Magnitude and frequency relations: are there geological constraints to the rockfall size?

There exists a transition between rockfalls, large rock mass failures, and rock avalanches. The magnitude and frequency relations (M/F) of the slope failure are increasingly used to assess the hazard level. The management of the rockfall risk requires the knowledge of the frequency of the events but also defining the worst case scenario, which is the one associated to the maximum expected (credible) rockfall event. The analysis of the volume distribution of the historical rockfall events in the slopes of the Solà d’Andorra during the last 50 years shows that they can be fitted to a power law. We argue that the extrapolation of the F-M relations far beyond the historical data is not appropriate in this case. Neither geomorphological evidences of past events nor the size of the potentially unstable rock masses identified in the slope support the occurrence of the large rockfall/rock avalanche volumes predicted by the power law. We have observed that the stability of the slope at the Solà is controlled by the presence of two sets of unfavorably dipping joints (F3, F5) that act as basal sliding planes of the detachable rock masses. The area of the basal sliding planes outcropping at the rockfall scars was measured with a terrestrial laser scanner. The distribution of the areas of the basal planes may be also fitted to a power law that shows a truncation for values bigger than 50 m² and a maximum exposed surface of 200 m². The analysis of the geological structure of the rock mass at the Solà d’Andorra makes us conclude that the size of the failures is controlled by the fracture pattern and that the maximum size of the failure is constrained. Two sets of steeply dipping faults (F1 and F7) interrupt the other joint sets and prevent the formation of continuous failure surfaces (F3 and F5). We conclude that due to the structural control, large slope failures in Andorra are not randomly distributed thus confirming the findings in other mountain ranges.     

望天鹅火山喷发时限的激光~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年代学

在中国东北地区,望天鹅火山的覆盖范围仅次于长白山,前人测得的K-Ar年龄主要集中在2～3Ma,但其精确的喷发年代一直没有很好的限定。这是因为第四纪以来的火山岩~(40) Ar/~(39) Ar定年与较老的地质样品有显著的不同,测试过程中极其微小的偏差会呈指数方式放大,带来测年结果的极大误差,难以严格限定火山喷发的年代。本文选用的激光~(40)Ar/~(39) Ar年代学方法具有样品用量小、精度高、自动化测试稳定等优点。通过增加测试次数,在数据处理中引入高斯混合模型进行统计分析,可以更准确地判别火山喷发期次。在此基础上,提出符合等时线计算要求的同位素体系"同源、同时、封闭"的数学表达是表观年龄的正态分布,对构成同一正态分布的数据计算等时线年龄,能够实现对望天鹅火山喷发时代的精细限定。结果显示,在测试精度尺度内,望天鹅火山可以看作是一期喷发的结果,喷发时限为2.73±0.18Ma。这一时限可以帮助解释北太平洋深海钻探中同一时期火山凝灰质沉积层的出现,并由此可以把2.73Ma前后的北半球大冰期事件与望天鹅火山喷发联系起来,为研究火山喷发与气候变冷效应提供一个新的实证案例。     

Multi-sensor DInSAR applied to the spatiotemporal evolution analysis of ground surface deformation in Cerro Prieto basin,Baja California,Mexico, for the 1993–2014 period

The combined effects of active tectonics and anthropogenic activities, primarily geothermal resources exploitation for electricity production in Cerro Prieto geothermal field, influence the ground surface deformation in Cerro Prieto basin, Baja California, Mexico. In this study, a large set of multi-sensor C-band SAR images have been employed to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of aseismic ground surface deformation that has affected Cerro Prieto basin from 1993 to 2014. Conventional DInSAR together with the interferograms stacking procedure was applied. The results showed that the study area presented considerable surface deformation (mainly subsidence) during the entire time of the investigation. The main changes in rate and pattern of surface deformation have a good correlation in time and space with the changes in production in the Cerro Prieto geothermal field. Comparison of LOS displacement maps from different viewing geometries, and decomposition (where possible) of LOS displacement into vertical and horizontal (east–west) components, revealed considerable horizontal displacement which mostly reflects the ground movement at and beyond the margin of the subsidence basin toward the areas of highest subsidence rates. In addition, the validation of the DInSAR results by comparing them against measurements from leveling surveys was performed, confirming the high reliably of satellite interferometry for the ground surface deformation rate mapping in the study area.     

Dynamics of carbon pools in post-agrogenic sandy soils of southern taiga of Russia

Background  

Until recently, a lot of arable lands were abandoned in many countries of the world and, especially, in Russia, where about half a million square kilometers of arable lands were abandoned in 1961-2007. The soils at these fallows undergo a process of natural restoration (or self-restoration) that changes the balance of soil organic matter (SOM) supply and mineralization.     

Numerical analysis of the Black Sea currents and mesoscale eddies in 2006 and 2011

Two prognostic experiments taking into account real atmospheric forcing for 2006 and 2011 were carried out based on the eddy-resolving numerical model with a horizontal resolution of 1.6 km for the Black Sea. The main dynamic features such as the Rim Current, the Sevastopol, and Batumi anticyclones are reproduced in both experiments. The model results are confirmed via observation data. We accomplished the analysis of simulated circulation and energetics. The results demonstrate that both the vertical viscosity and vertical diffusion along with the energy inflow from the wind have been the main contributors to the annual and seasonal budgets of kinetic and potential energies of the Black Sea circulation. It is shown that two regimes of the Black Sea general circulation are implemented depending on a magnitude of wind contribution to the kinetic energy in winter. Intensive mesoscale eddy formation was observed along the Anatolian, Caucasian, and Crimean coasts. The analysis of the Black Sea circulation and eddy energetics allowed us to conclude that the generation and development of the mesoscale coastal eddies is associated with the barotropic instability in case of intensive coastal currents and is associated with both the barotropic and baroclinic instability in case of weak coastal currents.     

Physical mechanisms of submesoscale eddies generation: evidences from laboratory modeling and satellite data in the Black Sea

Ocean Dynamics - The observed evidence of the implementation of three different mechanisms of the submesoscale eddies generation in the Black Sea previously studied by the field research and...     

Noble gas composition,cosmic-ray exposure age, 39Ar-40Ar,and I-Xe analyses of ungrouped achondrite NWA 7325

Northwest Africa (NWA) 7325 is an anomalous achondrite that experienced episodes of large-degree melt extraction and interaction with melt under reducing conditions. Its composition led to speculations about a Mercurian origin and provoked a series of studies of this meteorite. We present the noble gas composition, and results of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and ¹²⁹I-¹²⁹Xe studies of whole rock splits of NWA 7325. The light noble gases are dominated by cosmogenic isotopes. ²¹Ne and ³⁸Ar cosmic-ray exposure ages are 25.6 and 18.9 Ma, respectively, when calculated with a nominal whole rock composition. This ³⁸Ar age is in reasonable agreement with a cosmic-ray exposure age of 17.5 Ma derived in our ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating study. Due to the low K-content of 19 ± 1 ppm and high Ca-content of approximately 12.40 ± 0.15 wt%, no reliable ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age could be determined. The integrated age strongly depends on the choice of an initial ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio. An air-like component is dominant in lower temperature extractions and assuming air ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar for the trapped component results in a calculated integrated age of 3200 ± 260 (1σ) Ma. This may represent the upper age limit for a major reheating event affecting the K-Ar system. Results of ¹²⁹I-¹²⁹Xe dating give no useful chronological information, i.e., no isochron is observed. Considering the highest ¹²⁹Xe*/¹²⁸Xe_I ratio as equivalent to a lower age limit, we calculate an I-Xe age of about 4536 Ma. In addition, elevated ¹²⁹Xe/¹³²Xe ratios of up to 1.65 ± 0.18 in higher temperature extractions indicate an early formation of NWA 7325, with subsequent disturbance of the I-Xe system.     

Arsenic Speciation in a Contaminated Gold Processing Tailings Dam

Gold recovery in ores containing arsenopyrite releases significant amounts of arsenic into the environment due to mineral processing and oxidation during storage. The extent of arsenic weathering in a tailings dam has been investigated. Speciation of As in surface and pore waters and pond sediments showed that for gold tailings in the dam, As enrichment took place in the pore water relative to the surface water. In pond sediments As was predominantly present as residual arsenopyrite and partly as a substance co-precipitated with iron hydroxide. The arsenic release from the sediment results from a reductive dissolution of the arsenopyrite and Fe oxides. In the surface water, arsenate and arsenite are the main arsenic species (arsenate is dominant), but in the pore waters methylation processes play a significant role. Arsenic transport is accompanied by the transformation of As into the less toxic compounds (methylated species) co-existing with the most toxic species (arsenite).     

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) in livers of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from San Francisco Bay,California and Gulf of Maine

Bioaccumulation of endocrine disruptors in marine mammals positioned at the top of the food chain is of toxicological concern. Livers from four pups and ten adult harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) stranded in San Francisco Bay (SFB) and the Gulf of Maine (GOM) were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs). We used GC–ECD and GC–NCI/MS to investigate the presence of 28 PCBs and 8 OH-PCB metabolites, respectively. Σ₂₈PCB concentrations (di- to octa-CBs) ranged from 1.81 to 35.9 μg/g lipid with a median of 6.53 for the seal pups and 2.31 to 249 μg/g lipid with a median of 28.9 for the adult seals. Σ₈OH-PCB concentrations (penta- to hepta-OH-PCBs) ranged from 0.02 to 0.69 μg/g lipid with a median of 0.04 for the adult seals, i.e., at much lower concentrations than those for PCBs. Ratios of OH-PCBs to PCBs (0.24% on average) were comparable to those in beluga whale, but were lower than ratios in human livers. The OH-PCB profiles were slightly different between SFB and GOM seal livers, although similar PCB congener patterns were observed. Generally, 4-OH-CB107 was found predominantly in seal livers and was the only OH-PCB detectable in most of seal pup livers. This study provides information on OH-PCBs in seals, adding to the scarce exposure data for these chemicals.