How Do Surficial Lithic Assemblages Weather in Arid Environments? A Case Study from the Atacama Desert,Northern Chile

Archaeological sites composed only of surficial lithics are widespread in arid environments. Numerical dating of such sites is challenging, however, and even establishing a relative chronology can be daunting. One potentially helpful method for assigning relative chronologies is to use lithic weathering, on the assumption that the most weathered artifacts are also the oldest. Yet, few studies have systematically assessed how local environmental processes affect weathering of surficial lithics. Using macroscopic analyses, we compared the weathering of surficial lithic assemblages from seven mid‐to‐late Holocene archaeological sites sampled from four different microenvironments in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Changes in polish, texture, shine, and color were used to establish significant differences in weathering between two kinds of locations: interfluves and canyon sites. Lithics from interfluve sites were moderately to highly weathered by wind and possessed a dark coating, whereas canyon lithics were mildly weathered despite greater exposure to moisture, often lacked indications of eolian abrasion, and lacked dark coatings. Our results show that lithic weathering can be used as a proxy for relative age, but only after considering local environmental factors. The power of such chronologies can be improved by combining archaeological, paleoenvironmental, geomorphological, and taphonomic data.     

Partitioning between “wedge-top” river- and wave-dominated successions: an example from the late Tortonian — early Messinian Terravecchia Formation (NW Sicily)

Detailed field sedimentological and facies analyses have been performed in the Terravecchia Formation cropping out in NW Sicily, in order to differentiate and describe, for the first time, wave- and river-dominated shallow-marine (deltaic) siliciclastic successions. The latter were deposited filling syntectonic basins, developed between the late Tortonian and early Messinian time, within the wedge-top depozone of the Sicilian Foreland Basin System. It has been observed that river-dominated successions, recording the deposition of small fan-deltas are characterized by fining- to coarsening upward, transgressive-regressive sequences which were mostly deposited filling relatively narrow and often oversupplied basins. These basins were probably located in a proximal sector of the wedge-top depozone, closer to emergent sectors of the chain and probably sheltered from the main marine areas. Wavedominated successions, on the other hand, are characterized by upward fining, mostly transgressive sequences which were deposited filling wider basins open to major marine regions and located in a more distal position of the wedge-top depozone. The documented partitioning between river- and wave-dominated successions, as a function of the position of the sedimentary basin within the wedge-top depozone, is coherent with data from analyses of the deformational patterns of the Terravecchia Formation in this study area. Furthermore, the data here presented could be considered as a preliminary database for future characterization and analysis of siliciclastic reservoirs from Sicilian outcrop analogues.     

Adaptive POD model reduction for solute transport in heterogeneous porous media

We study the applicability of a model order reduction technique to the solution of transport of passive scalars in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media. Transport dynamics are modeled through the advection-dispersion equation (ADE) and we employ Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) as a strategy to reduce the computational burden associated with the numerical solution of the ADE. Our application of POD relies on solving the governing ADE for selected times, termed snapshots. The latter are then employed to achieve the desired model order reduction. We introduce a new technique, termed Snapshot Splitting Technique (SST), which allows enriching the dimension of the POD subspace and damping the temporal increase of the modeling error. Coupling SST with a modeling strategy based on alternating over diverse time scales the solution of the full numerical transport model to its reduced counterpart allows extending the benefit of POD over a prolonged temporal window so that the salient features of the process can be captured at a reduced computational cost. The selection of the time scales across which the solution of the full and reduced model are alternated is linked to the Péclet number (P e), representing the interplay between advective and dispersive processes taking place in the system. Thus, the method is adaptive in space and time across the heterogenous structure of the domain through the combined use of POD and SST and by way of alternating the solution of the full and reduced models. We find that the width of the time scale within which the POD-based reduced model solution provides accurate results tends to increase with decreasing P e. This suggests that the effects of local-scale dispersive processes facilitate the POD method to capture the salient features of the system dynamics embedded in the selected snapshots. Since the dimension of the reduced model is much lower than that of the full numerical model, the methodology we propose enables one to accurately simulate transport at a markedly reduced computational cost.     

Estimating building exposure and impact to volcanic hazards in Icod de los Vinos,Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Principal and subsidiary building structure characteristics and their distribution have been inventoried in Icod, Tenerife (Canary Islands) and used to evaluate the vulnerability of individual buildings to three volcanic hazards: tephra fallout, volcanogenic earthquakes and pyroclastic flows. The procedures described in this paper represent a methodological framework for a comprehensive survey of all the buildings at risk in the area around the Teide volcano in Tenerife. Such a methodology would need to be implemented for the completion of a comprehensive risk assessment for the populations under threat of explosive eruptions in this area. The information presented in the paper is a sample of the necessary data required for the impact estimation and risk assessment exercises that would need to be carried out by emergency managers, local authorities and those responsible for recovery and repair in the event of a volcanic eruption. The data shows there are micro variations in building stock characteristics that would influence the likely impact of an eruption in the area. As an example of the use of this methodology for vulnerability assessment, we have applied a deterministic simulation model of a volcanic eruption from Teide volcano and its associated ash fallout which, when combined with the vulnerability data collected, allows us to obtain the vulnerability map of the studied area. This map is obtained by performing spatial analysis with a Geographical Information System (GIS). This vulnerability analysis is included in the framework of an automatic information system specifically developed for hazard assessment and risk management on Tenerife, but which can be also applied to other volcanic areas. The work presented is part of the EU-funded EXPLORIS project (Explosive Eruption Risk and Decision Support for EU Populations Threatened by Volcanoes, EVR1-2001-00047).     

Theoretical analysis of X-ray absorption near-edge structure in forsterite, Mg2SiO4-Pbnm, and fayalite, Fe2SiO4-Pbnm, at room temperature and extreme conditions

We calculated the forsterite Mg K-edge and the fayalite Fe K-edge X-ray absorption spectra both for the M 1 and M 2 sites and for the overall edge by using the one-electron multiple-scattering theory. The validity of the theoretical model is well illustrated by comparison of calculations with experimental data at the Mg K-edge of MgO (periclase) and at the Mg and Fe K-edges spectra of forsterite and fayalite. Starting from these results at room conditions, we calculated the Mg and Fe K-edges X-ray absorption spectra of forsterite and fayalite at low and high temperatures and at high pressures as well. Variations of fine structures occur mostly in the intermediate multiple scattering (IMS) regions and as a result of the applied pressure. In order to demonstrate the capability of XAS to lead to deeper knowledge of structure relevant to Earth's upper mantle we also attempted calcuating the high-P edge for Fe ²⁺ in low-spin using a different occupation of valence electrons. If a change in spin state really occurs in fayalite, our simple model shows that XAS would evidence it easily even with low resolution.     

Climate change and human occupation in the northernmost Chilean Altiplano over the last ca. 11 500 cal. a BP

This interdisciplinary study represents an approximation towards understanding how regional human cultural systems may have been affected by climate change in the northernmost Chilean Altiplano (>3600 m) over the last ca. 11 500 cal a BP. We compare the archaeological record from Hakenasa cave with the lake record from Lago Chungará sediment cores, located 50 km to the south. By integrating both of these archives in conjunction with regional palaeoclimate and archaeological data, we provide new evidence for the role of changing environmental and climatic conditions in human settlement patterns. The first human occupation of the entire Altiplano occurs at Hakenasa and is dated to 9980 ± 40 ¹⁴C a BP (11 265–11 619 cal. a BP), and took place under wetter regional climate conditions. An archaeologically sterile deposit occurs at Hakenasa between 7870 and 6890 cal. a BP. Constituted by sands and gravels, these sediments are interpreted as a flood event. This time period is synchronous with alternating short dry and wet events recorded in the Lake Chungará sedimentary sequence. Human activity resumes and increases in importance at Hakenasa by ca. 6000 cal. a BP. This corresponds to wetter conditions indicated by the Chungará record. Even though the lake record indicates intense volcanic activity over the last 6000 cal. a BP, this had little or no impact on the human population present at Hakenasa. This study shows that even in this extreme environment human settlement patterns do not always respond in a linear fashion to environmental change. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.