Geostatistical seismic Amplitude‐versus‐angle inversion

Seismic inversion plays an important role in reservoir modelling and characterisation due to its potential for assessing the spatial distribution of the sub‐surface petro‐elastic properties. Seismic amplitude‐versus‐angle inversion methodologies allow to retrieve P‐wave and S‐wave velocities and density individually allowing a better characterisation of existing litho‐fluid facies. We present an iterative geostatistical seismic amplitude‐versus‐angle inversion algorithm that inverts pre‐stack seismic data, sorted by angle gather, directly for: density; P‐wave; and S‐wave velocity models. The proposed iterative geostatistical inverse procedure is based on the use of stochastic sequential simulation and co‐simulation algorithms as the perturbation technique of the model parametre space; and the use of a genetic algorithm as a global optimiser to make the simulated elastic models converge from iteration to iteration. All the elastic models simulated during the iterative procedure honour the marginal prior distributions of P‐wave velocity, S‐wave velocity and density estimated from the available well‐log data, and the corresponding joint distributions between density versus P‐wave velocity and P‐wave versus S‐wave velocity. We successfully tested and implemented the proposed inversion procedure on a pre‐stack synthetic dataset, built from a real reservoir, and on a real pre‐stack seismic dataset acquired over a deep‐water gas reservoir. In both cases the results show a good convergence between real and synthetic seismic and reliable high‐resolution elastic sub‐surface Earth models.     

THUNDERSTORM CLIMATOLOGY BASED ON LIGHTNING DETECTOR DATA,MANITOBA, CANADA

Comparisons are made between thunderstorm data collected from a lightning detector network and from conventional climatic stations for the province of Manitoba, Canada. The greater resolution in time and space of lightning detector (direction finder) data makes it a valuable source of thunderstorm information and lends itself to some important applications. Data were collected for the forest fire season of 1985 using a network of 7 lightning direction finders distributed throughout the province. Some 67,912 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were recorded by time and location during 122 thunderstorm days. July was the most active month with 27,260 strikes over 28 days. Two regions of the province had the greatest concentration of lightning strikes, indicating some influence by topography and position of large lakes. Case studies are presented of the most active lightning storms of 1985 and 1986. These storms are exclusively frontal storms, with most having similar synoptic weather patterns to those of large hailstorms and tornadoes in Manitoba. Relationships between meteorological parameters and lightning strike distribution are presented. These relationships may prove useful in the suppression of lightning-caused forest fires, especially in remote areas of the province. [Key words: lightning, thunderstorm, synoptic climatology, natural hazards, fire prevention.]     

Geophysical signature of Målingen,the minor crater of the Lockne–Målingen doublet impact structure

Målingen is the 0.7 km wide minor crater associated to the 10 times larger Lockne crater in the unique Lockne–Målingen doublet. The craters formed at 458 Ma by the impact of a binary asteroid related to the well-known 470 Ma Main Belt breakup event responsible for a large number of Ordovician craters and fossil meteorites. The binary asteroid struck a target sequence including ~500 m of sea water, ~80 m of limestone, ~30 m of dark mud, and a peneplainized Precambrian crystalline basement. Although the Lockne crater has been extensively studied by core drillings and geophysics, little is known about the subsurface morphology of Målingen. We performed magnetic susceptibility and remanence, as well as density, measurements combined with gravity, and magnetic field surveys over the crater and its close vicinity as a base for forward magnetic and gravity modeling. The interior of the crater shows a general magnetic low of 90–100 nT broken by a clustered set of high-amplitude, short wavelength anomalies caused by bodies of mafic rock in the target below the crater and as allogenic blocks in the crater infill. The gravity shows a general −1.4 mgal anomaly over the crater caused by low-density breccia infill and fractured crystalline rocks below the crater floor. The modeling also revealed a slightly asymmetrical shape of the crater that together with the irregular ejecta distribution supports an oblique impact from the east, which is consistent with the direction of impact suggested for the Lockne crater.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001533

The collision of a divergent ocean ridge may evolve into two end cases:in the continuity of ocean-floor subduction.or in the detachment of the subducted plate.The northern Patagonia active plate margin has the unique situation that in Cenozoic time it has been subjected to two divergent ridge collisions,each one representing one of the end members.The Neogene Antarctica-Nazca divergent ridge collision evolved as a continuous ocean-floor subduction system,promoting a magmatic hiatus at the arc axis,the obduction of part of the ridge ocean-floor in the fore-arc.and basaltic volcanism in the back-arc.In contrast,the Paleogene Farallon-Aluk divergent ridge collision evolved into a transform margin,with the detachment and sinking of the Aluk plate and the development of a large slab window.As in the previous case,this collision promoted a magmatic hiatus at the arc axis,but the tectono-magmatic scenario changed to postorogenic synextensional volcanism that spread to the former fore-arc（basalt,andesite,rhyolite） and former back-arc（bimodal ignimbrite flare-up,basalt）.Geochemistry of this slab window synextensional volcanism shows more MORB-like basalts towards the former fore-arc,and MORB-OIB-like basalts towards the former back-arc.Instead,an isolated undeformable crustal block in the former back-arc,with an "epeirogenic" response to the slab window and extensional regime,was covered by OIB-type basalts after uplift.Major elements show that slab window basalts reach TiCh values up to 3 wt%,as compared with the top value of 1.5 wt%of arc magmas.Besides,the MgO with respect to（FeO^t + Al₂O₃） ratio helps to distinguish slab window magma changes from the former fore-arc to the former back-arc and also with respect to the "epeirogenic" block.Higher contents of HFS elements such as Nb and Ta also help to distinguish this slab window from arc magmas and also,to distinguish slab window magma changes from the former fore-arc to the former back-arc and "epeirogenic" block settings.The isotope compositions of slab window magmatism show a disparate coeval array from MORB to crustal sources,interpreted as a consequence of the lack of protracted storage and homogenization due to the extensional setting.     

Nd isotopic composition of Paleoproterozoic volcanic and granitoid rocks of Vila Riozinho: implications for the crustal evolution of the Tapajós gold province, Amazon craton

Nd data from the Paleoproterozoic magmatic rocks of Vila Riozinho and Jamanxim (Tapajós gold province) indicate that original magmas were not produced exclusively by the remelting of Archean sialic crust and point to dominant Paleoproterozoic sources. ε_Nd(T) values preclude derivation from mantle sources for the ca. 2.0 Ga Vila Riozinho volcanics and older São Jorge granite. They may represent a subduction-related magmatic arc with magmas modified by interaction with crust or a post- to late-orogenic remelting of an older Paleoproterozoic juvenile arc with minimal contribution from the Archean crust. The origin of the 1.88 Ga Parauari, Maloquinha, Iriri, and Moraes Almeida igneous associations and the Jamanxim rhyolites has been attributed to large-scale taphrogenesis that marked the breakup of a large Paleoproterozoic continent. Derivation of the original magmas from the remelting of crustal sources older than ca. 1.9 Ga is consistent with geochemical and Nd isotopic data. Archean remnants probably occur between the Paleoproterozoic terrains of the Ventuari-Tapajós province. Archean terrains of the Amazon craton extend from the Xingu to the Itaituba region but have not been identified in the southern Guyana shield. Thus, data reveal that the boundaries between the central Amazon and Ventuari-Tapajós provinces need better definition and more detailed field and geochronological work.     

Defining drivers of nitrogen stable isotopes (δ15N) of surface sediments in temperate lakes

The nitrogen stable isotopic signature (δ¹⁵N) of sediment is a powerful tool to understand eutrophication history, but its interpretation remains a challenge. In a large-scale comparative approach, we identified the most important drivers influencing surface sediments δ¹⁵N of 65 lakes from two regions of Canada using proxies that reflect watershed nitrogen (N) sources, internal lake microbial cycling and productivity. Across regions, we found that water column total nitrogen (TN),  %N in the sediments and lake morphometric variables were the best predictors of sedimentary δ¹⁵N, explaining 66 % of its variation. Significant relationships were also found between sediment δ¹⁵N and human-derived N load ( \( R_{{{\text{adj}} .}}^{2} \)  = 0.23, p < 0.001), the latter being a strong predictor of TN ( \( R_{{{\text{adj}} .}}^{2} \)  = 0.68, p < 0.001). Despite a relatively strong overall relationship, variation partitioning revealed an interesting difference in the dominant variable that influenced regional δ¹⁵N. Alberta lake sedimentary δ¹⁵N signature was dominated by human derived N load. In contrast, internal processing appeared to be more important in Quebec lakes, where sediment δ¹⁵N was best explained by  %N in the sediments and lake volume. Overall, our findings support the use of δ¹⁵N in paleolimnological investigations to reconstruct changing N sources to lakes but also highlight that regions may have distinctive drivers. Interpretations of sediment δ¹⁵N are likely to be strongest when multiple lines of evidence are employed and when placed in a regional context.     

On the stability of the satellites of asteroid 87 Sylvia

The triple asteroidal system (87) Sylvia is composed of a 280-km primary and two small moonlets named Romulus and Remus ( Marchis et al. 2005b ). Sylvia is located in the main asteroid belt, with semi-major axis of about 3.49 au, eccentricity of 0.08 and 11° of orbital inclination. The satellites are in nearly equatorial circular orbits around the primary, with orbital radius of about 1360 km (Romulus) and 710 km (Remus). In this work, we study the stability of the satellites Romulus and Remus. In order to identify the effects and the contribution of each perturber, we performed numerical simulations considering a set of different systems. The results from the three-body problem, Sylvia–Romulus–Remus, show no significant variation of their orbital elements. However, the inclinations of the satellites present a long-period evolution with amplitude of about 20° when the Sun is included in the system. Such amplitude is amplified to more than 50° when Jupiter is included. These evolutions are very similar for both satellites. An analysis of these results shows that Romulus and Remus are librating in a secular resonance and their longitude of the nodes are locked to each other. Further simulations show that the amplitude of oscillation of the satellites' inclination can reach higher values depending on the initial values of their longitude of pericentre. In those cases, the satellites get caught in an evection resonance with Jupiter, their eccentricities grow and they eventually collide with Sylvia. However, the orbital evolutions of the satellites became completely stable when the oblateness of Sylvia is included in the simulations. The value of Sylvia's J ₂ is about 0.17, which is very high. However, even just 0.1 per cent of this value is enough to keep the satellite's orbital elements with no significant variation.     

The deflection of the vertical in the Western and Central Mediterranean area

The deflection of the vertical at 23 stations was determined by gravimetrical methods and compared to the difference of astronomic observations and geodetic values of the European adjustment. The results show a fair agreement between the two independent sets of values, indicating that doubts about the relative reliability of submarine gravity observations are not justified. A systematic discrepancy in the meridian components of the deflection may reflect on theHayford ellipsoid as used in the European adjustment.

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Zusammenfassung Auf 23 Stationen wurde die Lotabweichung gravimetrisch bestimmt und den astro-geod?tischen Werten der europ?ischen Ausgleichung gegenübergestellt. Die beiden Ergebnisse stimmen sehr gut überein. Damit werden die Bedenken hinf?llig, die sich gegen den Wert von Messungen in Unterseebooten richteten. Systematische Abweichungen in den meridionalen Komponenten beruhen m?glicherweise auf der art der Anwendung des Hayfordschen Ellipsoids in der Ausgleichung des Zentraleurop?ischen Netzes.

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Resumen La desviación de la vertical en 23 estaciones ha sido determinada por el método gravimétrico y compara con los resultados astrogeodéticos de la compensación europea. Existe muy buen acuerdo entre los dos conjuntos de datos, que demuestra que las dudas emitidas en cuanto al valor de las observaciones en submarino son injustificadas. Una discordancia sistemática en las componentes meridianas podria ser debida al empleo del elipsoide deHayford en la compensación de la red europea.

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Résumé La déviation de la verticale en 23 stations a été déterminée par la méthode gravimétrique et comparée aux résultats astrogéodésiques de la compensation européenne. Il y a très bon accord entre les 2 ensembles de données, ce qui montre que les doutes émis quant à la valeur des observations en sous-marins sont injustifiés. Une discordance systématique dans les composantes méridiennes pourrait être due à la fa?on dont on a employé l'ellipso?de deHayford dans la compensation du réseau central européen.

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Sommario E'stata determinata col metodo gravimetrico la deviazione della verticale in 23 stazioni e comparata ai risultati astro-geodetici della compensazione europea. Vi é molto buon accordo tra i due insiemi di dati, ciò che dimostra che i dubbi emessi circa il valore delle osservazioni in sottomarino sono ingiustificati. Una discordanza sistematica tra le componenti maridiane potrebbe essere dovuta all'impiego nella compensazione della rete central europea dell'ellisoide diHayford.

     

On the aftershock sequence of a 4.6 mb earthquake of the Garhwal Himalaya

Locally recorded data for eighteen aftershocks of a magnitude(m_b) 4.6 earthquake occurring near Ukhimath in the Garhwal Himalaya were analysed. A master event technique was adopted to locate seventeen individual aftershock hypocentres relative to the hypocentre of the eighteenth aftershock chosen as the master event. The aftershock epicentres define an approximately 30 km² rupture zone commensurate with the magnitude of the earthquake. The distribution of epicentres within this zone and the limited amount of first motion data support the view that a group of parallel, sub-vertical, sinistral strike-slip faults oriented N46°, transverse to the regional NW-SE trend of the Garhwal Himalaya, was involved in this seismic episode. Since the estimated focal depth range for aftershocks of this sequence is 3–14 km, we infer that this transverse fault zone extends through the upper crustal layer to a depth of 14 km at least.     

Estimation of the Rock Deformation Modulus and RMR Based on Data Mining Techniques

In this work Data Mining tools are used to develop new and innovative models for the estimation of the rock deformation modulus and the Rock Mass Rating (RMR). A database published by Chun et al. (Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 46:649–658, 2008) was used to develop these models. The parameters of the database were the depth, the weightings of the RMR system related to the uniaxial compressive strength, the rock quality designation, the joint spacing, the joint condition, the groundwater condition and the discontinuity orientation adjustment, the RMR and the deformation modulus. As a modelling tool the R program environment was used to apply these advanced techniques. Several algorithms were tested and analysed using different sets of input parameters. It was possible to develop new models to predict the rock deformation modulus and the RMR with improved accuracy and, additionally, allowed to have an insight of the importance of the different input parameters.