Desertification in the Butana

Within the project Morphodynamic Processes and Desertification of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, research has been carried out on the desertification of the Butana region in the Sahel of the Rep. of Sudan. The abolition of traditional rights of land use, with the resulting disorganized utilization of grazing lands and the self-generated sedentarization of many formerly nomadic groups, has led to a rapid desertification of the Butana, which was further accelerated by the droughts of the eighties. The combination of substratum and climatic conditions has diversified the extent of site degradation, with an accelerated development of dunes and badlands taking place due to severe vegetation transformation in areas with permanent water supply or with sandy soils.     

Spatial and temporal relations between auroral emission and cosmic noise absorption

An investigation has been made of the relation between auroral emission at λ5577 Å and the cosmic noise absorption using a new technique. A photometer and the antenna of a riometer were mounted on a 60 m long rotating antenna boom which had a speed of 1 rev per 3 min. The instruments were directed at an elevation angle of 45°. From the analysis of several break-ups of the aurora it has been found that during a period of 15–20 min in the middle of a break-up there may be an increase of the absorption by a factor 2 to 4 which does not correspond to a similar increase of the auroral emission. These changes in the emission-absorption ratio has been interpreted as peaks in the energy spectrum of the incoming particles. The structures of auroral emission and auroral absorption are sometimes very similar over periods of hours and the appearance of the structure is usually in the form of an east-west oriented arc. The cross correlation coefficient may be as high as 0·9 during these events over long periods of time. However, a number of exceptional cases have appeared where little structure was found in the riometer record while the photometer showed structure and vice versa.     

The metamorphic evolution of migmatites from the Ötztal Complex (Tyrol,Austria) and constraints on the timing of the pre-Variscan high-T event in the Eastern Alps

Within the Ötztal Complex (ÖC), migmatites are the only geological evidence of the pre-Variscan metamorphic evolution, which led to the occurrence of partial anatexis in different areas of the complex. We investigated migmatites from three localities in the ÖC, the Winnebach migmatite in the central part and the Verpeil- and Nauderer Gaisloch migmatite in the western part. We determined metamorphic stages using textural relations and electron microprobe analyses. Furthermore, chemical microprobe ages of monazites were obtained in order to associate the inferred stages of mineral growth to metamorphic events. All three migmatites show evidence for a polymetamorphic evolution (pre-Variscan, Variscan) and only the Winnebach migmatite shows evidence for a P-accentuated Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint in the central ÖC. The P-T data range from 670–750 °C and < 2.8 kbar for the pre-Variscan event, 550–650 °C and 4–7 kbar for the Variscan event and 430–490 °C and ca. 8.5 kbar for the P-accentuated Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint. U-Th-Pb electron microprobe dating of monazites from the leucosomes from all three migmatites provides an average age of 441 ± 18 Ma, thus indicating a pervasive Ordovician-Silurian metamorphic event in the ÖC.     

反演寿县TMI微波频率的地表比辐射率(英)

利用一个微波辐射传输模式,晴天下的大气探测廓线,地面的部分观测资料以及卫星观测的亮温,计算了淮河流域能量和水循环实验(HUBEX)中,寿县地区的热带降雨观测卫星微波成像仪(TRMM/TMI)微波频率的地表比辐射率。通过比较所计算的微波地表比辐射率随地表状况的改变,发现地表微波比辐射率随地表状况的变化存在敏感性,并且其变化是合理的。本文中,地表肤温设定等于地表空气温度,并且仅计算了寿县的地表比辐射率,在HUBEX区域上的地表比辐射率的计算需要更多的观测资料。     

Zur Raumlage und Form von Scherbrüchen — Betrachtungen am Mohrschen Spannungskreis

Zusammenfassung Die Orientierung und die Form von Bruchstrukturen sind abhängig von den jeweils wirksamen Spannungsrandbedingungen und den Materialeigenschaften des Gesteins, die das Bruchverhalten makroskopisch charakterisieren. Die im Gelände zu beobachtende Vielfalt der Lage und Geometrie von Bruchstrukturen wird hier als Funktion der veränderlichen Randbedingungen und Materialparameter betrachtet. Die Bedeutung der einzelnen Faktoren wird mit Hilfe des Mohrschen Spannungskreises qualitativ bestimmt.

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Summary Orientation and geometry of faults depend critically on the stress state and the material properties of the rock that is being deformed. I consider here the variation in orientation and geometry of faults as observed in the field and in experiments, as a function of boundary conditions and material parameters. With a simple Mohr circle construction it is possible to study the influence of these parameters qualitatively.

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Résumé L'orientation et la géométrie des failles dépend de l'état de contrainte et des propriétés de matériau de la roche affectée. Je considère que les changements d'orientation et de géométrie des failles, que l'on observe sur le terrain et dans les expériences, sont fonction des conditions aux limites et des paramètres du matériau. L'utilisation du simple diagramme de Mohr permet d'étudier qualitativement l'influence de ces paramètres.

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Fe,Ti ordering and octahedral distortions in acentric neptunite: Temperature dependent X-ray and neutron structure refinements and Mössbauer spectroscopy

Single-crystal X-ray and neutron structure refinements carried out on neptunite (KNa₂Li(Fe, Mg, Mn)₂Ti₂Si₈O₂₄) from San Benito, California at various temperatures (neutrons: 15 K and 293 K; X-rays: 110 K, 293 K and 493 K) indicate that this mineral crystallizes in the acentric space group Cc (T=293K: a=16.427 Å, b=12.478 Å, c=9.975 Å, = 115.56°, Z=4, V=1844.53 ų) due to ordering of octahedrally coordinated metals (Ti, Fe, Mn, Mg). In the neptunite structure, Ti and (Fe, Mn, Mg) octahedra share edges to form chains that run along [110] and [110]. These chains are, in turn, linked through shared corners along [001]. The resulting octahedral framework is interwoven by a similar [Si₈O₂₂] tetrahedral framework. Li, Na and K occupy 6-, 8- and 10- coordinated sites within the framework. The metal-containing polyhedra show strong distortions at all temperatures. In particular, Ti exhibits a strong off-center displacement (0.25 Å) within its octahedron, leading to four Ti-O distances of 2.0 Å, one of 2.2 Å and one of 1.7 Å. The displaced Ti position is in good agreement with a position that minimizes differences between ionic bond strengths and is interpreted as an energy minimum in an ionic potential model. Mössbauer spectra collected at 77 K, 293 K and 400 K indicate all Fe to be present as octahedral Fe²⁺. Although two distinct Fe positions were found in the structure, 77 K and 293 K spectra display only one quadrupole doublet. Two Fe sites can only be resolved in the 400 K spectrum. It is suggested that the temperature dependence of octahedral edge distortions is responsible for the separation of the Mössbauer doublets.     

Die Grroßgliederung des atlantischen Tiefseebodens

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Wave characteristic distributions for Gaussian waves—Wave-length, amplitude and steepness

In as tationary stochastic process the wave-length and amplitude are defined as the difference in time and height between a crest and the following trough. The distributions of these quantities are of great practical importance, but no closed form expressions are known at present. In previous papers we have presented an approximation which gives correct upper and lower bounds, regardless of the covariance structure under Gaussian assumptions. In this paper the suggested approximations are compared to two simpler approximations, one due to Cavanié et al. (1976) based on a cosine process and a new one, derived by replacing the model process by its regression curve.     

The lifetime of ice particles in the solar system

A new technique for the measurement of the sublimation rate of individual ice particles is described. With this technique experimental data obtained under simulated space conditions agree with the values computed from scattering theory. It is shown that under solar illumination the sublimation rate of water ice particles is most sensitively influenced by the absorption properties of ice in the near-infrared region. A comparison of experimental results and results calculated with the use of different choices for the complex index of refraction establishes a preference for the published data by J. E. Bertie, H. J. Labbe, and E. Whalley [J. Chem. Phys. 50, 4501–4520 (1969)]. Using these data the lifetimes of ice particles have been computed as a function of particle radius for solar distances of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 AU. If these results are applied to ice particle distributions, the distributions become drastically compressed and a quasi-stable particle radius of the order of 15 μm can be predicted for any solar distance.     

Vergleichende geochemische Untersuchungen an ost- und südalpinen Graniten,Granodioriten und Tonaliten

Zusammenfassung Im Anschluß an vergleichende Untersuchungen Karls (1959) zur Petrographie und chemischen Zusammensetzung metamorpher Tonalite nördlich des Alpenhauptkammes und nichtmetamorpher Intrusivgesteine des Periadriatischen Bogens wurden für geochemische Untersuchungen insgesamt 113 Gesteinsproben aus beiden Gebieten entnommen.Diese wurden auf folgende Hauptbestandteile: SiO₂, Fe ges. (als Fe₂O₃), CaO, MgO, Na₂O und K₂O sowie die Spurenelemente: Zn, Co, Ni, V, Cr, Sr, Pb (ferner Cu, Sn und Be) untersucht.Getrennt für beide Gesteinsgruppen wurden aus den Analysendaten die statistischen Mittelwerte und deren Standardabweichungen für die einzelnen Elemente berechnet.Beide Gruppen stimmen innerhalb der Standard-Abweichungen weitgehend überein, d. h. die metamorphen Tonalite der Nord-Gruppe entsprechen bezüglich der gefundenen Spurenelementgehalte den nichtmetamorphen periadriatischen Intrusivgesteinen der Süd-Gruppe. Eine Ausnahme bilden Co und Ni, die in der Nord-Gruppe deutlich höher liegen.Eine Beeinflussung des Spurenelementhaushaltes in den Gesteinen der Nord-Gruppe durch die Metamorphose (Tauernkristallisation) läßt sich nicht folgern. Die Co- und Ni-Gehalte müssen im Norden primär höher gewesen sein, denn die hier gegebenen Mittelwerte der Spurenelemente zeigen im Vergleich mit Werten aus Datensammlungen gute Übereinstimmung und deuten auf ein der Norm saurer Intrusiva entsprechendes geochemisches Milieu hin. Nur das Pb weicht mit erhöhten Werten von der Norm ab. Auch Grohmann (1965) gibt in Analysen vergleichbarer ostalpiner Gesteine erhöhte Pb-Gehalte an.Aus dem stofflich konservativen Verlauf der Tauernkristallisation wird ersichtlich, daß die Bildung der alpinen Lagerstätten dieses Raumes nicht auf die Metamorphose bezogen werden kann.

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Following the comparative studies of Karl (1959) regarding the petrography and the chemical composition both of metamorphic tonalites in the north of the Alpen main ridge and the neighbouring nonmetamorphic periadriatic plutonic rocks in the south, 113 samples were taken from both areas for geochemical investigations. They have been analysed for the following main components: SiO₂, Fe₂O₃ (total Fe), CaO, MgO, Na₂O, and K₂O as well as for the trace elements Zn, Co, Ni, V, Cr, Sr, Pb, and also Cu, Sn, and Be.The arithmetic means of the analytical data have been calculated separately for the different elements inside both groups. Within the standard deviations the two groups agree with each other, except for Co and Ni, which have distinctive higher values in the Northern group. The dominant conformity of both groups indicates that the trace element content of the Northern group was not changed by the Tauern metamorphism. The contents of Co and Ni must have been primarily higher in the north.Comparisons with corresponding data of trace element contents given in diverse geochemical tables agree well with the values of means given here. Only Pb deviates with higher values from the standard content of acid plutonic rocks. This is in accordance with the results of Grohmann (1965), who also found higher values of Pb in comparative plutonic rocks of the Eastern Alpen mountains.

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Unser Dank gilt der Bundesanstalt für Bodenforschung, Hannover, namentlich Herrn Prof. Dr. H. J. Martini und Herrn Prof. Dr. H. R. v. Gaertner, ferner der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bad Godesberg, für die Förderung unserer Arbeit.Herrn Dr. H. Fesser, Bundesanstalt für Bodenforschung, danken wir für die Durchführung spektrographischer Untersuchungen, Frau M. Elstner für Fleiß und Sorgfalt bei den chemischen Arbeiten.