Graphitization in a high-pressure,low-temperature metamorphic gradient: a Raman microspectroscopy and HRTEM study

The graphitization of carbonaceous material (CM) in a high-pressure metamorphic gradient is characterized along a cross section in the Schistes Lustrés formation, Western Alps. Along this 25-km cross section, both the CM precursor and the host-rock lithology are homogeneous, and the prograde evolution of the pressure-temperature metamorphic conditions from the lower blueschist-facies (13 kbar, 330 °C) to the eclogite-facies (20 kbar, 500 °C) is tightly constrained by literature data. Raman microspectroscopy shows that at the micrometre scale, this process is progressive and continuous with increasing metamorphic grade, and that the structure of CM is very sensitive to temperature variations. At the nanometre scale (HRTEM), the CM is composed of a mixture of a microporous phase and an onion-ring like phase, both known as non-graphitizing under the effect of temperature at ambient pressure. The HP-LT graphitization produces structurally and microtexturally heterogeneous CM. With increasing metamorphic grade, the graphitization of the two types of CM proceeds up to the triperiodic graphite stage because of microtextural and structural changes that are specific to each type of CM. The microporous material is progressively transformed into graphite through a macroporous transitional stage. In this case, graphitization mainly occurs on the pore walls as a result of pore growth. In the case of concentric onion-ring like material, graphitization occurs in the regions with the largest radius of curvature, i.e. on the outer part of the ring. In comparison with 1-bar experiments, pressure seems to induce microtextural changes, which allows the subsequent structural modifications of the starting material.     

Weka‐STPM: a Software Architecture and Prototype for Semantic Trajectory Data Mining and Visualization

Enormous quantities of trajectory data are collected from many sources, such as GPS devices and mobile phones, as sequences of spatio‐temporal points. These data can be used in many application domains such as traffic management, urban planning, tourism, bird migration, and so on. Raw trajectory data, as generated by mobile devices have very little or no semantics, and in most applications a higher level of abstraction is needed to exploit these data for decision making. Although several different methods have been proposed so far for trajectory querying and mining, there are no software tools to help the end user with semantic trajectory data analysis. In this article we present a software architecture for semantic trajectory data mining as well as the first software prototype to enrich trajectory data with both semantic information and data mining. As a prototype we extend the Weka data mining toolkit with the module Weka‐STPM, which is interoperable with databases constructed under OGC specifications. We tested Weka‐STPM with real geographic databases, and trajectory data stored under the Postgresql/PostGIS DBMS.     

The impact of internal waves on upper continental slopes: insights from the Mozambican margin (southwest Indian Ocean)

Evidences of sedimentation affected by oceanic circulation, such as nepheloid layers and contourites are often observed along continental slopes. However, the oceanographic processes controlling sedimentation along continental margins remain poorly understood. Multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution seismic reflection data revealed a contourite depositional system in the Mozambican upper continental slope composed of a contourite terrace (a surface with a gentle seaward slope dominated by erosion) and a plastered drift (a convex-shape sedimentary deposit). A continuous alongslope channel and a field of sand dunes (mainly migrating upslope), formed during Holocene, were identified in the contourite terrace at the present seafloor. Seismic reflection data of the water column show internal waves and boluses propagating in the pycnocline near the upper slope. The channel and the dunes are probably the result of the interaction of the observed internal waves with the seafloor under two different conditions. The alongslope channel is located in a zone where intense barotropic tidal currents may arrest internal solitary waves, generating a hydraulic jump and focused erosion. However, upslope migrating dunes may be formed by bottom currents induced by internal solitary waves of elevation propagating landwards in the pycnocline. These small-scale sedimentary features generated by internal waves are superimposed on large-scale contouritic deposits, such as plastered drifts and contourite terraces, which are related to geostrophic currents. These findings provide new insights into the oceanographic processes that control sedimentation along continental margins that will help interpretation of palaeoceanographic conditions from the sedimentary record. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd