From taxonomies to ontologies: formalizing generalization knowledge for on-demand mapping

Automation of the cartographic design process is central to the delivery of bespoke maps via the web. In this paper, ontological modeling is used to explicitly represent and articulate the knowledge used in this decision-making process. A use case focuses on the visualization of road traffic accident data as a way of illustrating how ontologies provide a framework by which salient and contextual information can be integrated in a meaningful manner. Such systems are in anticipation of web-based services in which the user knows what they need, but do not have the cartographic ability to get what they want.     

Using a Thermal Proxy to Examine Sediment–Water Exchange in Mid-Continental Shelf Sandy Sediments

Fluid exchange across the sediment–water interface in a sandy open continental shelf setting was studied using heat as a tracer. Summertime tidal oscillation of cross-shelf thermal fronts on the South Atlantic Bight provided a sufficient signal at the sediment–water interface to trace the advective and conductive transport of heat into and out of the seabed, indicating rapid flushing of ocean water through the upper 10–40 cm of the sandy seafloor. A newly developed transport model was applied to the in situ temperature data set to estimate the extent to which heat was transported by advection rather than conduction. Heat transported by shallow 3-D porewater flow processes was accounted for in the model by using a dispersion term, the depth and intensity of which reflected the depth and intensity of shallow flushing. Similar to the results of past studies in shallower and more energetic nearshore settings, transport of heat was greater when higher near-bed velocities and shear stresses occurred over a rippled bed. However, boundary layer processes by themselves were insufficient to promote non-conductive heat transport. Advective heat transport only occurred when both larger boundary layer stresses and thermal instabilities within the porespace were present. The latter process is dependent on shelf-scale heating and cooling of bottom water associated with upwelling events that are not coupled to local-scale boundary layer processes.     

A method of alternating characteristics with application to advection-dominated environmental systems

We present a numerical method for solving a class of systems of partial differential equations (PDEs) that arises in modeling environmental processes undergoing advection and biogeochemical reactions. The salient feature of these PDEs is that all partial derivatives appear in linear expressions. As a result, the system can be viewed as a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), albeit each one along a different characteristic. The method then consists of alternating between equations and integrating each one step-wise along its own characteristic, thus creating a customized grid on which solutions are computed. Since the solutions of such PDEs are generally smoother along their characteristics, the method offers the potential of using larger time steps while maintaining accuracy and reducing numerical dispersion. The advantages in efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method are demonstrated in two illustrative examples that simulate depth-resolved reactive transport and soil carbon cycling.     

Defining the Potential of Nanoscale Re‐Os Isotope Systematics Using Atom Probe Microscopy

Atom probe microscopy (APM) is a relatively new in situ tool for measuring isotope fractions from nanoscale volumes (< 0.01 μm³). We calculate the theoretical detectable difference of an isotope ratio measurement result from APM using counting statistics of a hypothetical data set to be ± 4δ or 0.4% (2s). However, challenges associated with APM measurements (e.g., peak ranging, hydride formation and isobaric interferences), result in larger uncertainties if not properly accounted for. We evaluate these factors for Re‐Os isotope ratio measurements by comparing APM and negative thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (N‐TIMS) measurement results of pure Os, pure Re, and two synthetic Re‐Os‐bearing alloys from Schwander et al. (2015, Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 50, 893) [the original metal alloy (HSE) and alloys produced by heating HSE within silicate liquid (SYN)]. From this, we propose a current best practice for APM Re‐Os isotope ratio measurements. Using this refined approach, mean APM and N‐TIMS ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁹Os measurement results agree within 0.05% and 2s (pure Os), 0.6–2% and 2s (SYN) and 5–10% (HSE). The good agreement of N‐TIMS and APM ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁹Os measurements confirms that APM can extract robust isotope ratios. Therefore, this approach permits nanoscale isotope measurements of Os‐bearing alloys using the Re‐Os geochronometer that could not be measured by conventional measurement principles.     

Use of photo-based 3D photogrammetry in analysing the results of laboratory pressure grouting tests

This paper presents a non-destructive, low-cost, photo-based, 3D reconstruction technique for characterizing geo-materials with irregular shapes of a relatively large size. After being validated against two traditional volume measurement methods, namely the vernier caliper method and the fluid displacement method for regular and irregular shapes, respectively, 3D photogrammetry was used to analyse the grout bulbs formed in laboratory pressure grouting tests. The reconstructed 3D mesh model of the sample provides accurate and detailed 3D vertex data, which allowed the volume, densification efficiency and bleeding behaviour of the grout bulbs to be analysed. Comparing the bulb section views at different grouting pressures also offers an intuitive observation of the grout development and propagation process. Moreover, the 3D vertex data and surface area included in the model are of great importance in validating numerical predictions of the pressure grouting process and analysing the interface shear resistance of grouted soil nails or anchors. Compared to existing approaches, the new 3D photogrammetry method possesses several key advantages: (a) it does not require expensive, specialized equipment; (b) samples are not destroyed or modified during testing; (c) it allows to reconstruct objects of various scales and (d) the software is public domain. Therefore, the adoption of this 3D photogrammetry method will facilitate research in the pressure grouting process and can be extended to other problems in geotechnical engineering.     

Magma evolution beneath Bequia,Lesser Antilles,deduced from petrology of lavas and plutonic xenoliths

Extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks represent different parts of a magmatic system and ultimately provide complementary information about the processes operating beneath volcanoes. To shed light on such processes, we have examined and quantified the textures and mineral compositions of plutonic and cumulate xenoliths and lavas from Bequia, Lesser Antilles arc. Both suites contain assemblages of iddingsitized olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene and spinel with rare orthopyroxene and ilmenite. Mineral zoning is widespread, but more protracted in lavas than xenoliths. Plagioclase cores and olivine have high anorthite (An?≤?98) and low forsterite (Fo?≤?84) compositions respectively, implying crystallisation from a hydrous mafic melt that was already fractionated. Xenolith textures range from adcumulate to orthocumulate with variable mineral crystallisation sequences. Textural criteria are used to organize the xenoliths into six groups. Amphibole, notably absent from lavas, is a common feature of xenoliths, together with minor biotite and apatite. Bulk compositions of xenoliths deviate from the liquid line of descent of lavas supporting a cumulate origin with varying degrees of reactive infiltration by evolved hydrous melts, preserved as melt inclusions in xenolith crystals. Volatile saturation pressures in melt inclusions indicate cumulate crystallization over a 162–571 MPa pressure range under conditions of high dissolved water contents (up to 7.8 wt% H₂O), consistent with a variety of other thermobarometric estimates. Phase assemblages of xenoliths are consistent with published experimental data on volatile-saturated low-magnesium and high-alumina basalts and basaltic andesite from the Lesser Antilles at pressures of 200–1000 MPa, temperatures of 950–1050 °C and dissolved H₂O contents of 4–7 wt%. Once extracted from mid-crustal mushes, residual melts ascend to higher levels and undergo H₂O-saturated crystallization in shallow, pre-eruptive reservoirs to form phenocrysts and glomerocrysts. The absence of amphibole from lavas reflects instability at low pressures, whereas its abundance in xenoliths testifies to its importance in mid-crustal differentiation processes. A complex, vertically extensive (6 to at least 21 km depth) magmatic system is inferred beneath Bequia. Xenoliths represent fragments of the mush incorporated into ascending magmas. The widespread occurrence of evolved melts in the mush, but the absence of erupted evolved magmas, in contrast to islands in the northern Lesser Antilles, may reflect the relative immaturity of the Bequia magmatic system.