Environmental study for pollution in the area of Megalopolis power plant (Peloponnesos,Greece)

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the suitability of magnetic properties in correlation to geochemical measurements as a pollution-monitoring tool and study the metal transmission factors in an area around a major local source, namely a lignite-burning power plant. Surface soil samples were collected in the wide area of the power plant of Megalopolis (Peloponnesos, Greece). The magnetic susceptibility and other magnetic properties of the surface soils were originally measured and mapped. Loci of high values of magnetic susceptibility within the study area gave rise to further analyze the soil samples for metal concentrations. GIS techniques were used for mapping all the chemical constituent concentrations and the magnetic measurements on the various topographic and geological features of the area. Maps were created through interpolation algorithms indicating the spatial distribution of the above measurements. Spatial tools and statistical analysis through the calculation of Pearson’s coefficients proved the correlation between magnetic properties, metal concentrations and the terrain attributes (especially the geological structure and the wind currents) of the region.     

Probing the Quiet Solar Atmosphere from the Photosphere to the Corona

We investigate the morphology and temporal variability of a quiet-Sun network region in different solar layers. The emission in several extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral lines through both raster and slot time-series, recorded by the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board the Hinode spacecraft is studied along with \(\mbox{H}\upalpha\) observations and high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of the photospheric magnetic field. The photospheric magnetic field is extrapolated up to the corona, showing a multitude of large- and small-scale structures. We show for the first time that the smallest magnetic structures at both the network and internetwork contribute significantly to the emission in EUV lines, with temperatures ranging from \(8\times 10^{4}~\mbox{K}\) to \(6\times 10^{5}~\mbox{K}\). Two components of transition region emission are present, one associated with small-scale loops that do not reach coronal temperatures, and another component that acts as an interface between coronal and chromospheric plasma. Both components are associated with persistent chromospheric structures. The temporal variability of the EUV intensity at the network region is also associated with chromospheric motions, pointing to a connection between transition region and chromospheric features. Intensity enhancements in the EUV transition region lines are preferentially produced by \(\mbox{H}\upalpha\) upflows. Examination of two individual chromospheric jets shows that their evolution is associated with intensity variations in transition region and coronal temperatures.     

Oxyanion Concentrations in Eastern Sierra Nevada Rivers – 2. Arsenic and Phosphate

Water samples were collected from the Truckee River-Pyramid Lake system, the Walker River-Walker Lake system, and the Carson River, all located in eastern California and western Nevada, U.S.A., at three different times (i.e., summer 1991, spring 1992, and autumn 1992) over a two year period. The concentrations of As, Na, Cl, PO4, and pH were measured in these river samples and the associated terminal lakes. Arsenic values ranged from below 13 nmol/kg near Truckee, California to 160 nmol/kg at Nixon, Nevada in the Truckee River, from 40 nmol/kg in the headwaters of both West and East Walker Rivers to 270 nmol/kg below Weber Reservoir on the main branch of the Walker River, and from <27 nmol/kg to 234 nmol/kg for the lower Carson River system. Arsenic concentrations in Steamboat Creek (0.91 mol/kg–1.80 mol/kg) in the Truckee River catchment are above the U.S. EPA drinking water maximum contaminant level of 0.67 mol/kg, as are the As concentrations in both Pyramid Lake (1.33 mol/kg–1.57 mol/kg ) and Walker Lake (13.7 mol/kg–18.7 mol/kg). Sources of As for all three rivers include weathering of As-rich rocks and/or regolith and input of high-As geothermal spring waters, both processes primarily, although not exclusively, adding As to the headwater regions of these rivers. Steamboat Hot Springs (29 mol/kg As 54.5 mol/kg), for example, is identified as a source of As to the Truckee River via Steamboat Creek. The high As concentrations in Pyramid and Walker Lakes are likely due to (1) desorption of arsenate from aquatic particulate matter in these high pH waters (9.0 pH 9.5), (2) limited biologic uptake of arsenate, and (3) evaporative concentration of the lake waters. Evaluation of molar PO4}/As ratios of river waters and geothermal spring waters (e.g., Steamboat Hot Springs), indicates that phosphate is substantially enriched in Steamboat Creek as well as the mid to lower reaches of the Walker and Carson Rivers. These regions of each river are dominated by agricultural interests and, additionally, in the case of Steamboat Creek, residential areas and golf courses. Our data strongly imply that phosphate-rich agricultural return flow has likely added P to these streams and, consequently, increased their respective P:As ratios.     

Climate change projections for Greek viticulture as simulated by a regional climate model

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Viticulture represents an important economic activity for Greek agriculture. Winegrapes are cultivated in many areas covering the whole Greek territory, due to...     

Triassic rift-related komatiite, picrite and basalt, Pelagonian continental margin, Greece

A wide range of Triassic rift-related volcanic rocks is preserved on the extensional continental margin of the central part of the Pelagonian micro-continental block of Greece, in the region of northern Evia Island and Othris. This part of the continental margin is unusual for the abundance of lavas, the wide range of lava types, and the presence of komatiitic lavas. The predominant rock types are subalkaline basalt and basaltic andesite, mildly alkaline basalt and picrite, and minor komatiite. Four groups of mafic rocks are distinguished from the 32 samples analyzed on the basis of variation in incompatible trace elements, with all but one group including both picritic and basaltic rocks. The geochemical character of the volcanic rocks suggests derivation from inhomogenous, spinel-bearing, lithospheric mantle. This mantle source was variably depleted and moderately refertilized by subduction-related fluids during earlier Hercynian subduction. The picrites were generated by variable degrees of partial melting, which are inferred to inversely correlate with pressure, thus suggesting decompression melting of their source. Evidence is lacking for a major mantle plume, but the enhanced magmatism in this sector of the rifted margin suggests that melting was induced by a large amount of hydration, which is appropriate to generate melts at lower temperatures. Consequent fractionation coupled with crustal assimilation generated the wide range of subalkaline to mildly alkaline mafic rocks.     

Late Paleozoic peperites in West Junggar,China, and how they constrain regional tectonic and palaeoenvironmental setting

Late Paleozoic peperites have been identified for the first time at the bottom of Tailegula Formation in West Junggar, China. This finding is significant for the reconstruction of Late Paleozoic evolution in the Junggar region. The peperites form successions up to 500 m thick interbedded with basaltic lava and sedimentary rocks. Four types of peperites are described and interpreted as resulting from basaltic lava bulldozed into wet, unconsolidated sediments at their basal contacts. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of a tuff lens enclosed by lava showed that the peperites formed in the Late Devonian (ca. 364 Ma). The peperite-bearing units probably formed at a water depth of less than 3 km and are generally undeformed, occurring in continuous stratigraphic sections distributed regionally over a distance of 100 km on either side of the Darbut and Baijiantan ophiolitic belts, in contrast to the highly deformed slices of ophiolite. They demonstrate that the Darbut and Baijiantan ophiolitic belts should not be interpreted as significant plate boundaries and represent the underlying ocean crust uplifted along tectonic lineaments within a continuous shallow remnant ocean basin. The peperites formed during the spreading phase of the remnant ocean basin and represent the final stages of creation of oceanic crust.     

Preliminary flood risk assessment: the case of Athens

Flood mapping, especially in urban areas, is a demanding task requiring substantial (and usually unavailable) data. However, with the recent introduction of the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), the need for reliable, but cost effective, risk mapping at the regional scale is rising in the policy agenda. Methods are therefore required to allow for efficiently undertaking what the Directive terms “preliminary flood risk assessment,” in other words a screening of areas that could potentially be at risk of flooding and that consequently merit more detailed attention and analysis. Such methods cannot rely on modeling, as this would require more data and effort that is reasonable for this high-level, screening phase. This is especially true in urban areas, where modeling requires knowledge of the detailed urban terrain, the drainage networks, and their interactions. A GIS-based multicriteria flood risk assessment methodology was therefore developed and applied for the mapping of flood risk in urban areas. This approach quantifies the spatial distribution of flood risk and is able to deal with uncertainties in criteria values and to examine their influence on the overall flood risk assessment. It can further assess the spatially variable reliability of the resulting maps on the basis of the choice of method used to develop the maps. The approach is applied to the Greater Athens area and validated for its central and most urban part. A GIS database of economic, social, and environmental criteria contributing to flood risk was created. Three different multicriteria decision rules (Analytical Hierarchy Process, Weighted Linear Combination and Ordered Weighting Averaging) were applied, to produce the overall flood risk map of the area. To implement this methodology, the IDRISI Andes GIS software was customized and used. It is concluded that the results of the analysis are a reasonable representation of actual flood risk, on the basis of their comparison with historical flood events.     

Forward stratigraphic modelling of sediment pathways and depocentres in salt‐influenced passive‐margin basins: Lower Cretaceous,central Scotian Basin

Source‐to‐sink studies and numerical modelling software are increasingly used to better understand sedimentary basins, and to predict sediment distributions. However, predictive modelling remains problematic in basins dominated by salt tectonics. The Lower Cretaceous delta system of the Scotian Basin is well suited for source‐to‐sink studies and provides an opportunity to apply this approach to a region experiencing active salt tectonism. This study uses forward stratigraphic modelling software and statistical analysis software to produce predictive stratigraphic models of the central Scotian Basin, test their sensitivity to different input parameters, assess proposed provenance pathways, and determine the distribution of sand and factors that control sedimentation in the basin. Models have been calibrated against reference wells and seismic surfaces, and implement a multidisciplinary approach to define simulation parameters. Simulation results show that previously proposed provenance pathways for the Early Cretaceous can be used to generate predictive stratigraphic models, which simulate the overall sediment distribution for the central Scotian Basin. Modelling confirms that the shaly nature of the Naskapi Member is the result of tectonic diversion of the Sable and Banquereau rivers and suggests additional episodic diversion during the deposition of the Cree Member. Sand is dominantly trapped on the shelf in all units, with transport into the basin along salt corridors and as a result of turbidity current flows occurring in the Upper Missisauga Formation and Cree Member. This led to sand accumulation in minibasins with a large deposit seawards of the Tantallon M‐41 well. Sand also appears to bypass the basin via salt corridors which lead to the down‐slope edge of the study area. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the grain size of source sediments to the system is the controlling factor of sand distribution. The methodology applied to this basin has applications to other regions complicated by salt tectonics, and where sediment distribution and transport from source‐to‐sink remain unclear.     

The Jeffers Brook diorite–granodiorite pluton: style of emplacement and role of volatiles at various crustal levels in Avalonian appinites,Canadian Appalachians

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Small appinite plutons ca. 610&nbsp;Ma outcrop in the peri-Gondwanan Avalon terrane of northern Nova Scotia, with different structural levels exposed....     

基于方向模板的保持边缘平滑后地震图像的不连续性检测

鉴于地震数据不连续性检测的重要性,本文提出了一种保持和检测地震图像不连续性(如:岩层,断层,河道等)的方法.通常在图象不连续的地方,象素值会有较大的差异,文中用4×4的方向模板计算目标点周围六个方向上的差值,当最大差值超过某个门限值时,则可认为该点为不连续点,由此来检测地震图像的不连续性.由于包含重要信息的区域受噪声的影响通常比其他地方严重,而且基于差值的不连续性检测算法对噪声较为敏感,所以在不连续性检测之前降低地震图像的噪声是很重要的.普通的平滑去噪方法会造成边缘模糊,不利于不连续性检测.本文采用旋转模板的非线性平滑方法,用四个六边形和一个八边形模板在目标像素周围旋转,用与目标像素标准差最小(最同类)的模板内那些点的均值代替目标像素的值,从而实现对地震图象的保边缘平滑去噪处理.理论模型和实际数据处理结果表明:与Y、Luo等人提出的保边缘平滑方法相比,本文的保边缘平滑处理方法提高了计算效率和峰值信噪比;将文中提出的保边缘平滑方法和基于方向模板的不连续性检测方法结合使用,得到的不连续性检测结果比直接检测更清晰.地震数据解释人员可根据检测到的不连续性来识别断层、岩层、河道等.