Refine
Year of publication
- 2024 (5)
- 2023 (34)
- 2022 (117)
- 2021 (128)
- 2020 (205)
- 2019 (276)
- 2018 (314)
- 2017 (298)
- 2016 (292)
- 2015 (256)
- 2014 (228)
- 2013 (187)
- 2012 (171)
- 2011 (141)
- 2010 (90)
- 2009 (120)
- 2008 (22)
- 2007 (15)
- 2006 (78)
- 2005 (73)
- 2004 (66)
- 2003 (24)
- 2002 (19)
- 2001 (30)
- 2000 (46)
- 1999 (64)
- 1998 (75)
- 1997 (74)
- 1996 (49)
- 1995 (29)
- 1994 (33)
- 1993 (3)
- 1992 (4)
- 1991 (1)
Document Type
- Article (2717)
- Doctoral Thesis (504)
- Postprint (139)
- Other (73)
- Review (51)
- Monograph/Edited Volume (34)
- Preprint (17)
- Conference Proceeding (12)
- Habilitation Thesis (12)
- Master's Thesis (6)
Keywords
- climate change (49)
- Holocene (44)
- erosion (28)
- Himalaya (26)
- remote sensing (25)
- permafrost (24)
- Climate change (21)
- Tibetan Plateau (21)
- Pollen (20)
- climate (20)
Institute
- Institut für Geowissenschaften (3572) (remove)
Ground motion with strong-velocity pulses can cause significant damage to buildings and structures at certain periods; hence, knowing the period and velocity amplitude of such pulses is critical for earthquake structural engineering.
However, the physical factors relating the scaling of pulse periods with magnitude are poorly understood.
In this study, we investigate moderate but damaging earthquakes (M-w 6-7) and characterize ground- motion pulses using the method of Shahi and Baker (2014) while considering the potential static-offset effects.
We confirm that the within-event variability of the pulses is large. The identified pulses in this study are mostly from strike-slip-like earthquakes. We further perform simulations using the freq uency-wavenumber algorithm to investigate the causes of the variability of the pulse periods within and between events for moderate strike-slip earthquakes.
We test the effect of fault dips, and the impact of the asperity locations and sizes. The simulations reveal that the asperity properties have a high impact on the pulse periods and amplitudes at nearby stations.
Our results emphasize the importance of asperity characteristics, in addition to earthquake magnitudes for the occurrence and properties of pulses produced by the forward directivity effect.
We finally quantify and discuss within- and between-event variabilities of pulse properties at short distances.
The Arctic is rich in aquatic systems and experiences rapid warming due to climate change. The accelerated warming causes permafrost thaw and the mobilization of organic carbon.
When dissolved organic carbon is mobilized, this DOC can be transported to aquatic systems and degraded in the water bodies and further downstream. Here, we analyze the influence of different landscape components on DOC concentrations and export in a small (6.45 km(2)) stream catchment in the Lena River Delta.
The catchment includes lakes and ponds, with the flow path from Pleistocene yedoma deposits across Holocene non-yedoma deposits to the river outlet. In addition to DOC concentrations, we use radiocarbon dating of DOC as well as stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes (delta O-18 and delta D) to assess the origin of DOC.
We find significantly higher DOC concentrations in the Pleistocene yedoma area of the catchment compared to the Holocene non-yedoma area with medians of 5 and 4.5 mg L-1 (p < 0.05), respectively. When yedoma thaw streams with high DOC concentration reach a large yedoma thermokarst lake, we observe an abrupt decrease in DOC concentration, which we attribute to dilution and lake processes such as mineralization. The DOC ages in the large thermokarst lake (between 3,428 and 3,637 C-14 y BP) can be attributed to a mixing of mobilized old yedoma and Holocene carbon.
Further downstream after the large thermokarst lake, we find progressively younger DOC ages in the stream water to its mouth, paired with decreasing DOC concentrations. This process could result from dilution with leaching water from Holocene deposits and/or emission of ancient yedoma carbon to the atmosphere. Our study shows that thermokarst lakes and ponds may act as DOC filters, predominantly by diluting incoming waters of higher DOC concentrations or by re-mineralizing DOC to CO2 and CH4.
Nevertheless, our results also confirm that the small catchment still contributes DOC on the order of 1.2 kg km(-2) per day from a permafrost landscape with ice-rich yedoma deposits to the Lena River.
Mechanical behaviors of granite after thermal treatment under loading and unloading conditions
(2021)
Understanding the mechanical behaviors of granite after thermal treatment under loading and unloading conditions is of utmost relevance to deep geothermal energy recovery. In the present study, a series of loading and unloading triaxial compression tests (20, 40 and 60 MPa) on granite specimens after exposure to different temperatures (20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 degrees C) was carried out to quantify the combined effects of thermal treatment and loading/unloading stress conditions on granite strength and deformation. Changes in the microstructure of granite exposed to high temperatures were revealed by optical microscopy. The experimental results indicate that both, thermal treatment and loading/unloading stress conditions, degrade the mechanical behaviors and further decrease the carrying capacity of granite. The gradual degradation of the mechanical characteristics of granite after thermal treatment is mainly associated with the evolution of thermal micro-cracks based on optical microscopy observations. The unloading stress state induces the extension of tension cracks parallel to the axial direction, and thus, the mechanical properties are degraded. Temperatures above 400 degrees C have a more significant influence on the mechanical characteristics of granite than the unloading treatment, whereby 400 degrees C can be treated as a threshold temperature for the delineation of significant deterioration. This study is expected to support feasibility and risk assessments by means of providing data for analytical calculations and numerical simulations on granite exposed to high temperatures during geothermal energy extraction.
It is widely recognized that collisional mountain belt topography is generated by crustal thickening and lowered by river bedrock erosion, linking climate and tectonics(1-4). However, whether surface processes or lithospheric strength control mountain belt height, shape and longevity remains uncertain. Additionally, how to reconcile high erosion rates in some active orogens with long-term survival of mountain belts for hundreds of millions of years remains enigmatic. Here we investigate mountain belt growth and decay using a new coupled surface process(5,6) and mantle-scale tectonic model(7). End-member models and the new non-dimensional Beaumont number, Bm, quantify how surface processes and tectonics control the topographic evolution of mountain belts, and enable the definition of three end-member types of growing orogens: type 1, non-steady state, strength controlled (Bm > 0.5); type 2, flux steady state(8), strength controlled (Bm approximate to 0.4-0.5); and type 3, flux steady state, erosion controlled (Bm < 0.4). Our results indicate that tectonics dominate in Himalaya-Tibet and the Central Andes (both type 1), efficient surface processes balance high convergence rates in Taiwan (probably type 2) and surface processes dominate in the Southern Alps of New Zealand (type 3). Orogenic decay is determined by erosional efficiency and can be subdivided into two phases with variable isostatic rebound characteristics and associated timescales. The results presented here provide a unified framework explaining how surface processes and lithospheric strength control the height, shape, and longevity of mountain belts.
In this study, we analyzed a large seismological dataset from temporary and permanent networks in the southern and eastern Alps to establish high-precision hypocenters and 1-D V-P and V-P/V-S models. The waveform data of a subset of local earthquakes with magnitudes in the range of 1-4.2 M-L were recorded by the dense, temporary SWATH-D network and selected stations of the AlpArray network between September 2017 and the end of 2018. The first arrival times of P and S waves of earthquakes are determined by a semi-automatic procedure. We applied a Markov chain Monte Carlo inversion method to simultaneously calculate robust hypocenters, a 1-D velocity model, and station corrections without prior assumptions, such as initial velocity models or earthquake locations. A further advantage of this method is the derivation of the model parameter uncertainties and noise levels of the data. The precision estimates of the localization procedure is checked by inverting a synthetic travel time dataset from a complex 3-D velocity model and by using the real stations and earthquakes geometry. The location accuracy is further investigated by a quarry blast test. The average uncertainties of the locations of the earthquakes are below 500m in their epicenter and similar to 1.7 km in depth. The earthquake distribution reveals seismicity in the upper crust (0-20 km), which is characterized by pronounced clusters along the Alpine frontal thrust, e.g., the Friuli-Venetia (FV) region, the Giudicarie-Lessini (GL) and Schio-Vicenza domains, the Austroalpine nappes, and the Inntal area. Some seismicity also occurs along the Periadriatic Fault. The general pattern of seismicity reflects head-on convergence of the Adriatic indenter with the Alpine orogenic crust. The seismicity in the FV and GL regions is deeper than the modeled frontal thrusts, which we interpret as indication for southward propagation of the southern Alpine deformation front (blind thrusts).
Dryland xeric conditions exert a deterministic effect on microbial communities, forcing life into refuge niches. Deposited rocks can form a lithic niche for microorganisms in desert regions. Mineral weathering is a key process in soil formation and the importance of microbial-driven mineral weathering for nutrient extraction is increasingly accepted. Advances in geobiology provide insight into the interactions between microorganisms and minerals that play an important role in weathering processes. In this study, we present the examination of the microbial diversity in dryland rocks from the Tsauchab River banks in Namibia. We paired culture-independent 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing with culture-dependent (isolation of bacteria) techniques to assess the community structure and diversity patterns. Bacteria isolated from dryland rocks are typical of xeric environments and are described as being involved in rock weathering processes. For the first time, we extracted extra- and intracellular DNA from rocks to enhance our understanding of potentially rock-weathering microorganisms. We compared the microbial community structure in different rock types (limestone, quartz-rich sandstone and quartz-rich shale) with adjacent soils below the rocks. Our results indicate differences in the living lithic and sublithic microbial communities.
In some catchments, the distribution of annual maximum streamflow shows heavy tail behavior, meaning the occurrence probability of extreme events is higher than if the upper tail decayed exponentially. Neglecting heavy tail behavior can lead to an underestimation of the likelihood of extreme floods and the associated risk. Partly contradictory results regarding the controls of heavy tail behavior exist in the literature and the knowledge is still very dispersed and limited. To better understand the drivers, we analyze the upper tail behavior and its controls for 480 catchments in Germany and Austria over a period of more than 50 years. The catchments span from quickly reacting mountain catchments to large lowland catchments, allowing for general conclusions. We compile a wide range of event and catchment characteristics and investigate their association with an indicator of the tail heaviness of flood distributions, namely the shape parameter of the GEV distribution. Following univariate analyses of these characteristics, along with an evaluation of different aggregations of event characteristics, multiple linear regression models, as well as random forests, are constructed. A novel slope indicator, which represents the relation between the return period of flood peaks and event characteristics, captures the controls of heavy tails best. Variables describing the catchment response are found to dominate the heavy tail behavior, followed by event precipitation, flood seasonality, and catchment size. The pre-event moisture state in a catchment has no relevant impact on the tail heaviness even though it does influence flood magnitudes.
The metastable paragenesis of corundum and quartz is rare in nature but common in laboratory experiments where according to thermodynamic predictions aluminum-silicate polymorphs should form. We demonstrate here that the existence of a hydrous, silicon-bearing, nanometer-thick layer (called "HSNL") on the corundum surface can explain this metastability in experimental studies without invoking unspecific kinetic inhibition. We investigated experimentally formed corundum reaction products synthesized during hydrothermal and piston-cylinder experiments at 500-800 degrees C and 0.25-1.8 GPa and found that this HSNL formed inside and on the corundum crystals, thereby controlling the growth behavior of its host. The HSNL represents a substitution of Al with Si and H along the basal plane of corundum. Along the interface of corundum and quartz, the HSNL effectively isolates the bulk phases corundum and quartz from each other, thus apparently preventing their reaction to the stable aluminum silicate. High temperatures and prolonged experimental duration lead to recrystallization of corundum including the HSNL and to the formation of quartz + fluid inclusions inside the host crystal. This process reduces the phase boundary area between the bulk phases, thereby providing further opportunity to expand their coexistence. In addition to its small size, its transient nature makes it difficult to detect the HSNL in experiments and even more so in natural samples. Our findings emphasize the potential impact of nanometer-sized phases on geochemical reaction pathways and kinetics under metamorphic conditions in one of the most important chemical systems of the Earth's crust.
Despite its high-seismogenic potential, the details of the seismogenic processes of Zagros Simply Folded Belt (SFB) remains debated. Three large earthquakes (M-w 7.3, 5.9 and 6.3) struck in the Lurestan arc of the Zagros SFB in 2017 and 2018. The sequence was recorded by seismic stations at regional, and teleseismic distances. Coseismic surface displacements, measured by Sentinel-1A/B satellites, provide additional data and a unique opportunity to study these earthquakes in detail. Here, we complement previous studies of the coseismic slip distribution of the 12 November 2017 M-w 7.3 Ezgeleh earthquake by a detailed analysis of its aftershocks, and we analysed the rupture process of the two interrelated earthquakes (25 August 2018 M-w 5.9 Tazehabad and the 25 November 2018 M-w 6.3 Sarpol-e Zahab earthquakes). We model the surface displacements obtained from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements and seismic records. We conduct non-linear probabilistic optimizations based on joint InSAR and seismic data to obtain finite-fault rupture of these earthquakes. The Lurestan arc earthquakes were followed by a sustained aftershock activity, with 133 aftershocks exceeding M-n 4.0 until 30 December 2019. We rely on the permanent seismic networks of Iran and Iraq to relocate similar to 700 M-n 3 + events and estimate moment tensor solutions for 85 aftershocks down to M-w 4.0. The 2017 Ezgeleh earthquake has been considered to activate a low-angle (similar to 17 degrees) dextral-thrust fault at the depth of 10-20 km. However, most of its aftershocks have shallow centroid depths (8-12 km). The joint interpretation of finite source models, moment tensor and hypocentral location indicate that the 2018 Tazehabad and Sarpol-e Zahab earthquakes ruptured different strike-slip structures, providing evidence for the activation of the sinistral and dextral strike-slip faults, respectively. The deformation in the Lurestan arc is seismically accommodated by a complex fault system involving both thrust and strike-slip faults. Knowledge about the deformation characteristics is important for the understanding of crustal shortening, faulting and hazard and risk assessment in this region.
The release of greenhouse gases from the large organic carbon stock in permafrost deposits in the circumarctic regions may accelerate global warming upon thaw. The extent of this positive climate feedback is thought to be largely controlled by the microbial degradability of the organic matter preserved in these sediments. In addition, weathering and oxidation processes may release inorganic carbon preserved in permafrost sediments as CO2, which is generally not accounted for. We used C-13 and C-14 analysis and isotopic mass balances to differentiate and quantify organic and inorganic carbon released as CO2 in the field from an active retrogressive thaw slump of Pleistocene-age Yedoma and during a 1.5-years incubation experiment. The results reveal that the dominant source of the CO2 released from freshly thawed Yedoma exposed as thaw mound is Pleistocene-age organic matter (48-80%) and to a lesser extent modern organic substrate (3-34%). A significant portion of the CO2 originated from inorganic carbon in the Yedoma (17-26%). The mixing of young, active layer material with Yedoma at a site on the slump floor led to the preferential mineralization of this young organic carbon source. Admixtures of younger organic substrates in the Yedoma thaw mound were small and thus rapidly consumed as shown by lower contributions to the CO2 produced during few weeks of aerobic incubation at 4 degrees C corresponding to approximately one thaw season. Future CO2 fluxes from the freshly thawed Yedoma will contain higher proportions of ancient inorganic (22%) and organic carbon (61-78%) as suggested by the results at the end, after 1.5 years of incubation. The increasing contribution of inorganic carbon during the incubation is favored by the accumulation of organic acids from microbial organic matter degradation resulting in lower pH values and, in consequence, in inorganic carbon dissolution. Because part of the inorganic carbon pool is assumed to be of pedogenic origin, these emissions would ultimately not alter carbon budgets. The results of this study highlight the preferential degradation of younger organic substrates in freshly thawed Yedoma, if available, and a substantial release of CO2 from inorganic sources.