Touhuanping Fault, an active wrench fault within fold-and-thrust belt in northwestern Taiwan, documented by spatial analysis of fluvial terraces

This study aims at the recent activity and development of an active wrench fault, the Touhuanping Fault in northwestern Taiwan. Northwestern Taiwan has been proposed in a current situation between the mature to waning collision in terms of tectonic evolution. The main drainage in this area, the Chungkang River, flows close to the trace of the fault mentioned above. We examined various types of deformation of fluvial terraces along the Chungkang River as a key to understanding the nature and rate of the late Quaternary tectonics. The E–W trending Touhuanping Fault has long been mapped as a geological boundary fault, but its recent activity was suspected. Field survey revealed that its late Quaternary activity is recorded in the offset fluvial terraces. Our result shows dextral slip and vertical offset with upthrown side on the south, and activated at least twice since the emergence of terrace 4 (older terrace 3 with OSL date of ca. 80 ka). Total amount of offset recorded in the Touhuanping terrace sequence is 15 m for dextral and 10 m for vertical offset. Estimated recurrence time of earthquake rupture may be a few tens of thousand years. Uplift on the upthrown side of the Touhuanping Fault also resulted in the formation of drowned valleys which were graded to terrace 4. Other deformation features, such as back-tilting, westward warping, and a range-facing straight scarp, were also identified. A second-order anticline roughly parallel to the Touhuanping Fault is suggested to be the origin of the northward tilting on terrace 3; it could have resulted from a flower structure on the Touhuanping Fault at shallow depth. This may demonstrate that the buried segment of the Touhuanping Fault has also been active since 80 ka. In the northern study area, the westward warping at terrace 2 probably represents late Quaternary activity of another NE–SW trending Hsincheng Fault.     

Climate change and population history in the Pacific Lowlands of Southern Mesoamerica

Core MAN015 from Pacific coastal Guatemala contains sediments accumulated in a mangrove setting over the past 6500 yr. Chemical, pollen, and phytolith data, which indicate conditions of estuarine deposition and terrigenous inputs from adjacent dry land, document Holocene climate variability that parallels the Maya lowlands and other New World tropical locations. Human population history in this region may be driven partly by climate variation: sedentary human populations spread rapidly through the estuarine zone of the lower coast during a dry and variable 4th millennium B.P. Population growth and cultural florescence during a long, relatively moist period (2800–1200 B.P.) ended around 1200 B.P., a drying event that coincided with the Classic Maya collapse.     

Swirls on the Moon and Mercury: meteoroid swarm encounters as a formation mechanism

We show that plowing of the lunar and mercurian regoliths by dense meteoroid swarms (the remnants of degassed comet nuclei) can be considered as the most probable mechanism of swirl formation. Frequently discussed mechanical and thermal effects of coma gas in cometary encounters with the Moon or Mercury are shown to be negligible as compared to those of the impact of a compact cometary nucleus. The result of such an impact does not differ substantially from that of denser impactors, so impacts of comets with compact nuclei can hardly be the mechanism of swirl formation. On the other hand, the projectile swarm consisting of numerous fragments of previously disrupted cometary nucleus produces many small craters and ejecta in a large area. The particles of the ejecta go through numerous collisions with each other. This may result in formation of the characteristic swirl pattern and dust component of the regolith. This can also decrease surface micro-roughness, which is consistent with photometric observations. Regolith plowing to depths up to a few meters excavates the immature regolith to the surface but cannot noticeably change the initial chemical composition of the upper layers in the area of swarm fall. This is generally in agreement with the results obtained from Clementine spectral data. Swirls are expected to be more numerous on Mercury due to more frequent swarm encounters and more dense clouds of debris in the vicinity of the Sun.     

Functional changes due to invasive species: Food web shifts at shallow Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds colonized by the alien macroalga Caulerpa racemosa

Multiple stable isotope analyses were used to examine the trophic shifts at faunal assemblages within the invading macroalga Caulerpa racemosa in comparison to established communities of Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. Sampling of macrobenthic invertebrates and their potential food sources of algal mats and seagrass meadows in Mallorca (NW Mediterranean) showed differences in species composition of faunal and primary producers among seagrass and C. racemosa. Accordingly, changes in food web structure and trophic guilds were observed, not only at species level but also at community level. The carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of herbivores, detritivores and deposit feeders confirmed that the seagrass provided a small contribution to the macrofaunal organisms. δ¹³C at the P. oceanica seagrass and at the C. racemosa assemblages differed, ranging from −6.19 to −21.20‰ and −2.67 to −31.41‰, respectively. δ¹⁵N at the Caulerpa mats was lower (ranging from 2.64 to 10.45‰) than that at the seagrass meadows (3.51–12. 94‰). Significant differences in isotopic signatures and trophic level among trophic guilds at P. oceanica and C. racemosa were found. N fractionation at trophic guild level considerable differed between seagrass and macroalgae mats, especially for detritivores, deposit feeders, and herbivores. Filter feeders slightly differed with a relatively lower N signal at the seagrass and CR values at community level and at trophic guild level were higher in the C. racemosa invaded habitats indicating an increase in diversity of basal resource pools. C. racemosa did seem to broaden the niche diversity of the P. oceanica meadows it colonised at the base of the food web, may be due to the establishment of a new basal resource. The extent of the effects of invasive species on ecosystem functioning is a fundamental issue in conservation ecology. The observed changes in invertebrate and macrophytic composition, stable isotope signatures of concomitant species and consequent trophic guild and niche breadth shifts at invaded Caulerpa beds increase our understanding of the seagrass systems.     

地裂缝场地地铁隧道地震动力响应的振动台试验研究

以西安轨道交通3号线地铁隧道近距离通过地裂缝场地为工程背景,采用几何比1:30的大型振动台模型试验,研究不同地震波作用下通过地裂缝带上盘场地地铁隧道的地震动力响应。试验结果表明:地裂缝场地上盘加速度响应表现出明显的放大效应;浅埋地铁隧道对地震波在土层中的传播具有一定阻碍作用,而隧道两侧拱腰位置围岩土层加速度放大效应最强;隧道特征部位PGA放大系数拱腰最大,拱底次之,拱顶最小,其中靠近地裂缝侧拱腰的PGA放大系数大于远离一侧;地裂缝附近动土压力增量明显增加,而靠近隧道附近,动土压力增量明显降低;地震作用下隧道通过地裂缝场地上下盘出现差异沉降,地表出现多条与地裂缝近似平行和正交的裂缝;隧道环向受剪切作用在靠近地裂缝一侧的拱肩部位环向应变最大,而隧道轴向受挤压作用在左右拱腰处应变出现最大值。研究结果可为地裂缝场地地铁隧道结构抗震设计与防灾减灾提供重要科学参考与借鉴。      

Seismotectonic of the Azores-Alboran region

New seismicity and focal-mechanism data from the area of the Azores Islands, in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, to the Alboran Sea and the southern part of Spain are presented.As a consequence of the different characters in the focal-mechanism solutions and b-values associated, the area has been divided in four different parts, namely, Mid-Atlantic and Terceira Ridge, Azores—Gibraltar fault, Gulf of Cadiz, Alboran Sea and Betica. The last two form the interaction between the Eurasian and African continental plates.The fracture zone is the locus of very large earthquakes with mechanisms showing a predominant right-lateral horizontal motion. Seismic foci in the continental interaction zone are spread over the whole region with mechanisms changing in character from west to east. It is suggested that this may be consequence of the behaviour of the Spanish Peninsula as a partly independent subplate. In the eastern part of the studied zone, the so-called Alboran plate may be considered as a buffer plate.     

Changes in cyanobacterial dominance following the invasion of the zebra mussel<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dreissena polymorpha</Emphasis>: Long-term results from the Hudson River estuary

The introduction of invasive bivalves such as the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) can have profound effects on aquatic ecosystems, including decreases in phytoplankton biomass and changes in the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton. Zebra mussel introductions have been associated with increased dominance of cyanobacteria, especiallyMicrocystis, but this change may depend on interacting physical, chemical, or biotic conditions. We used a 12-yr record in the Hudson River to explore the relationship between phytoplankton composition and zebra mussel filtration. During this period (1993–2005), the mean July–September filtration rate of the zebra mussel (ZMF) varied by 8-fold, and the mean biovolume of cyanobacteria, which was dominated byMicrocystis, varied from 0 to 4.2 mm³ 1⁻¹ and comprised up to 52% of total phytoplankton biovolume. There was a tendency for high cyanobacterial biomass to be associated with low rather than high ZMF. Neither the absolute nor the relative amounts of either total cyanobacteria orMicrocystis were significantly correlated to ZMF alone or in combination with total phosphorus or any other, physical or chemical parameters that we measured. Cyanobacteria dominance and abundance were both strongly correlated to temperature, and over 80% of the among year variance in cyanobacterial dominance could be explained by temperature in a linear model. Temperature in combination with dissolved SiO₃ explained 90% of the variation in cyanobacterial dominance. At higher temperatures and lower dissolved SiO₃, cyanobacterial abundance increased, at the expense of diatoms that dominated at lower temperatures and a higher SiO₃ years. The high explanatory value of temperature is surprising as the variation in temperature among years was relatively low (24.0–26.8°C). The results suggest that event slightly increased temperatures could lead to higher biomass and dominance of cyanobacteria in some aquatic systems.     

Gravestone geology

Cemeteries and graveyards not only serve as a peaceful place to commemorate the dead. For geologists—whether amateur, student or professional—almost any urban cemetery provides a valuable opportunity to carry out scientific field work at leisure, right on the doorstep, and at no cost. Cemeteries offer an excellent opportunity to examine and study a wide range of stone types in a small space. They also serve as a useful field area for studying rock weathering.     

Predicting spatio-temporal concentrations of PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> using land use and meteorological data in Yangtze River Delta,China

The prediction of PM_2.5 concentrations with high spatiotemporal resolution has been suggested as a potential method for data collection to assess the health effects of exposure. This work predicted the weekly average PM_2.5 concentrations in the Yangtze River Delta, China, by using a spatio-temporal model. Integrating land use data, including the areas of cultivated land, construction land, and forest land, and meteorological data, including precipitation, air pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and wind speed, we used the model to estimate the weekly average PM_2.5 concentrations. We validated the estimated effects by using the cross-validated R² and Root mean square error (RMSE); the results showed that the model performed well in capturing the spatiotemporal variability of PM_2.5 concentration, with a reasonably large R² of 0.86 and a small RMSE of 8.15 (μg/m³). In addition, the predicted values covered 94% of the observed data at the 95% confidence interval. This work provided a dataset of PM_2.5 concentration predictions with a spatiotemporal resolution of 3 km × week, which would contribute to accurately assessing the potential health effects of air pollution.