Micrometeorological Observations of a Microburst in Southern Finland

On the afternoon of 3 July 2004 in Hyytiälä (Juupajoki, Finland), convective cells produced a strong downburst causing forest damage. The SMEAR II field station, situated near the damage site, enabled a unique micrometeorological analysis of a microburst with differences above and inside the canopy. At the time of the event, a squall line associated with a cold front was crossing Hyytiälä with a reflectivity maximum in the middle of the squall line. A bow echo, rear-inflow notch, and probable mesovortex were observed in radar data. The bow echo moved west-north-west, and its apex travelled just north of Hyytiälä. The turbulence data were analysed at two locations above the forest canopy and at one location at sub-canopy. At 1412 EET (Eastern European Time, UTC+2), the horizontal and vertical wind speed increased and the wind veered, reflecting the arrival of a gust front. At the same time, the carbon dioxide concentration increased due to turbulent mixing, the temperature decreased due to cold air flow from aloft and aerosol particle concentration decreased due to rain scavenging. An increase in the number concentration of ultra-fine particles (< 10 nm) was detected, supporting the new particle formation either from cloud outflow or due to rain. Five minutes after the gust front (1417 EET), strong horizontal and downward vertical wind speed gusts occurred with maxima of 22 and 15 m s^?1, respectively, reflecting the microburst. The turbulence spectra before, during and after the event were consistent with traditional turbulence spectral theory.     

How to assess hydromorphology? A comparison of Ukrainian and German approaches

Recently, the Ukrainian Western Bug water authorities developed a national field survey to assess the quality of river habitats. The Ukrainian government already cooperates with EU member states along transboundary rivers and also orientates itself towards the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). As a future application for EU membership is feasible, the water authorities started to implement WFD criteria into their national survey schemes including the assessment of rivers’ hydromorphology. This article compares two different hydromorphological survey methods to identify similarities and differences of the classification approaches with regard to the conformity of obtained outputs with the WFD demands. The field surveys, the Ukrainian (UA-FS) and the German (LAWA-FS), were applied in parallel on 14 river sections along the Western Bug River and parts of its tributaries. Results show a wide range of conformity, but also several differences between and gaps within all methods. The UA-FS generally lacks the idea of reference condition in rivers’ hydromorphology and the definition of different stream types or near-natural land uses. The UA-FS and the LAWA-FS approaches are similar with respect to their incorporated compartments and most main parameters, but differ in definition and interpretation of specific functional units and single parameters. Greatest similarities down to single parameters exist in aspects of land use, bank vegetation, currents diversity, and within-stream variation of water depths. Differences include the assessment and interpretation of lateral erosion, sinuosity, type and depth of profile, substrate diversity, as well as special structures of bank and riverbed. Overall, the LAWA-FS is more conservative in its rating than the UA-FS. Still, UA-FS can be regarded as an important improvement for a systematic and reliable monitoring of river hydromorphology in the Ukraine that will help to successfully engage with both the integrated water resources management and the WFD harmonisation process in the future.     

Ozone production due to emissions from vegetation burning

Ozone has been observed in elevated concentrations by satellites over areas previously believed to be background. There is meteorological evidence, that these ozone plumes found over the Atlantic Ocean originate from vegetation fires on the African continent.In a previous study (DECAFE-88), we have investigated ozone and assumed precursor compounds over African tropical forest regions. Our measurements revealed large photosmog layers at altitudes from 1.5 to 4 km. Both chemical and meteorological evidence point to savanna fires up to several thousand km upwind as sources.Here we describe ozone mixing ratios observed over western Africa and compare ozone production ratios from different field measurement campaigns related to vegetation burning. We find that air masses containing photosmog ingredients require several days to develop their oxidation potential, similar to what is known from air polluted by emissions from fossil fuel burning. Finally, we estimate the global ozone production due to vegetation fires and conclude that this source is comparable in strength to the stratospheric input.     

Transfer factors of contamination between the German Bight and its tributary waters derived from measured tritium and Cs-137 activity concentrations

Summary Evaluation of the results of radioactivity monitoring in the southern North Sea between 1977 and 1987 has shown that in the water of the German Bight three areas stand out due to their different ratios between salinity and concentration of dissolved Cs-137 and tritium. While salinity steadily increases with greater distance from the coast, the Cs-137 concentration above 34 PSU (Practical Salinity Unit) increases sharply and shows how far water from the western and central North Sea, contaminated by nuclear reprocessing in Sellafield (Irish Sea), reaches into the German Bight. In the 34 to 32.5 PSU range, the influence can be seen of water contaminated by tritium originating in the rivers Rhein, Maas and Schelde, precipitation and the nuclear reprocessing plant at La Hague (Channel). Below 32.5 PSU, the influence of the influx from the rivers Elbe, Weser and Ems becomes apparent. These rivers are less contaminated with tritium.Assuming that Cs-137 and tritium, like the salinity of sea water, behave conservatively and that the decay-time of these two isotopes is long compared with the time-scale of water exchange in the southern North Sea, the concentration values measured are used to calculate the structure of the water masses in the three areas of the German Bight mentioned above using the mixing principle. Evaporation is taken into account. Results show that beyond 34 PSU, about half the sea water originates in the western central North Sea while the other half comes from the Channel. Below 34 PSU, the first mentioned share amounts only to a few per cent. Results also show that fresh water from the Rhein delta and precipitation, increasing with a decrease in salinity from 34 to 32.5 PSU, accounts for a maximum of 5% each. The fresh water influx into the German Bight via the rivers Elbe, Weser and Ems amounts to app. 11% when the PSU value reaches 29. The calculated portions are the mean values for the observation period. The number of measurements available makes it impossible to distinguish more exactly between the temporal and spatial variability of the amounts of the individual components.The quantity of each calculated portion of sea water also represents the transfer factor of concentration between the nuclide concentration in the source (e. g. the Rhein) and the concentration in the German Bight. In addition, these factors are used to calculate the transfer factors of discharge using the annual drainage rates of the sources. Thus a radioactive discharge rate of 10¹⁵ Bq per year into the Rhein would produce a mean activity concentration of 0.34 Bq/l in the German Bight (at a salinity of 33.5 PSU). To verify the calculated transfer factors, tritium concentrations in the German Bight are derived from existing environmental tritium data and the results are compared with the values actually measured.

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Transferkaktoren zwischen der Deutschen Bucht und ihren Zuflüssen abgeleitet aus der Tritium- und Cs-137-Aktivitätskonzentration in den beteiligten Gewässern

Zusammenfassung Eine zusammenhängende Auswertung der Meßergebnisse der Radioaktivitätsüberwachung in der südlichen Nordsee über den Zeitraum 1977 bis 1987 hat gezeigt, daß im Wasser der Deutschen Bucht deutlich drei durch den Salzgehalt des Meerwassers und die Konzentration der gelösten Radionuklide charakterisierte Bereiche zu unterscheiden sind.Während der Salzgehalt mit wachsender Entfernung von der Küste stetig zunimmt, steigt die Cs-137-Konzentration oberhalb 34 PSU (Practical Salinity Unit) sprunghaft an und signalisiert die Grenze, bis zu der das durch die Kernbrennstoff-Wiederaufarbeitung in Sellafield (Irische See) kontaminierte Meerwasser der westlichen und mittleren Nordsee in die Deutsche Bucht vordringt. Im Bereich 34 bis 32,5 PSU ist das von Westen zugeführte, stärker Tritium-kontaminierte Wasser aus Rhein, Maas, Schelde und atmosphärischem Niederschlag zu erkennen, an das sich unterhalb 32,5 PSU der geringer mit Tritum kontaminierte Zufluß aus Elbe, Weser und Ems anschließt.Davon ausgehend, daß sich Cs-137 und Tritium wie der Salzgehalt im Meerwasser konservativ verhalten und daß weiterhin die Halbwertzeit des radioaktiven Zerfalls dieser beiden Nuklide lang ist gegenüber den Wasseraustauschzeiten im betrachteten Meeresgebiet, wurden die in der südlichen Nordsee gemessenen sowie aus der Literatur für den Süßwasserbereich entnommenen Konzentrationswerte dazu genutzt, um rechnerisch mit Hilfe des Mischungsgesetzes den Wassermassenaufbau in den drei genannten Salinitätsbereichen in der Deutschen Bucht quantitativ zu bestimmen. Es zeigte sich, daß oberhalb von 34 PSU das Meerwasser aus etwa gleichen Teilen aus der westlichen/mittleren Nordsee und dem Kanal stammt, während unterhalb dieser Salzgehaltsgrenze nur noch mit wenigen Prozentanteilen Wasser aus der mittleren Nordsee zu finden ist. Ferner ergab sich, daß das aus dem Rheinmündungsbiet bzw, aus dem atmosphärischen Niederschlag stammende Süßwasser — mit sinkendem Salzgehalt steigend — bei 32,5 PSU einen maximalen Anteil von jeweils 5% an Meerwasser hat. Der direkte Süßwasserzufluß aus Elbe, Weser und Ems beträgt in die Deutsche Bucht bei 29 PSU ca. 11%.Die berechneten Anteile sind Mittelwerte über den gesamten Beobachtungszeitraum; die Anzahl der Messungen läßt eine genauere Unterscheidung in zeitliche und räumliche Variabilität der Zusammensetzung nicht zu.Die Größe des jeweils bestimmten Anteils am Meerwasser stellt gleichzeitig den Transferfaktor der Konzentration zwischen der Nuklidkonzentration im Ursprungsgewässer (z. B. dem Rhein) und der sich daraus einstellenden Konzentration in der Deutschen Bucht dar. Ferner wurden die Transferfaktoren der Konzentration in Verbindung mit aus der Literatur entnommenen Größen der jährlichen Abflußmengen der Ursprungsgewässer genutzt, um auch die Transferfaktoren der jährlichen Einbringung zu ermitteln. So ergibt die jährliche Einbringung von 10¹⁵ Bq eines Nuklides z. B. in den Rhein bei 33,5 PSU in der Deutschen Bucht eine mittlere Konzentration von 0,34 Bq/l.Als Anwendungsbeispiel und zur Überprüfung der Richtigkeit der Transferfaktoren wird die Auswertung des Tritiumauslasses bei La Hague auf die Deutsche Bucht berechnet und mit den gemessenen Werten verglichen.

     

Investigation of superstructures in mullite by high resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction

Superstructures in synthetic mullite, Al_4+2x Si_2?2x O_10?x , prepared using the zone melting technique, are studied by high resolution electron microscopy (HREM), electron diffraction, and in situ energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. For x=0.40 composition HREM images indicate only short-range order. Near x=0.5 composition mullite has an antiphase domain structure with antiphase boundaries (APB's) oriented parallel to (100). For higher Al-content the APB's run in non-rational orientations which are slightly inclined against the {601}-planes. We propose models for the superstructures in which oxygen vacancies are arranged in channels parallel to the crystal b-axis. The models are supported by a one-to-one match between observed and computer-simulated images. An Al-rich limit of x=2/3 for mullite is deduced on the basis of stereochemical considerations. Different ordering schemes for the tetrahedral cations are believed to result in the orientation change of the APB's near x=0.5 composition.     

New results concerning the pedo- and chronostratigraphy of the loess–palaeosol sequence Attenfeld (Bavaria,Germany) derived from a multi-methodological approach

Loess–palaeosol sequences (LPS) represent important records of palaeoenvironmental dynamics throughout the Quaternary. During the Pleistocene's dry and cold phases, the Danube's riverbed was one of the major sources for loess sediments that built up LPS in southern Germany and southeastern Europe. Surprisingly, studies addressing Bavarian LPS along the Danube River often lack actuality. The Attenfeld site was one of them and is often cited as a typical LPS. Nevertheless, the site's previous interpretations are based on a few empirical data and field observations. Considering the site's closeness to the sediment's source area, the Alps, and the region's importance in Middle and Upper Palaeolithic migrational movements, those former renditions needed an evaluation. Therefore, we applied a multi-proxy approach (including analyses of grain-size distribution, element composition, and sediment colour attributes) combined with optically stimulated luminescence. Based on our findings, we conclude that the Attenfeld site's former interpretations might be too generalised. We identified units that were not mentioned by previous studies (e.g. Early Glacial dark greyish horizon). Field observations, sediment characteristics, and age estimates indicate sediment deposition of the dated units partly before MIS 4, which contrasts with previous interpretations. The results further demonstrate how sensitive LPS are to environmental settings and dynamics.     

The Wadden Sea in transition - consequences of sea level rise

The impact of sea level rise (SLR) on the future morphological development of the Wadden Sea (North Sea) is investigated by means of extensive process-resolving numerical simulations. A new sediment and morphodynamic module was implemented in the well-established 3D circulation model GETM. A number of different validations are presented, ranging from an idealized 1D channel over a semi-idealized 2D Wadden Sea basin to a fully coupled realistic 40-year hindcast without morphological amplification of the Sylt-Rømøbight, a semi-enclosed subsystem of the Wadden Sea. Based on the results of the hindcast, four distinct future scenarios covering the period 2010–2100 are simulated. While these scenarios differ in the strength of SLR and wind forcing, they also account for an expected increase of tidal range over the coming century. The results of the future projections indicate a transition from a tidal-flat-dominated system toward a lagoon-like system, in which large fractions of the Sylt-Rømøbight will remain permanently covered by water. This has potentially dramatic implications for the unique ecosystem of the Wadden Sea. Although the simulations also predict an increased accumulation of sediment in the back-barrier basin, this accumulation is far too weak to compensate for the rise in mean sea level.     

Exhumed fault-bounded Alpine blocks along the Periadriatic lineament: the Eder unit (Carnic Alps, Austria)

The Eder unit in the Carnic Alps, which is situated immediately south of the Periadriatic lineament (PL), represents a fault-bounded block consisting of a low-grade (up to 400?°C, indicated by epizonal illite “crystallinity” values, recrystallized quartz, and non-recrystallized white mica) metamorphic Paleozoic metasedimentary sequence. Until now, it has been assumed to represent a separate Variscan nappe. The rocks of the Eder unit show a strong E- to W-oriented stretching lineation on steep foliation planes (D₁) subparallel to the PL. D₁ structures originated near the temperature peak of metamorphism, and shear sense indicators show dextral ductile shear parallel to the PL. Tight mesoscale D₂ folds formed on the cooling path. K–Ar and Ar–Ar ages from newly formed white mica cluster around 32–28 and 18–13 Ma and suggest a two-stage Tertiary history of the Eder unit. We interpret the Eder unit as a fault-bounded block formed during Oligocene large-scale dextral shearing along the PL (near T_max) and exhumed in mid-Miocene times during another phase of activity along the PL. Its nature as a separate Variscan nappe is questioned.     

Lateglacial palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates from Conty and Houdancourt, northern France, reconstructed from Beetle remains

Two Lateglacial insect sequences are described (a) from Conty, in the Selle valley and (b) from Houdancourt in the Oise valley, both in northern France. These investigations are part of a multidisciplinary investigation involving archaeology, sedimentology, geomorphology, geochronology and palaeontology (pollen, macroscopic plant remains, vertebrates, molluscs and insect fossils). The sequences of insect assemblages date from the latter part of the Bølling to the end of the Allerød periods. Environmental analysis of these faunas shows that rivers with riffles and pools meandered across flood plains. The river was extensively fringed with reedy vegetation. The only trees growing close to the river were of Salix and/or Populus. All the insect assemblages indicate that the thermal climates during the Bølling and Allerød periods were similar to one another and during both periods were very nearly as warm as that of the present day. No insect fossils were recovered from the sediments attributed to the Older Dryas interval though other evidence from these sites suggests that this event was decidedly colder than those immediately preceding and succeeding it. Comparisons are made between Lateglacial climatic patterns in northern France with those elsewhere in Europe.     

The impacts of climate change on the winter hardiness zones of woody plants in Europe

The potential impacts of climate change on potatoes cropping in the Peruvian highlands (Altiplano) is assessed using climate projections for 2071–2100, obtained from the HadRM3P regional atmospheric model of the Hadley Centre. The atmospheric model is run under two different special report on emission scenarios: high CO₂ concentration (A2) and moderate CO₂ concentration (B2) for four locations situated in the surroundings of Lake Titicaca. The two main varieties of potato cultivated in the area are studied: the Andean potato (Solanum tuberosum) and the bitter potato (Solanum juzepczukii). A simple process-oriented model is used to quantify the climatic impacts on crops cycles and yields by combining the effects of temperature on phenology, of radiation and CO₂ on maximum yield and of water balance on yield deficit. In future climates, air temperature systematically increases, precipitation tends to increase at the beginning of the rainy season and slightly decreases during the rest of the season. The direct effects of these climatic changes are earlier planting dates, less planting failures and shorter crop cycles in all the four locations and for both scenarios. Consequently, the harvesting dates occur systematically earlier: roughly in January for the Andean potato instead of March in the current situation and in February for the bitter potato instead of April. Overall, yield deficits will be higher under climate change than in the current climate. There will be a strong negative impact on yields for S. tuberosum (stronger under A2 scenario than under B2); the impact on S. juzepczukii yields, however, appears to be relatively mixed and not so negative.