fCO2 variability at the CARIACO tropical coastal upwelling time series station

Monthly seawater pH and alkalinity measurements were collected between January 1996 and December 2000 at 10°30′N, 64°40′W as part of the CARIACO (CArbon Retention In A Colored Ocean) oceanographic time series. One key objective of CARIACO is to study temporal variability in Total CO₂ (TCO₂) concentrations and CO₂ fugacity (fCO₂) at this tropical coastal wind-driven upwelling site. Between 1996 and 2000, the difference between atmospheric and surface ocean CO₂ concentrations ranged from about − 64.3 to + 62.3 μatm. Physical and biochemical factors, specifically upwelling, temperature, primary production, and TCO₂ concentrations interacted to control temporal variations in fCO₂. Air–sea CO₂ fluxes were typically depressed (0 to + 10 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}) in the first few months of the year during upwelling. Fluxes were higher during June–November (+ 10 to 20 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}). Fluxes were generally independent of the slight changes in salinity normally seen at the station, but low positive flux values were seen in the second half of 1999 during a period of anomalously heavy rains and land-derived runoff. During the 5 years of monthly data examined, only two episodes of negative air–sea CO₂ flux were observed. These occurred during short but intense upwelling events in March 1997 (−10 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}) and March 1998 (− 50 mmol C m^{− 2} day^{− 1}). Therefore, the Cariaco Basin generally acted as a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere in spite of primary productivity in excess of between 300 and 600 g C m^{− 2} year^{− 1}.     

Fractures and Breakouts Analysis from Borehole Image Logs: Preliminary Results for Interpretation of Stress History and In Situ Stress State

Fractures and borehole breakouts from image data acquired from Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) were identified and analyzed using GMI Imager software. Conductive (e.g., dark-colored images) and resistive fractures (e.g., light-colored images) were identified on the images. Breakouts occurring along the borehole wall in the direction of the minimum horizontal stress were also investigated. For fracture analysis, we investigated dip and direction of fractures on the resistivity images acquired from two sites in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea. Dip angles at two sites are 42° and 62.5° on average, respectively. Dip direction shows preferred orientation northerly. From fracture analysis, the maximum horizontal stress direction may be the NW-SE direction. This pattern likely reflects regional stress regime of this area. We also analyzed borehole breakouts on the LWD image data (borehole radius and density data) acquired from Site U1378, IODP Exp. 334 off Costa Rica. We estimated present-day in situ stress orientation from borehole breakouts. Breakout orientation of slope sediments at Site U1378 indicates that maximum horizontal principal stress direction is oriented northwest-southeast. This direction is probably related to plate motion in this area. This study presents preliminary results in order to interpret not only stress history of the Ulleung Basin but also in situ stress state of continental slope off Costa Rica in near future.     

Pleistocene landscapes in central Iberia inferred from pollen analysis of hyena coprolites

New pollen data from hyena coprolites from central Spain are presented. The fossil faecal material has been recovered from two karstic systems in different localities, Villacastín and Los Torrejones, which are both around 1000 m a.s.l. The combined findings of bone remains and coprolites in both locations suggest the following chronology: late Middle Pleistocene for Villacastín and early Upper Pleistocene for Los Torrejones. The environments inferred from pollen are broadly in keeping with evidence from associated vertebrate fossil remains, and include a shifting mosaic of open and wooded habitats with abundant pine and juniper species, steppe‐grassland areas with composites and chenopods, and enclaves with mixed oak forests. However, Los Torrejones appears to have been less forested than Villacastín. The abundance of oaks in Villacastín may imply the presence of refugia within an interconnected network of several enclaves during the glacial stages in the Upper Pleistocene. A possible explanation for the patchiness of the landscape may be in the role of herbivores, although the long distances and variety of habitats that hyenas had to roam through could be another explanation for the heterogeneous pollen contents in their dung. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi-proxy Stratigraphy and Paleoceanographic Variations in Sediment from the Korea Plateau,East Sea (Japan Sea), Over the Last 500 kyr

Ocean Science Journal - High-resolution geochemical measurements were performed on core E09-08, which was taken from the top flat area of the Korea Plateau in the East Sea (Japan Sea). Based on...     

New Determinations of the Ages of Tide in the North Atlantic Ocean

Ages of tide provide relevant information about the spatial distribution of existing anomalies in the normal modes of the oceans, because a delay may be associated with bottom friction energy dissipation, closely located resonances, bathymetric gradients, or radiational effects. The determination of other parameters, such as the age of diurnal tide or age of parallax, also provide further knowledge about the ocean's hydrodynamical response to acting forces. Following the development of new ocean models and the availability of a greater amount of data, these parameters can be redetermined. We present the spatial distribution of these parameters in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, obtained from 507 stations. The results are discussed in terms of bathymetric models, coastal features, sea surface temperature, wind and other environmental factors.     

Background levels and baseline values of available heavy metals in Mediterranean greenhouse soils (Spain)

This study determines extractable levels of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and Co in western Almería (Spain) greenhouse surface soil horizons using EDTA solution, which is identified as the fraction available for organisms and plants. It also establishes background levels, geochemical baseline concentration and reference values (RV), and investigates the possible relationships between soil properties and elemental concentrations. The results show that the soil concentration of these extractable heavy metals was high as those reported by other authors for Spanish agricultural soils. The available RV concentrations obtained (mg kg⁻¹) were: Cd 0.17, Cu 1.6, Pb 13.8, Zn 5.0 Ni 1.7 and Co 2.9. Using the upper baseline criterion, 95% of greenhouse soils present a relatively higher content of extractable heavy metals given their Cd and Cu concentration. Significant correlations between total and EDTA-extractable metal levels were found for Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd and Ni. Soil properties also related to heavy metals content, suggesting that Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn are of similar origin and relate to anthropic activities, and implies the same interactions and/or relationships among these metals.     

Impacts of land use on the hydrological response of tropical Andean catchments

Changes in land use and land cover are major drivers of hydrological alteration in the tropical Andes. However, quantifying their impacts is fraught with difficulties because of the extreme diversity in meteorological boundary conditions, which contrasts strongly with the lack of knowledge about local hydrological processes. Although local studies have reduced data scarcity in certain regions, the complexity of the tropical Andes poses a big challenge to regional hydrological prediction. This study analyses data generated from a participatory monitoring network of 25 headwater catchments covering three of the major Andean biomes (páramo, jalca and puna) and links their hydrological responses to main types of human interventions (cultivation, afforestation and grazing). A paired catchment setup was implemented to evaluate the impacts of change using a ‘trading space‐for‐time’ approach. Catchments were selected based on regional representativeness and contrasting land use types. Precipitation and discharge have been monitored and analysed at high temporal resolution for a time period between 1 and 5 years. The observed catchment responses clearly reflect the extraordinarily wide spectrum of hydrological processes of the tropical Andes. They range from perennially humid páramos in Ecuador and northern Peru with extremely large specific discharge and baseflows, to highly seasonal, flashy catchments in the drier punas of southern Peru and Bolivia. The impacts of land use are similarly diverse and their magnitudes are a function of catchment properties, original and replacement vegetation and management type. Cultivation and afforestation consistently affect the entire range of discharges, particularly low flows. The impacts of grazing are more variable but have the largest effect on the catchment hydrological regulation. Overall, anthropogenic interventions result in increased streamflow variability and significant reductions in catchment regulation capacity and water yield, irrespective of the hydrological properties of the original biome. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Hydrological Processes. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Preliminary study of the redistribution and transformation of HgS from cinnabar mine tailings deposited in Honda Bay, Palawan, Philippines

Mining operations in Palawan, Philippines, resulted in cinnabar (HgS) mine tailings being used to build a 600 m long peninsula in Honda Bay. Samples collected from the peninsula as well as sediments from the surrounding waters had elevated mercury levels as high as 570 ppm. Natural processes are transporting mercury as much as 10 km from the peninsula, mainly in a coastwise direction, and preferentially associated with fine-grained, organic-rich sediments. Depth of penetration into sediments exceeds 10 cm near the source. As the HgS is transported away from the peninsula, it is rapidly altered to more bioavailable forms; 50% conversion occurs within a distance of only 10–40 m.     

Mantle wedge deformation recorded by high-temperature peridotite fabric superposition and hydrous retrogression (Limo massif, Cabo Ortegal, NW Spain)

The Limo harzburgites constitute a hm-thick tectonic stack where extremely elongated meter-scale sheath folds occur, bearing axes parallel to the macroscopic lineation recognized across the whole complex. They can be identified as close to L-type tectonites, with a weak foliation, a well-developed stretching, and a mineral lineation defined by the mineral assemblage in equilibrium. The linear fabric is recognizable at every scale, from aerial photos to the crystallographic orientation of the harzburgite-forming minerals measured by means of the electron back-scatter diffraction technique. These rocks registered initial deformation under high-temperature and low water fugacity conditions at low stress levels in an anhydrous mantle wedge context, as it is inferred from the activity of the [100](010) slip system in olivine. Then, the ongoing eo-Variscan subduction incorporated fluid/melts from the subducting plate into the suprasubduction mantle wedge zone. The variation in the ambient physicochemical conditions led to the operation of the [001](010) slip system in olivine, indicative of lower temperature and higher water fugacity and stress levels. These changes are recorded, too, by synkinematic recrystallization of oriented chlorite. The L-type fabric of clinopyroxene points to constriction conditions during deformation. The active deformational processes continued along the subduction conduit with the thrust of the peridotites onto the high-pressure granulites of the Bacariza Formation. Posteriorly, the whole ensemble would have shared a common deformational history related to exhumation and initial amphibolitization. Subsequent deformation processes under greenschist facies conditions took place until effective continental collision during the Early Carboniferous gave rise to the Variscan orogen.     

Analysis of the ferromagnetic contribution to the susceptibility by low field and high field methods in sedimentary rocks of the Southern Pyrenees and Northern Ebro foreland basin (Spain)

Magnetic susceptibility in rocks is the sum of the contributions of different magnetic particles (paramagnetic, diamagnetic and ferromagnetic s.l.). These contributions can be measured at variable temperatures or at variable fields (hysteresis loops). Both are time‐consuming techniques that cannot be routinely used in magnetic fabrics analysis. In this study, we propose a simplified method to determine the ferro‐ and paramagnetic contributions to the susceptibility, based on the discrete measurement of susceptibility at two different fields (near 0 and 2.5 T). The results obtained in samples from the Southern Pyrenees and Ebro Basin indicate that the ferromagnetic contribution vary considerably within homogeneous susceptibility values and within the expected range of paramagnetic values. Standard bulk susceptibilities higher than 200 10^?6 SI contribute significantly to the ferromagnetic fraction (>50% on average).