Geochemistry of the thermal springs and fumaroles of Basse-Terre Island,Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles

 The purpose of this work was to study jointly the volcanic-hydrothermal system of the high-risk volcano La Soufrière, in the southern part of Basse-Terre, and the geothermal area of Bouillante, on its western coast, to derive an all-embracing and coherent conceptual geochemical model that provides the necessary basis for adequate volcanic surveillance and further geothermal exploration. The active andesitic dome of La Soufrière has erupted eight times since 1660, most recently in 1976–1977. All these historic eruptions have been phreatic. High-salinity, Na–Cl geothermal liquids circulate in the Bouillante geothermal reservoir, at temperatures close to 250  °C. These Na–Cl solutions rise toward the surface, undergo boiling and mixing with groundwater and/or seawater, and feed most Na–Cl thermal springs in the central Bouillante area. The Na–Cl thermal springs are surrounded by Na–HCO₃ thermal springs and by the Na–Cl thermal spring of Anse à la Barque (a groundwater slightly mixed with seawater), which are all heated through conductive transfer. The two main fumarolic fields of La Soufrière area discharge vapors formed through boiling of hydrothermal aqueous solutions at temperatures of 190–215  °C below the "Ty" fault area and close to 260  °C below the dome summit. The boiling liquid producing the vapors of the Ty fault area has δD and δ¹⁸O values relatively similar to those of the Na–Cl liquids of the Bouillante geothermal reservoir, whereas the liquid originating the vapors of the summit fumaroles is strongly enriched in ¹⁸O, due to input of magmatic fluids from below. This process is also responsible for the paucity of CH₄ in the fumaroles. The thermal features around La Soufrière dome include: (a) Ca–SO₄ springs, produced through absorption of hydrothermal vapors in shallow groundwaters; (b) conductively heated, Ca–Na–HCO₃ springs; and (c) two Ca–Na–Cl springs produced through mixing of shallow Ca–SO₄ waters and deep Na–Cl hydrothermal liquids. The geographical distribution of the different thermal features of La Soufrière area indicates the presence of: (a) a central zone dominated by the ascent of steam, which either discharges at the surface in the fumarolic fields or is absorbed in shallow groundwaters; and (b) an outer zone, where the shallow groundwaters are heated through conduction or addition of Na–Cl liquids coming from hydrothermal aquifer(s). Received: 9 November 1998 / Accepted: 15 July 1999     

Detection of Hg pollution by stream sediment geochemistry in the Bisagno valley (Genoa, Italy)

 Systematic stream sediment investigation in a periurban area surrounding Genoa (Italy) revealed the existence of a significant mercury anomaly localized on the main (3rd rank) bed of the Bisagno river. Statistical multivariate analysis of elemental abundances points out the anthropic nature of this contamination. Because of the well-known bioaccumulation of Hg in contaminated media, attention must be focused on the risks associated with the discovered pollution. Received: 30 November 1999 · Accepted: 22 March 2000     

Depth profiles of bacterioplankton assemblages and their activities in the Ross Sea

The identification of bacterial community structure has led, since the beginning of the 1990s, to the idea that bacterioplankton populations are stratified in the water column and that diverse lineages with mostly unknown phenotypes dominate marine microbial communities. The diversity of depth-related assemblages is also reflected in their patterns of activities, as bacteria affiliated to different groups can express different activities in a given ecosystem. We analysed bacterial assemblages (DGGE fingerprinting) and their activities (prokaryotic carbon production, protease, phosphatase, chitinase, beta-glucosidase and lipase activities) in two areas in the Ross Sea, differing mainly in their productivity regime: two stations are located in the Terra Nova Bay polynya area (highly productive during summer) and two close to Cape Adare (low phytoplankton biomass and activity). At every station a pronounced stratification of bacterial assemblages was identified, highlighting epipelagic communities differing substantially from the mesopelagic and the bathypelagic communities. Multivariate analysis suggested that pressure and indirectly light-affected variables (i.e. oxygen and fluorescence) had a great effect on the bacterial communities outcompeting the possible influences of temperature and dissolved organic carbon concentration. Generally activities decreased with depth even though a signal of the Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) at one of the northern stations corresponded to an increase in some of the degradative activities, generating some ‘hot spots’ in the profile. We also found that similar assemblages express similar metabolic requirements reflected in analogous patterns of activity (similar degradative potential and leucine uptake rate). Furthermore, the presence of eukaryotic chloroplasts’ 16S rDNA in deep samples highlighted how in some cases the dense surface-water formation (in this case High Salinity Shelf Water—HSSW) and downwelling can affect, at least for some phylotypes, the bacterial (16S rDNA based) community structure of the dark ocean.     

85 Peg A: what age for a low-metallicity solar-like star?

We explore the possible evolutionary status of the primary component of the binary 85 Pegasi, listed as a target for asteroseismic observations by the MOST satellite. In spite of the assessed 'subdwarf' status, and of the accurate distance determination from the Hipparcos data, the uncertainties in the metallicity and age, coupled with the uncertainty in the theoretical models, lead to a range of predictions on the oscillation frequency spectrum. Nevertheless, the determination of the ratio between the small separation in frequency modes, and the large separation as suggested by Roxburgh, provides a very good measure of the star age, quite independent of the metallicity in the assumed uncertainty range. In this range, the constraint on the dynamical mass and the further constraint provided by the assumption that the maximum age is 14 Gyr limits the mass of 85 Peg A to the range from 0.75 to  0.82 M_⊙  . This difference of a few hundredths of a solar mass leads to well detectable differences both in the evolutionary stage (age) and in the asteroseismic properties. We show that the age determination which will be possible through the asteroseismic measurements for this star is independent either of the convection model adopted or the microscopic metal diffusion. The latter conclusion is strengthened by the fact that, although metal diffusion is still described in an approximate way, recent observations suggest that real stars suffer a smaller metal sedimentation compared with the models.     

Comparison of four meteorite penetration funnels in the Campo del Cielo crater field,Argentina

Abstract– More craters may be discovered in the future, but as it is currently known, the Campo del Cielo crater field is 18 km long by 4 km at its widest point. Such a distribution of craters suggests that the parent meteoroid entered and traversed the atmosphere at a very low angle relative to horizontal. The crater field contains at least 20 small craters produced by the larger fragments of the parent meteoroid. Four of these are explosion analog craters and the rest are penetration funnels. During four field seasons, we have constructed topographic and magnetic maps of four of the penetration funnels as found, and then dug trenches across them to learn their original structures and recover meteorites preserved within them. Structures of these penetration funnels indicate very low angles of impact, i.e., 9–16° relative to horizontal. This supports the idea that the parent meteoroid traversed the atmosphere at a low angle. Data given here for the four penetration funnels include projectile masses, lengths, widths, depths, and estimates of impact angles and azimuths. One of the penetration funnels described here (No. 6) can almost be classified as an explosion analog crater.     

Assessment of the role of facies heterogeneity at the fine scale by numerical transport experiments and connectivity indicators

The heterogeneity of facies at the scale of individual lithological levels controls, at a macroscopic scale, water flow and contaminant transport in porous sediments. In particular the presence of organized features such as permeable connected levels, has a significant effect on travel times and dispersion. Here, the effects of facies heterogeneity on flow and transport are studied for three blocks, whose volume is of the order of a cubic meter, dug from alluvial sediments from the Ticino valley (Italy). Using the results of numerical tracer experiments on these domains, the longitudinal dispersion coefficient is computed with an Eulerian approach based on the fit of the breakthrough curves with the analytical solution of the convective-dispersive transport equation. Moreover, the dispersion tensor is computed with a Lagrangian approach from the second order moments of particle distributions. Three types of connectivity indicators are tested: (1) connectivity function; (2) flow, transport and statistical connectivity; (3) original (intrinsic, normal and total) indicators of facies connectivity. The connectivity function provides the most complete information. Some of the transport and statistical connectivity indicators are correlated with dispersivity. The simultaneous analysis of the three indicators of facies connectivity emphasizes the fundamental geometrical features that control transport.     

Experimental investigation of the hydrodynamics in pockmarks using particle tracking velocimetry

Water tank experiments were performed in order to investigate the behaviour of currents in pockmarks. A particle-seeded flow was visualised and quantified with the aid of the particle tracking velocimetry technique. The employed analogue pockmark is a 1:100 idealised scale model of a natural pockmark, while the highest Reynolds number in the experiments was one order of magnitude smaller than in nature. Interaction of the flow with the pockmark geometry resulted in an upwelling current downstream of the pockmark centre, along with enhanced water turbulence in the depression. Scaling-up the experimental measurements, it is found that the upwelling would be capable of preventing the settling of particles as large as very fine sand. Furthermore, the increased turbulence would support the suspended fine material, which can thus be transported away before settling. The net effect for a variable-direction near-bed current over long periods of time would be to winnow the settling sediments and reduce the sedimentation rate in pockmarks. These mechanisms may be responsible for the observed lack of sediment infill and the typical presence of relatively coarser sediments inside pockmarks compared to the surrounding bed. In contrast, sediments transported as bedload are likely to be deposited in pockmarks because of the weakening of near-bed currents as well as lateral flow convergence associated with the upwelling. Bedload, however, may not be the dominant mode of sediment transport in areas covered by cohesive sediments, where pockmarks are found.     

Lateral variations in tectonic style across cross-strike discontinuities: an example from the Central Apennines belt (Italy)

In foreland thrust belts, abrupt lateral changes in tectonic style, structural–stratigraphic features, and topography usually occur across cross-strike faults. The Central Apennines of Italy offer an exceptional scenario of lateral variations in tectonic setting. Here, the Sangro Volturno oblique thrust ramp (SVOTR) represents the outer thrust front of the Pliocene–Quaternary foreland thrust system, confining southward the axial culmination of the orogen that occurs in the Central Apennines. We present an interpretation of the Pliocene–Quaternary evolution of this cross-strike fault through an integrated dataset including structural-geological mapping and subsurface onshore seismic reflection profiles. The interpretation of the structural framework is augmented by the analysis of low-temperature thermochronometers from 32 new sites extending across the subsurface transverse structure. As evidenced by seismic line interpretation, the localization and development of the SVOTR have been influenced by inherited extensional faults within a positive inversion tectonics context. The regional distribution of the maximum paleotemperature values across the SVOTR constrains the original extent of the allochthonous thrust sheet over all its hanging-wall and footwall blocks. The Pliocene–Quaternary thrusting and inversion of SVOTR caused the strong hanging-wall uplift, which brought to the complete erosion of the allochthonous units and the exhumation of the Adria units. The integrated analysis of low-temperature thermochronometers and structural evidence as applied in the study case can define the role of major cross-strike discontinuities in foreland thrust belts, by constraining and verifying their tectonics inversion significance and the amount of related exhumation.     

National Civil Protection Organization and technical activities in the 2012 Emilia earthquakes (Italy)

On May 2012, a severe seismic sequence occurred in the central part of the Po Plain (Northern Italy). It was characterized by two main shocks displaying local magnitudes 5.9 (on May 20th) and 5.8 (on May 29th), respectively; the maximum observed intensity was VII–VIII on the MCS scale. The emergency response was coordinated as usual by the Department of Civil Protection (DPC), within the general framework provided by the components and operational structures of the National Civil Protection Service. In addition to the search and rescue and to the population assistance activities, many technical activities were carried out to support the civil protection management of the recovery phase. Among these, mentioning is deserved by: the acquisition and dissemination of the accelerometric data from the National Accelerometric Network and the Seismic Observatory of the Structures, owned and operated by DPC; the evaluation of the liquefaction phenomena; the damage and building safety assessment; the regulations for the seismic safety assessment of industrial buildings, aimed at a rapid re-establishment of the productive activities; the actions undertaken following the evaluations by the Grandi Rischi Commission on the possible evolution of the seismic sequence. All these aspects will be examined under a civil protection perspective.     

Strain localization due to structural in-homogeneities in the Central European Basin System

The large-scale crustal deformations observed in the Central European Basin System (CEBS) are the result of the interplay between several controlling factors, among which lateral rheological heterogeneities play a key role. We present a finite-element integral thin sheet model of stress and strain distribution within the CEBS. Unlike many previous models, this study is based on thermo-mechanical data to quantify the impact of lateral contrasts on the tectonic deformation. Elasto-plastic material behaviour is used for both the mantle and the crust, and the effects of the sedimentary fill are also investigated. The consistency of model results is ensured through comparisons with observed data. The results resemble the present-day dynamics and kinematics when: (1) a weak granite-like lower crust below the Elbe Fault System is modelled in contrast to a stronger lower crust in the area extending north of the Elbe Line throughout the Baltic region; and (2) a transition domain in the upper mantle is considered between the shallow mantle of the Variscan domain and the deep mantle beneath the East European Craton (EEC), extending from the Elbe Line in the south till the Tornquist Zone. The strain localizations observed along these structural contrasts strongly enhance the dominant role played by large structural domains in stiffening the propagation of tectonic deformation and in controlling the basin formation and the evolution in the CEBS.