Modelling daily temperature extremes: recent climate and future changes over Europe

Probability distributions of daily maximum and minimum temperatures in a suite of ten RCMs are investigated for (1) biases compared to observations in the present day climate and (2) climate change signals compared to the simulated present day climate. The simulated inter-model differences and climate changes are also compared to the observed natural variability as reflected in some very long instrumental records. All models have been forced with driving conditions from the same global model and run for both a control period and a future scenario period following the A2 emission scenario from IPCC. We find that the bias in the fifth percentile of daily minimum temperatures in winter and at the 95th percentile of daily maximum temperature during summer is smaller than 3 (±5°C) when averaged over most (all) European sub-regions. The simulated changes in extreme temperatures both in summer and winter are larger than changes in the median for large areas. Differences between models are larger for the extremes than for mean temperatures. A comparison with historical data shows that the spread in model predicted changes in extreme temperatures is larger than the natural variability during the last centuries.     

Neoproterozoic SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages of silica-rich Dokhan Volcanics in the North Eastern Desert,Egypt

Chronology of Neoproterozoic volcanosedimentary successions remains controversial for many regions of the Arabian–Nubian Shield, including the Dokhan Volcanics of NE Egypt. New U–Pb zircon SHRIMP ages have been obtained for 10 silica-rich ignimbrites and two subvolcanic dacitic bodies, mapped as Dokhan Volcanics, from the North Eastern Desert of Egypt. Crystallization ages range between 592 ± 5 and 630 ± 6 Ma (Early Ediacaran). Apparently, the late consolidation of the Arabian–Nubian Shield was accompanied by the evolution of isolated volcanic centres and basin systems which developed during a period of approx. 40 Ma, independently in space and time and probably under changing tectonic regimes. The obtained age data together with other previously published reliable ages for Dokhan Volcanics suggest two main pulses of volcanic activity: 630–623 Ma and 618–592 Ma. Five samples contain inherited zircons, with ages of 669, 715–746, 847 and 1530 Ma, supporting models that North Eastern Desert crust is mainly juvenile Neoproterozoic crust.     

Dynamics of elastic–plastic shear frames with secondary structures: shake table and numerical studies

Results from experimental and numerical studies of earthquake‐excited small‐scale primary–secondary structures are presented. The primary structure considered is a plane three‐storey shear frame with a fundamental frequency of 5.5 Hz. The columns of the first floor are built with soft aluminium and they are stressed beyond its linear range of behaviour. After each test the elastic–plastic columns are replaced by a new set of undeformed virgin aluminium bars. The elastic–plastic shear frame is tested with and without an attached secondary structure. The secondary structure is modelled as an elastic SDOF oscillator, and its natural frequency is tuned to the fundamental frequency of the shear frame. Alternatively, the oscillator is mounted on the horizontal beam of the second and third floor. The base excitation of the structural model is characterized by a broad band random process with constant spectral density in a frequency range between 3 and 30 Hz. In the numerical study, the digital recorded acceleration of the base excites the mechanical model of the investigated structures. Numerical outcomes assuming fictitious unlimited elastic material behaviour of the shear frame are set in contrast to results from experiments and computational simulations where the measured non‐linear force displacement relation of the elastic–plastic floor is approximated by a piecewise linear curve. The effect of elastic–plastic materials on the dynamic interaction between primary and secondary structure is shown and the difference to unlimited elastic material behaviour is worked out in detail. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Satellitenbildauswertung zur Feststellung von Trinkwasserreserven im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge

Zusammenfassung Im östlichen Rheinischen Schiefergebirge konnten innerhalb der im Allgemeinen gering permeablen paläozoischen Festgesteinskomplexe Bereiche guter Wasserwegsamkeit festgestellt werden. Sie sind vornehmlich an Nord-Süd oder Ost-West gerichtete Zonen junger (tertiärer) Tektonik gebunden und vorwiegend feldgeologisch nicht kartierbar. Mit Hilfe der Satellitenbildauswertung lassen sich diese Bereiche gut erfassen, da sie als Lineare abgebildet werden.Die Erfassung und Abgrenzung der Zonen junger Tektonik stellt eine wichtige Grundlage zur Sicherung der Trinkwasserversorgung für Gemeinden im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge dar. Sie ist außerdem ein Hilfsmittel zur Beurteilung von Fragen des Grundwasserschutzes.An Hand eines LANDSAT-1 Bildes wurde eine Linearkarte angefertigt, die mit einem umfangreichen Abflußmeßprogramm verglichen wurde. Dabei ergab sich, daß die von Linearen durchzogenen Teilgebiete normalerweise überdurchschnittliche Abflußspenden haben. Auch die in diesen Bereichen gelegenen Tiefbrunnen weisen überdurchschnittliche Förderraten auf.Über die jungen tektonischen Schwächezonen besteht eine gute Verbindung zwischen Oberflächen- und Grundwasser. Daraus resultiert die Gefahr einer möglichen Grundwasserkontamination durch verunreinigtes Oberflächenwasser. Dies bezieht sich besonders auf in Linearbereichen liegende Mülldeponien. So konnte zum Beispiel eine Verunreinigung von oberflächennahem Grundwasser durch die Schlammdeponie Hirzenhain nachgewiesen werden.Die Linearkarte stellt eine Basis für vorbeugende Maßnahmen des Trinkwasserschutzes dar, da mit ihrer Hilfe eine Ausweisung bzw. Neuabgrenzung von Trinkwasserschutzgebieten möglich ist, wie am Beispiel der Tiefbrunnen von Biedenkopf ausgeführt wird.

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Linear zones of good permeability were recognized within the paleozoic strata of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, where the permeability of these intensively folded strata normally is low. These zones are related to young tectonic events of Tertiary. They follow North-Southern or East-Western directions and they can generally not be detected by methods of field-geology. The zones were mapped by interpretation of satellite-images where they show up as linear structural elements.The method can be used to back groundwater research and to prevent groundwater contamination. A LANDSAT-1 image was used for the structural interpretation. The resulting map was compared to a program of run-off measurements. Run-off rates above the average were proved at areas effected by linear elements. Also the production-rates of waterwells in these areas was proved to be above the average.Good communication between surface-water and ground-water has been recognized. This includes the possibility of groundwater pollution for example of refuse-deposits. Contamination of this kind has been found at several localities.

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Résumé Dans le Rheinische Schiefergebirge oriental, on a pu déterminer au sein du complexe paléozoïque, en général peu perméable, des domaines à bonne perméabilité due à l'existence de joints et de fissures.Ces domaines sont avant tout liés à des zones à tectonique récente (tertiaire), de direction Nord-Sud ou Est-Ouest, pratiquement impossibles à cartographier pour la plupart d'entre elles. L'interprétation des photos prises par satellite permet de les bien définir car ils apparaissent sous forme de lignes. La considération et la délimitation des zones à tectonique récente constitue une base importante pour assurer l'alimentation en eau potable des communes dans le Massif schisteux rhénan, et, en outre, un moyen de porter un jugement sur les questions concernant la protection des nappes souterraines. Une carte de ces lignes a été établie à partir d'un photo de LANDSAT-1; elle fut ensuite comparée à un vaste programme de mesures de l'écoulement. Cette étude montra que les régions traversées par de telles lignes ont normalement des débits au-dessus de la moyenne. Il en est de même en ce qui concerne les puits creusés dans ces domaines.Dans les zones à tectonique récente faible, il existe une bonne liaison entre les eaux de surface et les nappes souterraines, d'où le danger de contamination possible de ces mêmes nappes par les eaux de surface polluées. Cela concerne particuli-rement les dépôts d'immondices; a titre d'exemple, il a été possible de prouver la pollution des nappes souterraines à partir de la surface à la suite du dépôt de boues à Hirzenhain.La carte des lignes représente une bonne base pour décider des mesures de protection des eaux potables, puisqu'il est possible, grâce à elle, de faire une nouvelle délimitation des domaines de protection des eaux potables, comme par exemple, au puits de Biedenkopf.

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Organised Motion in a Tall Spruce Canopy: Temporal Scales,Structure Spacing and Terrain Effects

This study investigates the organised motion near the canopy-atmosphere interface of a moderately dense spruce forest in heterogeneous, complex terrain. Wind direction is used to assess differences in topography and surface properties. Observations were obtained at several heights above and within the canopy using sonic anemometers and fast-response gas analysers over the course of several weeks. Analysed variables include the three-dimensional wind vector, the sonic temperature, and the concentration of carbon dioxide. Wavelet analysis was used to extract the organised motion from time series and to derive its temporal scales. Spectral Fourier analysis was deployed to compute power spectra and phase spectra. Profiles of temporal scales of ramp-like coherent structures in the vertical and longitudinal wind components showed a reversed variation with height and were of similar size within the canopy. Temporal scales of scalar fields were comparable to those of the longitudinal wind component suggesting that the lateral scalar transport dominates. The existence of a – 1 power law in the longitudinal power spectra was confirmed for a few cases only, with a majority showing a clear 5/3 decay. The variation of effective scales of organised motion in the longitudinal velocity and temperature were found to vary with atmospheric stability, suggesting that both Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and attached eddies dominate the flow with increasing convectional forcing. The canopy mixing-layer analogy was observed to be applicable for ramp-like coherent structures in the vertical wind component for selected wind directions only. Departures from the prediction of m = Λ _w L _s ⁻¹ = 8–10 (where Λ _w is the streamwise spacing of coherent structures in the vertical wind w and L _s is a canopy shear length scale) were caused by smaller shear length scales associated with large-scale changes in the terrain as well as the vertical structure of the canopy. The occurrence of linear gravity waves was related to a rise in local topography and can therefore be referred to as mountain-type gravity waves. Temporal scales of wave motion and ramp-like coherent structures were observed to be comparable.     

Joint interpretation of the size and time distributions of seismic activity around the Hengill triple junction (SW Iceland) between 1993 and 1999

A newly developed clustering algorithm is described which uses the Unified Scaling Law for earthquakes to identify correlations between events that lead to clustering. This algorithm is applied to a dataset from the Hengill triple junction in south west Iceland to separate spatially and temporally overlapping earthquake sequences. We show that the algorithm successfully identifies spatio-temporally clustered events.A search for certain patterns in the identified clusters is performed. These patterns emerged in numerical simulations of seismicity performed by Hainzl (2003) when viscous coupling was introduced in order to reproduce features of swarm earthquakes. Namely we look for a combination of increased Gutenberg-Richter b-value and decreased exponent of the waiting-time distribution α. This pattern, indicating the strongest influence of viscous coupling on the characteristics of the seismicity, could be localized beneath an extinct volcano approximately 5 km north of an area of recent crustal uplift.     

Cave air control on dripwater geochemistry, Obir Caves (Austria): Implications for speleothem deposition in dynamically ventilated caves

There are very few process studies that demonstrate the annual variation in cave environments depositing speleothems. Accordingly, we initiated a monitoring program at the Obir Caves, an Austrian dripstone cave system characterized by a seasonally changing air flow that results in a predictable pattern of high pCO₂ during summer and low pCO₂ in winter. Although similar seasonal changes in soil pCO₂ occur, they are not directly connected with the changes in the subsurface since the dripwaters are fed from a well-mixed source showing little seasonal variation. Cold season flushing by relatively CO₂-poor air enhances degassing of CO₂ in the cave and leads to a high degree of supersaturation of dripwater with regard to calcite. Forced calcite deposition during the cold season also gives rise to a pronounced pattern of synchronous seasonal variations in electrical conductivity, alkalinity, pH, Ca and δ¹³C_DIC which parallel variations recorded in δ¹³C_{cave air}. Chemical components unaffected by calcite precipitation (e.g., δD, δ¹⁸O, SiO₂, SO₄) lack a seasonal signal attesting to a long residence in the karst aquifer. Modeling shows that degassing of CO₂ from seepage waters results in kinetically-enhanced C isotopic fractionation, which contrasts with the equilibrium degassing shown from the Soreq cave in Israel. The Obir Caves may serve as a case example of a dripstone cave whose seepage waters (and speleothems) show intra-annual geochemical variability that is primarily due to chemical modification of the groundwater by a dynamic, bidirectional subsurface air circulation.     

Contrasting genetic diversity with phenotypic diversity in coloration and size in Xantho poressa (Brachyura: Xanthidae), with new results on its ecology

The ecology of Xantho poressa (Olivi, 1792) (Brachyura) was studied during field trips to the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Spanish Atlantic Ocean. Our results reveal that X. poressa lives from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal zone, and inhabits relatively protected rocky shores, often with pebble underground, from juvenile to adult stages. A mark–recapture experiment revealed a high population density in this habitat. All stages, but predominantly juveniles, show a variability of colour patterns, which allow the crabs to blend in with the rocky substratum, thereby hiding from predators as passive defence. Adulthood can be reached with a carapace length smaller than 6 mm. The morphometric analysis of the species revealed allometric growth in carapace shape. Variability in overall size could be observed at different collecting sites. Neither the colour morphs nor the size differences could be attributed to differences of Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I mitochondrial DNA sequences, suggesting that ecological rather than genetic patterns are responsible for the different phenotypes.