– New geomorphological index created for studying the active tectonics of mountains Map of relative tectonic activity in Sierra Nevada.

To build a hospital, nuclear power station or a large dam you need to know the possible earthquake risks of the terrain. Now, researchers from the Universities of Granada and Jaen, alongside scientists from the University of California (Santa Barbara, USA), have developed, based on relief data from the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada, a geomorphological index that analyses land form in relation to active tectonics, applicable to any mountain chain on the planet.

Active tectonics comprise the most up-to-date deformation processes that affect the Earths crust, resulting in earthquakes or recent deformations in the planet’s faults and folds. This phenomena is analysed in geology research carried out before commencing engineering works.

Depending on the type of project (nuclear power stations or power stations, radioactive storage, natural gas or CO2, large dams and tunnels, hydroelectricity projects…) and the type of earthquake (single or multiple), the time period for evaluating active tectonics varies between 10,000 and 100,000 years for studies prior to beginning construction work.

The study, which is now published in the magazine Geomorphology and is the result of the doctoral thesis of Rachid El Hamdouni, Professor of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Granada, defines a new geomorphological index called Relative Active Tectonics Index, which identifies four classes of active tectonics (from low to very high) and uses six geomorphological indicators.

“The main use of this new index is that it establishes a close relationship between this, the land forms, and direct evidence of active faults”, El Hamdouni explained to SINC.

According to José Chacón Montero, Director of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Granada and co-author of this research, in Sierra Nevada “areas with ‘high’ and ‘very high’ tectonic activity are areas with precipices, hanging valleys, deformed or hanging alluvial fans or deep and narrow gorges excavated near mountain fronts”.

A seismic map for southern Spain

The indices are calculated with the help of Geographical Information Systems and teledetection programs in large areas which identify geomorphological anomalies possibly related to active tectonics. “This is really useful in southern Spain where studies on active tectonics are not very widely distributed”, Chacón pointed out to SINC.

The study has focused on the Padul-Dúrcal fault and a series of associated fault structures on the edge of the Sierra Nevada, where over the last 30 years seismic activity has been recorded by the Observatory of the Andalusian Institute of Geophysics and Prevention of Seismic Disasters. Chacón explained that the map obtained with the new index depends exclusively on the land forms and divides the area studied into four parts, “of which two thirds of the total area is classed as having high or very high tectonic activity”.

The Sierra Nevada is an Alpine mountain chain “with variable active tectonic gradients caused by the collision of Africa with Europe which has given rise to anticlines aligned from east to west, as well as the transverse extension with variable vertical gradients around 0.5 mm/year in normal faults”, Chacón specified.

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– Post-menopausal therapy to improve women’s quality of life

A recent research work by the University of Granada advises post-menopausal women the use of Replacement Hormone Therapy (RHT) for at least five years. The study reveals that the fears associated with the RHT are product of disinformation and are often against clinical evidences. Some of those concerns are fear of collateral effects such as weight gain, breast cancer or the risk of a thromboembolic disease.

The passing of time makes ovaries lose their ability to produce estrogens and progesterone, the hormones which regulate the menstrual cycle. In this stage, when menstruation cesses, there appear physical and psychical changes such as hot flushes, sweating, vaginal dryness, articulation and bone pain, headaches, insomnia, sadness, depression and loss of memory, known as climateric symptoms. In Spain, the average age for the cessation of the menstrual cycle is 50 years old. In the Western countries, about 17% of the population belongs to the post-menstrual group.
Against the discomfort derived from the cessation of menstruation, there are medical treatments which contribute to maintain the quality of life of women in the face of the described changes. One of the treatments proposed is the so-called Replacement Hormone Therapy (RHT).

Fears about this therapy have been erroneously exaggerated, attributing to it secondary effects such as weight gain, breast cancer and risk of a thromboembolic disease.

A study carried out at the University of Granada on more than 500 postmenopausal patients rationalizes the fears above mentioned; and it concludes recommending the use of the hormone therapy, if necessary, for at least five years, under periodic medical controls.

The study

The research work has been read as a doctoral thesis by Dr Otilia Ruth González Vanegas, under the supervision of Dr José Luis Cuadros López and Dr Rosa María Sabatel López (Department of Medicine of the UGR, San Cecilio University Hospital) and Dr Ángela María Cuadros Celorrio (Hospital of Úbeda).

The work, entitled “Five-year later assessment of the use of different models of Replacement Hormone Therapy (RHT) during post-menopause”, started from the question: “¿how long must RHT be used considering the beneficial and adverse effects?”. They studied the clinical histories of 534 women who, between 1989 and 2004, have attended periodically medical, laboratory and mammography tests at the Menopause Unit of the San Cecilio teaching Hospital of Granada.
González Vanegas’ study also concludes that the discomfort derived from menopause falls in the first six months of application of any of the RHT, with the consequent improvement in women’s quality of life.

The observations allow to conclude that, regardless the type of hormone therapy followed, the symptomatology improves, there are no weight changes, the lipid profile improves (cholesterol, triglycerides); bone quality gets better and breast cancer is less frequent than in general population, especially in the group which only received estrogens.

The results of this research work have been published in journals such as Climateric or Menopausia.
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