The state of water resources in major Mediterranean islands

This work analyses the state of water resources in six Mediterranean islands: Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Mallorca, Malta and Sicily. The analysis is focused on the prevailing social, economic and hydroclimatological characteristics of these islands in order to identify the main common features affecting water availability, demand and use. A detailed analysis of the state of water resources in all the considered islands has been carried out. A background of current conditions relating to freshwater availability, quality and use has been established. Different strategies to face water scarcity and enhance water quality in theislands have been assessed in a context of climate change which is a common threat. The identification of similar problems for all the islands highlights the importance of strengthening inter-islands co-operation in the field of sustainable water resources management.     

Seismic fragility of plasterboard partitions via in‐plane quasi‐static tests

The seismic damage of internal partitions may cause significant earthquake loss; this phenomenon is caused by (a) their tendency to exhibit damage for low demand levels and (b) the consequent loss of inventory and breakdown that their collapse can cause. Quasi‐static tests are performed on six 5‐m‐high plasterboard internal partitions, which represent typical partitions in industrial and commercial buildings in the European area. A steel test setup is designed to transfer the load, which is provided by the actuator, to the partition. The testing protocol provided by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 461 is adopted for the quasi‐static tests. The typical failure mode of the specimens is the buckling of a steel stud, which involves the boards that are attached to the buckled stud. The buckling failure usually concentrates across the plasterboard horizontal joints. A frictional behavior is exhibited for low demand levels, whereas a pinched behavior is shown for moderate‐to‐high demand levels. The interstory drift ratios required to reach a given damage limit state are evaluated using a predefined damage scheme. Based on the experimental data, the fragility curves for three different damage states (DS1, DS2, and DS3) are estimated. The fragility curve yields median interstory drift ratio values of 0.28%, 0.81%, and 2.05% and logarithmic standard deviations of 0.39, 0.42, and 0.46 for DS1, DS2, and DS3, respectively. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magma characterization of the Mexican volcanic belt (Mexico)

Over 330 bulk chemical analyses of rocks (Oligocene or Miocene to Recent) from the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB) have been compiled. These analyses all together represent a calc-alkaline sequence of continental margin type. The North-Eastern part of the Belt seems to overlap with another volcanic province, namely. Eastern Cordillera in which magmas are mostly of alkaline sequence. A model involving fractional crystallization as the principal mechanism is proposed for magma genesis in the MVB.     

Sliding fragility of block‐type non‐structural components. Part 2: Restrained components

This paper focuses on seismic vulnerability assessment of restrained block‐type non‐structural components under sliding response on the basis of seismic inputs specified by current seismic codes. The general representation of restrained equipment considered in this study consists of a rigid block restrained by four post‐tensioned, symmetrically arranged cables. Two sliding‐related failure modes are considered: restraint breakage and excessive absolute acceleration. Fragility analysis is proposed as an appropriate tool to evaluate these failure modes. Sample fragility curves developed through Monte‐Carlo simulations show that the restraint breakage limit state is sensitive to the parameters of the equation of motion. For instance, fragility estimates obtained without taking into account vertical base accelerations can be significantly unconservative for relatively large values of the coefficient of friction. In contrast, the excessive absolute acceleration limit state exhibits little sensitivity to the parameters of the equation of motion. Peak absolute acceleration response is almost always equal to or greater than the horizontal peak base acceleration. Representative results suggest that reasonable response estimates for blocks located at stories other than the ground in multistorey buildings can in general be obtained by simply scaling the ground acceleration to the peak acceleration at the corresponding storey. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental fate of fungicides and other current-use pesticides in a central California estuary

The current study documents the fate of current-use pesticides in an agriculturally-dominated central California coastal estuary by focusing on the occurrence in water, sediment and tissue of resident aquatic organisms. Three fungicides (azoxystrobin, boscalid, and pyraclostrobin), one herbicide (propyzamide) and two organophosphate insecticides (chlorpyrifos and diazinon) were detected frequently. Dissolved pesticide concentrations in the estuary corresponded to the timing of application while bed sediment pesticide concentrations correlated with the distance from potential sources. Fungicides and insecticides were detected frequently in fish and invertebrates collected near the mouth of the estuary and the contaminant profiles differed from the sediment and water collected. This is the first study to document the occurrence of many current-use pesticides, including fungicides, in tissue. Limited information is available on the uptake, accumulation and effects of current-use pesticides on non-target organisms. Additional data are needed to understand the impacts of pesticides, especially in small agriculturally-dominated estuaries.     

The concept of a equilibrium surface applied to particle sources and contaminant distributions in estuarine sediments

Studies have shown that many chemically-reactive contaminants become associated with fine particles in coastal waters and that the rate, patterns, and extent of contaminant accumulation within estuarine systems are extremely variable. In this paper, we briefly review our findings concerning the accumulation patterns of contaminants in several estuarine systems along the eastern coastline of the United States, and have applied a well-established concept in geology, that is “an equilibrium profile,” to explain the observed large variations in these patterns. We show that fine-particle deposition is the most important factor affecting contaminant accumulation in estuarine areas, and that accumulation patterns are governed by physical processes acting to establish or maintain a sediment surface in dynamic equilibrium with respect to sea level, river discharge, tidal currents, and wave activity. Net long-term particle and particle-associated contaminant accumulations are negliglible in areas where the sediment surface has attained “dynamic equilibrium” with the hydraulic regime. Contaminant, accumulation in these areas primarily occurs by the exchange of contaminant-poor sedimentary particles with contaminant-rich suspended particles during physical or biological mixing of the surface sediment. Virtually the entire estuarine particulate and contaminant load bypasses these “equilibrium” areas to accumulate at extremely rapid in relatively small areas that are temporally out of equilibriums as a result of natural processes or human activities. These relatively small areas serve as major sinks for particles from riverine and marine sources, and for biogenic carbon formed in situ within estuaries or on the inner shelf.     

泥石流危险性分区及其在泥石流减灾中的应用

泥石流是一种突发性山地灾害,至今尚缺乏准确有效的预报方法。减灾工程也只能对一定规模的泥石流起到防御作用。泥石流危险性分区在泥石流减灾中具有重要作用。以泥石流运动数值模拟为基础,以数值模拟获得的流速和流深等参量为分区指标的危险性分区是泥石流危险性分区研究的重点和发展方向。其中,泥石流危险性动量和动能分区充分反映了泥石流的破坏能力,可以提供更为精确的定量化的分区结果。该类分区方法在城镇等有重要危害对象的泥石流减灾中具有广泛的应用。不仅可以应用于泥石流危险区和安全区的划定、泥石流灾害预估、泥石流临灾预案制定、泥石流抢险救灾方案制定和泥石流灾情评估等,还可以应用到山区土地利用规划、山区城镇建设规划和财产保险评估等领域,并起到防灾和减灾的作用。     

Post-collisional Tertiary–Quaternary mafic alkalic magmatism in the Carpathian–Pannonian region: a review

Mafic alkalic volcanism was widespread in the Carpathian–Pannonian region (CPR) between 11 and 0.2 Ma. It followed the Miocene continental collision of the Alcapa and Tisia blocks with the European plate, as subduction-related calc-alkaline magmatism was waning. Several groups of mafic alkalic rocks from different regions within the CPR have been distinguished on the basis of ages and/or trace-element compositions. Their trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope systematics are consistent with derivation from complex mantle-source regions, which included both depleted asthenosphere and metasomatized lithosphere. The mixing of DMM-HIMU-EMII mantle components within asthenosphere-derived magmas indicates variable contamination of the shallow asthenosphere and/or thermal boundary layer of the lithosphere by a HIMU-like component prior to and following the introduction of subduction components.Various mantle sources have been identified: Lower lithospheric mantle modified by several ancient asthenospheric enrichments (source A); Young asthenospheric plumes with OIB-like trace element signatures that are either isotopically enriched (source B) or variably depleted (source C); Old upper asthenosphere heterogeneously contaminated by DM-HIMU-EMII-EMI components and slightly influenced by Miocene subduction-related enrichment (source D); Old upper asthenosphere heterogeneously contaminated by DM-HIMU-EMII components and significantly influenced by Miocene subduction-related enrichment (source E). Melt generation was initiated either by: (i) finger-like young asthenospheric plumes rising to and heating up the base of the lithosphere (below the Alcapa block), or (ii) decompressional melting of old asthenosphere upwelling to replace any lower lithosphere or heating and melting former subducted slabs (the Tisia block).     

Caractérisation des ignimbrites néogènes du bassin d'Arequipa,Pérou

Four ignimbritic units have filled the Arequipa Basin and outcrop around the Chachani Volcano. (1) The oldest Río Chili ignimbrite is 13.33 Ma old; (2) the most widespread La Joya ignimbrite is 4.9 Ma old; (3) the Arequipa Airport ignimbrite (1.65 Ma) flowed from an area buried beneath Chachani; (4) the Yura Tuffs, 1.02 Ma old, are restricted to the west of Chachani. All are calc-alkaline rhyolites with plagioclase, biotite, quartz, sanidine, and opaques, but the Río Chili and La Joya ignimbrites also contain amphibole. Trace elements of the older ignimbrites reflect stronger crustal influence. To cite this article: P. Paquereau et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).