The Colider and Roosevelt Volcanic rocks (sw amazonian craton): geochemistry and sm-nd isotope characteristics of a silicic large igneous province

The volcanic rocks of the Colíder and Roosevelt formations are extensively exposed in the south-central portion of the Amazonian Craton where effusive and pyroclastic rocks have been mapped. Both units, topped by chemical sediments and oceanic facies as rhyolite and andesite lavas, rhyodacite, and porphyritic dacite, with frequent intercalations of pyroclastic and epiclastic deposits. Whole-rock geochemistry for 55 samples of rhyolitic to andesitic composition suggests the involvement of fertile mantle-derived components with E-MORB to OIB compositions. The analyzed rocks display calc-alkaline to shoshonitic affinity consistent with generation related to an active continental margin. The whole-rock Sm-Nd isotope data from selected felsic volcanic rocks of the Colíder and Roosevelt formations yield negative initial ε_Nd values between –3 and –9, indicating the predominantly crustal nature of the parental magmas with early Archean to late Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2.5–2.0 Ga) depleted mantle model ages.

     

A water retention model accounting for void ratio changes in double porosity clays

This paper presents a constitutive model that predicts the water retention behaviour of compacted clays with evolving bimodal pore size distributions. In line with previous research, the model differentiates between the water present inside the saturated pores of the clay aggregates (the microstructure) and the water present inside the pores between clay aggregates (the macrostructure). A new formulation is then introduced to account for the effect of the macrostructural porosity changes on the retention behaviour of the soil, which results in a consistent evolution of the air-entry value of suction with volumetric deformations. Data from wetting tests on three different active clays (i.e. MX-80 bentonite, FEBEX bentonite, and Boom clay), subjected to distinct mechanical restraints, were used to formulate, calibrate, and validate the proposed model. Results from free swelling tests were also modelled by using both the proposed double porosity model and a published single porosity model, which confirmed the improvement in the predictions of degree of saturation by the present approach. The proposed retention model might be applied, for example, to the simulation of the hydromechanical behaviour of engineered bentonite barriers in underground nuclear waste repositories, where compacted active clays are subjected to changes of both suction and porosity structure under restrained volume conditions.

     

Impacts of Wildlife on Agriculture: A Spatial-Based Analysis and Economic Assessment for Reducing Damage

Over the last few years, the impacts of wildlife on agriculture have constantly been growing, in particular in areas close to woodland and in hunting ban zones (“refuge effect”). Public administrations have difficulty in meeting the growing requests for crop damage compensation. The development of appropriate measures to control this trend—starting from the understanding of the dynamics concerned—is crucial. The aim of this study was, therefore, to analyze damage at regional scale and define common local actions. In particular, the study involved different steps that define a spatial-based classification of risk levels, integrating statistical methods (principal component analysis and receiver operating characteristic) with multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) in a geographic information system (GIS). It turns out that, in the study area, the very high-risk zones affect 8.83% of used agricultural areas; about 97% of them concentrated in the first 400 m from the most suitable habitats. A selected cluster of 11 test areas within these zones allowed us to assess the cost-effectiveness of integrated prevention and control actions (IPCA) with respect to the compensation of the damage. The analysis shows cost of IPCA to be nearly twice the actual cost incurred by the public administration to compensate partially the damage. The comparison with the estimated damage shows the overall economic convenience of the proposed investment with significant differences depending on the areas. Thus, we suggest reaching an “agro-ecological” balance starting from actions on specific areas; if they produce the desired effects, they could be progressively extended to other areas with gradual investments (adaptive management).

     

On-the-fly server-based aerial imagery management system

Aerial images are valuable products when dealing with both geospatial and geotemporal analysis. Nowadays, they are widely used for many different purposes and by an extensive public, including private companies, official administrations and individual users. Although in the past few years there has been an increasing interest in showing all kinds of geographical information on the World Wide Web, access to aerial imagery and its dissemination are still difficult and lack flexibility. This paper introduces an aerial imagery management system based on client–server principles, operated so as to allow users quick and efficient queries, processing and management of huge sets of photogrammetric imagery stored on raster servers. It is a novel product that is ready to provide image-based cartographic data available in public and private digital warehouses, facilitating all the required visualisations and queries, as well as geometric and radiometric processing on the fly. This paper shows the design, system architecture and various functionalities of the system in a real-life scenario.     

Low reproductive success for copepods during a bloom of the non‐aldehyde‐producing diatom Cerataulina pelagica in the North Adriatic Sea

Egg production rates and/or hatching success in the copepods Acartia clausi, Calanus helgolandicus and Temora longicornis were negatively affected by a late spring (May–June 2003) phytoplankton bloom in the North Adriatic Sea, dominated mainly by the large diatom Cerataulina pelagica. Highest total concentrations of 3.3·10⁴ cells·ml^?1 were located in the vicinity of the Po River, which also corresponded to the area where the highest numbers of phaeophorbides were measured (0.779, 0.528 and 0.419 μg·l^?1, respectively, compared to an average of the remaining stations of 0.183 ± 0.049 SD), suggesting some grazing on the bloom. Phytoplankton biomass in terms of carbon was dominated by diatoms, representing on average 42% of total phytoplankton carbon and more than 80% at several stations. Cerataulina pelagica, Cyclotella spp., Chaetoceros spp. and small unidentified centric diatoms dominated the diatom community numerically but C. pelagica was by far the dominant diatom in terms of carbon due to its large cell size. This species represented more than 60% of the diatom biomass at nine of the 14 stations sampled, and was absent only at one station, which was the most offshore station sampled during the cruise. Although polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs) were not detected, other oxylipins which are hydroxy and keto derivatives of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids that affect copepod reproduction were found in these samples. Hence, we can attribute the negative impact of diatoms not only to PUAs, as previously believed, but also to these compounds. This is the first direct evidence of the presence of oxylipins other than PUAs in marine blooms dominated by diatoms.     

Variations in the quantity and composition of seston from an estuary in southern Chile on different temporal scales

Estuaries are characterised by highly variable environmental conditions largely driven by tidal and atmospheric forces. This study investigates variation in the physical environment and the composition of the seston on various temporal scales in the Quempillén estuary, southern Chile. The water column was sampled throughout the tidal cycle at various times of the year. Total particulate matter, particulate inorganic matter, particulate organic matter, particle numbers, total particle volume, proximate biochemical composition and energy content of the seston, chlorophyll a and chloropigments were routinely measured. In each of the months in which sampling took place, two or three tidal cycles were examined. The information not only helps to explain the dynamics of the estuary, but is essential for an understanding of the physiology and ecology of the suspension-feeders which exploit the seston as a food source, the most dominant being the gastropod Crepipatella dilatata. Temperature and salinity were generally highest during summer, but seston quality, defined by energy content and biochemical composition (lipid, protein and carbohydrate) was higher at the end of winter and during spring. Chlorophyll a values were greatest in late spring (November). Many of the variables studied changed frequently according to the phase of the tidal cycle, and in several cases significant differences were observed among tidal cycles from the same month of the same year. In general the variables measured did not exhibit consistent patterns linked to the tidal cycle, possibly because any such patterns were masked by atmospheric conditions (wind and rain) that dominate the region and greatly influence the estuary. The quantity and quality of the seston available to suspension-feeders is largely determined by these atmospheric forces, which cause an influx of terrigenous material from adjacent areas and also resuspend bottom sediment. These effects are magnified by the shallowness of the estuary (<2 m depth). The food supply for C. dilatata and other suspension-feeders therefore varies on temporal scales varying from hourly (tidal cycle) to daily/weekly (atmospheric forces) to monthly (seasonal influences), but inhibition of feeding by low salinity sometimes limits the ability of C. dilatata to exploit fully the available organic matter.     

Magnetic properties of iron-rich oxisols

Four occurrences of highly magnetic soil in Brazil have been analysed with a view to identifying the magnetic minerals and quantifying the soil magnetization. Techniques used include X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and Mössbauer spectroscopy. This approach leads us to identify several ways that these soils, which have spontaneous magnetization in the range 1_s<35 j/t/kg,="" can="" come="">One soil, which forms on dolerite (19.6 wt% Fe₂O₃), is found to contain fully-oxidized titanomaghemite inherited from the parent rock. This oxide has a canted ferrimagnetic spin structure with _s=36 J/T/kg of sample. The three others, formed on very iron-rich rock (50–90 wt% Fe₂O₃), contain magnetite or maghemite as the magnetic species and in two cases the soil is more magnetic than the parent rock (largely composed of pure hematite).     

Surface Soil Effects Study Using Short-period Microtremor Observations in Almería City, Southern Spain

—?In Almería city large earthquakes occurred and many buildings were completely destroyed in these historical earthquakes. The actual population of Almería city is about 200,000 people. This population is rapidly increasing and new urbanizing areas are growing to the eastern part of the city where they are located in softer soil conditions. Consequently, the evaluation of surface soil conditions is very important from a standpoint of earthquake disaster mitigation. We have obtained a landform classification map developed by analysing aerial photos, large-scale topographic maps and 80 borehole data. Eleven unit areas, which have different soil conditions, were inferred from this research. Also, S-wave velocity prospecting tests were carried out at several sites within the city. The shear-velocity values of the ground vary from 1689?m/s in hard rock to 298?m/s in soft soil. These results are useful for understanding the uppermost soil characteristics and are used for soil classification. Finally, short-period microtremor observations were densely carried out in the research area and NAKAMURA's method (1989) was applied for determining predominant periods. Microtremors were observed at about 173 sites with mainly 400?m interval in rock sites and 200?m interval in relatively soft soil sites. From the result of these microtremor measurements, the predominant period determined at rock site, in the western part of the city and historic area, is very short, about 0.1?s, and very stable. However at soft soil sites, in the center of the city, near Zapillo Beach and in the newly developed urban area, the predominant period is about 1.0?s and even larger in concordance with the geological conditions. Finally, at medium soil sites, in the eastern part of the city, the predominant period is about 0.4?s and it appears very stable in the whole region. The difference of predominant periods between hard rock and soft soil sites is very clear and it has been observed that the distribution of predominant periods depends heavily on the surface soil conditions.     

Andean evolution at the Guañacos and Chos Malal fold and thrust belts (36°30′–37°s)

The Andes between 36°30′ and 37°S represent a Cretaceous fold and thrust belt strongly reactivated in the late Miocene. Most of the features that absorbed Neogene shortening were already uplifted in the late Cretaceous, as revealed by field mapping and confirmed by previous fission track analysis. This Andean section is formed by two sectors: a western-inner sector generated by the closure of the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene intra-arc Cura Mallín basin between the middle and late Miocene (Guañacos fold and thrust belt), and an eastern-outer sector, where late Triassic-early Jurassic extensional depocenters were exhumed in two discrete phases of contraction, in the latest early Cretaceous and late Miocene to the Present, respectively (Chos Malal fold and thrust belt). Late Miocene deformation has not homogeneously reactivated Cretaceous compressive structures, being minimal south of 37°30′S through the eastern-outer sector (southern continuation of the Chos Malal fold and thrust belt). The reason for such an inhomogeneous deformational evolution seems to be related to the development of a late Miocene shallow subduction regime between 34°30′ and 37°45′S, as it was proposed in previous studies. This shallow subduction zone is evidenced by the eastward expansion of the arc that was accompanied by the eastern displacement of the orogenic front at these latitudes. As a result, the Cretaceous fold and thrust belt were strongly reactivated north of 37°30′S producing the major topographic break along the Southern Central Andes.