Environmental Radioxenon Levels in Europe: a Comprehensive Overview     

Paul R. J. Saey  Clemens Schlosser  Pascal Achim  Matthias Auer  Anders Axelsson  Andreas Becker  Xavier Blanchard  Guy Brachet  Luis Cella  Lars-Erik De Geer  Martin B. Kalinowski  Gilbert Le Petit  Jenny Peterson  Vladimir Popov  Yury Popov  Anders Ringbom  Hartmut Sartorius  Thomas Taffary  Matthias Zähringer 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2010,167(4-5):499-515

Activity concentration data from ambient radioxenon measurements in ground level air, which were carried out in Europe in the framework of the International Noble Gas Experiment (INGE) in support of the development and build-up of a radioxenon monitoring network for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification regime are presented and discussed. Six measurement stations provided data from 5 years of measurements performed between 2003 and 2008: Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen, Norway), Stockholm (Sweden), Dubna (Russian Federation), Schauinsland Mountain (Germany), Bruyères-le-Châtel and Marseille (both France). The noble gas systems used within the INGE are designed to continuously measure low concentrations of the four radioxenon isotopes which are most relevant for detection of nuclear explosions: ^131mXe, ^133mXe, ¹³³Xe and ¹³⁵Xe with a time resolution less than or equal to 24 h and a minimum detectable concentration of ¹³³Xe less than 1 mBq/m³. This European cluster of six stations is particularly interesting because it is highly influenced by a high density of nuclear power reactors and some radiopharmaceutical production facilities. The activity concentrations at the European INGE stations are studied to characterise the influence of civilian releases, to be able to distinguish them from possible nuclear explosions. It was found that the mean activity concentration of the most frequently detected isotope, ¹³³Xe, was 5–20 mBq/m³ within Central Europe where most nuclear installations are situated (Bruyères-le-Châtel and Schauinsland), 1.4–2.4 mBq/m³ just outside that region (Stockholm, Dubna and Marseille) and 0.2 mBq/m³ in the remote polar station of Spitsbergen. No seasonal trends could be observed from the data. Two interesting events have been examined and their source regions have been identified using atmospheric backtracking methods that deploy Lagrangian particle dispersion modelling and inversion techniques. The results are consistent with known releases of a radiopharmaceutical facility.  相似文献   

Composition and origin of organic matter in surface sediments of Lake Sarbsko: A highly eutrophic and shallow coastal lake (northern Poland)   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Micha? Woszczyk  Achim Bechtel  Reinhard Gratzer  Maciej J. Kotarba  Miko?aj Kokociński  Jens Fiebig  Roman Cie?liński 《Organic Geochemistry》2011,42(9):1025-1038

We present an organic geochemical study of surface sediments of Lake Sarbsko, a shallow coastal lake on the middle Polish Baltic coast. The aim was to provide evidence concerning the origin of the organic matter (OM) and its compositional diversity in surface deposits of this very productive, highly dynamic water body. The content and composition of the OM in the bottom sediments were investigated at 11 sampling stations throughout the lake basin. OM sources were assigned on the basis of bulk indicators [total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), δ¹³C_TOC and δ¹⁵N and extractable OM yield], biomarker composition of extractable OM and compound-specific C isotope signatures. The source characterization of autochthonous compounds was verified via phytoplankton analysis. The distribution of gaseous hydrocarbons in the sediments, as well as temporal changes in lake water pH, the concentration of DIC (dissolved inorganic carbon) and δ¹³C_DIC were used to trace OM decomposition.The sedimentary OM is composed mainly of well preserved phytoplankton compounds and shows minor spatial variability in composition. However, the presence of CH₄ and CO₂ in the bottom deposits provides evidence for microbial degradation of sedimentary OM. The transformation of organic compounds in surface, bottom and pore waters via oxidative processes influences carbonate equilibrium in the lake and seasonally favours precipitation or dissolution of CaCO₃.The data enhance our understanding of the relationships between the composition of sedimentary OM and environmental conditions within coastal ecosystems and shed light on the reliability of OM proxies for environmental reconstruction of coastal lakes.  相似文献   

Oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations in the Alpine Foreland Basin of Austria: Insights from biomarker and stable carbon isotope studies     

Reinhard Gratzer  Achim BechtelReinhard F. Sachsenhofer  Hans-Gert LinzerDoris Reischenbacher  Hans-Martin Schulz 《Marine and Petroleum Geology》2011,28(6):1171-1186

The Alpine Foreland Basin is a minor oil and moderate gas province in central Europe. In the Austrian part of the Alpine Foreland Basin, oil and minor thermal gas are thought to be predominantly sourced from Lower Oligocene horizons (Schöneck and Eggerding formations). The source rocks are immature where the oil fields are located and enter the oil window at ca. 4 km depth beneath the Alpine nappes indicating long-distance lateral migration. Most important reservoirs are Upper Cretaceous and Eocene basal sandstones.Stable carbon isotope and biomarker ratios of oils from different reservoirs indicate compositional trends in W-E direction which reflect differences in source, depositional environment (facies), and maturity of potential source rocks. Thermal maturity parameters from oils of different fields are only in the western part consistent with northward displacement of immature oils by subsequently generated oils. In the eastern part of the basin different migration pathways must be assumed. The trend in S/(S + R) isomerisation of ααα-C₂₉ steranes versus the αββ (20R)/ααα (20R) C₂₉ steranes ratio from oil samples can be explained by differences in thermal maturation without involving long-distance migration. The results argue for hydrocarbon migration through highly permeable carrier beds or open faults rather than relatively short migration distances from the source. The lateral distance of oil fields to the position of mature source rocks beneath the Alpine nappes in the south suggests minimum migration distances between less than 20 km and more than 50 km.Biomarker compositions of the oils suggest Oligocene shaly to marly successions (i.e. Schoeneck, Dynow, and Eggerding formations) as potential source rocks, taking into account their immature character. Best matches are obtained between the oils and units a/b (marly shale) and c (black shale) of the “normal” Schöneck Formation, as well as with the so-called “Oberhofen Facies”. Results from open system pyrolysis-gas chromatography of potential source rocks indicate slightly higher sulphur content of the resulting pyrolysate from unit b. The enhanced dibenzothiophene/phenanthrene ratios of oils from the western part of the basin would be consistent with a higher contribution of unit b to hydrocarbon expulsion in this area. Differences in the relative contribution of sedimentary units to oil generation are inherited from thickness variations of respective units in the overthrusted sediments. The observed trend towards lighter δ¹³C values of hydrocarbon fractions from oil fields in a W-E direction are consistent with lower δ¹³C values of organic matter in unit c.  相似文献   

Error evolution in the dynamics of an ocean general circulation model     

Achim Wirth  Michael Ghil 《Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans》2000,32(3-4)

The problem of error propagation is considered for spatially uncorrelated errors of the barotropic stream function in an oceanic general circulation model (OGCM). Such errors typically occur when altimetric data from satellites are assimilated into ocean models. It is shown that the error decays at first due to the dissipation of the smallest scales in the error field. The error then grows exponentially before it saturates at the value corresponding to the difference between independent realizations. A simple analytic formula for the error behavior is derived; it matches the numerical results documented for the present primitive-equation ocean model, and other models in the literature.  相似文献   

沈北煤田煤中琥珀的植物来源和稳定同位素的古环境意义     

刘帮军  田泽奇  李鸿豆  郭旭  赵巧静  石志祥  郭文牧  张宁  Achim BECHTEL  Maksim G BLOKHIN  孙玉壮  赵存良 《地质学报》2023,97(8):2445-2458

琥珀是由古代植物代谢产生的树脂聚合物形成的化石。琥珀中的有机质保存环境稳定、封闭,能很好地记载其形成时期的古植物和古环境等信息。本次研究运用气象色谱质谱联用仪（GC-MS）和元素分析稳定同位素质谱仪（EA-IRMS）等测试方法,研究了沈北煤田煤中琥珀的有机地球化学组成、稳定同位素和化合物单体碳同位素特征。结果表明,琥珀中的饱和烃以二萜化合物为主（占73.45%）,芳香烃以松香烷型化合物为主（56.17%）;高含量的贝壳杉烷、雪松烷、扁枝烷和松香烷型化合物指示琥珀来源于松柏类植物,且以柏科植物为主。沈北琥珀的δ13C值为-22.8‰ ~ -21.2‰,与同时期其他地区琥珀的δ13C值相似;氢同位素变化范围较小（-297.2‰ ~ -276.0‰）,氧同位素值为17.4‰ ~ 31.6‰。琥珀的稳定同位素组成（碳、氢和氧）进一步证明琥珀来源于裸子植物。琥珀的δ13C值主要与其形成时的全球气温变化和大气组成有关。沈北琥珀的氢和氧同位素组成主要受植物种类（松柏类）以及植物生长的局部气温和降水条件有关。琥珀稳定碳同位素有望成为研究古气候和古大气组成的良好载体,琥珀的氢和氧同位素可以反映形成时期的古环境条件,但仍需进一步深入研究。  相似文献   

Shocks and shells in hot star winds     

A. Feldmeier  J. Puls  C. Reile  A. W. A. Pauldrach  R. P. Kudritzki  S. P. Owocki 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1995,233(1-2):293-299

Radiation-driven winds of hot, massive stars showvariability in UV and optical line profiles on time scales of hours to days.Shock heating of wind material is indicated by the observed X-ray emission. We present time-dependent hydrodynamical models of these winds, where flowstructures originate from a strong instability of the radiative driving. Recent calculations (Owocki 1992) of the unstable growth of perturbations were restricted by the assumptions of 1-D spherical symmetry and isothermality of the wind. We drop the latter assumption and include the energy transfer in the wind. This leads to a severe numerical shortcoming, whereby all radiative cooling zones collapse and the shocks become isothermal again. We propose a method to hinder this collapse. Calculations for dense supergiant winds then show: (1) The wind consists of a sequence of narrow and dense shells, which are enclosed by strong reverse shocks (with temperatures of 10⁶ to 10⁷ K) on their starward facing side. (2) Collisions of shells are frequent up to 6 to 7 stellar radii. (3) Radiative cooling is efficient only up to 4 to 6R _*. Beyond these radii, cooling zones behind shocks become broad and alter the wind structure drastically: all reverse shocks disappear, leaving regions ofpreviously heated gas.  相似文献   

Preliminary reconstruction of sediment-source linkages for the past 6000 yr at the Petit Lac d'Annecy, France, based on mineral magnetic data   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

John Dearing  Yuquan Hu  Pippa Doody  Peter A. James  Achim Brauer 《Journal of Paleolimnology》2001,25(2):245-258

An 8 m core from the central plain of the Petit Lac d'Annecy, France, two floodplain cores, river bedload sediments and several hundred soil samples from the catchment have been studied using magnetic techniques. The soils, mainly developed on limestones and local glacial tills, show widespread magnetic enhancement with higher ferrimagnetic concentrations and contents of SP grains than found in the lake sediments. Some soils show significant concentrations of canted antiferromagnetic minerals (mainly haematite). Using magnetic quotient parameters the surface soils are classified into four mineralogical types. The lake and floodplain sediment properties over the past 6000 yrs can largely be explained by the erosion and deposition of these sources, with a smaller superimposed biogenic (magnetosomes) signal. Derived sediment-source linkages allow the construction of several hypotheses about geomorphological changes in the catchment system: (i) the long-term erosion of high altitude unweathered substrates has gradually increased towards the present day; (ii) the erosion of high altitude soils has increased within the last 1000 yrs, possibly during the period of the 'Little Ice Age'; (iii) shifts towards an increased erosion of surface lowland soil occurred ~2000 and 1000 yrs ago and may be linked to an accelerated accretion of floodplain overbank deposits; (iv) there has been a significant storage of surface soil within floodplains, which leads to an underestimation of the importance of soil erosion in the lake sediment records; (v) the sediment transported by high magnitude, low frequency flood events has shifted in source from high altitude soils before ~1000 cal. yr BP to lowland and mid-altitude free draining soils after ~1000 cal. yr BP.  相似文献   

High-resolution sea ice in long-term global ocean GCM integrations     

Achim Stssel  Marion M. Stssel  Joong-Tae Kim 《Ocean Modelling》2007,16(3-4):206-223

The resolution of the sea-ice component of a coarse-resolution global ocean general circulation model (GCM) has been enhanced to about 22 km in the Southern Ocean. The ocean GCM is designed for long-term integrations suitable for investigations of the deep-ocean equilibrium response to changes in southern hemisphere high-latitude processes. The space and time scales of the high-resolution sea-ice component are commensurate with those of the resolution of satellite passive-microwave sea-ice data. This provides the opportunity for a rigorous evaluation of simulated sea-ice characteristics. It is found that the satellite-derived continuous high ice concentration of the interior winter ice pack can only be captured when vertical oceanic mixing is modified in a way that less local, intermittent convection occurs. Furthermore, the width and the variability of the coastal polynyas around the Antarctic continent and its ice shelves are best captured when some form of ice-shelf melting is accounted for. The width of the wintertime ice edge is reasonably reproduced, while its variability remains underestimated, closely following the coarse-grid pattern of the ocean model due to its high dependence on ocean temperature. Additional variability besides daily winds, e.g. in form of idealized tidal currents, improves the temporal and spatial ice-edge variability, while leads in the interior ice pack become more abundant, more in line with the fine-scale satellite-derived texture. The coast- or ice-shelf line is described on the fine grid based on satellite passive-microwave data. This method requires parts of a coarse coastal ocean grid cell to be covered by an inert layer of “fast ice” or “ice shelf”. Reasonable long-term global deep-ocean properties can only be achieved when these areas are not inert, i.e. are exposed to heat flux and ice growth, or when the vertical mixing parameterization allows for excessive open-ocean convection. The model area exposed to cold high-latitude atmospheric conditions thus being most decisive for a realistic representation of the long-term deep-ocean properties, suggests that high-latitude coastlines are definitely in need of being represented at high resolution, including ice sheets and their effects on the heat and freshwater flux for the ocean.  相似文献   

Evolution of a Holsteinian (MIS 11c) palaeolake based on a 12‐ka‐long diatom record from Dethlingen (northern Germany)     

Andreas Koutsodendris  André F. Lotter  Emiliya Kirilova  Florence T. M. Verhagen  Achim Brauer  Jörg Pross 《Boreas: An International Journal of Quaternary Research》2013,42(3):714-728

To provide insights into the long‐term evolution of aquatic ecosystems without human interference, we here evaluate a decadal‐ to centennial‐scale‐resolution diatom record spanning about 12 ka of the Holsteinian interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 11c). Using a partially varved sediment core from the Dethlingen palaeolake (northern Germany), which has previously been studied for palynological and microfacies signals, we document the co‐evolution of the aquatic and surrounding terrestrial environment. The diatom record is dominated by the genera Stephanodiscus, Aulacoseira, Ulnaria and Fragilaria. Based on the diatom assemblages and physical sediment properties, the evolution of the Dethlingen palaeolake can be subdivided into three major phases. During the oldest phase (lasting ～1900 varve years), the lake was ～10–15 m deep and characterized by anoxic bottom‐water conditions and a high nutrient content. The following ～5600 years exhibited water depths >20 m, maximum diatom and Pediastrum productivity, and a peak in allochtonous nutrient input. During this phase, water‐column mixing became more vigorous, resulting in a breakdown of anoxia. The youngest lake phase (～4000–5000 years) was characterized by decreasing water depth, turbulent water conditions and decreased nutrient loading. Based on our palaeolimnological data, we conclude that the evolution of the Dethlingen palaeolake during the Holsteinian interglacial responded closely to (i) changes within the catchment area (as documented by vegetation and sedimentation) related to the transition from closed forests growing on nutrient‐rich soils (mesocratic forest phase) to open forests developing on poor soils (oligocratic forest phase), and (ii) short‐term climate variability as reflected in centennial‐scale climate perturbations.  相似文献   

Why "Melting ice" as a topic for the World Environment Day?     

Achim Steiner 《Polar research》2007,26(2):93-95

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