The HCl-soluble iron,manganese, and copper contents of recent Indian ocean sediments off the eastern coast of Somalia

The HCl-soluble Fe, Mn, and Cu contents of Recent Indian Ocean Sediments off the eastern Coast of Somalia increases progressively away from the coast with decreasing grain size and carbonate content. The average Mn and Cu contents of the Indian Ocean deep-sea clay (0.56% Mn, 0.025% Cu, recalculated on a carbonate-free base) are between those of the Atlantic (0.40% Mn, 0.013% Cu) and the Pacific Ocean (0.94% Mn, 0.040% Cu).

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Zusammenfassung In den rezenten Sedimenten des Indischen Ozeans vor der Ostküste Somalias nehmen die salzsäurelöslichen Eisen-, Mangan- und Kupfergehalte vom Küstenbereich zur Tiefsee hin bei abnehmendem Karbonatgehalt und geringer werdender Korngröße kontinuierlich zu. Die durchschnittlichen Mn- und Cu-Konzentrationen des Tiefseetons aus dem Indischen Ozean (bezogen auf karbonatfreies Material) liegen mit 0,56 bzw. 0,025% zwischen denjenigen des Atlantischen (0,40% Mn, 0,013% Cu) und des Pazifischen (0,94% Mn, 0,040% Cu) Ozeans.

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Advanced report to Meteor-Forschungsergebnisse, Indian Ocean Expedition 1964/65, to be published in 1967/68     

Increase of organochlorines and mercury levels in common guillemots Uria aalge during winter in the southern North Sea

Beached seabirds, mainly common guillemots Uria aalge, were collected on the Belgian coast during winter from 1990 to 1995. Concentrations of total and organic mercury, and of organochlorines (PCBs and pesticides) were determined in muscle, liver and kidney. They were high compared to summer data (up to one order of magnitude), and increased during winter. This increase is not due to changes of total body weight nor polar lipid content, and thus reflects an actual increase of the seabirds' contamination while wintering in the southern North Sea. The observed annual cycle can be understood by assuming differences in prey contamination: higher during winter in the southern North Sea ecosystem than during summer in the Atlantic water ecosystem.     

Identification of zones of preferential groundwater tracer transport using a mobile downhole fluorometer

A mobile downhole fluorometer was used to detect zones of preferential groundwater tracer transport into an observation well. Identification of such zones is not possible if individual samples are collected over the wells entire screened interval. Laboratory-based tests using the fluorometer, and a purpose-built apparatus demonstrated that the fluorometer could be used with tracers to characterise well water flow regimes. During field investigations in a porous aquifer, the fluorometer monitored tracer concentrations in an observation well with a 12-m-long screen, 10 m down the hydraulic gradient from a fully penetrating injection well. Test results showed that the tracer occurred in the observation well over a discrete 2.5-m-thick interval. Single-well dilution test and vertical-flow data indicated that water entered the well at additional depths, but no tracer was detected at these levels. A numerical model reproducing dilution test concentration profiles indicated that water entered the well in many of these horizons at comparable velocities to those in the tracer-bearing zone. These data suggest that groundwater flow direction varied with depth in the aquifer under investigation. Moreover, simulations of tracer arrival indicated that the tracer distribution observed in the observation well was derived from a horizon that may be no thicker than 0.5 m.

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Resumen Se utilizó un fluorómetro móvil descendente para detectar zonas de transporte preferencial de trazadores de agua subterránea en un pozo de observación. La identificación de tales zonas no es posible si se colectan muestras individuales en todo el intervalo enmallado del pozo. En base a pruebas de laboratorio utilizando el fluorómetro y un aparato especial construido se demostró que el fluorómetro podría utilizarse con trazadores para caracterizar ambientes de flujo de agua en los pozos. Durante investigaciones de campo en un acuífero poroso, el fluorómetro monitoreó concentraciones de trazadores en un pozo de observación con una malla de 12 m de largo, 10 m abajo del gradiente hidráulico de un pozo de inyección que penetra totalmente el acuífero. Los resultados de las pruebas muestran que el trazador se presentó en el pozo de observación en un intervalo discreto de 2.5 m de espesor. Pruebas de dilución en un solo pozo y datos de flujo vertical indicaron que el agua entró al. pozo en profundidades adicionales, pero que no se detectó el trazador en esos niveles. Un modelo numérico que reproduce los perfiles de concentración de las pruebas de dilución indica que el agua entró al. pozo en muchos de estos horizontes en velocidades comparables a las existentes en la zona portadora de trazadores. Estos datos sugieren que la dirección de flujo de agua subterránea varió con la profundidad en el acuífero bajo investigación. Por otra parte, las simulaciones de llegada del trazador indicaron que la distribución del trazador observada en el pozo de observación se derivó de un horizonte cuyo espesor puede no ser mayor de 0.5 m.

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Résumé Un fluorimètre a été utilisé pour détecter les zones découlement préférentiel dun traceur dans un puits dobservation. Les identifications de telles zones nest pas possible si les échantillons individuels sont collectés sur toute les longueurs des parties crépinées du puits. Les tests de laboratoire utilisant un fluorimètre et un dispositif adéquat ont montré que les fluorimètres pouvaient servir à définir les régimes découlement de leau dans les puits. Durant les investigations de terrain dans un aquifère poreux, le fluorimètre a enregistré les concentrations du traceur dans un puits dobservation avec une crépine de 12 m. de long, 10 m sous le gradient hydraulique dans un puits à pénétration totale. Les résultats des tests ont montré que le traceur apparaissait dans un interval discret de 2.5 m de long. Un test de dilution en puits unique et des données découlement vertical ont indiqué que leau rentrait dans le puits à dautres profondeurs, mais le traceur na pas été détecté à ces niveaux. Un modèle numérique reproduisant le test de dilution et le profil de concentration a indiqué que leau entrait dans le puits à ces niveaux à des vitesses comparables de celle du traceur. Ces données suggèrent que lécoulement des eaux souterraines varie avec la profondeur dans laquifère sous la zone dinvestigation. Dailleurs, les simulations de larrivée du traceur ont montré que la distribution des concentrations du traceur dans le puits ne pouvaient pas être dues à une couche plus fine que 0.5 m.

     

Die rezenten Sedimente im Golf von Neapel

Zusammenfassung Die sich hauptsächlich aus den vulkanischen Tuffen der den Golf von Neapel umrandenden 3 Vulkangebiete Ischia, Phlegräische Felder und Vesuv ableitenden rezenten Sedimente des Golfes zeigen starke Veränderungen im Mineralbestand und Chemismus, die in der Hauptsache auf der teilweisen Umwandlung der Glassubstanz der Tuffe durch das Meerwasser beruhen.Der Umwandlungsgrad der Glassubstanz hängt von der Korngröße der Tuffpartikel ab: Je kleiner der Korndurchmesser, desto stärker die Umwandlungserscheinungen.Als Neubildungsprodukte treten Quarz und Chalcedon, Kaolinit, Illit und Analcim im Verhältnis von etwa 1:2:2:0,5 auf. Opal ist ebenfalls mit größter Wahrscheinlichkeit vorhanden.Neben dem aus der Umwandlung von Tuffen ableitbaren Quarzgehalt tritt noch zoogener Quarz sowie Quarz und Chalcedon aus Flysch- und Kalksedimenten der südöstlichen Golfumrandung in den Sedimenten auf.Sofort nach ihrer Entstehung unterliegen die Neubildungsprodukte, insbesondere der Quarz und Chalcedon in der Kornfraktion <2 µ, der teilweisen Auflösung durch das SiO₂-untersättigte Meerwasser. Ein großer Teil des neugebildeten Quarzes wird so dem Sediment entzogen und führt, verstärkt durch den bei der Verwitterung in Lösung gegangenen Alkali-Anteil, zu einer starken Anreicherung des Al₂O₃-Gehaltes in den zersetzten Sedimenten.Beträchtliche Lösungswanderungen und Umkristallisationen im Sediment werden durch neugebildete Quarz- und Chalcedonaggregate und authigene Kaolinit-und Hydromuskovitbildung angezeigt.Von den Einsprenglingen der Tuffe wird nur der Leucit durch das Meerwasser teilweise in Analcim umgewandelt.In 2 Sedimentproben konnten Veränderungen der Glassubstanz durch submarine solfatarische Exhalationen unter Neubildung von Alunit, Quarz und Schwefel nachgewiesen werden.Die Umwandlung der glasigen Tuffsubstanz setzt bereits in den vom Meerwasser bespülten anstehenden Tuffen der Golfumrandung ein.Mit 12 TextabbildungenTeil 1. Die rezenten Sedimente des Golfes von Pozzuoli. Geol. Rdsch.47, 117 (1958) und Pubbl. Staz. Zool. Napoli31, 1 (1959).     

Recent dolomitization of quaternary biocalcarenites from fuerteventura (Canary Islands)

Quaternary marine and eolian biocalcarenites in the supratidal breaker and spray zone along the Barlovento coast of the peninsula Jandía, Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) are dolomitized by percolating brines with a high Mg/Ca ratio resulting from evaporation of seawater on the sediment's surface. Only fragments of calcareous algae primarily consisting of high-magnesian calcite are replaced by a cryptocrystalline variety of dolomite. Dolomite also occurs in large euhedral crystals in intraparticle and interparticle pore spaces. In the marine biocalcarenite dolomite has a composition of Ca₅₆Mg₄₄(CO₃)₂. It is well ordered.     

The role of inherited extensional fault segmentation and linkage in contractional orogenesis: a reconstruction of Lower Cretaceous inverted rift basins in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia

Lower Cretaceous early syn‐rift facies along the eastern flank of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, their provenance, and structural context, reveal the complex interactions between Cretaceous extension, spatio‐temporal trends in associated sedimentation, and subsequent inversion of the Cretaceous Guatiquía paleo‐rift. South of 4°30′N lat, early syn‐rift alluvial sequences in former extensional footwall areas were contemporaneous with fan‐delta deposits in shallow marine environments in adjacent hanging‐wall areas. In general, footwall erosion was more pronounced in the southern part of the paleorift. In contrast, early syn‐rift sequences in former footwall areas in the northern rift sectors mainly comprise shallow marine supratidal sabkha to intertidal strata, whereas hanging‐wall units display rapid transitions to open‐sea shales. In comparison with the southern paleo‐rift sector, fan‐delta deposits in the north are scarce, and provenance suggests negligible footwall erosion. The southern graben segment had longer, and less numerous normal faults, whereas the northern graben segment was characterized by shorter, rectilinear faults. To the east, the graben system was bounded by major basin‐margin faults with protracted activity and greater throw as compared with intrabasinal faults to the west. Intrabasinal structures grew through segment linkage and probably interacted kinematically with basin‐margin faults. Basin‐margin faults constitute a coherent fault system that was conditioned by pre‐existing basement fabrics. Structural mapping, analysis of present‐day topography, and balanced cross sections indicate that positive inversion of extensional structures was focused along basin‐bounding faults, whereas intrabasinal faults remained unaffected and were passively transported by motion along the basin‐bounding faults. Thus, zones of maximum subsidence in extension accommodated maximum elevation in contraction, and former topographic highs remained as elevated areas. This documents the role of basin‐bounding faults as multiphased, long‐lived features conditioned by basement discontinuities. Inversion of basin‐bounding faults was more efficient in the southern than in the northern graben segment, possibly documenting the inheritance and pivotal role of fault‐displacement gradients. Our observations highlight similarities between inversion features in orogenic belts and intra‐plate basins, emphasizing the importance of the observed phenomena as predictive tools in the spatiotemporal analysis of inversion histories in orogens, as well as in hydrocarbon and mineral deposits exploration.     

A modern analogue of the Pleistocene steppe‐tundra ecosystem in southern Siberia

Steppe‐tundra is considered to have been a dominant ecosystem across northern Eurasia during the Last Glacial Maximum. As the fossil record is insufficient for understanding the ecology of this vanished ecosystem, modern analogues have been sought, especially in Beringia. However, Beringian ecosystems are probably not the best analogues for more southern variants of the full‐glacial steppe‐tundra because they lack many plant and animal species of temperate steppes found in the full‐glacial fossil record from various areas of Europe and Siberia. We present new data on flora, land snails and mammals and characterize the ecology of a close modern analogue of the full‐glacial steppe‐tundra ecosystem in the southeastern Russian Altai Mountains, southern Siberia. The Altaian steppe‐tundra is a landscape mosaic of different habitat types including steppe, mesic and wet grasslands, shrubby tundra, riparian scrub, and patches of open woodland at moister sites. Habitat distribution, species diversity, primary productivity and nutrient content in plant biomass reflect precipitation patterns across a broader area and the topography‐dependent distribution of soil moisture across smaller landscape sections. Plant and snail species considered as glacial relicts occur in most habitats of the Altaian steppe‐tundra, but snails avoid the driest types of steppe. A diverse community of mammals, including many species typical of the full‐glacial ecosystems, also occurs there. Insights from the Altaian steppe‐tundra suggest that the full‐glacial steppe‐tundra was a heterogeneous mosaic of different habitats depending on landscape‐scale moisture gradients. Primary productivity of this habitat mosaic combined with shallow snow cover that facilitated winter grazing was sufficient to sustain rich communities of large herbivores.     

Landslide investigations in Russia and the former USSR

The impact of natural hazards on mankind has increased dramatically over the past decades. Global urbanization processes and increasing spatial concentrations of exposed elements induce natural hazard risk at a uniquely high level. To mitigate affiliated perils requires detailed knowledge about elements at risk. Considering a high spatiotemporal variability of elements at risk, detailed information is costly in terms of both time and economic resources and therefore often incomplete, aggregated, or outdated. To alleviate these restrictions, the availability of very-high-resolution satellite images promotes accurate and detailed analysis of exposure over various spatial scales with large-area coverage. In the past, valuable approaches were proposed; however, the design of information extraction procedures with a high level of automatization remains challenging. In this paper, we uniquely combine remote sensing data and volunteered geographic information from the OpenStreetMap project (OSM) (i.e., freely accessible geospatial information compiled by volunteers) for a highly automated estimation of crucial exposure components (i.e., number of buildings and population) with a high level of spatial detail. To this purpose, we first obtain labeled training segments from the OSM data in conjunction with the satellite imagery. This allows for learning a supervised algorithmic model (i.e., rotation forest) in order to extract relevant thematic classes of land use/land cover (LULC) from the satellite imagery. Extracted information is jointly deployed with information from the OSM data to estimate the number of buildings with regression techniques (i.e., a multi-linear model from ordinary least-square optimization and a nonlinear support vector regression model are considered). Analogously, urban LULC information is used in conjunction with OSM data to spatially disaggregate population information. Experimental results were obtained for the city of Valparaíso in Chile. Thereby, we demonstrate the relevance of the approaches by estimating number of affected buildings and population referring to a historical tsunami event.

     

基于非差观测的网络实时动态定位方法及其在连续运行基准站跨网服务中的应用

基于非差观测的网络实时动态定位(RTK)方法通过提供每颗卫星的误差改正量,使网内用户获得与网络RTK方法等价的快速精密单点定位服务。当用户跨越连续运行基准站(CORS)网内由不同参考站组成的子网(参考子网)甚至跨越不同CORS网时,都能有效避免因所选取的主参考站变化而引起的模糊度重新初始化,从而保持观测时段内用户定位结果的连续可靠和跨CORS网服务时算法上的无缝衔接。通过对海上实测动态数据处理结果的分析,验证该方法的定位精度、初始化时间与现有网络RTK方法在量级上的一致性,以及跨不同参考子网和CORS网时实现无缝衔接的有效性。     

Moving beyond Component Research in Mountain Regions： Operationalizing Systems Integration .at Farm and Landscape Scales

Introduction Agricultural research continues to face criticism for its shortcomings in reversing current trends toward increased poverty and natural resource degradation. While some of these criticisms would be better attributed to broader structural constraints, shortcomings of the conventional agricultural research paradigm are nevertheless apparent. Researchers continue to frame research objectives, questions and methods with limited consultation of farmers and limited consideration of othe…