Tidally oscillating bisulfide fluxes and fluid flow rates observed with in situ chemical sensors at a warm spring in Monterey Bay,California

An In Situ Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer (ISUS) was coupled to a benthic chamber to characterize the bisulfide flux emanating from a warm spring at the Extrovert Cliff locality within Monterey Bay, California. The chamber was periodically flushed with bottom seawater to reset chemical concentrations, which enabled deployments over multiple days. Data from several deployments, each lasting at least 10 days, were used to calculate flow rates, fluid concentrations, and fluxes over time. The bisulfide concentration of the fluid entering the chamber varied from 75 to 4500 μmol l^?1. Positive temperature anomalies up to 3.5° were associated with these elevated concentrations. Linear flow rates ranged from 2 to >17 m day^?1, while the bisulfide fluxes varied from 0.2 to 80 mol m^?2 day^?1. The bisulfide originated at depth and was not produced in the surface sediments via an anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to sulfate reduction. Tides modulated the flow as well as the composition of the fluid entering the chamber. It appeared that a deep sourced fluid, which supplied the bisulfide, was mixed with a second, ambient seawater-like fluid before entering the flux chamber. At low tides, flow rates were at their highest and the contribution of the deep sourced fluid to the fluid entering the chamber was at a maximum.     

Stevns Klint Fish Clay (FC-1): Preparation of, and Preliminary Results for, a Candidate Reference Material

The collapse of a section of the cliff at Stevns Klint, Denmark in 1986 provided a unique opportunity to collect about 50 kg of Fish Clay representing the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary layer. In this paper, details of the preparation of this sample are presented, together with preliminary analytical results to support the development of this sample as a reference material, particularly for the determination of iridium and the other platinum-group elements in clays and sediments associated with K-T boundary studies and in other environmental samples collected to study the effects of automobile exhaust catalysts.     

Porosity and permeability prediction from wireline logs using artificial neural networks: a North Sea case study

Estimations of porosity and permeability from well logs are important yet difficult tasks encountered in geophysical formation evaluation and reservoir engineering. Motivated by recent results of artificial neural network (ANN) modelling offshore eastern Canada, we have developed neural nets for converting well logs in the North Sea to porosity and permeability. We use two separate back-propagation ANNs (BP-ANNs) to model porosity and permeability. The porosity ANN is a simple three-layer network using sonic, density and resistivity logs for input. The permeability ANN is slightly more complex with four inputs (density, gamma ray, neutron porosity and sonic) and more neurons in the hidden layer to account for the increased complexity in the relationships. The networks, initially developed for basin-scale problems, perform sufficiently accurately to meet normal requirements in reservoir engineering when applied to Jurassic reservoirs in the Viking Graben area. The mean difference between the predicted porosity and helium porosity from core plugs is less than 0.01 fractional units. For the permeability network a mean difference of approximately 400 mD is mainly due to minor core-log depth mismatch in the heterogeneous parts of the reservoir and lack of adequate overburden corrections to the core permeability. A major advantage is that no a priori knowledge of the rock material and pore fluids is required. Real-time conversion based on measurements while drilling (MWD) is thus an obvious application.     

ROBUST: The ROle of BUffering capacities in STabilising coastal lagoon ecosystems

“Buffer capacities” has been defined in ecology as a holistic concept (e.g., Integration of Ecosystem Theories: A Pattern, second ed. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1997, 388pp), but we show that it can also be worked out in mechanistic studies. Our mechanistic approach highlights that “buffering capacities” can be depleted progressively, and, therefore, we make a distinction between current and potential “buffering capacities”. We have applied this concept to understand the limited “local stability” in seagrass ecosystems and their vulnerability towards structural changes into macro-algal dominated communities. We explored the following processes and studied how they confer buffering capacities to the seagrass ecosystem: (i) net autotrophy is persistent in Zostera noltii meadows where plant assimilation acts as a sink for nutrients, this contrasted with the Ulva system that shifted back and forth between net autotrophy and net heterotrophy; (ii) the Z. noltii ecosystem possesses a certain albeit rather limited capacity to modify the balance between nitrogen fixation and denitrification, i.e., it was found that in situ nitrogen fixation always exceeded denitrification; (iii) the nitrogen demand of organoheterotrophic bacteria in the sediment results in nitrogen retention of N in the sediment and hence a buffer against release of nitrogen compounds from sediments, (iv) habitat diversification in seagrass meadows provides shelter for meiofauna and hence buffering against adverse conditions, (v) sedimentary iron provides a buffer against noxious sulfide (note: bacterial sulfide production is enhanced in anoxic sediment niches by increased organic matter loading). On the other hand, in the coastal system we studied, sedimentary iron appears less important as a redox-coupled buffer system against phosphate loading. This is because most inorganic phosphate is bound to calcium rather than to iron. In addition, our studies have highlighted the importance of plant–microbe interactions in the seagrass meadows.     

Der Spessart als Teilgebiet der Mitteldeutschen Schwelle

Zusammenfassung Ein Teil der Mitteldeutschen Schwelle (R.Brinkmann 1948), der Spessart, wird sowohl bezüglich seines Innenbaues (Tektonik, Stratigraphie, Petrogenese des Grundgebirges), als auch bezüglich seiner Funktion als Lieferant für die jungpaläozoisch-mesozoischen Sedimente des Wetterau-Beckens betrachtet.Über diese Betrachtungen hinaus lassen sich Vergleiche zu anderen Gebieten der Mitteldeutschen Schwelle durchführen.Ganz offenbar ist die Grenzzone zwischen Saxothuringischer und Rhenoherzynischer Zone des Varistischen Gebirges in Mitteleuropa keine zufällige Ortslage für die Mitteldeutsche Schwelle und das Saar-Nahe-(Wetterau-)Becken. - Diese Kristallinzone hat tatsächlich zu verschiedenen Zeiten in der Erdgeschichte umgebungsdifferente Bewegungsimpulse erfahren. Sie ist darüber hinaus ohne Zweifel ein krustenversteifendes Element, was sich bereits mindestens aus ihrer modifizierenden Wirkung auf die großen Bruchsysteme der Mittelmeer-Mjösen-Zone im Bereich des nördlichen Oberrheingrabens und der südlichen Hessischen Senke ablesen läßt.

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The Spessart, as part of the Central German geanticline (Mitteldeutsche Schwelle, R.Brinkmann 1948) is discussed with respect to both its internal structure (tectonics, stratigraphy, petrogenesis of the basement) and its importance as a source region of Upper-Paleozoic-Mesozoic sediments which were deposited in the basin of the Wetterau. This leads to comparisons with other regions of the Central German geanticline.Obviously the regional situation of the Central German geanticline as well as the basins along Saar and Nahe(-Wetterau) between the hercynian zones of Saxothuringia and Rhenohercynia in Central Europe is not chance.The basement belt actually has been affected to vertical movements several times during its geologic history. Apart from this this belt is a consolidating element for the crust. This can clearly be seen by watching the great fault systems which can be traced from the Mediterranean to the Norwegian Lake Mjösen (Mittelmeer-Mjösen-Zone). They are modified by the Central German geanticline in the north of the Upper Rhine Valley and in the southern low-lands of Hesse.

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Résumé Une partie du bombement de l'Allemagne centrale (R.Brinkmann 1948), le Spessart, est étudiée tant sous l'aspect de sa structure interne (tectonique, stratigraphie, pétrogenèse du socle cristallin) que sous celui de son rôle comme domaine nourricier en sédiments du bassin Wetterau, du Paléozoïque supérieur au Mésozoïque.Partant de ces considérations, on peut faire des comparaisons avec d'autres régions du bombement de l'Allemagne centrale. Il est tout-à-fait évident que la zone limitrophe comprise entre les zones saxothuringienne et rhénohercynienne de la chaîne varisque de l'Europe Centrale n'est pas quelconque par rapport au bombement de l'Allemagne centrale et au bassin de la Sarre et de la Nahe (-basin de Wetterau). Cette zone cristalline a effectivement subi à différentes époques de l'histoire terrestre des mouvements distincts de ceux de son entourage. En outre elle constitue sans doute un élément qui a raidi la croûte terrestre, ce qui apparaît par l'influence modificatrice qu'elle a exercé dans la région septentrionale du Fossé du Rhin supérieur et de la dépression méridionale de la Hesse sur le grand système de fractures tectoniques de la zone Mer Méditerranée-Mjösen.

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Herrn Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c.Erich Bederke zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Zur Ausbildung und Paläogeographie des Mesozoikums in Sizilien

Zusammenfassung Basierend auf einer neuen eigenen Veröffentlichung wird eine kurze paläogeographische Übersicht über die mesozoischen Schichten Siziliens gegeben.

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Based on recent publications of the author, a short paleogeographic survey of Sicilian Mesozoic formations is given.

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Résumé A la base d'une publication récente l'auteur tente de tracer une esquisse paléogéographique du Mésozoique de la Sicile.

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Riassunto Sulla base di una mia recente pubblicazione viene accennato un quadro d'insieme paleogeografico degli strati del Mesozoico Siciliano.

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New Data on the Young Volcanism in the Puna of NW-Argentina

The Puna of NW-Argentina is divided into a Paleozoic basement complex and a late Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary cover. The sedimentary cover was affected by late fracture tectonics and, from middle Tertiary to Quaternary times, invaded by various volcanics.These volcanics can be subdivided into two groups. A stratigraphically older group of volcanic rocks which belongs to the typical calc-alkaline rock series that is also found in the adjacent parts of the Andes.A younger group of volcanics which is similar to the alkaline rock series and possibly of upper mantle origin. The rocks of this group form small isolated occurrences connected to late fracture zones.Comments are made on the relations between these continental basalt-like rocks and the quasi-cratonic structure of the Puna.

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Zusammenfassung Die Puna NW-Argentiniens ist strukturell in ein palÄozoisches Grundgebirge und ein jungmesozoisch-kÄnozoisches Deckgebirge gegliedert. Das Deckgebirge ist besonders durch junge Bruchtektonik geprÄgt und wurde vom mittleren TertiÄr bis in das QuartÄr von verschiedenen Vulkaniten durchsetzt.Diese Vulkanite lassen sich in zwei Gruppen einteilen: Eine stratigraphisch Ältere Generation besteht aus typischen Kalkalkali-Serien, wie sie auch in den benachbarten Andenabschnitten vorkommen. Dagegen zeigen die jüngsten Vulkanite eine Verwandtschaft zu Alkali-Serien und dürften aus dem oberen Mantel stammen. Es sind kleine, isolierte Vorkommen, die an junge Bruchstrukturen gebunden sind.Auf den Zusammenhang zwischen diesen kontinentalbasalt-Ähnlichen Gesteinen und der quasi-kratonischen Struktur der Puna wird hingewiesen.

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Résumé La Puna de l'Argentine Nord-Ouest est, du point de vue structural, constituée d'un socle paléozoÏque et d'une couverture faite de roches sédimentaires du MésozoÏque supérieur et du CénozoÏque. La couverture est surtout affectée par une tectonique cassante récente et fut recoupée, du Tertiaire moyen jusqu'au Quaternaire, par des roches volcaniques diverses.Ces roches volcaniques peuvent Être divisées en deux groupes: Une génération stratigraphiquement plus ancienne est composée de séries typiquement calcalcalines comme celles qu'on trouve aussi dans les parties voisines des Andes. Par contre les roches volcaniques plus récentes montrent une parenté avec les séries alcalines et auraient leur origine dans le manteau supérieur. Ce sont des venues isolées et de faible extension liées aux fractures récentes.L'accent est mis sur la liaison existant entre ces roches, semblables au basalte continental, et la structure quasi-cratonique de la Puna.

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