Sedimentation in two Catalonian canyons,northwestern Mediterranean

The Cap Creus and Lacaze-Duthiers canyons, cut on the narrow subsiding margin off the eastern Pyrenees, play an important role in downslope sediment transport in the northwestern Mediterranean. This conclusion is based on an evaluation of the surficial sediment distribution patterns, cores, direct visual observations of the sea floor made in 24 submersible dives and tight-grid seismic survey data. Down-canyon sediment movement (mostly by slump and gravity flow mechanisms) since the end of the Pliocene has resulted in the formation of the Catalonia Fan at the base of the slope west of the Rhone Cone.     

An Engineering Approach to Seismic Risk Management in Hardrock Mines

The problem of mining-induced seismicity in hardrock mines has become significant as underground mines from around the world are pushing production to deeper levels. At many mines, the risk associated with large seismic events and rockburst damage must be managed to ensure the safety of mine workers and minimise production losses. In this paper, an engineering approach to seismic risk management is described. It relies on accepted risk management techniques, which principally include the identification and understanding of hazards from which risk mitigation measures can be developed. This is achieved using simple but effective analysis techniques of high resolution microseismic data.     

The Imaclim-R model: infrastructures, technical inertia and the costs of low carbon futures under imperfect foresight

This paper analyzes the transition costs of moving towards a low carbon society when the second-best nature of the economy is accounted for. We emphasize the consequences on mitigation costs of considering the interplay between a) technical systems inertia, including slow infrastructure turnover in transportation and construction; and b) imperfect foresight influencing investment decisions. To this end, the hybrid general equilibrium modeling framework Imaclim-R is employed as it allows for transitory partial adjustments of the economy and captures their impact on the dynamics of economic growth. The modeling exercise quantitatively emphasizes the a) specific risks that the interplay between inertia and imperfect foresight leads to high macroeconomic costs of carbon abatement measures; b) opportunities of co-benefits from climate policies permitted by the correction of sub-optimalities in the reference scenarios. The article draws insights for the framing of future climate architectures by studying the role of measures that act complementarily to carbon pricing in the transport sector. In particular, reallocating public investment towards low-carbon transport infrastructure significantly reduces the overall macroeconomic costs of a given GHG stabilization target and even creates the room for long-term net economic benefits from climate policies.     

A case study of Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices on both flanks of the Earth's magnetotail

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) is a fundamental fluid dynamical process that develops in a velocity shear layer. It is excited on the tail-flanks of the Earth's magnetosphere where the flowing magnetosheath plasma and the stagnant magnetospheric plasma sit adjacent to each other. This instability is thought to induce vortical structures and play an important role in plasma transport there. While KHI vortices have been detected, the earlier observations were performed only on one flank at a time and questions related to dawn-dusk asymmetry were not addressed. Here, we report a case where KHI vortices grow more or less simultaneously and symmetrically on both flanks, despite all the factors that may have broken the symmetry. Yet, energy distributions of ions in and around the vortices show a remarkable dawn-dusk asymmetry. Our results thus suggest that although the initiation and development of the KHI depend primarily on the macroscopic properties of the flow, the observed enhancement of ion energy transport around the dawn side vortices may be linked to microphysical processes including wave-particle interactions. Possible coupling between macro- and micro-scales, if it is at work, suggests a role for KHI not only within the Earth's magnetosphere (e.g., magnetopause and geomagnetic tail) but also in other regions where shear flows of magnetized plasma play important roles.     

On the combined adjustment of a gravimetrically determined geoid and GPS levelling stations

Summary A new basic geodetic network using the GPS technique is now being set up in France. There will be altogether 1000 benchmarks connected to the French levelling network. Obviously, the GPS levelling points are not dense enough to produce a national levelling reference surface. A gravimetrically determined geoid has therefore been proposed to be used for the interpolation between the GPS levelling points. However, because of long-wavelength errors, we consider that a gravimetric geoid does not have sufficient accuracy. A regression by fitting the gravimetrically determined geoid to the GPS levelling points is generally proposed. Unfortunately, this country-wide geoid fitting work cannot eliminate local deformations in the geoid, which happen in areas where there are errors or shortages of gravity or DTM data. This paper proposes and discusses a combined adjustment method. The principle is to divide up the geoid into small pieces and then to adjust them to the GPS levelling points locally with constraint conditions for the common points of the adjacent pieces. In order to benefit from the advantages of the high resolution and high relative accuracy of the gravimetric geoid, as well as the high absolute accuracy of the GPS levelling points, we establish respectively a relative observation equation for the difference of the gravimetric geoid undulation and an absolute observation equation for the GPS levelling points. Finally, we adjust the observation equations as a whole. Several global and local systematic errors are also taken into account and some special cases, such as adjustment in groups and blunder detection, are also discussed.     

The cambridge cosmochemistry symposium

This article is a critical summary of the solar-system aspects of a meeting held in August 1972. The purpose of the meeting was to review work done sonce the 1967 Paris meeting on the Origin of the Elements.The principal topics discussed were element abundances; the structure and composition of comets, of the terrestrial and the outer planets, of the Moon, of exospheric dust, and of meteorites; planetary atmospheres; evidence for a protosolar magnetic field from remanent meteorite magnetism, abiotic synthesis of organic molecules; nucleosynthesis; solar cosmic rays; and meteorite ages.The principal results were these: There have been a number of significant changes in the estimated solar abundances—especially D, He, B, and Fe. A great deal of progress has been made in our understanding of the temperature and pressure conditions in the protosolar nebula during planetary formation, and of the condensation of solids in it. It is believed that the bulk chemistry of the terrestrial planets is now understood on the basis of equilibrium (slow) cooling of the nebula. Their atmospheres are consistent with this model, and that of Jupiter, with inhomogeneous accretion. The structure of Jupiter is also better understood. There is disagreement on the deep structure and composition of the Moon, though of course an enormous amount has been learned, especially about the surface layers. Not so much progress has been made in understanding comets.     

A multiscale electrical survey of a lateritic soil system in the rain forest of Cameroon

Resistivity investigations were carried out on an elementary watershed in SW Cameroon, firstly to assess the applicability of direct-current (DC) resistivity methods to solve various pedological problems in intertropical regions, and subsequently to determine the relationships between electrical resistivities and pedological properties of lateritic soil systems. The survey included measurements in pits with a small Wenner fixed-spacing array (SWA), vertical electrical soundings (VES) and vertical electrical “quick soundings” (VEQS) both using the Schlumberger configuration. The VES data were interpreted using a conventional multilayer inversion program to obtain best-fit models. Constraints to the interpretation of these data were provided by SWA and pedological information from existing observation pits. The results of the interpretation reveal five distinct geoelectrical layers overlying a resistive bedrock. The first is a thin organo-mineral upper layer with low resistivities in the range 250–450 Ωm. The second layer corresponds to micro-aggregated clayey materials and is more resistive (1300–1800 Ωm). The third represents the main part of ferruginous materials and is even more resistive (2000–4500 Ωm). The fourth corresponds to unsaturated saprolite and the last to saturated saprolite (ground water) with resistivities ranging from 800 to 1500 Ωm and from 150 to 250 Ωm, respectively. Estimates of soil volumes for the entire study area were obtained from VEQS interpretations. Most of the soil cover corresponds to saprolite (74%, being saturated by ground water), while topsoil and ferruginous materials represent 14 and 12%, respectively. Finally, geophysical results based upon 1-D inversion provide a satisfactory approximation of the various lateritic components' 3-D geometry over the watershed. The study provides original quantitative results concerning the behaviour of intertropical soil systems as well as some geomorphological keys for soil mapping at a regional scale.