Precise determination of uranium in rocks and minerals by neutron activation analysis using 133I fission product

A radiochemical neutron activation technique for uranium determination in rock and mineral samples is presented. The method is based on an alkaline fusion, a selective oxidation of iodine by a sodium-nitrite solution, followed by an iodine distillation technique for the isolation of the ¹³³I produced in fission. The outlined scheme is rapid, sensitive and reliable. Determination of uranium in U.S. Geological Survey standard rocks (G-1, W-1, G-2, BCR-1, AGV-1, GSP-1), C.R.P.G. Nancy geochemical standards (GA, GH, BR, Mica-Fe, Mica-Mg), C.A.A.S. reference syenite rocks (SY-1, SY-2, SY-3) and other analysed rock samples are reported. These results are compared with those obtained by other methods.     

Compressional behaviour of CaNiSi2O6 clinopyroxene: bulk modulus systematic and cation type in clinopyroxenes

A single-crystal of composition CaNiSi₂O₆ (space group C2/c) was investigated at high pressure up to about 7.8 GPa by X-ray diffraction. The unit-cell parameters were measured at 18 different pressures. The P-V data were fitted by a third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state V₀=435.21(1) ų, K ₀=117.6(3) GPa and K^=6.4(1). The linear axial compressibilities _a, _b, _c and a sin are 2.14(1), 3.00(1), 2.43(1) and 1.63(1) × 10–3 GPa^–1. Comparing the compressibility data with other CaM1Si₂O₆ pyroxenes we suggest that the empirical K × V = constant relationships are followed in C2/c pyroxenes only if the same valence electron character is shared.     

Seasonal and interannual patterns of distribution and diet of bluefish within a Middle Atlantic bight estuary in relation to abiotic and biotic factors

Seasonal and interannual patterns in the spatial distribution of bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) within a Middle Atlantic Bight estuary were examined using multipanel gillnets fished biweekly at 14 fixeds stations in the Sandy Hook Bay-N avesink River estuary during May–November of 1998 and 1999. To characterize habitats along the estuarine gradient, we measured several abiotic and biotic variables concurrently with gillnet sampling. Juvenile (age-0 and age-1+) bluefish were captured regularly during both years along with large numbers of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), which were confirmed by diet analyses to be bluefish’s primary forage species. The date of initial appearance of age-0 bluefish and menhaden in the estuary varied between years and may have been related to interannual differences in seawater temperatures on the continental shelf during spring. Delayed estuarine arrival of prey fishes may have contributed to variability in bluefish diets between years. Within the estuary, bluefish spatial distribution were consistent across seasons and years: bluefish were most common in areas associated with high concentrations of suspended materials and the presence of menhaden. Community analyses also indicated habitat overlap between bluefish and menhaden. Spatial distribution patterns revealed the consistent occurrence of piscivorous bluefish in shallow estuarine habitats that retained suspended materials and aggregated prey fishes. Foraging success of bluefish and other estuarine piscivores may be closely linked with the availability of these productive habitat, highlighting the need for future study of biological interactions and the governing physical processes.     

Twenty years of paleoseismology in Italy

Italy has one of the most complete and historically extensive seismic catalogues in the World due to a unique and uninterrupted flow of written sources that have narrated its seismic history since about the end of the Iron Age. Seismic hazard studies have therefore always been mainly based upon this huge mass of data. Nevertheless, the Italian catalogue probably “lacks” many M ≥ 6.5 events, the seismogenetic structures responsible for which are characterized by recurrence times that are longer than the time span covered by our historical sources. For these reasons, and as in other countries, earthquake data that in Italy have been derived from paleoseismological studies should finally become a necessary ingredient in seismic risk assessment. Indeed, over the past 20 years, some hundred trenches have been excavated, supplying reliable and conclusive data on the recent activities of many faults. Through to many robust datings of surface fault events, these studies have provided the ages of several unknown or poorly known M ≥ 6.5 earthquakes. Here, we summarize the state of the art of paleoseismology in Italy, and present a first catalogue of 56 paleoearthquakes (PCI) that occurred mainly in the past 6 kyr. The PCI integrates the historical/instrumental seismic catalogue, and extends it beyond the recurrence time of the seismogenetic faults (2000 ± 1000 yr). We feel confident that the use of the PCI will enhance future probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, and thus contribute to more reliable seismic risk mitigation programs.     

Distribution and population structure of deep‐dwelling red coral in the Northwest Mediterranean

Commercially harvested since ancient times, the highly valuable red coral Corallium rubrum (Linnaeus, 1758) is an octocoral endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Eastern Atlantic Ocean, where it occurs on rocky bottoms over a wide bathymetric range. Current knowledge is restricted to its shallow populations (15–50 m depth), with comparably little attention given to the deeper populations (50–200 m) that are nowadays the main target of exploitation. In this study, red coral distribution and population structure were assessed in three historically exploited areas (Amalfi, Ischia Island and Elba Island) in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean Sea) between 50 and 130 m depth by means of ROV during a cruise carried out in the summer of 2010. Red coral populations showed a maximum patch frequency of 0.20 ± 0.04 SD patches·m^?1 and a density ranging between 28 and 204 colonies·m^?2, with a fairly continuous bathymetric distribution. The highest red coral densities in the investigated areas were found on cliffs and boulders mainly exposed to the east, at the greatest depth, and characterized by medium percentage sediment cover. The study populations contained a high percentage (46% on average) of harvestable colonies (>7 mm basal diameter). Moreover, some colonies with fifth‐order branches were also observed, highlighting the probable older age of some components of these populations. The Ischia population showed the highest colony occupancy, density and size, suggesting a better conservation status than the populations at the other study locations. These results indicate that deep dwelling red coral populations in non‐stressed or less‐harvested areas may diverge from the inverse size‐density relationship previously observed in red coral populations with increasing depth.     

Würmian deglaciation of western Lake Geneva (Switzerland) based on seismic stratigraphy

Western Lake Geneva (le Petit-Lac) was filled during the Quaternary over a major erosion surface truncating the cemented, folded and thrusted Tertiary sediments of the foreland Alpine basin. The carving of the lake occurred during Quaternary glaciations with ice originating from the Rhone valley catchment basin flowing in two branches oriented SW and NE over the Swiss Plateau. Lake Geneva is situated on the South-Western branch of this paleo ice-cap.For the first time, a dense grid of high-resolution seismic profiles (airgun 5-inch³, airgun 1-inch³ and echosounder) has imaged the whole Quaternary sequence, providing a paleoenvironmental interpretation and a detailed reconstruction of the Rhone glacier retreat stages during glacial events that led to the formation of western Lake Geneva.The Quaternary sequence filling up the bedrock valley is exceptionally thick with up to 220 m of deposits and consists of glacial, glacio-lacustrine and lacustrine sediments. Fourteen seismic units have been defined (units U1–U14). Unit U1 represents the remnants of glacial deposits older than the last glacial cycle, preserved in the deepest part of the lake and in secondary bedrock valleys. Unit U2 represents gravel and sands deposited by meltwater circulation at the bottom of the glacial valley. Unit U3 is a thick, stratified unit marking the beginning of the deglaciation, when the Rhone glacier became thinner and buoyant and allowed the formation of a subglacial lake. Younger glacial units (units U4, U5, U7, U9, U11) are acoustically chaotic sediments deposited subglacially under the water table (undermelt tills), while the glacier was thinning. These glacial units are bounded by synform erosion surfaces corresponding to readvances of the glacier.The transition from a glacial to a glacio-lacustrine environment started with the appearance of a marginal esker-fan system (unit U6). Esker formation was followed by a small advance–retreat cycle leading to the deposition of unit U7. Then, the ice front receded and stratified sediments were deposited in a glacio-lacustrine environment (units U8, U10 and U12). This retreat was punctuated by two readvances – Coppet (unit U9) and Nyon (unit U11) – producing large push moraines and proglacial debris flows. Finally, a lacustrine environment with a characteristic lake current pattern and mass movement deposits took place (units U13 and U14).Except for unit U1, the sedimentary sequence records the Würmian deglaciation in a fjord-like environment occupied by a tidewater glacier with a steep, calving ice front. The presence of an esker-fan system reveals the importance of subglacial meltwater flow in continental deglaciation. Push-moraines and erosion surfaces below the glacier indicate at least 5 readvances during the deglaciation thus revealing that oscillations of ice front are the key process in deglaciation of perialpine fjord-lakes. The dating of these continental glacier fluctuations would allow correlation with oceanic and ice records and help to understand the climatic mechanisms between oceans and continents.     

Evaluation of the influence of experimental conditions on H/V results from ambient noise recordings

The H/V-noise technique is now widely used to estimate site effect parameters (fundamental frequency and sometimes the associated soil amplification), and many surveys using this technique have provided convincing results. However, a general agreement on a methodology for data acquisition, data processing and result interpretation has yet to be found. H/V measurements from ambient noise recordings imply both reliability of the results and rapidity of data collection. It is therefore important to understand which experimental conditions (1) influence data quality and reliability, and (2) can help speeding up the recording process. Within the framework of the SESAME European project, a specific task was defined to investigate the reliability of the H/V spectral ratio technique in assessing the site effects. The aim of WP02, one specific Work Package of the SESAME project, is to study the effects of experimental conditions on both stability and reproducibility of H/V results. This study has been conducted in a purely experimental way, by testing the possible influence of various experimental conditions on H/V results both on the frequency peak value and on its amplitude. WP02 results help setting up the experimental conditions under which ambient noise recordings have to be performed in order to provide reproducible, reliable and meaningful H/V results. In this paper we present the results of the WP02 SESAME project concerning the evaluation of the influence of experimental conditions of ambient noise recording on H/V results.