Die tertiäre und quartäre Entwicklung im Bereich der Kufrah-Oasen (Zentrale Sahara) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung aktualistischer Vorgänge

Zusammenfassung Im Verlauf der Oberkreide und des Tertiärs bestand im Bereich der Kufrah-Oasen eine Einebnungstendenz, die mit der Bildung einer Peneplain ihre Vollendung fand. Die Umlagerungsprodukte, nur wenige Meter mächtige Sande und Feinkiese, wurden während einer warmfeuchten Klimaperiode lateritisiert und anschließend unter semiariden Bedingungen zur Eisenkruste I verhärtet. Auf den geringfügig höher gelegenen Iateritfreien Erosionsflächen kam es zur Ausbildung einer Silikatkruste. Ein Wechsel zu feuchterem Klima und eventuelle schwache epirogenetische Hebungen des Gebietes bewirkten eine teilweise Erosion der Silikat- und der Eisenkruste sowie der Sedimente der Nubischen Serie. Dabei entstanden teils brecciöse, teils fanglomeratartige Sedimente, die sowohl auf der Eisenkruste I als auch auf dem mesozoischen Untergrund abgelagert wurden. Erneute Klimaveränderungen führten jetzt zur Laterisierung und Verhärtung der vorliegenden maximal 10–12 m mächtigen Sedimente und zur Entstehung der Eisenkruste II.Eine Tiefenerosion setzte ein, die die bestehende Peneplain in Insel- und Tafelberge auflöste. Eine kurzzeitige Unterbrechung der Erosion im Altquartär begünstigte die Sedimentation von Kiesen und von Grobschutt auf einem ca. 50 m unterhalb der ehemaligen Peneplain gelegenen Niveau. Der Grobschutt wurde ebenfalls lateritisiert zur Eisenkruste III.Eine Analyse des fossilen aquatischen Systems zeigt ein stark verzweigtes Flußsystem, das das gesamte Gebiet der Kufrah-Oasen von SW nach NE entwässerte. Die Erosionsprodukte wurden zum größten Teil abtransportiert. Daher sind nur geringmächtige fluviatile Sedimente erhalten.Mit dem Ende des Pleistozän wurde die aquatische Erosionstätigkeit durch Wechsel von feuchtem zu trockenem Klima mit wenigen Ausnahmen beendet. Es kam zur Ablagerung feinklastischer limnischer Sedimente in lokalen Depressionen, denen äolische Sande zwischengeschaltet wurden. In dieser Übergangsphase bildeten sich Schwemmfächer am Fuße von Schichtstufen und Inselbergen, wobei zum Teil bereits existierende Sanddünen überlagert wurden. Es vollzog sich alternierend ein Wechsel von feuchtem zu trockenem Klima. Der Beginn einer ariden Klimaentwicklung kann in die Zeit um 6000 B. P. gesetzt werden.Die meteorologischen Daten der Station Kufrah seit 1933 zeigen nur noch eine äolische Aktivität als Wechselwirkung von Erosion und Sedimentation an. Reliktflächen sind die Hammada- und Serirflächen; überwiegend Sedimentation findet in der Ausbildung von Dünen und Sandtennen statt. Die Sandtennen sind in multimodale ebene und bimodale undulierende Tennen zu unterteilen. Die Bimodalität ist eine Funktion des selektiven Abtransportes mittlerer Korngrößen und deren Anreicherung als Sanddünen oder Sandanwehungen. Die undulierenden Sandtennen sind daher eine Weiterentwicklung ebener Sandtennen. Dünen existieren in Form von Seif- und Barchandünen oder als eine Kombination aus beiden.Die aktualistischen Vorgänge des vollariden Gebietes der Kufrah-Oasen zeigen eine Tendenz zum erneuten Reliefausgleich durch Deflation und Korrasion exponierter Areale und Sedimentation in Depressionen.

---

During the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary time a tendency of relief deplaning existed in the Kufrah-Oasis area which was completed by the development of a peneplain. The eroded material, sands and gravels of a thickness of only a few meters became lateritic during a period of warm and moist and was hardened to ironcrust I during a semiarid climat. On the slightly higher erosional planes without laterite a silicacrust was developed. A change to a more humid climat and possibly slight epirogenic lifting of the territory brought about an in part erosion of the silicacrust, the ironcrust I and the mesozoic rocks. Thereby breccious and fanglomeratic sediments were deposited and after laterization and hardening the ironcrust LI was formed. An indeep erosion began and disolved the existing peneplain into mesas and inselbergs. A short interruption in the erosional activity during Early Quarternary favoured the sedimentation of coarse grained material which was laterized to ironcrust III. An analysis of the fossil aquatic system shows an extensively branched river system which drained the whole territory of the Kufrah area from SW to NE. The eroded material was flushed away to a great extent, so that only some very thin beds of fluvial sediments still exist. At the close of the Pleistocene the aquatic erosional activity ended by a change from humid to arid climate. Only fine clastic limnic sediments were deposited in some local depressions often alternating with aeolian sands. In this transition period alluvial fans developed on the foot of mesas, in some locations sedimentated on top of already existing-sanddunes. The begin of an arid desert climat can be put at approximately 6 000 years before present.The data of the Kufrah meteorological station since 1933 show the possibility of only aeolic activity in form of mutual erosion and sedimentation. The relic planes are the hammada and serir planes. Sedimentation is responsible for the creation of dunes and sandflats. The sandflats can be differenciated into multimodal even flats and bimodal gently undulating flats. The bimodality is a function of the selective removal of sand grains with distinctive diameters and their accumulation as dunes or sand drifts. The undulating sandflats therefore are a further development of the even sandflats. Dunes exist in form of seifdunes or barchan dunes or as combinations of both types.The actualistic events in the fully arid area of the Kufrah-Oasis again show a tendency towards levelling out of the relief by deflation and corrasion of exposed areas and sedimentation in depressions.

---

Résumé Au cours du Crétacé supérieur et du Tertiaire, dans la région des Oasis de Koufra eut lieu un aplanissement dont la phase finale a abouti à une pénéplaine. Les produits du remaniement, des sables et des graviers de faible puissance, ont été látéritisés pendant une période chaude et humide indurés sous un climat semi-aride en croute ferrugineuse I. Sur les surfaces d'érosion plus élevées sans latérite se développait une croûte siliceuse. Le changement vers un climat plus humide et de faibles soulèvements tectoniques provoquèrent une érosion partielle des croûtes ferrugineuses et siliceuses et des sédiments de la série nubienne. Par ce remaniement se formaient des brèches et des fanglomérats qui se sont sédimentées aussi bien sur la croûte ferrugineuse I que sur le substratum méozoique. Un nouveau changement de climat provoqua la latéritisation et le durcissement des sédiment bréchiques et fanglomératiques la formation de la croûte ferrugineuse II.A la limite Tertiaire/Quaternaire commenca une érosion intense qui façonna la pénéplaine existente en inselbergs et tafelbergs. Une interruption brève de l'érosion au Quaternaire inférieur favorisa la sédimentation de graviers et blocs à un niveau d'à peu près 50 m inférieur à l'ancienne pénéplaine. Les graviers et les blocs ont été latéritisés ensemble pour former la croûte ferrugineuse III.Une anlyse du système hydrographique du Pleistocéne montre que toute la région des oasis de Koufra était drainée vers le Nord, période durant laquelle aucune sédimentation n'a eu lieu. A la fin du Pleitocène le climat changea une nouvelle fois pour devenir plus sec et l'érosion fluviatile se termina. Dans la phase de transition se déposèrent, au pied des corniches et des inselbergs, des éventails alluviaux en alternance avec le sable éolien. Le changement à un climat plus aride peut être daté à peu près 6000 B. P.Les données météorologiques de la station de Koufra, depuis 1933, ne permettent qu'une activité éolienne soit comme sédimentation soit comme érosion. Les surfaces »Hammada« et »Serir« sont des surfaces d'érosion résiduelles. La sédimentation se manifeste sous la forme de dunes et de plaines de sable. Les dunes existent sous forme de barchanes et de seifs; les plaines de sable sont à subdiviser du point de vue de la granulométrie en aires multimodales et en aires ondulées bimodales. La bimodalité est und fonction du transport sélectif des grains moyens.Le processus exogène récent dans la région des oasis de Koufra montre la tendance à un nouvel aplainissement effectué par une déflation et corrasion des terrains en relief et une sédimentation dans les dépressions.

---

, . — — , , 1. , . , , . , , 1, . 10–12 . , , 50 . 3. , -. . . , , . . , . . 6000 . e 1933 . . ; ( ): . , . — . , . .

---

---

Gekürzte Dissertation D 77.     

Joint determination of K decay constants and Ar∗/K for the Fish Canyon sanidine standard, and improved accuracy for Ar/Ar geochronology

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and K-Ar geochronology have long suffered from large systematic errors arising from imprecise K and Ar isotopic data for standards and imprecisely determined decay constants for the branched decay of ⁴⁰K by electron capture and β⁻ emission. This study presents a statistical optimization approach allowing constraints from ⁴⁰K activity data, K-Ar isotopic data, and pairs of ²³⁸U-²⁰⁶Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data for rigorously selected rocks to be used as inputs for estimating the partial decay constants (λ_ε and λ_β) of ⁴⁰K and the ⁴⁰Ar∗/⁴⁰K ratio (κ_FCs) of the widely used Fish Canyon sanidine (FCs) standard. This yields values of κ_FCs = (1.6418 ± 0.0045) × 10⁻³, λ_ε = (0.5755 ± 0.0016) × 10⁻¹⁰ a⁻¹ and λ_β = (4.9737 ± 0.0093) × 10⁻¹⁰ a⁻¹. These results improve uncertainties in the decay constants by a factor of >4 relative to values derived from activity data alone. Uncertainties in these variables determined by our approach are moderately to highly correlated (cov(κ_FCs, λ_ε) = 7.1889 × 10⁻¹⁹, cov(κ_FCs, λ_β) = −7.1390 × 10⁻¹⁹, cov(λ_ε, λ_β) = −3.4497 × 10⁻²⁶) and one must take account of the covariances in error propagation by either linear or Monte Carlo methods. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age errors estimated from these results are significantly reduced relative to previous calibrations. Also, age errors are smaller for a comparable level of isotopic measurement precision than those produced by the ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb system, because the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar system is now jointly calibrated by both the ⁴⁰K and ²³⁸U decay constants, and because λ_ε(⁴⁰K) < λ(²³⁸U). Based on this new calibration, the age of the widely used Fish Canyon sanidine standard is 28.305 ± 0.036 Ma. The increased accuracy of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages is now adequate to provide meaningful validation of high-precision U/Pb or astronomical tuning ages in cases where closed system behavior of K and Ar can be established.     

Environmental impacts of household appliances in Europe and scenarios for their impact reduction

Assessing the environmental impact due to consumption of goods and services is a pivotal step towards achieving the sustainable development goal related to responsible production and consumption (i.e. SDG 12). Household appliances plays a crucial role and should be assessed in a systemic manner, namely considering all life cycle stages, technological efficiency, and affluence aspects. The present study assess the impact of such household appliances used in Europe, and tests scenarios of potential impact reduction at various scales. Life cycle assessment is applied to 14 different household appliances (ranging from dishwashers to television devices) selected to build a set of representative products, based on their economic value and diffusion in households in Europe. Related impacts are calculated with the Environmental Footprint method for calculating a Consumer Footprint “appliances” for the baseline year 2010. A number of scenarios encompassing eco-solutions on a technical level, changes in consumption pattern, behavioral changes, as well as the combination of all these aspects are run to estimate the Consumer Footprint related to household appliances for the year 2030, compared against this baseline scenario. The baseline Consumer Footprint is confirming the importance of the use phase in leading the impacts in almost all impact categories. Testing different scenarios concludes that there is a reduction of the impact for most of the categories (with up to 67% for the ozone depletion potential, and still around 35% for the global warming potential), while two of the here examined impact categories (i.e. land-use and mineral resource depletion) show an overall potential that is even negative – i.e. the results of all scenarios are higher than the ones of the 2010 baseline scenario. The increase in purchase and use of such appliances may offset energy efficiency benefits in some of the examined categories. Hence, the assessment of sustainability of appliances consumption should always include several scales, from the efficiency of the products (micro scale), to the improvement of the energy mix (meso scale), up to accounting for socio-economic drivers and patterns of consumption affecting the overall appliances stock (macro scale).     

Comparative study of the kinetics and mechanisms of dissolution of carbonate minerals

The influence of pH on the rate of dissolution of various carbonates (calcite, aragonite, witherite, magnesite and dolomite) has been investigated at 25°C using a continuous fluidized bed reactor. The general rate dependence on pH observed for the simple carbonates is very similar and is in agreement with the results observed for calcite and aragonite by L.N. Plummer and coworkers. However, the rate of dissolution of magnesite is approximately four orders of magnitude lower than calcite.

For simple carbonates, the elementary steps involved in the dissolution reaction are:

Full-size image

where M represents the metal ion which can be Ca, Mg and Ba. According to the stoichiometry of the three reaction steps and the thermodynamic constraints, the total forward and backward rates can be expressed as:

R_f=k₁a_H+k₂a_H2CO3^*+K₃

r_b=k_-1^aM²+^aHCO₃^-+k_-2^aHCO3^-+k_{-3^aM²+^aCO3^2-}

The rate constants (k₁, k₂, k₃ and k₋₃) determined with our experimental results for calcite, aragonite and witherite show that the dissolution rates are similar for these three minerals and that the nature of the cations does not play a significant role. The good agreement between the K_sp calculated from the measured k₃/k₋₃ ratio and the theromodynamic value suggests that our dissolution mechanism is coherent.

The rate dependence on pH of the dissolution of dolomite obeys a fractional order at low pH's and confirms previously published observations therein. However, the two-step reaction mechanism proposed does not explain the fractional reaction order observed, which is likely due to a more complex surface reaction.     

Experience from preparation and application of till/bentonite mixtures

Clay-based layers which serve to minimize infiltration of surface water into waste piles seem to form a promising concept, since their hydraulic conductivity can be kept so low that the net effect of cyclic drying and wetting in Sweden will be that no water penetrates. Problems may arise, however, from physico/chemical processes as well as from swelling, one example being given in this paper.     

Mass-cargo-affine industries and climate change

The impact of low water periods on inland navigation and companies is well known by ship-operators and companies that rely on this mode of transport but it is rarely a topic of climate impact research. As climate change might affect the frequency and intensity of low water periods, quantifying the impact of climate change on companies and the effects of possible adaptation measures is vital. In this study, we present a model for quantifying the impact of low water events on companies which rely on inland navigation and apply that model to three anonymous iron and steel companies along the River Rhine. The deviation of optimal storage, the storage level that evens out risk vs. fixed capital, is used in the model to measure the vulnerability of companies. The results show that, depending on the climate scenario, the companies might have to deal with either one or five additional days of empty storage in the near future (2021–2050) and up to nine more days by the 2071–2100 period. Seasonal analysis shows that, consistent with the change in the river discharge, the biggest deviations from optimal storage level occur in the late summer/early autumn. Analysis of adaptation options shows that companies would need to increase storage capacity by 2.5 % for the 2021–2050 period, and by 25 % by the 2071–2100 period. A reduction of ship sizes is not an adaptation option for the three companies in this study, because these companies already use relatively small vessels. This is however an efficient adaptation option for companies which employ larger vessels for transport. Another adaptation option would be to reduce the share of transportation via inland waters, but the feasibility of this option depends on the availability and cost of other modes of transport.     

Ion microprobe (SHRIMP) dating of detrital zircon grains from quartzites of the Eckergneiss Complex, Harz Mountains (Germany): implications for the provenance and the geological history

The Eckergneiss Complex (EGC) is a geologically unique medium- to high-grade metamorphic unit within the Rhenohercynian domain of the Mid-European Variscides. A previously, poorly defined conventional lower U–Pb intercept age of about 560 Ma from detrital zircons of metasedimentary rocks has led to speculations about an East Avalonian affinity of the EGC. In order to unravel the provenance and to constrain the age of the sediment protolith, we carried out sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb analyses on detrital zircons from five different EGC quartzite occurrences. The obtained age spectrum indicates a SW Baltica provenance of the detritus. Sveconorwegian ages between 0.9–1.2 Ga are particularly well represented by analyses from metamorphic recrystallization/alteration zones penetrating into igneous zircon. Cadomian (Pan-African) ages, which might reflect a metamorphic event, could not be substantiated. Instead, zircons of igneous origin yielded concordant Lower Devonian and Silurian ages of 410±10, 419±10, and 436±6 Ma (1), implying that sedimentation of the EG protolith must have taken place after 410±10 Ma. The lower age limit of the EGC metamorphism is constrained by 295 Ma intrusion ages of the adjacent, nonmetamorphosed Harzburg Gabbronorite and Brocken Granite. Sedimentation and metamorphism must thus have taken place between about 410 Ma and 295 Ma. Given that this time span coincides with most of the sedimentation within the virtually nonmetamorphosed (lowest grade) Rhenohercynian in the Harz Mountains, including the direct vicinity of the EGC, along with the high-grade metamorphism, the EGC can hardly be seen as uplifted local basement. A possible candidate for the root region is an easterly, concealed marginal segment of the Rhenohercynian domain of the Variscides, which is tectonically overridden and suppressed by the Mid-German Crystalline Rise during continent collision. However, based on the concept of strike-slip movement of Variscan terranes with different P–T–t histories as a result of postaccretion intraplate deformation, the EGC could also represent a fault-bounded complex with an origin located far east or south east of the present location.

Modelling surface‐water depression storage in a Prairie Pothole Region

In this study, the Precipitation‐Runoff Modelling System (PRMS) was used to simulate changes in surface‐water depression storage in the 1,126‐km² Upper Pipestem Creek basin located within the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. The Prairie Pothole Region is characterized by millions of small water bodies (or surface‐water depressions) that provide numerous ecosystem services and are considered an important contribution to the hydrologic cycle. The Upper Pipestem PRMS model was extracted from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Hydrologic Model (NHM), developed to support consistent hydrologic modelling across the conterminous United States. The Geospatial Fabric database, created for the USGS NHM, contains hydrologic model parameter values derived from datasets that characterize the physical features of the entire conterminous United States for 109,951 hydrologic response units. Each hydrologic response unit in the Geospatial Fabric was parameterized using aggregated surface‐water depression area derived from the National Hydrography Dataset Plus, an integrated suite of application‐ready geospatial datasets. This paper presents a calibration strategy for the Upper Pipestem PRMS model that uses normalized lake elevation measurements to calibrate the parameters influencing simulated fractional surface‐water depression storage. Results indicate that inclusion of measurements that give an indication of the change in surface‐water depression storage in the calibration procedure resulted in accurate changes in surface‐water depression storage in the water balance. Regionalized parameterization of the USGS NHM will require a proxy for change in surface‐storage to accurately parameterize surface‐water depression storage within the USGS NHM.     

325-MHz observations of the ELAIS-N1 field using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

We present observations of the European Large-Area ISO Survey-North 1 (ELAIS-N1) at 325 MHz using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), with the ultimate objective of identifying active galactic nuclei and starburst galaxies and examining their evolution with cosmic epoch. After combining the data from two different days we have achieved a median rms noise of  ≈40 μJy  beam⁻¹, which is the lowest that has been achieved at this frequency. We detect 1286 sources with a total flux density above  ≈270 μJy  . In this paper, we use our deep radio image to examine the spectral indices of these sources by comparing our flux density estimates with those of Garn et al. at 610 MHz with the GMRT, and surveys with the Very Large Array at 1400 MHz. We attempt to identify very steep spectrum sources which are likely to be either relic sources or high-redshift objects as well as inverted-spectra objects which could be Giga-Hertz Peaked Spectrum objects. We present the source counts, and report the possibility of a flattening in the normalized differential counts at low flux densities which has so far been reported at higher radio frequencies.