Stray-light measurements at the Observatorio del Teide

A new procedure to separate the instrumental and atmospheric components of stray light is presented. It is based on the dependence of the aureole's atmospheric component on the air mass and is applied to measurements taken with the Vacuum Newton Telescope (VNT) at the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife). The resulting instrumental part is independent of the air mass.The variation of both components with wavelength is also studied. The instrumental component shows no dependence on wavelength, in contrast to the atmospheric one which is greater in the blue than in the red.It is concluded that observations with air masses larger than two will probably be strongly affected by stray light.     

Late Carboniferous porphyry copper mineralization at La Voluntad,Neuquén,Argentina: Constraints from Re–Os molybdenite dating

The La Voluntad porphyry Cu–Mo deposit in Neuquén, Argentina, is one of several poorly known porphyry-type deposits of Paleozoic to Early Jurassic age in the central and southern Andes. Mineralization at La Voluntad is related to a tonalite porphyry from the Chachil Plutonic Complex that intruded metasedimentary units of the Piedra Santa Complex. Five new Re–Os molybdenite ages from four samples representing three different vein types (i.e., quartz–molybdenite, quartz–sericite–molybdenite and quartz–sericite–molybdenite ± chalcopyrite–pyrite) are identical within error and were formed between ~312 to ~316 Ma. Rhenium and Os concentrations range between 34 to 183 ppm and 112 to 599 ppb, respectively. The new Re–Os ages indicate that the main mineralization event at La Voluntad, associated to sericitic alteration, was emplaced during a time span of 1.7 ± 3.2 Ma and that the deposit is Carboniferous in age, not Permian as previously thought. La Voluntad is the oldest porphyry copper deposit so far recognized in the Andes and indicates the presence of an active magmatic arc, with associated porphyry style mineralization, at the proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana during the Early Pennsylvanian.     

In situ and satellite observations of the eastward migration of the Western Alboran Sea Gyre

During October 2003 an intensive oceanographic survey (BIOMEGA) was carried out in the Alboran Sea, coinciding with a migration event of the Western Alboran Sea Gyre (WAG). The observations gathered during that cruise constitute the first field evidence of a migrated stage of the WAG. In this work we present the main differences between the 3D hydrodynamic fields observed during BIOMEGA and those corresponding to a WAG located at its usual position. The migration of the gyre was followed by satellite (altimetry and sea surface temperature) imagery. The causes of the gyre migration are explored in terms of the quasi-geostrophic tendency equation, in particular of the dynamics governing scales larger than the Rossby radius of deformation. It is shown that the steady state gyre must be almost equivalent barotropic and that the key process to break down the stationarity would be a density advection at gyre scale. The mechanisms to explain the migration of the WAG proposed by previous authors are discussed in light of the explanation proposed in this work.     

Distribution and Trophic Importance of Anthropogenic Nitrogen in Narragansett Bay: An Assessment Using Stable Isotopes

Narragansett Bay has been heavily influenced by human activities for more than 200 years. In recent decades, it has been one of the more intensively fertilized estuaries in the USA, with most of the anthropogenic nutrient load originating from sewage treatment plants (STP). This will soon change as tertiary treatment upgrades reduce nitrogen (N) loads by about one third or more during the summer. Before these reductions take place, we sought to characterize the sewage N signature in primary (macroalgae) and secondary (the hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria) producers in the bay using stable isotopes of N (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C). The δ¹⁵N signatures of the macroalgae show a clear gradient of approximately 4‰ from north to south, i.e., high to low point source loading. There is also evidence of a west to east gradient of heavy to light values of δ¹⁵N in the bay consistent with circulation patterns and residual flows. The Providence River Estuary, just north of Narragansett Bay proper, receives 85% of STP inputs to Narragansett Bay, and lower δ¹⁵N values in macroalgae there reflected preferential uptake of ¹⁴N in this heavily fertilized area. Differences in pH from N stimulated photosynthesis and related shifts in predominance of dissolved C species may control the observed δ¹³C signatures. Unlike the macroalgae, the clams were remarkably uniform in both δ¹⁵N (13.2 ± 0.54‰ SD) and δ¹³C (−16.76 ± 0.61‰ SD) throughout the bay, and the δ¹⁵N values were 2–5‰ heavier than in clams collected outside the bay. We suggest that this remarkable uniformity reflects a food source of anthropogenically heavy phytoplankton formed in the upper bay and supported by sewage derived N. We estimate that approximately half of the N in the clams throughout Narragansett Bay may be from anthropogenic sources.     

Detection and evaluation of horizontal fractures in earth dams using the self-potential method

The self-potential method can be applied to evaluate the degree of water seepage into earth or rockfill dams. Spatial distribution of measured self-potential data can indicate possible anomalous water flow. Phenomena, such as piping, can be modelled as cylindrical bodies. Internal erosion can develop structures, which can be represented by a sphere or point source. Differential settlement in the dam structure occasionally creates horizontal fractures, which require equivalent geometrical body formula. An equation, which allows the calculation of a self-potential profile over a horizontal contact, was developed. This equation can also be applied to the inspection of water flow into horizontal drainage filters. When inverse interpretation returns bodies of relatively small amplitudes, then their probability can be tested statistically. A test, based on cross-correlation between a modelled curve and field data, can be used to evaluate their existence at a given probability level. An acceptance criterion is computed, using the concept of likelihood coefficient. The equation was applied to two case histories. The first is an example of water flow evaluation into a horizontal drainage filter. Several anomalous bodies were interpreted from residual self-potential data, i.e. from the difference between the theoretical response of the filter and the measured self-potential values, then, most of the interpreted bodies were statistically tested. The second case deals with detection and evaluation of a horizontal fissure. The interpreted parameters of the detected body corresponded well to a horizontal fracture found when the water level in the reservoir was lowered.     

Aftershocks series monitoring of the September 18, 2004 M = 4.6 earthquake at the western Pyrenees: A case of reservoir-triggered seismicity?

On September 18, 2004, a 4.6 mbLg earthquake was widely felt in the region around Pamplona, at the western Pyrenees. Preliminary locations reported an epicenter less than 20 km ESE of Pamplona and close to the Itoiz reservoir, which started impounding in January 2004. The area apparently lacks of significant seismic activity in recent times. After the main shock, which was preceded by series of foreshocks reaching magnitudes of 3.3 mbLg, a dense temporal network of 13 seismic stations was deployed there to monitor the aftershocks series and to constrain the hypocentral pattern. Aftershock determinations obtained with a double-difference algorithm define a narrow epicentral zone of less than 10 km², ESE–WNW oriented. The events are mainly concentrated between 3 and 9 km depth. Focal solutions were computed for the main event and 12 aftershocks including the highest secondary one of 3.8 mbLg. They show mainly normal faulting with some strike-slip component and one of the nodal planes oriented NW–SE and dipping to the NE. Cross-correlation techniques applied to detect and associate events with similar waveforms, provided up to 33 families relating the 67% of the 326 relocated aftershocks. Families show event clusters grouped by periods and migrating from NW to SE. Interestingly, the narrow epicentral zone inferred here is located less than 4 km away from the 111-m high Itoiz dam. These hypocentral results, and the correlation observed between fluctuations of the reservoir water level and the seismic activity, favour the explanation of this foreshock–aftershock series as a rapid response case of reservoir-triggered seismicity, burst by the first impoundment of the Itoiz reservoir. The region is folded and affected by shallow dipping thrusts, and the Itoiz reservoir is located on the hangingwall of a low angle southward verging thrust, which might be a case sensible to water level fluctuations. However, continued seismic monitoring in the coming years is mandatory in this area to infer more reliable seismotectonic and hazard assessments.