Boundary-layer parameterizations for applied dispersion modeling over urban areas

Many applied dispersion models require the knowledge of boundary-layer parameters such as sensible heat flux,Q _H , friction velocity,u _*, and turbulent energy components, _w and _v . Formulas are suggested for calculating these parameters over a wide variety of types of ground surfaces, based on simple observations of wind speed near the ground and fractional cloud cover, and specification of constants such as roughness length, albedo, and soil moisture availability. Observations ofu _*,Q _H , _w , and _v during field experiments in St. Louis and Indianapolis are used to test the formulas for urban sites. Relative errors of about ±20% in the predictions are seen to occur whenu _*,Q _H , _w , and _v are large. However, when these quantities are small (e.g.,u _* < 0.2 m/s), the errors in the predictions are as large as the mean value of the quantity itself.In addition, it is concluded from studies of available field data and theories that the magnitude of _w is not well-known at elevations above about 100m during the late afternoon and night. Some simple parameterizations for _w . are suggested that are consistent with the observed steady decrease in ground-level concentration in the afternoon and the sudden increase in concentration that can occur a few hours after sunset due to wind shears associated with a low-level jet, for continuous plumes emitted from moderate to tall stacks.     

Chemical study of tectonically controlled hydrothermal dolomitization: an example from the Lessini mountains,Italy

In the Central Southern Alps (Feltre, Verona — Italy), a 750 m thick interval of Jurassic and Cretaceous pelagic limestones shows post-depositional partial brecciation and dolomitization. The overlying 500 m thick Tertiary sedimentary sequence is unaffected. Through the Paleogene, mostly submarine, mafic volcanism has been documented in the area. Small-scale extensional features were observed in the limestone near the contact with the dolomitized breccias. Their orientations measured in the field correspond to the tectonic framework of the area and give evidence for the contemporaneousness of the volcanic activity and the brecciation. The distribution and petrologic characteristics of the basalts, combined with the orientation of the extensional features observed in the field, allow a paleotectonic reconstruction. This tectonic scenario can be viewed as a back-arc extension, an eastward prolongation of the spreading that divided Southern France from the Sardinia-Corsica-Calabria block, generating the Ligurian-balearic basin in the Late Oligocene.The dolomite is fine-grained to sucrosic, with a microamygdaloidal porosity, partially filled with ankerite and calcite. The matrix shows a homogeneous, orange-red cathodoluminescence, indicating a single phase of iron-poor dolomite. The carbonate fraction consists of more than 90% dolomite. The dolomite is almost stoichiometric (Ca_0.6Mg_0.4 to Ca_0.5Mg_0.5). The ¹³C values of the dolomite are less than 1%. more negative than the unaffected limestone. The ¹⁸O values are between –5%. to –13%., with a depletion of 2–11%. relative to the undolomitized limestone. The depleted oxygen isotope ratios in the dolomitized rock can be derived either from fluids impoverished in the heavy isotopes (e.g. meteoric water) or high temperatures. The unvaried carbon isotopic ratios make the second interpretation the most acceptable. As the⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values increase from a mean of 0.7077 in the unaffected limestones to 0.7085 in the dolomitized limestones, a derivation of the dolomitizing fluids from the volcanic rocks can be excluded. Comparing the obtained data with the Phanerozoic seawater isotope curve, however, the radiogenic Sr may be derived from marine waters of Late Oligocene-Early Miocene age. Microthermometric analyses of the fluid inclusions in the dolomite crystals from the bulk rocks and from the veins suggest a trapping temperature ranging from a minimum of 70°C (dolomite rock) to a maximum of 120°C (dolomite in veins). The solution contained in the inclusions is water with NaCl and MgCl₂ with salinities of 46%. (dolomite bulk rock) and 17%. (dolomite in veins). The pressure correction calculated from the fluid inclusion data is about 250 bars, which roughly correspond to the lithostatic pressure over the Mesozoic limestones in the Early Miocene.These results point to a hydrothermal origin of the dolomitization during the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene, as ascertained from the strontium isotope and fluid inclusion data. The circulation of hot marine water through the brecciated limestones in convective cells, triggered by the geothermal gradient related to the volcanic activity, is the proposed hydrodynamic model. Hydrologie considerations demonstrate that the proposed model is feasible.

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Zusammenfassung In den zentralen Südalpen (Feltre, Verona — Italien) findet sich eine etwa 750 m dicke Abfolge jurassischer und kretazischer pelagischer Kalke, die nach der Ablagerung zum Teil breckziert und dolomitisiert wurde, während die darüberliegenden 500 m mächtigen tertiären Sedimente keine Dolomitisierung zeigen. Im Paläogen ist im Gebiet ein mafischer, überwiegend mariner Vulkanismus dokumentiert. Kleinmaßstäbliche listrische Brüche in Kalken am Kontakt mit der dolomitisierten Breckzie entsprechen geometrisch einem großräumigen extensiven Regime im Paläogen. Sie beweisen die Gleichzeitigkeit der vulkanischen Aktivität und der Breckzierung. Die Verteilung und petrographischen Eigenschaften der Basalte, mit der Geometrie der Extensionsstrukturen, erlauben eine paläotektonische Rekonstruktion. Diese tektonische Situation entspricht einem Back-arc-basin und stellt die östliche Verlängerung des ligurisch-balearischen Beckens dar, das Südfrankreich vom Sardisch-Korsisch-Kalabrischen-Block im späten Oligozän getrennt hat.Die ¹³C Werte der Dolomite sind weniger als 1%. negativer als die entsprechender nicht dolomitisierter Kalke. Die ¹⁸O-Werte (relativ zum PDB Standard) variieren zwischen –5%. und –13%., das ist 2 bis 11%. negativer als die nicht dolomitisierter Kalke. Dies wird auf erhöhte Bildungstemperaturen zurückgeführt. Ein Anstieg der⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-Signaturen im Mittel von 0.7077 in den nicht dolomitisierten Kalken auf 0.7085 in den dolomitisierten Kalken schließt eine Herkunft der dolomitisierenden Fluide von den vulkanischen Gesteinen aus. Beim Vergleich der Isotopensignaturen mit der phanerozoischen Meerwasser-Isotopenkurve, könnte aber das radiogene Strontium von spät oligozänem — früh miozänem Meerwasser kommen. Mikrothermometrische Analysen flüssiger Einschlüsse in Dolomitkristallen im Gestein und in Adern deutet auf eine Einschlußtemperatur von 70°C (Dolomitgestein) bzw. 120°C (Dolomit in Adern) hin. Die Lösung in den Einschlüssen ist Wasser mit NaCl und MgCl₂, mit einer Salinität von 46%. (Dolomitgestein) bzw. 17%. (Adern). Die aus den Einschlüssen berechnete Druckkorrektur ist etwa 250 bar. Dies entspricht ungefähr der früh miozänen Gesteinssäule über den mesozoischen Kalken.Aufgrund dieser Daten wird eine hydrothermale Bildung der Dolomite im späten Oligozän - frühen Miozän postuliert. Es wird ein hydrodynamisches Modell vorgeschlagen, in dem aufgeheiztes Meerwasser konvektiv durch die breckzierte mesozoische Abfolge zirkuliert. Als Motor wirkt ein vulkanischer geothermischer Gradient. Dieses Modell läßt sich mit hydrologischen Betrachtungen testen und stützen.

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Résumé Dans la partie sud des Alpes Centrales (Feltre, Verone: Italie) il existe une succession, épaisse de 750 m, de calcaires pélagiques jurassiques et crétacés, qui ont subi après leur sédimentation une bréchification et une dolomitisation partielles. Les sédiments tertiaires surincombants, épais de 500 m, ne sont pas affectés par ces phénomènes. Un volcanisme paléogène mafique, essentiellement sousmarin, a été reconnu dans la région. Dans les calcaires, au contact de la brèche dolomitisée, existent des cassures listriques de petite échelle dont la géométrie témoigne d'un régime extensif général au Paléogène. Leurs orientations, mesurées sur le terrain, indiquent la contemporanéité de l'activité volcanique et de la bréchification. La distribution et les caractères pétrologiques des basaltes, combinés à la géometrie des structures extensives, permet une reconstitution paléotectonique. Celle-ci montre une extension dans un bassin d'arrière-arc, prolongement oriental de l'expansion qui, à l'Oligocène supérieur, a séparé du sud de la France le bloc corsico-sardo-calabrais en créant le bassin liguro-baléare.La dolomie, finement grenue à saccharoïde, possède une porosité à vides micro-amygdaloïdes, partiellement occupés par de l'ankérite et de la calcite. La matrice présente une cathodoluminescence homogène rouge-orange, indiquant la présence d'une seule phase constituée de dolomite pauvre en Fe. La fraction carbonatée consiste en dolomite pour plus de 90%. Cette dolomite est à peu près stoechiométrique (Ca_0,6Mg_0,4 à Ca_0,5Mg_0,5). Les rapports ¹³C de la dolomie sont inférieurs de moins de 1%. à ceux du calcaire intact. Les rapports ¹⁸O sont compris entre –5%. et –13%., soit 2 à 11%. inférieurs à ceux du calcaire non dolomitisé. Cette baisse du rapport isotopique peut provenir soit de fluides appauvris en isotopes lourds (p. ex. l'eau météorique), soit d'une température élevée; la constance des rapports isotopiques du C rend cette deuxième explication la plus plausible. Le rapport⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr passe d'une valeur moyenne de 0,7077 dans les calcaires non affectés à 0,7085 dans les calcaires dolomitisés; cet accroissement exclut une origine volcanique pour les fluides dolomitisants. En comparant ces valeurs à la courbe isotopique du Sr de l'eau de mer au Phanérozoïque, on peut déduire que le Sr radiogénique est dérivé d'eaux marines d'âge oligocène tardif à miocène inférieur. L'analyse microthermométrique des inclusions fluides contenues dans les cristaux de dolomite suggère une température de formation qui va de 70°C (dans la roche) à 120° (dans les veines). Le contenu de ces inclusions est une solution aqueuse de NaCl et MgCl₂ avec une salinité de 44%. (dans la roche) et de 17%. (dans les veines). La correction de pression calculée à partir des inclusions fluides est d'environ 250 bars, ce qui correspond grosso modo à la pression lithostatique qui s'exerçait au Miocène inférieur sur les calcaires mésozoïques.Sur la base de ces données, on conclut à une origine hydrothermale de la dolomie au cours de l'Oligocène supérieur - Miocène inférieur. Le modèle hydrodynamique proposé fait appel à la circulation convective, à travers le calcaire bréchié, d'eau marine échauffée grâce au gradient géothermique élevé dû à l'activité volcanique. Ce modèle est en accord avec des considérations hydrologiques.

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(, — ) , 750 , , , , 500 , . , . , . , . . - , - . ¹³ , 1%. ¹⁸, PDB –5 –13%, .. 2 11% . , , . ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr 0.7077 0,7085 . , - . 70° , 120° . , , 44%, 17%. , , 250 . - . , - . , . , . .

     

Basement-controlled faulting of Paleozoic strata in southern Ontario, Canada: new evidence from geophysical lineament mapping

Basement fault reactivation is now recognized as an important control on sedimentation and fault propagation in intracratonic basins. In southern Ontario, the basement consists of complexly structured mid-Proterozoic (ca. 1.2 Ga) crystalline rocks and metasedimentary rocks that are overlain by up to 1500 m of Paleozoic sedimentary strata. Reactivation of basement structures is suspected to control the location of Paleozoic fault and fracture systems, but evaluation has been hindered by a limited understanding of the regional structural characteristics of the buried basement. New aeromagnetic- and gravimetric-lineament mapping presented in this paper better resolves the location of basement discontinuities and provides further evidence for basement controls on the distribution of Paleozoic fault and fracture systems. Lineament mapping was facilitated by reprocessing and digital image enhancement (micro-levelling, regional residual separation, derivative filtering) of existing regional gravity and aeromagnetic datasets. Reprocessed images identify new details of the structural fabric of the basement below southern Ontario and delineate several previously unrecognized aeromagnetic and gravity lineaments and linear zones. Linear zones parallel the projected trends of mid-Proterozoic terrane boundaries identified by field mapping on the exposed shield to the north of the study area, and are interpreted as zones of shearing and basement faulting. Mapped aeromagnetic and gravity lineaments show similar trends to Paleozoic faults and fracture networks and broad zones of seismicity in southern Ontario. These new data support an ‘inheritance model’ for Paleozoic faulting, involving repeated reactivation and upward propagation of basement faults and fractures into overlying cover strata.     

The chemistry of lava-seawater interactions II: the elemental signature

The flow of lava into the ocean at the shoreline of Kilauea Volcano during the ongoing Pu’u O’o eruption has allowed a detailed study of the geochemical interaction between lava and seawater. This paper focuses on the chemistry of the major and minor elements in the fluids that resulted from this interaction. The elemental enrichments in these fluids are dominated by three processes: (1) evaporation of water from seawater, which creates solutions enriched in the major elements found in seawater, (2) congruent dissolution of the basalt glass matrix, which is limited by the solubility of some of the elements in seawater, and (3) removal of volatile phases from the lava on contact with seawater.Using a simple model of volatile emanation (using published emanation coefficients) and congruent dissolution, we are able to explain the concentrations observed for the majority of elements in precipitation from the steam plume at the shoreline lava entry and in water allowed to interact with molten lava in controlled experiments. Fe, Al, Ti, and some of the rare earth elements (REEs) in precipitation samples from the steam plume at the lava entry were > 10,000-times enriched over their ambient seawater concentrations, suggesting that these elements may be useful for identifying submarine eruptions. The flux of elements from the Kilauea ocean lava entry is greater than that from a typical midocean ridge hydrothermal vent field for Al, Cd, Co, and the REEs, whereas the opposite is true for the remainder of the elements studied.     

Determining the trophic guilds of fishes and macroinvertebrates in a seagrass food web

We established trophic guilds of macroinvertebrate and fish taxa using correspondence analysis and a hierarchical clustering strategy for a seagrass food web in winter in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. To create the diet matrix, we characterized the trophic linkages of macroinvertebrate and fish taxa present inHalodule wrightii seagrass habitat areas within the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (Florida) using binary data, combining dietary links obtained from relevant literature for macroinvertebrates with stomach analysis of common fishes collected during January and February of 1994. Heirarchical average-linkage cluster analysis of the 73 taxa of fishes and macroinvertebrates in the diet matrix yielded 14 clusters with diet similarity ≥ 0.60. We then used correspondence analysis with three factors to jointly plot the coordinates of the consumers (identified by cluster membership) and of the 33 food sources. Correspondence analysis served as a visualization tool for assigning each taxon to one of eight trophic guilds: herbivores, detritivores, suspension feeders, omnivores, molluscivores, meiobenthos consumers, macrobenthos consumers and piscivores. These trophic groups, corss-classified with major taxonomic groups, were further used to develop consumer compartments in a network analysis model of carbon flow in this seagrass ecosystem. The method presented here should greatly improve the development of future network models of food webs by providing an objective procedure for aggregating trophic groups.     

Evaluating Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazard at the Basin Scale Through Gis in the Upper Sele River Valley

To evaluate techniques for assessing earthquake-triggeredlandslide hazard in the Southern Apennines (Italy), a GIS-based analysis was used to modelseismically induced slope deformations. Geological, geotechnical, geomorphological and seismologicaldata were integrated into a standard earthquake slope stability model. The model assessed thelandslide potential that existed during the 1980 Irpinian earthquake in the Upper Sele river Valley.The standard Newmark displacement analysis, widely used for predicting the location of shallowunstable slopes, does not take into account errors and/or uncertainties in the input parameters.Therefore, a probabilistic Newmark displacement analysis technique has been used. Probabilistictechniques allow, e.g., an estimation of the probability that a slope will exceed a certain criticalvalue of Newmark displacement. In our probabilistic method, a Monte-Carlo based simulation modelis used in conjunction with a GIS. The random variability of geotechnical data is modelled by probabilitydensity functions (pdfs), while for the seismic input three different regression laws wereconsidered. Input probability distributions are sampled and the resulting values input into empiricalrelations for estimating Newmark displacement. The outcome is a map in which to each siteis related a spatial probability distribution for the expected displacement in response to seismic loading.Results of the experiments show a high grade of uncertainty in the application of the Newmarkanalysis both for the deterministic and probabilistic approach in a complex geological setting suchas the high Sele valley, quite common in the Southern Apennines. They show a strong dependence onthe reliability of the spatial data used in input, so that, when the model is used at basin scale,results are strongly influenced by local environmental condition (e.g., topography, lithology, groundwatercondition) and decrease the model performance.     

DNAPL Characterization Methods and Approaches, Part 2: Cost Comparisons

Contamination from the use of chlorinated solvents, often classified as dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) when in an undissolved state, pose environmental threats to ground water resources worldwide. DNAPL site characterization method performance comparisons are presented in a companion paper (Kram et al. 2001). This study compares the costs for implementing various characterization approaches using synthetic unit model scenarios (UMSs), each with particular physical characteristics. Unit costs and assumptions related to labor, equipment, and consumables are applied to determine costs associated with each approach for various UMSs. In general, the direct-push sensor systems provide cost-effective characterization information in soils that are penetrable with relatively shallow (less than 10 to 15 m) water tables. For sites with impenetrable lithology using direct-push techniques, the Ribbon NAPL Sampler Flexible Liner Underground Technologies Everting (FLUTe) membrane appears to be the most cost-effective approach. For all scenarios studied, partitioning interwell tracer tests (PITTs) are the most expensive approach due to the extensive pre-and post-PITT requirements. However, the PITT is capable of providing useful additional information, such as approximate DNAPL saturation, which is not generally available from any of the other approaches included in this comparison.     

Economic Filters Applied to Quantitative Mineral Resource Simulations

The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a technique that allows mineral resource experts to apply economic filters to estimates of undiscovered mineral resources. This technique builds on previous work that developed quantitative methods for mineral resource assessments. A Monte-Carlo calculation uses mineral deposit models to estimate commodity grades and tonnages of undiscovered deposits. The results then are analyzed using simple estimates of capital expenditures and daily operating costs for a mine and associated mill. The daily operating costs and the value of the ore are used to calculate the net present value of the deposit, which is compared to the capital expenditures to determine whether the deposit is economic. Repetition of these calculations for many deposits produces a table that can be interpreted in terms of the probability of there being deposits that have anet present value exceeding some specified amount. Sample calculations indicate that applying economic filters to simulated mineral resources might change the perception of the results compared to presenting the calculations in terms of the expected mean gross-in-place value of the minerals.     

A methane fuse for the Cambrian explosion: carbon cycles and true polar wander

The dramatic diversification of animal groups known as the Cambrian Explosion (evolution's ‘Big Bang’) remains an unsolved puzzle in Earth Science. The Vendian–Cambrian interval is characterized by anomalously high rates of apparent plate motion, interpreted as True Polar Wander (TPW), and by more than a dozen large, high-frequency perturbations in carbon isotopes that dwarf all others observed through the past 65 million years. We suggest that these biological, tectonic, and geochemical events are intimately related in the following fashion. First, tropical continental margins and shelf-slopes which formed during fragmentation of the supercontinent Rodinia accumulated massive quantities of isotopically-light organic carbon during Late Neoproterozoic time, as indicated by strikingly heavy isotope ratios in inorganic carbon during interglacial intervals. Second, an initial phase of Vendian TPW moved these organic-rich deposits to high latitude, where conditions favored trapping biogenic methane in layers of gas hydrate and perhaps permafrost. Continued sedimentation during Late Vendian time added additional hydrate/gas storage volume and stabilized underlying units until the geothermal gradient moved them out of the clathrate stability field, building up deep reservoirs of highly pressurized methane. Finally, a burst of TPW brought these deposits back to the Tropics, where they gradually warmed and were subjected to regional-scale thermohaline eddy variation and related sedimentation regime changes. Responding to the stochastic character of such changes, each reservoir reached a critical failure point independently at times throughout the Cambrian. By analogy with the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum event, these methane deposits yield transient, greenhouse-induced pulses of global warming when they erupt. Temperature correlates powerfully with biodiversity; the biochemical kinetics of metabolism at higher temperature decrease generation time and maintain relatively rich and dense invertebrate populations. Repeated thermal pulses along with progressive disruption and alteration of global ocean circulation patterns by TPW could cause the increase in diversity that accompanied the radiation of metazoans. We suggest that a methane ‘fuse’ ignited the Cambrian Evolutionary Explosion.