ALBERT

Description: The Mars rover Curiosity has encountered silica-enriched bedrock (as strata and as veins and associated halos of alteration) in the largely basaltic Murray Fm. of Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater. Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) investigations of the Murray Fm. revealed decreasing Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Al, and higher S, as silica increased (Fig. 1). A positive correlation between SiO2 and TiO2 (up to 74.4 and 1.7 wt %, respectively) suggests that these two insoluble elements were retained while acidic fluids leached more soluble elements. Other evidence also supports a silica-retaining, acidic alteration model for the Murray Fm., including low trace element abundances consistent with leaching, and the presence of opaline silica and jarosite determined by CheMin. Phosphate stability is a key component of this model because PO4 3- is typically soluble in acidic water and is likely a mobile ion in diagenetic fluids (pH less than 5). However, the Murray rocks are not leached of P; they have variable P2O5 (Fig. 1) ranging from average Mars (0.9 wt%) up to the highest values in Gale Crater (2.5 wt%). Here we evaluate APXS measurements of Murray Fm. bedrock and veins with respect to phosphate stability in acidic fluids as a test of the acidic alteration model for the Lower Mt. Sharp rocks.

Description: Photoelectric monitoring broadband photometry and spectral scans of candidate star for pulsating radio source CP 1919

Description: The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has traversed up section through approximately 100 m of sedimentary rocks deposited in fluvial, deltaic, lacustrine, and eolian environments (Bradbury group and overlying Mount Sharp group). The Stimson formation unconformably overlies a lacustrine mudstone at the base of the Mount Sharp group and has been interpreted to be a cross-bedded sandstone of lithified eolian dunes. Unaltered Stimson sandstone has a basaltic composition similar to the average Mars crustal composition, but is more variable and ranges to lower K and higher Al. Fluids passing through alteration "halos" adjacent to fractures have altered the chemistry and mineralogy of the sandstone. Elemental mass gains and losses in the alteration halos were quantified using immobile element concentrations, i.e., Ti (taus). Alteration halos have elemental gains in Si, Ca, S, and P and large losses in Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Na, K, Ni, and Zn. Mineralogy of the altered Stimson is dominated by Ca-sulfates, Si-rich X-ray amorphous materials along with plagioclase feldspar, magnetite, and pyroxenes. The igneous phases were less abundant in the altered sandstone with a lower pyroxene/plagioclase feldspar. Large elemental losses suggest acidic fluids initially removed these elements (Al mobile under acid conditions). Enrichments in Si, Ca, and S suggest secondary fluids (possibly alkaline) passed through these fractures leaving behind X-ray amorphous Si and Ca-sulfates. The mechanism for the large elemental gains in P is unclear. The geochemistry and mineralogy of the altered sandstone suggests a complicated diagenetic history with multiple episodes of aqueous alteration under a variety of environmental conditions (e.g., acidic, alkaline).

Description: The boron isotope (δ11B) composition of marine calcifiers is considered to be one of the most reliable pH proxies, enabling us to reconstruct past ocean pH and infer on the associated changes in carbon budget involved (e.g. Gut- jahr et al. 2017). The application of the commonly used δ 11 B archives such as foraminifera or corals is however mostly limited to the Cenozoic due to insufficient preservation or incomplete geological records. Brachiopods have a promising potential for extending our knowledge on seawater pH evolution throughout the entire Phanerozoic considering their high abundance in the fossil record and its origin dating back to the early Cambrian. Moreover, their shell is composed of low-magnesium calcite, rendering brachiopods more resistant to post-depositional di-magenetic alteration of its primary chemical signal (e.g. Brand et al. 2012). Additionally, even today they present an extant and widespread taxa, allowing for an assessment of the controls on boron isotope incorporation into brachiopod calcite and possible distortions of the signal due to vital effects or other processes. We present a detailed exploration of boron isotope systematics in three different brachiopod species (Magellania venosa, Terebratella dorsata, Pajaudina atlantica) cultured under controlled laboratory settings for over a year. Our experimental setup includes a control (pH = 8.15) and two pH treatments (pH = 7.6 and 7.35), and we provide both bulk MC-ICP-MS as well as high spatial resolution SIMS data of the shell material. Our results indicate that boron incorporation is primarily driven by vital effects related to their ability to regulate calcifying fluid pH in response to ambient changes, which we further validate by in vivo microelectrode measurements (e.g. Stumpp et al. 2012). Despite internal buffering, the local pH at calcification sites systematically decreases with seawater pH, and hence is impacted by ocean acidification. This not only suggests that brachiopod shells serve as useful and conservative recorders of past ocean pH trends, but also provides new insights into mechanisms that may have enabled brachiopod survival throughout several major environmental crises in the past. Our findings have implications for past climate studies, as well as research on calcification processes and physio- logical adaptations to environmental change (e.g. the actual global ocean acidification). Brand, U., Posenato, R., Came, R., Affek, H., Angiolini, L., Azmy, K. and Farabegoli, E., 2012. The end-Permian mass extinction: A rapid volcanic CO2 and CH4-climatic catastrophe, Chem. Geol. 323, 121-144. Gutjahr M., Ridgewell A., Sexton P.F., Anagnostou E., Pearson P.N., Pälike H., Norris R.D., Thomas E., and Foster G.L., 2017. Very large release of mostly volcanic carbon during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Nature 548, 573-577. Stumpp M., Hu M.Y., Melzner F., Gutowska M., Dorey N., Himmerkus N., Holtmann W.C., Dupont S.T., Thorndyke M.C., and Bleich M. Acidified seawater impacts sea urchin larvae pH regulatory systems relevant for calcification, PNAS 44: 18192-18197.

Description: Der Bericht stellt Zwischenergebnisse des Forschungsprojektes Energiewende-Navigationssystem (ENavi) für politische Szenarien eines deutschen Kohleausstieges vor. Der Bewertungsprozess der Szenarien basiert dabei auf wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen eines vielfältigen Methodensets, um robustes Wissen zu generieren. Für die Erstellung von Maßnahmenbündeln, wünschenswerten Szenarien und Prüfung der Ergebnisse wurden Stakeholdern aktiv in Form eines ko-kreativen Prozesses einbezogen.

Description: The report presents interim results of the research project Energy Transition Navigation System (ENavi) for political scenarios of a German coal phase-out. The scenario assessment process is based on the scientific results of a diverse set of methods to generate robust knowledge. Stakeholders were actively involved in the form of a co-creative process for the development of policy packages, desirable scenarios and evaluation of the results.