Controls on Quaternary coastal evolution of the east-northeastern coast of Brazil: roles of sea-level history, trade winds and climate

East-northeastern Brazil has a wave-dominated, micro- to meso-tidal coast, lying entirely within the southern Atlantic trade wind belt. Integration of geologic mapping, radiocarbon dating and vibracoring data shows that the Quaternary coastal evolution of this area was controlled by three major factors: (1) sea-level history; (2) trade winds; and (3) climate change.

Sea-level history. Along the east-northeastern coast of Brazil, relative sea level has fallen approximately 5 m during the last 5000 y. Correlation of this sea-level history with the evolution of beach-ridge, lagoonal and coastal plain deposits shows that: (1) sea-level rise favours the formation of barrier island—lagoonal systems and the construction of intralagoonal deltas; (2) sea-level lowering is not conductive to barrier island formation. Rather, lagoons and bays become emergent and beach-ridge plains rapidly prograde.

Trade winds. Sediment dispersal systems along the coastal zone of east-northeastern Brazil have been highly persistent since Pleistocene time, as deduced from beach-ridge orientation. This persistence results from the fact that sediment dispersal in wave-dominated settings is ultimately controlled by atmospheric circulation which, for the east-northeastern coast of Brazil is associated with the South Atlantic high-pressure cell. The remarkable stability of this cell through time, has allowed the accumulation of extensive beach-ridge plains at the longshore drift sinks located along the coast.

Climate change. Effects of Quaternary climate changes on coastal sedimentation are twofold. Climate changes may affect rainfall patterns, thus exerting an important control on coastal dune development. Along the coast of northeastern Brazil, active coastal dunes are only present in those areas in which at least four consecutive dry months occur during the year. Mapping of these areas has shown that dune development during the Holocene has been episodic, these episodes being probably controlled by variations in rainfall patterns associated with climate changes. Secondly, despite its overall stability, the position of the high-pressure cell has experienced small shifts in position during the Holocene in response to climate changes. Changes in wind direction associated with these shifts have induced modifications in the coastal dispersion system, which are recorded in the strandplains as small truncations in the beach-ridge alignments.

These results have important implications in understanding accumulation of ancient sandstone shoreline sequences.     

Investigation of a large collapse sinkhole affecting a multi-storey building by means of geophysics and the trenching technique (Zaragoza city,NE Spain)

An active sinkhole around 100 m long has been investigated in the city of Zaragoza (NE Spain). Subsidence activity on this depression, including the sudden occurrence of a collapse sinkhole 5 m across, led to the abandonment of a factory in the 1990s. At the present time, a building with 100 flats and shallow pad foundations partially built on the sinkhole, is affected by rapid differential settlement. The development of the sinkhole results from the karstification of the halite- and glauberite- bearing bedrock and the sagging and collapse of the overlying bedrock and alluvium, more than 30 m thick. GPR and electrical resistivity profiles have provided information on the distribution and geometry of the subsidence structure. The application of the trenching technique and geochronological methods (AMS and OSL dating) has allowed us to infer objective and practical data on the sinkhole including (1) Limits of the subsidence structure, (2) subsidence mechanisms, (3) cumulative subsidence (>408 cm), (4) subsidence rates on specific failure planes (>1.8 cm/year), (5) episodic displacement regime of some fault planes. The available information indicates that the progressive deformation recorded in the building will continue and might be punctuated by events of more rapid displacement. This work illustrates the practicality of the trenching technique for the study of sinkholes in mantled karst areas.     

Thick sections of layered ultramafic cumulates in the Oman ophiolite revealed by an airborne hyperspectral survey: Petrogenesis and relationship to mantle diapirism

Using the HyMap instrument, we have acquired visible and near infrared hyperspectral data over the Maqsad area of the Oman ophiolite (~ 15 × 60 km). This survey allowed us to identify and map the distribution of clinopyroxene-rich cumulates (inter-layered clinopyroxenites and wehrlites) whose occurrence was previously undocumented in this area. The cumulates reach several hundred meters in thickness and crop out at distances exceeding 15 km on both sides of the Maqsad former spreading centre. They occur either in mantle harzburgites, as km-sized layered intrusions surrounded by fields of pegmatitic dykes consisting of orthopyroxene-rich pyroxenite and gabbronorites, or at the base of the crustal section where they are conformably overlain by cumulate gabbros. These ultramafic cumulates crystallized from silica- and Mg-rich melts derived from a refractory mantle source (e.g. high Cr#, low [Al₂O₃], low [TiO₂]). These melts are close to high-Ca boninites, although, strictly speaking, not perfect equivalents of present-day, supra-subduction zone, boninites. Chemical stratigraphy reveals cycles of replenishment, mixing and fractional crystallization from primitive (high Mg#) melts, typical of open magma chambers and migration of inter-cumulus melts. The TiO₂ content of clinopyroxene is always low (≤ 0.2 wt.%) but quite variable compared to the associated pegmatites that are all derived from a source ultra-depleted in high field strength elements (HFSE). This variability is not caused by fractional crystallization alone, and is best explained by hybridization between the ultra-depleted melts (parent melts of the pegmatites) and the less depleted mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) parent of the dunitic–troctolitic–gabbroic cumulates making up the crustal section above the Maqsad diapir.We propose that, following a period of magma-starved spreading, the Maqsad mantle diapir, impregnated with tholeiitic melts of MORB affinity, reached shallow depths beneath the ocean ridge. This diapir induced melting of the formerly accreted and hydrothermally altered lithosphere. At this stage, these boninitic-like lithospheric melts crystallized as pegmatitic dykes. As the diapir continued to rise, the amount of MORB reaching shallow depths increased, together with the surrounding temperature, leading to the formation of magma chambers where the crystallization of layered cumulates became possible. These cumulates remained rich in pyroxene and devoid of plagioclase as long as the contribution of MORB-derived melts was moderate relative to the lithospheric-derived melts. As the contribution of MORB to the refilling of the magma chamber increased, gabbroic cumulates started to crystallize.     

TITAN2D simulations of pyroclastic flows at Cerro Machín Volcano,Colombia: Hazard implications

Cerro Machín is a dacitic tuff ring located in the central part of the Colombian Andes. It lies at the southern end of the Cerro Bravo–Cerro Machín volcanic belt. This volcano has experienced at least six major explosive eruptions during the last 5000 years. These eruptions have generated pyroclastic flows associated with Plinian activity that have traveled up to 8 km from the crater, and pyroclastic flows associated with Vulcanian activity with shorter runouts of 5 km from the source. Today, some 21,000 people live within a 8 km radius of Cerro Machín. The volcano is active with fumaroles and has shown increasing seismic activity since 2004, and therefore represents a potentially increasing threat to the local population. To evaluate the possible effects of future eruptions that may generate pyroclastic density currents controlled by granular flow dynamics we performed flow simulations with the TITAN2D code. These simulations were run in all directions around the volcano, using the input parameters of the largest eruption reported. The results show that an eruption of 0.3 km³ of pyroclastic flows from a collapsing Plinian column would travel up to 9 km from the vent, emplacing a deposit thicker than 60 m within the Toche River valley. Deposits >45 m thick can be expected in the valleys of San Juan, Santa Marta, and Azufral creeks, while 30 m thick deposits could accumulate within the drainages of the Tochecito, Bermellón, and Coello Rivers. A minimum area of 56 km² could be affected directly by this kind of eruption. In comparison, Vulcanian column-collapse pyroclastic flows of 0.1 km³ would travel up to 6 km from the vent depositing >45 m thick debris inside the Toche River valley and more than 30 m inside the valleys of San Juan, Santa Marta, and Azufral creeks. The minimum area that could be affected directly by this kind of eruption is 33 km². The distribution and thickness of the deposits obtained by these simulations are consistent with the hazard map presented by INGEOMINAS (Geological Survey of Colombia) in 2002. The composite map of the simulated flow deposits suggests that after major explosive events such as these, the generation of lahars is probable.     

Integrated geophysics and soil gas profiles as a tool to characterize active faults: the Amer fault example (Pyrenees, NE Spain)

The combined use of geophysical and soil gas composition exploration methods allows to rapidly obtain at relative low cost information that might be related to seismic activity conditions. In this study, we carried out geochemical soil gas sampling (²²²Rn, ²²⁰Rn and CO₂), electrical resistivity tomography and seismic refraction profiles in two selected zones near the town of Amer in the Spanish Pyrenees, where the presence of recent fractures is evident in the field. Data analysis clearly reveals anomalous values for each gas at specific positions along the electrical imaging transects. Geomorphologic and hydrogeologic data and the integration of geophysical data and soil gas measurements indicate that: (1) endogene gases radon (²²²Rn) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) are released from the meta-sedimentary basement rocks across the main fractured zones with higher permeability values, while lower Cenozoic detrital sedimentary formations act as an impervious boundary; (2) sites with highest radon concentrations (52?kBq?m^?3) coincide with the zones in the Amer fault showing more recent geomorphic evidence of activity, and more specifically with those areas covered by thinner surficial formations; (3) the lowest ²²²Rn values (0.2?C0.4?kBq?m^?3) were recorded just on the master active fault plane. This pattern could be explained by a dilution effect resulting from high rates of soil CO₂ efflux (267?g?m^?2?day^?1); (4) soil thoron (²²⁰Rn) activity is maximum (143?kBq?m^?3) in areas with high surficial fracturing; (5) groundwater pumping may cause important distortions in the natural flow dynamics and in the measured concentrations of gases. The agreement between the different data (geochemical, geophysical, and hydrogeological) and field observations (geology and geomorphology) leads us to propose a preliminary tectonic-gravitational model for the study area.     

Temperature Dependence of Oxygen Dynamics and Community Metabolism in a Shallow Mediterranean Macroalgal Meadow (Caulerpa prolifera)

Hypoxia is emerging as a major threat to marine coastal biota. Predicting its occurrence and elucidating the driving factors are essential to set successful management targets to avoid its occurrence. This study aims to elucidate the effects of warming on the likelihood of hypoxia. High-frequency dissolved oxygen measurements have been used to estimate gross primary production (GPP), net ecosystem production (NEP) and community respiration (CR) in a shallow macroalgae (Caulerpa prolifera) ecosystem in a highly human-influenced closed Mediterranean bay. Daily averaged GPP and CR ranged from 0 to 1,240.9 and 51.4 to 1,297.3?mmol?O₂?m^?2?day^?1, respectively. The higher GPP and CR were calculated for the same day, when daily averaged water temperature was 28.3?°C, and resulted in a negative NEP of ?56.4?mmol?O₂?m^?2?day^?1. The ecosystem was net heterotrophic during the studied period, probably subsidized by allochthonous organic inputs from ground waters and from the surrounding town and boating activity. Oxygen dynamics and metabolic rates strongly depend on water temperature, with lower oxygen content at higher temperatures. The probability of hypoxic conditions increased at a rate of 0.39?% °C^?1 (±0.14?% °C^?1). Global warming will increase the likelihood of hypoxia in the bay studied, as well as in other semi-enclosed bays.     

Zircon geochronology and geochemistry to constrain the youngest eruption events and magma evolution of the Mid-Miocene ignimbrite flare-up in the Pannonian Basin,eastern central Europe

A silicic ignimbrite flare-up episode occurred in the Pannonian Basin during the Miocene, coeval with the syn-extensional period in the region. It produced important correlation horizons in the regional stratigraphy; however, they lacked precise and accurate geochronology. Here, we used U–Pb (LA-ICP-MS and ID-TIMS) and (U–Th)/He dating of zircons to determine the eruption ages of the youngest stage of this volcanic activity and constrain the longevity of the magma storage in crustal reservoirs. Reliability of the U–Pb data is supported by (U–Th)/He zircon dating and magnetostratigraphic constraints. We distinguish four eruptive phases from 15.9 ± 0.3 to 14.1 ± 0.3 Ma, each of which possibly includes multiple eruptive events. Among these, at least two large volume eruptions (>10 km³) occurred at 14.8 ± 0.3 Ma (Demjén ignimbrite) and 14.1 ± 0.3 Ma (Harsány ignimbrite). The in situ U–Pb zircon dating shows wide age ranges (up to 700 kyr) in most of the crystal-poor pyroclastic units, containing few to no xenocrysts, which implies efficient recycling of antecrysts. We propose that long-lived silicic magma reservoirs, mostly kept as high-crystallinity mushes, have existed in the Pannonian Basin during the 16–14 Ma period. Small but significant differences in zircon, bulk rock and glass shard composition among units suggest the presence of spatially separated reservoirs, sometimes existing contemporaneously. Our results also better constrain the time frame of the main tectonic events that occurred in the Northern Pannonian Basin: We refined the upper temporal boundary (15 Ma) of the youngest counterclockwise block rotation and the beginning of a new deformation phase, which structurally characterized the onset of the youngest volcanic and sedimentary phase.