Influence of heterogeneous air entry pressure on large scale unsaturated flow in porous media

The paper presents numerical simulations of water infiltration in unsaturated porous media containing coarse-textured inclusions embedded in fine-textured background material. The calculations are performed using the two-phase model for water and air flow and a simplified model known as the Richards equation. It is shown that the Richards equation cannot correctly describe flow in the presence of heterogeneities. However, its performance can be improved by introducing appropriately defined effective capillary and permeability functions, representing largescale behaviour of the heterogeneous medium.     

Fast and Interactive Editing Tools for Spatial Models

Mathematical Geosciences - Multiple point statistics (MPS) algorithms allow generation of random fields reproducing the spatial features of a training image (TI). Although many MPS techniques offer...     

分离三分量远震接收函数的多道最大或然性反褶积方法

迄今为止 ,广泛应用的分离接收函数方法主要基于单个台站的观测数据 ,并依赖等效震源假定的有效性。当地壳内存在明显的间断面时 ,等效震源假定不适于宽频带地震波形数据 ,接收函数的估计将在不同程度上遭到破坏。解决这个问题的出路在于避免使用等效震源假定。依据多道最大或然性反褶积原理 ,给出了利用多道观测数据分离接收函数的方法。我们的方法避免了等效震源假定 ,这对于在复杂构造环境条件下改善接收函数的估计具有实际价值。合成地震图的数值检验结果验证了给出的方法。利用该方法 ,我们得到了跨越大别山造山带 ,从江西大冶附近的大箕铺 (30°2 0′N ,1 1 5°0 3′E)到河南兰考附近的崔林 (34°4 0′N ,1 1 4°4 9′E) ,总长度约 5 0 0km的流动地震台阵剖面各台站的三分量接收函数估计。与基于单台数据的接收函数径向分量比较表明 ,两种方法给出的结果可能存在不可忽略的差别     

Modelling biofilm growth in the presence of carbon dioxide and water flow in the subsurface

The concentration of greenhouse gases – particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂) – in the atmosphere has been on the rise in the past decades. One of the methods which have been proposed to help reduce anthropogenic CO₂ emissions is the capture of CO₂from large, stationary point sources and storage in deep geological formations. The caprock is an impermeable geological layer which prevents the leakage of stored CO₂, and its integrity is of utmost importance for storage security. Due to the high pressure build-up during injection, the caprock in the vicinity of the well is particularly at risk of fracturing. Biofilms could be used as biobarriers which help prevent the leakage of CO₂ through the caprock in injection well vicinity by blocking leakage pathways. The biofilm could also protect well cement from corrosion by CO₂-rich brine.     

Evidence for xenolith–host basalt interaction from chemical patterns in Fe–Ti-oxides from mafic granulite xenoliths of the Bakony–Balaton Volcanic field (W-Hungary)

We investigate the effects of xenolith–host basalt interaction on lower crustal mafic granulite xenoliths from the Central Pannonian Basin. The xenoliths are devoid of any signs of melting, nevertheless various phenomena are identified, which indicate that the original mineralogy and chemistry of the xenoliths was modified during interaction with the host basalt. The rock-forming silicates are only slightly affected by alteration, but the Fe–Ti-oxides are overprinted to a significant extent. Complex chemical zoning patterns are detected using high-resolution element mapping in ilmenites and in lamellar titanomagnetite–ilmenite intergrowths. The chemical alteration of the Fe–Ti-oxides was diffusion-controlled and, hence, time and temperature dependent. On the basis of diffusion profiles in titanomagnetite we estimate the duration of xenolith–host basalt interaction to be at least 9–20 h. This is comparable to the time necessary for the ascent of the host basalt to the surface. It is too short to reflect alteration during granulite facies metamorphism in the deep crust. The chemical alteration of the titanomagnetite thus reflects the total duration of the xenolith–host basalt interaction.     

Feeding of European cisco (Coregonus albula and C. lucinensis) on the glacial relict crustacean Mysis relicta in Lake Breiter Luzin (Germany)

Lake Breiter Luzin, located in north-eastern Germany, is known for the rare occurrence of sympatric populations of European cisco, Coregonus albula and C. lucinensis. Moreover, the lake is inhabited by the glacial relict crustacean Mysis relicta, currently found in only three other lakes in Germany. In the present study, the role of M. relicta in the diet of ciscoes was investigated. Between 2001 and 2002 ciscoes, mysids and zooplankton were caught in Lake Breiter Luzin and stomach contents of ciscoes were analysed. There were seasonal changes in the food items in the stomachs, largely reflecting changes in prey availability. The main food items were copepods (45–81%) and mysids (5–26%). Cladocerans had high amounts in the diet only in summer. Seasonal changes in selectivity were also noted for most prey groups. There were also some consistent patterns of prey preference, with an overall preference for mysids. In general, the prey composition in cisco stomachs did not show significant diet changes, but there were some significant differences between day and night feeding in single prey groups, such as cladocerans. Diet composition of ciscoes varied with the different depth strata in which the fish were caught. With increasing depth, the proportion of mysids in the diet significantly increased, whereas that of copepods significantly decreased. Between C. albula and C. lucinensis, no distinct differences in feeding were evident. Mysids provided an additional and important food resource to ciscoes, and were mainly consumed when the availability of other prey organisms decreased, as in autumn and in the deeper strata of the water column. However, mysids preyed on the same food organisms as ciscoes, indicating a strong competition for food between fish and mysids.     

Functional feeding groups of a macroinvertebrate community in a northern German lake outlet (Lake Belau, Schleswig-Holstein)

At four typical sections of the stream Kossau Diptera were caught by emergence traps. Two of the sections can be regarded as to a great degree undisturbed due to their morphology and vegetation at the banks. Two sections have undergone various anthropogenic changes. Representatives of the families Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae, Psychodidae, Limoniidae, Ptychopteridae, Dixidae, Culicidae, Simuliidae, and Empididae were collected. Altogether, 106 species were identified. The majority of species belong to the family Chironomidae (74), followed by the Ceratopogonidae (8), Psychodidae, and Empididae (7 each). The numbers of species collected at each stream section ranged from 56 to 69. At the undisturbed and shaded sections 69 and 66 species were found, at the meadow sections 56 and 68 species. Hence, a general connection between the loss of a state close to the natural environment and the number of species can not be stated.A total of 29,349 Diptera emerged. The highest number of individuals was found at a stream section covered with aquatic macrophytes (16,797 ind.), the lowest at a forest section without macrophytes (2,554 ind.). The Chironomidae make up for more than 82% of all Diptera. The Simuliidae rank second accounting for 3 to 17%, followed by the Ceratopogonidae. Like the Ceratopogonidae, all other families comprise less than 1% of the individuals collected.Only a few species demonstrated a distinct preference for the two forest sections of the stream, whereas about 50% of the species occurred in at least three of the four sections. Regarding the species represented by more than two individuals per emergence trap, it became apparent that the correspondence between the forst and the meadow sections is rather small.A comparison of the emergence of individual families revealed that many species found in the Kossau also occur in another lowland stream, similar to the Kossau concerning width, current velocity, and water level. Furthermore, the ecological demands of several species turned out to be not as high as they were considered to be, mainly referring to the temperature: Species proven in the Kossau and in other summer-warm streams may no longer be regarded as ‘cold-stenothermic’.     

Observations of Ebria tripartita (Schumann) Lemmermann in Baltic sediments

Sediment finds of Ebria tripartita (Schumann) Lemmermann in the Baltic Sea are reported and light and electron micrographs of the remains of the taxon are presented. Stratigraphic ebriid analysis performed on two sediment cores (one from the deep Gotland Basin and the other from the shallow Töölö bay, central Helsinki) provided clear indications of frequency changes of E. tripartita. These changes are apparently related to the variations in trophic status and salinity, yet competition and degree of preservation may also have contributed to the distributions. Due to identification problems, the species may actually be more common in the sediment material of the Baltic Sea than has hitherto been recognized. E. tripartita may have a significant potential as an indicator species in paleolimnological research as more information is gathered about its present-day ecological requirements.