Fire and ice: unravelling the climatic and volcanic history of James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Back in the mid-nineteenth century British explorer James Clark Ross took his ships, HMS Terror and HMS Erebus , farther south than anyone else had been. He now lends his name to James Ross Island, a part-volcanic edifice that rises out of the sea off the north-east tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The island records a geological history dating back to the Cretaceous, though its great peaks are volcanic. The most recent rocks of the island record a monumental struggle between fire and ice, the volcanoes, and the ice sheets that cover them. The glacigenic sediments that are interspersed with the volcanic rocks contain rich fossil assemblages which suggest that at times, the climate was warmer, with the ice retreating. Their study may help us to delimit the patterns of climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula region as Earth's global climate warms.     

Low-cost volcano surveillance from space: case studies from Etna, Krafla, Cerro Negro, Fogo, Lascar and Erebus

 Satellite data offer a means of supplementing ground-based monitoring during volcanic eruptions, especially at times or locations where ground-based monitoring is difficult. Being directly and freely available several times a day, data from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) offers great potential for near real-time monitoring of all volcanoes across large (3000×3000 km) areas. Herein we describe techniques to detect and locate activity; estimate lava area, thermal flux, effusion rates and cumulative volume; and distinguish types of activity. Application is demonstrated using data for active lavas at Krafla, Etna, Fogo, Cerro Negro and Erebus; a pyroclastic flow at Lascar; and open vent systems at Etna and Stromboli. Automated near real-time analysis of AVHRR data could be achieved at existing, or cheap to install, receiving stations, offering a supplement to conventional monitoring methods. Received: 21 January 1997 / Accepted: 3 April 1997     

Integration error over very long time spans

The main limit to the time span of a numerical integration of the planetary orbits is no longer set by the availability of computer resources, but rather by the accumulation of the integration error. By the latter we mean the difference between the computed orbit and the dynamical behaviour of the real physical system, whatever the causes. The analysis of these causes requires an interdisciplinary effort: there are physical model and parameters errors, algorithm and discretisation errors, rounding off errors and reliability problems in the computer hardware and system software, as well as instabilities in the dynamical system. We list all the sources of integration error we are aware of and discuss their relevance in determining the present limit to the time span of a meaningful integration of the orbit of the planets. At present this limit is of the order of 10⁸ years for the outer planets. We discuss in more detail the truncation error of multistep algorithms (when applied to eccentric orbits), the coefficient error, the method of Encke and the associated coordinate change error, the procedures used to test the numerical integration software and their limitations. Many problems remain open, including the one of a realistic statistical model of the rounding off error; at present, the latter can only be described by a semiempirical model based upon the simpleN ² formula (N=number of steps, =machine accuracy), with an unknown numerical coefficient which is determined only a posteriori.     

Nutrients and zooplankton composition and dynamics in relation to the hydrological pattern in a confined Mediterranean salt marsh (NE Iberian Peninsula)

The role of the hydrological regime in the nutrients and zooplankton composition and dynamics has been analysed in five lagoons of La Pletera salt marshes (NE Iberian Peninsula) during a complete hydrological cycle (2002–2003). Two of the lagoons have their origin in the old river mouths while the other three were recently created in the framework of a Life Restoration project. This fact has also allowed us to study the effect of the lagoon age on nutrient and zooplankton composition and dynamics. The salt marsh hydrology is determined by a prolonged period of confinement without water inputs, irregularly interrupted by sudden water inputs due to flooding events (sea storms or intense rainfalls). While the dynamics of oxidized nitrogen compounds in the lagoons depends on the water inputs variability within each hydrological cycle, the internal load of phosphorus, total nitrogen and organic matter is related more to the cumulative mechanisms during the confinement periods. Accumulation processes may be easily related to lagoon age, since old lagoons have higher content of nutrients and organic matter, suggesting that these lagoons progressively accumulate nutrients during the successive confinement events. This is the usual case for most Mediterranean salt marshes without an artificially manipulated water regime. The zooplankton community in La Pletera integrates the effects of both the hydrological regime and the lagoon age since the former determines the temporal pattern of the main zooplankton species and the latter explains differences in composition and structure between old and new lagoons.     

A Comparison of Predation Rates by Non-indigenous and Indigenous Crabs (Juvenile Carcinus maenas, Juvenile Cancer irroratus, and Adult Dyspanopeus sayi) in Laboratory and Field Experiments

Mean daily consumption rates on Mytilus spp. were compared among juveniles of the non-indigenous Carcinus maenas, juveniles of the indigenous Cancer irroratus, and adults of the indigenous Dyspanopeus sayi between June and August 2005 to assess the relative impact of juvenile C. maenas in field (Benacadie Channel (45°54′ N, 60°53′ E), Bras d’Or Lakes, Nova Scotia, Canada) and laboratory experiments. This study examined: (1) whether consumption rates in a field setting vary among species; (2) the effect of laboratory and field settings on species-specific consumption rates, and whether rates vary between settings for each species; and (3) the effects of temperature and salinity on the consumption rates of these species. In field experiments, there was no significant difference in consumption among C. maenas, C. irroratus, and D. sayi (0.100?±?0.067, 0.450?±?0.189, and 0.800?±?0.423 mussels crab^?1 d^?1, respectively). However, both C. maenas and C. irroratus consumed two to four times more prey in the laboratory than in the field. D. sayi prey consumption was also greater (although not significant) in the laboratory than in the field. In the laboratory, consumption rate was greater for C. irroratus in salinities of 26 than 17 (2.75 and 1.69–1.81 mussels crab^?1 d^?1, respectively), and in 17°C than 13°C (1.10–1.21 and 0.56–0.64 mussels crab^?1 d^?1, respectively) for C. maenas. In all experiments, consumption rates of juvenile C. maenas were lower than or similar to those of the juvenile and adult indigenous species, suggesting that the potential predatory impact of juvenile C. maenas on Mytilus spp. may not be as significant as that of the adults of this non-indigenous species.     

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.     

Orbitolinidae and Alveolinidae (Foraminiferida) from the uppermost Albian-lower Cenomanian of Monti d'Ocre (Abruzzi, Italy)

A biostratigraphic study carried out in the Monti d'Ocre area, Abruzzi, Central Apennines, allowed us to recognize Orbitolina (Conicorbitolina) moulladei ‘Strata 5 (1985) 1’, Praealveolina iberica Reichel and Praealveolina simplex Reichel in uppermost Albian–lower Cenomanian shelf-edge deposits of the Fossato Machè succession. These foraminifers have now been found for the first time in the Apennines of central Italy; their finding is quite important from a palaeobiogeographic viewpoint, as it contributes to the improvement of our knowledge on facies distribution in the circum-Mediterranean regions during the Cretaceous Period. In the study area, the coeval Monte Rotondo and Monte Orsello sections also crop out; these are characterized by bauxite deposits and stratigraphic gaps reflecting episodes of emergence on the carbonate platform. The Monte Rotondo and Monte Orsello sections accumulated in a platform back-reef environment; consequently, in this sector of the Monti d'Ocre area, the depositional environment shifted from a back-reef westward and southward to a shelf-edge northward, during the latest Albian–early Cenomanian. Owing to synsedimentary tectonics, the area investigated underwent differential subsidence: westward and southward, wide areas were uplifted and subjected to emergence, karstification and bauxite accumulation, whereas sedimentation continued in a shelf-edge environment in the north-eastern area.     

Fragmentation during Rock Falls: Two Italian Case Studies of Hard and Soft Rocks

In recent years, rock fall phenomena in Italy have received considerable attention for risk mitigation through in situ observations and experimental data. This paper reports the study conducted at Camaldoli Hill, in the urban area of Naples, and at Monte Pellegrino, Palermo, Italy. The rocks involved are volcanic Neapolitan yellow tuff (NYT) in the former area and dolomitic limestone in the latter. Both rocks, even though with different strength characteristics, have shown a significant tendency towards rock fragmentation during run out. This behavior was first investigated by comparing the volumes of removable blocks on the cliff faces (V ₀) and fallen blocks on the slopes (V _f). It was assumed that the ratio V _f/V ₀ decreases with the distance (x _f) from the detachment area by an empirical law, which depends on a coefficient α, correlated with the geotechnical properties of the materials involved in the rock fall. Finally, this law was validated by observation of well-documented natural rock falls (Palermo) and by in situ full-scale tests (Naples). From the engineering perspective, consideration of fragmentation processes in rock fall modeling provides a means for designing low-cost mitigation measures.