Das Präkambrium Finnlands

Ohne ZusammenfassungDer vorliegende Aufsatz berichtet über die wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse der Tagung der Internationalen Vereinigung zum Studium des Präkambriums in Helsingfors im Juli 1931, hinzugefügt sind einige ergänzende Betrachtungen zum Rappakiwiproblem.     

Der geologische Bau und die tektonische Bedeutung der Balearischen Inseln

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

Die Bedeutung der Versumpfung für die Entstehung von Hochmooren in Deutschland

Zusammenfassung Es ist nur bei Gebirgsmooren zulässig, von Versumpfungsmooren zu reden. Die als solche erscheinenden Hochmoore des Flachlandes dürften in der Mehrzahl der Fälle keine Versumpfungsmoore im engeren Sinne sein, sondern nur durch Versumpfugserscheinungen in ihrer Ausbreitung geförderte Hochmoore, die ursprünglich als Hochmoore auf eutrophen und mesotrophen Moorschichten begannen (sogen. kombinierte Profile).Das Vorhandensein von Hochmooren des Flachlandes, die wirklich durch Versumpfung ins Leben gerufen worden sind, ist erst noch zu beweisen.     

Meeresschutzgebiete für den Nordost-Atlantik und die ostsee im Rahmen der Oslo-Paris-und der Helsinki-Übereinkommen

Ocean Dynamics - Seit Jahrzehnten, besonders intensiv jedoch seit Verabschiedung der “Konvention zum Schutz der Biologischen Vielfalt” in Rio (1992), werden Meeresgebiete unter Schutz...     

Deep soil water dynamics in an undisturbed primary forest in central Amazonia: Differences between normal years and the 2005 drought

Understanding how Amazonian rainforests deal with extended droughts is critical in the face of changing climate. This research analyze the physical properties and the soil water dynamics of a deep soil profile in an area of primary forest in central Amazonia to elucidate these processes under drought and nondrought conditions. Physical soil properties derived from soil cores exhibited a distinctive layer between 480 and 880 cm deep, characterized by higher microporosity and low plant water availability. In situ soil moisture measurements collected during the period from January 2003 through February 2006 and for depths ranging from 10 to 1,430 cm suggest that, in the study site, the top 480 cm of the soil profile satisfied most of the transpirational demands in normal climatological years. However, during exceptionally dry periods, such as the 2005 drought, root uptake occurs below 480 cm. As concluded by previous studies, most of the uptake is concentrated in the first meter of the soil profile: More than 40% of the total demand for transpiration is supplied by the top meter of soil. Because deep root uptake occurred at greater depths than normal during the 2005 drought, our results suggest that this is a fundamental mechanism to cope with prolonged droughts.     

A first Holocene leaf wax isotope-based paleoclimate record from the semi-humid to semi-arid south-eastern Caucasian lowlands

The Holocene paleoclimate of the Caucasus region is rather complex and not yet well understood: while existing studies are mainly based on pollen records from high-altitude and humid lowland regions, no records are available from the semi-humid to semi-arid south-eastern Caucasian lowlands. Therefore, this study investigated compound-specific δ²H and δ¹³C isotopes of leaf wax biomarkers from Holocene floodplain soils in eastern Georgia. Our results show that the leaf wax δ²H signal from the paleosols mostly reflects changes in the moisture source and its isotopic composition. Depleted δ²H values before ~8 cal ka bp change towards enriched values after ~5 cal ka bp and become again depleted after ~1.6 cal ka bp. This trend could be caused by Holocene changes of the isotopic compositions of the Black and eastern Mediterranean Sea, and/or by varying contribution of both moisture sources linked with the North Atlantic Oscillation. The leaf wax δ¹³C signal from the paleosols directly indicates varying local water availability and drought stress. Depleted δ¹³C values before ~8 and after ~5 cal ka bp indicate wetter local conditions with higher water availability, whereas more enriched values during the middle Holocene (~8 until at least 5 cal ka bp ) indicate drier conditions with increased drought stress.     

Non-LTE radiative transfer for sub-millimeter water lines in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft (Schulz, R., Alexander, C., Boehnhardt, H., Glassmeier, K.H. (Eds.) [2009]. “ROSETTA - ESA”) will encounter Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014 and spend the next 18 months in the vicinity of the comet, permitting very high spatial and spectral resolution observations of the coma and nucleus. During this time, the heliocentric distance of the comet will change from ∼3.5 AU to ∼1.3 AU, accompanied by an increasing temperature of the nucleus and the development of the coma. The Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO) will observe the ground-state rotational transition (1₁₀-1₀₁) of H₂¹⁶O at 556.936 GHz, the two isotopologues H₂¹⁷O and H₂¹⁸O and other molecular transitions in the coma during this time (Gulkis, S. et al., [2007]. MIRO: Microwave Instrument for Rosetta Orbiter. Space Sci. Rev. 128, 561-597).The aim of this study is to simulate the water line spectra that could be obtained with the MIRO instrument and to understand how the observed line spectra with various viewing geometries can be used to study the physical conditions of the coma and the water excitation processes throughout the coma. We applied an accelerated Monte Carlo method to compute the excitations of the seven lowest rotational levels (1₀₁, 1₁₀, 2₁₂, 2₂₁, 3₀₃, 3₁₂, and 3₂₁) of ortho-water using a comet model with spherically symmetric water outgassing, density, temperature and expansion velocity at three different heliocentric distances 1.3 AU, 2.5 AU, and 3.5 AU. Mechanisms for the water excitation include water-water collisions, water-electron collisions, and infrared pumping by solar radiation.Synthetic line spectra are calculated at various observational locations and directions using the MIRO instrument parameters. We show that observations at varying viewing distances from the nucleus and directions have the potential to give diagnostic information on the continuum temperature and water outgassing rates at the surface of the nucleus, and the gas density, expansion velocity, and temperature of the coma as a function of distance from the nucleus. The gas expansion velocity and temperature affect the spectral line width and frequency shift of the line from the rest frequency, while the gas density (which is directly related to the outgassing rate) and the line excitation temperature determine the antenna temperature of the absorption and emission signal in the line profile.     

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.