Structure of numerically simulated katabatic and anabatic flows along steep slopes

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is applied to investigate properties of katabatic and anabatic flows along thermally perturbed (in terms of surface buoyancy flux) sloping surfaces in the absence of rotation. Numerical experiments are conducted for homogeneous surface forcings over infinite planar slopes. The simulated flows are the turbulent analogs of the Prandtl (1942) one-dimensional laminar slope flow. The simulated flows achieve quasi-steady periodic regimes at large times, with turbulent fluctuations being modified by persistent low-frequency oscillatory motions with frequency equal to the product of the ambient buoyancy frequency and the sine of the slope angle. These oscillatory wave-type motions result from interactions between turbulence and ambient stable stratification despite the temporal constancy of the surface buoyant forcing. The structure of the mean-flow fields and turbulence statistics in simulated slope flows is analyzed. An integral dynamic similarity constraint for steady slope/wall flows forced by surface buoyancy flux is derived and quantitatively verified against the DNS data.     

Decentralization and local institutional arrangements for wetland management in Ethiopia and Sierra Leone

In Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, recent social, political and environmental transformations have precipitated the intensification of wetland use, as local people have sought to safeguard and strengthen their livelihoods. Concurrent decentralization policies in both countries have also seen the government strengthen its position at the local level. Drawing upon recent field-based evidence from Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, this paper examines the compatibility between community-based local institutions for wetland use, and the process of decentralization. It argues that decentralization has in fact restricted the development of mature local institutional arrangements, due to its intrinsically political interventionist nature.     

Incorporating nonlinear isotherms into robust multilayer sorptive barrier design

Sorptive barrier technologies have emerged as useful tools for addressing a wide range of remediation problems. When simulating barrier performance, numerous isotherm expressions are available for relating aqueous and sorbed concentrations. However, isotherm selection is non-trivial because alternative expressions may yield comparable fits to experimental data. Additionally, concentration data collected for parameter fitting is often outside the range of concentrations relevant to simulating barrier performance. This incompatibility necessitates extrapolation of isotherm behavior during simulation–optimization. Consequently, equally plausible isotherms may predict significantly different barrier performance.Numerical experiments involving organic contaminants were performed to examine the influence of isotherm selection and extrapolation on optimal barrier design. Ten isotherms were calibrated to existing experimental data and evaluated using information-theoretic selection criteria. When incorporated into simulation–optimization, extrapolation effects were clearly evident and optimal designs varied according to the chosen isotherm. To ensure robust barrier design in the presence of such variability, a simple methodology is proposed that utilizes a piecewise-minimum isotherm concept. By favoring plausible isotherms that predict the least amount of sorption, the methodology encourages conservative barrier design while respecting available data.     

Lacustrine turbidites as indicators of Holocene storminess and climate: Lake Tahoe,California and Nevada

Sediment cores from Lake Tahoe permit the discrimination of turbidites initiated by seismic-induced debris flows from those generated by severe storms and associated hyperpycnal currents over the last 7000 years using integrated textural, magnetic, and geochemical signatures. Relative to fine-grained ‘background’ sediments, the majority of Tahoe turbidites exhibit coincident trends of increased mean grain size, increased magnetic susceptibility, decreased TOC, higher δ¹³C_org and variable C/N. We interpret these characteristics to record the rapid influx of terrigenous sediments within runoff from the watershed triggered by high-intensity storms. Correlation of multiple, individual turbidites between cores suggests a synchronicity of occurrence, supporting the model of extreme hydrologic events as the trigger for most turbidity currents into Lake Tahoe. In contrast, turbidites generated by seismic collapse of steep lake margins would have textural, magnetic and geochemical signatures that would reflect a homogenized mix of autochthonous biogenic debris and multiple older turbidites. Only one of the turbidites in the cores appears to be seismically generated. A second component of this study tested the hypothesis that turbidite clustering reflects phases of increased storminess, paleoprecipitation and lake level. We correlated broad patterns of turbidite frequency in the Tahoe cores with climate proxies from (1) elsewhere in the Tahoe watershed, (2) the western Great Basin (primarily Pyramid Lake) and (3) the San Francisco bay estuary. The reasonable degree of temporal overlap suggests that apparent trends in severe storm frequency recorded by clusters of turbidites provides a measure of long-term regional paleoprecipitation and lake level. A key finding is an extended phase of dryness and a near absence of major storms between ~3000 and ~900 cal yr B.P. in the Tahoe watershed.     

Depositional history of the Miocene Lake Sinj (Dinaride Lake System,Croatia): a long-lived hard-water lake in a pull-apart tectonic setting

Early Miocene transpressional wrenching yielded a series of NW–SE-elongated pull-apart basins in the Dinarides of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They accommodated a huge lake system that gave rise to spectacular endemic mollusk radiation. Lake Sinj, moderately sized at 342 km², flooded the south-westernmost basin of this system. Due to the karstic environment, the hard-water, alkaline, long-lived lake developed a sediment infill with an average thickness of 370 m, dominated by authigenic limestone. The studied section represents the upper third of the basinal infill and provides detailed insights into the critical period of the lake and of the basinal evolution during the final stages of its filling. It comprises two large-scale, shallowing-upward cycles, both starting with fossil-poor limestones, gradually passing into coal-bearing carbonate rocks and coal seams. The fossil-poor intervals are interpreted as phases of repetitive acidification events due to changing lake level, which induced periodic drying and flooding of the uppermost littoral zone inhabited by starfruit (Damasonium) meadows. The flooding of the aerated, limy mud plain introduced H+ ions from organic-matter decay reactions into the shallow lake. This decreased its pH level, with catastrophic consequences for its biota. The ecosystem then stabilized during the orbitally-forced, dry climate phases. Based on the mollusk record, streams still influenced the marginal lake environment and rich organic-matter production created swamps and mires. The onset of mollusk radiation in the section correlates with stabilized lake alkalinity, as indicated by the disappearance of starfruits, ongoing authigenic carbonate production and by coal seams representing textbook examples for coal formation in alkaline environments. The inferred basinal setting fits well with the pull-apart basin model, pointing to the presence of an extended shallow ramp in front of a steep, fault-induced hillside of the hinterland.     

台风触发慢地震

有关慢地震的报导刮最初见于发生在日本伊豆半岛一个板内地震活动断层上的一次事件。之后又陆续监测到许多慢地震事件旧引。有研究人员认为,慢地震事件有可能触发普通地震（此观点得到数字模拟支持）,但就其对地震发生的广泛意义而言目前尚无确切定论。     

The viscosity of hydrous dacitic liquids: implications for the rheology of evolving silicic magmas

The viscosity of a series of six synthetic dacitic liquids, containing up to 5.04 wt% dissolved water, was measured above the glass transition range by parallel-plate viscometry. The temperature of the 10¹¹ Pa s isokom decreases from 1065 K for the anhydrous liquid, to 864 K and 680 K for water contents of 0.97 and 5.04 wt% H₂O. Including additional measurements at high temperatures by concentric-cylinder and falling-sphere viscometry, the viscosity (η) can be expressed as a function of temperature and water content w according to: where η is in Pa s, T is temperature in K, and w is in weight percent. Within the conditions of measurement, this parameterization reproduces the 76 viscosity data with a root-mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.16 log units in viscosity, or 7.8 K in temperature. The measurements show that water decreases the viscosity of the dacitic liquids more than for andesitic liquids, but less than for rhyolites. At low temperatures and high water contents, andesitic liquids are more viscous than the dacitic liquids, which are in turn more viscous than rhyolitic liquids, reversing the trend seen for high temperatures and low water contents. This suggests that the relative viscosity of different melts depends on temperature and water content as much as on bulk melt composition and structure. At magmatic temperatures, rhyolites are orders of magnitude more viscous than dacites, which are slightly more viscous than andesites. During degassing, all three liquids undergo a rapid viscosity increase at low water contents, and both dacitic and andesitic liquids will degas more efficiently than rhyolitic liquids. During cooling and differentiation, changing melt chemistry, decreasing temperature and increasing crystal content all lead to increases in the viscosity of magma (melt plus crystals). Under closed system conditions, where melt water content can increase during crystallization, viscosity increases may be small. Conversely, viscosity increases are very abrupt during ascent and degassing-induced crystallization.     

Geochemical and Nd‐Sr‐Pb isotopic evidence on the origin and geodynamic evolution of mid‐Cretaceous continental arc volcanic rocks of the Spences Bridge Group,south‐central British Columbia

The mid‐Cretaceous Spences Bridge Group (SBG) comprises a series of basaltic to rhyolitic lavas and related volcaniclastic rocks (Pimainus Formation) overlain by a succession of mainly amygdaloidal andesites (Spius Formation) related to the closure of the Methow–Tyaughton basin and accretion of the Insular terrane in the North American Cordillera. Geochemical variation in the SBG is related primarily to metasomatic processes in the mantle wedge. Pimainus lavas include low‐ to high‐K, tholeiitic and calc‐alkaline types, and have isotopic compositions (ε_Nd(100Ma) = + 5.2 to + 7.0, ε_Sr(100Ma) = − 10 to − 20, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.82 to 18.91, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.55 to 15.60, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.24 to 38.43) between the ranges for primitive arcs and accreted terrane crust. Crustal sources are identified only for some low–medium K dacite and rhyolite compositions. The occurrence of intermediate compositions with high MgO contents (up to 6 wt%) and the presence of adakitic trace element features in medium–high K felsic lavas attests to metasomatism of the mantle wedge by slab melts during Pimainus volcanism. Spius lavas have comparable K₂O and Pb isotopic compositions to the Pimainus, even higher MgO (up to 9.2 wt%), and display a mild intraplate character in having up to 0.6 wt% P₂O₅, 15 ppm Nb, and 240 ppm Zr. Spius Nd−Sr isotopic compositions (ε_Nd(100Ma) = + 5.3 to + 6.9, ε_Sr(100Ma) = − 14 to − 25) define an array extending from Pimainus to alkaline seamount compositions. The low ε_Sr values, elevated high field strength element contents, and moderate silica contents suggest Spius volcanism was related to the introduction of small melt fractions from the asthenosphere into the mantle wedge which had previously generated Pimainus melts. The range of compositional types in the Pimainus Formation constrains tectonic scenarios to include an elevated slab thermal regime, likely from approach of an ocean ridge system toward the continental margin. Spius volcanism may have been generated by asthenospheric upwelling triggered by slab window development or slab‐hinge roll‐back on closure of the Methow–Tyaughton basin. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calibration of complex subsurface reaction models using a surrogate-model approach

Automatic calibration of complex subsurface reaction models involves numerous difficulties, including the existence of multiple plausible models, parameter non-uniqueness, and excessive computational burden. To overcome these difficulties, this study investigated a novel procedure for performing simultaneous calibration of multiple models (SCMM). By combining a hybrid global-plus-polishing search heuristic with a biased-but-random adaptive model evaluation step, the new SCMM method calibrates multiple models via efficient exploration of the multi-model calibration space. Central algorithm components are an adaptive assignment of model preference weights, mapping functions relating the uncertain parameters of the alternative models, and a shuffling step that efficiently exploits pseudo-optimal configurations of the alternative models. The SCMM approach was applied to two nitrate contamination problems involving batch reactions and one-dimensional reactive transport. For the chosen problems, the new method produced improved model fits (i.e. up to 35% reduction in objective function) at significantly reduced computational expense (i.e. 40–90% reduction in model evaluations), relative to previously established benchmarks. Although the method was effective for the test cases, SCMM relies on a relatively ad-hoc approach to assigning intermediate preference weights and parameter mapping functions. Despite these limitations, the results of the numerical experiments are empirically promising and the reasoning and structure of the approach provide a strong foundation for further development.