Precursory seismicity of the 1994 eruption of Popocatépetl Volcano,Central Mexico

Popocatépetl Volcano is located in the central Mexican Volcanic Belt, within a densely populated region inhabited by over 20 million people. The eruptive history of this volcano indicates that it is capable of producing a wide range of eruptions, including Plinian events. After nearly 70 years of quiescence, Popocatépetl reawakened in December 21, 1994. The eruptive activity has continued up until the date of this submission and has been characterized by a succession of lava dome growth-and-destruction episodes, similar to events that have apparently been typical for Popocatépetl since the fourteenth century. In this regime, the episodes of effusive and moderately explosive activity alternate with long periods of almost total quiescence. In this paper we analyze five years of volcano-tectonic seismicity preceding the initial eruption of the current episode. The evolution of the V-T seismicity shows four distinct stages, which we interpret in terms of the internal processes which precede an eruption after a long period of quiescence. The thermal effects of a magma intrusion at depth, the fracturing related to the slow development of magma-related fluid pathways, the concentration of stress causing a protracted acceleration of this process, and a final relaxation or redistribution of the stress shortly before the initial eruption are reflected in the rates of V-T seismic energy release. A hindsight analysis of this activity shows that the acceleration of the seismicity in the third stage asymptotically forecast the time of the eruption. The total seismic energy release needed to produce an eruption after a long period of quiescence is related to the volume of rock that must be fractured so imposing a characteristic threshold limit for polygenetic volcanoes, limit that was reached by Popocatépetl before the eruption.     

Rainfall network design using kriging and entropy

The spatial distribution of rainfall is related to meteorological and topographical factors. An understanding of the weather and topography is required to select the locations of the rain gauge stations in the catchment to obtain the optimum information. In theory, a well‐designed rainfall network can accurately represent and provide the needed information of rainfall in the catchment. However, the available rainfall data are rarely adequate in the mountainous area of Taiwan. In order to provide enough rainfall data to assure the success of water projects, the rainfall network based on the existing rain gauge stations has to be redesigned. A method composed of kriging and entropy that can determine the optimum number and spatial distribution of rain gauge stations in catchments is proposed. Kriging as an interpolator, which performs linear averaging to reconstruct the rainfall over the catchment on the basis of the observed rainfall, is used to compute the spatial variations of rainfall. Thus, the rainfall data at the locations of the candidate rain gauge stations can be reconstructed. The information entropy reveals the rainfall information of the each rain gauge station in the catchment. By calculating the joint entropy and the transmitted information, the candidate rain gauge stations are prioritized. In addition, the saturation of rainfall information can be used to add or remove the rain gauge stations. Thus, the optimum spatial distribution and the minimum number of rain gauge stations in the network can be determined. The catchment of the Shimen Reservoir in Taiwan is used to illustrate the method. The result shows that only seven rain gauge stations are needed to provide the necessary information. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Streamflow scaling properties: investigating characteristic scales from different statistical approaches

This paper studies the links between scaling properties of river flow time series by comparing the results of three techniques applied to an extended data set of 34 French discharge gauging stations. The three approaches used are based on different mathematical tools and hypotheses: (1) shape analysis of flood hydrographs; (2) a multifractal framework through spectral and moment analyses, and (3) flood frequency analysis through the fitting of flood duration frequency curves (QdF). The general aim is to test the hypothesis of scaling invariance of river flow and the shape invariance of the hydrographs, in order to investigate the link between scaling properties and flow dynamics. In particular, the coherence between different approaches widely used in the literature to describe these characteristics is evaluated through the estimation of parameters defining the range of time‐scales on which the scaling properties are valid. The results show that most of these timescale parameters are linked to the flow dynamics and suggest that the approaches applied are interrelated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Petrology of the Yugu peridotites in the Gyeonggi Massif,South Korea: Implications for its origin and hydration process

Peridotites exposed in the Yugu area in the Gyeonggi Massif, South Korea, near the boundary with the Okcheon Belt, exhibit mylonitic to strongly porphyroclastic textures, and are mostly spinel lherzolites. Subordinate dunites, harzburgites, and websterites are associated with the lherzolites. Amphiboles, often zoned from hornblende in the core to tremolite in the rim, are found only as neoblasts. Porphyroclasts have recorded equilibrium temperatures of about 1000°C, whereas neoblasts denote lower temperatures, about 800°C. Olivines are Fo_90–91 in lherzolites and Fo₉₁ in a dunite and a harzburgite. The Cr# (= Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio) of spinels varies together with the Fo of olivines, being from 0.1 to 0.3 in lherzolites and around 0.5 in the dunite and harzburgite. The Na₂O content of clinopyroxene porphyroclasts is relatively low, around 0.3 to 0.5 wt% in the most fertile lherzolite. The Yugu peridotites are similar in porphyroclast mineral chemistry not to continental spinel peridotites but to sub‐arc or abyssal peridotites. Textural and mineralogical characteristics indicate the successive cooling with hydration from the upper mantle to crustal conditions for the Yugu peridotites. Almost all clinopyroxenes and amphiboles show the same U‐shaped rare earth element (REE) patterns although the level is up to ten times higher for the latter. The hydration was associated with enrichment in light REE, resulting from either a slab‐derived fluid or a fluid circulating in the crust. The mantle‐wedge or abyssal peridotites were emplaced into the continental crust as the Yugu peridotite body during collision of continents to form a high‐pressure metamorphic belt in the Gyeonggi Massif. The peridotites from the Gyeonggi Massif exhibit lower‐pressure equilibration than peridotites, with or without garnets, from the Dabie–Sulu Collision Belt, China, which is possibly a westward extension of the Gyeonggi Massif.     

Early Cretaceous paleogeography of Korea and Southwest Japan inferred from occurrence of detrital chromian spinels

The Sindong Group was deposited in the north–south trending half‐graben Nakdong Trough, southern Korean peninsula. The occurrence of detrital chromian spinels from the Jinju Formation of the Sindong Group in the Gyeongsang Basin means that the mafic to ultramafic rocks were exposed in its provenance. The chromian spinels from the Jinju Formation are characterized by extremely low TiO₂ and Fe³⁺. Moreover, their range of Cr# is from 0.45 to 0.80 and makes a single trend with Mg#. The chemistry of chromian spinels implies that the source rocks for chromian spinels were peridotites or serpentinites, which originated in the mantle wedge. To more narrowly constrain their source rocks, the Ulsan and Andong serpentinites exposed in the Gyeongsang Basin were examined petrographically. Chromian spinels in the Andong serpentinite differ from those of the Jinju Formation and those in the Ulsan serpentinite partly resemble them. Furthermore, the Jinju chromian spinel suite is similar to the detrital chromian spinels from the Mesozoic sediments in the Circum‐Hida Tectonic zone, which includes the Nagato Tectonic zone in Southwest Japan and the Joetsu Belt in Northeast Japan. This suggests that the basement rocks, which were located along the main fault bounding the eastern edge of the Nakdong Trough, had exposures of peridotite or serpentinite. It is possible that the Nakdong Trough was directly adjacent to the Circum‐Hida Tectonic zone before the opening of the Sea of Japan (East Sea).     

Biodegradation of Crude Oil by Individual Bacterial Strains and a Mixed Bacterial Consortium Isolated from Hydrocarbon Contaminated Areas

A preliminary study was undertaken to determine the optimal conditions for the biodegradation of a crude oil. Among 57 oil‐degrading bacterial cultures isolated from oil‐contaminated soil samples, Bacillus sp. IOS1‐7, Corynebacterium sp. BPS2‐6, Pseudomonas sp. HPS2‐5, and Pseudomonas sp. BPS1‐8 were selected for the study based on the efficiency of crude oil utilization. Along with the selected individual strains, a mixed bacterial consortium prepared using the above strains was also used for degradation studies. The mixed bacterial consortium showed more growth and degradation than did individual strains. At 1% crude oil concentration, the mixed bacterial consortium degraded a maximum of 77% of the crude oil. This was followed by 69% by Pseudomonas sp. BPS1‐8, 64% by Bacillus sp. IOS1‐7, 45% by Pseudomonas sp. HPS2‐5, and 41% by Corynebacterium sp. BPS2‐6. The percentage of degradation by the mixed bacterial consortium decreased from 77 to 45% as the concentration of crude oil was increased from 1 to 12%. Temperature of 35°C and pH 7 were found to be optimum for maximum degradation.     

Movement of Heavy Metals in Soil through Preferential Flow Paths under Different Rainfall Intensities

Preferential flow in soils deserves attention due to its potential role in accelerating the movement of contaminants to groundwater. This study investigates the movement of Cd, Cu, and Pb through preferential flow paths under different applied rainfall intensities. Artificial acid rain (pH of 4.1) containing CdCl₂, CuCl₂, and Pb(NO₃)₂ was applied to undisturbed soil and repacked sand columns at low and high intensities, and leachate metals and chloride concentrations were measured. Cd was found in the leachate at both low and high rates in all columns, while the increase in Cu concentrations in the leachate was detected only at the high rate of the undisturbed columns. Pb was retained in both columns. For undisturbed columns, the breakthrough curves of Cd and Cu were similar to those of Cl, showing early initial breakthrough by preferential flow and dependency on rainfall intensities. The Cd concentrations were detected in the leachate from repacked columns for high rate rainfall, implying that even homogeneous soil may not be perfectly able to retain metals and the initially wet condition is more harmful for subsurface contaminant transport. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that, despite its highly sorptive nature, the transport of some metals may be as fast as that of a tracer under preferential flow conditions, and the rainfall intensity is a significant factor for the degree of transport.     

Seed germination of wild,in situ-managed,and cultivated populations of columnar cacti in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley,Mexico

Seed germination was compared among wild, in situ-managed (wild plants let standing in areas cleared for agriculture), and cultivated populations of the columnar cacti Stenocereus pruinosus, Polaskia chichipe, Myrtillocactus schenckii, and Polaskia chende, species representing a gradient from higher to lower management intensity, respectively. We hypothesized that seeds from cultivated populations have higher water requirements to germinate than seeds of other populations, and that such difference is stronger in species more intensely managed. Germination was evaluated under water potential treatments at 0.0, ?0.2, and ?0.4 MPa. Interspecific differences were identified; germination rates markedly decreased in S. pruinosus and P. chichipe as water potential reduced. M. schenckii seeds germinated better at ?0.2 MPa, and seeds of P. chende in all treatments. Seed germination of wild and cultivated populations was similar in all cases and, therefore, at the population level domestication does not appear to have influenced variations in germination of the studied cacti species. However, experiments to test whether germination of seeds from plants with clear signs of domestication differs with seeds from other plants and their differential germination and seedling survival in wild, in situ-managed and cultivated environments could help to precise the influence of domestication on these plants.