Numerical Analysis of Space–Time Finite Element Formulations for Miscible Displacements

A finite element formulation is proposed to approximate a nonlinear system of partial differential equations, composed by an elliptic subsystem for the pressure–velocity and a transport equation (convection–diffusion) for the concentration, which models the incompressible miscible displacement of one fluid by another in a rigid porous media. The pressure is approximated by the classical Galerkin method and the velocity is calculated by a post-processing technique. Then, the concentration is obtained by a Galerkin/least-squares space–time (GLS/ST) finite element method. A numerical analysis is developed for the concentration approximation. Then, stability, convergence and numerical results are presented confirming the a priori error estimates.     

Simulation of a long-lived meso-β scale convective system over the mediterranean coast of Spain. Part II: Sensitivity to external forcings

Summary The numerical simulation of a long-lived, stationary mesoscale convective system (MCS) already described in a previous paper (Fernández et al., 1995) is analyzed in greater detail. The influence of various external forcings, such as sea surface temperature, local orography or terrain roughness, upon the characteristics of the system is studied. This analysis makes it possible not only to identify the most important factors, but also to deduce the importance of some other internal forcings and to propose explanations for some dynamic features of the system that were difficult to understand. Hence, the sensitivity test methodology applied seems to be a useful tool to clarify the complex dynamics of some moist convective events. In the modelled MCS, sea surface temperature and orography are identified as key factors. The results also indicate that the upstream triggering of convection provoked by an orographic blocking effect is the main cause of the development of the system, while upslope triggering plays a secondary role.With 18 Figures     

Assessing land use/cover changes: a nationwide multidate spatial database for Mexico

A nationwide multidate GIS database was generated in order to carry out the quantification and spatial characterization of land use/cover changes (LUCC) in Mexico. Existing cartography on land use/cover at a 1:250,000 scale was revised to select compatible inputs regarding the scale, the classification scheme and the mapping method. Digital maps from three different dates (the late 1970s, 1993 and 2000) were revised, evaluated, corrected and integrated into a GIS database. In order to improve the reliability of the database, an attempt was made to assess the accuracy of the digitalisation procedure and to detect and correct unlikely changes due to thematic errors in the maps. Digital maps were overlaid in order to generate LUCC maps, transition matrices and to calculate rates of conversion. Based upon this database, rates of deforestation between 1976 and 2000 were evaluated as 0.25 and 0.76% per year for temperate and tropical forests, respectively.     

Submillimeter-wave and observations of the event on 28 November, 2001

We present a detailed study of a 1B/M6.9 impulsive flare combining high time resolution (1 ms) and instantaneous emission source localization observations at submillimeter frequencies (212 GHz), obtained with the solar submillimeter telescope (SST), and Hα data from the Hα solar telescope for argentina (HASTA). The flare, starting at 16:34 UT, occurred in active region (AR) 9715 (NOAA number) on November 28, 2001, and was followed by an Hα surge. We complement our data with magnetograms from the Michelson Doppler Imager (SOHO/MDI). SST observed a short impulsive burst at 212 GHz, presenting a weak bulk emission (of about 90 sfu) composed of a few shorter duration structures. The integrated Hα and the 212 GHz light curves present a remarkable agreement during the impulsive phase of the event. The delay between both curves stays below 12 s (the time resolution of the Hα telescope). The flare as well as the surge are linked to new flux emergence very close to the main AR bipole. Taking into account the AR magnetic field evolution, we infer that magnetic field reconnection, occurring at low coronal levels, could have been at the origin of the flare; while in the case of surge this would happen at the chromospheric level.     

Salinity and periodic inundation controls on the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum of gray mangroves

Salinity and periodic inundation are both known to have a major role in shaping the ecohydrology of mangroves through their controls on water uptake, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, gas exchanges, and nutrient availability. Salinity, in particular, can be considered one of the main abiotic regulating factors for halophytes and salt‐tolerant species, due to its influence on water use patterns and growth rate. Ecohydrological literature has rarely focused on the effects of salinity on plant transpiration, based on the fact that the terrestrial plants mostly thrive in low‐saline, unsaturated soils where the role of osmotic potential can be considered negligible. However, the effect of salinity cannot be neglected in the case of tidal species like mangroves, which have to cope with hyperosmotic conditions and waterlogging. We introduce here a first‐order ecohydrological model of the soil/plant‐atmosphere continuum of Avicennia marina—also known as gray mangrove—a highly salt‐tolerant pioneer species able to adapt to hyperarid intertidal zones and characterized by unique morphological and ecophysiological traits. The A. marina's soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum takes explicitly into account the role of water head, osmotic water potential, and water salinity in governing plant water fluxes. A. marina's transpiration is thus modeled as a function of salinity based on a simple parameterization of salt exclusion mechanisms at the root level and a modified Jarvis' expression accounting for the effects of salinity on stomatal conductance. Consistently with previous studies investigating the physiology of mangroves in response to different environmental drivers, our results highlight the major influence of salinity on mangrove transpiration when contrasted with other potential stressors such as waterlogging and water stress.     

Segmentation and kinematics of the North America‐Caribbean plate boundary offshore Hispaniola

We explored the submarine portions of the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden Fault zone (EPGFZ) and the Septentrional–Oriente Fault zone (SOFZ) along the Northern Caribbean plate boundary using high‐resolution multibeam echo‐sounding and shallow seismic reflection. The bathymetric data shed light on poorly documented or previously unknown submarine fault zones running over 200 km between Haiti and Jamaica (EPGFZ) and 300 km between the Dominican Republic and Cuba (SOFZ). The primary plate‐boundary structures are a series of strike‐slip fault segments associated with pressure ridges, restraining bends, step overs and dogleg offsets indicating very active tectonics. Several distinct segments 50–100 km long cut across pre‐existing structures inherited from former tectonic regimes or bypass recent morphologies formed under the current strike‐slip regime. Along the most recent trace of the SOFZ, we measured a strike‐slip offset of 16.5 km, which indicates steady activity for the past ~1.8 Ma if its current GPS‐derived motion of 9.8 ± 2 mm a^?1 has remained stable during the entire Quaternary.     

Using hydrogeochemical signatures of stream water to assess pathways for rainfall events: towards a predictive model

Thanks to its simple division into agricultural and forestry land use, the Corbeira catchment (Galicia, Spain) is used as a case study to build a predictive model using hydrogeochemical signatures. Stream data acquired under recessional flow conditions over a one year period were obtained from a sampling station near the downstream end of the catchment, and using principal component analysis, it is shown that some of the analytical parameters are covariant, and some are negatively correlated. These findings support inferences about the pathways of rainfall in the catchment. Specific signatures may be associated with the dominant hydrological source, either surface runoff or subsurface waters: additionally, the dominant land use in that part of the catchment, where the flow originated, can also be predicted. The dominant runoff shows a strong covariance between suspended solids (SS) and particulate phosphorus (PP), with a clear negative correlation with pH. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) data are associated with this covariant set when these compounds are available in the soils in question. Dissolved phosphorus, total organic nitrogen and dissolved nitrates are also associated with the same covariant set when the runoff flows through areas of extensive agricultural use. The SS ? PP covariance is less significant at lower flows. Typical base flow regimes show a significant covariance between salinity and pH, with a marked negative correlation with SS ? PP set, confirming the dominance of subsurface waters in the baseflow, as expected. Seasonally divergent DOC ? SS behaviour proves to be a useful tracer for rainfall regimes. The DOC trend shows a sinusoidal annual variation in amplitude, determined by the rainfall regime. As a result, flow from the catchment is dominated by surface water whenever there is synchronicity between the peaks of DOC and SS. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bismuth‐melt trails trapped in cassiterite–quartz veins

Native bismuth in the form of metallic melt has been considered instrumental to the formation of some metallic ore deposits via a mechanism dubbed the “Liquid Bismuth Collector Model.” Here, we provide petrographical documentation of trail‐forming, μm‐sized blebs of native bismuth in cassiterite–quartz veins from the Santa Bárbara greisen Sn deposit in the Rondônia tin province of northern Brazil. These inclusions suggest the trapping of a Bi melt that took place during vein formation, in a mechanism similar to the entrapment of fluid inclusions.     

Metals discharged during different flow conditions from a mixed agricultural‐forest catchment (NW Spain)

Metal loads were determined from water samples collected under different streamflow conditions (baseflow and storm events) in a rural catchment (NW Spain) during 4 years. A study at annual, seasonal and storm‐event scales was carried out. In all analysed scales, the export order was Fe > Al > Mn > Zn > Cu. A high inter‐annual, seasonal and storm‐event scale variability of metal load was observed. The total metal loads in stream were higher during baseflow conditions than during storm events, which only represented 4% of the duration of the study period and 25% of streamflow. During storm events, both Al and Fe loads accounted 45% of the total load of the study period, whereas Mn, Cu and Zn loads represented 42%, 33% and 24%, respectively. This highlights the role of high flows on metal export. Only four big events exported around 30% of load of each metal transported in events. At all time scales, a prevalence of export of particulate metals over dissolved metals was observed, more pronounced for Al, Fe and Mn than for Cu and Zn. The export of metals in the Corbeira catchment is influenced by runoff and, to a lesser extent, by the rainfall amount. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Criterion for Brittle Failure of Rocks Using the Theory of Critical Distances

This paper presents a new analytical criterion for brittle failure of rocks and heavily over-consolidated soils. Griffith’s model of a randomly oriented defect under a biaxial stress state is used to keep the criterion simple. The Griffith’s criterion is improved because the maximum tensile strength is not evaluated at the boundary of the defect but at a certain distance from the boundary, known as half of the critical distance. This fracture criterion is known as the point method, and is part of the theory of critical distances, which is utilised in fracture mechanics. The proposed failure criterion has two parameters: the inherent tensile strength, σ ₀, and the ratio of the half-length of the initial crack/flaw to the critical distance, a/L. These parameters are difficult to measure but they may be correlated with the uniaxial compressive and tensile strengths, σ _c and σ _t. The proposed criterion is able to reproduce the common range of strength ratios for rocks and heavily overconsolidated soils (σ _c/σ _t = 3–50) and the influence of several microstructural rock properties, such as texture and porosity. Good agreement with laboratory tests reported in the literature is found for tensile and low-confining stresses.