The 2020 glacial lake outburst flood process chain at Lake Salkantaycocha (Cordillera Vilcabamba,Peru)

Glacial lakes represent a threat for the populations of the Andes and numerous disastrous glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) occurred as a result of sudden dam failures or dam overtoppings triggered by landslides such as rock/ice avalanches into the lake. This paper investigates a landslide-triggered GLOF process chain that occurred on February 23, 2020, in the Cordillera Vilcabamba in the Peruvian Andes. An initial slide at the SW slope of Nevado Salkantay evolved into a rock/ice avalanche. The frontal part of this avalanche impacted the moraine-dammed Lake Salkantaycocha, triggering a displacement wave which overtopped and surficially eroded the dam. Dam overtopping resulted in a far-reaching GLOF causing fatalities and people missing in the valley downstream. We analyze the situations before and after the event as well as the dynamics of the upper portion of the GLOF process chain, based on field investigations, remotely sensed data, meteorological data and a computer simulation with a two-phase flow model. Comparison of pre- and post-event field photographs helped us to estimate the initial landslide volume of 1–2 million m³. Meteorological data suggest rainfall and/or melting/thawing processes as possible causes of the landslide. The simulation reveals that the landslide into the lake created a displacement wave of 27 m height. The GLOF peak discharge at the dam reached almost 10,000 m³/s. However, due to the high freeboard, less than 10% of the lake volume drained, and the lake level increased by 10–15 m, since the volume of landslide material deposited in the lake (roughly 1.3 million m³) was much larger than the volume of released water (57,000 m³, according to the simulation). The model results show a good fit with the observations, including the travel time to the uppermost village. The findings of this study serve as a contribution to the understanding of landslide-triggered GLOFs in changing high-mountain regions.

     

Danian cool-water coral reefs in southern Scandinavia localised over seafloor highs

Danian (Paleocene) reefs formed by ahermatypic scleractinian corals in relatively deep water are known in a few localities in southern Scandinavia. Reflection and shallow seismic profiles, and samples from drilling and scuba diving in bridge pier excavations in Øresund, the strait between Denmark and Sweden, for the first time allow interpretation of the factors that controlled the localisation of the reefs.     

Intergrowth of pyroxene and pyroxenoid; chain periodicity faults in pyroxene

Intergrowth of clinopyroxenes (augite, A) and pyroxenoids (Fe-rhodonite and pyroxferroite, Pxo) was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The following orientation relationship was found: (001)_Pxo is parallel to \((1\mathop {\bar 1}\limits^ + \bar 1)_{\text{A}}\) and \([1\bar 10]_{Pxo}\) is parallel to [011]_A. This relationship can be explained by similarities of the structures of clinopyroxenes and pyroxenoids. It contradicts a suggestion based on structural arguments of Koto et al. (1976). Chain periodicity faults parallel to \((1\mathop {\bar 1}\limits^ + \bar 1)\) are also observed in pure clinopyroxenes.     

The postglacial environmental development of Raffles Sø, East Greenland: inferences from a 10,000 year diatom record

A 341 cm long sediment sequence was recovered from the unofficially named Raffles Sø on Raffles Ø, outer Scoresby Sund region, East Greenland. The sediment sequence consists in the upper part (0–230 cm) of a stratified gyttja enriched in organic carbon and biogenic silica whereas the lower core part (235–341 cm) is composed of terrigenous, consolidated glacio-limnic sediments. ¹⁴C-AMS measurements indicate that the sediment sequence represents the entire Holocene lake history from 10,030 calibrated radiocarbon years.The geochemical parameters (opal, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN)) and the total diatom concentration show similar developments during the Holocene, and reflect changes in biological production and nutrient input into the lake. These records clearly reveal a broad Holocene TOC-opal-maximum interval between 5200 and 1800 cal. yrs BP.The diatom flora consisted of 66 taxa representing 20 genera but only seven taxa were abundant and, sometimes, these were monospecifically dominant during the Holocene. In the sediment core from Raffles Sø four successive stratigraphical zones can be distinguished. Accumulation of diatom valves began at 9900 cal. yrs BP with a Stephanodiscus minutulus (Kütz.) Cleve and Möller dominated assemblage (stratigraphic zone 1) followed by a diatom flora dominated by Cyclotella pseudostelligera Hustedt and, less frequently, by Diatoma tenuis Agardh (9400 until 5900 cal. yrs BP, zone 2). Cyclotella sp. A, a taxon which belongs to the Cyclotella rossii-comensis-tripartita-complex, was the dominant floral element between 5200 and 1800 cal. yrs BP (zone 3). From 1800 cal. yrs BP, the periphytic taxa Fragilaria capucina var. gracilis (Østr.) Hustedt and F. capucina var. rumpens (Kütz.) Lange-Bertalot attained highest relative abundances, also almost monospecifically (zone 4).The distribution and composition of the diatom assemblages in the sediment record from Raffles Sø probably reflect past variations in the extent of the lake-ice cover during the growing season. More or less ice-free conditions during summer may have prevailed during the early Holocene until ca. 1800 cal. yrs BP, which allowed growth of planktonic diatoms (Cyclotella taxa) in the pelagic lake region. From 1800 cal. yrs BP, colder conditions lead to a perennial lake-ice cover with a small ice-free moat in summer which favored the growth of periphytic, littoral species (Fragilaria capucina varieties).     

Lake Kivu: structure,chemistry and biology of an East African rift lake

Geophysical, geochemical and biological data are integrated to unravel the origin and evolution of an unusual rift lake. The northern basin of Lake Kivu contains about 0.5 km of sediments which overlie a basement believed to be crystalline rocks of Precambrian age. Volcanic rocks at the northern end of the lake have created large magnetic anomalies of up to 300. Heat flow varies from 0.4 to 4 hfu. The extreme variability may be due in part to sedimentation or recent changes in the temperature of the bottom water. Sharp boundaries in the vertical temperature and salinity structure of the water across the lake can best be explained as separate convecting layers. Such convecting cells are the result of the increase in both temperature and salinity with depth.Concentrations of the major dissolved gases in the deep water, CO₂ and CH₄, approach saturation but do not exceed it at any depth. The salts are supplied mainly by hydrothermal discharges at the bottom of the lake which we calculate to have a salinity of 4 which is about 60% higher than the salinity of the bottom water. The annual discharge at the present time is about 0.5 km³. Zinc anomalies in the water are explained by the accumulation of sphalerite-containing globules at certain depths.Stratigraphic correlation of sediments is possible across the entire lake, based on physical, geochemical and paleontological criteria. Sedimentation rates are of the order of 30 cm/1000 years implying a Pliocene age for the deepest part of the lake. Periods of hydrothermal activities and heightened volcanism, as recorded in the sediments, appear to have coincided with pluvial times.Enrichment of the surface waters of Lake Kivu by nutrients has led to explosive speciation in the diatom genusNitzschia. Several new types of methane oxidizing and-producing bacteria were isolated. Bacterial degradation of recent plankton appears insufficient to explain the amount of methane in the lake, and some of it is derived diagenetically.

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Zusammenfassung Geophysikalische, geochemische und biologische Daten werden vorgelegt und miteinander in Beziehung gebracht, um einen besseren Einblick in Entstehung und Evolution eines ungewöhnlichen Sees zu gewinnen. Das nördliche Becken des Kivu-Sees enthält Sedimente von etwa 0,5 km Mächtigkeit, die dem präkambrischen kristallinen Grundgebirge überlagert sind. Die im Norden des Sees vorliegenden vulkanischen Gesteine erklären die hohen magnetischen Anomalien, die bis zu 300 betragen. Der Wärmefluß schwankt zwischen 0,4 und 4 cal/cm²/sec. Diese Schwankungsbreite erklärt sich zum Teil aus den Sedimentationsverhältnissen oder den lokalen Temperaturveränderungen im Tiefenwasser. Scharfe Grenzflächen in der vertikalen Temperatur- und Salinitätsstruktur des Wassers über den Gesamtsee sind das Ergebnis von Konvektion, die zu übereinanderliegenden Konvektionszellen führt, in denen jeweils Temperatur und Salinität konstant sind. Die Bildung, Anzahl und Stabilität solcher Zellen hängt von dem Verhältnis der durch Temperatur und Salzgehalt hervorgerufenen Dichteveränderungen ab.Die Konzentrationen der im Tiefenwasser gelösten Gase, d. h. von Kohlendioxyd und Methan, liegen für alle Tiefen unterhalb der Löslichkeit. Die vorliegenden Salze entstammen weitgehend hydrothermalen Lösungen, die dem Seeboden entweichen und deren Salinität etwa 4 beträgt; der Vergleichswert für das Tiefenwasser beträgt 2,5 Diese hydrothermalen Ausschüttungen haben eine Größe von etwa 0,5 km³ pro Jahr, was etwa ein Tausendstel des Gesamtseevolumens ausmacht. Zinkanomalien im Wasser sind ebenfalls hydrothermal bedingt.Physikalische, geochemische und paläontologische Indikatoren erlauben eine stratigraphische Korrelation aller Sedimentkerne. Die Sedimentationsraten liegen bei 30 cm/ 1000 Jahren, und ein pliozänes Alter errechnet sich daraus für das tiefe nördliche Becken. Perioden hydrothermaler Aktivitäten und verstärkter vulkanischer Tätigkeit, die sich in den Sedimenten nachweisen lassen, scheinen mit Pluvialzeiten zu koinzidieren.Die Anreicherung der Oberflächenwässer vom Kivusee durch Mineralstoffe führte zu einer explosionsartigen Spezisierung in der GattungNitzschia. Verschiedene neue Arten von Methan-oxidierenden und -produzierenden Bakterien wurden isoliert. Das Auftreten von Methan ist zum Teil bakteriell und zum Teil diagenetisch bedingt.

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Résumé Des données géophysiques, géochimiques et biologiques sont présentées et collationnées pour donner une vue meilleure sur l'origine et l'évolution d'un lac particulier de la «Rift valley». La baie septentrionale du lac Kivu contient environ 500 mètres de sédiments qui recouvrent le socle cristallin d'âge précambrien. Des épanchements volcaniques au Nord du lac expliquent les fortes anomalies magnétiques qui atteignent 300. Les valeurs du flux thermique varient entre 0.4 et 4 cal/cm²/sec. Cette importante variation s'explique en partie par la sédimentation ou par des changements locaux de la température de l'eau de fond. Des surfaces-limites brusques dans la structure verticale de la répartition de la température et de la salinité de l'eau dans l'étendue du lac sont dûs à la convection; celle-ci conduit à la superposition de cellules de convection dans lesquelles la température et la salinité sont constantes. La formation, le nombre et la stabilité de telles cellules dépendent du rapport des variations de densité dues à la température et à la teneur en sels.Les concentrations des gaz dissouts dans l'eau profonde, en l'occurrence CO₂ et CH₄, sont, à toute profondeur, inférieures à la saturation. Les sels minéraux proviennent surtout de solutions hydrothermales qui émanent du fond du lac, et dont la salinité est voisine de 4; la valeur comparative pour l'eau profonde est de 2,5. L'apport annuel de ces sources est de l'ordre de 0,5 km³, soit 1/1000 du volume total du lac. Les teneurs anormales en Zn sont dues également à ce caractère hydrothermal.Des données physiques, géochemiques et paléontologiques permettent la corrélation stratigraphique des sédiments. Les vitesses de sédimentation sont de l'ordre de 30 cm/1000 ans, donnant ainsi un âge pliocène pour la partie profonde de la baie septentrionale. Les périodes d'activité hydrothermale et de renforcement de la vulcanicité qui se manifestent dans les sédiments, semblent coïncider avec les périodes pluviales.L'enrichissement des eaux de surface du lac Kivu en substances minérales a entraîné un développement explosif des diatomées, en particulier du genreNitzchia. Différentes espèces nouvelles de bactéries oxydant et produisant CH₄ ont été isolées. La présence de méthane est due en partie à la destruction du plancton par les bactéries et en partie à une transformation diagénétique.

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Chemical Mechanism Development: Laboratory Studies and Model Applications

Within the German Tropospheric Research Programme (TFS) numerous kinetic and mechanistic studies on the tropospheric reaction/degradation of the following reactants were carried out: oxygenated VOC, aromatic VOC, biogenic VOC, short-lived intermediates, such as alkoxy and alkylperoxy radicals.At the conception of the projects these selected groups were classes of VOC or intermediates for which the atmospheric oxidation mechanisms were either poorly characterised or totally unknown. The motivation for these studies was the attainment of significant improvements in our understanding of the atmospheric chemical oxidation processes of these compounds, particularly with respect to their involvement in photooxidant formation in the troposphere. In the present paper the types of experimental investigations performed and the results obtained within the various projects are briefly summarised. The major achievements are highlighted and discussed in terms of their contribution to improving our understanding of the chemical processes controlling photosmog formation in the troposphere.