Ilot de chaleur a Quebec: Cas d'ete

This paper studies the urban heat island in Quebec City and its suburbs on one summer night. The region under study covers an area of 20 km by 20 km which streches from lake Saint-Charles on the north to Levis on the south and from the western suburb of Cap-Rouge to Beauport on the east. The total population of the region is about 400 000.On August 22, 1979 from 22:00 to 23:30 EDT, 109 measurements of wet- and dry-bulb temperatures were taken at preselected points. On that day, a large high pressure system gave clear skies to central Quebec while Quebec City Airport recorded a maximum temperature of 23 °C. The average wind measured at Duberger meteorological tower between 6 and 121 m above ground was 1.8 m s^-1 at 22:00 EDT and 0.9 m s^-1 at 23:30 EDT. Additional data were obtained from three thermographs installed at strategic points and five regular climatological stations, which were used to estimate cooling rates.During the period of measurement, the cooling rate averaged over the eight reference points was about 0.7 °C h^-1. However, the maximum cooling rate, which occured earlier, ranged from 2.2 °C h^-1 at Duberger to 4.4 °C h^-1 at Courville-de-Poissy. No relation seems to exist, in our case, between the maximum cooling rate and the heat island spatial structure. Comparison of these results with the ones given by Oke et al. (1972) shows that the eight stations behaved more like rural stations than urban ones.The temperature gradient measured between the center of old Quebec City and the suburbs averaged 6 °C while it was 9 °C for the coldest spot. Clo units were used to characterize the microclimates prevailing on the region for that night; 1 clo would be sufficient for comfort downtown while 1.5 clo is needed in the coldest spot for a slowly walking person. Large open areas like parks or the Laval University campus had a definite effect on temperature.The humidity was calculated for each point using standard psychrometric tables; no significant difference could be found over the area expect at points near or above the St. Laurent river where the average dew point was 1.5 °C higher.Each point was classified into 6 categories according to its predominant land-use as reported by the observers. A multiple regression between temperature on the one hand and altitude and land-use on the other hand was tried; it showed that temperature was significantly correlated with both. Such an equation could be used by town-planners to locate temperature gradients in future urban development over the area; land uses could be planned to enhance or reduce these gradients.This study confirms the idea that urban climate is a mosaic of interacting micro-climates. More measurements, including possibly airborne infra-red thermal imagery, will be taken during winter in order to assess the winter urban climate of Quebec City.     

New Palaeomagnetic Data from the Betic Cordillera: Constraints on the Timing and the Geographical Distribution of Tectonic Rotations in Southern Spain

—A palaeomagnetic investigation has been carried out at 14 sites on Jurassic red nodular limestones from the central and eastern part of the External Zones of the Betic Cordillera (Subbetic and Prebetic Zones). Progressive thermal demagnetisation of samples from the Subbetic Zone reveals the presence of two stable magnetic components of the natural remanent magnetisation: 1) a secondary Neogene syn-folding component and 2) the original Jurassic magnetisation. As similar characteristics have been reported in Jurassic limestones from the western Subbetic Zone, a widespread remagnetisation event took place within <10⁶ years in the entire Subbetic region during Neogene times. In contrast, in the Prebetic region, no evidence for a secondary overprint has been detected. Palaeomagnetic Jurassic declinations indicate variable and locally very large clockwise rotations (35°–140°), but the two sites in the north-westernmost part of the investigated region are not rotated. The use of both components of magnetisation and the incremental fold-test results allowed the timing of block rotations in the Subbetic Zone to be constrained. Rotations in the western Subbetic occurred after the acquisition of the secondary overprint, whereas in the central part of the Subbetic Zone they were completed by the time of the remagnetisation event.     

Trophic structure of macrobenthic communities in the Calcasieu estuary,Louisiana

Trophic groups were used to investigate broad patterns and predict species interactions of macrobenthic assemblages in Calcasieu Estuary, Louisiana. Macrobenthic assemblages of the estuary were numerically dominated by deposit-feeding species. Surface-deposit feeders were the most abundant macrobenthos of the upper estuary, subsurface-deposit feeders dominated the lower estuary, and a trophically well-mixed assemblage inhabited the middle estuary. There were periodic shifts in species dominance within each region, but the shifts were without temporal pattern and seldom led to changes in trophic structure of the region. The macrobenthic assemblages of the upper estuary were dominated by several early-colonizing species which switched feeding modes with changes in water flow, suggesting that disturbances in the upper estuary had a direct effect on macrobenthic communities. Disturbances also may have eliminated macrobenthic species before they could establish a well-mixed community. The presence of trophically mixed communities in the middle estuary probably was indicative of fewer disturbances there. The dominance by subsurface-deposit feeders in the lower estuary probably indicates that sedimentary food in Calcasieu Lake was seldom utilized at the sediment-water interface. Rather, most food became buried and was available only to subsurface-deposit feeders.     

Tectonic framework and extensional pattern of the Malaguide Complex from Sierra Espuña (Internal Betic Zone) during Jurassic–Cretaceous: implications for the Westernmost Tethys geodynamic evolution

Mapping, lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic and structural detailed analyses in Sierra Espuña area (Internal Betic Zone, SE Spain) have allowed us to reconstruct the Jurassic–Cretaceous evolution of the Westernmost Mesomediterranean Microplate palaeomargin and, by correlation with other sectors (Northern Rift, central and western Internal Betic Zone), to propose a geodynamic evolution for the Westernmost Tethys. Extension began from Late Toarcian, when listric normal faults activated; these faults are arranged in three categories: large-scale faults, separating hectometric cortical blocks; main faults, dividing the former blocks into some kilometre-length blocks; and secondary faults, affecting the kilometric blocks. This fault ensemble, actually outcropping, in the Sierra Espuña area, broke the palaeomargin allowing the westerly Tethyan Oceanic aperture with an extension at about 17.2%. Extension was not homogeneous in time, being the Late Toarcian to the Dogger–Malm boundary the period when blocks underwent the greatest movement (rifting phase), leading to the drowning of the area (8.2% extension). During the Malm (drifting phase) extension followed (5.7%), while during the Cretaceous a change to pelagic facies is recorded with an extension of about 3.3% (post-drift stage). This evolution in the Westernmost Tethys seems to be related to areas out of the limit of significant crustal extension in the hanging wall block of the main cortical low-angle fault of the rifting.     

Direct and Indirect Interactions Between Lower Estuarine Mangrove and Saltmarsh Habitats and a Commercially Important Penaeid Shrimp

Vegetated habitats in estuaries may provide a structural refuge and food supply in the same place, but benefits are also derived where a productive food source and suitable habitat are adjacent to each other. Quantifying these relationships is fundamental to understanding the structural and functional characteristics of estuarine ecosystems and for informing management actions. Effective juvenile habitat (habitat that contributes greater-than-average numbers of recruits to the adult population), recruitment patterns and trophic relationships were studied for Eastern King Prawn (Penaeus plebejus) in the lower Clarence River estuary, New South Wales, between 2014 and 2016. Effective juvenile habitat was identified in both the north arm and main river channel of the estuary, and these areas also supported a higher abundance of juvenile prawns. There was minimal recruitment to the southern channels of the estuary, possibly due to reduced connectivity with the incoming tide arising from a rock wall. Trophic relationships in parts of the lower estuary were evaluated using stable isotopes, and saltmarsh grass (Sporobolus virginicus) was the dominant primary producer supporting juvenile Eastern King Prawn productivity across the area. Mangroves were of minimal importance, and seagrass cover was minimal in the area studied. The patterns observed indicate that nursery function of different areas within the lower estuary is a product of connectivity, recruitment and nutrition derived from primary productivity of vascular plants. Habitats within the lower Clarence River estuary have seen substantial degradation over decadal time scales, and the implications of our findings for targeting future habitat repair are discussed.     

Preiswerkite and Na-(Mg,Fe)-margarite in eclogites

Preiswerkite and Na-(Mg,Fe)-margarite are two unusual micas very rare in Nature. They have been observed together in two eclogite occurrences (La Compointrie, France; Liset, Norway) as retrogression products in coronae or symplectites around kyanite. The chemical compositions and some physical properties of these micas are presented. The possible solid solutions and the conditions of stability are discussed. The preiswerkites display slight solid solution towards phengitic muscovite and Na-phlogopite. On the other hand, there is negligible solid solution towards more aluminous compositions; Al^IV ≤ 4 appears to be a composition limit for natural (K,Na)-micas. The margarites have an unusual Na-(Mg,Fe)-rich composition. They can be considered as a solid solution of about 2/3 mol% of margarite and 1/3 mol% of the theoretical end-member Na₂(Mg,Fe)₁Al^VI ₄[Si₄Al^IV ₄]O₂₀(OH)₄ (“Mica L”), with a possible substitution towards paragonite. The Marg_2/3 Mica L_1/3 composition (i.e. NaCa₂(Mg,Fe)_0.5 Al^VI ₆ [Si₆Al^IV ₆]O₃₀(OH)₆) might represent a particularly stable crystallographic configuration and could be considered as a true end-member. Many “sodian” margarites described in the literature are, in fact, complex solid solutions between margarite, paragonite and Marg_2/3 Mica L_1/3. The rarity of these micas is not related to extreme or unusual P-T conditions. They seem to be related to unusual chemical compositions, appearing in H₂O-saturated Na-Al-rich Si-poor systems, principally, if not only, at greenschist- or amphibolite-facies P-T conditions. Moreover, they are subject to crystallographic constraints whereby the high proportion of Al-tetrahedra create considerable distortion which prevents the entry of K into the interlayer site, thus necessitating Na (preiswerkite or ephesite) or Ca (margarite or clintonite) instead. Received: 21 April 1998 / Accepted: 25 January 1999     

Lithostratigraphic and structural controls of ‘tsavorite’ deposits at Lemshuku,Merelani area,Tanzania

The first study of the Lemshuku ‘tsavorite’ mining district is presented. From bottom to top, the lithostratigraphic column corresponds to a metasedimentary sequence composed of quartzite, fine-grained graphitic gneiss, kyanite-graphite gneiss, biotite-almandine gneiss, metasomatized graphitic gneiss and dolomitic marble. ‘Tsavorite’ occurs in quartz veins and rarely as nodular concretions. Two factors control mineralization: (1) lithostratigraphy, with ‘tsavorite’ in association with pyrite and graphite confined to quartz veins within the metasomatized graphitic gneiss; and (2) structure, with the mineralized veins characteristically controlled by tight isoclinal folds associated with shearing.