Search results for "LIFE"

The Graham Bank (Sicily Channel, central Mediterranean Sea). Seafloor signatures of volcanic and tectonic controls

2018

Abstract Graham Bank is a dominant physiographic element of the NW Sicily Channel (central Mediterranean Sea), affected in the last 100 years by numerous well-documented volcanic eruptions. We present the first results of a geomorphological study where the Graham Bank region in the depth interval 7–350 m was mapped for the first time with multi-beam echosounder and high-resolution seismic and multi-channel seismic reflection profiles. We describe in high resolution the detailed geomorphological features of Graham Bank, and how the superficial expression of different process and dynamics occurring in the sub-seafloor evidence volcanic and tectonic controls on seafloor morphology across a rel…

Eustasy and sea water Sr composition: application to high-resolution Sr-isotope stratigraphy of Miocene shallow-water carbonates

2007

Oceanic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr-isotope ratios are strongly influenced by rates of silicate weathering and therefore linked not only to glaciation but also to sea-level change. The present study combines analysis of sequence stratigraphy and basin architecture with Sr-isotope stratigraphy in Miocene shallow-water sediments in southern Portugal and Crete (Greece). The common method is to use smoothed global sea water Sr-isotope reference curves but here a different approach is chosen. Instead, measured Sr-isotope curves are correlated with unsmoothed reference curves by identification of similar fluctuations in the order of several 100 kyr. Transgressive intervals are characterized by increasing Sr-iso…

2018

Abstract. The orientation and tectonic regime of the observed crustal/lithospheric stress field contribute to our knowledge of different deformation processes occurring within the Earth's crust and lithosphere. In this study, we analyze the influence of the thermal and density structure of the upper mantle on the lithospheric stress field and topography. We use a 3-D lithosphere–asthenosphere numerical model with power-law rheology, coupled to a spectral mantle flow code at 300 km depth. Our results are validated against the World Stress Map 2016 (WSM2016) and the observation-based residual topography. We derive the upper mantle thermal structure from either a heat flow model combined with …

Holocene land-cover reconstructions for studies on land cover-climate feedbacks

2010

The major objectives of this paper are: (1) to review the pros and cons of the scenarios of past anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC) developed during the last ten years, (2) to discuss issues related to pollen-based reconstruction of the past land-cover and introduce a new method, REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites), to infer long-term records of past land-cover from pollen data, (3) to present a new project (LANDCLIM: LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) currently underway, and show preliminary results of REVEALS reconstructions of the regional land-cover in the Czech Republic for five selected time windows of the Holocene…

Mid-Holocene tectonic geomorphology of northern Crete deduced from a coastal sedimentary archive near Rethymnon and a Late Bronze Age Santorini tsuna…

2019

Abstract The Late Bronze Age (LBA) tsunami and the A.D. 365 tsunami are supposed to have affected the northern coasts of Crete. However, near-coast sedimentary archives have been rarely investigated in this area, and sedimentary archives including palaeotsunami fingerprints are still unknown. The main objective of our research was to search for appropriate tsunami sediment traps in order to gain detailed insights into the Holocene palaeotsunami history of northern Crete. We found an excellent fine sediment archive near Pirgos, located to the west of Rethymnon. Based on a multi-electrode geoelectrical survey and an 11-m-deep sediment core, we analysed the event-geochronostratigraphical recor…

Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence I: Instrumental Considerations for Proximal Spectroradiometers

2019

Growing interest in the proximal sensing of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) has been boosted by space-based retrievals and up-coming missions such as the FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX). The European COST Action ES1309 “Innovative optical tools for proximal sensing of ecophysiological processes” (OPTIMISE, ES1309; https://optimise.dcs.aber.ac.uk/) has produced three manuscripts addressing the main current challenges in this field. This article provides a framework to model the impact of different instrument noise and bias on the retrieval of SIF; and to assess uncertainty requirements for the calibration and characterization of state-of-the-art SIF-oriented spectroradiom…

Submarine morphology of the Comoros volcanic archipelago

2021

co-auteur étranger; International audience; A detailed morpho-bathymetric study of the Comoros archipelago, based on mostly unpublished bathymetric data, provides a first glimpse into the submarine section of these islands. It offers a complete view of the distribution of volcanic structures around the archipelago, allowing to discuss the origin and evolution of this volcanism. Numerous volcanic cones and erosional-depositional features have been recognized throughout the archipelago. The magmatic supply is focused below one or several volcanoes for each island, but is also controlled by lithospheric fractures evidenced by volcanic ridges, oriented along the supposed Lwandle-Somali plate bo…

Using hydrological connectivity to detect transitions and degradation thresholds: Applications to dryland systems

2020

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, shortage of water can trigger changes in landscapes’ structures and function leading to degradation and desertification. Hydrological connectivity is a useful framework for understanding water redistribution and scaling issues associated with runoff and sediment production, since human and/or natural disturbances alter surface water availability and pathways increasing/decreasing connectivity. In this paper, we illustrate the use of the connectivity framework for several examples of dryland systems that are analysed at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. In doing so, we draw particular attention to the analysis of coevolution of system structures and …

Soil erosion processes in European vineyards: A qualitative comparison of rainfall simulation measurements in Germany, Spain and France

2016

Small portable rainfall simulators are considered a useful tool to analyze soil erosion processes in cultivated lands. European research groups in Spain (Valencia, Málaga, Lleida, Madrid and La Rioja), France (Reims) and Germany (Trier) have used different rainfall simulators (varying in drop size distribution and fall velocities, kinetic energy, plot forms and sizes, and field of application) to study soil loss, surface flow, runoff and infiltration coefficients in different experimental plots (Valencia, Montes de Málaga, Penedès, Campo Real and La Rioja in Spain, Champagne in France and Mosel-Ruwer valley in Germany). The measurements and experiments developed by these research teams give…

Global Groundwater-Vegetation Relations

2017

Groundwater is an integral component of the water cycle, and it also influences the carbon cycle by supplying moisture to ecosystems. However, the extent and determinants of groundwater-vegetation interactions are poorly understood at the global scale. Using several high-resolution data products, we show that the spatial patterns of ecosystem gross primary productivity and groundwater table depth are correlated during at least one season in more than two-thirds of the global vegetated area. Positive relationships, i.e., larger productivity under shallower groundwater table, predominate in moisture-limited dry to mesic conditions with herbaceous and shrub vegetation. Negative relationships, …