The Gravity Field of the Vogtland and NW Bohemia: Presentation of a Project

The Vogtland and NW Bohemia are characterized geoscientifically by periodically occurrence of swarm earthquakes. The basic geophysical mechanism is not yet sufficiently clarified, just like detail questions to geology in especially the deeper underground. Complex geophysical investigations in the seismoactive region indicate geodynamic phenomena like mass redistribution or stress accumulation and release (Spiák et al., 1998). According to Grünthal (1989) a weakness zone is suggested in the region of the swarm earthquakes. This zone can be caused by fluid-tectonics (Kämpf et al., 1992), a mantle plume (pers. com. J. Svancara, 1999) and/or by the geometry of the geological structures (Neunhöfer & Güth, 1988). A three-dimensional gravimetric model can clear up the underground situation. By means of high-resolution gravimetry a three-dimensional model will be developped for the Vogtland and NW Bohemia region. In the first step a homogeneous Bouguer map of the Vogtland and NW Bohemia was created (fig. 1) containing gravity structures analysed by Ibrmajer & Suk (1989) and Blízkovsky et al. (1985). The used gravimetric data were made available by the Saxonian National Office for Environment and Geology, by the Czech Geological Survey, Prague and by the GGA Hannover. In the context with the interpretation of the deep-seismic profile MVE 90 a two-dimensional gravimetric modeling was carried out (Behr et al., 1994), too. Anomaly-producing source bodies apparently do not offer themselves in a two-dimensional model, because after Jung (1961) the length of a gravimetric source structure must be about four times larger than it's width. The technique of the three-dimensional gravimetric modeling by means of any polyhedrons was developed by Götze (1976, 1984). Gravimetry is a potential method and supplies an infinite number of solutions, so the model has to be developed close to other geoscientific results. The aim is to construct a high-resolution three-dimensional underground model, which includes the upper earth's crust and the deep-seated structures of the middle and lower crust, too. The determination of the mass distribution in the underground supplies contradicting or supporting facts for geodynamic views in the Vogtland and NW Bohemia for example of Bankwitz et al. (1993). The interpretation of the Bouguer map of the Vogtland and a three-dimensional gravimetric model ought to contribute a substantial, also geodynamic part to understand the origin and the emergence of the swarm earthquakes in this region.     

On the properties of strange modes

Properties of the so-called strange modes occurring in linear stability calculations of stellar models are discussed. The behaviour of these modes is compared for two different sets of stellar models, for very massive zero-age main-sequence stars and for luminous hydrogen-deficient stars, both with high luminosity-to-mass ratios. We have found that the peculiar behaviour of the frequencies of the strange modes with the change of a control parameter is caused by the pulsation amplitude of a particular eigenmode being strongly confined to the outer part of the envelope, around the density inversion zone. The frequency of a strange mode changes because the depth of the confinement zone changes with the control parameter. Weakly non-adiabatic strange modes tend to be overstable because the amplitude confinement quenches the effect of radiative damping. On the other hand, extremely non-adiabatic strange modes become overstable because the perturbation of radiation force (gradient of radiation pressure) provides a restoring force that can be out of phase with the density perturbation. We discuss this mechanism by using a plane-parallel two-zone model.     

Kepone®: Toxicity and bioaccumulation in blue crabs

Two long-term studies were conducted to determine toxicity, uptake and depuration of Kepone in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). In the first, Kepone was administered to crabs in seawater (0.03 or 0.3 μg Kepone/I) or food (eastern oyster,Crassostrea virginica, containing 0.25 μg/g Kepone). Uptake of Kepone in 28 days was primarily through the contaminated oysters. When these crabs were held in Kepone-free seawater and fed Kepone-free oysters for 28 days, no loss of the insecticide was evident. There were adverse effects on molting and survival in crabs fed oysters that contained 0.25 μg/g Kepone. A second study was conducted to determine: (1) the depuration of Kepone over a 90-day period in blue crabs fed oysters from the James River, Virginia (containing 0.15 μg/g Kepone); and (2) the effects of Kepone on molting and survival of blue crabs fed James River oysters or laboratory-contaminated oysters that contained 0.15 or 1.9 μg/g Kepone. Crabs fed Kepone-contaminated oysters followed by a diet of Kepone-free oysters for 90 days had detectable concentrations of the insecticide in tissues. Also, blue crabs that ate oysters containing Kepone in concentrations similar to those found in oysters from the James River, died or molted less frequently than crabs fed Kepone-free oysters meats.     

Der Wasserhaushalt des Inlandeises

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Water Framework Directive: Can more information be extracted from groundwater data? A case study of Seewinkel,Burgenland, eastern Austria

Water protection is one of the most important goals in environmental protection. The Clean Water Act in the USA and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Europe are the legal frameworks to facilitate the achievement of this goal. The question is raised of whether more information can be extracted from WFD-related groundwater data. To answer it, a methodology has been developed that is easy to use and could be implemented into official practice. A case study is presented in which the groundwater data of a sodic area in Austria (Seewinkel) is assessed. Eighteen parameters in groundwater sampled from 23 wells (1991–2011) were analyzed. With basic statistics, trend-, cluster-, Wilks’ λ and spatial sampling density analysis, local phosphorus and boron phenomena were described, along with the determining role of sulphate, groundwater flow, and the oxygen gradient in the area. As a final step, the spatial sampling density was determined. Regarding the current set of parameters, all the sampling sites are necessary and only in the case of certain parameters (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, NO₃ ^?, pH) could one sampling site be abandoned. The methodology applied brings a new perspective to exploring groundwater data collected according to the requirements of the WFD.     

Pliocene and late Pleistocene (MIS 5e) decapod crustaceans from Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago: Central Atlantic): systematics,palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

The presence of decapod crustaceans in the Pliocene and Pleistocene (MIS 5e) fossil record of Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago) is herein reviewed. Our study raises the number of fossil decapods from this island from one species to 10 taxa (three for the Pliocene and seven for the Last Interglacial). Four of these 10 taxa are reported for the first time in the fossil record, worldwide. A new species of a mud shrimp is also described (Upogebia azorensis n. sp.). Our study suggests that the Plio–Pleistocene decapod assemblages of the Azores did not differ significantly from modern ones, being dominated by species that are today widespread across the Webbnesia ecoregion, the Mediterranean Sea, and the eastern Atlantic shores, including the Azores. As far as can be judged from the limited fossil record, apparently no tropical crab species with a Cabo Verdean/Senegalese provenance reached the Azores during windows of opportunity associated with Glacial Termination 2 or with the initial setting of the Last Interglacial period. This contribution increases the total number of marine taxa reported for the Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops of Santa Maria Island to 218 and 155, respectively, highlighting the scientific relevance of its palaeontological heritage.