New Method to Predict Crater Depth Obtained in Dynamic Compaction

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - This article presents a method to estimate dynamic compaction crater depth using empirical equations. As main reference, three physical model studies that...     

Brain acetylcholinesterase as a marine pesticide biomarker using Brazilian fishes

Brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of some fishes from the coast of Rio de Janeiro State was studied as a possible pesticide biomarker in marine environmental monitoring. AChE specific activity in brain varied from 145 to 530 U/g of proteins and the Michaelis-Menten constant (K(M)) for acetylthiocholine varied from 104 to 291 microM among the 20 species studied. The enzyme sensitivity to methyl paraoxon, evaluated by the inhibition kinetic constants, shows that some species (Paralonchurus brasiliensis and Genidens genidens) are more sensitive (IC50-30 min=455 and 468 nM, respectively). The less sensitive Merluccius hubbsi and Percophis brasiliensis (IC50-30 min=3339 and 3259 nM, respectively) belong to the super-order Paracanthopterygii, which includes the more ancient species. On the other hand, more susceptible species belong to the super-order Acanthopterygii, which includes more recent species. These results suggest a possible evolutionary linkage for AChE sensitivity to methyl paraoxon. The application of inhibition kinetic constants for fish brain AChE in phylogenetic studies is still being investigated. The results have shown that a fish sentinel species should have the highest brain AChE level among the more sensitive ones.     

Ground-based measurements of the methane distribution on Titan

Using spectra taken with NIRSPEC (Near Infrared Spectrometer) and adaptive optics on the Keck II telescope, we resolved the latitudinal variation of the 3ν₂ band of CH₃D at 1.56 μm. As CH₃D is less abundant than CH₄ by a factor of 50±10×10^-5, these CH₃D lines do not saturate in Titan’s atmosphere, and are well characterized by laboratory measurements. Thus they do not suffer from the large uncertainties of the CH₄ lines that are weak enough to be unsaturated in Titan. Our measurements of the methane abundance are confined to the latitude range of 32°S-18°N and longitudes sampled by a 0.04″ slit centered at ∼195°W. The methane abundance below 10 km is constant to within 20% in the tropical atmosphere sampled by our observations, consistent with the low surface insolation and lack of surface methane [Griffith, C.A., McKay, C.P., Ferri, F., 2008. Astrophys. J. 687, L41-L44].     

Geo-environmental mapping using physiographic analysis: constraints on the evaluation of land instability and groundwater pollution hazards in the Metropolitan District of Campinas,Brazil

Geo-environmental terrain assessments and territorial zoning are useful tools for the formulation and implementation of environmental management instruments (including policy-making, planning, and enforcement of statutory regulations). They usually involve a set of procedures and techniques for delimitation, characterisation and classification of terrain units. However, terrain assessments and zoning exercises are often costly and time-consuming, particularly when encompassing large areas, which in many cases prevent local agencies in developing countries from properly benefiting from such assessments. In the present paper, a low-cost technique based on the analysis of texture of satellite imagery was used for delimitation of terrain units. The delimited units were further analysed in two test areas situated in Southeast Brazil to provide estimates of land instability and the vulnerability of groundwater to pollution hazards. The implementation incorporated procedures for inferring the influences and potential implications of tectonic fractures and other discontinuities on ground behaviour and local groundwater flow. Terrain attributes such as degree of fracturing, bedrock lithology and weathered materials were explored as indicators of ground properties. The paper also discusses constraints on- and limitations of- the approaches taken.     

Nomospace and genospace: A spatial matrix

We are concerned here with the notion of space as a primary condition for building social relations. From this stand, we have created two analytical matrixes that can help us characterize two modes: that of ‘being-there-in-space’ and that of ‘being-of-the-space’; the nomospace and the genospace. While the nomospace is characterized by ‘cold’ connotations, which are ideally defined as a result of a logical option, the genospace is mainly characterized by emotional or ‘warm’ connotations, which originate from a feeling of shared nature and common destiny. We believe that these matrixes could help us to identify the meanings of some behaviours and, therefore, make us more capable of interpreting many dynamics that occur in modern societies. The importance of geography is justified by the existing relationship between these behaviours and their proper spatial form. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geochronological evidence for pervasive Miocene weathering,Minas Gerais,Brazil

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar laser incremental‐heating analyses of 22 individual grains of supergene cryptomelane from three weathering pro?les, up to 400 km apart, in the Rio Doce valley and Barbacena regions at Minas Gerais, Brazil, show that the formation of weathering pro?les in these regions is contemporaneous, suggesting a strong weathering event in the Middle to Late Miocene (10–8 Ma). The preservation of these Miocene samples at or near the present surface suggests that either erosion rates have been very low in the region since the Miocene or that a much thicker weathering mantle was present in the region originally. Assuming a constant thickness of weathering pro?les in the region throughout the Tertiary, we may calculate weathering front propagation rates of 4–8 m Myr^?1 during the past 10 Ma. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generalized thermostatistics and wavelet analysis of solar wind and proton density variability

In this paper, we analyze the probability density function (PDF) of solar wind velocity and proton density, based on generalized thermostatistics (GT) approach, comparing theoretical results with observational data. The time-series analyzed were obtained from the SOHO satellite mission where measurements were sampled every hour. We present in the investigations data for two years of different solar activity: (a) moderate activity (MA) period (1997) and (b) high activity (HA) period (2000). For the MA period, the results show good agreement between experimental data and GT model. For the HA period, the agreement between experimental and theoretical PDFs was fairly good, but some distortions were observed, probably due to intermittent characteristics of turbulent processes. As a complementary analysis, the global wavelet spectrum (GWS) was obtained, allowing the characterization of the predominant temporal variability scales for both periods and the stochastic aspects of the nonlinear solar wind variability are discussed.     

Weathering geochronology by (U-Th)/He dating of goethite

Nine samples of supergene goethite (FeOOH) from Brazil and Australia were selected to test the suitability of this mineral for (U-Th)/He dating. Measured He ages ranged from 61 to 8 Ma and were reproducible to better than a few percent despite very large variations in [U] and [Th]. In all samples with internal stratigraphy or independent age constraints, the He ages corroborated the expected relationships. These data demonstrate that internally consistent He ages can be obtained on goethite, but do not prove quantitative ⁴He retention. To assess possible diffusive He loss, stepped-heating experiments were performed on two goethite samples that were subjected to proton irradiation to produce a homogeneous distribution of spallogenic ³He. The ³He release pattern indicates the presence of at least two diffusion domains, one with high helium retentivity and the other with very low retentivity at Earth surface conditions. The low retentivity domain, which accounts for ∼ 5% of ³He, contains no natural ⁴He and may represent poorly crystalline or intergranular material which has lost all radiogenic ⁴He by diffusion in nature. Diffusive loss of ³He from the high retentivity domain is independent of the macroscopic dimensions of the analyzed polycrystalline aggregate, so probably represents diffusion from individual micrometer-size goethite crystals. The ⁴He/³He evolution during the incremental heating experiments shows that the high retentivity domain has retained 90%-95% of its radiogenic helium. This degree of retentivity is in excellent agreement with that independently predicted from the helium diffusion coefficients extrapolated to Earth surface temperature and held for the appropriate duration. Considering both the high and low retentivity domains, these data indicate that one of the samples retained 90% of its radiogenic ⁴He over 47.5 Ma and the other retained 86% over 12.3 Ma. Thus while diffusive-loss corrections to supergene goethite He ages are required, these initial results indicate that the corrections are not extremely large and can be rigorously quantified using the proton-irradiation ⁴He/³He method.     

Hypsometric Curves as a Tool for Paleosurface Mapping

A procedural paleosurface mapping tool, using hypsometric curves and digital elevation models, was developed and applied to three hydrographic basins that erode common areas in the coastal ranges of Brazil, in southeastern South America. The method consists of identifying areas favorable for the occurrence of paleosurfaces and their corresponding surficial formations as correlated to specific erosion events. Attributes from hypsometric curves, and logarithmic functions fitted to proper curve segments, are combined with common morphometric properties of paleosurfaces given a set of criteria. Zones satisfying the criteria are mapped as pertaining to specific paleosurfaces. Field survey confirms the agreement between predicted and observed occurrence and absence of paleosurfaces.