On the inclusion of ground-based gravity measurements to the calibration process of a global rainfall-discharge reservoir model: case of the Durzon karst system (Larzac, southern France)

This work examines the relevance of the inclusion of ground-based gravity data in the calibration process of a global rainfall-discharge reservoir model. The analysis is performed for the Durzon karst system (Larzac, France). The first part of the study focuses on the hydrological interpretation of the ground-based gravity measurements. The second part of the study investigates further the information content of the gravity data with respect to water storage dynamics modelling. The gravity-derived information is found unable to either reduce equifinality of the single-objective, discharge-based model calibration process or enhance model performance through assimilation.     

Levels, seasonal variations, and health risks assessment of ambient air pollutants in the residential areas

People living in the urban area and the surrounding suburban area have disparities in exposure and health risks due to different levels of ambient air pollutants. The main objective of this study is to investigate the concentrations, seasonal variations, and related health risks of ambient air pollutants (PM₁₀, NO₂, and SO₂) in urban and suburban areas of Ningbo, China. The results showed that the average PM₁₀, NO₂, and SO₂ concentrations in the urban area were 85.2, 49.3, and 37.4 μg/m³, which were 1.13, 1.25, and 1.41 times the values of the suburban area during the period of March 2009 to February 2010. For the potential health risk analysis, the residents have been divided into four age categories namely, infants, children (1 year), children (8–10 years), and adults. The analysis took into account age-specific breathing rates, body weights for different age categories. The results showed that the potential health risks to respiratory disease for all age categories living in urban area were higher than those in suburban area.     

The distribution, sources and toxicity risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes in riverine and estuarine core sediments from the Daliao River watershed

The burial characteristics and toxicity risks associated with n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the riverine and estuarine sediments of the Daliao River watershed were investigated based on three sediment cores. The sum of the n-alkane and PAH concentrations, normalized to organic carbon (OC), ranged from 0.27 to 63.09 μg g^?1OC^?1 and 6.60 to 366.20 μg g^?1OC^?1, respectively. The features and the history of industrial activities, such as the oil and chemical industries and port activities near the river and estuary, resulted in different distributions and sources of hydrocarbons. The sources of pollution were identified based on n-alkane indexes and on diagnostic ratios of PAHs. The diagnostic ratios indicated that the n-alkanes were derived from both biogenic and petrogenic sources in different proportions and that the PAHs were derived primarily from petrogenic combustion sources. A hierarchical cluster analysis grouped the core samples into two clusters. The first cluster, river sediments, corresponded to industrial activities; the second cluster, estuarine sediments, corresponded to port shipping activities. The toxic potency of the PAHs in the cores was assessed in terms of toxic equivalents (TEQs) of dibenzo[a,h]anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene. The top layer of the sediment in the cores had a relatively high toxicity. The TEQ values for benzo(a)pyrene (TEQ_BaP) and dioxins (TEQ_TCDD) furnished a consistent assessment of the PAHs in the sediment cores.     

Gaps in cubic closest packing: from MgO via spinel to the pharmacosiderite crystal structure type

Numerous ordered defect structures are known that are related to the sodium chloride (or MgO) structure type, thus they are basically cubic closest packed (ccp) arrangements with vacancies. For example the NbO type is an MgO type in which one quarter each of the anions and the cations are missing compared to the ccp in such a way that both anions and cations are in square-planar coordination. In spinel, Al₂MgO₄, one half of the octahedrally coordinated cations are missing compared with the MgO type and only one eighth of the tetrahedrally coordinated sites within the ccp are occupied. What these cases have in common is that all these derivatives are rather dense. This is different in pharmacosiderite, K[Fe₄(OH)₄As₃O₁₂]. 6 to 7H₂O, where one half of the anion positions, three quarters of the octahedral sites and five eighth of the tetrahedral sites remain vacant, compared to the spinel type. Pharmacosiderite is a wide open porous structure with zeolitic properties. We are illustrating these relationships using a Bärnighausen symmetry tree and by tables relating the various structure types to each other.     

Cu- and Mn-bearing tourmalines from Brazil and Mozambique: crystal structures, chemistry and correlations

Cu- and Mn-bearing tourmalines from Brazil and Mozambique were characterised chemically (EMPA and LA-ICP-MS) and by X-ray single-crystal structure refinement. All these samples are rich in Al, Li and F (fluor-elbaite) and contain significant amounts of CuO (up to ~1.8 wt%) and MnO (up to ~3.5 wt%). Structurally investigated samples show a pronounced positive correlation between the <Y-O> distances and the (Li + Mn²⁺ + Cu + Fe²⁺) content (apfu) at this site with R ² = 0.90. An excellent negative correlation exists between the <Y-O> distances and the Al₂O₃ content (R ² = 0.94). The samples at each locality generally show a strong negative correlation between the X-site vacancies and the (MnO + FeO) content. The Mn content in these tourmalines depends on the availability of Mn, on the formation temperature, as well as on stereochemical constraints. Because of a very weak correlation between MnO and CuO we believe that the Cu content in tourmaline is essentially dependent on the availability of Cu and on stereochemical constraints.     

Petrogenesis of the ü?kap?l? Granitoid and its Mafic Enclaves in Elmal? Area (Ni?de, Central Anatolia, Turkey)

The Late Cretaceous ükapili Granitoid including mafic microgranular enclaves intruded into metapelitic and metabasic rocks, and overlain unconformably by Neogene ignimbrites in the Ni de area of Turkey. It is mostly granite and minor granodiorite in composition, whereas its enclaves are dominantly gabbro with a few diorites in composition. The ükapili Granitoid is composed mainly of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite and minor amphibole while its enclaves contain mostly plagioclase, amphibole, minor pyroxene and biotite. The ükapili Granitoid has calcalkaline and peraluminous (A/CNK= 1.0-1.3) geochemical characteristics. It is characterized by high LILE/HFSE and LREE/HREE ratios ((La/Lu) N = 3-33), and has negative Ba, Ta, Nb and Eu anomalies, resembling those of collision granitoids. The ükapili Granitoid has relatively high 87Sr/86Sr (i) ratios (0.711189-0.716061) and low εNd (t) values (-5.13 to -7.13), confirming crustal melting. In contrast, the enclaves are tholeiitic and metaluminous, and slightly enriched in LILEs (K, Rb) and Th, and have negative Ta, Nb and Ti anomalies; propose that they were derived from a subduction-modified mantle source. Based on mineral and whole rock chemistry data, the ükapili granitoid is H-(hybrid) type, post-collision granitoid developed by mixing/mingling processes between crustal melts and mantle-derived mafic magmas.     

The Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavaria, Germany): a platform for interdisciplinary catchment research

The Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavaria, Germany), a study site of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program in the catchment of Berchtesgadener Ache, is introduced as a platform for interdisciplinary research. As the investigation of how human activities affect the natural resources in the park area, which has been defined a main aim of the program, naturally requires expertise from different scientific fields, interdisciplinary research has been fostered in the national park plan since the very beginning of the Man and the Biosphere program in 1981. To analyze the complex interactions and mutual dependencies between socio-economic and natural systems, a variety of monitoring programs have been initialized in different disciplines (e.g. climate sciences, zoology, botany) that are addressed in this paper. As a result of these research efforts, the park offers a profound data basis to be used in future studies (e.g. land cover classifications, maps of geological and soil conditions). Detailed information is provided on a climate monitoring network that has been installed in the park starting in the year 1993. The network has been continuously extended over the years and now provides extraordinary comprehensive information on meteorological conditions in the park, setting the basis for current as well as for potential future climate-related studies. A special characteristic of the station network is the fact that it covers a large range of elevations from 600 m a.s.l in the valleys to 2,600 m a.s.l in the summit regions and is therefore able to capture altitudinal gradients in meteorological variables as typical for Alpine regions. Due to the large number of stations in high elevations (15 stations are in elevations higher than 1,500 m a.s.l) the network provides information on the complex hydrometeorological conditions in summit regions which are often insufficiently represented in observation networks due to the increased costs for maintenance of climate stations in these locations. Beside the various monitoring programs, a variety of numerical models have been (further) developed for application in the park area that make extensive use of the different data collected and therefore largely benefit from the comprehensive data pool. The potential and necessity of the climate monitoring network for modelling studies is demonstrated by utilizing the meteorological recordings in the framework of a hydrometeorological simulation experiment. Further examples of environmental modelling efforts are shortly described together with preliminary model results.     

Investigating hydrological drivers of nitrate export dynamics in two agricultural catchments in Germany using high-frequency data series

In this study near-continuous time series of nitrate, electrical conductivity, and discharge were used to identify the dominating hydrological mechanisms that control nitrate export dynamics in two agricultural catchments. The main goal was to assess relationships between contrasting event based as well as long-term nitrate transport behaviour and catchment hydrology. Data records were obtained from online probes that allow field based high-frequency analyses over long time periods. The catchments of the Ammer River (southwestern Germany) and the Weida River (eastern Germany) are similar with respect to size (~100 km²), morphology, and climate and are dominated by agricultural use. Main differences are the stronger urbanization and the occurrence of karstic rocks in the Ammer catchment. Nitrate concentrations are high in water of both streams and range mostly between 20 and 50 mg l^?1. Nitrate export in the Ammer catchment is dominated by baseflow and a minor second, diluting runoff component generated in urbanized areas. In contrast, nitrate dynamics of the Weida catchment is governed by the interplay of at least three runoff components, while the largest amount of nitrate is mobilized intermittently by a delayed fast component generated in the catchment’s soils during wet conditions. These interpretations, derived with one online probe at the outlet of each catchment, are well in line with the former modeling results. This study shows that high-resolution data obtained by online techniques offers a large potential to improve the conceptualization of dominating flow and transport processes at catchment scales at relatively low costs and effort.     

Signature of potassium enrichment in granite of the Chitrial area, Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh: Inferences using its U, Th, K2O, Na2O, Rb, Ba and Sr contents

A medium tonnage unconformity proximal uranium deposit has been established at Chitrial by the Atomic Minerals Directorate in the Srisailam sub-basin. In this type of deposits, the association of uranium with potassic alteration (illitization) is well-documented. The present study is directed towards understanding such an association in the Chitrial area for which the uranium mineralized borehole core samples were collected and analyzed. It is observed that the average concentrations of K₂O, Na₂O, Rb, Ba and Sr in the granite of the Chitrial area are 5.35%, 1.78%, 252 ppm, 564 ppm and 52 ppm, respectively, and they show average critical elemental ratios of K/Rb, Ba/Rb and Rb/Sr as 191, 2.37 and 7.13, respectively. The granites show low K/Rb, low Rb/Ba and high Rb/Sr ratios compared to that of the average crust indicating its derivation from crustal source. The samples have higher values of uranium (av. 53 ppm), thorium (av. 66 ppm) and lead (av. 41 ppm). The U/Th ratio in the granite varies from 0.07 to 20.86 with an average of 1.68. They also exhibit high K₂O/Na₂O ratio typical of post-Archaean granite and very high values suggest the possibility of later potassium enrichment.     

中国已查明的铁矿资源的结构特征

以中国2005年的铁储量库为基础,总结了中国铁矿查明资源的矿床类型、矿石类型、矿石品级、矿产组合、勘查程度、矿体埋深等的结构特征。结果表明：中国铁矿床类型以沉积变质型、岩浆型、接触交代-热液型及火山岩型为主,查明铁矿资源绝大多数为单一矿产和主要矿产,虽然品位低,但以易选的磁铁矿石和钒钛磁铁矿石为主;勘查程度高,开发利用的风险较小;勘查深度浅,开采技术和经济条件有利,深部找矿潜力大。