Hydrogeochemistry of two river main floodplain lakes,Hessia, FR Germany

Two lakes, Lake Gänseweiher (LGW) and Lake Fechenheimer Weiher (LFW) occupy groundwater filled abandoned gravel pits which serve as fishing grounds and are part of recreational areas, respectively.Both lakes are cut into a near-surface groundwater aquifer, which is located in the pleistocene River Main gravel terrace t₆. They are sealed at the base by miocene clays and above by overlying flood deposits of the River Main. The latter provide protection from pollutants derived from wet and dry deposition of atmospheric contaminants.Groundwater chemistry determines the pool of dissolved constituents in lake water. The temporal and spatial distribution patterns of chemical compounds in lake water are brought about by endo-biogenic processes, of which the indicators are nitrate-nitrogen and dissolved silica. The latter illustrates an instantaneous response to pulses of diatom blooms.Both lakes are eutrophic (polytrophic) according to the classification guidelines presented in literature.     

Distribution of forms of sulfur in peats from saline environments in the Florida Everglades

Although there is published information on the mechanism of sedimentary pyrite formation resulting from bacterial reduction of sulfate, little is known about the distribution of forms of sulfur, including organic, in peats. In order to increase understanding of the geochemistry of sulfur in coals, we have determined distributions of forms of sulfur in five cores of saline peat and one of brackish peat, all from areas near the Shark River and Whitewater Bay in the coastal swamps of south Florida. All concentrations vary widely with depth. Total sulfur concentrations range up to 6% of dry solids. Minor amounts of sulfur are present as H₂S, S⁰, SO₄²⁻, and acid-soluble sulfide, but the principal forms are usually pyritic and organic. The ratio, organic/pyritic, is highly variable, but at a majority of levels in a profile is considerably greater than unity. It is inferred that topochemical factors are important in determining the distribution of sulfur forms in any element of volume.     

Interaction of the Atmosphere and Lithosphere in the Minute Range of Periods

Doklady Earth Sciences - The interaction between the atmosphere and the lithosphere in the minute range of periods is considered. The technique of assessment of the influence of atmospheric...     

Zonal REE + Y profiles in garnet and their genetic implications: A case study of metapelites from the northern Ladoga region

The objective of this study is to provide insights into the REE and Y behavior during garnet porphyroblast formation in staurolite-bearing schists as a constituent of Late Paleoproterozoic metapelites of the Ladoga Complex. The MnNCKFMASH P–T pseudosection for a single sample and Grt–Bt thermometry indicate that the garnet core grew at 520°C and under 7.0–7.2 kbar in the Grt–Bt–Pl–Chl–Ms–Zo field, whereas the garnet rim was equilibrated at 590–600°C and under 3.5–4.0 kbar. The measured zoning profiles are strongly depleted in REE + Y in the garnet core containing high Mn and Ca concentrations. The intermediate zone of garnet is enriched in La, Ce, Pr, and Nd (inner LREE + Nd annulus), as well as in Dy, Er, Yb, Lu, and Y (outer HREE + Y + Dy annulus). According to pseudosection analysis, these peaks were probably produced owing to breakdown of epidote-group minerals (allanite, REE-rich epidote) at T < 535°C and P > 6.5 kbar. Towards the rim, the HREE + Y contents gradually decrease, whereas MREE (Sm, Eu, Gd) display an inverse trend. The rim also exhibits a negative Eu anomaly. The former tendency reflects an increase in temperature during garnet crystallization and partitioning of elements between garnet and monazite. It is thought that the latter is linked to oppositely directed change in garnet-monazite partition coefficients for HREE and MREE with increasing temperature.     

Active tectonics and erosional unloading at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Introduction The eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, adjacent to the Sichuan Basin (Figure 1), has become a testing ground for a variety of models that contrast mechanisms of extrusion and crustal thickening associated with the India-Asia collision (Avouac and Tapponnier 1993, England and Houseman 1986),but that also address the extent to which the upper crust and upper mantle are coupled (Royden et al. 1997, Holt 2000). The margin is characterized by topographic relief of over 5 km an…     

The political-geographical aspects of problematic statehood (exemplified by Somalia)

We examine the phenomenon of “collapsed” states by using, as an example, Somalia that is being faced with a vast array of problems: collapse of state institutes, civil war, separatism, terrorism, radical Islamism, and piracy. It is found that clannishness and tribalism of Somali society are complicating the process of political settlement and national reconciliation. It is pointed out that some of the tribes and groups, including under the action of external forces, are actually forming the country’s political space. It is shown that the pseudo-state entities in Somalia are unstable, and their boundaries of “flowing” so that they are incapable of exercising a full control over the territory. It is emphasized that the problem of Islamic extremism can be treated as deriving from failure of the state institutes; the peak of activity and territorial expansion of Islamist groups in the country is now in the past, and the area of their activity is bounded by the area inhabited by the Somali ethnos. It is found that the piracy problem is determined by the geographical location of Somalia, and its solution is impossible without the reestablishment of the state institutes and the economic system of the country. Two potential cores of reestablishment of Somali statehood have been revealed: Federal Government in Mogadishu as well as the Autonomous Republic of Puntland. It is forecasted that the international community will be gradually recognizing the Republic of Somaliland. It is concluded that the federalization of the country as declared by authorities is formal in character but yields first results implying that the negotiation process between the groups of clans has been led into a political channel.     

SPATIAL PATTERNS OF SUPPORT FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPONS FREEZE*

Support for a Freeze on nuclear weapons is greatest in the East with pockets of support in the Middle West and Pacific Coast States. Factors influencing the spatial pattern are Walker's innovativeness rankings, the number of peace/Freeze activist groups and the pattern of defense employment.