Alkalibasalts from the Tyrrhenian sea Basin: Magmatic and geodynamic significance

Petrological characteristics of basaltic rocks from the Tyrrhenian deep-sea are discussed and related to the geotectonic situation. For the first time, distinctly alkaline basalts (hawaiites) have been found in the Tyrrhenian deep-sea. These are typical within-plate basalts related to the tensional fracturing of the Tyrrhenian area. A suggested age of 100,000 years is among the youngest indications for the Tyrrhenian Sea volcanism. Since the Miocene, magmatic activity in the inner Tyrrhenian sea basin evolved from ocean-floor basalts to ocean island tholeiites and transitional basalts, with alkaline basalts as the most recent products. Seamounts in the southern part of the Tyrrhenian deep-sea (Palinuro, Marsili) add shoshonitic and calcalkaline lavas (some with high Mgvalue) to the complexity of the Tyrrhenian magmatic evolution.     

On the relation between residual currents and the wind field in the German Bight

Summary The long-period part (T>25 h) of currents measured at close spacing in the German Bight in June 1968 is investigated. The north component of the bottom current is shown to be highly correlated with the east component of the wind in this area, the wind-generated changes of the mass-field giving rise to a quasi-geostrophic current near the bottom.This current responds without perceptible delay to the variations of wind fields with periods considerably longer than those of the seiches of the North Sea. The accelerations linked to such long periods are so small as to be negligable and the residual currents can be regarded as quasi-stationary.

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Über die Beziehung zwischen Reststrom und Windfeld in der Deutschen Bucht

Zusammenfassung Es werden engabständige Strommessungen in der Deutschen Bucht aus dem Juni 1968 in ihrem langperiodischen Teil (T>25 h) untersucht. Dabei ergibt sich, daß die Nordkomponente des Bodenstromes (v) stark korreliert mit der Ostkomponente des Windes (U) in diesem Gebiet. Die winderzeugten Veränderungen des Massenfeldes verursachen eine quasi-geostrophische Strömung am Boden.Diese Strömung reagiert ohne erkennbare Verzögerung auf solche Veränderungen des Windfeldes, die erheblich größere Perioden haben als die Eigenschwingungen der Nordsee. Die damit verbundenen Beschleunigungen sind sehr klein und so zu vernachlässigen; daher kann man die Restströmung auch als quasi-stationär ansehen.

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Sur la relation entre les courants résiduels et le champ du vent en baie Allemande

Résumé La partie à longue période (T>25 h) de courants measurés en des points rapprochés en baie Allemande en juin 1968 est étudiée. La composante Nord du courant de fond se révèle largement corrélée avec la composante Est du vent dans cette zone. Les modifications du champ de masse dues au vent donnent naissance à un courant quasi-géostrophique près du fond.Ce courant répond sans délai perceptible aux variations du champ du vent avec des périodes considérablement plus longues que celles des seiches de la mer du Nord. Les accélérations liées à de telles longues périodes sont si petites qu'elles peuvent être négligées et les courants peuvent être considérés comme quasi-stationnaires.

     

Effects of large organic material on channel form and fluvial processes

Stream channel development in forested areas is profoundly influenced by large organic debris (logs, limbs and rootwads greater than 10 cm in diameter) in the channels. In low gradient meandering streams large organic debris enters the channel through bank erosion, mass wasting, blowdown, and collapse of trees due to ice loading. In small streams large organic debris may locally influence channel morphology and sediment transport processes because the stream may not have the competency to redistribute the debris. In larger streams flowing water may move large organic debris, concentrating it into distinct accumulations (debris jams). Organic debris may greatly affect channel form and process by: increasing or decreasing stability of stream banks; influencing development of midchannel bars and short braided reaches; and facilitating, with other favourable circumstances, development of meander cutoffs. In steep gradient mountain streams organic debris may enter the channel by all the processes mentioned for low gradient streams. In addition, considerable debris may also enter the channel by way of debris avalanches or debris torrents. In small to intermediate size mountain streams with steep valley walls and little or no floodplain or flat valley floor, the effects of large organic debris on the fluvial processes and channel form may be very significant. Debris jams may locally accelerate or retard channel bed and bank erosion and/or deposition; create sites for significant sediment storage; and produce a stepped channel profile, herein referred to as ‘organic stepping’, which provides for variable channel morphology and flow conditions. The effect of live or dead trees anchored by rootwads into the stream bank may not only greatly retard bank erosion but also influence channel width and the development of small scour holes along the channel beneath tree roots. Once trees fall into the stream, their influence on the channel form and process may be quite different than when they were defending the banks, and, depending on the size of the debris, size of the stream, and many other factors, their effects range from insignificant to very important.     

Zur Tektonik im westlichen Fichtelgebirge

Zusammenfassung Es wird zu einigen tektonischen Problemen im westlichen Fichtelgebirge (Gradabteilungsblätter Weidenberg und Ebnath) Stellung genommen, wobei andere Deutungsmöglichkeiten zur Diskussion gestellt werden. Vor allem wird eine schichtparallele Verschieferung einer älteren Schiefrigkeit abgelehnt und das Umlaufen der Schieferung am SW-Rand des Fichtelgebirges durch sekundäre Kippungen erklärt.

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The author expresses his opinion on some tectonic problems in the western Fichtelgebirge (Topographical maps: Gradabteilungsblätter Weidenberg und Ebnath).He proposes different ways of interpretation. Above all he rejects that an older schistosity became again foliated parallel to the strata, and he ascribes the bending of the schistosity on the south-west border of the Fichtelgebirge to secundary tilts.

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Résumé L'auteur critique quelques problèmes tectoniques qui se posent à l'ouest du Fichtelgebirge. (Tebles topographiques: Gradabteilungsblätter Weidenberg und Ebnath). Il indique d'autres interprétations possibles. Avant tout il réfute qu'une ancienne schistosité au sud-ouest du Fichtelgebirge est attribuée à un basculement secondaire.

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Fichtelgebirge. .

     

A Three-year Study of Nonmethane Hydrocarbons in Surface Air over Saxony (Germany)

Measurements of the nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) mixing ratio over a period of 42 months were carried out for the first time in the air of a research station situated in the former East Germany during the SANA project. Apart from four species, all other species analysed showed a statistically significant downward trend at the 95% significance level. The decrease of the hydrocarbon concentrations was superimposed by seasonal variations. A drop of about 40% of the annual mean values from 1993 to 1995 was observed. This development reflects the dramatic changes in traffic, industry, power economy, and agriculture in Saxony after the reunification of Germany. The remove of two-stroke engined cars is reflected in NMHC mixing ratio changes, as is the removal of obsolete chemical plants. Generally it was not possible to relate causes and effects of a single event, but in some cases major changes in concentrations and NMHC ratios occurred coincidentally with the disappearance of a specific emission source.     

Atmospheric noble gases in volcanic glasses from the southern Lau Basin: origin from the subducting slab?

Noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions have been determined for four submarine volcanic glasses from the Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in the southern Lau Basin. The samples are the least differentiated ones from this area, and they display enrichments in fluid-mobile elements similar to the nearby island arc. ³He/⁴He ratios are slightly below average MORB (6.8–7.8 times atmospheric), whereas Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe have isotopic compositions very similar to air. Together with previously published data from the Valu Fa Ridge and other spreading segments in the Lau Basin, our data show a systematic latitudinal variation of increasing Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe abundances from north to south as well as Ne and Ar isotopic compositions changing from MORB-like to atmosphere-like in the same direction. Moreover, isotopic compositions and noble gas abundances of the lavas correlate strongly with Ba/Nb ratios and H₂O concentrations. Based on these observations and mass balance arguments, we propose that the atmospheric noble gases come from the subducting oceanic crust and are not due to shallow contamination with air dissolved in seawater or assimilation of old crust. Our data suggest that the noble gases released from the subducting slab are atmospheric and thus contain little or no solar He and Ne. In addition to the fact that ratios of He to heavy noble gases are small in aged ocean crust, He has possibly fractionated from the other noble gases due to its higher diffusivity, and thus He transport from the subducting slab into the mantle wedge is probably insignificant. We propose that the ³He/⁴He ratios lower than MORB observed in the VFR lavas result from radiogenic ingrowth of He in a highly depleted, and hence degassed, mantle wedge after the enrichment of U and Th released from the downgoing slab.     

Anomalously nucleogenic neon in North Chile Ridge basalt glasses suggesting a previously degassed mantle source

Fresh basalt glasses from the North Chile Ridge (NCR) in the southeastern Pacific have Ne isotopic compositions distinctly different from typical mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). In a three-isotope plot of ²⁰Ne/²²Ne vs. ²¹Ne/²²Ne, the NCR data define a correlation line with a slope smaller than that of the MORB correlation line, i.e. their Ne composition is more nucleogenic than that of MORB. ³He/⁴He ratios are slightly lower than the MORB average, whereas in a few stepwise heating fractions very high ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios up to 28,000 are found. One model to explain the data assumes contamination of the NCR mantle source by material from the continental or oceanic crust, but in addition to difficulties with quantitatively reconciling the noble gas patterns with such a model it seems unable to account for some geochemical characteristics of NCR basalts reported earlier [Bach et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 142 (1996) 223–240], such as depletions in highly incompatible elements and unradiogenic Sr isotope compositions. Therefore we favor the scenario of a mantle source which was depleted and degassed previously, possibly as a residue from mantle melting beneath the southern East Pacific Rise that was transported to the NCR and melted again. The time during which such a depleted reservoir would have to be separated from the MORB mantle is estimated at 10–100 Ma based on U/Th–Ne systematics, in reasonable agreement with the time scale deduced from the formation history of the NCR and the temporal evolution of the southeast Pacific.