Carboniferous–Permian volcanic evolution in Central Europe—U/Pb ages of volcanic rocks in Saxony (Germany) and northern Bohemia (Czech Republic)

Nine SHRIMP U/Pb ages on zircon and two Pb/Pb single zircon ages have been determined from Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks from Saxony and northern Bohemia. Samples came from the Teplice-Altenberg Volcanic Complex, the Meissen Volcanic Complex, the Chemnitz Basin, the Döhlen Basin, the Brandov-Olbernhau Basin, and the North Saxon Volcanic Complex. The Teplice-Altenberg Volcanic Complex is subdivided into an early Namurian phase (Mikulov Ignimbrite, 326.8 ± 4.3 Ma), thus older than assumed by previous studies, and a late caldera-forming phase (Teplice Ignimbrite, 308.8 ± 4.9 Ma). The age of the latter, however, is not well constrained due to a large population of inherited zircon and possible hydrothermal overprint. The Leutewitz Ignimbrite, product of an early explosive volcanic episode of the Meissen Volcanic Complex yielded an age of 302.9 ± 2.5 Ma (Stephanian A). Volcanic rocks intercalated in the Brandov-Olbernhau Basin (BOB, 302 ± 2.8 Ma), Chemnitz Basin (CB, 296.6 ± 3.0 Ma), Döhlen Basin (DB, 296 ± 3.0 Ma), and the North Saxon Volcanic Complex (NSVC, c. 300–290 Ma) yielded well-constrained Stephanian to Sakmarian ages. The largest Late Paleozoic ignimbrite-forming eruption in Central Europe, the Rochlitz Ignimbrite, has a well-defined middle Asselian age of 294.4 ± 1.8 Ma. Ages of palingenic zircon revealed that the Namurian-Westphalian magmatism assimilated larger amounts of crystalline basement that formed during previous Paleozoic geodynamic phases. The Precambrian inherited ages support the chronostratigraphic structure assumed for the Saxo-Thuringian Zone of the Variscan Orogen. The present results help to improve the chronostratigraphic allocation of the Late Paleozoic volcanic zones in Central Europe. At the same time, the radiometric ages have implications for the interbasinal correlation and for the geodynamic evolution of the Variscan Orogeny.     

Comparison of the Concentrations of Chemical Components in Cloudwater Samples Collected during Four Different Field Campaigns

In this study, the results of four different field experiments concerning the speciation of iron and the concentrations of some other chemical compounds in cloudwater samples are compared to one-another. Hydrogen peroxide concentrations were higher during campaigns, conducted at sites not much influenced by anthropogenic emissions as compared to those conducted at more polluted areas. In contrast, percentages of S(IV) in the cloudwater were lowest at the rural sites and highest at the sites polluted by human activities, indicating a consumption of hydrogen peroxide in the oxidation reaction with S(IV). The concentration of dissolved iron was observed to correlate with the percentage of S(IV), which may be an essential point for the reductive dissolution of oxidic iron compounds of the aerosol particles. As far as the speciation of the dissolved iron is concerned, it became obvious that the percentage of Fe(III) is anticorrelated to the concentration of dissolved iron. This clearly shows the important effect of the chemical and/or photo reductive ways of dissolving the iron(III)-compounds from the aerosol particles. However, a correlation between the pH-value and hydrogen peroxide was observed.     

BV and narrow-band observations of the eclipsing binary AM Leonis

Photometric observations obtained between 1977 and 1981 are reported. The period of AM Leo did not change during the last 20 years. Light curve variability was found to affect prominently the depths and shapes of the minima. The effects of the complications on broad and narrow band colour indices are discussed. Because of the complications element determinations of AM Leo seem to be reliable only with restrictions.     

Different Behavior of Iron(III) and Aluminum(III) Salts To Coagulate Silica Particle Suspension

The different coagulation‐flocculation behavior of iron(III) and aluminum(III) to coagulate silica particle suspension with four coagulants — FeCl₃, Fe₂(SO₄)₃, AlCl₃, and in our laboratory produced polyaluminum chloride PACl‐2.0 — was investigated through studying particle property changes and coagulation efficiency, for example, variations in zeta potential of particles, particle number, average particle diameter, particle size distribution, and residual turbidity of the supernatant water. Influences of flocculation intensity and pH value on the coagulation‐flocculation process were also studied. The results suggest that, under the test conditions, among these four coagulants FeCl₃ possesses an obviously stronger ability to form larger flocs and to remove turbidity, on the other hand, PACl‐2.0 obviously showed a better charge neutralization ability.     

An intercomparison between the GSWM, UARS, and ground based radar observations: a case-study in January 1993

The Global-Scale Wave Model (GSWM) is a steady-state two-dimensional linearized model capable of simulating the solar tides and planetary waves. In an effort to understand the capabilities and limitations of the GSWM throughout the upper mesosphere and thermosphere a comparative analysis with observational data is presented. A majority of the observational data used in this study was collected during the World Day campaign which ran from 20 January to 30 January 1993. During this campaign data from 18 ground-based observational sites across the globe and two instruments located on the UARS spacecraft were analyzed. Comparisons of these data with the simulations from the GSWM indicate that the GSWM results are in reasonable agreement with the observations. However, there are a number of cases where the agreement is not particularly good. One such instance is for the semidiurnal tide in the northern hemisphere, where the GSWM estimates may exceed observations by 50%. Through a number of numerical simulations, it appears that this discrepancy may be due to the eddy diffusivity profiles used by the GSWM. Other differences relating to the diurnal tide and the quasi-two-day wave are presented and discussed. Additionally, a discussion on the biases and aliasing difficulties which may arise in the observational data is alos presented.     

Gravity wave signatures at mesopause heights

The ALOMAR SOUSY Radar operated at 53.5 MHz has been used in a five-beam configuration to study dynamical processes at gravity wave periods in the summer polar mesosphere. A case study of a gravity wave with a period of about 9 min is presented and analysed in some detail. The three-dimensional wave number vector is determined from the phase information of the 9-min velocity oscillations obtained in all beam directions and all range gates. The horizontal wavelengths in the north and east direction are estimated to be about 60 and 50 km, respectively. The echo power variations, simultaneously observed at different beam pointing positions, are investigated using cross-correlation analysis. The results show that these wave-associated variations lead to horizontal and vertical deformation of the echoing layers. The horizontal wavelength in the north-south direction, derived from the echo power modification, is in good agreement with the one obtained from the velocity analysis.     

Remediation of heavy metal-contaminated sediments by solid-bed bioleaching

 Weisse Elster River sediment from the Leipzig Lowlands region (Saxony, Germany) is anthropogenically polluted by heavy metals. Sediment dredged from a trap to the south of Leipzig was characterized in detail. When freshly dredged sediment contacts air, the material turns acidic because of oxidation processes, the heavy metals become soluble and the sediment poses an environmental risk. We are therefore developing a sediment-treatment process based on heavy metal removal by bioleaching. Leaching experiments were carried out in suspension and in the solid bed. The heavy metals were solubilized to nearly the same extent by H₂SO₄ dosage (pure chemical extraction) and addition of elemental sulphur (microbial oxidation of S⁰ to H₂SO₄). With increasing dosage of the leaching agent, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu and Cr were more and more solubilized, whereas Pb was only dissolved in small amounts. The addition of 2% S⁰ is considered an optimum dosage. When 5% S⁰ was added to the sediment, the pH dropped to 1.76 and large amounts of undesirable compounds such as Ca, Al and Fe were solubilized. The higher the temperature, the faster the metals were solubilized in both suspension and the solid bed. The temperature optimum for activating the indigenous S⁰-oxidizing microbes of the sediment lies between 30 and 40  °C. Conditioning of freshly dredged sediment with plants makes it suitable for solid-bed leaching; the kinetics of heavy metal solubilization from sediment conditioned for 6 months with Phragmites australis was the same as from long-term stored sediment. Received: 26 November 1999 · Accepted: 5 May 2000     

Orbital interactions in phyllosilicates: Perturbations of an idealized two-dimensional,infinite silicate frame

The _∞ ² [Si₂O ₅ ²⁻ ] frame in phyllosilicate minerals is distorted through the rotation and tilting of the silicate tetrahedra and interacts with octahedral cations through its apical oxygens. Qualitative perturbation theory and extended Hückel band structure calculations demonstrate that rotation and tilting distortions of the _∞ ² [Si₂O ₅ ²⁻ ] frame have little influence on orbital interactions within the frame. The effects which are observed can be traced to next-nearestneighbor, oxygen-oxygen interactions. Analysis of band widths and crystal-orbital-overlap-populations demonstrate the importance of O(2s) orbitals in the silicate bond. Interactions between Si(3s, 3p) and O(2s) atomic orbitals account for about half of the bonding overlap in the Si-O bond. Crystal orbitals within the _∞ ² [Si₂O ₅ ²⁻ ] frame are perturbed in kaolinite, lizardite, pyrophyllite and talc through interactions of the apical oxygens with octahedrally coordinated Al(III) and Mg(II). These interactions appear to involve states that are non-bonding in an isolated frame, having little effect on the Si-O_apical bond while significantly reducing the apical-oxygen atomic population.