Revision der geologischen Zeittafel für Nordamerika

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Effects of Salinity on Nitrogen Losses from an Oligohaline Estuarine Sediment

Benthic respiration, sediment–water nutrient fluxes, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) were measured in the upper section of the Parker River Estuary from 1993 to 2006. This site experiences large changes in salinity over both short and long time scales. Sediment respiration ranged from 6 to 52 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ and was largely controlled by temperature. Nutrient fluxes were dominated by ammonium fluxes, which ranged from a small uptake of −0.3 to an efflux of over 8.2 mmol N m⁻² day⁻¹. Ammonium fluxes were most highly correlated with salinity and laboratory experiments demonstrated that ammonium fluxes increased when salinity increased. The seasonal pattern of DNRA closely followed salinity. DNRA rates were extremely low in March, less than 0.1 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹, but increased to 2.0 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ in August. In contrast, denitrification rates were inversely related to salinity, ranging from 1 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ during the spring and fall to less than 0.2 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ in late summer. Salinity appears to exert a major control on the nitrogen cycle at this site, and partially decouples sediment ammonium fluxes from organic matter decomposition.     

Marine electrical resistivity imaging of submarine groundwater discharge: sensitivity analysis and application in Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, USA

Electrical resistivity imaging has been used in coastal settings to characterize fresh submarine groundwater discharge and the position of the freshwater/salt-water interface because of the relation of bulk electrical conductivity to pore-fluid conductivity, which in turn is a function of salinity. Interpretation of tomograms for hydrologic processes is complicated by inversion artifacts, uncertainty associated with survey geometry limitations, measurement errors, and choice of regularization method. Variation of seawater over tidal cycles poses unique challenges for inversion. The capabilities and limitations of resistivity imaging are presented for characterizing the distribution of freshwater and saltwater beneath a beach. The experimental results provide new insight into fresh submarine groundwater discharge at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, East Falmouth, Massachusetts (USA). Tomograms from the experimental data indicate that fresh submarine groundwater discharge may shut down at high tide, whereas temperature data indicate that the discharge continues throughout the tidal cycle. Sensitivity analysis and synthetic modeling provide insight into resolving power in the presence of a time-varying saline water layer. In general, vertical electrodes and cross-hole measurements improve the inversion results regardless of the tidal level, whereas the resolution of surface arrays is more sensitive to time-varying saline water layer.     

Apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology from the Archean Tanzania Craton: Contributions to cooling histories of Tanzanian basement rocks

Borehole and surface samples from the Archean Tanzania Craton were analysed for apatite fission track(AFT) and(U-Th)/He data with the aim of deciphering cooling histories of the basement rocks. Fission track dates from borehole and outcrop samples are Carboniferous-Permian(345± 33.3 Ma to271±31.7 Ma) whereas(U-Th)/He dates are Carboniferous-Triassic(336±45.8 Ma to 213±29 Ma) for outcrop grains and are consistently younger than corresponding AFT dates. Single grain(U-Th)/He dates from the borehole are likely to be flawed by excessive helium implantation due to their very low effective uranium contents, radiation damage and grain sizes. All AFT and(U-Th)/He dates are significantly younger than the stratigraphic ages of their host rocks, implying that the samples have experienced Phanerozoic elevated paleo-temperatures. Considerations of the data indicate removal of up to 9 km overburden since the Palaeozoic.Thermal modelling reveals a protracted rapid cooling event commencing during the early Carboniferous(ca. 350 Ma) at rates of 46 m/Ma ending in the Triassic(ca. 220 Ma). The model also suggests minor cooling during the Cretaceous of the samples to surface temperatures. The suggested later cooling event remains to be tested. The major cooling phase during the Carboniferous is interpreted to be associated with compressional tectonics during the Variscan Orogeny sensu far field induced stresses. Coeval sedimentation in the Karoo basins in the region suggests that most of the cooling of cratonic rocks during the Carboniferous was associated with denudation.     

Lithium isotopes in Guatemalan and Franciscan HP-LT rocks: Insights into the role of sediment-derived fluids during subduction

High-pressure, low-temperature (HP-LT) rocks from a Cretaceous age subduction complex occur as tectonic blocks in serpentinite mélange along the Motagua Fault (MF) in central Guatemala. Eclogite and jadeitite among these are characterized by trace element patterns with enrichments in fluid mobile elements, similar to arc lavas. Eclogite is recrystallized from MORB-like altered oceanic crust, presumably at the boundary between the down-going plate and overlying mantle wedge. Eclogite geochemistry, mineralogy and petrography suggest a two step petrogenesis of (1) dehydration during prograde metamorphism at low temperatures (<500 °C) followed by (2) partial rehydration/fertilization at even lower T during exhumation. In contrast, Guatemalan jadeitites are crystallized directly from low-T aqueous fluid as veins in serpentinizing mantle during both subduction and exhumation. The overall chemistry and mineralogy of Guatemalan eclogites are similar to those from the Franciscan Complex, California, implying similar P-T-x paths.Li concentrations (?90 ppm) in mineral separates and whole rocks (WR) from Guatemalan and Franciscan HP-LT rocks are significantly higher than MORB (4-6 ppm), but similar to HP-LT rocks globally. Li isotopic compositions range from −5‰ to +5‰ for Guatemalan HP-LT rocks, and −4‰ to +1‰ for Franciscan eclogites, overlapping previous findings for other HP-LT suites. The combination of Li concentrations greater than MORB, and Li isotopic values lighter than MORB are inconsistent with a simple dehydration model. We prefer a model in which Li systematics in Guatemalan and Franciscan eclogites reflect reequilibration with subduction fluids during exhumation. Roughly 5-10% of the Li in these fluids is derived from sediments.Model results predict that the dehydrated bulk ocean crust is isotopically lighter (δ⁷Li ? +1 ± 3‰) than the depleted mantle (∼+3.5 ± 0.5‰), while the mantle wedge beneath the arc is the isotopic complement of the bulk crust. A subduction fluid with an AOC-GLOSS composition over the full range of model temperatures (50-600 °C) gives an average fluid δ⁷Li (∼+7 ± 5‰ 1σ) that is isotopically heavier than the depleted mantle. If the lowest temperature steps are excluded (50-260 °C) as too cold to participate in circulation of the mantle wedge, then the average subduction fluid (δ⁷Li = +4 ± 2.3‰ 1σ, is indistinguishable from depleted mantle. Because of the relatively compatible nature of Li in metamorphic minerals, the most altered part of the crust (uppermost extrusives), may retain a Li isotopic signature (∼+5 ± 3‰) heavier than the bulk crust. The range of Li isotopic values for OIB, IAB and MORB overlap, making it is difficult to resolve which of these components may contribute to the recycled component in the mantle using δ⁷Li alone.     

Hydrologic flowpaths during snowmelt in forested headwater catchments under differing winter climatic and soil frost regimes

Changes in hydrologic flowpaths have important impacts on the timing, magnitude and hydrochemistry of run‐off during snowmelt in forested catchments, but how flowpaths are affected by variation in winter climate and the irregular presence of soil frost remains poorly understood. The depth and extent of soil frost may be expected to increase as snowpack decreases or develops later because of climate change. In this study, we used end‐member mixing analysis to determine daily contributions of snow, forest floor soil water and groundwater to stream run‐off during snowmelt under different soil frost regimes resulting from interannual and elevational variation at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. We observed greater routing of run‐off through forest floor flowpaths during early snowmelt in 2011, when the snowpack was deep and soil frost was minimal, compared with the early snowmelt in 2012 under conditions of deep and extensive soil frost. The results indicate that widespread soil frost that penetrated the depth of the forest floor decreased the flow signal through the shallowest subsurface flowpaths, but did not reduce overall infiltration of melt waters, as the contribution from the snow‐precipitation end‐member was similar under both conditions. These results are consistent with development of granular soil frost which permits vertical infiltration of melt waters, but either reduces lateral flow in the forest floor or prevents the solute exchange that would produce the typical chemical signature of shallow subsurface flowpaths in streamwater. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal and spatial variability of extreme river flow quantiles in the Upper Vistula River basin,Poland

Temporal and spatial variability in extreme quantile anomalies of seasonal and annual maximum river flows was studied for 41 gauging stations at rivers in the Upper Vistula River basin, Poland. Using the quantile perturbation method, the temporal variability in anomalies was analysed. Interdecadal oscillating components were extracted from the series of anomalies using the Hilbert‐Huang transform method. Period length, part of variance of each component, and part of unexplained variance were assessed. Results show an oscillating pattern in the temporal occurrence of extreme flow quantiles with clusters of high values in the 1960–1970s and since the late 1990s and of low values in the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s. The anomalies show a high variability on the right bank of the Upper Vistula River basin during the summer season with the highest values in catchments located in the western and south‐western parts of the basin. River flow extreme quantiles were found to be associated with large‐scale climatic variables from the regions of the North Atlantic Ocean, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Asia, and, to a lesser extent, the Pacific Ocean. Similarities between temporal variability of river flows and climatic factors were revealed. Results of the study are important for flood frequency analysis because a long observation period is necessary to capture clusters of high and low river flows.     

Helioseismic imaging of sunspots at their antipodes

Recent work by Braun, Duvall, and LaBonte has shown that sunspots absorb helioseismic waves. We propose that sunspot absorption causes a seismic deficit that should be imaged at the antipode of the sunspot. If these images are observable, it should be possible to produce seismic maps of magnetic regions on the far side of the Sun. This possibility opens a broad range of synoptic and diagnostic applications. Diagnostic applications would include lifetimes of higher-frequency modes, and possibly rotation of the solar interior and detection of subsurface magnetic structure. We outline elements of the theory of seismic imaging and consider some applications. We propose the extention of acoustic holography to solar interior diagnostics in the context of antipodal imaging.Now at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, U.S.A.     

Quasar absorption lines and sites of absorbing media

A method for the determination of distances of quasars and sites of absorbing media is presented. It is illustrated by application to 3C 191 and PKS 0237-23. The results are compared with those obtained from the traditional Hubble Law.     

The NASA/NSO Spectromagnetograph

The NASA/NSO Spectromagnetograph is a new focal plane instrument for the National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope which features real-time digital analysis of long-slit spectra formed on a two-dimensional CCD detector. The instrument is placed at an exit port of a Littrow spectrograph and uses an existing modulator of circular polarization. The new instrument replaces the 512-channel Diode Array Magnetograph first used in 1973. Commercial video processing boards are used to digitize the spectral images at video rates and to separate, accumulate, and buffer the spectra in the two polarization states. An attached processor removes fixed-pattern bias and gain from the spectra in cadence with spatial scanning of the image across the entrance slit. The data control computer performs position and width analysis of the line profiles as they are acquired and records line-of-sight magnetic field, Doppler shift, and other computed parameters. The observer controls the instrument through windowed processes on a data control console using a keyboard and mouse. Early observations made with the spectromagnetograph are presented and plans for future development are discussed.The National Solar Observatory is a Division of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.