Overview of Recent Coastal Tectonic Deformation in the Mexican Subduction Zone

Holocene and Pleistocene tectonic deformation of the coast in the Mexico subudction margin is recorded by geomorphic and stratigraphic markers. We document the spatial and temporal variability of active deformation on the coastal Mexican subduction margin. Pleistocene uplift rates are estimated using wave-cut platforms at ca. 0.7?C0.9?m/ka on the Jalisco block coast, Rivera-North America tectonic plate boundary. We examine reported measurements from marine notches and shoreline angle elevations in conjunction with their radiocarbon ages that indicate surface uplift rates increasing during the Holocene up to ca. 3?±?0.5?m/ka. In contrast, steady rates of uplift (ca. 0.5?C1.0?m/ka) in the Pleistocene and Holocene characterize the Michoacan coastal sector, south of El Gordo graben and north of the Orozco Fracture Zone (OFZ), incorporated within the Cocos-North America plate boundary. Significantly higher rates of surface uplift (ca. 7?m/ka) across the OFZ subduction may reflect the roughness of subducting plate. Absence of preserved marine terraces on the coastal sector across El Gordo graben likely reflects slow uplift or coastal subsidence. Stratigraphic markers and their radiocarbon ages show late Holocene (ca. last 6?ka bp) coastal subsidence on the Guerrero gap sector in agreement with a landscape barren of marine terraces and with archeological evidence of coastal subsidence. Temporal and spatial variability in recent deformation rates on the Mexican Pacific coast may be due to differences in tectonic regimes and to localized processes related to subduction, such as crustal faults, subduction erosion and underplating of subducted materials under the southern Mexico continental margin.     

Damage and management of cyclone Sidr-affected homestead tree plantations: a case study from Patuakhali, Bangladesh

Geographically, Bangladesh is considered to be one of the most cyclone-prone areas in the world. The super cyclone Sidr in 2007 was one of the most devastating disasters to have ever occurred in Bangladesh, having wind speeds of 223?km/h with a tidal surge of 6.1?C7.6?m high. In order to draw a pre- and post-Sidr damage and management scenario, a survey was conducted at Dumki upazila, Patuakhali district in Bangladesh with a pretested questionnaire. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire, while secondary data were collected from pertinent offices as well as academic journals. The major focus of this study was to assess the state of pre-Sidr tree plantations (woody and fruit trees), the devastation caused by Sidr on these tree plantations, and post-Sidr recovery and further sustainable management initiatives to counteract a possible future neo-Sidr. The post-Sidr study showed that about 16.84 million woody and fruit trees were uprooted by Sidr. A total of 3,120 rain tree (Samanea saman L.), 7,548 mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni L.), 1,444 royal siris (Albizzia richardiana L.), 702 white siris (Albizzia procera L.), 1,214 mango (Mangifera indica L.), 1,092 coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), 1,380 jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.), and 7,640 betel nut (Areca catechu L.) trees were sampled among which 922, 1,662, 382, 210, 106, 38, 362, and 1,652 trees, respectively, were markedly damaged by Sidr. Sexually propagated woody trees with a damaged taproot were vulnerable to heavy wind during the cyclone. Fruit trees were more resistant to the cyclone than other types of trees, and the lack of proper tree training and pruning was one of the principal causes of the severe damage to woody trees. Hence, plantations of woody tree saplings with damaged taproots are strongly discouraged. However, proper training and pruning of homestead trees together with plantation of fruit trees rather than woody trees is suggested as a possible effective management strategy to protect the homestead ecosystem from devastation by future cyclones in Bangladesh.     

Episodic wood loading in a mountainous neotropical watershed

The Upper Rio Chagres drains 414 km² of steep, mountainous terrain in central Panama. A tropical air mass thunderstorm on 10 July 2007 produced a flood across the basin that peaked at 720 m³ s^− 1 at a headwaters gage draining 17.5 km² and 1710 m³ s^− 1 at a downstream gage draining 414 km². The storm also triggered numerous landslides in the upper basin, which facilitated the formation of large logjams along portions of the channel where transport capacity of wood was reduced by a change in channel geometry such as a bend or channel expansion. During field work in February 2008, we characterized three jams with surface areas of 400–2450 m²; two of these jams resulted in storage of substantial (1100–8200 m³) sediment wedges upstream. We returned to these sites in March 2009 to document changes in the logjams and sediment storage. Drawing on observations made in the basin since 2002, and site visits during 2008 and 2009, we suggest that jams such as these last two years or less. We propose that wood dynamics in the Upper Chagres alternate between brief periods of moderate wood load in the form of large logjams and much longer periods of essentially no wood load, a situation that contrasts with the more consistent wood loads in catchments of similar size in temperate environments and with limited studies of more consistent wood load in tropical catchments with no landslides.     

Factorial kriging of a geochemical dataset for heavy-metal spatial-variability characterization

Characterizing the spatial patterns of variability is a fundamental aspect when investigating what could be the causes behind the spatial spreading of a set of variables. In this paper, a large multivariate dataset from the southeast of Belgium has been analyzed using factorial kriging. The purpose of the study is to explore and retrieve possible scales of spatial variability of heavy metals. This is achieved by decomposing the variance-covariance matrix of the multivariate sample into coregionalization matrices, which are, in turn, decomposed into transformation matrices, which serve to decompose each regionalized variable as a sum of independent factors. Then, factorial cokriging is used to produce maps of the factors explaining most of the variance, which can be compared with maps of the underlying lithology. For the dataset analyzes, this comparison identifies a few point scale concentrations that may reflect anthropogenic contamination, and it also identifies local and regional scale anomalies clearly correlated to the underlying geology and to known mineralizations. The results from this analysis could serve to guide the authorities in identifying those areas which need remediation.     

Evaluating foreland basin partitioning in the northern Andes using Cenozoic fill of the Floresta basin,Eastern Cordillera,Colombia

This paper addresses foreland basin fragmentation through integrated detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology, sandstone petrography, facies analysis and palaeocurrent measurements from a Mesozoic–Cenozoic clastic succession preserved in the northern Andean retroarc fold‐thrust belt. Situated along the axis of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, the Floresta basin first received sediment from the eastern craton (Guyana shield) in the Cretaceous–early Palaeocene and then from the western magmatic arc (Central Cordillera) starting in the mid‐Palaeocene. The upper‐crustal magmatic arc was replaced by a metamorphic basement source in the middle Eocene. This, in turn, was replaced by an upper‐crustal fold‐thrust belt source in the late Eocene which persisted until Oligocene truncation of the Cenozoic section by the eastward advancing thrust front. Sedimentary facies analysis indicates minimal changes in depositional environments from shallow marine to low‐gradient fluvial and estuarine deposits. These same environments are recorded in coeval strata across the Eastern Cordillera. Throughout the Palaeogene, palaeocurrent and sediment provenance data point to a uniform western or southwestern sediment source. These data show that the Floresta basin existed as part of a laterally extensive, unbroken foreland basin connected with the proximal western (Magdalena Valley) basin from mid‐Paleocene to late Eocene time when it was isolated by uplift of the western flank of the Eastern Cordillera. The Floresta basin was also connected with the distal eastern (Llanos) basin from the Cretaceous until its late Oligocene truncation by the advancing thrust front.     

Reconnaissance environmental magnetic study of urban soils, dust and leaves from Bogotá, Colombia

Rock-magnetic investigations of environmental samples, such as soils, dust and leaves, can provide useful information on environmental stress. Aim of this paper is to report on the first magnetic survey carried out on environmental samples from Bogotá, Colombia, which is the fifth most populated city of Latin America. We studied three kinds of samples in order to evaluate their potential as pollution markers: soils, urban dust and leaves of the Sauco (Sambucus nigra) tree. Standard magnetic methods were used to analyze the three groups of samples, with special emphasis on leaves investigated here for the first time for environmental purposes. Samples were collected along two perpendicular transects in an area of the city presumably unpolluted, with two different systems of public transportation. Thermomagnetic curves obtained from soils and atmospheric dust show clearly defined ferrimagnetic phase (probably magnetite) as the main magnetic carrier. Curves of acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetization confirm the ferrimagnetic character of magnetic particles. Frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility was found between 0 and 10%, suggesting less-important contribution of ultrafine super-paramagnetic magnetite. The apparent contradictory results between soils and the rest of samples may reflect different accumulation period for magnetic particles, being shorter for leaves and urban dust than for soils.     

Characterization of distal turbidites in marine sedimentary sequences using magnetic mineral data and factor analysis of microfossils assemblages

Results of a study of turbiditic deposits in a sequence of middle to late Holocene marine sediments from Alfonso Basin in the southern Gulf of California are presented. Turbidites are identified from analyses of core sections, X-ray images, texture and granulometry. Characterization of distal turbidites could be difficult, particularly for thin fine-grained deposits with little contrast in grain size, mineralogy and texture. We have here included analyses of microfossil and magnetic mineral data. Turbiditic currents transport material from various depths in the continental slope into the basin and it can be expected that turbiditic deposits are characterized by re-worked material, lack of microfossils or mixed assemblages with no content of paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic record. This may show in lack of internal coherence as quantified by factor analysis of microfossil assemblages. Turbidites in some cases may also show distinct magnetic properties as compared with those in the sediment sequence. In Alfonso Basin, turbidites show increased contents of detrital magnetic minerals volcanic-derived and transported from the basin slope. We identify twelve turbiditic layers through the sequence that present high magnetic susceptibility and low communalities from factor model to the microfossils data providing characterization of the turbidites.     

Laboratory tests of steel simple torsionally unbalanced models

The objective of this work is to obtain estimations of the amplification factors α and δ used for torsion design of buildings, from experiments. For this study, simple one‐storey torsionally unbalanced (TU) steel models were considered. Models consisted of a deck supported on four columns with a selected arrangement of hinges at column ends. Two theoretical structural eccentricities (e = 0.05 and 0.15) were considered. Models were excited with a simple long‐period pendulum consisting of a hanging platform with a forced‐vibration generator on it. Eight models were tested at several excitation levels (frequencies and force magnitudes) in both ranges of behaviour: elastic and inelastic. Experiments were conducted at three frequency ratios of excitation. Registered accelerations of the pendulum platform indicate that the experimental set‐up leads to excitations that resemble narrow‐band seismic ground motions. Frame shear force estimations, based on accelerations recorded at both deck sides, indicate that torsion design factors (α and δ) depend on eccentricity. Estimations of frame shears based on measurements indicate that for normalized eccentricities e ? 0.025, the amplification α can be between 2 and 3; while δ factor resulted between 0.0 and 1.6. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.