Granite intruding into Granodiorite: An example from the Damara Belt,South West Africa

Until now (Smith, 1965) it was thought that in the central Damara Belt, South West Africa, the Red Granite and the Salem Granodiorite are two magmatic bodies separated by (essentially) marbles. Three places were discovered, where the marbles are missing; in all three places the Red Granite intrudes the Salem Granodiorite. Experimental melting done with samples from two of these localities allows to appraise the likely conditions during the intrusion of the Red Granite (680° C, 4 kb H₂O-pressure).The White Granites — until now thought to be late or post kinematic — are a geologically heterogeneous group, at least in one place such an intrusion precedes that of the Red Granite.

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Zusammenfassung Bis jetzt dachte man (Smith, 1965) daß im Zentralbereich des Damara-Orogens, Südwest Afrika, der Rote Granit und der Salem Granodiorit zwei magmatische Körper wären, die überall von (im wesentlichen) Marmoren getrennt seien. Es wurden drei Gegenden entdeckt, an denen die Marmore fehlen; an allen drei Stellen intrudiert der Rote Granit in den Salem Granodiorit. Schmelz-Experimente mit Proben von zwei dieser Lokalitäten erlauben die Bedingungen abzuschätzen, die während der Intrusion des Roten Granites geherrscht haben (680° C, 4 kb H₂O-Druck).Die Weißen Granite — von denen man bis jetzt glaubte, sie seien spät-oder nachkinematisch — sind eine geologisch heterogene Gruppe. Mindestens an einer Stelle geht eine Intrusion der Weißen Granite derjenigen der Roten Granite voraus.

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Résumé Jusqu'à présent (Smith, 1965) on a pensé que dans la zone centrale de l'orogène de Damara (Sud-Ouest Africain) le Granite Rouge et la Granodiorite de Salem étaient deux plutonites séparées partout par des couches de marbres. On a découvert trois endroits où les marbres n'existent pas et où le Granite Rouge forme des intrusions recoupant la Granodiorite de Salem.Des essais de fusibilité sur des échantillons provenant de deux de ces localité permettent d'estimer les conditions d'intrusion du Granite Rouge (680° C avec des pressions H₂O de 4–5 kb).Les Granites blancs (acceptés jusqu'à présent comme tardi orogéniques) forment géologiquement une groupe hétérogène. En un endroit au moins, une intrusion de Granite blanc est recoupée par une intrusion du Granite Rouge, plus jeune.

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Variability of Sub-Canopy Flow,Temperature, and Horizontal Advection in Moderately Complex Terrain

We examine the space–time structure of the wind and temperature fields, as well as that of the resulting spatial temperature gradients and horizontal advection of sensible heat, in the sub-canopy of a forest with a dense overstorey in moderately complex terrain. Data were collected from a sensor network consisting of ten stations and subject to orthogonal decomposition using the multiresolution basis set and stochastic analyses including two-point correlations, dimensional structure functions, and various other bulk measures for space and time variability. Despite some similarities, fundamental differences were found in the space–time structure of the motions dominating the variability of the sub-canopy wind and temperature fields. The dominating motions occupy similar spatial, but different temporal, scales. A conceptual space–time diagram was constructed based on the stochastic analysis that includes the important end members of the spatial and temporal scales of the observed motions of both variables. Short-lived and small-scale motions govern the variability of the wind, while the diurnal temperature oscillation driven by the surface radiative transfer is the main determinant of the variability in the temperature signal, which occupies much larger time scales. This scale mismatch renders Taylor’s hypothesis for sub-canopy flow invalid and aggravates the computation of meaningful estimates of horizontal advective fluxes without dense spatial information. It may further explain the ambiguous and inconclusive results reported in numerous energy and mass balance and advection studies evaluating the hypothesis that accounting for budget components other than the change in storage term and the vertical turbulent flux improves the budget closure when turbulent diffusion is suppressed in plant canopies. Estimates of spatial temperature gradients and advective fluxes were sensitive to the network geometry and the spatial interpolation method. The assumption of linear spatial temperature gradients was not supported by the results, and leads to increased spatial and temporal variability of inferred spatial gradients and advection estimates. A method is proposed to estimate the appropriate minimum network size of wind and temperature sensors suitable for an evaluation of energy and mass balances by reducing spatial and temporal variability of the spatially sampled signals, which was estimated to be on the order of 200 m at the study site.     

Uncertainties of geochemical modeling during CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sequestration applying batch equilibrium calculations

One of the uncertainties in the field of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is caused by the parameterization of geochemical models. The application of geochemical models contributes significantly to calculate the fate of the CO₂ after its injection. The choice of the thermodynamic database used, the selection of the secondary mineral assemblage as well as the option to calculate pressure dependent equilibrium constants influence the CO₂ trapping potential and trapping mechanism. Scenario analyses were conducted applying a geochemical batch equilibrium model for a virtual CO₂ injection into a saline Keuper aquifer. The amount of CO₂ which could be trapped in the formation water and in the form of carbonates was calculated using the model code PHREEQC. Thereby, four thermodynamic datasets were used to calculate the thermodynamic equilibria. Furthermore, the equilibrium constants were re-calculated with the code SUPCRT92, which also applied a pressure correction to the equilibrium constants. Varying the thermodynamic database caused a range of 61% in the amount of trapped CO₂ calculated. Simultaneously, the assemblage of secondary minerals was varied, and the potential secondary minerals dawsonite and K-mica were included in several scenarios. The selection of the secondary mineral assemblage caused a range of 74% in the calculated amount of trapped CO₂. Correcting the equilibrium constants with respect to a pressure of 125 bars had an influence of 11% on the amount of trapped CO₂. This illustrates the need for incorporating sensitivity analyses into reaction pathway modeling.     

Age and origin of groundwater resources in the Ararat Valley,Armenia: a baseline study applying hydrogeochemistry and environmental tracers

Within the Ararat Valley (Armenia), a continuously growing water demand (for irrigation and fish farming) and a simultaneous decline in groundwater recharge (due to climate change) result in increasing stress on the local groundwater resources. This detrimental development is reflected by groundwater-level drops and an associated reduction of the area with artesian conditions in the valley centre. This situation calls for increasing efforts aimed at more sustainable water resources management. The aim of this baseline study was the collection of data that allows for study on the origin and age distribution of the Ararat Valley groundwater based on environmental tracers, namely stable (δ²H, δ¹⁸O) and radioactive (³⁵S, ³H) isotopes, as well as physical-chemical indicators. The results show that the Ararat Valley receives modern recharge, despite its (semi-)arid climate. While subannual groundwater residence times could be disproved (³⁵S), the detected ³H pattern suggests groundwater ages of several decades, with the oldest waters being recharged around 60 years ago. The differing groundwater ages are reflected by varying scatter of stable isotope and hydrochemical signatures. The presence of young groundwater (i.e., younger that the 1970s), some containing nitrate, indicates groundwater vulnerability and underscores the importance of increased efforts to achieve sustainable management of this natural resource. Since stable isotope signatures indicate the recharge areas to be located in the mountains surrounding the valley, these efforts must not be limited to the central part of the valley where most of the abstraction wells are located.

     

Intercomparison of measurements of bulk snow density and water equivalent of snow cover with snow core samplers: Instrumental bias and variability induced by observers

Manually collected snow data are often considered as ground truth for many applications such as climatological or hydrological studies. However, there are many sources of uncertainty that are not quantified in detail. For the determination of water equivalent of snow cover (SWE), different snow core samplers and scales are used, but they are all based on the same measurement principle. We conducted two field campaigns with 9 samplers commonly used in observational measurements and research in Europe and northern America to better quantify uncertainties when measuring depth, density and SWE with core samplers. During the first campaign, as a first approach to distinguish snow variability measured at the plot and at the point scale, repeated measurements were taken along two 20 m long snow pits. The results revealed a much higher variability of SWE at the plot scale (resulting from both natural variability and instrumental bias) compared to repeated measurements at the same spot (resulting mostly from error induced by observers or very small scale variability of snow depth). The exceptionally homogeneous snowpack found in the second campaign permitted to almost neglect the natural variability of the snowpack properties and focus on the separation between instrumental bias and error induced by observers. Reported uncertainties refer to a shallow, homogeneous tundra-taiga snowpack less than 1 m deep (loose, mostly recrystallised snow and no wind impact). Under such measurement conditions, the uncertainty in bulk snow density estimation is about 5% for an individual instrument and is close to 10% among different instruments. Results confirmed that instrumental bias exceeded both the natural variability and the error induced by observers, even in the case when observers were not familiar with a given snow core sampler.     

Impact of channel bar form and grain size variability on estimated stranding risk of juvenile brown trout during hydropeaking

Hydropeaking leads to artificial fluctuations in discharge and corresponding water levels with pronounced dewatering areas between base and peak flow along gravel bars and channel banks. In the present study, 16 hydropeaking reaches in Austria were investigated to assess possible differences in the estimated stranding risk for young of the year brown trout according to different gravel bar types and differences in microtopography roughness. Based on hydrodynamic‐numerical modelling, a predictive habitat modelling approach was implemented in the study design. Accompanied by grain size sampling along the various channel bars, a conceptual stranding risk model (SRM) was developed. The results showed that a high variability in estimated stranding risk exists for the tested sites considering discharge ratios of 1:3, 1:5 and 1:10. With respect to the discussion of establishing legal thresholds for ramping ratios in discharge, it was documented that, exemplarily, a discharge ratio base flow/peak flow of 1:5 (winter base flow conditions) could cause minor differences in the spatial extent of dewatering areas and the related estimated stranding risk for juvenile brown trout compared to a ratio of 1:2 for summer base flow conditions. Microtopographic roughness was addressed due to sampling and analysis of grain size distributions. Statistical testing of grain size distributions revealed significant differences between the surface material compositions of the investigated gravel bars. Those differences are evident, particularly for the coarser fraction (d₉₀), which is important as cover for young of the year brown trout. These aspects of grain size in habitat use and hydraulics have been addressed in the conceptual SRM. The results showed that point bar morphology, in particular, was less sensitive to the risk of stranding compared to, for example, alternating gravel bars. Considering the multiple pressures for alpine rivers, the improvement of structural features due to bar formation and related self‐forming processes is discussed as a possible alternative for future mitigation measures to reduce the negative impacts of hydropeaking. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contrasting sources of Late Paleozoic rhyolite magma in the Polish Lowlands: evidence from U–Pb ages and Hf and O isotope composition in zircon

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The Polish Lowlands, located southwest of the Teisseyre–Tornquist Zone, within Trans-European Suture Zone, were affected by bimodal, but dominantly...     

The GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam/Groupe de Recherche de Gèodésie Spatiale satellite-only and combined gravity field models: EIGEN-GL04S1 and EIGEN-GL04C

The recent improvements in the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) tracking data processing at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and Groupe de Recherche de Géodésie Spatiale (GRGS) Toulouse, the availability of newer surface gravity data sets in the Arctic, Antarctica and North-America, and the availability of a new mean sea surface height model from altimetry processing at GFZ gave rise to the generation of two new global gravity field models. The first, EIGEN-GL04S1, a satellite-only model complete to degree and order 150 in terms of spherical harmonics, was derived by combination of the latest GFZ Potsdam GRACE-only (EIGEN-GRACE04S) and GRGS Toulouse GRACE/LAGEOS (EIGEN-GL04S) mean field solutions. The second, EIGEN-GL04S1 was combined with surface gravity data from altimetry over the oceans and gravimetry over the continents to derive a new high-resolution global gravity field model called EIGEN-GL04C. This model is complete to degree and order 360 and thus resolves geoid and gravity anomalies at half- wavelengths of 55 km at the equator. A degree-dependent combination method has been applied in order to preserve the high accuracy from the GRACE satellite data in the lower frequency band of the geopotential and to form a smooth transition to the high-frequency information coming from the surface data. Compared to pre-CHAMP global high-resolution models, the accuracy was improved at a spatial resolution of 200 km (half-wavelength) by one order of magnitude to 3 cm in terms of geoid heights. The accuracy of this model (i.e. the commission error) at its full spatial resolution is estimated to be 15 cm. The model shows a reduced artificial meridional striping and an increased correlation of EIGEN-GL04C-derived geostrophic meridional currents with World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) data. These improvements have led to select EIGEN-GL04C for JASON-1 satellite altimeter data reprocessing. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.