Distribution and thickness of sedimentary facies in the coastal dune, beach and nearshore sedimentary system at Maspalomas, Canary Islands

Numerous studies have shown that most beaches and coastal dune systems of the world are currently eroding but very few have investigated the combined sediment budgets of subaerial and nearshore submarine systems. In the case of the dune field of the Maspalomas Natural Special Reserve (in the south of Gran Canaria), the adjacent Maspalomas and El Inglés beaches and the adjacent submarine platform, the sediment budgets have been severely affected by erosion over the past few decades. The objectives of this study were to investigate the availability of sand within the modern sedimentary system, including the coastal dunes, the beaches and the submerged shelf, but also to assess local sediment sinks. An isopach map generated on the basis of topo-bathymetric data and seismic-reflection profiles revealed that sediment thickness varies from 0–22 m in the study area. Expanses of relatively low sediment thickness were identified in the south-western sector of the coastal dune field along Maspalomas beach, and in the nearshore region to the south of this beach. These localized sediment-deficit areas earmark Maspalomas beach as the most vulnerable shore strip threatened by erosion. The shallow seismic data also revealed that the submarine platform south of Maspalomas represents a marine terrace cut into an ancient alluvial fan, thus documenting an influence of the geomorphological heritage on the present-day morphodynamics. A side-scan sonar mosaic of this nearshore platform enabled the delimitation of areas covered by rock, boulders and gravel, vegetated sand patches and a mobile sand facies, the latter including ripple and megaripple fields. The megaripple field in a valley close to the talus of the marine terrace has been identified as a major sediment sink of the Maspalomas sedimentary system. It is fed by south-westerly storm-wave events. The sediment deficit in the coastal dune field and along Maspalomas beach can therefore only be explained by a currently faster loss of sediment to an offshore sink than can be compensated by the supply of sand from outside the system.     

On the indirect effect in the Stokes–Helmert method of geoid determination

The classical integral formula for determining the indirect effect in connection with the Stokes–Helmert method is related to a planar approximation of the sea level. A strict integral formula, as well as some approximations to it, are derived. It is concluded that the cap- size truncated integral formulas will suffer from the omission of some long-wavelength contributions, of the order of 50 cm in high mountains for the classical formula. This long-wavelength information can be represented by a set of spherical harmonic coefficients of the topography to, say, degree and order 360. Hence, for practical use, a combination of the classical formula and a set of spherical harmonics is recommended. Received: 10 March 1998 / Accepted: 16 November 1998     

The changing social relations of a community-based mangrove forest project in Zanzibar

Coastal areas in East Africa are experiencing rapid economic, resource management, demographic and technological shifts. In response diverse Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) applications have been embraced to provide mutual conservation and use benefits. These initiatives have met with mixed success in practice. Reflecting on the limitations of past research using common pool resources theory theory to study CBNRM we use insights from actor oriented theory combined with satellite image analysis to describe and discuss the forces dynamically influencing institutional and mangrove forest cover change at Kisakasaka, Zanzibar focussing on the formal CBNRM project period between 1996 and 2001, but also considering the period before and after this. We examine the shifting social relations that affected the performance and viability of the formal CBNRM arrangements. An integrated approach was taken to the presentation and discussion of results where it was possible to enrich and expand explanations of socio-environmental change, which was driven by a lack of government support, the undermining effects of party political divisions, and the lack of institutional adaptive capacity. We conclude that this was a useful approach to explain CBNRM intervention events at Kisakasaka.     

Unification of vertical datums by GPS and gravimetric geoid models using modified stokes formula

In general, neighboring vertical datums can be compared directly at one or more common points on the border between the datums. This direct method requires leveling and gravity measurements. Such a direct connection is not possible if the datums are separated by an ocean or another body of water. Then a rigorous mathematical model, an indirect approach, may be useful. In order to connect regional vertical datums, a rigorous mathematical model is derived based on a method by Rummel and Teunissen. In this study, two vertical datums are connected indirectly by means of a combination of precise geocentric positions of tide gauge sites and their geoid heights in one geocentric coordinate system and their height values in the respective height datums. This method is used to connect the Swedish and the Finnish height systems. The difference between Swedish RH70 and the Finnish N60 height systems is estimated to —12.1±2.7 cm. The results are mostly in good agreement with those of the direct approach by Sjöberg and by Ekman and the indirect approach by Pan and Sjöberg.     

Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups – I. Single stars

This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties of late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate our study on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association (Pleiades moving group,     , IC 2391 supercluster (35 Myr), Ursa Major group (Sirius supercluster, 300 Myr), and Hyades supercluster (600 Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castor moving group (200 Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list of single late-type possible members of some of these young stellar kinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established members of stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematic properties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such as their level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithium abundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes taken from the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, and published radial velocity measurements are used to calculate the Galactic space motions ( U , V , W ) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteria in order to determine the membership of the selected stars to the different groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods for late-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. A further study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a better understanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, as well as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. In addition, these stars are also potential search targets for direct imaging detection of substellar companions.     

Predicted radio-continuum emission from the little Homunculus of the η Carinae nebula

In this paper, we compute theoretically the flux density and the spectral index of the free–free radiation at radio wavelengths produced by shocks in the inner bipolar emission nebula called the little Homunculus around the star η Carinae. The little Homunculus is believed to have formed as a result of the minor eruption suffered by the star in the 1890s. In our model, we consider a simplified interacting stellar wind scenario where the post-outburst η Carinae wind collides with the eruptive outflow (both assumed to be bipolar with conical symmetry). As a result of the interaction, shock-wave structures are formed and generate the development of two polar caps moving in opposite directions. After ∼100 yr (i.e. at present times), the polar caps are located ±2.3 arcsec on each side of the star, and remain embedded within the larger bipolar Homunculus that extends from −8 to +8 arcsec along its major axis. Using observational estimates of the characteristics of the eruptive event of the 1890s, and of the ambient wind powered by η Carinae in the decades after the eruption ended, we study the evolution of the polar caps formed as a result of a sudden increase in the wind velocity and an instantaneous drop in the mass-loss rate (just after the eruption) at the injection radius. We found that the little Homunculus emits continuum radiation that can be detected at radio frequencies and that indeed represents an important contribution to the total free–free emission detected from the η Carinae nebula.     

Quasigeoid-to-geoid determination by EGM08

We present a method to estimate the difference between quasigeoid and geoid heights globally from the Earth Gravitational Model EGM08 and a related topographic model. The numerical computations with the standard topographic density of 2.67 g/cm³ show that the maximum and minimum of the separations are estimated to 5.47 m and −0.11 m on the Tibet plateau and in the Indian Ocean, respectively. These estimates do not consider possible topographic density variations, which result in topographic bias changes proportional to the topographic elevation squared. Assuming such density changes of 10% from the standard value, the separation may change up to 5 dm.     

A rootless suture and the loss of the roots of a mountain chain: The Variscan belt of NW Iberia

Ophiolites of different Paleozoic ages occur in North-West (NW) Iberia in a rootless suture representing the remnants of the Rheic Ocean. Associated allochthonous terranes in the hanging- and foot-walls of the suture derive from the former margins, whereas the relative autochthon corresponds to the Paleozoic passive margin of northern Gondwana. The Paleozoic tectonic evolution of this part of the circum-Atlantic region is deduced from the stratigraphical, petrological, structural and metamorphic evolution of the different units and their ages. The tectonic reconstruction covers from Cambro-Ordovician continental rifting and the opening of the Rheic Ocean to its Middle to Upper Devonian closure. Then, the Variscan Laurussia–Gondwana convergence and collision is briefly described, from its onset to the late stages of collapse associated with the demise of the orogenic roots.