Use of satellite communication of hydrometric data for the whole of Brazil

Abstract

The difficulties of exploiting the huge Brazilian hydrometeorological network led hydrologists of the Departamento Nacional de Águas e Energie Elétrica (DNAEE—Brazilian Department of Water and Electric Power) to use real time satellite telecommunications to improve network management. Data-gathering satellites, which are perfectly adapted to this network, were first used in 1975 and have interested DNAEE since 1980. Collaboration with ORSTOM permitted an initial evaluation of the technique in 1982. In 1984 DNAEE, together with ORSTOM, was able to set up a 20-station network in the Amazon. The results have been so encouraging that a scheme for 200 stations equipped with telecommunications facilities which use the Brazilian Satélite de Colecta de Dados number 1 (SCD1) satellite is in the final stages. This network will cover the entire country.     

Constraints on spatial transference of rainfall-runoff relationships in semiarid basins drained by ephemeral streams

Abstract

Field data on drainage basin response have a characteristic scale which is determined by the size of the basin investigated. As a rule, information obtained at one particular scale can be extrapolated over a limited scale range only. This study identifies the nature of constraints on spatial scale transference in a series of semiarid badland drainage basins ranging in area from < 1 to 202 260 m². Research focussed on the rainfall-runoff relationship during a single rainstorm so that the temporal scale was kept constant. Spatial scale transference between systems of differing scale was restricted by morphological and functional constraints. Morphological constraints are caused by morphological elements present in large scale systems but absent in small scale ones. Functional constraints arise solely from the characteristics of the matter and energy flows in the systems of interest. Limits imposed upon spatial scale transferences by morphological and functional constraints are fuzzy rather than sharp in character.     

Mafic rocks from Erinpura gneiss terrane in the Sirohi region: Possible ocean-floor remnants in the foreland of the Delhi Fold Belt,NW India

A small isolated mafic body occurs to the south of Sirohi near village Daba within the Neoproterozoic Erinpura Granite in the southern sector of the Proterozoic Delhi Fold Belt in NW India. This mafic body occurs close to a 100 m wide NE–SW trending shear zone (Daba Shear Zone) which overprints the felsic rock fabrics. Further south, a small mafic body near village Kui was also sampled which forms the southern limit of the Phulad Ophiolite Suite which is a 300 km long major NE–SW trending lineament, described as Western Margin Fault. Some of the lithological components of the Daba mafic body show locally preserved magmatic fabric but completely transformed mineralogies under lower amphibolites facies metamorphic conditions where two-stage deformation has been inferred. Magnetic fabric analysis underlines a general correspondence of structural elements in both felsic and mafic lithologies. Binary correlations of Zr with other high field strength elements underline fractionation as the main process in the evolution of Daba and Kui rocks. Geochemical characteristics indicate subalkaline tholeiitic basalt affinity for these mafic rocks. The trace element characteristics, such as enriched LIL elements, high Th, absence of negative Nb anomalies and depletion in compatible elements in Daba samples suggest an enriched mantle source and lower degree of melting. The trace and rare earth element characteristics for Kui (Th anomaly, Nb–Ta trough and less spiked patterns, flat REE trends) indicate derivation from a refractory mantle source affected by fluids derived from subduction. Distinct differences in trace and REE characteristics between Daba and Kui can be interpreted in terms of different stages of ophiolite development.     

Petrological consequences of variations in metamorphic reaction affinity

The extent to which kinetic barriers to nucleation and growth delay the onset of prograde metamorphic reaction, commonly known as overstepping, is related to the macroscopic driving force for reaction, termed reaction affinity. Reaction affinity is defined in the context of overstepping as the Gibbs free‐energy difference between the thermodynamically stable, but not‐yet‐crystallized, products and the metastable reactants. Mineral reactions which release large quantities of H₂O, such as chlorite‐consuming reactions, have a higher entropy/volume change, and therefore a higher reaction affinity per unit of temperature/pressure overstep, than those which release little or no H₂O. The former are expected to be overstepped in temperature or pressure less than the latter. Different methods of calculating reaction affinity are discussed. Reaction affinity ‘maps’ are calculated that graphically portray variations in reaction affinity on equilibrium phase diagrams, allowing predictions to be made about expected degrees of overstepping. Petrological consequences of variations in reaction affinity include: (i) metamorphic reaction intervals may be discrete rather than continuous, especially in broad multivariant domains across which reaction affinity builds slowly; (ii) reaction intervals may not correspond in a simple way to reaction boundaries and domains in an equilibrium phase diagram, and may involve metastable reactions; (iii) overstepping can lead to a ‘cascade effect’, in which several stable and metastable reactions involving the same reactant phases proceed simultaneously; (iv) fluid generation, and possibly fluid presence in general, may be episodic rather than continuous, corresponding to discrete intervals of reaction; (v) overstepping related to slowly building reaction affinity in multivariant reaction intervals may account for the commonly abrupt development in the field of certain index mineral isograds; and (vi) P–T estimation based on combined use of phase diagram sections and mineral modes/compositions on the one hand, and classical thermobarometry methods on the other, may not agree even if the same thermodynamic data are used. Natural examples of the above, both contact and regional, are provided. The success of the metamorphic facies principle suggests that these kinetic effects are second‐order features that operate within a broadly equilibrium approach to metamorphism. However, it may be that the close approach to equilibrium occurs primarily at the boundaries between the metamorphic facies, corresponding to discrete intervals of high entropy, dehydration reaction involving consumption of hydrous phases like chlorite (greenschist–amphibolite facies boundary) and mica (amphibolite–granulite facies boundary), and less so within the facies themselves. The results of this study suggest that it is important to consider the possibility of reactions removed from equilibrium when inferring the P–T–t evolution of metamorphic rocks.     

Sedimentation and time‐of‐transition techniques for measuring grain‐size distributions in lagoonal flats: comparability of results

A comparative study was performed of three instruments used to measure the grain‐size distribution of thirty sediment samples from shallow lagoonal flats: the hydrometer, the Sedigraph 5100 and the CIS‐1. The hydrometer and Sedigraph are based on sedimentation whereas the CIS‐1 uses the time of transition. The percentage of the samples accounted for by the <8 μm fraction was not affected by the technique used, but this was not the case with the clay fraction (<2 μm). Due to its relative independence from the analytical method applied, the <8 μm fraction can be used in ternary diagram classifications. This fraction also has an environmental significance in coastal lagoons in terms of hydrodynamics, organic enrichment and macrozoobenthos assemblages. The linear relationships obtained in this study may provide useful operational indications for similar studies.     

Emplacement of Deep Upper-Mantle Rocks into Cratonic Lithosphere by Convection and Diapiric Upwelling

Rocks containing breakdown products of majoritic garnet, derivedfrom the deep upper mantle, occur in kimberlite xenoliths andin orogenic peridotites from Otrøy in Norway. The Otrøyperidotites are banded harzburgites and dunites with similarcompositions to mantle xenoliths from Precambrian cratons andPhanerozoic supra-subduction-zone peridotites. Pressure–temperature(P–T) paths deduced for the Otrøy peridotites andkimberlite xenoliths from South Africa are consistent with emplacementof deep mantle peridotites into cratonic lithosphere by asthenospherediapirism. Numerical thermo-convection models provide insightinto the possible P–T histories of deep upper-mantle rocks.In the models, material from the base of the convecting systemis transported to depths of 60–100 km by convection andsmall (50–100 km) diapirs. Diapir intrusion induces small-scaleconvection in the low-viscosity deeper part of the thermochemicallydefined lithosphere. Small-scale convection in the craton rootcan produce complex P–T paths, complex recurrent meltinghistories and complex compositional structure in the craton.P–T paths derived from the numerical models for asthenospherediapirism in a hot upper mantle are consistent with the sequenceof sub-solidus P–T conditions deduced for the cratonicperidotites. KEY WORDS: asthenosphere diapirs; cratonic lithosphere; deep upper mantle; majoritic garnet     

The Acadian thermal history of western Maine

ABSTRACT Following the Middle Devonian Acadian deformation an extensive belt of high grade metamorphism was formed in New England. In south-western Maine, at the northern end of this belt, there occurs a transition along the strike from regional low-pressure/high-temperature metamorphism to contact metamorphism in low-grade rocks. Petrological studies indicate that this transition occurs along a surface plunging to the north-east at about 3.5°, with respect to the Middle-to-Late Devonian erosion surface. In addition, detailed petrological mapping has defined a history of temporally separate, localized metamorphic events associated with plutonism and occurring at increasingly deeper levels to the south-west. Geochronological studies constrain ambient temperatures in the transition zone at the time of metamorphism to be less than 300° C in the north-east and between 350° C and 500° C in the south-west. They also establish a pattern of diachronous cooling due to differential uplift and erosion, with cooling occurring later and most rapidly to the south-west. Geophysical evidence suggests that along with this spatial variation in metamorphic style the shapes of the plutons in Maine undergo a transition from laterally extensive sheet-like bodies in the high grade terrane to more equant-shaped bodies in the low-grade terrane. Using the results of these petrological, geochronological and geophysical studies, as well as those of stratigraphical and structural studies we construct a thermal model for the transition zone. The model suggests that the Acadian metamorphism in south-western Maine is a result of deep-level contact metamorphism near laterally extensive granitic sills dipping to the north-east with respect to the present erosion surface. The plutons themselves are interpreted to be a result of lower crustal melting in response to crustal thickening in the presence of normal or slightly augmented mantle heat flux.     

The geodynamic evolution of the Internal Zone of the Betic Cordilleras (south-east Spain): a model based on structural analysis and geothermobarometry

ABSTRACT The Internal Zone of the Betic Cordilleras consists of several superimposed major thrust sheets with different P-T-t evolutions. On the basis of an integrated field, microscopic and laboratory study, the tectono-metamorphic history of the Mulhacen Complex and Almanzora Unit has been reconstructed in detail. The Mulhacen Complex has been affected by at least five phases of penetrative deformation, which have been labelled D_x-1, D_x, D_x+1, D_x+2 and D_x+3. D_x-1, and D_x are related to continent-continent collision, which is indicated by high pressure-low temperature (HP/LT) and subsequent intermediate P/T metamorphic conditions. D_x+1 is related to crustal thinning and heterogeneous extension. During this event the Almanzora Unit was juxtaposed against the Mulhacen Complex. This phase was succeeded by the establishment of low pressure-high temperature (LP/HT) conditions and at least two phases of folding and overthrusting. The Almanzora Unit shows a comparable tectono-metamorphic evolution post D_x+1. However, the P/T conditions prior to D_x+1 indicate a higher crustal position with respect to the Mulhacen Complex during the collisional event.     

WHICH PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS TO UTILIZE FOR PRINCIPAL COMPONENT REGRESSION

Principal components(PCs)for principal component regression(PCR)have historically been selectedfrom the top down for a reliable predictive model.That is,the PCs are arranged in a list starting withthe most informative(PC associated with the largest singular value)and proceeding to the leastinformative(PC associated with the smallest singular value).PCs are then chosen starting at the top ofthis list.This paper discusses an alternative procedure of treating PC selection as an optimization prob-lem.Specifically,without any regard to the ordering,the optimal subset of PCs for an acceptablepredictive model is desired.Five data sets are analyzed using the conventional and alternative approaches.Two data sets are spectroscopic in nature,two data sets deal with quantitative structure-activityrelationships(QSARs)and one data set is concerned with modeling.All five data sets confirm thatselection of a subset without consideration to order secures the best results with PCR.One data set isalso compared using partial least squares 1.     

Milankovitch cyclicity in Purbeck peritidal limestones of the Prebetic (Berriasian, southern Spain)

Peritidal carbonate rocks (Purbeck facies) of the uppermost Portlandian to Berriasian in the type section of the Sierra del Pozo Formation in the Prebetic Zone, southern Spain, are divisible into 141 shallowing upward cycles averaging 2 m in thickness. The subtidal facies in these cycles consist of micritic or marly limestones with dasycladacean algae and lituolids; the intertidal facies are micritic limestones containing birdseyes and miliolids; the supratidal facies comprise laminated algal limestones, the tops of which display desiccation cracks and rhizocretions, or more locally palaeosols, calcretes, or palaeokarst surfaces. A statistical study, using power spectra of the Fast Fourier Transform, demonstrates that the periodicity of these cycles is in the Milankovitch frequency band. Most sedimentary cycles correspond to the obliquity cycles; eccentricity and precession cycles have also been recognized. Using a Fischer plot, third-order tectono-eustatic cycles are recognized, which can be correlated with the eustatic curve of the Exxon chart. The shallowing upward sequences are characterized by a distinctive pattern of geochemical parameters. Carbon and oxygen isotopic (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) variations, calcium and magnesium carbonate contents and the abundance of organic matter and trace elements (Mn and Sr) all have predictable patterns of distribution within the sequences. The Sr content of the subtidal facies is relatively high whereas the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O ratios are quite low; in the intertidal facies the Sr and Mn levels fall concomitantly with a rise in δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O. The highest δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values occur in the lower part of the supratidal facies, whereas in the upper part of δ values and Sr contents drop sharply. Cyclic variations in evaporation and in meteoric water influence, determined from oxygen isotopic composition, reveal that the cyclicity of the beds containing the most limestones (supratidal) and those with the most marls (subtidal) is related to climatic changes. The coldest periods are those represented by supratidal deposits, when the sea level was at its lowest. During the warmest periods, when the overall sea level was higher, subtidal deposits accumulated in the region. A genetic model is proposed, according to which the asymmetrical sedimentary cycles occur in response to glacio-eustatic changes with a periodicity similar to that of Plio-Pleistocene sea-level variations, but with a much lower range due to the smaller extent of polar ice caps during the Early Cretaceous. The glacio-eustatic changes involved a rapid sea-level rise and a slow sea-level fall.