Stochastic management of pump-and-treat strategies using surrogate functions

Typical pump-and-treat (PAT) optimization problems involve design of pumping schemes, while minimizing cost and meeting a set of constraints. Due to scarcity of information about the hydrogeological system, stochastic modeling approaches can be used to assess tradeoffs between optimality and reliability. Using a stochastic approach, the constrained, single-objective problem may be turned into a multiobjective problem by substituting constraint inequalities with an additional objective function (OF) that accounts for the reliability of the PAT process. In this work, two approaches are analyzed: in one case, the additional OF consists of the probability of failure of a given remediation policy; in another, the OF additional is represented by the recourse, namely the penalty cost induced by the violation of constraints. In order to overcome the overwhelming computational cost required by stochastic simulation, surrogate forms of the OFs are introduced. In the test case under investigation, such functions are estimated by a kriging interpolation of the OF over a series of data points obtained from stochastic simulations of flow and transport, and calibrated against stochastic optimization solutions. The analysis of the two approaches for addressing the tradeoff of cost vs. reliability indicates that recourse accounts not only for the frequency of constraint violations, as the probability of failure does, but also for the intensity with which these occur. Ultimately, the recourse method allows considering less restrictive policies, although these may be highly sensitive to the choice of penalty functions.     

Circularization of Binary Orbits

In a previous paper Mayer and Hanna (1991) discussed the process of binary orbit circularization for detached eclipsing binaries. An agreement of observational data with Tassoul's circularization time formula for binaries with masses greater than 2.5 M was found. In the present paper we also examine orbital circularization in evolved spectroscopic binaries.     

Influence of stretching and density contrasts on the chemical evolution of continental magmas: an example from the Ivrea-Verbano Zone

 The southern Ivrea-Verbano Zone of the Italian Western Alps contains a huge mafic complex that intruded high-grade metamorphic rocks while they were resident in the lower crust. Geologic mapping and chemical variations of the igneous body were used to study the evolution of underplated crust. Slivers of crustal rocks (septa) interlayered with igneous mafic rocks are concentrated in a narrow zone deep in the complex (Paragneiss-bearing Belt) and show evidence of advanced degrees of partial melting. Variations of rare-earth-element patterns and Sr isotope composition of the igneous rocks across the sequence are consistent with increasing crustal contamination approaching the septa. Therefore, the Paragneiss-bearing Belt is considered representative of an “assimilation region” where in-situ interaction between mantle- and crust-derived magmas resulted in production of hybrid melts. Buoyancy caused upwards migration of the hybrid melts that incorporated the last septa and were stored at higher levels, feeding the Upper Mafic Complex. Synmagmatic stretching of the assimilation region facilitated mixing and homogenization of melts. Chemical variations of granitoids extracted from the septa show that deep septa are more depleted than shallow ones. This suggests that the first incorporated septa were denser than the later ones, as required by the high density of the first-injected mafic magmas. It is inferred that density contrasts between mafic melts and crustal rocks play a crucial role for the processes of contamination of continental magmas. In thick under plated crust, the extraction of early felsic/hybrid melts from the lower crust may be required to increase the density of the lower crust and to allow the later mafic magmas to penetrate higher crustal levels. Received: 2 May 1995 / Accepted: 1 November 1995     

Synthetic bayleyite,Mg2[UO2(CO3)3]·18H2O: Thermochemistry,crystallography and crystal structure

Summary Thermochemistry, morphology, optical properties and crystal structure of synthetic bayleyite, Mg₂[UO₂(CO₃)₃]·18H₂O, monoclinic, have been studied. Incongruent melting at 55°, three steps of dehydration and two steps of decarboxylation have been found by thermochemic investigations. Morphology: Prisms along [001] with {100}, {110}, {210}, {001}, {401}, {021}, {211}, {111} and as the most important forms. Optical data:n =1.453,n =1.498,n =1.499, 2V _x =16°,Y=b,X c=11°. Crystal structure: Space groupP2₁/a,a=26.560(3),b=15.256(2),c=6.505(1) Å, =92.90(1)°,Z=4,R=0.029 for 5126 independent reflections measured with MoK -radiation. The structure is built up from isolated Mg(H₂O)₆ octahedra, UO₂(CO₃)₃ units and lattice water molecules, all held together by hydrogen bonds only.

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Synthetischer Bayleyit, Mg₂[UO₂(CO₃)₃]·18H₂O: Thermochemie, Kristallographie und Kristallstruktur

Zuseammenfasung Thermochemie, Morphologie, optische Eigenschaften und Kristallstruktur von Bayleyit, Mg₂[UO₂(CO₃)₃]·18H₂O, monoklin, wurden anhand künstlich hergestellter Kristalle untersucht. Durch thermochemische Untersuchung wurden inkongruentes Schmelzen bei 55°, eine dreistufige Wasserabgabe sowie eine zweistufige CO₂-Abgabe festgestellt. Morphologie: parallel zu [001] gestreckte Prismen mit {100}, {110}, {210}, {001}, {401}, {021}, {211}, {111}, und {311} als wichtigste Formen. Optische Daten:n =1.453,n =1.498,n =1.499, 2V _x =16°,Y=b,X c=11°. Kristallstruktur: RaumgruppeP2₁/a,a=26.560(3),b=15.256(2),c=6.505(1) Å, =92.90(1)°,Z=4;R=0.029 für 5126 unabhängige, mit MoK -Strahlung gemessene Reflexe. Die Struktur enthält isolierte Mg(H₂O)₆-Oktaeder, UO₂(CO₃)₃-Gruppen und freie Wassermoleküle, die ausschließlich durch Wasserstoffbrücken miteinander verknüpft sind.

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With 4 Figures     

Validation and error analysis of a strata modelling technique

Summary Sources of error are investigated for a two-dimensional finite difference computer program designed to model strata deformation. The program calculates the displacements of a mesh of mass points, by the iterative solution of equations of equilibrium for the stresses acting on each mass point. The effect of errors on both displacement estimates and stress estimates is considered.Round-off errors are discussed analytically, while the effect of choosing too coarse a mesh density is demonstrated by comparison of two runs of the program with identical material properties, but different mesh densities. The influence of boundary conditions and the result of incomplete relaxation of the finite difference equations is estimated by comparison with Kirsch's analytical solution for a thin plate of finite width with a circular hole under unidimensional load.As a result of the analysis, estimators for stresses and displacements are derived, which make allowance for some of the sources of error; suitable boundary conditions for first and subsequent runs of the program are proposed; and a convergence criterion for the iterative process is suggested. These results are then applied to simulations of mining situations, together with various refinements of the basic model, such as separation and slip between adjacent strata, and an allowance for failure of material.     

基于三次样条插值实现无人机高动态运动轨迹插值

差分全球卫星导航系统（GNSS）技术辅助空中三角测量技术可实现无人机影像元素的高精度绝对定位．机载GNSS模块采样频率一般不超过50 Hz,更高的采样频率对GNSS模块软硬件提出更高的要求．本文基于三次样条函数实现无人机高动态定位的三维坐标插值,并通过实测数据检验三次样条函数的适用性,实验结果表明,固支样条更适用于无人机高动态运动轨迹坐标插值,当采样频率高于5 Hz时,平面插值精度优于1.0 cm,高程插值精度优于2.2 cm.      

Drowned shelf-edge deltas, barrier islands and related features along the outer continental shelf north of the head of De Soto Canyon, NE Gulf of Mexico

Four drowned shelf-edge delta complexes, two drowned shelf deltas, three drowned barrier islands, large areas of “hardground”, and fields of bedforms on the mid and outer continental shelf and uppermost slope north of the head of De Soto Canyon, NE Gulf of Mexico were mapped with high-resolution multibeam echosounder. Deltas formed not during the last eustatic low stand, but during one or more interstadials when eustatic sea levels were only 60 to 80 m below present sea level. The barrier islands and deltas must have been cemented prior to rapid falls of eustatic sea level that occurred during global glaciations. Cementation is necessary to have preserved the barrier islands from erosion and subsequent destruction by the rapid sea-level rise during the last deglaciation. The preservation of the relict bathymetry is so good that features that superficially resemble trough blowouts are found in association with one of the relict barrier islands. Asymmetric bedforms on the midshelf in water depths of 50 to 60 m indicate transport directions to the SW but asymmetric bedforms in water depths of the upper slope between 100 and 120 m on the S and SE flanks of the drowned shelf-edge deltas indicate a different current direction, a separate flow that is a continuation of a SW-flowing current that was previously found on the upper slope off NW Florida.     

Data-worth analysis for multiobjective optimal design of pump-and-treat remediation systems

The design and the management of pump-and-treat (PAT) remediation systems for contaminated aquifers under uncertain hydrogeological settings and parameters often involve decisions that trade off cost optimality against reliability. Both design objectives can be improved by planning site characterization programs that reduce subsurface parameter uncertainty. However, the cost for subsurface investigation often weighs heavily upon the budget of the remedial action and must thus be taken into account in the trade-off analysis. In this paper, we develop a stochastic data-worth framework with the purpose of estimating the economic opportunity of subsurface investigation programs. Since the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity is most often the major source of uncertainty, we focus on the direct sampling of hydraulic conductivity at prescribed locations of the aquifer. The data worth of hydraulic conductivity measurements is estimated from the reduction of the overall management cost ensuing from the reduction in parameter uncertainty obtained from sampling. The overall cost is estimated as the expected value of the cost of installing and operating the PAT system plus penalties incurred due to violations of cleanup goals and constraints. The crucial point of the data-worth framework is represented by the so-called pre-posterior analysis. Here, the tradeoff between decreasing overall costs and increasing site-investigation budgets is assessed to determine a management strategy proposed on the basis of the information available at the start of remediation. The goal of the pre-posterior analysis is to indicate whether the proposed management strategy should be implemented as is, or re-designed on the basis of additional data collected with a particular site-investigation program. The study indicates that the value of information is ultimately related to the estimates of cleanup target violations and decision makers’ degree of risk-aversion.