Histogram and variogram inference in the multigaussian model

Several iterative algorithms are proposed to improve the histogram and variogram inference in the framework of the multigaussian model. The starting point is the variogram obtained after a traditional normal score transform. The subsequent step consists in simulating many sets of gaussian values with this variogram at the data locations, so that the ranking of the original values is honored. The expected gaussian transformation and the expected variogram are computed by an averaging operation over the simulated datasets. The variogram model is then updated and the procedure is repeated until convergence. Such an iterative algorithm can adapt to the case of tied data and despike the histogram. Two additional issues are also examined, referred to the modeling of the empirical transformation function and to the optimal pair weighting when computing the sample variogram.     

Seal capacity estimation from subsurface pore pressures

A cap rock's capacity to seal hydrocarbons depends on its wettability and the sizes of the pore throats within the interconnected pore system that the leaking hydrocarbons must penetrate. These critical pore throat sizes are often poorly constrained in hydrocarbon exploration, partly because measurements of pore throat sizes have not been performed, and partly because pore throat measurements on a few individual samples in the cap rock may not be representative for the seal capacity of the top seal as a whole. To the contrary, the presence of formation overpressure can normally be estimated in drilled exploration targets. The presence of overpressure in reservoirs testifies to small pore throats in the cap rocks, as large pore throats will result in sufficiently high cap rock permeability to bleed off the overpressure. We suggest a stepwise procedure that enables quantification of top seal capacities of overpressured traps, based on subsurface pressure information. This procedure starts with the estimation of cap rock permeabilities, which are consistent with observed overpressure gradients across the top seals. Knowledge of burial histories is essential for these estimations. Relationships between pore throat size and permeability from laboratory experiments are then applied to estimate critical pore throat diameters in cap rocks. These critical pore throat diameters, combined with information of the physical properties of the pore fluids, are then used to calculate membrane seal capacity of cap rocks. Estimates of top seal capacity based on this procedure are rather sensitive to the vertical fluid velocity, but they are also to some extent sensitive to inaccuracies of the pore throat/permeability relationship, overpressure gradient, interfacial tensions between pore fluids, hydrocarbon density and water viscosity values. Despite these uncertainties, applications of the above‐mentioned procedure demonstrated that the mere presence of reservoir overpressures testifies to sufficient membrane seal capacity of cap rocks for most geological histories. Exempt from this statement are basins with rapid and substantial sediment compaction in the recent past.     

Current states of stress in the northern Andes as indicated by focal mechanisms of earthquakes

Systematic inversion of double couple focal mechanisms of shallow earthquakes in the northern Andes reveals relatively homogeneous patterns of crustal stress in three main regions. The first region, presently under the influence of the Caribbean plate, includes the northern segment of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and the western flank of the Central Cordillera (north of 4°N). It is characterized by WNW–ESE compression of dominantly reverse type that deflects to NW–SE in the Merida Andes of Venezuela, where it becomes mainly strike–slip in type. A major bend of the Eastern thrust front of the Eastern Cordillera, near its junction with the Merida Andes, coincides with a local deflection of the stress regime (SW–NE compression), suggesting local accommodation of the thrust belt to a rigid indenter in this area. The second region includes the SW Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador, currently under the influence of the Nazca plate. In this area, approximately E–W compression is mainly reverse in type. It deflects to WSW–ENE in the northern Andes south of 4°N, where it is accommodated by right-lateral displacement of the Romeral fault complex and the Eastern front of the northern Andes. The third, and most complex, region is the area of the triple junction between the South American, Nazca and Caribbean plates. It reveals two major stress regimes, both mainly strike–slip in type. The first regime involves SW–NE compression related to the interaction between the Nazca and Caribbean plates and the Panama micro-plate, typically accommodated in an E–W left-lateral shear zone. The second regime involves NW–SE compression, mainly related to the interaction between the Caribbean plate and the North Andes block which induces left-lateral displacement on the Uramita and Romeral faults north of 4°N.Deep seismicity (about 150–170 km) concentrates in the Bucaramanga nest and Cauca Valley areas. The inversion reveals a rather homogeneous attitude of the minimum stress axis, which dips towards the E. This extension is consistent with the present plunge of the Nazca and Caribbean slabs, suggesting that a broken slab may be torn under gravitational stresses in the Bucaramanga nest. This model is compatible with current blocking of the subduction in the western northern Andes, inhibiting the eastward displacement of slabs, which are forced to break and sink in to the asthenosphere under their own weight.     

Geochemical characteristics of mineral air particles emitted inside a clay atomisation plant which introduces waste recycling processes

The objective of this work is to assess the concentrations of three factions of air particles (settable particles, TSP and PM10) and the levels of several toxic elements in a clay atomisation industry through aerosol sampling at several points inside an industrial plant. Mechanical activities, which produce diffuse emissions, are the main process of discharge of particles in both indoor and outdoor workplace environments in the atomisation plant. The levels of As, Cd, Pb, Zn, Ba and Ni increase in the zones with higher concentrations of particles and lower ventilation. The concentrations of As and F are not influenced by the recycling processes. The levels of Cd and Pb do not show great enrichment in air particles collected inside the atomisation plant although the content of both elements is associated with ceramic muck recycling. Finally, the content of B in waste water is mainly transferred in gaseous phase to the atmosphere during the process of drying by atomisation.     

Long-term deforestation in NW Spain: linking the Holocene fire history to vegetation change and human activities

The Holocene fire regime is thought to have had a key role in deforestation and shrubland expansion in Galicia (NW Spain) but the contribution of past societies to vegetation burning remains poorly understood. This may be, in part, due to the fact that detailed fire records from areas in close proximity to archaeological sites are scarce. To fill this gap, we performed charcoal analysis in five colluvial soils from an archaeological area (Campo Lameiro) and compared the results to earlier studies from this area and palaeo-ecological literature from NW Spain. This analysis allowed for the reconstruction of the vegetation and fire dynamics in the area during the last ca 11 000 yrs. In the Early Holocene, Fabaceae and Betula sp. were dominant in the charcoal record. Quercus sp. started to replace these species around 10 000 cal BP, forming a deciduous forest that prevailed during the Holocene Thermal Maximum until ～5500 cal BP. Following that, several cycles of potentially fire-induced forest regression with subsequent incomplete recovery eventually led to the formation of an open landscape dominated by shrubs (Erica sp. and Fabaceae). Major episodes of forest regression were (1) ～5500–5000 cal BP, which marks the mid-Holocene cooling after the Holocene Thermal Maximum, but also the period during which agropastoral activities in NW Spain became widespread, and (2) ～2000–1500 cal BP, which corresponds roughly to the end of the Roman Warm Period and the transition from the Roman to the Germanic period. The low degree of chronological precision, which is inherent in fire history reconstructions from colluvial soils, made it impossible to distinguish climatic from human-induced fires. Nonetheless, the abundance of synanthropic pollen indicators (e.g. Plantago lanceolata and Urtica dioica) since at least ～6000 cal BP strongly suggests that humans used fire to generate and maintain pasture.     

Low-order stabilized finite element for the full Biot formulation in soil mechanics at finite strain

This article presents a novel finite element formulation for the Biot equation using low-order elements. Additionally, an extra degree of freedom is introduced to treat the volumetric locking steaming from the effective response of the medium; its balance equation is also stabilized. The accuracy of the proposed formulation is demonstrated by means of numerical analyses.     

Geophysical evidence for a large impact structure on the Falkland (Malvinas) Plateau

A large, roughly circular structural basin is recognised on the Falkland (Malvinas) Plateau to the NW of West Falkland (Gran Malvina) Island (S 51°00′, W 62°00′). The basin, seen in seismic‐reflection profiles and evident as a large negative gravity anomaly, has a diameter of ~250 km. The age of the basin is estimated to be Late Palaeozoic. It is completely buried by younger sediments and has no topographic expression on the sea floor. We propose that the basin and geophysical anomalies, especially the combination of a large circular negative gravity anomaly with a rim of positive anomalies, and a marked circular series of positive magnetic anomalies in the same area, may be best explained by the presence of a large buried impact structure.     

Pre‐Alpine discordant granitic dikes in the metamorphic core of the Betic Cordillera: tectonic implications

Pegmatite dikes bearing andalusite crosscut foliation S₂ in Alpujarride gneisses and schists. Post‐S₂ andalusite is transposed by a foliation S₃, defined by fibrolite, which affects the dikes. The dikes represent highly differentiated granitic magmas with low REE and Zr contents and a positive Eu anomaly. U‐Pb SHRIMP dating of magmatic zircons provided Pan‐African ages (cores) and late Variscan ages (rims). However, U‐rich rims also provided metamorphic Alpine ages, supporting a polyorogenic tectonometamorphic history for pre‐Mesozoic Alpujarride rocks.