Normal modes and resonance in Ontario Lacus: a hydrocarbon lake of Titan

Ocean Dynamics - The natural modes of Ontario Lacus surface oscillations, the largest lake in Titan’s southern hemisphere, are simulated and analyzed as they are potentially of broad interest...     

Comment on “Comparison of the Ability of ARIMA,WNN and SVM Models for Drought Forecasting in the Sanjiang Plain,China” by Yuhu Zhang,Huirong Yang,Hengjian Cui,and Qiuhua Chen,in Natural Resources Research DOI: 10.1007/s11053-019-09512-6

Natural Resources Research - We thank Zhang et al. (Nat Resour Res, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-019-09512-6) for investigating the accuracy of artificial intelligence techniques in the...     

Current velocity forecasting in straits with artificial neural networks,a case study: Strait of Istanbul

Owing to their complex character, modeling flow patterns of narrow straits has always been a challenge, even with the numerical techniques of today. This study was aimed at predicting vertical current profiles of a given point in a narrow strait, the Strait of Istanbul. On account of the speed and simplicity it offers, and of its remarkable success in solving complex problems, the feed forward back propagation (FFBP) artificial neural network (ANN) technique was chosen for this study. The model was built on 7039 hours of concurrent measurements of current profiles, meteorological conditions, and surface elevations. The model predicted 12 outputs of East and North velocity components at different depths in a given location. Various alternative models with different inputs and neuron numbers were evaluated attaining the best model by trial and error. Predictions from proposed ANN model were in accordance with the observations with average root mean square error of 0.16 m/s. The same input parameters were then used to build models that predicted current velocities 1–12 h into the future. Results of these predictions show good overall agreement with observations and that FFBP ANN can be used as a reliable tool for forecasting current profiles in straits.     

The western border of the Archaean province of the Baltic shield: evidence from northern Sweden

Restricted areas of acid to intermediate gneisses in northernmost Sweden are known to be Archaean and several other gneissic granodioritic to tonalitic massifs have been suggested to be of this age. To delimit the western border of the Archaean province of the Baltic Shield, and to characterize the Swedish Archaean, we have studied the 2.83 Ga old Soppero gneiss and 8 of the proposed Archaean massifs in northern Sweden by Sm-Nd isotopic analyses, U-Pb zircon dating (in two cases), and geochemistry.Of the Archaean gneisses proposed thus far, only those from the Soppero and Kukkola areas have Archaean ages (2.83 and 2.67 Ga, respectively). These gneisses have geochemical characteristics such as LREE-enrichment, low U-contents, and low K/Na-ratios, which are typical of Archaean TTG (tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite) rocks worldwide. The REE results indicate that the Soppero and the Kukkola gneisses were generated by partial melting of basic rocks, presumably amphibolites. According to the Sm-Nd isotopic data for the Soppero gneiss, this process occurred only a short time after initial segregation from the mantle ( _Nd values between +0.9 and +3.5). The Kukkola gneiss, however, has longer crustal residence time as indicated by negative _Nd values (–1.0 and –2.5) at the U-Pb zircon age of 2.67 Ga. Evidence in support of an important event at that time is given by secondary overgrowth on zircon cores in the 2.83 Ga old Soppero gneiss.The Sm-Nd isotope results show that the Proterozoic granitoids in northern Sweden have a decreasing involvement of Archaean source material with increasing distance from the Archaean areas. Before the Proterozoic reworking, the rather small Archaean areas in northern Sweden presumably belonged to a large continuous Archaean craton. The western palaeoboundary of this craton in Sweden probably follows approximately a line extrapolated from the western limit of the Archaean of central Finland, passing west of Kukkola, and then continues to the Lofoten area in northern Norway.     

The P–T–X(fluid) evolution of meta‐anorthosites in the Eastern Granulites,Tanzania

Meta‐anorthosite bodies are typical constituents of the Neoproterozoic Eastern Granulites in Tanzania. The mineral assemblage (and accessory components) is made up of clinopyroxene, garnet, amphibole; scapolite, epidote, biotite, rutile, titanite, ilmenite and quartz. Within the feldspar‐rich matrix (70–90% plagioclase), mafic domains with metamorphic corona textures were used for P–T calculations. Central parts of these textures constitute high‐Al clinopyroxene – which is a common magmatic mineral in anorthosites – and is therefore assumed to be a magmatic relict. The clinopyroxene rims have a diopsidic composition and are surrounded by a garnet corona. Locally the pyroxene is surrounded by amphibole and scapolite suggesting that a mixed CO₂–H₂O fluid was present during their formation. Thermobarometric calculations give the following conditions for the metamorphic peak of the individual meta‐anorthosite bodies: Mwega: 11–13 kbar, 850–900 °C; Pare Mountains: 12–14 kbar, 850–900 °C; Uluguru Mountains: 12–14 kbar, 850–900 °C. The P–T evolution of these bodies was modelled using pseudosections. The amount and composition of the metamorphic fluid and <0.5 mol.% fluid in the bulk composition is sufficient to produce fluid‐saturated assemblages at 10 kbar and 800 °C. Pseudosection analysis shows that the corona textures most likely formed under fluid undersaturated conditions or close to the boundary of fluid saturation. The stabilities of garnet and amphibole are dependent on the amount of fluid present during their formation. Mode isopleths of these minerals change their geometry drastically between fluid‐saturated and fluid‐undersaturated assemblages. The garnet coronae developed during isobaric cooling following the metamorphic peak. The cooling segment is followed by decompression as indicated by the growth of amphibole and plagioclase. The estimated of the metamorphic fluid is ～0.3–0.5. Although the meta‐anorthosites have different formation ages (Archean and Proterozoic) they experienced the same Pan‐African metamorphic overprint with a retrograde isobaric cooling path. Similar P–T evolutionary paths are known from the hosting granulites. The presented data are best explained by a tectonic model of hot fold nappes that brought the different aged anorthosites and surrounding rocks together in the deep crust followed by an isobaric cooling history.     

Single and binary adsorption of lead and cadmium ions from aqueous solution using the clay mineral beidellite

Beidellite, a low-cost, locally available and natural mineral was used as an adsorbent for the removal of lead and cadmium ions from aqueous solutions in batch experiments. The kinetics of adsorption process was tested for the pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order reaction and intra-particle diffusion models. The rate constants of adsorption for all these kinetic models were calculated. Comparison amongst the models showed that the sorption kinetics was best described by the pseudo second-order model. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to the experimental equilibrium data for different temperatures. The adsorption capacities (Q°) of beidellite for lead and cadmium ions were calculated from the Langmuir isotherm. It was found that adsorption capacity was in the range of 83.3–86.9 for lead and 42–45.6 mg/g for cadmium at different temperatures. Thermodynamic studies showed that the metal uptake reaction by beidellite was endothermic in nature. Binary metal adsorption studies were also conducted to investigate the interactions and competitive effects in binary adsorption process. Based on the optimum parameters found, beidellite can be used as adsorbent for metal removal processes.     

松辽盆地北部古中央隆起带白垩系登娄库组沉积相及天然气富集有利地区

松辽盆地北部古中央隆起带登娄库组是天然气的重要产出层段之一，现有多口钻井产工业气流，区内登娄库组可分为四段，主要为河流相、浅湖砂坝及滨浅湖沉积。隆起区为河流沉积区，边缘为滨浅湖及河流交替沉积。砂岩中孔隙以次生粒间溶孔为主，发育程度与岩性和次生浊沸石的选择性溶蚀有关，研究表明，登娄库组三段是区内最有利的储集层段，最有利于聚集的地区为靠近气源区的古中央隆起带东部。     

Identification of chrysotile in local soil at Beypinari village (Sivas-Turkey) regarding mine and health issue

Asbestos is dangerous for health and is forbidden to use in Turkey, but villagers who live in rural eastern part still use it especially for their home for insulation purposes and even as a substitute for baby powder. Therefore, geological and chemical properties of this type of soil, which is near the settlement, should be characterized and identified from the point of view of health. Beypinari asbestos deposits are located at Beypinari village, about 90 km southeast of Sivas, Turkey within Central Anatolian Ophiolites. Therefore, in the present study, the existence of chrysotile in Beypinari asbestos deposit were characterized and identified by mineralogical analysis and by major, trace, REE analysis. The results show that the samples contain different amount of calcite mineral, the main mineral being chrysotile.     

Multi-level geospatial modeling of human exposure patterns and vulnerability indicators

In the context of disaster risk management and in particular for improving preparedness and mitigation of potential impacts, information on socioeconomic characteristics including aspects of situation-specific human exposure and vulnerability is considered vital. This paper provides an overview on available multi-level geospatial information and modeling approaches from global to local scales that could serve as inventory for people involved in disaster-related areas. Concepts and applications related to the human exposure and social vulnerability domains are addressed by illustrating the varying dimensions and contextual implications. Datasets and methods are highlighted that can be applied to assess earthquake-related population exposure, ranging from global and continental-scale population grids (with a focus on recent developments for Europe) to high-resolution functional urban system models and space–time variation aspects. In a further step, the paper elaborates on the integration of social structure on regional scale and the development of aggregative social and economic vulnerability indicators which would eventually enable the differentiation of situation-specific risk patterns. The presented studies cover social vulnerability mapping for selected US federal states in the New Madrid seismic zone as well as the advancement of social vulnerability analysis through integration of additional economic features in the index construction by means of a case study for Turkey’s provinces.