E. O. Ulrich's „Revision der Paläozoischen Systeme“ — ein Markstein der Stratigraphie als Wissenschaft?

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Water exchange and water quality in the coastal zone in the presence of structures

The water exchange and water quality around coastal structures are considered by analytical, numerical and experimental methods. Water exchange for a small yacht harbour at the Black Sea coast is discussed as an application example. Physical and numerical experiments were carried out to determine the wave induced current field and to correlate the water exchange inside the area around the harbour mole. A hydraulic approach was applied to estimate the water exchange intensities for typical zones. The proposed mathematical model is an irregular wave-current model which includes the interaction between waves and current and a modified breaking criterion. The evolution of salinity concentration during the experimental investigations shows the water exchange intensity. A satisfactory agreement between calculated and measured concentration evolution was obtained.     

Reconstruction of incomplete oceanographic data sets using empirical orthogonal functions: application to the Adriatic Sea surface temperature

A method for the reconstruction of missing data based on an EOF decomposition has been applied to a large data set, a test case of Sea Surface Temperature satellite images of the Adriatic Sea. The EOF decomposition is realised with a Lanczos method, which allows optimising computational time for large matrices. The results show that the reconstruction method leads to accurate reconstructions as well as a low cpu time when dealing with realistic cases. The method has been tested with different amounts of missing data, artificially adding clouds ranging from 40% to 80% of data loss, and then compared to the same data set with no missing data. A comparison with in situ data has also been made. These validation studies show that results are robust, even when the amount of missing data is very high. The reconstruction of the data from the Adriatic Sea shows realistic features and a reliable temperature distribution. In addition, the method is compared to an Optimal Interpolation reconstruction. The results obtained with both methods are very similar. The main difference is the computational time, which is reduced nearly 30 times with the method presented here. Once the reconstruction has been performed, the EOF decomposition is analysed to show the method’s reliability, and a cold event on the Albanian coast is studied. The reconstructed data reflect the effect of wind on the Albanian coast, that led to a cold-water episode in this zone for a 6-day period.     

On flow in Northwestern Gulf of Alaska,May 1972

Southwestward volume transport (referred to 1,500 db) out of the Gulf of Alaska seaward of the continental shelf in May 1972 was 12.5 Sv, and nearly 3/4 of this flow occurred within 50 km of the shelf edge. Mean geostrophic velocities of about 50 cm s^–1 occurred in a band 20 km wide, which extended 500 km along the shelf edge; a maximum velocity of 98 cm s^–1 (nearly 2 knots) was obtained. Bottom flow along the inshore part of the shelf as determined by seabed drifters was generally onshore at 0.5 cm s^–1. Evidence is presented of a large cyclonic gyre on the shelf encompassing the Portlock and Albatross Banks, perturbations in surface flow along the shelf edge, and relations between coastal tidal heights and fluctuations in geopotential topography at the shelf edge.     

Blind operation of optical astronomical interferometers options and predicted performance

Maximum sensitivity for optical interferometers is achieved only when the optical pathlengths between the different arms can be equalized without using interference fringes on the research object itself. This is called blind operation of the interferometer. In this paper I examine different options to achieve this, focussing on the application to the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). It is proposed that blind operation should be done using a so-called coherence autoguider, working on an unresolved star of magnitude V=11 to 13 within the isoplanatic patch for coherencing, which has a diameter of about 1 degree. Estimates of limiting magnitudes for the VLTI are also derived.     

Digital world meets urban planet – new prospects for evidence-based urban studies arising from joint exploitation of big earth data,information technology and shared knowledge

ABSTRACT

The digital transformation taking place in all areas of life has led to a massive increase in digital data – in particular, related to the places where and the ways how we live. To facilitate an exploration of the new opportunities arising from this development the Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform (U-TEP) has been set-up. This enabling instrument represents a virtual environment that combines open access to multi-source data repositories with dedicated data processing, analysis and visualisation functionalities. Moreover, it includes mechanisms for the development and sharing of technology and knowledge. After an introduction of the underlying methodical concept, this paper introduces four selected use cases that were carried out on the basis of U-TEP: two technology-driven applications implemented by users from the remote sensing and software engineering community (generation of cloud-free mosaics, processing of drone data) and two examples related to concrete use scenarios defined by planners and decision makers (data analytics related to global urbanization, monitoring of regional land-use dynamics). The experiences from U-TEP’s pre-operations phase show that the system can effectively support the derivation of new data, facts and empirical evidence that helps scientists and decision-makers to implement improved strategies for sustainable urban development.     

Résultats préliminaires sur la sédimentation pélagique de l'Atlantique tropical au Crétacé et au Tertiaire (plateau de Demerara,Leg ODP 207)

Five sites located on a bathymetric transect of the distal Demerara Rise were studied by ODP Leg 207. Albian sediments of essentially terrigenous nature (clay, siltstone, sandstone) are the oldest drilled stratigraphic levels and form apparently the top of the synrift sequence. They are overlain by Cenomanian to Santonian finely laminated black shales, rich in organic matter of marine origin, which accumulated on a thermally subsiding ramp. Early Campanian hiatuses are thought to be the result of final disjunction of Demerara Rise (South America) from Africa and the onset of deep water communication between the two Atlantic basins (south and central). The overlying Uppermost Cretaceous–Oligocene chalk includes rich and diversified calcareous plankton assemblages, as well as two radiolarian-rich intervals (Late Campanian and Middle Eocene). A complex erosional surface developed during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene. Sedimentation was impeded since then on the intermediate and deep sites of Demerara Rise, possibly due to the action of deep submarine currents. To cite this article: T. Danelian et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).