Water temperature behaviour in the River Loire since 1976 and 1881

Analysis of monthly mean river temperatures, recorded on an hourly basis in the middle reaches of the Loire since 1976, allows reconstruction by multiple linear regression of the annual, spring and summer water temperatures from equivalent information on air temperatures and river discharge. Since 1881, the average annual and summer temperatures of the Loire have risen by approximately 0.8?°C, this increase accelerating since the late 1980s due to the rise in air temperature and also to lower discharge rates. In addition, the thermal regime in the Orleans to Blois reach is considerably affected by the inflow of groundwater from the Calcaires de Beauce aquifer, as shown by the summer energy balance. To cite this article: F. Moatar, J. Gailhard, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Nature minéralogique et rôle nutritionnel des argiles de sols céréaliers en région subhumide à semi-aride (Tunisie)

The cereal soils of the Northwest of Tunisia derive most of the time, from alluvial deposits or altered remains of carbonated and clayey rocks. Extraction of the clayey fraction permitted to reveal the presence of the following clayey minerals: kaolinite, illite, smectite, chlorite, as well as an illite–smectite interstratified layer, which is present in the deep horizons of the vertisol and in the isohumic soil. The presence of such types of clays shows that the evolution mechanism of soils is weathering of primary minerals inherited from the sedimentary rocks of the Northwest of Tunisia. These clays ensure to soils most of their cationic exchange capacity. Thanks to these clays, which have Ca⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺ and K⁺ as exchangeable cations, the chemical fertility of these soils is ensured. It may be improved by increasing contents of organic matter, which is naturally few abundant in these soils. To cite this article: H. Ben Hassine, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Sur les anomalies structurales de l'anticlinal de l'oued Bahloul de Tunisie : héritage tectonique et plissement cisaillant de couverture

The Oued Bahloul structure exists in the central Atlas of Tunisia. This structure is oriented N70 and it shows a very particular geometry characterized by: (i) an important disharmony between the northern and the southern flanks; (ii) a dissymmetry between the east and the west parts of the structure; (iii) several gaps and progressive unconformities present in the Cretaceous and Eocene series.Three major tectonic directions characterize this structure: (i) the N120 appears in the western part of the anticline; (ii) some north–south faults distinguish the oriental part; (iii) the strike fault, which is confirmed by seismic data, affects the central part of this anticline. To cite this article: A. Saadi et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Atténuation de l'intensité macrosismique pour la France métropolitaine : importance de l'intensité épicentrale

The main result of this work is to show that macroseismic intensity decay with distance strongly depends on the epicentral intensity. An attenuation law that takes this parameter into account is proposed for Metropolitan France, from the analysis of SISFRANCE macroseismic database. Such a model significantly reduces the difference between observed and theoretical intensities. A map of the attenuation variations is also set up for Metropolitan France. No major site effects are observed, but at a broad scale, young Alpine regions display a stronger attenuation than old Hercynian regions. To cite this article: P. Arroucau et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Reference Materials in Geoanalytical Research -Review for 2004 and 2005

This review gives an overview of the use and development of reference materials of geochemical and environmental interest in the literature of the years 2004 and 2005. In these years the performance of existing methods has been improved and new geochemical applications using new techniques have been developed. Accordingly, there was an increasing need for new reference materials, especially for in situ microanalysis and for precise stable isotope measurements. In addition, there was a notable trend for further characterisation of existing reference materials, mainly for the platinum-group elements. This review focuses on five topics: reference materials for platinum-group elements, reference glasses for in situ microanalysis, zircon reference materials, isotopic reference materials, and the development and certification of reference materials.     

Hydrogen isotope of individual n-alkanes from modern sediments and their application to environments

Hydrogen isotopes are commonly fractionated to a much greater extent and as a result display larger variations in δ values, In terms of the hydrogen isotope ratios of individual n-alkanes of 16 samples of modern sediments selected from four different locations in the southern part of Gansu, China, the δD values for most of the n-alkanes varied from -150‰-300‰, Variations in δD also occurred between different ranges of n-alkanes, effects of environmental changes on the hydrogen isotopic compositions of individual n-alkanes have been detected. Besides the δD values of n-alkanes, the δD values of lipids including pristane （Pr）, phytane （Ph） were also examined, by the combination of D/H ratios with molecular fingerprinting, Our results further support the notion that hydrogen isotopes of n-alkanes from modern sediments can act as paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental proxies and provide invaluable new sources of information in the research of paleoenvironment reconstruction.     

Cretaceous isochron ages from K–Ar and Ar / Ar dating of eclogitic rocks in the Tso Morari Complex, western Himalaya, India

The Tso Morari Complex, which is thought to be originally the margin of the Indian continent, is composed of pelitic gneisses and schists including mafic rock lenses (eclogites and basic schists). Eclogites studied here have the mineral assemblage Grt + Omp + Ca-Amp + Zo + Phn + Pg + Qtz + Rt. They also have coesite pseudomorph in garnet and quartz rods in omphacite, suggesting a record of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. They occur only in the cores of meter-scale mafic rock lenses intercalated with the pelitic schists. Small mafic lenses and the rim parts of large lenses have been strongly deformed to form the foliation parallel to that of the pelitic schists and show the mineral assemblages of upper greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism. The garnet–omphacite thermometry and the univariant reaction relations for jadeite formation give 13–21 kbar at 600 °C and 16–18 kbar at 750 °C for the eclogite formation using the jadeite content of clinopyroxene (X_Jd = 0.48).

Phengites in pelitic schists show variable Si / Al and Na / K ratios among grains as well as within single grains, and give K–Ar ages of 50–87 Ma. The pelitic schist with paragonite and phengite yielded K–Ar ages of 83.5 Ma (K = 4.9 wt.%) for paragonite–phengite mixture and 85.3 Ma (K = 7.8 wt.%) for phengite and an isochron age of 91 ± 13 Ma from the two dataset. The eclogite gives a plateau age of 132 Ma in Ar/Ar step-heating analyses using single phengite grain and an inverse isochron age of 130 ± 39 Ma with an initial ⁴⁰Ar / ³⁶Ar ratio of 434 ± 90 in Ar/Ar spot analyses of phengites and paragonites. The Cretaceous isochron ages are interpreted to represent the timing of early stage of exhumation of the eclogitic rocks assuming revised high closure temperature (500 °C) for phengite K–Ar system. The phengites in pelitic schists have experienced retrograde reaction which modified their chemistry during intense deformation associated with the exhumation of these rocks with the release of significant radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar from the crystals. The argon release took place in the schists that experienced the retrogression to upper greenschist facies metamorphisms from the eclogite facies conditions.     

On the Importance of Geolithological Features for the Estimate of the Site Response: The Case of Catania Metropolitan Area (Italy)

The evaluation of seismic site response in the urban area of Catania was tackled by selecting test areas having peculiar lithological and structural features, potentially favourable to large local amplifications of ground motion. The two selected areas are located in the historical downtown and in the northern part of Catania where the presence of a fault is evident. Site response was evaluated using spectral ratio technique taking the horizontal- to-vertical component ratio of ambient noise. Inferences from microtremor measurements are compared with results from synthetic accelerograms and response spectra computed at all drillings available for this area. Such method is particularly suitable in urban areas where the nature of the outcropping geological units is masked by city growth and anthropic intervention on the surface geology. The microtremor H/V spectral ratios evaluated at soft sites located within the downtown profile tend to be smaller than that usually reported in the literature for such soils. A tendency for amplifications to peaks near 2 Hz is observed only in some sites located on recent alluvial deposits. Evidences for amplifications of site effects (frequency range 4–8 Hz) were observed in the sampling sites located on the fault, with a rapid decrease of spectral amplitude just a few tenths of metres away from the discontinuity. Numerical simulations evidenced the importance of geolithological features at depth levels even greater than 20–30 m. Besides this, the results strongly confirm the importance of the subsurface geological conditions, in the estimate of seismic hazard at urban scale.     

Assessing the Vibrational Frequencies of the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) by Means of Ambient Seismic Noise Analysis

Ambient seismic noise measurements were conducted inside the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) for assessing its frequencies of vibration and for checking whether these occur in the range where soil amplification is expected. If this is the case, damages may increase in case of an earthquake due to an increased structural response of the building. Analysis of the ratio between the horizontal and vertical components of the spectra recorded at stations located inside the building as well as the ratio between the corresponding components of the spectra recorded simultaneously inside the building and at a reference station placed in the basement of the cathedral indicated several modes of vibration. Facilitated by these results an assessment of the seismic vulnerability was attempted for a 2D ground motion scenario using the finite element method.     

Use of electrical resistivity methods for detecting subsurface fresh and saline water and delineating their interfacial configuration: a case study of the eastern Dead Sea coastal aquifers, Jordan

The alluvial aquifer is the primary source of groundwater along the eastern Dead Sea shoreline, Jordan. Over the last 20 years, salinity has risen in some existing wells and several new wells have encountered brackish water in areas thought to contain fresh water. A good linear correlation exists between the water resistivity and the chloride concentration of groundwater and shows that the salinity is the most important factor controlling resistivity. Two-dimensional electrical tomography (ET) integrated with geoelectrical soundings were employed to delineate different water-bearing formations and the configuration of the interface between them. The present hydrological system and the related brines and interfaces are controlled by the Dead Sea base level, presently at 410 m b.s.l. Resistivity measurements show a dominant trend of decreasing resistivity (thus increasing salinity) with depth and westward towards the Dead Sea. Accordingly, three zones with different resistivity values were detected, corresponding to three different water-bearing formations: (1) strata saturated with fresh to slightly brackish groundwater; (2) a transition zone of brine mixed with fresh to brackish groundwater; (3) a water-bearing formation containing Dead Sea brine. In addition, a low resistivity unit containing brine was detected above the 1955 Dead Sea base level, which was interpreted as having remained unflushed by infiltrating rain.