Revising macroseismic data in Switzerland: The December 20, 1720 earthquake in the region of Lake Constance

Upgrading the Earthquake Catalog of Switzerland (ECOS) included revising the earthquake of 1720. This change has major importance for history and seismology.Although that quake has been the subject of several publications, none was based on critical methods. This re-evaluation of the event is built upon a new and more reliable database established after investigating archives and libraries. Using data from such historical sources, we assigned new site intensities, adopting the criteria established by the European macroseismic scale EMS 98 (Grünthal, 1998).We discovered that the event had been assigned an overestimated intensity, due to interpretation errors in former earthquake catalogs and compilations. We recommend reducing the intensity from I₀= VIII to I₀= VI (EMS 98). The moment magnitude is given as M_W= 4.6. Since the event had been considered the largest for its respective area, downgrading it now will influence the seismic hazard assessment for this region.     

A middle–late Ediacaran volcano‐sedimentary record from the eastern Arabian‐Nubian shield

The Ediacaran Jibalah Group comprises volcano‐sedimentary successions that filled small fault‐bound basins along the NW–SE‐trending Najd fault system in the eastern Arabian‐Nubian Shield. Like several other Jibalah basins, the Antaq basin contains exquisitely preserved sedimentary structures and felsic tuffs, and hence is an excellent candidate for calibrating late Ediacaran Earth history. Shallow‐marine strata from the upper Jibalah Group (Muraykhah Formation) contain a diversity of load structures and intimately related textured organic (microbial) surfaces, along with a fragment of a structure closely resembling an Ediacaran frond fossil and a possible specimen of Aspidella. Interspersed carbonate beds through the Muraykhah Formation record a positive δ¹³C shift from ?6 to 0‰. U‐Pb zircon geochronology indicates a maximum depositional age of ~570 Ma for the upper Jibalah Group, consistent with previous age estimates. Although this age overlaps with that of the upper Huqf Supergroup in nearby Oman, these sequences were deposited in contrasting tectonic settings on opposite sides of the final suture of the East African Orogen.     

Temporal replication of the national land cover database using active machine learning

Regional and national level land cover datasets, such as the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) in the United States, have become an important resource in physical and social science research. Updates to the NLCD have been conducted every 5 years since 2001; however, the procedure for producing a new release is labor-intensive and time-consuming, taking 3 or 4 years to complete. Furthermore, in most countries very few, if any, such releases exist, and thus there is high demand for efficient production of land cover data at different points in time. In this paper, an active machine learning framework for temporal updating (or backcasting) of land cover data is proposed and tested for three study sites covered by the NLCD. The approach employs a maximum entropy classifier to extract information from one Landsat image using the NLCD, and then replicate the classification on a Landsat image for the same geographic extent from a different point in time to create land cover data of similar quality. Results show that this framework can effectively replicate the land cover database in the temporal domain with similar levels of overall and within class agreement when compared against high resolution reference land cover datasets. These results demonstrate that the land cover information encapsulated in the NLCD can effectively be extracted using solely Landsat imagery for replication purposes. The algorithm is fully automated and scalable for applications at landscape and regional scales for multiple points in time.     

A synoptic program for large solar telescopes: Cyclic variation of turbulent magnetic fields

Upcoming large solar telescopes will offer the possibility of unprecedented high resolution observations. However, during periods of non‐ideal seeing such measurements are impossible and alternative programs should be considered to best use the available observing time. We present a synoptic program, currently carried out at the Istituto Ricerche Solari Locarno (IRSOL), to monitor turbulent magnetic fields employing the differential Hanle effect in atomic and molecular lines. This program can be easily adapted for the use at large telescopes exploring new science goals, nowadays impossible to achieve with smaller telescopes. The current, interesting scientific results prove that such programs are worthwhile to be continued and expanded in the future. We calculate the approximately achievable spatial resolution at a large telescope like ATST for polarimetric measurements with a noise level below 5 × 10^‐5 and a temporal resolution which is sufficient to explore variations on the granular scale. We show that it would be important to optimize the system for maximal photon throughput and to install a high‐speed camera system to be able to study turbulent magnetic fields with unprecedented accuracy (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Neoproterozoic chemostratigraphy

Chemostratigraphy has diverse applications to investigating the rock record, such as reconstructing paleoenvironments, determining the tectonic setting of sedimentary basins, indirect dating, and establishing regional or global correlations. Chemostratigraphy is thus an integral component of many investigations of the ancient sedimentary record. In this contribution, we review the principle inorganic geochemical methods that have been applied to the Neoproterozoic sedimentary record. Analysis of the traditional stable and radiogenic isotope systems, such as δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, is routine, particularly in successions rich in carbonate. These mainstay applications have yielded invaluable data and information bearing on the chronology and evolution of this eventful era in Earth history. Alongside the growing database of traditional data, a series of novel geochemical techniques have given rise to important new models and constraints on Neoproterozoic biogeochemical change. In particular, a range of proxies for water column redox, mainly obtained from black shales, have shed light on the pace and tempo of Neoproterozoic oxygenation and its link to the appearance of early animal evolution. Increased integration of diverse geochemical, sedimentological, and paleontological datasets, and the gradual radiometric calibration of the stratigraphic record promise to bring the details of the evolution of the Neoproterozoic Earth system into ever greater focus.     

Experimental investigation of the hydrodynamics in pockmarks using particle tracking velocimetry

Water tank experiments were performed in order to investigate the behaviour of currents in pockmarks. A particle-seeded flow was visualised and quantified with the aid of the particle tracking velocimetry technique. The employed analogue pockmark is a 1:100 idealised scale model of a natural pockmark, while the highest Reynolds number in the experiments was one order of magnitude smaller than in nature. Interaction of the flow with the pockmark geometry resulted in an upwelling current downstream of the pockmark centre, along with enhanced water turbulence in the depression. Scaling-up the experimental measurements, it is found that the upwelling would be capable of preventing the settling of particles as large as very fine sand. Furthermore, the increased turbulence would support the suspended fine material, which can thus be transported away before settling. The net effect for a variable-direction near-bed current over long periods of time would be to winnow the settling sediments and reduce the sedimentation rate in pockmarks. These mechanisms may be responsible for the observed lack of sediment infill and the typical presence of relatively coarser sediments inside pockmarks compared to the surrounding bed. In contrast, sediments transported as bedload are likely to be deposited in pockmarks because of the weakening of near-bed currents as well as lateral flow convergence associated with the upwelling. Bedload, however, may not be the dominant mode of sediment transport in areas covered by cohesive sediments, where pockmarks are found.     

Redox-controlled iron isotope fractionation during magmatic differentiation: an example from the Red Hill intrusion, S. Tasmania

This study presents accurate and precise iron isotopic data for 16 co-magmatic rocks and 6 pyroxene–magnetite pairs from the classic, tholeiitic Red Hill sill in southern Tasmania. The intrusion exhibits a vertical continuum of compositions created by in situ fractional crystallisation of a single injection of magma in a closed igneous system and, as such, constitutes a natural laboratory amenable to determining the causes of Fe isotope fractionation in magmatic rocks. Early fractionation of pyroxenes and plagioclase, under conditions closed to oxygen exchange, gives rise to an iron enrichment trend and an increase in $ f_{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} $ of the melt relative to the Fayalite–Magnetite–Quartz (FMQ) buffer. Enrichment in Fe³⁺/ΣFe_melt is mirrored by δ⁵⁷Fe, where ^VIFe²⁺-bearing pyroxenes partition ⁵⁷Fe-depleted iron, defining an equilibrium pyroxene-melt fractionation factor of $ \Updelta^{57} {\text{Fe}}_{{{\text{px}} - {\text{melt}}}} \le - 0.25\,\permille \times 10^{6} /T^{2} $ . Upon magnetite saturation, the $ f_{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} $ and δ⁵⁷Fe of the melt fall, commensurate with the sequestration of the oxidised, ⁵⁷Fe-enriched iron into magnetite, quantified as $ \Updelta^{57} {\text{Fe}}_{{{\text{mtn}} - {\text{melt}}}} = + 0.20\,\permille \times 10^{6} /T^{2} $ . Pyroxene–magnetite pairs reveal an equilibrium fractionation factor of $ \Updelta^{57} {\text{Fe}}_{{{\text{mtn}} - {\text{px}}}} \approx + 0.30\,\permille $ at 900–1,000?°C. Iron isotopes in differentiated magmas suggest that they may act as an indicator of their oxidation state and tectonic setting.     

The snowball Earth aftermath: Exploring the limits of continental weathering processes

Carbonates capping Neoproterozoic glacial deposits contain peculiar sedimentological features and geochemical anomalies ascribed to extraordinary environmental conditions in the snowball Earth aftermath. It is commonly assumed that post-snowball climate dominated by CO₂ partial pressures several hundred times greater than modern levels, would be characterized by extreme temperatures, a vigorous hydrological cycle, and associated high continental weathering rates. However, the climate in the aftermath of a global glaciation has never been rigorously modelled. Here, we use a hierarchy of numerical models, from an atmospheric general circulation model to a mechanistic model describing continental weathering processes, to explore characteristics of the Earth system during the supergreenhouse climate following a snowball glaciation. These models suggest that the hydrological cycle intensifies only moderately in response to the elevated greenhouse. Indeed, constraints imposed by the surface energy budget sharply limit global mean evaporation once the temperature has warmed sufficiently that the evaporation approaches the total absorbed solar radiation. Even at 400 times the present day pressure of atmospheric CO₂, continental runoff is only 1.2 times the modern runoff. Under these conditions and accounting for the grinding of the continental surface by the ice sheet during the snowball event, the simulated maximum discharge of dissolved elements from continental weathering into the ocean is approximately 10 times greater than the modern flux. Consequently, it takes millions of years for the silicate weathering cycle to reduce post-snowball CO₂ levels to background Neoproterozoic levels. Regarding the origin of the cap dolostones, we show that continental weathering alone does not supply enough cations during the snowball melting phase to account for their observed volume.     

Microbial biogeochemistry and bioturbation in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire

The influence of bioturbation on certain aspects of the biogeochemistry of sulfur and iron was examined in shallow-water sediments of Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. A bioturbated (JEL) and non-bioturbated (SQUAM) site were compared. Annual sulfate reduction measured with ³⁵S, was 4·5 times more rapid at JEL. A significant portion of this difference was attributed to rapid rates which occurred throughout the upper 12 cm of sediment at JEL due to infaunal reworking activities. Sulfate reduction decreased rapidly with depth at SQUAM. FeS in the upper 2 cm at JEL increased in concentration from 3 to 45 μmol ml⁻¹ from early May to late July while only increasing from 3 to 8 μmol ml⁻¹ at SQUAM. Infaunal irrigation and reworking activities caused rapid and continous subsurface cycling of iron and sulfur at JEL. This maintained dissolved iron concentrations at 160–170 μM throughout the summer despite rapid sulfide production. Therefore, dissolved sulfide never accumulated in JEL pore waters. Although dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was generated during sulfate reduction, bioturbation during summer caused a net removal of DOC from JEL pore waters. Sulfate reduction rates, decomposition stoichiometry and nutrient concentrations were used to calculate turnover times of nutrients in pore waters. Nutrient turnover varied temporally and increased three-to five-fold during bioturbation. A secondary maximum in the abundance of recoverable sulfate-reducing bacteria occurred at 10 cm in JEL sediments only during periods of active bioturbation, demonstrating the influence of macrofaunal activities on bacterial distributions.