Blocky regularization schemes for Full‐Waveform Inversion★

With ill‐posed inverse problems such as Full‐Waveform Inversion, regularization schemes are needed to constrain the solution. Whereas many regularization schemes end up smoothing the model, an undesirable effect with FWI where high‐resolution maps are sought, blocky regularization does not: it identifies and preserves strong velocity contrasts leading to step‐like functions. These models might be needed for imaging with wave‐equation based techniques such as Reverse Time Migration or for reservoir characterization. Enforcing blockiness in the model space amounts to enforcing a sparse representation of discontinuities in the model. Sparseness can be obtained using the ?¹ norm or Cauchy function which are related to long‐tailed probability density functions. Detecting these discontinuities with vertical and horizontal gradient operators helps constraining the model in both directions. Blocky regularization can also help recovering higher wavenumbers that the data used for inversion would allow, thus helping controlling the cost of FWI. While the Cauchy function yields blockier models, both ?¹ and Cauchy attenuate illumination and inversion artifacts.     

Ricker‐compliant deconvolution

Ricker‐compliant deconvolution spikes at the center lobe of the Ricker wavelet. It enables deconvolution to preserve and enhance seismogram polarities. Expressing the phase spectrum as a function of lag, it works by suppressing the phase at small lags. A by‐product of this decon is a pseudo‐unitary (very clean) debubble filter where bubbles are lifted off the data while onset waveforms (usually Ricker) are untouched.     

Multiple-point geostatistical simulation using enriched pattern databases

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment - This study presents a new approach of generating a set of alternative training images (ATI) to use in patch-based multiple-point simulation....     

北半球白垩纪-古近纪之交生物灭绝期孢粉地层学

长期以来,科学家们对白垩纪-古近纪(K-Pg)之交陆地上生物大灭绝事件的趋势与灭绝速率争论不断。这些争论主要集中在脊椎动物上,尤其是非鸟恐龙。尽管如此,在理解K-Pg之交的生物响应以及相关的生态系统扰动时,植被的演化也是一个重要的组成部分。本文综述北半球内白垩纪晚期至古近纪Aquilapollenites古孢粉地理大区的孢粉地层学:在美国,晚白垩世生物组合以一系列关键门类的出现为标志,其中三冬期—坎潘期过渡期以Aquilapollenites以及相关的三突起型属的出现为标志,而马斯特里赫特阶的底界以睛形型的Wodehouseia属与Kurtzipitessp.的出现为标志;Wodehouseia spinata生物组合带以较大的个体与复杂的壁构造为特征,其中一系列的被子植物孢粉单元在K-Pg之交的记录中消失了,这使得K-Pg灭绝事件容易识别;具孔类花粉和Momipites与Caryapollenites两个属的关键种的出现,标志着古近纪孢粉植物群的复苏。近期的资料涵盖了北美大陆的大部分记录,而中国、欧洲和南半球的更多研究将更有助于理解全球陆地生物圈对K-Pg之交撞击事件的响应。     

Evaporation from boreal reservoirs: A comparison between eddy covariance observations and estimates relying on limited data

Hydrological models used for reservoir management typically lack an accurate representation of open-water evaporation and must be run in a scarce data context. This study aims to identify an accurate means to estimate reservoir evaporation with simple meteorological inputs during the open-water season, using long-term eddy covariance observations from two boreal hydropower reservoirs with contrasting morphometry as reference. Unlike the temperate water bodies on which the majority of other studies have focused, northern reservoirs are governed by three distinct periods: ice cover in the cold season, warming in the summer and energy release in the fall. The reservoirs of interest are Eastmain-1 (52°N, mean depth of 11 m) and Romaine-2 (51°N, mean depth of 42 m), both located in eastern Canada. Four approaches are analysed herein: a combination approach, a radiation-based approach, a mass-transfer approach, and empirical methods. Of all the approaches, the bulk transfer equation with a constant Dalton number of 1.2 x 10⁻³ gave the most accurate estimation of evaporation at hourly time steps, compared with the eddy covariance observations (RMSE of 0.06 mm h⁻¹ at Eastmain-1 and RMSE of 0.04 mm h⁻¹ at Romaine-2). The daily series also showed good accuracy (RMSE of 1.38 mm day⁻¹ at Eastmain-1 and RMSE of 0.62 mm day⁻¹ at Romaine-2) both in the warming and energy release phases of the open-water season. The bulk transfer equation, on the other hand, was incapable of reproducing condensation episodes that occurred soon after ice breakup. Basic and variance-based sensitivity analyses were conducted, in particular to measure the variation in performance when the bulk transfer equation was applied with meteorological observations collected at a certain distance (~10–30 km) from the reservoir. This exercise illustrated that accurate estimates of open water evaporation require representative measurements of wind speed and water surface temperature.     

Reassessment of the ‘Abbevillien’ in the perspective of new discoveries from the Lower Palaeolithic and Quaternary sites of Abbeville (Somme,northern France)

North-West Europe yields few traces of early human occupation, in particular for the Acheulean. In this context, the Somme Valley in northern France offers a route to Britain during various Pleistocene low sea levels, and has provided numerous evidence of Lower Palaeolithic human occupation through fieldwork initiated during the 19th century. These localities are associated with the original definition in the 1930s by the French prehistorian Abbé Henri Breuil of the ‘Abbevillien’ (Abbevillian facies), based on lithic pieces including crudely made bifaces recovered in particular in some famous key localities of Abbeville, Carpentier, Léon and Moulin Quignon quarries. The history of the term and its definition subsequently gave rise to debates concerning the chronocultural framework of Palaeolithic assemblages among the scientific community of prehistorians over time, from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, Gabriel de Mortillet, Geoffroy d'Ault du Mesnil, Victor Commont, Henri Breuil and François Bordes. New investigations at these three localities, all associated with the High Terrace of the Somme system, pushed back the age of the expansion of the Acheulean both in northern France and in Western Europe to c. 670–650 000 years. They imply that early hominins were able to settle in North-West Europe during both climatic temperate and cold phases. Our work, including new excavations and associated field observations of the three Abbeville localities involved at the onset of the controversy, allows a re-examination of the Abbevillian and contributes to the discussion of the history of Prehistoric Science and the Earliest ‘Acheuleans’ in North-West Europe.     

Complete metamorphic cycle and long-lived anatexis in the c. 2.1 Ga Mistinibi Complex,Canada

Secular changes in the architecture, thermal state, and metamorphic style of global orogens are thought to have occurred since the Archean; however, despite widespread research, the driving mechanisms for such changes remain unclear. The Paleoproterozoic may prove to be a key era for investigating secular changes in global orogens, as it marks the earliest stage of an eon that saw the onset of modern-style global tectonics. The 2.1 Ga granulite-facies Mistinibi-Raude Domain (MRD), located in the Southeastern Churchill Province, Canada, offers a rare exposure of Paleoproterozoic high metamorphic grade supracrustal sequences (Mistinibi Complex, MC). Rocks from this domain were subjected to petrochronological investigations to establish P–T–t–X evolutions and to provide first order thermal state, burial and exhumation rates, and metamorphic gradients for the transient Paleoproterozoic times. To obtain comprehensive insight into the P–T–t–X evolution of the MRD, we used multi-method geochronology—Lu–Hf on garnet and U–Pb on zircon and monazite—integrated with detailed petrography, trace element chemistry, and phase equilibria modelling. Despite the extensive use of zircon and monazite as geochronometers, their behaviour in anatectic conditions is complex, leading to substantial ambiguity in interpreting the timing of prograde metamorphism. Our results indicate a clockwise metamorphic path involving significant melt extraction from the metasedimentary rocks, followed by cooling from >815°C to ~770°C at ~0.8 GPa. The timing of prograde burial and cooling from supra- to subsolidus conditions is constrained through garnet, monazite, and zircon petrochronology at 2,150–2,120 Ma and at 2,070–2,080 Ma, respectively. These results highlight long-lived residence of the rocks at mid-crustal supra-solidus conditions (55–70 Ma), with preserved prograde and retrograde supra-solidus monazite and zircon. The rocks record extremely slow burial rates (0.25–0.30 km/Ma) along a high metamorphic gradient (900–1,000°C/GPa), which appears symptomatic of Paleoproterozoic orogens. The MC did not record any significant metamorphism after 2,067 Ma, despite having collided with terranes that record high-grade metamorphism during the major 1.9–1.8 Ga Trans-Hudson orogeny. The MC would therefore represent a remnant of a local early Paleoproterozoic metamorphic infrastructure, later preserved as superstructure in the large hot Trans-Hudson orogen.     

Monitoring the evolution of irrigated areas with Landsat images using backward and forward change detection analysis in the Kou watershed,Burkina Faso

The Kou watershed is characterized by important water resources used for drinking, agriculture (especially in the irrigated areas), industry and the preservation of aquatic fauna and flora. For several decades, there has been increasing pressure on the Kou's water resources, partly because of the expansion of the irrigated agricultural areas. This study was conducted to examine this issue, focusing on one specific irrigated area. In order to monitor the expansion of irrigated areas in developing countries, a low-cost remote sensing method based on Landsat images and aerial photographs was developed. The method is based on maximum-likelihood classification, followed by backward and forward change detection analysis requiring agronomic expertise. Using pixel trajectory analysis, the method connects all pixels to their consecutive states in order to correct their current states. The study showed that the irrigated area has expanded by almost 70% over 20 years, with most of this expansion occurring in the past 10 years. The method, if validated, could be used to obtain better information on past occupation in the rural irrigated areas for which there is currently no archived data, making temporal analyses impossible.     

Spatio-temporal changes in totally and enzymatically hydrolyzable amino acids of superficial sediments from three contrasted areas

Spatio-temporal changes in totally and enzymatically hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA and EHHA) and EHAA/THAA ratios of superficial sediments were assessed during 1997-1999 in three areas (i.e., the Gulf of Lions, the Bay of Biscay, and Central Chile) differing in their primary productivity. In all three areas, and even off Central Chile where a strong El Niño event took place during 1997-1998, spatial changes were always much greater than temporal ones. The factors affecting the spatial distributions of amino acid concentrations differed among areas. In the Gulf of Lions, sediment granulometry was apparently the most important driving force of THAA, EHAA, and EHAA/THAA, and there was no marked difference between stations located on the open slope and those in submarine canyons. Conversely, in the Bay of Biscay, there were clear differences between the stations located off Cap-Breton, on the open slope, and those in the Cap-Ferret canyon; the latter two featuring lower EHAA and THAA but higher EHAA/THAA. This pattern is likely to result from the predominance of different sources of organic matter and especially from the importance of continental inputs to the Cap-Breton canyon. Off Central Chile, amino acid concentrations and ratios were both maximal around 100 m depth, probably reflecting the interaction between the primary productivity gradient and the presence of an oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) reducing the degradation of sedimentary organics. When comparing the average values collected in the three areas studied, THAA and EHAA were highest in Central Chile, intermediate in the Bay of Biscay and lowest in the Gulf of Lions. EHAA/THAA ratios were also highest in Central Chile but were lowest in the Bay of Biscay. Differences between the Gulf of Lions and the Bay of Biscay could have been affected by sampling design. In Central Chile, the use of labile organic carbon to total organic carbon (C-LOM/TOC) and EHAA/THAA as indices of organic matter lability led to very similar results. This was not the case in the Bay of Biscay. It is therefore argued that the use of C-LOM/TOC should be restricted to highly productive areas.     

Image-domain wavefield tomography for tilted transversely isotropic media

Transversely isotropic models with a tilted symmetry axis have become standard for imaging beneath dipping shale formations and in active tectonic areas. Here, we develop a methodology of wave-equation-based image-domain tomography for acoustic tilted transversely isotropic media. We obtain the gradients of the objective function using an integral wave-equation operator based on a separable dispersion relation that takes the symmetry-axis tilt into account. In contrast to the more conventional differential solutions, the integral operator produces only the P-wavefield without shear-wave artefacts, which facilitates both imaging and velocity analysis. The model is parameterized by the P-wave zero-dip normal-moveout velocity, the Thomsen parameter δ, anellipticity coefficient η and the symmetry-axis tilt θ. Assuming that the symmetry axis is orthogonal to reflectors, we study the influence of parameter errors on energy focusing in extended (space-lag) common-image gathers. Distortions in the anellipticity coefficient η introduce weak linear defocusing regardless of reflector dip, whereas δ influences both the energy focusing and depth scale of the migrated section. These results, which are consistent with the properties of the P-wave time-domain reflection moveout in tilted transversely isotropic media, provide important insights for implementation of velocity model-building in the image-domain. Then the algorithm is tested on a modified anticline section of the BP 2007 benchmark model.