Identification of wetland water sources for environmental flow assessment: a case study of the Miguel Ibáñez wetlands (Segovia,Spain)

Abstract

This work aims to identify wetland water sources for environmental flow assessment of three wetlands located in the area of Miguel Ibáñez (Segovia, Spain), known as Fuente Santa, Balsa de la Ermita and San Pedro ponds. These are remnants of wetland systems that were larger in the past. The methodology used involved four seasonal field campaigns conducted in 2012 at eight main and three additional surface water or groundwater sampling points. The interpretation of the physico-chemical and isotopic data obtained, and daily monitoring of changes in the water level of the Fuente Santa pond over 5 months provided an initial understanding of the environmental flows needed to sustain these wetlands in appropriate conditions. The arsenic values provided an additional auxiliary tool, although a single dominant cause of its presence in these three ponds could not be identified. The results show that the interactions between the wetlands and groundwater are hydrogeologically different despite their proximity to one another. These findings will enable the improved management and conservation of these wetlands.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Guest editor M. Acreman

Citation de la Hera Portillo, A. and Murillo Díaz, J.M., 2014. Identification of wetland water sources for environmental flow assessment: a case study of the Miguel Ibáñez wetlands (Segovia, Spain). Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 466–487.     

An examination of the presence and topography of the D＇＇ discontinuity under the Russia–Kazakhstan border region using seismic waveform data from a deep earthquake in Spain

The D＇＇ layer,which is located atop the core–mantle boundary,has long been an area of focus for global seismology studies. A widely used approach to study the discontinuities in the D＇＇ layer involves the use of the SdS phases between the S and ScS phases,which requires that certain stringent conditions be satisfied with respect to an epicentral distance and earthquake depth. Therefore,this approach is only practical for investigating the presence and topography of velocity interfaces in certain local regions around the world. The Russia–Kazakhstan border region has been a ‘‘blind spot＇＇ with respect to this detection method. The seismic network deployed in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau has recorded relatively clear SdS phases for the MS6.3 earthquake that occurred in Spain on April 11,2010,allowing this blind spot to be studied. This paper compares the observed waveforms and synthetics and uses the travel times of the relevant phases to obtain a D＇＇ discontinuity depth between2,610 and 2,740 km in the examined area. This study provides the first results regarding the depth of the D＇＇ layer discontinuity for this region and represents an important addition to the global studies of the D＇＇ layer.     

THE ROLE OF ALLUVIAL FANS IN THE MOUNTAIN FLUVIAL SYSTEMS OF SOUTHEAST SPAIN: IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATIC CHANGE

The mountain fluvial systems of southeast Spain involve sediment supply from steep mountain slopes into headwater channels. Alluvial fans often occur where these headwater channels emerge from the mountain areas, and may influence the connectivity of the sediment transport system from the mountain source areas to the main lowland drainages. Critical in this role is whether the alluvial fans are aggrading or dissecting, and whether there is a break or continuity in the channel through the fan environment. Previous work has identified some of the factors influencing the behaviour of the alluvial fans in southeast Spain. This paper deals with the mountain front alluvial fans in the semi-arid areas of Murcia and Almeria provinces. It attempts, by mapping the location of alluvial fans, then their classification into aggrading or dissecting fans, to identify the extent to which the mountain fluvial systems are buffered by aggrading alluvial fans or exhibit channel continuity through the mountain front environment. It further considers the implications of climatically induced changes between aggradational and dissectional behaviour on alluvial fans.     

MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELECTED BADLANDS IN SOUTHEAST SPAIN: IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATIC CHANGE

Four areas were selected to represent a range of processes characteristic of badland surfaces in southeast Spain: Petrer and Monnegre in Alicante, Vera and Tabernas in Almería. At Petrer, rilling and swelling processes produce a deeply cracked surface drained by a finely textured network of shallow rills. At Monnegre, piping and rilling are differentially developed on slopes ultimately controlled by basal incision. At Vera, aspect-controlled lichen and vegetation cover produce a sequence of badland development within which the relative importance of piping, mass movement and rilling varies through the sequence. At Tabernas, simple overland flow is the dominant process, but aspect influences rill network density and badland evolution. The factors controlling badland development can be grouped into those related to gross morphology, to surface cover and runoff generation, and to material properties. These factors are effective over varying timescales, implying that morphological response times differ among the selected badlands.     

The Importance of the Precipitation and the Susceptibility of the Slopes for the Triggering of Landslides Along the Roads

In order to characterise the influence of the heavyrains on the observed landslides during the 1996–1997hydrological cycle, rainfall records for the last 100years are analysed from 104 stations in easternAndalusia. Regarding the amounts of rain recordedbetween October 1996 and March 1997 in the 104stations studied, 31 presented new all-time records;15 presented values that were 80–100% of thepre-1995 record; 49 stations, 80–50%; and 9stations, < 50%. A map has been devised of thesusceptibility of the materials through which thesouth-eastern Andalusian road network crosses,together with an inventory of the damage caused byinstability phenomena on banks and cuttings of theroad network during the winter of 1996–1997. Therelationships between the rainfall during the studyperiod, the damage caused to the road network and thesusceptibility of the materials affected are analysed.The results indicate that there is a clearcorrespondence between the rainfall recorded and thesusceptibility of the materials with the inventorieddamage. It is concluded that the widespread seriousdamage caused in early 1997 to the roads andsurrounding areas in the Alpujarra region and thecoast of the Province of Granada was mainly caused bythe extraordinarily heavy rains. However, considerablyless damage was observed where the susceptibility ofthe terrain is low, thus highlighting the extremeusefulness of terrain-susceptibility maps for riskprevention and territorial planning.     

Overview of hydrogeothermics in Spain

 Hydrothermic features in Spain have been used since ancient times for therapeutic purposes. At present, the number of spas has decreased notably, although some of them have been restored for aesthetic reasons. From 1970 onwards hydrogeothermic energy started to be used. There are some boreholes and small facilities at several places in Spain, mostly on the Mediterranean coast and near Madrid. The hydrochemistry of spanish thermal groundwaters is directly related to the geological nature of granite and limestones where most important springs are located. Received: 9 November 1998 · Accepted: 11 May 1999     

Origin and evolution of the calcic and magnesian skarns hosting the El Valle-Boinás copper–gold deposit, Asturias (Spain)

The El Valle-Boinás copper–gold deposit is located in the southern part of the Rio Narcea Gold Belt 65 km west of Oviedo (NW Spain), within the Cantabrian Zone (Iberian Hercynian Massif). The deposit is related to the Boinás stock, which ranges from quartz-monzonite to monzogranite and intruded (303 Ma) the carbonated Láncara Formation (early Cambrian) and the siliciclastic Oville Formation (middle-late Cambrian).A copper–gold skarn was developed along the contact between the igneous rock and the carbonated sedimentary rocks. The skarn distribution and mineralogy reflects both structural and lithologic controls. Two types of skarn exists: a calcic skarn mainly developed in the upper calcic member of the Láncara Formation, and a magnesian skarn developed in the lower dolomitic and organic-rich member. The former mainly consists of garnet, pyroxene and wollastonite. Retrograde alteration consists of K-feldspar, epidote, quartz, calcite, magnetite, ferroactinolite, titanite, apatite, chlorite and sulfides. Magnesian skarn mainly consists of diopside with interbedded forsterite zones. Pyroxene skarn is mainly altered to tremolite, with minor phlogopite and serpentine. Olivine skarn is pervasively altered to serpentine and magnetite, and is commonly accompanied by high sulfide and gold concentrations. This altered skarn results in a very dark rock, referred to as “black skarn”, which has great importance in gold reserves. Sulfide mineralization mainly consists of chalcopyrite, bornite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite, while wittichenite, sphalerite, digenite, bismuthinite, native bismuth and electrum occur as accessory minerals.After extensive erosion, reactivation of the northeast-trending fracture zone provided conduits for the subsequent emplacement of porphyritic dikes (285±4 Ma) and diabasic dikes (255±5 Ma). Alteration, characterized by sericitization, silicification, carbonatization and hypogene oxidation took place, as did sulfide mineralization (pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, bournonite, and Fe–Pb–Sb sulfosalts). Veins with quartz, carbonate, adularia and sulfide minerals crosscut all previous lithologies. Jasper and jasperoid breccias developed at the upper parts of the deposits.The fluid inclusion and stable isotope studies suggest a predominantly magmatic prograde-skarn fluid characterized by high-salinity (26–28 wt.% KCl and 32–36 wt.% NaCl) and high temperature, above 580°C. This fluid evolved into two immiscible fluids: a CO₂- and/or CH₄-rich, high-salinity aqueous fluid. Temperatures for the first retrograde-stage are between 350 and 425°C. A second stage is related to a more diluted aqueous fluid (3–6.2 wt.% NaCl eq.) and temperatures from 280 to 325°C. The fluid inclusion study performed on quartz from low-temperature mineralization indicates a very low salinity (0.2–6.2 wt.% NaCl eq.), low-temperature aqueous fluid (from 150 to 250°C), and trapping pressure conditions less than 0.2 kbar. In addition, the stable isotope study suggests that an influx of metamorphic waters derived from the country rocks produced these lower temperature fluids. The last control for the Au mineralization is the Alpine tectonism, which developed fault breccias (cataclasites to, locally, protomylonites) and gold remobilization from previous mineralization.     

Tectono‐sedimentary evolution of the northernmost margin of the NE German Basin between uppermost Carboniferous and Late Permian (Rotliegend)

The tectono‐sedimentary evolution of the Rotliegend deposits of the northernmost margin of NE German Basin (NEGB) has been analysed on the basis of detailed sedimentary logs of 300 m of core material together with the re‐evaluation of 600 km of seismic lines. Three distinct phases were recognized. During the initial Phase I, basin geometry was largely controlled by normal faulting related to deep‐seated ductile shearing leading to a strong asymmetric shape, with a steep fault‐controlled eastern margin and a gently, dipping western margin. The results of forward modelling along a cross‐section fit the basin geometry in width and depth and reveal a footwall uplift of c. 1000 m. Adjacent to the steep faults, local sedimentation of Lithofacies Type I was confined to non‐cohesive debris flow‐dominated alluvial fans, whereas the gently dipping western margin was dominated by alluvial‐cone sedimentation. During the post‐extensional period (Phase II), cooling of the lithosphere generated additional accommodation space. The sediments of Lithofacies Type II, comprising mainly clast‐supported conglomerates, are interpreted as braided ephemeral stream flow‐surge deposits. Tectonic quiescence and an increase in flood events resulting from wetter climate led to progradation of this facies over the entire region. At the end of this period, the accommodation space was almost completely filled resulting in a level topography. Phase III was controlled by the thermal‐induced subsidence of the southerly located NEGB in post‐Illawarra times. The formerly isolated region tilted towards the SW, thus forming the northern margin of the NEGB during uppermost Havel and Elbe Subgroup times. The sediments of Lithofacies Type III were divided into a marginal sandstone‐dominated environment and a finer‐grained facies towards the SW. The former consists of poorly‐sorted coarse‐grained sandstones of a proximal and medial ephemeral stream floodplain facies. The latter comprise mud flat fines and fine‐grained distal ephemeral stream deposits. The end of the tectono‐sedimentary evolution is marked by the basinwide Zechstein transgression. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luminescence dating of irrigation systems: Application to a qanat in Aragón,Spain

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques have been applied to investigate the potential for dating the deposition of upcast mounds associated with qanat ventilation shafts at the site of a medieval qanat located in Aragón, Spain. Coarse quartz grains, extracted from sediment samples taken from excavated sections of several mounds, possessed sufficiently strong OSL to enable an evaluation of equivalent dose by applying the single aliquot regenerative procedure to small aliquots, each containing an individual bright grain. The OSL dates for both palaeosol and overlying upcast indicate that a chronostratigraphic record has been preserved within the mounds investigated, and micromorphological analysis of thin sections of sediment blocks taken from the mounds is shown to provide an essential means of verifying the characteristics of the strata, in particular, the critical interface of upcast and the ancient ground surface. The earliest OSL dates for basal deposits taken from two separate sections of the same mound are in agreement, placing the mound construction during the first half of the 13th century A.D. However, in two other mounds the OSL dates for the deposition of upcast are internally consistent with the stratigraphy but significantly later, dating to the 16th and 17th centuries A.D. We interpret the differences between the dates for the upcast deposition to be the result of partial erosion of the upper shaft and later repair of the mounds, and this finding underlines the importance of both examining multiple mounds in the same qanat system and the internal structure of each sampled mound. This exploratory work demonstrates the potential for wider application of OSL for dating this important type of subterranean irrigation feature in the study of both the archaeology of human settlement and palaeoenvironmental change in arid regions.     

Single-beam acoustic ground discrimination of shallow water habitats: 50 kHz or 200 kHz frequency survey?

The single-beam acoustic ground discrimination system QTC View, Series V, was used in the Bay of Cadiz, Southwest Spain, for the identification and mapping of the bottom acoustic diversity. The acoustic data were obtained through two successive surveys, each conducted with one of the following echo sounder frequencies: 50 kHz and 200 kHz. The performance of each survey frequency for the identification of the sedimentary gradients was analyzed. The surveys were conducted during high tide given that the majority of the surveyed area is shallower than 5 m, although depth may occasionally reach 20 m in specific areas located in a navigation channel. The acoustic data obtained at the two different frequencies were, individually, submitted to manual clustering and a final solution consisting of three acoustic classes was reached for both datasets. However, only the geographical distribution of the acoustic classes obtained with 50 kHz echo sounder frequency was coincident with the spatial distribution of the superficial sediment groups (silty medium sand, very silty fine sand and mud), identified through multivariate analysis of the grain-size data of ground-truth sediment samples. The results obtained with the 200 kHz echo sounder frequency did not match the sedimentary gradients obtained for the area surveyed, not even the separation of muddy and sandy areas.