A Next-Generation qPlus-Sensor-Based AFM Setup: Resolving Archaeal S-Layer Protein Structures in Air and Liquid.

Surface-layer (S-layer) proteins form the outermost envelope in many bacteria and most archaea and arrange in two-dimensional quasicrystalline structures via self-assembly. We investigated S-layer proteins extracted from the archaeon with a qPlus sensor-based atomic force microscope (AFM) in both liquid and ambient conditions and compared it to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images under vacuum conditions. For AFM scanning, a next-generation liquid cell and a new protocol for creating long and sharp sapphire tips was introduced.

Melt stripping and agglutination of pyroclasts during the explosive eruption of low viscosity magmas.

Volcanism on Earth and on other planets and satellites is dominated by the eruption of low viscosity magmas. During explosive eruption, high melt temperatures and the inherent low viscosity of the fluidal pyroclasts allow for substantial post-fragmentation modification during transport obscuring the record of primary, magmatic fragmentation processes. Here, we show these syn-eruption modifications, in the form of melt stripping and agglutination, to be advantageous for providing fundamental insights into lava fountain and jet dynamics, including eruption velocities, grain size distributions and melt physical properties.