ALBERT

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

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

Description: This document is intended to provide basic guidance to researchers who work with digital data as well as all stakeholders with an interest in this issue and also provides advice on sources of further information. It was prepared by the Research Data Working Group in the Priority Initiative “Digital Information” of the Alliance of German Science Organisations.

Description: Das Jahr 2017 war auf dem Potsdamer Telegrafenberg, der langjährigen Heimat von Friedrich Robert Helmert, geprägt durch mehrere Jubiläen: der 125ste Jahrestag der Eröffnung der neuen Forschungsräumlichkeiten des Geodätischen Instituts wurde am 06. April 2017 unter Beteiligung von zahlreichen Gästen mit einem bunten Festprogramm gefeiert. Am darauf folgenden Tag haben mehrere Vortragende in einem gut besuchten Kolloquium an das 100ste Todesjahr von F.R. Helmert erinnert. Dies wurde ergänzt durch zahlreiche Vortragsveranstaltung und weitere Kolloquien zu Helmert, die im Jahr 2017 an mehreren Orten in Deutschland durchgeführt wurden, wie z.B. in Aachen, Dortmund und - an seinem exakten Todestag, dem 15. Juni – in Potsdam. Die faszinierende Ausstellung „Fokus Erde“ hat im Frühjahr 2017 im Haus der Brandenburgisch- Preußischen Geschichte in Potsdam die Entwicklung der Geodäsie als Wissenschaft in den letzten beiden Jahrhunderten mit beeindruckenden Exponaten einer breiten Öffentlichkeit präsentiert. Es war zu sehen, dass die Geschichte der Geodäsie – national wie auch international – im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert wesentlich vom Potsdamer Telegrafenberg aus geprägt wurde und es muss nicht erstaunen, dass in der Ausstellung die Leistungen von Helmert, sowohl als Wissenschaftler, Hochschullehrer, geodätischer Beobachter wie auch als Organisator wissenschaftlicher Projekte eine besondere Rolle spielten. Bei den Feiern zum 25-jährigen Bestehen des Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches Geoforschungszentrum (GFZ), die ebenfalls im Jahr 2017 stattfanden, wurde immer auf die großartigen wissenschaftlichen Leistungen des langjährigen Institutsdirektors Helmert hingewiesen, die eine unverzichtbare Grundlage der heutigen Arbeiten am GFZ bedeuten und in deren Tradition sich das GFZ auch heute noch sieht. Der vorliegende Band soll insofern die unterschiedlichen Bereiche des Lebens und Wirkens von F.R. Helmert, die zum Teil im Jubiläumsjahr 2017 an verschiedenen Stellen zu Tage befördert wurden, zusammenführen und, ergänzt um weitere neu recherchierte Aspekte, den Bogen bis in die heutige Zeit der Satellitengeodäsie und des Einsatzes von Hochleistungsrechnern für geodätische Aufgaben spannen. Ohne die grundlegenden Arbeiten von Helmert wäre diese Entwicklung nicht möglich gewesen. In diesem Sinne nehmen wir seinen Geburtstag am 31. Juli 1843 zugleich zum Anlass, sein wissenschaftliches Wirken zu seinem 175. Ehrentag mit diesem Buch zu würdigen. Allen Beteiligten an den genannten Veranstaltungen wie auch den Autoren des vorliegenden Bandes sei hiermit ausdrücklich gedankt. Den Beiträgen vorangestellt ist eine Bildauswahl mit Portrait- und Gruppenaufnahmen, die Helmert zu verschiedenen Zeiten und in unterschiedlichen Positionen seines wissenschaftlichen Wirkens präsentieren.

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

Description: Diese Handreichung soll als Einstieg für Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler, die mit digitalen Daten arbeiten, sowie für alle an dieser Thematik Interessierten dienen und bietet darüber hinaus Hinweise zu weiterführender Information. Sie wurde von der Arbeitsgruppe „Forschungsdaten“ der Schwerpunktinitiative „Digitale Information“ der Allianz der deutschen Wissenschaftsorganisationen1 verfasst.

Description: Nahezu alle metallischen Rohstoffe, die die Menschheit gegenwärtig benötigt, werden an Land gewonnen. Mit jedem Anstieg der Rohstoffpreise und der zunehmenden Nachfrage einer wachsenden Weltbevölkerung nach neuen Technologien, könnte es attraktiver werden, auch im Meer nach metallischen Rohstoffen zu suchen. Und der Bedarf für den Ausbau der E-Mobilität, die Energiewende und für die zunehmende Digitalisierung aller Lebensbereiche erhöht sich weiter. Die Europäische Union sieht mittlerweile die Versorgung mit 27 strategisch wichtigen Rohstoffen (2017) kritisch. Hierunter fallen beispielsweise Antimon, Germanium oder Kobalt. Die Folgen einer Rohstoffknappheit würden die deutsche Industrie besonders treffen, denn sie ist bei metallischen Rohstoffen nahezu komplett importabhängig. Stellen die Ozeane vor diesem Hintergrund eine attraktive Alternative für die Rohstoffbeschaffung dar? Dieser Frage wollen wir in unserem neuen ESKP-Themenspezial nachgehen. Die Erkundungen nach metallischen Rohstoffen in der Tiefsee sind voll im Gange: im Indischen Ozean, im Pazifik, auf alten Seerücken oder den Flanken submariner Vulkane. Insbesondere Kupfer, Kobalt und Nickel kommen in der Tiefsee in Mengen vor, die mit denen an Land vergleichbar sind. Der Run auf die Erkundungslizenzen hat bereits begonnen und die Unterwasserwelt wird nach und nach aufgeteilt, um den Tiefseebergbau voranzutreiben. So haben sich die Anträge bei der Internationalen Meeresbodenbehörde in den letzten fünf Jahren verdreifacht. Doch ist aus Umweltgesichtspunkten der Abbau metallischer Rohstoffe im Meer überhaupt vertretbar? Welche Auswirkungen auf die marinen Ökosysteme hätten riesige Trübungswolken am Meeresgrund? Wie ausgereift sind die Technologien für den Meeresbodenbergbau? Wie könnte ein zuverlässiges Umweltmonitoring in der Tiefsee aussehen? Wäre es besser nach Einsparmöglichkeiten an Land zu suchen und Alternativen zu erforschen? Viele durchaus strittige Fragen, die wir aus Sicht der Forschung beleuchten wollen.

Description: A new calibration facility was developed, tested, and installed at the premises of the Geomagnetic observatory in Niemegk to test induction coil magnetometers (search coils) in the frequency range 100Hz to 1 MHz. The new calibration facility is based on a Braunbeck coil, which extends existing installations based on a three-dimensional Helmholtz coil and a cylindrical coil which cover only the frequency range from a few mHz to 100 kHz. The new calibration coil is primarily needed to test magnetic field sensors used by the Geophysical Instrument Pool Potsdam for the so-called Radio Magnetotelluric (RMT) method. The RMT method uses electromagnetic fields transmitted by radio stations to infer the electrical conductivity distribution of the shallow subsurface (~1 m to 50 m). We present theoretical calculations to determine the parameters of the new calibration coil, which could be confirmed with measurements using an OMICRON BODE 100 spectrum analyser. The new coil system was also tested by calibrating two existing magnetic field sensors (METRONIX) MFS07 and SHFT-02e) with known response functions. We infer an overall accuracy of the new system of 〈0.05nT in amplitude and 〈0.5° in phase for frequencies 〈700kHz and ≤0.05nT and ≤3° degrees for frequencies 〉 700kHz. We also developed, tested and calibrated a new magnetic field sensor, using a set of three orthogonal toroidal coils (based on the antenna AN 200). The initial results look promising. The overall noise figures surpass those of the Metronix SHFT-02e sensor. The amplitude characteristic is slightly non-linear though, varying between 5 and 75 mV/nT over the frequency range 10 kHz to 1 MHz.

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

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

Description: Länge: 15 Min.

Description: Energiewende ist Daseinsvorsorge. Eine erfolgreiche Energiewende benötigt eine Wärmewende! Innovationen, Demonstration und gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz spielen dabei eine Schlüsselrolle. Das „Zwanzig20- Forum Wärmewende“ entwickelt Strategien für den zukünftigen Einsatz von innovativen Technologien zur Realisierung der Wärmewende. Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass eine effiziente Wärmeversorgung urbaner Räume aus heimischen, regenerativen Energiequellen nicht nur möglich, sondern auch umsetzbar ist. Die Wärmewende kan gelingen, wenn die Energieeffizienz und der Anteil erneuerbarer Wärme gesteigert werden und der Sektor Strom geschickt in die Wärmeerzeugng eingebunden wird. Effizienzmaßnahmen haben Vorrang, stoßen aber an Grenzen. Erneuerbare Energien besitzen im Wärmesektor ein hohes Entwicklungspotential. Es gibt kein Patentrezept, die Wärmewende muss technologieoffen gestaltet werden. Im Transformationsprozess spielen Akzeptanz, Demografie und strukturierte Stadtentwicklung eine Schlüsselrolle. Deshalb sind die technologischen Lösungsansätze in eine holistische Sichtweise zu integrieren. Für eine Wärmewende sollten Lösungen ab der Dimension „Quartier“ vorrangig umgesetzt werden. Städte sind stark verdichtete Lebensräume des Menschen. Wärme-, Kälte- und Gasnetze bringen erneuerbare Energien in diese Lebensräume. Daher werden diese Netze in Städten erhalten und ausgebaut. In Großstädten gibt es auch künftig einen substanziellen Bedarf für eine zentrale Fernwärmeversorgung. Hierfür ist zukünftig die Nutzung von Erdwärme unverzichtbar. Die Netze sind die Energieversorgungsinfrastrukturen, die eine Integration der Innovationen von morgen ermöglichen, also von Lösungen, die wir heute noch nicht kennen. Bei vielen technologischen Prozessen fällt Abwärme an, die ungenutzt an die Umwelt abgegeben wird. Die Stadt der Zukunft heizt und kühlt mit dieser Abwärme. Dafür sind Speicher notwendig, auch saisonale Großspeicher. Demonstration ist wichtig für den Erfolg der Wärmewende. Demonstration adressiert die vorhandenen Zielkonflikte, hilft den Veränderungsprozess lösungsorientiert zu gestalten und fördert die Akzeptanz. Benötigt werden mehr Demonstrationsprojekte. Ausgehend von technologischen Lösungen bauen sichtbare und erfolgreiche Demonstrationsprojekte Vorbehalte und Unsicherheiten ab und schaffen Blaupausen für erfolgreiches Handeln und Wirtschaften. Dabei vernetzten sie an einem konkreten Standort die relevanten Akteure und verhelfen Innovationen zum Markteinstieg. Der Entwicklung von regenerativen Demonstrationsvorhaben stehen deutliche Hemmnisse gegenüber, daher ist sie für alle Beteiligten zeit- und ressourcenintensiv. Eine regenerative Wärmeversorgung erfordert zusätzliche Investitionen und muss sich als neuer Teilnehmer in einem etablierten und gedeckten Wärmemarkt behaupten. Kostendruck und Konkurrenzstellung liefern dabei wenig Anreize für Versorger und Verbraucher, regenerative Technologien zu implementieren. Die Anwendung innovativer Technologien stellt vielfach die etablierten Rollen zwischen Erzeuger und Verbraucher sowie dem Produkt der Wertschöpfung in Frage. Neue Geschäftsmodelle haben es schwer sich durchzusetzen, da die etablierten Modelle gut funktionieren. Demonstrationsvorhaben müssen daher durch staatliche Förderprogramme stimuliert werden. Integrierte Verbundprojekte zwischen der Wärmewirtschaft und öffentlichen Forschungsinstitutionen liefern gute Voraussetzungen für eine Förderfähigkeit.

Description: The 2016 LoNNe (Loss of the Night Network) intercomparison campaign is the fourth of four campaigns planned during EU COST Action ES1204. The first campaign took place in 2013 in Lastovo, Croatia, the second in Madrid, Spain (Bará et al 2015), the third in Torniella and Florence, Italy (Kyba et al 2015a). The 2016 campaign took place at the Parc Astronòmic Montsec (PAM). The campaign was supported by the European Collective Awareness Platform for Social and Sustainable Innovation (CAPPSI) STARS4ALL, in which the activity is planned to become a continuous light pollution initiative (LPI). The financing of this campaign, which is listed as a milestone in the MoU of the COST Action ES1204, was unexpectedly waived by the EU-COST Office due to administrative complications and re-organization of the grant-periods. The campaign continued the strategy of taking measurements at multiple sites, this year with a main fixed site and then excursions to other sites. The goals of the campaigns included: ● Understanding the difference between extinction measurements made by DSLR photometry and classical astronomical (telescope) photometry, and also understanding the relation between extinction and sky brightness at these two sites. ● Examining the difference in radiance measured with the mosaic technique of the US National Parks Service camera compared to all-sky fisheye imagery ● Examining the relationships between all-sky and zenith radiance reported by different instruments ● Quantifying the sky brightness at the sites, including full zenith spectral radiance at selected locations ● Measuring the systematic uncertainty on handheld SQM observations due to unit-to-unit differences This report provides a brief synopsis of the campaign and its preliminary outcomes. Section 2 describes the measurement locations, the detailed activities of the participants, the instruments used, and the environmental conditions. Section 3 describes a meeting with local authorities that took place 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 future intercomparison campaigns. The Municipality of Balaguer coordinated with us regarding the time that architectural lamps were turned off, and the village of Àger allowed us to turn all street lighting off at a time of our choice.

Description: Der Film dokumentiert den Kurs für Grundschulkinder „Geochemische Schatzsuche“. Ziel des Kurses ist es, Grundschulkinder für Naturwissenschaften zu begeistern. Länge: 6:37 min

Description: Der Report des Helmholtz Open Science Workshops „Zugang zu und Nachnutzung von wissenschaftlicher Software“ #hgfos16 behandelt die Themen Standards und Qualitätssicherung; Reproduzierbarkeit; Lizenzierung und weitere rechtliche Aspekte; Zitation und Anerkennung; Sichtbarkeit und Modularität; Geschäftsmodelle; Personal, Ausbildung, Karrierewege. Diese Themen sind eng miteinander verzahnt. Für jeden Themenbereich werden jeweils die Relevanz, Fragestellungen, Herausforderungen, mögliche Lösungsansätze und Handlungsempfehlungen betrachtet.

Description: Die vorliegende Ausgabe des GFZ-Journals „System Erde“ soll einen Einblick in die am GFZ betriebene Forschung zur Seismologie geben.

Description: The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) performed a dual-phase scientific drilling project to investigate mountain-building processes called Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC). The borehole COSC-1 was drilled through the Lower Seve Nappe, as the first of two 2.5 km deep drill holes close to Åre, central Sweden. The recovered rocks comprise a 1650 m thick suite of high grade gneisses and amphibolites with clear Seve Nappe affinities, while the lower 850 m comprise rather homogenous mylonitic gneisses with interfingered K-rich phyllonite bands of cm to several m size and some intercalated amphibolites. The different lithologies all crosscut the core in a subhorizontal direction with foliation of gneisses and phyllonites in the same direction. Albite and garnet porphyroblasts with pressure shadows show syn-deformational growth and the same sub-horizontal alignment. The focus of this thesis is to detect chemical and mineralogical differences in mylonitic and host rocks and to relate these differences to either metasomatism and deformation or inherited source rock variance. Another goal of this work is to compare chemical core scanning instruments. For this purpose two different μ-Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (μ-EDXRF), Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and hyperspectral imaging techniques served to measure seven samples from the lower 850 m of the COSC-1 core. The measurements reveal sharp borders between different rock types without indication of metasomatic changes, pointing to a heterogeneous protolith such as greywacke. Element and mineral maps show strong pervasive ductile deformation with mylonite recrystallization. The comparison of the scanning devices shows that the μ-EDXRF scanner with 50 μm resolution can be used perfectly for microstructural investigations and heavy element analysis. The XRF core scanner from AVAATECH is very useful and sufficiently precise for element profiles of line scans. The LIBS scanner is great to create distribution maps of elements from H to U with a resolution of 200 μm. The hyperspectral cameras are extremely fast in acquiring spectral mineral maps and structural information. However, several rock forming minerals in gneisses can currently not be identified and a calibration for metamorphic rocks is still needed.

Description: Diese Ausgabe des GFZ-Journals „System Erde“ wurde im Dezember 2016 produziert und erscheint im Januar 2017. Das ist der Monat, in dem das Deutsche GeoForschungsZentrum seinen 25. Geburtstag feiert. Der Schwerpunkt Südamerika ist dabei durchaus passend, denn die Forscherinnen und Forscher des GFZ arbeiten dort seit der Gründung des Zentrums. Die Südpazifikküste mit den großen Subduktionsbeben, die Anden mit ihren Vulkanen und all die geologischen Prozesse, die in der Region sichtbar werden, sind wie die Seiten eines Lehrbuchs der Geologie – wenn man sie denn zu entziffern weiß. Selbst die so genannten passiven Kontinentalränder an den Küsten des Südatlantiks bieten uns tiefe Einblicke in die Erdgeschichte; sie sind Geoarchive erster Ordnung. Hinzu kommt, dass sie Lagerstätten für Rohstoffe bergen.

Description: Film 7: "Die Stilllegung eines CO2-Speichers – Pilotstandort Ketzin" (Länge 10:39) Produktionsjahr: 2015

Description: Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) is one of the fundamental space geodetic techniques. Important goals for the next generation of VLBI technology are continuous operations as well as automated data processing. For this reason, it is necessary to introduce real time capable parameter estimation algorithms, such as Kalman filters, to VLBI data analysis. In this study, such a filter was implemented in the VLBI software VieVS@GFZ, and several aspects related to VLBI data processing were investigated. Within the corresponding module VIE_KAL it is possible, for example, to estimate all parameters important in VLBI analysis, adapt their stochastic models, flexibly define the datum, integrate external data, as well as extract datum free normal equations. The foci of the investigations were on the effects of the troposphere, the most important error source in VLBI analysis, and on the determination of station positions, which are of great importance in geodesy. For the stochastic model of the tropospheric delays, station- and timedependent differences were considered. In comparisons with tropospheric parameters from GNSS, water vapor radiometers and numerical weather models, the Kalman filter solution yielded 5 to 15% smaller differences than a least squares solution based on the same models and VLBI data. Also in the case of estimated station coordinates, the Kalman filter solution exhibited better baseline length and station coordinate repeatabilities. The application of station-based process noise led to additional improvements. Furthermore, the Kalman filter was used to estimate subdaily station coordinate variations caused by tidal and loading effects. Finally, the findings were used to determine Kalman-filter-based global terrestrial reference frames (TRFs). For the stochastic model of the coordinate variations of particular stations, loading deformation time series were utilized. The non-deterministic approach of the Kalman filter allowed the consideration of non-linear station movement, for example, due to irregular seasonal effects or post-seismic deformations. In comparisons with a VLBI TRF solution from a classical adjustment and ITRF2008, a good agreement in terms of transformation parameters and station velocities was achieved. The findings from testing different options related to the parameterization and to the stochastic model will help to improve future reference frames.

Description: A temporary installation has been realized in the Netherlands, in the region of the Groningen gas field. The objective of this installation is to test the usage of a conventional array layout for detection of microseismicity. The region of the Groningen gas field is an excellent test ground, since the operating company NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij) installed a multitude of shallow borehole stations from 2014 to 2017, of which 65 – in addition to the already existing shallow borehole stations installed by KNMI (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut) – were already online during the time of measurement, thus ensuring an earthquake catalogue that is complete down to low magnitudes during the time of array installation. The site for the installation was decided together with local parties involved in the seismicity monitoring, i.e. KNMI and NAM, and was located close to the village of Wittewierum. Stations were installed from the 12th of July 2016 to the 29th of August 2016 (49 days). The array was composed of 9 stations. The array was constructed in three concentric rings of 75 m, 150 m and 225 m diameter including a central station, but the geometry had to be adapted to the local conditions. Each station consisted of a broadband sensor (Trillium 120 s), an acquisition system (CUBE datalogger), a battery, and a GPS antenna. The entire system was installed at ~1 m depth (apart from GPS and transmission antennas), requiring only the digging of shallow holes, one for the installation of a thin concrete plate and the sensor, another one for a box containing the remaining instrumentation. The array stations recorded continuously with little outages; only station WAR1 stopped recording on the 22nd of August and station WAR7 stopped recording from 20th to 22nd of August. Waveform data is available from the GEOFON data centre, under network code 1C, and is fully open.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Description: The intention of this article is to present the definitions of different functionals of the Earth's gravity field and possibilities for their approximative calculation from a mathematical representation of the outer potential. [...] More or less, what is compiled here is well-known in physical geodesy but distributed over a lot of articles and books which are not cited here. In the first instance this text is targeted at non-geodesists and it should be "stand-alone readable".

Description: The paper consists of two main elements: (1) the creation of a harmonized seismicity data file for the eastern Mediterranean area and the generation of a classical timeindependent PSHA, and (2) the extension of the earthquake model of the timeindependent approach to a newly developed time‐dependent PSHA and the comparison with the results of (1).

Description: Diese Dokumentation beschäftigt sich mit der Baugeschichte des Meridianhauses im Ensemble des Observatoriums für Winkelmessungen des Magnetisch-Geodätischen Instituts auf dem Telegrafenberg bei Potsdam.

Description: In diesem Bericht werden die Ergebnisse der neuen Generation probabilistischer seismischer Gefährdungseinschätzungen (PSHA) in der Version von 2007 vorgestellt. Die Parametrisierung der Berechnungsergebnisse erfolgt in Form spektraler Antwort- Beschleunigungen und der Spitzenbodenbeschleunigungen (PGA). Bezüglich ersterer stellen sie eine Neuheit für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland dar, während letztere die PGA-Karten von 1997 ersetzen.

Description: This thesis presents investigations on sediments from two African lakes which have been recording changes in their surrounding environmental and climate conditions since more than 200,000 years. Focus of this work is the time of the last Glacial and the Holocene (the last ~100,000 years before present [in the following 100 kyr BP]). One important precondition for this kind of research is a good understanding of the present ecosystems in and around the lakes and of the sediment formation under modern climate conditions. Both studies therefore include investigations on the modern environment (including organisms, soils, rocks, lake water and sediments).

Description: [...] According to the results of this thesis the following mechanism is suggested to cause the cusp-related density anomaly: The energy input by the solar wind, as characterised by the merging electric field, provides the power for Joule heating of preferably neutral molecules. Soft particle precipitation in the cusp simultaneously enhances the altitude of maximal Pedersen conductivity, thus lifting up the heated layer in the cusp. The cusp-related density anomaly is then caused by local composition changes in the upper atmosphere due to the differential expansion of heavier particles. The density enhancement is more intensive during phases of high solar activity, i.e. a larger background density favours the formation of large anomalies. The atmospheric fountain in the cusp region affects the upper atmosphere globally. The harmonic exitation of the fountain in 2005 caused a global density variation of the thermosphere.

Description: One significant outcome of my thesis is an improved chronostraphigraphical framework for the glacial lacustrine unit of the Black Sea sediment cores, which allowed to refine the environmental history of the Black Sea region and enabled a reliable correlation with data from other marine and terrestrial archives. Data gathered along a N-S transect presented on a common time scale revealed coherent changes in the basin and its surrounding. [...] My PhD thesis is based on four manuscripts, published or submitted to peer-reviewed international journals, and one additional preliminary study.

Description: This volume contains the results of the DESERT project running from 2000 to 2006. It opens with a review paper (DESERT Group, 2009) followed by 33 special papers, see list of content (529 pages).

Description: In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird eine Schätzung der durch die ozeanische Gezeitendynamik induzierten Magnetfelder in einer Vorwärtsrechnung durchgeführt. Die Prädiktion basiert auf simulierten ozeanischen Strömungen aus dem OMCT-Modell, welches die globale ozeanische Dynamik beschreibt. Als weitere Eingangsdaten werden das Hintergrundmagnetfeld und die elektrische Leitfähigkeit der ozeanischen Sedimentschicht benötigt.

Description: As part of this thesis, a new strategy for the inversion of stress states from fault-slip data is introduced (Chapter 2). This new approach is applied to data sampled from outcrops along the southern margin of the CEBS (Chapter 4) and from outcrops in the Oslo Graben area (Chapter 5). The results derived from these study areas deliver new insights into the evolution of paleostress fields that controlled the development of the entire CEBS.

Description: In this report, we will present the complete derivation of analytical expressions of the EM coupling torque in dependence on the parameters of the fields contributing to it. For this, we choose a special set of spherically harmonic (SH) base functions and present all major steps of the derivation. Our report will be (i) closer to a lecture note than to a scientific paper and should give all readers the possibility to follow the derivations with the related details in the appendix, and can be (ii) used as a formulary for scientists working on this special field of investigation.

Description: For the motivation behind our investigations, we refer to the introduction of the first part of our report, Hagedoorn & Geiner-Mai (2008). In this part, we will (i) give an analytical description of the topographic surface of the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and derive an approximation for its normal unit vector containing information about the CMB topography, and (ii) derive an expression for the topographic torque as a function of the topographic height, h, and the velocity field, u. For this, we will check the assumptions made when applying the geostrophic approximation to the upper core-surface region. Finally, we will derive analytical expressions for the torque components depending upon the spherical harmonic (SH) coefficients of h and u in a cartesian geocentric coordinate system.

Description: This volume contains extended abstracts from talks and posters presented at the sixth TRACE (Tree Rings in Archaeology, Climatology and Ecology) conference, held in Riga (Latvia) May 3rd – 6th, 2007.

Description: In this study two aspects of the geomagnetic field have been investigated. The first part focuses on perturbations of the external field, as seen by the CHAMP satellite and predicted by the Thermosphere-Ionosphere Electrodynamic General Circulation Model, for the purpose of helping to separate out ionospheric sources from the ambient geomagnetic field using a physics based approach. Part two looks at variations of the internal field through an examination of the South Atlantic Anomaly.

Description: The dynamic oblateness of the Earth, in terms of the J2 or C20 coefficient of the Earth´s geo-potential has been derived by analysis of LAGEOS Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data. Although recent analyses of GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission data of monthly C20 values since 2002 have shown high temporal correlations with LAGEOS results, significant differences still remain. As it is common practice in GRACE data processing to remove a priori the short-term nontidal atmospheric and oceanic induced variations of the gravity potential via the socalled Atmosphere and Ocean De-aliasing Level-1B (AOD1B) products, their use for LAGEOS data processing would allow a direct comparison of results and a rigorous combination of the solutions. Since the consideration of short-term non-tidal atmospheric and oceanic mass redistributions by means of AOD1B time series reveals a significant impact on LAGEOS data processing results, the AOD1B time series has been consistently prolongated back to the advent of LAGEOS-1 in 1976. An analysis for the period 1993-2006 leads to the major findings that the consideration of atmospheric and oceanic mass redistributions result in a considerably reduced seasonal signal in the LAGEOS C20 time series. This in turn reduces the correlation to GRACE significantly by about 30%. This is in opposite to what one would expect, i.e., a better agreement between GRACE and LAGEOS if common standards are applied. Thus, a LAGEOS solution corrected for short-term non-tidal atmosphere and ocean effects is much less sensitive to primarily annual hydrological mass variations than GRACE. In addition, significant semi-annual signals remain. Other indicators such as the unresolved bias between LAGEOS and GRACE in the order of 2·10-10 or LAGEOS orbits and Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) observation residuals are hardly affected by the AOD1B model.

Description: Although the development of passive margins has been extensively studied over a number of decades, significant questions remain on how mantle and crustal dynamics interact to generate the observed margin geometries. Here, the Orange Basin, located on the south-west African continental margin is investigated. The basin fill is considered to comprise a classic rift-drift passive margin sequence recording the break-up of Gondwana and subsequent opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. Based on interpreted seismic reflection data, a 3D geological model was first constructed. Subsequently, an isostatic calculation (Airy´s model) using a homogeneous middle and lower crust was applied to this geological model to determine the position of the Moho for an isostatically balanced system. Isostatic sensitivity tests were applied to the model, and their gravity response was validated against different crustal structures for the basin. The best-fit model requires dense, presumably mafic material in the middle and lower crust beneath the basin and an abrupt change to less dense material near the coast to reproduce the observed gravity field. The passive margin of the South Atlantic shows typical features of a rifted volcanic continental margin, encompassing seaward dipping reflectors, continental flood basalts and high-velocity/density lower crust at the continent-ocean transition, probably emplaced during initial seafloor spreading in the Early Cretaceous. The Springbok profile offshore western South Africa is a combined transect of reflection and refraction seismic data. This thesis addresses the analysis of the seismic velocity structure in combination with gravity modelling and isostatic modelling to unravel the crustal structure of the passive continental margin from different perspectives. The velocity modelling revealed a segmentation of the margin into three distinct parts of continental, transitional and oceanic crust. As observed at many volcanic margins, the lower crust is characterised by a zone of high velocities with up to 7.4 km/s. The conjunction with gravity modelling affirms the existence of this body and at the same time substantiated its high densities, found to be 3100 kg/m³. Both approaches identified the body to have a thickness of about 10 km. Yet, the gravity modelling predicted the transition between the high-density body towards less dense material farther west than initially anticipated from velocity modelling and confirmed this density gradient to be a prerequisite to reproduce the observed gravity signal. Finally, isostatic modelling was applied to predict average crustal densities if the margin was isostatically balanced. The results imply isostatic equilibrium over large parts of the profile; smaller deviations are supposed to be compensated regionally. The calculated load distribution along the profile implies that all pressures are hydrostatic beneath a depth of 45 km. The presence of lower crustal bodies of high seismic velocities indicates that large volumes of igneous crust formed as a consequence of lithospheric extension. Furthermore, results of a combined approach using subsidence analysis and basin history inversion models are presented. The outcome shows that a classical uniform stretching model does not account for the observed tectonic subsidence. Moreover, it is found that that the thermal and subsidence implications of underplating need to be considered. Another departure from the uniform stretching model is renewed sub-crustal stretching and linked to that uplift in the Cenozoic which is necessary to reproduce the observed phases of erosion and the present-day depth of the basin. The dimension of these events has been examined and quantified in terms of tectonic uplift and sub-crustal stretching. Based on these forward models the heat flow evolution is predicted not only for the available real wells but also for virtual wells over the entire study area. Finally, the hydrocarbon potential and the temperature evolution is presented and shown in combination with inferred maturation of the sediments for depth intervals which comprise potential source rocks.

Description: This study is aimed at a development of numerical method to model the dynamic geoid and the surface plate velocities induced by global mantle flow with the effect of strong lateral viscosity variations (LVV) in conjunction with the effects of selfgravitation and mantle compressibility. I employ the technique, which comprises the combination of the spherical harmonic method, the direct Godunov method used for solving the Stokes and Poisson equations in spherical harmonics with arbitrary boundary conditions, functions of density and radial viscosity, and the iterative method based on the principles suggested by Zhang and Christensen (1993) used for modeling the effect of LVV. The 3-D mantle viscosity model is based on the global seismic tomography model S20a converted to temperature variations. The maximum lateral viscosity contrast in the lithosphere-asthenosphere zone modeled reaches four orders of magnitude. It is found that the influence of LVV on the dynamic geoid is extremely significant: an alteration of the geoid figure due to LVV exceeds 45% of the maximum geoid undulations. The detailed analysis showed that the geoid is affected by both, strong LVV induced in the upper mantle and large-scale LVV induced in the lower mantle. According to the results of this study the separated effects of the upper- and lower-mantle LVV on the geoid figure are nearly additive with respect to the whole-mantle LVV and partly compensating with respect to each other. The mantle flows are strongly affected by LVV as well, especially by the long-wavelength viscosity variations in the lower mantle: global upwellings tend to intensify due to the effects of LVV, while downwellings become weaker. The alteration of the near-surface velocities reaches 30-40% in amplitude not only due to the LVV induced toroidal flow but also due to change in the spheroidal velocity component. I can conclude that the LVV presented in both, upper and lower mantle, play an important part in global modeling, therefore, an incorporation of 3-D viscosity structure into the next generation global dynamic models is a task of vital significance.

Description: The joint project TIPTEQ (from The Incoming Plate to mega-Thrust EarthQake processes) refers to an integrated approach in order to investigate the processes active in the seismogenic coupling zone at the southern Central Chilean margin and to validate their importance for both the initiation of mega-thrust earthquakes and the evolution of the forearc. The lateral variability of these processes and related parameters is investigated along five marine corridors offshore the south Chilean continental margin. The northernmost marine transect is continued onshore with a reflection seismic survey at 38.2◦ S which crosses the hypocenter of the largest ever recorded earthquake, the 1960 Great Chilean earthquake (Mw = 9.5). The processing and structural interpretation of this high-resolution seismic data set is one major task of this thesis. Furthermore, a first-break tomography was conducted to construct a near-surface velocity model. Several tests to validate the tomographic images were conducted and the limitations of the data set and method were explored in detail. The reflection seismic transect lies in the center of an extensive geophysical program comprising magnetotelluric surveys and a large seismological network. An integrative interpretation with the results of the other geophysical groups of TIPTEQ concludes the thesis. The depth section of the TIPTEQ NVR data set shows the subducting Nasca plate below the segmented forearc and a highly reflective overriding South American plate down to a depth of 60 km. High reflectivity directly above the plate interface suggested to be associated with the existence of a subduction channel with a varying thickness of 2 - 5 km down to a depth of at least 38 km. It might continue towards depth. Local seismicity possibly defines the upper bound of the subduction channel. The continental Moho is not clearly imaged. However, one possible location is at 38 - 40 km depth given by the 1960 earthquake hypocenter. The Moho may be continued eastwards to a depth of 35 km where a prominent structure is imaged. This reflector coincides with the modeled Moho interface from a 3–D density model along the Chilean margin. The reflectivity east and above of the 1960 hypocenter area may exhibit alternative eastward continuations of the continental Moho. The position and extent of the continental mantle wedge changes accordingly. Major forearc features such as the crustal Lanalhue Fault Zone and a strong west-dipping reflector perpendicular to the plate interface can be observed. The reflectivity of the oceanic crust increases in depths below 35 km. This increase might be caused by fluid release due to the porosity collapse in basalt. The integrative interpretation links this observation with a zone of high Vp/Vs ratio calculated from the seismological velocity model. Combining all available data sets of seismological, magnetotelluric and gravimetrical findings results in a complex image of the southern Chilean subduction zone, which this thesis addresses to decode.

Description: [...] Studies regarding the theory of this correlation and how to handle it when estimating sub-daily polar motion together with nutation are included in the thesis. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the common estimation of the terrestrial reference frame and EOPs can be employed to identify a mismatch between the local tie values and the estimated coordinate differences at co-located sites. Thus, the EOPs offer another independent evaluation of the LT values, as mentioned already above for the troposphere gradients. For the studies described in this thesis, it is of vital importance that continuous observations are available for all observation techniques. Therefore, the so-called CONT campaigns of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) are well-suited. Such special campaigns with continuous VLBI observations for several days are initiated from time to time in order to demonstrate the full capabilities of VLBI. The studies described in the thesis at hand are based on the two-week CONT campaign scheduled in October 2002, named CONT02.

Description: This study presents methods and field experiments for ground-based GPS altimetry. Although Coarse/Acquisition Code (C/A-code) based methods are introduced, the main part of this work addresses the use of carrier phase-delay observations of the reflected GPS signal and focuses on specular reflection. [...] This study approves the feasibility of ground-based GPS altimetry with the OpenGPS receiver and with only one low-gain and wide field-of-view RHCP antenna using L1 carrier phase-delay observations of reflected GPS signals. The work shows the potential of GPS reflectometry for remote water level monitoring from a safe position in cases where in-situ measurements are not possible, are dangerous or sensors may get destroyed by the highly dynamic sea or glacier environment.

Description: The report contains a description of main results obtained within the research contract between IRE RAS and GFZ Potsdam and results of investigation during period November-December 2007 – the third stage of the contract. The objectives of investigation included (1) elaboration and verification of an innovative phase acceleration-refraction attenuation technique to locate layered and wave structures in the ionosphere and atmosphere; (2) elaborating of a new technique for identification of wave origin of temperature and density fluctuations and determination of the intrinsic frequency of internal gravity waves in the Earth's stratosphere from radio occultation (RO) data; presentation of a technique for evaluating the vertical profiles of the phase, amplitude, horizontal wind perturbations, intrinsic phase speed, kinetic and potential energy of atmospheric waves; (3) maps of waves parameters in the ionosphere and atmosphere showing their regional, seasonal and diurnal variations with aim to establish connections with solar and meteorological activity.

Description: This report studies the vertical crustal motion at tide gauges by analyzing GPS (Global Positioning System) height time series of about 370 GPS stations spanning 1994.0 to 2007.0. The procedure of generating a set of homogeneous GPS time series is described in detail. To estimate the vertical rate, the time series are modelled with seasonal (annual and semiannual) waves and step functions for jumps. To improve the quality of the time series, the ocean tide loading (OTL) corrections are renovated by replacing the OTL corrections derived from new ocean tides model directly on the solutions without re-analyzing the GPS data.

Description: The here presented study contributes to the understanding of convergent plate boundaries in the depth range of their former seismogenic zone aiming at testing inferences and hypotheses of the various kinematic and mechanical concepts presented for the seismogenic zone. Therefore, we use the complete exposure of this part of a former plate interface in the European Alps, one of the best-studied mountain belts that has resulted from successive subduction, accretion and collision, where we analyzed a mélange zone tracing the plate interface zone of the fossil convergent plate margin. Additionally, we included information from Southern Chile, where material, which formerly underwent deformation along the plate interface, was exhumed to the surface by large scale basal accretion at a certain depth to the base of the upper plate. This part of the study provided additive hints for structures and processes occurring along the plate interface zone of convergent plate margins (i.e. within the subduction channel), at least for a restricted PT domain.

Description: Neben der Analyse von Modellen der Atmosphäre und des Ozeans bezüglich der Erdrotationsschwankungen liegt der Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit in der Untersuchung von vier hydrologischen Modellen, die die kontinentale Wasserspeicherung simulieren. Im Kontext der kontinentalen Massenverlagerungen werden die hydrologischen Modelle und die hinsichtlich atmosphärisch-ozeanischer Einflüsse reduzierten Schwerefeldbeobachtungen der GRACE-Mission verglichen, wobei sich die Untersuchung nicht auf den globalen Massenumsatz beschränkt, sondern zusätzlich um regionale Analysen erweitert ist.

Description: Der glazial-isostatische Ausgleich in Island infolge des rezenten Abschmelzens der Vatnajökull-Eiskappe wird durch die Viskositätsverteilung im Erdinnern und durch die Details der Abschmelzgeschichte kontrolliert. Interpretationen der Ergebnisse von GPS- und Schweremeßkampagnen im Zeitintervall 1991–2000 bzw. 1992–1999 mit Hilfe lateral homogener Erdmodelle zur Bestimmung der Lithosphärenmächtigkeit, Asthenosphärenmächtigkeit und Asthenosphärenviskosität sind bislang nicht voll zufriedenstellend gewesen. Insbesondere nahe des Eisrandes war die Anpassung der berechneten Landhebung und Schwereänderung an die Beobachtungsdaten nur unzureichend, was mit der Nichtberücksichtigung des Island-Plumes in den lateral homogenen Erdmodellen zusammenhängen kann. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird für die Modellierung der Landhebung und Schwereänderung ein Programmpaket verwendet, daß die Berechnung auflastinduzierter Störungen eines Maxwellviskoelastischen, inkompressiblen, selbstgravitierenden, sphärischen Erdmodells gestattet. Um das Vorhandensein des Plumes unter dem Vatnajökull zu simulieren, wird eine axialsymmetrische Viskositätsverteilung verwendet, wobei der Plumeradius und die Plumeviskosität freie Parameter sind. Basierend auf seismischen Ergebnissen wird über dem Plume eine 6 km mächtige Lithosphäre angenommen, die sich im peripheren Bereich des Plumes auf 35 km verdickt. Die Abschmelzgeschichte des Vatnajökulls beruht auf Interpretationen geomorphologischer und klimatologischer Untersuchungen und wird durch eine mit dem Plume koaxiale Last mit parabolischem Profil und zeitabhängigem Radius simuliert. Die Ergebnisse der Modellierung favorisieren einen Plumeradius von ~ 80 km und eine Plumeviskosität von (0.3–1.0) × 1018 Pa s.

Description: Understanding the climate system and the natural processes that lead to its changes is fundamental when trying to evaluate and assess the human influence on climate variability. Human activities characterised most of the Holocene time period, so that palaeoclimate sequences of the last 8,000 years recorded both climate change and human impact. In order to study natural climate variability, we have to investigate past interglacial climate records, when human impact was none. Amongst many palaeoclimate archives, lacustrine varved sequences are invaluable records that allow high resolution palaeoclimate reconstruction. The interglacial lake deposits of Piànico (Southern Alps) consist of ca 15,500 biochemically precipitated calcite varves. The goal of my research is the sedimentological, geochemical and isotopical study at seasonal/decadal resolution of climate variability as recorded in this sequence. The chronology obtained from varve counting constitutes a floating chronology of an interglacial period; the recovery of two tephra layers allowed to fix the floating chronology to the interglacial centred at 400 ka BP, thus corresponding to MIS 11. I studied the upper 5,900 varves at seasonal resolution, using a multi proxy approach. The thickness of summer layers is the proxy for productivity and spring-summer temperature, whereas detrital layers indicate extreme precipitation events; δ18O has been used as a proxy for temperature and/or air masses circulation. I developed a new sampling technique for isotope analyses, in order to ensure the sampling of endogenic calcite, avoiding detrital contamination; this method also allowed me to quantify the effect of Triassic dolomite in bulk carbonate samples. The 15.5 ka of interglacial conditions in Piànico are characterised by short-term climate change. At least four rapid climatic oscillations and a climatic deterioration at the very end of the 15,500 years are recorded. The main climatic oscillation is a 1000 years long cold period that took place after ca 10,000 years of interglacial conditions. This type of climate oscillation has not been recorded in the Holocene yet. This implies that, so far, the Holocene has not experienced all the possible range of interglacial climate changes.

Description: The aim of this dissertation is to quantify scaling relations of strain accumulation in nature on various temporal and spatial scales, in order to characterize the underlying deformation mechanisms [...] Apart from the introduction (Chapter 1), the dissertation is divided into eight further chapters: a review of the common deformation frameworks, scaling relations and their dependence on parameter changes (Chapter 2); a description of the applied methods (Chapter 3); a description of the tectonic setting of the Central Andean plateau (Chapter 4); three scientifi c manuscripts for publication in international peer-reviewed journals (Chapter 5, 6, 7); additional analogue data (Chapter 8); and conclusions with outlook on future research (Chapter 9). The appendix includes all references used in any of the chapters, the deformation database used in Chapter 5, more geostatistical data, data for the sensitivity analysis, a short documentation on all performed granular experiments with set-up sketches, material properties of vise experiments, acknowledgments, and a CV.

Description: The objective of this study is to calculate the RSL height at the location of the Berkner Island ice core during the last glacial cycle using a viscoelastic earth model and several glacial histories. Earlier glacial cycles are not considered, the basic assumption being that the sediments were deposited during the last glacial cycle. However, to some extent the results can be extrapolated further back into the past. The results impose a constraint on the time of deposition of the sediments. Conversely, if the time of deposition is determined, e. g. by luminescence dating, this study provides a constraint on the glacial history of the Ronne Ice Shelf.

Description: The main objective of this study is the quantification and qualification of strain over a broad scale range, including its distribution, magnitude, and accumulation history during basin evolution. These objectives are important contributions to the questions of stress transfer and deformation processes in the Southern Permian Basin.

Description: This study focuses on tectonics at the Neogene and late Quaternary time scales in the Main Cordillera and coastal forearc of the south-central Andes. For both domains I document the existence of previously unrecognized active faults and present estimates of deformation rates and fault kinematics. Furthermore these data are correlated to address fundamental mountain building processes like strain partitioning and largescale segmentation.

Description: This thesis aims to understand these changes and reasons behind by analyzing the styles of deformation of the western margin of South America, in particular the surface expression of deformation, along the Chilean convergent margin. To understand the parameters controlling the style of deformation in the chosen areas I applied 3D transient numerical modeling. This thesis represents the first real 3D study analyzing deformation caused by oblique convergence associated with a realistic composite rheology.

Description: As a technical memorandum for the TIGA/SEAL project, this report describes the procedure and scheme of GPS data processing and product provision at GFZ for monitoring the vertical motion at tide gauge benchmarks to study the global eustatic sea level change. As one of the TIGA analysis centers (TAC), GFZ is processing data from about 370 GPS stations in three lines: backward reprocessing till 1994, forward processing with 66-week latency and one-week delay processing in parallel with IGS as part of IGS activities. The quality of the station coordinate solutions is assessed by comparing with o±cial IGS combination solutions and other TACs' solutions. The consistency with IGS solutions is 4 - 1 mm in the horizontal components, and 8 - 4 mm in the height component, improving with time. The larger discrepancy in earlier time indicates the improvement of TIGA reprocessing. The consistencies with other TACs are not as good as that with IGS. This may come from twofold effects. On the one hand, GFZ TIGA solutions also contribute to IGS. So, the IGS combination solutions should be internally consistent with GFZ TIGA solutions to a certain extent. On the other hand, the differences on software package, strategy and the size of network may also cause a worse consistency among each other. However, the combination of various TACs' solutions gives feedback to improve the single contribution and by this the final products.

Description: Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, ein baroklines, global definiertes Ozeanmodell so für den operationellen Betrieb vorzubereiten, dass kurzperiodische Massen- und Meereshöhenvariationen mit geringer zeitlicher Verzögerung simuliert werden können. Dabei sind insbesondere die Anforderungen der GRACE-Prozessierung an die Modelldaten zu berücksichtigen und gleichzeitig die Verwendbarkeit der Simulationsergebnisse für die Korrektur von Altimeterbeobachtungen vorzubereiten. Weiterhin sind die simulierten Daten zur Verifikation der GRACE-Massenanomalien über den Ozeanen heranzuziehen, um Abschätzungen über die Qualität der monatlichen Schwerefelder treffen zu können und die Interpretation dieser neuartigen Beobachtungen zu unterstützen. Dazu wird in dieser Arbeit das globale Ozeanmodell für Zirkulation und Gezeiten (OMCT; Thomas, 2002) verwendet, das speziell an die hier vorliegenden Fragestellungen auf kurzen und mittleren Zeitskalen angepasst wurde (Kapitel 2). Um eine Vergleichbarkeit der Simulationsergebnisse im Zeitbereich zu ermöglichen, wird das Modell mit in Kapitel 3 beschriebenen realistischen Atmosphärendaten des Europäischen Wetterzentrums ECMWF angetrieben.

Description: The striking improvements in long- to medium-wavelengths gravity field recovery achieved with GPS-CHAMP and GPS-GRACE high-low and GRACE K-band range low-low satellite-to-satellite tracking prompted us to combine the satellite data with surface data from altimetry over the oceans and gravimetry over the continents to generate a new, high resolution global gravity field model: EIGEN-CG01C. The model is complete to degree/order 360 in terms of spherical harmonics and resolves half-wavelengths of 55 km in the geoid and gravity anomaly fields. A special band-limited combination method has been applied in order to preserve the high accuracy from the satellite data in the lower frequency band of the geopotential and to allow for a smooth transition to the high-frequency band, dominated by the surface data. Compared to pre-CHAMP/GRACE global high-resolution gravity field models, the accuracy was improved by one order of magnitude to 4 cm and 0.5 mgal in terms of geoid heights and gravity anomalies, respectively, at a spatial resolution of 200 km half-wavelength. The overall accuracy at degree/order 360 is estimated to be 20 cm and 5 mgal, respectively, and benefits significantly from recently released new gravity anomaly compilations over the polar regions. In general, the accuracy over the oceans is better than over the continents reflecting the higher quality of the available surface data.