Early pleistocene lake deposits and Lower Paleolithic finds in Nahal (wadi) Zihor, Southern Negev desert, Israel

An Early Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine sequence from the extremely arid southern Negev desert, Israel, indicates that climatic conditions during that period were humid enough to support the formation of a lake (Lake Zihor) there. The lacustrine sediments were deposited in a tectonic valley that developed along the Zihor tectonic line after the deposition of the Pliocene Arava Formation. They intercalate with fluvial sediments that contain several horizons of reddish calcic paleosols. The lacustrine sequence comprises three sedimentary cycles. Each starts with a dark clay layer overlain by a white limestone unit, both of which contain abundant freshwater fauna, and terminates with a green detrital limestone that contains only one type of brackish-water ostracod. The top of each green limestone unit is characterized by pedogenic features and microrelief, indicating desiccation of the lake and soil development. Isotope data support the hypothesis that the white limestone was deposited in an open, freshwater lake. The incision of the present channel of Nahal (wadi) Zihor in the lacustrine sediments is manifested by a series of rock-cut and fluvial terraces (Q1–Q4) capped by gypsic-salic soils, which reflect the onset of the present, extremely arid climate. Over 100 find-spots and larger occurrences of prehistoric artifacts assigned to the Lower Paleolithic were discovered near Lake Zihor. On the basis of techno-typological and stratigraphic considerations, these assemblages are divided into two groups, the first of which may be contemporaneous with the lake, while the second is found mainly on the younger Q1 and Q2 terraces. It is estimated that the lake existed for more than 100,000 years. The climate during this period was probably semiarid, but water budget calculations suggest that, in addition to surface runoff, seepage of groundwater along the Zihor Line contributed a considerable amount of water to the lake.     

Similarity-based approaches in hydrogeology: proposal of a new concept for data-scarce groundwater resource characterization and prediction

Hydrogeology Journal - A new concept is proposed for describing, analysing and predicting the dynamic behaviour of groundwater resources based on classification and similarity. The concept makes...     

Measuring supermassive black holes via reverberation mapping in the UV

Over the past three decades the reverberation mapping technique was used to measure the central regions of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), their size, velocity field, and the mass of the black hole in the center. This technique was used mainly in the optical with several studies in the UV. Reverberation mapping in the UV adds essential information to the AGN studies. This paper reviews these recent studies done in the UV, presents results from the recent HST campaign toward NGC?5548, and discuss two projects of reverberation mapping of UV emission lines in high-luminosity quasars. The advantages of reverberation mapping in the UV will be discussed as well as the needs from new UV missions in order to be able to advance UV reverberation mapping campaigns.     

Comparative hydrogeology – reference analysis of groundwater dynamics from neighbouring observation wells

ABSTRACT

Groundwater level fluctuations are caused by spatial and temporal superposition of processes within and outside the aquifer system. Most of the subsurface processes are usually observed on a small scale. Upscaling to the regional scale, as required for future climate change scenarios, is difficult due to data scarcity and increasing complexity. In contrast to the limited availability of system characteristics, high-resolution data records of groundwater hydrographs are more generally available. Exploiting the information contained in these records should thus be a priority for analysis of the chronical lack of data describing groundwater system characteristics. This study analyses the applicability of 63 indices derived from daily hydrographs to quantify different dynamics of groundwater levels in unconfined gravel aquifers from three groundwater regions (Bavaria, Germany). Based on the results of two different skill tests, the study aids index selection for different dynamic components of groundwater hydrographs.     

The Centurion 18 telescope of the Wise Observatory

We describe the second telescope of the Wise Observatory, a 0.46-m Centurion 18 (C18) installed in 2005, which enhances significantly the observing possibilities. The telescope operates from a small dome and is equipped with a large-format CCD camera. In the last two years this telescope was intensively used in a variety of monitoring projects. The operation of the C18 is now automatic, requiring only start-up at the beginning of a night and close-down at dawn. The observations are mostly performed remotely from the Tel Aviv campus or even from the observer’s home. The entire facility was erected for a component cost of about 70k$ and a labor investment of a total of one man-year. We describe three types of projects undertaken with this new facility: the measurement of asteroid light variability with the purpose of determining physical parameters and binarity, the following-up of transiting extrasolar planets, and the study of AGN variability. The successful implementation of the C18 demonstrates the viability of small telescopes in an age of huge light-collectors, provided the operation of such facilities is very efficient.     

Investigating the implications of meteorological indicators of seasonal rainfall performance on maize yield in a rain-fed agricultural system: case study of Mt. Darwin District in Zimbabwe

The study focuses on the impacts of climate variability and change on maize yield in Mt. Darwin District. The rainfall and temperature data for the period under study that is from 1992 to 2012 were obtained from Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe at daily resolution while crop yield data were obtained from Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX) and Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) at seasonal/yearly resolution. In order to capture full rainfall seasons, a year was set to begin on 1 June and end on 31 July the next year. Yearly yield, temperature and rainfall data were used to compute time series analysis of rainfall, temperature and yield. The relationship between temperature, rainfall, quality of season (start, cessation, dry days, wet days and length) and yield was also investigated. The study also investigated the link between meteorological normal and maize yield. The study revealed that temperature is rising while rainfall is decreasing with time hence increasing risk of low maize yield in Mt. Darwin. Correlation between maize yield was higher using a non-linear (R ² = 0.630) than a linear regression model (R ² = 0.173). There was a very high correlation between maize yield and number of dry days (R = −0.905) as well as between maize yield and length of season (R = 0.777). We also observed a strong correlation between percentage normal rainfall and percentage normal maize yield (R ² = 0.753). This was also agreed between rainfall tessiles and maize yield tessiles as 50 % of the seasons had normal and above normal rainfall coinciding with normal and above normal maize yield. Of the 21 seasons considered, only one season had above normal rainfall while maize yield was below normal. The study concluded that there is a strong association between meteorological normal and maize yield in a rain-fed agricultural system. Climate information remains crucial to agricultural productivity hence the need to train farmers to access the information and use it for the benefit of their activities.

     

Rate of seismicity of the dead sea region over the past 4000 years

The results of two millennia of earthquake documentation, a few decades of macroseismic and instrumental routine seismological observations and five months of microearthquake monitoring, are used to estimate the rate of seismic activity of the Dead Sea fault. It is found that these vastly diverse data which combine long- and short-term tectonic processes, are in good accord with the formula:

$\text{log}{}_{10}\text{N=2.54 ? 0.86M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>L</mtext>}}$

where N is the annual number of events of local magnitude M_L or greater. If this equation is extrapolated to ca. 2000 B.C., it yields a Richter magnitude M_s = 7 for the event of Sodom and Gomorrah which is believed to be associated with the strongest earthquake in the region during historical times.Comparing our findings with the results of other investigators in Turkey, Greece, Aegean Sea and Iran, we note that the b values along the Syrian-African rift zone (0.78–0.86) are smaller than those in Greece and its surrounding seas (0.94–1.16).     

Effects of particulate matter released by a fish farm (Eilat,Red Sea) on survival and growth of Stylophora pistillata coral nubbins

This field study aims to determine whether increased levels of organically enriched particulate matter released by net pen fish farms (Eilat, Red Sea) would affect the growth of nubbins taken from the branching coral Stylophora pistillata. We followed the survival and growth of 1322 nubbins pruned from five colonies that were transplanted at a depth of 6 m in the vicinity of the fish cages and in a reference site, in front of the Interuniversity Institute (IUI). Nubbins were attached on U-shaped PVC plates in three orientations (up, vertical and down positions). After 50 days, survival was high in both localities and no difference was recorded between the spatial orientations. At the fish farm, however, burial of the nubbin's lateral growths and partial coverage of nubbins by settled particulate matter resulted in significant reduction of the lateral growth rates of nubbins settled in the up position as compared to the reference site. On the other hand, faster growth rates were recorded in the vertical set of nubbins at the fish farm when compared with the IUI site. These results strengthen the conclusion that physical effects, rather than nutrient enrichment, may constitute the main cause of stress for minute coral fragments (resembling coral recruits) growing near the vicinity of a fish farm.