Metalliferous sediments from the H.M.S. Challenger voyage (1872-1876)

The legendary cruise of H.M.S. Challenger (1872-1876) around the globe must always occupy an eminent place in the annals of oceanography, as being the first systematic attempt made on a global scale to explore the ocean. This expedition made fundamental discoveries in biology and geology which have not been surpassed by any later scientific cruise. Sediment with high content of metals (later called “metalliferous”) was among the enigmatic findings taken onboard. Although the nature of metalliferous sediments is well known today, the very first sampled sediments of this type have not been studied to date. Motivated by the historical value of Challenger’s metalliferous sediment collection we undertook an investigation addressing two questions: (1) the composition of sediments from seafloor for which we have very limited data; (2) Sr-Nd-Pb-Fe-Zn-isotope signature of these sediments collected before the substantial human impact on the ocean during the 20th century.The SE Pacific metalliferous sediments sampled by the Challenger’s explorers are of 2 types: (1) metalliferous oozes blanketing ridge crests and flanks down to the calcite compensation depth (CCD); and (2) stripped of CaCO₃ metalliferous sediments located beneath the CCD in the deeps near the mid-ocean ridges. The abiogenic part of these sediments is composed mainly of poorly-crystalline to X-ray amorphous Fe-Mn-oxyhydroxides, and an amorphous silicate phase. These sediments have geochemical features similar to those of all the other metalliferous sediments: very high Fe and Mn content (on abiogenic basis), very low Al/(Al + Fe + Mn), and high content (on abiogenic basis) of As, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Th, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Zn and Zr. Their REE distribution patterns are similar to that of deep seawater and show weak signs of hydrothermal imprint (weak positive or no Eu anomaly).Seawater and/or terrigenous input from South America control the Sr-Nd-Pb-isotope signature of the Challenger metalliferous sediments and have almost completely obliterated any original MORB-derived hydrothermal signal. Zn isotopes are mainly contributed from seawater although other Zn sources (hydrothermal fluid and detrital aluminosilicates, barite and volcanic glass) are necessary to fully explain Zn-isotope ratios. Fe isotopes indicate relatively slow Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ oxidation in the non-buoyant plume, thus producing relatively lighter Fe-isotope signature of the FeOOH particles that formed the studied metalliferous sediments.     

Microtremor Analyses at Teide Volcano (Canary Islands,Spain): Assessment of Natural Frequencies of Vibration Using Time-dependent Horizontal-to-vertical Spectral Ratios

We use time-dependent horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of microtremors to determine the dominant frequencies of vibration of the geological structures beneath several recording sites in the vicinity of Teide volcano (Canary Islands, Spain). In the microtremors, the time-dependent HVSRs (ratiograms) are a useful tool to discriminate between the presence of real dominant frequencies linked to resonances of the subsurface structure and the spurious appearance of peaks due to local transients. We verified that the results are repeatable, in the sense that microtremors recorded at the same site but at different times yield a very similar HVSR function. Two types of results are found: (1) sites where there is no resonance of the propagating microtremors, and therefore no value of a dominant frequency can be assessed; and (2) sites where a stationary peak in the HVSR is found and a dominant frequency related to resonance of the shallow structure can be estimated. These resonant frequencies show substantial spatial variations even for nearby sites, which reflects the complexity of the shallow velocity structure in the Las Cañadas area. Large dominant frequencies occur near the caldera walls and also at a few locations that coincide with the intersections of the inferred rims of the three calderas forming Las Cañadas. Small dominant frequencies also occur near the caldera rim, and may be due to discontinuities in the caldera wall and/or to local velocity anomalies. Intermediate frequencies are mostly found in the eastern part of the caldera, where a tentative profile of the basement depth has been obtained. Intermediate frequencies have also been measured south of Ucanca and south of Montaña Blanca. In view of the present results, we conclude that the use of ratiograms constitutes an improvement of the HVSR method and provides an appropriate tool to investigate the shallow velocity structure of a volcanic region.     

The impact of spatial elements on the forecasting of Spanish labour series

In this paper, we analyse the ability of a dynamic spatial panel data model without explanatory variables to explain a variable of interest, in this case employment in the fifty Spanish provinces. The best model is a dynamic fixed effect with a spatial lag structure in an equation estimated through the unconditional ML procedure. Predictions derived from this selected model are compared with those derived from fifty seasonal ARIMA models that also treat outlier observations. The results indicate that forecasts derived from a single estimated spatial panel data model are as accurate as those derived from the estimation of fifty seasonal ARIMA models. This shows that spatial panel data models play an important role in forecasting.