Petrographic/geochemical studies of primary and alteration–weathering minerals in garnetiferous ultramafic xenoliths–basanite, Tartous Province, NW Syria

Kimberlitic–pyropic peridotite–xenolites, probably of Jurassic–Cretaceous age, were found mixed with a younger Upper Tertiary basanitic diabase, as flow texture of plagioclase laths and ilmenite rods around those xenoliths indicated. Mafic–ultramafic rocks were crushed, sheared, and cropped along a creek about 15–18 km NE of the town of Dreikeesh, NW Syria. ⁴⁰K–⁴⁰Ar isotopic dating of a pure fresh black cpx sample, collected from the peridotite xenoliths, yielded an age of about 70 Ma. This age is concurrent to the time when Africa, Eurasia, and America were part of the super continent Pangaea. It also suggests that kimberlite–pyropic peridotitic rocks were located within a cratonic pipe prior to their 2000-km eastward journey (starting from the Mid-Atlantic Rift). Sampled outcrops were located within a ring of about 40 km diameter, considered to be a dome consisting of one or more clusters of kimberlitic pipes. The dome structure, mostly covered with Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous carbonate beds, was tilted westward, and rifted and sheared along its eastern edge. Tilting and crushing were accomplished after the opening of the Red Sea in the Miocene, and the counterclockwise movements of the Arabian plate, which folded the carbonate beds to form the N–S-trending Alawite mountain range along the Syrian coast. Olivine, cpx, and pyrope were the major phases in peridotite. Pyrope, including its Cr–Ni-contents, was found to be the best indicator to decipher the temperature–pressure (T–P) conditions for the system. The inferred temperature was found to be about 1460 °C, at a pressure of 62 kb (around 207 km-depth). Petrographic studies revealed many zoned, resorbed, octahedral and non-metasomatized tiny grains, associated with partly to wholly metasomatized and iddingsitized olivines.     

Making Use of Incomplete Observations for Regression in Bivariate Normal Model

Two estimates of the regression coefficient in bivariate normal distribution are considered: the usual one based on a sample and a new one making use of additional observations of one of the variables. They are compared with respect to variance. The same is done for two regression lines. The conclusion is that the additional observations are worth using only when the sample is very small.     

Unsupervised constrained radar imaging of low resolution targets

A linear spectral estimation technique, the PDFT algorithm, is used as part of a nonlinear iterative reconstruction scheme to obtain improved radar images. The iterative PDFT algorithm is used to address the limited resolution problem inherent to imaging objects buried in soil and hidden under foliage. This is achieved by subsequent application of two properties of the PDFT algorithm: the energy parameter of the PDFT algorithm is used to determine the target shape, while the shape information in turn is used to obtain super-resolved images. We describe algorithms able to exploit both properties automatically and without manual intervention. Two methods are investigated in particular, one iteratively optimizing the constraints by monitoring the energy parameter, the other method computing energy values for all points, from which a weighted prior function is determined. In addition, we discuss variants of both algorithm which provide an optimized trade-off between computation time and performance. Additional attention is given to situations, where a known target is embedded in an unknown background. Imaging results are presented for both synthetic and measured data.     

Analysis of some combination-overtone infrared bands of SO3

Several new infrared absorption bands for ³²S¹⁶O₃ have been measured and analyzed. The principal bands observed were ν₁+ν₂ (at 1561 cm⁻¹), ν₁+ν₄ (at 1594 cm⁻¹), ν₃+ν₄ (at 1918 cm⁻¹), and 3ν₃ (at 4136 cm⁻¹). Except for 3ν₃, these bands are very complicated because of (a) the Coriolis coupling between ν₂ and ν₄, (b) the Fermi resonance between ν₁ and 2ν₄, (c) the Fermi resonance between ν₁ and 2ν₂, (d) ordinary l-type resonance that couples levels that differ by 2 in both the k and l quantum numbers, and (e) the vibrational l-type resonance between the A₁^′ and A₂^′ levels of ν₃+ν₄. The unraveling of the complex pattern of these bands was facilitated by a systematic approach to the understanding of the various interactions. Fortunately, previous work on the fundamentals permitted good estimates of many constants necessary to begin the assignments and the fit of the measurements. In addition, the use of hot band transitions accompanying the ν₃ band was an essential aid in fitting the ν₃+ν₄ transitions since these could be directly observed for only one of four interacting states. From the hot band analysis we find that the A₁^′ vibrational level is 3.50 cm⁻¹ above the A₂^′ level, i.e., r₃₄=1.75236(7) cm⁻¹. In the case of the 3ν₃ band, the spectral analysis is straightforward and a weak Δk=±2, Δl₃=±2 interaction between the l₃=1 and l₃=3 substates locates the latter A₁^′ and A₂^′ “ghost” states 22.55(4) cm⁻¹ higher than the infrared accessible l₃=1 E^′ state.