Dynamic screening in solar and stellar nuclear reactions

In the hot, dense plasma of solar and stellar interiors, the Coulomb interaction is screened by the surrounding plasma. Although the standard Salpeter approximation for static screening is widely accepted and used in stellar modeling, the question of dynamic screening has been revisited. In particular, Shaviv and Shaviv apply the techniques of molecular dynamics to the conditions in the solar core in order to numerically determine the dynamic screening effect. By directly calculating the motion of ions and electrons due to Coulomb interactions, they compute the effect of screening without the mean-field assumption inherent in the Salpeter approximation. Here we reproduce their numerical analysis of the screening energy in the plasma of the solar core and conclude that the effects of dynamic screening are relevant and should be included in the treatment of the plasma, especially in the computation of stellar nuclear reaction rates.     

Eckfeld Maar: Window into an Eocene Terrestrial Habitat in Central Europe

<正>To mark the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Rheinische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in 2009 and of the centennial of the Mainz Natural History Museum in 2010,we present a short account of our present knowledge of the Eckfeld Maar after 20 years of continuous research.This paper does not attempt to include all of the detailed results on the geology of the Eckfeld site or its biota.To date,nearly 250 papers and books have been published since the start of our project.An up-to-date list of these publications can be found at www.eckfeldermaar. de.     

Potential for deep geological sequestration of CO2 in Switzerland: a first appraisal

Possibilities to sequester anthropogenic CO₂ in deep geological formations are being investigated worldwide, but the potential within Switzerland has not yet been evaluated. This study presents a first-order appraisal based solely on geological criteria collated from the literature. The Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB) and the adjacent Folded Jura are the only realms of the country where CO₂ could conceivably be stored in saline aquifers. Evaluation of geological criteria at the basin-wide scale shows that the SMB–Jura has moderate potential (score of 0.6 on a scale from 0 to 1) when compared to basins elsewhere. At the intrabasinal scale, inspection of the stratigraphy reveals four regional candidate aquifers that are sealed by suitable caprocks: top Basement plus basal Mesozoic sandstones, all sealed by the Anhydrite Group; Upper Muschelkalk sealed by the Gipskeuper; Hauptrogenstein sealed by the Effinger Member, and Upper Malm plus Lower Cretaceous sealed by the Lower Freshwater Molasse. Nine geological criteria are defined to evaluate the storage potential of these and other smaller scale candidates. A numerical scoring and weighting scheme allows the criteria to be assessed simultaneously, permitting the storage potential to be depicted using the 0–1 scale in contoured maps. Approximately 5,000 km² of the central SMB exhibits potentials between 0.6 and 0.96. The Fribourg–Olten–Luzern area is the most favoured owing to the presence of several sealed aquifers within the preferred 800–2,500 m depth interval, and to its low seismicity, low geothermal gradient, low fault density, and long groundwater residence times. Smaller areas with good potential lie between Zürich and St. Gallen. In contrast, western Switzerland, the Jura and the southern SMB have markedly poorer potential. Considering only the portions of the aquifers with potential above 0.6, the theoretical, effective storage capacity of the basin is estimated to be 2,680 million tonnes of CO₂.     

European temperature records of the past five centuries based on documentary/instrumental information compared to climate simulations

Two European temperature reconstructions for the past half-millennium, January-to-April air temperature for Stockholm (Sweden) and seasonal temperature for a Central European region, both derived from the analysis of documentary sources and long instrumental records, are compared with the output of climate simulations with the model ECHO-G. The analysis is complemented by comparisons with the long (early)-instrumental record of Central England Temperature (CET). Both approaches to study past climates (simulations and reconstructions) are burdened with uncertainties. The main objective of this comparative analysis is to identify robust features and weaknesses in each method which may help to improve models and reconstruction methods. The results indicate a general agreement between simulations obtained with temporally changing external forcings and the reconstructed Stockholm and CET records for the multi-centennial temperature trend over the recent centuries, which is not reproduced in a control simulation. This trend is likely due to the long-term change in external forcing. Additionally, the Stockholm reconstruction and the CET record also show a clear multi-decadal warm episode peaking around AD 1730, which is absent in the simulations. Neither the reconstruction uncertainties nor the model internal climate variability can easily explain this difference. Regarding the interannual variability, the Stockholm series displays, in some periods, higher amplitudes than the simulations but these differences are within the statistical uncertainty and further decrease if output from a regional model driven by the global model is used. The long-term trend of the CET series agrees less well with the simulations. The reconstructed temperature displays, for all seasons, a smaller difference between the present climate and past centuries than is seen in the simulations. Possible reasons for these differences may be related to a limitation of the traditional ‘indexing’ technique for converting documentary evidence to temperature values to capture long-term climate changes, because the documents often reflect temperatures relative to the contemporary authors’ own perception of what constituted ‘normal’ conditions. By contrast, the amplitude of the simulated and reconstructed inter-annual variability agrees rather well.     

Chronology of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Salzach palaeoglacier area (Eastern Alps)

A chronostratigraphy based on luminescence data was established at a key loess profile (Duttendorf) in the northern alpine foreland of Austria. The data help to constrain the timing and duration of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the area of one of the largest east Alpine piedmont glaciers, the Salzach palaeoglacier. Climate deterioration and maximum advance of this glacier were coeval with the beginning of the main loess accumulation phase in the glacier forefield at ～29–30 ka. A late LGM‐outwash gravel layer deposited on top of the loess profile marks the end of the LGM glacier activity at ～20 ka. The geomorphological setting around the loess profile provides evidence of a major glacier oscillation during the course of the LGM, a phenomenon qualitatively known from other alpine palaeoglaciers but never interpreted in terms of palaeoclimate. A LGM glacier oscillation similar to that of the Salzach palaeoglacier was reported recently from the south Alpine Tagliamento palaeoglacier, suggesting a common forcing. The onset of loess deposition at Duttendorf and the tentatively contemporal advance of the Salzach palaeoglacier reflect, as do other data, the drastic cooling in Europe as a result of Heinrich event 3. The first glacier maximum is not well constrained in the study area but a correlation with the better dated Tagliamento amphitheatre suggests a possible response to Heinrich 2. The second re‐advance occurred synchronously (within dating uncertainties) in both palaeoglaciers forefields (at ～21 ka) but the forcing mechanism remains unknown. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Altersbestimmungen an Gesteinen des Ostbayerischen Grundgebirges und Ihre Geologische Deutung

Zusammenfassung Rb/Sr-Altersbestimmungen an Biotiten aus Gneisen und Graniten des Moldanubikums lieferten übereinstimmende Alterswerte von 330–345 Millionen Jahren. Das Biotitalter eines vormoldanubischen Granat-Disthen-Gneises ergab sich zu 440 Millionen Jahren, das eines Metagranodiorits der Münchberger Gneismasse zu 385 Millionen Jahren. Zirkone aus einem moldamibischen Gneis zeigen nahezu konkordante Alter um 450 Millionen Jahre.Diese Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, daß die Münchberger Masse sowie weite Teile des Moldanubikums eine frühvaristische Aufheizung, wahrscheinlich im Zuge regionaler Metamorphose, erlebt haben. Die Beziehungen dieser beiden stark metamorphen Komplexe zu den benachbarten weniger beanspruchten Sedimenten des Saxothuringikums (im Falle der Münchberger Masse) und des Barrandiums (im Falle des Moldanubikums) werden im Sinne einer varistischen Stockwerkstektonik erklärt. Die höheren Alterswerte scheinen wenigstens teilweise auf kaledonische Intrusionen hinzuweisen.

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Rb/Sr biotite ages of Moldanubian gneisses and granites fall in the range of 330–345 million years (m.y.). The biotite age of a pre-Moldanubian garnetkyanite gneiss was found to be 440 m.y., that of a metagranodiorite of the Münchberg Mass 385 m.y. Zircons from a Moldanubian gneiss yielded nearly concordant ages of approximately 450 m.y.These results indicate that both the Münchberg Mass and large parts of the Moldanubicum have undergone considerable heating during early Variscan (=early Hercynian) time, probably in the course of regional metamorphism. The relations of these strongly metamorphosed complexes with the neighboring less affected sediments of the Saxothuringicum (in the case of the Münchberg Mass) and the Barrandium (in the case of the Moldanubicum) are presumed to be caused by different depths of metamorphism in Variscan time. Higher ages seem to be related at least partly to Caledonian intrusions.

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Résumé Des déterminations de la teneur Rb/Sr dans les biotites des gneiss et des granites du Moldanubique ont fourni les indications d'un âge de 330 à 345 millions années. La biotite d'un gneiss à grenat et disthène prémoldanubique a donné l'âge de 440 m.a.; celle d'une métagranodiorite du massif gneissique de Münchberg a fourni l'âge de 450 m.a. Les zircons d'un gneiss moldanubique montrent l'âge approximatif de 450 m.a.Ces résultats indiquent que le gneiss de Münchberg ainsi qu'une grande partie du Moldanubique ont subi une métamorphose varisque ancienne. Les relations entre ces deux ensembles très métamorphiques et les sédiments moins affectés du Saxothuringien et du Barrandien s'expliquent par une tectonique varisque à plusieurs étages structuraux de nature différente. On suppose que les valeurs donnant un âge plus ancien indiquent des intrusions calédoniennes.

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/, 330–345 . . -- 440, 385 . . 450 . . , . . .

     

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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Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Cordillera Claudio Gay (Nordchile)

Zusammenfassung Die wenig bekannte Cordillera Claudio Gay ist ein Teil der Vorkordillere in Nordchile. Ihr Unterbau besteht aus Tiefengesteinskörpern des PalÄozoikums und einer Sedimentserie, die von sauren Ergu\gesteinen durchbrochen wird. Die petrologische Zusammensetzung der Sedimente und ihre metamorphe überprÄgung werden speziell behandelt. Da keine Fossilien vorliegen, kann das Alter der Sedimente nur auf eine Zeitspanne zwischen Devon und Perm eingeengt werden.

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The little-known Cordillera Claudio Gay is part of the Pre-Cordillera in Northern Chile. Its basement consists of plutonic rocks of the Paleozoics and of a sediment series which is penetrated by acid effusive rocks. The petrological composition of low grade metamorphosed sediments is separately dealt with. No fossils being available, the age of the sediments can only be defined as belonging to the period between Devonian and Permian time.

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Resumen La poco conocida Cordillera Claudio Gay es una parte de la Precordillera en Chile septentrional. Su base se compone de masas intrusivas paleozóicas y de una serie sedimentaria cortada por rocas efusivas ácidas. La composición petrológica de los sedimentos y su cambio metamórfico son investigados en forma especial. La edad de los sedimentos solo puede ser calculada por la falta de fósiles entre el Devónico y el Pérmico.

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