Probability models, remote sensing and field observation: test for mapping some plant distributions in the Kongsfjord area, Svalbard

The coupling of field observations of plants and data derived from satellite image classification makes it possible to build a statistical model which can be used to determine the probability of a vegetation character existing in a pixel of a known class. Probability maps indicating the presence and abundance of several vascular and non-vascular species were produced for lowland areas. These maps are used to establish an indirect relationship between vegetation characters and spectral signatures which give an indication of the habitat conditions through an overall classification of the image.     

DETERMINATION OF ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF THE GROUND AT SHALLOW DEPTH WITH AN ELECTROSTATIC QUADRUPOLE: FIELD TRIALS ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES1

Knowledge of both the electrical resistivity ρ and the dielectric permittivity ? of the ground is important for the determination of characteristics such as granularity, porosity, moisture and salt content. Whereas the measurement of ρ is very common and can be achieved using either the d.c. resistivity method or a wide variety of EM devices, ? remains practically unknown in the low-frequency domain between the IP domain and the high-frequency domain. Following the principle of the quadrupole technique used in d.c. prospecting and of the quadrupolar probe for measuring the complex permittivity of the ionosphere, we propose a new approach which does not require any galvanic contact between the poles and the ground. The transfer impedance can be evaluated using the quasi-static approximation for low frequency or the full EM theory for higher frequencies. The conditions under which both calculations apply are discussed. At low frequencies and for low resistivity ground, the electrostatic quadrupole measures ρ exactly as with the d.c. technique; for higher resistivities or frequencies the simultaneous measurement of both properties becomes possible. Examples in archaeological prospecting are presented and checked against independent d.c. resistivity measurements or excavation analyses.     

Geothermal field interpretation in south-central Kansas for parts of the Nemaha Anticline and flanking Cherokee and Sedgwick basins

The first assessment of temperature conditions in Kansas was made by geothermal gradient computations from temperature measurements in shallow boreholes, and these conditions are related to structural patterns, sedimentary cover and underlying basement properties. The area of south-central Kansas was selected for detailed study of geothermal character in relation to the geology. The aim was to quantify the relations and to determine the relationship of different variables of the temperature field. Input parameters included geothermal variables of gradient and temperature, and structure and sediment thickness. Two approaches were used: (1) the numerical computation of theoretical temperature-depth models based on conductive heat transfer, and (2) a map-comparison technique based on algebraic methods. The temperature field information usable for the map comparison is different in response to different measurements (nonequilibrium BHTs and temperatures from logged measurements in equilibrium). Derived from modelled results (plotted isotherms on cross-sections), a close relation between gradients and thermal conductivity of the sediments was confirmed. The most noticeable effect on the geothermal field, as noted quantitatively from the map-comparison study, is the relation of thickness of outcropping Permo-Pennsylvanian units because of their different thermal conductivity. The eastward increase of mean gradients is inversely related to the total sediment thickness, but this is mostly recognizable using the shallow temperature gradients. This dissimilarity gives additional evidence for a close link between gradients and thermal conductivity of the sediments in which the temperature measurements were made. The effect caused by the structure in deeper (older) units is not important and seems not to be significant, nor is the influence of the basement rock composition as indicated by the temperature modelling.     

秘鲁南部阿雷基帕段海岸岩基带找矿方向探讨

通过详细的岩相学和锆石U-Pb年龄的研究,秘鲁海岸岩基带阿雷基帕段的填图工作得到了补充,该岩基带岩浆活动可分为7个阶段和4个旋回,各阶段都显示出不同的岩浆容量,其地貌主要表现为岩基和岩脉。旋回Ⅰ和旋回Ⅱ代表侏罗纪岩浆活动阶段（201~145Ma）,岩浆分异为辉长岩到花岗岩;旋回Ⅲ和旋回Ⅳ代表白垩纪岩浆,岩浆分异为英云闪长岩-二长花岗岩、闪长岩与花岗闪长岩及英云闪长岩-花岗闪长岩。对角闪石和黑云母矿物晶体的数量关系研究表明,旋回Ⅰ的侵入岩有大量辉石和角闪石结晶,并伴随金-铁成矿作用;旋回Ⅱ有大量的群集角闪石晶体和呈定向排列或群集的六边形黑云母,且伴随铜-金-铁成矿作用;旋回Ⅲ侵入岩内发育角闪石和黑云母,伴随着金-铜和铁成矿作用;旋回Ⅳ发育大量角闪石和六边形黑云母,岩石更偏长英质,并伴随铜-锌-金-银-铁和铜-金-钼成矿作用。     

Physical and biological controls on the formation of carbonate and siliciclastic bedforms on the north-east Brazilian shelf

The continental shelf of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, is an open shelf area located 5°S and 35°W. It is influenced by strong oceanic and wind-driven currents, fair weather, 1·5-m-high waves and a mesotidal regime. This work focuses on the character and the controls on the development of suites of carbonate and siliciclastic bedforms, based on Landsat TM image analysis and extensive ground-truth (diving) investigations. Large-scale bedforms consist of: (i) bioclastic (mainly coralline algae and Halimeda) sand ribbons (5–10 km long, 50–600 m wide) parallel to the shoreline; and (ii) very large transverse siliciclastic dunes (3·4 km long on average, 840 m spacing and 3–8 m high), with troughs that grade rapidly into carbonate sands and gravels. Wave ripples are superposed on all large-scale bedforms, and indicate an onshore shelf sediment transport normal to the main sediment transport direction. The occurrence of these large-scale bedforms is primarily determined by the north-westerly flowing residual oceanic and tidal currents, resulting mainly in coast-parallel transport. Models of shelf bedform formation predict sand ribbons to occur in higher energy settings rather than in large dunes. However, in the study area, sand ribbons occur in an area of coarse, low-density and easily transportable bioclastic sands and gravels compared with the very large transverse dunes in an offshore area that is composed of denser medium-grained siliciclastic sands. It suggests that the availability of different sediment types is likely to exert an influence on the nature of the bedforms generated. The offshore sand supply is time limited and originates from sea floor erosion of sandstones of former sea-level lowstands. The trough areas of both sand ribbons and very large transverse dunes comprise coarse calcareous algal gravels that support benthic communities of variable maturity. Diverse mature communities result in sediment stabilization through branching algal growth and binding that is thought to modify the morphology of dunes and sand ribbons. The occurrence and the nature of the bedforms is controlled by their hydrodynamic setting, by grain composition that reflects the geological history of the area and by the carbonate-producing benthic marine communities that inhabit the trough areas.     

NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION SIGNATURES IN WESTERN IBERIAN TREE-RINGS

Exactly dated ring-width chronologies derived from Pyrenean oak and sweet chestnut trees growing in northern Extremadura, Spain, were evaluated for their potential as proxies for regional precipitation and North Atlantic Oscillation variability. The relationships among tree-rings, instrumental climatic records, and three versions of the NAO index were computed for different time subperiods over the last century. The results indicate that tree-ring records reflect, with variable intensity, both short-term and long-term variations in climate. Multiple correlation and regression analysis revealed that summer precipitation appeared to be the major factor affecting tree growth at inter-annual timescales. Moreover, since fluctuations in accumulated variability in annual rainfall over southwest Iberia are controlled by winter precipitation, the accumulated rainfall (August of the year n -1 to July of year n ) and winter NAO indices are also strongly correlated with tree-ring records at interdecadal timescales. This relationship appears to be especially strong during the second half of the 20th century, which is consistent with an increase of the NAO signal in the annual precipitation during the later part of the century. These results indicate that tree-rings from western Iberia are potential proxies of the NAO variability, useful to be included in palaeoclimatic model studies.     

Ensemble covariances adaptively localized with ECO-RAP. Part 2: a strategy for the atmosphere

Part 1's localization method, Ensemble COrrelations Raised to A Power (ECO-RAP), is incorporated into a Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF). Because brute force incorporation would be too expensive, we demonstrate a factorization property for Part 1's Covariances Adaptively Localized with ECO-rap (CALECO) forecast error covariance matrix that, together with other simplifications, reduces the cost. The property inexpensively provides a large CALECO ensemble whose covariance is the CALECO matrix. Each member of the CALECO ensemble is an element-wise product between one raw ensemble member and one column of the square root of the ECO-RAP matrix. The LETKF is applied to the CALECO ensemble rather than the raw ensemble. The approach enables the update of large numbers of variables within each observation volume at little additional computational cost. Under plausible assumptions, this makes the CALECO and standard LETKF costs similar. The CALECO LETKF does not require artificial observation error inflation or vertically confined observation volumes both of which confound the assimilation of non-local observations such as satellite observations. Using a 27 member ensemble from a global Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) system, we depict four-dimensional (4-D) flow-adaptive error covariance localization and test the ability of the CALECO LETKF to reduce analysis error.     

赞比亚伊索卡南部Kachinga长石砂岩碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄、地球化学特征及地质意义

赞比亚东北部伊鲁米德带是一个北东向延伸的中元古代构造活动带,起自赞比亚中部,向北东一直延伸至赞比亚-坦桑尼亚边境,并进入马拉维北部;其东北部以古元古代乌本迪构造带为界;西北部以班韦乌卢地块为界;西部和西南部受新元古代的达马拉-卢菲利安弧-赞比西构造事件的影响。Kachinga长石砂岩位于伊鲁米德带的东北部伊索卡南部。本文获得Kachinga长石砂岩的416颗碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄多集中在1749±25～1920±23Ma之间,Kachinga长石砂岩的形成时代可能晚于1331±26Ma,属于中元古代。Kachinga长石砂岩碎屑锆石CL图像表明,大部分锆石为岩浆结晶锆石,少部分锆石颗粒为增生-混合型锆石,表明其经历了多期构造-热事件的改造。锆石中存在有一部分磨圆度较好的颗粒,表明其经历了多次搬运和沉积过程,从而指示了古老沉积岩为Kachinga长石砂岩提供了物源。主量元素、微量元素和稀土元素构造环境判别及物源分析表明了Kachinga长石砂岩物源主要为上地壳大陆长英质源区,并且可能混有古老沉积物成分,物源区构造背景为大陆岛弧环境。