Packrat middens from Canyon de Chelly,northeastern Arizona: Paleoecological and archaeological implications

In western North America, pollen data from highland lakes are often used to reconstruct vegetation on the adjacent lowlands. Plant macrofossils and pollen from packrat middens now provide a means to evaluate such reconstructions. On the basis of pollen diagrams from the Chuska Mountains, H. E. Wright, Jr., A. M. Bent, B. S. Hansen, and L. J. Maher, Jr., ((1973), Geological Society of America Bulletin, 84, 1155–1180) arrived at conservative estimates for late Pleistocene depression of highland conifers. In their interpretation, a proposed slight depression of 500 m for lower tree line precluded expansion of Pinus ponderosa into elevations now in desertscrub. Instead, it was suggested that pinyon pine and Artemisia occupied the lowland plateaus. Packrat midden records on either side of the Chuskas fail to verify this model. Early Holocene middens from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and a terminal Pleistocene midden from Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, show that blue spruce, limber pine, Douglas fir, dwarf juniper, and Rocky Mountain juniper expanded at least down to 1770 m elevation Neither Colorado pinyon nor ponderosa pine was found as macrofossils in the middens. Artemisia pollen percentages are high in the terminal Pleistocene midden, as they are in the Chuska Mountain pollen sequence, suggesting regional dominance by sagebrush steppe. Of 38 taxa identified, only 3 are shared by middens dated 11,900 and 3120 yr B.P. from Canyon de Chelly, indicating a nearly complete turnover in the flora between the late Pleistocene and late Holocene. Although corn was previously thought to have been introduced to the Colorado plateaus after 2200 yr B.P., the midden dated 3120 yr B.P. contains pollen of corn and other indicators of incipient agriculture.     

Neoproterozoic zirconium-depleted boninite and tholeiitic series rocks from Adola, southern Ethiopia

In Adola, southern Ethiopia, mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks occur in narrow, 4–10 km wide, north-south-trending belts bounded by high-grade gneisses and migmatites. The mafic/ultramafic rocks are complexly deformed and metamorphosed in greenschist to lower amphibolite facies and are thought to be tectonically dismembered parts of an ophiolite complex. Preliminary geochemical and geochronological data highlight that the high-grade rocks in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya include a significant portion of juvenile rocks that were accreted at the same time as ophiolitic rocks at 885-765 Ma. This is also the time of widespread oceanic magmatism and closure in the Arabian-Nubian Shield to the north.The Adola mafic rocks were previously described as island arc tholeiites and mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). New chemical analyses on the Megado belt rocks reveal the presence of boninites and related dacites interspersed with tholeiitic rocks. The Adola boninites are similar to the Cambrian boninites in western Tasmania in having relatively low Zr/Sm (≤32). Boninites with similarly low ratios have not been reported from elsewhere.The Adola tholeiites have high Ti/Zr (150–300). Mixing between tholeiite and boninite magmas may have resulted in elevated Ti/Zr (80–126) in some Adola boninites. Otherwise, Ti/Zr in the latter is low (20–40). Low Ti/Zr is characteristic of Tertiary boninites in the west Pacific. The fact that both Ti/Eu and Zr/Sm increase from the Adola and Tasmania type to the Tertiary boninites at constant Ti/Zr suggests that Ti might be an element that is also metasomatically added to the source of boninites and raises doubts about the role of amphibole in boninite petrogenesis.     

End-states of short-period comets and their role in maintaining the zodiacal dust cloud

Physical lifetimes and end-states of short-period comets are analysed in connection with the problem of the maintainance of the zodiacal dust cloud. In particular, the problem of the comet-asteroid relationship is addressed. Recent studies of the physical properties of Apollo-Amor asteroids and short-period comets (e.g., Hartmann et al., 1987) show significant differences between them, suggesting that they are distinct classes of objects. A few percent of the active SP comets might become asteroidal-like bodies in comet-type orbits due to the buildup of dust mantles. The remainder probably disintegrate as they consume their volatile content so their debris can only be observed as fireballs when they meet the Earth. Unobservable faint SP comets — i.e., comets so small (m 10¹⁴ g) that quickly disintegrate before being detected, might be a complementary source of dust material. They might be completely sublimated even at rather large heliocentric distances (r - 3 AU). Yet the released dust grains can reach the vicinity of the Sun by Poynting-Robertson drag. The mass associated with unobservable SP comets with perihelion distances q 3 AU might be comparable to that computed for the sample of observed SP co-mets with q 1.5 AU. It is concluded that SP comets (from the large to the unobservable small ones) may supply an average of several tons/sec of meteoric matter to the zodiacal dust cloud.     

Model for the Processing and Estimation of Dual Frequency Echo Sounder Observations in Detailed Bathymetries

The dataset acquired by an echo sounder generally comprises outliers and erroneous measurements which must be automatically processed. The main aim of this research is the development and validation of an algorithm which permits detecting outliers, estimating their real value from data acquired with a multifrequency echo sounder, and verifying the measure according to the desired accuracy. The process considers the nature of the seabed and improves the density and number of lectures without globally compromising the precision, but enhancing it in areas with anomalous measurements. Twenty-nine percent of this type of measurements, which would have been otherwise rejected, have been estimated.     

Improving hydrogeological understanding through well-test interpretation by diagnostic plot and modelling: a case study in an alluvial aquifer in France

Hydrogeology Journal - The study of groundwater resources using pumping test data is usually carried out with the Theis solution, which enables the hydraulic parameters of porous aquifers such as...     

A seismicity revision and a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment using the Monte Carlo approach for the Canary Islands (Spain)

Natural Hazards - This study consists of a seismicity revision and the assessment of the probabilistic seismic hazard of the Canary Islands. In order to analyze its seismotectonics and associated...     

Comparative hydrology: analysis of a semiarid and a humid tropical watershed

This paper analyses measured data from two small tropical watersheds: one in a semiarid (Aiuaba, Brazil, 12·0 km², 5 years of measurements) and another in a humid environment (Jaruco, Cuba, 43·5 km², 21 years of measurements). The watersheds are similar with respect to catchment area (tens of km²), potential evaporation (2·1–2·6 m year^?1), temperature (22–30 °C) and relief (mild hillslope steepness); but show considerable hydrological discrepancies: average precipitation in the humid watershed is two times higher; average river discharge (mm year^?1) is five times higher; and surface water availability (mm year^?1) is 14 times higher than in the semiarid watershed. Long‐term operation of hypothetical surface reservoirs in both basins is simulated. The analysis shows that 73% of the average river discharge are available (with 90% annual reliability) in the humid watershed, against only 28% in the semiarid. The main cause of this difference is the excess evaporation, which consumes 55% of the stored water in the semiarid reservoir, but only 12% in the humid one. The research concludes that: (1) although precipitation indicators are higher in the humid area, they are of the same order of magnitude as in the semiarid; and (2) fluvial‐regime and water‐availability variables are more than one order of magnitude higher in the humid basin, which shows a multiplication effect of these hydrological processes. Such major hydrological differences, despite the similarities between the two tropical watersheds, show the importance of further investigations in the field of comparative hydrology. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combined electromagnetic, geochemical and thermal surveys of Taal volcano (Philippines) during the period 2005–2006

Since 1572, 33 phreatic to phreatomagmatic eruptions have occurred on Taal volcano (Philippines), some of them causing several hundred casualties. Considering the time delay between two consecutive eruptions, there is an 88% probability that Taal volcano should have already erupted. Since 1992, several phases of seismic activity have been recorded accompanied by ground deformation, opening of fissures, and surface activity. The volcanic activity of Taal appears to be controlled by dike injections and magma supply, buffered by a hydrothermal system that releases fluids and heat through boiling and subsequent steaming. In early 2005, a multidisciplinary project was launched for studying the hydrothermal activity. To map the hydrothermal system, combined surveys were carried out to investigate self-potential, total magnetic field, ground temperature and carbon dioxide soil degassing, along with satellite thermal imaging of the Main Crater Lake. The elevated temperatures and high concentrations of carbon dioxide, as well as electromagnetic anomalies, indicate large-scale hydrothermal degassing. This process is enhanced along the tectonic features (e.g., crater rim and faults) of the volcano, while active fissures opened along the E–W northern flank during the 1992–1994 seismic activity. Heat and fluids from the hydrothermal system are essentially released in the northern part of the crater, which is bounded to the South by a suspected NW–SE fault along which seismicity seems to take place, and dikes are thought to be intruded. During the January 2005 surveys, a new seismic crisis started, and the felt earthquakes prompted spontaneous evacuation of hundreds of inhabitants living on the volcano. Repeated surveys show changes of self-potential, total magnetic field, and ground temperature with time, without any noticeable spatial enlargement. These observations suggest that the northern flank located between the crater rim and the 1992–1994 fissures is connected with a deep thermal source in Main crater and is reactivated during seismic crises. This sector could be subjected to flank failure.     

The effect of climate-change-related heat waves on mortality in Spain: uncertainties in health on a local scale

Different epidemiological studies have shown that high temperatures are directly related to mortality, furthermore many studies on the effects of climate change on future mortality are being conducted. The objective of this study is to estimate the effect of extreme hot temperatures on daily mortality in Zaragoza (Spain) from 2014 to 2021, utilising various climate-change scenarios. The relationship between temperature and mortality is defined by the concepts of heat wave, threshold temperature and the relative risk of daily deaths according to extreme temperatures in 1987–2006 period. The effect on future mortality is projected by estimating deaths attributable to extreme temperatures in 2014–2021. This estimation was calculated utilising exposure–response functions for three scenarios (A1B, A2 and B1) from the ECHAM5 general circulation model after applying a statistical downscaling technique. Because this study considers the effect of rising temperatures from a health perspective, minimising uncertainty was added to the numerical values obtained from the projected future relation between temperature and mortality. The results shows that expected mortality in Zaragoza will increase by 0.4 % for the period 2014–2021, an excess that can be directly attributed to extreme temperatures. This effect is expected to increase in the 2040s and 2050s until the end of the twenty first century because of a predicted increase in temperatures over this period, with special emphasis on the need to continue studying this line of inquiry and local studies as which arises. Finally, this study will luckily be used to create prevention plans for minimising the effect on health of the high temperatures.