ALBERT

Description: Horizontal starch gel electrophoresis was employed to investigate levels of genetic differentiation between 13 samples of the neritic squid species Loligo forbesi Steenstrup obtained from throughout the majority of its known geographical range. Six enzyme loci identified in a preliminary study as being polymorphic were screened for variation between samples. No significant differences in allele distribution were detected between any of the samples obtained from the Faroe Bank in the north to Lisbon in the south, suggesting that squid throughout this range in the vicinity of the continental shelf are able to maintain panmixia, and effectively belong to a single population sharing a common gene pool. No clinal variation in allele distribution was detected throughout this range, a result which complements the findings of a detailed morphological companion study of the same individuals. Comparison of this homogenous European continental shelf population with squid from the Azores revealed highly significant (P〈0.01) differences in allele distribution at five of the six polymorphic enzyme loci studied. A genetic identity value (I) equivalent to 0.93 over 33 loci was obtained. Analysis of F-statistics suggested migration rates between sites to be as low as one individual per five generations, a rate deemed insufficient under most models to prevent divergence by random genetic drift. The large distance and oceanic depths separating the Azores from continental Europe seem to present an effective barrier to gene flow to L. forbesi, a squid belonging to a family considered to be confined in distribution to relatively shallow, near coastal waters. The two populations of squid in the Azores and along the European continental shelf currently both ascribed to L. forbesi should therefore probably best be regarded as relative subspecies.

Description: Beak lengths (lower rostral length and upper rostral length) were taken for a sample of Moroteuthis ingens which were captured on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand. Beak lengths were plotted against both mantle length and wet weight to determine the relationship between these parameters for future use in biomass estimates in predator analysis. Although M. ingens is markedly sexually dimorphic, with females reaching 5 times the weight of males, there was no obvious sexual dimorphism in either lower or upper rostral length. This resulted in sex-specific relationships between both LRL and mantle length, LRL and weight; and URL and mantle length, and URL and weight. Males appeared to have a curvilinear relationship between beak length and mantle length and beak length and weight (even for log-transformed data). There was also considerable spread in the data in the plot between beak length and weight for females of similar weight. These characteristics of the data makes biomass estimates based on rostral length measurements for this species difficult. Other beak parameters may prove more useful for estimating biomass of M. ingens.

Description: Body size at sexual maturity, egg-size distributions, and potential reproductive output have been estimated for female and male squid, Loligo forbesi Steenstrup, off the west coast of Scotland. Two size modes at maturity were found in both sexes, but separation into size cohorts was more pronounced in males (180 and 350 mm mantle length, ML). Preliminary ageing studies based on statolith ring-counts suggest that these size modes are not due to different age groups at breeding. Females have a single size mode of mature eggs in the proximal oviduct, but may have at least two size modes of eggs within the ovary. This finding is interpreted as evidence of batch-spawning in this squid. There was a weak relationship between total egg numbers (range 1000 to 16000) and body size (range 196 to 318 mm ML) and between mature egg size and body size. Males showed a strong positive relationship between spermatophore length and body length but a weak relationship between total number of spermatophores and body size. The results are discussed in the context of flexibility of breeding strategies in the loliginids and variety of life-cycle patterns.

Description: This study assesses the potential of the tropical loliginid squid Photololigo sp. to lay multiple batches of eggs and examines changes in somatic growth during reproduction. Histological analysis of the ovary and the relative size of the oviduct to mantle weight and ovary weight were used to determine the potential for multiple spawning. Ovaries of mature females always had immature and mature oocytes present, suggesting that not all the oocytes were maturing simultaneously and that multiple batches of eggs were being produced. Furthermore, poor correlations of oviduct weight with body size and ovary weight indicated that mature oocytes were not accumulating in the oviduct for a single spawning event. Both these observations supported the hypothesis that Photololigo sp. has the potential to lay multiple batches of eggs throughout its life. Specific growth rates, length-weight relationships, relative growth of somatic and reproductive tissue and microscopic assessment of muscle tissue were compared between immature and mature females. Growth rates of immature females were almost twice as fast as those of mature females. Mature females also had no large muscle fibres present, suggesting that energy for reproduction was mobilised from the muscle tissue.

Description: The natural feeding of 485 Octopus mimus (164 to 3088 g) was studied in relation to the species' life cycle and environmental seasonal variations off the north of Chile from autumn 1991 to summer 1992. Analysis of digestive-tract contents revealed that O. mimus preyed upon 25 different prey items belonging to five zoological groups (Teleostei, Mollusca, Crustacea, Echinodermata and Polychaeta). Cannibalism was only occasional. The results indicate that the diet and food intake of this species are significantly affected by sex and maturation. Senescent individuals ingest a small amount of food, and their diet is mainly based on small, not very motile prey. The food intake, expressed as body weight, of non-senescent individuals is higher in females than in males. Seasonal changes in sea-water temperature seem to be followed by adjustments in food intake. Like other Octopus species, O. mimus appears to be an opportunistic predator.

Description: The relationship between reproduction and condition was studied in a 15 mo sample of 919 maturing, mature and post-spawning female Octopus mimus (388 to 3714 g) caught in Iquique (North Chile). O. mimus is a semelparous species, with reproduction taking place all year round. Investment in reproductive tissues was, on average, 9.9% of mature female body weight, independent of season. However, somatic growth during maturation was dependent on season and varied between 26 and 63% of the whole-body growth in weight. The condition of females did not vary markedly until spawning, although seasonal variations were apparent, winter being the most unfavourable. Condition deteriorated dramatically after spawning, during parental care of the eggs. During this period, somatic-tissue depletion, mainly from the muscles, was 〉25% of the total body weight of mature females. The fecundity of O. mimus was probably limited by the costs associated with parental care of the eggs.

Description: Based on various lines of evidence such as the widespread occurrence of basalts, pumice, volcanic glass shards and their transformational products (zeolites, palagonites, and smectite-rich sediments), we suggest the presence of a volcanic province in the Central Indian Basin (CIB). In addition to the rocks studied, the occurrence of many morpho-tectonic features such as seamounts, abyssal hills and major fracture zones at 73 degrees E, 75 degrees 45'E and 79 degrees E, have helped in correlating and in deciphering the source of the rock types. Further, the large manganese nodule fields in the CIB are seen to occur in conjunction with the volcanic materials, since the latter forms nuclei and substrates for ferromanganese deposits. It is concluded that a spatial relation exists between the occurrence of the volcanic materials and the ferromanganese deposit in the CIB

Description: The diet of emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri was studied during late austral summer at Drescher Inlet, eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Antarctic krill Euphausia superba was a major component of the food, accounting for 75% of all prey items. Emperor penguins appear to feed on krill during shallow dives under the fast sea ice. Fish, mainly nototheniids, accounted for less than 20% by number of all prey. An evaluation of the main prey types in terms of mass indicated, however, that fish represented up to 75% approximately of prey mass. Feeding experiments were performed on captive penguins and showed that squid beaks can accumulate for up to 3 weeks within the stomach without any clear signs of erosion. The lack of cephalopod soft parts in the samples makes it likely that all squid beaks were derived from animals captured some time previously. Squid seems to be a very minor dietary component of emperor penguins at the Drescher Inlet.

Description: The pelagic nekton community was sampled with the RMT 25 opening/closing net and a neuston net at two stations in the Scotia Sea south of the Antarctic Polar Front in the open ocean (Station 1) and on the South Georgia northwestern slope (Station 2). Downward oblique tows were made with the RMT 25 through discrete 200 m layers to 1000 m in daylight and darkness. A total of 119 cephalopods representing nine species were removed from the samples, and mantle and arm lengths were measured to the nearest 0.1 mm. The most abundant species at each station was an undescribed Brachioteuthis sp. (B. ?picta). Galiteuthis glacialis and Alluroteuthis antarcticus were caught at both stations. Histioteuthis eltaninae, Bathyteuthis abyssicola and Psychroteuthis glacialis were caught at Station 1. Mastigoteuthis psychrophila and a Chiroteuthis sp. were caught at Station 2. B. ?picta was present throughout the water column to 1000 m at both stations, with little evidence of ontogenetic descent. There was evidence for ontogenetic descent in G. glacialis. This species was absent from the Antarctic Surface Water (ASW) at Station 1, where it was concentrated in the Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). At Station 2 it was present throughout the water column to 1000 m. The other species were all caught in the core of the CDW (〉400 m). In juvenile B. ?picta, G. glacialis and A. antarcticus, growth of the brachial crown is positively allometric with respect to mantle length. Recent data on biomass spectra in high-latitude pelagic systems show that they are characterised by the presence of peaks of biomass separated by biomass minima. Positive allometric growth in the brachial crown of these antarctic oceanic squid is suggested to have evolved as an adaptation to the peaked, or domed, structure of the pelagic biomass spectrum which must be spanned by these predators as their optimum prey size increases with growth. Interspecific differences in the allometry of tentacle growth are probably related to differences in strategies for stalking and capture of prey.

Description: Past hydrothermal activity has been exarpined from the compositions of the bottom sediments adjoining the rift zone at 21 °S in the EPR. The dating studies have been performed using radiocarbon and nonequilibrium 230Th. Some 644 bottom-sediment samples were analyzed for 24 elements. About 40% of the variability is due to factors that reflect the hydrothermal activity. In the surface layer, the detailed distribution of fluxes of the main ore-forming elements Fe and Mn, Cu (an element of hydrogene-hydrothermal origin), and Ti (an element entering the sediments from bedrock weathering) were studied. The maximal fluxes for elements of hydrothermal origin occur at a considerable distance from the ridge axis, since hydrothermal elements entered the sediments only after the plume had broken up. Elevated concentrations of elements of edaphogene origin on the other hand adjoin the ridge axis. Using seven columns of bottom sediments with ages in the range from 24 to 340 thousand years, we analyzed the change with time in the. content of hydrothermal material and the fluxes of hydrothermal material and of Fe/Mn and 1 Ni. It is shown that the most effective indicator of change in hydrothermal activity on the moving floor is provided not by the flux of hydrothermal material but by its concentration and the Fe/Mn ratio. The cyclic nature of the hydrothermal process is most reliably indicated by the changes in concentration of the ore material, but only in columns near the source.

Description: Rubrik "Neues aus dem Geologenarchiv (1994)": Da die Jahresversammlung 1995 in Bremen vor allem der Meeresgeologie gewidmet war, soll durch die Veröffentlichung eines im Archiv verwahrten Briefs zur Planung der ersten "Meteor"-Expedition an den Wiederbeginn der deutschen Hochseeforschung nach dem ersten Weltkrieg erinnert werden. Scon im Sommer 1919 wurden in der Admiralität der damaligen Reichsmarine Pläne erörtert, wie man wieder an die Tradition der Forschungsfahrten der Kaiserlichen Marine mit S.M.S.S. "Gazelle", "Planet" und "Möwe" anknüpfen könne. Ein 1915 vom Stapel gelaufenes Kanonenboot "Meteor" bot sich zum Ausbau als Forschungsschiff an (F. Spiess, 1928). Vorschläge für Forschungsfahrten wurnden von der Deutschen Seewarte und vom Berliner Institut für Meereskunde eingeholt. Dessen damaliger Direktor, der vor allem durch seine Eiszeitforschungen bekannt gewordene Geograph Geheimrat Professor Albrecht Penck (Leipzig 1858 - Prag 1945), legte daraufhin der Marineleitung eine Denkschrift seines Abteilungsvorstands Alfred Merz (Wien 1880 - Buenos Aires 1925) für eine dreijährige Expedition in den Pazifik vor. (Auszug)

Description: Viable counts of aerobic and anaerobic chemotrophic sulphur-oxidizers as well as phototrophic sulphur bacteria were determined in sediment samples taken from two different areas along the Baltic Sea shore which were known to regularly develop sulphidic conditions. Depth profiles of bacterial cell counts were correlated with concentration profiles of chloride, sulphate, sulphide, nitrate and phosphate in the pore water of these sediments and with potential activities of nitrate reduction, thiosulphate transformation and sulphate formation. The data revealed a complex multilayered structure within the sediments. Sulphide was released into the water from sediments of both sampling areas, but it was found that light and the availability of oxygen significantly reduced this amount. In the highly reduced sediment at Hiddensee, the highest numbers of phototrophic and chemotrophic sulphur-oxidizers were found near the sediment surface. Therefore, it was concluded that the combined action of both groups of bacteria most efficiently oxidizes reduced sulphur compounds in the top layers of the sediments. Nitrate may replace oxygen as final electron acceptor and will support oxidation of sulphide, in particular when oxygen and light are limiting

Description: Stratigraphy, lithology and depositional structures of Liassic red limestone-breccias of the Adnet Formation, including the ‘Adnet Scheck’, were studied at several outcrops of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) south-east of Salzburg. A four-fold lithostratigraphic division is proposed for the Adnet Formation of the Osterhorn Mountains: the hemipelagic Schmiedwirt (Sinemurian) and Kehlbach (Carixian) members are separated from the pelagic Saubach Member (Toarcian) by a layer of amalgamated breccias (Scheck Member, probably Domerian to early Toarcian). Several other breccia beds occur locally from the base of the Kehlbach Member up to the lower Saubach Member. Although the sediments overlying the Scheck Member breccias are of coeval age, the ages of the underlying strata are very different. This can be explained by submarine Liassic erosion during a period of resedimentation from the middle Carixian until the early Toarcian. At least 10–15 m of partly lithified sediments were eroded by gravity flows. The entire Kehlbach Member and up to two-thirds of the Schmiedwirt Member were removed at Adnet. The breccias originated from submarine debris flows. Repeated flows over a long period and the depositional setting exclude a triggering by sea-level fluctuations. Most probably they arose from tectonically triggered slumps and slides of superficial sediments. The ‘Scheck’ was initiated on the steep upper slope of the drowned Triassic Adnet reef and flowed to the north-east. The Pliensbachian to early Toarcian period of tectonic activity indicated by the breccias was the most important during the Liassic in the Osterhorn Mountains and other parts of the NCA. From the large-scale regional distribution of the breccias and in accord with published data, a roughly northeast trending strike-slip fault zone is proposed, crossing the NCA south of the Osterhorn block, with a peaking activity during the Pliensbachian to early Toarcian as the cause of the tectonic movements.

Description: The 14.1 Ma old composite ignimbrite cooling unit P1 (45 km3) on Gran Canaria comprises a lower mixed rhyolite-trachyte tuff, a central rhyolite-basalt mixed tuff, and a slightly rhyolite-contaminated basaltic tuff at the top. The basaltic tuff is compositionally zoned with (a) an upward change in basalt composition to higher MgO content (4.3–5.2 wt.%), (b) variably admixed rhyolite or trachyte (commonly 〈5 wt.%), and (c) an upward increasing abundance of basaltic and plutonic lithic fragments and cognate cumulate fragments. The basaltic tuff is divided into three structural units: (I) the welded basaltic ignimbrite, which forms the thickest part (c. 95 vol.%) and is the main subject of the present paper; (II) poorly consolidated massive, bomb- and block-rich beds interpreted as phreatomagmatic pyroclastic flow deposits; and (III) various facies of reworked basaltic tuff. Tuff unit I is a basaltic ignimbrite rather than a lava flow because of the absence of top and bottom breccias, radial sheet-like distribution around the central Tejeda caldera, thickening in valleys but also covering higher ground, and local erosion of the underlying P1 ash. A gradual transition from dense rock in the interior to ash at the top of the basaltic ignimbrite reflects a decrease in welding; the shape of the welding profile is typical for emplacement temperatures well above the minimum welding temperature. A similar transition occurs at the base where the ignimbrite was emplaced on cold ground in distal sections. In proximal sections the base is dense where it was emplaced on hot felsic P1 tuff. The intensity of welding, especially at the base, and the presence of spherical particles and of mantled and composite particles formed by accretion and coalescence in a viscous state imply that the flow was a suspension of hot magma droplets. The flow most likely had to be density stratified and highly turbulent to prevent massive coalescence and collapse. Model calculations suggest eruption through low pyroclastic fountains (〈1000 m high) with limited cooling during eruption and turbulent flow from an initial temperature of 1160°C. The large volume of 26 km3 of erupted basalt compared with only 16 km3 of the evolved P1 magmas, and the extremely high discharge rates inferred from model calculations are unusual for a basaltic eruption. It is suggested that the basaltic magma was erupted and emplaced in a fashion commonly only attributed to felsic magmas because it utilized the felsic P1 magma chamber and its ring-fissure conduits. Evolution of the entire P1 eruption was controlled by withdrawal dynamics involving magmas differing in viscosity by more than four orders of magnitude. The basaltic eruption phase was initially driven by buoyancy of the basaltic magma at chamber depth and continued degassing of felsic magma, but most of the large volume of basalt magma was driven out of the reservoir by subsidence of a c. 10 km diameter roof block, which followed a decrease in magma chamber pressure during low viscosity basaltic outflow.

Description: Various models of surface and deep-water circulation in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea (NGS) have been proposed for the last two glacial to interglacial transitions. Although much progress has been made in understanding the sedimentary response to climatic and oceanographic changes, conflicting interpretations have been developed. To clarify some of these discrepancies and to test or modify the existing circulation concepts, a multiparameter approach is applied, combining sedimentological, micropaleontological, organic-geochemical and isotopic methods. On the basis of indicative properties a combined litho- and organofacies concept is developed and calibrated with modern depositional settings beneath different surface water masses. Sedimentary regimes are then derived for glacial and deglacial settings. Atlantic water intrusions in the NGS reveal complex and highly dynamic patterns for the last two glacial and interglacial periods, with repetitive inflows during Isotope Stage 6 and a high variability in Isotope Stage 5. Specific facies patterns show maximum extensions of Atlantic Water intrusions during the climatic highstands 5.5.1, 5.3 and 5.1 and narrowest intrusions in the cool phases 5.4 and most pronounced in 5.2. In contrast, different glacio-marine depositional regimes depict variable sea ice coverage and supply of ice-rafted debris. Most conspicuous are short-term depositional events marked by diamictons, which are related to the high instabilities of continental ice sheets. Some of the diamictons seem to occur contemporaneously with Heinrich layers H1 and H2. The probable temporal and obvious phenomenological concidence of Heinrich layers and NGS diamictons suggests a common trigger mechanism which caused an almost simultaneous disintegration of huge continental ice masses along the shelves of North America and the eastern margin of the NGS. A previous estuarine circulation model claims regional upwelling along the eastern margin of the NGS for specific periods of the last deglaciation. The organic character of sediments covering the same time intervals show a clear predominance of reworked fossil organic matter and thus does not support the estuarine model.

Description: Pelagic processes and their relation to vertical flux have been studied in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas since 1986. Results of long-term sediment trap deployments and adjoining process studies are presented, and the underlying methodological and conceptional background is discussed. Recent extension of these investigations at the Barents Sea continental slope are also presented. With similar conditions of input irradiation and nutrient conditions, the Norwegian and Greenland Seas exhibit comparable mean annual rates of new and total production. Major differences can be found between these regions, however, in the hydrographic conditions constraining primary production and in the composition and seasonal development of the plankton. This is reflected in differences in the temporal patterns of vertical particle flux in relation to new production in the euphotic zone, the composition of particles exported and in different processes leading to their modification in the mid-water layers. In the Norwegian Sea heavy grazing pressure during early spring retards the accumulation of phytoplankton stocks and thus a mass sedimentation of diatoms that is often associated with spring blooms. This, in conjunction with the further seasonal development of zooplankton populations, serves to delay the annual peak in sedimentation to summer or autumn. Carbonate sedimentation in the Norwegian Sea, however, is significantly higher than in the Greenland Sea, where physical factors exert a greater control on phytoplankton development and the sedimentation of opal is of greater importance. In addition to these comparative long-term studies a case study has been carried out at the continental slope of the Barents Sea, where an emphasis was laid on the influence of resuspension and across-slope lateral transport with an analysis of suspended and sedimented material.

Description: This interim report deals with investigations on key factors controlling reef growth by zoophysiologists, ecologists, paleontologists and geologists. The different levels of emphasis are the coral animal and the reef community. The main study area is the Red Sea which reaches over 20°C latitude up to the northernmost margin of the global coral reef belt. Supplementary results on microborer ecology are provided from the Bahamas. The desert enclosed Red Sea, not influenced by land runoff and only minimally by anthropogenic (urban and touristic) nutrient inputs, is predestined for a study on the principal influence of light on calcification within bathymetrical and latitudinal gradients. Hence, on the level of the zooxanthellate scleractinian animal phototrophic and heterotrophic energy supply and its bearing on calcification are being measured in different coral species—in particular inPorites sp., one of the most important reef builders. The growth of 15 zooxanthellate scleractinians in the Gulf of Aqaba correlates with the annual light cycle. This correlation is observable down to 40 m depth. Other growth promoting factors seem to have less influence on coral extension. The availability of organically enriched sediments in shallow water probably yields nutritional value, in particular for filter feeding species, thus restricting their distribution to those areas. Zooxanthellae, when isolated fromMycedium elephantotus, are different in their dependence on depth in maximum rates of photosynthesis and photosynthetic efficiency (-slope). Increasing concentrations of pigments as a function of depth could be determined. Maximum rates of photosynthesis of zooxanthellae in vivo, collected at corresponding depth, have been 4 times higher. Structural and physiological adaptations improving heterotrophic and phototrophic energy intake are highlighted. Porites sp. was the subject of annual growth studies at locations extending from Aqaba in the North over the northern and southern Egyptian coast and islands, Sanganeb Atoll and Wingate reef offshore Sudan to the Gulf of Tadjoura in the Gulf of Aden (Djibouti). Mean growth rates in the shallow water zone increase with decreasing latitude and are highest at the southernmost studied reefs in the Gulf of Tadjoura. However, the observed latitutdinal growth reduction is restricted to the upper ca. 15 m of the water column. The upper limit of growth potential decreases with depth parallel to the decrease of light availability. Highest growth rates are recorded in shallow depth (10–2.9 mm yr−1). This zone reaches at Aqaba (29°30′N) to a depth of ca. 10 m. At the southern Egyptian reefs (24°30′N) this zone extends to ca. 15 m water depth. This effect is probably a result of the stronger reduction of winter light levels and water temperature in the northern regions. Compared to other oceans the decrease of growth with increasing latitude of Red SeaPorites corals is far less, and growth rates at Aqaba are the highest observed at these latttudes. On the level of the community of reef inhabitants four principal topics are addressed: The first one is the dynamics of the proportions of hermatypic and ahermatypic organisms and open space. The occurrence of stony and soft corals and the sharing of empty space in different reef sections at Aqaba and on Sanganeb Atoll were quantified. Soft corals, mainlySinularia- and xeniid species, occupy decreasing shares with depth. Among theXenia species a bathymetrical zonation pattern was detected. The next issue is the growth impeding role of soft corals and gastropod parasites and predators on scleractinians. Experimental and field observations showed xeniid soft corals to be opportunistic i.e. occupying rapidly open space rather than to attacking and outcompeting stony corals. An increasingly specialized behaviour was detected among corallivorous gastropods of the family Coralliophilidae to exploit their coral hosts. Whereas these snails are more or less sessile and depend for a long time on the surrounding host polyps the mobileDrupella cornus (Thaididae) forms feeding aggregations which denude mainly branching corals on shallow reef parts. Furthermore, the role counteracting reef growth of macro- and microbioeroders is investigated.Diadema setosum is a major destructive agent on reefs at Aqaba (not in the central Red Sea). The grazing sea urchins do not only keep potential colonization area free but also erode carbonate material (e. g. 1468 g/m2/year, 10 m depth). Demographic and bathymetric patterns in the sea urchin population are analyzed including their bearing on bioerosion of the reef. Investigations on microboring organisms in carbonate material have started in the Red Sea; initial results, however, are only available from similar studies near Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas. Three major environments have been identified based on the distribution of the different microborers. These are the intertidal environment dominated by boring cyanobacteria., reef sites from 2 to 30 m water depth dominated by a diverse assemblage of boring cyanobacteria and chlorophytes, and the deep reef slope from 100 to 300 m dominated by boring green algae and heterotrophs. The boring chlorophyte genusPhaeophila appears rapidly and dominates at sites from 2 to 30 m, but it leaves vacated borings and is replaced byOstreobium quekettii after 1 year. Different substrate types show very different rates of colonization by microborers. The greatest excavation rates (100 g/m2/3 months) occur in fine-grained limestone, while the slowest rates (0.5 g/m2/3 months) occur in calcite crystals. Molluscan shell material shows intermediate rates of excavation. Light conditions appear very important in determining the growth rate and distribution of different microborers between the sites, however, the interaction of light with other factors, such as substrate, time period of exposure, and water quality conditions may be involved.

Description: An electrochemical model for a microbial fuel cell process is proposed here. The model was set up on the basis of the experimental results and analysis of biochemical and electrochemical processes. Simulation of the process shows that the model describes the process reasonably well. The analysis of model simulation illustrates how the current output depends on the substrate concentration, mediator concentration and other main variables. The relationship between the current output and over-voltage is revealed from the modelling study.

Description: Methylcyclohexane dissolved in and forming a thin film on purified seawater with traces of anthraquinone added as triplet sensitizer was exposed to natural sunlight in a quartz flask. The water was circulated through a glass cartridge filled with Amberlite XAD-2 for the concentration of reaction products which were identified by GC/MS after elution and silica gel chromatography. They included isomeric methylcyclohexanols as the principal components, primary hydroperoxides, a tentatively identified secondary peroxide, methylcyclohexanones, and acyclic ketones. Mass spectra and mechanisms are discussed as well as possible biological consequences of the formation of these compounds.

Description: The resolution of the conflict between eggcare and foraging was studied in male and female wandering albatrosses. The foraging zone and range, duration of incubation shifts and foraging trips, and associated changes in body mass were studied. Costs during incubation, expressed as the time spent incubating and the proportional loss of body mass, were similar for both sexes. The mass gained at sea was related to the duration of foraging trips, but the relationship was much less significant in males, where foraging ranges, though similar on average to those of females, were very variable. Males foraged in more southerly waters than females, and gained mass more rapidly. Only females appeared to regulate the duration of foraging trips, and this compensated for the mass lost during the incubation fast. Previous breeding experience had no influence on foraging efficiency. Egg desertion because of depletion of body reserves was very rare because birds have a wide “safety margin”, i.e. the difference between the average body mass when relieved and that at nest desertion. This safety margin enables the birds to compensate for the high variability in the duration of foraging trips, and is probably a reason for the high breeding success of wandering albatrosses. Decisions to return from the sea to the nest or to desert the nest are probably related to the status of body reserves, and have been selected in the large wandering albatross so that both present and future reproductive success are maximised.

Description: The alternation of two major climatic types, the glacial and nonglacial, in the Phanerozoic history of the Earth is well-documented at present. These climates affected the state of the biosphere to such an extent that cool (glacial) and warm (nonglacial) biospheres can be distinguished. The main features of the cool biosphere can be determined from its state at present and during the Pleistocene. The cool biosphere is characterized by features such as the following: permanent glacial or ice polar caps, occasional glacial covers or permafrost occurrences in the temperate labtudes, an oceanic psychrosphere, low temperature and intense circulation in the atmosphere and hydrosphere, low oceanic level, high rates of erosion and sedimentation, a low concentration of atmospheric carbon doxide, contrasting climate and landscape zonation, clearly pronounced biogeographic and ecological differentiation, rapid fluctuations of the above features, frequent biotic crises, and so on. Evidently, the warm biosphere exhibited different characteristics, perhaps even opposite to those of the cold biosphere. However, our understanding of the properties of the warm biosphere is far from being clear and complete, even though this type of biosphere has sharply prevailed in geological history. Defining these properties is a principal goal of historical geological and ecological studies . When solved, this problem will be of prognostic and general methodic importance for the earth sciences, allowing the applicability of the actualistic method to be specified.

Description: The Lau Basin comprises oceanic crust that separates the remnant Lau Ridge volcanic arc from the active Tofua arc. The basin is situated above mantle exhibiting strong seismic wave attenuation; it overlies the west dipping seismic zone of the Tonga Trench subduction system and is presently opening at rates as high as 1.6 cm/yr. Seaward rollback of the trench axis, coupled with upwelling high temperature mantle diapirs, is proposed as the main driving force to cause crustal extension in this region of oceanic plate convergence. The trapezoidal shape of the basin suggests that it has opened progressively from north to south; the trace of the Louisville seamount chain may help constrain the southern apex of the basin. The basin has opened in two tectonic styles. Initially, beginning at about 6 Ma, attenuation and rifting of the forearc or outer part of the Lau Ridge formed a series of half-grabens that were partly sedimented and received basaltic flows. This extension and magmatism overlapped with Lau Ridge arc volcanism. The second stage of opening (about 5.5-5 Ma) was promoted by a southward-propagating rift system that formed new crust by seafloor spreading. A second propagator (about 1.5 Ma) has overtaken the first and forms an overlapping ridge system. A small three-limbed spreading system in the northeastern basin forms a triple junction. A fourth spreading system is recognized in the northwestern part of the basin.

Description: The Easter microplate-Crough Seamount region located between 25° S–116° W and 25° S–122° W consists of a chain of seamounts forming isolated volcanoes and elongated (100–200 km in length) en echelon volcanic ridges oriented obliquely NE (N 065°), to the present day general spreading direction (N 100°) of the Pacific-Nazca plates. The extension of this seamount chain into the southwestern edge of the Easter microplate near 26°30′ S–115° W was surveyed and sampled. The southern boundary including the Orongo fracture zone and other shallow ridges (〈 2000 m high) bounding the Southwest Rift of the microplate consists of fault scarps where pillow lava, dolerite, and metabasalts are exposed. The degree of rock alternation inferred from palagonitization of glassy margins suggests that the volcanic ridges are as old as the shallow ridges bounding the Southwest Rift of the microplate. The volcanics found on the various structures west of the microplate consist of depleted (K/Ti 〈 0.1), transitional (K/Ti = 0.11−0.25) and enriched (K/Ti 〉 0.25) MORBs which are similar in composition to other more recent basalts from the Southwest and East Rifts spreading axes of the Easter microplate. Incompatible element ratios normalized to chondrite values [(Ce/Yb)N = 1−2.5}, {(La/Sm)N = 0.4−1.2} and {(Zr/Y)N = 0.7−2.5} of the basalts are also similar to present day volcanism found in the Easter microplate. The volcanics from the Easter microplate-Crough region are unrelated to other known South Pacific intraplate magmatism (i.e. Society, Pitcairn, and Salas y Gomez Islands). Instead their range in incompatible element ratios is comparable to the submarine basalts from the recently investigated Ahu and Umu volcanic field (Easter hotspot) (Scientific Party SO80, 1993) and centered at about 80 km west of Easter Island. The oblique ridges and their associated seamounts are likely to represent ancient leaky transform faults created during the initial stage of the Easter microplate formation (≈ 5 Ma). It appears that volcanic activity on seamounts overlying the oblique volcanic ridges has continued during their westward drift from the microplate as shown by the presence of relatively fresh lava observed on one of these structures, namely the first Oblique Volcanic Ridge near 25° S–118° W at about 160 km west of the Easter microplate West Rift. Based on a reconstruction of the Easter microplate, it is suggested that the Crough seamount (〈 800 m depth) was formed by earlier (7–10 Ma) hotspot magmatic activity which also created Easter Island.

Description: Surface samples from the eastern Barents and south-western Kara seas have been analysed for clay mineralogy. Transport paths, the role of regional sources and local bedrock outcrops and the influence of hydrodynamic and glacigenous processes for clay distribution on the shelves are discussed in relation to central Arctic Ocean deep sea and sea ice sediments. Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya show significantly different clay mineral associations. Although smectite concentrations are fairly high, Franz Josef Land can be excluded as a source for central Arctic sea ice sediments, which are relatively rich in smectite. In the Kara Sea, smectite concentrations in coastal sediments surpass even the Franz Josef Land concentrations. The large cyclonic gyre in the eastern Barents Sea between Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, which serves as a mixing zone between Arctic and North Atlantic water, is apparently reflected within the smectite distribution pattern. With the exception of Franz Josef Land, the area of investigation is typically low in kaolinite. In particular, coastal areas and areas north of Novaya Zemlya, influenced by the inflow of Arctic waters, show the lowest kaolinite concentrations. A high kaolinite occurrence within the Nansen Basin is most probably related to Franz Josef Land and emphasizes the importance of long-range downslope transport of sediments across the continental slope. The surface water circulation pattern in close interaction with local outcrops onshore Novaya Zemlya and locally restricted occurrences within the eastern Barents Sea significantly alter the illite dispersal pattern. Illite concentrations are lowest around Franz Josef Land. Chlorite is generally low in the area of investigation. Submarine outcrops and important chlorite occurrences onshore Novaya Zemlya bias its distribution pattern.

Description: As the result of intensive studies conducted by U.S., French, and Japanese scientific teams, the North Fiji Basin ridge, poorly known 10 years ago, is one of the most exhaustively investigated ridge axes of the world’s oceans. Today, a ridge segment more than 800 km long and 100 km wide has been fully mapped with the Sea Beam and Furono echo sounders. This ridge axis shows four main segments characterized by the same morphostructural aspect and limits that characterize mid-oceanic ridges. Along the whole length of the axis, a water-column sample has been taken every 20 km and rock samples every 10 km. Different types of hydrothermal activity have been discovered and explored either during the Nautile cruise in 1989 or during the Shinkai 6500 cruise in 1992. The most famous site is the “White Lady,” located around 17°S; it is characterized by 285°C shimmering hot water, which is very poor in metallic elements, expelled through an anhydrite chimney. This water probably represents the low salinity end-member resulting from phase separation in the deep levels of the oceanic crust. Other active sites have been observed all along the axis showing different characteristics such as low-temperature diffusion zones. Even though some parts of the North Fiji Basin remain poorly investigated, the newly acquired data from the ridge axis and from the eastern and northwestern parts allow us to develop a new tectonic model of basin evolution since its creation 12 m.y. ago.

Description: O2-flux into sediments attributed to the pumping behaviour of two macrofauna species, Callianassa subterranea (Decapoda) and Lanice conchilega (Polychaeta) was investigated. Samples were obtained from the North Sea near Helgoland in 1989 and 1990. The two species were found to transport roughly similar amounts (3 mmolm-2d-1) of oxygen into the sediment although they displayed markedly different pumping behaviours. Irrigation by C. subterranea was intermittent and characterized by regularly recurring breathing currents which lasted 2.6 min and were separated by 40-min pauses. In addition to this regular intermittent irrigation, an irregular mode was observed. C. subterranea constructed a complex burrow system. At least half of the burrow wall was not in contact with oxygenated water, however, and thus not effective as additional interface for O2-exchange. Sediment expelled from the burrow increased the total oxygen uptake (TOU) relative to the surrounding sediment surface. L. conchilega moved water much more frequently (every 4 min) than C. subterranea. We suggest that L. conchilega acted as a piston when moving in its tube, exchanging burrow water with the overlying water. This mechanism, termed ‘piston-pumping’, is also potentially important in other smaller tube dwelling organisms. At a shallow water station in the southern North Sea 21 ind of C. subterranea constructed 1.6 m2 burrow surface per m2. L. conchilega (300 ind m-2) created only 0.37 m2m-2 tube surface. On the basis of the abundance and oxygen transport associated with pumping activity, it is calculated that the two species increase TOU by 85% compared to O2-flux across the sediment-water interface.

Description: The sedimentation pattern of organic material in the Greenland-Norwegian Sea is reflected in the surface sediments, although less than 0.5% of the organic matter is buried in the sediment. Maximum fluxes and benthic responses are observed during June and/or August/September, following the pattern of export production in the pelagial zone. The annual remineralization rate on the Vøring Plateau is 3.0 g C m−2 a −1 Freshly settled phytodetritus, as detected by chlorophyll measurements, is rapidly mixed into the sediment and decomposed. It stimulates the activity of benthic organisms, especially foraminifera. The mixing coefficient for this material is D b=0.2 cm2 d−1, which is two to three orders of magnitude higher than that estimated from radiotracer methods. The effect on the geological record, however, is likely to be small. Chlorophyll-containing particles are at first very evenly distributed on the seafloor. After partial decomposition and resuspension, a secondary redistribution of particles occurs which can result in the formation of a high accumulation area, with an up to 80-fold increase in the sedimentation rate by lateral advection. This is mainly due to physical processes, because biodeposition mediated by benthic animals increases sedimentation by only a factor of two or three.

Description: REITNER, Joachim & KOHRING, Rolf: Prof. Dr. Gundolf ERNST zum 65. Geburtstag. Eine kritische Würdigung des Jubilars ... 5 ; VOIGT, Ehrhard & GORDON, Dennis P.: Ascancestor and Confusocella - two new genera of cheilostomate Bryozoa from the Upper Cretaceous with transitional frontal-shield morphologies ... 15 ; KENNEDY, William J. & KAPLAN, Ulrich: Pseudojacobites farmeryi (CRICK, 1905), ein seltener Ammonit des westfälischen und englischen Ober-Turon ... 25 ; SEIBERTZ, Ekbert & SPAETH, Christian: Die Kreide-Belemniten von Mexiko II. Belemniten des Turon Nord-Mexikos ... 45 ; WIESE, Frank & WILMSEN, Markus: Erstnachweis aus Europa von Litophragmatoceras incomptum (Ammonoidea, Kreide) aus dem Mittel-Cenoman von Liencres (Kantabrien, Nordspanien) ... 53 ; WIESE, Frank: Das mittelturone Romaniceras kallesi-Event im Raum Santander (Nordspanien): Lithologie, Stratigraphie, laterale Veränderung der Ammonitenassoziationen und Paläobiogeographie ... 61 ; KRÜGER, Fritz J.: Leere Oberkretazische Echiniden-Coronen als Habitat benthonischer Organismen ... 79 ; MEHL, Dorte & NIEBUHR, Birgit: Diversität und Wachstumsformen bei Coeloptychium (Hexactinellida, Lychniskosa) der Meiner Mulde (Untercampan, NW-Deutschland) und die Palökologie der Coeloptychidae ... 91 ; REHFELD, Ursula & OTTO, Armin: Distribution and preservation of siliceous sponges of the rhythmically bedded spongiolitic rocks in the Lower Campanian of northern Spain (Cantabria, Santander area): Response to autecology and sea level development ... 109 ; FECHNER, Glenn G.: Phytoplankton und Sporomorphen aus dem Cenoman-Basiskonglomerat von Bochum (Nordrheinwestfalen, Deutschland) ... 129 ; KEUPP, Helmut: Die kalkigen Dinoflagellaten-Zysten aus dem Ober-Alb der Bohrung Kirchrode 1/91 (zentrales Niedersächsisches Becken, NW-Deutschland) ... 155 ; VOIGT, Silke: Verbreitung humider und arider Klimate der nördlichen Hemisphäre während der Oberkreide ... 201 ; HORNA, Frank: Komplexer Nachweis einer Tufflage im Turon von Hoppenstedt ... 207 ; WRAY, David S. & WOOD, Christopher J.: Geochemical identification and correlation of tuff layers in Lower Saxony, Germany ... 215 ; MUTTERLOSE, Jörg & WIEDENROTH, Kurt: Die Bio- und Lithofazies der Unterkreide (Hauterive bis Apt) in NW-Deutschland ... 227 ; TRÖGER, Karl-Armin & VOIGT, Thomas: Event-und Sequenzstratigraphie in der Sächsischen Kreide... 255 ; SEIBERTZ, Ekbert: Towards the single-species boundary definition - a concept proposal with application to the Turonian-Coniacian stage boundary (Upper Cretaceous) ... 269 ; WOOD, Christopher J. & MORTIMORE, Rory N.: An anomalous Black Band succession (Cenomanian - Turonian boundary interval) at Melton Ross, Lincolnshire, eastern England and its international significance ... 277 ; KUTZ, Andreas: Kalk-Mergel-Rhythmite der Oberkreide (Campan und Maastricht) am Massiv von Oroz Betelu (N-Spanien, Provinz Navarra). Ein Exkursionsführer ... 289 ; WOLF, Ernst-Otto.: Sedimentologie, Paläogeographie und Faziesentwicklung der Allochthonite des Campan von Beckum/Zentrales Münsterland ... 305 ; KRIWET, Jürgen & GLOY, Uwe: Zwei mesopelagische Raubfische (Actinopterygii: Euteleostei) aus dem Unterturon der Kronsberg-Mulde bei Hannover / Misburg (NW-Deutschland) ... 335 ; RAUHUT, Oliver W.M.: Zur systematischen Stellung der afrikanischen Theropoden Carcharodontosaurus STROMER 1931 und Bahariasaurus STROMER 1934 ... 357 ; WERNER, Christa: Neue Funde von mesozoischen Wirbeltieren in Äthiopien... 377 ;

Description: commemorativepublication

Description: DFG, SUB Göttingen

Description: SCHUDACK, Michael E.: Neue mikropaläontologische Beiträge (Ostracoda, Charophyta) zum Morrison-Ökosystem (Oberjura des Western Interior, USA) ... 389 ; BARTHOLDY, Jan, BELLAS, Spyridon M., MERTMANN, Dorothee, MACHANIEC, Elsbieta & MANUTSOGLU, Emmanuil: Fazies- Entwicklung und Biostratigraphie einer Sequenz eozäner Sedimente im Steinbruch Pod Capkami, Tatra-Gebirge, Polen ... 409 ; SCHULZ, Eberhard: Palynologische Untersuchungen des marinen Mittelrhäts im Creuzburger Graben bei Eisenach (W-Thüringen) ... 427 ; KRUTZSCH, Wilfried: Verbreitung der Trockenzonen im Kainophytikum - Eine Skizze ... 439 ; KOHRING, Rolf & SCHLÜTER, Thomas: Erhaltungsmechanismen känozoischer Insekten in fossilen Harzen und Sedimenten ... 457 ; ZILS, Wolfgang, WERNER, Christa, MORITZ, Andrea & SAANANE, Charles: Orientierende Tendaguru-Expedition 1994 ... 483 ; KIENEL, Ulrike, REHFELD, Ursula & BELLAS, Spyridon M.: The Miocene Blue Clay Formation of the Maltese Islands: Sequence-stratigraphic and palaeoceanographic implications based on calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy ... 533 ; SOUJON, Andr6, MANUTSOGLU, Emmanuil, REITNER, Joachim & JACOBSHAGEN, Volker: Lithistide Demospongiae aus der metamorphen Plattenkalk-Serie der Trypali Ori (Kreta/Griechenland) … 559 ; BARON-SZABO, Rosemarie C.: Taxonomy and Palaeoecology of Late Miocene corals of NW-Crete (Gramvoüssa, Roka- and Koukounaras- Fms.) ... 569 ; MANUTSOGLU, Emmanuil, MERTMANN, Dorothee, SoujON, Andre, DORNSIEPEN, Ulrich Friedrich & JACOBSHAGEN, Volker: Zur Nomenklatur der Metamorphite auf der Insel Kreta, Griechenland ... 579 ; FRYDAS, D., KONTOPOULOS, N., STAMATOPOULOS, L., GUERNET, C. & VOLTAGGIO, M.: Middle-Late Pleistocene sediments in the northwestern Peloponnesus, Greece. A combined study of biostratigraphical, radiochronological and sedimentological results ... 589 ; BECKER, R. Thomas: Taxonomy and Evolution of Late Famennian Tornocerataceae (Ammonoidea) ... 607 ; GRÖSCHKE, Manfred & KAPILIMA, Saldi: Ammoniten aus dem Septarienmergel (Kimmeridgium) des Mandawa-Mahokondo-Gebietes bei Nchia, Südtansania ... 645 ; KEUPP, Helmut & RIEDEL, Frank: Nautilus pompilius in captivity: a case study of abnormal shell growth ... 663 ; KRIWET, Jürgen: Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Fisch-Fauna des Ober-Jura (unteres Kimmeridge) der Kohlengrube Guimarota bei Leiria, Mittel-Portugal: 1 . Asteracanthus biformatus n. sp. (Chondrichthyes: Hybodontoidea) ... 683 ; MARTIN, Thomas: Incisor enamel microstructure and phylogenetic interrelationships of Pedetidae and Ctenodactyloidea (Rodentia) ... 693 ; ERESKOVSKY, Alexander V.: Materials to the Faunistic Study of the White and Barents seas sponges. 5. Quantitative Distribution ... 709 ; ERESKOVSKY, Alexander V.: Materials to the Faunistic Study of the White and Barents seas sponges. 6. The origin of the White and Barents seas sponge faunas ... 715 ; WÖRHEIDE, Gert: Bi- und multivariate Analyse borealer und mediterraner Populationen der Echinocardium cordatum - Gruppe (Echinoidea; Spatangoida) ... 731 ; HILBRECHT, Heinz: Computergestützte Methoden in der Morphometrie ... 765 ; CLAUSING, Andreas: Some critical notes on qualitative versus quantitative analysis in terrestrial palaeoecology ... 781 ; GLOY, Uwe: Bibliographie 1994, Institut für Paläontologie, Freie Universität Berlin ... 787 ;

Description: commemorativepublication

Description: DFG, SUB Göttingen

Description: Am Westrand des Basko-Kantabrischen Beckens (Soba-Region, Prov. Cantabria, Nordspanien) sind die Plattform/Becken-Übergangszonen des Apt und Alb in nahezu ungestörtem Verband erhalten. Entlang dieser Randzonen befinden sich großdimensionierte Mud Mound-Strukturen mit einer Basisbreite bis 150 m und einer Höhe bis zu 70 m. Diese Arbeit zielt auf die Erarbeitung der Prozesse, die die Bildung der Mounds begleiten, beeinflussen oder steuern. Das Intervall Oberapt (Clansay) bis Mittelaib besteht aus sechs sedimentär-diagenetischen Zyklen (asymmetrische Trans-, Regressionszyklen), die in Kombination mit Markerhorizonten eine stratigraphische Kontrolle über den Plattform/Becken-Transekt ermöglichen. Meeresspiegelschwankungen (Paläokarst) sind im Apt/Alb-Grenzintervall und hohen Unteralb (Ammonitenzone: Douvilleiceras mammilatum) nachweisbar. Die Vorkommen der Mud Mounds sind an transgressive Faziesdiskontinuitäten gebunden. Ihre Position entspricht dem zu Strömungen exponierten Hang und dem oberen Plattformrand. Die Biofazies reicht von einer aphotischen Gemeinschaft aus “Lithistida“, Hexactinellida, krustosen Foraminiferen, Polychaeten, Thecideen und Acanthochaeteten zu der photischen Biofazies mit Scleractinia, Lithophyllum und Bacinella/Lithocodium. Die Strukturbildung erfolgt durch eine autochthone Mikritproduktion (Automikrit). Akkretionäre Automikrite bilden Stromatolithe, Thrombolithe und massive Gefügetypen. Container-Automikrit befindet sich in geschützten und geschlossen Räumen. Kieselschwamm Container-Automikrite sind aphanitisch, peloidal und peloidal-bakterioform. Unabhängig von Kieselschwämmen treten Container-Automikrite in Kleinhöhlen, Taschen und im Interpartikelvolumen auf. Sie bestehen aus in-situ Peloiden und in-situ Ooiden mit massivem und/oder stromatolithischem Gefüge. Die verschiedenen Automikrittypen besetzen zwischen 50 und 80 Vol.-% der Mud Mounds. Anbohrungen durch lithophage Bivalven und Aka sowie die ausschließliche Produktion angularer Mound-Lithoklasten belegen eine Lithifizierung in statu nascendi. Die Primärmineralogie der Automikrite ist Hoch-Mg-Calcit; die Residualgehalte an MgCOa liegen zwischen 1 ,2 und 3,6 Mol-%. Die Zusammensetzung der stabilen Isotope S13C und S18O (vs PDB) ist analog zu anorganisch gebildeten, marinen Zementen (513C von 2,9 bis 3,8 und S18O von -1,5 bis -4). Die vergleichende Aminosäuren-Analyse ergibt ein relatives Maximum bei Glu und Asp, Pyruvaten und Glycin, resp. Tyrosin. Das Spektrum ist analog zu den Literaturdaten von modernen Automikriten aus Riffhöhlen von Lizard Island (GBR) und unterscheidet sich grundlegend von den strukturgebundenen Skelett-Automikriten von Bacinella/Lithocodium. Die Biomarker-Analyse akkretionärer Automikrite ergab ein spezifisches n-Alkan Muster, ebenfalls vergleichbar mit Spektren rezenter Thrombolithe (Lizard Island) und Beispielen der oberjurassischen Spongiolith-Fazies. Die Grundvoraussetzung der Mud Mound-Genese ist daher die Bereitstellung saurer Makromoleküle (Organomikrit) und eine anhaltend ungestörte Wechselwirkung mit dem umgebenden Medium. Die chemische Randbedingung ist eine erhöhte Karbonatalkalinität. Nach mikrofaziellen Kriterien ist Organomikrit ein faziesbrechendes Element der unterkretazischen Plattformränder. Beispiele reichen von karbonatischen Barrensanden mit Organomikrit-Rindenkörnern, über deltaische Sandsteine (Organomikrit um Quarz) bis zu Kondensationshorizonten auf Paläokarst sowie Drowning-Sequenzen auf Korallenpflastern (Sclercatinia zu Kalkalgen zu Thrombolith). Die Bildung der Mud Mounds (Organomikrit-Riffe) der Soba-Region ist korreliert mit einer regional extrem herabgesetzten Karbonatproduktion. Diese durch terrigenen Input und mögliche Eutrophierungen verursachten Produktionskrisen setzten die relativ uneffektive Organomikritproduktion in Vorteil gegenüber den stenoöken Gemeinschaften der euphotischen Zone. Die erhöhte Karbonatalkalinität kann von der Zufuhr der Verwitterungslösungen (regional) und dem Abau organischer Substanzen abgeleitet werden (lokal, Sulfatreduktion). Möglicherweise bestand ein Zusammenhang mit der Auslaugung von Keuperdiapiren.

Description: At the western margin of the Vasco-Cantabrian Basin (Soba-Region, Prov. Cantabria, N-Spain) the primary facies architecture of the Aptian-Albian platform/basin transition is well preserved. Along these zones large-scaled mud mounds reach 70 meters in height with a basal diameter of up to 150 meters. Aim of this work is to point out processes that are limited to coexistance and such that influence or even control mud mound formation. The Upper Aptian (Clansayesian) to Middle Albian interval consists of six sedimentary-diagenetic cycles that represent asymmetric transgressive/regressive facies sequences. In combination with marker horizons these cycles provide a stratigraphic control across the platform/basin transition. Sea-level changes recorded as paleokarst are documented in the Aptian/Albian boundary interval and within the upper parts of the Lower Albian (ammonite zone: Douvilleiceras mammilatum). Mud Mounds follow transgressive discontinuities of facies. These structures are both located at slopes facing wave-induced current systems and at the upper platform margin. The involved biofacies include an aphotic community with lithistid demosponges, hexactinellids, encrusting foraminifera, polychaetes, thecidean brachiopods and acanthochaetetids as well as a photic community with scleractinian corals, calcareous algae such as Lithophyllum and the problematic structure of Bacinella/ Lithocodium. Mud mounds are constructed by autochthonous production of micrite (automicrite). Accretionary automicrites form stromatolites and thrombolites as well as massive fabrics. Container-automicrite is restricted to protected and closed spaces. Container-automicrites of siliceous sponges reveal aphanic, peloidal and peloidal-bacterioform microfabrics. However, container-automicrite may also occur within minicaves, pockets and the interstitial space of rudstones lacking any sponge evidence. These automicrites consist of in-situ peloids and in-situ ooids forming massive and/or stromatolitic microfabrics. All automicrites, variously developed, hold 50 to 80 % of the total mud mound volume. Borings by lithopagous bivalves and sponges (Aka) and additionally the exclusive occurrence of angular mound lithoclasts provide evidence for lithification in statu nascendi. The primary mineralogy of the automicrites is high Mg-calcite with residual MgCOa-contents between 1.2 and 3.6 mole-%. The composition of stable isotopes (S13C and S18O vs. PDB) goes along with inorganically precipitated marine cements (813C: 2.9 to 3.8, S18O: -1,5 to -4). The comparative analysis of amino acid quantity reveals relative maxima of glutamin and asparagin, pyruvates and glycin as well as tyrosin. The relative amounts of amino acids are very similar to those obtained from modern automicrites of Lizard Island reef caves (GBR) and are clearly seperated from skeletal automicrites of Bacinella/ Lithocodium. In addition, biomarker analysis of accretionary automicrites resulted in a specific n-alkane pattern comparable to literature data of modern marine thrombolites (Lizard Island) and Upper Jurassic spongiolites. According to these results, the basic neccessity for mud mound genesis is the occurrence of acidic macromolecules producing a specific automicrite (organomicrite) and their persistent interaction with thesurrounding medium. Chemically, an increased carbonate alkalinity is required. Thin section analysis provides evidence that organomicrite is a widespread element of Lower Cretaceous platform margins overlapping different facies zones. These include carbonate shoal sediments with organomicrite-coated grains and deltaic sandstones with organomicrite-coated quartz grains. Further examples are intervals of stratigraphic condensation overlaying paleokarst or drowning sequences following a succession from scleractinian corals towards calcareous algae and thrombolites. On the regional scale mud mounds (organomicrite reefs) of the Soba-Region correlate with times of drastically reduced carbonate production. This, potentially caused by terrigenous input and episodes of eutrophism, leads to a dominance of the relatively ineffective production of organomicrite over the highly productive stenotopic (euphotic) communities. An increase of carbonate alkalinity can be deduced from regional scale continental weathering and from sulfate reduction on local scale. Possibly, a correlation between brines of subsoluted diapirs (Keuper) and the formation of automicrites might have existed.

Description: thesis

Description: DFG, SUB Göttingen

Description: In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Krustenstruktur im östlichen Andenvorland untersucht. Das Gebiet umfaßt den Nordwesten Argentiniens, zwischen dem 22° und 25° südlichen Breitengrad und dem 66° und 62° westlichen Längengrad. Aus morphologischer Sicht befindet sich das Untersuchungsgebiet im Übergang zwischen dem Subandin (Sierras Subandinas) und der südlichen Ostkordillere zum Chaco Vorland (Llanura Chaqueña). Im Untersuchungsgebiet zeichnet sich ein Wechsel in den tektonischen Strukturen ab, welcher als Interaktion zwischen der tertiären Andenorogenese und kretazischen Riftbildungen gedeutet wird. Dieser als Inversionstektonik bekannte tektonischer Stil hat nicht nur oberflächennahe Strukturen hervorgerufen, sondern auch tiefgreifende Massenveränderungen verursacht. Teile dieser Modifikationen sind in der Signatur des Schwerefeldes erhalten geblieben, und somit ist die Interpretation gravimetrischer Meßergebnisse zusammen mit den geologischen Randbedingungen eine Grundvorraussetzung zur Untersuchung dieser tektonischen Interaktion. Zum Verständnis dieser Strukturen war es notwendig, sowohl den Teil des Beckens zu untersuchen, welcher nicht von der andinen Orogenese betroffen ist, als auch jenen der direkt in die letztere miteinbezogen wurde. Aus gravimetrischer Sicht ist die Bougueranomalie des Gebietes stark vom Effekt der Andenwurzel geprägt. Jedoch deuten einige Abweichungen auf die Existenz lokalerer Störkörper hin, die Ziel der Modellierung waren. Ein solcher Störkörper wurde am südöstlichen Rand des kretazischen Rifts identifiziert. Die Modellierung wurde einerseits zweidimensional durchgeführt um einen Überblick über das Gebiet zu bekommen. Eine regionale 3D Modellierung führte dann zu einer präziseren Interpretation des Gebietes. Insbesondere wurde dabei der Effekt überschobener Riftschollen am Ostrand des Beckens untersucht. Diese Überschiebungen drücken sich im gravimetrischen Restfeld als deutliche positive Anomalie aus. Allerdings kann diese Anomalie nicht direkt mit einem Astenosphärenanstieg, welcher durch Riftbildung entstanden sein könnte, in Einklang gebracht werden - wie von einigen Autoren vermutet wurde. Eine weitere modellierte Struktur bildete die Vortiefe, welche durch die Auflast der andinen Überschiebung enstanden ist. Die dadurch hervorgerufenen negativen Anomalien bilden einen deutlichen Kontrast zu der beschriebenen positiven Anomalie im Vorland, der sich auch im Restfeld als starker Gradient äußert. Die 2D Modellierung erbrachte folgende Ergebnisse: im anorogenen Breich des Untersuchungsgebietes wurde die Existenz einer deutliche Asymmetrie des Beckens bestätigt, mit einer nach Südosten geneigten Riftabscherungsfläche. Die Orogenese hinterließ deutliche Spuren in der Reaktivierung der Abscherungen wobei entlang der südostvergenten Störungen tieferes Krustenmaterial emporgeschoben wurde. Mit einer größeren Dichte wird dieser Vorgang als Ursache der positiven Anomalie intepretiert. Westvergente Störungen scheinen nur oberflächennahe Bereiche miteinbezogen haben. Im regionalen 3D Modell wurde ein Ansteigen der Unterkruste unterhalb des Beckens angenommen. Die asymmetrische Anordnung dieses Anstiegs deutet eher auf einen kompressive tektonischen Effekt hin als auf eine residuale Krustenverdünnung. Zusammenfassend kann gesagt werden, daß sich in diesem Breich im Schwerefeld die Effekte des Andengradienten mit denen der überschobenen Basement-Tektonik und der Vorlandtief kombinieren und als solche fur einen starken lokalen Gradienten am Rande des Effekts der Andenwurzel verantwortlich sind.

Description: In the present study, the structure of the crust beneath the eastern Andean foreland is analyzed. The area comprises part of northwest Argentina, between 22° and 25° S and 66° and 62° W. In terms of morphotectonics, the area studied covers the transition between the Sierras Subandinas (Subandean Ranges) and the southern part of the Cordillera Oriental (Eastern Cordillera) to the Chaco plains (Llanura Chaqueña). In the area, a pervasive change controls the tectonic features, which is interpreted as a consequence of the interaction between the Andean orogeny and preexistent Cretaceous rifting. This inversion tectonics did not only result in a particular suite of near to surface structures but also modified deeply the mass distribution within the crust. This changes in mass distributions and hence density contrasts is evidenced by the gravity field. As such, a careful analysis of gravity data together with the geological boundary conditions are the basis for an analysis of this tectonic interaction. Understanding these structures implied to analyse not only the part of the rift involved in the Andean compressive orogenesis but also that part where original extensional features are still preserved. From a gravimetrical point of view, the Bouguer-anomaly of the area shows a strong overprint related with the Andean root. Some smaller changes in the field however indicate the existence of local sources, which where the target of the modelling. Such a change had been indentified at the southeastern edge of the Cretaceous rift. Modelling was performed towfold. As such, a 2D model was made in order to get an insight into the regional aspects of the area. A more detailed 3D model led to a more precise interpretation of the area. In particular, the effect of the inverted rift tectonics at the eastern edge of the basin was studied. These upthrusts correlate with a readily identifiable positive anomaly within the residual field. The anomaly neverthless cannot be directly related with an astenospheric uprise, preserved since the rifting stage, as suggested by some authors. In addition, the foredeep related with the tectonic load of the Andean overthurst, was modelled. The negative anomalies generated during this process, show a strong contrast in comparison with the positive anomaly described above, depicted also by a prominent gradient in the residual field. 2D modelling led to the following results. In the region, where Creataceous rifting structures were not overprinted by the Andean orogeny an obvious asymmetry of the basin was defined, being the master detachment dipping to the northeast. The orogeny left evidences of reactivation, where the structures of the southeastern edge were the pathways of the uplift if deeper crustal material with a higher density. This process may be responsible for a part of the positive anomaly mentioned. Structures located at the western and northwestern edge of the basin seem to have only involved nearer-to surface structures. The 3D model assumed a slight uprise of the lower crust beneath the basin. The asymmetry in goemetty seem to stand more for a tectonic effect than for a remanent thinned crust. As a summary, the gravity field in this area shows the combined effects of the regional Andean gradient with the more local effects of the basement tectonics (inverted rifting) and the overthrusted foredeep. Hence, at least these three factors seem to be responsible for the strong local gradient in a lateral position of the Andean root.

Description: thesis

Description: DFG, SUB Göttingen

Description: In dieser Arbeit wurden Laborexperimente im Ultraschallfrequenzbereich und begleitende theoretische Untersuchungen durchgeführt, um zu klären, welche Absorptionsmechanismen in fluidhaltigen Sandsteinen bei geringem einaxialen (26 MPa) und bei erhöhtem hydrostatischen Druck (bis 200 Mpa) wirksam sind. Die Kenntnis der Absorptionsmechanismen ist notwendig, um die Zusammenhänge von lithologischen und seismischen Gesteinsparametern zu verstehen und für die Interpretation von seismischen Feldmessungen zu nutzen. Bekannt war bislang, daß unter geringem einaxialen Druck frequenzabhängige lokale Flüssigkeitsströmungen den wesentlichen Absorptionsmechanismus in fluidhaltigem Gestein darstellen. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde gezeigt, daß die Kompressionswellengeschwindigkeit in fluidhaltigem Gestein bei höheren Sättigungsgraden zusätzlich von einem partiellen Gesteinsversteifungseffekt beeinflußt wird. Damit gelang eine vollständige Erklärung des sättigungsabhängigen elastischen und anelastischen Gesteinsverhaltens bei geringem einaxialen Druck. Um die Bedeutung der Gesteinsmikrostruktur (z.B. Rißdichte, Kornkontakte) für die seismischen Gesteinsparameter (Geschwindigkeit, Absorption) direkt nachzuweisen, wurde diese bei einem Gestein künstlich, thermisch verändert. Die Änderung der Mikrostruktur führt bei gleichzeitiger vernachlässigbarer Änderung der makroskopischen Gesteinsparameter (Porosität, Permeabilität) zu einer Vergrößerung der Fluideffekte. Mechanismen und Modelle, in welche ausschließlich makroskopische Gesteinsparameter ein- gehen, erfassen nicht die beobachteten Änderungen im Gesteinsverhalten. Nur mit dem auf die Gesteinsmikrostruktur bezogenen Mechanismus lokaler Flüssigkeitsströmungen konnten die Änderungen der Fluidwirkungen erklärt werden. Diese Ergebnisse an verändertem Gestein bieten somit einen direkten Beweis für den grundlegenden Einfluß der Mikrostruktur auf die seismischen Gesteinsparameter. Bislang war nicht geklärt, ob der Mechanismus lokaler Flüssigkeitsströmungen, welcher von der Existenz feiner Spalten im Gestein abhängt, auch unter erhöhtem hydrostatischen Druck das Gesteinsverhalten bestimmt. Zur Untersuchung der Absorptionsmechanismen in Gestein unter erhöhtem Druck wurden Experimente an Sandstein mit verschiedenen Saturanden und Sättigungsgraden durchgeführt. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass auch unter erhöhtem Druck fluidbedingte Absorptionsmechanismen wirksam sind und auch hier polare Fluide im gesamten Druckbereich eine Modulerniedrigung verursachen. Der Vergleich der experimentellen Ergebnisse mit Modellvorhersagen ergab, daß lokale Flüssigkeitsströmungen den Einfluß unterschiedlicher Fluide auf Geschwindigkeit und Absorption erklären und auch unter hohem hydrostatischen Druck von wesentlicher Bedeutung für die elastischen und anelastischen Gesteinseigenschaften sind. Folglich existieren trotz einer partiellen Rißschließung auch unter hohem hydrostatischen Druck noch Risse und Spalten im Gestein. Die thermische Veränderung der Mikrostruktur eines Gesteins bewirkt eine Geschwindigkeitserniedrigung im trockenen Gestein, welche auch bei hohem hydrostatischen Druck erhalten bleibt, sowie eine Vergrößerung der Fluideffekte. Die Erklärung des geänderten Verhaltens des fluidhaltigen Gesteins gelang mit dem Mechanismus lokaler Flüssigkeitsströmungen. Die Ergebnisse an verändertem Gestein zeigen direkt, daß die Mikrostruktur auch bei hohem hydrostatischen Druck grundlegend für die seismischen Gesteinsparameter ist. Da auch unter erhöhtem hydrostatischem Druck, also unter ’in-situ’-Bedingungen, der frequenzabhängige Mechanismus lokaler Flüssigkeitsströmungen die seismischen Gesteinsparameterwesentlich beeinflußt, muß diese Frequenzabhängigkeit bei der Übertragung von Laborergebnissen auf die Feld- und Bohrlochseismik beachtet werden.

Description: Laboratory experiments in the ultrasonic frequency range and accompanying theoretical investigations were performed with the aim to clarify which absorption mechanisms are effective in fluid-containing sandstones at low uniaxial pressure (26 MPa) and at elevated hydrostatic pressure (up to 200 MPa). The knowledge of the effective absorption mechanisms is necessary to understand the relation of lithological and seismic rock parameters and to use it for the interpretation of seismic field measurements. Preceding investigations at the TU-Berlin had revealed that at low uniaxial pressure frequency dependent local-fluid-flow is the dominating absorption mechanism in fluid-containing rock and that polar fluids lead to a modulus reduction. Within the scope of the present study the investigations of the seismic rock parameters (velocity, attenuation) at low uniaxial pressure were continued. It was shown that the compressional wave velocity in fluid-containing rock is additionally influenced by a partial rock stiffening effect at higher saturations. With this result a complete explanation of the saturation dependent elastic and anelastic rock behaviour at low uniaxial pressure was achieved. To prove the significance of the rock microstructure (e.g. crack density, crack aspect ratios, grain contact properties) for the seismic rock parameters directly, the microstructure of a sandstone was artificially changed by thermal cracking. With negligible changes of the macroscopic rock parameters (porosity, permeability) the alteration of the microstructure leads to an increase of the fluid effects on the elastic and anelastic rock properties. Mechanisms and models which are solely based on macroscopic rock parameters do not cover the observed changes in the rock behaviour. Only by applying the mechanism of local-fuid-flow related to microstructure the changes in the fluid effects can be explained. Thus these results obtained on thermally changed rock are a direct prove of the fundamental influence of the microstructure on the seismic rock parameters. Until now it has not yet been clarified whether the mechanism of local-fluid-flow which depends on the existence of narrow cracks in rock also determines the rock behaviour under elevated hydrostatic pressure. To investigate the absorption mechanisms in rock under elevated pressure ultrasonic measurements were performed on sandstone with different saturands and degrees of saturation. The experimental results reveal that under elevated pressure fluid dependent attenuation mechanisms are effective too and polar fluids cause a modulus reduction in the entire pressure range. The comparison of the experimental results with model predictions reveals that local-fluid-flow explains the influence of different fluids on the velocity and attenuation and that this mechanism is of essential significance for the elastic and anelastic rock properties even under high hydrostatic pressure. Consequently despite a partial crack closure sufficient fine cracks exist even under high hydrostatic pressure. The thermal alteration of the microstructure of a rock leads to a velocity decrease in the dry rock which is preserved at high hydrostatic pressure, as well as to an increase of the fluid effects. The explanation of the changed behaviour of the fluid-containing rock was achieved by means of the mechanism of local-fluid-flow. The results obtained on altered rock directly demonstrate that the microstructure is of fundamental significance for the seismic rock parameters at high hydrostatic pressure too. Depending on the rock microstructure the mechanism of local-fluid-flow may cause attenuation and dispersion in all frequency ranges. Since it has been shown in this study that also under elevated hydrostatic pressure, i.e. under ’in-situ’conditions, this frequency dependent mechanism essentially influences the seismic rock parameters, the frequency dependence must be taken into account by extrapolating laboratory results to field and borehole seismic.

Description: thesis

Description: DFG, SUB Göttingen