Detection of the historical Askja ad 1875 and modern Icelandic cryptotephras in varved lake sediments – results from a first systematic search in northern Poland

Volcanic ash can disperse thousands of kilometres from the source volcano and provide valuable chronostratigraphic markers for palaeoclimate studies. We present new cryptotephra findings of historical and modern Icelandic eruptions in annually laminated lacustrine sediment records from several sites within a 570 km SW–NE transect across northern Poland. Sediments from the two lakes Wąsoskie and Szurpiły contain glass shards originating from the Plinian Askja ad 1875 eruption and showing bimodal, rhyolitic and dacitic affinities. A further cryptotephra finding in Lake Lubińskie suggests a potential origin from the Hekla ad 1845 eruption. These new findings extend the tephra dispersal map towards the south-east and provide valuable isochrons for the synchronisation of palaeoclimate proxy data at the termination of the Little Ice Age in central eastern Europe. Very low glass concentrations of modern cryptotephra in Lake Wąsoskie were potentially correlated with the Eyjafjallajökull ad 2010 eruption. Further findings in the uppermost sediments of lakes Szurpiły and Żabińskie in north-eastern Poland tentatively suggest other sources from either the Hekla and/or Kamchatkan volcanoes.     

Digital elevation model with the ground-based SAR IBIS-L as basis for volcanic deformation monitoring

Within the project Exupéry, a hybrid deformation observation system is developed, which is part of a Volcano Fast Response System (VFRS). The VFRS shall be a mobile, robust, real-time, easy to use early warning system, which, in case of a volcanic crisis, will support the locale authorities in their decisions about hazard mitigation provisions, especially about the evacuation of people.The hybrid deformation observation system combines a ground-based Synthetic Aperture Radar named IBIS-L with a network of GPS receivers and will allow the continuous, weather independent determination of areal 3D displacements.In this paper we present the results of first tests with IBIS-L in an active quarry near Dieburg, Germany. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was determined with IBIS-L and compared with a DEM derived by terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry. The ability to determine accurate DEMs with IBIS-L is the basis for the combination of different observation techniques, as without a DEM the displacements observed with IBIS-L cannot be georeferenced.The standard deviation of the differences between the DEM by IBIS-L and the DEM by laser scanning and photogrammetry depends on the surface characteristics. We found a standard deviation of 0.8 m at a slope of rocks and debris, 2.0 m at mining terraces with low vegetation and 3.0 m in a vegetation covered area.     

In situ methods for measuring thermal properties and heat flux on planetary bodies

The thermo-mechanical properties of planetary surface and subsurface layers control to a high extent in which way a body interacts with its environment, in particular how it responds to solar irradiation and how it interacts with a potentially existing atmosphere. Furthermore, if the natural temperature profile over a certain depth can be measured in situ, this gives important information about the heat flux from the interior and thus about the thermal evolution of the body. Therefore, in most of the recent and planned planetary lander missions experiment packages for determining thermo-mechanical properties are part of the payload. Examples are the experiment MUPUS on Rosetta's comet lander Philae, the TECP instrument aboard NASA's Mars polar lander Phoenix, and the mole-type instrument HP³ currently developed for use on upcoming lunar and Mars missions. In this review we describe several methods applied for measuring thermal conductivity and heat flux and discuss the particular difficulties faced when these properties have to be measured in a low pressure and low temperature environment. We point out the abilities and disadvantages of the different instruments and outline the evaluation procedures necessary to extract reliable thermal conductivity and heat flux data from in situ measurements.     

The effect of different second-phase particle regimes on grain growth in two-phase aggregates: insights from in situ rock analogue experiments

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of rigid second phases on grain growth of a matrix phase. For this purpose, variable mixtures of norcamphor as the matrix phase, with glass beads (0.08–0.51 volume fraction) as second phase, were used to perform see-through rock-analogue experiments under static conditions at constant temperatures (50°C). Irrespective of the second-phase content, grain-size evolution of all mixtures can be subdivided into a stage of continuous grain growth, a transient stage and a stage of a finally stabilized grain size. On the grain-scale, the second phases affect the migrating grain boundaries either by pinning by single particles, by multiple particles or even by particle clusters. Summed up over the entire aggregate, these pinning regimes affect the average bulk grain size of the matrix grains, such that the changes in matrix grain size directly correlate with the amount of second phases, their dispersion and their degree of clustering. In this way, the matrix grain size decreases with increasing second-phase content, which can be expressed as a Zener relationship. Originating from the modification of an ordinary grain growth law, a new mathematical expression is defined, which allows the calculation of changes in the matrix grain size as a function of different second-phase volume fractions and particle sizes. Such models will be helpful in the future to predict microstructural changes in polymineralic rocks at depth.     

Gas in Groups and Clusters of Galaxies

Groups and clusters contain a large fraction of hot gas which emitsX-ray radiation. This gas yields information on the dynamical stateand on the total mass of these systems. X-ray spectra show that heavyelements are present in the gas. As these metals must have beenproduced in the cluster/group galaxies and later transported into thegas, the metallicity is a good tracer for the transport processes. Severalpossible processes, that transport gas from the small potential wellsof the galaxies into the clusters and groups, are discussed.     

Long‐Term Sediment Export Estimates from Northern Jordan using Roman Cisterns as Sediment Traps

Roman cisterns served as rainwater storage devices for centuries and are densely distributed in parts of northern Jordan. A major earthquake hit the region ca. A.D. 750 and in a short time many settlements were abandoned. As a consequence, most cisterns were not maintained, and they filled with sediments that today provide a postabandonment depositional record. In two field surveys, we mapped the locations of more than 100 cisterns in the Wadi Al‐Arab basin and selected two for detailed stratigraphic analysis that included ¹⁴C and optically stimulated luminescence dating. Catchment basin area for each cistern was determined by differential GPS. Both cisterns filled with sediments after the great earthquake and consequent abandonment of the region. Calculated sediment volumes are translated to long‐term average sediment export rates of 2.6–6.6 t ha⁻¹a⁻¹, which are comparable to erosion and sediment yield rates from other studies within the Mediterranean region. Our pilot study suggests that this approach can be applied elsewhere to calculate long‐term sediment export rates on hill slopes containing relict cisterns.     

Numerical dynamo models of Uranus' and Neptune's magnetic fields

The non-axisymmetric, non-dipolar magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune are markedly different from the axially-dipolar dominated fields of the other planets in our Solar System with active dynamos. Stanley and Bloxham [Stanley, S., Bloxham, J., 2004. Nature 428, 151-153] used numerical modeling to demonstrate that Uranus' and Neptune's unusual fields could be the result of a different convective region geometry in these planets. They found that a numerical dynamo operating in a thin shell surrounding a stably-stratified fluid interior produces magnetic field morphologies similar to those of Uranus and Neptune. This geometry for the convective region was initially proposed by Hubbard et al. [Hubbard, W.B., Podolak, M., Stevenson, D.J., 1995. In: Cruickshank, D. (Ed.), Neptune and Triton. Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 109-138] to explain both the magnetic field morphology as well as the low intrinsic heat flows from these planets. Here we examine the influence of varying the stable layer radius in numerical models and compare the results to thin shell models surrounding solid inner cores. We find that a limited range of stable-layer shell thicknesses exist in which Uranus/Neptune-like field morphologies result. This allows us to put constraints on the size of the convective layers in Uranus and Neptune.     

Preliminary studies concerning subsurface probes for the exploration of icy planetary bodies

It is well-known that the permanent terrestrial ice sheets (glaciers and polar caps) contain a lot of information about the recent geological history and in particular about climatic changes. Extrapolating this fact to other ice sheets in the solar system (e.g. the Mars polar regions, the icy moons of the outer planets, etc.), we may expect a similar wealth of information. To obtain this information it is possible to drill holes or melt the ice by a heated probe, which in this way is able to penetrate the surface and investigate the deeper layers in situ. In the latter case the driving agent is the heating power and the weight of the probe. In this paper we consider the application of such “melting probes” for exploring the structure of ice sheets in extraterrestrial environments. We describe several laboratory experiments with simple melting probes performed under cryo-vacuum conditions and compare the results with tests in a terrestrial environment. The experiments revealed that under space conditions the downward motion of a heated probe in an ice sheet is characterized by intermittent periods of sublimation and melting of the surrounding ice, sometimes interrupted by periods where a part of the probe's outer surface is frozen to the surrounding ice. This leads to a temporary blocking of the probe's downward motion. A similar situation can occur when the trailing tether is frozen in behind the probe. During the periods of ice sublimation the penetration process is significantly more power consuming, due to the large difference between the latent heat of sublimation and the latent heat of melting for water ice.     

Star Formation in NGC 4038/4039 as seen in the NIR

We obtained various sets of near infrared observations of the prototypical merger, NGC 4038/4039 (‘the Antennae’). Integral field spectroscopy and broad- and narrow band imaging aimed at obtaining age and extinction estimates of the young star clusters seen in large numbers distributed throughout the disks of the interacting galaxies. High resolution spectroscopy led to estimates of the dynamical masses of the clusters. The clusters have ages ranging from 3.7 to ≈ 20 Myrs. Those in the ‘overlap region’ are very young (below 8 Myrs), while in the nothwestern loop ages are above that limit, and the nuclear starbursts are much older (∼ 100 Myrs). Some photometric cluster masses lie above 10⁶ M_⊙. The stellar velocity dispersions determined from the medium- to high resolution spectra yielded virial cluster masses again up to a few 10⁶ M_⊙. Large differences in the estimated photometric and virial masses suggest a variation of the IMF between the clusters. At least some of the clusters have masses, concentrations and IMFs that could allow them to evolve into globular clusters. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Resonant interaction between two planetary waves as a precursor for stratospheric warmings?

Stratospheric warmings are attributed to an enhanced planetary wave activity, occurring nearly each winter – at least in the northern hemisphere – with different strengths. The generation of stratospheric warmings is not totally understood. One of the most promising explanations is the interaction of planetary waves: in many cases, the amplitude of the quasi-stationary planetary wave 1 builds up, until it transmits its momentum and energy to the background wind field. The role of wave 2 is usually considered to be less important.Based on ERA-40 and DYANA temperature data (January–February 1990), we found evidence that a resonant wave–wave interaction between a travelling and a stationary wave 2 was responsible for a minor stratospheric warming in February 1990. The interaction being observed during four weeks can eventually be used as an indication for an upcoming stratospheric warming.