Influence of the turbulence closure scheme on the finite-element simulation of the upwelling in the wake of a shallow-water island

A three-dimensional finite-element model is used to investigate the tidal flow around Rattray Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Field measurements and visual observations show both stable eddies developing at rising and falling tide in the wake of the island. The water turbidity suggests intense upwelling able to carry bed sediments upwards. Based on previous numerical studies, it remains unclear at this point whether the most intense upwelling occurs near the centre of the eddies or off the island's tips, closer to the island. All these studies resorted to a very simple turbulence closure, with a zero-equation model whereby the coefficient of vertical viscosity is computed via an algebraic expression. In this work, we aim at studying the influence of the turbulence closure on model results, with emphasis on the prediction of vertical motions. The Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 closure scheme is used and an increase in the intensity of vertical transport is observed. This increase is partly explained by the fact that the Mellor and Yamada model takes into account the hysteresis effect in the time variation of turbulence variables. The influence of the advection of turbulence variables is estimated to be negligible. By a better representation of transient coastal phenomena, the Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure improves the model to a significant degree.     

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...     

Extending illumination using all multiples: application to 3D acquisition geometry analysis

Recent advances in survey design have led to conventional common‐midpoint‐based analysis being replaced by subsurface‐based seismic acquisition analysis, with emphasis on advanced techniques of illumination analysis. Among them is the so‐called focal beam method, which is a wave‐equation‐based seismic illumination analysis method. The objective of the focal beam method is to provide a quantitative insight into the combined influence of acquisition geometry, overburden structure, and migration operators on the resolution and angle‐dependent amplitude fidelity of the image. The method distinguishes between illumination and sensing capability of a particular acquisition geometry by computing the focal source beam and the focal detector beam, respectively. Sensing is related to the detection properties of a detector configuration, whereas illumination is related to the emission properties of a source configuration. The focal source beam analyses the incident wavefield at a specific subsurface grid point from all available sources, whereas the focal detector beam analyses the sensing wavefield reaching at the detector locations from the same subsurface grid point. In the past, this method could only address illumination by primary reflections. In this paper, we will extend the concept of the focal beam method to incorporate the illumination due to the surface and internal multiples. This in fact complies with the trend of including multiples in the imaging process. Multiple reflections can illuminate a target location from other angles compared with primary reflections, resulting in a higher resolution and an improved illumination. We demonstrate how an acquisition‐related footprint can be corrected using both the surface and the internal multiples.     

昆仑断裂带东段滑动速率梯度

欧亚大陆走滑断裂带是否实现对青藏地壳及岩石层的向东挤出,很大程度上取决于断层尾端变形的动力学机制。本文我们利用青藏高原北部昆仑断裂最东段千年尺度的地貌标志物提供一组最新的滑动速率测定结果。该断裂带是印度?亚欧碰撞带产生的最主要走滑断裂带之一,在西藏岩石层向东挤出的模型中扮演着主要的作用。曾有人争论在相当长的长度内该断裂显示出相同的滑动速率。黄河支流上的河流阶地位移以及阶地上物质的14C测年可以控制晚更新世至全新世断层以来的滑动速率。结果显示沿断裂东部约150km滑动速率从>10mm/a～<2mm/a自西向东系统地递减。这些数据向那些认为整条断裂滑动速率保持一致的观点提出质疑,相反揭示出位错的梯度性,这与那些在断层尾端预期的情形是类似的。另外,沿断层的滑动看起来在增厚的高原地壳内部终结,因此沿昆仑断裂的滑动导致的西藏岩石层的挤出都会被断裂尾端周围高原的内部变形所吸收。     

Why the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Euler</Emphasis> scheme in particle tracking is not enough: the shallow-sea pycnocline test case

During the last decades, the Euler scheme was the common “workhorse” in particle tracking, although it is the lowest-order approximation of the underlying stochastic differential equation. To convince the modelling community of the need for better methods, we have constructed a new test case that will show the shortcomings of the Euler scheme. We use an idealised shallow-water diffusivity profile that mimics the presence of a sharp pycnocline and thus a quasi-impermeable barrier to vertical diffusion. In this context, we study the transport of passive particles with or without negative buoyancy. A semi-analytic solutions is used to assess the performance of various numerical particle-tracking schemes (first- and second-order accuracy), to treat the variations in the diffusivity profile properly. We show that the commonly used Euler scheme exhibits a poor performance and that widely used particle-tracking codes shall be updated to either the Milstein scheme or second-order schemes. It is further seen that the order of convergence is not the only relevant factor, the absolute value of the error also is.     

Relationship between oriental migratory locust plague and soil moisture extracted from MODIS data

Locust plagues have been the source of some of the most severe natural disasters in human history. Soil moisture content is among the most important of the numerous factors influencing plague onset and severity. This paper describes a study initiated in three pilot locust plague monitoring regions, i.e., Huangzao, Yangguanzhuang, and Tengnan in Huanghua county, Hebei province, China, to examine the impact of soil moisture status on oriental migratory locust [Locusta migratoria manilensis (L.) Meyen] plague breakout as related to the life cycle, oviposition in autumn, survival in winter, and incubation in summer. Thirty-nine temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI) data sets, which represent soil moisture content, were extracted from MODIS remote sensing images for two representative time periods: a severe locust plague breakout year (2001–2002) and a slight plague year (2003–2004). TVDI values demonstrated distinctive soil moisture status differences between the 2 years concerned. Soil moisture conditions in the severe plague year were shown to be lower than those in slight plague year. In all three pilot regions, average TVDI value in the severe plague year was 0.07 higher than that in slight plague year, and monthly TVDI values in locust oviposition period (September and October) and incubation period (March, April and May) were higher than their corresponding monthly figures in slight plague year. No remarkable TVDI differences were found in other months during the locust life cycle between the 2 years. TVDI values for September and October (2001), March, April and May (2002) were 0.11, 0.08, 0.16, 0.11 and 0.16 higher than their corresponding monthly figures in 2003–2004 period, respectively.     

Rock-magnetic proxies of climate change from loess -paleosol sediments of the Czech Republic

Summary Rock-magnetic characteristics of late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequences in the Czech Republic show patterns of variation that reflect climate-related depositional and diagenetic processes which acted on the sedimentary profiles. Mass-normalized magnetic susceptibility is high in interglacial and interstadial paleosols, while uniformly low values are measured in unweathered loess horizons. Normalized ferrimagnetic susceptibility and anhysteretic remanent magnetization show an enhancement of ultrafine (superparamagnetic, SP) and fine (single-domain, SD, and pseudo-single-domain, PSD) grains in chernozem paleosols correlated with δ¹⁸O substages 5c and 5a as well as in the Holocene soil. The parabraunerde paleosol associated with peak interglacial conditions, correlated with δ¹⁸O substage 5e, shows evidence of diagenetic loss of fine grained magnetic minerals, although coarse (multidomain, MD) grains appear to be preserved. Low temperature remanence behavior plus high temperature susceptibility measurements of representative samples from each lithologic unit indicate that magnetite and maghemite are the dominant magnetic minerals within the sediments. Variations in concentration-independent rock-magnetic parameters are therefore primarily a function of grain size variations through the profile. It is anticipated that with additional magnetic and non-magnetic sedimentological and geochemical tests, a quantitative rock-magnetic — paleoclimate model can be developed for the central European loess region.     

Partial Saturation and Seismicity on Steep Reclaimed Slopes

While traditional mine reclamation methods emphasize compaction to increase the strength of the materials and ensure stability of the restored slope, high compaction restricts the successful reforestation of reclaimed mine sites. The Forest Reclamation Approach (FRA), which uses low compaction in the uppermost 1.2–1.5 m of the surface has been shown to facilitate the establishment of healthy native forests. Stability analyses of three steep FRA slopes from the southern Appalachian region have shown that the long-term static stability is not compromised, and that the infinite slope method provides a rational method to evaluate the stability of steep FRA slopes. In this article, modifications of the infinite slope equation are utilized to (a) include the effects of matric suction due to unsaturated soil conditions and (b) evaluate the seismic performance of FRA slopes based on spectral accelerations. Monthly variation of the water content at three research sites demonstrated the seasonal stability variation of FRA slopes due to matric suction, while seismic analyses illustrated the conditions under which instability may occur.     

Developing and testing the Automated Post-Event Earthquake Loss Estimation and Visualisation (APE-ELEV) technique

An automated, real-time, multiple sensor data source relying and globally applicable earthquake loss model and visualiser is desirable for post-event earthquake analysis. To achieve this there is a need to support rapid data ingestion, loss estimation and integration of data from multiple data sources and rapid visualisation at multiple geographic levels. In this paper, the design and development of the Automated Post-Event Earthquake Loss Estimation and Visualisation (APE-ELEV) system for real-time estimation and visualisation of insured losses incurred due to earthquakes is presented. A model for estimating ground up and net of facultative losses due to earthquakes in near real-time is implemented. Since post-event data is often available immediately from multiple disparate sources, a geo-browser is employed to facilitate the visualisation and integration of earthquake hazard, exposure and loss data. The feasibility of APE-ELEV is demonstrated using a test case earthquake that occurred in Tohoku, Japan (2011). The APE-ELEV model is further validated for ten global earthquakes using industry loss data.