Geochemistry of Kauai shield-stage lavas: Implications for the chemical evolution of the Hawaiian plume

We measured He, Sr, Nd, Pb, and Os isotope ratios and major and trace element concentrations in stratigraphically and paleomagnetically controlled shield-stage lavas from Kauai, Hawaii. The range of 3He/4He ratios (17–28 RA) from Kauai is similar to that reported from Loihi and thus challenges the prevailing notion that high 3He/4He ratios are restricted to the preshield stage of Hawaiian magmatism. 3He/4He ratios vary erratically with stratigraphic position, and chronostratigraphic control from paleomagnetic data indicates very rapid changes in the 3He/4He ratios (up to 8 RA in ~102 years). These variations in helium isotopic ratios are correlated with variations in radiogenic isotope ratios, suggesting rapid changes in melt composition supplying the magma reservoir. A three-component mixing model, previously proposed for Hawaiian shield lavas, does not adequately explain the isotopic data in Kauai shield lavas. The addition of a depleted-mantle (DM) component with the isotopic characteristics similar to posterosional basalts explains the isotopic variability in Kauai shield lavas. The DM component is most apparent in lavas from the Kauai shield and is present in varying proportion in other Hawaiian shield volcanoes. Shield lavas from Kauai sample a high 3He/4He end-member (Loihi component), but while lavas from western Kauai have a larger contribution from the Kea component (high 206Pb/204Pb, anomalously low 207Pb/204Pb relative to 206Pb/204Pb), lavas from eastern Kauai have a larger proportion of an enriched (Koolau) component. The systematic isotopic differences between eastern and western Kauai reflect a gradual migration of the locus of volcanism from west to east, or alternatively east and west Kauai are two distinct shield volcanoes. In the latter case, the two shield volcanoes have maintained distinct magma supply sources and plumbing systems. Our new geochemical data from Kauai are consistent with the existence of a single high 3He/4He reservoir in the Hawaiian plume and suggest that the proportion of the different mantle components in the plume have changed significantly in the past 5 Myr. The long-term evolution of the Hawaiian plume and the temporal variability recorded in Kauai lavas require more complex geochemical heterogeneities than suggested by radially zoned plume models. These complexities may arise from heterogeneities in the thermal boundary layer and through variable entrainment of ambient mantle by the upwelling plume

Deformation of continental crust along a transform boundary, Coast Mountains, British Columbia

New structural, paleomagnetic, and apatite (U-Th)/He results from the continental margin inboard of the Queen Charlotte fault (~54°N) delineate patterns of brittle faulting linked to transform development since ~50 Ma. In the core of the orogen, ~250 km from the transform, north striking, dip-slip brittle faults and vertical axis rotation of large crustal domains occurred after ~50 Ma and before intrusion of mafic dikes at 20 Ma. By 20 Ma, dextral faulting was active in the core of the orogen, but extension had migrated toward the transform, continuing there until <9 Ma. Local tilting in the core of the orogen is associated with glacially driven, post-4 Ma exhumation. Integration with previous results shows that post-50 Ma dextral and normal faulting affected a region ~250 km inboard of the transform and ~300 km along strike. Initially widespread, the zone of active extension narrowed and migrated toward the transform ~25 Ma after initiation of the transform, while dextral faulting continued throughout the region. Differential amounts of post-50 Ma extension created oroclines at the southern and northern boundaries of the deformed region. This region approximately corresponds to continental crust that was highly extended just prior to transform initiation. Variation in Neogene crustal tilts weakens interpretations relying on uniform tilting to explain anomalous paleomagnetic inclinations of mid-Cretaceous plutons. Similarities to the Gulf of California suggest that development of a transform in continental crust is aided by previous crustal extension and that initially widespread extension narrows and moves toward the transform as the margin develops

Spin-2 Amplitudes in Black-Hole Evaporation

Quantum amplitudes for $s=2$ gravitational-wave perturbations of Einstein/scalar collapse to a black hole are treated by analogy with $s=1$ Maxwell perturbations. The spin-2 perturbations split into parts with odd and even parity. We use the Regge-Wheeler gauge; at a certain point we make a gauge transformation to an asymptotically-flat gauge, such that the metric perturbations have the expected falloff behaviour at large radii. By analogy with $s=1$, for $s=2$ natural 'coordinate' variables are given by the magnetic part $H_{ij} (i,j=1,2,3)$ of the Weyl tensor, which can be taken as boundary data on a final space-like hypersurface $\Sigma_F$. For simplicity, we take the data on the initial surface $\Sigma_I$ to be exactly spherically-symmetric. The (large) Lorentzian proper-time interval between $\Sigma_I$ and $\Sigma_F$, measured at spatial infinity, is denoted by $T$. We follow Feynman's $+i\epsilon$ prescription and rotate $T$ into the complex: $T\to{\mid}T{\mid} \exp(-i\theta)$, for $0<\theta\leq\pi/2$. The corresponding complexified {\it classical} boundary-value problem is expected to be well-posed. The Lorentzian quantum amplitude is recovered by taking the limit as $\theta\to 0_+$. For boundary data well below the Planck scale, and for a locally supersymmetric theory, this involves only the semi-classical amplitude $\exp(iS^{(2)}_{\rm class}$, where $S^{(2)}_{\rm class}$ denotes the second-variation classical action. The relations between the $s=1$ and $s=2$ natural boundary data, involving supersymmetry, are investigated using 2-component spinor language in terms of the Maxwell field strength $\phi_{AB}=\phi_{(AB)}$ and the Weyl spinor $\Psi_{ABCD}=\Psi_{(ABCD)}$

Cretaceous-to-recent record of elevated 3He/4He along the Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic chain

Helium isotopes are a robust geochemical tracer of a primordial mantle component in hot spot volcanism. The high 3He/4He (up to 35 RA, where RA is the atmospheric 3He/4He ratio of 1.39 × 10−6) of some Hawaiian Island volcanism is perhaps the classic example. New results for picrites and basalts from the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain indicate that the hot spot has produced high 3He/4He lavas for at least the last 76 million years. Picrites erupted at 76 Ma have 3He/4He (10–14 RA), which is at the lower end of the range for the Hawaiian Islands but still above the range of modern mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB; 6–10 RA). This was at a time when hot spot volcanism was occurring on thin lithosphere close to a spreading ridge and producing lava compositions otherwise nearly indistinguishable from MORB. After the hot spot and spreading center diverged during the Late Cretaceous, the hot spot produced lavas with significantly higher 3He/4He (up to 24 RA). Although 3He/4He ratios stabilized at relatively high values by 65 Ma, other chemical characteristics such as La/Yb and 87Sr/86Sr did not reach and stabilize at Hawaiian-Island-like values until ~45 Ma. Our limited 3He/4He record for the Hawaiian hot spot shows a poor correlation with plume flux estimates (calculated from bathymetry and residual gravity anomalies [Van Ark and Lin, 2004]). If 3He is a proxy for the quantity of primordial mantle material within the plume, then the lack of correlation between 3He/4He and calculated plume flux suggests that variation in primordial mantle flux is not the primary factor controlling total plume flux

Large sulfur isotope fractionations in Martian sediments at Gale crater

Variability in the sulfur isotopic composition in sediments can reflect atmospheric, geologic and biological processes. Evidence for ancient fluvio-lacustrine environments at Gale crater on Mars and a lack of efficient crustal recycling mechanisms on the planet suggests a surface environment that was once warm enough to allow the presence of liquid water, at least for discrete periods of time, and implies a greenhouse effect that may have been influenced by sulfur-bearing volcanic gases. Here we report in situ analyses of the sulfur isotopic compositions of SO_2 volatilized from ten sediment samples acquired by NASA’s Curiosity rover along a 13 km traverse of Gale crater. We find large variations in sulfur isotopic composition that exceed those measured for Martian meteorites and show both depletion and enrichment in ^(34)S. Measured values of δ^(34)S range from −47 ± 14‰ to 28 ± 7‰, similar to the range typical of terrestrial environments. Although limited geochronological constraints on the stratigraphy traversed by Curiosity are available, we propose that the observed sulfur isotopic signatures at Gale crater can be explained by equilibrium fractionation between sulfate and sulfide in an impact-driven hydrothermal system and atmospheric processing of sulfur-bearing gases during transient warm periods

Optimizing ribavirin dose in HIV/hepatitis C (HCV) co-infected individuals treated for HCV

Hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV share common transmission pathways and the acquisition of both viruses are relatively common. Concurrent treatment for HCV with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) should be considered in HIV co-infected individuals to decrease the progression of liver damage. Adverse effects and less satisfactory treatment outcomes are often concerns when treating co-infected individuals. Although, direct acting antivirals (DAAs) may increase SVR, they may not be possible because of drug-drug interactions. he objective of this study is to investigate the difference in response rates of HCV treatment in HIV co-infected inmates with varying doses of ribavirin. Retrospective medical chart reviews of 52 HCV/HIV co-infected inmates who underwent HCV therapy between 2003 and 2010. All received standard doses of pegylated interferon alpha 2a or 2b and 800&#x2013;1600 mg of ribavirin depending on weight. The recommended dosage for genotypes 2 and 3 is 800 mg/day. For other genotypes, if weight is&#60;75 kg, the recommended ribavirin dose is 1000 mg/day or 1200 mg/day if&#x003E;75 kg. Efficacy was defined as attaining sustained virological response (SVR) six months post treatment. Univariate analyses was performed using SPSS-18; Chi-square test with p-value&#60;0.05 was defined significant. 52 co-infected (3 females &amp; 49 males) were identified. Mean age was 40&#x00B1;7 years. Caucasians accounted for 84.6%; First Nations for 13.5% and Asians 1.9%. 36 were concurrently on HAART. The genotype distribution was: geno 1, 66.0%; geno 2, 7.5%; geno 3, 26.4%. SVR by ribavirin dosage ratio (actual dosage/recommended dosage):=1.0; 41.2% (14/34),&#x003E;1.0; 58.8% (20/34). Doses greater than 1.5 times were associated with higher adverse events and lower SVR. Suboptimal doses of weight-based ribavirin may be contributing to a lower treatment response in HCV/HIV co-infectants. In our experience, the optimal dose of ribavirin is between 1 and 1.2 times the current recommended dose. We recommend that ribavirin dose be individualized in co-infected in order to enhance the likelihood of achieving SVR. Dual therapy is more practical in many of our population because of chaotic lifestyle. Therefore optimizing the ribavirin dose should be initially undertaken

Optical sparse telescope arrays and scintillation noise

Fresnel propagation of starlight after it passes through high altitude turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere results in random fluctuations of the intensity at ground level, known as scintillation. This effect adds random noise to photometric measurements with ground-based optical telescopes. Spatial correlation of the intensity fluctuations means that the fractional photometric noise due to scintillation may be substantially smaller for a sparse array of small aperture telescopes than for a single large aperture of the same total area. Assuming that the photometric noise for each telescope is independent, averaging the light curves measured by N telescopes reduces the noise by a factor of N−−√⁠. For example, for bright stars, the signal-to-noise ratio of a 2.54 m telescope can be achieved for an array of thirty 20 cm telescopes if the scintillation noise measured for each telescope is uncorrelated. In this paper, we present results from simulation and from observations at the Isaac Newton Telescope. These explore the impact that several parameters have on the measured correlation of the scintillation noise between neighbouring telescopes. We show that there is significant correlation between neighbouring telescopes with separations parallel to the wind direction of the dominant high altitude turbulent layer. We find that the telescopes in an array should be separated by at least twice their aperture diameter so that there is negligible correlation of the photometric noise. We discuss additional benefits of using sparse telescope arrays, including reduced cost and increased field of view

Laser microraman study of reduced synthesized spinel powders

The Raman effect is the excitation or de-excitation of vibrational modes resulting from the inelastic scattering of light from a gas, liquid, or solid with a shift in energy from that of the usually incident radiation. Raman microscopy was performed on synthesized spinel powders of solid solution FexCr3-xO4 to determine the dependence of the vibrational modes upon the metal cations. The powders were synthesized in a combustion reaction using metal nitrates and urea. The oxide powders were reduced in a hydrogen/argon gas flow at high temperature

Radiative energy shifts of accelerated atoms

We consider the influence of acceleration on the radiative energy shifts of atoms in Minkowski space. We study a two-level atom coupled to a scalar quantum field. Using a Heisenberg picture approach, we are able to separate the contributions of vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction to the Lamb shift of the two-level atom. The resulting energy shifts for the special case of a uniformly accelerated atom are then compared with those of an atom at rest.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 1 figure as uuencoded eps file, shorter version will appear in Phys. Rev.