Late Holocene palaeoenvironments of the Nutria Mansa 1 archaeological site,Argentina

This paper presents results of interdisciplinary palaeoenvironmental research carried out on a sediment sequence from the Nutria Mansa 1 archaeological site. This late Holocene site is located in the Pampean plains, Argentina. Siliceous microfossils were recorded (i.e. phytoliths, diatoms, chrysophytes, sponges) and micro-charcoal was analyzed. In addition, fauna identified at the site were correlated with regional palaeoclimatic evidence. Based on the microfossil associations, we concluded that the human occupations occurred beside a fluvial and brackish-freshwater lacustrine setting. Grass communities were located on its margins that developed under a warm temperate climate with evidence for dryness and marked seasonality in part of the record. Although some stratigraphic and faunal evidence indicates a possible temperature increase, these fluctuations were not sufficient to extirpate mammals of arid and cold environments.     

Syn-tectonic sedimentary evolution of the Miocene Çatallar Basin,southwestern Turkey

The Çatallar Basin is one of the Miocene basins located in the southern part of the Bey Da?lar? Massif (SW Turkey). This basin has been reinvestigated and new stratigraphic and sedimentological data are now presented. The Çatallar Basin lies in paraconformity on the Bey Da?lar? carbonate platform of Late Cretaceous to Palaeogene age. It consists of an impersistent, shallow-marine carbonate base (Karabay?r formation, Late Oligocene to Early Burdigalian) followed by an onlapping detrital sequence including the Akçay and Ba?beleni formations (Langhian to Serravallian). The Akçay formation mainly contains turbidites in which several debris-flows and olistostromes are intercalated. The lowest debris flows derive from the local carbonate platforms of Cretaceous and Palaeogene age. Higher, the debris flows and olistostromes contain large carbonate blocks deriving from nearby sources (Bey Da?lar? platform carbonates), whereas the accompanying pebbles originate from the allochthonous ophiolitic units located farther to the north (Lycian Nappes) or to the east (Antalya Nappes). The origin of these ophiolitic detritus is a matter of debate. The new data obtained in this study favour a northern origin.     

Rock Glaciers in the Patagonian Andes: An Inventory for the Monte San Lorenzo (Cerro Cochrane) Massif, 47° S

Although rock glaciers in the Central and Desert Andes of Argentina and Chile have been previously studied in detail, much less attention has been paid to the occurrence of these permafrost forms in Patagonia. Recently, however, the establishment of the Argentinean Glacier Inventory program, which intends to inventory and monitor all ice masses along the Argentinean Andes, has started a large amount of new geocryological research. The project is designed to provide reliable and worldwide comparable results, supported by well established technical procedures and background information. Presented here is the first rock glacier inventory of the Monte San Lorenzo (Cerro Cochrane) region in the southern Patagonian Andes. A total of 130 intact (9.86 km²) and 47 fossil (1.45 km²) landforms were inventoried using two 2.5 m resolution ALOS Panchromatic Remote‐sensing Instruments for Stereo Mapping images. Since the Argentinean federal initiative described above legally protects all rock glaciers in the country as water reserves, and due to the little scientific knowledge concerning rock glaciers in the vast majority of the Patagonian Andes, this inventory provides an important basis for political decision‐making and opens further geocryological research avenues for the Patagonian region in general.     

Isolated and mildly interacting spiral galaxies: Rotation curves and metallicities

We present the study of long slit spectra in the region ofHα emission line of a sample of 111 spiral galaxies with recognizable and well defined spiral morphology and with a well determined environmental status, ranging from isolation to non-disruptive interaction with satellites or companions. The form and properties of the rotation curves (RC) are considered as a function of the isolation degree, morphological type, t, and luminosity. The line ratios are used to estimate the metallicity of all the detected HII regions, thus producing a composite metallicity profile for different types of spirals. We have found that isolated galaxies (ISO) tend to be of later types and lower luminosity than the interacting galaxies (INT). The outer parts of the RC of ISO tend to be flatter than in INT, but they show similar relations between global parameters. The scatter of the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation defined by ISO is significantly lower than that of INT. The [NII]/Hα ratios, used as a metallicity indicator, show a clear trend between Z and t, with earlier spirals showing higher ratios; this trend is tighter when instead of t the gradient of the inner RC, G, is used; no trend is found with the change in interaction status. The Z-gradient of the disks depends on the type, being almost flat for early spirals, and increasing for later types. The [NII]/Hα ratios measured for disk HII regions of INT are higher than for normal/ISO objects, even if all the galaxy families present similar distributions of Hα Equivalent Width. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

运用生物地理学理论与遥感影像寻找本·拉登

本·拉登到底在哪里？这是我们这个时代最重要的政治问题之一。在这篇文章中,我们依据反映生物分布和灭绝规律的生物地理学理论(距离衰减理论、岛屿生物地理理论、本·拉登个人数据),结合遥感数据(陆地卫星 ETM+、航天雷达地形测图、QuickBird),从全球、区域、局部三个空间尺度分析并最终指出本·拉登当前最可能的所在地。这是第一次运用科学手段来确定本·拉登居所。该方法具有可重复性：一旦美国情报部门提供新的信息,便可通过该方法重新定位本·拉登当前最有可能的藏身场所。     

The growth of “black crusts” on calcareous building stones in Palermo (Sicily): a first appraisal of anthropogenic and natural sulphur sources

Chemical, mineralogical and isotopic composition (³⁴S/³²S) analyses were carried out on “black crusts” developed on the old buildings of Palermo (Sicily) with the aim to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic sulphur sources. Furthermore individual samples of total suspended particulate (TSP) were collected and analysed in order to estimate the influence of air pollution on the decay process of calcareous stones in a typical southern Mediterranean coastal environment. SEM/EDS analysis, X-ray diffractometry, IR spectroscopy and liquid chromatography led to the compositional characterization of “black crusts” and airborne particulate matter in the city. Sulphur isotopic compositions of gypsum-bearing crusts showed a prevailing contribution of anthropogenic sources (vehicle exhaust and other combustion processes). Natural sulphur and/or sulphate sources (biogenic and/or sea-spray) were shown to play a secondary role. These data can be considered a starting point for the determination of the rate of growth of “black crusts” in a coastal Mediterranean urban environment like Palermo. In the future, they might be useful to local authorities for planning more efficient maintenance action in order to slow as much as possible the rate of decay of the monumental heritage of the city.     

Ecological niches and areas of overlap of the squat lobster ‘munida’ (Pleuroncodes monodon) and anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) off Peru

The world’s largest mono-specific fishery, the Peruvian anchovy or anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) fishery, has been the subject of many studies since the 1960s. Details of its relationship with other species have mainly focused on alternations with sardine, Sardinops sagax, and little effort has so far been paid to interactions with other species sharing the same ecosystem. This is the case for Pleuroncodes monodon, the crustacean squat lobster or ’munida’, which has become highly abundant along the Peruvian coast since the mid-1990s. Munida is now an important prey for seabirds, mammals and coastal predatory fish. Knowledge of patterns of distribution and ecological niche of munida is scarce however off Peru. Here we describe and compare spatial patterns of distribution of anchoveta and munida and their ecological niches based on data from 26 acoustic surveys performed along the Peruvian coast between 1998 and 2006. The results indicate that munida and anchoveta share ecological niches but that munida is restricted to the coldest part of the productive cold coastal waters whereas anchoveta do not present any temperature preference over a large range (14–23 °C). The recent increase in munida abundance off Peru is concomitant with colder conditions; with their onset munida extended its range from central Chile northwards. Off Peru the very shallow oxycline keeps munida from its usual bottom habitat and has forced it to adopt pelagic behaviour.