Crustal Deformation and Seismic History Associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake: A Perspective from the Andaman–Nicobar Islands

The Indian Ocean earthquake of 26 December 2004 led to significant ground deformation in the Andaman and Nicobar region, accounting for ~800 km of the rupture. Part of this article deals with coseismic changes along these islands, observable from coastal morphology, biological indicators, and Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Our studies indicate that the islands south of 10° N latitude coseismically subsided by 1–1.5 m, both on their eastern and western margins, whereas those to the north showed a mixed response. The western margin of the Middle Andaman emerged by >1 m, and the eastern margin submerged by the same amount. In the North Andaman, both western and eastern margins emerged by >1 m. We also assess the pattern of long-term deformation (uplift/subsidence) and attempt to reconstruct earthquake/tsunami history, with the available data. Geological evidence for past submergence includes dead mangrove vegetation dating to 740 ± 100 yr B.P., near Port Blair and peat layers at 2–4 m and 10–15 m depths observed in core samples from nearby locations. Preliminary paleoseismological/tsunami evidence from the Andaman and Nicobar region and from the east coast of India, suggest at least one predecessor for the 2004 earthquake 900–1000 years ago. The history of earthquakes, although incomplete at this stage, seems to imply that the 2004-type earthquakes are infrequent and follow variable intervals

Phylogeny of the Asian Eutropis (Squamata: Scincidae) reveals an `into India' endemic Indian radiation

Recent generic rearrangement of the circumtropical distributed skink genus `Mabuya' has raised a lot of debate. According to this molecular phylogeny based rearrangement, the tropical Asian members of this genus have been assigned to Eutropis. However, in these studies the Asian members of `Mabuya' were largely sampled from Southeast (SE) Asia with very few species from Indian subcontinent. To test the validity of this assignment and to determine the evolutionary origin of Indian members of this group we sequenced one nuclear and two mitochondrial genes from most of the species from the Indian subregion. The nuclear and mitochondrial trees generated from these sequences confirmed the monophyly of the tropical Asian Eutropis. Furthermore, in the tree based on the combined mitochondrial and nuclear dataset an endemic Indian radiation was revealed that was nested within a larger Asian clade. Results of dispersal-vicariance analysis and molecular dating suggested an initial dispersal of Eutropis from SE Asia into India around 5.5-17 million years ago, giving rise to the extant members of the endemic Indian radiation. This initial dispersal was followed by two back dispersals from India into SE Asia. We also discuss the relationships within the endemic Indian radiation and its taxonomic implications. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cryptic species and Miocene diversification of Palaearctic naked-toed geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in the Indian dry zone

We sampled Palaearctic naked-toed geckos from across their range in India and used two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes to reconstruct relationships within a global phylogeny. Published sequences of Peninsular Indian Hemidactylus allow us to contrast these two groups in dating analyses - providing insights into the history of the Indian dry zone. Palaearctic naked-toed geckos first moved onto the Indian Plate in the Oligocene, with higher-level diversification probably linked to collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates, and subsequent dispersal into-India and diversification with increasing Miocene aridity. An independent gekkonid radiation with species in the dry zone, Hemidactylus diversified during the same period in Peninsular India. Our results demonstrate that dry zone taxa across India may date back to at least the Miocene, with a potential historical climatic barrier between the Indus and Peninsular Indian Divisions. `Cyrtopodion' aravallense is revealed to be a complex with seven genetically and environmentally divergent lineages that began diversifying in the late Miocene, congruent with increased aridity in north-western India. This discovery of cryptic diversity in the Indian dry zone represents the first terrestrial vertebrate radiation from north-western central India and highlights how little we understand of the regions' biodiversity, emphasizing the need for systematic geographic sampling and multiline evidence to reveal true patterns of diversity. The ancestor of `Cyrtopodion' aravallense came into the nascent Indian dry zone in the Miocene and has since diversified, potentially in the absence of any sympatric scansorial rupicolous geckos. Cyrtopodion scabrum represents a unique case of commensalism and shows phylogeographic structure in its presumed native range. The taxonomic implications of our study include a number of undescribed species, recognition of `Cyrtopodion' as a distinct lineage and the non-monophyly of Altiphylax.

A phylogeny of the only ground-dwelling radiation of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae): diversification of Geckoella across peninsular India and Sri Lanka

The subgenus Geckoella, the only ground-dwelling radiation within Cyrtodactylus, closely overlaps in distribution with brookii group Hemidactylus in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Both groups have Oligocene origins, the latter with over thrice as many described species. The striking difference in species richness led us to believe that Geckoella diversity is underestimated, and we sampled for Geckoella across peninsular India. A multi-locus phylogeny reveals Geckoella diversity is hugely underestimated, with at least seven undescribed species, doubling previously known richness. Strikingly, the new species correspond to cryptic lineages within described Indian species (complexes); a number of these endemic lineages from the hills of peninsular India outside the Western Ghats, highlighting the undocumented diversity of the Indian dry zone. The Geckoella phylogeny demonstrates deep splits between the Indian species and Sri Lankan G. triedrus, and between Indian dry and wet zone clades, dating back to the late Oligocene. Geckoella and brookii group Hemidactylus show contrasting diversification patterns. Geckoella shows signals of niche conservatism and appears to have retained its ancestral forest habitat. The late Miocene burst in speciation in Geckoella may be linked to the expansion of rain forests during the mid-Miocene climatic optimum and subsequent fragmentation with increasing late Miocene aridification. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using long time series of agricultural-derived nitrates for estimating catchment transit times

The estimation of water and solute transit times in catchments is crucial for predicting the response of hydrosystems to external forcings (climatic or anthropogenic). The hydrogeochemical signatures of tracers (either natural or anthropogenic) in streams have been widely used to estimate transit times in catchments as they integrate the various processes at stake. However, most of these tracers are well suited for catchments with mean transit times lower than about 4-5 years. Since the second half of the 20th century, the intensification of agriculture led to a general increase of the nitrogen load in rivers. As nitrate is mainly transported by groundwater in agricultural catchments, this signal can be used to estimate transit times greater than several years, even if nitrate is not a conservative tracer. Conceptual hydrological models can be used to estimate catchment transit times provided their consistency is demonstrated, based on their ability to simulate the stream chemical signatures at various time scales and catchment internal processes such as N storage in groundwater. The objective of this study was to assess if a conceptual lumped model was able to simulate the observed patterns of nitrogen concentration, at various time scales, from seasonal to pluriannual and thus if it was relevant to estimate the nitrogen transit times in headwater catchments. A conceptual lumped model, representing shallow groundwater flow as two parallel linear stores with double porosity, and riparian processes by a constant nitrogen removal function, was applied on two paired agricultural catchments which belong to the Research Observatory ORE AgrHys. The Global Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) approach was used to estimate parameter values and uncertainties. The model performance was assessed on (i) its ability to simulate the contrasted patterns of stream flow and stream nitrate concentrations at seasonal and inter-annual time scales, (ii) its ability to simulate the patterns observed in groundwater at the same temporal scales, and (iii) the consistency of long-term simulations using the calibrated model and the general pattern of the nitrate concentration increase in the region since the beginning of the intensification of agriculture in the 1960s. The simulated nitrate transit times were found more sensitive to climate variability than to parameter uncertainty, and average values were found to be consistent with results from others studies in the same region involving modeling and groundwater dating. This study shows that a simple model can be used to simulate the main dynamics of nitrogen in an intensively polluted catchment and then be used to estimate the transit times of these pollutants in the system which is crucial to guide mitigation plans design and assessment. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Linking monazite geochronology with fluid infiltration and metamorphic histories: Nature and experiment

Migmatised metapelites from the Kodaikanal region, central Madurai Block, southern India have undergone ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism (950-1000 degrees C; 7-8 kbar). In-situ electron microprobe Th-U-Pb isochron (CHIME) dating of monazites in a leucosome and surrounding silica-saturated and silica-poor restites from the same outcrop indicates three principal ages that can be linked to the evolutionary history of these rocks. Monazite grains from the silica-saturated restite have well-defined, inherited cores with thick rims that yield an age of ca. 1684 Ma. This either dates the metamorphism of the original metapelite or is a detrital age of inherited monazite. Monazite grains from the silica-poor restite, thick rims from the silica-saturated restite, and monazite cores from the leucosome have ages ranging from 520 to 540 Ma suggesting a mean age of 530 Ma within the error bars. In the leucosome the altered rim of the monazite gives an age of ca. 502 Ma. Alteration takes the form of Th-depleted lobes of monazite with sharp curvilinear boundaries extending from the monazite grain rim into the core. We have replicated experimentally these altered rims in a monazite-leucosome experiment at 800 degrees C and 2 kbar. This experiment, coupled with earlier published monazite-fluid experiments involving high pH alkali-bearing fluids at high P-T, helps to confirm the idea that alkali-bearing fluids, in the melt and along grain boundaries during crystallization, were responsible for the formation of the altered monazite grain rims via the process of coupled dissolution-reprecipitation. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neoarchean arc magmatism followed by high-temperature, high-pressure metamorphism in the Nilgiri Block, southern India

The Nilgiri Block, southern India is an exhumed lower crust formed through arc magmatic processes in the Neoarchean. The main lithologies in this terrane include charnockites, gneisses, volcanic tuff, metasediments, banded iron formation and mafic-ultramafic bodies. Mafic-ultramafic rocks are present towards the northern and central part of the Nilgiri Block. We examine the evolution of these mafic granulites/metagabbros by phase diagram modeling and U-Pb sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) dating. They consist of a garnet-clinopyroxene-plagioclase-hornblende-ilmenite +/- orthopyroxene +/- rutile assemblage. Garnet and clinopyroxene form major constituents with labradorite and orthopyroxene as the main mineral inclusions. Labradorite, identified using Raman analysis, shows typical peaks at 508 cm(-1), 479 cm(-1), 287 cm(-1) and 177 cm(-1). It is stable along with orthopyroxene towards the low-pressure high-temperature region of the granulite fades (M1 stage). Subsequently, orthopyroxene reacted with plagioclase to form the peak garnet + clinopyroxene + rutile assemblage (M2 stage). The final stage is represented by amphibolite facies-hornblende and plagioclase-rim around the garnet-clinopyroxene assemblage (M3 stage). Phase diagram modeling shows that these mafic granulites followed an anticlockwise P-T-t path during their evolution. The initial high-temperature metamorphism (M1 stage) was at 850-900 degrees C and similar to 9 kbar followed by high-pressure granulite fades metamorphism (M2 stage) at 850-900 degrees C and 14-15 kbar. U-Pb isotope studies of zircons using SHRIMP revealed late Neoarchean to early paleoproterozoic ages of crystallization and metamorphism respectively. The age data shows that these mafic granulites have undergone arc magmatism at ca. 25392 +/- 3 Ma and high-temperature, high-pressure metamorphism at ca. 2458.9 +/- 8.6 Ma. Thus our results suggests a late Neoarchean arc magmatism followed by early paleoproterozoic high-temperature, high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism due to the crustal thickening and suturing of the Nilgiri Block onto the Dharwar Craton. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evolution of high-pressure mafic granulites and pelitic gneisses from NE Madagascar: Tectonic implications

The occurrence of high-pressure mafic-ultramafic bodies within major shear zones is one of the indicators of paleo-subduction. In mafic granulites of the Andriamena complex (north-eastern Madagascar) we document unusual textures including garnet-clinopyroxene-quartz coronas that formed after the breakdown of orthopyroxene-plagioclase-ilmenite. Textural evidence and isochemical phase diagram calculations in the Na2O-CaO-K2O-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O-TiO2 system indicate a pressure-temperature (P-T) evolution from an isothermal (780 degrees C) pressure up to c. 24 kbar to decompression and cooling. Such a P-T trajectory is typically attained in a subduction zone setting where a gabbroic/ultramafic complex is subducted and later exhumed to the present crustal level during oceanic closure and final continental collision. The present results suggest that the presence of such deeply subducted rocks of the Andriamena complex is related to formation of the Betsimisaraka suture. LA-ICPMS U-Pb zircon dating of pelitic gneisses from the Betsimisaraka suture yields low Th/U ratios and protolith ages ranging from 2535 to 2625 Ma. A granitic gneiss from the Alaotra complex yields a zircon crystallization age of ca. 818 Ma and Th/U ratios vary from 1.08 to 2.09. K-Ar dating of muscovite and biotite from biotite-kyanite-sillimanite gneiss and garnet-biotite gneiss yields age of 486 +/- 9 Ma and 459 +/- 9 Ma respectively. We have estimated regional crustal thicknesses in NE Madagascar using a flexural inversion technique, which indicates the presence of an anomalously thick crust (c. 43 km) beneath the Antananarivo block. This result is consistent with the present concept that subduction beneath the Antananarivo block resulted in a more competent and thicker crust. The textural data, thermodynamic model, and geophysical evidence together provide a new insight to the subduction history, crustal thickening and evolution of the high-pressure Andriamena complex and its link to the terminal formation of the Betsimisaraka suture in north-eastern Madagascar. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

El escrito autobiográfico de Fernando Álvarez de Albornoz y la guerra civil castellana (1366- 1371)

Resumen: En la segunda mitad del siglo XIV, Fernando Álvarez de Albornoz escribió un texto autobiográfi co en latín en la hoja de guarda de un códice del Decreto de Graciano. Parte de este texto es un relato de la guerra civil castellana (1366-1371), probablemente basado en la información que le llegó a Italia a través de cartas enviadas a él o a alguno de sus familiares. Así, puede ser estudiado como fuente primaria o como escrito historiográfi co. En este estudio el texto es transcrito, traducido y analizado. A partir de este análisis, se proponen una datación del texto, modelos para sus estructuras temática y narrativa, y algunas hipótesis sobre su naturaleza e intencionalidad.

Recently discovered Iron Age lion figurines from Jerusalem

Abstract: More than 500 Iron Age figurines were discovered in the 2005–2010 Western Wall Plaza excavations in Jerusalem.1 The excavations revealed a large building, probably of the four-room type. Many figurines were discovered in this building, others in fills below and above it, dating in general to the eighth-sixth centuries BCE. Here we focus on two heads most likely depicting lions, one of them exceptional—holding another animal in its mouth. We discuss the identification of these figurines as lions, the lion motif in a variety of media in the Southern Levant, and finally recent theories concerning lions in the Hebrew Bible and their relation to Yahweh. We suggest that the two Western Wall Plaza figurines represent lions as wild animals, in similarity to other figurines of wild animals made on occasion by Judean coroplasts.

The ecological basis of fishery yield of the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Insular Shelf: 1987 Assessment

A literature review was conducted to locate information on the flow of energy from primary producers to the fishery stocks of the Puerto Rican-Virgin Islands insular shelf. This report uses site-specific information to describe the major ecological subsystems, or habitats, of the region, to identify the more common species and the subsystems in which they occur, to quantify productivity and biomass, and to outline trophic relationships. Discussions on each topic and subsystem vary in substance and detail, being limited by the availability and accessibility of information. (PDF contains 189 pages) Seven distinct subsystems are described: mangrove estuary, seagrass bed, coral reef, algal plain, sand/mud bottom, shelf break, and overlying pelagic. Over 50 tables provide lists of species found in each habitat on various surveys dating back to 1956. Estimates of density, relative abundance, and productivity are provided when possible. We evaluated whether sufficient information exists to support an analysis of the energy basis of fishery production in the area, beginning with the design and development of an ecosystem model. Data needs in three categories - species lists, biomass, and trophic relations - were examined for each subsystem and for each of three species groups - primary producers, invertebrates, and fish. We concluded that adequate data, sufficient for modeling purposes, are available in 16 (25%) of 64 categories; limited data, those requiring greater extrapolation, are available in 35 (55%) categories; and no data are available in 13 (20%) categories. The best-studied subsystems are seagrass beds and coral reefs, with at least limited data in all categories. Invertebrates, the intermediate link in the food web between primary producers and fishes, are the least quantified group in the region. Primary production and fishes, however, are relatively well-studied, providing sufficient data to support an ecosystem-level analysis and to initiate a modeling effort.

Avances analíticos en la datación forense de tintas y documentos

380 p. : il., gráf.

The political econmoy of state government debt : an analysis of constitutional limitations (1961-1990)

Over the past decade, scholarly interest concerning the use of limitations to constrain government spending and taxing has noticeably increased. The call for constitutional restrictions can be credited, in part, to Washington's apparent inability to legislate any significant reductions in government expenditures or in the size of the national debt. At the present time, the federal government is far from instituting any constitutional limitations on spending or borrowing; however, the states have incorporated many controls on revenues and expenditures, the oldest being strictures on full faith and credit borrowing. This dissertations examines the efficacy of these restrictions on borrowing across the states (excluding Alaska) for the period dating from 1961 to 1990 and also studies the limitations on taxing and spending synonymous with the Tax Revolt.

We include socio-economic information in our calculations to control for factors other than the institutional variables that affect state borrowing levels. Our results show that certain constitutional restrictions (in particular, the referendum requirement and the dollar debt limit) are more effective than others. The apparent ineffectiveness of other limitations, such as the flexible debt limit, seem related to the bindingness of the limitations in at least half of the cases. Other variables, such as crime rates, number of schoolage children, and state personal income do affect the levels of full faith and credit debt, but not as strongly as the limitations. While some degree of circumvention can be detected (the amount of full faith and credit debt does inversely affect the levels of nonguaranteed debt), it is so small when compared to the effectiveness of the constitutional restrictions that it is almost negligible. The examination of the tax revolt era limitations yielded quite similar conclusions, with the additional fact that constitutional restrictions appear more binding than statutory ones. Our research demonstrates that constitutional limitations on borrowing can be applied effectively to constrain excessive borrowing, but caution must be used. The efficacy of these restrictions decrease dramatically as the number of loopholes increase.

Municipalismo e política urbana: a Influência da União na Política Urbana Municipal

A política urbana, em seus vetores de regulação, serviços públicos e fomento, é o conjunto de princípios, diretrizes e ações que orientam a atividade econômica de urbanização, podendo determinar condutas à iniciativa privada através da função social da propriedade. Por afetar diretamente a vida das pessoas e a conformação da propriedade nas cidades, a política urbana é, por essência, municipal. A tradição da força municipalista no Brasil, que data do período imperial, ainda que em alguns momentos sufocada, manejou tornar os Municípios entes federados, assegurando- lhes, na Constituição de 1988, autonomia e atribuições, como a execução da política urbana traçada em diretrizes gerais por leis nacionais. As diretrizes nacionais para a política urbana, elaboradas em processo participativo, deveria pautar as ações da União, Estados e Municípios no tocante aos três mencionados vetores. No entanto, notando-se a quase total ausência dos Estados, verifica-se que a União, após a Constituição de 1988, rompeu com a própria ideologia de planejamento construída com a criação do Ministério das Cidades pelo Governo Lula e, atropelando o tempo de formação das diretrizes nacionais da política urbana, lançou programas de fomento a moradias e saneamento básico, cuja execução deve ser organizada pelos Municípios, que são tecnicamente frágeis e carentes de recursos para implementar a própria política urbana. Este recorte temático permite estudar a atuação mais recente da União em política urbana que, mesmo pretendendo dar conta de mazelas históricas do país, não destoa muito do período centralizador de formulação da política urbana do Regime Militar. Em Municipalismo e Política Urbana, analisa-se a influência da União na Política Urbana Municipal.

Applications of a nuclear technique for depth-sensitive hydrogen analysis : trapped H in lunar samples and the hydration of terrestrial obsidian

The resonant nuclear reaction ¹⁹F(p,αy)¹⁶O has been used to perform depth-sensitive analyses for both fluorine and hydrogen in solid samples. The resonance at 0.83 MeV (center-of-mass) in this reaction has been applied to the measurement of the distribution of trapped solar protons in lunar samples to depths of ~1/2µm. These results are interpreted in terms of a redistribution of the implanted H which has been influenced by heavy radiation damage in the surface region. Fluorine determinations have been performed in a 1-µm surface layer on lunar and meteoritic samples using the same ¹⁹F(p,αy)¹⁶O resonance. The measurement of H depth distributions has also been used to study the hydration of terrestrial obsidian, a phenomenon of considerable archaeological interest as a means of dating obsidian artifacts. Additional applications of this type of technique are also discussed.