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.     

Shale basins,sulfur-deficient ore brines and the formation of exhalative base metal deposits

The massive sulfide deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt are interbedded with felsic volcanic rocks and shale, and underlain by several thousand meters of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks known as the PQ Group. Isotope geochemistry and regional geology are both consistent with equilibration of the ore-forming fluids with the PQ Group, prior to ore deposition near the former seafloor. The average Cu:Zn:Pb ratio of the PQ Group rocks (ca. 26:55:19) is similar to the weighted average of all the massive sulfide orebodies combined (ca. 25:52:23).The genetic relationship between massive sulfide deposits and a siliciclastic sedimentary metal source is explained here by a thermodynamic model, proposing that mildly reducing redox conditions imposed by equilibration with the sedimentary rocks are most critical for the formation of an effective ore-forming fluid. Relatively metal-rich but organic-poor pyrite-bearing shale undergoing dewatering of saline pore fluids is an effective source for the generation of sulfur-deficient but relatively iron and base metal-rich brines. Thus, we propose that the giant deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt owe their existence not to exceptionally metal-enriched (e.g., magmatic) fluids, but to the existence of a fairly ordinary but large metal source in reactive siliciclastic sediments, combined with an underlying igneous heat source and a particularly efficient mechanism of sulfide precipitation by mixing with H₂S-rich fluids at or near the seafloor.Essentially similar mineral equilibria are imposed when saline fluids are buffered by typical continental basement rocks. Leaching of retrograde minerals and possibly residual salts from their magmatic or metamorphic prehistory is expected to generate similar, variably metal-rich but relatively sulfide-deficient fluids. Thus, the existence of mildly reducing rocks can be the dominant chemical control in the source of fluids generating many volcanogenic, Irish-type or sedex deposits, many of which are known to precipitate their metal load in response to biogenic sulfide addition at the ore deposition site.     

Chronology and organic chemistry of the Black Creek Swamp Megafauna site (Late Pleistocene), Kangaroo Island, Australia

The timing of the extinction of the Australian Megafauna and whether it was simultaneous and widespread has been a much researched topic in Quaternary geoscience. The Black Creek Swamp Megafauna site on Kangaroo Island was thought to be a refugium for Megafauna; however, recent and multidiscipline age determinations have established that the fossils are considerably older than the well-quoted extinction age of 45 kyr. Further radiocarbon age determinations, δ¹³C isotope analysis and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy of the fossil containing organic matter demonstrates that it is highly soluble and accumulated as recently as 31–18 cal. kyr BP. These radiocarbon ages are much younger than the 100–50 kyr age bracket ascertained for the fossil material itself, implying separate episodes of death, deposition and burial. The soluble nature of the organic matter and increasing radiocarbon ages with depth suggests lateral accumulation, probably transported by subsurface waters from elevated areas proximal to the low-lying swamp. Such depositional conditions and ¹⁴C age range implies that the site may have experienced an unusually wet Last Glacial Maximum, due maybe to its proximity to the continental shelf and thus to maritime conditions. C3 vegetation dominates the Black Creek Swamp and its organic matter (δ¹³C; −30‰ and −23‰); however, variations in δ¹³C may indicate climatic shifts. ¹³C-enrichment and an abundance of salt-tolerant gastropods within the site's final phase of sediment accumulation (<6 cal. kyr BP) suggest that conditions during this most recent period were not as wet as those of the Last Glacial Maximum.     

TRACKING THE BABY BOOM,THE BABY BUST,AND THE ECHO GENERATIONS: HOW AGE COMPOSITION REGULATES US MIGRATION*

US regional and state migration data from the 1940s–80s, when members of the baby boom generation aged into their years of peak labor force mobility, suggest ways in which changing age composition regulates geographical mobility and interregional migration. Labor supply pressure plays a key role in the dynamics of the national migration system. A “delayed mobility” effect in the 1980s similar to the delayed fertility of the baby boom cohorts appears to be a result of the depressed rates of mobility experienced by members of this generation when they flooded regional labor markets with record numbers of entrants in the 1970s. Recent temporal shifts in age-specific volumes of interregional migration help predict the future pace of migration based upon the projected age distribution of the nation.     

Tectonic and Geodynamic Settings of Formation of the Mesozoic Cumulative Dunite–Wehrlite–Olivine Clinopyroxenite—Gabbro Massif in Eastern Chukotka

Geotectonics - The dunite–wehrlite–clinopyroxenite–gabbro massif in Eastern Chukotka, a key object for geodynamic reconstructions of the Vel’may terrane, which represents...     

Distributed discharge and sediment concentration predictions in the sub‐humid Ethiopian highlands: the Debre Mawi watershed

Experimental research in the Ethiopian highlands found that saturation excess induced runoff and erosion are common in the sub‐humid conditions. Because most erosion simulation models applied in the highlands are based on infiltration excess, we, as an alternative, developed the Parameter Efficient Distributed (PED) model, which can simulate water and sediment fluxes in landscapes with saturation excess runoff. The PED model has previously only been tested at the outlet of a watershed and not for distributed runoff and sediment concentration within the watershed. In this study, we compare the distributed storm runoff and sediment concentration of the PED model against collected data in the 95‐ha Debre Mawi watershed and three of its nested sub‐watersheds for the 2010 and 2011 rainy seasons. In the PED model framework, the hydrology of the watershed is divided between infiltrating and runoff zones, with erosion only taking place from two surface runoff zones. Daily storm runoff and sediment concentration values, ranging from 0.5 to over 30 mm and from 0.1 to 35 g l^?1, respectively, were well simulated. The Nash Sutcliffe efficiency values for the daily storm runoff for outlet and sub‐watersheds ranged from 0.66 to 0.82, and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency for daily sediment concentrations were greater than 0.78. Furthermore, the model uses realistic fractional areas for surface and subsurface flow contributions, for example between saturated areas (15%), degraded areas (30%) and permeable areas (55%) at the main outlet, while close similarity was found for the remaining hydrology and erosion parameter values. One exception occurred for the distinctly greater transport limited parameter at the actively gullying lower part of the watershed. The results suggest that the model based on saturation excess provides a good representation of the observed spatially distributed runoff and sediment concentrations within a watershed by modelling the bottom lands (as opposed to the uplands) as the dominant contributor of the runoff and sediment load. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochemical fractionation and ecological risks assessment of benthic sediment-bound heavy metals from coastal ecosystems off the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean

This study determines the pollution, fractionation, and ecological risks of sediment-bound heavy metals from coastal ecosystems off the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Contamination Factor(CF), pollution load index(PLI), and geoaccumulation index(Igeo) were used to assess the extent of the heavy metal pollution, while the potential ecological risk was evaluated using the risks assessment code(RAC) and Hkanson potential ecological risk. The analysis revealed concentrations(mg/g, dw) of the cadmium(Cd),chromium(Cr), copper(Cu), nickel(Ni), and lead(Pb) in sediments for wet and dry seasons vary from 4.40-5.08, 14.80-21.09. 35.03-44.8, 2.14-2.28, and 172.24-196.39, respectively. The results also showed that the metal fractionation percentages in the residual, oxidizable, and reducible fractions are the most significant, while the exchangeable and carbonate bound trace metals are relatively low. The RAC values indicate no risk for Cd and Ni and low risk for other metals at all the studied sites during both seasons.Potential ecological risk analysis of the heavy metal concentrations indicates that Cd had high individual potential ecological risk, while the other metals have low risk at all investigated sites. The multi-elemental potential ecological risk indices(R_1) indicate high ecological risk in all the ecosystems.     

Glacial meltwater cooling of the Gulf of Mexico: GCM implications for Holocene and present-day climates

An atmospheric general circulation model, the NCAR CCM, has been used to investigate the possible effects that reduced Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperatures (SST) could have on regional and hemispheric climates. ¹⁸O records and terrestrial evidence indicate at least two major glacial meltwater discharges into the Gulf of Mexico subsequent to the last glacial maximum. It is probable that these discharges reduced Gulf of Mexico SST. We have conducted three numerical experiments, with imposed gulf-wide SST coolings of 3°C, 6°C, and 12°C, and find in all three experiments significant reductions in the North Atlantic storm-track intensity, along with a strong decrease in transient eddy water vapor transport out of the Gulf of Mexico. Surface pressures are higher over the North Atlantic, indicating a reduction of the climatological Icelandic low. The region is generally cooler and drier, with a reduction in precipitation that agrees well with evidence from Greenland ice cores. Other statistically significant changes occur across the Northern Hemisphere, but vary between the three experiments. In particular, warmer, wetter conditions are found over Europe for both the 6°C and 12°C SST reductions, but cooler conditions are found for the 3°C reduction. This indicates a dependence, in both the sign and magnitude of the model response, on the magnitude of the imposed SST anomaly. The results suggest that the present-day North Atlantic storm track is dependent on warm Gulf of Mexico SST for much of its intensity. They also suggest that meltwater-induced coolings may help account, in part, for some of the climatic oscillations that occurred during the last glacial/interglacial transition.