Erosion-driven uplift of the modern Central Alps

We present a compilation of data of modern tectono-geomorphic processes in the Central European Alps which suggest that observed rock uplift is a response to climate-driven denudation. This interpretation is predominantly based on the recent quantification of basin-averaged Late Holocene denudation rates that are so similar to the pattern and rates of rock uplift rates as determined by geodetic leveling. Furthermore, a GPS data-based synthesis of Adriatic microplate kinematics suggests that the Central Alps are currently not in a state of active convergence. Finally, we illustrate that the Central Alps have acted as a closed system for Holocene redistribution of sediment in which the peri-Alpine lakes have operated as a sink for the erosional products of the inner Central Alps.While various hypotheses have been put forward to explain Central Alpine rock uplift (e.g. lithospheric forcing by convergence, mantle processes, or ice melting) we show with an elastic model of lithospheric deformation, that the correlation between erosion and rock uplift rates reflects a positive feedback between denudation and the associated isostatic response to unloading. Thus, erosion does not passively respond to advection of crustal material as might be the case in actively converging orogens. Rather, we suggest that the geomorphic response of the Alpine topography to glacial and fluvial erosion and the resulting disequilibrium for modern channelized and associated hillslope processes explains much of the pattern of modern denudation and hence rock uplift. Therefore, in a non-convergent orogen such as the Central European Alps, the observed vertical rock uplift is primarily a consequence of passive unloading due to erosion.     

Provenance of the Bosnian Flysch

Sandwiched between the Adriatic Carbonate Platform and the Dinaride Ophiolite Zone, the Bosnian Flysch forms a c. 3000 m thick, intensely folded stack of Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediments in the Dinarides. New petrographic, heavy mineral, zircon U/Pb and fission-track data as well as biostratigraphic evidence allow us to reconstruct the palaeogeology of the source areas of the Bosnian Flysch basin in late Mesozoic times. Middle Jurassic intraoceanic subduction of the Neotethys was shortly followed by exhumation of the overriding oceanic plate. Trench sedimentation was controlled by a dual sediment supply from the sub-ophiolitic high-grade metamorphic soles and from the distal continental margin of the Adriatic plate. Following obduction onto Adria, from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition onwards a vast clastic wedge (Vranduk Formation) was developed in front of the leading edge, fed by continental basement units of Adria that experienced Early Cretaceous synsedimentary cooling, by the overlying ophiolitic thrust sheets and by redeposited elements of coeval Urgonian facies reefs grown on the thrust wedge complex. Following mid-Cretaceous deformation and thermal overprint of the Vranduk Formation, the depozone migrated further towards SW and received increasing amounts of redeposited carbonate detritus released from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform margin (Ugar Formation). Subordinate siliciclastic source components indicate changing source rocks on the upper plate, with ophiolites becoming subordinate. The zone of the continental basement previously affected by the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous thermal imprint has been removed; instead, the basement mostly supplied detritus with a wide range of pre-Jurassic cooling ages. However, a c. 80 Ma, largely synsedimentary cooling event is also recorded by the Ugar Formation, that contrasts the predominantly Early Cretaceous cooling of the Adriatic basement and suggests, at least locally, a fast exhumation.     

Galactic Dynamo and Spiral Arms - 3D MHD Simulations

In the present project we investigate the evolution of a three-dimensional (3D), large-scale galactic magnetic field under the influence of gas flows in spiral arms and in the presence of dynamo action. Our principal goal is to check how the dynamical evolution of gaseous spiral arms affects the global magnetic field structure and to what extent our models could explain the observed spiral patterns of polarization B-vectors in nearby galaxies. A two-step scheme is used: the N-body simulations of a two-component, self-gravitating disk provide the time-dependent velocity fields which are then used as the input to solve the mean-field dynamo equations. We found that the magnetic field is directly influenced by large-scale non-axisymmetric density wave flows yielding the magnetic field locally well-aligned with gaseous spiral arms in a manner similar to that discussed already by Otmianowska-Mazur et al. 1997. However, an additional field amplification, introduced by a non-zero -term in the dynamo equations, is required to cause a systematic increase of magnetic energy density against the diffusive losses. Our simulated magnetic fields are also used to construct the models of a high-frequency (Faraday rotation-free) polarized radio emission accounting for effects of projection and limited resolution, thus suitable for direct comparisons with observations.     

Seasonal temperatures for the past ∼400 years reconstructed from diatom and chironomid assemblages in a high-altitude lake (Lej da la Tscheppa,Switzerland)

We analysed a 42 cm long sediment record from Lej da la Tscheppa, a high-altitude lake (2,616 m a.s.l.) in the Upper Engadine valley (Switzerland) for subfossil diatoms, chironomids and pollen. The chronology of the top 21 cm of the record was established using ²¹⁰Pb analysis using a constant-rate-of-supply model, and validated with ¹³⁷Cs measurements and the content of spheroidal carbonaceous particles. A tentative chronology for the lower part of the core was obtained through extrapolation of the sedimentation rates in the uppermost part of the record. Pollen assemblages in the record reflect regional changes in forestation and land-use patterns in the Upper Engadine valley and show no evidence of significant local human activity in the lake’s catchment. Diatom assemblages record a distinct increase in planktonic taxa since the early 19th century, suggesting a decrease in the duration of ice-cover. In contrast, chironomid assemblages remained stable during a large part of the record. We applied an established chironomid-based July air temperature transfer function and a newly developed diatom-based spring air temperature transfer function to reconstruct past seasonal air temperature changes at Lej da la Tscheppa. The reconstructions indicate a diatom-inferred warming trend in spring temperatures during the past ca. 400 years, whereas chironomid-inferred summer temperatures suggest a slight cooling trend. These biota-based reconstructions are in good agreement with the centennial-scale temperature trend in an independent reconstruction of regional temperatures in the Upper Engadine region based on instrumental records and documentary proxy evidence from the Alps. Our results suggest that, in high-altitude lakes, independent chironomid- and diatom-based seasonal temperature reconstruction is possible and can be successfully used to track seasonal temperature trends.     

Assessment of three temperature reconstruction methods in the virtual reality of a climate simulation

The performance of statistical climate reconstruction methods in the pre-instrumental period is uncertain, as they are calibrated in a short instrumental period but applied to much longer reconstructions time spans. Here, the virtual reality created by a climate simulation of the past millennium with the model ECHO-G is used as a test bed of three methods to reconstruct the annual Northern Hemisphere temperature. The methods are Composite plus Scaling, the inverse regression method of Mann et al. (Nature 392:779–787, 1998) and a direct principal-components regression method. The testing methodology is based on the construction of pseudo-proxies derived from the climate model output, the application of each of these methods to pseudo-proxy timeseries, and the comparison of their result with the simulated mean temperature. Different structures of the noise have been used to construct pseudo-proxies, ranging from the simulated grid-point precipitation. Also, one sparse and one denser pseudo-proxy network, co-located with two real networks, have been considered. All three methods underestimate the simulated variations of the Northern Hemisphere temperature, but the Composite plus Scaling method clearly displays a better performance and is robust against the different noise models and network size. The most relevant factor determining the skill of the reconstruction appears to be the network size, whereas the different noise models tend to yield similar results.     

Der geologische Bau und die tektonische Bedeutung der Balearischen Inseln

Ohne ZusammenfassungVortrag auf der Hauptversammlung in Frankfurt a. M. am 8. Jan. 1927.     

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners

Eggs from 69 females of spring spawning herring from the German Baltic coast (Travemünde, April 1979) were incubated in clean sea water (20‰ S, temperature 8°C) under standard conditions. Sixty-one trials could be used for the evaluation of hatching success. Viable hatch was taken as a measure to evaluate the effects of chlorinated hydrocarbons accumulated in gonads, liver and muscle of parental fish.PCB levels in running ripe females ranged on a wet weight basis between 19 and 241 ng g^?1 (gonad), 20 and 377 ng g^?1 (liver) and 11 and 1820 ng g^?1 (muscle). Concentrations of other chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDD, DDE, γ-HCH, etc.) were in the same range as reported by other authors for Baltic herring (Huschenbeth, 1973, 1977). Viable hatch was significantly affected at ovary DDE concentrations higher than 18 ng g^?1 (wet wt) and PCB concentrations of more than 120 ng g^?1 (wet wt).Results are compared with data obtained during earlier investigations with flounder eggs.     

Star Formation in Violent and Normal Evolutionary Phases

Mergers of massive gas-rich galaxies trigger violent starbursts that - over timescales of > 100 Myr and regions > 10 kpc - form massive and compact star clusters comparable in mass and radii to Galactic globular clusters. The star formation efficiency is higher by 1–2 orders of magnitude in these bursts than in undisturbed spirals, irregulars or even BCDs. We ask the question if star formation in these extreme regimes is just a scaled-up version of the normal star formation mode of if the formation of globular clusters reveals fundamentally different conditions. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.