Digital model of corrected accumulated flow for peak discharge data acquisition and drainage system design

The design of a drainage system for a roofing slate quarry was implemented by the enhancement of discharge peak estimation, and the uncertainty inevitably associated with the engineering model was reduced.

The development of a topographical, geological, and vegetation cover database developed from a Geographical Information System (GIS) allowed for the definition of the drainage network for a hydraulic system, along with the calculation of the runoff coefficient. This is applied to the digital model of accumulated flow (DMF) as a weight correction coefficient, using a matrix-based model at 5×5 m resolution. The new digital model of corrected accumulated flow (DMCF) is the result of combining the thematic maps with the map of slope <3%, which was previously created from the slope model. It is demonstrated that this new model allows to apply the “Rational Method” on cartographic units defined by the GIS.

The DMCF is compared with other traditional applications of the Rational Method based on the calculation of the discharge peak considering: (1) the drainage basin as a single watershed or (2) defining an average runoff coefficient in each sub-watershed. Both approaches have bigger discharge peaks than those obtained by the DMCF since the slope, lithology, and vegetation cover have average values, and the runoff coefficient is poorly defined, increasing the uncertainty in the discharge peak.     

An experimental investigation of LNAPL migration in an unsaturated/saturated sand

Accidental spills of hydrocarbons, such as Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs), are one of the most common sources of subsurface contamination. Migration of LNAPL in a porous medium is influenced by various factors such as the number of fluids present in the unsaturated/saturated zones and the proportion of pores occupied by each fluid. The results for relationship between matric suction and degree of saturation are presented in this paper for water–air, water–LNAPL and LNAPL–air systems in a sand. A simple and reliable setup using Buchner funnel was designed to obtain these relations. It was found that the relationship between matric suction head and degree of saturation is hysteretic for all the fluid systems (water–air, water–LNAPL and LNAPL–air). Furthermore, the amount of hysteresis depended upon the fluid system, with the maximum hysteresis occurring for water–air system. The results suggest that the amount of trapped air depends upon the reversal degree of saturation from drying to wetting.     

Petrology, geochemistry and isotopic ages of eclogites from the Dulan UHPM Terrane, the North Qaidam, NW China

The Dulan eclogite–gneiss region is located in the eastern part of the North Qaidam eclogite belt, NW China. Widespread evidence demonstrates that this region is a typical ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terrane. Eclogites occur as lenses or layers in both granitic and pelitic gneisses. Two distinguished sub-belts can be recognized and differ in mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry. The North Dulan Belt (NDB) has tholeiitic protoliths with high TiO₂ and lower Al₂O₃ and MgO contents. REE patterns and trace element contents resemble those of N-type and E-type MORB. In contrast, eclogites in the South Dulan Belt (SDB) are of island arc protoliths with low TiO₂, high Al₂O₃ and show LREE-enriched and HFSE-depleted patterns. Sm–Nd isotope analyses give isochron ages of 458–497 Ma for eclogite-facies metamorphism for the two sub-belts. The ages are similar to those of Yuka and Altun eclogites in the western extension of the North Qaidam-Altun eclogite belt. The Dulan UHP metamorphic terrane, together with several other recently recognized eclogite-bearing terrenes within the North Qaidam-Altun HP-UHP belt, constitute the key to the understanding of the tectonic evolution of the northern Tibetan Plateau. The entire UHP belt extends for more than 1000 km from the Dulan UHP terrane in the southeast to the Altun eclogite–gneiss terrane in the west. This super-belt marks an early Paleozoic continental collision zone between the Qaidam Massif and the Qilian Massif.     

Web-Based interrogation of large-scale geophysical data sets from handheld devices

This paper describes the issues related to using handheld devices to interrogate wirelessly large-scale geophysical data over the Web using a client–server configuration. A modification of our current Web-based data interrogation program addresses specifically the limitations of current handheld devices with wireless access, such as processor speed, screen size and resolution, memory, and network speeds. The system uses a combination of Java, Python, and C in order to run remotely from the handheld device, while incorporating the power and memory capacity of a large workstation server.     

On Rhythmical Layering of Rocks Formed from Basaltic Magma

Formation of rhythmical layering in intrusive basic and ultrabasic rock bodies is explained in different ways, in particular, by the movement of microparticles (mineral clusters) of plagioclase and pyroxene within the basalt melt under the influence of thermal and gravitational forces. A model of cluster movement is proposed as a consequence of the forces appearing when ultrasonic elastic fluctuations pass through the melt. The model is based on fundamental dynamic equations. Depending on cluster density, wave parameters, and magmatic chamber size, in the melt there can form different combinations of rhythmically alternating layers of different composition.     

A Linear Programming Approach to Determine the Normative Composition of Sedimentary Rocks

The analysis of modal and normative composition of sedimentary rocks is widely used for studying their sources and tectonic settings. The normative calculation of the mineral composition of rocks in this study is formulated as a linear programming problem and is solved by means of the simplex method. This enables both simultaneous and successive subtraction of a set of basic minerals from a rock sample represented by its chemical composition {SiO₂...LOI}. Such an approach provides a more exact calculation of the contribution of basic minerals in the rock. This mathematical approach is used to study two representative sets of sandstones and fine-grained rocks from a Meso- to Neoproterozoic marginal basin of southeastern Siberia (Uchur–Maya region, Yakutia) and a Pennsylvanian-Lower Permian uplifted continental block in Colorado, USA. The calculated normative mineral compositions of the Siberian sandstones are consistent with the observed modal compositions. These sandstones vary from K- Feldspar rich arkoses at the base of the sequence (the Uchur Group, lower Riphean) to quartz arenites or lithic sandstones and wacke in transgressive successions of the middle-upper Riphean. Arkoses and quartz arenites are dominant in Meso- to Neoproterozoic Siberia. These samples represent craton interior uplifted basement and quartzose, recycled orogen provenance of a stable craton in Rodinia. There are higher but consistent discrepancies between the calculated and observed compositions for the Pennsylvanian to Lower-Permian arkoses and quartz arenites (Sangre de Cristo, Belden, and Maroon Formations). The differences between the predicted and observed mineralogy may be due to uncertainties in the modes in the matrix and cement of the sandstones. This normative program should supplement modal calculations and provide better genetic constructions, especially in case of matrix-rich sandstones.     

Stepwise Conditional Transformation for Simulation of Multiple Variables

Most geostatistical studies consider multiple-related variables. These relationships often show complex features such as nonlinearity, heteroscedasticity, and mineralogical or other constraints. These features are not handled by the well-established Gaussian simulation techniques. Earth science variables are rarely Gaussian. Transformation or anamorphosis techniques make each variable univariate Gaussian, but do not enforce bivariate or higher order Gaussianity. The stepwise conditional transformation technique is proposed to transform multiple variables to be univariate Gaussian and multivariate Gaussian with no cross correlation. This makes it remarkably easy to simulate multiple variables with arbitrarily complex relationships: (1) transform the multiple variables, (2) perform independent Gaussian simulation on the transformed variables, and (3) back transform to the original variables. The back transformation enforces reproduction of the original complex features. The methodology and underlying assumptions are explained. Several petroleum and mining examples are used to show features of the transformation and implementation details.