Duluth Complex FC1 Apatite and Zircon: Reference Materials for (U-Th)/He Dating?

The accuracy and validation of geo- and thermochronological dating hinges on the availability of well-characterised age reference materials. The Mesoproterozoic gabbroic anorthosite FC1 from the Duluth Complex, Minnesota is a reference material for zircon U-Pb and a suggested reference material for apatite fission-track dating. We evaluate FC1 as (U-Th)/He reference material, and determine its apatite U-Pb, and zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He age. Our dating results constrain the thermal history of FC1, showing that fast cooling occurred between ~ 1099 and 1040 Ma from ≥ 600 °C to ~ 200 °C. The zircon (U-Th)/He data from air-abraded grains give a robust isochron age of 1037 ± 25 Ma (2s) without overdispersion. The within-grain homogeneity of U and Th, the availability of FC1 zircon, and the absence of radiation-damage effects on the (U-Th)/He age support its use as reference material. Unabraded zircon grains give lower and more dispersed ages, highlighting the usefulness of air abrasion to control for α-ejection in (U-Th)/He dating. Our apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He single-grain ages vary between 180 and 300 Ma. Their wide dispersion argues against the use of FC1 apatite as (U-Th-Sm)/He reference material and makes the interpretation of their low-temperature thermal history complicated.     

Nitrate reduction potential of a fractured Middle Triassic carbonate aquifer in Southwest Germany

Hydrogeology Journal - Nitrate reduction constitutes an important natural mechanism to mitigate the widespread and persistent nitrate contamination of groundwater resources. In fractured aquifers,...     

Potential of SARAL/AltiKa for Inland Water Applications

SARAL uses the same orbit as ERS and Envisat and can be used to extend inland water height time series derived from these missions. This article investigates the potential of SARAL for this application over the Great Lakes and the Amazon basin. SARAL/AltiKa is the first altimeter using Ka-band that is rarely influenced by ionospheric effects but susceptible for atmospheric water. Our investigations show clear waveform disruptions for SARAL due to precipitation. It is demonstrated that the quality of water heights improved when using alternative retracker products, for example, the ice-1 product. The improvement depends on the weather and yields up to 3.8 cm for wet conditions. The advantage of the smaller footprint of SARAL is demonstrated for land-water transitions where SARAL provides better water level heights up to 6 km to the lakeshore whereas Envisat is limited to about 11 km. SARAL provides also more reliable water level heights for narrow Amazon rivers than Envisat. Furthermore, the hooking effect is decreased for SARAL. Comparing water level time series of SARAL-only, Envisat-only, and multi-mission with in-situ data demonstrates that SARAL has the potential to extend Envisat long-term time series and to decrease the RMS by about 10% for large lakes and 40% for selected rivers.     

Strukturverfeinerung von Libethenit Cu2(OH)PO4

Inhalt Eine mit zweidimensionalen Fouriermethoden durchgeführte Strukturverfeinerung bestätigt die vonH. Heritsch (1940) für Libethenit bestimmte Struktur. Von der daraus resultierenden kristallchemischen Formel Cu^[4+2] Cu^[5] (OH) [PO₄] ist sowohl die Strukturanalogie mit Andalusit und Adamin als auch die zu gleichen Teilen auftretende Sechser- und Fünferkoordination des zweiwertigen Kupfers in Libethenit abzulesen.

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Influence from Surrounding Land on the Turbulence Measurements Above a Lake

Turbulence measurements taken at a Swedish lake are analyzed. Although the measurements took place over a relatively large lake with several km of undisturbed fetch, the turbulence structure was found to be highly influenced by the surrounding land during daytime. Variance spectra of both horizontal velocity and scalars during both unstable and stable stratification displayed a low frequency peak. The energy at lower frequencies showed a daily variation, increasing in the morning and decreasing in the afternoon. This behaviour is explained by spectral lag, where the low frequency energy due to large eddies that originate from the convective boundary layer above the surrounding land. When the air is advected over the lake the small eddies rapidly equilibrate with the new surface forcing. However, the large eddies remain for an appreciable distance and influence the turbulence in the developing lake boundary layer. The variances of the horizontal velocity and scalars are increased by these large eddies, while the turbulent fluxes are mainly unaffected. The drag coefficient, Stanton number and Dalton number used to parametrize the momentum flux, heat flux and latent heat flux respectively all compare well with current parametrizations developed for open sea conditions. The diurnal cycle of the partial pressure of methane, $p\mathrm{CH}_{4}$ , observed at this site is closely related to the diurnal cycle of the lake-air methane flux. An idealized two-dimensional model simulation of the boundary layer at a lake site indicates that the strong response of $p\mathrm{CH}_{4}$ to the surface methane flux is due to the shallow internal boundary layer that develops above the lake, allowing methane to accumulate in a relatively small volume.     

Floods and floodplain changes of the River Morava,the Strážnické Pomoraví region (Czech Republic) over the past 130 years

Abstract

The development of the River Morava floodplain has been influenced by several natural and anthropogenic factors. This paper focuses on variations in flood activity and channel changes of the River Morava in the region of Strá?nické Pomoraví (southeastern Czech Republic). Floods are analysed in terms of measured peak water stages, H_k (Rohatec, 1886–1920) and peak discharges Q_k (Rohatec/Strá?nice, 1921–2010) evaluated with respect to their N-year return period (H _N or Q_N ). The frequency of floods with Q_k ≥ Q ₂ reaches a significant maximum in March, followed by July. According to flood series compiled from 1881 onwards, their frequency peaked in the 1961–1970 decade with the most severe events occurring in July 1997 (Q ₁₀₀), March 2006 and June 2010 (Q ₅₀). During the study period the natural dynamics of the original anabranching channel patterns were significantly modified by human intervention, such as the abandonment of some anabranching channels, channel straightening, enlargement of the main channel, flood-dike construction, and the creation of the Ba?a shipping channel. These changes resulted in decreased frequency and a reduction in the extent of floodplain inundations compared to the period prior to channel modifications in the 1930s.

Citation Brázdil, R., Má?ka, Z., ?ezní?ková, L., Soukalová, E., Dobrovolný, P. & Matys Grygar, T. (2011) Floods and floodplain changes of the River Morava, the Strá?nické Pomoraví region (Czech Republic) over the past 130 years. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1166–1185.     

Spatial evolution of an AMD stream in the Iberian Pyrite Belt: process characterization and control factors on the hydrochemistry

ABSTRACT

This paper presents hydrochemical data of an AMD stream, Poderosa Creek, in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, obtained between its source, in the Poderosa Mine portal, and its confluence with the Odiel River. The main objective is to establish potential interdependent relationships between sulphate and metal loads and the following physico-chemical variables: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), redox potential (EH) and dissolved oxygen (DO). All the parameters show an overall increasing tendency from the tunnel exit to the confluence at the Odiel River. The TDS and EC are two relevant exceptions. They behave similarly, showing a decreasing trend and a strong inflection that describes a minimum immediately after the discharging point. Spatial analysis combined with statistical tools reveal typical AMD processes and the respective physico-chemical implications. Inputs with distinctive hydrochemical signatures impose relevant modifications in the Poderosa Creek waters. This indicates low hydrochemical inertia and high vulnerability to external stimuli.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor not assigned     

Evaluation of geochemical data acquired from regular grids

Geochemical data obtained during mineral exploration often are biased by systematic as well as random errors; these may result in failures when usual methods of evaluation are used. This is true particularly in soil surveys carried out in regions where a long history of prospecting and mining activity has occurred and/or where aerial chemical pollution is likely to have occurred.A satisfactory evaluation of geochemical data even in such an unfavorable case requires sampling on a relatively dense grid and utilization of all available knowledge of types of mineralization. The evaluation procedure proposed consists of five consecutive phases: (1). Dividing the area of interest into subareas of a relatively homogeneous geological nature. (2). Processing by multivariate methods (factor analysis, in particular) without consideration of geographic relations. (3). A preliminary interpretation and search for a geochemical explanation of factors. (4). Processing of individual factors in two-dimensional geographic space by directional and frequency linear filtering methods. (5). Final interpretation and construction of a geochemical model. The procedure is illustrated by an example from a geochemical exploration survey in the vicinity of Píbram (Middle Bohemia).