Integration of Tracer Test Data to Refine Geostatistical Hydraulic Conductivity Fields Using Sequential Self-Calibration Method

On the basis of local measurements of hydraulic conductivity,geostatistical methods have been found to be useful in heterogeneity characterization of a hydraulic conductivity field on a regional scale. However,the methods are not suited to directly integrate dynamic production data,such as,hydraulic head and solute concentration,into the study of conductivity distribution. These data,which record the flow and transport processes in the medium,are closely related to the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity. In this study,a three-dimensional gradient-based inverse method-the sequential self-calibration (SSC) method-is developed to calibrate a hydraulic conductivity field,initially generated by a geostatistical simulation method,conditioned on tracer test results. The SSC method can honor both local hydraulic conductivity measurements and tracer test data. The mismatch between the simulated hydraulic conductivity field and the reference true one,measured by its mean square error (MSE),is reduced through the SSC conditional study. In comparison with the unconditional results,the SSC conditional study creates the mean breakthrough curve much closer to the reference true curve,and significantly reduces the prediction uncertainty of the solute transport in the observed locations. Further,the reduction of uncertainty is spatially dependent,which indicates that good locations,geological structure,and boundary conditions will affect the efficiency of the SSC study results.     

Assessment of radionuclide transport uncertainty in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain

The present study assesses the uncertainty of flow and radionuclide transport in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain using a Monte Carlo method. Matrix permeability, porosity, and sorption coefficient are considered random. Different from previous studies that assume distributions of the parameters, the distributions are determined in this study by applying comprehensive transformations and rigorous statistics to on-site measurements of the parameters. The distribution of permeability is further adjusted based on model calibration results. Correlation between matrix permeability and porosity is incorporated using the Latin Hypercube Sampling method. After conducting 200 Monte Carlo simulations of three-dimensional unsaturated flow and radionuclide transport for conservative and reactive tracers, the mean, variances, and 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles for quantities of interest (e.g., matrix liquid saturation and water potential) are evaluated. The mean and 50th percentile are used as the mean predictions, and their associated predictive uncertainties are measured by the variances and the 5th and 95th percentiles (also known as uncertainty bounds). The mean predictions of matrix liquid saturation and water potential are in reasonable agreement with corresponding measurements. The uncertainty bounds include a large portion of the measurements, suggesting that the data variability can be partially explained by parameter uncertainty. The study illustrates propagation of predictive uncertainty of percolation flux, increasing downward from repository horizon to water table. Statistics from the breakthrough curves indicate that transport of the reactive tracer is delayed significantly by the sorption process, and prediction on the reactive tracer is of greater uncertainty than on the conservative tracer because randomness in the sorption coefficient increases the prediction uncertainty. Uncertainty in radionuclide transport is related to uncertainty in the percolation flux, suggesting that reducing the former entails reduction in the latter.     

Coaxial coil towed EMI sensor array for UXO detection and characterization

A new broadband electromagnetic induction (EMI) array sensor, GEM-5, for detecting and characterizing Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) has been developed in order to provide high production rates for EMI surveys. The sensor consists of a single rectangular loop transmitter around a linear array of seven pairs of coaxial receiver coils, with each coil in a pair located at the same vertical distance above and below the loop transmitter. The coil pairs are wired in an inverted series so that the signal consists of the difference between the voltage induced in the upper and lower coils. This particular configuration provides a high degree of primary field cancellation, dense spatial sampling rate due to simultaneous and continuous operation of all sensors, suppression of motion-induced and environmental noise, and strong source fields at typical UXO burial depths providing deep detection range. Our prototype tests indicate that the array yields a lower static and motion-induced noise over the critical low frequencies than that of existing sensors, and in particular, the signal-to-noise ratio at 90 Hz is 32 dB higher. Environmental noise can be largely removed from the difference measurements. The field test results from UXO test sites show that the prototype sensor has smoother background and appears to detect more seeded targets than the GEM-3 concentric sensor, however some of that gain can be attributed to higher power transmitter electronics.     

In-flight Performance of the Advanced Camera for Surveys CCDs

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), installed in the Hubble Space telescope in March 2002, will significantly extend HST's deep, survey imaging capabilities. ACS has met, or exceeded, all of its key performance specifications. In this paper we briefly review the in-flight performance of the instrument's CCD detectors and preview early ACS science observations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spectrophotometry of Jupiter

Spectrophotometric maps of Jupiter were made between 24 and 27(UT) November 1974 on the McMath Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. We report a comparison between observed scaled reflectivities of the Jovian North Tropical Zone and the North Equatorial Belt at System II longitudes between 195 and 205 degrees. The belt/zone reflectivity ratios between 430 and 740nm are related to the optical transmission curves of the organic and/or sulfur polymers synthesized by Khare and Sagan in a simulated Jovian atmosphere.     

The weathering and element fluxes from active volcanoes to the oceans: a Montserrat case study

The eruptions of the Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat (Lesser Antilles) from 1995 to present have draped parts of the island in fresh volcaniclastic deposits. Volcanic islands such as Montserrat are an important component of global weathering fluxes, due to high relief and runoff and high chemical and physical weathering rates of fresh volcaniclastic material. We examine the impact of the recent volcanism on the geochemistry of pre-existing hydrological systems and demonstrate that the initial chemical weathering yield of fresh volcanic material is higher than that from older deposits within the Lesser Antilles arc. The silicate weathering may have consumed 1.3% of the early CO₂ emissions from the Soufrière Hills volcano. In contrast, extinct volcanic edifices such as the Centre Hills in central Montserrat are a net sink for atmospheric CO₂ due to continued elevated weathering rates relative to continental silicate rock weathering. The role of an arc volcano as a source or sink for atmospheric CO₂ is therefore critically dependent on the stage it occupies in its life cycle, changing from a net source to a net sink as the eruptive activity wanes. While the onset of the eruption has had a profound effect on the groundwater around the Soufrière Hills center, the geochemistry of springs in the Centre Hills 5 km to the north appear unaffected by the recent volcanism. This has implications for the potential risk, or lack thereof, of contamination of potable water supplies for the island’s inhabitants.     

AGU新出版地球系统模拟杂志

美国地球物理联合会（AGU）很高兴地宣布,AGU不久将成为《地球系统模拟进展杂志》（Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems,JAMES）新的出版机构。JAMES是一份同行评议、开放获取、全电子化的杂志,通过提供高质量的学术研究论文推动地球系统模拟科学的发展。     

Origin of the Lower Cambrian phosphatic bed at Vassbo, Sweden

An extensive phosphatic bed characterized by a black apatite-cemented sandstone is developed in the uppermost part of the Lower Cambrian formation over the entire Vassbo area, Sweden. The thickness of the layer is generally 0.1 m, increasing in places to 0.2 m. The lower boundary of the bed is transitional to a sandstone; the upper boundary displays a contact that is both sharp and irregular with a Middle Cambrian bituminous black shale.
The phosphatic bed was diagenetically formed by inorganic in situ precipitation of apatite in a sandstone at a depth of about 0.2 m below the sediment-water interface, where reducing conditions were developed, as a result of oxygen consumption during the degradation of organic matter. Sulphur isotope data from associated pyrite suggest that organic processes, such as bacterial sulphate reduction, were also involved in the formation of the phosphatic bed. The depositional environment of the bed was a marine shelf with a zero to very low sedimentation rate. The upper part of the apatite-cemented sandstone was partly reworked by bottom currents as demonstrated by a board containing numerous pebbles. Sedimentological as well as chemical data confirm a southern hemisphere position of the Baltic Shield in the early Cambrian in which an oceanic upwelling and high organic productivity was the probable source of the phosphorus along the palaeo-west-coast.     

New perspectives on Titan's upper atmosphere from a reanalysis of the Voyager 1 UVS solar occultations

We have reanalyzed the Voyager 1 UVS solar occultations by Titan to expand upon previous analyses and to resolve inconsistencies that have been noted in the scientific literature. To do so, we have developed a detailed model of the UVS detector and improved both the data reduction methods and retrieval techniques. In comparison to the values previously determined by Smith et al. (1982, J. Geophys. Res. 87, 1351-1359) we find N₂ densities that are 25-60% higher, CH₄ densities that are smaller by a factor of 3-7, and C₂H₂ densities that are roughly two orders of magnitude smaller. Our values for the thermospheric temperature are 153-158 K, which are approximately 20-40 K colder than previous estimates. We also report the first-ever determination from Voyager UVS data of density profile information for C₂H₄, HCN, and HC₃N. Finally, we present a simple engineering model that is consistent with our new results in the upper atmosphere and merges smoothly with the model of Yelle et al. (1997, in: HUYGENS Science, Payload and Mission, in: ESA SP, vol. 1177, pp. 243-256) in the lower atmosphere. Our results provide improved constraints for photochemical models and offer scientists a better understanding of Titan's upper atmosphere as we head into the Cassini era in the exploration of the saturnian system.