Tracking sediment provenance and erosional evolution of the western Greater Caucasus

This article investigates landscape characteristics and sediment composition in the western Greater Caucasus by using multiple methods at different timescales. Our ultimate goal is to compare short‐term versus long‐term trends in erosional processes and to reconstruct spatio‐temporal changes in sediment fluxes as controlled by partitioning of crustal shortening and rock uplift in the orogenic belt. Areas of active recent uplift are assessed by quantitative geomorphological techniques [digital elevation model (DEM) analysis of stream profiles and their deviation from equilibrium] and compared with regions of rapid exhumation over longer time intervals as previously determined by fission‐track and cosmogenic‐nuclide analyses. Complementary information from petrographic and heavy‐mineral analyses of modern sands and ancient sandstones is used to evaluate erosion integrated throughout the history of the orogen. River catchments displaying the highest relief, as shown by channel‐steepness indices, correspond with the areas of most rapid exhumation as outlined by thermochronological data. The region of high stream gradients is spatially associated with the highest topography around Mount Elbrus, where sedimentary cover strata have long been completely eroded and river sediments display the highest metamorphic indices and generally high heavy‐mineral concentrations. This study reinforces the suggestion that the bedrock–channel network can reveal much of the evolution of tectonically active landscapes, and implies that the controls on channel gradient ultimately dictate the topography and the relief along the Greater Caucasus. Our integrated datasets, obtained during a decade of continuing research, display a general agreement and regularity of erosion patterns through time, and consistently indicate westward decreasing rates of erosional unroofing from the central part of the range to the Black Sea. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Field reconnaissance and overview of the impact of Hurricane Matthew on Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula

The old potable water network in Byblos city is provided mainly from Ibrahim River nearby. Located in a seismic region, the aging network needs to tolerate seismic threats; thus, damage to the potable water network needs to be assessed. Therefore, first, enhancing infrastructure resilience is briefly discussed, noting briefly the need to bridge specifically between heritage risk management and engineering. Second, Byblos potable water network, seismicity, and geology are detailed. Third, the potable water network damage assessment methodology is presented. It encompasses hazard assessment, network inventory, damage functions, and model development. Data and maps are prepared using the Geographic Information System and then modeled in Ergo platform to obtain the damage to buried pipelines in the event of likely earthquake scenarios. Ergo is updated to consider recommended ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for the Middle East region, to consider amplification of the peak ground velocity in hazard maps due to different soil types, and to consider adequate fragility functions. Moreover, different Byblos geotechnical maps, landslide hazard, and liquefaction are investigated and embedded. Damage results to pipelines are dependent on the hazard maps obtained using different GMPEs and geotechnical maps. Asbestos cement pipelines will be most damaged, followed by polyethylene and then by ductile iron. Finally, recommendations are offered to consider an improved sustainable rehabilitation solution. The study provides a better understanding of Byblos potable water network and allows the establishment of a sustainable and resilience-to-earthquake preparedness strategy and recovery plan.     

What causes the spread of model projections of ocean dynamic sea-level change in response to greenhouse gas forcing?

Sea levels of different atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) respond to climate change forcing in different ways, representing a crucial uncertainty in climate change research. We isolate the role of the ocean dynamics in setting the spatial pattern of dynamic sea-level (ζ) change by forcing several AOGCMs with prescribed identical heat, momentum (wind) and freshwater flux perturbations. This method produces a ζ projection spread comparable in magnitude to the spread that results from greenhouse gas forcing, indicating that the differences in ocean model formulation are the cause, rather than diversity in surface flux change. The heat flux change drives most of the global pattern of ζ change, while the momentum and water flux changes cause locally confined features. North Atlantic heat uptake causes large temperature and salinity driven density changes, altering local ocean transport and ζ. The spread between AOGCMs here is caused largely by differences in their regional transport adjustment, which redistributes heat that was already in the ocean prior to perturbation. The geographic details of the ζ change in the North Atlantic are diverse across models, but the underlying dynamic change is similar. In contrast, the heat absorbed by the Southern Ocean does not strongly alter the vertically coherent circulation. The Arctic ζ change is dissimilar across models, owing to differences in passive heat uptake and circulation change. Only the Arctic is strongly affected by nonlinear interactions between the three air-sea flux changes, and these are model specific.

     

Penetrometry of granular and moist planetary surface materials: Application to the Huygens landing site on Titan

The Huygens probe landed on the then unknown surface of Titan in January 2005. A small, protruding penetrometer, part of the Surface Science Package (SSP), was pushed into the surface material measuring the mechanical resistance of the ground as the probe impacted the landing site. We present laboratory penetrometry into room temperature surface analogue materials using a replica penetrometer to investigate further the nature of Titan’s surface and examine the sensor’s capabilities. The results are then compared to the flight instrument’s signature and suggest the Titan surface substrate material consists of sand-sized particles with a mean grain size ～2 mm. A possible thin 7 mm coating with mechanical properties similar to terrestrial snow may overlie this substrate, although due to the limited data we are unable to detect any further layering or grading within the near-surface material. The unusual weakening with depth of the signature returned from Titan has, to date, only been reproduced using a damp sand target that becomes progressively wetter with depth, and supports the suggestion that the surface may consist of a damp and cohesive material with interstitial liquid contained between its grains. Comparison with terrestrial analogues highlights the unusual nature of the landing site material.     

Mineral Prospectivity Prediction from High-Dimensional Geoscientific Data Using a Similarity-Based Density Estimation Model

Assuming a study region in which each cell has associated with it an N-dimensional vector of values corresponding to N predictor variables, one means of predicting the potential of some cell to host mineralization is to estimate, on the basis of historical data, a probability density function that describes the distribution of vectors for cells known to contain deposits. This density estimate can then be employed to predict the mineralization likelihood of other cells in the study region. However, owing to the curse of dimensionality, estimating densities in high-dimensional input spaces is exceedingly difficult, and conventional statistical approaches often break down. This article describes an alternative approach to estimating densities. Inspired by recent work in the area of similarity-based learning, in which input takes the form of a matrix of pairwise similarities between training points, we show how the density of a set of mineralized training examples can be estimated from a graphical representation of those examples using the notion of eigenvector graph centrality. We also show how the likelihood for a test example can be estimated from these data without having to construct a new graph. Application of the technique to the prediction of gold deposits based on 16 predictor variables shows that its predictive performance far exceeds that of conventional density estimation methods, and is slightly better than the performance of a discriminative approach based on multilayer perceptron neural networks.     

Contesting Domestic Ideals: queering the Australian home

The Australian home is a crucial site for both normalising and contesting acceptable modes of sexual identity, desire and behaviour. Social norms and government policies have imbricated the detached suburban dwelling with the heterosexual nuclear family form, consequently heterosexualising the ideal Australian home. But this discourse is simultaneously challenged by the domestic practices of gay men and lesbians, who use their homes to consolidate gay/lesbian identities, relationships and communities. As such, they unsettle the normative heterosexuality underpinning dominant, ideal conceptions of home. In this paper I present four vignettes which illustrate how some gay men and lesbians queer the ideal Australian home, generating domestic spaces which affirm sexual difference. In doing so, I highlight two key ways in which this process of ‘queering home’ works. First, through certain uses of home—activities taking place within domestic space. Second, through changes to the materiality of domestic space itself wrought by some homemaking practices, effectively embedding gay/lesbian identities and relationships within the physical environment of the home.     

Mineralogical control of rare earth elements in acid sulfate soils

Major, trace and rare earth element concentrations were measured in porewater, surface water and sediments at an acid sulfate soil site. The concentrations of La and Ce in porewater are up to 1-3 ppm. There is a strong correlation between REE concentration and acidity, except that the maximum concentrations were consistently found below the horizon of maximum acidity, associated with an increase in pH (to ca. 4) and change in mineralogy from jarosite-dominated to goethite-dominated mottles. Jarosite replacement by goethite is as expected with the rise in pH, which in turn is due to the occurrence of a fossil shell bed just below. The rare earth element patterns in the porewaters are enriched in the MREE with respect to Post-Archaean Australian Shale (PAAS). Measurements and calculations show that this is in accord with experiments on low-degree partial dissolution of jarosite, even when the jarosite itself is highly enriched in LREE. There is a clear fractionation in the patterns between the clay-rich soil matrix, which is slightly depleted in the LREE when normalized to PAAS (La/Yb_PAAS ∼0.5), and the secondary mineral phase jarosite, which is enriched in the LREE (La/Yb_PAAS = 15-50). The REE pattern in the porewater changes with the transition from jarosite- to goethite-rich mottles, becoming relatively more enriched in the LREE compared to the HREE, which is consistent with the incongruent dissolution of jarosite to form goethite and the release of greater amounts of jarosite REE to solution, including proportionately more of the jarosite-compatible LREE.Maximum surface water REE concentrations in acidic water were 100-200 ppb La and Ce. REE patterns in surface water were very similar to the porewater transition zone, enriched in the MREE, but asymmetric, relatively enriched in the LREE compared to the HREE.     

Iridium anomalies and fractionated siderophile element patterns in impact ejecta, Brockman Iron Formation, Hamersley Basin, Western Australia: evidence for a major asteroid impact in simatic crustal regions of the early Proterozoic earth

A stratigraphically consistent <20-cm-thick unit of microkrystite spherule and microtektite-bearing impact fallout ejecta overlying volcanic tuff of the 4th Shale Macroband (DGS4) of the Dales Gorge Member (2.47–2.50 Ga), Brockman Iron Formation, Hamersley Group, Western Australia, displays anomalous platinum group element (PGE) and other trace metal patterns. The unit has high Ir (13 ppb) and Pt (35 ppb), and low Pd (2.7 ppb) and Au (1.55–1.88 ppb). The low Pd/Ir ratios and low Cr/V suggest depletion in volatile PGE and metals relative to refractory PGE and V, contrasted to the ubiquitous high Pd/Ir of most terrestrial rocks. Marked depletion in the volatile Rare Earth Element (REE) abundances in stilpnomelane spherule cores is consistent with this model. The loss of volatile PGE, analogous to relations in 3.24 Ga impact fallout units of the Barberton greenstone belt (S3 and S4), suggests fractionation related to atmospheric spherule condensation. The microkrystite spherule unit locally incorporate fragments and up to meter-scale boulders of banded chert and stromatolite carbonate, suggesting tsunami transport postdating spherule deposition. DGS4 microkrystite spherules are dominated by stilpnomelane mantled by K-feldspar shells, which consist of inward-radiating fibrous feldspar aggregates suggestive of devitrification. The K and REE enrichment of spherule margins are contrasted to flat REE patterns of the stilpnomelane cores, suggesting adsorption of lithophile elements during settling of the spherules through the hydrosphere. K-feldspar shells contain submicron-scale Ni metal, oxide, sulfide and arsenide grains and euhedral needles of feldspar-exsolved ilmenite. Associated magnetite may have high nickel (<1.25% NiO). The generally mafic composition of the spherules and high Ni/Cr and Ni/Co are consistent with a target mafic-ultramafic crust, consistent with the lack of shock-metamorphosed quartz. Mixing calculations suggest a contribution of 2.5–3% projectile component to the impact-generated volatile cloud. Conservative mass balance estimates derived from the Ir and Pt flux, assuming global extent of a 10-cm-thick spherule unit and chondritic projectile composition, suggest an asteroid diameter on the scale of 30 km. Similar estimates are obtained from spherule sizes, which in DGS4 reach a mean diameter of 2.0 mm in aerodynamically elongate spherules. The evidence implies formation of an impact basin on the scale of 400 km in simatic/oceanic regions of the early Proterozoic crust.     

Dynamics of an outburst flood originating from a small and high-altitude glacier in the Arid Andes of Chile

The rise of total water levels at the coast is caused primarily by three factors that encompass storm surges, tides and wind waves. The accuracy of total water elevation (TWE) forecast depends not only on the cyclonic track and its intensity, but also on the spatial distribution of winds which include its speed and direction. In the present study, the cyclonic winds are validated using buoy winds for the recent cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal since 2010 using Jelesnianski wind scheme. It is found that the cyclonic winds computed from the scheme show an underestimate in the magnitude and also a mismatch in its direction. Hence, the wind scheme is suitably modified based on the buoy observations available at different locations using a power law which reduces the exponential decay of winds by about 30%. Moreover, the cyclonic wind direction is also corrected by suitably modifying its inflow angle. The significance of modified exponential factor and inflow angle in the computation cyclonic winds is highlighted using statistical analysis. A hydrodynamic finite element-based Advanced Circulation 2D depth integrated (ADCIRC-2DDI) model is used here to compute TWE as a response to combined effect of cyclonic winds and astronomical tides. As contribution of wave setup plays an important role near the coast, a coupled ADCIRC + SWAN is used to perceive the contribution of wind waves on the TWE. The experiments are performed to validate computed surge residuals with available tide gauge data. On comparison of observed surge residuals with the simulations using modified winds from the uncoupled and coupled models, it is found that the simulated surge residuals are better compared, especially with the inclusion of wave effect through the coupled model.     

Large scale features and energetics of the hybrid subtropical low ‘Duck’ over the Tasman Sea

New aspects of the genesis and partial tropical transition of a rare hybrid subtropical cyclone on the eastern Australian coast are presented. The ‘Duck’ (March 2001) attracted more recent attention due to its underlying genesis mechanisms being remarkably similar to the first South Atlantic hurricane (March 2004). Here we put this cyclone in climate perspective, showing that it belongs to a class within the 1 % lowest frequency percentile in the Southern Hemisphere as a function of its thermal evolution. A large scale analysis reveals a combined influence from an existing tropical cyclone and a persistent mid-latitude block. A Lagrangian tracer showed that the upper level air parcels arriving at the cyclone’s center had been modified by the blocking. Lorenz energetics is used to identify connections with both tropical and extratropical processes, and reveal how these create the large scale environment conducive to the development of the vortex. The results reveal that the blocking exerted the most important influence, with a strong peak in barotropic generation of kinetic energy over a large area traversed by the air parcels just before genesis. A secondary peak also coincided with the first time the cyclone developed an upper level warm core, but with insufficient amplitude to allow for a full tropical transition. The applications of this technique are numerous and promising, particularly on the use of global climate models to infer changes in environmental parameters associated with severe storms.