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At least 433 records · Page 24

Ubiquitous isotopic anomalies in Ti from normal Allende inclusions

A novel technique for the high-precision isotopic analysis of titanium was applied to three terrestrial rocks and coarse- and fine-grained Allende inclusions. Repeated analyses of the three terrestrial rocks gave excellent agreement with a Ti metal standard. All seven Allende inclusions were previously determined to contain isotopically normal Nd and/or Sm, indicating that none belongs to a small group of peculiar intrusions. The discovery of widespread Ti isotopic anomalies in normal Allende inclusions establishes Ti as the first non-noble gas element studied since oxygen to show such isotopic heterogeneity. A survey of nucleosynthetic origins of Ti isotopes suggests that the dominant Ti-50 excesses in these inclusions are due to the relative enrichment of isotopes synthesized during hydrostatic burning in, or near, the core of a massive star.

Niemeyer, S.↗

Partitioning REE between minerals and coexisting melts during partial melting of a garnet lherzolite

Partition coefficients for Ce, Sm, and Tm between garnet, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, olivine, and melt are determined at 35 kbar for 2.3, 8, 20, and 37.7% melting of a garnet lherzolite nodule with chondritic REE abundances. Partition coefficients are found to increase as the degree of partial melting increases. From 2.3 to 8% melting, this increase is for the most part a consequence of non-Henry's law behavior of REE in minerals.

Harrison, W. J.↗

Partition coefficients for REE between garnets and liquids - Implications of non-Henry's Law behaviour for models of basalt origin and evolution

An experimental investigation of Ce, Sm and Tm rare earth element (REE) partition coefficients between coexisting garnets (both natural and synthetic) and hydrous liquids shows that Henry's Law may not be obeyed over a range of REE concentrations of geological relevance. Systematic differences between the three REE and the two garnet compositions may be explained in terms of the differences between REE ionic radii and those of the dodecahedral site into which they substitute, substantiating the Harrison and Wood (1980) model of altervalent substitution. Model calculations demonstrate that significant variation can occur in the rare earth contents of melts produced from a garnet lherzolite, if Henry's Law partition coefficients do not apply for the garnet phase.

Harrison, W. J.↗

Isotopic and REE studies of lunar basalt 12038 - Implications for petrogenesis of aluminous mare basalts

Sr, Nd, and Sm isotopic studies of lunar basalt 12038, one of the so-called aluminous mare basalts, are reported. The evolution of the Sr and Nd isotopic compositions and the rare earth element (REE) abundances is successfully modeled within the framework of the model developed by Nyquist et al. (1977, 1979) for Apollo 12 olivine-pigeonite and ilmenite basalts. It is pointed out that the isotopic and trace element features of 12038 can by modeled as produced by partial melting of a cumulate mantle source which crystallized from a lunar magma ocean with a chondrite-normalized REE pattern of constant negative slope. Chondrite-normalized La/Yb is equal to 2.2 for this hypothetical magma ocean pattern.

Nyquist, L. E.↗

On the three-dimensional magnetic structure of the plasmoid created in the magnetotail at substorm onset

The magnetic field in the plasmoid which is created by the reconnection of magnetic field lines at a neutral line formed in the near-earth region of the plasma sheet at substorm onset, and which flows out of the magnetotail into the magnetosphere's wake, displays a strong positive or negative Y(SM) component that has been difficult to reconcile with the standard, two-dimensional reconnection geometry. It is shown that this deviation of the magnetic field is a manifestation of the newly-reconnected field line loop's draping toward the tail's central or midnight meridian, and that the draping is a consequence of the three-dimensional plasma flow associated with the reconnection process.

Hones, E. W., Jr.↗

Foraging westward for pristine nonmare rocks - Complications for petrogenetic models

New advances are reported concerning an investigation which is being conducted to find and characterize more 'pristine' (compositionally endogenous) lunar rocks. Eleven nonmare samples are characterized petrographically and (except for two clasts that were prohibitively small) by chemical composition. The samples are assessed whether they are pristine on the basis of diagnostic features discussed by Warren and Wasson (1977). Five samples are found to be almost certainly pristine. They include the alkali-rich anorthosite 12073c, the troctolite 14179c, the anorthositic troctolite 14321c1, the troctolitic anorthosite 14321c2, and the anorthositic norite 15565c. Correlations between petrochemistry and longitude are also investigated, taking into account Eu fractionations, Sc-Ti-Sm fractionations, and Ca/Na-Mg/Fe fractionations.

Warren, P. H.↗

Petrochemical constraints on lateral transport during lunar basin formation

Lunar ANT petrochemistry correlates with longitude, allowing the sampled region of the moon to be divided into three geochemical provinces: western (Apollo 12 and 14), near-eastern (Apollo 11, 15, 16 and 17) and far-eastern (Luna 16, 20 and 24). A western ANT rock has a far greater Eu anomaly for a given Sm content than does a near-eastern ANT rock, which is in turn has a somewhat greater Eu anomaly than does a far-eastern ANT rock. Distinct differences are also observed in Sc/Sm and Ti/Sm ratios (western ANT rocks have lower ratios) and in the abundances of alkali-rich anorthosites (five of the six known anorthosites from the west are approximately four times richer in Na and K than are ferroan anorthosites, whereas none of the 40 known anorthosites from the near east is alkali-rich). The existence of this distinct correlation of ANT geochemical properties with longitude implies that even during the first few hundred m.y. of lunar history basin-forming impacts were not capable of efficiently redistributing material laterally across the lunar surface.

Warren, P. H.↗

A parameterized model for the evolution of isotopic heterogeneities in a convecting system

It is experimentally shown that, although steady convective flows are efficient means to heterogeneity within a single cell, they do not produce a dispersal of heterogeneous material over scales that are large by comparison to their depth, which requires that the flow be time-dependent on a time scale comparable to the overturn time. Convection in an internally heated layer does possess this property, and numerical solutions are presently used to study the way in which it disperses a set of neutrally bouyant particles initially confined to a small space. The derived concept of effective diffusivity is applied to the isotopic evolution of the Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr systems, with spatial variations generated by horizontal variations in degree of melting 1.8 billion years ago.

Richter, F. M.↗

The geochemical coherence of Pu and Nd and the Pu-244/U-238 ratio of the early solar system

Two very different sets of Pu-244/U-238 ratios have been reported for early solar system materials, one high and the other low, and this paper examines how one of these groups may yield an incorrect ratio. Recently measured partition coefficients for Pu and Sm (Jones, 1981) are used to evaluate Pu-Nd fractionation during achondrite genesis, and Pu-244/U-238 ratios of chondrites, achondrites, and Ca-Al-rich inclusions are compared and discussed. A low Pu-244/U-238 ratio is favored, and some implications of this low ratio for galactic nucleosynthesis and meteorite age dating are briefly discussed.

Jones, J. H.↗

Chronology and petrogenesis of young achondrites, Shergotty, Zagami, and ALHA77005 - Late magmatism on a geologically active planet

Three achondrites were examined for chronology, petrogenesis, and relationships among the shergotites. Isotopic and trace elements analyses were carried out through neutron activation and mass spectrometry on Shergotty, Zagami, and ALHA77005 samples. Attention was given the Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and the Ar-39/Ar-40 ages in the samples. Evidence was detected for a shock metamorphism and a younger age of the meteorites than with most other achondrites. Depletions of the rare-earth elements were observed in Shergotty and Zagami, and to a more pronounced degree in ALHA77005. The Rb-Sr internal isochrons for all three meteorites were about 180 Myr, while the Ar-39/Ar-40 plateau ages of Shergotty and Zagami maskelynite were determined at 250-260 Myr. No precise identification of the crystallization ages was found. It is suggested that the achondrites originated in a parent body which experienced at least two epochs of sustained melting.

Shih, C.-Y.↗

Sixth foray for pristine nonmare rocks and an assessment of the diversity of lunar anorthosites

A compositional and petrographic characterization of 11 nonmare samples shows five to be pristine, and four probably pristine. Five of the 11 are unique anorthosites that considerably extend the diversity of lunar anorthosites. Alkali anorthosites are rich in incompatible elements. The nature of the correlations between longitude and such parameters as Eu and Sm concentrations, and Sc/Sm, Ti/Sm, and Ca/Na ratios, has been elucidated for the case of the pristine samples because five are fro a western site (Apollo 14). The ratios determined for the ferroan anorthosite 14312c are close to normal, but significantly displaced in the direction of the nonferroan, western pristine rocks. This suggests that the composition-longitude relationships are as old as the late stages of the crystallization of the putative magma ocean.

Warren, P. H.↗

Barium from a mini r-process in supernovae

McCulloch and Wasserburg (1978) have reported nonlinear isotopic anomalies in barium for two Ca-Al-rich inclusions of the Allende carbonaceous chondrite, known as EK-1-4-1 and C-1. In an attempt to account for these anomalies, it has been proposed that Ba from an r-process of nucleosynthesis, containing Ba-135 and Ba-137, was injected into the primeval color system but was not totally homogenized. Questions arise in connection with the relations of Xe isotopes in carbonaceous chondrites. This has prompted Heymann and Dziczkaniec (1979, 1980, 1981) to study the formation of r-Xe, r-Kr, and r-Te by the mini r-process which is thought to occur in the O, Ne-rich shells of Type II supernovae. Lee et al. (1979) have studied the formation of r-Ba, r-Nd, and r-Sm by the same process. Certain differences regarding the approaches used by Lee et al. and by Heymann and Dziczkaniec make it necessary to restudy the work of Lee et al. Attention is given to the survival probabilities of nuclear species of interest, taking into accounts the elements Cs, Ba, I, and Xe.

Heymann, D.↗

Kinetic effects on trace element partitioning

A potential difficulty regarding the application of trace element abundance data to problems in igneous petrogenesis is related to the possibility that partitioning of trace elements among minerals and melt may not be an equilibrium process. It may rather be controlled by kinetic processes, specifically the interplay between crystal growth and diffusion of the trace elements in crystals and melt. The present investigation has the objective to quantify kinetic effects on trace element partitioning. Crystals of olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase were grown rapidly from synthetic melts resembling naturally-occurring mafic melts and doped with La, Sm, and Lu to quantify the magnitude of the effect of crystal growth rate on concentration of excluded trace elements. Olivine melt partitioning failed to show any appreciable kinetic effects, while diopside/melt distribution coefficients increased by 70 percent when the crystals grew very rapidly.

Lindstrom, D. J.↗

Control definition study for advanced vehicles

The low speed, high angle of attack flight mechanics of an advanced, canard-configured, supersonic tactical aircraft designed with moderate longitudinal relaxed static stability (Static Margin, SM = 16% C sub W at M = 0.4) was investigated. Control laws were developed for the longitudinal axis (""G'' or maneuver and angle of attack command systems) and for the lateral/directional axes. The performance of these control laws was examined in engineering simulation. A canard deflection/rate requirement study was performed as part of the ""G'' command law evaluation at low angles of attack. Simulated coupled maneuvers revealed the need for command limiters in all three aircraft axes to prevent departure from controlled flight. When modified with command/maneuver limiters, the control laws were shown to be adequate to prevent aircraft departure during aggressive air combat maneuvering.

Lapins, M.↗

An Attached Payload Operations Center (APOC) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), volume 2

An overview of the APOC is given. For Spacelab payloads channel 2 and 3 data are input via a Statistical Multiplexer (SM) to the various SIPS functions. These include recording of the data on High Density Recorders (HDR), DQM and demultiplexing of the composite data stream by the High Rate Demultiplexer (HRDM). This system performs the inverse functions of the onboard Spacelab High Rate Multiplexer (HRM) enabling access to the data streams as multiplexed onboard the Spacelab. The contents and characteristics of channels one, two and three data as downlinked by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) ku-band are given.

Source record↗

Ion microprobe zircon geochronology of the Uivak Gneisses: Implications for the evolution of early terrestrial crust in the North Atlantic Craton

Ion microprobe U-Pb results for zircons from three Uivak I gneisses and one specimen of Uivak II gneiss, from the Saglek-Hebron area of Northern Labrador are reported. These results are compared with interpretations based on published conventional U-Pb zircon results and with conclusions about crustal evolution in the NAC derived from Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb isotopic studies.

Collerson, K. D.↗

Samarium-146 in the early solar system - Evidence from neodymiun in the Allende meteorite

A carbon-chromite fraction from the Allende C3V chondrite shows strikingly large isotopic enrichments of neodymium-142 (0.47 percent) and neodymium-143 (36 percent). Both apparently formed by alpha decay of samarium-146 and samarium-147 (half-lives 1.03 x 10 to the 8th and 1.06 x 10 to the 11th years), but the isotopic enrichment was greatly magnified by recoil of residual nuclei into a carbon film surounding the samarium-bearing grains. These data provide an improved estimate of the original abundance of extinct samarium-146 in the early solar system, Sm-146/Sm-144 = (4.5 + or - 0.5) x 10 to the -3rd, higher than predicted by some models of p-process nucleosynthesis. It may be possible to use this isotopic pair as a chronometer of the early solar system.

Lugmair, G. W.↗

Comparison of Yamato and Victoria Land polymict eucrites - A view from mineralogical and isotopic studies

New interior samples of four Yamato polymict eucrites (Y74159, Y74450, Y75011, and Y75015) have been studied by electron microprobe, transmission electron microscope, and X-ray diffraction techniques, and compared with several samples of the Victoria Land polymict eucrites. These same samples have been analysed using Rb-Sr and Nd-Sm isotopic systematics. Several grains of inverted pigeonite, with blebby augite similar to those in Binda and Moama, have been identified in all four Yamato eucrites. Coarse-grained meso-stasis-rich subophitic basalts, which contain Mg-rich pigeonite (with Fe-rich olivine veinlets) zoned outward to a subcalcic ferroaugite rims, have also been found. These unique clasts were not found in ALH76005, 77302, 78040, 7858, and 78165 and EET eucrites. The tight grouping of Rb/Sr and Sm/Nd ratos, and similar modal compositions of the Yamato group indicate that they are most likely to be pieces from a single fall, and distinct from the ALH and EET groups. However, the Yamato, Allan Hills, and Elephant Moraine groups may sample a few distinct magmas or similar but different source regions on the same parent body.

Takeda, H.↗