Das Neokom in Polen und seine paläogeographische Bedeutung

Zusammenfassung Die geologische Geschichte Nordwest-Polens zur Zeit der unteren Kreide kann in allgemeinen Zügen folgenderma\en dargestellt werden:Gegen Ende des Jura, ungefähr zur Zeit des Münder Mergels, sind hier Bewegungen eingetreten, die das Land teilweise trockengelegt und der Denudation preisgegeben haben. In den durch die Bewegungen gebildeten Senken blieben Lagunen erhalten, deren einige brackisches Wasser führten, während in anderen durch Eindampfung Gipslager abgesetzt wurden. Der Serpulit brachte eine positive Meeresbewegung mit, die sich im Infravalanginian derart verstärkte, da\ sich seine Ablagerungen nicht nur in den alten Senken kontinuierlich auf dem Serpulit abgesetzt, sondern auch auf denudierte, früher gehobene Schollen transgressiv ausgebreitet haben. Die Infravalanginian-See war brackisch und hat in NW-Polen typische Wealdenablagerungen abgesetzt, bei Tomaszów aber, etwas südlicher, ist das Infravalangian zwar litoral, aber rein marin ausgebildet, wobei es viele ähnlichkeit mit dem Infravalangian der Teschener Karpathen aufweist. Die Wealdensee und das karpathische Meer waren durch einen Sund verbunden, der sich über Tomaszów längs dem Polnischen Mittelgebirge gegen die Karpathen hinzog. Im Valanginian erreicht die neokome Transgression ihren Höhepunkt, es werden dunkle Tone mit reicher Hilsfauna abgesetzt; wahrscheinlich hat sich diese Transgression von Ru\land über die Polesje-Schwelle und über das westliche Polen nach Deutschland und weiter bis nach Ost-England erstreckt. Das polnische Becken stand in direkter Verbindung mit dem nordwestdeutschen; es war ebenfalls, obwohl dürftiger, mit dem karpathischen Meere verbunden; gerade hier ist der Weg zu suchen, den die Migrationen der nördlichen Elemente ins alpine Becken eingeschlagen haben. Im oberen Valanginian fängt eine Regression an, die in Zentral-Ru\land einsetzt und zu dessen Trockenlegung und zum Abschlu\ der Verbindung des polnischen Beckens mit dem Osten führt. Mit dem Anfang des Hauterivians macht sich die Regression auch in Polen fühlbar und verursacht die Verflachung des Meeres in Polen sowie den Abbruch der Verbindung mit dem karpathischen Meere, in welchem von nun ab keine nordischen eingewanderten Faunenelemente mehr erscheinen. Im oberen Hauterivian zieht sich das Meer von Polen und NO-Deutschland zurück. Auf dem neuen Lande herrscht mächtige Denudation, deren gröbere Produkte sich als sehr mächtige Flu\- und Seesande anhäufen. Das Landstadium dauert während des ganzen BarrÊme, Apt und eines Teiles des Albians an, bis zum Anfang der gro\en Gault-Transgression, die wieder in die Senken vordringt.     

Sensing underground coal gasification by ground penetrating radar

The paper describes the results of research on the applicability of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) method for remote sensing and monitoring of the underground coal gasification (UCG) processes. The gasification of coal in a bed entails various technological problems and poses risks to the environment. Therefore, in parallel with research on coal gasification technologies, it is necessary to develop techniques for remote sensing of the process environment. One such technique may be the radar method, which allows imaging of regions of mass loss (voids, fissures) in coal during and after carrying out a gasification process in the bed. The paper describes two research experiments. The first one was carried out on a large-scale model constructed on the surface. It simulated a coal seam in natural geological conditions. A second experiment was performed in a shallow coal deposit maintained in a disused mine and kept accessible for research purposes. Tests performed in the laboratory and in situ conditions showed that the method provides valuable data for assessing and monitoring gasification surfaces in the UCG processes. The advantage of the GPR method is its high resolution and the possibility of determining the spatial shape of various zones and forms created in the coal by the gasification process.     

Deep lithospheric structure beneath the Polish part of the East European Craton as a result of magnetotelluric surveys

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica - A fundamental tectonic boundary between the Precambrian East European Craton (EEC) and the younger Phanerozoic mountain belts of Europe runs through Poland....     

High-frequency X-ray variability as a mass estimator of stellar and supermassive black holes

There is increasing evidence that supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are scaled-up versions of Galactic black holes. We show that the amplitude of high-frequency X-ray variability in the hard spectral state is inversely proportional to the black hole mass over eight orders of magnitude. We have analysed all available hard-state data from RXTE of seven Galactic black holes. Their power density spectra change dramatically from observation to observation, except for the high-frequency (≳10 Hz) tail, which seems to have a universal shape, roughly represented by a power law of index −2. The amplitude of the tail,   C _M   (extrapolated to 1 Hz), remains approximately constant for a given source, regardless of the luminosity, unlike the break or quasi-periodic oscillation frequencies, which are usually strongly correlated with luminosity. Comparison with a moderate-luminosity sample of AGN shows that the amplitude of the tail is a simple function of black hole mass,   C _M = C / M   , where   C ≈ 1.25 M_⊙ Hz⁻¹  . This makes   C _M   a robust estimator of the black hole mass which is easy to apply to low- to moderate-luminosity supermassive black holes. The high-frequency tail with its universal shape is an invariant feature of a black hole and, possibly, an imprint of the last stable orbit.     

A GIS-based WFD oriented typology of shallow micro-tidal soft bottom using wave exposure and turbidity mapping

Our GIS based project aims at producing a classification scheme to develop a typology of the bottom of the Bay of Gdansk in the southern Baltic. The typology was based on the abiotic factors which are used to define water body types by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Significance analysis of particular factors has shown that within the discussed area wave exposure seems to play the most important role. All other factors are to a greater or lesser degree correlated with these two. Taking into consideration the shallows and the varied coastline of the investigated area it was decided to make use of the SWAN numerical wave model to determine the influence of wave impact upon the bottom. The model was used to produce raster maps of orbital velocity near the bottom for each wind scenario. With the help of the GIS analysis the maps were turned into layers: the mean velocity and the maximum velocity at the bottom. To produce the layer of yearly amount of solar radiation a GIS model was built which main parameters were the layer of depth and three layers of turbidity for three seasons. The layers of the maximum orbital velocity and of the solar radiation at the bottom were then used in a classificatory procedure consisted in an iterative sequence of the three following steps: cluster formation, dendrogram analysis and classification using the maximum likelihood method. Ecological importance of the classification has been obtained by means of the aggregation of a part of classes based upon the statistics calculated for them within the GIS system with the help of the zonal function out of the following parameters: salinity, depth, mean and maximum orbital velocity at the bottom, temperature differences between warm and cold seasons, solar radiation, and type of sediments. The method proposed here makes it possible to produce high resolution thematic maps of the bottom even with incomplete data cover of the investigated area.     

Enhancement of deltamethrin degradation by soil bioaugmentation with two different strains of Serratia marcescens

Deltamethrin is one of the most commonly used pyrethroid in agricultural practice in different geographic regions of the world. It is detected in many environments, especially in soil and water, and can exhibit toxic effect to human and other organisms. In this study, we describe two bacterial strains DeI-1 and DeI-2, isolated from soil, and both identified as Serratia marcescens based on profile of the fatty acid methyl esters, biochemical test, and 16S RNA gene analysis, which were shown to efficiently degrade deltamethrin. Degradation of deltamethrin in mineral salt medium (50 mg l^?1) proceeded by strains DeI-1 or DeI-2 reached the values of 88.3 or 82.8 % after 10 days, and DT50 was 2.8 or 4.0 days, respectively. Bioaugmentation of deltamethrin-contaminated non-sterile soils (100 mg kg^?1) with strains DeI-1 or DeI-2 (3 × 10⁶ cells g^?1 of soil) enhanced the disappearance rate of pyrethroid, and its DT50 was reduced by 44.9, 33.1, 44.4, and 58.2 days or 39.1, 25.8, 35.6, and 46.0 days in sandy, sandy loam, silty loam, and silty soils, respectively, in comparison with non-sterile soils with only indigenous microflora. The three-way ANOVA indicated that DT50 of deltamethrin was significantly (P < 0.01) affected by soil type, microflora presence, and inoculum, and the interaction between these factors. Generally, the lower content of clay and organic carbon in soil, the higher degradation rate of deltamethrin was observed. Obtained results show that both strains of S. marcescens may possess potential to be used in bioremediation of deltamethrin-contaminated soils.     

“Cretaceous black flysch” in the Pieniny Klippen Belt, West Carpathians: a case of geological misinterpretation

This is a critical assessment of the paper by Oszczypko et al. (2004: Cretaceous Research 25, 89–113), in which they tried to prove a mid-Cretaceous age for the Szlachtowa (“black flysch”) and Opaleniec Formations, in the Pieniny Klippen Belt, West Carpathians, both of which had previously been shown to be of Jurassic age. We argue that the mid-Cretaceous age assignment is a misinterpretation, primarily resulting from their field samples having been collected from some Cretaceous lithostratigraphic units, tectonically associated with the Jurassic formations, and/or from tectonic contact-breccias involving Jurassic and Cretaceous strata. In addition, we suggest that they have overlooked a number of significant palaeontological papers, published since 1962, which record the presence of in situ ammonites, aptychi, belemnites, thin-shelled bivalves (Bositra), gryphaeids, foraminifera, and ostracod assemblages, all indicating a Jurassic (mainly Aalenian), and not a Cretaceous, age for the Szlachtowa Formation, and also the in situ Jurassic (Bajocian) ammonites and thin-shelled bivalves (Bositra), Bositra-microfacies, and age-diagnostic foraminiferal assemblages of the Opaleniec Formation.Our presentation here of recently published dinocyst data from well-preserved assemblages further supports the Jurassic ages for the Szlachtowa (“black flysch”) and Opaleniec Formations.     

Rapid ground deformation corresponding to a mining-induced seismic event followed by a massive collapse

Natural Hazards - On 17 April 2015, the Wujek/?l?sk underground coal mine in Poland was struck by a strong induced tremor of magnitude M4.0. The event was followed by a massive rock burst...