Deep structure of the Betic Cordillera derived from the interpretation of a complete Bouguer anomaly map

A complete Bouguer-anomaly map of the Betic Cordillera and surrounding areas has been compiled from 2995 land-gravity observations. The measurements used to construct the map come from previous surveys as well as from a survey carried out specially for this project.A large negative anomaly reaching −145 mGal is centered on the intra-mountain basins of Loja-Granada and Baza-Guadix, and systematically displaced from the region of greatest topographic relief. This gravity low is interpreted as produced by the thickeming of the earth's crust at a principal contact between two domains of continental crust having different origins and geological evolution.Three gravity profiles selected to investigate the deep structure of the crust in the Betic Cordillera are presented and discussed.     

Vergleichende Untersuchung der Diäten vonLymnaea auricularia undL. peregra (Gastropoda: Basommatophora) im Zürichsee

Two very similar species of freshwater snails,Lymnaea auricularia andL. peregra coexist in Lake Zürich. We examined their diets to determine possible differences. Microscopic analysis of stomach and hind gut contents revealed no marked differences between the diets of the two snail species collected from the same substrate. However, in both species we found significant differences between the composition of the substrate and that of the stomach contents, using discriminant analysis. We conclude that both species of snails feed preferentially on patches of favourable food supply and that their diets overlap almost totally. The coexistence of the two species under these conditions suggests that food does not limit their density in the area studied.     

Die Drift und ihre ökologische Bedeutung

With one-factor experiments, the drift of larvae ofEcdyonurus venosus has been analysed in a stream model. The distances travelled by drifting animals as a function of water velocity have been determined, as well as some drift rhythms. Drift-inducing factors are principally scarecity of food (lack of periphyton) and movement of substrate. Induction of drift by small water velocities can be caused by insufficient oxygen supply. The typical drift minimum during the final larval instar is said to be caused by a pseudo-pupal stage. After temperature shocks of ±5°C respectively, the animals acclimate within 2 days. An increase in temperature induces a decrease in drift reates and vice versa. Sex, predation and competition do not influence drift. The mean flight range of the imagoes (flight-mill) is 2,794 m, the maximum upstream movement of the larvae 140 m/24 h.     

SO2 from episode 48A eruption,Hawaii: Sulfur dioxide emissions from the episode 48A East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

An SO₂ flux of 1170±400 (1) tonnes per day was measured with a correlation spectrometer (COSPEC) in October and November 1986 from the continuous, nonfountaining, basaltic East Rift Zone eruption (episode 48A) of Kilauea volcano. This flux is 5–27 times less than those of highfountaining episodes, 3–5 times greater than those of contemporaneous summit emissions or interphase Pu'u O'o emissions, and 1.3–2 times the emissions from Pu'u O'o alone during 48A. Calculations based on the SO₂ emission rate resulted in a magma supply rate of 0.44 million m³ per day and a 0.042 wt% sulfur loss from the magma upon eruption. Both of these calculated parameters agree with determinations made previously by other methods.     

Regional modeling of climate change impacts on smallholder agriculture and ecosystems in Central America

Climate change will have serious repercussions for agriculture, ecosystems, and farmer livelihoods in Central America. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on agriculture and ecosystem services for their livelihoods. There is an urgent need to develop national and local adaptation responses to reduce these impacts, yet evidence from historical climate change is fragmentary. Modeling efforts help bridge this gap. Here, we review the past decade of research on agricultural and ecological climate change impact models for Central America. The results of this review provide insights into the expected impacts of climate change and suggest policy actions that can help minimize these impacts. Modeling indicates future climate-driven changes, often declines, in suitability for Central American crops. Declines in suitability for coffee, a central crop in the regional economy, are noteworthy. Ecosystem models suggest that climate-driven changes are likely at low- and high-elevation montane forest transitions. Modeling of vulnerability suggests that smallholders in many parts of the region have one or more vulnerability factors that put them at risk. Initial adaptation policies can be guided by these existing modeling results. At the same time, improved modeling is being developed that will allow policy action specifically targeted to vulnerable groups, crops, and locations. We suggest that more robust modeling of ecological responses to climate change, improved representation of the region in climate models, and simulation of climate influences on crop yields and diseases (especially coffee leaf rust) are key priorities for future research.     

Fatal landslides in Europe

Landslides are a major hazard causing human and large economic losses worldwide. However, the quantification of fatalities and casualties is highly underestimated and incomplete, thus, the estimation of landslide risk is rather ambitious. Hence, a spatio-temporal distribution of deadly landslides is presented for 27 European countries over the last 20  years (1995–2014). Catastrophic landslides are widely distributed throughout Europe, however, with a great concentration in mountainous areas. In the studied period, a total of 1370 deaths and 784 injuries were reported resulting from 476 landslides. Turkey showed the highest fatalities with 335. An increasing trend of fatal landslides is observed, with a pronounced number of fatalities in the latest period from 2008 to 2014. The latter are mostly triggered by natural extreme events such as storms (i.e., heavy rainfall), earthquakes, and floods and only minor by human activities, such as mining and excavation works. Average economic loss per year in Europe is approximately 4.7 billion Euros. This study serves as baseline information for further risk mapping by integrating deadly landslide locations, local land use data, and will therefore help countries to protect human lives and property.     

Sulphur dioxide,particle and elemental emissions from Mount Etna,Italy during July 1987

Sulphur dioxide emission rates were measured at Mount Etna, Italy during July 1987 while the volcano was undergoing relatively quiet activity. The SO₂ flux averaged 930 ± 587 (1) Mg/d, excluding 19 July when the flux was 3200 ± 1730 (1) Mg/d. Rising magma and/or an influx of less degassed magma could explain the increased SO₂ flux. The high SO₂ flux did not correlate with changes in observed volcanic activity. This suggests that SO₂ monitoring may be useful as an indicator of shallow magmatic activity, but not as a predictor of future eruptions of Mount Etna.Particles emitted from the two active craters, Bocca Nuova and Southeast Crater (SE), were composed of silicates, sulphates and dithionites. Chloride species were only observed in particles from SE. Different eruptive styles probably produced the differences in particle compositions emitted from each crater.Vapour — magma enrichment factors were calculated for many elements from both craters. Cl, Br and S were the most enriched elements in the sampled fumes. Similar enrichment factors at both craters suggest a common magma supply.Cl, S and F have the largest elemental fluxes emitted from Mount Etna. During quiet activity, the Cl flux represents 27% of the global anthropogenic emissions, but its effect is limited to the local region due to atmospheric removal processes. Mount Etna also exhaled significant amounts of Zn, Br, Mo, F and Cu compared with regional anthropogenic emissions.     

From berries to blocks: carbon stock quantification of a California vineyard

Background

Quantifying terrestrial carbon (C) stocks in vineyards represents an important opportunity for estimating C sequestration in perennial cropping systems. Considering 7.2 M ha are dedicated to winegrape production globally, the potential for annual C capture and storage in this crop is of interest to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, we used destructive sampling to measure C stocks in the woody biomass of 15-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines from a vineyard in California’s northern San Joaquin Valley. We characterize C stocks in terms of allometric variation between biomass fractions of roots, aboveground wood, canes, leaves and fruits, and then test correlations between easy-to-measure variables such as trunk diameter, pruning weights and harvest weight to vine biomass fractions. Carbon stocks at the vineyard block scale were validated from biomass mounds generated during vineyard removal.

Results

Total vine C was estimated at 12.3 Mg C ha^?1, of which 8.9 Mg C ha^?1 came from perennial vine biomass. Annual biomass was estimated at 1.7 Mg C ha^?1 from leaves and canes and 1.7 Mg C ha^?1 from fruit. Strong, positive correlations were found between the diameter of the trunk and overall woody C stocks (R² = 0.85), pruning weights and leaf and fruit C stocks (R² = 0.93), and between fruit weight and annual C stocks (R² = 0.96).

Conclusions

Vineyard C partitioning obtained in this study provides detailed C storage estimations in order to understand the spatial and temporal distribution of winegrape C. Allometric equations based on simple and practical biomass and biometric measurements could enable winegrape growers to more easily estimate existing and future C stocks by scaling up from berries and vines to vineyard blocks.

     

The Ebro Deep-Sea Fan system

The Ebro Fan System consists of en echelon channel-levee complexes, 50×20 km in area and 200-m thick. A few strong reflectors in a generally transparent seismic facies identify the sand-rich channel floors and levee crests. Numerous continuous acoustic reflectors characterize overbank turbidites and hemipelagites that blanket abandoned channel-levee complexes. The interlobe areas between channel complexes fill with homogeneous mud and sand from mass flow and overbank deposition; these exhibit a transparent seismic character. The steep continental rise and sediment “drainage” of Valencia Trough at the end of the channel-levee complexes prevent the development of distributary channels and midfan lobe deposits.