Geometry and chronology of growth and drowning of Middle Triassic carbonate platforms (Cernera and Bivera/Clapsavon) in the Southern Alps (northern Italy)

The depositional architecture and the geometric relationships between platform-slope deposits and basinal sediments along with paleontological evidence indicate the time interval of the younger Anisian Reitziites reitzi ammonoid zone to largely represent the main stage of platform aggradation at the Cernera and Bivera/Clapsavon carbonate platforms. Published and new U-Pb age data of zircons from volcaniclastic layers bracketing the stratigraphic interval of platform growth constrain the duration of platform evolution to a time span shorter than 1.8±0.7m.y., probably in the order of 0.5-1m.y., reflecting fast rates of vertical platform aggradation exceeding 500 m/m.y. In the range of growth potentials for shallow-water carbonate systems estimated in relation to the time span of observation, this high rate is in agreement with values for short intervals of 10⁵-10⁶yrs (e.g., Schlager 1999). After drowning, the platforms at Cernera and Bivera/Clapsavon were blanketed by thin pelagic carbonates. On the former platform flanks the draping sediments in places comprise red nodular pelagic limestones (Clapsavon Limestone) similar in facies to the Han Bulog Limestones occurring elsewhere in Middle Triassic successions of the Mediterranean Tethys. The drowning of vast areas of former carbonate platforms possibly triggered the onset of bottom-water circulation in adjacent basins as suggested by the abrupt transition from laminated to bioturbated pelagic nodular limestones in the Buchenstein Formation which occurred close to the time of initial platform submergence. During the Late Ladinian the topographic features of the drowned platforms were onlapped by rapidly deposited, predominantly clastic successions including coarse breccias and volcanic rocks sealing and preserving the peculiar stratigraphic setting.     

Active mud volcanoes on the upper slope of the western Nile deep-sea fan—first results from the P362/2 cruise of R/V Poseidon

In February 2008, cruise P362/2 was undertaken aboard R/V Poseidon to the Giza and North Alex mud volcanoes (MVs) on the upper slope of the western Nile deep-sea fan. Emitted fluids were strongly depleted in chloride and rich in hydrocarbons, predominantly of thermogenic origin. In-situ sediment temperature measurements indicate extremely high and moderate levels of activity for the North Alex MV and Giza MV, respectively, and suggest rapid changes from dormant to active stages. Both the physical properties of core sediments (e.g., color and magnetic susceptibility), and their assemblages of micro- and nannofossils point to different sources for the two mud volcanoes. Biostratigraphic dating suggests source depths of 2,100–2,450 mbsf for the Giza MV and 1,150–1,550 mbsf for the North Alex MV. Very high temperatures of up to 70°C in shallow sediments at the North Alex MV can be explained only if the fluid source were warmer and deeper than the sediment source.     

The mesoscale variability in the Caribbean Sea. Part I: Simulations and characteristics with an embedded model

The variability in the Caribbean Sea is investigated using high resolution (1/15°) general circulation model experiments. For the first time in this region, simulations were carried out with a 2-way nested configuration of the NEMO primitive equation model. A coarse North Atlantic grid (1/3°) reproduces the main features of the North Atlantic and Equatorial circulation capable of influencing ocean dynamics in the Caribbean Sea. This numerical study highlights strong dynamical differences among basins and modifies the view that dynamics are homogeneous over the whole Caribbean Basin. The Caribbean mean flow is shown to organize in two intense jets flowing westward along the northern and southern boundaries of the Venezuela Basin, which merge in the center of the Colombia Basin. Diagnostics of model outputs show that width, depth and strength of baroclinic eddies increase westward from the Lesser Antilles to the Colombia Basin. The widening and strengthening to the west is consistent with altimetry data and drifter observations. Although influenced by the circulation in the Colombia Basin, the variability in the Cayman Basin (which also presents a westward growth from the Chibcha Channel) is deeper and less energetic than the variability in the Colombia/Venezuela Basins. Main frequency peaks for the mesoscale variability present a westward shift, from roughly 50 days near the Lesser Antilles to 100 days in the Cayman Basin, which is associated with growth and merging of eddies.     

A data assimilation approach to discharge estimation from space

River discharge is currently monitored by a diminishing network of gauges, which provide a spatially incomplete picture of global discharges. This study assimilated water level information derived from a fused satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image and digital terrain model (DTM) with simulations from a coupled hydrological and hydrodynamic model to estimate discharge in an un‐gauged basin scenario. Assimilating water level measurements led to a 79% reduction in ensemble discharge uncertainty over the coupled hydrological hydrodynamic model alone. Measurement bias was evident, but the method still provided a means of improving estimates of discharge for high flows. The study demonstrates the potential of currently available synthetic aperture radar imagery to reduce discharge uncertainty in un‐gauged basins when combined with model simulations in a data assimilation framework, where sufficient topographic data are available. The work is timely because in the near future the launch of satellite radar missions will lead to a significant increase in the volume of data available for space‐borne discharge estimation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal influence of urban groundwater recharge from stormwater infiltration basins

Groundwater warming below cities has become a major environmental issue; but the effect of distinct local anthropogenic sources of heat on urban groundwater temperature distributions is still poorly documented. Our study addressed the local effect of stormwater infiltration on the thermal regime of urban groundwater by examining differences in water temperature beneath stormwater infiltration basins (SIB) and reference sites fed exclusively by direct infiltration of rainwater at the land surface. Stormwater infiltration dramatically increased the thermal amplitude of groundwater at event and season scales. Temperature variation at the scale of rainfall events reached 3 °C and was controlled by the interaction between runoff amount and difference in temperature between stormwater and groundwater. The annual amplitude of groundwater temperature was on average nine times higher below SIB (range: 0·9–8·6 °C) than at reference sites (range: 0–1·2 °C) and increased with catchment area of SIB. Elevated summer temperature of infiltrating stormwater (up to 21 °C) decreased oxygen solubility and stimulated microbial respiration in the soil and vadose zone, thereby lowering dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in groundwater. The net effect of infiltration on average groundwater temperature depended upon the seasonal distribution of rainfall: groundwater below large SIB warmed up (+0·4 °C) when rainfall occurred predominantly during warm seasons. The thermal effect of stormwater infiltration strongly attenuated with increasing depth below the groundwater table indicating advective heat transport was restricted to the uppermost layers of groundwater. Moreover, excessive groundwater temperature variation at event and season scales can be attenuated by reducing the size of catchment areas drained by SIB and by promoting source control drainage systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

海洋浮游植物溶解有机碳释放研究进展

溶解有机碳(DOC)是海洋中最大的有机碳库,其中化学性质不稳定的成分大部分来自海洋浮游植物的释放。简要回顾了浮游植物溶解有机碳释放研究的发展历史,从光合作用合成的溶解有机碳(PDOC)释放占初级生产力的比重,PDOC的化学组成,浮游植物DOC释放的途径与机制,PDOC释放的环境调控,浮游植物群落组成对PDOC释放的影响,以及浮游植物释放DOC对异养细菌的生态意义等方面对相关研究进行了综述和分析。讨论了浮游植物溶解有机碳释放研究的现状和存在的问题,并对PDOC初级生产力测定的推广和相关研究的深化提出建议。     

On the Effect of Surface Heat-Flux Heterogeneities on the Mixed-Layer-Top Entrainment

We used a set of large-eddy simulations to investigate the effect of one-dimensional stripe-like surface heat-flux heterogeneities on mixed-layer top entrainment. The profiles of sensible heat flux and the temporal evolution of the boundary-layer depth revealed decreased entrainment for small heat-flux amplitudes and increased entrainment for large heat-flux amplitudes, compared to the homogeneously-heated mixed layer. For large heat-flux amplitudes the largest entrainment was observed for patch sizes in the order of the boundary-layer depth, while for significantly smaller or larger patch sizes entrainment was similar as in the homogeneous case. In order to understand the underlying physics of this impact, a new approach was developed to infer local information on entrainment by means of the local flux divergence. We found an entrainment maximum over the centre of the stronger heated surface patch, where thermal energy is accumulated by the secondary circulation (SC) that was induced by the surface heterogeneity. Furthermore, we observed an entrainment maximum over the less heated patch as well, which we suppose is to be linked to the SC-induced horizontal flow convergence at the top of the convective boundary layer (CBL). For small heat-flux amplitudes a counteracting effect dominates that decreases entrainment, which we suppose is the horizontal advection of cold air in the lower, and warm air in the upper, CBL by the SC, stabilizing the CBL and thus weakening thermal convection. Moreover, we found that a mean wind can reduce the heterogeneity-induced impact on entrainment. If the flow is aligned perpendicular to the border between the differentially-heated patches, the SC and thus its impact on entrainment vanishes due to increased horizontal mixing, even for moderate wind speeds. However, if the flow is directed parallel to the border between the differentially-heated patches, the SC and thus its impact on entrainment persists.     

Crack Initiation and Crack Propagation in Heterogeneous Sulfate-Rich Clay Rocks

Brittle fracture processes were hypothesized by several researches to cause a damage zone around an underground excavation in sulfate-rich clay rock when the stress exceeds the crack initiation threshold, and may promote swelling by crystal growth in newly formed fractures. In this study, laboratory experiments such as unconfined and confined compression tests with acoustic emission monitoring, and microstructural and mineralogical analyses are used to explain brittle fracture processes in sulfate-rich clay rock from the Gipskeuper formation in Switzerland. This rock type typically shows a heterogeneous rock fabric consisting of distinct clayey layers and stiff heterogeneities such as anhydrite layers, veins or nodules. The study showed that at low deviatoric stress, the failure behavior is dominated by the strength of the clayey matrix where microcracks are initiated. With increasing deviatoric stress or strain, growing microcracks eventually are arrested at anhydrite veins, and cracks develop either aligned with the interface between clayey layers and anhydrite veins, or penetrate anhydrite veins. These cracks often link micro-fractured regions in the specimen. This study also suggest that fracture localization in sulfate-rich clay rocks, which typically show a heterogeneous rock fabric, does not take place in the pre-peak range and renders unstable crack propagation less likely. Sulfate-rich clay rocks typically contain anhydrite veins at various scales. At the scale of a tunnel, anhydrite layers or veins may arrest growing fractures and prevent the disintegration of the rock mass. The rock mass may be damaged when the threshold stress for microcrack initiation is exceeded, thus promoting swelling by crystal growth in extension fractures, but the self-supporting capacity of the rock mass may be maintained rendering the possibility for rapidly propagating instability less likely.     

面向交通土建工程的网络化移动勘测办公系统

现今的交通土建类大型工程项目数据繁冗复杂。传统的数据处理方式速度慢、精度低,已不能满足大型工程管理的需要。GeoNMOS软件可弥补在大型工程项目中数据处理方面的不足。文中提出网络化移动勘测办公系统的设计理念,着重分析GeoNMOS各个模块的特点及其主要功能。