Preliminary Photometric Evidence of Starspot Umbrae and Penumbrae on Late-Type Active Stars

We constrain the properties of the spotted regions on the photosphere of the active late-type star DX Leonis by comparing the observed amplitudes of light and color variations with synthetic amplitudes obtained by means of Dorren's spot model and computed for a grid of values of spot temperatures, areas and latitudes.     

The Effect of Sunspot Weighting

Although W. Brunner began to weight sunspot counts (from 1926), using a method whereby larger spots were counted more than once, he compensated for the weighting by not counting enough smaller spots in order to maintain the same reduction factor (0.6) as was used by his predecessor A. Wolfer to reduce the count to R. Wolf’s original scale, so that the weighting did not have any effect on the scale of the sunspot number. In 1947, M. Waldmeier formalized the weighting (on a scale from 1 to 5) of the sunspot count made at Zurich and its auxiliary station Locarno. This explicit counting method, when followed, inflates the relative sunspot number over that which corresponds to the scale set by Wolfer (and matched by Brunner). Recounting some 60,000 sunspots on drawings from the reference station Locarno shows that the number of sunspots reported was “over counted” by \({\approx}\,44~\%\) on average, leading to an inflation (measured by an effective weight factor) in excess of 1.2 for high solar activity. In a double-blind parallel counting by the Locarno observer M. Cagnotti, we determined that Svalgaard’s count closely matches that of Cagnotti, allowing us to determine from direct observation the daily weight factor for spots since 2003 (and sporadically before). The effective total inflation turns out to have two sources: a major one (15?–?18 %) caused by weighting of spots, and a minor source (4?–?5 %) caused by the introduction of the Zürich classification of sunspot groups which increases the group count by 7?–?8 % and the relative sunspot number by about half that. We find that a simple empirical equation (depending on the activity level) fits the observed factors well, and use that fit to estimate the weighting inflation factor for each month back to the introduction of effective inflation in 1947 and thus to be able to correct for the over-counts and to reduce sunspot counting to the Wolfer method in use from 1894 onwards.     

Landslide susceptibility and hazard assessment in San Ramón Ravine, Santiago de Chile, from an engineering geological approach

Debris flows and soil and rock slides are among the main geological hazards in the mountain foothills of Central Chile. Geological risk associated with the development of landslides, especially debris flows triggered in the basins of ravines that drain into the capital city, Santiago, has increased in time due to accelerated urban expansion. A landslide hazard evaluation in the San Ramón Ravine, located within the foothills of Santiago is presented. Hazard evaluation is based on a methodology that combines the determination of landslide susceptibility calculated by integration of conditioning factors, with the assessment of slope failure and runout probabilities incorporating geotechnical engineering approaches. The methodology is appropriate for medium or subregional scale studies with limited data. The results show that in San Ramón Ravine the landslide hazard consists mainly of debris flows, rock block slides, rock falls and shallow soil slides. Among these, debris flows are the most important due to the urban area that can be affected. Other case studies show that the method can be used in other regions with minor adaptations for territorial planning or for engineering and environmental purposes.     

Mississippian coral assemblages from the Khenifra area,Central Morocco: Biostratigraphy,biofacies, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

Analysis of Mississippian coral assemblages from the Khenifra region of Central Morocco together with data from foraminiferal/algal microfossils has established new age dating of 5 localities within the Azrou–Khenifra Basin: Souk El Had and Sidi Lamine, where corals occur mainly in biostromes protected by oolitic shoals, Tabainout, where corals have been recorded in different environments related to microbial mounds, Alhajra Almatkouba, where corals occur in biostromal reworked beds and Tiouinine, where corals occur in a well structured, fringing reef. This study demonstrates the presence of richer more diverse coral assemblages than previously recorded, in a variety of environmental settings. These coral assemblages strengthen correlations with the Adarouch area in the NE part of the Azrou–Khenifra Basin. It is emphasised that in the upper Viséan there are close similarities with rugose coral assemblages in other parts of the Western Palaeotethys including North Africa, SW Spain and NW Europe, and that all belong to the same biogeographic province.     

Isotope geochemistry of Paleoproterozoic metacarbonates from Itatuba,Borborema Province,Northeastern Brazil: Evidence of marble melting within a collisional suture

Strongly-deformed marbles may be easily confused with linear and elongated carbonatite intrusions. Both rocks may present similar texture and foliation to the host rock, or even cross cutting field relationships, which could be interpreted either as igneous or high-grade metamorphosed marble. Diagnostic criteria are even more complex when there is evidence of melting of the metasedimentary carbonate rock, such as has been described in the Himalayas and in the Eastern Ghats, India.In the Alto Moxotó Terrane, a high-grade gneissic domain of the Borborema Province, Northeastern Brazil, there are metacarbonates associated with banded gneisses and different metaplutonic rocks. Field evidence indicates the absence of other metasedimentary rocks associated with these marbles, thus suggesting that these carbonates were separated from other siliciclastic metasedimentary rocks. The presence of marble also suggests that it may represent the initial stage of a crustal carbon recycling into the mantle. These marbles present many field similarities to carbonatites (e.g., fluid-flow structure) and, together with metagranites and metamafic intrusions, may represent a major collisional tectonic suture.A detailed study of the carbon, oxygen and strontium isotopic composition of these marbles is presented. This study aims to identify the origin of the different isotopic components. It is argued that these rocks were subjected to temperature and pressure conditions that were sufficiently high to have melted them. The isotopic data presented here support this interpretation and indicate the mixing of two components: (i) one characterized by radiogenic Sr isotopes and mantle-like carbon isotopes, which is associated with the gneissic and mafic rocks, and (ii) another characterized by low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and highly positive δ¹³C values. Available geochemical data for the upper Paleoproterozoic indicate that the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of ocean water, varying between 0.7050 (2.25 ± 0.25 Ga) and 0.7047 (1.91 Ga), falls within the lower range of the samples from Itatuba and thus reinforces the interpretation that these marbles are sedimentary-derived and were partially contaminated by interaction with the host gneissic and mafic rocks.     

Human alteration of groundwater–surface water interactions (Sagittario River,Central Italy): implication for flow regime,contaminant fate and invertebrate response

Many rivers worldwide are undergoing severe man-induced alterations which are reflected also in changes of the degree of connectivity between surface waters and groundwater. Pollution, irrigation withdrawal, alteration of freshwater flows, road construction, surface water diversion, soil erosion in agriculture, deforestation and dam building have led to some irreversible species losses and severe changes in community composition of freshwater ecosystems. Taking into account the impact of damming and flow diversion on natural river discharge, the present study is aimed at (i) evaluating the effects of anthropogenic changes on groundwater/surface water interactions; (ii) analyzing the fate of nitrogenous pollutants at the floodplain scale; and (iii) describing the overall response of invertebrate assemblages to such changes. Hydrogeological, geochemical and isotopic data revealed short- and long-term changes in hydrology, allowing the assessment of the hydrogeological setting and the evaluation of potential contamination by nitrogen compounds. Water isotopes allowed distinguishing a shallow aquifer locally fed by zenithal recharge and river losses, and a deeper aquifer/aquitard system fed by surrounding carbonate aquifers. This system was found to retain ammonium and, through the shallow aquifer, release it in surface running waters via the hyporheic zone of the riverbed. All these factors influence river ecosystem health. As many environmental drivers entered in action offering a multiple-component artificial environment, a clear relationship between river flow alteration and benthic and hyporheic invertebrate diversity was not found, being species response driven by the combination of three main stressors: ammonium pollution, man-induced changes in river morphology and altered discharge regime.