An automated disc infiltrometer for infiltration rate measurements using a microflowmeter

This work presents a new design of disc infiltrometer, which, associated with a microflowmeter (MF) and a solenoid valve set, makes it possible to automate the infiltration rate (Q) measurements at different soil pressure heads (ψ). The MF consists of a 13·8‐cm long and 1·5 mm i.d. pipe, with a pressure transducer connecting the two ends of the MF, inserted in a water‐flow pipe that connects the Mariotte tube and the water‐supply reservoir of the disc infiltrometer. Water flow is calculated from the head losses in the MF. Changes in ψ in the bubble tower, automatically affected when the infiltration rate reaches steady state, are controlled by a datalogger connected to four solenoid valves. The new design was tested in laboratory and field conditions, and the results showed that the MF allows the soil water infiltration rates to be correctly estimated for different soil characteristics. The solenoid valve set plus datalogger system satisfactorily monitored the changes in ψ and allowed the measurement time to be optimized. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact area determination of pyroclastic deposits in Lascar volcano, eruptive process in the year 1993

By means of multi-temporal analysis of satellite images and statistical algorithms, the amount of pyroclastic material deposited on Lascar volcano walls after the gravitational collapse of the eruptive column caused by the eruption that occurred on April the 19th and the 20th in 1993 was determined and quantified. For this analysis, scenes corresponding to Landsat 4 TM in 1989 and Landsat 7 ETM+ in 2001 were used. By careful selection methods such as combination of bands, unsupervised classification, and the Karhunen–Loève transform, detailed analysis of zones of change that correspond to pyroclastic deposits were made. This analysis was complemented with in situ data in order to correct and calibrate the satellite images to identify zones of 1993s eruption pyroclastic deposits. Using Kittler’s and other thresholding algorithms, a search was performed for a proper threshold to binarize the images to determine the surface area covered by the eruptive process. Matlab™ software was used both for general programming and for digital image processing.     

Re-interpreting the Devonian ophiolites involved in the Variscan suture: U–Pb and Lu–Hf zircon data of the Moeche Ophiolite (Cabo Ortegal Complex,NW Iberia)

New U–Pb zircon data of a mylonitic greenschist from the Moeche Ophiolite, one of the mafic units involved in the Variscan suture in the Cabo Ortegal Complex (NW of the Iberian Massif), yielded an age of 400 ± 3 Ma. Consequently, this unit can be considered one of the Devonian ophiolites, the most extended group of oceanic units in the Variscan belt. The mafic rocks show transitional compositions between N-MORB and island-arc tholeiites, although Lu–Hf isotope signatures of its zircons clearly indicate contribution from an old continental source. εHf values in the analysed zircons are negative (generally below εHf = ?5), and thence, they are not compatible with their generation from a juvenile mantle source. Accordingly, the igneous protoliths were generated in a setting where juvenile mafic magmas interacted with an old continental crust. The Devonian ophiolites from the Variscan suture have been repeatedly interpreted as remnants of the Rheic Ocean. However, the presence of a continental source in the origin of the mafic rocks of the Moeche Ophiolite allows discarding an intraoceanic setting for their generation, at least for the NW Iberian counterparts. The tectonic setting for the Devonian ophiolites of NW Iberia is very likely represented by an ephemeral oceanic basin opened within a continental realm. Herein, the real Rheic Ocean suture could only be located west of the terrane represented by the upper units of the allochthonous complexes. Apparently that suture is not represented in NW Iberia.     

The Ediacaran–Early Cambrian detrital zircon record of NW Iberia: possible sources and paleogeographic constraints

Ediacaran and Early Cambrian sedimentary rocks from NW Iberia have been investigated for detrital zircon U–Pb ages. A total of 1,161 concordant U–Pb ages were obtained in zircons separated from four Ediacaran samples (3 from the Cantabrian Zone and one from the Central Iberian zone) and two Lower Cambrian samples (one from the Cantabrian Zone and one from the Central Iberian Zone). Major and trace elements including REE and Sm–Nd isotopes were also analyzed on the same set of samples. The stratigraphically older Ediacaran sequence in the Cantabrian Zone has a maximum sedimentation age of ca. 600 Ma based on detrital zircon content and is intruded by ca. 590–580 Ma granitoids constraining the deposition of this part of the sequence between ca. 600 and 580 Ma. The stratigraphically younger Ediacaran sequence in the Cantabrian Zone has a maximum sedimentation age of ca. 553 Ma. The Ediacaran sample from the Central Iberian Zone has an identical within error maximum sedimentation age of ca. 555 Ma. The detrital zircon U–Pb age patterns are very similar in all the Ediacaran samples from both zones including the main age groups ca. 0.55–0.75 Ga, ca. 0.85–1.15 Ga and minor Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.9–2.1 Ga) and Archean (ca. 2.4–2.6 Ga) populations. Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistical tests performed on this set of samples indicate that they all were derived from the same parent population (i.e., same source area). The same can be said on the basis of Nd isotopes, REE patterns and trace element concentrations. The two Cambrian samples, however, show contrasting signatures: The sample from the Cantabrian Zone lacks the ca. 0.85–1.15 Ga population and has a high proportion of Paleoproterozoic and Archean zircons (>60 %) and a more negative ε _Nd and higher T _DM values than the Ediacaran samples. The Early Cambrian sample from the Central Iberian Zone has the same U–Pb detrital zircon age distribution (based on KS tests) as all the Ediacaran samples but has a significantly more negative ε _Nd value. These data suggest apparently continuous sedimentation in the NW Iberian realm of northern Gondwana between ca. 600 and 550 Ma and changes in the detrital influx around the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary. The nature and origin of these changes cannot be determined with available data, but they must involve tectonic activity on the margin as evidenced by the angular unconformity separating the Ediacaran and Lower Cambrian strata in the Cantabrian Zone. The absence of this unconformity and the apparent continuity of detrital zircon age distribution between Ediacaran and Cambrian rocks in the Central Iberian Zone suggest that the margin became segmented with significant transport and sedimentation flux changes in relatively short distances. As to the paleoposition of NW Iberia in Ediacaran–Early Cambrian times, comparison of the data presented herein with a wealth of relevant data from the literature both on the European peri-Gondwanan terranes and on the terranes of northern Africa suggests that NW Iberia may have lain closer to the present-day Egypt–Israel–Jordan area and that the potential source of the hitherto enigmatic Tonian–Stenian zircons could be traced to exposed segments of arc terranes such as that described in the Sinai Peninsula (Be’eri-Shlevin et al. in Geology 40:403–406, 2012).     

Fluoride sorption and desorption on soils located in the surroundings of an aluminium smelter in Galicia (NW Spain)

Aluminium smelters are major sources of F emission to the environment. We studied, in laboratory experiments, the sorption and desorption of fluoride on organic and mineral horizons of soils located within 2 km from one of these factories, situated in the northern coast of Galicia (NW Spain). The soils, developed from granite, are acid (pH H₂O 3.9–5.5), rich in organic matter (4–16 % C in the A horizon) and most A horizons have high Al saturation in the exchange complex. All samples showed a notable F sorption, between 1,066 and 1,589 mg kg^?1, after adding 200 mg F L^?1, which accounts for 53–80 % of F added. The sorption was slightly higher in the A horizons than in the respective organic horizons (differences of up to 194 mg kg^?1). The fluoride sorption upon addition of 200 mg F L^?1 correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with soil pH in water (r = ?0.77), iron extracted by acid ammonium oxalate (r = 0.68), aluminium plus iron extracted by acid ammonium oxalate (r = 0.63), exchange aluminium (r = 0.52) and clay percentage in soil (r = 0.76). The F sorption fitted to both Langmuir and Freundlich models. Desorbed F accounted for only 12–22 % of sorbed fluoride and correlated (p < 0.05) negatively with non-crystalline (extracted by acid ammonium oxalate) Fe (r = ?0.51) and clay content (r = ?0.74) and positively with organic matter (r = 0.69) and with the effective cation exchange capacity of the soil (r = 0.50).     

Chromospheric Activity and Orbital Solution of Six New Late-type Spectroscopic Binary Systems

We present here the results of our high resolution echelle spectroscopic observations of six recently identified spectroscopic binary systems with late-type stellar components (HD 82159 (BD + 11 2052 A); HIP 63322 (BD + 39 2587); HD 160934 (RE J1738 + 611); HD 89959 (BD + 41 2078); HD 143705 (BD + 29 2752); HD 138157 (OX Ser)). The orbital solution has been obtained using precise radial velocities determined by cross-correlation with radial velocity standard stars as well as previous values reported by other authors. These multiwavelength optical observations allow us to study the chromosphere of these active binary systems using the information provided by several optical spectroscopic features (from Ca II H &; K to Ca II IRT lines) that are formed at different heights in the chromosphere. The chromospheric contribution in these lines has been determined using the spectral subtraction technique. In addition, we have determined rotational velocities (vsin i), lithium (Li I λ 6707.8 Å) abundance, and kinematic properties (membership in representative young disk stellar kinematic groups).     

High Temporal Resolution Spectroscopic Observations of the Flare Star V1054 Oph

We present the results of a high temporal resolution spectroscopic monitoring of the flare (UV Cet type) star V1054 Oph (Wolf 630AB), classified as a dM3.5e visual binary system. Intermediate resolution spectra have been taken during four nights (2–5 April 2001) using the IDS spectrograph of the 2.5 m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) (La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain). The V1054 Oph spectra show very strong emission lines even in its quiescent state. The analysis of the temporal evolution of the observed emission lines (from H_β to H₁₁ and the Ca II H and K lines) reveals four strong flares and several weak flares. We have studied in detail the behaviour of the chromospheric lines during the different phases (pre-flare, impulsive and gradual decay) of these flares. The observed flares last from ～25 to 95 min. The equivalent width of the H_β line changes by a factor up to ～2.3. Broad wings and asymmetric (red-shifted) lines are observed as well.