Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Une approche par datations multiples a été menée sur les dépôts de sédiments de crue retrouvés dans les gorges du Gardon (Languedoc). Le plomb-210, le césium-137 et l’analyse géochimique des sédiments contaminés par les mines ont été utilisés pour reconstruire l’histoire des dépôts de crue. Cette approche a été combinée avec l’historique des crues du Gardon depuis 1890 pour affiner l’approche géochronologique. Au niveau de la cavité GG et de la terrasse GE les analyses ont permis d’illustrer les mécanismes d’érosion-redéposition pouvant perturber les séquences de sédiments. Les enregistrements des dépôts de sédiments de crue sont complets sur la terrasse GE située à 10 m au-dessus du lit mineur à partir de 1958, et incomplets auparavant. Sur la période 1880-1958, 25 crues ont eu un débit suffisant (>1450 m3/s) pour recouvrir la terrasse, alors que l’on recense seulement 5 à 6 crues depuis 1958 (pour un débit de submersion supérieur à 1700 m3/s). L’augmentation progressive du débit de submersion et la fréquence moindre d’inondation de la terrasse ont pu permettre sur la période récente la stabilisation de la couche de surface par la végétation et limiter l’érosion lors de crues importantes. Les enregistrements semblent complets dans la cavité GG située à 15 m au-dessus du lit mineur. La fréquence moindre de submersion à ce niveau plus élevé peut expliquer une meilleure stabilisation des dépôts de crue, rendus moins vulnérables à l’érosion. La datation au radiocarbone a été testée même si elle ne permet pas de dater avec précision les dépôts de crue des derniers siècles. Sur la terrasse GE, 80% des dates au carbone 14 sur charbon de bois sont beaucoup trop vieilles par rapport aux autres techniques de datation, ce qui peut s’expliquer par une remobilisation/déstockage de charbons de bois anciens. Les datations radiocarbone sur graines donnent de meilleurs résultats, car issues d’une production annuelle, plus facilement décomposable et moins sujette à des dépôts intermédiaires. Au final, il apparaît que la technique de datation par radiocarbone sur des charbons de bois retrouvés dans les séquences sédimentaires n’est pas fiable, alors qu’elle est la plus pratiquée en paléo-hydrologie. L’utilisation combinée du plomb-210, du césium-137, de l’analyse géochimique des sédiments et des informations sur les crues historiques a permis de discriminer et de dater les différents dépôts de crue de ce dernier siècle dans la cavité GG et la terrasse GE. / A multidating approach was carried out on slackwater flood deposits, preserved in valley side rock cave and terrace, of the Gardon River in Languedoc, southeast France. Lead-210, caesium-137, and geochemical analysis of mining-contaminated slackwater flood sediments have been used to reconstruct the history of these flood deposits. These age controls were combined with the continuous record of Gardon flow since 1890, and the combined records were then used to assign ages to slackwater deposits. The stratigraphic records of terrace GE and cave GG were excellent examples to illustrate the effects of erosion/preservation in a context of a progressively self-censoring, vertically accreting sequence. The sedimentary flood record of the terrace GE located at 10 m above the channel bed is complete for years post-1958 but incomplete before. During the 78-year period 1880-1958, 25 floods of a sufficient magnitude (> 1450 m3/s) have covered the terrace. Since 1958, however, the frequency of inundation of the deposits has been lower:only 5 or 6 floods in 52 years have been large enough to exceed the necessary threshold discharge (> 1700 m3/s). The progressive increase of threshold discharge and the reduced frequency of inundation at the terrace could allow stabilisation of the vegetation cover and improved protection against erosion from subsequent large magnitude flood events. The sedimentary flood record seems complete for cave GG located at 15 m above the channel bed. Here, the low frequency of events would have enabled a high degree of stabilisation of the sedimentary flood record, rendering the deposits less susceptible to erosion. Radiocarbon dating are used in this study and compared to the other dating techniques.Eighty percent of radiocarbon dates on charcoals were considerably older than those obtained by the other techniques in the terrace. On the other hand, radiocarbon dating on seeds provided better results. This discrepancy between radiocarbon dates on charcoal and seeds is explained by the nature of the dated material (permanent wood vs. annual production and resistance to degradation process). Finally, we showed in this study that although the most common dating technique used in paleoflood hydrology is radiocarbon dating, usually on charcoal preserved within slackwater flood sediments, this method did not permitus to define a coherent age model. Only the combined use of lead-210, caesium-137, and geochemical analysis of mining-contaminated sediments with the instrumental flood record can be applied to discriminate and date the recent slackwater deposits of the terrace GE and cave GG.
ISSN: 0169-555X

hal-01059669
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01059669
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01059669/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01059669/file/ly2014-pub00040953.pdf
IRSTEA : PUB00040953

Éditeur(s) : Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd
Résumé : The late Quaternary has experienced large glacial/interglacial climatic variations and related 10's to 100 meters high-amplitude sea level fluctuations at Milankovich frequencies from 10's to 100 kyr during which carbonate platform tops have been exposed and re-flooded in many occasions. This study focuses on the accumulation of calci-turbidites, the aragonite onset/sharp increase in fine sediments and their timing in deep basins adjacent to carbonate platforms. A particular emphasis is developed on the occurrence of the first gravity flow event and aragonite onset/sharp increase and their linkage to the initial re-flooding of the platform tops during deglaciations. Three basins adjacent to isolated platforms in the Bahamas, the Northern Nicaragua Rise, and the Gulf of Papua, were selected to represent pure carbonate versus mixed systems, in quiescent versus tectonically active settings, and various carbonate bank top morphologies, ranging from atoll to relatively deeply and narrowly flooded flat top banks. In spite of these differences, each record illustrates a clear relationship between the timing of platform top re-flooding and initiation of significant carbonate export by gravity flows and low-density plumes into the surrounding basins. The concept of "re-flooding window" is introduced to characterize the prolific period of time during which bank and atoll-tops are flooded enough to produce large export of bank-derived aragonite and of calci-turbidites in adjacent basins. According to our datasets, the main re-flooding windows have occurred mainly on the last part of the sea level rise at each glacial termination (T), those periods being marked by some of the highest rates of sea level rise. The analysis of a long-piston core from the earthquakes-prone Walton Basin (Northern Nicaragua Rise) demonstrates that sea level, not seismic activities, played a major role as trigger mechanism for the initiation of gravity flows since the last four glacial/interglacial transitions, and supports the existence of an extra glacial termination during the early portion of the transition from MIS 7.4 to MIS 7.3 (TIIIA). (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Quaternary Science Reviews (0277-3791) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2010-08 , Vol. 29 , N. 17-18 , P. 2010-2026

Droits : 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00012/12298/9095.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.04.016
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00012/12298/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : The study, which is based on repetitive bathymetric surveys, assesses changes and effects of one of the most important floods recorded in the Rhone Delta area: bottom morphology and sediment distribution in the Rhone outlet after the December 2003 flood are discussed by comparison between Digital Terrain maps (DTMs) of November 2003 and January 2004. The post-flood morphology shows that the whole of the system is active, mainly in the east. The channel of the Rhbne has been hollowed out on the left bank by more than 5 m, the eastern coast of the mouth has retreated 400 m, the mouth-bar has prograded 200 m and the slope of the delta front has increased by 0.19. The overlay of pre- and post-flood DTMs makes it possible to estimate the total volume deposited in the [0 to -20 m] zone as +7.8 X 10(6) m(3) (i.e. 0.88 m(3) m(-2)), which corresponds to 4 X 10(6) t of sediment. These values are compared with the average annual volume of 0.47 X 10(6) m(3) yr(-1) of sediment deposited in this zone between 1995 and 2003, as well as the average sediment load estimated at the Arles station (50 km upstream) for this flood event (3.1 x 10(6) t to 5.3 x 10(6) t). The acquisition of bathymetric measurements immediately before and after a major flood allows more than a simple morphological description; in addition, an analysis of the solid load transfer processes towards the prodelta is achievable. Three mechanisms are highlighted. Most of the material eroded in the channel and supplied to the delta front corresponds to fine sediment that drape homogeneously over the pre-flood morphology of the delta front. The transit of the coarsest sediment (primarily sand) is slowed down in the channel of the Rh6ne: this sediment builds up in relatively small areas, leading to the formation of gullies on the prodelta slope. The gullies have fixed positions and disappear gradually towards the west, following the progressive migration of the active band towards the east. These old features are not reactivated by floods occurring after their formation. During the flood, only a small volume of coarse sediment bypasses through the gullies, and the fine deposits are remobilised rapidly or compacted. Flood input concerns essentially the delta front, which traps 90% of the fluvial solid discharge between 0 and 20 m depth. The coarse prodelta supply is then due mainly to mass movements of unconsolidated material deposited beforehand on the top of the delta front. Consequently, the main nourishment of the prodelta does not occur directly during and/or immediately after a flood event, but is delayed by sediment being temporarily trapped on the delta front.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2006-12 , Vol. 234 , N. 1-4 , P. 159-177

Droits : 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-2304.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.09.025
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2304/

Résumé : The slides were taken on collecting trips sponsored by the William L. Bryant Foundation, where books, music and art indigenous to the regions were gathered. The are organized by geographical location.
Castleton Botanical Garden in Saint Mary, Jamaica was established on November 19, 1862 as a relocation site for the Bath Botanical Garden, located in Bath, Saint Thomas, which began to surfer after frequent flooding by the Sulfur River in the 19th century. The Castleton Gardens are located on both sides of Junction Road. Many species of plant specimens in the garden came from Kew Gardens in London, England. Plants pictured include ferns and crotons. The two men, pictured, are standing near an arched gate. Slide labeled Tree Ferns Castleton Gardens.
Jamaica -- Caribbean region -- Saint Mary

Droits : All rights to images are held by the respective holding institution. This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce images and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections & University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, FL 32816 phone (407) 823-2576, email: speccoll@mail.ucf.edu
CFM1972_01a
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00030933/00001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
This paper presents a paleo-hydrological study conducted on sediment flood deposits at two sites located in the Gardon Gorges, Southeast France. The first study site is a valley‑side terrace (referred to as site GE, located 10m above the channel bed) and the second is located in a cave (referred to as site GG, perched 15m above the bed level). Paleo‑flood events were identified by carefully analyzing each slackwater flood deposits. The flood units were then dated using a variety of dating techniques, namely 137Cs, 210Pbex, 14C geochemical analysis of mining‑contaminated slackwater flood sediments, archeological objects and the historic flood record. Hydraulic modeling was also carried out in order to verify the coherence between the stratigraphic records of flood deposits at the sites and the historic flood levels known along the river Gardon. It is demonstrated that all the major flood events of the 20th century can be identified at terrace GE. This type of geomorphological unit can therefore be used as a sound basis for a paleo-hydrological analysis of the Gardon Gorges. Furthermore, the analysis of the stratigraphic record at site GG demonstrates that the site can be used to trace the largest flood events that have occurred within the past 600 years. The study reveals that the frequency of extreme flood events increased during the Little Ice Age
Une étude paléo-hydrologique a été entreprise dans les Gorges du Gardon, où deux coupes sédimentaires ont été étudiées. La première provient d'une terrasse (coupe GE située à 10 m de hauteur au dessus de la rivière) et l'autre, d'une cavité (coupe GG localisée à 15 m au-dessus de la rivière). L'identification et la mise en évidence des différents paléo-événements de crue ont été établies grâce à l'inspection minutieuse de chaque dépôt sédimentaire et d'une étude géochronologique fine (137Cs, 210Pbex, 14C, métaux traces, objets archéologiques, historiques des crues). Nous avons souhaité évaluer la capacité des terrasses fluviatiles du Gardon à enregistrer des paléo-événements en comparant les coupes sédimentaires aux données historiques des hauteurs d'eau et aux résultats d'un modèle hydraulique 1D. Nous montrons que la terrasse GE enregistre la quasi-totalité des évènements du 20ème siècle et qu'à priori, ce type d'objet géomorphologique peut être utilisé pour toute étude paléo-hydrologique sur le Gardon. De plus, l'étude de la coupe GG (cavité perchée à 15 m) permet de reconstituer les évènements intenses au cours des 600 dernières années. Nous montrons une augmentation des crues extrêmes dans le Haut-Languedoc au cours du "Petit âge glaciaire".
ISSN: 0018-6368

hal-01108400
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01108400
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01108400/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01108400/file/ly2014-pub00041935.pdf
DOI : 10.1051/lhb/2014037

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Climate models project that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will increase the frequency and the severity of some extreme weather events. The flood events represent a major risk for populations and infrastructures settled on coastal lowlands. Recent studies of lagoon sediments have enhanced our knowledge on extreme hydrological events such as palaeo-storms and on their relation with climate change over the last millennium. However, few studies have been undertaken to reconstruct past flood events from lagoon sediments. Here, the past flood activity was investigated using a multi-proxy approach combining sedimentological and geochemical analysis of surfaces sediments from a southeastern Tunisian catchment in order to trace the origin of sediment deposits in the El Bibane Lagoon. Three sediment sources were identified: marine, fluvial and aeolian. When applying this multi-proxy approach on core BL12-10, recovered from the El Bibane Lagoon, we can see that finer material, a high content of the clay and silt, and a high content of the elemental ratios (Fe ∕ Ca and Ti ∕ Ca) characterise the sedimentological signature of the palaeo-flood levels identified in the lagoonal sequence. For the last century, which is the period covered by the BL12-10 short core, three palaeo-flood events were identified. The age of these flood events have been determined by 210Pb and 137Cs chronology and give ages of AD 1995 ± 6, 1970 ± 9 and 1945 ± 9. These results show a good temporal correlation with historical flood events recorded in southern Tunisia in the last century (AD 1932, 1969, 1979 and 1995). Our finding suggests that reconstruction of the history of the hydrological extreme events during the upper Holocene is possible in this location through the use of the sedimentary archives.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01571962
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962/file/affouri2017.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-13-711-2017

Éditeur(s) : Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, University of Florida Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, University of Florida ( Gainesville, FL )
Résumé : (Biographical) Professor Emeritus Gerald Murray has done extended fieldwork in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and has engaged in applied contract assignments in 15 countries for 27 public and private agencies. In Haiti, he designed and directed an agroforestry project that facilitated trees to over a quarter of a million farm families during a 20 year period. He has also worked with Save the Children (since the earthquake), USAID, and other NGOs on projects related to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Recent applied research assignments include child slavery in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, potential conflicts surrounding planned dam construction that would flood out farming communities near the Panama Canal, and a month of fieldwork on the Gaza Strip among Hebrew-speaking farmers being shelled by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the turbulent weeks immediately preceding their planned expulsion and involuntary relocation by the Israeli government. He has written three books, 27 articles and book chapters, and 59 applied anthropological reports. He has studied fifteen languages (some extinct) and have interviewed and/or conversed in eight.
(Funding) Sponsored by the Caleb and Michele Grimes Fund in the CLAS Dean's Office and organized by the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere.

Droits : All rights reserved by the source institution.

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : We investigated the relationship between habitat association and physiological performance in four congeneric species pairs exhibiting contrasting distributions between seasonally flooded and terra firme habitats in lowland tropical rain forests of French Guiana, including Virola and Iryanthera (Myristicaceae), Symphonia (Clusiaceae), and Eperua (Caesalpiniaceae). We analyzed 10-year data sets of mapped and measured saplings (stems 150 cm in height and <10 cm diameter at breast height [dbh]) and trees (stems 10 cm dbh) across 37.5 ha of permanent plots covering a 300-ha zone, within which seasonally flooded areas (where the water table never descends below 1 m) have been mapped. Additionally, we tested the response of growth, survival, and leaf functional traits of these species to drought and flood stress in a controlled experiment. We tested for habitat preference using a modification of the torus translation method. Strong contrasting associations of the species pairs of Iryanthera, Virola, and Symphonia were observed at the sapling stage, and these associations strengthened for the tree stage. Neither species of Eperua was significantly associated with flooded habitats at the sapling stage, but E. falcata was significantly and positively associated with flooded forests at the tree stage, and trees of E. grandiflora were found almost exclusively in nonflooded habitats. Differential performance provided limited explanatory support for the observed habitat associations, with only congeners of Iryanthera exhibiting divergent sapling survival and tree growth. Seedlings of species associated with flooded forest tended to have higher photosynthetic capacity than their congeners at field capacity. In addition, they tended to have the largest reductions in leaf gas exchange and growth rate in response to experimental drought stress and the least reductions in response to experimental inundation. The corroboration of habitat association with differences in functional traits and, to a lesser extent, measures of performance provides an explanation for the regional coexistence of these species pairs. We suggest that specialization to seasonally flooded habitats may explain patterns of adaptive radiation in many tropical tree genera and thereby provide a substantial contribution to regional tree diversity.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01031746
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01031746

Éditeur(s) : Leslie's Weekly Leslie's Weekly ( New York )
Résumé : Page 164 from Leslie's Weekly, August 26, 1899.
Five illustrations on 1 p.: The popular market-place in Ponce, which was swept away by the flood and storm. -- The landing at Ponce Playa, where great damage was done to small craft. -- The "McPherson," the first relief vessel sent out by the United States, with 6,000,000 pounds of food supplies. -- Native huts on the Aibonito Road, showing the character of the dwellings of the natives that were swept away by the thousands. -- Loading bags of rice on the relief transport "McPherson", at New York.
Puerto Rico

Droits : All rights reserved by the source institution.
2009-212-1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : SUBSURF
Statistical sequential analysis was performed on a series of sediment cores collected from the Têt prodelta in the Gulf of Lions, northwestern Mediterranean Sea, between October 2003 and October 2004. Seabed changes during that period were correlated to hydrodynamic conditions (waves and currents) and river discharge. Low sediment supply prevents full preservation of new sediment strata on this low-accumulation prodelta located on a microtidal, storm-dominated inner shelf. Severe meteorological events caused a rapid succession of erosion and deposition phases. For example, the December 2003 flood and storm produced a flood layer deposit that persisted for 2 months with only slight transformations due to early diagenesis and/or bioturbation, until a new storm event eroded this layer. A typical sedimentary sequence was observed for the secular deposits composed of a 10-cm-thick sandy layer overlaying siltyclayey layers. These characteristic features were used to analyse the last millennia sedimentary record of the Têt prodelta. The low preservation of freshly deposited sediments and variable sedimentation rates during the last millennia period yield a sedimentary sequence formed by the outcropping of muddy prodeltaic units intersected by heterogeneous siltysandy units similar to those formed under present day hydrodynamic conditions. No flood layer was found related to catastrophic flooding of the last century in the sedimentary record. The Little Ice Age ( 1550–1850 AD) probably favoured the formation of a well-developed muddy prodelta in the mouth of the Têt River. Later on, the decrease of sediment supply by rivers due to climate change and/or human activities (damming, irrigation), and the increase of the number of high-energy storms reaching the coast, induced a coarsening of the top sediment layer on this prodelta. This modern change of the substrate is also observed in the composition of benthic biota found in the substrate
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00407662
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407662
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2007.04.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD IEEE
Résumé : International audience
In this paper, we present an evolutionary approach for extracting a model of flood prediction from hydrological data observed timely on water heights in a river watershed. Since this kind of data recorded by sensors on river basins is highly scarce and hopefully much unbalanced between cases of floods and non-floods, we have adopted the notion of aggregate variables which values are computed as aggregates on raw data. An evolutionary algorithm is involved to allow selecting the best sets - juries of classifiers- of such variables as predictive variables. Two real hydrological data sets are trained and they both show the efficiency of the method compared to traditional solutions for prediction.
IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation 2012
Brisbane, Australia

hal-00840739
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00840739
DOI : 10.1109/CEC.2012.6252897

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Unveiling the genetic basis of local adaptation to environmental variation is a major goal in molecular ecology. In rugged landscapes characterized by environmental mosaics, living populations and communities can experience steep ecological gradients over very short geographical distances. In lowland tropical forests, interspecific divergence in edaphic specialization (for seasonally flooded bottomlands and seasonally dry terra firme soils) has been proven by ecological studies on adaptive traits. Some species are nevertheless capable of covering the entire span of the gradient; intraspecific variation for adaptation to contrasting conditions may explain the distribution of such ecological generalists. We investigated whether local divergence happens at small spatial scales in two stands of Eperua falcata (Fabaceae), a widespread tree species of the Guiana Shield. We investigated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) and sequence divergence as well as spatial genetic structure (SGS) at four genes putatively involved in stress response and three genes with unknown function. Significant genetic differentiation was observed among sub-populations within stands, and eight SNP loci showed patterns compatible with disruptive selection. SGS analysis showed genetic turnover along the gradients at three loci, and at least one haplotype was found to be in repulsion with one habitat. Taken together, these results suggest genetic differentiation at small spatial scale in spite of gene flow. We hypothesize that heterogeneous environments may cause molecular divergence, possibly associated to local adaptation in E. falcata.
ISSN: 1010-061X

hal-01032412
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032412
DOI : 10.1111/jeb.12069

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : National audience
The late Lower to Middle Permian Panjal Traps (NW Himalaya, India-Pakistan) represent the greatest magmatic province erupted on the northern Indian platform during the Neotethys opening. New geochemical and isotopic analyses were performed on basalts from the eastern borders of the traps (SE Zanskar-NW Spiti area) in order to characterize this volcanism, to discuss its compositional variations in comparison to Panjal counterparts and its relationships with the opening of Neotethys. Lavas show features of tholeiitic low-Ti (< 1.6%) continental flood basalts with LREE, Th enrichments and Nb-Ta negative anomalies. Trace element ratios combined with {varepsilon}Ndi values (–3.6 to +0.9) and high Pb isotopic ratios suggest that these tholeiitic basalts were derived from an OIB-like mantle contaminated at various degrees by a continental crust component. Previous geochemical features are broadly similar to those of the coeval Panjal volcanic sequences identified westwards (Ladakh, Kashmir and Pakistan). Present geochemical constraints obtained for the Panjal Traps basalts suggest they originated from rapid effusion of tholeiitic melts during opening of the Neotethys Ocean. Similar magmatism implying an OIB-type reservoir is contemporaneously recognized on and along the adjacent Arabian platform. Both Indian and Arabian Permian volcanics were emplaced during coeval syn-rift to post rift transition. These Lower to Middle Permian south Neotethyan continental flood magmatism are regarded as associated to a passive rifting. In this scheme, OIB-type isotopic signature would be related either to a melting episode of syn-rift up-welling mantle plumes or to a melting of a regional abnormally hot and enriched mantle.
EISSN: 1777-5817

insu-00338862
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00338862
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.179.4.383

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : Nodulated legume trees comprised 43% of the stand basal area in the low, most frequently flooded microsites, and 23% in higher, drier microsites in a tropical freshwater swamp forest in French Guiana. Dinitrogen fixation in Pterocarpus officinalis, Hydrochorea corymbosa and Inga pilosula was confirmed by acetylene reduction assay (ARA), presence of leghaemoglobin in nodules and the N-15 natural abundance method. The results for Zygia cataractae were inconclusive but suggested N-2 fixation in drier microsites. Nodulated Inga disticha had a N-15-to-N-14 ratio similar to non-N-2-fixing trees, but ARA indicated nitrogenase activity and leghaemoglobin was present in nodules. All bacterial strains were identified as Bradyrhizobium spp. according to the partial 16S rDNA sequences, and they were infective in vitro in the model species Macroptilium atropurpuretan. About 35-50% of N in the leaves of P. officinalis, H. corymbosa and I. pilosula was fixed from the atmosphere. Dinitrogen fixation was estimated to contribute at least 8-13% and 1728% to whole-canopy N in high and low microsites, respectively. Symbiotic N, fixation appears to provide both a competitive advantage to legume trees under N-limited, flooded conditions and an important N input to neotropical freshwater swamp forests.
ISSN: 0266-4674

hal-01189191
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01189191
PRODINRA : 13151
DOI : 10.1017/S0266467403006059

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : Sediment cores acquired in 2004 off the Rhone prodelta show consistent anomalous methane concentrations of up to 87,440 ppm. Methane compositional and isotopic data support a biogenic origin, although there are a few sites that show strongly depleted delta C-13 values (-53%o PDB) suggesting a mixed source for the gas (biogenic and thermogenic). Anomalous methane concentrations (samples with more than 90 ppm) are discussed and integrated with organic carbon data, sedimentary rates and ADCP profiles. Highest gas concentrations were found directly off the river mouth (20-40 m water depth) and where the IFREMER models point to the thickest accumulation (> 2 m) in response to the Rhone flood event. In areas unaffected by the high flux of organic matter and rapid/thick flood deposition, or in between flood events, the conditions for methanogenesis and gas accumulation have not been met; in these areas, the physical and biological reworking of the surficial sediment may effectively oxidize and mineralize organic matter and limit bacterial methanogenesis in the sub-surface. We propose that in the Rhone prodelta flood deposits deliver significant amounts of terrigenous organic matter that can be rapidly buried, effectively removing this organic matter from aerobic oxidation and biological uptake and leading to the potential for methanogenesis with burial.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2006-12 , Vol. 234 , N. 1-4 , P. 215-231

Droits : 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-2396.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.09.005
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2396/

Éditeur(s) : Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd
Résumé : The environment is impacted by natural and anthropogenic disturbances that occur at different spatial and temporal scales, and that lead to major changes and even disequilibria when exceeding the resiliency capacities of the ecosystem. With an annual mean flow of 1700 m(3) s(-1), the Rhone River is the largest of the western Mediterranean basin. Its annual solid discharges vary between 2 and 20 Mt, with flood events responsible for more than 70% of these amounts. In the marine coastal area, close to the mouth, both flocculation and aggregation lead to the formation of fine-grained deposits, i.e. the prodelta. This area is characterized by sediment accumulation rates up to 20-50 cm yr(-1) and high accumulations of particle reactive contaminants such as various man-made radionuclides released into the river by nuclear facilities or arising form prior atmospheric nuclear tests (1954-1980) and the Chernobyl accident (April 1986). This prodelta, however, cannot be considered as a permanent repository for particle reactive pollutants since it is subjected to reworking processes. Sediment dynamics had to be linked to the influences of hydrodynamic and atmospheric events such as high flow rates or storms close to the Rhone River mouth. An experiment was carried out during the winter 2006 based on the deployment of two ADCPs and six altimeters at the Grand Rhone mouth for several months. This type of installation has never been used before in this area because of the hard meteorological conditions and the strong fishing activities. However, results showed pluricentimetric rises of the sedimentary level just after river flood events and decreases during storms, generated by southeast winds. Radiotracers and grain size depth profiles helped to characterise the studied events and to establish inventories of sediments and radionuclides. A cruise (CARMEX) was carried out during this same period to collect water samples, suspended particles and sediment cores. The results enabled us to link both river flow and wind characteristics to events recorded on the sea floor, i.e. resuspension, accumulation, consolidation, etc. Deposits of 11 cm of sediments were estimated during flood periods and bottom shear stresses up to 5 N m(-2) were calculated during sediment erosion phases. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Continental Shelf Research (0278-4343) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2010-05 , Vol. 30 , N. 9 , P. 1095-1107

Droits : 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00006/11695/8479.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.csr.2010.02.015
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00006/11695/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : Late Jurassic platform carbonates of Languedoc (southern France) are deeply incised by Late Miocene canyons, allowing the observation of karst systems filled with sediments containing evidences of marine origin. Field and structural relationships as well as new biostratigraphic data (planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils) provide a Latest Cretaceous-Earliest Paleocene age for the major karstification and a Paleocene (Danian-Selandian) age for the sedimentary filling. The ≥ 350 m vertical extent of this karst system and its subsequent marine filling gives a minimum amplitude for the base-level variation responsible for the karstification and then the marine flooding events. The observations suggest that at least, two marine successive events occurred in the Late Danian then in Selandian time. The large amplitude of base level is not in agreement with eustatic sea-level change, and the rate of base-level change is too fast for tectonic uplift and subsidence within the tabular, poorly deformed studied area. We propose a model of a silled endoreic basin, which was dessiccated and karstified over hundreds of meters, when it was disconnected from the World Ocean, and later suddently transgressed by the Paleocene sea and the karst flooded, when the bounding sill was submerged. Such a model is similar, although with significant differences, with the later Messinian-Zanclean event that affected the Mediterranean realm.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00767556
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00767556
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.183.5.425

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : The modern Rhone delta in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) is a typical wave-dominated delta that developed after the stabilization of relative sea level following the last deglacial sea-level rise. Similar to most other deltas worldwide, it displays several stacked parasequences and lobes that reflect the complex interaction between accommodation, sediment supply and autogenic processes on the architecture of a wave-dominated delta. The interpretation of a large set of newly acquired very high-resolution seismic and sedimentological data, well constrained by 14C dates, provides a refined three-dimensional image of the detailed architecture (seismic bounding surfaces, sedimentary facies) of the Rhone subaqueous delta, and allows us to propose a scenario for delta evolution during the last deglaciation and Holocene. The subaqueous delta consists of “parasequence-like” depositional wedges, a few meters to 20–30 m in thickness. These wedges first back-stepped inland toward the NW in response to combined global sea-level rise and overall westward oceanic circulation, at a time when sediment supply could not keep pace with rapid absolute (eustatic) sea-level rise. At the the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition, more rapid sea-level rise led to the formation of a major flooding surface (equivalent to a wave ravinement surface). After stabilization of global sea level in the mid-Holocene, accommodation became the leading factor controlling delta architecture. An eastward shift of depocenters occurred, probably favoured by higher subsidence rate within the thick Messinian Rhone valley fill. The transition between transgressive (backstepping geometry) and regressive (prograding geometry) (para)sequences resulted in creation of a Maximum Flooding Surface (MFS) that differs from a “classical” MFS described in the literature. It consists of a coarse-grained interval incorporating reworked shoreface material within a silty clay matrix. This distinct lithofacies results from condensation/erosion, which appears as an important process even within supply-dominated deltaic systems, due to avulsion of distributaries. The age of the MFS varies along-strike between ca. 7.8-5.6 kyr cal. BP in relation to the position of depocenters and climatically-controlled sediment supply. The last rapid climate change of the Holocene, the Little Ice Age (1250–1850 AD), had a distinct stratigraphic influence on the architecture and lithofacies of the Rhone subaqueous delta through the progradation of two deltaic lobes. In response to changes in sediment supply linked to rapid climate changes (and to anthropic factors), the Rhone delta evolved from wave-dominated to fluvial dominated, and then wave dominated again.
Sedimentary Geology (0037-0738) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2014-05 , Vol. 305 , P. 35-53

Droits : 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29017/27445.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2014.02.004
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29017/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
This paper presents a comparison of models for extreme rainfall and flood values. Based on a large set of thousands of rainfall and discharge data, the French ExtraFlo project showed that design estimate of extreme values based on the fitting of a distribution on a limited sample of maximum values is very inaccurate when only a few decades of observation are available. Some interesting alternatives are possible, using a regional approach, or historical data when available, or simulation methods, or sedimentological or geochemical signatures of flood deposits.
Cette communication présente les principaux résultats du projet ExtraFlo sur l'estimation des pluies et crues extrêmes. A partir d'un jeu de données conséquent de plusieurs milliers de stations, une procédure d'inter-comparaison a permis d'évaluer les performances d'une trentaine d'implémentations différentes issues de différentes combinaisons (modèle probabiliste, méthode d'estimation, cadre local / régional / mixte local et régional). Le projet ExtraFlo a permis de mettre en évidence le manque de robustesse des approches basées sur le traitement statistique d'une série de quelques dizaines d'années d'observation. Des alternatives intéressantes existent, basées sur l'exploitation des records de pluie et de débit à l'échelle d'une région, de la collecte de données historiques quand cela est possible, de méthodes de simulation basées sur le couplage d'un générateur d'averses avec un modèle hydrologique pour la transformation des pluies en débit, ou des traces morphologiques laissées par les crues anciennes.
ISSN: 0018-6368

hal-01128341
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01128341
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01128341/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01128341/file/ly2014-pub00041933.pdf
DOI : 10.1051/lhb/2014010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : Tropical plant diversity is extraordinarily high at both local and regional scales. Many studies have demonstrated that natural enemies maintain local diversity via negative density dependence, but we know little about how natural enemies influence beta-diversity across habitats and/or regions. One way herbivores could influence plant beta-diversity is by driving allocation trade-offs that promote habitat specialization across resource gradients. We therefore predicted that increasing resource availability should be accompanied by increasing herbivory rates and decreasing plant allocation to defense. Second, relative abundances within plant lineages are predicted to reflect patterns of habitat specialization and allocation trade-offs. A phylogenetic context is vital not only to compare homologous plant traits (including defense strategies) across habitat types, but also to connect evolutionary trade-offs to patterns of species diversification in each phylogenetic lineage. We tested these predictions for trees in white-sand, clay terra firme, and seasonally flooded forests in Peru and French Guiana that represent the range of soil fertility, forest structure, and floristic compositions found throughout the Amazon region. We established 74 0.5-ha plots in these habitats and sampled all trees. Within 12 representative plots we marked newly expanding leaves of 394 saplings representing 68 species, including the most abundant species in each plot in addition to species from five focal lineages: Swartzia and Inga (Fabaceae), Protieae (Burseracaeae), Bombacoideae (Malvaceae), and Micropholis (Sapotaceae). We measured total leaf production rates for each sapling and calculated relative herbivory impact as the ratio between herbivory rate and leaf production rate. Herbivory rates averaged 2.1% per month, did not correlate with leaf production rate, and were similar across habitats. Relative herbivore impacts exceeded leaf production rates for most species. Leaf production rate averaged 2.8%, was significantly higher in seasonally flooded forests than the other two habitats, and exhibited significant correlations with specific leaf area. Species with high herbivory rates exhibited significantly lower relative abundances in terra firme forests. Overall, focal species within lineages present contrasting patterns regarding their herbivory rates and leaf production rate within habitats. These results highlight why a lineage-based approach is necessary when attempting to connect hypotheses regarding evolutionary trade-offs to community assembly patterns.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01032418
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032418