Hurricane effects on subtropical pine rocklands of the Florida Keys     

Sonali Saha  Keith Bradley  Michael S. Ross  Phillip Hughes  Thomas Wilmers  Pablo L. Ruiz  Chris Bergh 《Climatic change》2011,107(1-2):169-184

We investigate the effects of Hurricane Wilma??s storm surge (23?C24 October 2005) on the dominant tree Pinus elliottii var densa (South Florida slash pine) and rare plant species in subtropical pine rocklands of the Lower Florida Keys. We examine the role of elevation on species abundance in 1995 (Hurricane Betsy in 1965), 2005 (Hurricane Georges in 1998), and 2008 (Hurricane Wilma in 2005) to investigate if hurricanes influence abundance by eliminating plants at lower elevation on Big Pine Key, the largest island in the Lower Florida Keys. We compare densities before and after Hurricane Wilma over the 2005?C2008 sampling period and examine the role of elevation on changes in pine and rare species densities three years after Hurricane Wilma. We use elevation to assess the impact of hurricanes because elevation determined whether a location was influenced by storm surge (maximum surge of 2 m) in the Lower Florida Keys, where pine rocklands occur at a maximum elevation of 3 m. In 1995 (30 years after a major storm), elevation did not explain the abundance of South Florida slash pine or Chamaecrista lineata, but explained significant variation in abundance of Chamaesyce deltoidea. The latter two species are rare herbaceous plants restricted to pine rocklands. In 2008, 3 years after Hurricane Wilma, the positive relationship between elevation and abundance was strongest for South Florida slash pine, C. deltoidea, and C. lineata. Effects of Hurricane Wilma were not significant for rare species with wider distribution, occurring in plant communities adjacent to pine rocklands and in disturbed rocklands. Our results suggest that hurricanes drive population dynamics of South Florida slash pine and rare species that occur exclusively in pine rocklands at higher elevations. Rare species restricted to pine rocklands showed dramatic declines after Hurricane Wilma and were eliminated at elevations <0.5 m. Widely distributed rare species did not show significant changes in density after Hurricane Wilma. Abundance increased with elevation for South Florida slash pine and C. lineata after the hurricane. In an environment influenced by sea level rise, concrete plans to conserve pine ecosystems are warranted. Results from this study will help define conservation strategies by strengthening predictive understanding of plant responses to disturbance in the backdrop of sea level rise.  相似文献   

Identification of High Frequency Pulses from Earthquake Asperities Along Chilean Subduction Zone Using Strong Motion     

S. Ruiz  E. Kausel  J. Campos  G. R. Saragoni  R. Madariaga 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2011,168(1-2):125-139

The Chilean subduction zone is one of the most active of the world with M?=?8 or larger interplate thrust earthquakes occurring every 10?years or so on the average. The identification and characterization of pulses propagated from dominant asperities that control the rupture of these earthquakes is an important problem for seismology and especially for seismic hazard assessment since it can reduce the earthquake destructiveness potential. A number of studies of large Chilean earthquakes have revealed that the source time functions of these events are composed of a number of distinct energy arrivals. In this paper, we identify and characterize the high frequency pulses of dominant asperities using near source strong motion records. Two very well recorded interplate earthquakes, the 1985 Central Chile (Ms?=?7.8) and the 2007 Tocopilla (Mw?=?7.7), are considered. In particular, the 2007 Tocopilla earthquake was recorded by a network with absolute time and continuos recording. From the study of these strong motion data it is possible to identify the arrival of large pulses coming from different dominant asperities. The recognition of the key role of dominant asperities in seismic hazard assessment can reduce overestimations due to scattering of attenuation formulas that consider epicentral distance or shortest distance to the fault rather than the asperity distance. The location and number of dominant asperities, their shape, the amplitude and arrival time of pulses can be one of the principal factors influencing Chilean seismic hazard assessment and seismic design. The high frequency pulses identified in this paper have permitted us to extend the range of frequency in which the 1985 Central Chile and 2007 Tocopilla earthquakes were studied. This should allow in the future the introduction of this seismological result in the seismic design of earthquake engineering.  相似文献   

The May 2005 eruption of Fernandina volcano,Galápagos: The first circumferential dike intrusion observed by GPS and InSAR     

William W. ChadwickJr  Sigurjon Jónsson  Dennis J. Geist  Michael Poland  Daniel J. Johnson  Spencer Batt  Karen S. Harpp  Andres Ruiz 《Bulletin of Volcanology》2011,73(6):679-697

The May 2005 eruption of Fernandina volcano, Galápagos, occurred along circumferential fissures parallel to the caldera rim and fed lava flows down the steep southwestern slope of the volcano for several weeks. This was the first circumferential dike intrusion ever observed by both InSAR and GPS measurements and thus provides an opportunity to determine the subsurface geometry of these enigmatic structures that are common on Galápagos volcanoes but are rare elsewhere. Pre- and post- eruption ground deformation between 2002 and 2006 can be modeled by the inflation of two separate magma reservoirs beneath the caldera: a shallow sill at ~1 km depth and a deeper point-source at ~5 km depth, and we infer that this system also existed at the time of the 2005 eruption. The co-eruption deformation is dominated by uplift near the 2005 eruptive fissures, superimposed on a broad subsidence centered on the caldera. Modeling of the co-eruption deformation was performed by including various combinations of planar dislocations to simulate the 2005 circumferential dike intrusion. We found that a single planar dike could not match both the InSAR and GPS data. Our best-fit model includes three planar dikes connected along hinge lines to simulate a curved concave shell that is steeply dipping (~45–60°) toward the caldera at the surface and more gently dipping (~12–14°) at depth where it connects to the horizontal sub-caldera sill. The shallow sill is underlain by the deep point source. The geometry of this modeled magmatic system is consistent with the petrology of Fernandina lavas, which suggest that circumferential eruptions tap the shallowest parts of the system, whereas radial eruptions are fed from deeper levels. The recent history of eruptions at Fernandina is also consistent with the idea that circumferential and radial intrusions are sometimes in a stress-feedback relationship and alternate in time with one another.  相似文献   

A simple model accounting for the uptake,transport, and deposition of wind‐eroded mineral particles in the hyperarid coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile     

Stephane C. Alfaro  Valentina Flores‐Aqueveque  Gilles Foret  Sandrine Caquineau  Gabriel Vargas  Jose A. Rutllant 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2011,36(7):923-932

As previously observed in marine sediments collected downwind of African or South American continental sources, recent studies of sediment cores collected at the bottom of Mejillones Bay in north Chile (23°S) show a laminated structure in which the amount of particles of aeolian origin and their size create significant differences between the layers. This suggests inter‐annual to inter‐decadal variations in the strength of the local southerly winds responsible for (1) the erosion of the adjacent hyperarid surface of the Mejillones Pampa, and (2) the subsequent transport of the eroded particles towards the bay. A simple model accounting for the vertical uptake, transport, and deposition of the particles initially set into motion by wind at the surface of the pampa is proposed. This model, which could be adapted to other locations, assumes that the initial rate of (vertical) uptake is proportional to the (horizontal) saltation flux quantified by means of White's equation, that particles are lifted to a height (H), increasing with the magnitude of turbulence, and that sedimentation progressively removes the coarsest particles from the air column as it moves towards the bay. In this model, the proportionality constant (A) linking the vertical flux of particles with the horizontal flux, and the injection height (H) control the magnitude and size distribution of the deposition flux in the bay. Their values are determined using the wind speed measured over the pampa and the size distribution of particles collected in sediment traps deployed in the bay as constraints. After calibration, the model is used to assess the sensitivity of the deposition flux to the wind intensity variations. The possibility of performing such quantitative studies is necessary for interpreting precisely the variability of the aeolian material in the sediment cores collected at the bottom of Mejillones Bay. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000405   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Jean de la Paix Mupenzi  Lanhai Li  Jiwen Ge  Achal Varenyam  Gabriel Habiyaremye  Nzayisenga Theoneste  Kamanzi Emmanuel 《地学前缘(英文版)》2011,2(4):599-607

This study has focused on the processes of soil degradation and chemical element concentration in tea-growing regions of Rwanda, Africa. Soil degradation accelerated by erosion is caused not only by topography but also by human activities. This soil degradation involves both the physical loss and reduction in the amount of topsoil associated with nutrient decline. Soil samples were collected from eleven tropical zones in Rwanda and from variable depth within each collecting site. Of these, Samples from three locations in each zone were analyzed in the laboratory, with the result that the pH of all soil samples is shown to be less than 5 (pH < 5) with a general average of 4.4. The elements such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) are present in high concentration levels. In contrast calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) are present at low-level concentrations and carbon (C) was found in minimal concentrations. In addition, elements derived from fertilizers, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) which is also from minerals such as feldspar, are also present in low-level concentrations. The results indicate that the soil in certain Rwandan tea plantations is acidic and that this level of pH may help explain, in addition to natural factors, the deficiency of some elements such as Ca, Mg, P and N. The use of chemical fertilizers, land use system and the location of fields relative to household plots are also considered to help explain why tea plantation soils are typically degraded.  相似文献   

Trace elements in Holocene sediments of the southern Doñana National Park (SW Spain): historical pollution and applications     

M. I. Carretero  M. Pozo  F. Ruiz  J. Rodríguez Vidal  L. M. Cáceres  M. Abad  J. M. Muñoz  F. Gómez  J. M. Campos  M. L. González-Regalado  M. Olías 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2011,64(5):1215-1223

The multidisciplinary analysis of core sediments from Doñana National Park, south Spain, permits to delimitate both the paleoenvironmental changes and the geochemical evolution of this area during the Holocene. In a first phase (10–6.5 kyr cal), this area was occupied by freshwater/brackish marshes with periodical alternation of dry periods and humid intervals. In a second phase, these marshes were inundated during the Flandrian transgression (~6.5 kyr cal), with the deposition of bioclastic sands. The third phase (6.5–3.6 kyr cal) is characterized by the transition to an old lagoon, with unpolluted, bottom sediments. The geochemical concentrations of these clayey sediments can be used as a geochemical background for present-day and future environmental evaluations of this area. In the following 600 years approximately, two tsunamis caused the partial infilling of this area with bioclastic, marine sediments. In the interval comprised between these two tsunamis, this lagoon was polluted with heavy metals derived from historical mining activities. This environmental contamination represents one of the oldest evidences of mining pollution in the world (>3 kyr cal BP).  相似文献   

Sea,freshwater or saltpans? Foraging ecology of terns to assess mercury inputs in a wetland landscape: The Ebro Delta     

Javier Cotin  Manuel García-Tarrasón  Carolina Sanpera  Lluis Jover  Xavier Ruiz 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2011

The Ebro catchment, the largest river basin in Spain, includes various heavily industrialized areas. Among these is the Flix site, where a chemical plant has been operating since the beginning of the 20th century. This extended operational period, together with the construction of a dam next to the factory around 1960, resulted in the accumulation of large amounts of heavily polluted sediments in the adjacent riverbed, many of which are contaminated by mercury. Pollutants from Flix are carried downstream by the Ebro River to its delta. In order to assess the transfer of mercury to the complex river estuary ecosystem, we studied the ecology of the tern community living there as these birds segregate into a range of habitats. For this purpose, first we used stable isotope analysis (SIA) (δ³⁴S, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) of eggs to determine the trophic ecology and habitat partitioning of several tern species (Common, Sandwich, Little, Gull-Billed and Whiskered Tern) breeding sympatrically, in order to link their foraging ecology with habitat types. Next we measured mercury concentrations in eggs to monitor the input of this metal into the diverse habitats. With the exception of the Little Tern, the other terns used a restricted habitat range in the Ebro Delta, as shown by C and S isotopes; the Gull-Billed and Whiskered Tern foraged in freshwater habitats, while the Common and Sandwich Tern used marine habitats. This restricted feeding behavior of the Gull-Billed and Common Tern contrasts with previous reports in other breeding sites. The Little Tern, which showed a wide range of isotopic values, was found to be an opportunistic forager but fed mainly in saltpans, a feeding habitat not reported previously for this species in this area. We found that mercury concentrations are related to foraging habitat and diet, and are unexpectedly higher in species feeding on demersal prey in marine habitats and also higher in birds feeding in saltpans than in those feeding in freshwater habitats. The mercury concentrations found in the Little and Common Tern eggs sampled in “Punta de la Banya” may be sufficiently high to endanger breeding success.  相似文献   

Provenance analysis of the Paleozoic sequences of the northern Gondwana margin in NW Iberia: Passive margin to Variscan collision and orocline development     

Daniel Pastor-Galán  Gabriel Gutiérrez-Alonso  J. Brendan Murphy  Javier Fernández-Suárez  Mandy Hofmann  Ulf Linnemann 《Gondwana Research》2013,23(3):1089-1103

The Cantabrian Zone of NW Iberia preserves a voluminous, almost continuous, sedimentary sequence that ranges from Neoproterozoic to Early Permian in age. Its tectonic setting is controversial and recent hypotheses include (i) passive margin deposition along the northern margin of Gondwana or (ii) an active continental margin or (iii) a drifting ribbon continent. In this paper we present detrital zircon U–Pb laser ablation age data from 13 samples taken in detrital rocks from the Cantabrian Zone sequence ranging from Early Silurian to Early Permian in depositional age. The obtained results, together with previously published detrital zircon ages from Ediacaran–Ordovician strata, allow a comprehensive analysis of changing provenance through time. Collectively, these data indicate that this portion of Iberia was part of the passive margin of Gondwana at least from Ordovician to Late Devonian times. Zircon populations in all samples show strong similarities with the Sahara Craton and with zircons found in Libya, suggesting that NW Iberia occupied a paleoposition close to those regions of present-day northern Africa during this time interval. Changes in provenance in the Late Devonian are attributed to the onset of the collision between Gondwana and Laurussia.Additionally, the Middle Carboniferous to Permian samples record populations consistent with the recycling of older sedimentary sequences and exhumation of the igneous rocks formed before and during the Variscan orogeny. Late-Devonian to Permian samples yield zircon populations that reflect topographic changes produced during the Variscan orogeny and development of the lithospheric scale oroclinal buckling.  相似文献   

Patos Lagoon outflow within the Río de la Plata plume using an airborne salinity mapper: Observing an embedded plume     

Derek Burrage  Joel Wesson  Carlos Martinez  Tabare Pérez  Osmar Möller Jr.  Alberto Piola 《Continental Shelf Research》2008

Major river systems discharging into continental shelf waters frequently form buoyant coastal currents that propagate along the continental shelf in the direction of coastal trapped wave propagation (with the coast on the right/left, in the northern/southern hemisphere). The combined flow of the Uruguay and Paraná Rivers, which discharges freshwater into the Río de la Plata estuary (Lat. ∼36°S), often gives rise to a buoyant coastal current (the ‘Plata plume’) that extends northward along the continental shelf off Uruguay and Southern Brazil. Depending upon the prevailing rainfall, wind and tidal conditions, the Patos/Mirim Lagoon complex (Lat. ∼32°S) may also produce a freshwater outflow plume that expands across the inner continental shelf. Under these circumstances the Patos outflow plume can be embedded in temperature, salinity and current fields that are strongly influenced by the larger Plata plume. The purpose of this paper is to present observations of such an embedded plume structure and to determine the dynamical characteristics of the ambient and embedded plumes.  相似文献   

A comment on 'Late- to post-orogenic exhumation of the Central Pyrenees revealed through combined thermochronological data and modelling' by M. Gibson, H. D. Sinclair, G. J. Lynn and F. M. Stuart     

J. Babault  S. Bonnet  G. Ruiz  J. Van Den Driessche 《Basin Research》2009,21(1):139-141

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