Assessment of prospective geological hazards in Torrevieja-La Mata coast (western Mediterranean) based on Pleistocene and Holocene events

Natural Hazards - The coastal zone in which the lagoons of La Mata and Torrevieja (Eastern Spain) developed can be described as a compilation of geo-hazards typical of the Mediterranean realm. This...     

Seasonal variations of shelf circulation in Hidaka Bay,Hokkaido, Japan,with an interpretation of the migration route of juvenile walleye pollock

The outer shelf of Funka Bay, located at the bay head of Hidaka Bay, is a recognised main winter spawning ground for walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), whose newly hatched juveniles migrate eastward along the Hidaka shelf to the nursery ground located in the Doto area. To examine the seasonal change of the coastal current along this migration route, four current moorings were deployed along the shelf in Hidaka Bay from April, 2004 to June, 2006. Since these mooring sites were close to the coast, the circulation was estimated after removal of the wind-driven component. It was found that the winter coastal flow, forced by a north-westerly monsoon wind, is clockwise along the Hidaka shelf. However, this flow is weak due to the superimposition of the opposite Coastal Oyashio flow trapped on the shelf. In summer, a bifurcation of the coastal current occurs along the north-eastern Hidaka shelf with a south-eastward flow, associated with the Tsugaru Gyre, and a north-westward flow, consisting of a branch from this gyre. Our results provide a new understanding of the migration of juvenile walleye pollock: (1) very slow transport of juveniles along the Hidaka shelf from winter to spring, and (2) selection of earlier spawning survivors due to the bifurcated flow in early summer.     

In situ experimental study of reed leaf decomposition along a full salinity gradient

An experimental study on Phragmites australis leaf litter decomposition was conducted in the estuarine environment, Ria de Aveiro, Western Portugal, using the leaf-bag technique, with fine- (1 mm) and coarse-mesh (5 mm) bags. The leaf bags were placed in the field sites at day 0, covering a complete salinity gradient, and replicates were collected over time, at days 3 (leaching), 7, 15, 30 and 60. The biomass loss through the leaching phase, about 20% of the initial leaf mass, was independent of both the salinity and the bag mesh size. The biomass decay pattern along the salinity gradient varied through time and presented strong similarities between the two mesh sizes, with the remaining biomass always lower in the 5 mm mesh-size bags. At days 7 and 15, the lowest remaining biomass was observed at the head of the estuary, the preferential distribution area of P. australis. At day 30, the remaining biomass was higher in the marine area and diminished under a direct relationship with salinity, reaching the lowest value in the freshwater environment, with values ranging from 66% to 44% of the initial weight in 5 mm bags, and from 79% to 51% in 1 mm bags. The largest heterogeneity in the remaining biomass among the study areas positioned along the salinity gradient was found close to days 30 (5 mm) and 40 (1 mm). The overall results indicate that the relationship between leaf decay rate and salinity depends on the decay time considered (k₁₅, k₃₀ or k₆₀) and, for the later stages (k₆₀), also on the leaf-bag mesh size. This implies that the use of leaf litter decay rates as a functional indicator in transitional waters will need to take into consideration the factor location in the salinity gradient and leaf litter stage at which the decay rate is determined. The differences between the decay rates with the mesh size acted mainly at the level of the absolute k value and not at the level of the pattern along the salinity gradient. Even so, the data obtained at the mouth of the estuary, in the area closest to a fully marine environment, indicated that after the initial biomass loss through leaching, P. australis decayed either very slowly, in the 5 mm, or not at all, in the 1 mm mesh bags.     

Mineralogical and geochemical constraints on the origin of ferromanganese crusts from the Rivera Plate (western margin of Mexico)

Marine hydrogenetically precipitated ferromanganese crusts are widespread in the Pacific Ocean. They occur as pavements coating volcanic or sedimentary hard-rock substrates, mainly on the slopes of seamounts, plateaus and hills in ocean basins and continental margins. We studied three ferromanganese crusts from one dredge haul from the Rivera Plate (western margin of Mexico), which are up to 15 mm thick and grow directly on a substrate of pillow basalt fragments. They consist of laminated, botryoidal, porous aggregates mostly of Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides and up to 10% silicates. XRD analysis showed the predominance of poorly crystallized mineral phases in the crusts that include Mn-feroxyhyte and vernadite, and an authigenic smectite-like clay. Detrital minerals probably derive from granodiorites of the eastern wall of the neighboring Middle America Trench. Scattered barite grains occur on the crust surface and suggest plume fall-out derived from hydrothermal vents, although a possible pelagic source cannot be dismissed. Ratios between major (Fe, Mn, Si) and trace (Co, Ni, Cu) elements reveal that such crusts are predominantly hydrogenetic in origin, although they show a hydrothermal influence that increases in the outer layers. Iron contents range from 16.2 to 25.2 wt.%, and manganese from 3.4 to 14.5 wt.%. The Fe/Mn ratio ranges from 1.6 to 7.0. The SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio ranges from 4.3 to 6.6, indicating the presence of biogenic silica (radiolarians). The concentrations of copper (up to 383 ppm) and cobalt (up to 534 ppm) are significantly below those of the typical hydrogenetic crusts, whereas Ni (up to 1320 ppm) is about the same or slightly lower. REE normalized profiles and ΣREE values (486 to 732 ppm) match those reported for hydrogenetic crusts, but suggest a hydrothermal contribution for the later crust layers. The inferred crust growth rates using the Co-chronometer (44 and 229 mm/Myr) are higher than those reported for pure hydrogenetic crusts (mostly 1 to 6 mm/Myr), thus indicating an increasing hydrothermal influence. The highest growth rate (229 mm/Myr, corresponding to the outer crust layers) suggests a regional hydrothermal input of iron and manganese to seawater. The intensification of regional submarine hydrothermal activity began about 13,000 yr ago, and may be related to the tectonic activity in the complex junction of the Rivera, Cocos, Pacific and North America plates.     

Geochemistry of Famennian to Visean Metapelites from the Iberian Pyrite Belt: Implications for Provenance,Paleo-Redox Conditions and Vectoring to Massive Sulfide Deposits

Natural Resources Research - Massive sulfide deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) document the progression of ore-forming processes in the SW Iberian Variscides, throughout uppermost Devonian...     

A single vs. double spike approach to improve the accuracy of Th measurements in small-volume seawater samples

²³⁴Th is a particle-reactive radionuclide widely used to trace biogeochemical oceanic processes occurring over short timescales. During the last few years, small-volume techniques based on the co-precipitation of ²³⁴Th with MnO₂ coupled with beta-counting have been developed as an alternative to large volume gamma-spectrometric techniques. Here a procedure has been developed to enhance quantitative measurement of ²³⁴Th in MnO₂ precipitates. The main objectives were to obtain a purified Th fraction for beta-counting and to determine the chemical recovery of ²³⁴Th using Th spikes and alpha-spectrometry as an alternative to ICP-MS based methods. Two variations of the procedure are presented. In the first “1 spike” method a ²³⁰Th tracer is added to the sample prior to precipitation of MnO₂, and UTEVA® extraction chromatography is used to obtain a NdF₃(Th) purified source that can be used for both beta-counting of ²³⁴Th and alpha-spectrometry of ²³⁰Th. In the “2 spike” method a ²³⁰Th spike is added and the MnO₂(Th) precipitate is directly beta-counted for ²³⁴Th and subsequently spiked with ²²⁸Th or ²²⁹Th prior to UTEVA® purification and alpha-spectrometry. The results confirm the need to process small-volume seawater samples for ²³⁴Th measurement in presence of a yield tracer, and show that both the 1 spike and 2 spike methods allow an accurate and precise determination of ²³⁴Th (relative percent difference, RPD, between expected and mean measured value < 1%; CV between replicate samples < 3%). Our work also suggests that, although the combined analytical uncertainty on total ²³⁴Th measurements accomplished with both versions of the NdF₃ procedure is promising (6% for 2-L samples), the precision of the ²³⁴Th flux estimation will ultimately depend on the degree of disequilibrium between ²³⁴Th and ²³⁸U.