IFKIS-Hydro: an early warning and information system for floods and debris flows

IFKIS-Hydro is an information and warning system for hydrological hazards in small- and medium-scale catchments. The system collects data such as weather forecasts, precipitation measurements, water level gauges, discharge simulations and local observations of event-specific phenomena. In addition, IFKIS-Hydro incorporates a web-based information platform, which serves as a central hub for the submission and overview of data. Special emphasis is given to local information. This is accomplished particularly by human observers. In medium-scale catchments, discharge forecast models have an increasing importance in providing valuable information. IFKIS-Hydro was developed in several test regions in Switzerland and the first results of its application are available now. The system is constantly extended to additional regions and may become the standard for warning systems in smaller catchments in Switzerland.     

Geological evolution of the West Luzon Basin (South China Sea,Philippines)

Interpretation of deep 2-D multi-channel seismic data sheds insights into the geological evolution of the West Luzon Basin, Philippines. This basin is a sediment-filled trough that is located between the island of Luzon and the outer arc high of the west Luzon subduction zone. High-amplitude, low-frequency reflection bands mark the acoustic basement. The basement, at about 6 s (TWT), is dissected by normal faults with some of them being inverted in a later phase of deformation. The sedimentary successions, overlying the basement are stratified with partly chaotic structures and discontinuous reflectors. Five regional unconformities separate major stratigraphic units. Grid calculations of our seismic data reveal variations in the sedimentation pattern of the basin with a shift of the deposition centre from east to west and backwards during formation. A distinct bottom-simulating reflector is commonly observed. Because the northern boundary of the continental fragments to the South of the West Luzon Basin is unclear we speculate that the basin may be (partly) underlain by continental crust. The continental crust was affected by rifting prior to and during the opening of the South China Sea and the basin was overprinted at a later stage by a forearc structural setting when subduction was initiated.     

Factors affecting the Nd3+ (REE3+) luminescence of minerals

In this paper, possibilities and limits of the application of REE³⁺ luminescence (especially the Nd^{3+ 4}F_3/2 → ⁴I_9/2 emission) as structural probe are evaluated. Important factors controlling the Nd³⁺ luminescence signal are discussed, including effects of the crystal-field, crystal orientation, structural state, and temperature. Particular attention was paid to the study of the accessory minerals zircon (ZrSiO₄), xenotime–(Y) (YPO₄), monazite–(Ce) (CePO₄) and their synthetic analogues. Based on these examples we review in short that (1) REE³⁺ luminescence can be used as non-destructive phase identification method, (2) the intensities of certain luminescence bands are strongly influenced by crystal orientation effects, and (3) increased widths of REE³⁺-related emission bands are a strong indicator for structural disorder. We discuss the potential of luminescence spectroscopy, complementary to Raman spectroscopy, for the quantitative estimation of chemical (and potentially also radiation-induced) disorder. For the latter, emissions of Nd³⁺-related centres are found to be promising candidates.     

CFD modeling of high-pressurized CO2 released from onshore pipeline leakages

Safe pipeline transportation of carbon dioxide is a critical issue in the developing field of carbon capture and storage technology. Inadequate fluid thermo- and regimes for on- and offshore transport through high-pressurized pipelines can induce pipe material obsolescence or even pipeline rupture. In such cases, CO₂ (Carbon dioxide) will be released and dispersed in the ambient medium. The dispersion is influenced by the total amount of released fluid, jet pressure and direction, the released concentrations, leakage hole size, ambient material properties and is also affected by the dynamical conditions of the environmental medium. The goal of this study is the hydrodynamical characterization of carbon dioxide jet expansion and dispersion in the ambient atmosphere in case of onshore pipeline accidental leaks. Numerical simulations were carried out by means of a 3D turbulent CFD (computational fluid dynamics) code which includes multi-component flow treatment. The influence of the jet release pressure and size of the leakage hole on harmful CO₂ concentration distances will be analyzed.     

Quantifying sediment storage in a high alpine valley (Turtmanntal,Switzerland)

The determination of sediment storage is a critical parameter in sediment budget analyses. But, in many sediment budget studies the quantification of magnitude and time‐scale of sediment storage is still the weakest part and often relies on crude estimations only, especially in large drainage basins (>100 km²). We present a new approach to storage quantification in a meso‐scale alpine catchment of the Swiss Alps (Turtmann Valley, 110 km²). The quantification of depositional volumes was performed by combining geophysical surveys and geographic information system (GIS) modelling techniques. Mean thickness values of each landform type calculated from these data was used to estimate the sediment volume in the hanging valleys and the trough slopes. Sediment volume of the remaining subsystems was determined by modelling an assumed parabolic bedrock surface using digital elevation model (DEM) data. A total sediment volume of 781·3×10⁶–1005·7×10⁶ m³ is deposited in the Turtmann Valley. Over 60% of this volume is stored in the 13 hanging valleys. Moraine landforms contain over 60% of the deposits in the hanging valleys followed by sediment stored on slopes (20%) and rock glaciers (15%). For the first time, a detailed quantification of different storage types was achieved in a catchment of this size. Sediment volumes have been used to calculate mean denudation rates for the different processes ranging from 0·1 to 2·6 mm/a based on a time span of 10 ka. As the quantification approach includes a number of assumptions and various sources of error the values given represent the order of magnitude of sediment storage that has to be expected in a catchment of this size. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat Transport Processes in the Earth’s Crust

The heat of the Earth derives from internal and external sources. A heat balance shows that most of the heat provided by external sources is re-emitted by long-wavelength heat radiation and that the dominant internal sources are original heat and heat generated by decay of unstable radioactive isotopes. Understanding of the thermal regime of the Earth requires appreciation of properties and mechanisms for heat generation, storage, and transport. Both experimental and indirect methods are available for inferring the corresponding rock properties. Heat conduction is the dominant transport process in the Earth’s crust, except for settings where appreciable fluid flow provides a mechanism for heat advection. For most crustal and mantle rocks, heat radiation becomes significant only at temperatures above 1200°C.

Chronology building using objective identification of annual signals in trace element profiles of stalagmites

Determination of annual lamination provides important additional constraints to radiometric dates on speleothems, both for dating the duration of specific growth intervals and optimizing growth models. In the absence of visible laminae, however, speleothem age models are reliant upon curve fitting through discretely dated points and are therefore inherently more uncertain than annual chronologies from laminae. Given that the impact of seasonality on speleothems is expected to be strong enough to generate an annual pulse in trace element chemistry regardless of whether or not visible or fluorescent growth laminae are visible, we demonstrate the potential for deriving high-resolution stalagmite chronologies from non-laminated samples using annual chemical variations in stalagmites from two Alpine caves (Obir, Austria and Ernesto, NE Italy). Trace element data were obtained by ion microprobe analyses for H, P, Mg, Na, Sr and Ba and the annual signal was sought using spectral and wavelet analysis. An automated chemical peak-counting software tool was developed in MATLAB^©. It counts significant annual peaks using criteria of minimum amplitude in relation to the local standard deviation of signal variation and minimum separation between peaks determined by the thickness of the preceding layers. Verification of the tool using visibly laminated samples suggests the software is a reliable and accurate method of chronology building, with hit ratios greater than 0.93 and less than 0.75% false alarm occurrences. Used in conjunction with other dating methods such as radiocarbon, U–Th and sulphur peak dating, the automated chemical laminae chronology-building approach provides a more meaningful alternative to simple age-depth curve fitting for non-laminated samples.     

Magmatic-to-hydrothermal crystallization in the W–Sn mineralized Mole Granite (NSW, Australia): Part I: Crystallization of zircon and REE-phosphates over three million years—a geochemical and U–Pb geochronological study

Zircon, monazite and xenotime crystallized over a temperature interval of several hundred degrees at the magmatic to hydrothermal transition of the Sn and W mineralized Mole Granite. Magmatic zircon and monazite, thought to have crystallized from hydrous silicate melt, were dated by conventional U–Pb techniques at an age of 247.6 ± 0.4 and 247.7 ± 0.5 Ma, respectively. Xenotime occurring in hydrothermal quartz is found to be significantly younger at 246.2 ± 0.5 Ma and is interpreted to represent hydrothermal growth. From associated fluid inclusions it is concluded that it precipitated from a hydrothermal brine ≤ 600 °C, which is below the accepted closure temperature for U–Pb in this mineral. These data are compatible with a two-stage crystallization process: precipitation of zircon and monazite as magmatic liquidus phases in deep crustal magma followed by complete crystallization and intimately associated Sn–W mineralization after intrusion of the shallow, sill-like body of the Mole Granite. Later hydrothermal formation of monazite in a biotite–fluorite–topaz reaction rim around a mineralized vein was dated at 244.4 ± 1.4 Ma, which distinctly postdates the Mole Granite and is possibly related to a younger hidden intrusion and its hydrothermal fluid system.

Obtaining precise age data for magmatic and hydrothermal minerals of the Mole Granite is hampered by uncertainties introduced by different corrections required for multiple highly radiogenic minerals crystallising from evolved hydrous granites, including ²³⁰Th disequilibrium due to Th/U fractionation during monazite and possibly xenotime crystallization, variable Th/U ratios of the fluids from which xenotime was precipitating, elevated contents of common lead, and post-crystallization lead loss in zircon, enhanced by the fluid-saturated environment. The data imply that monazite can also survive as a liquidus phase in protracted magmatic systems over periods of 10⁶ years. The outlined model is in agreement with prominent chemical core-rim variation of the zircon.     

Variability of Sub-Canopy Flow,Temperature, and Horizontal Advection in Moderately Complex Terrain

We examine the space–time structure of the wind and temperature fields, as well as that of the resulting spatial temperature gradients and horizontal advection of sensible heat, in the sub-canopy of a forest with a dense overstorey in moderately complex terrain. Data were collected from a sensor network consisting of ten stations and subject to orthogonal decomposition using the multiresolution basis set and stochastic analyses including two-point correlations, dimensional structure functions, and various other bulk measures for space and time variability. Despite some similarities, fundamental differences were found in the space–time structure of the motions dominating the variability of the sub-canopy wind and temperature fields. The dominating motions occupy similar spatial, but different temporal, scales. A conceptual space–time diagram was constructed based on the stochastic analysis that includes the important end members of the spatial and temporal scales of the observed motions of both variables. Short-lived and small-scale motions govern the variability of the wind, while the diurnal temperature oscillation driven by the surface radiative transfer is the main determinant of the variability in the temperature signal, which occupies much larger time scales. This scale mismatch renders Taylor’s hypothesis for sub-canopy flow invalid and aggravates the computation of meaningful estimates of horizontal advective fluxes without dense spatial information. It may further explain the ambiguous and inconclusive results reported in numerous energy and mass balance and advection studies evaluating the hypothesis that accounting for budget components other than the change in storage term and the vertical turbulent flux improves the budget closure when turbulent diffusion is suppressed in plant canopies. Estimates of spatial temperature gradients and advective fluxes were sensitive to the network geometry and the spatial interpolation method. The assumption of linear spatial temperature gradients was not supported by the results, and leads to increased spatial and temporal variability of inferred spatial gradients and advection estimates. A method is proposed to estimate the appropriate minimum network size of wind and temperature sensors suitable for an evaluation of energy and mass balances by reducing spatial and temporal variability of the spatially sampled signals, which was estimated to be on the order of 200 m at the study site.