Two-billion-year-old evaporites capture Earth's great oxidation

Funding sources: Simons Foundation (SCOL 339006 to C.L.B.), European Research Council (ERC Horizon 2020 grant 678812 to M.C.), Research Council of Norway (RCN Centres of Excellence funding scheme project 223259 to K.P. and A.L.), Estonian Science Agency (PUT696 to K.K., A.L., K.P., T.K.).Major changes in atmospheric and ocean chemistry occurred in the Paleoproterozoic Era (2.5–1.6 billion years ago). Increasing oxidation dramatically changed Earth’s surface, but few quantitative constraints exist on this important transition. This study describes the sedimentology, mineralogy, and geochemistry of a remarkably preserved two-billion-year-old and ~800 meter-thick evaporite succession from the Onega Basin in Russian Karelia. The deposit consists of a basal unit dominated by halite (~100 m) followed by anhydrite-magnesite (~500 m) and dolomite-magnesite (~200 m) dominated units. The evaporite minerals robustly constraint marine sulfate concentrations to at least 10 millimoles per kilogram of water, representing an oxidant reservoir equivalent to over 20% of the modern ocean-atmosphere oxidizing capacity. These results show that substantial amounts of surface oxidant accumulated during this critical transition in Earth’s oxygenation.PostprintPeer reviewe

Littérature et champ symbolique (essai pour une théorie de l'écriture actuelle en Afrique francophone)

L'objet premier de cette étude est de tenter "un essai pour une théorie de l'écriture littéraire actuelle en Afrique francophone". Accessoirement, il devait servir à redéfinir à travers une " autre " lecture du fait littéraire africain francophone, la nature et la fonction des littératures des pays dominés.Dans une perspective historiciste, il est apparu que la littérature africaine francophone dans son ensemble a pu se constituer depuis les années 1930 en un monde social " autonome " dont les propriétés générales reposent principalement sur les catégories culturelles dites " orales " et " traditionnelles ". D'un point de vue pratique, l'oralité et la tradition orale africaine loin d'être invariablement le prolongement de la proclamation d'une " âme nègre " demeurent essentiellement la " règle du jeu littéraire africain ". Objets d'enjeux et lieux de tension, l'oralité et la tradition orale servent aux écrivains du champ africain dans leur besoin de positionnement structural: aux pionniers (Césaire/Senghor) pour le maintien de leur statut de "dominants", aux prétendants (Pacéré/Zadi) pour leur prétention à la " classicité ". Stratégiquement porteurs et symboliquement riches en ressources, les items oraux et traditionnels subissent toutes sortes d'amplications, de grossissement et d'extrapolation (discours identitaires, manipulation de la racine et de la pureté, argument du sacré et du secret). En tout état de cause, l'acte littéraire en Afrique ou en francophonie , comme l'acte politique ou économique est un " acte calculé " dont la rationalité pour être saisie nécessite la parfaite connaissance de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler suivant la terminologie bourdieusienne un " champ symbolique " et/ou le " champ littéraire africain "The first step of this study is to try an essay of a theory for the present litérary writing in the french-speaking communities of Africa . secondarily, the purpsose was to give another definition, through another reading of the african french-speaking literary fact, the nature and the function of the dominated contries literatures.In a historicity perspective, it appeared that the african french speaking literature, in its all, has been set-up since 1930 in an autonomous social word, which general copyrights are principally based on the cultural catégories, knows as the oral and traditional ones.On a pratical point of view, the oral way and the african oral tradition, far to invariably be the extension of the proclamation of a negro soul , are essentially the rule of the african literary game .Subjects of stakes and places of tensions, the oral way and the oral tradition are used by writers of the african field, in their need of structural setting up: the pioneers (Césaire/Senghor) for the maintaining of their dominant status ; the pretenders (Pacéré/Zadi) for their pretentiousness for the classicism . Strategically beneficial and symbolically rich of resources, the oral and the traditional items suffer from all kind of amplifications, of magnifications and extrapolations (speechs relating to the identity, manipulation of the roots and the purity, arguments of the sacred and secret ).In all case , the literary act in Africa or in the french-speaking communities, like the political or economical act is a calculated act that the rationality to be hold , needs a perfect knowledge of what has been agreed to call, following the Bourdieu's terminology a symbolic field and/or the african literary field .CERGY PONTOISE-BU Les Cerclades (951272104) / SudocSudocFranceF

Aircraft measurements of BrO, IO, glyoxal, NO<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>O, O<sub>2</sub>–O<sub>2</sub> and aerosol extinction profiles in the tropics: comparison with aircraft-/ship-based in situ and lidar measurements

Tropospheric chemistry of halogens and organic carbon over tropical oceans modifies ozone and atmospheric aerosols, yet atmospheric models remain largely untested for lack of vertically resolved measurements of bromine monoxide (BrO), iodine monoxide (IO) and small oxygenated hydrocarbons like glyoxal (CHOCHO) in the tropical troposphere. BrO, IO, glyoxal, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), water vapor (H2O) and O2–O2 collision complexes (O4) were measured by the University of Colorado Airborne Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CU AMAX-DOAS) instrument, aerosol extinction by high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL), in situ aerosol size distributions by an ultra high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer (UHSAS) and in situ H2O by vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) hygrometer. Data are presented from two research flights (RF12, RF17) aboard the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V aircraft over the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean (tEPO) as part of the "Tropical Ocean tRoposphere Exchange of Reactive halogens and Oxygenated hydrocarbons" (TORERO) project (January/February 2012). We assess the accuracy of O4 slant column density (SCD) measurements in the presence and absence of aerosols. Our O4-inferred aerosol extinction profiles at 477 nm agree within 6% with HSRL in the boundary layer and closely resemble the renormalized profile shape of Mie calculations constrained by UHSAS at low (sub-Rayleigh) aerosol extinction in the free troposphere. CU AMAX-DOAS provides a flexible choice of geometry, which we exploit to minimize the SCD in the reference spectrum (SCDREF, maximize signal-to-noise ratio) and to test the robustness of BrO, IO and glyoxal differential SCDs. The RF12 case study was conducted in pristine marine and free tropospheric air. The RF17 case study was conducted above the NOAA RV Ka'imimoana (TORERO cruise, KA-12-01) and provides independent validation data from ship-based in situ cavity-enhanced DOAS and MAX-DOAS. Inside the marine boundary layer (MBL) no BrO was detected (smaller than 0.5 pptv), and 0.2–0.55 pptv IO and 32–36 pptv glyoxal were observed. The near-surface concentrations agree within 30% (IO) and 10% (glyoxal) between ship and aircraft. The BrO concentration strongly increased with altitude to 3.0 pptv at 14.5 km (RF12, 9.1 to 8.6° N; 101.2 to 97.4° W). At 14.5 km, 5–10 pptv NO2 agree with model predictions and demonstrate good control over separating tropospheric from stratospheric absorbers (NO2 and BrO). Our profile retrievals have 12–20 degrees of freedom (DoF) and up to 500 m vertical resolution. The tropospheric BrO vertical column density (VCD) was 1.5 × 1013 molec cm−2 (RF12) and at least 0.5 × 1013 molec cm−2 (RF17, 0–10 km, lower limit). Tropospheric IO VCDs correspond to 2.1 × 1012 molec cm−2 (RF12) and 2.5 × 1012 molec cm−2 (RF17) and glyoxal VCDs of 2.6 × 1014 molec cm−2 (RF12) and 2.7 × 1014 molec cm−2 (RF17). Surprisingly, essentially all BrO as well as the dominant IO and glyoxal VCD fraction was located above 2 km (IO: 58 ± 5%, 0.1–0.2 pptv; glyoxal: 52 ± 5%, 3–20 pptv). To our knowledge there are no previous vertically resolved measurements of BrO and glyoxal from aircraft in the tropical free troposphere. The atmospheric implications are briefly discussed. Future studies are necessary to better understand the sources and impacts of free tropospheric halogens and oxygenated hydrocarbons on tropospheric ozone, aerosols, mercury oxidation and the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere

Aircraft Measurements of BrO, IO, Glyoxal, NO2, H2O, O2-O2 and Aerosol Extinction Profiles in the Tropics: Comparison with Aircraft-/Ship-Based in Situ and Lidar Measurements

Tropospheric chemistry of halogens and organic carbon over tropical oceans modifies ozone and atmospheric aerosols, yet atmospheric models remain largely untested for lack of vertically resolved measurements of bromine monoxide (BrO), iodine monoxide (IO) and small oxygenated hydrocarbons like glyoxal (CHOCHO) in the tropical troposphere. BrO, IO, glyoxal, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), water vapor (H2O) and O2-O2 collision complexes (O4/ were measured by the University of Colorado Airborne Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CU AMAXDOAS) instrument, aerosol extinction by high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL), in situ aerosol size distributions by an ultra high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer (UHSAS) and in situ H2O by vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) hygrometer. Data are presented from two research flights (RF12, RF17) aboard the National Science Foundation/ National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V aircraft over the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean (tEPO) as part of the "Tropical Ocean tRoposphere Exchange of Reactive halogens and Oxygenated hydrocarbons" (TORERO) project (January/February 2012). We assess the accuracy of O4 slant column density (SCD) measurements in the presence and absence of aerosols. Our O4-inferred aerosol extinction profiles at 477 nm agree within 6% with HSRL in the boundary layer and closely resemble the renormalized profile shape of Mie calculations constrained by UHSAS at low (sub-Rayleigh) aerosol extinction in the free troposphere. CU AMAX-DOAS provides a flexible choice of geometry, which we exploit to minimize the SCD in the reference spectrum (SCDREF, maximize signal-to-noise ratio) and to test the robustness of BrO, IO and glyoxal differential SCDs. The RF12 case study was conducted in pristine marine and free tropospheric air. The RF17 case study was conducted above the NOAA RV Ka'imimoana (TORERO cruise, KA-12-01) and provides independent validation data from ship-based in situ cavity-enhanced DOAS and MAX-DOAS. Inside the marine boundary layer (MBL) no BrO was detected (smaller than 0.5 pptv), and 0.2-0.55 pptv IO and 32-36 pptv glyoxal were observed. The near-surface concentrations agree within 30% (IO) and 10% (glyoxal) between ship and air-craft. The BrO concentration strongly increased with altitude to 3.0 pptv at 14.5 km (RF12, 9.1 to 8.6 deg N; 101.2 to 97.4 deg W). At 14.5 km, 5-10 pptv NO2 agree with model predictions and demonstrate good control over separating tropospheric from stratospheric absorbers (NO2 and BrO). Our profile retrievals have 12-20 degrees of freedom (DoF) and up to 500m vertical resolution. The tropospheric BrO vertical column density (VCD) was 1.5 x 10(exp 13) molec cm(exp -2) (RF12) and at least 0.5 x 10(exp 13) molec cm(exp -2) (RF17, 0- 10 km, lower limit). Tropospheric IO VCDs correspond to 2.1 x 10(exp 12) molec cm(exp -2) (RF12) and 2.5 x 10(exp 12) molec cm(exp -2) (RF17) and glyoxal VCDs of 2.6 x 10(exp 14) molec cm(exp -2) (RF12) and 2.7 x 10(exp 14) molec cm(exp -2) (RF17). Surprisingly, essentially all BrO as well as the dominant IO and glyoxal VCD fraction was located above 2 km (IO: 58 plus or minus 5 %, 0.1-0.2 pptv; glyoxal: 52 plus or minus 5 %, 3-20 pptv). To our knowledge there are no previous vertically resolved measurements of BrO and glyoxal from aircraft in the tropical free troposphere. The atmospheric implications are briefly discussed. Future studies are necessary to better understand the sources and impacts of free tropospheric halogens and oxygenated hydrocarbons on tropospheric ozone, aerosols, mercury oxidation and the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere

Photoluminescence of ortho-bromobenzophenone

Phosphorescence spectra of crystalline ortho-bromobenzophenone (2-bromobenzophenone, 2BrBP) were measured from 1.6 K to room temperature. A cardinal emission mechanism crossover occurs within this temperature range. At low temperature the phosphorescence spectrum is a superposition of two similar sets of equidistant bands spaced by the C=O stretch frequency. We ascribe these two sets to the emission of two different conformers, one of which is metastable and do not manifest itself above approximately 70 K. Presence of two conformers is explained by the fact that the 2BrBP molecule deforms considerably upon excitation. The emission from the stable conformer survives up to approximately 140 K or even higher. At roughly 60 K and higher, another type of emission reveals itself in the shape of a two very broad partly overlapping bands, which gains in intensity with increasing temperature. Above 150 K only this two-hump feature is observed in phosphorescence spectra. Additional phosphorescence experiments were carried out to elucidate the nature of this spectrum, including phosphorescence measurements of 2BrBP in ethanol solutions as well as time-resolved and varying-excitation-intensity measurements from crystals. Based on results of all the experiments reported here and on our own single-crystal x-ray structure data we conclude that the above two-band spectrum recorded near room temperature is due to the emission of single-photon bimolecular triplet excimer formed by the carbonyl groups of two neighbor 2-bromobenzophenone molecules. It is got the first time that a bimolecular excimer has been observed and reliably identified in a benzophenone derivative solid