European Geosciences Union General Assembly Research Articles

ASSESSING IMPACTS OF DAM OPERATIONS—INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES FOR SUSTAINABLE REGULATED RIVER MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACTA special session of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly held in Vienna on 2–7 May 2010 was dedicated to the assessment of the impacts of hydropeaking, definition and implementation of environmental flows, implementation of experimental releases and flushing floods and proposal of mitigation measures, including dam removal and dam re‐operation. This special issue contributes to the understanding of consequences of dam operations, promoting interdisciplinary works in the ecohydrology field and stimulating scientific exchange between ecologists, hydrologists, geomorphologists, engineers and end‐users to develop a unified view of the problems of flow regulation below dams. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction: geodynamic evolution of the Zagros

This special issue of Geological Magazine presents a collection of 17 papers dealing with different aspects of the Zagros orogen. Many, though not all, of these contributions were presented as part of a highly successful session devoted to the geodynamic evolution of the Zagros belt at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2010 in Vienna (Austria). The aim of this gathering was to assemble a broad group of Earth scientists interested in the Zagros orogen to discuss and disseminate new results and ideas efficiently. This volume presents a collection of some of the diverse research that is currently being carried out in the Zagros. We believe that these studies contribute to the understanding of the geodynamic evolution of the Zagros Mountains in particular, but in addition to orogenic processes in general.

Ocean Drilling Science Plan to Be Released Soon

The upcoming International Ocean Discovery Program, which is slated to operate from 2013 to 2023 and calls for an internationally funded program focused around four science themes, will pick up right where its predecessor, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, ends, explained Kiyoshi Suyehiro, president and chief executive officer of IODP, a convenient acronym that covers both programs. At a 5 April briefing at the 2011 European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna, Austria, he outlined four general themes the new program will address. IODP involves 24 nations and utilizes different ocean drilling platforms that complement each other in drilling in different environments in the oceans.

Preface "IGCP Project 571: Radon, Health and Natural Hazards"

Email addresses: g.gillmore@kingston.ac.uk, robin.crockett@northampton.ac.uk, tadeusz.przylibski@pwr.wroc.pl1 IntroductionIt is important to understand radon migration through andbetween the Earth’s “spheres”, e.g. atmosphere, hydrosphere,lithosphere and biosphere – for two main reasons. Firstly,this knowledge enables effective protection of people fromthe direct health hazard arising from the decay of radon andits daughter products. Secondly, as well as this direct hazard,this knowledge adds to our understanding of the mechanismsinvolved with other natural hazards such as earthquakes andvolcanic eruptions.The papers in this special issue of Natural Hazards andEarth Systems Sciences represent a cross-section of thepresentations made in the NH9.5 session Radon, Healthand Natural Hazards at the 2009 European GeosciencesUnion (EGU) General Assembly, at which the InternationalGeoscience Programme (IGCP) Project 571, Radon, Healthand Natural Hazards was launched. This project has enjoyeda successful first year, culminating in a second session(NH8.3) at the 2010 EGU General Assembly, which drew asignificantly higher number of presentations. We are gratefulto everyone who has contributed, whatever the manner, tothat success and look forward to the future.1.1 IGCP Project 571 outline statementThis project focuses on a variety of impacts and hazard-associated manifestations of radon gas. This colourless,odourless, radioactive gas together with its radioactivedaughter isotopes has been linked to lung cancer (and othercancers); the basic decay chain is shown in Fig. 1. Inthe UK it has been suggested by government bodies (e.g.the Health Protection Agency; and also see Darby et al.,2005) that between 1000 and 2000people die each yearCorrespondence to: G. K. Gillmore(g.gillmore@kingston.ac.uk)from radon induced lung cancer. This is not simply aUK problem: for example, the corresponding figure forthe USA is 15000–22000. Recent European-wide researchhas demonstrated that there is no “safe” lower limit forradon exposure (e.g. Darby et al., 2005), which throwsinto question limits set in the UK (200Bq/m

Great Debate on Climate Change Featured at EGU Meeting

With portions of the public questioning or confused about some climate change reports, a recent “great debate” among four scientists focused on the extent of human impact on Earth's climate and the role of science and scientists in policy making, as well as how scientists can improve the quality and communication of their findings. The debate, organized like a roundtable, drew hundreds of people during the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, in Vienna, Austria, on 4 May.Panelists largely agreed with climate change findings incorporated in the recent Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, some also emphasized large areas of uncertainty related to understanding the Earth system and sociological factors, the quality of models, and regional and local climate impacts.

Aircraft and Volcanic Ash a Key Focus of EGU Meeting

The erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland, which has intermittently disrupted European air traffic since 14 April, provided a dramatic backdrop for the recent European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna, Austria, about 2700 kilometers to the east. EGU organized several last‐minute conference sessions about the eruption, and a number of scientists, including some from Iceland, discussed the latest situation, monitoring and assessment needs, and new guidance about flying through volcanic ash, which volcanologist and incoming EGU president‐elect Donald Dingwell of the University of Munich, Germany, called “one of the ugliest cocktails nature throws up.”Although the eruption was small compared with those at Mount St. Helens in 1980 or Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the event produced an estimated 0.1±0.05 cubic kilometer of tephra between 14 and 16 April, according to preliminary numbers from the Institute of Earth Sciences in Reykjavik, Iceland (see the related news item in this issue). An enormous amount of ash from the eruption got lofted into the jet stream toward the United Kingdom and the European mainland. European air traffic controllers, operating under the best guidance and guidelines available at that time—which indicated no flying in ash—shut down European air space to avoid a potential catastrophe if ash clogged up an aircraft's engines.

Future of Hydrology Education Explored During EGU Town Hall Meeting

How should hydrology education adapt to deal with major environmental and other issues and to take advantage of advances in computational capabilities? What should students be learning about hydrology? And, with hydrologists having a diversity of backgrounds, interest, and training, is there such a thing as a cohesive hydrology community? These and other topics generated a provocative discussion during a 5 May town hall meeting at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, in Vienna, Austria.

Haiti Quake Increased Stress Along Fault

The destructive magnitude 7.0 earthquake that ruptured a 40‐kilometer segment of the Enriquillo fault 15 kilometers from Port au Prince, Haiti, on 12 January 2010 has dangerously increased the failure stress on an adjacent eastern segment of that fault, according to research presented on 3 May at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna, Austria.Jian Lin, a senior scientist with the Geology and Geophysics Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in Massachusetts, explained that the Haiti quake brought the eastern segment about 2–5 bars closer to failure. With 1 bar equal to atmospheric pressure at sea level, a 2‐to5‐bar increase may not seem significant, Lin said. However, the fault has not ruptured for about 240 years, and it has built up about 1.5–2 meters of stress, at an estimated rate of 7–8 millimeters per year. An increase of just a few bars could act as a trigger, he said. “It's just like your car is on the edge. Now just give a kick and it's going to fall,” he told Eos.

The implementation of international geospatial standards for earth and space sciences

The Earth and Space Sciences Informatics division of European Geosciences Union (EGU) and the Open Geospatial Consortium jointly organised a special event entitled: ‘Implementation of international geospatial standards for earth and space sciences event’ – at the EGU General Assembly meeting held in Vienna, April 2009. The event objectives included: (a) to discuss the integration of information systems from different geosciences disciplines; (b) to promote and discuss the present process to scale from specific and monolithic systems towards independent and modular enabling infrastructures – forming an earth system science (ESS) infrastructure; and (c) to show some of the latest advances in implementing open standards. This manuscript introduces the event motivations and describes the abstract and holistic framework, which can be used to situate the topics and the developments presented by the event speakers. This manuscript introduces important, and relatively new technologies to build a multi-disciplinary geosciences information system: the System of Systems approach and the Model Driven Approach. To achieve that, three important information infrastructure categories are recognised: (a) ESS information infrastructure; (b) geospatial information infrastructure; and (c) distributed information infrastructure. Digital Earth should support the discussed framework to accelerate information transfer from theoretical discussions to applications, in all fields related to global climate change, natural disaster prevention and response, new energy-source development, agricultural and food security, and urban planning and management.

Synchrotron radiation in soil and geosciences

This special issue is the outcome of the Session SSS24 `Synchrotron radiation in soil and geosciences' that was held on 21 April 2009 in Vienna during the EGU (European Geosciences Union) General Assembly 2009, within the Soil System Sciences (SSS) program. In this special issue ten papers are presented, chosen after a selection among 19 written contributions that were received after the scientific Session at EGU.

Conditions and processes during metamorphic and igneous petrogenesis

Processes such as nucleation and crystal growth, chemical diffusion, crystal dissolution and deformation fundamentally impact on the mineral content, mineral chemistry and texture of a rock. Studies on the nature and rates of these processes in rocks (e.g. Carlson 2002), their interplay (e.g. Baxter and DePaolo 2004; Selverstone 2005) and their dependence on changes in pressure, temperature and chemical environment with time (e.g. Gaidies et al. 2008) are required to better understand metamorphic and igneous petrogenesis. Recent advances in the development of analytical and experimental techniques allow for the integration of microstructure analyses of rocks and minerals with chemical and isotopic investigations at unprecedented high resolution (Keller et al. 2008). Combined with novel theoretical and computational capabilities, the natural record preserved in geological materials can now be studied through more realistic simulations of mineral reactions in rocks accounting for fundamental thermodynamic, kinetic and mechanic principles (e.g. Schmid et al. 2009). Quantitative knowledge of the conditions and processes that control mineral formation in rocks is essential for a better understanding of the close relationship between the bulk properties of rocks and the way solid Earth responds to changes in external forces. It can be expected that this knowledge will help developing a successively more realistic picture of the dynamics of our planet considering for instance the relevance of the extent of mineral reactions in rocks for catastrophic rock failure such as seismogenic slip (e.g. John et al. 2009). This special issue originates from the session “Controls on metamorphic processes” held at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2008 in Vienna. It extends the original focus of this session on metamorphic petrogenesis to conditions and processes also fundamental for igneous rock formation and covers a broad spectrum of topics ranging from fluid-rock interactions on the outcrop scale to intracrystalline chemical diffusion and nucleation. Eight papers are included that address various themes relevant for a better understanding of metamorphic and igneous petrogenesis. Habler et al. (2009) investigate the interplay of deformation, chemical equilibration and mineral reaction during Cretaceous metamorphism in polymetamorphic rocks from the Austroalpine Matsch Unit west of the Tauern Window in the European Eastern Alps. Based on detailed studies of mineral chemistry and rock microstructure, different mechanisms of interrelated deformation and chemical reequilibration could be identified. Habler et al. conclude that understanding the mechanisms of the mutual interrelation between deformation and equilibration is required to deduce thermobarometrical constraints from deformed metamorphic rocks. In order to derive estimates for the pressure and temperature conditions and timescales of polymetamorphism in the Wolz Complex (Eastern European Alps, Austria), Bestel et al. (2009) combine garnet isopleth thermobarometry with chemical diffusion modelling. The authors infer that during the Permian metamorphic event the rocks of the Wolz Complex were exposed to temperatures ranging from 570 to 610°C for about 10 to 20 Ma. F. Gaidies (*) Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada e-mail: fgaidies@earthsci.carleton.ca

The European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 19–24 April 2009

The European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 19–24 April 2009

Processes, mechanisms and utilization of organic soils

The present Special Issue “Processes, Mechanisms and Utilization of Organic Soils” contains selected papers presented in a special session at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly held in Vienna, Austria in April 2007. The goal of this session was to discuss natural organic soils and sediments, peatlands (fens and raised bogs), mires, gyttja, as well as mucks, their main physico-chemical processes and their utilization. Peat is a highly organic sediment (less than 25% of ash) whose physical, chemical and biological composition hardly depends on climate, topography, hydrology and geology. Humus in organic soils is composed of known and unknown chemical structures, whose impact on the physico-chemical properties (e.g., cation retention, metal chelation, hydrophobic interactions) and processes is of paramount importance. Peat is of interest to scientists in a variety of disciplines, such as plant ecology, organic geochemistry, soil science, coal geology, agronomy, and environmental sciences. Even though this topic was often considered in most of the agrochemistry, ecology, organic substrates, humic substances, landscape ecology and soil science meetings all around the world, the EGU meeting in Vienna has been the occasion to organize, for the first time ever, a specific comprehensive session on different aspects and approaches, with contributions from renowned experts of peat and organic soils sciences. Further, several young scientists involved in poster and oral presentations participated in very active and live debates during the meeting, promoting the session as a permanent forum of discussion, cooperation and exchange of scientific and professional experiences. During this session, the most recent progress and advancement in soil physics, soil chemistry, soil biochemistry, and soil microbiology of organic soils and their interactions with various components (organic vs. inorganic, natural vs. anthropogenic) have been extensively discussed. The papers that emerged from the meeting in Vienna reveal that peat comprises either relatively unstable substances, whose reactivity contributes to its usefulness, or highly stable, recalcitrant fractions, both involved in the fate of organic and inorganic pollutants. Some investigations described the physiological activity of peat in stimulating and promoting plant growth. Among other topics raised and discussed were: changes of the carbon cycle in oligotrophic bogs in Western Siberia due to climate change Plant Soil (2009) 315:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s11104-008-9825-8

Current perspectives on the environmental impacts and hazards in karst

Karst geo-ecosystems are highly fragile environments that are suffering a progressive degradation caused by human activities in many regions of our planet. The interactions between Man and karst environments have been relevant since Greek and Roman times (Nicod et al. 1997), but the resulting detrimental effects became particularly significant from the industrial revolution. Despite the long history of human-induced impacts on the karst environments and damage caused by hazardous karst processes, these problems were largely overlooked by the scientific community till the beginning of the 90s. Fortunately, both the perception of the importance of the karst systems and the scientific efforts devoted to their understanding have increased considerably in recent times (Ford and Williams 2007). The results of some investigations have been published in several special issues (Catena supplement, Environmental Geology, Oklahoma Geological Survey Circular, Geological Society of London Special Publication, Engineering Geology) (Williams et al. 1993; Burri et al. 1999; Johnson and Neal 2003; Parise and Gunn 2007; Gutierrez et al. 2008c; Parise et al. 2008) and conference proceedings (Sauro et al. 1991; Beck 2003). Subsidence related to sinkhole activity is the most important hazard in karst landscapes (Beck 2003; Waltham et al. 2005). In many regions, financial losses caused by sinkholes are raising considerably due to the humaninduced increase in the probability of occurrence of sinkholes and the development of hazardous areas (Gutierrez et al. 2008a). Some approaches including, mechanical, hydrogeological and predictive modelling (Salvati and Sasowsky 2002; He et al. 2004), geophysical surveys (Ardau et al. 2007), speleological studies (Klimchouk et al. 2002) and palaeokarst investigations (Gutierrez et al. 2008b) have provided enlightening insights on the processes involved in the subsidence phenomena. Other typical environmental problems in karst terrains are related to water quality and quantity (Drew and Hotzl 1999; Goldscheider and Drew 2007; Ravbar 2007), construction of infrastructures (dams, highways, tunnels) (Milanovic 2002), mining and quarrying (Gunn 2004) and other human activities such as, agriculture, waste disposal or urbanisation. This special issue of Environmental Geology contains a selection of peer-reviewed articles presented at the symposium on ‘‘Natural and Anthropogenic Hazards in Karst Areas’’, held in Vienna, Austria, on 16 April 2007, within the framework of the Natural Hazards Programme of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. The symposium was co-sponsored by the International Union of Speleology (UIS) and by the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission of Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis. Out of the 35 contributors to the session, 22 accepted the invitation to submit a full paper and finally, 15 peerreviewed articles have been accepted and included in this special issue. They cover many different geographical areas where the interaction between karst systems and human activities results in significant environmental impacts and hazards: Europe (Austria, Bosnia M. Parise (&) National Research Council, IRPI, Bari, Italy e-mail: m.parise@ba.irpi.cnr.it

Interdisciplinary intercomparison of black carbon analysis in soil and sediment

Last April, a symposium was held to discuss new aspects of the rapidly growing field of research focusing on black carbon in soil, sediment, and the atmosphere. About 70 scientists attended the 2‐day session during the European Geosciences Union General Assembly, in Vienna. Part of this symposium included a workshop on chemical reference materials, where results of an interdisciplinary intercomparison of black carbon (BC) measurements in different environmental matrices were released.BC is the product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass and is also called elemental carbon in the atmospheric sciences. BC moves between the atmosphere, oceans, and soils, in the process affecting human health, the Earth's radiative budget, ocean carbon cycling, and soil carbon storage. However, a lack of standards common to atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, soil scientists, and ecologists has made it challenging to assess the role of BC in the carbon cycle. In particular, quantification of BC in complex matrices has proven to be problematic, as was made clear in a recent intercomparative study of BC in soils, where BC concentrations measured by a range of techniques differed by 2 orders of magnitude. BC exists as a chemical continuum of combustion products, and some methods may be ideal for detecting only a fraction of the total BC pool (e.g., soot). Other methods may detect non‐BC materials in some types of samples, and some may fail to detect BC in other sample types.

Preface "Observation, Prediction and Verification of Precipitation"

This special volume comprises papers presented at a session entitled “Observation, Prediction and Verification of Precipitation (General Session)” which was organized within the framework of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU), held in Vienna, Austria, from 2 to 7 April 2006. The contributors to this session were encouraged by the Editors to submit a short but self-contained paper summarizing their presentation for consideration for publication in this volume. All the papers submitted were reviewed by at least two independent anonymous reviewers. Twentythree papers were accepted and are published in this volume. The topics reported in this volume cover a large spectrum of precipitation related issues, covered in the above mentioned session, which include: Precipitation measurements by ground-based in situ sensors (e.g. rain gauges, disdrometers); estimation of accuracy of measurements and comparison of measuring instrumentation; remote sensing of precipitation; methodologies used for the estimation, and validation; precipitation forecasting with numerical weather prediction models and probabilistic approaches; verification of precipitation forecasts; quantitative precipitation forecasting with radar data and validation; experimental model studies on precipitation. The diversity of themes presented in the present volume underlines the great interest of the scientific community to the meteorological phenomenon of precipitation and the variability in the approaches adopted for tackling various precipitation related issues. We hope that you will consider this collection of papers on present advances in the field of precipitation not only as a reference volume to related issues, but also as a source of inspiration to current and future research. We wish to stress our appreciation to the authors of the twenty-three papers included in the present volume for their co-operation. We also extend our sincere thanks to the forty-eight scientists from the international community who offered their valuable services as reviewers. Thanks also are due to Copernicus Publications ‐ Production Office for their guidance during the various phases of the assembly of this volume.

The European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 15–20 April 2007

The European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 15–20 April 2007

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2006参加報告

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2006参加報告

The European Geosciences Union General Assembly Vienna, Austria, 25–29 April 2005

The European Geosciences Union General Assembly Vienna, Austria, 25–29 April 2005