Mean bulk densities of samples of dry atmospheric aerosol particles: A summary of measured data

Mean bulk densities of various samples of dry atmospheric aerosol particles sampled at different sites and during different seasons and weather situations range between 1.8 and more than 3 gm cm³.     

Natural shock behavior of almandite in metamorphic rocks from the ries crater,Germany

An extensive study of a big number of gneiss specimens with various shock features from the suevite allowed unravelling of the shock behavior of almandite garnets.Almandites in shocked metamorphic rocks show with increasing dynamic pressures strong irregular fracturing. differently oriented sets of planar fractures or elements, brown turbidity and nucleation of minute crystals of an unknown phase in solid garnets. At higher peak pressures garnet was found to break down to (1) orthopyroxene + spinel + glass, and to (2) spinel + glass due to fast shock-melting.Extensive quantitative electron microprobe studies of almandite garnets and their breakdown products were carried out. The breakdown products within the original grain boundaries of the garnets consist of an alumina-rich orthopyroxene (with up to 10 wt. % Al₂O₃), hercynite to pleonaste spinels and a silica and calcium-rich glass matrix. The chemical zonation of magnesium and manganese of the former garnets is inherited in the composition of the newly formed orthopyroxenes.Petrographic evidence and chemical composition suggest a fast breakdown of the almandite garnets after passing of shock waves at rapidly falling pressures and very high post-shock temperatures within the ejected gneissic rock material.     

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Die lokale Beeinflussung eines stehenden Gewässers durch eine punktförmige Abwasserbelastung; ein direkter Nachweis der wachstumsbegrenzenden Wirkung des Phosphors im Vierwaldstättersee

Zusammenfassung Die Beeinflussung des Vierwaldst?ttersees (Horwer Bucht) durch den mit dem Abwasser von 10 000 Einwohnern belasteten Steinibach liess sich im Oberfl?chenwasser auf eine Distanz von mehr als 2 km verfolgen (Abb. 1a, 1b, 1c). Es zeigte sich, dass eine erh?hte Phosphorzufuhr eine verst?rkte biogene Nitratzehrung erm?glicht. Die Abh?ngigkeit der Pigmentkonzentration y von der Gesamtphosphorkonzentrationx liess sich durch die folgende Mitscherlich-Gleichung beschreiben: log(30-y)=log 30–0,012 (x−6) Damit wurde im Vierwaldst?ttersee erstmals unter v?llig natürlichen Bedingungen die Beeinflussung der Prim?rproduktion durch eine erh?hte Phosphorkonzentration nachgewiesen (Abb. 2). Die Erfolgsaussichten von Abwassersanierungsmassnahmen an Seen verschiedener Trophiegrade werden diskutiert.

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Summary The influence of the ‘Steinibach” tributary, into which the wastewater of 10,000 inhabitants is discharged, on the Lake of Lucerne (Horwer Bucht) is detectable in the surface water over a distance of more than 2 km (Picture 1a, 1b, 1c). It was revealed that the increased phosphorus supply enables more intensive biological nitrate consumption. The dependence of the pigment concentration,y, on the total phosphorus concentration,x can be expressed by the following Mitscherlich equation: log (30−y)=log 30–0.012 (x−6). This was the first time that the influence of an increased phosphorus concentration on primary production was proved in the Lake of Lucerne under completely natural conditions (Picture 2). The possibilities of implementing successful water pollution control measures in lakes with various trophic levels are discussed.

     

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The use of mycorrhiza for eco‐engineering measures in steep alpine environments: effects on soil aggregate formation and fine‐root development

Steep erosion‐prone and vegetation‐free slopes are widespread in alpine areas and are often discussed since they have a high socio‐economic damage potential. We present an eco‐engineering approach to test whether a mycorrhizal inoculum improves the establishment of hedge brush layers and in turn soil structural stability on a steep, coarse‐grained vegetation‐free slope in the eastern Swiss Alps. We established (i) mycorrhizal and (ii) non‐mycorrhizal treated eco‐engineered research plots on a field experimental scale, covering a total area of approximately 1000 m² on an east‐northeast (ENE) exposed slope, where many environmental parameters can be regarded as homogeneous. After a full vegetation period, we quantified soil aggregate stability, the formation of water stable aggregates and the fine‐root development. Our results illustrate that the establishment of brush layers without mycorrhizal inoculum increased aggregate stability significantly. Against our expectation and glasshouse experiments, the addition of mycorrhizal inoculum did not have a statistically significant effect after one vegetation period although it tended to increase aggregate stability. Analogously, root length density (RLD) tended to be higher at the non‐mycorrhizal treated site. Aggregate stability was significantly correlated with RLD. Studies on a bigger field experimental scale are inevitable, complement glasshouse studies and lead to a better understanding for a successful application of sustainable eco‐engineering measures in alpine environments. Based on our results and considering the fact that the response time in natural ecosystems may be slower than in laboratory approaches, we conclude that long‐term field studies are necessary to validate results gained through laboratory experiments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial analysis of instream nitrogen loads and factors controlling nitrogen delivery to streams in the southeastern United States using spatially referenced regression on watershed attributes (SPARROW) and regional classification frameworks

Understanding how nitrogen transport across the landscape varies with landscape characteristics is important for developing sound nitrogen management policies. We used a spatially referenced regression analysis (SPARROW) to examine landscape characteristics influencing delivery of nitrogen from sources in a watershed to stream channels. Modelled landscape delivery ratio varies widely (by a factor of 4) among watersheds in the southeastern United States—higher in the western part (Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi) than in the eastern part, and the average value for the region is lower compared to other parts of the nation. When we model landscape delivery ratio as a continuous function of local‐scale landscape characteristics, we estimate a spatial pattern that varies as a function of soil and climate characteristics but exhibits spatial structure in residuals (observed load minus predicted load). The spatial pattern of modelled landscape delivery ratio and the spatial pattern of residuals coincide spatially with Level III ecoregions and also with hydrologic landscape regions. Subsequent incorporation into the model of these frameworks as regional scale variables improves estimation of landscape delivery ratio, evidenced by reduced spatial bias in residuals, and suggests that cross‐scale processes affect nitrogen attenuation on the landscape. The model‐fitted coefficient values are logically consistent with the hypothesis that broad‐scale classifications of hydrologic response help to explain differential rates of nitrogen attenuation, controlling for local‐scale landscape characteristics. Negative model coefficients for hydrologic landscape regions where the primary flow path is shallow ground water suggest that a lower fraction of nitrogen mass will be delivered to streams; this relation is reversed for regions where the primary flow path is overland flow. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The snowball Earth aftermath: Exploring the limits of continental weathering processes

Carbonates capping Neoproterozoic glacial deposits contain peculiar sedimentological features and geochemical anomalies ascribed to extraordinary environmental conditions in the snowball Earth aftermath. It is commonly assumed that post-snowball climate dominated by CO₂ partial pressures several hundred times greater than modern levels, would be characterized by extreme temperatures, a vigorous hydrological cycle, and associated high continental weathering rates. However, the climate in the aftermath of a global glaciation has never been rigorously modelled. Here, we use a hierarchy of numerical models, from an atmospheric general circulation model to a mechanistic model describing continental weathering processes, to explore characteristics of the Earth system during the supergreenhouse climate following a snowball glaciation. These models suggest that the hydrological cycle intensifies only moderately in response to the elevated greenhouse. Indeed, constraints imposed by the surface energy budget sharply limit global mean evaporation once the temperature has warmed sufficiently that the evaporation approaches the total absorbed solar radiation. Even at 400 times the present day pressure of atmospheric CO₂, continental runoff is only 1.2 times the modern runoff. Under these conditions and accounting for the grinding of the continental surface by the ice sheet during the snowball event, the simulated maximum discharge of dissolved elements from continental weathering into the ocean is approximately 10 times greater than the modern flux. Consequently, it takes millions of years for the silicate weathering cycle to reduce post-snowball CO₂ levels to background Neoproterozoic levels. Regarding the origin of the cap dolostones, we show that continental weathering alone does not supply enough cations during the snowball melting phase to account for their observed volume.