Anorogenic plateau formation: The importance of density changes in the lithosphere

International audienceAway from active plate boundaries the relationships between spatiotemporal variations in density and geothermal gradient are important for understanding the evolution of topography in continental interiors. In this context the classic concept of the continental lithosphere as comprising three static layers of different densities (upper crust, lower crust, and upper mantle) is not adequate to assess long-term changes in topography and relief in regions associated with pronounced thermal anomalies in the mantle. We have therefore developed a one-dimensional model, which is based on thermodynamic equilibrium assemblage computations and deliberately excludes the effects of melting processes like intrusion or extrusions. Our model calculates the "metamorphic density" of rocks as a function of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition. It not only provides a useful tool for quantifying the influence of petrologic characteristics on density, but also allows the modeled "metamorphic" density to be adjusted to variable geothermal gradients and applied to different geodynamic environments. We have used this model to simulate a scenario in which the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is subjected to continuous heating over a long period of time (130 Ma), and demonstrate how an anorogenic plateau with an elevation of 1400 m can be formed solely as a result of heat transfer within the continental lithosphere. Our results show that, beside dynamic topography (of asthenospheric origin), density changes within the lithosphere have an important impact on the evolution of anorogenic plateaus

Entwicklung einer PCR basierten Methode zur Quantifizierung der Erreger des Echten Gurkenmehltaus, Podosphaera xanthii und Golovinomyces orontii, in Mischinfektionen

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First report on Pythium myriotylum as pathogen on duckweed (Lemna minor L.) in hydroponic systems in Germany

Wasserlinsen sind eine vielversprechende Ressource für die zukünftige Produktion von Futter- und Nahrungsmitteln sowie die Abwasserreinigung. Krankheiten und Schädlinge können die Leistung der Produktionssysteme jedoch kritisch einschränken. In hydroponischen Systemen traten Flecken missfarbiger und gebleichter Wasserlinsen (Lemna minor L.) auf, die sich rasch im Bestand ausbreiteten. Durch mikrobiologische und molekularbiologische Untersuchungen wurde Pythium myriotylum als ursächlicher Schaderreger eindeutig nachgewiesen. Dies ist der erste Bericht über P. myriotylum an Wasserlinsen in Deutschland. Das Ergebnis und mögliche Gegenmaßnahmen werden erörtert.Duckweed is a promising resource for future feed and food production as well as wastewater treatment. However, diseases and pests can critically limit the performance of the production systems. Patches of discolored and bleached duckweed (Lemna minor L.) appeared in hydroponic systems and spread rapidly through the crop. Pythium myriotylum was confirmed as the causing pathogen by microbiological and molecular biological analysis. This is the first report of P. myriotylum on duckweed in Germany. The result and possible countermeasures are discussed

Moment conditions in strong laws of large numbers for multiple sums and random measures

The validity of the strong law of large numbers for multiple sums $S_n$ of independent identically distributed random variables $Z_k$, $k\leq n$, with $r$-dimensional indices is equivalent to the integrability of $|Z|(\log^+|Z|)^{r-1}$, where $Z$ is the typical summand. We consider the strong law of large numbers for more general normalisations, without assuming that the summands $Z_k$ are identically distributed, and prove a multiple sum generalisation of the Brunk--Prohorov strong law of large numbers. In the case of identical finite moments of irder $2q$ with integer $q\geq1$, we show that the strong law of large numbers holds with the normalisation $\|n_1\cdots n_r\|^{1/2}(\log n_1\cdots\log n_r)^{1/(2q)+\varepsilon}$ for any $\varepsilon>0$. The obtained results are also formulated in the setting of ergodic theorems for random measures, in particular those generated by marked point processes.Comment: 15 page

Parameter estimation in a spatial unit root autoregressive model

Spatial unilateral autoregressive model $X_{k,\ell}=\alpha X_{k-1,\ell}+\beta X_{k,\ell-1}+\gamma X_{k-1,\ell-1}+\epsilon_{k,\ell}$ is investigated in the unit root case, that is when the parameters are on the boundary of the domain of stability that forms a tetrahedron with vertices $(1,1,-1), \ (1,-1,1),\ (-1,1,1)$and$(-1,-1,-1)$. It is shown that the limiting distribution of the least squares estimator of the parameters is normal and the rate of convergence is$n$when the parameters are in the faces or on the edges of the tetrahedron, while on the vertices the rate is$n^{3/2}$.Comment: 47 pages, 1 figur

Spatio-temporal trends in normal-fault segmentation recorded by low-temperature thermochronology: Livingstone fault scarp, Malawi Rift, East African Rift System

The evolution of through-going normal-fault arrays from initial nucleation to growth and subsequent interaction and mechanical linkage is well documented in many extensional provinces. Over time, these processes lead to predictable spatial and temporal variations in the amount and rate of displacement accumulated along strike of individual fault segments, which should be manifested in the patterns of footwall exhumation. Here, we investigate the along-strike and vertical distribution of low-temperature apatite (U–Th)/He (AHe) cooling ages along the bounding fault system, the Livingstone fault, of the Karonga Basin of the northern Malawi Rift. The fault evolution and linkage from rift initiation to the present day has been previously constrained through investigations of the hanging wall basin fill. The new cooling ages from the footwall of the Livingstone fault can be related to the adjacent depocentre evolution and across a relay zone between two palaeo-fault segments. Our data are complimented by published apatite fission-track (AFT) data and reveal significant variation in rock cooling history along-strike: the centre of the footwall yields younger cooling ages than the former tips of earlier fault segments that are now linked. This suggests that low-temperature thermochronology can detect fault interactions along strike. That these former segment boundaries are preserved within exhumed footwall rocks is a function of the relatively recent linkage of the system. Our study highlights that changes in AHe (and potentially AFT) ages associated with the along-strike displacement profile can occur over relatively short horizontal distances (of a few kilometres). This is fundamentally important in the assessment of the vertical cooling history of footwalls in extensional systems: temporal differences in the rate of tectonically driven exhumation at a given location along fault strike may be of greater importance in controlling changes in rates of vertical exhumation than commonly invoked climatic fluctuations

Large-scale mass wasting in the western Indian Ocean constrains onset of East African rifting

Faulting and earthquakes occur extensively along the flanks of the East African Rift System, including an offshore branch in the western Indian Ocean, resulting in remobilization of sediment in the form of landslides. To date, constraints on the occurrence of submarine landslides at margin scale are lacking, leaving unanswered a link between rifting and slope instability. Here, we show the first overview of landslide deposits in the post-Eocene stratigraphy of the Tanzania margin and we present the discovery of one of the biggest landslides on Earth: the Mafia mega-slide. The emplacement of multiple landslides, including the Mafia mega-slide, during the early-mid Miocene is coeval with cratonic rifting in Tanzania, indicating that plateau uplift and rifting in East Africa triggered large and potentially tsunamigenic landslides likely through earthquake activity and enhanced sediment supply. This study is a first step to evaluate the risk associated with submarine landslides in the region

The African Landscape through Space and Time

It is generally accepted that Cenozoic epeirogeny of the African continent is moderated by convective circulation of the mantle. Nevertheless, the spatial and temporal evolution of Africa's “basin-and-swell” physiography is not well known. Here we show how continental drainage networks can be used to place broad constraints on the pattern of uplift through space and time. First, we assemble an inventory of 710 longitudinal river profiles that includes major tributaries of the 10 largest catchments. River profiles have been jointly inverted to determine the pattern of uplift rate as a function of space and time. Our inverse model assumes that shapes of river profiles are controlled by uplift rate history and modulated by erosional processes, which can be calibrated using independent geologic evidence (e.g., marine terraces, volcanism and thermochronologic data). Our results suggest that modern African topography started to develop ∼30 Myr ago when volcanic swells appeared in North and East Africa. During the last 15–20 Myr, subequatorial Africa was rapidly elevated, culminating in the appearance of three large swells that straddle southern and western coasts. Our results enable patterns of sedimentary flux at major deltas to be predicted and tested. We suggest that the evolution of drainage networks is dominated by rapid upstream advection of signals produced by a changing pattern of regional uplift. An important corollary is that, with careful independent calibration, these networks might act as useful tape recorders of otherwise inaccessible mantle processes. Finally, we note that there are substantial discrepancies between our results and published dynamic topographic predictions