On solution of the inverse problem for confined aquifer flow via maximum likelihood

Joint estimation of transmissivity (T) and storativity (S) in a confined aquifer is done via maximum likelihood (ML). The differential equation of groundwater flow is discretized by the finite-element method, leading to equation _t+x _t=u _t. Elements of matrices and , as well as estimated covariance matrix of noise termu _t, are functions of T and S. By minimizing the negative loglikelihood function corresponding to discretized groundwater flow equation with respect to T and S, ML estimators are obtained. The ML approach is found to yield accurate estimates of T and S (within 9 and 10% of their actual values, respectively) and showed quadratic convergence in Newton's search technique. Prediction of aquifer response, using ML estimators, results in estimated piezometric heads accurate to ±0.5 m from their actual, exact values. Statistical properties of ML estimators are derived and some basic results for statistical inference are given.     

Adakite-like signature of Late Miocene intrusions at the Los Pelambres giant porphyry copper deposit in the Andes of central Chile: metallogenic implications

Adakite-like features are recognized in the Late Miocene (~10 Ma) porphyritic intrusions of the Los Pelambres giant porphyry copper deposit, central Chile (32°S). Located within the southern portion of the flat-slab segment (28–33°S) of the Chilean Andes, the Al- and Na-rich porphyries of Los Pelambres display distinctly higher Sr/Y (~100–300) and La_N/Yb_N (~25–60) ratios than contemporaneous and barren magmatic units (e.g., La Gloria pluton, Cerro Aconcagua volcanic rocks) of the same Andean magmatic belt. Strong fractionation of heavy rare earth elements (HREE), absence of Eu anomalies, high Sr/Y and Zr/Sm and low Nb/Ta ratios suggest melt extraction from a garnet-amphibolite source. The Late-Miocene adakite-like porphyritic intrusions at Los Pelambres formed closely related in time and space to the subduction of the Juan Fernández Ridge (JFR) hotspot chain along the Chilean margin. Current tectonic reconstructions reveal that, at the time of formation of the Los Pelambres rocks, a W-E segment of the JFR started to subduct beneath them, producing a slow-down of a previously rapid southward migration of a NE-ridge—trench collision. These particular tectonic conditions are favorable for the origin of the Los Pelambres porphyry suite by melting of subducting young hotspot rocks under flat-slab conditions. The incorporation of crustal components into the oceanic lithopheric magma source by subduction erosion is evidenced by the Sr-Nd isotope composition of the Los Pelambres rocks different from the MORB signatures of true adakites. A close relationship apparently exists between the origin of this adakite-like magmatism and the source of the mineralization in the Los Pelambres porphyry copper deposit.Editorial handling: R.J. Goldfarb     

The relation of meridional pressure gradients to North Atlantic deep water volume transport in an ocean general circulation model

We use a coarse resolution ocean general circulation model to study the relation between meridional pressure and density gradients in the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. In several experiments, we artificially modify the meridional density gradients by applying different magnitudes of the Gent–McWilliams isopycnal eddy diffusion coefficients in the Southern Ocean and in the North Atlantic and investigate the response of the simulated Atlantic meridional overturning to such changes. The simulations are carried out close to the limit of no diapycnal mixing, with a very small explicit vertical diffusivity and a tracer advection scheme with very low implicit diffusivities. Our results reveal that changes in eddy diffusivities in the North Atlantic affect the maximum of the Atlantic meridional overturning, but not the outflow of North Atlantic Deep Water into the Southern Ocean. In contrast, changes in eddy diffusivities in the Southern Ocean affect both the South Atlantic outflow of North Atlantic Deep Water and the maximum of the Atlantic meridional overturning. Results from these experiments are used to investigate the relation between meridional pressure gradients and the components of the Atlantic meridional overturning. Pressure gradients and overturning are found to be linearly related. We show that, in our simulations, zonally averaged deep pressure gradients are very weak between 20°S and about 30°N and that between 30°N and 60°N the zonally averaged pressure grows approximately linearly with latitude. This pressure difference balances a westward geostrophic flow at 30–40°N that feeds the southbound deep Atlantic western boundary current. We extend our analysis to a large variety of experiments in which surface freshwater forcing, vertical mixing and winds are modified. In all experiments, the pycnocline depth, assumed to be the relevant vertical scale for the northward volume transport in the Atlantic, is found to be approximately constant, at least within the coarse vertical resolution of the model. The model behaviour hence cannot directly be related to conceptual models in which changes in the pycnocline depth determine the strength of Atlantic meridional flow, and seems conceptually closer to Stommel’s box model. In all our simulations, the Atlantic overturning seems to be mainly driven by Southern Ocean westerlies. However, the actual strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning is not determined solely by the Southern Ocean wind stress but as well by the density/pressure gradients created between the deep water formation regions in the North Atlantic and the inflow/outflow region in the South Atlantic.     

Importance of geochemical transformations in determining submarine groundwater discharge-derived trace metal and nutrient fluxes

Seasonal (Spring and Summer 2002) concentrations of dissolved (<0.22 μm) trace metals (Ag, Al, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb), inorganic nutrients (NO₃, PO₄, Si), and DOC were determined in groundwater samples from 5 wells aligned along a 30 m shore-normal transect in West Neck Bay, Long Island, NY. Results show that significant, systematic changes in groundwater trace metal and nutrient composition occur along the flowpath from land to sea. While conservative mixing between West Neck Bay water and the groundwaters explains the behavior of Si and DOC, non-conservative inputs for Co and Ni were observed (concentration increases of 10- and 2-fold, respectively) and removal of PO₄ and NO₃ (decreases to about half) along the transport pathway. Groundwater-associated chemical fluxes from the aquifer to the embayment calculated for constituents not exhibiting conservative behavior can vary by orders of magnitude depending on sampling location and season (e.g. Co, 3.4 × 10²– 8.2 × 10³ μmol d⁻¹). Using measured values from different wells as being representative of the true groundwater endmember chemical composition also results in calculation of very different fluxes (e.g., Cu, 6.3 × 10³ μmol d⁻¹ (inland, freshwater well) vs. 2.1 × 10⁵ μmol d⁻¹(seaward well, S = 17 ppt)). This study suggests that seasonal variability and chemical changes occurring within the subterranean estuary must be taken into account when determining the groundwater flux of dissolved trace metals and nutrients to the coastal ocean.     

Thermochronology and exhumation rates of granitic intrusions at Mesa Central,Mexico

ABSTRACT

The Mesa Central of Mexico (MC) is an elevated plateau located 2000 m above sea level in central Mexico, where intrusions outcrop that register the history of exhumation-erosion occurring during the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene. The tectonic history of the region records formation of the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene ‘Mexican orogen’; this was followed by extension of the entire region and several plutons were then exhumed. The age and magnitude of the crustal uplift and erosion occurring during exhumation has not been addressed to date. Therefore, this study reports the crystallization and cooling ages of two plutons, the Tesorera Granodiorite and the Comanja Granite, and estimates their emplacement depths. Based on these data, the exhumation age of the Tesorera Granodiorite is estimated to be between ~73 Ma and ~63 Ma at an exhumation rate of ~528 m/m. y. and that of the Comanja Granite is 52 Ma and 48 Ma at an exhumation rate of ~2500 m/m. y. Exhumation-erosion event of the Tesorera Granodiorite was located on the trace of the San Luis-Tepehuanes Fault System and that of the Comanja Granite on the a trace of the El Bajío Fault System. Furthermore, the high exhumation rate in the Comanja Granite suggests that gravitational collapse played an important role during exhumation.     

Structure, ordering and cation interactions in Ca-free P2 1 /c clinopyroxenes

A suite of 14 synthetic Ca-free P2 ₁ /c low-clinopyroxenes of compositions across the enstatite-ferrosilite (En-Fs) join have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The crystal structure of one sample with composition X _Fs=0.39 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The powder diffraction data show that there is no significant (<0.25% at X _Fs=0.5) excess volume of mixing on the enstatite-ferrosilite join. The molar volumes are described by V=31.261(17)+1.677(23) X _Fs cm³.mol(MSiO₃)^–1. The linear behaviour of volume with composition arises from the compensating effects of non-linear changes in the unit-cell parameters with composition. Unweighted fits to the data yielded the relationships: a=9.6100(15)+0.105(2)X _Fs, b=8.8156(28)+0.218(12)X _Fs+0.0481(117)X ² _Fs , c?=5.1702(4)+0.0879(21)X _Fs–0.0214(21)X ² _Fs , β=108.345(8)+0.947(30)X _Fs–0.805(26)X ² _Fs . The strong positive deviation of β from linearity is directly correlated to the difference in site occupancies between M1 and M2 as determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy and arises directly from the expansion of M2-O1 and M2-O3 bonds upon initial substitution of Fe for Mg in enstatite. The hyperfine parameters from Mössbauer spectra are consistent with variations in the average local environment as recorded by the X-ray data. Asymmetric line broadening of the Mössbauer spectra provides evidence for next-nearest neighbour effects, and is consistent with no significant clustering of Fe or Mg within the samples.     

A Method for Obtaining the Nuclear Component in Active Galaxies

We present a new method for the obtention of the nuclear component of active galatic nuclei, that relies on the convolution of a two-dimensional model of the host galaxy, based on seeing-free morphological parameters, with the seeing PSF. The procedure overcomes some limitations of the methods currently in use and does not assume that the nucleus is unresolved. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Moderately volatile siderophiles in ordinary chondrites

The contents of the moderately volatile elements Ga, Ge, Cu and Sb in ordinary chondrites give us some clues with regard to the metal-silicate fractionation process. Their concentration in coexisting magnetic and non-magnetic portions of members of each ordinary chondrite group will be discussed. Germanium and Sb are mostly siderophilic, but Ga is strongly lithophilic in unequilibrated chondrites; its partition coefficient between magnetic and non-magnetic portions is positively correlated with petrologic type in L and LL chondrites, but not in H4–6 chondrites. From 25 to 50% of the total Cu is found in the non-magnetic fraction of chondrites, but there is no correlation between Cu content and petrologic type. The abundances of Ga, Cu and Sb (relative to Si) are constant in ordinary chondrites, independent of the amount of metal present, indicating that these elements were not in solid solution in the metal phase of chondrites when the metal-silicate fractionation process occurred. Germanium, which is the most volatile among the four elements analyzed, is more abundant in H than in L and LL chondrites, indicating that it was fractionated by this process. Nebular oxidation processes can be responsible for the behavior of Ga if this element was in oxidized form when loss of metal occurred, but cannot explain the results for Cu and Sb which are predicted to condense as metals and accrete mostly in metallic form. It is possible that Cu and Sb, upon condensation, did not form solid solutions with metallic Ni-Fe until after the separation of metal from silicates took place.