Mantle derived crystal-poor rhyolitic ignimbrites: Eruptive mechanism from geochemical and geochronological data of the Piedra Parada caldera,Southern Argentina

Trace elements, isotopic modeling and U-Th-Pb SHRIMP zircon age constraints are used to reconstruct the eruption history and magmatic processes of the Piedra Parada Caldera. In the early Eocene, the crystal-poor Barda Colorada ignimbrite(BCI), having 15% micro-porphyritic crystals with respect to magmatic components, erupted a volume estimated in more than 300 km~3. The Piedra Parada caldera is located in the Patagonian Andes foreland, at the southern end of the calderas field of the Pilcaniyeu Volcanic Belt(PVB). This belt is related to an extensional tectonic setting as a result of the collision of the Farallon-Aluk ridge with South America, which enabled the development of a transform ocean/continental plate margin followed by the detachment of the Aluk plate and the opening of a slab window. The BCI extra-caldera Plateau is a 100 m thick deposit, having a lower unit with high silica(Si O_2 76 wt.%),potassium poor rhyolitic composition(trondhjemitic like magma), and an upper unit with normal to high potassium rhyolitic composition(granitic like magma). A trace elements modeling of the BCI units shows that the BCI lower and upper units did not evolve from fractionation or immiscibility in the shallow magma reservoir. The BCI also have a primitive isotopic signature(initial87 Sr/86 Sr =0.7031-0.7049 and ε_(Nd)= +3.4 to +3.65). Thus, tectonic, compositional and isotopic constraints suggest the fast ascent of high silica magmas to a shallow reservoir, and point to an upper mantle origin for these rhyolitic magmas in a transitional(Orogenic-Anorogenic) tectono-magmatic setting. U-Th-Pb SHRIMP zircon crystallization ages of the Syn-caldera stage BCI units(56 -51.5 Ma) show a protracted life of 5 Ma for this caldera reservoir. The age of 52.9 ± 0.3 Ma is considered the best fit for the possible maximum age for the caldera collapse. The Late-caldera magmatism has trachyandesitic and rhyolitic compositions.The trace element modeling suggests that these rhyolites evolve from the trachyandesites and do not evolve from the BCI residual magma. The trachyandesites have U-Th-Pb SHRIMP zircon crystallization ages of 52 ± 1 Ma, suggesting that the caldera eruption was triggered by the arrival of the trachyandesitic magma.     

Use of radon isotopes,gamma radiation and dye tracers to study water interactions in a small stream in Brazil

In this study, natural (²²²Rn) and fluorescent (uranin) tracers were used to investigate the interactions between surface and subsurface waters in a small hydrographical basin located in the southeast region of Brazil. Levels of ²²²Rn were measured in 117 water samples with the use of an alpha solid-state detector. After the identification of the probable discharge sections along the stream, a measurement of the natural flows, upstream and downstream of these sections, was done with the use of a fluorimeter and fluorescent tracers. Also, scanning was done to verify a correlation between the natural gamma radiation and the ²²²Rn in the areas where its activity was higher. The results showed some sections where the ²²²Rn activity is more significant and contributed to the growth of the flows along the stream. It was possible to confirm a correlation between the discharge sections and the natural gamma radiation, what can be used as a preliminary approach to finding these sections in scenarios similar to the one studied here.     

A possible case of Sporadic Aurora in 1843 from Mexico

In recent years, some authors have shown that some auroras can be observed at relatively low latitude when the geomagnetic activity is quiet or moderate. This very special type of aurora is called “sporadic aurora”. We present and analyze in this work a possible case of “sporadic aurora” observed in Mexico on the 19 April 1843. Moreover, we study the solar and auroral activity around this event.     

L1 norm inversion method for deconvolution in attenuating media

In order to perform a good pulse compression, the conventional spike deconvolution method requires that the wavelet is stationary. However, this requirement is never reached since the seismic wave always suffers high‐frequency attenuation and dispersion as it propagates in real materials. Due to this issue, the data need to pass through some kind of inverse‐Q filter. Most methods attempt to correct the attenuation effect by applying greater gains for high‐frequency components of the signal. The problem with this procedure is that it generally boosts high‐frequency noise. In order to deal with this problem, we present a new inversion method designed to estimate the reflectivity function in attenuating media. The key feature of the proposed method is the use of the least absolute error (L1 norm) to define both the data and model error in the objective functional. The L1 norm is more immune to noise when compared to the usual L2 one, especially when the data are contaminated by discrepant sample values. It also favours sparse reflectivity when used to define the model error in regularization of the inverse problem and also increases the resolution, since an efficient pulse compression is attained. Tests on synthetic and real data demonstrate the efficacy of the method in raising the resolution of the seismic signal without boosting its noise component.     

Anthropogenic input of heavy metals in two Audouin’s gull breeding colonies

Anthropogenic activities have become an important source of heavy metals to the marine environments. Biological sentinels like seabirds’ chicks have been widely used to monitorize the levels of some heavy metals. Due to its mainly marine foraging habits, Audouin’s gull fits well for this purpose. Mercury and lead levels were measured in mantle feathers of Audouin’s gull chicks from two colonies in NE Iberian Peninsula: the Ebro Delta and the Llobregat Delta. Both are anthropized areas subject to differential pollutant inputs. Lead levels were significantly higher in the Llobregat Delta probably due to the use of leaded fuel in the nearby Barcelona airport. On the other side, mercury concentrations were higher in the Ebro Delta, in relation with the disposal of the toxic sediments at the Flix site carried down by the Ebro River. These mercury levels in the Ebro chicks reached values that have been described as toxic.     

Characterization of Colliery Spoils in León: Potential Uses in Rural Infrastructures

One of the bases of sustainable development is the responsible management of natural resources, and this is the approach which has been adopted by developed countries as regards management of all kinds of waste, through the establishment of management strategies based on prevention, reuse and recycling. This article present the results of a physical, chemical and geotechnical characterization of colliery spoils stored in slag heaps in the Ciñera-Matallana coal mining area in León, Spain. The primary objectives of this research were to determine the suitability of this mining waste for use as granular material in rural and civil engineering infrastructures and to classify it according to national and international road construction standards. On the basis of the results obtained, they are proposed several possible uses (foundation and core layers in track and road embankments, granular sub-base for light traffic and top layers of embankments), although it should be noted the need for mechanical treatments as crushing or sieving and the recommendation of use of sulphate resistant cement to avoid the possible problems.     

Pilocarpus microphyllus seedling growth threatened by climate change: an ecophysiological approach

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The climate change endangers many species of the Amazon Forest. An example, in the endangered medicinal species Pilocarpus microphyllus (popularly known as...     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001533

The collision of a divergent ocean ridge may evolve into two end cases:in the continuity of ocean-floor subduction.or in the detachment of the subducted plate.The northern Patagonia active plate margin has the unique situation that in Cenozoic time it has been subjected to two divergent ridge collisions,each one representing one of the end members.The Neogene Antarctica-Nazca divergent ridge collision evolved as a continuous ocean-floor subduction system,promoting a magmatic hiatus at the arc axis,the obduction of part of the ridge ocean-floor in the fore-arc.and basaltic volcanism in the back-arc.In contrast,the Paleogene Farallon-Aluk divergent ridge collision evolved into a transform margin,with the detachment and sinking of the Aluk plate and the development of a large slab window.As in the previous case,this collision promoted a magmatic hiatus at the arc axis,but the tectono-magmatic scenario changed to postorogenic synextensional volcanism that spread to the former fore-arc（basalt,andesite,rhyolite） and former back-arc（bimodal ignimbrite flare-up,basalt）.Geochemistry of this slab window synextensional volcanism shows more MORB-like basalts towards the former fore-arc,and MORB-OIB-like basalts towards the former back-arc.Instead,an isolated undeformable crustal block in the former back-arc,with an "epeirogenic" response to the slab window and extensional regime,was covered by OIB-type basalts after uplift.Major elements show that slab window basalts reach TiCh values up to 3 wt%,as compared with the top value of 1.5 wt%of arc magmas.Besides,the MgO with respect to（FeO^t + Al₂O₃） ratio helps to distinguish slab window magma changes from the former fore-arc to the former back-arc and also with respect to the "epeirogenic" block.Higher contents of HFS elements such as Nb and Ta also help to distinguish this slab window from arc magmas and also,to distinguish slab window magma changes from the former fore-arc to the former back-arc and "epeirogenic" block settings.The isotope compositions of slab window magmatism show a disparate coeval array from MORB to crustal sources,interpreted as a consequence of the lack of protracted storage and homogenization due to the extensional setting.     

Non-destructive microtomography-based imaging and measuring laboratory-induced degradation of travertine, a random heterogeneous geomaterial used in urban heritage

The aim of this study is to apply X-ray microfocus computed microtomography (μ-XCT), a promising non-destructive 3D microscopy imaging technique, based on measurements of X-ray linear path attenuation coefficient, in order to study a Portuguese travertine, a random heterogeneous geomaterial used in urban heritage constructions. This study evaluates the impact of soluble sulphate salt–induced decay phenomena on texture characteristics at a micrometric scale. This is done to better describing, imaging, measuring and understanding the impact of an artificially induced sulphate-decay process on petrographic/petrophysical properties. A Portuguese travertine was chosen as the object of our study. Its laboratory-induced changes were systematically monitored, using non-destructive techniques, to determine voids (pores + fractures)/matrix fractions and size spectrum evolution based on 3-D images. This investigation demonstrates that the μ-XCT potential constitutes a valid complementary tool when analysing decay processes of complex natural materials in different environmental conditions. It clearly provides suggestive and important qualitative and/or quantitative estimates, at different spatial scales, of environmentally induced stone voids/matrix network spatial structure-texture evolution correlations. Further qualitative/quantitative parameterization assessment and statistical validation will be the next step to be taken on this study.