A simple model of raindrop erosion—the combined effects of the detachment of sediment by raindrops and its transport by splash or by overland flow—is developed to examine the role of this process in the formation of desert pavements. Application of the model to soils in areas of existing pavement initially simulates the formation of pavements, but the changing sediment size distributions lead to the subsequent destruction of these modelled surfaces. An improved model that accounts for the feedback effects of the changing size distributions on infiltration and microtopography is then developed. Incorporating these effects allows simulated pavements to be maintained over longer periods. The model yields desert pavements whose particle size compositions differ in response to differences in initial soil characteristics, slope and rainfall intensity. This model is tested against empirical data from a site where there is intershrub pavement and associated mounds of fines beneath desert shrubs. The results successfully predict the accumulation of fines under shrubs but underestimate the development of the pavement between shrubs. These findings suggest that the raindrop erosion mechanism on its own cannot account for the development of the pavement and that some other mechanism leading to the surface concentration of coarse particles must also be operating. 相似文献
Sequence stratigraphy for clastic continental margins predicts the development of sand-rich turbidite deposits during specific times in relation to base-level cycles. It is now widely understood that deltas can extend to the shelf-edge forced by high sediment flux and/or base level, providing a direct connection to transfer sediment and sand to the slope and basin floor even during high base level periods. Herein, we build a stratigraphic forward model for the last 120 kyr of the fluvio-deltaic to deep-water Brazos system (USA) where sediment partitioning along an Icehouse continental margin can be evaluated. The reduced-complexity stratigraphic forward model employs geologically constrained input parameters and mass balance. The modelled architecture is consistent with the location of depositional units previously mapped in the shelf. Sand bypasses the shelf and upper slope between 35 to 15 kyr before present and only about 20%–30% of all the sediment and sand supplied to the system is transferred to deep water. Several scenarios based on the initial Brazos model investigate the relationships between base level and deep-water sand ratio (DWSR). DWSR is defined as the relative amount of sand transferred to the deep-water portions of the system subdivided by the total sand input to the model. Linear correlations between DWSR and base level change rates or base level are very poor. Short-term variability due to local processes (for example avulsions) is superimposed to the long-term trends and mask the base level signal. DWSR for an entire base-level cycle is mainly controlled by the proportion of time the delta stays docked at the shelf-edge. Stratigraphic forward models are useful to complement field observations and quantify how different processes control stratigraphy, which is important for making predictions in areas with limited information. 相似文献
Natural Resources Research - Identification of geochemical anomalies is of particular importance for tracing the footprints of anomalies. This can be implemented by advanced techniques of... 相似文献
This paper applied a logistic-based fuzzy logic inference system to integrate critical factors that could control orogenic gold mineralization in part of the Kushaka schist belt, north-central Nigeria to develop a process-based mineral potential mapping (MPM) of the area. The critical factors from geophysical and geological dataset were weighted using logistic functions. The fuzzy logic inference system provides the capability to handle complex geological processes that culminated in orogenic gold mineralization as well as minimizing systemic uncertainties/fuzziness that often plague MPM. The results of this work show that granitic intrusions with fuzzy scores of 0.67–0.90 played a major role in generating high geothermal gradient in the area. Seventy percent of the existing gold mine sites in the area spatially coincide with metasedimentary rocks, having fuzzy scores of 0.7–0.9; this suggests metasedimentary rocks as being responsible for the production of gold fluid and ligands in the area. The evidence of hydrothermal activity, with fuzzy scores of 0.53 and 0.91, confirms the occurrence of mineralization associated with quartz veins and granite rocks. Lithological contacts and faults, having fuzzy scores of 0.60–0.80, presumably contribute to the localization of orogenic gold mineralization in the area. Emerging from the results, favorable zones for primary orogenic gold mineralization in the area occurred predominantly on granite gneiss and quartz veins. The mineral potential map was found consistent with the local geology, structural styles and hydrothermal alteration signatures in the area, and its validation using the existing locations of geochemical anomalies and prediction–area rate curve in the study area showed 75 and 72% agreement, respectively, thus confirming the reliability of the developed mineral potential map for resource management.
Natural Resources Research - In the past few decades, a variety of data-driven predictive modeling techniques has led to a dramatic advancement in mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM). The random... 相似文献
A high-resolution marine geophysical study was conducted during October-November 2006 in the northern Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat,
providing the first multibeam imaging of the seafloor across the entire gulf head spanning both Israeli and Jordanian territorial
waters. Analyses of the seafloor morphology show that the gulf head can be subdivided into the Eilat and Aqaba subbasins separated
by the north-south-trending Ayla high. The Aqaba submarine basin appears starved of sediment supply, apparently causing erosion
and a landward retreat of the shelf edge. Along the eastern border of this subbasin, the shelf is largely absent and its margin
is influenced by the Aqaba Fault zone that forms a steep slope partially covered by sedimentary fan deltas from the adjacent
ephemeral drainages. The Eilat subbasin, west of the Ayla high, receives a large amount of sediment derived from the extensive
drainage basins of the Arava Valley (Wadi ’Arabah) and Yutim River to the north–northeast. These sediments and those entering
from canyons on the south-western border of this subbasin are transported to the deep basin by turbidity currents and gravity
slides, forming the Arava submarine fan. Large detached blocks and collapsed walls of submarine canyons and the western gulf
margin indicate that mass wasting may be triggered by seismic activity. Seafloor lineaments defined by slope gradient analyses
suggest that the Eilat Canyon and the boundaries of the Ayla high align along north- to northwest-striking fault systems—the
Evrona Fault zone to the west and the Ayla Fault zone to the east. The shelf–slope break that lies along the 100 m isobath
in the Eilat subbasin, and shallower (70–80 m isobaths) in the Aqaba subbasin, is offset by approx. 150 m along the eastern
edge of the Ayla high. This offset might be the result of horizontal and vertical movements along what we call the Ayla Fault
on the east side of the structure. Remnants of two marine terraces at 100 m and approx. 150 m water depths line the southwest
margin of the gulf. These terraces are truncated by faulting along their northern end. Fossil coral reefs, which have a similar
morphological appearance to the present-day, basin margin reefs, crop out along these deeper submarine terraces and along
the shelf–slope break. One fossil reef is exposed on the shelf across the Ayla high at about 60–63 m water depth but is either
covered or eroded in the adjacent subbasins. The offshore extension of the Evrona Fault offsets a fossil reef along the shelf
and extends south of the canyon to linear fractures on the deep basin floor. 相似文献
An assessment of the multibeam sonar data of the central Western Continental Margins of India has been carried out to evaluate the seafloor geomorphology and processes by examining the geomorphological attributes e.g., slope, sediments, structures, etc. associated with geomorphic features. The variation in relief and the features located in the region have been mapped and interpreted collectively by utilizing several geospatial mapping tools. The backscatter strength across the area, apparently congruent with the local relief, has helped to examine the sediment movement on the seafloor. The prominent features found in the region include faults, pockmarks, mounds, submarine terraces, and submerged fossil reefs. Several areas with varying topography engender comparable fractal dimension at short scale breaks, and the probability density functions (PDFs) utilizing backscatter data depicting overlapping classes. The present study highlights how fractals and scale break parameters can be utilized to determine the seafloor processes and associated sedimentological dynamics in a complex geographical environment with strong bottom currents, seasonal upwelling, and faulted structure. The role and impact of the various geomorphic processes on the reworking of sediment movement and the overall progression of the seafloor morphology has been revealed for the first time in this part of the ocean bottom. 相似文献