Seismic stacking pattern of the Faro-Albufeira contourite system (Gulf of Cadiz): a Quaternary record of paleoceanographic and tectonic influences

A Quaternary stratigraphic stacking pattern on the Faro-Albufeira drift system has been determined by analysing a dense network of high-resolution single-channel seismic reflection profiles. In the northern sector of the system an upslope migrating depositional sequence (elongate separated mounded drift) parallel to the margin has been observed associated with a flanking boundary channel (Alvarez Cabral moat) that depicts the zone of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) acceleration and/or focussing. A consequent erosion along the right hand border and deposition on the left hand flank is produced in this sector. The sheeted aggrading drift is the basinward prolongation of the elongate separated mounded drift, and developed where the MOW is more widely spread out. The overall sheeted contourite system is separated into two sectors due to the Diego Cao deep. This is a recent erosional deep that has steep erosional walls cut into Quaternary sediments. Two major high-order depositional sequences have been recognised in the Quaternary sedimentary record, Q-I and Q-II, composed of eight minor high-order depositional sequences (from A to H). The same trend in every major and minor depositional sequence is observed, especially in the elongate mounded drift within Q-II formed of: A) Transparent units at the base; B) Smooth, parallel reflectors of moderate-high amplitude units in the upper part; and C) An erosional continuous surface of high amplitude on the top of reflective units. This cyclicity in the acoustic response most likely represents cyclic lithological changes showing coarsening- upward sequences. A total of ten minor units has been distinguished within Q-II where the more representative facies in volume are always the more reflective and are prograding upslope with respect to the transparent ones. There is an important change in the overall architectural stacking of the mounded contourite deposits from a more aggrading depositional sequence (Q-I) to a clear progradational body (Q-II). We suggest that Q-I and Q-II constitute high-order depositional sequences related to a 3rd-order cycle at 800 ky separated by the most prominent sea-level fall at the Mid Pleistocene Revolution (MPR), 900–920 ky ago. In more detail the major high-order depositional sequences (from A to H) can be associated with asymmetric 4th-order climatic and sea-level cycles. In the middle slope, the contourite system has a syn-tectonic development with diapiric intrusions and the Guadalquivir Bank uplift. This syn-tectonic evolution affected the overall southern sheeted drift from the A to F depositional sequences, but G and H are not affected. These last two depositional sequences are less affected by these structures with an aggrading stacking pattern that overlaps the older depositional sequences of the Guadalquivir Bank uplift and diapiric intrusions.     

Seismic expression of contourites and related deposits: a preface

Contourites are widespread throughout the deep sea, ranging from those that build up individually distinct bodies (mounded drifts) to those that occur closely interbedded with other deep-water facies. Although seismic data should not be used to make a firm identification of contourites without supporting evidence, much progress has been made in determining the combination of seismic criteria that best represent contourite deposits. With some modifications and additions, these criteria are in broad agreement with those recently proposed by Faugères and colleagues (1999). The papers in this special issue are mainly drawn from those presented at an IGCP workshop held in Trieste, Italy (October 2000), together with selected additions. Some of the new and important topics covered include: discussion of bottom-current controlled deposits on continental shelves and in large lakes (shallow-water and lacustrine `contourites'); the unique characteristics of high-latitude contourite systems that show interaction with turbidity current, debris flow and glacigenic processes; and the importance of local slope topography, developed as a result of synsedimentary tectonics and downslope mass movement, in focussing and shaping drift deposits (infill and fault-related drifts). An introduction to the powerful use of 3D seismic data in understanding contourite systems points the way towards important future research.     

Satellite-derived vegetation index and cover type maps for estimating carbon dioxide flux for arctic tundra regions

The spatial variability and co-variability of two different types of remote sensing derivatives that portray vegetation and geomorphic patterns are analyzed in the context of estimating regional-scale CO₂ flux from land surfaces in the arctic tundra. For a study area encompassing the Kuparuk River watershed of the North Slope of Alaska, we compare satellite-derived maps of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) generated at two different spatial resolutions to a map of vegetation types derived by image classification of data from the Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS). Mean values of NDVI for each cover type stratum are unique (with the exception of moist acidic tundra and shrubland types). Based on analysis of semi-variograms generated for SPOT-NDVI data, most of the vegetation cover and landform features of this arctic tundra landscape have spatial dimensions of less than 1 km. Thaw lakes on the coastal plain and glacial depositional landforms, such as moraines in the foothills, seem to be the largest features, with vegetation units having dimensions no larger than 700 m. Frequency distributions of NDVI and vegetation types extracted for sampling transects flown by an aircraft sensing CO₂ flux, relative to distributions for the entire Kuparuk River watershed, suggest a slight sampling bias towards greater cover of mesic wet sedge tundra and thaw lakes and associated lower NDVI values. The regional pattern of NDVI for the North Slope of Alaska corresponds primarily to differences between the two major physiographic provinces of this region.     

Evaluating uncertainty in Landsat-derived postfire recovery metrics due to terrain,soil, and shrub type variations in southern California

ABSTRACT

Temporal trajectories of apparent vegetation abundance based on the multi-decadal Landsat image series provide valuable information on the postfire recovery of chaparral shrublands, which tend to mature within one decade. Signals of change in fractional shrub cover (FSC) extracted from time-sequential Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data can be systematically biased due to spatial variation in shrub type, soil substrate, or illumination differences associated with topography. We evaluate the effects of these variables in Landsat-derived metrics of FSC and postfire recovery, based upon three chaparral sites in southern California which contain shrub community ecotones, complex terrain, and soil variations. Detailed validations of prefire and postfire FSC are based on high spatial resolution ortho-imagery; cross-stratified random sampling is used for variable control. We find that differences in the composition and structure of shrubs (inferred from ortho-imagery) can substantially influence FSC-NDVI relations and impact recovery metrics. Differences in soil type have a moderate effect on the FSC-NDVI relation in one of the study sites, while no substantial effects were observed due to variation of terrain illumination among the study sites. Arithmetic difference recovery metrics – based on NDVI values that were not normalized with unburned control plots – correlate in a moderate but significant manner with a change in FSC (R ² values range 0.47–0.59 at two sites). Similar regression coefficients resulted from using Landsat visible reflectance data alone. The lowest correlations to FSC resulted from Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) and are attributed to the effects of the soil-adjustment factor in sparsely vegetated areas. The Normalized Burn Ratio and Normalized Burn Ratio 2 showed a moderate correlation to FSC. This study confirms the utility of Landsat NDVI data for postfire recovery evaluation and implies a need for stratified analysis of postfire recovery in some chaparral landscapes.