– We have assembled data on 13 cases of meteorite falls with accurate tracking data on atmospheric passage. In all cases, we estimate the bulk strength of the object corresponding to its earliest ...observed or inferred fragmentation in the high atmosphere, and can compare these values with measured strengths of meteorites in the taxonomic class for that fall. In all 13 cases, the strength corresponding to earliest observed or inferred fragmentation is much less than the compressive or tensile strength reported for that class of stony meteorites. Bulk strengths upon atmospheric entry of these bodies are shown to be very low, 0.1 to approximately 1 MPa on first breakup, and maximal strength on breakup as 1–10 MPa corresponding to weak and “crumbly” objects, whereas measured average tensile strength of the similar meteorite classes is about 30 MPa. We find a more random relation between bulk sample strength and sample mass than is suggested by a commonly used empirical power law. We estimate bulk strengths on entry being characteristically of the order of 10−1–10−2 times the tensile strengths of recovered samples. We conclude that pre‐entry, meter‐scale interplanetary meteoroids are typically highly fractured or in some cases rubbly in texture, presumably as a result of their parent bodies’ collisional history, and can break up under stresses of a few megapascals. The weakness of some carbonaceous objects may result from very porous primordial accretional structures, more than fractures. These conclusions have implications for future asteroid missions, sample extraction, and asteroid hazard mitigation.
This paper summarizes the observation of the Potoška planina landslide, which is located in the Karavanke mountain range in NW Slovenia. The landslide lies at the tectonic contact between the Upper ...Carboniferous and the Permian clastic rocks, and the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic carbonate rocks. Due to active tectonics, the clastic rocks are heavily deformed and, consequently, highly prone to fast and deep weathering. The carbonate rocks are also highly fissured due to tectonic disturbances, which result in large quantities of talus and scree material covering the part below the crown. A greater spatial density of springs and wetlands, supplied from the infiltration, is evident at the contact between scree and clastic rocks. Due to prevailing geological, tectonic and hydrological conditions, the Potoška planina area is highly prone to different slope mass movements. This paper presents the monitoring of surface movement patterns at the toe of the Potoška planina landslide. The sliding mass is composed of tectonically deformed and weathered Upper Carboniferous and Permian clastic rocks covered with a large amount of talus material, which is unstable and prone to landslides. Additionally, the Bela torrent causes significant erosion and increases the possibility of mobilization of the sliding mass downstream. Based on said conditions and field survey work, the toe of the landslide is considered to be the most active part of the landslide. In order to estimate surface movement patterns over a monitoring period of 22.5 months and five reconnaissance campaigns, periodic monitoring was conducted using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based photogrammetry, which provides high-resolution images and tachymetric geodetic measurements that enable accurate control of photogrammetric analysis of surface displacements. Using the results of said periodic monitoring, analyses of UAV-based displacement patterns, surface elevations and volume changes were all modelled for four observation periods. According to our results, the movement pattern at the toe of the Potoška planina landslide indicates a steadily downslope movement of the entire area with localized surges superficial slips.
– We report an analysis of instrumental observations of a very bright fireball which terminated with a meteorite fall near the town of Jesenice in Slovenia on April 9, 2009, at 0h59m46s UT. The ...fireball designated EN090409 was recorded photographically and photoelectrically by two southern stations of the Czech part of the European Fireball Network (EN). Simultaneously, a part of the luminous trajectory was also captured by two all‐sky CCD systems and one video camera of the Slovenian meteor network. In addition to these optical recordings, the sonic booms produced by the Jesenice fireball were detected at 16 seismic stations located within 150 km of the trajectory. From all these records, we reconstructed the fireball’s atmospheric trajectory, basic geophysical data, the possible impact area, and the original heliocentric orbit of the meteoroid. Using a detailed fireball light curve, we modeled the atmospheric fragmentation of the meteoroid. Both the atmospheric behavior and the heliocentric orbit proved to be quite normal in comparison with other observed meteorite falls. The Jesenice orbit is markedly different from the Příbram and Neuschwanstein orbital meteorite pair, which fell on similar dates (April 7, 1959, and April 6, 2002, respectively). Three meteorites with a total weight of 3.6 kg (until April 2010) were found in a high mountain area near the town of Jesenice. They are classified as L6 ordinary chondrites (Bischoff et al. 2010).
Alkaline metasomatites (fenites) originated by pervasive Na metasomatism of granitoids of the Čistá-Jesenice Pluton (belonging to the Teplá-Barrandian unit in the NW part of the Bohemian Massif) ...contain a rich association of REE-bearing minerals. The occurrence of REE carbonates (bastnäsite, parisite), monazite, rhabdophane, churchite, fergusonite and pyrochlore was found in relatively weakly altered rocks (typical fenites), whereas much richer assemblage was observed in rocks which underwent the strongest metasomatism (so called reomorphic cancrinite-nepheline syenites). Here, the mineral assemblage includes in addition to all above mentioned minerals also xenotime and REE silicates, including tritomite/melanocerite, allanite, perbøeite, gadolinite and a Mn-analogue of hingganite. A common mineral phase is zircon in these rocks, too. Cerium, yttrium, and to lesser extent also lanthanum are dominating cations in the studied REE phases. A total of 24 mineral species was identified, including three unnamed phases. In most of the studied phases, the level of fractionation of REEs is high, exceptionally even extreme. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of some phases are characterized by a pronounced M-type tetrad effect. The results of microprobe analyses suggest that individual minerals originated during several episodes, characterized by different chemical composition of the mineral-forming medium (especially with contrasting concentrations of strong REE-complexing ligands and oxygen fugacity) and/or temperature. We did not find any significant differences in chemistry of individual minerals present in various rock types showing different levels of metasomatic alteration. The obtained data are consistent with hydrothermal origin of most (if not all) reported REE-bearing phases. The material source and genesis of the studied REE+Nb+Zr mineralization was in all probability associated with hydrothermal activity in the exocontact of a deep-seated hypothetical carbonatite intrusion, as was suggested already in earlier works dealing with these remarkable rocks.
Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) is capable of millimetric measurements of ground deformation phenomena occurring at radar signal reflectors (persistent scatterers, PS) that are phase ...coherent over a period of time. However, there are also limitations to PSI; significant phase decorrelation can occur between subsequent interferometric radar (InSAR) acquisitions in vegetated and low-density PS areas. Here, artificial amplitude- and phase-stable radar scatterers may have to be introduced. I2GPS was a Galileo project (02/2010–09/2011) that aimed to develop a novel device consisting of a compact active transponder (CAT) with an integrated global positioning system (GPS) antenna to ensure millimetric co-registration and a coherent cross-reference. The advantages are: (1) all advantages of CATs such as small size, light weight, unobtrusiveness and usability with multiple satellites and tracks; (2) absolute calibration for PSI data; (3) high sampling rate of GPS enables detection of abrupt ground motion in 3D; and (4) vertical components of the local velocity field can be derived from single-track InSAR line-of-sight displacements. A field trial was set to test the approach at a potential landslide site in Potoška planina, Slovenia to evaluate the applicability for operational monitoring of natural hazards. Preliminary results from the trial highlight some of the key considerations for operational deployments in the field. Ground motion measurements also allowed an assessment of landslide hazard at the site and demonstrated the synergies between InSAR and GPS measurements for landslide applications. InSAR and GPS measurements were compared to assess the consistency between the methods from the slope mass movement detection aspect.
This paper provides documentation of the Late Carboniferous flora of the Southern Karavanke Mountains in Slovenia that is housed in the Gornjesavski Muzej (Upper Sava Museum) in Jesenice, Slovenia. ...The paleoflora from this area has not been systematically documented until today. 21 fossil-species, which probably represent 17 biological species, were identified. Common species include Sigillaria brardii Brongniart, Lepidodendron dissitum Sauver, Annularia carinata Gutbier, Calamites undulatus Sternberg, Sphenophyllum oblongifolium (Germar and Kaulfuss) Unger, Acitheca polymorpha (Brongniart) Schimper and Nemejcopteris feminaeformis (Schlotheim) Barthel. Stratigraphically important are Sphenophyllum oblongifolium and Nemejcopteris feminaeformis, and based on their occurrence we can assume the studied paleoflora to be Gzhelian D (Jigulites jigulensis zone on the Russian Platform), i.e. Stephanian C
Jesenice-A new meteorite fall from Slovenia BISCHOFF, Addi; JERSEK, Miha; GRAU, Thomas ...
Meteoritics & planetary science,
June 2011, Letnik:
46, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
– On April 9, 2009, at 3:00 CEST, a very bright fireball appeared over Carinthia and the Karavanke Mountains. The meteoroid entered the atmosphere at a very steep angle and disintegrated into a large ...number of objects. Two main objects were seen as separate fireballs up to an altitude of approximately 5 km, and witnesses reported loud explosions. Three stones were found with a total weight of approximately 3.611 kg. The measured activity of short‐lived cosmogenic radionuclides clearly indicates that two specimens result from a very recent meteorite fall. All cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations suggest a rather small preatmospheric radius of <20 cm; a nominal cosmic‐ray exposure age based on 21Ne is approximately 4 Ma, but the noble gas and radionuclide results in combination indicate a complex irradiation. Jesenice is a highly recrystallized rock with only a few relic chondrules visible in hand specimen and thin section. The texture, the large grain size of plagioclase, and the homogeneous compositions of olivines and pyroxenes clearly indicate that Jesenice is a L6 chondrite. The bulk composition of Jesenice is very close to the published average element concentration for L ordinary chondrites. The chondrite is weakly shocked (S3) as indicated by the undulatory extinction in olivine and plagioclase and the presence of planar fractures in olivine. Being weakly shocked and with gas retention ages of >1.7 Ga (4He) and approximately 4.3 Ga (40Ar), Jesenice seems not to have been strongly affected by the catastrophic disruption of the L‐chondrite parent body approximately 500 Ma ago.
In the first part of the paper there is a description about genesis of meteorites, in particularly about stony meteorites– chondrites, since meteorite Jesenice is an ordinary L chondrite. Chondrules ...represent main part of the mass ofchondritic meteorites. For this reason the second part of the paper talks about morphology, texture, mineralogy andchemical properties of chondrules. Main theories about chondrule formation and other distinctive textures found inchondrites are also presented. The paper also presents a review across different meteorite classifications. Meteoriteclassifications differ depending on the geochemical and mineralogical properties of meteorites. In this paper are alsoused some new Slovenian terms correlated with the science of meteorites and mineral materials. Classification ofmeteorite Jesenice is based on its macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. We classified meteorite Jesenice onthe basis of shock metamorphosis, grade of weathering, petrological properties and chemical composition of olivine.We found out that meteorite Jesenice is weakly shocked weakly weathered undifferentiated low total iron ordinarychondrite. Our results are in agreement with findings of Bischoff and his colleagues.
This paper presents a mineralogical analysis of various chondrule types and chemical analysis of olivine indifferent parts of meteorite Jesenice. Quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy ...with a scanning electronmicroscope was used in the analyses. The results showed that the chemical composition of the olivine was homogeneousthroughout the meteorite with an average olivine composition of Fa 26.4 ± 0.6. The results of this study werein agreement with previous study of the meteorite, which showed that the meteorite Jesenice was an equilibratedL chondrite.
The composition of the well-preserved fusion crust of the meteorite Jesenice was characterised by means ofoptical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM investigations revealed three ...structurally distinct layerswithin the crust. The features of the first layer on the surface are precipitates, enriched in metal elements (iron,nickel), and the partial melting of silicate grains, which continues deeper into the second layer. The second layerbeneath has veins with a heterogeneous composition that indicates a different source of melting minerals. The thirdlayer, which is located deeper within the fusion crust, has not undergone any structural changes and its features aresimilar to the interior of the meteorite. This is additionally confirmed by the presence of cracks, which are a consequenceof shock metamorphism, and irregularly shaped metal and sulphide grains. The structural changes of thethin fusion crust on the surface of this stony meteorite indicate high temperatures (more than 1500 °C) accompaniedby high pressures.
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