The interplay between tectonics, sediment dynamics and gateways evolution in the Danube system from the Pannonian Basin to the western Black Sea

Understanding the natural evolution of a river–delta–sea system is important to develop a strong scientific basis for efficient integrated management plans. The distribution of sediment fluxes is linked with the natural connection between sediment source areas situated in uplifting mountain chains and deposition in plains, deltas and, ultimately, in the capturing oceans and seas. The Danube River–western Black Sea is one of the most active European systems in terms of sediment re-distribution that poses significant societal challenges. We aim to derive the tectonic and sedimentological background of human-induced changes in this system and discuss their interplay. This is obtained by analysing the tectonic and associated vertical movements, the evolution of relevant basins and the key events affecting sediment routing and deposition. The analysis of the main source and sink areas is focused in particular on the Miocene evolution of the Carpatho-Balkanides, Dinarides and their sedimentary basins including the western Black Sea. The vertical movements of mountains chains created the main moments of basin connectivity observed in the Danube system. Their timing and effects are observed in sediments deposited in the vicinity of gateways, such as the transition between the Pannonian/Transylvanian and Dacian basins and between the Dacian Basin and western Black Sea. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding threshold conditions driving rapid basins connectivity changes superposed over the longer time scale of tectonic-induced vertical movements associated with background erosion and sedimentation. The spatial and temporal scale of such processes is contrastingly different and challenging. The long-term patterns interact with recent or anthropogenic induced modifications in the natural system and may result in rapid changes at threshold conditions that can be quantified and predicted. Their understanding is critical because of frequent occurrence during orogenic evolution, as commonly observed in the Mediterranean area and discussed elsewhere.

Tectono-metamorphic evolution of a nappe stack: A case study of the Swiss Alps

Fold-and-thrust belts are prominent structures that occur at the front of compressional orogens. To unravel the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of such complexes, kinematic investigations, quantitative microstructural analysis and geothermometry (calcite–graphite, calcite–dolomite) were performed on carbonate mylonites from thrust faults of the Helvetic nappe stack in Central Switzerland. Paleo-isotherms of peak temperature conditions and cooling stages (fission track) of the nappe pile were reconstructed in a vertical section and linked with the microstructural and kinematic evolution. Mylonitic microstructures suggest that under metamorphic conditions close to peak temperature, strain was highly localized within thrust faults where deformation temperatures spatially continuously increased in both directions, from N to S within each nappe and from top–down in the nappe stack, covering a temperature range of 180–380 °C. Due to the higher metamorphic conditions, thrusting of the lowermost nappe, the Doldenhorn nappe, was accompanied by a much more pronounced nappe internal ductile deformation of carbonaceous rock types than was the case for the overlying Wildhorn- and Gellihorn nappes. Ongoing thrusting brought the Doldenhorn nappe closer to the surface. The associated cooling resulted in a freezing in of the paleo-isotherms of peak metamorphic conditions. Contemporaneous shearing localized in the basal thrust, initially still in the ductile deformation regime and finally as brittle faulting and cataclasis inducing ultimately an inverse metamorphic zonation. With ongoing exhumation and the formation of the Helvetic antiformal nappe stack, a bending of large-scale tectonic structures (thrusts, folds), peak temperature isotherms and cooling isotherms occurred. While this local bending can directly be attributed to active deformation underneath the section investigated up to times of 2–3 ma, a more homogeneous uplift of the entire region is suggested for the very late and still active exhumation stage.

Modelagem eletroquímica e do distúrbio ácido-básico em atletas de karatê participantes do campeonato mundial WKO 2014

The objective of this study was to analyze the electrochemical and acid-base disorders in high performance athletes during the World Karate Championship hosted by the WKO (World Karate Organization) in 2014. In this study 19 male athletes were analyzed (age 34 ± 8), black belts and with over 5 years of experience in the sport. Capillary blood samples from the digital pulp of the finger were collected in three stages: rest, 5 minutes after and 10 minutes after fighting (kumite). The sample was analyzed using blood gas analyzer GEM Premier 3000, using the parameters pH, Na+, K+, Ca2+, lactate e HCO3−. The values related to acid-base disturbance presented statistical differences (p <0.05) in most of the collected moments. The lactate levels found were 2.77 ± 0.97mmol / L in rest, 6.57 ± 2.1 for 5 minutes after and 4.06 ± 1.55 for 10 minutes after combat. The samples collected for the electrolytic markers showed no statistical differences in their values (p <0.05). Through the data collected, we conjecture that the sport can be characterized as a high-intensity exercise and with a predominance of the glycolytic system. The analysis of acid-base disturbance is an efficient method to assist in the control of training loads.

Tectonic expression of an active slab tear from high-resolution seismic and bathymetric data offshore Sicily (Ionian Sea)

Subduction of a narrow slab of oceanic lithosphere beneath a tightly curved orogenic arc requires the presence of at least one lithospheric scale tear fault. While the Calabrian subduction beneath southern Italy is considered to be the type example of this geodynamic setting, the geometry, kinematics and surface expression of the associated lateral, slab tear fault offshore eastern Sicily remain controversial. Results from a new marine geophysical survey conducted in the Ionian Sea, using high-resolution bathymetry and seismic profiling reveal active faulting at the seafloor within a 140 km long, two-branched fault system near Alfeo Seamount. The previously unidentified 60 km long NW trending North Alfeo Fault system shows primarily strike-slip kinematics as indicated by the morphology and steep-dipping transpressional and transtensional faults. Available earthquake focal mechanisms indicate dextral strike-slip motion along this fault segment. The 80 km long SSE trending South Alfeo fault system is expressed by one or two steeply dipping normal faults, bounding the western side of a 500+ m thick, 5 km wide, elongate, syntectonic Plio-Quaternary sedimentary basin. Both branches of the fault system are mechanically capable of generating magnitude 6-7 earthquakes like those that struck eastern Sicily in 1169, 1542, and 1693.

O banco de sementes do solo: uma ferramenta para a avaliação do estado de conservação dos charcos temporários mediterrânicos

Os Charcos temporários mediterrânicos (3170*) são habitats prioritários devido à enorme biodiversidade que albergam e ao grau de ameaça sob o qual que se encontram. A singularidade deste habitat resulta da coexistência de diferentes comunidades de plantas no mesmo espaço mas em períodos de tempo diferentes, o que é viabilizado pela existência de bancos de sementes abundantes e diversificados. A avaliação da composição específica e abundância do banco de sementes do solo permitiu determinar a distribuição espacial das sementes e o potencial de recuperação dos charcos. Com esta avaliação concluiu-se que existe uma maior riqueza específica nas cinturas externa e média dos charcos do que na cintura interna. Concluiu-se também que o conhecimento do banco de sementes dos charcos pode contribuir para a definição de estratégias de gestão/recuperação dos charcos, nomeadamente daqueles que possuem grau de conservação intermédio, funcionando como um valioso instrumento de gestão; The soil seed bank - a tool for assessing the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds Abstract: Mediterranean temporary ponds (3170*) are priority habitats due to the huge biodiversity they shelter and because they are menaced. The uniqueness of this habitat results from the coexistence of different plant communities in the same space at different time periods, what is allowed by the existence of abundant and diversified soil seed banks. The assessment of the specific composition and abundance of soil seed bank, made possible to ascertain the spatial distribution of seeds within ponds and their recovery potential. This assessment showed that there is more specific richness in intermediate and outer belts of ponds than in the inner belt. It also showed how valuable can this information be regarding the design of management or recovery strategies for ponds, particularly for those with intermediate degree of conservation.

Development of new analytical procedures of isotope geochemistry by mass spectrometry. Application to the study of high-pressure metamorphic rocks from the Iberian Massif

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Contribuição de uma seção gravimétrica transversal ao estudo da estruturação litosférica na porção setentrional da Província Borborema, NE do Brasil

Este trabalho apresenta um modelo gravimétrico 2,5D gerado a partir de 315 novas estações gravimétricas levantadas ao longo de uma seção transversal NW-SE com 750 km de extensão na porção setentrional da Província Borborema, NE do Brasil. A modelagem gravimétrica foi aplicada separadamente nas componentes regional e residual do campo gravitacional. A modelagem 2,5D das anomalias regionais revelou que a profundidade da interface crosta-manto varia de 28 a 32 km, considerando uma densidade média de 2,8 g/cm3 para a crosta continental e de 3,3 g/cm3 para o manto litosférico. As anomalias residuais de alta frequência foram interpretadas a partir do contraste de densidade da crosta superior, com uma espessura não superior a 10 km, e uma ampla associação litológica, com densidades variando de 2,55 a 2,9 g/cm3. A configuração geotectônica litosférica atual da Província Borborema é claramente resultado da ruptura dos continentes Sul-Americano e Africano no Mesozoico, na qual boa parte dos vestígios das estruturas tectônicas de grandes profundidades formadas durante a orogênese Brasiliana/Pan-Africana foi mascarada pelo último episódio tectônico responsável pela fragmentação do Gondwana Ocidental. _______________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

A proveniência dos sedimentos e cinzas vulcânicas dos sedimentos permianos da bacia do Paraná : implicações para a história geológica do sul-sudoeste de Gondwana

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Geociências, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geologia, 2016.

Incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar neighbourhood

Context. Debris discs are a consequence of the planet formation process and constitute the fingerprints of planetesimal systems. Their counterparts in the solar system are the asteroid and Edgeworth-Kuiper belts. Aims. The aim of this paper is to provide robust numbers for the incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar neighbourhood. Methods. The full sample of 177 FGK stars with d ≤ 20 pc proposed for the DUst around NEarby Stars (DUNES) survey is presented. Herschel/PACS observations at 100 and 160 μm were obtained, and were complemented in some cases with data at 70 μm and at 250, 350, and 500 μm SPIRE photometry. The 123 objects observed by the DUNES collaboration were presented in a previous paper. The remaining 54 stars, shared with the Disc Emission via a Bias-free Reconnaissance in IR and Sub-mm (DEBRIS) consortium and observed by them, and the combined full sample are studied in this paper. The incidence of debris discs per spectral type is analysed and put into context together with other parameters of the sample, like metallicity, rotation and activity, and age. Results. The subsample of 105 stars with d ≤ 15 pc containing 23 F, 33 G, and 49 K stars is complete for F stars, almost complete for G stars, and contains a substantial number of K stars from which we draw solid conclusions on objects of this spectral type. The incidence rates of debris discs per spectral type are 0.26^+0.21_-0.14 (6 objects with excesses out of 23 F stars), 0.21^+0.17_-0.11 (7 out of 33 G stars), and 0.20^+0.14_-0.09 (10 out of 49 K stars); the fraction for all three spectral types together is 0.22^+0.08_-0.07 (23 out of 105 stars). The uncertainties correspond to a 95% confidence level. The medians of the upper limits of L_dust/L_∗ for each spectral type are 7.8 × 10^-7 (F), 1.4 × 10^-6 (G), and 2.2 × 10^-6 (K); the lowest values are around 4.0 × 10^-7. The incidence of debris discs is similar for active (young) and inactive (old) stars. The fractional luminosity tends to drop with increasing age, as expected from collisional erosion of the debris belts.

Captain Buckle Up and the highway super heroes

This coloring book depicts Captain Buckle Up teaching children why its important to use seat belts properly. It also shows how car seats for children are important.

Tectonic evolution of Variscan Iberia: Gondwana–Laurussia

An integrated interpretation of the late Paleozoic structural and geochronological record of the Iberian Massif is presented and discussed under the perspective of a Gondwana-Laurussia collision giving way to the Variscan orogen. Compressional and extensional structures developed during the building of the Variscan orogenic crust of Iberia are linked together into major tectonic events operating at lithosphere scale. A review of the tectonometamorphic and magmatic evolution of the IberianMassif reveals backs and forths in the overall conver- gence between Gondwana and Laurussia during theamalgamation of Pangea in late Paleozoic times. Stages dom- inated by lithosphere compression are characterized by subduction, both oceanic and continental, development of magmatic arcs, (over- and under-) thrusting of continental lithosphere, and folding. Variscan convergence re- sulted in the eventual transference of a large allochthonous set of peri-Gondwanan terranes, the Iberian Allochthon, onto the Gondwana mainland. The Iberian Allochthon bears the imprint of previous interaction be- tween Gondwana and Laurussia, including their juxtaposition after the closure of the Rheic Ocean in Lower De- vonian times. Stages governed by lithosphere extension are featured by the opening of two short-lived oceanic basins that dissected previous Variscan orogenic crust, first in the Lower-Middle Devonian, following the closure of the Rheic Ocean, and then in the early Carboniferous, following the emplacement of the peri-Gondwanan allochthon. An additional, major intra-orogenic extensional event in the early-middle Carboniferous dismem- bered the Iberian Allochthon into individual thrust stacks separated by extensional faults and domes. Lateral tec- tonics played an important role through the Variscan orogenesis, especially during the creation of new tectonic blocks separated by intracontinental strike-slip shear zones in the late stages of continental convergence.