Flexure of Europa's lithosphere due to ridge-loading

Using photoclinometry, topographic profiles across europan ridges have been produced. These profiles allow the identification of bulges in the terrain adjacent to the ridges. The bulges are assumed to have been produced by flexure of the elastic lithosphere due to the load of the ridges, which lie along cracks in the crust. The distance from the crack to these “fore-bulges” depends on the thickness of the elastic plate being flexed. Based on a survey of ridges in Galileo images with resolution <300 m/pixel, the thickness of the elastic lithosphere has been determined by this method at a wide variety of sites along the leading and trailing hemispheres of Europa. The average thickness is about 200 m. The elastic lithosphere underneath smooth dilational bands tends to be thicker than plains morphology, an effect that is pronounced at Thynia Linea and Astypalaea Linea. Among the ridges investigated here, more recent loading correlates with a thicker elastic lithosphere, which may either reflect an intrinsically thicker layer, or less viscous relaxation over the shorter time period.     

Cosmological constraints from the X-ray gas mass fraction in relaxed lensing clusters observed with Chandra

We present precise measurements of the X-ray gas mass fraction for a sample of luminous, relatively relaxed clusters of galaxies observed with the Chandra observatory, for which independent confirmation of the mass results is available from gravitational lensing studies. Parametrizing the total (luminous plus dark matter) mass profiles using the model of Navarro, Frenk & White, we show that the X-ray gas mass fractions in the clusters asymptote towards an approximately constant value at a radius r ₂₅₀₀, where the mean interior density is 2500 times the critical density of the Universe at the redshifts of the clusters. Combining the Chandra results on the X-ray gas mass fraction and its apparent redshift dependence with recent measurements of the mean baryonic matter density in the Universe and the Hubble constant determined from the Hubble Key Project, we obtain a tight constraint on the mean total matter density of the Universe,     , and measure a positive cosmological constant,     . Our results are in good agreement with recent, independent findings based on analyses of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation, the properties of distant supernovae, and the large-scale distribution of galaxies.     

Utilisation and Management Changes in South Kyrgyzstan＇s Mountain Forests

Using political ecology as its conceptual framework, this paper focuses on the changes in forest utilisation and management of South Kyrgyzstan＇s walnut-fruit forests over the last century The aim of this study on human-environment interactions is to investigate the relationship between actors on the one side, their interests and demands, and the forests and forested lands on the other. Forest resource utilisation and management - and even the recognition of different forest products as resources - are connected with political and socioeconomic conditions that change with time. The walnut-fruit forests of South Kyrgyzstan are unique, characterised by high biodiversity and a multiplicity of usable products; and they have been utilised for a long time. Centralised and formal management of the forests started with the Russian occupation and was strengthened under Soviet rule, when the region became a part of the USSR. During this era, a state forest administration that was structured from Moscow all the way down to the local level drew up detailed plans and developed procedures for utilising the different forest products. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the socio-political and economic frame conditions have changed significantly, which has brought not only the sweeping changes in the managing institutions, but also the access rights and interests in the forest resources. At present, the region is suffering from a high unemployment rate, which has resulted in the forests＇ gaining considerable importance in the livelihood strategies of the local population. Political and economic liberalization, increased communication and transregional exchange relations have opened the door for international companies and agents interested in the valuable forest products. Today, walnut wood and burls, walnuts, wild apples and mushrooms are all exported to various countries in the world. Scientists and members of various international organisations stress the ecological value of the forests and are trying to establish nature conservation areas. Nevertheless, it is to fear that a multiplicity of interrelated factors - the present transformation and globalization processes, the appearance of new actors, the local population＇s insecure economic situation and the erosion of managing institutions - are all leading to an intensified and unregulated exploitation of the forests, resulting in their degradation.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Westheide, W. & C. O. Hermans (Eds.): The Ultrastructure of Polychaeta. Microfauna Marina, Vol. 4. Ed.: P. Ax, Veröffentl. der Akademie der Wissenschaften u. der Literatur, Mainz. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, New York, 1988. 494 pp., numerous figs. Hard cover; DM 118,—.     

Fast static correction methods for high-frequency multichannel marine seismic reflection data: A high-resolution seismic study of channel-levee systems on the Bengal Fan

Very high-frequency marine multichannel seismic reflection data generated by small-volume air- or waterguns allow detailed, high-resolution studies of sedimentary structures of the order of one to few metres wavelength. The high-frequency content, however, requires (1) a very exact knowledge of the source and receiver positions, and (2) the development of data processing methods which take this exact geometry into account. Static corrections are crucial for the quality of very high-frequency stacked data because static shifts caused by variations of the source and streamer depths are of the order of half to one dominant wavelength, so that they can lead to destructive interference during stacking of CDP sorted traces. As common surface-consistent residual static correction methods developed for land seismic data require fixed shot and receiver locations two simple and fast techniques have been developed for marine seismic data with moving sources and receivers to correct such static shifts. The first method – called CDP static correction method – is based on a simultaneous recording of Parasound sediment echosounder and multichannel seismic reflection data. It compares the depth information derived from the first arrivals of both data sets to calculate static correction time shifts for each seismic channel relative to the Parasound water depths. The second method – called average static correction method – utilises the fact that the streamer depth is mainly controlled by bird units, which keep the streamer in a predefined depth at certain increments but do not prevent the streamer from being slightly buoyant in-between. In case of calm weather conditions these streamer bendings mainly contribute to the overall static time shifts, whereas depth variations of the source are negligible. Hence, mean static correction time shifts are calculated for each channel by averaging the depth values determined at each geophone group position for several subsequent shots. Application of both methods to data of a high-resolution seismic survey of channel-levee systems on the Bengal Fan shows that the quality of the stacked section can be improved significantly compared to stacking results achieved without preceding static corrections. The optimised records show sedimentary features in great detail, that are not visible without static corrections. Limitations only result from the sea floor topography. The CDP static correction method generally provides more coherent reflections than the average static correction method but can only be applied in areas with rather flat sea floor, where no diffraction hyperbolae occur. In contrast, the average static correction method can also be used in regions with rough morphology, but the coherency of reflections is slightly reduced compared to the results of the CDP static correction method.     

Spatial heterogeneity of epibenthos on artificial reefs: fouling communities in the early stages of colonization on an East Australian shipwreck

Artificial reefs are spatially complex habitats and serve as good model systems to study patterns of community succession and the response of epibiota to environmental clines over small spatial scales. Here, we quantified spatial heterogeneity in community composition and diversity of fouling communities across a number of environmental gradients that included water depth, surface orientation of habitats, exposure to currents, and shelter. Assemblage structure was quantified by spatially replicated photo transects on a recently scuttled large navy ship off the East Australian coast, lying in 27 m of water. A rich assemblage of epifauna had colonized the wreck within a year, dominated by barnacles, sponges and bryozoans. Community structure varied significantly over small spatial scales of meters to tens of meters. Depth, surface orientation and exposure were the major environmental drivers. Assemblages were substantially less diverse and abundant on the deepest (23 m near the seafloor) part of the hull with residual antifouling paint, on sheltered surfaces inside the wreck, and on the sediment‐laden horizontal surfaces. Overall, the wrecks’ habitat complexity corresponds with small‐scale heterogeneity in the fouling communities. This study supports the notion that wrecks enhance local diversity and biomass within the habitat mosaic of their location, and habitat complexity may be an important mechanism for this, as demonstrated by the large spatial variability in the assemblages documented here.     

Significance of vertical flux as a sink for surface water DMSP and as a source for the sediment surface in coastal zones of northern Europe

In April 1997 and 1998 the significance of sedimentation as a sink for epipelagic dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) production and as a source for marine sediments was reassessed using a newly designed sediment trap. The behaviour of the traps in immersion was monitored continuously and the collection efficiency was evaluated with ²³⁴Th measurements. Net DMS(P) fluxes were corrected for some physical and biological losses during the whole sedimentation process providing reliable estimates of gross DMSP fluxes. It is shown that daily losses by sedimentation account for between 0.1% and 16% of seawater particulate DMSP (DMSPp) standing stocks, and between 3% and 75% of daily DMSPp production. In the Malangen fjord we observed temporal increases of DMSP production and standing stocks which resulted also in increases of DMSP vertical fluxes and DMS(P) concentrations at the sediment surface. This result illustrates how tight the coupling can be between pelagos and benthos, and confirms that DMS(P) concentration in the sediment was a reliable diagnostic indicator of vertical export from overlying waters in Malangen fjord. In Ullsfjord, however, DMS(P) concentrations in the sediment were poorly indicators of Phaeocystis pouchetii export during the early stage of growth of a bloom. The high load of DMS(P) in Balsfjord's sediments could neither be attributed to local vertical sedimentation nor to short-term lateral advection of fresh DMSP-containing phytoplanktonic material, and provides indication that this tracer sometimes also can be misleading. The highest loads of DMS(P) in sediments and the fastest rates of sedimentation occurred in the Southern Bight of the North Sea.