Annotated translation of “Die Wasserversorgung einiger Nordseebäder [The water supply of some North Sea spas]” by Alexander Herzberg (1901)

The publication “The water supply of some North Sea spas” by Alexander Herzberg in 1901 is a cornerstone of coastal groundwater research. It was fundamental to the development of the Ghijben-Herzberg principle, which describes the hydrostatic equilibrium between fresh and saline groundwater. Due to its age and the language barrier, the paper is often cited but probably rarely read. Therefore, the original paper has been translated from German into English, accompanied by an introduction and notes explaining the historical context.     

Little-known brachiopods from the Cretaceous of the Helvetic realm of NE Switzerland (Alpstein) and W Austria (Vorarlberg)

Three species from different stratigraphical levels of the Cretaceous of the Helvetic Alps are described. (1) Rhynchonellid specimens from the upper Öhrli-Kalk (Öhrli Formation, Late Berriasian) of NE Switzerland (Alpstein) identified as Lamellaerhynchia heimi (Sulser 2008) [Rhynchonellida, Hemithiridoidea]. Its range appears to be limited to a small area of the carbonate platform of the northern Alpstein chain. Based on internal and external morphological criteria L. heimi differs from other species of Lamellaerhynchia, as well as from Burrirhynchia cf. sayni (Jacob & Fallot 1913), occurring in the younger carbonate platform of the Schrattenkalk Formation (Early Aptian). (2) Recently collected material in various localities of the Altmann Member (Tierwis Formation, Late Hauterivian to Early Barremian) in the Alpstein area identified as Oblongarcula cf. alemannica Owen 1977 [Terebratellidina, Laqueoidea]. This species is closely related or identical to O. alemannica of the North European Boreal province and gives a reference to the occurrence of the genus Oblongarcula in the Tethyan domain of the Alps. Partially silicified specimens enable in rare cases a direct access to internal structures after that they were exposed by an acid treatment. (3) Tulipina koutaisensis (Loriol 1896) [Terebratellidina, Kingenoidea], known from Aptian deposits in the central Caucasus of Georgia, has been recorded as a rare species in the Plattenwald-Bed (Selun Member of the Garschella Formation, Albian) of W Austria (Vorarlberg). The localised occurrence and the temporal gap between the Caucasian and the Helvetic T. koutaisensis suggest an east–west directed migration along the northern margin of the Tethys Ocean during the Early Cretaceous.     

<Superscript>10</Superscript>Be surface exposure dating of the last deglaciation in the Aare Valley,Switzerland

The combined Rhone and Aare Glaciers presumably reached their last glacial maximum (LGM) extent on the Swiss Plateau prior to 24 ka. Two well-preserved, less extensive moraine stades, the Gurten and Bern Stade, document the last deglaciation of the Aare Valley, yet age constraints are very scarce. In order to establish a more robust chronology for the glacial/deglacial history of the Aare Valley, we applied ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating on eleven boulders from the Gurten and Bern Stade. Several exposure ages are of Holocene age and likely document post-depositional processes, including boulder toppling and quarrying. The remaining exposure ages, however yield oldest ages of 20.7 ± 2.2 ka for the Gurten Stade and 19.0 ± 2.0 ka for the Bern Stade. Our results are in good agreement with published chronologies from other sites in the Alps.     

Chemistry and genesis of garnets in metamorphic rocks

250 analyses of garnets in metamorphic pelitic, arkosic, and pyroclastic rocks from the Stavanger area have been made by means of a microprobe (ARL-EMX). The relations between chemistry and metamorphic grade are discussed. The dependence of the Mn content upon temperature, pressure, chemistry of the parent rocks and oxygen fugacity is a very sophisticated one.It is shown that the Mn content of the garnets depends on the oxygen fugacity of the system and that the oxygen fugacity is strongly linked to the behaviour of graphite during increasing metamorphism.Examples described by Miyashiro (1953) and Engel and Engel (1960) are in agreement with the model presented here.Some observations show an influence of primary sedimentary enrichments of manganese upon the first occurrence of garnets in the course of metamorphism.     

How appropriate is the Thiem equation for describing groundwater flow to actual wells?

The Thiem equation of radial groundwater flow to a well is more than 100 years old and is still commonly used. Here, deviations caused by some of its simplifications are quantified by comparing the analytical to a numerical model that allows the implementation of more complex geometries. The assumption of horizontal flow in the Thiem equation, which necessitates uniform inflow over the entire screen length of the fully penetrating well, was found to cause deviations from actual pumping wells where the pump is placed above the screen, resulting in non-uniform inflow and additional drawdown. The same applies to partially penetrating wells, where inflow peaks and additional drawdown occur, especially when the well is screened in the lower part of the aquifer. The use of the Thiem equation in the near-field of a well should thus be restricted to situations where the screen inflow is relatively uniformly distributed, e.g. when it covers large portions of the aquifer thickness. The presence of a gravel pack and a background gradient, on the other hand, are of limited importance.     

Review: The state-of-art of sparse channel models and their applicability to performance assessment of radioactive waste repositories in fractured crystalline formations

Laboratory and field experiments done on fractured rock show that flow and solute transport often occur along flow channels. ‘Sparse channels’ refers to the case where these channels are characterised by flow in long flow paths separated from each other by large spacings relative to the size of flow domain. A literature study is presented that brings together information useful to assess whether a sparse-channel network concept is an appropriate representation of the flow system in tight fractured rock of low transmissivity, such as that around a nuclear waste repository in deep crystalline rocks. A number of observations are made in this review. First, conventional fracture network models may lead to inaccurate results for flow and solute transport in tight fractured rocks. Secondly, a flow dimension of 1, as determined by the analysis of pressure data in well testing, may be indicative of channelised flow, but such interpretation is not unique or definitive. Thirdly, in sparse channels, the percolation may be more influenced by the fracture shape than the fracture size and orientation but further studies are needed. Fourthly, the migration of radionuclides from a waste canister in a repository to the biosphere may be strongly influenced by the type of model used (e.g. discrete fracture network, channel model). Fifthly, the determination of appropriateness of representing an in situ flow system by a sparse-channel network model needs parameters usually neglected in site characterisation, such as the density of channels or fracture intersections.     

Manganminerale vom Mooserboden bei Kaprun

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 11 Textabbildungen.     

Least squares parameter estimation in chaotic differential equations

A recent least squares algorithm, which is designed to adapt implicit models to given sets of data, especially models given by differential equations or dynamical systems, is reviewed and used to fit the Hénon-Heiles differential equations to chaotic data sets.This numerical approach for estimating parameters in differential equation models, called theboundary value problem approach, is based on discretizing the differential equations like a boundary value problem,e.g. by a multiple shooting or collocation method, and solving the resulting constrained least squares problem with a structure exploiting generalized Gauss-Newton-Method (Bock, 1981).Dynamical systems like the Hénon-Heiles system which can have initial values and parameters that lead to positive Lyapunov exponents or phase space filling Poincaré maps give rise to chaotic time series. Various scenarios representing ideal and noisy data generated from the Hénon-Heiles system in the chaotic region are analyzedw.r.t. initial conditions, parameters and Lyapunov exponents. The original initial conditions and parameters are recovered with a given accuracy. The Lyapunov spectrum is then computed directly from the identified differential equations and compared to the spectrum of the true dynamics.presently at IWR, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 368, D-6900 Heidelberg, Germany