The Rhine graben rift system-plate tectonics and transform faulting

The Rhinegraben is the central segment of a rift system which traverses Western Europe from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Rifting, which had started in the Middle Eocene, was preceded by early-Teriary nephelinitic eruptions. The center of maximum subsidence shifted along the graben axis from south to north during geologic times. The maximum thickness of sedimentary fill is observed in the northern part of the Rhinegraben to be as much as 3350 m. Most of the internal and external faults are normal faults. By theoretically returning the dip-slip movements and tilted block tectonics back to their original positions a lateral gap can be calculated in the amount of 4.8 km. The graben shoulders began to rise along the marginal fault scarps as outward tilted blocks contemporaneously when fault trough subsidence set in. The graben sinking and shoulder uplift are still in progress. Rates of annual vertical movements up to 0.7 mm, as well as seismic activity, are observed. Below both graben and shoulders a cushion-shaped body has been ascertained, intercalated between crust and mantle, with P-velocities of 7.6–7.7 km s^–1. This body is interpreted to be of mantle-derived material; its crest follows the graben axis and ascends up to 24 km beneath the graben floor. It is thought that rifting, like graben subsidence and shoulder elevation, is controlled by the formation and growth of this laccolithic body. Tensional tectonics and sideward plate movements are reduced to gravity slide of the torn and upwarped crustal plates or sub-plates, decoupled from the substratum by heat transfer and consequential partial melting along the cushion surface. The lateral offsets at the transitions from the Rhinegraben to its continual segments are intersected by transversal zones of enhanced seismicity and volcanic action. The observed fault patterns are interpreted as crustal traces of subcrustal transform faulting. Rhine graben tectonism is discussed as to its local interference and temporal interaction with Alpine orogenesis, just as in its causal and spatial connection to the world rift system as a whole, Several arguments pertaining to the understanding of the driving mechanisms are discussed and a new model of rift tectonics is indicated.

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Zusammenfassung Der Rheingraben ist der mittlere Abschnitt eines'Grabengürtels, welcher Westeuropa von der Nordsee bis zum Mittelmeer durchzieht. Frühtertiäre, nephelinitische Eruptionen kündigten das Grabengeschehen an; die ersten Senkungen vollzogen sich im Mitteleozän. Der Senkungsschwerpunkt hat sich allmählich vom südlichen zum nördlichen Grabenede verlagert. Die maximale Füllmächtigkeit mit 3350 m wurde im nördlichen Abschnitt beobachtet. Die Mehrzahl der inneren und äußeren Grabenverwerfungen sind Abschiebungen. Macht man die Grabentektonik konstruktiv rückgängig, ergibt sich ein Zerrungsbetrag von 4,8 km senkrecht zur Grabenachse. Die Aufstemmung der Grabenschultern als nach außen gekippte Pultschollen hat gleichzeitig mit der Grabensenkung eingesetzt. Grabensenkung und Schulterhebung dauern bis in die Gegenwart an. Jährliche, vertikale Bewegungsraten bis zu 0,7 mm wie auch seismische Aktivität bestätigen dies. Graben und Schultern werden von einem kissenförmigen Körper mit P-Geschwindigkeiten zwischen 7,6–7,7 km s^–1 unterlagert, der sich zwischen Kruste und Mantel einschiebt. Er scheint aus aufgestiegener Mantelmaterie zu bestehen. Der Graben fogt der Kammlinie dieses subkrustalen Körpers, dessen Scheitel 24 km Tiefe erreicht. Krustale Zerreißung, Grabensenkung und Schulterhebung werden auf die Bildung und das Wachstum dieses lakkolithischen Körpers zurückgeführt. Zerrungstektonik und seitliches Ausweichen der rahmenden Krustenblöcke werden einer Schweregleitung der aufgebogenen Krustenplatten zugeschrieben, wobei Aufschmelzungsvorgänge für eine mechanische Entkuppelung an der Krustenbasis sorgten. Der seitliche Versatz der Grabenachsen beim Übergang zu den Anschlußsegmenten vollzieht sich längs seismisch aktiver Querzonen mit neogenem Vulkanismus. Das Strukturgitter dieser Querzonen läßt sich auf subkrustale transform faults zurückführen. Die Tektogenese des Rheingrabens betraf in Wechselwirking die gleichen Krustenplatten wie die benachbarte alpine Orogenese. Ferner wird der Zusammenhang mit dem World Rift System diskutiert. Die erkennbaren Symptome bezüglich des Antriebsmechanismus werden ausgewertet, und sein neues Modell der Rift-Tektonik wird konzipiert.

     

Pleistozäne Salzstockbewegungen in Norddeutschland und ihre regionale Anordnung

Zusammenfassung Zahlreiche Salzstöcke in Nordwestdeutschland haben sich seit der letzten überdeckung mit eiszeitlichen Absätzen nachträglich bewegt. An der Oberfläche wurden dadurch einzelne Bereiche gehoben, andere senkten sich infolge Salzauslaugung. Stärkere Bewegungen sind auf Salzstrukturen beschränkt, die entlang tektonischer Schwächezonen aufgedrungen sind. Die jüngste Salztektonik setzt heute an der Oberfläche die gleichen exogenen Faktoren in Bewegung, welche Fazies und Lagerung im vorpleistozänen Deckgebirge der Strukturen beeinflu\t haben.     

Correlation of δ18O and initial87Sr/86Sr ratios in Kirkpatrick basalt on Mt. Falla,transantarctic mountains

The ¹⁸O (SMOW) values of the Kirkpatrick Basalt (Jurassic) on Mt. Falla, Queen Alexandra Range, vary between +6.3 and +8.6 The apparent enrichment of these rocks in¹⁸O excludes the possibility that they were altered by interaction with aqueous solutions of meteoric origin. The ¹⁸O values of the flows correlate significantly with the initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and all major elements. These correlations confirm the hypothesis that the basalt magma was contaminated by rocks of the continental crust through which it was extruded. Estimates of the chemical composition of the basalt magma and the contaminant, based on extrapolations of the new oxygen data, generally confirm earlier estimates based on extrapolations of initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. The⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of the uncontaminated basalt was 0.7093 which indicates that magma may have originated by melting either in old Rb-enriched lithospheric mantle under Antarctica or in the overlying crust, or both.     

Vacuum energy in cosmic dynamics

The analysis of the Th/U ratio in meteorites and the evolutionary ages of globular clusters favour values of the cosmic age of (19±5)×10⁹ yr. This evidence together with a Hubble parameterH ₀>70 km s^–1 Mpc^–1=(14×10⁹ yr)^–1 cannot be reconciled in a Friedmann model with =0. It requires a cosmological constant in the order of 10^–56 cm^–2, equivalent to a vacuum density _v =10^–29 g cm^–3 The Friedmann-Lemaître models (>0) with a hot big-bang have been calculated. They are based on a present value of the baryonic matter density of ₀=0.5×10^–30 g cm^–3 as derived from the primordial⁴He and²H abundances.For a Hubble parameter ofH ₀=75 km s^–1 Mpc^–1, our analysis favours a set of models which can be represented by a model with Euclidean metric (density parameter ₀=1.0, deceleration parameterq ₀=–0.93, aget ₀=19.7×10⁹ yr) and by a closed model with perpetual expansion (₀=1.072,q ₀=–1.0, aget ₀=21.4×10⁹ yr). A present density parameter close to one can indeed be expected if the conjecture of an exponential inflation of the very early universe is correct.The possible behaviour of the vacuum density is demonstrated with the help of Streeruwitz' formula in the context of the closed model with an inflationary phase at very early times.     

Tube wave modeling by the finite-difference method with varying grid spacing

A finite-difference approach of aP-SV modeling scheme is applied to compute seismic wave propagation in heterogeneous isotropic media, including fluid-filled boreholes. The discrete formulation of the equation of motion requires the definition of the material parameters at the grid points of the numerical mesh. The grid spacing is chosen as coarse as possible with respect to the accurate representation of the shortest wavelength. If we assume frequencies lower than 250 Hz then the grid spacing is usually chosen in the range of a few meters. One encounters difficulties because of the large-scale difference between the grid spacing and the size of the borehole, usually several centimeters.These difficulties can be overcome by a grid refinement technique. This technique provides the construction of grids with varying grid spacing. The grid spacing in the vicinity of the borehole is chosen such that the borehole is properly represented. An example demonstrates the accuracy of this technique by comparisons with other methods. Unlike many analytical methods, the FD method can handle complex subsurface geometries. Further numerical examples of walk-awayVSP configurations show tube wave propagation within fluid-filled boreholes of realistic diameters.     

A study into the export of saline water from Hervey Bay, Australia

Australia's climate is one of the world's driest and locally characterised by high year-to-year rainfall variability. Due to high evaporation and low river runoff many estuaries and embayments in the region are characterised by inverse conditions with salinity increasing toward the coast and river mouths. Such conditions were also found during the first comprehensive hydrographic survey of Hervey Bay located at the east coast of Australia in early spring 2004. The survey traced a subsurface salinity maximum that was found in earlier studies within the East Australia Current, east of Hervey Bay to the shallow southwest regions of the bay. These are identified as the most likely source region for locally produced saline Hervey Bay Water. Utilising a simple box model, mean evaporation rates and historical river runoff data, it is demonstrated that inverse conditions are likely to dominate throughout the year. The negative circulation is a climatological feature of this estuary that is not limited to the dry season of the year. Due to persistent drought and declining rainfall in coastal eastern Australia, these conditions are likely to persist into the near future and need to be considered in coastal management strategies.     

Untersuchungen über Ober- und Unterlichtmessungen im Meere und über ihren Zusammenhang mit Durchsichtigkeitsmessungen

Ocean Dynamics - Auf Grund einfacher theoretischer Überlegungen werden Formeln über die Intensitätsverteilung monochromatischen Ober- und Unterlichts in tiefen und flachen...     

Monsoon-induced upwelling off the Vietnamese coast

During the southwest monsoon from July 8 to 28, 2003, an interdisciplinary cruise took place in the central area of Vietnamese upwelling with “MV Nghien Cuu Bien” in the South China Sea. Physical observations in the upwelling area are analyzed with respect to local/regional wind forcing and far field forcing. Nutrients and phytoplankton measurements are discussed with respect to exchange processes between different water masses. The wind-induced coastal upwelling by local wind forcing is much weaker than in the previous years due to weaker-than-normal winds. This can be attributed to the far field forcing of the 2002/2003 El Niño event which modulates the upwelling intensity. The atmospheric conditions reflect the typical situation after an El Niño event which weakens the wind-induced coastal upwelling, reduces the latent heat flux, and results in higher-than-normal sea-surface temperatures. The general circulation pattern during SW monsoon is driven by the spatial asymmetry in the monsoon forcing. The flow pattern is characterized by an upwelling-induced northward undercurrent and a recently detected southward countercurrent. The resulting stretching deformation of this flow pattern forms an offshore jet between ～12°N and 12.5°N and causes a local enhancement of the upwelling intensity. The upwelling due to stretching deformation is a peculiarity, which makes the Vietnamese upwelling area different to other upwelling areas. A budget of the upwelling components is presented: the strongest contribution in 2003 to the Vietnamese upwelling is the dynamical upwelling due to the clockwise rotation of the northward undercurrent. The internal radius of deformation separates the upwelling area from the offshore area as well as different water masses. Mekong River and the Gulf of Thailand waters which are offshore show nutrient depletion. Therefore, high chlorophyll maxima cannot be explained by nutrient supply from river runoff. The dynamical upwelling brings in nutrient-rich Maximum Salinity Water into the euphotic zone. This causes a subsurface chlorophyll maximum between 20 and 40 m water depth along the northward undercurrent. Deflection from the Redfield ratio in the C:N ratio and negative excess nitrogen identifies the region as nitrogen-limited which may favor cyanobacteria blooms. The consequence is a unique feature in new production: in the upwelling area, new production is based on upwelled nitrate, whereas offshore in the nutrient-depleted Mekong and Gulf of Thailand water, new production is based in addition on nitrogen fixation.     

Impact of partial steps and momentum advection schemes in a global ocean circulation model at eddy-permitting resolution

Series of sensitivity tests were performed with a z-coordinate, global eddy-permitting (1/4°) ocean/sea-ice model (the ORCA-R025 model configuration developed for the DRAKKAR project) to carefully evaluate the impact of recent state-of-the-art numerical schemes on model solutions. The combination of an energy–enstrophy conserving (EEN) scheme for momentum advection with a partial step (PS) representation of the bottom topography yields significant improvements in the mean circulation. Well known biases in the representation of western boundary currents, such as in the Atlantic the detachment of the Gulf Stream, the path of the North Atlantic Current, the location of the Confluence, and the strength of the Zapiola Eddy in the south Atlantic, are partly corrected. Similar improvements are found in the Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans, and characteristics of the mean flow are generally much closer to observations. Comparisons with other state-of-the-art models show that the ORCA-R025 configuration generally performs better at similar resolution. In addition, the model solution is often comparable to solutions obtained at 1/6 or 1/10° resolution in some aspects concerning mean flow patterns and distribution of eddy kinetic energy. Although the reasons for these improvements are not analyzed in detail in this paper, evidence is shown that the combination of EEN with PS reduces numerical noise near the bottom, which is likely to affect current–topography interactions in a systematic way. We conclude that significant corrections of the mean biases presently seen in general circulation model solutions at eddy-permitting resolution can still be expected from the development of numerical methods, which represent an alternative to increasing resolution.