(Appendix 1) Age, Ge/Si ratio, aluminium and opal contents in ODP Sites 175-1081 and 175-1084

As a result of both culture and sediment core studies, the ratio of germanium (Ge) to silicon (Si) in diatom shells has been proposed as a proxy for monitoring whole-ocean changes in seawater Ge/Si, a ratio affected by changes in continental weathering. However, because of the difficulties of extracting and cleaning diatom frustules from deep-sea sediments, only samples from highly pure diatom oozes in the Antarctic region have been previously analyzed. Here we present data on diatom Ge/Si ratios, (Ge/Si)opal, for the time interval between 3.1 and 1.9 Ma from a mid-latitude, coastal upwelling area where significant terrigenous sediment input complicated the sample processing and analyses. In general, our (Ge/Si)opal values show the same decreasing trend after 2.6 Ma than previously measured in Antarctic sediments (Shemesh et al., 1989. Paleoceanography 4, 221-231), but with a noisier background that may reflect the local imprint of proximal continental input superimposed upon global changes in the ocean reservoir. The time of initiation of large-scale North Hemisphere glaciation at ~2.6 Ma is characterized by a declining pattern of diatom Ge/Si ratios, which could have resulted from a global increase in the input of riverine Si due to enhanced silica weathering and/or equatorward (northward) intrusions of subantarctic waters enriched in silica. High (Ge/Si)opal ratios are associated with high opal contents from the same sediment samples and with warm climate as indicated by depleted benthic foraminiferal d18O values from the North and Equatorial Atlantic. Cold periods signified by enriched benthic d18O values, on the contrary, are associated with lower (Ge/Si)opal ratios. We interpret diatom Ge/Si values to reflect the prevailing weathering state on the continents, with greater chemical weathering during warm and wet periods of the Pliocene and less during cooler and drier intervals.

Germanium contents, Ge/Si ratios, and Sr isotopic composition in deep-sea cherts

Nineteen chert samples from a continuous core of the DSDP (Leg 17, Hole 167) were analysed for Ge; in addition we analysed five samples from other cores. The ages range between Late Jurassic, and Late Eocene. The concentration of Ge changes with age from 0.87 ppm in the oldest samples to 0.23 ppm in the youngest (equivalent to a Ge/Si decrease from 0.00000072 to 0.00000019). The decrease in Ge/Si is well correlated with the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in sea water of the relevant age. The interpretation of this trend may reflect: (a) different levels of Ge/Si in sea water as a result of a different ratio between hydrothermal and riverine input, (b) a diagenetic trend in siliceous sediments, (c) recording (by radiolaria) a transition between a radiolaria dominated ocean (with relatively high Ge/Si ratios in sea water) and diatom domination or (d) a combination of the above.

Ge/Si ratios in marine siliceous microfossils

A procedure is presented to separate diatoms and radiolaria from marine sediments and from each other, to purify them of elements associated with other phases, and to dissolve them to determine their elemental composition. The cleaning procedure eliminates artifacts due to the presence of detrital clays and the high sorption capacity of hydrated silica. The concentration of trace elements (Al, Fe, Mg, and Ba) that we find in alkaline dissolutions of clean diatoms are at least an order of magnitude lower than previously reported. The overall long-term precision in the determination of Ge/Si in a sub-standard of clean diatoms is ±0.024 * 10**-6 (1 sigma). Ge/Si measured in diatoms and radiolaria from core tops indicates that high-latitude Holocene diatoms accurately record the present-day oceanic Ge/Si, while radiolarian ratios are systematically lower and display more scatter. Evaluation of Ge/Si in diatoms and radiolaria from Hole DSDP 265 (Plio-Pleistocene) suggests that post-depositional alteration of the ratio does not occur at this site, but the average ratio carried by diatoms over this time interval was lower than that in the present ocean.

[0 0 1] zone-axis bright-field diffraction contrast from coherent Ge(Si) islands on Si(0 0 1): Dedicated to Professor Fang-hua Li on the occasion of her 70th birthday

Coherent Ge(Si)/Si(001) quantum dot islands grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy at a growth temperature of 700degreesC were investigated using transmission electron microscopy working at 300 kV. The [001] zone-axis bright-field diffraction contrast images of the islands show strong periodicity with the change of the TEM sample substrate thickness and the period is equal to the effective extinction distance of the transmitted beam. Simulated images based on finite element models of the displacement field and using multi-beam dynamical diffraction theory show a high degree of agreement. Studies for a range of electron energies show the power of the technique for investigating composition segregation in quantum dot islands. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coupled Ge/Si and Ge isotope ratios as geochemical tracers of seafloor hydrothermal systems: Case studies at Loihi Seamount and East Pacific Rise 9°50’N

Germanium (Ge) and Silicon (Si) exhibit similar geochemical behaviour in marine environments but are variably enriched in seafloor hydrothermal fluids relative to seawater. In this study, Ge isotope and Ge/Si ratio systematics were investigated in low temperature hydrothermal vents from Loihi Seamount (Pacific Ocean, 18°54’N, 155°15’W) and results were compared to high-temperature vents from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 9°50’N. Loihi offers the opportunity to understand contrasting Ge and Si behaviour in low temperature seafloor hydrothermal systems characterized by abundant Fe oxyhydroxide deposition at the seafloor. The results show that both Ge/Si and δ74/70Ge in hydrothermal fluids are fractionated relative to the basaltic host rocks. The enrichment in Ge vs. Si relative to fresh basalts, together with Ge isotope fractionation (Δ74/70Ge fluid-basalt up to 1.15 ‰ at EPR 9°50’N and 1.64 ‰ at Loihi) are best explained by the precipitation of minerals (e.g. quartz and Fe-sulfides) during higher temperature seawater-rock reactions in the subsurface. The study of Fe-rich hydrothermal deposits at Loihi, largely composed of Fe-oxyhydroxides, shows that Ge isotopes are also fractionated upon mineral precipitation at the seafloor. We obtained an average Ge isotope fractionation factor between Fe-oxyhydroxide (ferrihydrite) and dissolved Ge in the fluid of -2.0 ± 0.6 ‰ (2sd), and a maximum value of -3.6 ± 0.6 ‰ (2sd), which is consistent with recent theoretical and experimental studies. The study of a hydrothermal chimney at Bio 9 vent at EPR 9°50’N also demonstrates that Ge isotopes are fractionated by approximately -5.6 ± 0.6 ‰ (2sd) during precipitation of metal sulfides under hydrothermal conditions. Using combined Ge/Si and estimated Ge isotope signatures of Ge sinks and sources in seawater, we propose a preliminary oceanic budget of Ge which reveals that an important sink, referred as the “missing Ge sink”, may correspond to Ge sequestration into authigenic Fe-oxyhydroxides in marine sediments. This study shows that combining Ge/Si and δ74/70Ge systematics provides a useful tool to trace hydrothermal Ge and Si sources in marine environments and to understand formation processes of seafloor hydrothermal deposits.

Strain distributionand electronic property modifications in Si/Ge axial nanowires hetrostructures

Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out for Si/Ge axial nanowire heterostructures using modified effective atom method (MEAM) potentials. A Si–Ge MEAM interatomic cross potential was developed based on available experimental data and was used for these studies. The atomic distortions and strain distributions near the Si/Ge interfaces are predicted for nanowires with their axes oriented along the [111] direction. The cases of 10 and 25 nm diameter Si/Ge biwires and of 25 nm diameter Si/Ge/Si axial heterostructures with the Ge disk 1 nm thick were studied. Substantial distortions in the height of the atoms adjacent to the interface were found for the biwires but not for the Ge disks. Strains as high as 3.5% were found for the Ge disk and values of 2%–2.5% were found at the Si and Ge interfacial layers in the biwires. Deformation potential theory was used to estimate the influence of the strains on the band gap, and reductions in band gap to as small as 40% of bulk values are predicted for the Ge disks. The localized regions of increased strain and resulting energy minima were also found within the Si/Ge biwire interfaces with the larger effects on the Ge side of the interface. The regions of strain maxima near and within the interfaces are anticipated to be useful for tailoring band gaps and producing quantum confinement of carriers. These results suggest that nanowire heterostructures provide greater design flexibility in band structure modification than is possible with planar layer growth.

Les pentes cognitives naturelles de la catégorisation sociale

Pour pouvoir naviguer sans encombre dans notre environnement social, il est important d'être en mesure d'identifier correctement les propriétés sociales des personnes avec qui nous sommes amenés à interagir. Au cours de leur socialisation, les enfants doivent donc nécessairement faire l'apprentissage des catégories sociales en usage dans leur univers socio-culturel. Des recherches expérimentales en psychologie du développement permettent de penser qu'un tel apprentissage est tout à la fois rendu possible et contraint par un certain nombre de prédispositions cognitives, déjà à l'oeuvre chez les très jeunes enfants et les bébés. En me basant sur ces recherches, j'avance dans cet article que l'être humain possède une tendance cognitive spontanée à catégoriser socialement ses semblables selon trois axes: une catégorisation horizontale, détectant les relations d'affiliation entre des individus, une catégorisation verticale, identifiant leurs relations de dominance, et une catégorisation transversale, les distinguant selon leur sexe et leur âge. Si ces "pentes cognitives naturelles" préparent les enfants à intégrer les catégories particulières en vigueur au sein de leur société, elles les inclinent malheureusement aussi à les essentialiser.