Petrogenesis of the Dullstroom Formation, Bushveld Magmatic Province, South Africa

The Precambrian Dullstroom Formation of South Africa, which is predominantly composed of basaltic andesites interbedded with subordinate sedimentary and felsic volcanic strata, represents the first phase of an extended period of magmatism that was responsible for the Bushveld Magmatic Province, including the extrusive Rooiberg Group and the intrusive Bushveld Complex. New geochemical and isotopic data for the Dullstroom Formation are presented in an effort to elucidate the petrogenetic processes operative during the initiation of this magmatic episode. The volcanic units of the central portion of the Dullstroom Formation have been subdivided into at least three interbedded compositional groups: low Ti mafic to intermediate units, high-Ti mafic to intermediate units, and high Mg felsic units. High Ti and low Ti volcanic units are similar in some compositional characteristics to basalts of the nearby northern and southern provinces, respectively, of the Mesozoic Karoo continental flood basalts. Isotopic and compositional data for low Ti Dullstroom strata are consistent with bulk assimilation into a melt similar in composition to a southern Karoo basalt of 20% upper continental crust accompanied by 20% fractional crystallization of pyroxene and plagioclase. Isotopic and compositional data for high Ti Dullstroom strata are consistent with magma mixing of 30% northern Karoo K-rich basalt and 70% southern Karoo basalt followed by 20% assimilation of upper continental crust and 20% fractional crystallization of pyroxene and plagioclase. Compositions of high Mg felsic volcanic strata are consistent with 25% assimilation of a mixture of silica-rich sedimentary rock and upper continental crust into a melt similar in composition to low Ti volcanic units with 25% fractional crystallization of pyroxene and plagioclase. However, it has been suggested that compositions of these high Mg felsic strata may also be consistent with interaction of a crustal melt. Assimilation, fractional crystallization, and magma mixing that apparently affected these Dullstroom Formation volcanic strata may have occurred in a series of shallow magma chambers. These data are consistent with the suggestion that Dullstroom Formation volcanic rocks are the result of a mantle plume. Mantle plume origin also is suggested by the large volume of intrusive and extrusive strata associated with this magmatic episode. These data do not support the hypothesis that the Bushveld Complex and the Rooiberg Group formed by impacts of a cluster of comets or asteroids. Received: 14 October 1998 / Accepted: 17 May 1999     

Perihel-Bewegung und kosmologische Singularität in TREDERS Gravitationstheorie

In the framework of TREDER 's gravitational theory we elaborate the consequences of a class of field equations for some solar-system effects and their connection to the problem of cosmological singularity. These equations read on special conditions with components of the energy momentum tensor, KRONECKER 's symbol, tetrad components). ω is a real parameter. If we choose the integration constants of the static spherically symmetric vacuum case in such a way that red shift is the same like that of EINSTEIN 's theory and the source of gravitational field is that of a point mass we obtain for the perihelion rotation the expression is EINSTEINS value of the perihelion rotation.) For we obtain But only if ω > 2/5 cosmological models exist which have no cosmological singularity. On the other hand for ω > 2/5 the value is greater than.     

Optical luminescence dating of a loess section containing a critical tephra marker horizon,SW North Island of New Zealand

A new IRSL dataset is presented for the age and setting of a critical Late Glacial Maximum tephra isochron marker. The rhyolitic tephra, known as the Kawakawa Tephra, occurs as a 14 cm thick layer within a 5.9 m thick loess section overlying alluvial gravels in the Rangitikei River valley, SW North Island of New Zealand. Ages range from 21 at the base to 5 ka near the top of the loess and bracket an age of 17.0 ± 2.2 for the tephra. The new IRSL ages are in agreement with published and unpublished luminescence ages from other localities of loess, sand and ash above and below the tephra and of the tephra itself, that indicate an age of ca. 19 ka for the Kawakawa Tephra. This age is considerably younger than the generally accepted ¹⁴C 27.1 ka cal yrs BP age of the Kawakawa Tephra and highlights an unresolved discrepancy between the two dating systems.     

Hyperspectral boundary detection based on the Busyness Multiple Correlation Edge Detector and Alternating Vector Field Convolution snakes

Active contours, or snakes, are broadly used to detect linear features such as edges. However, they are often restricted in the delineation of regions of interest within the hyperspectral domain. In this paper, a new approach is presented, referred to as “Busyness Multiple Correlation Edge Detector”, that enables hyperspectral boundary detection using active contours such as “Alternating Vector Field Convolution” snakes. The combination of “Alternating Vector Field Convolution” snakes with the “Busyness Multiple Correlation Edge Detector” opens a broad set of applications by concurrent high convergence quality and speed. Furthermore, specific snake initialisations are tested. A series of examples are used to both demonstrate the approach and underline the benefits of the new methods.     

Potential impacts of Three Gorges Dam in China on the ecosystem of East China Sea

The Changjiang River in China was dammed in 2003. The possible changes in matters fluxes from the river downstream after the completion of Three Gorges Dam and their potential impacts on the ecosystem of the East China Sea are discussed . The estuarine and coastal waters in the East China Sea were heavily fertilized by the inflow of nutrient-rich freshwater from the Changjiang River, which has led to severe eutrophication and frequent harmful algal blooms ,thus worsening the ecosystem health in this area. Analy- sis showed that the nutrient loadings are very likely to be reduced in the lower Changjiang River due to the construction of Three Gorges Dam. Especially for the total phosphorus, the discharges to the East China Sea will be reduced by one-third, which would relieve the severe eutrophication in this area. However, the expected decrease in the riverine silicate discharge would lead the ratio of silicon to nitrogen to be much less than 1 in the estuarine and coastal waters and thus may cause an elevation of flagellate growth. The changes in the annual water discharges and their seasonal distributions below the dam will be minor. Reduction of suspended particulate matter loading, due to the sedimentation behind the dam, will reduce the nutrient loadings of the particulate form especially for phosphorus, and decrease the turbidity of estuarine and coastal waters. On the other hand, this may enhance the erosion of the delta and the coasts as well as modifythe benthic ecosystem.     

Non‐stationary hydrological model parameters: a framework based on SOM‐B

The application of stationary parameters in conceptual hydrological models, even under changing boundary conditions, is a common yet unproven practice. This study investigates the impact of non‐stationary model parameters on model performance for different flow indices and time scales. Therefore, a Self‐Organizing Map based optimization approach, which links non‐stationary model parameters with climate indices, is presented and tested on seven meso‐scale catchments in northern Germany. The algorithm automatically groups sub‐periods with similar climate characteristics and allocates them to similar model parameter sets. The climate indices used for the classification of sub‐periods are based on (a) yearly means and (b) a moving average over the previous 61 days. Classification b supports the estimation of continuous non‐stationary parameters. The results show that (i) non‐stationary model parameters can improve the performance of hydrological models with an acceptable growth in parameter uncertainty; (ii) some model parameters are highly correlated to some climate indices; (iii) the model performance improves more for monthly means than yearly means; and (iv) in general low to medium flows improve more than high flows. It was further shown how the gained knowledge can be used to identify insufficiencies in the model structure. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vegetation impacts soil water content patterns by shaping canopy water fluxes and soil properties

Soil water content is a key variable for biogeochemical and atmospheric coupled processes. Its small‐scale heterogeneity impacts the partitioning of precipitation (e.g., deep percolation or transpiration) by triggering threshold processes and connecting flow paths. Forest hydrologists frequently hypothesized that throughfall and stemflow patterns induce soil water content heterogeneity, yet experimental validation is limited. Here, we pursued a pattern‐oriented approach to explore the relationship between net precipitation and soil water content. Both were measured in independent high‐resolution stratified random designs on a 1‐ha temperate mixed beech forest plot in Germany. We recorded throughfall (350 locations) and stemflow (65 trees) for 16 precipitation events in 2015. Soil water content was measured continuously in topsoil and subsoil (210 profiles). Soil wetting was only weakly related to net precipitation patterns. The precipitation‐induced pattern quickly dissipates and returns to a basic pattern, which is temporally stable. Instead, soil hydraulic properties (by the proxy of field capacity) were significantly correlated with this stable soil water content pattern, indicating that soil structure more than net precipitation drives soil water content heterogeneity. Also, both field capacity and soil water content were lower in the immediate vicinity of tree stems compared to further away at all times, including winter, despite stemflow occurrence. Thus, soil structure varies systematically according to vegetation in our site. We conclude that enhanced macroporosity increases gravity‐driven flow in stem proximal areas. Therefore, although soil water content patterns are little affected by net precipitation, the resulting soil water fluxes may strongly be affected. Specifically, this may further enhance the channelling of stemflow to greater depth and beyond the rooting zone.     

Early Archean spherule layers from the Barberton Greenstone Belt,South Africa: Mineralogy and geochemistry of the spherule beds in the CT3 drill core

Little is known about the Hadean and the Archean impact record on Earth. In the CT3 drill core from the Fig Tree Group of the northern Barberton Greenstone Belt, 17 spherule layer intersections occur, which, provide an outstanding new opportunity to gain insights into meteorite bombardment of the early Earth. CT3 spherules, as primary features, mostly exhibit textural patterns similar to those of the other Barberton spherule layers, but locally mineralogical and chemical compositional differences are observed, likely as a result of various degrees of alteration. The observed mineralogy of the spherule layers is of secondary origin and comprises K‐feldspar, phyllosilicates, carbonates, sulfides, and oxides, with the exception of secondary Ni‐Cr spinel that is of primary origin. Our petrographic investigations suggest alteration by K‐metasomatism, sericitization, silicification, and carbonatization. Siderophile element contents of bulk samples show significant enrichments in Ni (up to 2 wt%) and Ir (up to ~3 ppm), similar to previously studied Archean spherule layers. These values are indicative of the presence of a meteoritic component. On the other hand, lithophile and chalcophile element abundances indicate hydrothermal overprint on the CT3 samples; this may also have influenced the redistribution of the meteoritic component(s). Last, we group the CT3 spherule layers, which occur in three intervals (A, B, and C), according to their petrographic and geochemical features, which indicate evidence for at least three distinct impact events before tectonic overprint that affected the original deposits.