The 2005 Heidelberg and Speyer earthquakes and their relationship to active tectonics in the central Upper Rhine Graben

We determine the source parameters of three minor earthquakes in the Upper Rhine Graben (URG), a Cenozoic rift, using waveforms from permanent and temporary seismological stations. Two shallow thrust-faulting events (M _L = 2.4 and 1.5) occurred on the rift shoulder just south of Heidelberg in March 2005. They indicate a possible movement along the sediment–crystalline interface due to tectonic loading from the near-by Odenwald. In February 2005, an earthquake with a normal-faulting mechanism occurred north of Speyer. This event (M _L = 2.8) had an unusual depth of about 22 km and a similar deep normal-faulting event occurred there in 1972 (M _L = 3.2). Other lower crustal events without fault plane solutions are known from 1981 and 1983. At such a depth, inside the lower crust, ductile behaviour instead of brittle faulting is commonly assumed and used for geodynamic modelling. Based on the newly available fault plane solutions we can confirm the brittle, extensional regime in the upper and lower crust in the central to northern URG indicated in earlier studies.     

Discussion of simple stability criteria for stars with central helium burning

The validity of simple stability criteria for stars with central He-burning used in earlier papers is investigated. The determinant of secular stability for σ=0 is related to quantities defined as far as possible at the surface of the He-core and at the bottom of the envelope. This relation is used to discuss the validity of two intuitive criteria for secular stability.     

A review of the Irish crustal structure and signatures from the Caledonian and Variscan Orogenies

This paper reviews the complex crustal and upper-mantle seismic velocity structure of Ireland and surrounding seas. Data from 11 seismic refraction profiles reveal that onshore Ireland mean crustal velocities range between 6.25 and 6.5 km s⁻¹ with crustal thickness of 28.5–32 km. Superimposed on a three-layer crust, the sedimentary layer has a thickness of approximately 6–8 km at the southern coastline, but only 3–4 km in the vicinity of the Shannon Estuary in western Ireland. The lateral heterogeneity of the upper-crustal layer is pervasive throughout Ireland, with velocities of 5.7–6.2 km s⁻¹ and a layer thickness of 3–10 km. A low-velocity zone is found in the south-east which is interpreted as the buried south-western extension of the Leinster Granite. The mid-crustal layer (6.3–6.7 km s⁻¹) is between 8 and 16 km thick. Significant changes occur in the vicinity of the Shannon Estuary, around the location of the Iapetus Suture Zone. The lower crust is fairly uniform with velocities of 6.8–7.2 km s⁻¹ and a thickness of approximately 8–10 km except towards the south of Ireland where the Moho appears as a transition zone. Offshore Ireland, a two-layer crust with a thickness of 24–26 km beneath the North Celtic Sea Basin and only 14–15 km beneath the Rockall Trough prevails.     

Ecological and agricultural productivity indices and their dynamics in a sub-humid/semi-arid region from central Mexico

Using precipitation data from a semi-arid region in the highlands of central Mexico, historical values of productivity are assessed. Production models based on climatic indices are discussed. An empirical rain simulation equation shows that it is possible to reproduce the expected values of productivity from observed ecosystems and agricultural yields. A graphical method is proposed to estimate intrinsic growth rate and maximum sustainable yield. Spatial rainfall variability induced by orographic effects, introduces a chaotic semicyclic behavior as expected in a logistic simulation equation. Resilience and predictable drought-productivity tendencies can also be derived from this model.     

Mercury in soil from the area of Dayton,Ohio

Mercury concentrations in “A-zone” soil from seventeen urban, suburban, and rural town locations in the area of Dayton, Ohio range from 0.24 to 1.50 ppm. A positive correlation is indicated between the mercury concentrations and the amount of fallout of settleable particulate matter from the air at these sites. Airborne pollution may be an important source of the element in Dayton area soils.     

Tourism in the Arabian Gulf Region — Present situation,chances and restraints

Tourism in the Arab Gulf countries is Third-World tourism in a way. Yet the countries do not depend on the cash-flow involved. Manpower needed is provided by expatriates and social or cultural impacts are minimal as society already is international in character. Moreover existing and idle hotel-capacities can be used. In the end introducing international tourism into the Gulf-countries is an organizational problem only.Due to physical limitations and, partially, lacking scenic or cultural attractions it is unlikely that the Gulf Countries shall be flooded by mass-tourism. Therefore the restrictive attitude of some governments is not really justified. With proper management a cautious opening is advocated. It might help for a better understanding of this part of the world.     

Geomorphic response to minor cyclic climate changes, San Diego County, California

Short-term episodic cycles of wet and dry patterns of climate are common in southern California. Wet intervals, like the one in 1978-83, are often characterized by more than double the average annual precipitation. The impact of these episodic climatic fluctuations on landforms and surficial processes has not been well documented for areas inland of the coast. The response to these cycles may be significant in the evolution of hillslopes and fluvial landforms, and may have significant implications for geologic hazards in this rapidly developing region.Using aerial photographs and field investigations we found little response to the 1978–1983 wet interval on upland hillslopes, but documented significant response on alluvial fans and in channels in desert piedmont areas. These observations may lend support to the Langbein-Schumm (1958) model relating sediment yield to precipitation. A variety of techniques, including dendrogeomorphology, studies of the weathering of clasts, soil stratigraphy, and aerial photo mapping were used to discern at least six units on alluvial fans ranging from Late Pleistocene to present. Terraces along active fan channels and the San Felipe River record a geomorphic record of the most recent wet intervals (ca. 1940 and 1980) as a significant depositional event. Geomorphic responses to the wet interval along the San Felipe River were complex, varying locally according to controls on sediment storage and downstream transfer through a recently integrated drainage system. Additional complex responses to the wet period were experienced in selected sites where antecedence and response times may be measured in months or even years.     

The nullfield method for the ellipsoidal Stokes problem

The ellipsoidal Stokes problem is one of the basic boundary-value problems for the Laplace equation which arises in physical geodesy. Up to now, geodecists have treated this and related problems with high-order series expansions of spherical and spheroidal (ellipsoidal) harmonics. In view of increasing computational power and modern numerical techniques, boundary element methods have become more and more popular in the last decade. This article demonstrates and investigates the nullfield method for a class of Robin boundary-value problems. The ellipsoidal Stokes problem belongs to this class. An integral equation formulation is achieved, and existence and uniqueness conditions are attained in view of the Fredholm alternative. Explicit expressions for the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for the boundary integral operator are provided. Received: 22 October 1996 / Accepted: 4 August 1997     

Ecological Signatures of Anthropogenically Altered Tidal Exchange in Estuarine Ecosystems

One of the most conspicuous anthropogenic disturbances to estuaries worldwide has been the alteration of freshwater and tidal influence through the construction of water control structures (dikes, tide gates, culverts). Few studies have rigorously compared the responses of differing groups of organisms that serve as contrasting conservation targets to such anthropogenic disturbances in estuarine ecosystems. Elkhorn Slough in central California includes a spectrum of tidally restricted habitats behind water control structures and habitats experiencing full tidal exchange. To assess community composition for several different taxa in habitats with varying tidal exchange, we employed a variety of field approaches and synthesized results from several different studies. Overall, we found that communities at sites with moderately restricted tidal exchange were fairly similar to those with full tidal exchange, but those with extremely restricted tidal exchange were markedly different from other categories. These differences in community composition are likely the result of several factors, including restricted movement due to physical barriers, differences in water quality characteristics, and differences in habitat structure. Indeed, in this study, we found that water quality characteristics strongly vary with tidal restriction and may strongly influence patterns of species presence or absence. We also found that different conservation targets showed contrasting responses to variation in tidal exchange. Full exchange appears to favor native oysters, commercially valuable flatfish, migratory shorebirds, and site-level biodiversity. Minimal tidal exchange due to water control structures supports a suite of estuarine endemics (including the tidewater goby and California brackish snail) not represented elsewhere and minimizes invasions by non-native marine species. Altogether, our results suggest that total estuary-wide biodiversity may be enhanced with a mosaic of tidal exchange regimes.     

Tropospheric water vapour soundings by lidar at high Arctic latitudes

Ground-based lidars can provide continuous observations of tropospheric humidity profiles using the Raman scattering of light by water vapour and nitrogen molecules. We will present specific humidity profiles obtained at the high Arctic location Ny-Ålesund (Spitsbergen, 79°N). Under nighttime conditions the observations cover a range from about 500 m altitude up to the upper troposphere. Daylight limits the observations to the lower troposphere, depending on atmospheric transmission and the water vapour content. In a case study on 29 January, simultaneous observations of humidity and aerosol extinction show distinct differences in the various altitudes during the advection of aerosol-rich air masses. In the boundary layer, the aerosol is less affected by the humidity. In the free troposphere, the lidar ratio was observed to be up to 60 sr with some evidence for the uptake of water vapour by the aerosol particles. In another case study from 28 February 2002, the influence of the mean wind direction and the orography on the water vapour concentration near the ground and in the free troposphere will be discussed. During wintertime, a humidity inversion up to about 1.5 km altitude with dry air near the ground has frequently been found with wind from the southeast. Such local effects and small-scale structures observed by stationary lidar mostly cannot be resolved by other sounding methods like passive satellite soundings.