A regional water balance indicator inferred from satellite images of an Andean endorheic basin in central-western Argentina

In the Central Andes of Argentina (30–37°S), snowmelt is the main source of freshwater, an essential natural resource for ~2.2 million people in the adjacent arid lowlands. In this region, Laguna Llancanelo collects the water inputs from the Malargüe endorheic basin. Previous studies concerning the annual and intra-annual variations of this lagoon and its relationship with regional climate are rare. We obtained a monthly record for the Laguna Llancanelo area (LLA, 1984–2013) using the modified normalized difference water index derived from Landsat images. Monthly LLA ranges between 35 km² and 411 km² and is significantly related to variations of the Río Malargüe, the main snow-fed tributary to the lagoon. There is no long-term relationship between LLA and local rainfall, but rapid increases in LLA result from heavy rainfall around the lagoon. Conversely, rapid reductions in LLA encompass periods with both reduced discharge from the Río Malargüe and low local rainfall. The LLA integrates moisture of both Pacific (snowfall in the upper Andes) and Atlantic (lowland rainfall) origins; therefore, we propose using LLA as an indicator of regional water balance.     

An alternative method for calculation of Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocities by using three-component records on a single circular array without a central station

A method for the computation of phase velocities of surface waves from microtremor waveforms is shown. The technique starts from simultaneous three-component records obtained in a circular array without a central station. Then, Fourier spectra of vertical, radial and tangential components of motion are calculated for each station and considered as complex-valuated functions of the azimuthal coordinate. A couple of intermediate real physical quantities, B and C , can be defined from the 0- and ±1-order coefficients of the Fourier series expansion of such functions. Finally, phase velocities of Rayleigh and Love waves can be retrieved from B and C by solving respective one-unknown equations. The basic assumption is the possibility of expanding the wavefield as a sum of plane surface waves with Rayleigh and Love wavenumbers being univocal functions of the circular frequency. The method is tested in synthetic ambient noise wavefields confirming its reliability and robustness for passive seismic surveying.     

Temporal correlations and clustering of landslides

This paper examines temporal correlations and temporal clustering of a proxy historical landslide time series, 2255 reported landslides 1951–2002, for an area in the Emilia‐Romagna Region, Italy. Landslide intensity is measured by the number of reported landslides in a day (D_L) and in an ‘event’ (S_event) of consecutive days with landsliding. The non‐zero values in both time series D_L and S_event are unequally spaced in time, and have heavy‐tailed frequency‐size distributions. To examine temporal correlations, we use power‐spectral analysis (Lomb periodogram) and surrogate data analysis, confronting our original D_L and S_event time series with 1000 shuffled (uncorrelated) versions. We conclude that the landslide intensity series D_L has strong temporal correlations and S_event has likely temporal correlations. To examine temporal clustering in D_L and S_event, we consider extremes over different landslide intensity thresholds. We first examine the statistical distribution of interextreme occurrence times, τ, and find Weibull distributions with parameter γ << 1·0 [D_L] and γ < 1·0 [S_event]; thus D_L and S_event each have temporal correlations, but S_event to a lesser degree. We next examine correlations between successive interextreme occurrence times, τ. Using autocorrelation analysis applied to τ, combined with surrogate data analysis, we find for D_L linear correlations in τ, but for S_event inconclusive results. However, using Kendall's rank correlation analysis we find for both D_L and S_event the series of τ are strongly correlated. Finally, we apply Fano Factor analysis, finding for both D_L and S_event the timings of extremes over a given threshold exhibit a fractal structure and are clustered in time. In this paper, we provide a framework for examining time series where the non‐zero values are strongly unequally spaced and heavy‐tailed, particularly important in the Earth Sciences due to their common occurrence, and find that landslide intensity time series exhibit temporal correlations and clustering. Many landslide models currently are designed under the assumption that landslides are uncorrelated in time, which we show is false. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early angiosperm diversification: evidence from southern South America

In this report, we analyze the angiosperm fossil record (micro- and megafossil) from the central and southern basins of Argentina, southern South America, deposited between the late Barremian (128.3 Ma) to the end of the Coniacian (85.8 Ma). Based on this analysis, three major stages in the evolution of the angiosperms in the southernmost region of South America are established as follows: the late Barremian–Aptian, the latest Aptian-earliest Albian, and the middle Albian- Coniacian. The comparison between our fossil data set and those from Australia, North America, Asia and Europe suggest that the evolution and diversification of the angiosperms at mid and high latitudes in both hemispheres occurred roughly synchronously.     

Influence of fluid flow on the regional thermal field: results from 3D numerical modelling for the area of Brandenburg (North German Basin)

We analyse the effect of fluid flow on the recent thermal field for the Brandenburg region (North German Basin) which is strongly affected by salt structures. The basin fill is modified by a thick layer of mobilized salt (Zechstein, Upper Permian) that decouples the overburden from deeper parts of the lithosphere and is responsible for thermal anomalies since salt has a distinctly higher thermal conductivity than the surrounding sediments and is impermeable to fluid flow. Numerical simulations of coupled fluid flow and heat transfer are carried out to investigate the influence of fluid flow on the shallow temperature field above the Zechstein salt, based on the finite element method. A comparison of results from conductive and coupled modelling reveals that the temperature field down to the low-permeable Triassic Muschelkalk is influenced by fluids, where the shallow low-permeable Tertiary Rupelian-clay is absent. Overall cooling is induced by forced convective forces, the depth range of which is controlled by the communication pathways between the different aquifers. Moreover, buoyancy-induced effects are found in response to temperature-dependent differences in the fluid density where forced convective forces are weak. The range of influence is controlled by the thickness and the permeability of the permeable strata above the Triassic Muschelkalk. With increasing depth, thermal conduction mainly controls the short-wavelength pattern of the temperature distribution, whereas the long-wavelength pattern results from interaction between the highly conductive crust and low-conductive sediments. Our results provide generic implications for basins affected by salt tectonics.     

The high-pressure stability of chlorite and other hydrates in subduction mélanges: experiments in the system Cr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–MgO–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O

The solubility of chromium in chlorite as a function of pressure, temperature, and bulk composition was investigated in the system Cr₂O₃–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O, and its effect on phase relations evaluated. Three different compositions with X _Cr = Cr/(Cr + Al) = 0.075, 0.25, and 0.5 respectively, were investigated at 1.5–6.5 GPa, 650–900 °C. Cr-chlorite only occurs in the bulk composition with X _Cr = 0.075; otherwise, spinel and garnet are the major aluminous phases. In the experiments, Cr-chlorite coexists with enstatite up to 3.5 GPa, 800–850 °C, and with forsterite, pyrope, and spinel at higher pressure. At P > 5 GPa other hydrates occur: a Cr-bearing phase-HAPY (Mg_2.2Al_1.5Cr_0.1Si_1.1O₆(OH)₂) is stable in assemblage with pyrope, forsterite, and spinel; Mg-sursassite coexists at 6.0 GPa, 650 °C with forsterite and spinel and a new Cr-bearing phase, named 11.5 Å phase (Mg:Al:Si = 6.3:1.2:2.4) after the first diffraction peak observed in high-resolution X-ray diffraction pattern. Cr affects the stability of chlorite by shifting its breakdown reactions toward higher temperature, but Cr solubility at high pressure is reduced compared with the solubility observed in low-pressure occurrences in hydrothermal environments. Chromium partitions generally according to \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{spinel}}\) ? \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{opx}}\) > \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{chlorite}}\) ≥ \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{HAPY}}\) > \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{garnet}}\). At 5 GPa, 750 °C (bulk with X _Cr = 0.075) equilibrium values are \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{spinel}}\) = 0.27, \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{chlorite}}\) = 0.08, \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{garnet}}\) = 0.05; at 5.4 GPa, 720 °C \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{spinel}}\) = 0.33, \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{HAPY}}\) = 0.06, and \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{garnet}}\) = 0.04; and at 3.5 GPa, 850 °C \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{opx}}\) = 0.12 and \(X_{\text{Cr}}^{\text{chlorite}}\) = 0.07. Results on Cr–Al partitioning between spinel and garnet suggest that at low temperature the spinel- to garnet-peridotite transition has a negative slope of 0.5 GPa/100 °C. The formation of phase-HAPY, in assemblage with garnet and spinel, at pressures above chlorite breakdown, provides a viable mechanism to promote H₂O transport in metasomatized ultramafic mélanges of subduction channels.     

Metal fluxes to the sediments of the northern Venice Lagoon

Eighteen short cores were analyzed for major and trace metals (Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, Si, K, Ti, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr), ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and other sediment characteristics, so as to describe the chronology of pollution and calculate metal concentration factors and fluxes. Substantial evidence was found that trace metal profiles are influenced by anthropogenic sources and by changes in sediment composition. Only Zn presents concentrations (up to 13.1 μmol g⁻) and concentration factors (1.3 to 13.2) that can be attributed to heavy contamination. Pb, Cu and Ni, in this order, are less significant. The areal distribution of concentrations and inventories reflects the importance of direct sources, in particular the industrial area of Porto Marghera and the Dese river. The inventories of excess metals, above pre-industrial levels, were determined for each core and the three different parts of the study area, the amounts of Zn accumulated in sediments are 11.0 Mmol, 5.1 Mmol and 0.37 Mmol in the Campalto, S. Erasmo, and Palude di Cona areas, respectively. Ruxes were also calculated and compared with those suggested for the atmospheric delivery by Cochran et al. [(1995)b. Atmospheric fluxes of heavy metal contaminants to the Venice Lagoon, Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer Médit., 34, 136.], the atmospheric contribution is predominant or significant in many cases, especially at sites far from the major local inputs. Concentrations and fluxes show a significant increase in the anthropogenic metal supply starting from the second decade of this century, with maximum inputs in the period between the (1930)s and the (1970)s. At some stations a decrease in heavy metal contamination of surficial sediments was found and this could be ascribed to a reduced input of pollutants in recent years.     

Hybrid Inversion Method to Estimate Hydraulic Transmissivity by Combining Multiple-Point Statistics and a Direct Inversion Method

Inversion methods that rely on measurements of the hydraulic head h cannot capture the fine-scale variability of the hydraulic properties of an aquifer. This is particularly true for direct inversion methods, which have the further limitation of providing only deterministic results. On the other hand, stochastic simulation methods can reproduce the fine-scale heterogeneity but cannot directly incorporate information about the hydraulic gradient. In this work, a hybrid approach is proposed to join a direct inversion method (the comparison model method, CMM) and multiple-point statistics (MPS), for determination of a hydraulic transmissivity field T from a map of a reference hydraulic head \(h^\mathrm {(ref)}\) and a prior model of the heterogeneity (a training image). The hybrid approach was tested and compared with pure MPS and pure CMM approaches in a synthetic case study. Also, sensitivity analysis was performed to test the importance of the acceptance threshold \(\delta \), a simulation parameter that allows one to tune the influence of \(h^\mathrm {(ref)}\) on the final results. The transmissivity fields T obtained using the hybrid approach take into account information coming from the hydraulic gradient while simultaneously reproducing some of the fine-scale features provided by the training image. Furthermore, many realizations of T can be obtained thanks to the stochasticity of MPS. Nevertheless, it is not straightforward to exploit the correlation between the T maps provided by the CMM and the prior model introduced by the training image, because the former depends on the boundary conditions and flow settings. Another drawback is the growing number of simulation parameters introduced when combining two diverse methods. At the same time, this growing complexity opens new possibilities that deserve further investigation.