Estimating LAI and mapping canopy storage capacity for hydrological applications in wattle infested ecosystems using Sentinel-2 MSI derived red edge bands

This study assessed the strength of Sentinel-2 multispectral instrument (MSI) derived Red Edge (RE) bands in estimating Leaf Area Index (LAI) and mapping canopy storage capacity (CSC) for hydrological applications in wattle infested ecosystems. To accomplish this objective, this study compared the estimation strength of models derived, using standard bands (all bands excluding the RE band) with those including RE bands, as well as different vegetation indices. Sparse Partial Least Squares (SPLSR) and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) ensembles were used in this study. Results showed that the RE spectrum covered by the Sentinel-2 MSI satellite reduced the estimation error by a magnitude of 0.125 based on simple ratio (RE SR) vegetation indices from 0.157 m²· m^?2 based on standard bands, and by 0.078 m²· m^?2 based on red edge normalised difference vegetation (NDVI-RE). The optimal models for estimating LAI to map CSC were obtained based on the RE bands centered at 705 nm (Band 5), 740 nm (Band 6), 783 nm (Band 7) as well as 865 nm (Band 8a). A root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.507 m²· m^?2 a relative root mean square error of prediction (RRMSEP) of 11.3% and R² of 0.91 for LAI and a RMSEP of 0.246 m²/m² (RRMSEP = 7.9%) and R² of 0.91 for CSC were obtained. Overall, the findings of this study underscore the relevance of the new copernicus satellite product in rapid monitoring of ecosystems that are invaded by alien invasive species.     

A New Inner Heliosphere Proton Parameter Dataset from the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helios</Emphasis> Mission

In the near future, Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter will provide the first comprehensive in-situ measurements of the solar wind in the inner heliosphere since the Helios mission in the 1970s. We describe a reprocessing of the original Helios ion distribution functions to provide reliable and reproducible data to characterise the proton core population of the solar wind in the inner heliosphere. A systematic fitting of bi-Maxwellian distribution functions was performed to the raw Helios ion distribution function data to extract the proton core number density, velocity, and temperatures parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. We present radial trends of these derived proton parameters, forming a benchmark to which new measurements in the inner heliosphere will be compared. The new dataset has been made openly available for other researchers to use, along with the source code used to generate it.     

Incremental melting in the ureilite parent body: Initial composition,melting temperatures,and melt compositions

Ureilites are carbon‐rich ultramafic achondrites that have been heated above the silicate solidus, do not contain plagioclase, and represent the melting residues of an unknown planetesimal (i.e., the ureilite parent body, UPB). Melting residues identical to pigeonite‐olivine ureilites (representing 80% of ureilites) have been produced in batch melting experiments of chondritic materials not depleted in alkali elements relative to the Sun’s photosphere (e.g., CI, H, LL chondrites), but only in a relatively narrow range of temperature (1120 ºC–1180 ºC). However, many ureilites are thought to have formed at higher temperature (1200 ºC–1280 ºC). New experiments, described in this study, show that pigeonite can persist at higher temperature (up to 1280 ºC) when CI and LL chondrites are melted incrementally and while partial melts are progressively extracted. The melt productivity decreases dramatically after the exhaustion of plagioclase with only 5–9 wt% melt being generated between 1120 ºC and 1280 ºC. The relative proportion of pyroxene and olivine in experiments is compared to 12 ureilites, analyzed for this study, together with ureilites described in the literature to constrain the initial Mg/Si ratio of the UPB (0.98–1.05). Experiments are also used to develop a new thermometer based on the partitioning of Cr between olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene that is applicable to all ureilites. The equilibration temperature of ureilites increases with decreasing Al₂O₃ and Wo contents of pyroxene and decreasing bulk REE concentrations. The UPB melted incrementally, at different fO₂, and did not cool significantly (0 ºC–30 ºC) prior to its disruption. It remained isotopically heterogenous, but the initial concentration of major elements (SiO₂, MgO, CaO, Al₂O₃, alkali elements) was similar in the different mantle reservoirs.     

The 3D facies architecture and petrophysical properties of hyaloclastite delta deposits: An integrated photogrammetry and petrophysical study from southern Iceland

Hyaloclastites develop where lava interacts with water resulting in deposits that have a unique and often complex range of petrophysical properties. A combination of eruptive style and emplacement environment dictates the size, geometry and distribution of different hyaloclastite facies and their associated primary physical properties such as porosity, permeability and velocity. To date, links between the 3D facies variability within these systems and their petrophysical properties remain poorly understood. Hjörleifshöfði in southern Iceland presents an exceptional outcrop exposure of an emergent hyaloclastite sequence >1 km wide by >200 m high and enables an investigation of the distribution of the hyaloclastite deposits at seismic scale. Within this study we present a photogrammetry-based 3D model from part of this recent hyaloclastite delta and incorporate previous work by Watton et al. (Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2013, 250, 19) to undertake detailed facies interpretation and quantification. Laboratory petrophysical analyses were performed on 34 core plugs cut from key field facies samples, including P- and S-wave velocity, density, porosity and permeability at both ambient and confining pressure. Integration of the 3D model with the petrophysical data has enabled the production of pseudo-wireline logs and property distribution maps which demonstrate the variability of physical properties within hyaloclastite sequences at outcrop to seismic scale. Through comparison of our data with examples of older buried hyaloclastite sequences we demonstrate that the wide-ranging properties of young hyaloclastites become highly uniform in older sequences making their identification by remote geophysical methods for similar facies variations more challenging. Our study provides an improved understanding of the petrophysical property distribution within hyaloclastite sequences and forms a valuable step towards improving the understanding of similar subsurface sequences and their implications for imaging and fluid flow.     

Axial and transverse deep-water sediment supply to syn-rift fault terraces: Insights from the West Xylokastro Fault Block,Gulf of Corinth,Greece

Deep-water syn-rift systems develop in partially- or transiently-linked depocentres to form complicated depositional architectures, which are characterised by short transport distances, coarse grain sizes and a wide range of sedimentary processes. Exhumed systems that can help to constrain the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of such systems are rare or complicated by inversion tectonics. Here, we document a mid-Pleistocene deep-water syn-rift system fed by Gilbert-type fan deltas in the hangingwall of a rift margin fault bounding the West Xylokastro Horst block, on the southern margin of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece. Structural and stratigraphic mapping combined with digital outcrop models permit observations along this syn-rift depositional system from hinterland source to deep-water sink. The West Xylokastro Fault hangingwall is filled by two distinct sediment systems; an axial system fed by coarse-grained sediment gravity flows derived from fault-tip Gilbert-type fan deltas and a lateral system dominated by mass transport deposits fed from an evolving fault-scarp apron. Abrupt changes in stratigraphic architecture across the axial system are interpreted to record changes in relative base level, sediment supply and tectonics. Locally, depositional topography and intra-basinal structures controlled sediment dispersal patterns, from bed-scale infilling of local rugose topography above mass transport complexes, to basin-scale confinement from the fault scarp apron. These acted to generate a temporally and spatially variable, heterogeneous stratigraphic architecture throughout the basin-fill. The transition of the locus of sedimentation from a rift margin to a fault terrace through the syn-sedimentary growth of a basinward fault produced regressive surfaces updip, which manifest themselves as channels in the deep-water realm and acted to prograde the system. We present a new conceptual model that recognises coeval axial and transverse systems based on the stratigraphic architecture around the West Xylokastro fault block that emphasizes the lateral and vertical heterogeneity of rift basin-fills with multiple entry points.     

Successor Characteristics of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Songliao Basins

The Songliao basin is a complex successor basin that was initiated in the Mesozoic and experienced multiple periods of reactivation. Based on seismic and drilling data, as well as regional geologic research, we suggest that the Songliao basin contains several different successor basins resting on top of Carboniferous-Permian folded strata forming the basement to the Songliao basin. These basins include the Triassic-Mid Jurassic Paleo-foreland basin, the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous downfaulted basin, and an early Cretaceous depressed basin （since the Denglouku Group）. This paper presents a systematic study of the basin-mountain interactions, and reveals that there are different types of prototype basin at different geologic times. These prototype basins sequentially superimposed and formed the large Songliao basin. Discovery of the Triassic-early Middle Jurassic paleo-foreland basin fills a Triassic-early Middle Jurassic gap in the geologic history of the Songliao basin. The paleo- foreland basin, downfaulted basin, and depressed thermal subsidence basin all together represent the whole Mesozoic-Cenozoic geologic history and deformation of the Songliao basin. Discovery of the Triassic-early Middle Jurassic paleo-foreland basin plays an important role both for deep natural gas exploration and the study of basin-mountain coupling in north China and eastern China in general. This example gives dramatic evidence that we should give much more attention to the polyphase tectonic evolution of related basins for the next phase of exploration and study.     

Mineral surface catalysis of reactions between Fe and oxime carbamate pesticides

This study examines the reduction of oxime carbamate pesticides (oxamyl, methomyl, and aldicarb) by Fe^II in aqueous suspensions containing twelve different (hydr)oxide and aluminosilicate minerals. In the absence of Fe^II, mineral surfaces have no apparent effect on the pathways or rates of oxime carbamate degradation. In anoxic suspensions containing Fe^II and mineral surfaces, rates of oxime carbamate reduction are significantly faster than in equivalent mineral-free homogeneous solutions. Rates increase with increasing surface area loading (mineral surface area per volume of suspension) and pH. Kinetic trends are interpreted in terms of changes in Fe^II speciation. Quantitative modeling indicates a first-order dependence on total adsorbed Fe^II concentration and no significant dependence on adsorbed oxime carbamate concentration. Bimolecular rate constants describing the reactivity of adsorbed Fe^II with dissolved oxamyl decrease in the following order: silicon dioxide #2 > silicon dioxide #1 ? hematite #2 > titanium dioxide #1 > hematite #1 > titanium dioxide #2 > silicon dioxide #3 > aluminum oxide > kaolinite #1 > kaolinite #2 > goethite ? titanium dioxide #3. Possible factors responsible for the increased reactivity of adsorbed Fe^II, as well as for the relative reactivity of Fe^II adsorbed on different surfaces, are discussed. Results from this study demonstrate that mineral surfaces present in subsurface environments can substantially catalyze the reduction of oxime carbamate pesticides by Fe^II. Overall rates of pesticide degradation may be under predicted by > 1 order of magnitude if the effects of mineral surfaces are not accounted for.     

Melts of garnet lherzolite: experiments, models and comparison to melts of pyroxenite and carbonated lherzolite

Phase equilibrium experiments on a compositionally modified olivine leucitite from the Tibetan plateau have been carried out from 2.2 to 2.8 GPa and 1,380–1,480 °C. The experiments-produced liquids multiply saturated with spinel and garnet lherzolite phase assemblages (olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel ± garnet) under nominally anhydrous conditions. These SiO₂-undersaturated liquids and published experimental data are utilized to develop a predictive model for garnet lherzolite melting of compositionally variable mantle under anhydrous conditions over the pressure range of 1.9–6 GPa. The model estimates the major element compositions of garnet-saturated melts for a range of mantle lherzolite compositions and predicts the conditions of the spinel to garnet lherzolite phase transition for natural peridotite compositions at above-solidus temperatures and pressures. We compare our predicted garnet lherzolite melts to those of pyroxenite and carbonated lherzolite and develop criteria for distinguishing among melts of these different source types. We also use the model in conjunction with a published predictive model for plagioclase and spinel lherzolite to characterize the differences in major element composition for melts in the plagioclase, spinel and garnet facies and develop tests to distinguish between melts of these three lherzolite facies based on major elements. The model is applied to understand the source materials and conditions of melting for high-K lavas erupted in the Tibetan plateau, basanite–nephelinite lavas erupted early in the evolution of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, as well as younger tholeiitic to alkali lavas from Kilauea.     

Late Paleozoic volcanic record of the Eastern Junggar terrane, Xinjiang, Northwestern China: Major and trace element characteristics, Sr–Nd isotopic systematics and implications for tectonic evolution

The Eastern Junggar terrane of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt includes a Late Paleozoic assemblage of volcanic rocks of mixed oceanic and arc affinity, located in a structurally complex belt between the Siberian plate, the Kazakhstan block, and the Tianshan Range. The early history of these rocks is not well constrained, but the Junggar terrane was part of a Cordilleran-style accreted arc assemblage by the Late Carboniferous. Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks of the northern part of the east Junggar terrane are divided, from base to top, into the Early Devonian Tuoranggekuduke Formation (Fm.), Middle Devonian Beitashan Fm., Middle Devonian Yundukala Fm., Late Devonian Jiangzierkuduke Fm., Early Carboniferous Nanmingshui Fm. and Late Carboniferous Batamayineishan Fm. We present major element, trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic analyses of 64 (ultra)mafic to intermediate volcanic rock samples of these formations. All Devonian volcanic rocks exhibit remarkably negative Nb, Ta and Ti anomalies on the primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagrams, and are enriched in more highly incompatible elements relative to moderately incompatible ones. Furthermore, they have subchondritic Nb/Ta ratios, and their Zr/Nb and Sm/Nd ratios resemble those of MORBs, characteristics of arc-related volcanic rocks. The Early Devonian Tuoranggekuduke Fm., Middle Devonian Beitashan Fm., and Middle Devonian Yundukala Fm. are characterized by tholeiitic and calc-alkaline affinities. In contrast, the Late Devonian Jiangzierkuduke Fm. contains a large amount of tuff and sandstone, and its volcanic rocks have dominantly calc-alkaline affinities. We therefore propose that the Jiangzierkuduke Fm. formed in a mature island arc setting, and other Devonian Fms. formed in an immature island arc setting. The basalts from the Nanmingshui Fm. have geochemical signatures between N-MORB and island arcs, indicating that they formed in a back-arc setting. In contrast, the volcanic rocks from the Batamayineishan Fm. display geochemical characteristics of continental intraplate volcanic rocks formed in an extensional setting after collision. Thus, we propose a model that involves a volcanic arc formed by northward subduction of the ancient Junggar ocean and amalgamation of different terranes during the Late Paleozoic to interpret the formation of the Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the Eastern Junggar terrane, and the Altai and Junggar terranes fully amalgamated into a Cordilleran-type orogen during the end of Early Carboniferous to the Middle–Late Carboniferous.