Determination of the 3D structure of an earthflow by geophysical methods: The case of Super Sauze, in the French southern Alps

In order to evaluate the risk associated by an earthflow to abruptly evolve into a torrential flow, the knowledge of its internal structure is necessary. Geotechnical methods are important to reach this goal. However, because of the rough topography associated with earthflows, their surface heterogeneities, and the spatial variations of the thickness of the potentially moving mass, non-intrusive geophysical methods offer a very useful tool that complements traditional geotechnical methods. We report the results of a comprehensive study covering a 150 m by 200 m area of the Super Sauze earthflow. This earthflow developed in black marls in the southern French Alps. Shallow electrical conductivity investigations, derived using low frequency domain electromagnetics, maps hidden gullies and crests and lateral variations of the clay and the water content within the first 5 m below the ground surface. Electrical resistivity tomography allows to extrapolate this information down to 10 m below the ground surface along selected transects. The vertical structure of the earthflow, down to the substratum, is defined precisely thanks to joint inversion of DC and TDEM vertical soundings along one profile: the flowing upper layer and the position of the substratum are clearly evidenced. Combining this geophysical datasets with geotechnical tests and drill holes, we provide an estimate of both the location and the volume of the potentially most dangerous areas of the earthflow.     

Bathymetric distribution patterns of Southern Ocean macrofaunal taxa: Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Isopoda and Polychaeta

The aim of this study is to compare the depth distributions of four major Southern Ocean macrobenthic epi- and infaunal taxa, the Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Isopoda, and Polychaeta, from subtidal to abyssal depth. All literature data up to summer 2008, as well as the unpublished data from the most recent ANDEEP I–III (Antarctic benthic deep-sea biodiversity: colonisation history and recent community patterns) expeditions to the Southern Ocean deep sea are included in the analysis. Benthic invertebrates in the Southern Ocean are known for their wide bathymetric ranges. We analysed the distributions of four of the most abundant and species-rich taxa from intertidal to abyssal (5200 m) depths in depth zones of 100 m. The depth distributions of three macrofaunal classes (Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Polychaeta) and one order (Isopoda) showed distinct differences. In the case of bivalves, gastropods and polychaetes, the number of species per depth zone decreased from the shelf to the slope at around 1000 m depth and then showed stable low numbers. The isopods showed the opposite trend; they were less species rich in the upper 1000 m but increased in species numbers from the slope to bathyal and abyssal depths. Depth ranges of families of the studied taxa (Bivalvia: 31 families, Gastropoda: 60, Isopoda: 32, and Polychaeta: 46 families) were compiled and illustrated. At present vast areas of the deep sea in the Southern Ocean remain unexplored and species accumulation curves showed that only a fraction of the species have been discovered to date. We anticipate that further investigations will greatly increase the number of species known in the Southern Ocean deep sea.     

Slow crack growth in minerals and rocks: Theory and experiments

Strength and mechanical behavior of rocks and minerals are modified by aqueous environments. This results in two effects: mechanical and chemical. The chemical effect is investigated from both a theoretical and an experimental point of view. It is shown that a thermodynamic approach leads to a satisfactory understanding of the chemical effect through an extended griffith concept. Predictions of the model have been tested using slow crack growth experiments. The experiments have been performed with a special Double Torsion apparatus which was built for this purpose. The good agreement observed between theory and experiments suggests that subcritical crack growth in rocks is controlled by adsorption onto the crack tip. This result was previously suggested by other authors (Dunning et al., 1984). However, the important consequences of the model are that (1) there should exist a threshold stress below which subcritical crack growth stops, and this threshold depends on the environment; (2) subcritical crack growth and time-dependent phenomena could take place in the crust in a stress interval which could be as high as 50% of the rupture stress.     

Rock conductivity and fractal nature of porosity

While the d.c. electrical properties of a rock, through the volume conductivity, provide information on pore space structure (Formation factor) and pore fluid, the frequency dependence of the electrical parameters allows the characterization of the pore-matrix interfaces. To illustrate these properties, we present here some results of measurements performed on sedimentary rocks (Vosges and Fontainebleau sandstones). These samples have a classical electrical response, i.e. a ‘Cole and Cole’ frequency behaviour near a certain relaxation frequency and a low-frequency dispersion. We discuss some of the models that have been proposed in the past to explain this behaviour. It appears that most of them are valid near and above the relaxation frequency, but only Dissado and Hill's model seems to be satisfactory over the whole frequency range. The fractal nature of the interfaces, assumed in two of these models but appropriate only for one of them, could also be a convenient explanation for the frequency dependence.     

Intraurban variability of PM10 and PM2.5 in an Eastern Mediterranean city

The results of the first large scale chemical characterization of PM10 and PM2.5 at three different sites in the urban city of Beirut, Lebanon, are presented. Between May 2009 and April 2010 a total of 304 PM10 and PM2.5 samples were collected by sampling every sixth day at three different sites in Beirut. Observed mass concentrations varied between 19.7 and 521.2 μg m^? 3 for PM10 and between 8.4 and 72.2 μg m^? 3 for PM2.5, respectively. Inorganic concentrations accounted for 29.7–35.6 μg m^? 3 and 46.0–53.5 μg m^? 3 of the total mass of PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. Intra-city temporal and spatial variations were assessed based on the study of three factors: correlation coefficients (R) for PM and chemical components, coefficient of divergence (CODs), and source apportionment using positive matrix factorization (PMF). Based on R and COD of PM concentrations, the three sites appear homogeneous. However, when individual elements were compared, heterogeneity among sites was found. This latter was attributed to the variability in the percent contribution of biogenic and local anthropogenic source factors such as traffic related sources and dust resuspension. Other factors included the proximity to the Mediterranean sea, the population density and the topographical structure of the city. Hence, despite its small size (20.8 km²), one PM monitoring site does not reflect an accurate PM level in Beirut.     

Geophysical Study of the Valle Fértil Lineament Between 28°45′S and 31°30′S: Boundary Between the Cuyania and Pampia Terranes

A gravimetric and magnetometric study was carried out in the north-eastern portion of the Cuyania terrane and adjacent Pampia terrane. Gravimetric models permitted to interpret the occurrence of dense materials at the suture zone between the latter terranes. Magnetometric models led to propose the existence of different susceptibilities on either side of the suture. The Curie temperature point depth, representing the lower boundary of the magnetised crust, was found to be located at 25 km, consistent with the lower limit of the brittle crust delineated by seismic data; this unusually thick portion of the crust is thought to release stress producing significant seismicity.

Moho depths determined from seismic studies near western Sierras Pampeanas are significantly greater than those obtained from gravimetric crustal models.

Considering mass and gravity changes originated by the flat-slab Nazca plate along Cuyania and western Pampia terranes, it is possible to reconcile Moho thickness obtained either by seismic or by gravity data. Thus, topography and crustal thickness are controlled not only by erosion and shortening but by upper mantle heterogeneities produced by: (a) the oceanic subducted Nazca plate with “normal slope” also including asthenospheric materials between both continental and oceanic lithospheres; (b) flat-slab subducted Nazca plate (as shown in this work) without significant asthenospheric materials between both lithospheres. These changes influence the relationship between topographic altitudes and crustal thickness in different ways, differing from the simple Airy system relationship and modifying the crustal scale shortening calculation. These changes are significantly enlarged in the study area. Future changes in Nazca Plate slope will produce changes in the isostatic balance.     

Geodetic control on recent tectonic movements in the central Mediterranean area

During the Neogene and Quaternary, the western Mediterranean geodynamics was apparently dominated by the nearly eastward migration of the Apenninic arc and the associated opening (spreading) of the back-arc basin (Tyrrhenian Sea). However, during the last 5 My, the collision of the arc with the Apulian platform led to a dramatic change in the tectonic setting of the area. As geological processes require a long period of time to register the displacements of the different blocks, it is indispensable to take into account the present-day motion given by space geodesy data analysis in order to better constrain the geological models.Geodetic motions were derived from Global Positioning System (GPS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations collected from different networks. All the geodetic solutions have been computed and combined at the Centre of Space Geodesy (CGS), at Matera, Italy.The geodetic results show a NNE motion of the Adriatic plate with a small component of counter-clockwise rotation, in good agreement with the geological and geophysical observations.In the southern Tyrrhenian area, the lengthening of the Matera–Cagliari baseline should imply that convergence cannot be considered as the driving mechanism for the Apenninic subduction process. The estimated motion of Noto is in quite good agreement with the estimated motion of the African plate.     

The macrozoobenthos of the Karavasta lagoon system (Albania): local assemblages and geographical comparisons

The macrozoobenthic assemblage from the Karavasta lagoon system, the main wetland of Albania, was studied on soft bottoms and artificial hard substrates. Three different communities were identified: the typical ‘brackish‐water community’, an ‘outlet community’ dominated by filter‐feeders, and a typical ‘marine community’, inhabiting fine sandy bottoms, where polychaetes are dominant, together with a few species of tunicates and bivalves, which colonize hard substrates. The occurrence of build‐ups of the bryozoan Conopeum seurati, settled on the upper portion of long submerged wooden poles, was the main feature of faunistic interest. The faunistic affinity between the zoobenthic assemblage recorded in the hyperhaline lagoon of Karavasta and the assemblages from two Italian lagoons, the brackish Lake of Lesina and the euhaline Lake of Fogliano, was considered according to the different hydrological conditions and the geographical location. Hydrological confinement and salinity were likely to be the leading factors influencing the benthic community composition in the Karavasta wetland area. Therefore, on a vaster spatial scale, the isolation and geographical proximity of the ecosystems and colonizing ability and dispersal changes of the species appear to be the main factors liable to produce faunal variations.