Petrographie und Mineralfazies einer konglomeratischen Tanner Grauwacke aus dem Unterharz

A very coarse grained graywacke from Strassberg in the Lower Harz Mountains (Germany) consists of rock-fragments, feldspars, quartz, chlorites, micas, accessories and ores. Low grade metamorphic mineral reactions are indicated by the formation of 2M-muscovite +chlorite+sphene+albite in the matrix of the graywacke, by prehnite+chlorite+ sphene+calcite+sericite+albite (±quartz) in volcanic rock-fragments, and by prehnite +calcite+quartz along fine fissures. The newly formed minerals in the coarse grained graywacke belong to the laumontite-prehnite-quartz-facies of the burial metmorphism. However, the formation of the low grade minerals is caused by thermal metamorphism in outer contact zones of the Ramberg granite intrusion in the Strassberg area.     

Oil seepage and carbonate formation: A case study from the southern Gulf of Mexico

Oil seeps from the southern Gulf of Mexico can be regarded as natural laboratories where the effect of crude oil seepage on chemosynthesis‐based communities and carbonate precipitation can be studied. During R/V Meteor cruise 114 the seep sites UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) Ridge, Mictlan Knoll and Tsanyao Yang Knoll (Bay of Campeche, southern Gulf of Mexico) were investigated and sampled for authigenic carbonate deposits containing large amounts of liquid oil and solid asphalt. The δ¹³C values of individual carbonate phases including: (i) microcrystalline matrix aragonite and calcite; (ii) grey, cryptocrystalline to microcrystalline aragonite; and (iii) clear, fibrous aragonite cement, are between ?30‰ and ?20‰, agreeing with oil as the primary carbon source. Raman spectra reveal that residual heavy oils from all sites are immature and most likely originate from the same reservoir. Geochemical batch modelling using the software code PHREEQC demonstrates how sulphate‐driven oxidation of oil‐derived low‐molecular to high‐molecular weight hydrocarbons affects carbonate saturation state, and shows that the oxidation state of carbon in hydrocarbon compounds and oxidation rates of hydrocarbons control carbonate saturation and precipitation at oil seeps. Phase‐specific trace and rare earth element contents of microcrystalline aragonite and calcite, grey cryptocrystalline aragonite and clear aragonite were determined, revealing enrichment in light rare earth elements for grey aragonite. By comparing trace element patterns of carbonates with those of associated oils, it becomes apparent that liquid hydrocarbons constitute an additional source of trace metals to sedimentary pore waters. This work not only demonstrates that the microbial degradation of oil at seeps may result in the precipitation of carbonate minerals, it also elucidates that trace metal inventories of seep carbonates archive diagnostic elemental patterns, which can be assigned to the presence of heavy hydrocarbons in interstitial pore waters.     

The influence of precipitate formation on the chemical oxidation of TCE DNAPL with potassium permanganate

A three-dimensional two-phase flow model is coupled to a non-linear reactive transport model to study the efficacy of potassium permanganate treatment on dense, non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source removal in porous media. A linear relationship between the soil permeability (k) and concentration of manganese dioxide precipitate ([MnO_2(s)]), k = k_o + S_rind [MnO_2(s)], is utilized to simulate nodal permeability reductions due to precipitate formation. Using published experimental column studies, an S_rind = −5.5 × 10⁻¹⁶ m² L/mg was determined for trichloroethylene (TCE) DNAPL. This S_rind was then applied to treatment simulations on three-dimensional TCE DNAPL source zones comprising either DNAPL at residual saturations, or DNAPL at pooled saturations.     

Measuring the non-thermal pressure in early-type galaxy atmospheres: a comparison of X-ray and optical potential profiles in M87 and NGC 1399

We compare the gravitational potential profiles of the elliptical galaxies NGC 4486 (M87) and NGC 1399 (the central galaxy in the Fornax cluster) derived from X-ray and optical data. This comparison suggests that the combined contribution of cosmic rays, magnetic fields and microturbulence to the pressure is ∼10 per cent of the gas thermal pressure in the cores of NGC 1399 and M87, although the uncertainties in our model assumptions (e.g. spherical symmetry) are sufficiently large that the contribution could be consistent with zero. In the absence of any other form of non-thermal pressure support, these upper bounds translate into upper limits on the magnetic field of ∼10–20 μG at a distance of 1–2 arcmin from the centers of NGC 1399 and M87. We show that these results are consistent with the current paradigm of cool cluster cores, based on the assumption that active galactic nuclei regulate the thermal state of the gas by injecting energy into the intracluster medium. The limit of ∼10–20 per cent on the energy density in the form of relativistic protons applies not only to the current state of the gas, but also essentially to the entire history of the intracluster medium, provided that cosmic ray protons evolve adiabatically and that their spatial diffusion is suppressed.     

Seabirds and floating plastic debris

80% of floating plastic debris freshly washed ashore on a Dutch coast showed peckmarks made by birds at sea. They either mistake these debris for cuttlebones or simply test all floating objects. Ingestion of plastic is deleterious for marine organisms. It is urgent to set measures to plastic litter production.     

Hail frequency in the Pretoria — Witwatersrand area during 1962 to 1972

Summary Hail observations were made in the Transvaal, South Africa, during the decade 1962 to 1972. The hail-reporting network covered an area of 2800 km² with Pretoria in the northeast and the also densely-populated Witwatersrand in the south. A panel of about 800 voluntary observers contributed 10 560 hail reports during this period. Isopleths of hail frequency within the network were plotted. The pattern was strikingly similar to the isohyetal map. More rain and hail occurred in the urban areas than elsewhere and there was a relationship to topography. Pretoria received less hail than the Witwatersrand, a ridge about 300 m higher than Pretoria.