Along-Channel Winds in Howe Sound: Climatological Analysis and Case Studies

This paper examines along-channel winds within Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada, that occur from both the interior plateau out toward the coast as outflows and from the coast inland as inflows. First, the relationships between along-channel winds and pressure, temperature, and humidity are explored in Howe Sound–Cheakamus Valley. The pressure gradients between Pam Rocks and Squamish and Pam Rocks and Pemberton have the strongest correlations with outflow strength and that between Pam Rocks and Squamish has the strongest correlation with inflow strength. Outflows (inflows) have lower (higher) temperatures and dew point temperatures, except for the inflows in summer, which have lower dewpoint temperatures than the overall mean. Second, two case studies of outflow events are presented and described during the period of intensive observations prior to and during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The January 2010 outflow event is caused by a zone of strong across-barrier mean sea level pressure gradient. The pressure gradient is formed behind an Arctic front that moved southward across Howe Sound. The February 2010 outflow event is caused by an approaching sea level low pressure centre from the Pacific that formed a northeast–southwest mean sea level pressure gradient across southern British Columbia. In the January case, the outflow layer is about 1.5?km deep, while it is shallower in the February case. Only the January outflow case exhibits hydraulic behaviour.     

Disturbance and Community Pattern of Polychaetes Inhabiting Valle Magnavacca (Valli di Comacchio,Northern Adriatic Sea,Italy)

Abstract. Polychaete community structure in Valle Magnavacca, the largest basin of the Valli di Comacchio (Northern Adriatic Sea) lagoonal ecosystem, was analyzed in a three‐year study. Three shallow‐water stations were sampled at about 3‐month intervals. Univariate and multivariate analyses were utilized to investigate community structure changes in relation to natural and man‐induced disturbance. The polychaete community at station 3, in the central area of the lagoon, was the most disturbed, while that of station 2 was the most well structured. We hypothesize that polychaete community structure results from regular seasonal disturbances which lead to almost predictable fluctuations in species abundance. Superimposed on these regular cycles are acute disturbance events that further reduce species abundance or exclude species from the habitat.     

Ecological Differences in the Distribution of two Tethya (Porifera, Demospongiae) Species Coexisting in a Mediterranean Coastal Lagoon

Abstract. In the Sicilian lagoon Stagnone di Marsala, Tethya aurantium and T. citrina show different ecological distributions, although some overlapping occurs. The first species reaches its highest density where linear currents are maximal, and in this habitat it is particularly frequent on Posidonia oceanica rhizomes. The second species is more abundant in still water locations and is equally common on Posidonia rhizomes and on calcareous concretions. Such distributions can be related to water movement, Posidonia shoot density, and associated factors such as sedimentation and food availability. These observations are consistent with an adaptive interpretation of the morphofunctional features distinguishing the two species.     

Coastal uplift rate at Matanzas (Cuba) inferred from MIS5e phreatic overgrowths on speleothems

Many morphological elements in Cuba's landscape (e.g. marine terraces, tidal notches) demonstrate that coastal uplift has taken place, but the rate at which this occurs is not known. Carbonate phreatic overgrowths on speleothems have been found in a cave in Central North Cuba, ~1 km from the present coastline at 16 m asl. They form exceptional and unique mushroom‐shaped speleothems and balconies decorating the walls of the rooms. These phreatic overgrowths on speleothems (POS) formed at the oscillating air–water interface in sea‐level controlled anchialine lakes. U/Th dating of these overgrowths suggests ages that are compatible with the Marine Isotope Stage 5e (i.e. 130–115 ka). These POS have fixed this sea‐level highstand and demonstrate that this part of Cuba has been subjected to a much lower uplift rate than previously reported, that is, less than 0.1 mm/year since the last interglacial.     

Detection of Miocene saucer‐shaped sills (offshore Senegal) via integrated interpretation of seismic,magnetic and gravity data

The Atlantic margin offshore Senegal has been explored by seismic reflection and GRAV‐MAG surveys. High‐amplitude, laterally transgressive seismic reflectors are found to coincide with gravimetric and magnetic highs. Once seismic data are integrated with potential fields modelling, these reflectors can be safely interpreted as saucer‐shaped igneous sills, up to some hundreds of metres thick, some km wide. The occurrence of hydrothermal vent complexes and forced folds in the stratigraphic sequence above the sills constrain the intrusion age to the Miocene. Field observations and in‐situ magnetic susceptibility measurements of Oligocene–Miocene and Quaternary igneous rocks emplaced in coastal Senegal support this interpretation.     

A numerical procedure for predicting rainfall‐induced movements of active landslides along pre‐existing slip surfaces

A numerical model to predict landslide movements along pre‐existing slip surfaces from rainfall data is presented. The model comprises: a transient seepage finite‐element analysis to compute the variations of pore water pressures due to rainfall; a limit equilibrium stability analysis to compute the factors of safety along the slip surface associated with transient pore pressure conditions; an empirical relationship between the factor of safety and the rate of displacement of the slide along the slip surface; an optimization algorithm for the calibration of analyses and relationships based on available monitoring data. The model is validated with reference to a well‐monitored active slide in central Italy, characterized by very slow movements occurring within a narrow band of weathered bedrock overlaid by a clayey silt colluvial cover. The model is conveniently divided and presented in two parts: a groundwater model and a kinematic model. In the first part, monthly recorded rainfall data are used as time‐dependent flow boundary conditions of the transient seepage analysis, while piezometric levels are used to calibrate the analysis by minimizing the errors between monitoring data and computed pore pressures. In the second part, measured inclinometric movements are used to calibrate the empirical relationship between the rate of displacement along the slip surface and the factor of safety, whose variation with time is computed by a time‐dependent stability analysis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A search for planets transiting the M-dwarf debris disc host, AU Microscopii

We present high-cadence, high-precision multiband photometry of the young, M1Ve, debris disc star, AU Microscopii. The data were obtained in three continuum filters spanning a wavelength range from 4500 to 6600 Å, plus Hα, over 28 nights in 2005. The light curves show intrinsic stellar variability due to star-spots with an amplitude in the blue band of 0.051 mag and a period of 4.847 d. In addition, three large flares were detected in the data which all occur near the minimum brightness of the star. We remove the intrinsic stellar variability and combine the light curves of all the filters in order to search for transits by possible planetary companions orbiting in the plane of the nearly edge-on debris disc. The combined final light curve has a sampling of 0.35 min and a standard deviation of 6.8 mmag. We performed Monte Carlo simulations by adding fake transits to the observed light curve and find with 95 per cent significance that there are no Jupiter mass planets orbiting in the plane of the debris disc on circular orbits with periods,   P ≤ 5  d. In addition, there are no young Neptune like planets (with radii 2.5 times smaller than the young Jupiter) on circular orbits with periods,   P ≤ 3  d.     

The transition between ‘orogenic’ and ‘anorogenic’ magmatism in the western Mediterranean area: the Middle Miocene volcanic rocks of Isola del Toro (SW Sardinia,Italy)

The Isola del Toro is a small island (∼1 km²) about 5 nautical miles SW of Sardinia entirely made up of mildly alkaline sodic evolved rocks (benmoreites and trachytes) related to each other by fractionation processes. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of an anorthoclase mineral separate from a trachyte gave an age of 11.83 ± 0.10 Ma. This age estimate falls within an interval previously considered a‐magmatic in Sardinia. The results of this study shift the beginning of the Middle Miocene–Quaternary anorogenic volcanism of Sardinia back to the Late Serravalian. The transition between orogenic and anorogenic activity in Sardinia is markedly different from that recorded in the rest of the circum‐Mediterranean area, where this transition is much more gradual, both in time and in terms of magma composition. On the other hand, the transition between orogenic and anorogenic magmatism in Sardinia is rather sharp and lacks hybrid compositions. The Isola del Toro volcanic rocks represent the first anorogenic products produced during the opening of the western Mediterranean Sea.