The distribution of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in iron-bearing tourmalines: A Mössbauer study

Summary Room-temperature Mössbauer spectra of five iron-bearing tourmalines were measured and analyzed. The Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio and the iron occupancy of the Y and Z positions could be assigned to all samples, with the help of two previously well characterized samples, from Mexico and Madagascar. Ferric or ferrous ions or both partially occupy the Z as well as the Y octahedra. This fact of observation is interpreted as the chemical response, during crystal growth, to the requirement of size matching for the edge-sharing Y and Z oxygen octahedra. It accounts for the inexistence of solid solution between the Mg and (Li, Al) tourmalines.

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Die Verteilung von Fe²⁺ und Fe³⁺ in eisenhaltigen Turmalinen: Eine Mössbauer-Untersuchung

Zusammenfassung Mössbauer-Spektren von fünf eisenhaltigen Turmalinen wurden gemessen und analysiert. Das Verhältnis Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ und die Eisenverteilung konnten mit Hilfe von zwei gut identifizierten Turmalin-Kristallen von Mexiko und Madagascar für die Y-und Z-Lagen aller Exemplare bestimmt werden. Zweiwertiges sowie dreiwertiges Eisen findet sich sowohl in der Z-als auch in der Y-Lage. Da sich die Y-und Z-Oktaeder in einer gemeinsamen Kante treffen, wird diese Beobachtung als chemische Antwort des Kristalles auf die erforderte Größenanpassung der Y-und Z-Oktaeder während seines Wachstums erklärt. Die Abwesenheit der festen Lösung zwischen Dravit und Elbait kann somit erklärt werden.

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With 4 Figures     

Der “Protocalcit” von Gumpoldskirchen (Niederösterreich)

Zusammenfassung In einem in Abbau befindlichen Steinbruch bei Gumpoldskirchen (Niederösterreich) wurde in Fugen und Hohlräumen eines Störungssystems von Hauptdolomit als rezente Verwitterungsbildung des Gesteins ein weißes, gelartiges Mineral aufgefunden, das einen Gehalt von mehr als 90% lose gebundenes Wasser aufweist. An der Luft trocknet die quallige Mineralbildung zu einem papierartigen Häutchen (Bergmilch oder Papierspat) und rekristallisiert unter natürlichen Bedingungen zu erdigen, weißen Krusten (Bergmehl). Die chemische Analyse, die Röntgendiffraktionsanalyse und Elektronenbeugungsaufnahmen zeigen einwandfrei, daß es sich, auch im wasserhaltigen Zustand, um Calciumcarbonat in der Modifikation des Calcites handelt. Die elektronenmikroskopischen Aufnahmen erklären die Eigenschaften dieser Mineralbildung. Im wasserhaltigen Zustand sind wirrgelagerte Calcitfäden zu erkennen, deren Durchmesser ca. 500 Å beträgt. Das Wasser ist im Calcitfadengerüst als grobe Feuchtigkeit gebunden. Für die wasserhaltige Varietät (CaCO₃+xH₂O) wird der Name Protocalcit vorgeschlagen.

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Summary A white gel-like mineral containing more than 90% moisture was found in a quarry near Gumpoldskirchen (Lower Austria). The mineral had been formed recently in gaps and cavities of a fissure system in the Triassic Main Dolomite.Airdried, the jelly mineral turns into a paper-like skin (rockmilk) and can be recrystallised to a white earthy crust (rockflour).The chemical analysis, the X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction investigation show that the mineral is calcite, even it contains high amounts of water. The electronmicroscopical investigations explain the properties of this peculiar formation of the mineral. If the mineral is containing water, the filiform crystallites of calcite 500 Å of diameter are completely disorderd. The water is bound adsorptively in the framework of calcite crystallites. During the loss of water the filiform calcite crystalls are ordered more or less parallel to each other.The name protocalcite is proposed for this variety of calcite, which is containing variable amounts of water (CaCO₃+xH₂O).

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Mit 9 Textabbildungen

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Herrn Professor Dr.F. Machatschki zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Soft-sediment deformation structures in Late Miocene–Pleistocene sediments on the pediment of the Mátra Hills (Visonta, Atkár, Verseg): Cryoturbation, load structures or seismites?

The studied area, built up by silty clayey and partly sandy sediments and paleosols, lies on the tectonically active Northern margins of the Pannonian Basin. Wavy, sagging load casts can be observed in the upper part of the Late Miocene alluvial complex and larger scale sagging load casts, flame structures, drops and pillows detected in its Quaternary cover were studied in detail, in order to understand the origins of soft sediment deformation which characterized this young sedimentary suite. Sedimentological, paleopedological and mineralogical observations suggest that:

1. One of the reasons for the soft-sediment deformation might have been the relatively low cohesive strength of the predominantly smectitic sediment covering a gentle slope similar to the actual landscape.

2. On such a surface, the down-slope gravitational component of the mud-blanket might easily have been sufficient to overcome its cohesive strength.

3. Frost action traceable in the studied formations might also have contributed to the observed deformation, particularly along the eroded top of the Late Miocene sediments.

Combined evidence from field observations and laboratory analyses support the idea that liquefaction–fluidization was of prime importance in bringing about the observed structures. In conclusion two alternative Quaternary/Holocene scenarios are proposed, which might have resulted in the unusual behaviour of the sediments/paleosols. One is a seismic event, the other is the combined effect of freeze–thaw cycles and of the sloping foothill position, which might have resulted in episodic downslope transport and the associated deformation of the eroded soil material when its water content surpassed a certain threshold. We accept that the anomalous abundance of soft-sediment deformation in this marginal position may be causally related to paleo-earthquakes, but the obvious complexity of the phenomenon requires caution. In case the proposed scenarios would not have been alternatives but acted simultaneously, the analysed phenomena were to be interpreted as the joint results of tectonics and climate change.     

Oxygen isotope ratios of cellulose-derived phenylglucosazone: An improved paleoclimate indicator of environmental water and relative humidity

Oxygen atoms within fossil wood provide high-resolution records of climate change, particularly for the Quaternary. However, current analysis methods of fossil cellulose do not differentiate between different positions of the oxygen atoms. Here, we propose a refinement to tree-cellulose paleoclimatology modeling, using the cellulose-derived compound phenylglucosazone as the isotopic substrate. Stem samples from trees were collected at northern latitudes as low as 24°37′N and as high as 69°00′N. We extracted stem water and cellulose from each stem sample and analyzed them for their ¹⁸O content. In addition, we derived the cellulose to phenylglucosazone, a compound which lacks the oxygen attached to the second carbon of the cellulose-glucose moieties. Oxygen isotope analysis of phenylglucosazone allowed us to calculate the ¹⁸O content of the oxygen attached to the second carbon of the cellulose-glucose moieties. By way of these analyses, we tested two hypotheses: first, that the ¹⁸O content of the oxygen attached to second carbon will more closely reflect the ¹⁸O content of the stem water, and will not resemble the ¹⁸O content of either cellulose or its derivative phenylglucosazone. Second, tree-ring models that incorporate the variable oxygen isotope fractionation shown here and elsewhere are more accurate than those that do not. Our first hypothesis was rejected on the basis that the oxygen isotope ratios of the oxygen attached to the second carbon of the glucose moieties had a noisy isotopic signal with a large standard deviation and gave the poorest correlation with the oxygen isotope ratios of stem water. Related to this isotopic noise, we observed that the correlation between oxygen isotope ratios of phenylglucosazone with both stem water and relative humidity were higher than those observed for cellulose. Our hypothesis about tree-ring models which account for changes in the oxygen isotopic fractionation during cellulose synthesis was consistent only for the ¹⁸O content of phenylglucosazone. We showed that the tree-ring model based on the ¹⁸O content of phenylglucosazone was an improvement over existing models that are based on whole cellulose. Additionally, this approach may be used in other cellulose based archives such as peat deposits and lacustrine sediments.     

The Footprint Database and Web Services of the Herschel Space Observatory

Data from the Herschel Space Observatory is freely available to the public but no uniformly processed catalogue of the observations has been published so far. To date, the Herschel Science Archive does not contain the exact sky coverage (footprint) of individual observations and supports search for measurements based on bounding circles only. Drawing on previous experience in implementing footprint databases, we built the Herschel Footprint Database and Web Services for the Herschel Space Observatory to provide efficient search capabilities for typical astronomical queries. The database was designed with the following main goals in mind: (a) provide a unified data model for meta-data of all instruments and observational modes, (b) quickly find observations covering a selected object and its neighbourhood, (c) quickly find every observation in a larger area of the sky, (d) allow for finding solar system objects crossing observation fields. As a first step, we developed a unified data model of observations of all three Herschel instruments for all pointing and instrument modes. Then, using telescope pointing information and observational meta-data, we compiled a database of footprints. As opposed to methods using pixellation of the sphere, we represent sky coverage in an exact geometric form allowing for precise area calculations. For easier handling of Herschel observation footprints with rather complex shapes, two algorithms were implemented to reduce the outline. Furthermore, a new visualisation tool to plot footprints with various spherical projections was developed. Indexing of the footprints using Hierarchical Triangular Mesh makes it possible to quickly find observations based on sky coverage, time and meta-data. The database is accessible via a web site http://herschel.vo.elte.hu and also as a set of REST web service functions, which makes it readily usable from programming environments such as Python or IDL. The web service allows downloading footprint data in various formats including Virtual Observatory standards.     

An evaluation of the performance of rock fall protection measures and their role in hazard zoning

Natural Hazards - Rock falls threaten human lives and assets in mountainous regions all over the world. Protection measures are one of the most effective solutions for mitigating rock fall-related...     

The 2005 eruption of Sierra Negra volcano,Galápagos,Ecuador

Sierra Negra volcano began erupting on 22 October 2005, after a repose of 26 years. A plume of ash and steam more than 13 km high accompanied the initial phase of the eruption and was quickly followed by a ~2-km-long curtain of lava fountains. The eruptive fissure opened inside the north rim of the caldera, on the opposite side of the caldera from an active fault system that experienced an m_b 4.6 earthquake and ~84 cm of uplift on 16 April 2005. The main products of the eruption were an `a`a flow that ponded in the caldera and clastigenic lavas that flowed down the north flank. The `a`a flow grew in an unusual way. Once it had established most of its aerial extent, the interior of the flow was fed via a perched lava pond, causing inflation of the `a`a. This pressurized fluid interior then fed pahoehoe breakouts along the margins of the flow, many of which were subsequently overridden by `a`a, as the crust slowly spread from the center of the pond and tumbled over the pahoehoe. The curtain of lava fountains coalesced with time, and by day 4, only one vent was erupting. The effusion rate slowed from day 7 until the eruption’s end two days later on 30 October. Although the caldera floor had inflated by ~5 m since 1992, and the rate of inflation had accelerated since 2003, there was no transient deformation in the hours or days before the eruption. During the 8 days of the eruption, GPS and InSAR data show that the caldera floor deflated ~5 m, and the volcano contracted horizontally ~6 m. The total eruptive volume is estimated as being ~150×10⁶ m³. The opening-phase tephra is more evolved than the eruptive products that followed. The compositional variation of tephra and lava sampled over the course of the eruption is attributed to eruption from a zoned sill that lies 2.1 km beneath the caldera floor.