Nocturnal offshore precipitation near the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula

While nocturnal offshore precipitation, which produces rain cells and bands, has been studied in tropical areas, few studies have analyzed the occurrence of this phenomenon at higher latitudes. Using radar reflectivity, nocturnal rainfall in the western Mediterranean area has been detected near the coast of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. More than 50 events have been recorded since 2009. MM5 mesoscale simulations of some of the recorded events allow us to establish that the most likely causes for these precipitation events are: (1) the interaction between cold air masses conducted by drainage and katabatic winds, and (2) a wetter and warmer synoptic wind. Two different episodes are presented: one in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, caused by stratiform clouds, which occurred at the mouths of three rivers; the other case, produced by convective clouds, occurred at the southern Iberian Peninsula and was caused by the drainage winds flowing down from some mountain ranges located close to the coast.     

Coastal inshore waters in the NW Mediterranean: Physicochemical and biological characterization and management implications

The physicochemical and biological characteristics of coastal waters form a gradient extending from land to ocean. In the Mediterranean this gradient is particularly large, due to the sea’s weak tides. Within coastal waters, those waters in contact with land are called coastal inshore waters (CIW), defined herein as between 0 and 200 m from the shoreline. Here we present the first physicochemical and biological characterization of CIW of the NW Mediterranean Sea. This case study is based on 19 years of data collected from coastal inshore (CIW; 0–200 m), nearshore (CNW; 200–1500 m), and offshore (COW; >1500 m) waters of the Catalan coast. Analyses of these data showed that the physicochemical and biological characteristics of CIW differ significantly from those of CNW and COW due to: (1) significantly higher concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients (nitrate = 11.07 μM, nitrite = 0.52 μM, ammonium = 6.43 μM, phosphate = 0.92 μM, silicates = 5.99 μM) and chlorophyll-a (=2.42 μg/L) in CIW than in either CNW or COW (in some cases up to one order of magnitude); (2) a greater variability of dissolved inorganic nutrients and chlorophyll-a in CIW than in CNW and COW, and (3) the presence of a mostly urban population and the effects of river inflows as a primary source of CIW variability but with minimal impact on CNW or COW. In addition, the risk of eutrophication was found to be highest in CIW, placing human and environmental interests at greater risk than in the outermost coastal waters. The results highlight the importance of considering the distinctive physicochemical and biological properties of CIW in future coastal waters studies. This is of major importance in assessments of eutrophication and coastal water quality, not only to identify the pressure–impact relationships but also to allow the timely detection of local environmental problems and thus avoid endangering the unique communities of CIW and ensuring the sustainability of human activities. In conclusion, CIW characterization is essential to integrate coastal zone management.     

The Villalbeto de la Peña meteorite fall: I. Fireball energy,meteorite recovery,strewn field,and petrography

Abstract— An impressive daylight fireball was observed from Spain, Portugal, and the south of France at 16h46m45s UTC on January 4, 2004. The meteoroid penetrated into the atmosphere, generating shock waves that reached the ground and produced audible booms. The associated airwave was recorded at a seismic station located 90 km north of the fireball trajectory in Spain, and at an infrasound station in France located 750 km north‐east of the fireball. The absolute magnitude of the bolide has been determined to be ?18 ± 1 from a casual video record. The energy released in the atmosphere determined from photometric, seismic, and infrasound data was about 0.02 kilotons (kt). A massive fragmentation occurred at a height of 28 ± 0.2 km, resulting in a meteorite strewn field of 20 × 6 km. The first meteorite specimen was found on January 11, 2004, near the village of Villalbeto de la Peña, in northern Palencia (Spain). To date, about 4.6 kg of meteorite mass have been recovered during several recovery campaigns. The meteorite is a moderately shocked (S4) L6 ordinary chondrite with a cosmic‐ray‐exposure age of 48 ± 5 Ma. Radioisotope analysis shows that the original body had a mass of 760 ± 150 kg, which is in agreement with the estimated mass obtained from photometric and seismic measurements.     

Thrust tectonics and paleogene syntectonic sedimentation in the Empordà area,southeastern Pyrenees

Abstract

The structure of the southern Pyrenees, east of the Albanyà fault (Empordà area), consists of several Alpine thrust sheets. From bottom upwards three main structural units can be distinguished : the Roc de Frausa, the Biure-Bac Grillera and the Figueres units. The former involves basement and Paleogene cover rocks. This unit is deformed by E-W trending kilometric-scale folds, its north dipping floor thrust represents the sole thrust in this area. The middle unit is formed by an incomplete Mesozoic succession overlain by Garumnian and Eocene sediments. Mesozoic rocks internal structure consists of an imbricate stack. The floor thrust dips to the south and climbs up section southwards. The upper unit exibits the most complete Mesozoic sequence. Its floor thrust is subhorizontal. The lower and middle units thrust in a piggy-back sequence. The upper unit was emplaced out of sequence.

Lower Eocene sedimentation in the Biure-Bac Grillera unit was controlled by emergent imbricate thrusts and synchronic extensional faults. One of these faults (La Salut fault) represents the boundary between a platform domain in the footwall and a subsident trough in the hangingwall. Southward thrust propagation produces the inversion of these faults and the development of cleavage-related folds in their hangingwalls (buttressing effect). This inversion is also recorded by syntectonic deposits, which have been grouped in four depositional sequences. The lower sequences represent the filling on the hangingwall trough and the upper sequences the spreading of clastics to the south once the extensional movement ends.     

The Berduc L6 chondrite fall: Meteorite characterization,trajectory, and orbital elements

Abstract– The fall of the Berduc meteorite took place on April 7, 2008, at 01 h 02 min 28 s ± 1 s UTC. A daylight fireball was witnessed by hundreds of people from Argentina and Uruguay, and also recorded by an infrasound array in Paraguay. From the available data, the fireball trajectory and radiant have been reconstructed with moderate accuracy. The modeled trajectory was tested to fit the infrasound and strewn field data. From the computed apparent radiant α = 87 ± 2° and δ = ?11 ± 2° and taking into account a range of plausible initial velocities, we obtained a range of orbital solutions. All of them suggest that the progenitor meteoroid originated from the main asteroid belt and followed an orbit of low inclination. Based on petrography, mineral chemistry, magnetic susceptibility, and bulk chemistry, the Berduc meteorite is classified as an L6 ordinary chondrite.     

Sediment deposition from turbidity currents in simulated aquatic vegetation canopies

A laboratory flume experiment was carried out in which the hydrodynamic and sedimentary behaviour of a turbidity current was measured as it passed through an array of vertical rigid cylinders. The cylinders were intended primarily to simulate aquatic vegetation canopies, but could equally be taken to represent other arrays of obstacles, for example forests or offshore wind turbines. The turbidity currents were generated by mixing naturally sourced, poly‐disperse sediment into a reservoir of water at concentrations from 1·0 to 10·0 g l^?1, which was then released into the experimental section of the flume by removing a lock gate. For each initial sediment concentration, runs with obstacle arrays with solid plant fractions of 1·0% and 2·5%, and control cases with no obstacles, were carried out. The progress of the current along the flume was characterized by the array drag term, C_Dax_c (where C_D is the array drag coefficient, at the frontal area of cylinders per unit volume, and x_c is the position of the leading edge of the current along the flume). The downward depositional flux of sediment out of the current as it proceeded was measured at 13 traps along the flume. Analysis of these deposits divided them into fine (2·2 to 6·2 μm) and coarse (6·2 to 104 μm) fractions. At the beginning of their development, the gravity currents proceeded in an inertia‐dominated regime until C_Dax_c = 5. For C_Dax_c > 5, the current transitioned into a drag‐dominated regime. For both fine and coarse sediment fractions, the rate of sediment deposition tended to decrease gradually with distance from the source in the inertial regime, remained approximately constant at the early drag‐dominated regime, and then rose and peaked at the end of the drag‐dominated stage. This implies that, when passing through arrays of obstacles, the turbidity currents were able to retain sufficient sediment in suspension to maintain their flow until they became significantly influenced by the drag exerted by the obstacles.     

Long Plio-Pleistocene Terrestrial Record of Climate Change and Mammal Turnover in Southern Spain

Cyclostratigraphic analysis of the Pliocene Zújar section (Guadix-Baza Basin, southeastern Spain) has enabled the recognition of a number of climatically forced cycles reflecting alternating dry and wet periods. Peaks of aridity are recorded at ca. 3.95, 3.55, 3.2, 2.8, and 1.8 myr B.P. The first dry period at about 4.0 myr B.P. corresponds to the early Ruscinian Mammal age, while the second arid interval at about 3.6 myr B.P. corresponds to the establishment of the Mediterranean double seasonality. The significant mammal turnover between the late Ruscinian and early Villanyian stages is placed between chron 2An.2n and the very base of chron 2An.1n, coincident with the dry phase recognized at about 3.2 myr B.P. The fourth aridity maximum at 2.8 myr B.P. roughly coincides with the Equus event in western Europe and is probably related to the beginning of the glacial–interglacial dynamics in the Northern Hemisphere. Finally, the last dry peak at about 1.8 myr B.P. is probably related to the set of mammalian events characterizing the transition from the late Pliocene faunas to those of the early Pleistocene.     

Assessment of shallow landslide susceptibility by means of multivariate statistical techniques

Several multivariate statistical analyses have been performed to identify the most influential geological and geomorphological parameters on shallow landsliding and to quantify their relative contribution. A data set was first prepared including more than 30 attributes of 230 failed and unfailed slopes. The performance of principal component analysis, t‐test and one‐way test, allowed a preliminary selection of the most significant variables, which were used as input variables for the discriminant analysis. The function obtained has classified successfully 88·5 per cent of the overall slope population and 95·6 per cent of the failed slopes. Slope gradient, watershed area and land‐use appeared as the most powerful discriminant factors. A landslide susceptibility map, based on the scores of the discriminant function, has been prepared for Ensija range in the Eastern Pyrenees. An index of relative landslide density shows that the results of the map are consistent. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.