On the simulation of multidimensional cyclic loading with intergranular strain

A sample of soil is subjected to multidimensional cyclic loading when two or three principal components of the stress or strain tensor are simultaneously controlled to perform a repetitive path. These paths are very useful to evaluate the performance of models simulating cyclic loading. In this article, an extension of an existing constitutive model is proposed to capture the behavior of the soil under this type of loading. The reference model is based on the intergranular strain anisotropy concept and therefore incorporates an elastic locus in terms of a strain amplitude. In order to evaluate the model performance, a modified triaxial apparatus able to perform multidimensional cyclic loading has been used to conduct some experiments with a fine sand. Simulations of the extended model with multidimensional loading paths are carefully analyzed. Considering that many cycles are simulated (\(N>30\)), some additional simulations have been performed to quantify and analyze the artificial accumulation generated by the (hypo-)elastic component of the model. At the end, a simple boundary value problem with a cyclic loading as boundary condition is simulated to analyze the model response.     

3-D paleotemperature modeling of the geothermal regime of sedimentary basins: Example of the Lunskaya depression,Sakhalin Island

The task of 3-D modeling of the thermal field of a sedimentary basin during sedimentation is considered. The aim of the modeling is to determine the temperature at any point of the basin at a given moment of geological time. The mathematical model is based on a system of equations of thermal conductivity for a heterogeneous layered medium with dynamic boundaries. The conditions of the continuous temperature and thermal flow are given at the boundaries of the adjacent layers. The temperature values, which are determined by the values of the secular course of the earth temperature, are given at the upper boundary coinciding with the sedimentation surface. The thermal flow value is considered to be given at the lower boundary. The medium is approximated using a vertical triangle prism, which is accepted in algorithms of interpretation of the gravitation field and characterized by random upper and lower basements and given values of the thermal physical parameters. The equations of thermal conductivity are solved on the basis of potential theory. The precision of this algorithm is demonstrated by calculation of a test example. The thermal evolution of the sedimentary complexes and dynamics of the major zone of oil formation are reconstructed and possible errors of paleotemperature interpretations caused by ignored 3-D modeling medium are determined on the example of the sedimentary basin of the Lunskaya depression of Sakhalin.     

Reflectance spectroscopy and remote sensing data for finding sulfide-bearing alteration zones and mapping geology in Gilgit-Baltistan,Pakistan

Gilgit-Baltistan region is covering the northern most part of Pakistan where the rocks of the Kohistan-Ladakh island arc and Karakoram plate are exposed. The area has greater potential for precious and base metals deposits which are needed to be explored through spectroscopy and remote sensing techniques. Minerals and rocks can nowadays be identified through the measurement of their absorption and reflectance features by spectroscopic analysis. Spectral reflectance analysis is also very important in selecting the appropriate spectral bands for remote-sensing data analysis of unknown or inaccessible areas. In this study, reflectance spectra in the spectral range of 0.35–2.5 μm of different types of unaltered and altered rocks found in the Machulu and Astor areas of northern Pakistan were obtained using an ASD spectroradiometer. The fresh rock samples showed low spectral reflectance as compared to the altered rock samples. The minerals jarosite, goethite, and hematite showed depth of absorption minima in the range of 0.4–1.15 μm due to the presence of iron (Fe), while jarosite and limonite showed absorption depth at 2.2 μm due to the presence of hydroxyl ions (OH^¯). The clay minerals montmorillonite and illite showed absorption depth at 1.93 and 2.1 μm, respectively. Muscovite showed depth of absorption minima at 1.4 and 1.9 μm in some samples. Calcite showed deep absorption minima at 2.32 μm, while anorthite showed absorption features at 1.4, 1.9, 2.24, and 2.33 μm. Olivine showed a slight depressed absorption feature at 1.07 μm. The copper-bearing phases malachite, chrysocolla, and azurite showed, respectively, a broad absorption feature in the range of 0.6–0.9 μm, a small absorption at 1.4 μm, and a deep absorption at 1.93 μm. The unmineralized samples exhibited high reflectance in the wavelength ranges of 0.6–0.8, 1.6–1.9, 2.0–2.3, 2.1–2.25, and 2.4–2.5 μm, respectively, while the mineralized samples showed reflectance bands in the wavelength ranges of 0.4–0.6, 1.3–1.8, and 2.1–2.2 μm. On this basis, the band ratio combinations 7/5–4/3–6/3 and 7/5–6/3–4/3 of Landsat 8 and 4/7–4/3–2/1 for ASTER data were found to be very effective in the lithological differentiation of major rock units.     

A topical evaluation and discussion of data movement technologies for data-intensive scientific applications

Transferring large volumes of information from one location to potentially many others that are geographically distributed and across varying networks is still prevalent in modern scientific data systems. This is despite the movement to push computation to the data and to reduce data movement needed to compute answers to challenging scientific problems, to disseminate information to the scientific community, and to acquire data for curation and enrichment. Because of this, it is imperative that decisions made regarding data movement systems and architectures be backed by both analytical rigor, and also by empirical evidence and measurement. The purpose of this study is to expand on the work performed by our research team over the last decade and to take a fresh look at the evaluation of multiple topical data transfer technologies in use cases derived from data-intensive scientific systems and applications in the areas of Earth science. We report on the evaluation of a set of data movement technologies against a set of empirically derived comparison dimensions. Based on this evaluation, we make recommendations towards the selection of appropriate data movement technologies in scientific applications and scenarios.     

Artificial neural network inversion of magnetic anomalies caused by 2D fault structures

A new approach is proposed to interpret magnetic anomalies caused by 2D fault structures. This approach is based on the artificial neural network inversion, utilizing particularly modular neural network algorithm. The inversion process is implemented to estimate the parameters of 2D fault structures where it has been verified first on synthetic models. The results of the inversion show that the parameters derived from the inversion agree well with the true ones. The analysis of noise has been studied in order to investigate the stability of the approach where it has been tested for contaminated anomalies with 5 and 10 % of white Gaussian noise. The results of the inversion provide satisfactory results even with contaminated signals.The validity of the approach has been demonstrated through real data taken from New South Wales, Australia. A comparable and satisfactory agreement is shown between the inversion results of the neural network and those from techniques published in literatures.     

Performance of seismic arrays in the presence of weathering layer variations

Near-surface layer variations can degrade the desired response of seismic arrays which are typically used to attenuate horizontally traveling coherent noise and enhance vertically traveling signal. We investigate the effect of variations in the near-surface layer thickness on the performance of arrays by studying their impulse and wavelet responses. The models considered include the topographic variations and a channel in the base of weathering layer. The topographic variations include a dipping surface layer as well as a surface layer that follows a sine wave. The geological channel is assumed to be present under the entire receiver array as well as partially under a few receivers. We use Ricker wavelet and model plane wavefronts with incidence angles (90, 70, 45, 20, and 5 °) on a 12-element equally weighted array for the weathering layer models. We found that the array responses are more degraded for near-vertically traveling waves in all cases. The array responses are also found to be more degraded when channel variations are present underneath a few receivers as compared to the entire array length. We recommend designing a spatial filter or using single-sensor records after correcting for intra-array statics to preserve the reflection amplitudes in the presence of weathering layer variations.     

Changing depositional environment revealed from sediment components,west of “Swatch of No Ground”, northern Bay of Bengal

The sediment cores of 20 cm length collected from 31 to 83 m range of water depth from the inner shelf of Bay of Bengal west of “Swatch of No Ground” were analyzed for grain size, organic carbon, total nitrogen, calcium carbonate and clay mineralogy. Grain size analysis revealed that the sediment size decreases from west to east within the study area indicating a possible direction of transport towards east parallel to the coast. The grain size also decreases with increasing water depth, i.e. north to south, indicating sediment contribution to the area of study from Hooghly and other local rivers. In the cores studied, illite was the dominant clay mineral which seems to be a product of glacial weathering under arid conditions with its source being the Himalayan region. The organic carbon content was low in the sediments and was attributed to low plankton production or intense oxidation processes. Low calcium carbonate percentage also supports the view of a low productivity in this region. Organic carbon increases gradually from west to east indicating its association with finer sediments and also indicates transport due to currents which drift the organic carbon away before it settles down within the sediments. Higher values relatively closer to the coast in the eastern side indicate additional contribution from Sunderban mangroves. The C/N ratio obtained indicates mixed source of terrestrial and marine for the organic matter in the sediments. Sedimentation rates available for deltaic plains and shelves off Bangladesh when adopted for the present area revealed that a 20 cm long sediment column was deposited in around 10 years. In most of the cores studied, a change in the trend of sediment components and organic carbon was observed at around 10 cm where grain size increases and organic carbon decreases towards the surface inferring that during the last 5 years, possible floods during NE monsoon or due to melting of ice in Himalaya are responsible for releasing additional water and material which brought a change in hydrodynamic conditions. The surface depletion of organic carbon indicates its dilution by the addition of coarser materials.     

An integration-based estimation approach for the determination of slug test parameters under various flow geometries

A simple parameter estimation procedure, designated as integration-based estimation (IBE), was introduced to determine the hydraulic properties of an aquifer using slug test models subjected to certain flow geometries such as radial and spherical flows. The basic idea behind the proposed IBE approach is to link an integration value at pre-defined normalized head levels for field data with that of a theoretical type curve. The IBE method removes the need for the implementation of the classical graphical matching process which would be ineffective to acquire aquifer parameters for non-ideal aquifer conditions. As the second aspect of this study, a new decision tool was suggested to determine the suitable slug test model to be utilized for the site data since diagnosing the flow character properly is of crucial importance for following a convenient analysis procedure. The estimation performance and limitation of the proposed IBE method were tested for several slug test scenarios including radial and spherical flow models with a number of synthetically generated data sets as well as a field application. Results reveal that the IBE together with the identification methodology not only is able to retrieve aquifer parameters as reliable as the existing techniques in the literature but also diagnoses the flow character precisely as demonstrated in this study.