Computerized balanced cross-section LOCACE to reconstruct an allochthonous salt sheet, offshore Louisiana

The evolution of an allochthonous salt sheet underlying the Mississippi fan is quantified using the two-dimensional LOCACE balanced section program. A first set of tests shows that the shape of the principal normal fault associated with the salt sheet is inconsistent with a roll-over geometry when using flexural slip or simple 120° linear shear criteria with a fixed footwall geometry. The next test with corrected fault geometry allows coherent restoration at the early Lower Miocene using the flexural slip criterion. In two-dimensional reconstructions, the area of salt cannot be balanced, i.e. the area available for salt is considerably wider than the actual salt area shown on the initial section. Thus either salt was dissolved or, perhaps more likely, salt moved outside the plane of section calling for a three-dimensional volumetric reconstruction procedure. The final interpretation is geometrically consistent and suggests that since early Lower Miocene time a large amount of salt moved out of the plane of section forming the allochthonous salt masses. An attempt to approximately balance salt volumes in three dimensions suggests that the amount of salt escaping the system is at least 18%.     

A regional tidal/subtidal circulation model of the southeastern Bering Sea: development, sensitivity analyses and hindcasting

A regional eddy-resolving primitive equation circulation model was used to simulate circulation on the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) shelf and basin. This model resolves the dominant observed mean currents, eddies and meanders in the region, and simultaneously includes both tidal and subtidal dynamics. Circulation, temperature, and salinity fields for years 1995 and 1997 were hindcast, using daily wind and buoyancy flux estimates, and tidal forcing derived from a global model. This paper describes the development of the regional model, a comparison of model results with available Eulerian and Lagrangian data, a comparison of results between the two hindcast years, and a sensitivity analysis. Based on these hindcasts and sensitivity analyses, we suggest the following: (1) The Bering Slope Current is a primary source of large (100 km diameter) eddies in the SEBS basin. Smaller meanders are also formed along the 100 m isobath on the southeastern shelf, and along the 200-m isobath near the shelf break. (2) There is substantial interannual variability in the statistics of eddies within the basin, driven by variability in the strength of the ANSC. (3) The mean flow on the shelf is not strongly sensitive to changes in the imposed strength of the ANSC; rather, it is strongly sensitive to the local wind forcing. (4) Vertical mixing in the SEBS is strongly affected by both tidal and subtidal dynamics. Strongest mixing in the SEBS may in fact occur between the 100- and 400-m isobaths, near the Pribilof Islands, and in Unimak Pass.     

Downward particle fluxes in the Guadiaro submarine canyon depositional system (north-western Alboran Sea), a river flood dominated system

Three moorings equipped with sediment traps were deployed in the north-western Alboran continental margin to study downward particle fluxes in the Guadiaro submarine canyon depositional system. This area is located close to the Strait of Gibraltar and is influenced by the upwelling induced by the Atlantic Jet and by episodic flood events from the Guadiaro River. Sediment traps were installed in the Guadiaro Canyon, in the Guadiaro Channel and in the adjacent continental slope. The overall duration of the deployment was 12 months (from November 1997 to October 1998). Time-series of downward particle fluxes, major constituents (organic carbon, nitrogen, biogenic opal, calcium carbonate and lithogenics) and ²¹⁰Pb were determined near the surface at mid-depths and near the bottom. Total mass fluxes (TMF) in this area fluctuated more than two orders of magnitude and showed an important seasonal variability with higher fluxes in winter. Increases in TMF and lithogenics together with decreases in ²¹⁰Pb, organic carbon and opal were recorded in all traps coinciding with river floods, indicating a direct response of the system to these events and a rapid offshore transport of suspended matter affecting the entire water column. The channel site received similar particle fluxes to the western open slope site, indicating that this channel did not act as a preferential sediment conduit during the deployment period. In the Guadiaro Canyon, TMF were more than one order of magnitude higher, ²¹⁰Pb concentration was lower (one half) and organic matter was more degraded than at the channel site during spring and summer, as a consequence of receiving particles resuspended by internal waves and occasionally by trawling activities. These particles were mainly retained in the canyon, which works as a trap. Also, during spring and summer, the opal and organic carbon percentages increased in all traps both in magnitude and variability, and peaks seem to be associated with biological blooms.     

Regional stratigraphic framework linking continental shelf and coastal sedimentary deposits of west-central Florida

A regional study of the Holocene sequence onlapping the west-central Florida Platform was undertaken to merge our understanding of the barrier-island system with that of the depositional history of the adjacent inner continental shelf. Key objectives were to better understand the sedimentary processes, sediment accumulation patterns, and the history of coastal evolution during the post-glacial sea-level rise. In the subsurface, deformed limestone bedrock is attributed to mid-Cenozoic karstic processes. This stratigraphic interval is truncated by an erosional surface, commonly exposed, that regionally forms the base of the Holocene section. The Holocene section is thin and discontinuous and, north or south of the Tampa Bay area, is dominated by low-relief sand-ridge morphologies. Depositional geometries tend to be more sheet-like nearshore, and mounded or ridge-like offshore. Sand ridges exhibit 0.5–4 m of relief, with ridge widths on the order of 1 km and ridge spacing of a few kilometers. The central portion of the study area is dominated nearshore by a contiguous sand sheet associated with the Tampa Bay ebb-tidal delta. Sedimentary facies in this system consist mostly of redistributed siliciclastics, local carbonate production, and residual sediments derived from erosion of older strata. Hardground exposures are common throughout the study area. Regional trends in Holocene sediment thickness patterns are strongly correlated to antecedent topographic control. Both the present barrier-island system and thicker sediment accumulations offshore correlate with steeper slope gradients of the basal Holocene transgressive surface. Proposed models for coastal evolution during the Holocene transgression suggest a spatial and temporal combination of back-stepping barrier-island systems combined with open-marine, low-energy coastal environments. The present distribution of sand resources reflects the reworking of these earlier deposits by the late Holocene inner-shelf hydraulic regime.     

Spurenelemente und Schwefel-Isotope in Zinkblenden der Blei-Zink-Lagerstätte von Gorno

Zusammenfassung Im Zusammenhang mit einer feinstratigraphischen Bearbeitung der schichtgebundenen Blei-Zink-Lagerstätte von Gorno wurde eine engmaschige Probenahme in allen Erzhorizonten ausgeführt. Die Zinkblenden dieser Proben wurden auf Spurenelemente und Schwefel-Isotope untersucht. Sowohl die Spurenelemente wie die Schwefel-Isotope zeigen eine weite Streuung. Sie lassen aber beide gesetzmäßige Abhängigkeiten von der sedimentären Fazies der Nebengesteine (Becken- oder Schwellenfazies) erkennen, die sich nur aus dem gleichzeitigen Absatz von Erz und Nebengestein erklären lassen.

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In connection with stratigraphic research in the stratabound lead-zinc-deposit of Gorno a closemeshed sampling in the different ore horizons was carried out. The minor elements and the sulfur isotopes in the sphalerites of these samples have been determined. The minor elements as well as the sulfur isotopes showed a very large spread of values, but an accurate dependence on the sedimentary facies of the bedrocks (swell- and basin-facies) could be observed. This dependence may only be explained by the contemporanëity of the precipitation of the ore minerals and the sedimentation of the bedrocks.

     

Performance of artificial neural network and convolutional neural network on slope failure prediction using data from the random finite element method

Acta Geotechnica - The random finite element method has been widely used to evaluate slope uncertainty and reliability. To determine the probability of failure, the safety factor sampling often...     

Use of the analytical modeling of recession to describe a dual-aquifer effect

Hydrogeology Journal - Complex recession properties can be described using a fairly simple analytical model. The model used in this study is PULSE, which is used to estimate groundwater recharge...