Northern Hungary Research Articles

Classification of a diffuse heavy metal polluted mining site using a spectral angle mapper

Characterization of heavy metal polluted abandoned mining sites is complicated, as the spatial distribution of pollutants often changes dramatically.In our study, a hyperspectral data analysis of the Gyöngyösoroszi abandoned Pb-Zn mine, located in northern Hungary, where Záray (1991) reported serious heavy metal contamination, was carried out using ENVI 4.3. In this area, galena (PbS), goethite (FeO(OH)), jarosite (KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6), sphalerite ((Zn, Fe)S) and pyrite (FeS2) were the predominant minerals in the alteration zones was chosen as the target mineral.Spectral angle mapper (SAM) and BandMax classification techniques were applied to obtain rule mineral images. Each pixel in these rule images represents the similarity between the corresponding pixels in the hyperspectral image to a reference spectrum.As a result of hyperspectral imagery the distribution of pyritic minerals (sphalerite, galena) in the area was defined. Both of the mineral formations occur, especially in mine tailings, the area of the ore preparatory, and the Szárazvölgyi flotation sludge reservoir. According to the results, jarosite and goethite have similar distributions to sphalerite and galena. The results showed that hyperspectral remote sensing is an effective tool for thecharacterization of Pb, Zn and Fe containing minerals at the examined polluted sites and for modelling the distribution of heavy metals and minerals in extensive areas.This classification method is a basis of further detailed investigations, based on field measurements, to map the heavy metal distribution of the studied area and to quantify the environmental risks caused by erosion, which include DEM (digital elevation model) and climatic and hydrological data sources. Furthermore, it can be used primarily to support the potentially applicable phytostabilization technique and to isolate hot spots where only ex-situ remediation techniques can be applied.

U–Pb and 40Ar/ 39Ar dating of the Miocene fossil track site at Ipolytarnóc (Hungary) and its implications

Abundant Early Miocene mammal and bird tracks and a rich plant assemblage is preserved by the emplacement of an ignimbrite sheet of the Gyulakeszi Rhyolite Tuff Formation (GRTF) near Ipolytarnóc in northern Hungary. The tuff that overlies the track-bearing sandstone yielded a single-crystal zircon U–Pb total isochron age of 17.42 ± 0.04 Ma and a single-crystal laser-fusion plagioclase 40Ar/ 39Ar age of 17.02 ± 0.14 Ma (uncertainties are quoted at the 2 σ level). An additional 40Ar/ 39Ar age of 16.99 ± 0.16 Ma was obtained from the equivalent rhyolite tuff near Nemti, where the underlying terrestrial clay yielded early proboscidean remains assigned to the MN4 mammal zone. The new, high-precision dates allow revision of the numeric age and correlation of the Ipolytarnóc fossil site and the GRTF, previously based on an average K–Ar age of 19.6 ± 1.4 Ma. The difference of 0.40 ± 0.15 Ma between the U–Pb and 40Ar/ 39Ar ages support the growing evidence for a systematic bias between the two isotopic systems due to the inaccurately known 40K decay constant but likely also includes an undetermined pre-eruptive residence time of zircon. Published biostratigraphic data from under- and overlying marine strata establish correlation with the NN3 nannoplankton zone and, together with the new radioisotopic ages, suggest assignment of the fossils and the tuff to the Ottnangian regional stage of the Central Paratethys. A global correlation lends support to the recently suggested astronomical calibration of the Early Miocene time scale that revised the previous scales towards younger ages. The 40Ar/ 39Ar age from Nemti provides a reliable correlation of the MN4 mammal zone in Central Europe with the numeric time scale and places a minimum constraint on the age of the regional Proboscidean Datum, the migration event of proboscideans from Africa to Europe through the emerging “ Gomphotherium landbridge”. Contrary to suggestions for a significantly earlier European Proboscidean Datum, it appears that the originally suggested age of c. 17.5 Ma is realistic but it is significantly younger than the South Asian Proboscidean Datum.

Evolution of Mafic Alkaline Melts Crystallized in the Uppermost Lithospheric Mantle: a Melt Inclusion Study of Olivine-Clinopyroxenite Xenoliths, Northern Hungary

Olivine-clinopyroxenite xenoliths exhumed in alkali basalts (sensu lato) in the Nograd^Go« mo« r Volcanic Field (NGVF), northern Hungary, contain abundant silicate melt inclusions. Geothermobarometric calculations indicate that these xenoliths crystallized as cumulates in the upper mantle near the Moho. These cumulate xenoliths are considered to represent a period of Moho underplating by mafic alkaline magmas prior to the onset of Late Tertiary alkaline volcanism in the Carpathian^Pannonian region. The major and trace element compositions of silicate melt inclusions in olivine display an evolutionary trend characterized by a strong decrease in CaO/Al2O3. The parental melt of the cumulates was a basanite formed by low-degree (� 2%) partial melting of a garnet peridotite source. The compositional trend of the silicate melt inclu- sions, textural features, and modelling with pMELTS show that the parental melt evolved by major clinopyroxene and minor olivine crys- tallization followed by the appearance of amphibole simultaneously with significant resorption of the earlier clinopyroxene and olivine. The resulting residual melt was highly enriched in Al2O3, alkalis and most incompatible trace elements. This type of melt is likely to infiltrate and react with surrounding mantle peridotite as a metaso- matic agent. It might also form high-pressure pegmatite-like bodies in the mantle that might be the source of the amphibole and sanidine megacrysts also found in the alkali basalts of the NGVF. Preferential remelting of the later-formed (i.e. lower temperature) mineral assemblage (amphibole, sanidine, residual glass) might have signif- icantly contaminated the host alkaline mafic lavas, increasing their Al2O3 and total alkali contents and, therefore, reducing their MgO, FeO and CaO content.

Hungary and the Levantine trade in the 14th–17th centuries

Scholarly literature on the late mediaeval and early modern Levantine trade has it that in the 14th–15th centuries eastern spices and other “maritime (Levantine) goods” arrived in Hungary not from Venice, but mainly from the Dalmatian towns of the Adriatic Sea, through the so-called route of Zara (Zadar). The author of this article tries to point out that out of these two western trade routes the so-called Venezianerstrasse connecting Tarvisio and Vienna from where the eastern goods were transported to Hungary was far more important. Then he demonstrates the existence and significance of the spice route leading from the Black Sea via Wallachia to Transylvania and then further to the interior of Hungary. Thirdly, he establishes that at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries the quantity of pepper imported from the direction of the Black Sea was four-and-a-half to five times as much as the pepper arriving from the direction of the Adriatic Sea. In the second part of the article, the author outlines the crucial changes in 16th-century commerce. The trade of eastern spices from Wallachia via Transylvania to Hungary continued for a while, but then gradually diminished and finally ebbed away in the second half of the century. They were replaced by “Turkish goods” (different cotton and silk fabrics, yarns and leather ware) which originated from the Ottoman Empire and not from the Far East. Simultaneously, along with the revival of the Levantine spice trade of Venice, the Venezianerstrasse also regained its significance and the pepper import from Vienna to Western and Northern Hungary was also restored. At about the same time, a new and abundant trade route opened up towards Buda from Constantinople through Belgrade — mainly with new (Muslim and Orthodox) mediators. The various spices and “Turkish articles” arrived mainly on this route, a part of which travelled further west (in Habsburg Hungary and Vienna as well). By the middle of the 17th century a radical turn had taken place in international spice trade: from that time onward, eastern spices were transported to Hungary and further to Vienna not from Constantinople, but the other way round, they arrived from Vienna through Hungary to Constantinople.

First serological and molecular evidence on the endemicity of Anaplasma ovis and A. marginale in Hungary

Recurring and spontaneously curing spring haemoglobinuria was recently reported in a small sheep flock in a selenium deficient area of northern Hungary. In blood smears of two animals showing clinical signs, Anaplasma-like inclusion bodies were seen in erythrocytes. To extend the scope of the study, 156 sheep from 5 flocks and 26 cattle from 9 farms in the region were examined serologically with a competitive ELISA to detect antibodies to Anaplasma marginale, A. centrale and A. ovis. The seropositivity in sheep was 99.4%, and in cattle 80.8%. A. ovis and A. marginale were identified by PCR and sequence analysis of the major surface protein ( msp) 4 gene in sheep and cattle, respectively. Haemoglobinuria, an unusual clinical sign for anaplasmosis might have been a consequence of transient intravascular haemolysis facilitated by selenium deficiency in recently infected sheep, as indicated by the reduction of mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Membrane damage was also demonstrated for parenchymal cells, since their enzymes showed pronounced elevation in the plasma. Ticks collected from animals in the affected as well as in neighbouring flocks revealed the presence of Dermacentor marginatus, Ixodes ricinus and D. reticulatus, with the dominance of the first. The present data extend the northern latitude in the geographical occurrence of ovine anaplasmosis in Europe and reveal the endemicity of A. ovis and A. marginale in Hungary.

Geographical versus food plant differentiation in populations of Maculinea alcon (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Northern Hungary

The taxonomic status of Alcon Blues in Central and Western Europe (conventionally: Maculinea alcon and M. rebeli) is confused. Some authors distinguish them as separate species within the M. alcon species group, while others consider them to be subspecies or simply ecological forms. Our aim was to study the geographical versus food plant pattern of genetic differentiation among several populations of these taxa in Northern Hungary. Imagines were collected from 11 localities between 2000 and 2003. M. alcon feeding on G. pneumonanthe from three subregions and on G. cruciata from two subregions were analysed. Enzyme polymorphism was analysed at 16 enzyme loci using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In the analysis of the data, F-statistics were computed and the total genetic variation partitioned into within and between population components. Nei's genetic distances were calculated and a UPGMA dendrogram constructed on the basis of the distance matrix. Hierarchical F-statistics and AMOVA were computed to study the pattern of genetic differentiation among the samples. PCA analysis was also carried out using the allele frequencies of the samples. The results of all analyses indicated strong differentiation among the samples. A sizeable portion of this variation was detected among the samples/generations collected from the same population. The distribution of the between population variation did not exhibit a clear split between the two food plant groups. In addition, the FST values computed using a restricted data set suggested significant differentiation among the subregions. The results of AMOVA and PCA also indicated that the geographic pattern was more expressed in the between sample variation than the conventional taxonomic pattern.

Biotic and environmental changes in the Permian–Triassic boundary interval recorded on a western Tethyan ramp in the Bükk Mountains, Hungary

Complete, continuous marine Permian–Triassic (P–T) boundary sections in the Bükk Mountains, Northern Hungary, represent a ramp setting on the margin of the western Tethys. The Upper Permian succession comprises limestone rich in calcareous algae, foraminifera, and skeletal fragments of metazoans. A significant reduction of biogenic components occurs in the topmost limestone layers below the “boundary shale bed” (BSB). It coincides with the beginning of a gradual negative shift in δ 13C carb values that continues into the BSB. The BSB consists predominantly of marly siltstones that are similar to the insoluble residue of the underlying limestone. A second biotic decline is recorded in the upper-third of the BSB, where the continuous negative shift in δ 13C values is superimposed by a sharp and quasi-symmetric negative peak. The δ 13C peak is confined to the shale bed and is not correlated with the lithological change, therefore diagenetic or other secondary effects are ruled out. The carbon isotope signal reflects primary processes related to significant changes in environmental conditions. Correlation and comparison of sedimentological, biotic, geochemical and mineralogical features of the studied sections in the Bükk Mountains with other Tethyan P—T sections in the Southern Alps, Dinarides, Iran, Kasmir (India) and southern China are discussed. The continuous shift in δ 13C values is most probably related to a decrease in bioproductivity, whereas the sharp peak is attributed to an addition of C strongly depleted in 13C isotope to the ocean–atmosphere system. The most plausible model is a massive release of methane from gas–hydrate dissociation. This event led to the extinction of the already impoverished biota. Scarcity of metazoans and prolonged unfavourable environmental conditions gave rise to a bloom of microbial communities. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses failed to reveal any evidence for extraterrestrial effects or synchronous volcanism were found in the studied sections.

Egg-laying preferences of the xerophilous ecotype of Maculinea alcon (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in the Aggtelek National Park

The oviposition sites of the xerophilous ecotype of M. alcon (= rebeli) were surveyed in the managed (transi- tional) zone of the Aggtelek National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Northern Hungary. The M. alcon population is distributed over a territory of about 3 ha. In 2001, habitat reconstruction with selective cutting of shrubs and mowing, was started in this area. The number of stems of Gentiana cruciata (the food plant for the young larvae) and M. alcon eggs layed on them were counted in a selected area within this 3 ha: before (in 1992, 1993 and 1998) and after habitat reconstruction (in 2003, 2004 and 2005). In 2004 and 2005, a detailed study was carried out in order to detect potentially significant factors influencing the egg laying behaviour of females. The average number of intact flowering stems per quadrate was 2.68 and was clearly decreasing before management started. In contrast, there were five times higher (15.06) and increasing numbers of stems per quadrate right after habitat reconstruc- tion. The two periods also differed in the percentage of flowering stems, which was very low before habitat reconstruction. The average number of eggs per square was low (6.8) and fluctuated considerably before management started. In contrast, the egg count was high (160.3) and increased consistently after the site was managed. The short grass sward created in the area proved to be advantageous both for the growth of the host plant and for the Maculinea population. The egg laying preference of the females was positively affected by the number of stems per clump, the height of the stems, the number of whorls with flowers and the difference between the height of the stems of the host plant and the surrounding vegetation. Significantly more eggs were found on large clumps of stems than expected on the basis of their availability for egg-laying. Egg counts were strongly correlated with all the measured characteristics of the food plant, which significantly correlated with each other. The interaction term indicated that the number of whorls with flowers is slightly more influential for egg laying than the other characteristics. There were significantly more eggs on the adaxial surface of the leaves and flower buds than on other parts of the food plant.

Actual status of the beech bark necrotic disease in NorthWestern Bulgaria

In this paper we present recent findings about the beech bark necrotic disease in selected localities situated in the mountain ranges Vitosha and Stara planina in Bulgaria. The resulting values of necrotic disease expressed by the necrotisation index (I<sub>SN</sub>) ranged from 0.72 to 1.12. In Slovakia such low values of I<sub>SN</sub> were obtained only for seven out of 52 examined localities. The I<sub>SN</sub> results are more favourable than the results obtained using the same methods for four localities situated in Northern Hungary (I<sub>SN</sub> values ranging from 1.11 to 1.18). The results of monitoring of three selected biotic vectors of beech necrotic disease were follows: the focus of occurrence of the species Bucculatrix ulmella was in submountain beech forests. Considerable affinity to lower situated sites was found in Ectoedemia liebwerdella. We also found that the boundary of the occurrence of this species is approximately at 1,000 m a.s.l. The frequency values of Cryptococcus fagi were significantly influenced by the altitude. In four out of six localities we recorded the occurrence of three species of the genus Nectria: Nectria cosmariospora, Nectria galligena and Nectria coccinea.

Incision of a river curvature due to exhumed Miocene volcanic landforms: Danube Bend, Hungary

A new model for the formation and relief evolution of the Danube Bend, northern Hungary, is discussed on geomorphological and volcanological grounds. We propose that the present-day U-shaped loop of the Danube Bend was partly inherited from the horseshoe caldera morphology of Keserűs Hill volcano, a mid-Miocene (ca 15 Ma) lava dome complex with an eroded central depression open to the north. According to combined palaeogeographical data and erosion rate calculations, the drainage pattern in the Danube Bend region was formed when Pleistocene tectonic movements resulted in river incision and sedimentary cover removal. Formation of the present curvature of the river was due to the exhumation of the horseshoe-shaped caldera as well as the surrounding resistant volcaniclastic successions (i.e. Visegrad Castle Hill) and a hilltop lava dome (Szent Mihaly Hill). The process accelerated and the present narrow gorge of the Danube Bend was formed by very rapid, as young as late Quaternary differential tectonic uplift, also enhancing the original volcanic morphology. On the basis of comparative long-term erosion-rate calculations, we estimated successive elevation changes of the volcanic edifice, including partial burial in late Miocene time. In comparison with various order-of-magnitude changes, the mid-to-late Quaternary vertical movements show increased rates and/or base level drop in the Pannonian Basin.

Calcimicrobial stromatolites at the Permian–Triassic boundary in a western Tethyan section, Bükk Mountains, Hungary

Basal Triassic carbonates of the Gerennavár Formation (Bükk Mountains, Northern Hungary) were studied. The succession was deposited in an open marine deep ramp environment of the western Tethys, and can be divided into three parts on the basis of the dominant microfacies. The lowermost 0.5 m-thick interval is made up by thin-bedded and bioturbated mudstones which contain ostracods and Earlandia along with relict skeletal fragments. The successive 8 m-thick deposits consist of planar stromatolites with well-preserved microfabrics. The most characteristic microfabric elements are sphere clusters in a dense micrite groundmass, bushy aggregates of micrite clots, bundles of prostrate micrite threads, and peloids. The formation of the spheres and the surrounding dense micrite is attributed to calcification of a coccoid–cyanobacteria dominated mat community. The tufted micrite clot clusters crudely resemble Angusticellularia. A filamentous microbial origin is likely for the thread bundles. The peloids are interpreted either as reworked pieces of calcified mat, or rolled microbial clumps. The reduced preservation of microfabric components in the upper unit refers to less favourable condition for mat development which is probable due to deepening of the depositional environment. The overlying mudstone unit is very poor in fossils. The preservation of microbial microfabrics in the stromatolites indicates that early lithification by carbonate precipitation was widespread and intense even in open marine environments following the end-Permian boundary events. This supports the assumption that significant changes took place in geochemistry of seawater during the Late Permian–Early Triassic time interval.

Carbon isotope excursions and microfacies changes in marine Permian–Triassic boundary sections in Hungary

Several Permian–Triassic boundary sections occur in various structural units within Hungary. These sections represent different facies zones of the western Palaeotethys margin. The Gárdony core in the NE part of the Transdanubian Range typically represents the inner ramp, while the Bálvány section in the Bükk Mountains of northern Hungary represents an outer ramp setting. The two sections have different patterns for their δ 13C values. The Bálvány section shows a continuous change towards more negative δ 13C values starting at the first biotic decline, followed by a sharp, quasi-symmetric negative peak at the second decline. The appearance of the δ 13C peak has no relationship to the lithology and occurs within a shale with low overall carbonate content, indicating that the peak is not related to diagenesis or other secondary influences. Instead, the shift and the peak reflect primary processes related to changes in environmental conditions. The continuous shift in δ 13C values is most probably related to a decrease in bioproductivity, whereas the sharp peak can be attributed to an addition of C strongly depleted in 13C to the ocean–atmosphere system. The most plausible model is a massive release of methane-hydrate. The quasi-symmetric pattern suggests a rapid warming–cooling cycle or physical unroofing of sediments through slope-failure and releasing methane-hydrate. The Gárdony-1 core shows a continuous negative δ 13C shift starting below the P–T boundary. However, the detailed analyses revealed a sharp δ 13C peak in the boundary interval, just below the major biotic decline, although its magnitude doesn't reach that observed in the Bálvány section. Based on careful textural examination and high-resolution stable isotope microanalyses we suggest that the suppression of the δ 13C peak that is common in the oolitic boundary sections is due to combined effects of condensed sedimentation, sediment reworking and erosion, as well as perhaps diagenesis.

Petrology and geochemistry of granulite xenoliths beneath the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field, Carpathian-Pannonian Region (N-Hungary/S-Slovakia)

Abundant upper mantle and rare lower crustal xenoliths have been found in the Plio-Pleistocene alkali basalts of the Nograd-Gomor Volcanic Field, situated in the northern Pannonian Basin, on the border between northern Hungary and southern Slovakia. A few lower crustal granulite xenoliths have been found in a small basaltic pyroclastic cone at Baglyaskő. The mafic granulite xenoliths are plagioclase-bearing hornblende clinopyroxenites, plagioclase-bearing clinopyroxene hornblendites and plagioclase-bearing clinopyroxenites. They contain unusual symplectites, composed of spinel feldspar and clinopyroxene. These symplectites are interpreted as the product of garnet breakdown. Following the breakdown reaction, the symplectite underwent in situ partial melting. Mineral constituents of these granulite xenoliths have chemical compositions similar to those of other granulite xenoliths worldwide. However, a distinctive positive Pb and Ce anomaly in mineral constituents of these granulites is characteristic.

Silicate melt inclusions in the phenocrysts of the Szomolya Ignimbrite, Bükkalja Volcanic Field (Northern Hungary): Implications for magma chamber processes

Silicate melt inclusions provide important information on the magma evolution processes and therefore they are the subjects of rapidly growing geochemical studies. However, the original geochemical fingerprint of the trapped melts could be often masked by post-entrapment processes. In this paper, we investigate silicate melt inclusions hosted by various minerals (plagioclase, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, quartz) of a silicic ignimbrite and the enclosed igneous lithic clasts in order to reconstruct the magma chamber processes. The Szomolya Ignimbrite was formed at the initiation of the widespread Neogene volcanism of the Pannonian Basin, eastern–central Europe. It is composed of fresh rhyolitic pyroclastics and contains abundant andesitic lithic clasts. The melt inclusions in the phenocrysts are composed mostly of glass with or without shrinkage bubble suggesting rapid cooling. They all have rhyolitic composition, but show significant chemical variability. The melt inclusions in quartz and plagioclase of the ignimbrite have similar compositions as the glass shards. They represent a strongly silicic and potassic (SiO 2 = 76.5 to 79 wt.%; K 2O / Na 2O = > 2) melt resided at the top of the magma chamber at about 2–3 km depth. The melt inclusions in the phenocrysts of the lithic clast show larger chemical variation. It is remarkable that the plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions differ significantly from all the other glass data. This can be explained by the influence of significant post-entrapment crystallization (PEC), i.e. chemical modifications between the entrapment and quenching. Based on major and trace element mass balance modeling, we show that about 10% PEC took place in the plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions, whereas PEC was less in the pyroxene-hosted melt inclusions (about 3%). After correcting this modification, the melt inclusions from the pyroxenes still show wide chemical variation forming linear trends in the Harker diagrams overlapping partly the compositional trend of the groundmass glass. We interpret this as incorporation of heterogeneous melt batches during the mineral growth at the solidification front of the magma chamber at about 5–6 km depth. We assume that there is a genetic relationship between the andesitic lithic clasts and the host ignimbrite. The former ones could reflect crystallization at the solidification front at greater depth, whereas the latter one could represent the silicic residual melt accumulating at the top of the magma chamber. Difference in trace element compositions can be explained by late stage removal of accessory minerals such as zircon and allanite, which strongly controlled the trace element budget of the most differentiated melt. Withdrawal of the rhyolitic magma could enhance the disruption of the deeper solidification front. Its mineral assemblage (clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and plagioclase) came in contact with a slightly more evolved melt, which quenched suddenly due to the eruption of the silicic magma.

The statistical relationship between unconfined compressive strengths and the frequency distributions of slope gradients — A case study in northern Hungary

This paper focuses on the question of whether there is a deterministic connection between the slope gradient and unconfined compression strength (UCS) as a lithological factor and on describing the nature of this connection. Moreover, the authors determined the sensitive statistical parameters in the statistical surface analyses. The surface analyses were carried out in an area extending over 1500 km 2 in northern Hungary and containing parts of the uplifted Palaeozoic and Mesozoic basement and the semi-consolidated material of the Palaeogene and Neogene molasse sediments. The 67 geological formations of the area were grouped into 10 petrophysical categories characterised by unconfined compressive strength as a petrophysical parameter. The geological database was the digitalized geological map of North Hungarian Region (1 : 100 000). The digital topographic database was based on 10 m contour lines of 1 : 50 000 maps, the digital elevation model was generated by kriging interpolation. Three topographic models were created with resolutions of 25 × 25, 50 × 50 and 100 × 100 m per pixels. Evident correlation can be shown between the UCS and the relative frequency of the slope gradient. The adequate regression procedure is the power regression for low slope category values while logarithmic regression is applicable at high slope angles. Based on the characteristic of the relationship and the value of r 2, slope category intervals can be identified the relative frequency of which is proven to be determined by the UCS. These intervals are found to be between 4–10%, 10–16%, 16–22%, 22–44% and over 44%. Using the determination equations of slope gradient between 4–10% and over 44%, the UCS of the bedrock can be calculated approximately as the average value of the two calculated results. So the quotient of the frequency of these two category intervals can be regarded as an important morphometric index for a given bedrock. From the aspect of petrophysical characteristics, the rock with UCS between 6 and 86 MPa were proven to be deterministic for the slope development i.e. in the determination of the slope category frequencies. Applying the relative frequency of slope gradients a relative erosion resistance of the petrophysical categories can be calculated. Considering the determination coefficients, among the statistical parameters of the distribution of slope category values the standard deviation, mode, mean and median proved to be determined by the UCS of the bedrock.

Pattern influence on the fingers

In this study dermatoglyphic traits in 16 populations in northern Hungary were examined. The occurrence and probability of the manifestation of finger pattern types were analysed. Certain relationships were found that show that if a given pattern type is present on one of the fingers, then, in these cases, the frequency of pattern types on the other nine fingers typically is different from that in the entire sample. We termed this relationship or effect; pattern influence. In most cases there was a strong significant difference in frequency values between the entire sample and the studied cases. We studied the relationship of populations and pattern types using correspondence analysis. In the entire sample, most populations are located around the ulnar loop and the whorl. This arrangement is significantly and typically different in pattern-influence cases. Most populations aggregated around the pattern type in which pattern influence was studied. Pattern influence was found in all populations studied, and in both sexes.

Type-II xenoliths and related metasomatism from the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field, Carpathian-Pannonian region (northern Hungary–southern Slovakia)

Xenoliths from the upper mantle and lower crust are abundant in Plio–Pleistocene alkali basalts of the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field (NGVF; northern Pannonian Basin, northern Hungary/southern Slovakia), representing a valuable ‘probe’ of lithospheric structures and processes. Ultramafic xenoliths have been divided into two groups: (1) Type-I, composed mostly of olivine with subsidiary orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel, and (2) Type-II, containing mostly Al- and Ti-rich clinopyroxene with subordinate olivine, spinel and plagioclase. Both types often contain amphibole and, to a lesser extent, mica. The refractory character of Type-I xenoliths suggests they represent mantle depleted by prior episodes of partial melting. In contrast, Type-II series (wehrlites, olivine clinopyroxenites, clinopyroxenites and plagioclase-bearing ultramafic lithologies), on the basis of their textural features, thermobarometric histories and major and trace element variation, appear to have formed as magmatic cumulates. Petrologic and geochemical studies of Type-II xenoliths from Nógrád-Gömör suggest they crystallized from basaltic melts emplaced within the lithospheric mantle and lower crust, prior to the onset of Plio–Pleistocene volcanic activity. After their consolidation, metasomatic agents reacted with the anhydrous cumulate phases producing amphiboles and micas at the expense of olivine and clinopyroxene. The metasomatic agents appear to have been adakitic rather than basaltic in composition, possibly linked to a retreating arc–forearc system. Large-scale contamination of the lithospheric mantle can therefore be attributed to fluid and melt fractions related to subduction beneath the outer Carpathian arc.

Application of the chlorine-36 method for the delineation of groundwater infiltration of large river systems: example of the Danube River in western Hungary (Szigetk�z area)

The gravel aquifer within the Szigetkoz Plain in northern Hungary is mainly fed by the infiltration of the Danube River. This infiltration process can be identified using the tritium/helium method to a distance of about 30 km away from the infiltration area of the Danube. In this study, chlorine-36 analyses are used as additional method. This natural radioisotope was also produced by nuclear bomb tests in the atmosphere. It is an ideal, stable constituent for this particular study due to its very long half-life (300,000 years), and consequently acts as an independent check of the established model of aquifer recharge. The chlorine-36 data of the analysed selected groundwater samples of this area clearly show the effect of the atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, with enhanced 36Cl/Cl ratios of up to a factor 10 higher than the unaffected groundwater of the pre-bomb period within the study area. Finally, the observed 36Cl values were introduced into a transport model with dispersion/advection-type flow of groundwater to deduce the transport parameters.

Historical variations in inter-ethnic relations: Toward a social history of Roma in Csenyéte, 1857–2000

Using detailed demographic reconstruction for a single village in northern Hungary, this article seeks to trace the history, over the last two centuries, of social and economic inclusion of the Romany minority. In particular, demographic patterns (fertility, births out of wedlock and infant mortality) are examined as indices of social and economic inclusion of the Romany ethnic group. One of the major findings of this study is that there is no unilinear trend toward segregation or integration of the Roma. On the contrary, waves of integration or assimilation are followed by waves of segregation. Whether assimilation or segregation has the upper hand in any given historical epoch depends to a large extent on macro-historical processes. Ethnic relations are thus variable and contingent. While rejecting claims that the Hungarian Roma as a whole constitute an underclass, a historically nuanced amendment to Wilson’s model of underclass formation is proposed as the best explanation of changes in the social cond...

The Šahy Antiform and its role in the tectonics and paleogeography of the Hungarian Paleogene Basin and the Novohrad/Nógrad Basin (Southern Slovakia and Northern Hungary)

The Šahy Antiform and its role in the tectonics and paleogeography of the Hungarian Paleogene Basin and the Novohrad/Nógrad Basin (Southern Slovakia and Northern Hungary)