ALBERT

Description: The recent (2011) installation of seismic station Zemlya Franca-Iocifa (ZFI) on Alexander Island in the Franz Josef Land Archipelago allows new seismic monitoring of the “continent-ocean” transition zone of the Barents-Kara Sea region. The region is seismically active, and we hypothesize that the prevailing geodynamic factor responsible for the occurrence of weak earthquakes is isostatic compensation of avalanche sedimentation in the “continent-ocean” transition zone. The crustal velocity structure beneath ZFI was determined using receiver functions. Crustal thickness is 30 km, based on an observed Moho discontinuity with underlying mantle velocities being Vp = 8.15 km/s and Vs = 4.5 km/s The model indicates a mid-crustal boundary at a depth of about 17 km with a velocity contrast between the upper (Vp = 6.1 km/s, Vs = 3.6 km/s) and lower (Vp = 6.8 km/s, Vs = 3.9 km/s) layers. In addition, the upper crustal sedimentary layer is about 4 km thick with Vp = 4.3 km/s and Vs = 2.36 km/s.

Description: We present a new global whole‐mantle model of isotropic and radially anisotropic S velocity structure (SGLOBE‐rani) based on ~43,000,000 surface wave and ~420,000 body wave travel time measurements, which is expanded in spherical harmonic basis functions up to degree 35. We incorporate crustal thickness perturbations as model parameters in the inversions to properly consider crustal effects and suppress the leakage of crustal structure into mantle structure. This is possible since we utilize short‐period group‐velocity data with a period range down to 16 s, which are strongly sensitive to the crust. The isotropic S velocity model shares common features with previous global S velocity models and shows excellent consistency with several high‐resolution upper mantle models. Our anisotropic model also agrees well with previous regional studies. Anomalous features in our anisotropic model are faster SV velocity anomalies along subduction zones at transition zone depths and faster SH velocity beneath slabs in the lower mantle. The derived crustal thickness perturbations also bring potentially important information about the crustal thickness beneath oceanic crusts, which has been difficult to constrain due to poor access compared with continental crusts.

Description: We present new seismicity and focal-mechanism data for the Fergana basin and surrounding mountain belts in western Kyrgyzstan from a temporary local seismic network. A total of 210 crustal earthquakes with hypocentral depths shallower than 25 km were observed during a 12-month period in 2009/2010. The hypocenter distribution indicates a complex net of seismically active structures. The seismicity derived in this study is mainly concentrated at the edges of the Fergana basin, whereas the observed rate of seismicity within the basin is low. The seismicity at the dominant tectonic feature of the region, the Talas-Fergana fault, is likewise low, so the fault seems to be inactive or locked. To estimate the uncertainties of earthquake locations derived in this study, a strong explosion with known origin time and location is used as a ground truth calibration event which suggests a horizontal and vertical accuracy of about 1 km for our relocations. We derived 35 focal mechanisms using first motion polarities and retrieved a set of nine moment tensor solutions for earthquakes with moment magnitude (Mw) ranging from 3.3 to 4.9 by waveform inversion. The solutions reveal both thrust and strike-slip mechanisms compatible with a NW-SE direction of compression for the Fergana region. Two previously unknown tectonic structures in the Fergana region could be identified, both featuring strike-slip kinematics. The combined analysis of the results derived in this study allowed a detailed insight into the currently active tectonic structures and their kinematics where little information had previously been available.

Description: This data collection contains a multitemporal series of six airborne hyperspectral image mosaics ac-quired during the growing season of 2012 over the Neusling test area near Landau a.d. Isar in Southern Germany. The airborne hyperspectral data is complemented by accompanying in-situ data acquired parallel to the overflights. The dataset is composed of a) four airborne hyperspectral image mosaics acquired during overflights on April 28th 2012, May 25th 2012, June 16th 2012 and September 8th 2012 with the AVIS-3 imaging spectrometer. The AVIS data consists of 197 spectral bands, ranging from VIS to SWIR (477 - 1704 nm); b) two airborne hyperspectral image mosaics acquired during overflights on May 8th 2012 and August 12th 2012 with a HySpex imaging spectrometer. The HySpex data consists of 332 spectral bands, ranging from VIS to SWIR (417 - 2496 nm); c) spatially comprehensive land use/land cover maps generated from in-situ observations for two time-windows during the growing season of 2012 (May and August); d) Flight-parallel in-situ point-measurements consisting of: i) non-destructively measured leaf area index of winter wheat, winter barley, sugar beet, maize and rapeseed (561 meas-urements incl. standard deviations), ii) SPAD chlorophyll measurements (522 measurements incl. standard deviations), iii) 557 soil moisture measurements incl. standard deviations iv) 539 phenological observations v) 499 measurements of canopy height incl. standard deviations and vi) 38 measurements of plant density. The dataset was collected in order to cover the seasonal dynamics in the development of agricultural crops in Southern Germany.

Description: The Piton de la Fournaise basaltic volcano, on La Réunion Island in the western Indian Ocean, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. This volcano is classically considered as the surface expression of an upwelling mantle plume and its activity is continuously monitored, providing detailed information on its superficial dynamics and on the edifice structure. Deeper crustal and upper mantle structure under La Réunion Island is surprisingly poorly constrained, motivating this study. We used receiver function techniques to determine a shear wave velocity profile through the crust and uppermost mantle beneath La Réunion, but also at other seismic stations located on the hotspot track, to investigate the plume and lithosphere interaction and its evolution through time. Receiver functions (RFs) were computed at permanent broad-band seismic stations from the GEOSCOPE network (on La Réunion and Rodrigues), at IRIS stations MRIV and DGAR installed on Mauritius and Diego Garcia islands, and at the GEOFON stations KAAM and HMDM on the Maldives. We performed non-linear inversions of RFs through modelling of P-to-S conversions at various crustal and upper mantle interfaces. Joint inversion of RF and surface wave dispersion data suggests a much deeper Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) beneath Mauritius (∼21 km) compared to La Réunion (∼12 km). A magmatic underplated body may be present under La Réunion as a thin layer (≤3 km thick), as suggested by a previous seismic refraction study, and as a much thicker layer beneath other stations located on the hotspot track, suggesting that underplating is an important process resulting from the plume–lithosphere interaction. We find evidence for a strikingly low velocity layer starting at about 33 km depth beneath La Réunion that we interpret as a zone of partial melt beneath the active volcano. We finally observe low velocities below 70 km beneath La Réunion and below 50 km beneath Mauritius that could represent the base of the oceanic lithosphere.

Description: SHIMMER (Soil biogeocHemIcal Model for Microbial Ecosystem Response) is a new numerical modelling framework designed to simulate microbial dynamics and biogeochemical cycling during initial ecosystem development in glacier forefield soils. However, it is also transferable to other extreme ecosystem types (such as desert soils or the surface of glaciers). The rationale for model development arises from decades of empirical observations in glacier forefields, and enables a quantitative and process focussed approach. Here, we provide a detailed description of SHIMMER, test its performance in two case study forefields: the Damma Glacier (Switzerland) and the Athabasca Glacier (Canada) and analyse sensitivity to identify the most sensitive and unconstrained model parameters. Results show that the accumulation of microbial biomass is highly dependent on variation in microbial growth and death rate constants, Q10 values, the active fraction of microbial biomass and the reactivity of organic matter. The model correctly predicts the rapid accumulation of microbial biomass observed during the initial stages of succession in the forefields of both the case study systems. Primary production is responsible for the initial build-up of labile substrate that subsequently supports heterotrophic growth. However, allochthonous contributions of organic matter, and nitrogen fixation, are important in sustaining this productivity. The development and application of SHIMMER also highlights aspects of these systems that require further empirical research: quantifying nutrient budgets and biogeochemical rates, exploring seasonality and microbial growth and cell death. This will lead to increased understanding of how glacier forefields contribute to global biogeochemical cycling and climate under future ice retreat.

Description: Azimuthal anisotropy derived from multimode Rayleigh wave tomography in China exhibits depth-dependent variations in Tibet, which can be explained as induced by the Cenozoic India-Eurasian collision. In west Tibet, the E-W fast polarization direction at depths 〈100 km is consistent with the accumulated shear strain in the Tibetan lithosphere, whereas the N-S fast direction at greater depths is aligned with Indian Plate motion. In northeast Tibet, depth-consistent NW-SE directions imply coupled deformation throughout the whole lithosphere, possibly also involving the underlying asthenosphere. Significant anisotropy at depths of 225 km in southeast Tibet reflects sublithospheric deformation induced by northward and eastward lithospheric subduction beneath the Himalaya and Burma, respectively. The multilayer anisotropic surface wave model can explain some features of SKS splitting measurements in Tibet, with differences probably attributable to the limited back azimuthal coverage of most SKS studies in Tibet and the limited horizontal resolution of the surface wave results.

Description: New tomographic images of the upper mantle beneath the westernmost Mediterranean suggest that the evolution of the region experienced two subduction-related episodes. First subduction of oceanic and/or extended continental lithosphere, now located mainly beneath the Betics at depths greater than 400 km, took place on a NW–SE oriented subduction zone. This was followed by a slab-tear process that initiated in the east and propagated to the west, leading to westward slab rollback and possibly lower crustal delamination. The current position of the slab tear is located approximately at 4°W, and to the west of this location the subducted lithosphere is still attached to the surface along the Gibraltar Arc. Our new P-wave velocity model is able to image the attached subducted lithosphere as a narrow high-velocity body extending to shallow depths, coinciding with the region of maximum curvature of the Gibraltar Arc, the occurrence of intermediate-depth earthquakes, and anomalously thick crust. This thick crust has a large influence in the measured teleseismic travel time residuals and therefore in the obtained P-wave tomographic model. We show that removing the effects of the thick crust significantly improves the shallow images of the slab and therefore the interpretations based on the seismic structure.

Description: The GIZ Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia programme supports Tajik-Kyrgyz cooperation on the shared Isfara river basin by means of sustainable basin planning and management through capacity building. In addition, the rehabilitation of small-scale infrastructure and automatised flow measurement systems ensure a safe and fair allocation of water resources. As a result, improved water management and infrastructure in the Isfara River contribute to better information and water availability for more than 200,000 agricultural water users across both countries. Alongside already established methods of transboundary cooperation in the basin, which has complicated boundary issues, the hereinafter described measures counteract latent tensions among Tajik and Kyrgyz communities over the limited resource of arable land, which is closely linked to water. The GIZ Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia programme is implemented on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office and cofunded by the European Union.

Description: Gashydrate sind natürlich vorkommende feste Verbindungen aus Wasser und Gas, deren Erschließung als zukünftige Energiequelle von Interesse ist. Für die bohrtechnische Erschließung mariner Gashydratlagerstätten ist eine leistungsfähige Bohrspülung notwendig. Das vom Bohrmeißel gelockerte Sediment und darin enthaltenes Gashydrat werden durch die Bohrspülung nach übertage transportiert. Die Gashydratpartikel verlassen beim Aufsteigen im Ringraum in ca. 300 m Wassertiefe ihren Stabilitätsbereich und dissoziieren in Wasser und Gas. Um eine Verdünnung und eine Dichteerniedrigung der Bohrspülung zu verhindern, soll das Gashydratbohrklein stabilisiert werden. Gleichzeitig darf sich in der Bohrspülung bei Anwesenheit von freiem Gas in der Lagerstätte kein neues Gashydrat bilden. Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Suche nach Additiven, welche die Gashydratneubildung und -dissoziation gleichzeitig hemmen. Es wurde ein Schüttelautoklav genutzt, um die Dissoziationstemperatur von Methanhydrat bei ca. 85 bar zu ermitteln und die Verzögerung des Hydratzerfalls bei Anwesenheit verschiedener Additive zu vergleichen. Es konnte ein Additiv gefunden werden, das diese Anforderungen erfüllt. Des Weiteren wurden neue rheologische Untersuchungsprogramme für verschiedene Spülungstypen erarbeitet, die eine detaillierte Charakterisierung der Fließfähigkeit, Thixotropie und Geleigenschaften von Bohrspülungen erlauben.

Description: We present a systematic and updated overview of a seismotectonic model for the Po Plain (northern Italy). This flat and apparently quiet tectonic domain is, in fact, rather active as it comprises the shortened foreland and foredeep of both the Southern Alps and the Northern Apennines. Assessing its seismic hazard is crucial due to the concentration of population, industrial activities, and critical infrastructures, but it is also complicated because (a) the region is geologically very diverse, and (b) nearly all potential seismogenic faults are buried beneath a thick blanket of Pliocene–Pleistocene sediments, and thus can be investigated only indirectly. Identifying and parameterizing the potential seismogenic faults of the Po Plain requires proper consideration of their depth, geometry, kinematics, earthquake potential and location with respect to the two confronting orogens. To this end, we subdivided them into four main, homogeneous groups. Over the past 15 years we developed new strategies for coping with this diversity, resorting to different data and modeling approaches as required by each individual fault group. The most significant faults occur beneath the thrust fronts of the Ferrara-Romagna and Emilia arcs, which correspond to the most advanced and buried portions of the Northern Apennines and were the locus of the destructive May 2012 earthquake sequence. The largest known Po Plain earthquake, however, occurred on an elusive reactivated fault cutting the Alpine foreland south of Verona. Significant earthquakes are expected to be generated also by a set of transverse structures segmenting the thrust system, and by the deeper ramps of the Apennines thrusts. The new dataset is intended to be included in the next version of the Database of Individual Seismogenic Sources (DISS; http://diss.rm.ingv.it/diss/, version 3.2.0, developed and maintained by INGV) to improve completeness of potential sources for seismic hazard assessment.

Description: The influence of the elastic Earth properties on seasonal or shorter periodic surface deformations due to atmospheric surface pressure and terrestrial water storage variations is usually modeled by applying a local half-space model or an one dimensional spherical Earth model like PREM from which a unique set of elastic load Love numbers, or alternatively, elastic Green's functions are derived. The first model is valid only if load and observer almost coincide, the second model considers only the response of an average Earth structure. However, for surface loads with horizontal scales less than 2500 km2, as for instance, for strong localized hydrological signals associated with heavy precipitation events and river floods, the Earth elastic response becomes very sensitive to inhomogeneities in the Earth crustal structure. We derive a set of local Green's functions defined globally on a 1° × 1° grid for the 3-layer crustal structure TEA12. Local Green's functions show standard deviations of ±12% in the vertical and ±21% in the horizontal directions for distances in the range from 0.1° to 0.5°. By means of Green's function scatter plots, we analyze the dependence of the load response to various crustal rocks and layer thicknesses. The application of local Green's functions instead of a mean global Green's function introduces a variability of 0.5 − 1.0 mm into the hydrological loading displacements, both in vertical and in horizontal directions. Maximum changes due to the local crustal structures are from −25% to +26% in the vertical and −91% to +55% in the horizontal displacements. In addition, the horizontal displacement can change its direction significantly. The lateral deviations in surface deformation due to local crustal elastic properties are found to be much larger than the differences between various commonly used one-dimensional Earth models.

Description: Jensen, U., Karmann, R., Scharberth, J.: Elektromagnetische Tiefensondierung KTB - Abschlußbericht Februar 1988. p. 11-115.

Description: Emmermann, R.: Bericht über den Stand des Projekts (SPP). p. A1-A6. Rischmüller, H.: Bericht über den Stand des Projektes (KTB-PL). p. A7-A8a. Emmermann, R.: Das KTB-Feldlabor (ARGE 1). p. A9-A13. Müller, H., Graup, G., Hacker, W., Keyssner, S., Röhr, C., Uhlig, S.: KTB-Oberpfalz VB, Erste geowissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Vorbohrung. Geologisches Profil bis 992 m. p. A14-A23. Bücker, Ch., Eigner, K.-H., Rauen, A., Wienand, J., Wolter, K.: KTB-Oberpfalz VB: Geophysikalische Untersuchungen an Kernen und Cuttings bis 992 m - erste geowissenschaftliche Ergebnisse. p. A24-A33. Stroh, A., Tapfer, M.: KTB-Oberpfalz VB: Phasenanalyse von Kernmaterial und Bohrklein - ein Vergleich. p. A34-A39. Homann, K. D., Heinschild, H.-J.: Spülungsanalytik im KTB-Feldlabor. p. A40-A45. Hoffers, B., Reimann, R., Lauterjung, J.: Konzept und Status der Datenverarbeitung. p. A46-A47. Franke, W.: Geologische Untersuchungen im KTB-Umfeld - Probleme und Konzepte der KTB ARGE 2. p. A48-A55. DEKORP: DEKORP Research Group. p. A56-A65. Weber, K.: Ziele und Aufgaben der ARGE 5: "Gefüge und Deformation". p. A66-A68. Weber, K.: Strukturkonzept für den Kernflächenbereich. p. A69-A75. Kern, H.: Aufgaben und Probleme der Texturforschung in den Geowissenschaften. p. A76-A86. Adam, J.-F.: Spezielle Anforderungen an die Datenerhebung und Datenbankstrukturierung bei der lithologisch-strukturellen Bohrkernaufnahme. p. A87-A92. Behr, H. J.: Ergebnisse und Interpretation der Paläoporositäts- und Paläofluiduntersuchungen aus Schwarzwald und Oberpfalz. p. A93-A94. Pusch, G.: Das Geohydraulische Testprogramm im KTB. p. A95-A110. Erzinger, J.: Gasanalytik im KTB. p. A111-A119. Emmermann, R.: Vorstellung der ARGE 6: "Petrologie-Geochemie/Geochronologie- Lagerstättenforschung". p. A120-A122. Haack, U.: Wärmeproduktion und Krustenmodelle. p. A123-A136. Wagner, G. A.: Apatit-Spaltspurdatierung des mitteleuropäischen Grundgebirges: Postvariscische thermo-tektonische Entwicklung. p. A137-A140. Ahrendt, H., Hansen, B. T., Teufel, S.: Geochronologie im Umfeld der Kontinentalen Tiefbohrung. p. A141-A142. Burkhardt, H., Hänel, R.: Die Aktivitäten der Arbeitsgemeinschaft ARGE 4: "Gesteinsphysik, Log-Interpretation, Sondenentwicklung". p. A143-A144. Schepers, R.: Entwicklung und Bau eines akustischen Hochleistungs-Televiewers. p. A145. Debschütz, W., Jonas, M., Schopper, J. R.: Petrophysikalische Befunde am kristallinen Gestein. p. A146-A164. Haverkamp, S., Wohlenberg, J., Walter, R.: Korrelation bohrlochgeophysikalischer Messungen mit kristallinem Gestein. p. A165-A172. Borm, G.: Die Aktivitäten der Arbeitsgruppe 3: "Spannungsmessungen und Bohrlochstabilität". p. A173-A176. Rummel, F.: Spannungsmessungen im KTB - ein Überblick. p. A177-A187. Clauß, B., Fuchs, K., Zoback, M., Barton, C.: Ein System von Spannungsmessungen in den KTB-Bohrungen. p. A188-A195. Rischmüller, H.: Projektbezogene Forschung im technischen Bereich (ARGE 8). p. A196-A199. Sperber, A., Wohlgemuth, L.: Stand und Ergebnisse der technischen Projekte sowie Schwerpunkte der weiteren F- und E-Aktivitäten. p. A200-A212. Kessels, W.: Untersuchungen zur Stabilisierbarkeit einer übertiefen Bohrung. p. A213-A227. Debschütz, W.: DFG - Projekt: KTB - Gesteinszerstörung. p. A228-A230. Engeser, B.: Auswahl eines Spülungssystems für die speziellen Anforderungen des KTB-Projektes. p. A231-A244. Hoffers, B.: Bohrtechnik und Bohrlochstabilität - ein Diskussionsbeitrag. p. A245-A255. Neugebauer, H. J.: Modellbetrachtung zur Kontinentalen Tiefbohrung, ARGE 9. p. A256-A258. Maronde, D.: Das erste Jahr des Schwerpunktprogramms "Kontinentales Tiefbohrprogramm der Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (KTB). p. A259-A260. Soffel, H.: Messungen der physikalischen Parameter an Kernen und Bohrklein im Feldlabor. p. B7. Bücker, Ch., Pohl, J., Rauen, A.: Natürliche remanente Magnetisierung der Bohrkerne der Vorbohrung von 0 bis 486,5 m. p. B8. Bücker, Ch., Pohl, J., Rauen, A.: Magnetische Suszeptibilität der Bohrkerne und des Bohrkleins der Vorbohrung von 0 bis 486,5 m. p. B9. Bücker, Ch., Eigner, K.-H., Gebrande, H., Pohl, J., Rauch, E., Wienand, J.: Schallgeschwindigkeiten und Dichten von Gesteinsproben aus der KTB-Vorbohrung bis zur Teufe 478,5 m. p. B10. Stroh, A., Lauterjung, J., Emmermann, R.: Quantitative Phasenanalyse mit Röntgenbeugung. p. B11. Samel, M., Figgemeier, Chr., Erzinger, J.: Gasanalytik an Mineralen, Gesteinen und Bohrkernen. p. B12. Haase, G., Erzinger, J., Molzahn, D., Tufail, M., Khan, H. A., Vater, P., Brandt, R.: Entwicklung einer Methode zur quantitativen Bestimmung von 222-Rn in Bohrspülungen. p. B13. Erzinger, J., Heinschild, H.-J.: Gasanalytik an der KTB-Bohrspülung. p. B14. Adam, J.-F., Vollbrecht, A.: Datenerhebung und Datenbankstrukturierung bei der lithologisch-strukturellen Bohrkernaufnahme. p. B15. Franke, W., Bram, K.: Geowissenschaftliche Umfeld-Untersuchungen in der KTB-ARGE 2 - Ziele, Probleme, Projekte. p. B16. Helmcke, D., Vollbrecht, A.: Landsat Interpretationen für das Gebiet Oberpfalz-Fichtelgebirge. p. B17. Weber, K., Vollbrecht, A.: Modell zur Krustenstruktur der Oberpfalz. p. B18-B20. Reichert, C.: Konzept der Integrierten Seismik - Oberpfalz 1989. p. B21. Gebrande, H., Bopp, M, Neurieder, P., Schmidt, T.: Geschwindigkeitsbestimmung und Strukturabbildung im KTB-Umfeld durch Weitwinkelreflexionen. p. B22. Stümpel, H., Rabbel, W., Steuernagel, B.: Erbendorf, Shallow Refraction Seismics. p. B23. Winter, H., Arroyo, M., Haak, V., Stoll, J., Vogt, B.: Geoelectrical Measurements at the KTB Location. p. B24. Grinat, M., Vogelsang, D.: EM-Mapping of KTB Site. p. B25. Greinwald, S., Bram, K.: TEM - Tiefensondierungen an der Bohrlokation KTB-Oberpfalz. p. B26. Newman, Strack, Wolfgram: Oberpfalz: Optimized EM Interpretation. p. B27. Scharberth, Jensen: AMT, CSAMT and MT in the Range of 16 Khz to 512 s. p. B28. Gundelach, V., Steveling, E.: Oberpfalz, Electrical Conductivity Studies. p. B29. Schmedes: Erkundung des Standortes der seismologischen Zentralstation. p. B30. Pohl, J.: Bodenmagnetik und Radiometrie im engeren Bereich der KTB-Lokation Oberpfalz. p. B31. Reitz, E., Pflug, H.-D., Franke, W.: Biostratigraphie im Kristallin. p. B32. Borm, G.: Bohrlochstabilität, Bohrlochrandausbrüche, Bohrkernzerfall. p. B33. Reik, G., Borm, G.: Gebirgsspannungs- und Hydraulik-Monitorstation. p. B34. Clauß, B., Fuchs, K., Zoback, M. D.: Stressfield Determination by Means of Wellborne-Breakouts and Borehole guided waves. p. B35. Baumann, H., Negendank, J. F. W.: Differenz-Deformations-Analyse. p. B36. Zander-Schiebenhöfer, Rokahr, Kessels, W., Lux: Numerische Berechnungen zur Bohrlochstabilität. p. B37. Berckhemer, H., Zang, A., Stöckl, H.: Restspannungen in Tiefbohrkernen - Modellrechnungen. p. B38. Berckhemer, H., Zang, A., Aulbach, E., Bäumler, P.: Restspannungen in Tiefbohrkernen - Methodenvergleich. p. B39. Lempp, Ch., Natau, O.: Änderung des Verformungsverhaltens granitischer Gesteine bei zyklischer Wechselbelastung unter erhöhten Temperaturen. p. B40. Pusch, G, Hoffmann, M., Siebert J.: Integrierte Meßmethode zur Bestimmung von Porosität und Permeabilität dichter Medien. p. B41. Nover, G., Will, G.: Oberpfalz, Complex Electrical Resistivity Measurements on Falkenberg Granites. p. B42. Büttgenbach, Neubauer, Richter, Strack: Integrated Interpretation of Borehole Gravity Measurements using Databases. p. B43. Knuth, Neubauer, Strack: 3-D Induction Log Simulations. p. B44. Vogelsang, D., Grinat, M.: IP Logging in the KTB Pilot Well. p. B45. Burkhardt, H., Erbas, K., Honarmand, H.: Wärmeleitfähigkeitssonde. p. B46. Reutel, Ch., Vollbrecht, A.: Mikrorißgenerationen in einem Quarz-Feldspatgang im Nahbereich der Bohrlokation. p. B47. Brokmeier, H. G., Bunge, H. J.: Neutronographic texture analysis of KTB-samples. p. B48. Blümel, P., Gräfen, B., Kleemann, U., Schreyer: Petrologie, Bohrkernmaterial, Oberpfalz. p. B49. Gehlen, K. von, Schmitt, G. E.: KTB Oberpfalz, Geochemie/Petrologie der Ultramafite. p. B50. Troll, G., Weiss: The Gabbro-Amphibolite Massif of Neukirchen-Kdyne. p. B51. von Drach,V., Köhler, Müller-Sohnius: Oberpfalz, Isotopengeochemie / Geochronologie. p. B52. Simon, K., Hoefs, J.: Schwarzwald, Oberpfalz; Stable Isotopes. p. B53. Skrotzki, W., Strackenbrock, I.: Untersuchung der Graphitisierung während der Metamorphose mittels hochauflösender TEM. p. B54. Skrotzki, W., Müller, W. F., Weber, K.: TEM-Untersuchung von Entmischungsphänomenen. p. B55. Heidelbach, F., Vollbrecht, A., Wall, H. de, Weber, K.: Lagenparallele Quarzmineralisationen in Gneisen der Bohrung Püllersreuth. p. B56. Friedrich, G., Delden, S. van, Jutz, D., Keyssner, S., Kotnik, M., Vogt, J. H.: p-T-x Conditions during Formation of Sulfides, Oxides and certain Silicate-Minerals. p. B57. Schüssler, U., Okrusch, M., Richter, P., Seidel, E.: Geochemistry of Metabasites and Element Mobility. p. B58. Seidel, E., Kreuzer, H., Schüssler, U., Okrusch, M., Lenz, K.-L., Raschka, H.: K-Ar Geochronology of the East-Bavarian Basement. p. B59. Barth, H., Ganz, M., Molzahn, D., Brandt, R.: Entwicklung einer Methode zur Bestimmung von natürlich gebildetem Plutonium in Gesteinen. p. B60. Walther, J., Althaus, E.: Advanced Methodes and Diagrams for Fluid Inclusion Studies. p. B61. Walther, J., Althaus, E.: Origin of Differential Fluid Pressures in the Course of a Metamorphic Event. p. B62. Behr, H. J., Frentzel-Beyme, K.: SEM-Cathodoluminescense Studies of Palaeoporosity in Metamorphic Rocks. p. B63. Reutel, Chr., Horn, E. E.: Ramanspektroskopie und Mikrothermometrie an Mineralien und Flüssigkeitseinschlüssen. p. B64. Behr, H. J.: Möglichkeiten der Kathodolumineszenz-Mikroskopie zur Untersuchung von Bohrkernen. p. B65. Faber, E., Beyer, Gerling, P.: Stabile Isotope gasförmiger Kohlenwasserstoffe. p. B66. Bosum, W., Geipel, H.: 3-D-Bohrlochmagnetik in der KTB-Vorbohrung. p. B67. Propach, G., Goebel, Th.: The genesis of redwitzite near the KTB-drilling site. p. B68. Friese, K., Haack, U.: Isotope Geochemistry, Oberpfalz. p. B69. Andresen, E. Ch., Töpfer, Cl.: Generator zur Erzeugung horizontal polarisierter Scherwellen. p. B70. Schopper, J. R., Pape, H., Fölöp, A., Riepe, L., Wehr, R.: Permeability Estimation from Logs based on a new Petrophysical Model. p. B71-B76.

Description: Keyssner, S., Massalsky, T., Müller, H., Röhr, C., Graup, C., Hacker, W.: B. Geologie. KTB Oberpfalz VB - erste Ergebnisse der geologischen Aufnahme bis 1530 m. p. B1-B88. Stroh, A., Heinschild, H. J., Homann, K. D., Tapfer, M.: C. Geochemie. KTB Oberpfalz VB - Röntgenanalytik, Spülungsanalytik, Gasanalytik. p. C1-C109. Rauen, A., Lippmann, E., Huenges, E., Bücker, Ch., Wienand, J., Wolter K.E.: D. Geophysik. KTB Oberpfalz VB - Gesteinsphysikalische Untersuchungen. p. D1-D60. Wolter, K. E., Aulbach, E., Berckhemer, H.: D. Geophysik. Spannungsnachwirkungsuntersuchungen: Messung der Retardation und der akustischen Emission. p. D47-D60. Wall, H. de, Zulauf, G.: E. Ergänzende Untersuchungen. KTB Oberpfalz VB. Die bruchhaften Verformungsgefüge im Teufenbereich 0 bis 992 m. p. E1-E19.

Description: Graup, G., Hacker, W., Keyssner, S., Massalsky, T., Müller, H., Röhr, C., Uhlig, S.: B. Geologie, KTB Oberpfalz VB - erste Ergebnisse der geologischen Aufnahme bis 480 m. p. B1-B104. Stroh, A., Tapfer, M.: C. Geochemie, KTB Oberpfalz VB - Röntgenanalytik. p. C1- C59. Heinschild, H.-J., Homann, D., Kamm, H., Welker, H.-J.: C. Geochemie, KTB Oberpfalz VB - Spülungsanalytik bis 480 m. p. C60-C73. Bücker, Ch., Eigner, K.-H., Rauen, A., Wienand, J., Wolter, K. E.: D. Geophysik, KTB Oberpfalz VB - Gesteinsphysikalische Untersuchungen. p. D1-D42.

Description: Massalsky, T., Müller, H., Röhr, C., Graup, G., Hacker, W., Keyssner, S., Kohl, J.: B. Geologie. KTB Oberpfalz VB - erste Ergebnisse der geologischen Aufnahme bis 1998 m. p. B1 - B66. Homann, K. D., Heinschild, H. J., Stroh, A., Tapfer, M.: C. Geochemie. KTB Oberpfalz VB - Röntgenanalytik, Spülungsanalytik, Gasanalytik. p. C1-C88. Lippmann, E., Huenges, E., Bücker, Ch., Wienand, J., Wolter, K. E., Rauen, A.: D. Geophysik. KTB Oberpfalz VB - Gesteinsphysikalische Untersuchungen. p. D1- D26. Kohl, J.: E. Ergänzende Untersuchungen. Nachtrag zum KTB Report 88-2: Makroskopische Bohrkerndetailaufnahme des Teufenbereiches 800 - 992 m. p. E1-E11.

Description: RHUM-RHUM is a seismic experiment to study the deep structure of the Reunion plume. La Reunion is one of the most promising locations for a deep whole-mantle plume. Waveform data are available from the GEOFON data centre, under network code X1 under CC-BY 4.0 license.

Description: WebDC3 is a web interface working on top of SeisComP3 standard seismological services (http://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/software/webdc3/). It is AJAX-based and allows users to conveniently discover seismic stations and explore events in seismic catalogues, build and submit requests for data and metadata and finally download the results in different formats. Requests can be built using either absolute time windows or by station-event combinations suitable for different data processing pipelines. Furthermore, data requests and downloading of their results can be made in separated steps, allowing for larger requests and better supporting users with low bandwidth or unstable connections. WebDC3 functions in the style of a previous webdc service implemented at GFZ. The new web interface runs as a Python web application using the Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI). It has been adopted by a number of seismic agencies.

Description: In July 2007 GFZ hosted ILP’s first Potsdam Conference, titled “Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences”. The results of this meeting were presented in an over 400 pages large Springer book, the first volume of a new series on the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). In October 2010 ILP’s Second Potsdam Conference took place, entitled “Solid Earth – Basic Science for the Human Habitat”, again in Potsdam. More than 70 scientists from more than 20 states worldwide came together and shared their results, ideas and visions. This time, in September 2015, ILP’s 35th birthday was the motivation for “Celebrating Excellence in Solid Earth Sciences”. Together with more than 50 scientists, members of the ILP Task Forces and Coordinating Committees, the ILP bureau and ILP’s office came together for three days in September.

Description: Magmatic-hydrothermal systems associated with upper crustal plutons strongly influence volcanic and geothermal processes and form important mineral deposits. Fluids released from plutons are commonly saline and undergo phase separation into high-salinity brines and low-salinity vapors upon ascent. While brine-vapor immiscibility has been extensively studied, precipitation of solid salt during phase separation in magmatic-hydrothermal systems has generally been considered a rare phenomenon. Here we show that most porphyry deposits exhibit fluid inclusion evidence best interpreted by solid salt precipitation from ore-forming solutions. This interpretation naturally links thermodynamics, numerical simulations, and independent estimates of porphyry ore formation depths. Salt precipitation imposes major changes on the permeability of the system. Moreover, salt precipitation has implications for ore formation along the liquid-vapor-halite curve. The recognition of salt-saturated systems is challenging, but very relevant for understanding the evolution of magmatic-hydrothermal systems.

Description: Die im Norddeutschen Becken vorkommenden hochsalinaren, heißen Tiefenwässer besitzen ein beträchtliches Wärmepotential, das bisher in Neustadt-Glewe, Neubrandenburg und Waren zur Energiegewinnung genutzt wird. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit bestand zum einen darin, die Herkunft und die Genese dieser Solen und der in ihnen gelösten Stoffe zu rekonstruieren. Ein zweiter Schwerpunkt bestand in der Ermittlung geochemischer Parameter, die für einen problemlosen Langzeitbetrieb geothermischer Anlagen und somit für deren Wirtschaftlichkeit von Bedeutung sind. Die untersuchten Solen stammten aus Aquiferen, die durch fünf Bohrungen (Neubrandenburg, Waren, Rheinsberg, Neustadt-Glewe, Hamburg-Allermöhe) in Tiefen von 1250 bis 3250 m (54 bis l28°C) erschlossen wurden. Alle untersuchten Na-Cl-Solen wurden aus Sandsteinaquiferen des Keuper (Contorta!Postera-Schichten) gefördert, für die mit zunehmender Tiefe steigende TDS-Gehalte (134 bis 224 g/1) charakteristisch sind. Die Zusammensetzung der gelösten Feststoffe blieb über einen Zeitraum von 3 Jahren konstant. Die Br/CJ-Verhältnisse der Solen sind kleiner als in eingedampftem Meerwasser. Dies und 811B-Werte von +23.8 %o bis +36.3 %o indizieren die Herkunft des Salzgehaltes durch Auflösung/Laugung von Salzen. Das Gas-Wasser-Volumenverhältnis in Proben geothermisch genutzter Solen liegt bei max. 1:10. Die Gasphase wird von C02, N2 und CH4 dominiert, wobei der Gehalt an C02 und CH4 mit der Tiefe zunimmt. Als Spurengase treten He, Ar, H2 und weitere Kohlenwasserstoffe auf (jeweils 〈1 Vol.-%). Die Gasphase des Thermalwassers Neustadt-Giewe zeigte über einen Zeitraum von 2 Jahren keine Änderung in ihrer Zusammensetzung. Periodische Schwankungen in sehr kleinen Konzentrationsbereichen während einer mehrtägigen Gasmeßkampagne korrelieren mit den Erdgezeiten. Die N2-Ar-He-Verhältnisse zeigen, daß es sich um tiefzirkulierende Oberflächenwässer handelt. Untermauert wird diese Interpretation durch die sehr niedrigen 3HefHe-Verhältnisse (R!Ra:S;O.Ol), die keine Mantelheliumkomponente anzeigen, sowie die gegenüber Luft (295.5) leicht erhöhten 40 Ar/36 Ar-Verhältnisse von bis zu 367.5. He-Akkumulationsalter als scheinbare Verweildauer der Solen von 20 bis 50 Ma wurden berechnet. Das Tiefenwasser von NeustadtGiewe besaß gegenüber den anderen Lokationen erhöhte Kohlenwasserstoffgehalte. Die 813C1,2,3- Werte weisen auf thermogenetische Kohlenwasserstoffe und auf ein marines Ausgangsmaterial mit einer Reife, die einer Vitrinitreflektion von etwa 1.2 % entspricht, hin. Die Herkunft aus Corgreichen Zechstein-Sedimenten ist wahrscheinlich, organisches Material des wesentlich tiefer liegenden Karbons scheidet als Quelle aus. Die 8180- und öD-Werte der Wässer zeigen an, daß meteorisches Wasser bei der Genese eine bedeutende Rolle gespielt hat. Die ermittelte isatopische Zusammensetzung der meteorischen Komponente weicht von heutigen Niederschlagswässern ab und weist einen letztmaligen Kontakt mit der Atmosphäre zu einer Zeit deutlich wärmeren Klimas als das heutige nach. Die in einem Thermalwasser vorhandenen Gase können die technologische Eignung der Sole und den Betrieb einer geothermischen Anlage maßgeblich beinflussen (Scaling, Auftreten brennbarer Gase, Entlösung von Gasen). Bei Vorhandensein Corg-reicher Sedimente nimmt die Wahrscheinlichkeit des Auftretens brennbarer Gase in Wässern aus größerer Tiefe, die durch ihre höhere Temperatur wirtschaftlicher sind, zu. Um die Entgasung eines Tiefenwassers innerhalb einer Anlage zu verhindem und somit Scaling und unkontrolliertes Entgasen zu minimieren, wurde anhand Literaturdaten exemplarisch für den Thermalwasserkreislauf der Anlage Neustadt-Giewe (Sole mit den höchsten Gasgehalten) ein Mindestanlagendruck berechnet. Danach sind etwa 2 bar ausreichend, um ein Entgasen der Sole zu verhindern; Strömungseffekte erfordern jedoch eine Erhöhung des Anlagendrucks auf etwa 4 bar. Die zeitliche Konstanz in der Zusammensetzung der gelösten Feststoffe und der Gasphase über einen Zeitraum von 2 bzw. 3 Jahren zeugt von einer relativ großen räumlichen Homogenität der Aquifere, wodurch der Betrieb der Anlagen durch Änderungen in der chemischen Zusammensetzung der Solen kaum gefährdet zu sein scheint. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit haben gezeigt, daß sowohl bei der hydrodynamischen Vorerkundung als auch während des Betriebes eines geothermischen Heizwerkes die genaue Kenntnis der Gasmengen und der Gaszusammensetzung von entscheidender Bedeutung ist.

Description: Deep seated hydrothermal brines in the North German Basin have a considerable heat potential, which is currently used for geothermal energy recovery in Neustadt-Glewe, Neubrandenburg and Waren. One aim of this study was to reconstruct the origin of these brines and their dissolved substances. Another goalwas to determine geochemical parameters which are critically influence the long-term operation, and hence the econornic viability of geothermal plants. The brines come from aquifers which have been accessed by 5 boreholes (Neubrandenburg, Waren, Rheinsberg, Neustadt-Glewe, Hamburg-Allermöhe) in depths from 1250 to 3250 m (54 to 128 °C). All investigated Na-Cl-brines were produced from sandstone aquifers of the Keuper (Contorta!Postera layers). Typically, TDS-values (134 to 224 g/1) increase with depth. The compositions of the dissolved solids were constant during 3 years. The Br/Cl ratios of the brines are lower than evaporated sea water. This, and 811B-values of +23.8 %o up to +36.3 %o indicate dissolution/leaching of salt as the origin of the salt content. The gas-water volume ratio of samples from brines used for geothermal energy recovery are less than around 1:10. The gas phase is dorninated by C02, N2 and C~ with higher C02- and C~ contents with increasing depths. He, Ar, H2 and other hydrocarbons exist as traces ( 〈1 vol.% each). The gas phase of the thermal water from Neustadt-Giewe showed no changes in its composition during 2 years. Small · periodical variations in the concentrations obtained from gas monitaring over several days correlate with the earth tides. The N2-Ar-He ratios show that the waters are deep-circulating meteoric waters. This interpretation is supported by very low 3HefHe ratios (R!Ra:S;O.Ol), which show no mantle helium, and 40 ArP6 Ar ratios up to 367.5, which are slightly enhanced compared to air (295.5). He accumulation ages, taken as the apparent residence time of the brines, were calculated to be 20 to 50 Ma. Compared to the other locations the formation water from Neustadt-Giewe contained enhanced hydrocarbon contents. The 813C1,2,3 values point to thermogenic hydrocarbons and to a marine source rock with a maturity corresponding to about 1.2 % vitrinite reflectivity. An origin from Corg-rich Zechstein sediments seems probable, organic material from significantly deeper-seated Carboniferous formations can be ruled out. The 8180 and ÖD values of the waters confirm that meteoric water played an important role in the brine genesis. The determined isotopic composition of the meteoric component deviates from recent precipitation and indicates a last contact with the atmosphere at a time when climate conditions were significantly warmer than today. Gases dissolved in thermal waters can significantly affect both the technological suitability of a brine and the operation of a geothermal heat plant (scaling, degassing, occurence of flammable gases). If Corg-rich sedimentary rocks occur, the probability of the occurence of flammable gases increases in waters from larger depths, which are more economic due to their higher temperature. The pressure needed to prevent degassing inside a plant and thus to rninirnize scaling and uncontrolled degassing was calculated for the example of the thermal water cycle at Neustadt-Giewe (brine with the highest gas content). About 2 bars are sufficient to prevent degassing; however, flow effects require increasing the pressure up to about 4 bars. The constant composition of both the dissolved solids and gases over a period of 2 to 3 years is a sign of a relatively large spatial uniformity of the aquifers. Therefore the continuous operation of the plants seems unlikely to be endangered by a change in the chernical composition of the brines. The results of this study have shown that during the hydrodynarnic reconnaissance as weil as during the operation of a geothermal heat plant, precise knowlegde of the gas concentration is of essential importance.

Description: Zeitbereichs-IP ist eine Standardmethode in der Mineralexploration (Zonge, 1976) und wird vorwiegend angewendet, um die Widerstands - und Aufladbarkeitsverteilung des Untergrundes aufzulösen (z.B. Wynn, 1978). Nach wie vor die am häufigsten angewandte Methode ist die Integration der Fläche unter dem Zerfallssignal. Diese Integration wird in der Regel bereits in der Messapparatur vorgenommen, so daß der Anwender lediglich die Werte für die Aufladbarkeit und den Widerstand erhält. Die Benutzung einer Aufzeichnungsapparatur für die LOTEM Methode (siehe Strack, 1992) erlaubt die Verarbeitung des Zerfallssignales als Zeitreihe. Diese Zeitreihe kann gefiltert, gestapelt und anschließend modelliert/invertiert werden. Die Modellrechnung bzw. Inversion erfolgt mit einem veränderten Zeitbereichs EM Programm, welches auf die komplexe Cole-Cole Leitfähigkeit erweitert wurde (siehe Cole & Cole 1941). Die Inversion wird nach der Marquart Methode durchgeführt (siehe auch Inman, 1975 und Glenn, 1973).

Description: Im Rahmen eines von der BGR bearbeitete ein FuE-Vorhaben „Pilotstudie zu einer aerogeophysikalischen Landesaufnahme" fanden 1999/2000 aerogeophysikalischen Messungen nordwestlich des Harzes im Messgebiet „Rhüden - Lutter a. B." statt. Das Messgebiet umfasst eine Fläche von etwa 200 km2, von denen etwa die Hälfte eine bis zu 50 m mächtige Quartärbedeckung aufweist. Auf Basis der AEM-lnversionsergebnisse lassen sich aufgrund ausreichender Widerstandskontraste verschiedener mesozoischer Schichten im Messgebiet die (Quartär-abgedeckte) Geologie mit den flach bis halbsteil einfallenden Schichten in den Horizontal- und Vertikalschnitten klar erkennen. Dabei treten besonders die harten Kalksteine des Unteren Muschelkalk und der Oberkreide sowie die Sandsteine der Unterkreide (Hilssandstein) durch hohe spezifische Widerstände (p 〉 200 Qm) und die weichen Tonsteine des Oberen Buntsandstein (Röt) und des Unteren Jura sowie die Mergelsteine des Mittleren Keuper und der Oberkreide (Coniac) durch niedrige spezifische Widerstände (p 〈 20 Qm) hervor. Aufgrund der Zuordnung der Gesteinsschichten zu den Modellschichten des spezifischen Widerstandes war es möglich, die durch mächtige Quartärablagerungen verhüllten Störungszonen zu kartieren.

Description: Die Entwicklung der Geoelektrik-Apparatur SIP-256 zur Bestimmung der komplexen elektrischen Leitfähigkeit fand im Rahmen des Graduiertenkollegs „Archäologische Analytik" statt. Ziel ist es, innerhalb dieses DFG-Projekts, die Polarisierbarkeit als einen weiteren bodenspezifischen Parameter in der archäologischen Prospektion zu etablieren, aber auch grundsätzlich die Auflösbarkeit oberflächennaher 3D-Objekte in der Geoelektrik zu untersuchen. Die ersten Messungen beschränkten sich auf das Labor bzw. auf bereits bekannte archäologische Strukturen. Mit der Anwendung verschiedener Elektrodenanordnungen sollte zunächst die Tiefenauflösung der jeweiligen Meßkonfiguration untersucht werden. Ziel war es außerdem, die Reproduzierbarkeit der physikalischen Parameter, sowie die Position der Strukturen in der anschließenden Inversion zu überprüfen. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag sollen die ersten Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchungen vorgestellt werden.

Description: Wir stellen ein SQUID-Magnetometer-System auf der Basis von Hochtemperatur-Supraleitern vor, das speziell für die Anwendung in der Transienten Elektromagnetik (TEM) entwickelt wurde. Es wird gezeigt, daß Messungen mit SQUID-Magnetometern insbesondere im späten Zeitbereich deutliche Vorteile gegenüber konventionellen Spulen bieten: Spulen messen dB/dt, die zeitliche Ableitung des magnetischen Feldes, welche mit zunehmender Zeit verschwindet; das SQUID misst hingegen B direkt und kann den Transienten solange verfolgen, bis er in dem natürlichen Feldrauschen untergeht. Dadurch kann im Explorationsgeschäft eine erhebliche Kostenersparnis verbunden werden, da mit SQUIDs bei gleicher Signalqualität viel weniger Mittelungen als mit Spulen nötig sind. Andererseits wird mit SQUIDs eine erweiterte Explorationstiefe möglich.

Description: After 137 years without a great earthquake, the Mw 8.1 Pisagua event of 1 April 2014 occurred in the central portion of the southern Peru–northern Chile subduction zone. This megathrust earthquake was preceded by more than 2 weeks of foreshock activity migrating ∼3.5 km/day toward the mainshock hypocenter. This foreshock sequence was triggered by an Mw 6.7 earthquake on a reverse fault in the upper plate that strikes at a high angle to the trench, similar to well-documented reverse faults onshore. These margin-oblique reverse faults accommodate north-south shortening resulting from subduction across a plate boundary that is curved in map view. Reverse slip on the crustal fault unclamped the subduction interface, precipitating the subsequent megathrust foreshock activity that culminated in the great Pisagua earthquake. The combination of crustal reverse faults and a curved subduction margin also occurs in Cascadia and northeastern Japan, indicating that there are two additional localities where great megathrust earthquakes may be triggered by upper plate fault activity.

Description: We determined the centroid moment tensor (CMT) solutions of earthquakes that occurred along the North Anatolian fault (NAF) beneath the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, using data obtained from Turkey’s broad-band seismograph network. The CMT solution of the 2014 Aegean Sea earthquake (Mw 6.9) represents a strike-slip fault, consistent with the geometry of the NAF, and the source-time function indicates that this event comprised several distinct subevents. Each subevent is considered to have ruptured a different fault segment. This observation indicates the existence of a mechanical barrier, namely a NAF segment boundary, at the hypocenter. CMT solutions of background seismicity beneath the Aegean Sea represent strike-slip or normal faulting along the NAF or its branch faults. The tensional axes of these events are oriented northeast–southwest, indicating a transtensional tectonic regime. Beneath the Sea of Marmara, the CMT solutions represent mostly strike-slip faulting, consistent with the motion of the NAF, but we identified a normal fault event with a tensional axis parallel to the strike of the NAF. This mechanism indicates that a pull-apart basin, marking a segment boundary of the NAF, is developing there. Because ruptures of a fault system and large earthquake magnitudes are strongly controlled by the fault system geometry and fault length, mapping fault segments along NAF can help to improve the accuracy of scenarios developed for future disastrous earthquakes in the Marmara region.

Description: Preexisting networks of seismometers and continuous GPS in Northern Chile successfully captured surface motions and seismicity leading up to the 1 April Mw 8.1. Here we compare continuous GPS (cGPS) with predictions of seismic dislocations for the final foreshock swarm, beginning with the 16 March Mw 6.7. Results show that the cumulative cGPS motion can be largely explained by seismic slip because evolutions of cGPS positions for most stations stay within the ranges of seismic predictions (given sensible ranges of assumed source errors). However, cGPS motions between 18–21 and 25–31 March outpace seismic predictions, supporting the existence of aseismic transients that were most probably the afterslip from preceding bursts of seismicity. A parameter search reveals that the 16 March Mw 6.7 cGPS displacements can be recreated with a fault plane significantly rotated anticlockwise from the strike of the plate interface, suggesting that failure was on a structure other than the plate interface.

Description: The dataset is composed of a) hyperspectral imagery acquired during airplane overflights on August 7th, 2008 and August 20th, 2009 consisting of 126 and 125 spectral bands, respectively, ranging from VIS to SWIR (456 - 2490 nm and 453 - 2480 nm) wavelength regions; b) spectral reference measurements acquired with an portable ASD field spectroradiometer in 2150 spectral bands (350 - 2500nm) in the same phenological periods of July/August/September 2008/09 c) plant species assemblages on 81 moist and 72 dry habitats consisting of the fractional cover of all vascular plants, mosses and lichens. The overall goal of the study was to map plant species shift along environmental gradients relating spectral information to the floristic composition. Reference plots of 1 or 2 m² size were thereby located in typical plant communities as well as in transition zones affected by species shift due to management measures such as grazing or shrub removal. In addition 17 field plots were analyzed with regard to soil horizon parameter (e.g. pH, grain size, carbonate content) in the year 2011. Soil types are further available on 51 auger probes.

Description: This position paper is the working group's first result. It is directed at scholarly institutions dealing with aspects of Open Access publishing, and bundles and evaluates the requirements for contracts based on the publication cost model. It also raises the question of linking subscriptions and Open Access and gives the institutions targeted ideas for formulating their Open Access strategies. It aims to create transparency and sustainability in the field of scholarly publishing in the interests of the sciences and to avoid perpetuating mistakes of the past.

Description: 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.

Description: The dataset is composed of a) hyperspectral imagery acquired during airplane overflights on August 7th, 2008 and August 20th, 2009 consisting of 126 and 125 spectral bands, respectively, ranging from VIS to SWIR (456 - 2490 nm and 453 - 2480 nm) wavelength regions; b) spectral reference meas-urements acquired with an portable ASD field spectroradiometer in 2150 spectral bands (350 - 2500nm) in the same phenological periods of July/August/September 2008/09; c) plant species as-semblages on 81 moist and 72 dry habitats consisting of the fractional cover of all vascular plants, mosses and lichens. The overall goal of the study was to map plant species shift along environmen-tal gradients relating spectral information to the floristic composition. Reference plots of 1 or 2 m² size were thereby located in typical plant communities as well as in transition zones affected by species shift due to management measures such as grazing or shrub removal. In addition 17 field plots were analyzed with regard to soil horizon parameter (e.g. pH, grain size, carbonate content) in the year 2011. Soil types are further available on 51 core samples.

Description: Trees are sessile organisms that relate with constant environmental change through both structural and functional plasticity. Changes in the plasticity result in different growth rates through the life of trees that can be accessed by the study of tree rings. Environmental changes, especially climate, have the potential to modulate tree growth and, consequently, be recorded in the tree rings. The study of the interaction between trees and the environment is relevant in a time of fast changes in the landscape and climate. The aim of this study was to better understand how climate and landscape features modulate the growth of tropical tree species. In the present study, growth is analyzed as a synonym of wood formation. Additionally, it was analyzed under two points of view, the first one is the tree-ring analyzes and second one is the carbon allocation in the process of wood formation. To accomplish that, tree species with wide distribution were sampled, including Hymenaea spp. (Leguminosae) and Podocarpus lambertii (Podocarpaceae) both with distinct tree rings. The populations of Hymenaea spp. were sampled in ten sites across a latitudinal gradient from the Equator line to the Tropic of Capricorn. The population of P. lambertii was sampled in a micro refuge in the northern limit of this species distribution. Results show that both temperature and precipitation influence these species growth and that relation depends on the environment in which trees grow. High temperatures seem to be a key limiting factor for the studied specie growth. Moreover, temperature is also an important factor that controls the heartwood deposition in Hymenaea spp. It is important to note that the heartwood deposition represents a high carbon cost for these trees. Additionally, there is a trade-off between in the carbon allocation between the sapwood as produced by the cambium and the heartwood deposition. Precipitation is also a climate variable that influences these species growth. However, the precipitation influence seems to be more dependent on the environmental features of each population site. For instance, in sites higher water availability, trees' growth is more dependent on the precipitation during the wet season, while in sites with lower water availability, and well-drained soils, trees' growth is more dependent on the precipitation during the transition period between dry and wet seasons. It is important to highlight that forest fragmentation, commonly seem in tropical areas, has the potential to make this climate/growth relations weaker. Overall, an increase in air temperature and a decrease in the precipitation, or a concentration of it in a shorter wet season, will likely have a negative impact on trees growth. However, this effect will depend on the environmental characteristics of each population.

Description: In March 2010, the project CoCoCo (incipient COntinent-COntinent COllision) recorded a 650 km long amphibian N-S wide-angle seismic profile, extending from the Eratosthenes Seamount (ESM) across Cyprus and southern Turkey to the Anatolian plateau. The aim of the project is to reveal the impact of the transition from subduction to continent-continent collision of the African plate with the Cyprus-Anatolian plate. A visual quality check, frequency analysis and filtering were applied to the seismic data and reveal a good data quality. Subsequent first break picking, finite-differences ray tracing and inversion of the offshore wide-angle data leads to a first-arrival tomographic model. This model reveals (1) P-wave velocities lower than 6.5 km/s in the crust, (2) a variable crustal thickness of about 28 - 37 km and (3) an upper crustal reflection at 5 km depth beneath the ESM. Two land shots on Turkey, also recorded on Cyprus, airgun shots south of Cyprus and geological and previous seismic investigations provide the information to derive a layered velocity model beneath the Anatolian plateau and for the ophiolite complex on Cyprus. The analysis of the reflections provides evidence for a north-dipping plate subducting beneath Cyprus. The main features of this layered velocity model are (1) an upper and lower crust with large lateral changes of the velocity structure and thickness, (2) a Moho depth of about 38 - 45 km beneath the Anatolian plateau, (3) a shallow north-dipping subducting plate below Cyprus with an increasing dip and (4) a typical ophiolite sequence on Cyprus with a total thickness of about 12 km. The offshore-onshore seismic data complete and improve the information about the velocity structure beneath Cyprus and the deeper part of the offshore tomographic model. Thus, the wide-angle seismic data provide detailed insights into the 2-D geometry and velocity structures of the uplifted and overriding Cyprus-Anatolian plate. Subsequent gravity modelling confirms and extends the crustal P-wave velocity model. The deeper part of the subducting plate is constrained by the gravity data and has a dip angle of ~ 28°. Finally, an integrated analysis of the geophysical and geological information allows a comprehensive interpretation of the crustal structure related to the collision process.

Description: 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.

Description: Hydro-Mechanical (HM) and transient Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) simulations in a faulted aquifer are presented. Both 2D and 3D scenarios are illustrated.

Description: The dataset is composed of a) hyperspectral imagery acquired with AISA Eagle and Hawk imaging spectrometer data in the range 400 to 2500 nm on April 2 and August 9, 2011, with a ground sampling distance of 4 m in 12 and 15 flight lines, respectively; b) airborne LiDAR data acquired in single-pulse mode in August 2011 concurrent with hyperspectral data acquisition with an avarage point density of 0.7 hits per meter squared; c) spectral reference measurements acquired with a portable ASD field spectroradiometer around the days of image acquisitions d) fractional cover of green vegetation, dry vegetation, bare soil and rock were visually estimated for 60 (April) and 53 (August) transects of 20-m length. The overall goal of the study was to investigate the potential of hyperspectral and LiDAR data for assessing sediment connectivity at the hillslope to subcatchment scale. For that the fractional cover of green vegetation, dry vegetation, bare soil and rock was derived by applying a multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis approach to the hyperspectral image data. The LiDAR point clouds were pre-processed to generate a digital elevation map as well as a vegetation height map, both with 4-m spatial resolution.

Description: The present work reports the analysis of a possible relationship due to stress transfer between the two earthquakes that hit the province of Van, Eastern Turkey, on October 23, 2011 (Mw = 7.2) and on November 9, 2011 (Mw = 5.6). The surface displacement field of the mainshock has been obtained through a combined data set made up of differential interferograms from COSMO-SkyMed and ENVISAT satellites, integrated with continuous GPS recordings from the Turkish TUSAGA-AKTIF network. This allowed us to retrieve the geometry and the slip distribution of the seismic source and to compute the Coulomb Failure Function (CFF) variation on the aftershock plane, in order to assess a possible causal relationship between the two events. Our results show that the November 9 earthquake could have been triggered by the October 23 shock, with transferred stress values largely exceeding 1 bar.

Description: Measurements of seismic anisotropy are commonly used to constrain deformation in the upper mantle. Observations of anisotropy at mid-mantle depths are, however, relatively sparse. In this study we probe the anisotropic structure of the mid-mantle (transition zone and uppermost lower mantle) beneath the Japan, Izu-Bonin, and South America subduction systems. We present source-side shear wave splitting measurements for direct teleseismic S phases from earthquakes deeper than 300 km that have been corrected for the effects of upper mantle anisotropy beneath the receiver. In each region, we observe consistent splitting with delay times as large as 1 s, indicating the presence of anisotropy at mid-mantle depths. Clear splitting of phases originating from depths as great as ∼600 km argues for a contribution from anisotropy in the uppermost lower mantle as well as the transition zone. Beneath Japan, fast splitting directions are perpendicular or oblique to the slab strike and do not appear to depend on the propagation direction of the waves. Beneath South America and Izu-Bonin, splitting directions vary from trench-parallel to trench-perpendicular and have an azimuthal dependence, indicating lateral heterogeneity. Our results provide evidence for the presence of laterally variable anisotropy and are indicative of variable deformation and dynamics at mid-mantle depths in the vicinity of subducting slabs.

Description: This study presents P- and S-wave velocity variations for the upper mantle in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany based on teleseismic traveltime tomography. Tectonically, this region includes the entire northern part of the prominent Tornquist Zone which follows along the transition from old Precambrian shield units to the east to younger Phanerozoic deep sedimentary basins to the southwest. We combine data from several separate temporary arrays/profiles (276 stations) deployed over a period of about 15 yr and permanent networks (31 stations) covering the areas of Denmark, northern Germany, southern Sweden and southern Norway. By performing an integrated P- and S-traveltime analysis, we obtain the first high-resolution combined 3-D VP and VS models, including variations in the VP/VS ratio, for the whole of this region of study. Relative station mean traveltime residuals vary within ±1 s for P wave and ±2 s for S wave, with early arrivals in shield areas of southern Sweden and later arrivals in the Danish and North German Basins, as well as in most of southern Norway. In good accordance with previous, mainly P-velocity models, a marked upper-mantle velocity boundary (UMVB) is accurately delineated between shield areas (with high seismic mantle velocity) and basins (with lower velocity). It continues northwards into southern Norway near the Oslo Graben area and further north across the Southern Scandes Mountains. This main boundary, extending to a depth of at least 300 km, is even more pronounced in our new S-velocity model, with velocity contrasts of up to ±2–3 per cent. It is also clearly reflected in the VP/VS ratio. Differences in this ratio of up to about ±2 per cent are observed across the boundary, with generally low values in shield areas to the east and relatively higher values in basin areas to the southwest and in most of southern Norway. Differences in the VP/VS ratio are believed to be a rather robust indicator of upper-mantle compositional differences. For the depth interval of about 100–300 km, thick, depleted, relatively cold shield lithosphere is indicated in southern Sweden, contrasting with more fertile, warm mantle asthenosphere beneath most of the basins in Denmark and northern Germany. Both compositional and temperature differences seem to play a significant role in explaining the UMVB between southern Norway and southern Sweden. In addition to the main regional upper-mantle velocity contrasts, a number of more local anomaly features are also outlined and discussed.

Description: This study presents a new geomorphological approach to investigate the past activity and potential seismic hazard of upper crustal faults at the Salar del Carmen segment of the Atacama Fault System in the northern Chile forearc. Our contribution is based on the analysis of a large set of topographic profiles and allows extrapolating fault analysis from a few selected locations to distances of kilometers along strike of the fault. We detected subtle changes in the fault scarp geometry which may represent the number of paleoearthquakes experienced by the structure and extracted the cumulative and last incremental displacement along strike of the investigated scarps. We also tested the potential of knickpoints in channels crossing the fault scarps as markers for repeated fault rupture and proxies for seismic displacement. The number of paleoearthquakes derived from our analysis is 2–3, well in agreement with recent paleoseismological investigations, which suggest 2–3 earthquakes (Mw = 6.5–6.7) at the studied segments. Knickpoints record the number of events for about 55% of the analyzed profile pairs. Only few knickpoints represent the full seismic displacement, while most retain only a fraction of the displacement. The along-strike displacement distributions suggest fault growth from the center toward the tips and linkage of individual ruptures. Our approach also improves the estimation of paleomagnitudes in case of multiple fault rupture by allowing to quantify the last increment of displacement separately. Paleomagnitudes calculated from total segment length and the last increment of displacement (Mw = 6.5–7.1) are in agreement with paleoseismological results.

Description: INTERACT stations are located in all major environmental envelopes of the Arctic providing an ideal platform for studying climate change and its impact on the environment and local communities. Since alpine environments face similar changes and challenges as the Arctic, the INTERACT network also includes some alpine stations located outside the Arctic. The INTERACT research stations provide a platform for arctic research and monitoring. Activities span from small short term research projects to larger long term monitoring programmes. The stations are thus visited by many researchers and research groups. Therefore, INTERACT has produced a catalogue of research stations including descriptions of the physical setting, facilities and services offered at the stations. It is our hope that this catalogue will help researchers identify research stations that suit their specific needs. The catalogue includes original partner stations and observer stations as of April 2012(Observer Stations are stations that have joined the network after project start). The network is still growing and you can visit our field site section to explore all the new ones along with all the others (Field sites).

Description: We compared spatiotemporal slip‐rate and high‐frequency (around 1 Hz) radiation distributions from teleseismic P wave data to infer the seismic rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. For these estimates, we applied a novel waveform inversion formulation that mitigates the effect of Green's functions uncertainty and a hybrid backprojection method that mitigates contamination by depth phases. Our model showed that the dynamic rupture front propagated eastward from the hypocenter at 3.0 km/s and triggered a large‐slip event centered about 50 km to the east. It also showed that the large‐slip event included a rapid rupture acceleration event and an irregular deceleration of rupture propagation before the rupture termination. Heterogeneity of the stress drop or fracture energy in the eastern part of the rupture area, where aftershock activity was high, inhibited rupture growth. High‐frequency radiation sources tended to be in the deeper part of the large‐slip area, which suggests that heterogeneity of the stress drop or fracture energy there may have contributed to the damage in and around Kathmandu.

Description: The causes for the formation of large igneous provinces and hotspot trails are still a matter of considerable dispute. Seismic tomography and other studies suggest that hot mantle material rising from the core-mantle boundary (CMB) might play a significant role in the formation of such hotspot trails. An important area to verify this concept is the South Atlantic region, with hotspot trails that spatially coincide with one of the largest low-velocity regions at the CMB, the African large low shear-wave velocity province. The Walvis Ridge started to form during the separation of the South American and African continents at ca. 130 Ma as a consequence of Gondwana breakup. Here, we present the first deep-seismic sounding images of the crustal structure from the landfall area of the Walvis Ridge at the Namibian coast to constrain processes of plume-lithosphere interaction and the formation of continental flood basalts (Paraná and Etendeka continental flood basalts) and associated intrusive rocks. Our study identified a narrow region (〈100 km) of high-seismic-velocity anomalies in the middle and lower crust, which we interpret as a massive mafic intrusion into the northern Namibian continental crust. Seismic crustal reflection imaging shows a flat Moho as well as reflectors connecting the high-velocity body with shallow crustal structures that we speculate to mark potential feeder channels of the Etendeka continental flood basalt. We suggest that the observed massive but localized mafic intrusion into the lower crust results from similar-sized variations in the lithosphere (i.e., lithosphere thickness or preexisting structures).

Description: Seismological models of upper mantle structure provide important constraints on the Earth"s convection system. Resolving the details of the upper mantle discontinuities is important for modelling the composition of the mantle and for understanding the effect that the discontinuities may have on mantle convection. Recently, numerous permanent and temporary seismic stations and networks have been set up around the world. It is possible to get the seismic records for the research needs from data management systems like IRIS, GEOFON, GEOSCOPE, FREESIA, etc. The use of seismograms collected from a large number of stations and earthquakes around the world enable us to study the global and the regional structure of the Earth. In this work, the receiver function technique (e.g. Owens et. Al., 1995) is applied to study the upper mantle structure in the northwest Pacific subduction zone and in the Hawaiian hotspot area. In the northwest Pacific, the Pacific plate is subducted into the upper mantle to more than 600 km depth, indicated by seismicity. In Hawaii, the volcanic edifice of the Hawaiian Islands and seamounts are believed to result from the passage of the oceanic lithosphere over a stationary mantle hotspot (Wilson, 1963; Morgan, 1971; Morgan et. al., 1995). In both regions the upper mantle structure is affected by the cold and warm materials, respectively. To study the extension of the temperature anomaly is important for understanding the Earth"s convection system. The olivine component of the mantle material is intensively studied in laboratories (e.g. Ito and Takahashi, 1989; Irifune, 1987). With increasing temperature and pressure, the olivine crystal undergoes a series of phase transformations which will result in a variation of the seismic structure. The effect of the temperature anomaly on the main upper mantle discontinuities will be discussed in chapter 2. Recently, the receiver function technique is increasingly applied to investigate the upper mantle discontinuities. To isolate the upper mantle conversion phases, newly developed moveout correction and migration methods are applied to separately distributed seismic stations as well as station arrays. The receiver function method used in this study will be introduced in chapter 3. In chapter 4 and 5, receiver function studies in the area of the northwest Pacific subduction zone and the Hawaiian mantle plume are presented. Regional tectonic background and the previous seismological works in these two areas will be first introduced in each chapter, and followed by description of data, processing steps, results and interpretations. In chapter 6, I will summarize the observations of the 410 and 660 topography in the northwest Pacific subduction zone and in the area around the Hawaiian mantle plume.

Description: 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.

Description: Since the early days of Deep Biosphere research almost 100 years ago, this research field has gained momentum over the last 30 years. Much new information could be gained, some of it challenged our concepts about the limits of life and the mechanisms of global biogeochemical cycles. Besides the scientifically motivated questions, there are many applied aspects that play a major role in this research area. Industrial utilization of the deep subsurface is rapidly increasing, and decisions about utilization concepts require a profound knowledge about the processes that control these environments. Much of this process understanding is still lacking. Additional to research on processes, GFZ cultivates previously unknown microbes from deep biosphere environments. These organisms allow studying the adaptations to the peculiar environmental conditions and isolation of novel biomolecules with potential biotechnological applications.

Description: We use adjoint tomography to iteratively determine seismic models of the crust and upper mantle beneath the European continent and the North Atlantic Ocean. Three-component seismograms from 190 earthquakes recorded by 745 seismographic stations are employed in the inversion. Crustal model EPcrust combined with mantle model S362ANI comprise the 3-D starting model, EU00. Before the structural inversion, earthquake source parameters, for example, centroid moment tensors and locations, are reinverted based on global 3-D Green's functions and Fréchet derivatives. This study consists of three stages. In stage one, frequency-dependent phase differences between observed and simulated seismograms are used to constrain radially anisotropic wave speed variations. In stage two, frequency-dependent phase and amplitude measurements are combined to simultaneously constrain elastic wave speeds and anelastic attenuation. In these two stages, long-period surface waves and short-period body waves are combined to simultaneously constrain shallow and deep structures. In stage three, frequency-dependent phase and amplitude anomalies of three-component surface waves are used to simultaneously constrain radial and azimuthal anisotropy. After this three-stage inversion, we obtain a new seismic model of the European curst and upper mantle, named EU60. Improvements in misfits and histograms in both phase and amplitude help us to validate this three-stage inversion strategy. Long-wavelength elastic wave speed variations in model EU60 compare favourably with previous body- and surface wave tomographic models. Some hitherto unidentified features, such as the Adria microplate, naturally emerge from the smooth starting model. Subducting slabs, slab detachments, ancient suture zones, continental rifts and backarc basins are well resolved in model EU60. We find an anticorrelation between shear wave speed and anelastic attenuation at depths 〈 100 km. At greater depths, this anticorrelation becomes relatively weak, in agreement with previous global attenuation studies. Furthermore, enhanced attenuation is observed within the mantle transition zone beneath the North Atlantic Ocean. Consistent with typical radial anisotropy in 1-D reference models, the European continent is dominated by features with a radially anisotropic parameter ξ 〉 1, indicating predominantly horizontal flow within the upper mantle. In addition, subduction zones, such as the Apennines and Hellenic arcs, are characterized by vertical flow with ξ 〈 1 at depths greater than 150 km. We find that the direction of the fast anisotropic axis is closely tied to the tectonic evolution of the region. Averaged radial peak-to-peak anisotropic strength profiles identify distinct brittle-ductile deformation in lithospheric strength beneath oceans and continents. Finally, we use the ‘point-spread function’ to assess image quality and analyse trade-offs between different model parameters.

Description: The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) scientific drilling project focuses on mountain building processes in a major mid-Paleozoic orogen in western Scandinavia and its comparison with modern analogues. The transport and emplacement of subduction-related highgrade continent-ocean transition (COT) complexes onto the Baltoscandian platform and their influence on the underlying allochthons and basement will be studied in a section provided by two fully cored 2.5 km deep drill holes. This operational report concerns the first drill hole, COSC-1 (ICDP 5054-1-A), drilled from early May to late August 2014. COSC-1 is located in the vicinity of the abandoned Fröå mine, close to the town of Åre in Jämtland, Sweden and was planned to sample a thick section of the Seve Nappe and to penetrate its basal thrust zone into the underlying lower grade metamorphosed allochthon. Despite substantial technical problems, the drill hole reached 2495.8 m driller's depth and nearly 100 % core recovery was achieved. Surprising was the homogeneity of the Seve Nappe rocks, the unexpected thickness of its basal thrust zone (〉 500 m) and that the drill hole, therefore, did not penetrate the bottom of the thrust zone. However, lower grade metasedimentary rocks were encountered in the lowermost part of the drill hole together with tens of metres thick mylonites that are, unexpectedly, rich in large garnets. The drill core was documented on-site and XRF scanned off site. During various stages of the drilling, the borehole was documented by comprehensive downhole logging. This operational report provides an overview over the COSC-1 operations from drilling preparations to the sampling party and describes the available datasets and sample material.

Description: The water cycle is of paramount importance to human society: shortage of water and intensive droughts have been linked to the downfall of ancient civilizations. At the same time water is an important agent of change on the Earth’s surface, removing and transporting vast amounts of sediments from their source to marine sinks. As such, water is the basis of life as well as a pacemaker of the biogeochemical cycles, such as the carbon cycle. Short-term, abrupt changes (101 to 103 years) in the water cycle have the potential to threaten human societies directly, while long-term changes can affect the global biogeochemical cycles, in particular the carbon cycle. In the Organic Surface Geochemistry Lab (Section Geomorphology) of GFZ we are using biomarker based molecular methods a) to understand the drivers of change in the short-term water cycle during past, abrupt climatic changes; and b) to investigate processes that determine the erosion, transport and burial of organic carbon into long-term geological sinks – processes which are responsible for the relatively stable climatic conditions which have allowed the sustainment of life on Earth. By combining paleoclimatic, geomorphological and organic-geochemical approaches we gain new insights into the stabilizing and destabilizing factors, that control the water and the carbon cycles over various geological timescales.

Description: The Earth and its surface are tightly linked to the global climate system by turbulent exchange fluxes of energy and matter, for example greenhouse gases. This is true both for “deep Earth” geologically generated heat or gases reaching the surface and those of biogenic origin in the near-surface environment. For a better understanding of Earth-atmosphere interactions and in particular their feedbacks, the Helmholtz Young Investigators Group TEAM at GFZ studies the surface-atmosphere exchange of heat, water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) on a range of temporal and spatial scales – from hours to years and from 〈 1m² to more than 10 000 km². A regional focus is on degraded peatlands. While natural peatlands play a central role in the climate system as major carbon sink storing twice the amount of carbon that is contained in the Earth’s forests, a large fraction of the world’s peatlands has been drained for agriculture and subsequently lost that carbon storage capacity. Drained and degraded peatlands are significant and longterm carbon dioxide sources and thus contribute to further climate warming. In NE Germany, up to 20 % of the overall carbon dioxide emissions are from drained peat and a tool in reducing national greenhouse gas emission is therefore the re-wetting of peatlands to restore their natural carbon sink capacity. TEAM monitors the long-term greenhouse gas dynamics in such re-wetted sites and investigates the underlying processes and spatiotemporal drivers of the dynamics.

Description: Already today, Central Asia faces water stress with competing water uses and prevailing low water use efficiencies. For the future, climate, hydrologic and socio- economic changes are going to exacerbate the situation. Research undertaken in the frame of the CAWa project revealed that based on the climate model scenarios climate change will result in a further increase of mean annual, winter and summer air temperature, and a substantial further reduction of glacier-covered area in the Tien Shan, e.g. the Naryn basin by 20 – 60 % up to 2050 compared to the present state. The river runoff regime is expected to shift from a glacio-nival to a pluvio-nival runoff regime with increasing discharge in springtime and decreasing discharge in the summer months for more pessimistic climate scenarios. By 2050, the increasing temperature triggers an increase in crop water requirements by 5–15 % for most of the traditional crops in the Fergana valley. A detailed scenario analysis for the Fergana valley showed that the economies can cope with the future conditions if (1) water use efficiencies in irrigated agriculture are increased by applying new irrigation technologies and improving irrigation infrastructure, and (2) the land use is adjusted in favour of new cash-crops like vegetables, fruits, and grapes. These are “no-regret” adaptation measures which the Central Asian economies should undertake to cope with the socio-economic changes alone, even if there was no climate change.