Silver fluxes to the Gironde Estuary - Eleven years (1999-2009) of monitoring at the watershed scale

Although Ag has long been recognized as highly toxic to aquatic organisms and as an efficient tracer of urban wastewater inputs, there are very few data available on Ag levels and fluxes in rivers and estuaries. Due to anomalously high Ag concentrations in oysters from the estuary mouth, dissolved (Ag_D) and particulate Ag (Ag_P) concentrations in rivers of the Gironde Estuary watershed were studied. Using daily discharge, Suspended particulate matter (SPM) data and monthly measured Ag_D and Ag_P, the respective fluxes were estimated at the three main entries of the Gironde Estuary and at selected key sites at the outlets of different sub-watersheds for multiple years of the past decade. Dissolved and particulate Ag concentrations were 0.5 ng/L (detection limit) to 5.7 ng/L and 0.13-13.9 mg/kg in all rivers, except for the Riou-Mort River (up to 1260 ng/L and 261 mg/kg) that has been heavily polluted by former Zn ore treatment and remaining waste tailings. At all sites Ag transport mainly (73-100%) occurred in the particulate phase, i.e. strongly depended on hydrological parameters. Comparing Th-normalised (i.e. grain size independent) Ag_P levels at the different sites including one remote site showed that the regional background is best described by Ag_P/Th_P = 0.026. The anthropogenic components in Ag_P levels and fluxes ranged from 24% to 90% at all sites, except for the Riou-Mort River (81-99%). Although this former ore treatment site still is an evident Ag source to the Lot-Garonne fluvial-estuarine system, its contribution to Ag fluxes at the main entry of the Gironde Estuary (i.e. 0.33-2.44 t/a at the La Reole site) is <11%. This clearly suggests that other sources such as rock weathering and erosion (0.057-0.817 t/a), urban wastewater inputs (0.042-0.057 t/a) and cloud-seeding (0.030-0.063 t/a) contribute the major parts of the fluvial Ag budget in this watershed. The estimated anthropogenic surface- and population-specific Ag fluxes in the studied system were 1.14-682 g/km²/a and 0.028-6.05 g/person/a, respectively. The results obtained suggest that the Gironde fluvial-estuarine system is contaminated by Ag inputs from various sources, but further work is necessary to (i) identify and quantify the major sources and (ii) produce comparable data for other systems, which would be useful for the evaluation of Ag contamination at a larger scale.     

Foliation fields and 3D cartography in geology: Principles of a method based on potential interpolation

A modeling method that takes into account known points on a geological interface and plane orientation data such as stratification or foliation planes is described and tested. The orientations data do not necessarily belong to one of the interfaces but are assumed to sample the main anisotropy of a geological formation as in current geological situations. The problem is to determine the surfaces which pass through the known points on interfaces and which are compatible with the orientation data. The method is based on the interpolation of a scalar field defined in the space the gradient in which is orthogonal to the orientations, given that some points have the same but unknown scalar value (points of the same interface), and that scalar gradient is known on the other points (foliations). The modeled interfaces are represented as isovalues of the interpolated field. Preliminary two-dimensional tests carried-out with different covariance models demonstrate the validity of the method, which is easily transposable in three dimensions.     

Field test of the superconducting gravimeter as a hydrologic sensor

We report on a field test of a transportable version of a superconducting gravimeter (SG) intended for groundwater storage monitoring. The test was conducted over a 6-month period at a site adjacent to a well in the recharge zone of the karstic Edwards Aquifer, a major groundwater resource in central Texas. The purpose of the study was to assess requirements for unattended operation of the SG in a field setting and to obtain a gravimetric estimate of aquifer specific yield. The experiment confirmed successful operation of the SG, but water level changes were small (<0.3 m) leading to uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Barometric pressure changes were the dominant cause of both water level variations and non-tidal gravity changes. The specific yield estimate (0.26) is larger than most published values and dependent mainly on low frequency variations in residual gravity and water level time series.     

Numerical simulation of the 30–45 ka debris avalanche flow of Montagne Pelée volcano,Martinique: from volcano flank collapse to submarine emplacement

Natural Hazards - In November 2015, China government announced that the national carbon emissions trading market is expected to start in 2017. Carbon emission trading system is a raising concern...     

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.     

Provenance discrimination of fine sediments by mid-infrared spectroscopy: Calibration and application to fluvial palaeo-environmental reconstruction

Determining sediment provenance allows a better understanding of fluvial palaeo-dynamics, and identifying involved watersheds, at broad spatio-temporal scales. Conventional approaches for source identification are usually based on the physical, mineralogical, geochemical, magnetic or isotopic properties of sediments. Rapid, non-destructive and, in well-established contexts, highly accurate, mid-infrared spectroscopy is an alternative method for investigating sediment sources. The present research objectives are: (i) to use the mid-infrared spectroscopy method to discriminate the provenance of fine sediments, by applying discriminant analysis on a large set of reference samples from three different watersheds in the Upper Rhine area (associated with the Rhine, Ill and Vosges tributaries); (ii) to clarify whether the provenance spectra signatures are influenced by riverine depositional contexts (bars versus banks) and, to some extent, by grain size and/or high organic matter content; and (iii) to apply the mid-infrared spectroscopy – discriminant analysis method to a study of fluvial palaeo-dynamics and determine the provenance of palaeo-channel infillings. Three main sedimentary sources, divided into eight sub-categories, have been characterized by 196 modern reference samples from 78 collecting sites. Discriminant analysis displayed a strong separating power by classifying correctly the origin of samples without any inter-group overlap, independently from the geomorphological context (bar or bank) and associated slight changes in organic matter contents or grain size. Mid-infrared spectroscopy – discriminant analysis investigations of the palaeo-channel infill, complemented by radiocarbon dates and mineralogical data, allowed reconstructing general trends for the local morpho-sedimentary dynamics over the last ca 12 millennia.     

Eocene-Pliocene time scale and stratigraphy of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB)

We present a general stratigraphic synthesis for the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB) from Eocene to Pliocene times. The stratigraphic data were compiled both from literature and from research carried out by the authors during the past 6 years ; an index of the stratigraphically most important localitites is provided. We distinguish 14 geographical areas from the Helvetic domain in the South to the Hanau Basin in the North. For each geographical area, we give a synthesis of the biostratigraphy, lithofacies, and chronostratigraphic ranges. The relationships between this stratigraphic record and the global sea-level changes are generally disturbed by the geodynamic (e.g., subsidence) evolution of the basins. However, global sea-level changes probably affected the dynamic of transgression–regression in the URG (e.g., Middle Pechelbronn Beds and Serie Grise corresponding with sea-level rise between Ru1/Ru2 and Ru2/Ru3 sequences, respectively) as well as in the Molasse basin (regression of the UMM corresponding with the sea-level drop at the Ch1 sequence). The URGENT-project (Upper Rhine Graben evolution and neotectonics) provided an unique opportunity to carry out and present this synthesis. Discussions with scientists addressing sedimentology, tectonics, geophysics and geochemistry permitted the comparison of the sedimentary history and stratigraphy of the basin with processes controlling its geodynamic evolution. Data presented here back up the palaeogeographic reconstructions presented in a companion paper by the same authors (see Berger et al. in Int J Earth Sci 2005).     

Microbial diversity of the 180 million-year-old Toarcian argillite from Tournemire,France

Even though the microbiology of various subsurface environments has been investigated for more than 30 a, the microbial diversity of deep argillaceous media is still poorly known. In the context of radioactive waste disposal in clayey formations, the consequence of microbial activity is of concern regarding e.g. the corrosion of metallic components. The purpose of the present work was to characterise the cultivable microbial diversity of different zones of the Toarcian argillite of Tournemire (France) as a preliminary indication regarding the potential of development of microbes in such subterrestrial environments. Cores were drilled in the Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ) and in the deeper undisturbed zone of the argillite layer, as well as in a zone intersected by a geological fault. Samples from the wall of the drift were also collected. Microorganisms were cultivated from all samples, but the biodiversity differed depending mainly on the O₂ and moisture content. Aerobic bacteria were identified on the wall, in the EDZ and in the wet faulted area, whereas SO₄-reducing bacteria were isolated from the wet faulted area only. Anaerobic heterotrophs were cultivated from all zones. One hundred and twelve isolates were identified. Small ribosomal subunit gene sequences showed that bacteria of the undisturbed zone were affiliated to three genera only, whereas the three other sampled zones harbour more diverse microflora, including isolates closely related to taxons characterized from subsurface, deep marine and polar environments.     

The last glacial-interglacial transition and dinoflagellate cysts in the western Mediterranean Sea

Using the analysis of dinoflagellate cysts in three deep-sea sediments cores situated in the Sicilian-Tunisian Strait, in the Gulf of Lions and in the Alboran Sea, we reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes that took place during the last glacial-interglacial transition in the western Mediterranean Sea. The development of the warm microflora Impagidinium aculeatum and especially Spiniferites mirabilis appears to be an important proxy for recognizing warm periods as the Bölling/Alleröd and the Early Holocene. Bitectatodinium tepikiense, Spiniferites elongatus and Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthus mark the end of the Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas. This cold microfloral association confirms the drastic climate changes in the western Mediterranean Sea synchronous to the dry and cold climate which occurred in the South European margin. The dinocyst N. labyrinthus shows high percentages in all studied regions during the Younger Dryas. Its distribution reveals a significant increase from the South to the North of this basin during this cold brief event. Thus, we note that this species can be considered as a new eco-stratigraphical tracer of the Younger Dryas in the western Mediterranean Sea.