Spatially-resolved analyses of aerodynamic fallout from a uranium-fueled nuclear test.

Five silicate fallout glass spherules produced in a uranium-fueled, near-surface nuclear test were characterized by secondary ion mass spectrometry, electron probe microanalysis, autoradiography, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Several samples display compositional heterogeneity suggestive of incomplete mixing between major elements and natural U ((238)U/(235)U = 0.00725) and enriched U. Samples exhibit extreme spatial heterogeneity in U isotopic composition with 0.02 < (235)U/(238)U < 11.84 among all five spherules and 0.02 < (235)U/(238)U < 7.41 within a single spherule. In two spherules, the (235)U/(238)U ratio is correlated with changes in major element composition, suggesting the agglomeration of chemically and isotopically distinct molten precursors. Two samples are nearly homogenous with respect to major element and uranium isotopic composition, suggesting extensive mixing possibly due to experiencing higher temperatures or residing longer in the fireball. Linear correlations between (234)U/(238)U, (235)U/(238)U, and (236)U/(238)U ratios are consistent with a two-component mixing model, which is used to illustrate the extent of mixing between natural and enriched U end members.

Slip-rate measurements on the Karakorum Fault may imply secular variations in fault motion.

Beryllium-10 surface exposure dating of offset moraines on one branch of the Karakorum Fault west of the Gar basin yields a long-term (140- to 20-thousand-year) right-lateral slip rate of approximately 10.7 +/- 0.7 millimeters per year. This rate is 10 times larger than that inferred from recent InSAR analyses ( approximately 1 +/- 3 millimeters per year) that span approximately 8 years and sample all branches of the fault. The difference in slip-rate determinations suggests that large rate fluctuations may exist over centennial or millennial time scales. Such fluctuations would be consistent with mechanical coupling between the seismogenic, brittle-creep, and ductile shear sections of faults that reach deep into the crust.