Fault zone architecture of a major oblique-slip fault in the Rawil depression, Western Helvetic nappes, Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Gasser, D.; Mancktelow, N. S.

2009-04-01

The Helvetic nappes in the Swiss Alps form a classic fold-and-thrust belt related to overall NNW-directed transport. In western Switzerland, the plunge of nappe fold axes and the regional distribution of units define a broad depression, the Rawil depression, between the culminations of Aiguilles Rouge massif to the SW and Aar massif to the NE. A compilation of data from the literature establishes that, in addition to thrusts related to nappe stacking, the Rawil depression is cross-cut by four sets of brittle faults: (1) SW-NE striking normal faults that strike parallel to the regional fold axis trend, (2) NW-SE striking normal faults and joints that strike perpendicular to the regional fold axis trend, and (3) WNW-ESE striking normal plus dextral oblique-slip faults as well as (4) WSW-ENE striking normal plus dextral oblique-slip faults that both strike oblique to the regional fold axis trend. We studied in detail a beautifully exposed fault from set 3, the Rezli fault zone (RFZ) in the central Wildhorn nappe. The RFZ is a shallow to moderately-dipping (ca. 30-60˚) fault zone with an oblique-slip displacement vector, combining both dextral and normal components. It must have formed in approximately this orientation, because the local orientation of fold axes corresponds to the regional one, as does the generally vertical orientation of extensional joints and veins associated with the regional fault set 2. The fault zone crosscuts four different lithologies: limestone, intercalated marl and limestone, marl and sandstone, and it has a maximum horizontal dextral offset component of ~300 m and a maximum vertical normal offset component of ~200 m. Its internal architecture strongly depends on the lithology in which it developed. In the limestone, it consists of veins, stylolites, cataclasites and cemented gouge, in the intercalated marls and limestones of anastomosing shear zones, brittle fractures, veins and folds, in the marls of anastomosing shear zones, pressure

Epigondolella abneptis and E. spatulata in the Lower Norian in the central Kamnik Alps, Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Ramovš

1994-12-01

Full Text Available Epigondolella abneptis (Huckriede, 1958 and E. spatulata (Hayashi, 1968from the Lower Norian (Upper Triassic deeper marine micritic limestones with chert nodules and lenses in the locality Sleme, central Kamnik Alps, are presented.

First-order similarities and differences between Alps, Dinarides, Hellenides and Anatolides-Taurides

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, Stefan M.; Bernoulli, Daniel; Fügenschuh, Bernhard; Matenco, Liviu; Schefer, Senecio; Oberhänsli, Roland; van Hinsbergen, Douwe; Ustaszewski, Kamil

2013-04-01

We correlated tectonic units across several circum-Mediterranean orogen strands between the Alps, Carpathians, the Balkan Peninsula, the Aegean and Western Turkey. Our compilation allows discussing fundamental along-strike similarities and differences. One first-order difference is that Dinarides-Hellenides, Anatolides and Taurides represent orogens of opposite subduction polarity and age with respect to the Alps and Carpathians. The internal Dinarides are linked to the Alps and Western Carpathians along the Mid-Hungarian fault zone, a suspected former trench-trench transform fault; its lithospheric root was obliterated during Neogene back-arc extension that formed the Pannonian Basin. Dinarides and Hellenides alike consist of far-travelled nappes detached from the Adriatic continental margin along décollement horizons in Paleozoic or younger stratigraphic levels during Cretaceous and Cenozoic orogeny. The more internal nappes (i.e. Jadar-Kopaonik, Drina-Ivanjica, East Bosnian-Durmitor and their Pelagonian and Almopias equivalents in the Hellenides) are composite nappes whereby the allochthonous Adriatic margin sequences passively carry ophiolites (Western Vardar Ophiolitic Unit) obducted during the latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous. These obducted ophiolitic units, as well as ophiolites obducted onto Europe-derived units presently found in the East Carpathians (Eastern Vardar Ophiolitic Unit obducted onto the Dacia continental block), root in one single Neotethys ocean that started closing with the initiation of obduction in the latest Jurassic; final suturing occurred during Cretaceous times, terminating with the formation of the Sava-Izmir-Ankara suture in the latest Cretaceous. Ophiolitic "massifs" found outside the Sava-Izmir-Ankara suture zone do not mark oceanic sutures, nor do the Drina-Ivanjica and Pelagonian "massifs" represent independent continental fragments (terranes). The same logic applies to Western Turkey with the difference that the ophiolites

Contrasting serpentinization processes in the eastern Central Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhard, D.J.M.; O'Neil, J.R.

1988-01-01

Stable isotope compositions have been determined for serpentinites from between Davos (Arosa-Platta nappe, Switzerland) and the Valmalenco (Italy). ??D and ??18O values (-120 to -60 and 6-10???, respectively) in the Arosa-Platta nappe indicate that serpentinization took place on the continent at relatively low temperatures in the presence of limited amounts of metamorphic fluids that contained a component of meteoric water. One sample of chrysotile has a ??18O value of 13??? providing evidence of high W/R ratios and low formation temperature of lizardite-chrysotile in this area. In contrast, relatively high ??D values (-42 to -34???) and low ??18O values (4.4-7.4???) for serpentine in the eastern part of the Valmalenco suggest a serpentinization process that took place at moderate temperatures in fluids that were dominated by ocean water. The antigorite in the Valmalenco is the first reported example of continental antigorite with an ocean water signature. An amphibole sample from a metasomatically overprinted contact zone to metasediments (??D=-36???) indicates that the metasomatic event also took place in the presence of ocean water. Lower ??D values (-93 to -60???) of serpentines in the western part of the Valmalenco suggest a different alteration history possibly influenced by fluids associated with contact metamorphism. Low water/rock ratios during regional metamorphism (and metasomatism) have to be assumed for both regions. ?? 1988 Springer-Verlag.

Thermochronometry across the Austroalpine-Pennine boundary, Central Alps, Switzerland: Orogen-perpendicular normal fault slip on a major ‘overthrust’ and its implications for orogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Jason B.; Wernicke, Brian P.; Cosca, Michael A.; Farley, Kenneth A.

2018-01-01

Fifty‐one new and 309 published thermochronometric ages (nine systems with closure temperatures ranging from ~450 to 70°C) from the Graubünden region of the Central Alps demonstrate that a pronounced thermal mismatch between the Austroalpine allochthon (Alpine “orogenic lid”) and the Pennine zone persisted until at least 29 Ma and, allowably, until circa 18 Ma. The observed mismatch supports previous suggestions that the famous “overthrust” between the Austroalpine allochthon and the Pennine zone, historically regarded as primarily an Eocene top‐north thrust fault, is in fact primarily an Oligocene‐Miocene normal fault that has a minimum of 60 km of displacement with top‐south or top‐southeast sense of shear. Two hallmarks of Alpine geology, deposition of the foredeep Molasse and emplacement of the Helvetic nappes, appear to be coeval, peripheral manifestations of crustal thickening via the interposition of the Pennine zone as a northward intruding wedge between the Austroalpine “lid” and the European cratonic margin, with the Helvetic system (European margin) acting as the “floor” of the wedge. We presume the Penninic wedge is driven by the buoyant rise of subducted crust no longer able to remain attached to the descending slab. If so, emplacement of the Pennine wedge could have occurred mainly after Adria was juxtaposed against cratonic Europe.

On the geology of the uranium mineralization in the Swiss Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillieron, F.

1988-01-01

Numerous radiometric anomalies and several uranium occurrences were found in the Swiss Alps by systematic prospecting of selected areas carried out between 1957 and 1984. Most of the uranium indications lie in a rather narrow belt that follows roughly the valleys of the Rhone und of the Rhine Anterior, from Martigny onto Ilanz and extending northwards towards the Lake of Walenstadt. The uranium occurrences were found in the following geological environments: - permocarboniferous continental, variably metamorphosed series, belonging either to the formation of the 'Verrucano' or to the Penninic St. Bernhard nappe; - muscovite-chlorite-albite gneisses belonging to the pre-Westphalian basement of the St. Bernhard nappe; - muscovite-chlorite gneisses and phyllites of the Hercynian Tavetsch massiv; - muscovite-biotite gneisses within the southern border of the Aar massif; - Vallorcine granite of the Auguilles-Rouges massiv and polymetamorphic biotite gneisses along its northwestern contact zone. The possible geological (or 'in situ') resources are estimated to be 50-250 tonnes uranium in each one of the investigated mineralization zones of some importance; the respective estimated grades are 50-250 ppm U. Therefore the occurrences are actually of no economic value. (author) 25 figs., 1 tab., refs

Pre-Alpine contrasting tectono-metamorphic evolutions within the Southern Steep Belt, Central Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Roda, Manuel; Zucali, Michele; Li, Zheng-Xiang; Spalla, Maria Iole; Yao, Weihua

2018-06-01

In the Southern Steep Belt, Italian Central Alps, relicts of the pre-Alpine continental crust are preserved. Between Valtellina and Val Camonica, a poly-metamorphic rock association occurs, which belongs to the Austroalpine units and includes two classically subdivided units: the Languard-Campo nappe (LCN) and the Tonale Series (TS). The outcropping rocks are low to medium grade muscovite, biotite and minor staurolite-bearing gneisses and micaschists, which include interlayered garnet- and biotite-bearing amphibolites, marbles, quartzites and pegmatites, as well as sillimanite-bearing gneisses and micaschists. Permian intrusives (granitoids, diorites and minor gabbros) emplaced in the metamorphic rocks. We performed a detailed structural, petrological and geochronological analysis focusing on the two main lithotypes, namely, staurolite-bearing micaschists and sillimanite-bearing paragneisses, to reconstruct the Variscan and Permian-Triassic history of this crustal section. The reconstruction of the tectono-metamorphic evolution allows for the distinction between two different tectono-metamorphic units during the early pre-Alpine evolution (D1) and predates the Permian intrusives, which comprise rocks from both TS and LCN. In the staurolite-bearing micaschists, D1 developed under amphibolite facies conditions (P = 0.7-1.1 GPa, T = 580-660 °C), while in the sillimanite-bearing paragneisses formed under granulite facies conditions (P = 0.6-1.0 GPa, T> 780 °C). The two tectono-metamorphic units coupled together during the second pre-Alpine stage (D2) under granulite-amphibolite facies conditions at a lower pressure (P = 0.4-0.6 GPa, T = 620-750 °C) forming a single tectono-metamorphic unit (Languard-Tonale Tectono-Metamorphic Unit), which comprised the previously distinguished LCN and TS. Geochronological analyses on zircon rims indicate ages ranging between 250 and 275 Ma for D2, contemporaneous with the emplacement of Permian intrusives. This event developed under

Occurence of a uraniferous-vanadiniferous graphitic phyllite in the Koeli Nappes of the Stekenjokk area, central Swedish Caledonides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundblad, K.; Gee, D.G.

1985-01-01

The Cambro-Ordovician alum shales in Scandinavia have anomalously high contents of certain trace elements, among them U, V and Mo, when compared to other black shales in the world. Variations in the contents of these elements within the formation show a clear correlation with the stratigraphy. Investigation of the content of U, V, and Mo in graphitic phyllites of the Stikke Nappe in the Seve-Koeli Nappe Complex of the Stekenjokk area has identified the presence of anomalously high contents of these elements compared to average black shales. The content of these elements in the graphitic phyllites correlates clearly with that found in the Early Ordovician Dictyonema-bearing shales in eastern Troendelag and on the Baltoscandian Platform; it is, therefore, suggested that these metasediments in Stekenjokk are of the same age. (Author)

The nappes of the Lepontine dome: the influence of tectonic inheritance on their deformation style

Science.gov (United States)

Schenker, Filippo Luca; Ambrosi, Christian; Scapozza, Cristian; Czerki, Dorota; Castelletti, Claudio; Maino, Matteo; Gouffon, Yves

2017-04-01

The Lepontine dome exposes the tectonostratigraphy of the Central Alps, from bottom-to-top, the subpenninic gneissic nappes of the Leventina, Simano, Adula/Cima-Lunga and Maggia. These units were part of a post-Variscan gneissic crust, which was intensely intruded by several generations of granitoids forming laccoliths and dikes of different shapes and sizes within paragneisses, augengneisses and amphibolites. During the Alpine orogenic cycle this initial and complex geological architecture was reshaped into a fold and thrust belt. We present the effect of these initial rheological anomalies along the Leventina, Simano and Adula/Cima-Lunga units through the geological map of the Osogna sheet (Swiss National Map no. 1293,1:25'000) together with structural and metamorphic data. The geological map shows that the Simano and Adula/Cima-Lunga units have an internal and lateral lithological variation at different scales as illustrated by the geological cross-sections. All lithologies present a penetrative amphibolite-facies foliation, which can vary in intensity among the rock-types. On the foliation plane a mineral and stretching lineation is visible dipping NW or SE, depending on the plane dip direction. The kinematic analysis indicates a top-to-the NW shearing. Despite this consistent structural data showing a regional dominant fabric, the folds (generally with a fold-axis parallel to the lineation) show different styles, depending on the thickness and the rock-type of the folded horizon and matrix, do not form laterally continuous structures and often are not cylindrical. As a consequence, such structures are interpreted as local perturbation rather than structures of regional importance. Furthermore, the Leventina and the Simano boundary is locally incongruent with the tectonic contact of the published maps. The amphibolite and paragneisses, used in the past as nappe divider, result to be deformed magmatic xenoliths. Therefore we present evidence (i) of a bottom

UHP metamorphism recorded by kyanite-bearing eclogite in the Seve Nappe Complex of northern Jämtland, Swedish Caledonides

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janák, M.; Van Roermund, H.; Majka, J.; Gee, D.

The first evidence for ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism in the Seve Nappe Complex of the Scandinavian Caledonides is recorded by kyanite-bearing eclogite, found in a basic dyke within a garnet peridotite body exposed close to the lake Friningen in northern Jämtland (central Sweden). UHP

Holothurian sclerites and conodonts in the Upper Carnian (Tuvalian and Norian Limestones in the Central Kanmik Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Ramovš

1992-12-01

Full Text Available Near Bivouac under the Skuta Mountain (locality 1 in the central Kamnik Alps Upper Carnian Limestones were determined with conodont Epigondolella nodosa Hayashi, holothurian sclerites Calclamnella consona Mostler and C. regularis Stefanov, ammonites and other fossils similar to deeper marine Hallstatt facies of Northern Limestone Alps.Conodonts Epigondolella abneptis (Huckriede and very rich holothurian fauna proved the Norian age for bedded limestones with very frequent large chert nodules on the south slope of the Skuta and on Sleme (loc. 2 and 3. They representdeeper marine facies and a distinct development of the Lower Norian

The NR-radon intensity impact on floral environment around NAPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maury, A.N.; Sharma, M.; Singh, B.; Kumar, R.; Swarup, R.

2006-01-01

The nuclear radiation level around Narora Atomic Power Plant (NAPP), District Buladshehar (Uttar Pradesh) has been observed by experimental irradiation of CR-39 plastic track detectors, mounted in a self assembled box installed at height from the ground level 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 cm. The plants being most sensitive to nuclear radiation, constituting the floral component of bio-diversity, look more frequent and effective means to regulate the nuclear radiation and hence employed as potential alternative to SSNTD, named as BSNTD (the Bio-Species-Nuclear Track Detector) after appropriate calibrations. The five sites selected with similar settings of NR experimental 45 days exposures for Radon alpha, also accompanied by vegetable plants, oil yielding and ornamental plants such as radish, onion, mustard and marigold (under various physical as well as chemical treatments such as magnetic fields, fertilizers) placed at: (1)The open space nearly ∼ 100 meter away from NAPP Reactor Unit No. 1, (2) Village Ratanpur about 10 Km from NAPP, (3) Village Shehdol near Atrauli about 20 Km from NAPP, (4) Kasimpur Thermal power Plant near Aligarh, about 40 Km from NAPP and (5) The D.S. College, Physics research laboratory at Aligarh proper. The isolated and mixed treated plants were grown under controlled favourable conditions and their regular biological growth like total shoot yield, flowers/fruits and seed yield were recorded and these were correlated with the observed radioactive data. The experimental findings seem to match with all these parameters proportionally to CR-39 recording and thus proposing much cheaper Bio-Species Nuclear Track Detection as dynamical physiological changes but not as rigid geometrical damages recorded in SSNTD under cumbersome experimental procedures. The plant growth performance under different environmental conditions such as presence of track elements and heavy metals, our research group had set an unique experimentation relating complex bio

Palaeomagnetic time and space constraints of the Early Cretaceous Rhenodanubian Flysch zone (Eastern Alps)

Science.gov (United States)

Dallanave, Edoardo; Kirscher, Uwe; Hauck, Jürgen; Hesse, Reinhard; Bachtadse, Valerian; Wortmann, Ulrich Georg

2018-06-01

The Rhenodanubian Flysch zone (RDF) is a Lower Cretaceous-lower Palaeocene turbidite succession extending for ˜500 km from the Danube at Vienna to the Rhine Valley (Eastern Alps). It consists of calcareous and siliciclastic turbidite systems deposited in a trench abyssal plain. The age of deposition has been estimated through micropalaeontologic dating. However, palaeomagnetic studies constraining the age and the palaeolatitude of deposition of the RDF are still missing. Here, we present palaeomagnetic data from the Early Cretaceous Tristel and Rehbreingraben Formations of the RDF from two localities in the Bavarian Alps (Rehbrein Creek and Lainbach Valley, southern Germany), and from the stratigraphic equivalent of the Falknis Nappe (Liechtenstein). The quality of the palaeomagnetic signal has been assessed by either fold test (FT) or reversal test (RT). Sediments from the Falknis Nappe are characterized by a pervasive syntectonic magnetic overprint as tested by negative FT, and are thus excluded from the study. The sediments of the Rehbreingraben Formation at Rehbrein Creek, with positive RT, straddle magnetic polarity Chron M0r and the younger M΄-1r΄ reverse event, with an age of ˜127-123 Ma (late Barremian-early Aptian). At Lainbach Valley, no polarity reversals have been observed, but a positive FT gives confidence on the reliability of the data. The primary palaeomagnetic directions, after correction for inclination shallowing, allow to precisely constrain the depositional palaeolatitude of the Tristel and Rehbreingraben Formations around ˜28°N. In a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Alpine Tethys at the Barremian/Aptian boundary, the RDF is located on the western margin of the Briançonnais terrain, which was separated from the European continent by the narrow Valais Ocean.

3D modelling of the Austroalpine-Penninic collisional wedge of the NW Alps: dataset management and preliminary results

Science.gov (United States)

Monopoli, Bruno; Bistacchi, Andrea; Bertolo, Davide; Dal Piaz, Giovanni; Gouffon, Yves; Massironi, Matteo; Sartori, Mario; Vittorio Dal Piaz, Giorgio

2016-04-01

considered as a sort of pseudo-stratigraphy, since they are the oldest feature that can be traced continuously at the map scale. For this reason we have developed a set of attributes identifying the tectonic and lithological units (a "legend"), implemented both in the GIS database and in the 3D models, which at the same time is compatible with the data structure of 3D modelling packages like Move and Skua/Gocad, and allows tracing the complex hierarchic classification of the units mapped in the GIS. This allows for the almost automatic and consistent two-way transfer of data between the GIS and geomodelling environments. E.g. results of 3D modelling, which is based on input data originally stored in the GIS, will eventually be transferred back to the GIS. The results of this study, which are preliminarily presented here, will open new opportunities to study the collision- and subduction-related nappe architecture and kinematics with younger deformations removed, and will eventually lead (with additional studies) to a step-by-step retrodeformation supported by modern technologies, following the path traced by Argand at the beginning of the 20th century. Argand E. 1909. L'exploration géologique des Alpes pennines centrales. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat., 45, 217-276. Argand A. 1911. Les nappes de recouvrement des Alpes pennines et leurs prolongements structuraux. Mat. Carte Géol. Suisse, 31, 25. Argand A. 1916. Sur l'arc des Alpes occidentales. Eclogae Geol. Helv., 14, 145-191. Franchi S., Mattirolo E., Novarese V., Stella A. & Zaccagna D. 1908. Carta geologica delle Alpi Occidentali alla scala 1:400.000. Regio Ufficio Geologico, Roma. Gerlach H. 1869. Die Penninischen Alpen. N. Denkschr. Schweiz. Natf. Ges., 23, 132. Gerlach H. 1871. Das Suedwestliche Wallis. Beitraege Geol. Karte Schweiz, 9, 175. Giordano F. 1869. Sulla orografia e sulla geologica costituzione del Gran Cervino. Atti R. Acc. Sci. Torino, 4, 304-321.

Orogen migration and tectonic setting of the Andrelândia Nappe system: An Ediacaran western Gondwana collage, south of São Francisco craton

Science.gov (United States)

Campos Neto, Mario da Costa; Basei, Miguel Angelo Stipp; Assis Janasi, Valdecir de; Moraes, Renato

2011-12-01

The southern Brasília Orogen is organized in a pile of nappes that records the Neoproterozoic history of the subduction and collision between passive and active margins, respectively belonging to the São Francisco and Paranapanema Plates. The whole pile of allochthons comprises the rootless Andrelândia Nappe System (the upper kyanite-bearing granulite of Três Pontas-Varginha Nappe, the intermediate high-pressure amphibolite-to eclogite facies of Liberdade Nappe and the lower Andrelândia Nappe) that is located below an Andean-type magmatic arc (Socorro-Guaxupé Nappe) and overrides the Lima Duarte Nappe and the Carrancas Nappe System. The tectonic units of the Andrelândia Nappe System seem to be exotic to the São Francisco Plate. The retroeclogite of the Liberdade Nappe yielded a 670 Ma SHRIMP U-Pb age in zircon, that is interpreted as the age of N-MORB-type basic magmatism. Detrital zircon grains of proximal flysh deposits of wackes in the Andrelândia Nappe present similar ages that reflect the crystallization in its source area. Both, rocks present Nd isotopic juvenile signatures with T DM in the range of 1.4 to 1.1 Ga. Rhyacian orthogneisses occur as slices in the Liberdade Nappe and have Nd isotope signature of juvenile source. The building of the collision pile of the whole system of nappes was diachronic and records a continuous outward migration of the orogen. The main structure is a middle crust-level duplex. The propagation of the structure and the metamorphism advanced progressively from the upper to the lower nappes, as is shown by U-Pb monazite ages in the range of 618-595 Ma for the Andrelândia Nappe System and 590-575 Ma for the Carrancas and Lima Duarte nappes.

Constraints on the depositional age and tectonometamorphic evolution of marbles from the Biharia Nappe System (Apuseni Mountains, Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reiser Martin Kaspar

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Basement rocks from the Biharia Nappe System in the Apuseni Mountains comprise several dolomite and calcite marble sequences or lenses which experienced deformation and metamorphic overprint during the Alpine orogeny. New Sr, O and C-isotope data in combination with considerations from the lithological sequences indicate Middle to Late Triassic deposition of calcite marbles from the Vulturese-Belioara Series (Biharia Nappe s.str.. Ductile deformation and large-scale folding of the siliciclastic and carbonatic lithologies is attributed to NW-directed nappe stacking during late Early Cretaceous times (D2. The studied marble sequences experienced a metamorphic overprint under lower greenschist- facies conditions (316-370 °C based on calcite - dolomite geothermometry during this tectonic event. Other marble sequences from the Biharia Nappe System (i.e. Vidolm and Baia de Arieș nappes show similarities in the stratigraphic sequence and their isotope signature, together with a comparable structural position close to nappe contact. However, the dataset is not concise enough to allow for a definitive attribution of a Mesozoic origin to other marble sequences than the Vulturese-Belioara Series.

The tectonometamorphic evolution of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania): Geodynamic constraints for the evolution of the Alps-Carpathians-Dinaride system of orogens

Science.gov (United States)

Reiser, Martin; Schuster, Ralf; Fügenschuh, Bernhard

2015-04-01

New structural, thermobarometric and geochronological data allow integrating kinematics, timing and intensity of tectonic phases into a geodynamic model of the Apuseni Mountain, which provides new constraints for the evolution of the Alps-Carpathians-Dinaride system of orogens. Strong differences in terms of deformation directions between Early and Late Cretaceous events provide new constraints on the regional geodynamic evolution during the Cretaceous. Geochronological and structural data evidence a Late Jurassic emplacement of the South Apuseni Ophiolites on top of the Biharia Nappe System (Dacia Mega-Unit), situated in an external position at the European margin. Following the emplacement of the ophiolites, three compressive deformation phases affected the Apuseni Mountains during Alpine orogeny: a) NE-directed in-sequence nappe stacking and regional metamorphic overprinting under amphibolite-facies conditions during the Early Cretaceous ("Austrian Phase"), b) NW-directed thrusting and folding, associated with greenschist-facies overprinting, during the early Late Cretaceous ("Turonian Phase") and c) E-W internal folding together with brittle thrusting during the latest Cretaceous ("Laramian Phase"). Major tectonic unroofing and exhumation at the transition from Early to Late Cretaceous times is documented through new Sm-Nd Grt, Ar-Ar Ms and Rb-Sr Bt ages from the study area and resulted in a complex thermal structure with strong lateral and vertical thermal gradients. Nappe stacking and medium-grade metamorphic overprinting during the Early Cretaceous exhibits striking parallels between the evolution of the Tisza-Dacia Mega-Units and the Austroalpine Nappes (ALCAPA Mega-Unit) and evidences a close connection. However, Late Cretaceous tectonic events in the study area exhibit strong similarities with the Dinarides. Thus, the Apuseni Mountains represent the "missing link" between the Early Cretaceous Meliata subduction (associated with obduction of ophiolites

Structurally controlled 'teleconnection' of large-scale mass wasting (Eastern Alps)

Science.gov (United States)

Ostermann, Marc; Sanders, Diethard

2015-04-01

In the Brenner Pass area (Eastern Alps) , closely ahead of the most northward outlier ('nose') of the Southern-Alpine continental indenter, abundant deep-seated gravitational slope deformations and a cluster of five post-glacial rockslides are present. The indenter of roughly triangular shape formed during Neogene collision of the Southern-Alpine basement with the Eastern-Alpine nappe stack. Compression by the indenter activated a N-S striking, roughly W-E extensional fault northward of the nose of the indenter (Brenner-normal fault; BNF), and lengthened the Eastern-Alpine edifice along a set of major strike-slip faults. These fault zones display high seismicity, and are the preferred locus of catastrophic rapid slope failures (rockslides, rock avalanches) and deep-seated gravitational slope deformations. The seismotectonic stress field, earthquake activity, and structural data all indicate that the South-Alpine indenter still - or again - exerts compression; in consequence, the northward adjacent Eastern Alps are subject mainly to extension and strike-slip. For the rockslides in the Brenner Pass area, and for the deep-seated gravitational slope deformations, the fault zones combined with high seismic activity predispose massive slope failures. Structural data and earthquakes mainly record ~W-E extension within an Eastern Alpine basement block (Oetztal-Stubai basement complex) in the hangingwall of the BNF. In the Northern Calcareous Alps NW of the Oetztal-Stubai basement complex, dextral faults provide defacement scars for large rockfalls and rockslides. Towards the West, these dextral faults merge into a NNW-SSE striking sinistral fault zone that, in turn, displays high seismic activity and is the locus of another rockslide cluster (Fern Pass cluster; Prager et al., 2008). By its kinematics dictated by the South-Alpine indenter, the relatively rigid Oetztal-Stubai basement block relays faulting and associated mass-wasting over a N-S distance of more than 60

Age and Prematurity of the Alps Derived from Topography

Science.gov (United States)

Hergarten, S.; Wagner, T.; Stüwe, K.

2010-09-01

The European Alps are one of the best studied mountain ranges on Earth, but yet the age of their topography is almost unknown. Even their relative stage of evolution is unclear: Are the Alps still growing, in a steady state or already decaying, and is there a significant difference between Western and Eastern Alps? Using a new geomorphic parameter we analyze the topography of the Alps and provide one of the first quantitative constraints demonstrating that the range is still in its infancy: In contrast to several other mountain ranges, the Alps have still more than half of their evolution to a geomorphic steady state to go. Combining our results with sediment budget data from the surrounding basins we infer that the formation of the present topography began only 5-6 million years ago. Our results question the apparent consensus that the topographic evolution is distributed over much of the Miocene and might give new impulses to the reconstruction of paleoclimate in Central Europe.

From the Western Alps across Central Europe: Postglacial recolonisation of the tufa stream specialist Rhyacophila pubescens (Insecta, Trichoptera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haase Peter

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dispersal rates, i.e. the effective number of dispersing individuals per unit time, are the product of dispersal capacity, i.e. a species physiological potential for dispersal, dispersal behaviour, i.e. the decision to leave a habitat patch in favour of another, and connectivity of occupied habitat. Thus, dispersal of species that are highly specialised to a certain habitat is limited by habitat availability. Species inhabiting very stable environments may also adopt a sedentary life-style. Both factors should lead to strong genetic differentiation in highly specialised species inhabiting stable environments. These two factors apply to our model species Rhyacophila pubescens a highly specialised freshwater insect that occurs in tufa springs, a very stable habitat. Results We examined the genetic population structure and phylogeography using range-wide mtCOI sequence and AFLP data from 333 individuals of R. pubescens. We inferred the location of Pleistocene refugia and postglacial colonisation routes of R. pubescens, and examined ongoing local differentiation. Our results indicate intraregional differentiation with a high number of locally endemic haplotypes, that we attributed to habitat specificity and low dispersal rates of R. pubescens. We observed high levels of genetic diversity south of the Alps and genetic impoverishment north of the Alps. Estimates of migrants placed the refugium and the source of the colonisation in the Dauphiné Alps (SW Alps. Conclusions This is the first example of an aquatic insect with a colonisation route along the western margin of the Alps to the Central European highlands. The study also shows that specialisation to a stable environment may have promoted a behavioural shift to decreased dispersal rates, leading to stronger local population differentiation than in less specialised aquatic insects. Alternatively, the occurrence of highly specialised tufa spring habitats may have been more

Gravity anomalies, seismic structure and geothermal history of the Central Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kissling, E.; Mueller, S.; Werner, D.

1983-01-01

A new interpretation of the gravity anomalies in the Swiss Alps from the geothermal point of view is presented. The regional gravity distribution is partly caused by the topography of the crust-mantle boundary. Taking 0.5 g/cm 3 as the average density contrast between crust and mantle the Bouguer map of Switzerland contains a residual field which indicates a density anomaly in the mantle. This finding, results from seismic surface-wave investigations, and P-wave travel time observations can be interpreted as a consequence of the genesis of the Alps. A kinematic model of the Alps has been constructed simulating the mass displacements during the last 40 m.y. In this two-dimensional model the subsidence of cold mantle material is taken into consideration forming a ''lithospheric root''. Based on this kinematic model the temperature distribution in the moving medium can be calculated, taking into account the radiogenic heat sources. From the calculated temperatures field at present time the thermally induced density deviation can be determined. This density effect can explain the residual gravity field with a maximum value of about + 50 mgal

Photosynthetic temperature adaptation of Pinus cembra within the timberline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieser, Gerhard; Oberhuber, Walter; Walder, Lisa; Spieler, Daniela; Gruber, Andreas

2010-04-01

Temperature is suggested to determine the upper limit of tree life. Therefore, future climate warming may be of importance for tree distribution within the European Alps, where low temperatures limit carbon metabolism.We focused on the effects of air and soil temperature on net photosynthesis (P(n)) of Pinus cembra an evergreen climax species of the timberline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps. Light response and temperature response curves were estimated along an altitudinal gradient ranging from the forest limit up to the krummholz limit in both summer and fall.In general, P(n) was significantly lower in fall as compared to summer. Nevertheless, independent from season mean P(n) values tended to increase with elevation and were positively correlated with root zone temperatures. The specific leaf area by contrast declined with increasing elevation. Furthermore, the temperature optimum of net photosynthesis declined with increasing elevation and was positively correlated with the mean maximum air temperature of the 10 days prior the date of measurement.Thus, our findings appear to reflect a long-term adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus of Pinus cembra to the general temperature conditions with respect to elevation combined with a short term acclimation to the prevailing temperature regime.

PCDD/F and PCB in spruce forests of the Alps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Offenthaler, I., E-mail: ivo.offenthaler@umweltbundesamt.a [Austrian Environment Agency, Spittelauer Laende 5, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Bassan, R. [Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto (Italy); Belis, C. [Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lombardia (Italy); Jakobi, G.; Kirchner, M. [Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen (German Research Centre for Environmental Health) (Germany); Kraeuchi, N. [WSL-Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (Switzerland); Moche, W. [Austrian Environment Agency, Spittelauer Laende 5, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Schramm, K.-W. [Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen (German Research Centre for Environmental Health) (Germany); Sedivy, I. [WSL-Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (Switzerland); Simoncic, P. [Slovenian Forestry Institute (Slovenia); Uhl, M.; Weiss, P. [Austrian Environment Agency, Spittelauer Laende 5, 1090 Vienna (Austria)

2009-12-15

PCDD/F and PCB concentrations in remote mountainous spruce stands of the Central European Alps show strong geographic variation. Independent of the matrix (0.5 year old needles, humus or mineral soil), the highest pollutant levels were always found at the lateral zones of the mountain range. High levels coincided with strong precipitation, particularly along the northern margin of the study region. The most volatile PCB congener propagated farther into the colder, drier central Alps than the heavier species. Matrices with different accumulation history (needles and humus) repeatedly reflected different spatial immission patterns. Consistent with its much longer exposure, pollutant levels in humus exceeded those of needles by up to two orders of magnitude. Needle contamination varied with altitude but the vertical trends were highly variable between transsects and changed between years, too. - Dioxin-like pollution of forests in the Alps shows strong geographic variation.

Late Pleistocene - Holocene surface processes and landscape evolution in the central Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Boxleitner, Max; Musso, Alessandra; Waroszewski, Jarosław; Malkiewicz, Małgorzata; Maisch, Max; Dahms, Dennis; Brandová, Dagmar; Christl, Marcus; de Castro Portes, Raquel; Egli, Markus

2017-10-01

The European Alps are a geomorphologically active region and experience a number of gravity-driven hillslope processes. Soil and landscape formation in the Alps has consequently undergone several minor and major traceable changes of developmental trajectories during the Holocene. Soil development is hypothesised to be often non-linear with time and characterised by stages of progressive and regressive evolution caused by upbuilding (formation, profile deepening) and erosion (profile shallowing). Several cold and warm climate phases are identified during the Holocene but it is largely unknown which effects these might have had on slope processes. By using datable moraines (10Be) and mires (14C), we have constructed a temporal framework for these processes. Using the geochemical imprint of mires in the Alpine setting of the Göschener-valley of the Central Swiss Alps, we reconstructed general (mostly erosional) landscape processes for the last ca. 10 ka. As this is the type locality for the Göschener cold phase, we assumed that this phase (Göschener cold phase I and II 1.5 and 2.5 ka BP) should have left easily recognizable traits. After deglaciation (11-12 ka BP), soil evolution was progressive. Beginning around 8 ka BP, we detect a distinct increase in erosion here, together with a vegetation change (towards tundra vegetation) and the highest measured rates of carbon sequestration. Other phases of high geomorphic activity were recognised ca. 5-6 ka BP, 4 ka BP and, to a lesser extent, 1-3 ka ago. The cold phase at 5-6 ka BP corresponds to a less distinct change in vegetation and lessened erosion. Human impact is increasingly obvious since about 2.4 ka BP which overlaps with the Göschener cold phase. Nonetheless, erosion processes were not extraordinarily high during this period and a climate effect cannot be distinguished. We detect evidence of increasing human disturbance (regressive soil evolution) for about the last 1 ka. We also detect an increase in dust

From nappe stacking to exhumation: Cretaceous tectonics in the Apuseni Mountains (Romania)

Science.gov (United States)

Reiser, Martin Kaspar; Schuster, Ralf; Spikings, Richard; Tropper, Peter; Fügenschuh, Bernhard

2017-03-01

New Ar-Ar muscovite and Rb-Sr biotite age data in combination with structural analyses from the Apuseni Mountains provide new constraints on the timing and kinematics of deformation during the Cretaceous. Time-temperature paths from the structurally highest basement nappe of the Apuseni Mountains in combination with sedimentary data indicate exhumation and a position close to the surface after the Late Jurassic emplacement of the South Apuseni Ophiolites. Early Cretaceous Ar-Ar muscovite ages from structurally lower parts in the Biharia Nappe System (Dacia Mega-Unit) show cooling from medium-grade conditions. NE-SW-trending stretching lineation and associated kinematic indicators of this deformation phase (D1) are overprinted by top-NW-directed thrusting during D2. An Albian to Turonian age (110-90 Ma) is proposed for the main deformation (D2) that formed the present-day geometry of the nappe stack and led to a pervasive retrograde greenschist-facies overprint. Thermochronological and structural data from the Bihor Unit (Tisza Mega-Unit) allowed to establish E-directed differential exhumation during Early-Late Cretaceous times (D3.1). Brittle detachment faulting (D3.2) and the deposition of syn-extensional sediments indicate general uplift and partial surface exposure during the Late Cretaceous. Brittle conditions persist during the latest Cretaceous compressional overprint (D4).

Rapid Late Miocene Exhumation in the Central Alps, Constrained by (U-Th)/He and Fission Track Thermochronology

Science.gov (United States)

Aramowicz, A.; Cosca, M.; Stockli, D.; Farley, K.; Seward, D.

2007-12-01

Zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronological data together with apatite fission track analyses are used to explore uplift and exhumation of the western part of the Aar massif in the central Swiss Alps. A total of 27 samples were collected from the surface and underground, from the world's deepest tunnel (Loetschberg NEAT), with an overall elevation difference of almost 2500 m. Zircon (U-Th)/He ages range from 5.5 to 7.6 Ma, apatite fission track ages range from 5.7 to 6.5 Ma and apatite (U-Th)/He ages range from 3 to 5.5 Ma. All zircon age-elevation profiles from three traverses, show distinct brakes in slope that mark a drastic, 10-fold acceleration of exhumation at 6 ± 0.5 Ma ago (from 0.3 km/Ma to 3 km/Ma). The trend of fast exhumation appears to be maintained in the apatite fission track data while apatite (U-Th)/He ages suggest a return to moderate, apparent exhumation rates of 0.5 km/Ma. We propose that the accelerated exhumation may be linked to the Messinian desiccation of the Mediterranean. During that event, Mediterranean sea level dropped locally by as much as 3 km which accelerated erosion in the Alps. Consequently, the erosion in the Alps must have increased. If wedge mechanics are considered, the increased erosional flux reduced the active width of the orogen and, during latest convergence, deformation focused in the internal parts of the Alps, i.e. Aar massif. This interpretation implies a strong and prompt feedback between external forcing and tectonic response of the orogen. The slower exhumation rate apparent from the apatite (U-Th)/He data may reflect a decline in deformation. Alternatively, due to its low closure temperature, this system is prone to resetting by heat advected through hydrothermal circulation. This scenario needs further investigation but abundant hot-water (ca. 50 °C) discharge in the sampled tunnel is not uncommon.

Carex sempervirens tussocks induce spatial heterogeneity in litter decomposition, but not in soil properties, in a subalpine grassland in the Central Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Fei-Hai Yu; Martin Schutz; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese; Bertil O. Krusi; Jakob Schneller; Otto Wildi; Anita C. Risch

2011-01-01

Tussocks of graminoids can induce spatial heterogeneity in soil properties in dry areas with discontinuous vegetation cover, but little is known about the situation in areas with continuous vegetation and no study has tested whether tussocks can induce spatial heterogeneity in litter decomposition. In a subalpine grassland in the Central Alps where vegetation cover is...

Dynamique de la nappe et qualites physico-chimiques des eaux ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

resultat est conforme a celui des cartes piezo- metriques elaborees en 1993 et 2007 [19,20]; done la nappe suit le modele topographique et le lac constitue une zone de convergence des eaux. ©UBMA-2013. 88. F. Zahi et al. L' examen des cartes piezometriques montrent que les parties Sud et Sud-Est du lac Fetzara se.

Soil warming increased whole-tree water use of Pinus cembra at the treeline in the Central Tyrolean Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieser, Gerhard; Grams, Thorsten E E; Matyssek, Rainer; Oberhuber, Walter; Gruber, Andreas

2015-03-01

This study quantified the effect of soil warming on sap flow density (Qs) of Pinus cembra L. at the treeline in the Central Tyrolean Alps. To enhance soil temperature we installed a transparent roof construction above the forest floor around six trees. Six other trees served as controls in the absence of any manipulation. Roofing enhanced growing season mean soil temperature by 1.6, 1.3 and 1.0 °C at 5, 10 and 20 cm soil depth, respectively, while soil water availability was not affected. Sap flow density (using Granier-type thermal dissipation probes) and environmental parameters were monitored throughout three growing seasons. During the first year of treatment, no warming effect was detected on Qs. However, soil warming caused Qs to increase significantly by 11 and 19% above levels in control trees during the second and third year, respectively. This effect appeared to result from warming-induced root production, a reduction in viscosity and perhaps an increase also in root hydraulic conductivity. Hardly affected were leaf-level net CO2 uptake rate and conductance for water vapour, so that water-use efficiency stayed unchanged as confirmed by needle δ(13)C analysis. We conclude that tree water loss will increase with soil warming, which may alter the water balance within the treeline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps in a future warming environment. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Peak-Temperature (Tp) estimates with Raman micro-spectroscopy on carbonaceous material (RSCM) as a tool for distinguishing tectometamorphic regimes in the Tauern Window (Eastern Alps, Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Scharf, A.; Ziemann, M. A.; Handy, M. R.

2012-04-01

Raman micro-spectroscopy of CM in 201 samples from the eastern part of the Tauern Window reveal the overprinting of HP subduction metamorphism, post-nappe HT metamorphism and late orogenic crustal attenuation during exhumation. The following patterns of our CM data lend insight into this evolution, especially when considered in the context of the distribution of mineral parageneses, radiometric ages and structures in the Tauern Window: (1) a continuous increase in Tp (330-500°C) across nappe boundaries between two oceanic units (Valais, Piemont) in the NE part of the Tauern Window indicates that temperatures equilibrated after accretion and nappe stacking. The Tp gradient preserved in this area is ca. 10°C/km; (2) a higher Tp gradient (20-25°C/km) in the footwall of a major top-SE extensional shear zone affecting the same units at the E end of the Tauern Window reveals that the previously equilibrated Tp gradient was attenuated during doming and exhumation; (3) identical Tp estimates (500°C) -within error and for a given calibration (ref. below) - are recorded at the top and bottom of a moderately E-dipping basement nappe (Storz Nappe) within a foreland-dipping duplex (the Venediger Nappe Complex, VNC) forming the basement core of the Tauern Window. The Tp value at the top of this nappe occurs at the base of the attenuated Tp gradient described in (2), whereas the Tp at the bottom of the nappe is typical for high Tp values (530-640°C) in the core of the duplex that is exposed in a post-nappe dome (Hochalm) in the SE part of the Tauern Window. We intepret Tp values in the central part of the Tauern Window (530°C) that contain relict HP assemblages and are unaffected by doming as the maximum temperature of subduction-related metamorphism. Existing radiometric data in the area as well as from related units in other parts of the Tauern Window indicate that the thermal peak of HP metamorphism occurred at 38-40 Ma (Kurz et al. 2008, refs therein), followed by HT

An integrated paleomagnetic and magnetic anisotropy study of the Oligocene flysch from the Dukla nappe, Outer Western Carpathians, Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiss Dániel

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The Dukla Nappe belongs to the Outer Western Carpathians, which suffered considerable shortening due to the convergence and collision of the European and African plates. In this paper we present new paleomagnetic and magnetic anisotropy results from the Polish part of the Dukla Nappe, based on 102 individually oriented cores from nine geographically distributed localities. Susceptibility measurements and mineralogy investigations showed that paramagnetic minerals are important contributors to susceptibility anisotropy (AMS. The AMS fabrics are related to deposition/compression (foliation and weak tectonic deformation (lineation. The AARM fabric, that of the ferrimagnetic minerals, seems to be a less sensitive indicator of tectonic deformation than the AMS fabric. The inclination-only test points to the pre-folding age of the remanent magnetizations. Seven localities exhibit CCW rotation, a single one shows CW rotation. The CCW rotated paleomagnetic directions form two groups, one showing large, the other moderate CCW rotation. Previously published paleomagentic directions from the Slovak part of the same nappe exhibit smeared distribution between them. The declination of the overall-mean paleomagnetic direction for the Dukla nappe is similar to those observed in the neighbouring Magura and Silesian nappes, but it is of poorer quality. The AMS lineations at several localities are deviating more to the west from the present north than that of the local tectonic strikes. A possible explanation for this is that the AMS lineations were imprinted first, probably still in the Oligocene, while the sediments were soft (ductile deformation and the folding and tilting took place during the CCW rotation.

The Wallner Normal Fault: A new major tectonic structure within the Austroalpine Units south of the Tauern Window (Kreuzeck, Eastern Alps, Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Griesmeier, Gerit E. U.; Schuster, Ralf; Grasemann, Bernhard

2017-04-01

The polymetamorphic Austroalpine Units of the Eastern Alps were derived from the northern Adriatic continental margin and have been significantly reworked during the Eoalpine intracontinental subduction. Several major basement/cover nappe systems, which experienced a markedly different tectono-metamorphic history, characterize the complex internal structure of the Austroalpine Units. This work describes a new major tectonic structure in the Kreuzeck Mountains, south of the famous Tauern Window - the Wallner Normal Fault. It separates the so called Koralpe-Wölz Nappe System in the footwall from the Drauzug-Gurktal Nappe System in the hanging wall. The Koralpe-Wölz Nappe System below the Wallner Normal Fault is dominated by monotonous paragneisses and minor mica schists, which are locally garnet bearing. Subordinated amphibolite bodies can be observed. The schistosity is homogeneously dipping steeply to the S and the partly mylonitic stretching lineation is typically moderately dipping to the ESE. The Alpine metamorphic peak reached eclogite facies further in the north and amphibolite facies in the study area. The metamorphic peak occurred in the Late Cretaceous followed by rapid cooling. The Drauzug-Gurktal Nappe System above the Wallner Normal Fault consists of various subunits. (i) Paragneisses and micaschists subunit (Gaugen Complex) with numerous quartz mobilisates are locally intercalated with amphibolites. Several millimeter large garnets together with staurolite and kyanite have been identified in thin sections. Even though the main striking direction is E-W, polyphase refolding resulted in strong local variations of the orientation of the main foliation. (ii) Garnet micaschists subunit (Strieden Complex) with garnets up to 15 mm are intercalated with up to tens of meters thick amphibolites. The lithologies are intensely folded with folding axes dipping moderately to the SSW and axial planes dipping steeply to the NW. (iii) A phyllites-marble subunit

PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL INTERPPRETATION OF THE LATE TRIASSIC FRAELE FORMATION (ORTLES NAPPE, AUSTROALPINE DOMAIN, LOMBARDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FABRIZIO BERRA

1997-03-01

Full Text Available The Fraele Formation crops out in the Ortles Nappe (upper Valtellina, Northern Italy, structurally part of the Central Austroalpine Domain. It consists of fine siliciclastics alternating with carbonates, mostly limestones,rare dolostones and marls. The formation differs lithologically from the underlying Norian Dolomia del Cristallo because of different paleonvironmental evolution.The change in environmental parameters was controlled mainly by a climatic change to more humid conditions.This favoured on one hand the mobilisation and trasport by rivers of siliciclastic material from the continent to the Tethys gulf,and on the other influenced the sea-water chemistry.Freshwater influxes lowered salinity and inhibited early dolomitisation. Input of low density freshwater resulted in the astablishment of a permanent water mass stratification which influenced the benthic life. This paleoenvironmental reconstruction fits with the sudden clastic input which occurred in several palaeogeographic domains of the western Tethys realm (Austroalpine, Southalpine, Apennine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia during the Late Norian.  

Sensitivity to Regional Earthquake Triggering and Magnitude-Frequency Characteristics of Microseismicity Detected via Matched-Filter Analysis, Central Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Boese, C. M.; Townend, J.; Chamberlain, C. J.; Warren-Smith, E.

2016-12-01

Microseismicity recorded since 2008 by the Southern Alps Microseismicity Borehole Array (SAMBA) and other predominantly short-period seismic networks deployed in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand, reveals distinctive patterns of triggering in response to regional seismicity (magnitudes larger than 5, epicentral distances of 100-500 km). Using matched-filter detection methods implemented in the EQcorrscan package (Chamberlain et al., in prep.), we analyze microseismicity occurring in several geographically distinct swarms in order to examine the responses of specific microearthquake sources to earthquakes of different sizes occurring at different distances and azimuths. The swarms exhibit complex responses to regional seismicity which reveal that microearthquake triggering in these cases involves a combination of extrinsic factors (related to the dynamic stresses produced by the regional earthquake) and intrinsic factors (controlled by the local state of stress and possibly by hydrogeological processes). We find also that the microearthquakes detected by individual templates have Gutenberg-Richter magnitude-frequency characteristics. Since the detected events, by design, have very similar hypocentres and focal mechanisms, the observed scaling pertains to a restricted set of fault planes.

Time constraints for post-LGM landscape response to deglaciation in Val Viola, Central Italian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Scotti, Riccardo; Brardinoni, Francesco; Crosta, Giovanni Battista; Cola, Giuseppe; Mair, Volkmar

2017-12-01

Across the northern European Alps, a long tradition of Quaternary studies has constrained post-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) landscape history. The same picture remains largely unknown for the southern portion of the orogen. In this work, starting from existing 10Be exposure dating of three boulders in Val Viola, Central Italian Alps, we present the first detailed, post-LGM reconstruction of landscape (i.e., glacial, periglacial and paraglacial) response south of the Alpine divide. We pursue this task through Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) at 34 sites including moraines, rock glaciers, protalus ramparts, rock avalanche deposits and talus cones. In addition, based on the mapping of preserved moraines and on the numerical SHD ages, we reconstruct the glacier extent of four different stadials, including Egesen I (13.1 ± 1.1 ka), Egesen II (12.3 ± 0.6 ka), Kartell (11.0 ± 1.4 ka) and Kromer (9.7 ± 1.4 ka), whose chronologies agree with available counterparts from north of the Alpine divide. Results show that Equilibrium Line Altitude depressions (ΔELAs) associated to Younger Dryas and Early Holocene stadials are smaller than documented at most available sites in the northern Alps. These findings not only support the hypothesis of a dominant north westerly atmospheric circulation during the Younger Dryas, but also suggest that this pattern could have lasted until the Early Holocene. SHD ages on rock glaciers and protalus ramparts indicate that favourable conditions to periglacial landform development occurred during the Younger Dryas (12.7 ± 1.1 ka), on the valley slopes above the glacier, as well as in newly de-glaciated areas, during the Early Holocene (10.7 ± 1.3 and 8.8 ± 1.8 ka). The currently active rock glacier started to develop before 3.7 ± 0.8 ka and can be associated to the Löbben oscillation. Four of the five rock avalanches dated in Val Viola cluster within the Early Holocene, in correspondence of an atmospheric warming phase. By contrast

Status of the ALPS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehret, Klaus

2008-01-01

The ALPS experiment at DESY searches for light particles which are coupling very weakly to photons. Primary physics goal is the search for axion like particles in a photon regeneration experiment. Central part of the experimental setup is a five Tesla strong superconducting HERA dipole magnet. During two operation periods in the years 2007 and 2008 we have collected first data and explored the sensitivity of the setup. A Fabry Perot laser cavity is being set up in order to increase the sensitivity by more than one order of magnitude. (orig.)

Pseudo- and real-inverted metamorphism caused by the superposition and extrusion of a stack of nappes: a case study of the Southern Brasília Orogen, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

da Motta, Rafael Gonçalves; Moraes, Renato

2017-10-01

The Southern Brasília Orogen is a Neoproterozoic belt that occurs along the southernmost border of the São Francisco Craton where the Andrelândia Nappe System represents the subducted sedimentary domain and is divided into three allochthonous groups, of which the ages and P-T conditions of metamorphism are studied here. The basal unit, the Andrelândia Nappe, exhibits an inverted metamorphic pattern. The base of the structure, composed of staurolite, garnet, biotite, kyanite, quartz, and muscovite, marks the metamorphic peak, whereas at the top, the association of the metamorphic peak does not contain staurolite. The Liberdade Nappe, the middle unit, presents a normal metamorphic pattern; its base, close to the Andrelândia Nappe, shows paragneiss with evidence of in situ partial melting, and towards the top, coarse-grained staurolite schist is found. The staurolite-out and melt-in isograds are coincident and parallel to the main foliation. Thus, the shear zone that limits the nappes is syn-metamorphic, reheating the underlying Andrelândia Nappe and influencing the establishment of metamorphic inversion. This suggestion is supported by the monazite chemical ages, which indicates that the Andrelândia Nappe metamorphic peak (586 ± 15 Ma) is younger than that of the Liberdade Nappe (622.3 ± 7.6 Ma). The upper unit, the Serra da Natureza Klippe, bears a typical high-pressure granulite mineral assemblage that is composed of kyanite, garnet, K-feldspar, rutile, and leucosome, as well as a metamorphic peak at 604.5 ± 6.1 Ma. This tectonic assembly, with inverted and non-inverted metamorphic patterns and generation of klippen structures, is consistent with exhumation models and a strong indentor located in the lower continental crust.

The geologic character of nappe structure and its relation to uranium mineralization of Xiangshan ore-field in the middle of Jiangxi Province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Yulong; Yang Song

2012-01-01

Started with the spatial distribution of nappe structure, the geologic features are discussed and its effect on uranium mineralization in systematically summarized for Xiangshan ore-field in the middle of Jiangxi Province. The nappe structure not only formed a 'cross-over' lithologic combination which creates a network system which can connect, transport, migrate the mineralized matter, but also formed some close or semi-close geologic setting beneath the nappe which can act as the store ore shield space for the mineralized liquid to form uranium deposit. The mineralization is concentrated at the varied place of occurrences or shape of sub-volcanic rocks and the intersection of concealed overthrust and NE strike basic fractures. (authors)

ALPS - A LINEAR PROGRAM SOLVER

Science.gov (United States)

Viterna, L. A.

1994-01-01

Linear programming is a widely-used engineering and management tool. Scheduling, resource allocation, and production planning are all well-known applications of linear programs (LP's). Most LP's are too large to be solved by hand, so over the decades many computer codes for solving LP's have been developed. ALPS, A Linear Program Solver, is a full-featured LP analysis program. ALPS can solve plain linear programs as well as more complicated mixed integer and pure integer programs. ALPS also contains an efficient solution technique for pure binary (0-1 integer) programs. One of the many weaknesses of LP solvers is the lack of interaction with the user. ALPS is a menu-driven program with no special commands or keywords to learn. In addition, ALPS contains a full-screen editor to enter and maintain the LP formulation. These formulations can be written to and read from plain ASCII files for portability. For those less experienced in LP formulation, ALPS contains a problem "parser" which checks the formulation for errors. ALPS creates fully formatted, readable reports that can be sent to a printer or output file. ALPS is written entirely in IBM's APL2/PC product, Version 1.01. The APL2 workspace containing all the ALPS code can be run on any APL2/PC system (AT or 386). On a 32-bit system, this configuration can take advantage of all extended memory. The user can also examine and modify the ALPS code. The APL2 workspace has also been "packed" to be run on any DOS system (without APL2) as a stand-alone "EXE" file, but has limited memory capacity on a 640K system. A numeric coprocessor (80X87) is optional but recommended. The standard distribution medium for ALPS is a 5.25 inch 360K MS-DOS format diskette. IBM, IBM PC and IBM APL2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Fragments of deeper parts of the hanging wall mantle preserved as orogenic peridotites in the central belt of the Seve Nappe Complex, Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Clos, Frediano; Gilio, Mattia; van Roermund, Herman L. M.

2014-04-01

Formation conditions of olivine microstructures are investigated in the Kittelfjäll spinel peridotite (KSP), a fragment of lithospheric mantle which occurs as an isolated body within high grade metamorphic crustal rocks of the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC), southern Västerbotten, central Sweden. The KSP is an orogenic peridotite containing a well developed penetrative compositional layering, defined by highly depleted dunite with olivine Mg# (100 × Mg/Mg + Fe) of 92.0-93.5 and harzburgite with lower Mg# (91.0-92.5). Dunite is characterized by three contrasting olivine microstructures formed in response to different tectonometamorphic events: Coarse-grained, highly strained olivine porphyroclasts (M1) up to 20 cm long are surrounded by dynamically recrystallized olivine grains (M2) defining a characteristic olivine "foam" microstructure (grain size: 200-2000 μm). An olivine "mortar" (M3) microstructure (10-50 μm) forms a penetrative fabric element only in strongly localized, cm-to-m sized shear zones that crosscut earlier structures/foliations. Olivine fabric analysis in synergy, with mineralogical and chemical analyses, reveals that the KSP body represents old, possibly Archean, sub-continental lithospheric mantle that was crustally emplaced into the Caledonian tectonic edifice from the hanging wall mantle during exhumation of the subducted Seve Nappe Complex (Jämtlandian orogeny ~ 454 Ma). Olivine porphyroclasts (M1) grew at high temperature during dominant isobaric cooling after extensive polybaric melt extraction (> 40%) and subsequent refertilization. The onset of the early Caledonian deformation is interpreted to be related to the crustal emplacement of the KSP during eduction of the SNC. This phase is characterized by the development of the olivine M2 foam microstructure, formed at 650-830 °C/1-2 GPa by dislocation creep processes producing an E-type CPO's by the operation of the [100](001) and subordinate [001](100) slip systems with operating flow stress

The onset of alpine pastoral systems in the Eastern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Oeggl, Klaus; Festi, Daniela; Putzer, Andreas

2015-04-01

Since the discovery of the Neolithic glacier mummy "Ötzi" in the nival belt of the main Alpine ridge, the onset of alpine pasture is matter of a highly controversial debate both in archaeology and in palaeo-ecology of the Eastern Alps. The implication is that his sojourn in the high-altitudes of the Alps is considered to be connected with pastoral nomadism. Regrettably any archaeological evidence for the existence of such Neolithic alpine pastoral systems is missing up to now and the assumption is based on palynological data only. However, also the palynological record is ambiguous, because pasture indicators in the alpine regions react positive on grazing as well as on fertilization induced by a higher runoff of precipitation. Thus alpine pasture indicators reflect both grazing pressure and climatic change. Anyhow, alpine pastoral systems are a common practice in Alpine animal husbandry, but from an economic point of view such a seasonal vertical transhumance is costly. There are three main reasons for its practice: i) climatic, ii) economic (mainly in connection with population pressure or mining activities), and iii) cultural ideology. In this study we tested the above mentioned reasons in an interdisciplinary study on the beginning of pastoral activities in high altitudes in the central part of the Eastern Alps. This is conducted by palynological analyses of peat deposits situated in the vicinity of the timberline (1600 - 2400 m a.s.l.) combined with archaeological surveys. The investigated sites are located in traditional Alpine transhumance regions and aligned on a transect through the central part of the Eastern Alps. The studies reveal that grazing pressure is reflected since the Bronze Age, which is corroborated by archaeological findings in the vicinity of the investigated sites.

Accessory minerals of Permian volcanites of South Gemeric Unit and Borka Nappe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smelko, M; Vozarova, A [Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, 84215 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2010-04-28

The goal of this study was to summarize and complete the results from the study of metavolcanites and their accessory minerals (Zircon Zr{sub 2}SiO{sub 4}, Monazite CePO{sub 4} and Xenotime YPO{sub 4}) from the Southern Gemericum Unit and from the Borka Nappe. The acid metavolcanites and their accessory minerals were observed of the modern analytical methods.

Paleocene-Eocene Sediments Interbedded With Volcanics Within the Lycian Nappes: Faralya Formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Şenel

1991-06-01

Full Text Available The presumably allochthonous structural units in the Southwestern Turkey between the Menderes massif and Beydağları autochthon are known as the Lycian nappes. Some of these units particularly beneath the ophiolite nappe end up with the Faralya formation of Paleocene-Lutetian age. The striking feature of this formation which includes micrite, clayey micrite, claystone, sandstone and conglomerate, is the presence of basic volcanite interbeds of Eocene age, This volcanite bearing formation exhibits a strong similarity to those of the other formations in Southwestern Turkey most of which include similar basic volcanites. Eocene basic volcanites are also known in the Akseki autochthon to the south of Seydişehir (Geyikdağ unit in broad sense. Similar extensive lateral movements (Eocene mountain building processes developed over the Faralya formation are seen over the volcanite bearing formations to the south of Menderes massif as well as to the north of Isparta angle and the Akseki autochthon. These features indicate that the area between the Menderes massif and Akseki autochthon (Geyikdağ unit reflects common basinal characters in terms of depositional conditions, volcanism and the traces of Eocene mountain building process.

ALPS: A Linear Program Solver

Science.gov (United States)

Ferencz, Donald C.; Viterna, Larry A.

1991-01-01

ALPS is a computer program which can be used to solve general linear program (optimization) problems. ALPS was designed for those who have minimal linear programming (LP) knowledge and features a menu-driven scheme to guide the user through the process of creating and solving LP formulations. Once created, the problems can be edited and stored in standard DOS ASCII files to provide portability to various word processors or even other linear programming packages. Unlike many math-oriented LP solvers, ALPS contains an LP parser that reads through the LP formulation and reports several types of errors to the user. ALPS provides a large amount of solution data which is often useful in problem solving. In addition to pure linear programs, ALPS can solve for integer, mixed integer, and binary type problems. Pure linear programs are solved with the revised simplex method. Integer or mixed integer programs are solved initially with the revised simplex, and the completed using the branch-and-bound technique. Binary programs are solved with the method of implicit enumeration. This manual describes how to use ALPS to create, edit, and solve linear programming problems. Instructions for installing ALPS on a PC compatible computer are included in the appendices along with a general introduction to linear programming. A programmers guide is also included for assistance in modifying and maintaining the program.

Low-Frequency Earthquakes Associated with the Late-Interseismic Central Alpine Fault, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Baratin, L. M.; Chamberlain, C. J.; Townend, J.; Savage, M. K.

2016-12-01

field in the central Southern Alps.

Refined Three-Dimensional Modelling of Thermally-Driven Flow in the Bormio System (Central Italian Alps)

Science.gov (United States)

Volpi, Giorgio; Riva, Federico; Frattini, Paolo; Battista Crosta, Giovanni; Magri, Fabien

2016-04-01

Thermal springs are widespread in the European Alps, where more than 80 geothermal sites are known and exploited. The quantitative assessment of those thermal flow systems is a challenging issue and requires accurate conceptual model and a thorough understanding of thermo-hydraulic properties of the aquifers. Accordingly in the last years, several qualitative studies were carried out to understand the heat and fluid transport processes driving deep fluids from the reservoir to the springs. Our work focused on thermal circulation and fluid outflows of the area around Bormio (Central Italian Alps), where nine geothermal springs discharge from dolomite bodies located close to a regional alpine thrust, called the Zebrù Line. At this site, water is heated in deep circulation systems and vigorously upwells at temperature of about 40°C. The aim of this paper is to explore the mechanisms of heat and fluid transport in the Bormio area by carrying out refined steady and transient three-dimensional finite element simulations of thermally-driven flow and to quantitatively assess the source area of the thermal waters. The full regional model (ca. 700 km2) is discretized with a highly refined triangular finite element planar grid obtained with Midas GTS NX software. The structural 3D features of the regional Zebrù thrust are built by interpolating series of geological cross sections using Fracman. A script was developed to convert and implement the thrust grid into FEFLOW mesh that comprises ca. 4 million elements. The numerical results support the observed discharge rates and temperature field within the simulated domain. Flow and temperature patterns suggest that thermal groundwater flows through a deep system crossing both sedimentary and metamorphic lithotypes, and a fracture network associated to the thrust system. Besides providing a numerical framework to simulate complex fractured systems, this example gives insights into the influence of deep alpine structures on

The internal structure of eclogite-facies ophiolite complexes: Implications from the Austroalpine outliers within the Zermatt-Saas Zone, Western Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Sebastian; Martinez, Raul

2016-04-01

The Western Alpine Penninic domain is a classical accretionary prism that formed after the closure of the Penninic oceans in the Paleogene. Continental and oceanic nappes were telescoped into the Western Alpine stack associated with continent-continent collision. Within the Western Alpine geologic framework, the ophiolite nappes of the Zermatt-Saas Zone and the Tsate Unit are the remnants of the southern branch of the Piemonte-Liguria ocean basin. In addition, a series of continental basement slices reported as lower Austroalpine outliers have preserved an eclogitic high-pressure imprint, and are tectonically sandwiched between these oceanic nappes. Since the outliers occur at an unusual intra-ophiolitic setting and show a polymetamorphic character, this group of continental slices is of special importance for understanding the tectono-metamorphic evolution of Western Alps. Recently, more geochronological data from the Austroalpine outliers have become available that make it possible to establish a more complete picture of their complex geological history. The Lu-Hf garnet-whole rock ages for prograde growth of garnet fall into the time interval of 52 to 62 Ma (Weber et al., 2015, Fassmer et al. 2015), but are consistently higher than the Lu-Hf garnet-whole rock ages from several other locations throughout the Zermatt-Saas zone that range from 52 to 38 Ma (Skora et al., 2015). This discrepancy suggests that the Austroalpine outliers may have been subducted earlier than the ophiolites of the Zermatt-Saas Zone and therefore have been tectonically emplaced into their present intra-ophiolite position. This points to the possibility that the Zermatt-Saas Zone consists of tectonic subunits, which reached their respective pressure peaks over a prolonged time period, approximately 10-20 Ma. The pressure-temperature estimates from several members of the Austroalpine outliers indicate a complex distribution of metamorphic peak conditions, without ultrahigh

The European Alps as an interrupter of the Earth's conductivity structures

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Halbouni, D.

2013-07-01

Joint interpretation of magnetotelluric and geomagnetic depth sounding results in the period range of 10-105 s in the Western European Alps offer new insights into the conductivity structure of the Earth's crust and mantle. This first large scale electromagnetic study in the Alps covers a cross-section from Germany to northern Italy and shows the importance of the alpine mountain chain as an interrupter of continuous conductors. Poor data quality due to the highly crystalline underground is overcome by Remote Reference and Robust Processing techniques and the combination of both electromagnetic methods. 3-D forward modeling reveals on the one hand interrupted dipping crustal conductors with maximum conductances of 4960 S and on the other hand a lithosphere thickening up to 208 km beneath the central Western Alps. Graphite networks arising from Palaeozoic sedimentary deposits are considered to be accountable for the occurrence of high conductivity and the distribution pattern of crustal conductors. The influence of huge sedimentary Molasse basins on the electromagnetic data is suggested to be minor compared with the influence of crustal conductors. Dipping direction (S-SE) and maximum angle (10.1°) of the northern crustal conductor reveal the main thrusting conditions beneath the Helvetic Alps whereas the existence of a crustal conductor in the Briançonnais supports theses about its belonging to the Iberian Peninsula. In conclusion the proposed model arisen from combined 3-D modeling of noise corrected electromagnetic data is able to explain the geophysical influence of various structural features in and around the Western European Alps and serves as a background for further upcoming studies.

Earthquake focal mechanisms and stress orientations in the eastern Swiss Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marschall, I.; Deichmann, N.; Marone, F.

2013-01-01

This study presents an updated set of earthquake focal mechanisms in the Helvetic and Penninic/Austroalpine domains of the eastern Swiss Alps. In eight cases, based on high-precision relative hypocentre locations of events within individual earthquake sequences, it was possible to identify the active fault plane. Whereas the focal mechanisms in the Helvetic domain are mostly strike-slip, the Penninic/Austroalpine domain is dominated by normal-faulting mechanisms. Given this systematic difference in faulting style, an inversion for the stress field was performed separately for the two regions. The stress field in the Penninic/Austroalpine domain is characterized by extension oriented obliquely to the E-W strike of the orogen. Hence, the Penninic nappes, which were emplaced as large-scale compressional structures during the Alpine orogenesis, are now deforming in an extensional mode. This contrasts with the more compressional strike-slip regime in the Helvetic domain towards the northern Alpine front. Relative to the regional stress field seen in the northern Alpine foreland with a NNW-SSE compression and an ENE-WSW extension, the orientation of the least compressive stress in the Penninic/Austroalpine domain is rotated counter-clockwise by about 40 °C. Following earlier studies, the observed rotation of the orientation of the least compressive stress in the Penninic/Austroalpine region can be explained as the superposition of the regional stress field of the northern foreland and a uniaxial extensional stress perpendicular to the local trend of the Alpine mountain belt. (authors)

Pre-Alpine evolution of the Seckau Complex (Austroalpine basement/Eastern Alps): Constraints from in-situ LA-ICP-MS Usbnd Pb zircon geochronology

Science.gov (United States)

Mandl, Magdalena; Kurz, Walter; Hauzenberger, Christoph; Fritz, Harald; Klötzli, Urs; Schuster, Ralf

2018-01-01

The Variscan European Belt is a complex orogen with its southern margin partly obscured by Alpine tectonics and metamorphism. We present a study of one of the units, the Seckau Complex, that constitute the southern part of the Variscan European Belt in the Eastern Alps in order to clarify its origin, age and lithostratigraphy. The magmatic and geochronological evolution of this Complex in the northwestern part of the Seckau Nappe (as part of the Austroalpine Silvretta-Seckau Nappe System) was investigated by zircon Usbnd Pb dating of paragneisses and metagranitoids coupled with petrological and geochemical data. This reveals the distinction of three newly defined lithostratigraphic/lithodemic sub-units: (1) Glaneck Metamorphic Suite, (2) Hochreichart Plutonic Suite and (3) Hintertal Plutonic Suite. The Glaneck Metamorphic Suite is mainly composed of fine-grained paragneisses that yield Usbnd Pb zircon ages in the range between 2.7 Ga and 2.0 Ga, as well as concordia ages from 572 ± 7 Ma to 559 ± 11 Ma. All of these ages are interpreted as detrital zircon ages originating from an igneous source. The paragneisses are the host rock for the large volumes of metagranitoids of the Hochreichart Plutonic Suite and the Hintertal Plutonic Suite. The Hochreichart Plutonic Suite comprises highly fractionated melts with mainly S-type characteristics and late Cambrian to Early Ordovician Usbnd Pb zircon ages (508 ± 9 Ma to 486 ± 9 Ma), interpreted as magmatic protolith ages. The Hintertal Plutonic Suite is composed of metagranitoids with Late Devonian to early Carboniferous (365 ± 11 Ma and 331 ± 10 Ma) protolith ages, that intruded during an early phase of the Variscan tectonometamorphic event. The metagranitoids of the Hintertal Plutonic Suites define a magmatic fractionation trend, seen in variable Rb/Sr ratios. On this base they can be further subdivided into (a) the Griessstein Pluton characterized by S-type metagranitoids and (b) the Pletzen Pluton distinguished by

Fission track ages on apatite of Bergell rocks from central Alps and Bergell boulders in Oligocene sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, G.A.; Miller, D.S.

1979-01-01

Previous radiometric dating studies indicated that the Bergell region, in contrast to other regions of the Central Alps, experienced an early, rapid uplift, but with decreasing rate. Furthermore, there is also a geological record of the early uplift history of the Bergell granite by the existence of boulders which were derived from this granite and which occur in the Late Oligocene sediments of the Po plain. In this work the uplift history of the Bergell is studied in more detail by fission track dating of additional apatites from the Bergell region. Secondly, by determining apatite fission track ages the granitic boulders of the Po plain can be re-assigned to their original vertical position within the Bergell intrusive before erosion removed them in Late Oligocene time. A rather conservative estimate replaces them 6 km above the present morphology of the Bergell massif. Thus, the thickness of the Bergell granite must have been at least 8 km. Generally, fission track studies on boulders may become an important tool to study the vertical extent of mountain chains during the geological past. (Auth.)

78 FR 29787 - ALPS ETF Trust, et al.;

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-21

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 30519; 812-13884] ALPS ETF...(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act. APPLICANTS: ALPS ETF Trust (``Trust''), ALPS Advisors, Inc. (``Adviser... actively managed exchange-traded fund (``ETF''). \\1\\ All entities that currently intend to rely on the...

Bedrock topography beneath uppermost part of Aletsch glacier, Central Swiss Alps, revealed from cosmic-ray muon radiography

Science.gov (United States)

Nishiyama, Ryuichi; Ariga, Akitaka; Ariga, Tomoko; Käser, Samuel; Lechmann, Alessandro; Mair, David; Scampoli, Paola; Vladymyrov, Mykhailo; Ereditato, Antonio; Schlunegger, Fritz

2017-04-01

In mountainous landscapes such as the Central Alps of Europe, the bedrock topography is one of the most interesting subjects of study since it separates the geological substratum (bedrock) from the overlying unconsolidated units (ice). The geometry of the bedrock topography puts a tight constraint on the erosional mechanism of glaciers. In previous studies, it has been inferred mainly from landscapes where glaciers have disappeared after the termination of the last glacial epoch. However, the number of studies with a focus on the structure beneath active glaciers is limited, because existing exploration methods have limitation in resolution and mobility. The Eiger-μ project proposes a new technology, called muon radiography, to investigate the bedrock geometry beneath active glaciers. The muon radiography is a recent technique that relies on the high penetration power of muon components in natural cosmic rays. Specifically, one can resolve the internal density profile of a gigantic object by measuring the attenuation rate of the intensity of muons after passing through it, as in medical X-ray diagnostic. This technique has been applied to many fields such as volcano monitoring (eg. Ambrosino et al., 2015; Jourde et al., 2016; Nishiyama et al., 2016), detection of seismic faults (eg. Tanaka et al., 2011), inspection inside nuclear reactors, etc. The first feasibility test of the Eiger-μ project has been performed at Jungfrau region, Central Swiss Alps, Switzerland. We installed cosmic-ray detectors consisting of emulsion films at three sites along the Jungfrau railway tunnel facing Aletsch glacier (Jungfraufirn). The detectors stayed 47 days in the tunnel and recorded the tracks of muons which passed through the glacier and bedrock (thickness is about 100 m). Successively the films were chemically developed and scanned at University of Bern with microscopes originally developed for the analysis of physics experiments on neutrino oscillation. The analysis of muon

Age and prematurity of the Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Hergarten, Stefan; Stüwe, Kurt; Wagner, Thomas

2010-05-01

Although the Alps are among the best studied mountain ranges on Earth, the age of their topography is almost unknown. Even their relative stage of evolution is unclear: Are the Alps still growing, in a steady state or even decaying? Using the mean slope at given catchment size as a new geomorphic parameter we analyse the topography of the Alps. Our analysis provides one of the first quantitative constraints that shows that the range is still in its infancy: In contrast to several other mountain ranges, the Alps have still more than half of their evolution to a geomorphic steady state to go. Combining our results with sediment data from the surrounding accumulation spaces we infer that the formation of substantial topography began only 5-6 million years ago. Our results challenge a general consensus that the topographic evolution is distributed over much of the Miocene.

The ALP miracle: unified inflaton and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daido, Ryuji; Takahashi, Fuminobu; Yin, Wen

2017-01-01

We propose a scenario where both inflation and dark matter are described by a single axion-like particle (ALP) in a unified manner. In a class of the minimal axion hilltop inflation, the effective masses at the maximum and mimimum of the potential have equal magnitude but opposite sign, so that the ALP inflaton is light both during inflation and in the true vacuum. After inflation, most of the ALPs decay and evaporate into plasma through a coupling to photons, and the remaining ones become dark matter. We find that the observed CMB and matter power spectrum as well as the dark matter abundance point to an ALP of mass m φ = O(0.01) eV and the axion-photon coupling g φ γ γ = O(10 −11 ) GeV −1 : the ALP miracle . The suggested parameter region is within the reach of the next generation axion helioscope, IAXO, and high-intensity laser experiments in the future. Furthermore, thermalized ALPs contribute to hot dark matter and its abundance is given in terms of the effective number of extra neutrino species, Δ N eff ≅ 0.03, which can be tested by the future CMB and BAO observations. We also discuss a case with multiple ALPs, where the coupling to photons can be enhanced in the early Universe by an order of magnitude or more, which enlarges the parameter space for the ALP miracle. The heavy ALP plays a role of the waterfall field in hybrid inflation, and reheats the Universe, and it can be searched for in various experiments such as SHiP.

The ALP miracle: unified inflaton and dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daido, Ryuji; Takahashi, Fuminobu [Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578 (Japan); Yin, Wen, E-mail: daido@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: fumi@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: wyin@ihep.ac.cn [IHEP, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China)

2017-05-01

We propose a scenario where both inflation and dark matter are described by a single axion-like particle (ALP) in a unified manner. In a class of the minimal axion hilltop inflation, the effective masses at the maximum and mimimum of the potential have equal magnitude but opposite sign, so that the ALP inflaton is light both during inflation and in the true vacuum. After inflation, most of the ALPs decay and evaporate into plasma through a coupling to photons, and the remaining ones become dark matter. We find that the observed CMB and matter power spectrum as well as the dark matter abundance point to an ALP of mass m {sub φ} = O(0.01) eV and the axion-photon coupling g {sub φ} {sub γ} {sub γ} = O(10{sup −11}) GeV{sup −1}: the ALP miracle . The suggested parameter region is within the reach of the next generation axion helioscope, IAXO, and high-intensity laser experiments in the future. Furthermore, thermalized ALPs contribute to hot dark matter and its abundance is given in terms of the effective number of extra neutrino species, Δ N {sub eff} ≅ 0.03, which can be tested by the future CMB and BAO observations. We also discuss a case with multiple ALPs, where the coupling to photons can be enhanced in the early Universe by an order of magnitude or more, which enlarges the parameter space for the ALP miracle. The heavy ALP plays a role of the waterfall field in hybrid inflation, and reheats the Universe, and it can be searched for in various experiments such as SHiP.

Precambrian tholeiitic-dacitic rock-suites and Cambrian ultramafic rocks in the Pennine nappe system of the Alps: Evidence from Sm-Nd isotopes and rare earth elements

Science.gov (United States)

Stille, P.; Tatsumoto, M.

1985-04-01

Major element, trace element and Sm-Nd isotope analyses were made of polymetamorphic hornblendefelses, plagioclase amphibolites and banded amphibolites from the Berisal complex in the Simplon area (Italy, Switzerland) to determine their age, origin and genetic relationships. In light of major and rare earth element data, the hornblendefelses are inferred to have originally been pyroxene-rich cumulates, the plagioclase amphibolites and the dark layers of the banded amphibolites to have been tholeiitic basalts and the light layers dacites. The Sm-Nd isotope data yield isochron ages of 475±81 Ma for the hornblendefelses, 1,018±59 Ma for the plagioclase amphibolites and 1,071±43 Ma for the banded amphibolites. The 1 Ga magmatic event is the oldest one ever found in the crystalline basement of the Pennine nappes. The Sm -Nd isotope data support the consanguinity of the tholeiitic dark layers and the dacitic light layers of the banded amphibolites with the tholeiitic plagioclase amphibolites and the ultramafic hornblendefelses. The initial ɛ Nd values indicate that all three rock types originated from sources depleted in light rare earth elements. We suggest that plagioclase and banded amphibolites were a Proterozoic tholeiite-dacite sequence that was strongly deformed and flattened during subsequent folding. The hornblendefelses are thought to be Cambrian intrusions of pyroxene-rich material.

How steep are the Alps?

Science.gov (United States)

Robl, Jörg; Prasicek, Günther; Stüwe, Kurt; Hergarten, Stefan

2014-05-01

The topography of the European Alps reflects continental collision, crustal thickening and buoyancy driven surface uplift, overprinted by erosional processes. Topographic gradients generally steepen from the valley floors up to about 1500 m - 2000 m followed by an unexpected decrease in slope up to about 2900 m and a further increase to the highest summits of the range. Several studies have interpreted this pattern and the accompanied maximum in the hypsometric curve in terms of either the critical slope stability angle, the prematurity of the Alps caused by recent tectonic uplift, or the effect of the glacial "buzz saw" related to the Pleistocene glaciation cycles. There is consensus that the lithological inventory represents a first order parameter for the steepness of fluvial channels and the angle of hillslopes in steady state and that the response time of a transient landscape is controlled by lithology. In this study we systematically explore the slope-elevation distributions for several hundred continuous domains of the major structural units of the Alps. For this, we apply a novel numerical code to determine the predominant cause for the observed peculiar topography. We compare adjacent alpine domains with contrasting lithology to explore lithological effects on the limiting slope stability angle. We analyze domains with different lithology in the non-glaciated parts of the orogen to highlight the state of maturity related to a recent uplift event. We evaluate the glacial effects on the landscape by the comparison of areas belonging to the same structural units but affected by a variable amount of glacial imprint. The results show that lithology has a major impact on the morphometric characteristics of the European Alps. Adjacent but different structural units show a significant variability in their slope-elevation distributions although they have experienced the same uplift history and the same amount of glacial imprint. This suggests that the response

Underground waters in Kamnik and Savinja Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dušan Novak

1995-12-01

Full Text Available Dye-tracing tests in the region of the alps Velika planina and Mala planina have shown that the major part of the region drains towards the spring of the Lučnica at Podvolovljek where is also a small fish farm. As to the water level, the marginal and central parts also drain into the stream Lučka Bela or the springs at Volovljek.Quite interesting is the high-mountain plateau Veža, a karstified territory surrounded by the valleys Robanov kot and Podvolovljek, as well as the tributary area of the stream Kamniška Bistrica. Here there is every indication of the deep runoff into the springs above Luče, the spring Pečovski izvir, the temporary springswhich are close to the stream Savinja and into the unknown springs in the gorge below the rocky needle Igla. With regard to the water level, the higher parts of the massif can drain towards the valleys Robanov kot, Podvolovljek and Kamniška Bistrica.The tributary area of the Bistrica is quite well known, too. It has been discovered that the area of the saddle Kamniško sedlo drains towards the springs of the Savinja. The territories of the saddle Kokrsko sedlo, the alps Dolge njive and Kalce drain into the spring Studenci below Mokrica.

Geology of the Spanish part of the Gavarnie Nappe (Pyrenees) and its underlying sediments near Bielsa (Province of Huesca)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lith, J.G.J. van

1968-01-01

A description is given of the stratigraphy and the tectonics of the Spanish part of the Gavarnie nappe and and its underlying sediments near Bielsa. The outlines of the geological map coincide approximately with the frontier of the municipality of Bielsa. This study forms part of geological

198 Contribution à l'étude de la salinisation de la nappe côtière de ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

MB Pro

La nappe côtière de Foum EL Oued est la principale unité hydrogéologique de la ..... évaporites (NaCl = halite) soit par une contamination à partir d'un biseau salé .... A. HANI and J. MANIA,Tecnología De La Intrusión De Agua De Mar En.

The epic of Hannibal through the Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arbia Hilali

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A true myth is built around the figure of Hannibal and his journey to Rome through the Alps. After leaving the South of the Iberian Peninsula to his brother Hasdrubal, Hannibal leaves Cartagena, crosses the Pyrenees, goes up the valleys of the Rhone and Isere, crosses the Alps and ends in Italy in November 218 BC. Its stratagems are still authoritative, not to mention the exotic image of fighting elephants that have deeply marked the spirits. The crossing of the Alps has nourished art and ancient and modern literature. In contemporary Tunisia, antiquity finds a fundamental place and Hannibal redux is a national hero.

Urbanization and depopulation in the Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Batzing, W; Perlik, M; Dekleva, M

1996-11-01

Demographic developments in the European Alpine region are analyzed over the period 1870-1990. The region is defined as including parts of Germany, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland, and Slovenia. "Studies of growth, stagnation, decline, commune size, and altitude in almost 6,000 communes are presented on three colored maps.... It is apparent that two highly divergent processes are at work and, accordingly, statistical mean values reveal little of importance. Approximately one-half of Alpine Europe is undergoing general economic and demographic growth and has experienced significant increase in population since the end of the agricultural era. This development has taken place primarily in low-lying valleys and basins and in areas bordering the Alps that have good access to transport routes. Tourism is not as widespread as generally assumed and is usually characterized by a punctate pattern. Only in the western part of the Eastern Alps does tourism account for widespread population growth at higher altitudes; elsewhere the Alps have not been affected by modern development and the economy and population are declining, with some areas in danger of becoming completely abandoned. The results challenge the earlier concept of the Alps as a rural region, once populated by peasants, where tourism now plays a major role." (EXCERPT)

ALP - blood test

Science.gov (United States)

... Tissues with higher amounts of ALP include the liver, bile ducts, and bone. A blood test can be done ... and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Bile Duct Diseases Read more Bone Diseases Read more Liver Function Tests Read more A.D.A.M., ...

Gene Expression of Lytic Endopeptidases AlpA and AlpB from Lysobacter sp. XL1 in Pseudomonads.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsfasman, Irina M; Lapteva, Yulia S; Krasovskaya, Ludmila A; Kudryakova, Irina V; Vasilyeva, Natalia V; Granovsky, Igor E; Stepnaya, Olga A

2015-01-01

Development of an efficient expression system for (especially secreted) bacterial lytic enzymes is a complicated task due to the specificity of their action. The substrate for such enzymes is peptidoglycan, the main structural component of bacterial cell walls. For this reason, expression of recombinant lytic proteins is often accompanied with lysis of the producing bacterium. This paper presents data on the construction of an inducible system for expression of the lytic peptidases AlpA and AlpB from Lysobacter sp. XL1 in Pseudomonas fluorescens Q2-87, which provides for the successful secretion of these proteins into the culture liquid. In this system, the endopeptidase gene under control of the T7lac promoter was integrated into the bacterial chromosome, as well as the Escherichia coli lactose operon repressor protein gene. The T7 pol gene under lac promoter control, which encodes the phage T7 RNA polymerase, is maintained in Pseudomonas cells on the plasmids. Media and cultivation conditions for the recombinant strains were selected to enable the production of AlpA and AlpB by a simple purification protocol. Production of recombinant lytic enzymes should contribute to the development of new-generation antimicrobial drugs whose application will not be accompanied by selection of resistant microorganisms. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Crustal structure of the Eastern Alps and their foreland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grad, M.; Brückl, E.; Majdanski, M.

2009-01-01

The subject of this paper concerns the seismic modelling of the crustal structure in the transition zone from the Bohemian Massif, across the Molasse basin and the Eastern Alps to the Southern Alps, mainly on the territory of Austria. The CEL10/Alp04 profile crosses the triple point of the European......) are distinct up to 60-90 km offset and are characterized by large variations in apparent velocity and amplitude. The contact between the Molasse basin and the Eastern Alps represents a barrier for seismic waves. Mid-crustal reflections (Pc) are usually recorded at short distance intervals (20-50 km......, was undertaken using a ray-tracing technique. The P-wave velocity in the crystalline upper crust of the Bohemian Massif and Molasse basin is about 6.15 km s-1, which is slightly higher than in the Alpine area (about 6.0 km s-1). Below the northern accretionary wedge of the Eastern Alps low-velocity sediments...

Altitudinal and chiral signature of persistent organochlorine pesticides in air, soil, and spruce needles (Picea abies) of the Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Heqing; Henkelmann, Bernhard; Levy, Walkiria; Zsolnay, Adam; Weiss, Peter; Jakobi, Gert; Kirchner, Manfred; Moche, Wolfgang; Braun, Katharina; Schramm, Karl-Werner

2009-04-01

The present study investigated the distribution, transportation, and biodegradation of the selected chiral persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in the Alps. In the complex environment, we found the movement and fate of OCP could be defined by many factors. Taking HCE as an example, below the timberline its accumulation from air into SPMD increased with altitude and seasonally changed, but the trends reversed above the timberline. In soil, the tendency of HCE concentrations vs organic materials followed a sigmoid curve, and HCE concentration-altitude correlations are positive in central Alps but negative in southern Alps. The HCE enantiomeric ratios (ERs) in soil correlated to HCE isomers concentrations, the humus pH values, and the sampling site altitudes. HCE shift from humus to mineral soil can also be traced by ERs. The altitudinal and longitudinal trends in needles suggested that alpha-HCH has a more complex movementthan HCE in Alps. In conclusion, altitude conducted condensation, plant canopies, organic material in soil, and geographic specific precipitations may affect OCP distributions and transportation, whereas altitude conducted temperature and soil pH could dictate their fate in the environment.

Catchment features controlling nitrogen dynamics in running waters above the tree line (central Italian Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Balestrini

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The study of nitrogen cycling in mountain areas has a long tradition, as it was applied to better understand and describe ecosystem functioning, as well as to quantify long-distance effects of human activities on remote environments. Nonetheless, very few studies, especially in Europe, have considered catchment features controlling nitrogen dynamics above the tree line with focus on running waters. In this study, relationships between some water chemistry descriptors – including nitrogen species and dissolved organic carbon (DOC – and catchment characteristics were evaluated for a range of sites located above the tree line (1950–2650 m a.s.l. at Val Masino, in the central Italian Alps. Land cover categories as well as elevation and slope were assessed at each site. Water samples were collected during the 2007 and 2008 snow free periods, with a nearly monthly frequency. In contrast to dissolved organic nitrogen, nitrate concentrations in running waters showed a spatial pattern strictly connected to the fractional extension of tundra and talus in each basin. Exponential models significantly described the relationships between maximum NO3 and the fraction of vegetated soil cover (negative relation and talus (positive relation, explaining almost 90% of nitrate variation in running waters. Similarly to nitrate but with an opposite behavior, DOC was positively correlated with vegetated soil cover and negatively correlated with talus. Therefore, land cover can be considered one of the most important factors affecting water quality in high-elevation catchments with contrasting effects on N and C pools.

The cryogenic photon detection system for the ALPS II experiment. Characterization, optimization and background rejection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bastidon, Noemi Alice Chloe

2017-01-12

The search for new fundamental bosons at very low mass is the central objective of the ALPS II experiment which is currently set up at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY, Hamburg). This experiment follows the light-shining-through-the-wall concept where photons could oscillate into weakly interacting light bosons in front of a wall and back into photons behind the wall, giving the impression that light can shine through a light tight barrier. In this concept, the background-free detection of near-infrared photons is required to fully exploit the sensitivity of the apparatus. The high efficiency single-photon detection in the near-infrared is challenging and requires a cryogenic detector. In this project, a Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) operated below 100mK will be used to detect single photons. This thesis focuses on the characterization and optimization of the ALPS II detector system including an Adiabatic Demagnetisation Refrigerator (ADR) with its two-stage pulse-tube cooler, two TES detectors and their Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) read-out system. Stability of the detection system over time is a priority in the ALPS II experiment. It is in this context that the cooling system has been subjected to many upgrades. In the framework of this thesis, the cooling setup has been studied in detail in order to optimize its cooling performances. Furthermore, the stability of the detector has been studied according to various criteria. Other essential parameters of the ALPS II experiment are its detection efficiency and its background rate. Indeed, the sensitivity of the experiment directly depends on these two characteristics. Both elements have been studied in depth in order to define if the chosen TES detector will meet ALPS IIc specifications.

The cryogenic photon detection system for the ALPS II experiment. Characterization, optimization and background rejection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastidon, Noemi Alice Chloe

2017-01-01

The search for new fundamental bosons at very low mass is the central objective of the ALPS II experiment which is currently set up at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY, Hamburg). This experiment follows the light-shining-through-the-wall concept where photons could oscillate into weakly interacting light bosons in front of a wall and back into photons behind the wall, giving the impression that light can shine through a light tight barrier. In this concept, the background-free detection of near-infrared photons is required to fully exploit the sensitivity of the apparatus. The high efficiency single-photon detection in the near-infrared is challenging and requires a cryogenic detector. In this project, a Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) operated below 100mK will be used to detect single photons. This thesis focuses on the characterization and optimization of the ALPS II detector system including an Adiabatic Demagnetisation Refrigerator (ADR) with its two-stage pulse-tube cooler, two TES detectors and their Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) read-out system. Stability of the detection system over time is a priority in the ALPS II experiment. It is in this context that the cooling system has been subjected to many upgrades. In the framework of this thesis, the cooling setup has been studied in detail in order to optimize its cooling performances. Furthermore, the stability of the detector has been studied according to various criteria. Other essential parameters of the ALPS II experiment are its detection efficiency and its background rate. Indeed, the sensitivity of the experiment directly depends on these two characteristics. Both elements have been studied in depth in order to define if the chosen TES detector will meet ALPS IIc specifications.

The Friningen Garnet Peridotite (central Swedish Caledonides). A good example of the characteristic PTt path of a cold mantle wedge garnet peridotite

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gilio, Mattia; Clos, Frediano; van Roermund, Herman L M|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/068882432

2015-01-01

We present pseudosections of Cr-bearing garnet peridotite that together with new mineral–chemical data allow quantification of the early PT conditions of the original lithospheric mantle assemblage (M1) of the Friningen Garnet Peridotite (FGP) located in the central/middle belt of the Seve Nappe

Spatial and seasonal variations in mobile carbohydrates in Pinus cembra in the timberline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, A; Pirkebner, D; Oberhuber, W; Wieser, G

2011-03-01

To test whether the altitudinal limit of tree growth is determined by carbons shortage or by a limitation in growth we investigated non structural carbohydrates and their components starch and total soluble sugars in Pinus cembra trees along an elevational gradient in the timberline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps. NSC contents in needles, branches, stems, and coarse roots were measured throughout an entire growing season. At the tissue level NSC contents were not significantly more abundant in treeline trees as compared to trees at lower elevations. Along our 425 m elevational transect from the closed forest to the treeline we failed to find a stable elevational trend in the total NSC pool of entire trees and observed within season increases in the tree's NSC pool that can be attributed to an altitudinal increase in leaf mass as needles contained the largest NSC fraction of the whole tree NSC pool. Furthermore, whole tree NSC contents were positively correlated with net photosynthetic capacity. Although our observed NSC characteristics do not support the hypothesis that tree life at their upper elevational limit is determined by an insufficient carbon balance we found no consistent confirmation for the sink limitation hypothesis.

The XMAP215 Ortholog Alp14 Promotes Microtubule Nucleation in Fission Yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Flor-Parra, Ignacio; Iglesias-Romero, Ana Belén; Chang, Fred

2018-06-04

The organization and number of microtubules (MTs) in a cell depend on the proper regulation of MT nucleation. Currently, the mechanism of nucleation is the most poorly understood aspect of MT dynamics. XMAP215/chTOG/Alp14/Stu2 proteins are MT polymerases that stimulate MT polymerization at MT plus ends by binding and releasing tubulin dimers. Although these proteins also localize to MT organizing centers and have nucleating activity in vitro, it is not yet clear whether these proteins participate in MT nucleation in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the XMAP215 ortholog Alp14 is critical for efficient MT nucleation in vivo. In multiple assays, loss of Alp14 function led to reduced nucleation rate and numbers of interphase MT bundles. Conversely, activation of Alp14 led to increased nucleation frequency. Alp14 associated with Mto1 and γ-tubulin complex components, and artificially targeting Alp14 to the γ-tubulin ring complexes (γ-TuRCs) stimulated nucleation. In imaging individual nucleation events, we found that Alp14 transiently associated with a γ-tubulin particle shortly before the appearance of a new MT. The transforming acidic coiled-coil (TACC) ortholog Alp7 mediated the localization of Alp14 at nucleation sites but not plus ends, and was required for efficient nucleation but not for MT polymerization. Our findings provide the strongest evidence to date that Alp14 serves as a critical MT nucleation factor in vivo. We suggest a model in which Alp14 associates with the γ-tubulin complex in an Alp7-dependent manner to facilitate the assembly or stabilization of the nascent MT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Searching for axions and ALPs from string theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ringwald, Andreas

2012-09-15

We review searches for closed string axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) in IIB string flux compactifications. For natural values of the background fluxes and TeV scale gravitino mass, the moduli stabilisation mechanism of the LARGE Volume Scenario predicts the existence of a QCD axion candidate with intermediate scale decay constant, f{sub a} {proportional_to}10{sup 9/12} GeV, associated with the small cycles wrapped by the branes hosting the visible sector, plus a nearly massless and nearly decoupled ALP associated with the LARGE cycle. In setups where the visible sector branes are wrapping more than the minimum number of two intersecting cycles, there are more ALPs which have approximately the same decay constant and coupling to the photon as the QCD axion candidate, but which are exponentially lighter. There are exciting phenomenological opportunities to search for these axions and ALPs in the near future. For f{sub a} {proportional_to}10{sup 11/12} GeV, the QCD axion can be the dominant part of dark matter and be detected in haloscopes exploiting microwave cavities. For f{sub a} {proportional_to}10{sup 9/10} GeV, the additional ALPs could explain astrophysical anomalies and be searched for in the upcoming generation of helioscopes and light-shining-through-a-wall experiments.

Status and distribution of the lynx in the German Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Kaczensky

1998-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract The lynx (Lynx lynx had been eradicated in the German Alps by the middle of the 19th century. Since the early 1970s there have been several attempts to initiate the re-introduction of lynx into the German Alps, but none of the projects could be carried out because of the still very controversial attitudes towards the species, and because of competition between institutions. Natural re-colonization of the German Alps by lynx can be expected sooner or later from Switzerland or Austria. Although lynx are already present in some parts of Germany outside the Alps, neither an organized monitoring system nor compensation regulations for losses of livestock exist. For a successful comeback of lynx into Germany, including the German Alps, more efforts than a year-round protection by the federal hunting law is needed. Initiative management actions and intensive public education are necessary to obtain and secure public acceptance of the lynx.

An economics figure of merit in ALPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shatilla, Y.A.

2000-01-01

One of the most pressing issues facing the deregulated nuclear electric power industry is its economic competitiveness when compared to other sources of electrical power. Traditionally, finding the optimum loading pattern (LP) that meets all the safety and operational objective functions and at the same time produces the most attractive economical solutions is an iterative process. This is because (a) LP search tools usually lack the capability to generate equilibrium solutions and (b) economics objective functions are hard to include in the search process. In this paper, the Westinghouse Advanced Loading Pattern Search code (ALPS) has been demonstrated to successfully find LPs that meet user-defined operational and safety as well as economics objectives. This has been made possible by the development of TULIP language that allows the integration of external procedures into the search process of the main program, ALPS. In the example given, an economic figure of merit (EFM) has been defined and included via TULIP script into the fuel management optimization problem of a three-loop Westinghouse core operating an 18-month cycle. The LPs found by ALPS exhibit a clear trend of meeting and, in some cases, exceeding the EFM objective function defined for the ALPS search process a priori

Any Light Particle Search (ALPS)

Science.gov (United States)

Spector, Aaron; Any Light Particle Search (ALPS) Collaboration

2016-03-01

High power laser fields enabled by technologies developed for ground-based gravitational-wave observatories open up new opportunities for fundamental physics studies. One of these options is the search for axions and axion-like particles in a pure laboratory experiment. The axion is a solution to the strong CP-problem and a potential dark matter candidate. The axion has also been proposed as an additional channel to cool stars as well as a potential explanation for the TeV transparency problem. The German-US ALPS collaboration is setting up a light-shining-through-walls (LSW) experiment at DESY. LSW experiments are based on the simple idea that a high power laser field traversing a static magnetic field will transform partly into a relativistic axion field. This axion field will travel through an opaque wall into a second static magnetic field region where it turns partly back into an electromagnetic wave field with the same frequency as the laser. The ALPS collaboration is working towards a large scale LSW experiment at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. I will report on the status of the ALPS experiment. This work is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, PRISMA, the Helmholtz Association, the National Science Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

The quest for an intermediate-scale accidental axion and further ALPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias, A.G.; Nishi, C.C.; Machado, A.C.B.; Vaudrevange, P.

2014-03-01

The recent detection of the cosmic microwave background polarimeter experiment BICEP2 of tensor fluctuations in the B-mode power spectrum basically excludes all plausible axion models where its decay constant is above 10 13 GeV. Moreover, there are strong theoretical, astrophysical, and cosmological motivations for models involving, in addition to the axion, also axion-like particles (ALPs), with decay constants in the intermediate scale range, between 10 9 GeV and 10 13 GeV. Here, we present a general analysis of models with an axion and further ALPs and derive bounds on the relative size of the axion and ALP photon (and electron) coupling. We discuss what we can learn from measurements of the axion and ALP photon couplings about the fundamental parameters of the underlying ultraviolet completion of the theory. For the latter we consider extensions of the Standard Model in which the axion and the ALP(s) appear as pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons from the breaking of global chiral U(1) (Peccei-Quinn (PQ)) symmetries, occuring accidentally as low energy remnants from exact discrete symmetries. In such models, the axion and the further ALP are protected from disastrous explicit symmetry breaking effects due to Planck-scale suppressed operators. The scenarios considered exploit heavy right handed neutrinos getting their mass via PQ symmetry breaking and thus explain the small mass of the active neutrinos via a seesaw relation between the electroweak and an intermediate PQ symmetry breaking scale. We show some models that can accommodate simultaneously an axion dark matter candidate, an ALP explaining the anomalous transparency of the universe for γ-rays, and an ALP explaining the recently reported 3.55 keV gamma line from galaxies and clusters of galaxies, if the respective decay constants are of intermediate scale.

The quest for an intermediate-scale accidental axion and further ALPs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dias, A.G.; Nishi, C.C. [Univ. Federal do ABC - UFABC, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Machado, A.C.B. [Teorica-Univ. Estadual Paulista, Sao Paulo (Brazil). Instituto de Fisica; Ringwald, A. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Vaudrevange, P. [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Excellence Cluster Universe

2014-03-15

The recent detection of the cosmic microwave background polarimeter experiment BICEP2 of tensor fluctuations in the B-mode power spectrum basically excludes all plausible axion models where its decay constant is above 10{sup 13} GeV. Moreover, there are strong theoretical, astrophysical, and cosmological motivations for models involving, in addition to the axion, also axion-like particles (ALPs), with decay constants in the intermediate scale range, between 10{sup 9} GeV and 10{sup 13} GeV. Here, we present a general analysis of models with an axion and further ALPs and derive bounds on the relative size of the axion and ALP photon (and electron) coupling. We discuss what we can learn from measurements of the axion and ALP photon couplings about the fundamental parameters of the underlying ultraviolet completion of the theory. For the latter we consider extensions of the Standard Model in which the axion and the ALP(s) appear as pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons from the breaking of global chiral U(1) (Peccei-Quinn (PQ)) symmetries, occuring accidentally as low energy remnants from exact discrete symmetries. In such models, the axion and the further ALP are protected from disastrous explicit symmetry breaking effects due to Planck-scale suppressed operators. The scenarios considered exploit heavy right handed neutrinos getting their mass via PQ symmetry breaking and thus explain the small mass of the active neutrinos via a seesaw relation between the electroweak and an intermediate PQ symmetry breaking scale. We show some models that can accommodate simultaneously an axion dark matter candidate, an ALP explaining the anomalous transparency of the universe for γ-rays, and an ALP explaining the recently reported 3.55 keV gamma line from galaxies and clusters of galaxies, if the respective decay constants are of intermediate scale.

Stars in the Silurian sky: Echinoderm holdfasts from the Carnic Alps, Austria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferretti, A.; Ausich, W.I.; Corradini, C.; Corriga, M.G.; Schoenlaub, H.P.

2016-01-01

A small collection of echinoderm holdfasts from the Ludlow Cardiola Formation of the Carnic Alps (Austria) contains a wide range of morphologies as a response of environmental adaptation. In general, the holdfasts have a globous and massive dome-like profile with several processes arranged in a sub-radial disposition, so to create a sort of ‘star-like’ outline. A small central depression is common but not present on all specimens. The distinctive holdfasts are preserved in an iron-rich phase, documenting a substitution that has also affected other non-echinoderm calcareous material. (Author)

Stars in the Silurian sky: Echinoderm holdfasts from the Carnic Alps, Austria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferretti, A.; Ausich, W.I.; Corradini, C.; Corriga, M.G.; Schoenlaub, H.P.

2016-07-01

A small collection of echinoderm holdfasts from the Ludlow Cardiola Formation of the Carnic Alps (Austria) contains a wide range of morphologies as a response of environmental adaptation. In general, the holdfasts have a globous and massive dome-like profile with several processes arranged in a sub-radial disposition, so to create a sort of ‘star-like’ outline. A small central depression is common but not present on all specimens. The distinctive holdfasts are preserved in an iron-rich phase, documenting a substitution that has also affected other non-echinoderm calcareous material. (Author)

Spatial and seasonal variations in mobile carbohydrates in Pinus cembra in the timberline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, A.; Pirkebner, D.; Oberhuber, W.; Wieser, G.

2011-01-01

To test whether the altitudinal limit of tree growth is determined by carbons shortage or by a limitation in growth we investigated non structural carbohydrates and their components starch and total soluble sugars in Pinus cembra trees along an elevational gradient in the timberline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps. NSC contents in needles, branches, stems, and coarse roots were measured throughout an entire growing season. At the tissue level NSC contents were not significantly more abundant in treeline trees as compared to trees at lower elevations. Along our 425 m elevational transect from the closed forest to the treeline we failed to find a stable elevational trend in the total NSC pool of entire trees and observed within season increases in the tree’s NSC pool that can be attributed to an altitudinal increase in leaf mass as needles contained the largest NSC fraction of the whole tree NSC pool. Furthermore, whole tree NSC contents were positively correlated with net photosynthetic capacity. Although our observed NSC characteristics do not support the hypothesis that tree life at their upper elevational limit is determined by an insufficient carbon balance we found no consistent confirmation for the sink limitation hypothesis. PMID:22003357

Analysis of topography and relief as a function of the tectonic - geomorphologic evolution of the Eastern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Bungies, Nadin; Rosenberg, Claudio

2014-05-01

Alpine topography and relief vary regionally (Frisch et al., 1997), even on the scale of tens of kilometers. The causes of these differences are the aim of this work that is based on a geomorphological study of the eastern Alps. Earlier investigations on the topography of the Central Alps (Rosenberg & Garcia, 2013) show, by using 50 km, 75 km, and 100 km swath profiles, that the relief northward of the Insubric Line increases westward, whereas the relief southwards of the Insubric Line decreases eastward. This trend reflects collisional shortening trends recently observed in the Central Alps (Rosenberg & Kissling, 2013). In this work, we analyse the topography of the eastern Alps from the Brenner Area in the west to the Steiermark Area in the east, based on satellite images and digital terrain models, that cover an area of 36 000 km2 in the Austrian and Italian Alps. Based on these data, new GIS-aided datasets containing selected relief factors have been derived. These data are set in relationship to the eastward decrease in collisional shortening to test whether the latter trend has a geomorphic expression. In order to assess such a relationship north-south striking profiles, subparallel to the shortening direction and in addition to an E-W profile are investigated. It can be shown that the total relief of 3100 m (500-3600 m asl.) in the west of the working area is more pronounced than the total relief of 2300 m (700-3000 m asl) in the east of the working area. Furthermore slopes have higher amplitudes in the west when compared to the east. In the west approximately 65% of the slope profile show slopes larger than 50° while in the east approximately 40% of slopes are larger than 50° (based on 30 m topographic data). The evaluation of potential influencing factors will be achieved by conducting spatial and statistical data analysis and interpretation and is complemented by local studies investigating the evolution of relief for selected geologic units. Here

Kinematics of syn- and post-exhumational shear zones at Lago di Cignana (Western Alps, Italy): constraints on the exhumation of Zermatt-Saas (ultra)high-pressure rocks and deformation along the Combin Fault and Dent Blanche Basal Thrust

Science.gov (United States)

Kirst, Frederik; Leiss, Bernd

2017-01-01

Kinematic analyses of shear zones at Lago di Cignana in the Italian Western Alps were used to constrain the structural evolution of units from the Piemont-Ligurian oceanic realm (Zermatt-Saas and Combin zones) and the Adriatic continental margin (Dent Blanche nappe) during Palaeogene syn- and post-exhumational deformation. Exhumation of Zermatt-Saas (U)HP rocks to approximately lower crustal levels at ca. 39 Ma occurred during normal-sense top-(S)E shearing under epidote-amphibolite-facies conditions. Juxtaposition with the overlying Combin zone along the Combin Fault at mid-crustal levels occurred during greenschist-facies normal-sense top-SE shearing at ca. 38 Ma. The scarcity of top-SE kinematic indicators in the hanging wall of the Combin Fault probably resulted from strain localization along the uppermost Zermatt-Saas zone and obliteration by subsequent deformation. A phase of dominant pure shear deformation around 35 Ma affected units in the direct footwall and hanging wall of the Combin Fault. It is interpreted to reflect NW-SE crustal elongation during updoming of the nappe stack as a result of underthrusting of European continental margin units and the onset of continental collision. This phase was partly accompanied and followed by ductile bulk top-NW shearing, especially at higher structural levels, which transitioned into semi-ductile to brittle normal-sense top-NW deformation due to Vanzone phase folding from ca. 32 Ma onwards. Our structural observations suggest that syn-exhumational deformation is partly preserved within units and shear zones exposed at Lago di Cignana but also that the Combin Fault and Dent Blanche Basal Thrust experienced significant post-exhumational deformation reworking and overprinting earlier structures.

Assessment of multispectral glacier mapping methods and derivation of glacier area changes, 1978–2002, in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand, from ASTER satellite data, field survey and existing inventory data

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Gjermundsen, EF

2011-09-01

Full Text Available patches on separate peaks (Chinn, 2001). The average summit height across the range varies from 1850 m a.s.l. in Fiordland in the south to 3000 m a.s.l. in the central Southern Alps (including the country?s highest summit, Mount Cook, at 3754 m a..., these areas were not always easy to extract with automatic methods, depending on the type of snow or ice (clean snow versus dirty ice) and steepness of the slope (snow in steeper slopes tended to be harder to extract). Most of the shaded clean snow could...

The occurrence of an upper decomposed peat layer, or “kultureller Trockenhorizont”, in the Alps and Jura Mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Sjögren

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Many European mires show a layer of increased decomposition and minerogenic content close to the mire surface. Although the phenomenon is widely recognised, there have been few investigations of its distribution, cause and effect. In this study, nine peat profiles from the Alps and Jura Mountains in central Europe were studied to assess general trends in the upper peat stratigraphy. Analyses of pollen and fungal spore content in two profiles indicates that near-surface changes in decomposition are related to recent historical changes in grazing intensity of the surrounding landscape. Reduced trampling pressure and/or decreased nutrient input allowed partial Sphagnum regeneration in the western Alps and Jura Mountains from AD 1940–60, and in the eastern Alps from AD 1820–60. The results are considered in the context of climate and land use, and future implications for mire development in a changing environment are discussed. Many high-altitude mires in the area are now in a Sphagnum peat re-growth state, but future land use and climatic change will determine whether they will develop towards raised bog or forest carr.

Late Maastrichtian foraminiferids and diatoms from the Polish Carpathians (Ropianka Formation, Skole Nappe): a case study from the Chmielnik-Grabówka composite section

Science.gov (United States)

Gasiński, M. Adam; Olshtynska, Alexandra; Uchman, Alfred

2013-12-01

Gasiński, M.A., Olshtynska, A. and Uchman, A. 2013. Late Maastrichtian foraminiferids and diatoms from the Polish Carpathians (Ropianka Formation, Skole Nappe): a case study from the Chmielnik-Grabowka composite section. Acta Geologica Polonica, 63(4), 515-525. Warszawa. Well-preserved foraminiferids have been found in the Chmielnik-Grabowka section (Skole Nappe, Polish Carpathians). The Abathomphalus mayaroensis (late Maastrichtian) and Racemiguembelina fructicosa (earlylate Maastrichtian) standard planktonic foraminiferal biozones have been recognized, based on the occurrence of their respective index species. Sediments of the R. fructicosa Zone contain diatoms, which are a rare component of Cretaceous flysch microfossil assemblages in the Carpathians. The diatom frustules and some foraminiferid tests are pyritized, probably after burial in the sediment, below the redox boundary or in the oxygen- deficient microenvironment inside the frustules or tests of microfossils; the presence of trace fossils and bioturbational structures in the same bed indicate an oxygenated sea floor.

Characterization of optical systems for the ALPS II experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spector, Aaron D.; Baehre, Robin; Willke, Benno; Hannover Univ.

2016-09-01

ALPS II is a light shining through a wall style experiment that will use the principle of resonant enhancement to boost the conversion and reconversion probabilities of photons to relativistic WISPs. This will require the use of long baseline low-loss optical cavities. Very high power build up factors in the cavities must be achieved in order to reach the design sensitivity of ALPS II. This necessitates a number of different sophisticated optical and control systems to maintain the resonance and ensure maximal coupling between the laser and the cavity. In this paper we report on the results of the characterization of these optical systems with a 20m cavity and discuss the results in the context of ALPS II.

Nuclear translocation of the cytoskeleton-associated protein, smALP, upon induction of skeletal muscle differentiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cambier, Linda; Pomies, Pascal

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The cytoskeleton-associated protein, smALP, is expressed in differentiated skeletal muscle. → smALP is translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus of C2C12 myoblasts upon induction of myogenesis. → The differentiation-dependent nuclear translocation of smALP occurs in parallel with the nuclear accumulation of myogenin. → The LIM domain of smALP is essential for the nuclear accumulation of the protein. → smALP might act in the nucleus to control some critical aspect of the muscle differentiation process. -- Abstract: The skALP isoform has been shown to play a critical role in actin organization and anchorage within the Z-discs of skeletal muscles, but no data is available on the function of the smALP isoform in skeletal muscle cells. Here, we show that upon induction of differentiation a nuclear translocation of smALP from the cytoplasm to the nucleus of C2C12 myoblasts, concomitant to an up-regulation of the protein expression, occurs in parallel with the nuclear accumulation of myogenin. Moreover, we demonstrate that the LIM domain of smALP is essential for the nuclear translocation of the protein.

Semaine alpine 2008 : innover (dans) les Alpes

OpenAIRE

Bourdeau, Philippe; Bourdeau, Philippe; Corneloup, Jean; Corneloup, Jean; Finger-Stich, Andréa; Finger-Stich, Andréa; Giraut, Frédéric; Giraut, Frédéric; Kohler, Yann; Kohler, Yann; Macchiavelli, Andrea; Macchiavelli, Andrea; Scheurer, Thomas; Scheurer, Thomas; Ullrich, Aurelia

2009-01-01

Ce premier dossier en ligne se penche sur une question de grande actualité : l’innovation, pour interroger les conceptions et mises en œuvre de démarches innovantes dans les contextes montagnards. Ces textes sont issus de la « Semaine alpine », qui s’est déroulée en juin 2008 à l’Argentière-La Bessée, dans les Hautes-Alpes (France). Ces « Semaines alpines », en alternance avec les « Forums alpins », rassemblent tous les deux ans des chercheurs et des acteurs locaux de l’ensemble de l’arc alp...

On protolith-, metamorphic overprint, microstructure and rheology of mineral assemblages in orogenic peridotites of the central Scandinavian Caledonides

Science.gov (United States)

Gilio, Mattia; Clos, Frediano; Van Roermund, Herman L. M.

2013-04-01

The Scandinavian Caledonides (SC) are a deeply eroded Alpine-type orogenic belt formed by closure of the Iapetus ocean and collision between Baltica and Laurentia (500-380 Ma). The SC consists of a stack of Nappe Complexes (from bottom to top called Lower, Middle, Upper and Uppermost Allochthons) thrusted to the east over the Baltic Shield (Brueckner and Van Roermund, 2004; Gee et al., 2008). Fossil lithospheric mantle fragments, called orogenic peridotites, have been found within the (upper part of) middle, upper and uppermost Allochthons, as well as in the reworked basement gneisses (a.o Western Gneiss Complex (WGC)) along the Norwegian west coast. They occur as isolated lenses that contain diverse mineral parageneses and/or bulk rock compositions. Crustal incorporation of orogenic peridotite is classically interpreted to be the result of plate collisional processes related to orogeny (Brueckner and Medaris, 2000). The WGC and parts of the upper part of the Middle Allochthon (a.o. Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) in N Jämtland/S Västerbotten, central Sweden), are well known for the occurrence of high (HP) and ultrahigh pressure (UHP) metamorphic terranes (of Caledonian age). The (U)HPM evidence clearly demonstrates the deep metamorphic origin of these rocks interpreted to be caused by continental subduction and/or collision. Other metamorphic rocks (of Caledonian age) exposed in allochthonous nappes are solely characterised by greenschist-, amphibolite- and/or MP granulite "facies" mineral assemblages that can be interpreted, in the absence of retrogression, to have formed in less deeply subducted (and/or metamorphic) environments. This duality in metamorphic "facies" allows for a discrimination (at least theoretically) between "deep" versus "shallow" rooted nappes (in central parts of the Scandinavian Caledonides). Conform this reasoning, this duality should also be present within the Caledonian mineral assemblages (= metamorphic overprint) of orogenic peridotites (in

The Beginnings of Photography in Central Europe. Friedrich Franz and the First Daguerreotypes in Brno

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Trnková, Petra

2015-01-01

Roč. 39, č. 2 (2015), s. 121-141 ISSN 0308-7298 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GPP409/11/P834 Institutional support: RVO:68378033 Keywords : photography * 19th century * daguerreotype * portraiture * Friedrich Franz * Franz Xaver Braumüller * Anton Gindl * Albin Heinrich * Cyril Napp * Josef Carl Lauer * Carl Schuh * Josef Wawra * Andreas Ettingshausen * Voigtländer metal camera * Ackerbaugesellschaft * Brno * Moravia * early photography in Central Europe Subject RIV: AL - Art, Architecture, Cultural Heritage

Comment diffuser les savoirs à travers les Alpes ?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang Pfefferkorn

2009-03-01

Full Text Available CIPRA’s Future in the Alps Project aims at showcasing examples of successful implementation and successful projects in the Alps, and making available to others the extensive pool of experience and practical knowledge that lies in these projects. But how to transfer knowledge in an area of some 14 million inhabitants with several linguistic and cultural regions in which thousands of projects are carried out each year, that all kinds of players who work and life in completely different contexts are able to learn and benefit from one another? How do you go about something like that?Le projet « Avenir dans les Alpes » de la CIPRA (Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alpes a pour objectif de présenter des exemples de réalisations et de projets réussis dans les Alpes, et de mettre à disposition du public l’ensemble de l’expérience et des connaissances pratiques acquises dans le cadre de ces projets. Cependant, comment transférer les savoirs dans une zone comptant quelque 14 millions d’habitants, composée de plusieurs régions linguistiques et culturelles dans lesquelles des milliers de projets sont menés à bien chaque année, et dont tous les acteurs, qui travaillent et vivent dans des contextes complètement différents, sont capables d’apprendre et de tirer profit les uns des autres ? Comment aborder ce genre de cas ?

Devonian conodonts from the Foča–Prača Paleozoic complex (Durmitor Nappe, southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan Jurkovšek

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Conodont study of the Crna Rijeka borehole CR-17, positioned in the frontal part of the Durmitor Nappe (Foča – Prača Paleozoic complex, SE Bosnia and Herzegovina is presented. The obtained fauna indicates an Early-Middle Devonian age and due to poor preservation an identification at a generic level is possible only. The recovered conodont elements have a high Color Alteration Index (CAI = 6,5–7 indicating a degree of metamorphism corresponding to a temperature interval from 440 °C to 720 °C.

Hydrological and meteorological aspects of floods in the Alps: an overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baldassare Bacchi

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This introductory paper presents and summarises recent research on meteorological and hydrological aspects of floods in the Alps. The research activities were part of the international research project RAPHAEL (Runoff and Atmospheric Processes for flood HAzard forEcasting and controL together with experiments within the Special Observing Period-SOP conducted in autumn 1999 for the Mesoscale Alpine Programme —MAP. The investigations were based on both field experiments and numerical simulations, using meteorological and hydrological models, of ten major floods that occurred in the past decade in the European Alps. The two basins investigated were the Ticino (6599 km2 at the Lago Maggiore outlet on the southern side of the Alps and the Ammer catchment (709 km2 in the Bavarian Alps. These catchments and their sub-catchments cover an appropriate range of spatial scales with which to investigate and test in an operational context the potential of both mesoscale meteorological and distributed hydrological models for flood forecasting. From the data analyses and model simulations described in this Special Issue, the major sources of uncertainties for flood forecasts in mid-size mountain basins are outlined and the accuracy flood forecasts is assessed. Keywords: floods, mountain hydrology, meteorological models, Alps

Morphology versus U-Pb systematics in zircon: A high-resolution isotopic study of a zircon population from a Variscan dike in the Central Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bossart, P.J.; Meier, M.; Oberli, F.; Steiger, R.H.

1986-01-01

U/Pb isotopic measurements on individual zircon crystals combined with morphological analyses permit the identification of three distinct components within the zircon population of the Saedelhorn diorite, a Variscan dike from the western Gotthard (Central Alps, Switzerland): (i) 94% of the grains in the zircon population are elongate crystals with pronounced skeletal morphology indicative of rapid growth from a supercooled melt. (ii) 5% of the population consist of turbid, mostly subhedral zircons frequently showing D-type morphology and elevated uranium contents compared to the skeletal variety. Single-crystal and multi-grain U-Pb isotopic data of group (i) and (ii) zircons define an intrusion age of 293 + 5/ -4 m.y. for the dike. (iii) Rare, transparent zircon crystals (< 1% of the zircons population) yield apparent U-Pb ages in the range of 370-490 m.y. and display morphological and isotopic characteristics closely resembling those of a Caledonian orthogneiss intruded by the dike. This implies presence of assimilated wall-rock components in the macroscopically homogeneous dike sample. (orig./WB)

ALPtraum. ALP production in proton beam dump experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doebrich, Babette; Jaeckel, Joerg

2015-12-01

With their high beam energy and intensity, existing and near-future proton beam dumps provide an excellent opportunity to search for new very weakly coupled particles in the MeV to GeV mass range. One particularly interesting example is a so-called axion-like particle (ALP), i.e. a pseudoscalar coupled to two photons. The challenge in proton beam dumps is to reliably calculate the production of the new particles from the interactions of two composite objects, the proton and the target atoms. In this work we argue that Primakoff production of ALPs proceeds in a momentum range where production rates and angular distributions can be determined to sufficient precision using simple electromagnetic form factors. Reanalysing past proton beam dump experiments for this production channel, we derive novel constraints on the parameter space for ALPs. We show that the NA62 experiment at CERN could probe unexplored parameter space by running in 'dump mode' for a few days and discuss opportunities for future experiments such as SHiP.

Detecting an infrared photon within an hour. Transition-edge detector at ALPS-II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dreyling-Eschweiler, Jan [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Experimentalphysik; Horns, Dieter [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Experimentalphysik; Collaboration: ALPS-II collaboration

2013-09-15

An essential design requirement of the ALPS-II experiment is the efficient detection of single photons with a very low instrumental background of 10 {mu}Hz. In 2011 the ALPS collaboration started to set up a TES detector (Transition-Edge Sensor) for ALPS-II, the second phase of the experiment. Since mid of 2013 the setup is ready for characterization in the ALPS laboratory: an ADR cryostat (Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator) as millikelvin environment, a low noise SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) with electronics for read-out and a fiber-coupled high-efficient TES for near-infrared photons as sensor. First measurements have shown a good discrimination between noise and 1064 nm signals.

Detecting an infrared photon within an hour. Transition-edge detector at ALPS-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreyling-Eschweiler, Jan; Hamburg Univ.; Horns, Dieter

2013-09-01

An essential design requirement of the ALPS-II experiment is the efficient detection of single photons with a very low instrumental background of 10 μHz. In 2011 the ALPS collaboration started to set up a TES detector (Transition-Edge Sensor) for ALPS-II, the second phase of the experiment. Since mid of 2013 the setup is ready for characterization in the ALPS laboratory: an ADR cryostat (Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator) as millikelvin environment, a low noise SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) with electronics for read-out and a fiber-coupled high-efficient TES for near-infrared photons as sensor. First measurements have shown a good discrimination between noise and 1064 nm signals.

Strain partitioning in the footwall of the Somiedo Nappe: structural evolution of the Narcea Tectonic Window, NW Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez-Alonso, Gabriel

1996-10-01

The Somiedo Nappe is a major thrust unit in the Cantabrian Zone, the external foreland fold and thrust belt of the North Iberian Variscan orogen. Exposed at the Narcea Tectonic Window are Precambrian rocks below the basal decollement of the Somiedo Nappe, which exhibit a different deformation style than the overlying Paleozoic rocks above the basal decollement. During Variscan deformation, folding and widespread subhorizontal, bedding-parallel decollements were produced in the hanging wall within the Paleozoic rocks. Vertical folding, with related axial-planar cleavage at a high angle to the decollement planes, developed simultaneously in the upper Proterozoic Narcea Slates of the footwall, below the detachment. The relative magnitude of finite strain, measured in the footwall rocks, diminishes towards the foreland. These observations indicate that (1) significant deformation may occur in the footwall of foreland fold and thrust belts, (2) the shortening mechanism in the footwall may be different from that of the hanging wall, and (3) in this particular case, the partitioning of the deformation implies the existence of a deeper, blind decollement surface contemporaneous with the first stages of the foreland development, that does not crop out in the region. This implies a significant shortening in the footwall, which must be taken into account when restoration and balancing of cross-sections is attempted. A sequential diagram of the evolution of the Narcea Tectonic Window with a minimum shortening of 85 km is proposed, explaining the complete Variscan evolution of the foreland to hinterland transition in the North Iberian Variscan orogen.

Morphology and ecology of Daphnia middendorffiana, Fisher 1851 (Crustacea, Daphniidae from four new populations in the Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocco TIBERTI

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Daphnia middendorffiana has an arctic, circumpolar distribution, with some isolated southerly populations restricted to mountainous areas, including the Alps. In this paper, new records of Daphnia middendorffiana on the Alps are reported. The species was regularly recorded in several samples collected from 2006 to 2009 in four high altitude lakes in the Gran Paradiso National Park (GPNP during the ice free period. This is the third finding for the Alps and the described populations are the largest. Chemical and morphometric features of the lakes are provided, the morphology of the Daphnia middendorffiana from GPNP is described as well as some aspects concerning its ecology. The studied lakes are small, oligotrophic (total phosphorus ranged from 0 to 7 μg L-1 and well preserved from acidification risk (pH ranged from 6.45 to 8.14. D. middendorffiana is the largest zooplanktonic crustacean inhabiting the Alpine lakes in GPNP reaching 3.43 mm in length; the morphological analysis noted some differences within the studied populations; however there is a clear resemblance to the only Alpine population previously described (from Central Alps, Bognanco Valley, Lake Campo IV and to the arctic populations. D. middendorffiana in GPNP lives at low density levels, reaching higher densities in late August and early September. No males have been found during the sample campaign confirming its ability to produce asexual viable diapauses eggs. This study confirms the attitude of this species for cold and oligotrophic waters and increases the current knowledge on the geographical distribution, morphology and ecology of this species in Alpine environments. The finding of D. middendordorffiana in the GPNP poses interesting issues concerning the phylogeography of Alpine Daphnia middendorffiana, as well as raising need for conservation efforts aimed at keeping the populations safe from several global and local threats, such as climate warming and the ecological

Exploration of the South-Eastern Alps lithosphere with 3D refraction seismics project Alp 2002 – data acquisition in Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrej Gosar

2003-06-01

Full Text Available Using combined seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection method project Alp 2002 explored the contact zone between South-Eastern Alps, Dinarides and Pannonian basin. In a network of 12 profiles of 4100 km total length, which are spread over seven countries,1055 portable seismographs were deployed and 31 strong (300 kg explosions fired. In Slovenia 127 seismographs were deployed along five profiles totalling 575 km and two explosions fired near Vojnik and Gradin. The collected data will allow construction of athree-dimensional model of the lithosphere and will contribute to the understanding of the tectonics and geodynamics at the junction of European, Adriatic and Tisza plates.

Water Management Strategies against Water Shortage in the Alps (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, C.

2009-12-01

In the European Alps water has been perceived as ubiquitous and not the subject of management. Climate change and anthropogenic pressures have changed demand and supply relations rapidly and over the last 10 years, water problems have increasingly become apparent over temporal and spatial hotspots. Stakeholders in the Alpine Space have been confronted with water management problems in agriculture, tourism and hydropower to such an extent that they approached scientists to create solution strategies based on adaptation and mitigation. In this context, Alp-Water-Scarce, a European project on Water Management Strategies against Water Scarcity in the Alps was funded by the Alpine Space programme as part of the "European Territorial Cooperation" scheme. It has 17 project partners from Austria Switzerland, France, Italy and Slovenia from local governments, provinces, federal institutes and offices, universities, regional agencies, alpine societies, geological surveys, and chambers of agriculture and forestry. The Lead Partner is the Mountain Institute in Savoy, Rhone-Alpes, France. The main challenges of this project are to create local Early Warning Systems against Water Scarcity in the Alps. This system is based on strengthening existing long-term monitoring and modeling and creating new measuring networks in those countries where they do not yet exist. It is anchored strongly and actively within a Stakeholder Interaction Forum linked across comparative and contrasting regions across the Alps. The Early Warning System is based on the linkage and improvement of field monitoring and assemblage of qualitative and quantitative data derived both from natural water reservoirs as well as from anthropogenic water use in 28 selected pilot regions selected in France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland. The objectives are to improve water management at the short term (annual scale) and long term (using future scenarios) based on modelling and application of climate change

Early Paleozoic U-Pb age of zircons from meta-granophyres f the Grand-Saint-Bernard nappe (zona interna, Aosta Valley, Italy); Age paleozoique inferieur (U-Pb sur zircon) de metagranophyres de la nappe du Grand-Saint-Bernard (zona interna, Vallee d'Aoste, Italie)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertrand, J.M. [Laboratoire de Geodynamique des Chaines Alpines, LGCA, Campus Scientifique, 73 - Le Bourget-du-Lac (France)

2000-04-01

The U-Pb age of a meta-granophyre from the Val de Rhemes (Brianconnais basement of the Aosta valley) of 511{+-}9 Ma suggests that the micaschists which dominate the pre-alpine basement of the Grand-Saint-Bernard Nappe are, in part, of Early Paleozoic age. The Brianconnais domain is characterized by a Cambrian to Ordovician alkalineto sub-alkaline (monzonitic) magmatism, similar in age to orthogneisses known in other parts of the Variscan belt and generally interpreted as related to an extensional event. (authors)

Landsliding and sediment flux in the Central Swiss Alps: A photogrammetric study of the Schimbrig landslide, Entlebuch

Science.gov (United States)

Schwab, Marco; Rieke-Zapp, Dirk; Schneider, Heinz; Liniger, Markus; Schlunegger, Fritz

2008-05-01

This study explores the effects of hillslope mass failure on the sediment flux in the Waldemme drainage basin, Central Swiss Alps, over decadal time scales. This area is characterized by abundant landslides affecting principally flysch units and is therefore an important sediment source. The analysis concentrates on the Schimbrig landslide that potentially contributes up to 15% to the sediment budget of the Waldemme drainage basin. Volumetric changes are quantified using high-resolution elevation models that were extracted using digital photogrammetric techniques. Sediment discharge data were used to constrain the significance of the landslide for sediment flux in the channel network. The temporal extent of the photogrammetric analysis ranges from 1962 to 1998, including an earth slide event in 1994. The analyses reveal that during periods of low slip rates of the landslide, nearly all of the displaced sediments were eroded and supplied to the channel network. In contrast, during active periods, only a fraction of the displaced landslide mass was exported to the trunk stream. Interestingly, the 1994 earth slide event did not disturb the long-term sediment discharge pattern of the channel network, nor did it influence the sediment flux at a weekly scale. However, suspended sediment pulses correlate with higher-than-average precipitation events. This was especially the case in August 2005 when a storm event (> 100 years return period) triggered several debris flows and earth flows in the whole drainage basin and in the Schimbrig area. This storm did not result in a significant increase in the slip rates of the entire landslide's main body. It is therefore proposed that debris flows and earth flows perform the connectivity between hillslope processes (e.g. landsliding) and the trunk stream during and between phases of landslide activity in this particular setting.

Clinical Significance of Detection of Serum TBA and ALP in Diagnosis of Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong Chuanzheng; Zhu Haibo; Deng jianping

2009-01-01

To investigate the clinical value of serum total bile acid (TBA) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in diagnosis of intahrpatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), the serum levels of TBA, ALP and cholyglycine (CG) in 47 cases with intahrpatic cholestasis of pregnancy and 60 normal pregnant women were tested by biochemistry analysis and radioimmunoassay. The results showed that the serum levels of TBA and ALP in patients with intahrpatic cholestasis of pregnancy were significantly higher than that of normal pregnancy women. There was a positively correlation between TBA and ALP with CG. The combined determination of serum TBA and ALP could be useful in the diagnosis of intahrpatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Automatic biochemistry analysis of TBA and ALP is more simple and rapid than CG detected by radioimmunoassay,and it is suitable for clinical laboratory application. (authors)

La recherche sur les montagnes entre Alpes et monde : regards rétrospectifs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Scheurer

2009-03-01

Full Text Available L’expression « recherche alpine », on le constatera au fil de ce volume, reste bien incertaine. La première lecture suscite une interrogation : s’agit-il d’une recherche menée sur les Alpes ou dans les Alpes ? Ou pour les Alpes ? C’est-à-dire répondant à une demande émanant d’« acteurs alpins » ? On observera aisément que la recherche sur des terrains alpins et selon des thématiques et des questionnements soulevés par les sociétés alpines est menée préférentiellement au sein des Alpes. Il n’y...

Structural geology of Central Switzerland - Results of seismic campaign in 2011 in cantons Nid- and Obwalden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ebert, A.; Genoni, O.; Haering, M.

2013-07-01

GVM (Gas Verbund Mittelland AG) commissioned in 2011 the acquisition of 113 km of 2D reflection seismic as a first step of an integrated exploration campaign for geothermal and hydrocarbon resources in the cantons Nid- and Obwalden (Switzerland]. One of the aims of the seismic campaign was to define the structure of the Helvetic nappes and its base, the internal build-up of the underlying Tertiary sediments and the autochthonous Mesozoic cover. The new data allow defining the internal tectonics of the Drusberg nappe and its base. The deformation style of the Drusberg nappe is characterized by imbrication and ramp anticlines. The base of the Helvetic nappe forms a relatively flat, wide and gently structured synform south of a line Schwendi - Alpnach - Stans. The base of the Helvetic nappes reaches a max. depth of approximately 1.8-2.0 km below the Sarner Aa valley. It is not possible to distinguish between south dipping Molasse and supposed North Helvetic Flysch. The autochthonous Mesozoic cover is less deformed. Few faults and folds may correlate with underlying Permo-Carboniferous troughs. The latter can be identified on the seismic sections by unconformities. (authors)

Constraints on the Miocene landscape evolution of the Eastern Alps from the Kalkspitze region, Niedere Tauern (Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Dertnig, Florian; Stüwe, Kurt; Woodhead, Jon; Stuart, Finlay M.; Spötl, Christoph

2017-12-01

In order to unravel aspects of the Miocene landscape evolution of the eastern European Alps, we present geomorphic and isotopic data from the western Niedere Tauern region (Austria). The region is critical for such interpretations, because it is one of the few regions along the topographic axis of the Eastern Alps where the highest peaks (up to 2500 m a.s.l.) are dominated by limestone. As such, the region contains a record of Miocene landscape-forming events that survived the Pleistocene glaciations, not preserved elsewhere in the central Eastern Alps. This record includes karst caves, karstified planation surfaces and crystalline fluvial pebbles (Augenstein Formation) preserved on planation surfaces and in karst caves. Caves in the region occur in three distinct levels that correlate with well-known cave levels in the Northern Calcareous Alps, although they are somewhat higher in the Niedere Tauern. In part, these cave elevations also correlate with three planation surfaces and knickpoints of major streams draining the region, testifying their pre-glacial origin. We report details of a karst cave (Durchgangshöhle) from the highest cave level located at 2340 m a.s.l. In this cave, allochthonous fluvial gravels are present, overgrown by speleothems. One speleothem yielded an early middle Pleistocene U-Pb age (682 ± 17 ka). We regard this as a minimum age for the erosion of the fluvial cave deposits during Marine Isotope Stages 17 or 16. Carbon and oxygen isotope data of these speleothems imply a climate that is consistent with this interpretation. Cosmogenic 21Ne data of fluvial quartz clasts collected from the surface on plateaus of the Northern Calcareous Alps suggest minimum exposure durations of 115 and 262 ka. They probably reflect successive exposure since removal of the sediment cover of the Oligocene Augenstein Formation during the Pleistocene. While our geochronological data fail to record aspects of the earlier Miocene uplift history, they are

Bone scintigraphy, plasma ALP, TAP and PAP in patients with prostatic cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imamura, Akihiko; Hoshi, Hiroaki; Jinnouchi, Seishi; Samejima, Masahiko; Watanabe, Katsushi

1988-01-01

This study assessed the ability of bone scintigraphy, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total acid phosphatase (TAP), and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) to diagnose bone metastasis in a series of 62 patients with histologically proven prostatic cancer. Abnormal uptake was seen on the bone scan in 49 patients (79 %). A final diagnosis of bone metastasis was made in 40 patients (65 %). The sensitivity and specificity were 100 % and 59 %, respectively, for bone scintigraphy; 50 % and 96 % for ALP; 65 % and 82 % for TAP; and 73 % and 77 % for PAP. For 40 patients with bone metastasis, all of the ALP, TAP, and PAP were positive in 17 patients (43 %) and negative in 8 patients (20 %). Higher levels of ALP, TAP, and PAP tended to be associated with more extensive bone metastasis. Although serological examination showed lower sensitivity than bone scintigraphy in the diagnosis of bone metastasis, PAP may be most frequently used as a screening procedure of bone metastasis. (Namekawa, K.)

Regulation of the Synthesis of the Angucyclinone Antibiotic Alpomycin in Streptomyces ambofaciens by the Autoregulator Receptor AlpZ and Its Specific Ligand▿

Science.gov (United States)

Bunet, Robert; Mendes, Marta V.; Rouhier, Nicolas; Pang, Xiuhua; Hotel, Laurence; Leblond, Pierre; Aigle, Bertrand

2008-01-01

Streptomyces ambofaciens produces an orange pigment and the antibiotic alpomycin, both of which are products of a type II polyketide synthase gene cluster identified in each of the terminal inverted repeats of the linear chromosome. Five regulatory genes encoding Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory proteins (alpV, previously shown to be an essential activator gene; alpT; and alpU) and TetR family receptors (alpZ and alpW) were detected in this cluster. Here, we demonstrate that AlpZ, which shows high similarity to γ-butyrolactone receptors, is at the top of a pathway-specific regulatory hierarchy that prevents synthesis of the alp polyketide products. Deletion of the two copies of alpZ resulted in the precocious production of both alpomycin and the orange pigment, suggesting a repressor role for AlpZ. Consistent with this, expression of the five alp-located regulatory genes and of two representative biosynthetic structural genes (alpA and alpR) was induced earlier in the alpZ deletion strain. Furthermore, recombinant AlpZ was shown to bind to specific DNA sequences within the promoter regions of alpZ, alpV, and alpXW, suggesting direct transcriptional control of these genes by AlpZ. Analysis of solvent extracts of S. ambofaciens cultures identified the existence of a factor which induces precocious production of alpomycin and pigment in the wild-type strain and which can disrupt the binding of AlpZ to its DNA targets. This activity is reminiscent of γ-butyrolactone-type molecules. However, the AlpZ-interacting molecule(s) was shown to be resistant to an alkali treatment capable of inactivating γ-butyrolactones, suggesting that the AlpZ ligand(s) does not possess a lactone functional group. PMID:18296523

Regulation of the synthesis of the angucyclinone antibiotic alpomycin in Streptomyces ambofaciens by the autoregulator receptor AlpZ and its specific ligand.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunet, Robert; Mendes, Marta V; Rouhier, Nicolas; Pang, Xiuhua; Hotel, Laurence; Leblond, Pierre; Aigle, Bertrand

2008-05-01

Streptomyces ambofaciens produces an orange pigment and the antibiotic alpomycin, both of which are products of a type II polyketide synthase gene cluster identified in each of the terminal inverted repeats of the linear chromosome. Five regulatory genes encoding Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory proteins (alpV, previously shown to be an essential activator gene; alpT; and alpU) and TetR family receptors (alpZ and alpW) were detected in this cluster. Here, we demonstrate that AlpZ, which shows high similarity to gamma-butyrolactone receptors, is at the top of a pathway-specific regulatory hierarchy that prevents synthesis of the alp polyketide products. Deletion of the two copies of alpZ resulted in the precocious production of both alpomycin and the orange pigment, suggesting a repressor role for AlpZ. Consistent with this, expression of the five alp-located regulatory genes and of two representative biosynthetic structural genes (alpA and alpR) was induced earlier in the alpZ deletion strain. Furthermore, recombinant AlpZ was shown to bind to specific DNA sequences within the promoter regions of alpZ, alpV, and alpXW, suggesting direct transcriptional control of these genes by AlpZ. Analysis of solvent extracts of S. ambofaciens cultures identified the existence of a factor which induces precocious production of alpomycin and pigment in the wild-type strain and which can disrupt the binding of AlpZ to its DNA targets. This activity is reminiscent of gamma-butyrolactone-type molecules. However, the AlpZ-interacting molecule(s) was shown to be resistant to an alkali treatment capable of inactivating gamma-butyrolactones, suggesting that the AlpZ ligand(s) does not possess a lactone functional group.

Features and uranium mineralization of Malou thrust nappe structure in Rencha basin of northeast Guangdong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Shizhu; Zhao Wei; Zheng Mingliang; Chen Zhuhai

2010-01-01

Rencha basin was a Cenozoic volcanic fault basin (K 2 -E). Due to strong and frequent tectonic-magmatic activities, especially the late volcanic activities in the region, the acidic volcanic rock was formed which is the host rocks of uranium-molybdenum polymetallic deposit. Malou structural belt is a east-west trending and a long-term tectonic-magmatic activities belt, and is also a linear structure of volcanic eruption. Through recent exploration and study, Malou structure (F 1 )was found to be a thrust nappe structure. In the early stage of evolution, the structure controled the formation of Rencha basin and rock distribution, in the later, it controled the formation of uranium mineralization. Because farely rich orebody has been discovered in some deep part of the structure, large and richer orebody can be predicted in the depth of 500-1500 m. (authors)

Elastic properties and seismic anisotropy of the Seve Nappe Complex - Laboratory core measurements from the International Continental Drilling Project COSC-1 well, Åre, Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Wenning, Q. C.; Almqvist, B. S. G.; Zappone, A. S.

2015-12-01

The COSC-1 scientific borehole was drilled in the summer of 2014 to ~2.5 km depth to study the structure and composition of the Middle Allochthon of the Central Scandinavian Caledonides. It crosscuts the amphibolite-grade lower part of the Seve nappe and intersects a mylonite zone in the lower 800 m of the borehole. We selected six core samples representing the primary lithologies in the COSC-1 borehole for laboratory investigation of elastic properties. The cores consisted of two amphibolites with differing grain sizes, a calc-silicate gneiss, a felsic gneiss, a coarse grained amphibole bearing gneiss, and a garnet bearing mylonitic schist from the basal shear zone. Both P- and S-waves were measured at ultrasonic frequency (1 MHz), and room temperature hydrostatic pressure conditions up to 260 MPa. Measurements were made along three mutually perpendicular directions, one perpendicular to foliation and two parallel to the foliation with one aligned with mineral lineation. Vp and Vs, anisotropy, and elastic properties are reported as an extrapolation of the high-pressure portion of the ultrasonic measurements back to the intersection with the zero pressure axis. The Vp and Vs in the direction perpendicular to foliation ranges from 5.51-6.67 km/s and 3.18-4.13 km/s, respectively. In the direction parallel to foliation the Vp and Vs ranges from 6.31-7.25 km/s and 3.52-4.35 km/s, respectively. Vp anisotropy ranges from 3% in the calc-silicate gneiss to 18% in mylonitic schist. Acoustic impedance estimations at lithostatic pressure conditions at base of the borehole (70 MPa) show that acoustic impedance contrast generating reflection coefficients between the basal shear zone and overlying units are significant enough to cause seismic reflections. Above the mylonite zone/shear zone, the reflectivity within the lower Seve nappe is due to the impedance contrast between the felsic gneiss and the amphibolite. This result fits with 3D seismic reflection imaging in the area of

Rapid evolution of the Helicobacter pylori AlpA adhesin in a high gastric cancer risk region from Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrés Julián Gutiérrez-Escobar

2018-05-01

Full Text Available To be able to survive, Helicobacter pylori must adhere to the gastric epithelial cells of its human host. For this purpose, the bacterium employs an array of adhesins, for example, AlpA. The adhesin AlpA has been proposed as a major adhesin because of its critical role in human stomach colonization. Therefore, understanding how AlpA evolved could be important for the development of new diagnostic strategies. However, the genetic variation and microevolutionary patterns of alpA have not been described in Colombia. The study aim was to describe the variation patterns and microevolutionary process of alpA in Colombian clinical isolates of H. pylori. The existing polymorphisms, which are deviations from the neutral model of molecular evolution, and the genetic differentiation of the alpA gene from Colombian clinical isolates of H. pylori were determined. The analysis shows that gene conversion and purifying selection have shaped the evolution of three different variants of alpA in Colombia.

Paleomagnetic and geochronologic constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the Central Dinarides

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Leeuw, Arjan; Mandic, Oleg; Krijgsman, Wout; Kuiper, Klaudia; Hrvatović, Hazim

2012-01-01

The geodynamic evolution of the Dinaride Mountains of southeastern Europe is relatively poorly understood, especially in comparison with the neighboring Alps and Carpathians. Here, we construct a new chronostratigraphy for the post-orogenic intra-montane basins of the Central Dinarides based on

The overthrust structural systems and their dynamics in Xiangshan uranium ore field in central Jiangxi Province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Yulong; Gao Yan; Cao Shousun; Ji Gaoping

2011-01-01

Through the comprehensive study on the exploration data of the deposits in the northern part of Xiangshan uranium ore field, the overthrust structure is recognized deeply. The overthrust structure strikes EW on the whole and the direction of movement is from south to north. The main detachment surface occurred between Sinian (Z) metamorphic rocks and Jurassic (J 3 d 1 ) layers. Sinian metamorphic basement is overthrust on the top of Lower Daguding member of Upper Jurassic Group. The nappe system consists of front faults, back thrust fault,the main detachment zone (main structure), and nappe structural window. The nappe had moved 3∼4.5 km and it mainly formed during Late Jurassic, i.e. Late Yanshan.(authors)

Glacial isostatic uplift of the European Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Mey, Jürgen; Scherler, Dirk; Wickert, Andrew D.; Egholm, David L.; Tesauro, Magdala; Schildgen, Taylor F.; Strecker, Manfred R.

2016-01-01

Following the last glacial maximum (LGM), the demise of continental ice sheets induced crustal rebound in tectonically stable regions of North America and Scandinavia that is still ongoing. Unlike the ice sheets, the Alpine ice cap developed in an orogen where the measured uplift is potentially attributed to tectonic shortening, lithospheric delamination and unloading due to deglaciation and erosion. Here we show that ∼90% of the geodetically measured rock uplift in the Alps can be explained by the Earth’s viscoelastic response to LGM deglaciation. We modelled rock uplift by reconstructing the Alpine ice cap, while accounting for postglacial erosion, sediment deposition and spatial variations in lithospheric rigidity. Clusters of excessive uplift in the Rhône Valley and in the Eastern Alps delineate regions potentially affected by mantle processes, crustal heterogeneity and active tectonics. Our study shows that even small LGM ice caps can dominate present-day rock uplift in tectonically active regions. PMID:27830704

The Geomorphological Evolution of a Landscape in a Tectonically Active Region: the Sennwald Landslide

Science.gov (United States)

Aksay, Selçuk; Ivy-Ochs, Susan; Hippe, Kristina; Graemiger, Lorenz; Vockenhuber, Christof

2016-04-01

The Säntis nappe is a fold-and-thrust structure in eastern Switzerland consisting of numerous tectonic discontinuities that make rocks vulnerable to rock failure. The Sennwald landslide is one of those events that occurred due to the failure of Lower Cretaceous Helvetic limestones. This study reveals the surface exposure age of the event in relation to geological and tectonic setting, earthquake frequency of the Central Alps, and regional scale climate/weather influence. Our study comprises detailed mapping of landform features, thin section analysis of landslide boulder lithologies, landslide volume estimation, numerical DAN-3D run-out modelling, and the spatial and temporal relationship of the event. In the Sennwald landslide, 92 million m3 of limestones detached from the south-eastern wall of the Säntis nappe and slid with a maximum travel distance of ~4'500 m and a "fahrboeschung" angle of 15° along the SE-dipping sliding plane almost parallel to the orientation of the bedding plane. Numerical run-out modelling results match the extent and the thickness of landslide deposits as observed in the field. The original bedrock stratigraphy was preserved as geologically the top layer in the bedrock package travelled the farthest and the bottom layer came to rest closest to the release bedrock wall during the landslide. Velocities of maximum 90 m/s were obtained from the numerical run-out modelling. Total Cl and 36Cl were determined at ETH AMS facility with isotope dilution methods defined in the literature (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2004). Surface exposure ages of landslide deposits in the accumulation area are revealed from twelve boulders. The distribution of limestone boulders in the accumulation area, the exposure ages, and the numerical run-out modelling support the hypothesis that the Sennwald landslide was a single catastrophic event. The event is likely to have been triggered by at least light to moderate earthquakes (Mw=4.0-6.0). The historical and the last 40-year

Tectono-thermal evolution in a region with thin-skinned tectonics: the western nappes in the Cantabrian Zone (Variscan belt of NW Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Bastida, F.; Brime, C.; García-López, S.; Sarmiento, G. N.

The palaeotemperature distribution in the transition from diagenesis to metamorphism in the western nappes of the Cantabrian Zone (Somiedo, La Sobia and Aramo Units) are analysed by conodont colour alteration index (CAI) and illite crystallinity (IC). Structural and stratigraphic control in distribution of CAI and IC values is observed. Both CAI and IC value distributions show that anchizonal conditions are reached in the lower part of the Somiedo Unit. A disruption of the thermal trend by basal thrusts is evidenced by CAI and IC values. There is an apparent discrepancy between the IC and CAI values in Carboniferous rocks of the Aramo Unit; the IC has mainly anchizonal values, whereas the CAI has diagenetic values. Discrepant IC values are explained as a feature inherited from the source area. In the Carboniferous rocks of the La Sobia Unit, both IC and CAI indicate diagenetic conditions. The anchimetamorphism predated completion of emplacement of the major nappes; it probably developed previously and/or during the early stages of motion of the units. Temperature probably decreased when the metamorphosed zones of the sheets rose along ramps and were intensely eroded. In the context of the Iberian Variscan belt, influence of tectonic factors on the metamorphism is greater in the internal parts, where the strain and cleavage are always present, than in the external parts (Cantabrian Zone), where brittle deformation and rock translation are dominant, with an increasing role of the burial on the metamorphism.

Permafrost at its limits: The most easterly evidence of existing permafrost in the European Alps as indicated by ground temperature and geoelectrical measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A.; Kühnast, B.

2009-04-01

Mountain permafrost is a widespread phenomenon in alpine regions in the European Alps. For instance, some 2000 km² or 4% of the Austrian Alps are underlain by permafrost. Up to recent times most research on permafrost issues in Austria focused on the central and highest section of the Austrian Alps. By contrast, knowledge concerning marginal permafrost zones is fairly limited. To increase knowledge about the easternmost limit of permafrost in the European Alps, a research project focusing on the Seckauer Tauern Mountains (14°30'E to 15°00'E) and particularly on the Hochreichart area was initiated in 2004 by the first author. Since then, different methods have been applied such as e.g. geomorphic mapping, numerical permafrost modelling, multi-annual BTS measurements (since 2004) or continuous ground surface and near ground surface temperature measurements by miniature temperature data loggers/MTDs (since 2004). In order to verify the temperature data and to extend the spatial knowledge about permafrost distribution beyond point information, a geoelectrical survey was carried out at the end of August 2008 by applying the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method along a 120 m long profile covering the upper part of the rooting zone of a (more-or-less) relict rock glacier and the talus slope above. For this survey the two-dimensional (2D) electrical surveys was performed using the Wenner-Alfa configuration with 2.5 m spacing and an LGM-Lippmann 4-Punkt light hp resistivity-meter. The ERT results indicate an active layer of 2 to 4 m underlain by a permafrost body along 3/4 of the entire profile with resistivity values between 50 to 100 kOhm.m and extending to a depth of 10 to 15 m. The permafrost body is substantially thicker at the lower part of the profile (rock glacier; first 50 m of profile) compared to most of the upper part (talus slope). Focusing on the talus slope, the permafrost body is thickest on the central section of the profile (~5-6 m thickness

Hydrological Modeling of Highly Glacierized Basins (Andes, Alps, and Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Omani

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT was used to simulate five glacierized river basins that are global in coverage and vary in climate. The river basins included the Narayani (Nepal, Vakhsh (Central Asia, Rhone (Switzerland, Mendoza (Central Andes, Argentina, and Central Dry Andes (Chile, with a total area of 85,000 km2. A modified SWAT snow algorithm was applied in order to consider spatial variation of associated snowmelt/accumulation by elevation band across each subbasin. In previous studies, melt rates varied as a function of elevation because of an air temperature gradient while the snow parameters were constant throughout the entire basin. A major improvement of the new snow algorithm is the separation of the glaciers from seasonal snow based on their characteristics. Two SWAT snow algorithms were evaluated in simulation of monthly runoff from the glaciered watersheds: (1 the snow parameters are lumped (constant throughout the entire basin and (2 the snow parameters are spatially variable based on elevation bands of a subbasin (modified snow algorithm. Applying the distributed SWAT snow algorithm improved the model performance in simulation of monthly runoff with snow-glacial regime, so that mean RSR decreased to 0.49 from 0.55 and NSE increased to 0.75 from 0.69. Improvement of model performance was negligible in simulations of monthly runoff from the basins with a monsoon runoff regime.

Mechanical analysis of the thin- versus thick-skin tectonics in the Molasse basin and Jura thrust belt (Swiss Alps)

Science.gov (United States)

Maillot, Bertrand; Caer, Typhaine; Souloumiac, Pauline; Nussbaum, Christophe

2014-05-01

The Jura fold-and-thrust belt is classically interpreted as a thin-skin belt developed over a triasic décollement, which is itself topping Permo-carboniferous E-W transpressive grabens delimited by N-S strike-slip faults. These faults have been reactivated in eo-oligocene times as normal faults. Today, the basement is seismically active, suggesting that the Jura belt involves some amount of basement deformation. We tested both thin and thick-skin hypotheses using a simple rheological prototype with two potential décollements : a Triassic horizon extending below Jura and Molasse basin, and the upper-lower crust interface rooted deep south of the Alpine front close to the Penninic nappes region. Using the theory of limit analysis combined with automatic adaptive meshing, we demonstrate that the main Jura Triassic décollement can be activated with the present day topography, if its friction angle is below 5°, a counter-intuitive result, that was not foreseen by sand box models. In contrast, a thick-skin deformation involving all the upper crust is possible either only south of the Jura below the topographic depression of the Molasse basin if the upper-lower crust interface has an equivalent friction angle above 4.6°, or far beyond it towards the North, if it is weaker. Active thick-skin thrusting within the Jura belt requires further assumptions on the existence of weak zones, for which a good candidate could be the inherited eo-oligocene normal faults as previously suggested in the litterature. We also demonstrated the potential major role of the topographic depression of the Molasse basin in conveying deformation from the Alps to the Jura, and in localising thick-skin thrusting.

The Geology of the Bergamasc Alps Lombardia Italy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sitter, de L.U.; Sitter-Koomans, de C.M.

1949-01-01

In the Bergamasc Alps we have observed one major unconformity between the Basement rock and the overlying Permian. The total absence of any recognisable Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks accentuates this unconformity, and moreover this enormous hiatus makes the dating of any Palaeozoic event impossible.

ALP conversion and the soft X-ray excess in the outskirts of the Coma cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraljic, David; Rummel, Markus; Conlon, Joseph P.

2015-01-01

It was recently found that the soft X-ray excess in the center of the Coma cluster can be fitted by conversion of axion-like-particles (ALPs) of a cosmic axion background (CAB) to photons. We extend this analysis to the outskirts of Coma, including regions up to 5 Mpc from the center of the cluster. We extract the excess soft X-ray flux from ROSAT All-Sky Survey data and compare it to the expected flux from ALP to photon conversion of a CAB. The soft X-ray excess both in the center and the outskirts of Coma can be simultaneously fitted by ALP to photon conversion of a CAB. Given the uncertainties of the cluster magnetic field in the outskirts we constrain the parameter space of the CAB. In particular, an upper limit on the CAB mean energy and a range of allowed ALP-photon couplings are derived

Assessing water resources under climate change in high-altitude catchments: a methodology and an application in the Italian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Aili, T.; Soncini, A.; Bianchi, A.; Diolaiuti, G.; D'Agata, C.; Bocchiola, D.

2018-01-01

Assessment of the future water resources in the Italian Alps under climate change is required, but the hydrological cycle of the high-altitude catchments therein is poorly studied and little understood. Hydrological monitoring and modeling in the Alps is difficult, given the lack of first hand, site specific data. Here, we present a method to model the hydrological cycle of poorly monitored high-altitude catchments in the Alps, and to project forward water resources availability under climate change. Our method builds on extensive experience recently and includes (i) gathering data of climate, of cryospheric variables, and of hydrological fluxes sparsely available; (ii) robust physically based glacio-hydrological modeling; and (iii) using glacio-hydrological projections from GCM models. We apply the method in the Mallero River, in the central (Retiche) Alps of Italy. The Mallero river covers 321 km2, with altitude between 310 and 4015 m a.s.l., and it has 27 km2 of ice cover. The glaciers included in the catchment underwent large mass loss recently, thus Mallero is largely paradigmatic of the present situation of Alpine rivers. We set up a spatially explicit glacio-hydrological model, describing the cryospheric evolution and the hydrology of the area during a control run CR, from 1981 to 2007. We then gather climate projections until 2100 from three Global Climate Models of the IPCC AR5 under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5. We project forward flow statistics, flow components (rainfall, snow melt, ice melt), ice cover, and volume for two reference decades, namely 2045-2054 and 2090-2099. We foresee reduction of the ice bodies from - 62 to - 98% in volume (year 2100 vs year 1981), and subsequent large reduction of ice melt contribution to stream flows (from - 61 to - 88%, 2100 vs CR). Snow melt, now covering 47% of the stream flows yearly, would also be largely reduced (from - 19 to - 56%, 2100 vs CR). The stream flows will decrease on average at 2100 (from + 1 to - 25

Effect of Al and AlP on the microstructure of Mn-30 wt.%Si alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Yuying [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jing Shi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China); Liu Xiangfa [Key Laboratory of Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jing Shi Road 73, Jinan 250061 (China)], E-mail: xfliu@sdu.edu.cn

2008-04-15

Effect of Al and AlP particles on the microstructure of near eutectic Mn-Si alloy (Mn-30 wt.%Si) was studied by Electron Probe Micro-analyzer (EPMA) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Crystal lattice correspondence analyses show that both Al and AlP have good lattice matching coherence relationships with MnSi phase, and the addition of Al and AlP particles results in an abnormal eutectic structure, i.e. the eutectic constitution MnSi and Mn{sub 5}Si{sub 3} precipitate separately: MnSi precipitates firstly, and then the Mn{sub 5}Si{sub 3} phase.

Last Glacial Maximum Dated by Means of 10Be in the Maritime Alps (Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Granger, D. E.; Spagnolo, M.; Federici, P.; Pappalardo, M.; Ribolini, A.; Cyr, A. J.

2006-12-01

Relatively few exposure dates of LGM moraines boulders are available for the European Alps, and none on the southern flank. Ponte Murato (PM) is a frontal moraine at 860 m asl in the Gesso Basin (Maritime Alps, SW European Alps). The PM moraine dams the 157 km2 Gesso della Barra Valley and it represents the lowermost frontal moraine of the entire Gesso Valley, near the outlet of the valley in the Po Plain. Its ELA, determined from the paleo- shape of the supposed Gesso della Barra glacier, is 1746 m asl. Tetti Bandito (TB) is a small and badly preserved glacial deposit, tentatively attributed to a lateral-frontal moraine, that is positioned 5 km downvalley from the PM deposit at 800 m asl. There are no other glacial deposits downvalley from the TB moraine in the Gesso Basin or farther NE in the piedmont region of the upper Po Plain. Boulders sampled on the PM and on the TB moraine crests gave a 10Be cosmogenic age of respectively 16300 ± 880 ka (average value) and 18798 ± 973 ka. This result constrains the PM frontal moraine within the LGM interval but also suggests that the maximum expansion of the Gesso Basin glacier was more downvalley at some point during the last glaciation. If the TB is a lateral-frontal moraine as supposed, the two TB and PM moraines would represent the outer and inner moraine crests of the same LGM stadial, with the outer moraine much less pronounced than the inner moraine, similarly to the maximalstand and the hochstand described in the Eastern Alps (Van Husen, 1997). Within this perspective, the PM and TB dates are consistent with a European Alps LGM corresponding to MIS 2 (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2004). This study of the Maritime Alps moraines is also in agreement with the Upper Würm climatic theory (Florineth and Schlüchter, 2000) of a stronger influence of the W and SW incoming humid airflows in the European Alps, differently from the nearby Vosges and Pyrenees mountain chains where more dry conditions were probably responsible for a very

Quantifying the Eocene to Pleistocene topographic evolution of the southwestern Alps, France and Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Fauquette, Séverine; Bernet, Matthias; Suc, Jean-Pierre; Grosjean, Anne-Sabine; Guillot, Stéphane; van der Beek, Peter; Jourdan, Sébastien; Popescu, Speranta-Maria; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Bertini, Adele; Pittet, Bernard; Tricart, Pierre; Dumont, Thierry; Schwartz, Stéphane; Zheng, Zhuo; Roche, Emile; Pavia, Giulio; Gardien, Véronique

2015-02-01

We evaluate the topographic evolution of the southwestern Alps using Eocene to Pleistocene pollen data combined with existing sedimentological, petrographic and detrital geo- and thermochronological data. We report 32 new pollen analyses from 10 sites completed by an existing dataset of 83 samples from 14 localities situated across the southwestern Alps, including both the pro- and the retro-foreland basins. The presence of microthermic tree pollen (mainly Abies, Picea) indicates that this part of the mountain belt attained elevations over 1900 m as early as the Oligocene. Inferred rapid surface uplift during the mid-Oligocene coincided with a previously documented brief phase of rapid erosional exhumation, when maximum erosion rates may have reached values of up to 1.5-2 km/Myr. Slower long-term average exhumation rates of ∼0.3 km/Myr since the Late Oligocene helped maintaining the high Alpine topography of the southwestern Alps until today. The relative abundances of meso-microthermic tree pollen (Cathaya, Cedrus and Tsuga) and microthermic tree pollen (Abies, Picea) in the pro- and retro-foreland basin deposits, indicate that the present-day asymmetric topography, with a relatively gentle western flank and steeper eastern flank, was established early in the southwestern Alps, at least since the Early Miocene, and possibly since the Oligocene or Late Eocene. Therefore, the high topography and asymmetric morphology of this part of the Alps has been maintained throughout the past ∼30 Ma.

Western Italian Alps Monthly Snowfall and Snow Cover Duration

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of snow observations for 18 stations in the western Italian Alps. Two types of data are included: monthly snowfall amounts and monthly snow...

Study geomorphology, past and present, linear trench, tectonics relationship between Pyrenees and Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Guillemot, J. (Principal Investigator)

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. ERTS-1 images obviously show up some large linear features trending N 80 E or N 30 E common to both Alps and Pyrenees. One of them, the Ligurian Fault, had been previously forecast by Laubscher in an interpretation of the Alps by the plate tectonic theory, but it extends westward farthest from the Alps, cutting the Pyrenees axis. These lineaments have been interpreted as reflections of deep seated wrench faults in the surficial part of the sedimentary series. A large set of such lineaments is perceptible in western Europe, such as the Guadalquivir Fault in southern Spain, Ligurian Fault, Insubrian Fault, Northern-Jura Fault, Metz Fault. Perhaps these may be interpreted as transform faults of the mid-Atlantic ridge or of a paleo-rift seated in the Rhine-Rhone graben.

Correlation between vegetation pattern and microtopography in periglacial areas of the Central Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerdol, Renato

1990-06-01

Full Text Available The distributional patterns of plant species were analyzed within periglacial microforms belonging to the collective groups of patterned grounds and sorted stripes In the Ortles-Cevedale group (Lombardy, Italy. The edges of primitive polygons are practically free of vegetation, whilst the central areas are colonized by pioneer plants of detritic slopes. This is clearly correlated with a low degree of sediment sorting. The morphological evolution of the forms proceeds at a faster rate at the edge of polygons than in the central areas. Vegetation, on the other hand, colonizes the coarse debris at the polygons’ edges slowly but colonizes the fine material in the central areas actively. The centre of the most evolved polygons is covered by a carpet of Salix herbacea. Age determinations of Salix shoots are not useful for dating purposes, but provide Information about the local microclimate.

[es] Se han analizado los modelos de distribución de especies vegetales en microformas periglaciares pertenecientes al tipo de suelos estructurales en el Ortles-Cevedale (Lombardía, Italia. Los límites de los polígonos de piedras están prácticamente libres de vegetación, mientras las áreas centrales están colonizadas por plantas pioneras de laderas pedregosas. La evolución morfológica actúa a mayor velocidad en el borde de los polígonos que en las áreas centrales. Por otro lado, la vegetación coloniza lentamente los bordes de los polígonos, y más activamente las zonas centrales. El centro de la mayoría de los polígonos está cubierto por un manto de Salix herbacea. La determinación de la edad de los vástagos de Salix no ha sido un método útil a efectos cronológicos, pero proporciona información sobre el microclima local.
[fr] On étude les modèles de distribution d'espèces végétaux dans microformes périglaciaires appartenants au type de sols structurales dans l'Ortles-Cevedale (Lombardie

The "green stones" of Valtellina and Valchiavenna (central Alps, northern Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallo, Alessandro

2015-04-01

Valtellina and Val Chiavenna (Sondrio, Central Alps, northern Italy) are traditionally areas of production of building and ornamental stones (e.g. Serizzo Ghiandone, Serizzo Valmasino, San Fedelino Granite), and among these the "green stones" have a leading position. These stones had an extensive use in Lombardy, as well as abroad (e.g Switzerland). The "green stones" are related to the two mafic-ultramafic bodies of Valmalenco and Chiavenna, where the two largest quarrying districts of the Province of Sondrio are located. Until the early decades of the XX century, serpentinites (and other lithologies from Valtellina) were also extracted from the erratic boulders of Brianza (north of Milan), but at present time the law protects the few remaining boulders. The extracted and processed materials are various: serpentinites, ophicalcites, soapstones. Even the "Stone of Tresivio", used in the past in important monuments of Valtellina, could be classified among the "green stones" in a broad sense: it is a green chloritic schist with scarce and thin ferriferous calcitic veins, pertaining to the sedimentary "Servino" Formation. In recent times, the ancient quarries of this stone were rediscovered near the homonymous village, a few kilometers from Sondrio. There are also historic reports about other "green stones", used in ancient times, such as the "Stone of Grosio", a chloritic schist, and the "Bormio Prasinite". Currently the extraction and processing of "green stones" occurs mostly in Valmalenco, with 22 active serpentinite quarries and a gross volume of 70000 m3 extracted per year, with a yield of about 50%. The Malenco serpentinite (interpreted as sub-continental mantle rocks) forms a 1-2 km thick tabular body, outcropping over an area of about 170 km2, almost entirely confined within the boundaries of the valley. The antigoritic serpentinites (with variable amounts of olivine, clinopyroxene, chlorite and magnetite) are moderately up to strongly foliated, sometimes

Structural diversity of a family of aluminophosphates with Al/P ratio of non-unity

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jihong; Xu, Ruren; Li, Jiyang

2000-05-01

A family of organically templated aluminophosphates (denoted AlPOs) with an Al/P ratio of non-unity has been prepared with 1-D chain, 2-D layer and 3-D open-framework architectures. Their inorganic parts are constructed from alternating Al-centered polyhedra (AlO 4, AlO 5, AlO 4(OH 2) 2) and P-centered tetrahedra P(OAl) nO 4- n ( n=0, 1, 2, 3). The existence of terminal POH and/or PO groups in the structures results in the deviation of Al/P ratio from unity, and the commonly encountered Al/P ratios are 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5 and 5/6. This review will discuss the structural features of these AlPOs with various dimensionalities and stoichiometries.

Quantifying the Variation in Shear Zone Character with Depth: a Case Study from the Simplon Shear Zone, Central Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Cawood, T. K.; Platt, J. P.

2017-12-01

A widely-accepted model for the rheology of crustal-scale shear zones states that they comprise distributed strain at depth, in wide, high-temperature shear zones, which narrow to more localized, high-strain zones at lower temperature and shallower crustal levels. We test and quantify this model by investigating how the width, stress, temperature and deformation mechanisms change with depth in the Simplon Shear Zone (SSZ). The SSZ marks a major tectonic boundary in the central Alps, where normal-sense motion and rapid exhumation of the footwall have preserved evidence of older, deeper deformation in rocks progressively further into the currently-exposed footwall. As such, microstructures further from the brittle fault (which represents the most localized, most recently-active part of the SSZ) represent earlier, higher- temperature deformation from deeper crustal levels, while rocks closer to the fault have been overprinted by successively later, cooler deformation at shallower depths. This study uses field mapping and microstructural studies to identify zones representing deformation at various crustal levels, and characterize each in terms of zone width (representing width of the shear zone at that time and depth) and dominant deformation mechanism. In addition, quartz- (by Electron Backscatter Diffraction, EBSD) and feldspar grain size (measured optically) piezometry are used to calculate the flow stress for each zone, while the Ti-in-quartz thermometer (TitaniQ) is used to calculate the corresponding temperature of deformation. We document the presence of a broad zone in which quartz is recrystallized by the Grain Boundary Migration (GBM) mechanism and feldspar by Subgrain Rotation (SGR), which represents the broad, deep zone of deformation occurring at relatively high temperatures and low stresses. In map view, this transitions to successively narrower zones, respectively characterized by quartz SGR and feldspar Bulge Nucleation (BLG); quartz BLG and brittle

Th-Pb ion probe dating of zoned hydrothermal monazite and its implications for repeated shear zone activity: An example from the Central Alps, Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Bergemann, C.; Gnos, E.; Berger, A.; Whitehouse, M.; Mullis, J.; Wehrens, P.; Pettke, T.; Janots, E.

2017-04-01

Th-Pb age dating of zoned hydrothermal monazite from alpine-type fissures/clefts is a powerful tool for constraining polyphase deformation at temperatures below 350°C and presents an alternative to K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar dating techniques for dating brittle tectonics. This study considers the relationship between cleft orientations in ductile shear zones and cleft mineral crystallization during subsequent brittle overprinting. In the Grimsel area, located in the Aar Massif of the Central Alps, horizontal clefts formed during a primary thrust dominated deformation, while younger and vertically oriented clefts developed during secondary strike-slip movements. The change is due to a switch in orientation between the principal stress axes σ2 and σ3. The transition is associated with monazite crystallization and chloritization of biotite at around 11.5 Ma. Quartz fluid inclusion data allow a link between deformation stages and temperatures to be established and indicate that primary monazite crystallization occurred in both cleft systems at 300-350°C. While cleft monazite crystallization ceases at 11 Ma in inactive shear zones, monazite growth, and/or dissolution-reprecipitation continues under brittle deformation conditions in vertical clefts during later deformation until 7 Ma. This younger shear zone activity occurs in association with dextral strike-slip movement of the Rhone-Simplon fault system. With the exception of varying Th/U values correlated with the degree of oxidation, there is only limited compositional variation in the studied cleft monazites.

What's new in ALPS-II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doebrich, Babette; Collaboration: ALPS-II collaboration

2013-09-15

This proceedings contribution gives a brief experimental update of the 'Any light particle search (ALPS) -II' at DESY which will be sensitive to sub-eV, very weakly coupled particles beyond the Standard Model. First data on hidden sector photon parameter space through photon-hidden photon oscillations in vacuum is expected in 2014. Axion-like particle search (implying the installation of superconducting HERA magnets) could be realized in 2017.

Radiocarbon ages of soil charcoals from the southern Alps, Ticino, Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajdas, Irka; Schlumpf, Nadia; Minikus-Stary, Nicole; Hagedorn, Frank; Eckmeier, Eileen; Schoch, Werner; Burga, Conradin; Bonani, Georges; Schmidt, Michael W.I.; Cherubini, Paolo

2007-01-01

Radiocarbon dating of macroscopic charcoal is a useful tool for paleoclimatic and paleoecologic reconstructions. Here we present results of 14 C dating of charcoals found in charcoal-rich soils of Ticino and the Misox Valley (southern Switzerland) which indicate that the Late Glacial and early Holocene fires coincided with warm phases in the North Atlantic region and low lake levels in the Central Europe. Late Holocene charcoals found in these soils document an earlier than believed presence of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) in southern Switzerland. Sweet chestnut trees play a key role in Mediterranean woodlands, and for longer than two millennia have been used as a food source. Based on palynological evidence it is commonly believed that in southern Switzerland C. sativa was first introduced 2000 years ago by the Romans, who cultivated it for wood and fruit production. Our results indicate that this tree species was present on the southern slopes of the Alps ∼1500 years earlier than previously assumed, and therefore was likely introduced independently from cultivation by the Romans

A first-principles study of the SCN− chemisorption on the surface of AlN, AlP, and BP nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soltani, Alireza; Taghartapeh, Mohammad Ramezani; Mighani, Hossein; Pahlevani, Amin Allah; Mashkoor, Reza

2012-01-01

Graphical abstract: Adsorption properties of SCN − on AlN, AlP, and BP nanotubes based on density functional theory. ▶ We demonstrate the most stable configurations (N-side) of SCN − on AlN, AlP, and BP nanotubes models. Highlights: ► The SCN − Adsorption on surface of AlN, AlP, and BP nanotubes were studied via density functional theory (DFT). ► The interaction of SCN − on the electronic properties and the NBO charge distribution of mentioned configurations are investigated. ► The studies suggest that the adsorption energies of SCN − on AlPNT is most notable in comparison with AlNNT and BPNT. - Abstract: We have performed first-principles calculations to explore the adsorption behavior of the SCN − on electronic properties of AlN, AlP, and BP nanotubes. The adsorption value of SCN − for the most stable formation on the AlPNT is about −318.16 kJ mol −1 , which is reason via the chemisorptions of SCN anion. The computed density of states (DOS) indicates that a notable orbital hybridization take place between SCN − and AlP nanotube in adsorption process. Finally, the AlP nanotube can be used to design as useful sensor for nanodevice applications.

The Italian experience in crossing the Alps and Apennines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stella,; Olcese,

1991-06-01

Since the early 70's SNAM has completed a number of major projects: the pipelines importing gas from the Netherlands and the Soviet Union crossing the Alps and the TRASMED, which crosses the Apennines. More recently, improved technology applied in the eastern part of the Alps has made possible the doubling of the import pipeline from the Soviet Union. Details are given about methods used in these projects for geological-geomorphological surveys, engineering design and tunnel construction. The paper also describes how the problems posed by steep slopes and landslide areas are overcome by planning the most suitable geometry for the pipe and carrying out different kinds of drainage and retaining works, and how problems posed by crossing streams can be overcome by the creation of major hydraulic defences. Special care is taken to select a pipeline route which respects the environment and, where possible, avoids crossing places of interest such as archaeological sites or national parks etc. (orig./BWI).

A Hannibal's Treck Across The Alps: Geomorphological Analysis Of Sites Of Geoarchaeologicals Interest

Science.gov (United States)

Mahaney, William C.; Kalm, Volli; Dirszowsky, Randy W.; Milner, Michael W.; Sodhi, Rana; Beukens, Roelf; Dorn, Ron; Tricart, Pierre; Schwartz, Stéphane; Chamorro-Perez, Eva; Boccia, Sal; Barendregt, René W.; Krinsley, D. H.; Seaquist, E. R.; Merrick, David; Kapran, Barbara

A ~2200 year-old question related to Hannibal's invasion route across the Alps into Italia, has been argued by classicists without recovery of material evidence. A comparison of topographical descriptions in the ancient literature with environmental parameters in the Alps, attempted here for the first time, provides a database against which various pathways can be assessed. Identification of sites using geological, geomorphological, astronomical, chemical and petrological methods leads to the exclusion of certain transit points and targeting of others where geoarchaeological excavation might yield important evidence related to the military culture of ancient Carthage.

Australian Alps: Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks (Second Edition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Porter

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Reviewed: Australian Alps: Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks (Second Edition By Deidre Slattery. Clayton South, Australia: CSIRO Publishing, 2015. xvii + 302 pp. AU$ 45.00, US$ 35.95. ISBN 978-1-486-30171-3.

Historical glacier outlines from digitized topographic maps of the Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Freudiger, Daphné; Mennekes, David; Seibert, Jan; Weiler, Markus

2018-04-01

Since the end of the Little Ice Age around 1850, the total glacier area of the central European Alps has considerably decreased. In order to understand the changes in glacier coverage at various scales and to model past and future streamflow accurately, long-term and large-scale datasets of glacier outlines are needed. To fill the gap between the morphologically reconstructed glacier outlines from the moraine extent corresponding to the time period around 1850 and the first complete dataset of glacier areas in the Swiss Alps from aerial photographs in 1973, glacier areas from 80 sheets of a historical topographic map (the Siegfried map) were manually digitized for the publication years 1878-1918 (further called first period, with most sheets being published around 1900) and 1917-1944 (further called second period, with most sheets being published around 1935). The accuracy of the digitized glacier areas was then assessed through a two-step validation process: the data were (1) visually and (2) quantitatively compared to glacier area datasets of the years 1850, 1973, 2003, and 2010, which were derived from different sources, at the large scale, basin scale, and locally. The validation showed that at least 70 % of the digitized glaciers were comparable to the outlines from the other datasets and were therefore plausible. Furthermore, the inaccuracy of the manual digitization was found to be less than 5 %. The presented datasets of glacier outlines for the first and second periods are a valuable source of information for long-term glacier mass balance or hydrological modelling in glacierized basins. The uncertainty of the historical topographic maps should be considered during the interpretation of the results. The datasets can be downloaded from the FreiDok plus data repository (https://freidok.uni-freiburg.de/data/15008" target="_blank">https://freidok.uni-freiburg.de/data/15008, https://doi.org/10.6094/UNIFR/15008" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.6094/UNIFR

Reconnaissance Rb-Sr dates for the Himalayan Central Gneiss, Northwest India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, C. McA.; Crawford, A.R.; Armstrong, R.L.; Wynne-Edwards, H.R.; Prakash, R.

1979-01-01

Rb-Sr analysis of whole-rock samples and biotite and biotite - or muscovite - whole rock pairs suggests that the Himalayan Central Gneiss in the crystalline nappes of the Lesser Himalaya and the root zone in the High Himalaya was formed during Oligocene to mid-Miocene times by deformation and metamorphism of older rocks, including Precambrian. Four whole-rock samples from the Almora-Askot thrust sheets define an isochron of 1620 +- 90 Ma with a high initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio of 0.749 +- 0.007; other single whole-rock samples give dates in the range 268 to 1065 Ma, assuming an initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio of 0.704. These dates are considered to represent either depositional or early instructive/deformational events. Three biotite-whole rock pairs from the root zone of the Himalayan Central Gneiss in Lahaul give aqes of 16 to 19 Ma and two muscovite-whole rock pairs give similar mid-Cenozoic ages (12 and 26 Ma); two muscovite-whole rock pairs give Paleozoic ages, which suggests incomplete resetting of the muscovite by the Cenozoic metamorphism. The pattern of ages is similar to recent results from adjacent areas, and consistent with models of Himalayan tectonics involving formation of the Central Gneiss from older Indian crust during the mid-Cenozoic. (auth.)

Cultures et politiques dans les Alpes contemporaines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard Debarbieux

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Plus que jamais, l’espace alpin est marqué par le déploiement de flux toujours plus variés, toujours plus puissants, et symétriquement par la multiplication d’initiatives destinées à conforter ou à régénérer l’idée de localité. Quelles spatialités et quelles territorialités travaillent les populations alpines aujourd’hui ? Quelles sont les figures contemporaines de la circulation et des flux, et les figures complémentaires de l’ancrage et de la refondation territoriale ? Voici les questions que cet essai se propose de développer. Ce texte reprend le contenu d’une conférence donnée dans le cadre de la célébration du centenaire de l’Institut de Géographie Alpine. Cette conférence, comme les autres données à cette occasion, avait adopté une forme libre dressant un bilan et des perspectives de la situation alpine. La trace écrite adoptée ici prend alors logiquement la forme d’un essai.More than ever before, the Alps are affected by increasingly varied and powerful flows and equally by the multiplication of initiatives designed to strengthen or regenerate the idea of “locality” (place. What spatialities and what territorialities activate the populations of the Alps today? What are the contemporary figures relating to circulation and flows and the complementary figures concerning spatial “anchoring” or fixity and new territorial foundations? These are the questions that this essay, proposes to develop. This text takes another look at the subject of a lecture given as part of celebrations to mark the centenary of the Institut de Géographie Alpine. This lecture, like the others given on this occasion, adopted a free format, presenting a report on the current situation in the Alps and prospects for the future. The written format adopted here logically takes the form of an essay. Readers looking for detailed illustrations and references are referred to three scientific articles published by the same

Climate change in the Alps: impacts and natural risks. ONERC's Technical Report N.1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Mountain ranges are very sensitive to climatic variations. The impacts of climate change on theses territories can be various, from the modification of the biodiversity to the permafrost melting and the evolution of natural hazards. The assessment of temperature rise and its impacts on mountains constitutes an important issue considering the strong uncertainties and the specific sensitivity linked to these areas. The territorial manager - policy makers and technicians - have to deal with this questioning for the implementation of short term actions as well as for strategic choices in terms of land planning and spatial development. This is why 22 public institutions from seven Alpine countries were involved in the European ClimChAlp project. The ONERC participated actively to this project in collaboration with the Rhone-Alpes Region and the Pole Grenoblois Risques Naturels. This report is based on the synthesis realised by the French partners to propose a common base of knowledge about climate change and its impacts in the Alps. (authors)

Investigations on socio economic indicators of French Alps ski industry from an explicit spatial modelling of managed snow on ski slopes

Science.gov (United States)

Spandre, Pierre; François, Hugues; Morin, Samuel; George-Marcelpoil, Emmanuelle; Lafaysse, Matthieu

2017-04-01

Investigations of the capacity of ski resorts to anticipate, cope with and recover from the impact of natural snow scarcity through snow management (grooming, snowmaking) have been realized in most of the major regions in terms of international ski offer although not in the French Alps hitherto. The present work therefore introduces an innovative approach for the investigation of socio economic implications of changes in snow conditions for the French Alps ski resorts based on a panel of 129 resorts representing 96% of the total French Alps ski lifts infrastructures. We integrated detailed spatial representations of ski resorts (including priority areas for snowmaking equipment) along with physically based snowpack modelling (including the physical impact of grooming and snowmaking). The viability of ski resorts was further adressed thanks to a commonly used rule based on the snow season duration at the village and ski lifts average elevations along with the development of original viability indicators of snow conditions in the French Alps ski resorts based on the specific periods for the economic success of winter sports: Christmas and February school holidays. Such indicators were correlated to the number of ski lifts tickets sales over the 2001 - 2014 period and proved to be relevant to investigate and predict the evolutions of ski lifts tickets sales under the current ski market conditions in the French Alps. Our results outlined the contrast of snow conditions between French Alps ski resorts, even when accounting for snow management, particularly regarding the geographical location of resorts (Southern versus Northern Alps), the size and related elevation range of ski resorts. Our physically based approach also allowed to compute the water and energy requirements for the production of Machine Made snow since the start of the development of snowguns in the French Alps. Our computations proved to be strongly correlated to the observed amounts of water from the

PHENOALP: a new project on phenology in the Western Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Cremonese, E.

2009-04-01

PHENOALP is a new EU co-funded Interreg Project under the operational programme for cross-border cooperation "Italy-France (Alps-ALCOTRA)" 2007 - 2013, aiming to get a better understanding of phenological changes in the Alps. The major goals of the project are: 1- The implementation of an observation network in the involved territories (i.e. the Aosta Valley and the Savoies in the Western Alps); 2- The definition of a common observation strategy and common protocols; 3- The involvement of local community members (e.g. through schools) in the observation activities as a way to increase the awareness on the issue of the effects of climate change. Project leader is the Environmental Protection Agency of Aosta Valley (ARPA Valle d'Aosta - IT) and the partners are the Research Center on High Altitude Ecosystem (CREA - FR), Mont Avic Regional Parc (IT), Bauges Massif Regional Natural Parc (FR) and the Protected Area Service of Aosta Valley (IT). Project activities are: 1. Pheno-plantes: definition of common observation protocols (e.g. field observation and webcams) of different alpine species (trees and herbaceous) and implementation of the observation network; analysis of the relations between climate and phenological events; application and evaluation of phenological models. 2. Pheno-detection: remote sensing of European larch and high elevation pastures with MODIS data; multitemporal analysis (2000-2011) of phenological variations in the Western Alps. 3. Pheno-flux: analysis of the relation between the seasonal and interannual variability of plant phenology and productivity, assessed measuring CO2 fluxes (eddy-covariance technique), radiometric indexes and phenological events at specific (European larch stand and alpine pastures) monitoring site. 4. Pheno-zoo: definition of common observation protocols for the phenology of animal taxa (birds, mammals, amphibians and insects) along altitudinal gradients; implementation of the observation network. 5. Inter

Chrysotile asbestos quantification in serpentinite quarries: a case study in Valmalenco, central Alps, northern Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallo, Alessandro

2013-04-01

Outcrops of serpentinites are usually strongly fractured and cataclastic, and the rock can only be used as ballast. However, in rare cases, like in Valmalenco (Central Alps, Northern Italy), fractures are regular and well spaced, and the rock mass has good geotechnical quality, ideal conditions for the extraction of dimension stone blocks. The Valmalenco Serpentinite is marketed worldwide as dimension and decorative stone, with remarkable mechanical properties and pleasing colours and textures. However, the same area was once subject to chrysotile asbestos mining, in the form of discrete veins along the main discontinuities of the rock mass. For this reason, airborne asbestos contamination can occur during the extraction and processing cycle of the rocks, therefore it is essential to locate and quantify asbestos in the rock mass, to reduce as much as possible the exposure risk. The first step was a detailed geostructural survey of each quarry, in order to characterize the main discontinuities (orientation, spacing, linear persistence, opening, filling), with special attention to the identification of fibrous minerals. The surveys was followed by extensive sampling of massive rocks, mineralized veins and fillings of fractures, and the cutting sludge derived from diamond wire cutting. Preliminary qualitative XRPD was performed on all samples, while quantitative analysis was carried out on the most representative samples of the main rock mass discontinuities. On the other hand, XRPD is not effective in the identification of asbestos percentages of less than 2% by weight, and the accurate distinction among the various serpentine polymorphs (antigorite, lizardite, chrysotile) is very difficult (if not impossible) when they are simultaneously present, due to their very similar basic structure and the strong structural disorder. The same samples were then analyzed by SEM-EDS (fiber counting after filtration on a polycarbonate filter), for a better distinction between

BSM photon interaction for ALPS-II and beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doebrich, Babette

2012-12-15

High-intensity photon beams can provide for a viable probe for many particles of Standard Model extensions. This workshop contribution briefly reviews the status of the second stage of the Any Light Particle Search (ALPS-II) at DESY, an experiment of the light-shining-through-a-wall type, as well as an idea to test asymptotically safe quantum gravity in a photon-scattering experiment.

Medical ethnobotany of the Albanian Alps in Kosovo.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustafa, Behxhet; Hajdari, Avni; Krasniqi, Feriz; Hoxha, Esat; Ademi, Hatixhe; Quave, Cassandra L; Pieroni, Andrea

2012-01-28

Ethnobotanical studies are crucial in South-Eastern Europe for fostering local development and also for investigating the dynamics of Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) related to plants in one of the most crucial European hotspots for biocultural diversity. The current medico-ethnobotanical survey was conducted in rural alpine communities in Kosovo. The aims of the study were twofold: 1) to document the state of TEK of medicinal plants in these communities; 2) to compare these findings with that of similar field studies previously conducted among local populations inhabiting the Montenegrin and Albanian side of the same Alpine range. Field research was conducted in 36 villages on the Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps. Snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 91 elderly informants (≥ 50 years-old) for participation in semi-structured interviews and structured surveys regarding the use of the local flora for medicinal and food purposes. Standard ethnobotanical methods were employed and prior informed consent was obtained for all study participants. The uses of 98 plants species belonging to 39 families were recorded; the most quoted botanical families were Rosaceae, Asteraceae, and Lamiaceae. Mainly decoctions and infusions were quoted as folk medicinal preparations and the most common uses referred to gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, as well as illnesses of the uro-genital system. Among the most uncommon medicinal taxa quoted by the informants, Carduus nutans L., Echinops bannaticus Rochel ex Schrad., and Orlaya grandiflora Hoffm. may merit phytochemical and phytopharmacological investigations.Comparison of the data with other ethnobotanical field studies recently conducted on the Albanian and Montenegrin sides of the same Alps has shown a remarkable link between the medical ethnobotany of Montenegrin and Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps. Moreover, folk uses of the most quoted wild medicinal taxa recorded in Kosovo often include those

End of the Little Ice Age in the Alps forced by industrial black carbon

OpenAIRE

Painter, Thomas H.; Flanner, Mark G.; Kaser, Georg; Marzeion, Ben; VanCuren, Richard A.; Abdalati, Waleed

2013-01-01

The end of the Little Ice Age in the European Alps has long been a paradox to glaciology and climatology. Glaciers in the Alps began to retreat abruptly in the mid-19th century, but reconstructions of temperature and precipitation indicate that glaciers should have instead advanced into the 20th century. We observe that industrial black carbon in snow began to increase markedly in the mid-19th century and show with simulations that the associated increases in absorbed sunlight by black carbon...

Green light for neutrino beam to pass below the Alps

CERN Multimedia

Abbott, A

1999-01-01

CERN council have approved a plan to send a beam of muon neutrinos under the Alps from Geneva to the Gran Sasso laboratories near Rome. INFN is organising two experiments - OPERA and ICANOE, to study the neutrino oscillations as they travel (1/2 pg)

Traditional phytotherapy of the Albanians of Lepushe, Nothern Albanian Alps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieroni, A.; Dibra, B.; Grishaj, G.; Grishaj, I.; Maçai, S.G.

2005-01-01

An ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacognostic survey has been carried out in one of the most isolated mountainous area in Europe: the village of Lepushe and its surrounding territory, in the Northern Albanian Alps. Approximately 70 botanical taxa and 160 preparations, mainly derived from plants, but

The Occurrence of Cold Spells in the Alps Related to ClimateChange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seon Ki Park

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Climate change is not only a likely prospect for the end of this century, but it is already occurring. Part of the changes will include global warming and increasing temperature variability, both at global and regional scales. This increased variability was investigated in this paper from the point of view of the occurrence of cold spells in the Alps in the future climate (2071–2100, compared with the present climate (1961–1990. For this purpose, a regionalisation of the climate change effects was performed within the Alps. To avoid possible errors in the estimate of the 2m air temperature, the analysis was performed on the soil surface temperature. To get realistic values for this variable, a land surface scheme, UTOPIA, has been run on the selected domain, using the output of the Regional Climate Model (RegCM3 simulations as the driving force. The results show that, in general, the number of cold breaks is decreasing over the Alps, due to the temperature increment. However, there are certain zones where the behaviour is more complicated. The analysis of the model output also allowed a relationship to be found between the number of cold breaks and their duration. The significance of these results over the whole area was assessed.

End of the "Little Ice Age" in the Alps not forced by industrial black carbon

Science.gov (United States)

Sigl, Michael; Osmont, Dimtri; Gabrieli, Jacopo; Barbante, Carlo; Schwikowski, Margit

2016-04-01

Light absorbing aerosols present in the atmosphere and cryosphere play an important role in the climate system. Their presence in ambient air and snow changes radiative properties of these media, thus contributing to increased atmospheric warming and snowmelt. High spatio-temporal variability of aerosol concentrations in these media and a shortage of long-term observations contribute to large uncertainties in properly assigning the climate effects of these aerosols through time. Glaciers in the European Alps began to retreat abruptly from their mid-19th century maximum, marking what appeared to be the end of the Little Ice Age. Radiative forcing by increasing deposition of industrial black carbon to snow has been suggested as the main driver of the abrupt glacier retreats in the Alps (Painter et al. 2012). Basis for this hypothesis were model simulations using ice-core measurements of elemental carbon at low temporal resolution from two ice cores in the Alps. Here we present sub-annually resolved, well replicated ice-core measurements of refractory black carbon (rBC; using a SP2 soot photometer), mineral dust (Fe, Ca), biomass burning (NH4, K) and distinctive industrial pollution tracers (Bi, Pb, SO4) from an ice core in the Alps covering the past 250 years. These reconstructions allow to precisely compare the timing of observed acceleration of glacier melt in the mid-19th century with that of the increase of soot deposition on ice-sheets caused by the industrialization of Western Europe. Our study suggests that at the time when European rBC emission rates started to significantly increase Alpine glaciers have already experienced more than 70% of their total 19th century length reduction. Industrial BC emissions can therefore not been considered as the primary forcing of the rapid deglaciation at the end of the Little Ice Age in the Alps. References: Painter, T. H., M. G. Flanner, G. Kaser, B. Marzeion, R. A. VanCuren, and W. Abdalati (2013), End of the Little Ice

FEASIBILITY OF THE AEROSOL-TO-LIQUID PARTICLE EXTRACTION SYSTEM (ALPES) FOR COLLECTION OF VIABLE FRANCISELLA SP.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heitkamp, M

2006-08-07

Several Biowatch monitoring sites in the Houston area have tested positive for Francisella tularensis and there is a need to determine whether natural occurring Francisella-related microorganism(s) may be responsible for these observed positive reactions. The collection, culturing and characterization of Francisella-related natural microorganisms will provide the knowledge base to improve the future selectivity of Biowatch monitoring for Francisella. The aerosol-to-liquid particle extraction system (ALPES) is a high-efficiency, dual mechanism collection system that utilizes a liquid collection medium for capture of airborne microorganisms. Since the viability of microorganisms is preserved better in liquid medium than on air filters, this project was undertaken to determine whether Francisella philomiragia and Francisella tularensis LVS maintain acceptable viability in the continuous liquid recirculation, high direct current voltage and residual ozone concentrations which occur during ALPES operation. Throughout a series of preliminary trial runs with representative gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms, several design modifications and improvements to the ALPES optimized liquid handling, electrical stability, sampling and overall performance for biological sampling. Initial testing with Francisella philomiragia showed viability was preserved better in PBS buffer than HBSS buffer. Trial runs at starting cell concentrations of 1.8 x 10{sup 6} and 2.5 x 10{sup 4} CFU/L showed less than a 1-log decrease in viability for F. philomiragia after 24 h in the ALPES. Francisella tularensis LVS (live vaccine strain) was used as a surrogate for virulent F. tularensis in ALPES trial runs conducted at starting cell concentrations of 10{sup 4}, 10{sup 5} and 10{sup 6} CFU/L. F. tularensis LVS was slow-growing and required highly selective growth media to prevent overgrowth by collected airborne microorganisms. In addition, one ALPES unit intake was HEPA filtered during

Synthesis and effect of Ce and Mn co-doping on photoluminescence characteristics of Ca6AlP5O20:Eu novel phosphors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinde, K N; Dhoble, S J

2013-01-01

A series of Ca6AlP5O20 doped with rare earths (Eu and Ce) and co-doped (Eu, Ce and Eu,Mn) were prepared by combustion synthesis. Under Hg-free excitation, Ca6AlP5O20:Eu exhibited Eu(2+) (486 nm) emission in the blue region of the spectrum and under near Hg excitation (245 nm), Ca6AlP5O20:Ce phosphor exhibited Ce(3+) emission (357 nm) in the UV range. Photoluminescence (PL) peak intensity increased in Ca6AlP5O20:Eu,Ce and Ca6AlP5O20:Eu, Mn phosphors due to co-activators of Ce(3+) and Mn(2+) ions. As a result, these ions played an important role in PL emission in the present matrix. Ca6AlP5O20:Eu, Ce and Ca6AlP5O20:Eu, Mn phosphors provided energy transfer mechanisms via Ce(3+) → Eu(2+) and Eu(2+) → Mn(2+), respectively. Eu ions acted as activators and Ce ions acted as sensitizers. Ce emission energy was well matched with Eu excitation energy in the case of Ca6AlP5O20:Eu, Ce and Eu ions acted as activators and Mn ions acted as sensitizers in Ca6AlP5O20:Eu, Mn. This study included synthesis of new and efficient phosphate phosphors. The impact of doping and co-doping on photoluminescence properties and energy transfer mechanisms were investigated and we propose a feasible interpretation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Internal structure of the Supragetic Unit basement in the Serbian Carpathians and its significance for the late Early Cretaceous nappe-stacking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krstekanić Nemanja

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Fault-related folds and hanging-wall structures reflect the geometry of the main thrusts in foldthrust belts. The results of the structural analysis of the Supragetic Unit metamorphic basement in eastern Serbia at map-, outcrop- and thin-section scale, and its importance for the late Early Cretaceous nappe-stacking are presented in this paper. The Supragetic Unit metamorphic basement includes various volcano-sedimentary rocks of Ordovician-Silurian protolith age. They were metamorphosed to the low greenschist facies with temperatures reaching 300-350°C and pressure reaching 0.3-0.5 GPa. The microscale studies show that quartz and albite demonstrate dominantly bulging and locally subgrain rotation recrystallisation, while chlorite, sericite and muscovite define spaced to continuous foliation recognised both at the outcrop- and the thin-section-scale. The statistical analysis based on the available map data shows low- to high-angle west-dipping foliation which is interpreted as an indicator of flat-ramp geometry of the Supragetic thrust, rather than east-vergent tight to isoclinal folding. At the thin-section scale ductile to semi-ductile C’-S structures indicate top to ESE thrusting. Subsequent kinking, recognised both at the outcrop- and the thin-section-scale, deform the older foliation. Those kink bands are the result of WNW-ESE to NW-SE compression and could represent the later stage of a continuous deformation event during which C’-S structures were formed. The youngest, brittle deformation is represented by subvertical joints with no offset recognised in thin-sections. The structural characteristics of the Supragetic Unit low-grade metamorphic basement in the studied areas, combined with tectonothermal events recognised elsewhere in Dacia mega-unit, could imply a possible initiation of the late Early Cretaceous nappe-stacking in the ductile to semi-ductile/semi-brittle domain. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and

On-demand Simulation of Atmospheric Transport Processes on the AlpEnDAC Cloud

Science.gov (United States)

Hachinger, S.; Harsch, C.; Meyer-Arnek, J.; Frank, A.; Heller, H.; Giemsa, E.

2016-12-01

The "Alpine Environmental Data Analysis Centre" (AlpEnDAC) develops a data-analysis platform for high-altitude research facilities within the "Virtual Alpine Observatory" project (VAO). This platform, with its web portal, will support use cases going much beyond data management: On user request, the data are augmented with "on-demand" simulation results, such as air-parcel trajectories for tracing down the source of pollutants when they appear in high concentration. The respective back-end mechanism uses the Compute Cloud of the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) to transparently calculate results requested by the user, as far as they have not yet been stored in AlpEnDAC. The queuing-system operation model common in supercomputing is replaced by a model in which Virtual Machines (VMs) on the cloud are automatically created/destroyed, providing the necessary computing power immediately on demand. From a security point of view, this allows to perform simulations in a sandbox defined by the VM configuration, without direct access to a computing cluster. Within few minutes, the user receives conveniently visualized results. The AlpEnDAC infrastructure is distributed among two participating institutes [front-end at German Aerospace Centre (DLR), simulation back-end at LRZ], requiring an efficient mechanism for synchronization of measured and augmented data. We discuss our iRODS-based solution for these data-management tasks as well as the general AlpEnDAC framework. Our cloud-based offerings aim at making scientific computing for our users much more convenient and flexible than it has been, and to allow scientists without a broad background in scientific computing to benefit from complex numerical simulations.

Relationship between Arm Span Measurements and Body Height in Dinaric Alpes Population: a Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bojan Masanovic

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Several researches have reported the benefit of using various body parameters in predicting standing height, and arm span happened to be one of the most reliable ones in adults. On the other hand, it is well-known the tallness and body proportions are specific in the area that are covered by Dinaric Alpes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between arm span measurements and body height in Dinaric Alpes population. The most visible electronic database (Google Scholar was searched for original research articles available until September 2017. Then research findings were summarized and relationship between arm span measurements and body height in Dinaric Alpes population were identified, as well as areas of future research were recommended. The assessment of body height using various anthropometric measures is very typical from the past centuries and it has been attempted to be studied by many researchers. However, it is important to underline that the arm span has been obtained as the most reliable body indicator for predicting the true height of an individual. However, the studies sampled with the populations lived at Dinaric Alpes mountains have specific estimates. Therefore, all above-mentioned have confirmed the necessity for developing separate body height models for each population on account of ethnic as well as regional differences.

The AlpArray Seismic Network: A Large-Scale European Experiment to Image the Alpine Orogen

Science.gov (United States)

Hetényi, György; Molinari, Irene; Clinton, John; Bokelmann, Götz; Bondár, István; Crawford, Wayne C.; Dessa, Jean-Xavier; Doubre, Cécile; Friederich, Wolfgang; Fuchs, Florian; Giardini, Domenico; Gráczer, Zoltán; Handy, Mark R.; Herak, Marijan; Jia, Yan; Kissling, Edi; Kopp, Heidrun; Korn, Michael; Margheriti, Lucia; Meier, Thomas; Mucciarelli, Marco; Paul, Anne; Pesaresi, Damiano; Piromallo, Claudia; Plenefisch, Thomas; Plomerová, Jaroslava; Ritter, Joachim; Rümpker, Georg; Šipka, Vesna; Spallarossa, Daniele; Thomas, Christine; Tilmann, Frederik; Wassermann, Joachim; Weber, Michael; Wéber, Zoltán; Wesztergom, Viktor; Živčić, Mladen

2018-04-01

The AlpArray programme is a multinational, European consortium to advance our understanding of orogenesis and its relationship to mantle dynamics, plate reorganizations, surface processes and seismic hazard in the Alps-Apennines-Carpathians-Dinarides orogenic system. The AlpArray Seismic Network has been deployed with contributions from 36 institutions from 11 countries to map physical properties of the lithosphere and asthenosphere in 3D and thus to obtain new, high-resolution geophysical images of structures from the surface down to the base of the mantle transition zone. With over 600 broadband stations operated for 2 years, this seismic experiment is one of the largest simultaneously operated seismological networks in the academic domain, employing hexagonal coverage with station spacing at less than 52 km. This dense and regularly spaced experiment is made possible by the coordinated coeval deployment of temporary stations from numerous national pools, including ocean-bottom seismometers, which were funded by different national agencies. They combine with permanent networks, which also required the cooperation of many different operators. Together these stations ultimately fill coverage gaps. Following a short overview of previous large-scale seismological experiments in the Alpine region, we here present the goals, construction, deployment, characteristics and data management of the AlpArray Seismic Network, which will provide data that is expected to be unprecedented in quality to image the complex Alpine mountains at depth.

Towards an Excursion Flora for Austria and all the Eastern Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manfred A. Fischer

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This is on the one hand an announcement of the two-volume Fourth Edition of the Excursion Flora for Austria expanded by also including the remaining parts of the Eastern Alps (chapter 1, and on the other hand a rough survey of the flora of the Eastern Alps in connection with the main vegetation types (chapter 2. The geographical scope includes, besides Austria, the entire Eastern Alps from the Rhine valley in E Switzerland (Grisons to the Vipava valley in SW Slovenia. Volume 1 mainly contains comprehensive introductory chapters like introductions to plant morphology, taxonomy, and nomenclature, as well as a sketch of ecomorphology and habitat ecology, a survey of vegetation types (phytosociology and floristic peculiarities of the different natural regions, a rough history of floristic research, a detailed glossary including the meaning of epithets, etc., and drawings of several plant species characteristic of the flora covered. The structure of the keys concentrated in volume 2 is explained: besides the descriptive traits, they include for each taxon comprehensive ecological and plant geographical data, as well as information about Red Lists of the countries involved, plant uses, and taxonomical problems. Genus names are given not only in German, but also in the Romansh (Rumantsch Grischun, Italian, and Slovenian languages. In chapter 2, some important chorotypes including endemics are characterised, and an overview of floristic diversity (lists of exemplary taxa in accordance with the main and most characteristic vegetation types is presented.

A NEW DAONELLA FROM THE LADINIAN PLATFORM OF THE ESINO LIMESTONE (SOUTHERN ALPS, ITALY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CRISTIANO LARGHI

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The bivalve Daonella Mojsisovics, 1874 is very common in the Middle Triassic pelagic facies, whereas the record of this genus from shallow water limestones is rare. In the present paper a new species of Daonella, named D. pseudograbensis, is described from the Esino Limestone, a Ladinian (Middle Triassic carbonate platform in the central Southern Alps. The species is described from Brembana Valley, where the Esino Limestone is rather rich in bioclastic lenses yielding faunas with bivalves, cephalopods, gastropods, brachiopods, corals and calcareous algae. Daonella pseudograbensis n. sp. is based on very well preserved specimens, which are often articulated and closed, all coming from the same locality. The new species shows a narrow range of intraspecific and ontogenetic morphologic variations. It is easy distinguishable from the other species of the genus for the outline and ornamentation; it therefore differs from D. grabensis Kittl, 1912, the most similar species, for the longer anterior dorsal margin.Pdf

The initial superposition of oceanic and continental units in the southern Western Alps: constraints on geometrical restoration and kinematics of the continental subduction wedge

Science.gov (United States)

Dumont, Thierry; Schwartz, Stéphane; Matthews, Steve; Malusa, Marco; Jouvent, Marine

2017-04-01

The tectonic contact separating continental and oceanic units is preserved at outcrop in many locations within the Western Alps. The contact has experienced prolonged and progressive deformation during Oligocene collision and subsequent 'extrusive' contraction which is approximately westerly-directed (Dumont et al., 2012). Despite variable metamorphic grade, this tectonic contact displays a relative consistency of tectonostratigraphic and structural characteristics. Removal of the Oligocene and younger deformation is a critical requirement to allow assessment of the kinematic evolution during the Eocene continental subduction phase. The best preserved relationships are observed near the base of the Helminthoid Flysch nappes, in the footwall of the Penninic thrust, or in the external part of the Briançonnais zone. Here, the oceanic units are composed of detached Cretaceous sediments, but they are underlain locally by an olistostrome containing basaltic clasts. Further to the east, the internal boundary of the Briançonnais zone s.l. (including the 'Prepiedmont units'), is frequently marked by breccia or megabreccia, but is strongly affected by blueschist-facies metamorphism and by approximately easterly directed backfolding and backthrusting. At one locality, there is compelling evidence that the oceanic and continental units were already tectonically stacked and metamorphosed (together) 32Ma ago. Some megabreccias of mixed continental/oceanic provenance can be interpreted as a metamorphic equivalent of the external olistostrome, products of the initial pulses of tectonic stacking. The overlying units are composed dominantly of metasediments, containing distributed ophiolitic megaboudins (Tricart & Schwartz, 2006). Further east again, the tectonic contact separates the Dora-Maira continental basement from the Mt. Viso units which are predominantly composed of oceanic lithosphere. Both the Dora-Maira and Mt. Viso units are eclogitic, but the HP peak is apparently

Geology of the Menderes Massif and the Lycian Nappes South of Denizli, Western Taurides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aral İ. OKAY

1989-06-01

Full Text Available Mount Honaz region in the Western Taurides is made up of superimposed several tectonic units. In the west, monotonous green metashales called the Honaz shale occur at the base of the tectonic stack. Honaz shale is tectonically overlain by weakly metamorphosed, massif white limestone, thinly bedded cherty limestone and shale which covers the Mendercs massif. Menderes massif is in turn tectonically overlain by the Sandak complex of the Lycian nappes made up of Mesozoic dolomites and limestones and ophiolite mainly of harzburgite lies oven the Sandak complex. All these tectonic units form an eastward overturned major anticline called the Honaz anticline; a pelagic sedimentary sequence of Late Cretaceous—Middle/Late Eocene age, called the Göbecik Tepe complex, occurs tectonically beneath the overturned limb of the Honaz anticline. The Göbecik Tepe complex constitutes the relative autochthonous in the region of the Mount Honaz. Different tectonic units in the Mount Honaz region show effects of Late Cretaceous, Middle Eocene and Late Eocene/Oligocene tectonics. Obduction of the ophiolite over the Sandak complex probably occurred during the Late Cretaceous, while the age of thrusting of the Sandak complex over the Menderes massif is probably Middle Eocene. Emplacement of these tectonic units over the Göbecik Tepe complex and the formation of the Honaz anticline is of Late Eocene/Oligocene age.

The UHP metamorphic Seve Nappe Complex of the Swedish Caledonides - a new occurrence of the microdiamond-bearing gneisses and their exhumation

Science.gov (United States)

Klonowska, Iwona; Janák, Marian; Majka, Jarosław; ‎ Froitzheim, Nikolaus; Gee, David G.

2015-04-01

The ultra-high pressure metamorphism (UHPM) in the Seve Nappe Complex of the Swedish Caledonides has been recently recognized within several lithologies including gneisses, eclogites and garnet pyroxenites (e.g. Janák et al. 2013, Klonowska et al. 2014a, Majka et al. 2014). Thermodynamic modelling and thermobarometric calculations indicate peak pressure conditions of >3GPa at c. 800-900°C (reaching the diamond stability field) for eclogites and garnet pyroxenites from northern Jämtland (e.g. Klonowska et al. 2014b). In addition to this, the first microdiamonds were found in paragneisses from the Snasahögarna Mt. in central Jämtland (Majka et al. 2014). Here we report a new discovery of microdiamond together with moissanite (SiC) from one of the world's most famous localities for thrusting, Mount Åreskutan, where long transport distances were recognized already in the 19th century (Törnebohm 1888). Garnet porphyroblasts in gneisses from the Åreskutan Mt. contain abundant mineral inclusions, mainly graphite, carbonates and quartz, together with fluid inclusions of CO2 concentrated in swarms. Among these inclusions three microdiamonds were found in two gneiss samples. In one of the samples moissanite was also discovered. Both minerals were identified by micro-Raman spectroscopy. In addition to these 'swarm' inclusions, biotite, kyanite, rutile, feldspars, zircon, monazite, ±phengite, ±muscovite, ±spinel, ±ilmenite, ±apatite occur in garnets. Phase equilibrium modelling for the phengite-bearing gneiss confirms its UHP history at temperatures of c. 800°C. Recent discoveries of UHP metamorphism within the Seve Nappe Complex derived from the Baltican outer margin (part of the Middle Allochthon) challenged us to present a new tectonic model incorporating exhumation of the deeply subducted continental rocks together with mantle lithosphere peridotites. Majka et al. (2014) introduced a new "under-pressure"-driven exhumation mechanism of rocks buried in

Sustainable mobility in Slovenian Julian Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matej Ogrin

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Some mountainous areas, especially tourist areas, are facing traffc loads that exceed the carrying capacity and bring problems to local residents, visitors, public services, etc. Traf-fc problems can also cause a decrease of popularity of the tourist site and a decrease of tourist income therefore, in some Alpine areas in Slovenia, measures have begun to be taken to decrease traffc loads, and to support measures of sustainable mobility. This article deals with such measures and plans that have been taken in the Julian Alps of Slovenia to decrease the negative traffc impacts of tourism mobility in the municipalities of Kranjska Gora, Bohinj and Bovec.

The chemical and biological response of two remote mountain lakes in the Southern Central Alps (Italy) to twenty years of changing physical and chemical climate

OpenAIRE

Andrea LAMI; Pierluigi CAMMARANO; Michele ARMIRAGLIO; Pierisa PANZANI; Roberta BETTINETTI; Alessandra PUGNETTI; Anna M. NOCENTINI; Gabriele A. TARTARI; Simona MUSAZZI; Giuseppe MORABITO; Angela BOGGERO; Marina MANCA; Michela ROGORA; Rosario MOSELLO; Aldo MARCHETTO

2004-01-01

Two small high mountain lakes in the Alps were monitored in 1984-2003 to follow their response to changes in human impact, such as deposition of atmospheric pollutants, fish stocking and climate change. The results were compared to occasional samplings performed in the 1940s, and to the remains found in sediment cores. When monitoring started, the most acid-sensitive of them, Lake Paione Superiore, was acidified, with evident effects in its flora and fauna: benthic diatoms assemblage was shif...

Provenance of Austroalpine basement metasediments: tightening up Early Palaeozoic connections between peri-Gondwanan domains of central Europe and Northern Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Siegesmund, S.; Oriolo, S.; Heinrichs, T.; Basei, M. A. S.; Nolte, N.; Hüttenrauch, F.; Schulz, B.

2018-03-01

New U-Pb and Lu-Hf detrital zircon data together with whole-rock geochemical and Sm-Nd data were obtained for paragneisses of the Austroalpine basement south of the Tauern Window. Geochemically immature metasediments of the Northern-Defereggen-Petzeck (Ötztal-Bundschuh nappe system) and Defereggen (Drauzug-Gurktal nappe system) groups contain zircon age populations which indicate derivation mainly from Pan-African orogens. Younger, generally mature metasediments of the Gailtal Metamorphic Basement (Drauzug-Gurktal nappe system), Thurntaler Phyllite Group (Drauzug-Gurktal nappe system) and Val Visdende Formation (South Alpine Basement) were possibly derived from more distant sources. Their significantly larger abundances of pre-Pan-African zircons record a more advanced stage of downwearing of the Pan-African belts and erosion of older basement when the Austroalpine terrane was part of the Early Palaeozoic Northern Gondwana passive margin. Most zircon age spectra are dominated by Ediacaran sources, with lesser Cryogenian, Tonian and Stenian contributions and subordinate Paleoproterozoic and Neoarchean ages. These age patterns are similar to those recorded by Cambro-Ordovician sedimentary sequences in northeastern Africa between Libya and Jordan, and in some pre-Variscan basement inliers of Europe (e.g. Dinarides-Hellenides, Alboran microplate). Therefore, the most likely sources seem to be in the northeastern Saharan Metacraton and the Northern Arabian-Nubian Shield (Sinai), further supported by whole-rock Sm-Nd and zircon Lu-Hf data.

Potential of hydroelectric power in the Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleiss, A.

2002-01-01

This article presents in detail the current hydro power production, consumption and export in the six main countries using this alpine energy resource: France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland. For the time being, one quarter of the Alps' hydro energy resource is still unused. The article discusses the opportunity offered by the current European electricity market deregulation to extend alpine hydro power use. For each country, the expected increase in production capacity, including technical, geographical and economic aspects, is analysed and reported in several figures and tables

Intra-continental subduction and contemporaneous lateral extrusion of the upper plate: insights into Alps-Adria interactions

Science.gov (United States)

van Gelder, Inge; Willingshofer, Ernst; Sokoutis, Dimitrios; Cloetingh, Sierd

2017-04-01

A series of physical analogue experiments were performed to simulate intra-continental subduction contemporaneous with lateral extrusion of the upper plate to study the interferences between these two processes at crustal levels and in the lithospheric mantle. The lithospheric-scale models are specifically designed to represent the collision of the Adriatic microplate with the Eastern Alps, simulated by an intra-continental weak zone to initiate subduction and a weak confined margin perpendicular to the direction of convergence in order to allow for extrusion of the lithosphere. The weak confined margin is the analog for the opening of the Pannonian back-arc basin adjacent to the Eastern Alps with the direction of extension perpendicular to the strike of the orogen. The models show that intra-continental subduction and coeval lateral extrusion of the upper plate are compatible processes. The obtained deformation structures within the extruding region are similar compared to the classical setup where lateral extrusion is provoked by lithosphere-scale indentation. In the models a strong coupling across the subduction boundary allows for the transfer of abundant stresses to the upper plate, leading to laterally varying strain regimes that are characterized by crustal thickening near a confined margin and dominated by lateral displacement of material near a weak lateral confinement. During ongoing convergence the strain regimes propagate laterally, thereby creating an area of overlap characterized by transpression. In models with oblique subduction, with respect to the convergence direction, less deformation of the upper plate is observed and as a consequence the amount of lateral extrusion decreases. Additionally, strain is partitioned along the oblique plate boundary leading to less subduction in expense of right lateral displacement close to the weak lateral confinement. Both oblique and orthogonal subduction models have a strong resemblance to lateral extrusion

Medical ethnobotany of the Albanian Alps in Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Behxhet

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Ethnobotanical studies are crucial in South-Eastern Europe for fostering local development and also for investigating the dynamics of Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK related to plants in one of the most crucial European hotspots for biocultural diversity. The current medico-ethnobotanical survey was conducted in rural alpine communities in Kosovo. The aims of the study were twofold: 1 to document the state of TEK of medicinal plants in these communities; 2 to compare these findings with that of similar field studies previously conducted among local populations inhabiting the Montenegrin and Albanian side of the same Alpine range. Methods Field research was conducted in 36 villages on the Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps. Snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 91 elderly informants (≥ 50 years-old for participation in semi-structured interviews and structured surveys regarding the use of the local flora for medicinal and food purposes. Standard ethnobotanical methods were employed and prior informed consent was obtained for all study participants. Results and Conclusion The uses of 98 plants species belonging to 39 families were recorded; the most quoted botanical families were Rosaceae, Asteraceae, and Lamiaceae. Mainly decoctions and infusions were quoted as folk medicinal preparations and the most common uses referred to gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, as well as illnesses of the uro-genital system. Among the most uncommon medicinal taxa quoted by the informants, Carduus nutans L., Echinops bannaticus Rochel ex Schrad., and Orlaya grandiflora Hoffm. may merit phytochemical and phytopharmacological investigations. Comparison of the data with other ethnobotanical field studies recently conducted on the Albanian and Montenegrin sides of the same Alps has shown a remarkable link between the medical ethnobotany of Montenegrin and Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps. Moreover, folk uses of the

Cultures and politics in the present-day Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard Debarbieux

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Plus que jamais, l’espace alpin est marqué par le déploiement de flux toujours plus variés, toujours plus puissants, et symétriquement par la multiplication d’initiatives destinées à conforter ou à régénérer l’idée de localité. Quelles spatialités et quelles territorialités travaillent les populations alpines aujourd’hui ? Quelles sont les figures contemporaines de la circulation et des flux, et les figures complémentaires de l’ancrage et de la refondation territoriale ? Voici les questions que cet essai se propose de développer. Ce texte reprend le contenu d’une conférence donnée dans le cadre de la célébration du centenaire de l’Institut de Géographie Alpine. Cette conférence, comme les autres données à cette occasion, avait adopté une forme libre dressant un bilan et des perspectives de la situation alpine. La trace écrite adoptée ici prend alors logiquement la forme d’un essai.More than ever before, the Alps are affected by increasingly varied and powerful flows and equally by the multiplication of initiatives designed to strengthen or regenerate the idea of “locality” (place. What spatialities and what territorialities activate the populations of the Alps today? What are the contemporary figures relating to circulation and flows and the complementary figures concerning spatial “anchoring” or fixity and new territorial foundations? These are the questions that this essay, proposes to develop. This text takes another look at the subject of a lecture given as part of celebrations to mark the centenary of the Institut de Géographie Alpine. This lecture, like the others given on this occasion, adopted a free format, presenting a report on the current situation in the Alps and prospects for the future. The written format adopted here logically takes the form of an essay. Readers looking for detailed illustrations and references are referred to three scientific articles published by the same

24th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

This volume includes the Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region, RAAD 2015, which was held in Bucharest, Romania, on May 27-29, 2015. The Conference brought together academic and industry researchers in robotics from the 11 countries affiliated to the Alpe-Adria-Danube space: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia, and their worldwide partners. According to its tradition, RAAD 2015 covered all important areas of research, development and innovation in robotics, including new trends such as: bio-inspired and cognitive robots, visual servoing of robot motion, human-robot interaction, and personal robots for ambient assisted living. The accepted papers have been grouped in nine sessions: Robot integration in industrial applications; Grasping analysis, dexterous grippers and component design; Advanced robot motion control; Robot vision and sensory control; Human-robot interaction and collaboration;...

Virtual tours as a new teaching tool in geoscience: an example from the Western Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Antoine; Champagnac, Jean-Daniel; Nomade, Jérome

2013-04-01

, these panorama can be linked together to travel from place to place. Last, but not least, the display of any type of information (video of the last year teachers' explanation, close up of a structure, graphic plot, text content, interpreted geological sections etc.) can be integrated in the virtual tour. From this, it is easy to build a full educational virtual tour that can include the information provided in the field book, and even become the field book itself. These virtual tours can be used with any device (laptop, tablet, smartphone...), hence have the potential become key players in field teaching. Finally, these virtual tours can help physically impaired students to complete their geological curriculum with the indispensable field experience they would not have had otherwise. Here we present an example of such a virtual tour build in 2012 across the European Alps during the 1st International Field Course organized by Grenoble University, ETH Zürich and Milano University. This virtual tour covers the Grimsel Pass Aar Massif Hercynian Basement (granite, shear zone and the underground NAGRA test site), the Zermatt area (two continents and two oceans packed together), the Aiguille du Midi incredible overview on most of the W-Alps, and the back limb of the Nappe de Morcles and its relation with the surrounding blocks. Link to the virtual tour: http://www.alpesphoto.com/temp/visites/Suisse/build/virtualtour.swf

United modification of Al-24Si alloy by Al-P and Al-Ti-C master alloys

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

韩延峰; 刘相法; 王海梅; 王振卿; 边秀房; 张均艳

2003-01-01

The modification effect of a new type of Al-P master alloy on Al-24Si alloys was investigated. It is foundthat excellent modification effect can be obtained by the addition of this new type of A1-P master alloy into Al-24Simelt and the average primary Si grain size is decreased below 47 μm from original 225 μm. It is also found that theTiC particles in the melt coming from Al8Ti2C can improve the modification effect of the Al-P master alloy. Whenthe content of TiC particles in the Al-24Si melt is 0.03 %, the improvement reaches the maximum and keeps steadywith increasing content of TiC particles. Modification effect occurs at 50 min after the addition of the Al-P master al-loy and TiC particles, and keeps stable with prolonging holding time.

Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera in springs in Trentino (south-eastern Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luana SILVERI

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Within the CRENODAT project (Biodiversity assessment and integrity evaluation of springs of Trentino - Italian Alps - and longterm ecological research, 2004-2008 we studied a total of 90 springs in Trentino (south-eastern Alps, Italy, 75 of which were used for statistical analysis. The springs were grouped into seven different types and represented all the available lithologies in the study area. Macrozoobenthos (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera; EPT was collected from stones, bryophytes and sediments. We investigated which physical, chemical or environmental features were important in determining EPT assemblage metrics at sites, by calculating the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, and applying a one-way ANOVA test, ANOSIM and SIMPER analyses. Statistical results highlighted the island character of the springs, each spring having its specific history and abiotic characteristics, which select for unique community patterns. For the faunistic analyses, we considered all springs where EPT taxa were recorded; a total of 88 taxa. Highest species richness was recorded among the Trichoptera, followed by the Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera, with 52, 30 and 6 taxa respectively. Fifteen Trichoptera and three Plecoptera species were recorded as new for the Autonomous Province of Trento. Our results confirm that, in the harsh environment of the Alps, the mild and stable ecological conditions that characterize spring-fed brooks contribute to maintaining and enhancing the regional biodiversity. Springs act as refuge areas for stream biota, providing more favourable conditions during spates or droughts (common in Alpine headwaters, or for particular stages of the insect life cycles. Springs also provide specific habitats for strictly crenobiontic species.

Chernobyl, 30 years after? Analysis of levels of artificial radioactivity of soils in the Alps in 2015. Analyses and comments report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rougier, G.; Bernollin, A.; Barbey, P.; Boilley, D.; Josset, M.; Paris, A.; Dunand, E.

2015-01-01

This report presents radioactivity measurements performed in soil samplings (70 square centimetres, 15 to 20 cm deep core sampling) in several sites located in the French Alps, more particularly in the Hautes-Alpes district (col de Rabou in the Devoluy massif, both sides of the col de la Pisse in the Champsaur, near Gap, Grand Morgon, col de Chorges, col d'Izoard), in the Drome district (different places about Lus-la-Croix-Haute), in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence district (col de Fontbelle, col de Restefond), in the Savoy district (col du Galibier, Mont-Cenis), and in the Alpes Maritimes district (Le Boreon). It appears that some high levels of caesium-137 contamination are mainly due to Chernobyl, and, to lesser extent, to French nuclear tests. Associated exposure doses are assessed

Statistical downscaling of regional climate scenarios for the French Alps : Impacts on snow cover

Science.gov (United States)

Rousselot, M.; Durand, Y.; Giraud, G.; Mérindol, L.; Déqué, M.; Sanchez, E.; Pagé, C.; Hasan, A.

2010-12-01

Mountain areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Owing to the complexity of mountain terrain, climate research at scales relevant for impacts studies and decisive for stakeholders is challenging. A possible way to bridge the gap between these fine scales and those of the general circulation models (GCMs) consists of combining high-resolution simulations of Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to statistical downscaling methods. The present work is based on such an approach. It aims at investigating the impacts of climate change on snow cover in the French Alps for the periods 2021-2050 and 2071-2100 under several IPCC hypotheses. An analogue method based on high resolution atmospheric fields from various RCMs and climate reanalyses is used to simulate local climate scenarios. These scenarios, which provide meteorological parameters relevant for snowpack evolution, subsequently feed the CROCUS snow model. In these simulations, various sources of uncertainties are thus considered (several greenhouse gases emission scenarios and RCMs). Results are obtained for different regions of the French Alps at various altitudes. For all scenarios, temperature increase is relatively uniform over the Alps. This regional warming is larger than that generally modeled at the global scale (IPCC, 2007), and particularly strong in summer. Annual precipitation amounts seem to decrease, mainly as a result of decreasing precipitation trends in summer and fall. As a result of these climatic evolutions, there is a general decrease of the mean winter snow depth and seasonal snow duration for all massifs. Winter snow depths are particularly reduced in the Northern Alps. However, the impact on seasonal snow duration is more significant in the Southern and Extreme Southern Alps, since these regions are already characterized by small winter snow depths at low elevations. Reference : IPCC (2007a). Climate change 2007 : The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the

Environmental impact of cow milk production in the central Italian Alps using Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiara A. Penati

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to analyze environmental impact of cow milk production in an alpine area through a cradle-to-farm-gate Life Cycle Assessment and to identify farming strategies that can improve environmental sustainability without negatively affecting profitability. Data were collected from farmers in 28 dairy farms in an Italian alpine valley. The production of 1 kg of fat protein corrected milk (FPCM needed 3.18 m2 of land; land use on-farm was high because a large part of farm land consisted of pastures in the highland, used extensively during summer. Also the use of energy from non-renewable sources was high, 5.14 MJ kg FPCM-1 on average. Diesel for production and transportation of feed purchased off-farm was mainly used, especially concentrates which were entirely purchased. The average emission of greenhouse and acidification causing gases was 1.14 kg CO2-eq and 0.021 kg SO2-eq kg FPCM-1. Eutrophication was on average 0.077 kg of nitrate-eq kg FPCM-1. Farms with low producing cows had higher environmental impact per kg of milk and lower gross margin per cow compared to the others. Low stocking rate farms had the best results regarding acidification and eutrophication per kg FPCM. Farms with high feed self-sufficiency had significantly lower acidification potential than the others. Increasing milk yield per cow, by selection and feeding, and enhancing feed self-sufficiency, by higher forage production and quality and more exploitation of highland pastures, seem to be the best strategies to improve ecological performances of dairy farms in the Alps while maintaining their profitability.

Galaxy Clusters as Tele-ALP-scopes

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Axion-like particles have good theoretical motivation and are characterized by conversion to photons in astrophysical magnetic fields. Galaxy clusters are the most efficient convertors of axion-like particles to photons in the universe. I discuss the physics and phenomenology of ALPs, and describe their astrophysical implications, with particular reference to the recently observed 3.5 keV X-ray line that is a candidate for a dark matter decay line. I discuss interpretations of this line in terms of dark matter decaying to an axion-like particle, that then converts to a photon in cluster magnetic fields, and describe the compatibility of this scenario with data and the different phenomenology for cool-core and non-cool-core clusters.

Origin of polluted air masses in the Alps. An overview and first results for MONARPOP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, August

2009-01-01

The contribution of ZAMG to MONAROP consists of special weather forecasts to control the SOCs sampling procedure and of the analysis of the specific transport processes for SOCs, which is still in progress. In this paper, air pollutant transport into the Alps is demonstrated by examples of inorganic pollutants: Measurements of NO x and ozone provide evidence for air pollutant transport by local wind systems (valley and slope winds), especially at low elevated sites of the Alps. In addition, trajectory analyses for the high elevation sites demonstrate the importance of large scale synoptic air pollutant transport. The effects of these transport processes with different spatial and temporal scales are governed by the physical and chemical properties of the particular pollutant. First results for the high alpine MONARPOP stations show that air masses from east Europe influence mostly Sonnblick (Austria), whereas the influence of the Po basin is strongest at Weissfluhjoch (Switzerland). - Effects of meteorological transport processes on air pollution in the Alps are demonstrated by examples of inorganic pollutants and first conclusions for SOCs are drawn.

ALP gene expression in cDNA samples from bone tissue engineering using a HA/TCP/Chitosan scaffold

Science.gov (United States)

Stephanie, N.; Katarina, H.; Amir, L. R.; Gunawan, H. A.

2017-08-01

This study examined the potential use of hydroxyapatite (HA)/tricalcium phosphate (TCP)/Chitosan as a bone tissue engineering scaffold. The potential for using HA/TCP/chitosan as a scaffold was analyzed by measuring expression of the ALP osteogenic gene in cDNA from bone biopsies from four Macaque nemestrina. Experimental conditions included control (untreated), treatment with HA/TCP 70:30, HA/TCP 50:50, and HA/TCP/chitosan. cDNA samples were measured quantitively with Real-Time PCR (qPCR) and semi-quantitively by gel electrophoresis. There were no significant differences in ALP gene expression between treatment subjects after two weeks, but the HA/TCP/chitosan treatment gave the highest level of expression after four weeks. The scaffold using the HA/TCP/chitosan combination induced a higher level of expression of the osteogenic gene ALP than did scaffold without chitosan.

New ALPS results on hidden-sector lightweights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehret, Klaus; Ghazaryan, Samvel; Frede, Maik

2010-01-01

The ALPS collaboration runs a ''Light Shining through a Wall'' (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into ''Weakly Interacting Sub-eV Particles'' (WISPs) often predicted by extensions of the Standard Model. The experiment is set up around a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. Due to several upgrades of the experiment we are able to place limits on the probability of photon-WISP-photon conversions of a few x 10 -25 . These limits result in today's most stringent laboratory constraints on the existence of low mass axion-like particles, hidden photons and minicharged particles. (orig.)

The Rhone-Alpes Observatory of Energy and Greenhouse Gases. Key data for 2012, February 2014 release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-02-01

Maps, graphs and tables related to greenhouse gas emissions are presented and briefly commented. They illustrate a comparison between the Rhone-Alpes region and France, the European objectives in this region, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy production. They also illustrate an analysis of final energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions per sector (housing, office building, industry, transports, agriculture, and uses of energy). They present the renewable energy production in Rhone-Alpes: production of electricity from renewable sources, production of renewable heat, carbon sinks

Hemin binding by Porphyromonas gingivalis strains is dependent on the presence of A-LPS.

Science.gov (United States)

Rangarajan, M; Aduse-Opoku, J; Paramonov, N A; Hashim, A; Curtis, M A

2017-10-01

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative black pigmenting anaerobe that is unable to synthesize heme [Fe(II)-protoporphyrin IX] or hemin [Fe(III)-protoporphyrin IX-Cl], which are important growth/virulence factors, and must therefore derive them from the host. Porphyromonas gingivalis expresses several proteinaceous hemin-binding sites, which are important in the binding/transport of heme/hemin from the host. It also synthesizes several virulence factors, namely cysteine-proteases Arg- and Lys-gingipains and two lipopolysaccharides (LPS), O-LPS and A-LPS. The gingipains are required for the production of the black pigment, μ-oxo-bisheme {[Fe(III)PPIX] 2 O}, which is derived from hemoglobin and deposited on the bacterial cell-surface leading to the characteristic black colonies when grown on blood agar. In this study we investigated the role of LPS in the deposition of μ-oxo-bisheme on the cell-surface. A P. gingivalis mutant defective in the biosynthesis of Arg-gingipains, namely rgpA/rgpB, produces brown colonies on blood agar and mutants defective in Lys-gingipain (kgp) and LPS biosynthesis namely porR, waaL, wzy, and pg0129 (α-1, 3-mannosyltransferase) produce non-pigmented colonies. However, only those mutants lacking A-LPS showed reduced hemin-binding when cells in suspension were incubated with hemin. Using native, de-O-phosphorylated and de-lipidated LPS from P. gingivalis W50 and porR strains, we demonstrated that hemin-binding to O-polysaccharide (PS) and to the lipid A moiety of LPS was reduced compared with hemin-binding to A-PS. We conclude that A-LPS in the outer-membrane of P. gingivalis serves as a scaffold/anchor for the retention of μ-oxo-bisheme on the cell surface and pigmentation is dependent on the presence of A-LPS. © 2017 The Authors. Molecular Oral Microbiology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Seasonal evaluation of serumal Ca, P and ALP of slaughtered cattle in Tabriz abattoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.P Rezaei-Saber

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Increasing knowledge of metabolic disorders and prevention of any prduction decrease is beneficial in animal breeding. Problems related to calcium and phosphorus deficiency in high producing animals are among the most important metabolic disorders with disease such as osteomalacia, rickets, milk fever, pos parturition hemoglobinuria and reproductive disorders named as the metabolic complications. This study was conducted on non pregnant crossbreed dairy cattle. In the middle of each season with daily referral to the abattoir, blood samples were collected in veneject tubes and after transfer to the laboratory, the serumic levels of Ca, P and ALP were measured by spectrophotometry. One hundred samples for each season and a total of 400 samples were studied. The mean serumic levels of Ca, P and ALP were 8.83±0.02 mg/dl, 3.88±0.07 mg/dl, 163.4±0.8 Iu/lit; 9.05±0.03mg/dl, 4.19±0.01mg/dl, 240.7±1.2 Iu/lit; 9.03±0.07 mg/dl, 5.33±0.02mg/dl, 185.06±2.3 Iu/lit and 9.33±0.09 mg/dl, 5.74±0.08 mg/dl, 230.03±7.4 Iu/lit, in the spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively. Considering the normal Ca, P and ALP values in cattle, 6.3% and 83% of cases had Ca and P deficiency respectively in the spring, 80% of cases had subclinical phosphorus deficiency in the summer, 7.3% of cases had subclinical phosphorus deficiency in the autumn and 9.45% and 7.36% of cases had Ca deficiency and ALP elevation respectively in the winter. The significant decrease in Ca and P levels in the spring and P levels in the summer (p

Powered mobility intervention: understanding the position of tool use learning as part of implementing the ALP tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Lisbeth; Durkin, Josephine

2017-10-01

To explore the knowledge necessary for adoption and implementation of the Assessment of Learning Powered mobility use (ALP) tool in different practice settings for both adults and children. To consult with a diverse population of professionals working with adults and children, in different countries and various settings; who were learning about or using the ALP tool, as part of exploring and implementing research findings. Classical grounded theory with a rigorous comparative analysis of data from informants together with reflections on our own rich experiences of powered mobility practice and comparisons with the literature. A core category learning tool use and a new theory of cognizing tool use, with its interdependent properties: motivation, confidence, permissiveness, attentiveness and co-construction has emerged which explains in greater depth what enables the application of the ALP tool. The scientific knowledge base on tool use learning and the new theory conveys the information necessary for practitioner's cognizing how to apply the learning approach of the ALP tool in order to enable tool use learning through powered mobility practice as a therapeutic intervention in its own right. This opens up the possibility for more children and adults to have access to learning through powered mobility practice. Implications for rehabilitation Tool use learning through powered mobility practice is a therapeutic intervention in its own right. Powered mobility practice can be used as a rehabilitation tool with individuals who may not need to become powered wheelchair users. Motivation, confidence, permissiveness, attentiveness and co-construction are key properties for enabling the application of the learning approach of the ALP tool. Labelling and the use of language, together with honing observational skills through viewing video footage, are key to developing successful learning partnerships.

Biodiversity of the Hercynian mountains of central Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeník, Jan

1998-12-01

Full Text Available The vegetation of temperate Central Europe north of the Alps is mainly of low diversity broadleaf and conifer forest. The occurrence of three azonal habitat types: mires with their numerous microhabitats, the georelief of the karst and its deeply-cut river valleys, and ecological islands with a distinct vegetation near the tree-line of the middle-mountains causes local areas of high diversity. These high species diversity spots are the result of an interplay between physical, biotic and historical factors. A model of an anemo-orographic system with its underlying factors is described to explain the high plant and animal diversity in the corries (glacial cirques of the Hercynian mountains.

[fr] La végétation de l'Europe Centrale tempérée au nord des Alpes nous montre surtout des forêts à de feuillues et de conifères à faible diversité. Cependant, la présence de trois types d'habitats azonaux peut produire une haute diversité au niveau local: zones humides avec leur nombreux microhabitats, reliefs karstiques et leur profonds défilés fluviaux, et enfin des îles écologiques avec une végétation particulière situées près de la limite supérieure des arbres (treeline. Ces secteurs riches en espèces peuvent s'expliquer par l'interaction des facteurs physiques, biotiques et historiques. Dans ce domaine nous proposons un système anémo-orographique avec ses facteurs inféodés qui pourrait expliquer la haute diversité animale et végétale dans les cirques glaciaires des montagnes hercyniennes. [es]Al N de los Alpes, la vegetación de la Europa Central templada está constituida fundamentalmente por bosques de baja diversidad, bien sean de hoja ancha o de coníferas. No obstante, la presencia de tres tipos de hábitats azonales aumenta la diversidad: charcos con sus numerosos microhábitats, el relieve kárstico con sus desfiladeros y las islas ecológicas con vegetación diversa cerca del límite superior del bosque en

Philorhizus occitanus sp. n. from the South-Western Alps (Piedmont, Italy (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Dromiini

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianni Allegro

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Philorhizus occitanus sp. n. from the South-Western Alps (Ellero Valley and Maira Valley is described. This new species is similar to P. crucifer and P. notatus as far as the external morphology is concerned, but it is distinguished by the color pattern and the shape of elytra, as well as by the features of the median lobe of aedeagus. P. liguricus, which is easily distinguished from P. occitanus sp. n. by the external morphology, was already recorded from the South-Western Alps and from the Ligurian Apennines. P. occitanus sp. n. is a likely close relative of P. notatus, although the affinities of this relict flightless new species remain uncertain.

Purification of barley dimeric α-amylase inhibitor-1 (BDAI-1) and avenin-like protein-a (ALP) from beer and their impact on beer foam stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Iimure, Takashi; Kihara, Makoto; Sato, Kazuhiro; Ogushi, Kensuke

2015-04-01

Foam stability is a key factor of beer quality for consumers and brewers. Recent beer proteome analyses have suggested that barley dimeric α-amylase inhibitor-1 (BDAI-1) and avenin-like protein-a (ALP) derived from barley are important for beer foam stability. In this study, BDAI-1 and ALP were purified from a Japanese commercial beer sample using salt precipitation and column chromatography. The purification level was verified using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and database searches. Purified BDAI-1 and ALP were added to a beer sample to compare the foam stability to that of a control beer sample. As a result, beer foam stability was significantly improved by BDAI-1 but not by ALP, thereby suggesting that BDAI-1 affects beer foam stability whereas ALP does not. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecology of some mire and bog plant communities in the Western Italian Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giorgio BUFFA

2003-02-01

Full Text Available During a mire vegetation study, conducted mainly in the subalpine-alpine sector of the Western Italian Alps, the ecology of several plant communities and numerous moss species of this kind of vegetation was evaluated. The study area covered the Piedmontese sector of the Graian Alps, the eastern sector of the Aosta Valley as well as certain localities of the Pennine Alps, the Canavese district and the Maritime Alps. They have a rocky substratum representative of the various regional lithologies and include the main sectors characterised by the highest precipitation. Three hundred and twenty two relevées were made using the phytosociological method and the pH and the conductivity of the water table and its depth were measured directly. Cluster Analysis allowed a classification of the samples and the identification of various groups of plant communities. Ordination performed by DCA and CCA allowed us to identify the ecological features of the various plant communities by using the values of the main environmental parameters, measured directly in the field, and certain climatic parameters (altitude and mean annual precipitation available. The use of climatic parameters is an important result for identifying communities which show greater oceanicity, something that is underlined also by the presence of indicator species such as Sphagnum papillosum and S. subnitens. Furthermore the communities are arranged in a "poor-rich" gradient, and are also profoundly influenced by depth to water table which is inversely correlated to the pH. Therefore we find certain kinds of communities all with a very low water table and which are little affected by its chemistry. Other groups share the fact that the water table is outcropping or near the surface and are distinguishable for their pH values and conductivity. We discuss the different response of the bryophytes and vascular plants of these communities to the environmental parameters considered, in light of their

New ALPS results on hidden-sector lightweights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehret, Klaus; Ghazaryan, Samvel [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Frede, Maik [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (DE)] (and others)

2010-04-08

The ALPS collaboration runs a ''Light Shining through a Wall'' (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into ''Weakly Interacting Sub-eV Particles'' (WISPs) often predicted by extensions of the Standard Model. The experiment is set up around a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. Due to several upgrades of the experiment we are able to place limits on the probability of photon-WISP-photon conversions of a few x 10{sup -25}. These limits result in today's most stringent laboratory constraints on the existence of low mass axion-like particles, hidden photons and minicharged particles. (orig.)

New ALPS results on hidden-sector lightweights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehret, Klaus [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Frede, Maik [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Ghazaryan, Samvel [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Hildebrandt, Matthias [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Knabbe, Ernst-Axel [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Kracht, Dietmar [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Lindner, Axel, E-mail: axel.lindner@desy.d [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); List, Jenny [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Meier, Tobias [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics, Albert-Einstein-Institute, Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Leibniz Universitaet, Hannover, Callinstrasse 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Meyer, Niels; Notz, Dieter; Redondo, Javier; Ringwald, Andreas [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Wiedemann, Guenter [Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg (Germany); Willke, Benno [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics, Albert-Einstein-Institute, Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Leibniz Universitaet, Hannover, Callinstrasse 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany)

2010-05-31

The ALPS Collaboration runs a 'Light Shining through a Wall' (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into 'Weakly Interacting Sub-eV Particles' (WISPs) often predicted by extensions of the Standard Model. The experiment is set up around a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. Due to several upgrades of the experiment we are able to place limits on the probability of photon-WISP-photon conversions of a fewx10{sup -25}. These limits result in today's most stringent laboratory constraints on the existence of low mass axion-like particles, hidden photons and minicharged particles.

Validated thermodynamic prediction of AlP and eutectic (Si) solidification sequence in Al-Si cast alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, S M; Schmid-Fetzer, R

2016-01-01

The eutectic microstructure in hypoeutectic Al-Si cast alloys is strongly influenced by AlP particles which are potent nuclei for the eutectic (Si) phase. The solidification sequence of AlP and (Si) phases is, thus, crucial for the nucleation of eutectic silicon with marked impact on its morphology. This study presents this interdependence between Si- and P-compositions, relevant for Al-Si cast alloys, on the solidification sequence of AlP and (Si). These data are predicted from a series of thermodynamic calculations. The predictions are based on a self-consistent thermodynamic description of the Al-Si-P ternary alloy system developed recently. They are validated by independent experimental studies on microstructure and undercooling in hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys. A constrained Scheil solidification simulation technique is applied to predict the undercooling under clean heterogeneous nucleation conditions, validated by dedicated experimental observations on entrained droplets. These specific undercooling values may be very large and their quantitative dependence on Si and P content of the Al alloy is presented. (paper)

Enercoop Rhone-Alpes: a green and citizen-oriented electricity; Enercoop Rhone-Alpes l'electricite verte et citoyenne

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

Enercoop is a collective interest cooperative company which aims at providing electricity from renewable sources and at developing renewable energies in France. After a presentation of its objectives and strategies, this document gives an overview of the energy and socio-economic context in Europe and France, recalls the origin of this project and more particularly in the Rhone-Alpes region. It presents its objectives in terms of pricing and citizen empowerment, how to join Enercoop, its guarantees, its philosophy (ethical and democratic), its objectives in terms of renewable energy production, its relationship with ERDF (the company which manages the electricity distribution network in France). After some testimonies, some comments are made about energy management challenges

From the valley floor to the peaks: Stratigraphy and landscape evolution of the Alpine Lateglacial in the Kitzbühel Alps (Tyrol, Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Dippenaar, Elijah; Reitner, Jürgen

2017-04-01

Our understanding of Alpine landscape evolution and more specifically, chronology of glacier activity during the Alpine Lateglacial (ALG; c. 19 - 11.7 ka) i.e. the timespan between the Würmian Pleniglacial (= Alpine Last Glacial Maximum; AlpLGM) and the beginning of the Holocene, is based on the evidence of only few areas in the Alps. In order to get a better understanding of glaciation and palaeoclimate during this phase, N-S and E-W transects are needed. The Kitzbühel Alps, which are currently not glaciated, span an area of 1700km2 and have peaks that reach c. 2400m a.s.l. They lie at the center of the Eastern Alps on the northern rim, which is more humid than the relatively dry central parts. A modern geological investigation of the ALG record is missing in the Kitzbühel Alps. In order to overcome this gap of knowledge and to gain a more complete understanding of the ALG landscape development, a pioneering study has been performed in the area of Langer Grund Valley, a tributary valley of the Kelchsau Valley. This was done through detailed field mapping, thereby describing the shape and sediment composition of Quaternary morphological features, such as moraines, landslides and rock glacier deposits. Sedimentary evidence of one short glacial advance and two glacial stadials were identified. In chronological order they were named the: Frommbach advance, the Arnbach (glacier) halt and the Küharn halt. Where possible, palaeoglaciers were constructed using ArcGIS. With the palaeoglaciers, equlibrium line altitudes (ELA) were calculated and compared to ELA values of known glacial stadials in an attempt to correlate the relative local stratigraphy to the Lateglacial stratigraphy. Four methods to calculate ELAs were used; Maximum Elevation of Lateral Moraines (MELM), Toe to Headwall Altitude Ratio (THAR), Area x Altitude (AA) and Accumulation Area Ratio (AAR). Furthermore, the glacial sedimentary sequence of the study area was compared to that of the Gschnitz Valley

Permafrost distribution in the European Alps: calculation and evaluation of an index map and summary statistics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Boeckli

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is the production of an Alpine Permafrost Index Map (APIM covering the entire European Alps. A unified statistical model that is based on Alpine-wide permafrost observations is used for debris and bedrock surfaces across the entire Alps. The explanatory variables of the model are mean annual air temperatures, potential incoming solar radiation and precipitation. Offset terms were applied to make model predictions for topographic and geomorphic conditions that differ from the terrain features used for model fitting. These offsets are based on literature review and involve some degree of subjective choice during model building. The assessment of the APIM is challenging because limited independent test data are available for comparison and these observations represent point information in a spatially highly variable topography. The APIM provides an index that describes the spatial distribution of permafrost and comes together with an interpretation key that helps to assess map uncertainties and to relate map contents to their actual expression in the terrain. The map can be used as a first resource to estimate permafrost conditions at any given location in the European Alps in a variety of contexts such as research and spatial planning.

Results show that Switzerland likely is the country with the largest permafrost area in the Alps, followed by Italy, Austria, France and Germany. Slovenia and Liechtenstein may have marginal permafrost areas. In all countries the permafrost area is expected to be larger than the glacier-covered area.

The ALPS project release 2.0: open source software for strongly correlated systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, B; Gamper, L; Gukelberger, J; Hehn, A; Isakov, S V; Ma, P N; Mates, P; Carr, L D; Evertz, H G; Feiguin, A; Freire, J; Koop, D; Fuchs, S; Gull, E; Guertler, S; Igarashi, R; Matsuo, H; Parcollet, O; Pawłowski, G; Picon, J D

2011-01-01

We present release 2.0 of the ALPS (Algorithms and Libraries for Physics Simulations) project, an open source software project to develop libraries and application programs for the simulation of strongly correlated quantum lattice models such as quantum magnets, lattice bosons, and strongly correlated fermion systems. The code development is centered on common XML and HDF5 data formats, libraries to simplify and speed up code development, common evaluation and plotting tools, and simulation programs. The programs enable non-experts to start carrying out serial or parallel numerical simulations by providing basic implementations of the important algorithms for quantum lattice models: classical and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) using non-local updates, extended ensemble simulations, exact and full diagonalization (ED), the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) both in a static version and a dynamic time-evolving block decimation (TEBD) code, and quantum Monte Carlo solvers for dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). The ALPS libraries provide a powerful framework for programmers to develop their own applications, which, for instance, greatly simplify the steps of porting a serial code onto a parallel, distributed memory machine. Major changes in release 2.0 include the use of HDF5 for binary data, evaluation tools in Python, support for the Windows operating system, the use of CMake as build system and binary installation packages for Mac OS X and Windows, and integration with the VisTrails workflow provenance tool. The software is available from our web server at http://alps.comp-phys.org/

Spatial and temporal variations of glacial erosion in the Rhône valley (Swiss Alps): Insights from numerical modeling

OpenAIRE

Sternai , Pietro; Herman , Frédéric; Valla , Pierre G.; Champagnac , Jean-Daniel

2013-01-01

Pietro Sternai : Now at: the Institut desSciences de laTerre d'Orléans - (ISTO), University of Orléans,France. Tel.: 33 631910242. E-mail addresses: , ; International audience; The present-day topography of the European Alps shows evidence of intense glacial reshaping. However, significant questions regarding Alpine landscape evolution during glaciations still persist. In this study, we focus on the Rhône valley (Swiss Alps), and use a ...

Lithospheric architecture of the South-Western Alps revealed by multiparameter teleseismic full-waveform inversion

Science.gov (United States)

Beller, S.; Monteiller, V.; Operto, S.; Nolet, G.; Paul, A.; Zhao, L.

2018-02-01

The Western Alps, although being intensively investigated, remains elusive when it comes to determining its lithospheric structure. New inferences on the latter are important for the understanding of processes and mechanisms of orogeny needed to unravel the dynamic evolution of the Alps. This situation led to the deployment of the CIFALPS temporary experiment, conducted to address the lack of seismological data amenable to high-resolution seismic imaging of the crust and the upper mantle. We perform a 3-D isotropic full-waveform inversion (FWI) of nine teleseismic events recorded by the CIFALPS experiment to infer 3-D models of both density and P- and S-wave velocities of the Alpine lithosphere. Here, by FWI is meant the inversion of the full seismograms including phase and amplitude effects within a time window following the first arrival up to a frequency of 0.2 Hz. We show that the application of the FWI at the lithospheric scale is able to generate images of the lithosphere with unprecedented resolution and can furnish a reliable density model of the upper lithosphere. In the shallowest part of the crust, we retrieve the shape of the fast/dense Ivrea body anomaly and detect the low velocities of the Po and SE France sedimentary basins. The geometry of the Ivrea body as revealed by our density model is consistent with the Bouguer anomaly. A sharp Moho transition is followed from the external part (30 km depth) to the internal part of the Alps (70-80 km depth), giving clear evidence of a continental subduction event during the formation of the Alpine Belt. A low-velocity zone in the lower lithosphere of the S-wave velocity model supports the hypothesis of a slab detachment in the western part of the Alps that is followed by asthenospheric upwelling. The application of FWI to teleseismic data helps to fill the gap of resolution between traditional imaging techniques, and enables integrated interpretations of both upper and lower lithospheric structures.

Agrotis fatidica (Hübner, 1824 species-group revisited, with description of two new species from the Alps and the Pyrenees (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

László Ronkay

2018-06-01

Full Text Available An integrative taxonomic analysis of the European species of the Agrotis fatidica species-group is presented with special reference to the European sister taxa of A. fatidica (Hübner, 1824; in addition, a general overview of the entire species-group is given. The remarkable differences found in the barcodes of the Central and Western European populations of A. fatidica (sensu lato led us to recognise isolated species of the A. fatidica complex. Two new species, A. mayrorum sp. n. (Northern Italy and the French Alps and A. mazeli sp. n. (French Pyrenees are described. The neotype of A. fatidica is designated. Agrotis luehri von Mentzer & Moberg, 1987 is treated as a subspecies of A. fatidica (stat. n..

Shear wave velocities in the upper mantle of the Western Alps: new constraints using array analysis of seismic surface waves

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Chao; Pedersen, Helle A.; Paul, Anne; Zhao, Liang; Solarino, Stefano

2017-07-01

It remains challenging to obtain absolute shear wave velocities of heterogeneities of small lateral extension in the uppermost mantle. This study presents a cross-section of Vs across the strongly heterogeneous 3-D structure of the western European Alps, based on array analysis of data from 92 broad-band seismic stations from the CIFALPS experiment and from permanent networks in France and Italy. Half of the stations were located along a dense sublinear array. Using a combination of these stations and off-profile stations, fundamental-mode Rayleigh wave dispersion curves were calculated using a combined frequency-time beamforming approach. We calculated dispersion curves for seven arrays of approximately 100 km aperture and 14 arrays of approximately 50 km aperture, the latter with the aim of obtaining a 2-D vertical cross-section of Vs beneath the western Alps. The dispersion curves were inverted for Vs(z), with crustal interfaces imposed from a previous receiver function study. The array approach proved feasible, as Vs(z) from independent arrays vary smoothly across the profile length. Results from the seven large arrays show that the shear velocity of the upper mantle beneath the European plate is overall low compared to AK135 with the lowest velocities in the internal part of the western Alps, and higher velocities east of the Alps beneath the Po plain. The 2-D Vs model is coherent with (i) a ∼100 km thick eastward-dipping European lithosphere west of the Alps, (ii) very high velocities beneath the Po plain, coherent with the presence of the Alpine (European) slab and (iii) a narrow low-velocity anomaly beneath the core of the western Alps (from the Briançonnais to the Dora Maira massif), and approximately colocated with a similar anomaly observed in a recent teleseismic P-wave tomography. This intriguing anomaly is also supported by traveltime variations of subvertically propagating body waves from two teleseismic events that are approximately located on

Evaluation of convection-resolving models using satellite data: The diurnal cycle of summer convection over the Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Keller

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Diurnal moist convection is an important element of summer precipitation over Central Europe and the Alps. It is poorly represented in models using parameterized convection. In this study, we investigate the diurnal cycle of convection during 11 days in June 2007 using the COSMO model. The numerical simulations are compared with satellite measurements of GERB and SEVIRI, AVHRR satellite-based cloud properties and ground-based precipitation and temperature measurements. The simulations use horizontal resolutions of 12 km (convection-parameterizing model, CPM and 2 km (convection-resolving model, CRM and either a one-moment microphysics scheme (1M or a two-moment microphysics scheme (2M.They are conducted for a computational domain that covers an extended Alpine area from Northern Italy to Northern Germany. The CPM with 1M exhibits a significant overestimation of high cloud cover. This results in a compensation effect in the top of the atmosphere energy budget due to an underestimation of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR and an overestimation of reflected solar radiation (RSR. The CRM reduces high cloud cover and improves the OLR bias from a domain mean of −20.1 to −2.6 W/m2. When using 2M with ice sedimentation in the CRM, high cloud cover is further reduced. The stronger diurnal cycle of high cloud cover and associated convection over the Alps, compared to less mountainous regions, is well represented by the CRM but underestimated by the CPM. Despite substantial differences in high cloud cover, the use of a 2M has no significant impact on the diurnal cycle of precipitation. Furthermore, a negative mid-level cloud bias is found for all simulations.

Isolated, but transnational: the glocal nature of Waldensian ethnobotany, Western Alps, NW Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellia, Giada; Pieroni, Andrea

2015-05-07

An ethnobotanical field study on the traditional uses of wild plants for food as well as medicinal and veterinary plants was conducted in four Waldensian valleys (Chisone, Germanasca, Angrogna, and Pellice) in the Western Alps, Piedmont, NW Italy. Waldensians represent a religious Protestant Christian minority that originated in France and spread around 1,170 AD to the Italian side of Western Alps, where, although persecuted for centuries, approximately 20,000 believers still survive today, increasingly mixing with their Catholic neighbours. Interviews with a total of 47 elderly informants, belonging to both Waldensian and Catholic religious groups, were undertaken in ten Western Alpine villages, using standard ethnobotanical methods. The uses of 85 wild and semi-domesticated food folk taxa, 96 medicinal folk taxa, and 45 veterinary folk taxa were recorded. Comparison of the collected data within the two religious communities shows that Waldensians had, or have retained, a more extensive ethnobotanical knowledge, and that approximately only half of the wild food and medicinal plants are known and used by both communities. Moreover, this convergence is greater for the wild food plant domain. Comparison of the collected data with ethnobotanical surveys conducted at the end of the 19th Century and the 1980s in one of studied valleys (Germanasca) shows that the majority of the plants recorded in the present study are used in the same or similar ways as they were decades ago. Idiosyncratic plant uses among Waldensians included both archaic uses, such as the fern Botrychium lunaria for skin problems, as well as uses that may be the result of local adaptions of Central and Northern European customs, including Veronica allionii and V. officinalis as recreational teas and Cetraria islandica in infusions to treat coughs. The great resilience of plant knowledge among Waldensians may be the result of the long isolation and history of marginalisation that this group has faced

An estimate of the glacier ice volume in the Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Farinotti, Daniel; Huss, Matthias; Bauder, Andreas; Funk, Martin

2009-08-01

Changes in glacier volume are important for questions linked to sea-level rise, water resource management, and tourism industry. With the ongoing climate warming, the retreat of mountain glaciers is a major concern. Predictions of glacier changes, necessarily need the present ice volume as initial condition, and for transient modelling, the ice thickness distribution has to be known. In this paper, a method based on mass conservation and principles of ice flow dynamics is applied to 62 glaciers located in the Swiss Alps for estimating their ice thickness distribution. All available direct ice thickness measurements are integrated. The ice volumes are referenced to the year 1999 by means of a mass balance time series. The results are used to calibrate a volume-area scaling relation, and the coefficients obtained show good agreement with values reported in the literature. We estimate the total ice volume present in the Swiss Alps in the year 1999 to be 74 ± 9 km 3. About 12% of this volume was lost between 1999 and 2008, whereas the extraordinarily warm summer 2003 caused a volume loss of about 3.5%.

The interplay between subduction and lateral extrusion: A case study for the European Eastern Alps based on analogue models

Science.gov (United States)

van Gelder, I. E.; Willingshofer, E.; Sokoutis, D.; Cloetingh, S. A. P. L.

2017-08-01

A series of analogue experiments simulating intra-continental subduction contemporaneous with lateral extrusion of the upper plate are performed to study the interference between these two processes at crustal levels and in the lithospheric mantle. The models demonstrate that intra-continental subduction and coeval lateral extrusion of the upper plate are compatible processes leading to similar deformation structures within the extruding region as compared to the classical setup, lithosphere-scale indentation. Strong coupling across the subduction boundary allows for the transfer of stresses to the upper plate, where strain regimes are characterized by crustal thickening near a confined margin and dominated by lateral displacement of material near a weak lateral confinement. The strain regimes propagate laterally during ongoing convergence creating an area of overlap characterized by transpression. When subduction is oblique to the convergence direction, the upper plate is less deformed and as a consequence the amount of lateral extrusion decreases. In addition, strain is partitioned along the oblique plate boundary resulting in less subduction in expense of right lateral displacement close to the weak lateral confinement. Both oblique and orthogonal subduction models have a strong resemblance to lateral extrusion tectonics of the Eastern Alps (Europe), where subduction of the adjacent Adriatic plate beneath the Eastern Alps is debated. Our results imply that subduction of Adria is a valid mechanisms to induce extrusion-type deformation within the Eastern Alps lithosphere. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the Oligocene to Late Miocene structural evolution of the Eastern Alps reflects a phase of oblique subduction followed by a later stage of orthogonal subduction conform a Miocene shift in the plate motion of Adria. Oblique subduction also provides a viable mechanism to explain the rapid decrease in slab length of the Adriatic plate beneath the Eastern Alps

Climate - Change - Alps. Tourism and regional planning in weather load. Proceedings; Klima - Wandel - Alpen. Tourismus und Raumplanung im Wetterstress. Tagungsband

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

Within the international annual conference ''Climate-Change-Alps Tourism and regional planning under weather load'' between 18th and 20th May, 2006, in Bad Hindelang (federal Republic of Germany) lectures were held to the following topics: (a) CIPRA resolution; (b) Future in the Alps - Distribution of knowledge, networking of people; (c) Climatic change and climate protection; (d) Planning of nature dangers; (e) Tourism.

Asbestos exposure during quarrying and processing of serpentinites: a case study in Valmalenco, Central Alps, Northern Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallo, A.; Rimoldi, B.

2012-04-01

Serpentinites are metamorphic rocks derived from ultramafics such as peridotites (lherzolites and/or harzburgites), with a typical mineralogical assemblage of antigorite, olivine, diopside and minor magnetite, chlorite and chrysotile. If the rock mass has good geotechnical properties, these stones are quarried because of their wide variety of green shades and outstanding technical properties. Excellent stones are produced in the Malenco Valley, Central Alps (northern Italy, Sondrio): here the geological set-up is dominated by the ultramafic Malenco massif (lower crust-mantle complex), exposed at the Penninic to Austroalpine boundary zone. Different processing operations give origin to valuable products like stoves, funeral monuments, design home appliances; important building element as roof slabs, tiles for floor and wall coverings constitute the main commercial line of production. In this area, good quality long fibre chrysotile asbestos was mined since the XIX century, till the seventies. The asbestos fissures (mostly slip-fiber) are well known in Valmalenco, associated to an important ENE-WSW striking fracture and hydrothermal vein system. Some actual serpentinite quarries "cross" at times tunnels of the old asbestos mines, because the fracture and vein system "guides" the extraction. At present time, this area represents an excellent example of naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). For these reasons, workers' exposure to asbestos during quarrying and processing cannot be ruled out, and must be assessed according to national laws. From 2004 to nowadays, the INAIL Regional Management of Lombardia, with the collaboration of University of Milan-Bicocca, carried out extensive monitoring campaigns both in quarries and in processing laboratories. More than 300 massive samples (rocks and veins) and 250 airborne dust samples were collected during the surveys. One of the main problems in the study of massive serpentinites is the accurate identification of the different

Anomalous directional behaviour of the real parts of the induction arrows in the Eastern Alps. Tectonic and palaeographical implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gurk, M.; Schnegg, P.-A. [Universite' de Neuchatel, Groupe de Geomagnetisme, Institut de Geologie, Neuchatel (Switzerland)

2001-08-01

The electromagnetic induction pattern in the Eastern Alps is characterised by a (continuous) large-scale zone on which the real parts of the induction arrows show anomalous directional behaviour. This zone extends from the Penninic Domain of Eastern Switzerland (Graubuenden) probably into the Carpathian ranges. A coarse mesh of a Magnetotelluric (MT) and Geomagnetic Deep Sounding (GDS) station in the Alps of Graubuenden and Valais (Western Switzerland) indicates that this electromagnetic anomaly is restricted to the Mesozoic sediments of the North Penninic Buendnerschiefer-facies that begins in Eastern Switzerland and extends towards the east beneath Austroalpine, South Penninic and Southalpine units. Striking similarities in position and arrangement between this zone and the magnetic signature in Eastern Alps are found. The analysis of the GDS data with the method of the Hypothetical Event Analysis (HEA) shows that current channelling affects the electromagnetic fields in this zone and causes the anomalous direction of induction arrows. Based on the combined interpretation of GDS data from the Eastern Alps and West Hungary together with the recent data from Switzerland, the following geological implications are discussed: i) a spatial decoupling of induction processes from the upper to the lower crust; ii) a lower crustal conductive structure caused by the identification of the Northern Adriatic promontory or terrane; iii) the eastward continuation of the Buendnerschiefer-facies at least to the tectonic window of Rechnitz.

Anomalous directional behaviour of the real parts of the induction arrows in the Eastern Alps. Tectonic and palaeographical implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurk, M.; Schnegg, P.-A.

2001-01-01

The electromagnetic induction pattern in the Eastern Alps is characterised by a (continuous) large-scale zone on which the real parts of the induction arrows show anomalous directional behaviour. This zone extends from the Penninic Domain of Eastern Switzerland (Graubuenden) probably into the Carpathian ranges. A coarse mesh of a Magnetotelluric (MT) and Geomagnetic Deep Sounding (GDS) station in the Alps of Graubuenden and Valais (Western Switzerland) indicates that this electromagnetic anomaly is restricted to the Mesozoic sediments of the North Penninic Buendnerschiefer-facies that begins in Eastern Switzerland and extends towards the east beneath Austroalpine, South Penninic and Southalpine units. Striking similarities in position and arrangement between this zone and the magnetic signature in Eastern Alps are found. The analysis of the GDS data with the method of the Hypothetical Event Analysis (HEA) shows that current channelling affects the electromagnetic fields in this zone and causes the anomalous direction of induction arrows. Based on the combined interpretation of GDS data from the Eastern Alps and West Hungary together with the recent data from Switzerland, the following geological implications are discussed: i) a spatial decoupling of induction processes from the upper to the lower crust; ii) a lower crustal conductive structure caused by the identification of the Northern Adriatic promontory or terrane; iii) the eastward continuation of the Buendnerschiefer-facies at least to the tectonic window of Rechnitz

Crustal structure and active tectonics in the Eastern Alps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brückl, E.; Behm, M.; Decker, K.

2010-01-01

fragment (PA), was interpreted and a triple junction was inferred. The goal of this study has been to relate these deep crustal structures to active tectonics. We used elastic plate modeling to reconsider the Moho fragmentation. We interpret subduction of EU below AD and PA from north to south......During the last decade, a series of controlled source seismic experiments brought new insight into the crustal and lithospheric structure of the Eastern Alps and their adjacent tectonic provinces. A fragmentation of the lithosphere into three blocks, Europe (EU), Adria (AD), and the new Pannonian...

Generation and evolution of nanoscale AlP and Al{sub 13}Fe{sub 4} particles in Al-Fe-P system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiao, Huan; Gao, Tong; Zhu, Xiangzhen; Wu, Yuying; Qian, Zhao; Liu, Xiangfa, E-mail: xfliu@sdu.edu.cn

2015-02-15

Highlights: • Diffusion and gradual solid reactions between Al and Fe{sub x}P phases in Al-Fe-P alloy were investigated. • Nanoscale AlP clusters are in-situ generated and evolve during the whole process. • This novel Al-Fe-P alloy has an excellent low-temperature refining performance on hypereutectic Al-Si alloy. - Abstract: In this paper, the gradual solid reactions between Al and Fe{sub x}P phases in Al-Fe-P alloy were investigated. The results show that the whole reaction process undergoes four main stages: the diffusion of Al atom, the generation of (Al, Fe, P) intermediate compound, the precipitation of nano AlP and Al{sub 13}Fe{sub 4} clusters and their growth to submicron particles. The microstructure of Fe-P particles evolves from the “egg-type”, the “sponge-type” to the “sesame-cake” structure. AlP and Al{sub 13}Fe{sub 4} nano phases have in-situ generated and evolved during the whole process. The gradual reaction mechanism has been discussed. Furthermore, a novel Al-Fe-P alloy which contains (Al, Fe, P) intermediate compounds and nano AlP particles has been synthesized and its low-temperature refining performance on A390 alloy has also been investigated.

Sensitivity of the French Alps snow cover to the variation of climatic variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Martin

Full Text Available In order to study the sensitivity of snow cover to changes in meteorological variables at a regional scale, a numerical snow model and an analysis system of the meteorological conditions adapted to relief were used. This approach has been successfully tested by comparing simulated and measured snow depth at 37 sites in the French Alps during a ten year data period. Then, the sensitivity of the snow cover to a variation in climatic conditions was tested by two different methods, which led to very similar results. To assess the impact of a particular "doubled CO₂" scenario, coherent perturbations were introduced in the input data of the snow model. It was found that although the impact would be very pronounced, it would also be extremely differentiated, dependent on the internal state of the snow cover. The most sensitive areas are the elevations below 2400 m, especially in the southern part of the French Alps.

Tectonometamorphic evolution of Ghana, Togo and Benin in the light of the Pan-African/Brasiliano orogeny

Science.gov (United States)

Castaing, C.; Triboulet, C.; Feybesse, J. L.; Chèvremont, P.

1993-02-01

The South Pan-African belt of West Africa (Ghana, Togo and Benin province) can be divided into three domains: (1) the external nappes thrust over the West African craton, derived from passive-margin sedimentary deposits (Middle to Late Proterozoic) and displaying middle- to high-pressure metamorphism, such as the Kanté and Atacora nappes; (2) the intermediate nappes including the suture-zone rocks with eclogitic assemblages (protoliths ca. 800 Ma), and mainly monocyclic metasedimentary rock and orthogneiss, that are found in central Togo and northwest Benin; (3) the internal nappes composed of high-grade commonly anatectic gneiss (anatexis ca. 600 Ma), including orthogneiss (Eburnian plutons), elongated granulite belts, reworked Archean basement, and an intrusive granite and charnockite association (ca. 600 Ma), which are exposed in Benin and Nigeria. The P- T- t- d paths calculated from rocks in these three domains show a prograde-retrograde evolution: (1) an initial clockwise evolution related to an early burial stage ( HP- HT in the intermediate nappes) followed by oblique thrusting in a SW direction, that caused nappe stacking and subsequent uplift; (2) a second anti-clockwise evolution with late temperature and pressure increases, only recorded in the more internal units. This temperature increase was a consequence of the previous crustal thickening with subsequent doming, extension and anatexis. The pressure increase was related to movement along the Kandi fault, working as a dextral strike-slip fault with a transpressional component under late E-W shortening. The retrograde trend corresponds to the final uplift. The evolution of the belt can thus be divided into three successive stages: (1) a first stage was characterized by an oblique collision inducing SW oblique thrusting with associated syn-foliation reverse metamorphism; (2) during a second stage anatectic doming took place; followed by (3) a third stage at still high temperature with dextral wrench

Effect of AlP coating on electrochemical properties of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} cathode material for lithium ion battery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Jianxin, E-mail: jianxin@sdu.edu.cn; Yin, Longwei

2016-02-15

Highlights: • Modified LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} surface with AlP successfully. • AlP coating surface modification enhances the cycling stability of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} at both room temperature and 60 °C. • AlP coating surface modification improves the rate capability of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}. - Abstract: AlP-modified LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} has been synthesized via a simple chemical deposition method followed by high-temperature heating. The X-ray diffraction patterns, SEM images and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer show the successful surface coating of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} by F-43 m crystal form AlP. AlP-modified LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} has a high discharge capacity of 125.7 mAh g{sup −1} with retention of 87% at a current density of 1C between 3.3 V and 4.3 V after 100 cycles at 60 °C, while bare LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} has more than 28% capacity loss. At 10 rates, the coated sample delivers capacity of 100 mAh g{sup −1}, which is much higher than bare LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}. Based on the EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) result, AlP coating can effectively inhibit the increase of the charge transfer resistance during charging and discharging cycles.

Climate and vegetation changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene at Lake Ledro (southern Alps, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Joannin

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Adding to the on-going debate regarding vegetation recolonisation (more particularly the timing in Europe and climate change since the Lateglacial, this study investigates a long sediment core (LL081 from Lake Ledro (652 m a.s.l., southern Alps, Italy. Environmental changes were reconstructed using multiproxy analysis (pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction, lake levels, magnetic susceptibility and X-ray fluorescence (XRF measurements recorded climate and land-use changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene. The well-dated and high-resolution pollen record of Lake Ledro is compared with vegetation records from the southern and northern Alps to trace the history of tree species distribution. An altitude-dependent progressive time delay of the first continuous occurrence of Abies (fir and of the Larix (larch development has been observed since the Lateglacial in the southern Alps. This pattern suggests that the mid-altitude Lake Ledro area was not a refuge and that trees originated from lowlands or hilly areas (e.g. Euganean Hills in northern Italy. Preboreal oscillations (ca. 11 000 cal BP, Boreal oscillations (ca. 10 200, 9300 cal BP and the 8.2 kyr cold event suggest a centennial-scale climate forcing in the studied area. Picea (spruce expansion occurred preferentially around 10 200 and 8200 cal BP in the south-eastern Alps, and therefore reflects the long-lasting cumulative effects of successive boreal and the 8.2 kyr cold event. The extension of Abies is contemporaneous with the 8.2 kyr event, but its development in the southern Alps benefits from the wettest interval 8200–7300 cal BP evidenced in high lake levels, flood activity and pollen-based climate reconstructions. Since ca. 7500 cal BP, a weak signal of pollen-based anthropogenic activities suggest weak human impact. The period between ca. 5700 and ca. 4100 cal BP is considered as a transition period to colder and wetter conditions (particularly during

Carbon dioxide generation and drawdown during active orogenesis of siliciclastic rocks in the Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Menzies, Catriona D.; Wright, Sarah L.; Craw, Dave; James, Rachael H.; Alt, Jeffrey C.; Cox, Simon C.; Pitcairn, Iain K.; Teagle, Damon A. H.

2018-01-01

Collisional mountain building influences the global carbon cycle through release of CO2 liberated by metamorphic reactions and promoting mechanical erosion that in turn increases chemical weathering and drawdown of atmospheric CO2. The Southern Alps is a carbonate-poor, siliciclastic mountain belt associated with the active Australian Pacific plate boundary. On-going, rapid tectonic uplift, metamorphism and hydrothermal activity are mobilising carbon. Here we use carbon isotope measurements of hot spring fluids and gases, metamorphic host rocks, and carbonate veins to establish a metamorphic carbon budget. We identify three major sources for CO2 within the Southern Alps: (1) the oxidation of graphite; (2) consumption of calcite by metamorphic reactions at the greenschist-amphibolite facies boundary, and (3) the dissolution of groundmass and vein-hosted calcite. There is only a minor component of mantle CO2 arising on the Alpine Fault. Hot springs have molar HCO3-/Ca2+ ∼9, which is substantially higher than produced by the dissolution of calcite indicating that deeper metamorphic processes must dominate. The total CO2 flux to the near surface environment in the high uplift region of the Southern Alps is estimated to be ∼6.4 × 108 mol/yr. Approximately 87% of this CO2 is sourced from coupled graphite oxidation (25%) and disseminated calcite decarbonation (62%) reactions during prograde metamorphism. Dissolution of calcite and mantle-derived CO2 contribute ∼10% and ∼3% respectively. In carbonate-rich orogens CO2 production is dominated by metamorphic decarbonation of limestones. The CO2 flux to the atmosphere from degassing of hot springs in the Southern Alps is 1.9 to 3.2 × 108 mol/yr, which is 30-50% of the flux to the near surface environment. By contrast, the drawdown of CO2 through surficial chemical weathering ranges between 2.7 and 20 × 109 mol/yr, at least an order of magnitude greater than the CO2 flux to the atmosphere from this orogenic belt

Possible environmental effects on the evolution of the Alps-Molasse basin system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlunegger, F.; Rieke-Zapp, D.; Ramseyer, K.

2007-01-01

We propose three partly unrelated stages in the geodynamic evolution of the Alps and the sedimentary response of the Molasse Basin. The first stage comprises the time interval between ca. 35 and 20 Ma and is characterized by a high ratio between rates of crustal accretion and surface erosion. The response of the Molasse Basin was a change from the stage of basin underfill (UMM) to overfill (USM). Because the response time of erosional processes to crustal accretion and surface uplift lasts several millions of years, the orogen first experienced a net growth until the end of the Oligocene. As a result, the Molasse basin subsided at high rates causing the topographic axis to shift to the proximal basin border and alluvial fans to establish at the thrust front. During the Aquitanian, however, ongoing erosion and downcutting in the hinterland caused sediment discharge to the basin to increase and the ratio between the rates of crustal accretion and surface erosion to decrease. The result was a progradation of the dispersal systems, and a shift of the topographic axis towards the distal basin border. The second stage started at ca. 20 Ma at a time when palaeoclimate became more continental, and when the crystalline core became exposed in the orogen. The effect was a decrease in the erosional efficiency of the Swiss Alps and hence a reduction of sediment discharge to the Molasse Basin. We propose that this decrease in sediment flux caused the Burdigalian transgression of the OMM. We also speculate that this reduction of surface erosion initiated the modification of Alpine deformation from vertically- to mainly horizontally directed extrusion (deformation of the Southern Alps, and the Jura Mountains some Ma later). The third stage in the geodynamic development was initiated at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. At that time, palaeoclimate possibly became wetter, which, in turn, caused surface erosion to increase relative to crustal accretion. This change caused the Alps to

Câbles electriques - Calcul du courant admissible - Partie 1: Equations de l'intensité du courant admissible (facteur de charge 100%) et calcul des pertes - Section 2: Facteurs de pertes par courants de Foucault dans les gaines dans le cas de deux circuits disposés en nappe

CERN Document Server

International Electrotechnical Commission. Geneva

1993-01-01

Câbles electriques - Calcul du courant admissible - Partie 1: Equations de l'intensité du courant admissible (facteur de charge 100%) et calcul des pertes - Section 2: Facteurs de pertes par courants de Foucault dans les gaines dans le cas de deux circuits disposés en nappe

La justice pénale dans les Alpes-Maritimes et les avorteurs (1939-1944

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riadh Ben Khalifa

2010-07-01

Full Text Available L’intensification de la propagande nataliste établissant un lien étroit entre l’avortement et la dénatalité conduit, en juillet 1939, au durcissement de la législation concernant la répression des pratiques abortives. Le régime de Vichy renforce le Code de la famille par des mesures encore plus sévères. En vertu de la loi du 15 février 1942, les « individus qui procurent ou tentent de procurer l’avortement sur une femme enceinte » sont passibles d’être déférés devant le tribunal d’État. Cependant, une étude localisée de la répression des avorteurs par la justice pénale dans les Alpes-Maritimes permet de constater un véritable décalage entre l’idéologie officielle qui appelle à une sanction exemplaire, et des pratiques judiciaires qui paraissent relativement indulgentes. Entre 1941 et 1944, les peines maximales n’ont pas été infligées aux avorteurs par la justice correctionnelle des Alpes-Maritimes : la question du recours à la justice d’exception ne s’est donc pas posée.The development of natalist propaganda, establishing a close link between abortion and the fall in the birthrate, led to stricter legislation concerning the repression of abortion practices in July 1939. The Vichy regime hardened the Family Code through even more repressive measures. In pursuance of the Act of February 15, 1942, "persons who procure or try to procure an abortion on a pregnant woman are liable to be submitted to the State Court". A local study of abortionists’ repression by the Criminal Court of the Alpes-Maritimes, shows there was a gap between official ideology and judicial practices: the first called for exemplary punishment, whereas the second was relatively lenient. Between 1941 and 1944, the Magistrate’s Court of the Alpes-Maritimes did not impose the maximum penalties on abortionists; the use of emergency laws did not arise.

Retrograde mineral and fluid evolution in high-pressure metapelites (Schistes Lustres unit, Western Alps).

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agard, Ph.; Goffe, B.; Touret, J.L.R.; Vidal, O.

2000-01-01

Fluid inclusions have been analysed in successive generations of syn-metamorphic segregations within low-grade, high-pressure, low-temperature (HP-LT) metapelites from the Western Alps. Fluid composition was then compared to mass transfer deduced from outcrop-scale retrograde mineral reactions. Two

New, rare or remarkable microfungi in the Italian Alps (Carnic Alps)--part I--ascomycotina.

Science.gov (United States)

Feige, G B; Ale-Agha, N; Jensen, M; Christiaans, B; Kricke, R

2004-01-01

During our observations in the SE part of the Carnic Alps in the year 2003 we were able to collect and identify 35 ascomycetes on trees and dead wood. Among these one can find numerous ascomycetes of different orders e.g. Pyrenomycetes, Loculoascomycetes and Discomycetes. Some species like Botryosphaeria ribis GROSENLUCHER & DUGGAR on Ribes alpinum L., Dothiora pyrenophora (FR.) FR. on Sorbus aucuparia L., Gemmamyces piceae (BORTH.) CASAGO. on Picea excelsa (LAM.) LINK, Glomerella montana (SACC.) v. ARX & E. MULLER on Sesleria caerulea (L.) ARD, Hymenoscyphus immutabilis (Fuck.) Dennis on Alnus incana (L.) Moench, Hysterographium fraxini (PERS. Ex. FR.) de Not. on Fraxinus ornus L., Lachnellula willkommii (Hartig) DENNIS [= Trichascyphella willkommii (Hartig) NANNF.] on Larix decidua MILL.,Leptosphaeria lycopodina (Mont.) SACC. on Lycopodium annotinum L., Mollisia adenostylidis REHM. on Adenostyles glabra (MILL.) DC., Pezicula cinnamomea (DC.)SACC. [ana: Cryptosporiopsis quercina PETRAK] on Quercus robur L., Pyrenopeziza petiolaris (A. & S. Ex FR.) NANNF. on Acer pseudoplatanus L., Tapesia rosae (PERS.) FUCKEL on Rosa canina L., are new for this area. All specimen are deposited in the Herbarium ESS Mycotheca Parva, Collection G.B. Feige/N. Ale-Agha.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF WHITEWATER SPORTS IN THE SOUTHERN ALPS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BERNARD MASSIERA

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: In order to better understand how certain sports tourism professionals have overcome the economic crisis, this paper focuses on how they have innovated on technical, managerial and marketing levels. Analyzing these strategies in the sector of “recreational white-water sports tourism” appears as a way to prospect.Design/methodology/approach: The offer of white-water sports tourism does not fall under tradition forms of organization known to work in the tourism sector. Since the end of the nineties its mode of development seems to have enabled this sector to avoid undergoing the economic crisis. The methodology, based on interviews withentrepreneurs in the sector of white-water sports tourism in the Southern Alps, addresses their managerial strategies and strategic modes of operation in the development of their businesses. The aim is to explore the managerial factors that have resulted in both economic and environmental sustainability. The concept of sustainable development is employed to understand how these entrepreneurial activities are embedded in the social, economic and natural environments of the Southern Alps valleys. Findings: The investigation shows that, rather than focusing on business strategy, professionals in this sector focus primarily on community relations. The supply of white-water sports tourism is presented in a lattice form which develops as a community. The modes of development of this sector, far from corresponding to standard business rationale, amount to a form of sustainable development which may explain the relative success of sport tourism in this period of crisis.

Anomalous directional behaviour of the real parts of the induction arrows in the Eastern Alps: tectonic and palaeogeographic implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. A. Schnegg

2001-06-01

Full Text Available The electromagnetic induction pattern in the Eastern Alps is characterised by a (continuous large-scale zone on which the real parts of the induction arrows show anomalous directional behaviour. This zone extends from the Penninic Domain of Eastern Switzerland (Graubünden probably into the Carpathian ranges. A coarse mesh of a Magnetotelluric (MT and Geomagnetic Deep Sounding (GDS station in the Alps of Graubünden and Valais (Western Switzerland indicates that this electromagnetic anomaly is restricted to the Mesozoic sediments of the North Penninic Bündnerschiefer-facies that begins in Eastern Switzerland and extends towards the east beneath Austroalpine, South Penninic and Southalpine units. Striking similarities in position and arrangement between this zone and the magnetic signature in the Eastern Alps are found. The analysis of the GDS data with the method of the Hypothetical Event Analysis (HEA shows that current channelling affects the electromagnetic fields in this zone and causes the anomalous direction of induction arrows. Based on the combined interpretation of GDS data from the Eastern Alps and West Hungary together with our recent data from Switzerland, the following geological implications are discussed: i a spatial decoupling of induction processes from the upper to the lower crust; ii a lower crustal conductive structure caused by the indentation of the Northern Adriatic promontory or terrane; iii the eastward continuation of the Bündnerschiefer-facies at least to the tectonic window of Rechnitz.

Meteorological conditions of the mudflow origin in the northern part of the French Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. O. Pavlova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A mudflow phenomena are at the top of the list of dangerous natural hazards in the mountains areas all over the world. Among factors resulting in a mudflow phenomena triggering, meteorological conditions are considered to be the most relevant. The general objective of this study was to identify meteorological parameters controlling the triggering of mudflow phenomena in one part of the French Alps over the last 40 years. Major factors are quite well explored at the global scale or contrariwise in very precise territory in particular catchment areas. However, for now we have a poor knowledge of those factors at the scale of a medium-sized region (including catchments with different geomorphic characteristics over several km² especially in the French Alps. In addition, in this region only a few studies focused on relationships with climate. To understand mudflow phenomena activity and their link with meteorological parameters in the north region of the French Alps, we used a multivariate statistical approach. Regional meteorological parameters (such as mean monthly temperature and precipitation were first computed from a Principal Component Analysis of observed meteorological data from four weather stations. A binomial monthly logistic regression probability model was then fitted between the main principal components and mudflow phenomena data base composed of 298 debris flow events triggered between 1971 and 2008. Results revealed that the most successful model including two meteorological predictors (minimal monthly temperature and the number of rainy days between May and September correctly explains more than 60% of the mudflow phenomena events.

Permian A-type rhyolites of the Muráň Nappe, Inner Western Carpathians, Slovakia: in-situ zircon U-Pb SIMS ages and tectonic setting

Science.gov (United States)

Ondrejka, Martin; Li, Xian-Hua; Vojtko, Rastislav; Putis, Marian; Uher, Pavel; Sobocký, Tomas

2018-04-01

Three representative A-type rhyolitic rock samples from the Muráň Nappe of the inferred Silicic Unit of the Inner Western Carpathians (Slovakia) were dated using the high-precision SIMS U-Pb isotope technique on zircons. The geochronological data presented in this paper is the first in-situ isotopic dating of these volcanic rocks. Oscillatory zoned zircon crystals mostly revealed concordant Permian (Guadalupian) ages: 266.6 ± 2.4 Ma in Tisovec-Rejkovo (TIS-1), 263.3 ± 1.9 Ma in Telgárt-Gregová Hill (TEL-1) and 269.5 ± 1.8 Ma in Veľká Stožka-Dudlavka (SD-2) rhyolites. The results indicate that the formation of A-type rhyolites and their plutonic equivalents are connected to magmatic activity during the Permian extensional tectonics and most likely related to the Pangea supercontinent break-up.

21st Century Climate Change in the European Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Gobiet, Andreas; Kotlarski, Sven; Stoffel, Markus; Heinrich, Georg; Rajczak, Jan; Beniston, Martin

2014-05-01

The Alps are particularly sensitive to global warming and warmed twice as much as the global average in the recent past. In addition, the Alps and its surroundings are a densly populated areas where society is affected by climate change in many ways, which calls for reliable estimates of future climate change. However, the complex Alpine region poses considerable challenges to climate models, which translate to uncertainties in future climate projections. Against this background, the present study reviews the state-of-knowledge about 21st century climate change in the Alps based on existing literature and additional analyses. It will be demonstrated that considerable and accelerating changes are not only to be expected with regard to temperature, but also precipitation, global radiation, relative humidity, and closely related impacts like floods, droughts, snow cover, and natural hazards will be effected by global warming. Under the A1B emission scenario, about 0.25 °C warming per decade until the mid of the 21st century and accelerated 0.36 °C warming per decade in the second half of the century is expected. Warming will most probably be associated with changes in the seasonality of precipitation, global radiation, and relative humidity. More intense precipitation extremes and flooding potential are particularly expected in the colder part of the year. The conditions of currently record breaking warm or hot winter or summer seasons, respectively, may become normal at the end of the 21st century, and there is indication for droughts to become more severe in the future. Snow cover is expected to drastically decrease below 1500 - 2000 m and natural hazards related to glacier and permafrost retreat are expected to become more frequent. Such changes in climatic variables and related quantities will have considerable impact on ecosystems and society and will challenge their adaptive capabilities. Acknowledgements: This study has been initiated and is partly funded by

Enhancement of the ALP activity of C3H10T1/2 cells by the combination of an oxysterol and apatite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Kyung Mi; Park, Hee Chul; Kim, Na Ryoung; Yang, Hyeong-Cheol; Lee, In-Seop

2010-01-01

Biomimetic apatite coating has been used to load osteogenic biomolecules onto the surface of titanium implants. Apatite on the surface of biomaterials is thought to function as a reservoir of biomolecules as well as enhancing osteoconductivity. In this study, 20α-hydroxycholesterol (20α-HC), an osteogenic oxysterol, was used to induce differentiation of a mouse embryo fibroblast cell line (C3H10T1/2) by loading the oxysterol on biomimetically coated apatite of titanium discs. We found that the phosphatase (alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) activity of 20α-HC was significantly higher with ascorbic acid than alone, suggesting a need for ascorbic acid as a co-factor. When 20α-HC was added into the apatite coating solution, the ALP activity of the C3H10T1/2 cells did not increase on the apatite surface, even in the presence of ascorbic acid. However, ALP activity increased dramatically when 20α-HC was loaded by volatilization of EtOH from the apatite coat after dipping discs in 20α-HC-dissolved EtOH. Interestingly, ascorbic acid was not needed for this increase in ALP activity, suggesting a synergistic effect of 20α-HC and apatite. The concentration of calcium ions, a major component of apatite, affected the osteogenic effect of 20α-HC, and the increase in ALP activity was attenuated by L-type calcium channel inhibitors, verapamil and nifedipine. These results demonstrate that calcium ions released from apatite are important in the synergistic effect of 20α-HC and apatite.

Snow chemistry of high altitude glaciers in the French Alps

OpenAIRE

MAUPETIT, FRANÇOIS; DELMAS, ROBERT J.

2011-01-01

Snow samples were collected as snowcores in the accumulation zone of four high altitude glaciers (2980–3540 m.a.s.l.) from each of the 4 highest mountain areas of the French Alps, during 3 consecutive years: 1989, 1990 and 1991. Sampling was performed in spring (∼ May), before the onset of late spring–summer percolation. The accumulated snow therefore reflects winter and spring conditions. A complementary sampling of fresh-snow was performed on an event basis, on one of the studied glaciers, ...

Kinematics and Seismotectonics of the Montello Thrust Fault (Southeastern Alps, Italy) Revealed by Local GPS and Seismic Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Serpelloni, E.; Anderlini, L.; Cavaliere, A.; Danesi, S.; Pondrelli, S.; Salimbeni, S.; Danecek, P.; Massa, M.; Lovati, S.

2014-12-01

The southern Alps fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) in northern Italy is a tectonically active area accommodating large part of the ~N-S Adria-Eurasia plate convergence, that in the southeastern Alps ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 mm/yr, as constrained by a geodetically defined rotation pole. Because of the high seismic hazard of northeastern Italy, the area is well monitored at a regional scale by seismic and GPS networks. However, more localized seismotectonic and kinematic features, at the scale of the fault segments, are not yet resolved, limiting our knowledge about the seismic potential of the different fault segments belonging to the southeastern Alps FTB. Here we present the results obtained from the analysis of data collected during local seismic and geodetic experiments conducted installing denser geophysical networks across the Montello-Bassano-Belluno system, a segment of the FTB that is presently characterized by a lower sismicity rate with respect to the surrounding domains. The Montello anticline, which is the southernmost tectonic features of the southeastern Alps FTB (located ~15 km south of the mountain front), is a nice example of growing anticline associated with a blind thrust fault. However, how the Adria-Alps convergence is partitioned across the FTB and the seismic potential of the Montello thrust (the area has been struck by a Mw~6.5 in 1695 but the causative fault is still largely debated) remained still unresolved. The new, denser, GPS data show that this area is undergoing among the highest geodetic deformation rates of the entire south Alpine chain, with a steep velocity gradient across the Montello anticline. The earthquakes recorded during the experiment, precisely relocated with double difference methods, and the new earthquake focal mechanisms well correlate with available information about sub-surface geological structures and highlight the seismotectonic activity of the Montello thrust fault. We model the GPS velocities using elastic

Relationship between rainfall and shallow landslides in the southern Apuan Alps (Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Giannecchini

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The Apuan Alps region is one of the rainiest areas in Italy (more than 3000 mm/year, in which frequently heavy and concentrated rainfall occurs. This is particularly due to its geographical position and conformation: the Apuan chain is located along the northern Tuscan coast, close to the Ligurian Sea, and the main peaks reach almost 2000 m. In several cases, the storms that hit the area have triggered many shallow landslides (soil slip-debris flows, which exposed the population to serious risks (during the 19 June 1996 rainstorm about 1000 landslides were triggered and 14 people died. The assessment of the rainfall thresholds is very important in order to prepare efficient alarm systems in a region particularly dedicated to tourism and marble activities. With the aim of contributing to the landslide hazard evaluation of the southern Apuan Alps territory (upper Versilia area, a detailed analysis of the main pluviometric events was carried out. The data recorded at the main rain gauge of the area from 1975 to 2002 were analysed and compared with the occurrence of soil slips, in order to examine the relationship between soil slip initiation and rainfall. The most important rainstorms which triggered shallow landslides occurred in 1984, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Many attempts were made to obtain a possible correlation between rainfall parameters and the occurrence of soil slip phenomena and to identify the local rainfall threshold for triggering shallow landslides. A threshold for soil slip activity in terms of mean intensity, duration and mean annual precipitation (MAP was defined for the study area. The thresholds obtained for the southern Apuan Alps were also compared with those proposed by other authors for several regions in the world. This emphasized the high value of the rain threshold for shallow landslide activity in the Apuan area. The high threshold is probably also linked to the high mean annual precipitation and to the high

[Lessons learned from a distribution incident at the Alps-Mediterranean Division of the French Blood Establishment].

Science.gov (United States)

Legrand, D

2008-11-01

The Alps-Mediterranean division of the French blood establishment (EFS Alpes-Mediterranée) has implemented a risk management program. Within this framework, the labile blood product distribution process was assessed to identify critical steps. Subsequently, safety measures were instituted including computer-assisted decision support, detailed written instructions and control checks at each step. Failure of these measures to prevent an incident underlines the vulnerability of the process to the human factor. Indeed root cause analysis showed that the incident was due to underestimation of the danger by one individual. Elimination of this type of risk will require continuous training, testing and updating of personnel. Identification and reporting of nonconformities will allow personnel at all levels (local, regional, and national) to share lessons and implement appropriate risk mitigation strategies.

End of the Little Ice Age in the Alps forced by industrial black carbon.

Science.gov (United States)

Painter, Thomas H; Flanner, Mark G; Kaser, Georg; Marzeion, Ben; VanCuren, Richard A; Abdalati, Waleed

2013-09-17

Glaciers in the European Alps began to retreat abruptly from their mid-19th century maximum, marking what appeared to be the end of the Little Ice Age. Alpine temperature and precipitation records suggest that glaciers should instead have continued to grow until circa 1910. Radiative forcing by increasing deposition of industrial black carbon to snow may represent the driver of the abrupt glacier retreats in the Alps that began in the mid-19th century. Ice cores indicate that black carbon concentrations increased abruptly in the mid-19th century and largely continued to increase into the 20th century, consistent with known increases in black carbon emissions from the industrialization of Western Europe. Inferred annual surface radiative forcings increased stepwise to 13-17 W⋅m(-2) between 1850 and 1880, and to 9-22 W⋅m(-2) in the early 1900s, with snowmelt season (April/May/June) forcings reaching greater than 35 W⋅m(-2) by the early 1900s. These snowmelt season radiative forcings would have resulted in additional annual snow melting of as much as 0.9 m water equivalent across the melt season. Simulations of glacier mass balances with radiative forcing-equivalent changes in atmospheric temperatures result in conservative estimates of accumulating negative mass balances of magnitude -15 m water equivalent by 1900 and -30 m water equivalent by 1930, magnitudes and timing consistent with the observed retreat. These results suggest a possible physical explanation for the abrupt retreat of glaciers in the Alps in the mid-19th century that is consistent with existing temperature and precipitation records and reconstructions.

Results of the radiological survey at the Napp Chemical Company, 199 Main Street, Lodi, New Jersey (LJ076)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foley, R.D.; Floyd, L.M.; Carrier, R.F.

1989-11-01

Maywood Chemical Works (MCW) of Maywood, New Jersey, generated process wastes and residues associated with the production and refining of thorium and thorium compounds from monazite ores from 1916 to 1956. MCW supplied rare earth metals and thorium compounds to the Atomic Energy Commission and various other government agencies from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s. Area residents used the sandlike waste from this thorium extraction process mixed with tea and cocoa leaves as mulch in their yards. Some of these contaminated wastes were also eroded from the site into Lodi Brook. At the request of the US Department of Energy (DOE), a group from Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducts investigative radiological surveys of properties in the vicinity of MCW to determine whether a property is contaminated with radioactive residues, principally 232 Th, derived from the MCW site. The survey typically includes direct measurement of gamma radiation levels and soil sampling for radionuclide analyses. The survey of this site, the Napp Chemical Company, 199 Main Street, Lodi, New Jersey (LJ076), was conducted during 1987. Results of the survey demonstrated no radionuclide concentrations in excess of the DOE Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program criteria. The radionuclide distributions were not significantly different from normal background levels in the northern New Jersey area. 4 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs

Analysis of the ectoenzymes ADA, ALP, ENPP1, and ENPP3, in the contents of ovarian endometriomas as candidate biomarkers of endometriosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Trapero, Carla; Jover, Lluis; Fernández-Montolí, Maria Eulàlia; García-Tejedor, Amparo; Vidal, August; Gómez de Aranda, Inmaculada; Ponce, Jordi; Matias-Guiu, Xavier; Martín-Satué, Mireia

2018-02-01

The diagnosis of endometriosis, a prevalent chronic disease with a strong inflammatory component, is usually delayed due to the lack of noninvasive diagnostic tests. Purinergic signaling, a key cell pathway, is altered in many inflammatory disorders. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the levels of adenosine deaminase (ADA), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (ENPP1), and ENPP3, elements of purinergic signaling, as biomarker candidates for endometriosis. A case-control comparative study was conducted to determine ADA, ALP, ENPP1 and ENPP3 levels in echo-guided aspirated fluids of endometriomas (case group) and simple ovarian cysts (control group) using the ELISA technique. Adenosine deaminase, ALP, ENPP1, and ENPP3 were present and quantifiable in the contents of endometriomas and simple cysts. There were significant differences in ADA and ENPP1 levels in endometriomas in comparison with simple cysts (2787 U/L and 103.9 ng/mL more in endometriomas, for ADA and ENPP1, respectively). Comparisons of ALP and ENPP3 levels between the two groups did not reveal significant differences. The ectoenzymes ADA and ENPP1 are biomarker candidates for endometriosis. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Shear in the tethys and the permian paleomagnetism in the Southern Alps, including new results

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zijderveld, J.D.A.; Hazeu, G.J.A.; Nardin, M.; Voo, R. van der

1970-01-01

To verify paleomagnetic proof for megatectonic translation in the Tethys a large collection of samples from a key area, the Bolzano Quartz Porphyry Plateau in the Southern Alps, was examined. Their natural remanent magnetization was analyzed with thermal, and mainly alternating field

Localization of Reversion-Induced LIM Protein (RIL) in the Rat Central Nervous System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iida, Yuko; Matsuzaki, Toshiyuki; Morishima, Tetsuro; Sasano, Hiroshi; Asai, Kiyofumi; Sobue, Kazuya; Takata, Kuniaki

2009-01-01

Reversion-induced LIM protein (RIL) is a member of the ALP (actinin-associated LIM protein) subfamily of the PDZ/LIM protein family. RIL serves as an adaptor protein and seems to regulate cytoskeletons. Immunoblotting suggested that RIL is concentrated in the astrocytes in the central nervous system. We then examined the expression and localization of RIL in the rat central nervous system and compared it with that of water channel aquaporin 4 (AQP4). RIL was concentrated in the cells of ependyma lining the ventricles in the brain and the central canal in the spinal cord. In most parts of the central nervous system, RIL was expressed in the astrocytes that expressed AQP4. Double-labeling studies showed that RIL was concentrated in the cytoplasm of astrocytes where glial fibrillary acidic protein was enriched as well as in the AQP4-enriched regions such as the endfeet or glia limitans. RIL was also present in some neurons such as Purkinje cells in the cerebellum and some neurons in the brain stem. Differential expression of RIL suggests that it may be involved in the regulation of the central nervous system

An improved low-frequency earthquakes catalogue in the vicinity of the late-interseismic central Alpine Fault, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Baratin, Laura-May; Chamberlain, Calum J.; Townend, John; Savage, Martha K.

2017-04-01

Characterising the seismicity associated with slow deformation in the vicinity of the Alpine Fault may provide constraints on the state of stress of this major transpressive margin prior to a large (≥M8) earthquake. Here, we use recently detected tectonic tremor and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) to examine how slow tectonic deformation is loading the Alpine Fault toward an anticipated large rupture. We initially work with a continous seismic dataset collected between 2009 and 2012 from an array of short-period seismometers, the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array. Fourteen primary LFE templates, found through visual inspection within previously identified tectonic tremor, are used in an iterative matched-filter and stacking routine. This method allows the detection of similar signals and establishes LFE families with common locations. We thus generate a 36 month catalogue of 10718 LFEs. The detections are then combined for each LFE family using phase-weighted stacking to yield a signal with the highest possible signal to noise ratio. We found phase-weighted stacking to be successful in increasing the number of LFE detections by roughly 20%. Phase-weighted stacking also provides cleaner phase arrivals of apparently impulsive nature allowing more precise phase picks. We then compute non-linear earthquake locations using a 3D velocity model and find LFEs to occur below the seismogenic zone at depths of 18-34 km, locating on or near the proposed deep extent of the Alpine Fault. To gain insight into deep fault slip behaviour, a detailed study of the spatial-temporal evolution of LFEs is required. We thus generate a more extensive catalogue of LFEs spanning the years 2009 to 2016 using a different technique to detect LFEs more efficiently. This time 638 synthetic waveforms are used as primary templates in the match-filter routine. Of those, 38 templates yield no detections over our 7-yr study period. The remaining 600 templates end up detecting between 370

Morphological expression of active tectonics in the Southern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Robl, Jörg; Heberer, Bianca; Neubauer, Franz; Hergarten, Stefan

2015-04-01

Evolving drainage pattern and corresponding metrics of the channels (e.g. normalized steepness index) are sensitive indicators for tectonic or climatic events punctuating the evolution of mountain belts and their associated foreland basins. The analysis of drainage systems and their characteristic properties represents a well-established approach to constrain the impact of tectonic and climatic drivers on mountainous landscapes in the recent past. The Southern Alps (SA) are one of the seismically most active zones in the periphery of northern Adria. Recent deformation is caused by the ongoing convergence of the Adriatic and European plate and is recorded by numerous earthquakes in the domain of the SA. Deformation in the SA is characterized by back-thrusting causing crustal thickening and should therefore result in uplift and topography formation. The vertical velocity field determined by GPS-data clearly indicates a belt of significant uplift in the south South alpine indenter between Lake Garda in the west and the Triglav in the east and strong subsidence of the foreland basin surrounding the Mediterranean Sea near Venice, although subsidence is often related to ongoing subduction of the Adriatic microplate underneath Appennines. Despite of these short term time series, timing, rates and drivers of alpine landscape evolution are not well constrained and the linkage between crustal deformation and topographic evolution of this highly active alpine segment remains unclear for the following reasons: (1) The eastern Southern Alps were heavily overprinted by the Pleistocene glaciations and tectonic signals in the alpine landscape are blurred. Only the transition zone to the southern foreland basin remained unaffected and allows an analysis of a glacially undisturbed topography. (2) The major part of this domain is covered by lithology (carbonatic rocks) which is unsuitable for low temperature geochronology and cosmogenic isotope dating so that exhumation and erosion

Finite-strain analysis of Metavolcano-sedimentary rocks at Gabel El Mayet area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt

Science.gov (United States)

Kassem, Osama M. K.; Abd El Rahim, Said H.

2010-09-01

Finite strain was estimated in the metavolcano-sedimentary rocks, which surround by serpentinites of Gabel El Mayet area. Finite strain shows a relationship to nappe contacts between the metavolcano-sedimentary rocks and serpentinite and sheds light on the nature of the subhorizontal foliation typical for the Gable Mayet shear zone. We used the Rf/ ϕ and Fry methods on feldspar porphyroclasts and mafic grains from 10 metasedimentary and six metavolcanic samples in Gabel El Mayet region. Our finite-strain data show that the metavolcano-sedimentary rocks were moderately deformed and axial ratios in the XZ section range from 1.9 to 3.9. The long axes of the finite-strain ellipsoids trend W/WNW in the north and W/WSW in the south of the Gabel El Mayet shear zone. Furthermore, the short axes are subvertical to a subhorizontal foliation. The strain magnitudes increase towards the tectonic contacts between the metavolcano-sedimentary rocks and serpentinite. The data indicate oblate strain symmetry in the metavolcano-sedimentary rocks. Hence, our strain data also indicate flattening strain. We assume that the metasedimentary and metavolcanics rocks have similar deformation behaviour. The fact that finite strain accumulated during the metamorphism indicates that the nappe contacts formed during the accumulation of finite strain and thus during thrusting. We conclude that the nappe contacts formed during progressive thrusting under brittle to semi-brittle deformation conditions by simple shear and involved a component of vertical shortening, which caused the subhorizontal foliation in the Gabel El Mayet shear zone.

Continuous measurement of Radon emanations from soil and groundwaters in southern France (Alpes Maritimes). Preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oddou, A.; Nault, L.; Campredon, R.; Bernat, M.

1983-01-01

Two types of automated instruments which monitor the emission of radon from rocks and groundwaters are actually being set up in a few localities of the French-Italian Alpe-Maritimes (SE France). The first results are presented [fr

APEX and ALPS, high power density technology programs in the U.S

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, C.P.C.; Berk, S.; Abdou, M.; Mattas, R.

1999-02-01

In fiscal year (FY) 1998 two new fusion technology programs were initiated in the US, with the goal of making marked progress in the scientific understanding of technologies and materials required to withstand high plasma heat flux and neutron wall loads. APEX is exploring new and revolutionary concepts that can provide the capability to extract heat efficiently from a system with high neutron and surface heat loads while satisfying all the fusion power technology requirements and achieving maximum reliability, maintainability, safety, and environmental acceptability. ALPS program is evaluating advanced concepts including liquid surface limiters and divertors on the basis of such factors as their compatibility with fusion plasma, high power density handling capabilities, engineering feasibility, lifetime, safety and R and D requirements. The APEX and ALPS are three-year programs to specify requirements and evaluate criteria for revolutionary approaches in first wall, blanket and high heat flux component applications. Conceptual design and analysis of candidate concepts are being performed with the goal of selecting the most promising first wall, blanket and high heat flux component designs that will provide the technical basis for the initiation of a significant R and D effort beginning in FY2001. These programs are also considering opportunities for international collaborations

1233-IJBCS-Article-Kouassi Ahoussi Ernest

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hp

Recherche (UFR) des Sciences de la Terre et des Ressources Minières ... Elles sont faiblement minéralisées, avec une conductivité électrique qui ...... géochimique du fonctionnement de la nappe profonde de Gafsa Nord (Tunisie centrale).

1498-IJBCS-Article- Kouassi Ahoussi+

African Journals Online (AJOL)

pc

Cette étude traite de la caractérisation chimique et microbiologique des eaux de la commune ..... température, le pH, la conductivité électrique ...... géochimique du fonctionnement de la nappe profonde de Gafsa Nord (Tunisie centrale).

Mammoths inside the Alps during the last glacial period: Radiocarbon constraints from Austria and palaeoenvironmental implications

Science.gov (United States)

Spötl, Christoph; Reimer, Paula J.; Göhlich, Ursula B.

2018-06-01

This study examines remains of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) found inside the Austrian Alps, an area occupied by an extensive ice-stream network during the Last Glacial Maximum. The data demonstrate that these cold steppe-adapted animals locally migrated several tens of kilometers into alpine valleys. Radiocarbon analyses constrain the age of these fossils to the first half of Marine Isotope Stage 3, documenting ice-free conditions in major valleys at that time. We also provide a list of all traceable Austrian sites of Mammuthus primigenius, totaling about 230 localities, compiled through 15 museums and collections in Austria. The vast majority of these findings are from the corridors of the Danube and Mur rivers and their tributaries and the adjacent loess-covered foreland of the Alps, areas that were never ice-covered during Pleistocene glaciations.

Development of lymphoma in Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS) and its relationship to Fas gene mutations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poppema, Sibrand; Maggio, Ewerton; van den Berg, Anke

Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS) is generally the result of a mutation in genes associated with apoptosis, like Fas, Fas ligand, Casp 8 and Casp 10. As a result, the normal homeostasis of T- and B-lymphocytes is disturbed and a proliferation of polyclonal T lymphocytes occurs. This

Paleomagnetic and geochronologic constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the Central Dinarides

Science.gov (United States)

de Leeuw, Arjan; Mandic, Oleg; Krijgsman, Wout; Kuiper, Klaudia; Hrvatović, Hazim

2013-04-01

The geodynamic evolution of the Dinaride Mountains of southeastern Europe is relatively poorly understood, especially in comparison with the neighbouring Alps and Carpathians. We have constructed a new chronostratigraphy for the post-orogenic intra-montane basins of the Central Dinarides based on paleomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar age data. Our results provide time constraints on the formation of these basins and elucidate their subsequent evolution. This is a fundamental step towards a better understanding of the late stage geodynamic evolution of the Central Dinarides. Our paleomagnetic results moreover indicate that the Dinarides have not experienced significant tectonic rotation since the late Oligocene. This implies that the Dinarides were decoupled from the adjacent Adria and the Tisza-Dacia Mega-Units that both underwent major rotation. We provide a reference frame for our rotation results through a review of Late Jurassic to Miocene paleomagnetic data, which elucidates spatial and tectonic rotation patterns in the Adria-Dinarides collision zone. The obtained results significantly improve our insight in the evolution of the Central Dinarides and help reconcile structural geological and paleomagnetic rotation estimates.

Preliminary comparative study of middle Anisian vertebrate ichnoassociation from South-Eastern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Valdiserri, D.; Todesco, R.; Avanzini, M.

2009-04-01

Anisian vertebrate tracks from the south-eastern Alps are known since the first decades of 1900s (Abel, 1926). The sedimentary units yielding footprints are characterized by the alternation of limestone influenced by terrigenous supply with mere marine and volcanic layers allowing a precise dating. In this study, we compare four different ichnoassociations from three different outcrops in the South-Eastern Alps correlating them chronologically and sedimentologically. They were found to be subsequent in time from Lower Pelsonian (Bad Gfrill-Voltago Conglomerate; Todesco, 2007) through middle Pelsonian (Bad Gfrill- Giovo Formation) (Valdiserri et al., 2006) and basal Illyrian (Piz da Peres- Richthofen Conglomerate; Todesco et al., 2008) to the middle Illyrian (Val Duron-Morbiac Limestone; Avanzini et al., 2007). In all these ichno-associations, Rhynchosauroides, an ichno-genus referable to a lizard - like trackmaker well known in the European Anisian, is dominant. Within this group at least four different morphotypes are known, probably reflecting both intraspecific variation (i.e. sexual dimorphism) and different ichnospecies. Although the Chirotheridae group, referred to Archosaurian trackmakers Synaptichnium is represented in both Pelsonian ichnoassociation of the Bad Gfrill outcrop, while Chirotherium , Isochirotherium and Brachichirotherium are recognized both in Pelsonian and in Illyrian ichnosites with a incremental presence in the Illyrian The ichofamiliae Rotodactylidae und Procolophonidae seem well represented in the Pelsonian strata but absent in the Illyrian ones. The preliminarly comparative analysis of these four correlated ichnosites and the comparision with the yet known ones (Avanzini and Mietto 2008) pointed out the expected predominance of the Lepidosaurian-Archosaurian association typical for the middle Triassic ichnofauna. The incremental presence of the Chirotherian track in Illyrian and the presence of the Procolophonichium just in the

Terricolous Lichens in the Glacier Forefield of the Pasterze (Eastern Alps, Carinthia, Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Bilovitz, Peter O.; Wallner, Anja; Tutzer, Veronika; Nascimbene, Juri; Mayrhofer, Helmut

2016-01-01

Summary The investigation of lichens on soil, plant debris and terricolous mosses in the glacier forefield of the Pasterze yielded 35 lichen species. Placidiopsis oreades Breuss (Verrucariales) is new to Austria. Three sampling sites were established at increasing distance from the glacier, in order to compare species diversity, abundance and composition within the forefield and with four other glacier forefields of the Eastern Alps. PMID:26877565

External micro-PIXE analysis of fluid inclusions: Test of the LABEC facility on samples of quartz veins from Apuan Alps (Italy)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massi, M.; Calusi, S.; Giuntini, L.; Ruggieri, G.; Dini, A.

2008-01-01

Fluid inclusions are small portions, usually smaller than 100 μm, of fluid trapped within minerals during or after growth. Their characteristics provide therefore fundamental information on nature and evolution of fluids present in the past in different geological environments. At the LABEC laboratory in Firenze, high-salinity fluid inclusions in quartz crystals, coming from the Apuan Alps metamorphic complex, were analysed at the external scanning microbeam. Results, although still preliminary, have already provided us with hints on fluid-rock interaction processes during the metamorphism of the Apuan Alps

External micro-PIXE analysis of fluid inclusions: Test of the LABEC facility on samples of quartz veins from Apuan Alps (Italy)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Massi, M. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita and INFN sezione di Firenze, via G. Sansone 1, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Firenze (Italy)], E-mail: massi@fi.infn.it; Calusi, S. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita and INFN sezione di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino (Italy); Giuntini, L. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita and INFN sezione di Firenze, via G. Sansone 1, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Firenze (Italy); Ruggieri, G. [CNR - Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse sezione di Firenze, via G. La Pira 4, Firenze 50121 (Italy); Dini, A. [CNR - Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse sezione di Pisa, via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa 56124 (Italy)

2008-05-15

Fluid inclusions are small portions, usually smaller than 100 {mu}m, of fluid trapped within minerals during or after growth. Their characteristics provide therefore fundamental information on nature and evolution of fluids present in the past in different geological environments. At the LABEC laboratory in Firenze, high-salinity fluid inclusions in quartz crystals, coming from the Apuan Alps metamorphic complex, were analysed at the external scanning microbeam. Results, although still preliminary, have already provided us with hints on fluid-rock interaction processes during the metamorphism of the Apuan Alps.

The geology of the Vicentinian Alps (NE-Italy) : (with special reference to their paleomagnetic history)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, J. de

1963-01-01

This geological study on the Vicentinian Alps is mainly an analysis of the tectonic and paleomagnetic data, collected by the author in the years 1959, 1960, and 1961. The stratigraphy is based for the greater part on data published in the first decenniums of this century. In the

The geology of the Vicentinian Alps (NE-Italy) : with special reference to their paleomagnetic history

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, Jelle de

1963-01-01

This geological study on the Vicentinian Alps is mainly an analysis of the tectonic and paleomagnetic data, collected by the author in the years 1959, 1960, and 1961. The stratigraphy is based for the greater part on data published in the first decenniums of this century. In the

Enercoop Rhone-Alpes: a green and citizen-oriented electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

Enercoop is a collective interest cooperative company which aims at providing electricity from renewable sources and at developing renewable energies in France. After a presentation of its objectives and strategies, this document gives an overview of the energy and socio-economic context in Europe and France, recalls the origin of this project and more particularly in the Rhone-Alpes region. It presents its objectives in terms of pricing and citizen empowerment, how to join Enercoop, its guarantees, its philosophy (ethical and democratic), its objectives in terms of renewable energy production, its relationship with ERDF (the company which manages the electricity distribution network in France). After some testimonies, some comments are made about energy management challenges

10Be exposure dating of the timing of Neoglacial glacier advances in the Ecrins-Pelvoux massif, southern French Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Le Roy, Melaine; Deline, Philip; Carcaillet, Julien; Schimmelpfennig, Irene; Ermini, Magali; Aster Team

2017-12-01

Alpine glacier variations are known to be reliable proxies of Holocene climate. Here, we present a terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN)-based glacier chronology relying on 24 new 10Be exposure ages, which constrain maximum Neoglacial positions of four small to mid-sized glaciers (Rateau, Lautaret, Bonnepierre and Etages) in the Ecrins-Pelvoux massif, southern French Alps. Glacier advances, marked by (mainly lateral) moraine ridges that are located slightly outboard of the Little Ice Age (LIA, c. 1250-1860 AD) maximum positions, were dated to 4.25 ± 0.44 ka, 3.66 ± 0.09 ka, 2.09 ± 0.10 ka, c. 1.31 ± 0.17 ka and to 0.92 ± 0.02 ka. The '4.2 ka advance', albeit constrained by rather scattered dates, is to our knowledge exposure-dated here for the first time in the Alps. It is considered as one of the first major Neoglacial advance in the western Alps, in agreement with other regional paleoclimatological proxies. We further review Alpine and Northern Hemisphere mid-to-high latitude evidence for climate change and glacier activity concomitant with the '4.2 ka event'. The '2.1 ka advance' was not extensively dated in the Alps and is thought to represent a prominent advance in early Roman times. Other Neoglacial advances dated here match the timing of previously described Alpine Neoglacial events. Our results also suggest that a Neoglacial maximum occurred at Etages Glacier 0.9 ka ago, i.e. during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, c. 850-1250 AD). At Rateau Glacier, discordant results are thought to reflect exhumation and snow cover of the shortest moraine boulders. Overall, this study highlights the need to combine several sites to develop robust Neoglacial glacier chronologies in order to take into account the variability in moraine deposition pattern and landform obliteration and conservation.

Incidence of sarcoma histotypes and molecular subtypes in a prospective epidemiological study with central pathology review and molecular testing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Françoise Ducimetière

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The exact overall incidence of sarcoma and sarcoma subtypes is not known. The objective of the present population-based study was to determine this incidence in a European region (Rhone-Alpes of six million inhabitants, based on a central pathological review of the cases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From March 2005 to February 2007, pathology reports and tumor blocks were prospectively collected from the 158 pathologists of the Rhone-Alpes region. All diagnosed or suspected cases of sarcoma were collected, reviewed centrally, examined for molecular alterations and classified according to the 2002 World Health Organization classification. Of the 1287 patients screened during the study period, 748 met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The overall crude and world age-standardized incidence rates were respectively 6.2 and 4.8 per 100,000/year. Incidence rates for soft tissue, visceral and bone sarcomas were respectively 3.6, 2.0 and 0.6 per 100,000. The most frequent histological subtypes were gastrointestinal stromal tumor (18%; 1.1/100,000, unclassified sarcoma (16%; 1/100,000, liposarcoma (15%; 0.9/100,000 and leiomyosarcoma (11%; 0.7/100,000. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The observed incidence of sarcomas was higher than expected. This study is the first detailed investigation of the crude incidence of histological and molecular subtypes of sarcomas.

Petrology and geochemistry of a peridotite body in Central- Carpathian Paleogene sediments (Sedlice, eastern Slovakia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koppa Matúš

2014-10-01

Full Text Available We studied representative samples from a peridotite body situated NE of Sedlice village within the Central- Carpathian Paleogene sediments in the Central Western Carpathians. The relationship of the peridotite to the surrounding Paleogene sediments is not clear. The fractures of the brecciated peridotite margin are healed with secondary magnesite and calcite. On the basis of the presented bulk-rock and electron microprobe data, the wt. % amounts of mineral phases were calculated. Most of calculated “modal” compositions of this peridotite corresponds to harzburgites composed of olivine (∼70-80 wt. %, orthopyroxene (∼17-24 wt. %, clinopyroxene ( < 5 wt. % and minor spinel ( < 1 wt. %. Harzburgites could originate from lherzolitic protoliths due to a higher degree of partial melting. Rare lherzolites contain porphyroclastic 1-2 mm across orthopyroxene (up to 25 wt. %, clinopyroxene (∼ 5-8 wt. % and minor spinel ( < 0.75 wt. %. On the other hand, rare, olivine-rich dunites with scarce orthopyroxene porphyroclasts are associated with harzburgites. Metamorphic mineral assemblage of low-Al clinopyroxene (3, tremolite, chrysotile, andradite, Cr-spinel to chromite and magnetite, and an increase of fayalite component in part of olivine, indicate low-temperature metamorphic overprint. The Primitive Mantle normalized whole-rock REE patterns suggest a depleted mantle rock-suite. An increase in LREE and a positive Eu anomaly may be consequence of interactive metamorphic fluids during serpentinization. Similar rocks have been reported from the Meliatic Bôrka Nappe overlying the Central Western Carpathians orogenic wedge since the Late Cretaceous, and they could be a potential source of these peridotite blocks in the Paleogene sediments.

The geology of the Vicentinian Alps (NE-Italy) : (with special reference to their paleomagnetic history)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, J.

1963-01-01

This geological study on the Vicentinian Alps is mainly an analysis of the tectonic and paleomagnetic data, collected by the author in the years 1959, 1960, and 1961. The stratigraphy is based for the greater part on data published in the first decenniums of this century. In the westtern part of the

The geological and geodynamic condition on the formation of the Dabashan thrust nappe structure: Based on FLAC numerical modelling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoning Zhang

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The Dabashan thrust nappe structure at the southern margin of the Qinling orogenic belt suffered at least two stages of evolution which are Late Triassic plate subduction collisional orogeny between North China block, Qinling micro-plate and Yangtze block followed by intracontinental orogeny since the Meso-Cenozoic. A prominent topography characteristic within the Dabashan area is a southwestward extrusive arc (Bashan Arc fault that is one of key factors to understand the geodynamic condition of the Dabashan thrust nappe structure. In this work, two-dimensional plan-view models are constructed to simulate the collisional and intracontinental orogenic movements, and the factors that may control the formation of the Bashan Arc fault are analysed. The modelling results show that the compressive stress produced by the plates collision along both north and south boundaries is the main driving force. The dextral shearing derived from the inconsistent shape on the block margins is the main controller. Rigid tectonic units such as Bikou and Hanan-Micangshan terranes, Foping and Wudang domes, as well as Shennongjia-Huangling anticline also contribute as “anchor” effects. Additionally, the rheology properties of rock material in the Dabashan area affect the shape of the arc.  Condición geológica y geodinámica para la formación estructural de la falla de cabalgamiento en las montañas Dabashan basada en el modelo numérico del software FLAC  Resumen La estructura de la falla de cabalgamiento de las montañas Dabashan en el margen sur del cinturón orogénico de Qinling sufrió por lo menos dos etapas de evolución, la colisión orogénica del Triásico Superior entre el bloque de la China del Norte, la microplaca de Qinling y el bloque Yangtze, y la orogénesis intracontinental desde el Meso-Cenozoico. Una característica topográfica prominente del área de Dabashan es un arco extrusivo (falla Arco de Bashan hacia el suroeste, que es un

Attitudes of livestock farmers and sensitivity of livestock farming systems to drought conditions in the French Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent Dobremez

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Livestock farming systems in the French Alps are particularly exposed to the predicted climate change and most of them have already experienced periods of drought since the beginning of the 2000s. Faced with this risk, livestock farmers have put in place a certain number of measures and envisage introducing others in the future. For the present study, surveys were conducted among livestock farmers to identify these measures and analyses were carried out to characterise the attitudes of livestock farmers to drought conditions and to evaluate changes in the sensitivity of their livestock farming systems. With the exception of those farms with extensive irrigated areas, all the farms are seeking solutions to deal with the risks arising from droughts. One solution is to purchase fodder to compensate for the decrease in the harvests that normally provide animal feed in the winter; the amounts purchased vary with the length of wintering required. For the grazing periods, the high mountain livestock breeders and the dairy systems of the Northern Alps rely above all on extending and over-sizing the pasture areas in relation to the needs of the herds. The livestock farms of the Southern Alps also rely on the diversity of vegetation areas and a certain flexibility in the practices used to adapt to conditions experienced during the year. A succession of dry years could result in more radical breakdowns in the livestock systems. It should also be remembered that climate change is only one of the factors influencing the types of changes taking place on farms.Les systèmes d'élevage des Alpes françaises sont fortement exposés au changement climatique annoncé et la plupart subissent déjà des épisodes de sécheresse depuis le début des années 2000. Face à ces aléas, les éleveurs ont mis en œuvre un certain nombre de leviers et envisagent d'en activer d'autres à l'avenir. Des enquêtes en exploitation ont permis d’identifier ces leviers. Leur

Recent slope failures in the Dolomites (Northeastern Italian Alps) in a context of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarle, Marta; Paranunzio, Roberta; Laio, Francesco; Nigrelli, Guido; Guzzetti, Fausto

2014-05-01

Climate change in the Greater Alpine Region is seriously affecting permafrost distribution, with relevant consequences on slope stability. In the Italian Alps, the number of failures from rockwalls at high elevation markedly increased in the last 20-30 years: the consistent temperature increase, which warmed twice than the global average, may have seriously influenced slope stability, in terms of glaciers retreat and permafrost degradation. Moreover, the growing number of tourists and activities in alpine regions (in particular in the Dolomites) made these areas particularly critical in relation to natural hazards. In this light, an integrated short-term geomorphological and climatic analysis was performed, in order to better comprehend the impact of main climate elements (especially temperature and precipitation) on slope failures in high mountain areas. In this contribution, we focus on three recent slope failures occurred at high elevation sites in the Dolomites (Northeastern Italian Alps), declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2009. We describe here three important rock falls occurred in the autumn 2013: 1) the Sorapiss rock fall, on 30 September 2013; 2) the Monte Civetta rock fall, on 16 November 2013; 3) the Monte Antelao rock fall, on 22 November 2013. The Monte Civetta rock fall damaged some climbing routes, while the other two landslides did not cause any damage or injury. Despite the limited volume involved, these three events represent an important warning sign in the context of ongoing climate change. Geomorphological information about the rock fall sites were combined with the climatic data acquired from the meteorological stations surrounding the slope failure areas. A short-term climatic analysis was performed, with the aim of understanding the role of the main climatic elements in the triggering of natural instability events in this area and in the Alps in general.

Link between concentrations of sediment flux and deep crustal processes beneath the European Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Garefalakis, Philippos; Schlunegger, Fritz

2018-01-09

Large sediment fluxes from mountain belts have the potential to cause megafans to prograde into the neighbouring sedimentary basins. These mechanisms have been documented based from numerical modelling and stratigraphic records. However, little attention has been focused on inferring temporal changes in the concentrations of supplied sediment from coarse-grained deposits. Here, we extract changes of this variable in the field from a Late Oligocene, c. 4 km-thick suite of fluvial conglomerates situated in the North Alpine foreland basin, which evolved in response to the tectonic and erosional history of the Alps. We measure a decrease in channel depths from >2 m to 20 cm from the base to the top of the suite. These constraints are used to calculate an increase in fan surface slopes from 1.0° based on the Shields criteria for sediment entrainment. We combine slope and bulk grain size data with the Bagnold equation for sediment transport to infer higher concentrations of the supplied sediment. We use these shifts to propose a change towards faster erosion and a steeper landscape in the Alpine hinterland, driven by mantle-scale processes beneath the Alps.

MAPK Signaling Pathway Alters Expression of Midgut ALP and ABCC Genes and Causes Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac Toxin in Diamondback Moth

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Qingjun; Wang, Shaoli; Xie, Wen; Zhu, Xun; Baxter, Simon W.; Zhou, Xuguo; Jurat-Fuentes, Juan Luis; Zhang, Youjun

2015-01-01

Insecticidal crystal toxins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used as biopesticide sprays or expressed in transgenic crops to control insect pests. However, large-scale use of Bt has led to field-evolved resistance in several lepidopteran pests. Resistance to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), was previously mapped to a multigenic resistance locus (BtR-1). Here, we assembled the 3.15 Mb BtR-1 locus and found high-level resistance to Cry1Ac and Bt biopesticide in four independent P. xylostella strains were all associated with differential expression of a midgut membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (ALP) outside this locus and a suite of ATP-binding cassette transporter subfamily C (ABCC) genes inside this locus. The interplay between these resistance genes is controlled by a previously uncharacterized trans-regulatory mechanism via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Molecular, biochemical, and functional analyses have established ALP as a functional Cry1Ac receptor. Phenotypic association experiments revealed that the recessive Cry1Ac resistance was tightly linked to down-regulation of ALP, ABCC2 and ABCC3, whereas it was not linked to up-regulation of ABCC1. Silencing of ABCC2 and ABCC3 in susceptible larvae reduced their susceptibility to Cry1Ac but did not affect the expression of ALP, whereas suppression of MAP4K4, a constitutively transcriptionally-activated MAPK upstream gene within the BtR-1 locus, led to a transient recovery of gene expression thereby restoring the susceptibility in resistant larvae. These results highlight a crucial role for ALP and ABCC genes in field-evolved resistance to Cry1Ac and reveal a novel trans-regulatory signaling mechanism responsible for modulating the expression of these pivotal genes in P. xylostella. PMID:25875245

MAPK signaling pathway alters expression of midgut ALP and ABCC genes and causes resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac toxin in diamondback moth.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaojiang Guo

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Insecticidal crystal toxins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt are widely used as biopesticide sprays or expressed in transgenic crops to control insect pests. However, large-scale use of Bt has led to field-evolved resistance in several lepidopteran pests. Resistance to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L., was previously mapped to a multigenic resistance locus (BtR-1. Here, we assembled the 3.15 Mb BtR-1 locus and found high-level resistance to Cry1Ac and Bt biopesticide in four independent P. xylostella strains were all associated with differential expression of a midgut membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (ALP outside this locus and a suite of ATP-binding cassette transporter subfamily C (ABCC genes inside this locus. The interplay between these resistance genes is controlled by a previously uncharacterized trans-regulatory mechanism via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK signaling pathway. Molecular, biochemical, and functional analyses have established ALP as a functional Cry1Ac receptor. Phenotypic association experiments revealed that the recessive Cry1Ac resistance was tightly linked to down-regulation of ALP, ABCC2 and ABCC3, whereas it was not linked to up-regulation of ABCC1. Silencing of ABCC2 and ABCC3 in susceptible larvae reduced their susceptibility to Cry1Ac but did not affect the expression of ALP, whereas suppression of MAP4K4, a constitutively transcriptionally-activated MAPK upstream gene within the BtR-1 locus, led to a transient recovery of gene expression thereby restoring the susceptibility in resistant larvae. These results highlight a crucial role for ALP and ABCC genes in field-evolved resistance to Cry1Ac and reveal a novel trans-regulatory signaling mechanism responsible for modulating the expression of these pivotal genes in P. xylostella.

Application of Powder Diffraction Methods to the Analysis of the Atomic Structure of Nanocrystals: The Concept of the Apparent Lattice Parameter (ALP)

Science.gov (United States)

Palosz, B.; Grzanka, E.; Gierlotka, S.; Stelmakh, S.; Pielaszek, R.; Bismayer, U.; Weber, H.-P.; Palosz, W.; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The applicability of standard methods of elaboration of powder diffraction data for determination of the structure of nano-size crystallites is analysed. Based on our theoretical calculations of powder diffraction data we show, that the assumption of the infinite crystal lattice for nanocrystals smaller than 20 nm in size is not justified. Application of conventional tools developed for elaboration of powder diffraction data, like the Rietveld method, may lead to erroneous interpretation of the experimental results. An alternate evaluation of diffraction data of nanoparticles, based on the so-called 'apparent lattice parameter' (alp) is introduced. We assume a model of nanocrystal having a grain core with well-defined crystal structure, surrounded by a surface shell with the atomic structure similar to that of the core but being under a strain (compressive or tensile). The two structural components, the core and the shell, form essentially a composite crystal with interfering, inseparable diffraction properties. Because the structure of such a nanocrystal is not uniform, it defies the basic definitions of an unambiguous crystallographic phase. Consequently, a set of lattice parameters used for characterization of simple crystal phases is insufficient for a proper description of the complex structure of nanocrystals. We developed a method of evaluation of powder diffraction data of nanocrystals, which refers to a core-shell model and is based on the 'apparent lattice parameter' methodology. For a given diffraction pattem, the alp values are calculated for every individual Bragg reflection. For nanocrystals the alp values depend on the diffraction vector Q. By modeling different a0tomic structures of nanocrystals and calculating theoretically corresponding diffraction patterns using the Debye functions we showed, that alp-Q plots show characteristic shapes which can be used for evaluation of the atomic structure of the core-shell system. We show, that using a simple

ALPS - advanced limiter-divertor plasma-facing systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allain, J. P.; Bastasz, R.; Brooks, J. N.; Evans, T.; Hassanein, A.; Luckhardt, S.; Maingi, R.; Mattas, R. F.; McCarthy, K.; Mioduszewski, P.; Mogahed, E.; Moir, R.; Molokov, S.; Morely, N.; Nygren, R.; Reed, C.; Rognlien, T.; Ruzic, D.; Sviatoslavsky, I.; Sze, D.; Tillack, M.; Ulrickson, M.; Wade, P. M.; Wong, C.; Wooley, R.

1999-01-01

The Advanced Limiter-divertor Plasma-facing Systems (ALPS) program was initiated in order to evaluate the potential for improved performance and lifetime for plasma-facing systems. The main goal of the program is to demonstrate the advantages of advanced limiter/divertor systems over conventional systems in terms of power density capability, component lifetime, and power conversion efficiency, while providing for safe operation and minimizing impurity concerns for the plasma. Most of the work to date has been applied to free surface liquids. A multi-disciplinary team from several institutions has been organized to address the key issues associated with these systems. The main performance goals for advanced limiters and diverters are a peak heat flux of >50 MW/m 2 ,elimination of a lifetime limit for erosion, and the ability to extract useful heat at high power conversion efficiency (approximately40%). The evaluation of various options is being conducted through a combination of laboratory experiments, modeling of key processes, and conceptual design studies. The current emphasis for the work is on the effects of free surface liquids on plasma edge performance

Palaeoenvironmental changes in the Late Triassic (Rhaetian) of the Northern Calcareous Alps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mette, Wolfgang; Elsler, Armin; Korte, Christoph

2012-01-01

in the Kössen Formation and determine their significance for environmental and climatic conditions in the Rhaetian sea of the Eiberg Basin (Northern Calcareous Alps). For this purpose 60 δ 18O measurements on 43 articulate brachiopods samples from 8 different horizons were carried out. The results indicate...... to the lowest unit 3 of the Eiberg Member that parallels oxygen isotopes. This positive δ 13C trend is interrupted by a sudden ~1.5‰ negative excursion in the late Rhaetian (Late Rhaetian Event), a time span when the oxygen isotopes remain heavy....

Using Muon Radiography to map the Bedrock Geometry underneath an active Glacier: A Case Study in the Central Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Lechmann, Alessandro; Mair, David; Nishiyama, Ryuichi; Ariga, Akitaka; Ariga, Tomoko; Ereditato, Antonio; Scampoli, Paola; Vladymyrov, Mykhailo; Schlunegger, Fritz

2016-04-01

In recent years, muon radiography has been successfully applied to tackle geological issues and has enjoyed an increasing interest, mainly because this methodology enriches the geophysical arsenal by another shallow subsurface imaging tool that may give independent constraints on material density. Muons that originate from the collision of cosmic particles with Earth's atmosphere are able to penetrate the material in question and can finally be recorded by a detector. The irradiation intensity can then be inverted to the density of the traversed material. Various successful two-dimensional attempts have already been made to image e.g. magma chambers inside volcanoes (Lesparre et al., 2012; Nishiyama et al., 2014; Tanaka et al., 2005), but this method has yet to be applied for mapping the base of glaciers, where the density contrasts between ice and underlying bedrock are even greater than those between magma and host rock. While a high Alpine setup limits the possibilities to deploy traditional geophysical methods for surveying the base of glaciers (because of inaccessible terrain, poor infrastructure or the presence of water in the ice), muon radiography might prove to be a promising alternative. The muon intensity data from stereo observation can be related to the three-dimensional geometry of the interface between the glacier and its bedrock. Given a suitable input model, this relation can be solved within the framework of geophysical inverse problems. The final model then gives geologists invaluable information on erosional mechanisms underneath active glaciers, as this has not yet been observed. We test this methodology for a site within the Jungfrau region, situated in the central Swiss Alps. Our first goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of the method through a case study at the Eiger glacier, starting from a toy model in a first phase and continuing with real data in a second phase. For this purpose, we installed cosmic-ray detectors at two sites inside

Hydrogéologie et vulnérabilité à la pollution des ressources en eau ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

consommation excessive d'eau, un problème de vulnérabilité à la pollution ..... formations aquifères varie entre 50 m au Nord-Est et 140 m dans la partie centrale. ... La variation de la conductivité électrique de la nappe libre dans la plaine de ...

Characterization, 1064 nm photon signals and background events of a tungsten TES detector for the ALPS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreyling-Eschweiler, J.; Doebrich, B.; Januschek, F.; Lindner, A.; Bastidon, N.; Horns, D.

2015-02-01

The high efficiency, low-background, and single-photon detection with transition-edge sensors (TES) is making this type of detector attractive in widely different types of application. In this paper, we present first characterizations of a TES to be used in the Any Light Particle Search (ALPS) experiment searching for new fundamental ultra-light particles. Firstly, we describe the setup and the main components of the ALPS TES detector (TES, millikelvin-cryostat and SQUID read-out) and their performances. Secondly, we explain a dedicated analysis method for single-photon spectroscopy and rejection of non-photon background. Finally, we report on results from extensive background measurements. Considering an event-selection, optimized for a wavelength of 1064 nm, we achieved a background suppression of ∝10 -3 with a ∝ 50 % efficiency for photons passing the selection. The resulting overall efficiency was 23 % with a dark count rate of 8.6.10 -3 s -1 . We observed that pile-up events of thermal photons are the main background component.

EOCENE LARGER FORAMINIFERAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY IN THE SOUTHERNMOST DAUPHINOIS DOMAIN (MARITIME ALPS, FRANCE-ITALY BORDER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DARIO VARRONE

2007-07-01

Full Text Available The Trucco Formation and the Nummulitic Limestone (Dauphinois Domain, Maritime Alps are characterized by abundant larger foraminifera, specifically nummulitids, orthophragminids and encrusting foraminifera. In the Maritime Alps, previous studies suggest a late Lutetian age for the Trucco Formation and a late Lutetian-Priabonian age for the Nummulitic Limestone.Biostratigraphic analysis of the nummulitids, in 11 stratigraphic sections, allowed us to distinguish 3 biozones:MALF1 Zone: defined by the presence of Nummulites brongniarti d’Archiac & Haime, N. puschi d’Archiac, N. perforatus de Montfort, N. striatus (Bruguière, N. cf. dufrenoyi d’Archiac & Haime, N. variolarius/incrassatus and Operculina schwageri Silvestri.MALF2 Zone: defined by the presence of Nummulites perforatus de Montfort, N. striatus (Bruguière, N. cf. dufrenoyi d’Archiac & Haime, N. variolarius/incrassatus and Operculina schwageri Silvestri.MALF 3 Zone: defined by the presence of gr. Nummulites variolarius/incrassatus, N. striatus (Bruguière and Operculina schwageri Silvestri.According to current larger foraminiferal biozonal schemes, the age of these local biozones corresponds to the Bartonian p.p.Moreover, the comparison with biostratigraphic schemes established for the Dauphinois Domain and for the Tethyan area evidences that several typical nummulitid species of the late Bartonian are lacking in the southern Dauphinois Domain, probably due to a paleogeographic control. 

PENGARUH PEMBERIAN SUBKRONIK EKSTRAK KELOPAK BUNGA ROSELLA (Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. TERHADAP KADAR SGPT SGOT DAN ALP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurkhasanah Nurkhasanah

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L. has been known as traditional medicinal plants. It needed to evaluate the safety of roselle extract on long-term oral administration. The research aimed to determine the savety of ethanolic extract of roselle calyx. Subchronic toxicity study of ethanolic extract of roselle calyx had been carried out on 60 Sprague Dawleys (SD rats for 28 days. The roselle extract was administered orally every day, with doses of 50,100 and 200 mg/kgBW. There are 2 satellite groups, kept for another 14 days after the treatment in order to detect a delayed occurrence of toxic effect. Satellite group was given extract 200 mg/kgBW for 28 days and followed aquadest treatment for 14 days. At the end of experiment the blood was collected for meansuring SGPT, SGOT and ALP activity. The result showed that treatment of roselle calyx extract had no significant changes in SGPT SGOT, ALP activity. The delayed effect was not also observed. The ethanolic extract of roselle calyx didn’t show toxic effects on the liver on subchronic administration.

Altitude profiles of total chlorinated paraffins in humus and spruce needles from the Alps (MONARPOP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iozza, Saverio, E-mail: saverio.iozza@empa.c [Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry, Uberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland); University of Basel, Department of Chemistry, St. Johanns-Ring 19, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Schmid, Peter, E-mail: peter.schmid@empa.c [Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry, Uberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland); Oehme, Michael, E-mail: michael.oehme@unibas.c [University of Basel, Department of Chemistry, St. Johanns-Ring 19, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Bassan, Rodolfo [Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto (Italy); Belis, Claudio [Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lombardia (Italy); Jakobi, Gert; Kirchner, Manfred; Schramm, Karl-Werner [GSF-National Research Centre for Environment and Health (Germany); Kraeuchi, Norbert [Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (Switzerland); Moche, Wolfgang; Offenthaler, Ivo; Weiss, Peter [Federal Environment Agency Ltd. (Austria); Simoncic, Primoz [Slovenian Forestry Institute (Slovenia); Knoth, Wilhelm [Federal Environment Agency (Germany)

2009-12-15

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are toxic, bioaccumulative, persistent, and ubiquitously present in the environment. CPs were analyzed in humus and needle samples, which were taken within the Monitoring Network in the Alpine Region for Persistent and other Organic Pollutants (MONARPOP) at sampling sites of 7 different altitude profiles in the Alps. Gas chromatography combined with electron ionization tandem mass spectrometry (EI-MS/MS) was used for the determination of total CPs (sum of short, medium and long chain CPs). CPs were found in all samples; the concentrations varied between 7 and 199 ng g{sup -1} dry weight (dw) and within 26 and 460 ng g{sup -1} dw in humus and needle samples, respectively. A clear vertical tendency within the individual altitude profiles could not be ascertained. Within all altitude profiles, elevated concentrations were observed in humus samples taken between 700 and 900 m and between 1300 and 1500 m. In the needle samples no similar correlation could be observed due to higher variation of the data. - For the first time, CP levels of humus and spruce needle samples from the Alps (MONARPOP) were presented including the evaluation of altitude profiles.

Saharan dust particles in snow samples of Alps and Apennines during an exceptional event of transboundary air pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Telloli, Chiara; Chicca, Milvia; Pepi, Salvatore; Vaccaro, Carmela

2017-12-21

Southern European countries are often affected in summer by transboundary air pollution from Saharan dust. However, very few studies deal with Saharan dust pollution at high altitudes in winter. In Italy, the exceptional event occurred on February 19, 2014, colored in red the entire mountain range (Alps and Apennines) and allowed to characterize the particulate matter deposited on snow from a morphological and chemical point of view. Snow samples were collected after this event in four areas in the Alps and one in the Apennines. The particulate matter of the melted snow samples was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). These analyses confirmed the presence of Saharan dust particle components in all areas with similar percentages, supported also by the positive correlations between Mg-Ca, Al-Ca, Al-Mg, and Al-K in all samples.

Metamorphic rocks in the deep boreholes near Maribor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirka Trajanova

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Six research-captive boreholes for thermal water passed through a pile of metamorphic rocks near Maribor (Eastern Slovenia that is on average about 1000 m thick. The succession of metamorphic rocks is characteristic for the Pohorje Mt. and eastern Kobansko region. In the area of the boreholes two tectonic zones are more pronounced: the upper one, at a depth of about 510 to 550 m at the contact of the Štelenska Gora and Phyllite formations and the deeper one at a depth of about 460 to 590 m, indicating the reverse fault junction of the Phyllite and Kobansko formations. They belong to the second andthe third thrust unit of the accretionary wedge formed at the collision of the European and African plates. Four Alpine nappe units are proven in the Slovenian part of the Eastern Alps.

Preliminary results of ERTS-investigations by W-German investigations. [multidisciplinary geoscientific experiments in central Germany and hydrogeology of Argentina Pampas

Science.gov (United States)

Muehlfeld, R.

1974-01-01

Results are presented of West German investigations into multidisciplinary geoscientific experiments in central Germany and the Alps, and hydrogeological investigations in the Pampa of Argentina based on ERTS-1 data. The main goals of the investigation were achieved. The studies have given a good idea of the possibilities and limitations of ERTS imagery depending on the objectives in question and on the geographical conditions of the areas under investigation. Even in the well known region of central Europe, ERTS has proven its ability of improving present knowledge. In fields such as pollution monitoring and regional planning the satellite techniques should have distinct practical value. For any regional study of less known areas, the value of ERTS imagery can hardly be overestimated.

Post-Eocene tectonics of the Central Taurus Mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ergün AKAY

1988-06-01

Full Text Available In post-Eocene time, the Central Taurus mountains have been subjected to four episodes of compression in probably Upper Eocene — Lower Oligocene, Langhian, Upper Tortonian, and Upper Pliocene to recent times. In the Upper Eocene — Lower Oligocene compressional period, Ecemiş, and Beyşehir conjugate faults which have both vertical and lateral components have been formed after an N - S compression. In the Langhian compression period, the Lycian nappes were emplaced from the NW to SE and this tectonic movement has also effected the Antalya and the Adana Miocene basins. In the Upper Tortonian compression period, firstly a WSW-ENE compression has resulted in the formation of Aksu thrust, Kırkkavak oblique reverse fault, Köprüçay syncline, Beşkonak anticline, Radyoring anticline, Taşağıl syncline and Kargı reverse faults. In this period a later phase of N — S compression has formed Çakallar folds, Gökçeler normal fault, the smooth anticline in Mut Karaman and the syncline in Ulukışla. In the latest compressional period from Upper Pliocene to recent, first on E — W compression which can be recognized by some mesoscopic faults has been developed and later a N — S compression resulted in the formation of the active faults on Ecemiş and Gökçeler faults, and the Antalya bay graben.

Rb-Sr dating of strain-induced mineral growth in two ductile shear zones in the western gneiss region of Nord-Troendelag, Central Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piasecki, M.A.; Cliff, R.A.

1988-01-01

In the Bjugn district of the northern part of the Western Gneiss Region, Nord-Troendelag, a basement gneiss-cover nappe boundary is marked by a thick zone of ductile shearing. In this zone a layer-parallel mylonitic fabric with related new mineral growth overprints and retrogresses a previous fabric associated with a granulite facies mineral assemblage. Related minor shear belts contain abundant new minerals and vein systems, including pegmatites, believed to represent strain-induced products formed at the time of the shearing movements. Central parts of two large muscovite books from such a pegmatite yielded Rb-Sr, Early to Middle Devonian ages of 389±6 Ma and 386±6 Ma, interpreted as indicating the approximate time of pegmatite formation and of the shearing. Small, matrix-size muscovite and biotite grains from the host mylonite gave ages of 378±6 Ma and 365±5 Ma, respectively, supposed to relate to post-shearing uplift and cooling

Monochroa bronzella sp. n. from the southwestern Alps (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karsholt, Ole; Nel, Jacques; Fournier, François

2013-01-01

Abstract. Monochroa bronzella sp. n. is described from the southwestern Alps (France, Italy). It is closely related to M. nomadella (Zeller, 1868), with which it was hitherto confused. Literature records of M. nomadella from France and northwestern Italy refer to M. bronzella sp. n. The two species...... are most clearly distinguishable in the signa of the female genitalia. Females of both species have reduced wings, most pronounced in M. nomadella. The new species is found in mountain areas at altitudes from around 800 to 2000 m. Adults and male and female genitalia of these two species are figured....

Climatic change and contemporaneous land-use phases north and south of the Alps 2300 BC to 800 AD

Science.gov (United States)

Tinner, Willy; Lotter, André F.; Ammann, Brigitta; Conedera, Marco; Hubschmid, Priska; van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.; Wehrli, Michael

2003-06-01

Fluctuations in the Δ 14C curve and subsequent gaps of archaeological findings at 800-650 and 400-100 BC in western and central Europe may indicate major climate-driven land-abandonment phases. To address this hypothesis radiocarbon-dated sediments from four lakes in Switzerland were studied palynologically. Pollen analysis indicates contemporaneous phases of forest clearances and of intensified land-use at 1450-1250 BC, 650-450 BC, 50 BC-100 AD and around 700 AD. These land-use expansions coincided with periods of warm climate as recorded by the Alpine dendroclimatic and Greenland oxygen isotope records. Our results suggest that harvest yields would have increased synchronously over wide areas of central and southern Europe during periods of warm and dry climate. Combined interpretation of palaeoecological and archaeological findings suggests that higher food production led to increased human populations. Positive long-term trends in pollen values of Cerealia and Plantago lanceolata indicate that technical innovations during the Bronze and Iron Age (e.g. metal ploughs, scythes, hay production, fertilising methods) gradually increased agricultural productivity. The successful adoption of yield-increasing advances cannot be explained by climatic determinism alone. Combined with archaeological evidence, our results suggest that despite considerable cycles of spatial and demographic reorganisation (repeated land abandonments and expansions, as well as large-scale migrations and population decreases), human societies were able to shift to lower subsistence levels without dramatic ruptures in material culture. However, our data imply that human societies were not able to compensate rapidly for harvest failures when climate deteriorated. Agriculture in marginal areas was abandoned, and spontaneous reforestations took place on abandoned land south and north of the Alps. Only when the climate changed again to drier and warmer conditions did a new wide-spread phase of

Strategy for the deployment of a dense broadband temporary array in the Alps: lessons learnt from the CIFALPS experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Coralie, Aubert; Anne, Paul; Stefano, Solarino; Sandrine, Roussel; Simone, Salimbeni; Pierre, Zangelmi; Glenn, Cougoulat; Yinshuang, Ai; Weiwei, Xu; Yumei, He; Liang, Zhao

2013-04-01

The CIFALPS (China-Italy-France Alps seismic survey) experiment is a common project of IGGCAS (China), ISTerre (France) and INGV (Italy). It aims at getting new high-resolution passive seismic data on the crustal and upper mantle structure of the southwestern Alps. In this framework, we have installed a temporary broadband seismic array across the southwestern Alps from the Rhône valley (France) to the Po plain (Italy). The main sub-array of CIFALPS is a 350-km long roughly linear profile of 46 stations trending WSW-ENE from Bollène (France) to north of Alessandria (Italy). The average station spacing is 10 km in the outer parts of the belt, and it reduces to 5 km in the internal Alps. Nine additional temporary stations located ~40 km to the north and south of the main profile complement the permanent broadband networks to improve the 3-D constraints on the deep structures. Stations are equipped with Nanometrics Taurus data acquisition systems, and Trillium 120P/A, CMG3-ESP or CMG40T broadband sensors. The array was installed in the summer of 2012 and will be operated at least to April 2013. Because our schedule was tight, we had to achieve site selections in only 3-4 months in spite of strong constraints on site location related to short interstation spacing. Most sites are located in basements of buildings for security reasons and mains power supply. As most sensors are true broadband (90s or 120s), we put much effort on vault design to insure good thermal insulation and low noise at long periods. The vaults also had to be easily and rapidly built and they should be easily and totally removed at the end of the experiment. We used the PQLX software for quality control of our sites and vault design. The performances of our vaults are good for the vertical component with noise levels at 100s period in the range -185 dB (low noise model) to -165 dB. They are less good for horizontal components (noise level close to high noise model at periods > 20s) due to

Effect of two kinds of porcelain crown on AST, ALP, TNF-α, IL-8, GP-x and MDA levels in gingival crevicular fluid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ya-Ling Wang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the effect of two kinds of porcelain crown on AST, ALP, TNF-α, IL-8, GP-x and MDA levels in gingival crevicular fluid. Methods: A total of 80 patients with dental porcelain crowns at front teeth during February 2013 to February 2016 were randomly divided into cobalt-chromium alloy PFM group (n=40 and gold alloy PFM group (n=40. After 6 months, the amount of gingival crevicular fluid, GI, PD, AST, ALP, TNF-α, IL-8, GP-x and MDA levels in gingival crevicular fluid were recorded and analyzed. Results: There were no differences in amount of gingival crevicular fluid, GI and PD before treatment of the two groups (P>0.05. After treatment, the amount of gingival crevicular fluid, GI and PD of the two groups were significantly higher than before treatment (P0.05. After treatment, the AST, ALP, TNF-α, IL-8 and MDA levels in gingival crevicular fluid of the two groups were significantly higher than before treatment (P<0.05, but that of the gold alloy PFM group were significantly lower than cobalt-chromium alloy PFM group (P<0.05. After treatment, the GP-x level in gingival crevicular fluid of the two groups were significantly lower than before treatment (P<0.05, but that of the gold alloy PFM group were significantly higher than cobalt-chromium alloy PFM group (P<0.05. Conclusions: Gold alloy PFM can significantly reduce the AST, ALP, TNF-α, IL-8 and MDA levels in gingival crevicular fluid, improve the GP-x level in gingival crevicular fluid, shows better biocompatibility and clinical outcomes than cobalt-chromium alloy PFM.

Read-across of ready biodegradability based on the substrate specificity of N-alkyl polypropylene polyamine-degrading microorganisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Geerts, R; van Ginkel, C G; Plugge, C M

2017-04-01

The biodegradation of N-alkyl polypropylene polyamines (NAPPs) was studied using pure and mixed cultures to enable read-across of ready biodegradability test results. Two Pseudomonas spp. were isolated from activated sludge with N-oleyl alkyl propylene diamine and N-coco alkyl dipropylene triamine, respectively. Both strains utilized all NAPPs tested as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen and energy for growth. Mineralization of NAPPs was independent of the alkyl chain length and the size of the polyamine moiety. NAPPs degraded in closed bottle tests (CBTs) using both river water and activated sludge. However, ready biodegradability of NAPPs with alkyl chain lengths of 16-18 carbon atoms and polyamine moieties with three and four nitrogen atoms could not be demonstrated. Biodegradation in the CBT was hampered by their limited bioavailability, making assessment of the true ready biodegradability of these highly adsorptive surfactants impossible. All NAPPs are therefore classified as readily biodegradable through read-across. Read-across is justified by the broad substrate specificity of NAPP-degrading microorganisms, their omnipresence and the mineralization of NAPPs.

Relating safety, productivity and company type for motor-manual logging operations in the Italian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Montorselli, Niccolò Brachetti; Lombardini, Carolina; Magagnotti, Natascia; Marchi, Enrico; Neri, Francesco; Picchi, Gianni; Spinelli, Raffaele

2010-11-01

The study compared the performance of four different logging crews with respect to productivity, organization and safety. To this purpose, the authors developed a data collection method capable of providing a quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior. Four crews were tested under the same working conditions, representative of close-to-nature alpine forestry. Motor-manual working methods were applied, since these methods are still prevalent in the specific study area, despite the growing popularity of mechanical processors. Crews from public companies showed a significantly lower frequency of risk-taking behavior. The best safety performance was offered by the only (public) crew that had been administered formal safety training. The study seems to deny the common prejudice that safety practice is inversely proportional to productivity. Instead, productivity is increased by introducing more efficient working methods and equipment. The quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior developed in this study can be applied to a number of industrial fields besides forestry. Characterizing risk-taking behavior for a given case may eventually lead to the development of custom-made training programmes, which may address problem areas while avoiding that the message is weakened by the inclusion of redundant information. In the specific case of logging crews in the central Alps, the study suggests that current training courses may be weak on ergonomics, and advocates a staged training programme, focusing first on accident reduction and then expanding to the prevention of chronic illness. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Large Area Plastic Scintillator Project (ALPS): Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jordan, David V.; Reeder, Paul L.; Todd, Lindsay C.; Warren, Glen A.; McCormick, Kathleen R.; Stephens, Daniel L.; Geelhood, Bruce D.; Alzheimer, James M.; Crowell, Shannon L.; Sliger, William A.

2008-01-01

The advanced Large-Area Plastic Scintillator (ALPS) Project at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory investigated possible technological avenues for substantially advancing the state-of-the-art in gamma-ray detection via large-area plastic scintillators. The three predominant themes of these investigations comprised the following: * Maximizing light collection efficiency from a single large-area sheet of plastic scintillator, and optimizing hardware event trigger definition to retain detection efficiency while exploiting the power of coincidence to suppress single-PMT 'dark current' background; * Utilizing anti-Compton vetoing and supplementary spectral information from a co-located secondary, or 'Back' detector, to both (1) minimize Compton background in the low-energy portion of the 'Front' scintillator's pulse-height spectrum, and (2) sharpen the statistical accuracy of the front detector's low-energy response prediction as implemented in suitable energy-windowing algorithms; and * Investigating alternative materials to enhance the intrinsic gamma-ray detection efficiency of plastic-based sensors

Topographic evolution of a continental indenter: The eastern Southern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Robl, Jörg; Heberer, Bianca; Prasicek, Günther; Neubauer, Franz; Hergarten, Stefan

2017-04-01

The topographic evolution of the eastern Southern Alps (ESA) is controlled by the Late Oligocene - Early Miocene indentation of the Adriatic microplate into an overthickened orogenic wedge emplaced on top of the European plate. Rivers follow topographic gradients that evolve during continental collision and in turn incise into bedrock counteracting the formation of topography. In principle, erosional surface processes tend to establish a topographic steady state so that an interpretation of topographic metrics in terms of the latest tectonic history should be straightforward. However, a series of complications impede deciphering the topographic record of the ESA. The Pleistocene glaciations locally excavated alpine valleys and perturbed fluvial drainages. The Late Miocene desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea and the uplift of the northern Molasse Basin led to significant base level changes in the far field of the ESA and the Eastern Alps (EA), respectively. Among this multitude of mechanisms, the processes that dominate the current topographic evolution of the ESA and the ESA-EA drainage divide have not been identified and a number of questions regarding the interaction of crustal deformation, erosion and climate in shaping the present-day topography remain. We demonstrate the expected topographic effects of each mechanism in a 1-dimensional model and compare them with observed channel metrics. Modern uplift rates are largely consistent with long-term exhumation in the ESA and with variations in the normalized steepness index (ksn) indicating a stable uplift and erosion pattern since Miocene times. We find that ksn increases with uplift rate and declines from the indenter tip in the northwest to the foreland basin in the southeast. The number and magnitude of knickpoints and the distortion in longitudinal channel profiles similarly decrease towards the east. Most knickpoints probably evolved during Pleistocene glaciation cycles, but may represent the incrementally

The ozone pollution and the climatology in a Mediterranean space: the Alpes-Maritimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, N.

2008-12-01

The tropospheric ozone, secondary pollutant affecting the health of the human beings, concerns particularly the department of the Alpes-Maritimes during the photochemical season. Mountainous littoral space, this territory is widely dominated during summer notably by anticyclonic conditions allowing the thermal breezes to express themselves. This regime of wind is in the center of the problem of the ozone pollution because it pulls frequently an accumulation of primary and secondary pollutants in the course of days within the same air mass. Although being a weakly industrialized department, the Alpes-Maritimes are victims of a strong period of sunshine which allows primary pollutants emitted mainly by the road traffic to produce some ozone. Through the data of pollution stemming from the network of surveillance of the air quality AtmoPACA as well as from very numerous measures of ground, the objective is to understand better the relations between the spatial and temporal variability of the ozone and that of the weather conditions to various scales. Having detailed the history of the available ozone and nitrogen dioxide measures in the department, the first approach in macro-scale is led between the NCEP reanalysis and the ozone pollution levels in nine measures stations of the Alpes-Maritimes. This first level of analysis allows defining the general meteorological configurations characterizing an episode of pollution by the ozone. The presence of an anticyclonic ridge on the Western Europe associated with weak speeds of wind, weak rates of relative humidity and a weak relative vorticity, provoke a degradation of the air quality in the department. A second analysis level is then approached: it is a question of clarifying in meso-scale and in micro-scale the weather conditions convenient to strong ozone concentrations. For it, itinerant ozone measures campaigns are made in the whole of the department; an important data base is established on Nice and in its

Constraints on Massive Axion-Like Particles from X-ray Observations of NGC1275

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Linhan; Conlon, Joseph P.

2018-06-01

If axion-like particles (ALPs) exist, photons can convert to ALPs on passage through regions containing magnetic fields. The magnetised intracluster medium of large galaxy clusters provides a region that is highly efficient at ALP-photon conversion. X-ray observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) located within galaxy clusters can be used to search for and constrain ALPs, as photon-ALP conversion would lead to energy-dependent quasi-sinusoidal modulations in the X-ray spectrum of an AGN. We use Chandra observations of the central AGN of the Perseus Cluster, NGC1275, to place bounds on massive ALPs up to ma ˜ 10-11eV, extending previous work that used this dataset to constrain massless ALPs.

Bacteria at glacier surfaces: microbial community structures in debris covered glaciers and cryoconites in the Italian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Azzoni, Roberto; Franzetti, Andrea; Ambrosini, Roberto; D'Agata, Carlo; Senese, Antonella; Minora, Umberto; Tagliaferri, Ilario; Diolaiuti, Guglielmina

2014-05-01

bacteria and the copy of Rubisco genes found on cryoconite holes collected on a wide Italian DFG (Forni Glacier - Central Alps). The structure of the microbial communities in cryoconite holes seem to be determined mainly by a turnover process. This work was carried out under the umbrella of the SHARE Stelvio Project which has been funded by the Lombardy Region government and managed by FLA (Lombardy Foundation for the Enviroment) and EvK2-CNR Committee.

Provenance and evolution of miocene turbidite sedimentation in the central Apennines, Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Chiocchini, Ugo; Cipriani, Nicola

1992-05-01

A study of the siliciclastic detritus within the calcareous Miocene turbidite sandstones of the central Apennines has elucidated the provenance of these sandstones. Three ratios: Q/(Q+F), K/F, and Mc/M, have been used and binary correlations of these parameters show that: (1) the sandstones of the Marnoso-Arenacea are characterized by a northern Alpine supply, mainly derived from metamorphic rocks and subordinately from granitic rocks; (2) a secondary supply of western provenance, interbedded within the Marnoso-Arenacea, shows a typical arkosic composition and suggests that granitic rocks of Alpine-type were associated with the Ligurides; (3) the Urbania and Serraspinosa sandstones consist of detritus derived from sources almost identical to those supplying the Marnoso-Arenacea; (4) all the sandstones of the remaining central Apennine basins are characterized by a siliciclastic supply similar to the arkosic one; the rare carbonate fragments can be referred to the Apennine units. The continuity of the Alpine are in the Tyrrhenian area strongly suggests a connection between the western crystalline units and turbidite sedimentation in the basins examined. The crystalline units are associated with a segment of the Alpine chain tectonically linked to the Liguride nappes (Apennine source areas) during the eastwards migration of the Apennines deformation. The crystalline units were gradually eroded during the Burdigalian to Early Pliocene interval when the Laga basin was completely filled. Currently the term "Alpine" is used as synonymous with northern provenance. However, a detailed study carried out over ten years, revealed a western Alpine supply associated with an Apennine source area; we therefore suggest that it is necessary to distinguish a northern Alpine provenance from a western Alpine supply.

Epidemiology of Pestivirus infection in wild ungulates of the French South Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Claire; Letellier, Carine; Caij, Brigitte; Gauthier, Dominique; Jean, Nicolas; Shaffii, Anahita; Saegerman, Claude

2011-01-27

Inter-species transmission is often incriminated in the epidemiology of Pestivirus diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Pestivirus in some mountain wild ungulates and to determine their role in Pestivirus transmission, as mountain pastures are a place where cohabitations between wild and domestic ungulates are particularly high. Between 2003 and 2007, a longitudinal epidemiological study was carried out on hunted ungulates in the French Hautes-Alpes department. Pestivirus-specific antibodies against p80 protein (also named NS3) common to all Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) and Border Disease Virus (BDV) were found in 45.9% (95% confidence interval [CI95%]: 40.5-51.3%) of the 343 tested chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). In addition, mouflons (Ovis gmelinii musimon) were shown for the first time to be strongly infected (61.1%; CI95%: 38.6-83.6) by a Pestivirus. These serological ELISA results were confirmed by comparative virus neutralization tests, performed on seven Pestivirus strains by using 15 seropositive samples. The highest antibody titers were directed against 2 BDV strains (Av and 33s strains), rather than BDV-4, a strain responsible for Pyrenean-chamois epizooties. Virus neutralization tests confirm a BDV circulation in wild ungulates in the French South Alps. However, no Pestivirus RNA was detected by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in serum and spleen samples from seronegative animals and no virus was isolated from those samples either. Efforts should be made to improve the protocol in order to be able to isolate and characterize the local strain. Finally, the oldness (age) and femaleness (gender) increase the risk of seroconversion in chamois. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evidences of Silurian dextral transpression in the Scandinavian Caledonides

Science.gov (United States)

Torgersen, Espen; Viola, Giulio

2017-04-01

The Scandinavian Caledonides are classically interpreted as a fold and thrust belt resulting from the collision between Laurentia and Baltica during the Silurian, which involved the up-to-400 km ESE-wards translation of nappes onto the Baltoscandian platform. It has been suggested that the Caledonian fold and thrust belt formed through several distinct orogenic episodes, from early shortening in the Late Ordovician to orogenic collapse in the Devonian. The classic Caledonian, orogen-perpendicular ESE-ward nappe transport is constrained by abundant and consistently oriented stretching lineations across the entire orogen and unambiguous kinematic indicators. However, there is also a large number of NW-SE-trending and roughly orogen-parallel lineations, particularly in the upper ophiolite- and eclogite-bearing nappes, which are more challenging to interpret with the traditional orogeny evolution model. The analysis of the areal extent, spatial distribution and geometrical relationships of the Caledonian nappes in southern and central Norway, however, offers new insights and allows for new constraints on the bulk kinematic framework of the shortening history of the belt. Here we present new, first-order geological observations that demonstrate a two-fold compressional history and associated strain partitioning during Caledonian convergence. More specifically, we propose that Late Ordovician NNW-SSE shortening caused early compression, followed by WNW-ESE Early Silurian shortening, which resulted in strain partitioning along the planar fabrics and discontinuities from the earlier event. In detail, orogen-parallel dextral wrench tectonics caused significant lateral displacement along at least three, orogen-scale NE-SW striking corridors, wherein the nappes appear to be consistently displaced in a dextral fashion. We propose that the Møre-Trøndelag Fault Complex, which accommodated significant sinistral displacements during the later Devonian orogenic collapse

The species of the genus Diamesa (Diptera, Chironomidae) known to occur in Italian Alps and Apennines.

Science.gov (United States)

Montagna, Matteo; Urbanelli, Sandra; Rossaro, Bruno

2016-11-15

Some rare species from Italian Alps, belonging to the genus Diamesa Meigen, 1835 (Diptera, Chironomidae) are here redescribed as adult males, because only old, incomplete descriptions are available for these taxa. Terminology of male genitalia is reviewed, diagnostic features are illustrated in detail, and notes on biology and geographical distribution of the examined species are provided. An identification key to the known adult males is presented.

Gravitational and tectonic forces controlling the post-collisional deformation and present-day stress of the Alps. Insights from numerical modelling.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jimenez-Munt, I.; Garcia-Gastellanos, D.; Negredo, A.; Platt, J.

2005-01-01

We perform numerical modeling to investigate the mechanisms leading to the postcollisional tectonic evolution of the Alps. We model the lithospheric deformation as a viscous thin sheet with vertically averaged rheology and coupled with surface mass transport. The applied kinematic boundary

Evaluation of glymphatic system activity with the diffusion MR technique: diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) in Alzheimer's disease cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Taoka, Toshiaki; Masutani, Yoshitaka; Kawai, Hisashi; Nakane, Toshiki; Matsuoka, Kiwamu; Yasuno, Fumihiko; Kishimoto, Toshifumi; Naganawa, Shinji

2017-04-01

The activity of the glymphatic system is impaired in animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We evaluated the activity of the human glymphatic system in cases of AD with a diffusion-based technique called diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS). Diffusion tensor images were acquired to calculate diffusivities in the x, y, and z axes of the plane of the lateral ventricle body in 31 patients. We evaluated the diffusivity along the perivascular spaces as well as projection fibers and association fibers separately, to acquire an index for diffusivity along the perivascular space (ALPS-index) and correlated them with the mini mental state examinations (MMSE) score. We found a significant negative correlation between diffusivity along the projection fibers and association fibers. We also observed a significant positive correlation between diffusivity along perivascular spaces shown as ALPS-index and the MMSE score, indicating lower water diffusivity along the perivascular space in relation to AD severity. Activity of the glymphatic system may be evaluated with diffusion images. Lower diffusivity along the perivascular space on DTI-APLS seems to reflect impairment of the glymphatic system. This method may be useful for evaluating the activity of the glymphatic system.

Advanced Large Area Plastic Scintillator Project (ALPS): Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jordan, David V.; Reeder, Paul L.; Todd, Lindsay C.; Warren, Glen A.; McCormick, Kathleen R.; Stephens, Daniel L.; Geelhood, Bruce D.; Alzheimer, James M.; Crowell, Shannon L.; Sliger, William A.

2008-02-05

The advanced Large-Area Plastic Scintillator (ALPS) Project at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory investigated possible technological avenues for substantially advancing the state-of-the-art in gamma-ray detection via large-area plastic scintillators. The three predominant themes of these investigations comprised the following: * Maximizing light collection efficiency from a single large-area sheet of plastic scintillator, and optimizing hardware event trigger definition to retain detection efficiency while exploiting the power of coincidence to suppress single-PMT "dark current" background; * Utilizing anti-Compton vetoing and supplementary spectral information from a co-located secondary, or "Back" detector, to both (1) minimize Compton background in the low-energy portion of the "Front" scintillator's pulse-height spectrum, and (2) sharpen the statistical accuracy of the front detector's low-energy response prediction as impelmented in suitable energy-windowing algorithms; and * Investigating alternative materials to enhance the intrinsic gamma-ray detection efficiency of plastic-based sensors.

The Central-Western Mediterranean: Anomalous igneous activity in an anomalous collisional tectonic setting

Science.gov (United States)

Lustrino, Michele; Duggen, Svend; Rosenberg, Claudio L.

2011-01-01

The central-western Mediterranean area is a key region for understanding the complex interaction between igneous activity and tectonics. In this review, the specific geochemical character of several 'subduction-related' Cenozoic igneous provinces are described with a view to identifying the processes responsible for the modifications of their sources. Different petrogenetic models are reviewed in the light of competing geological and geodynamic scenarios proposed in the literature. Plutonic rocks occur almost exclusively in the Eocene-Oligocene Periadriatic Province of the Alps while relatively minor plutonic bodies (mostly Miocene in age) crop out in N Morocco, S Spain and N Algeria. Igneous activity is otherwise confined to lava flows and dykes accompanied by relatively greater volumes of pyroclastic (often ignimbritic) products. Overall, the igneous activity spanned a wide temporal range, from middle Eocene (such as the Periadriatic Province) to the present (as in the Neapolitan of southern Italy). The magmatic products are mostly SiO 2-oversaturated, showing calcalkaline to high-K calcalcaline affinity, except in some areas (as in peninsular Italy) where potassic to ultrapotassic compositions prevail. The ultrapotassic magmas (which include leucitites to leucite-phonolites) are dominantly SiO 2-undersaturated, although rare, SiO 2-saturated (i.e., leucite-free lamproites) appear over much of this region, examples being in the Betics (southeast Spain), the northwest Alps, northeast Corsica (France), Tuscany (northwest Italy), southeast Tyrrhenian Sea (Cornacya Seamount) and possibly in the Tell region (northeast Algeria). Excepted for the Alpine case, subduction-related igneous activity is strictly linked to the formation of the Mediterranean Sea. This Sea, at least in its central and western sectors, is made up of several young (fertile vs. refractory mineralogy), the composition of the subducting plate (i.e., the type and amount of sediment cover and the

Sedimentary processes and architecture of Upper Cretaceous deep-sea channel deposits: a case from the Skole Nappe, Polish Outer Carpathians

Science.gov (United States)

Łapcik, Piotr

2018-02-01

Deep-sea channels are one of the architectonic elements, forming the main conduits for sand and gravel material in the turbidite depositional systems. Deep-sea channel facies are mostly represented by stacking of thick-bedded massive sandstones with abundant coarse-grained material, ripped-up clasts, amalgamation and large scale erosional structures. The Manasterz Quarry of the Ropianka Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Skole Nappe, Carpathians) contains a succession of at least 31 m of thick-bedded high-density turbidites alternated with clast-rich sandy debrites, which are interpreted as axial deposits of a deep-sea channel. The section studied includes 5 or 6 storeys with debrite basal lag deposits covered by amalgamated turbidite fills. The thickness of particular storeys varies from 2.5 to 13 m. Vertical stacking of similar facies through the whole thickness of the section suggest a hierarchically higher channel-fill or a channel complex set, with an aggradation rate higher than its lateral migration. Such channel axis facies cannot aggrade without simultaneous aggradation of levee confinement, which was distinguished in an associated section located to the NW from the Manasterz Quarry. Lateral offset of channel axis facies into channel margin or channel levee facies is estimated at less than 800 m. The Manasterz Quarry section represents mostly the filling and amalgamation stage of channel formation. The described channel architectural elements of the Ropianka Formation are located within the so-called Łańcut Channel Zone, which was previously thought to be Oligocene but may have been present already in the Late Cretaceous.

Eclogite-high-pressure granulite metamorphism records early collision in West Gondwana: new data from the Southern Brasilia Belt, Brazil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reno II, Barry Len; Brown, Michael; Kobayashi, Katsura

2009-01-01

constrain the age of. (1) retrograded eclogite from a block along the tectonic contact beneath the uppermost nappe in a stack of passive margin-derived nappes; (2) high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism in the uppermost passive margin-derived nappe; (3) high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism...... in the overlying arc-derived nappe. Rare zircons from a retrograded eclogite yield a Pb-206/U-238 age of 678 +/- 29 Ma. which we interpret as most likely to (late close-to-peak-P metamorphism and to provide a minimum age for detachment of the overlying passive margin-derived nappe from the subducting plate. Zircon...

Developing a visual moraine classification scheme to support investigations into the Holocene glacier chronology of the Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufung, Eva; Winkler, Stefan

2014-05-01

The Southern Alps of New Zealand have provided one of only a few suitable study sites for investigating Holocene glacier chronologies in the mid-latitudinal Southern Hemisphere. Although a considerable number of studies have been conducted during the past few decades, these generally focus on a very limited number of glacier forelands. Additionally, those glaciers studied have often been selected because of their accessibility rather than their representativeness for the whole region. A common drawback of many regional studies is the lack of attention to glacial geomorphology and the mode of moraine formation with the dating of such landforms in chronological context. With the Southern Alps characterized by very dynamic geomorphological process-systems and a high seismic activity, this seems unfortunate as it causes a relatively high potential "geomorphological uncertainty" with any published glacier chronology and its subsequent palaeoclimatological interpretation. Future investigations into the Holocene glacier chronology in the Southern Alps need to address those existing shortcomings and, consequently, should achieve a representative spatial distribution of study sites in order to overcome the current strong data bias towards few, albeit relatively well-studied glacier forelands. The specific regional geomorphological environment of the Southern Alps requires, furthermore, a thorough assessment of any moraine selected for the subsequent dating in consideration of its "reliability" if it is considered as evidence of specific former glacier variations. With more than 3000 potential glacier forelands in the entire mountain range, careful selection of future targets for successful chronological field work is essential. We present the preliminary results of an ongoing, time-efficient study to apply different remote sensing sources (aerial photography, Google Earth, satellite images) to evaluate the potential of certain glacier forelands for detailed ground

Preliminary results of structural profiling of the Kras edge and Istria (Kozina – Srmin Motorway, Sečovlje

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2002-06-01

Full Text Available On the section Kozina-Srmin the new motorway Ljubljana-Koper is crossing the Kras edge, which in geologic terminology is refered to as the Kras thrust edge. In the widest sense it comprises the area between the edge of the Trieste-Komen plateau and the Savudrija ridge, creating the boundary between the Adriatic foreland and the External Dinarides. Detailed geologic mapping of the motorway section Kozina-Srmin slowed that the Kras thrust edge is not a monophase tectonic structure, but has been formed through several different deformation phases from the Eocene until today. Besides smaller onesthese phases include responses of three significant events; the Dinaric nappe thrusting, displacements along the strice-slipe faults with NW-SE trending and underthrusting of the Istria toward the NE. The latter event destroyed the primary of the SW boundary ofthe External Dinarides between Southern Alps and the Velebit arc.

Quantitative summer temperature reconstruction derived from a combined biogenic Si and chironomid record from varved sediments of Lake Silvaplana (south-eastern Swiss Alps) back to AD 1177

Science.gov (United States)

Trachsel, M.; Grosjean, M.; Larocque-Tobler, I.; Schwikowski, M.; Blass, A.; Sturm, M.

2010-09-01

High-resolution quantitative temperature records are needed for placing the recent warming into the context of long-term natural climate variability. In this study we present a quantitative high-resolution (9-year) summer (June-August) temperature reconstruction back to AD 1177 for the south-eastern Swiss Alps. This region is a good predictor for summer temperatures in large parts of western and central Europe. Our reconstruction is based on a combination of the high-frequency component of annually resolved biogenic silica (bSi flux) data and the low-frequency component of decadal chironomid-inferred temperatures from annually laminated well dated sediments (varves) from proglacial Lake Silvaplana, eastern Swiss Alps. For the calibration (period AD 1760-1949) we assess systematically the effects of six different regression methods (Type I regressions: Inverse Regression IR, Inverse Prediction IP, Generalised Least Squares GLS; Type II regressions: Major Axis MA, Ranged Major Axis RMA and Standard Major Axis SMA) with regard to the predicted amplitude and the calibration statistics such as root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP), reduction of error (RE) and coefficient of efficiency (CE). We found a trade-off in the regression model choice between a good representation of the amplitude and good calibration statistics. The band-pass filtered bSi flux record is in close agreement both in the structure and the amplitude with two fully independent reconstructions spanning back to AD 1500 and AD 1177, respectively. All known pulses of negative volcanic forcing are represented as cold anomalies in the bSi flux record. Volcanic pulses combined with low solar activity (Spörer and Maunder Minimum) are seen as particularly cold episodes around AD 1460 and AD 1690. The combined chironomid and bSi flux temperature record (RMSEP = 0.57 °C) is in good agreement with the glacier history of the Alps. The warmest (AD 1190) and coldest decades (17th century; 1680-1700) of our

Jasrouxite, a new Pb-Ag-As-Sb member of the lillianite homologous series from Jas Roux, Hautes Alpes, France

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Topa, Dan; Makovicky, Emil; Favreau, Georges

2013-01-01

The thallium-rich sulfosalt deposit of Jas Roux, situated in the Pelvoux Massif (Hautes-Alpes de´partement, France), occurs in a Triassic sedimentary series. Jasrouxite belongs to the early lead-containing stages of the Tl–As–Sb period of mineralization. It occurs in a silicified gangue, along wi...

Phylogeography and recolonization of the Swiss Alps by the Valais shrew (Sorex antinorii), inferred with autosomal and sex-specific markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yannic, G; Basset, P; Hausser, J

2008-09-01

Using one male-inherited, one female-inherited and eight biparentally inherited markers, we investigate the population genetic structure of the Valais shrew (Sorex antinorii) in the Swiss Alps. Bayesian analysis on autosomal microsatellites suggests a clear genetic differentiation between two groups of populations. This geographically based structure is consistent with two separate postglacial recolonization routes of the species into Switzerland from Italian refugia after the last Pleistocene glaciations. Sex-specific markers also confirm genetic structuring among western and eastern areas, since very few haplotypes for either Y chromosome or mtDNA genome are shared between the two regions. Overall, these results suggest that two already well-differentiated genetic lineages colonized the Swiss Alps and came into secondary contact in the Rhône Valley. Low level of admixture between the two lineages is likely explained by the mountainous landscape structure of lateral valleys orthogonal to the main Rhône valley.

Effects of Al/P composition ratio on the crystallization of MgO-CaO-Al203-SiO2-P2O5 bioglass-ceramic system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Shihching; Hon, Minhsiung [National Cheng-Kung Univ., Taiwan (Taiwan, Province of China)

1993-06-01

Effects of Al/P composition ratio on the crystallization of apatite and anorthite were investigated by differential thermal analysis ( DTA ) using series of glasses with the nominal composition of 3.0wt% MgO, 35.0wt% CaO, 41.4wt% SiO2 and 20.6wt%(Al2O3+P205). With the decrease of Al/P ratio, the activation energy for apatite crystallization is decreased and the apatite exotherm is shifted to the lower temperature. On the other hand, anorthite crystallized from the specimen surface, the activation energy for anorthite is increased with the decrease of Al/P ratio, however the exotherm is not shifted significantly. Roughly estimated values of Avrami parameters, n, which is related to the directionality of crystal growth, for apatite and anorthite have been 2 and 1 respectively. This had shown that apatite implies bulk crystallization and anorthite signifies surface crystallization. Also the SEM observations of the crystals revealed that there was one dimensional crystal growth for anorthite and spherulitic growth for apatite. 17 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Permafrost Favorability Index: Spatial Modeling in the French Alps Using a Rock Glacier Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Marcer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the present study we used the first rock glacier inventory for the entire French Alps to model spatial permafrost distribution in the region. Climatic and topographic data evaluated at the rock glacier locations were used as predictor variables in a Generalized Linear Model. Model performances are strong, suggesting that, in agreement with several previous studies, this methodology is able to model accurately rock glacier distribution. A methodology to estimate model uncertainties is proposed, revealing that the subjectivity in the interpretation of rock glacier activity and contours may substantially bias the model. The model highlights a North-South trend in the regional pattern of permafrost distribution which is attributed to the climatic influences of the Atlantic and Mediterranean climates. Further analysis suggest that lower amounts of precipitation in the early winter and a thinner snow cover, as typically found in the Mediterranean area, could contribute to the existence of permafrost at higher temperatures compared to the Northern Alps. A comparison with the Alpine Permafrost Index Map (APIM shows no major differences with our model, highlighting the very good predictive power of the APIM despite its tendency to slightly overestimate permafrost extension with respect to our database. The use of rock glaciers as indicators of permafrost existence despite their time response to climate change is discussed and an interpretation key is proposed in order to ensure the proper use of the model for research as well as for operational purposes.

Impacts of climatic change on water and associated economic activities in the Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Beniston, Martin

2012-01-01

SummaryThe European Alps are one region of the world where climate-driven changes are already perceptible, as exemplified by the general retreat of mountain glaciers over past decades. Temperatures have risen by up to 2 °C since 1900 particularly at high elevations, a rate that is roughly three times the global-average 20th century warming. Regional climate models suggest that by 2100, winters in Switzerland may warm by 3-5 °C and summers by 6-7 °C according to greenhouse-gas emissions scenarios, while precipitation is projected to increase in winter and sharply decrease in summer. The impacts of these levels of climatic change will affect both the natural environment and a number of economic activities. Alpine glaciers may lose between 50% and 90% of their current volume and the average snowline will rise by 150 m for each degree of warming. Hydrological systems will respond in quantity and seasonality to changing precipitation patterns and to the timing of snow-melt in the Alps, with a greater risk of flooding during the spring and droughts in summer and fall. The direct and indirect impacts of a warming climate will affect key economic sectors such as tourism, hydropower, agriculture and the insurance industry that will be confronted to more frequent natural disasters. This paper will thus provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on climatic change and its impacts on the Alpine world.

Deformation of ``Villafranchian'' lacustrine sediments in the Chisone Valley (Western Alps, Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Collo, Giovanni; Giardino, Marco

1997-09-01

The Chisone Valley is located in the internal NW Alps, in the Pinerolese District, an area characterized by present low to medium seismicity. Fine-grained sediments (sand, silt and clay with interbedded gravel) crop out in the lower Chisone Valley: they were first interpreted as glaciolacustrine deposits, and then as a lacustrine infilling of the valley floor probably due to differential uplifting of the valley mouth. Review of this data, together with new field and palynological observations, lead us to refer the lacustrine deposits to approximately the Lower Pleistocene (Villafranchian). In many outcrops, the lacustrine deposits show strong soft-sediment deformation such as convolute laminations, water-escape structures and disrupted beds, some of them associated with folds and faults (cm to dm in size); only two sites show metric to decametric folds and faults trending E-W and N-S. Detailed structural analysis conducted along a recently exposed section (Rio Gran Dubbione site) shows several soft-sediment deformation features on the limbs of mesoscale folds. Because of their intimate structural association, the origin of these minor structures seems to be connected to synsedimentary activity on reverse and normal faults (m to dm in size) affecting the lacustrine deposits in the same locality. Soft-sediment deformation features can be interpreted as possible paleoseismites. If so, the present seismicity of the Pinerolese District, which is the major area of such activity in NW Italy, cannot be considered an isolated episode in the geological evolution of the region; even if there is no supporting evidence for continuous seismicity, the deformations in the lacustrine sediments of the Chisone Valley testify to Early Pleistocene seismic activity, probably related to the recent tectonic evolution of the internal side of the NW Alps.

methanization development and air quality. Bibliographical synthesis and working perspectives in Rhone-Alpes 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-06-01

After a recall of a context which promotes the development of the methanization sector, and in order to address social acceptance issues related to methanization installations, this report aims at proposing a synthesis of existing documents related to methanization and its possible interactions with air quality. A first part briefly describes a methanization unit. The second part proposes an overview of the situation of projects in the Rhone-Alpes region. The third part proposes an overview of knowledge regarding potential impacts on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions

Ethnobotanical and phytomedical knowledge in the North-Western Ligurian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornara, Laura; La Rocca, Arianna; Terrizzano, Luca; Dente, Fulvio; Mariotti, Mauro Giorgio

2014-08-08

The ethnobotany of European alpine regions is much diversified and scarcely investigated. These regions retain a well-developed heritage culture and botanical traditional knowledge, favored by the isolated montane location. We carried out a study of therapeutic and traditional uses of native plants of a poorly explored area of the Western Italian Alps in the Ligurian region (NW Italy). The area has been the object of human activities since prehistoric ages, and an obliged crossroad for people moving across Provence, Liguria and Piemonte. The investigation was conducted in the upper Tanarello and Arroscia Valleys by using semi-structured, open interviews. Data were summarized by different indices--Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Cultural Value Index (CV), Ethnobotanicity Index (EI) and Informant Consensus Factor (Fic). A group of 65 informants were interviewed, yielding an inventory of 199 botanical taxa from 64 families, and a total of 2661 citations. A total of 13 categories of use were found, of which the most frequent ones were medicinal and food. In addition, 12 main medicinal subcategories were recorded. Botanicals were mainly used to treat digestive system, respiratory system, and the skin. A relevant role was played by plants with digestive and remineralizing properties. On the basis of quantitative analysis (RFC and CV indices) among the 30 most relevant plants are included rare and/or protected species, such as Achillea ligustica, Arnica montana, Gentiana ligustica, Gentiana lutea, and Achillea erba-rotta. An exhaustive prospect of the ethnobotanical knowledge in North-Western Ligurian Alps has been achieved through the recording of a large number of data. About 50% of the recorded uses have survived in the area. A great traditional importance is retained by species such as Artemisia absinthium, Lavandula angustifolia and Arnica montana which were formerly cultivated and marketed for their therapeutic virtues. A substantial role is also attributable

Spatial and temporal patterns of wildfires in the Northern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Heel, Michael; Sass, Oliver; Friedmann, Arne; Wetzel, Karl-Friedrich

2010-05-01

Wildfires in the northern Alps are rare compared to e.g. the Mediterranean region. However, fires occurring on the dry, south-exposed slopes of the inner-alpine valleys can constitute a significant disturbance of the ecosystems in the sub-alpine belt. We reconstructed the younger regional wildfire history (last few centuries) of a part of the the Northern Limestone Alps using chronicles, forestry and fire brigade records as well as historical pictures (postcards, aerial photos etc.), local names and interviews with local people. The long-term fire frequency was investigated using mire drillings, charcoal in soils and dendrochronology. In the surrounding of the Karwendel, Wetterstein and Mieminger Mountains we have identified c. 400 forest fires to date. The earliest detected fire dates to more than 2900 years; the largest one (in 1705) affected an area of several thousand hectares. Approximately 90% of the fires are man-made (negligence, arson, railway) which explains the concentration on the south-exposed slopes of the densely populated Inn valley. Most of the larger fires take place in the altitudinal belt between 1400 and 1900 m a.s.l.; apart from very few exceptions, they are restricted to southerly orientations. Locally, mean recurrence intervals of 200-300 years occur which is similar to e.g. boreal forests in Canada. We observed a strong seasonality with 40% of the fires occurring in spring and 30% in summer. There is a weak correlation with the weather conditions in the one or two weeks before the fire with dry periods promoting wildfire ignition and burnt area size; however, there are many exceptions from the rule. The 1940ies stands out for more than twice as much fires than in all other decades which is both due to climatic and anthropogenic causes. Today, there is an apparent trend towards more frequent and smaller fires. The frequency is biased by the multitude of available documentation today (e.g. websites of fire brigades), while the decreasing size

Zaraščanje kmetijskih zemljišč v slovenskem alpskem svetu = Abandoning of agricultural land in the Slovenian Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomaž Cunder

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Abandoning of agricultural land belongs to the most prominent indicators of partial disintegration of cultivated landscape. The Slovenian Alps are undoubtedly among those regions in which the abandoning is the most intensive and widely extended. The stagnation of agriculture, which is going on at present, is influenced by natural and social and demographic conditions which also affect the extensification of the most unfavourable areas followed by permanent abandoning of production. If the reasons for this situation are considered, the abandoning of agricultural land can be defined as a reflection of a disturbed balance between the socio-economic situation of agricultural population and the natural disposition for agricultural production. Areas with the most severe degradation of cultured landscape are, as a rule, the most prominent depopulation and deagrarisation areas in the Alps. Revitalisation of agricultural land in the process of abandoning is not only important from the productionally strategic point of view but also from the regional and ecological one.

Climate warming and the recent treeline shift in the European alps: the role of geomorphological factors in high-altitude sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonelli, Giovanni; Pelfini, Manuela; di Cella, Umberto Morra; Garavaglia, Valentina

2011-05-01

Global warming and the stronger regional temperature trends recently recorded over the European Alps have triggered several biological and physical dynamics in high-altitude environments. We defined the present treeline altitude in three valleys of a region in the western Italian Alps and reconstructed the past treeline position for the last three centuries in a nearly undisturbed site by means of a dendrochronological approach. We found that the treeline altitude in this region is mainly controlled by human impacts and geomorphological factors. The reconstruction of the altitudinal dynamics at the study site reveals that the treeline shifted upwards of 115 m over the period 1901-2000, reaching the altitude of 2505 m in 2000 and 2515 m in 2008. The recent treeline shift and the acceleration of tree colonization rates in the alpine belt can be mainly ascribed to the climatic input. However, we point out the increasing role of geomorphological factors in controlling the future treeline position and colonization patterns in high mountains.

Contribution to the central region study of the first cyclotron of the Rhone-Alpes accelerator system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khallouf, A.

1986-01-01

Some changes seemed necessary such as the structure of the central region in order to obtain good centring and good axial and radial stabilities for the different conditions of acceleration. The most simple calculations of the center of cyclotron already developed such as the acceleration in a constant electric field, but with enough regions to obtain a good precision have been resumed. As analytic tool a computer program calculates the trajectories of a charged particle given its characteristics and the conditions of injection, and the parameters of the system of acceleration and guiding. The program calculates orbit of the particle. A criterion of judgement to permit modifications of the hypothesis leading to the solution needed to obtain good working conditions for the cyclotron has been established [fr

A cosmic ALP background and the cluster soft X-ray excess in A665, A2199 and A2255

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Powell, Andrew J., E-mail: Andrew.Powell2@physics.ox.ac.uk [Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3NP (United Kingdom)

2015-09-01

It has been proposed that an excess in soft X-ray emission observed from many galaxy clusters can be explained by conversion into photons of axion-like particles (ALPs) in the cluster's magnetic field. Previously it has been shown that conversion of this primordially-generated background of relativistic ALPs—a cosmic ALP background (CAB)—can explain the observed soft X-ray excess in both the centre and the outskirts of the Coma cluster. Here we extend this work to the three clusters A665, A2199 and A2255. We use a stochastic, power law model of the cluster magnetic field to numerically calculate ALP-photon conversion probabilities to predict the CAB-generated soft X-ray flux in these clusters. The simulated magnetic fields include models with non-standard (i.e. not turbulent Kolmogorov) power spectra, the index of the spectrum changes from cluster to cluster and even within the cluster A2255. We compare this flux to ROSAT PSPC observations of the three clusters, and use these observations to constrain the CAB parameter space. Assuming these non-standard magnetic field power spectra are valid, we find the CAB can reproduce the magnitude of the observed excess in A2199 and A2255 for the same CAB parameters that match the observed soft excess in the Coma cluster. We also find good fit to the morphology of the excesses in these clusters. Simulation of CAB conversion in the cluster A665 is in mild tension with the other clusters due to producing a small but observable excess at large radii where none is observed. This tension is alleviated considering the uncertainty on predicting the count rate in the ROSAT detector, and on the systematics affecting the magnetic field determination. Overall we find good agreement between the CAB parameters for the four clusters studied so far.

A cosmic ALP background and the cluster soft X-ray excess in A665, A2199 and A2255

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

It has been proposed that an excess in soft X-ray emission observed from many galaxy clusters can be explained by conversion into photons of axion-like particles (ALPs) in the cluster's magnetic field. Previously it has been shown that conversion of this primordially-generated background of relativistic ALPs—a cosmic ALP background (CAB)—can explain the observed soft X-ray excess in both the centre and the outskirts of the Coma cluster. Here we extend this work to the three clusters A665, A2199 and A2255. We use a stochastic, power law model of the cluster magnetic field to numerically calculate ALP-photon conversion probabilities to predict the CAB-generated soft X-ray flux in these clusters. The simulated magnetic fields include models with non-standard (i.e. not turbulent Kolmogorov) power spectra, the index of the spectrum changes from cluster to cluster and even within the cluster A2255. We compare this flux to ROSAT PSPC observations of the three clusters, and use these observations to constrain the CAB parameter space. Assuming these non-standard magnetic field power spectra are valid, we find the CAB can reproduce the magnitude of the observed excess in A2199 and A2255 for the same CAB parameters that match the observed soft excess in the Coma cluster. We also find good fit to the morphology of the excesses in these clusters. Simulation of CAB conversion in the cluster A665 is in mild tension with the other clusters due to producing a small but observable excess at large radii where none is observed. This tension is alleviated considering the uncertainty on predicting the count rate in the ROSAT detector, and on the systematics affecting the magnetic field determination. Overall we find good agreement between the CAB parameters for the four clusters studied so far

Comparison of the eight weeks of supplementation Creatine and Glutamine consumption along with resistance exercise on the level of ALP in female mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A eskandari

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: in recent years, in order to improve power, speed, the increase in the volume of the musculature, preventing sports injuries and maintain the muscle performance athletes use from different resistance exercises and food supplements. In this regard, present study has been conducted with the aim of comparison the influence of an 8 week period consumption of creatine (2 gr.kg-1.day-1 in 1st week and 0.48 gr.kg-1.day-1during 2nd to 8th weeks and glutamine (1 gr.kg-1.day-1 from first to eighth weeks along with resistance exercise on level of ALP of female mice. Materials and methods: This experimental study was done on 80 Small adult female mice of Surrey species (28 ± 5 gram. The animals were randomly divided into 8 groups of: resistance exercise, resistance exercise + creatine, resistance exercise + glutamine, resistance exercise + glutamine + creatine, creatine, glutamine, creatine + glutamine and control groups (N= 10. Resistance exercise (5 days a week was including: climbing (4 sets, 5 times repetition with two minutes rest between the sets from a ladder (with the height of one meter and including 26 steps and bearing 30 percent of the weight of the Mouse body (hanging from tail in the first week and the increasing it up to 200 percent of body weight till the last week of the experiment. During 48 hours after the last practice session of resistance exercise, the blood sample was taken and the the level of ALP has been measured. Findings:The results showed that the level of ALP enzyme in creatine + glutamine + resistance exercise groug had been increased in comparison with the control group (144.3 ± 15.86 in comparison with 234.7 ± 25.69 U.L-1 P < 0.05. Conclusion: The results of this research indicate Creatine and Glutamine supplementation consumption along with resistance exercise increases in the level of ALP enzyme in the liver of mice.

From après-ski to après-tourism: the Alps in transition?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Bourdeau

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Winter sports occupy a prominent place in European tourism, not only because of their economic importance in mountainous areas but also due to their major symbolic significance in the "leisure civilisation". Yet the world of winter tourism is full of uncertainties connected with climate change and also with evolutions and structural breaks that call into question the development model on which it is based. This context of profound change gives us the opportunity to question the limits of the industrial model that has governed the development of the Alps for the practice of skiing and to examine alternative future scenarios to "all-out skiing" and even "all-out tourism".Les sports d’hiver occupent une place de premier plan dans le tourisme européen, non seulement du fait de leur poids économique dans les régions de montagne, mais aussi par leur forte dimension symbolique dans la « civilisation des loisirs ». Pourtant l’univers du tourisme hivernal est parcouru par de nombreuses incertitudes liées au changement climatique, mais aussi à des évolutions et des ruptures structurelles qui remettent en question le modèle de développement sur lequel il repose. Ce contexte de mutation permet d’interroger les limites du modèle industriel qui a présidé à l’aménagement des Alpes pour la pratique du ski et d’examiner des figures d’avenir alternatives au « tout ski » et même au « tout tourisme ».

Noninvasive molecular tracking of colonizing wolf (Canis lupus) packs in the western Italian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucchini, V; Fabbri, E; Marucco, F; Ricci, S; Boitani, L; Randi, E

2002-05-01

We used noninvasive methods to obtain genetic and demographic data on the wolf packs (Canis lupus), which are now recolonizing the Alps, a century after their eradication. DNA samples, extracted from presumed wolf scats collected in the western Italian Alps (Piemonte), were genotyped to determine species and sex by sequencing parts of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region and ZFX/ZFY genes. Individual genotypes were identified by multilocus microsatellite analyses using a multiple tubes polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The performance of the laboratory protocols was affected by the age of samples. The quality of excremental DNA extracts was higher in samples freshly collected on snow in winter than in samples that were older or collected during summer. Preliminary mtDNA screening of all samples allowed species identification and was a good predictor of further PCR performances. Wolf, and not prey, DNA targets were preferentially amplified. Allelic dropout occurred more frequently than false alleles, but the probability of false homozygote determinations was always wolf genotypes, also whether related, with a probability of identity of < 0.015. Genealogical relationships among individuals could be determined reliably if the number of candidate parents was 6-8, and most of them had been sampled and correctly genotyped. Genetic data indicate that colonizing Alpine wolves originate exclusively from the Italian source population and retain a high proportion of its genetic diversity. Spatial and temporal locations of individual genotypes, and kinship analyses, suggest that two distinct packs of closely related wolves, plus some unrelated individuals, ranged in the study areas. This is in agreement with field observations.

Seismically-triggered soft-sediment deformation structures close to a major strike-slip fault system in the Eastern Alps (Hirlatz cave, Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Salomon, Martina Lan; Grasemann, Bernhard; Plan, Lukas; Gier, Susanne; Schöpfer, Martin P. J.

2018-05-01

We investigate episodic soft-sediment deformation structures cross-cut by normal faults preserved in unlithified finely laminated calcite rich sediments in the Hirlatz cave in the Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria). These sediments comprise varve-like alternations of brighter carbonate/quartz rich layers, and darker clay mineral rich layers. The deformed sediments contain abundant millimeter to centimeter-scale soft-sediment structures (load casts, ball-and-pillow structures), sheet slumps (thrust faults and folds), erosive channels filled with slides and chaotic slumps. After deposition and soft-sediment deformation normal faults developed within the entire sedimentary succession, an event that probably correlates with an offset of c. 10 cm of the passage wall above the outcrop. Our major conclusions are: (i) The sediments have a glacial origin and were deposited in the Hirlatz cave under phreatic fluvio-lacustrine conditions. The deposition and the soft-sediment deformation occurred most likely during the last glaciation (i.e. around 25 ka ago); (ii) The liquefaction and formation of the soft-sediment structures in water-saturated stratified layers was triggered by episodic seismic events; (iii) The internally deformed sediments were later displaced by normal faults; (iv) A possible source for the seismic events is the active sinistral Salzach-Ennstal-Mariazeller-Puchberger (SEMP) strike-slip fault which is located about 10 km south of the outcrop and plays a major role in accommodating the extrusion of the Eastern Alps towards the Pannonian Basin. To our knowledge, the described structures are the first report of liquefaction and seismically induced soft-sediment deformations in Quaternary sediments in the Eastern Alps.

Environmental effects in the Alps. Proceedings. Alpine Umweltprobleme. Referate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-01-01

Since 1970 the research and testing program of the Environmental Research Fund (Fond fuer Umweltstudien FUST-Tirol and Bonn) has been investigating into the various uses, environmental loads, the damage and different developments in the Alps (Achenkirch/Tirol). The project aims at assessing objective facts, causes, effects and concrete scientific data and make them available as a contribution to a conservation-minded treatment and utilization of ecosystems and as a basis of models promising a safe and reliable future environment without any further major environmental loads or damage. With the damage to forests obviously increasing, the managing committee decided to organize a meeting allowing an intermediate balance of the results and achievements gained so far. The session was also intended to be touching on new ways of finding further promising measures to effectfully check the environmental load. Decided on in autumn 1984, the FUST meeting on 'forest ecosystems' took place on June 13/14, 1985. The publication abstracted contains the eleven papers held on the meeting. Further interesting details were discussed in-between and in work-shops.

Sedimentary connection between rock glaciers and torrential channels: definition, inventory and quantification from a test area in the south-western Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Kummert, Mario; Barboux, Chloé; Delaloye, Reynald

2017-04-01

Permafrsot creep is an important sediment transfer process in periglacial alpine hillslopes (Delaloye et al. 2010). Rock glaciers are the visible expression of mountain permafrost creep (Delaloye 2004). Large volumes of rock debris originating from headwalls, moraines and weathering deposits are slowly transported within rock glaciers from their rooting zone to their fronts. In the Alps, most rock glaciers can be considered as sediment traps, because the sediment output at their margin is usually limited (Gärtner-Roer 2012). However, cases of rock glacier supplying torrential channels with sediments have been documented (e.g. Lugon and Stoffel 2010, Delaloye et al. 2013) Such rock glaciers can act as a sediment source for the triggering of gravitational processes propagating further downstream. Moreover, in such configuration the amount of sediment available is not a finite volume but is gradually renewed or increased as the rock glacier advances. These cases are therefore very specific, especially in the perspective of natural hazards assessment and mitigation. However, in the Alps very little is known about such type of rock glaciers. In addition, the sediment transfer rates between the fronts of the rock glaciers and the torrents are often not known. In this context, our study aims at (i) defining better the configurations in which a sedimentary connection exists between rock glaciers and torrential channels, (ii) localizing the cases of active rock glaciers connected to the torrential network and (iii) estimating approximate sediment transfer rates between the fronts and the torrential gullies. For that purpose, an inventory method for the classification of torrential catchments based on the analysis of aerial images and the computation of connectivity indexes have been developped. In addition, sediment transfer rates were estimated taking into account the geometry of the frontal areas and the velocity rates of the rock glaciers derived from DInSAR data. In

Glacier retreat and associated sediment dynamics in proglacial areas: a case study from the Silvretta Alps, Austria

Science.gov (United States)

Felbauer, Lucia; Pöppl, Ronald

2016-04-01

Global warming results in an ongoing retreat of glaciers in the Alps, leaving behind large amounts of easily erodible sediments. In addition, the debuttressing of rock-walls and the decay of permafrost in the high mountain regions facilitates mass movements of potential disastrous consequences, such as rock falls, landslides and debris flows. Therefore, it is highly important to quantify the amount of sediments that are supplied from the different compartments and to investigate how glacial retreat influences sediment dynamics in proglacial areas. In the presented work glacier retreat and associated sediment dynamics were investigated in the Kromer valley (Silvretta Alps, Austria) by analyzing remote sensing data. Glacial retreat from the period of 1950 to 2012 was documented by interpreting aerial photographs. By digitizing the different stages of the glaciers for six time frames, changes in glacier area and length were mapped and quantified. In order to identify, characterize and quantify sediment dynamics in the proglacial areas a high resolution DEM of difference (DoD) between 2007 and 2012 was created and analyzed, further differentiating between different zones (e.g. valley bottom, hillslope) and types of geomorphic processes (e.g. fluvial, gravitational). First results will be presented at the EGU General Assembly 2016.

25th Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region

CERN Document Server

Borangiu, Theodor

2017-01-01

This book presents the proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region, RAAD 2016 held in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 30th–July 2nd, 2016. In keeping with the tradition of the event, RAAD 2016 covered all the important areas of research and innovation in new robot designs and intelligent robot control, with papers including Intelligent robot motion control; Robot vision and sensory processing; Novel design of robot manipulators and grippers; Robot applications in manufacturing and services; Autonomous systems, humanoid and walking robots; Human–robot interaction and collaboration; Cognitive robots and emotional intelligence; Medical, human-assistive robots and prosthetic design; Robots in construction and arts, and Evolution, education, legal and social issues of robotics. For the first time in RAAD history, the themes cloud robots, legal and ethical issues in robotics as well as robots in arts were included in the technical program. The book is a valuable resource f...

Thermotectonic evolution of the Apuseni mountains (Romania) based on structural and geothermochronological data

Science.gov (United States)

Reiser, M. K.; Fügenschuh, B.; Schuster, R.

2012-04-01

The Apuseni Mountains in Romania take a central position in the Alpine Carpathian Dinaride system between the Pannonian basin in the West and the Transylvanian basin in the East. Following the final Mid-Cretaceous obduction of the East Vardar ophiolite a NW-vergent nappe stack formed, which involves from bottom to top: Tisza- (Bihor and Codru) and Dacia-derived (Biharia) units, overlain by the South Apuseni or Transylvanian ophiolite belt (see Schmid et al, 2008). This study tries to provide new and additional information on the complex structural and metamorphic evolution of these units, from the onset of obduction during Jurassic times, to the (final?) exhumation processes observed during the Eocene (according to Merten, 2011). Based on observed stretching lineations, kinematic indicators such as porphyroclasts, shearbands etc. were analyzed to establish a relative chronological order of deformation and tectonic transport. Microstructural studies provided additional data on the relative succession of events and the relevant synkinematic temperatures. A thermochronological study, based on the integration of newly aquired Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Ar-Ar and fission track ages with existing data allowed the construction of a time-temperature deformation path. Our data indicate three major events, a Late Jurassic-Earliest Cretaceous exhumation event, which cannot be directly constrained by structural data so far. Yet the position of the Transsylvanian ophiolites tectonically overlying the Biharia unit as well as distinct thermochronological data are self-explaining. The second event ("Austrian Phase" in local nomenclature), documented by structural and thermochronological data, is related to the top to the NE thrusting (i.e. in present-day coordinates) of Tisza over Dacia during the Mid-Cretaceous. This penetrative event in the Biharia unit is overprinted at the contact between nappes by a third, top to the NW event during the Turonian, which relates to the NW directed

Assessment of the energetic potential of methanization sources in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-03-01

This publication reports a study of assessment of the potential production of methanization sources in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region. Different organic materials have been considered: agri-industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, and wastes from local communities. In order to perform the assessment, various technical, financial, social and environmental parameters and criteria have been taken into account. After a synthetic presentation of results, and a description of the adopted methodology, the document reports the detailed assessments for the three addressed sources with distinctions of the different origins for each of them

Interpreting the Rock Paintings of Abri Faravel: laser and white-light scanning at 2,133m in the southern French Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin Walsh

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The Abri Faravel, discovered in 2010 at 2,133m asl in the Parc National des Ecrins, Freissinières, Southern French Alps, is probably the most enigmatic high altitude site in the Alps. This rock shelter saw phases of human activity from the Mesolithic through to the medieval period; the artefactual assemblages comprise Mesolithic and Neolithic flint tools, Iron Age hand-thrown pottery, a Roman fibula and some medieval metalwork. However, the most interesting and unique feature on the site are the prehistoric rock paintings; the highest representations of animals (quadrupeds in Europe. These paintings are presented in this article. The paintings themselves were the object of a white-light scan, whilst the rock-shelter and surrounding landscape was scanned using a Faro laser scanner. Both of these models are presented here, and their interpretation elucidated by an assessment of the different phases of activity at the shelter, combined with a synthesis of other evidence from the area and pertinent environmental evidence.

Alkaline phosphatase: An appraisal of its critical role in c-limited deep-sea sediments of central Indian Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Biche, S.U.; Das, A.; Mascarenhas-Pereira, M.B.L.; Nath, B.N.; Naik, Sonali; Helekar, S.; Sharma, R.; Valsangkar, A.B.; LokaBharathi, P.A.

differences in redox status could govern differential response in ALP activity under similar hydrostatic pressure. Hydrothermal scavenging reactions striping soluble P from pore water might be widespread in CIB albeit at extreme low intensities. ALP might...

Preserved organic matter in the Serpentinized Ocean-Continent Transition of Alpine Tethys

Science.gov (United States)

Mateeva, T.; Wolff, G. A.; Kusznir, N.; Manatschal, G.; Wheeler, J.

2017-12-01

Serpentinization occurs at slow-spreading ocean ridges and magma-poor rifted continental margins. At modern hydrothermal vents, serpentinization has been observed to support hydrogen-driven microbial environments including methanotrophic biosystems. An important question is: "Are such bio-systems locally restricted to hydrothermal vents or are they more pervasive, being linked with the exhumation of serpentinized mantle at the seafloor?" Fieldwork sampling of km scale exposures of orogenically exhumed serpentinized mantle in the Alps allows 3D mantle sampling that is not possible at ocean ridges and provides an opportunity to investigate the organic matter in an ophiolite sequence relative to the seafloor. Samples from the fossil Tethyan OCT, exhumed during Alpine collisional orogeny, have been examined for the presence or absence of biomarkers typical of methanotrophy within serpentinized exhumed mantle. Samples from the Totalp unit, Tasna nappe and Platta unit of the Eastern Swiss Alps and Chenaillet in the Western Alps from the Tethyan magma-poor OCT were selected for analysis because they have little Alpine deformation and underwent only low-grade Alpine metamorphism. Hand specimens and cores taken from these locations have been analysed to search for the presence or absence of biomarkers in the serpentinite and its overlying lithologies. Thin sections of samples from these OCT locations reveal multiple serpentinization events and calcification phases. All the lithologies sampled show the presence of hydrocarbons such as n-alkanes, low molecular weight polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, of mixed petrogenic and pyrogenic source), hopanes, steranes (of marine origin), and branched alkanes (pristane and phytane, non-specific marine origin). The identifiable biomarkers and the isotopic data are consistent with organic matter of a marine origin and do not provide any evidence for a methanotrophic bio-system. It is noteworthy that basement mantle rocks still

Resonant laser power build-up in ALPS. A 'light-shining-through-walls' experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehret, Klaus; Ghazaryan, Samvel; Frede, Maik

2009-05-01

The ALPS collaboration runs a light-shining-through-walls (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into weakly interacting sub-eV particles (WISPs) inside of a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. In this paper we report on the first successful integration of a large-scale optical cavity to boost the available power for WISP production in this type of experiments. The key elements are a frequency tunable narrow line-width continuous wave laser acting as the primary light source and an electronic feed-back control loop to stabilize the power build-up. We describe and characterize our apparatus and demonstrate the data analysis procedures on the basis of a brief exemplary run. (orig.)

The glacial record of New Zealand's Southern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, J. M.; Denton, G.; Lowell, T.; Anderson, B.; Rinterknecht, V.; Schlosser, P.; Ivy-Ochs, S.; Kubik, P.; Schluechter, C.; Chinn, T.; Barrell, D.; Lifton, N.; Jull, T.

2004-12-01

We present detailed mapping and surface exposure dating using in-situ Be-10 and C-14 of the moraine set of Lake Pukaki, New Zealand's Southern Alps, spanning from the penultimate glaciation, over several Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) moraines, the late glacial event to Holocene glacial advances. New Zealand, a mountain ridge in the middle of the Southern Ocean, has one of the best preserved moraine records world-wide, offering the opportunity to reconstruct amplitude and timing of climate changes from Southern mid-latitudes, an area where paleoclimate data is scarce. The extensive mapping effort by G. Denton and colleagues (http://wyvern.gns.cri.nz/website/csigg/) provides a unique background for sample selection for Surface Exposure Dating. Our extensive data set (>40 samples analyzed so far) indicate that (i) the LGM in New Zealand terminated clearly prior to the Boelling/Alleroed warming, (ii) the late glacial advance is within uncertainties consistent with the timing of the Younger Dryas cold reversal; (iii) there occurred an early Holocene glacial event of the same amplitude than the Little Ice Age. This latter event is the first Holocene glacial event from the Southern Hemisphere dated by in-situ Be-10 and C-14.

A new species of Isoperla (Insecta, Plecoptera) from the Karawanken, with considerations on the Southern Limestone Alps as centers of endemism.

Science.gov (United States)

Graf, Wolfram; Konar, Martin; Murányi, Dávid; Orci, Kirill Márk; Vitecek, Simon

2014-01-01

A new species of the genus Isoperla (Plecoptera, Perlodidae), belonging to the oxylepis species-group is described, and the male mating call is characterized. Its range falls within a small region of the Southern Limestone Alps which is well known to be one endemism-centre of aquatic insects.

Estimation of basal shear stresses from now ice-free LIA glacier forefields in the Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Mauro; Haeberli, Wilfried; Huss, Matthias; Paul, Frank; Linsbauer, Andreas; Hoelzle, Martin

2013-04-01

In most cases, assessing the impacts of climatic changes on glaciers requires knowledge about the ice thickness distribution. Miscellaneous methodological approaches with different degrees of sophistication have been applied to model glacier thickness so far. However, all of them include significant uncertainty. By applying a parameterization scheme for ice thickness determination relying on assumptions about basal shear stress by Haeberli and Hoelzle (1995) to now ice-free glacier forefields in the Swiss Alps, basal shear stress values can be calculated based on a fast and robust experimental approach. In a GIS, the combination of recent (1973) and Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum (around 1850) glacier outlines, central flowlines, a recent Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and a DEM of glacier surface topography for the LIA maximum allows extracting local ice thickness over the forefield of individual glaciers. Subsequently, basal shear stress is calculated via the rheological assumption of perfect-plasticity relating ice thickness and surface slope to shear stress. The need of only very few input data commonly stored in glacier inventories permits an application to a large number of glaciers. Basal shear stresses are first calculated for subsamples of glaciers belonging to two test sites where the LIA maximum glacier surface is modeled with DEMs derived from accurate topographic maps for the mid 19th century. Neglecting outliers, the average resulting mean basal shear stress is around 80 kPa for the Bernina region (range 25-100 kPa) and 120 kPa (range 50-150 kPa) for the Aletsch region. For the entire Swiss Alps it is 100 kPa (range 40-175 kPa). Because complete LIA glacier surface elevation information is lacking there, a DEM is first created from reconstructed height of LIA lateral moraines and trimlines by using a simple GIS-based tool. A sensitivity analysis of the input parameters reveals that the performance of the developed approach primarily depends on the

Gps monitoring of the la valette landslide (french alps) with two mono-frequency receivers

Science.gov (United States)

Squarzoni, C.; Delacourt, C.; Allemand, P.

2003-04-01

In the last years, the Global Positioning System techniques have been more and more employed in landslide monitoring. Here we present an application of the GPS techniques on the La Valette landslide, located in the Ubaye Valley in the southern French Alps. This complex landslide is composed by an upper part affected essentially by rotational mechanism, a central part with a generally translational movement and a lower part, occasionally transforming in mud flow in coincidence with strong rainfall events. Displacement rates are in average of a few centimetres per month and can reach one centimetre per day during spring. GPS data presented in this study have been acquired with a couple of mono-frequency GPS receivers Magellan ProMARK X-CM associated with multipath-resistant antennas and processed with the Magellan post-processing software MSTAR. Nine points have been set in the whole zone, seven of them in the moving area, one in a stable area near the landslide and one on the facing slope, used as reference point. For each measure, one GPS receiver is placed on the base point and the second one is placed on each monitored point for one-hour sessions. The baseline between base and monitored point ranges from 480 and 1660 m. Nine campaigns of measure have been made between October 2000 and October 2002, to follow the evolution of the surface displacements. The GPS results have been compared with the distance-meter measurements achieved on the same site by RTM Service (Restauration des Terrains de Montagne). The velocities obtained by the two methods are similar. The advantage of the GPS technique is the obtention of the real 3D displacement vector. These measurements have been combined with SAR interferometric data in order to derive a 3D map of the deformation.

An observational study of air and water vapour convergence over the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, during summertime and the development of isolated thunderstorms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graham, Edward [Bern Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. of Applied Physics; Lews Castle College, University of the Highlands and Islands, Stornoway, Scotland (United Kingdom); N' Dri Koffi, Ernest; Maetzler, Christian [Bern Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. of Applied Physics

2012-12-15

The daytime summer phenomenon of the mesoscale transport of air and water vapour from the Swiss lowlands into the nearby western Alps, leading to orographic convection, is investigated using a range of independent observations. These observations are: Global Positioning System (GPS) integrated water vapour (IWV) data, the TROWARA microwave radiometer, MeteoSwiss ANETZ surface weather station data, the Payerne radiosonde, synoptic analyses for Switzerland and Europe, EUMETSAT and NOAA visible and infrared satellite images, MeteoSwiss operational precipitation radar, photographs and webcam images including time-lapse cloud animations. The intention was to show, using GPS IWV data, that significant differences in IWV may occur between the Swiss plain and nearby Alps during small single-cell Alpine thunderstorm events, and that these may be attributable to regional airflow convergence. Two particular case studies are presented for closer examination: 20 June 2005 and 13 June 2006. On both days, fine and warm weather was followed by isolated orographic convection over the Alps in the afternoon and evening, producing thunderstorms. The thunderstorms investigated were generally small, local, discrete and short-lived phenomena. They were selected for study because of almost stationary position over orography, rendering easy observation because they remained contained within a particular mountain region before dissipating. The results show that large transfers of air and water vapour occur from the Swiss plain to the mountains on such days, with up to a 50% increase in GPS IWV values at individual Alpine stations, coincident with strong airflow convergence in the same locality. (orig.)

AL:PE - Acidification of Mountain Lakes: Palaeolimnology and Ecology. Part 2 - Remote Mountain Lakes as Indicators of Air Pollution and Climate Change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wathne, Bente M; Patrick, Simon; Cameron, Nigel [eds.

1997-07-01

AL:PE is a multi-disciplinary and multi-national project coordinated by research groups in London and Oslo. It is funded by the European Commission, The project is described in this report. The project is the first comprehensive study of remote mountain lakes on a European scale. It is concerned with ecosystems in the arctic and alpine regions of Europe that are threatened by acid deposition, toxic air pollutants and climatic change despite their remoteness. The studies are important not only for ecosystems of the lakes, for which they were designed, but for the arctic and alpine regions in general, since the lakes with their sediment records act as environmental sensors. The AL:PE results illustrate two overarching issues: (1) the importance of these remote and sensitive ecosystems as sensors of long-range transported pollutants and as providers of early warning signals for more widespread environmental change; and (2) the importance and urgency of understanding the present and future impact of pollutants, both singly and in combination, on aquatic ecosystems. Currently, acid deposition is considered the most potent threat. In the context of global warming, however, it is a formidable scientific challenge to disentangle the interactions between the effects of changing deposition patterns of acids, nutrients, trace metals and trace organics. The AL:PE programme has begun to address this challenge and its successor EU project, MOLAR, is designed to tackle the issues more more specifically by focusing on in-depth studies of key sites. 97 refs., 192 figs., 100 tabs.

Pestiviruses infections at the wild and domestic ruminants interface in the French Southern Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Claire; Duquesne, Véronique; Adam, Gilbert; Belleau, Eric; Gauthier, Dominique; Champion, Jean-Luc; Saegerman, Claude; Thiéry, Richard; Dubois, Eric

2015-02-25

In alpine pasture, interspecies transmission has recently been incriminated in the epidemiology of pestivirus infection. The aim of this study was to investigate pestivirus infections in wild and domestic ruminants sharing pastures in the French Southern Alps. Animal sera were screened for pestivirus antibodies against the pestivirus NS3 protein by a commercial blocking enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All 38 domestic herds tested were positive for pestivirus-specific antibodies. Individual sero-prevalence reached 76.5% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: [74.2-78.8%]) of the 1383 sheep tested. For wild ruminants, 38.7% (95% CI: [33.8-43.9%]) of the 369 chamois tested, 28.7% (95% CI: [17.4-38.1%]) of the 72 roe deer, and 22.2% (95% CI: [6.5-37.9%]) of the 27 mouflons were seropositive. Virus screening was carried out on spleen samples from hunted wild animals (n=160) and from 15 domestic ruminants (clinically suspected to be persistently infected animals), by a conventional reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Three pestivirus strains were isolated from the sheep samples positive by RT-PCR. The viruses were classified in the BDV-3, BDV-Tunisian and BDV-6 genotypes. For the first time, one strain (RUPI-05 strain) was isolated from an alpine chamois and clustered in the BDV-6 genotype, showing in the 5'-UTR region 92% of identity with the ovine isolate from the same area. Thus, an active circulation of pestiviruses was demonstrated in both wild and domestic ungulates from the French Southern Alps. The results suggest that interspecies transmission between sheep and chamois probably occur. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The chemical and biological response of two remote mountain lakes in the Southern Central Alps (Italy to twenty years of changing physical and chemical climate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea LAMI

2004-02-01

Full Text Available Two small high mountain lakes in the Alps were monitored in 1984-2003 to follow their response to changes in human impact, such as deposition of atmospheric pollutants, fish stocking and climate change. The results were compared to occasional samplings performed in the 1940s, and to the remains found in sediment cores. When monitoring started, the most acid-sensitive of them, Lake Paione Superiore, was acidified, with evident effects in its flora and fauna: benthic diatoms assemblage was shifted towards acidophilous species, and zooplankton lost the dominant species, Arctodiaptomus alpinus. Palaeolimnological studies outlined that lake acidification paralleled the increasing input of long-range transported industrial pollutants, traced by spherical carbonaceous particles. On the contrary, the biota of Lake Paione Inferiore appeared to be mainly affected by fish stocking. In the last twenty years, decrease in acid load from the atmosphere led to an improvement in lake water quality, with an increase in both pH and alkalinity. First signs of biological recovery were identified, such as change in diatom flora and appearance of sensitive species among benthic insects. However, climate change and episodic deposition of Saharan dust were important driving factors controlling lake water chemistry. Further monitoring to assess the effects of climate change and of the increasing load of nitrogen and other pollutants is recommended.

Structure and tectonic evolution of the southwestern Trinidad dome, Escambray complex, Central Cuba: Insights into deformation in an accretionary wedge

Science.gov (United States)

Despaigne-Díaz, Ana Ibis; García Casco, Antonio; Cáceres Govea, Dámaso; Wilde, Simon A.; Millán Trujillo, Guillermo

2017-10-01

The Trinidad dome, Escambray complex, Cuba, forms part of an accretionary wedge built during intra-oceanic subduction in the Caribbean from the Late Cretaceous to Cenozoic. The structure reflects syn-subduction exhumation during thickening of the wedge, followed by extension. Field mapping, metamorphic and structural analysis constrain the tectonic evolution into five stages. Three ductile deformation events (D1, D2 and D3) are related to metamorphism in a compressional setting and formation of several nappes. D1 subduction fabrics are only preserved as relict S1 foliation and rootless isoclinal folds strongly overprinted by the main S2 foliation. The S2 foliation is parallel to sheared serpentinised lenses that define tectonic contacts, suggesting thrust stacks and underthrusting at mantle depths. Thrusting caused an inverted metamorphic structure with higher-grade on top of lower-grade nappes. Exhumation started during D2 when the units were incorporated into the growing accretionary wedge along NNE-directed thrust faults and was accompanied by substantial decompression and cooling. Folding and thrusting continued during D3 and marks the transition from ductile to brittle-ductile conditions at shallower crustal levels. The D4-5 events are related to extension and contributed to the final exhumation (likely as a core complex). D4 is associated with a regional spaced S4 cleavage, late open folds, and numerous extension veins, whereas D5 is recorded by normal and strike-slip faults affecting all nappes. The P-t path shows rapid exhumation during D2 and slower rates during D3 when the units were progressively incorporated into the accretionary prism. The domal shape formed in response to tectonic denudation assisted by normal faulting and erosion at the surface during the final stages of structural development. These results support tectonic models of SW subduction of the Proto-Caribbean crust under the Caribbean plate during the latest Cretaceous and provide

Status of ELI-ALPS implementation (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Osvay, Karoly; Charalambidis, Dimitris; Antici, Patrizio; Dombi, Péter; Fulop, Lajos J.; Lepine, Franck; Mészáros, Gergo; Sansone, Giuseppe; Varju, Katalin G.

2017-05-01

The major research equipment of the Attosecond Light Pulse Source of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI-ALPS) are driven by laser pulses of few cycle duration operating in the 100 W average power regime. The peak power and the repetition rate span from 1 TW at 100 kHz up to PW at 10 Hz. The systems are designed for stable and reliable operation, yet to deliver pulses with unique parameters, especially with unmatched fluxes and extreme bandwidths. This exceptional performance will enable the generation of secondary sources with exceptional characteristics, including light sources ranging from the THz to the X-ray spectral ranges, and particle sources. The experimental activities in the building complex to be inaugurated early 2017 will start with the installation of the two 100 kHz repetition rate, CEP stabilized lasers in May 2017. The MIR laser produces 0.15mJ, shorter than 4-optical-cylce pulses tunable between 2.5-3.9 µm. The first stage of the HR laser will provide pulses around 1 µm with 1 mJ energy and pulse duration less than 6.2 fs. The systems will be optically synchronized to each other with a temporal jitter below 1 fs. Along with the installation of the lasers, we will also start the assembly of the high harmonic beamlines and the THz laboratory, as well as nanoplasmonic experiments. The XUV bursts of light with attosecond duration are expected to be generated by the end of 2017.

A new species of Isoperla (Insecta, Plecoptera from the Karawanken, with considerations on the Southern Limestone Alps as centers of endemism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfram Graf

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A new species of the genus Isoperla (Plecoptera, Perlodidae, belonging to the oxylepis species-group is described, and the male mating call is characterized. Its range falls within a small region of the Southern Limestone Alps which is well known to be one endemism-centre of aquatic insects.

Potential impact of wind energy development of mountain flora and fauna in Rhone-Alpes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ladet, Alain; Bauvet, Corinne

2005-03-01

After a presentation of Rhone-Alpes mountain areas (massifs, constraints related to mountain climate, vegetation levels), this report proposes an overview of elements to be taken into account for the development of wind energy. It lists the different concerned public actors, reports a bibliographical study, indicates names and locations of sensitive species (fauna and flora) and natural environments. A synthesis indicates potential impacts, and outlines the patrimonial value, and then proposes an approach for the diagnosis and for the impact study. Appendices notably contain sheets which present the different concerned vegetal or animal species, and their important characteristics in terms of habitat and life

Conservation of brown bear in the Alps: space use and settlement behavior of reintroduced bears

Science.gov (United States)

Preatoni, Damiano; Mustoni, Andrea; Martinoli, Adriano; Carlini, Eugenio; Chiarenzi, Barbara; Chiozzini, Simonetta; Van Dongen, Stefan; Wauters, Luc A.; Tosi, Guido

2005-11-01

Large carnivores typically need large home ranges containing habitats patches of different quality. Consequently, their conservation requires habitat protection and management at the landscape scale. In some cases, reintroduction might be used to support remnant or restore extinct populations. This is the case for the brown bear ( Ursus arctos) in the Italian Alps. We monitored spacing behavior and settlement of reintroduced brown bears in Adamello-Brenta Natural Park, North-Italy, using radio-tracking. Habitat use, dispersion and survival were studied to evaluate the success of reintroduction and possible conflicts with man. All three males and five of seven females settled in the study area. Most bears roamed widely the first months after release, exploring the new habitat. Patterns of home range overlap between seasons and years revealed that home range use stabilized the year after first hibernation. Home ranges were larger in the mating season (May-July) than in spring or autumn. Home ranges varied between 34 and 1813 km 2 the year after release, but core-areas, where feeding activity was concentrated, were much smaller. Some bears had exclusive core-areas in summer and autumn, but most showed considerable core-area overlap with animals of the same and/or the opposite sex. Bears selected deciduous forests, mixed and conifer forests were used according to availability, and areas with anthropogenic disturbance were avoided. Most bears settled and some reproduced successfully at the release site, causing high initial population growth, suggesting that reintroduction can help to re-establish a brown bear population in the Italian Alps.

Geology and permian paleomagnetism of the Val-di-Non area W. Dolomites, N. Italy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hilten, D.

1960-01-01

During the summers of 1957 till 1959 geological investigations were carried out in the western part of the Dolomites (southern Alps), where these are separated from the central Alps by the Judicaria fault. A long time before the principal displacements occurred along this fault - late oligocene -

Geology and permian paleomagnetism of the Val-di-Non area W. Dolomites, N. Italy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hilten, D. van

1960-01-01

During the summers of 1957 till 1959 geological investigations were carried out in the western part of the Dolomites (southern Alps), where these are separated from the central Alps by the Judicaria fault. A long time before the principal displacements occurred along this fault - late oligocene

A hypocystal archeopyle in a freshwater dinoflagellate from the Peridinium umbonatum group (Dinophyceae) from Lake Nero di Cornisello, South Eastern Alps, Italy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tardio, Massimiliano; Ellegaard, Marianne; Lundholm, Nina

2009-01-01

Cornisello, a low-alkalinity high mountain lake of the Adamello mountain range (2233m above sea level, South Eastern Alps, Italy). The archeopyle is large, clearly hypocystal, polygonal, and slightly peanut-shaped. The species producing this cyst belongs to the Peridinium umbonatum group and is described...

Fog Chemistry at Different Altitudes in the Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Michna, P.; Eugster, W.; Wanner, H.

2010-07-01

During two extended summer seasons in 2006 and 2007, we installed two battery driven versions of the Caltech active strand cloud water collector (MiniCASCC) at the Niesen mountain in the northern Swiss Alps. Along, we measured air temperature, relative humidity, wind, and visibility. During these two field operation phases we gained weekly samples of fogwater, where we analysed the major anions and cations, and the stable water isotopes δD and δ18O. The fog collectors were installed at an altitude of 2300 and 1600 m asl to resolve altitudinal differences in fog chemistry. We found a large variability between the events, but no clear altitudinal gradient. At both sites, the most important ions were nitrate, ammonium, and sulphate. Higher concentrations occured preferably in late spring (start of sampling period) and in autumn (end of sampling). Compared to previous studies at lower elevations in the Swiss Plateau during wintertime, our measurements showed considerable lower ion loads in the fogwater. The combination of these results suggest that lowest ion loads are found in convective clouds with a short lifetime and that the highest ion loads occur during radiation fog events at lower elevations.

A key to larvae of species belonging to the genus Diamesa from Alps and Apennines (Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Rossaro

2015-07-01

Full Text Available A key to species belonging to the genus Diamesa Meigen, 1835 (Diptera, Chironomidae from the Alps and Apennines (Italy is presented using characters observable in the fourth-instar larva. The larvae are separated on the basis of qualitative and quantitative characters. At present fifteen species from the Italian Alps are described in all three life stages, but only twelve species groups can be separated as larvae. The separation is based on the length and thickness of anal setae, antennal ratio, head capsule color and few other characters of the labrum and mentum. The shape of mental and mandibular teeth is still a valid taxonomic character, but unfortunately these characters can be rarely used because teeth are often excessively worn in samples collected in the field. Quantitative characters show variability within each species, differing according to the duration of larval development and must be used with caution. The species groups which can be separated in the larval stage are: the dampfi group, which includes D. dampfi and D. permacra, the latitarsis group including D. modesta and D. latitarsis, the zernyi group including D. zernyi and D. vaillanti. The species within each of these groups at present cannot be separated. D. starmachi, D. steinboecki, D. goetghebueri, D. bertrami, D. aberrata, D. incallida, D. cinerella, D. tonsa and D. insignipes can be separated from all the other known species in larval stage.

Little Ice Age mapping as a tool for identifying hazard in the paraglacial environment: The case study of Trentino (Eastern Italian Alps)

Science.gov (United States)

Zanoner, Thomas; Carton, Alberto; Seppi, Roberto; Carturan, Luca; Baroni, Carlo; Salvatore, Maria Cristina; Zumiani, Matteo

2017-10-01

The Little Ice Age (LIA) is a well-recognized climatic event during which the glaciers in the Alps advanced and reached their maximum Holocene extent. During their retreat following the LIA, the glaciers left large areas of loose or poorly consolidated glacial deposits in their forelands, which are subject to paraglacial reworking and may represent potential hazards for human infrastructures. In this study, we present a regional scale mapping of the LIA and post-LIA glacial deposits and a reconstruction of the maximum LIA extents of glaciers in the same area. This work is motivated by a local law requiring the classification of areas subject to natural hazards in Trentino (Italian Alps). Results highlight that glaciers shrunk by 63% from the LIA maximum, leaving 30 km2 of unconsolidated deposits, which are subject to geomorphic paraglacial processes. Potentially hazardous consequences can occur, in particular, during high-magnitude instantaneous events, causing debris and mud flows, mass wasting from debris-covered ice, and floods from small moraine-dammed lakes.

New species of aquatic insects from Europe (Insecta: Trichoptera): Alps and Pyrenees as harbours of unknown biodiversity

Science.gov (United States)

GRAF, WOLFRAM; VITECEK, SIMON; PREVIŠIĆ, ANA; MALICKY, HANS

2016-01-01

New species are described from the following genera: Consorophylax and Anisogamus, (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae). Additionally the larvae of the genus Anisogamus, and the larval stages of Anisogamus waringeri nov. sp. and A. difformis (McLachlan 1867) are described. The new species Consorophylax vinconi sp. nov. is a microendemic from the Southern Alps and differs distinctly from its congeners in the shape of the parameres, which are distinctly straitened in the distal quarter in the new species. The new species Anisogamus waringeri sp. nov. represents the second species in the hitherto monospecific genus Anisogamus. Compared to Anisogamus difformis, A. waringeri sp. nov. develops more slender superior appendages; a more rounded basal plate of the intermediate appendages, lacking pointed protuberances; and parameres shorter than the aedaegus, proximally with one dorsal and several ventral tines. Further, the two species are disjunctly distributed in the European mountain ranges (A. difformis: Alps, A. waringeri sp. nov.: Pyrenees). Larvae of the genus Anisogamus are characterized by the lack of a dorsal protuberance on the 1st abdominal segment, a unique feature among Limnephilidae. Anisogamus difformis and A. waringeri sp. nov. larvae differ in pronotum shape. The recovery of two new species demonstrates the significance of taxonomic studies in Europe, and the importance of adequate training for young scientists in order to assess a biodiversity under threat of extinction that has yet to be fully described. PMID:25661619

Angelo Sismonda (1807–1878), pioneer of geological mapping in the Alps of Savoy and the Piedmont: a bibliography

CERN Document Server

Hollier, John; Basaglia, Tullio; Hollier, Anita

2016-01-01

Angelo Sismonda (Ange Sismonda) was an Italian mineralogist and geologist based in Turin during the Risorgimento who produced pioneering maps of the Alps in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Well known during his lifetime, he is now mentioned only in passing by historians and no comprehensive bibliography of his work exists. To render his work more accessible, we present a short biography and a bibliography.

Production cavity and central optics for a light shining through a wall experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodajerdi, Reza

2015-02-01

The unexplained nature of dark matter and dark energy is a prominent reason for investigating physics beyond the standard model of particle physics (SM). Some extensions of the SM propose weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs). In an attempt to prove the existence of these particles, Light shining through the wall (LSW) experiments explore a very weak coupling between WISPs and photons (and viceversa). LSW experiments employ high-power lasers that provide a well defined flux of photons for the WISP-Photon conversion. The ALPS-I experiment at DESY in Hamburg was the first successful experiment with a high finesse optical resonator to enhance the laser power in a strong magnetic field in order to increase the photon to WISP conversion probability. The ALPS-II experimental concept adds a second optical cavity to also increase the reconversion probability. Both cavities are separated by a wall, amplify light at 1064 nm and share a common optical axis. Operating these two cavities inside 20 straightened HERA superconducting dipole magnets and using a transition edge sensor (TES) as a single photon detector will make the ALPS-II experiment almost three orders of magnitude more sensitive than its predecessor. Since photons, originating from reconverted WISPs in the regeneration cavity (RC) have 1064 nm wavelengths, the RC has to be locked to the production cavity (PC) with light of a different wavelength. Therefore frequency doubled PCs light will be used to lock the RC. This 532 nm light shall not arrive at the TES to prevent background noise. To achieve this, an optical attenuation system for wavelengths different from 1064 nm is required. In my thesis, the required attenuation was estimated and an optical setup was proposed and constructed and tested. It attenuates green photons by a factor of of 10 -18 and transmits 85% of the infrared photons. Furthermore the high finesse production cavity of ALPS-IIa was set up and characterized during this thesis. The PC reached

Sodium pyrophosphate enhances iron bioavailability from bouillon cubes fortified with ferric pyrophosphate.

Science.gov (United States)

Cercamondi, Colin I; Duchateau, Guus S M J E; Harika, Rajwinder K; van den Berg, Robin; Murray, Peter; Koppenol, Wieneke P; Zeder, Christophe; Zimmermann, Michael B; Moretti, Diego

2016-08-01

Fe fortification of centrally manufactured and frequently consumed condiments such as bouillon cubes could help prevent Fe deficiency in developing countries. However, Fe compounds that do not cause sensory changes in the fortified product, such as ferric pyrophosphate (FePP), exhibit low absorption in humans. Tetra sodium pyrophosphate (NaPP) can form soluble complexes with Fe, which could increase Fe bioavailability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate Fe bioavailability from bouillon cubes fortified with either FePP only, FePP+NaPP, ferrous sulphate (FeSO4) only, or FeSO4+NaPP. We first conducted in vitro studies using a protocol of simulated digestion to assess the dialysable and ionic Fe, and the cellular ferritin response in a Caco-2 cell model. Second, Fe absorption from bouillon prepared from intrinsically labelled cubes (2·5 mg stable Fe isotopes/cube) was assessed in twenty-four Fe-deficient women, by measuring Fe incorporation into erythrocytes 2 weeks after consumption. Fe bioavailability in humans increased by 46 % (P<0·005) when comparing bouillons fortified with FePP only (4·4 %) and bouillons fortified with FePP+NaPP (6·4 %). Fe absorption from bouillons fortified with FeSO4 only and with FeSO4+NaPP was 33·8 and 27·8 %, respectively (NS). The outcome from the human study is in agreement with the dialysable Fe from the in vitro experiments. Our findings suggest that the addition of NaPP could be a promising strategy to increase Fe absorption from FePP-fortified bouillon cubes, and if confirmed by further research, for other fortified foods with complex food matrices as well.

Parameterization of a numerical 2-D debris flow model with entrainment: a case study of the Faucon catchment, Southern French Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Y. Hussin

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The occurrence of debris flows has been recorded for more than a century in the European Alps, accounting for the risk to settlements and other human infrastructure that have led to death, building damage and traffic disruptions. One of the difficulties in the quantitative hazard assessment of debris flows is estimating the run-out behavior, which includes the run-out distance and the related hazard intensities like the height and velocity of a debris flow. In addition, as observed in the French Alps, the process of entrainment of material during the run-out can be 10–50 times in volume with respect to the initially mobilized mass triggered at the source area. The entrainment process is evidently an important factor that can further determine the magnitude and intensity of debris flows. Research on numerical modeling of debris flow entrainment is still ongoing and involves some difficulties. This is partly due to our lack of knowledge of the actual process of the uptake and incorporation of material and due the effect of entrainment on the final behavior of a debris flow. Therefore, it is important to model the effects of this key erosional process on the formation of run-outs and related intensities. In this study we analyzed a debris flow with high entrainment rates that occurred in 2003 at the Faucon catchment in the Barcelonnette Basin (Southern French Alps. The historic event was back-analyzed using the Voellmy rheology and an entrainment model imbedded in the RAMMS 2-D numerical modeling software. A sensitivity analysis of the rheological and entrainment parameters was carried out and the effects of modeling with entrainment on the debris flow run-out, height and velocity were assessed.

Climate change impacts on hydropower in the Swiss and Italian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaudard, Ludovic; Romerio, Franco; Dalla Valle, Francesco; Gorret, Roberta; Maran, Stefano; Ravazzani, Giovanni; Stoffel, Markus; Volonterio, Michela

2014-09-15

This paper provides a synthesis and comparison of methodologies and results obtained in several studies devoted to the impact of climate change on hydropower. By putting into perspective various case studies, we provide a broader context and improved understanding of climate changes on energy production. We also underline the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches used as far as technical, physical and economical aspects are concerned. Although the catchments under investigation are located close to each other in geographic terms (Swiss and Italian Alps), they represent a wide variety of situations which may be affected by differing evolutions for instance in terms of annual runoff. In this study, we also differentiate between run-of-river, storage and pumping-storage power plants. By integrating and comparing various analyses carried out in the framework of the EU-FP7 ACQWA project, this paper discusses the complexity as well as current and future issues of hydropower management in the entire Alpine region. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resonant laser power build-up in ALPS-A 'light shining through a wall' experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehret, Klaus; Frede, Maik; Ghazaryan, Samvel; Hildebrandt, Matthias; Knabbe, Ernst-Axel; Kracht, Dietmar; Lindner, Axel; List, Jenny; Meier, Tobias; Meyer, Niels; Notz, Dieter; Redondo, Javier; Ringwald, Andreas; Wiedemann, Guenter; Willke, Benno

2009-01-01

The ALPS Collaboration runs a 'light shining through a wall' (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into 'weakly interacting sub-eV particles' (WISPs) inside of a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. In this paper we report on the first successful integration of a large-scale optical resonant cavity to boost the available power for WISP production in this type of experiments. The key elements are a frequency tunable narrow line-width continuous wave laser acting as the primary light source and an electronic feed-back control loop to stabilize the power build-up. We describe and characterize our apparatus and demonstrate the data analysis procedures on the basis of a brief exemplary run.

PARÁMETROS BIOQUÍMICOS ENZIMÁTICOS (ALT, AST, ALP, Γ-GT, LDH EN NIÑOS CON LEUCEMIA LINFOBLÁSTICA AGUDA ANTES DEL TRATAMIENTO ANTINEOPLÁSICO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeél Moya S

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To determine the enzymatic biochemical parameters (glutamic pyruvic transaminase (ALT, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (AST, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, gamma glutamyltransferase (γ-GT, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL before cancer treatment. Material and Methods: A prospective experimental, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 30 children between 2 and 15 years old, from several Neoplastic Centers in Lima. Blood collection was performed in BD red cap Vacutainer tubes, processed in the semi-automated analyzer BIOTEC® EMP-168, with Wiener Lab Group enzyme reagents under the modified method Szaaz and UV-Optimized by IFCC, SSCC and SFBC. Finally, coding and tabulation was performed. Results: 60% were boys and 46.7% are between the ages of 2-6 years. Serum levels of AST were increased by 33.3% in boys and 50% in girls. Serum ALT values were increased in 33.3% of boys and 41.7% of girls; only 25% of girls showed increased levels of γ-GT values; ALP was increased in 44.4% of boys and 66.7% of girls. Moreover LDH levels were increased in 55.6% of boys and 41.7% of girls. Conclusions: The enzymatic tests LDH, AST, ALT and ALP are increased in children with ALL compared to normal values due to tumor lysis syndrome characterized by electrolyte abnormalities, and as a result of the massive destruction of tumor cells and rapid release of large amounts of intracellular elements.

Gold mineralisation near the Main Divide, upper Wilberforce valley, Southern Alps, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, J.A.; Craw, D.; Horton, T.; Chamberlain, C.P.

2000-01-01

Veins up to 8 m wide fill extensional fractures in Torlesse Terrane metasediments near the Main Divide in the upper Wilberforce valley, Canterbury, New Zealand. The upper Wilberforce veins are part of a prominent 40 km long, NNE-trending swarm of gold-bearing veins formed across the Main Divide during the Late Cenozoic rise of the Southern Alps. The veins occur within, and near, a prominent set of faults which constitute the Main Divide Fault Zone. The veins are irregular in shape due to contrasting host rock properties, and have been only weakly sheared and deformed. Veins cut across greywacke beds and follow irregularly along argillite beds, on the 1-10 m scale. Quartz dominates vein mineralogy, but albite forms up to 45% of some veins, and minor chlorite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and gold occur sporadically, especially in breccias near vein margins. Fluid inclusions in vein quartz homogenise at 180-253 degrees C, and arsenopyrite composition (28.3-30.8 at.% As) suggest formation temperatures of 250-350 degrees C. Elevated arsenic levels (up to 200 ppm above a background of 10 ppm) in some host greywackes and argellites suggest that hydrothermal activity pervaded host rocks as well as forming veins, but there is no textural evidence for this fluid flow. Late-stage carbonates in faults adjacent to the quartz veins, but which postdate the quartz veins, have δ 18 O ranging from 11.1 to 25.6 per thousand, and δ 13 C ranging from -12.5 to -1.1 per thousand. These carbonates were deposited by a mixture of meteoric and crustally isotopically exchanged fluid as a shallow-level manifestation of the same hydrothermal system which deposited the quartz veins. The upper Wilberforce veins structurally and mineralogically resemble some Late Cenozoic gold-bearing vein systems in the Mt Cook area, 100 km to the southwest along the Southern Alps. (author). 52 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs

The Central and Eastern European Earthquake Research Network - CE3RN

Science.gov (United States)

Bragato, Pier Luigi; Costa, Giovanni; Gallo, Antonella; Gosar, Andrej; Horn, Nikolaus; Lenhardt, Wolfgang; Mucciarelli, Marco; Pesaresi, Damiano; Steiner, Rudolf; Suhadolc, Peter; Tiberi, Lara; Živčić, Mladen; Zoppé, Giuliana

2014-05-01

The region of the Central and Eastern Europe is an area characterised by a relatively high seismicity. The active seismogenic structures and the related potentially destructive events are located in the proximity of the political boundaries between several countries existing in the area. An example is the seismic region between the NE Italy (FVG, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto), Austria (Tyrol, Carinthia) and Slovenia. So when a destructive earthquake occurs in the area, all the three countries are involved. In the year 2001 the Agencija Republike Slovenije za Okolje (ARSO) in Slovenia, the Department of Mathematics and Geoscience of the University of Trieste (DMG), the OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale) in Italy and the Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG) in Austria signed an agreement for the real-time seismological data exchange in the Southeastern Alps region. Soon after the Interreg IIIa Italia-Austria projects "Trans-National Seismological Networks in the South-Eastern Alps" and "FASTLINK" started. The main goal of these projects was the creation of a transfrontier network for the common seismic monitoring of the region for scientific and civil defense purposes. During these years the high quality data recorded by the transfrontier network has been used, by the involved institutions, for their scientific research, for institutional activities and for the civil defense services. Several common international projects have been realized with success. The instrumentation has been continuously upgraded, the installations quality improved as well as the data transmission efficiency. In the 2013 ARSO, DMG, OGS and ZAMG decided to name the cooperative network "Central and Eastern European Earthquake Research Network - CE3RN". The national/regional seismic networks actually involved in the CE3RN network are: • Austrian national BB network (ZAMG - OE) • Friuli Veneto SP network (OGS - FV) • Friuli VG

Possible impacts of forest decline on the protection functions of forests in the Bavarian Alps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suda, M

1989-01-01

In context with the forest decline phenomenon the question arises on how the protection function of forests will be affected and how possible impacts can be evaluated. First, a solution model based on a feedback-circle system is presented, which allows to assess possible impacts of forest decline on massmovements. The application of this approach to the avalanche and flooding phenomena is presented and demonstrated by model calculations for different examples in the country of Traunstein/Bavaria Alps. Finally, a model is presented which gives an answer to the question, what impacts on the tourism industry are possible due to forest decline and how these influences can be evaluated.

Diversity of bacteria producing pigmented colonies in aerosol, snow and soil samples from remote glacial areas (Antarctica, Alps and Andes)

Science.gov (United States)

González-Toril, E.; Amils, R.; Delmas, R. J.; Petit, J.-R.; Komárek, J.; Elster, J.

2008-04-01

Four different communities and one culture of pigmented microbial assemblages were obtained by incubation in mineral medium of samples collected from high elevation snow in the Alps (Mt. Blanc area) and the Andes (Nevado Illimani summit, Bolivia), from Antarctic aerosol (French station Dumont d'Urville) and a maritime Antarctic soil (King George Island, South Shetlands, Uruguay Station Artigas). Molecular analysis of more than 200 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that all cultured cells belong to the Bacteria domain. The phylogenetic comparison with the currently available rDNA database allowed the identification of sequences belonging to Proteobacteria (Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-proteobacteria), Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla. The Andes snow culture was the richest in bacterial diversity (eight microorganisms identified) and the maritime Antarctic soil the poorest (only one). Snow samples from Col du midi (Alps) and the Andes shared the highest number of identified microorganisms (Agrobacterium, Limnobacter, Aquiflexus and two uncultured Alphaproteobacteria clones). These two sampling sites also shared four sequences with the Antarctic aerosol sample (Limnobacter, Pseudonocardia and an uncultured Alphaproteobacteria clone). The only microorganism identified in the maritime Antarctica soil (Brevundimonas sp.) was also detected in the Antarctic aerosol. The two snow samples from the Alps only shared one common microorganism. Most of the identified microorganisms have been detected previously in cold environments (Dietzia kujamenisi, Pseudonocardia Antarctica, Hydrogenophaga palleronii and Brebundimonas sp.), marine sediments (Aquiflexus balticus, Pseudomonas pseudoalkaligenes, Pseudomonas sp. and one uncultured Alphaproteobacteria), and soils and rocks (Pseudonocardia sp., Agrobactrium sp., Limnobacter sp. and two uncultured Alphaproteobacetria clones). Air current dispersal is the best model to explain the presence of very specific microorganisms, like those

Dams and Development in the French Alps in the Inter-war Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Dalmasso

2009-03-01

Full Text Available La vigueur de la « controverse des grands barrages » du début des années 2000 nous amène à nous interroger, dans cet article, sur les conditions de l’accueil fait aux barrages alpins lors de leur première phase de construction dans les années 1920 et 1930. Si l’ampleur des impacts, sociaux et environnementaux est différente, la nature des questions posées concernant les modes d’appropriation et d’usage de l’eau demeure. Au-delà des discours justificateurs ou accusateurs, structurés de façon pérenne autour de la promotion ou de la dénonciation des vertus de la modernisation et du développement, l’acceptabilité des barrages dépend d’abord des perturbations introduites dans la répartition des droits de propriétés et d’usages du territoire et de la capacité à compenser gains et pertes entre les groupes sociaux concernés. Ces questions sont travaillées à partir de deux cas de construction dans les Alpes françaises durant les années 1930, ceux du barrage du Chambon et du Sautet.The heated discussions and controversies over large dams that marked the start of the 21st century have led us in this article to examine the conditions under which Alpine dams were received during the first construction phase of the 1920s and 1930s. Although the extent of social and environ-mental impacts was not the same, the types of questions raised concerning methods of appropriation and uses to which water was put are similar. Among the arguments for and against, which always tend to be structured around the promotion or denunciation of the virtues of modernisation and development, the acceptability of dams depends firstly on the disturbances caused to the distribution of property rights and land usage rights and the ability to balance out gains and losses among the different social groups concerned. These questions are examined in the light of two dams constructed in the French Alps in the 1930s, the Chambon and Sautet dams.

Attitudes des éleveurs et sensibilité des systèmes d'élevage face aux sécheresses dans les Alpes françaises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent Dobremez

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Les systèmes d'élevage des Alpes françaises sont fortement exposés au changement climatique annoncé et la plupart subissent déjà des épisodes de sécheresse depuis le début des années 2000. Face à ces aléas, les éleveurs ont mis en œuvre un certain nombre de leviers et envisagent d'en activer d'autres à l'avenir. Des enquêtes en exploitation ont permis d’identifier ces leviers. Leur analyse permet de caractériser les attitudes des éleveurs face aux sécheresses et d’évaluer l’évolution de la sensibilité de leurs systèmes d’élevage. A l'exception des exploitations disposant de surfaces irriguées importantes, toutes les exploitations cherchent d'abord à contourner l’aléa. Elles ont recours aux achats de fourrage pour compenser la baisse des récoltes destinées aux stocks hivernaux, mais à des degrés divers selon la durée de l’hivernage. Pour les périodes de pâturage, les éleveurs de haute montagne et les systèmes laitiers des Alpes du nord jouent avant tout sur un système résistant grâce à l’agrandissement et au surdimensionnement des pâtures par rapport aux besoins du troupeau. Les exploitations pastorales des Alpes du sud misent aussi sur une diversité de surfaces et une certaine latitude dans la conduite technique pour s'adapter aux conditions de l'année. Une succession répétée d’années sèches pourrait se traduire par des ruptures plus radicales dans les systèmes d’élevage. Il faut aussi garder à l’esprit que le changement climatique n'est qu'un des facteurs influençant les modes de transformation des exploitations.Livestock farming systems in the French Alps are particularly exposed to the predicted climate change and most of them have already experienced periods of drought since the beginning of the 2000s. Faced with this risk, livestock farmers have put in place a certain number of measures and envisage introducing others in the future. For the present study, surveys were

Controls on Deep Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations in the European Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Crosta, Giovanni B.; Frattini, Paolo; Agliardi, Federico

2013-04-01

DSGSDs are very large, slow mass movements affecting entire high-relief valley slopes. The first orogen-scale inventory of such phenomena at has been recently presented for the European Alps (Crosta et al 2008, Agliardi et al 2012), and then further implemented. The inventory includes 1034 Deep Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations, widespread over the entire orogen and clustered along major valleys and in some specific sectors of the Alps. In this contribution we systematically explore lithological, structural and topographic controls on DSGSD distribution with the help of multivariate statistical techniques (Principal Component Analysis, Discriminant Analysis). Analysis units for statistical analysis were obtained by creating three square vector grids with 2.5 km, 5 km and 10 km grid cell size, respectively, covering the entire area (about 110,000 km2). For each grid cell, we calculated the density of DSGSD, and we assigned a value for each of the controlling variable considered in the analysis. From the NASA SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) DEM we derived land surface parameters, such as relief, slope gradients, slope aspect, mean vertical distance from base level and ruggedness. The SRTM DEM was also used to extract the drainage density, with a threshold of 1 km2 and 10 km2. We also computer the stream power of the 1km2 river network Lithology was obtained by assembling different geological maps (1:200.000 map of Salzburg, 1:250.000 map of France, 1:500.000 maps of Switzerland and Austria, 1:1.000.000 map of Italy) and by reclassifying the geological units into 8 lithological classes (carbonate rocks, metapelites, sandstones and marls, paragneiss, ortogneiss, flysch-type rocks, granitoid/metabasite, Quaternary units, and volcanic rocks). To study the role of seismicity, we calculated the number of earthquakes (CPTI11 and USGS-NEIC database) within a distance dmax from the square cell, calculated adopting Keefer's (1984) equation, and the sum of Arias

Industrial applications of solar energy: deserts, seas, the Alps; Les applications industrielles de l'energie solaire: du desert aux Alpes en passant par la mer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allani, Y.

2008-07-01

In this set of presentation slides, after a review of worldwide energy resources the author presents his innovative technical solution aimed at contributing to future energy supply. An extra-flat solar concentrator was developed to produce industrial steam in the temperature range 150 to 300 {sup o}C. A prototype was operated on the site of the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, for power generation at 12 kW{sub el}. In Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, the concept of the so-called Solar Island is to be tested. Construction work is underway. A floating circular platform will be equipped with parallel rows of extra-flat solar concentrators. The platform will rotate to follow the sun apparent movement and enhance the power output of the concentrators. A second project is presented that should be realised in the Swiss Alps. In this case the extra-flat concentrators will be mounted on existing steel constructions that prevent snow avalanches on steep grounds. The basic technical data of the two projects are given.

Metasomatic tourmalinite formation along basement-cover decollements, Orobic Alps, Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Slack, J.F.; Passchier, C.W.; Zhang, J.S.

1996-01-01

Cryptocrystalline tourmalinites that occur discontinuously for ???30 km along basement-cover de??collements of the Orohic Alps (Italy) formed by the metasomatism of aluminous cataclasites derived from Permian conglomerates and/or feldspathic sandstones. Using Al as an immobile element monitor, calculations show that the majority of tourmalinites in the region formed through the addition of moderate to significant amounts of B, Mg, Na, Sr, and Be, and the loss of moderate to significant Mn, Ca, K, P, Rb, Ba, and Cr; minor Si, Ti, V, light REE, and Eu also were lost. Data tor relatively immobile Al, Zr, Th, Sc, Nb, and heavy REE indicate that, on average, these tourmalinites formed through ???12% net mass loss assuming an original conglomerate protolith, or through ???7% net mass loss assuming a sandstone protolith. The B and other introduced constituents in the tourmalinites were deposited by hydrothermal fluids focused along and near basement-cover de??collements. These fluids, believed to be associated with late Hercynian felsic magmatism, probably are related to fluids that formed the tourmaline-rich U-Mo-Zn deposits at the nearby Novazza mine and the U-Zn deposits at the nearby Val Vedello mine.

Long-term analyses of snow dynamics within the french Alps on the 1900-2100 period. Analyses of historical snow water equivalent observations, modelisations and projections of a hundred of snow courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathevet, T.; Joel, G.; Gottardi, F.; Nemoz, B.

2017-12-01

The aim of this communication is to present analyses of climate variability and change on snow water equivalent (SWE) observations, reconstructions (1900-2016) and scenarii (2020-2100) of a hundred of snow courses dissiminated within the french Alps. This issue became particularly important since a decade, in regions where snow variability had a large impact on water resources availability, poor snow conditions in ski resorts and artificial snow production. As a water resources manager in french mountainuous regions, EDF (french hydropower company) has developed and managed a hydrometeorological network since 1950. A recent data rescue research allowed to digitize long term SWE manual measurments of a hundred of snow courses within the french Alps. EDF have been operating an automatic SWE sensors network, complementary to the snow course network. Based on numerous SWE observations time-series and snow accumulation and melt model (Garavaglia et al., 2017), continuous daily historical SWE time-series have been reconstructed within the 1950-2016 period. These reconstructions have been extented to 1900 using 20 CR reanalyses (ANATEM method, Kuentz et al., 2015) and up to 2100 using GIEC Climate Change scenarii. Considering various mountainous areas within the french Alps, this communication focuses on : (1) long term (1900-2016) analyses of variability and trend of total precipitation, air temperature, snow water equivalent, snow line altitude, snow season length , (2) long term variability of hydrological regime of snow dominated watersheds and (3) future trends (2020 -2100) using GIEC Climate Change scenarii. Comparing historical period (1950-1984) to recent period (1984-2016), quantitative results within a region in the north Alps (Maurienne) shows an increase of air temperature by 1.2 °C, an increase of snow line height by 200m, a reduction of SWE by 200 mm/year and a reduction of snow season length by 15 days. These analyses will be extended from north to south

Dating emplacement and evolution of the orogenic magmatism in the internal Western Alps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berger, Alfons; Thomsen, Tonny B.; Ovtcharova, Maria

2012-01-01

The Canavese Line in the Western Alps represents the position in the Alpine chain, where alkaline and calc-alkaline magmatism occur in close spatial and temporal association. In addition to available data on the alkaline Valle del Cervo Pluton, we present petrological and geochemical data...... on the Miagliano tonalite. The latter is of special interest, because it is located in the south-eastern side of the Canavese Line, in contrast to most Periadriatic Plutons. The dioritic to tonalitic rocks of the Miagliano Pluton represent an intermediate stage of a calc-alkaline differentiation, demonstrated...... by relics of two different pyroxenes as well as the texture of allanite. Hornblende barometry indicates pressures of similar to 0.46 GPa consistent with the presence of magmatic epidote. Field relationships between the two Plutons, the volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Biella Volcanic Suite...

Resonant laser power build-up in ALPS. A 'light-shining-through-walls' experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehret, Klaus; Ghazaryan, Samvel [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Frede, Maik [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (DE)] (and others)

2009-05-15

The ALPS collaboration runs a light-shining-through-walls (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into weakly interacting sub-eV particles (WISPs) inside of a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. In this paper we report on the first successful integration of a large-scale optical cavity to boost the available power for WISP production in this type of experiments. The key elements are a frequency tunable narrow line-width continuous wave laser acting as the primary light source and an electronic feed-back control loop to stabilize the power build-up. We describe and characterize our apparatus and demonstrate the data analysis procedures on the basis of a brief exemplary run. (orig.)

Rethinking Pumped Storage Hydropower in the European Alps: A Call for New Integrated Assessment Tools to Support the Energy Transition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Astrid Björnsen Gurung

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The European Alps are well positioned to contribute significantly to the energy transition. In addition to sites with above-average potential for wind and solar power, the “water towers” of Europe provide flexible, low-carbon power generation as well as energy storage. In the future, hydropower systems are expected to become more than mere electricity generators, serving a key role as flexible complements to intermittent power generators and as providers of large-scale seasonal and daily energy storage. Energy transition on national and European scales can be facilitated by expanding the capacity of pumped storage hydropower (PSHP plants. Yet the extension of hydropower production, in particular PSHP, remains controversial, primarily due to environmental concerns. Focusing on 2 Alpine countries, Austria and Switzerland, this paper provides a system view of hydropower production and energy storage in the Alps. It discusses advantages and drawbacks of various assessment tools and identifies gaps and needs for the integrated assessment of PSHP plants. It concludes that instruments that evaluate the impacts and sustainability of PSHP projects need to be developed, elaborated, and applied in a participatory manner, in order to promote public dialogue, increase social acceptance, and, ideally, encourage energy consumers to become advocates of a sustainable energy future.

Search for Spectral Irregularities due to Photon-Axionlike-Particle Oscillations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; Anderson, B.; Baldini, L.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bellazzini, R.; Bissaldi, E.; Blandford, R.D.; Mirabal, N.;

Uncertainty propagation for flood forecasting in the Alps: different views and impacts from MAP D-PHASE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. W. Rotach

2012-08-01

Full Text Available D-PHASE was a Forecast Demonstration Project of the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP related to the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP. Its goal was to demonstrate the reliability and quality of operational forecasting of orographically influenced (determined precipitation in the Alps and its consequences on the distribution of run-off characteristics. A special focus was, of course, on heavy-precipitation events.

The D-PHASE Operations Period (DOP ran from June to November~2007, during which an end-to-end forecasting system was operated covering many individual catchments in the Alps, with their water authorities, civil protection organizations or other end users. The forecasting system's core piece was a Visualization Platform where precipitation and flood warnings from some 30 atmospheric and 7 hydrological models (both deterministic and probabilistic and corresponding model fields were displayed in uniform and comparable formats. Also, meteograms, nowcasting information and end user communication was made available to all the forecasters, users and end users. D-PHASE information was assessed and used by some 50 different groups ranging from atmospheric forecasters to civil protection authorities or water management bodies.

In the present contribution, D-PHASE is briefly presented along with its outstanding scientific results and, in particular, the lessons learnt with respect to uncertainty propagation. A focus is thereby on the transfer of ensemble prediction information into the hydrological community and its use with respect to other aspects of societal impact. Objective verification of forecast quality is contrasted to subjective quality assessments during the project (end user workshops, questionnaires and some general conclusions concerning forecast demonstration projects are drawn.

Culturable yeasts in meltwaters draining from two glaciers in the Italian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Buzzini, Pietro; Turchetti, Benedetta; Diolaiuti, Guglielmina; D'Agata, Carlo; Martini, Alessandro; Smiraglia, Claudio

The meltwaters draining from two glaciers in the Italian Alps contain metabolically active yeasts isolable by culture-based laboratory procedures. The average number of culturable yeast cells in the meltwaters was 10 20 colony-forming units (CFU) L-1, whereas supraglacial stream waters originating from overlying glacier ice contained 80% of isolated strains (Cryptococcus spp. and Rhodotorula spp. were 33.3% and 17.8% of total strains, respectively). Culturable yeasts were psychrotolerant, predominantly obligate aerobes and able to degrade organic macromolecules (e.g. starch, esters, lipids, proteins). To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to report the presence of culturable yeasts in meltwaters originating from glaciers. On the basis of these results, it is reasonable to suppose that the viable yeasts observed in meltwaters derived predominantly from the subglacial zone and that they originated from the subglacial microbial community. Their metabolic abilities could contribute to the microbial activity occurring in subglacial environments.

Emergence of sandflies (Phlebotominae) in Austria, a Central European country.

Science.gov (United States)

Poeppl, Wolfgang; Obwaller, Adelheid G; Weiler, Martin; Burgmann, Heinz; Mooseder, Gerhard; Lorentz, Susanne; Rauchenwald, Friedrich; Aspöck, Horst; Walochnik, Julia; Naucke, Torsten J

2013-12-01

The possible existence of autochthonous sandfly populations in Central Europe north of the Alps has long been excluded. However, in the past years, sandflies have been documented in Germany, Belgium, and recently, also in Austria, close to the Slovenian border. Moreover, autochthonous human Leishmania and Phlebovirus infections have been reported in Central Europe, particularly in Germany. From 2010 to 2012, sandfly trapping (740 trap nights) was performed at 53 different capture sites in Austria using battery-operated CDC miniature light traps. Sites were chosen on the basis of their climate profile in the federal states Styria, Burgenland, and Lower Austria. Sandfly specimens found were transferred to 70% ethanol for conservation. Identification was based on morphological characters of the male genitalia and the female spermathecae, respectively. Altogether, 24 specimens, 22 females and 2 males, all identified as Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus) mascittii Grassi, 1908, were found at six different sampling sites in all three federal states investigated. The highest number of catches was made on a farm in Lower Austria. Altogether, the period of sandfly activity in Austria was shown to be much longer than presumed, the earliest capture was made on July 3rd and the latest on August 28th. Sandflies have been autochthonous in Austria in small foci probably for long, but in the course of global warming, further spreading may be expected. Although P. mascittii is only an assumed vector of Leishmania spp.-data on its experimental transmission capacity are still lacking-the wide distribution of sandflies in Austria, a country thought to be free of sandflies, further supports a potential emergence of sandflies in Central Europe. This is of medical relevance, not only with respect to the transmission of Leishmania spp. for which a reservoir is given in dogs, but also with respect to the phleboviruses.

Reconstructing temperatures in the Maritime Alps, Italy, since the Last Glacial Maximum using cosmogenic noble gas paleothermometry

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Marissa; Spagnolo, Matteo; Ribolini, Adriano; Shuster, David

2016-04-01

The Gesso Valley, located in the southwestern-most, Maritime portion of the European Alps, contains an exceptionally well-preserved record of glacial advances during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Detailed geomorphic mapping, geochronology of glacial deposits, and glacier reconstructions indicate that glaciers in this Mediterranean region responded to millennial scale climate variability differently than glaciers in the interior of the European Alps. This suggests that the Mediterranean Sea somehow modulated the climate of this region. However, since glaciers respond to changes in temperature and precipitation, both variables were potentially influenced by proximity to the Sea. To disentangle the competing effects of temperature and precipitation changes on glacier size, we are constraining past temperature variations in the Gesso Valley since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) using cosmogenic noble gas paleothermometry. The cosmogenic noble gases 3He and 21Ne experience diffusive loss from common minerals like quartz and feldspars at Earth surface temperatures. Cosmogenic noble gas paleothermometry utilizes this open-system behavior to quantitatively constrain thermal histories of rocks during exposure to cosmic ray particles at the Earth's surface. We will present measurements of cosmogenic 3He in quartz sampled from moraines in the Gesso Valley with LGM, Bühl stadial, and Younger Dryas ages. With these 3He measurements and experimental data quantifying the diffusion kinetics of 3He in quartz, we will provide a preliminary temperature reconstruction for the Gesso Valley since the LGM. Future work on samples from younger moraines in the valley system will be used to fill in details of the more recent temperature history.

Declining effect of warm temperature on spring phenology of tree species at low elevation in the Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Asse, Daphné; Randin, Christophe; Chuine, Isabelle

2017-04-01

Mountain regions are particularly exposed to climate change and temperature. In the Alps increased twice faster than in the northern hemisphere during the 20th century. As an immediate response, spring phenological phases of plant species such as budburst and flowering, have tended to occur earlier. In 2004, the CREA (Centre de Recherches sur les Ecosystèmes d'Altitude, Chamonix, France) initiated the citizen science program Phenoclim, which aims at assessing the long-term effects of climate changes on plant phenology over the entire French Alps. Sixty sites with phenological observations were equipped with temperature stations across a large elevational gradient. Here we used phenological records for five tree species (birch, ash, hazel, spruce and larch) combined with measurements or projections of temperature. We first tested the effects of geographic and topo-climatic factors on the timing of spring phenological phases. We then tested the hypothesis that a lack of chilling temperature during winter delayed dormancy release and subsequently spring phenological phases. Our data are currently being used to calibrate process-based phenological models to test to which extent soil temperature and photoperiod affect the timing of spring phenological phases. We found that growing degree-days was the best predictor of the timing of spring phenological phases, with a significant contribution of chilling. Our results also suggest that spring phenological phases were consistently delayed at low elevation by a lack of chilling in fall during warm years for the three deciduous species. Key words: Spring phenology, elevation gradients, citizen science, empirical and process-based modeling

Migration and population expansion of Abies, Fagus, Picea, and Quercus since 15000 years in and across the Alps, based on pollen-percentage threshold values

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knaap, W.O. van der; Leeuwen, J.F.N. van; Finsinger, W.; Gobet, E.; Pini, R.; Schweizer, A.; Valsecchi, V.; Ammann, B.

2005-01-01

Aims: The aim of this study is to explore the migration (colonization of new areas) and subsequent population expansion (within an area) since 15 ka cal BP of Abies, Fagus, Picea, and Quercus into and through the Alps solely on the basis of high-quality pollen data. Methods: Chronologies of 101

Summer mistral at the exit of the Rhône valley

Science.gov (United States)

Drobinski, P.; Bastin, S.; Guenard, V.; Caccia, J. L.; Dabas, A. M.; Delville, P.; Protat, A.; Reitebuch, O.; Werner, C.

2005-01-01

The paper examines the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of the mistral at the Rhône valley exit on 28 June 2001. The mistral refers to a severe wind that develops along the Rhône valley in southern France. This summer mistral event was documented in the framework of the ESCOMPTE field experiment. The dynamical processes driving the circulation of the mistral in the Rhône valley and particularly wake formation and planetary boundary layer (PBL) inhomogeneity at the scale of Rhône valley delta are investigated. Several important data sources are used (airborne Doppler lidar, radiosondes and surface stations) as well as non-hydrostatic mesoscale simulations. This paper analyses experimentally, numerically and theoretically the mechanism of wake formation. It shows that the flow impinging on the Alpine range and the Massif Central becomes supercritical all along the ridge line, including the Rhône valley and continues to accelerate in the lee regions until a hydraulic jump occurs. It leads to the formation of wakes behind and close to the mountain peaks. Compared to the Massif Central wake, the origin of the western Alps wake is rather complicated. In this study, the observations and simulations suggest a combined wall separation/gravity wave breaking mechanism to explain the western Alps wake. Indeed, it is shown that in addition to the flow descending the western Alps slopes and experiencing a strong hydraulic jump, the point where the mistral flow separates from the eastern flank of the Rhône valley located at about 44°N is associated with a 'flank-shock' which is an oblique hydraulic jump (i.e.the downstream Froude number is supercritical). Wake formation in the lee of the Alps and the Massif Central causes large inhomogeneity of the PBL with differences between land and sea. In the Massif Central and western Alps wakes, the continental PBL is deeper (1.8 km) than in the mistral flow (1 km), which is consistent with a subcritical regime associated

10Be exposure age chronology of the last glaciation of the Roháčská Valley in the Western Tatra Mountains, central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, Zbyněk; Mentlík, Pavel; Braucher, Régis; Křížek, Marek; Pluháčková, Markéta; Arnold, Maurice; Aumaître, Georges; Bourlès, Didier; Keddadouche, Karim; Aster Team; Arnold, Maurice; Aumaître, Georges; Bourlès, Didier; Keddadouche, Karim

2017-09-01

10Be exposure ages from moraines and bedrock sites in the Roháčská Valley provide chronology of the last glaciation in the largest valley of the Western Tatra Mts., the Western Carpathians. The minimum apparent exposure age of 19.4 ± 2.1 ka obtained for the oldest sampled boulder and the mean age of 18.0 ± 0.8 ka calculated for the terminal moraine indicate that the oldest preserved moraine was probably deposited at the time of the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The age of this moraine coincides with the termination of the maximum glacier expansion in other central European ranges, including the adjacent High Tatra Mts. and the Alps. The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the LGM glacier in the Roháčská Valley, estimated at 1400-1410 m a.s.l., was 50-80 m lower than in the eastern part of the range, indicating a positive ELA gradient from west to east among the north-facing glaciers in the Tatra Mts. Lateglacial glacier expansion occurred no later than 13.4 ± 0.5 ka and 11.9 ± 0.5 ka, as indicated by the mean exposure ages calculated for re-advance moraines. This timing is consistent with the exposure age chronology of the last Lateglacial re-advance in the High Tatra Mts., Alps and lower mountain ranges in central Europe. The ELA in the Roháčská Valley estimated at 1690-1770 m a.s.l. in this period was located 130-300 m lower than in the north-facing valleys in the High Tatra Mts. 10Be exposure ages obtained for a rock glacier constrains the timing of this landform stabilization in the Salatínska Valley and provides the first chronological evidence for the Lateglacial activity of rock glaciers in the Carpathians.

Exhumation history of the NW Indian Himalaya revealed by fission track and 40Ar/39Ar ages

Science.gov (United States)

Schlup, Micha; Steck, Albrecht; Carter, Andrew; Cosca, Michael; Epard, Jean-Luc; Hunziker, Johannes

2011-01-01

New fission track and Ar/Ar geochronological data provide time constraints on the exhumation history of the Himalayan nappes in the Mandi (Beas valley) — Tso Morari transect of the NW Indian Himalaya. Results from this and previous studies suggest that the SW-directed North Himalayan nappes were emplaced by detachment from the underthrusted upper Indian crust by 55 Ma and metamorphosed by ca. 48–40 Ma. The nappe stack was subsequently exhumed to shallow upper crustal depths (

Eclogitic metatrondhjemites from metaophiolites of the Western Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Silvana; Tartarotti, Paola; Meyzen, Chrstine; Benciolini, Luca; Toffolo, Luca

2016-04-01

Eclogitic metatrondhjemites from metaophiolites of the Western Alps Martin S.**, Tartarotti P.*, Meyzen C. **, Benciolini L.***, Toffolo L. ** *Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano ** Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova *** Dipartimento di Chimica, Fisica e Ambiente, Università di Udine In the Urtier valley (southern Aosta Valley, Italy), the Piemonte metaophiolites mainly consist of serpentinized peridotites including pods and boudinaged layers of Fe-metagabbro and trondhjemite transposed in the main eclogitic foliation. The contact between serpentinized peridotites and Fe-metagabbro/trondhjemite is locally lined by chloriteschist and rodingite. The high pressure parageneses in the Fe-metagabbro are omphacite-garnet-rutile-glaucophane-phengite, and in the metatrondhjemite plagioclase-quartz-phengite-clinozoisite-epidote-garnet, respectively. Bulk-rock major and trace elements in addition to O isotope analyses were performed in both rock types. Fe-metagabbros are characterized by MgO wt% ranging between 6.11 and 9.63%, ∑REE= 20-101 ppm, (La/Yb)N = 0.22-0.91; trondhjemites have SiO2 43%, Al2O3 ranging between 21 and 24%, CaO ranging between 17 and 20%, ∑REE = 172 - 272 ppm, (La/Yb)N ranging between 7.78 and 13.70. The δ18O is 5.9 ‰ in a Fe-metagabbro sample and 7.4 ‰ in a trondhjemite sample, suggesting that these rocks have been affected by a weak oceanic low temperature alteration. The high CaO content may indicate a metasomatic process which could have occurred during the oceanic stage or at high pressure conditions.

Piedmont seismic reflection study: A program integrated with tectonics to probe the cause of eastern seismicity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glover, L. III; Coruh, C.; Costain, J.K.; Bollinger, G.A. (Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences)

1992-03-01

A new tectonic model of the Appalachian orogen indicates that one, not two or more, terrane boundaries is present in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge of the central and southern Appalachians. This terrane boundary is the Taconic suture, it has been transported in the allochthonous Blue Ridge/Piedmont crystalline thrust nappe, and it is repeated at the surface by faulting and folding associated with later Paleozoic orogenies. The suture passes through the lower crust and lithosphere somewhere east of Richmond. It is spatially associated with seismicity in the central Virginia seismic zone, but is not conformable with earthquake focal planes and appears to have little causal relation to their localization.

Kinematic analysis of the Migif area in the Eastern Desert of Egypt

Science.gov (United States)

Kassem, Osama M. K.

2014-11-01

The use of porphyroclasts rotating in a flowing matrix to estimate mean kinematic vorticity number (Wm) is important for quantifying the relative contributions of pure and simple shear in penetratively deformed rocks. The kinematic vorticity number determined for high temperature mylonitic gneisses in the Migif area in the Eastern Desert of Egypt range from ∼0.6 to 0.9. The results from vorticity and strain analyses indicate that deformation in the area deviated from simple shear. It is concluded that nappe stacking occurred early during the thrusting event, probably by brittle imbrications, and that ductile strain was superimposed on the nappe structure at high-pressure as shown by a penetrative subhorizontal foliation is developed subparallel to the tectonic contacts with the under- and overlying nappes. The accumulation of ductile strain during underplating was not by simple shear but involved a component of vertical shortening, which caused the subhorizontal foliation in the Migif area. In most cases, this foliation was formed during thrusting of the nappes onto each other, suggesting that nappe stacking was associated with vertical shortening.

AlpArray - technical strategies for large-scale European co-operation in broadband seismology

Science.gov (United States)

Brisbourne, A.; Clinton, J.; Hetenyi, G.; Pequegnat, C.; Wilde-Piorko, M.; Villasenor, A.; Comelli, P.; AlpArray Working Group

2012-04-01

AlpArray is a new initiative to study the greater Alpine area with a large-scale broadband seismological network. The interested parties (currently 32 institutes in 12 countries) plan to combine their existing infrastructures into an all-out transnational effort that includes data acquisition, processing, imaging and interpretation. The experiment will encompass the greater Alpine area, from the Black Forest in the north to the Northern Apennines in the south and from the Pannonian Basin in the east to the French Massif Central in the west. We aim to cover this region with high-quality broadband seismometers by combining the ~400 existing permanent stations with an additional 400+ instruments from mobile pools. In this way, we plan to achieve homogeneous and high resolution coverage while also deploying densely spaced stations along swaths across key parts of the Alpine chain. These efforts on land will be combined with deployments of ocean bottom seismometers in the Mediterranean Sea. Significant progress has already been made in outlining the scientific goals and funding strategy. A brief overview of these aspects of the initiative will be presented here. However, we will concentrate on the technical aspects: How efficient large-scale integration of existing infrastructures can be achieved. Existing permanent station coverage within the greater Alpine area has been collated and assessed for data availability, allowing strategies to be developed for network densification to ensure a robust backbone network: An anticipated deployment strategy has been drawn up to optimise array coverage and data quality. The augmented backbone network will be supplemented by more densely spaced temporary arrays targeting more specific scientific questions. For these temporary arrays, a strategy document has been produced to outline standards for station installation, data acquisition, processing, archival and dissemination. All these operations are of course vital. However, data

Winter precipitation effect in a mid-latitude temperature-limited environment: the case of common juniper at high elevation in the Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellizzari, Elena; Pividori, Mario; Carrer, Marco

2014-01-01

Common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) is by far the most widespread conifer in the world. However, tree-ring research dealing with this species is still scarce, mainly due to the difficulty in crossdating associated with the irregular stem shape with strip-bark growth form in older individuals and the high number of missing and wedging rings. Given that many different species of the same genus have been successfully used in tree-ring investigations and proved to be reliable climate proxies, this study aims to (i) test the possibility to successfully apply dendrochronological techniques on common juniper growing above the treeline and (ii) verify the climate sensitivity of the species with special regard to winter precipitation, a climatic factor that generally does not affect tree-ring growth in all Alpine high-elevation tree species. Almost 90 samples have been collected in three sites in the central and eastern Alps, all between 2100 and 2400 m in elevation. Despite cross-dating difficulties, we were able to build a reliable chronology for each site, each spanning over 200 years. Climate-growth relationships computed over the last century highlight that juniper growth is mainly controlled by the amount of winter precipitation. The high variability of the climate-growth associations among sites, corresponds well to the low spatial dependence of this meteorological factor. Fairly long chronologies and the presence of a significant precipitation signal open up the possibility to reconstruct past winter precipitation. (letter)

Diversity of bacteria producing pigmented colonies in aerosol, snow and soil samples from remote glacial areas (Antarctica, Alps and Andes)

OpenAIRE

González-Toril , E.; Amils , R.; Delmas , R. J.; Petit , J.-R.; Komárek , J.; Elster , J.

2008-01-01

Four different communities and one culture of pigmented microbial assemblages were obtained by incubation in mineral medium of samples collected from high elevation snow in the Alps (Mt. Blanc area) and the Andes (Nevado Illimani summit, Bolivia), from Antarctic aerosol (French station Dumont d'Urville) and a maritime Antarctic soil (King George Island, South Shetlands, Uruguay Station Artigas). Molecular analysis of more than 200 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that all cultured cells be...

Postglacial recolonization in a cold climate specialist in western Europe: patterns of genetic diversity in the adder (Vipera berus) support the central-marginal hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ursenbacher, Sylvain; Guillon, Michaël; Cubizolle, Hervé; Dupoué, Andréaz; Blouin-Demers, Gabriel; Lourdais, Olivier

2015-07-01

Understanding the impact of postglacial recolonization on genetic diversity is essential in explaining current patterns of genetic variation. The central-marginal hypothesis (CMH) predicts a reduction in genetic diversity from the core of the distribution to peripheral populations, as well as reduced connectivity between peripheral populations. While the CMH has received considerable empirical support, its broad applicability is still debated and alternative hypotheses predict different spatial patterns of genetic diversity. Using microsatellite markers, we analysed the genetic diversity of the adder (Vipera berus) in western Europe to reconstruct postglacial recolonization. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) analyses suggested a postglacial recolonization from two routes: a western route from the Atlantic Coast up to Belgium and a central route from the Massif Central to the Alps. This cold-adapted species likely used two isolated glacial refugia in southern France, in permafrost-free areas during the last glacial maximum. Adder populations further from putative glacial refugia had lower genetic diversity and reduced connectivity; therefore, our results support the predictions of the CMH. Our study also illustrates the utility of highly variable nuclear markers, such as microsatellites, and ABC to test competing recolonization hypotheses. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Statistically extrapolated nowcasting of summertime precipitation over the Eastern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Min; Bica, Benedikt; Tüchler, Lukas; Kann, Alexander; Wang, Yong

2017-07-01

This paper presents a new multiple linear regression (MLR) approach to updating the hourly, extrapolated precipitation forecasts generated by the INCA (Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis) system for the Eastern Alps. The generalized form of the model approximates the updated precipitation forecast as a linear response to combinations of predictors selected through a backward elimination algorithm from a pool of predictors. The predictors comprise the raw output of the extrapolated precipitation forecast, the latest radar observations, the convective analysis, and the precipitation analysis. For every MLR model, bias and distribution correction procedures are designed to further correct the systematic regression errors. Applications of the MLR models to a verification dataset containing two months of qualified samples, and to one-month gridded data, are performed and evaluated. Generally, MLR yields slight, but definite, improvements in the intensity accuracy of forecasts during the late evening to morning period, and significantly improves the forecasts for large thresholds. The structure-amplitude-location scores, used to evaluate the performance of the MLR approach, based on its simulation of morphological features, indicate that MLR typically reduces the overestimation of amplitudes and generates similar horizontal structures in precipitation patterns and slightly degraded location forecasts, when compared with the extrapolated nowcasting.

Age and significance of core complex formation in a very curved orogen: Evidence from fission track studies in the South Carpathians (Romania)

Science.gov (United States)

Fügenschuh, B.; Schmid, S. M.

2005-07-01

Twenty-four new zircon and apatite fission track ages from the Getic and Danubian nappes in the South Carpathians are discussed in the light of a compilation of published fission track data. A total of 101 fission track ages indicates that the Getic nappes are generally characterized by Cretaceous zircon and apatite fission track ages, indicating cooling to near-surface temperatures of these units immediately following Late Cretaceous orogeny. The age distribution of the Danubian nappes, presently outcropping in the Danubian window below the Getic nappes, depends on the position with respect to the Cerna-Jiu fault. Eocene and Oligocene zircon and apatite central ages from the part of the Danubian core complex situated southeast of this fault monitor mid-Tertiary tectonic exhumation in the footwall of the Getic detachment, while zircon fission track data from northwest of this fault indicate that slow cooling started during the Latest Cretaceous. The change from extension (Getic detachment) to strike-slip dominated tectonics along the curved Cerna-Jiu fault allowed for further exhumation on the concave side of this strike-slip fault, while exhumation ceased on the convex side. The available fission track data consistently indicate that the change to fast cooling associated with tectonic denudation by core complex formation did not occur before Late Eocene times, i.e. long after the cessation of Late Cretaceous thrusting. Core complex formation in the Danubian window is related to a larger-scale scenario that is characterized by the NNW-directed translation, followed by a 90° clockwise rotation of the Tisza-Dacia "block" due to roll-back of the Carpathian embayment. This led to a complex pattern of strain partitioning within the Tisza-Dacia "block" adjacent to the western tip of the rigid Moesian platform. Our results suggest that the invasion of these southernmost parts of Tisza-Dacia started before the Late Eocene, i.e. significantly before the onset of Miocene

Performances of an expanding insect under elevated CO{sub 2} and snow cover in the Alps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Battisti, B.; Petrucco-Toffolo, E. [University of Padova, Legnaro (Italy). Dept. of Environmental Agronomy

2008-09-30

Variations of phenology and distribution have been recently highlighted in numerous insect species and attributed to climate change, particularly the increase of temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). Both have been shown to have direct and indirect effects on insect species of various ecosystems, though the responses are often species-specific. The pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Lepidoptera, Notodontidae) is an important pest of conifers in the Mediterranean region, and has been recently shown to expand its altitudinal range in the Alps, including the mountain pine Pinus mugo as a novel host. We had the opportunity to transplant colonies of the pine processionary moth to a high elevation site well outside of the current range of the insect (Stillberg, Davos, Switzerland, 2180 m), where trees of the mountain pine have been grown for five years under ambient and elevated CO{sub 2} concentrations (ca. 570 ppm). The aim of the study was to evaluate the response of first instar larvae to extreme conditions of temperature and to an altered performance induced by the change of host metabolism under elevated CO{sub 2}. Larval mortality and relative growth rate did not differ between host trees grown in ambient or elevated CO{sub 2}. As extended snow cover may be an important mortality factor of larval colonies on the dwarf trees of mountain pine, we tested the survival of colonies transplanted at two extreme sites of Eastern Alps. The snow cover extended over more than one month proved to be an important mortality factor of larval colonies on mountain pine. We concluded that the first instar larvae of the pine processionary moth are not concerned by unusually low temperature and CO{sub 2} increase whereas they can be later strongly affected by snow accumulation. The decrease of snow cover observed in the last decades, however, may reduce such a risk.

Discovery of a landscape-wide drape of late-glacial aeolian silt in the western Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria): First results and implications

Science.gov (United States)

Gild, Charlotte; Geitner, Clemens; Sanders, Diethard

2018-01-01

Aeolian deposits record palaeoenvironmental conditions and may coin soil properties. Whereas periglacial loess is extensively investigated for 200 years, the study of the intramontane wind-blown deposits of the Alps has just stuttered along. Herein, we describe a drape of polymictic siliciclastic silt interpreted as an aeolian deposit that veneers extensive areas in the western Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA), from kames terraces near valley floors up to last-glacial nunataks. The NCA - part of the Eastern Alps mountain range - consist mainly of Triassic carbonate rocks; these are overlain by deposits of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and its deglacial-paraglacial aftermath (e.g., glacial tills, fluvio-lacustrine successions, alluvial fans, scree slopes) - and a regional drape of polymictic silt newly described herein. The drape is typically a few decimeters in thickness and slightly modified by soil formation; it consists mainly of well-sorted silt of quartz, feldspars, phyllosilicates (muscovite, chlorite, biotite), amphiboles and, rarely, calcite or dolomite. The drape is unrelated to the substrate: it overlies carbonate bedrock and - in lateral continuity - abandoned deposystems such as colluvial slopes of redeposited till, kames, alluvial fans, scree slopes, and rock avalanche deposits. The drape was spotted from near the present valley floors up to LGM nunataks, over a vertical range of some 2000 m; it is also present in catchments of the NCA that were not overridden by far-travelled ice streams and that lack metamorphic rock fragments. Two OSL quartz ages of the drape from two distinct locations (18.77 ± 1.55 ka; 17.81 ± 1.68 ka) fall into the early Alpine late-glacial interval shortly after the collapse of pleniglacial ice streams; this fits with geological and geomorphological evidence, respectively, that the drape should be of early late-glacial age, and that it accumulated during a specific interval of time. In the NCA, localized minor deposition of

Long-lived large-scale deformation under Central and Western Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Qorbani, Ehsan; Bokelmann, Götz

2016-04-01

We investigate the past and present-day deformation pattern under Central and Western Europe through seismic anisotropy. We use all SK(K)S splitting results that have been so far presented for this region and compile an image of upper mantle deformation. A large-scale deformation pattern emerges where NE-SW fast orientations under the Aegean are smoothly changing to NW-SE beneath the Hellenides-Dinarides conjunction. NW-SE is the dominant pattern under the whole Carpathian-Pannonian region. Towards Bohemia, the pattern rotates to E-W. The rotation continues until the Rhine valley, and it continues further within the Alps, all the way to Southern France. Outside the Alpine-deformation-influenced region, we observe a jump in fast orientation, between the Ardennes and the Massif Central in France, where the fast axis orientation is back to NW-SE. That anisotropy pattern may correlate with the arcuate shape of Variscan orogeny. It agrees with the Rheic suture line, and the boarders of two main tectonic units of European Variscides, Saxothuringian and Muldanubian. Previous studies on upper mantle anisotropy have interpreted and related such pattern mainly to frozen-in deformation from the past tectonic episodes. This has so far remained ambiguous though. Here we assess the relation between deformation at depth and shallower structure, as evidenced by stress field and topography. We discuss the presence of a long-lived large-scale upper mantle deformation, which has been acting ever since the Cambrian in different orogenic phases (Caledonian, Variscan, Alpine).

Endemic harvestmen and spiders of Austria (Arachnida: Opiliones, Araneae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Komposch, Christian

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A comprehensive overview of plant, fungus and animal species of Austria revealed a total of 748 endemic and subendemic species, including, 11 harvestman and 46 spider species. Altogether two endemic harvestmen (Nemastoma bidentatum relictum, Nemastoma schuelleri and 8 endemic spiders (Abacoproeces molestus, Collinsia (caliginosa nemenziana, Mughiphantes severus, Mughiphantes styriacus, Pelecopsis alpica, Scotophaeus nanus, Troglohyphantes novicordis, Troglohyphantes tauriscus, beside 9 subendemic harvestman and 38 subendemic spider species have been recorded from Austria. Hot-spots of endemism in the Eastern Alps are the north-eastern (Ennstaler Alps and southern Calcareous Alps (Karawanken, Karnische Alps and the Central Alps (Hohe Tauern, Gurktaler Alps, Ötztaler and Stubaier Alps. Most of the endemic arachnid species occur from the nival down to the montane zone. Important habitats are rocky areas, caves and woodlands. High absolute numbers and percentages of endemics can be found within the harvestman families Cladonychiidae, Ischyropsalididae and Nemastomatidae and in the spider genera Lepthyphantes s. l. and Troglohyphantes. The conservation status of these highly endangered taxa – 85 % of the spider species and 100 % of the harvestman taxa are endangered in Austria – is poor.

Monitoring of forest decline in forest ecosystems of the Bavarian Alps; Monitoring von Schaeden in Waldoekosystemen des bayerischen Alpenraumes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rehfuess, K.E.; Osswald, W.F.; Ewald, J.; Reuther, M. [Technische Univ. Muenchen (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Bodenkunde und Standortslehre; Nechwatal, J.; Lang, K. [Technische Univ. Muenchen (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Forstbotanik - Arbeitsgruppe Phytopathologie

2000-09-01

This regional multifactorial investigation addresses the dependence of vitality of Norway spruce and European beech (crown transparency, site index, root systems and nutritional status) on ecological factors and the presence of pathogens in mountain forests of the Bavarian Alps (Germany). Existing data on airborne deposition and ozone concentrations were supplemented by 2 elevational transects, in which wet bulk deposition was measured and ozone passive samplers were exposed during 2 vegetation periods. The distribution of crown transparency in spruce and beech as related to site conditions and its relationships with long-term stand growth, nutritional status and root morphology suggest that transparent crowns as observed in the Calcareous Alps are nothing new and unlikely to be caused by atmospheric pollution. Their distribution must be regarded as an old, long-lasting and natural pattern of tree vitality. (orig.) [German] Es wurde die Abhaengigkeit der Vitalitaet von Fichten und Buchen (Kronentransparenz, Bestandesbonitaet, Wurzel- und Ernaehrungszustand) in den Bergwaeldern des Werdenfelser Landes (Oberbayern) von Standortsfaktoren und vom Befall durch pilzliche Pathogene mit einem regionalstatistischen, multifaktoriellen Ansatz untersucht. Vorhandene Daten zu Stoffeintrag und Ozonbelastung wurden durch eine zweijaehrige Beprobung des Freilandniederschlags und Ozon-Passivsammler-Messungen in zwei Hoehenprofilen ergaenzt. Die standortbezogene Verteilung der Kronentransparenz und ihre Beziehungen zum langfristigen Bestandeswachstum, zum Ernaehrungs- und Wurzelzustand legen nahe, dass es sich in den Kalkalpen nicht um neuartige, immissionsbedingte Waldschaeden, sondern um seit Alters her bestehende, natuerliche Vitalitaetsunterschiede handelt. (orig.)

6-kyr record of flood frequency and intensity in the western Mediterranean Alps - Interplay of solar and temperature forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Sabatier, Pierre; Wilhelm, Bruno; Ficetola, Gentile Francesco; Moiroux, Fanny; Poulenard, Jérôme; Develle, Anne-Lise; Bichet, Adeline; Chen, Wentao; Pignol, Cécile; Reyss, Jean-Louis; Gielly, Ludovic; Bajard, Manon; Perrette, Yves; Malet, Emmanuel; Taberlet, Pierre; Arnaud, Fabien

2017-08-01

The high-resolution sedimentological and geochemical analysis of a sediment sequence from Lake Savine (Western Mediterranean Alps, France) led to the identification of 220 event layers for the last 6000 years. 200 were triggered by flood events and 20 by underwater mass movements possibly related to earthquakes that occurred in 5 clusters of increase seismicity. Because human activity could influence the flood chronicle, the presence of pastures was reconstructed through ancient DNA, which suggested that the flood chronicle was mainly driven by hydroclimate variability. Weather reanalysis of historical floods allow to identify that mesoscale precipitation events called "East Return" events were the main triggers of floods recorded in Lake Savine. The first part of this palaeoflood record (6-4 kyr BP) was characterized by increases in flood frequency and intensity in phase with Northern Alpine palaeoflood records. By contrast, the second part of the record (i.e., since 4 kyr BP) was phased with Southern Alpine palaeoflood records. These results suggest a palaeohydrological transition at approximately 4 kyr BP, as has been previously described for the Mediterranean region. This may have resulted in a change of flood-prone hydro-meteorological processes, i.e., in the balance between occurrence and intensity of local convective climatic phenomena and their influence on Mediterranean mesoscale precipitation events in this part of the Alps. At a centennial timescale, increases in flood frequency and intensity corresponded to periods of solar minima, affecting climate through atmospheric changes in the Euro-Atlantic sector.

Evidence for potential impacts of ozone on Pinus cembra L. at mountain sites in Europe: An overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wieser, G.; Manning, W.J.; Tausz, M.; Bytnerowicz, A.

2006-01-01

We summarize what is known about the impact of ozone (O 3 ) on Pinus cembra in the timberline ecotone of the central European Alps and the Carpathian Mountains. In the central European Alps exposure to ambient and two-fold ambient O 3 throughout one growing season did neither cause any visible injury nor affect the photosynthetic machinery and biochemical parameters in current to 1-year-old needles. By contrast, in the southern French Alps and in the Carpathians 1-year-old needles of Pinus cembra trees showed visual symptoms similar to those observed in O 3 stressed pine stands in southern California. For the southern French Alps the observed symptoms could clearly be attributed O 3 and differences in O 3 uptake seems to be the likely key factor for explaining the observed decline. For the Carpathians however, other reasons such as drought may not be excluded in eliciting the observed symptoms. Thus, the action of O 3 has always to be evaluated in concert with other environmental impacts, determining the tree's sensitivity to stress. - An overview of ozone effects on Pinus cembra an important European coniferous tree species in the timberline ecotone

Cold-season temperature in the Swiss Alps from AD 1100-1500; trends, intra-annual variability and forcing factors

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Rixt; Kamenik, Christian; Grosjean, Martin

2010-05-01

To fully understand past climatic changes and their forcing factors, detailed reconstructions of past summer and winter temperatures are required. Winter temperature reconstructions are scarce, however, because most biological proxies are biased towards the growing season. This study presents a detailed reconstruction of winter temperatures based on Chrysophyte stomatocysts, silicious scales formed by so-called 'golden algae'. Previous studies (Kamenik and Schmidt, 2005; Pla and Catalan, 2005) have demonstrated the sensitivity of these algae to cold-season temperatures. Chrysophyte stomatocyst analysis was carried out on varved sediments from Lake Silvaplana (1791 m a.s.l.) at annual to near-annual resolution for two periods; AD 1100-1500 and AD 1870-2004. For both periods the reference date 'date of spring mixing' (Smix) was reconstructed using a transfer function developed for the Austrian Alps (Kamenik and Schmidt, 2005). In the Austrian Alps, Smix was primarily driven by air temperature in the cold season. The strength of stomatocysts as a proxy for winter temperature was tested by directly comparing reconstructed Smix with measured temperatures from nearby meteostation Sils Maria for the period AD 1870 - 2004. Correlation was highest (R = -0.6; p number of eruptions during the much shorter instrumental period (Fischer et al., 2007). References: T. Crowley. Science 289, 270-277 (2000) E. Fischer et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L05707 (2007) C. Kamenik and R. Schmidt. Boreas 34, 477-489 (2005) I. Larocque-Tobler et al. Quat. Sci. Rev., accepted. S. Pla and J. Catalan. Clim. Dyn. 24, 263-278 (2005) M. Trachsel et al. Manuscript in review

U.S. Assessment of advanced limiter-divertor plasma-facing systems (ALPS) design, analysis, and R and D needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattas, R. F.

1998-01-01

The purpose of the ALPS program is to identify and evaluate advanced limiter/diverter systems that will enhance the attractiveness of fusion power. The highest priority goals at present are achieving high power density, up to 50 MW/m 2 , and showing compatibility of plasma-facing surfaces with plasma operation. Personnel representing a wide range of disciplines from a number of institutions are engaged in the program, where an evaluation phase of the program is planned for three years. Successful identification of promising concepts in the evaluation phase should lead to an R and D phase that includes proof-of-principle experiments

CLIM-RUN: Tourism cas study over the French Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Dubois, C.

2012-04-01

Climate information for societal use has becoming a major challenge for tourism management and adaptation in a context of strong climate variability and change. Within the CLIMRUN EU FP7, a case study on summer tourism in the French Alps has been identify. I will introduce the bottom-up approach use in the project where stakeholders and local users meet with climate experts. From those meetings, they thus identify the climate dependence and information which impact their summer activities over this region. All the activities are located in a mountainous region where outdoor leisure is the main economic driver of the region. It has emerged that the climate requirements are as well on past as on future climate information. On one side, the past climate parameters are found to be an invaluable information to evaluate the climate dependence of the different activities. A better knowledge as well as a growing interest in climate variability has been express to quantify the climate dependence on their activities. On the other side, the future climate information requested mainly on seasonal to decadal timescale. A particular interest has been express on the snow cover at the end of the winter season, evolution of heavy precipitations, heatwave, air temperatures and well as the water temperature of the mountainous lakes. Those climate variables are used to create comfort index under climate change. All those targeted climate information are based on on-going projects as well as future model development.

The pre-Cenozoic evolution of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania) in the light of new (thermo)geochronological data

Science.gov (United States)

Reiser, Martin; Schuster, Ralf; Spikings, Richard; Tropper, Peter; Fügenschuh, Bernhard

2013-04-01

The Apuseni Mountains in Romania occupy a central position within the Alpine-Carpathian-Dinaride system between the Pannonian basin in the West and the Transylvanian basin in the East. Following the final Late-Jurassic obduction of the East Vardar ophiolites, a NW-vergent nappe stack formed, which involves from bottom to top: Tisza- and Dacia-derived units, overlain by the South Apuseni or Transylvanian ophiolite belt (i.e. East Vardar ophiolites according to Schmid et al., 2008). This study addresses the tectonometamorphic evolution of Tisza and Dacia during the Late Jurassic/Cretaceous by means of newly obtained Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Ar-Ar and fission track ages together with geothermometric estimates from the eastern part of the Apuseni Mountains. The Tisza unit experienced a polyphase metamorphic evolution (Variscan and Cretaceous) and shows mostly strong retrograde overprinting. Dacia, on the other hand, only underwent lower amphibolite-facies (545°C/7.3 Kbar) metamorphic overprint during the Cretaceous and later retrogression is very moderate. Only the Vidolm Unit, the uppermost nappe within the Dacia nappe stack directly underlying the South Apuseni Ophiolites, recorded a pre-Alpine peak metamorphic event of the uppermost amphibolite-facies (635°C/10.6 Kbar) and therefore yielded older ages. Thus, the Vidolm Unit has to be treated differently from the rest of Dacia, regarding its tectonometamorphic evolution. Garnets from the Iara valley (Tisza unit) yielded an Albian Sm/Nd age (103 Ma), which points towards Mid-Cretaceous peak metamorphism. Ar/Ar ages on muscovite (95-100 Ma) from adjacent samples confirm this observation and are in good agreement with age data from the literature (see Dallmeyer et al., 1999). For the Dacia unit on the other hand, Sm/Nd ages of garnet and Ar/Ar analyses of muscovite (110-117 Ma) yielded lower Cretaceous ages. Additional Rb/Sr analyses of biotite from the Tisza and Dacia units further support the distinct evolution of both units

Assessing the Sensitivity of Mountain Forests to Site Degradation in the Northern Limestone Alps, Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birgit Reger

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Because of some land-use practices (such as overstocking with wild ungulates, historical clear-cuts for mining, and locally persisting forest pasture, protective forests in the montane vegetation belt of the Northern Limestone Alps are now frequently overaged and poorly structured over large areas. Windthrow and bark beetle infestations have generated disturbance areas in which forests have lost their protective functions. Where unfavorable site conditions hamper regeneration for decades, severe soil loss may ensue. To help prioritize management interventions, we developed a geographic information system-based model for assessing sensitivity to site degradation and applied it to 4 test areas in the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria and Bavaria. The model consists of (1 analysis of site conditions and forest stand structures that could increase sensitivity to degradation, (2 evaluation of the sensitivity of sites and stands, and (3 evaluation and mapping of mountain forests' sensitivity to degradation. Site conditions were modeled using regression algorithms with data on site parameters from pointwise soil and vegetation surveys as responses and areawide geodata on climate, relief, and substrate as predictors. The resulting predictor–response relationships were applied to test areas. Stand structure was detected from airborne laser scanning data. Site and stand parameters were evaluated according to their sensitivity to site degradation. Sensitivities of sites and stands were summarized in intermediate-scale sensitivity maps. High sensitivity was identified in 3 test areas with pure limestone and dolomite as the prevailing sensitivity level. Moderately sensitive forests dominate in the final test area, Grünstein, where the bedrock in some strata contains larger amounts of siliceous components (marl, mudstone, and moraines; degraded and slightly sensitive forests were rare or nonexistent in all 4 test areas. Providing a comprehensive overview

Evidence of organic matter in the Ocean-Continent Transition of Alpine Tethys from Totalp, Eastern Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Mateeva, Tsvetomila; Kusznir, Nick; Wolff, George; Wheeler, John; Manatschal, Gianreto

2015-04-01

Evidence from ocean ridge drilling and dredging and from the exhumed Tethyan continental margin in the Alps demonstrates that mantle serpentinization occurs at slow-spreading ocean ridges and magma-poor rifted continental margins. Observations at white smokers suggest that methane produced by serpentinization can support methanotrophic bio-systems which use methane as their only source of carbon. An important question is whether such biosystems are more generally pervasive in their association with serpentinized mantle in the subsurface. The answer to this question has important global implications for the importance of the hidden sub-surface bio-systems, the fate of methane and the carbon cycle. We examine whether serpentinized exhumed mantle at magma-poor rifted continental margins shows evidence for methanotrophy. Fieldwork sampling of km scale exposure of orogenically exhumed serpentinized mantle in the eastern Swiss Alps allows 3D mantle sampling not possible at ocean ridges and has the potential to answer the question regarding localized versus pervasive sub-surface methanotrophic biosystems. The Totalp massif in the eastern Swiss Alps has been chosen for an initial study to investigate the presence or absence of methanotrophic biosystem within serpentinized exhumed mantle in the Tethyan OCT. Totalp has little Alpine deformation and its metamorphism is no more than prehnite-pumpellyite grade. Hands specimens and cores have been taken from the Totalp area in order to sample serpentinization and its lithological diversity in the search for presence or absence of biomarkers. Thin sections analysis reveals multiple serpentinization events. XRD analysis shows complete serpentinization of the olivines and orthopyroxenes. The samples for bio-geochemical analysis were cut and ground to powder, processed by soxhlet extraction and then analysed by GC and GCMS in order to determine the full range of biomarkers. Total carbon and total organic carbon was also determined

The challenges of long-term ecological research in springs in the northern and southern Alps: indicator groups, habitat diversity, and medium-term change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia WIEDENBRUG

2011-09-01

Full Text Available After extensive exploratory investigations into crenic habitats at the beginning of the 1990s, a number of springs were selected and long-term ecological research programmes independently initiated in the Berchtesgaden National Park (north-eastern Alps, Bavaria and the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park (south-eastern Alps, Trentino. Following more than a decade of standardized work, this paper presents a selection of results from both sides of the Alps, with a focus on zoobenthos in Bavaria and on pro- and eukaryotic algae in Trentino. In order to test the assumption that permanent springs are particularly suitable habitats for long-term ecological research, the following topics are addressed: (1 taxonomic diversity and relationships between diversity and spring typology; (2 transverse gradients in crenic habitats, hygrophilous terrestrial invertebrates and xerotolerant algae; (3 possibilities of documenting changes in species composition over decadal time scales ("medium-term" based on emergence traps, benthos, and benthic algae. The data obtained show that: (1 crenic habitats support particularly high biological diversity (but a thorough documentation of insect diversity is impossible without emergence studies; (2 helocrenes are the most species-rich habitats, for both invertebrates and diatoms; (3 dynamic (unstable and occasionally-impacted springs show identifiable signs of medium-term change, whilst particularly complex and stable crenic habitats seem to be controlled by internal processes. Our results suggest that: (1 the meiofauna is likely to react directly to environmental change, while emergers and the hygrophilous terrestrial fauna are indirectly affected, and (2 diatoms react both to direct effects of environmental change, e.g. discharge and hydrochemistry, and to indirect effects on the surroundings of the spring. Based on our results, long-term research strategies are discussed. For long-term studies, we propose a focus on meiofauna and

BODY HEIGHT AND ITS ESTIMATION UTILIZING ARM SPAN MEASUREMENTS IN MALE ADOLESCENTS FROM CENTRAL REGION IN MONTENEGRO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dobrislav Vujović

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Anthropologists recognized the tallness of nations in the Dinaric Alps long time ago (Popovic et al, 2013. As the modern Montenegrins fall partly into the Dinaric racial classification (Bjelica et al., 2012, the purpose of this study was to examine the body height in Montenegrin male adolescents from central region as well as the relationship between arm span as an alternative to estimating the body height, which would vary from region to region in Montenegro. Method: Our investigation analyses 548 male adolescents from the central region in Montenegro. The anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK. Means and standard deviations regarding the anthropometric measurements were obtained. A comparison of means of body heights and arm spans within this gender group were carried out using a t-test. The relationships between body height and arm span were determined using simple correlation coefficients and their 95% confidence interval. Then a linear regression analysis was performed to examine the extent to which the arm span can reliably predict body height. Results: The results displayed that male Central-Montenegrins are 183.66±6.93 cm tall and have an arm span of 184.99±8.30cm. Discussion: Compared to other studies, the results of this study have shown that this gender made Central-Macedonians the tall population, taller than general male population in Montenegro (Bjelica et al., 2012. On the other hand, expectably, the arm span reliably predicts body height in this gender. However, the estimation equations which have been obtained in Central-Montenegrins are, different alike in general population, since arm span was closer to body heights (1.33±1.37 centimetres, more than in general population (Bjelica et al., 2012. This confirms the necessity for developing separate height models for each region in Montenegro.

Two new species of sympatric Fergusonina flies (Diptera: Fergusoninidae) from bud galls on high elevation snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng. complex) in the Australian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Two species of Fergusonina Malloch fly, F. daviesae Nelson sp.n. and F. taylori Nelson sp.n. (Diptera: Fergusoninidae), are described from terminal leaf bud galls on high elevation snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora complex) in the Australian Alps. These species occur in sympatry at the six locations...

Application of kinematic vorticity and gold mineralization for the wall rock alterations of shear zone at Dungash gold mining, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt

Science.gov (United States)

Kassem, Osama M. K.; Abd El Rahim, Said H.; El Nashar, EL Said R.; AL Kahtany, Kaled M.

2016-11-01

The use of porphyroclasts rotating in a flowing matrix to estimate mean kinematic vorticity number (Wm) is important for quantifying the relative contributions of pure and simple shear in wall rocks alterations of shear zone at Dungash gold mine. Furthermore, it shows the relationship between the gold mineralization and deformation and also detects the orientation of rigid objects during progressive deformation. The Dungash gold mine area is situated in an EW-trending quartz vein along a shear zone in metavolcanic and metasedimentary host rocks in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These rocks are associated with the major geologic structures which are attributed to various deformational stages of the Neoproterozoic basement rocks. We conclude that finite strain in the deformed rocks is of the same order of magnitude for all units of metavolcano-sedimentary rocks. The kinematic vorticity number for the metavolcanic and metasedimentary samples in the Dungash area range from 0.80 to 0.92, and together with the strain data suggest deviations from simple shear. It is concluded that nappe stacking occurred early during the underthrusting event probably by brittle imbrication and that ductile strain was superimposed on the nappe structure during thrusting. Furthermore, we conclude that disseminated mineralization, chloritization, carbonatization and silicification of the wall rocks are associated with fluids migrating along shearing, fracturing and foliation of the metamorphosed wall rocks.

Glacier albedo decrease in the European Alps: potential causes and links with mass balances

Science.gov (United States)

Di Mauro, Biagio; Julitta, Tommaso; Colombo, Roberto

2016-04-01

Both mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets are losing mass all over the Earth. They are highly sensitive to climate variation, and the widespread reduction of glaciers has been ascribed to the atmospheric temperature increase. Beside this driver, also ice albedo plays a fundamental role in defining mass balance of glaciers. In fact, dark ice absorbs more energy causing faster glacier melting, and this can drive to more negative balances. Previous studies showed that the albedo of Himalayan glaciers and the Greenland Ice Sheet is decreasing with important rates. In this contribution, we tested the hypothesis that also glaciers in the European Alps are getting darker. We analyzed 16-year time series of MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer) snow albedo from Terra (MOD13A1, 2000-2015) and Aqua (MYD13A1, 2002-2015) satellites. These data feature a spatial resolution of 500m and a daily temporal resolution. We evaluated the existence of a negative linear and nonlinear trend of the summer albedo values both at pixel and at glacier level. We also calculated the correlation between MODIS summer albedo and glacier mass balances (from the World Glaciological Monitoring Service, WGMS database), for all the glaciers with available mass balance during the considered period. In order to estimate the percentage of the summer albedo that can be explained by atmospheric temperature, we correlated MODIS albedo and monthly air temperature extracted from the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset. Results show that decreasing trends exist with a strong spatial variability in the whole Alpine chain. In large glaciers, such as the Aletch (Swiss Alps), the trend varies significantly also within the glacier, showing that the trend is higher in the area across the accumulation and ablation zone. Over the 17 glaciers with mass balance available in the WGMS data set, 11 gave significant relationship with the MODIS summer albedo. Moreover, the comparison between ERA-Interim temperature

Resonant laser power build-up in ALPS-A 'light shining through a wall' experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehret, Klaus [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Frede, Maik [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Ghazaryan, Samvel [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Hildebrandt, Matthias [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Knabbe, Ernst-Axel [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Kracht, Dietmar [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Lindner, Axel, E-mail: axel.lindner@desy.d [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); List, Jenny [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Meier, Tobias [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics, Albert-Einstein-Institute, and Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Leibniz Universitaet, Hannover, Callinstrasse 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Meyer, Niels; Notz, Dieter; Redondo, Javier; Ringwald, Andreas [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Wiedemann, Guenter [Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg (Germany); Willke, Benno [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics, Albert-Einstein-Institute, and Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Leibniz Universitaet, Hannover, Callinstrasse 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany)

2009-12-21

The ALPS Collaboration runs a 'light shining through a wall' (LSW) experiment to search for photon oscillations into 'weakly interacting sub-eV particles' (WISPs) inside of a superconducting HERA dipole magnet at the site of DESY. In this paper we report on the first successful integration of a large-scale optical resonant cavity to boost the available power for WISP production in this type of experiments. The key elements are a frequency tunable narrow line-width continuous wave laser acting as the primary light source and an electronic feed-back control loop to stabilize the power build-up. We describe and characterize our apparatus and demonstrate the data analysis procedures on the basis of a brief exemplary run.

Observations of paraglacial processes on glacier forelands in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, Stefan

2015-04-01

The large and extensively debris-covered valley glaciers in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park immediate east of the Main Divide in the Southern Alps of New Zealand experienced a substantial frontal retreat and vertical downwasting during the past few decades, often connected with the development of a proglacial lake and retreat by calving. Their Holocene glacier forelands are characterised by huge lateral moraines and multi-ridged lateral moraine systems alongside smaller terminal moraines and frontal outwash heads. Placed within a very dynamic general geomorphological regime of various efficient process-systems, these Holocene glacier forelands are currently affected by substantial paraglacial modification. These paraglacial processes have already caused some consequences for the touristic infrastructure in the area and are likely to cause further problems for the accessibility of established tramping routes, tourist huts, and lookouts in the near and medium future. One of the first steps in a project under development presented here is a detailed visual comparison of changes documented during the past 15 Years on the glacier forelands of Hooker, Mueller and Tasman Glaciers in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. It reveals considerable erosion especially on the proximal slopes of the lateral moraines by gully development and retreat of erosion scars at their crest in order of several metres in just a few years. Different processes contribute to high erosion rates, among others rill erosion connected to mid-slope springs that only are temporarily active following substantial rainfall events, efficient gully incision, and slumping. Although any quantification of the actual erosion rates is just preliminary and further studies are necessary in order to make reliable predictions for future development, the amount of paraglacial erosion in this environment is very high compared to other regions and highlights the current importance of the paraglacial process-system in the

Comparing data of terrestrial LiDAR and UAV (photogrammetric) in the context of the project "SedAlp"

Science.gov (United States)

Abel, Judith; Wegner, Kerstin; Haas, Florian; Heckmann, Tobias; Becht, Michael

2014-05-01

The project "SedAlp" (Sediment management in Alpine basins: integrating sediment continuum, risk mitigation and hydropower) concentrates on problems and approaches related to sediment transfer in the alpine region and is embedded in the European transnational cooperation program "Alpine Space". The catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt contributes the German part to this project on behalf of the Bavarian Environment Agency and in collaboration with the Authority of Water Resources Weilheim. The area of interest is the river Isar between the Sylvenstein reservoir and the city of Bad Tölz, Bavaria, Germany. The main aim of the activities is to quantify the transfer of sediments from the tributary catchments to the river Isar, specifically in light of the fact that the construction of the Sylvenstein reservoir in the mid 1950ies has created a barrier to longitudinal sediment transfer, thus heavily impacting the sediment budget and morphodynamics of the Isar reaches downstream. Moreover, the further development of artificially inserted gravel deposits and the effect of dismantling reinforcement structures at the river banks need investigation. Therefore, the dynamics of alluvial fans and gravel bars in the areas of confluence of tributary torrents are monitored using multitemporal surveys with terrestrial laserscanners and drone-based imagery. The latter is used both for the generation of high-resolution digital elevation models and for the mapping of changes in comparison to historical aerial photos. This study focuses on a comparison of TLS and UAV-based photogrammetric digital elevation models in order to highlight advantages and disadvantages of the two methods in relation to the SedAlp-specific research problems. It is shown that UAV-based elevation models are highly accurate alternatives to TLS-based models; due to their favourable acquisition geometry with respect to the topography in floodplain areas, and their large areal coverage, their use is seen as

Using the “Footprint” Approach to Examine the Potentials and Impacts of Renewable Energy Sources in the European Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Hastik

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The expansion of renewable energies is regarded as a key way to mitigate global climate change and to ensure the provision of energy in the long term. However, conflicts between these goals and local nature conservation goals are likely to increase because of the additional space required for renewable energies. This is particularly true for mountainous areas with biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Little effort has been undertaken to systematically compare different renewable energy sources and to examine their environmental impacts using an interdisciplinary approach. This study adapted the concept of the “ecological footprint” to examine the impact on ecosystem services of land use changes involved in exploiting renewable energy sources. This innovative approach made it possible to assess and communicate the potentials of those energy sources in light of both space consumption and sustainability. The European Alps are an ideal test area because of their high energy potentials and biodiversity-rich ecosystems and the high demand for multiple ecosystem services. Our results demonstrate that energy consumption in the Alps could not be covered with the available renewable energy potentials, despite the utilization of large parts of the Alpine land area and the majority of larger rivers. Therefore, considerable effort must be invested in resolving conflicting priorities between expanding renewable energies and nature conservation, but also in realizing energy-saving measures. To this end, the approach presented here can support decision-making by revealing the energy potentials, space requirements, and environmental impacts of different renewable energy sources.

Seismic anisotropy in localized shear zones versus distributed tectonic fabrics: examples from geologic and seismic observations in western North America and the European Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Mahan, Kevin H.; Schulte-Pelkum, Vera; Condit, Cailey; Leydier, Thomas; Goncalves, Philippe; Raju, Anissha; Brownlee, Sarah; Orlandini, Omero F.

2017-04-01

Modern methods for detecting seismic anisotropy offer an array of promising tools for imaging deep crustal deformation but also present challenges, especially with respect to potential biases in both the detection methods themselves as well as in competing processes for localized versus distributed deformation. We address some of these issues from the geophysical perspective by employing azimuthally dependent amplitude and polarity variations in teleseismic receiver functions combined with a compilation of published rock elasticity tensors from middle and deep crustal rocks, and from the geological perspective through studies of shear zone deformation processes. Examples are highlighted at regional and outcrop scales from western North America and the European Alps. First, in regional patterns, strikes of seismically detected fabric from receiver functions in California show a strong alignment with current strike-slip motion between the Pacific and North American plates, with high signal strength near faults and from depths below the brittle-ductile transition suggesting these faults have deep ductile roots. In contrast, despite NE-striking shear zones being the most prominent features portrayed on Proterozoic tectonic maps of the southwestern USA, receiver function anisotropy from the central Rocky Mountain region appears to more prominently reflect broadly distributed Proterozoic fabric domains that preceded late-stage localized shear zones. Possible causes for the discrepancy fall into two categories: those that involve a) bias in seismic sampling and/or b) deformation processes that lead to either weaker anisotropy in the shear zones compared to adjacent domains or to a symmetry that is different from that conventionally assumed. Most of these explanations imply that the seismically sampled domains contain important structural information that is distinct from the shear zones. The second set of examples stem from studies of outcrop-scale shear zones in upper

La Directísima en los Alpes, Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schmidt, Wilhelm

1979-06-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the construction procesa of the «straight» expressway through the Tauern AIps, where several engineering works deserve special mention: — The Tauern Tunnel, 6.4 km In length. — The Katschberg Tunnel, 5.4 km In length. — The Eben-Pongan cloverleaf. — The Liesertal stretch, 75 per 100 of its length being tunnels and viaducts. The most important of this Is the Tauern Tunnel where, owing to the serious problems encountered in the brittle character of the soil, the Austrian tunnel excavation process was used, this method consisting in tensing the mountain soil in order to be able to counteract the high pressures occurring. This tunnel has a 600 m long, 11 m diameter ventilation shaft, the largest of its kind in the World.

Se trata, en este artículo, del proceso de construcción de la Autopista de Tauern, La Directísima, en los Alpes, en la que destacan varias obras: — Túnel de Tauern, de 6,4 km de longitud. — Túnel de Katschberg, de 5,4 km de longitud. — Punto de enlace Eben-Pongau. — Tramo de Liesertal, realizado en un 75 por 100 mediante viaductos y túneles. La obra más importante es el túnel de Tauern donde, debido a los grandes problemas surgidos por la naturaleza quebradiza del terreno, hubo de emplearse un método austríaco de perforación de túneles consistente en poner en tensión la montaña para, de esta manera, contrarrestar las altas presiones que se producen. Este túnel tiene un pozo de ventilación de 600 m de longitud y 11 m de diámetro de perforación. Es el pozo vertical más grande del mundo.

Around the laboratories: CERN: LEP in the Alps; Putting four LEP experiments together; Heavier ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

With CERN's 27-kilometre LEP electron-positron collider shut down for the winter, LEP specialists met in Chamonix in the French Alps from 19-25 January to review the machine's 1991 performance and to look at the ways of improving it. ; Since they started taking data in August 1989, the four big LEP experiments - Aleph, Delphi, L3 and Opal - have been providing precision information about the Z particle, the electrically neutral carrier of the weak nuclear force and at 91 GeV the heavisest elementary particle known.; Work by a major international collaboration is progressing well for a new heavy ion system, capable of providing experiments at CERN with a wide range of heavy ions, extending up to the heaviest elements in the Periodic Table. First beams should be available in 1994

New age findings on the stratigraphy of the Keban metamorphites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali KAYA

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Keban metamorphic rocks, located in Eastern Taurides, consist of platforms type carbonate and clastic rocks, regionally metamorphosed in greenschist facies. The age of the Keban metamorphites was based on two fossil findings (Glomospira and Ammodiscus family which of the microorganism species were not detected and they were observed in only one location in Zeryandere, Permian aged estimated. The other formations of the metamorphic sequence were correlated with it. The age for the Keban metamorphites has been proposed as Permo-Triassic/Permo-Carboniferous up to now. All geological evaluations of the region were based on these ages. For the first time in this study, trace fossils (vermes trace like Planolites, Rhizocorallium and Thalassinoides have been observed extensively. These fossils were detected on the layer surfaces of the Gogodere stratified dolomitic-crystallized limestone which is a member of Nimri formation, represents the medium level of the Keban metamorphites. The limestone levels include these trace fossils correspond to a typical “vermicular limestone facies”, representing Early-Middle Triassic (Scythian-Anisian in Taurides. Allochthonous Keban metamorphic rocks consist of several nappes which overlaid by the others. There are three nappes in the study area; the lower nappe is constitute Early Triassic-Jurassic Nimri formation, the middle nappe is constitute Late Devonian Keban marbles and Delimehmet formation and the upper nappe is Early Carboniferous Süleymanlı formation. Also metabasic intercalations consisting green metadiabases pre-Triassic aged are observed in the middle and upper nappes. The regional correlations propose that the Keban metamorphites are equivalent of the Bolkardağı Union.

Evidence for potential impacts of ozone on Pinus cembra L. at mountain sites in Europe: An overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wieser, G. [Division Alpine Timberline Ecophysiology, Bundesamt und Forschungszentrum fuer Wald, Rennweg 1, 6020 Innsbruck (Austria)]. E-mail: gerhard.wieser@uibk.ac.at; Manning, W.J. [Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amsherst, MA 01003 (United States); Tausz, M. [Institute of Plant Sciences, Karl-Franzens Universitaet Graz, Schubertstrasse 51, 8010 Graz (Austria); School of Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Water Street, Creswick Victoria 3363 (Australia); Bytnerowicz, A. [USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside (United States)

2006-01-15

We summarize what is known about the impact of ozone (O{sub 3}) on Pinus cembra in the timberline ecotone of the central European Alps and the Carpathian Mountains. In the central European Alps exposure to ambient and two-fold ambient O{sub 3} throughout one growing season did neither cause any visible injury nor affect the photosynthetic machinery and biochemical parameters in current to 1-year-old needles. By contrast, in the southern French Alps and in the Carpathians 1-year-old needles of Pinus cembra trees showed visual symptoms similar to those observed in O{sub 3} stressed pine stands in southern California. For the southern French Alps the observed symptoms could clearly be attributed O{sub 3} and differences in O{sub 3} uptake seems to be the likely key factor for explaining the observed decline. For the Carpathians however, other reasons such as drought may not be excluded in eliciting the observed symptoms. Thus, the action of O{sub 3} has always to be evaluated in concert with other environmental impacts, determining the tree's sensitivity to stress. - An overview of ozone effects on Pinus cembra an important European coniferous tree species in the timberline ecotone.

State of the art on forest and shallow landslide interactions illustrated by two studies in the French Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, F.; Dorren, L.; Lopez, J.; Allegra, C.

2009-04-01

The importance of mountain forests in the protection from natural hazards such as landslides was perceived already in ancient cultures. Allusions of these interactions can be found in ancient Greek, Hebrew, Roman and Chinese literature. In modern times, quantitative studies on the role of vegetation on slope stability started flourishing during the 1960's, with particular contributions from the USA, USSR and Japan, followed by Brazil, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Taiwan in the 1970's and 1980's. Forests influence slope stability though mechanical and hydrological effects. Empirical and scientific knowledge agree on the fact that the main effects of forests stands are considered to be: • Mechanical stabilisation due to the presence of roots • Soil moisture depletion as a result of transpiration and water interception by the canopy • Surcharge from the weight of trees The first two factors are beneficial to slope stability whilst the latter may be beneficial or harmful depending on the slope steepness and the potential failure mode. Roots type and morphology influence the capacity of a tree to stabilise slopes, although the failure surface has to be effectively penetrated by the roots in order to be stabilised. Generally, however, forests are considered beneficial for slope stabilization within the soil depth prospected by the tree's root system. So forest stands, depending on the slope value, the hydrological condition and the soil substrata, could have a positive effect on shallow landslide mitigation. Much of the research in the European Alps, however, focuses on the protection awarded by forests against avalanches and rockfalls, whilst little has been done to quantify their protection against landslides. This is in contrast with other mountain regions in the world (Oregon, Himalaya, Japan, British Columbia), where the relations between forests and landslides has been and continues to be studied throughoutly. In order to develop an efficient shallow

Occurrence of PAH in the seasonal snowpack of the Eastern Italian Alps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabrieli, Jacopo [Chemical Science Department, University of Padova, via Marzolo 1/A, 35100 Padua (Italy); Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto (ARPAV), Department of Belluno, via Tomea 5, 32100 Belluno (Italy); Department of Environmental Sciences, University Ca' Foscari of Venice, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123 Venice (Italy); Decet, Fabio [Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto (ARPAV), Department of Belluno, via Tomea 5, 32100 Belluno (Italy); Luchetta, Alberto [Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto (ARPAV), Department of Belluno, via Tomea 5, 32100 Belluno (Italy); Arabba Avalanche Center, Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto (ARPAV), via Pradat 5, 32020 Livinallongo del Col di Lana, Belluno (Italy); Valt, Mauro [Arabba Avalanche Center, Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto (ARPAV), via Pradat 5, 32020 Livinallongo del Col di Lana, Belluno (Italy); Pastore, Paolo [Chemical Science Department, University of Padova, via Marzolo 1/A, 35100 Padua (Italy); Barbante, Carlo, E-mail: barbante@unive.i [Department of Environmental Sciences, University Ca' Foscari of Venice, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123 Venice (Italy); Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes - CNR, University of Venice, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123 Venice (Italy)

2010-10-15

PAH concentrations have been determined in 47 seasonal snowpack samples collected in the Valbelluna valley and in the Bellunesi Dolomites National Park, in the Italian North-Eastern Alps, during the winter of 2005. The {Sigma}PAH concentration in high-altitude alpine sites (above 1700 m) was 32 {+-} 20 ng/kg while in valley bottom urban areas it was 165 {+-} 54 ng/kg with maximum values of 290 ng/kg. The GIS mapping technique was employed to produce a PAH spatial distribution. The urbanized Valbelluna valley, and in particular the SW part, had the highest accumulation of all PAH, with values an order of magnitude more than those in rural and alpine areas. This behaviour is consistent with urban air quality data, and is due to geo-morphological and meteorological factors such as the deeper shape of the valley at the position of the town of Feltre and the low altitude of the boundary layer during the winter season. - PAH concentrations determined in seasonal snow represent an integration of the winter depositions and can be used to evaluate the pollution levels in an Alpine region.

Occurrence of PAH in the seasonal snowpack of the Eastern Italian Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabrieli, Jacopo; Decet, Fabio; Luchetta, Alberto; Valt, Mauro; Pastore, Paolo; Barbante, Carlo

2010-01-01

PAH concentrations have been determined in 47 seasonal snowpack samples collected in the Valbelluna valley and in the Bellunesi Dolomites National Park, in the Italian North-Eastern Alps, during the winter of 2005. The ΣPAH concentration in high-altitude alpine sites (above 1700 m) was 32 ± 20 ng/kg while in valley bottom urban areas it was 165 ± 54 ng/kg with maximum values of 290 ng/kg. The GIS mapping technique was employed to produce a PAH spatial distribution. The urbanized Valbelluna valley, and in particular the SW part, had the highest accumulation of all PAH, with values an order of magnitude more than those in rural and alpine areas. This behaviour is consistent with urban air quality data, and is due to geo-morphological and meteorological factors such as the deeper shape of the valley at the position of the town of Feltre and the low altitude of the boundary layer during the winter season. - PAH concentrations determined in seasonal snow represent an integration of the winter depositions and can be used to evaluate the pollution levels in an Alpine region.

Anthocyanin Profile in Berries of Wild and Cultivated Vaccinium spp. along Altitudinal Gradients in the Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoratti, Laura; Jaakola, Laura; Häggman, Hely; Giongo, Lara

2015-10-07

Vaccinium spp. berries provide some of the best natural sources of anthocyanins. In the wild bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), a clear increasing trend in anthocyanin biosynthesis has been reported toward northern latitudes of Europe, but studies related to altitude have given contradictory results. The present study focused on the anthocyanin composition in wild bilberries and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. cv. Brigitta Blue) growing along altitudinal gradients in the Alps of northern Italy. Our results indicate an increasing accumulation of anthocyanins in bilberries along an altitudinal gradient of about 650 m. The accumulation was due to a significant increase in delphinidin and malvidin glycosides, whereas the accumulation of cyanidin and peonidin glycosides was not affected by altitude. Seasonal differences, especially temperature, had a major influence on the accumulation of anthocyanins in blueberries.

The acquisition and supervision system of S.A.R.A.'s (Accelerator system Rhone-Alpes) parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iazzourene, F.

1982-01-01

The acquisition and supervision system of SARA's (Systeme Accelerateur Rhone-Alpes) parameters is built up. The basic hardware consists of: - A PDP 11/10 computer with a 64 K bytes memory capacity. The system and load device is a floppy disk of 28 megabytes capacity. - A CAMAC crate including a data logger with 224 input channels, a terminal driver (JTY21) and three modules designed for reading out a few digital data, for instance polarities of power supplies. The software provides three distinct programs: AKITS, which uses 3 commands, detects and signals functioning defects in the CAMAC modules used. AKIDO which uses 11 commands, is the acquisition and organization program of the accelerator's functioning parameters. AKISUR is the supervision program of the functioning parameter's stability, within a fixed gap, during the accelerator running [fr

Disinfection effect of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma for foodborne bacteria

Science.gov (United States)

Pervez, Mohammad Rasel; Inomata, Takanori; Ishijima, Tatsuo; Kakikawa, Makiko; Uesugi, Yoshihiko; Tanaka, Yasunori; Yano, Toshihiro; Miwa, Shoji; Noguchi, Akinori

2015-09-01

Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NAPP) exposure can be a suitable alternative for bacteria inactivation in food processing industry. Specimen placed in the enclosure are exposed to various reactive radicals produced within the discharge chamber. It is also exposed to the periodic variation of the electric field strength in the chamber. Dielectric barrier discharge is produced by high voltage pulse (Vpp = 18 kV, pulse width 20 μs, repetition frequency 10 kHz) in a polypropylene box (volume = 350 cm3) using helium as main feed gas. Inactivation efficiency of NAPP depends on the duration of NAPP exposure, applied voltage pulse strength and type, pulse duration, electrode separation and feed gas composition. In this study we have investigated inactivation of Bacillus lichenformis spore as an example of food borne bacteria. Keeping applied voltage, electrode configuration and total gas flow rate constant, spores are exposed to direct NAPP for different time duration while O2 concentration in the feed gas composition is varied. 10 minutes NAPP exposure resulted in ~ 3 log reduction of Bacillus lichenformis spores for 1% O2concentration (initial concentration ~ 106 / specimen). This work is supported by research and development promotion grant provided by the Hokuriku Industrial Advancement Center.

Status and targets in the Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides project

Science.gov (United States)

Almqvist, Bjarne; Juhlin, Christopher; Lorenz, Henning; Gee, David; Pascal, Christophe; Tsang, Chin-fu; Pedersen, Karsten; Roberts, Nick; Rosberg, Jan-Erik

2015-04-01

The COSC project is a multidisciplinary international project with the aim to provide a deeper understanding of mountain belt dynamics in the Scandinavian Caledonides. Scientific investigations include a range of topics, from understanding the ancient orogeny to the present-day hydrological cycle. Six working groups comprise the project and include 1) tectonics, 2) geophysics, 3) geothermics, 4) hydrology, 5) microbiology and 6) drilling management and technology. This presentation provides an overview of the scientific goals of COSC and the first phase of drilling activities, which took place from April 28 until August 26, 2014 (COSC-1). COSC investigations and drilling activities are focused in central Scandinavia, near Åre (Sweden), where rocks from the mid to lower crust of the orogen are exposed. Rock units of interest include granulite facies migmatites (locally ultra-high pressure), gneisses and amphibolites in the middle allochthon (Seve nappe) that overlie greenschist facies metasedimentary rocks in the lower allochthons (Särv and Jämtlandian nappes). The base of the lower allochthon marks the contact with the autochthonos Precambrian basement. Scientific drilling is a central part of the COSC project, and is motivated from a tectonic viewpoint to obtain (i) better understanding of the exhumation and emplacement of the hot middle allochthon, which may enable comparison with exhumation processes in the Himalaya-Tibet orogen, (ii) a broad understanding of orogeny and deformation in the middle to deep crust and upper mantle of mountain belts, and (iii) constraints on the abundant geophysical data that has been collected in the area. Drilling is divided into two phases, firstly to drill through the high grade Seve nappe into the underlying allochthon. The second phase (COSC-2) will target the tectonostratigraphic units below COSC-1 including the Caledonian décollement and the autochthonos Precambrian basement, and investigate the involvement of the

Alps, Carpathians and Dinarides-Hellenides: about plates, micro-plates and delaminated crustal blocks

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, Stefan

2014-05-01

Before the onset of Europe-Africa continental collision in the Dinarides-Hellenides (around 60Ma) and in the Alps and Western Carpathians (around 35 Ma), and at a large scale, the dynamics of orogenic processes in the Mediterranean Alpine chains were governed by Europe-Africa plate convergence leading to the disappearance of large parts of intervening oceanic lithosphere, i.e. the northern branch of Neotethys along the Sava-Izmir-Ankara suture and Alpine Tethys along the Valais-Magura suture (Schmid et al. 2008). In spite of this, two major problems concerning the pre-collisional stage are still poorly understood: (1) by now we only start to understand geometry, kinematics and dynamics of the along-strike changes in the polarity of subduction between Alps-Carpathians and Dinarides-Hellenides, and (2) it is not clear yet during exactly which episodes and to what extent intervening rifted continental fragments such as, for example, Iberia-Briançonnais, Tisza, Dacia, Adria-Taurides moved independently as micro-plates, and during which episodes they remained firmly attached to Europa or Africa from which they broke away. As Europe-Africa plate convergence slowed down well below 1 cm/yr at around 30 Ma ago these pre-collisional processes driven by plate convergence on a global scale gave way to more local processes of combined roll-back and crustal delamination in the Pannonian basin of the Carpathian embayment and in the Aegean (as well as in the Western Mediterranean, not discussed in this contribution). In the case of the Carpathian embayment E-directed roll back totally unrelated to Europe-Africa N-S-directed convergence, started at around 20 Ma ago, due to the presence relict oceanic lithosphere in the future Pannonian basin that remained un-subducted during collision. Due to total delamination of the crust from the eastward rolling back European mantle lithosphere the anticlockwise rotating ALCAPA crustal block, consisting of Eastern Alps and Western Carpathian

Being treated in higher volume hospitals leads to longer progression-free survival for epithelial ovarian carcinoma patients in the Rhone-Alpes region of France

OpenAIRE

Huguet, Marius; Perrier, Lionel; Bally, Olivia; Benayoun, David; De Saint Hilaire, Pierre; Beal Ardisson, Dominique; Morelle, Magali; Havet, Nathalie; Joutard, Xavier; Meeus, Pierre; Gabelle, Philippe; Provençal, Jocelyne; Chauleur, Céline; Glehen, Olivier; Charreton, Amandine

2018-01-01

Background To investigate the relationship between hospital volume activities and the survival for Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma (EOC) patients in France. Methods This retrospective study using prospectively implemented databases was conducted on an exhaustive cohort of 267 patients undergoing first-line therapy during 2012 in the Rhone-Alpes Region of France. We compared Progression-Free Survival for Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma patients receiving first-line therapy in high- (i.e. ≥ 12 cases/...

GENDER INEQUALITIES AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF EMPOLYED WOMEN IN THE ALPS-ADRIATIC REGION. A COMPARISON BETWEEN CARINTHIA, FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA AND SLOVENIA

OpenAIRE

FEDEL, SERENA

2007-01-01

2005/2006 Serena Fedel's dissertation is focused on gender issues, more precisely she has chosen to analyse the social conditions of employed women and the way they manage to reconcile the duties arising from their job with the ones connected with their role within the family. Geographically speaking she has decided to examine the above mentioned issues in the core of the so called Alps-Adriatic region, i.e. in the three bordering areas of Carinthia, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia. ...

Comparing different methods to model scenarios of future glacier change for the entire Swiss Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Linsbauer, A.; Paul, F.; Haeberli, W.

2012-04-01

There is general agreement that observed climate change already has strong impacts on the cryosphere. The rapid shrinkage of glaciers during the past two decades as observed in many mountain ranges globally and in particular in the Alps, are impressive confirmations of a changed climate. With the expected future temperature increase glacier shrinkage will likely further accelerate and their role as an important water resource more and more diminish. To determine the future contribution of glaciers to run-off with hydrological models, the change in glacier area and/or volume must be considered. As these models operate at regional scales, simplified approaches to model the future development of all glaciers in a mountain range need to be applied. In this study we have compared different simplified approaches to model the area and volume evolution of all glaciers in the Swiss Alps over the 21st century according to given climate change scenarios. One approach is based on an upward shift of the ELA (by 150 m per degree temperature increase) and the assumption that the glacier extent will shrink until the smaller accumulation area covers again 60% of the total glacier area. A second approach is based on observed elevation changes between 1985 and 2000 as derived from DEM differencing for all glaciers in Switzerland. With a related elevation-dependent parameterization of glacier thickness change and a modelled glacier thickness distribution, the 15-year trends in observed thickness loss are extrapolated into the future with glacier area loss taking place when thickness becomes zero. The models show an overall glacier area reduction between 60-80% until 2100 with some ice remaining at the highest elevations. However, compared to the ongoing temperature increase and considering that several reinforcement feedbacks (albedo lowering, lake formation) are not accounted for, the real area loss might even be stronger. Uncertainties in the modelled glacier thickness have only a

Allanite behaviour during incipient melting in the southern Central Alps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregory, C.J.; Rubatto, D.; Hermann, J.

2012-01-01

al., 2008; Gabudianu et al., 2009). However, significant fluid interaction and deformation can expose allanite to open-system isotopic behaviour, even at low metamorphic temperatures (Gabudianu et al., 2009). In comparison, allanite formation in high-grade rocks, and the response of U–Th–Pb isotope...... was ablated into a mixed He-Ar (1:3) carrier gas (gas flow ~1.2 L/min). Each isotope analysis was of 65 s duration in time-resolved (peak hopping) analysis mode, including 40 s of ablation and 25 s monitoring gas blank. The depth of laser drilling was ~20–25 µm per analysis. A post-plasma oxide was used...... was processed offline using an in-house macro-based EXCEL spreadsheet. Each analysis was corrected for background gas blank and for laser-induced element fractionation processes, which occur during stationary laser sampling (e.g. Eggins et al., 1998). External calibration of 208Pb/232Th was done against...

Irrigation channels of the Upper Rhone valley (Switzerland). Geomorphological analysis of a cultural heritage

Science.gov (United States)

Reynard, Emmanuel

2016-04-01

The Upper Rhone valley (Canton of Valais, Switzerland) is characterised by dry climatic conditions that explain the presence of an important network (about 800 km) of irrigation channels - called Bisses in the French-speaking part of the canton or Suonen in the German-speaking area - dating back to the Middle Ages. This network constitutes a cultural heritage and during the last 30 years these agricultural infrastructures have sparked a renewed interest for tourist and cultural reasons. Indeed, the paths along the channels are used as tourist trails and several abandoned channels have been renovated for tourist use. Based on an inventory of the Bisses/Suonen of Valais, the proposed communication has three aims: (1) to analyse the geomorphological context (morphometric analysis, structural geomorphology, main processes) of various types of channels and to show the impact of the geomorphological context on the building techniques; (2) to identify particularly active processes along the channels; (3) to classify the Bisses/Suonen according to their geomorphological value and to their geomorphological sensitivity, and to propose managing measures. Structural and climatic conditions influence the geomorphological context of the channels. In a structural point of view, irrigation channels are developed in three main contexts: (1) in the Aar Massif crystalline basement; (2) in the limestone and marl cover nappes of the Helvetic Alps; (3) in the metamorphic cover nappes of the Penninic domain. The Rhone River valley is boarded by two high mountain ranges: the Penninic Alps in the South and the Bernese Alps in the North. Because of rain shadow effects, the climate is relatively dry and, between Brig and Martigny, annual rainfall is not more than 600 mm at 500 m ASL and 800 mm at 1600 m ASL. Nevertheless, due to important vertical precipitation gradients annual rainfall totals are high at high altitudes. On the southern facing tributary valleys, the dry climatic conditions

Local Environmental Factors Drive Divergent Grassland Soil Bacterial Communities in the Western Swiss Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Yashiro, Erika; Pinto-Figueroa, Eric; Buri, Aline; Spangenberg, Jorge E; Adatte, Thierry; Niculita-Hirzel, Hélène; Guisan, Antoine; van der Meer, Jan Roelof

2016-11-01

Mountain ecosystems are characterized by a diverse range of climatic and topographic conditions over short distances and are known to shelter a high biodiversity. Despite important progress, still little is known on bacterial diversity in mountain areas. Here, we investigated soil bacterial biogeography at more than 100 sampling sites randomly stratified across a 700-km 2 area with 2,200-m elevation gradient in the western Swiss Alps. Bacterial grassland communities were highly diverse, with 12,741 total operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across 100 sites and an average of 2,918 OTUs per site. Bacterial community structure was correlated with local climatic, topographic, and soil physicochemical parameters with high statistical significance. We found pH (correlated with % CaO and % mineral carbon), hydrogen index (correlated with bulk gravimetric water content), and annual average number of frost days during the growing season to be among the groups of the most important environmental drivers of bacterial community structure. In contrast, bacterial community structure was only weakly stratified as a function of elevation. Contrasting patterns were discovered for individual bacterial taxa. Acidobacteria responded both positively and negatively to pH extremes. Various families within the Bacteroidetes responded to available phosphorus levels. Different verrucomicrobial groups responded to electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, water content, and mineral carbon contents. Alpine grassland bacterial communities are thus highly diverse, which is likely due to the large variety of different environmental conditions. These results shed new light on the biodiversity of mountain ecosystems, which were already identified as potentially fragile to anthropogenic influences and climate change. This article addresses the question of how microbial communities in alpine regions are dependent on local climatic and soil physicochemical variables. We benefit from a unique 700

Estimate of regional groundwater recharge rate in the Central Haouz Plain, Morocco, using the chloride mass balance method and a geographical information system

Science.gov (United States)

Ait El Mekki, Ouassil; Laftouhi, Nour-Eddine; Hanich, Lahoucine

2017-07-01

Located in the extreme northwest of Africa, the Kingdom of Morocco is increasingly affected by drought. Much of the country is characterised by an arid to semi-arid climate and the demand for water is considerably higher than the supply, particularly on the Haouz Plain in the centre of the country. The expansion of agriculture and tourism, in addition to industrial development and mining, have exacerbated the stress on water supplies resulting in drought. It is therefore necessary to adopt careful management practices to preserve the sustainability of the water resources in this region. The aquifer recharge rate in the piedmont region that links the High Atlas and the Central Haouz Plain was estimated using the chloride mass balance hydrochemical method, which is based on the relationship between the chloride concentrations in groundwater and rainwater. The addition of a geographical information system made it possible to estimate the recharge rate over the whole 400 km2 of the study area. The results are presented in the form of a map showing the spatialized recharge rate, which ranges from 13 to 100 mm/year and the recharge percentage of the total rainfall varies from 3 to 25 % for the hydrological year 2011-2012. This approach will enable the validation of empirical models covering areas >6200 km2, such as the Haouz nappe.

Effects of sterilization and storage on the properties of ALP-grafted biomaterials for prosthetic and bone tissue engineering applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraris, S; Pan, G; Vernè, E; Spriano, S; Cassinelli, C; Mazzucco, L

2012-01-01

Grafting of the biomaterial surfaces with biomolecules is nowadays a challenging research field for prosthetic and bone tissue engineering applications. On the other hand, very few research works investigate the effect of the sterilization processes on the properties of functionalized biomaterials. In this study, the effects of different sterilization techniques (e.g. gamma and electron beam irradiation, ethylene oxide) on the enzymatic activity of bioactive glasses and Ti6Al4V grafted with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) have been analyzed. Sterility maintenance and in vitro bioactivity of the sterilized surfaces have also been investigated. Finally the effect of packaging and storage conditions has been considered. (paper)

Detrital thermochronology of Rhine, Elbe and Meuse river sediment (Central Europe): implications for provenance, erosion and mineral fertility

Science.gov (United States)

Glotzbach, C.; Busschers, F. S.; Winsemann, J.

2018-03-01

Here we present detrital apatite fission track (AFT), zircon fission track (ZFT) and a few apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) data of Middle Pleistocene to modern Rhine, Meuse and Elbe river sediments in order to resolve processes that control detrital age distributions (provenance, erosion and mineral fertility). We used a modelling approach to compare observed with theoretically predicted age distributions from an interpolated in situ AFT and ZFT age map. In situ cooling ages do show large differences in the Rhine drainage basin, facilitating the differentiation between different source regions. Inconsistencies between observed and theoretical age distributions of the Meuse and Elbe samples can be explained by mixing and reworking of sediments with different provenances (Meuse Middle Pleistocene terrace sediment) and a yet unexplored source region with old AFT ages (Elbe samples). Overall, the results show that detrital thermochronology is capable of identifying the provenance of Middle Pleistocene to modern sediments. The AFT age distributions of Rhine sediments are dominated ( 70%) by AFT ages representing the Alps. A possible explanation is higher erosion rates in the Alps as compared to areas outside the Alps. A Late Pleistocene sample from the Upper Rhine Graben contains apatite grains from the Molasse and Hegau volcanics, which we explain with a shift of the headwaters of the Rhine to the north as a result of intense Middle Pleistocene Riss glaciation. Contrary to the observed dominance of Alpine-derived AFT ages in Rhine sediments, the relative contribution of zircon ages with sources in the Alps is lower and significantly decreases downstream, suggesting a major source of zircons outside the Alps. This can be explained by increased zircon fertility of sediments derived from the Rhenish massif. Therefore, we conclude that erosion and mineral fertility are the main processes controlling detrital AFT and ZFT age distributions of the sampled river sediment. In case of

Petrology of the Northern Adula Region, Switzerland (with particular reference to the Glaucophane-Bearing Rocks)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plas, van der L.

1959-01-01

Geological and petrographical investigations were carried out in the northern part of the so-called Adula Nappe, one of the deepest Pennine nappes. The area under consideration lies in the SE of Switzerland, near Vals, S of Ilanz. This area is situated north of the Lepontinic gneiss-region, the

Quantification of seasonal to annual mass balances from glacier surface albedo derived from optical satellite images, application on 30 glaciers in the French Alps for the period 2000-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Davaze, Lucas; Rabatel, Antoine; Arnaud, Yves; Sirguey, Pascal; Six, Delphine; Letreguilly, Anne; Dumont, Marie

2017-04-01

Increasing the number of glaciers monitored for surface mass balance is very challenging, especially using laborious methods based on in situ data. Complementary methods are therefore required to quantify the surface mass balance of unmonitored glaciers. The current study relies on the so-called albedo method, based on the analysis of albedo maps retrieved from optical satellite imagery acquired since 2000 by the MODIS sensor, onboard of TERRA satellite. Recent studies performed on single glaciers in the French Alps, the Himalayas or the Southern Alps of New Zealand revealed substantial relationships between summer minimum glacier-wide surface albedo and annual mass balance, because this minimum surface albedo is directly related to accumulation-area ratio and the equilibrium-line altitude. On the basis of 30 glaciers located in the French Alps where annual surface mass balance are available, our study conducted on the period 2000-2015 confirms the robustness and reliability of the relationship between the summer minimum surface albedo and the annual surface mass balance. At the seasonal scale, the integrated summer surface albedo is significantly correlated with the summer mass balance of the six glaciers seasonally surveyed. For the winter season, four of the six glaciers showed a significant correlation when linking the winter surface mass balance and the integrated winter surface albedo, using glacier-dependent thresholds to filter the albedo signal. Sensitivity study on the computed cloud detection algorithm revealed high confidence in retrieved albedo maps. These results are promising to monitor both annual and seasonal glacier-wide surface mass balances of individual glaciers at a regional scale using optical satellite images.

Driving factors for torrential mass-movements occurrence in the Western Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davide eTiranti

2016-02-01

Full Text Available To understand the behaviour of torrential processes in the alpine environment, the conditions mainly responsiblefor the occurrence of these phenomena have to be identified and distinguished(classified aspredisposing and triggering factors. In this regard, this study is aimed to understanding which factors lead to the occurrence of a given torrential processes in alpine catchments in the Western Alps, where information on past events are exhaustive and characterized by a long historical series. More than 769 documented torrential eventsoccurred from 1728 to 2015 within 78 catchments. Datasets concerning climate, geology and morphology, land use and the presence of historical landslide activity have been elaborated as input for multivariate statistical analysis to characterize the behaviour of the catchments. The results pinpoint the factors that mainly drive the type of torrential dominant process occurring in a given catchment, its occurrence probability, and its frequency. This study has demonstrated that catchments characterized by a significant percentage of outcropping rocks show a greater occurrence of torrential processes, especially hyperconcentrated flows and debris flows; on the contrary highly vegetated catchments are typically subject to water flows. This result can be a useful tool for the evaluation of hazards related to this specific phenomenon, making it possible to predict the most likely torrential processes that can be generated in a specific basin, given the characteristics of outcropping rock and vegetation cover.

CERN: LEP in the Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

Full text: In January, when CERN's LEP electron-positron collider is enjoying a well-earned break, it has now become traditional for the hard pressed LEP team to have no respite. Instead they pack their bags and depart for Chamonix in the nearby French Alps to review the past year's experience and plan for the future. In the cold January 1993 light of Chamonix, 1992 (January/February, page 4) was deemed to have been a good year for LEP operations, with the switch to 90° betatron phase operation having paid off. The 65% improvement in integrated luminosity over 1991 was attributed to longer beam lifetimes, faster filling and improved overall efficiency. The commissioning of the eight-bunch 'pretzel' scheme was facilitated with the new optics, and break-even quickly achieved, so that physics could benefit from more bunches in the machine. During 1992, the injection chain was fully tested with eight bunches, and when this comes into routine operation this year, the pretzel scheme will benefit. Pretzel running also opens the possibility of still higher luminosity, up to 2x10 31 per sq cm per s, doubling the present level. However the finishing touches to high luminosity running are still more an art ('haute cuisine') than a science. Continuing studies of the inter correlation of different LEP conditions will help make this more systematic. The main factors affecting performance at 45 GeV are transverse mode coupling instabilities. The present working point gives good results, but there are still potentially interesting regions which need to be checked out. Beam lifetime and background are both limited by beam size and aperture. Background was reduced by improved focusing, while beam size is dominated by beam-beam effects. 90° operation proved its worth in 1992, but the inability to produce polarized beams was a disappointment, and a combined 90°/60° horizontal/vertical combination looked like offering the best of both worlds. Although

Structural data, geomorphology and rock slides in the SW of Barles (The Alps of Northern Provence, France)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bureau, D.

2016-10-01

The Alps of northern Provence in France is a familiar area to European geologists because numerous, long field studies have been organized by European universities and private petroleum companies during the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Nevertheless, geologists have made few comments on the consequences of some topographic slides and, more broadly, on the manner by which nature has sculpted the local geomorphology. After having set the local tectonic data (the thrust of the Blayeul Massif on an already folded para-autochtonous formation and locally up and down reversals in the area of the Heights of Chine and Proussier), a geological and geomorphological summary introduces a discussion on slides and slope formations; then the details of the morphology analysis lead us to the conclusions. (Author)

Altitude profiles of total chlorinated paraffins in humus and spruce needles from the Alps (MONARPOP).

Science.gov (United States)

Iozza, Saverio; Schmid, Peter; Oehme, Michael; Bassan, Rodolfo; Belis, Claudio; Jakobi, Gert; Kirchner, Manfred; Schramm, Karl-Werner; Kräuchi, Norbert; Moche, Wolfgang; Offenthaler, Ivo; Weiss, Peter; Simoncic, Primoz; Knoth, Wilhelm

2009-12-01

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are toxic, bioaccumulative, persistent, and ubiquitously present in the environment. CPs were analyzed in humus and needle samples, which were taken within the Monitoring Network in the Alpine Region for Persistent and other Organic Pollutants (MONARPOP) at sampling sites of 7 different altitude profiles in the Alps. Gas chromatography combined with electron ionization tandem mass spectrometry (EI-MS/MS) was used for the determination of total CPs (sum of short, medium and long chain CPs). CPs were found in all samples; the concentrations varied between 7 and 199 ng g(-1) dry weight (dw) and within 26 and 460 ng g(-1) dw in humus and needle samples, respectively. A clear vertical tendency within the individual altitude profiles could not be ascertained. Within all altitude profiles, elevated concentrations were observed in humus samples taken between 700 and 900 m and between 1300 and 1500 m. In the needle samples no similar correlation could be observed due to higher variation of the data.

Frequent floods in the European Alps coincide with cooler periods of the past 2500 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Glur, Lukas; Wirth, Stefanie B; Büntgen, Ulf; Gilli, Adrian; Haug, Gerald H; Schär, Christoph; Beer, Jürg; Anselmetti, Flavio S

2013-09-26

Severe floods triggered by intense precipitation are among the most destructive natural hazards in Alpine environments, frequently causing large financial and societal damage. Potential enhanced flood occurrence due to global climate change would thus increase threat to settlements, infrastructure, and human lives in the affected regions. Yet, projections of intense precipitation exhibit major uncertainties and robust reconstructions of Alpine floods are limited to the instrumental and historical period. Here we present a 2500-year long flood reconstruction for the European Alps, based on dated sedimentary flood deposits from ten lakes in Switzerland. We show that periods with high flood frequency coincide with cool summer temperatures. This wet-cold synchronism suggests enhanced flood occurrence to be triggered by latitudinal shifts of Atlantic and Mediterranean storm tracks. This paleoclimatic perspective reveals natural analogues for varying climate conditions, and thus can contribute to a better understanding and improved projections of weather extremes under climate change.

BODY HEIGHT AND ITS ESTIMATION UTILIZING ARM SPAN MEASUREMENTS IN FEMALE ADOLESCENTS FROM CENTRAL REGION IN MONTENEGRO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Bubanja

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Anthropologists recognized the tallness of nations in the Dinaric Alps long time ago (Popovic et al, 2013. As the modern Montenegrins fall partly into the Dinaric racial classification (Bjelica et al., 2012, the purpose of this study was to examine the body height in Montenegrin female adolescents from central region as well as the relationship between arm span as an alternative to estimating the body height, which would vary from region to region in Montenegro. Method: Our investigation analyses 593 female adolescents from the central region in Montenegro. The anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK. Means and standard deviations regarding the anthropometric measurements were obtained. A comparison of means of body heights and arm spans within this gender group were carried out using a t-test. The relationships between body height and arm span were determined using simple correlation coefficients and their 95% confidence interval. Then a linear regression analysis was performed to examine the extent to which the arm span can reliably predict body height. Results: The results displayed that female Central-Montenegrins are 169.24±11.61cm tall and have an arm span of 168.03±10.34cm. Discussion: Compared to other studies, the results of this study have shown that this gender made Central-Macedonians the tall population, taller than general female population in Montenegro (Bjelica et al., 2012. On the other hand, expectably, the arm span reliably predicts body height in this gender. However, the estimation equations which have been obtained in Central-Montenegrins are, different alike in general population, since arm span was shorter than the body heights (1.21±1.27 centimetres, much more than in general population (Bjelica et al., 2012. This confirms the necessity for developing separate height models for each region in Montenegro.

GPS Versus Seismological Observations in two Seismogenic Zones in the Adria-Alps- Pannon System; Block Motion vs. Diffuse Deformation, Increased Earthquake Potential vs. Aseismic Slip

Science.gov (United States)

Grenerczy, G.; Bus, Z.; Toth, L.; Monus, P.

2008-12-01

The tectonic activity, seismicity and the associated seismic hazard is highly variable in the Adria-Alps-Pannon region. The engine of the system is the Adria microplate that compresses a puzzle of crustal blocks towards the European Platform. Based on seismicity and data of continuous and campaign style GPS measurements between 1991 and 2007 we investigated the existence of different blocks and their present kinematics. At the resolution and signal level we have, deformation seems to be more diffuse and block motion is no longer recognizable over the Pannonian basin towards the Carpathains. Although towards the basin seismicity decreases to moderate, the vulnerability is still high, as three capital cities are located near to the two most active seismic zones in this subregion. Each cities and their suburbs produce about 30- 40 % of the GDP of the respective countries. In the second par of our analysis these two seismically active areas, the Mur-Murz and Central Pannonian zones, are investigated. Uniform strain rates and relative displacements were calculated for these regions. The GPS data confirm the mostly left lateral strike slip character of the Mur-Murz fault zone and suggest a contraction between the eastward moving Alpine-North Pannonian unit and the Carpathians. The computation of the seismic strain rate was based on the Kostrov summation. The averaged unit norm seismic moment tensor, which describes the characteristic style of deformation, has been obtained by using the available focal mechanism solutions, whereas the annual seismic moment release showing the rate of the deformation was estimated using the catalogs of historical and recent earthquakes. Our analysis reveals that in both zones the geodetic strain rate is significantly larger than the seismic deformation. Based on the weakness of the lithosphere, the stress magnitudes and the regional features of seismicity, we suggest that the low value of the seismic/geodetic strain rate ratio in the

The topography of a continental indenter: The interplay between crustal deformation, erosion, and base level changes in the eastern Southern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Heberer, B.; Prasicek, G.; Neubauer, F.; Hergarten, S.

2017-01-01

Abstract The topography of the eastern Southern Alps (ESA) reflects indenter tectonics causing crustal shortening, surface uplift, and erosional response. Fluvial drainages were perturbed by Pleistocene glaciations that locally excavated alpine valleys. The Late Miocene desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea and the uplift of the northern Molasse Basin led to significant base level changes in the far field of the ESA and the Eastern Alps (EA), respectively. Among this multitude of mechanisms, the processes that dominate the current topographic evolution of the ESA and the ESA‐EA drainage divide have not been identified. We demonstrate the expected topographic effects of each mechanism in a one‐dimensional model and compare them with observed channel metrics. We find that the normalized steepness index increases with uplift rate and declines from the indenter tip in the northwest to the foreland basin in the southeast. The number and amplitude of knickpoints and the distortion in longitudinal channel profiles similarly decrease toward the east. Changes in slope of χ‐transformed channel profiles coincide spatially with the Valsugana‐Fella fault linking crustal stacking and uplift induced by indenter tectonics with topographic evolution. Gradients in χ across the ESA‐EA drainage divide imply an ongoing, north directed shift of the Danube‐ESA watershed that is most likely driven by a base level rise in the northern Molasse basin. We conclude that the regional uplift pattern controls the geometry of ESA‐EA channels, while base level changes in the far field control the overall architecture of the orogen by drainage divide migration. PMID:28344912

AL:PE Acidification of mountain lakes: Palaeolimnology and Ecology. Part 2. - Extention. Final report to the Norwegian Research Council; AL:PE Acidification of mountain lakes: palaeolimnology and ecology. Part 2 - Utvidelse. Sluttrapport til Norges forskningsraad

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wathne, B M; Rosseland, B O; Lien, L

1996-09-01

Alpine and arctic regions, the least affected areas of Europe, are threatened by acid precipitation and long-range pollution. The international project discussed in this report was started to assess the conditions for alpine or arctic lakes, chemically and biologically combined with analyses of sediment cores. The work was done on lakes of various degrees of acidification and the results may be used to evaluate how fast the environment is changing, in what direction, and biological effects. The AL:PE project is the first comprehensive study of alpine lakes on a European level. The project was financed through EU`s research programme combined with funds from the participating countries. The project, which is now finally ending after 5 years of activity, is briefly surveyed in the report. One of the conclusions is that contamination from long-range pollutants can be found in even the most outlying places. 58 refs., 106 figs., 58 tabs.

Delineation of the geometry of the nodes in the Alps-Dinarides hinge zone and recognition of seismogenic nodes (M ≥ 6)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorshkov, A.I.; Soloviev, A.A.; Panza, G.F.; Aoudia, A.; Peresan, A.

2007-11-01

In the junction zone between the Alps and the Dinarides, one of the most seismically active areas in Europe, we delineate a total of sixteen nodes which are capable of M ≥ 6.0 earthquakes using large-scale cartographic data. Seven of them have already experienced the occurrence of sufficiently well located earthquakes with M ≥ 6.0. Using these seven nodes as a learning set, we identify, by means of the pattern recognition methodology, three other nodes prone to earthquakes with M ≥ 6.0: one node in the Alpine domain and two in the northernmost Dinarides. (author)

Calculation and visualisation of future glacier extent in the Swiss Alps by means of hypsographic modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, F.; Maisch, M.; Rothenbühler, C.; Hoelzle, M.; Haeberli, W.

2007-02-01

The observed rapid glacier wastage in the European Alps during the past 20 years already has strong impacts on the natural environment (rock fall, lake formation) as well as on human activities (tourism, hydro-power production, etc.) and poses several new challenges also for glacier monitoring. With a further increase of global mean temperature in the future, it is likely that Alpine glaciers and the high-mountain environment as an entire system will further develop into a state of imbalance. Hence, the assessment of future glacier geometries is a valuable prerequisite for various impact studies. In order to calculate and visualize in a consistent manner future glacier extent for a large number of individual glaciers (> 100) according to a given climate change scenario, we have developed an automated and simple but robust approach that is based on an empirical relationship between glacier size and the steady-state accumulation area ratio (AAR 0) in the Alps. The model requires digital glacier outlines and a digital elevation model (DEM) only and calculates new glacier geometries from a given shift of the steady-state equilibrium line altitude (ELA 0) by means of hypsographic modelling. We have calculated changes in number, area and volume for 3062 individual glacier units in Switzerland and applied six step changes in ELA 0 (from + 100 to + 600 m) combined with four different values of the AAR 0 (0.5, 0.6, 0.67, 0.75). For an AAR 0 of 0.6 and an ELA 0 rise of 200 m (400 m) we calculate a total area loss of - 54% (- 80%) and a corresponding volume loss of - 50% (- 78%) compared to the 1973 glacier extent. In combination with a geocoded satellite image, the future glacier outlines are also used for automated rendering of perspective visualisations. This is a very attractive tool for communicating research results to the general public. Our study is illustrated for a test site in the Upper Engadine (Switzerland), where landscape changes above timberline play an

Estimation of groundwater recharge using the chloride mass-balance method, Pingtung Plain, Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Ting, Cheh-Shyh; Kerh, Tienfuan; Liao, Chiu-Jung

Due to rapid economic growth in the Pingtung Plain of Taiwan, the use of groundwater resources has changed dramatically. Over-pumping of the groundwater reservoir, which lowers hydraulic heads in the aquifers, is not only affecting the coastal area negatively but has serious consequences for agriculture throughout the plain. In order to determine the safe yield of the aquifer underlying the plain, a reliable estimate of groundwater recharge is desirable. In the present study, for the first time, the chloride mass-balance method is adopted to estimate groundwater recharge in the plain. Four sites in the central part were chosen to facilitate the estimations using the ion-chromatograph and Thiessen polygon-weighting methods. Based on the measured and calculated results, in all sites, including the mountain and river boundaries, recharge to the groundwater is probably 15% of the annual rainfall, excluding recharge from additional irrigation water. This information can improve the accuracy of future groundwater-simulation and management models in the plain. Résumé Du fait de la croissance économique rapide de la plaine de Pingtung à Taiwan, l'utilisation des ressources en eau souterraine s'est considérablement modifié. La surexploitation des aquifères, qui a abaissé le niveau des nappes, n'affecte pas seulement la région côtière, mais a de sérieuses répercutions sur l'agriculture dans toute la plaine. Afin de déterminer les ressources renouvelables de l'aquifère sous la plaine, une estimation précise de la recharge de la nappe est nécessaire. Dans cette étude, le taux de recharge de la nappe a d'abord été estimé au moyen d'un bilan de matière de chlorure. Quatre sites de la partie centrale ont été sélectionnés pour réaliser ces estimations, à l'aide d'un chromatographe ionique et de la méthode des polygones de Thiessen. A partir des résultats mesurés et calculés, à chaque site, et en prenant comme limites les montagnes et les rivi

A third karyosystematic investigation of the Stictotarsus griseostriatus (De Geer group of sibling species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Angus

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Karyological analysis has been carried out on Stictotarsus griseostriatus (De Geer, 1774 from Tjøme in southern Norway, one of the type localities of Deronectes maritimus Helliesen, 1890, as well as from the Canton of Valais in the Swiss Alps and Bavaria in the German Alps. True S. griseostriatus is shown to occur over much of the central Alps, and the synonymy of S. griseostriatus var. nigrescens Favre, 1890 is confirmed.  Analysis of Corsican material shows that the species inhabiting the island is S. ibericus Dutton et Angus, 2007. The known distributions of the S. griseostriatus group species occurring in the Alps and on Corsica are given, and Pleistocene fossil material from Starunia in the Ukrainian Carpathians is figured and discussed. A syntype of Potamodytes multilineatus Falkenström, 1922, in Helliesen’s collection in Oslo, is noted and a neotype designated for Deronectes maritimus Helliesen, 1890 as the original material on which the description was based cannot be found.

固定堰及びため池等の洪水吐における水膜振動・騒音低減工法の開発

OpenAIRE

長嶺, 拓夫; 後藤, 眞宏; 高木, 強治; 関谷, 明; 和田, 弘; 峯岸, 雄一

2010-01-01

This paper describes experimental study on sound reduction from nappe oscillation. Nappe oscillation at weir sometimes produces a low frequency sound. The low frequency sound sometimes causes vibrations of windowpanes of houses and so on. We show that low frequency sound can be suppressed experimentally by setting obstacle at the lower end of a falling water sheet.

Aerosol deposition (trace elements and black carbon) over the highest glacier of the Eastern European Alps during the last centuries

Science.gov (United States)

Bertò, Michele; Barbante, Carlo; Gabrieli, Jacopo; Gabrielli, Paolo; Spolaor, Andrea; Dreossi, Giuliano; Laj, Paolo; Zanatta, Marco; Ginot, Patrick; Fain, Xavier

2016-04-01

Ice cores are an archive of a wide variety of climatic and environmental information from the past, retaining them for hundreds of thousands of years. Anthropogenic pollutants, trace elements, heavy metals and major ions, are preserved as well providing insights on the past atmospheric circulations and allowing evaluating the human impact on the environment. Several ice cores were drilled in glaciers at mid and low latitudes, as in the European Alps. The first ice cores drilled to bedrock in the Eastern Alps were retrieved during autumn 2011 on the "Alto dell`Ortles glacier", the uppermost glacier of the Ortles massif (3905m, South Tirol, Italy), in the frame of the "Ortles Project". A preliminary dating of the core suggests that it should cover at least 300-400 years. Despite the summer temperature increase of the last decades this glacier still contain cold ice. Indeed, O and H isotopes profiles well describe the atmospheric warming as well as the low temperatures recorded during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Moreover, this glacier is located close to densely populated and industrialized areas and can be used for reconstructing for the first time past and recent air pollution and the human impact in the Eastern European Alps. The innermost part of the core is under analysis by means of a "Continuous Flow Analysis" system. This kind of analysis offers a high resolution in data profiles. The separation between the internal and the external parts of the core avoid any kind of contamination. An aluminum melting head melts the core at about 2.5 cm min-1. Simultaneous analyses of conductivity, dust concentration and size distribution (from 0.8 to 80 μm), trace elements with Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS, Agilent 7500) and refractory black carbon (rBC) with the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2, Droplet Measurement Technologies) are performed. A fraction of the melt water is collected by an auto-sampler for further analysis. The analyzed elements

The Little Ice Age climate of New Zealand reconstructed from Southern Alps cirque glaciers: a synoptic type approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lorrey, Andrew; Fauchereau, Nicolas; Stanton, Craig; Chappell, Petra; Phipps, Steven; Mackintosh, Andrew; Renwick, James; Goodwin, Ian; Fowler, Anthony

2014-06-01

Little Ice Age (LIA) austral summer temperature anomalies were derived from palaeoequilibrium line altitudes at 22 cirque glacier sites across the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Modern analog seasons with temperature anomalies akin to the LIA reconstructions were selected, and then applied in a sampling of high-resolution gridded New Zealand climate data and global reanalysis data to generate LIA climate composites at local, regional and hemispheric scales. The composite anomaly patterns assist in improving our understanding of atmospheric circulation contributions to the LIA climate state, allow an interrogation of synoptic type frequency changes for the LIA relative to present, and provide a hemispheric context of the past conditions in New Zealand. An LIA summer temperature anomaly of -0.56 °C (±0.29 °C) for the Southern Alps based on palaeo-equilibrium lines compares well with local tree-ring reconstructions of austral summer temperature. Reconstructed geopotential height at 1,000 hPa (z1000) suggests enhanced southwesterly flow across New Zealand occurred during the LIA to generate the terrestrial temperature anomalies. The mean atmospheric circulation pattern for summer resulted from a crucial reduction of the `HSE'-blocking synoptic type (highs over and to the west of NZ; largely settled conditions) and increases in both the `T'- and `SW'-trough synoptic types (lows passing over NZ; enhanced southerly and southwesterly flow) relative to normal. Associated land-based temperature and precipitation anomalies suggest both colder- and wetter-than-normal conditions were a pervasive component of the base climate state across New Zealand during the LIA, as were colder-than-normal Tasman Sea surface temperatures. Proxy temperature and circulation evidence were used to corroborate the spatially heterogeneous Southern Hemisphere composite z1000 and sea surface temperature patterns generated in this study. A comparison of the composites to climate mode archetypes

Modelling technical snow production for skiing areas in the Austrian Alps with the physically based snow model AMUNDSEN

Science.gov (United States)

Hanzer, F.; Marke, T.; Steiger, R.; Strasser, U.

2012-04-01

Tourism and particularly winter tourism is a key factor for the Austrian economy. Judging from currently available climate simulations, the Austrian Alps show a particularly high vulnerability to climatic changes. To reduce the exposure of ski areas towards changes in natural snow conditions as well as to generally enhance snow conditions at skiing sites, technical snowmaking is widely utilized across Austrian ski areas. While such measures result in better snow conditions at the skiing sites and are important for the local skiing industry, its economic efficiency has also to be taken into account. The current work emerges from the project CC-Snow II, where improved future climate scenario simulations are used to determine future natural and artificial snow conditions and their effects on tourism and economy in the Austrian Alps. In a first step, a simple technical snowmaking approach is incorporated into the process based snow model AMUNDSEN, which operates at a spatial resolution of 10-50 m and a temporal resolution of 1-3 hours. Locations of skiing slopes within a ski area in Styria, Austria, were digitized and imported into the model environment. During a predefined time frame in the beginning of the ski season, the model produces a maximum possible amount of technical snow and distributes the associated snow on the slopes, whereas afterwards, until to the end of the ski season, the model tries to maintain a certain snow depth threshold value on the slopes. Due to only few required input parameters, this approach is easily transferable to other ski areas. In our poster contribution, we present first results of this snowmaking approach and give an overview of the data and methodology applied. In a further step in CC-Snow, this simple bulk approach will be extended to consider actual snow cannon locations and technical specifications, which will allow a more detailed description of technical snow production as well as cannon-based recordings of water and energy

Climate change will seriously impact bird species dwelling above the treeline: A prospective study for the Italian Alps.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrarini, Alessandro; Alatalo, Juha M; Gustin, Marco

2017-07-15

High mountain systems are predicted to be especially vulnerable to the impact of climate change, with the climatically-constrained tree limit rapidly shifted upslope. In turn, the impact of upward treeline migration on mountain-dwelling bird species is expected to significantly reduce habitat suitability. We developed the first projection of the expected climate-driven rise of the whole treeline (19,256km) of the Italian Alps. The study area extends over 20,700km 2 , ranging over 550km in longitude and 320km in latitude. We then investigated how much the expected treeline rise will induce a) shrinking and shifting of the elevation range and b) loss in suitable habitat for the flagship species rock ptarmigan, an alpine bird species dwelling above the treeline and, similarly to many other alpine species, highly vulnerable to treeline rise. We also investigated the potential gain in suitable habitat for rock ptarmigan due to the climate-driven upshift in the uppermost thermal limit. At lower altitudes (1500-1600m a.s.l.), the average expected upshift in the current treeline resulted in 195, 274 and 354m over the short (2010-2039), medium (2040-2069) and long term (2070-2099) respectively. Above 2400m a.s.l., it was less than 30m even in the long term. Overall, during the three climate periods the extent of suitable habitat for rock ptarmigan above the current treeline is projected to decrease by 28.12%, 38.43% and 49.11% respectively. In contrast, the expected gain in suitable habitat due to the shift in the uppermost thermal limit will be severely restrained by the limited surface extension in the top portion of the Italian Alps. The presented approach can promote similar studies elsewhere in the globe, providing a regional perspective to the projection of climate change impact on bird species dwelling above the treeline. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

3D Quaternary deformation pattern in the central Po Plain (Northern Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Sileo, G.; Mueller, K.; Michetti, A. M.; Livio, F.; Berlusconi, A.; Carcano, C.; Rogledi, S.; Vittori, E.

2009-04-01

The Po Plain is a foredeep basin flanked by the two major and active orogens of the Italian Peninsula, the Alps to the North and the Apennines to the South. The basin has a quasi - triangular shape and grades longitudinally to the East in the Adriatic Sea. We used petroleum industry seismic reflection data acquired by ENI E&P in the Central Po Plain, over an area spanning about 6800 km2 from Lake Como to the W to Lake Garda to the E, and from the Lombardian Southern Alps to the N and the Emilia Apennines to the S, in order to analyze and interpret selected seismic reflectors and to define the evolution in space and time of the local active tectonic structures. Folds associated with underlying thrusts were recognized based on deformation recorded by two regional sequence boundary horizons, i.e. the ‘A' Surface (1.6 Myr) and the ‘R' Surface (0. 9 Myr; e.g., Carcano & Piccin, 2002; Muttoni et al., 2003), characterized by good stratigraphic and age bracketing, and marking significant changes in the sedimentary architecture of the Po Basin. Age controls are based on stratigraphic, paleontological and magnetostratigraphic analysis by ENI E&P and Regione Lombardia (Carcano & Piccin, 2002; Scardia et al., 2006). The analysis of strain recorded by these horizons allowed us to: A) recognize a belt of active fold and thrust structures, each 10 to 20 km long, arranged with an en-echelon pattern across the whole Po Basin, and B) analyze their evolution over the Quaternary. 'A' surface (1.6 Myr) The ‘A' surface has been mapped over about 7800 Km2. From North to South four major morphobathymetric domains can be defined in the Pleistocene marine Po Basin: an Alpine platform domain, a slope that links it with the wider central basin domain, a smaller and steeper slope and an Apennine platform domain. The basin shape has an asymmetric transversal profile and is ca. 40 km wide. Several tectonic structures affect this surface. On the Alpine platform domain two small structures

De la production fruitière intégrée à la gestion écologique des vergers aux Antilles

OpenAIRE

Lavigne, Claire; Lesueur-Jannoyer, M.; de Lacroix, S.; Chauvet, G.; Lavigne, A.; Dufeal, D.

2011-01-01

La forte anthropisation aux Antilles françaises, la pression des monocultures de banane et de canne à sucre, et l'usage immodéré de pesticides, ont abouti à la pollution persistante d'une partie importante des sols de la SAU ainsi que des eaux de rivière et des nappes phréatiques. Si, dans les dix dernières années, la recherche de moyens de lutte biologique contre les insectes a été prioritaire, la lutte contre les adventices continue d'être un problème central pour les arboriculteurs qui ne ...

Planning the Brown Bear Ursus arctos reintroduction in the Adamello Brenta Natural Park. A tool to establish a metapopulation in the Central-Eastern Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Mustoni

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract In the 17^th century, brown bears (Ursus arctos were still abundant and widely distributed over the entire alpine area of northern Italy and even in large, dense forests of the prealps and the Po plain. The start of the decline coincided with increasing deforestation for farming at the end of the 18^th century and, in the 19^th century, increased access to previously remote wilderness areas of the prealpine and alpine mountains, where direct persecution by farmers and hunters caused the extinction of local bear populations. The last remnant population that occupied the Adamello-Brenta Alps was considered biologically extinct since 1989 (only three, non-reproducing bears. Here we present an analysis of the reintroduction process as the most suitable tool for brown bear recovery in the Italian Alps, taking into account both the benefits of reinstating a viable population and the risks that the coexistence between man and bear could cause. The reintroduction process is discussed aiming at an evaluation of its contribution to the global future efforts for brown bear conservation in the alpine region. A GIS-based habitat suitability analysis was implemented to test for good-quality bear habitat in a vast mountainous area around the Adamello-Brenta Natural Park (6500 km², the release site of bears. The model was based on presence/absence data, gathered over the last 20 years, and habitat parameters in 25 ha cells in the core-area of the remnant bear population (645 km² study area. Other parameters of human disturbance and livestock densities, were considered at the scale of the municipality. Bears positively selected deciduous forest but seemed to avoid areas with intensive pasture activity, mainly of horses and sheep, despite the latter being a potential prey. Habitats containing large amounts of bare rock, farmland and urbanised areas were avoided. There were no significant

Orogenic-type copper-gold-arsenic-(bismuth) mineralization at Flatschach (Eastern Alps), Austria

Science.gov (United States)

Raith, Johann G.; Leitner, Thomas; Paar, Werner H.

2015-10-01

Structurally controlled Cu-Au mineralization in the historic Flatschach mining district (Styria, Austria) occurs in a NE-SW to NNE-WSW oriented vein system as multiple steep-dipping calcite-(dolomite)-quartz veins in amphibolite facies metamorphic rocks (banded gneisses/amphibolites, orthogneisses, metagranitoids) of the poly-metamorphosed Austroalpine Silvretta-Seckau nappe. Vein formation postdated ductile deformation events and Eoalpine (Late Cretaceous) peak metamorphism but predated Early to Middle Miocene sediment deposition in the Fohnsdorf pull-apart basin; coal-bearing sediments cover the metamorphic basement plus the mineralized veins at the northern edge of the basin. Three gold-bearing ore stages consist of a stage 1 primary hydrothermal (mesothermal?) ore assemblage dominated by chalcopyrite, pyrite and arsenopyrite. Associated minor minerals include alloclasite, enargite, bornite, sphalerite, galena, bismuth and matildite. Gold in this stage is spatially associated with chalcopyrite occurring as inclusions, along re-healed micro-fractures or along grain boundaries of chalcopyrite with pyrite or arsenopyrite. Sericite-carbonate alteration is developed around the veins. Stage 2 ore minerals formed by the replacement of stage 1 sulfides and include digenite, anilite, "blue-remaining covellite" (spionkopite, yarrowite), bismuth, and the rare copper arsenides domeykite and koutekite. Gold in stage 2 is angular to rounded in shape and occurs primarily in the carbonate (calcite, Fe-dolomite) gangue and less commonly together with digenite, domeykite/koutekite and bismuth. Stage 3 is a strongly oxidized assemblage that includes hematite, cuprite, and various secondary Cu- and Fe-hydroxides and -carbonates. It formed during supergene weathering. Stage 1 and 2 gold consists mostly of electrum (gold fineness 640-860; mean = 725; n = 46), and rare near pure gold (fineness 930-940; n = 6). Gold in stage 3 is Ag-rich electrum (fineness 350-490, n = 12), and has a

Composition of microbial communities in aerosol, snow and ice samples from remote glaciated areas (Antarctica, Alps, Andes)

Science.gov (United States)

Elster, J.; Delmas, R. J.; Petit, J.-R.; Řeháková, K.

2007-06-01

Taxonomical and ecological analyses were performed on micro-autotrophs (cyanobacteria and algae together with remnants of diatom valves), micro-fungi (hyphae and spores), bacteria (rod, cocci and red clusters), yeast, and plant pollen extracted from various samples: Alps snow (Mt. Blank area), Andean snow (Illimani, Bolivia), Antarctic aerosol filters (Dumont d'Urville, Terre Adélie), and Antarctic inland ice (Terre Adélie). Three methods for ice and snow sample's pre-concentration were tested (filtration, centrifugation and lyophilisation). Afterwards, cultivation methods for terrestrial, freshwater and marine microorganisms (micro-autotrophs and micro-fungi) were used in combination with liquid and solid media. The main goal of the study was to find out if micro-autotrophs are commonly transported by air masses, and later stored in snow and icecaps around the world. The most striking result of this study was the absence of culturable micro-autotrophs in all studied samples. However, an unusual culturable pigmented prokaryote was found in both alpine snow and aerosol samples. Analyses of many samples and proper statistical analyses (PCA, RDA- Monte Carlo permutation tests) showed that studied treatments highly significantly differ in both microbial community and biotic remnants composition F=9.33, p=0.001. In addition, GLM showed that studied treatments highly significantly differ in numbers of categories of microorganisms and remnants of biological material F=11.45, p=0.00005. The Antarctic aerosol samples were characterised by having red clusters of bacteria, the unusual prokaryote and yeasts. The high mountain snow from the Alps and Andes contained much more culturable heterotrophs. The unusual prokaryote was very abundant, as were coccoid bacteria, red clusters of bacteria, as well as yeasts. The Antarctic ice samples were quite different. These samples had higher numbers of rod bacteria and fungal hyphae. The microbial communities and biological remnants of

Assessment and selection of geomorphosites and trails in the Miage Glacier area (Western Italian alps).

Science.gov (United States)

Bollati, Irene; Smiraglia, Claudio; Pelfini, Manuela

2013-04-01

Glacial environments are considered geomorphosites because they exhibit all of the features that characterise sites of geomorphological interest. The Miage Glacier, in particular, is the most important debris-covered glacier of the Italian Alps, and it has been extensively studied since the 18th century because of its scientific features. In this area, the geomorphological and geological attributes are evaluated at 11 sites that have been individuated along the three main touristic trails, which allow an exploration of the surroundings of the glacial tongue and its two main lobes. Using a methodology previously tested in a fluvial environment, single sites and trails are quantitatively assessed to determine the most suitable trail for educational purposes. Hazards that could potentially affect the trails are considered in terms of both risk education and final selection of the most suitable trails for the various possible user groups. The richness of scientific data in this area should increase its importance as a geomorphosite by increasing the educational value of the Miage Glacier and the Veny Valley.

Evaluation of glymphatic system activity with the diffusion MR technique: diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) in Alzheimer’s disease cases

OpenAIRE

Taoka, Toshiaki; Masutani, Yoshitaka; Kawai, Hisashi; Nakane, Toshiki; Matsuoka, Kiwamu; Yasuno, Fumihiko; Kishimoto, Toshifumi; Naganawa, Shinji

2017-01-01

Purpose: The activity of the glymphatic system is impaired in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We evaluated the activity of the human glymphatic system in cases of AD with a diffusion-based technique called diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS). Materials and methods: Diffusion tensor images were acquired to calculate diffusivities in the x, y, and z axes of the plane of the lateral ventricle body in 31 patients. We evaluated the diffusivity along t...

Biochemical and molecular modulation of CCl4-induced peripheral and central damage by Tilia americana var. mexicanaextracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Coballase-Urrutia, Elvia; Cárdenas-Rodríguez, Noemí; González-García, María Carolina; Núñez-Ramírez, Eithan; Floriano-Sánchez, Esaú; González-Trujano, María Eva; Fernández-Rojas, Berenice; Pedraza-Chaverrí, José; Montesinos-Correa, Hortencia; Rivera-Espinosa, Liliana; Sampieri, Aristides Iii; Carmona-Aparicio, Liliana

2017-03-01

Around the world, species from the genus Tilia are commonly used because of their peripheral and central medicinal effects; they are prepared as teas and used as tranquilizing, anticonvulsant, and analgesic agents. In this study, we provide evidence of the protective effects of organic and aqueous extracts (100 mg/kg, i.p.) obtained from the leaves of Tilia americana var. mexicana on CCl 4 -induced liver and brain damage in the rat. Protection was observed in the liver and brain (cerebellum, cortex and cerebral hemispheres) by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) using spectrophotometric methods. Biochemical parameters were also assessed in serum samples from the CCl 4 -treated rats. The T. americana var. mexicana leaf extracts provided significant protection against CCl 4 -induced peripheral and central damage by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, diminishing lipid peroxidation, and preventing alterations in biochemical serum parameters, such as the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-globulin (γ-GLOB), serum albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (BB), creatinine (CREA) and creatine kinase (CK), relative to the control group. Additionally, we correlated gene expression with antioxidant activity in the experimental groups treated with the organic and aqueous Tilia extracts and observed a non-statistically significant positive correlation. Our results provide evidence of the underlying biomedical properties of T. americana var. mexicana that confer its neuro- and hepatoprotective effects.

Temporal changes of inorganic ion deposition in the seasonal snow cover for the Austrian Alps (1983-2014)

Science.gov (United States)

Greilinger, Marion; Schöner, Wolfgang; Winiwarter, Wilfried; Kasper-Giebl, Anne

2016-05-01

A long-term record of inorganic ion concentrations in wet and dry deposition sampled from snow packs at two high altitude glaciers was used to assess impacts of air pollution on remote sites in central Europe. Sampling points were located at Wurtenkees and Goldbergkees near the Sonnblick Observatory (3106 m above sea level), a background site for measuring the status of the atmosphere in Austria's Eastern Alps. Sampling was carried out every spring at the end of the winter accumulation period in the years 1983-2014. Concentrations of major ions (NH4+, SO42-, NO3-, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+ and Cl-) were determined using ion chromatography (IC) as well as atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in the earlier years. Concentration of H+ was calculated via the measured pH of the samples. Trends in deposition and concentration were analysed for all major ions within the period from 1983 to 2014 using Kendall's tau rank correlation coefficient. From 1983 to 2014, total ion concentration declined ∼25%, i.e. solutions became ∼25% more dilute, indicating reduced acidic atmospheric deposition, even at high altitude in winter snow. SO42- and NO3- concentrations decreased significantly by 70% and 30%, respectively, accompanied by a 54% decrease of H+ concentrations. Ionic concentrations in snowpack were dominated by H+ and SO42- in the earliest decade measured, whereas they were dominated by Ca2+ by the most recent decade. SO42- and H+ depositions, i.e. concentrations multiplied by volume, also showed a significant decrease of more than 50% at both sites. This reflects the successful emission reductions of the precursor gases SO2 and NOx. Seasonal values with significantly elevated spring concentrations of NH4+, SO42- and H+ compared to fall snow reflects the beginning of vertical mixing during spring. All other ions do not show any seasonality. Source identification of the ions was performed using a principal component analysis (PCA). One anthropogenic cluster (SO42-, NO3- and NH

A Study of Precipitation Climatology and Its Variability over Europe Using an Advanced Regional Model (WRF)

KAUST Repository

Dasari, Hari Prasad

2015-03-06

In recent years long-term precipitation trends on a regional scale have been given emphasis due to the impacts of global warming on regional hydrology. In this study, regional precipitation trends are simulated over the Europe continent for a 60-year period in 1950-2010 using an advanced regional model, WRF, to study extreme precipitation events over Europe. The model runs continuously for each year during the period at a horizontal resolution of 25 km with initial/ boundary conditions derived from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) 2.5 degree reanalysis data sets. The E-OBS 0.25 degree rainfall observation analysis is used for model validation. Results indicate that the model could reproduce the spatial annual rainfall pattern over Europe with low amounts (250 - 750 mm) in Iberian Peninsula, moderate to large amounts (750 - 1500 mm) in central, eastern and northeastern parts of Europe and extremely heavy falls (1500 - 2000 mm) in hilly areas of Alps with a slight overestimation in Alps and underestimation in other parts of Europe. The regional model integrations showed increasing errors (mean absolute errors) and decreasing correlations with increasing time scale (daily to seasonal). Rainfall is simulated relatively better in Iberian Peninsula, northwest and central parts of Europe. A large spatial variability with the highest number of wet days over eastern, central Europe and Alps (~200 days/year) and less number of wet days over Iberian Peninsula (≤150 days/year) is also found in agreement with observations. The model could simulate the spatial rainfall climate variability reasonably well with low rainfall days (1 - 10 mm/days) in almost all zones, heavy rainfall events in western, northern, southeastern hilly and coastal zones and extremely heavy rainfall events in northern coastal zones. An increasing trend of heavy rainfall in central, southern and southeastern parts, a decreasing trend in Iberian Peninsula and a steady trend in other

Present vertical movements in Central and Northern Italy from GPS data: Possible role of natural and anthropogenic causes

Science.gov (United States)

Cenni, N.; Viti, M.; Baldi, P.; Mantovani, E.; Bacchetti, M.; Vannucchi, A.

2013-11-01

Insights into the present vertical kinematic pattern in Central and Northern Italy are gained by the analysis of GPS data acquired by a network of 262 permanent stations, working over various time intervals since 2001. Uplift is observed in the Alps (up to 5 mm/yr) and Apennines (1-2 mm/yr), whereas subsidence is recognized in the southern Venetian Plain (2-4 mm/yr) and the eastern Po Valley, where the highest rates are observed (up to 9 mm/yr between Reggio Emilia and Rimini). On the other hand, the western part of the Po Valley presents very low vertical rates. The boundary between subsiding and not subsiding Po Valley nearly corresponds to the Giudicarie tectonic discontinuity. It is argued that the different kinematic patterns of the eastern and western Padanian sectors may also be related to the underthrusting of the eastern domain beneath the western one. Some considerations are then reported on how the various causes of vertical movements (tectonic and sedimentological processes) may contribute to the observed kinematics.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of sediment in contrasted mountainous watersheds (Mexican transvolcanic belt and French Southern Alps) combining river gauging, elemental geochemistry and fallout radionuclides

Science.gov (United States)

Evrard, O.; Navratil, O.; Gratiot, N.; Némery, J.; Duvert, C.; Ayrault, S.; Lefèvre, I.; Legout, C.; Bonté, P.; Esteves, M.

2009-12-01

In mountainous environments, an excessive fine sediment supply to the rivers typically leads to an increase in water turbidity, contaminant transport and a rapid filling of reservoirs. This situation is particularly problematic in regions where water reservoirs are used to provide drinking water to large cities (e.g. in central Mexico) or where stream water is used to run hydroelectric power plants (e.g. in the French Southern Alps). In such areas, sediment source areas first need to be delineated and sediment fluxes between hillslopes and the river system must be better understood before implementing efficient erosion control measures. In this context, the STREAMS (« Sediment Transport and Erosion Across MountainS ») project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) aims at understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of sediment at the scale of mountainous watersheds (between 500 - 1000 km2) located in contrasted environments. This 3-years study is carried out simultaneously in a volcanic watershed located in the Mexican transvolcanic belt undergoing a subhumid tropical climate, as well as in a sedimentary watershed of the French Southern Alps undergoing a transitional climate with Mediterranean and continental influences. One of the main specificities of this project consists in combining traditional monitoring techniques (i.e. installation of river gauges, turbidimeters and sediment samplers in several sub-catchments) and sediment fingerprinting using elemental geochemistry (measured by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis - INAA - and Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry - ICP-MS) and fallout radionuclides (measured by gamma spectrometry). In the French watershed, geochemical analysis allows outlining different sediment sources (e.g. the contribution of calcareous vs. marl-covered sub-watersheds). Radionuclide ratios (e.g.Be-7/Cs-137) allow identifying the dominant erosion processes occurring within the watershed. Areas mostly

Deeply subducted continental fragments - Part 1: Fracturing, dissolution-precipitation, and diffusion processes recorded by garnet textures of the central Sesia Zone (western Italian Alps)

Science.gov (United States)

Giuntoli, Francesco; Lanari, Pierre; Engi, Martin

2018-02-01

Contiguous continental high-pressure terranes in orogens offer insight into deep recycling and transformation processes that occur in subduction zones. These remain poorly understood, and currently debated ideas need testing. The approach we chose is to investigate, in detail, the record in suitable rock samples that preserve textures and robust mineral assemblages that withstood overprinting during exhumation. We document complex garnet zoning in eclogitic mica schists from the Sesia Zone (western Italian Alps). These retain evidence of two orogenic cycles and provide detailed insight into resorption, growth, and diffusion processes induced by fluid pulses in high-pressure conditions. We analysed local textures and garnet compositional patterns, which turned out remarkably complex. By combining these with thermodynamic modelling, we could unravel and quantify repeated fluid-rock interaction processes. Garnet shows low-Ca porphyroclastic cores that were stable under (Permian) granulite facies conditions. The series of rims that surround these cores provide insight into the subsequent evolution: the first garnet rim that surrounds the pre-Alpine granulite facies core in one sample indicates that pre-Alpine amphibolite facies metamorphism followed the granulite facies event. In all samples documented, cores show lobate edges and preserve inner fractures, which are sealed by high-Ca garnet that reflects high-pressure Alpine conditions. These observations suggest that during early stages of subduction, before hydration of the granulites, brittle failure of garnet occurred, indicating high strain rates that may be due to seismic failure. Several Alpine rims show conspicuous textures indicative of interaction with hydrous fluid: (a) resorption-dominated textures produced lobate edges, at the expense of the outer part of the granulite core; (b) peninsulas and atoll garnet are the result of replacement reactions; and (c) spatially limited resorption and enhanced transport

Fallout Radionuclides as Tracers in Southern Alps Sediment Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, A. E.; Karanovic, Z.; Dibb, J. E.

2005-12-01

The primary geologic processes shaping the landscape are physical and chemical weathering and the transport of solids by erosion. As part of our studies on the coupling between physical erosion and chemical weathering, we have determined depositional and erosional processes in New Zealand's tectonically active, rapidly uplifting Southern Alps, specifically focusing on the Hokitika River watershed. The South Island watersheds we are studying are subject to extreme orographic precipitation (as high as 7-12 m annually) and high landslide frequency, but have modest topography due to the rapid erosion. In concert with our studies of chemical weathering and physical erosion, we have used the atmospherically-delivered radionuclides of 7Be, 137Cs and 210Pbexcess to determine the relative magnitude of particle residence time in the high elevation Cropp and Whitcombe subwatersheds and the rates of sedimentation. One- and two-box modeling with 7Be and 210Pbexcess was used to determine soil and sediment residence times. Residence time of fine suspended particles is short and particles can travel the length of the river during a single storm, probably due to the short duration, high-intensity rainfalls which produce rapidly moving, steep flood waves. The readily detected peak of 137Cs activity in Cropp terrace and Hokitika gorge soils yielded sedimentation rates of 0.06-0.12 cm yr-1. At the Cropp terrace, inventory models of 210Pbexcess yield soil accumulation rates significantly less than those determined using the 137Cs activity peak. We attribute the differences to overestimation of 210Pbexcess in surface soils and to contrasting fallout fluxes, geochemical behavior and radionuclide contents of sedimenting materials. Total inventories of 210Pbexcess in soils greatly exceed the expected direct atmospheric deposition, suggesting that lateral transport of this nuclide occurs within the watershed. At the Hokitika gorge, all nuclides studied yielded similar sedimentation rates

Emplazamiento hacia el ENE del manto de Los Reales (Alpujarrides occidentales: criterios estructurales y de petrofábrica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tubía, J. M.

1984-08-01

Full Text Available Los Reales nappe rests over Ojén nappe to the North of Sierra Alpujata. The nappe contact zone shows a intense plastic deformation with mylonitic rocks, The deformation decreases progressively going away from the contacto The structural study of footwall and hangingwall roen permits to attribute this deformation to the Los Reales nappe emplacement over that of Ojén. The foliation and stretching lineation distributions show a WSW-ENE shear direction. The mylonite microstructural characteristics and the enstatite crystalline preferred orientations in the basal peridotites give a mear sense in according that, Los Reales nappe is displaced, in their present position, from the WSW towards the ENE.

El manto de Los Reales descansa sobre el manto de Ojén, al norte de Sierra Alpujata. La zona de contacto entre mantos exhibe una intensa deformación plástica con rocas miloníticas; la deformación disminuye progresivamente al alejarse del contacto. El estudio estructural de las rocas infra y suprayacentes al contacto permite atribuir esta deformación al emplazamiento del manto de Los Reales sobre el de Ojén. , Las distribuciones de la foliación y de la lineación, de estiramiento indican una dirección de cizallamiento WSW-ENE. Las características microestructurales de las milonitas y las orientaciones preferentes cristalinas de la enstatita en las peridotitas basales proporcionan un sentido de cizallamiento tal que el manto de Los Reales se ha desplazado, en su posición actual, desde el WSW hacia el ENE.

Historical reconstruction of Plutonium contamination in the Swiss-Italian Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabrieli J.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Plutonium is present in the environment as a consequence of atmospheric nuclear tests carried out in the 1960s, nuclear weapons production and releases by the nuclear industry over the past 50 years. Approximately 6 tons of 239Pu have been released into the environment as a result of 541 atmospheric weapon tests Nuclear Pu fallout has been studied in various environmental archives, such as sediments, soil and herbarium grass. Mid-latitude ice cores have been studied as well, on Mont Blanc, the Western Alps and on Belukha Glacier, Siberian Altai. We present a Pu record obtained by analyzing 52 discrete samples of an alpine firn/ice core from Colle Gnifetti (M. Rosa, 4450 m a.s.l., dating from 1945 to 1991. The 239Pu signal was recorded directly, without preliminary cleaning or preconcentration steps, using an high resolution inductively plasma mass spectrometer equipped with a desolvation system. The 239Pu profile reflects the three main periods of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing: the earliest peak lasted from 1954/55 to 1958 and was caused by the first testing period reaching a maximum in 1958. Despite a temporary halt of testing in 1959/60, the Pu concentration decreased only by half with respect to the 1958 peak due to long atmospheric residence times. In 1961/62 Pu concentrations rapidly increased reaching a maximum in 1963. After the signing of the “Limited Test Ban Treaty” between USA and USSR in 1964, Pu deposition decreased very sharply reaching a minimum in 1967. The third period (1967-1975 is characterized by irregular Pu concentrations with smaller peaks which might be related to the deposition of Saharan dust contaminated by the French nuclear tests of the 1960s.

Data quality control and tools in passive seismic experiments exemplified on Czech broad-band seismic pool MOBNET in the AlpArray collaborative project

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vecsey, Luděk; Plomerová, Jaroslava; Jedlička, Petr; Munzarová, Helena; Babuška, Vladislav

2017-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 2 (2017), s. 505-521 ISSN 2193-0856 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LM2010008; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015079; GA MŠk(CZ) LD15029; GA MŠk(CZ) EF16_013/0001800 Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) M100121201 Program:Program interní podpory projektů mezinárodní spolupráce AV ČR Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : Rayleigh-wave polarization * seismometer orientation * data quality * AlpArray * seismic noise Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure OBOR OECD: Volcanology Impact factor: 1.023, year: 2016

Climate change and human disturbance can lead to local extinction of Alpine rock ptarmigan: new insight from the western Italian Alps.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Imperio

Full Text Available Alpine grouses are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their adaptation to extreme conditions and to their relict distributions in the Alps where global warming has been particularly marked in the last half century. Grouses are also currently threatened by habitat modification and human disturbance, and an assessment of the impact of multiple stressors is needed to predict the fate of Alpine populations of these birds in the next decades. We estimated the effect of climate change and human disturbance on a rock ptarmigan population living in the western Italian Alps by combining an empirical population modelling approach and stochastic simulations of the population dynamics under the a1B climate scenario and two different disturbance scenarios, represented by the development of a ski resort, through 2050.The early appearance of snow-free ground in the previous spring had a favorable effect on the rock ptarmigan population, probably through a higher reproductive success. On the contrary, delayed snowfall in autumn had a negative effect possibly due to a mismatch in time to molt to white winter plumage which increases predation risk. The regional climate model PROTHEUS does not foresee any significant change in snowmelt date in the study area, while the start date of continuous snow cover is expected to be significantly delayed. The net effect in the stochastic projections is a more or less pronounced (depending on the model used decline in the studied population. The addition of extra-mortality due to collision with ski-lift wires led the population to fatal consequences in most projections. Should these results be confirmed by larger studies the conservation of Alpine populations would deserve more attention. To counterbalance the effects of climate change, the reduction of all causes of death should be pursued, through a strict preservation of the habitats in the present area of occurrence.

The prevalence of Dirofilaria repens in cats, healthy dogs and dogs with concurrent babesiosis in an expansion zone in central Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Bajer, Anna; Rodo, Anna; Mierzejewska, Ewa J; Tołkacz, Katarzyna; Welc-Faleciak, Renata

2016-09-05

Dirofilaria repens is a mosquito-transmitted, filarial nematode parasitizing dogs, cats and other carnivores. Recently, this parasite has spread in central Europe, including Poland. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of D. repens in cats and dogs in different regions of the country and to investigate the occurrence and consequences of co-infection with another fast-spreading vector-borne parasite, Babesia canis. In the period 2013-2015, 147 blood samples from cats from central Poland and 257 blood samples from dogs from central, northern, southern and western Poland were collected. Prevalence of D. repens was determined by amplification and sequencing of the 12S rDNA gene fragment. Among dogs, 94 samples originated from clinically healthy dogs from central Poland (Masovia) and 58 samples originated from dogs that were infected with B. canis. Prevalence of D. repens was compared between these two groups of dogs. For the first time D. repens was identified in a cat from central Europe (0.7 % [95 % CL: 0-4.1 %]). The DNA of the filarial endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia was detected in two cats (1.4 % [95 % CL: 0-5.5 %]). In dogs, the parasite was detected only in samples from central Poland (Masovia) (local prevalence = 38 % [95 % CL: 25.9-51.8 %]). Prevalence of D. repens was significantly higher in dogs with babesiosis (90 % [95 % CL: 81.6-94.5 %]). Co-infections of D. repens and B. canis were confirmed by sequencing in 30 dogs with babesiosis, but no co-infections were identified in healthy dogs from Masovia. Statistical analyses of blood parameters revealed that dogs with co-infections suffered more severe anemia and thrombocytopenia, but presented milder changes in biochemical parameters (i.e. less elevated concentration of alkaline phosphatase [ALP] and serum urea) suggesting lower risk of hepatic or renal failure in comparison to dogs infected only with B. canis. These findings are important due to the spread of

SARSTEINIA BABAI N. GEN., N. SP., A NEW PROBLEMATIC SPONGE (INOZOA? FROM THE LATE JURASSIC OF THE NORTHERN CALCAREOUS ALPS, AUSTRIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FELIX SCHLAGINTWEIT

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The new problematic sponge Sarsteinia babai n. gen., n. sp. is described from the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian Plassen and Lärchberg Formations of the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria. The type-locality is the Sarsteinalm north of Mount Hoher Sarstein in the Austrian Salzkammergut, other findings come from Mount Sandling, Mount Jainzen, Mount Trisselwand and the Litzlkogel-Gerhardstein-complex west of Lofer. Most findings can be attributed to a fore-reef to upper slope facies or slope-of-toe breccias, small fragments can occasionally also be found in the back-reef facies. The suprageneric systematic position of the new sponge is unknown so far since it shows morphological characteristics known from Inozoa but also from "stromatoporoids".

Detecting human presence at the border of the Northeastern Italian Pre-Alps. 14C dating at Rio Secco cave as expression of the first Gravettian and the late mousterian in the Northern Adriatic Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Talamo, Sahra; Peresani, Marco; Romandini, Matteo; Duches, Rossella; Jéquier, Camille; Nannini, Nicola; Pastoors, Andreas; Picin, Andrea; Vaquero, Manuel; Weniger, Gerd-Christian; Hublin, Jean-Jacques

2014-01-01

In the northern Adriatic regions, which include the Venetian region and the Dalmatian coast, late Neanderthal settlements are recorded in few sites and even more ephemeral are remains of the Mid-Upper Palaeolithic occupations. A contribution to reconstruct the human presence during this time range has been produced from a recently investigated cave, Rio Secco, located in the northern Adriatic region at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps. Chronometric data make Rio Secco a key site in the context of recording occupation by late Neanderthals and regarding the diffusion of the Mid-Upper Palaeolithic culture in a particular district at the border of the alpine region. As for the Gravettian, its diffusion in Italy is a subject of on-going research and the aim of this paper is to provide new information on the timing of this process in Italy. In the southern end of the Peninsula the first occupation dates to around 28,000 14C BP, whereas our results on Gravettian layer range from 29,390 to 28,995 14C years BP. At the present state of knowledge, the emergence of the Gravettian in eastern Italy is contemporaneous with several sites in Central Europe and the chronological dates support the hypothesis that the Swabian Gravettian probably dispersed from eastern Austria.

Resonant light power buildup in ALPS, a ''light shining through a wall''-experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meier, Tobias; Danzmann, Karsten; Willke, Benno [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert Einstein Institut (Germany); Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Callinstrasse 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Ehret, Klaus; Ghazaryan, Samvel; Knabbe, Axel; Lindner, Axel; List, Jenny; Meyer, Niels; Notz, Dieter; Redondo, Javier; Ringwald, Andreas [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Frede, Maik; Hildebrandt, Matthias [Laserzentrum Hannover e.V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover (Germany); Wiedemann, Guenter [Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg (Germany)

2009-07-01

We report on the first successfull application of a new experimental technique to search for weakly interacting sub-eV particles (WISPs) coupling to photons. As part of the ALPS experiment located at DESY in Hamburg, this technique uses an optical resonator to enhance the power inside a HERA dipole magnet on the production side of a typical ''light shining through a wall''-experiment. We use a frequency doubled continuous-wave laser emitting 0.6 W of power at 532 nm that is stabilized to a linear optical resonator with 8 m length. On resonance we achieve a circulating power of 34 W within the magnet. With this we obtained sensitivities corresponding to a coupling strength of g{approx}5.10{sup -7} GeV{sup -1} for interactions of axion-like particles and photons. The experimental setup and possible improvements are described and compared with common experimental designs with pulsed lasers.

Centralized vs. de-centralized multinationals and taxes

OpenAIRE

Nielsen, Søren Bo; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Schjelderup, Guttorm

2005-01-01

The paper examines how country tax differences affect a multinational enterprise's choice to centralize or de-centralize its decision structure. Within a simple model that emphasizes the multiple conflicting roles of transfer prices in MNEs – here, as a strategic pre-commitment device and a tax manipulation instrument –, we show that (de-)centralized decisions are more profitable when tax differentials are (small) large. Keywords: Centralized vs. de-centralized decisions, taxes, MNEs. ...

How to teach geocomplexity at two opposite levels? The 'Klippen of Cabrières' case study (Hérault, France).

Science.gov (United States)

Giusti, Christian

2014-05-01

specialties required: inorganic chemistry, paleontology, structural geology, geomorphology. For the public of motivated adults, it may be helpful to remember the key milestones of one century of regional geology: first detailed geological mapping by Paul Gervais de Rouville in the 1870s, Jules Bergeron's "nappe de recouvrement" inspired by the work of Marcel Bertrand in Provence and Switzerland, Bernard Gèze's "nappe-pli couché" derived on Pierre Termier's "nappe du premier genre" in the Alps, the widespread use of sedimentological and micro-tectonic criteria after Second World War (though formerly implemented by André Demay in the Cévennes before 1939), with the studies of Lamoraal Ulbo Sitter, Rodolphe Trümpy and John Rodgers in the 1950s up to those of Maurice Mattauer, François Proust and François Arthaud in the early 1970s. Regarding the teaching of geological time, the issue will be addressed ex situ with the help of the clock model defined above, and could be completed by fieldwork with the observation in situ of one of the real "bars" of the stratigraphic "ladder", i.e. the GSSP's of La Serre section. Two other points are situated nearby: the Coumiac quarry near Cessenon (base of the Famennian Stage) and the Col du Puech de la Suque (base of the Frasnian Stage and Upper Devonian Sub-System). Fieldwork is aimed to link the study of geodiversity to that of biodiversity, in addition to paleontology, paleogeography and the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments.

Sensitivity of very small glaciers in the Swiss Alps to future climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias eHuss

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Very small glaciers (<0.5 km2 account for more than 80% of the total number of glaciers in mid- to low-latitude mountain ranges. Although their total area and volume is small compared to larger glaciers, they are a relevant component of the cryosphere, contributing to landscape formation, local hydrology and sea-level rise. Worldwide glacier monitoring mostly focuses on medium-sized to large glaciers leaving us with a limited understanding of the response of dwarf glaciers to climate change. In this study, we present a comprehensive modeling framework to assess past and future changes of very small glaciers at the mountain-range scale. Among other processes our model accounts for snow redistribution, changes in glacier geometry and the time-varying effect of supraglacial debris. It computes the mass balance distribution, the englacial temperature regime and proglacial runoff. The evolution of 1,133 individual glaciers in the Swiss Alps is modeled in detail until 2060 based on new distributed data sets. Our results indicate that 52% of all very small glaciers in Switzerland will completely disappear within the next 25 years. However, a few avalanche-fed glaciers at low elevation might be able to survive even substantial atmospheric warming. We find highly variable sensitivities of very small glaciers to air temperature change, with gently-sloping, low-elevation, and debris-covered glaciers being most sensitive.