Phosphorus input by upwelling in the eastern Gotland Basin (Baltic Sea) in summer and its effects on filamentous cyanobacteria

In July 2007, phosphorus input by an upwelling event along the east coast of Gotland Island and the response of filamentous cyanobacteria were studied to determine whether introduced phosphorus can intensify cyanobacterial bloom formation in the eastern Gotland Basin. Surface temperature, nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton biomass and its stoichiometry, as well as phosphate uptake rates were determined in two transects between the coasts of Gotland and Latvia and in a short grid offshore of Gotland. In the upwelling area, surface temperatures of 11–12 °C and average dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentrations of 0.26 μM were measured. Outside the upwelling, surface temperatures were higher (15.5–16.6 °C) and DIP supplies in the upper 10 m layer were exhausted. Nitrite and nitrate concentrations (0.01–0.22 μM) were very low within and outside the upwelling region. Abundances of filamentous cyanobacteria were highly reduced in the upwelling area, accounting for only 1.4–6.0% of the total phytoplankton biomass, in contrast to 18–20% outside the upwelling. The C:P ratio of filamentous cyanobacteria varied between 32.8 and 310 in the upwelling region, most likely due to the introduction of phosphorus-depleted organisms into the upwelling water. These organisms accumulate DIP in upwelling water and have lower C:P ratios as long as they remain in DIP-rich water. Thus, diazotrophic cyanobacteria benefit from phosphorus input directly in the upwelling region. Outside the upwelling region, the C:P ratios of filamentous cyanobacteria varied widely, between 240 and 463, whereas those of particulate material in the water ranged only between 96 and 224. To reduce their C:P ratio from 300 to 35, cyanobacteria in the upwelling region had to take up 0.05 mmol m⁻³ DIP, which is about 20% of the available DIP. Thus, a larger biomass of filamentous cyanobacteria may be able to benefit from a given DIP input. As determined from the DIP uptake rates measured in upwelling cells, the time needed to reduce the C:P ratio from 300 to 35 was too long to explain the huge bloom formations that typically occur in summer. However, phosphorus uptake rates increased significantly with increasing C:P ratios, allowing phosphorus accumulation within 4–5 days, a span of time suitable for bloom formation in July and August.     

Continuation of the San Andreas fault system into the upper mantle: Evidence from spinel peridotite xenoliths in the Coyote Lake basalt, central California

The Coyote Lake basalt, located near the intersection of the Hayward and Calaveras faults in central California, contains spinel peridotite xenoliths from the mantle beneath the San Andreas fault system. Six upper mantle xenoliths were studied in detail by a combination of petrologic techniques. Temperature estimates, obtained from three two-pyroxene geothermometers and the Al-in-orthopyroxene geothermometer, indicate that the xenoliths equilibrated at 970–1100 °C. A thermal model was used to estimate the corresponding depth of equilibration for these xenoliths, resulting in depths between 38 and 43 km. The lattice preferred orientation of olivine measured in five of the xenolith samples show strong point distributions of olivine crystallographic axes suggesting that fabrics formed under high-temperature conditions. Calculated seismic anisotropy values indicate an average shear wave anisotropy of 6%, higher than the anisotropy calculated from xenoliths from other tectonic environments. Using this value, the anisotropic layer responsible for fault-parallel shear wave splitting in central California is less than 100 km thick. The strong fabric preserved in the xenoliths suggests that a mantle shear zone exists below the Calaveras fault to a depth of at least 40 km, and combining xenolith petrofabrics with shear wave splitting studies helps distinguish between different models for deformation at depth beneath the San Andrea fault system.     

Identification and investigation of sulphur plumes along the Namibian coast using the MERIS sensor

In the upwelling area along the Namibian coast of SW-Africa sulphur discolorations were investigated to study the impact of hydrogen sulphide on the ecosystem using satellite imagery. The formation of colloidal sulphur in the upper water layer results from the oxidation of hydrogen sulphide. The occurrence of sulphur plumes as well as their temporal and spatial development was investigated in relation to the driving meteorological and oceanographic conditions. Because of the sporadic occurrence of sulphur events and the limited number of ship-borne investigations in that area remote sensing of ocean colour is the only method to follow these phenomena continuously and synoptically. In the past the sulphur plumes were studied by true colour images derived from ocean colour satellite data like sea-viewing wide field of view sensor or moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer and identified by their typical milky turquoise discoloration.     

The local invariants under rotations about an axis and their applications

The three possible scalar products formed from the position-speed state vector lead to Stumpff's local invariants. The assumption of a distinguished axis (001) gives rise to the axial local invariantsz and under the rotations about this axis.-If a satellite moves in the field of a rotationally symmetric central body, then there will be an appropriate set of invariants for which a regular, non-linear system of differential equations holds. It can be used to derive recurrence relations for time series expansions and special perturbation methods, which are characterised by the occurrence of the scalar products of the perturbational acceleration with the position and speed vectors and (001).Presented at the Conference on Celestial Mechanics, Oberwolfach, Germany, August 17–23, 1969.     

Behavior of uranium in two estuaries of the southeastern United States

Soluble uranium concentrations in the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers are 0.046 ± 0.005 and 0.026 ± 0.01 μg/l, respectively. Particulate concentrations are approximately similar in the Ogeechee River but are about four times the soluble concentration in the Savannah River. River end-member ²³⁴U/²³⁸U ratios range from 1.04 ± 0.04 to 1.08 ± 0.12. Observations suggest that uranium is removed from estuarine waters at low salinities during low discharge.     

Listric versus planar normal fault geometry: an example from the Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin (E Austria)

In a gravel pit at the eastern margin of the Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin, a satellite of Vienna Basin (Austria), Neogene sediments are exposed in the hanging wall of a major normal fault. The anticlinal structure and associated conjugated secondary normal faults were previously interpreted as a rollover anticline above a listric normal fault. The spatial orientation and distribution of sedimentary horizons and crosscutting faults were mapped in detail on a laser scan of the outcrop wall. Subsequently, in order to assess the 3D distribution and geometry of this fault system, a series of parallel ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles were recorded behind the outcrop wall. Both outcrop and GPR data were compiled in a 3D structural model, providing the basis for a kinematic reconstruction of the fault plane using balanced cross-section techniques. However, the kinematic reconstruction results in a geologically meaningless normal fault cutting down- and up-section. Additionally, no evidence for a weak layer serving as ductile detachment horizon (i.e. salt or clay horizon) can be identified in stratigraphic profiles. Instead, the observed deflection of stratigraphic horizons may be caused by a displacement gradient along a planar master fault, with a maximum displacement in the fault centre, decreasing towards the fault tips. Accordingly, the observed deflection of markers in the hanging wall—and in a nearby location in the footwall of the normal fault—is interpreted as large-scale fault drag along a planar fault that records a displacement gradient, instead of a rollover anticline related to a listric fault.     

Analysis of lightning-induced forest fires in Austria

Besides human-caused fires, lightning is the major reason for forest fire ignition in Austria. In order to analyse the causes of ignition and to characterise lightning-induced forest fires, fire records were compared with the real appearance of lightning events by using the Austrian Lightning Detection and Information System for the period from 1993 to 2010. A probability was estimated for each forest fire being caused by lightning by using a decision tree and decision matrices based on flash characteristics (e.g. amplitude, time, location). It could be shown that 15 % of documented forest fires were lightning-caused. Nearly all lightning-caused fires were found during the summer months, whereas almost 40 % of all fires occurring from June to August were naturally caused. Most lightning-caused fires took place in the south and east of Austria. Lightning fires were more frequent at higher altitudes and primarily affected conifer forests. The median burned area was lower than that for anthropogenic forest fires.     

The influence of spatial dispersion on the coefficient of spontaneous emission of cyclotron radiation in a non-equilibrium plasma

The coefficient of spontaneous emission of cyclotron radiation propagating in the direction of an external magnetic field in non-equilibrium plasma is calculated including the effect of spatial dispersion on the emission process. The resulting part of the emission coefficient may become important in the vicinity of the cyclotron frequency.