Geochemical and cosmochemical cycles involving sulfur,sulfide, sulfite and sulfate

Raman spectra of aqueous systems containing sulfur dioxide, elemental sulfur and sulfate indicate that the equilibrium between these species is catalyzed by elemental sulfur. Therefore, dynamic equilibrium can be expected under conditions prevalent on Venus, on Io and in epigenic sulfur deposits.     

The Ivory Coast microtektite strewnfield: new data

Ivory Coast microtektites have recently been found in three piston cores from the Atlantic Ocean. In two of these cores, the microtektites occur in a layer above the base of the Jaramillo geomagnetic event indicating that they fell approximately 0.95 m.y. ago. Major element compositions have been obtained for forty-one of the microtektites by electron microprobe and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The geographic location, stratigraphic age and major element compositions indicate that these microtektites are part of the Ivory Coast tektite strewnfield. Present data suggest that the Ivory Coast strewnfield may cover an area of about 4.5 million square kilometers and contain about 20 million metric tons of microtektites.     

Die Roßfeldschichten: Ein Beispiel für Sedimentation im Bereich einer tektonisch aktiven Tiefseerinne aus der kalkalpinen Unterkreide

Zusammenfassung Im Mittelabschnitt der Nördlichen Kalkalpen (Ostalpen), zwischen den Flüssen Saalach und Traun, in einer streichenden Verbreitung von 50 km, entwickeln sich in der Unterkreide aus den neokomen Aptychenschichten (Schrambachschichten) die terrigenen Gesteine der Roßfeldschichten. In dieser Studie wurde das Profil der Typlokalität am Roßfeld südlich von Salzburg untersucht.Die Unteren Roßfeldschichten bestehen in ihrem tieferen Abschnitt aus einer ca. 175 m mächtigen Mergelgruppe. Darüber folgen 10–15 m dünnbankige Sandsteine, die in eine 70–80 m mächtige, dickbankige Sandsteingruppe übergehen. Die Oberen Roßfeldschichten setzen abrupt mit grobklastischen Gesteinen ein. Die gesamte Schichtfolge zeigt eine Kornvergröberung gegen das Hangende.Eine erste stichprobenartige mikropaläontologische Bearbeitung hat im tieferen Anteil des Profiles gut auswertbare Foraminiferenvergesellschaftungen erbracht, die mit einer Reihe stratigraphisch wertvoller Unterkreidearten das von den Roßfeldschichten dieser Region nach ihrer Ammonitenfauna bekannte Alter Obervalendis—Hauterive bestätigt.Das Profil konnte im Vergleich mit rezenten Faziesverteilungen als eine vorstoßende Serie eines Tiefseerinnen-Environments interpretiert werden. An Subenvironments sind der Bereich der Hauptrinne (= dickbankige Sandsteingruppe), ein beckenwärts gelegener Damm (dünnbankige Sandsteinfazies) und daran anschließend ein submarines Überflutungsgebiet (= Mergelgruppe) zu unterscheiden. Von der Beckenabhangseite her hat sich ein kleinräumiges Fächersystem mit Grobklastika und Slumping-Ablagerungen vorgeschoben Obere Roßfeldschichten).Das terrigene Material der Roßfeldschichten ist durch das Auftreten von Chromspinell und grüner Hornblende in den Schwermineralspektren charakterisiert. Besonders interessant sind vereinzelt vorkommende rotbraune Hornblenden (Kaersutit), welche auf ein Vorkommen von Alkaligesteinen im Liefergebiet Hinweis geben. Die Anlieferung des terrigenen Materials erfolgte von einer südlich gelegenen Provinz, die eine orogeninterne Position innehatte. Die Position entspricht nicht jener des Ultrapienidischen Rückens im Cenoman und zur Zeit der tieferen Gosauschichten.

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Summary The Lower Cretaceous Roßfeld Formation, which is exposed in the central Northern Calcareous Alps (East Alps) between Saalach river and Traun river over a distance of about 50 km, was studied in a profile in the type locality at the Roßfeld south of Salzburg. The terrigeneous rocks of the Roßfeld Formation arise gradually from the Neocomian Aptychus beds (Schrambachschichten).In its deeper part the Lower Roßfeld Fm. consists of gray marls of about 175 m thickness. Above that 10–15 m thin-bedded sandstones and then 70–80 m thick-bedded ones follow. The Upper Roßfeld Fm. starts abruptly with coarse-grained sediments. The complete sequence is a coarsening-upward unit.As a result of an initial micropaleontological study well evaluable foraminifera associations were found in the lower part of the section. Some stratigraphically significant species of Lower Cretaceous age attest the range from Upper Valanginian to Hauterivian already established by ammonites in this region.According to modern facies distributions the Roßfeld Fm. can be interpreted as a prograding deep sea channel facies. The following subenvironments are observed: The axial channel (= Thick-bedded sandstone group), and a seaward levee (= thin-bedded unit) passing into a submarine overbank facies (= marly unit). At the slopeward side of the channel there was a narrow fan system consisting of coarse-grained components and slump-deposits (= Upper Roßfeld Fm.).The heavy mineral spectra of the terrigeneous material of the Roßfeld Fm. are characterized by the occurrence of chromium spinell and green amphiboles. Very interesting are few reddishbrown amphiboles (kaersutite), which are considered to indicate alkaline rocks in the source area. This source area was lying in the south in an internal position of the East Alpine system. This position was not the same as that of the Ultrapienidic Ridge of Cenomanian or early Gosauian age.

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Résumé Dans le partie moyenne des Alpes Calcaires Septentrionales entre les rivières Saalach et Traun, les couches terrigènes de la Formation de Rossfeld se développent à partir de la série marneuse de Schrambach (couches à Aptychus) du Néocomien. Cette étude présente les résultats de l'examen de la localité typique des couches de Rossfeld au sud de Salzburg.Les couches inférieures de Rossfeld sont formées à leur base par des marnes grises d'une épaisseur de 175 m environ. Au-dessus suivent 10–15 m d'un grès en minces bancs qui passe à des grès en gros bancs d'une épaisseur totale de 70–80 m. Les couches supérieures de Rossfeld commencent brusquement avec des sédiments grossiers. La série complète montre une augmentation de la granularité vers le haut.Une étude micropaléontologique préliminaire révèle des faunes à foraminifères à espèces typiques du Crétacé inférieur (Valenginien à Hauterivien) dans la partie inférieure de cette section des couches de Rossfeld.Par comparaison avec des répartitions de facies récentes, on peut interpréter la formation de Rossfeld comme facies d'une série qui s'avance dans la région d'une fossé abyssal. On peut définir les régions spéciales suivantes: Un canal axial avec des grès en gros bancs, une levée du côté du bassin avec des grès en bancs minces et, lié à cela, un terrain de débordement sousmarin avec la série marneuse. Un éventail plus local à matériel détritique plus grossier et avec des structures de slumping s'avançait à partir du flanc du bassin: ce sont les couches supérieures de Rossfeld.Le spectre des minéraux denses de la formation de Rossfeld est caractérisé par l'existence du spinelle chromé et d'amphiboles vertes. Particulièrement intéressantes sont des amphiboles rouge-brun très rares (Kaersutites), lesquelles montreraient l'existence de roches alcalines dans le domaine nourricier. Le matériel détritique a une origine méridionale et provient donc d'une région ayant une position interne dans l'orogène, ce qui ne correspond pas avec la position du seuil ultrapiénidique du crétacé supérieur.

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Arbeit durchgeführt im Rahmen des IGCP-Projektes Mid-Cretaceous Events 73/ I/58.     

The dynamical and liquid water structure of the small cumulus as determined from its environment

This paper examines the evidence for the model of a small cumulus cloud represented as a quasi static but turbulent entity, growing on the upshear side and decaying on the downshear side. While the air just outside the cloudy outline is, on average, stationary relative to the embedding airmass, there is a slight flow, upwards and forward as though the updraft has induced upward motion in the clear air outside the cloud, on the growing side. On the decaying side the motion is downwards and away from the cloud.This is a flow pattern which is not consistent with the air flowing around the cloud as it moves forward but it agrees well with the picture given. Decayed remnants of cloud are found throughout the air previously occupied by the cloud. The cloud outline moves through the embedding air at a velocity which is almost as large as the relative motion of the subcloud feeding airflow (which is almost free from internal wind shear in strong convection).The mixing of dry air from above the inversion yields the observed diluted liquid water content in small cumuli, if such mixing is allowed to proceed until the cloud density equals that of the surrounding air. Quantitative conditions relating the liquid water to inversion temperature and moisture changes, and to the stability of the environment are presented. The strong vertical mixing from the top of the cloud downwards is important to microphysical processes.     

Risø 1978: Further investigations into the effects of local terrain irregularities on tower-measured wind profiles

Observations of flow over complex terrain taken at Risø during June–July 1978 and numerical studies confirm earlier findings that small variations in surface elevation have significant effects on mean wind profiles. Measured shear stresses in the nonequilibrium region of the flow are consistent with theory but quite different from those obtained assuming simple flux-profile relationships. These findings imply that flux-profile relationships can be quite complicated over other than simple homogeneous terrain.     

Josephinite: Crystal structures and phase relations of the metals

Josephinite, a complex, metal-bearing rock from the region of the Josephine Peridotite in southwest Oregon, contains FeNiCo metal alloy phases having exsolution textures. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy have revealed Widmanstaetten patterns in which the lamellae are polysynthetically twinned, ordered, face-centered-cubic FeNi₃ surrounded by untwinned, ordered, face-centered-cubic FeNi₃ and body-centered-cubic FeCo. These exsolution textures require a temperature in excess of 500°C for their formation. This is consistent with a mantle derivation of josephinite prior to obduction of the peridotite in one of the Klamath ophiolites.     

Soil water residence times and solute uptake on a dolomite bedrock—preliminary results

Calcium and magnesium levels have been monitored in slope foot drainage waters on a dolomite bedrock. Both calcium and magnesium rich pulses occur. Short term dissolution experiments demonstrate high calcium levels in solution while other authors have suggested that long residence time groundwater has relatively high levels of magnesium due to calcite precipitation. Patterns of field fluctuations in Ca: Mg ratios can thus be tentatively interpreted in terms of short residence time water of high calcium content mixing with long residence time water of high magnesium content. Fluorometric dye tracing has been used to indicate the orders of magnitude of soil water residence times, suggesting that quickflow components are resident in the system for a few hours to a few days. Further work is in progress.     

A variational principle for steady state groundwater flow with a free surface

Summary The velocity potential and the shape of the free surface of a steady state gravity flow of incompressible, homogeneous groundwater inside an inhomogeneous, anisotropic aquifer are to be determined as the solution of a non-linear boundary-value problem. In this paper an equivalent variational principle has been formulated which is useful as a base of variational methods solving this boundary-value problem approximately.

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Zusammenfassung Das Geschwindigkeitspotential und die Gestalt des freien Grundwasserspiegels einer stationären Strömung inkompressiblen, homogenen Grundwassers innerhalb eines anisotropen, inhomogenen Grundwasserträgers sind aus einem nichtlinearen Randwertproblem zu bestimmen. Es wird ein äquivalentes Variationsprinzip angegeben, welches als Basis für die Anwendung direkter Methoden der Variationsrechnung zur approximativen Lösung dieses Randwertproblemes dienen kann.