Diapiric emplacement in the upper crust of a granitic body: the La Bazana granite (SW Spain)

The ascent and emplacement of granites in the upper crust is a major geological phenomenon accomplished by a number of different processes. The active processes determine the final geometry of the bodies and, in some favourable cases, the inverse problem of deducing mechanisms can be undertaken by relying on the geometry of plutons. This is the case of the La Bazana granitic pluton, a small Variscan igneous body that intruded Cambrian rocks of the Ossa-Morena Zone (SW Iberian Massif) in the core of a large late upright antiform. The granite shows no appreciable solid-state deformation, but has a late magmatic foliation whose orientation, derived from field observations, defines a gentle dome. The regional attitude of the main foliation in the country rock (parallel to the axial plane of recumbent folds) is NW–SE, but just around the granite, it accommodates to the dome shape of the pluton. Flattening in the host rock on top of the granite is indicated by boudinaged and folded veins, and appears to be caused by an upward pushing of the magma during its emplacement. The dome-shaped foliation of the granite, geometrically and kinematically congruent with the flattening in the host rock, can be related in the same way to the upward pushing of the magma. The level of final emplacement was deduced from the mineral associations in the thermal aureole to be of 7–10 km in depth. Models of the gravity anomaly related to the granite body show that the granite has a teardrop–pipe shape enlarged at its top. Diapiric ascent of the magma through the lower middle crust is inferred until reaching a high viscous level, where final emplacement accompanied by lateral expansion and vertical flattening took place. This natural example suggests that diapirism may be a viable mechanism for migration and emplacement of magmas, at least up to 7–10 km in depth, and it provides natural evidence for theoretical discussion on the ability of magmatic diapirs to pierce the crust.     

Occurrence of springs in massifs of crystalline rocks,northern Portugal

An inventory of artesian springs emerging from fractures (fracture springs) was conducted in the Pinh?o River Basin and Morais Massif, northern Portugal, comprising an area of approximately 650 km². Over 1,500 springs were identified and associated with geological domains and fracture sets. Using cross-tabulation analysis, spring distributions by fracture sets were compared among geological environments, and the deviations related to differences in rock structure and, presumably, to differences in deformational histories. The relation between spring frequencies and rock structures was further investigated by spectral determination, the model introduced in this study. Input data are the spring frequencies and fracture lengths in each geological domain, in addition to the angles between fracture strikes and present-day stress-field orientation (θ). The model's output includes the so-called intrinsic densities, a parameter indexing spring occurrence to factors such as fracture type and associated deformational regime and age. The highest densities (12.2 springs/km of lineament) were associated with young shear fractures produced by brittle deformation, and the lowest (0.1) with old tensional and ductile fractures. Spectral determination also relates each orientation class to a dominant structural parameter: where spring occurrence is controlled by θ, the class is parallel to the present-day stress-field orientation; where the control is attributed to the length of fractures, the spring occurrence follows the strike of large-scale normal faults crossing the region. Electronic Publication     

30-year response to damming of a Mediterranean river in California,USA

Dry Creek is a major tributary of the Russian River in Northern California (USA) that has experienced hydrologic and morphologic alterations after the closure of Warm Springs Dam in 1983. Our objective is to present a detailed diagnosis of the modification of the creek’s flow and sediment regimes, and interpret the alterations regarding the ecomorphologic evolution previously observed in the creek. Statistical analysis of the river’s flow and sediment series indicates that dam operation has had significant impacts on the magnitude and frequency of occurrence of the highest floods, and the magnitude, variability, and duration of low and very low flows. Similarly, sediment concentration and discharge have also experienced major alterations. Loss of habitat complexity for native flora and fauna (especially endangered salmonids), channel incision, and vegetation encroachment are some of the negative trends found for the creek over the last 30 years, since river regulation began. We discuss the present dynamics of the river and propose, on that basis, the improvement of its hydromorphic functioning as part of future large-scale restoration initiatives.     

The role of topography,river size and riverbed grain size on the preservation of riverine mollusk shells

The degree to which a group of fossils reflects the original community from which it was derived can be estimated by comparing living communities with locally accumulated dead remains. Such live–dead approaches (LA/DA) can provide important baseline information on the ecological structure of ancient freshwater systems. This study explored variations in composition, richness, evenness and rank-abundance in live and dead mollusk assemblages recovered from the Ibicuí River Basin, southern Brazil. LA/DA was related to topography, river size, and sediment grain size, separated respectively into plain (altitude 0–100 m) versus slope (100–500 m), small versus medium-large stream orders, and gravel versus sand substrate. Positive correlation between LA and DA species composition was significant only in large rivers. Slope areas showed LA/DA species compositions that were significantly different, whereas the communities from sand and gravel substrates were quite similar. Important factors that affected live/dead similarity in the study area included (1) destruction of thin, fragile shells of dead animals by acidic waters that are common in the region, (2) downstream drift of small spherical shells from species common in slope areas, such as Potamolithus sp., and (3) high abundances of invasive species in the local death assemblage, especially in large rivers. High fidelity in large rivers is caused by the presence of favorable habitats for bivalve communities. Coarse sediments are an important driver of macro invertebrate diversity, acting as shell traps that slow the downstream drift of bivalve remains and improve the preservation of fluvial mollusks. The preservation potential of dead assemblages of the Ibicuí River showed that fossil assemblages are useful tools for recognizing ancient riverscapes, such as flat areas with sandy substrates.     

Studying the errors in the estimation of the variation of energy by the “patched-conics” model in the three-dimensional swing-by

The swing-by maneuver is a technique used to change the energy of a spacecraft by using a close approach in a celestial body. This procedure was used many times in real missions. Usually, the first approach to design this type of mission is based on the “patched-conics” model, which splits the maneuver into three “two-body dynamics.” This approach causes an error in the estimation of the energy variations, which depends on the geometry of the maneuver and the system of primaries considered. Therefore, the goal of the present paper is to study the errors caused by this approximation. The comparison of the results are made with the trajectories obtained using the more realistic restricted three-body problem, assumed here to be the “real values” for the maneuver. The results shown here describe the effects of each parameter involved in the swing-by. Some examples using bodies in the solar system are used in this part of the paper. The study is then generalized to cover different mass parameters, and its influence is analyzed to give an idea of the amount of the error expected for a given system of primaries. The results presented here may help in estimating errors in the preliminary mission analysis using the “patched-conics” approach.     

Generalised relative and cumulative response functions for electromagnetic induction conductivity meters operating at low induction numbers

Relative and cumulative analytical response functions have been widely used as a powerful tool for forward modelling and interpretation of measurements obtained by electromagnetic induction conductivity meters operating at low induction numbers for one‐dimensional layered earth models. These well‐known functions were derived and should be used for the instruments laid on the surface of the earth. In this paper, we extended the response functions and obtained new generalised analytical expressions, which can be used for instruments carried at any height from the surface. The proposed new equations were compared with numerically constructed functions, obtained using the full solution of Maxwell's equations, and proved to be in very good agreement at low induction numbers. Quantitative analyses of the behaviour of the relative response and the depth of investigation of electromagnetic induction instruments, when raised from the ground, could also be done using the generalised functions.     

Analysis of the goodness of empirical approaches in predicting explosive detonation parameters

Goodness of empirical models for predicting explosive detonation velocity and pressure was analysed using 3 databases consisting of experimental velocity and pressure measurements for different explosives. The first database was used to estimate experimental errors for detonation velocity and pressure measurements. The second database was used to compare residuals obtained by the experimental models and by various thermochemical codes. Finally, the third database, consisting of some 600 data on 130 explosive substances, was used to estimate residual bias and dispersion resulting from the application of the experimental models. Also analysed was model coherence with the ideal detonation theory. Our main conclusion is that all the models introduce bias in their predictions depending on the density and oxygen balance values of the explosive. Of those analysed, the Xiong model was notable for its good results, with residual dispersion comparable to that obtained from application of the best thermochemical codes. Our results would indicate that the Xiong model is the only model that may be compatible with the ideal detonation theory. The pressure equation derived from the ideal detonation theory and calibrated with experimental data had excellent predictive capacity.