New images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera show the distribution and geological relations of the Sculptured Hills, a geological unit widespread in the highlands between the Serenitatis ...and Crisium basins. The Sculptured Hills shows knobby, undulating, radially textured, and plains‐like morphologies and in many places is indistinguishable from the similarly knobby Alpes Formation, a facies of ejecta from the Imbrium basin. The new LROC image data show that the Sculptured Hills in the Taurus highlands is Imbrium ejecta and not directly related to the formation of the Serenitatis basin. This occurrence and the geological relations of this unit suggests that the Apollo 17 impact melts may not be not samples of the Serenitatis basin‐forming impact, leaving their provenance undetermined and origin unexplained. If the Apollo 17 melt rocks are Serenitatis impact melt, up to half of the basin and large crater population of the Moon was created within a 30 Ma interval around 3.8 Ga in a global impact “cataclysm.” Either interpretation significantly changes our view of the impact process and history of the Earth‐Moon system.
Key Points
New images show lunar Serenitatis basin is relatively old, not young
An old Serenitatis means that Apollo 17 impact melts may not date that basin
Either early Moon had impact cataclysm or geology is not understood
•The Lee-Lincoln fault, not Tycho, may have triggered two light mantle avalanches.•Apollo 17 sample data indicate Crisium is oldest basin, then Serenitatis and Imbrium.•The Sculptured Hills consist ...of portions of a Mg-Suite pluton ejected from Imbrium.•Large pyroclastic fissures cut through the Sculptured Hills and the North Massif.•A young impact glass has been precisely located and oriented in three dimensions.
Integration of Apollo 17 field observations and photographs, sample investigations, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images, Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) spectra, and Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) S-band radar images provides new insights into the geology of the valley of Taurus–Littrow on the Moon. Connecting the various remote observations to sample data enables a set of new conclusions to be drawn regarding the geological evolution of the valley. Structural considerations and published and recalculated 40Ar/39Ar analyses of samples from the North Massif and the Sculptured Hills indicate that the Crisium basin formed about 3.93 Ga; the Serenitatis basin about 3.82 Ga; and the Imbrium basin no earlier than 3.82 Ga and no later than the average of 3.72 Ga for 33 age dates from samples of the valley's mare basalts. Strong evidence continues to support the conclusion of others (Lucchitta, 1972; Spudis et al., 2011; Fassett et al., 2012) that the Sculptured Hills physiographic unit consists of Imbrium ejecta. Interpretation of M3 spectral data and Apollo 17 samples indicate that rock units of the Sculptured Hills consist of a largely coherent, Mg-suite pluton. LROC NAC stereo images and Mini-RF data indicate the presence of several exposed pyroclastic fissures across the Sculptured Hills. Rim boulders at Camelot Crater constitute nearly in situ wall rocks of that crater rather than ejecta and provide an opportunity for investigations of remanent magnetic field orientation at the time of the eruption of late mare basalt lavas in the valley. Paleomagnetic field orientation information also may be obtained relative to melt-breccia contacts in North Massif boulders that suggest original horizontal orientations. LROC images indicate the existence of two temporally separate light mantle avalanche deposits. The origin, potential flow mechanisms, and geology of the youngest avalanche from the South Massif have been clarified. The existence of two distinct light mantle avalanches raises doubt about the association of either light mantle avalanche with secondary impacts related to the Tycho impact event. Alternatively, the Lee-Lincoln thrust fault appears to have triggered the second light mantle avalanche between 70 and 110 Ma. A simple structural analysis shows that this thrust fault dips 20–25° to the southwest where it crosses the North Massif and to the west where it crosses the valley floor. Mini-RF data reveal a line of reduced reflections roughly perpendicular to contours on the North Massif about 3 km to the east of the Lee-Lincoln fault. Although this line is possibly an older ancillary fault, LROC NAC stereo images indicate that it may be best explained as a pyroclastic fissure. A debris flow of dark, apparent pyroclastic ash lies below the southeast end of the potential fissure. Finally, young lunar impact glass sample 70019 has been precisely located within LROC NAC images and oriented for the first time using 60 mm (f.l.) sample documentation photographs. Sample 70019 can now be employed in lunar paleomagnetic field orientation studies.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Public Matting Stations are state’s units which are breeding stallions produced by the National Stud Farms. They are raised there in principal for one reason: to be used for reproduction and ...improvement of the local horse populations. Each Stallion Station has its own territory on a geographical determined area, and the breeds were present in the Station are in a direct according to the needs of the population. In the matting season, almost of the stallions are allocated (by breeds and demands) for a group of communes where mare owners asked for them.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Monumentul, realizat din marmură neagră, este alcătuit din postament în două trepte, soclu în două trepte și obelisc. Deasupra obeliscului este reprezentat un vultur care ține în gheare o sabie. Pe ...postament sunt reprezentate, în relief, proiectile de artilerie. Pe corpul obeliscului sunt incizate o cruce, lauri, o cască, o baionetă și un tun. Monumentul este împrejmuit cu un gard realizat din beton și fier. Dimensiuni: 222,5 x 198.
Mențiuni despre monument: Stare bună de conservare.
Inscripții pe monument: Pe fața principală: „PIETATEA CELOR VII! ÎN MEMORIA CELOR CĂZUȚI ÎN RĂZBOIUL PENTRU ÎNTREGIREA NEAMULUI ROMÂNESC.1914-1918” NUME DE EROI (35) Stânga: NUME DE EROI (18) Dreapta: NUME DE EROI (20)
The monument, made of black marble, is made up of two steps, two-stage socket and obelisk. Above the obelisk is represented an eagle holding a sword in its claws. On the posture are represented, in relief, artillery projectiles. On the obelisk body are incised a cross, laurels, a helmet, a bayonet and a cannon. The monument is fenced with a fence made of concrete and iron. Dimensions: 222.5 x 198.
Mentions about the monument: Good state of conservation.
Monumentul, realizat din marmură neagră, este alcătuit din postament în două trepte, soclu în două trepte și obelisc. Deasupra obeliscului este reprezentat un vultur care ține în gheare o sabie. Pe postament sunt reprezentate, în relief, proiectile de artilerie. Pe corpul obeliscului sunt incizate o cruce, lauri, o cască, o baionetă și un tun. Monumentul este împrejmuit cu un gard realizat din beton și fier. Dimensiuni: 222,5 x 198.
Mențiuni despre monument: Stare bună de conservare.
Inscripții pe monument: Pe fața principală: „PIETATEA CELOR VII! ÎN MEMORIA CELOR CĂZUȚI ÎN RĂZBOIUL PENTRU ÎNTREGIREA NEAMULUI ROMÂNESC.1914-1918” NUME DE EROI (35) Stânga: NUME DE EROI (18) Dreapta: NUME DE EROI (20)
The aim of the present study was to develop a semi-quantitative urine pregnancy test for mares based on the Cuboni reaction and to verify the reliability of this test. The urine specimens were ...hydrolyzed by heating in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The resulting free estrogen were extracted from the urine matrix using toluene. Sulfuric acid was added to the toluene extract and the mixture was heated again. The lower layer in the test tube containing sulfuric acid was used for fluorescence measurements with excitation at 355 nm and measurement at 535 nm. The fluorometric Cuboni test revealed that the fluorescence counts in urine samples collected after the second trimester of gestation were significantly higher than those obtained from barren mares. The levels of estrogens, including equilin, estrone and estardiol-17β exhibited a dose-dependent increase in fluorescence counts, whereas other steroids, such as progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol, did not affect fluorescence. Heat treatment of urine samples with hydrochloric acid significantly increased the fluorescence counts in those collected after the second trimester of gestation compared to non-pregnant samples, implying the presence of large amounts of conjugated estrogens in pregnant mare urine. Fluorescence counts in urine samples obtained during pregnancy showed a positive relationship with estrone concentrations as measured by enzyme immunoassay. The results of the present study showed that the fluorometric Cuboni test facilitates urine fluorescence counts depending on the urinary estrogen content and is capable of discriminating between pregnancy and non-pregnancy states beyond the second trimester of gestation in mares.
International Maritime Security Law, by James Kraska and Raul Pedrozo, defines an emerging interdisciplinary field of law and policy comprised of norms, legal regimes, and rules to address today's ...hybrid threats to the global order of the oceans.
The Lunar Prospector Electron Reflectometer has obtained the first global map of lunar crustal magnetic fields, revealing that the effects of basin-forming impacts dominate the large-scale ...distribution of remanent magnetic fields on the Moon. The weakest surface magnetic fields (<0.2 nT) are found within two of the largest and most recent impact basins, Orientale and Imbrium. Conversely, the largest concentrations of strong surface fields (>40 nT) are diametrically opposite to these same basins. This pattern is present though less pronounced for several other post-Nectarian impact basins larger than 500 km in diameter. The reduced strength and clarity of the pattern for older basins may be attributed to: (1) demagnetization from many smaller impacts, which erases antipodal magnetic signatures over time, (2) superposition effects from other large impacts, and (3) variation in the strength of the ambient magnetizing field. The absence of fringing fields stronger than 1 nT around the perimeter of the Imbrium basin or associated with craters within the basin implies that any uniform magnetization of the impact melt must be weaker than
∼
10
−6
G cm
3 g
−1. This limits the strength of any steady ambient magnetic field to no more than ∼0.1 Oe at the lunar surface while the basin cooled for tens of millions of years following the Imbrium impact 3.8 billion years ago.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
•Statistics of 269 K–Ar datings of lunar highland returned samples are reviewed.•These are compared against 94 datings of meteoritic highland rocks from 21 localities.•Cumulative effect of impact ...gardening on presence of melt at surface is modelled.•Combined modelling and analysis contradicts idea of a short terminal cataclysm.
This work revisits the hypothesis of the so-called ‘lunar terminal cataclysm’ suggested by Tera et al. (1973, 1974) as a strong peak in the meteorite bombardment of the Moon around 3.9 Ga ago. According to the hypothesis, most of the impact craters observed on the lunar highlands formed during this short time period and thus formed the majority of the lunar highland impact breccias and melts. The hypothesis arose from the observation that the ages of highland samples from all the lunar missions are mostly grouped around 3.9–4.0 Ga. Since those missions, however, radiometric dating techniques have progressed and many samples, both old and new, have been re-analyzed. Nevertheless, the debate over whether there was a terminal cataclysm persists. To progress in this problem we summarized results of 269 K–Ar datings (mostly made using the 40Ar–39Ar technique) of highland rocks represented by the Apollo 14, 15, 16, 17 and Luna 20 samples and 94 datings of clasts of the highland rocks from 23 lunar meteorites representing 21 localities on the lunar surface, and considered them jointly with the results of our modelling of the cumulative effect of the impact gardening process on the presence of impact melt of different ages at the near-surface of the Moon.
The considered results of K–Ar dating of the Apollo-Luna samples of lunar highland rocks confirmed a presence of strong peak centered at 3.87 Ga. But since the time when the hypothesis of terminal cataclysm was suggested, it has become clear that this peak could be a result of sampling bias: it is the only prominent feature at the sites with an apparent domination of Imbrium basin ejecta (Apollo 14 and 15) and the age pattern is more complicated for the sites influenced not only by Imbrium ejecta but also that of other basins (Nectaris at the Apollo 16 site and Serenitatis at the Apollo 17 site). Our modelling shows that the cataclysm, if it occurred, should produce a strong peak in the measured age values but we see in the considered histograms and relative probability plots not only the 3.87 Ga peak (due to Imbrium basin), but also several secondary peaks caused by the formation of other basins distributed between 3.87 and 4.25 Ga.
The lunar terminal cataclysm hypothesis is in disagreement with the distribution of K–Ar ages for the highland rocks of the lunar meteorites. The population of lunar meteorites representing localities randomly distributed over the lunar surface, and thus free from the mentioned sampling bias, shows no ∼3.9 Ga peak as it should, if the cataclysm did occur.
We conclude that the statistics of sample ages contradict the terminal cataclysm scenario in the bombardment of the Moon. We also see evidence for the formation of several impact basins between 3.87 and 4.25 Ga which is likewise incompatible with the hypothesis of a short interval cataclysm. There remain other basins, including the largest South Pole – Aitken, the ages of which should be determined in future studies to further clarify the impact history. Sample-return missions targeted to date several key basins need to be planned, and the continued study of lunar meteorites may also bring new details to the general view of the impact bombardment of the Moon.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) describes the prevention of luteolysis via the early conceptus. By prolonging the presence of the corpus luteum (CL), the conceptus ensures an environment ...capable of supporting pregnancy. In mares, MRP is enigmatic; the horse is one of few domesticated species wherein the MRP signal has yet to be discovered. Equine conceptus mobility throughout the uterine horns, termed migration, is known to be essential for pregnancy establishment. However, while the MRP signal in several other species is conceptus-derived, such a signal has yet to be observed from the equine embryo. We hypothesize that the migration of the equine conceptus itself activates MRP, potentially through epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). ENaC has been previously detected in multiple equine organs, observed in the uteri of various mammalian species, and also found to be upregulated during preimplantation in mice. However, neither the presence of ENaC within the mare uterus nor its potential involvement with the equine pregnancy has been researched. The aim of this study was 1) to determine if ENaC was present within the endometrium of the mare uterus and 2) to describe the location of ENaC if observed. Estrus synchronization was completed in mares (n = 14) during peak breeding season. Mares were subsequently blocked by age and breed and then placed into one of 2 groups: control mares (C; n = 7) and treatment mares (T; n = 7). Transrectal ultrasonography (US) was completed in all mares daily when one or more ovarian follicles reached 25 mm. When a mare had a 35 mm or larger follicle present, she received 2,000 international units of human chorionic gonadotropin intramuscularly to induce ovulation (OV) and US continued daily. Additionally, T mares were artificially inseminated (AI) with fresh, extended semen every day until the day after OV and were subsequently checked for pregnancy 12 d post-OV. C mares had the cervix manually manipulated the day after OV to replicate physical stimulation that occurs to the cervix when AI; however, no semen was deposited in C mare reproductive tracts. Endometrial biopsies were collected from all mares before OV, after OV, and during early pregnancy (when applicable) and samples were then processed for ENaC immunohistochemistry analysis. ENaC protein was immunodetected in all C and T mare endometrial samples and was localized to both uterine luminal epithelium and uterine glands. While further analysis will be conducted to quantify endometrial ENaC expression in C versus T (open versus pregnant) mares, the present histological data confirms that ENaC is present within the equine uterus.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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