Un conjunto de estructuras de combustión en la H.88/21 del poblado protohistórico del Alto de la Cruz (Cortes, Navarra)

La secuencia cronoestratigráfica del poblado de la Primera Edad del Hierro del Alto de la Cruz (Cortes de Navarra) constituye un punto de referencia básico para la estructuración del poblamiento en el valle medio del Ebro. Se analiza el tipo constructivo de la fase más antigua del mismo y, en especial, un conjunto de estructuras de combustión documentadas en la H.88/21.

Consumption of macrophytes by invertebrates in Tancada lagoon (NE Spain)

Gammarus aequicauda and Sphaeroma hookeri are the most abundant macroinvertebrates on Ruppia cirrhosa (1275 and 1290 individuals.m-2) and Potamogeton pectinatus (140 and 680 individuals. m-2) in Tancada lagoon, a Mediterranean coastal lagoon in the Ebro Delta (NE Spain). Consumption and assimilation efficiencies were calculated from bell jar experiments. Gammarus grazing effects are higher than Sphaeroma on both Ruppia cirrhosa and Potamogeton pectinatus. Green Ruppia leaves lost 0.3 mg per mg Gammarus per day, while Potamogeton leaves lost 0.2 mg per mg Gammarus per day. Decomposing Ruppia leaves lost 0.35-0.54 mg per mg Gammarus per day. Losses of weight by both Ruppia and Potamogeton due to Sphaeroma feeding were less than half those by Gammarus. Assimilation efficiencies are higher for Gammarus (44-78% feeding on Ruppia 2% feeding on Potamogeton) than for Sphaeroma (26-48%) feeding on Ruppia). These assimilation efficiencies were higher than those reported by other authors working at higher latitudes perhaps because of the higher temperature under which the experiments were carried out.

Temporal variation of the biomass and structure of Caulerpa prolifera (Forsskal) Lamouroux meadows in the Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain).

The temporal changes in the structure, biomass and C, N and P content of meadows of Caulerpa prolifera (Forsskal) Lamouroux in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (SE Spain) are described over the period from November 1986 to March 1989. C. prolifera meadows showed a unimodal pattern of vegetative development with maximum biomass values (168-173 g d.w. m-2) reached in summer and maintained during autumn, and minimum biomass values (0-57 g d.w. m-2) during late winter and early spring. Leaf area index values changed between 0.37-0.40 m2 m-2 in January-February and 2.60-7.06 m2 m-2 in July. The seasonality in the biomass and structure of the meadow was mainly related to the vegetative development of the secondary fronds. Carbon and phosphorus content of the thallus (32.5-34.8% d.w. and 0.065-0.069% d.w., respectively) had no seasonality, but nitrogen content showed a bimodal annual pattern with higher values in spring and fall (>2.5% d.w.) than in summer and winter (<2.5% d.w.).

Pieces of Iowa’s Past, March 13, 2013

Pieces of Iowa’s Past, published by the Iowa State Capitol Tour Guides weekly during the legislative session, features historical facts about Iowa, the Capitol, and the early workings of state government. All historical publications are reproduced here with the actual spelling, punctuation, and grammar retained. THIS WEEK: Judge Reuben Noble Praises the Iowa State Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition BACKGROUND: REUBEN NOBLE REUBEN NOBLE was born on the 14th of April, 1821, in Ada County, Mississippi, where his father was a farmer. When he was eighteen years of age, Noble began to study law and was admitted to the bar at twenty-one. In 1843, he came to Iowa, making his home at Garnavillo, in Clayton County. In 1854, Noble was elected to the legislature as a free soil Whig and upon the organization of the House was chosen Speaker, serving in the regular session of 1854 and extraordinary session of 1855. At the first Republican State Convention of 1856, he was placed at the head of the ticket for presidential elector. Four years later, he was a delegate to the National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. Up to the time of the attempt of the Republicans to remove President Johnson by impeachment, Noble had been a prominent leader of that party. But approving of the policies of the President, he left the Republicans and from that time became a Democrat. In 1866, Noble was nominated by the Democrats for Representative in Congress but was defeated by William B. Allison. In 1886, he was one of the organizers of the Pioneer Lawmakers’ Association and was its first president, never missing a session during the remainder of his life. Noble was the leader of the bar of northeastern Iowa beginning in 1850. As a compliment to his high standing and eminent qualifications as a jurist, the citizens of the Tenth Judicial District elected him to tthe office of district judge in the fall of 1874. (History of Iowa from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/Volume 4)

The Upper Oligocene of Montgat (Catalan Coastal Ranges, Spain): new age constraints to the western Mediterranean Basin opening

The Oligocene deposits of Montgat are integrated in a small outcrop made up of Cenozoic and Mesozoic rocks located in the Garraf-Montnegre horst, close to the major Barcelona fault. The Oligocene of Montgat consists of detrital sediments of continental origin mainly deposited in alluvial fan environments; these deposits are folded and affected by thrusts and strike-slip faults. They can be divided in two lithostratigraphic units separated by a minor southwest-directed thrust: (i) the Turó de Montgat Unit composed of litharenites and lithorudites with high contents of quartz, feldspar, plutonic and limestone rock fragments; and (ii) the Pla de la Concòrdia Unit composed of calcilitharenites and calcilithorudites with high contents of dolosparite and dolomicrite rock fragments. The petrological composition of both units indicates that sediments were derived from the erosion of Triassic (Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk and Keuper facies), Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous rocks (Barremian to Aptian in age). Stratigraphic and petrological data suggest that these units correspond to two coalescent alluvial fans with a source area located northwestwards in the adjoining Collserola and Montnegre inner areas. Micromammal fossils (Archaeomys sp.) found in a mudstone layer of the Pla de la Concòrdia Unit assign a Chattian age (Late Oligocene) to the studied materials. Thus, the Montgat deposits are the youngest dated deposits affected by the contractional deformation that led to the development of the Catalan Intraplate Chain. Taking into account that the oldest syn-rift deposits in the Catalan Coastal Ranges are Aquitanian in age, this allows to precise that the change from a compressive to an extensional regime in this area took place during latest Oligocene-earliest Aquitanian times. This age indicates that the onset of crustal extension related to the opening of the western Mediterranean Basin started in southern France during latest Eocene-early Oligocene and propagated southwestward, affecting the Catalan Coastal Ranges and the northeastern part of the Valencia trough during the latest Chattian-earliest Aquitanian times.

Rockfall monitoring by Terrestrial Laser Scanning ¿ case study of the basaltic rock face at Castellfollit de la Roca (Catalonia, Spain)

This case study deals with a rock face monitoring in urban areas using a Terrestrial Laser Scanner. The pilot study area is an almost vertical, fifty meter high cliff, on top of which the village of Castellfollit de la Roca is located. Rockfall activity is currently causing a retreat of the rock face, which may endanger the houses located at its edge. TLS datasets consist of high density 3-D point clouds acquired from five stations, nine times in a time span of 22 months (from March 2006 to January 2008). The change detection, i.e. rockfalls, was performed through a sequential comparison of datasets. Two types of mass movement were detected in the monitoring period: (a) detachment of single basaltic columns, with magnitudes below 1.5 m3 and (b) detachment of groups of columns, with magnitudes of 1.5 to 150 m3. Furthermore, the historical record revealed (c) the occurrence of slab failures with magnitudes higher than 150 m3. Displacements of a likely slab failure were measured, suggesting an apparent stationary stage. Even failures are clearly episodic, our results, together with the study of the historical record, enabled us to estimate a mean detachment of material from 46 to 91.5 m3 year¿1. The application of TLS considerably improved our understanding of rockfall phenomena in the study area.

Origin of a restraining bend in an evolving strike-slip system: The Cenozoic As Pontes basin (NW Spain)

The As Pontes basin (12 km2), NW Iberian Peninsula, is bounded by a double restraining bend of a dextral strike-slip fault, which is related to the western onshore end of the Pyrenean belt. Surface and subsurface data obtained from intensive coal exploration and mining in the basin since the 1960s together with additional structural and stratigraphic sequence analysis allowed us to determine the geometric relationships between tectonic structures and stratigraphic markers. The small size of the basin and the large amount of quality data make the As Pontes basin a unique natural laboratory for improving our understanding of the origin and evolution of restraining bends. The double restraining bend is the end stage of the structural evolution of a compressive underlapping stepover, where the basin was formed. During the first stage (stepover stage), which began ca. 30 Ma ago (latest Rupelian) and lasted 3.4 My, two small isolated basins bounded by thrusts and normal faults were formed. For 1.3 My, the strike-slip faults, which defined the stepover, grew towards each other until joining and forming the double restraining bend, which bounds one large As Pontes basin (transition stage). The history of the basin was controlled by the activity of the double restraining bend for a further 3.4 My (restraining bend stage) and ended in mid-Aquitanian times (ca. 22 Ma).

Correlation between species composition and soil properties in the pastures of Plana de Vic (Catalonia, Spain)

The correlation between the species composition of pasture communities and soil properties in Plana de Vic has been studied using two multivariate methods, Correspondence Analysis (CA) for the vegetation data and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the soil data. To analyse the pastures, we took 144 vegetation relevés (comprising 201 species) that have been classified into 10 phytocoenological communities elsewhere. Most of these communities are almost entirely built up by perennials, ranging from xerophilous, clearly Mediterranean, to mesophilous, related to medium-European pastures, but a few occurring in shallow soils are dominated by therophytes. As for the soil properties, we analysed texture, pH, depth, bulk density, organic matter, C/N ratio and the carbonates content of 25 samples, correspondingto representative relevés of the communities studied.

Migration Flows and Quality of Life in a Metropolitan Area: the Case of Barcelona-Spain

The phenomenon of human migration is certainly not new and it has been studied from a variety of perspectives. Yet, the attention on human migration and its determinant has not been fading over time as confirmed by recent contributions (see for instance Cushing and Poot 2004 and Rebhun and Raveh 2006). In this paper we combine the recent theoretical contributions by Douglas (1997) and Wall (2001) with the methodological advancements of Guimarães et al. (2000, 2003) to model inter-municipal migration flows in the Barcelona area. In order to do that, we employ two different types of count models, i.e. the Poisson and negative binomial and compare the estimations obtained. Our results show that, even after controlling for the traditional migration factors, QoL (measured with a Composite Index which includes numerous aspects and also using a list of individual variables) is an important determinant of short distance migration movements in the Barcelona area.

Human capital spillovers, productivity and regional convergence in Spain

This paper analyses the differential impact of human capital, in terms of different levels of schooling, on regional productivity and convergence. The potential existence of geographical spillovers of human capital is also considered by applying spatial panel data techniques. The empirical analysis of Spanish provinces between 1980 and 2007 confirms the positive impact of human capital on regional productivity and convergence, but reveals no evidence of any positive geographical spillovers of human capital. In fact, in some specifications the spatial lag presented by tertiary studies has a negative effect on the variables under consideration.

Marine and transitional Middle/Upper Eocenen units of the Southeastern Pyrenean Foreland Basin (NE Spain)

The stratigraphic basis of this work has allowed the use of larger foraminifers in the biostratigraphic characterisation of the new Shallow Benthic Zones (SBZ). This part of the volume presents a description of the sedimentary cycles formed by the transgressive-regressive systems of the Lutetian and Bartonian in the southeastern sector of the Ebro Foreland Basin. Concerning the Lutetian deposits studied in the Amer-Vic and Empordà areas, four sedimentary cycles have been characterised. The first and second are found within the Tavertet/Girona Limestone Formation (Reguant, 1967; Pallí, 1972), while the third and fourth cycles cover the Coll de Malla Marl Formation (Clavell et al., 1970), the Bracons Formation (Gich, 1969, 1972), the Banyoles Marl Formation (Almela and Ríos, 1943), and the Bellmunt Formation (Gich, 1969, 1972). In the Bartonian deposits studied in the Igualada area, two transgressive-regressive sedimentary cycles have been characterised in the Collbàs Formation (Ferrer, 1971), the Igualada Formation (Ferrer, 1971), and the Tossa Formation (Ferrer, 1971). The Shallow Benthic Zones (SBZs) recognised within the Lutetian are the following: SBZ 13, from the Early Lutetian, in the transgressive system of the first cycle; SBZ 14, from the Middle Lutetian, in the second cycle and the lower part of the transgressive system of the third cycle; SBZ 15, from the Middle Lutetian, in the remaining parts of the third system; SBZ 16, from the Late Lutetian, throughout the fourth cycle. The association of larger foraminifers in the first and second cycles of the Bartonian in the Igualada area has been used as the basis for the definition of SBZs 17 and 18 recognised in the Bartonian of the western Tethys.

An inventory of the marine and transitional Middle/Upper Eocene deposits of the Southeastern Pyrenean Foreland Basin (NE Spain)

In the southeastern Ebro Foreland Basin, the marine deposits of Lutetian and Bartonian age show excellent outcrop conditions, with a great lateral and horizontal continuity of lithostratigraphic units. In addition, the rich fossil record -mainly larger foraminifers-, provides biostratigraphic data of regional relevance for the whole Paleogene Pyrenean Basin, that can be used for the Middle Eocene biocorrelation of the western Tethys. This contribution is a sedimentary and biostratigraphic synthesis of the basic outcrops and sections of the Lutetian andBartonian marine and transitional deposits in the southeastern sector of the Ebro Foreland Basin.

Geochemical exploration in the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain)

A five year program of systematic multi-element geochemical exploration of the Catalonian Coastal Ranges has been initiated by the Geological Survey of Autonomic Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya) and the Department of Geological and Geophysical Exploration (University of Barcelona). This paper reports the first stage results of this regional survey, covering an area of 530 km2 in the Montseny Mountains, NE of Barcelona (Spain). Stream sediments for metals and stream waters for fluoride were chosen because of the regional characteristics. Four target areas for future tactic survey were recognized after the prospect. The most important is a 40 km* zone in the Canoves-Vilamajor area, with high base metal values accompanied by Cd, Ni, Co, As and Sb anomalies. Keywords: Catalanides. Geochemical exploration. Stream sediments. Base metal anomalies. Principal Component Analysis.