Prediction of seasonal water-table fluctuations in La Pampa and Buenos Aires, Argentina

The fluctuation of the water table east of La Pampa province and northwest of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, influences agricultural production in the region because it is closely related to the alternation of dry and wet periods. Sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies have been used as predictors to forecast atmospheric variables in different regions of the world. The objective of this work is to present a simple model to forecast seasonal rainfall using SST distribution in the Pacific Ocean as a predictor. Once the relationship between precipitation and water-table fluctuations was established, a methodology for the prediction of water-table fluctuations was developed. A good agreement between observed and predicted water-table fluctuations was found when estimating water-table fluctuations in the summer and autumn seasons. Electronic Publication     

Measurements of upper mantle shear wave anisotropy from a permanent network in southern Mexico

Upper mantle shear wave anisotropy under stations in southern Mexico was measured using records of SKS phases. Fast polarization directions where the Cocos plate subducts subhorizontally are oriented in the direction of the relative motion between the Cocos and North American plates, and are trench-perpendicular. This pattern is interpreted as subslab entrained flow, and is similar to that observed at the Cascadia subduction zone. Earlier studies have pointed out that both regions have in common the young age of the subducting lithosphere. Changes in the orientation of the fast axes are observed where the subducting plates change dip and/or are torn, and are thus indicative of 3-D flow around the slab edges. They are consistent with slab rollback, as previously shown by other authors. Some stations located away from the plate boundaries have their fast directions controlled by the absolute motion of the North American plate. The fast axis for station ZAIG, located in the Mesa Central, is oriented WNW-ESE and is different from all the other measurements in this study.     

Diffuse Emission of Hydrogen from Poás Volcano,Costa Rica,America Central

We report the results of four soil H₂ surveys carried out in 2000–2003 at Poás volcano, Costa Rica, to investigate the soil H₂ distribution and evaluate the diffuse H₂ emission as a potential surveillance tool for Poás volcano. Soil gas H₂ contents showed a wide range of concentration from 0.2 to 7,059 ppmV during the four surveys. Maps of soil gas H₂ based on Sequential Gaussian Simulation showed low H₂ concentration values in the soil atmosphere (<0.7 ppmV) for most of the study area, whereas high soil gas H₂ values were observed inside the active crater of Poás. A significant increase in soil gas H₂ concentration was observed inside the active crater during 2001 and 2002 with respect to year 2000, followed by a decrease in 2003. The observed spatial and temporal variations of soil H₂ concentration have been well correlated with seismicity, microgravimetry and fumarolic chemistry changes which occurred during this study. These observations evidence changes in the shallow magmatic-hydrothermal system of Poás, and it might be related to a potential magmatic intrusion during the period 1998–2004. Therefore, monitoring diffuse H₂ emission of Poás has become an important geochemical tool for the monitoring of its volcanic activity.     

Diversity,endemism and conservation of ferns (Polypodiales) in the Mexican Mountain Component

We analyzed the distributional patterns of 95 selected species of leptosporangiate ferns inhabiting the Mexican Mountain Component, using grid-cells of one geographical degree as unit areas, applying endemism indices and richness and beta diversity analyses. Distributional data were obtained from several herbaria and specialized literature. Five grid-cells appear to be important for fern species richness, as they contain 35 to 49 species. These grid-cells are located in the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMO), Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) and the Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS). Mean richness by latitudinal belts of one degree showed that the belts with highest values are related to the TMVB and SMS. A total of 13 grid-cells were recognized as important from the perspective of endemism; most of them are located also in the SMO, TMVB and SMS. The richest gridcells coincided with one of the main centres of endemism for ferns obtained in this study, located in the convergence of the southern part of the SMO, the eastern portion of the TMVB and the northern part of the SMS, reflecting the high humidity existing on the mountain slopes facing the Gulf of Mexico. Some important grid-cells recognized from richness and endemism analyses coincide with Mexican Natural Protected Areas. The beta diversity analysis showed a low degree of similarity among grid-cells, implying a high species replacement, as the result of environmental heterogeneity occurring in the Mexican mountain systems. On the other hand, the spatial analysis suggested a pattern of phytogeographical regionalization comprising two main areas: the Mexican Transition Zone and the Mexican Central Plateau. Ferns play an important role in the Mexican biodiversity and contributing to the beta diversity of Mexico.     

Documentary proxies and interdisciplinary research on historic geomorphologic hazards: a discussion of the current state from a central European perspective

During the last two decades, documentary data (written and iconographic sources) have been increasingly employed in geomorphologic research aiming at reconstruction of territorial distribution, temporal occurrence and social and economic impacts of various geomorphologic hazards. The goal of this paper is to broaden the previous discussion (Glade et al. The use of historical data in natural hazard assessments. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2001) of the methodological constraints on the use of documentary data for geomorphologic hazard research. Using the interdisciplinary approach of geomorphology, historiography and medial studies, we firstly summarise the major finding of papers that have employed various types of documentary data sources to study geomorphologic hazards in different regions. In the second section, we present case studies from the Czech Republic resulting from the ongoing research project that is devoted to the assessment of the potential of documentary data to reconstruct past occurrences of and mitigation strategies for geomorphologic hazards. Finally, we discuss three main methodological issues emerging from our research: (a) problems emerging from the positivist approach to documentary data sources and the necessity for critical analyses of documentary data sources based on modern historiographic approaches, (b) constraints arising from the combination of documentary data from different spatiotemporal scales and (c) lacks in the use of documentary data to study local-based adaptation strategies to cope with geomorphologic hazards.     

Sulfide oxidation as a process for the formation of copper-rich magmatic sulfides

Typical magmatic sulfides are dominated by pyrrhotite and pentlandite with minor chalcopyrite, and the bulk atomic Cu/Fe ratio of these sulfides is typically less than unity. However, there are rare magmatic sulfide occurrences that are dominated by Cu-rich sulfides (e.g., bornite, digenite, and chalcopyrite, sometimes coexisting with metallic Cu) with atomic Cu/Fe as high as 5. Typically, these types of sulfide assemblages occur in the upper parts of moderately to highly fractionated layered mafic–ultramafic intrusions, a well-known example being the Pd/Au reef in the Upper Middle Zone of the Skaergaard intrusion. Processes proposed to explain why these sulfides are so unusually rich in Cu include fractional crystallization of Fe/(Ni) monosulfide and infiltration of postmagmatic Cu-rich fluids. In this contribution, we explore and experimentally evaluate a third possibility: that Cu-rich magmatic sulfides may be the result of magmatic oxidation. FeS-dominated Ni/Cu-bearing sulfides were equilibrated at variable oxygen fugacities in both open and closed system. Our results show that the Cu/Fe ratio of the sulfide melt increases as a function of oxygen fugacity due to the preferential conversion of FeS into FeO and FeO_1.5, and the resistance of Cu₂S to being converted into an oxide component even at oxygen fugacities characteristic of the sulfide/sulfate transition (above FMQ?+?1). This phenomenon will lead to an increase in the metal/S ratio of a sulfide liquid and will also depress its liquidus temperature. As such, any modeling of the sulfide liquid line of descent in magmatic sulfide complexes needs to address this issue.     

Acetylthiocholine (ATC)--cleaving cholinesterase (ChE) activity as a potential biomarker of pesticide exposure in the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, of Korea

The acetylthiocholine (ATC) - cleaving cholinesterase (ChE) activity in Manila clam, which is widely distributed throughout the coastal environment of Korea, was assayed as a potentially useful biomarker of organophosphorous pesticides (OPs). A clear dose-response relationship was determined between inhibited ChE in adductor muscle of clams and four OPs (methidathion, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, IBP) which are heavily used OPs in Korea. The measured EC(50)-24?h values of methidathion, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and IBP for Ruditapes philippinarum were 7.16?μg?l(-1), 0.34?mg?l(-1), 3.01?mg?l(-1), and 3.41?mg?l(-1), respectively. In field studies, ChE activity in Manila clams collected from 23 stations in the mid-western coastal region demonstrated spatial variation with statistical differences. These results suggest that ChE activity in R. philippinarum is a potential biomarker for assessing organophosphorous pesticide contamination in coastal environments.