Über die Sexual- und Dauerperioden einiger Zygnemalen aus schweizerischen Kleingewässern

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Vegetation and climate change on the Bolivian Altiplano between 108,000 and 18,000 yr ago

A 90,000-yr record of environmental change before 18,000 cal yr B.P. has been constructed using pollen analyses from a sediment core obtained from Salar de Uyuni (3653 m above sea level) on the Bolivian Altiplano. The sequence consists of alternating mud and salt, which reflect shifts between wet and dry periods. Low abundances of aquatic species between 108,000 and 50,000 yr ago (such as Myriophyllum and Isoëtes) and marked fluctuations in Pediastrum suggest generally dry conditions dominated by saltpans. Between 50,000 yr ago and 36,000 cal yr B.P., lacustrine sediments become increasingly dominant. The transition to the formation of paleolake “Minchin” begins with marked rises in Isoëtes and Myriophyllum, suggesting a lake of moderate depth. Similarly, between 36,000 and 26,000 cal yr B.P., the transition to paleolake Tauca is also initiated by rises in Isoëtes and Myriophyllum; the sustained presence of Isoëtes indicates the development of flooded littoral communities associated with a lake maintained at a higher water level. Polylepis tarapacana-dominated communities were probably an important component of the Altiplano terrestrial vegetation during much of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and previous wet phases.     

A diatom-based reconstruction of drought intensity, duration, and frequency from Moon Lake, North Dakota: a sub-decadal record of the last 2300 years

Diatom assemblages preserved in sediment cores from closed-basin lakes can provide high-resolution records of past hydrologic and climatic conditions, including long-term patterns in the intensity, duration, and frequency of droughts. At Moon Lake, a closed-basin lake in eastern North Dakota, a comparison of diatom-inferred salinity and the precipitation-based Bhalme-Mooley Drought Index (BMDI) over the last 100 years was highly significant, suggesting that the diatom record contains a sensitive archive of past climatic conditions. A sub-decadal record of inferred salinity for the past 2300 years indicates that extreme droughts of greater intensity than those during the 1930s 'Dust Bowl' were more frequent prior to A.D. 1200. This high frequency of extreme droughts persisted for centuries and was most pronounced from A.D. 200–370, A.D. 700–850 and A.D. 1000–1200. A pronounced shift to generally wetter conditions with less severe droughts of shorter duration occured at A.D. 1200. This abrupt change coincided with the end of the 'Medieval Warm Period' (A.D. 1000–1200) and the onset of the 'Little Ice Age' (A.D. 1300–1850).     

Geodynamic and tectonic evolution of the southeastern Bohemian Massif: The Thaya section (Austria)

Summary The tectonostratigraphy within eastern sections of the Bohemian Massif includes two different terranes. A Proterozoic terrane is composed of the Moravo-Silesian parautochthon, the Moravian nappe complex and the Moldanubian Variegated and Monotonous complexes. A Paleozoic terrane includes the Gföhl Gneiss and the granulite klippen. Both terranes are separated by an oceanic suture zone which is represented by the Letovice ophiolite complex (Czech Republic) and the Raabs complex in Austria. The Raabs structural unit is interpreted to represent a tectonic melange of a dismembered ophiolite complex and metaandesites.The tectonic evolution of the southeastern Bohemian Massif includes: (1) Paleozoic extension predating late Variscan nappe stacking; (2) Variscan (c. 350-320 Ma) NE-directed nappe assembly by foreward propagation of thick-skinned nappes, whereas individual thrusts initiated within different crustal levels; (3) post-stacking Variscan W-E extension which was responsible for penetrative nappe internal deformations; and, (4) dispersion of units by a system of dextral strike-slip faults and genetically related thrust- and normal faults. The kinematic history during Variscan convergence is explained to have been related to oblique (dextral) transpression of Proterozoic against Paleozoic terranes.

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Geodynamische und tektonische Entwicklung der südöstlichen Böhmischen Masse: Das Thaya Profil (Österreich)

Zusammenfassung Eine Gliederung der südöstlichen Böhmischen Masse umfaßt zwei kontinentale Blöcke (Terranes). Das proterozoische Terrane besteht aus dem Moravo-Silesischen Parautochton, den Moravischen Decken und basalen Anteilen des Moldanubikums (Bunte Serie und Monotone Serie). Das paläozoische Terrane umfaßt den Moldanubischen Gföhler Gneis und die Granulitklippen. Beide Krustenblöcke werden durch eine ozeanische Sutur getrennt, die durch den Letovice-Ophiolith (Tschechien) und die Raabser Einheit (Österreich) repräsentiert ist. Die Raabser Einheit wird als eine tektonische Melange, bestehend aus einem Ophiolith und einer kalkalkalischen, andesitischen Suite gedeutet. Die tektonische Entwicklung läßt folgende Entwicklungsstufen erkennen: (1) Paläozoische Krustenextension vor der spätvariszischen Deckenstapelung; (2) Spätvariszische (ca. 350-320 Ma) nordostgerichtete Deckenstapelung, wobei jüngere Decken in Richtung des Vorlandes progradierten. Dabei wurden einzelne Deckenbahnen in unterschiedlichen Krustenniveaus betätigt; (3) Generelle West-Ost Extension und Entwicklung des penetrativen Gefüges nach der Deckenstapelung; (4) Verteilung der Einheiten durch gleichzeitige Aktivität von steilen nordost-streichenden Scherzonen und flachen Auf- und Abschiebungen. Die kinematische Entwicklung während der variszischen Gebirgsbildung ist auf schräge (dextrale) Plattenkonvergenz zwischen dem proterozoischen und dem paläozoischen Terrane zurückzuführen.

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With 10 Figures     

Water-rock interaction and chemistry of groundwaters from the Canadian Shield

The chemical and isotopic compositions of groundwaters in the crystalline rocks of the Canadian Shield reflect different degrees of rock-water interactions. The chemistry of the shallow, geochemically immature groundwaters and especially of the major cations is controlled by local rock compositions, whereby dissolution reactions dominate. Conservative constituents, such as chloride and bromide, however, are not entirely a result of such reactions but appear to be readily added from leachable salts during the initial stages of the geochemical evolution of these waters. Their concentration changes little as major cations increase, until concentrations of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) reach 3000 to 5000 mg 1^?1. The isotopic composition of these shallow waters reflects local, present day precipitations.In contrast to the shallow groundwaters, the isotopic and chemical compositions of the deep, saline waters and brines are determined by extensive, low-temperature rock-water interactions. This is documented in major ion chemistries, ¹⁸O contents and strontium isotopic compositions. These data indicate that the deep brines have been contained in hydrologically isolated “pockets”. The almost total loss of primary compositions make discussions on the origin of these brines very speculative. However, all brines from across the Canadian Shield have a very similar chemical composition, which probably reflects a common geochemical history. The concentrations of some major and most minor elements in these fluids appear to be governed by reactions with secondary mineral assemblages.     

Use of biological traits for interpreting functional relationships in large rivers

Altogether 64 predominantly biological traits were coded for more than 600 macroinvertebrate species from European rivers. The main question was: Are biological traits able to reflect “biological functionality” in large rivers and if so, is it possible to deduce an assessment system based on functionality? Analysis of the raw trait structure of all species indicates that these traits are not completely independent from their higher systematic units. To avoid mis-interpretations when judging from mixtures of habitats (β-biocoenosis) we used for our investigations only sample series from -biocoenosis, pre-tested by a mathematical criterion of homogeneity. Within -biocoenosis, traits are shown to be able to compensate for drastic changes with respect to species number and species composition along a river continuum, demonstrating their functional quality. Long-term changes in the trait and species structures of German waterways were studied using multivariate methods, based on an analysis of 142 sampling series. A shift from traits typical for K-strategists to traits typical for r-strategists was detected to be the main background variable. The rK-strategy is regarded as a true functional character of species. We calculated the relative positions of all trait-coded species on this rK-scale, and plotted the functional diversity of our samples against the structural diversity of the species from several river systems. Rivers extremely dominated by r-strategists show a deficit in functional diversity. Rivers dominated by K-strategists also show deficits, possibly in concordance with modern ecological theories such as the intermediate disturbance theory. The quantitative proportions of extreme r- to K-Strategists in -biocoenosis can be used as a general disturbance measure.