Paleowetlands and regional climate change in the central Atacama Desert, northern Chile

Widespread, organic-rich diatomaceous deposits are evidence for formerly wetter times along the margins of the central Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth today. We mapped and dated these paleowetland deposits at three presently waterless locations near Salar de Punta Negra (24.5°S) on the western slope of the Andes. Elevated groundwater levels supported phreatic discharge into wetlands during two periods: 15,900 to ~ 13,800 and 12,700 to ~ 9700 cal yr BP. Dense concentrations of lithic artifacts testify to the presence of paleoindians around the wetlands late in the second wet phase (11,000?-9700 cal yr BP). Water tables dropped below the surface before 15,900 and since 8100 cal yr BP, and briefly between ~ 13,800 and 12,700 cal yr BP. This temporal pattern is repeated, with some slight differences, in rodent middens from the study area, in both paleowetland and rodent midden deposits north and south of the study area, and in lake level fluctuations on the adjacent Bolivian Altiplano. The regional synchroneity of these changes points to a strengthening of the South American Monsoon — which we term the “Central Andean Pluvial Event” — in two distinct intervals (15,900-13,800 and 12,700-9700 cal yr BP), probably induced by steepened SST gradients across the tropical Pacific (i.e., La Niña-like conditions).     

Diagenetic trends in the phenolic constituents of Sphagnum-dominated peat and its corresponding humic acid fraction

Models of peat accumulation assume that peat decomposition occurs mostly above the water table, with little or no decomposition once it enters the deeper, saturated, anoxic zone. Few studies have used molecular biomarkers for tracing post depositional, decomposition-related trends in peat deposits. We studied the major diagenetic changes in the phenolic constituents within a Sphagnum-dominated ombrotrophic bog deposit. The yield of lignin-derived phenols and degree of decomposition, measured using alkaline cupric oxide oxidation of bulk peat samples and their corresponding humic acids, revealed that most of the degradation takes place in the surface layers corresponding to the acrotelm. In fact, total phenolic constituents of peat samples decrease from 36.1 to 21.6 mg g⁻¹ OC (organic carbon) over the first 36 cm, whereas in the deeper anoxic layers, phenolic constituents tend to accumulate, reaching a highest concentration of 71.0 mg g⁻¹ OC. The diagenetic alteration of these phenolic constituents during peat accumulation involves significant demethoxylation and an increasing yield of vanillyl oxidation products despite the low redox potential. Syringyl phenols tend to be particularly resistant to diagenetic alteration and are significantly enriched within the humic acid fraction (twofold) with respect to the bulk peat. This, together with the higher degree of oxidation, suggests that this organic matter fraction is enriched in more resistant, but nonetheless diagenetically altered, phenolic constituents. This suggests that humic acids constitute a refractory pool of organic C with a relatively low turnover rate. Our results confirm that the major processes involved in the variation in phenolic constituents with depth are strongly related to the post depositional environment and that evaluation of diagenetic trends in phenolic constituents may provide molecular-level information on the changes that fresh biomass undergoes during early diagenesis in peatlands.     

Subduction polarity reversal at the junction between the Western Alps and the Northern Apennines, Italy

The controversial relationship between the orogenic segments of the Western Alps and the Northern Apennines is here explored integrating recently published 3D tomographic models of subduction with new and re-interpreted geological observations from the eclogitic domain of the Voltri Massif (Ligurian Alps, Italy), where the two belts joint each other. The Voltri Massif is here described as an extensional domain accommodating the opposing outward migration of the Alpine and Apennine thrust fronts, since about 30–35 Ma. Using tomographic images of the upper mantle and paleotectonic reconstructions, we propose that this extensional setting represents the surface manifestation of an along strike change in polarity of the subducted oceanic slab whose polarity changed laterally in space and in time. Our tectonic model suggests that the westward shift of the Alpine thrust front from the Oligocene onward was the consequence of the toroidal asthenospheric flow induced by the retreat of the Apenninic slab.     

Acritarchs of Las Ventanas Formation (Ediacaran, Uruguay): Implications for the timing of coeval rifting and glacial events in western Gondwana

Acritarchs and other organic-walled microfossils occurring in siltstones of the Las Ventanas Formation (Quebrada de Viera and El Perdido members) are systematically described and illustrated. The assemblage includes the following species: Leiosphaeridia tenuissima, Leiosphaeridia minutissima, Lophosphaeridium sp., Soldadophycus bossii, Soldadophycus major, Soldadophycus sp. and Vendotaenia antiqua. The microflora is characterized by low diversity (six species), dominance of L. tenuissima, absence of acanthomorphic acritarchs, and relatively large size of sphaeromorphs, reaching 400 μm in diameter. A number of species are shared with acritarch assemblages preserved in the overlying Arroyo del Soldado Group. Differences between assemblages include the occurrence of abundant Bavlinella faveolata and small size of spheroids in the Arroyo del Soldado Group. The assemblage occurring in Las Ventanas Formation is assigned to the Ediacaran Leiosphere Palynoflora, which spans the interval between the base of the Ediacaran (end of the Marinoan Glaciation, 635 Ma) and the termination of the Gaskiers Glaciation (582 Ma). An early Ediacaran age between 615 and 579 Ma is also supported by available radiometric ages. An extensional setting for Las Ventanas basin is suggested on the basis of the bimodal, synsedimentary volcanism, strong palaeorelief, great thickness of alluvial fan conglomerates and the evolution from continental to open marine environments. Diamictites occurring in the Quebrada de Viera Member are described for the first time, including associated dropstones which suggest a glacial origin. If confirmed, this would be one more example of the association between rifting and glaciation in the Neoproterozoic, coeval with a low-diversity, high-abundance acritarch microflora. A causal relationship between these tectonic, climatic and biologic events is discussed.     

A hypoplastic macroelement for single vertical piles in sand subject to three-dimensional loading conditions

This paper presents a novel macroelement for single vertical piles in sand developed within the hypo-plasticity theory, where the incremental nonlinear constitutive equations are defined in terms of generalized forces, displacements and rotations. Inspired from the macroelement for shallow foundations of Salciarini and Tamagnini (Acta Geotech, 4(3):163–176, 2009), the new element adopts the “intergranular displacement” mutuated from Niemunis and Herle (Mech Cohes Frict Mater, 2:279–299, 1997) to reproduce the behavior under cyclic loading. Analytical and numerical strategies are provided to calibrate the macroelement’s parameters. Comparisons with experimental results show the performance of the macroelement that while being simple and computational fast is suitable for finite element calculations and engineering design.     

A multi‐mechanism constitutive model for plastic adaption under cyclic loading

As is well known, granular soils under cyclic loading dissipate a large amount of energy and accumulate large irreversible strains. Usually, with time, this second effect reduces and the accumulation rate decreases with the number of cycles until obtaining a sort of ideal stationary cyclic state at which ratcheting disappears. In this paper, only this ideal state is taken into consideration and simulated by means of a multi‐mechanism constitutive model for plastic adaptation. For this purpose, the concept of cycle is discussed, many different categories of cyclic stress/strain paths are considered and some theoretical issues concerning both the flow and the strain‐hardening rules are tackled. Even though the paper focuses on soil behaviour, the conclusions can be extended to all materials exhibiting ratcheting due to volumetric behaviour.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Misattributed tsunami 2: The Tōhoku Japan (Mw 9.0) 2011.3.11 earthquake

Like the tsunamis that accompanied the 2010 Maule (Chile) and the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman and 2005 Nias earthquakes, the tsunamis associated with the Tōhoku, Japan (M_w 9.0), earthquake of 11 March 2011 may owe more to slip on superficial faults on the sea floor than to the megathrust itself. The pattern of shallow aftershocks during the 24 h immediately following the main shock suggests that the crucial structures include faults in the upper plate, in the accretionary wedge landwards of the trench and on the outer rise. Seafloor geodetic observation could thus usefully contribute routinely to local hazard preparedness.     

The Second World Landslide Forum, Rome, 2011 and the Third World Landslide Forum, Beijing, 2014

The Second World Landslide Forum was held at the headquarters of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on 3?C9 October 2011 in Rome, Italy. The Third World Landslide Forum (WLF3) is to be held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China from 2 to 6 June 2014. This article first outlines the aims and background of the World Landslide Forums, reports on the Second World Landslide Forum in Rome, and then announces the plans for the Third World Landslide Forum in Beijing. Finally, it calls for contributions for the organization of WLF3 and participation in the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) and the International Programme on Landslides.