Sedimentological parameters and erosion behaviour of submarine coastal sediments in the south-western Baltic Sea

The aim of this study was to evaluate the erodibility of submarine coastal sediments for the purpose of modelling sediment dynamics in Mecklenburg Bay, south-western Baltic Sea. Erosion thresholds derived from experiments with a device microcosm on cores of fine sand (n=5, mean grain size=132 µm) and mud (n=5, medium silt size, mean=21 µm), collected at different times of the year, were compared to theoretical critical shear stress velocities based on grain-size measurements. For this purpose, a sedimentological map of natural surface sediments was constructed for the study area. Calculated values for critical shear stress velocities (u* _{cr-Hjulström} ) are 1.2 cm s^?1 for fine sand, and 3.75 cm s^?1 for cohesive mud. At the mud station, erosion experiments showed an initial transport of the fluffy surface layer (u* _cr-initial ) at a mean critical shear stress velocity of 0.39 cm s^?1. Initial rolling transport at the fine sand station for single sand grains was recorded at values of 0.5 cm s^?1. At higher shear stress velocities, the two sediment types showed diverging erosion behaviour. Measurable erosion (ε>5.0×10^?6 kg m^?2 s^?1) of fine sand starts at a mean critical shear stress velocity (u* _cr-erosion ) of 1.15 cm s^?1 whereas fluffy surface material on mud cores was eroded at mean u* _cr-erosion of 0.62 cm s^?1. This indicates that measured erosion thresholds at the fine sand site fit well to calculated critical shear stress velocities whereas calculated erosion thresholds for cohesive mud are roughly 6 times higher than measured values. As erosion behaviour at the mud station was dominated by fluffy surface material, the comparability of measured and calculated threshold values may be reduced. The underlying silt-sized sediment itself was stable due to cohesive effects. This behaviour has to be taken into consideration by using sediment types instead of mean grain sizes for mapping and modelling sediment dynamics. A comparison of the near-bottom hydrodynamic conditions in the study area and experimentally derived critical shear stress velocities suggests that particle transport is controlled by storm events whereas under calm conditions shear stress velocities do not exceed the critical values.     

Biodegradation of NOM in Rapid Sand Filters for Removing Iron and Manganese

In order to examine the Corg flow in rapid sand filter columns for the elimination of iron and manganese, reduced groundwater was treated in a pilot plant consisting of a trickling filter column (TF I) followed by a wet type filter column (WF II) and a separate wet type filter column (WF sep). Additionally the effect of filtration on BOM was studied by measuring AOC and BDOC. The biological processes in TF I and WF sep led to an elimination of iron, ammonia, and manganese. Moreover, the filtration decreased the NOM content. 21% and 23% of the TOC were eliminated in TF I and in WF sep, respectively. WF II caused no significant Corg reduction. The calculation of the Corg flow in the filter columns showed that bacteria took part in the TOC elimination. From the TOC removed, about 24% was eliminated by metabolic activities of the bacterial population whereas 86% was adsorbed onto iron sludge. Similar results were obtained for the TF I column and for the WF sep column as well. The calculated Corg flow was confirmed by the BDOC measurements. The filtration process led to a BDOC decrease. TF I and WF sep reduced appoximately 35% of the biodegradable organic carbon. In contrast there was no significant elimination by WF II. The AOC results suggest that an AOC production and an AOC elimination process exist in rapid sand filters for groundwater treatment. In the trickling filter column significant AOC production was found, whereas in the wet type filter columns AOC elimination was predominating.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the vibrational properties of diaspore (α-AlOOH)

Vibrational properties of diaspore, α-AlOOH, have been re-investigated using room-temperature single-crystal Raman spectroscopy and low-temperature powder infrared (IR) transmission spectroscopy. First-principles harmonic calculations based on density functional theory provide a convincing assignment of the major Raman peaks and infrared absorption bands. The large width of the Raman band related to OH stretching modes is ascribed to mode–mode anharmonic coupling due to medium-strength H-bonding. Additional broadening in the powder IR spectrum arises from depolarization effects in powder particles. The temperature dependence of the IR spectrum provides a further insight into the anharmonic properties of diaspore. Based on their frequency and temperature behavior, narrow absorption features at ~2,000 cm⁻¹ and anti-resonance at ~2,966 cm⁻¹ in the IR spectrum are interpreted as overtones of fundamental bending bands.     

Meteorological effects on seasonal displacements of the ?knes rockslide, western Norway

In the alpine topography along one of the long fjords with steep and high mountain sides in western Norway the large ?knes rockslide area is defined by a distinct back scarp rising from 800 to 1,000 m a.s.l. In 2004, an extensive monitoring program started, including establishment of a meteorological station above the upper tension crack, 900 m a.s.l. This paper evaluates the significance of meteorological conditions affecting the displacements recorded by five extensometers and two laser sensors in the tension crack from November 2004 to August 2008. Meteorological factors of importance for the recorded activity in the tension crack are found to be melt water in spring and large temperature fluctuations around the freezing point in spring, autumn, and early winter. The records show less acceleration phases in the measured distance across the tension crack in the second half of the analyzed period even though annual displacements are increasing, indicating that other processes, like disintegration of irregularities along unfilled joints and disintegration of intact rock bridges in the sliding plane have become more important.     

New Isotopic data from davidites and sulfides in the bidjovagge gold-copper deposit,Finnmark, Northern Norway

Summary The Bidjovagge gold-copper deposit (69°17'N, 22°29'E) occurs in the north-south trending Proterozoic Kautokeino greenstone belt. The greenstone belt consists of shallow marine sediments and mafic to ultramafic volcanites, which are intruded by diabase sills and granitoids. The sequence can be correlated with the 1930 to 2200 Ma Kiruna greenstone belt. Svecokarelian intrusions took place in two phases between 1880–1890 Ma and between 1860-1870 Ma.The deposit occurs in the stratigraphically lower part of the belt along a north-south trending anticlinal structure on the border between greenschist and amphibolite grade metamorphism within the Baltic-Bothnia megashear zone. The deposit is related to shear zones and hosted by albitic felsite, a metasomatic rock formed along the contact with the diabase sills.The only ore minerals of economic significance are native gold and chalcopyrite. Other common ore minerals are pyrite and pyrrhotite. Marcasite, magnetite, ilmenite, hematite, tellurides, rutile, sphalerite, galena, davidite and pentlandite occur in accessory amounts. A total of 10 samples of davidite, 14 sulfides and 4 samples of albitic felsite were analyzed for their isotopic compositions. Our best estimate for the age of the davidites (1885 ± 18 Ma) is based on the upper intersection of a U/Pb concordia diagram and is identified as the time of davidite (and gold) mineralization. This age is confirmed by a Sm/Nd date of 1886 ± 88 Ma on the same material. At 1339 ± 8 Ma, a metamorphic or metasomatic event disturbed the U/Pb system in some of the davidite samples and completely reset the U/Pb ratios in the albitic felsites. The sulfide minerals, containing trace U and Pb, were strongly disturbed during galena formation at about 500–550 Ma but apparently were initially formed at the same time as, or shortly after, the davidite. Based on an estimated time of formation of galena during the development of the early Paleozoic peneplain in the area, the Pb/Pb data are interpreted as a two-stage isochron with an initial age of 1876 ± 15 Ma.The relation between the mineralization and shear zones, the correspondence between the age of the mineralization and the Svecokarelian orogeny and the initial ratios of the radiogenic isotopes of the ore forming solutions, all support a metamorphic/metasomatic origin for the gold and copper mineralization.

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Neue Isotopendaten von Davidit und Sulfiden aus der Bidjovagge Gold-Lagerstätte, Finnmark, N.-Norwegen

Zusammenfassung Die Bidjovagge Gold-Kupfer-Lagerstätte (69°17'N, 22°29'E) liegt in dem N-S streichenden proterozoischen Kautokeino Grüngesteinsgürtel. Er besteht aus marinen Flachwassersedimenten, sowie mafischen und ultramafischen Vulkaniten, die von Diabas-Sills und von Granitoiden intrudiert werden. Diese Gesteinsabfolge kann mit dem 1930–2200 Ma alten Kiruna Grüngesteinsgürtel verglichen werden. Sveko-karelische Intrusionen erfolgten zweiphasig, zwischen 1880–1890 Ma und zwischen 1860 und 1870 Ma.Die Lagerstätte liegt in den stratigraphisch tieferen Anteilen diese Grüngesteinsgürtel entlang einer N-S streichenden Antiklinalstruktur im Übergangsbereich zwischen der Grünschiefer und Amphibolitfazies innerhalb der baltisch-bothnischen Mega-Scherzone.Sie ist an Scherzonen und an Albit-Felsite, einem metasomatisch am Kontakt mit den Diabas-Sills gebildeten Gestein, gebunden.Gediegen Gold und Kupferkies sind die wirtschaftlich wichtigsten Erzminerale. Pyrit und Magnetkies sind häufig. Markasit, Magnetit, Ilmenit, Hämatit, Telluride, Rutil, Zinkblende, Bleiglanz, Davidit und Pentlandit kommen akzessorisch vor. 10 Proben von Davidit, 14 Sulfide und 4 Proben von den Albit-Felsiten wurden auf ihre Isotopenzusammensetzung hin untersucht.Der obere Schnittpukt im U/Pb Concordiadiagramm ergab die beste Altersabschätzung für die Davidite (1885 ± 18 Ma). Dieses Alter wird als Zeitpunkt der Davidit (und Gold)-Mineralisation betrachtet. Ein Sm/Nd-Alter von 1886 ± 88 Ma bestätigt dieses. Ein metamorphes oder metasomatisches Ereignis, datiert mit 1339 ± 8 Ma störte das U/Pb System in einigen Daviditproben und führte zu einer vollständigen Reequilibrierung der U/Pb Verhältnisse in den Albit-Felsiten. Die Isotopenverhältnisse der Sulfide, die Spuren von U und Pb enthalten, wurden während der Bildung von Bleiglanz um etwa 500–550 Ma ebenfalls massiv gestört; die Sulfide wurden aber offensichtlich gleichzeitig, oder aber kurz nach Davidit, gebildet. Basierend auf einer Abschätzung des Bleiglanz-Bildungsalters im Zuge der Entwicklung einer altpaläozoischen Peneplain in diesem Gebiet, werden die Pb/Pb Daten als Zweistufen-Isochrone mit einem Ursprungsalter von 1876 ± 15 Ma interpretiert.Die Bindung der Mineralisation an Scherzonen, die Übereinstimmung des Mineralisationsalters mit dem der Sveco-karelischen Orogenese und die Isotopeninitiale der erzbildenden Lösungen belegen einen metamorph/metasomatischen Ursprung der Gold-und Kupfervererzungen.

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With 9 Figures     

On recording sea surface elevation with accelerometer buoys: lessons from ITOP (2010)

Measurements of significant wave height are made routinely throughout the world’s oceans, but a record of the sea surface elevation (η) is rarely kept. This is mostly due to memory limitations on data, but also, it is thought that buoy measurements of sea surface elevation are not as accurate as wave gauges mounted on stationary platforms. Accurate records of η which contain rogue waves (defined here as an individual wave at least twice the significant wave height) are of great interest to scientists and engineers. Using field data, procedures for tilt correcting and double integrating accelerometer data to produce a consistent record of η are given in this study. The data in this study are from experimental buoys deployed in the recent Impact of Typhoons on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) field experiment which occurred in 2010. The statistics from the ITOP buoys is under that predicted by Rayleigh theory, but matches the distributions of Boccotti and others (Tayfun and Fedele) (Ocean Eng 34:1631-1649, 2007). Rogue waves were recorded throughout the experiment under various sea state conditions. Recommendations, as a result of lessons learned during ITOP, are made for the routine recording of η which may not add significantly to the existing data burden. The hope is that we might one day collect a worldwide database of rogue waves from the existing buoy network, which would progress our understanding of the rogue wave phenomenon and make work at sea safer.     

Diatom assemblage changes in lacustrine sediments from Isla de los Estados, southernmost South America, in response to shifts in the southwesterly wind belt during the last deglaciation

Isla de los Estados (54° 45′S, 63° 10′–64° 46′W) lies east of the main island of Tierra del Fuego and is the southeastern-most point in Argentina. Because of its geographic position near the latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies and the strong influence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), the area is suitable for paleoecological and paleoclimate research. The island is not far north of the Subantarctic Front, which limits the northern boundary of the ACC. Paleoenvironmental study in this geographic location can shed light on past changes in atmospheric and marine circulation patterns. Diatom analysis of the lower part of a sediment sequence from Laguna Cascada (54° 45′ 51.3′′S, 64° 20′ 20.07′′W) enabled inference of changing lake conditions between 16 and 11.1 cal ka BP. Between 16 and 14.4 cal ka BP fragilarioid diatom species, often a pioneer group, dominated the record. Their presence shows seasonally open-water conditions from the onset of sedimentation. In zone II (14.4–12.8 cal ka BP), the dominance of planktonic/tychoplanktonic Aulacoseira spp. might represent longer ice-free periods and windier conditions, which would have kept this heavy species suspended in the water column. This period corresponds to the Antarctic Cold Reversal, when the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies were possibly centered on the latitudes of Tierra del Fuego, resulting in windy and wet conditions. Zone III (12.8–11.1 cal ka BP) is dominated by benthic diatom taxa that are mainly associated with peat and wetland vegetation. This suggests that climate conditions had become milder and less windy, favoring aquatic productivity and terrestrial vegetation development. This change in environmental conditions may have been a consequence of the southward movement of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies at the start of the Antarctic Holocene thermal optimum.     

Modelling sensible and latent heat fluxes over sea during unstable,very close to neutral conditions

During slightly unstable but still very close to neutral conditions new results from two previous investigations have shown a significant increase of sensible and latent heat fluxes over the sea. The vertical heat transport during these conditions is dominated by detached eddies originating at the top of the boundary layer, bringing relatively cold and dry air to the surface. This effect can be described in numerical models by either enhanced heat transfer coefficients for sensible and latent heat (Stanton and Dalton numbers respectively) or with an additional roughness length, added to the original roughness lengths for heat and humidity. Such new expressions are developed using turbulence measurements from the Baltic Sea valid for wind speeds up to 14 m s⁻¹. The effect of including the increased heat fluxes is investigated using two different numerical models: a regional three-dimensional climate model covering northern Europe, and a process-oriented ocean model for the Baltic Sea. During periods of several days, the latent heat flux can be increased by as much as 100 W m⁻². The increase in sensible heat flux is significantly smaller since the process is only of importance in the very near-neutral regime where the sensible heat flux is very small. The long-term average effect over the Baltic Sea is of the order of several W m⁻².     

Trace element partitioning and melt structure: An experimental study at 1 atm pressure

Diopside-melt and forsterite-melt rare earth (REE) and Ni partition coefficients have been determined as a function of bulk compositions of the melt. Available Raman spectroscopic data have been used to determine the structures of the melts coexisting with diopside and forsterite. The compositional dependence of the partition coefficients is then related to the structural changes of the melt.The melts in all experiments have a ratio of nonbridging oxygens to tetrahedral cations ($\text{NBO}\text{T}$) between 1 and 0. The quenched melts consist of structural units that have, on the average, 2 (chain), 1 (sheet) and 0 (three-dimensional network) nonbridging oxygens per tetrahedral cation. The proportions of these structural units in the melts, as well as the overall $\text{NBO}\text{T}$, change as a function of the bulk composition of the melt.It has been found that Ce, Sm, Tm and Ni crystal-liquid partition coefficients ($\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{crystal?liq}}{}_{\mathrm{i}}\text{=}\text{C}{}^{\mathrm{crystal}}{}_{\mathrm{i}}\text{C}{}^{\mathrm{liq}}{}_{\mathrm{i}}$) decrease linearly with increasing $\text{NBO}\text{T}$. The values of the individual REE crystal-liquid trace element partition coefficients have different functional relations to $\text{NBO}\text{T}$, so that the degree of light REE enrichment of the melts would depend on their $\text{NBO}\text{T}$.The solution mechanisms of minor oxides such as CO₂, H₂O, TiO₂, P₂O₅ and Fe₂O₃ in silicate melts are known. These data have been recast as changes of $\text{NBO}\text{T}$ of the melts with regard to the type of oxide and its concentration in the melt. From such data the dependence of crystal-liquid partition coefficients on concentration and type of minor oxide in melt solution has been calculated.