The Rotation Of Comet C/1995 O1 Hale–Bopp From Inner Coma Photometry

We present a further investigation of the periodogram resulting from the photometric data by Rodríguez et al. (1997) for comet C/1995 O1 Hale–Bopp and interpret that the main period in the data is 11.23 ± 0.01 h, but not 7.19 days. The latter is now attributed to an alias of the 11.23-h period. Assuming that the periodicity observed in the photometry is the solar day, the 11.23-h period is consistent with estimates of the sidereal rotation period by Farnham et al. (1998), and Jorda et al. (1997–1999) provided that the obliquity of the comet‘s equatorial plane to its orbital plane is larger than 75° and 80°, respectively. This result is in agreement with estimates of the obliquity by Sekanina (1997–1999) and Jorda et al. (1998). A weaker periodic signal in the light curve could be 5.48 ± 0.01 h, but we suggest that this is an alias of a 3.25 ± 0.01 h period of unknown origin. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A review of the Tagus river tufa deposits (central Spain): age and palaeoenvironmental record

Here we determined the aminostratigraphy and aminochronology of tufa deposits located in central Spain associated with the Tagus river and some of its tributaries (the Henares, Dulce, Cifuentes, Ruguilla, Trabaque, Escabas and Guadiela rivers). We used aspartic acid and glutamic acid racemization ratios obtained from the ostracod Herpetocypris reptans. Tufa accumulations were found to be of different origins; those in the Henares, Cifuentes and Ruguilla rivers are of paludal origin, while those in the Dulce and Tagus rivers are of fluvial origin. A generally good correspondence was found between the age of the deposits and the position of the terraces above the current thalweg. However, the geomorphological evolution of the Henares, Cifuentes and Ruguilla rivers (infilling of pre-existing valleys) has produced deposits of distinct ages at the same elevation above the current river thalweg, and sometimes, older tufas are located below younger ones.We distinguished eight main tufa-deposition episodes. These occurred predominantly during even Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS), at 406 ± 90 (MIS 11), 264 ± 68 (MIS 7e), 189 ± 40 (MIS 7a), 130 ± 27 (MIS 6-5e), 101 ± 25 (MIS 5c), 32 ± 10 (MIS 3), 14 ± 4 (MIS 1), and 6 ± 2 (MIS 1) ka. These results are in agreement with the dating of similar deposits from nearby areas and other zones of Spain and Europe. The tufa stable-isotope compositions were similar to other examples in central and southern Spain and their plot falls in the same field as other lowland European stream tufas. Oxygen stable isotopes were influenced mainly by temperature and rainfall. The δ¹³C values indicated a major effect of soil-derived carbon rather than carbon from the catchment area, but moderated in each tributary by evaporation, flow regime and biological effects (photosynthesis).     

Palaeoenvironmental turnover across the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary at the Stratotype section in Dababiya (Egypt) based on benthic foraminifera

The Global Stratotype Section and Point for the Palaeocene/Eocene (P/E) boundary was defined at Dababiya Quarry (Egypt) at the base of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE). We present the first detailed analysis of Palaeocene–Eocene benthic foraminifera from Dababiya, in order to infer the palaeoenvironmental turnover across the P/E boundary. At Dababiya, the CIE coincides with a major turnover in foraminiferal assemblages; the last occurrence of Angulogavelinella avnimelechi, at the base of the CIE, may be correlated to the main phase of extinction of deep-sea benthic foraminifera. Benthic foraminifera indicate that stressful conditions such as oxygen deficiency, carbonate dissolution, and changes in food supply, persisted at the sea floor over most of the CIE interval. The main phase of recovery of benthic foraminifera is recorded c. 250 cm above the P/E boundary, and it may be linked to increased productivity and oxygenation at the sea floor.     

Virtual tools for volcanic crisis management, and evacuation decision support: applications to El Chichón volcano (Chiapas, México)

Decision making regarding massive evacuation of a population threatened by a probable volcanic eruption is a major problem in crisis management. Such a decision is general on the number of people to be evacuated, available resources and infrastructure, quantity and quality of the escape routes and shelters, and the economic, social and political costs involved in the operation, coupled with the updated information provided by scientists about the forecast of future activity and probable eruption scenarios. Knowing time-lapse between the evacuation decision-making time and the time in which the evacuation is completed is another critical issue that must be carefully considered in densely populated areas. In such areas, it is really important to estimate in advance this time-lapse, as the forecast must be released with enough time to complete all the evacuation process before the destructive manifestations of the eruption begin. In this context, evacuation planning is a crucial component of emergency management. It is common for Emergency Plans to include pre-established strategies. However, an evacuation procedure should be flexible, depending on the above-mentioned timing, and on the decisions, evacuation schemes, environmental characteristics and other factors. In this work, several hazard models such as a lava flow model based on a Monte Carlo algorithm, a pyroclastic density current based on energy cone model, a semi-empirical inversion model to estimate the thickness of ash deposits, and all available information about the El Chión volcano have been used to obtain the area that should be evacuated in case of an eruption. Then, multiple evacuation strategies at El Chichón volcano have been designed, considering not only the characteristics of the eruption forecast, but also environmental factors (e.g., weather conditions) and social factors (e.g., tourism and farming seasons). The variable scale evacuation model has been used to estimate the evacuation time. In the paper, those virtual tools are briefly described as well as the information obtained from the drill of 2009. In addition to the optimization of evacuation under variable conditions and situations, one of the main objectives of this work is to provide a reliable estimation of the mitigation action time, for an Emergency Plan.     

Sources of surface water for the Soncor ecosystem,Salar de Atacama basin,northern Chile

Abstract

The Salar de Atacama is located in the most arid desert in the world. Despite its extreme conditions, it has many ecosystems of high ecological value. The Soncor ecosystem, a sequence of lagoons, is the most important environment of the region as it acts as the centre for the breeding of the Andean Flamingo. This salt flat also contains significant mining deposits and is an important water source for the region. Freshwater and brine—enriched in lithium and potassium—are being pumped from the aquifers near to the Soncor ecosystem, which has so far not been greatly affected by this groundwater extraction. However, there is a potential risk that future anthropogenic effects may disturb this fragile environment. The objective of this study is to determine the origin of the water sources of the Soncor ecosystem so as to adequately manage its water resources. Three hypotheses previously proposed in the technical literature were investigated in order to determine proactive actions to protect this fragile ecosystem. The study utilized classic hydrogeological techniques, such as the construction of stratigraphic profiles, piezometric maps and stream gauging, combined with less-common isotopic techniques, such as the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the origins of the water sources are associated with groundwater inputs coming from the east side of the salt flat, in the north of the basin.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor M. Acreman

Citation Ortiz, C., Aravena, R., Briones, E., Suárez, F., Tore, C., and Muñoz, J.F., 2014. Sources of surface water for the Soncor ecosystem, Salar de Atacama basin, northern Chile. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (2), 336–350.     

Evaporation and land surface energy budget at the Salar de Atacama, Northern Chile

Playa systems are driven by evaporation processes, yet the mechanisms by which evaporation occurs through playa salt crusts are still poorly understood. In this study we examine playa evaporation as it relates to land surface energy fluxes, salt crust characteristics, groundwater and climate at the Salar de Atacama, a 3000 km² playa in northern Chile containing a uniquely broad range of salt crust types. Land surface energy budget measurements were taken at eight representative sites on this playa during winter (August 2001) and summer (January 2002) seasons. Measured values of net all-wave radiation were highest at vegetated and rough halite crust sites and lowest over smooth, highly reflective salt crusts. Over most of the Salar de Atacama, net radiation was dissipated by means of soil and sensible heat fluxes. Dry salt crusts tended to heat and cool very quickly, whereas soil heating and cooling occurred more gradually at wetter vegetated sites. Sensible heating was strongly linked to wind patterns, with highest sensible heat fluxes occurring on summer days with strong afternoon winds. Very little energy available at the land surface was used to evaporate water. Eddy covariance measurements could only constrain evaporation rates to within 0.1 mm d⁻¹, and some measured evaporation rates were less than this margin of uncertainty. Evaporation rates ranged from 0.1 to 1.1 mm d⁻¹ in smooth salt crusts around the margin of the salar and from 0.4 to 2.8 mm d⁻¹ in vegetated areas. No evaporation was detected from the rugged halite salt crust that covers the interior of the salar, though the depth to groundwater is less than 1 m in this area. These crusts therefore represent a previously unrecorded end member condition in which the salt crusts form a practically impermeable barrier to evaporation.     

Assessment and Modelling of Lava Flow Hazard on Lanzarote (Canary Islands)

This paper presents an evaluation of the lava flowhazard on Lanzarote (Canary Islands) by means of aprobabilistic maximum slope model. This model assumesthat the topography plays the major role indetermining the path that a lava flow will follow. Thearea selected for containing future emission centreshas been chosen taking into account thecharacteristics of the recent eruptive activity andthe present activity of the island. The results of thesimulations constitute hazard maps whose values ateach point represent the probability of being coveredby lava. These results are qualitatively analysed toprovide some indication of the risk to the lifelines(electricity, drinking water etc.) of the island.     

A Monte Carlo Code to Compute Energy Fluxes in Cometary Nuclei

A Monte Carlo model designed to compute both the input and output radiation fields from spherical-shell cometary atmospheres has been developed. The code is an improved version of that by H. Salo (1988, Icarus76, 253-269); it includes the computation of the full Stokes vector and can compute both the input fluxes impinging on the nucleus surface and the output radiation. This will have specific applications for the near-nucleus photometry, polarimetry, and imaging data collection planned in the near future from space probes. After carrying out some validation tests of the code, we consider here the effects of including the full 4×4 scattering matrix in the calculations of the radiative flux impinging on cometary nuclei. As input to the code we used realistic phase matrices derived by fitting the observed behavior of the linear polarization as a function of phase angle. The observed single scattering linear polarization phase curves of comets are fairly well represented by a mixture of magnesium-rich olivine particles and small carbonaceous particles. The input matrix of the code is thus given by the phase matrix for olivine as obtained in the laboratory plus a variable scattering fraction phase matrix for absorbing carbonaceous particles. These fractions are 3.5% for Comet Halley and 6% for Comet Hale-Bopp, the comet with the highest percentage of all those observed.The errors in the total input flux impinging on the nucleus surface caused by neglecting polarization are found to be within 10% for the full range of solar zenith angles. Additional tests on the resulting linear polarization of the light emerging from cometary nuclei in near-nucleus observation conditions at a variety of coma optical thicknesses show that the polarization phase curves do not experience any significant changes for optical thicknesses τ?0.25 and Halley-like surface albedo, except near 90° phase angle.     

Seismicity and codaQ values in the eastern Pyrenees: First results from the La Cerdanya seismic network

Seismicity in the La Cerdanya region of the eastern Pyrenees has been accurately mapped for the first time using data from a local seismic network. The majority of earthquakes lies on or near the La Cerdanya fault or secondary faults to the south. Coda magnitudes determined for these earthquakes, using magnitude relations from other regions, range between –0.5 and 2.2. These are, however, presumed to be underdetermined values sinceQ values appear to be very low in the La Cerdanya region. CodaQ values at a frequency of 1.5 Hz range between 17 and 120, the lowest values being obtained for the most seismically active regions. CodaQ values also increase with increasing distance, a result which indicates decreasing seismic attenuation with increasing depth in the crust.