Scale-dependent habitat use by a large free-ranging predator,the Mediterranean fin whale

Since the heterogeneity of oceanographic conditions drives abundance, distribution, and availability of prey, it is essential to understand how foraging predators interact with their dynamic environment at various spatial and temporal scales. We examined the spatio-temporal relationships between oceanographic features and abundance of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), the largest free-ranging predator in the Western Mediterranean Sea (WM), through two independent approaches. First, spatial modeling was used to estimate whale density, using waiting distance (the distance between detections) for fin whales along ferry routes across the WM, in relation to remotely sensed oceanographic parameters. At a large scale (basin and year), fin whales exhibited fidelity to the northern WM with a summer-aggregated and winter-dispersed pattern. At mesoscale (20–100 km), whales were found in colder, saltier (from an on-board system) and dynamic areas defined by steep altimetric and temperature gradients. Second, using an independent fin whale satellite tracking dataset, we showed that tracked whales were effectively preferentially located in favorable habitats, i.e. in areas of high predicted densities as identified by our previous model using oceanographic data contemporaneous to the tracking period. We suggest that the large-scale fidelity corresponds to temporally and spatially predictable habitat of whale favorite prey, the northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica), while mesoscale relationships are likely to identify areas of high prey concentration and availability.     

Dust Formation Chemistry in Carbon-Rich Wolf-Rayet Winds

Dust formation processes are investigated in the hot hydrogen-deficient wind of carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet (WC) stars. Results show that dust precursors (small linear carbon chains) form in large quantities only at high gas densities. This suggests that a clumpy wind or an equatorial disc are necessary to trigger dust formation in WC stars. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Contrasting conditions preceding MIS3 and MIS2 Heinrich events

This paper presents an integrated multi-tracer study performed on piston cores recovered in the glacial ice-rafted detritus belt, stretching from Newfoundland to the Irish margin across the North Atlantic (40–55°N), in order to compare in detail the internal structure of each Heinrich event (HE). These tracers are IRD counts (quartz, dolomite, volcanic grains), their Nd isotopic composition and Ar–Ar datings of individual hornblende grains. A focus on the detailed structure of HE confirms that all intervals of massive sediment flux, specifically Heinrich layers HL1-to-5 (HLs), were dominated by North American, Laurentide ice-sheet surges from Hudson Strait, that are evident as far east as the Bay of Biscay (European margin). The sequences of events leading up to the HLs, however, present significant dissimilarities. One important difference is that HL2 and HL1 were preceded by “precursor events” (increases in the number of lithic grains per gram from non-Laurentide sediment sources). Sediment debris derived from near-simultaneous iceberg releases originating from the European ice-sheet are only detectable close to the European margin. In contrast there are no comparable precursor events before HL5 and HL4. This observation implies that precursor events are unlikely to be mechanistically linked to the triggering of HEs. The similarity of the HLs, against contrasting background conditions, is a significant observation that should add constraints to their origin.     

Estimating Sensible and Latent Heat Fluxes over an Inland Water Body Using Optical and Microwave Scintillometers

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - Observations of turbulent heat fluxes over inland water bodies are scarce despite being critical to adequate lake parametrization for numerical weather forecast and...     

Automatic road change detection and GIS updating from high spatial remotely-sensed imagery

This paper presents a framework for road network change detection in order to update the Canadian National Topographic DataBase (NTDB). The methodology has been developed on the basis of road extraction from IRS-pan images (with a 5.8 m spatial resolution) by using a wavelet approach. The feature matching and conflation techniques are used to road change detection and updating. Elementary experiments have showed that the proposed framework could be used for developing an operational road database updating system.     

A model for conductive faults with non-matching grids

In this paper, we are interested in modeling single-phase flow in a porous medium with known faults seen as interfaces. We mainly focus on how to handle non-matching grids problems arising from rock displacement along the fault. We describe a model that can be extended to multi-phase flow where faults are treated as interfaces. The model is validated in an academic framework and is then extended to 3D non K-orthogonal grids, and a realistic case is presented.     

Formation of chlorite during thrust fault reactivation. Record of fluid origin and P–T conditions in the Monte Perdido thrust fault (southern Pyrenees)

The chemical and isotopic compositions of clay minerals such as illite and chlorite are commonly used to quantify diagenetic and low-grade metamorphic conditions, an approach that is also used in the present study of the Monte Perdido thrust fault from the South Pyrenean fold-and-thrust belt. The Monte Perdido thrust fault is a shallow thrust juxtaposing upper Cretaceous–Paleocene platform carbonates and Lower Eocene marls and turbidites from the Jaca basin. The core zone of the fault, about 6 m thick, consists of intensely deformed clay-bearing rocks bounded by major shear surfaces. Illite and chlorite are the main hydrous minerals in the fault zone. Illite is oriented along cleavage planes while chlorite formed along shear veins (<50 μm in thickness). Authigenic chlorite provides essential information about the origin of fluids and their temperature. δ¹⁸O and δD values of newly formed chlorite support equilibration with sedimentary interstitial water, directly derived from the local hanging wall and footwall during deformation. Given the absence of large-scale fluid flow, the mineralization observed in the thrust faults records the P–T conditions of thrust activity. Temperatures of chlorite formation of about 240°C are obtained via two independent methods: chlorite compositional thermometers and oxygen isotope fractionation between cogenetic chlorite and quartz. Burial depth conditions of 7 km are determined for the Monte Perdido thrust reactivation, coupling calculated temperature and fluid inclusion isochores. The present study demonstrates that both isotopic and thermodynamic methods applied to clay minerals formed in thrust fault are useful to help constrain diagenetic and low-grade metamorphic conditions.