The UVX quasar optical luminosity function and its evolution

The recently finished Edinburgh UVX quasar survey at B <18 is used together with other complete samples to estimate the shape and evolution of the optical luminosity function in the redshift range 0.3< z <2.2. There is a significantly higher space density of quasars at high luminosity and low redshift than previously found in the PG sample of Schmidt & Green, with the result that the shape of the luminosity function at low redshifts ( z <1) is seen to be consistent with a single power law. At higher redshifts the slope of the power law at high luminosities appears to steepen significantly. There does not appear to be any consistent break feature which could be used as a tracer of luminosity evolution in the population.     

Effects of pipe outlet blocking on hydrological functioning in a degraded blanket peatland

Peatland restoration practitioners are keen to understand the role of drainage via natural soil pipes, especially where erosion has released large quantities of fluvial carbon in stream waters. However, little is known about pipe-to-stream connectivity and whether blocking methods used to impede flow in open ditch networks and gullies also work on pipe networks. Two streams in a heavily degraded blanket bog (southern Pennines, UK) were used to assess whether impeding drainage from pipe networks alters the streamflow responses to storm events, and how such intervention affects the hydrological functioning of the pipe network and the surrounding peat. Pipeflow was impeded in half of the pipe outlets in one stream, either by inserting a plug-like structure in the pipe-end or by the insertion of a vertical screen at the pipe outlet perpendicular to the direction of the predicted pipe course. Statistical response variable η² showed the overall effects of pipe outlet blocking on stream responses were small with η² = 0.022 for total storm runoff, η² = 0.097 for peak discharge, η² = 0.014 for peak lag, and η² = 0.207 for response index. Both trialled blocking methods either led to new pipe outlets appearing or seepage occurring around blocks within 90 days of blocking. Discharge from four individual pipe outlets was monitored for 17 months before blocking and contributed 11.3% of streamflow. Pipe outlets on streambanks with headward retreat produced significantly larger peak flows and storm contributions to streamflow compared to pipe outlets that issued onto straight streambank sections. We found a distinctive distance-decay effect of the water table around pipe outlets, with deeper water tables around pipe outlets that issued onto straight streambanks sections. We suggest that impeding pipeflow at pipe outlets would exacerbate pipe development in the gully edge zone, and propose that future pipe blocking efforts in peatlands prioritize increasing the residence time of pipe water by forming surface storage higher up the pipe network.     

Preliminary reconstruction of sediment-source linkages for the past 6000 yr at the Petit Lac d'Annecy, France, based on mineral magnetic data

An 8 m core from the central plain of the Petit Lac d'Annecy, France, two floodplain cores, river bedload sediments and several hundred soil samples from the catchment have been studied using magnetic techniques. The soils, mainly developed on limestones and local glacial tills, show widespread magnetic enhancement with higher ferrimagnetic concentrations and contents of SP grains than found in the lake sediments. Some soils show significant concentrations of canted antiferromagnetic minerals (mainly haematite). Using magnetic quotient parameters the surface soils are classified into four mineralogical types. The lake and floodplain sediment properties over the past 6000 yrs can largely be explained by the erosion and deposition of these sources, with a smaller superimposed biogenic (magnetosomes) signal. Derived sediment-source linkages allow the construction of several hypotheses about geomorphological changes in the catchment system: (i) the long-term erosion of high altitude unweathered substrates has gradually increased towards the present day; (ii) the erosion of high altitude soils has increased within the last 1000 yrs, possibly during the period of the 'Little Ice Age'; (iii) shifts towards an increased erosion of surface lowland soil occurred ~2000 and 1000 yrs ago and may be linked to an accelerated accretion of floodplain overbank deposits; (iv) there has been a significant storage of surface soil within floodplains, which leads to an underestimation of the importance of soil erosion in the lake sediment records; (v) the sediment transported by high magnitude, low frequency flood events has shifted in source from high altitude soils before ~1000 cal. yr BP to lowland and mid-altitude free draining soils after ~1000 cal. yr BP.     

Aragonitische Lumachellen im bituminösen Wealden des Emslandes

In the Wealden beds of the Dalum oil pool (NW-Germany), cycles of the following composition have been deposited especially on synsedimentary uplifts: Bituminous shales (at the base) — shales with cyrena layers — cyrena coquinas (at the top). The cyrena and gastropod shells are preserved in aragonite, if they are embedded in shale or surrounded by oil, which stopped the diagenesis. Water saturated coquinae, poor in clay, are always calcitisated. As a consequence, the transformation aragonite → calcite should have been performed by solution and recrystallisation. Only in aragonitic shells, organic structures are visible by fluorescence microscopy. In the bituminous shales, admixtures of Mg-calcite have been preserved sporadically.     

Beziehungen zwischen Calciumgehalt und Bildungsbedingungen der Dolomite

Zusammenfassung Nach einer kurzen Gegenüberstellung der Eigenschaften frühdiagenetischer und spätdiagenetischer Dolomite wird der Zusammenhang des Ordnungsgrades mit Ca-Überschuß und Kristallgröße des Dolomits empirisch dargestellt (Abb. 2 und 3). Untersuchungen im Alttertiär Libyens sowie im Malm und Zechstein Norddeutschlands ergaben, daß der Ca-Überschuß der Dolomite Rückschlüsse auf den Salinitätsgrad des Bildungsmilieus erlaubt (Abb. 4), daß jedoch vor allem in porösen Gesteinen ein allmählicher Gitterumbau zum stöchiometrischen Dolomit erfolgt (Abb. 7 und 8).

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As an introduction, penecontemporary dolomites are compared with epigenetical ones. The relationship between ordering degree and Ca-excess as well as crystal size are represented empirically (fig. 2 and 3). Investigations in the Lower Tertiary of Libya, and in the Upper Jurassic and Upper Permian of Northern Germany led to the conclusion, that the Ca-excess of dolomites may be indicative of the environment (fig. 4). The data however point to a gradual lattice adjustment towards an ideal 11 composition, especially in porous rocks (fig. 7 and 8).

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Résumé Après une rapide comparaison entre les caractéristiques des dolomies pénécontemporaines et epigénétiques, on donne des relations empiriques entre le degré d'ordre, l'excès de calcium et le diamètre des cristaux (fig. 2 et 3). Les recherches exécutées dans le Paléocène libyen, le Malm et le Zechstein de l'Allemagne du Nord ont montré que l'excès de calcium contenu dans les dolomies permet des conclusions sur le milieu (flg. 4), mais que toutefois un ajustement graduel des réseaux à une composition idéale 11 se produit tout particulièrement dans les roches poreuses (fig. 7 et 8).

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Für die Ermöglichung dieser Arbeiten und die Genehmigung ihrer Veröffentlichung danken wir der GewerkschaftElwerath, Erdölwerke Hannover und besonders Herrn Direktor Dr.Roll.     

Geological constraints on glacio-isostatic adjustment models of relative sea-level change during deglaciation of Prince Gustav Channel,Antarctic Peninsula

The recent disintegration of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves, and the associated accelerated discharge and retreat of continental glaciers, has highlighted the necessity of quantifying the current rate of Antarctic ice mass loss and the regional contributions to future sea-level rise. Observations of present day ice mass change need to be corrected for ongoing glacial isostatic adjustment, a process which must be constrained by geological data. However, there are relatively little geological data on the geometry, volume and melt history of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) after Termination 1, and during the Holocene so the glacial isostatic correction remains poorly constrained. To address this we provide field constraints on the timing and rate of APIS deglaciation, and changes in relative sea-level (RSL) for the north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula based on geomorphological evidence of former marine limits, and radiocarbon-dated marine-freshwater transitions from a series of isolation basins at different altitudes on Beak Island. Relative sea-level fell from a maximum of c. 15 m above present at c. 8000 cal yr BP, at a rate of 3.91 mm yr^?1 declining to c. 2.11 mm yr^?1 between c. 6900–2900 cal yr BP, 1.63 mm yr^?1 between c. 2900–1800 cal yr BP, and finally to 0.29 mm yr^?1 during the last c. 1800 years. The new Beak Island RSL curve improves the spatial coverage of RSL data in the Antarctic. It is in broad agreement with some glacio-isostatic adjustment models applied to this location, and with work undertaken elsewhere on the Antarctic Peninsula. These geological and RSL constraints from Beak Island imply significant thinning of the north-eastern APIS by the early Holocene. Further, they provide key data for the glacial isostatic correction required by satellite-derived gravity measurements of contemporary ice mass loss, which can be used to better assess the future contribution of the APIS to rising sea-levels.     

The impact of ditch blocking on fluvial carbon export from a UK blanket bog

We investigated the effects of ditch blocking on fluvial carbon concentrations and fluxes at a 5‐year, replicated, control‐intervention field experiment on a blanket peatland in North Wales, UK. The site was hydrologically instrumented, and run‐off via open and blocked ditches was analysed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon, dissolved carbon dioxide, and dissolved methane. DOC was also analysed in peat porewater and overland flow. The hillslope experiment was embedded within a paired control‐intervention catchment study, with 3 years of preblocking and 6 years of postblocking data. Results from the hillslope showed large reductions in discharge via blocked ditches, with water partly redirected into hillslope surface and subsurface flows, and partly into remaining open ditches. We observed no impacts of ditch blocking on DOC, particulate organic carbon, dissolved carbon dioxide or methane in ditch waters, DOC in porewaters or overland flow, or stream water DOC at the paired catchment scale. Similar DOC concentrations in ditch water, overland flow, and porewater suggest that diverting flow from the ditch network to surface or subsurface flow had a limited impact on concentrations or fluxes of DOC entering the stream network. The subdued response of fluvial carbon to ditch blocking in our study may be attributable to the relatively low susceptibility of blanket peatlands to drainage, or to physical alterations of the peat since drainage. We conclude that ditch blocking cannot be always be expected to deliver reductions in fluvial carbon loss, or improvements in the quality of drinking water supplies.     

Depositional regimes in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea: the last two glacial to interglacial transitions

Various models of surface and deep-water circulation in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea (NGS) have been proposed for the last two glacial to interglacial transitions. Although much progress has been made in understanding the sedimentary response to climatic and oceanographic changes, conflicting interpretations have been developed. To clarify some of these discrepancies and to test or modify the existing circulation concepts, a multiparameter approach is applied, combining sedimentological, micropaleontological, organic-geochemical and isotopic methods. On the basis of indicative properties a combined litho- and organofacies concept is developed and calibrated with modern depositional settings beneath different surface water masses. Sedimentary regimes are then derived for glacial and deglacial settings.Atlantic water intrusions in the NGS reveal complex and highly dynamic patterns for the last two glacial and interglacial periods, with repetitive inflows during Isotope Stage 6 and a high variability in Isotope Stage 5. Specific facies patterns show maximum extensions of Atlantic Water intrusions during the climatic highstands 5.5.1, 5.3 and 5.1 and narrowest intrusions in the cool phases 5.4 and most pronounced in 5.2. In contrast, different glacio-marine depositional regimes depict variable sea ice coverage and supply of ice-rafted debris. Most conspicuous are short-term depositional events marked by diamictons, which are related to the high instabilities of continental ice sheets. Some of the diamictons seem to occur contemporaneously with Heinrich layers H1 and H2. The probable temporal and obvious phenomenological concidence of Heinrich layers and NGS diamictons suggests a common trigger mechanism which caused an almost simultaneous disintegration of huge continental ice masses along the shelves of North America and the eastern margin of the NGS.A previous estuarine circulation model claims regional upwelling along the eastern margin of the NGS for specific periods of the last deglaciation. The organic character of sediments covering the same time intervals show a clear predominance of reworked fossil organic matter and thus does not support the estuarine model.     

Untersuchungen zur Globalstrahlung

Zusammenfassung Für das Meteorologische Observatorium Wahnsdorf werden die achtjährigen Registrierungen der Globalstrahlung aus dem Zeitraum von 1937 bis 1941 und von 1947 bis 1949 untersucht. Als Meßgerät diente eine Solarimetersäule vonMoll-Gorczynski in Verbindung mit einem Schreibgerät. Die Ergebnisse werden benutzt, um die Abhängigkeit der Globalstrahlung von Sonnenhöhe, Sonnenscheindauer und Bewölkungsmenge zu bestimmen. Es wird geprüft, wie weit die von anderen Autoren entwickelten Formeln zur Berechnung der Globalstrahlung durch das Wahnsdorfer Zahlenmaterial bestätigt werden, und es werden neue Formeln entwickelt, um den Einfluß der Bewölkungsmenge und der Sonnenscheindauer genauer als bisher zu erfassen.

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Summary The records of the global radiation of sun and sky for the eight years 1937 to 1941 and 1947 to 1949 have been studied at the Meteorological Observatory of Wahnsdorf. A solarimetric pile ofMoll-Gorczynski has served for measuring in combination with a recording instrument. The results are employed to determine the dependency of the global radiation on sun's altitude, duration of sunshine, and cloudiness. It is examined how far the formulae of other authors for the calculation of the global radiation are confirmed by the records gained at Wahnsdorf; new formulae are developed, in order to embrace henceforth more accurately the influence of cloudiness and duration of sunshine.

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Résumé On étudie huit ans d'enregistrements du rayonnement global réalisés à l'Observatoire météorologique de Wahnsdorf (1937 à 1941 et 1947 à 1949). L'instrument était une pile solarimétrique deMoll-Gorczynski reliée à un enregistreur. Ces mesures servent à établir la dépendance du rayonnement global vis à vis de la hauteur solaire, l'insolation et la nébulosité. On examine dans quelle mesure les formules d'autres auteurs pour le calcul du rayonnement global sont vérifiées par les observations de Wahnsdorf; on établit einfin de nouvelles formules permettant de mieux tenir compte de l'influence de la nébulosité et de l'insolation.

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