Chronology of Quaternary terrace deposits at the locality Hohle Gasse (Pratteln,NW Switzerland)

The Quaternary stratigraphy of the Alpine Foreland consists of distinct terrace levels, which have been assigned to four morphostratigraphic units: Höhere (Higher) Deckenschotter, Tiefere (Lower) Deckenschotter, Hochterrasse (High Terrace) and Niederterrasse (Lower Terrace). Here, we focus on the terrace gravels at Hohle Gasse, SSE of Pratteln near Basel, which are mapped as Tiefere Deckenschotter. Petrographic and morphometric data established from clasts allowed to infer the transport mechanisms and sources of the gravels. Sedimentological analyses indicate that the gravels were transported by a braided river and deposited in a distal glaciofluvial setting. In addition, it can be shown that the majority of the clasts display multiple reworking and only a minority maintained a distinct glaciofluvial shape. Cosmogenic multi-isotope dating using ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl allowed direct dating of the sediments at the study site. A depth-profile age of \(2 70_{ - 1 90}^{ + 8 30}\) ka for ¹⁰Be was achieved for the deposits at Hohle Gasse. Unfortunately, no age could be modelled from the ³⁶Cl concentrations as the blank correction was too high. Furthermore, this age proves that the studied terrace level should be assigned to the morphostratigraphic unit Hochterrasse.     

Adjustability of exposed elements by updating their capacity for resistance after a damaging event: application to an earthquake–tsunami cascade scenario

Natural Hazards - The 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami remind us once again that these types of cascade event can occur and cause considerable damage. The scientific community realizes...     

A review of the LATEX project: mesoscale to submesoscale processes in a coastal environment

The main objective of the LAgrangian Transport EXperiment (LATEX) project was to study the influence of coastal mesoscale and submesoscale physical processes on circulation dynamics, cross-shelf exchanges, and biogeochemistry in the western continental shelf of the Gulf of Lion, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. LATEX was a five-year multidisciplinary project based on the combined analysis of numerical model simulations and multi-platform field experiments. The model component included a ten-year realistic 3D numerical simulation, with a 1 km horizontal resolution over the gulf, nested in a coarser 3 km resolution model. The in situ component involved four cruises, including a large-scale multidisciplinary campaign with two research vessels in 2010. This review concentrates on the physics results of LATEX, addressing three main subjects: (1) the investigation of the mesoscale to submesoscale processes. The eddies are elliptic, baroclinic, and anticyclonic; the strong thermal and saline front is density compensated. Their generation processes are studied; (2) the development of sampling strategies for their direct observations. LATEX has implemented an adaptive strategy Lagrangian tool, with a reference software available on the web, to perform offshore campaigns in a Lagrangian framework; (3) the quantification of horizontal mixing and cross-shelf exchanges. Lateral diffusivity coefficients, calculated in various ways including a novel technique, are in the range classically encountered for their associated scales. Cross-shelf fluxes have been calculated, after retrieving the near-inertial oscillation contribution. Further perspectives are discussed, especially for the ongoing challenge of studying submesoscale features remotely and from in situ data.     

Land tenure and REDD+: The good,the bad and the ugly

A number of international donors, national governments and project proponents have begun to lay the groundwork for REDD+, but tenure insecurity – including the potential risks of land grabbing by outsiders and loss of local user rights to forests and forest land – is one of the main reasons that many indigenous and other local peoples have publicly opposed it. Under what conditions is REDD+ a threat to local rights, and under what conditions does it present an opportunity? This article explores these issues based on available data from a global comparative study on REDD+, led by the Center for International Forestry Research, which is studying national policies and processes in 12 countries and 23 REDD+ projects in 6 countries. The article analyses how tenure concerns are being addressed at both national and project level in emerging REDD+ programs. The findings suggest that in most cases REDD+ has clearly provided some new opportunities for securing local tenure rights, but that piecemeal interventions by project proponents at the local level are insufficient in the absence of broader, national programs for land tenure reform. The potential for substantial changes in the status quo appear unlikely, though Brazil – the only one with such a national land tenure reform program – offers useful insights. Land tenure reform – the recognition of customary rights in particular – and a serious commitment to REDD+ both challenge the deep-rooted economic and political interests of ‘business as usual’.     

3D simultaneous joint PP‐PS prestack seismic inversion at Schiehallion field,United Kingdom Continental Shelf

A workflow for simultaneous joint PP‐PS prestack inversion of data from the Schiehallion field on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf is presented and discussed. The main challenge, describing reasonable PS to PP data registration before any prestack or joint PP‐PS inversion, was overcome thanks to a two‐stage process addressing the signal envelope, then working directly on the seismic data to estimate appropriate time‐variant time‐shift volumes. We evaluated the benefits of including PS along with PP prestack seismic data in a joint inversion process to improve the estimated elastic property quality and also to enable estimation of density compared with other prestack and post‐stack inversion approaches. While the estimated acoustic impedance exhibited a similar quality independent of the inversion used (PP post‐stack, PP prestack or joint PP‐PS prestack inversion) the shear impedance estimation was noticeably improved by the joint PP‐PS prestack inversion when compared to the PP prestack inversion. Finally, the density estimated from joint PP and PS prestack data demonstrated an overall good quality, even where not well‐controlled. The main outcome of this study was that despite several data‐related limitations, inverting jointly correctly processed PP and PS data sets brought extra value for reservoir delineation as opposed to PP‐only or post‐stack inversion.