Tectonic setting of the recent damaging seismic series in the Southeastern Betic Cordillera,Spain

In this work we analyze the tectonic setting of the recent damaging seismic series occurred in the Internal Zones of the eastern Betic Cordillera (SE Spain) and surrounding areas, the tectonic region where took place the 11th May 2011 Mw 5.2 Lorca earthquake. We revisit and make a synthesis of the seven largest and damaging seismic series occurred from 1984 to 2011. We analyze their seismotectonic setting, and their geological sources under the light of recent advances in the knowledge on active faults, neotectonics, seismotectonics and stress regime, with special attention focused on the Lorca Earthquake. These seismic series are characterized by two types of focal mechanisms, produced mainly by two sets of active faults, NNW–SSE to NNE–SSW small (no larger than 20–30 km) extensional faults with some strike slip component, and E–W to NE–SW large strike slip faults (more than 50 km long) with some compressional component (oblique slip faults). The normal fault earthquakes related to the smaller faults are dominant in the interior of large crustal tectonic blocks that are bounded by the large E–W to NE–SW strike-slip faults. The strike slip earthquakes are associated to the reactivation of segments or intersegment regions of the large E–W to NE–SW faults bounding those crustal tectonic blocks. Most of the seismic series studied in this work can be interpreted as part of the background seismicity that occurs within the crustal blocks that are strained under a transpressional regime driven by the major strike slip shear corridors bounding the blocks. The seismotectonic analysis and the phenomenology of the studied series indicate that it is usual the occurrence of damaging compound earthquakes of M  \(\sim \)  5.0 associated with triggering processes driven by coseismic stress transfer. These processes mainly occur in the seismic series generated by NNW–SSE to NNE–SSW faults. These mechanical interaction processes may induce a higher frequency of occurrence of this kind of earthquakes than considered in traditional probabilistic seismic hazard assessments and it should be taken into account in future seismic hazard assessments.     

IUPA: a tool for the evaluation of the general usefulness of practices for adaptation to climate change and variability

A prototype multi-purpose index is proposed for use in the evaluation of practices for adaptation to climate variability and change. The Index of Usefulness of Practices for Adaptation (IUPA) allows the user to assign weights and scores to a set of user-defined evaluation criteria. Individual criterion scores are aggregated into a final index value. Both the final value and the individual parameter scores provide useful information for improved decision making in the context of climate change. An innovative aspect of IUPA is that guidance is given to the user through the inclusion of recommendations on evaluation criteria and criterion-specific weight factors. These have been defined by a panel of experts from the Latin-American and Caribbean Region (LAC). Application of the index is demonstrated for an existing adaptation practice from the Coquimbo Region, Chile. The IUPA tool is recommended for use in the evaluation of adaptation practices in their design, implementation and post-implementation phase. It is practical for a quick first assessment or when limited financial resources are available, making the tool especially useful for practitioners in the developing world. The index is flexible both from the perspective of its construction and use. Additional expert opinions can easily be included in the future versions of the tool.     

Implications of geomorphological research for recent and prehistoric avalanches and related hazards at Huascaran,Peru

Detailed research of superficial deposits below the northern peak of Huascaran (Cordillera Blanca) provides new information on the limits of a paleo-avalanche originating from this mountain. Geomorphological mapping of the sediments identified glacial deposits, deposits from historical rock-debris avalanches and huge boulders from a paleo-avalanche. Schmidt Hammer rock-hardness tests were used to distinguish between the several generations of rock-debris avalanches, but largely failed to distinguish between the much older moraine and the paleo-avalanche sediments. Thus, only the field geomorphological mapping proved to be reliable for identifying the limits of the paleo-avalanche. The limits identified as granite boulders deposited over volcanic rocks were found to extend 30 m further up the opposite valley slope than previously had been mapped. This larger extent implies a greater volume and/or greater mobility for the prehistoric event.     

From emplacement to unroofing: thermal history of the Jiazishan gabbro, Sulu UHP terrane, China

On the eastern extremity of the Jiaodong peninsula, China, shoshonitic magmas have been injected into the supracrustal rocks of the Sulu ultra-high pressure (UHP) terrane during the crustal exhumation phase. These granitoids (collectively termed the Shidao igneous complex or Jiazishan alkaline complex) show geochemical and isotopic signatures of an enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle and intruded soon after the subducted Yangtze crust had reached peak metamorphic pressure conditions (240–220 Ma). We have applied various geochronometers to an alkali-gabbro sample from the Jiazishan pluton and the results allow reconstruction of the Triassic-to-present thermal history. Initial rapid cooling of the gabbro at crustal depths is indicated by the close agreement between the Sm-Nd mineral isochron age (228?±?36 Ma) and the Rb-Sr biotite age (207?±?1) Ma. This interpretation is confirmed by previously published U-Pb zircon ages (225–209 Ma), and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole and K-feldspar ages (～214 Ma) from the Jiazishan syenites. A titanite fission-track age of 166?±?8 Ma (closure temperature range 285–240°C) records widespread Jurassic magmatism in the Jiaodong peninsula, indicating that the gabbro reached upper crustal levels before it was reheated by nearby Jurassic plutons. A subsequent cooling and reheating event is indicated by an apatite fission-track age of 106?±?6 Ma which coincides with the emplacement of the adjacent Weideshan pluton (108?±?2 Ma) and postdates a period of regional lithospheric thinning beneath eastern China. A period of slow cooling (or thermal stability) from late Cretaceous to early Tertiary, documented by an apatite (U-Th)/He age of 39?±?5 Ma, was followed by a final stage of more enhanced cooling since the late Eocene. Results of this work imply that the eastern Sulu terrane has experienced a complex cooling and reheating history. Our data are consistent with a model of initial rapid cooling (sudden exhumation) of the UHP terrane, driven by the release of buoyancy forces, followed by two progressively slower cooling intervals (both after renewed crustal reheating) during the Jurassic and Cretaceous.     

The Wave-Front Correction System for the Sunrise Balloon-Borne Solar Observatory

This paper describes the wave-front correction system developed for the Sunrise balloon telescope, and it provides information about its in-flight performance. For the correction of low-order aberrations, a Correlating Wave-Front Sensor (CWS) was used. It consisted of a six-element Shack??C?Hartmann wave-front sensor (WFS), a fast tip-tilt mirror for the compensation of image motion, and an active telescope secondary mirror for focus correction. The CWS delivered a stabilized image with a precision of 0.04?arcsec (rms), whenever the coarse pointing was better than ???45?arcsec peak-to-peak. The automatic focus adjustment maintained a focus stability of 0.01?waves in the focal plane of the CWS. During the 5.5?day flight, good image quality and stability were achieved during 33?hours, containing 45?sequences, which lasted between 10 and 45?min.     

An indurated Pleistocene coastal barrier on the inner shelf of the Gulf of Valencia (western Mediterranean): evidence for a prolonged relative sea-level stillstand

The objective of this study is to document and interpret a recently discovered carbonate-cemented coastal barrier on the inner shelf of the Gulf of Valencia (western Mediterranean Sea). The coastal barrier was identified in a high-resolution digital bathymetric model based on a cartographic survey of the study area using a multibeam echosounder. Moreover, radiocarbon dating and petrographic analyses were performed on a rock sample recovered from the seabed. The data reveal the submerged coastal barrier to be approx. 1.7 km wide and 70 km long, and incised by channels of various dimensions. Aligned more or less parallel to the modern coastline, it is interpreted as corresponding to the shoreline of a former sea-level stillstand. The barrier and lagoon system became stranded above sea level in the course of a subsequent forced regression, which also caused the incision of the river courses. Age dating of the cemented rock suggests that the fossil coastal barrier most probably formed during the prolonged Tyrrhenian (Eemian) sea-level highstand, induration taking place by carbonate cementation at the contact between freshwater and seawater (beach-rock formation). The fact that the fossil barrier is today submerged below modern sea level is explained by the sustained subsidence affecting the region.     

Automatic tracing of the foot of the continental slope

The UNCLOS III (Article 76, Section 4(b)) defines the foot of the continental slope as the point of maximum change in the gradient at its base. It is impossible to locate so defined afoot and thus to trace the foot‐line objectively by eye. In this study we show a method designed automatically to detect and trace the foot‐line of the continental slope from an irregular array of bathymetrical data. Our algorithm first transforms the bathymetric surface to a maximum curvature surface. On this new surface, the foot‐line corresponds to one of the ridges; instead of tracing the foot‐line on the bathymetric surface, we now can trace the ridges on the maximum curvature surface. The tracing of the ridges can be done automatically and objectively and the foot‐line is identified as being one of these ridges. We devote particular attention to the case when the ridge‐line is not defined, i.e., to the case when the point of maximum gradient change becomes a region of maximum gradient change.     

Deep-sea Fe-Mn Crusts from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean: Composition and Resource Considerations

Eighteen deep-sea ferromanganese crusts (Fe-Mn crusts) from 10 seamounts in the northeast Atlantic were studied. Samples were recovered from water depths of ～1,200 to ～4,600 m from seamounts near Madeira, the Canary and Azores islands, and one sample from the western Mediterranean Sea.

The mineralogical and chemical compositions of the samples indicate that the crusts are typical continental margin, hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts. The Fe-Mn crusts exhibit a Co + Cu + Ni maximum of 0.96 wt%. Platinum-group element contents analyzed for five samples showed Pt contents from 153 to 512 ppb.

The resource potential of Fe-Mn crusts within and adjacent to the Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is evaluated to be comparable to that of crusts in the central Pacific, indicating that these Atlantic deposits may be an important future resource.