Contrasting interactions of sodium and potassium with H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O in haplogranitic liquids and glasses at 200 MPa from hydration–diffusion experiments

This study examines hydration–diffusion in the metaluminous haplogranite system at 200 MPa H₂O and 800–300°C. At 800°C hydration is accompanied by melting and uphill diffusion of sodium from anhydrous glass toward the region of hydration and melting, whereas potassium diffuses away from the hydration front and into anhydrous glass. Silicon and aluminum are simply diluted upon hydration. There is no change in molecular Al/(Na + K) throughout the entire hydration-diffusion aureole and, therefore, (1) there is no loss of alkalis to the vapor, and (2) K migrates to replace Na in order to maintain local charge balance required by ^IVAl. Alkali diffusion occurs over a viscosity contrast from 10^4.1 Pa s in hydrous liquid to 10^11.8–10^13.5 Pa s in anhydrous glass. From these results, we interpret that: (1) Na is structurally or energetically favored over K as a charge-balancing cation for ^IVAl in hydrous granitic liquids, whereas the opposite behavior has been observed for anhydrous melts, and (2) the diffusion of alkalis through silicate melts is largely independent of viscosity. Results from 600°C are similar to those at 800°C, but hydration at 300°C involves a loss of Na and concomitant increase in molar Al/(Na + K) in the hydration zone due to hydrogen-alkali exchange between fluid and glass. Hydration behavior at 400°C is transitional between those at 300°C and 600°C, suggesting that the change in hydration mechanism occurs near the glass transition.     

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate dynamics in central-eastern Brazil: insights from a ~35k cal a bp peat record in the Cerrado biome

The late Quaternary evolution of central-eastern Brazil has been under-researched. Questions remain as to the origin of the Cerrado, a highly endangered biome, and other types of vegetation, such as the Capões – small vegetation islands of semi-deciduous and mountain forests. We investigated the factors that influenced the expansion and contraction of the Cerrado and Capões during the late Quaternary (last ~35 ka), using a multi-proxy approach: stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N), geochemistry, pollen and multivariate statistics derived from a peat core (Pinheiro mire, Serra do Espinhaço Meridional). Five major shifts in precipitation, temperature, vegetation and landscape stability occurred at different timescales. Our study revealed that changes in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) seem to have been coeval with these shifts: from the Late Glacial Maximum to mid-Holocene the SACZ remained near (~29.6 to ~16.5k cal a bp ) and over (~16.5 to ~6.1 k cal a bp ) the study area, providing humidity to the region. This challenges previous research which suggested that climate was drier for this time period. At present, the Capões are likely to be a remnant of a more humid climate; meanwhile, the Cerrado biome seems to have stablished in the late Holocene, after ~3.1 k cal a bp .     

Generalized plasticity state parameter‐based model for saturated and unsaturated soils. Part 1: Saturated state

The behavior of granular materials is known to depend on its loose or dense nature, which in turns depends both on density and confining pressure. Many models developed in the past require the use of different sets of constitutive parameters for the same material under different confining pressures. The purpose of this paper is to extend a basic generalized plasticity model for sands proposed by Pastor, Zienkiewicz and Chan by modifying the main ingredients of the model flow—rule, loading–unloading discriminating direction and plastic modulus—to include a dependency on the state parameter. The proposed model is tested against the available experimental data on three different sands, using for each of them a single set of material parameters, finding a reasonably good agreement between experiments and predictions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-term deforestation in NW Spain: linking the Holocene fire history to vegetation change and human activities

The Holocene fire regime is thought to have had a key role in deforestation and shrubland expansion in Galicia (NW Spain) but the contribution of past societies to vegetation burning remains poorly understood. This may be, in part, due to the fact that detailed fire records from areas in close proximity to archaeological sites are scarce. To fill this gap, we performed charcoal analysis in five colluvial soils from an archaeological area (Campo Lameiro) and compared the results to earlier studies from this area and palaeo-ecological literature from NW Spain. This analysis allowed for the reconstruction of the vegetation and fire dynamics in the area during the last ca 11 000 yrs. In the Early Holocene, Fabaceae and Betula sp. were dominant in the charcoal record. Quercus sp. started to replace these species around 10 000 cal BP, forming a deciduous forest that prevailed during the Holocene Thermal Maximum until ～5500 cal BP. Following that, several cycles of potentially fire-induced forest regression with subsequent incomplete recovery eventually led to the formation of an open landscape dominated by shrubs (Erica sp. and Fabaceae). Major episodes of forest regression were (1) ～5500–5000 cal BP, which marks the mid-Holocene cooling after the Holocene Thermal Maximum, but also the period during which agropastoral activities in NW Spain became widespread, and (2) ～2000–1500 cal BP, which corresponds roughly to the end of the Roman Warm Period and the transition from the Roman to the Germanic period. The low degree of chronological precision, which is inherent in fire history reconstructions from colluvial soils, made it impossible to distinguish climatic from human-induced fires. Nonetheless, the abundance of synanthropic pollen indicators (e.g. Plantago lanceolata and Urtica dioica) since at least ～6000 cal BP strongly suggests that humans used fire to generate and maintain pasture.     

Use of molecular approaches in hydrogeological studies: the case of carbonate aquifers in southern Italy

Waterborne pathogens represent a significant health risk in both developed and developing countries with sensitive sub-populations including children, the elderly, neonates, and immune-compromised people, who are particularly susceptible to enteric infections. Annually, approximately 1.8 billion people utilize a faecally contaminated water source, and waterborne diseases are resulting in up to 2.1 million human mortalities globally. Although groundwater has traditionally been considered less susceptible to contamination by enteric pathogens than surface water due to natural attenuation by overlying strata, the degree of microbial removal attributable to soils and aquifers can vary significantly depending on several factors. Thus, accurate assessment of the variable presence and concentration of microbial contaminants, and the relative importance of potentially causative factors affecting contaminant ingress, is critical in order to develop effective source (well) and resource (aquifer) protection strategies. “Traditional” and molecular microbiological study designs, when coupled with hydrogeological, hydrochemical, isotopic, and geophysical methods, have proven useful for analysis of numerous aspects of subsurface microbial dynamics. Accordingly, this overview paper presents the principal microbial techniques currently being employed (1) to predict and identify sources of faecal contamination in groundwater, (2) to elucidate the dynamics of contaminant migration, and (3) to refine knowledge about the hydrogeological characteristics and behaviours of aquifer systems affected by microbial contamination with an emphasis on carbonate aquifers, which represent an important global water supply. Previous investigations carried out in carbonate aquifers in southern Italy are discussed.     

Linear system techniques applied to the Fuenmayor Karst Spring, Huesca (Spain)

Black box identification techniques are very useful tools to study the relationship between rainfall and the discharge of karst aquifers. Autocorrelation, cross-correlation, cross-spectral, impulse response identification (Wiener–Hopf and error minimization methods) and parametric identification of transfer functions techniques have been used by different authors. A review of these techniques has been realized to assess the possibilities and limitations. The reviewed techniques are applied to a time rainfall–discharge series of Fuenmayor karst spring, (southern central Pyrenees, Spain) to establish the relative quality of the obtained models. The quality is evaluated with the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient. In addition, effective rainfall has been used to improve the performance of every model. The whitening technique has been used in the cross-correlation technique with good results. The studied spring shows a Fontestorbes type behavior. The linearity of the system has been analyzed by the coherence function. Fuenmayor has an acceptable linear response, except for high frequency events. The parametric identification provides the best efficiency value E = 0.8164 and provides a proper transfer function, with five parameters (one zero, two poles, the gain and the delay). The prediction power of this transfer function is validated with another time series, with an efficiency value of E = 0.7904.     

The geography of multiple scarcities: Urban development and water problems in Lima,Peru

The paper discusses the contradictory evolution of water services and the politicised nature of water scarcity in Lima, the capital of Peru. It initially claims that water scarcity cannot be understood as an isolated phenomenon, but it is inserted in a wider multiplicity of scarcities that characterise contemporary urban development. The naturalisation of scarcity in the official policy discourse is then criticised for its tendency to overlook interconnected mechanisms of political differentiation and socioeconomic exploitation that influence the allocation and use of water. Against such reductionist readings, the analysis employs a non-essentialist interpretation of multiple scarcities related to water and emphasises the need to address the totality of the experience of scarcity. Based on qualitative fieldwork, which explored recent institutional reforms and the daily struggle for water in the periphery of Lima, three fundamental reasons were identified for the persistence of water scarcity: first, the expansion of water problems as a result of the poor quality of housing and the discriminatory practices against low-income residents; second, the modest improvements in water services provided by public investment programmes, which have primarily aimed to answer political and electoral demands of the ruling party; and third, the technocratic basis of new management approaches and the systematic exclusion of grassroots communities from the decision-making process. Genuine responses to the mounting water problems of Lima require a more critical appreciation of the production of circumstantial abundances and totalising scarcities in the city.     

Identification and isotopic studies of early Cambrian magmatism (El Carancho Igneous Complex) at the boundary between Pampia terrane and the Río de la Plata craton,La Pampa province,Argentina

We have identified late Early Cambrian metaigneous rocks very poorly exposed at the Estancia El Carancho, in central La Pampa province, Argentina. They comprise calc–alkaline metadiorite and metagranite, and tholeiitic metapyroxenite and metagabbro. They are jointly referred to as the El Carancho Igneous Complex, and regarded to pertain to the Pampean magmatic arc and backarc, respectively. Titanite U–Pb SHRIMP dating of the metapyroxenite yielded 528 ± 5 Ma, and zircon U–Pb SHRIMP dating of the metadiorite yielded 520 ± 1.4 Ma. Hafnium isotope determinations on the dated zircons show ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios corresponding to positive εHf values from + 7.18 to + 9.37; Hf model ages of the Cambrian zircons yielded 884 Ma. It is interpreted that the metadiorites of the Complex crystallized from an Early Neoproterozoic (Tonian) juvenile source. We argue that the inferred occurrence of juvenile Tonian magmatic rocks in the (otherwise, mostly Paleo-Mesoproterozoic) substratum of the southern Pampia terrane could indicate a zone of thinned basement possibly associated with the early stage of Rodinia's breakup. In addition, the studied segment of the Pampean magmatic arc is contaminated by also juvenile, Late Mesoproterozoic crust, as evidenced by the presence of xenocrystic cores of 1140–1194 Ma – T_DM-Hf 1720 Ma and εHf values of + 3.24 to + 4.85 – in the Cambrian zircons, hence suggesting that the studied segment of the Pampean magmatic arc was intruded into juvenile Late Mesoproterozoic magmatic arc rocks. The El Carancho Igneous Complex would be located at the tectonic boundary between the Pampia terrane and the Río de la Plata craton. This boundary stands out in the aeromagnetic data as a change in the structural orientation about a roughly N-S line located approximately at 65° W and representing the suture zone between the Pampia terrane and the Río de la Plata craton. Our geotectonic model envisages westward dipping subduction of oceanic crust beneath the Pampia terrane; the El Carancho Igneous Complex would, therefore, have been originated on the Pampia side (upper plate) of the suture. Slivers of the arc- and backarc-type rocks would have been tectonically imbricated in the suture zone during the Pampean orogeny.     

Use of LIDAR in landslide investigations: a review

This paper presents a short history of the appraisal of laser scanner technologies in geosciences used for imaging relief by high-resolution digital elevation models (HRDEMs) or 3D models. A general overview of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) techniques applied to landslides is given, followed by a review of different applications of LIDAR for landslide, rockfall and debris-flow. These applications are classified as: (1) Detection and characterization of mass movements; (2) Hazard assessment and susceptibility mapping; (3) Modelling; (4) Monitoring. This review emphasizes how LIDAR-derived HRDEMs can be used to investigate any type of landslides. It is clear that such HRDEMs are not yet a common tool for landslides investigations, but this technique has opened new domains of applications that still have to be developed.