Stratospheric aerosol measurements in the Arctic winter of 1996/1997 with the M‐55 Geophysika high‐altitude research aircraft

In‐situ aerosol measurements were performed in the northern hemispheric stratosphere up to altitudes of 21 km between 13 November 1996 and 14 January 1997, inside and outside of the polar vortex during the Airborne Polar Experiment (APE) field campaign. These are measurements of particle size distributions with a laser optical particle counter of the FSSP‐300 type operated during 9 flights on the Russian M‐55 high‐altitude research aircraft Geophysika. For specific flights, the FSSP‐300 measurements are compared with balloon‐borne data (launched from Kiruna, Sweden). It was found that the stratospheric aerosol content reached levels well below the background concentrations measured by the NASA operated ER‐2 in 1988/89 in the northern hemisphere. During the APE campaign, no PSC particle formation was observed at flight altitudes although the temperatures were below the NAT condensation point during one flight. The measured correlations between ozone and aerosol give an indication of the subsidence inside the 1996/97 polar vortex. Despite the lower aerosol content in the winter 1996/97 compared to the 1989 background, the heterogeneous reactivity of the aerosol (as calculated from the measured data with additional model input) is comparable. This is due to the dependency of the reactive uptake coefficients on the atmospheric water vapor content. Under the described assumptions the reaction rates on the background aerosol are significantly smaller than for competing gas phase chlorine activation, as can be expected for stratospheric background conditions especially inside the polar vortex.     

Late Saalian and Eemian palaeoenvironmental history of the Bol''shoy Lyakhovsky Island (Laptev Sea region, Arctic Siberia)

Palaeoenvironmental records from permafrost sequences complemented by infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and [Formula: See Text]Th/U dates from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island (73°20'N, 141°30'E) document the environmental history in the region for at least the past 200 ka. Pollen spectra and insect fauna indicate that relatively wet grass-sedge tundra habitats dominated during an interstadial c. 200-170 ka BP. Summers were rather warm and wet, while stable isotopes reflect severe winter conditions. The pollen spectra reflect sparser grass-sedge vegetation during a Taz (Late Saalian) stage, c. 170-130 ka BP, with environmental conditions much more severe compared with the previous interstadial. Open Poaceae and Artemisia plant associations dominated vegetation at the beginning of the Kazantsevo (Eemian) c. 130 ka BP. Some shrubs (Alnus fruticosa, Salix, Betula nana) grew in more protected and wetter places as well. The climate was relatively warm during this time, resulting in the melting of Saalian ice wedges. Later, during the interglacial optimum, shrub tundra with Alnus fruticosa and Betula nana s.l. dominated vegetation. Climate was relatively wet and warm. Quantitative pollen-based climate reconstruction suggests that mean July temperatures were 4-5°C higher than the present during the optimum of the Eemian, while late Eemian records indicate significant climate deterioration.     

The 1996 Eruption of Karymsky Volcano, Kamchatka: Historical Record of Basaltic Replenishment of an Andesite Reservoir

The simultaneous eruption in 1996 of andesite from Karymskyvolcano and of basalt from the Academy Nauk vent 6 km away appearsto provide a case of mafic recharge of an andesite reservoirfor which the time of recharge is exactly known and direct samplesof the recharging magma are available. The explosive phreato-magmaticeruption of basalt was terminated in less than 24 h, whereasandesite erupted continuously during the following 4 years.Detailed petrological study of volcanic ash, bombs and lavasof Karymsky andesite erupted during the period 1996–1999provides evidence for basaltic replenishment at the beginningof the eruptive cycle, as well as a record of compositionalvariations within the Karymsky magma reservoir induced by basalticrecharge. Shortly after the beginning of the eruption the compositionof the matrix glass of the Karymsky tephra became more maficand then, within 2 months, gradually returned to its originalstate and remained almost constant for the following 3 years.Further evidence for basaltic replenishment is provided by thepresence of xenocrysts of basaltic origin in the andesite ofKarymsky. A conspicuous portion of the plagioclase phenocrystsin the Karymsky andesite has calcic cores, with compositionsand textures resembling those of plagioclases in the AcademyNauk basalt. Similarly, the earlier portion of the andesiteof the eruption sequence contains rare olivines, which occuras resorbed cores in pyroxenes. The composition of the olivinematches that of olivines in the Academy Nauk basalt. The sequenceof events appears to be: (1) injection of basaltic magma intothe Karymsky chamber with immediate, compensating expulsionof pre-existing chamber magma from the Karymsky central vent;(2) direct mixing of basaltic and andesitic magmas with dispersalof phenocrysts associated with the basalt throughout the andesiteso that newly mixed magma appeared at the vent within 2 months;(3) re-establishment of thermal and chemical equilibrium withinthe reservoir involving crystallization in the new hybrid liquid,which returned the melt composition to ‘normal’,formed rims on inherited calcic plagioclase, and caused theresorption of dispersed olivine xenocrysts. Taken together,these findings indicate that the Karymsky magma reservoir wasrecharged by basalt at the onset of the 1996 eruptive cycle.The rapidity and thoroughness of mixing of the basalt with thepre-existing andesite probably reflects the modest contrastin temperature, viscosity, and density between the two magmas. KEY WORDS: Karymsky; Kamchatka; magma mixing; andesite; volcanic glass; plagioclase     

THE UPPER CARBONIFEROUS OF FERGANA AND THE QUESTION OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE CARBONIFEROUS AND THE PERMIAN

The study of the Upper Carboniferous has been attracting much attention recently and the question as to its extent and stratigraphy has been the object of very serious discussion, but so far without any positive results. The large territory of the Soviet Union affords no doubt great possibilities for the     

REGIONAL DEPENDENCY OF PRECIPITATION-ALTITUDE RELATIONSHIP IN THE SWISS ALPS

The spatial distribution of the regional long-term rate of precipitation change, P, with altitude in Switzerland is analysed. In order to eliminate the bias of point precipitation measurement, the analysis is based on precipitation sums corrected for the systematic error of precipitation measurement, particularly the wind-induced error and wetting losses. The P values indicate a large spatial heterogeneity. They show different local and regional patterns. In this respect, the effect of the main alpine ridge dividing the Swiss territory into northern and southern parts is crucial. Water budget computations indicate that the regional P values have a tendency to overestimate areal precipitation. The possible reasons are the redistribution of precipitation by wind and its accumulation in the valleys and, at the same time, the biased precipitation networks preferring location of gauges also in the valleys.     

Glacigenic deposits of the Central Deep: a key to the Late Quaternary evolution of the eastern Barents Sea

Sparker and shallow drilling data indicate that the Quaternary deposits in the Central Deep of the Barents Sea are mainly composed of glacigenic sediments. They comprise basal till and proximal and distal glaciomarine sediments deposited during the last glacial cycle. Apparent glaciotectonic features imply strong glacial erosion of Mesozoic bedrock. The general ice movement is assumed to have been from off Novaya Zemlya and it is concluded that the whole eastern Barents Sea was covered by the Late Weichselian ice-sheet.     

PUBLICATIONS DE L'ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DES SCIENCES HYDROLOGIQUES

ABSTRACT

The evaporation losses from the container of an old galvanized Hellmann gauge, 7·1 cm² aperture area, were five times greater than the losses from the container of a new gauge, 1·8 cm² aperture area, of almost the same grey colour. The maximum evaporation from the old gauge amounted to 0·75 mm per day. The same evaporation losses in the Baye of Montreux basin over a period of 10 years from April to September amounted to 0·09 mm per measurement or to 0·7 per cent of the precipitation catch. There is a relationship between the monthly percentage evaporation losses and the ratio of evaporation time and rainfall duration (r = 0·803).     

Sedimentary architecture and 3D ground-penetrating radar analysis of gravelly meandering river deposits (Neckar Valley, SW Germany)

Sedimentological outcrop analysis and sub‐surface ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) surveys are combined to characterize the three‐dimensional sedimentary architecture of Quaternary coarse‐grained fluvial deposits in the Neckar Valley (SW Germany). Two units characterized by different architectural styles are distinguished within the upper part of the gravel body, separated by an erosional unconformity: (i) a lower unit dominated by trough‐shaped depositional elements with erosional, concave‐up bounding surfaces that are filled by cross‐bedded sets of mainly openwork and filled framework gravel; and (ii) an upper unit characterized by gently inclined sheets of massive and openwork gravels with thin, sandy interlayers that show lateral accretion on a lower erosional unconformity. The former is interpreted as confluence scour pool elements formed in a multi‐channel, possibly braided river system, the latter as extensive point bar deposits formed by the lateral migration of a meandering river channel. The lateral accretion elements are locally cut by chute channels mainly filled by gravels rich in fines, and by fine‐grained abandoned channel fills. The lateral accretion elements are associated with gravel dune deposits characterized by steeply inclined cross‐beds of alternating open and filled framework gravel. Floodplain fines with a cutbank and point bar morphology cover the gravel deposits. The GPR images, revealing the three‐dimensional geometries of the depositional elements and their stacking patterns, confirm a change in sedimentary style between the two stratigraphic units. The change occurred at the onset of the Holocene, as indicated by ¹⁴C‐dating of wood fragments, and is related to a re‐organization of the fluvial system that probably was driven by climatic changes. The integration of sedimentological and GPR results highlights the heterogeneity of the fluvial deposits, a factor that is important for modelling groundwater flow in valley‐fill aquifers.