Very faint blue objects in the Virgo Cluster Region

Für 95 sehr schwache blaue Objekte in der Nähe des Zentrums des Virgo-Galaxienhaufens werden Auffindungskarten, Koordinaten, Schätzungen des (U – B)-Farbenindexes und grobe B-Helligkeiten mitgeteilt. Die Objekte wurden durch Blinken einer Tautenburger U- und B-Schmidtplatte gefunden.     

Seismic hazard monitoring in Kamchatka and its applications to the M = 6.6 earthquake of 6 October 1987

The earthquake of 6 October 1987 (M = 6.6), which occurred near the Shipunsky Cape, Kamchatka, was the largest crustal event in the vicinity of the main city of Kamchatka — Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky — during the last three decades. It was followed by numerous aftershocks. This earthquake allowed us to test the effectiveness of the seismic hazard monitoring in Kamchatka, including the seismological, geodetic and hydrogeochemical surveys. The seismic survey provided the location and source nature of the main shock and aftershocks and the seismic environment of the main shock. The geodetic and hydrogeochemical surveys have yielded data on the response to earthquakes of the Earth's surface deformations, water level, and chemical elements concentration in the underground water. As a result, the following data were obtained:

u

The earthquake of 6 October had a seismic moment 4–10 E18 Nm, thrust type of faulting and the source volume of 20 × 20 × 10 km³. The maximum intensity was VI–VII (MSK-64 scale) and maximum acceleration 88 cm/s².

Before this event, a relative increase in the number of the upper mantle (depth more than 100 km) moderate magnitude earthquakes during 5 years and a one-year period of seismic quiescence for small shallow earthquakes, were recognized. Significant anomalies in HCO₃ and H₃BO₃ concentrations in the underground waters were observed in the wells a week before the main shock.

     

TWO STRUCTURAL MODELS FOR THE WESTERN FLANK OF THE BRABANT MASSIF*

This paper is concerned with an interpretation of the Bouguer anomaly on the Western flank of the Brabant Massif (Belgium). The position, shape, and density contrast of elementary bodies in the upper part of the earth's crust are determined in a purely numerical manner. A batholith-like body and a basin-type structure both adequately account for the observed surface field, at least from a one-sided geophysical and mathematical point of view. Since seismological control is lacking the two models are representative of the ambiguity and indeterminacy of the definitions of the geologic cause of the anomalous features, if the data are restricted to gravity information alone.     

Sea‐level and ocean‐current control on carbonate‐platform growth,Maldives, Indian Ocean

Multichannel high‐resolution seismic and multibeam data were acquired from the Maldives‐isolated carbonate platform in the Indian Ocean for a detailed characterization of the Neogene bank architecture of this edifice. The goal of the research is to decipher the controlling factors of platform evolution, with a special emphasis on sea‐level changes and changes of the oceanic currents. The stacking pattern of Lower to Middle Miocene depositional sequences, with an evolution of a ramp geometry to a flat‐topped platform, reflects variations of accommodation, which here are proposed to be primarily governed by fluctuations of relative sea level. Easterly currents during this stage of bank growth controlled an asymmetric east‐directed progradation of the bank edge. During the late middle Miocene, this system was replaced by a twofold configuration of bank development. Bank growth continued synchronously with partial bank demise and associated sediment‐drift deposition. This turnover is attributed to the onset and/or intensification of the Indian monsoon and related upwelling and occurrence of currents, locally changing environmental conditions and impinging upon the carbonate system. Mega spill over lobes, shaped by reversing currents, formed as large‐scale prograding complexes, which have previously been interpreted as deposits formed during a forced regression. On a regional scale, a complex carbonate‐platform growth can occur, with a coexistence of bank‐margin progradation and aggradation, as well as partial drowning. It is further shown that a downward shift of clinoforms and offlapping geometries in carbonate platforms are not necessarily indicative for a sea‐level driven forced regression. Findings are expected to be applicable to other examples of Cenozoic platforms in the Indo‐Pacific region.     

Microbial Diversity in Nankai Trough Sediments at a Depth of 3,843 m

Dense populations of bivalves, primarily Calyptogena sp., were observed at cold seeps of the Nankai Trough. Bacterial input to the sediment was estimated through determination of phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid (PLFA) and DNA profiles. Results indicated a bacterial biomass of 10⁹ cells (g dry wt)^-1 while individual fatty acid profiles revealed a predominance of monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly 18:1 isomers. The presence of these fatty acids can be interpreted to reflect a response to low temperature and a predominance of psychrophilic bacteria. DNA fragments encoding bacterial ribosomal RNA small-subunit sequences (16S rDNA) were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction method using DNA extracted directly from the sediment samples. From the sequencing results, at least 19 kinds of bacterial 16S rDNAs related to mostly the Proteobacteria and a few gram-positive bacteria were identified. These results suggest that the bacterial community in the Nankai Trough sediments consists of mainly bacteria belonging to the Proteobacteria , , and subdivisions. Bacteria belonging to the and subdivisions, which are known to include epibiont and sulfate reducing bacteria, respectively, were mostly detected in the sediment obtained from inside the area of the Calyptogena community, and the -Proteobacteria may function to supply reduced sulfur to bacterial endosymbionts of Calyptogena.     

Doppler radar observation, CG lightning activity and aerial survey of a multiple downburst in southern Germany on 23 March 2001

Two downburst events from one thunderstorm are investigated, which occurred on 23 March 2001, in Germany's climatologic annual minimum of downburst activity. Observations by two Doppler radars are combined with hail reports, ground lightning detection and an aerial survey conducted after the event. The downburst-producing storm had formed at a synoptic convergence line within the warm sector of a cyclone. It had a remarkably high propagation speed of up to 31 m s^− 1 corresponding to the mid-tropospheric flow. Thus, by superposition with the storm motion, even two weak downbursts were sufficient to cause the observed damage of F1 and F2 intensity, respectively. While in its late stages, the storm was dynamically characterized by lower- and mid-tropospheric divergence; at about the time of the first downburst, a mesocyclonic vortex signature was verified. Aside from mid-tropospheric dry air entrainment, a thermodynamic explanation for the triggering of the two downbursts by melting of small hail according to recent findings by Atlas et al. [Atlas, D., Ulbrich, C.W., Williams, C.R., 2004. Physical origin of a wet microburst: observations and theory. J. Atmos. Sci. 61, 1186–1196] appears probable. Despite the lack of warnings to the public, the storm's potential for hail and strong straight-line winds was detected by the German weather service radar software CONRAD more than a half hour before the downbursts occurred.     

Intraplate deformation and 3D rheological structure of the Rhine Rift System and adjacent areas of the northern Alpine foreland

The lithosphere of the Northern Alpine foreland has undergone a polyphase evolution during which interacting stress-induced intraplate deformation and upper mantle thermal perturbations controlled folding of the thermally weakened lithosphere. In this paper we address relationships among deeper lithospheric processes, neotectonics and surface processes in the Northern Alpine foreland with special emphasis on tectonically induced topography. We focus on lithosphere memory and neotectonics, paying special attention to the thermo-mechanical structure of the Rhine Graben System and adjacent areas of the northern Alpine foreland lithosphere. We discuss implications for mechanisms of large-scale intraplate deformation and links with surface processes and topography evolution.