Über die Deutung der Schwerkraftanomalien in Niederländisch-Indien

Zusammenfassung V.Meinesz fand bei seinen Schwerkraftmessungen in U-Booten im niederl.-indischen Archipel eine ausgeprägte Zone mit negativen Anomalien, die an beiden Flanken von Gebieten positiver Werte begleitet wird.Zur Erklärung dieser isostatischen Abweichungen nimmt V.Meinesz an, daß die Haupterdkruste infolge tangentialer Spannungen nach unten eingeknickt ist. Es entsteht auf diese Weise eine Wurzel von leichterem salischen Material, die von oben her in das schwerere Substratum eintaucht.Die Undationstheorie erklärt diese salische Wurzel durch Anhäufung granitischer Differentiationsprodukte aus der gabbroiden Urschmelze, also durch Anreicherung des leichteren Materials von unten her.Für die Einknickungstheorie ist es nötig, eine tangentiale Krustenverlagerung (Kontinentalverschiebung) anzunehmen. Dieses erübrigt sich nach der Undationstheorie, für welche der orogene Zyklus ein Wachstum der salischen Kruste im geosynklinalen Gebiet durch Angliederung neuer salischer Differentiationsprodukte bedeutet.Gegen die Einknickungstheorie von V.Meinesz bestehen eine Reihe von Einwänden, welche Schwierigkeiten dem Deutungsversuch der Undationstheorie nicht anhaften.Die weitgehende Übereinstimmung zwischen den Deduktionen dieser Auffassung einerseits und den geologischen, gravimetrischen und seismologischen Wahrnehmungen andrerseits ist eine kräftige Stütze für die Richtigkeit des vom Standpunkt der Undationstheorie aus gemachten Deutungsversuches der Schwerkraftanomalien in Niederländisch-Indien.     

Ein Beispiel für Sekundärtektogenese auf Java

Zusammenfassung Für die Analyse eines tektonischen Bewegungsbildes ist das Gebirge nördlich von Bandoeng ein geradezu ideales Objekt, weil die hier stattgehabten Bewegungen sehr jungen Alters sind. Wir dürfen annehmen, daß der ganze Prozeß sich im Holozän, zum Teil wahrscheinlich im Neolithicum abgespielt hat.Bei der geologischen Analyse ergibt sich, daß die Dehnung der Erdschichten infolge der Aufwölbung des vulkanischen Gebirges nördlich von Bandoeng 20–40 mal größer ist als eine Ausdehnung, die nur durch die Aufbiegung selbst hervorgerufen worden wäre.Weiterhin zeigt sich, daß gleichzeitig mit dem Auseinandergleiten des aufgewölbten Gebietes eine Zusammenpressung der Schichten am Nordfuß des Tumors stattgefunden hat.Die Parallelisierung der Aufwölbung und der Bruchbildungen einerseits mit dem Zusammenschub und der Faltung am Fuße der Aufwölbung andererseits beruht hier nicht auf paläontologischer Grundlage, mit deren Hilfe die Grenzen auch im günstigsten Falle nicht genauer als auf etwa 10000 Jahre zu ziehen sind. Das gleichzeitige Nebeneinanderauftreten von Auseinanderschieben und Zusammenpressen kann hier mit viel größerer Genauigkeit bewiesen werden, weil eine unmittelbare Parallelisierung der Bewegungen mit Hilfe der Eruptionsgeschichte des Prahoevulkans möglich ist.Außerdem kann ein unmittelbarer Zusammenhang der Bruchnischen (B II) im zentralen Gebirge mit den Blattverschiebungen am Fuß beobachtet werden.     

Formal representation of qualitative direction

This paper reviews formal approaches to representing spatial knowledge about qualitative direction. Unlike geometric direction information, qualitative information does not employ numerical values but relies on comparison. The qualitative approach is often regarded as suitable for capturing commonsense concepts and thus is relevant to human-centered interfaces for spatial information systems. To establish a context for the work on qualitative direction, we preset a brief history of the development of qualitative temporal and spatial representations from different scientific perspectives. We identify main focal areas of these representations of spatial direction and propose a taxonomy. In the light of more than three decades of fruitful research, we obtain a map of formal representations that reveal interrelationships between different research strands in the field.     

Global impact of a climate treaty if the Human Development Index replaces GDP as a welfare proxy

This study explores the implications of shifting the narrative of climate policy evaluation from one of costs/benefits or economic growth to a message of improving social welfare. Focusing on the costs of mitigation and the associated impacts on gross domestic product (GDP) may translate into a widespread concern that a climate agreement will be very costly. This article considers the well-known Human Development Index (HDI) as an alternative criterion for judging the welfare effects of climate policy. We estimate what the maximum possible annual average increase in HDI welfare per tons of CO₂ would be within the carbon budget associated with limiting warming to 2°C over the period 2015–2050. Emission pathways are determined by a policy that allows the HDI of poor countries and their emissions to increase under a business-as-usual development path, while countries with a high HDI value (>0.8) have to restrain their emissions to ensure that the global temperature rise does not exceed 2°C. For comparison, the well-known multi-regional RICE model is used to assess GDP growth under the same climate change policy goals.

Policy relevance

This is the first study that shifts the narrative of climate policy evaluation from one of GDP growth to a message of improving social welfare, as captured by the HDI. This could make it easier for political leaders and climate negotiators to publicly commit themselves to ambitious carbon emission reduction goals, such as limiting global warming to 2°C, as in the (non-binding) agreement made at COP 21 in Paris in 2015. We find that if impacts are framed in terms of growth in HDI per t CO₂ emission per capita instead of in GDP, the HDI of poor countries and their emissions are allowed to increase under a business-as-usual development path, whereas countries with a high HDI (>0.8) must control emissions so that global temperature rise remains within 2°C. Importantly, a climate agreement is more attractive for rich countries under the HDI than the GDP frame. This is good news, as these countries have to make the major contribution to emissions reductions.     

Influence of the Surf Zone on the Marine Aerosol Concentration in a Coastal Area

Sea-salt aerosol concentrations in the coastal zone are assessed with the numerical aerosol-transport model MACMod that applies separate aerosol source functions for open ocean and the surf zone near the sea–land transition. Numerical simulations of the aerosol concentration as a function of offshore distance from the surf zone compare favourably with experimental data obtained during a surf-zone aerosol experiment in Duck, North Carolina in autumn 2007. Based on numerical simulations, the effect of variations in aerosol production (source strength) and transport conditions (wind speed, air–sea temperature difference), we show that the surf-zone aerosols are replaced by aerosols generated over the open ocean as the airmass advects out to sea. The contribution from the surf-generated aerosol is significant during high wind speeds and high wave events, and is significant up to 30 km away from the production zone. At low wind speeds, the oceanic component dominates, except within 1–5 km of the surf zone. Similar results are obtained for onshore flow, where no further sea-salt aerosol production occurs as the airmass advects out over land. The oceanic aerosols that are well-mixed throughout the boundary layer are then more efficiently transported inland than are the surf-generated aerosols, which are confined to the first few tens of metres above the surface, and are therefore also more susceptible to the type of surface (trees or grass) that determines the deposition velocity.     

Early Warning Signals for Regime Transition in the Stable Boundary Layer: A Model Study

The evening transition is investigated in an idealized model for the nocturnal boundary layer. From earlier studies it is known that the nocturnal boundary layer may manifest itself in two distinct regimes, depending on the ambient synoptic conditions: strong-wind or overcast conditions typically lead to weakly stable, turbulent nights; clear-sky and weak-wind conditions, on the other hand, lead to very stable, weakly turbulent conditions. Previously, the dynamical behaviour near the transition between these regimes was investigated in an idealized setting, relying on Monin–Obukhov (MO) similarity to describe turbulent transport. Here, we investigate a similar set-up, using direct numerical simulation; in contrast to MO-based models, this type of simulation does not need to rely on turbulence closure assumptions. We show that previous predictions are verified, but now independent of turbulence parametrizations. Also, it appears that a regime shift to the very stable state is signaled in advance by specific changes in the dynamics of the turbulent boundary layer. Here, we show how these changes may be used to infer a quantitative estimate of the transition point from the weakly stable boundary layer to the very stable boundary layer. In addition, it is shown that the idealized, nocturnal boundary-layer system shares important similarities with generic non-linear dynamical systems that exhibit critical transitions. Therefore, the presence of other, generic early warning signals is tested as well. Indeed, indications are found that such signals are present in stably stratified turbulent flows.     

The cosmic ray energy spectrum between 10 and 10 eV

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays with primary energies between 10¹⁴ eV and 10¹⁶ eV has been studied with the CASA-MIA air shower array. The measured differential energy spectrum is a power law (dj/dE ∝ E^−y) with spectral indices γ of 2.66±0.02 below approximately 10¹⁵ eV and 3.00±0.05 above. A new method is used for measuring primary energy derived from ground-based data in a compositionally insensitive way. In contrast with some previous reports, the “knee” of the energy spectrum does not appear sharp, but rather a smooth transition over energies from 10¹⁵ eV to 3.0 × 10¹⁵ eV.     

Monsters and babies from the first / iras survey

Radio continuum emission at cm wavelengths is relatively little affectedby extinction. When combined with far-infrared (FIR) surveys thisprovides for a convenient and unbiased method to select (radio-loud)AGN and starbursts deeply embedded in gas and dust–rich galaxies. Suchradio-selected FIR samples are useful for detailed investigations ofthe complex relationships between (radio) galaxy and starburst activity, and to determine whether ULIRGs are powered by hidden quasars (monsters) or young stars (babies).We present the results of a large program to obtain identifications andspectra of radio-selected, optically faint IRAS/FSC objects using theFIRST/VLA 20 cm survey (Becker, White and Helfand 1995). These objects are all radio-`quiet' in the sense that their radiopower / FIR luminosities follow the well-known radio/FIR relationshipfor star forming galaxies.We compare these results to a previous study by our group of a sampleof radio-`loud' IRAS/FSC ULIRGs selected from the Texas 365 MHzsurvey (Douglas etal. 1996). Many of these objects alsoshow evidence for dominant, A-type stellar populations, as well as highionization lines usually associated with AGN. These radio-loud ULIRGshave properties intermediate between those of starbursts and quasars,suggesting a possible evolutionary connection.Deep Keck spectroscopic observations of three ULIRGs from these samplesare presented, including high signal-to-noise spectropolarimetry.The polarimetry observations failed to show evidence of a hidden quasar inpolarized (scattered) light in the two systems in which the stellar lightwas dominated by A-type stars. Although observations of a larger samplewould be needed to allow a general conclusion, our current data suggestthat a large fraction of ULIRGs may be powered by luminous starbursts,not by hidden, luminous AGN (quasars).