882 research outputs found
Trophic state of benthic deep-sea ecosystems from two different continental margins off Iberia
The bioavailability of organic matter in benthic deep-sea ecosystems, commonly used to define their trophic state, can greatly influence key ecological processes such as biomass production and nutrient cycling. Here, we assess the trophic state of deep-sea sediments from open slopes and canyons of the Catalan (NW Mediterranean) and Portuguese (NE Atlantic) continental margins, offshore east and west Iberia, respectively, by using a biomimetic approach based on enzymatic digestion of protein and carbohydrate pools. Patterns of sediment trophic state were analyzed in relation to increasing water depth, including repeated samplings over a 3 yr period in the Catalan margin. Two out of the three sam- pling periods occurred a few months after dense shelf water cascading events. The benthic deep-sea ecosystems investi- gated in this study were characterized by high amounts of bioavailable organic matter when compared to other deep- sea sediments. Bioavailable organic matter and its nutritional value were significantly higher in the Portuguese margin than in the Catalan margin, thus reflecting differences in pri- mary productivity of surface waters reported for the two re- gions. Similarly, sediments of the Catalan margin were char- acterized by significantly higher food quantity and quality in spring, when the phytoplankton bloom occurs in surface wa- ters, than in summer and autumn. Differences in the benthic trophic state of canyons against open slopes were more ev- ident in the Portuguese than in the Catalan margin. In both continental margins, bioavailable organic C concentrations did not vary or increase with increasing water depth. Overall our findings suggest that the intensity of primary production processes along with the lateral transfer of organic particles, even amplified by episodic events, can have a role in controlling the quantity and distribution of bioavailable organic detritus and its nutritional value along these continental margin ecosystems
Tsunami Resonance in Palma Bay and Harbor, Majorca Island, as induced by the 2003 Western Mediterranean Earthquake
ABSTRACT: he tsunami induced by the May 21, 2003, Algerian Boumerde`s-Zemmouri earthquake (moment magnitude Mw=6.9) propagated across the western Mediterranean Basin, thereby causing material damages in some harbors and coastal areas. This was the case in the Balearic Islands and particularly the Palma harbor. Attempts to simulate the 2003 tsunami event found discrepancies between tsunami arrival times and wave amplitude when comparing tide gauge records with results from numerical models. To date, all published model results of the amplitude of the tsunami are underestimations, attributed to numerical limitations due to the lack of high-resolution bathymetry and poor definition of harbor geometry. Other views suggest the nappropriateness of the available seismic source parameterizations and the possible occurrence of submarine landsliding triggered by the earthquake that has not been included in the numerical simulations. In this article we present the results of a numerical study aimed at better understanding the response of the interacting Palma bay and harbor under the impact of the 2003 western Mediterranean tsunami. The transference of the tsunami energy from the generation area to the continental shelf, the bay, and the harbor has been studied and compared with the natural oscillation modes of the bay and harbor water bodies. Our work includes a sensitivity analysis of the source parameterization and the bathymetry grid size for the bay and harbor as a way to explain the discrepancies between simulations and observations. The Palma harbor tide gauge shows that energy from the tsunami concentrated mainly in periods that fitted to the natural modes of oscillations of the bay. Therefore, the significant wave amplification observed inside the harbor, mainly in its northern basin, was generated by a resonance effect induced by Palma bay. The improvement of the bathymetry grid resolution in the bay and harbor domains and the inclusion in the simulations of the exact harbor geometry and internal configuration result in a slight wave-high increment that is much below the wave height recorded in the tide gauge. Our results strongly point to a necessary revision of the tsunami seismic source parameters
Strategic responses to global challenges: The case of European banking, 1973–2000
In applying a strategy, structure, ownership and performance (SSOP) framework to three major clearing banks (ABN AMRO, UBS, Barclays), this article debates whether the conclusions generated by Whittington and Mayer about European manufacturing industry can be applied to the financial services sector. While European integration plays a key role in determining strategy, it is clear that global factors were far more important in determining management actions, leading to significant differences in structural adaptation. The article also debates whether this has led to improved performance, given the problems experienced with both geographical dispersion and diversification, bringing into question the quality of decision-making over the long term
Classical generalized constant coupling model for geometrically frustrated antiferromagnets
A generalized constant coupling approximation for classical geometrically
frustrated antiferromagnets is presented. Starting from a frustrated unit we
introduce the interactions with the surrounding units in terms of an internal
effective field which is fixed by a self consistency condition. Results for the
magnetic susceptibility and specific heat are compared with Monte Carlo data
for the classical Heisenberg model for the pyrochlore and kagome lattices. The
predictions for the susceptibility are found to be essentially exact, and the
corresponding predictions for the specific heat are found to be in very good
agreement with the Monte Carlo results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 2 columns. Discussion about the zero T value of
the pyrochlore specific heat correcte
Critical behavior of 2 and 3 dimensional ferro- and antiferromagnetic spin ice systems in the framework of the Effective Field Renormalization Group technique
In this work we generalize and subsequently apply the Effective Field
Renormalization Group technique to the problem of ferro- and
antiferromagnetically coupled Ising spins with local anisotropy axes in
geometrically frustrated geometries (kagome and pyrochlore lattices). In this
framework, we calculate the various ground states of these systems and the
corresponding critical points. Excellent agreement is found with exact and
Monte Carlo results. The effects of frustration are discussed. As pointed out
by other authors, it turns out that the spin ice model can be exactly mapped to
the standard Ising model but with effective interactions of the opposite sign
to those in the original Hamiltonian. Therefore, the ferromagnetic spin ice is
frustrated, and does not order. Antiferromagnetic spin ice (in both 2 and 3
dimensions), is found to undergo a transition to a long range ordered state.
The thermal and magnetic critical exponents for this transition are calculated.
It is found that the thermal exponent is that of the Ising universality class,
whereas the magnetic critical exponent is different, as expected from the fact
that the Zeeman term has a different symmetry in these systems. In addition,
the recently introduced Generalized Constant Coupling method is also applied to
the calculation of the critical points and ground state configurations. Again,
a very good agreement is found with both exact, Monte Carlo, and
renormalization group calculations for the critical points. Incidentally, we
show that the generalized constant coupling approach can be regarded as the
lowest order limit of the EFRG technique, in which correlations outside a
frustrated unit are neglected, and scaling is substituted by strict equality of
the thermodynamic quantities.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, RevTeX 4 Some minor changes in the conclussions.
One reference adde
Anomalous Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interaction
We discuss the mechanism of anomalous Hall effect related to the contribution
of electron states below the Fermi surface (induced by the Berry phase in
momentum space). Our main calculations are made within a model of
two-dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interaction of the Rashba type,
taking into account the scattering from impurities. We demonstrate that such an
"intrinsic" mechanism can dominate but there is a competition with the
impurity-scattering mechanism, related to the contribution of states in the
vicinity of Fermi surface. We also show that the contribution to the Hall
conductivity from electron states close to the Fermi surface has the intrinsic
properties as well.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Symmetry breaking due to Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions in the kagome lattice
Due to the particular geometry of the kagom\'e lattice, it is shown that
antisymmetric Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions are allowed and induce magnetic
ordering. The symmetry of the obtained low temperature magnetic phases are
studied through mean field approximation and classical Mont\'e Carlo
simulations. A phase diagram relating the geometry of the interaction and the
ordering temperature has been derived. The order of magnitude of the
anisotropies due to Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions are more important than
in non-frustrated magnets, which enhances its appearance in real systems.
Application to the jarosites compounds is proposed. In particular, the low
temperature behaviors of the Fe and Cr-based jarosites are correctly described
by this model.Comment: 6 (revtex4) twocolumn pages, 6 .eps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Los sedimentos de la plataforma continental balear
El anáiisis sedimentológico de distintos sectores de la plataforma continental balear (Bahia de Campos, Sur de Menorca y Canal de Menorca) ha puesto de manifiesto la existencia de siete grupos de facies: A) algales, B) de bivalvos, C) de gasterópodos, D) bioclásticas, E) mixtas, F) de fragmentos liticos y G) cementadas (costras algales y calcarenitas). La distribución de estas facies sedimentarias guarda una estrecha relacibn con la profundidad, excepto en el Sur de Menorca, y con las comunidades bentónicas que se desarrollan en la plataforma continental. Las facies que recubren actualmente la plataforma balear se depositaron durante la fase del ascenso del nivel del mar de la transgresión Versiliense
Metal-Insulator Transition and Magnetic Order in the Pyrochlore Oxide Hg2Ru2O7
We report results of NMR experiments on the ruthenium oxide Hg2Ru2O7 with the
pyrochlore structure, which exhibits a metal-insulator transition at TMI = 107
K. In the metallic phase above TMI, the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate
1/T1 and the Knight shift at the Hg sites follow the Korringa relation,
indicating the absence of substantial spatial spin correlation. At low
temperatures in the insulating phase, 99,101Ru-NMR signals are observed at zero
magnetic field, providing evidence for a commensurate antiferromagnetic order.
The estimated ordered moment is about 1 muB per Ru, much smaller than 3 muB
expected for the ionic (4d)3plus configuration of Ru5plus. Thus the localized
spin models are not appropriate for the insulating phase of Hg2Ru2O7. We also
discuss possible antiferromagnetic spin structures.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
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