Search results for "Planet"
showing 10 items of 5662 documents
Recycling and transport of continental material through the mantle wedge above subduction zones: A Caribbean example
2016
Abstract Estimates of global growth rates of continental crust critically depend upon knowledge of the rate at which crustal material is delivered back into the mantle at subduction zones and is then returned to the crust as a component of mantle-derived magma. Quantification of crustal recycling by subduction-related magmatism relies on indirect chemical and isotopic tracers and is hindered by the large range of potential melt sources (e.g., subducted oceanic crust and overlying chemical and clastic sediment, sub-arc lithospheric mantle, arc crust), whose composition may not be accurately known. There is also uncertainty about how crustal material is transferred from subducted lithosphere …
Volcanic-gas monitoring
2015
The environmental impact of volcanoes is closely related to the rates, style and chemistry of their gas emissions (Delmelle, 2003). Monitoring the composition and mass flux of volcanic gases is therefore central to understanding how volcanism impacts our planet, on both global and local scales. There are two main modes of volcanic-gas release on Earth (Chapter 14): (i) the impulsive emission of large quantities of gases during episodic, large-scale volcanic eruptions, and (ii) the far more sluggish, but persistent, passive gas release from quiescent or mildly erupting volcanoes. Characterising the chemical composition of impulsive emissions has remained a challenge, and direct measurements …
The assessment of volcanic gas hazard by means of numerical models: An example from Vulcano Island (Sicily)
1999
Volcanic activity can inject large quantities of gases and aerosols into the atmosphere both during and between eruptions, creating a health risk for the local population. The paper describes how the volcanic gas concentration in the air can be computed by a flow model simulating the wind field over a digital terrain model of the volcano coupled with a Lagrangian particle model that uses the known (measured) gas emission rates to simulate gas dispersion. The coupling provides hazard maps for a number of meteorological conditions, introduced as boundary and initial conditions to the wind flow model, and permits the estimation of the risk both for actual and increased emission rates. An appli…
Presence of cave bears in western Austria before the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum: new radiocarbon dates and palaeoclimatic considerations
2014
Tischoferhohle and Pendling-Barenhohle near Kufstein, Tyrol, are among the only locations where remains of cave bear, Ursus spelaeus-group, were found in the western part of Austria. One sample from each site was radiocarbon-dated four decades ago to ca. 28 14C ka BP. Here we report that attempts to date additional samples from Pendling-Barenhohle have failed due to the lack of collagen, casting doubts on the validity of the original measurement. We also unsuccessfully tried to date flowstone clasts embedded in the bone-bearing sediment to provide maximum constraints on the age of this sediment. Ten cave bear bones from Tischoferhohle showing good collagen preservation were radiocarbon-date…
A lake fortress, a floating chronology, and an atmospheric anomaly: the surprising results of a radiocarbon wiggle-match from Āraiši, Latvia
2014
Abstract An Iron Age timber settlement which, in view of the defensive structures uncovered, is described as a lake fortress, on an island in Lake Āraiši, north-eastern Latvia, was excavated in 1965–69 and 1975–79 by teams led by Jānis Apals, who distinguished five construction phases. Dendrochronological analysis produced a c. 100-year floating chronology for Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) timbers from the earliest phase. A 14C wiggle-match was undertaken to obtain an absolute date range for the final year of the floating chronology, and thus for the construction of the settlement. Ten blocks of wood from one timber, each comprising 6-11 years and collectively spanning the whole 9…
Real-time simultaneous detection of volcanic Hg and SO2at La Fossa Crater, Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Sicily)
2007
Measuring Hg/SO2 ratios in volcanic emissions is essential for better apportioning the volcanic contribution to the global Hg atmospheric cycle. Here, we report the first real-time simultaneous measurement of Hg and SO2 in a volcanic plume, based on Lumex and MultiGAS techniques, respectively. We demonstrate that the use of these novel techniques allows the measurements of Hg/SO2 ratios with a far better time resolution than possible with more conventional methods. The Hg/SO2 ratio in the plume of FO fumarole on La Fossa Crater, Vulcano Island spanned an order of magnitude over a 30 minute monitoring period, but was on average in qualitative agreement with the Hg/SO2 ratio directly measured…
A comprehensive approach to the 3D geological modelling of sedimentary basins: example of Latvia, the central part of the Baltic Basin
2015
This paper presents a semi-automatic approach adapted to the modelling of the geological structure of sedimentary basins. The modelling approach is based on developing the algorithm of the main geological processes so that the geometrical relationship is automatically defined between model elements. The algorithm is based on the assumption that sedimentary basins are formed as a result of the repeated sequence of sedimentation, faulting and erosion. This approach allows of successful modelling of the geological structure of the sedimentary basins with limited data coverage: stratigraphic intervals from well logs describing the thicknesses of sedimentary strata and a limited amount of struct…
Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of a basin generated by transpression: the case of the Early Pliocene Lascari Basin (northern Sicily)
2011
Integrated stratigraphy and structural analysis carried out in the Madonie Mts. (Northern Sicily) is aimed to the description of a syn-sedimentary tectonic event, recorded in a small infra-pliocene basin restricted to the Lascari Syncline core. The onset and evolution of the basin was driven by transpressive tectonics, generating a lens-shaped, deep and narrow tectonic depression, bounded by steep and high, tectonically controlled slopes, also reflected in the present-day topography of the area. During the genesis of the basin, the tectonic control interferes with a dramatic sea level oscillation during the Messinian-Early Pliocene time interval. In this paper, the syn-tectonic deposits of …
Millennial-scale climate variability during the last 12.5 ka recorded in a Caribbean speleothem
2013
Abstract We present a speleothem stable oxygen isotope record for the last 12.5 ka based on two stalagmites from western Cuba. The δ18O signal is interpreted to represent past precipitation variability. Both stalagmites show a pronounced transition from higher δ18O values (indicating drier conditions) to more negative δ18O values (suggesting wetter conditions) between 10 and 6 ka. This transition is also visible in a planktonic δ18O record off Haiti. On orbital timescales, the δ18O value of Caribbean precipitation, thus, strongly resembles the oxygen isotope composition of Caribbean surface water. On millenial timescales, the speleothem δ18O record shows a high correlation to a North Atlant…
Ice age at the Middle–Late Jurassic transition?
2003
A detailed record of sea surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere based on migration of marine invertebrate fauna (ammonites) and isotopic thermometry (δ18O values of shark tooth enamel) indicates a severe cooling at the Middle–Late Jurassic transition (MLJT), about 160 Ma ago. The magnitude of refrigeration (1–3°C for lower middle latitudes) and its coincidence in time with an abrupt global-scale fall of sea level documented through sequence stratigraphy are both suggestive of continental ice formation at this time. Ice sheets may have developed over the high-latitude mountainous regions of Far-East Russia. The drastic cooling just post-dated the Middle–Late Callovian widespread dep…