Geochemical precursors to volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens, USA

The importance of the interplay between degassing and crystallization before and after the eruption of Mount St. Helens (Washington, USA) in 1980 is well established. Here, we show that degassing occurred over a period of decades to days before eruptions and that the manner of degassing, as deduced from geochemicai signatures within the magma, was characteristic of the eruptive style. Trace element (lithium) and short-lived radioactive isotope (lead-210 and radium-226) data show that ascending magma stalled within the conduit, leading to the accumulation of volatiles and the formation of lead-210 excesses, which signals the presence of degassing magma at depth.

Tracing pre-eruptive magma degassing using (Pb-210/Ra-226) disequilibria in the volcanic deposits of the 1980-1986 eruption of Mount St. Helens

Disequilibria between Pb-210 and Ra-226 can be used to trace magma degassing, because the intermediate nuclides, particularly Rn-222, are volatile. Products of the 1980-1986 eruptions of Mount St. Helens have been analysed for (Pb-210/Ra-226). Both excesses and deficits of Pb-210 are encountered suggesting rapid gas transfer. The time scale of diffuse, non-eruptive gas escape prior to 1980 as documented by Pb-210 deficits is on the order of a decade using the model developed by Gauthier and Condomines (Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 172 (1999) 111-126) for a non-renewed magma chamber and efficient Rn removal. The time required to build-up Pb-210 excess is much shorter (months) as can be observed from steady increases of (Pb-210/Ra-226) with time during 1980-1982. The formation of Pb-210 excess requires both rapid gas transport through the magma and periodic blocking of gas escape routes. Superposed on this time trend is the natural variability of (Pb-210/Ra-226) in a single eruption caused by tapping magma from various depths. The two time scales of gas transport, to create both Pb-210 deficits and Pb-210 excesses, cannot be reconciled in a single event. Rather Pb-210 deficits are associated with pre-eruptive diffuse degassing, while Pb-210 excesses document the more vigorous degassing associated with eruption and recharge of the system. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DISTRIBUTION OF Cr, Pb, Cu, Cd AND Zn IN SEDIMENTS OF THE DOBCZYCE DAM RESERVOIR (SOUTHERN POLAND)

Sediments play a fundamental role in the behaviour of contaminants in aquatic systems. Various processes in sediments, eg adsorption-desorption, oxidation-reduction, ion exchange or biological activities, can cause accumulation or release of metals and anions from the bottom of reservoirs, and have been recently studied in Polish waters [1-3]. Sediment samples from layer A: (1 divided by 6 cm depth in direct contact with bottom water); layer B: (7 divided by 12 cm depth moderate contact); and layer C: (12+ cm depth, in theory an inactive layer) were collected in September 2007 from six sites representing different types of hydrological conditions along the Dobczyce Reservoir (Fig. l). Water depths at the sampling points varied from 3.5 to 21 m. We have focused on studying the distribution and accumulation of several heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn) in the sediments. The surface, bottom and pore water (extracted from sediments by centrifugation) samples were also collected. Possible relationships between the heavy-metal distribution in sediments and the sediment characteristics (mineralogy, organic matter) as well as the Fe, Mn and Ca content of sediments, have been studied. The 02 concentrations in water samples were also measured. The heavy metals in sediments ranged from 19.0 to 226.3 mg/kg of dry mass (ppm). The results show considerable variations in heavy-metal concentrations between the 6 stations, but not in the individual layers (A, B, C). These variations are related to the mineralogy and chemical composition of the sediments and their pore waters.

Mineral and geochemical characterization of a leptic aluandic soil and a thapto aluandic-ferralsol developed on trachytes in Mount Bambouto (Cameroon volcanic line)

Mineral and geochemical investigations were carried out on soil samples and fresh rock (trachytes) from two selected soil profiles (TM profile on leptic aluandic soils and TL profile on thapto aluandic-ferralsols) from Mount Bambouto to better understand geochemical processes and mineral paragenesis involved in the development of soils in this environment. In TM profile, the hydrated halloysites and goethite occur in the weathered saprolite boulders of BC horizon while dehydrated halloysite, gibbsite and goethite dominate the soils matrices of BC and A horizons. In TL profile, the dehydrated halloysites and goethite are the most abundant secondary minerals in the weathered saprolites of C and BC horizons while gibbsite, hematite and kaolinite occur in the soil matrices of BC, B and A horizons. The highest gibbsite content is in the platy nodules of B horizon. In both soil profiles, organo-metal complexes (most likely of AI and Fe) are present in the surface A horizon. Geochemically, between the fresh rock and the weathered saprolites in both soils, SiO2, K2O, CaO, Na2O and MgO contents decrease strongly while Fe2O3 and Al2O3 tend to accumulate. The molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 (Ki) and the sum of Ca, Mg, K and Na ions (TRB) also decreases abruptly between fresh rocks and the weathered saprolites, but increases significantly at the soil surface. The TM profile shows intense Al enrichment whereas the TL profile highlights enrichment in both AI and Fe as the weathering progresses upwards. Both soil profiles are enriched in Ni, Cu, Ba and Co and depleted in U, Th, Ta, Hf, Y, Sr, Pb, Zr and Zn relative to fresh rock. They also show a relatively low fractionation of the rare earth elements (REE: La, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb and Lu), except for Ce which tends to be enriched in soils compared to CI chondrite. All these results give evidence of intense hydrolysis at soil deep in Mount Bambouto resulting in the formation of halloysite which progressively transforms into gibbsite and/or dehydrated halloysite. At the soil surface, the prominent pedogenetic process refers to andosolization with formation of organo-metal complexes. In TL profile, the presence of kaolinite in soil matrices BC and B horizons is consistent with ferralitization at soil deep. In conclusion, soil forming processes in Mount Bambouto are strongly influenced by local climate: (i) in the upper mountain (>2000 m), the fresh, misty and humid climate favors andosolization; whereas (ii) in the middle lands (1700-2000 m) with a relatively dry climate, both andosolization at the soil surface and ferralitization at soil deep act together. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid quality assessment of wheat cultivars registered in Poland using the 2-g mixograph and multivariate statistical analysis

Baking and 2-g mixograph analyses were performed for 55 cultivars (19 spring and 36 winter wheat) from various quality classes from the 2002 harvest in Poland. An instrumented 2-g direct-drive mixograph was used to study the mixing characteristics of the wheat cultivars. A number of parameters were extracted automatically from each mixograph trace and correlated with baking volume and flour quality parameters (protein content and high molecular weight glutenin subunit [HMW-GS] composition by SDS-PAGE) using multiple linear regression statistical analysis. Principal component analysis of the mixograph data discriminated between four flour quality classes, and predictions of baking volume were obtained using several selected mixograph parameters, chosen using a best subsets regression routine, giving R-2 values of 0.862-0.866. In particular, three new spring wheat strains (CHD 502a-c) recently registered in Poland were highly discriminated and predicted to give high baking volume on the basis of two mixograph parameters: peak bandwidth and 10-min bandwidth.

Detecting the environmental impact of the Baltic Crusades on a late-medieval (13th-15th century) frontier landscape: palynological analysis from Malbork Castle and hinterland, Northern Poland

Palaeoecological analysis of peat deposits from a small bog, combined with pollen analysis of sediments infilling the moat of the nearby Teutonic Order castle at Malbork, have been used to examine the ecological impact of the Crusades on the late-medieval landscape of Northern Poland. Studies of the environmental impact of the Crusades have been almost exclusively informed by written sources; this study is the first of its type to directly investigate the environmental context of Crusading as a force of ecological transformation on the late-medieval Baltic landscape. The pollen evidence from Malbork Castle and its hinterland demonstrate that the 12th/13th–15th centuries coincide with a marked transformation in vegetation and land-use, characterized by clearance of broadleaved woodland and subsequent agricultural intensification, particularly during the 14th/15th centuries. These changes are ascribed to landscape transformations associated with the Teutonic Order’s control of the landscape from the mid-13th century. Human activity identified in the pollen record prior to this is argued to reflect the activities of Pomeranian settlers in the area. This paper also discusses the broader palaeoecological evidence for medieval landscape change across Northern Poland.

Survival at the frontier of Holy War: political expansion, crusading, commerce and the medieval colonizing settlement at Biała Gora, North Poland

Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries AD, the Lower Vistula valley represented a permeable and shifting frontier between Pomerelia (eastern Pomerania), which had been incorporated into the Polish Christian state by the end of the tenth century, and the territories of western Prussian tribes, who had resisted attempts at Christianization. Pomeranian colonization eventually began to falter in the latter decades of the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, most likely as a result of Prussian incursions, which saw the abandonment of sites across the borderland. Subsequently, the Teutonic Order and its allies led a protracted holy war against the Prussian tribes, which resulted in the conquest of the region and its incorporation into a theocratic state by the end of the thirteenth century. This was accompanied by a second wave of colonization, which resulted in the settlement pattern that is still visible in the landscape of north-central Poland today. However, not all colonies were destroyed or abandoned in between the two phases of colonization. The recently excavated site of Biała Góra, situated on the western side of the Forest of Sztum overlooking the River Nogat, represents a unique example of a transitional settlement that included both Pomeranian and Teutonic Order phases. The aim of this paper is to situate the site within its broader landscape context which can be characterized as a militarized frontier, where, from the later twelfth century and throughout much of the thirteenth century, political and economic expansion was combined with the ideology of Christian holy war and missionary activity. This paper considers how the colonists provisioned and sustained themselves in comparison to other sites within the region, and how Biała Góra may be tentatively linked to a documented but otherwise lost outpost in this volatile borderland.

The ecological impact of conquest and colonization on a medieval frontier landscape: combined palynological and geochemical analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń Chełminski, northern Poland

Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well-documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń Chełminski, Northern Poland, using pollen, element geochemistry (Inductively Coupled-Optical Emission Spectroscopy [ICP-OES]), organic content, and magnetic susceptibility. The close association between lake and medieval settlements presents the ideal opportunity to reconstruct past vegetation and land-use dynamics within a well-documented archaeological, historical, and cultural context. Three broad phases of increasing landscape impact are visible in the pollen and geochemical data dating from the 8th/9th, 10th/11th, and 13th centuries, reflecting successive phases of Slavic and German colonization. This involved the progressive clearance of oak-hornbeam dominated woodland and the development of an increasingly open agricultural landscape. Although the castles and towns of the Teutonic Order remain the most visible signs of medieval colonization, the palynological and geochemical data demonstrate that the major phase of woodland impact occurred during the preceding phase of Slavic expansion; Germans colonists were entering a landscape already significantly altered.

The dream’s door: a case of MNC in Poland

Globalisation inevitably led to attempts to transfer know‐how and expertise to markets in different locations and cultures, where the particular organisation is willing to begin to operate. Hence, the need for understanding the conditions for successful knowledge transfer is especially important. The globalisation process in the Eastern bloc, which began in 1990, is a good example of knowledge transfer where the mutual meaning creation played a crucial role. This case study illustrates the process of international knowledge transfer between Western Europe and an emerging economy using the example of DAK Corporation and quality transfer to Poland. The case is especially useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students, including MBA students, studying general management as well as more specialised courses stemming from international management, for example, cross‐cultural management and organisational behaviour. Since the material focuses on people management and development as well as organisational culture creation, current and future practitioners from the human resources department will find it particularly useful. Students considering a career in a multinational company can also use this case in their preparation for the challenges of operating in a global business environment.