Cross-Wavelet Analysis: a Tool for Detection of Relationships between Paleoclimate Proxy Records

Cross-wavelet transform (XWT) is proposed as a data analysis technique for geological time-series. XWT permits the detection of cross-magnitude, phase differences (= lag time), nonstationarity, and coherency between signals from different paleoclimate records that may exhibit large stratigraphic uncertainties and noise levels. The approach presented herein utilizes a continuous XWT technique with Morlet wavelet as the mother function, allows for variable scaling factors for time and scale sampling, and the automatic extraction of the most significant periodic signals. XWT and cross-spectral analysis is applied on computer generated time-series as well as two independently sampled proxy records (CO₂ content approximated from plant cuticles and paleotemperature derived from δ ¹⁸O from marine fossil carbonate) of the last 290 Ma. The influence of nonstationarities in the paleoclimate records that are introduced by stratigraphic uncertainties were a particular focus of this study. The XWT outputs of the computer-models indicate that a potential causal relationship can be distorted if different geological time-scale and/or large stratigraphic uncertainties have been used. XWT detect strong cross-amplitudes (∼200 ppm ‰) between the CO₂ and δ ¹⁸O record in the 20–50 Myr waveband, however, fluctuating phase differences prevent a statistical conclusion on causal relationship at this waveband.     

Microfacies analysis and cyclostratigraphy of the upper cretaceous- lower paleogene succession of Bir Dakhl section,north eastern desert,Egypt

The Bir Dakhl section which is located in the southern Galala plateau, north eastern desert was sampled for microfacies analysis of the upper Cretaceous–lower Paleogene succession. Microfacies analysis led to the recognition of eight mixed clastic-carbonate facies types (black shale lithofacies MF-1, pure shale lithofacies MF-2, sandy shale lithofacies MF-3, marly shale lithofacies MF-4, mudstone microfacies MF-5, foraminiferal wackestone microfacies MF-6, bioclastic wackestone microfacies MF-7, and bioclastic packstone microfacies MF-8) of the studied interval. These microfacies can be grouped into three depositional environments: inner, middle and outer ramp. The interpreted depositional environments have been suggested to range from neritic to middle bathyal (~ 700 m). Based on cyclostratigraphy, five deepening upward cycles and three shallowing upward cycles have been differentiated in Bir Dakhl section.     

A pan-sharpening method based on NSCT and formulated as compressive sensing problem

In this paper, a pan-sharpening method, using non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) and the theory of compressive sensing (CS), is proposed. The NSCT is used for sparse image representation to perform a multiscale and directional decomposition of source images in order to express their detail and express the sparsity of their high frequency. The CS is used to merge the multispectral (MS) and panchromatic (pan) images from partial random measurements. Two different fusion rules are then applied. The final pan-sharpened image is obtained by inverse NSCT. Experimental results show the efficiency of the proposed method, compared with pan sharpening based on standard NSCT, in terms of visual quality and objective assessment. Moreover, the proposed technique is very effective when the storage and transmission bandwidth are limited.     

Source rock potential of the Middle Jurassic to Middle Pliocene,onshore Nile Delta Basin,Egypt

Organic geochemical characterization of cutting samples from the Abu Hammad-1 and Matariya-1 wells elucidates the depositional environment and source rock potential of the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous successions and the Middle Miocene to Pleistocene section in the southern and eastern Nile Delta Basin. The burial and thermal histories of the Mesozoic and Miocene sections were modeled using 1D basin modeling based on input data from the two wells. This study reveals fair to good gas-prone source rocks within the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sections with total organic carbon (TOC) averaging 2.7% and hydrogen index (HI) up to 130 mg HC/g TOC. The pristane/n-C₁₇ versus phytane/n-C₁₈ correlation suggests mixed marine and terrestrial organic matter with predominant marine input. Burial and thermal history modeling reveals low thermal maturity due to low heat flow and thin overburden. These source rocks can generate gas in the western and northern parts of the basin where they are situated at deeper settings. In contrast, the thick Middle Miocene shows fair source rock quality (TOC averaging at 1.4%; HI maximizing at 183 mg HC/g TOC). The quality decreases towards the younger section where terrestrial organic matter is abundant. This section is similar to previously studied intervals in the eastern Nile Delta Basin but differs from equivalents in the central parts where the quality is better. Based on 1D modeling, the thick Middle Miocene source rocks just reached the oil generation stage, but microbial gas, however, is possible.     

Tectono-sedimentary evolution of active extensional basins controlling the deposition of the Middle Miocene Kareem Formation,southwestern Gulf of Suez,Egypt

The Naozhi Au–Cu deposit is located on the continental margin of Northeast China, forming part of the West Pacific porphyry–epithermal gold–copper metallogenic belt. In this paper, we systematically analyzed the compositions, homogenization temperatures, and salinity of fluid inclusions as well as their noble gas isotopic and Pb isotopic compositions from the deposit. These new data show that (1) five types of fluid inclusions were identified as pure gas inclusions (V-type), pure liquid inclusions (L-type), gas–liquid two-phase inclusions (W-type, as the main fluid inclusions (FIs)), CO₂-bearing inclusions (C-type), and daughter-mineral-bearing polyphase inclusions (S-type); (2) W-type FIs in quartz crystals of early, main, and late stage are homogenized at temperatures of 324.7–406.7, 230–338.8, and 154.6–308 °C, with salinities of 2.40–7.01 wt% NaCl_eq, 1.73–9.47 wt% NaCl_eq, and 6.29 wt% NaCl_eq, respectively. S-type FIs in quartz crystals of early stage are homogenized at temperatures of 328.6–400 °C, with salinities of 39.96–46.00 wt% NaCl_eq; (3) Raman analysis results reveal that the vapor compositions of early ore-forming fluids consisted of CO₂ and H₂O, with H₂O gradually increasing and CO₂ being absent at the late mineralization stage; (4) fluid inclusions in pyrite and chalcopyrite have ³He/⁴He ratios of 0.03–0.104 Ra, ²⁰Ne/²²Ne ratios of 9.817–9.960, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios of 324–349. These results indicate that the percentage of radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar* in fluid inclusions varies from 8.8 to 15.5 %, containing 84.5–91.2 % atmospheric ⁴⁰Ar; (5) the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios of sulfides are 18.1822–18.3979, 15.5215–15.5998, and 38.1313–38.3786, respectively. These data combined with stable isotope data and the chronology of diagenesis and metallogenesis enable us suppose that the ore-forming fluids originated from the melting of the lower crust, caused by the subduction of an oceanic slab, whereas the mineralized fluids were exsolved from the late crystallization stage and subsequently contaminated by crustal materials/fluids during ascent, including meteoric water, and the mineral precipitation occurred at a shallow crustal level.

     

Modelling the influence of environmental and weather factors on the density of the invasive polychaete Boccardia proboscidea

The inter‐tidal zone around sewage discharges in a Southwest Atlantic shore (Mar del Plata, Argentina) is currently colonized by extensive inter‐tidal reefs of the invasive spionid Boccardia proboscidea. Understanding the links between both human and natural disturbances and the massive development of non‐indigenous species will help prevent marine bioinvasions, which are already favoured by global oceanic trade. We present herein predictive models for variations in the density of B. proboscidea around sewage discharges of Mar del Plata, using environmental (pH, turbidity, temperature, salinity and total organic matter content), weather (wind direction and storm records), spatial (sites) and temporal (season and year) variables. Density variations were modelled by generalized linear models, and model averaging (multimodel inference) was used to obtain predicted values. The highest predicted values of B. proboscidea density occurred at sites to the south of the sewage effluent in spring. These sites are more affected by urban effluent discharges and they showed increased B. proboscidea density when the north wind was predominant. In addition, B. proboscidea density values were higher in sites with 20–22 °C (seawater temperature), high total organic matter content in sediments and low salinity. The averaged model was only a good ‘predictive model’ for sites to the north of the outfall, but was useful as an ‘explanatory model’ in all sites. Such predictions may help to back up conservation and management policies and decisions.     

Study of stream temperature dynamics and corresponding heat fluxes within Miramichi River catchments (New Brunswick,Canada)

Water temperature is a key physical habitat determinant in lotic ecosystems as it influences many physical, chemical, and biological properties of rivers. Hence, a good understanding of the thermal regime of rivers and river heat fluxes is essential for effective management of water and fisheries resources. This study dealt with the modelling of river water temperature using a deterministic model. This model calculated the different heat fluxes at the water surface and from the streambed using different hydrometeorological conditions. The water temperature model was applied on two watercourses of different sizes and thermal characteristics, but within a similar meteorological region, namely, the Little Southwest Miramichi River and Catamaran Brook (New Brunswick, Canada). The model was also applied using microclimate data, i.e. meteorological conditions within the river environment (1–2 m above the water surface), for a better estimation of river heat fluxes. Water temperatures at different depths within the riverbed were also used to estimate the streambed heat fluxes. Results showed that microclimate data were essential to get accurate estimates of the surface heat fluxes. Results also showed that for larger river systems, the surface heat fluxes were generally the dominant component of the heat budget with a correspondingly smaller contribution from the streambed. As watercourses became smaller and groundwater contribution more significant, the streambed contribution became important. For instance, approximately 80% of the heat fluxes occurred at the surface for Catamaran Brook (20% from the streambed) whereas the Little Southwest Miramichi River showed values closer to 90% (10% from the streambed). As was reported in previous studies, the solar radiation input dominated the contribution to the heat gain at 63% for Catamaran Brook and 89% for Little Southwest Miramichi River. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microscale characterization of energy dissipation mechanisms in liquefiable granular soils

This study utilizes the discrete element method (DEM) to present a microscopic energy monitoring approach to characterize energy dissipation mechanisms in seismically loaded soils. Numerical simulations were conducted on saturated deposits of granular particles subjected to seismic excitations, modeled using a transient fully-coupled continuum–fluid discrete-particle model. The onset of liquefaction is illustrated through macroscopic and microscopic response patterns. A novel in-depth look at the individual microscale energy components both before and after the onset of liquefaction is presented. Local microscopic energies are also presented and are compared with local macroscopic energies calculated from stress–strain loops. Finally, an assessment of existing hypotheses to quantify liquefaction potential based on energy consideration is presented through a discussion of a number of simulations that resulted in liquefaction.     

Method of moments of the Halphen distribution parameters

Halphen laws have been proposed as a complete system of distributions with sufficient statistics that lead to estimation with minimum variance. The Halphen system provides a flexibility to fit a large variety of data sets from natural events. In this paper we present the method of moments (MM) to estimate the Halphen type B and IB distribution parameters. Their computation is very fast when compared to those given by the maximum likelihood method (ML). Furthermore, this estimation method is very easy to implement since the formulae are explicit. Some simulations show the equivalence of both methods when estimating the quantiles for finite sample size.     

The use of GIS and remote sensing for the assessment of waterlogging in the dryland irrigated catchments of Farafra Oasis,Egypt

This paper investigates the interplay of the hydrogeological characteristics, soil properties and recent land reclamation projects on the distribution of waterlogging and salinization within the Farafra Oasis. The multi‐temporal remote sensing data and field observations show that new reclaimed areas have been recently cultivated in distant areas from the old agricultural land. These new cultivations have developed widespread waterlogging, seepage channels and soil salinization. Analyses of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (DEM) showed that both old and new agricultural areas are located within same closed drainage basin. The fluvial channels of these catchments, which were developed during wet climatic pluvial, have largely been obliterated by the prevailing aridity and often buried under aeolian deposits. However, the new cultivations have been developed on the fingertips of these fluvial channels, while the old fields occupy the low‐level playas. The soil of the new cultivated areas is mainly lithic with a high calcium carbonate content, thus limiting the downward percolation of excess irrigation water and therefore developing perched water table and seepage through the palaeo‐channels. The automatically extracted drainage networks from DEM resemble fluvial patterns and coincide with the seepage channels slowly heading toward old cultivation. The inactive alluvial channels and landforms have to be considered when planning for new cultivation in dryland catchments to better control waterlogging and salinization hazard. It is highly recommended that newly developed seepage channels have to be detected and intercepted before reaching old agriculture areas. Therefore, the ‘dry‐drainage’ concept can be implemented as the seepage water can be conveyed into nearby playas reserved for evaporation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.