Geo-referenciación aplicada al análisis digital de imagen para la caracterización de menas metálicas

El análisis cuantitativo de las fases minerales visibles en probetas pulidas mediante un sistema experto y automático representan un eficaz complemento a las técnicas tradicionales de microscopía de reflexión. El Análisis digital de imagen, ADI, en comparación con las técnicas habitualmente usadas de cuantificación (platina integradora), supone un ahorro enorme de tiempo, a la vez que facilita un potentísimo instrumento para el tratamiento estadístico de las medidas que se realizan

Identificación automática de fases minerales por microscopía de reflexión. Aplicación del análisis digital de imagen

La identificación automática de las fases minerales visibles en probetas pulidas mediante un sistema experto es un pre-requisito indispensable para la aplicación de las técnicas tradicionales de microscopía a los problemas industriales con un elevado rendimiento. Para su consecución, ha sido necesario obtener una óptima y homogénea calidad de pulido en las muestras utilizadas, lograr la puesta a punto del equipo de Análisis digital de imagen -ADI- y aplicar un análisis multiespectral sobre la imagen en color (RGB) obtenida en origen. Para este estudio inicial fueron analizadas un conjunto de probetas de menas sulfuradas con los minerales más comunes: la colección Rehwald, descrita por Randohr (1980) y estudiadas de nuevo para este objetivo específico

Aplicación del análisis de imagen a la caracterización de la marmatita l.t. (Marmato, Colombia)

El presente trabajo investiga la diferencia existente entre el contenido de Fe teórico definido en marmatita (esfalerita con 10% a 26% Fe) y el contenido real (9% Fe) determinado por Microsonda Electrónica (MS) en muestras de este mineral procedentes del locus typicus. Se trata de determinar si el mineral estaba correctamente definido en origen, combinando los estudios de MS y el Análisis Digital de Imagen (ADI) sobre probetas pulidas de la Mina de Marmato, Colombia. Se demuestra que las inclusiones microscópicas de otras fases portadoras de Fe (pirrotita, calcopirita) en esfalerita aportan una cantidad de Fe que puede ser significativa (~1.5 % en las muestras analizadas). Dichas fases no podían separarse cuando se definió la marmatita (1929) y, por tanto, el Fe de las mismas se habría atribuido a la esfalerita

Geomorphological evolution of the calcareous coastal cliffs in North Iberia (Asturias and Cantabria regions)

This paper presents an analysis of the main morphologies observed in the coastal cliffs of northern Spain (Asturias and Cantabria regions). The objective of this contribution is to establish a hypothesis on the origin and evolution of this rocky coast, as well as to present a detailed inventory, to characterise quantitatively and qualitatively singular morphologies and to highlight the geological heritage of this protected coast. The evolution process starts with the formation of an ancient coastal planation surface characterised by a flat morphology caused by regional mainly uplift and to relative sea level falls. Afterwards, wave erosion processes would have started eroding the cliff foot and simultaneously, karst activity produced some exokarst morphologies (sinkholes, karren, etc.) through stratification and fracturing network, while the underground drainage systems produced some caves and chasms. In the following step, corresponding to the last glaciation from the paleoclimatic point of view, sea level fall together with a deepening of the fluvial network caused the preservation of the existing caves and chasms and the generation of new ones at a lower level. On the other hand, dissolution processes on limestones created sinkholes in those areas characterised by alternating layers of limestones and marls, generating collapses. When the sea level reached the maximum height during the Holocene a new erosion cycle of the coastal cliffs began. As a consequence, new landforms and processes were produced, like bays, caves fillings, and intrusion of new sediments in small confined estuaries. In these areas, other types of morphologies associated with the last sea level rise can be observed, such as closed beaches, uncommon closed estuaries developed inside a sinkhole, blowholes produced by mixed wave action and widening of prevailing vertical pipes inside the limestones (including the second largest in the world), total or partial sedimentary filling of small confined estuaries, as well as a tombolo deposit. It is important to point out, that some sites described are included in the Spanish Inventory of Sites of Geological Interest (IELIG). Due to the evolution model here proposed, a portion of the coastal sector described are included in the Global Geosites Project

A multiple dating-method approach applied to the Sanabria Lake moraine complex (NW Iberian Peninsula, SW Europe)

New evidence in the NW region of the Iberian Peninsula (c. 42º N 6 ºW) of a glacial advance coeval with the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of the Marine Isotope Stage 2 has been identified through a dataset of exposure ages based on 23 10Be concentration measurements carried out on boulder samples taken from a set of latero-frontal moraines. Results span the interval 19.2e15.4 10Be ka, matching the last deglaciation period when Iberia experienced the coldest and driest conditions of the last 25 ka, and are consistent with Lateglacial chronologies established in other mountain regions from SW Europe. The extent of the LGM stade identified in this work is similar to the local maximum ice extent stade recorded and dated as prior to 33 ka using radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence. This work showcases how multiple-dating approaches and detailed geomorphological mapping are required to reconstruct realistic palaeoglacier evolution models

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

The spatial distribution of Palaeolithic human settlements and its influence on palaeoecological studies: A case from Northern Iberia

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of human site location choice on biogeographical and paleoecological studies based on archaeological remains, through a case study in north-western Spain. Data from an exhaustive literature survey and field trips were managed with GIS and subjected to statistical analyses. The results show that the influence of the different variables shifted through the Palaeolithic, although certain general preferences can be seen: low altitudes (median: 151ma.s.l.), South-facing surfaces, generally gentle slopes (median: 13°) and moderate distances to water courses (median: 297m). These choices were conditioned by geomorphological factors, with LGM glacier extent imposing an upper limit in the range of occupied altitudes and marine and fluvial terraces conditioning site location patterns. The results suggest that human site location patterns during the Palaeolithic were not random, conditioning the information available from archaeological remains. Our results allow us to identify some key areas where information on past faunal distributions, and more generally on biocoenoses, will be scarce or missing. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.The authors are greatly indebted to Hodei Uzkeda for his help with aspect means and want to thank him emphatically. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers, who greatly helped improve our manuscript. This study has been supported by the Spanish National projectCGL2009-08279 and the Asturian regional government through project SV-PA-13-ECOEMP-41.Peer Reviewe

GIS as a tool to detect flat erosional surfaces in coastal areas: a case study in North Spain

The delimitation of flat surfaces, such as marine or continental terraces, can be easily done if they are wellpreserved by using classic techniques such as fieldwork and photointerpretation. However, subsequent landscapeerosion can modify their initial morphology, hindering their recognition. This paper presents a methodologydesigned to identify and delineate flat erosional surfaces (known as rasas) in a sector of 1,228km2 in theCantabrian coast (eastern Asturias, N Spain). The spatial distribution of rasas was quantitatively established bycomparing the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) with previously available information about flat surfaces alreadymapped. From a lithological point of view, rasas are modelled on Ordovician quartzite (9.7km2 of 1,228) mainlybetween 132–232m above sea level (a.s.l.) altitude and on Carboniferous limestone (2.9km2 of 1,228) mainlybetween 24–69m a.s.l. The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) combined with a quantitative analysisof the relief (using the hypsometric method) allowed us to develop a predictive approach for flat erosionalsurface detection. The methodology has been tested and validated in areas in which there were no erosionalsurfaces previously mapped. The results reveal new surfaces modelled on Ordovician quartzite (0.43km2), ataltitudes ranging from 200 to 250m, on Jurassic mixed formations (35.9km2) at 150–175m altitude, and onEocene limestone (1.1km2) at 110–120m altitude