Glacier Distribution in the Alps: Statistical Modelling of Altitude and Aspect

Mass balance of glaciers in mountain areas varies not only with altitude and regional position but also with aspect, gradient, glacier size, glacier type and detailed topographic position. These factors are combined here in models of how glacier altitude varies, tested with data for the Alps edited from the World Glacier Inventory. An overall northward tendency in glacier numbers (toward 005 ± 4°) and lower altitudes (013 ± 5°) is maintained across a range of glacier sizes, types, altitudes and the major divisions of the Alps. Variation with aspect of glacier altitude (and, by implication, of glacier balance) in the Alps is essentially unimodal, and north‐facing glaciers average 220 m lower in middle altitude than south‐facing: 148 m in the Western Alps, 232 m in the West‐central, 252 m in the East‐central, and 268 m in the Eastern Alps. For smaller subdivisions, confidence intervals on estimates are broader and many differences lack statistical significance. Contrasts are greater in the higher massifs, with greater relief, and lower in cloudy, windward areas. There are small windrelated tendencies east of north along the northern and western fringes, but trends across space are weak: position is thus treated by subdivision into districts and groups. Mid‐altitude averages 2891 m overall and varies from 2552 to 3127 m for 27 glacier districts, and from 2124 to 3209 m for 103 glacier groups. Glacier mid‐altitude varies also with glacier form, nourishment, height range and area, which account for over two‐thirds of variance in combined models.     

Exsolution intergrowths of titanian ferrocolumbite and niobian rutile from the Weinebene Spodumene Pegmatites,Carinthia, Austria

Summary Titanian ferrocolumbite is a rare accessory mineral in the spodumene-bearing pegmatites at Weinebene, Carinthia, Austria. It contains abundant exsolved niobian rutile and scarce inclusions of cassiterite that may be primary. The titanian ferrocolumbite is relatively homogeneous with Mn/(Mn + Fe) 0.24–0.33, Ta/(Ta + Nb) 0.09–0.13 (atomic ratios) and 0.47–0.88 Ti per 12 cations (2.7–5.0 wt.% TiO₂). Natural specimens are considerably disordered but become more ordered on heating. Niobian rutile has Mn/(Mn + Fe) 0.00–0.04 and Ta/(Ta + Nb) 0.26–0.38; it concentrates Fe, Ta, Ti and Sn relative to the Mn- and Nb-enriched ferrocolumbite. The overall scarcity of Nb, Ta-oxide minerals in the spodumene-bearing pegmatites of southern Ostalpen conforms to their general features ranking them with the albite-spodumene type of rare-element pegmatites.With 4 Figures     

Recharge areas and hydrochemistry of carbonate springs issuing from Semmering Massif, Austria, based on long-term oxygen-18 and hydrochemical data evidence

Oxygen-18 content and hydrochemistry of the springs issuing from Semmering Massif was intensively monitored with the aim of characterizing the recharge areas and hydrochemical evolution. The δ¹⁸O-altitude effect was determined using isotopic and hydrogeological data for small, mainly crystalline reference springs; it was approximated at –0.27 and –0.21‰/100 m respectively for the northern and southern side of the massif. Applying these values the mean recharge altitude of the springs was calculated. For the large-capacity carbonate springs it ranges between 1,100–1,410 m, compatible with the topographic and hydrogeologic frame work of the Mesozoic limestones and dolomites comprised in the Lower Austroalpine feeding the springs. Hydrochemical composition of the carbonate springs is dominated by Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, HCO₃ ^– and SO₄ ^2– ions. With respect to calcite, the springs are nearly saturated, but undersaturated with dolomite (except for some springs that seemed close to saturation). As is typical for carbon dioxide influx from soils in a mountainous region, the mean equilibrium P_CO2 is low, within 10^–3.0 and 10^–2.5 atm (0.1–0.3 vol%). On a long-term scale, the pH and the calculated SI_c, SI_d and equilibrium P_CO2 show a strong seasonality, whereas Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and HCO₃ ^– concentration is almost time invariant. By integrating the results of δ¹⁸O and chemical data, altitudinal variability of the chemistry of carbonate groundwater is demonstrated. Reflecting the systematic change of biotic activity and recharge conditions in the catchment areas, a negative co-variation results between the recharge altitude and P_CO2 and HCO₃ ^– concentration (HCO₃ ^– is not modified by any source/sink terms, thus rendering the change on the carbonate chemistry). P_CO2 and HCO₃ ^– drop by approx. 0.22 log units (atm) and 38.6 mg/l, respectively, for every 100-m gain in recharge altitude. Electronic Publication     

Feminism and the new multi-scaling in employment policy

In the last decades, employment policy design and implementation partly shifted from the national to local and regional scales in most European countries. In addition, the European Union appeared as an important new actor in this policy field in the late 1990s. We argue that the new geographical multi-scaling of employment policy can be used strategically by feminists to promote different aspects of gender equality simultaneously: Feminist claims related to gender equity, i.e., demands to secure equal participation of women and men in the labour market, should be advocated at the national scale. Claims related to the recognition of gender difference, i.e., demands related to typical female and male employment needs and their social recognition should be promoted at the local scale. The regional scale is the most appropriate one to advance gender plurality, i.e., non-traditional employment of women and men. In the empirical part of the paper we discuss how the ideal leverage of claims at different spatial scales and inter-linkage between scales could operate. We will show that the link to EU policy strengthens feminist claims in the highly gender-differentiated societies and political settings of Austria and Germany. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hydrogeologic evidence for a continuous basal shear zone within a deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (Eastern Alps, Tyrol, Austria)

The currently inactive deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DGSD) Sagspitz in Tyrol, Austria, covers an area of 3 km² and originated along a glacially over-steepened slope composed mainly of phyllites belonging to the Innsbruck Quartzphyllite Complex. Past mass movement processes caused the formation of fracture systems and slump bodies which consequently form the aquifers of relatively large springs in a rock type with generally very low permeability and poor porosity. Analysis of water chemistry, oxygen isotope, and field parameters of the springs emerging from the DGSD imply that multilevel aquifers exist and enabled the detection of continuous deep flow paths through the entire length of the mass movement from the main scarp to the toe of the slope. It is shown that the aquifer boundaries and spring emergences throughout the loosened rock mass can be correlated to the internal and basal shear zones of the DGSD so that this hydrogeological approach proved to be useful for evaluating the mass movement structure.     

The failure mechanism of a Late Glacial Sturzstrom in the Subalpine Molasse (Leckner Valley, Vorarlberg, Austria)

A number of prehistoric landslides and rock avalanches occurred in the folded and faulted section of the Molasse Zone in Vorarlberg, Austria. Some developed into a Sturzstrom, defined as a ‘rapidly moving fluidised mass movement of large volumes of rock, derived from the disintegration of a falling rock mass, that spread under the influence of gravity’. Their impact on the landscape usually is related to obstruction of rivers and valleys.In this paper, we analyse the geomorphology and the failure mechanism of a relative small ‘Sturzstrom’. The failure mechanism can be described as a ‘buckling failure’. The morphological situation indicates that failure took place after local deglaciation by the end of the Upper Würm. The period of failure coincides with glacial and ice-marginal remnants, which developed between 15.000 and 14.600 BP. The lithological sequence and rock structure, as well as the impact of the processes related to the former glacial environment, were major causal conditions. The rock sequence consists of conglomerates, sandstone layers, and marls. Next to glacial scouring, which increased the inclination of the valley slopes, the effect of late-glacial unloading and postglacial processes, such as weathering and fluvial erosion, subsequently weakened the mass rock fabric until failure occurred.Discontinuity orientation measurements, geostructural and geomechanical conditions, and the former hydrological and geomorphological conditions support bucklings failure. In fact, three-hinge buckling may have occurred. The frontal section of the Sturzstrom consists mainly of large conglomerate blocks, averaging 1.5 m³ in volume, although megablocks, reaching of up to 4000 m³, are present as well. The volume of the entire Sturzstrom equals approximately 10×10⁷ m³. Present activity is only restricted to minor rock falls derived from the conglomerates and mudflows originating from the marl layers.     

Major and trace element geochemistry of superficial sediments and suspended particulate matter of shallow saline lakes in Eastern Austria

General geochemical parameters of water, superficial sediments, and suspended particulate matter (SPM) were determined from small shallow saline lakes (soda ponds) as well as from lake Neusiedlersee in eastern Austria. Additionally, instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was used to determine the distribution of major, rare earth and other trace elements in superficial sediments and SPM. Chemical results show remarkable differences in salinity and ionic strength between the investigated ponds. Anthropogenic effects, such as drawdown of ground water level and a loss of lake water due to drainage, are clearly reflected in obtained chemical and geological data. Due to a strong dependence of the complexation and scavenging behavior of the rare earth elements (REE) on ionic strength, a significant difference between REE concentrations in soda ponds with different anthropogenic impact was found. The content and composition of authigenic evaporitic minerals in superficial sediments and SPM clearly differ with a fluctuating water level and salt concentration. Furthermore, we determined the distribution of major and trace elements in superficial sediments of a nearby fluvial system. Our results show a clear correlation between REE superficial sediment concentrations in anthropogenically degraded soda ponds and fluvial system. Therefore, we assume that REE concentrations of sediments and SPM are suitable for the study of geochemical changes of inland saline lakes due to anthropogenic impacts on water balance.     

Dating the Penninic Ocean subduction: new data from planktonic foraminifera

The Penninic Ocean was a side tract of the Central Atlantic Oceanic System intercalated between the European and the Austroalpine plates. Its closure started in the Early Cretaceous, as subduction of the oceanic crust beyond the Austroalpine plate. The sedimentary change on the Austroalpine shelf from pelagic carbonates into deep-water siliciclastics correlated with the denudation of the accretionary wedge resulting from that subduction. Within the Bajuvaric Unit of the Upper Austroalpine, this transition is reflected by the lithostratigraphic boundary between the older Schrambach and the younger Tannheim Formation. This boundary is well exposed in a newly discovered site at Sittendorf, southwest of Vienna. This new outcrop yields an extraordinarily rich planktonic foraminifera assemblage characterized by typical Aptian species belonging to Blowiella, Globigerinelloides, Hedbergella, Leupoldina, and Praehedbergella. A detailed biostratigraphic analysis based on thin-section investigations precisely dated the lithostratigraphic boundary within the lower part of the early Aptian Leupoldina cabri Acme Zone, having an approximate age of 123 Ma. Along with the biostratigraphic analyses, the gamma-log outcrop measurement was a powerful tool in interpreting the stratigraphy and the tectonic setting in the outcrop, which intersects one smaller-scale isoclinal fold.     

Environmental responses to Lateglacial climatic fluctuations recorded in the sediments of pre‐Alpine Lake Mondsee (northeastern Alps)

Investigation of the sedimentary record of pre‐Alpine Lake Mondsee (Upper Austria) focused on the environmental reaction to rapid Lateglacial climatic changes. Results of this study reveal complex proxy responses that are variable in time and influenced by the long‐term evolution of the lake and its catchment. A new field sampling approach facilitated continuous and precisely controlled parallel sampling at decadal to sub‐annual resolution for µ‐XRF element scanning, carbon geochemistry, stable isotope measurements on ostracods, pollen analyses and large‐scale thin sections for microfacies analysis. The Holocene chronology is established through microscopic varve counting and supported by accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating of terrestrial plant macrofossils, whereas the Lateglacial age model is based on δ¹⁸O wiggle matching with the Greenland NGRIP record, using the GICC05 chronology. Microfacies analysis enables the detection of subtle sedimentological changes, proving that depositional processes even in rather large lake systems are highly sensitive to climate forcing. Comparing periods of major warming at the onset of the Lateglacial and Holocene and of major cooling at the onset of the Younger Dryas reveals differences in proxy responses, reflecting threshold effects and ecosystem inertia. Temperature increase, vegetation recovery, decrease of detrital flux and intensification of biochemical calcite precipitation at the onset of the Holocene took place with only decadal leads and lags over a ca. 100 a period, whereas the spread of woodlands and the reduction of detrital flux lagged the warming at the onset of the Lateglacial Interstadial by ca. 500–750 a. Cooling at the onset of the Younger Dryas is reflected by the simultaneous reaction of δ¹⁸O and vegetation, but sedimentological changes (reduction of endogenic calcite content, increase in detrital flux) were delayed by about 150–300 a. Three short‐term Lateglacial cold intervals, corresponding to Greenland isotope substages GI‐1d, GI‐1c2 and GI‐1b, also show complex proxy responses that vary in time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.