ALBERT

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., subdaily 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 of the updated ESA Earth System Model (updated ESM) for gravity mission simulation studies is organized as follows: The characteristics of the updated ESM along with some basic validation is presented in Volume 1. A detailed comparison to the original ESA ESM (Gruber et al., 2011) is provided in Volume 2, while Volume 3 contains the description of a strategy to derive realistic errors for the de-aliasing model of high-frequency mass variability in atmosphere and ocean.

Description: [...] In this thesis it is shown that the epoch-differenced ionospheric delay correction is sufficient for estimating the tropospheric delay, e.g., the Zenith Total Delay (ZTD), from SF GPS data. Based on this result, the Satellite-specific Epoch-differenced Ionospheric Delay model (SEID) was developed. In the SEID model the ionospheric corrections for SF data are generated from the observations of surrounding reference stations equipped with DF receivers. With the derived ionospheric corrections and the SF data, pseudo L2 data are generated, which can be processed using existing GPS processing software packages without any changes. [...]

Description: The seismicity data file used for this study is represented by the earthquake catalogue CENEC for Europe north of 44°N (Grünthal et al. 2009a). This paper describes in detail how this homogeneous data file in terms of moment magnitudes Mw (with Mw greater than 3.5) has been derived. The degree of harmonization achieved in CENEC is quantitatively analysed in Grünthal et al. (2009b).

Description: The integrated plate boundary in Chile (IPOC) combines 15 broadband stations with strong-motion sensors, GPS, strain sensors and magneto-telluric stations. The Chilean subduction zone setting provides a high background rate of seismicity (crustal, intermediate depth, and plate interface) in a region with exceptionally low ambient noise, particularly at higher frequencies. We have deployed seismic mini-arrays in the vicinity of IPOC stations PB02 and PB07, and installed a third array to the east of these stations near the village of Quillagua, such that all three arrays form a triangle. Each array has 10 elements and an aperture in the km range. The study area lies just to the north of the northern boundary of the rupture area of the Tocopilla earthquake of 2007 Mw=7.7) and just above or slightly to the east of the downdip limit of plate interface seismicity. Installing the mini-arrays in the area of the existing IPOC has the following advantages: • Independent knowledge of background structure and seismicity from existing and ongoing studies. • Should any transients or other unusual signals be found in the array data, we can look for anomalous signals in geodetic and MT recordings, which will help to narrow down possible underlying mechanisms.

Description: The guidebook contains a thematic description an background information for each field day. The overall setting and development of the Saxo-Thuringian zone within the Variscan orogen is presented in Kroner and Romer (2010). This material is not included in this guide book (because of copyright reasons) and will be handed out to field trip participants as separate handout.

Description: Film 2: "Geological Conditions and Capacities" (Length 06:00) "Porous rocks with good permeability have, in Germany and world-wide, the highest potential for geological CO2 storage. ..." Where do these rocks occur? And which further criteria need potential CO2 storage sites to meet? Production Year: 2010-2012

Description: The 9th TRACE conference (Tree Rings in Archaeology, Climatology and Ecology) was organized by the Institute for Forest Growth, University of Freiburg, on April 22nd – 25th 2010 in Freiburg, Germany. [...] This volume of TRACE Proceedings contains 26 short papers and gives an overview of the wide spectrum of fields in tree-ring research.

Description: Film 5: "Ketzin Pilot Site" (Length 05:05) "At the Ketzin pilot site in Brandenburg, Germany, CO2 has been injected into an underground storage formation since June, 2008. ...". The monitoring methods used at the pilot site Ketzin are among the most comprehensive in the field of CO2 storage worldwide. Important is the combination of different monitoring methods, each with different temporal and spatial resolutions. Which methods are used? And what have we already learned? Production Year: 2011-2012

Description: Passive continental margins offer the unique opportunity to study the processes involved in continental extension and break up as well as the role of hot-spot related magmatism. We conducted combined on- and offshore seismic experiments in Northern Namibia designed to characterize the Southern African passive margin at the interaction with the Walvis Ridge, to assess the interaction of the presumed plume with continental lithosphere and to determine the deep structure of the transition from the coastal fold belt to the stable craton, where the Walvis Ridge hits the African continent. The seismic project integrated three experiments, (A) an onshore, coast-parallel refraction seismic profile, (B) two onshore-offshore wide-angle seismic transects, and (C) a combined on- and offshore seismic experiment to image the sub-Moho velocity (Pn tomography) at the ocean-continent transition (Fig. 1). The knowledge of the lithospheric structure of the margin together with results from other geoscientific studies (e.g., conducted within the SPPSAMPLE, DFG Priority Program 1375, South Atlantic Margin Processes and Links with onshore Evolution) will help to address fundamental questions such as, how continental crust and plume head interact, what the extent and volumes of magmatic underplating is, and how and which inherited (continental) structures might have been involved and utilized in the break-up process.

Description: This thesis summarizes the results of the WSM project’s second phase (1996‐2008). In particular it presents the major achievements that have been accomplished with the WSM 2008 database release that has been compiled under the guidance of the author. Furthermore, the thesis briefly presents three of the author’s numerical models that aim at quantification the temporal changes of the crustal stress field.