Determination of the deformation properties of bedrock under turbine foundations

Summary This paper presents an improved investigation technique for in-situ determination of the deformation properties of rock masses, which are important parameters in the desing of foundations. This technique permits testing on a circular, one square metre area of the rock. In order to obtain reproducible loading conditions when testing, an equipment was introduced that gave almost uniformly distributed loading of the rock surface. This device is described in this paper. Displacement measurements are made in a central measuring hole, since a point of zero displacement, located equidistant between the loaded surface and the upward-pointing anchoring forces, offered a suitable reference point. In this way, the measuring device is also well protected against disturbing variations in temperature. During cyclic loading and unloading, charateristic load/deflection graphs are recorded, which directly demonstrate the deformation properties of the rock, such as the modulus of deformation at different loads, linearity deviation from linearity, as well as hysteresis effects and creep. It is clear that the results of the investigation apply only to the measuring point—the place at which the investigation was carried out. The properties of the rock nearby may vary considerably. The procedure for using this method of investigation for testing improvement measures for turbine foundations is shown in some examples.     

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.     

Windstorm of the eighteenth century in the Czech Lands: course,extent, impacts

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - This paper addresses the course, extent, and impacts of a windstorm that occurred on 20–21 December 1740, in the Czech Lands. The analysis is based on...     

Assessing the saltwater remediation potential of a three-dimensional,heterogeneous, coastal aquifer system

This paper evaluates the remediation potential of a salinized coastal aquifer by utilizing a scenario simulation. Therefore, the numerical model OpenGeoSys is first validated against analytical and experimental data to represent transient groundwater level development and variable density saline intrusion. Afterwards, a regional scale model with a three-dimensional, heterogeneous hydrogeology is calibrated for a transient state and used to simulate a best-case scenario. Water balances are evaluated in both the transient calibration and scenario run. Visualization techniques help to assess the complex model output providing valuable insight in the occurring density-driven flow processes. Furthermore, modeling and visualization results give information on the time scale for remediation activities and, due to limitations in data quality and quantity reveal potential for model improvement.     

Long-term stability of planetary orbits between Jupiter and Saturn

We extend our two previous studies on the existence of stable orbits in the Solar System by examining the domain between Jupiter and Saturn. We place (1) a massless object, (2) a Moon-mass object, (3) a Mars-mass object, (4) an Earth-mass object, and (5) a Uranus-mass object in the said region. Note that these objects are considered separately in the framework of our simulations. Our goal is to explore the orbital stability of those objects. We employ the Lie-integration method, which is fast and well established, allowing us to solve the respective differential equations for the $N$-body system. Hence, we consider the celestial bodies spanning from Jupiter to Neptune, including the aforementioned test object, the main focus for our model simulations. The integrations indicate that in some models the test objects placed in the region between Jupiter and Saturn reside in that region for more than 600 Myr. Between 5 and 10 au, mean-motion resonances (MMRs) take place acting upon the test objects akin to simulations of Paper I and II. Our models indicate relatively small differences for the long-term stability of the five test objects notwithstanding their vastly different masses. Generally, it is found that between $a_{\text{ini}}=7.04$ and 7.13 au the orbits become unstable mostly within 5 million years and further out, that is, up to $a_{\text{ini}}=7.29$ au, the duration of stability lengthens to up to hundreds of millions of years.     

The Staffelegg Formation: a new stratigraphic scheme for the Early Jurassic of northern Switzerland

The deposits of the Early Jurassic in northern Switzerland accumulated in the relatively slowly subsiding transition zone between the southwestern part of the Swabian basin and the eastern part of the Paris basin under fully marine conditions. Terrigenous fine-grained deposits dominate, but calcarenitic and phosphorit-rich strata are intercalated. The total thickness varies between 25 and 50 m. In the eastern and central parts of N Switzerland, sediments Sinemurian in age constitute about 90% of the total thickness. To the West, however, in the Mont Terri area, Pliensbachian and Toarcian deposits form 70% of the total thickness. Stratigraphic gaps occur on a local to regional scale throughout N Switzerland. Such hiatus comprise a subzone to a stage in time. With respect to lithology and fossil content, the Early Jurassic deposits in northern Switzerland are similar to those in SW Germany. Nonetheless, an exact stratigraphic correlation is hardly possible, particulary in the southern and southwestern Folded Jura where distinct facies changes occur over short distances. Revised existing and new litho- and biostratigraphic data form the base to refine the stratigraphic subdivision of the deposits that have been informally called “Lias”. The name Staffelegg Formation is suggested and defined as the mapping unit for the Early Jurassic. The Staffelegg Formation is introduced for Early Jurassic sediments in northern Switzerland between the Doubs River and Mt. Weissenstein in the west and the Randen Hills located north of the city of Schaffhausen in the east. The Staffelegg Formation starts within the Planorbis zone of the Hettangian. The upper boundary to the overlying Aalenian Opalinus-Ton is diachronous. The lithostratigraphic names previously in use have been replaced by new ones, in accordance within the rules of lithostratigraphic nomenclature. The Staffelegg Formation comprises 11 members and 9 beds. Several of these beds are important correlation horizons in terms of allostratigraphy. Some of them correspond to strata or erosional unconformities encountered in the Swabian realm, some of them can be correlated with strata in the Paris basin. The facies transition to the Paris basin is expressed by introduction of a corresponding lithostratigraphic unit.     

On A Low Cloud Phenomenon At The Breidamerkurjökull Glacier, Iceland

An impressive cloud wall has frequently been observed on the southern slopes of the Vatnajökull ice sheet, which is located in south-eastern Iceland. Its optical and dynamic features suggest a delicate balance of the atmospheric agents involved. This has been confirmed by a thorough analysis of a well documented event and by statistics covering a whole summer season. As an exemplary event, the regional development of the associated cloud has basically been documented with synchronous surface data along a suitable transect of the glacier. Data from tethered balloons, radiosoundings and routine synoptic data have also been exploited extensively. Cloud development was generally aided by a high moisture potential because of proximity to the open seas and the remnants of a frontal system. Furthermore the occurrence of the cloud phenomenon was associated with onshore (southerly) surface winds, assisting advection and lifting of the associated air masses above the slopes of the ice sheet. Northward protrusion of the associated cloud was apparently opposed by continuous katabatic winds and topographically induced lee effects.