Hydrologic investigations in the north Chilean Altiplano using landsat ‐ MSS and ‐ TM data

In order to understand Late Glacial high lake levels in the dry Andes of Northern Chile, recent short ‐ to medium‐term fluctuations in the water budget of present lakes and brines (salars) and their relationship with the atmospheric circulation were investigated. A time sequence of four Landsat‐MSS images between November 1983 and August 1984 was analysed in terms of changing water surface and water volume of several lakes and salars. The variations of the open water bodies were interpreted as a result of the spatial pattern of summer and winter precipitation. Furthermore a method to determine water depth and water salinity of the very shallow salars and lakes by correlating field measurements and digital Landsat‐TM data is described. The resulting model to compute water depth was also applied to the MSS‐sequence, showing good results.     

Inferring organic content of sediments by scanning reflectance spectroscopy (380–730 nm): applying a novel methodology in a case study from proglacial lakes in Norway

Reflectance spectroscopy in the visible spectrum (VIS-RS) is a method that has been successfully applied for inferring organic content of sediments. In this study, we test the applicability of VIS-RS to lake sediments in Norway. On the one hand we use conventional, established algorithms for inferring organic content of sediments, on the other hand we test the potential of multivariate calibration techniques to infer organic content. For absolute quantification of organic content, conventional C_org measurements are needed when using conventional algorithms as well as when employing multivariate calibration techniques. Both, conventional algorithms and multivariate calibrations, result in estimates of organic content closely mirroring loss-on-ignition measurements. When using multivariate calibration techniques, a conventional C_org measurement every 5 cm is sufficient to obtain estimates of organic matter that are more accurate than those obtained by means of conventional algorithms. Therefore, the potential of multivariate calibration techniques and VIS-RS to substitute measurements of more time consuming and costly sediment parameters (e.g. clay minerals) should be tested.     

Thermal Regime of Rock and its Relation to Snow Cover in Steep Alpine Rock Walls: Gemsstock,Central Swiss Alps

Snow cover influences the thermal regime and stability of frozen rock walls. In this study, we investigate and model the impact of the spatially variable snow cover on the thermal regime of steep permafrost rock walls. This is necessary for a more detailed understanding of the thermal and mechanical processes causing changes in rock temperature and in the ice and water contents of frozen rock, which possibly lead to rock wall instability. To assess the temporal and spatial evolution and influence of the snow, detailed measurements have been carried out at two selected points in steep north‐ and south‐facing rock walls since 2012. In parallel, the one‐dimensional energy balance model SNOWPACK is used to simulate the effects of snow cover on the thermal regime of the rock walls. For this, a multi‐method approach with high temporal resolution is applied, combining meteorological, borehole rock temperature and terrain parameter measurements. To validate the results obtained for the ground thermal regime and the seasonally varying snowpack, the model output is compared with near‐surface rock temperature measurements and remote snow cover observations. No decrease of snow depth at slope angles up to 70° was observed in rough terrain due to micro‐topographic structures. Strong contrasts in rock temperatures between north‐ and south‐facing slopes are due to differences in solar radiation, slope angle and the timing and depth of the snow cover. SNOWPACK proved to be useful for modelling snow cover–rock interactions in smooth, homogenous rock slopes.     

An improved genetic programming to SSM/I estimation typhoon precipitation over ocean

This article proposes an improved multi‐run genetic programming (GP) and applies it to estimate the typhoon rainfall over ocean using multi‐variable meteorological satellite data. GP is a well‐known evolutionary programming and data mining method used to automatically discover the complex relationships among nonlinear systems. The main advantage of GP is to optimize appropriate types of function and their associated coefficients simultaneously. However, the searching efficiency of traditional GP can be decreased by the complex structure of parse tree to represent the multiple input variables. This study processed an improvement to enhance escape ability from local optimums during the optimization procedure. We continuously run GP several times by replacing the terminal nodes at the next run with the best solution at the current run. The current method improves GP, obtaining a highly nonlinear meaningful equation to estimate the rainfall. In the case study, this improved GP (IGP) described above combined with special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) seven channels was employed. These results are then verified with the data from four offshore rainfall stations located on islands around Taiwan. The results show that the IGP generates sophisticated and accurate multi‐variable equation through two runs. The performance of IGP outperforms the traditional multiple linear regression, back‐propagated network (BPN) and three empirical equations. Because the extremely high values of precipitation rate are quite few and the number of zero values (no rain) is very large, the underestimations of heavy rainfall are obvious. A simple genetic algorithm was therefore used to search for the optimal threshold value of SSM/I channels, detecting the data of no rain. The IGP with two runs, used to construct an appropriate mathematical function to estimate the precipitation, can obtain more favourable results from estimating extremely high values. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrasonic attenuation of pure tetrahydrofuran hydrate

Improved estimates of the amount of subsurface gas hydrates are needed for natural resource, geohazard, and climate impact assessments. To evaluate gas hydrate saturation from seismic methods, the properties of pure gas hydrates need to be known. Whereas the properties of sediments, specifically sands, and hydrate‐bearing sediments are well studied, the properties of pure hydrates are largely unknown. Hence, we present laboratory ultrasonic P‐wave velocity and attenuation measurements on pure tetrahydrofuran hydrates as they form with reducing temperatures from 25°C to 1°C under atmospheric pressure conditions. Tetrahydrofuran hydrates, with structure II symmetry, are considered as proxies for the structure I methane hydrates because both have similar effects on elastic properties of hydrate‐bearing sediments. We find that although velocity increased, the waveform frequency content and amplitude decreased after the hydrate formation reaction was complete, indicating an increase in P‐wave attenuation after hydrate formation. When the tetrahydrofuran hydrate was cooled below the freezing point of water, velocity and quality factor increased. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance results indicate the presence of water in the “pure hydrate” samples above the water freezing point, but none below. The presence of liquid water between hydrate grains most likely causes heightened attenuation in tetrahydrofuran hydrates above the freezing point of water. In naturally occurring hydrates, a similarly high attenuation might relate to the presence of water.     

Testing the preservation potential of early diagenetic dolomites as geochemical archives

Early marine diagenetic dolomite is a rather thermodynamically-stable carbonate phase and has potential to act as an archive of marine porewater properties. However, the variety of early to late diagenetic dolomite phases that can coexist within a single sample can result in extensive complexity. Here, the archive potential of early marine dolomites exposed to extreme post-depositional processes is tested using various types of analyses, including: petrography, fluid inclusion data, stable δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O isotopes, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and U-Pb age dating of various dolomite phases. In this example, a Triassic carbonate platform was dissected and overprinted (diagenetic temperatures of 50 to 430°C) in a strike-slip zone in Southern Spain. Eight episodes of dolomitization, a dolostone cataclasite and late stage meteoric/vadose cementation were recognized. The following processes were found to be diagenetically relevant: (i) protolith deposition and fabric-preservation, and marine dolomitization of precursor aragonite and calcite during the Middle–Late Triassic; (ii) intermediate burial and formation of zebra saddle dolomite and precipitation of various dolomite cements in a Proto-Atlantic opening stress regime (T ca 250°C) during the Early–Middle Jurassic; (iii) dolomite cement precipitation during early Alpine tectonism, rapid burial to ca 15 km, and high-grade anchizone overprint during Alpine tectonic evolution in the Early Eocene to Early Miocene; (iv) brecciation of dolostones to cataclasite during the onset of the Carboneras Fault Zone activity during the Middle Miocene; and (v) late-stage regression and subsequent meteoric overprint. Data shown here document that, under favourable conditions, early diagenetic marine dolomites and their archive data may resist petrographic and geochemical resetting over time intervals of 10⁸ or more years. Evidence for this preservation includes preserved Late Triassic seawater δ¹³C_DIC values and primary fluid inclusion data. Data also indicate that oversimplified statements based on bulk data from other petrographically-complex dolomite archives must be considered with caution.     

Low-degree earth deformation from reprocessed GPS observations

Surface mass variations of low spherical harmonic degree are derived from residual displacements of continuously tracking global positioning system (GPS) sites. Reprocessed GPS observations of 14 years are adjusted to obtain surface load coefficients up to degree n _max = 6 together with station positions and velocities from a rigorous parameter combination. Amplitude and phase estimates of the degree-1 annual variations are partly in good agreement with previously published results, but also show interannual differences of up to 2 mm and about 30 days, respectively. The results of this paper reveal significant impacts from different GPS observation modeling approaches on estimated degree-1 coefficients. We obtain displacements of the center of figure (CF) relative to the center of mass (CM), Δr _CF–CM, that differ by about 10 mm in maximum when compared to those of the commonly used coordinate residual approach. Neglected higher-order ionospheric terms are found to induce artificial seasonal and long-term variations especially for the z-component of Δr _CF–CM. Daily degree-1 estimates are examined in the frequency domain to assess alias contributions from model deficiencies with regard to satellite orbits. Finally, we directly compare our estimated low-degree surface load coefficients with recent results that involve data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission.     

The Regionalization of Chinese Business Networks: A Study of Singaporean Firms in Hainan,China

This paper examines the central role of social and political institutions behind motivations and strategies of ethnic Chinese Singaporean investment in Hainan, China. Drawing upon 22 case studies of Singaporean firms in Hainan, we show that Singaporean investment in Hainan is embedded in Chinese business networks and their associated institutions. At the personal level, direct investments are largely motivated by the cultural attachments of Singaporean Hainanese to Hainan. Their small‐ and medium‐sized joint ventures largely reflect the characteristics of ethnically‐based Chinese business networks that stress connections, or guanxi. Similarly, the influence of social organizations (e.g., clan associations) and government institutions (e.g., public and quasi‐public agencies) on Singaporean investment strategies in Hainan reveals the significance of ongoing social relations institutionalized at the broader societal level.