. The generation of methane within a zone of active serpentinization, through either abiogenic or biogenic processes, could account for the presence of methane detected in the Martian atmosphere. For all of these reasons, studies of terrestrial alkaline springs associated with mafic and ultramafic rocks are particularly timely. This study focuses on the alkaline Adobe Springs, emanating from mafic and ultramafic rocks of the California Coast Range, where a community of novel bacteria is associated with the precipitation of Mg–Ca carbonate cements. The carbonates may serve as a biosignature that could be used in the search for evidence of life on Mars.  相似文献   

Al in plagioclase-rich chondrules in carbonaceous chondrites: Evidence for an extended duration of chondrule formation     

I.D. Hutcheon  K.K. Marhas  J.N. Goswami 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2009,73(17):5080-10

The ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg isotope systematics in 33 petrographically and mineralogically characterized plagioclase-rich chondrules (PRCs) from 13 carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) - one ungrouped (Acfer 094), six CR, five CV, and one CO - reveal large variations in the initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio, (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀. Well-resolved ²⁶Mg excesses (δ²⁶Mg) from the in situ decay of the short-lived nuclide ²⁶Al (t_1/2 ∼ 0.72 Ma) were found in nine chondrules, two from Acfer 094, five from the CV chondrites, Allende and Efremovka, and one each from the paired CR chondrites, EET 92147 and EET 92042, with (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ values ranging from ∼3 × 10⁻⁶ to ∼1.5 × 10⁻⁵. Data for seven additional chondrules from three CV and two CR chondrites show evidence suggestive of the presence of ²⁶Al but do not yield well defined values for (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀, while the remaining chondrules do not contain excess radiogenic ²⁶Mg and yield corresponding upper limits of (11-2) × 10⁻⁶ for (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀. The observed range of (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ in PRCs from CCs is similar to the range seen in chondrules from unequilibrated ordinary chondrites (UOCs) of low metamorphic grade (3.0-3.4). However, unlike the UOC chondrules, there is no clear trend between the (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ values in PRCs from CCs and the degree of thermal metamorphism experienced by the host meteorites. High and low values of (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ are found equally in PRCs from both CCs lacking evidence for thermal metamorphism (e.g., CRs) and CCs where such evidence is abundant (e.g., CVs). The lower (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ values in PRCs from CCs, relative to most CAIs, are consistent with a model in which ²⁶Al was distributed uniformly in the nebula when chondrule formation began, approximately a million years after the formation of the majority of CAIs. The observed range of (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ values in PRCs from CCs is most plausibly explained in terms of an extended duration of ∼2-3 Ma for the formation of CC chondrules. This interval is in sharp contrast to most CAIs from CCs, whose formation appears to be restricted to a narrow time interval of less than 10⁵ years. The active solar nebula appears to have persisted for a period approaching 4 Ma, encompassing the formation of both CAIs and chondrules present in CCs, and raising important issues related to the storage, assimilation and mixing of chondrules and CAIs in the early solar system.  相似文献   

Properties of dusty tori in active galactic nuclei – I. The case of SWIRE/SDSS quasars     

E. Hatziminaoglou  J. Fritz  A. Franceschini  A. Afonso-Luis  A. Hernán-Caballero  I. Pérez-Fournon  S. Serjeant  C. Lonsdale  S. Oliver  M. Rowan-Robinson  D. Shupe  H. E. Smith  J. Surace 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2008,386(3):1252-1264

We derive the properties of dusty tori in active galactic nuclei from the comparison of observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of SDSS quasars and a precomputed grid of torus models. The observed SEDs comprise SDSS photometry, Two-Micron All-Sky Survey J , H and K data, whenever available, and mid-infrared (mid-IR) data from the Spitzer Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic Survey. The adopted model is that of Fritz, Franceschini & Hatziminaoglou. The fit is performed by standard  χ²  -minimization; the model, however, can be a multicomponent comprising a stellar and a starburst component, whenever necessary. Models with low equatorial optical depth, τ_9.7, were allowed as well as 'traditional' models with  τ_9.7≥ 1.0  , corresponding to   A _V≥ 22  and the results were compared. Fits using high optical depth tori models only produced dust more compactly distributed than in the configuration where all τ_9.7 models were permitted. Tori with decreasing dust density with the distance from the centre were favoured while there was no clear preference for models with or without angular variation of the dust density. The computed outer radii of the tori are of some tens of parsecs large but can reach, in a few cases, a few hundreds of parsecs. The mass of dust, M _Dust, and IR luminosity, L _IR, integrated in the wavelength range between 1 and 1000 μm, do not show significant variations with redshift, once the observational biases are taken into account. Objects with 70-μm detections, representing 25 per cent of the sample, are studied separately and the starburst contribution (whenever present) to the IR luminosity can reach, in the most extreme but very few cases, 80 per cent.  相似文献   

Heating duration of igneous rim formation on a chondrule in the Northwest Africa 3118 CV3oxA carbonaceous chondrite inferred from micro-scale migration of the oxygen isotopes     

《Chemie der Erde / Geochemistry》2019,79(4):125524

Due to their common occurrence in various types of chondrites, igneous rims formed on pre-existing chondrules throughout chondrule-forming regions of the solar nebula. Although the peak temperatures are thought to reach similar values to those achieved during chondrule formation events, the heating duration in chondrule rim formation has not been well defined. We determined the two-dimensional chemical and oxygen isotopic distributions in an igneous rim of a chondrule within the Northwest Africa 3118 CV3_oxA chondrite with sub-micrometer resolution using secondary ion mass spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The igneous rim experienced aqueous alteration on the CV parent body. The aqueous alteration resulted in precipitation of the secondary FeO-rich olivine (Fa_40–49) and slightly disturbed the Fe-Mg distribution in the MgO-rich olivine phenocrysts (Fa_11–22) at about a 1 μm scale. However, no oxygen isotopic disturbances were observed at a scale greater than 100 nm. The MgO-rich olivine, a primary phase of igneous rim formation, has δ¹⁷O = −6 ± 3‰ and δ¹⁸O = −1 ± 4‰, and some grains contain extreme ¹⁶O-rich areas (δ¹⁷O, δ¹⁸O = ∼−30‰) nearly 10 μm across. We detected oxygen isotopic migration of approximately 1 μm at the boundaries of the extreme ¹⁶O-rich areas. Using oxygen self-diffusivity in olivine, the heating time of the igneous rim formation could have continued from several hours to several days at near liquidus temperatures (∼2000 K) in the solar nebula suggesting that the rim formed by a similar flash heating event that formed the chondrules.  相似文献   

The Seven Myths of Kyoto     

《Climate Policy》2001,1(2):269-272

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Structural constraints on deep-seated slope deformation kinematics     

《Engineering Geology》2001,59(1-2):83-102

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Geomorphic response to growing fault-related folds: example from the foothills of central Taiwan     

《Geodinamica Acta》2001,14(5):265-287

In this paper we concentrate particularly on the geomorphological indicators left by active tectonics. In the central foothills of Taiwan, we used topography, drainage pattern and structural data to perform quantitative morphometric analysis and to determine relative age of fault-related anticlines. The Tiehchen, Tatu and Pakua ridge belt is a fault-related anticline system located in the hanging wall of the Changhua fault along the western thrust front of the foothills. Geomorphic systems are analysed with intent to detect the various responses of landforms and drainage pattern to late Quaternary deformation. Topography and drainage basin register uplift and are valuable tools to discriminate lateral propagation of an active frontal fold. Geomorphic field evidence and quantitative morphometric parameters are used to define the evolution of the rising anticline ridges and to infer tectonism style along an active front. Geometry of alluvial fans, formed along the frontal side of the anticlines, and weathered terrace deposits provide relevant information on neotectonics. Knowledge concerning these younger anticline ridges, makes this area a good example of an actively forming mountain front. We discuss in detail the origin of N045°, N095 and N120° trending oblique fault scarps which delimite numerous fault blocks. The fault scarps morphology is characterized by imbricate talus facets. Steeper topography accompanied by breaks in the slope along some transverse profiles, seems to correspond to the traces of successive uplifts.  相似文献   

Nb/Ta,Zr/Hf and REE in the depleted mantle: implications for the differentiation history of the crust–mantle system     

《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2003,205(3-4):309-324

High-precision Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Sm, Nd and Lu concentration data of depleted mantle rocks from the Balmuccia peridotite complex (Ivrea Zone, Italian Alps) were determined by isotope dilution using multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). The Zr/Hf ratios of all investigated samples from the Balmuccia peridotite complex are significantly lower than the chondritic value of 34.2, and the most depleted samples have Zr/Hf ratios as low as 10. Correlated Zr/Hf ratios and Zr abundances of the lherzolites preserve the trend of a mantle residue that has been depleted by fractional melting. This trend confirms experimental studies that predict Hf to behave more compatibly than Zr during mantle melting. Experimentally determined partition coefficients imply that the major Zr and Hf depletion most likely occurred in the spinel stability field, with (D_Zr/D_Hf)^cpx≈0.5, and not in the garnet stability field, where (D_Zr/D_Hf)^grt is probably close to one. However, minor amounts of melting must have also occurred in a garnet facies mantle, as indicated by low Sm/Lu ratios in the Balmuccia peridotites. The Nb/Ta ratios of most lherzolites are subchondritic and vary only from 7 to 10, with the exception of three samples that have higher Nb/Ta ratios (18–24). The overall low Nb/Ta ratios of most depleted mantle rocks confirm a higher compatibility of Ta in the mantle. The uniform Nb/Ta ratios in most samples imply that even in ‘depleted’ mantle domains the budget of the highly incompatible Nb and Ta is controlled by enrichment processes. Such a model is supported by the positive correlation of Zr/Nb with the Zr concentration. However, the overall enrichment was weak and did barely affect the moderately incompatible elements Zr and Hf. The new constraints from the partitioning behaviour of Zr–Hf and Nb–Ta provide important insights into processes that formed the Earth’s major silicate reservoirs. The correlation of Zr/Hf and Sm/Nd in depleted MORB can be assigned to previous melting events in the MORB source. However, such trends were unlikely produced during continental crust formation processes, where Sm/Nd and Zr/Hf are decoupled. The different fractionation behaviour of Zr/Hf and Sm/Nd in the depleted mantle (correlated) and the crust (decoupled) indicates that crustal growth by a simple partial melting process in the mantle has little effect on the mass budget of LREE and HFSE between crust and mantle. A more complex source composition, similar to that of modern subduction rocks, is needed to fractionate the LREE, but not Zr/Hf and the HREE.  相似文献   

Radiocarbon dating from 40 to 60 ka BP at Border Cave,South Africa     

《Quaternary Science Reviews》2003,22(8-9):943-947

We present 21 radiocarbon dates on 19 charcoal samples from the sedimentary sequence preserved in Border Cave, South Africa. The background radiocarbon activity for charcoal from the cave was determined to be 0.050±0.018 percent modern carbon, from the analysis of a radiocarbon-dead sample from unit 5WA. Radiocarbon ages for individual samples ranged from 25.2 to >58.2 ka BP.The error-weighted mean ages for successively older strata are 38.5+0.85/−0.95 ka BP for unit 1WA, 50.2+1.1/−1.0 ka BP for units 2BS.LR.A and 2BS.LR.B, 56.5+2.7/−2.0 ka BP for unit 2BS.LR.C and 59.2+3.4/−2.4 ka BP for unit 2WA. This radiocarbon chronology is consistent with independent chronologies derived from electron spin resonance and amino acid racemization dating. The results therefore provide further evidence that radiocarbon dating of charcoal by the ABOX-SC technique can yield reliable radiocarbon ages beyond 40 ka BP. They also imply that Border Cave 5, a modern human mandible, predates >58.2 ka BP and that the Middle Stone Age (Mode 3)—Later Stone Age (Mode 5) transition of Border Cave was largely effected between ∼56.5 and ∼41.6 ka ago.  相似文献   

A new phase for Climate Policy     

《Climate Policy》2002,2(4):267-268

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