Anomalously nucleogenic neon in North Chile Ridge basalt glasses suggesting a previously degassed mantle source

Fresh basalt glasses from the North Chile Ridge (NCR) in the southeastern Pacific have Ne isotopic compositions distinctly different from typical mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). In a three-isotope plot of ²⁰Ne/²²Ne vs. ²¹Ne/²²Ne, the NCR data define a correlation line with a slope smaller than that of the MORB correlation line, i.e. their Ne composition is more nucleogenic than that of MORB. ³He/⁴He ratios are slightly lower than the MORB average, whereas in a few stepwise heating fractions very high ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios up to 28,000 are found. One model to explain the data assumes contamination of the NCR mantle source by material from the continental or oceanic crust, but in addition to difficulties with quantitatively reconciling the noble gas patterns with such a model it seems unable to account for some geochemical characteristics of NCR basalts reported earlier [Bach et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 142 (1996) 223–240], such as depletions in highly incompatible elements and unradiogenic Sr isotope compositions. Therefore we favor the scenario of a mantle source which was depleted and degassed previously, possibly as a residue from mantle melting beneath the southern East Pacific Rise that was transported to the NCR and melted again. The time during which such a depleted reservoir would have to be separated from the MORB mantle is estimated at 10–100 Ma based on U/Th–Ne systematics, in reasonable agreement with the time scale deduced from the formation history of the NCR and the temporal evolution of the southeast Pacific.     

On the transfer of stratospheric ozone into the troposphere near the north pole

A series of nearly daily ozone vertical profiles obtained at station T-3 on Fletcher's Ice Island (85°N, 90°W) during the period January-March 1971 shows several significant ozone intrusions into the troposphere. These intrusions are not only associated with enhanced ozone amounts in the stratosphere but also require tropopause folding events to transport ozone into the troposphere. These folds in the Arctic tropopause appear to be capable of contributing significantly to the ozone budget of the Arctic troposphere during the late winter and spring seasons. The importance of tropopause folding for bringing ozone into the troposphere seen in the daily ozone profiles confirms the results found in the Arctic Gas and Aerosol Sampling Program aircraft flights.     

Plate kinematics and the gravity field

Both the system of plate motions and the global gravity field or the geoid are now so precisely known that it seems worthwhile to look for quantitative relationships. Some aspects, such as the general occurrence of positive gravity and geoid anomalies in regions of plate convergence, have long been known. Our aim is to describe the gravitational field in terms of plate-kinematic parameters and we present a preliminary step in this direction: for four plates (Pacific, Nazca, Indian, American) we have computed the correlation of the Gem 8 geoid heights (with reference to an ellipsoid of 1/298.255 ellipticity) with distance from the poles of motion and distance from the axes in an “absolute” frame. The geoid tends first to drop from the ridge axes to at least 10° distance and then to rise toward the convergence zones. This trend is strongest for the Indian plate in collision with Eurasia, is smaller, but very clear for the oceanic Pacific and Nazca plates, and is not developed for the American plate which does not subduct. We did not find a consistent relationship for the geoid with distance from the pivots. A possible interpretation of the results is the return flow of the large-scale mantle circulation.     

Dynamik der Schilfröhrichte am Bodensee unter dem Einfluss von Wasserstandsvariationen

On the basis of different sets of aerial photos the dynamics of the reed bed areas of Lake Constance were investigated in relation to the dynamics of the water levels. The objectives of the study were to quantify the changes of reed areas due to different flood events in the last decades and their recovery in the time periods between these events. The results should given information of the relevance of water level variations on reed bed dynamics and the regeneration times of reed beds after extreme disturbance events.Following the extreme flood at Lake Constance in 1999 the reed belts of Lake Constance lost approximately 30 ha (24%) of the lakeside reed beds. The loss is comparable to the situation in the late 1960s, when approximately 40 ha died back due to the extreme flood in 1965 and the high spring water levels in the subsequent years. In the time period between the extreme floods of 1965 and 1999, the reed areas expanded to nearly 85% of the area before 1965. The expansion rates increased with increasing distance to the flood event of 1965. Especially in periods with series of years of low spring water level the expansion rates were high.The damage degrees of the reed areas in the years 2000 and 2002 showed a clear relation to the elevation (i.e. average water level) of the stands. The damage degree increased with decreasing elevation. Furthermore the regeneration process of severely damaged stands was related to the elevation level of the stands. Whereas stands at high elevation regenerate fast, those at low elevation died off completely in the years after the extreme flood. This supports the hypothesis that the water level flutuations play a major role in the reed dynamics of Lake Constance.As a consequence of the climate change an increase in the frequency of high spring water levels is expected. Thus, it seems unlikely that reed stands will ever expand again to the same area as before 1965.     

Fidelity and time resolution of the magnetostratigraphic record in Siwalik sediments: high-resolution study of a complete polarity transition and evidence for cryptochrons in a Miocene fluviatile section

The Surai Khola section in southwest Nepal, a 5000 m continuously exposed record of fluvial sedimentation since Middle Miocene, was revisited for high-resolution magnetostratigraphy in sequences with expected cryptochrons and reversals of the geomagnetic field. Polarity intervals with durations of a few tens of thousands of years are recorded as zones of stable palaeomagnetic directions. Polarity transitions are recorded as zones with complex demagnetization behaviour of specimens in the sedimentary column. Almost antiparallel palaeoremanence directions, residing in different haematite phases in the same specimens, could generally not be separated properly by thermal demagnetization. Differing demagnetization paths for neighbouring specimens during a reversal suggest that measured transitional directions are not true geomagnetic field directions, but rather are generated by the superposition of variable amounts of at least two almost antiparallel components of magnetization. Accompanying studies of recent river sand deposits demonstrate that these sediments acquire a true depositional remanent magnetization (DRM) with considerable inclination errors and scattered directions for individual specimens.     

Outflows from Dynamo-Active Protostellar Accretion Discs

An axisymmetric model of a cool, dynamo-active accretion disc is applied to protostellar discs. Thermally and magnetically driven outflows develop that are not collimated within 0.1 AU. In the presence of a central magnetic field from the protostar, accretion onto the protostar is highly episodic, which is in agreement with earlier work.     

Atmospheric noble gases in volcanic glasses from the southern Lau Basin: origin from the subducting slab?

Noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions have been determined for four submarine volcanic glasses from the Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in the southern Lau Basin. The samples are the least differentiated ones from this area, and they display enrichments in fluid-mobile elements similar to the nearby island arc. ³He/⁴He ratios are slightly below average MORB (6.8–7.8 times atmospheric), whereas Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe have isotopic compositions very similar to air. Together with previously published data from the Valu Fa Ridge and other spreading segments in the Lau Basin, our data show a systematic latitudinal variation of increasing Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe abundances from north to south as well as Ne and Ar isotopic compositions changing from MORB-like to atmosphere-like in the same direction. Moreover, isotopic compositions and noble gas abundances of the lavas correlate strongly with Ba/Nb ratios and H₂O concentrations. Based on these observations and mass balance arguments, we propose that the atmospheric noble gases come from the subducting oceanic crust and are not due to shallow contamination with air dissolved in seawater or assimilation of old crust. Our data suggest that the noble gases released from the subducting slab are atmospheric and thus contain little or no solar He and Ne. In addition to the fact that ratios of He to heavy noble gases are small in aged ocean crust, He has possibly fractionated from the other noble gases due to its higher diffusivity, and thus He transport from the subducting slab into the mantle wedge is probably insignificant. We propose that the ³He/⁴He ratios lower than MORB observed in the VFR lavas result from radiogenic ingrowth of He in a highly depleted, and hence degassed, mantle wedge after the enrichment of U and Th released from the downgoing slab.     

Pulsar radio emission

Radio emission by pulsars is calculated from first principles. In an almost current-free magnetosphere, the two charged components (of the unsteadily escaping pair plasma) have different (and varying) bulk Lorentz factors. Curvature radiation emitted by the more energetic component is thus locally coherent, (so-called antenna mechanism). Strong enough seed signals cause the relativistically streaming charges to enhance their radiation, via an induced drift that can largely exceed the curvature drift. This amplification mechanism is similar to - but different from - that of a maser; we call it a MAIDER. Maximal amplification occurs at an (emission) altitude where the two components have sufficiently separated in energy though not yet separated too strongly in space.