Monocolumn behavior in waves: Experimental analysis

A series of tests with a model of a monocolumn platform with a moonpool were performed at the LabOceano/COPPE, at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, with the objective of determining the entrance area at the bottom of the moonpool that minimizes vertical motion in waves. The tests include measurements of monocolumn surge, pitch and heave motion, vertical motion of the water column inside the moonpool, with different mooring systems, in regular, irregular and transient waves.This paper presents experimental results of the monocolumn vertical motion and the internal water column motion in the moonpool in transient waves and results of vertical motion of the water column inside the moonpool with the model held still in transient waves. These measurements allow an analysis of the impact of the moonpool's bottom opening on the monocolumn vertical motion in waves.The theoretical analysis of a mass–spring–damper system with two degrees of freedom, similar to the studied system, has shown some analogy with den Hartog's damped vibration absorber; however, there are significant differences in terms of added mass and coupled terms of added mass and damping coefficients dependent on oscillation frequencies.     

The additivity of partial thermal remanent magnetization in magnetite

Summary. Experiments were done to test the additivity of partial thermal remanent magnetizations (PTRMs) for prepared samples containing magnetite particles whose sizes range from SD (single domain) to MD (multidomain). The experiments compare the sum of two PTRMs with total-TRM, all produced by the same external field of 0.47 oe. The most significant conclusion of this paper is that, to first order, the additivity of PTRMs is obeyed for the magnetites of this study regardless of particle size. However, small, higher order deviations from additivity occur such that ΣPTRM > TRM by an average of about 1 per cent. Though small, these departures from additivity are significant at the 99 per cent confidence level, and they can be understood in terms of Néel's theory for SD particles. The small departures from additivity are intrinsic to the experimental procedure in which some particles acquire remanence twice, in each of the two PTRM steps. In the limit of small inducing fields additivity should be obeyed exactly for the magnetites of this study and for samples of interest in palaeomagnetism. The deviations from additivity should have no effect on palaeointensity determinations by the Thelliers' version of the Thellier palaeointensity method. For palaeointensity determinations by Coe's version of the Thellier method the effects of deviations from additivity would be very small, less than 4 per cent on the average for a worst-case experimental configuration, and these effects can be minimized by producing PTRMs parallel to the original NRM and by using weak laboratory fields.     

Tertiary Andean volcanism in a caldera-graben setting

The Miocene Farellones Formation in central Chile (32°-35°S) is one of several up to 3000 mthick Tertiary volcanic sequences in the Central Andes with ash flows and intercalations of lacustrine sediments in their lower part, and intermediate to basic lavas and rhyolitic domes in their upper part. The Farellones rocks were probably deposited in a volcano-tectonic graben formed through a series of caldera collapses. This is suggested by (a) the fact that the formation frequently is delimited by normal faults towards which the subhorizontal strata pinch out and become upraised, indicating deposition during subsidence, (b) the huge volume of erupted acid magma and (c) a high paleothermal gradient of geothermal field type. Similar Tertiary volcanic sequences in northern Chile and central Peru probably also formed by eruptions in a caldera-graben setting. This setting and the geothermal field type of alteration make these sequences good prospecting targets for epithermal preciousmetal deposits.

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Zusammenfassung Die miozäne Farellones-Formation im zentralen Chile (32°–35°S) ist eine von mehreren bis zu 3000 m mächtigen, tertiären vulkanischen Abfolgen der zentralen Anden, mit Ignimbriten und Zwischenlagerungen von lakustrinen Sedimenten im unteren, und mit intermediären bis basischen Laven und rhyolitischen Staukuppen im oberen Teil der Abfolgen. Die Gesteine der Farellones-Formation wurden wahrscheinlich in einem vulkano-tektonischen, durch eine Reihe von Caldera-Absenkungen entstandenen Graben abgelagert. Für diese Tatsache sprechen (a) häufige Begrenzung der Formation durch Normalverwerfungen gegen welche die subhorizontalen Schichten ausdünnen und aufgebogen werden, was Ablagerung während der Absenkung andeutet, (b) das große Volumen der sauren Vulkanite und (c) der hohe paläothermale Gradient von geothermalem Charakter. Ähnlich ausgebildete, tertiäre vulkanische Abfolgen im nördlichen Chile und zentralen Peru sind vermutlich ebenfalls durch Eruptionen in Caldera-Gräben gebildet worden. Aufgrund der tektonischen Ausbildung und des geothermalen Umwandlungstyp dürften diese Abfolgen für die Prospektion nach epithermalen Vorkommen von Edelmetallen von besonderem Interesse sein.

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Resumen La Formación Farellones de Chile central (32°–35°S), deedadmiocena, es una de las muchas secuencias terciarias de más de 3000 m de espesor que existen en la alta cordillera de los Andes Centrales que contiene depósitos de flujos piroclásticos e intercalaciones de sedimentos lacustres en su parte inferior, y lavas intermedias a básicas y domos riolíticos en su parte superior. Las rocas de la Formación Farellones se depositaron, probablemente, en un graben volcano-tectónico formado a través de una serie de colapsos de calderas. Esta interpretación se basa en: (a) la frecuente delimitación de la formación por fallas normales contra las cuales los estratos subhorizontales se adelgazany se levantan, indicando depositación durante subsidencia, (b) el gran volumen de magma ácido extruido y (c) un gradiente paleotermal alto de tipo campo geotérmico. En el norte de Chile y en Perú central existen secuencias terciarias similares depositadas probablemente también en depresiones volcano — tectónicas tipo caldera — graben. Este marco tectónico y la alteración de tipo campo geotérmico, hace que éstas secuencias sean buenos blancos de prospección para depósitos epitermales de metales preciosos.

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The effect of cultivation method on erosion in agricultural catchments: integrating AHP in GIS environments

The cultivation method used in agricultural catchments can have a great effect on erosion processes; as such, determining the effects on form and degree is crucial. One commonly held hypothesis is that a shift to minimum tillage methods should reduce the rate of erosion. Here, we examine the effect of cultivation methods and environmental conditions on soil erosion risks in field crops and orchards in an agricultural catchment in northern Israel. The examination was conducted using AHP (analytic hierarchy process) and GIS (geographic information system)‐based computer simulations. Field validation of the simulations was conducted during the 2009–2010 winter season. The spatially explicit data on cultivation method, combined with environmental and climatic data, yielded an explanation of most of the variation in erosion risks in the catchment (kappa =0·93). Of the 10 criteria examined, the cultivation method and slope were the two variables with the greatest effect on increased soil erosion. Furthermore, soil loss risks were reduced substantially as a result of substituting conventional tillage with reduced tillage; substituting reduced tillage with conservation tillage; and changing the tillage direction to perpendicular to the direction of the slope. These results are reasonable in light of the modifications that mechanical tools cause in the soil structure, as observed in the penetration depth and the aggregate stability measurements used in this study. Despite the difficulty in collecting spatially explicit data on cultivation methods, we believe that it is of utmost importance to use such data to study erosion risks in agricultural catchments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do hydrologic modeling decisions affect the portrayal of climate change impacts?

End users face a range of subjective decisions when evaluating climate change impacts on hydrology, but the importance of these decisions is rarely assessed. In this paper, we evaluate the implications of hydrologic modelling choices on projected changes in the annual water balance, monthly simulated processes, and signature measures (i.e. metrics that quantify characteristics of the hydrologic catchment response) under a future climate scenario. To this end, we compare hydrologic changes computed with four different model structures – whose parameters have been obtained using a common calibration strategy – with hydrologic changes computed with a single model structure and parameter sets from multiple options for different calibration decisions (objective function, local optima, and calibration forcing dataset). Results show that both model structure selection and the parameter estimation strategy affect the direction and magnitude of projected changes in the annual water balance, and that the relative effects of these decisions are basin dependent. The analysis of monthly changes illustrates that parameter estimation strategies can provide similar or larger uncertainties in simulations of some hydrologic processes when compared with uncertainties coming from model choice. We found that the relative effects of modelling decisions on projected changes in catchment behaviour depend on the signature measure analysed. Furthermore, parameter sets with similar performance, but located in different regions of the parameter space, provide very different projections for future catchment behaviour. More generally, the results obtained in this study prompt the need to incorporate parametric uncertainty in multi‐model frameworks to avoid an over‐confident portrayal of climate change impacts. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Possible resetting of quartz OSL signals during earthquakes—Evidence from late Pleistocene injection dikes, Dead Sea basin, Israel

Clastic dikes are formed either by passive deposition of clastic material into pre-existing fissures (depositional dikes), or by fracturing and injection of clastics during earthquakes (injection dikes). We proposed to use optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to distinguish between the two modes of formation and hypothesized that (1) depositional dikes filled from above show OSL ages younger than the host rock; and (2) injection dikes filled from below show the same OSL ages as that of the host rock. We studied the mechanisms of clastic-dike formation and their ages within the seismically active Dead Sea basin, where hundreds of dikes crosscut the late Pleistocene (70–15 ka) lacustrine sediments of the Lisan Formation. Field observations and analysis of magnetic tensors show unequivocally that most of these dikes were emplaced by injection, inferred to be due to seismically triggered fluidization–liquefaction during earthquakes. Twenty-eight samples were collected from the Lisan source material and dikes that, based on field observations, are unmistakably either depositional dikes or injection dikes.

Quartz single aliquot OSL ages of the source Lisan layers are between 43 and 34 ka, and are typical for the Lisan Formation. The ages of both depositional and injection dikes are between 15 and 17 ka, younger than the Lisan host rock. Depositional dikes show a highly scattered distribution of single grain ages, suggesting several episodes of infill. Single grain ages of injection dikes are of latest Pleistocene to Holocene, and do not contain recently bleached grains that infiltrated from above. These results imply that the OSL signals were reset at the time of fluidization–liquefaction and buildup of fluid pressure within the injection dikes. If this resetting mechanism has a physical ground, then OSL dating is an important tool for constraining the ages of earthquake-induced injection dikes and recovering paleoseismic data from them.     

A distributed analysis of lateral inflows in an Alaskan Arctic watershed underlain by continuous permafrost

Lateral inflows control the spatial distribution of river discharge, and understanding their patterns is fundamental for accurately modelling instream flows and travel time distributions necessary for evaluating impacts of climate change on aquatic habitat suitability, river energy budgets, and fate of dissolved organic carbon. Yet, little is known about the spatial distribution of lateral inflows in Arctic rivers given the lack of gauging stations. With a network of stream gauging and meteorological stations within the Kuparuk River watershed in northern Alaska, we estimated precipitation and lateral inflows for nine subcatchments from 1 July to 4 August,2013, 2014, and 2015. Total precipitation, lateral inflows, runoff ratios (area-normalized lateral inflow divided by precipitation), percent contribution to total basin discharge, and lateral inflow per river kilometre were estimated for each watershed for relatively dry, moderate, or wet summers. The results show substantial variability between years and subcatchments. Total basin lateral inflow depths ranged 24-fold in response to a threefold change in rainfall between dry and wet years, whereas within-basin lateral inflows varied fivefold from the coastal plain to the foothills. General spatial trends in lateral inflows were consistent with previous studies and mean summer precipitation patterns. However, the spatially distributed nature of these estimates revealed that reaches in the vicinity of a spring-fed surficial ice feature do not follow general spatial trends and that the coastal plain, which is typically considered to produce minimal runoff, showed potential to contribute to total river discharge. These findings are used to provide a spatially distributed understanding of lateral inflows and identify watershed characteristics that influence hydrologic responses.     

Paleointensity of the earth's magnetic field during the Laschamp excursion and its geomagnetic implications

The reversed paleomagnetic direction of the Laschamp and Olby flows represents a specific feature of the geomagnetic field. This is supported by paleomagnetic evidence, showing that the same anomalous direction was recorded at several distinct sites, including scoria of the Laschamp volcano. To examine this anomalous geomagnetic fluctuation, we studied the paleointensity of the Laschamp and Olby flows, using the Thellier method. Twenty-five samples were selected for the paleointensity experiments, and from seven we obtained reliable results. Because the paleointensity results of the Olby and Laschamp flows as well as Laschamp scoria are very similar, they can be represented by a single mean paleointensity,F = 7.7 μT. Considering that this low paleointensity is less than 1/6 of the present geomagnetic field and is more characteristic of transitional behavior, our results suggest that the paleomagnetic directions of the Laschamp and Olby flows were not acquired during a stable reversed polarity interval. A more likely explanation is that the Laschamp excursion represents an unsuccessful or aborted reversal.     

The extreme weather risk indicators (EWRI) for the European transport system

The European 7th Framework Programme project Extreme Weather impacts on European Networks of Transport devised a holistic analysis of extreme weather risks for the transport system. The analysis provided an overview of extreme weather risks, or a risk panorama. The risk panorama was built on a probabilistic approach to extreme weather phenomena occurrences and on vulnerability analysis based on selected macro-level economic and transport system indicators of the member states of EU-27. The panorama covers all transport modes and views infrastructure-related risks, time delay risks, and accidents risks. In addition to climatic circumstances, the devised risk indicator is also dependent on regional circumstances, such as population and transport density and income level. This paper describes the construct and application of an extreme weather risk indicator (EWRI). EWRIs are counted for each country and each transport mode separately. Furthermore, this paper also presents the most significant extreme weather events in different parts of Europe and on the transport modes they affect the most.