Cytogenetics of Anodonta cygnea (Mollusca: Bivalvia) as possible indicator of environmental adversity     

J. Carrilho  A. Leitão  C. Vicente  I. Malheiro 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2008

Anodonta cygnea is a freshwater clam, belonging to the Unionidae family, which can be found in rivers and lagoons all over Europe and Northern America. As they appear as important case studies for ecological damage assessments, the various species of the Unionidae family have been submitted to a sort of recent studies on their chromosomal or cytogenetic status. In this study we confirmed the diploid chromosome number of 2n = 38 for this species, and established for the first time the karyotype, which comprised six metacentric, 12 submetacentric and one subtelocentric chromosome pairs. We also found a high percentage of cells with an abnormal number of chromosomes. Considering that karyotype disturbances in Unionids have been previously related with exposure to chemicals, either natural or produced by human activity, we determined the aneuploidy index for our population. The aneuploidy index is an excellent marker for pollutant presence/effect. The animals acclimatized in tap water and in natural water from the lake where the individuals were collected showed different levels of aneuploidy. The higher values were found in tap water. Chromosome analysis techniques seem a suitable tool to study the impact of contaminants referred above, and making A. cygnea a suitable organism for assessment of an eugenic damage in aquatic systems. On the other hand, our results also point out to the importance of doing the acclimatizing process of the collected animals in their own natural water.  相似文献   

A multisource scheme based on NWP and MSG data to correct non-precipitating weather radar echoes     

Adolfo Vicente Magaldi  Joan Bech  Jerónimo Lorente 《Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics》2009,105(3-4):121-132

Weather radar quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE) are one of the usual tools to monitor rainfall intensity remotely by forecasters on duty or by automatic systems such as hydrological models. Derivation of radar QPE requires a set of robust quality control procedures to address a number of different factors. In particular, significant departures from the standard temperature and moisture atmospheric vertical profiles may increase dramatically the refraction of the radar beam. This anomalous propagation (AP or anaprop) of the microwave radar energy may therefore increase the number of spurious echoes due to ground clutter and contribute, with non-realistic rainfall, to the estimated precipitation field. Based on previous experience of geostationary satellite imagery usage to depict cloud-free areas in precipitation analysis systems, a methodology to incorporate Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) observations and NWP data in the quality control of weather radar QPE was implemented considering two different algorithms. They were validated with two different verification data sets, built with manually edited radar data and rain gauge observations using HKS, PC and FAR scores. The evaluation of the scores was performed for weak (<15 dBZ), stronger and all echoes and for day, night and day and night conditions. One of the methods dealing with weak echoes at night improved PC from 80 to 97% and decreased FAR from 0.32 to 0.19. The results obtained indicate that the technique shows potential for operational application complementing other existing methodologies designed to improve the quality of weather radar precipitation estimates.  相似文献   

European continuous active tectonic strain–stress map     

A.J. Olaiz  A. Muoz-Martín  G. De Vicente  R. Vegas  S. Cloetingh 《Tectonophysics》2009,474(1-2):33

This paper shows a new continuous strain–stress map for Europe obtained from the direct inversion of earthquake focal mechanisms calculated from the centroid tensor method. A total of 1608 focal mechanisms have been selected with several quality criteria from different catalogues (CMT Harvard, ETH, Med-Net, I.G.N. and I.A.G.) from 1973 to the present day. Values for the maximum horizontal shortening direction and brittle strain–stress regime defined by the k′ ratio (e_y/e_z, horizontal maximum/vertical strain) have been calculated following in Europe and Pannonian Basin the slip model of tri-axial deformation. The individual results including Dey and the shape of the active brittle strain ellipsoid have been interpolated to a final 15′ regular grid taking into account the relationship between the tectonic horizontal strain–stress value and the vertical load. Both continuous strain regime and maximum horizontal shortening (Dey) maps show a good correlation with the primary tectonic forces generated along the plate boundaries, plate kinematics and also some local perturbations related with main crustal heterogeneities and topography, as well as significant spatial variations in integrated crustal strength.  相似文献   

Oblique strain partitioning and transpression on an inverted rift: The Castilian Branch of the Iberian Chain     

G. De Vicente  R. Vegas  A. Muoz-Martín  J.D. Van Wees  A. Casas-Sinz  A. Sopea  Y. Snchez-Moya  A. Arche  J. Lpez-Gmez  A. Olaiz  J. Fernndez-Lozano 《Tectonophysics》2009,470(3-4):224-242

The Iberian Chain is a wide intraplate deformation zone formed by the tectonic inversion during the Pyrenean orogeny of a Permian–Mesozoic basin developed in the eastern part of the Iberian Massif. The N–S convergence between Iberia and Eurasia from the Late Cretaceous to the Lower Miocene times produced significant intraplate deformation. The NW–SE oriented Castilian Branch of the Iberian Chain can be considered as a “key zone” where the proposed models for the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Iberian Chain can be tested. Structural style of basin inversion suggests mainly strike–slip displacements along previous NW–SE normal faults, developed mostly during the Mesozoic. To confirm this hypothesis, structural and basin evolution analysis, macrostructural Bouguer gravity anomaly analysis, detailed mapping and paleostress inversions have been used to prove the important role of strike slip deformation. In addition, we demonstrate that two main folding trends almost perpendicular (NE–SW to E–W and NW–SE) were simultaneously active in a wide transpressive zone. The two fold trends were generated by different mechanical behaviour, including buckling and bending under constrictive strain conditions. We propose that strain partitioning occurred with oblique compression and transpression during the Cenozoic.  相似文献   

Photoautotrophic community changes in Lagunillo del Tejo (Spain) in response to lake level fluctuation: Two centuries of sedimentary pigment records     

Lidia Romero-Viana  Brendan J. Keely  Antonio Camacho  Eduardo Vicente  M. Rosa Miracle 《Organic Geochemistry》2009,40(3):376-386

Lagunillo del Tejo is a small doline lake in a karstic region of the Iberian Ranges (central-eastern Spain) that undergoes significant lake level fluctuation in response to changing aquifer influxes. In order to assess changes in the primary producer community in the lake over the last two centuries and to elucidate whether these were conditioned by climatic variability, photosynthetic pigments and their derivatives were extracted from the sediments and the data analysed using multivariate statistical techniques. Quantitative variations in total pigment concentrations through the sedimentary sequence are considered a result of changes in sedimentation rate, largely due to lake level fluctuation. Rapid lowering of the level results in an increase in detritic mineral matter eroded from the sides of the lake, which accumulates in the sediment and dilutes the organic matter content in the corresponding sediment layers. On the other hand, shifts in the relative abundances of the different pigments suggest the development of two different primary producer communities: (i) planktonic, comprising cyanobacteria, chlorophytes, cryptophytes and purple sulfur bacteria and (ii) primary producers related to the littoral environment, mostly submerged macrophytes. These two communities showed alternating relative importance over the last two centuries, as a biotic response to lake level fluctuation during wet and dry periods, respectively.  相似文献   

An experimental investigation of antigorite dehydration in natural silica-enriched serpentinite   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

José Alberto Padrón-Navarta  Jörg Hermann  Carlos J. Garrido  Vicente López Sánchez-Vizcaíno  María Teresa Gómez-Pugnaire 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》2010,159(1):25-42

Piston cylinder experiments were performed to constrain the pressure and temperature conditions for two high-pressure antigorite dehydration reactions found in silica-enriched serpentinites from Cerro del Almirez (Nevado–Filábride Complex, Betic Cordillera, southern Spain). At 630–660°C and pressures greater than 1.6 GPa, antigorite first reacts with talc to form orthopyroxene ± chlorite + fluid. We show that orthopyroxene + antigorite is restricted to high-pressure metamorphism of silica-enriched serpentinite. This uncommon assemblage is helpful in constraining metamorphic conditions in cold subduction environments, where antigorite serpentinites have no diagnostic assemblages over a large pressure and temperature range. The second dehydration reaction leads to the breakdown of antigorite to olivine + orthopyroxene + chlorite + fluid. The maximum stability of antigorite is found at 680°C at 1.9 GPa, which also corresponds to the maximum pressure limit for tremolite coexisting with olivine + orthopyroxene. The high aluminium (3.70 wt% Al₂O₃) and chromium contents (0.59 wt% Cr₂O₃) of antigorite in the investigated starting material is responsible for the expansion of the serpentinite stability to 60–70°C higher temperatures at 1.8 GPa than the antigorite stability calculated in the Al-free system. The antigorite from our study has the highest Al–Cr contents among all experimental studies and therefore likely constraints the maximum stability of antigorite in natural systems. Comparison of experimental results with olivine–orthopyroxene–chlorite–tremolite assemblages outcropping in Cerro del Almirez indicates that peak metamorphic conditions were 680–710°C and 1.6–1.9 GPa.  相似文献   

Chemical variations and significance of phosphates from the Fregeneda-Almendra pegmatite field, Central Iberian Zone (Spain and Portugal)     

Encarnación Roda-Robles  Romeu Vieira  Alfonso Pesquera  Alexandre Lima 《Mineralogy and Petrology》2010,100(1-2):23-34

Granitic pegmatites are widespread within a schist-metagreywacke complex in the Fregeneda-Almendra area (Central Iberian Zone). They intrude pre-Ordovician metasedimentary rocks and show a zonal distribution relative to the Meda-Penedono-Lumbrales granitic complex, from barren bodies to those enriched in Li, F, Sn, Nb>Ta, P and Be. Based on mineralogical criteria, these pegmatites are classified into three main categories: barren, intermediate and rare-element pegmatites, with each type including various subtypes. Phosphates are present in many pegmatites that usually occur as fine-grained accessory minerals. The most complex association of such minerals includes numerous Fe–Mn phosphates that occur in intermediate pegmatites. Al-phosphates are characteristic of Li-rich pegmatites. Electron microprobe analyses of representative phosphates reflect compositional differences depending on the pegmatite type. The Fe/(Fe+Mn) ratio of phosphates tends to decrease as the evolution degree of the pegmatites increases.  相似文献   

Eruptive response of oceanic islands to giant landslides: New insights from the geomorphologic evolution of the Teide-Pico Viejo volcanic complex (Tenerife, Canary)     

Thomas Boulesteix  Anthony Hildenbrand  Pierre-Yves Gillot  Vicente Soler 《Geomorphology》2012,138(1):61-73

Large sector collapses are a major component of oceanic islands evolution. Here we show that voluminous events such as the Icod landslide on Tenerife (Canary Islands) cause dramatic changes on the magma feeding system and control the subsequent volcanic and geomorphologic evolution of the eruptive complex over a period of more than 150 kyr. Instantaneous unloading by the Icod landslide is marked by the development of a large phonolitic explosive eruption dated at 175 ± 3 ka and interpreted as reflecting the immediate emptying of a shallow pre-existing magma chamber. Geochronological, geomorphological and geochemical analyses, carried out on the post-landslide volcanic succession sampled in a 4.4 km-long underground water-recovery gallery, provide further evidence for an enhanced extrusion of primitive lavas starting in the 10 kyr time interval following the failure. Rapid construction (< 40 kyr) of a thick basaltic volcano in the landslide scar at high eruptive rates (up to 8 km³ kyr⁻¹) increased the lithostatic pressure which then favored the intermittent storage of basic magma under the edifice. This resulted in more episodic construction evidenced by a significant decrease in output rates and the increasing occurrence of lavas with intermediate composition from 117 ± 7 to 52 ± 7 ka. An apparent volcanic gap is observed between 52 ± 7 and 18 ± 1 ka, after which highly differentiated lavas have been dominantly erupted. We propose that part of the gap can be explained by the individualization of a shallow magma reservoir a few kilometers below the base of the Teide volcano. During recent periods, vertical and lateral extrusions of trachytic and phonolitic viscous bodies from this storage area contributed to increase the slope of the main edifice up to 35°, overall favoring its present-day instability.  相似文献   

Megafan formation driven by explosive volcanism and active tectonic processes in a humid tropical environment          下载免费PDF全文

Jorge P. Galve  Guillermo E. Alvarado  José Vicente Pérez‐Peña  Mauricio M. Mora  Guillermo Booth‐Rea  José Miguel Azañón 《地学学报》2016,28(6):427-433

Quaternary volcanism in the Central Cordillera of Costa Rica has created an orographic barrier that concentrates rainfall on its northern side. This humid climate produces weathered bedrock prone to landsliding. Ash fall from explosive eruptions kills the vegetation cover and intensifies erosion processes. These eruptions, hydrothermal activity and associated earthquakes destabilize the slopes of river valleys, and even the volcanic edifices, producing landslides and large debris avalanches. All these processes mobilize an extra sediment input that is deposited in the piedmont lowlands forming the Santa Clara megafan. The megafans described in the literature mainly grow according to climatic fluctuations; however, sedimentation in the Santa Clara megafan is also controlled by endogenic processes with longer recurrence periods. Analysis of this megafan provides new insight into the origin and evolution of these landforms. In volcanic regions, active volcanism should be considered when investigating the formation of some megafans.  相似文献   

Effects of non-carbonaceous meteoritic extracts on the germination, growth and chlorophyll content of edible plants     

Vicente Marcano  Paula Matheus  Nelson Falcon 《Planetary and Space Science》2005,53(12):1263-1279

We have conducted an investigation on the effects that the extracts of a non-carbonaceous meteorite could have on the germination and growth of plants and the ability of non-carbonaceous meteoritic resource to serve as nutrient source for young plants of edible types. Selected plants were two dicotyledons (Lycopersicon esculentum and Daucus carota) and one monocotyledon (Zea mays). Solution cultures were developed using seeds, seedlings and seed-embryos. Meteoritic powder was obtained from the Vigirima mesosiderite, which was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Results showed that extracts having variable concentrations of meteoritic matter favored an earlier germination in some plant species but the increase of the concentrations produced a decreased germination. However, total germination rate was higher in the presence of meteoritic extracts than in the presence of controls in the all species. A high metabolic yield in the protein synthesis was seen in dicotyledons utilizing Type-A and B extracts having concentrations of 4.16-8.33×10³ mg l⁻¹. Phaeophytinization index and chlorophyll a/b ratio, suggesting a negative effect of the heavy metals or acidic ions over the photosynthetic activity when extracts having high meteoritic concentrations were utilized. However, a higher chlorophyll (a) production in comparison to that of chlorophyll (b) was seen in extracts (Type-A and -B) with low concentrations of meteoritic matter. On the other hand, Z. mays seed-embryos growing in extracts (Type-D) having 3.53×10⁴ mg l⁻¹ of meteoritic matter showed a protein production (9.81×10⁻² mg protein mg wet wt⁻¹) higher than that observed in seed-embryos coming from extracts having lower concentrations. However, in Murashige medium, the seed-embryos exhibited a enhanced growth and a relatively higher protein production (10.3×10⁻² mg protein mg wet wt.⁻¹). Further, chlorophyll (a+b) synthesis was higher in Murashige medium than in meteoritic extracts but chlorophyll a/b ratio was <1 in all extracts and controls. Our results suggest the usefulness of the non-carbonaceous meteoritic resource as a complementary soil component or fertilizers for culture of edible plants in space settlements and mainly for the production of young plants due to the positive metabolic effects on the chlorophyll synthesis, mitochondrial metabolism and cellular division caused by PO₄³⁻, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions. Earlier germination responses obtained in the present experiments demonstrated the possibility to utilize germination chambers in space having wet substrates containing meteoritic-powder solutions to obtain a higher number of seedlings in a minimum degree of time. These results also reveal the biological potential of this non-carbonaceous meteoritic matter for the growth of organisms in the early Earth, Mars, and probably in other planetary bodies beyond our Solar system.  相似文献