Sediment Yield During Late Glacial and Holocene periods in the Lac Chambon Watershed,Massif Central,France

A sediment budget for the Late Glacial and Holocene periods was calculated for the Lac Chambon watershed which is located in a formerly glaciated temperate crystalline mountain area. It appears that over 15 500 years: (1) 69 per cent of eroded particles have been displaced by gravity processes and then stored within the watershed, compared to 31 per cent that have been displaced by running water and evacuated outward; (2) the mean mechanical erosion due to gravity processes on the slopes amounted to 16·1 ±6 m and only developed on a quarter of the watershed surface, whereas the mean mechanical erosion due to running water amounted 1·24 ± 0·37 m and involved the whole watershed surface. The mean sediment yields due to gravity processes on slopes were 2300 ± 1360, 1770 ± 960 and 380 ± 100 m³ km⁻³ a⁻¹, respectively, for basalts, and basic and acidic trachyandesites. Values of sediment yield due to running water were 49±15, 120±36 and 79±24 m³ km⁻² a⁻¹, respectively, during the Bôlling–Allerôd, the Younger Dryas and the Pre-Boreal–Boreal periods. They were 56±17 and 166±50 m³ km⁻² a⁻¹ during the Sub-Atlantic period before and after 1360 a BP , respectively. These values reflect variations in the natural environment and the impact of human-induced deforestation. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Testing polymineral post-IR IRSL and quartz SAR-OSL protocols on Middle to Late Pleistocene loess at Batajnica,Serbia

The loess–palaeosol sequence of Batajnica (Vojvodina region, Serbia) is considered as one of the most complete and thickest terrestrial palaeoclimate archives for the Middle and Late Pleistocene. In order to achieve a numerical chronology for this profile, four sets of ages were obtained on 18 individual samples. Equivalent doses were determined using the SAR protocol on fine (4–11 μm) and coarse (63–90 μm) quartz fractions, as well as on polymineral fine grains by using two elevated temperature infrared stimulation methods, pIRIR₂₉₀ and pIRIR₂₂₅. We show that the upper age limit of coarse quartz OSL and polymineral pIRIR₂₉₀ and pIRIR₂₂₅ techniques is restricted to the Last Glacial/Interglacial cycle due to the field saturation of the natural signals. Luminescence ages on coarse quartz, pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ polymineral fine grains are in general agreement. Fine quartz ages are systematically lower than the coarse quartz and pIRIR ages, the degree of underestimation increasing with age. Comparison between natural and laboratory dose response curves indicate the age range over which each protocol provides reliable ages. For fine and coarse quartz, the natural and laboratory dose response curves overlap up to ~150 and ~250 Gy, respectively, suggesting that the SAR protocol provides reliable ages up to c. 50 ka on fine quartz and c. 100 ka on coarse quartz. Using the pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ protocols, equivalent doses up to ~400 Gy can be determined, beyond which in the case of the former the natural dose response curve slightly overestimates the laboratory dose response curve. Our results suggest that the choice of the mineral and luminescence technique to be used for dating loess sediments should take into consideration the reported limited reliability.     

Local retrofit of exterior RC beam–column joints using thin RC jackets—An experimental study

The use of a new type of reinforced concrete (RC) jacket for RC exterior beam–column connections damaged by seismic excitations is addressed and experimentally investigated. The proposed jacket has very small thickness and includes small diameter steel reinforcement. This jacketing applies at the joint region and at a small part of the columns and the beam. The main advantage of the proposed thin and locally applied jacket compared with the commonly used concrete jacket is the fact that its application is not restrained by space limitations, and since it slightly changes the initial size of the elements, the building's dynamics and seismic behaviour remain practically unaffected. For the needs of this study, 10 exterior beam–column joint subassemblages were constructed and subjected to increasing cyclic loading. Later, the damaged specimens were locally retrofitted using the proposed thin RC jackets and they were retested with the same load sequence. Three different specimen configurations with various amounts of shear reinforcement in the joint area were examined and two types of jackets (a) with light and (b) with dense reinforcement were applied. Test results indicated that the seismic performance of the retrofitted specimens was fully restored and in some cases substantially improved with respect to the performance of the same specimens in the initial loading, since they exhibited higher values of load capacity and hysteretic energy dissipation. Discussion for the conditions of the use of the examined jacketing technique either as a repair or as a strengthening method is also included. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater quality and rural drinking-water supplies in the Republic of Moldova

 This paper describes the results of a groundwater quality assessment conducted in two pilot areas, Balatina and Carpineni, in the Republic of Moldova. Shallow groundwater is the main source of drinking water in rural areas, but reliable data on its quality are currently insufficient for developing rural water-supply systems with standard designs. The main components of the study included a field sampling program (including pesticides), an evaluation of the reliability of existing drinking-water data, an analysis of land use and groundwater-pollution risks using GIS, and the formulation of recommendations to reduce risks for public health. Microbiological, nitrate, and selenium contamination are most serious in the villages. These contaminants should be given priority in addressing drinking-water aspects for rural water-supply development in the two pilot areas. Pollution occurs mainly due to poor sanitary conditions. In a few shallow wells, traces of selected pesticides were observed, but the effect of these levels of pesticides on public health is still unclear. Limited resources of shallow groundwater of good quality occur outside the villages. Additional pilot studies should be implemented to prove the technical and institutional feasibility of developing and protecting these resources. Received, September 1997 Revised, September 1998 Accepted, March 1999     

Development of a ten-element hybrid simulation platform and an adjustable yielding brace for performance evaluation of multi-story braced frames subjected to earthquakes

This paper presents a ten-element hybrid (experimental-numerical) simulation platform, referred to as UT10, which was developed for running hybrid simulations of braced frames with up to ten large-capacity physical brace specimens. This paper presents the details of the development of different components of UT10 and an adjustable yielding brace (AYB) specimen, which was designed to perform hybrid simulations with UT10. As the first application of UT10, a five-story buckling-restrained braced frame and a special concentrically braced frame (BRBF and SCBF) were designed and tested with AYB specimens and buckling specimens representing the braces. Cyclic tests of the AYB, one- and three-element hybrid simulations of the BRBF, and four-element hybrid simulations of the SCBF inside the UT10 confirmed the functionality of UT10 for running hybrid simulations on multiple specimens. The tests also indicated that AYB was capable of producing a stable hysteretic response with characteristics similar to BRBs. Comparison of the results of the hybrid simulations of the BRBF and SCBF with their fully numerical models showed that the modeling inaccuracies of the yielding braces could potentially affect the global response of the multi-story braced frames further emphasizing the need for experimental calibration or hybrid simulation for achieving more accurate response predictions. UT10 provides a simple and reconfigurable platform that can be used to achieve a realistic understanding of the seismic response of multi-story frames with yielding braces, distinguish their modeling limitations, and improve different modeling techniques available for their seismic response prediction.     

Caves and karst of Ecuador – state-of-the-art and research perspectives

Current knowledge of caves and karst regions of Ecuador is scarce and broadly limited to discrete areas such as that of the Galápagos volcanokarst. In continental Ecuador, carbonate karst mostly outcrops in the Amazonian basin and accounts for 5–10% of the surface of the country. However, owing to the difficulties of access within the Amazonian rainforest, most surface and subterranean karst is yet to be revealed. In this review, we present an updated map of the solutional karst of Ecuador based on the most recent geological surveys and our own research. We describe the principal karst regions of Ecuador from the Amazonian basin (Napo and Santiago) as well as the Galápagos pseudokarst. We show that Ecuador karst research may be of considerable importance for both basic and applied research owing to its geographical position and intrinsic vulnerabilities. We discuss the main challenges of karst-related research in Ecuador, such as paleoclimatic studies, subterranean biodiversity, and archeology. We discuss the main vulnerabilities and hazards related to karst uses in Ecuador, considering the paramount importance of tourism for the country.     

Temporal patterns of glass eel migration (Anguilla anguilla L. 1758) in relation to environmental factors in the Western Greek inland waters

Glass eel migration of the European eel Anguilla anguilla (L., 1758) in the eastern Mediterranean is poorly known despite the increasing state of anxiety for the future of the stock. In the present study, glass eel migration was investigated from October 1999 to April 2000, using experimental fishery with fyke nets, in two coastal systems along the western Greece (Ionian Sea): at the Sagiada marsh in the delta area of Kalamas River and at the mouth of Alfios River. The main period of the glass eel entrance was from December to March and the migration pattern was similar to those observed along the Atlantic coast of southwestern Europe. The variance of daily glass eel catches between the two studied sites was significantly different. The univariate and bivariate time series spectral analysis showed that glass eel short-term freshwater migration: (1) consisted of waves with periods from 5 to 40 days and (2) was correlated with environmental factors such as water temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall and moonlight. The observed differences between the two sites reveal the importance of the inland ecosystem characteristics.     

Gabbroic intrusions and magmatic metasomatism in harzburgites from the Garrett transform fault: implications for the nature of the mantle–crust transition at fast-spreading ridges

 Mafic and ultramafic rocks sampled in the Garrett transform fault at 13°28′S on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) provide insight on magmatic processes occurring under a fast-spreading ridge system. Serpentinized harzburgite from Garrett have modal, mineral and bulk chemical compositions consistent with being mantle residue of a high degree of partial melting. Along with other EPR localities (Terevaka transform fault and Hess Deep), these harzburgites are among the most residual and depleted in magmatophile elements of the entire mid-ocean ridge system. Geothermometric calculations using olivine-spinel pairs indicate a mean temperature of 759 ± 25 °C for Garrett residual harzburgite similar to the average of 755 °C for tectonite peridotites from slow-spreading ridges. Results of this study show that mid-ocean ridge peridotites are subject to both fractional melting and metasomatic processes. Evidence for mantle metasomatism is ubiquitous in harzburgite and is likely widespread in the entire Garrett peridotite massif. Magma-harzburgite interactions are very well preserved as pyroxenite lenses, plagioclase dunite pockets or dunitic wall rock to intrusive gabbros. Abundant gabbroic rocks are found as intrusive pockets and dikes in harzburgite and have been injected in the following sequence: olivine-gabbro, gabbro, gabbronorite, and ferrogabbro. The wide variety of magmas that crystallized into gabbros contrast sharply with present-day intratransform basalts, which have a highly primitive composition. Ferrogabbro dikes have been intruded at the ridge-transform intersection and as they represent the last event of a succession of gabbros intrusive into the peridotite, they likely constrain the origin of the entire peridotite massif to the same location. In peridotite massifs from Pacific transform faults (Garrett and Terevaka), primitive to fractionated basaltic magmas have flowed and crystallized variable amounts of dunite (±plagioclase) and minor pyroxenite, followed by a succession of cumulate gabbroic dikes which have extensively intruded and modified the host harzburgitic rocks. The lithosphere and style of magmatic activity within a fast-slipping transform fault (outcrops of ultramafic massif, discontinuous gabbro pockets intrusive in peridotite, magnesian and phyric basalts) are more analogous to slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge type than the East Pacific Rise. Received: 13 October 1997 / Accepted: 5 February 1999     

Last glacial geomorphologic records in Mt Chelmos,North Peloponnesus,Greece

This study deals with the analysis of the glacial processes that have affected the relief of Mt Chelmos in northern Peloponnesus, Greece during middle and Late Pleistocene. The goal was to compile a combined geomorphological-geological map of the study area which would enable the chronological stratification of the glacial landforms cropping up on Mt. Chelmos. Chronological stratification was further aided by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The map served as the basis upon which the reconstruction and discussion on the phases of the Middle-Late Quaternary paleoclimatic history of Mt. Chelmos have been made. A sophisticated semiautomated method was first used to analyze the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), combined with Aster, Quickbird and ALOS imagery in order to identify glacial and periglacial, as well as karstic features. Then, these features along with other nonrecognizable features from the remote-sensing images were documented in the field. In this way, several glacial landforms were identified, such as moraines and cirques, indicating extended glaciation phases during the middle and Late Pleistocene. Additionally, a ground moraine located at an altitude of 1900-2050 m, within the Spanolakos glacial valley, was dated using the OSL-dating method. The resulting ages indicate a phase of glacier advance/stabilization during MIS-5b (89-86 ka), which is in consistence with pollenrecord evidence from Greece and the Mediterranean.     

Source wavelet correction for practical Marchenko imaging: A sub-salt field-data example from the Gulf of Mexico

Imaging a target zone below a salt body can be challenging because large velocity contrasts in the overburden between the salt and surrounding sediments generate internal multiples, which interfere with primary reflections from the target level in the imaging process. This can lead to an erroneous interpretation of reflections in the sub-salt area if multiples are misinterpreted as primaries. The Marchenko redatuming method may enable imaging of the sub-salt target area where the effect of the multiply-scattering overburden is removed. This is achieved by creating a redatumed reflection response where virtual sources and receivers are located below the overburden using a macromodel of the velocity field and the surface reflection data. The accuracy of the redatumed data and the associated internal multiple removal, however, depends on the accurate knowledge of the source wavelet of the acquired reflection data. For the first time, we propose a method which can accurately and reliably correct the amplitudes of the reflection response in field data as required by the Marchenko method. Our method operates by iteratively and automatically updating the source function so as to cancel the most artefact energy in the focusing functions, which are also generated by the Marchenko method. We demonstrate the method on a synthetic dataset and successfully apply it to a field dataset acquired in a deep-water salt environment in the Gulf of Mexico. After the successful source wavelet estimation for the field dataset, we create sub-salt target-oriented images with Marchenko redatumed data. Marchenko images using the proposed source wavelet estimation show clear improvements, such as increased continuity of reflectors, compared to surface-based images and to conventional Marchenko images computed without the inverted source wavelet. Our improvements are corroborated by evidence in the literature and our own synthetic results.