On the misinterpretation of the North Atlantic Oscillation in CMIP5 models

The representation of the wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and its relationship with atmospheric blocking and the Atlantic jet stream is investigated in a set of CMIP5 models. It is shown that some state-of-the-art climate models are unable to correctly simulate the physical processes connected to the NAO. This is especially true for models with a strongly underestimated frequency of high-latitude blocking over Greenland. In these models the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF1) of the Euro-Atlantic sector can represent at least three different categories of dominant modes of variability associated with different prevalent regions of blocking occurrence and jet stream displacements. It is therefore possible to show that such “biased NAOs” are connected with different dynamical processes with respect to the canonical NAO seen in observations. Since the NAO is a widely used concept in scientific community, the consequent “dynamical misinterpretation” of the NAO that can result when climate models are analyzed may have important implications for the NAO-related studies. This may be especially relevant for the ones involving climate scenarios, since these modeled NAOs may react differently to greenhouse gas forcing.     

Time-dependent ground movements induced by shield tunneling in soft clay: a parametric study

In this work, the effects of coupled hydromechanical (consolidation) processes associated with shield tunneling excavation in soft clays are investigated with particular attention to the prediction of ground movements at the ground surface. A series of 2d FE analyses have been carried out in parametric form in order to investigate the effects of tunnel excavation velocity relative to the soil consolidation rate and the hydraulic boundary conditions at the tunnel boundary. The shield advancement process has been simulated with a simplified procedure incorporating both volume loss and ovalization of the tunnel section. In order to investigate the relative importance of soil consolidation during the excavation process, different characteristic times for the tunnel face advancement and for the consolidation process around the tunnel have been considered, for the two limiting conditions of fully permeable liner and impervious liner. The potential damage induced by the tunnel excavation on existing structures, based on computed ground surface distortions and horizontal deformations, has been found to vary significantly with time during the consolidation process. The results of the simulations allowed to obtain useful information on the minimum tunnel face advancement speed for which the assumption of fully undrained conditions for the soil during the excavations is acceptable, as well as on the speed range for which solving the fully coupled hydromechanical problem is necessary.     

Isotopic and element exchange during serpentinization and metasomatism at the Atlantis Massif (MAR 30°N): Insights from B and Sr isotope data

The Lost City hydrothermal system at the southern Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N) provides a natural laboratory for studying serpentinization processes, the temporal evolution of ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems, and alteration conditions during formation and emplacement of an oceanic core complex. Here we present B, O, and Sr isotope data to investigate fluid/rock interaction and mass transfer during detachment faulting and exhumation of lithospheric sequences within the Atlantis Massif. Our data indicate that extensive serpentinization was a seawater-dominated process that occurred predominately at temperatures of 150-250 °C and at high integrated W/R ratios that led to a marked boron enrichment (34-91 ppm). Boron removal from seawater during serpentinization is positively correlated with changes in δ¹¹B (11-16‰) but shows no correlation with O-isotope composition. Modeling indicates that B concentrations and isotope values of the serpentinites are controlled by transient temperature-pH conditions. In contrast to prior studies, we conclude that low-temperature marine weathering processes are insignificant for boron geochemistry of the Atlantis Massif serpentinites. Talc- and amphibole-rich fault rocks formed within a zone of detachment faulting at temperatures of approximately 270-350 °C and at low W/R ratios. Talc formation in ultramafic domains in the massif was subsequent to an early stage of serpentinization and was controlled by the access of Si-rich fluids derived through seawater-gabbro interactions. Replacement of serpentine by talc resulted in boron loss and significant lowering of δ¹¹B values (9-10‰), which we model as the product of progressive extraction of boron. Our study provides new constraints on the boron geochemical cycle at oceanic spreading ridges and suggests that serpentinization associated with ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems may have important implications for the behavior of boron in subduction zone settings.     

Monitoring, prediction, and early warning using ground-based radar interferometry

In order to define adequate prevention measures and to manage landslide emergencies, real-time monitoring is required. This paper presents two different applications of the remote sensing technique: the ground-based synthetic aperture radar interferometry, here proposed as a monitoring and early warning support for slope instability. Data acquisitions carried out through a ground-based synthetic aperture radar interferometer, operating in K_u band, installed in front of the observed slopes, are discussed. Two case studies, based on the use of the same apparatus (formerly developed by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission and by Ellegi-LiSALab srl), are reported: the first one concerns the monitoring of a large landslide, named Ruinon (Valfurva, Italy). The second one deals with the monitoring of the NW unstable slope in the Stromboli island aimed to implementing an early warning system. Acquired interferometric data are processed to provide displacements and velocity maps of the monitored area. The monitoring services ongoing on the Ruinon landslide and on Stromboli demonstrate the capability of this technique to operate in different operative settings (i.e., different phenomena and geological framework) and for different aims (monitoring for prevention, early warning, and emergency assessment). This methodology has also been proved by national and regional authorities of civil protection in order to provide a real-time monitoring for emergency management.     

The Intra-Pontide ophiolites in Northern Turkey revisited:From birth to death of a Neotethyan oceanic domain

The Anatolian peninsula is a key location to study the central portion of the Neotethys Ocean(s)and to understand how its western and eastern branches were connected.One of the lesser known branches of the Mesozoic ocean(s)is preserved in the northern ophiolite suture zone exposed in Turkey,namely,the Intra-Pontide suture zone.It is located between the Sakarya terrane and the Eurasian margin(i.e.,Istanbul-Zonguldak terrane)and consists of several metamorphic and non-metamorphic units containing ophiolites produced in supra-subduction settings from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous.Ophiolites preserved in the metamorphic units recorded pervasive deformations and peak metamorphic conditions ranging from blueschist to eclogite facies.In the nonmetamorphic units,the complete oceanic crust sequence is preserved in tectonic units or as olistoliths in sedimentary melanges.Geochemical,structural,metamorphic and geochronological investigations performed on ophiolite-bearing units allowed the formulation of a new geodynamic model of the entire"life"of the IntraPontide oceanic basin(s).The reconstruction starts with the opening of the Intra-Pontide oceanic basins during the Late Triassic between the Sakarya and Istanbul-Zonguldak continental microplates and ends with its closure caused by two different subductions events that occurred during the upper Early Jurassic and Middle Jurassic.The continental collision between the Sakarya continental microplate and the Eurasian margin developed from the upper Early Cretaceous to the Palaeocene.The presented reconstruction is an alternative model to explain the complex and articulate geodynamic evolution that characterizes the southern margin of Eurasia during the Mesozoic era.     

Petrological constraints on the tectonic setting of the Kathmandu Nappe in the Langtang–Gosainkund–Helambu regions,Central Nepal Himalaya

The Gosainkund–Helambu region in central Nepal occupies a key area for the development of Himalayan kinematic models, connecting the well‐investigated Langtang area to the north with the Kathmandu Nappe (KN), whose interpretation is still debated, to the south. In order to understand the structural and metamorphic architecture of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) in this region, a detailed petrological study was performed, focusing on selected metapelite samples from both the Gosainkund–Helambu and Langtang transects. The structurally lowest sample investigated belongs to the Lesser Himalayan Sequence; its metamorphic evolution is characterized by a narrow hairpin P–T path with peak P–T conditions of 595 ± 25 °C, 7.5 ± 1 kbar. All of the other samples here investigated belong to the GHS. Along the Langtang section, two tectono‐metamorphic units have been distinguished within the GHS: the Lower Greater Himalayan Sequence (L‐GHS), characterized by peak P–T conditions at 728 ± 11 °C, 10 ± 0.5 kbar (corresponding to a T/depth ratio of 22 ± 1 °C km^?1), and the structurally higher Upper Greater Himalayan Sequence, with peak metamorphic conditions at 780 ± 20 °C, 7.8 ± 0.8 kbar (corresponding to a T/depth ratio of 31 ± 4 °C km^?1). This confirms the existence of a main tectono‐metamorphic discontinuity within the GHS, as previously suggested by other authors. The results of petrological modelling of the metapelites from the Gosainkund–Helambu section show that this region is entirely comprised within a sub‐horizontal and thin L‐GHS unit: the estimated peak metamorphic conditions of 734 ± 19 °C, 10 ± 0.8 kbar correspond to a uniform T/depth ratio of 23 ± 3 °C km^?1. The metamorphic discontinuity identified along the Langtang transect and dividing the GHS in two tectono‐metamorphic units is located at a structural level too high to be intersected along the Gosainkund–Helambu section. Our results have significant implications for the interpretation of the KN and provide a contribution to the more general discussion of the Himalayan kinematic models. We demonstrate that the structurally lower unit of the KN (known as Sheopuri Gneiss) can be correlated with the L‐GHS unit; this result strongly supports those models that correlate the KN to the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence and that suggest the merging of the South Tibetan Detachment System and the Main Central Thrust on the northern side of the KN. Moreover we speculate that, in this sector of the Himalayan chain, the most appropriate kinematic model able to explain the observed tectono‐metamorphic architecture of the GHS is the duplexing model, or hybrid models which combine the duplexing model with another end‐member model.     

Ontology‐supported Querying of Geographical Databases

Querying geographical information systems has been recognized as a difficult task for non‐expert users. Furthermore, user queries are often characterized by semantic aspects not directly managed by traditional spatial databases or GIS. Examples of such semantic geospatial queries are the use of implicit spatial relations between objects, or the reference of domain concepts not explicitly represented in data. To handle such queries, we envisage a system that translates natural language queries into spatial SQL statements on a database, thus improving standard GIS with new semantic capabilities. Within this general objective, the contribution of this article is to introduce a methodology to handle semantic geospatial queries issued over a spatial database. This approach captures semantics from an ontology built upon the spatial database and enriched by domain concepts and properties specifically defined to represent the localization of objects. Some examples of the use of the methodology in the urban domain are presented.     

Evolution of an early Eocene pull‐apart basin in the Central Pontides (Northern Turkey): New insights into the origin of the North Anatolian Shear Zone

Although the North Anatolian Shear Zone is one of the main lithospheric‐scale strike‐slip deformation zone in the world, playing a prominent role in the complex geodynamic interaction among the Eurasian, Anatolian and Arabian plates, the onset time of its activity remains highly controversial. Here, we tackle this issue by utilizing nannofossil biostratigraphy on deposits from the Ta?cilar basin, a pull‐apart basin that we have identified inside the North Anatolian Shear Zone overprinting the Intra‐Pontide suture zone. The syn‐tectonic sedimentary succession of the Ta?cilar basin developed completely during the early Eocene (Ypresian; CNE4–CNE5 Zones). The strike‐slip faulting related to the initial onset of the North Anatolian Shear Zone can likely be constrained within the Ypresian, suggesting that the westward escape of the Anatolian plate along the North Anatolian Shear Zone started in the early Eocene.     

Kinematic and geochronological constraints on shear deformation in the Ferriere-Mollières shear zone (Argentera-Mercantour Massif,Western Alps): implications for the evolution of the Southern European Variscan Belt

International Journal of Earth Sciences - In the Western Alps, a steeply dipping km-scale shear zone (the Ferriere-Mollières shear zone) cross-cuts Variscan migmatites in the...     

The structural evolution of the southern Apuan Alps: new constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Northern Apennines (Italy)Évolution structurale des Apuanes méridionales : nouvelles contraintes sur l'évolution tectonique des Apennins septentrionaux (Italie)

Structural analysis performed in the southern sector of the Apuan Alps Metamorphic Complex (AAMC) and on the overlaying Tuscan Nappe (TN) pointed out a structural evolution much more complex than that outlined till now. The comparison between the structural evolutions of the two tectonic units could provide new important constraints on the tectonic evolution of the whole belt. The two tectonic units recorded different tectonic evolution during the first stages of compression, while they shared the same deformation history later after the Tuscan Nappe overlapped the AAMC. The coupled tectonic units have been then deformed by two systems of folds, in a compressive tectonic regime. Extensional tectonics affected the units later, at upper crustal levels. To cite this article: R. Carosi et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 339–346.