Distribution of thallium and accompanying metals in tree rings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from a smelter-affected area

Distribution of Tl, Zn, Cd, Pb, K, Ca, Mg and Mn and Pb isotopic composition in tree rings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from an area affected by primary Zn smelting (Olkusz, southern Poland) were investigated. Elevated concentrations of Tl (up to 0.8 mg kg⁻¹) in pine trees imply that conifers tend to accumulate this metal to some extent. A generally positive relationship between soil and tree-ring Tl levels was identified. The Tl patterns in stem wood did not correspond to changes in Tl deposition; the lateral translocation of Tl in the sapwood and its accumulation at the sapwood-heartwood boundary (i.e., in the inner sapwood) is suggested. It is probable that the specific behavior of Tl in trees results from its biogeochemical analogy with K. In contrast, tree-ring patterns of Zn and Cd significantly correlated with their deposition; nevertheless, a partial shift of these metals towards the stem center cannot be excluded. The isotopic composition of Pb (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ~ 1.172–1.184) in trees and underlying soils revealed the predominant influence of smelter emissions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ~ 1.17) on Pb contamination. Analysis of main nutrients (Ca, Mg and Mn) in wood reflected environmental changes related to acid deposition.     

Mean-field equations for weakly nonlinear two-scale perturbations of forced hydromagnetic convection in a rotating layer

We consider stability of regimes of hydromagnetic thermal convection in a rotating horizontal layer with free electrically-conducting boundaries, to perturbations involving large spatial and temporal scales. Equations governing the evolution of weakly nonlinear mean perturbations are derived under the assumption that the α-effect is insignificant in the leading-order (e.g. due to a symmetry of the system). The mean-field equations generalise the standard equations of hydromagnetic convection: New terms emerge – a second-order linear operator representing the combined eddy diffusivity and quadratic terms associated with the eddy advection. If the perturbed CHM regime is nonsteady and insignificance of the α-effect in the system does not rely on the presence of a spatial symmetry, the combined eddy diffusivity operator also involves a nonlocal pseudodifferential operator. If the perturbed CHM state is almost symmetric, α-effect terms appear in the mean-field equations as well. Near a point of a symmetry-breaking bifurcation, cubic nonlinearity emerges in the equations. All the new terms are in general anisotropic. A method for evaluation of their coefficients is presented; it requires solution of a significantly smaller number of auxiliary problems than in a straightforward approach.     

The tidal and wind induced hydrodynamics of the composite system Adriatic Sea/Lagoon of Venice

A shallow water hydrostatic 2D hydrodynamic numerical model, based on the boundary conforming coordinate system, was used to simulate aspects of both general and small scale oceanic features occurring in the composite system constituted by the Adriatic Sea and the Lagoon of Venice (Italy), under the influence of tide and realistic atmospheric forcing. Due to a specific technique for the treatment of movable lateral boundaries, the model is able to simulate efficiently dry up and flooding processes within the lagoon. Firstly, a model calibration was performed by comparing the results of the model, forced using tides and ECMWF atmospheric pressure and wind fields, with observations collected for a set of 33 mareographic stations uniformly distributed in the Adriatic Sea and in the Lagoon of Venice. A second numerical experiment was then carried out by considering only the tidal forcing. Through a comparison between the results obtained in the two experiments it was possible to assess the reliability of the estimated parameter through the composite forcing. Model results were then verified by comparing simulated amplitude and phase of each tidal constituent as well as tidal velocities simulated at the inlets of the lagoon and in the Northern Adriatic Sea with the corresponding observed values. The model accurately reproduces the observed harmonics: mean amplitude differences rarely exceed 1 cm, while phase errors are commonly confined below 15°. Semidiurnal and diurnal currents were correctly reproduced in the northern basin and a good agreement was obtained with measurements carried out at the lagoon inlets. On this basis, the outcomes of the hydrodynamic model were analyzed in order to investigate: (i) small-scale coastal circulation features observed at the interface between the adjoining basins, which consist often of vortical dipoles connected with the tidal flow of Adriatic water entering and leaving the Lagoon of Venice and with along-shore current fields connected with specific wind patterns; (ii) residual oscillations, which are often connected to meteorological forcing over the basin. In particular, it emerges that small-scale vortical features generated near the lagoon inlet can be efficiently transported toward the open sea, thus contributing to the water exchange between the two marine regions, and a realistic representation of observed residual oscillations in the area would require a very detailed knowledge of atmospheric as well as remote oceanic forcing.     

Three-dimensional velocity model of the crust of the Bohemian Massif and its effects on seismic tomography of the upper mantle

We have compiled a representative three-dimensional P-velocity model of the crust of the Bohemian Massif (BM) to provide a basis for removing effects of the crustal structure in teleseismic tomography of the upper mantle. The model is primarily based on recently published 2D velocity models from findings of wide-angle refraction and near-vertical reflection seismic profiles of CELEBRATION 2000, ALP 2002, and SUDETES 2003 experiments. The best fitting 3D model of the BM crust (NearNeighbour model) is complemented by velocities according to the reference Earth model at sites where data are sparse, which precludes creating artificial heterogeneities that are products of interpolation method. To test the model, we have performed tomographic inversions of the P-wave travel times measured during the BOHEMA II experiment and compared the results obtained with and without crustal corrections. The tests showed that the presented crustal model decreases magnitudes of velocity perturbations leaking from the crust to the mantle in the western part of the BM. The tomographic images also indicated a highvelocity anomaly in the lower crust or just beneath the crust in the Brunovistullian unit. Such anomaly is not described by our model of the crust since no seismic profile intersects this part of the unit. The tests also indicated that crustal corrections are of the great importance especially for interpretations of the uppermost mantle down to depths of about 100 km.     

Global Crust-Mantle Density Contrast Estimated from EGM2008, DTM2008, CRUST2.0, and ICE-5G

We compute globally the consolidated crust-stripped gravity disturbances/anomalies. These refined gravity field quantities are obtained from the EGM2008 gravity data after applying the topographic and crust density contrasts stripping corrections computed using the global topography/bathymetry model DTM2006.0, the global continental ice-thickness data ICE-5G, and the global crustal model CRUST2.0. All crust components density contrasts are defined relative to the reference crustal density of 2,670 kg/m³. We demonstrate that the consolidated crust-stripped gravity data have the strongest correlation with the crustal thickness. Therefore, they are the most suitable gravity data type for the recovery of the Moho density interface by means of the gravimetric modelling or inversion. The consolidated crust-stripped gravity data and the CRUST2.0 crust-thickness data are used to estimate the global average value of the crust-mantle density contrast. This is done by minimising the correlation between these refined gravity and crust-thickness data by adding the crust-mantle density contrast to the original reference crustal density of 2,670?kg/m³. The estimated values of 485 kg/m³ (for the refined gravity disturbances) and 481?kg/m³ (for the refined gravity anomalies) very closely agree with the value of the crust-mantle density contrast of 480?kg/m³, which is adopted in the definition of the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM). This agreement is more likely due to the fact that our results of the gravimetric forward modelling are significantly constrained by the CRUST2.0 model density structure and crust-thickness data derived purely based on methods of seismic refraction.     

Spatial and Spectral Analysis of Refined Gravity Data for Modelling the Crust–Mantle Interface and Mantle-Lithosphere Structure

We analyse spatial and spectral characteristics of various refined gravity data used for modelling and gravimetric interpretation of the crust–mantle interface and the mantle-lithosphere structure. Depending on the purpose of the study, refined gravity data have either a strong or weak correlation with the Moho depths (Moho geometry). The compilation of the refined gravity data is purely based on available information on the crustal density structure obtained from seismic surveys without adopting any isostatic hypothesis. We demonstrate that the crust-stripped relative-to-mantle gravity data have a weak correlation with the CRUST2.0 Moho depths of about 0.02. Since gravitational signals due to the crustal density structure and the Moho geometry are subtracted from gravity field, these refined gravity data comprise mainly the information on the mantle lithosphere and sub-lithospheric mantle. On the other hand, the consolidated crust-stripped gravity data, obtained from the gravity field after applying the crust density contrast stripping corrections, comprise mainly the gravitational signal of the Moho geometry, although they also contain the gravitational signal due to anomalous mass density structures within the mantle. In the absence of global models of the mantle structure, the best possible option of computing refined gravity data, suitable for the recovery/refinement of the Moho interface, is to subtract the complete crust-corrected gravity data from the consolidated crust-stripped gravity data. These refined gravity data, that is, the homogenous crust gravity data, have a strong absolute correlation of about 0.99 with the CRUST2.0 Moho depths due to removing a gravitational signal of inhomogeneous density structures within the crust and mantle. Results of the spectral signal decomposition and the subsequent correlation analysis reveal that the correlation of the homogenous crust gravity data with the Moho depths is larger than 0.9 over the investigated harmonic spectrum up to harmonic degree 90. The crust-stripped relative-to-mantle gravity data correlate substantially with the Moho depths above harmonic degree 50 where the correlation exceeds 0.5.     

Some properties of the dumbbell satellite attitude dynamics

The dumbbell satellite is a simple structure consisting of two point masses connected by a massless rod. We assume that it moves around the planet whose gravity field is approximated by the field of the attracting center. The distance between the point masses is assumed to be much smaller than the distance between the satellite’s center of mass and the attracting center, so that we can neglect the influence of the attitude dynamics on the motion of the center of mass and treat it as an unperturbed Keplerian one. Our aim is to study the satellite’s attitude dynamics. When the center of mass moves on a circular orbit, one can find a stable relative equilibrium in which the satellite is permanently elongated along the line joining the center of mass with the attracting center (the so called local vertical). In case of elliptic orbits, there are no stable equilibrium positions even for small values of the eccentricity. However, planar periodic motions are determined, where the satellite oscillates around the local vertical in such a way that the point masses do not leave the orbital plane. We prove analytically that these planar periodic motions are unstable with respect to out-of-plane perturbations (a result known from numerical investigations cf. Beletsky and Levin Adv Astronaut Sci 83, 1993). We provide also both analytical and numerical evidences of the existence of stable spatial periodic motions.     

The Bathymetric Stripping Corrections to Gravity Field Quantities for a Depth-Dependent Model of Seawater Density

In geophysical studies investigating the lithosphere structure, topographic, bathymetric, and density contrasts stripping corrections are applied to gravity data. The ocean density contrast is typically calculated as the difference between the mean densities of crust and seawater. The approximation of the actual seawater density by its mean value yields relative errors up to 2%. To reduce these errors, we adopt a depth-dependent seawater density model to account for increasing density with pressure/depth. This approximation reduces errors to less than 0.1%. This density model is utilized in newly derived expressions for the bathymetric stripping corrections.