The northern Patagonia Somuncura plateau basalts: a product of slab‐induced,shallow asthenospheric upwelling?

The Meseta de Somuncura forms the largest basaltic plateau (20 000 km²) of southern Argentina (extra-Andean domain). Most of these tholeiitic to alkaline rocks were extruded at ˜ 25 Ma (late Oligocene). The absence of rifting–thinning processes, plume activity, or slab-window phenomena leaves only one major possibility for the generation of Somuncura: asthenospheric ('OIB-like') corner flow leading to a transient thermal anomaly above the subducting plate. It is suggested herein that the intake of hot asthenosphere was forced into a favourable topography (concave-up) of the subducting plate, when a major plate reorganization event (Farallon to Nazca) was taking place in late Oligocene to early Miocene time. The fast and vigorous intake of asthenosphere would have been induced by slab roll-back, leading to decoupling of the subducting plate. The Somuncura volcanic episode can be regarded as a marker of the passage from the extremely oblique subduction of Farallon, to the birth of the Nazca plate and roughly perpendicular convergence between South America and Nazca.     

Reliability assessment of granular filters in embankment dams

Empirical criteria have been used successfully to design filters of most embankment large dam projects throughout the world. However, these empirical rules are only applicable to a particular range of soils tested in laboratory and do not take into account the variability of the base material and filter particle sizes. In addition, it is widely accepted that the safety of fill dams is mainly dependent on the reliability of their filter performance. The work herein presented consists in a new general method for assessing the probability of fulfilling any empirical filter design criteria accounting for base and filter heterogeneity by means of first‐order reliability methods (FORM), so that reliability indexes and probabilities of fulfilling any particular criteria are obtained. This method will allow engineers to estimate the safety of existing filters in terms of probability of fulfilling their design criteria and might also be used as a decision tool on sampling needs and material size tolerances during construction. In addition, sensitivity analysis makes possible to analyse how reliabilities are influenced by different sources of input data. Finally, in case of a portfolio risk assessment, this method will allow engineers to compare the safety of several existing dams in order to prioritize safety investments and it is expected to be a very useful tool to evaluate probabilities of failure due to internal erosion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variability in the nutritional value of the major copepods in Cape Cod Bay (Massachusetts, USA) with implications for right whales

The North Atlantic right whale, a seriously endangered species, is found in Cape Cod Bay (Massachusetts, USA) during the winter and early spring. During their residency in these waters, these whales are frequently observed feeding. This study evaluated spatial and temporal changes in the chemical composition (carbon weight and C/N ratio) of the food resource targeted by the right whales in Cape Cod Bay. The three taxa measured (Centropages typicus, Pseudocalanus spp., and Calanus finmarchicus) had highly variable chemical compositions resulting from the different life strategies and from fluctuations in their surrounding environment. The impact of seasonal variability in the energy densities of the food resource of right whales was calculated and compared to the energetic requirements of these whales. Calculations indicated that differences in the nutritional content of the zooplankton prey in Cape Cod Bay could have a considerable effect on the nutrition available to the right whales. Therefore, it is likely that using more precise estimates of the energetic densities of the prey of right whales would lead to a re‐evaluation of the adequacy of the food resource available to these whales in the North Atlantic.     

The nature of η carinae

We give an overview of the Car phenomenon on the basis of ground and space observations. We discuss in particular the IRAS images. We conclude that Car, initially with a mass > 100M , is presently an intermediate-type hypergiant withL=5×10⁶ L , in a rapid evolutionary stage. This phase started with a large increase of mass loss in mid-1800 followed by dust condensation and a large visual fading, at constant bolometric luminosity.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

A new model for X-ray emission from NGC 4151

We present an analysis of the reported spectral features of NGC 4151 in X-rays. It is shown that the origin of X-rays from the source is inconsistent with a single production mechanism. We suggest a new two-component model in which soft X-rays arise from the black-body emission of a tiny hot nucleus withT2×10⁷ K and the hard X-ray photons are generated in an extended region by inverse Compton scattering of electrons with the infrared photons.     

Seismic studies of the Brasília fold belt at the western border of the São Francisco Craton, Central Brazil, using receiver function, surface-wave dispersion and teleseismic tomography

The Tocantins Province in Central Brazil is composed of a series of SSW–NNE trending terranes of mainly Proterozoic ages, which stabilized in the Neoproterozoic in the final collision between the Amazon and São Francisco cratons. No previous information on crustal seismic properties was available for this region. Several broadband stations were used to study the regional patterns of crustal and upper mantle structure, extending the results of a recent E–W seismic refraction profile. Receiver functions and surface wave dispersion showed a thin crust (33–37 km) in the Neoproterozoic Magmatic Arc terrane. High average crustal Vp/Vs ratios (1.74–1.76) were consistently observed in this unit. The foreland domain of the Brasília foldbelt, on the other hand, is characterized by thicker crust (42–43 km). Low Vp/Vs ratios (1.70–1.72) were observed in the low-grade foreland fold and thrust zone of the Brasília belt adjacent to the São Francisco craton. Teleseismic P-wave tomography shows that the lithospheric upper mantle has lower velocities beneath the Magmatic Arc and Goiás Massif compared with the foreland zone of the belt and São Francisco craton. The variations in crustal thickness and upper mantle velocities observed with the broadband stations correlate well with the measurements along the seismic refraction profile. The integration of all seismic observations and gravity data indicates a strong lithospheric contrast between the Goiás Massif and the foreland domain of the Brasília belt, whereas little variation was found across the foldbelt/craton surface boundary. These results support the hypothesis that the Brasília foreland domain and the São Francisco craton were part of a larger São Francisco-Congo continental plate in the final collision with the Amazon plate.