Early Paleogene wildfires in peat-forming environments at Schöningen, Germany

AbstractWildfire activity in early Paleogene greenhouse conditions can be used as an analogue to gauge the effect of future warming trends on wildfire in the current climate system. Inertinite (fossil charcoal in coal) from 11 autochthonous early Paleogene lignite seams from the Schöningen mine (Germany) was quantified using macerations, in situ pillars and industry standard crushed samples. A new three transect method was developed to quantify in situ charcoal. The combination of in situ pillars and crushed samples accounts for temporal and spatial variation in charcoal through a stratigraphically oriented pillar, whilst maintaining comparability with industry standards and previous work. Charcoal occurs as a range of randomly distributed particle sizes, indicating that fires were burning locally in the Schöningen peat-forming environment and in the surrounding areas, but according to petrological data, not in an episodic or periodic pattern. Although charcoal abundance is low (relative to previous high fire worlds such as the Cretaceous), three quantitative and semi-quantitative methods show increased wildfire activity (relative to the modern world) in the warmest parts of the early Paleogene. As atmospheric oxygen levels stabilised to modern values and precipitation and humidity became the main control on wildfire, increased rainfall followed by drier intervals would have created an environment rich in dry fuel in which wildfires could easily propagate if humidity was low enough. In the later part of the Early Eocene (Ypresian) charcoal abundance fell to levels similar to those found in modern peats. This indicates that the transition to the modern low fire world occurred within the Early Eocene, earlier than previous records suggest

Exkursion 6: Trias und Jura von Göttingen und Umgebung

Die Exkursion stellt repräsentative Aufschlüsse triassischer und jurassischer Sedimente aus der direkten Umgebung von Göttingen vor. Dabei werden deren stratigraphische Stellung, Ablagerungsmilieus und Fossilgemeinschaften diskutiert. Zunächst werden Aufschlüsse auf der östlichen Schulter des Leinetalgrabens (Muschelkalk- Plateau des Göttinger Waldes), danach auch im Leinetalgraben selbst (Keuper, Schwarzjura) besucht. Hinreichend gute Aufschlußbedingungen sind vor allem in Tongruben (Röt, Mittlerer Keuper, Schwarzjura) und Steinbrüchen (Unterer Muschelkalk) gegeben.excursionguid

Mid-latitude continental temperatures through the early Eocene in western Europe

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are increasingly used to reconstruct mean annual air temperature (MAAT) during the early Paleogene. However, the application of this proxy in coal deposits is limited and brGDGTs have only been detected in immature coals (i.e. lignites). Using samples recovered from Schöningen, Germany (∼48°N palaeolatitude), we provide the first detailed study into the occurrence and distribution of brGDGTs through a sequence of early Eocene lignites and associated interbeds. BrGDGTs are abundant and present in every sample. In comparison to modern studies, changes in vegetation type do not appear to significantly impact brGDGT distributions; however, there are subtle differences between lignites – representing peat-forming environments – and siliciclastic nearshore marine interbed depositional environments. Using the most recent brGDGT temperature calibration (MATmr) developed for soils, we generate the first continental temperature record from central-western continental Europe through the early Eocene. Lignite-derived MAAT estimates range from 23 to 26 °C while those derived from the nearshore marine interbeds exceed 20 °C. These estimates are consistent with other mid-latitude environments and model simulations, indicating enhanced mid-latitude, early Eocene warmth. In the basal part of the section studied, warming is recorded in both the lignites (∼2 °C) and nearshore marine interbeds (∼2–3 °C). This culminates in a long-term temperature maximum, likely including the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). Although this long-term warming trend is relatively well established in the marine realm, it has rarely been shown in terrestrial settings. Using a suite of model simulations we show that the magnitude of warming at Schöningen is broadly consistent with a doubling of CO2, in agreement with late Paleocene and early Eocene pCO2 estimates

Conflicts around Germany’s Energiewende: Discourse patterns of citizens’ initiatives

Especially since the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe (2011), Germany has expanded its renewably sourced energies. Nuclear power is to be phased out by 2022. What is central to federal policy is the expansion of wind-generated energy. Plans for new wind farms have, however, faced opposition. And the transportation of electricity from the windy north to the high-use south entails an expansion of the existing power grid, which also provokes conflict. The article scrutinises dominant patterns of discourse on these issues. Based on current discourse theory, the research sheds light on the argumentative power of citizens’ initiatives with respect to nature conservation, landscape, health and economics

Screening of Subtelomeric Rearrangements in 100 Korean Pediatric Patients with Unexplained Mental Retardation and Anomalies Using Subtelomeric FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization)

Rearrangements of the subtelomeric regions of chromosomes account for a significant proportion of the underlying genetic defects in both idiopathic mental retardation (MR) and multiple congenital anomalies. To detect the rearrangements, a set of subtelomeric fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes has been developed. The aim of this study was to reveal the frequency of subtelomeric rearrangements in Korean patients with MR or multiple anomalies. We performed a FISH study using a commercially available subtelomeric FISH probes on a series of unrelated Korean pediatric patients with MR or multiple anomalies without identifiable causes. We used a checklist to evaluate the developmental delay and/or MR. Patients who were shown to have chromosome abnormalities, metabolic disorders, or recognizable dysmorphic syndromes by clinical and laboratory findings were excluded. As a result, 100 patients were eligible for the Subtelomeric FISH study, and a total of 29 patients (29%) were suspected to have subtelomeric rearrangements on initial screening by the multiprobe FISH kit. Among theses, confirmatory FISH studies by using single locus-specific FISH probes were performed in 24 patients. One patient (a 10-yr-old girl) was confirmed to have rearrangement, deletion of the telomeric portion of the short arm of chromosome 4 (4p). Her clinical manifestation was compatible with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, which is known to be caused by 4p deletion. The frequency of subtelomeric rearrangements in this study was 1.1% (1/95), lower than those previously reported (0.5-16.3%). We suggest that subtelomeric FISH test is a useful screening tool for patients with idiopathic MR and/or dysmorphism regardless of its false positive value

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements