CO2 Release from Pockmarks on the Chatham Rise‐Bounty Trough at the Glacial Termination

Seafloor pockmarks of varying size occur over an area of 50,000 km2 on the Chatham Rise, Canterbury Shelf and Inner Bounty Trough, New Zealand. The pockmarks are concentrated above the flat‐subducted Hikurangi Plateau. Echosounder data identifies recurrent episodes of pockmark formation at ~100,000yr frequency coinciding with Pleistocene glacial terminations. Here we show that there are structural conduits beneath the larger pockmarks through which fluids flowed upward toward the seafloor. Large negative Δ14C excursions are documented in marine sediments deposited next to these subseafloor conduits and pockmarks at the last glacial termination. Modern pore waters contain no methane and there is no negative δ13C excursion at the glacial termination that would be indicative of methane or mantle‐derived carbon at the time the Δ14C excursion and pockmarks were produced. An ocean general circulation model equipped with isotope tracers is unable to simulate these large Δ14C excursions on the Chatham Rise by transport of hydrothermal carbon released from the East Pacific Rise as previous studies suggested. Here we attribute the Δ14C anomalies and pockmarks to release of 14C‐dead CO2 and carbon‐rich fluids from subsurface reservoirs, the most likely being dissociated Mesozoic carbonates that subducted beneath the Rise during the Late Cretaceous. Because of the large number of pockmarks and duration of the Δ14C anomaly, the pockmarks may collectively represent an important source of 14C‐dead carbon to the ocean during glacial terminations

A cyclin-binding motif in human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV18) E1^E4 is necessary for association with CDK–cyclin complexes and G2/M cell cycle arrest of keratinocytes, but is not required for differentiation-dependent viral genome amplification or L1 capsid protein expression

Investigation into the effects the HPV E4 protein has in viral life cycleThe G2/M arrest function of human papillomavirus (HPV) E4 proteins is hypothesized to be necessary for viral genome amplification. Full-length HPV18 E1^E4 protein is essential for efficient viral genome amplification. Here we identify key determinants within a CDK-bipartite consensus recognition motif in HPV18 E1^E4 that are critical for association with active CDK–cyclin complexes and in vitro phosphorylation at the predicted CDK phosphorylation site (threonine 23). The optimal cyclin-binding sequence (43RRLL46) within this E4 motif is required for G2/M arrest of primary keratinocytes and correlates with cytoplasmic retention of cyclin B1, but not cyclin A. Disruption of this motif in the E4 ORF of HPV18 genomes, and the subsequent generation of stable cell lines in primary keratinocytes revealed that this motif was not essential for viral genome amplification or L1 capsid protein induction. We conclude that the HPV18 E4 G2/M arrest function does not play a role in early vegetative events

Hikurangi Plateau: Crustal structure, rifted formation, and Gondwana subduction history

Seismic reflection profiles across the Hikurangi Plateau Large Igneous Province and adjacent margins reveal the faulted volcanic basement and overlying Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary units as well as the structure of the paleoconvergent Gondwana margin at the southern plateau limit. The Hikurangi Plateau crust can be traced 50–100 km southward beneath the Chatham Rise where subduction cessation timing and geometry are interpreted to be variable along the margin. A model fit of the Hikurangi Plateau back against the Manihiki Plateau aligns the Manihiki Scarp with the eastern margin of the Rekohu Embayment. Extensional and rotated block faults which formed during the breakup of the combined Manihiki-Hikurangi plateau are interpreted in seismic sections of the Hikurangi Plateau basement. Guyots and ridge-like seamounts which are widely scattered across the Hikurangi Plateau are interpreted to have formed at 99–89 Ma immediately following Hikurangi Plateau jamming of the Gondwana convergent margin at ∼100 Ma. Volcanism from this period cannot be separately resolved in the seismic reflection data from basement volcanism; hence seamount formation during Manihiki-Hikurangi Plateau emplacement and breakup (125–120 Ma) cannot be ruled out. Seismic reflection data and gravity modeling suggest the 20-Ma-old Hikurangi Plateau choked the Cretaceous Gondwana convergent margin within 5 Ma of entry. Subsequent uplift of the Chatham Rise and slab detachment has led to the deposition of a Mesozoic sedimentary unit that thins from ∼1 km thickness northward across the plateau. The contrast with the present Hikurangi Plateau subduction beneath North Island, New Zealand, suggests a possible buoyancy cutoff range for LIP subduction consistent with earlier modeling

The Science Advantage of a Redder Filter for WFIRST

WFIRST will be capable of providing Hubble-quality imaging performance over several thousand square degrees of the sky. The wide-area, high spatial resolution survey data from WFIRST will be unsurpassed for many decades into the future. With the current baseline design, the WFIRST filter complement will extend from the bluest wavelength allowed by the optical design to a reddest filter (F184W) that has a red cutoff at 2.0 microns. In this white paper, we outline some of the science advantages for adding a K_s filter with a 2.15 micron central wavelength in order to extend the wavelength coverage for WFIRST as far to the red as the possible given the thermal performance of the observatory and the sensitivity of the detectors

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-orbit Performance

The all sky surveys done by the Palomar Observatory Schmidt, the European Southern Observatory Schmidt, and the United Kingdom Schmidt, the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite and the 2 Micron All Sky Survey have proven to be extremely useful tools for astronomy with value that lasts for decades. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is mapping the whole sky following its launch on 14 December 2009. WISE began surveying the sky on 14 Jan 2010 and completed its first full coverage of the sky on July 17. The survey will continue to cover the sky a second time until the cryogen is exhausted (anticipated in November 2010). WISE is achieving 5 sigma point source sensitivities better than 0.08, 0.11, 1 and 6 mJy in unconfused regions on the ecliptic in bands centered at wavelengths of 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 microns. Sensitivity improves toward the ecliptic poles due to denser coverage and lower zodiacal background. The angular resolution is 6.1, 6.4, 6.5 and 12.0 arc-seconds at 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 microns, and the astrometric precision for high SNR sources is better than 0.15 arc-seconds.Comment: 22 pages with 19 included figures. Updated to better match the accepted version in the A

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-Orbit Performance

The all sky surveys done by the Palomar Observatory Schmidt, the European Southern Observatory Schmidt, and the United Kingdom Schmidt, the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite and the 2 Micron All Sky Survey have proven to be extremely useful tools for astronomy with value that lasts for decades. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is mapping the whole sky following its launch on 14 December 2009. WISE began surveying the sky on 14 Jan 2010 and completed its first full coverage of the sky on July 17. The survey will continue to cover the sky a second time until the cryogen is exhausted (anticipated in November 2010). WISE is achieving 5 sigma point source sensitivities better than 0.08, 0.11, 1 and 6 mJy in unconfused regions on the ecliptic in bands centered at wavelengths of 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 micrometers. Sensitivity improves toward the ecliptic poles due to denser coverage and lower zodiacal background. The angular resolution is 6.1", 6.4", 6.5" and 12.0" at 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 micrometers, and the astrometric precision for high SNR sources is better than 0.15"

The Science Advantage of a Redder Filter for WFIRST

WFIRST will be capable of providing Hubble-quality imaging performance over several thousand square degrees of the sky. The wide-area, high spatial resolution survey data from WFIRST will be unsurpassed for many decades into the future. With the current baseline design, the WFIRST filter complement will extend from the bluest wavelength allowed by the optical design to a reddest filter (F184W) that has a red cutoff at 2.0 microns. In this white paper, we outline some of the science advantages for adding a K_s filter with a 2.15 micron central wavelength in order to extend the wavelength coverage for WFIRST as far to the red as the possible given the thermal performance of the observatory and the sensitivity of the detectors

Subduction of the oceanic Hikurangi Plateau and its impact on the Kermadec arc

Large igneous province subduction is a rare process on Earth. A modern example is the subduction of the oceanic Hikurangi Plateau beneath the southern Kermadec arc, offshore New Zealand. This segment of the arc has the largest total lava volume erupted and the highest volcano density of the entire Kermadec arc. Here we show that Kermadec arc lavas south of B32°S have elevated Pb and Sr and low Nd isotope ratios, which argues, together with increasing seafloor depth, forearc retreat and crustal thinning, for initial Hikurangi Plateau—Kermadec arc collision B250 km north of its present position. The combined data set indicates that a much larger portion of the Hikurangi Plateau (the missing Ontong Java Nui piece) than previously believed has already been subducted. Oblique plate convergence caused southward migration of the thickened and buoyant oceanic plateau crust, creating a buoyant ‘Hikurangi’ me´lange beneath the Moho that interacts with ascending arc melts