A riparian plant community from the upper Maastrichtian of the Pyrenees (Catalonia,NE Spain)

Angiosperms began to colonise riparian habitats very soon in their evolutionary history, probably already in the Aptian, but it is still poorly known when flowering plants finally dominated entirely these kind of communities as they do in the present. A new fossil plant locality (Molí del Baró-1) from the upper Maastrichtian of the Southern Pyrenees is described in which meandering river facies represent one of the first riparian communities formed only by angiosperms. The fossil assemblage consists of abundant leaves, seeds, logs and sporomorphs. Angiosperms remains dominate in all these cases and the leaf sample is mostly composed of a new eudicot willow-like species, Saliciphyllum gaetei sp. nov., the palm Sabalites longirhachis and an helophytic monocot. Pollen remains suggest that the later belonged to Typhaceae. Most of these plant remains were parautochthonous and deposited in a pond formed in the accretional part of a meander loop. The locality of Molí del Baró-1 represents an unique plant fossil assemblage in the uppermost Cretaceous of southern Europe. It clearly differs from those reported in other Maastrichtian localities of the Pyrenees (Fumanya and South Isona) and from the Campanian-Maastrichtian of Austria and Romania. In addition, it reflects a surprisingly modern physiognomy for a Late Cretaceous riverine plant assemblage that was built up with willow-like plants, palms and reeds.     

Net aboveground primary production and soil properties of floating and attached freshwater tidal marshes in the Río de la Plata estuary,Argentina

In the lower delta of the Paraná River, at the head of the Río de la Plata estuary (Argentina), we compared net aboveground primary production (NAPP) and soil properties of the dominant macrophyteScirpus giganteus (Kunth) in a floating and an attached marsh community. Both marshes are tidally influenced but in different ways. The floating marsh site is relatively isolated from tidal influences because its ability to float makes it resistant to overland flow and to sediment inputs from the estuary. The attached marsh lacks the capacity to float and receives sediment supplies from the estuary through overland flow. These hydrologic differences are reflected in lower mineral content in sediments of the floating marsh. Using a leaf tagging technique, estimated NAPP was 1,109 ± 206 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ for the floating marsh and 1,866 ±258 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ for the attached marsh. We attribute the lower NAPP of the floating marsh to isolation from sediment input from overland flow.     

Quaternary over-elevated torrential channels. Characteristics and depositional significance: the Maresme model (Catalonia,NE Spain)

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Channel-levee deposits that occur in some large sand-dominated fluvial systems are commonly elevated above the surrounding floodplain. However, the...     

Assessing aboveground net primary production of vascular plants in marshes

Information of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) in marshes has been limited by the lack of accurate methods for assessment. Most popular methods have weaknesses that cause either underestimates or overestimates of ANPP values. The nondestructive growth kinetics monitoring method used by Williams and Murdoch (W-M) has provided, perhaps, a most ideal and reasonable assessment of ANPP inJuncus roemerianus marshes Unfortunately, the W-M procedure is difficult to carry out and it is restricted toJuncus marshes. I present here a modification of the W-M procedure. The modified procedure applies the principle of the original W-M method while eliminating the need to monitor growth kinetics of individual plants. The modified ANPP procedure requires monthly harvests of the above-ground plant biomass over a period of 1 yr and the estimation of mean residence time of the plant. The modified W-M procedure was comparable to the original procedure inJ. roemerianus marshes of northern Florida. This modified procedure has the potential to be applied to marshes other than those dominated byJuncus.     

Transitional environments of the lower Maastrichtian South-Pyrenean Basin (Catalonia,Spain): The Fumanya Member tidal flat

Sedimentological, palaeontological and geochemical data provide detailed evidence of a marine-to-lagoon environmental succession around the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary in the Ibero-Armorican domain. This regression is recorded by the succession of several environments of the south-central Pyrenees basin: open marine mixed shelf, marine restricted mixed shelf (both rudist-rich), tidal flat, lagoon and fluvial dominated. The tidal flat setting belongs to the Fumanya Member here described, which is the base of the Posa and Massana formations (Tremp Group). The Fumanya Member is 5 m thick, is built up of marly limestones and was an elongated tidal mudflat (100 km long, 25 km wide) developed in a foreland trough and was separated from the Atlantic Ocean by an island-barrier system. In the lagoon environment, marginal marine waters and continental fresh waters alternated as documented by geochemistry and fossil molluscs. The Fumanya Member is a dinosaur megatracksite, reporting the roaming activity only of sauropods in tidal flats, a likely secure area against predators. Feeding activity of these herbivores took place in the lagoonal-lacustrine environments of the Posa Formation above the Fumanya Member.     

Spatial loyalty and territorial embeddedness in the multi-sector clustering of the Berguedà region in Catalonia (Spain)

The development of clusters of local growth is supported by different processes. Endogenous economic development produced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is based on family firms in which local market characteristics influence the sectorial diversification that emerges within certain regions. In the Berguedà region (Catalonia, Spain), the formation of a successful network of SMEs in three main sectors (food, textile and machinery) in the 1990s demonstrated the importance of grass-roots prerequisites, including industrial tradition, social networks and a sense of spatial loyalty, one of the main concepts studied in this paper. The aim of this paper is to study how institutions, local economic networks and collective social agents generate a propitious economic space that constitutes favourable embedding in Berguedà. However, the key element in this industrial system is the loyalty that entrepreneurs and workers feel towards their industrial region. These two processes, territorial embeddedness and spatial loyalty, appear to be two of the major forces behind the economic dynamism of the region and have led to the formation of a new cluster of firms.     

Feeding ecology of o-group sea bass,Dicentrarchus labrax, in salt marshes of Mont Saint Michel Bay (France)

0-group sea bass,Dicentrarchus labrax, colonize intertidal marsh creeks of Mont Saint Michel Bay, France, on spring tides (e.g., 43% of the tides) during flood and return to coastal waters during ebb. Most arrived with empty stomachs (33%), and feed actively during their short stay in the creeks (from 1 to 2 h) where they consumed on average a minimum of 8% of their body weight. During flood tide, diet was dominated by mysids,Neomysis integer, which feed on marsh detritus. During ebb, when young sea bass left tidal marsh creeks, the majority had full stomachs (more than 98%) and diet was dominated by the most abundant marsh (including vegetated tidal flats and associated marsh creeks) resident amphipod,Orchestia gammarellus. Temporal and tidal effects on diet composition were shown to be insignificant. Foraging in vegetated flats occurs very rarely since they are only flooded by about 5% of the tides. It was shown that primary and secondary production of intertidal salt marshes play a fundamental role in the feeding of 0-group sea bass. This suggests that the well known nursery function of estuarine systems, which is usually restricted to subtidal and intertidal flats, ought to be extended to the supratidal, vegetated marshes and mainly to intertidal marsh creeks.     

Aboveground and belowground productivity ofSpartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass) in natural and created Louisiana salt marshes

In Louisiana, salt marshes are being created in an effort to offset the large loss of such habitat that has occurred over the last 50 yr. Primary productivity is an important function and indicator of success for salt marsh creation and restoration projects. The aim of this study was to determine whether the aboveground and belowground productivity of the dominant salt marsh grassSpartina alterniflora in created marshes in southwest Louisiana began to approximate productivity levels in natural marshes, over time. Net annual aboveground primary productivity (NAPP) was measured by a harvest technique, while the ingrowth core method was used to estimate net annual belowground primary productivity (NBPP). NAPP levels were similar to those found in other, Louisiana salt marshes, while NBPP levels were similar to or higher than the reported range forS. alterniflora studied along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. NAPP tended to decrease as the created marshes aged, but the levels in the oldest, 19 year old, created marsh were still well above values measured in the, natural marshes. It was estimated that it would take 35 yr after marsh creation for NAPP in the created marshes to become equivalent to that in natural marshes. NBPP in the created marshes became equivalent to levels found in the natural marshes after 6–8 yr, but then belowground production increased with marsh age, reaching an asymptote that surpassed natural marsh levels. Equivalency in primary productivity has not been reached in these marshes. Elevation also affected productivity, as higher elevational sites with greater topographic heterogeneity had significantly lower aboveground and belowground biomass levels than those with elevations closer to mean sea level. This underscores the need to construct marshes so that their mean elevation and degree of topographic heterogeneity are similar to natural marshes.     

Hydrogeological origin of the CO2-rich mineral water of Vilajuïga in the Eastern Pyrenees (NE Catalonia,Spain)

The mineral water of Vilajuïga village in Alt Empordà (NE Catalonia, Spain) owes its uniqueness to an emanation of geogenic CO₂ that modifies groundwater hydrochemistry to produce a differentiated HCO₃–Na- and CO₂-rich groundwater among the usual Ca–HCO₃ type found in this region. A hydrogeological conceptual model attributes its occurrence to the intersection of two faults: La Valleta and Garriguella-Roses. The former provides a thrust of metamorphic over igneous rocks, formed during the Paleozoic, over a layer of ampelitic shale that, from a hydrogeological perspective, acts as a confining layer. The Garriguella-Roses normal fault, which originated during the Neogene, permits the degassing of geogenic CO₂ that is attributed to volcanic activity occurring in the Neogene. Groundwater mixing from the metamorphic and igneous rock units plus the local occurrence of CO₂ creates a HCO₃–Na water that still holds free-CO₂ in solution. Interaction with the gas phase is restricted at the intersection of the two faults. Radiocarbon dating, after correcting for geogenic dead carbon, estimates an age of 8,000 years BP. The low tritium content (0.7 TU) indicates that Vilajuïga water is a mix of “older” groundwater recharged in the metamorphic rocks of the Albera range and “younger” groundwater from the igneous rocks of the Rodes range, over a recharge area of 45 km² and a maximum elevation of 600 m. Given its origin as rare groundwater in the southern slope of the Eastern Pyrenees, purposeful monitoring is necessary to evaluate the groundwater vulnerability and anticipate impacts from nearby wells and climate-change effects.

     

Behaviour and dynamics of a hydrothermal plume in Lake Banyoles, Catalonia, NE Spain

A hydrothermal plume forms in Lake Banyoles, NE Spain, as a result of convection above a springwater-fed suspension cloud ponded on the lake floor. The plume propagates upwards reaching a level of neutral buoyancy from where a turbidity current spreads out laterally. Two-dimensional temperature and particle concentration measurements show the fate of the hydrothermal plume and its associated turbidity current and reveal its seasonal development. Silt particles transported by the plume have been used as tracers to determine the maximum and equilibrium heights of the plume. When the lake is stratified, the vertical transport of sediment is confined to the lake hypolimnion, as the thermocline limits the vertical propagation of the plume. In contrast, when the lake water column is mixed, the plume reaches the surface of the lake. The field measurements have been compared with models for thermal convection from finite isolated sources. Measurements of the flow velocity at the source of the hydrothermal plume (i.e. the rim current velocity) indicate that cold hypolimnetic water is entrained by the plume. Sedimentation rates measured from sediment traps at the zone where the turbidity current develops vary between 10 and 25 g m⁻² day⁻¹, and result from continuous silt particle sedimentation from the turbidity current. Sedimentation rates in traps are higher for stations situated close to the source than those further away (<5 g m⁻² day⁻¹). Moreover, the results demonstrate that double diffusive sedimentation from the turbidity current was dominant over grain-by-grain settling, causing a mixed distribution of sediments in the region where the turbidity current spreads. The deposition of silt particles could explain the occurrence of silt layers interbedded with biocalcarenites in the littoral zones of the lake and the stratigraphy identified by seismic profiles and cores taken from the lake floor.     

The geochemistry of salt marshes: Sedimentary ion diffusion,sulfate reduction,and pyritization

A series of seasonal cores was taken in a high marsh near the terminus of Delaware Bay, U.S.A. A seasonal harmonic diffusion model was successfully fit to the concentration profiles of chloride ion in the salt marsh pore waters yielding a calculated sedimentary diffusion coefficient.Virtually all other chemical reactions within salt marsh sediments are directly linked to the rate and stoichiometry of organic decomposition. The rich organic input from the grass Spartina alterniflora is oxidized anaerobically through the process of sulfate reduction. Over 90% of this net decomposition of organic matter takes place in the uppermost 20 cm. The model for sulfate reduction proposed yields an internally consistent set of both pore water (HCO^?₃, NH⁺₄, HPO^2?₄, HS^?, SO^2?₄) and solid phase (FeS₂) distribution profiles for these sediments. Steady state assumptions and the use of mean annual constants can be employed to model the net rates of diagenetic processes in salt marshes. The pore water concentrations of sulfate ion as well as those ions released by sulfate reduction (HCO^?₃, NH⁺₄, HPO^2?₄, HS^?) are modeled by a system composed of an upper zone, where extensive reconsumption of these metabolite ions occurs, and a lower zone where steady state production and no ion reconsumption occurs.A major product of the sulfate reduction is pyrite, whose accumulation rate is greatest between 7 and 9 cm depth, where it equals the net rate of sulfate reduction. Above this zone little pyrite accumulates due to extensive reoxidation. Below 9 cm the rate of pyritization is controlled by the rate of sulfidation of a refractory iron phase.     

Heavy metal distribution and accumulation in two Spartina sp.-dominated macrotidal salt marshes from the Seine estuary (France) and the Medway estuary (UK)

The upper intertidal zone, and salt marshes in particular, have been shown by numerous authors to be effective medium to long-term storage areas for a range of contaminants discharged or transported into the estuarine environment. A detailed understanding of the specific controls on the trapping and storage of contaminants, however, is absent for many estuarine systems. This paper examines heavy metal distribution and accumulation in two contrasting Spartina sp.-dominated macrotidal salt marsh systems – a rapidly prograding, relatively young marsh system at the Vasiere Nord, near the mouth of the Seine estuary, France, and a more mature, less extensive marsh system in the Medway estuary, UK. The spatial distribution of the heavy metals Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni and Co is assessed and compared in both systems via detailed surface sampling and analysis, while the longer-term accumulation of these metals and its temporal variability is compared via analysis of dated sediment cores. Of the two sites studied, the more extensive marsh system at the Vasiere Nord in the Seine estuary shows a clear differentiation of heavy metals across the marsh and fronting mudflat, with highest metal concentrations found in surface sediments from the more elevated, interior marsh areas. At Horrid Hill in the Medway estuary, the spatial distribution of heavy metals in surface sediments is more irregular, and there is no clear relationship between heavy metal concentration and site elevation, with average concentrations similar in the marsh and fronting mudflats. Sediment core data indicate that the more recent near-surface sediments at Horrid Hill are clearly more contaminated than those at greater depth, with most heavy metal contamination confined to the upper 20 cm of the sediment column (with peak metal input in the late 1960s/early 1970s). In contrast, due to extremely rapid sediment accretion at the mouth of the Seine, heavy metal distribution with depth at the Vasiere Nord site is relatively erratic, with metal concentrations showing a general increase with depth. These sediments provide little information on temporal trends in heavy metal loading to the Seine estuary. Overall, heavy metal concentrations at both sites are within typical ranges reported for other industrialised estuaries in NW Europe.     

The distribution and utility of sea‐level indicators in Eurasian sub‐Arctic salt marshes (White Sea,Russia)

In support of efforts to reconstruct relative sea level (RSL), we investigated the utility of foraminifera, diatoms and bulk‐sediment geochemistry (δ¹³C, C:N and parameters measured by Rock‐Eval pyrolysis) as sea‐level indicators in Eurasian sub‐Arctic salt marshes. At three salt marshes (<15 km apart) in Dvina Bay (White Sea, Russia), we collected surface sediment samples along transects from subtidal to Taiga forest environments. Foraminifera at all sites formed bipartite assemblages, where elevations below mean high higher water (MHHW) were dominated by Miliammina spp. and elevations between MHHW and the highest occurrence of foraminifera were dominated by Jadammina macrescens and Balticammina pseudomacrescens. Five high‐diversity groups of diatoms were identified and they displayed pronounced variability amongst the study sites. Bulk‐sediment geochemistry recognized two groups (clastic‐dominated environments below MHHW and organic‐rich environments above MHHW). As one group included subtidal elevations and the other included supratidal elevations, we conclude that the measured geochemical parameters are not stand‐alone sea‐level indicators. Core JT2012 captured a regressive sediment succession of clastic, tidal‐flat sediment overlain by salt‐marsh organic silt and freshwater peat. The salt‐marsh sediment accumulated at 2804±52 years before present and preserved foraminifera (Jadammina macrescens and Balticammina pseudomacrescens) with good analogy to modern assemblages indicating that RSL was +2.60±0.47 m at this time. Diatoms confirm that marine influence decreased through time, but the lack of analogy between modern and core assemblages limited their utility as sea‐level indicators. Geochemical parameters also indicate a reduction in marine influence through time. We conclude that RSL reconstructions derived from salt‐marsh sediment preserved beneath Eurasian sub‐Arctic peatlands can provide valuable insight into the spatio‐temporal evolution of the Fennoscandian and Eurasian ice sheets.     

3D gravity modeling of the Triassic salt diapirs of the Cubeta Alavesa (northern Spain)

Up to now subsurface information permitted the delineation of the top of the Triassic salt, all throughout the Cantabro–Navarro domain, although little was known on the location and geometry of its base and thus on the estimation of the total salt thickness. A 3D-gravity inversion scheme combined with a 3D analytic method has been conducted to map out the geometry of the main salt structures of the basin. The gravity modeling results have been constrained by well log information and available geological and reflection seismic data. The combined 3D scheme integrated with available geological and geophysical data has allowed us to obtain the geometry of the main diapirs that characterize the central and marginal regions of the basin.From our interpretation, the Salinas de Añana diapir has almost vertical flanks and can be divided into two different parts, one of them forming a lateral overhang of the main body.The Salinas de Oro diapir has near vertical flanks and a main axis in the N–S direction. Also, the anomaly is rather more extensive than the outcrop of the diapir, which implies an important expansion of non-outcropping salt in this area. Like the Hoz-Sobrón diapir, the Salinas de Ollo diapir is long and narrow. stretching in the NW–SE direction, which includes three important highs, plus an intense zone of salt migration.The Estella and Alloz diapirs crop out individually in spite of being connected at depth. Also two non-outcropping salt domes have been detected to the south of Atauri that, like the Estella diapir, are related to the thrust front. We point out the gravity signature of the Murguia diapir, which shows an intense gravity high probably due to the presence of high-density rocks in the cap rock or more probably due to the existence of Triassic volcanites of ophitic texture pinched-off into the diapir.     

Natural and human-induced dissolution and subsidence processes in the salt outcrop of the Cardona Diapir (NE Spain)

The Cardona Diapir in NE Spain, with a salt outcrop about 0.9 km² in area, has a well-developed endokarstic system that used to discharge into the Cardener River. Underground mining for potassium salt carried out from 1930 to 1990 caused significant changes in the topography and hydrology of the diapir. The accumulation of two halite slag heaps, totalling around 10 million tons, locally dammed the surface drainage, creating closed depressions and preferential zones of water recharge. The waters that infiltrated in one of these depressions, largely derived from uncontrolled sewage disposal, led to the generation of a 335-m-long human-induced cave excavated in one of the slag heaps. Moreover, the inflow of freshwater from the surrounding sandstone aquifer, caused by the excavation of a ventilation gallery, resulted in the generation of a 280-m-long cave. In March 1998, the interception of a phreatic conduit by a halite mine gallery 50 m deep caused dramatic changes in the hydrology and geomorphology of the diapir, including: (a) a sudden decline in the piezometric level of the karstic aquifer; (b) the inflow of freshwater and debris from the Cardener River into the endokarstic system and the mine galleries. A tunnel had to be constructed to divert the river flow from the salt outcrop; (c) massive dissolution of salt, creating new cavities and enlarging the pre-existing ones, including both mine galleries or cave passages. The 4,300-m-long Salt Meanders Cave was largely generated by the inrush of water from the Cardener River into the mine galleries; and (d) the generation of a large number of sinkholes in the vicinity of the Cardener River. An inventory of 178 sinkholes has allowed us to estimate minimum probability values of 4.7 and 8 sinkholes/km²·year for time intervals previous and subsequent to the 1998 mine flood event, respectively.