Albitisation related to the Triassic unconformity in igneous rocks of the Morvan Massif (France)

The Carboniferous Morvan Massif, in the northern part of the French Massif Central, consists of granite and some rhyolite. A Triassic erosional unconformity has developed on the massif which is covered by Mesozoic sediments of the Paris Basin. The igneous rocks of the Morvan Massif show a strong alteration with pseudomorphic replacement of the primary plagioclases into albite, pseudomorphic replacement of primary biotite into chlorite and minor precipitation of neogenic minerals like albite, chlorite, apatite, haematite, calcite and titanite. The geometry and arrangement of these alterations give significant constraints about their development. Some of the altered facies develop in a pervasive manner; others are restricted to centimetric to metric-wide joints that imply fluid-flow phenomena. Moreover, the alteration facies are arranged in a clear succession with strongly altered facies at the top and weakly altered facies towards the depth, which point to a genetic relationship with the Triassic unconformity. Regional distribution of the alterations, which affect the Carboniferous igneous and volcanic formations beneath the Jurassic sedimentary cover, also leads to associate these alterations with the Triassic unconformity. Dating of the alterations provides even a further constraint, alterations are of Triassic age, that means the same age as the unconformity. Taking into account all these geological constraints, it is proposed that albitisation of the Morvan Massif was developed under low temperature subsurface conditions in relation to the Triassic palaeosurface.     

Contribution of regional climate drivers to future winter sea-level changes in the Baltic Sea estimated by statistical methods and simulations of climate models

A statistical downscaling approach is applied to the output of five different global climate model simulations driven by twenty-first century future scenarios of greenhouse gas concentrations. The contribution of sea-level pressure (SLP) and precipitation changes to regional future winter sea-level changes is estimated for four Baltic sea-level stations by establishing statistical relationships between sea level as predictand and large-scale climate fields as predictors. Using SLP as predictor for the central and eastern Baltic Sea level stations, three climate models lead to statistically significant twenty-first century future trends in the range of the order of 1–2 mm/year. Using precipitation as predictor for the stations in the southern Baltic coast all five models lead to statistically significant trends with a range of the order of 0.4 mm/year. These numbers are smaller, but of the order of magnitude as the predicted global sea-level rise.     

Impact of climate variability in the western Mediterranean during the last 20,000 years: oceanic and atmospheric responses

Eolian input fluctuations and paleoceanographic conditions in the western Mediterranean have been reconstructed by using a multi-proxy approach to infer climate variability for the last 20,000 yr. A sediment core from the East Alboran Sea basin provides high-resolution geochemical, mineralogical and grain size distribution records from the Last Glacial Maximum onward. The accurate chronology obtained, closely related with the North Greenland Ice core Project, has provided a detailed paleoclimate reconstruction at the centennial–millennial time scale. Mineral and chemical compositions as well as sediment grain size distribution have been used to establish both fluvial and eolian input variations, deep-water current intensity, and ventilation and productivity conditions at the time of deposition. During the cold period Greenland Stadial-2a, the analyzed proxies evidence significant climate oscillations. Redox proxies, showing marked Mn/Al and Fe/Al peaks, as well as granulometric parameters, support major changes in thermohaline circulation, with active circulation triggered by the Western Mediterranean Deep Water formation. Ba/Al ratios and the presence of authigenic barite point to high productivity during the Last Heinrich event. At this time, Zr/Al, Si/Al and Ti/Al ratios as well as quartz and palygorskite contents also corroborate dryer conditions in the Alboran borderlands, with a major reorganization of atmospheric circulation at the beginning of the deglaciation and during the Last Heinrich event. In contrast, a decreasing trend in the Zr/Al ratio and increasing Mg/Al, K/Al and illite + chlorite/kaolinite ratios would indicate enhanced river runoff and supporting lower eolian dust input and wetter periods during the Bölling–Alleröd. Short-term and abrupt climate oscillations such as the Intra-Alleröd Cold Period are likewise reflected by minor yet conspicuous changes in eolian proxies. During the Younger Dryas, we distinguish an initial cold and dry phase, with major westerlies intensity, thermohaline reactivation, and high productivity levels, and a second wetter phase characterized by sporadic rainfalls over poorly vegetated surrounding continental areas. Then, during the Holocene, alternating phases of major humidity and aridity were recorded by major fluctuations in detrital input. These are also correlated with recurrent forest cover declines reported from pollen records, with a noteworthy early decline in the African Humid Period. During the Holocene, an initial demise of the Last Organic-Rich Layer is also evidenced, tentatively associated with aspiration forces promoted by intense thermohaline circulation through the Gibraltar Strait.     

Caracas, Venezuela, Site Effect Determination with Microtremors

—?Caracas 1967 earthquake caused heavy damage to multi-story buildings. In 1995, 184 microtremor measurement points were performed over the city. The measurement grid was more or less dense and covered the main part of the alluvial basin as well as surrounding rock basement. For each point, the horizontal record spectrum was divided by the vertical one (H/V ratio). Subsequently, the strongest value (Ao) of this ratio in a given frequency band was kept, as well as the frequency (Fo) where it occurred. Spatial interpolations of Ao and Fo were performed among all points of Palos Grandes district. A map was plotted representing a single surface where Ao is relief and Fo is represented by grey gradation. An alluvion thickness (H) map can be compared with this result. Damaged buildings are located on the same map. Fo decreases until 0.6?Hz when alluvion thickness (H) increases. Fo values fit with frequencies previously predicted from computation and with 1967 earthquake observations. Moreover, interpolation surfaces show that amplification (Ao) of H/V on microtremor is quite low above rock but is high on the south part of the basin. The maximum occurs over the non-urbanized zone. However the other area, where Ao is higher than 5, roughly corresponds to the location of the four collapsed buildings. Furthermore, the estimated natural frequency of these buildings was around Fo. Graphics showing H, Fo and Ao evolution through the basin were composed. Links between all these values are noticeable. Fo is claimed to be very similar to the resonance frequency of soil. As for Ao, it could be a fairly relevant sign of damage seriousness. Microtremor technique is an economic tool and it allows measurement grid as dense as desired. H/V ratio processing followed by interpolation of maximum values provides precise and useful information about expected site effect.     

A numerical study of the transport and diffusion of coastal pollutants during the breeze cycle in the Island of Mallorca

An Eulerian study of the distribution over the Island of Mallorca of a non-reactive pollutant (SO₂) emitted from an electric power plant operating at present on the north coast is performed using a meso- numerical model, paying particular attention to the diffusive physical mechanisms. The study is applied to the conditions of sea-land breeze development. This is a local circulation that dominates the flow during the summer and favours transporting pollutants from the coast toward the centre of the island. Results indicate that values of the ground-level concentration higher than 5 g/m³ are restricted over a limited and mountainous region during the whole diurnal cycle. However, when the simulation is carried out with the inclusion of a twin electric plant which may be built on the south coast, the affected area becomes larger, especially early in the morning, when air over the island is sinking as a consequence of the land breeze development. The inclusion of dry deposition in the simulations does not produce important changes in the spatial and temporal evolution of the ground-level concentration.     

Forecasting annual precipitation to improve the operation of dams in the Comahue region,Argentina

ABSTRACT

This paper attempts to design statistical models to forecast annual precipitation in the Neuquen and Limay river basins in the Comahue region of Argentina. These forecasts are especially useful as they are used to better organize the operation of hydro-electric dams, the agriculture in irrigated valleys and the safety of the population. In this work, multiple linear regression statistical models are built to forecast mean annual rainfall over the two river basins. Since the maximum precipitation occurs in the winter (June–August), forecasting models have been developed for the beginning of March and for the beginning of June, just before the rainy season starts. The results show that the sea-surface temperatures of the Indian and Pacific oceans are good predictors for March models and explain 42.8% of the precipitation index variance. The efficiency of the models increases in June, adding more predictors related to the autumn circulation.     

Identifying Variable γ-ray Sources Through Radio Observations

We present preliminary results of a campaign undertaken with different radio interferometers to observe a sample of the most variable unidentified EGRET sources. We expect to detect which of the possible counterparts of the γ-ray sources (any of the radio emitters in the field) varies in time with similar timescales as the γ-ray variation. If the γ-rays are produced in a jet-like source, as we have modelled theoretically, synchrotron emission is also expected at radio wavelengths. Such radio emission should appear variable in time and correlated with the γ-ray variability.