Tagging-the-triangle algorithm for partitioning features with inconsistent boundaries

In spatial data sets, gaps or overlaps among features are frequently found in spatial tessellations due to the non-abutting edges with adjacent features. These non-abutting edges in loose tessellations are also called inconsistent boundaries or slivers; polygons containing at least one inconsistent boundary are called inconsistent polygons or sliver polygons. The existing algorithms to solve topological inconsistencies in sliver polygons suffer from one or more of three major issues, namely determination of tolerances, excessive CPU processing time for large data sets and loss of vertex history. In this article, we introduce a new algorithm that mitigates these three issues. Our algorithm efficiently searches the features with inconsistent polygons in a given spatial data set and logically partitions them among adjacent features. The proposed algorithm employs the constrained Delaunay triangulation technique to generate labelled triangles from which inconsistent polygons with gaps and overlaps are identified using label counts. These inconsistent polygons are then partitioned using the straight skeleton method. Moreover, each of these partitioned gaps or overlaps is distributed among the adjacent features to improve the topological consistency of the spatial data sets. We experimentally verified our algorithm using the real land cadastre data set. The comparison results show that the proposed algorithm is four times faster than the existing algorithm for data sets with 200,000 edges.     

Evaluation of probabilistic precipitation forecast determined from WRF forecasted amounts

This paper examines the connection between the probability of precipitation and forecast amounts from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model runs over Central and West Africa. A one season period (June–September 2010) was used to investigate the quantitative precipitation forecast–probability relationship. The predictive capability of this relationship was then tested on an independent sample of data (June–September 2011); 2010 and 2011 were wet and dry years, respectively. The results show that rainfall is less likely to occur in those areas where the model indicates no precipitation than it is elsewhere in the domain. Rainfall is more likely to occur in those regions where precipitation is predicted, especially where the predicted precipitation amounts are largest. The probabilities of rainfall forecasts based on this relationship are found to possess skill as measured by relative operating characteristic curves, reliability diagrams, and Brier skill scores. Skillful forecasts from the technique exist throughout 24-h periods for which WRF output was available. The results suggest that this forecasting tool might assist forecasters throughout the season in a wide variety of weather events and not only in areas of difficult-to-forecast convective systems.     

Density-Stratified Flow Events in Great Salt Lake,Utah, USA: Implications for Mercury and Salinity Cycling

Density stratification in saline and hypersaline water bodies from throughout the world can have large impacts on the internal cycling and loading of salinity, nutrients, and trace elements. High temporal resolution hydroacoustic and physical/chemical data were collected at two sites in Great Salt Lake (GSL), a saline lake in the western USA, to understand how density stratification may influence salinity and mercury (Hg) distributions. The first study site was in a causeway breach where saline water from GSL exchanges with less saline water from a flow restricted bay. Near-surface-specific conductance values measured in water at the breach displayed a good relationship with both flow and wind direction. No diurnal variations in the concentration of dissolved (<0.45 μm) methylmercury (MeHg) were observed during the 24-h sampling period; however, the highest proportion of particulate Hg_total and MeHg loadings was observed during periods of elevated salinity. The second study site was located on the bottom of GSL where movement of a high-salinity water layer, referred to as the deep brine layer (DBL), is restricted to a naturally occurring 1.5-km-wide “spillway” structure. During selected time periods in April/May, 2012, wind-induced flow reversals in a railroad causeway breach, separating Gunnison and Gilbert Bays, were coupled with high-velocity flow pulses (up to 55 cm/s) in the DBL at the spillway site. These flow pulses were likely driven by a pressure response of highly saline water from Gunnison Bay flowing into the north basin of Gilbert Bay. Short-term flow reversal events measured at the railroad causeway breach have the ability to move measurable amounts of salt and Hg from Gunnison Bay into the DBL. Future disturbance to the steady state conditions currently imposed by the railroad causeway infrastructure could result in changes to the existing chemical balance between Gunnison and Gilbert Bays. Monitoring instruments were installed at six additional sites in the DBL during October 2012 to assess impacts from any future modifications to the railroad causeway.     

Geophysical exploration on the subsurface geology of La Garrotxa monogenetic volcanic field (NE Iberian Peninsula)

We applied self-potential (SP) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to the exploration of the uppermost part of the substrate geology and shallow structure of La Garrotxa monogenetic volcanic field, part of the European Neogene–Quaternary volcanic province. The aim of the study was to improve knowledge of the shallowest part of the feeding system of these monogenetic volcanoes and of its relationship with the subsurface geology. This study complements previous geophysical studies carried out at a less detailed scale and aimed at identifying deeper structures, and together will constitute the basis to establish volcanic susceptibility in La Garrotxa. SP study complemented previous smaller-scale studies and targeted key areas where ERT could be conducted. The main new results include the generation of resistivity models identifying dykes and faults associated with several monogenetic cones. The combined results confirm that shallow tectonics controlling the distribution of the foci of eruptive activity in this volcanic zone mainly correspond to NNW–SSE and accessorily by NNE–SSW Neogene extensional fissures and faults and concretely show the associated magmatic intrusions. These structures coincide with the deeper ones identified in previous studies, and show that previous Alpine tectonic structures played no apparent role in controlling the loci of this volcanism. Moreover, the results obtained show that the changes in eruption dynamics occurring at different vents located at relatively short distances in this volcanic area are controlled by shallow stratigraphical, structural and hydrogeological differences underneath these monogenetic volcanoes.     

Building a 3D geomodel for water resources management: case study in the Regional Park of the lower courses of Manzanares and Jarama Rivers (Madrid, Spain)

Water resources management of protected sites requires a powerful tool to analyze the process and changes that are occurring in the environment. This paper describes a 3D geomodel design of the Jarama River Detrital Aquifer located in Madrid (Spain). That hydrogeological unit is included in the “Parque Regional de los Cursos Bajos de los Ríos Manzanares y Jarama” (Regional Park of the Lower Courses of Manzanares and Jarama Rivers). The goal of this work is to define a method by which a three-dimensional (3D) model can be created with hydrogeologic geometry real of main aquifer, to accomplish an adequate management of the groundwater resources. All data used in this study were integrated in a geographic database: geological and hydrogeological information, geological map (1:25,000), eleven cross-sections, piezometric maps and a digital elevation model. The constructed 3D model of the Jarama Aquifer shows geometric features and spatial distribution and variations of geologic units. Thus, the 3D model allows the assessment of volumes of each unit, the depth and thickness variations of the main aquifer, and the spatial and temporal variations of water tables. From the 3D model, the most suitable areas (in terms of groundwater protection) for managed recharge and mining works have been identified.     

A geochemical and 3D-geometry geophysical survey to assess artificial groundwater recharge potential in the Pacific coast of Baja California,Mexico

A geophysical and geochemical study was carried out in the Maneadero aquifer, Baja California, Mexico, with the aim of identifying potential recharge locations for reclaimed water (RW). This coastal aquifer shows a significant decline in water quality, both as a result of salinization and the pollution by nitrates. Total dissolved solids (TDS) in an extreme case increased from 4 g l^?1 in 2000 to 27 g l^?1 in 2011. Nitrate as N–NO₃, reaches 46 mg l^?1. Based on their geochemistry and location, four water-quality zones are identified: (a) fresh water with TDS ≈ 1 g l^?1 in the upper creeks, (b) mixture between seawater and freshwater in the coast-proximal sections, (c) water significantly enriched in nitrate below and adjacent to the town of Maneadero, and (d) brackish water with no signs of current interaction with freshwater. The 3D geophysics identifies the influence of modern recharge areas and also buried flow-paths down to at least 30 m depth. The locations best suitable for aquifer recharge are those with equal or higher TDS concentrations (>2.5 g l^?1) than RW, which are located at the brackish water zone and/or at the coastal limits of the mixing zones.     

Can a Training Image Be a Substitute for a Random Field Model?

In most multiple-point simulation algorithms, all statistical features are provided by one or several training images (TI) that serve as a substitute for a random field model. However, because in practice the TI is always of finite size, the stochastic nature of multiple-point simulation is questionable. This issue is addressed by considering the case of a sequential simulation algorithm applied to a binary TI that is a genuine realization of an underlying random field. At each step, the algorithm uses templates containing the current target point as well as all previously simulated points. The simulation is validated by checking that all statistical features of the random field (supported by the simulation domain) are retrieved as an average over a large number of outcomes. The results are as follows. It is demonstrated that multiple-point simulation performs well whenever the TI is a complete (infinitely large) realization of a stationary, ergodic random field. As soon as the TI is restricted to a limited domain, the statistical features cannot be obtained exactly, but integral range techniques make it possible to predict how much the TI should be extended to approximate them up to a prespecified precision. Moreover, one can take advantage of extending the TI to reduce the number of disruptions in the execution of the algorithm, which arise when no conditioning template can be found in the TI.     

Mathiasite-loveringite and priderite in mantle xenoliths from the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province,Brazil: genesis and constraints on mantle metasomatism

Alkali-bearing Ti oxides were identified in mantle xenoliths enclosed in kimberlite-like rocks from Limeira 1 alkaline intrusion from the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province, southeastern Brazil. The metasomatic mineral assemblages include mathiasite-loveringite and priderite associated with clinopyroxene, phlogopite, ilmenite and rutile. Mathiasite-loveringite (55–60 wt.% TiO₂; 5.2–6.7 wt.% ZrO₂) occurs in peridotite xenoliths rimming chromite (～50 wt.% Cr₂O₃) and subordinate ilmenite (12–13.4 wt.% MgO) in double reaction rim coronas. Priderite (Ba/(K+Ba)< 0.05) occurs in phlogopite-rich xenoliths as lamellae within Mg-ilmenite (8.4–9.8 wt.% MgO) or as intergrowths in rutile crystals that may be included in sagenitic phlogopite. Mathiasite-loveringite was formed by reaction of peridotite primary minerals with alkaline melts. The priderite was formed by reaction of peridotite minerals with ultrapotassic melts. Disequilibrium textures and chemical zoning of associated minerals suggest that the metasomatic reactions responsible for the formation of the alkali-bearing Ti oxides took place shortly prior the entrainment of the xenoliths in the host magma, and is not connected to old (Proterozoic) mantle enrichment events.     

A Middle Miocene carbonate embankment on an active volcanic slope: Ilhéu de Baixo,Madeira Archipelago,Eastern Atlantic

Carbonate factories on insular oceanic islands in active volcanic settings are poorly explored. This case study illuminates marginal limestone deposits on a steep volcanic flank and their recurring interruption by deposits linked to volcaniclastic processes. Historically known as Ilhéu da Cal (Lime Island), Ilhéu de Baixo was separated from Porto Santo, in the Madeira Archipelago, during the course of the Quaternary. Here, extensive mines were tunnelled in the Miocene carbonate strata for the production of slaked lime. Approximately 10 000 m³ of calcarenite (−1 to 1ø) was removed by hand labour from the Blandy Brothers mine at the south end of the islet. Investigations of two stratigraphic sections at opposite ends of the mine reveal that the quarried material represents an incipient carbonate ramp developed from east to west and embanked against the flank of a volcanic island. A petrographic analysis of limestones from the mine shows that coralline red algae from crushed rhodoliths account for 51% of all identifiable bioclasts. This material was transported shoreward and deposited on the ramp between normal wave base and storm wave base at moderate depths. The mine's roof rocks are formed by Surtseyan deposits from a subsequent volcanic eruption. Volcaniclastic density flows also are a prevalent factor interrupting renewed carbonate deposition. These flows arrived downslope from the north and gradually steepened the debris apron westwards. Slope instability is further shown by a coral rudstone density flow that followed from growth of a coral reef dominated by Pocillopora madreporacea (Lamarck), partial reef collapse, and transport from a more easterly direction into a fore‐reef setting. The uppermost facies represents a soft bottom at moderate depths in a quiet, but shore‐proximal setting. Application of this study to a broader understanding of the relationship between carbonate and volcaniclastic deposition on oceanic islands emphasizes the susceptibility of carbonates to dilution and complete removal by density flows of various kinds, in contrast to the potential for preservation beneath less‐disruptive Surtseyan deposits. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.