Age and origin of magmatism along the Cenozoic Red River shear belt, China

To decipher the geodynamic significance of Cenozoic magmatism along the Red River shear belt, geochemical analyses, U-Pb and Rb-Sr dating, and Pb-Sr-Nd isotope tracing were undertaken. Zircon, monazite, titanite, and a Ti-U-oxide from foliated granitoid intrusions in the shear belt gneisses yield U-Pb emplacement ages of 33.1?±?0.2 (2σ), 31.9?±?0.3, 25.8?±?0.2 and 24.7?±?0.2?Ma, and an age of 35.0?±?0.3?Ma was obtained for the roughly 100?km long, adjacent Jinping (Phan Si Pang) alkali granite. Together with our previous data the new ages suggest that magmatism and left-lateral strike-slip movements occurred coevally during latest Eocene–Oligocene times from 33 to 22?Ma. The Rb-Sr dating of muscovite and biotite from the northernmost gneisses indicates that cooling to 500?°C occurred at 52.6?±?1.1?Ma, pre-dating the onset of magmatism, whereas further cooling to 300?°C took place at 28.9?±?0.6. This shows that unroofing in the north took place almost 9?million years earlier than in the central gneiss segments of the shear zone. Geochemical data substantiate two types of magmas: (1) amphibole-bearing intrusions of alkaline trend which are derived from sources with I_sr: 0.7065–0.7089 and _i ^Nd: ?3.7 to ?6.6; (2) leucogranitic layers and bodies having I_sr: 0.7084–0.7354 and _i ^Nd: ?3.3 to ?13.4. The former type of intrusion is found in both the gneisses and the adjacent unmetamorphosed cover rocks, whereas leucogranites are restricted to the shear belt gneisses. Source signatures of the alkaline intrusions lie adjacent to the those of OIB, plotting at the lower end of the Mantle Array. Contamination of these melts by continental material seems to be very limited. On the other hand, the leucogranitic layers are essentially crustal derived but none of the them has country rock isotope signatures, requiring melting of crust different from the actually exposed gneisses. Magma sources similar to those of ocean island basalt indicate magmatism to involve melting of light rare earth element and large ion lithophile element enriched mantle domains, most likely present in the lithosphere underneath the region. Since lithospheric thickening or subduction can be ruled out to produce both types of magmas, the presence of an important thermal anomaly is required, which is coevally active with left-lateral strike-slip shear. Adiabatic decompression and melting within the rising anomaly is the most plausible mechanism to produce the mantle magmas, which successively migrate through the crust to induce anatectic melting at 20–15?km crustal depth. Alkaline magmas largely dominate the volume of magmatism along the belt, being continuously present in the shear zone for millions of years. Such lubrication potentially explains how very large amounts of displacement can be absorbed in surprisingly narrow shear zones such as the Red River belt, possibly also playing a rôle for where and when zones of plate-scale lateral extrusion develop.     

The dark-side illumination of Saturn's rings

Using Focas and Dollfus' (1969) measurements, the effective optical thickness of Saturn's rings along the cross-section studied is evaluated from intensity of radiation transmitted through the rings. The most probable value, including also the contribution of gaps, is 0.2. A large fraction of dark-side illumination is produced by single scattering in gaps having an optical thickness 10^–4 to 10^–3.     

Environmental history of an urban lake: a palaeolimnological study of Lake Jyväsjärvi, Finland

Sedimentary diatom frustules and chironomid remains, in addition to the chemical stratigraphy of 32 elements and organic pollutants such as resin acids, PCB, DDT and its metabolites, were studied from core samples taken from Lake Jyväsjärvi in Central Finland (64° 14 N, 25° 47 E). The sediment profile covered over 200 years, with the oldest samples representing a period of very low human interference. The town of Jyväskylä was established on the lake shore in 1837, and the lake received untreated municipal wastewater from the town up until, 1977. A paper mill started operations in 1872 and began discharging effluent into Lake Jyväsjärvi. In recent years this effluent loading has been reduced. Based on the biological and chemical properties of the sediment strata, five developmental phases were distinguished and named as follows: (1) a pre-industrial phase (approximately up until the 1860s); (2) a phase of early changes in the lake ecosystem (from the 1870s to ca. 1940s); (3) a phase of increasing eutrophication (from ca. 1950 to ca. 1965); (4) a phase of severe pollution (from ca. 1966 to the early-1990s); and (5) a phase of recovery, which proceeded more quickly during the late-1990s following long-term hypolimnetic aeration. It was estimated that the ecological status of the lake changed from good to moderate during the second phase. Due to the poor chemical status of the lake (including increased concentrations of harmful substances) and the pronounced changes in diatom and chironomid communities, the ecological status from 1950 to the early-1990s was classified as bad. The present ecological status, after a slow recovery of about 20 years, can be classified as moderate/poor. Chemical analysis of the sediment revealed that some elements (C, N, P, S, Ba, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni and Zn) followed the known history of municipal waste water discharge into the lake, but Hg, Cr and persistent organic pollutants had different stratigraphies, and therefore mainly originated from other sources. Pronounced changes in profundal benthic communities (chironomids) started about 80 years later than those in diatoms, but later changes in chironomid assemblages were greater than those in diatoms.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in sediments from Hong Kong

Concentrations of 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were determined in 14 sediment samples collected from four sites in the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve (within a RAMSAR Site) and from another six sites in Victoria Harbour and along the Hong Kong coastline. Elevated levels of PCDDs, and particularly OCDD, were detectable in all samples collected from the Mai Po Marshes and five of the six sites. In contrast to PCDDs, PCDFs were mainly found in sediment samples collected from industrial areas (Kwun Tong and To Kwa Wan) in Victoria Harbour. PCDD/F levels and congener profiles in the samples from the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve in particular show strong similarities to those reported in studies which have attributed similar elevated PCDD concentrations to nonanthropogenic PCDD sources.     

Efficient satellite orbit modelling using pseudo-stochastic parameters

If the force field acting on an artificial Earth satellite is not known a priori with sufficient accuracy to represent its observations on their accuracy level, one may introduce so-called pseudo-stochastic parameters into an orbit determination process, e.g. instantaneous velocity changes at user-defined epochs or piecewise constant accelerations in user-defined adjacent time subintervals or piecewise linear and continuous accelerations in adjacent time subintervals. The procedures, based on standard least-squares, associated with such parameterizations are well established, but they become inefficient (slow) if the number of pseudo-stochastic parameters becomes large. We develop two efficient methods to solve the orbit determination problem in the presence of pseudo-stochastic parameters. The results of the methods are identical to those obtained with conventional least-squares algorithms. The first efficient algorithm also provides the full variance–covariance matrix; the second, even more efficient algorithm, only parts of it.     

Towards urbanisation of the non-hydrostatic numerical weather prediction model Lokalmodell (LM)

Numerical weather prediction models are increasingly employed for providing meteorological data for urban air quality applications. Model resolution, physiographic parameters and surface-layer parameterisations need to be adapted to the requirements of the urban boundary layer. The Lokalmodell of the German Weather Service was triple-nested down to a horizontal grid resolution of 1.1 km, urbanised physiographic parameters were implemented, and an additional anthropogenic heat source was introduced. Results of a sensitivity study for a spring dust episode in Helsinki show a clear urbanisation effect of these measures on temperature, humidity and the partitioning of surface fluxes, leading to an increased Bowen ratio and heat storage and an urban heat island effect.     

Determination of post-glacial land uplift from the three precise levellings in Finland

We have calculated vertical velocities and their change in time from three precise levellings in Finland, with central epochs 1902, 1946, and 1986. Models with and without simultaneous determination of heights give the same results for velocities. Evidence for velocity change in time appears at first sight strong but on closer examination turns out to be inconclusive. We offer an alternative explanation in terms of levelling errors and estimate them. A new uplift map closely reproduces main features of earlier maps from partial data, but does not support some details in them. Received: 27 January 1997/ Accepted: 20 April 1998     

The exceptional Oder flood in summer 1997 — distribution patterns of the oder discharge in the Pomeranian Bight

The exceptional Oder flood in summer 1997 was a unique event in order to investigate the impacts on and the consequences for the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea of about 6.5 km³ additional water loaded with nutrients and contaminants and discharged within only 5 weeks. About 15 institutions participated in this investigation in both the Szczecin Lagoon and the Pomeranian Bight. The Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde studied the water and nutrient inflow, the spreading of the Oder discharge, and the impact of the discharge on the ecosystem. The main topic of the presented investigations is a detailed study of the spatial and temporal spreading of the extreme river discharge in the Pomeranian Bight and the southern Baltic Sea by satellite data, ship observations and continuous buoy measurements as well as numerical modelling. The meteorological conditions were characterized by mainly easterly winds which guided the outflowing riverine water along the German coast into the Arkona Sea. The spatial and temporal development of the distribution patterns of the Oder discharge was monitored by about 80 Sea Surface Temperature (SST) images of NOAA satellites. Shipborne measurements showed that the vertical extent of the Oder plume ranged between 5 and 7 metres. The concentrations of inorganic nutrients, except higher silicate, were comparable to typical winter/early spring values (seasonal maximum) in this region. The high dilution effect of the flood water reduced the concentration of contaminants and thus, prevented a direct negative impact of trace metals and chlorinated organic compounds on the marine environment. Coupled physical-biochemical modelling in combination with SST-images demonstrated the temporal development and satellite data in the visible spectral range delivered the maximum extent of discharged river water into the southern Arkona Sea where a further western transport was limited by the upwelling region off Hiddensee. Thus, all detected effects of the Oder flood were confined to the Pomeranian Bight and the southern Arkona Sea, without long-term consequences for the ecosystem.