Finite volume approximation for an immiscible two-phase flow in porous media with discontinuous capillary pressure

We consider an immiscible incompressible two-phase flow in a porous medium composed of two different rocks so that the capillary pressure field is discontinuous at the interface between the rocks. This leads us to apply a concept of multivalued phase pressures and a notion of weak solution for the flow which have been introduced in Cancès and Pierre (SIAM J Math Anal 44(2):966–992, 2012). We discretize the problem by means of a numerical algorithm which reduces to a standard finite volume scheme in each rock and prove the convergence of the approximate solution to a weak solution of the two-phase flow problem. The numerical experiments show in particular that this scheme permits to reproduce the oil-trapping phenomenon.     

Detecting recent changes in the demographic parameters of drosophilid populations from western and central Africa

Previous genetic studies showing evidence of past demographic changes in African drosophilids suggested that these populations had strongly responded to Quaternary climate changes. We surveyed nine species of Zaprionus, a drosophilid genus mostly present in Africa, in forests located between southern Senegal and Gabon. The mitochondrial COI gene showed contrasted levels of sequence variation across species. Populations of the only cosmopolitan species of the genus, Z. indianus, and of its closely related sibling species, Z. africanus, are highly polymorphic and appear to have undergone a continuous population expansion beginning about 130,000 years ago. Five less variable species probably underwent a population expansion beginning only about 20,000–30,000 years ago. One of them, Z. taronus, was significantly structured between forest blocks. The last two species were nearly monomorphic, probably due to infection by Wolbachia. These results are similar to those obtained in three species from the melanogaster subgroup, and may be typical of the responses of African drosophilid populations to glacial cycles.     

Assimilation of carbonate country rock by the parent magma of the Panzhihua Fe-Ti-V deposit（SW China）：Evidence from stable isotopes

The Panzhihua intrusion in southwest China is part of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province and host of a large Fe-Ti-V ore deposit.During emplacement of the main intrusion,multiple generations of mafic dykes invaded carbonate wall rocks,producing a large contact aureole.We measured the oxygen-isotope composition of the intrusions,their constituent minerals,and samples of the country rock.Magnetite and plagioclase from Panzhihua intrusion haveδ¹⁸O values that are consistent with magmatic equilibrium, and formed from magmas withδ¹⁸O values that were 1-2‰higher than expected in a mantle-derived magma.The unmetamorphosed country rock has highδ¹⁸O values,ranging from 13.2‰（sandstone） to 24.6-28.6‰（dolomite）.The skarns and marbles from the aureole have lowerδ¹⁸O andδ¹³C values than their protolith suggesting interaction with fluids that were in exchange equilibrium with the adjacent mafic magmas and especially the numerous mafic dykes that intruded the aureole.This would explain the alteration ofδ¹⁸O of the dykes which have significantly higher values than expected for a mantle-derived magma.Depending on the exactδ¹⁸O values assumed for the magma and contaminant, the amount of assimilation required to produce the elevatedδ¹⁸O value of the Panzhihua intrusion was between 8 and 13.7 wt.%,assuming simple mixing.The exact mechanism of contamination is unclear but may involve a combination of assimilation of bulk country rock,mixing with a melt of the country rock and exchange with CO₂-rich fluid derived from decarbonation of the marls and dolomites.These mechanisms,particularly the latter,were probably involved in the formation of the Fe-Ti-V ores.     

Vorwort

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18. Karl Mauch

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Wave-induced setup of the mean surface over a sloping beach

A new theoretical approach for the wave-induced setup over a sloping beach is presented that takes into consideration the explicit variations of the surface waves due to bottom slope and viscosity. In this way, the wave forcing of the mean Lagrangian volume fluxes is calculated without assuming that the local depth is constant. The analysis is valid in the region outside the surf zone and is based on the shallow-water assumption. A novel approach for separating the viscous damping of the waves from the frictional damping of the mean flow is introduced, where the mean Eulerian velocity is applied in the bottom stress for the mean fluxes. In the case where the onshore Lagrangian mean transport is zero, a new formula is derived for the Eulerian mean free surface slope, in which the effects of bottom slope, viscous wave damping and frictional bottom drag on the mean flow are clearly identified. The analysis suggests that viscous damping of the waves and frictional dissipation of the Eulerian near-bed return flow could lead to setup outside the surf zone.     

Zur Morphologie,Systematik und Entwicklungsgeschichte der Vereinskurve

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Personennachrichten

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Hydrological regimes in a tropical valley of New Caledonia (SW Pacific): Impacts of wildfires and invasive fauna

In New Caledonia wildfires and invasive mammals (deer and wild pigs) constitute the major agents of land surface degradation. Our study reveals the linkage between land cover and water balance on the northeast coast of New Caledonia (2400 mm annual rainfall) located on a micaschist basement. The hydrological regime of characteristic and representative land surfaces is assessed using a 1-year record from three 100 m² plots each, located in a forest area degraded by an invasive fauna, in a woody savannah which is regularly burned, and in a healthy forest area. The three plots present highly contrasting hydrological regimes, with annual and maximum runoff/rain ratios during a rain event of, respectively, 0.82, 0.16, 0.03, and 2.7, 0.7, 0.2, for the degraded forest, the savannah and the healthy forest. Such results suggest that subsurface flow originating from the contributing area above the degraded forest plot should exfiltrate inside the plot. A conceptual model for the degraded forest plot shows that water exfiltrating inside the plot represents 61% of the observed runoff. In savannahs, water should mainly be transferred downstream by subsurface flow within a thick organic soil layer limited by an impervious clay layer at a 20–30 cm depth. Savannahs are generally located above forests and generate the transfer of rainwater to downslope forests. Exfiltration into the forests can be the result of this transfer and depends on the thickness and permeability of the forest topsoils and on topographic gradients. Water exfiltration in forest areas highly degraded by pigs and deer enhances erosion and increases further degradation. It probably also limits percolation in the areas located downstream by increasing the amount of superficial runoff concentrated in gullies.