Morphostratigraphy and provenance of Plio‐Pleistocene terraces in the south‐eastern Alpine foreland: the Mislinja and Upper Savinja valleys,northern Slovenia

This study focuses on the Plio‐Pleistocene fluvial deposits preserved in the terrace staircases in the south‐eastern Alpine foreland of the Mislinja (MV) and Upper Savinja valleys (USV) in northern Slovenia. The area is located at the north‐eastern margin of the Adria microplate, where neotectonic activity is the prevailing driving force for the terrace formation. The aim of this study is to determine the morphostratigraphy and provenance of the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene gravels using geomorphic and clast lithological analysis. The established morphostratigraphic framework encompasses three terraces in the MV and five terraces in the USV. Due to the lack of age‐relevant data, the morphostratigraphy of the MV and USV is based on the results of geomorphic analysis, clast petrography and data from the literature. Low‐level, middle‐level and high‐level terrace groups were tentatively attributed to the Late and Middle Pleistocene, Early Pleistocene–Pliocene and Pliocene, and compared with the traditional Quaternary stratigraphy of the Alpine foreland. The results of the clast lithological analysis revealed major provenance areas. Moreover, the evolution of long‐term drainage from the Miocene onward was inferred, which suggests that the system reached conformity with the present‐day drainage pattern at the Miocene to Plio‐Pleistocene transition. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time-series of δ26Mg values in a headwater catchment reveal decreasing magnesium isotope variability from precipitation to runoff

Data on temporal variability in Mg isotope ratios of atmospheric deposition and runoff are critical for decreasing the uncertainty associated with construction of isotope mass balances in headwater catchments, and statistical evaluation of isotope differences among Mg pools and fluxes. Such evaluations, in turn, are needed to distinguish between biotic and abiotic contributions to Mg²⁺ in catchment runoff. We report the first annual time-series of δ²⁶Mg values simultaneously determined for rainfall, canopy throughfall, soil water and runoff. The studied 55-ha catchment, situated in western Czech Republic, is underlain by Mg-rich amphibolite and covered by mature spruce stands. Between 1970 and 1996, the site received extremely high amounts of acid deposition and fly ash form nearby coal-burning power plants. The δ²⁶Mg values of open-area precipitation (median of −0.79‰) at our study site were statistically indistinguishable from the δ²⁶Mg values of throughfall (−0.73‰), but significantly different from the δ²⁶Mg values of soil water (−0.55‰) and runoff (−0.55‰). The range of δ²⁶Mg values during the observation period decreased in the order: open-area precipitation (0.57‰) > throughfall (0.27‰) > runoff (0.21‰) > soil water (0.16‰). The decreasing variability in δ²⁶Mg values of Mg²⁺ from precipitation to soil water and runoff reflected an increasing homogenization of atmospheric Mg in the catchment and its mixing with geogenic Mg. In addition to atmospheric Mg, runoff also contained Mg mobilized from the three major solid Mg pools, bedrock (δ²⁶Mg of −0.32‰), soil (−0.28‰), and vegetation (−0.31‰). The drought of summer 2019 did not affect the nearly constant δ²⁶Mg value of runoff. Collectively, our data show that within-catchment processes buffer the Mg isotope variability of the atmospheric input.     

Sensitivity of the Eastern Mediterranean geomorphic system towards environmental change during the Late Holocene: a chronological perspective

Alluvial and colluvial sediment deposition provide a vital record of environmental change during the Holocene. Firm chronological control on these archives is necessary to enable us to relate sediment dynamics to human activity and climate variability. In the Eastern Mediterranean, such relationships are hard to establish due to the lack of spatially well‐distributed sediment archives with good chronological control. This scarcity is problematic with respect to regional‐scale reconstructions of the temporal variation of sediment dynamics. Here, we present a radiocarbon database (n = 178) of geomorphological activity collected from multiple distinct sediment archives within the territory of Sagalassos in south‐western Turkey. The data were grouped according to their sedimentary facies for analysis using cumulative probability distributions (CPDs) and sedimentation rate (SR) modelling. Two small‐scale colluvial valleys, where chronological information was abundant, were investigated in more detail. Results show that sedimentation chronology differs between individual, nearby cores, as it depends strongly on the local geomorphic situation. A generalizing approach combining multiple core results yields more widely valid conclusions. High sedimentation rates coincided with the initial major anthropogenic disturbance of the landscape and decreased afterwards, probably due to hillslope soil depletion. CPD and SR analysis indicates that in general colluvial sedimentation rates did not change much from 2000 BC onwards. River floodplain sedimentation, in contrast, increased markedly during the first millennium BC and during recent times, and a significant time lag in enhanced sediment deposition between the upper and lower reaches of the river valleys was observed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fossa Carolina: The First Attempt to Bridge the Central European Watershed—A Review,New Findings,and Geoarchaeological Challenges

The Central European watershed passes through the southern Franconian Jura in Bavaria, Germany. This principal watershed divides the Rhine/Main catchment and the Danube catchment. In the early Middle Ages, when ships were an important means of transportation, Charlemagne decided to connect these catchments by the construction of a canal known as the Fossa Carolina. In this paper, we present for the first time ¹⁴C data from the Fossa Carolina fill and document a high‐resolution stratigraphic record of the Carolingian and post‐Carolingian trench infilling. Our results provide clear evidence for peat layers in different levels of the trench infill, suggesting a chain of ponds. However, the majority of these peat layers yield mid‐Medieval and younger ages. The period of major peat growth was during the Medieval climatic optimum. Therefore, our preliminary results do not prove the use of the trench during Carolingian times. However, first results from the reconstruction of the Carolingian trench bottom support the hypothesis that the Fossa was primarily planned as a navigable chain of ponds and not as a continuous canal. In the eastern part of the trench, a dam is located that was postulated in former studies to be part of a barrage for supplying the Carolingian canal with water. New ¹⁴C data indicate much younger ages and do not support the Carolingian barrage concept.     

Dynamics of a particle under the gravitational potential of a massive annulus: properties and equilibrium description

This paper studies the main features of the dynamics around a massive annular disk. The first part addresses the difficulties finding an appropriated expression of the gravitational potential of a massive disk, which will be used to define the differential equations of motion of our dynamical system. The second part describes the main features of the dynamics with special attention to equilibrium of the system.     

Seasonal and spatial variations of water quality,substrate and aquatic macrophytes based on side scan sonar,in an eastern Mediterranean lagoon (Kaiafas,Ionian Sea)

Temporal and spatial variations of environmental and water quality parameters and their relations with macrobenthic flora were investigated in an eastern Mediterranean lagoon. Kaiafas is a mesohaline lagoon, which is influenced by point and diffused sources from the adjacent agricultural land and the nearby city. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters, microbial load and primary production, on a seasonal and spatial scale, while heavy metal concentrations were measured into two different sediment cores. An overall analysis of seasonal dynamics of water parameters and Chl-a based on trophic index TSI pointed out the lagoon as eutrophic. According to water quality parameters the lagoon was separated into two parts. The southern sector of the lagoon which was more affected by human activities showed higher nutrients, Chl-a, heavy metals and total Coliforms concentrations. Sediment texture and distribution of macrophytes were detected through the acoustic side scan sonar method, which proved to be a promising tool for defining and monitoring vegetation coverage of shallow lagoons. A number of distinct echo types and three different sediment types were revealed on the basis of the backscatter level and the variability of low and high backscatter areas. Furthermore, the extension and the coverage of Potamogeton pectinatus and Chara hispida f. corfuensis were successively depicted by combining the data of SSS and ground truthing samples. Meadows of P. pectinatus were established to the lagoon limits where high turbidity and silty substrate occurred, while C. hispida f. corfuensis was limited in deep and high transparent waters with sandy substrate.     

2-D Magnetotellurics at the geothermal site at Soultz-sous-Forêts: Resistivity distribution to about 3000 m depth

With the aim of investigating the possibilities of magnetotelluric methods for the exploration of potential Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) sites in the Upper Rhine valley, a 2-D magnetotelluric (MT) survey has been carried out on a 13 km long profile across the thermal anomaly in the area of the geothermal power plant of Soultz-sous-Forêts in the winter 2007/08. Despite strong artificial noise, processing using remote referencing and Sutarno phase consistent smoothing revealed significant results from 10 out of 16 sites. Indication for 1-D structures was found in the shortest periods, 2-D effects in the periods up to 40 s, and 3-D effects in the long period range. Since 3-D effects were found in the longer periods, 2-D inversion was carried out for periods smaller than 40 s. The results of the inversion are consistent with the geology of the geothermal site and distinguish well the sediments from the granitic basement including the structures given by the faults. A conductive anomaly with a resistivity of about 3 Ωm has been found at a depth down to 2000 m in the area of the Soultz and Kutzenhausen faults, which is attributed to geothermal processes.     

Assessment of rigid overlying strata failure in face mining

The method of overlying strata failure assessment of extracted seams is based upon the simultaneous assessment of surface subsidence and seismic activity, considering the spatiatemporal progress of mining, depending on the character of the rock mass. The rigid overlying strata failure assessment results in finding whether a failure of the firm overlying rocks occurred or whether a strutting arch was formed over the mined-out area. The practical importance of the overlying strata failure assessment consists in determining the size of the mined-out area at which the com-plete failure of the rigid overlying strata occurred and in the assessment of the current stress condition of the overlying strata failure. The assessment method is applicable in deep mine workings where thick coal seams are being mined by means of the method of longwall mining with controlled caving. The results of this method are used to amend contemporary known methods of rock-burst protection, namely (regarding the use of surface measurements for the evaluation) in overlying strata areas.