Die geodynamische Entwicklung der Thiersee- und der Karwendelmulde (Nördliche Kalkalpen)

Zusammenfassung Die Thiersee- und die Karwendelmulde in den Nördlichen Kalkalpen sind als zwei getrennte, E-W-verlaufende Synklinen entwickelt. Ihre Länge zwischen Kufstein und Mittenwald beträgt über 70 km.Systematische geologische Aufnahmen — Kartierung, Stratigraphie, Sedimentologie und Gefügekunde — ergaben, daß die Thierseemuide im Raum von Achenkirch nicht — wie früher vermutet wurde — in die Karwendelmulde umbiegt. Die Auswertung von mehr als 45 000 Gefügemessungen mit Hilfe eines EDV-Programms bewies vielmehr, daß Thierseemuide und Karwendelmulde zwei parallele, unabhängige Strukturen sind, die durch die komplizierte tektonische Zone von Achenkirch getrennt werden.Die paläogeographische Entwicklung und der Ablauf der Bewegungen werden im Überblick skizziert.

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Systematic geological survey showed that the Thiersee and Karwendel synclines in the Northern Calcareous Alps are two parallel structures, separated by a slightly folded intersection. The synclines do not turn into each other, as was presumed by earlier workers.The tectonic situation in the area of Achenkirch was cleared by evaluation of more than 45,000 field texture data by a computer program. Mapping as well as stratigraphical and sedimentological analysis supports the tectonic model. The paleogeographic development and tectonic history are briefly described.

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Résumé Les dépressions du «Thiersee» et du «Karwendel», dans les Alpes calcaires du Nord, sont deux synclinaux indépendants de direction Est-Ouest. Elles font 70 km de long entre Kufstein et Mittenwald.Des relevés géologiques systématiques — levés géologiques, stratigraphie, sédimentologie et structurologie — démontrèrent que, dans la région d'Achenkirch, la dépression du «Thiersee» ne contourne pas la dépression du «Karwendel» (comme on l'a longtemps supposé!). L'exploitation par ordinateur de plus de 45.000 mesures structurales révéla au contraire, que ces dépressions sont deux structures parallèles et indépendantes, séparées par la zone tectonique complexe d'Achenkirch.Le développement paléogéographique et le déroulement des mouvements font l'objet d'une vue d'ensemble.

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Alkali-free tourmaline in the system MgO-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2-H2O

An end member of the tourmaline series with a structural formula □(Mg₂Al)Al₆(BO₃)₃[Si₆O₁₈](OH)₄ has been synthesized in the system MgO-Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O where it represents the only phase with a tourmaline structure. Our experiments provide no evidence for the substitutions Al → Mg + H, Mg → 2H, B + H → Si, and AlAl → MgSi and we were not able to synthesize a phase “Mg-aluminobuergerite” characterized by Mg in the (3a)-site and a strong (OH)-deficiency reported by Rosenberg and Foit (1975). The alkali-free tourmaline has a vacant (3a)-site and is related to dravite by the □ + Al for Na + Mg substitution. It is stable from at least 300°C to about 800°C at low fluid pressures and 100% excess B₂O₃, and can be synthesized up to a pressure of 20 kbars. At higher temperatures the tourmaline decomposes into grandidierite or a boron-bearing phase possibly related to mullite (“B-mullite”), quartz, and unidentified solid phases, or the tourmaline melts incongruently into corundum + liquid, depending on pressure. In the absence of excess B₂O₃ tourmaline stability is lowered by about 60°C. Tourmaline may coexist with the other MgO-Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O phases forsterite, enstatite, chlorite, talc, quartz, grandidierite, corundum, spinel, “B-mullite,” cordierite, and sinhalite depending on the prevailing PTX-conditions.The (3a)-vacant tourmaline has the space group R3m with $\text{a =15.90}\text{A}\text{?}$, $\text{c = 7.115}\text{A}\text{?}$, and $\text{V = 1557.0}\text{A}\text{?}{}^3$. However, these values vary at room temperature with the pressure-temperature conditions of synthesis by $\text{±0.015}\text{A}\text{?}\text{in a}$, $\text{±0.010}\text{A}\text{?}\text{in c}$, and $\text{±4.0}\text{A}\text{?}{}^3\text{in V}$, probably as a result of MgAl order/disorder relations in the octahedral positions. Despite these variations intensity calculations support the assumed structural formula. Refractive indices are n_o = 1.631(2), n_E = 1.610(2), Δn = 0.021. The infrared spectrum is intermediate between those of dravite and elbaite. The common alkali and calcium deficiencies of natural tourmalines may at least partly be explained by miscibilities towards (3a)-vacant end members. The apparent absence of (3a)-vacant tourmaline in nature is probably due to the lack of fluids that carry boron but no Na or Ca.     

Modern and late Quaternary clay mineral distribution in the area of the SE Mediterranean Sea

The present-day clay mineral distribution in the southeastern Levantine Sea and its borderlands reveals a complex pattern of different sources and distribution paths. Smectite dominates the suspended load of the Nile River and of rivers in the Near East. Illite sources are dust-bearing winds from the Sahara and southwestern Europe. Kaolinite is prevalent in rivers of the Sinai, in Egyptian wadis, and in Saharan dust. A high-resolution sediment core from the southeastern Levantine Sea spanning the last 27 ka shows that all these sources contributed during the late Quaternary and that the Nile River played a very important role in the supply of clay. Nile influence was reduced during the glacial period but was higher during the African Humid Period. In contrast to the sharp beginning and end of the African Humid Period recorded in West African records (15 and 5.5 ka), our data show a more transitional pattern and slightly lower Nile River discharge rates not starting until 4 ka. The similarity of the smectite concentrations with fluctuations in sea-surface temperatures of the tropical western Indian Ocean indicates a close relationship between the Indian Ocean climate system and the discharge of the Nile River.     

Eckfeld Maar: Window into an Eocene Terrestrial Habitat in Central Europe

<正>To mark the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Rheinische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in 2009 and of the centennial of the Mainz Natural History Museum in 2010,we present a short account of our present knowledge of the Eckfeld Maar after 20 years of continuous research.This paper does not attempt to include all of the detailed results on the geology of the Eckfeld site or its biota.To date,nearly 250 papers and books have been published since the start of our project.An up-to-date list of these publications can be found at www.eckfeldermaar. de.     

An analytical and experimental investigation of the effect of impact on coarse granular rocks

SummaryAn Analytical and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Impact on Coarse Granular Rocks The interaction between metallic strikers and coarse, granular rock, associated with many mechanical rock breaking methods was investigated by theoretical and experimental methods. Cylindrical steel strikers of 12.7 mm diameter with flat, conical and hemispherical tips and masses of about 18.5 g were fired by means of a gas gun at blocks of diorite and spessartite with initial energies ranging from 4 to 34 J, generating substantial fracturing. The damage pattern in the rocks was ascertained, partly with the aid of a scanning electron microscope. A synthetic model consisting of long square bars of cement paste bonded with an adhesive was constructed as a simulator of diorite and tested to further delineate the failure mechanisms in this material.As previously, it was also found here that the geometry of the striker tip significantly affects the damage pattern and extent in diorite. A crucial difference in this pattern was observed between that found in diorite, a coarsegrained rock, and in spessartite, a more finely-grained substance. The crack network in diorite consisted of numerous kinked fractures extending a distance not in excess of 20 grain lengths, whereas only 5 to 7 nearly straight cracks with a length in excess of 20 times the grain size were found in spessartite that appeared to have propagated without regard to the grain packing structure or material defects. The synthetic rock model successfully reproduced the crack pattern found in diorite under impact.An analytical model to predict the region of grain and grain boundary failure incorporating one failure criterion for grains and another for grain boundaries was constructed. The first involved the development of failure surfaces based on an empirical limiting strength analogous to the modified Griffith criterion. Grain boundary failure was stipulated upon attainment of a combination of critical tensile and Coulomb type of shear stress. The model successfully delineated the major features of damage in the synthetic rock and in diorite and established upper bound predictions for the extent of damage.With 19 Figures     

GIS Modelling of Sea-Level Rise Induced Shoreline Changes Inside Coastal Re-Rntrants – Two Examples from Southeastern Australia

Shoreline recession as a result of rising sea level has been recognised as a potential near-future hazard by a number of countries. However, the collection of high spatial resolution data, in particular elevation data, is often too costly and time consuming to be applied routinely for a detailed assessment of the potential physical and economic impacts of this hazard. Based on work undertaken for the Dutch Wadden Sea, a GIS-based coastal-behaviour model has been developed to formulate simple algorithms for simulating the potential physical impacts of rising sea level on the coastal environment, focussing here on coastal re-entrants. The GIS model developed is suitable for providing first estimates of potential shoreline change, based on readily available information. To enhance the suitability of such initial assessment, the GIS model output, that is the rate of shoreline change, has been analysed in greater detail using a spreadsheet-based hazard probability model. The advantage of using a combination of both models is a rapid assessment of the probability of shoreline changes, instead of a single impact zone, as modelled with the GIS. The hazard probability rates received from the spreadsheet model are returned to the GIS to be displayed as a grading of risk instead of a single impact zone. The model introduced in this paper has been applied to two field sites in southeastern Australia to model regional variations in shoreline response to rising sea level.     

Global warming and South Indian monsoon rainfall—lessons from the Mid-Miocene

Precipitation over India is driven by the Indian monsoon. Although changes in this atmospheric circulation are caused by the differential seasonal diabatic heating of Asia and the Indo-Pacific Ocean, it is so far unknown how global warming influences the monsoon rainfalls regionally. Herein, we present a Miocene pollen flora as the first direct proxy for monsoon over southern India during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum. To identify climatic key parameters, such as mean annual temperature, warmest month temperature, coldest month temperature, mean annual precipitation, mean precipitation during the driest month, mean precipitation during the wettest month and mean precipitation during the warmest month the Coexistence Approach is applied. Irrespective of a ~ 3–4 °C higher global temperature during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum, the results indicate a modern-like monsoonal precipitation pattern contrasting marine proxies which point to a strong decline of Indian monsoon in the Himalaya at this time. Therefore, the strength of monsoon rainfall in tropical India appears neither to be related to global warming nor to be linked with the atmospheric conditions over the Tibetan Plateau. For the future it implies that increased global warming does not necessarily entail changes in the South Indian monsoon rainfall.     

Life Histories, Salinity Zones, and Sublethal Contributions of Contaminants to Pelagic Fish Declines Illustrated with a Case Study of San Francisco Estuary, California, USA

Human effects on estuaries are often associated with major decreases in abundance of aquatic species. However, remediation priorities are difficult to identify when declines result from multiple stressors with interacting sublethal effects. The San Francisco Estuary offers a useful case study of the potential role of contaminants in declines of organisms because the waters of its delta chronically violate legal water quality standards; however, direct effects of contaminants on fish species are rarely observed. Lack of direct lethality in the field has prevented consensus that contaminants may be one of the major drivers of coincident but unexplained declines of fishes with differing life histories and habitats (anadromous, brackish, and freshwater). Our review of available evidence indicates that examining the effects of contaminants and other stressors on specific life stages in different seasons and salinity zones of the estuary is critical to identifying how several interacting stressors could contribute to a general syndrome of declines. Moreover, warming water temperatures of the magnitude projected by climate models increase metabolic rates of ectotherms, and can hasten elimination of some contaminants. However, for other pollutants, concurrent increases in respiratory rate or food intake result in higher doses per unit time without changes in the contaminant concentrations in the water. Food limitation and energetic costs of osmoregulating under altered salinities further limit the amount of energy available to fish; this energy must be redirected from growth and reproduction toward pollutant avoidance, enzymatic detoxification, or elimination. Because all of these processes require energy, bioenergetics methods are promising for evaluating effects of sublethal contaminants in the presence of other stressors, and for informing remediation. Predictive models that evaluate the direct and indirect effects of contaminants will be possible when data become available on energetic costs of exposure to contaminants given simultaneous exposure to non-contaminant stressors.     

Upstream Dispersion in Solute Transport Models: A Simple Evaluation and Reduction Methodology

This article outlines analytical solutions to quantify the length scale associated with “upstream dispersion,” the artificial movement of solutes in the opposite direction to groundwater flow, in solute transport models. Upstream dispersion is an unwanted artifact in common applications of the advection-dispersion equation (ADE) in problems involving groundwater flow in the direction of increasing solute concentrations. Simple formulae for estimating the one-dimensional distance of upstream dispersion are provided. These show that under idealized conditions (i.e., steady-state flow and transport, and a homogeneous aquifer), upstream dispersion may be a function of only longitudinal dispersivity. The scale of upstream dispersion in a selection of previously presented situations is approximated to highlight the utility of the presented formulae and the relevance of this ADE anomaly in common transport problems. Additionally, the analytical solution is applied in a hypothetical scenario to guide the modification of dispersion parameters to minimize upstream dispersion.