The role of gravitational supernovae in the Galactic evolution of the Li, Be and B isotopes

The observed Be and B relationships with metallicity clearly support the idea that both elements have a primary origin and that they are produced by the same class of objects. Spallation by particles accelerated during gravitational supernova events (SNII, SNIb/c) seems to be a likely origin. We show, in the context of a model of chemical evolution, that it is possible to solve the Li, Be and B abundance puzzle with the yields recently proposed by Ramaty et al., provided that SNII are unable to accelerate helium nuclei significantly and that different mechanisms are allowed to act simultaneously.     

Activity-composition relationship in Tschermak's substituted Fe biotites at 700°C, 2 kbar

The reaction-displacement technique was applied to the end-member reaction annite = sanidine + magnetite + H₂ in order to determine the activity of the annite component (a _Ann) in iron biotites with variable degrees of the Tschermak's substitution (^[6]Fe + ^[4]Si = ^[6]Al + ^[4]Al). Based on the simplified relation a _Ann = f _{H 2}/foH₂ (foH₂ = hydrogen fugacity of the end-member reaction at P, T), two types of experiments were performed at 700°C / 2 kbar: Type I used Fe-Al biotites of known starting composition together with sanidine + magnetite + H₂O. This assemblage was exposed to various f _{H 2} conditions (f _{H 2} < foH₂) produced in the pressure vessel either by using different ratios of water/oil as pressure medium (f _{H 2} in this case was measured by the hydrogen sensor technique), or by the Ni′NiO buffer. The composition of the Fe-Al biotites changed through incorporation or release of the annite component in response to the externally imposed f _{H 2}. By using opposite biotite starting compositions, the equilibrium composition as a function of f _H2 was bracketed. For type II, f _{H 2} in equilibrium with a specific combination of fine-grained Fe-Al biotite (+ sanidine + magnetite + H₂O) was measured internally by application of the hydrogen sensor technique. Both type I and type II experiments yield consistent results demonstrating that a fine-grained assemblage of Fe-Al biotite (+ sanidine + magnetite + H₂O) is able to act as a sliding-scale buffer. The final chemical composition of the Fe-Al biotite after the experiments was determined by electron microprobe and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The ^[4]Al and ^[6]Al in the biotites are coupled according to the Tschermak's substitution. In the tetrahedral sheet 0.1 Al-atoms per formula unit are present in excess to the amount required to balance ^[6]Al, and all Fe-Al biotites contain 8–10% Fe³⁺. Therefore, they are not members of the pure annite - siderophyllite join, but have an almost constant amount (15 Mol%) of two additional Fe³⁺-bearing components (ferri-siderophyllite and a vacancy end-member). The volume - composition relationship obtained does not indicate excess molar volumes of mixing for the annite (Ann) - siderophyllite (Sid) binary. The data are consistent with a molar volume of annite of 15.46 ± 0.02 Jbar^–1 and of 15.06 ± 0.02 Jbar^–1 for siderophyllite. The experimentally determined activity - composition relation shows that biotites on the join annite - siderophyllite deviate negatively from ideality. A symmetric interaction parameter W_AnnSid is sufficient to represent the data within error. This was constrained as: W _AnnSid = –29 ± 4 kJmol^–1. This is in contradiction to empirical interaction parameters derived from natural assemblages for this binary that predict positive deviation from ideality. Reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.     

A GIS-Based Multivariate Statistical Analysis for Shallow Landslide Susceptibility Mapping in La Pobla de Lillet Area (Eastern Pyrenees,Spain)

This paper presents a GIS-aided procedure for shallow landslide susceptibility mapping at a regional scale. Most of the input data for the susceptibility assessment have been captured automatically. A total of 13 parameters, related to the slope geometry, have been derived from the digital elevation model (DEM) while vegetation cover and thickness of superficial formations have been obtained from photointerpretation and field work. The susceptibility assessment is based on multivariate statistical techniques (discriminant analysis), which hasbeen tested in a pilot area in La Pobla de Lillet (Eastern Pyreenes, Spain). Theresults obtained using a random sample show that 82% of all the cells, and 90% of cells including slope failures, have been properly classified. A susceptibility map based on the discriminant function has given consistent results. The susceptibilityassessment is very sensitive to the parameters selected. Compared to thetraditional methods, the main advantage of the GIS-aided procedure is the rapidityprovided by the automatic capture of parameters. It also has the capability of coveringlarge areas, and the objectivity and reproducibility of the results. The main drawbackis that, at present, not all regions have DEM accurate enough to cope with small landslides.     

Climate variability and ecosystem dynamics of remote alpine and arctic lakes: the MOLAR project

This paper introduces the results of an integrated project designed to compare high resolution analysis of proxy records of climate change in the sediments of seven mountain lakes across Europe with reconstructed instrumental records of climate change over the last 200 years. Palaeolimnological methods used include radiometric dating (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs), mineral magnetics, dry weight, loss-on-ignition, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, pigments, diatoms, chrysophyte cysts, cladocera and chironomids. Changes in fossil assemblages were summarised using principal components analysis. The stratigraphic data were compared with the instrumental record using linear regression techniques. The dated sediment records for each proxy from each site were treated as the response variables and the various attributes of the instrumental climate record as the predictor variables. The predictor variables were generated for each site for the period 1781 to 1997 using temperature reconstructions based on meteorological records. To harmonise the climatic predictors and the response variables, the climatic variables were smoothed along time with a LOESS regression. The results of the various analyses at the seven sites are presented in the following papers. A synthesis of the project and the relative performance of the different proxy methods are discussed in the final paper.     

Diatom species variation between lake habitats: implications for interpretation of paleolimnological records

A sample of a sediment record contains diatom species that have grown in disparate habitats and eventually accumulated in a deep part of the lake. The original habitats may differ in substrate, depth location, and availability of resources. Identifying the species characteristic of each habitat should improve our ecological and environmental interpretation of the sediment record by distinguishing habitat specific responses. With this aim, we studied the benthic diatom communities of a deep oligotrophic lake across several habitats. The main source of variation in the diatom composition was the substrate type; particularly, sediment biofilms. Depth was the second factor. The thermocline defined a shift in diatom communities that also included changes in the dominant lifeforms. A third factor was the mesoscale heterogeneity (i.e., rock sides). Although most species were present in many habitats, characteristic species were identified for all the main habitats and used for an improved interpretation of the deep sediment record. Appropriate standardization showed increasing species richness and diversity from epilimnetic epilithic samples to hypolimnetic sediment samples. We estimate that more than 5000 valve counts are required for appropriate comparisons. Consequently, in sediment records with lower counts per sample, one has to amalgamate samples—losing temporal resolution—to achieve reliable analyses of diversity changes over time. Deep sediment samples are representative of the gamma-diversity of the lake diatom metacommunity, which result from the local alpha diversity of the habitats and the beta-diversity of the variability in composition among them. This double source of diversity has to be taken into account when using the sediment record for estimating lake biodiversity changes. On the other hand, we show that an estimation of the spatial (habitat) heterogeneity of a reconstructed environmental variable can be achieved using subsets of species characteristic of each habitat. We demonstrate the procedure by reconstructing the pH fluctuations during the last 200 years in several habitats from a single sediment record. The results are coherent with the expected differences between predominantly trophogenic or tropholithic habitats.     

An operational forecasting system for physical processes in the Santos-Sao Vicente-Bertioga Estuarine System,Southeast Brazil

Ocean Dynamics - We describe the design, implementation, and performance of a fully automated Santos Operational Forecasting System (SOFS), built to monitor and predict short-term (&lt; 3 days)...     

Estimates of Horizontal Groundwater Flow Velocities in Boreholes

Currently, monitoring tools can be deployed in observation boreholes to better assess groundwater flow, flux of dissolved contaminants and their mass discharge in an aquifer. The relationship between horizontal water velocity in observation boreholes and Darcy fluxes in the surrounding aquifer has been studied for natural flow conditions (i.e., no pumping). Interpretation of measurements taken with dilution tests, the colloidal borescope, the Heat Pulse Flowmeter, and other techniques require the conversion of observed borehole velocity u to aquifer Darcy flux q_∞ . This conversion is typically done through a proportionality factor α = u/q_∞ . In experimental studies as well as in theoretical developments, reported values of α vary almost three orders of magnitude (from 0.5 to 10). This large variability in reported values of α could be explained by: (1) unclear distinction between Darcy flux and water seepage velocity, (2) unclear definition of water velocity in the borehole, (3) effects of well screen and the presence of the measurement device itself on the observable velocities, and (4) hydraulic conditions in the borehole annulus. We address (1), (2) from a conceptual/theoretical perspective, and (3) by means of numerical simulations. We show that issue (1) in low porosity aquifers can yield to order-of-magnitude discrepancies in estimates of q_∞ ; (2) may result in discrepancies of up to 50%, and (3) can cause differences up to 20% of water velocity in the borehole void space compared to the theoretical case of an open borehole.     

Particle fluxes dynamics in Blanes submarine canyon (Northwestern Mediterranean)

Within the framework of the multidisciplinary RECS project and with the aim of describing the particle flux transfer from the continental shelf to the deep basin, an array of five mooring lines equipped with a total of five pairs of PPS3/3 sequential-sampling sediment traps and RCM-7/8 current meters were deployed 30 m above the bottom from March 2003 to March 2004 inside and outside the Blanes Canyon. One mooring line was located in the upper canyon at 600 m depth, one in the canyon axis at 1700 m depth and other two close to the canyon walls at 900 m depth. A fifth mooring line was deployed in the continental open slope at 1500 m water depth.The highest near-bottom downward particle flux (14.50 g m⁻² d⁻¹) was recorded at the trap located in the upper canyon (M1), where continental inputs associated with the presence of the Tordera River are most relevant. On the other hand, the downward fluxes (4.35 g m⁻² d⁻¹) in the canyon axis (M2) were of the same order as those found in the western flank (M3) of the canyon. Both values were clearly higher than the value (1.95 g m⁻² d⁻¹) recorded at the eastern canyon wall (M4). The open slope (M5) mass flux (5.42 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) recorded by the sediment trap located outside the canyon system was three orders of magnitude lower than the other values registered by the inner canyon stations. The relevance of our data is that it explains how the transport pathway in the canyon occurs through its western flank, where a more active and persistent current toward the open ocean was recorded over the entire year of the experiment.Off-shelf sediment transport along the canyon axis showed clear differences during the period of the study, with some important events leading to strong intensifications of the current coupled with large transport of particle fluxes to the deepest parts of the canyon. Such events are primarily related to increases in river discharge and the occurrence of strong storms and cascading events during the winter.In summary, in this study it is shown that the dynamics of the water masses and the currents in the study area convert the sharp western flank of the Blanes Canyon in a more active region that favors erosion processes than the eastern flank, which has a smoother topography and where the absence of erosional conditions yields to steadier sedimentary processes.