Site response zones and short-period earthquake ground motion projections for the Las Vegas Basin

A deterministic seismic hazard analysis was conducted to address the effect of local soil conditions on earthquake-induced strong ground motion in the Las Vegas Basin, Nevada (US). Using a large geological and geotechnical database, two response units were defined: a fine-grained unit, predominantly clay; and a coarse-grained unit, predominantly gravel. A moderate number of high-quality shallow shear wave velocity measurements were collected from which characteristic shear wave velocity profiles were developed for each response unit. An equivalent-linear one-dimensional site response model was used. The model was calibrated using a basin-wide, small-strain ground motion database. Calibration tests showed that ground motion projections become increasingly conservative with increasing ground-motion amplitude. Projections were overconservative for the coarse-grained response unit, likely due to the sparseness of the velocity database. For the earthquake response analyses, historical ground motions were used to model characteristic ‘bedrock’ motion for earthquakes on 10 faults judged to be critical. Response spectral envelopes were generated for each unit through Monte-Carlo simulations. For the fine-grained response unit, 95th percentile peak ground acceleration, peak spectral acceleration and predominant period were 310 cm/s², 1100 cm/s², and 0.29 s, respectively. With respect to codified design spectra, projections are lower at short periods and higher at long periods. Projections of peak spectral accelerations for the coarse-grained response unit, were more than double that of codified spectra; however, they are believed to be overconservative. Near-fault effects and basin-edge effects, though potentially important, were not considered in these analyses.     

Uncertainty in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) deployment projections: a cross-model comparison exercise

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can be a valuable CO₂ mitigation option, but what role CCS will play in the future is uncertain. In this paper we analyze the results of different integrated assessment models (IAMs) taking part in the 27th round of the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) with respect to the role of CCS in long term mitigation scenarios. Specifically we look into the use of CCS as a function of time, mitigation targets, availability of renewables and its use with different fuels. Furthermore, we explore the possibility to relate model results to general and CCS specific model assumptions. The results show a wide range of cumulative capture in the 2010–2100 period (600–3050 GtCO₂), but the fact that no model projects less than 600 GtCO₂ indicates that CCS is considered to be important by all these models. Interestingly, CCS storage rates are often projected to be still increasing in the second half of this century. Depending on the scenario, at least six out of eight, up to all models show higher storage rates in 2100 than in 2050. CCS shares in cumulative primary energy use are in most models increasing with the stringency of the target or under conservative availability of renewables. The strong variations of CCS deployment projection rates could not be related to the reported differences in the assumptions of the models by means of a cross-model comparison in this sample.     

Dredging displaces bottlenose dolphins from an urbanised foraging patch

The exponential growth of the human population and its increasing industrial development often involve large scale modifications of the environment. In the marine context, coastal urbanisation and harbour expansion to accommodate the rising levels of shipping and offshore energy exploitation require dredging to modify the shoreline and sea floor. While the consequences of dredging on invertebrates and fish are relatively well documented, no study has robustly tested the effects on large marine vertebrates. We monitored the attendance of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to a recently established urbanised foraging patch, Aberdeen harbour (Scotland), and modelled the effect of dredging operations on site usage. We found that higher intensities of dredging caused the dolphins to spend less time in the harbour, despite high baseline levels of disturbance and the importance of the area as a foraging patch.     

Geographical information system approach for environmental management in coastal area (Hardelot-Plage,France)

The use of geographic information system (GIS) minimizes the effort and improves the efficiency of numerical models. The GIS provides a platform for high capacity collection, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling and display of spatial data. The conceptual model is created using GIS objects including points, arcs and polygons so that it can accurately represent real world condition. According to the research problem, the geographical model is based on Hypergraph Based Data Structure method, and a conceptual data model has been created from which a physical data model was elaborated in ArcGIS9.3 platform. The groundwater modeling system (GMS) provides a powerful tool for hydrodynamics modeling and it is able to solve complex problems such as the groundwater flow and seawater intrusion. The sand-dune system of Hardelot-Plage (North of France) suffers from a lack of well-developed foredune. This problem is linked to the almost constant saturation of beach sand which is the potential source of dune nourishment. In the south of Hardelot, the coastline is slowly, but constantly retreating. To remedy this situation, a coupling between a GIS and GMS was adopted, in order to find the possible scenarios which could lower the piezometric surface in the concerned area and allow dune nourishment again. The GMS used supports the Modflow-2000 code. A direct approach to designing Modflow finite difference model is tedious and less intuitive, specifically for complex boundary and initial conditions. Therefore, a Modflow model can be developed either using a grid or conceptual model approach. The preparation of input data modeling is tedious and takes a long time. The model created in GMS was calibrated against the historical and observed water level data for 1995–2006. Then a hydrodispersive model (MT3d code in GMS) was launched for evaluating sea-water intrusion. The model was run to generate groundwater and salt concentration scenario during pumping tests.     

Ocean distribution of dungeness crab megalopae and recruitment patterns to estuaries in Southern Washington State

We investigated the distribution of meroplankton and water properties off southern Washington and simultaneously measured time series of larval abundance and water properties in two adjacent estuaries, Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. The cruise period, in late May 1999, coincided with large variation in the alongshore wind stress that caused dynamic change in the position of the Columbia River plume, coastal upelling and downwelling, and offshore phytoplankton production. In the coastal ocean, meroplankton groups responded differently to this wind event and the associated advection of water masses. Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) megalopae were largely indifferent to the wide salinity variation, and were found throughout the surveyed area in both plume and recently upwelled waters. Megalopae of kelp crab (Pugettia producta) and hermit crab (Pagurus spp). were more abundant in upwelled water and low numbers were caught in the plume water. Barnacle cyprids appeared to track the advective transport suggesting that they may be more passively dispersed. Within the estuaries, hydrography responded rapidly and synchronously to variation in wind stress. Intrusions of both plume and newly upwelled waters were detected at estuarine sites, depending on the type of water present at the coast, indicating a tight link between the estuaries and the coastal ocean in this region. A 90-d record ofC. magister megalopae abundance was made at 3 estuarine sites using light traps. The bulk of theC. magister recruitment was limited to a relatively brief period in late May through June. Within this window, megalopae occurred in distinct pulses of 3–5 d interspaced with periods of low or zero abundance.C. magister megalopae recruited to the estuaries over a wide range of wind forcing, and were transported into the estuary within varied water types. There were no periodic patterns indicative of spring-neap tidal variations in the abundance time series. Abundance was only weakly cross-correlated between the adjacent Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay estuaries, which contrasts with the more synchronous estuarine-coastal linkages measured for water properties. These results suggest the interaction of larval aggregation size in the ocean with estuary-ocean exchange processes likely controls patterns of estuarine recruitment.     

Geology and diamond distribution of the 140/141 kimberlite, Fort à la Corne, central Saskatchewan, Canada

The Cretaceous age Fort à la Corne (FALC) kimberlite province comprises at least 70 bodies, which were emplaced near the edge of the Western Canadian Interior Seaway during cycles of marine transgression and regression. Many of the bodies were formed during a marine regression by a two-stage process, firstly the excavation of shallow, but wide, craters and then subsequent infilling by xenolith-poor, crater-facies, subaerial, primary pyroclastic kimberlite. The bodies range in size up to 2000 m in diameter but are mainly less than 200 m thick and thus comprise relatively thin, but high volume, pyroclastic kimberlite deposits. Each body is composed of contrasting types of kimberlite reflecting different volcanic histories and, therefore, are considered separately.

The 140/141 kimberlite is the largest delineated body in the province, estimated to have an areal extent below glacial Quaternary sediments in excess of 200 ha. The infilling of the 140/141 crater is complex, resulting from multiple phases of kimberlite. The central part of the infill is dominated by several contrasting phases of kimberlite. One of these phases is a primary pyroclastic airfall mega-graded bed up to 130 m in thickness. The constituents grade in size from very fine to coarse macrocrystic kimberlite, through to a basal breccia. The mega-graded bed is a widespread feature within parts of the body examined to date and at this current stage of evaluation appears to explain a variable diamond distribution within a tested portion of the pipe. A second different phase of kimberlite is interpreted as representing a younger nested crater within the mega-graded bed. Centrally located thicker intersections (>450 m) of this younger kimberlite may indicate a vent for the kimberlite crater. The thickness of the mega-graded bed increases with proximity to the younger kimberlite in the study area.

Macrodiamond minibulk sample grades from the mega-graded bed have been obtained from nine large diameter drill holes, located within the northwest part of the body from an area of 20 ha, which represents approximately 10% of the currently modeled kimberlite outline. Diamond grade increases with depth within the mega-graded bed and also increases, within the same unit, towards the centrally positioned younger kimberlite. Macrodiamond sample grades vary from low at the top of the mega-graded bed, to considerably higher grades near the base. Total sample grade per drill hole varies from moderate near the vent feature to lower grades 200–300 m from the vent feature. Macrodiamond stone frequency measured in stones per tonne shows a pronounced relationship with depth and proximity to the vent feature within the mega-graded bed. There is a strong correlation between depth and increased stones per tonne, and a similar correlation between stones per tonne and proximity to the vent feature. The data supports the emplacement model of the mega-graded bed and, in turn, this information is useful in understanding the macrodiamond distribution within this bed.