Critical swimming capacity of the Atlantic silverside,Menidia menidia L.

Critical swimming speed was determined for the Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) at several time and velocity increments. Fish were tested at time increments (Δt) of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, and 60 minutes at a velocity increment (ΔV) of 0.5 body lengths s^?1 (BL s^?1). Tail beat frequency increased linearly with velocity. Critical swimming speed decreased from 9.7 BL s^?1 at a Δt of 2 min to 8.5 BL s^?1 at a Δt of 30 min and 45 min, followed by an increase to 9.25 BL s^?1 at a Δt of 60 min.     

Water and related chemistry in the solar system. A guaranteed time key programme for Herschel

“Water and related chemistry in the Solar System” is a Herschel Space Observatory Guaranteed-Time Key Programme. This project, approved by the European Space Agency, aims at determining the distribution, the evolution and the origin of water in Mars, the outer planets, Titan, Enceladus and the comets. It addresses the broad topic of water and its isotopologues in planetary and cometary atmospheres. The nature of cometary activity and the thermodynamics of cometary comae will be investigated by studying water excitation in a sample of comets. The D/H ratio, the key parameter for constraining the origin and evolution of Solar System species, will be measured for the first time in a Jupiter-family comet. A comparison with existing and new measurements of D/H in Oort-cloud comets will constrain the composition of pre-solar cometary grains and possibly the dynamics of the protosolar nebula. New measurements of D/H in giant planets, similarly constraining the composition of proto-planetary ices, will be obtained. The D/H and other isotopic ratios, diagnostic of Mars’ atmosphere evolution, will be accurately measured in H₂O and CO. The role of water vapor in Mars’ atmospheric chemistry will be studied by monitoring vertical profiles of H₂O and HDO and by searching for several other species (and CO and H₂O isotopes). A detailed study of the source of water in the upper atmosphere of the Giant Planets and Titan will be performed. By monitoring the water abundance, vertical profile, and input fluxes in the various objects, and when possible with the help of mapping observations, we will discriminate between the possible sources of water in the outer planets (interplanetary dust particles, cometary impacts, and local sources). In addition to these inter-connected objectives, serendipitous searches will enhance our knowledge of the composition of planetary and cometary atmospheres.     

A Truly Spatial Random Forests Algorithm for Geoscience Data Analysis and Modelling

Mathematical Geosciences - Spatial data mining helps to find hidden but potentially informative patterns from large and high-dimensional geoscience data. Non-spatial learners generally look at the...     

Ground-motion modelling at regional distances for earthquakes in a continental interior,I. Theory and observations

To understand the ground-motion contribution by multiple-mode surface-wave arrivals, the surface-wave theory required for predicting ground-motion time histories is discussed. The adequacy of the theory in accounting for observed earthquake ground motion is tested by comparing theoretically predicted long-period seismograms with real seismograms for two earthquakes in the central United States. The agreement between the predicted and observed maximum vertical component L_g ground velocities and accelerations in the 2- to 3-sec period range is excellent over a distance range of 100 to 2,000 km.     

A multi-method approach for the identification and quantification of water balance components of two lentic small water bodies

The protection of the globally widespread lentic small water bodies (LSWB) must be based on detailed knowledge about their hydrological connectivity and water balance. The study aimed to identify and quantify water balance components as well as surface-groundwater interaction of two LSWB in a characteristic lowland region with a combination of different methods. This includes the collection of hydrological data and the use of bromide and water stable isotopes (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) as tracers. With their help, mixing models were established, and daily water balances were assessed. The results show a strong bidirectional interaction of both LSWB systems with shallow groundwater. Bromide and stable isotope tracers allowed for the identification of the most relevant in- and outflow sources and pathways. Thereby, isotope data revealed isotopic enrichment typical for open-water bodies and only minor precipitation inputs mainly relevant at the end of the dry season. Water balance calculations suggested accentuated seasonal dynamics that were strongly influenced by shallow groundwater, which represented large inputs into both LSWB. By that, different phases could be identified, with high inflow rates in winter and spring and decreasing fluxes in summer. In one LSWB, a drainage system was found to have a major impact next to the shallow groundwater interaction. The findings of this research provide detailed insights into the influence and importance of shallow groundwater for LSWB in lowland regions. This impacts the diffuse input of agricultural pollutants into these ecologically important landscape features.     

Die Seismischen Grundlagen der Neuzeitlichen Erschütterungsmesstechnik bei Verkehr und in der Industrie

Резюме Для оценки опасности технических сотрясений до сих пор сушествующие шкалы неудобны. ПроизБеденые измерения (фиг. 1) находятся в соглашении с взглядом, что найболее удобной для характеристики опасности является скорость движения почвы.

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Vorgelegt bei der 1. seismologischen Konferenz der Tschechosl. Ak. d. Wiss. zu Liblice am 19. M?rz 1957.

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Anschrift: Freiberg, Nonnengasse 35, DDR.     

Bodenkartierung des Seegebietes Hoofden (südliche Nordsee) mit Hilfe von Grundproben und Echogrammen

Zusammenfassung Auf zwei Fahrten des Forschungsschiffes Gauss im Juni 1951 und im März 1952 wurde eine Untersuchung des Meeresbodens der Hoofden mit Hilfe des van Veenschen. Bodengreifers sowie des Unterwegslotes vorgenommen. Die Ergebnisse (mittlerer Probenabstand 10 km) wurden in einer Karte der Bodenbedeckung verarbeitet. Bei solchem Abstand ist jedoch die Grenzziehung zwischen Sedimentunterschieden möglicherweise ungenau; ferner können Feinheiten verborgen bleiben.Deshalb wurde während der genannten Fahrten eine Methode entwickelt, die es ermöglicht, aus Echogrammen auf die Bodenbedeckung zu schließen. Diese Methode wird erläutert und mit Beispielen belegt; dabei werden in formaler Analogie zur elektrischen Vierpoltheorie der Reflexionsfaktor und der Durchlässigkeitsfaktor des Meeresbodens für Schallwellen definiert. Die aus dem Echogramm abgeleiteten Sedimentangaben werden in eine Karte der Bodenbedeckung, die von der vorerwähnten getrennt gezeichnet wurde, eingetragen. Beide Karten werden miteinander verglichen und es wird festgestellt, daß eine qualitative Übereinstimmung in den Angaben besteht, wobei das fortlaufende Echogramm eine Lücke bei der Bestimmung der Grenze zwischen zwei Bodenbedeckungsarten schließt.

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Plotting of a chart of the bottom covering in the Southern Bight of the North Sea (Hoofden) based on bottom samples and echograms

Summary On two cruises untertaken in the Hoofden or Southern Bight of the North Sea with the research ship Gauss in June 1951 and March 1952, investigations into the nature of the sea bottom were made with the aid of the van Veen and the underway bottom samplers. The samples which were collected at an average interval of approximately 10 km (5 or 6 nautical miles) were worked up for plotting a chart of the sea bottom. Samples taken at such great intervals do, however, not always afford sufficient accuracy in fixing the boundaries between different kinds of sediments; moreover, minute features may remain unrevealed.Therefore, with a view to improving the accuracy of chart plotting a method was developed on the two cruises enabling the nature of the uppermost layer of the sea bottom to be deduced from echograms. This method is described and exemplified, the factors of reflection and permeability of the sea bottom to acoustic oscillations being defined by formal analogy with the theory of the four terminal electrical network. The data derived from the echograms were plotted on a separate chart showing the bottom covering and being drawn independently from the aforementioned bottom sample chart (cf. fig. 7 and 8, plate 6). A comparison shows that there exists a qualitative agreement between the data inserted on the two charts and that the continuous echogram fills a gap inasmuch as it enables the boundaries between the various types of bottom material to be fixed more exactly.

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Établissement d'une carte des sédiments sous-marins de la partie méridionale de la mer du Nord (Hoofden) d'après des échantillons du fond de la mer et des enregistrements ultra-sonores

Résumé Au cours de deux croisières du navire explorateur Gauss dans la région méridionale de la mer du Nord en juin 1951 et en mars 1952 on a examiné le fond de la mer à l'aide de l'échantillonneur van Veen ainsi qu'avec un échantillonneur permettant do recueillir des échantillons sans stopper le navire. Les prélèvements des échantillons furent espacés d'environ 10 kilomètres en moyenne et élaborés pour l'établissement d'une carte de la couche supérieure du fond de la mer. Or, les échantillons prélevés à de tels intervalles ne permettent pas toujours de préciser assez exactement les limites des régions des sédiments divers, ni de révéler des détails minimes.Pour augmenter la précision des cartes on a développé une méthode qui permet de dériver la nature du fond de la mer des enregistrements ultra-sonores. Cette méthode est exposée et illustrée par des examples; les facteurs de réflexion et de perméabilité du fond de la mer aux oscillations acoustiques y sont définis en analogie formale avec la théorie du réseau récurrent. Les données des sédiments dérivées des enregistrements ultra-sonores sont introduites sur une deuxième carte de la couche supérieure du fond de la mer qui fut tracée indépendamment de la carte mentionnée ci-dessus qui se base sur des échantillons du fond de la mer. La comparaison montre que les données sur les deux cartes s'accordent qualitativement et que l'enregistrement ultra-sonore continu a comblé une lacune existant jusqu'ici par rapport à la précision des limites entre les types divers de la matière du fond de la mer.

     

Biological production off Southern California is linked to climatic change

To obtain clues about how coastal primary production might be affected by interannual and interdecadal changes in climate, we studied marine laminated sediments from the center of the Santa Barbara Basin. We report here a large decrease in the flux of diatoms between the periods 1954–1972 and 1973–1986, by a factor of five, and sustained reductions from 1973 to 1978 by a factor of ten below the pre-1972 period. Planktonic foraminifera flux shows a consistent trend of decrease with lowest values from 1981 to 1984. On the whole, the 1954–1972 period is considerably cooler than the 1973–1986 period, over the entire North Pacific. The decrease in biological production in this coastal system is accompanied by an overall intensification of the Aleutian Low in the North Pacific over the past 14 years, providing for a weakening of the California Current, and an overall reduction of mixing and upwelling. The possibility that the low coastal production could provide positive feedback to global warming through reduction of CO₂-uptake, and its relation to the greenhouse effect is considered. On a shorter time-scale, the effects of El Niño phenomena are clearly seen in the sediments of this basin, as decreases in total diatom flux and increases in the relative abundance of certain warm-water diatoms.