One hundred years of mountain hydrology in Switzerland by the WSL

In 1903 the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL started its first forest hydrology measurements with the aim to deliver a sound scientific basis for the implementation of new forest legislation introduced in Switzerland in 1876. This legislation was triggered by several large floods that occurred in Switzerland, for which a major cause was widely seen as the poor condition of forests at that time. Consequently, hydrologic research at WSL first focused on the influence of forests on floods. In the second half of the 20th century, other hydrological issues such as water quality, snow hydrology and sediment transport complemented the hydrologic research at WSL. Some recent results of this work are presented in three papers joining this introductory paper to mark the 100th anniversary of hydrologic research at WSL. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Line broadening on HF ocean surface radar backscatter spectra

Experimental results from an array of moored current meters and an HF ocean surface radar support the idea that line broadening on the radar spectra is caused by the velocity distribution within the radar target cell. The experiment was done in the wake of a small island where the velocity variations were severe. An estimate is made of the line broadening which can be expected. In a turbulent flow with dissipation rate of the orderepsilon sim 10^{-10}m^{2}s^{-3}and target cell size 1 3000 m, the line broadening isDeltaf sim 10^{-3}Hz. This would be resolved with a radar time series ofsim 20min and indicates that the HF ocean surface radar technique has potential in the observation of surface velocity distributions.     

The western lapidary tradition in early geological literature: medicinal and magical minerals

Nowadays, when someone refers to lapidary they usually mean the process of polishing, engraving or working stones. The term is much broader than that, however, encompassing an entire genre of literature which formed the basis of much geological observation even before the word 'geology' was ever coined.     

Growth, interaction and seismogenic potential of coupled active normal faults (Isernia Basin, central-southern Italy)

The inception and growth of the active Carpino-Le Piane Basin Fault System (CLPBFS; central-southern Apennines, Italy) was analysed with respect to the neighbouring Isernia and Surrounding (ISFS) and Boiano Basin (BBFS) extensional Fault Systems. ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar dating showed that the BBFS was already active 649 ± 21 ka bp and that the ISFS was active at least 476 ±10 ka bp , whereas the activity of the CLPBFS started certainly later than 253 ± 22 ka bp , and very probably as recently as <28 ka bp . These ages, combined with structural data (geometry and kinematics of the fault systems), indicate that the inception and development of the CLPBFS could be strictly related to the stress changes caused by earthquakes occurring on the BBFS.     

Stable nonlinear methods for sensor array processing;

Most nonlinear high-resolution bearing estimators are unstable in the presence of correlated noise, system phase errors, and multipath arrivals because they inadvertently place too much emphasis on unstable eigenvectors of the cross-sensor correlation matrix. For moderately correlated noise there will be sufficiently many stable eigenvectors to resolve and localize discrete sources. A method is given (the "stable nonlinear method" or SNLM) whereby reweighting of the eigenvectors is achieved implicitly, without actual calculation of the eigenvectors. This SNLM is compared with Capon's maximum likelihood method (MLM) in simulations of correlated noise, partially correlated signals, and phase errors, and is shown to provide good stability in the cases considered.     

Pb, Sr and Nd isotope study of two co-existing magmas in the Nízke Tatry Mountains, Western Carpathians (Slovakia)

Summary Two co-existing plutonic rocks (diorite and granodiorite) were studied from an intrusion of Variscan age in the Raztocna Valley – Nízke Tatry Mountains, Western Carpathians. Geochemical analyses of major and trace elements constrain a volcanic arc as emplacement environment and give the first hints of a mixture of two magmatic end-members: the so-called Prasivá granodiorite and the Raztocna diorite. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr₍₀₎ ratios vary between 0.7075 and 0.7118, the ε Nd₍₀₎ values range from −1.4 to −5.0. Common Pb isotopes reveal a dominant crustal source with minor influences from a mantle and a lower crustal source. Modelling based on Sr and Nd isotope data and using three component mixing calculations indicates that mixing of 2/3 of upper mantle material with 1/3 upper crustal material can produce the isotopic composition of the Raztocna diorite. Very minor amounts of lower crust were incorporated in the diorite. For the Prasivá granodiorite, the mixing ratio of upper mantle and upper crust is similar, but a lower crustal reservoir contributed about 5–10% of the source material.     

The Early Pleistocene Praetiglian and Ludhamian pollen stages in the North Sea Basin and their relationship to the marine isotope record

In this paper, the currently accepted correlation of the Early Pleistocene Ludhamian stage of England with the Tiglian‐A sub‐stage of the Netherlands is challenged. Recent investigations of Early Pleistocene marine North Sea deposits from a borehole near Noordwijk (the Netherlands) yielded evidence from molluscs, dinoflagellate cysts and sporomorphs for an alternation of warm‐temperate and arctic intervals within the Praetiglian and Tiglian stages. Marine equivalents of the terrestrial‐based pollen sub‐stages Tiglian A and B have been recognised in the upper part of the sequence. A Praetiglian age can be assigned to the lower part of the sequence on the basis of mollusc analysis. Within the Praetiglian, an alternation of warm and cold phases has been recognised from both the dinoflagellate cyst and molluscan records. Three cold phases within the Praetiglian are tentatively correlated with marine isotope stages (MIS) 96–100. The molluscan assemblages provide evidence for climate forcing of the sea level: highest sea levels are reached in the warm‐temperate intervals. Within the Praetiglian, an interval with an acme zone of the dinoflagellate cyst Impagidinium multiplexum, is correlated with the Ludhamian and tentatively linked to MIS 97 and/or MIS 96. The cold molluscan assemblages from the Noordwijk borehole include an acme zone of Megayoldia thraciaeformis, the first and only occurrence of this North Pacific bivalve in the North Sea Basin. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of stable drainage networks in upland forestry plantations

Erosion of man-made, forestry drainage channels occurs when the plough cuts through the surface peat layer into the underlying erodible mineral soil. A procedure is developed, based on hydraulic considerations, which will allow the drainage engineer to design stable drainage networks in upland forestry plantations. An example design chart is given for an erodible sandy loam type soil.     

Noble gases and meteorites

Abstract— Noble gases repeatedly have served to widen the scope of meteorite research. During the first half century of such measurements, the emphasis was on the determination of U, Th/He-gas retention ages of iron meteorites, which is the most unsuitable class of meteorites for such studies. With the realization that the He in these meteorites results from the interaction of cosmic rays with meteoritic matter, meteorites became to be used as “the poor man's space probe” that yielded information on the constancy in time and space of the cosmic radiation. Another widening of scope came with the discovery of extremely high noble gas contents in the outermost layers of the individual grains that make up stony meteorites. These gases are of solar origin; they have been implanted as low-energy solar wind (SW) or as solar energetic particles (SEP) into the grains before their compaction. Presently they offer the only opportunity to precisely measure the isotopic composition of solar matter and to learn about potential changes of the Sun in time. Stony meteorites of the “carbonaceous” variety contain “stardust” that carries the undiluted nucleosynthesis products of individual stars that yield incredibly detailed information concerning the parameters that prevailed during the synthesis.