Experimental Investigation into the Thermal and Magmatic Evolution of Mercury

During the time that the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft was in orbit around the innermost planet, new and exciting results regarding the planets structure, chemical makeup, and diverse surface were revealed, confirming that Mercury is a geochemical endmember among the terrestrial planets. Data from this mission, more specifically data from the X-Ray Spectrometer and Gamma-Ray Spectrometer onboard MESSENGER, has been used to provide insight into the thermal and magmatic evolution of Mercury. This dissertation consists of five chapters that, as a whole, have substantially increased our knowledge about Mercury through a high pressure and high temperature experimental investigation. First, we identified nine distinct geochemical regions that have characteristic major element compositions. We computed silicate and sulfide mineralogy of these regions and petrologically classified them according to IUGS specifications. The diversity of the rocks and minerals on Mercury was then compared to other planetary bodies revealing the wide range in diversity of the mercurian surface. Second, we conducted sink-float experiments on a melt composition similar to the composition of the largest volcanic field on the planet to provide insight into crust formation on Mercury. These results suggested a primary floatation crust composed of graphite is possible given a magma ocean event on Mercury. Third, we experimentally determined the phase assemblages associated with the largest volcanic field on the planet. From this data we were able to provide insight into eruption scenarios that produced the northern volcanic plains on Mercury. Fourth, we determined the sulfide concentration at sulfide saturation in mercurian-like melts by conducting sulfide solubility experiments on a synthetic rock composition matching the northern volcanic plains. These results indicated that the high amounts of sulfur on the surface of Mercury measured by MESSENGER are a direct consequence of the low oxygen fugacity of the planet, which allowed transport of S towards the surface in reducing melts which have a higher carrying capacity for S than oxidized melts. Finally, we investigated the carbon concentration at graphite saturation in Fe-rich metals with various amounts of Si to determine the amount of C that would be soluble in the mercurian core as a function of core composition and temperature. The results of this dissertation provide important information regarding the evolution of Mercury from its primary magma ocean event to the current state of the planet.New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, NASA Earth and Space Sciences Fellowship, NASA Cosmochemistry program, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences summer scholarship fundsEarth and Planetary SciencesDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Earth and Planetary SciencesMcCubbin, FrancisAgee, CarlChabot, NancyFischer, TobiasZiegler, Kare

A Comparison of Maximal Syllable Structure in Four Linguistic Areas

Research on areal linguistics provides ample evidence that languages in contact situations may come to share grammatical features that cannot be explained ontogenetically (Campbell 1997b, Matras 2011). In terms of phonology, the literature suggests that languages in prolonged contact develop similar segmental and suprasegmental characteristics (e.g. Aikhenvald & Dixon 2001, Curnow 2001, Muysken 2008, Thomason 2001). However, the effects of contact-induced change on deeper phonological structure such as syllable patterns remain largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the claim that languages in intense contact situations such as those in linguistic areas are subject to borrowing not only individual phonemes but also phonological structure (Thomason & Kaufman 1988). Specifically, it looks at maximal syllable shape in languages belonging to four established Sprachbünde: the Caucasus Area (Chirikba 2008) in Europe, the Northwest Coast Area (Campbell 1997a) and the Pueblo Area (Bereznak 1995) in North America and the Southern Cone Area (Klein 1992) in South America. Maximal syllable shape is the syllable type that contains the most possible segments in onset and coda positions, for instance CCCVCCCC in an English word like ‘strengths’ [stɹeŋkθs]. A core phonological characteristic of languages, maximal syllable shape has indeed served as a tool to categorize languages typologically (e.g. Maddieson 2013). Furthermore, studies on loan phonology show that syllabic patterns in borrowings are consistently adapted to a language’s native syllable structure (e.g. Peperkamp 2004). At the same time, there is evidence that even this property may be subject to contact- induced change (Matras & Sakel 2007), granted there is a large enough influx of loan words (Aikhenvald & Dixon 2007, Muysken 2008). Thus, the literature suggests that maximal syllable shape constitutes a solid parameter to examine language convergence under intense contact. Following a top-down approach (Muysken 2008), the study presented here examined the maximal syllable shape in every language for which data were available in each of the four linguistic areas under investigation. Languages were compared within a single Sprachbund and, with the exception of isolates, measured against related languages elsewhere as a control. The data discussed here were obtained from three sources: reference grammars, a database of phonotactic structure (Donohue et al. 2013) and a large phonological database with information on syllable patterns (Maddieson et al. 2014-2016). Results suggest that despite centuries of contact and a possibly large influx of borrowings, languages belonging to different families within the four Sprachbünden show little similarity in terms of maximal syllable structure. Rather, it is demonstrated that genetic affiliation is the most decisive factor in determining these patterns. These findings are novel in terms of providing an insight into the impact of language contact on phonological systems, a domain that still deserves attention in areal linguistics. Furthermore, they have implications to the matter vs. pattern hypothesis (Sakel 2007) in that it shows that syllabic patterns mirror genetic affiliation despite considerable borrowing (matter) from languages in a same area

Stable isotopes in atmospheric water vapour from Mauna Loa, Hawaii, 2016-2017

The isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor (1H216O, H218O, and 1H2H16O) was continuously measured at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) from April 8, 2016 through March 13, 2017 using Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS). The dataset has been carefully corrected for humidity-dependent biases and calibrated against the international VSMOW-SLAP scale to provide a precise, continuous, nearly yearlong dataset from a dynamic subtropical setting. The measurements are provided with 15-minute and 6-hourly resolution.This work was partially supported by NSF-AGS award 1158582 and by the University of New Mexico. This project was supported as part of a NOAA Global Monitoring Division cooperative agreement, and we thank the staff of the Mauna Loa Observatory for their assistance

Development of Soft-Matter Delivery Systems: Coupling pH Responsive Polymers to Porous Silica Particles

This work investigates polymeric coating of evaporated induced self-assembly (EISA) mesoprous silica nanoparticles for potential use in controlled drug release and therapeutics. As demonstrated here, lipid bilayer coatings can be easily replaced with different polymer analogs allowing for dynamic response to environmental stimuli. In addition to coupling commercially available diblock polymers we synthesized and characterized a unique dual hydrophilic pH responsive diblock copolymer, PEO-PAA. This hybrid polymeric-nanoparticle system drastically improves targeting and release capabilities through the modular ability to couple multiple different polymers. Furthermore, this work is supported by an improved method to form and study giant polymer vesicles (pGVs)This work was sponsored by the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies: user proposal C2014B0059, the Advanced Materials Laboratory, and in part by BES-MS

Navigating Institutional Racism and Improving Campus Climate: Culturally Diverse Graduate Students Breaking the Mold

Institutions are widget factories. They have become the handmaiden of the status quo, cranking out clinicians and researchers who view the world through a universal lens. A universal perspective to the understanding of human health and education leads to the assumption that all humans are the same and fails to acknowledge human diversity. We know this prac tice to be harmful; institutions, researchers and healthcare providers have a history of discounting the importance of culture, race and ethnicity resulting in harm to students, patients and humankind. A diversity of perspectives promote ingenuity and scientific progress. We need to train diverse students, clinicians, and researchers who will engage in society with originality, passion, and responsiveness to traditionally marginalized groups

Paper, Abstracts, and Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Himalayan Policy Research Conference

This volume brings together papers and abstracts from the Eleventh Annual Himalayan Policy Research Conference (HPRC) held at the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club in Madison, WI. The event was a pre-conference proceeding of the 45th South Asian Conference at the University of Wisconsin, Madison on October 20, 2016. Session topics included Geopolitical Conflicts and Human Rights, Education, Health and Social Safety Nets,Developmental Issues, and Agro-forestry, Energy and Environmental Issue

A GIS-Based Investigation Into Social Violence and Settlement Patterns in the Gallina Area of the American Southwest

The Gallina area is an ideal location for an investigation into social violence using GIS-based methods. Situated in northern New Mexico, the remote Gallina region and the Gallina phase (A.D. 1100–1300) in particular have a clear record of violence that peaked in the latter half of the 13th Century (Borck and Bremer 2015; Constan 2011). Although there is an abundant record of violence, the source of the violence remains unclear. Were the Gallina attacked by an outside group or groups? Did the Gallina turn on each other? Or was some combination of internecine conflict and foreign attacks to blame? The Gallina do not appear to have been restricted territorially by outside groups and there are few indications that they influenced neighboring groups. The Gallina phase has been characterized as an area of intense conflict, with researchers citing the many defensible sites (towers, cliff houses, and site locations with limited access), burned sites, lack of trade wares, and skeletal evidence of violence throughout the region (Byrd 2010, 2015; Borck and Bremer 2015; Constan 2011, 2015; Dick 1976; Green 1956; Hibben 1939). The construction of defensible structures, such as towers and cliff houses, involved a significant investment of time and resources. Their specific locations on the landscape were likely the result of careful planning with an inherent concern for defense as demonstrated by location and design. Investigating the placement of these structures on the landscape and their relationship to other settlements (including intervisibility) could demonstrate the existence of alliances between communities, territorial boundaries, potential regional organization, and from where communities most felt threatened. In addition, examining the locations of settlement clusters and the distribution of trade wares can clarify the nature of interactions among settlements. Finally, identifying spatial and temporal patterns of warfare-related sites can be used to help identify both the source and the objective of attacks. This study specifically investigated how intraregional conflict and interregional conflict result in different spatial trends seen in the archaeological record by comparing spatial datasets to three hypotheticals models of tribal conflict. The three models of conflict included conflict between Gallina groups (internal), conflict between Gallina and outside groups (external), and a combination of internal and external (mixed) conflict. Based on ethnographic and archaeological research, the models identify a suite of regional settlement characteristics that have been previously demonstrated as relevant to warfare (Haas 1990; Haas and Creamer 1993; LeBlanc 1999; Solometo 2004; Wilcox and Haas 1993), such as settlement density, defensibility of sites, sites with evidence of violence, and interaction between Gallina settlements. For each model, variations for each of these settlement characteristics are correlated with expected settlement patterns and expected results from different spatial analysis techniques. The settlement data for documented sites within the study area were then compared to the expected results for each model, suggesting that the violence in the region was the result of groups migrating from the Four Corners region to the Rio Grande Valley.AnthropologyDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of AnthropologyPhillips, David A.Boone, James L.Graves, Michael W.Lippitt, Christopher D