A Note on Solar Cycle Length During the Medieval Climate Anomaly     

José M. Vaquero  Ricardo M. Trigo 《Solar physics》2012,279(1):289-294

The growing interest in the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and its possible link to anomalous solar activity has prompted new reconstructions of solar activity based on cosmogenic radionuclides. However, these proxies do not sufficiently constrain the total solar irradiance (TSI) range and are often defined at low temporal resolution, inadequate to infer the solar-cycle length (SCL). We have reconstructed the SCL (average duration of 10.72±0.20 years) during the MCA using observations of naked-eye sunspot and aurora sightings. The solar activity was probably not exceptionally intense, supporting the view that internal variability of the coupled ocean–atmosphere system was the main driver of the MCA.  相似文献   

A first classification scheme of flow-bed interaction for clay-laden density currents and soft substrates     

Iris Thérèse Elise Verhagen  Jaco Hugo Baas  Ricardo Silva Jacinto  William Dale McCaffrey  Alan Geoffrey Davies 《Ocean Dynamics》2013,63(4):385-397

Many aquatic environments exhibit soft, muddy substrates, but this important property has largely been ignored in process-based models of Earth-surface flow. Novel laboratory experiments were carried out to shed light on the feedback processes that occur when particulate density currents (turbidity currents) move over a soft mud substrate. These experiments revealed multiple types of flow-bed interaction and large variations in bed deformation and bed erosion, which are interpreted to be related to the interplay between the shear forces of the current and the stabilising forces in the bed. Changes in this force balance were simulated by varying the clay concentrations in the flow and in the bed. Five different interaction types are described, and dimensional and non-dimensional phase diagrams for flow-bed interaction are presented.  相似文献   

G'day Gondwana — the final accretion of a supercontinent: U–Pb ages from the post-orogenic São Vicente Granite,northern Paraguay Belt,Brazil     

Ben McGee  Alan S. Collins  Ricardo I.F. Trindade 《Gondwana Research》2012,21(2-3):316-322

The Paraguay Belt in central South America is part of a larger chain of orogenic belts, including the Araguaia Belt to the northeast and potentially the Pampean Belt to the south, which are believed to mark the suture zone of the Clymene Ocean — interpreted amongst the youngest of the Gondwana amalgamation orogens. The post-orogenic São Vicente Granite crops out in the northern Paraguay Belt and cuts the basal unit of the deformed and metamorphosed Cuiabá Group. The age of this granite therefore provides a long sort after minimum age for orogenesis within the belt. Dating crystallisation of this important intrusion is challenging due to the presence of considerable common-Pb. However, based on LA-ICPMS dating of more than 100 zircons from three separate samples we interpret a robust crystallisation age for the São Vicente batholith at 518 ± 4 Ma. This age constrains the termination of deformation within the Paraguay Belt and the final accretion of the supercontinent Gondwana.  相似文献   

Nursery Habitat Shifts in an Estuarine Ecosystem<Emphasis Type="Bold">:</Emphasis> Patterns of Use by Sympatric Catfish Species     

David Valença Dantas  Mario Barletta  André Ricardo Araújo Lima  Jonas de Assis Almeida Ramos  Monica Ferreira da Costa  Ulrich Saint-Paul 《Estuaries and Coasts》2012,35(2):587-602

The seasonal and spatial distribution (density and biomass) of five size classes of two catfish species (Cathorops spixii and Cathorops agassizii) were studied along an estuarine ecocline to test the relative importance of the nursery function of each habitat. Seasonal vs. area interactions were significant for all size classes of both species. During the early rainy season, the middle estuary is an important nursery habitat for juveniles of both species. When environmental conditions change during the late rainy season, the C. spixii primary nursery habitat shifts to the lower estuary. During this period, juveniles of C. agassizii remain in the middle estuary. Another important ecological area is the upper estuary, which becomes a breeding, spawning and hatchery area during the late dry season for both species. The nursery function of habitats shifts according to the seasonal fluctuation of salinity and dissolved oxygen, and each species responds differently to this change.  相似文献   

Restoration of palatable grasses: A study case in degraded rangelands of central Argentina     

Roberto A. Distel  Julin Pietragalla  Ricardo M. Rodríguez Iglesias  Nilda G. Didon  Romina J. Andrioli 《Journal of Arid Environments》2008,72(10):1968-1972

Restoration of palatable grasses on degraded rangelands dominated by unpalatable grasses in central Argentina is limited by low availability of seeds and safe sites for seedling establishment. The objective of our study was to determine how mechanical disturbance of unpalatable grasses (Stipa spp.) in combination with seeding of a palatable grass (Poa ligularis) influenced species composition in a degraded rangeland excluded from livestock grazing. In April 2001 10 blocks were uniformly distributed on a previously burned site dominated by unpalatable grasses, and treatments applied in 8 m×8 m experimental plots. Treatments were ‘disked and seeded’ and control (no disking, no seeding). Perennial plant cover and end-of-season standing crop, at species or species group level, were assessed in December 2002/2003 and in December 2004/2006, respectively. P. ligularis out-competed both tillers of unpalatable grasses that survived mechanical disturbance and seedlings of unpalatable grasses established after mechanical disturbance. The cover and end-of-season standing crop of unpalatable grasses was higher in the control than in the ‘disked and seeded’ treatment, whereas the cover and end-of-season standing crop of P. ligularis was higher in the latter than in the former treatment. Our results suggest that a rapid transition from a state dominated by unpalatable grasses to a state dominated by palatable grasses can be achieved by mechanical disturbance of unpalatable grasses in combination with seeding of palatable grasses in semiarid rangelands of central Argentina.  相似文献   

Patterns of change in sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic during the last three decades: beyond mean trends     

Fernando González Taboada  Ricardo Anadón 《Climatic change》2012,115(2):419-431

Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important indicator of changes in the climate system and a key driver of marine ecosystems. Here we studied the strength and spatial patterns of changes in North Atlantic SST during the last three decades (1982?C2010). Regional and local patterns of change were studied using data derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors. Apart from changes in mean SST, we studied changes in the seasonal cycle, in the spatial patterning of temperature anomalies and in the location of selected isotherms. We quantified the degree of nonlinearity in mean SST as an indicator of the rate at which SST trends changed during the study period. Changes in the timing and intensity of seasonal extremes were explored, and a heuristic method was used to derive the length of the period of stratification and to estimate its variation. Our results were in general coherent with the main impacts predicted by climate change projections, with greatest changes located at northern latitudes and near land. Marked variation in the spatial patterns was also found for different variables, strengthening the view that physical changes could be promoting the arrangement of novel marine biological communities. The observed changes in ocean SST highlighted the need of a more local and regional focus in future climate change studies.  相似文献   

Architecture and development of the alluvial sediments of the Upper Jurassic Tordillo Formation in the Cañada Ancha Valley, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina     

Jos Lpez-Gmez  Javier Martín-Chivelet  Ricardo M. Palma 《Sedimentary Geology》2009,219(1-4):180-195

The Upper Jurassic Tordillo Formation at Cañada Ancha area, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina, comprises a multi-stage suit of predominantly alluvial sediments that is heterolithic in nature. In that suit, several lithofacies, architectural elements, and bounding surfaces of different order have been identified and their lateral and vertical distribution characterized. This analysis allowed the differentiation of 3 main units (lower, middle and upper), 20 subunits (C-1 to C-20), and the characterization of their alluvial styles.The lower unit (which comprises subunits C-1 to C-4) is mainly formed by fine- to medium-grained sandstones, which become medium- to coarse-grained towards the top. These sandstones characterize settings ranging from floodplains with isolated, unconfined flows, to more complex, vertically stacked, multi-storey sheet sandstones of braided fluvial systems. The middle unit (C-5 to C-10) is dominated by pale brown-grey fine-to coarse-grained sands and medium size subangular to angular conglomerates, which reflect amalgamated complexes of sandstone sheets and downstream accretion macroforms. Remarkably, this alluvial sedimentation was episodically punctuated by volcaniclastic flows. The upper unit (C-11 to C-20) consists of finer sediments, mainly pink to white fine-to medium grained sandstones and red to green siltstones. Towards the top, bioturbation becomes important, and also the presence of volcanosedimentary flows is noticeable. Fluvial settings include braided sheet sandstones with waning flood deposits evolving to isolated high-sinuosity fluvial systems, with flash flood deposits. At the top of this unit, facies may suggest marine influence.Vertical changes in the fluvial style result from both climatic and tectonic controls. A semiarid to arid climate and the active tectonism linked to the eastward migration of the Andean volcanic arc determined major bounding surfaces, fluvial style evolution and the presence of the volcano-sedimentary deposits. Different stages of high and low subsidence rates has been deduced from the vertical stacking of sediments.  相似文献   

Influence of environmental variability on distribution and relative abundance of baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) in the Gulf of California          下载免费PDF全文

Ricardo García‐Morales  Edgar Leonardo Pérez‐Lezama  Bernardo Shirasago‐Germán 《Marine Ecology》2017,38(6)

The Gulf of California (GC) is one of the most productive seas in the Pacific Ocean because of several oceanographic phenomena that support many marine mammal species, particularly of the cetacean order. The environmental variability of the GC was analysed during the cold and warm periods of 2005 and 2006 and its effects on the distribution and relative abundance of baleen whales using sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration. Satellite image analysis allowed us to detect important differences in both Chl a concentration and SST including cold to warm periods, even between the two cold periods and between the two warm periods. The cold periods had the highest number of whales: 99 individuals in 2005 and 183 in 2006, which were distributed along the entire gulf. Fewer animals were recorded in the warm period: 46 individuals in 2005 and 30 in 2006, which were mainly distributed in the northern part of the gulf. We concluded that SST influenced the relative abundance of baleen whales while Chl a concentration influenced their distribution.  相似文献   

A rootless suture and the loss of the roots of a mountain chain: The Variscan belt of NW Iberia     

José R. Martínez Catalán  Ricardo Arenas  Jacobo Abati  Sonia Sánchez Martínez  Florentino Díaz García  Javier Fernández Suárez  Pablo González Cuadra  Pedro Castiñeiras  Juan Gómez Barreiro  Alejandro Díez Montes  Emilio González Clavijo  Francisco J. Rubio Pascual  Pilar Andonaegui  Teresa E. Jeffries  James E. Alcock  Rubén Díez Fernández  Alicia López Carmona 《Comptes Rendus Geoscience》2009,341(2-3):114-126

Ophiolites of different Paleozoic ages occur in North-West (NW) Iberia in a rootless suture representing the remnants of the Rheic Ocean. Associated allochthonous terranes in the hanging- and foot-walls of the suture derive from the former margins, whereas the relative autochthon corresponds to the Paleozoic passive margin of northern Gondwana. The Paleozoic tectonic evolution of this part of the circum-Atlantic region is deduced from the stratigraphical, petrological, structural and metamorphic evolution of the different units and their ages. The tectonic reconstruction covers from Cambro-Ordovician continental rifting and the opening of the Rheic Ocean to its Middle to Upper Devonian closure. Then, the Variscan Laurussia–Gondwana convergence and collision is briefly described, from its onset to the late stages of collapse associated with the demise of the orogenic roots.  相似文献   

Ecotoxicological evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using marine invertebrate embryo–larval bioassays     

Juan Bellas  Liliana Saco-lvarez   scar Nieto  Ricardo Beiras 《Marine pollution bulletin》2008,57(6-12):493

The toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined using mussel, sea-urchin and ascidian embryo–larval bioassays. Fluorescent light exposure enhanced phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and hydroxypyrene toxicity in comparison with dark conditions, but not naphthalene and fluorene toxicity. The toxicity of PAHs was inversely related to their K_OW values following QSAR models derived for baseline toxicity of general narcotics, whereas the obtained regression using toxicity data from photoactivated PAHs significantly departed from the general narcosis model. Also, the mixture toxicity of five PAHs to the larval growth of the sea-urchin was compared with predictions derived from the concentration addition concept, indicating less than additive effects. Finally, we compared our toxicity data with worst-case environmental concentrations in order to provide a preliminary estimate of the risk to the marine environment. Naphthalene, fluorene and pyrene are not considered to pose a risk to sea-urchin, mussel or ascidian larvae, whilst phenanthrene and fluoranthene may pose a risk for mussel and sea-urchin. Moreover, a higher risk for those species is expected when we consider the photoactivation of the PAHs.  相似文献