The Levant Slumps and the Phoenician Structures: collapse features along the continental margin of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea

Two distinct series of slumps deform the upper part of the sedimentary sequence along the continental margin of the Levant. One series is found along the base of the continental slope, where it overlies the disrupted eastern edge of the Messinian evaporites. The second series of slumps transects the continental margin from the shelf break to the Levant Basin. It seemed that the two series were triggered by two unrelated, though contemporaneous, processes. The shore-parallel slumps were initiated by basinwards flow of the Messinian salt, that carried along the overlying Plio-Quaternary sediments. Seawater that percolated along the detachment faults dissolved the underlying salt to form distinctly disrupted structures. The slope-normal slumps are located on top of large canyons that cut into the pre-Messinian sedimentary rocks. A layer of salt is found in the canyons, and the Plio-Quaternary sediments were deposited on that layer. The slumps are bounded by large, NW-trending faults where post-Messinian faulted offset was measured. We presume that the flow of the salt in the canyons also drives the slope-normal slumps. Thus thin-skinned halokynetic processes generated the composite post-Tortonian structural patterns of the Levant margin. The Phoenician Structures are a prime example of the collapse of a distal continental margin due to the dissolution of a massive salt layer.     

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate dynamics in central-eastern Brazil: insights from a ~35k cal a bp peat record in the Cerrado biome

The late Quaternary evolution of central-eastern Brazil has been under-researched. Questions remain as to the origin of the Cerrado, a highly endangered biome, and other types of vegetation, such as the Capões – small vegetation islands of semi-deciduous and mountain forests. We investigated the factors that influenced the expansion and contraction of the Cerrado and Capões during the late Quaternary (last ~35 ka), using a multi-proxy approach: stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N), geochemistry, pollen and multivariate statistics derived from a peat core (Pinheiro mire, Serra do Espinhaço Meridional). Five major shifts in precipitation, temperature, vegetation and landscape stability occurred at different timescales. Our study revealed that changes in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) seem to have been coeval with these shifts: from the Late Glacial Maximum to mid-Holocene the SACZ remained near (~29.6 to ~16.5k cal a bp ) and over (~16.5 to ~6.1 k cal a bp ) the study area, providing humidity to the region. This challenges previous research which suggested that climate was drier for this time period. At present, the Capões are likely to be a remnant of a more humid climate; meanwhile, the Cerrado biome seems to have stablished in the late Holocene, after ~3.1 k cal a bp .     

Soil contamination from urban and industrial activity: example of the mining district of Linares (southern Spain)

The Linares region (southern Spain) has been subjected to two important sources of pollution: the intensive mining works and the urban-industrial activity. To obtain a geochemical characterisation of the soil, 31 trace elements were analysed and 669 soil samples were collected. By means of clustering analysis, we identified groups of elements and grid squares in which relations could be established concerning soil lithology, urban and industrial activities and the degree of pollution impact; in addition, we were able to characterise the geochemical background of the study area. The multivariate study led us to identify four factors. Particularly important was factor 2, which represented the elements associated with mineral paragenesis (Cu, Pb, As, Co, Mn, Zn, Sn, Ba). This factor also contains elements related with an urban-industrial activity, such as Pb, Cu, Zn, As and Ba. Furthermore, we identified factor 4, associating Ni, V and Cr, and which is related to the use of fuels.     

Study of a rockfall in a limy conglomerate canyon (Covarrubias, Burgos, N. Spain)

In this paper, a rockfall of some tenths of cubic metres of rock, occurred in a conglomerate canyon in the northern Castilian plateau (N-Central Spain), is described in detail. This includes the basic data (geology, mapping, meteorological data and rock involved), the mechanical mechanism of the instability, the propagation and reach of the fallen rock boulders and the final location of the pieces. The study is based on detailed geological, aerial photography and geotechnical studies and advance topographical measurements. Geological engineering techniques are used to analyze the instability initiation and rockfall propagation. This study contributes to a better understanding of the geological processes leading to the occurrence of calcareous canyons and cliffs in the drainage network of the upper Castilian plateau. It is also helpful to improve our knowledge on natural rockfall phenomena for risk engineering purposes aiming to quantify, control and mitigate associated hazards.     

Geochemical processes in a Mediterranean Lake: a high-resolution study of the last 4,000 years in Zoñar Lake,southern Spain

High-resolution geochemical analysis of a 6-m-long sediment core from Zoñar Lake, southern Spain, provides a detailed characterization of major changes in lake and watershed processes during the last 4,000 years. Geochemical variables were used as paleolimnological indicators and complement Zoñar Lakes’s paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on sedimentological and biological proxies, which define periods of increasing allochthonous input to the lake and periods of dominant autochthonous sedimentation. Chemical ratios identify periods of endogenic carbonate formation (higher Ca/Al, Sr/Al and Ba/Al ratios), evaporite precipitation (higher S/Al, Sr/Al ratios), and anoxic conditions (higher Mo/Al, U/Th ratios and Eu anomaly). Higher productivity is marked by elevated organic carbon content and carbonate precipitation (Mg/Ca). Hydrological reconstruction for Zoñar Lake was based on sedimentological, mineralogical and biological proxies, and shows that lower lake levels are characterized by Sr-rich sediments (a brackish lake with aragonite) and S-rich sediments (a saline lake with gypsum), while higher lake levels are characterized by sediments enriched in elements associated with alumino-silicates (Al, K, Ti, Fe, trace and rare earth elements), reflecting fresher conditions. Geochemical indicators also mark periods of higher detrital input to the lake related to human activity in the watershed: (1) during the Iberian Roman Humid Period (650 BC–AD 300), around the onset of the Little Ice Age (AD 1400), during the relatively drier Post-Roman and Middle Ages (AD 800–1400), and over the last 50 years, due to mechanized farming practices. Heavy metal enrichment in the sediments (Cu and Ni) suggests intensification of human activities during the Iberian Roman Period, and the use of fertilizers during the last 50 years.     

Occurrence and fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the coastal surface microlayer

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in the coastal sea surface microlayer (SML), the sub-surface waters (SSW) and the overlying atmosphere in order to investigate the influence of the SML on contaminant enrichment and air-sea exchange. Samples were collected at two contrasting locations of the NW Mediterranean, one urban influenced (off Barcelona, Spain) and another comparatively clean (off Banyuls-sur-Mer, France). Statistical data analysis confirmed the accumulation of PAHs in the SML with respect to the SSW (20.3+/-9.1 vs. 13.1+/-10.0 ng L(-1) in the dissolved phase; 709+/-207 vs. 158+/-111 ng g(-1) in the particulate phase). This accumulation was higher at the contaminated location (Barcelona station) compared with the more pristine one, with PAH enrichments 1.5 and 4.5 times higher for the dissolved and particulate phases, respectively, indicating that the enrichment of PAHs in the SML is dominated by particle transport processes.     

Hydrogeochemistry and isotope analyses used to determine groundwater recharge and flow in low-gradient catchments of the province of Buenos Aires,Argentina

The region known as Pampa Plain, in Argentina, is a vast area characterized by slopes of less than 0.05%. The surface sediment is silty sand, mainly Aeolian, referred to as Pampean Loess, which is a phreatic aquifer unit of utmost importance for the water supply of the region. On account of the slight gradient, hydrogeological analyses using only hydraulic measurements are difficult to perform, often leading to confusing results. Thus, the study presented relies on hydrochemical modeling and isotopic determinations as well. The study area comprises three catchments in the inter-mountainous area corresponding to El Moro, Tamangueyú and Seco creeks, and covering 2,570 km² in the province of Buenos Aires. Measurements of piezometric levels and samples of groundwater, surface water and rainwater were carried out between January and March 2005. Major ion results were analyzed by means of hydrochemical graphs and hydrogeochemical modelling using NETPATH. The resulting data show that it is possible to identify local changes in recharge, flow direction and stream/groundwater relationship by using hydrochemical and isotopic information, which may become a useful and more precise tool for the study of particularly flat landscapes.     

An Intercomparison of Large-Eddy Simulations of the Stable Boundary Layer

Results are presented from the first intercomparison of large-eddy simulation (LES) models for the stable boundary layer (SBL), as part of the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Atmospheric Boundary Layer Study initiative. A moderately stable case is used, based on Arctic observations. All models produce successful simulations, in as much as they generate resolved turbulence and reflect many of the results from local scaling theory and observations. Simulations performed at 1-m and 2-m resolution show only small changes in the mean profiles compared to coarser resolutions. Also, sensitivity to subgrid models for individual models highlights their importance in SBL simulation at moderate resolution (6.25 m). Stability functions are derived from the LES using typical mixing lengths used in numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models. The functions have smaller values than those used in NWP. There is also support for the use of K-profile similarity in parametrizations. Thus, the results provide improved understanding and motivate future developments of the parametrization of the SBL.     

The new national climate change documents of Mexico: what do the regional climate change scenarios represent?

This paper presents a review of the methodology applied for generating the regional climate change scenarios utilized in important National Documents of Mexico, such as the Fourth National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Fourth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity and The Economics of Climate Change in Mexico. It is shown that these regional climate change scenarios, which are one of the main inputs to support the assessments presented in these documents, are an example of the erroneous use of statistical downscaling techniques. The arguments presented here imply that the work based on such scenarios should be revised and therefore, these documents are inadequate for supporting national decision- making.     

AGNs,X-ray background and the possible candidates for great attractor

In the five last years, different structures (density excess 1) have been proposed as the direct cause of our infall toward the direction of Hydra—Centaurus with a velocity of 500 km s^–1. The direct effect of the mentioned matter accumulations on the X-ray background (XRB) can be estimated as a function of the geometry of the structures and of the cosmological evolution of the sources emitting in the X-ray band (2–10 keV) for different universes (₀1). If the XRB comes mostly from AGNs with low luminosity (L _X <10⁴³ erg s^–1 and, therefore, they will have a weak cosmological evolution) and we consider the difference between the intensities coming from both hemispheres (that oriented toward the direction of our motion and the opposite one) obtained by means of different satellites, we can conclude that some candidates are highly unlikely.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain