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NASA NTRS1979

Stratigraphy and depositional history of the Apollo 17 drill core

Lithologic abundances obtained from modal analyses of a continuous string of polished thin sections indicate that the Apollo 17 deep drill core can be divided into three main zones: An upper zone (0-19 cm depth) characterized by high abundances of agglutinates (30%) and a high ratio of mare to non-mare lithic fragments (less than 0.8); a coarse-grained layer (24-56 cm) rich in fragments of high-Ti mare basalts and mineral fragments derived from them, and poor in agglutinates (6%); and a lower zone (56-285 cm) characterized by variable but generally high agglutinate abundances (25%) and a low ratio of mare to nonmare lithic fragments (0.6). Using observations of the geology of the landing site, the principles of cratering dynamics, and the vast amount of data collected on the core, the following depositional history for the section of regolith sampled by the Apollo 17 drill core: was devised.

Taylor, G. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Depositional history of core section 74001 - Depth profiles of maturity, FeO, and metal

Samples from every 0.5-cm interval of soil in core section 74001 have been studied by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and magnetic techniques. The values of the FMR maturity index show that the 74001 samples are very immature (the index ranges from 0.14 to 0.29 units) and have not seen appreciable, if any, surface exposure since their deposition. In fact, the small amount of fine-grained metal in the 74001 samples is probably not acquired as a result of their exposure to the micrometeoroid flux at the lunar surface. Thus, the black-glass soil of 74001 was deposited very rapidly, probably in a single episode or several closely spaced episodes of lunar fire fountaining. The average concentration of FeO and its standard deviation for all the 74001 samples are 22.5 + or - 0.3 wt.%. Since the FeO concentration is so uniform, no large variations in the major-element chemistry of 74001 are expected, with the possible exception of the volatile elements. The concentration of coarse-grained metal, which is measured magnetically, and its standard deviation are 0.15 + or - 0.01 wt.%. The coarse-grained metal probably precipitated contemporaneously with the silicate and oxide phases in the black-glass droplets.

Morris, R. V.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Lunar Polar Coring Lander

Plans to build a lunar base are presently being studied with a number of considerations. One of the most important considerations is qualifying the presence of water on the Moon. The existence of water on the Moon implies that future lunar settlements may be able to use this resource to produce things such as drinking water and rocket fuel. Due to the very high cost of transporting these materials to the Moon, in situ production could save billions of dollars in operating costs of the lunar base. Scientists have suggested that the polar regions of the Moon may contain some amounts of water ice in the regolith. Six possible mission scenarios are suggested which would allow lunar polar soil samples to be collected for analysis. The options presented are: remote sensing satellite, two unmanned robotic lunar coring missions (one is a sample return and one is a data return only), two combined manned and robotic polar coring missions, and one fully manned core retrieval mission. One of the combined manned and robotic missions has been singled out for detailed analysis. This mission proposes sending at least three unmanned robotic landers to the lunar pole to take core samples as deep as 15 meters. Upon successful completion of the coring operations, a manned mission would be sent to retrieve the samples and perform extensive experiments of the polar region. Man's first step in returning to the Moon is recommended to investigate the issue of lunar polar water. The potential benefits of lunar water more than warrant sending either astronauts, robots or both to the Moon before any permanent facility is constructed.

Angell, David↗

DOE OSTI2014

Toroidal plasma enhanced CVD of diamond films

An inductively coupled toroidal plasma source is used as an alternative to microwave plasmas for chemical vapor deposition of diamond films. The source, operating at a frequency of 400 kHz, synthesizes diamond films from a mixture of argon, methane, and hydrogen. The toroidal design has been adapted to create a highly efficient environment for diamond film deposition: high gas temperature and a short distance from the sample to the plasma core. Using a toroidal plasma geometry operating in the medium frequency band allows for efficient (≈90%) coupling of AC line power to the plasma and a scalable path to high-power and large-area operation. In test runs, the source generates a high flux of atomic hydrogen over a large area, which is favorable for diamond film growth. Using a deposition temperature of 900–1050 °C and a source to sample distance of 0.1–2.0 cm, diamond films are deposited onto silicon substrates. The results showed that the deposition rate of the diamond films could be controlled using the sample temperature and source to sample spacing. The results also show the films exhibit good-quality polycrystalline diamond as verified by Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction results show that the samples exhibit diamond (111) and diamond (022) crystallites. The Raman results show that the sp{sup 3} peak has a narrow spectral width (FWHM 12 ± 0.5 cm{sup −1}) and that negligible amounts of the sp{sup 2} band are present, indicating good-quality diamond films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2013

Sol–gel auto-combustion synthesis of PVP/CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocomposite and its magnetic characterization

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) was used as a surface capping agent. • PVP/CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocomposite was synthesized by a sol-gel auto-combustion method. • The existence of the spin-disordered surface layer was established. - Abstract: Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)/CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocomposite has been fabricated by a sol–gel auto-combustion method. Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) was used as a reducing agent as well as a surface capping agent to prevent particle aggregation and stabilize the particles. The average crystallite size estimated from X-ray line profile fitting was found to be 20 ± 7 nm. The high field irreversibility and unsaturated magnetization behaviours indicate the presence of the core–shell structure in the sample. The exchange bias effect observed at 10 K suggests the existence of the magnetically aligned core surrounded by spin-disordered surface layer. The reduced remanent magnetization value of 0.6 at 10 K (higher than the theoretical value of 0.5) shows the PVP/CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocomposite to have cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy according to the Stoner–Wohlfarth model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1977

Depositional history of the Apollo 16 deep drill core

Ferromagnetic resonance and magnetic hysteresis loop measurements were performed on 212 samples from the Apollo 16 deep drill core. The total iron content is generally uniform with a mean value of 5.7 plus or minus 0.9 wt%. The soils range in maturity from immature to mature. Two major contacts were observed. The contact at 13 cm depth represents a fossil surface whereas the contact at 190 cm depth has no time-stratigraphic significance. The data suggest that the core section below 13 cm depth was deposited in a single impact event and subjected to meteoritic gardening for about 450 m.y. However, our data do not preclude deposition by a series of closely spaced events. About 50 m.y. ago, the top 13 cm were added. Comparison with the Apollo 16 double drive tube 60009/60010 does not yield any evidence for a stratigraphic correlation with the deep drill core.

Gose, W. A.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Search for Chiral Asymmetry as a Potential Biosignature in Samples from Mars

The search for evidence of extraterrestrial life in our solar system has been guided by our under-standing of terrestrial biology and its associated biosignatures. The observed homochirality in all life on Earth, that is, the predominance of “left-handed” or L-amino acids and “right-handed” or D-sugars, is a unique property of life that is crucial for molecular recognition, enzymatic function, information storage and structure, and is thought to be a prerequisite for the origin or early evolution of life. Therefore, the detection of L- or D-excesses of chiral amino acids or sugars could be a powerful indicator of extant or extinct life on Mars or other habitable environments in our solar system. However, studies of primitive meteorites have revealed that they contain extraterrestrial amino acids and sugar acids with large enantiomeric excesses (60% and higher) that resulted from non-biological processes [1], complicating the use of chiral asymmetry by itself as a definitive biosignature. The exploration of habitable environments on Mars, including an assessment of the preservation potential for complex organics of either abiotic or biological origin, is an objective of both current and future Mars missions. Now with the unambiguous detection of indigenous organic matter in sedimentary rocks by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on Mars [2-5], NASA’s Curiosity rover has found evidence of the preservation of potential chemical biosignatures in the martian near surface. Although amino acids have not yet been identified by in situ measurements on Mars [5], indigenous achiral amino acids have been identified in one martian meteorite [6]. It is expected that amino acid racemization would be very slow and any chiral or isotopic signatures from an extinct martian biota could be preserved for billions of years, given the extremely cold and dry surface conditions [7]. The ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars mission scheduled for launch next year includes the Rosalind Franklin rover designed to acquire samples from a depth of ~2 m and deliver them to a suite of instruments, including the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA). The MOMA instrument contains a wet chemistry experiment designed specifically for the detection of amino acids and measurement of their enantiomeric compositions [8]. The complexity and limited duration of spaceflight operations, and the known analytical challenges associated with in situ extraction and characterization of trace reduced organic com-pounds in ancient rocks, make it challenging to determine the origins of martian organic matter found to date. Coordinated state-of-the-art laboratory measurements of returned samples from Mars that include spatially resolved chemical, mineralogical, bulk and molecule-specific isotopic, and enantiomeric measurements will be required to firmly establish whether the complex organic matter detected on Mars derives from bio-tic or abiotic processes. Ultimately, Mars Sample Return of rock cores collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover may be our best chance of identifying chemical biosignatures, including any chiral amino acid asymmetry resulting from a past or present martian biota, if one ever existed on Mars. Here we review our current knowledge of the distributions, and enantiomeric and isotopic com-positions of amino acids found in meteorites compared to terrestrial biochemistry. We also propose a set of measurement criteria that should be used to help establish the sources of any amino acids detected in samples returned from Mars using state-of-the-art gas and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry techniques [1].

D P Glavin↗

DOE OSTI2017

Large historical growth in global terrestrial gross primary production

Growth in terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) may provide a negative feedback for climate change. It remains uncertain, however, to what extent biogeochemical processes can suppress global GPP growth. In consequence, model estimates of terrestrial carbon storage and carbon cycle –climate feedbacks remain poorly constrained. Here we present a global, measurement-based estimate of GPP growth during the twentieth century based on long-term atmospheric carbonyl sulphide (COS) records derived from ice core, firn, and ambient air samples. Here, we interpret these records using a model that simulates changes in COS concentration due to changes in its sources and sinks, including a large sink that is related to GPP. We find that the COS record is most consistent with climate-carbon cycle model simulations that assume large GPP growth during the twentieth century (31% ± 5%; mean ± 95% confidence interval). Finally, while this COS analysis does not directly constrain estimates of future GPP growth it provides a global-scale benchmark for historical carbon cycle simulations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Chloroform Fumigation Extraction for Microbial Biomass and Dissolved Organic Carbon from SPRUCE, Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, 2021, 2022, and 2024

This data set provides the results for chloroform fumigation extraction (CFE) of peat samples collected from ambient and experimental plots in the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Environmental Change (SPRUCE) Experiment site in June and August of 2021, June of 2022, and June, August, and October of 2024. The SPRUCE Experiment site is in the Marcell Experimental Forest in northern Minnesota, USA. The data set includes values for microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved nitrogen (DN), moisture content (MC, available for 2021 and 2022 only) and gravimetric water content (GWC) at 11 depth increments of two-meter peat cores taken from 12 sampling sites at SPRUCE (10 temperature treatment enclosures, 2 ambient temperature treatment enclosures). The sample analysis followed standard methods. The samples were analyzed using a Shimadzu Total Organic Carbon/Nitrogen (TOC/N) analyzer (TOC-V and TOC-L; 2021-2022) or an Elementar vario TOC Cube (2024), liquid catalytic oxidation combustion analyzers for total carbon and nitrogen analysis. This dataset contains two data files in comma separate (.csv) format. Additional metadata are provided: two data dictionaries and a file-level metadata file in comma separate (.csv) format and a user guide in PDF (*.pdf) format.

dissolved nitrogen↗

DOE OSTI2019

X-ray scaling relations from a complete sample of the richest maxBCG clusters

Here, we use a complete sample of 38 richest maxBCG clusters to study the ICM–galaxy scaling relations and the halo mass selection properties of the maxBCG algorithm, based on X-ray and optical observations. The clusters are selected from the two largest bins of optical richness in the Planck stacking work with the maxBCG richness N 200 ≥ 78. We analyse their Chandra and XMM–Newton data to derive the X-ray properties of the ICM. We then use the distribution of P(X|N), X = T X , L X , Y X , to study the mass selection P(M|N) of maxBCG. Compared with previous works based on the whole richness sample, a significant fraction of blended systems with boosted richness is skewed into this richest sample. Parts of the blended haloes are picked apart by the redMaPPer, an updated red-sequence cluster finding algorithm with lower mass scatter. Moreover, all the optical blended haloes are resolved as individual X-ray haloes, following the established L X -T X and L X -Y X relations. We further discuss that the discrepancy between ICM–galaxy scaling relations, especially for future blind stacking, can come from several factors, including miscentring, projection, contamination of low-mass systems, mass bias, and covariance bias. We also evaluate the fractions of relaxed and cool core clusters in our sample. Both are smaller than those from SZ or X-ray selected samples. Moreover, disturbed clusters show a higher level of mass bias than relaxed clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Carbon and sulfur isotopic signatures of ancient life and environment at the microbial scale: Neoarchean shales and carbonates

An approach to coordinated, spatially resolved, in situ carbon isotope analysis of organic matter and carbonate minerals, and sulfur three- and four-isotope analysis of pyrite with an unprecedented combination of spatial resolution, precision, and accuracy is described. Organic matter and pyrite from eleven rock samples of Neoarchean drill core express nearly the entire range of δ 13 C, δ 34 S, Δ 33 S, and Δ 36 S known from the geologic record, commonly in correlation with morphology, mineralogy, and elemental composition. A new analytical approach (including a set of organic calibration standards) to account for a strong correlation between H/C and instrumental bias in SIMS δ 13 C measurement of organic matter is identified. Small (2–3 μm) organic domains in carbonate matrices are analyzed with sub-permil accuracy and precision. Separate 20- to 50-μm domains of kerogen in a single ~0.5 cm3 sample of the ~2.7 Ga Tumbiana Formation have δ 13 C = -52.3 ± 0.1‰ and -34.4 ± 0.1‰, likely preserving distinct signatures of methanotrophy and photoautotrophy. Pyrobitumen in the ~2.6 Ga Jeerinah Formation and the ~2.5 Ga Mount McRae Shale is systematically 13 C-enriched relative to co-occurring kerogen, and associations with uraniferous mineral grains suggest radiolytic alteration. A large range in sulfur isotopic compositions (including higher Δ 33 S and more extreme spatial gradients in Δ 33 S and Δ 36 S than any previously reported) are observed in correlation with morphology and associated mineralogy. Changing systematics of δ 34 S, Δ 33 S, and Δ 36 S, previously investigated at the millimeter to centimeter scale using bulk analysis, are shown to occur at the micrometer scale of individual pyrite grains. These results support the emerging view that the dampened signature of mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation (S-MIF) associated with the Mesoarchean continued into the early Neoarchean, and that the connections between methane and sulfur metabolism affected the production and preservation of S-MIF during the first half of the planet's history.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2018

Chromium Plume at LANL - From Conceptual Site Model to Development of Complex Remediation Strategies - 18682

A hexavalent chromium plume is present in deep groundwater beneath Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory). The plume originated from releases of potassium dichromate from cooling towers from 1956 - 1972. Estimates are that up to 72,000 kg of chromium was released during that period. Data from surface water-balance studies, core-hole and groundwater characterization, geomorphic investigations and geology and geophysics provide the basis for an evolved conceptual model that chromium initially traveled rapidly via an effluent-supported stream for several kilometers, then infiltrated through a stratigraphically complex 275-300 meters thick vadose zone and eventually into a deep (regional) aquifer that is the water supply for the Laboratory and surrounding municipality. The travel time from the release point to the regional aquifer is estimated at 5-10 years based on modeling and contaminant tracers. Monitoring data from two-screen wells and piezometers within the regional aquifer, and data derived from stratified sampling conducted during sonic coring and from analysis of sonic core indicate that the chromium contamination occurs within the upper 23 meters of the highly stratified regional aquifer. Different geologic units at the water table and structural dip of depositional bedding appear to have little effect on chromium migration and plume shape and thickness which instead appear to be a manifestation of multiple breakthrough locations, interconnectedness of preferential hydraulic strata, and a negligible vertical gradient. Recent monitoring data indicate that the down-gradient plume edge (as defined by the New Mexico groundwater standard of 50 μg/L) may be advancing near the Laboratory's boundary with a neighboring Indian reservation. The Laboratory is addressing the increasing concentrations with a regulatory-driven interim measure that uses hydraulic control to manage plume migration. The interim measure involves limited-duration (2-3 years) pumping, treatment, and injection to rapidly establish and maintain the 50 μg/L plume edge within the Laboratory boundary while a final remediation strategy is developed and approved by the State regulator. A final remediation strategy will depend heavily on the ability to cost-effectively access the deep aquifer. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NASA NTRS2015

Carbon and Sulfur Isotopic Signatures of Ancient Life and Environment at the Microbial Scale: Neoarchean Shales and Carbonates

An approach to coordinated, spatially resolved, in situ carbon isotope analysis of organic matter and carbonate minerals, and sulfur three- and four-isotope analysis of pyrite with an unprecedented combination of spatial resolution, precision, and accuracy is described. Organic matter and pyrite from eleven rock samples of Neoarchean drill core express nearly the entire range of delta(sup 13)C, delta(sup 34)S, Delta(sup 33)S, and Delta(sup 36)S known from the geologic record, commonly in correlation with morphology, mineralogy, and elemental composition. A new analytical approach (including a set of organic calibration standards) to account for a strong correlation between H/C and instrumental bias in SIMS delta(sup 13)C measurement of organic matter is identified. Small (2-3 microns) organic domains in carbonate matrices are analyzed with sub-permil accuracy and precision. Separate 20- to 50-micron domains of kerogen in a single approx. 0.5 cu cm sample of the approx. 2.7 Ga Tumbiana Formation have delta(sup 13)C = −52.3 +/- 0.1per mille and −34.4 +/- 0.1per mille, likely preserving distinct signatures of methanotrophy and photoautotrophy. Pyrobitumen in the approx. 2.6 Ga Jeerinah Formation and the approx. 2.5 Ga Mount McRae Shale is systematically 13C-enriched relative to co-occurring kerogen, and associations with uraniferous mineral grains suggest radiolytic alteration. A large range in sulfur isotopic compositions (including higher Delta(sup 33)S and more extreme spatial gradients in Delta(sup 33)S and Delta(sup 36)S than any previously reported) are observed in correlation with morphology and associated mineralogy. Changing systematics of delta(sup 34)S, Delta(sup 33)S, and Delta(sup 36)S, previously investigated at the millimeter to centimeter scale using bulk analysis, are shown to occur at the micrometer scale of individual pyrite grains. These results support the emerging view that the dampened signature of mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation (S-MIF) associated with the Mesoarchean continued into the early Neoarchean, and that the connections between methane and sulfur metabolism affected the production and preservation of S-MIF during the first half of the planet's history.

isotopic signatures↗

DOE OSTI2023

Analytical solution and parameter estimation for heat of wetting and vapor adsorption during spontaneous imbibition in tuff

An analytical expression is derived for the thermal response observed during spontaneous imbibition of water into a dry core of zeolitic tuff. Sample tortuosity, thermal conductivity, and thermal source strength are estimated from fitting an analytical solution to temperature observations during a single laboratory test. Here, the closed-form analytical solution is derived using Green's functions for heat conduction in the limit of “slow” water movement; that is, when advection of thermal energy with the wetting front is negligible. The solution has four free fitting parameters and is efficient for parameter estimation. Laboratory imbibition data used to constrain the model include a time series of the mass of water imbibed, visual location of the wetting front through time, and temperature time series at six locations. The thermal front reached the end of the core hours before the visible wetting front. Thus, the predominant form of heating during imbibition in this zeolitic tuff is due to vapor adsorption in dry zeolitic rock ahead of the wetting front. The separation of the wetting front and thermal front in this zeolitic tuff is significant, compared to wetting front behavior of most materials reported in the literature. This work is the first interpretation of a thermal imbibition response to estimate transport (tortuosity) and thermal properties (including thermal conductivity) from a single laboratory test.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS2012

Siderophile Element Constraints on the Conditions of Core Formation in Mars

Siderophile element concentrations in planetary basalts and mantle samples have been used to estimate conditions of core formation for many years and have included applications to Earth, Moon, Mars and asteroid 4 Vesta [1]. For Earth, we have samples of mantle and a diverse collection of mantle melts which have provided a mature understanding of the how to reconstruct the concentration of siderophile elements in mantle materials, from only concentrations in surficial basalt (e.g., [2]). This approach has led to the consensus views that Earth underwent an early magma ocean stage to pressures of 40-50 GPa (e.g., [3,4]), Moon melted extensively and formed a small (approx. 2 mass %) metallic core [5], and 4 Vesta contains a metallic core that is approximately 18 mass % [6,7]. Based on new data from newly found meteorites, robotic spacecraft, and experimental partitioning studies, [8] showed that eight siderophile elements (Ni, Co, Mo, W, Ga, P, V and Cr) are consistent with equilibration of a 20 mass% S-rich metallic core with the mantle at pressures of 14 +/- 3 GPa. We aim to test this rather simple scenario with additional analyses of meteorites for a wide range of siderophile elements, and application of new experimental data for the volatile siderophile and highly siderophile elements.

Righter, K.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Using pollen in turbidites for vegetation reconstructions

Turbidites, deposited by sub-aqueous gravity flows, are common in sedimentary archives worldwide and present a unique challenge and opportunity when reconstructing past vegetation through pollen analysis. When sampling pollen from a sediment core for palaeovegetation records, it is common practice to target background sediments (i.e. pelagic sediment) and avoid sampling turbidites, as they are presumed to portray a misleading picture of past vegetation. This assumption stems from our limited understanding of pollen abundance and distribution through turbidites, meaning that palynologists overlook deposits that could potentially be used to reconstruct past vegetation and climate. We present pollen assemblage and sedimentological data from four recent (<150 years) deep marine turbidite deposits from the Hikurangi Subduction Margin, Aotearoa-New Zealand, with the aim of understanding the abundance and distribution of pollen in fine-grained turbidites. We find that pollen is diluted in the bases of turbidites, but despite this dilution, the proportions of different pollen taxa remain consistent through each turbidite. These results confirm that pollen can be sampled from turbidites for palaeovegetation reconstructions and that sampling the fine-grained upper parts of turbidites will provide the best pollen recovery.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2018

Oxygen Isotope Microanalysis By Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Suggests Continuous 300-million-year History of Calcite Cementation and Dolomitization in the Devonian Bakken Formation

Calcite cementation and dolomitization are key diagenetic processes in many sedimentary systems. Unravelling detailed histories and timescales of cementation and replacement is, however, often compromised by the limited spatial resolution of many analytical techniques; in some cases multiple grains are co-analyzed so that diagenetic histories are blurred and reaction periods are difficult to establish. In this study we have used 10-micrometer-resolution, in situ secondary ion mass spectrometry to determine the oxygen isotope composition of 197 individual, 10–50-micrometer-size crystals of dolomite and calcite from six samples in a single core of Upper Devonian middle Bakken Member siltstones and sandstones, the major tight oil formation of the Williston basin, USA. This amount of data places important constraints on the range of temperatures and times that carbonate cementation and replacement occurred. Petrographic data show that microcrystalline calcite cement is an early phase, and combined with mineralogical data suggest that much of the dolomite replaces calcite. Over spatial scales of less than a centimeter, analyses of individual calcite crystals have a range of 5‰ for δ 18 O in the group of crystals, and for the group of individual dolomite crystals, 10‰. These sub-centimeter ranges are as great as those observed in previous studies of carbonate cements sampled over many meters and remind us that previous low-resolution studies may have inadvertently analyzed mixed phases. There is no relationship between dolomite texture and isotopic composition at this spatial scale; microscale backscattered electron imagery and scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence zoning is seen, but cannot be resolved with a 10-micrometer spot size. Assuming, since it is an early cement, that calcite precipitated from seawater (δ 18 O = –1.5‰), it formed at ca. 15–40°C, mainly at the lower temperatures. Present-day formation waters in Devonian rocks in this region have oxygen isotope compositions of 7–8‰ VSMOW. Using these values as a likely dolomitizing fluid, we suggest that dolomitization occurred continuously between 40 and 140°C over 150–200 million years, most likely in a fluid with a high Mg/Ca ratio resulting from gypsum formation in local evaporites. Finally, we suggest that this exceptionally low rate of dolomitization was controlled by the low rate of supply of Mg in a very sluggish flow regime; dolomitization is incomplete because of a limited supply of Mg.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

X-ray scaling relations of “core” and “coreless” E and S0 galaxies

We have re-examined the two X-ray scaling relations of early-type galaxies (ETGs), L{sub X,GAS}–L{sub K} and L{sub X,GAS}–T{sub GAS}, using 61 ATLAS{sup 3D} E and S0 galaxies observed with Chandra (including ROSAT results for a few X-ray bright galaxies with extended hot gas). With this sample, which doubles the number of ETGs available for study we confirm the strong, steep correlations reported by Boroson et al. Moreover, the larger sample allows us to investigate the effect of structural and dynamical properties of ETGs in these relations. Using the sub-sample of 11 “genuine” E galaxies with central surface brightness cores, slow stellar rotations and old stellar populations, we find that the scatter of the correlations is strongly reduced, yielding an extremely tight relation of the form L{sub X,GAS} ∼ T{sub GAS}{sup 4.5±0.3}. The rms deviation is only 0.13 dex. For the gas-rich galaxies in this sample (L{sub X,GAS} > 10{sup 40} erg s{sup −1}), this relation is consistent with recent simulations for velocity dispersion supported E galaxies. However, the tight L{sub X,GAS}–T{sub GAS} relation of genuine E galaxies extends down into the L{sub X} ∼ 10{sup 38} erg s{sup −1} range, where simulations predict the gas to be in outflow/wind state, with resulting L{sub X} much lower than observed in our sample. The observed correlation may suggest the presence of small bound hot halos even in this low luminosity range. At the high luminosity end, the L{sub X,GAS}–T{sub GAS} correlation of core elliptical galaxies is similar to that found in samples of cD galaxies and groups, but shifted down toward relatively lower L{sub X,GAS} for a given T{sub GAS}. In particular cDs, central dominant galaxies sitting at the bottom of the potential well imposed by the group dark matter, have an order of magnitude higher L{sub X,GAS} than our sample core galaxies for the same L{sub K} and T{sub GAS}. We suggest that enhanced cooling in cDs, which have higher hot gas densities and lower entropies, could lower T{sub GAS} to the range observed in giant Es; this conclusion is supported by the presence of extended cold gas in several cDs. Instead, in the sub-sample of coreless ETGs—these galaxies also tend to show stellar rotation, a flattened galaxy figure and rejuvenation of the stellar population—L{sub X,GAS} and T{sub GAS} are not correlated. The L{sub X}−T{sub GAS} distribution of coreless ETGs is a scatter diagram clustered at L{sub X,GAS} < 10{sup 40} erg s{sup −1}, similar to that reported for the hot interstellar medium (ISM) of spiral galaxies, suggesting that both the energy input from star formation and the effect of galactic rotation and flattening may disrupt the hot ISM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗