3D dynamics of debris flows quantified at sub-second intervals from laser profiles

We use pairs of parallel mounted laser profile scanners to measure main debris-flow variables in two debris-flow channels in central and southern Switzerland. The scanners measure the instantaneous cross-sectional geometry of debris flows at rates of 25–100 Hz, and we apply large-scale particle image velocimetery to estimate velocity. The scanners also provide direct measurements of flow depth. From these data, we were able to estimate debris-flow depth, velocity and discharge for 16 out of 17 events. These results are consistent with discharge estimated from a system of geophones and a radar gauge for two available datasets. We also investigated debris-flow geometry to quantify rheology-controlled cross-flow convexity and found that four events manifest strong surface convexity at their surge fronts where we expect the largest boulders and low pore-fluid pressures. The scanners provide a completely new view of debris-flow dynamics and channel morphology and present novel opportunities to measure discharge and investigate debris-flow geometries.     

The freshwater balance of polar regions in transient simulations from 1500 to 2100 AD using a comprehensive coupled climate model

The ocean and sea ice in both polar regions are important reservoirs of freshwater within the climate system. While the response of these reservoirs to future climate change has been studied intensively, the sensitivity of the polar freshwater balance to natural forcing variations during preindustrial times has received less attention. Using an ensemble of transient simulations from 1500 to 2100 AD we put present-day and future states of the polar freshwater balance in the context of low frequency variability of the past five centuries. This is done by focusing on different multi-decadal periods of characteristic external forcing. In the Arctic, freshwater is shifted from the ocean to sea ice during the Maunder Minimum while the total amount of freshwater within the Arctic domain remains unchanged. In contrast, the subsequent Dalton Minimum does not leave an imprint on the slow-reacting reservoirs of the ocean and sea ice, but triggers a drop in the import of freshwater through the atmosphere. During the twentieth and twenty-first century the build-up of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean leads to a strengthening of the liquid export. The Arctic freshwater balance is shifted towards being a large source of freshwater to the North Atlantic ocean. The Antarctic freshwater cycle, on the other hand, appears to be insensitive to preindustrial variations in external forcing. In line with the rising temperature during the industrial era the freshwater budget becomes increasingly unbalanced and strengthens the high latitude’s Southern Ocean as a source of liquid freshwater to lower latitude oceans.     

U–Pb dating, Hf-isotope characteristics and trace-REE-patterns of zircons from Medet porphyry copper deposit, Bulgaria: implications for timing, duration and sources of ore-bearing magmatism

Precise U–Pb geochronology, Hf isotope compositions and trace element distributions in zircons are combined in the present study to define the timing and sources of the magmatism forming the Medet porphyry copper deposit, Bulgaria. ID-TIMS U–Pb-zircon dating demonstrates that ore-bearing magmatism extended for less than 1.12 Ma. As inferred from the field relationships, it started with the intrusion of a quartz-monzodiorite at 90.59?±?0.29 Ma followed by granodiorite porphyries at 90.47?±?0.30 and 90.27?±?0.60 Ma and by crosscutting aplite dykes at 90.12?±?0.36 Ma. These units were overprinted by potassic alteration and host economic copper-(Mo–Au) mineralization. The main magmatic–hydrothermal activity ceased after that, and a later quartz-granodiorite porphyry dyke, dated at 89.26?±?0.32 Ma, only contains an uneconomic quartz–pyrite mineralization. Assimilation of Lower Paleozoic rocks with a mantle to mantle–crust signature is characteristic of the fertile magma in the Medet deposit, as defined by positive ?-Hf values of the inherited zircons. The positive Ce-anomalies and the higher Eu/Eu* ratios of the zircons in the mineralized Cretaceous rocks of Medet deposit argue for crystallization from a generally more oxidized magma compared to the later quartz-granodiorite porphyry dyke. A change in paleostress conditions occurred during the intrusion of the Medet pluton and its dykes. The initial stage reveals E–W extension associated with N–S compression, whereas the younger granodiorite dyke was emplaced during subsequent N–S extension. The large-scale switch of the extensional stress regime during the mineralization was favourable for ore deposition by channelling the fluids and increasing the effective permeability.     

Transient three-dimensional modeling of riverbank filtration at Grind well field, Germany

Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a proven treatment step in a multi-barrier method of drinking-water supply at many sites. RBF wells induce a large amount of river water to infiltrate the river base and travel towards the wells, giving the opportunity for mixing of infiltrated surface water and groundwater. Assessment of raw water quality plays an important role in planning and operating a RBF well field. In this context, the determination of the catchment area (and land uses within the catchment) and the ratio of bank filtrate (BF) to raw groundwater (GW) are two prior steps. Transient model simulations were performed in order to study the hydraulic conditions at the RBF well field at Grind near Düsseldorf, Germany. The BF/GW ratio was determined to be 75/25. The flood events in winter, in particular, showed the BF/GW ratio to have high variation. Transient path lines in the well field were used for delineation of the catchment area.     

Forensic hydrology: what function tells about structure in complex settings

Facing the challenges of the European Water Framework Directive and competing demands requires a sound knowledge of the hydrological system. This is a major challenge in regions like Northeast Germany. The landscape has been massively reshaped during repeated advances and retreats of glaciation during the Pleistocene. This resulted in a complex setting of unconsolidated sediments with high textural heterogeneity and with layered aquifer systems, partly confined, but usually of unknown number and extent of single aquifers. The Institute of Landscape Hydrology aims both at a better understanding of hydrological processes and at providing a basis for sustainable water resources management in this region. That would require sound information about the respective regions of interest that are rarely available at sufficient degree of detail. Thus, there is urgent need for alternative approaches. For example, time series of groundwater head, lake water level and stream runoff do not only depend on (unknown) geological structures, but in turn can reveal information about major geological features. To that end, different approaches have been developed and successfully applied at different scales, based both on advanced time series analysis and dimension reduction approaches and on well-known and rather simple methods. This approach has been coined “forensic hydrology”: Like in a crime story, numerous pieces of evidence are combined in a systematic way to end up with a consistent conceptual model about the prevailing cause–effect relationships. An example is given for the Quillow catchment in Northeast Germany in a rather complex geological setting.     

An oversampling technique for the multiscale finite volume method to simulate electromagnetic responses in the frequency domain

In order to reduce the computational cost of the simulation of electromagnetic responses in geophysical settings that involve highly heterogeneous media, we develop a multiscale finite volume method with oversampling for the quasi-static Maxwell’s equations in the frequency domain. We assume a coarse mesh nested within a fine mesh that accurately discretizes the problem. For each coarse cell, we independently solve a local version of the original Maxwell’s system subject to linear boundary conditions on an extended domain, which includes the coarse cell and a neighborhood of fine cells around it. The local Maxwell’s system is solved using the fine mesh contained in the extended domain and the mimetic finite volume method. Next, these local solutions (basis functions) together with a weak-continuity condition are used to construct a coarse-mesh version of the global problem. The basis functions can be used to obtain the fine-mesh details from the solution of the coarse-mesh problem. Our approach leads to a significant reduction in the size of the final system of equations and the computational time, while accurately approximating the behavior of the fine-mesh solutions. We demonstrate the performance of our method using two 3D synthetic models: one with a mineral deposit in a geologically complex medium and one with random isotropic heterogeneous media. Both models are discretized using an adaptive mesh refinement technique.     

Impacts

Participatory Integrated Assessement (IA) methods complement analytical methods like IA-modeling in their explicit inclusion of stakeholders and decision-makers in the assessment. Integrated Assessment is perceived as a process of social learning involving scientists, stakeholders, policymakers and the society at large. We introduce a new approach to provide expert knowledge for participatory integrated assessments of regional climate change: `Interactive Citizen's Information Tools' (ICITs). ICITs provide citizens with expert knowledge about causes of climate change, potential impacts, and policy options to address anthropogenic climate change. In this paper we discuss the development and application of IMPACTS in IA-focus groups in Switzerland. IMPACTS is based on user-friendly hypermedia technologies and allows citizens to get informed on a broad range of potential climate change impacts – with an emphasison prevailing uncertainties. IA-focus groups are deliberative group discussions that make use of computer tools to support the discussion and assessment. The goal of IA-focus groups is to elicit how informed citizens judge the risks of anthropogenic climate change. Experiences with IMPACTS showed that the combination of focus groups with ICITs is a feasible and promising approach for a participatory IA of regional climate change, in particular, and of complex environmental issues, in general.     

Satellitenbildauswertung zur Feststellung von Trinkwasserreserven im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge

Zusammenfassung Im östlichen Rheinischen Schiefergebirge konnten innerhalb der im Allgemeinen gering permeablen paläozoischen Festgesteinskomplexe Bereiche guter Wasserwegsamkeit festgestellt werden. Sie sind vornehmlich an Nord-Süd oder Ost-West gerichtete Zonen junger (tertiärer) Tektonik gebunden und vorwiegend feldgeologisch nicht kartierbar. Mit Hilfe der Satellitenbildauswertung lassen sich diese Bereiche gut erfassen, da sie als Lineare abgebildet werden.Die Erfassung und Abgrenzung der Zonen junger Tektonik stellt eine wichtige Grundlage zur Sicherung der Trinkwasserversorgung für Gemeinden im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge dar. Sie ist außerdem ein Hilfsmittel zur Beurteilung von Fragen des Grundwasserschutzes.An Hand eines LANDSAT-1 Bildes wurde eine Linearkarte angefertigt, die mit einem umfangreichen Abflußmeßprogramm verglichen wurde. Dabei ergab sich, daß die von Linearen durchzogenen Teilgebiete normalerweise überdurchschnittliche Abflußspenden haben. Auch die in diesen Bereichen gelegenen Tiefbrunnen weisen überdurchschnittliche Förderraten auf.Über die jungen tektonischen Schwächezonen besteht eine gute Verbindung zwischen Oberflächen- und Grundwasser. Daraus resultiert die Gefahr einer möglichen Grundwasserkontamination durch verunreinigtes Oberflächenwasser. Dies bezieht sich besonders auf in Linearbereichen liegende Mülldeponien. So konnte zum Beispiel eine Verunreinigung von oberflächennahem Grundwasser durch die Schlammdeponie Hirzenhain nachgewiesen werden.Die Linearkarte stellt eine Basis für vorbeugende Maßnahmen des Trinkwasserschutzes dar, da mit ihrer Hilfe eine Ausweisung bzw. Neuabgrenzung von Trinkwasserschutzgebieten möglich ist, wie am Beispiel der Tiefbrunnen von Biedenkopf ausgeführt wird.

---

Linear zones of good permeability were recognized within the paleozoic strata of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, where the permeability of these intensively folded strata normally is low. These zones are related to young tectonic events of Tertiary. They follow North-Southern or East-Western directions and they can generally not be detected by methods of field-geology. The zones were mapped by interpretation of satellite-images where they show up as linear structural elements.The method can be used to back groundwater research and to prevent groundwater contamination. A LANDSAT-1 image was used for the structural interpretation. The resulting map was compared to a program of run-off measurements. Run-off rates above the average were proved at areas effected by linear elements. Also the production-rates of waterwells in these areas was proved to be above the average.Good communication between surface-water and ground-water has been recognized. This includes the possibility of groundwater pollution for example of refuse-deposits. Contamination of this kind has been found at several localities.

---

Résumé Dans le Rheinische Schiefergebirge oriental, on a pu déterminer au sein du complexe paléozoïque, en général peu perméable, des domaines à bonne perméabilité due à l'existence de joints et de fissures.Ces domaines sont avant tout liés à des zones à tectonique récente (tertiaire), de direction Nord-Sud ou Est-Ouest, pratiquement impossibles à cartographier pour la plupart d'entre elles. L'interprétation des photos prises par satellite permet de les bien définir car ils apparaissent sous forme de lignes. La considération et la délimitation des zones à tectonique récente constitue une base importante pour assurer l'alimentation en eau potable des communes dans le Massif schisteux rhénan, et, en outre, un moyen de porter un jugement sur les questions concernant la protection des nappes souterraines. Une carte de ces lignes a été établie à partir d'un photo de LANDSAT-1; elle fut ensuite comparée à un vaste programme de mesures de l'écoulement. Cette étude montra que les régions traversées par de telles lignes ont normalement des débits au-dessus de la moyenne. Il en est de même en ce qui concerne les puits creusés dans ces domaines.Dans les zones à tectonique récente faible, il existe une bonne liaison entre les eaux de surface et les nappes souterraines, d'où le danger de contamination possible de ces mêmes nappes par les eaux de surface polluées. Cela concerne particuli-rement les dépôts d'immondices; a titre d'exemple, il a été possible de prouver la pollution des nappes souterraines à partir de la surface à la suite du dépôt de boues à Hirzenhain.La carte des lignes représente une bonne base pour décider des mesures de protection des eaux potables, puisqu'il est possible, grâce à elle, de faire une nouvelle délimitation des domaines de protection des eaux potables, comme par exemple, au puits de Biedenkopf.

---

, , , . , N—S, E—W. , .. . . . LANDSAT-1 , , . , . . .

     

Der Arma-Brown-Kreiselkompaß — Aufbau und Eigenschaften

Ocean Dynamics - Der Aufsatz befaßt sich mit den Konstruktionsprinzipien, dem technischen Aufbau und den Eigenschaften des jüngst auf dem Markt erschienenen Arma-Brown-Kreiselkompasses....