A spring and wooded habitat at FLK Zinj and their relevance to origins of human behavior     

Gail M. Ashley  Doris Barboni  Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo  Henry T. Bunn  Audax Z.P. Mabulla  Fernando Diez-Martin  Rebeca Barba  Enrique Baquedano 《Quaternary Research》2010,74(3):304-314

The 1959 discovery of the hominin fossil Zinjanthropus boisei brought the world's attention to the rich records at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Subsequent excavations of archaeological level 22 (FLK Zinj) Bed I uncovered remains of Homo habilis and a high-density collection of fossils and Oldowan stone tools. The occurrence of this unusual collection of bones and tools at this specific location has been controversial for decades. We present paleoecological data that provide new insights into the origin of FLK Zinj. Our recent excavations 200 m north of the site uncovered a 0.5-m-thick tufa mound draped by Tuff IC, in the same stratigraphic horizon as level 22. Stable isotope analyses indicate that the carbonates were deposited by a freshwater spring. Phytolith analysis of the waxy clay under Tuff IC revealed abundant woody dicotyledon and palm phytoliths, indicating that the site was wooded to densely wooded. The time equivalency and close physical proximity of the two environments indicate the two are related. This study has provided the first documented evidence of springs in Bed I and these data have important implications for the interpretation of hominin behavior in meat acquisition and the ongoing debate on scavenging versus hunting.  相似文献   

Ostracods as tsunami tracers in Holocene sequences     

Francisco Ruiz  Manuel Abad  Joaquín Rodríguez Vidal  Manuel Pozo 《Quaternary Research》2010,73(1):130-239

This review analyses the ostracod record in Holocene tsunami deposits, using an overview of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami impact on its recent populations and the associated tsunamigenic deposits, together with results from numerous investigations of other Holocene sequences. Different features such as the variability of the local assemblages, population density, species diversity, age population structure (e.g., percentages of adults and juvenile stages) or taphonomical signatures suggest that these microorganisms may be included amongst the most promising tracers of these high-energy events in marshes, lakes, lagoons or shallow marine areas.  相似文献   

Relating soil erosion and sediment yield to geomorphic features and erosion processes at the catchment scale in the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees   总被引：2，自引：2，他引：0  

Manuel López-Vicente  Ana Navas 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2010,61(1):143-158

Erosion and sediment redistribution are important processes in landscape changes in the short and long term. In this study, the RMMF model of soil erosion and the SEDD model of sediment delivery were used to estimate annual soil loss and sediment yield in an ungauged catchment of the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees and results were interpreted in the context of the geomorphic features. The Estaña Catchment is divided into 15 endorheic sub-catchments and there are 17 dolines. Gullies and slopes were the main erosive geomorphic elements, whereas the colluvial, alluvial, valley floor, and doline deposits were depositional elements. Spatially distributed maps of gross soil erosion, sediment delivery ratio (SDR), and sediment yield (SY) were generated in a GIS. Severe erosion rates (>100 Mg ha^?1 year^?1) were found in gullies, whereas mean and maximum erosion rates were very high on slopes developed on Keüper Facies and high in soils on Muschelkalk Facies. Where crops are grown, the depositional-type geoforms were predicted by the models to have an erosive dynamic. Those results were consistent with the rates of erosion quantified by ¹³⁷Cs which reflects the significant role of human activities in triggering soil erosion. Catchment area was positively correlated with erosion rate, but negatively correlated with SDR and SY. The latter were negatively correlated with the proportion of the surface catchment covered with forests and scrublands. The topography of the area influenced the high SDR and SY in the dolines and valley floors near the sinks. Intra-basin stored sediment was 59.2% of the total annual eroded soil in the catchment. The combination of the RMMF and SEDD models was an appropriate means of assessing the effects of land uses on soil erosion and obtaining a better understanding of the processes that underlie the geomorphic changes occurring in mountainous environments of the Mediterranean region.  相似文献   

Tectono‐sedimentary evolution of the ‘Numidian Formation’ and Lateral Facies (southern branch of the western Tethys): constraints for central‐western Mediterranean geodynamics     

Francesco Guerrera  Agustín Martín‐Algarra  Manuel Martín‐Martín 《地学学报》2012,24(1):34-41

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A special perturbation method in orbital dynamics     

Jesús Peláez  José Manuel Hedo  Pedro Rodríguez de Andrés 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》2007,97(2):131-150

The special perturbation method considered in this paper combines simplicity of computer implementation, speed and precision, and can propagate the orbit of any material particle. The paper describes the evolution of some orbital elements based in Euler parameters, which are constants in the unperturbed problem, but which evolve in the time scale imposed by the perturbation. The variation of parameters technique is used to develop expressions for the derivatives of seven elements for the general case, which includes any type of perturbation. These basic differential equations are slightly modified by introducing one additional equation for the time, reaching a total order of eight. The method was developed in the Grupo de Dinámica de Tethers (GDT) of the UPM, as a tool for dynamic simulations of tethers. However, it can be used in any other field and with any kind of orbit and perturbation. It is free of singularities related to small inclination and/or eccentricity. The use of Euler parameters makes it robust. The perturbation forces are handled in a very simple way: the method requires their components in the orbital frame or in an inertial frame. A comparison with other schemes is performed in the paper to show the good performance of the method.  相似文献   

Tidal and wind-induced circulation within the Southeastern limit of the Bay of Biscay: Pasaia Bay,Basque Coast     

Almudena Fontán  Manuel González  Neil Wells  Michael Collins  Julien Mader  Luis Ferrer  Ganix Esnaola  Adolfo Uriarte 《Continental Shelf Research》2009,29(8):998-1007

The Basque coastal area, in the southeastern Bay of Biscay, can be characterised as being more influenced by land climate and inputs, than other typically ‘open sea’ areas. The influence of coastal processes, together with the presence of irregular and steep topography, complicate greatly the water circulation patterns. Water movement along the Basque coastal area is not well understood; observations are scarce and long-term current records are lacking. The knowledge available is confined to the surface currents: the surface water circulation is controlled mainly by wind forcing, with tidal and density currents being weak. However, there is a lack of knowledge available on currents within the lower levels of the water column; likewise, on the main time-scales involved in the water circulation. This study quantifies the contribution of the tidal and wind-induced currents, to the overall water circulation; it identifies the main time-scales involved within the tidal and wind-induced flows, investigating difference in such currents, throughout the water column, within Pasaia Bay (Basque coast). Within this context, extensive oceanographic and meteorological data have been obtained, in order to describe the circulation. The present investigation reveals that the circulation, within the surface and the sub-surface waters, is controlled mainly by wind forcing fluctuations, over a wide range of meteorological frequencies: third-diurnal, semidiurnal and diurnal land–sea breezes; synoptic variability; frequencies, near fortnightly periods; and seasonal. At the lower levels of the water column, the main contribution to the water circulation arises from residual currents, followed by wind-induced currents on synoptic time-scales. In contrast, tidal currents contribute minimally to the overall circulation throughout the water column.  相似文献   

Tellurium in rocks     

R.D. Beaty  O.K. Manuel 《Chemical Geology》1973,12(2):155-159

Twenty different rocks have been analyzed for tellurium by atomic absorption. The average tellurium content of 12 igneous rocks is 82 p.p.b., with a range, 3.4 p.p.b. ≥ Te = 210 p.p.b. In ultrabasic rocks, the tellurium content is ? 10 p.p.b. Of the rocks analyzed, carbonates showed the highest Te content, 1–2 p.p.m., and the tellurium concentrations in 6 sedimentary rocks decrease in the following order: carbonates > shales > sandstones.  相似文献   

Isotopically anomalous noble gases in carbonaceous chondrites     

O.K. Manuel 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》1979,43(1):177

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Noble gases in CO₂ well gas,Harding County,New Mexico     

E.W. Hennecke  O.K. Manuel 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1975,27(2):346-355

The abundance and isotopic composition of noble gases were determined in samples of CO₂ well gas from Harding County, New Mexico. Our results confirm the presence of radiogenic¹²⁹Xe and fissiogenic^131–136Xe. Relative to noble gases in air, the CO₂ gas is selectively depleted in the lighter weight, nonradiogenic noble gases, except at neon. It is suggested that loss of atmospheric neon into space could account for an apparent excess of neon in juvenile gases.  相似文献   

Plate kinematics, origin and tectonic emplacement of supra-subduction ophiolites in SE Asia   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Manuel Pubellier  Christophe Monnier  Ren Maury  R. Tamayo 《Tectonophysics》2004,392(1-4):9

A unique feature of the Circum Pacific orogenic belts is the occurrence of ophiolitic bodies of various sizes, most of which display petrological and geochemical characteristics typical of supra-subduction zone oceanic crust. In SE Asia, a majority of the ophiolites appear to have originated at convergent margins, and specifically in backarc or island arc settings, which evolved either along the edge of the Sunda (Eurasia) and Australian cratons, or within the Philippine Sea Plate. These ophiolites were later accreted to continental margins during the Tertiary. Because of fast relative plate velocities, tectonic regimes at the active margins of these three plates also changed rapidly. Strain partitioning associated with oblique convergence caused arc-trench systems to move further away from the locus of their accretion. We distinguish “relatively autochthonous ophiolites” resulting from the shortening of marginal basins such as the present-day South China Sea or the Coral Sea, and “highly displaced ophiolites” developed in oblique convergent margins, where they were dismantled, transported and locally severely sheared during final docking. In peri-cratonic mobile belts (i.e. the Philippine Mobile Belt) we find a series of oceanic basins which have been slightly deformed and uplifted. Varying lithologies and geochemical compositions of tectonic units in these basins, as well as their age discrepancies, suggest important displacements along major wrench faults.We have used plate tectonic reconstructions to restore the former backarc basins and island arcs characterized by known petro-geochemical data to their original location and their former tectonic settings. Some of the ophiolites occurring in front of the Sunda plate represent supra-subduction zone basins formed along the Australian Craton margin during the Mesozoic. The Philippine Sea Basin, the Huatung basin south of Taiwan, and composite ophiolitic basements of the Philippines and Halmahera may represent remnants of such marginal basins. The portion of the Philippine Sea Plate carrying the Taiwan–Philippine arc and its composite ophiolitic/continental crustal basement might have actually originated in a different setting, closer to that of the Papua New Guinea Ophiolite, and then have been displaced rapidly as a result of shearing associated with fast oblique convergence.  相似文献