Space-Wise approach for airborne gravity data modelling

Regional gravity field modelling by means of remove-compute-restore procedure is nowadays widely applied in different contexts: it is the most used technique for regional gravimetric geoid determination, and it is also used in exploration geophysics to predict grids of gravity anomalies (Bouguer, free-air, isostatic, etc.), which are useful to understand and map geological structures in a specific region. Considering this last application, due to the required accuracy and resolution, airborne gravity observations are usually adopted. However, due to the relatively high acquisition velocity, presence of atmospheric turbulence, aircraft vibration, instrumental drift, etc., airborne data are usually contaminated by a very high observation error. For this reason, a proper procedure to filter the raw observations in both the low and high frequencies should be applied to recover valuable information. In this work, a software to filter and grid raw airborne observations is presented: the proposed solution consists in a combination of an along-track Wiener filter and a classical Least Squares Collocation technique. Basically, the proposed procedure is an adaptation to airborne gravimetry of the Space-Wise approach, developed by Politecnico di Milano to process data coming from the ESA satellite mission GOCE. Among the main differences with respect to the satellite application of this approach, there is the fact that, while in processing GOCE data the stochastic characteristics of the observation error can be considered a-priori well known, in airborne gravimetry, due to the complex environment in which the observations are acquired, these characteristics are unknown and should be retrieved from the dataset itself. The presented solution is suited for airborne data analysis in order to be able to quickly filter and grid gravity observations in an easy way. Some innovative theoretical aspects focusing in particular on the theoretical covariance modelling are presented too. In the end, the goodness of the procedure is evaluated by means of a test on real data retrieving the gravitational signal with a predicted accuracy of about 0.4 mGal.     

Organotin compounds in seawater and Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels along the Croatian Adriatic Coast

In this work, data on the level of organotin compounds (OTCs) in seawater and mussels collected along the entire Croatian Adriatic Coast are presented. The samples were collected in 2009 and 2010 at 48 locations representing different levels of maritime activities, including marinas, ports and reference sites. Butyltins (BuTs) were found in all analyzed samples, representing >97% of OTCs, and ranged from 0.46 to 27.98 ng Sn L(-1) in seawater and from <6 to 1675 ng Sn g(-1) in mussels. The results indicate a recent input of TBT, with the highest concentrations of BuTs found in the marinas. It appears that the Adriatic coast is still polluted with TBT despite the fact that TBT-containing antifouling paints have been banned in Croatia since 2008. It is questionable how much TBT pollution decreased since 2005, when a high incidence of imposex was established in the same area.     

Numerical modelling of heat shock-assisted rock fracture

This paper presents a numerical investigation on the effects of thermal shock as a pretreatment of rock prior to comminution. More specifically, the effect of heat shock-induced cracks on the uniaxial compressive strength of rock is numerically studied. The chosen constitutive model of rock employs a (strong) embedded discontinuity finite element formulation to describe cracks. The thermomechanical problem that governs the heat shock pretreatment of rocks is considered as an uncoupled problem because of a highly dominating role of the external heat influx. Two solution methods of the global problem are presented: an explicit-explicit dynamic scheme and an implicit-implicit quasi-static scheme. The model performance is tested in simulations on heterogeneous numerical rock samples subjected first to a heat shock pretreatment and then to a mechanical compression test. According to the results, the compressive strength of intact granite rock having the axial splitting failure mode can be substantially reduced by heat shock pretreatment.     

Linking Cree hunters’ and scientific observations of changing inland ice and meteorological conditions in the subarctic eastern James Bay region, Canada

For the Cree First Nation communities of the eastern James Bay region in the Canadian Subarctic, local weather plays a key role in traditional subsistence activities. There is rising concern among the Cree about changes in inland ice conditions as they pose challenges to Cree livelihood, health and culture. Here we contrast Crees’ observations of inland ice conditions and long-term measurements obtained to foster interdisciplinary climate change research between scientists and Cree communities. We compiled qualitative observations of inland ice conditions and compared them with long-term measurements (> 25 years) of air temperature, precipitation and snow depth from three meteorological stations in the Cree territory. Cree hunters observed a weakening of lake ice cover (e.g., change in ice composition and structure, increased rain in winter). Trend analysis of long-term measurements showed a significant increase in mean autumn air temperature as well as in winter and autumn precipitation. By contrasting Cree hunters’ observations with climate data, we identified that an increase in fall and winter precipitation could be causing a weakening of inland ice through a change in its composition (i.e., snow ice instead of congelation ice). We conclude that Cree and scientific knowledge are complementary when investigating and understanding climate change in the Subarctic.     

The Ross orogeny of the transantarctic mountains: a northern Victoria Land perspective

Northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) is made up of three terranes of Cambrian–Ordovician rocks: the Wilson (WT), Bowers (BT) and Robertson Bay terranes (RBT). The WT comprises a low- to high-grade metasedimentary sequence intruded by calc-alkaline plutons with magmatic arc affinity; the BT is composed of low-grade metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks usually interpreted as an intra-oceanic arc; the RBT is a very low-grade flysch-like sequence. Terrane juxtaposition has traditionally been attributed to accretion during the Cambro-ordovician Ross orogeny. We propose a new model in which the WT, BT and RBT are interpreted as an arc/back-arc/trench system, developed in the context of a SW-dipping subduction zone. The subducting plate carried a continent originally located outboard of the turbidite fan of the RBT. Collision between this continent and the East Antarctic craton caused partial subduction of the intervening back-arc basin and, ultimately, the end of Ross-orogenic subduction. The turbidite fan of the RBT originally sedimented above the trench and on the subducting oceanic plate; due to collision it was thrusted on the continent, that constitutes, at least in part, the present basement of the RBT turbidite. The eastern portions of this continental mass were later dissected by the tensile tectonics related to the opening of the of the Southern Ocean.     

Selenium in San Francisco Bay zooplankton: Potential effects of hydrodynamics and food web interactions

The potential toxicity of elevated selenium (Se) concentrations in aquatic ecosystems has stimulated efforts to measure Se concentrations in benthos, nekton, and waterfowl in San Francisco Bay (SF Bay). In September 1998, we initiated a 14 mo field study to determine the concentration of Se in SF Bay zooplankton, which play a major role in the Bay food web, but which have not previously been studied with respect to Se. Monthly vertical plankton tows were collected at several stations throughout SF Bay, and zooplankton were separated into two operationally defined size classes for Se analyses: 73–2,000 μm, and ≥2,000 μm. Selenium values ranged 1.02–6.07 μg Se g^?1 dry weight. No spatial differences in zooplankton Se concentrations were found. However, there were inter- and intra-annual differences. Zooplankton Se concentrations were enriched in the North Bay in Fall 1999 when compared to other seasons and locations within and outside SF Bay. The abundance and biovolume of the zooplankton community varied spatially between stations, but not seasonally within each station. Smaller herbivorous-omnivorous zooplankton had higher Se concentrations than larger omnivorous-carnivorous zooplankton. Selenium concentrations in zooplankton were negatively correlated with the proportion of total copepod biovolume comprising the large carnivorous copepodTortanus dextrilobatus, but positively correlatid with the proportion of copepod biovolume comprising smaller copepods of the family Oithonidae, suggesting an important role of trophic level and size in regulating zooplankton Se concentrations.     

Geophysical interpretation of a high-resolution seismic refraction profile in the Northern Apennines

A combined seismic and gravimetric interpretation in the Northern Apennines area (Italy) is presented. To the knowledge of the authors, this is one of the few attempts to apply tomographic methodology to a seismic refraction profile. This procedure, together with the classical interpretation for defining lower reflectors, led to the formulation of quite an accurate model of the upper crust. A gravity analysis was performed concurrently taking into account the seismic results at different depths which correspond to different frequency domains in the gravity signal. While the medium- and high-frequency patterns have been solved by trial-and-error, the regional trend has been modelled applying the collocation procedure to the gravity data.     

Variable sequence of events during the past seven terminations in two deep-sea cores from the Southern Ocean

The relationships among internally consistent records of summer sea-surface temperature (SSST), winter sea ice (WSI), and diatomaceous stable isotopes were studied across seven terminations over the last 660 ka in sedimentary cores from ODP sites 1093 and 1094. The sequence of events at both sites indicates that SSST and WSI changes led the carbon and nitrogen isotopic changes in three Terminations (TI, TII and TVI) and followed them in the other four Terminations (TIII, TIV, TV and TVII). In both TIII and TIV, the leads and lags between the proxies were related to weak glacial mode, while in TV and TVII they were due to the influence of the mid-Pleistocene transition. We show that the sequence of events is not unique and does not follow the same pattern across terminations, implying that the processes that initiated climate change in the Southern Ocean has varied through time.