Coastal Impacts of the March 11th Tohoku, Japan Tsunami in the Galapagos Islands

On March 11, 2011 at 5:46:23 UTC (March 10 11:46:23 PM Galapagos Local Time), the M_w 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake occurred near the Tohoku region off the east coast of Japan, spawning a Pacific-wide tsunami. Approximately 12,000 km away, the Galapagos Islands experienced moderate tsunami impacts, including flooding, structural damage, and strong currents. In this paper, we present observations and measurements of the tsunami effects in the Galapagos, focusing on the four largest islands in the archipelago; (from west to east) Isabela, Santiagio, Santa Cruz, and San Cristobal. Access to the tsunami affected areas was one of the largest challenges of the field survey. Aside from approximately ten sandy beaches open to tourists, all other shoreline locations are restricted to anyone without a research permit; open cooperation with the Galapagos National Park provided the survey team complete access to the Islands coastlines. Survey locations were guided by numerical simulations of the tsunami performed prior to the field work. This numerical guidance accurately predicted the regions of highest impact, as well as regions of relatively low impact. Tide-corrected maximum tsunami heights were generally in the range of 3–4 m with the highest runup of 6 m measured in a small pocket beach on Isla Isabela. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island, the largest harbor in the Galapagos experienced significant flooding and damage to structures located at the shoreline. A current meter moored inside the harbor recorded relatively weak tsunami currents of less than 0.3 m/s (0.6 knot) during the event. Comparisons with detailed numerical simulations suggest that these low current speed observations are most likely the result of data averaging at 20-min intervals and that maximum instantaneous current speeds were considerably larger. Currents in the Canal de Itabaca, a natural waterway between Santa Cruz Island and a smaller island offshore, were strong enough to displace multiple 5.5-ton navigation buoys. Numerical simulations indicate that currents in the Canal de Itabaca exceeded 4 m/s (~8 knots), a very large flow speed for a navigational waterway.     

Identification of lateral discontinuities via multi‐offset phase analysis of surface wave data

Surface wave methods are based on the inversion of observed Rayleigh wave phase‐velocity dispersion curves. The goal is to estimate mainly the shear‐wave velocity profile of the investigated site. The model used for the interpretation is 1D, hence results obtained wherever lateral variations are present cannot be considered reliable. In this paper, we study four synthetic models, all with a lateral heterogeneity. When we process the entire corresponding seismograms with traditional f‐k approach, the resulting 1D profiles are representative of the subsurface properties averaged over the whole length of the receivers lines. These results show that classical analysis disregards evidences of sharp lateral velocity changes even when they show up in the raw seismograms. In our research, we implement and test over the same synthetic models, a novel robust automated method to check the appropriateness of 1D model assumption and locate the discontinuities. This new approach is a development of the recent multi‐offset phase analysis with the following further advantages: it does not need previous noise evaluation and more than one shot. Only once the discontinuities are clearly identified, we confidently perform classical f‐k dispersion curve extraction and inversion separately on both sides of the discontinuity. Thus the final results, obtained by putting side by side the 1D profiles, are correct 2D reconstructions of the discontinuous S‐wave distributions obtained without any additional ad‐hoc hypotheses.     

The upper Miocene diatomaceous sediments of the northernmost Mediterranean region: A lamina-scale investigation of an overlooked palaeoceanographic archive

During the late Miocene the Mediterranean experienced a dramatic intensification of opaline accumulation, recorded by the deposition of diatomaceous sediments. The fine lamination of these deposits potentially records annual to sub-annual palaeoceanographic processes that occurred during a critical phase of the geodynamic evolution of the Mediterranean basin, which eventually led to the Messinian salinity crisis. The diatomaceous facies has been interpreted by previous researchers as the product of intensified upwelling currents and of bottom anoxia formation in the Mediterranean basin. However, until now, no efforts have been made to unravel the sedimentological and micropalaeontological content of these deposits at the lamina-scale. This paper presents the first case study of a systematic scanning electron microscope-based morphological investigation of the diatomaceous sediments deposited during the late Miocene at the northernmost offshoot of the Mediterranean basin (Piedmont Basin, north-west Italy). Using a non-invasive analytical approach, six faciological components (laminae, laminated packets, non-laminated intervals, burrows, opal-rich aggregates and mixed pelletal structures) and their relationships are described and interpreted herein. Following the lamina-scale study of these sediments, an annual sedimentary cycle could be identified and an accumulation rate (ca 50 cm kyr⁻¹) inferred that is atypical for a setting actively influenced by upwelling. The role played by the entanglement of diatom valves in creating a physical barrier to the bioturbation is here emphasized as the main process responsible for the preservation of the laminated fabric of diatomaceous sediments, challenging the supposed role of deep anoxia. These results suggest that the late Miocene diatomaceous deposition in the Piedmont Basin cannot be univocally considered as a by-product of upwelling intensification and seafloor oxygen depletion.     

Quelques appareils pour l'étude de la structure physique des brouillards et des nuages

Résumé L'auteur décrit un appareil permettant de déterminer le contenu en eau liquide des brouillards et des nuages, dont il discute le principe thermodynamique. En plus, on décrit un tunnel placé au Monte Cimone (2164 m) qui, par sa tourelle tournante, permet d'observer et de mesurer la structure physique des nuages sous les conditions de la circulation naturelle. Enfin, on montre la construction d'une chambre à expansion qui permet d'étudier en laboratoire les différentes phases de développement des gouttelettes sous les conditions d'une expansion qui se produit d'une manière aussi lente qu'elle est observée dans la nature.

---

Summary The author describes an apparatus for the determination of the content of liquid water in fogs and clouds and discusses its thermodynamic principle. Further, a wind channel placed on Mount Cimone (2164 m) is described which, owing to a revolving turret, allows to observe and measure the physical structure of the clouds under the natural conditions of the circulation. Finally, the construction of an expansion chamber is shown, which can be used for investigating in the laboratory the different phases in the formation of droplets, this under conditions happening as slowly as in nature.

---

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine Apparatur zur Bestimmung des Gehaltes von Nebeln und Wolken an flüssigem Wasser beschrieben und ihr thermodynamisches Prinzip erläutert. Sodann wird ein Windkanal beschrieben, der auf dem Monte Cimone (2164 m) aufgestellt ist und dank seinem Drehturm gestattet, die physikalische Struktur der Wolken unter den Bedingungen der natürlichen Strömung zu beobachten und zu messen. Schließlich wird die Konstruktion einer Expansionskammer entwickelt, mit der die verschiedenen Phasen der Tröpfchenentwicklung im Laboratorium untersucht werden können, und zwar unter den Bedingungen einer Expansion, die so langsam verläuft wie in der Natur.

---

---

Avec 5 figures.     

Measurement of long waves at the harbor of Marina di Carrara,Italy

This paper presents the analysis of measurements of long waves at the harbor of Marina di Carrara, Italy. Nine pressure gauges (eight in the inner harbor and one outside the harbor) were used to record continuously the water surface elevation, for about 3 years; incoming short waves were measured using a directional buoy at about 500 m offshore the breakwaters. The analysis is carried out splitting the energy of the long waves into two bands, i.e., very long waves (VLW; f < 0.003 Hz) and long waves (LW; 0.003 < f < 0.030 Hz); it is found that LW energy is strongly correlated with the energy of the incoming short waves while no correlation (or very poor) is found for VLW. During energetic sea states, surface elevation spectra of VLW and LW, normalized against the wave energy of each frequency band, appear to be autosimilar; this suggests that the spectra of the incoming long waves have a mostly constant shape. Simple numerical computations of harbor resonance, carried out using a mild-slope equation linearized model, indicate that the amplification of the height of the incoming LW generated by short waves (calculated using empirical formulae from previous researches by Melito et al. 2007) inside the harbor can be reasonably predicted using such simple approach, assuming that the LW spectra are rectangular. The shape of the amplification diagram calculated by the numerical model shows reasonable (but not perfect) agreement with the shape of the normalized measured spectra inside the harbor.     

Effect of degassing on sulfur contents and δ34S values in Somma-Vesuvius magmas

Sulfur contents and δ³⁴S values of Somma-Vesuvius magmas are consistent with syneruptive, open-system degassing at temperatures of 800–850°C for Plinian pumices and 1100–1200°C for lavas. The extent of degassing appears to be greater in lavas than in pumices. The key parameter controlling the ³⁴S/³²S ratio of Somma-Vesuvius volcanics is the average magma oxidation state, which generally varies from 0.85 to 1.20 Δ NNO units for lavas and from 1.20 to 1.40 Δ NNO units for pumices. Consequently, S contents and δ³⁴S values of magmas constitute a potentially valuable tool in estimating their average redox conditions. The results of this study may help in risk mitigation when the Vesuvius magmatic system evolves toward eruptive conditions. Received: 20 January 1998 / Accepted: 5 May 1998     

Central Mediterranean tephrochronology between 313 and 366 ka: New insights from the Fucino palaeolake sediment succession

Thirty-two tephra layers were identified in the time-interval 313–366 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 9–10) of the Quaternary lacustrine succession of the Fucino Basin, central Italy. Twenty-seven of these tephra layers yielded suitable geochemical material to explore their volcanic origins. Investigations also included the acquisition of geochemical data of some relevant, chronologically compatible proximal units from Italian volcanoes. The record contains tephra from some well-known eruptions and eruptive sequences of Roman and Roccamonfina volcanoes, such as the Magliano Romano Plinian Fall, the Orvieto–Bagnoregio Ignimbrite, the Lower White Trachytic Tuff and the Brown Leucitic Tuff. In addition, the record documents eruptions currently undescribed in proximal (i.e. near-vent) sections, suggesting a more complex history of the major eruptions of the Colli Albani, Sabatini, Vulsini and Roccamonfina volcanoes between 313 and 366 ka. Six of the investigated tephra layers were directly dated by single-crystal-fusion ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating, providing the basis for a Bayesian age–depth model and a reassessment of the chronologies for both already known and dated eruptive units and for so far undated eruptions. The results provide a significant contribution for improving knowledge on the peri-Tyrrhenian explosive activity as well as for extending the Mediterranean tephrostratigraphical framework, which was previously based on limited proximal and distal archives for that time interval.     

A new percoid fish from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy: Hendrixella grandei gen. & sp. nov.

A new genus and species of percoid fish, Hendrixella grandei gen. & sp. nov. is described from the upper Ypresian limestone of Monte Bolca, Italy. It is based on four well-preserved specimens that show an elongate and slender body and a unique combination of features, including possession of 11 + 13 vertebrae, two series of intermuscular bones, fused haemal spine of third preural centrum, caudal fin with 17 principal rays and 11 upper and eight lower procurrent rays, predorsal formula 0/0/1 + 1/1/, two separated dorsal fins with rayless pterygiophore in-between, and a single supernumerary spine in both dorsal and anal fins. Due to this unique combination of features, Hendrixella cannot be placed within any existing fossil or extant percoid families and it is placed incertae sedis in the Percoidei. The possession of two series of intermuscular bones represents an unambiguous autapomorphy of Hendrixella. A comparative analysis of the distribution of intermusculars among percomorph fishes indicates that the intermuscular bones of the upper series can be homologized with the epineurals and those of the lower series are the homologs of the epicentrals of non-acanthomorphs.     

Life history of Cornularia cornucopiae (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) on the Conero Promontory (North Adriatic Sea)

The life cycle of the stoloniferan Cornularia cornucopiae (Pallas, 1766) (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) was studied from March 2009 to October 2010 on the rocky cliff of the Conero Promontory (North Adriatic Sea, 43°34.865′ N, 13°34.320′ E). In this area the species showed unusual high densities never recorded in other sites of the Mediterranean Sea. The density trend of the species showed a marked seasonal cycle, with a winter minimum of about 1000 polyps m^?2 and a summer maximum of about 30,000 polyps m^?2. In accordance with other Mediterranean literature data, polyps were fertile during spring–summer, from March to August, but the number of eggs per polyp continuously decreased during this span of time. Variations of polyp density were strongly correlated to water temperature, which can be considered the main environmental factor triggering this seasonal behaviour. The possibility, for C. cornucopiae, to face adverse winter conditions is probably related to the presence of a characteristic perisarcal envelope covering the stolon and the calyx of each polyp, which isolates the living tissues from the exterior. During winter, polyps degenerate but the stolons remain dormant inside their envelopes. The perisarc covering represents a morphological convergence of C. cornucopiae with benthic hydrozoans. As the latter, the studied stoloniferans are able to live in habitats characterized by periodic favourable conditions thanks to a seasonal life strategy. A similar trend is shared also by other important components (cnidarians and some sponges) of the filter‐feeding community of the North Adriatic Sea. Differently to the Western Mediterranean basin, this area is characterized by high food availability all year around, so benthic organisms are strongly constrained by the very low winter temperatures.