ALBERT

Beschreibung: The GeoDataNode project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF) conducted a survey of data management practices at GFZ. The aim was to assess the state of current practices and needs, and their alignment to institutional and national guidelines for data management. The target audience included scientific and technical employees at all levels. A response rate of 24% of the target demographic was achieved. The survey revealed a general need for improvement and structuring of research data handling. This includes provision of adequate storage space, back-up schedules, and the familiarization of young researchers with good scientific practice.

Beschreibung: In this thesis the subduction zone of the Central Andes is studied. The Andes have formed in a complex interplay of subduction related and tectonic processes. The Central Andes with the associated Altiplano-Puna high plateau constitute the second largest continental land-mass on earth, rivaled only by the Tibetan highland. Whereas in the case of the Himalayas , where two buoyant continental plates collide, crustal thickening and uplift is quite intuitive, processes leading to formation of a plateau above a subduction zone are puzzling.

Beschreibung: The 2014 LoNNe (Loss of the Night Network) intercomparison campaign is the third of four campaigns planned during EU COST Action ES1204. This report provides a brief synopsis of the campaign and its preliminary outcomes. Section 2 describes the measurement locations, the activities of the participants, the instruments used, and the environmental conditions. Section 3 describes a public outreach event held during the campaign. Section 4 provides some preliminary results, outlines the ongoing analyses, and presents research questions for the next campaign to address. Section 5 provides recommendations for the final LoNNe intercomparison campaign in 2016. Section 6 concludes the report.

Beschreibung: The ability of any satellite gravity mission concept to monitor mass transport processes in the Earth system is typically tested well ahead of its implementation by means of various simulation studies. Those studies often extend from the simulation of realistic orbits and instrumental data all the way down to the retrieval of global gravity field solution time-series. Basic requirement for all these simulations are realistic representations of the spatio-temporal mass variability in the different sub-systems of the Earth, as a source model for the orbit computations. For such simulations, a suitable source model is required to represent (i) high-frequency (i.e., sub-daily to weekly) mass variability in the atmosphere and oceans, in order to realistically include the effects of temporal aliasing due to non-tidal high-frequency mass variability into the retrieved gravity fields. In parallel, (ii) low-frequency (i.e., monthly to interannual) variability needs to be modelled with realistic amplitudes, particularly at small spatial scales, in order to assess to what extent a new mission concept might provide further insight into physical processes currently not observable. The new source model documented here attempts to fulfil both requirements: Based on ECMWF’s recent atmospheric reanalysis ERA-Interim and corresponding simulations from numerical models of the other Earth system components, it offers spherical harmonic coefficients of the time-variable global gravity field due to mass variability in atmosphere, oceans, the terrestrial hydrosphere including the ice-sheets and glaciers, as well as the solid Earth. Simulated features range from sub-daily to multiyear periods with a spatial resolution of spherical harmonics degree and order 180 over a period of 12 years. In addition to the source model, a de-aliasing model for atmospheric and oceanic high-frequency variability with augmented systematic and random noise is required for a realistic simulation of the gravity field retrieval process, whose necessary error characteristics are discussed. The documentation is organized as follows: The characteristics of the updated ESM along with some basic validation are presented in Volume 1 of this report (Dobslaw et al., 2014). A detailed comparison to the original ESA ESM (Gruber et al., 2011) is provided in Volume 2 (Bergmann-Wolf et al., 2014), while Volume 3 (Forootan et al., 2014) contains a description of the strategy to derive a realistically noisy de-aliasing model for the high-frequency mass variability in atmosphere and oceans. The files of the updated ESA Earth System Model for gravity mission simulation studies are accessible at DOI:10.5880/GFZ.1.3.2014.001.

Beschreibung: SEGY and supplementary data of the seismic reflection experiment in the Baza Basin (Southern Spain). Presented are unstacked and unmigrated data of three 2D vibroseis profiles which were carried out in October 2013 and all corresponding raw data.

Beschreibung: This publication is a result of the 13th TRACE conference (Tree Rings in Archaeology, Climatology and Ecology) organized by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews on May 6th – 10th, 2014 in Aviemore, Scotland, UK. [...]After review, 18 short papers are published in this volume, giving an overview of the wide spectrum of different fields covered at TRACE.

Beschreibung: In Südostalaska wird eine relative Meeresspiegelabsenkung von bis zu 4 cm/ a beobachtet. Da dieses Gebiet während der letzten Kaltperiode durch das Kordillerische Eisschild bedeckt war und noch heute von Vergletscherung geprägt ist, liegt die Vermutung nahe, daß die Meeresspiegeländerungen zumindest teilweise durch isostatische Ausgleichsvorgänge hervorgerufen werden. Um diese Hypothese zu prüfen, werden für dieses Gebiet eislastinduzierte Vertikalbewegungen und Geoidänderungen mit Hilfe viskoelastischer Erdmodelle berechnet. Insbesondere werden sechs siebenschichtige Erdmodelle verwendet, die unterschiedliche Viskostitätsprofile berücksichtigen und die Bandbreite der plausiblen Lithosphärenmächtigkeiten abdecken. Das globale Lastmodell ICE-3G wird erweitert und das regionale Lastmodell AL-1 entwickelt, welches die rezente Vergletscherung Südostalaskas berücksichtigt. Weiterhin werden die Ozeane als Last einbezogen. Ein Vergleich der berechneten mit den beobachteten Meeresspiegeländerungen zeigt, daß die Beobachtungen nur zu einen geringen Anteil von wenigen Millimetern pro Jahr durch Isostasie erklärt werden können.

Beschreibung: The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) plays a significant role in the fields of airborne gravimetry. The objective of this thesis is to develop reliable GNSS algorithms and software for kinematic highly precise GNSS data analysis in airborne gravimetry.

Beschreibung: Raw-, SEG-Y and other supplementary data of the amphibious wide-angle seismic experiment carried out in South Turkey, Cyprus and south of Cyprus are presented. The aim of this project was to reveal the crustal structure of the Anatolian plateau, Cyprus and the Eratosthenes Seamount (ESM), south of Cyprus. Simultaneous data acquisition offshore with ocean bottom seismometers and airguns and onshore with seismic land stations and two land shots in South Turkey lead to a 650 km long amphibian seismic profile.

Beschreibung: This report as well as the associated data is a supplement to the publication Blöcher et al. (2015) accessible via DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2015.07.008. From 2011-06-01 until 2013-12-31, the measurement and control system at the Groß Schönebeck research platform acquired data from several circulation experiments. Different data values were recorded at a sampling interval of 1 s. Relevant data for understanding and analyzing the hydraulic situation of the system were resampled to a 1 minute interval. From the resampled dataset, additional parameters were derived. Furthermore, if parameters were considered to be essential, but the measurement of these parameters was erroneous, some data were reprocessed. All relevant data and processing steps performed on the data are described within this report. Data described within this report can be accessed via DOI:10.5880/GFZ.b103-15021.1. The presented data was acquired during different research projects by the staff of the International Centre for Geothermal Research as well as Section 4.1 Reservoirtechnologies at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.

Beschreibung: Dieser Leitfaden entstand im dreijährigen Projekt „Konzeption und Erprobung von Modellen für forschungsnahe Transferstrukturen in der außeruniversitären Forschung“ – kurz TMod – auf Initiative von zwei Leibniz-Instituten und drei Helmholtz-Zentren unter Projektkoordination durch das Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam - Deutsches Geoforschungszentrum GFZ und unter Förderung durch das BMBF, wobei sich der Kreis der Projektpartner im Projektverlauf auf insgesamt neun Einrichtungen erweiterte. Die Beteiligten waren auf der Suche nach zeitgemäßen Instrumenten, mit denen die Ergebnisse und Leistungen ihrer Wissenschaftler effektiver zu echten Innovationen werden. Die unterschiedlichen Erfahrungen, die es bis dahin mit Ausgründungen zur Professionalisierung des Wissens- und Technologietransfers gab, waren sehr unterschiedlich und vorwiegend quantitativ abstrakt aufgearbeitet. Es gab daher gerade bei mittleren und kleinen außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen einen Bedarf nach fundiertem und strukturiertem Anwendungswissen, um eine entsprechende Umstrukturierung zu erleichtern. Das Projekt TMod kam diesem Bedarf mit einer Analyse von Best Practices, der Klärung offener Fragestellungen und einer darauf aufbauenden individuellen Konzeptentwicklungs- und Umsetzungsunterstützung entgegen. Der so entstandene Leitfaden soll wissenschaftliche Einrichtungen, die Ihren Technologietransfer professionalisieren wollen, praktisch unterstützen und sie vom gewonnenen Wissen im Projekt TMod profitieren lassen.

Beschreibung: The acronym EMERALD was supposed to stand for ElectroMagnetic Equipment, Raw data And Locations Database. What survived over the years was the EMERALD processing, a set of computer programs to analyse MT time series data, and the EMERALD file format for storing MT data. This document describes the EMERALD file format and how to use it with the C++, C and FORTRAN programming languages. Interface functions also exist for Matlab and Powershell but they are not described here. EMERALD data files typically come in pairs of two files with the same name but differing file name extensions, sometimes called RAW and XTR files. XTR (extract) files are plain ASCII files, which can be read and modified with text editors. RAW files or more generally, EMERALD ‐type data files are in most cases binary and used to store all kind of magnetotelluric (MT) data such as time series, cross‐ and auto spectra and calibration data. The EMERALD ‐type data files store any number of channels of data in matrix form, but do not contain any description of the data. This information is stored in the according XTR file. In 2015 the original XTR files were replaced by a modernized version based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML). The new files have the extension .XTRX.

Beschreibung: Mit dem Journal „System Erde“ berichtet das Deutsche GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ über die unterschiedlichen Facetten seiner Forschungsarbeiten. Die Reihe richtet sich vor allem an Entscheidungsträger in Wissenschaft, Gesellschaft und Politik, an interessierte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler sowie an die fachinteressierte Öffentlichkeit.

Beschreibung: Deformation processes in the early deformation stages of thrusting in growing fold-and-thrust belts and the role of factors controlling and localizing the deformation are still not well understood. There are only few natural examples or experimental studies to allow the identification of factors controlling initial states of deformation. In particular, the spatial interactions in curved fold-and-thrust belts or in segments striking obliquely to the convergence direction are rarely systematically examined. The Boomerang Hills Region (BHR), located at the eastern flank of the Central Andes close to the axis of the Bolivian Orocline, is an appropriate area to study such problems. There, oblique contraction is caused by a south-dipping basement interacting with a WSW-ENE to SW-NE convergence direction. In order to infer the controlling factors of deformation, the structural pattern associated with the active development of a new thrust sheet and the structural history of the adjacent foreland was examined. The detailed spatial-temporal relationships of Andean and pre-Andean structures within the BHR were investigated using a dense network of 100 reflection-seismic profiles for subsurface interpretation and structural modeling. In addition, satellite images and drainage pattern were interpreted to infer neotectonic activity. Modeling techniques included cross section balancing for validation and quantification of geological processes, horizon unfolding for kinematical interpretation, and critical taper estimates to derive the possible dynamic status. Results show that the main factor controlling the evolution of the Boomerang Hills Thrust Unit and the eastern flank of the Bolivian Orocline are paleogeographic features. The crystalline basement of the BHR comprises an inherited structure of several syn- and antiforms. Some of these structures were partly reactivated as minor reverse faults with associated small folds in the sedimentary cover at an early stage of the Tertiary foreland basin evolution. Basement faulting is probably a result of spatial problems linked to the initiation of a foreland basin in a heterogeneous crust. WNW-ESE striking normal faults were active in the foreland of the BHR in the Late Tertiary and show maximum activity during the intermediate state of foreland basin sedimentation. Further to the north, closer to the Brazilian Craton, normal faults are presently active. Foreland extension sums to 1.1%-1.5% and results from minor flexural extension due to bending of the Brazilian Shield lithosphere through Andean orogenic loading. The southern part of the BHR is represented by a young, evolving thrust sheet. Two zones can be differentiated along the Andean deformation front: (1) a W-E to NW-SE-striking frontal segment of predominantly orthogonal shortening, comprising a thrust / anticline system and accommodating at least 1400- 2000 m horizontal shortening on the basal decollement ; (2) A WSW-ENE-striking lateral zone of oblique shortening comprised by a complex system of thin-skinned strike-slip faults and minor folds. The deformation front always follows a pronounced edge in the topography of the top basement surface close to the boundary of the Paleozoic basin. Usually, faults are located close to asperities in the top basement surface; fold axes trend parallel to the contours of basement depth. The orientation of the deformation front as well as the laterally varying structural style is the result of deformation localization and strain partitioning. Because of the impossibility to accommodate non-orthogonal contraction by oblique faulting close to the surface, strain partitioning must occur along the deformation front. Consequently, a N 35°E thrusting direction is divided into orthogonal and tangential components, both with respect to the orientation of the deformation front and to depth contours of the basement. The two components are accommodated by convergent and strike-slip structures, respectively, which join via a common detachment horizon. The Boomerang Hills Thrust Unit is affected by left-lateral shear as interpreted from the particle displacement field of an unfolded horizon. This shear is invoked by the spatially distributed accommodation of thrust movement along the obliquely striking deformation front. The N 35° thrusting direction of the Boomerang Hills Thrust Unit represents the orthogonal component of strain partitioning caused by the WNW-ESE orientation of the Subandean Zone with respect to a WSW-ENE convergence between the Andes and the Brazilian shield. The tangential component is compensated at the back of the Boomerang Hills Thrust Unit where a positive flower structure is present and strain partitioning is made possible via the detachment horizon. Critical taper analysis shows that thrusting on the south-dipping basement is possible without any substantial internal deformation due to the wedge shape of the sedimentary prism. Therefore, the most important factor controlling the localization of the deformation front is the loss of critical taper at a pronounced edge along the Paleozoic basin boundary. Secondary reasons for deformation localization are small asperities in/close to the top of the basement, e.g. small folds of the early foredeep evolution. Strain partitioning may also play a major role for the evolution of the eastern border of the Bolivian Orocline and in other curved fold-and-thrust belts as discussed for natural and experimental examples. Generally, orthogonal accreting segments evolve faster than obliquely orientated segments due to strain partitioning at the deformation front, hence leading to an increase in the curvature of the belt. Strain partitioning itself is caused by the orientation of the deformation front with respect to the shortening direction. Thus, factors controlling the localization of the deformation front, i.e. paleogeographic features, dominantly control the evolution of curved fold-and-thrust belts. For the eastern flank of the Bolivian Orocline it is postulated that an early Paleozoic rift basin exerts paleogeographic control on Andean deformation, leading to the WNW-ESE orientation of the Subandean Zone between the Chapare and Santa Cruz. Based on map interpretation it is suggested that (a) the previously assumed style of deformation using main thrusts is questionable for this segment of the Andes and (b) deformation involving basally accreting foredeep sediments has to be taken into account. Previously assumed estimates of shortening for the Chapare area in the northern limb of the Bolivian Orocline may therefore be significantly low.

Beschreibung: In this report we describe the new repeat station network, the measurements and some tests regarding the use of the variometer recordings for data processing, and we present the results of this latest German magnetic survey.

Beschreibung: The Effect of the Geocentric Gravitational Constant on Scale: It is well known that the geocentric gravitational constant (GM) is a scaling factor for the reference frame realized by satellite techniques. One must be aware that its effects on the orbit and on the terrestrial reference frame (station positions) are different. The scale effect on restituted orbits is 1/3* (dGM/GM) (relative error of GM) for all kinds of satellites. But the effect on the terrestrial frame depends on the height of the satellites, on tracking techniques and on the solved for parameters. For ranging techniques such as SLR, the scale variation of the terrestrial frame is 1/3*(dGM/GM)*(rSat) / (rEarth), if the range biases are not solved for. For GPS the GM error is mostly absorbed by the clock estimates (or eliminated by the double differences), only the remaining few percents go into the scale of terrestrial reference frame. For instance if one is using a GM value of 3.986004418 1014 m3/s2 instead of 3.986004415 1014 m3/s2 (relative variation is 7.5 10-10) the scale variation of the terrestrial frame is only about 6 10-11. Physically, the error in the z-direction of the antenna phase center offsets on board GPS has nothing to do with GM. But its effect on the terrestrial reference frame is practically equivalent to an error in GM. For instance, if all GPS satellites have a 7.1 cm error in dz, the effect on the station position is equivalent to a relative error of 8 10-9 in GM (e.g. changing GM from 3.986004418 to 3.986004386 1014 m3/s2). Satellite Antenna Phase Center Offsets and Scale Errors in GPS Solutions: ITRF2000 solutions (see Lareg, 2001) have shown that there are ppb level scale differences between GPS and other techniques and among various GPS Analysis Centers. The trends of the scale differences reach 0.2 ppb per year. The uncertainties of the current available Earth’s gravitational constant could only cause less than 0.1 ppb scale error for GPS technique. On the other hand, the uncertainties in the satellite antenna phase center offsets could produce ppb level scale error. Various BLOCK types of GPS satellites have different phase center errors. The number of BLOCK IIR satellites increases from year to year. This could cause trend-like variations in the scale error. Beside station positions, satellite antenna phase center errors affect also the clock, Zenith Path Delay, and other solved for parameters perceptibly.

Beschreibung: The sources for the magnetotelluric method are naturally occurring electromagnetic field variations. Electromagnetic currents are excited over a wide frequency range in the earth’s ionosphere by solar activity and global lighting discharges. While these source are available everywhere on earth and at all times, their signal strength varies considerably. The so-called remote-reference technique is an effective way to improve magnetotelluric data quality by referencing the electromagnetic fields recorded at a local site to simultaneously recorded, undisturbed fields at a remote site. The remote reference approach has become standard for magnetotelluric field work, particularly in areas with high levels of man-made electromagnetic noise; i.e. almost everywhere in central Europe. Identifying a suitable location for a clean remote site is difficult and time-consuming. Maintaining such a site in addition to normal field operations is expensive and logistically challenging. A permanently installed reference station simplifies MT measurements considerably. The radius for which source fields are coherent depends mostly on the frequency content of the signals and the latitude of observations. According to our own tests, signals are coherent at frequencies of up to 10 kHz over distances of 1000 km. After a reconnaissance operation during which several locations all over Germany were tested, we could eventually identify an urban forest near the town of Wittstock in northern Germany as a suitable location for a reference station. A preliminary installation of the reference station was accomplished by mid-2010. The permanent installation in a wooden hut and operating with a range of sensors and sampling rates is available since November 2010. Meanwhile the data of the Wittstock site have been used very successfully to re-process a number of magnetotelluric stations in Germany. This report describes the installation, the type of sensors and the recorded data sets, which are freely available on request. For updated material, please refer to our webpages (http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/section/geophysical-deep-sounding/servicesinfrastructure/geophysical-instrument-pool-potsdam-gipp/archive/mt-reference-site/)

Beschreibung: Die vorliegenden Lecture Notes wurden im Rahmen von Vorlesungen und Praktika zwischen 1999 und 2014 an den Universitäten Frankfurt, Hamburg und Potsdam entwickelt, insbesondere als Zusatzmaterial meines Moduls Einführung in die Geophysik an der Universität Hamburg. Ziel dieser Vorlesung war die breite Einführung in die Grundlagen der Geophysik, von der großskaligen, globalen Geophysik bis zur kleinskaligen oberflächennahen und angewandten Geophysik. Das Manuskript ist vom Niveau her für Anfangssemester in einem Diplom- oder Bachelor-Studiengang in der Geophysik/Ozeanographie, den Geowissenschaften oder der Physik geeignet. Die Theorie-Kapitel sind auf wenige wichtige Formeln und elementare Ableitungen beschränkt. Meßinstrumente, Meßverfahren und Anwendungen werden ausführlich besprochen und durch Beispiele vertieft. Der erste Teil beginnt mit der Entstehung der Erde und der Planeten. Der innere Aufbau der Erde und die Dynamik der Erde folgen im dritten Kapitel. Unterkapitel sind hier bereits die globale Plattentektonik, der Wärmehaushalt der Erde und die Entstehung des Erdmagnetfeldes. Im vierten Kapitel folgt das Schwerefeld der Erde und die Ansätze der angewandten Gravimetrie. Der Sto↵ des fünften Kapitels umfasst die Geomagnetik und den remanenten Gesteinsmagnetismus. In den folgenden Kapiteln wird in weitere Verfahren der angewandten Geophysik eingeführt. Die Gleichstromelektrik wird ebenso behandelt wie Verfahren, die mit elektromagnetischen Wellen arbeiten. Dabei wird auch die Arbeitsweise des Bodenradar und der Magnetotellurik beschrieben. Im vorletzten Kapitel wird in seismische Verfahren eingeführt, die in der angewandten Geophysik eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Hierbei werden nötige Grundlagen der Theorie elastischer Wellen ebenso wie praktische Aspekte der geometrischen Ausbreitung von Raumwellen durch die Erde kurz beschrieben. Das letzte Kapitel ist den Erdbeben und der Seismologie gewidmet. Begleitende Übungsaufgaben sind auf Anfrage erhältlich.

Beschreibung: Abstract

Beschreibung: In August and September 2013, 17 shallow ocean bottom seismograph (S-OBS) stations and 8 land stations had been deployed on and around Muostakh Island (Laptev Sea, Russia) for a time period of 24 days. The specifically designed underwater recording equipment consists of a low-power digital recorder, a standard 4.5Hz 3-component geophone, and a battery pack. These components are enclosed in a watertight cylindrical container safe for operation down to 100m water depth. Land stations were also equipped with 4.5 Hz 1C-geophones as well as with batteries. All instruments recorded continuously with 200 samples per second (sps). The stations were deployed along two profiles covering a region of 8km x 8 km. The tilt of the geophone inside the S-OBS influences the sensor characteristics. Since the orientation and tilt at the ocean bottom was unknown, approximately every 24 hours a calibration signal (a sequence of step-functions) was applied to the sensors of the ocean stations. This might be used to recover the actual sensor characteristics (eigenfrequency and damping). The dataset contains 1) a info-folder with a) a README file; b) a file containing the times when calibration signals occurred (format: recorder_ID - date - time); c) the station table (ASCII; recorder_ID - latitude - longitude - (water)depth); d) a map of the region with the locations of the stations; 2) raw CUBE-formatted data; 3) converted mini-seed-formatted data (hourly files).