Geomorphological hazards related to deep dissolution phenomena in the Western Italian Alps: Distribution, assessment and interaction with human activities

Deep dissolution affects great part of soluble rocks (e.g. gypsum and anhydrite) of the Western Italian Alps. The related superficial phenomena (sinkholes, gravity-induced processes and a local worsening of geomechanical rock properties) are not limited to typical karsts landscape and cause slope instability also affecting populated sites and infrastructures. The paper aims to describe general characteristic of dissolution phenomena, to interpret their conditioning factors and evolutionary stages and to assess possible hazards due to their superficial effects.The search for evidences of deep dissolution leads to the selection of representative sites in the central part of the Western Italian Alps (Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta Region). Detailed geological and geomorphological studies have been used to classify the selected sites by type, size and variable state of activity. Very different evolutionary stages of dissolution phenomena have been interpreted by comparison of case-studies: some are early “embryonic”; others are more evolved, up to typical sinkholes, or even remodelled by other phenomena. Some cases show an extreme complexity in the interactions between corrosion phenomena and other geomorphic processes: slope deformations, from one side, and karst, fluvial and glacial phenomena, to the other. A wide range of movement rates on slope instabilities induced by deep dissolution have been estimated by topographic and geomorphic data. Geochemical data on removed rocks by dissolution indicate 0.4 mm/year values for local subsidence. Historical and technical data indicate low frequency of major dissolution-induced collapses, but highlight widespread damages to tunnels, roads and buildings, especially along slopes.     

Paleoecology and radiocarbon dating of the Pleistocene megafauna of the Brazilian Intertropical Region

During the Pleistocene a fauna composed of large (biomass > 44 kg) and giant mammals (biomass > 1000 kg) that are usually associated with open environments lived in the Brazilian Intertropical Region. We present here new information concerning the paleoecology and chronology of some species of this megafauna. Carbon isotope analyses were performed for a better understanding of the paleoecology of the species Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), Notiomastodon platensis (Ameghino, 1888) and Toxodon platensis (Owen, 1849). The δ¹³C data allow attributing a generalist diet to these species, which varied according to the kind of habitat in which they lived. In more open habitats all species were grazers; in mixed habitats E. laurillardi and T. platensis were mixed feeders, and N. platensis was grazer; and in more closed habitats all species were mixed feeders.     

Spatial and temporal variation of the nekton and hyperbenthos from a temperate European estuary with regulated freshwater inflow

The aquatic macrofauna of the Guadalquivir estuary were sampled (1 mm mesh persiana net) at 5 sampling sites located along the entire (except the tidal freshwater region) estuarine gradient of salinity (outer 50 km). A total of 134 fish and macroinvertebrate species was collected but only 62 were considered common or regularly present in the estuary. Univariate measures of the community structure showed statistically significant differences among sampling sites: species richness, abundance, and biomass decreased in the upstream direction, being positively correlated with the salinity. Temporal differences of these three variables were also statistically significant. While a clear seasonal pattern (minimum densities in winter and maximum in spring-summer) was observed for abundance and biomass, no such pattern existed for the number of species. Mysids was the most dominant group throughout the estuary (96% to 99% of abundance; 49% to 85% of biomass), although fish biomass was also important at the outer estuary (36% to 38%). Multivariate analyses indicated highly significant spatial variation in the macrofaunal communities observed along the salinity gradient. These analyses suggest that the underlying structure was a continuum with more or less overlapping distributions of the species dependent on their ability to tolerate different physicochemical conditions. There were also significant temporal (intermonthly + interannual) variation of the estuarine community; the relative multivariate dispersion indicated that monthly variation was more considerable (relative multivariate dispersion >1) at the outer part of the estuary during the wet year (last 20 km) and was higher in the inner stations during the dry year (32 to 50 km from the river mouth). Since a clear negative exponential relationship was observed between the freshwater input (from a dam located 110 km upstream) and water salinity at all sampling stations, it is concluded that the human freshwater management is probably affecting the studied estuarine communities. While the higher seasonal (long-term) stability of the salinity gradient, due to the human control of the freshwater input, may facilitate the recruitment of marine species juveniles during the meteorologically unstable early-spring, the additional (short-term) salinity fluctuations during the warm period may negatively affect species that complete their lifecycle within the estuary.     

Geophysical investigation using resistivity and GPR methods: a case study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area in the city of Ribeirão Preto,São Paulo,Brazil

Geophysics has been shown to be effective in identifying areas contaminated by waste disposal, contributing to the greater efficiency of soundings programs and the installation of monitoring wells. In the study area, four trenches were constructed with a total volume of about 25,000 m³. They were almost totally filled with re-refined lubricating oil waste for approximately 25 years. No protection liners were used in the bottoms and laterals of the disposal trenches. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potential of the resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods in characterizing the contamination of this lubricant oil waste disposal area in Ribeirão Preto, SP, situated on the geological domain of the basalt spills of the Serra Geral Formation and the sandstones of the Botucatu Formation. Geophysical results were shown in 2D profiles. The geophysical methods used enabled the identification of geophysical anomalies, which characterized the contamination produced by the trenches filled with lubricant oil waste. Conductive anomalies (smaller than 185 Ωm) immediately below the trenches suggest the action of bacteria in the hydrocarbons, as has been observed in several sites contaminated by hydrocarbons in previously reported cases in the literature. It was also possible to define the geometry of the trenches, as evidenced by the GPR method. Direct sampling (chemical analysis of the soil and the water in the monitoring well) confirmed the contamination. In the soil analysis, low concentrations of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found, mainly naphthalene and phenanthrene. In the water samples, an analysis verified contamination of the groundwater by lead (Pb). The geophysical methods used in the investigation provided an excellent tool for environmental characterization in this study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area, and could be applied in the study of similar areas.     

U–Pb evidence for a polyorogenic evolution of the HP–HT units of the NW Iberian Massif

. A isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry U-Pb geochronological study was carried out on the high-pressure and high-temperature units (HP-HT units) overlying the oceanic suture in the Allochthonous Complexes of the NW Iberian Variscan Belt. The rocks investigated are seven granulite- to eclogite-facies paragneisses and one leucosome within mafic high-pressure granulites in the Ordenes and Cabo Ortegal Complexes of NW Spain. U-Pb dating of zircon, monazite, titanite and rutile reveal the presence of a pervasive Early Ordovician metamorphic event at ca. 500-480 Ma and a later Early Devonian event at ca. 400-380 Ma. The U-Pb ages, in conjunction with petrological and structural data, indicate that the high-pressure event recorded by these rocks is Early Ordovician in age. Monazite ages in the paragneisses suggest that peak metamorphic conditions were reached at ca. 500-485 Ma. Subsequently, the rock ensemble underwent exhumation accompanied by partial melting and zircon growth at ca. 485-470 Ma. Melting of mafic granulites was coeval with this latter episode as indicated by zircon crystallisation age in the leucosomes dated at ca. 486 Ma. Based on these data and on the general features of magmatism and metamorphic evolution, it is proposed that this process took place at a convergent plate boundary within a peri-Gondwanan oceanic domain. Monazite, titanite and rutile data in some of the samples studied show evidence of a second metamorphic episode that took place between ca. 400 and 380 Ma (with a peak at ca. 390-385 Ma). This Early Devonian event, at variance with the previous one, was not pervasive, but, rather, was localised in areas of intense Variscan tectonothermal reworking. It is claimed that this later metamorphic event was recorded by the U-Pb system in areas where monazite and titanite growth was enhanced by fluid circulation in highly strained rocks (Variscan shear zones). According to previous structural studies and Ar-Ar dating of fabrics, this Early Devonian episode took place as the HP-HT units were deformed and thrusted upon the ophiolitic units in the early stages of the Variscan collision.     

Modelling nitrogen and oxygen isotope fractionation during denitrification in a lacustrine redox-transition zone

The stable isotope composition (δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O) of nitrate was measured during Summer 1999 in the anaerobic hypolimnion of eutrophic Lake Lugano (Switzerland). Denitrification was demonstrated by a progressive nitrate depletion coupled to increasing δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O values for residual nitrate. Maximum δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O values amounted to 27.2 and 15.7‰, respectively.¹⁵N and ¹⁸O enrichment factors for denitrification (ε) were estimated using a closed-system model and a dynamic diffusion-reaction model. Using the Rayleigh equation (closed-system approach), we obtained ε values of −11.2 and −6.6‰ for nitrogen and oxygen, respectively. The average ε values derived using the diffusion-reaction model were determined to be −20.7 ± 3.8 for nitrogen and −11.0 ± 1.7 for oxygen. Both N and O isotope fractionation appeared to be lower when denitrification rates where high, possibly in association with high organic carbon availability. In addition, variations in the isotope effects may be attributed to the variable importance of sedimentary denitrification having only a small isotope effect on the water column. The combined measurement of N and O isotope ratios in nitrate revealed that coupled nitrification-denitrification in the open-water was of minor importance. This is the first study of nitrogen and oxygen isotope effects associated with microbial denitrification in a natural lake. Moreover, this study confirms the high potential of δ¹⁸O of nitrate as a valuable biogeochemical tracer in aquatic systems, complementing nitrate δ¹⁵N.     

Stability and chemical equilibrium of amphibole in calc-alkaline magmas: an overview, new thermobarometric formulations and application to subduction-related volcanoes

This work focuses on a rigorous analysis of the physical–chemical, compositional and textural relationships of amphibole stability and the development of new thermobarometric formulations for amphibole-bearing calc-alkaline products of subduction-related systems. Literature experimental results (550–1,120°C, <1,200 MPa, −1 ≤ ΔNNO ≤ +5), H₂O–CO₂ solubility models, a multitude of amphibole-bearing calc-alkaline products (whole-rocks and glasses, representing 38 volcanoes worldwide), crustal and high-P (1–3 GPa) mantle amphibole compositions have been used. Calcic amphiboles of basalt-rhyolite volcanic products display tschermakitic pargasite (37%), magnesiohastingsite (32%) and magnesiohornblende (31%) compositions with aluminium number (i.e. Al# = ^[6]Al/Al_T) ≤ 0.21. A few volcanic amphiboles (~1%) show high Al# (>0.21) and are inferred to represent xenocrysts of crustal or mantle materials. Most experimental results on calc-alkaline suites have been found to be unsuitable for using in thermobarometric calibrations due to the high Al# (>0.21) of amphiboles and high Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratios of the coexisting melts. The pre-eruptive crystallization of consistent amphiboles is confined to relatively narrow physical–chemical ranges, next to their dehydration curves. The widespread occurrence of amphiboles with dehydration (breakdown) rims made of anhydrous phases and/or glass, related to sub-volcanic processes such as magma mixing and/or slow ascent during extrusion, confirms that crystal destabilization occurs with relatively low T–P shifts. At the stability curves, the variance of the system decreases so that amphibole composition and physical–chemical conditions are strictly linked to each other. This allowed us to retrieve some empirical thermobarometric formulations which work independently with different compositional components (i.e. Si^*, Al_T, Mg^*, ^[6]Al^*) of a single phase (amphibole), and are therefore easily applicable to all types of calc-alkaline volcanic products (including hybrid andesites). The Si^*-sensitive thermometer and the fO₂–Mg^* equation account for accuracies of ±22°C (σ_est) and 0.4 log units (maximum error), respectively. The uncertainties of the Al_T-sensitive barometer increase with pressure and decrease with temperature. Near the P–T stability curve, the error is <11% whereas for crystal-rich (porphyritic index i.e. PI > 35%) and lower-T magmas, the uncertainty increases up to 24%, consistent with depth uncertainties of 0.4 km, at 90 MPa (~3.4 km), and 7.9 km, at 800 MPa (~30 km), respectively. For magnesiohornblendes, the ^[6]Al^*-sensitive hygrometer has an accuracy of 0.4 wt% (σ_est) whereas for magnesiohastingsite and tschermakitic pargasite species, H₂O_melt uncertainties can be as high as 15% relative. The thermobarometric results obtained with the application of these equations to calc-alkaline amphibole-bearing products were finally, and successfully, crosschecked on several subduction-related volcanoes, through complementary methodologies such as pre-eruptive seismicity (volcano-tectonic earthquake locations and frequency), seismic tomography, Fe–Ti oxides, amphibole–plagioclase, plagioclase–liquid equilibria thermobarometry and melt inclusion studies. A user-friendly spreadsheet (i.e. AMP-TB.xls) to calculate the physical–chemical conditions of amphibole crystallization is also provided.     

Temperature induced decoupling of enzymatic hydrolysis and carbon remineralization in long-term incubations of Arctic and temperate sediments

Extracellular enzymatic hydrolysis of high-molecular weight organic matter is the initial step in sedimentary organic carbon degradation and is often regarded as the rate-limiting step. Temperature effects on enzyme activities may therefore exert an indirect control on carbon mineralization. We explored the temperature sensitivity of enzymatic hydrolysis and its connection to subsequent steps in anoxic organic carbon degradation in long-term incubations of sediments from the Arctic and the North Sea. These sediments were incubated under anaerobic conditions for 24 months at temperatures of 0, 10, and 20 °C. The short-term temperature response of the active microbial community was tested in temperature gradient block incubations. The temperature optimum of extracellular enzymatic hydrolysis, as measured with a polysaccharide (chondroitin sulfate), differed between Arctic and temperate habitats by about 8-13 °C in fresh sediments and in sediments incubated for 24 months. In both Arctic and temperate sediments, the temperature response of chondroitin sulfate hydrolysis was initially similar to that of sulfate reduction. After 24 months, however, hydrolysis outpaced sulfate reduction rates, as demonstrated by increased concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved carbohydrates. This effect was stronger at higher incubation temperatures, particularly in the Arctic sediments. In all experiments, concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) were low, indicating tight coupling between VFA production and consumption. Together, these data indicate that long-term incubation at elevated temperatures led to increased decoupling of hydrolytic DOC production relative to fermentation. Temperature increases in marine sedimentary environments may thus significantly affect the downstream carbon mineralization and lead to the increased formation of refractory DOC.     

Dynamical Properties of a Sample of Ellipticals

On the basis of Jeans equations we study some dynamical properties of a sample of E galaxies considered as oblate and prolate spheroids. Although the results emphasize the anisotropy as the dominant dynamical factor both for oblate and prolate configurations, the sample contains some oblate galaxies apparently isotropic consistent with full rotational support. Comparisons of the mass-to-luminosity ratios obtained from our models with ratios derived from recent evolutionary synthesis models do not seem to leave room for nonluminous matter within the ranges (of the order of one de Vaucouleurs' radius) of the kinematical observations. Such comparisons suggest that a flatter than the classical Salpeter IMF would lead to better agreement with the dynamical results obtained within the framework of our models.     

Horizontal spatial and temporal distribution patterns of nearshore larval fish assemblages at a temperate rocky shore

There have been no previous studies of the composition of nearshore larval fish assemblages along the coast of Portugal. We aimed to describe the composition and horizontal distribution patterns of larval fish assemblages and their temporal dynamics near a rocky reef at depths shallower than 13 m (inshore) and at two miles (3.70 km) from shore (offshore), as well as along transects perpendicular to the shoreline, from the reef to 10 miles offshore (18.52 km). Samples were taken using 5 min sub-surface trawls at the rocky shore of the Arrábida Marine Park (W Portugal). A total of 1021 larvae were collected, belonging to 61 taxa inshore and to 29 taxa offshore. Along transects, 626 larvae of 52 taxa were collected. Most larvae belonged to coastal species associated with rocky reefs. Total larval abundance and diversity were higher from May to July, which is consistent with the spawning activity of adults. Diversity and total larval abundance decreased significantly with increasing distance from shore, both in the inshore/offshore comparison and in the transects, where this decrease was evident at a very small spatial scale (within the first mile from the reef). Species assemblages differed in the pattern of distribution, with most species clearly associated to the extreme nearshore. The distribution patterns obtained were independent of the spawning mode of species. Results are discussed in the light of the possible physical mechanisms that can potentially act at the Arrábida Marine Park to facilitate larvae retention and the role of larval behaviour.