ALBERT

Description: LITHOS-CAPP is the German contribution to the international ScanArray experiment. ScanArray is an array of broadband seismometers with which we aim to study the lithosphere and upper mantle beneath the Scandinavian Mountains and the Baltic Shield. LITHOS-CAPP contributed 20 broadband recording stations from September 2014 to October 2016, 10 in Sweden and 10 in Finland, continuously recordings at 100 samples per second. The stations were deployed by the KIT Geophysical Institute and GFZ section 2.4 (seismology). They form part of the temporary network ScanArrayCore (FDSN network code 1G 2012-2017). This data publication contains the original log-files of the recorders.

Description: Tertiary rift-related intraplate basanites from the Batain basin of northeastern Oman have low SiO2 (〈 45.6 wt.%), high MgO (〉 9.73 wt.%) and moderate to high Cr and Ni contents (Cr 〉 261 ppm, Ni 〉 181 ppm), representing near primary magmas that have undergone fractionation of mainly olivine and magnetite. Rare earth element systematics and p-T estimates suggest that the alkaline rocks are generated by different degrees of partial melting (4–13%) of a spinel-peridotite lithospheric mantle containing residual amphibole. The alkaline rocks show restricted variations of 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ranging from 0.70340 to 0.70405 and 0.51275 to 0.51284, respectively. Variations in Pb isotopes (206Pb/204Pb: 18.59–18.82, 207Pb/204Pb: 15.54–15.56, 208Pb/204Pb: 38.65–38.98) of the alkaline rocks fall in the range of most OIB. Trace element constraints together with Sr–Nd–Pb isotope composition indicate that assimilation through crustal material did not affect the lavas. Instead, trace element variations can be explained by melting of a lithospheric mantle source that was metasomatized by an OIB-type magma that was accumulated at the base of the lithosphere sometimes in the past. Although only an area of less than 1000 km2 was sampled, magmatic activity lasted for about 5.5 Ma with a virtually continuous activity from 40.7 ± 0.7 to 35.3 ± 0.6 Ma. During this period magma composition was nearly constant, i.e. the degree of melting and the nature of the tapped source did not change significantly over time.

Description: Alkali feldspar crystals have been recognized in the troilite-graphite nodules of the Morasko IAB iron meteorite. Their chemical, microtextural and structural properties were studied using electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The feldspars occur as perthitic or antiperthitic intergrowths, whereas the albite lamellae are perfectly twinned. The structural properties reveal intergrown phases with fairly disordered patterns. The electron microprobe analyses demonstrate that the intergrown phases are mainly rich in sodium or potassium, resulting in compositions that are close to those of albite or orthoclase. The compositions, calculated on the basis of a segmented perthite-antiperthite image, showed that the Or-to-Ab proportions in the homogenized crystals were almost 0.3:0.7, thus indicating that the anorthoclase crystallized under high-temperature conditions. Two hypotheses of crystal formation could account for these characteristics: crystallization from a melt or from a metasomatic solution. Relics with evidence of metasomatic replacement of former minerals were not found. Accordingly, this work focuses on arguments that support the other hypothesis. Large ion lithophile elements (LILEs, e.g., Ba, Sr, Rb, LREE, Pb, and Ga) were used to track the origin of the crystals. Their concentrations indicate crystallization from a parent melt strongly depleted in LILEs. Alkali feldspar is commonly a product of a highly differentiated melt. However, highly differentiated melts are typically enriched in LILEs, which here is not the case. The melt that crystallized the feldspar cannot be related to impact-induced partial melting of the chondritic material alone. The derived melt probably was contaminated by silica-rich target material during interaction between the IAB projectile and the target material and was accompanied by metal and sulphide melts that were both immiscible with a silicate melt.

Description: The semi-arid regions of Central Asia crucially depend on the water resources supplied by the mountainous areas of the Tien-Shan and Pamirs. During the summer months the snow and glacier melt dominated river discharge originating in the mountains provides the main water resource available for agricultural production, but also for storage in reservoirs for energy generation during the winter months. Thus a reliable seasonal forecast of the water resources is crucial for a sustainable management and planning of water resources. In fact, seasonal forecasts are mandatory tasks of all national hydro-meteorological services in the region. In order to support the operational seasonal forecast procedures of hydromet services, this study aims at the development of a generic tool for deriving statistical forecast models of seasonal river discharge. The generic model is kept as simple as possible in order to be driven by available hydrological and meteorological data, and be applicable for all catchments with their often limited data availability in the region. As snowmelt dominates summer runoff, the main meteorological predictors for the forecast models are monthly values of winter precipitation and temperature as recorded by climatological stations in the catchments. These data sets are accompanied by snow cover predictors derived from the operational ModSnow tool, which provides cloud free snow cover data for the selected catchments based on MODIS satellite images. In addition to the meteorological data antecedent streamflow is used as a predictor variable. This basic predictor set was further extended by multi-monthly means of the individual predictors, as well as composites of the predictors. Forecast models are derived based on these predictors as linear combinations of up to 3 or 4 predictors. A user selectable number of best models according to pre-defined performance criteria is extracted automatically by the developed model fitting algorithm, which includes a test for robustness by a leave-one-out cross validation. Based on the cross validation the predictive uncertainty was quantified for every prediction model. According to the official procedures of the hydromet services forecasts of the mean seasonal discharge of the period April to September are derived every month starting from January until June. The application of the model for several catchments in Central Asia - ranging from small to the largest rivers – for the period 2000-2015 provided skillful forecasts for most catchments already in January. The skill of the prediction increased every month, with R2 values often in the range 0.8 – 0.9 in April just before the prediction period. The forecasts further improve in the following months, most likely due to the integration of spring precipitation, which is not included in the predictors before May, or spring discharge, which contains indicative information for the overall seasonal discharge. In summary, the proposed generic automatic forecast model development tool provides robust predictions for seasonal water availability in Central Asia, which will be tested against the official forecasts in the upcoming years, with the vision of eventual operational implementation.

Description: Hydrological process research at the plot to catchment scale commonly involves invasive field methods, leading to a large amount of point data. A promising alternative, which gained increasing interest in the hydrological community over the last years, is gravimetry. The combination of its non-invasive and integrative nature opens up new possibilities to approach hydrological process research. In this study we combine a field-scale sprinkling experiment with continuous superconducting gravity (SG) measurements. The experimental design consists of 8 sprinkler units, arranged symmetrically within a radius of about ten meters around an iGrav (SG) in a field enclosure. The gravity signal of the infiltrating sprinkling water is analyzed using a simple 3D water mass distribution model. We first conducted a number of virtual sprinkling experiments resulting in different idealized infiltration patterns and determined the pattern specific gravity response. In a next step we determined which combination of idealized infiltration patterns was able to reproduce the gravity response of our real-world experiment at the Wettzell Observatory (Germany). This process hypothesis is then evaluated with measured point-scale soil moisture responses and the results of the time-lapse electric resistivity survey which was carried out during the sprinkling experiment. This study demonstrates that a controlled sprinkling experiment around a gravimeter in combination with a simple infiltration model is sufficient to identify subsurface flow patterns and thus the dominant infiltration processes. As gravimeters become more portable and can actually be deployed in the field, their combination with sprinkling experiments as shown here constitutes a promising possibility to investigate hydrological processes in a non-invasive way.

Description: The upper mantle of the Australian continent has been deeply investigated in the last two decades using a variety of geophysical methods. The resulting models have revealed the robust large-scale features of the continental lithosphere of Australia, i.e. faster seismic velocities in the Archean and Proterozoic cratons in the West, North and South Australia and slower velocities in the eastern Phanerozoic margin. Furthermore, it has been identified a layered velocity structure in central Australia. The zone of low seismic velocities in the uppermost mantle is underlain by the high-velocity zone. This layered structure may have a thermal origin, due to a redistribution of high heat producing elements within the crust or reflect compositional changes, e.g. a presence of amphibole. To discern temperature and compositional variations in the Australian upper mantle, we apply an iterative technique, which employs a joint inversion of the seismic tomography and gravity data. This technique consists in removing the effect of the crust from the observed gravity field and topography. In the second step, the residual mantle gravity field and residual topography are inverted to obtain a 3-D density model of the upper mantle. The inversion technique accounts for the notion that these fields are controlled by the same factors but in a different way (e.g., depending on depth and horizontal dimension of the heterogeneity.) This enables us to locate the position of principal density anomalies in the upper mantle. Afterwards, the thermal contribution to the density structure is estimated by inverting the seismic tomography model AusREM (http://rses.anu.edu.au/seismology/AuSREM/index.php). Based on the residual fields, we construct an initial compositional model of the upper mantle. In particular, a negative residual density anomaly is interpreted as the material having a larger Mg# and depleted in garnet and CPX Then, the initial thermal model is re-estimated with the new composition and the iterative process continues until the convergence is achieved. The results show larger iron depletion in the Western Australian craton than in the Proterozoic terranes. Furthermore, at depths larger than 150 km, the depletion becomes negligible beneath the Proterozoic regions, while persists in the Western Australian craton.

Description: Submarine permafrost is more vulnerable to thawing than permafrost on land. Besides increased heat transfer from the ocean water, the penetration of salt lowers the freezing temperature and accelerates permafrost degradation. Microbial communities in thawing permafrost are expected to be stimulated by warming but how they develop under submarine conditions is completely unknown. We used the unique records of two submarine permafrost cores from the Laptev Sea on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, inundated about 540 and 2500 years ago, to trace how bacterial communities develop depending on duration of the marine influence and pore water chemistry. Combined with geochemical analysis, we quantified total cell numbers and bacterial gene copies, and determined the community structure of bacteria using deep sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. We show that submarine permafrost is an extreme habitat for microbial life deep below the seafloor with changing thermal and chemical conditions. Pore water chemistry revealed different pore water units reflecting the degree of marine influence and stages of permafrost thaw. Millennia after inundation by sea water, bacteria stratify into communities in permafrost, marine-affected permafrost, and seabed sediments. In contrast to pore water chemistry, the development of bacterial community structure, diversity and abundance in submarine permafrost appears site-specific, showing that both sedimentation and permafrost thaw histories strongly affect bacteria. Finally, highest microbial abundance was observed in the ice-bonded seawater unaffected but warmed permafrost of the longer inundated core, suggesting that permafrost bacterial communities exposed to submarine conditions start to proliferate millennia after warming.

Description: Knowledge of structural, hydraulic and thermal conditions of the subsurface is fundamental for the planning and use of hydrothermal energy. In the framework of a project under the Danish Research program ‘Sustainable Energy and Environment’ funded by the ‘Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation’, fundamental geological and geophysical information of importance for the utilization of geothermal energy in Denmark was compiled, analyzed and re-interpreted. A 3D geological model was constructed and used as structural basis for the development of a national subsurface temperature model. In that frame, all available reflection seismic data were interpreted, quality controlled and integrated to improve the regional structural understanding. The analyses and interpretation of available relevant data (i.e. old and new seismic profiles, core and well-log data, literature data) and a new time-depth conversion allowed a consistent correlation of seismic surfaces for whole Denmark and across tectonic features. On this basis, new topologically consistent depth and thickness maps for 16 geological units from the top pre-Zechstein to the surface were drawn. A new 3D structural geological model was developed with special emphasis on potential geothermal reservoirs. The interpretation of petrophysical data (core data and well-logs) allows to evaluate the hydraulic and thermal properties of potential geothermal reservoirs and to develop a parameterized numerical 3D conductive subsurface temperature model. Reservoir properties and quality were estimated by integrating petrography and diagenesis studies with porosity-permeability data. Detailed interpretation of the reservoir quality of the geological formations was made by estimating net reservoir sandstone thickness based on well-log analysis, determination of mineralogy including sediment provenance analysis, and burial history data. New local surface heat-flow values (range: 64–84 mW/m2) were determined for the Danish Basin and predicted temperatures were calibrated and validated by borehole temperature observations. Finally, new temperature maps for major geological reservoir formations (Frederikshavn, Haldager Sand, Gassum and Bunter Sandstone/ Skagerrak formations) and selected constant depth intervals (1 km, 2 km, etc.) were compiled. In the future, geothermal energy is likely to be a key component in Denmark’s supply of energy and integrated into the district heating infrastructures. A new 3-year project (GEOTHERM) under the Innovation Fund Denmark will focus on addressing and removing remaining geological, technical and commercial obstacles. The presented 3D geothermal model will be an important component in more precise assessments of the geothermal resource, production capacity and thermal LifeCycle.

Description: Extension rate is known to control key processes during rifted margin formation such as crust-mantle coupling, decompression melting, magmatism, and serpentinisation. Here we build on recent advances in plate tectonic reconstructions by quantifying the extension velocity history of Earth’s major rifted margins during the last 240 million years. We find that many successful rifts start with a slow phase of extension followed by rapid acceleration that introduces a fast phase. The transition from slow to fast rifting takes place long before crustal break-up: approximately half of the present day rifted margin area was created during the slow, and the other half during the fast rift phase. We reproduce the rapid transition from slow to fast extension using analytical and numerical modelling with constant force boundary conditions. In these models, rift velocities are not imposed but instead evolve naturally in response to the changing strength of the rift. Our results demonstrate that abrupt plate acceleration during continental rifting is controlled by a rift-intrinsic strength-velocity feedback. The abruptness of rift acceleration is thereby governed by the nonlinearity of lithospheric localization. Realistic brittle and power-law rheologies lead to a speed-up duration between two and ten million years. For successful rifts that generate a new ocean basin, the duration of rift speed-up is notably almost independent of the applied extensional force. Instead, the force controls the duration of the slow phase: higher forces shorten the slow phase while lower forces prolong it. If the force is too low, however, delocalisation processes prevent the rift from reaching the point of speed-up and produce a failed rift, even if the extensional system was active for many million years.

Description: The dataset is composed of hyperspectral imagery acquired during airplane overflights on May 10th, 2011, June 27th, 2011 and May 24th, 2012 consisting of 367 and 368 spectral bands, respective-ly, ranging from VIS to SWIR (400 - 2500 nm) wavelength regions. The hyperspectral image datasets were acquired in the framework EnMAP preparation project HyLand (Hyperspectral remote sens-ing for the assessment of crop and soil parameters in precision farming and yield estimation). With-in the project, innovative techniques were developed to derive crop and soil parameters from hy-perspectral remote sensing and terrestrial laser scanning, which served as input parameters for novel yield estimation models.

Description: Climatic change is of incredible importance in the polar regions as ice-sheets and glaciers respond strongly to change in average temperature. The analysis of seismic signals (icequakes) emitted by glaciers (i.e., cryo-seismology) is thus gaining importance as a tool for monitoring glacier activity. To understand the scaling relation between regional glacier-related seismicity and actual small-scale local glacier dynamics and to calibrate the identified classes of icequakes to locally observed waveforms, a temporary passive seismic monitoring experiment was conducted in the vicinity of the calving front of Kronebreen, one of the fastest tidewater glaciers on Svalbard (Fig. 1). By combining the local observations with recordings of the nearby GEOFON station GE.KBS, the local experiment provides an ideal link between local observations at the glacier to regional scale monitoring of NW Spitsbergen. During the 4-month operation period from May to September 2013, eight broadband seismometers and three 4-point short-period arrays were operating around the glacier front of Kronebreen.

Description: To enable the use of GRACE and GRACE-FO earth observation data for rapid monitoring applications, the Horizon2020 funded EGSIEM (European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management) project has established a demonstrator for a near real-time (NRT) gravity field service. The service aims to increase the temporal resolution of mass transport products from one month to one day and to reduce the latency from currently two months to five days. This allows the monitoring of hydrological extreme events as they occur, in contrast to a ‘confirmation after occurrence’ as is the situation today. The service will be jointly run by GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences) and Graz University of Technology, with each analysis center providing an independent solution. On-line validation will be performed by the University of Luxembourg using GNSS loading. A six-month long operational test run of the service starting in April 2017 is planned, in case GRACE Quick-Look data (provided by JPL) is still available. Within this time period, daily gravity field solutions serve as input to the EGSIEM Hydrological Service, which derives flood and drought indicators to be used within DLR’s Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information and the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS). This contribution highlights the current status of the NRT service and the results of the preparation phase. The performance of the NRT mass transport products will be shown by comparison with independent GNSS loading and ocean bottom pressure data as well as as catchment aggregated values for hydrological extreme Events.

Description: High-pressure and high-temperature Raman spectra of synthetic FeCO3 siderite and Mg0.76Fe0.24CO3 magnesite were measured across the spin transition up to nearly 60 GPa and 700 K. In pure siderite the spin transition is sharp and observed between 44 and 46 GPa, with no discernible temperature dependence up to 700 K. The spin transition in Fe-bearing magnesite (“ferromagnesite”) is also sharp and takes place between 45 and 47 GPa at ambient temperature, whereas the transition pressure range broadens significantly at about 600 K (45–52 GPa). Our results suggest that the onset pressure of the spin transition in the siderite–magnesite solid solution series is independent of temperature and composition up to 700 K, whereas the broadening of the spin transition range at higher temperature is driven by the Mg content of the sample. Finally, comparison of the (Mg,Fe)CO3 and the (Mg,Fe)O systems indicates that the onset pressure of the spin transition is temperature-independent in both cases, which is rationalized in terms of the FeO6 octahedral compression.

Description: In northwestern Europe, the upper Permian Zechstein evaporites are a highly efficient seal for Carboniferous gas trapped in clastic Rotliegend reservoirs. The Zechstein evaporite succession and postsalt sediments experienced complex deformation during several tectonic phases in the German and Dutch part of the Southern Permian Basin, including extension and compression or transpression. However, controlled by late Permian topography, the number and thickness of the individual evaporite cycles vary, mainly correlating with the basin, slope, and platform settings of the Zechstein Sea. The main trigger mechanisms for early salt movement comprise extension and rafting of Lower Triassic sediments, syn-depositional fault activity within the subsalt, subsequent differential loading of postsalt sediments, and intrasalt heterogeneities. This latter caused thin-skinned salt tectonics with passive diapirism, which seeded the number of the salt highs observed today. Later reactivation, cessation, or formation of new salt highs was triggered by the massive change from extensional to compressional tectonics that began in Cretaceous times. Regional fault patterns were reactivated or newly formed during these tectonic phases, and they are often marked by elongated salt walls. A large drop in tectonic stresses since the onset of the Cenozoic caused a rather tabular draping of thick clastics and marks the cessation of major salt movements across the greater part of the Dutch and German Zechstein Basin. Since then, most of the Zechstein salt has been considered to be at rest.

Description: Topaz (Al2SiO4(F,OH)2) is a hydrous aluminosilicate mineral stable in the hydrated sediments in subduction zone settings and could transport water into the Earth’s interior. To constrain the amount of water subducted, it is important to have a better understanding of the elastic constants of hydrous phases and compare them with the geophysical observations. In this study, we explored the full elastic moduli tensor for a single crystal topaz using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy. We determined the full elastic moduli tensor at ambient conditions (1 bar and 297 K), with the principal components- C11, C22, and C33 are 279, 352 and 288 GPa respectively, the off-diagonal components- C­12, C13, and C23 are 124, 72, and 82 GPa respectively, and the shear components- C44, C55, and C66 are 111, 134, and 130 GPa respectively. The compressional (AVP) and shear (AVS) anisotropy for topaz are 13 and 14 % respectively. The aggregate bulk (K) and shear (G) moduli are 162 and 117 GPa respectively. We determined the elasticity of topaz up to ~1000 K. The components of the full elastic moduli tensor show softening at high temperature. Temperature derivatives of sound velocity of topaz, dVP/dT = -3.5 ×10-4 km/s/K and dVS/dT = -2.2 ×10-4 km/s/K are smaller than those for corundum [1], α-quartz [2], and olivine [3]. In contrast, the temperature derivatives of primary and shear sound velocity for topaz is greater than that of pyrope garnet [4]. The elasticity and sound velocity of topaz also vary as a function of chemistry i.e., OH-F contents. Our study demonstrates that the effect of composition (xOH) on the velocity is more pronounced than that of temperature.

Description: In Geosciences – like in most other communities – scientific work strongly depends on software. For big data analysis, existing (closed or open source) program packages are often mixed with newly developed codes. Different versions of software components and varying configurations can influence the result of data analysis. This often makes reproducibility of results and reuse of codes very difficult. Policies for publication and documentation of used and newly developed software, along with best practices, can help tackle this problem. Within the Helmholtz Association a Task Group “Access to and Re-use of scientific software” was implemented by the Open Science Working Group in 2016. The aim of the Task Group is to foster the discussion about scientific software in the Open Science context and to formulate recommendations for the production and publication of scientific software, ensuring open access to it. As a first step, a workshop gathered interested scientists from institutions across Germany. The workshop brought together various existing initiatives from different scientific communities to analyse current problems, share established best practices and come up with possible solutions. The subjects in the working groups covered a broad range of themes, including technical infrastructures, standards and quality assurance, citation of software and reproducibility. Initial recommendations are presented and discussed in the talk. They are the foundation for further discussions in the Helmholtz Association and the Priority Initiative “Digital Information” of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany. The talk aims to inform about the activities and to link with other initiatives on the national or international level.

Description: To obtain reliable results in analyzing the sensitivity and uncertainty of model parameters, a precise identification and understanding of these parameters is required. The parameter identification strongly depends on the selection of the performance criteria. With multiple and complementary performance criteria, different aspects of the hydrological behavior are represented in models. A distinct connection of each relevant model parameter to one corresponding performance criteria would significantly facilitate the handling of parameters in models and would improve the interpretation of results of sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Our study investigates the relationship between model parameters and performance criteria, by calculating ten performance criteria for a high number of model simulations in two contrasting study catchments. These performance criteria include the NSE, the KGE as well as the three components of KGE. Moreover, signature measures are calculated, which are represented by the RSR for different segments of the flow duration curve. Based on this, regression trees are calculated to firstly detect, the most relevant model parameters for each performance criterion. Secondly, each model parameter is used as target variable for regression trees to derive the performance criterion which is mostly impacted by changes in the model parameters. In this way, the most appropriate performance criterion is identified for each model parameter. To enhance the hydrological knowledge on the relationship between model parameters and performance criteria, we introduce the notion of connective strength which is defined as the intensity how model parameters and performance criteria are inter-related. The connective strength is high a) if a performance criterion is strongly controlled by a certain model parameter and b) if this model parameter strongly affects this performance criterion significantly. This means that there is a high bijective relationship between model parameters and performance criteria which allows a precise parameter identification. Our results provides a high bijective connective strength between model parameters and performance criteria related to low and mid flow as well as to water balance conditions. In contrast, the connective strength is lower for high flow conditions. In this way, the benefit of each single criterion in comparison to the other performance criteria is highlighted. At least three to four different performance criteria are required for a precise identification of distinct model parameters depending on the process complexity in the catchments. Overall, this study shows how precisely a model parameter is identified by the different performance criteria. This leads to the conclusion that the identification of the connective strength enables a more consistent handling of model parameters and performance criteria for sensitivity and uncertainty analysis.

Description: For frequencies above 30 mHz the instrument intrinsic noise level of typical fluxgate magnetometers used at geomagnetic observatories usually masks ambient magnetic field variations on magnetically quiet days. Natural field variations referred to as pulsations (Pc-1, Pc-2, Pi-1) fall in this band. Usually their intensity is so small that they rarely surpass the instrumental noise of fluxgate magnetometers. INTERMAGNET has set a minimum quality standard for definitive 1 s data (Turbitt, 2014) which can actually hardly be met by fluxgate magnetometers in use by magnetic observatories. Brunke et al. (2017) propose a method to improve 1Hz observatory data by merging data from the proven and tested fluxgate magnetometers currently in use with induction coil magnetometers into a single data stream. This data publication includes the according MATLAB software package implementing the merging of both data sets. The content of the software package and the functionality of each module is described in the content.txt file that is also included in the zip folder. The resulting data are in line with the INTERMAGNET format for 1 s magnetic data, but surpasses the INTERMAGNET 1 s standard by far. The long term stability of the fluxgate data is not affected. The changes to the fluxgate data remain within the range of the instrument intrinsic noise. In addition to the Matlab software, we provide test datasets of one day length kindly provided by the magnetic observatories Niemegk, Conrad and Eskdalemuir.

Description: On a beautiful summer day Emma and Steven want to have fun at their favourite lake. However, a mysterious situation thwarts their plans. This leads the two friends on an unexpected quest ... Join Emma and Steven as they explore the vast, intriguing and efficient world of stable isotopes: What are isotopes? How do isotopes work? And last but not least, how can isotopes help Emma and Steven to finally answer the question: Who poisoned Family Mole?

Description: For Brazil, a country frequented by droughts and whose rural inhabitants largely depend on groundwater, reliance on isotope for its monitoring, though accurate, is expensive and limited in spatial coverage. We exploit total water storage (TWS) derived from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites to analyse spatial-temporal groundwater changes in relation to geological characteristics. Large-scale groundwater changes are estimated using GRACE-derived TWS and altimetry observations in addition to GLDAS and WGHM model outputs. Additionally, TRMM precipitation data are used to infer impacts of climate variability on groundwater fluctuations. The results indicate that climate variability mainly controls groundwater change trends while geological properties control change rates, spatial distribution, and storage capacity. Granular rocks in the Amazon and Guarani aquifers are found to influence larger storage capability, higher permeability ( 〉10-4 m/s) and faster response to rainfall (1 to 3 months' lag) compared to fractured rocks (permeability 〈10-7 m/s and lags 〉 3 months) found only in Bambui aquifer. Groundwater in the Amazon region is found to rely not only on precipitation but also on inflow from other regions. Areas beyond the northern and southern Amazon basin depict a ‘dam-like’ pattern, with high inflow and slow outflow rates (recharge slope 〉 0.75, discharge slope 〈 0.45). This is due to two impermeable rock layer-like ‘walls' (permeability 〈10-8 m/s) along the northern and southern Alter do Chão aquifer that help retain groundwater. The largest groundwater storage capacity in Brazil is the Amazon aquifer (with annual amplitudes of 〉 30 cm). Amazon's groundwater declined between 2002 and 2008 due to below normal precipitation (wet seasons lasted for about 36 to 47% of the time). The Guarani aquifer and adjacent coastline areas rank second in terms of storage capacity, while the northeast and southeast coastal regions indicate the smallest storage capacity due to lack of rainfall (annual average is rainfall 〈10 cm).

Description: Fault rock assemblages reflect interaction between deformation, stress, temperature, fluid, and chemical regimes on distinct spatial and temporal scales at various positions in the crust. Here we interpret measurements made in the hanging-wall of the Alpine Fault during the second stage of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP-2). We present observational evidence for extensive fracturing and high hanging-wall hydraulic conductivity (∼10−9 to 10−7 m/s, corresponding to permeability of ∼10−16 to 10−14 m2) extending several hundred meters from the fault's principal slip zone. Mud losses, gas chemistry anomalies, and petrophysical data indicate that a subset of fractures intersected by the borehole are capable of transmitting fluid volumes of several cubic meters on time scales of hours. DFDP-2 observations and other data suggest that this hydrogeologically active portion of the fault zone in the hanging-wall is several kilometers wide in the uppermost crust. This finding is consistent with numerical models of earthquake rupture and off-fault damage. We conclude that the mechanically and hydrogeologically active part of the Alpine Fault is a more dynamic and extensive feature than commonly described in models based on exhumed faults. We propose that the hydrogeologically active damage zone of the Alpine Fault and other large active faults in areas of high topographic relief can be subdivided into an inner zone in which damage is controlled principally by earthquake rupture processes and an outer zone in which damage reflects coseismic shaking, strain accumulation and release on interseismic timescales, and inherited fracturing related to exhumation.

Description: Unraveling the density structure of the oceanic lithosphere north of Iceland is key for understanding the effects of the Iceland Plume on the mid-ocean ridges of the greater Jan Mayen-East Greenland Region. We use a data-integrative approach for 3D gravity modeling to develop new insights into the crust and upper mantle density structure of this region. First, we obtain the 3D density structure of the sediments and crust from interpretations of regional reflection and refraction seismic lines. Then, the temperature and density structure of the mantle between 50 and 250 km are derived from a published shear-wave velocity (Vs) tomography model. To assess the density configuration between the Moho and 50 km depth, we follow a combined forward and inverse 3D gravity modeling approach. The Vs tomography and derived density of the deeper mantle (〉50 km depth) reveal that the low-density anomaly related to the Iceland plume gets weaker with increasing distance from the plume, i.e. from the strongly influenced Middle Kolbeinsey Ridge (MKR) to the Mohn’s Ridge. The West Jan Mayen Fracture Zone is identified as a main mantle density contrast, indicative of differences in the thermal evolution of the ridge systems it separates. Beneath the MKR region, the low-density anomaly at depths of 〉50 km continues upwards into the uppermost mantle, where its lateral dimensions narrow considerably. This elongated density anomaly is consistent with a basement high and indicates a channelization of the Iceland plume effects. The NE-SW elongated mantle anomaly does not, however, coincide with the topographical NNE-SSW striking ridge axis. Thus, the modelled plume-affected oceanic lithosphere reveals discrepancies with the half-space cooling model. We discuss the 3D density model in terms of such spatial relations between deeper mantle anomalies and the shallow crustal structure.

Description: Geospatial co-registration is a mandatory prerequisite when dealing with remote sensing data. Inter- or intra-sensoral misregistration will negatively affect any subsequent image analysis, specifically when processing multi-sensoral or multi-temporal data. In recent decades, many algorithms have been developed to enable manual, semi- or fully automatic displacement correction. Especially in the context of big data processing and the development of automated processing chains that aim to be applicable to different remote sensing systems, there is a strong need for efficient, accurate and generally usable co-registration. Here, we present AROSICS (Automated and Robust Open-Source Image Co-Registration Software), a Python-based open-source software including an easy-to-use user interface for automatic detection and correction of sub-pixel misalignments between various remote sensing datasets. It is independent of spatial or spectral characteristics and robust against high degrees of cloud coverage and spectral and temporal land cover dynamics. The co-registration is based on phase correlation for sub-pixel shift estimation in the frequency domain utilizing the Fourier shift theorem in a moving-window manner. A dense grid of spatial shift vectors can be created and automatically filtered by combining various validation and quality estimation metrics. Additionally, the software supports the masking of, e.g., clouds and cloud shadows to exclude such areas from spatial shift detection. The software has been tested on more than 9000 satellite images acquired by different sensors. The results are evaluated exemplarily for two inter-sensoral and two intra-sensoral use cases and show registration results in the sub-pixel range with root mean square error fits around 0.3 pixels and better.

Description: The aim of this work is to evaluate the genesis and tectonic setting of the Kenticha rare metal granite-pegmatite deposit using petrography and whole-rock geochemical analysis. The samples were analysed for major elements, and trace and rare earth elements by ICP-AES and ICP-MS, respectively. The Kenticha rare metal granite-pegmatite deposit is controlled by the N-S deep-seated normal fault that allow the emplacement of the granite-pegmatite in the study area. Six main mineral assemblages have been identified: (a) alaskitic granite (quartz + microcline + albite with subordinate muscovite), (b) aplitic layer (quartz + albite), (c) muscovite-quartz-microcline-albite pegmatite, (d) spodumene-microcline-albite pegmatite, partly albitized or greisenized, (e) microcline-albite-green and pink spodumene pegmatite with quartz-microcline block, which is partly albitized and greisenized, and (f) quartz core. This mineralogical zonation is also accompanied by variation in Ta ore concentration and trace and rare earth elements content. The Kenticha granite-pegmatite is strongly differentiated with high SiO2 (72–84 wt %) and enriched with Rb (∼689 ppm), Be (∼196 ppm), Nb (∼129 ppm), Ta (∼92 ppm) and Cs (∼150 ppm) and depleted in Ba and Sr. The rare earth element (REE) patterns of the primary ore zone (below 60 m depth) shows moderate enrichment in light REE ((La/Yb)N = ∼8, and LREE/HREE = ∼9.96) and negative Eu-anomaly (Eu/Eu* = ∼0.4). The whole-rock geochemical data display the Within Plate Granite (WPG) and syn-Collisional Granite (syn-COLG) suites and interpret as its formation is crustal related melting. The mineralogical assemblage, tectonic setting and geochemical signatures implies that the Kenticha rare metal bearing granite pegmatite is formed by partial melting of metasedimentary rocks during post-Gondwana assembly and further tantalite enrichment through later hydrothermal-metasomatic processes.

Description: Mit ihren katastrophalen Auswirkungen, die den ganzen Globus betreffen, stellen Supereruptionen alle geschichtlich dokumentierten Eruptionen in den Schatten.

Description: Supereruptions represent enormous natural disasters which potentially impact the whole planet. They are unlike any other known and documented eruption.

Description: At the Zackenberg site, sea ice starts to move between June and September resulting in icebergs flowing freely on the sea. Splitting into smaller parts, they reduce in size. Icebergs represent a risk for maritime transport and needs to be studied. In order to determine iceberg density per surface unit, size distribution, and movement of icebergs, we need to observe, detect, range and track them. The use of SAR images is particularly well adapted in regions where cloud cover is very present. We focused our study on the Yung Sund fjord in Greenland, where lots of icebergs and sea ice are generated during the summer. In the beginning of July, sea ice breaks up first, followed by icebergs created by the different glaciers based in the ocean. During our investigation, we noticed that the iceberg and sea ice were drifting very fast and thus, we needed to adapt our methodology. To achieve our goal, we collected all remote sensing data available in the region, principally Sentinel 1/2 and LandSAT 8 during one ice free season (from July 1st 2016 to September 30th, 2016). We developed an original approach in order to detect, characterize and track icebergs and sea ice independently from data. The iceberg detection was made using a watershed technique. The advantage of this technique is that it can be applied to both optical and radar images. For the latter, calibrated intensity is transformed into an image using a scaling function, in order to make ice brighter. Land data is masked using a topographic map. When data is segmented, a statistical test derived from the CFAR approach is performed to isolate an iceberg and floating sea ice from the ocean. Finally, a method, such SIFT or BRISK is used to identify and track the different segmented object. These approaches give a representation of the object and make the tracking easier and independent of the scale and rotation, which can occur because icebergs are dependent on ocean currents and wind. Finally, to fill in the gap between acquisition, mainly due to cloud cover or no image available, we use an ocean current and wind models to estimate the position of some icebergs. The used models are constrained using observation data.

Description: Menschliche Eingriffe ins Flusssystem oder natürliche Faktoren: Welche Einflüsse wiegen wie stark? Forscher des GFZ modellierten dies quantitativ.

Description: Human encroachment on the river system or natural factors: what are the influences and how heavily do they factor in? Researchers at the GFZ quantitatively modelled the impact.

Description: The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) has been established after the devastating Tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. It became an integral part of the Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (InaTEWS) providing sensor networks and core computational components. GITEWS follows an “end-to-end” approach to cover the complete warning chain from rapid hazard detection over decision support to capacity development of communities at risk and the implementation of disaster reduction measures. PROTECTS (Project for Training, Education and Consulting for Tsunami Early Warning Systems) followed GITEWS with its main focus on system refinements, capacity building, and elaborated training measures that covered all aspects of the GITEWS Project. This paper discusses the specific challenges of Tsunami Early Warning in Indonesia, describes recent developments in instrumentation and data analysis and summarizes the system performance over the past 5 years.

Description: Preface 5Abstract 101. Introduction 102. Instrumentation 132.1 Seismic System 142.2 The GPS-System 182.3 Oceanographic Instruments 203. The Modelling-System 223.1 Source Modelling 233.2 TsunAWI Modelling System 243.3 Mesh Generation 263.4 Simulation System (SIM) 283.5 “On-the-fly”-System easyWave 324. Tsunami Early Warning Decision Support 334.1 The InaTEWS DSS 334.2 Experiences and Enhancements 374.3 Testing and Training Environment 385. System Performance 396. Tsunami Risk Assessment – Linking National Level Early Warning with Local Level Disaster Risk Reduction 436.1 The Approach: From Science to Practical Implementation 436.2 Multi-Scenario Tsunami Hazard Assessment 456.3 High Resolution Tsunami Inundation Modelling for Hazard Assessment 476.4 Exposure and Vulnerability Assessment 486.5 Tsunami Risk Assessment 486.6 Experiences and Enhancements 497. Tsunami Preparedness at Community Level - Experiences from 7 Years of Capacity Development in Indonesia 507.1 The Setting 517.2 Our Experiences 517.3 Project Documentation: TsunamiKit 588. Conclusions 58Acknowledgements 60References 61

Description: We constrain the source, depth, and rupture process of the Botswana earthquake of April 3, 2017, as well as its largest aftershock (5 April 2017, Mw 4.5). This earthquake is the largest recorded event (Mw 6.5) in the East African rift system since 1970, making one important case study to better understand source processes in stable continental regions. For the two events an automatic cepstrum analysis (Letort et al., 2015) is first applied on respectively 215 and 219 teleseismic records, in order to detect depth phase arrivals (pP, sP) in the P-coda. Coherent detections of depth phases for different azimuths allow us to estimate the hypocentral depths respectively at 28 and 23 km, suggesting that the events are located in the lower crust. A same cepstrum analysis is conducted on five other earthquakes with mb〉4 in this area (from 2002 to 2017), and confirms a deep crustal seismicity cluster (around 20-30 km). The source mechanisms are then characterized using a joint inversion method by fitting both regional long-period surface-waves and teleseismic high-frequency body-waves. Combining regional and teleseismic data (as well as systematic comparisons between theoretical and observed regional surface-waves dispersion curves prior to the inversion) allows us to decrease epistemic uncertainties due to lack of regional data and poor knowledge about the local velocity structure. Focal mechanisms are both constrained as normal faulting with a northwest trending, and hypocentral depths are confirmed at 28 and 24 km. Finally, in order to study the mainshock rupture process, we originally apply a kymograph analysis method (an image processing method, commonly used in the field of cell biology for identifying motions of molecular motors, e.g. Mangeol et al., 2016). Here, the kymograph allows us to better identify high-frequency teleseismic P-arrivals inside the P-coda by tracking both reflected depth phase and direct P-wave arrivals radiated from secondary sources during the faulting process. Secondary P-arrivals are thus identified with a significant azimuthal variation of their arrival times (until 4s), allowing the localization of the source that generated these secondary waves. This analysis shows that the mainshock is probably a mix of at least two events, the second being 20-30 km further northwest along the fault.

Description: It is well known that a sequence of two non-collinear Lorentz boosts (pure Lorentz transformations) does not correspond to a Lorentz boost, but involves a spatial rotation, the Wigner or Thomas–Wigner rotation. We visualize the interrelation between this rotation and the relativity of distant simultaneity by moving a Born-rigid object on a closed trajectory in several steps of uniform proper acceleration. Born-rigidity implies that the stern of the boosted object accelerates faster than its bow. It is shown that at least five boost steps are required to return the object’s center to its starting position, if in each step the center is assumed to accelerate uniformly and for the same proper time duration. With these assumptions, the Thomas–Wigner rotation angle depends on a single parameter only. Furthermore, it is illustrated that accelerated motion implies the formation of a “frame boundary”. The boundaries associated with the five boosts constitute a natural barrier and ensure the object’s finite size.

Description: We present a modular open-source software framework - kite (http://pyrocko.org), written in Python and C. The software enables rapid post-processing of space-born InSAR-derived surface displacement maps, swift parametrization and sub-sampling of the displacement measurements. With our package we aim to ease and streamline the optimization of earthquake source parameters from InSAR and GPS data and facilitate their joint optimization with seismological waveforms in combination with the pyrocko toolbox. Through such joint data optimizations from near- and far-field observations the determination of rupture parameters and processes will become more accurate and robust. Moreover, we present an intuitive kinematic deformation modelling sandbox for handling and manipulating various kinds of tectonic and volcanic deformation sources, interacting in elastic homogeneous or layered, full- or half-spaces.

Description: Glacier and ice sheet surfaces are important microbe-dominated ecosystems that are changing rapidly due to climate change, with potentially significant impacts. A theoretical framework of the supraglacial (glacier surface) ecosystem is needed to enable its mathematical modeling, a necessary tool for understanding, quantifying and predicting present day and future ecosystem dynamics. Here, we review key biological processes occurring on glacier and ice sheet surfaces and present three frameworks for constructing process-based models of the surface ecosystem, using the largest supraglacial ecosystem on Earth—the Greenland ice sheet surface—as an important example. The models are based on organic carbon transformations, but vary in numerical complexity and in the level of detail of biological processes. This perspective is intended to guide future supraglacial ecosystem model development, field data collection for parameterization and validation purposes, and encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration between modelers and experimentalists.

Description: Erosion can be observed in many arable soil landscapes such as those of the hummocky ground moraine. The topsoil removal by water erosion in combination with tillage operations (e.g., ploughing) is leading to truncated soil profiles along slopes with reduced solum thickness and modified properties of soil horizons. The objectives were to identify and quantify effects of erosion-induced soil modifications on the water balance and the leaching of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC, DIC), considering complex soil-crop interactions. The idea was to compare lysimeter-based water and solute balances of eroded Luvisols that differed in solum depth. The six high precision weighing lysimeters (1.0 m2 surface, 1.5 m high; UMS Science-Lysimeter) had a resolution of 10 g (=0.01 mm). The cylindrical steel rings of the lysimeters were filled with undisturbed soil monoliths from two fields. Lysimeter soils were cultivated with maize, winter rye, Sudangrass, triticale, alfalfa, and Persian clover during the observation period April 2011 to March 2014. Cumulative drainage of the six lysimeter soils ranged from 57 for the least to 104 mm y−1 for the most eroded Luvisols; the differences of about 83% indicated that the erosional profile modifications in combination with differences in crop development affected the water balance components. Soil-crop interactions depending on properties of differently-truncated soil profiles caused varying amounts of precipitation and evapotranspiration for the 3-years. Since lysimeter effluent concentrations of DOC (5 ± 0.5 mg L−1) and DIC (62 ± 5 mg L−1) were relatively constant in time, the DOC and DIC leaching was mainly controlled by the water fluxes. Thus, the leaching rates ranged from 0.3 (Luvisol) to 0.5 g m−2 yr−1 (eroded Luvisol) for DOC and 3.3 (Luvisol) to 7.1 g m−2 yr−1 (eroded Luvisol) for DIC. Because of the complex soil crop interactions, a clear relation between erosion-induced soil profile modification and the water balance and DOC and DIC leaching could not be identified. Nevertheless, when transferring lysimeter results to the arable soil landscape the erosion-induced modifications even within the same pedogenetic soil type should be considered.

Description: This dataset is supplementary material to the article of Ritter et al. (2017). In this article, the similarity of fault propagation work in analogue sandbox experiments to natural fault networks is investigated through measurements in a strike-slip sandbox and in a ring-shear-tester. The transient shear strength of the samples is measured for different fault lengths and from this the work is determined. For a detailed description of the procedure and the set-up please see Ritter et al. (2017). The data available in this supplementary publication are: • For the strike-slip experiments three video sequences of the deformation together with the evolution of boundary force for fault lengths of 20 cm, 30 cm and 40 cm. The videos show the curl of the deformation field, determined by Digital Image Correlation of top-view video images. These files are in AVI-format and included in the zip folder 2017-005-Ritter-movies.zip. • A folder containing force vs. displacement measurements for each experiment (2017-005-Ritter-forces.zip). These are 25 ASCII-files that contain two columns of numerical data: the first column is the displacement in meter; the second column is the corresponding force in newton. The files are named according to the following pattern: 〈fault length in meter〉_〈experiment number〉.asc • A Matlab script to load the force files and calculate the work. This file is called “plotwork.m” and calls the Matlab function “work.m”, which does the actual calculations. These files have been tested in Matlab version 2012b. The surface deformation data are available upon request.

Description: Rainfall is an important driver of erosion processes. The mean rainfall rate is often used to account for the erosive impact of a particular climate. However, for some erosion processes, erosion rate is a nonlinear function of rainfall, e.g., due to a threshold for erosion. When this is the case, it is important to take into account the full distribution of rainfall, instead of just the mean. In light of this, we have characterized the variability of daily rainfall over the Himalayan orogen using high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall data sets. We find significant variations in rainfall variability over the Himalayan orogen, with increasing rainfall variability to the west and north of the orogen. By taking into account variability of rainfall in addition to mean rainfall rate, we find a pattern of rainfall that, from a geomorphological perspective, is significantly different from mean rainfall rate alone. Using these findings, we argue that short-term rainfall variability may help explain observed short and long-term erosion rates in the Himalayan orogen.

Description: In this study, we used the Particle Flow Code 2D (PFC2D) to simulate interaction of hydraulic fractures and natural fractures in low permeable hard rock. Natural fractures are simulated using the smooth joint model of PFC2D. We modified our fluid flow algorithm to model larger fracture permeability, and we investigated interactions of hydraulic fractures and natural fractures by varying the angle of approach and viscosity of the fracturing fluid. We also investigated seismic events evolving in a complex fracture network. The results demonstrate that our modelling tool is able to capture all possible interactions of hydraulic and natural fractures: Arrest, Crossing, Slippage of hydraulic fracture, Dilation of natural fracture, Closing/Opening of natural fracture. With low angle of approach, the hydraulic fracture coalesces with the natural fractures and results in hydro-shearing and propagation of hydro-wing fractures at the tips that are mostly Mode I type. We tested the model containing multiple natural fractures with varied fluid viscosity. Hydraulic fracture generated by high viscosity fluid tends to be localized, linear and less influenced by the natural fractures. In the complex network of natural fractures, fluid columns built along the fracture network increase the local state of stress by stress shadowing. Hydro-shearing of the natural fractures that were under increased stress state can be explained as the main mechanism responsible for occurrence of larger magnitude microseismic events.

Description: Central Asia is located at the confluence of large-scale atmospheric circulation systems. However, the number of Holocene climate records is still low in most parts of this region and insufficient to allow detailed discussion and comparisons to disentangle the complex climate history and interplays between the different climatic systems. Here, we present the first stalagmite record from arid Central Asia (south-western Kyrgyzstan) by using δ18O, δ13C, and micro x-ray fluorescence (µXRF)-sulfur data spanning the last 5000 years. The cave hosting stalagmite Uluu-2 is ideally suited to identify past shifts in seasonal variations in precipitation in this part of the world. Comparison of instrumental and paleo-isotopic studies demonstrates that the Uluu-2 speleothem isotope composition faithfully records climate changes and responds to shifts in the proportion of moisture derived from mid-latitude Westerlies during the winter/spring season. The reconstructions suggest that the area was characterized by a dry climate from 4700 to 3900 yr BP, interrupted by a wet episode around 4200 yr BP. Further drier conditions also occurred between 4000 and 3500 yr BP. Wetter conditions were re-established at ca. 2500 yr BP, after another dry episode between 3000 and 2500 yr BP. With the exception of two short dry events (1150 and 1300 yr BP), the period after 1700 yr BP shows moderate to wet conditions. Regional comparisons suggest that the strength and position of the Westerly winds control climatic shifts in arid Central Asia, leading to complex local responses.

Description: Rifting processes result from the application of extensional stresses to a pre-deformed, and thus already structured, anisotropic lithosphere; consequently, the pre-rift lithospheric rheological structure and its along-axis variations play a major role in controlling the evolution and architecture of continental rifts. The East African Rift is a classic example of this process. The rift system developed within a region that has experienced several deformation events, which have given rise to significant variations in the rheological structure of the lithosphere. These variations -in turn- have played a major role on rift evolution, as clearly testified by the localisation and propagation of major rift segments within weak Proterozoic mobile belts surrounding cratonic areas. Linkage and mechanical interaction between adjacent rift segments typically occurred in correspondence to transverse pre-existing fabrics, where structurally complex areas (transfer zones) allowed significant along-axis variations in subsidence of grabens and elevation of uplifted flanks. One of these complex areas is the Turkana depression where the Ethiopian and Kenyan rifts interact. The region is characterised by anomalous morphology and distribution of deformation with respect to the rift valleys in Kenya and Ethiopia. In this work we investigate whether these anomalies result from the presence of a pre-existing Mesozoic graben, transverse to the trend of the rift valleys and characterized by thin crust and lithosphere. To this aim, we integrate crustal-scale, isothermal analog experiments with lithospheric-scale, thermo-mechanical numerical models. The two different methodologies generate very similar results, reproducing the along-axis transition from narrow rift valleys in Ethiopia/Kenya to a distributed deformation within the Turkana depression. Modeling results indicate that this variation results from the inherited distribution of lithospheric strength and -in particular- from the presence of a NW-SE trending region of thinned crust generated during the Mesozoic rifting event. Similarly to what observed in nature, our models show that the rift valleys propagated away from each other within the Turkana depression, thus avoiding a direct link to form a throughgoing N-S structure. Our models indicate that local-scale characteristics of the fault pattern (such as the occurrence of horse-tail splays at fault terminations or the presence of faults with zig-zag plan-view geometry giving rise to basins with a ’staircase’ pattern as in the case of Lake Turkana) may result from a minor component of strike-slip motion controlled by relative orientation between the NW-SE oriented domain of thinned crust and roughly E-W direction of Extension.

Description: Given the current shale oil boom in U.S., the primary objective of this dissertation is to clarify the factors controlling retention and migration of oil in selected shale ”plays”. With reference to three TypeII marine shales namely the Barnett, Posidonia and Niobrara Shales, a suite of 694 samples ranging in age from Mississippian to Campanian, varying in maturity from immature to overmature, and belonging to siliceous, argillaceous and calcareous lithofacies were comprehensive investigated. Beginning with the study of oil retention, a more realistic assessment of total retained oil was achieved by applying the comparatively pyrolysis: Total oil = S1whole rock + S2whole rock - S2extracted rock. Notably, as excellent correlations always exist between the calculated total oil with the S1 values of unextracted rocks at given levels of maturity, the S1 was used in the ensuing discussions as a proxy to reflect total oil concentration. Oil retained in shales is either in a sorbed state largely on kerogens or in a free form in pores and fractures. In organic-rich shales, the retention of oil is defined mainly by organic matter properties, i.e. organic richness, kerogen type and thermal maturity. The sorption behavior of kerogen is believed analogous to that of organic polymers, which are capable of absorbing significant quantities of oils by swelling. Following this hypothesis: 1). The richer in organic matter a rock is, the more is the oil that is retained. 2). Labile kerogens, rather than inert carbon, constitute the active swelling components. 3). For TypeII marine source rocks, S1/TOC first increases and subsequently decreases once the maximum retention capacity (90 mg HC/g TOC) is exceeded at Tmax about 445 °C, which is equivalent to ~ 0.85% Ro. But interestingly, the shale layers enriched in free oil or bitumen are not necessarily associated with the layers richest in organic matter, and instead with juxtaposed porous biogenic matrices. In the siliceous interval of the Barnett Shale oils are thus stored in the axial chamber of sponge spicules. In the Posidonia Shale, bitumen was observed in pores of associated coccolith microfossils. In the chalky reservoirs of the Niobrara Formation it is carbonate richness that primarily controls the amount of retained oil (S1). Oils are mainly stored in pores associated with the skeletal remains of coccolith and foraminifera. These porous fossiliferous layers in shale may constitute sweet spots (reservoirs) due to their enhanced hydrocarbon potential and mobility. In contrast to clastic reservoirs, the oil-in-place of shale reservoirs may be either indigenously generated or migrated from juxtaposed organic-rich layers. According to the studies of the Barnett, Posidonia and Niobrara Shales, the presence of an “oil crossover” and diminished Tmax are likely to be characteristic of those fossiliferous shale reservoirs. To settle this issue in the Barnett Shale of the Mesquite#1 well, a mass-balance model was used to compute the hydrocarbons generated. By comparing the amount with that retained, it is clear that more hydrocarbons (C13+n-alkanes, such as the n-C17) are in-place than could have been generated. Therefore, additional hydrocarbons must have migrated and accumulated in the siliceous interval, i.e. reservoirs. In the Mesquite#1 well, the Barnett Shale was shown to possess a rather homogeneous kerogen facies, depositional environment and maturity signature, whereas the composition of bitumens varied throughout the shale sequence. The short distance migration of petroleum into the siliceous reservoir interval appears to fractionate the generated oil into a higher quality oil by preferential retention in the order polar compounds 〉aromatic 〉saturated hydrocarbons within the underlying organic matter- and clay-rich source rock intervals. Besides that, a preferential expulsion of smaller molecular components over larger ones, i.e. molecular fractionation, has been illustrated. Phase separation is a possible scenario leading to molecular fractionation. As phase separation selectively “transfers” lighter hydrocarbons into the vapor phase, the oil retained in migration pathways or reservoirs is otherwise enriched in retrograde fluids with n-alkanes skewed towards long chain alkanes. Regularities in source facies and maturity were confirmed with biomarkers, which are not fractionated during the primary migration of petroleum within the Barnett Shale of Mesquite#1 well. For given components, if migrational fractionations had occurred, they might have been overprinted by in situ reactions as well. Organic pore development is believed to be largely due to the thermal cracking of kerogen and/or bitumen, though some primary organic pores have been observed within immature organic matter as well. Oil retention and organic porosity evolution are strongly related to changes in kerogen density brought about by swelling and shrinkage as a function of thermal maturation. For TypeII marine shales, the secondary organic pores are formed consequently after the maximum kerogen swelling ability is exceeded at Tmax around 445 °C (~0.85% Ro). Shrinkage of kerogen itself leads to the formation of secondary organic pores, and thence associated porosity increase in the gas-mature Posidonia Shale. Given the remarkable heterogeneity in the shale fabric, the newly formed organic pores may be closed after or synchronously by compaction.

Description: In Anbetracht des gegenwärtigen Schieferöl-Booms in den USA hat diese Dissertation das primäre Ziel die Faktoren zu erläutern, die die Retention und Migration von Öl in ausgewählten Schieferlagerstätten bestimmen. Unter Bezugnahme dreier mariner Typ II Schiefergesteine – dem Barnett Shale, dem Posidonien Shale und dem Niobrara-Shale – wurden 694 Proben umfangreich untersucht. Das Alter der Proben reicht vom Karbon bis in die Kreide, sie variieren hinsichtlich ihrer Reife von unreif bis zu überreif und sind den silikatischen, tonhaltigen und kalkhaltigen Gesteinen zuzuordnen. Bezüglich der Ölretention wurde eine realistischere Einschätzung des Gesamtöls mittels komparativer Pyrolyse erreicht: Gesamtöl = S1whole rock + S2whole rock - S2extracted rock. Da generell exzellente Korrelationen bestehen zwischen der kalkulierten Gesamtölmenge und den S1-Werten unextrahierter Gesteine bei gegebener Reife, wurde der S1-Wert in der folgenden Diskussion als stellvertretend für die Gesamtölkonzentration gewertet. In Schiefergestein eingebettetes Öl liegt entweder in einem überwiegend auf Kerogenen sorbierten Zustand oder aber in freier Form in Poren und Frakturen vor. In Schiefergesteinen, die reich an organischem Material sind, wird die Ölretention im Wesentlichen durch die Eigenschaften des organischen Materials bestimmt, insbesondere durch die Menge an organischem Material, den Kerogentyp sowie die thermische Reife. Es wird vermutet, dass Kerogene dasselbe Sorptionsverhalten aufweisen wie organische Polymere, welche dazu in der Lage sind, durch Schwellung erhebliche Mengen an Öl zu absorbieren. Dieser Hypothese folgend, lassen sich folgende Sätze postulieren: 1). Je reicher ein Gestein an organischem Material ist, umso mehr Öl wird absorbiert. 2). Labile Kerogene, und nicht inerter Kohlenstoff, stellen die aktiven schwellenden Komponenten dar. 3). Für marine Typ II Muttergesteine steigt das S1/TOC-Verhältnis zunächst an und sinkt anschießend sobald die maximale Retentionskapazität (90 mg HC/g TOC) bei Tmax ca. 445 °C überschritten wird, was einer Reife von ~ 0.85% Ro entspricht. Interessanterweise sind die mit freiem Öl oder Bitumen angereicherten Schieferschichten nicht zwingend mit jenen Schichten assoziiert, die am reichsten an organischem Material sind, sondern mit den angrenzenden porösen biogenen Matrizes. Im kieselreichen Intervall des Barnett Shales werden Öle demnach in axialen Schwammnadelkammern gespeichert. Im Posidonia Shale wurde Bitumen in den Poren assoziierter Micrococcolithfossilien beobachtet. In den kreidezeitlichen Reservoiren der Niobrara Formation wird die Menge des residualen Erdöls (S1) primär durch die Menge an Karbonat bestimmt. Öle werden vornehmlich in Poren gelagert, die mit den Skelettresten von Coccolithophoriden und Foraminiferen assoziiert sind. Die porösen, Fossilien enthaltenden Schichten könnten aufgrund ihres erhöhten Kohlenwasserstoff-Potentials und erhöhter Kohlenwasserstoff-Mobilität „sweet spots“ (Reservoire) darstellen. Im Gegensatz zu klastischen Reservoirs kann das „Oil in Place“ in Schiefer-Reservoiren entweder indigen entstanden, oder aber aus angrenzenden, an organischem Material reichen Schichten eingewandert sein. Nach den Studien zu den Barnett, Posidonia und Niobrara Shales ist das Vorkommen von “Oil Crossover” und vermindertem Tmax wahrscheinlich charakteristisch für die fossilhaltigen Schiefergesteins-Reservoire. Um diese Frage zu klären, wurde für die Mesquite#1 Bohrung (Barnett Shale) ein Massenbilanzmodell angewandt, um damit die erzeugten Kohlenwasserstoffe zu berechnen. Der Vergleich dieses Ergebnisses mit dem „oil in place“ verdeutlicht, dass die Menge der vorliegenden Kohlenwasserstoffe (C13+ n-Alkane, wie z. B. das n-C17) jene Menge übersteigt, die indigen hätte generiert werden können. Folglich müssen zusätzliche Kohlenwasserstoffe per Migration eingewandert sein und sich im kieselreichen Intervall angesammelt haben (Reservoir). In der Mesquite#1 Bohrung waren die Kerogen-Fazies, das Ablagerungsmilieu und die Reifesignatur des Barnett-Shale recht homogen, während die Bitumenzusammensetzung im Verlauf der Schiefersequenz variierte. Es scheint, dass die Petroleummigration über kurze Distanzen in das kieselreiche Intervall stattgefunden hat, und dass das residuelle Öl in der Reihenfolge polare Verbindungen 〉aromatische 〉gesättigte Kohlenwasserstoffe fraktioniert worden ist. Ferner wurde beobachtet, dass bevorzugt kleinere statt große molekulare Komponenten ausgeschlossen werden. Diese molekulare Fraktionierung könnte eine Folge von Phasenseparationen sein. Da im Rahmen der Phasenseparation leichtere Kohlenwasserstoffe selektiv in die Gasphase “transferiert” werden, ist das in den Migrationsbahnen und Reservoiren zurückbehaltene Öl an langkettigen Alkanen angereichert. Die Gleichmäßigkeit der Muttergesteinsfazies und -reife wurden mittels Biomarker bestätigt, welche im Rahmen der primären Migration des Petroleums im Barnett-Shale der Mesquite#1 Bohrung nicht fraktioniert werden. Die Entwicklung von Poren in organischen Partikeln wird vorwiegend durch die thermische Spaltung von Kerogen und/oder Bitumen verursacht, obgleich manche Poren auch in unreifen organischen Partikeln beobachtet wurden. Die Retention von Erdöl und die Entwicklung von Poren in organischen Partikeln sind stark mit Veränderungen in der Kerogendichte assoziiert, die durch thermische Reifungsprozesse in der Form von Schwellung und Schrumpfung verursacht werden. Bei marinen Typ II Schiefergesteinen entstehen die sekundären Poren nach Überschreiten der maximalen Schwellkapazität der Kerogene bei Tmax ca. 445 °C (~0,85% Ro). Kerogenschrumpfung führt zur Entstehung sekundärer Poren in den organischen Partikeln und somit zu einer Erhöhung der Porigkeit in den überreifen Posidonia Shales. Da die Gesteinsmatrix heterogen ist, können manche der neu formierten organischen Poren durch Kompaktion wieder geschlossen werden.

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Description: This data publication is a high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generated for the Merapi summit by combining terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) photogrammetry data acquired in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The structures of the data are further analysed in Darmawan et al. 2017 (http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.11.006). The published datasets consist of combined point clouds with ~65 million data points and a DEM with a resampled resolution of 0.5 m. The DEM data covers the complexity of the Merapi summit with area of 2 km2. The coordinate of the datasets is projected to global coordinates (WGS 1984 UTM Zone 49 South). TLS is a topography mapping technique which exploits the travel time of a laser beam to measure the range between the ground-based scanning instrument and the earth’s surface. TLS provides high accuracy, precision, and resolution for topography mapping, however, it requires different scan position to obtain accurate topography model in a complex topography. The TLS dataset was acquired by using a long-range RIEGL VZ-6000 instrument with a Pulse Repetition Rate (PRR) of 30 kHz. The Merapi data includes an observation range of 0.129 – 4393.75 m, a theta range (vertical) of 73 – 120° with a sampling angle of 0.041°, a phi range (horizontal) of 33° - 233° with a sampling angle of 0.05°, and 12 reflectors for each scan. The used TLS dataset was achieved by combining two scan positions, both realized in September 2014. In order to reduce still eminent shadowing, we conducted additionally a UAV photogrammetry survey. The UAV data allows to fill data gaps and generate a complete 3D point cloud. The UAV photogrammetry was conducted by using DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter drone in October 2015. The drone carried GoPro HERO 3+ camera and a H3-3D gimbal to reduce image shaking. We obtained over 300 images which cover the summit area of Merapi. By applying the Structure from Motion algorithm, we are able to generate a 3D point cloud model of Merapi summit. Further details on this procedure are provided in Darmawan et al. (2017). Structure from Motion is a technique to generate a 3D model based on 2D overlapped images. The algorithm detects and matches the same ground features of 2D images, reconstructs a 3D scene, and calculates a depth map for each camera frame. The algorithm used is implemented in Agisoft Photoscan Professional software. After importing the images in Agisoft, we used the ‘align image’ function with high accuracy setting to generate 3D sparse point cloud and ‘build dense cloud’ function with high quality to generate 3D dense point cloud. The 3D point clouds of TLS and UAV photogrammetry were then georeferenced to our georeferenced 3D point cloud which acquired in 2012. The RMS of TLS and UAV photogrammetry during georeferenced is 0.60 and 0.44 m, respectively, as described in Further details on this procedure are provided in Darmawan et al. (2017). After georeferencing, both 3D point clouds were merged and interpolated to a raster format in the ArcMap software.

Description: We use recently deployed seismological arrays in Africa to sample a 2D cross section through the mantle down to the core–mantle boundary (CMB). By making use of travel‐time residuals of S, ScS, and SKS phases, a new shear‐velocity model of the African low‐velocity zone (ALVZ) is derived. Our model suggests between 1.2% shear‐velocity reduction at the top and 5% at the bottom with respect to 1D reference models. The average reduction over the whole low‐velocity zone (LVZ) amounts to 2% in the presented model and is therefore about twice as strong as values found in global tomographic models. The top of the LVZ reaches up to 1200‐km depth, and its lateral extent at the CMB is about 35°. We propose the existence of a gap of 300 km, splitting the structure into two blocks. Our results are based on remarkable differences in SK(K)S travel‐time residuals over a few degrees distance. The complexity of the structure could provide a key to an improved understanding of the deep‐mantle LVZ dynamics and composition by comparison to geodynamic models. The gap in the model might suggest that the 2D cross section is cutting through a 3D indentation in the boundary of the ALVZ but may also be interpreted as a sign of two individual plumes, rather than one large homogeneous upwelling.

Description: Spatiotemporal landslide inventories of large areas are important for the understanding of regional landslide process dynamic and thus a prerequisite for probabilistic hazard and risk assessment. We developed a (semi-)automated tool for spatiotemporal landslide mapping using satellite time series data of various multispectral sensors. The approach comprises automated multi-sensor pre-processing strategies and multi-temporal change detection methods. Landslides are identified based on the temporal variations of landslide-related surface cover changes, mostly comprised by sudden vegetation cover destruction and longer-term post-failure revegetation. In combination with DEM-derivatives this multi-temporal change detection approach allows landslide identification of different sizes, shapes, and in different stages of development (e.g. fresh failures and reactivations of existing landslides) under varying natural conditions. This paper presents the application of the approach to three different scenarios. In Kyrgyzstan a monitoring of recent (2009–2016) landslide occurrence and a retrospective analysis of long-term (1986–2013) regional landslide dynamic was performed. The approach was also applied to Nepal to analyze landslide occurrence (2011–2015) triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake and by the monsoon seasons before and after. The study sites are 12000, 2500, and 625 km2 for the monitoring and long-term analysis in Kyrgyzstan and for Nepal respectively. The derived multi-temporal landslide inventories contain several thousands of landslides, ranging in size from 100 m2 to 2.8 km2. These data records allowed comprehensive analysis of spatiotemporal variations in landslide occurrence, revealing distinct spatial and temporal hotspots of landslide activity in all of the regions.

Description: Distinct microbial habitats on glacial surfaces are dominated by snow and ice algae, which are the critical players and the dominant primary colonisers and net producers during the melt season. Here for the first time we have evaluated the role of these algae in association with the full microbial community composition (i.e., algae, bacteria, archaea) in distinct surface habitats and on 12 glaciers and permanent snow fields in Svalbard and Arctic Sweden. We cross-correlated these data with the analyses of specific metabolites such as fatty acids and pigments, and a full suite of potential critical physico-chemical parameters including major and minor nutrients, and trace metals. It has been shown that correlations between single algal species, metabolites, and specific geochemical parameters can be used to unravel mixed metabolic signals in complex communities, further assign them to single species and infer their functionality. The data also clearly show that the production of metabolites in snow and ice algae is driven mainly by nitrogen and less so by phosphorus limitation. This is especially important for the synthesis of secondary carotenoids, which cause a darkening of glacial surfaces leading to a decrease in surface albedo and eventually higher melting rates.

Description: We present first LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages as well as geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data for 14 magmatic rocks collected along ca. 400 km profile across the Chatkal-Kurama terrane in the Mogol-Tau and Kurama ranges and the Gissar Segment of the Tien Shan orogen in Tajikistan. These new data from supra-subduction and post-collisional magmatic rocks of two Late Paleozoic active margins constrain a tectonic model for terrane motions across two paleo-subduction zones: (1) The 425 Ma old Muzbulak granite of the Mogol-Tau range formed in a supra-subduction setting at the northern margin of the Turkestan Ocean. The north-dipping plate was subducted from the Early Silurian to the earliest Middle Devonian. Thereafter the northern side of the Turkestan Ocean remained a passive margin until the Early Carboniferous. (2) In the Early Carboniferous, subduction under the northern margin of the Turkestan Ocean resumed and the 315 to 305 Ma old Kara-Kiya, Muzbek, and Karamazar intrusions formed in a supra-subduction setting in the Mogol-Tau and Kurama ranges. (3) At the same time, in the Early Carboniferous, rifting of the southern passive margin of the Turkestan Ocean formed the short-lived Gissar Basin, separated from the Turkestan Ocean by the Gissar micro-continent. North-dipping subduction in the Gissar Basin is documented by the 315 Ma Kharangon plagiogranite and the voluminous ca. 321–312 Ma Andean-type supra-subduction Gissar batholith. The Kharangon and Khanaka gabbro-plagiogranite intrusions of the southern Gissar range have geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr(t) 0.7047–0.7056, εNd of + 1.5 to + 2.3) compatible with mantle-derived origin typical for plagiogranites associated with ophiolites. The supra-subduction rocks from the Gissar batholith and from the Mogol-Tau Kurama ranges have variably mixed Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic signatures (87Sr/86Sr(t) 0.7057–0.7064, εNd of − 2.1 to − 5.0) typical for continental arcs where mantle-derived magmas interact with continental crust. (4) In the latest Carboniferous, the Turkestan Ocean and the Gissar Basin were closed. The Early Permian Chinorsay (288 Ma) and Dara-i-pioz (267 Ma) post-collisional intrusions, emplaced in the northern part of the Gissar micro-continent after a long period of amagmatic evolution, have intraplate geochemical affinities and isotopic Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr(t) 0.7074–0.7086, εNd of − 5.5 to − 7.4) indicating derivation from Precambrian continental crust which is supported by old Nd model ages (1.5 and 1.7 Ga), and by the presence of inherited zircon grains with ages 850–500 Ma in the Chinorsay granodiorite. The post-collisional intrusions in the southern Gissar and in the Mogol-Tau and Kurama ranges (297–286 Ma), emplaced directly after supra-subduction magmatic series, have geochemical and isotopic signatures of arc-related magmas. The distinct shoshonitic affinities of post-collisional intrusions in the Mogol-Tau and Kurama ranges are explained by the interaction of hot asthenospheric material with subduction-enriched wedge of lithospheric mantle due to slab break-off at post-collisional stage. Despite origination from different tectonic environments, all magmatic rocks have relatively old Nd model ages (1.7–1.0 Ga) indicating a significant proportion of Paleoproterozoic or older crustal material in their sources and their model ages are similar to those of post-collisional intrusions from the Alai and Kokshaal Segments of the South Tien Shan.

Description: The Alpine Fault, New Zealand, is a major plate-bounding fault that accommodates 65–75% of the total relative motion between the Australian and Pacific plates. Here we present data on the hydrothermal frictional properties of Alpine Fault rocks that surround the principal slip zones (PSZ) of the Alpine Fault and those comprising the PSZ itself. The samples were retrieved from relatively shallow depths during phase 1 of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP-1) at Gaunt Creek. Simulated fault gouges were sheared at temperatures of 25, 150, 300, 450, and 600°C in order to determine the friction coefficient as well as the velocity dependence of friction. Friction remains more or less constant with changes in temperature, but a transition from velocity-strengthening behavior to velocity-weakening behavior occurs at a temperature of T = 150°C. The transition depends on the absolute value of sliding velocity as well as temperature, with the velocity-weakening region restricted to higher velocity for higher temperatures.Friction was substantially lower for low-velocity shearing (V〈0.3 μm/s) at 600°C, but no transition to normal stress independence was observed. In the framework of rate-and-state friction, earthquake nucleation is most likely at an intermediate temperature of T = 300°C. The velocity-strengthening nature of the Alpine Fault rocks at higher temperatures may pose a barrier for rupture propagation to deeper levels, limiting the possible depth extent of large earthquakes. Our results highlight the importance of strain rate in controlling frictional behavior under conditions spanning the classical brittle-plastic transition for quartzofeldspathic compositions. The data is provided in a .zip folder with 33 subfolders for 33 samples. Detailed information about the files in these subdfolders as well as sensors used, conversions and data specifications is given in the explanatory file Niemeijer-2017-DFDP-explanation-of-folder-structure-and-file-list.pdf.

Description: Transient numerical simulations of coupled fluid flow and heat transport processes were conducted, to investigate (i) the impact of hydraulic anisotropy on a complex hydrogeological system and (ii) the anomalous geothermal gradient in the Upper Cretaceous (A7/B2) aquifer of the Lower Yarmouk Gorge (LYG). The N-S directed geological profile starts on the basalt-covered Golan Heights, crosses the LYG and ends at the Jordanian Ajloun Plateau. Heated fresh groundwaters ascend within the LYG from the confined A7/B2 limestone aquifer through artesian Meizar wells and artesian Muhkeibeh well field. A hydrogeological study based on high frequency water-table measurements at the Meizar wells suggested strong impact of abstraction at the Mukheibeh wells on the hydraulic head distribution north of the LYG (Shalev et al., 2015). Contrastingly, hydrochemical investigations conducted in the area concluded that recharge areas of the A7/B2 aquifer are: (i) the foothills of Mountain Hermon, (ii) the Ajloun Plateau and (iii) the Syrian Hauran Plateau, indicating the presence of a zone of high-hydraulic anisotropy along the main LYG axis. Due to this still debatable hydraulic feature, flow along the LYG principle axis is enhanced whilst flow perpendicular to it is constrained (Siebert et al., 2014). In agreement, transient simulations based on a NW-SE profile supported further the hypothesis of a structural feature existent (Magri et al., 2015). The modeled profile cross-cuts the heterogeneous zone and hence the heterogeneity was implemented as an impermeable zone by employing the Equivalent Porous Media approach. Initial 2D models managed to successfully reproduce the natural hydraulic head and temperature distributions. In subsequent simulations, by implementing Meizar abstraction rates, results revealed that mixed convection explains the anomalous temperature gradient in the area as temperature patterns of these simulations are in accordance with a temperature-depth borehole profile. Most significantly, the existence of a zone of anisotropic hydraulic conductivity at the LYG, as suggested above, is supported. Sensitivity analysis of the heterogeneous permeability zone (ranging between 1e-7 m/s and 1e-10 m/s) simultaneously displayed hydraulic connectivity and prevented fluid flux occurrence between the northern and southern LYG flanks. Within the studied aquifer system, aquifer topography directs groundwater flow towards the LYG (N-S and S-N). Once groundwaters reach the zone of hydraulic anisotropy the direction is diverted westwards, towards the Lower Jordan Valley. A final finding pointed to the inadequate size of the A7/B2 drainage basin south of the LYG as the Mukheibeh well field requires a larger drainage area.

Description: Postseismic surface deformation associated with great subduction earthquakes is controlled by asthenosphere rheology, frictional properties of the fault, and structural complexity. Here by modeling GPS displacements in the 6 years following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake in Chile, we investigate the impact of heterogeneous viscosity distribution in the South American subcontinental asthenosphere on the 3-D postseismic deformation pattern. The observed postseismic deformation is characterized by flexure of the South America plate with peak uplift in the Andean mountain range and subsidence in the hinterland. We find that, at the time scale of observation, over 2 orders of magnitude gradual increase in asthenosphere viscosity from the arc area toward the cratonic hinterland is needed to jointly explain horizontal and vertical displacements. Our findings present an efficient method to estimate spatial variations of viscosity, which clearly improves the fitting to the vertical signal of deformation. Lateral changes in asthenosphere viscosity can be correlated with the thermomechanical transition from weak subvolcanic arc mantle to strong subcratonic mantle, thus suggesting a stationary heterogeneous viscosity structure. However, we cannot rule out a transient viscosity structure (e.g., power law rheology) with the short time span of observation.

Description: Earthquakes on intra-continental faults pose substantial seismic hazard to populated areas. The interaction of faults is an important mechanism of earthquake triggering and can be investigated by the calculation of Coulomb stress changes. Using three-dimensional finite-element models, co- and postseismic stress changes and the effect of viscoelastic relaxation on dip-slip faults are investigated. The models include elastic and viscoelastic layers, gravity, ongoing regional deformation as well as source and receiver fault zones. A parameter study with a systematic fault geometry, which is independent of a specific earthquake, shows that high coseismic stress increase occurs in along-strike prolongation of the source fault and in small areas parallel to the source fault. The coseismic slip and coefficient of friction influence the magnitude of stress changes, while the fault dip also influences the distribution. The stress changes can be explained by the spatial distribution of the coseismic strain. Differences in normal and thrust fault models are mainly caused by the different fault dips. The postseismic stress changes – caused by viscoelastic relaxation and interseismic stress increase – modify the coseismic stress changes that stress-triggering zones can change to stress-shadow zones and vice versa. Stress changes induced by viscoelastic relaxation can outweigh the interseismic stress increase so that negative stress changes can persist for decades. The lower the viscosity of the lower crust or lithospheric mantle, the more pronounced is the effect of viscoelastic relaxation in the first years. Layers with low viscosity define the area of highest postseismic velocities and hence determine relaxation and stress changes. The application of the model to the active Wasatch fault system in the eastern Basin and Range Province (Utah) is the first study in which an entire series of earthquakes on a natural fault system is simulated in a finite-element model using realistic fault geometries and palaeo-seismological data to investigate the co- and postseismic Coulomb stress changes for palaeo-earthquakes and the future evolution. The coseismic stress changes extend over all modelled fault segments. The postseismic stress changes and velocities show that the postseismic relaxation dominates the first years after the earthquake, while in the hundredth year the stress increase by the regional stress field dominates. The analysis of the stress changes since the last event per fault segment shows that the Brigham City segment (~780 bar) and Salt Lake City segment (~510 bar) have accumulated the most stress since the last earthquake. Modelled hypothetical present-day earthquakes suggest that present-day ruptures on the Brigham City segment or Salt Lake City segment could experience M ~7.1 or M ~7.0 earthquakes, respectively, which pose high seismic hazard for the metropolitan areas.

Description: ESA’s (European Space Agency) constellation mission Swarm was successfully launched on 22 November 2013. The three satellites achieved their final constellation on 17 April 2014 and since then Swarm-A and Swarm-C orbiting the Earth at about 470 km (flying side-by-side) and Swarm-B at about 520 km altitude. Each of Swarm satellite carries instruments with high precision to measure magnetic and electric fields, neutral and plasma densities, and TEC (Total Electron Content) for which a dual frequency GPS receiver is used. SUA (Swarm Utilisation Analysis) is a project of the ESA’s SSA (Space Situational Awareness) SWE (Space Weather) program. Within this framework GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany) and DTU (National Space Institute, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark) have developed two new Swarm products ROT (Rate Of change of TEC) and PEJ (Location and intensity level of Polar Electrojets), respectively. ROT is derived as the first time derivative from the Swarm measurements of TEC at 1 Hz sampling. ROT is highly relevant for users in navigation and communications: strong plasma gradients cause GPS signal degradation or even loss of GPS signal. Also, ROT is a relevant space weather asset irrespective of geomagnetic activity, e.g., high amplitude values of ROT occur during all geomagnetic conditions. PEJ is derived from the Swarm measurements of the magnetic field strength at 1 Hz sampling. PEJ has a high-level importance for power grid companies since the polar electrojet is a major cause for ground-induced currents. ROT and PEJ together with five existing Swarm products TEC, electron density, IBI (Ionospheric Bubble Index), FAC (Field-Aligned Current), and vector magnetic field build the SUA service prototype. This prototype will be integrated into ESA’s SSA Space Weather network as a federated service and will be available soon from ESA’s SSA SWE Ionospheric Weather and Geomagnetic Conditions Expert Service Centres (ESCs).

Description: Central Asian river basins with their runoff formation zones in high mountains are currently experiencing the impact of increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation. The headwaters thus exhibit negative glacier mass balances, decreasing glacierization, changes in snow cover characteristics and changing runoff response. These changes are likely to intensify in future, as temperatures are projected to grow further. Both hydropower industry and irrigated agriculture in the downstream areas strongly depend on the water availability, its seasonal and long-term distribution. In order to improve water management policy in the region, reliable assessments of water availability in the runoff formation zones of Central Asia are necessary. One of the approaches to assessment of water resources is the evaluation of climate scenarios using hydrological models. We present an assessment of climate impact on water resources and glacierization in the 21st century using the semi-distributed hydrological model WASA in the Naryn, Karadarya and Zerafshan basins in Central Asia. In order to constrain hydrological model parameters reliably, a multi-objective calibration approach using observed discharge, glacier mass balance and satellite snow cover data was applied. Consideration of initial glacier volume and its temporal dynamics can be essential for climate impact assessment in transient model simulations. Here, we used estimates of initial glacier thickness, calculated glacier mass balance, and the h-approach to simulate the glacier evolution on an annual basis. Future climate scenarios based on the CMIP5 ensemble projections reflecting cold-wet, cold-dry, warm-wet, and warm-dry conditions were used and bias corrected with an empirical quantile mapping technique. The results indicate that the impact of changing climate varies regionally. Based on the ensemble mean of the simulated glacier area evolution, the glacier area retreat is fastest in the low-lying Karadarya basin followed by the Naryn basin. The Zerafshan basin, located in the western part of Central Asia, is projected to experience least glacier retreat. The changing climate will further influence the inter-annual flow regime with peak discharge being shifted from late summer towards early summer due to increasing temperature and earlier snowmelt. Water availability in August, the month with the largest glacier melt contribution, will strongly decrease mainly due to the decrease in glacierization. The obtained results provide important information for decision makers in developing strategies for water usage.

Description: The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences as part of the GRACE Science Data System (SDS) is currently reprocessing the complete GRACE mission data. This new Level-2 data release (RL06 in the SDS nomenclature) will be based on reprocessed Level-1B instrument data (RL03), updated processing standards and background models and will take care of limitations known from previous RL05. Examples are the application of the latest RL06 Atmosphere and Ocean Dealiasing Model, update of the ocean tide model, implementation of the most recent IERS conventions or improvements in GFZ´s GPS data processing. This 15+ year time series of monthly Level-2 spherical harmonics and underlying processing standards will then serve for the continuation with GRACE-FO (Follow-on) data expected for early 2018. In parallel a team of GFZ, the Alfred-Wegener-Institute Bremerhaven and TU Dresden has developed and implemented a portal at GFZ where users can download dedicated Level-3 products for hydrological, oceanic and polar research activities. This portal is expected to be made public by the end of 2017. The presentation will show the status and examples of these new RL06 Level-2 products and prototype Level-3 products based on GFZ’s RL05a Level-2 monthly solutions.

Description: We study synchronization properties of three nonlinearly coupled chaotic maps. Coupling is introduced in such a way, that it cannot be reduced to pairwise terms, but includes combined action of all interacting units. For two models of nonlinear coupling we characterize the transition to complete synchrony, as well as partially synchronized states. Relation to hypernetworks of chaotic units is also discussed.

Description: Knowledge maps are useful tools, now beginning to be widely applied to the management and sharing of large-scale hierarchical knowledge. In this paper, we discuss how knowledge maps can be generated using Memory Island. Memory Island is our cartographic visualization technique, which was inspired by the ancient “Art of Memory”. It consists of automatically creating the spatial cartographic representation of a given hierarchical knowledge (e.g., ontology). With the help of its interactive functions, users can navigate through an artificial landscape, to learn and retrieve information from the knowledge. We also present some preliminary results of representing different hierarchical knowledge to show how the knowledge maps created by our technique work.

Description: On March 13 1888, a large sector of the subaerial and submarine edifice of Ritter Island (Papua New Guinea) collapsed and slid into the Bismarck Sea, triggering a tsunami with run-up heights of more than 25 m on the neighboring islands. The tsunami traveled for more than 600 km and caused destruction in several settlements. German colonists described in detail the timing of the arriving waves. During research cruise SO252 onboard RV Sonne, we collected a comprehensive set of multibeam and sediment echosounder data, seafloor video footage, rock samples, 2D seismic profiles, and a 60 km2 high-resolution Pcable 3D seismic cube. This dataset, combined with the historic eyewitness accounts, allows detailed reconstruction of the large-scale volcanic sector collapse and the associated tsunami genesis. The 3D seismic cube reveals a change of emplacement dynamics during the collapse of the volcanic edifice. The initial failure occurred along a deep slide plane extending from the volcanic cone up to 300 m deep into the seafloor sediments adjacent to the volcanic edifice. Movement of large, intact sediment blocks and shortening characterize this deep-rooted mass-movement. In contrast to the well-preserved mobilization structures in the deep part of the volcanic edifice related to the initial phase of mass movement, there are hardly any deposits of the upper part of the volcanic cone comprising of well-stratified volcaniclastic layers. The 2 km3 cone was mobilized in the final stage of the sector collapse and its highly energetic slide mass eroded deeply into the previously emplaced slide deposits. The fast moving mass was channelized between two volcanic ridges, transported into the basin west of Sakar Island, and then deposited more than 30 km away from its source. We interpret the separation into two phases as the result of decoupling of the sliding mass of the cone from the deeper volcanic edifice. This process may be explained by gravitational acceleration of the sliding mass or a phreatomagmatic explosion due to the contact of the magmatic conduit with seawater.

Description: The Lower Yarmouk Gorge (LYG) extends on the eastern margin of the Jordan Rift Valley (JRV) adjacent to the Kinneret basin which makes part in the chain of pull-apart basins along the Dead Sea Transform (DST). The LYG is bounded to the south by the Ajloun Plateau (northern Jordan) and to the north by the Golan Heights (Israel). It acts as the outflow of the Yarmouk drainage basin into the Jordan River a few kilometers south of Lake Tiberias. Although topographically the Golan Heights and the Ajloun seem to be different provinces separated by the LYG, the northern Ajloun and southern Golan form the southern flank of a major synclinal structure. Morphologically, the LYG resembles the Sheikh-Ali strike-slip fault and other NE-SW striking faults related to the DST. However, the existence of faulting along that line is debatable. As the gorge serves also as state boundary, no seismic lines cross the LYG. Quaternary landslides, mostly on the southern flank of the LYG cover possible surface evidence of faulting although Quaternary basalts located at the gorge path may indicate possible vertical pathways. Moreover, hydrological studies (Siebert et al., 2014, Goretzki et al., 2016) show that permeability anisotropy along the LYG line allows heated groundwater to emerge along the gorge with temperatures rising up to 60C. The presented study uses well data from northern Jordan and southern Golan Heights as well as seismic data from the southern Golan Heights to bridge over the information gap. Based on the available information we present our hypothesis on the geology of the LYG aiming to contribute to the discussion regarding active tectonics at the Lower Yarmouk Gorge. Our preliminary results show that a major fault along the gorge path is dubious however, perpendicular faulting is more likely to occur. We expect the results of current research to contribute to the understanding of the local complex geohydrological system. Furthermore, results are expected to deepen our understanding of pull-apart basin tectonics effect on the evolution of marginal structures.

Description: Floods affect more people worldwide than any other natural hazard. Flood risk results from the interplay of a range of processes. For river floods, these are the flood-triggering processes in the atmosphere, runoff generation in the catchment, flood waves traveling through the river network, possibly flood defense failure, and finally, inundation and damage processes in the flooded areas. In addition, ripple effects, such as regional or even global supply chain disruptions, may occur. Effective and efficient flood risk management requires understanding and quantifying the flood risk and its possible future developments. Hence, risk analysis is a key element of flood risk management. Risk assessments can be structured according to three questions: What can go wrong? How likely is it that it will happen? If it goes wrong, what are the consequences? Before answering these questions, the system boundaries, the processes to be included, and the detail of the analysis need to be carefully selected. One of the greatest challenges in flood risk analyses is the identification of the set of failure or damage scenarios. Often, extreme events beyond the experience of the analyst are missing, which may bias the risk estimate. Another challenge is the estimation of probabilities. There are at most a few observed events where data on the flood situation, such as inundation extent, depth, and loss are available. That means that even in the most optimistic situation there are only a few data points to validate the risk estimates. The situation is even more delicate when the risk has to be quantified for important infrastructure objects, such as breaching of a large dam or flooding of a nuclear power plant. Such events are practically unrepeatable. Hence, estimating of probabilities needs to be based on all available evidence, using observations whenever possible, but also including theoretical knowledge, modeling, specific investigations, experience, or expert judgment. As a result, flood risk assessments are often associated with large uncertainties. Examples abound where authorities, people at risk, and disaster management have been taken by surprise due to unexpected failure scenarios. This is not only a consequence of the complexity of flood risk systems, but may also be attributed to cognitive biases, such as being overconfident in the risk assessment. Hence, it is essential to ask: How wrong can the risk analysis be and still guarantee that the outcome is acceptable?

Description: Under the coordination of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences the complete life-cycle of a geological storage site for CO2 has been investigated and studied in detail over the past 12 years at Ketzin near Berlin, Germany. The test site is located at the southern flank of an anticlinal structure. Beginning with an exploration phase in 2004, drilling of the first three wells took place in 2007. From June 2008 to August 2013 about 67 kt of CO2 were injected into Upper Triassic sandstones at a depth of 630 to 650 m overlain by more than 165 m of shaley cap rocks. A comprehensive operational and scientific monitoring program forms the central part of the Ketzin project targeting at the reservoir itself, its overburden or above-zone and the surface. The surface monitoring is done by continuous soil CO2 flux measurements. These already started in 2005, more than three years prior to the injection phase using a survey chamber from LI-COR Inc. Twenty sampling locations were selected in the area of the anticline covering about 3 x 3 km. In order to obtain information on seasonal trends, measurements are performed at least once a month. The data set obtained prior to the injection serves as a basis for comparison with all further measurements during the injection and storage operations [Zimmer et al., 2010]. To refine the monitoring network, eight automatic, permanent soil CO2 flux stations were additionally installed in 2011 in the direct vicinity of the boreholes. Using this system, the CO 2 soil flux is measured on an hourly basis. Over the whole monitoring time, soil temperature and moisture are recorded simultaneously and soil samples down to 70 cm depth were studied for their structure, carbon and nitrogen content. ver the whole monitoring time. Both, diurnal and seasonal flux variations can be detected and hence, provide a basis for interpretation of the measured data. Detailed analysis of the long-term monitoring at each station clearly reveals the influence of the soil composition. As most of the sampling positions are located next to agricultural roads and fields, the use of chemicals and harvesting may have an influence on the soil structure and the biology. Soil temperature, rain events and dry periods additionally affect the CO 2 flux. Moreover, the microbial controlled increased CO 2 production in early fall is also observed to depend on the actual location. Annual mean values of CO2 fluxes range from 10 to 82t ha-1 a-1. As the CO2 flux measurements significantly reflect the specific site conditions, which can vary locally and over time, long-term trends must be carefully interpreted. Hence, complementary measurements of the soil gas composition were performed at selected locations.

Description: The sea-level load in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) is described by the so called sea-level equation (SLE), which represents the mass redistribution between ice sheets and oceans on a deforming earth. Various levels of complexity of SLE have been proposed in the past, ranging from a simple mean global sea level (the so-called eu- static sea level) to the load with a deforming ocean bottom, migrating coastlines and a changing shape of the geoid. Several approaches to solve the SLE have been derived, from purely analytical formulations to fully numerical methods. Despite various teams independently investigating GIA, there has been no systematic intercomparison amongst the solvers through which the methods may be validated. The goal of this paper is to present a series of benchmark experiments designed for testing and comparing numerical implementations of the SLE. Our approach starts with simple load cases even though the benchmark will not result in GIA predictions for a realistic loading scenario. In the longer term we aim for a benchmark with a realistic loading scenario, and also for benchmark solutions with rotational feedback. The current benchmark uses an earth model for which Love numbers have been computed and benchmarked in Spada et al (2011). In spite of the significant differences in the numerical methods employed, the test computations performed so far show a satisfactory agreement between the results provided by the participants. The differences found can often be attributed to the different approximations inherent to the various algorithms.

Description: The South Atlantic geomagnetic Anomaly (SAA) is known as a region of the geomagnetic field that is approximately 25 T in intensity, compared to an expected value of 43 T. Geomagnetic field models do not find evidence for the SAA being a persistent feature of the geomagnetic field, however these models are constructed from paleomagnetic data that is sparse in the southern hemisphere. We present a full-vector paleomagnetic study of 40Ar/39Ar dated Late Pleistocene lavas from Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean (Shah et al., 2016; EPSL). Paleointensity estimations using the Thellier method of eight lava flows yield an average paleointensity of the Tristan da Cunha lavas as 18 6 T and an average virtual axial dipole moment (VADM) of 3.1 1.2 1022 Am2. Comparing the VADM of the lava flows against the PADM2M, PINT and SINT-800 databases indicates that the lava flows represent four distinct periods of anomalously weak intensity in the South Atlantic between 43 and 90 ka ago, constrained by newly obtained 40Ar/39Ar ages. This anomalously weak intensity in the Late Pleistocene is similar to the present-day SAA and SAA-like anomalous behavior found in the recent archeomagnetic study by Tarduno et al. (2015; Nat. Commun.). Our dataset provides evidence for the persistence or recurrence of geomagnetic main field anomalies in the South Atlantic, and potentially indicates such anomalies are the geomagnetic field manifestation of the long-existing core-mantle boundary heterogeneity seismically identified as the African Large Low Velocity Shear Province (LLSVP).

Description: The dataset contains the results of airborne gravimetry realized by the GEOHALO flight mission over Italy in 2012. The intention was to show whether and how an efficient airborne gravity field determination is feasible in wide areas when using a fast jet aircraft like HALO at higher altitudes. Here, unlike in airborne gravimetry for exploration purposes, the aim is not primarily to reach the highest spatial resolution by flying as low and slowly as possible. A challenge for HALO would be to map areas (e.g., Antarctica) where only insufficient or no terrestrial gravity data are available to achieve a resolution which is better than that of satellite-only gravity field models. This is beneficial for the generation of global gravity field models which require a uniform, high spatial resolution for the gravity data over the entire Earth. The raw gravimetry recordings were recorded by the GFZ air-marine gravimeter Chekan-AM. Kinematic vertical accelerations were calculated from Doppler observations which were derived by GNSS carrier phase measurements (1 Hz). To remove the high-frequency noise, a low-pass filter with a cut-off wavelength of 200 s (corresponding to a half-wavelength resolution of approximately 12 km) was applied to both the Chekan-AM measurements and GNSS kinematic accelerations. To investigate how future airborne gravity campaigns using jet aircraft could be optimized, a dedicated flight track was repeated two times which shows that the equipment worked well also at higher altitude and speed. For the accuracy analysis 17 crossover points could be used. This analysis yielded a RMS of the gravity differences of 1.4 mGal which, according to the law of error propagation, implies an accuracy of a single measurement to be 1 mGal. The dataset is provided in as ASCII text (Lu-et-al_2017-001_Tracks_GEOHALO.txt) and is described in the README. For a detailed description of the set-up and analysis of the data, please see Biao et al. (2017, http://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB014425).

Description: This study aims to investigate the present-day stress field in the Outokumpu area, eastern Finland, using interpretation of borehole failure on acoustic image logs in a 2516 m deep hole. Two main objectives of this study are: i. to constrain the orientation of maximum horizontal stress by mapping the occurrence of stress-induced deformation features using two sets of borehole televiewer data, which were collected in 2006 and 2011; and ii. to investigate whether any time dependent deformation of the borehole wall has occurred (creep). The Outokumpu deep hole was drilled during 2004-2005 to study deep structures and seismic reflectors within the Outokumpu formation and conducted within the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). The hole was continuously core-drilled into Paleoproterozoic formation of metasediments, ophiolite-derived altered ultrabasic rocks and pegmatitic granite. In 2006 and 2011 two downhole logging campaigns were performed by the Operational Support Group of ICDP to acquire a set of geophysical data. Here we focus on a specific downhole logging measurement, the acoustic borehole televiewer (BHTV), to determine the present-day stress field in the Outokumpu area. We constrain the orientation and magnitude of in situ stress tensor based on borehole wall failures detected along a 2516 m deep hole. Horizontal stress orientation was determined by interpreting borehole breakouts (BBs) and drilling-induced tensile fractures (DIFs) from BHTV logs. BBs are stress-induced enlargements of the borehole cross section and occur in two opposite zones at angles around the borehole where the wellbore stress concentration (hoop stress) exceeds the value required to cause compressive failure of intact rock. DIFs are caused by tensile failure of the borehole wall and form at two opposite spots on the borehole where the stress concentration is lower than the tensile strength of the rock. This occurs at angles 90 apart from the center of the breakout zone. Acoustic imaging logs provide a high-resolution oriented picture of the borehole wall that allows for the direct observation of BBs, which appear as two almost vertical swaths on the borehole image separated by 180. BBs show poor sonic reflectivity and long travel times due to the many small brittle fractures and the resulting spalling. DIFs appear as two narrow stripes of low reflectivity separated by 180º and typically sub-parallel or slightly inclined to the borehole axis. The analysis of these images shows a distinct compressive failure area consistent with major geological and tectonic lineaments of the area. Deviations from this trend reflect local structural perturbations. Additionally, the 2006 and 2011 dataset are used to compare the changes of breakout geometry and to quantify the growth of the breakouts in this time span from differences in width, length and depth to estimate the magnitude of the horizontal stress tensors. Our study contributes to understand the structure of the shallow crust in the Outokumpu area by defining the current stress field. Furthermore, a detailed understanding of the regional stress field is a fundamental contribution in several research areas such as exploration and exploitation of underground resources, and geothermal reservoir studies.

Description: In view of the persistently dynamic changes which digitization entails for all areas of science, the need for a structure for networking, coordinating and taking action as exemplified by the Alliance Initiative remains as high as ever. The successful cooperation of Science Organizations in Germany in the Alliance Initiative will therefore be maintained for 2018 to 2022. The basis of the cooperation is explained in the present mission statement Shaping digital transformation in science. “Digital Information” Initiative by the Alliance of Science Organizations in Germany 2018 — 2022. The mission statement describes the principles and aspirations of the Alliance Initiative (Chapter 1), outlines the starting point and the thematic environment into which the Initiative fits in the third period of its cooperation (Chapter 2) and identifies the fields of action for digital transformation in science as well as the resulting potential priorities for the “Digital Information” Alliance Initiative (Chapter 3).

Description: In this article, the concept of Fatigue Hydraulic Fracturing (FHF) is described, and its geothermal application is discussed. The basic idea behind fatigue fracturing is to vary the effective stress magnitudes at the fracture tip to optimize fracture initiation and growth. The optimization process can include lowering seismic radiated energy and/or generating fracture networks with various geometry and permeability. Historically, we start referring to results from mechanical laboratory core testing, discrete element simulation of fluid-induced seismicity, and application of cyclic water-fracs at the enhanced geothermal system site Groß-Schönebeck, Germany. Then, an in situ experiment at Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory is summarized to bridge the gap between laboratory core testing and wellbore-size hydraulic fracture treatments in hard rock. Three different fluid injection schemes (continuous, progressive and pulse injection) are tested underground in naturally fractured, crystalline rock mass in terms of associated induced seismicity and permeability performance. Under controlled conditions, hydraulic fractures are extended to about 20–40 m2 in size from a 28 m long, horizontal borehole drilled from a tunnel at 410 m depth. The facture process is mapped by an extensive array of acoustic emission and micro-seismic monitoring instruments. Results from three water-injection tests in Ävrö granodiorite indicate that the fracture breakdown pressure in tendency becomes lower and the number of fluid-induced seismic events becomes less when continuous, conventional fluid injection is replaced by progressive fluid-injection with several phases of depressurization simulating the fatigue treatment. One reason for this may be that in the dynamic, fatigue treatment a larger fracture process zone is generated compared to the size of the fluid pressurized zone developing during the injection phases into crystalline rock. We see mine-scale tests with hybrid sensor arrays of importance to identify and understand the actual hydraulic fracture mechanisms in hard rock. In addition, the mesoscale data obtained underground allow downscaling to laboratory core results, and upscaling to borehole reservoir stimulation results.

Description: This brochure is designed for scientists and engineers of upcoming drilling projects and explains the key steps and important challenges in planning and executing continental scientific drilling.

Description: The multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) offers promising potential for the retrieval of real-time (RT) atmospheric parameters to support time-critical meteorological applications, such as nowcasting or regional short-term forecasts. In this study, we processed GNSS data from the globally distributed Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) network of about 30 ground stations by using the precise point positioning (PPP) technique for retrieving RT multi-GNSS tropospheric delays. RT satellite orbit and clock product streams from the International GNSS Service (IGS) were used. Meanwhile, we assessed the quality of clock and orbit products provided by different IGS RT services, called CLK01, CLK81, CLK92, GFZC2, and GFZD2, respectively. Using the RT orbit and clock products, the performances of the RT zenith total delays (ZTD) retrieved from single-system as well as from multi-GNSS combined observations were evaluated by comparing with the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) final troposphere products. With the addition of multi-GNSS observations, RT ZTD estimates with higher accuracy and enhanced reliability compared to the single-system solution can be obtained. Compared with the Global Positioning System (GPS)-only solution, the improvements in the initialization time of ZTD estimates are about 5.8% and 8.1% with the dual-system and the four-system combinations, respectively. The RT ZTD estimates retrieved with the GFZC2 products outperform those derived from the other IGS-RT products. In the GFZC2 solution, the accuracy of about 5.05 mm for the RT estimated ZTD can be achieved with fixing station coordinates. The results also confirm that the accuracy improvement (about 22.2%) can be achieved for the real-time estimated ZTDs by using multi-GNSS observables, compared to the GPS-only solution. In the multi-GNSS solution, the accuracy of real-time retrieved ZTDs can be improved by a factor of up to 2.7 in the fixing coordinate mode, compared with that in the kinematic mode.

Description: The International Geo Sample Number (IGSN) is a globally unique persistent identifier (PID) for physical samples that provides discovery functionality of digital sample descriptions via the internet. In this article we describe the implementation of a registration service for IGSNs of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. This includes the adaption of the metadata schema developed within the context of the System for Earth Sample Registration (SESAR1) to better describe the complex sample hierarchy of drilling cores, core sections and samples of scientific drilling projects. Our case study is the COSC-1 expedition2 (Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides) supported by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program3 (ICDP). COSC-1 prompted for the first time in ICDP’s history to assign and register IGSNs during an on-going drilling campaign preserving the original parent-child relationship of the sample objects. IGSN-associated data and metadata are distributed and shared with the world wide community through novel web portals, one of which is currently evolving as part of ICDP’s collaborative efforts within the GFZ Potsdam and researchers from ICDP’s COSC clientele. Thus, COSC-1 can be considered as a ‘Prime-Example’ for ICDP projects to further improve the quality of scientific research output through a transparent process of producing and managing large quantities of data as they are normally acquired during a typical scientific drilling operation. The IGSN is an important new player in the general publication landscape that can be cited in scholarly literature and also cross-referenced in DOI-bearing scholarly and data publications.

Description: The dithiol functionalized UiO-66-(SH)2 is developed as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of mercury in aqueous media. Important parameters for the application of MOFs in real-life circumstances include: stability and recyclability of the adsorbents, selectivity for the targeted Hg species in the presence of much higher concentrations of interfering species, and ability to purify wastewater below international environmental limits within a short time. We show that UiO-66-(SH)2 meets all these criteria.

Description: The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) is an active volcanic chain being deformed by an intra-arc extensional fault network. Although several crustal earthquakes with magnitude〉7 have originated in the TMVB since the 16th century, the background seismicity of this geological structure is very low and the region is usually considered of low seismic hazard. In this study, we present an updated probabilistic seismic hazard model of the TMVB. The seismicity catalog used here includes forty- three historically and instrumentally recorded earthquakes, from 1858 to 2014; five of these are large earthquakes that occurred in the TMVB during the XIXth century. Due to the lack of a statically representative sample, we propose, in a qualitative manner, the seismicity catalog is complete for M≥4 since 1964 and for M≥6 since 1858. Moreover, we introduce three different earthquake frequency-magnitude relations. The first one is a conventional Gutenberg Richter fit of the distribution of the instrumentally recorded earthquakes data. The other two are non-conventional, semi-parametric approaches that integrate the historical and the instrumental data to determine seismicity rates in the region. Our preferred model (seismicity model B) fits separately the instrumental and the historical data and merge the two fits into one curve. A uniform seismic hazard (USH) of the TMVB for a return period of 500 years was calculated considering three major sources of earthquakes: 1) Subduction thrust-faulting events in the Middle American Trench (MAT); 2) Earthquakes within the subducted Cocos plate and, 3) Shallow crustal earthquakes in the TMVB. According to the seismicity model B, the average recurrence time of a M≥7 earthquake on the TMVB is approximately 150 years. In contrast, the recurrence time estimated from the instrumental catalog is 12,000 years. The results of this seismicity model, which is based on historical and instrumental data, agrees also with the return periods of prehistoric earthquakes, estimated for short segments of the fault system in the TMVB in paleoseismological studies. When comparing the results of our preferred seismicity model, the PGA estimated using only the instrumental seismicity are 18 to 56% smaller than those predicted by the model using the historical catalog.

Description: Transpiration is a key process in the hydrological cycle and a sound understanding and quantification of transpiration and its spatial variability is essential for management decisions as well as for improving the parameterisation of hydrological and soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer models. For individual trees, transpiration is commonly estimated by measuring sap flow. Besides evaporative demand and water availability, tree-specific characteristics such as species, size or social status control sap flow amounts of individual trees. Within forest stands, properties such as species composition, basal area or stand density additionally affect sap flow, for example via competition mechanisms. Finally, sap flow patterns might also be influenced by landscape-scale characteristics such as geology, slope position or aspect because they affect water and energy availability; however, little is known about the dynamic interplay of these controls. We studied the relative importance of various tree-, stand- and site-specific characteristics with multiple linear regression models to explain the variability of sap velocity measurements in 61 beech and oak trees, located at 24 sites spread over a 290 km2-catchment in Luxembourg. For each of 132 consecutive days of the growing season of 2014 we modelled the daily sap velocities of these 61 trees and determined the importance of the different predictors. Results indicate that a combination of tree-, stand- and site-specific factors controls sap velocity patterns in the landscape, namely tree species, tree diameter, the stand density, geology and aspect. Compared to these predictors, spatial variability of atmospheric demand and soil moisture explains only a small fraction of the variability in the daily datasets. However, the temporal dynamics of the explanatory power of the tree-specific characteristics, especially species, are correlated to the temporal dynamics of potential evaporation. Thus, transpiration estimates at the landscape scale would benefit from not only considering hydro-meteorological drivers, but also including tree, stand and site characteristics in order to improve the spatial representation of transpiration for hydrological and soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer models.

Description: Current scientific methods and engineering practice in flood risk assessment do not consider the full complexity of flood risk systems. Fundamental spatio-temporal dependencies, interactions and feedbacks need to be addressed to comprehensively quantify the effects of measures at various levels, ranging from local technical to high-level policy options. As each flood is unique, each event offers an unparalleled opportunity to collect data and to gain insights into system’s behavior under extreme conditions potentially revealing exceptional circumstances, unexpected failures and cascading effects, and thus a chance to learn and to improve methods and models. To make use of this the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network ‘System-Risk’ (www.systemrisk. eu) establishes a Flood Task Force (FTF) that aims to learn about successful practical approaches, but also potential pitfalls and failures in the management of real flood events. The FTF consists of an interdisciplinary group of researchers who will apply in situ their latest methods and knowledge of e.g. how the event developed, how the risk management responded, and what the consequences were. This multi-layered perspective is intended to deepen the understanding of the complexity of flood risk systems as for instance in terms of interactions between hazard, the natural and the built environment, societal institutions and coping capacities. This contribution gives an overview of the conceptual approach to the System-Risk FTF.

Description: The Rittershoffen deep geothermal reservoir, in Northeastern France, is well characterized and has been extensively studied by a multidisciplinary approach. A hydraulic stimulation for the development of the geothermal reservoir was performed in June 2013. This injection of fluid led to seismic activity which was closely monitored by a dedicated set of seismic stations. The seismic sequence started during the injection but showed an unusual long quiet period of 4 d after shut-in before the occurrence of a second swarm of events. Here we take the opportunity of this well-monitored activity to gain insight into the geomechanical factors favouring the development of induced earthquakes. We apply a template matching approach and a relative relocation procedure to obtain a precise estimate of the geometries of the activated structures. Our approach shows that the induced events during the injection took place on two parallel planar structures. It shows that details of the seismicity generally obtained from borehole seismic network are achievable from surface network when an appropriate analysis is performed. The development of this induced seismicity is in good agreement with the known stress field and failure criterion proposed for the reservoir. In particular, the orientation of the activated structure, associated focal mechanisms and the overpressure needed to initiate the seismic activity are all in line with the geomechanical model of the area. The swarm of delayed events, 4 d after shut-in, can be well explained by considering an aseismic slip on the imaged fault and the related static stress transfer. We therefore suggest that the ability to monitor local slow aseismic movements at depth, in conjunction with precise tracking of the seismicity, is of primary importance to understand induced earthquake activity.

Description: Pluvial floods have caused severe damage to urban dwellings in Europe and elsewhere in recent years. These type of flood events are caused by storm events with exceptionally high rainfall rates, which lead to inundation of streets and buildings and are commonly associated with a failure of the urban drainage system. Therefore, pluvial floods often happen with little warning and in areas that are not obviously prone to flooding. With a predicted increase in extreme weather events as well as an ongoing urbanization, pluvial flood damage is expected to increase in the future. So far little research was done on the adverse consequences of pluvial floods, as empirical damage data of pluvial flooding is scarce. Therefore, a newly developed survey tool to assess pluvial flood damage as well as the results of a comparison between two international pluvial flood case studies are presented. The questionnaire used in the two study areas was developed with the aim to create a harmonized transnational pluvial flood damage survey that can potentially be extended to other European countries. New indicator variables have been developed to account for different national and regional standards in building structure, early warning, socio-economic data and recovery. The surveys comprise interviews with 510 households in the Münster area (Germany) and 349 households in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), which were affected by the heavy rainfall events on July 28 2014. The respondents were asked more than 80 questions about the damage to their building structure and contents, as well as on topics such as early warning, emergency and precautionary measures, building properties and hazard characteristics. A comparison of the two surveys revealed strong similarities concerning damage reducing effects and the popularity of precautionary measures, besides significant differences between the mean water levels inside the house as well as the median of the building structure and content damage. A comparison between the relative damage contributions for different entry points of water into the house indicates an effect of regional distinctions in building topology on the total damage. The results of this comparison give important insights for the development and transferability of pluvial flood damage models.

Description: Volcanic reservoirs are becoming increasingly important in the targeting of petroleum, geothermal and water resources globally. However, key areas of uncertainty in relation to volcanic reservoir properties during burial in different settings remain. In this contribution, we present results from borehole logging and sampling operations within two fully cored c. 1.5 km deep boreholes, PTA2 and KMA1, from the Humu[U+02BB]ula saddle region on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The boreholes were drilled as part of the Humu’ula Groundwater Research Project (HGRP) between 2013-2016 and provide unique insights into the evolution of pore structure with increasing burial in a basaltic dominated lava sequence. The boreholes encounter mixed sequences of ‘a’¯a, p¯ahoehoe and transitional lava flows along with subsidiary intrusions and sediments from the shield to post-shield phases of Mauna Kea. Borehole wireline data including sonic, spectral gamma and Televiewer imagery were collected along with density, porosity, permeability and ultrasonic velocity laboratory measurements from core samples. A range of intra-facies were sampled for analysis from various depths within the two boreholes. By comparison with core data, the potential for high resolution Televiewer imaging to reveal spectacular intra-facies features including individual vesicles, vesicle segregations, ‘a’¯a rubble zones, intrusive contacts, and intricate p¯ahoehoe lava flow lobe morphologies is demonstrated. High quality core data enables the calibration of Televiewer facies enabling improved interpretation of volcanic reservoir features in the more common exploration scenario where core is absent. Laboratory results record the ability of natural vesicular basalt samples to host very high porosity (〉50%) and permeability (〉10 darcies) within lava flow top facies which we demonstrate are associated with vesicle coalescence and not micro-fractures. These properties may be maintained to depths of c. 1.5 km in regions of limited alteration and secondary mineralization and, therefore, additional to fractures, may comprise important fluid pathways at depth. Alteration and porosity occlusion by secondary minerals is highly vertically compartmentalized and does not increase systematically with depth, implying a strong but heterogeneous lateral component in the migration and effects of hydrothermal fluids in these systems. The distribution and timing of dyke feeder zones coupled with the scale and spatial distribution of lava flows making up the lava pile form first order influences on the preservation potential of volcanic reservoir properties during burial. Our results demonstrate the complex relationship between the primary hydrogeology of lava flow fields and the resulting effects of hydrothermal fluid circulation on reservoir property evolution with burial.

Description: IGGT_R1 is a static gravity field model based on the second invariant of the GOCE gravitational gradient tensor, up to degree and order 240. Based on tensor theory, three invariants of the gravitational gradient tensor (IGGT) are independent of the gradiometer reference frame (GRF). Compared to traditional methods for calculation of gravity field models based on GOCE data, which are affected by errors in the attitude indicator, using IGGT and least squares method avoids the problem of inaccurate rotation matrices. IGGT_R1 is the first experiment to use this method to build a real gravity field model by using GOCE gravitational gradients. This new model has been developed by Wuhan University (WHU), GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Technical University of Berlin (TUB), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and Zhengzhou Information Engineering University (IEU). More details about the gravity field model IGGT_R1 is given in our paper “The gravity field model IGGT_R1 based on the second invariant of the GOCE gravitational gradient tensor” (Lu et al., 2017, http://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-017-1089-8). This work is supported by the Chinese Scholarship Council (No. 201506270158), the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41104014, 41131067, 41374023, 41474019 and 41504013) and the Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment and Geodesy, Ministry Education, Wuhan University (No. 16-02-07).

Description: Atmospheric CO2 and global climate are closely coupled. Since 800 ka CO2 concentrations have been up to 50% higher during interglacial compared to glacial periods. Because of its dependence on temperature, humidity, and erosion rates, chemical weathering of exposed silicate minerals was suggested to have dampened these cyclic variations of atmospheric composition. Cooler and drier conditions and lower non-glacial erosion rates suppressed in situ chemical weathering rates during glacial periods. However, using systematic variations in major element geochemistry, Sr–Nd isotopes and clay mineral records from Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1143 and 1144 in the South China Sea spanning the last 1.1 Ma, we show that sediment deposited during glacial periods was more weathered than sediment delivered during interglacials. We attribute this to subaerial exposure and weathering of unconsolidated shelf sediments during glacial sealevel lowstands. Our estimates suggest that enhanced silicate weathering of tropical shelf sediments exposed during glacial lowstands can account for ∼9% of the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere during the glacial and thus represent a significant part of the observed glacial–interglacial variation of ∼80 ppmv. As a result, if similar magnitudes can be identified in other tropical shelf-slope systems, the effects of increased sediment exposure and subsequent silicate weathering during lowstands could have potentially enhanced the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 during cold stages of the Quaternary. This in turn would have caused an intensification of glacial cycles.

Description: We present updated tomographic results obtained using seismic data recorded around geothermal reservoirs located both on-land Reykjanes, SW-Iceland and offshore along Reykjanes Ridge. We gathered records from a network of 234 seismic stations (including 24 Ocean Bottom Seismometers) deployed between April 2014 and August 2015. In order to determine the orientation of the OBS stations, we used Rayleigh waves planar particle motions from large magnitude earthquakes. This method proved suitable using the on-land stations: orientations determined us- ing this method with the orientations measured using a giro-compass agreed. We focus on the 3D velocity images using local earthquakes to perform travel time tomography. The processing in- cludes first arrival picking of P- and S- phases using an automatic detection and picking technique based on Akaike Information Criteria. We locate earthquakes by using a non-linear localization technique, as a priori information for deriving a 1D velocity model. We then computed 3D velocity model by joint inversion of each earthquake’s lo- cation and velocity lateral anomalies with respect to the 1D model. Our models confirms previous models obtained in the area, with enhanced details. In a second step, we performed inversion of the Vp/Vs ratio. Results indicate a low Vp/Vs ratio anomaly at depth suggesting the absence of large magmatic body under Reykjanes, unlike results obtained at other geothermal field, sucha as Krafla and Hengill. We discuss implications of those results in the light of recent IDDP drilling in Reykjanes.

Description: Palaeoclimate reconstruction on the northern Tibetan Plateau resulted in a large spectrum of different and partly divergent interpretations for the climate evolution during the late glacial and the Holocene. In some cases this is caused by incomplete understanding of the geomorphological processes influencing the different proxies used. To overcome these limitations and to enhance the understanding of the complex process interactions in a sensitive and highly dynamical environment a detailed analysis of different members of the sedimentary system at Lake Heihai on the northern Tibetan Plateau was conducted. Lake level variations during the late Pleistocene were influenced by sediment supply to an alluvial fan. This sediment surplus resulted in the temporary blocking of the outflow of Lake Heihai. High sediment supply presumably occurred during or shortly after large glaciations in the Kunlun Shan. The spatial distribution of aeolian sediments revealed a strong relationship to possible source areas. This resulted in a spatially heterogeneous distribution of the aeolian sediments. Furthermore, topographic effects have an important influence on the preservation of the sediments. Aeolian sediments deposited in sheltered positions might not be comparable with other archives with a similar grain size. Nevertheless, deposition of loess during the mid-Holocene indicates a shift to wetter climate conditions on the northern Tibetan Plateau. This might be caused by the intrusion of the East Asian Summer monsoon into the area. During the late Holocene, the Asian summer monsoon retreated and aeolian sediments were reactivated.

Description: Earthquakes of low to intermediate magnitudes are a commonly observed feature of continental rifting and particularly in regions of Quaternary to Recent volcanism such as in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). Although the seismic hazard is estimated to be less in the Hawassa region of the MER than further north and south, a significant earthquake occurred on the 24th January 2016 in the Hawassa caldera basin and close to the Corbetti volcanic complex. The event was felt up to 100 km away and caused structural damage and public anxiety in the city of Hawassa itself. In this paper we first refine the earthquake's location using data from global network and Ethiopian network stations. The resulting location is at 7.0404°N, 38.3478°E and at 4.55 km depth, which suggests that the event occurred on structures associated with the caldera collapse of the Hawassa caldera in the early Pleistocene and not through volcano-tectonic processes at Corbetti. We calculate local and moment magnitudes, which are magnitude scales more appropriate at regional hypocentral distances than (mb) at four stations. This is done using a local scale (attenuation term) previously determined for the MER and spectral analysis for ML and MW respectively and gives magnitude estimates of 4.68 and 4.29. The event indicates predominantly normal slip on a N-S striking fault structure, which suggests that slip continues to occur on Wonji faults that have exploited weaknesses inherited from the preceding caldera collapse. These results and two previous earthquakes in the Hawassa caldera of M 〉 5 highlight that earthquakes continue to pose a risk to structures within the caldera basin. With this in mind, it is suggested that enhanced monitoring and public outreach should be considered.

Description: Harrat Rahat (,10 Ma) is one of the largest volcanic fields on western Arabia. In the north of the field, some of the youngest volcanic centres evolved through either point-like, complex or multiple aligned vents (i.e. along fissures), and have pyroclastic cones, lapilli fall deposits and/ or lava flows associated with them. The products reflect dominantly Hawaiian eruptions, and only one centre experienced phreatomagmatism. Results from new 3He surface-exposure dating provide constraints on stratigraphy of the youngest (,0.3 Ma) products. The rocks are compositionally alkali-basalt and hawaiite, with intra-plate basalt (prevalent mantle (PREMA)) affinity. Each eruption displays a distinct whole-rock composition in an overall linear trend. We suggest that the magma source for each centre is similar, and that composition of the products is different due to different degrees of fractionation. In a single eruption, the magma that reaches the surface first is the least evolved, with the most evolved magma erupting last. We also found that the most primitive magmas erupt less explosively. We think that the degree of magma evolution might correlate with ascent times, assuming that the more evolved magma spent more time en route.We suggest that magma ascent time is likely to be longer than that of other more primitive intra-plate basalts.

Description: A severe flash flood event hit the town of Braunsbach (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) on the evening of May 29, 2016, heavily damaging and destroying several dozens of buildings. It was only one of several disastrous events in Central Europe caused by the low-pressure system “Elvira”. The DFG Research Training Group “Natural hazards and risks in a changing world” (NatRiskChange, GRK 2043/1) at the University of Potsdam investigated the Braunsbach flash flood. In this context damage data for 94 affected buildings, describing building characteristics, the degree of impact and the caused damage, were collected ten days after the flood event and provide the basis for damage assessment studies (Agarwal et al., 2017; Laudan et al., 2017, Vogel et al., 2017). The multi-polygon maps provide flood loss in EUR for residential land use areas according to the ATKIS (Authoritative Topographic Cartographic Information System) codes residential areas (2111) and areas of mixed use (2113), (BKG GEODATENZENTRUM: ATKIS-Basis-DLM, 2005). Loss values are calculated using the FloodLossEstimationMOdel for the residential sector (FLEMOps+r) developed by Elmer et al. (2010) in combination with exposure data based on total replacement costs for residential buildings (Kleist et al., 2006). Asset values with a spatial resolution corresponding to the underlying inundation depth maps of the stochastic event set (100x100 m) have been derived by applying a binary disaggregation method and using the digital basic landscape model ATKIS as ancillary information (Wünsch et al. 2009). The flood event sets are derived for the historical period (1970-1990) and two RCPs (4.5 and 8.5) for the near future (2020-2049) and far future (2070-2099) for four CORDEX models. These flood event sets are created within continuous long-term simulations of a coupled model chain including the IMAGE stochastic multi-variable, multi-site weather generator, the eco-hydrological model SWIM and 1D river network coupled with 2D hydro-numeric hinterland inundation model, see Schröter et al. (2017) for further details The data have been produced within the OASIS+ demonstrator project 'Future Danube Multi Hazard and Risk Model' funded by Climate-KIC in the period from January 2016 to December 2017. Key features: • Flood loss maps for residential areas in the German part of the Danube catchment from stochastic flood event sets for current and future climate. • High spatial resolution for ATKIS residential land use areas intersected with 100x100 m inundation depth maps. • Flood loss scenarios for historical period (1970-1990) and two RCPs (4.5 and 8.5) for the near future (2020-2049) and far future (2070-2099) from four CORDEX models Key usage: • Large-scale flood risk assessment • Future flood risk assessment • Flood risk management with long-term perspective A full description of the data provenance and specification is given in the README_Schroeter-et-al-2017-004.txt file available in the data download section at this DOI Landing Page.

Description: Understanding heat transport in the subsurface requires assessing the impact of different flow and heat transport processes. Of these, conductive heat transport may be influenced by advective and convective transients in the upper few km of the crust. A major problem in quantifying this influence using geothermal modelling is the lack of knowledge on the thermal and hydraulic conditions at the model boundaries. In addition the different transport mechanisms may affect the system to different degrees. Conductive heat transport is mainly controlled by the distribution of thermal properties (e.g. thermal conductivity, radiogenic heat production) and by variations of heat input from the crust and the mantle. In response to these variations, large temperature differences may be present at a certain constant depth level. Advective heat transport, is related to regional flow pattern in the porous geological units of the subsurface, the dynamics of which are controlled by the regional structural and hydrogeological setting. To assess the local dynamics of a geothermal reservoir it is therefore necessary to consider the different influencing factors accordingly in order to make predictions on reservoir performance in case of its utilization. We present a workflow to overcome this scale problem for 3D geothermal modelling and we illustrate how such a workflow can be successful by its application to a system of an intracontinental basin going from the lithosphere-scale to the scale of a geological reservoir.

Description: Decreasing production rates and massive precipitation of native copper (Cu(0)) were observed in the production well at the geothermal research facility Groß Schönebeck (Germany). The Cu precipitates filling up the well are a product of an electrochemical corrosion reaction between dissolved copper (Cu2+, Cu+) in the brine and iron (Fe(0)) of the carbon steel liner. It was hypothesized that this reaction occurs not only within the borehole, but also on the outside of the casing at contact between casing and reservoir rock as well as in the pores of the reservoir rock. To verify the assumption of potential clogging of the rock pores as well as to quantify the reaction and to determine reaction kinetics, a flowthrough experiment was designed mimicking the reaction at depth of the well between sandstone samples (24 cm3 Fontainebleau), steel (carbon steel or stainless steel), and artificial formation water containing 1 mM Cu2+ a toxic or anoxic (O2 〈 0.2 mg/L) conditions in dependence of temperature and salinity. Obtained experimental data served as input for a numerical reaction model to deepen the process understanding and that ultimately should be used to predict processes in the geothermal reservoir. Results showed that (1) with increasing temperature, the reaction rate of the electrochemical reaction increased. (2) High amounts of sodium and calcium chloride (NaCl + CaCl2) in the solution decreased the overall reaction inasmuch more Fe and less Cu was measured in the salt-poor solutions over time. (3) Strongest oxidation was observed in oxic experiments when not only native copper but also iron hydroxides were identified after the experiments in the pore space of the rock samples. (4) No reaction products were observed when stainless steel was used instead of carbon steel to react with the Cu2+ solution. A numerical flow-through reactor model was developed for PHREEQC based on the assumption that Fe(0) corrosion is kinetically controlled and subsequent Cu(0) precipitation occurs in thermodynamic equilibrium within the investigated experimental set-up. Calculated coefficients of determination comparing measured and simulated reaction rates for Fe and Cu underline the validity of the approach.

Description: Sustainable water resources management needs to be based on sound process understanding. This is especially true in a changing world, where boundary conditions change and models calibrated to the status quo are no longer helpful. There is a general agreement in the hydrologic community that we are in need of a better process understanding and that one of the most promising ways to achieve this is by using nested experimental designs that cover a range of scales. In the here presented study we argue that while we might be able to investigate a certain process at a plot or hillslope in detail, the real power of advancing our understanding lies in site intercomparison and if possible knowledge transfer and generalization. The experimental design of the CAOS observatory is based on sensor clusters measuring ground-, soil and stream water, sap flow and climate variables in 45 hydrological functional units which were chosen from a matrix of site characteristics (geology, land use, hillslope aspect, and topographic positions). This design allows for site intercomparisons that are based on more than one member per class and thus does not only characterize between class differences but also attempts to identify within-class variability. These distributed plot scale investigations offer a large amount of information on plot scale processes and their variability in space and time (e.g. water storage dynamics and patterns, vertical flow processes and vadose zone transit times, transpiration dynamics and patterns). However, if we want to improve our understanding of runoff generation (and thus also of nutrient and contaminant transport and export to the stream) we need to also understand how these plots link up within hillslopes and how and when these hillslopes are connected to the stream. And certainly, this is again most helpful if we do not focus on single sites but attempt experimental designs that aim at intercomparison and generalization. At the same time, the investigation of hillslope-stream connectivity is extremely challenging due to the fact that there is a high 4-dimensional variability of the involved processes and most of them are hidden from view in the subsurface. To tackle this challenge we employed a number of different field methods ranging from hillslope scale irrigation and flow-through experiments, to in depth analyses of near stream piezometer responses and stream reach tracer experiments, and then moving on to the mesoscale catchment with network wide investigations of spatial patterns of stream temperature and electric conductivity as well as of the expansion and shrinkage of the network itself. In this presentation we will provide an overview of the rationale, approach, experimental design and ongoing work, the challenges we encountered and a synthesis of exemplary results.

Description: Tourmaline is a common accessory mineral in the metasedimentary Pfitsch Formation located in the Pfitscher Joch (Passo de Vizze) area in the Tauern Window of the Eastern Alps. These post-Variscan metasedimentary units experienced peak metamorphic conditions of ~ 550 °C, 1.0 GPa during the Alpine orogeny. Tourmaline is most abundant in a ~ 25 m thick unit of feldspathic gneiss (~ 20–200 μg/g B), where it occurs as idiomorphic crystals typically 10 mm in length. The abundance and size of the tourmaline crystals increase near coarse-grained quartzofeldspathic segregations (~ 1200 μg/g B), reflecting the mobilization and concentration of B by metamorphic fluids. Near segregations, individual tourmaline crystals have up to three growth zones, recording pro- (~ 350–500 °C, 0.7–1.0 GPa) and retrograde (~ 400 °C, 0.2 GPa) growth as determined by combining textural information and sector-zoning thermometry. Retrograde tourmaline occurs as individual crystals as well as overgrowths on prograde tourmaline crystals, especially on the surface of extensional fractures formed by E–W extension during regional decompression. Tourmaline in the Pfitsch Formation is dravitic with a variable Fe content that correlates with the Fe content of its respective host unit. Charge balance calculations suggest that a significant proportion of Fe in tourmaline is ferric, supporting the interpretation of a subaerial continental sedimentary protolith. Tourmaline near segregations has the highest inferred ferric iron content, which decreases across growth zones, potentially reflecting a reduction of the fluid during metamorphism. The Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio increases with prograde tourmaline growth and decreases in retrograde overgrowths. In contrast, the Ca/(Ca + Na) ratio increases gradually from 0.05 to 0.20 with prograde growth and continues to increase up to 0.25 in the retrograde overgrowths, recording the maximum Ca/(Ca + Na) ratio of the fluid during Alpine metamorphism. The metasediments of the Pfitsch Formation have very low and variable whole-rock δ11B values (− 14.1 to − 33.6‰), with the highest values (− 17.7 to − 14.1‰) found in B-rich samples (165–1200 μg/g B) containing abundant tourmaline, and the lowest values (− 24.2 to − 33.6‰) in B-depleted samples (21–40 μg/g), which lack tourmaline. This observation supports preferential loss of 11B from the rocks during prograde metamorphism. Zoned tourmaline crystals in the Pfitsch formation show successively decreasing B isotope ratios from − 7.8 to − 11.2‰ in their cores and − 17.3 to − 20.3‰ in their rims. As supported by a Rayleigh fractionation model, the B-isotope values of the host rocks and the tourmaline crystals are most easily explained by the internal redistribution of B from a B-rich precursor mineral (e.g. mica) to the tourmaline during Alpine metamorphism.

Description: IfE_GOCE05s is a GOCE-only global gravity field model, which was developed at the Institut für Erdmessung (IfE), Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany. The observations with a time span from 1 November 2009 to 20 October 2013 are used for the model recovery. The GOCE precise kinematic orbit with 1-s sampling rate is processed for the gravity field up to degree/order 150, while the three main diagonal gravity gradients are down-sampled to 2 s and used to recover the model up to degree/order 250. With two additional Kaula’s regularizations, the combined model “IfE_GOCE05s” is derived, with a maximum degree of 250. To develop IfE_GOCE05s, the following GOCE data (01.11.2009 - 20.10.2013) was used: * Orbits: SST_PKI_2, SST_IAQ_2; * Gradients: EGG_GGT_2, EGG_IAQ_2. None any priori gravity field information was used. Processing procedures: Gravity from orbits (SST): * Acceleration approach was applied to the kinematic orbit data; * PKI data was at 1 s sampling rate; * Model was derived up to d/o (degree/order) 150; * VCM (Variance-Covariance Matrix) was derived arc-wisely from the post-fit residuals. Gravity from gradients (SGG): * Gradients Vxx, Vyy and Vzz in the GRF (Gradiometer Reference Frame) were used; * Gradients were down-sampled to 2 s; * Model was derived up to d/o 250; * VCM was estimated arc-wisely from the post-fit residuals. Regularization: * A strong Kaula-regularization was applied to constrain the (near-)zonal coefficients that are degraded by the polar gap problem; * A slight Kaula-regularization was applied to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the coefficients between d/o 201 and 250; * The regularization parameters were empirically determined. Combined solution: * The normal equations for SST and SGG were summed wih proper weighting factors; * Weighting factors for SST and SGG were determined from variance component estimation; * A direct inversion was applied on the final normal equation.

Description: Discriminating between a creeping and a locked status of active faults is of central relevance to characterize potential rupture scenarios of future earthquakes and the associated seismic hazard for nearby population centres. In this respect, highly similar earthquakes that repeatedly activate the same patch of an active fault portion are an important diagnostic tool to identify and possibly even quantify the amount of fault creep. Here, we present a refined hypocentre catalogue for the Marmara region in northwestern Turkey, where a magnitude M up to 7.4 earthquake is expected in the near future. Based on waveform cross-correlation for selected spatial seismicity clusters, we identify two magnitude M ∼ 2.8 repeater pairs. These repeaters were identified as being indicative of fault creep based on the selection criteria applied to the waveforms. They are located below the western part of the Marmara section of the North Anatolian Fault Zone and are the largest reported repeaters for the larger Marmara region. While the eastern portion of the Marmara seismic gap has been identified to be locked, only sparse information on the deformation status has been reported for its western part. Our findings indicate that the western Marmara section deforms aseismically to a substantial extent, which reduces the probability for this region to host a nucleation point for the pending Marmara earthquake. This is of relevance, since a nucleation of the Marmara event in the west and subsequent eastward rupture propagation towards the Istanbul metropolitan region would result in a substantially higher seismic hazard and resulting risk than if the earthquake would nucleate in the east and thus propagate westward away from the population centre Istanbul.

Description: Applying probabilistic methods to infrequent but devastating natural events is intrinsically challenging. For tsunami analyses, a suite of geophysical assessments should be in principle evaluated because of the different causes generating tsunamis (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, meteorological events, and asteroid impacts) with varying mean recurrence rates. Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analyses (PTHAs) are conducted in different areas of the world at global, regional, and local scales with the aim of understanding tsunami hazard to inform tsunami risk reduction activities. PTHAs enhance knowledge of the potential tsunamigenic threat by estimating the probability of exceeding specific levels of tsunami intensity metrics (e.g., run-up or maximum inundation heights) within a certain period of time (exposure time) at given locations (target sites); these estimates can be summarized in hazard maps or hazard curves. This discussion presents a broad overview of PTHA, including (i) sources and mechanisms of tsunami generation, emphasizing the variety and complexity of the tsunami sources and their generation mechanisms, (ii) developments in modeling the propagation and impact of tsunami waves, and (iii) statistical procedures for tsunami hazard estimates that include the associated epistemic and aleatoric uncertainties. Key elements in understanding the potential tsunami hazard are discussed, in light of the rapid development of PTHA methods during the last decade and the globally distributed applications, including the importance of considering multiple sources, their relative intensities, probabilities of occurrence, and uncertainties in an integrated and consistent probabilistic framework.