Metamorpher Übergang Saxothuringikum-Moldanubikum östlich tirschenreuth/opf., nachgewiesen durch phasenpetrologische Analyse

Based upon the knowledge of the field relations the mineral assemblages of the various metamorphic rocks of the area are plotted in AKF-diagrams with the aim at determining possible mutual reaction relationships. For the eastern part a continuous metamorphic transition follows, starting with mica schists of the Lower Palaeozoic Saxothuringicum as characterized by the assemblage biotite-muscovite- and alusite through a series of biotite-sillimanite-gneisses with garnet of K feldspar into the high-grade gneisses and migmatites of the Moldanubicum as typified by cordierite-sillimanite-K feldspar parageneses. Hence the age of this metamorphism common to all units is probably early Variscan (= Hercynian). In the western part the Moldanubian unit, in particular, was affected by wide-spread later diaphthoresis creating mineral assemblages like chlorite-biotite-muscovite and chlorite-phengitic white mica, that represent a lower facies than that of the neighbouring mica schists. This diapthoresis is also of Hercynian age, because it is followed by the intrusion of igneous rocks probably during Sudetic (= Middle Carboniferous) times.     

Lake Kivu: structure,chemistry and biology of an East African rift lake

Geophysical, geochemical and biological data are integrated to unravel the origin and evolution of an unusual rift lake. The northern basin of Lake Kivu contains about 0.5 km of sediments which overlie a basement believed to be crystalline rocks of Precambrian age. Volcanic rocks at the northern end of the lake have created large magnetic anomalies of up to 300. Heat flow varies from 0.4 to 4 hfu. The extreme variability may be due in part to sedimentation or recent changes in the temperature of the bottom water. Sharp boundaries in the vertical temperature and salinity structure of the water across the lake can best be explained as separate convecting layers. Such convecting cells are the result of the increase in both temperature and salinity with depth.Concentrations of the major dissolved gases in the deep water, CO₂ and CH₄, approach saturation but do not exceed it at any depth. The salts are supplied mainly by hydrothermal discharges at the bottom of the lake which we calculate to have a salinity of 4 which is about 60% higher than the salinity of the bottom water. The annual discharge at the present time is about 0.5 km³. Zinc anomalies in the water are explained by the accumulation of sphalerite-containing globules at certain depths.Stratigraphic correlation of sediments is possible across the entire lake, based on physical, geochemical and paleontological criteria. Sedimentation rates are of the order of 30 cm/1000 years implying a Pliocene age for the deepest part of the lake. Periods of hydrothermal activities and heightened volcanism, as recorded in the sediments, appear to have coincided with pluvial times.Enrichment of the surface waters of Lake Kivu by nutrients has led to explosive speciation in the diatom genusNitzschia. Several new types of methane oxidizing and-producing bacteria were isolated. Bacterial degradation of recent plankton appears insufficient to explain the amount of methane in the lake, and some of it is derived diagenetically.

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Zusammenfassung Geophysikalische, geochemische und biologische Daten werden vorgelegt und miteinander in Beziehung gebracht, um einen besseren Einblick in Entstehung und Evolution eines ungewöhnlichen Sees zu gewinnen. Das nördliche Becken des Kivu-Sees enthält Sedimente von etwa 0,5 km Mächtigkeit, die dem präkambrischen kristallinen Grundgebirge überlagert sind. Die im Norden des Sees vorliegenden vulkanischen Gesteine erklären die hohen magnetischen Anomalien, die bis zu 300 betragen. Der Wärmefluß schwankt zwischen 0,4 und 4 cal/cm²/sec. Diese Schwankungsbreite erklärt sich zum Teil aus den Sedimentationsverhältnissen oder den lokalen Temperaturveränderungen im Tiefenwasser. Scharfe Grenzflächen in der vertikalen Temperatur- und Salinitätsstruktur des Wassers über den Gesamtsee sind das Ergebnis von Konvektion, die zu übereinanderliegenden Konvektionszellen führt, in denen jeweils Temperatur und Salinität konstant sind. Die Bildung, Anzahl und Stabilität solcher Zellen hängt von dem Verhältnis der durch Temperatur und Salzgehalt hervorgerufenen Dichteveränderungen ab.Die Konzentrationen der im Tiefenwasser gelösten Gase, d. h. von Kohlendioxyd und Methan, liegen für alle Tiefen unterhalb der Löslichkeit. Die vorliegenden Salze entstammen weitgehend hydrothermalen Lösungen, die dem Seeboden entweichen und deren Salinität etwa 4 beträgt; der Vergleichswert für das Tiefenwasser beträgt 2,5 Diese hydrothermalen Ausschüttungen haben eine Größe von etwa 0,5 km³ pro Jahr, was etwa ein Tausendstel des Gesamtseevolumens ausmacht. Zinkanomalien im Wasser sind ebenfalls hydrothermal bedingt.Physikalische, geochemische und paläontologische Indikatoren erlauben eine stratigraphische Korrelation aller Sedimentkerne. Die Sedimentationsraten liegen bei 30 cm/ 1000 Jahren, und ein pliozänes Alter errechnet sich daraus für das tiefe nördliche Becken. Perioden hydrothermaler Aktivitäten und verstärkter vulkanischer Tätigkeit, die sich in den Sedimenten nachweisen lassen, scheinen mit Pluvialzeiten zu koinzidieren.Die Anreicherung der Oberflächenwässer vom Kivusee durch Mineralstoffe führte zu einer explosionsartigen Spezisierung in der GattungNitzschia. Verschiedene neue Arten von Methan-oxidierenden und -produzierenden Bakterien wurden isoliert. Das Auftreten von Methan ist zum Teil bakteriell und zum Teil diagenetisch bedingt.

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Résumé Des données géophysiques, géochimiques et biologiques sont présentées et collationnées pour donner une vue meilleure sur l'origine et l'évolution d'un lac particulier de la «Rift valley». La baie septentrionale du lac Kivu contient environ 500 mètres de sédiments qui recouvrent le socle cristallin d'âge précambrien. Des épanchements volcaniques au Nord du lac expliquent les fortes anomalies magnétiques qui atteignent 300. Les valeurs du flux thermique varient entre 0.4 et 4 cal/cm²/sec. Cette importante variation s'explique en partie par la sédimentation ou par des changements locaux de la température de l'eau de fond. Des surfaces-limites brusques dans la structure verticale de la répartition de la température et de la salinité de l'eau dans l'étendue du lac sont dûs à la convection; celle-ci conduit à la superposition de cellules de convection dans lesquelles la température et la salinité sont constantes. La formation, le nombre et la stabilité de telles cellules dépendent du rapport des variations de densité dues à la température et à la teneur en sels.Les concentrations des gaz dissouts dans l'eau profonde, en l'occurrence CO₂ et CH₄, sont, à toute profondeur, inférieures à la saturation. Les sels minéraux proviennent surtout de solutions hydrothermales qui émanent du fond du lac, et dont la salinité est voisine de 4; la valeur comparative pour l'eau profonde est de 2,5. L'apport annuel de ces sources est de l'ordre de 0,5 km³, soit 1/1000 du volume total du lac. Les teneurs anormales en Zn sont dues également à ce caractère hydrothermal.Des données physiques, géochemiques et paléontologiques permettent la corrélation stratigraphique des sédiments. Les vitesses de sédimentation sont de l'ordre de 30 cm/1000 ans, donnant ainsi un âge pliocène pour la partie profonde de la baie septentrionale. Les périodes d'activité hydrothermale et de renforcement de la vulcanicité qui se manifestent dans les sédiments, semblent coïncider avec les périodes pluviales.L'enrichissement des eaux de surface du lac Kivu en substances minérales a entraîné un développement explosif des diatomées, en particulier du genreNitzchia. Différentes espèces nouvelles de bactéries oxydant et produisant CH₄ ont été isolées. La présence de méthane est due en partie à la destruction du plancton par les bactéries et en partie à une transformation diagénétique.

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Magnetic properties and cation ordering of nanopowders of the synthetic analogue of kuramite, Cu3SnS4

An extensive characterisation of the magnetic properties of synthetic powders of kuramite, with formal composition Cu₃SnS₄, was performed. Powders were investigated through superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) and microanalysis. SEM and TEM reveal the presence of nanodimensioned particles. XRPD clearly shows that Cu₃SnS₄ crystallised in a cubic sphalerite-type structural model, in spite of the stannite-type tetragonal structure described for the natural phase. This difference arises from a full random distribution of cations. Synthetic kuramite nanopowders exhibit a marked paramagnetism, originated by the presence of Cu(II), definitely assessed by EPR measurements. Moreover, the overall magnetic behaviour of the sample cannot be simply ascribed to diluted paramagnetism, and this suggests the presence of strong superexchange interactions among Cu(II) ions even at room temperature. The main consequences of these results are the definitive assessment of the chemical formula Cu(I)₂Cu(II)SnS₄ and of a random distribution of Cu(II), Cu(I) and Sn(IV) ions within the available tetrahedral sites.     

Relative influence of vegetation on urban energy budgets and surface temperatures

Two deterministic models were combined: one for canopy leaf energy budgets and one for street canyon energy budgets. The effects of street parks and roof gardens in contrast to non-vegetated city blocks were examined by the use of four typical urban morphologies, which were exposed latitudinally to summer and winter simulations. A variety of increases and decreases in shortwave radiation, net radiation, sensible heat flux, and system reradiation resulted. These changes appear to represent the generalized limits of the possible responses to the addition of vegetation to non-vegetated city blocks.     

<Superscript>57</Superscript>Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy,X-ray single-crystal diffractometry,and electronic structure calculations on natural alexandrite

Natural alexandrite Al₂BeO₄:Cr from Malyshevo near Terem Tschanka, Sverdlovsk, Ural, Russia, has been characterized by ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, electron microprobe, X-ray single-crystal diffractometry and by electronic structure calculations in order to determine oxidation state and location of iron. The sample contains 0.3 wt% of total iron oxide. The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectrum can be resolved into three doublets. Two of them with hyperfine parameters typical for octahedrally coordinated high-spin Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺, respectively, are assigned to iron substituting for Al in the octahedral M2-site. The third doublet is attributed to Fe³⁺ in hematite. Electronic structure calculations in the local spin density approximation are in reasonable agreement with experimental data provided that expansion and/or distortion of the coordination octahedra are presumed upon iron substitution. The calculated hyperfine parameters of Fe³⁺ are almost identical for the M1 and M2 positions, but the calculated ligand-field splitting is by far too large for high-spin Fe³⁺ on M1.     

Petrology and Geochemistry of the Volcanic Rocks Dredged from the Geophysicist Seamount in the Kurile Basin: Evidence for the Existence of Thinned Continental Crust

Dredged samples from the Geophysicist seamount volcano in the northeastern part of the Kurile Basin include volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks ranging from basalt to andesite. The rocks have geochemical features typical of high-K island-arc calc-alkaline volcanism. They are enriched in LILE and depleted in Zr, Ti, Nb, Ta and Y. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by enrichment of LREE similar to those of island-arc lava from the submarine volcanoes of rear-arc zone of the Kurile Island Arc. The volcanic rocks have a wide range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70287-0.70652), varying ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and Pb isotopic ratios. Their trace-element compositions and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope signatures may be explained by a small addition of crustal continental component to mantle-derived magmas that suggest the existence of thinned continental basement under the eastern part of the Kurile Basin.     

Impact of precipitation seasonality changes on isotopic signals in polar ice cores: a multi-model analysis

For Central Greenland, water isotope analysis indicates a temperature difference of about 10°C since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, borehole thermometry and gas diffusion thermometry indicate that LGM surface temperatures were about 20°C colder than today. Two general circulation model studies have shown that changes in the seasonal precipitation timing in Central Greenland might have caused a warm bias in the LGM water isotope proxy temperatures, and that this bias could explain the difference in the estimated paleotemperatures. Here we present an analysis of a number of atmospheric general circulation model simulations mostly done within the framework of the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project. The models suggest that the seasonal cycle of precipitation and surface mass balance over Central Greenland at the LGM might have been very different from today. This supports the idea that the accuracy of the water isotope thermometry at the LGM in Greenland might be compromised as a result of a modified surface mass balance seasonality. However, the models disagree on the amplitude and sign of the bias. For Central East Antarctica, a strong seasonality effect on the LGM isotopic signal is not simulated by any of the analyzed models. For the mid-Holocene (6 kyr BP) the models suggest relatively weak isotope paleothermometry biases linked to changes in the surface mass balance seasonality over both ice sheets.     

Sea‐level rise impact on fresh groundwater lenses in two‐layer small islands

The fresh groundwater lenses (FGLs) of small islands can be highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, including sea‐level rise (SLR). Many real cases of atoll or sandy islands involve two‐layer hydrogeological conceptualizations. In this paper, the influential factors that affect FGLs in two‐layer small islands subject to SLR are investigated. An analytical solution describing FGLs in circular islands, composed of two geological layers, is developed for the simplified case of steady‐state and sharp‐interface conditions. An application of the developed model is demonstrated to estimate the FGL thickness of some real‐world islands by comparison with existing FGL thickness data. Furthermore, numerical modelling is applied to extend the analysis to consider dispersion effects and to confirm comparable results for both cases. Sensitivity analyses are used to assess the importance of land‐surface inundation caused by SLR, relative to other parameters (i.e. thickness of aquifer layers, hydraulic conductivity, recharge rate and land‐surface slope) that influence the FGL. Dimensionless parameters are used to generalize the findings. The results demonstrate that land‐surface inundation has a considerable impact on a FGL influenced by SLR, as expected, although the FGL volume is more sensitive to recharge, aquifer thickness and hydraulic conductivity than SLR impacts, considering typical parameter ranges. The methodology presented in this study provides water resource managers with a rapid‐assessment tool for evaluating the likely impacts of SLR and accompanying LSI on FGLs.