Testing satellite and ground thermal imaging of low-temperature fumarolic fields: The dormant Nisyros Volcano (Greece)

The Nisyros Volcano (Greece) was monitored by satellite and ground thermal imaging during the period 2000–2002. Three night-scheduled Landsat-7 ETM⁺ thermal (band 6) images of Nisyros Island were processed to obtain land surface temperature. Ground temperature data were also collected during one of the satellite overpasses. Processed results involving orthorectification and 3-D atmospheric correction clearly show the existence of a thermal anomaly inside the Nisyros Caldera. This anomaly is associated mainly with the largest hydrothermal craters and has land surface temperatures 5–10 °C warmer than its surroundings. The ground temperature generally increased by about 4 °C inside the main crater over the period 2000–2002. Ground thermal images of the hydrothermal Stephanos Crater were also collected in 2002 using a portable thermal infrared camera. These images were calibrated to ground temperature data and orthorectified. A difference of about 0–2 °C was observed between the ground thermal images and the ground temperature data. The overall study demonstrates that satellite remote sensing of low-temperature fumarolic fields within calderas can provide a reliable long-term monitoring tool of dormant volcanoes that have the potential to reactivate. Similarly, a portable thermo-imager can easily be deployed for real-time monitoring using telemetric data transfer. The operational costs for both systems are relatively low for an early warning system.     

Untersuchungen mit der Elektronenmikrosonde über die natiirlichen Mischkristallbereiche der Skutterudite

This paper demonstrates with approximately 140 electron micro probe analyses of minerals from the classic localities the areas of solid solution in the ternary diagram of the natural iron-cobalt-nickel-skutterudites. The skutterudites analyses show a. much more scattered pattern over all the diagram than presumed by the analyses or by the experimental determined areas of solid solution in the recent literature. Furthermore, a fluctuation in the metalarsenic-ratio between 1:1.9 to 1:3.3 was ascertained for this mineral type. The iron-skutterudites favour the lower metal-arsenic-ratios, the cobalt-skutterudites and respectively the cobalt-nickel-skutterudites more the medium, and the nickel-skutterudites more the higher ratios.With solely microscopic determination of the iron-skutterudite mineral phase an error could be possible, whereas the determination of the nearly pure nickee-skutterudite (which is a new mineral phase) seems certain to the author.Finally, the author tries to explain the extreme fluctuation of stochiometry in the same structure to be caused by a chiefly metalic bond in an alloy type.Zusammenfassung Anhand von über 140 Mikrosondenanalysen von Mineralien der klassischen Vorkommen wird in dieser Arbeit versucht die Mischkristallfelder im Dreieckdiagramm der natütlichen Eisen-Kobalt-Nickel-Skutterudite zu ermitteln. Dabei zeigte sick einmal eine wesentlich größere Streuung der Skutteruditanalysen, als dies aus den Analysenangaben und den experimentell bestimmten Mischkristallfeldern der bisherigen Literatur zu vermuten war. Weiterhin konnte ein außergewohnliches Schwanken des Metall-Arsenverhaltnisses zwischen etwa 1:1,9 bis 1: 3,3 bei dieser Mineralart festgestellt werden. Es zeigte sich, daß die niederen Metall-Arsenverhältnisse bevorzugt an die Eisen-Skutterudite, die mittleren mehr an die Kobalt-Skutterudite bzw. an die Kobalt-Nickel-Skutterudite und die höheren bevorzugt an die eigentlichen Nickel- Skutterudite gebunden sind.Während bei den Eisen-Skutteruditen aufgrund der rein mikroskopischen Bestimmung die Möglichkeit eineir Fehldiagnose nicht völlig ausgeschlossen werden kann, erscheint der Nachweis eines fast reinen Nickel- Skutterudites dem Verfasser als gesichert.Das kristallchemisch interessante Problem, wie these großen Stöchiometrie-schwankungen in ein und derselben Struktur ohne wesentliehe Änderungelr auftreten können, versucht der Verfasser durch eine vorwiegend metallische Bindung in einem Legierungstyp zu erklären.

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Diese Arbeit wurde auszugsweise am 9. September 1964 vor der Deutschen Mineralogischen Gesellschaft auf deren Jahrestagung in Wiesbaden vorgetragen.     

Überströmung des Island-Färöer-Rückens in Bodennähe nach Beobachtungen mit dem Forschungsschiff „Anton Dohrn“ 1955/56

Zusammenfassung 1. Problemstellung. Wasseraustausch über dem unterseeischen Riegel zwischen zwei benachbarten Meeren am Beispiel des Island-Färöer-Rückens. — 2. Zur Topographie des Island-Färöer-Rückens. Eine neue Tiefenkarte des Rückens (Abb. 1) wird diskutiert und nachgewiesen, daß das Bodenrelief des Westabhanges eine stärkere Unruhe zeigt als das des Ostabhanges (Abb. 2). — 3. Die hydrographischen Verhältnisse im Gebiet des Island-Färöer-Rückens. Fünf hydrographische Querprofile über den Rücken, die im Juli 1955 und im Januar und Mai 1956 mit Anton Dohrn zum Studium der Überströmung ausgeführt wurden, werden wiedergegeben (Abb. 5, Tafel 4). In allen Fällen lagert warmes nordostatlantisches Wasser über kaltem subarktischem Wasser, das den Boden des Rückens bedeckt. — 4. Zur Bodenströmung am Island-Färöer-Rücken. Die Stromgeschwindigkeit der Überströmung am Westhang wird berechnet (Tabelle 1). Selbst unter der Annahme einer relativ großen Reibungskonstanten werden in Bodennähe in 700 m Tiefe etwa 50 cm/sec erreicht. Der Volumtransport der Überströmung beträgt etwa 6·10⁶ m³/see. — 5. Zur Veränderlichkeit der Überströmung. Die zweimalige Wiederholung eines Profils läßt starke Schwankungen der Schichtung erkennen. Die große Streubreite der bodennahen Temperaturen am Westhang, die aus den Beobachtungen der letzten sechzig Jahre erwiesen ist (Abb. 3), deutet auf große Veränderlichkeit der Überströmung. Örtlich bevorzugte Überströmung ist bisher nicht nachweisbar. — 6. Auswirkung der Überströmung und ihrer Schwankungen. Schubweise Erneuerung des Bodenwassers im Nordatlantischen Ozean, Beeinflussung der Standorte der Nutzfische auf dem Rücken sowie morphologische Einflüsse auf den Meeresboden sind zu erwarten. Nur die letzte Auswirkung ist bis jetzt nachweisbar.

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Overflow over the Iceland-Färöer ridge near the sea bottom as observed during the cruises of the research ship Anton Dohrn 1955/56

Summary 1. Problem to be dealt with: Water exchange across the submarine sill between two adjacent seas is illustrated by the example of the Iceland-Färöer Ridge. — 2. Contribution to the topography of the Iceland-Färöer Ridge: A new bathymetric chart of the Iceland-Färöer Ridge (fig. 1) is discussed and proof is delivered that the bottom relief of the West slope is more irregular than that of the East slope (fig. 2). — 3. Hydrographic conditions in the region of the Iceland-Färöer Ridge: With a view to study overflow conditions at the Iceland-Färöer Ridge five hydrographic cross sections were laid across the Ridge by the Anton Dohrn in July 1955 as well as in January and May 1956. A diagram showing these sections is given in figs. 5. In every case, the warm water from the north-eastern part of the North Atlantic lays on top of the cold subarctic water, that covers the bottom of the Ridge. — 4. On the bottom current at the Iceland-Färöer Ridge: The current velocity of overflow at the West slope is calculated (table 1). Even on the assumption that the frictional constant is relatively high, the velocity obtained near the bottom at a depth of 700 m amounts to about 50 cm/sec. The volume transport of overflow is about 6·10⁶ m³/sec. — 5. On the variability of overflow: The repetitions of one of the sections show that the stratification underlies considerable variations. The large temperature variations near the bottom on the West slope of which observations from the last sixty years (fig. 3) give evidence, are indicative of a great variability of overflow. No proof has so far been delivered that overflow prefers definite passages. — 6. Effects of overflow and of its variations: Renewal in boluses of the bottom water in the North Atlantic, effects on the habitats of commercial fishes on the Ridge as well as morphological influences on the bottom must be expected. So far, proof has been supplied for effects on bottom topography only.

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Débordement de l'eau par-dessus la dorsale d'islande — iles de féroé suivant les observations faites à bord du navire explorateur «Anton Dohrn» en 1955 et 1956

Résumé 1. Problème à traiter: Le mécanisme de l'échange de l'eau entre deux océans adjacents par-dessus un seuil sousmarin est expliqué par l'exemple de la Dorsale d'Islande — Iles de Féroé. — 2. Contribution à la topographie de la Dorsale d'Islande — Iles de Féroé: Une nouvelle carte bathymétrique de cette Dorsale (fig. 1) est discutée et il est démontré que le relief du fond de la pente occidentale est plus accidenté que celui de la pente orientale (fig. 2). — 3. Conditions hydrographiques dans la région de la Dorsale d'Islande — Iles de Féroé: Dans le but d'étudier les conditions du débordement par-dessus la Dorsale d'Islande — Iles de Féroé on a exécuté cinq sections transversales hydrographiques de la Dorsale à bord de l'«Anton Dohrn» en juillet 1955, en janvier et en mai 1956. Les figures 5 sur la planche 4 de cette contribution montrent ces cinq sections qui révèlent la superposition des eaux chaudes de la partie Nord-Est de l'Atlantique Nord au-dessus des eaux froides subarctiques qui couvrent le fond de la Dorsale. — 4. Sur le courant du fond traversant la Dorsale d'Islande — Iles de Féroé: La vitesse du débordement par-dessus la pente occidentale est calculée (tableau 1). Même si l'on suppose que la constante de friction soit relativement grande, on obtient une vitesse de 50 cm/sec environ au voisinage du fond en 700 m de profondeur. Le transport de volume du débordement s'élève à 6·10⁶ m³/sec environ. — 5. Sur la variabilité du débordement: L'exécution d'une section à deux reprises révèle de fortes variations en stratification. Les grandes variations de température près du fond sur la pente occidentale dont font preuve les observations des dernières soixante années (fig. 3) indiquent la variabilité sensible du débordement. Il n'y a pas de preuves jusqu'ici que le débordement tend à préférer des passages définitifs. — 6. Effets du débordement et de ses variations: Il faut s'attendre à trois effets: Renouvellement par fournées des eaux du fond dans l'Atlantique Nord, influences sur les habitats des poissons commerciaux sur la Dorsale et influences sur la morphologie du fond; le troisième effet est le seul que l'on a pu démontrer jusqu'ici.

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Herrn Professor Dr. Gerhard Schott zum 90. Geburtstag gewidmet.

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Nachtrag: Während der Drucklegung erschien die Untersuchung von L. H. N. Cooper: Deep water movements in the North Atlantic as a link between climatic changes around Iceland and biological productivity of the English Channel and Celtic Sea. J. Mar. Res.14, 1955, 347–352. Bemerkenswert darin ist der Hinweis, daß der schmale Durchlaß zwischen den Färöer und der Färö-Bank, dort wo das Fragezeichen in Abb. 1 steht, eine Satteltiefe von etwa 850 m haben soll. Damit wäre, wie bereits vermutet, dieser Durchlaß, der nach einem Vorschlag des British National Committee on Nomenclature of Ocean Bottom Features aus dem Jahre 1954 South-western Faeroe-Channel genannt wird, der tiefste Durchlaß zwischen Nordmeer und Nordatlantischem Ozean. — Die Auffassung, daß eine schubweise Erneuerung des nordostatlantischen Bodenwassers über den Island-Färöer-Rücken vor sich geht, wird auch von Cooper vertreten. Die langjährige Abnahme dieser Erneuerung, die zur Erklärung der Abnahme der biologischen Produktivität des Nordostatlantischen Ozeans herangezogen wird, ist eine interessante Hypothese, zu deren Klärung aber mit unseren Beobachtungen nicht beigetragen werden kann.     

Occurrence of a regular C25 isoprenoid hydrocarbon in tertiary sediments representing a lagoonal-type,saline environment

A regular C₂₅ isoprenoid alkane (2,6,10,14,18-pentamethyleicosane) has been isolated from highly saline Tertiary sediments. The isolation utilized elution chromatography, urea adduction and gas chromatography; identification was based on the mass spectrum. This C₂₅ isoprenoid may represent a biological marker, possibly typical for a lagoonal-type, saline environment.     

Wetlands with controlled drainage and sub‐irrigation systems—modelling of the water balance

Over the past centuries, the agricultural use of wetlands in Central Europe has required interference with the natural wetland water balance. Often this has consisted of drainage measures alone. In low‐precipitation areas, it has also involved the operation of combined drainage and sub‐irrigation systems. Model studies conducted as part of planning processes, or with a view to finding out the impact of changing climate conditions on the water balance of wetlands, must take these facts into account. For this reason, a water balance model has been devised for wetlands whose water balance is governed by water resources management systems. It is based on the WBalMo model system. Special modules were integrated into WBalMo to calculate the water balance of wetland areas (WABI module) and to regulate inflow partitioning within the wetland (REGINF module). When calculating the water balance, the WABI module takes into account precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, groundwater levels below surface, soil types, land‐use classes, inflows via the running water system, and data for target water levels. It provides actual evapotranspiration, discharge into the running water system, and groundwater levels in the area. The example of the Spreewald, a major wetland area in north‐eastern Germany, was used to design and test the WBalMo Spreewald model. The comparison of measured and calculated water balance parameters of the wetland area confirms the suitability of the model for water balance studies in wetlands with complex water resources management systems. The results reveal the strong influence of water management on the water balance of such areas. The model system has proved to be excellently suited for planning and carrying out water management measures aimed at the sustainable development of wetlands. Furthermore, scenario analyses can be used to assess the impact of global change on the water balance of wetlands. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Pleistocene fluvial dynamics in the Hochrhein Valley and in the Upper Rhine Graben: chronological frame

During the Pleistocene, the Rhine glacier system acted as a major south–north erosion and transport medium from the Swiss Alps into the Upper Rhine Graben, which has been the main sediment sink forming low angle debris fans. Only some aggradation resulted in the formation of terraces. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating have been applied to set up a more reliable chronological frame of Late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial activity in the western Hochrhein Valley and in the southern part of the Upper Rhine Graben. The stratigraphically oldest deposits exposed, a braided-river facies, yielded OSL age estimates ranging from 59.6 ± 6.2 to 33.1 ± 3.0 ka. The data set does not enable to distinguish between a linear age increase triggered by a continuous autocyclical aggradation or two (or more) age clusters, for example around 35 ka and around 55 ka, triggered by climate change, including stadial and interstadial periods (sensu Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles). The braided river facies is discontinuously (hiatus) covered by coarse-grained gravel-rich sediments deposited most likely during a single event or short-time period of major melt water discharge postdating the Last Glacial Maximum. OSL age estimates of fluvial and aeolian sediments from the above coarse-grained sediment layer are between 16.4 ± 0.8 and 10.6 ± 0.5 ka, and make a correlation with the Late Glacial period very likely. The youngest fluvial aggradation period correlates to the beginning of the Little Ice Age, as confirmed by OSL and radiocarbon ages.     

Instruments, Detectors and the Future of Astronomy with Large Ground Based Telescopes

Results of a survey of instrumentation and detector systems, either currently deployed or planned for use at telescopes larger than 3.5 m, in ground based observatories world-wide, are presented. This survey revealed a number of instrumentation design trends at optical, near, and mid-infrared wavelengths. Some of the most prominent trends include the development of vastly larger optical detector systems (> 10⁹ pixels) than anything built to date, and the frequent use of mosaics of near-infrared detectors – something that was quite rare only a decade ago in astronomy. Some future science applications for detectors are then explored, in an attempt to build a bridge between current detectors and what will be needed to support the research ambitions of astronomers in the future.     

Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian history of an active plate margin in the Teplá–Barrandian unit—a correlation of U–Pb isotopic-dilution-TIMS ages (Bohemia, Czech Republic)

The Teplá–Barrandian unit (TBU) of the Bohemian Massif shared a common geological history throughout the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian with the Avalonian–Cadomian terranes. The Neoproterozoic evolution of an active plate margin in the Teplá–Barrandian is similar to Avalonian rocks in Newfoundland, whereas the Cambrian transtension and related calc-alkaline plutons are reminiscent of the Cadomian Ossa–Morena Zone and the Armorican Massif in western Europe. The Neoproterozoic evolution of the Teplá–Barrandian unit fits well with that of the Lausitz area (Saxothuringian unit), but is significantly distinct from the history of the Moravo–Silesian unit.The oldest volcanic activity in the Bohemian Massif is dated at 609+17/−19 Ma (U–Pb upper intercept). Subduction-related volcanic rocks have been dated from 585±7 to 568±3 Ma (lower intercept, rhyolite boulders), which pre-dates the age of sedimentation of the Cadomian flysch ( t chovice Group). Accretion, uplift and erosion of the volcanic arc is documented by the Neoproterozoic Dob í conglomerate of the upper part of the flysch. The intrusion age of 541+7/−8 Ma from the Zgorzelec granodiorite is interpreted as a minimum age of the Neoproterozoic sequence. The Neoproterozoic crust was tilted and subsequently early Cambrian intrusions dated at 522±2 Ma (T ovice granite), 524±3 Ma (V epadly granodiorite), 523±3 Ma (Smr ovice tonalite), 523±1 Ma (Smr ovice gabbro) and 524±0.8 Ma (Orlovice gabbro) were emplaced into transtensive shear zones.     

From outwash to coastal systems in the Portneuf–Forestville deltaic complex (Québec North Shore): Anatomy of a forced regressive deglacial sequence

Deglacial sequences typically include backstepping grounding zone wedges and prevailing glaciomarine depositional facies. However, in coastal domains, deglacial sequences are dominated by depositional systems ranging from turbiditic to fluvial facies. Such deglacial sequences are strongly impacted by glacio‐isostatic rebound, the rate and amplitude of which commonly outpaces those of post‐glacial eustatic sea‐level rise. This results in a sustained relative sea‐level fall covering the entire depositional time interval. This paper examines a Late Quaternary, forced regressive, deglacial sequence located on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Portneuf Peninsula, Québec, Canada) and aims to decipher the main controls that governed its stratigraphic architecture. The forced regressive deglacial sequence forms a thick (>100 m) and extensive (>100 km²) multiphased deltaic complex emplaced after the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet margin from the study area ca 12 500 years ago. The sedimentary succession is composed of ice‐contact, glaciomarine, turbiditic, deltaic, fluvial and coastal depositional units. A four‐stage development is recognized: (i) an early ice‐contact stage (esker, glaciomarine mud and outwash fan); (ii) an in‐valley progradational stage (fjord head or moraine‐dammed lacustrine deltas) fed by glacigenics; (iii) an open‐coast deltaic progradation, when proglacial depositional systems expanded beyond the valley outlets and merged together; and (iv) a final stage of river entrenchment and shallow marine reworking that affected the previously emplaced deltaic complex. Most of the sedimentary volume (10 to 15 km³) was emplaced during the three‐first stages over a ca 2 kyr interval. In spite of sustained high rates of relative sea‐level fall (50 to 30 mm·year^?1), delta plain accretion occurred up to the end of the proglacial open‐coast progradational stage. River entrenchment only occurred later, after a significant decrease in the relative sea‐level fall rates (<30 mm·year^?1), and was concurrent with the formation and preservation of extensive coastal deposits (raised beaches, spit platform and barrier sands). The turnaround from delta plain accretion to river entrenchment and coastal erosion is interpreted to be a consequence of the retreat of the ice margin from the river drainage basins that led to the drastic drop of sediment supply and the abrupt decrease in progradation rates. The main internal stratigraphic discontinuity within the forced regressive deglacial sequence does not reflect changes in relative sea‐level variations.