Heat flow on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

Twenty-four heat flow measurements are clustered in 5–20 m.y. and 60–80 m.y. old seafloor on the crest and northern flank of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. The crestal heat flow stations are characterized by (1) low mean heat flow relative to that predicted by theoretical models, (2) thin sediment cover, and (3) high ratio of standard deviation to mean heat flow, all of which indicate a system dominated by convective heat transfer. The measurements made on older seafloor of the northern flank have (1) mean heat flow equal to the theoretical predictions of conductively-cooling lithospheric plate models, (2) thick sediment cover, and (3) low ratio of standard deviation to mean heat flow. Thus convective loss associated with hydrothermal circulation is not considered to be important in 60–80 m.y. old seafloor on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. The pattern of heat flow on this ridge is thus similar to that in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans: hydrothermal circulation is dominant on the ridge crest but is suppressed on the flanks, possibly due to a difference in the hydraulic admittance of the sediment between the two regions.     

Continent — Island arc collision in the Banda Arc

Acoustical structure of seismic profiles, and morphology of the Timor—Tanimbar—Ceram troughs and adjacent slopes of the outer Banda Arc, show remarkable similarities to equivalent parameters of many arcs subducting oceanic lithosphere and sediments, despite the fact that the outer Banda Arc is underlain by continental crust continuous with that of the colliding Australian craton. Such similarities include diffractions and anticlinal folds at the toe of the inner slope of the Timor—Tanimbar—Ceram troughs, which could be interpreted as thrust slices and thrust folds. Slope basins comprising sediments obviously dammed behind acoustic basement highs are also common on the trough inner slope, with some basins containing strata adjacent to the highs dipping away from the trough. Ridges and basins occur on the trough inner slope oriented parallel to the trough trend, and a slab continuous with down-bowed continental margin can often be detected a considerable distance in from the trough below the inner slope. On face value these observations are compatible with a mechanism of underthrusting by Australian and New Guinea crust with consequent imbrication and accretion of packages of off-scraped sediments. However, they may also be explained as possible outward-directed gravity slides of nappes displaced from uplifted inner portions of the arc, similar to the published structural interpretation of at least the eastern portion of the neighbouring, closely related New Guinea Fold Belt. It is shown that the weight of marine geological and geophysical evidence, including the alignment with the oceanic Indonesian Arc, the gravity anomalies, and the persistence of the various morphological and structural entities around the arc, favours subduction in the Timor—Tanimbar—Ceram troughs rather than massive gravity sliding towards the troughs. By this working model the outer Banda Arc would be the accretionary prism of a subduction zone which was formerly in an ocean-crust setting but since Pliocene has been interacting with continental lithosphere. If its structural evolution is analogous to that of the New Guinea orogenic belt, then the Banda Arc has not yet reached the stage of major, foreland-directed gravity slides. The proposed structural model for the Banda Arc is at variance with some but not all structural interpretations of the island of Timor, which is an emergent portion of the outer arc. Further critical studies are obviously required, both in marine and terrestrial areas, to resolve this impasse.     

Vergleichende Untersuchung der Diäten vonLymnaea auricularia undL. peregra (Gastropoda: Basommatophora) im Zürichsee

Two very similar species of freshwater snails,Lymnaea auricularia andL. peregra coexist in Lake Zürich. We examined their diets to determine possible differences. Microscopic analysis of stomach and hind gut contents revealed no marked differences between the diets of the two snail species collected from the same substrate. However, in both species we found significant differences between the composition of the substrate and that of the stomach contents, using discriminant analysis. We conclude that both species of snails feed preferentially on patches of favourable food supply and that their diets overlap almost totally. The coexistence of the two species under these conditions suggests that food does not limit their density in the area studied.     

Methan- und Sauerstoffhaushalt im mesotrophen Lungernsee

Prealpine Lake Lungern shows in spite of low primary production rates (120 g C/m². year) and full winter overturns a complete oxygen depletion in the deepest hypolimnion (65–70 m below surface) towards the end of summer stagnation. Periodical examinations of O₂- and CH₄-concentrations, CH₄-oxidation rates and temperature in the water column during 1975/76 enabled an O₂-balance of Lake Lungern. The direct measurement of the CH₄-flux at the sediment-water-interface and of the CH₄-concentrations in sediment cores as well as the determination of the age of methane bubbles lead to the conclusion, that the hypolimnic oxygen depletion is partly due to the oxidation of fossile methane penetrating the lake from below.      

Eisbedeckung und hypolimnische Sauerstoffanreicherung im Greifensee von 1950 bis 1980

Hypolimnetic oxygen in the highly eutrophic Swiss lake Greifensee (area 8 km², maximum depth 33 m) was almost entirely depleted during summer stratification. We found a strong empirical relation between wind action across the lake surface and hypolimnetic reoxygenation in the cold half year. Long periods of ice cover severely limited anemogenic reoxygenation.      

Trübeströme in Seen: Sauerstoffeintrag durch grundnah eingeschichtetes Flusswasser

Near-bottom current measurements in the main delta areas of the Walensee (Switzerland) and of Lake Constance yielded evidence that sporadic high influxes of clastic suspensions caused by flood stage discharges of tributaries generate turbidity underflows. Turbid suspensions plunge down the delta front as hyperpycnal inflows with speeds up to 130cm/s. These periodic intrusions of well oxygenated river water may influence the oxygen budget of the basal hypolimnion, thus possibly antagonizing eutrophication in marginal cases, supported by the adsorption of phosphate by suspended clay particles.      

Analysis of absorption effects on the dynamic response of dam reservoir systems by boundary element methods

Using reciprocal theorems for dynamic and static boundary value problems, boundary integral equations are presented for wave propagation in elastic, isotropic media and compressible, inviscid fluids in the time domain as well as in the frequency domain. For the analysis of fluid–soil and fluid–structure systems, suitable coupling conditions are prescribed along the interfaces. The numerical treatment of the boundary integral equations consists of a point collocation and of a discretization of the boundary, in which constant and linear approximation functions are assumed. Step-by-step integration is applied to the time-dependent equations, where again the states are taken to be linear and constant over each time interval. These boundary element procedures are used to analyse the response of dams due to horizontal and vertical ground motions considering dam–water interaction and absorption of hydrodynamic pressure waves at the reservoir bottom or at the far end into the soil medium. Both the frequency response and the impulse generated transient response are investigated.     

Technik der präparation und darstellung von sedimentkernen mit grossem querschnitt

A boring instrument for the removal of undisturbed samples from lake sediments at any depth is described. The bore tube cuts a sediment core (diameter 110 mm) in which the layering structure of a 300 mm long section can be examined in its natural undisturbed form. The core is sectioned using a knife made out of mineral glass (thin window glass). The core can be fixed with a piston and laid down horizontally. After removing the glass knife, it can be further processed, sampled, etc. Examples of such cores from the Greifensee, the Hallwilersee and from Lake Lucerne (Bay of Gersau) show the amazing detail and individuality of the sediments.