Late Miocene increasing exhumation rates in the eastern part of the Alps – implications from low temperature thermochronology

A new set of apatite fission‐track and apatite (U–Th)/He data reveals a hitherto undated late Miocene exhumation pulse in the eastern part of the Eastern Alps. While distinct parts of the study area, including the Seckauer Tauern, have been at near surface conditions (<100 °C) since the Eocene, the neighbouring Niedere Tauern experienced enhanced cooling and exhumation in the middle Miocene and again at the late Miocene/Pliocene boundary. Middle Miocene exhumation is interpreted as a result of tectonic escape and convergence that operated simultaneously during lateral extrusion of the Eastern Alps. As the higher late Miocene/Pliocene exhumation rates are restricted to a single tectonic block, namely the Niedere Tauern, we infer a tectonic trigger that is probably related to a change in the external stress field that affected the Alps during this time.     

Media attention for climate change around the world: A comparative analysis of newspaper coverage in 27 countries

Climate change is a global phenomenon, and its outcomes affect societies around the world. So far, however, studies on media representations of climate change have mostly concentrated on Western societies. This paper goes beyond this limited geographical scope by presenting a comparative analysis of issue attention in 27 countries. The sample includes, among others, countries that have committed themselves to greenhouse gas emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol such as Germany as well as countries that are strongly affected by the consequences of climate change like India. In a first step, it describes the development of media attention for climate change in these countries from 1996 to 2010. Second, it compares the amount of media attention and explores whether it corresponds with indicators measuring the relevance of climate change and climate policies for a country. The analyses show that climate change coverage has increased in all countries. Still, overall media attention levels, as well as the extent of growth over time, differ strongly between countries. Media attention is especially high in carbon dependent countries with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.     

The geodynamic and limnological evolution of Balkan Lake Ohrid,possibly the oldest extant lake in Europe

Studies of the upper 447 m of the DEEP site sediment succession from central Lake Ohrid, Balkan Peninsula, North Macedonia and Albania provided important insights into the regional climate history and evolutionary dynamics since permanent lacustrine conditions established at 1.36 million years ago (Ma). This paper focuses on the entire 584-m-long DEEP sediment succession and a comparison to a 197-m-long sediment succession from the Pestani site ~5 km to the east in the lake, where drilling ended close to the bedrock, to unravel the earliest history of Lake Ohrid and its basin development. ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be dating of clasts from the base of the DEEP sediment succession implies that the sedimentation in the modern basin started at c. 2 Ma. Geophysical, sedimentological and micropalaeontological data allow for chronological information to be transposed from the DEEP to the Pestani succession. Fluvial conditions, slack water conditions, peat formation and/or complete desiccation prevailed at the DEEP and Pestani sites until 1.36 and 1.21 Ma, respectively, before a larger lake extended over both sites. Activation of karst aquifers to the east probably by tectonic activity and a potential existence of neighbouring Lake Prespa supported filling of Lake Ohrid. The lake deepened gradually, with a relatively constant vertical displacement rate of ~0.2 mm a⁻¹ between the central and the eastern lateral basin and with greater water depth presumably during interglacial periods. Although the dynamic environment characterized by local processes and the fragmentary chronology of the basal sediment successions from both sites hamper palaeoclimatic significance prior to the existence of a larger lake, the new data provide an unprecedented and detailed picture of the geodynamic evolution of the basin and lake that is Europe’s presumed oldest extant freshwater lake.     

High crustal diversity preserved in the lunar meteorite Mount DeWitt 12007 (Victoria Land,Antarctica)

The meteorite Mount DeWitt (DEW) 12007 is a polymict regolith breccia mainly consisting of glassy impact‐melt breccia particles, gabbroic clasts, feldspathic clasts, impact and volcanic glass beads, basaltic clasts, and mingled breccia clasts embedded in a matrix dominated by fine‐grained crystals; vesicular glassy veins and rare agglutinates are also present. Main minerals are plagioclase (typically An_>85) and clinopyroxene (pigeonites and augites, sometimes interspersed). The presence of tranquillityite, coupled with the petrophysical data, the O‐isotope data (Δ¹⁷O = ?0.075), and the FeO_tot/MnO ratios in olivine (91), pyroxene (65), and bulk rock (77) indicate a lunar origin for DEW 12007. Impactites consist of Al‐rich impact‐melt splashes and plagioclase‐rich meta‐melt clasts. The volcanic products belong to the very low titanium (VLT) or low titanium (LT) suites; an unusual subophitic fragment could be cryptomare‐related. Gabbroic clasts could represent part of a shallow intrusion within a volcanic complex with prevailing VLT affinity. DEW 12007 has a mingled bulk composition with relatively high incompatible element abundances and shows a high crustal diversity comprising clasts from the Moon's major terranes and rare lithologies. First‐order petrographic and chemical features suggest that DEW 12007 could be launch‐paired with other meteorites including Y 793274/981031, QUE 94281, EET 87521/96008, and NWA 4884.     

Car navigation – computing routes that avoid complicated crossings

Personalized navigation and way-finding are prominent research areas of location-based service (LBSs). This includes innovative concepts for car navigation. Within this paper, we investigate the idea of providing drivers a routing suggestion which avoids ‘complicated crossings’ in urban areas. Inexperienced drivers include persons who have a driver’s license but, for whatever reason, feel uncomfortable to drive in a city environment. Situations where the inexperienced driver has to depend on a navigation device and reach a destination in an unfamiliar territory may be difficult. Preferences of inexperienced drivers are investigated. ‘Fears’ include driving into ‘complicated crossings’. Therefore, the definition and spatial characteristics of ‘complicated crossings’ are investigated. We use OpenStreetMap as a road dataset for the routing network. Based on the topological characteristics of the dataset, measured by the number of nodes, we identify crossings that are ‘complicated’. The user can choose to compute an alternative route that avoids these complicated crossings. This methodology is one step in building a full ‘inexperienced drivers’ routing system, which includes additional preferences from the user group, for example, as avoiding left turns where no traffic light is present.