Nondestructive imaging of hypervelocity impact-induced damage zones beneath laboratory-created craters by means of ultrasound travel-time tomography

Since the 1960s, hypervelocity impact experiments have been conducted to study the complex deformation mechanisms which occur in the subsurface of meteorite craters. Here, we present ultrasound tomography measurements of the damage zone underneath seven experimentally produced impact craters in sandstone cubes. Within the framework of the Multidisciplinary Experimental and Modeling Impact Research Network and the NEOShield Project, decimeter-sized sandstone targets were impacted by aluminum and steel projectiles with radii of 2.5, 4, and 5 mm at velocities between ~3.0 and ~7.4 km s⁻¹. The 2-D ultrasound tomography clearly shows a correlation between impact energy and the damaged volume within the target blocks. When increasing impact energies from 805 to 2402 J, a corresponding increase in the damage radius from ~13.1 cm to ~17.6 cm was calculated. p-Wave velocity reductions up to 18.3% (for the highest impact energy) were observed in the vicinity of the craters. The reduction in seismic velocity decreased uniformly and linearly with increasing distance from the impact point. The damage intensities correspond to peak damage parameters of 0.4–0.51 compared to undamaged target blocks. In addition to the damage zone below the crater, we could identify weakened zones at the sandstone walls which represent precursors of spalling. The volume of the damaged subsurface beneath experimentally produced craters determined through ultrasound tomography is larger than that obtained from previously reported p-wave velocity reductions or to microscopic and microcomputed tomography observations of crack densities in experimentally produced craters.     

The Character and Formation of Elongated Depressions on the Upper Bulgarian Slope

Seafloor elongated depressions are indicators of gas seepage or slope instability. Here we report a sequence of slopeparallel elongated depressions that link to headwalls of sediment slides on upper slope. The depressions of about 250 m in width and several kilometers in length are areas of focused gas discharge indicated by bubble-release into the water column and methane enriched pore waters. Sparker seismic profiles running perpendicular and parallel to the coast, show gas migration pathways and trapped gas underneath these depressions with bright spots and seismic blanking. The data indicate that upward gas migration is the initial reason for fracturing sedimentary layers. In the top sediment where two young stages of landslides can be detected, the slopeparallel sediment weakening lengthens and deepens the surficial fractures, creating the elongated depressions in the seafloor supported by sediment erosion due to slope-parallel water currents.     

On the influence of the ground track on the gravity field recovery from high–low satellite-to-satellite tracking missions: CHAMP monthly gravity field recovery using the energy balance approach revisited

In this paper, the influence of the ground track coverage on the quality of a monthly gravity field solution is investigated for the scenario of a high–low satellite- to-satellite tracking mission. Data from the CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (champ) mission collected in the period April 2002 to February 2004 has been used to recover the gravity field to degree and order 70 on a monthly basis. The quality is primarily restricted by the accuracy of the instruments. Besides, champ passed through a 31/2 repeat mode three times during the period of interest resulting in an insufficient spatial sampling and a degraded solution. Contrary to the rule of thumb by Colombo (The global mapping of gravity with two satellites, Publications on Geodesy, vol 7(3), Netherlands Geodetic Commission, The Netherlands, 263 pp, 1984), see also Wagner (J Geod 80(2): 94–103, 2006), we found that the monthly solutions themselves could be recovered to about degree 30, not 15. In order to improve the monthly gravity solutions, two strategies have been developed: the restriction to a low degree, and the densification of the sampling by the introduction of additional sensitive measurements from contemporaneous satellite missions. The latter method is tested by combining the champ measurements with data from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (grace). Note that the two grace satellites are considered independent here, i.e. no use is made of the K-band ranging data. This way, we are able to almost entirely remove the influence of the ground track leaving the accuracy of the instruments as the primary restriction on the quality of a monthly solution. These findings are especially interesting for the upcoming swarm-mission since it will consist of a similar configuration as the combined champ and (grace) missions.     

长江口外海域岩心沉积物地球化学特征及其对人类活动的响应

对长江口外海域Y16站岩心沉积物中元素含量和粒度组成进行了分析,并通过137Cs测定了年龄。结果表明,该岩心沉积物中元素含量在垂向上的变化与沉积物粒度组成的变化密切相关,根据元素含量的变化特征可将其分为3段:1966年之前、1967—1989年和1990—2006年。R型因子分析表明,影响该岩心沉积物中元素含量变化的主要因素为陆源物质供给。另外,生物沉积作用和人为污染对部分元素含量的变化有一定影响。元素含量的变化特征在前两个阶段主要与流域自然过程相联系,在后一阶段(1990—2006年)人为污染对沉积物中Pb和Zn元素含量的变化有所影响,但这种影响在长江大量输沙的背景下被明显减少。目前,由于长江输沙量的大幅下降(2006年长江输沙量仅为0.85亿t)以及人为污染影响程度的增强(煤、石油燃料消耗的持续增加以及工业的持续发展),未来长江口海域重金属元素的污染情况将面临更大的挑战。     

Trophic modeling of the Northern Humboldt Current Ecosystem, Part I: Comparing trophic linkages under La Niña and El Niño conditions

The El Niño of 1997–98 was one of the strongest warming events of the past century; among many other effects, it impacted phytoplankton along the Peruvian coast by changing species composition and reducing biomass. While responses of the main fish resources to this natural perturbation are relatively well known, understanding the ecosystem response as a whole requires an ecotrophic multispecies approach. In this work, we construct trophic models of the Northern Humboldt Current Ecosystem (NHCE) and compare the La Niña (LN) years in 1995–96 with the El Niño (EN) years in 1997–98. The model area extends from 4°S–16°S and to 60 nm from the coast. The model consists of 32 functional groups of organisms and differs from previous trophic models of the Peruvian system through: (i) division of plankton into size classes to account for EN-associated changes and feeding preferences of small pelagic fish, (ii) increased division of demersal groups and separation of life history stages of hake, (iii) inclusion of mesopelagic fish, and (iv) incorporation of the jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas), which became abundant following EN. Results show that EN reduced the size and organization of energy flows of the NHCE, but the overall functioning (proportion of energy flows used for respiration, consumption by predators, detritus and export) of the ecosystem was maintained. The reduction of diatom biomass during EN forced omnivorous planktivorous fish to switch to a more zooplankton-dominated diet, raising their trophic level. Consequently, in the EN model the trophic level increased for several predatory groups (mackerel, other large pelagics, sea birds, pinnipeds) and for fishery catch. A high modeled biomass of macrozooplankton was needed to balance the consumption by planktivores, especially during EN condition when observed diatoms biomass diminished dramatically. Despite overall lower planktivorous fish catches, the higher primary production required-to-catch ratio implied a stronger ecological impact of the fishery and stresses the need for precautionary management of fisheries during and after EN. During EN energetic indicators such as the lower primary production/total biomass ratio suggest a more energetically efficient ecosystem, while reduced network indicators such as the cycling index and relative ascendency indicate of a less organized state of the ecosystem. Compared to previous trophic models of the NHCE we observed: (i) a shrinking of ecosystem size in term of energy flows, (ii) slight changes in overall functioning (proportion of energy flows used for respiration, consumption by predators and detritus), and (iii) the use of alternate pathways leading to a higher ecological impact of the fishery for planktivorous fish.     

In situ pore-pressure evolution during dynamic CPT measurements in soft sediments of the western Baltic Sea

We present in situ strength and pore-pressure measurements from 57 dynamic cone penetration tests in sediments of Mecklenburg (n?=?51), Eckernförde (n?=?2) and Gelting (n?=?4) bays, western Baltic Sea, characterised by thick mud layers and partially free microbial gas resulting from the degradation of organic material. In Mecklenburg and Eckernförde bays, sediment sampling by nine gravity cores served sedimentological characterisation, analyses of geotechnical properties, and laboratory shear tests. At selected localities, high-resolution echo-sounder profiles were acquired. Our aim was to deploy a dynamic cone penetrometer (CPT) to infer sediment shear strength and cohesion of the sea bottom as a function of fluid saturation. The results show very variable changes in pore pressure and sediment strength during the CPT deployments. The majority of the CPT measurements (n?=?54) show initially negative pore-pressure values during penetration, and a delayed response towards positive pressures thereafter. This so-called type B pore-pressure signal was recorded in all three bays, and is typically found in soft muds with high water contents and undrained shear strengths of 1.6–6.4 kPa. The type B signal is further affected by displacement of sediment and fluid upon penetration of the lance, skin effects during dynamic profiling, enhanced consolidation and strength of individual horizons, the presence of free gas, and a dilatory response of the sediment. In Mecklenburg Bay, the remaining small number of CPT measurements (n?=?3) show a well-defined peak in both pore pressure and cone resistance during penetration, i.e. an initial marked increase which is followed by exponential pore-pressure decay during dissipation. This so-called type A pore-pressure signal is associated with normally consolidated mud, with indurated clay layers showing significantly higher undrained shear strength (up to 19 kPa). In Eckernförde and Gelting bays pore-pressure response type B is exclusively found, while in Mecklenburg Bay types A and B were detected. Despite the striking similarities in incremental density increase and shear strength behaviour with depth, gas occurrence and subtle variations in the coarse-grained fraction cause distinct pore-pressure curves. Gaseous muds interbedded with silty and sandy layers are most common in the three bays, and the potential effect of free gas (i.e. undersaturated pore space) on in situ strength has to be explored further.     

Chemical Characterisation of the USGS Reference Glasses GSA-1G, GSC-1G, GSD-1G, GSE-1G, BCR-2G, BHVO-2G and BIR-1G Using EPMA, ID-TIMS, ID-ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS

The USGS reference glasses GSA-1G, GSC-1G, GSD-1G, GSE-1G, BCR-2G, BHVO-2G and BIR-1G were investigated by different analytical techniques. All these materials have a geological (basaltic) matrix and are therefore useful in igneous geochemistry as matrix-matched reference materials for microanalytical techniques. The new GS glasses have trace elements in groups at concentration levels of about < 0.01, 5, 50 and 500 μg g^-1. Their major element compositions have been determined by EPMA, and trace elements have been analysed by LA-ICP-MS and two isotope dilution techniques using TIMS and ICP-MS. EPMA and LA-ICP-MS analyses indicated that the USGS reference glasses are homogeneous at the μm to mm scale with respect to major (variations < 1-2%) and most trace elements (variations 1-4%). Trace element data obtained from the different analytical techniques agreed within an uncertainty of 1-5%, indicating that between method results are comparable. Therefore, the preliminary working values for the four USGS GS glasses calculated from these data have a low level of uncertainty.     

Increasing the Power Production of Vertical-Axis Wind-Turbine Farms Using Synergistic Clustering

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are being reconsidered as a complementary technology to the more widely used horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) due to their unique suitability for offshore deployments. In addition, field experiments have confirmed that vertical-axis wind turbines can interact synergistically to enhance the total power production when placed in close proximity. Here, we use an actuator line model in a large-eddy simulation to test novel VAWT farm configurations that exploit these synergistic interactions. We first design clusters with three turbines each that preserve the omni-directionality of vertical-axis wind turbines, and optimize the distance between the clustered turbines. We then configure farms based on clusters, rather than individual turbines. The simulations confirm that vertical-axis wind turbines have a positive influence on each other when packed in well-designed clusters: such configurations increase the power generation of a single turbine by about 10 percent. In addition, the cluster designs allow for closer turbine spacing resulting in about three times the number of turbines for a given land area compared to conventional configurations. Therefore, both the turbine and wind-farm efficiencies are improved, leading to a significant increase in the density of power production per unit land area.     

Turbulence Spectra and Cospectra Under the Influence of Large Eddies in the Energy Balance EXperiment (EBEX)

During the Energy Balance EXperiment, the patch-by-patch, flood irrigation in a flat cotton field created an underlying surface with heterogeneous soil moisture, leading to a dry (warm)-to-wet (cool) transition within the cotton field under northerly winds. Moreover, the existence of an extremely dry, large bare soil area upstream beyond the cotton field created an even larger step transition from the bare soil region to the cotton field. We investigated the turbulence spectra and cospectra in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) that was disturbed by large eddies generated over regions upstream and also influenced by horizontal advection. In the morning, the ASL was unstable while in the afternoon a stable internal boundary layer was observed at the site. Therefore, the turbulence data at 2.7 and 8.7 m are interpreted and compared in terms of interactions between large eddies and locally generated turbulence under two atmospheric conditions: the unstable ASL beneath the convective boundary layer (CBL) (hereafter the unstable condition) and the stable ASL beneath the CBL (hereafter the stable condition). We identified the influences of multiple sizes of large eddies on ASL turbulence under both stratifications; these large eddies with multiple sizes were produced over the dry patches and dry, large bare soil areas upstream. As a consequence of the disturbance of large eddies, the broadening, erratic variability, and deviation of spectra and cospectra, relative to those described by Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, are evident in the low- to mid-frequencies. Transfer of momentum, heat, and water vapour by large eddies is distinctly observed from the turbulence cospectra and leads to significant run-to-run variations of residuals of the surface energy balance closure. Our results indicate that these large eddies have greater influences on turbulence at higher levels compared to lower levels, and in the unstable ASL compared to the stable ASL.     

High-Resolution Fibre-Optic Temperature Sensing: A New Tool to Study the Two-Dimensional Structure of Atmospheric Surface-Layer Flow

We present a novel approach based on fibre-optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) to measure the two-dimensional thermal structure of the surface layer at high resolution (0.25 m, ≈0.5 Hz). Air temperature observations obtained from a vertically-oriented fibre-optics array of approximate dimensions 8 m × 8 m and sonic anemometer data from two levels were collected over a short grass field located in the flat bottom of a wide valley with moderate surface heterogeneity. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the potential of the DTS technique to study small-scale processes in the surface layer over a wide range of atmospheric stability, and to analyze the space–time dynamics of transient cold-air pools in the calm boundary layer. The time response and precision of the fibre-based temperatures were adequate to resolve individual sub-metre sized turbulent and non-turbulent structures, of time scales of seconds, in the convective, neutral, and stable surface layer. Meaningful sensible heat fluxes were computed using the eddy-covariance technique when combined with vertical wind observations. We present a framework that determines the optimal environmental conditions for applying the fibre-optics technique in the surface layer and identifies areas for potentially significant improvements of the DTS performance. The top of the transient cold-air pool was highly non-stationary indicating a superposition of perturbations of different time and length scales. Vertical eddy scales in the strongly stratified transient cold-air pool derived from the DTS data agreed well with the buoyancy length scale computed using the vertical velocity variance and the Brunt–Vaisala frequency, while scales for weak stratification disagreed. The high-resolution DTS technique opens a new window into spatially sampling geophysical fluid flows including turbulent energy exchange.