The 2020 glacial lake outburst flood process chain at Lake Salkantaycocha (Cordillera Vilcabamba,Peru)

Glacial lakes represent a threat for the populations of the Andes and numerous disastrous glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) occurred as a result of sudden dam failures or dam overtoppings triggered by landslides such as rock/ice avalanches into the lake. This paper investigates a landslide-triggered GLOF process chain that occurred on February 23, 2020, in the Cordillera Vilcabamba in the Peruvian Andes. An initial slide at the SW slope of Nevado Salkantay evolved into a rock/ice avalanche. The frontal part of this avalanche impacted the moraine-dammed Lake Salkantaycocha, triggering a displacement wave which overtopped and surficially eroded the dam. Dam overtopping resulted in a far-reaching GLOF causing fatalities and people missing in the valley downstream. We analyze the situations before and after the event as well as the dynamics of the upper portion of the GLOF process chain, based on field investigations, remotely sensed data, meteorological data and a computer simulation with a two-phase flow model. Comparison of pre- and post-event field photographs helped us to estimate the initial landslide volume of 1–2 million m³. Meteorological data suggest rainfall and/or melting/thawing processes as possible causes of the landslide. The simulation reveals that the landslide into the lake created a displacement wave of 27 m height. The GLOF peak discharge at the dam reached almost 10,000 m³/s. However, due to the high freeboard, less than 10% of the lake volume drained, and the lake level increased by 10–15 m, since the volume of landslide material deposited in the lake (roughly 1.3 million m³) was much larger than the volume of released water (57,000 m³, according to the simulation). The model results show a good fit with the observations, including the travel time to the uppermost village. The findings of this study serve as a contribution to the understanding of landslide-triggered GLOFs in changing high-mountain regions.

     

On the period of the periodic orbits of the restricted three body problem

We will show that the period T of a closed orbit of the planar circular restricted three body problem (viewed on rotating coordinates) depends on the region it encloses. Roughly speaking, we show that, \(2 T=k\pi +\int _\Omega g\) where k is an integer, \(\Omega \) is the region enclosed by the periodic orbit and \(g:{\mathbb {R}}^2\rightarrow {\mathbb {R}}\) is a function that only depends on the constant C known as the Jacobian constant; it does not depend on \(\Omega \). This theorem has a Keplerian flavor in the sense that it relates the period with the space “swept” by the orbit. As an application we prove that there is a neighborhood around \(L_4\) such that every periodic solution contained in this neighborhood must move clockwise. The same result holds true for \(L_5\).     

Large-scale galactic turbulence: can self-gravity drive the observed H i velocity dispersions?

Observations of turbulent velocity dispersions in the H  i component of galactic discs show a characteristic floor in galaxies with low star formation rates and within individual galaxies the dispersion profiles decline with radius. We carry out several high-resolution adaptive mesh simulations of gaseous discs embedded within dark matter haloes to explore the roles of cooling, star formation, feedback, shearing motions and baryon fraction in driving turbulent motions. In all simulations the disc slowly cools until gravitational and thermal instabilities give rise to a multiphase medium in which a large population of dense self-gravitating cold clouds are embedded within a warm gaseous phase that forms through shock heating. The diffuse gas is highly turbulent and is an outcome of large-scale driving of global non-axisymmetric modes as well as cloud–cloud tidal interactions and merging. At low star formation rates these processes alone can explain the observed H  i velocity dispersion profiles and the characteristic value of  ∼10 km s⁻¹  observed within a wide range of disc galaxies. Supernovae feedback creates a significant hot gaseous phase and is an important driver of turbulence in galaxies with a star formation rate per unit area  ≳10⁻³ M_⊙ yr⁻¹ kpc⁻²  .     

Origin of resources and trophic pathways in a large SW Atlantic estuary: An evaluation using stable isotopes

The Río de la Plata (34° 36′ S, 55° 58′ W; Argentina and Uruguay) estuary, one of the most important South American estuarine environments, is characterized by weak seasonal freshwater discharge, low tidal amplitude (<1 m), a wide and permanent connection to the sea, and a salt-wedge regime. Using stable isotope analysis, we explored the relative importance of the different sources of primary production in the food web. Our results show that phytoplankton and macrodetritus from terrestrial salt and freshwater marshes both contribute to the food web of the Río de la Plata estuary. On the basis of the sampled species, we identified four trophic levels. The clam Mactra isabelleana, the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa, and the opossum shrimp Neomysis americana are the primary consumers. The rays Atlantoraja castelnaui and Squatina guggenheim and the shark Galeorhinus galeus are the top predators. The Río de la Plata food web shows an important input of nutrients derived from phytoplankton. Rays, sharks, and predatory gastropods reveal an important contribution of C4 plants (likely Spartina spp.). However, production derived from C3 plants is also important for some species. The fishes Brazilian menhaden, Brevoortia aurea; the stripped weakfish Cynoscion guatucupa; and the whitemouth croaker, Micropogonias furnieri, showed differences in their isotopic signatures as juveniles and adults, indicating different food sources, and they were therefore treated as different components of the food web. Our data suggest that detritus from salt and freshwater marshes is reaching the Río de la Plata estuary and can be an important allocthonous source of energy to this environment.     

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Late Devonian–Carboniferous granitoids in NW Iran: implications for the opening of Paleo-Tethys

ABSTRACT

We present zircon U-Pb crystallization ages combined with bulk rock major and trace element geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Pb and zircon in-situ Hf isotopic compositions of the Amand and Moro granitoid intrusions in northwest Iran. The Amand and Moro plutons include granite and syeno-diorite with LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages of 367 ± 6.8 Ma and 351 ± 1.3 Ma, respectively, representative of Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous magmatic activity in NW Iran. Geochemical characteristics such as typical enrichments in alkalis, Nb, Zr, Ga and Y, depletion in P and Sr and fractionated REE patterns with high Ga/Al ratios and Eu negative anomalies are consistent with A-type magmatic signatures. The granitoids are classified as A₂-type and within-plate granitoids. The bulk rock geochemistry (enrichments in Th, Nb and, high Th/Yb, Zr/Y ratios) along with low variation of ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_(i) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_(i) ratios and positive zircon εHf_(t) support the role of a mantle plume component for the evolution of the Amand and Moro A-type granitoids in an extensional tectonic environment. In fitting with wider regional knowledge, this magmatism occurred during Paleo-Tethys opening in northern Gondwana.     

The alluvial architecture of a suspended sediment dominated meandering river: the Río Bermejo,Argentina

The alluvial architecture of fine‐grained (silt‐bed) meandering rivers remains poorly understood in comparison to the extensive study given to sand‐bed and gravel‐bed channels. This paucity of knowledge stems, in part, from the difficulty of studying such modern rivers and deriving analogue information from which to inform facies models for ancient sediments. This paper employs a new technique, the parametric echosounder, to quantify the subsurface structure of the Río Bermejo, Argentina, which is a predominantly silt‐bed river with a large suspended sediment load. These results show that the parametric echosounder can provide high‐resolution (decimetre) subsurface imaging from fine‐grained rivers that is equivalent to the more commonly used ground‐penetrating radar that has been shown to work well in coarser‐grained rivers. Analysis of the data reveals that the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo is characterized by large‐scale inclined heterolithic stratification generated by point‐bar evolution, and associated large‐scale scour surfaces that result from channel migration. The small‐scale and medium‐scale structure of the sedimentary architecture is generated by vertical accretion deposits, bed sets associated with small bars, dunes and climbing ripples and the cut and fill from small cross‐bar channels. This style of alluvial architecture is very different from other modern fine‐grained rivers reported in the literature that emphasize the presence of oblique accretion. The Río Bermejo differs from these other rivers because it is much more active, with very high rates of bank erosion and channel migration. Modern examples of this type of highly active fine‐grained river have been reported rarely in the literature, although ancient examples are more prevalent and show similarities with the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo, which thus represents a useful analogue for their identification and interpretation. Although the full spectrum of the sedimentology of fine‐grained rivers has yet to be revealed, meandering rivers dominated by lateral or oblique accretion probably represent end members of such channels, with the specific style of sedimentation being controlled by grain size and sediment load characteristics.     

A geologic study of the Juan del Grijalva landslide,the most important mass movement during the last century in Mexico

On November 4th 2007, along the Grijalva River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, has occurred one of the largest landslides ever known. This landslide, known as Juan del Grijalva, destroyed the town of the same name, killing 20 people, and moved 55 million cubic meters of rock and debris down slope to completely block the Grijalva River. In order to understand the characteristics and factors that triggered the Juan del Grijalva landslide, geologic studies were conducted at the site. The results indicate that the landslide was composed of a lithologic sequence of thin-bedded shales and thin to medium-thick-bedded sandstones. This was faulted into several blocks dipping in the same sense as the mass movement. The main triggering factor was the increment of the pore pressure into the lithologic unit due to water saturation after 5 days of heavy rain before the incident. According to records from the last century, the Juan del Grijalva mass movement represents one of the largest mass movements recorded all over the world. The risk conditions of the area after the landslide lead to the rapid construction of an artificial channel to drain the accumulating mass of water upstream and therefore prevent a future catastrophic inundation down stream.     

Swimming behavior of Dungeness crab,Cancer magister Dana,megalopae in still and moving water

In the Grays Harbor estuary, juvenile Dungeness crab (Cancer magister Dana) are found at higher densities in epibenthic shell deposits compared to open mud flat. Differences in predation rate between habitats have been suggested to be due to habitat preference and differential survival. Megalopae preferred shell over open space in still-water conditions. However, it is not known whether megalopae are able to select shell in flowing water since larval preference is known to differ between still and flowing water. Here we report the first experimental study of swimming behavior of Dungeness crab megalopae in a range of current velocities (0–40 cm s^?1) equivalent to natural flow in Grays Harbor estuary. Experiments were conducted in daylight using a recirculating flume. Megalopae swimming speeds ranged from 8.5 cm s^?1 (8 body lengths s^?1) in still water to 44.8 cm s^?1 (44 body lengths s^?1) at flow speeds of 40 cm s^?1, Neither swimming behavior nor sheltering behavior in shells showed any flow-related pattern. Megalopae spent a large proportion of time swimming against the current and made headway upstream against all current velocities tested. The results suggest that Dungeness crab megalopae are able to maneuver and actively search for settlement sites under current velocities found in natural habitats, including intertidal shell deposits, and support the hypothesis of active selection of shell by megalopae.