The interaction of eustacy and tectonism from provenance studies of the Eocene Hecho Group Turbidite Complex (South-Central Pyrenees, Spain)

Abstract Using a detailed petrographical procedure conceived for arenites rich in carbonate clasts, the influence of tectonism and eustacy on silicate/carbonate cycles of the Eocene Hecho Turbidite Complex has been tested, and the palaeogeography of the source/basin system outlined.
Both extrabasinal and intrabasinal sources of sediments were active during basin filling. The extrabasinal source terrains, located in the southern sector of the basin, were made of the Pyrenean crystalline basement (granites, gneisses and phyllites) overlain mainly by carbonate rocks (Cretaceous limestones and dolostones, minor chert and siltstones). The intrabasinal sources, represented by foramol shelf carbonate factories, provided penecontemporaneous carbonate bioclasts, intraclasts and peloidal grains.
Foreland thrusting in the South-Central Pyrenees has acted as the major control on the composition and architecture of the Hecho Turbidite Complex. Strong uplift of old silicate and carbonate source terrains during southward thrust propagation was responsible for erosion, swamping and/or reduction of shelfal areas, and gave rise to siliciclastic and carbonate basinal sequences (silicate arenites and calclithites) during lowstand stages. Conversely, hybrid arenites (mixture of extrabasinal and intrabasinal grains) originated from resedimentation of marginal shelf sediments produced in carbonate factories active during the initial phase of sea-level rise. Hybrid arenites with minor intrabasinal content also formed during one stage of relative sea-level fall from the erosion of previously accumulated highstand complexes.
During resedimentation processes, hybrid sands underwent marked hydraulic selection documented by deposits depleted in carbonate grains in the channel area, and by thin-bedded turbidites rich in platy-skeletal fragments, low-density peloids and void-rich bioclasts down-basin.     

Lateritized tephric palaeosols from Central Patagonia,Argentina: a southern high‐latitude archive of Palaeogene global greenhouse conditions

Palaeosols of the Koluel‐Kaike Formation, a red colour‐banded, pyroclastic succession from southern Argentina, constitute a proxy for Eocene climate changes. Reticulated and vertically elongated ferric mottles, along with iron and manganese nodules are the most significant climate indicators, which originated by alternating cycles of waterlogging and drying conditions causing Fe‐Mn mobilization and fixation. Clay minerals vary from a kaolinite > smectite suite in the lower and middle sections, to a smectite > kaolinite one in the upper part. High concentrations of iron oxides/hydroxides and kaolinite, lack of exchangeable bases, absence of carbonate cement, presence of ironstone and redness of hue in most of the palaeosols suggest intense chemical weathering related to leaching and lateritization processes. Five pedotypes, ordered in a stratigraphic sense, were identified. Strongly developed, red to orange Chornk (Fragiaquult) and Kápenk (Plinthaquult) pedotypes display argillic horizons, abundant ferric nodules and slickensides; they are dominant in the lower and middle sections, and formed in seasonal humid and megathermic (tropical) conditions with a mean annual precipitation of 1200 to 1300 mm and a mean annual temperature of 15 °C. Weakly developed, less structured Ornek (Vitrand) and Pólnek (Placaquand) pedotypes occur in the middle and upper sections, and originated in sub‐humid and mesic‐megathermic conditions with a mean annual precipitation around 1000 mm and a mean annual temperature around 12 °C. The brownish Soorsh (Argialboll) pedotype exhibits a granular structure and is present at the uppermost part of the unit. It developed in sub‐humid/semi‐arid and mesic conditions, with a mean annual precipitation of 600 to 700 mm and a mean annual temperature around 10 °C. This pedotype succession and clay mineral distribution indicates a decrease in chemical weathering and degree of soil development with time. Koluel‐Kaike palaeosols from Central Patagonia are some of the first continental non‐palaeobiological data linked to the Early Palaeogene global warming in South America; they show an especially close relationship with the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum and the following long‐term cooling and drying initiated by Middle to Late Eocene time.     

Dewatering effects on the erodibility of newly deposited cohesive beds by unidirectional currents

A series of laboratory experiments on cohesive sediments under inorganic conditions was undertaken in order to evaluate the impact of fluid bed shear stress on the build-up of bed resistance to erosion with time. The importance of small pressures due to flowing water to increase bed strength is presented. It is also shown that the susceptibility of a cohesive bed to changes in its erodibility is related to deposited bed thickness due to sediment disturbance caused by dewatering from the consolidating bed. Laboratory experiments that use beds deposited from suspension should thus report the thickness of the bed prior to resuspension.     

The sandstone memory of the evolution of a Triassic volcanic arc in the Southern Alps, Italy

The erosion of a southern volcanic belt provided the bulk of the fine-grained and moderately sorted siliciclastic detritus in the whole deltaic to lagoonal Carnian (Upper Triassic) sequence of the Bergamasc Alps. Volcanic input began in the Early Carnian (Calcare Metallifero Bergamasco) and became prominent in Early-Middle (Val Sabbia Sandstone) and Late Carnian times (S. Giovanni Bianco Fm.), after an intervening period of diminished supply (Gorno Fm.). The mineralogical and chemical composition of the sandstones compares closely with that of siliciclastics derived from modern, Pacific-type magmatic arcs and it testifies to an evolution of the source rocks from andesites and dacites during the deposition of the Val Sabbia Sandstone, towards rhyodacitic ignimbrites for the S. Giovanni Bianco Fm. The marked reduction in feldspars at the top of the sequence contrasts with the classical trend from Undissected to Dissected Magmatic Arc provenance and is ascribed to the progressive deepening of erosion into Middle Triassic felsic volcanics. An increase in undulatory and polycrystalline quartz grains in the Late Carnian shows that the erosion did reach deeper into the crystalline roots of the arc, although non-volcanic detritus never exceeded 10%. After a terminal pyroclastic event in Middle-Late Carnian times, suggested by the sudden appearance of pumiceous vitric clasts at the top of the Val Sabbia Sandstone, the mid-Triassic orogenic magmatism ended and was followed by the tensional stage which led to the birth of Neotethys.     

Expert system for the selection of methods to calculate design flood flows

Abstract

This paper presents an expert system to help select the best method to estimate design flood flows for civil engineering works based upon the procedures available, the nature and characteristics of the basin and existing hydrological records. The system presents the user with a list of possible methods ranked in descending grade order and optionally presents explanations which support the selected choices. Ordering is achieved using the knowledge base provided by the expert. The system recommends procedures for both preliminary estimates and final designs. The system also constitutes a valuable aid for junior engineers and experienced hydrologists in the selection of methods. Its conceptual structure can be easily generalized to treat other problems of a similar nature in the field of hydrology and water resources.     

TWO-DIMENSIONAL SCATTERING OF P,SV AND RAYLEIGH WAVES: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE VALLEY OF MEXICO

A direct boundary element method for calculating the two-dimensional scattering of seismic waves from irregular topographies and buried valleys due to incident P-, SV- and Rayleigh waves is employed to model a section of the Mexico City Valley. The method has been formulated with isoparametric quadratic boundary elements and contains, with respect to previous works in the field, some improvements that are briefly presented. Because the Mexico City Valley is relatively flat and shallow and the contrast of S-waves between the clays and the basement rock is very high, it is believed that the one-dimensional theory is enough to explain the amplification patterns. Although this is true for most sites, results from recent accelerometric data suggest that two- and three-dimensional models are needed to explain the amplification behaviour at some places. In this work, two accelerometric sites have been chosen: Site 84 to probe that the one-dimensional model works well for most sites, and Site TB, as an example of irregular response. The two-dimensional method presented here was used to model a section of the valley where site TB is located, showing that this method yields results closer to the observations than the one-dimensional approach. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.