Lightning fatalities in Australia, 1824–1991

Information on fatalities from lightning strikes has been extracted from a specially compiled database on natural hazards in Australia. Records dating from 1803–1991 indicate that at least 650 persons have been killed by lightning strikes. Maps and charts show the percentages of victims with respect to age, sex, locality, activity, and other circumstances of the strike. The majority of the 650 fatalities recorded have occurred along the more populous southeastern coast. The overall death rate, from 1910–1989, is 0.08 per 100 000 population. The annual number of lightning fatalities has decreased with time, from a death rate of 0.21 in 1910–1919 to 0.01 in 1980–1989. This trend is more pronounced when population figures are taken into account. The group that has been most at risk in Australia is that of males aged 15–19, followed by males aged 20–34. The male:female ratio of victims has decreased with time but is not approaching equality, being 11.6 in 1910–1919 and 5.3 in 1980–1989. The diurnal and monthly occurrences of lightning fatalities peak at 12.00–18.00 hours and November-February respectively. About 86% of fatalities have occurred outdoors and 14% have occurred indoors. Approximately three-fifths of fatalities have been work-related, and the group of workers that has traditionally been most at risk is that of land-workers. Approximately one-fifth of fatalities have been recreation-related, although this proportion has been increasing with time. The recreational activities of water sports, golf, and cricket have had the greatest number of lightning fatalities. Comparisons are made between these data and the results of other similar studies, both in Australia and overseas.     

Processing and quality control of flux data during LITFASS-2003

Different aspects of the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of micrometeorological measurements were combined to create a comprehensive algorithm which was then applied to experimental data from LITFASS-2003 (Lindenberg Inhomogeneous Terrain—Fluxes between Atmosphere and Surface: a long term Study). Eddy-covariance measurements of the latent heat flux were the main focus of the QA/QC efforts. The results of a turbulence sensor intercomparison experiment showed deviations between the different eddy-covariance systems on the order of 15%, or less than 30 W m⁻², for the latent heat flux and 5%, or less than 10 W m⁻², for the sensible heat flux. In order to avoid uncertainties due to the post-processing of turbulence data, a comprehensive software package was used for the analysis of experimental data from LITFASS-2003, including all necessary procedures for corrections and quality control. An overview of the quality test results shows that for most of the days more than 80% of the available latent heat flux data are of high quality so long as there are no instrumental problems. The representativeness of a flux value for the target land-use type was analysed using a stochastic footprint model. Different methods to calculate soil heat fluxes at the surface are discussed and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to select the most robust method for LITFASS-2003. The lack of energy balance closure, which was found for LITFASS-2003, can probably be attributed to the presence of low-frequency flux contributions that cannot be resolved with an averaging time of 30 min. Though the QA/QC system has been developed for the requirements of LITFASS-2003, it can also be applied to other experiments dealing with similar objectives.     

High‐Resolution Photography for Soil Micromorphology Slide Documentation

It is common practice today in soil micromorphology to scan slides with a flatbed scanner for slide documentation as well as for mesoscopic scale observation. However, the imagery produced by flatbed scanners often results in boundaries becoming diffuse when zooming in, a side effect of the continuously changing refraction of light caused by the moving scan head. This can be restricting or even unsatisfactory to specialists who rely on such imagery and while alternatives exist, their availability or suitability is not always guaranteed. This paper describes two variations on a static high‐resolution image acquisition method using a professional camera and common attributes of a standard photography studio. Minor postphotography processing too can be done with commonly used software packages. The presented method results in pictures with a resolution of 36 million pixels per image, providing high enough quality and resolution (approximately 4200 dpi) to allow the soil micromorphology practitioner to navigate the entire mesoscopic spectrum and as such offers a continuum of observation from the macroscopic scale to the optical microscopic observation at low (40×) magnification.     

Impact of climate and CO2 on a millennium-long tree-ring carbon isotope record

We present one millennium-long (1171-year), and three 100 year long annually resolved δ¹³C tree-ring chronologies from ecologically varying Juniperus stands in the Karakorum Mountains (northern Pakistan), and evaluate their response to climatic and atmospheric CO₂ changes. All δ¹³C records show a gradual decrease since the beginning of the 19th century, which is commonly associated with a depletion of atmospheric δ¹³C due to fossil fuel burning. Climate calibration of high-frequency δ¹³C variations indicates a pronounced summer temperature signal for all sites. The low-frequency component of the same records, however, deviates from long-term temperature trends, even after correction for changes in anthropogenic CO₂. We hypothesize that these high-elevation trees show a response to both climate and elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration and the latter might explain the offset with target temperature data. We applied several corrections to tree-ring δ¹³C records, considering a range of potential CO₂ discrimination changes over the past 150 years and calculated the goodness of fit with the target via calibration/verification tests (R², residual trend, and Durbin-Watson statistics). These tests revealed that at our sites, carbon isotope fixation on longer timescales is affected by increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations at a discrimination rate of about 0.012‰/ppmv. Although this statistically derived value may be site related, our findings have implications for the interpretation of any long-term trends in climate reconstructions using tree-ring δ¹³C, as we demonstrate with our millennium-long δ¹³C Karakorum record. While we find indications for warmth during the Medieval Warm Period (higher than today’s mean summer temperature), we also show that the low-frequency temperature pattern critically depends on the correction applied. Patterns of long-term climate variation, including the Medieval Warm Period, the Little Ice Age, and 20th century warmth are most similar to existing evidence when a strong influence of increased atmospheric CO₂ on plant physiology is assumed.     

The dissolved Beryllium isotope composition of the Arctic Ocean

We present the first comprehensive set of dissolved ¹⁰Be and ⁹Be concentrations in surface waters and vertical profiles of all major sub-basins of the Arctic Ocean, which are complemented by data from the major Arctic rivers Mackenzie, Lena, Yenisey and Ob. The results show that ¹⁰Be and ⁹Be concentrations in waters below 150 m depth are low and only vary within a factor of 2 throughout the Arctic Basin (350-750 atoms/g and 9-15 pmol/kg, respectively). In marked contrast, Be isotope compositions in the upper 150 m are highly variable and show systematic variations. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be concentrations range from 150 to 1000 atoms/g and concentrations of terrigenous ⁹Be range from 7 to 65 pmol/kg, resulting in ¹⁰Be/⁹Be ratios (atom/atom) between 0.5 and 14 × 10⁻⁸. Inflowing Atlantic water masses in the Eurasian Basin are characterized by a ¹⁰Be/⁹Be signature of 7 × 10⁻⁸. The inflow of Pacific water masses across the Bering Strait is characterized by lower ratios of 2-3 × 10⁻⁸, which can be traced into the central Arctic Ocean, possibly as far as the Fram Strait. A comparison of the high dissolved surface ¹⁰Be and ⁹Be concentrations (corresponding to low ¹⁰Be/⁹Be signatures of ∼2 × 10⁻⁸) in the Eurasian Basin with hydrographic parameters and river data documents efficient and rapid transport of Be with Siberian river waters across the Siberian Arctic shelves into the central Arctic Basin, although significant loss and exchange of Be on the shelves occurs. In contrast, fresh surface waters from the Canada Basin also show high cosmogenic ¹⁰Be contents, but are not enriched in terrigenous ⁹Be (resulting in high ¹⁰Be/⁹Be signatures of up to 14 × 10⁻⁸). This is explained by a combination of efficient scavenging of Be in the Mackenzie River estuary and the shelves and additional supply of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be via atmospheric fallout and melting of old sea ice. The residence time of Be in the deep Arctic Ocean estimated from our data is 800 years and thus similar to the average Be residence time in the global ocean.     

Gold partitioning in melt-vapor-brine systems

We used laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to measure the solubility of gold in synthetic sulfur-free vapor and brine fluid inclusions in a vapor + brine + haplogranite + magnetite + gold metal assemblage. Experiments were conducted at 800°C, oxygen fugacity buffered at Ni-NiO (NNO), and pressures ranging from 110 to 145 MPa. The wt% NaCl eq. of vapor increases from 2.3 to 19 and that of brine decreases from 57 to 35 with increasing pressure. The composition of the vapors and brines are dominated by NaCl + KCl + FeCl₂ + H₂O. Gold concentrations in vapor and brine decrease from 36 to 5 and 50 to 28 μg/g, respectively, and the calculated vapor:brine partition coefficients for gold decrease from 0.72 to 0.17 as pressure decreases from 145 to 110 MPa. These data are consistent with the thermodynamic boundary condition that the concentration of gold in the vapor and brine must approach a common value as the critical pressure is approached along the 800°C isotherm in the NaCl-KCl-FeCl₂-HCl-H₂O system.We use the equilibrium constant for gold dissolution as AuOH⁰, extrapolated from lower temperature and overlapping pressure range, to calculate expected concentrations of AuOH⁰ in our experimental vapors. These calculations suggest that a significant quantity of gold in our experimental vapors is present as a non-hydroxide species. Possible chloridogold(I) species are hypothesized based on the positively correlated gold and chloride concentrations in our experimental vapors. The absolute concentration of gold in our synthetic vapor, brine, and melt and calculated mass partition coefficients for gold between these physicochemically distinct magmatic phases suggests that gold solubility in aqueous fluids is a function of aqueous phase salinity, specifically total chloride concentration, at magmatic conditions. However, though we highlight here the effect of salinity, the combination of our data with data sets from lower temperatures evinces a significant decrease in gold solubility as temperature drops from 800°C to 600°C. This decrease in solubility has implications for gold deposition from ascending magmatic fluids.     

Coupling hydrogeological with surface runoff model in a Poltva case study in Western Ukraine

This paper presents the hydrological coupling of the software framework OpenGeoSys (OGS) with the EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). Conceptual models include the Saint Venant equation for river flow, the 2D Darcy equations for confined and unconfined groundwater flow, a two-way hydrological coupling flux in a compartment coupling approach (conductance concept), and Lagrangian particles for solute transport in the river course. A SWMM river–OGS aquifer inter-compartment coupling flux is examined for discharging groundwater in a systematic parameter sensitivity analysis. The parameter study involves a small perturbation (first-order) sensitivity analysis and is performed for a synthetic test example base-by-base through a comprehensive range of aquifer parametrizations. Through parametrization, the test cases enables to determine the leakance parameter for simulating streambed clogging and non-ocillatory river-aquifer water exchange rates with the sequential (partitioned) coupling scheme. The implementation is further tested with a hypothetical but realistic 1D river–2D aquifer model of the Poltva catchment, where discharging groundwater in the upland area affects the river–aquifer coupling fluxes downstream in the river course (propagating feedbacks). Groundwater contribution in the moving river water is numerically determined with Lagrangian particles. A numerical experiment demonstrates that the integrated river–aquifer model is a serviceable and realistic constituent in a complete compartment model of the Poltva catchment.     

Trace element compositions of submicroscopic inclusions in coated diamond: A tool for understanding diamond petrogenesis

Trace element compositions of submicroscopic inclusions in both the core and the coat of five coated diamonds from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire) have been analyzed by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Mass Plasma Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Both the diamond core and coat inclusions show a general 2-4-fold enrichment in incompatible elements relative to major elements. This level of enrichment is unlikely to be explained by the entrapment of silicate mantle minerals (olivine, garnet, clinopyroxene, phlogopite) alone and thus submicroscopic fluid or glass inclusions are inferred in both the diamond coat and in the gem quality diamond core. The diamond core fluids have elevated High Field Strength Element (Ti, Ta, Zr, Nb) concentrations and are enriched in U relative to inclusions in the diamond coats and relative to chondrite. The core fluids are also moderately enriched in LILE (Ba, Sr, K). Therefore, we suggest that the diamond cores contain inclusions of silicate melt. However, the Ni content and Ni/Fe ratio of the trapped fluid are very high for a silicate melt in equilibrium with mantle minerals; high Ni and Co concentrations in the diamond cores are attributed to the presence of a sulfide phase coexisting with silicate melt in the diamond core inclusions. Inclusions in the diamond coat are enriched in LILE (U, Ba, Sr, K) and La over the diamond core fluids and to chondrite. The coats have incompatible element ratios similar to natural carbonatite (coat fluid: Na/Ba ≈0.66, La/Ta≈130). The coat fluid is also moderately enriched in HFSE (Ta, Nb, Zr) when normalized to chondritic Al. LILE and La enrichment is related to the presence of a carbonatitic fluid in the diamond coat inclusions, which is mixed with a HFSE-rich hydrous silicate fluid similar to that in the core. The composition of the coat fluid is consistent with a genetic link to group 1 kimberlite.     

A new technique for precise uranium-series dating of travertine micro-samples

Secondary carbonate formations, such as travertine and calcareous tufa deposits, are important archives for quaternary continental climate studies and archaeology. The extremely complex growth mechanisms result in some serious problems for precise mass spectrometric uranium-series dating. Often, detrital and organic particles contaminate the carbonate and large pore volumes yield a great potential for open system behavior. We utilized microscopic, mineralogical and geochemical methods prior to sample selection to determine the abundance of primary calcite, i.e. micrite and spar. Furthermore, the state of alteration was characterized by cathodoluminescence and trace-element analysis. We conclude that travertine and calcareous tufa are appropriate for precise U-series age determination if a) micrite and/or spar are the dominant phases; b) cathodoluminescence of both phases is weak or absent; c) Fe and Al levels are low; and d) Sr concentrations are close to the average of the studied site. We mapped and sampled solely areas of major micrite/spar abundance having minor alteration for accurate U-series dating. When this new method was applied, travertines located in eastern Germany (sites Bad Langensalza, Burgtonna and Weimar-Ehringsdorf) gave single ²³⁰Th/²³⁸U-ages consistent with the lithological growth sequence and greatly improved compared to previously published chronologies. In addition, we determined ²³⁰Th/U isochron ages on bulk samples that confirm our single ages. In contrast to primary calcite, pore cements are homogeneously distributed throughout the travertine fabric and reflect early diagenetic processes and/or weathering.     

The early Caledonian (Finnmarkian) event reassessed in Finnmark: Ar/Ar cleavage age data from NW Varangerhalvøya, N. Norway

The relative significance of early (Finnmarkian) and late (Scandian) Caledonian deformation in N. Norway is uncertain. Early studies suggested pervasive Finnmarkian deformation whilst later results indicated a restricted Finnmarkian domain. The present work suggests it was more widespread than accepted and that inter Finnmarkian–Scandian deformation occurred. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of 2–6 and 6–11 μm pelitic fractions from the lower to mid-greenschist facies Tanahorn Nappe (five samples; base Middle Allochthon) and the epizone Løkvikfjellet and Barents Sea Groups (three samples; North Varanger Region) in the north Scandinavian Caledonides show slightly discordant spectra. Most spectra from the Tanahorn Nappe preserve possible evidence of an early Caledonian event in the high temperature steps, with recoil/excess Ar effects in the low temperature steps; no pre-Caledonian relict component has been recorded. The results indicate Finnmarkian deformation continued to 460 Ma, with Scandian reactivation at 425–415 Ma. From the North Varanger Region, a strongly crenulated sample yielded plateau ages (444–442 Ma); means of combined young steps from weakly to uncrenulated samples gave 470–450 Ma, suggesting penetrative strike-slip deformation occurred in the late Finnmarkian to inter-Finnmarkian–Scandian period. No Scandian ages were recorded in the North Varanger Region. Reassessment of published data from the Laksefjord Nappe and Gaissa Thrust Belt suggests they were affected by Finnmarkian deformation.