Status of an endangered subspecies: the peninsular pronghorn at Baja California

During November 1993, we traversed by ground and by air the Vizcaíno Desert, the last redoubt of the peninsular pronghorn (Antilocapra americana peninsularis). A total of 29 h of aerial census was performed and a total of 1900 km²were covered by ground, totalling 400 man hours of survey. At present the peninsular pronghorn population consists of 175 individuals, and inhabits an area of approximately 5000 km². Because of the impossibility of controlling its activities over such an area and because of the present small population size, we propose to manage part of the population in semi-captivity at Mesa de la Choya island, with the objective of assuring the survival of this subspecies, the most endangered mammal in Mexico.     

Remarks on the one-photon-pair annihilation in strong magnetic fields

We report specifically on a quantum electrodynamic feature of the one-photon-pair annihilation. Most of the calculation related with this process (not excluding other ones) have been carried out usually utilizing the wave functions obtained from the Dirac equation in the Landau gauge A = (0,Bx, 0), where B is oriented along the z-axis (Johnson and Lippman, 1949). Although, the eigenstates of the Dirac Hamiltonian as it was introduced by Johnson and Lippman, do not consider the coupling to the radiation field and consequently they reflect only forp _z = 0 the same linear combination of the two degenerate polarization states.We report the transition rate function for the one-photon-pair annihilation in a strong magnetic field by using the Sokolov and Ternov eigenstate |± as far asp _z = 0 andN > 0 is concerned. The difference between the expression for the transition rate by using the Sokolov and Ternov eigenstates and the one calculated by (Wunneret al., 1986), is just the functionI _s,s which corresponds to the degeneracy of the orbit center of the electrons characterized by the quantum numberss ands. Presented at the 2nd UN/ESA Workshop, held in Bogotá, Colombia, 9-13 November, 1992.     

Early Paleozoic Structural and Metamorphic Evolution of Western Sierra de San Luis (Argentina), in Relation to Cuyania Accretion

Structural, metamorphic and isotopic data obtained from the Nogoli Metamorphic Complex of western Sierra de San Luis indicate that the Early Paleozoic Famatinian Orogeny overprinted an already structured and metamorphosed older basement. The older geological features are relict NW trending fabric associated with high-grade (amphibolite facies) regional metamorphism preserved within thin strips of schists and paragneisses and in the core of mafic to ultramafic lenses. Arc magmatism, medium P (Barrovian type)/high T (amphibolite to granulite facies) regional metamorphism and penetrative NNE to NE trending foliation are related to the building of the Famatinian orogenic belt. The P-T conditions of the Famatinian prograde metamorphism reached a pressure peak of ca. 8 kb, with a thermal peak from -750°C up to -820°C. U-Pb conventional and chemical dating and Ar-Ar plateau ages constrain the peak of the main orogenic phase related to the Famatinian belt to 470–457 Ma (Early to Mid-Ordovician). Greenschist facies retrograde metamorphism closely associated with shear zones and secondary Ar-Ar plateau and Sm-Nd ages suggest that a late to post-orogenic phase of the Famatinian belt was active at least since -445 Ma. This phase continued during the Silurian to Late Devonian times through multiple reactivation of early shear zones. The Famatinian Orogeny reset a previous thermal history and therefore, the timing of the relict fabric could not be constrained conclusively with radiometric dates. Despite this difficulty, a range of 520 to 490 Ma suggests some inheritance from Pampean events registered by the older NW-SE fabric. The Early to Mid-Ordovician regional metamorphism and ductile deformation of the western Sierra de San Luis is interpreted as the orogenic effects of the collision of the allochthonous Cuyania terrane with the autochthonous proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana during the Famatinian Orogeny.     

Numerical modeling of the transient hydrogeological response produced by tunnel construction in fractured bedrocks

Groundwater inflows into tunnels constructed in fractured bedrocks not only constitute an important factor controlling the rate of advancement in driving the tunnel but may pose potential hazards. Drawdowns caused by tunnel construction may also induce geotechnical and environmental impacts. Here we present a numerical methodology for the dynamic simulation of the hydrogeological transient conditions induced by the tunnel front advance. The methodology is based on the use of a Cauchy boundary condition at the points lying along the tunnel according to which water discharge, Q, is computed as the product of a leakage coefficient, , and the head difference, (H−h), where H is the prescribed head at the tunnel wall and h is the hydraulic head in the fractured rock in the close vicinity of the tunnel. At a given position of the tunnel, is zero until the tunnel reaches such position when it is assigned a positive value. The use of step-wise time functions for allows an efficient and accurate simulation of the transient hydrogeological conditions at and around the tunnel during the excavation process. The methodology has been implemented in TRANMEF-3, a finite element computer code for groundwater flow in 3D fractured media developed at the University of A Coruña, Spain, and has been used to simulate the impact of a tunnel on the groundwater system at the Äspö island (Sweden). This tunnel was constructed to access an underground laboratory for research on radioactive waste disposal. The large amount of available data at this site provides a unique opportunity to test the performance of the numerical model and the proposed methodology for tunnel advance. With just minor calibration, the numerical model is able to reproduce accurately the measurements of inflows into the tunnel at several reaches and hydraulic heads at surface-drilled boreholes. These results obtained at the Äspö site lead us to conclude that accurate predictions of the transient hydrogeological responses induced by tunneling works in fractured bedrocks, can be achieved provided that a sound hydrogeological characterization of large-scale fracture zones is available.     

Sunspot-like and ENSO/NAO-like periodicities in lacustrinelaminated sediments of the Pliocene Villarroya Basin (La Rioja,Spain)

This is a study of an extremely good outcrop of 1745 varves inthe Villarroya Pliocene Basin (Spain). The thicknesses of the light and darklayers, which were obtained from enlarged photograph negatives, are dealt withseparately, and three time series, of light, dark, and the sum of both layers,are performed. Periodicities of about 12, 6–7 and 2–3 years havebeen obtained. The origin of the recurrent behaviour of the sediments withthese periods could be related to natural phenomena like sunspot cycles, ElNiño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) andQuasi-biennial Oscillation (QBO), as these phenomena are capable of modulatingthe climate in this frequency band. From our point of view, there could be aclose relationship between sedimentation in the Villarroya Basin and thesenatural phenomena, which is moved through climate. The light layers record therun-off of gastropods, ostracods and charophytes from a seasonal productivitycycle, and are generated during late summer and autumn. It seems clear that theclimatic information provided by these cycles corresponds mainly to summertime, which would be translated into a variation of the light layer thicknessdue to a more or less intense development of the flora and fauna, being thickerin years of higher temperatures and thinner in years of lower temperatures.Considering the results, we would suggest that the sedimentation of thesematerials in the Pliocene was driven by solar activity or/and ENSO, NAO, andQBO phenomena. Nowadays these phenomena produce rainfall and temperaturechanges with the cyclicities shown in this study and we think they could haveoperated in the same way in Pliocene times.     

Characterisation of a Pleistocene debris-avalanche deposit in the Tenteniguada Basin,Gran Canaria Island,Spain

We studied a large debris-avalanche deposit of Pleistocene age in the Tenteniguada Basin, Gran Canaria Island, Spain. This deposit, which is well preserved because it is mostly covered by basanite lava flows, has distinctive matrix and block facies, hummocky topography and internal structures typical of debris avalanches. However, neither syneruptive lavas nor some characteristic features of volcanic debris-avalanche deposits, such as a stratovolcano edifice or a horseshoe-shaped crater, are present. The occurrence of internal features characteristic of volcanic avalanche deposits could be attributed to the volcanic materials involved in the movement rather than to the triggering of the avalanche during a volcanic eruption. The conditioning factors are shown to be associated with specific structural and hydrological conditions, such as the presence of old volcanic domes, strength reduction of the rocks, effective stress decrease, active gully erosion and water table rise during Pleistocene humid episodes. We finally suggest that the possible triggering factor of the avalanche was a neighbouring volcanic or tectonic earthquake.     

Plant macrofossil assemblages from surface sediment represent contemporary species and growth forms of aquatic vegetation in a shallow Mediterranean lake

Macrofossils are known as a useful tool in reconstructing their original plant communities. However, most studies have been focused on comparing the composition and distribution of living plant communities and their remains in temperate lakes. Mediterranean shallow lakes have been historically far less studied and little is known about the relationships between Mediterranean macrophyte communities and their remains. The aim of our study is to assess how contemporary aquatic macrophyte communities are represented by their sedimentary remains in terms of composition, distribution and concordance between the contemporary and the subfossil assemblages in a procrustean superimposition space, and to determine which surface sediment cores, collected along a depth gradient, may represent best the whole-lake macrofossil assemblage. These analyses were carried out for both species and macrophyte growth forms (submerged hydrophytes, floating-leaved hydrophytes, helophytes and charophytes) in order to check which of the two (species and growth forms) were represented best by their macro-remains. The most abundant present-day species (Myriophyllum alterniflorum DC. and Potamogeton trichoides L.) were under-represented while Characeae and some floating-leaved hydrophytes (Polygonum amphibium L. and Ranunculus peltatus Schrank) were over-represented in sedimentary samples. Additionally, macro-remains of submerged hydrophytes and helophytes were generally found in the central areas and in close proximity to contemporary vegetation, whereas floating-leaved hydrophytes distributed close to the near-shore. Notwithstanding some disparities between contemporary vegetation and their macrofossil assemblages, we found a good agreement between present-day and sedimentary datasets for both species and macrophyte growth forms. Furthermore, our study suggests that sediment cores from deep areas are more likely to represent best the whole-lake macrofossil assemblage because of their high diversity, equitability and heterogeneity. We conclude that aquatic macrophyte subfossils from the central areas of the basin can be a very useful tool in tracking the species composition and structure of the original macrophyte communities in shallow Mediterranean lakes. Additionally, when considering the use of macro-remains to reconstruct the composition and structure of macrophyte growth forms, we recommend a multicore approach that uses transects running from the shore to the lake center.     

Refining the palaeoecology of lacustrine testate amoebae: insights from a plant macrofossil record from a eutrophic Scottish lake

Lakes are common natural systems for which sedimentation is considered to be relatively simple, generally dominated by fluvial processes along the margin and prevailing low-energy settling in the central, deeper parts. However, for many lakes, higher-energy wind-driven processes dominate. As such, a new category of lakes is proposed, herein referred to as wind-driven waterbodies (WWB). WWB display a sedimentation largely dominated by wave related processes and wind-induced lake-scale water circulation evidenced by the construction of beach ridges, spits or cuspate spits along their shorelines, and by sediment drifts, sedimentary shelf progradation and erosional surfaces in their deeper, offshore domains. WWB are observed worldwide, they share a common physiography that favours wind-forced hydrodynamics and related sedimentation patterns. This physiography is expressed by the I_WWB index, a ratio of the maximum representative fetch relative to mean basin depth. It is proposed that an index value greater than three favours the evolution of a lake as a WWB. The WWB concept represents a new end-member in an alternative, sedimentologically-based lake classification that is proposed in this paper.     

Assessment of flood inundation mapping of Surat city by coupled 1D/2D hydrodynamic modeling: a case application of the new HEC-RAS 5

Surat city of India, situated 100 km downstream of Ukai Dam and 19.4 km upstream from the mouth of River Tapi, has experienced the largest flood in 2006. The peak discharge of about 25,770 m³ s^?1 released from the Ukai Dam was responsible for a disaster. To assess the flood and find inundation in low-lying areas, simulation work is carried out under the 1D/2D couple hydrodynamic modeling. Two hundred ninety-nine cross sections, two hydraulic structures and five major bridges across the river are considered for 1D modeling, whereas a topographic map at 0.5 m contour interval was used to produce a 5 m grid, and SRTM (30 and 90 m) grid has been considered for Surat and the Lower Tapi Basin. The tidal level at the river mouth and the release from the Ukai Dam during 2006 flood are considered as the downstream and upstream boundaries, respectively. The model is simulated under the unsteady flow condition and validated for the year 2006. The simulated result shows that 9th August was the worst day in terms of flooding for Surat city and a maximum 75–77% area was under inundation. Out of seven zones, the west zone had the deepest flood and inundated under 4–5 m. Furthermore, inundation is simulated under the bank protection work (i.e., levees, retaining wall) constructed after the 2006 flood. The simulated results show that the major zones are safe against the inundation under 14,430 m³ s^?1 water releases from Ukai Dam except for the west zone. The study shows the 2D capability of new HEC-RAS 5 for flood inundation mapping and management studies.     

Evaluation of seismic displacement demands from the September 19, 2017 Puebla‐Morelos (Mw = 7.1) earthquake in Mexico City

This short communication presents the assessment of seismic inelastic and elastic displacement demands computed from earthquake ground motions (EQGMs) recorded in Mexico City during the intermediate‐depth intraslab Puebla‐Morelos earthquake on 19 September 2017 (Mw = 7.1). Evaluation is conducted by means of peak elastic and inelastic displacement demand spectra, inelastic displacement ratio, C_R, spectra, and generalized interstory drift spectra computed for selected recording stations located in different soil sites of Mexico City, including those located in areas of reported collapsed buildings. Results of this study confirm previous observations made from interplate (subduction) EQGMs that peak inelastic displacement demands are greater than corresponding elastic counterparts for short‐to‐medium period structures, while the opposite is true for medium‐to‐long period structures. Possible basin site effects were identified from generalized interstory drift spectra. It is also shown that an equation introduced in the literature to obtain estimates of C_R developed from interplate EQGMs provides also a good estimate for mean C_R computed from the intermediate‐depth intraslab EQGMs.