L'archivage des activités humaines par les neiges et glaces polaires : le cas du plomb

The investigation of the occurrence of lead in dated snow and ice from Greenland and Antarctica has played a major role in our understanding of the history of the pollution of the atmosphere of our planet by this metal. Such studies have however proved to be very demanding, mainly because of the extreme purity of polar snow and ice. Reliable measurements can be obtained only if ultra-clean and highly sensitive procedures are used, as pioneered by Clair Patterson. The Greenland data show evidence of large-scale pollution of the atmosphere of the Northern Hemisphere for lead as early as two millennia ago during Greco–Roman times, especially because of mining and smelting activities in southern Spain. It peaked at the end of the 1960s, with lead concentrations in snow about 200 times higher than natural values, before declining during recent times because of the fall in the use of leaded gasoline. Lead pollution in Antarctica was already significant at the end of the 19th century as a consequence of whaling activities, the traffic of coal-powered ships crossing the Cape Horn, and mining activities in South America, South Africa and Australia. After declining because of the opening of the Panama Canal, the great economic depression and World War II, it reached a maximum during the 1980s, with lead concentrations 20 times higher than natural values. Other studies focus on past natural variations of lead in ancient ice dated from the last climatic cycles. To cite this article: C. Boutron et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Seismic vulnerability of bridges in transport networks subjected to environmental deterioration

This paper investigates the problem of management, maintenance and planning of interventions in transport networks located in seismic zones, in relation to the actual state of degradation of their most vulnerable elements, as bridges. The study consists in two phases: the first phase is concerned with definition of the seismic vulnerability of a typical bridge in the network, through the construction of fragility curves calculated taking into account the corrosion of the reinforcing steel as the main cause of environmental deterioration. Once the fragility curves of the deteriorated bridges are computed, the second phase consists in the analysis of the vulnerability of the transport network in which the bridges are included taking into account the modification of the traffic flows when bridge infrastructures are damaged. The results of this pilot study can be used as a first step for a proper allocation of economic resources in the planning of seismic retrofit interventions to minimize the overall risk and manage the immediate post-earthquake emergency phase and guide rescuers in reaching the affected and critical areas.     

Long-term morphological river response to hydrological changes

Hydrologic changes have a great impact on the long-term river morphology. The most common anthropic cause is the construction of dams, which often reduces both the discharge regime and sediment transport, producing a narrowing and degradation of the river bed. In this study we propose a simple, lumped morphodynamic model that describes fluvial cross-section dynamics consequent to changes in discharge and sediment transport induced by external factors. The model provides the temporal dynamics of the river width and bed quote. These dynamics result not to be trivial and can exhibit non monotonic behavior, with aggradations and degradations, and narrowing and widening. The model has been tested on real rivers using data obtained from field studies. The agreement between the outcomes and the data measured in the field works is always satisfactory.     

1D and 2D site amplification effects at Tarcento (Friuli,NE Italy), 30 years later

A temporary accelerometer network has been installed in Tarcento (Friuli, NE Italy), a small town heavily hit by the 1976–1977 Friuli earthquake sequence, as a part of an ongoing research project aimed at ground motion simulation and generation of shakemaps in the near-field of an earthquake. The network operated from October 2008 to April 2010 and consisted of three K2 accelerographs with internal Episensor, distributed over a linear array of about 1.5 km length. Tarcento town had been chosen, at the end of the 1970s, as the ideal site for a pilot microzonation study, the first of this kind in Italy, in which a substantial number of field (and laboratory) tests were carried out in order to assess the mechanical properties of local alluvium deposits and their complex (3D) geometrical configuration. The data from the temporary network, illustrated herein, allow for proper verification and review of some of the quantitative predictions formulated in the 1980 study. As argued in the discussion section, we also believe that the data are apt to provide valuable information of more general interest on the complex seismic response of alluvium-filled valleys, and we show therein how the observations can be interpreted in the light of presently available parametric simulation studies and simplified criteria for handling basin amplification effects.     

Geochemistry of silicic magmas in the Macolod Corridor, SW Luzon, Philippines: evidence of distinct, mantle-derived, crustal sources for silicic magmas

Silicic volcanic deposits (>65 wt% SiO₂), which occur as domes, lavas and pyroclastic deposits, are relatively abundant in the Macolod Corridor, SW Luzon, Philippines. At Makiling stratovolcano, silicic domes occur along the margins of the volcano and are chemically similar to the silicic lavas that comprise part of the volcano. Pyroclastic flows are associated with the Laguna de Bay Caldera and these are chemically distinct from the domes and lavas at Makiling stratovolcano. As a whole, samples from the Laguna de Bay Caldera contain lower concentrations of MgO and higher concentrations of Fe₂O_3(t) than the samples from domes and lavas. The Laguna de Bay samples are more enriched in incompatible trace elements. The silicic rocks from the domes, Makiling Volcano and Laguna de Bay Caldera all contain high alkalis and high K₂O/Na₂O ratios. Melting experiments of primitive basalts and andesites demonstrate that it is difficult to produce high K₂O/Na₂O silicic magmas by fractional crystallization or partial melting of a low K₂O/Na₂O source. However, recent melting experiments (Sisson et al., Contrib Mineral Petrol 148:635–661, 2005) demonstrate that extreme fractional crystallization or partial melting of K-rich basalts can produce these silicic magmas. Our model for the generation of the silicic magmas in the Macolod Corridor requires partial melting of mantle-derived, evolved, moderate to K-rich, crystallized calc-alkaline magmas that ponded and crystallized in the mid-crust. Major and trace element variations, along with oxygen isotopes and ages of the deposits, are consistent with this model. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Reef status in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll,Maldives) five years before the mass mortality event of 1998

The Maldives was severely hit by massive coral bleaching and subsequent mortality in 1998. The results of reef monitoring in the following years have supported contrasting views about their recovery potential, partly because of the scarcity of information on the situation before 1998. Quantitative data on coral assemblages collected in 1993 in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll) may provide a base-line for the evaluation of the present status of the Maldivian reefs. Five years before the 1998 mortality, most coral communities appeared to be similar, in terms of both coral cover and growth-form composition, to those described in 1958 and 1964, notwithstanding increased human pressure and local events such as minor bleaching episodes in 1987 and crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) attacks in 1989. Three lessons can be learnt from these results to help to understand the present situation, some ten years after the 1998 mass mortality. First, Maldivian reefs proved in the past to be capable of maintaining flourishing coral life despite various disturbances. Second, four years had been sufficient for complete reef recovery after a (minor) bleaching event. Third, recovery after both COTS attack and bleaching follows a predictable path suggesting that the presence of a three-dimensional community structure, which should reduce post settlement mortality of coral recruits, is essential for rapid coral recovery. As coral recruitment remains high and large tabular Acropora colonies are now reappearing, it is expected that Maldivian reefs should return to their original condition within the next few years.     

Nir surface photometry of star-forming regions

We present a set of maps of the star-forming regions S140, Re 50, and Mon R2 in theJ, H, andK infrared bands (i.e., 1.2, 1.65, and 2.2 m), obtained with a resolution of 7 and 14 arc sec at the infrared 1.5 m TIRGO telescope, with the TIRGO InSb single channel photometer operating in a mapping mode.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.     

Contribution of Sponge Spicules to the Composition of Biogenic Silica in the Ligurian Sea

Abstract. The importance of sponge spicules in the turnover of biogenic silica (BSi) in the detritic bottoms of the Eastern Ligurian Riviera was evaluated by studying sediment cores and the detrital matter collected by a trap over a one year period.
This study made evident that: i) Sponge spicules represent the main component of the BSi both in the sediments and in the trapped matter; ii) A correlation exists between the sponge biomass present on the overhanging cliff and the amount of sponge spicules found in the sediment below; iii) Inside the sediments, a superficial layer (10 cm deep) characterized by intensive silica dissolution processes can be observed; and iv) The amount of spicules collected using the trap is not constant throughout the year, but shows a characteristic trend with low values in spring and summer and high values in autumn and winter.