Homogeneous cosmological solutions of the Einstein equation

Homogeneous solutions in the framework of general relativity form the basis to understand the properties of gravitation on global scale. Presently favoured models describe the evolution of the universe by an expansion of space, governed by a scale function, which depends on a global time parameter. Dropping the restriction that a global time parameter exists, and instead assuming that the time scale depends on spatial distance, leads to static solutions, which exhibit no singularities, need no unobserved dark energy and which can explain the cosmological red shift without expansion. In contrast to the expanding world model energy is globally conserved. Observations of high energy emission and absorption from the intergalactic medium, which can scarcely be understood in the ‘concordance model’, find a natural explanation.     

Geochemical processes controlling arsenic mobility in groundwater: A case study of arsenic mobilization and natural attenuation

The behavior of As in the subsurface environment was examined along a transect of groundwater monitoring wells at a Superfund site, where enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) is being used for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The transect was installed parallel to the groundwater flow direction through the treatment area. The ERD technology involves the injection of organic C (OC) to stimulate in situ microbial dechlorination processes. A secondary effect of the ERD treatment at this site, however, is the mobilization of As, as well as Fe and Mn. The concentrations of these elements are low in groundwater collected upgradient of the ERD treatment area, indicating that, in the absence of the injected OC, the As that occurs naturally in the sediment is relatively immobile. Batch experiments conducted using sediments from the site inoculated with an Fe(III)- and As(V)-reducing bacterium and amended with lactate resulted in mobilization of As, Fe and Mn, suggesting that As mobilization in the field is due to microbial processes.     

Rheological characteristics of debris-flow material in South-Gargano watersheds

In recent years, debris flows have represented a severe natural hazard in South-Gargano watersheds (Puglia Region, Southern Italy). Hill slopes erosion, caused by the inadequate protection of the degraded forests, produces large amounts of soil and debris that are conveyed downstream during heavy rainstorms. The involved material is characterized by limestone fragments and blocks in a sandy-silt matrix. In this paper, the rheological properties of such debris-flow materials have been investigated. Eight specimens of particulated sediments of particle diameter of d ≤ 4 mm have been analysed using a rheometric tool for large particle suspensions, the ball measuring system (BMS). The influence of sediment concentration on the bulk rheological behaviour has been evaluated at concentrations by volume obtained in fully water-saturated conditions (volumetric sediment concentration C _V ~ 0.8) and with fixed water content (C _V = 0.42). The rheological data were fitted to the Bingham, Herschel–Bulkley, and O’Brien and Julien models to define viscosity and yield stress dependency on sediment concentration, to provide viscosity information for hazard mitigation as well as for comparison to other debris-flow events.     

A roadmap for a dedicated Earth Science Grid platform

Due to its intensive data processing and highly distributed organization, the multidisciplinary Earth Science applications community is uniquely positioned for the uptake and exploitation of Grid technologies. Currently Enabling Grids for E-sciencE, and other large Grid infrastructures are already deployed and capable of operational services. So far however, the adoption and exploitation of Grid technology throughout the Earth Science community has been slower than expected. The Dissemination and Exploitation of GRids in Earth sciencE project, proposed by the European Commission to assist and accelerate this process in a number of different ways, had between its main goals the creation of a roadmap towards Earth Science Grid platform. This paper presents the resulting roadmap.     

Optical closure of parameterized bio-optical relationships

An optical closure study on bio-optical relationships was carried out using radiative transfer model matrix operator method developed by Freie Universitt Berlin.As a case study,the optical closure of bio-optical relationships empirically parameterized with in situ data for the East China Sea was examined.Remote-sensing refl ectance(R rs)was computed from the inherent optical properties predicted by these biooptical relationships and compared with published in situ data.It was found that the simulated R rs was overestimated for turbid water.To achieve optical closure,bio-optical relationships for absorption and scattering coeffi cients for suspended particulate matter were adjusted.Furthermore,the results show that the Fournier and Forand phase functions obtained from the adjusted relationships perform better than the Petzold phase function.Therefore,before bio-optical relationships are used for a local sea area,the optical closure should be examined.     

Groundwater geochemistry of the Chihuahua City region in the Rio Conchos Basin (northern Mexico) and implications for water resources management

The Chihuahua City region, located in the semiarid-arid northern highlands of Mexico, has experienced intensive groundwater abstraction during the last 40 years to meet water demands in the region. A geochemical survey was carried out to investigate the evolution from baseline to modern conditions of a 130-km flow path including the El Sauz–Chihuahua–Aldama–San Diego de Alcalá regions. The research approach included the use of major chemical elements, chlorofluorocarbons and environmental isotope (¹⁸O, ²H, ¹³C and ¹⁴C) tracers. Stable isotopes indicate that groundwater evolves from the evaporation of local rainfall and surface water. Groundwater located at the lower end of the flow section is up to 6000 years old and older groundwater in the order of 9000 years BP was found in a deep well located in the upper part of the flow system, implying contribution from a neighbour basin. The background groundwater chemistry upstream of Chihuahua City results from feldspar weathering. Beyond Chihuahua City the chemical conditions are strongly modified owing to disposal of sewage from public and industrial water supplies into the Rio Chuviscar, subsequent allocation of this water to agricultural irrigation areas and direct infiltration under the river bed. As a consequence, anions like chloride and sulphate are mainly related to surface sources. Nitrate is controlled in part by sewage from public supply and industry and in part by agricultural practices. Arsenic and fluoride are related to weathering of rock formations of local mineralized ranges and subsequent enrichment of the basin-fill by magmatic processes. The results of this study have implications for groundwater management in an arid region that depends entirely on groundwater for domestic, industrial and agricultural water consumption. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wildfire impacts on education and healthcare: Paradise,California, after the Camp Fire

Natural Hazards - The 2018 Camp Fire caused significant damages to the education and healthcare systems in the town of Paradise, CA. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative case study...     

Grampian migmatites in the Buchan Block,NE Scotland

Rocks exposed along the Scottish coast between Fraserburgh and Inzie Head contain information critical to understanding the evolution of the Buchan Block, the type locality for low‐P, high‐T regional metamorphism, and its relationship with the rest of the Grampian terrane, one of the major tectonostratigraphic components of the Scottish Caledonides. The ~8 km long section traverses a regional network of shear zones and, at the highest grades around Inzie Head, passes into the core of the Buchan Anticline, a large‐scale open fold that is commonly regarded as a late structure, post‐dating metamorphism. The metasedimentary rocks increase in grade from upper amphibolite to granulite facies and preserve unequivocal evidence for partial melting. The diatexite migmatites around Inzie Head, along with other gneissose units within the Buchan Block, have been regarded as allochthonous Precambrian basement rocks that were thrust into their current position during the Grampian orogenesis. However, field observations show that the onset of in situ partial melting in metapelitic rocks, which was associated with the formation of garnet‐bearing aplites and associated pegmatites, occurred around Fraserburgh, where shear fabrics are absent. Thus, the rocks preserve a continuous metamorphic field gradient that straddles the shear zone network. This observation supports an alternative interpretation that anatexis was the result of mid‐Ordovician (Grampian) metamorphism, rather than an older tectonothermal event, and that the Inzie Head gneisses are autochthonous. Using an average mid‐Dalradian pelite as a plausible representative protolith, phase equilibria modelling satisfactorily reproduces the observed appearance and disappearance of key minerals providing that peritectic garnet produced with the first formed melts (represented by the garnet‐bearing aplites) depleted the source rocks in Mn. The modelled metamorphic field gradient records a temperature increase of at least 150 °C (from ~650 °C near Fraserburgh to in excess of 800 °C at Inzie Head) but is isobaric at pressures of 2.7–2.8 kbar, suggesting the Buchan Anticline developed synchronous with partial melting. The Buchan Anticline is likely an expression of crustal thinning and asthenospheric upwelling, which produced voluminous gabbroic intrusions that supplied the heat for Buchan metamorphism.