Two dimensional combined inversion of short- and long-normal dc resistivity well log data

A method is presented for the two-dimensional combined inversion of short- and long-normal tool direct current resistivity data with symmetry. The forward problem is solved using the finite element method in the cylindrical coordinates system. The inverse problem is solved using a conjugate gradient technique with the partial derivatives obtained using reciprocity. The parameters were obtained by means of both conjugate gradient relaxation and conventional conjugate gradient method. The solution of this highly underdetermined inverse problem is stabilized using Tikhonov regularization and the scheme yields a blurred image of the subsurface. The scheme is tested using synthetic data and field data. Tests using synthetic data suggest that traces of the horizontal boundaries are delineated in the range of the exploration distance while the resolution of vertical boundaries depends upon the solution regularization. Application to field data shows that additional information is necessary for resolving the resistivity structure when there are low resistivity contrasts between formation units.     

Using Lightning Data to Better Understand and Predict Flash Floods in the Mediterranean

One of the costliest natural hazards around the globe is flash floods, resulting from localized intense convective precipitation over short periods of time. Since intense convective rainfall (especially over the continents) is well correlated with lightning activity in these storms, a European Union FP6 FLASH project was realized from 2006 to 2010, focusing on using lightning observations to better understand and predict convective storms that result in flash floods. As part of the project, 23 case studies of flash floods in the Mediterranean region were examined. For the analysis of these storms, lightning data were used together with rainfall estimates in order to understand the storms?? development and electrification processes. In addition, these case studies were simulated using mesoscale meteorological models to better understand the local and synoptic conditions leading to such intense and damaging storms. As part of this project, tools for short-term predictions (nowcasts) of intense convection across the Mediterranean and Europe, and long-term forecasts (a few days) of the likelihood of intense convection, were developed and employed. The project also focused on educational outreach through a special Web site http://flashproject.org supplying real-time lightning observations, real-time experimental nowcasts, medium-range weather forecasts and educational materials. While flash floods and intense thunderstorms cannot be prevented, long-range regional lightning networks can supply valuable data, in real time, for warning the public, end-users and stakeholders of imminent intense rainfall and possible flash floods.     

Estimation of instantaneous peak flows from maximum mean daily flows using the HBV hydrological model

The record length and quality of instantaneous peak flows (IPFs) have a great influence on flood design, but these high resolution flow data are not always available. The primary aim of this study is to compare different strategies to derive frequency distributions of IPFs using the Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) hydrologic model. The model is operated on a daily and an hourly time step for 18 catchments in the Aller‐Leine basin, Germany. Subsequently, general extreme value (GEV) distributions are fitted to the simulated annual series of daily and hourly extreme flows. The resulting maximum mean daily flow (MDF) quantiles from daily simulations are transferred into IPF quantiles using a multiple regression model, which enables a direct comparison with the simulated hourly quantiles. As long climate records with a high temporal resolution are not available, the hourly simulations require a disaggregation of the daily rainfall. Additionally, two calibrations strategies are applied: (1) a calibration on flow statistics; (2) a calibration on hydrographs. The results show that: (1) the multiple regression model is capable of predicting IPFs with the simulated MDFs; (2) both daily simulations with post‐correction of flows and hourly simulations with pre‐processing of precipitation enable a reasonable estimation of IPFs; (3) the best results are achieved using disaggregated rainfall for hourly modelling with calibration on flow statistics; and (4) if the IPF observations are not sufficient for model calibration on flow statistics, the transfer of MDFs via multiple regressions is a good alternative for estimating IPFs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geology and characterisation of the Pecket coal deposit, Magellan Region, Chile

The geology, petrography and chemical variation of the Pecket coal sequence, Magellan Region (52°57′S, 71°10′W), the only Chilean coal used for electricity generation on a large scale, has been studied in order to predict their combustion behaviour, especially in coal blends. The depositional environment of formation of the coal seams was a swamp rarely exposed to subaerial conditions and was associated with the development of the folded foreland of the Magellan basin during the Tertiary (Oligo–Miocene). The general tectonic regime of the collision of the Antarctic and South American plates is reflected by a system of joints with 40°N–50°W strike. The maceral composition of all six seams studied indicates high contents of vitrinite (>90%), minor content of liptinite (4.7%) and inertinite (<2%). Occurrence of tonstein horizons altered to kaolinite indicates a distal volcanism during peat accumulation. Coal rank varies between lignite and subbituminous (Ro=0.28–0.42%) with an average dry basis calorific value of 5450 kcal/kg, 17 wt.% moisture, 41 wt.% volatile matter, and sulphur content below 0.5 wt.%. The mineral matter (LTA) associated with the coal shows a dominance of kaolinite with quartz, smectite, and minor basanite. SiO₂/Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃/CaO ratios of the ashes diminish towards the lower seams. With respect to the utilisation of Pecket coals in combustion, base/acid ratios (B/A) and silica ratios (SR) indicate potential fouling for seams 1, 2, 5, and 6i, with high fouling indexes (Rf) for seams 2 and 5. Pecket coal is excellent for blend combustion due to its low sulphur content.     

Evaluation of tectonic structure of İskenderun Basin (Turkey) using steerable filters

In this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of steerable filters as a method of delineating the boundaries of subsurface geological structures. Steerable filters, generally used for edge detection on 2-D images, have the properties of band pass filters with certain directions and are applied to many image processing problems. We first tested the method on synthetic data and then applied it to the aeromagnetic data of İskenderun Basin and adjacent areas.İskenderun Basin is located in the Northeastern Mediterranean where African–Arabian and Anatolian plates are actively interacting. The basin fill records a complex tectonic evolution since the Early Miocene, involving ophiolite emplacement, diachronous collision of Eurasian and Arabian plates and subsequent tectonic escape related structures and associated basin formation. Geophysical investigations of the tectonic framework of İskenderun Basin of Turkey provide important insights on the regional tectonics of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. In this study we show geological structures, which are responsible for the magnetic anomalies in İskenderun Basin and enlighten the structural setting of the Northeastern Mediterranean triple junction using steerable filters. We obtained a magnetic anomaly map of the region from the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration as raw data and then evaluated this by steerable filters. We determined the magnetic anomaly boundaries for İskenderun Basin by using various types of steerable filters and correlated these to drilling data and seismic profiles from the Turkish Petroleum Corporation. The result of the steerable filter analysis was a clarified aeromagnetic anomaly map of İskenderun Basin. The tectonic structure of İskenderun Basin is divided into regions by an N–S trending oblique-slip fault defined by the steerable filter outputs. We propose a new tectonic structure model of İskenderun Basin and modify the direction of the East Anatolian Fault Zone. In our model, East Anatolian Fault Zone cross-cuts the basin as a narrow fault zone and continues towards the Cyprus arc.     

Numerical modelling of chloride propagation in the quaternary aquifer of the southern Upper Rhine Graben

The deep groundwater in the quaternary gravel sequence of the southern Upper Rhine Graben locally contains high chloride concentrations near the river Rhine between Fessenheim (France) in the South and Breisach (Germany) in the North. This historical pollution is mainly due to past infiltration from the former brine storage basins of the French potash mines on the Fessenheim Island and—to a lesser extent—from the leaching of the salt dumps of the German potash mines in Buggingen and Heitersheim. The spreading of the salt plume was investigated by means of a groundwater model. The aim of the model was to understand the brine movement, the present distribution of chloride as defined by recent hydrochemical investigations, and to select locations for new reconnaissance boreholes. The geological structure was reproduced by a three layer model, which was calibrated for steady state flow conditions. The hydraulic conductivity of the first layer was determined by comparing measured and calculated heads in the model area. The vertical resolution was refined to simulate the density-dependent salt transport processes. The transport of the salt plumes was simulated over a 40-year period, starting at the beginning of brine storage in the 1950s. The relevant transport parameters have been estimated in a sensitivity analysis, where the simulated breakthrough curves of chloride concentration have been compared with the measured data. The results of the groundwater model indicate that brines containing approximately 1 million tons of chloride are still present at the bottom of the aquifer. These highly concentrated salt brines mix with fresh water from the upper part of the aquifer. This dispersive process leads to the formation of a plume of chloride-rich water extending downstream, where pumping wells for several local water supplies are located.     

Downscaling the 2D Bénard convection equations using continuous data assimilation

We consider a recently introduced continuous data assimilation (CDA) approach for downscaling a coarse resolution configuration of the 2D Bénard convection equations into a finer grid. In this CDA, a nudging term, estimated as the misfit between some interpolants of the assimilated coarse-grid measurements and the fine-grid model solution, is added to the model equations to constrain the model. The main contribution of this study is a performance analysis of CDA for downscaling measurements of temperature and velocity. These measurements are assimilated either separately or simultaneously, and the results are compared against those resulting from the standard point-to-point nudging approach (NA). Our numerical results suggest that the CDA solution outperforms that of NA, always converging to the true solution when the velocity is assimilated as has been theoretically proven. Assimilation of temperature measurements only may not always recover the true state as demonstrated in the case study. Various runs are conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of CDA to noise in the measurements, the size, and the time frequency of the measured grid, suggesting a more robust behavior of CDA compared to that of NA.     

A study on hydrochemical elucidation of coastal groundwater in and around Kalpakkam region, Southern India

The chemical composition of 29 bore well water samples throughout the Kalpakkam region, South India, was determined to identify the major hydrogeochemical processes and the suitability of groundwater for domestic and irrigation purposes. The hydrochemical data were analyzed with reference to World Health Organization (WHO) standards and their hydrochemical facies were determined. The Piper plot shows that most of the groundwater samples fall in the field of mixed calcium–sodium–bicarbonate type followed by sodium–chloride, calcium–bicarbonate and mixed calcium–magnesium–chloride water types. The concentration of total dissolved solids exceeds the desirable limit in about 14% of samples; alkalinity values exceed the desirable limit in about 34% of the samples. The concentration of sulphate is well within the desirable limit at all the locations. The dominance of various heavy metals in the groundwater followed the sequence: Zn > Fe > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cr > Cd. Among the metal ions, the concentration of chromium and cadmium are within the permissible limit. Data are plotted on the US Salinity Laboratory diagram, which illustrates that most of the samples fall in the field of high salinity and low sodium hazard, which can be used to irrigate salt tolerant and semi-tolerant crops under favorable drainage conditions. Based on the analytical results, chemical indices like sodium adsorption ratio and residual sodium carbonate were calculated which show that most of the samples are good for irrigation.     

Combined Li-He isotopes in Iceland and Jan Mayen basalts and constraints on the nature of the North Atlantic mantle

Lithium (Li) isotopes are thought to provide a powerful proxy for the recycling of crustal material, affected by low temperature alteration, through the mantle. We present Li isotope compositions for basaltic volcanic rocks from Hengill, Iceland, and Jan Mayen in order to examine possible links between ocean island volcanism and recycled oceanic crust and to address recent suggestions that mantle ³He/⁴He is also related to recycling of ancient slabs. Basaltic glasses spanning a range of chemical enrichment from the Hengill fissure system define an inverse correlation between δ⁷Li (3.8-6.9‰) and ³He/⁴He (12-20 R_A). The high-³He/⁴He basalts have low δ¹⁸O as well as excess Eu and high Nb/U, but carry no Li isotope evidence of being the product of recycling of altered slab or wedge material. In fact, there is no clear correlation between Li or He isotopes on the one hand and any of the other fingerprints of recycled slab components. The low-³He/⁴He samples do have elevated Nb/U, Sr/Nd, positive Eu anomalies and high δ⁷Li (∼6.9‰), providing evidence of a cumulate-enriched source that could be part of an ancient altered ocean floor slab.Basalts from Jan Mayen are characterized by large degrees of enrichment in incompatible trace elements typical of EM-like basalts but have homogeneous δ⁷Li typical of depleted mantle (3.9-4.7‰) providing evidence for a third mantle source in the North Atlantic. It appears that oceanic basalts can display a wide range in isotope and trace element compositions associated with recycled components whilst exhibiting no sign of modern surface-altered slab or wedge material from the Li isotope composition.     

黑龙江嘉荫乌云组地层划分及时代的新认识

黑龙江嘉荫乌云煤矿等地的早第三纪乌云组及其植物群的划分、对比及时代等问题长期争论.笔者等在乌云组下部发现以Tiliaephyllum tsagajanicum等为标志的大植物及孢粉化石组合,显示古新世达宁早期的时代.并据此将乌云组划分为两段:下段为"白山头段"(新建),代表乌云组下部的地层,时代为达宁早期;上段为"含煤段",时代可能主要为达宁晚期.结合与北邻俄罗斯布列亚盆地同期地层及植物群的对比,认为整个乌云组应与上查加扬组(并包括中查加扬组上部)相对比.嘉荫乌云露天煤矿所出露的含煤地层及其植物化石的时代,仅大体上属于古新世达宁晚期,并非达宁期全部.