Ichthyofauna in the upper Rhine River close to the city of Karlsruhe as determined by the analysis of fish impingement by cooling-water intakes of a power plant

The fish fauna in the northern part of the upper river Rhine close to the city of Karlsruhe (Germany) was analyzed by collecting fish from the cooling-water intake of a power plant (impingement method) between 1989 and 2001. With this method a total of 36 fish species were recorded. The results were compared between the years as well as with other studies on the fish fauna in this area. Particularly with regard to the physical structure of the river bed and banks, the pre-technical situation of the river Rhine has not been restored. However, the number of fish species has been augmented since the 1970s mainly due to improvements in the water quality and almost all autochthonous fish species are present again. Altogether only three introduced fish species (Sander lucioperca L., Lepomis gibbosus L., and Carassius auratus gibelio were found in this study. Among the long-distance migrating species three freshwater spawners (Lampetra fluviatilis, Petromyzon marinus and Salmo trutta trutta) were detected in addition to the catadromous eel. The eudominant fish species varied between years, i.e. the European eel, Anguilla anguilla, was the eudominant species 1989, whereas this species occurred in much lower numbers during the subsequent sampling campaigns. This clearly indicates that the high dominance of eels is mainly caused by stocking activities in the upper Rhine. In the following years roach, Rutilus rutilus was the eudominant fish species. Overall a positive development of the fish fauna in the upper Rhine over the last 15 years could be observed in terms of fish populations as well as in terms of species richness.     

Effect of anisotropy on solute transport in degraded fen peat soils

Peat soils are heterogeneous, anisotropic porous media. Compared to mineral soils, there is still limited understanding of physical and solute transport properties of fen peat soils. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of soil anisotropy on solute transport in degraded fen peat. Undisturbed soil cores, taken in vertical and horizontal direction, were collected from one drained and one restored fen peatland both in a comparable state of soil degradation. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K _s) and chemical properties of peat were determined for all soil cores. Miscible displacement experiments were conducted under saturated steady state conditions using potassium bromide as a conservative tracer. The results showed that (1) the K _s in vertical direction (K _sv) was significantly higher than that in horizontal direction (K_sh), indicating that K _s of degraded fen peat behaves anisotropically; (2) pronounced preferential flow occurred in vertical direction with a higher immobile water fraction and a higher pore water velocity; (3) the 5% arrival time (a proxy for the strength of preferential flow) was affected by soil anisotropy as well as study site. A strong correlation was found between 5% arrival time and dispersivity, K _s and mobile water fraction; (4) phosphate release was observed from drained peat only. The impact of soil heterogeneity on phosphate leaching was more pronounced than soil anisotropy. The soil core with the strongest preferential flow released the highest amount of phosphate. We conclude that soil anisotropy is crucial in peatland hydrology but additional research is required to fully understand anisotropy effects on solute transport.     

On the Quantification of Surface Changes using Grid-based Digital Elevation Models (DEMs)

This paper discusses the quantification of vertical surface displacements by means of grid-based digital elevation models (DEMs). The surface changes are quantified by comparing altitude and different topographic parameters, which have a geomorphic significance with respect to surface changes. This paper describes the choice of different spatial calculation techniques, considering DEM accuracy and the propagation of error for the different topographic parameters involved. The techniques are illustrated on two grid-based DEMs from Finsterwalderbreen, a 35 km2 sized valley glacier on south-western Spitzbergen, Norwegian High Arctic.     

Fabric anisotropy and its influence on physical weathering of different types of Carrara marbles

To evaluate the texture-controlled part on the thermally induced degradation of marbles, the anisotropic thermal dilatation was calculated from texture analyses of four exemplary samples from the Carrara area in Italy and compared to experimentally measured dilatation coefficients. The thermal dilatation as determined in the experiment is controlled by an intrinsic part (anisotropic single crystal properties and texture) and an extrinsic part (e.g. thermally induced microcracks). As expected from theoretical calculations, there is a correlation between the strongest dilatation and the c-axis maxima and the weakest dilatation and the a-axis maxima according to the single crystal data of calcite. However, a quantitative correlation could not be established. Obviously, other fabric parameters like the grain size, grain shape anisotropies, grain boundary geometries and microcrack formation during heating modify the texture-controlled part significantly. After thermal treatment up to 130°C, all samples show a residual strain. However, the magnitude and directional dependence is remarkably different and is unequivocally correlated to both the microstructure and the texture. Since the number of parameters controlling the physical weathering is very large, a comprehensive quantification of fabrics is indispensible for the understanding of thermally controlled degradation processes of physical weathering in marbles.     

Latest Caledonian to Present tectonomorphological development of southern Norway

The regional resultant stress field of the northeastern North Atlantic has shifted significantly throughout the Phanerozoic. In Fennoscandian parts of the Caledonian orogen, mountain building, which was characterized by NW-SE contraction (reference to present North), was followed by a collapse with transport both parallel and transverse to the mountain chain. The Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic saw several stages of E-W to NW-SE extension, varying in time and position. Local episodes of inversion are traceable in some cases, particularly in connection with deep-seated and long-lived zones of weakness. The Cenozoic has to a larger degree been affected by compression, including folding and basin inversion. Again some of the more pronounced effects of local inversion are related to pre-existing fault systems. Neogene uplift of the western mountainous area in Scandinavia can be unravelled by potential field study, AFT data and reflection seismic sections. Assuming that the region is close to isostatic equilibrium, the uplifted areas must be supported at depth by substantial volumes of low-density material within the crust or the mantle, close to the crust/mantle interface or close to the lithosphere/asthenosphere interfaces.     

Constraints on paleowater dissolved loads and on catchment weathering over the past 16 ka from Sr/Sr ratios and Ca/Mg/Sr chemistry of freshwater ostracode tests in sediments of Lake Constance, Central Europe

Sr isotope and Ca/Mg/Sr chemical compositions of freshwater ostracode tests separated from a sediment core represent the last 16 ka of sedimentation in Lake Constance, Central Europe. The chemical evolution of the paleowater's dissolved load of Lake Constance was estimated by correcting the ostracode data for Ca/Mg/Sr fractionation due to biogenic calcification. Since the Late Pleistocene deglaciation, the Ca/Sr molar ratios of paleowaters increased systematically from about 100 (a near marine signature) to about 200. Ca/Mg molar ratios varied in the range of 1–25. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios indicate Late Pleistocene paleowater compositions of 0.7086–0.7091, significantly more radiogenic than present day waters (0.7085). Sr isotopes and Ca/Mg/Sr chemical data together show that weathering of Mesozoic evaporites consistently dominated the dissolved Sr load (80–90%). Carbonate and silicate weathering were less important (1–10%). Trends of Sr dissolved loads were therefore not related to Mg which was mainly mobilized by carbonate weathering. Biotite weathering was an important source of radiogenic Sr in the paleowaters. The short-term release (duration about 600–800 years) of radiogenic Sr during glacier retreat started 15.2 ka ago and was due to enhanced biotite weathering at the glacier base. Long-term release of radiogenic Sr was due to biotite weathering in glacial soils and silicate rocks, and has gradually declined since the Late Pleistocene/Holocene transition.     

Physicochemical structural characterization of ambers from deposits in Poland

The physical and chemical properties of 8 samples of amber from different localities in Poland (Baltic Coast, Bełchatów Tertiary brown coal, and Jaroszów clay mine) were investigated by N₂ sorption at 77 K, positron annihilation spectroscopy for chemical analysis (PASCA) and by organic geochemical methods (FT-IR,¹H and¹³C NMR, GC, and GC-MS). The porosity of the ambers as determined by PASCA consists of narrow micropores with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 0.9 nm and a volume 0.025 cm³ g⁻¹. In the external eroded part of the amber samples (rind) the concentration of pores where positronium atoms can form is lower and consists of approximately12 the concentration as in their interior. Values of pore parameters determined from sorption of N₂ are comparable with those found by the PASCA method. The average diameter of pores ranges from 2 to 12 nm, while their volume varies from 0.018 to 0.048 cm³ g⁻¹.. The chemical character of the ambers is similar based on FT-IR spectroscopy. However, noticeable differences in concentrations of ester and hydroxyl groups are observed in both exterior and interior regions, where the abundances of the ester groups are lower in the exterior rind. The proportion of organic material extractable with chloroform-methanol (1:1, v/v) ranges from 15 to 50% and correlates inversely to the average reflectances (R_r) of polished amber surfaces which range from 1.7 to 0.1 %. These variations are attributed to differing concentrations of oxygenated groups in the respective amber samples. The FT-IR spectra of the non-polar fractions (NP) from the extracts resemble the spectra of the source ambers. However, the intensities of the absorbance for the hdroxyl group are much lower, while absorbances for exomethylene groups are not present. The¹H and¹³C NMR data of NP fractions showed a complex diversity of components in mixtures with different relative concentrations but predominantly aliphatic in character for the respective samples.GC and GC-MS analyses of these fractions revealed that they are comprised of a mixture of compounds typical for Baltic amber but with variable relative concentrations. Two groups of compounds are found to be common to all NP fractions. The first is a minor concentration of homologousn-alkanes with a characteristic Gaussian distribution in the range from C₂₂ to C₃₂ and maximizing at C₂₆–C₂₇. In addition C₂₂ is characteristically slightly higher in concentration compared to C₂₃. The second group of compounds is comprised of succinates with methyl, fenchyl, bomyl and isobornyl alcohols. The composition of these diesters revealed the same equilibrium ratio between compounds with fenchyl, bornyl and isobornyl alcohols in all NP fractions. We suggest an early enzymatically controlled (bacterial) process in the formation of succinates during resin diagenesis from the biotic precursors, yielding the same characteristic ratio of the respective succinates in these ambers. These results show that all the ambers analyzed here fall into a common class of fossil resin, succinite (class Ia) independent of the sample location in Poland.     

Fluid Inclusion, Rare-Earth Element and Stable Isotope Study of Carbonate Minerals from the Pongkor Epithermal Gold–Silver Deposit, West Java, Indonesia

The Pongkor gold–silver deposit is the largest low‐sulfidation epithermal precious metal deposit in Indonesia, and is of Pliocene age. The deposit consists of nine major subparallel quartz–adularia–carbonate veins with very low sulfide content. Vein infill records five paragenetic sequences, dominated by calcite in the early stage and quartz in the later stage of the hydrothermal evolution. Fluid inclusions in hydrothermal calcite and quartz of all stages indicate a temperature ranging from 180 to 220°C and a meteoric water origin (very low salinity close to 0 wt% NaCl equivalent). Carbon isotope data on calcite display a narrow range from ?6.5 to ?3.0‰δ¹³C. The oxygen isotope values have a wider range of +4.6 to +10.1‰δ¹⁸O. The broadly positive correlation of the δ¹³C versus δ¹⁸O plot suggests that the carbon species, which equilibrated during the formation of calcite, is dominated by H₂CO₃ not far from equilibrium with HCO₃^?. The abundance of rare earth and yttrium (REY) in carbonate samples is very low (>REY mostly <2 ppm). However, there is always a positive Eu anomaly, which indicates a deeper fluid reservoir at >250°C.     

Environmental conditions in northwestern Russia during MIS 5 inferred from the pollen stratigraphy in a sediment core from Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga hosts preglacial sediments, although the Eurasian ice sheet overrode the area during the LGM. These sediments were first discovered by a seismic survey and are investigated using a 22.75‐m‐long core. Its upper 13.30 m comprise Holocene and Lateglacial sediments separated from the lower 11.45 m of preglacial sediments by a hiatus. They consist of highly terrigenous lacustrine sediments, which according to OSL dating, were deposited during an early stage of the last ice age (MIS 5). The palynological data allow a first reconstruction of the Early Weichselian environmental history for northwestern Russia. Birch and alder forests with broad‐leaved taxa dominated during MIS 5d (c. 118–113 ka), suggesting a climate more favourable than in the Holocene. A high content of well‐sorted sands and poorly preserved palynomorphs indicates a shallow‐water environment at least temporarily. More fine‐grained sediments and better preserved organic remains suggest deeper water environments at the core location during MIS 5c (c. 113–88 ka). Pine and spruce became dominant, while broad‐leaved taxa started to disappear, especially after c. 90 ka, pointing to a gradual climate cooling. An increase in open herb‐dominated habitats at the beginning of MIS 5b (c. 88–86 ka) reflects a colder and dryer climate. However, later (c. 86–82 ka) pine and spruce again became more common. Birch and alder forests dominated in the area c. 82–80 ka (beginning of MIS 5a). Although open treeless habitats also became more common at this time, a slight increase in hazel may point to somewhat warmer climate conditions coinciding with the beginning of MIS 5a. The studied sediments also contain numerous remains of freshwater algae and cysts of marine and brackish‐water dinoflagellates and acritarchs documenting that the present lake basin was part of a brackish‐water basin during the Early Weichselian, probably as a gulf of the Pre‐Baltic Sea.     

Improvement of surface run‐off in the hydrological model ParFlow by a scale‐consistent river parameterization

We propose an improvement of the overland‐flow parameterization in a distributed hydrological model, which uses a constant horizontal grid resolution and employs the kinematic wave approximation for both hillslope and river channel flow. The standard parameterization lacks any channel flow characteristics for rivers, which results in reduced river flow velocities for streams narrower than the horizontal grid resolution. Moreover, the surface areas, through which these wider model rivers may exchange water with the subsurface, are larger than the real river channels potentially leading to unrealistic vertical flows. We propose an approximation of the subscale channel flow by scaling Manning's roughness in the kinematic wave formulation via a relationship between river width and grid cell size, following a simplified version of the Barré de Saint‐Venant equations (Manning–Strickler equations). The too large exchange areas between model rivers and the subsurface are compensated by a grid resolution‐dependent scaling of the infiltration/exfiltration rate across river beds. We test both scaling approaches in the integrated hydrological model ParFlow. An empirical relation is used for estimating the true river width from the mean annual discharge. Our simulations show that the scaling of the roughness coefficient and the hydraulic conductivity effectively corrects overland flow velocities calculated on the coarse grid leading to a better representation of flood waves in the river channels.