On the sources of ultraviolet absorption in spectra of Titan and the outer planets

In response to the observations of the ultravioler deficiencies shown by all of the outer planets and Titan, models have been proposed to explain the low albedos by absorption by particles in the upper atmospheres of these objects. These particles are generally believed to be photochemically formed from gases in the upper atmospheres, primarily methane and hydrogen. Such processes may also be operative on Titan. The results of some laboratory experiments of the proton irradiation of mixtures of gases including CH₄ H₂, NH₃, etc., have shown that liquid and solid materials are produced that are strong ultraviolet absorbers. However, the material produced from the CH₄ + H₂ mixture was colorless, indicating that species containing elements other than carbon and hydrogen are necessary for the production of color. Two such elements are nitrogen (as NH₃ or N₂) and sulfur (as H₂S) and colored materials have been produced from such mixtures. None of these materials has spectral properties identical to those shown by the planets. Therefore it is necessary that mixtures (and/or cloud layers) of the photochemical materials be present.     

Influence of periglacial cover beds on in situ-produced cosmogenic Be in soil sections

Cover beds, widespread on hillslopes of temperate climate zones, represent layers of allochthonous material laterally transported by periglacial processes during the Late Pleistocene. Two soil sections comprised of cover beds from the Bavarian Forest, SE Germany, have been analysed for in situ-produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be. Major changes in the nuclide concentration agree well with soil section boundaries defined by field observations and grain size analyses. Numeric modeling of these cosmogenic nuclide sections demonstrates that simple continuous erosion and regolith mixing models fail to explain the measured nuclide concentrations. Instead, the measured data can be best described by modeling an admixture of material such as loess or reworked allochthonous material, which have different nuclide concentrations.A comparison of cosmogenic nuclide concentrations from the two cover bed sections with concentrations from river bedload sediments of the Regen catchment reveals that cover bed formation might affect the result of basin-wide erosion rate determinations based on cosmogenic nuclides. Nuclide concentration of river bedload is potentially a binary mixture produced by (1) spatial erosion of the soil surfaces; and (2) spatially nonuniform incision into deep cover bed layers that contributes sediment low in nuclide concentration.     

Combining cosmogenic nuclides and major elements from moraine soil profiles to improve weathering rate estimates

Previous studies of chemical weathering rates for soil developed on glacial moraines generally assumed little or no physical erosion of the soil surface. In this study, we investigate the influence of physical erosion on soil profile weathering rate calculations. The calculation of chemical weathering rates is based on the assumption that soil profiles represent the integrated amount of weathering since the time of moraine deposition. The weathering rate of a surface subjected to denudation is the sum of the weathering loss from the existing soil profile added to the weathering loss in the material removed by denudation, divided by the deposition age. In this study, the amount of weathered material removed since moraine deposition is calculated using the denudation rate estimated from cosmogenic nuclide data and the deposition age of the moraine. Weathering rates accounting for denudation since moraine deposition are compared to weathering rates based on the assumption of no physical erosion and on the assumption of steady-state denudation for the Type Pinedale moraine ( 21 ka) and the Bull Lake-age moraine ( 140 ka) in the Fremont Lake Area (Wind River Mountains, Wyoming, USA). The total weathering rates accounting for denudation are 8.15 ± 1.05 g_(oxide) m^− 2 y^− 1 for the Type Pinedale moraine and 4.78 ± 0.89 g_(oxide) m^− 2 y^− 1 for the Bull Lake-age moraine, which are  2 to 4 times higher, respectively, than weathering rates based on the assumption of no physical erosion. The weathering rates based on denudation since moraine deposition are comparable or smaller than weathering rates assuming steady-state denudation. We find the assumption of steady-state denudation is not valid in depositional landscapes with young deposition ages or slow denudation rates. The decrease in weathering rates over time between the Type Pinedale and Bull Lake-age soils that is observed in the case of no physical erosion is decreased when the influence of denudation on the total weathering rates is taken into account. Fresh unweathered material with high reactive mineral surface area is continuously provided to the surface layer by denudation diminishing the effect of decreasing weathering rate over time.     

Comparison of Numerical and Physical Models for Understanding Shear Fracture Processes

An understanding of the formation of shear fractures is important in many rock engineering design problems. Laboratory experiments have been performed to determine the Mode II fracture toughness of Mizunami granite rock samples using a cylindrical `punch-through' testing device. In this paper we attempt to understand and interpret the experimental results by numerical simulation of the fundamental shear fracture initiation and coalescence processes, using a random array of displacement discontinuity crack elements. It is found that qualitative agreement between the experimental and numerical results can be established, provided that shear-like micro-scale failure processes can be accommodated by the failure initiation rules that are used in the numerical simulations. In particular, it is found that the use of an exclusively tension-driven failure initiation rule does not allow the formation of macro-shear structures. It is apparent, also, that further investigation is required to determine how consistent rules can be established to link micro-failure criteria to equivalent macro-strength and toughness properties for a macro-shear slip surface.     

High-resolution varve studies in Baldeggersee (Switzerland): Project overview and limnological background data

This introduction to a series of high-resolution varve studies in Baldeggersee provides both an overview of the different subprojects as well as background information on relevant limnological trends. The project was based on a new method of in-situ freezing of unconsolidated surficial sediments in deep lakes. With this freeze-core technique a detailed, high-resolution stratigraphy of the varved sediments at the deepest point of Baldeggersee has been established for the period of 1885–1993. Annual and seasonal sediment samples were analyzed. Concentrations of redox active metals in sediments were calibrated as proxy indicators for the reconstruction of hypolimnetic oxygen conditions. Particle size analysis and varve measurements were used to discriminate between the influence of nutrients and climate on sediment formation and accumulation. Baldeggersee is an ideal system for calibrating indicators of deep-water oxygen concentrations because it underwent dramatic changes in nutrient loading and redox conditions during this century. The hypolimnion has been seasonally anoxic for the last 100 years and phosphorus content decreased by a factor of five in the last 20 years. Meromixis was observed between 1960 and 1980. Since 1983 the deep water has been artificially oxygenated. This well documented change in deep-water oxygen concentration represents a unique whole-lake experiment that can be used to analyze the geochemical response of the sediments.     

Late Cretaceous extension overprinting a steep belt in the Northern Calcareous Alps (Schesaplana, R?tikon, Switzerland and Austria)

The Triassic to Cretaceous sediment succession of the Lechtal Nappe in the western part of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) has been deformed into large-scale folds and crosscut by thrust and extensional faults during Late Cretaceous (Eoalpine) and Tertiary orogenic processes. The following sequence of deformation is developed from overprinting relations in the field: (D1) NW-vergent folds related to thrusting; (D2) N–S shortening leading to east–west-trending folds and to the formation of a steep belt (Arlberg Steep Zone) along the southern border of the NCA; (D3) E–W to NE–SW extension and vertical shortening, leading to low-angle normal faulting and recumbent “collapse folds” like the Wildberg Syncline. D1 and D2 are Cretaceous in age and predate the Eocene emplacement of the Austroalpine on the Penninic Nappes along the Austroalpine basal thrust; the same is probably true for D3. Finally, the basal thrust was deformed by folds related to out-of-sequence thrusting. These results suggest that the NCA were at least partly in a state of extension during the sedimentation of the Gosau Group in the Late Cretaceous.     

Melt water driven stream and groundwater stage fluctuations on a glacier forefield (Dammagletscher,Switzerland)

In many mountain regions, large land areas with heterogeneous soils have become ice‐free with the ongoing glacier retreat. On these recently formed proglacial fields, the melt of the remaining glaciers typically drives pronounced diurnal stream level fluctuations that propagate into the riparian zone. This behaviour was measured on the Damma glacier forefield in central Switzerland with stage recorders in the stream and groundwater monitoring wells along four transects. In spite of the large groundwater stage variations, radon measurements in the near‐stream riparian zone indicate that there is little mixing between stream water and groundwater on daily time scales. At all four transects, including both losing and gaining reaches, the groundwater level fluctuations lagged the stream stage variations and were often damped with distance from the stream. Similar behaviours have been modelled using the diffusion equation in coastal regions influenced by tidal sea level variations. We thus tested the ability of such a model to predict groundwater level fluctuations in proglacial fields. The model reproduced several key features of the observed fluctuations at three of four locations, although discrepancies also arise due to non representative input data and model simplifications. Nevertheless, calibration of the model for the individual transects yielded realistic estimates of hydraulic diffusivities between the stream and groundwater monitoring wells. We conclude that studying diurnal groundwater fluctuations can provide important information about the subsurface hydrology of alpine watersheds dominated by glacier melt. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient climate response to changing carbon dioxide concentration

The time-dependent response of climate changes to changing atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is modeled using an energy balance atmospheric model coupled to a one-dimensional upwelling diffusion model of the deep ocean. Such a model introduces time delays so that the calculated globally-averaged temperature lags that which would be predicted by assuming radiative equilibrium. The climate model is coupled to a simple carbon cycle model and a ‘social’ model that simulates decreasing emission in response to increasing global temperatures. The thermal inertia of the system is such that temperatures continue to increase after carbon dioxide concentrations are decreasing. Consultant to BNL from New York University. Semester Student, Fall 1979, Alcorn State College. This research was performed under the auspices of the United States Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-76CH00016. By acceptance of this article, the publisher and/or recipient acknowledges the U.S. Government’s right to retain a nonexclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright covering this paper.