Contribution of spectral coherency analysis and tracer test to study leakage at the Doosti Dam reservoir,Iran and Turkmenistan

The Doosti Dam was built across the Harirood River on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran. During the reservoir impounding, leakage occurred as new springs through the sandstone layers of the Pesteleigh Aquifer and limy sandstone and limestone layers of the Neyzar–Kalat Aquifer, at the right abutment of the dam. To evaluate the grout curtain operation, a tracer test was carried out by injection of Uranine in a borehole located at the upstream of grout curtain in the Pesteleigh Aquifer. Tracer test results demonstrated a diffuse flow component through the grout curtain in the Pesteleigh Aquifer, but no tracer was detected at the main leakage point, SP1 Spring, emerged downstream of grout curtain from the Neyzar–Kalat Aquifer. Using the spectral coherency function, the lag time between changes in the water level of the injection borehole and water level in the tracer detected boreholes or discharge of the tracer detected springs was determined. Linear regression analyses indicated that the estimated lag time by the time series analysis was close to the first arrival time of the tracer. Therefore, the estimated velocities based on the lag time of time series could be considered close to the calculated velocities based on the first arrival time of the tracer. The estimated groundwater velocities based on the time series analysis ranged from 3.91 to 20.31 m h^?1, showed that diffuse flow dominated pathways from the reservoir toward the downstream boreholes in the Neyzar–Kalat Aquifer, while conduit flow was present within the pathways toward the SP1 Spring. Regarding the reservoir volume, the negligible amount of leakage at the maximum water level of the reservoir confirmed well overall operation of the grout curtain at the dam site.     

Study of Seismic Clusters at Bahía de Banderas Region,Mexico

The coast in the state of Jalisco and south of Nayarit is located within a region of high seismic potential, increasing population, and tourism development. This motivated Civil Defense authorities of Jalisco and the Universidad de Guadalajara to launch in the year 2000 the assessment of the seismic risk of the region. This work focuses in the seismicity study of the area of Bahía de Banderas and northern coast of Jalisco, which is actually a seismic gap. We perform an analysis of available seismograms to characterize active crustal structures, their relationship to surface morphology, and possible extent of these structures into the bay shallow parts. The data consist of waveforms recorded during 2003 when the seismograph network spanned the region. Our method is based on the identification of seismic clusters or families using cross-correlation of waveforms, earthquake relocation and modeling of fault planes. From an initial data set of 404 located earthquakes, 96 earthquakes with M_L < 3.6 are related to 17 potentially active continental structures. We present fault plane model for 11 structures. A subgroup of 7 structures is aligned parallel to the Middle America Trench, as a possible consequence of oblique subduction. The foci of the earthquakes were grouped into clusters corresponding to fault dimensions of hundred of meters, may be considered as asperities or barriers in tectonic structures with lengths between 10 and 30 km. These structures could generate shallow earthquakes with magnitudes between 5.0 and 6.0 and represent an additional seismic threat to the region.     

Juvenile contribution of the Neoproterozoic Rio Negro Magmatic Arc (Ribeira Belt,Brazil): Implications for Western Gondwana amalgamation

The ca. 790–600 Ma Rio Negro Complex (RNC) of the Ribeira belt (Brazil) consists of a plutonic portion of a magmatic arc built by the E-vergent subduction of the ESE border of the São Francisco paleoplate during the amalgamation of Western Gondwana.The plutonic series comprises low- to medium-K granitoids (ca. 790–620 Ma) and high-K granitoids and shoshonite rocks (ca. 610–605). The age span of 185 m.y. is suggestive of a long history of arc-related magmatism, continuously or not in time. The Nd isotopic signatures of the RNC consist of εNd(t) ratios from ? 3 to + 5 for the medium-K series shoshonite series and from ? 14 to ? 3 for the younger high-K group. This time-dependent trend of Nd isotopes is indicative of progressive maturity of the arc over time. The same evolution is indicated by Sr data, as the medium-K rocks have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr initial ratios < 0.705 while the high-K rocks yield values between 0.705 and 0.710. The predominance of intermediate rocks over mafic ones suggests an initial intra-oceanic to transitional stage, possibly developed in a distal portion of a passive margin, such as the Japanese arc, evolving to a more developed, differentiated felsic rock associations.The role of transform fault zones, such as the Luanda shear zone, is emphasized in order to explain the consumption of a wide oceanic plate in the inner portion of Western Gondwana.     

Distribution and enrichment of trace metals and arsenic at the upper layer of sediments from Lerma River in La Piedad,Mexico: case history

Lerma River is one of the largest rivers in Mexico. Over the past 20 years, unplanned population growth occurred along its course and the river has been used as the only outlet for industrial and domestic wastewater disposal. The aim of the present study was to determine trace metals such as Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Fe, Pb, and arsenic concentrations at the upper layer of sediments of the Lerma River meander in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico. Sediment samples were collected from eight different sites during the rainy and dry seasons. All samples were physically characterized, and concentration values of trace metals and As were determined. On the basis of protection criteria for freshwater sediments, concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni, and Pb were found to exceed the lowest effect level; moreover, the concentrations were found to exceed the severe effect level at some sites, particularly for Cu. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between sampling seasons for Fe and As, and among sites for Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb. In addition, the enrichment factor indicates the following order Zn > Cr > Cu > Ni > Pb > As, and the geoaccumulation index (I _geo) indicates contamination in the following order Zn > Cr > Cu > Ni > As > Pb. The Lerma River meander in La Piedad shows a reduction in pollution by trace metals and arsenic near the drain area and downstream of the meander. However, there are significantly higher concentrations of these elements in sediments of sites located in the middle part of the city.     

Mangrove habitat use by fishes in Southeastern Brazil: are there temporal changes in the structure of the community?

We compared fish community structure in Guaratiba Mangrove, SE Brazil, among three seasons of the hydrological cycle [(i) spring, increasing temperature and rainfall, decreasing salinity; (ii) summer/early fall, high temperature and rainfall, intermediate salinity; (iii) late fall/winter, low temperature and rainfall, high salinity] and between the years 2002–2003 and 2008–2009. The aim was to test the hypothesis that the fish community structure changes seasonally, associated with seasonal changes in environmental conditions, and that changes occurred between the two yearly periods because of increased anthropogenic activities. The sampling protocol for the two surveys was identical. A total of 63 species was recorded, with 38 species occurring in 2002–2003, and 53 species in 2008–2009. The main changes in the mangrove's fish assemblage between 2002–2003 and 2008–2009 were (i) an increase in species richness, fish density and total biomass; and (ii) an increase in the zoobenthivorous species of gerreids Eucinostomus argenteus, Diapterus rhombeus and Ulaema lefroyi, and a decrease in the planktivorous clupeid Harengula clupeola. Other abundant species, such as the opportunistic atherinopsid. Atherinella brasiliensis, the detritivorous mullet Mugil liza and the zoobenthivorous pufferfish Sphoeroides testudineus did not differ in abundance between the two yearly periods. Ten species occurred only in 2002–2003, and 23 species only in 2008–2009, indicating significant changes in community structure over the 6‐year period. Seasonal changes in community structure were more conspicuous in 2008–2009, when species abundance and richness were greatest. The highest fish abundance was recorded in spring and in summer/early fall, and the lowest in late fall/winter. The increased abundance and richness over time may be at least partially attributable to protection policies because of the effective implementation of a biological reserve in the area.     

Sexual traits plasticity of the potentially invasive limpet Bostrycapulus odites (Gastropoda: Calyptraeidae) within its natural distribution in South America

The slipper limpet Bostrycapulus odites has recently been reported as an introduced species on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Another species in the family Calyptraeidae, Crepidula fornicata, is a problematic invasive species in the Northeast Atlantic, which makes the closely related Bostrycapulus introduction a matter of concern. Information on the biology of B. odites in its natural environment can facilitate predictions on where the species could find favourable conditions for settlement and expansion. Size and sex were recorded for individuals in four populations over 2600 km of the Southwestern Atlantic shoreline, in Argentina and Brazil, covering the whole native latitudinal range of this widely distributed species. Animals were collected by hand in the intertidal or by SCUBA in subtidal locations; specimens were examined to determine shell length, sex, and the presence and number of brooded egg capsules in females. Mean shell length for the whole population did not differ significantly among populations. However, this species experiences sequential hermaphroditism (protandrism), and the size at sexual maturity (minimum male size) increased significantly with latitude. The fecundity of females at all sites increased with size, and the number of brooded egg capsules as well as the average size of capsules was larger in bigger individual females; however, mean fecundity varied among sites independent of mean female body size. This limpet species modifies its reproductive traits with local conditions, and sexual characters develop earlier in more temperate localities.     

Lu–Hf garnet systematics of a polymetamorphic basement unit: new evidence for coherent exhumation of the Adula Nappe (Central Alps) from eclogite-facies conditions

The Adula Nappe in the Central Alps is a mixture of various pre-Mesozoic continental basement rocks, metabasics, ultrabasics, and Mesozoic cover rocks, which were pervasively deformed during Alpine orogeny. Metabasics, ultrabasics, and locally garnet–mica schists preserve eclogite-facies assemblages while the bulk of the nappe lacks such evidence. We provide garnet major-element data, Lu profiles, and Lu–Hf garnet geochronology from eclogites sampled along a north–south traverse. A southward increasing Alpine overprint over pre-Alpine garnets is observed throughout the nappe. Garnets in a sample from the northern Adula Nappe display a single growth cycle and yield a Variscan age of 323.8 ± 6.9 Ma. In contrast, a sample from Alpe Arami in the southernmost part contains unzoned garnets that fully equilibrated to Alpine high-pressure (HP) metamorphic conditions with temperatures exceeding 800 °C. We suggest that the respective Eocene Lu–Hf age of 34.1 ± 2.8 Ma is affected by partial re-equilibration after the Alpine pressure peak. A third sample from the central part of the nappe contains separable Alpine and Variscan garnet populations. The Alpine population yields a maximum age of 38.8 ± 4.3 Ma in line with a previously published garnet maximum age from the central nappe of 37.1 ± 0.9 Ma. The Adula Nappe represents a coherent basement unit, which preserves a continuous Alpine high-pressure metamorphic gradient. It was subducted as a whole in a single, short-lived event in the upper Eocene. Controversial HP ages and conditions in the Adula Nappe may result from partly preserved Variscan assemblages in Alpine metamorphic rocks.     

Metals and metalloids in primary gold mining districts of Western Bolivia: anthropogenic and natural sources

Topsoil and subsoil samples located adjacent and distant from the mining operations sites were collected. Most total metals showed no significant differences between topsoil and subsoil or proximity, suggesting that they derive from endogenous parent material. There was an increment in Hg in topsoils adjacent to the mining operation sites, indicating a deposition of Hg from the amalgamation areas. Higher values of total, extractable and soluble As were observed adjacent to the mining operation sites, probably related to the presence of residues, rich in arsenopyrite. Organic matter and clay contents control the concentrations of EDTA-extractable Cd and Zn, while soil acidity was associated with the behaviour of As, Hg and Cu. In contrast the concentration of EDTA-extractable Pb was directly affected by its total concentration. In general, soluble metals were highly independent, without significant correlations with any soil physical and chemical properties.     

The importance of the vertical accuracy of digital elevation models in gauging inundation by sea level rise along the Valdelagrana beach and marshes (Bay of Cádiz, SW Spain)

The identification of potential coastal inundation caused by future sea level rise requires not only time series records from tide gauges, but also high-quality digital elevation models (DEMs). This study assesses the importance of DEM vertical accuracy in predicting inundation by sea level rise along the Valdelagrana beach and marshes of the Bay of Cádiz (SW Spain). A present-day (2000) and a projected (2100) high tide have been spatialized over a traditional (aerial photogrammetry) regional DEM of Andalusia with a horizontal spatial resolution of 10 m and a vertical accuracy of 0.68 m RMSE (root mean square error), and a LIDAR-derived DEM of the Valdelagrana study site with the same spatial resolution but a vertical accuracy of 0.205 m RMSE. The simulations are based on a bathtub model, which accounts for the effect of vertical barriers. The results reveal that the presence of infrastructures such as roads and salterns is the key to delimit the extent of water penetration during high tides in an otherwise homogeneously flat area comprising the beach and marshes of Valdelagrana. Moreover, in comparison with the highly accurate LIDAR DEM, the inundation areas derived from the lower-resolution DEM are overestimated by 72 % and 26 % for the present-day and future scenarios respectively. These findings demonstrate that DEM vertical accuracy is a critical variable in meaningfully gauging the impacts of sea level rise.