Snow Mass Quantification and Avalanche Victim Search by Ground Penetrating Radar

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems can be used in many applications of snow and ice research. The information from the GPR is used to identify and interpret layers, objects and different structures in the snow. A commercially available GPR system was further developed to work in the rough environment of snow and ice. The applied GPR is a 900 MHz system that easily reaches snow depths of up to 10 meters. The system was calibrated in the course of several manual snow depth measurements during each survey. The depth resolution depends on the snow type and is around ±0.1 m. The GPR system is carried alongside a line of interest and is triggered by an odometer wheel at regular adjustable steps. All equipment is mounted in a sledge and is pulled by a snowmobile over the snow surface. This setup allows for an efficient coverage of several kilometers of terrain profiles. The radar profiles give a real time two-dimensional impression of structures and objects and the interface between snow and the underlying ground. The actual radar profile is shown on a screen on the sledge allowing the immediate marking of objects and structures. During the past three years the instrument was successfully used for the study of snow distributions, for the detection of glacier crevasses under the snow cover, and for the search of avalanche victims in avalanche debris. The results show the capability of the instrument to detect persons and objects in the snow cover. In the future, this device may be a new tool for avalanche rescue operations. Today, the size and weight of the system prevents the accessing of very steep slopes and areas not accessible to snowmobiles. Further developments will decrease the size of the system and make it a valuable tool to quantify snow masses in avalanche release zones and run-out areas.     

Stochastic ground water flow simulation with a fracture zone continuum model

A method is presented for incorporating the hydraulic effects of vertical fracture zones into two-dimensional cell-based continuum models of ground water flow and particle tracking. High hydraulic conductivity features are used in the model to represent fracture zones. For fracture zones that are not coincident with model rows or columns, an adjustment is required for the hydraulic conductivity value entered into the model cells to compensate for the longer flowpath through the model grid. A similar adjustment is also required for simulated travel times through model cells. A travel time error of less than 8% can occur for particles moving through fractures with certain orientations. The fracture zone continuum model uses stochastically generated fracture zone networks and Monte Carlo analysis to quantify uncertainties with simulated advective travel times. An approach is also presented for converting an equivalent continuum model into a fracture zone continuum model by establishing the contribution of matrix block transmissivity to the bulk transmissivity of the aquifer. The methods are used for a case study in west-central Florida to quantify advective travel times from a potential wetland rehydration site to a municipal supply wellfield. Uncertainties in advective travel times are assumed to result from the presence of vertical fracture zones, commonly observed on aerial photographs as photolineaments.     

Intelligent data fusion for wide-area assessment of UXO contamination

The remediation of sites contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains an area of intense focus for the Department of Defense. Under the sponsorship of SERDP, data fusion techniques are being developed for use in enhancing wide-area assessment UXO remediation efforts and a data fusion framework is being created to provide a cohesive data management and decision-making utility to allow for more efficient expenditure of time, labor and resources. An important first step in this work is the development of feature extraction utilities and feature probability density maps for eventual input to data fusion algorithms, making data fusion of estimates of data quality, UXO-related features, non-UXO backgrounds, and correlations among independent data streams possible. Utilizing data acquired during ESTCP’s Wide-Area Assessment Pilot Program, the results presented here successfully demonstrate the feasibility of automated feature extraction from light detection and ranging, orthophotography, and helicopter magnetometry wide-area assessment survey data acquired at the Pueblo Precision Bombing Range #2. These data were imported and registered to a common survey map grid and UXO-related features were extracted and utilized to construct survey site-wide probability density maps that are well-suited for input to higher level data fusion algorithms. Preliminary combination of feature maps from the various data sources yielded maps for the Pueblo site that offered a more accurate UXO assessment than any one data source alone.

Magmatic emulsion texture formed by mixing during extrusion, Rauðafell composite complex, Breiðdalur volcano, eastern Iceland

The Rauðafell composite complex is part of the Neogene Breiðdalur volcano, eastern Iceland and is composed of a composite feeder dyke, a vent structure and a composite flow. The two end-members of the composite complex are rhyolite and basalt, and both are rich in plagioclase macrocrysts: bytownite in basalt and oligoclase in rhyolite. The rhyolite also includes ferroaugite macrocrysts. The mixed rocks are separated in three textural groups related to mixing proportions. When the basaltic end-member is dominant, a hybrid texture with a homogeneous matrix is observed and the only evidence of mixing is the presence of antecrysts of both end-members. When the basaltic end-member represents c. 65 to 30 % of the mixture, we observe emulsion textures composed of finely co-mingled basalt and rhyolite. The difference between these two textural expressions of mixing is due to effects of diffusion. The third texture shows mafic enclaves suspended in a rhyolitic matrix. In these rocks, the proportion of the basaltic end-member is inferior to 30 %, implying that the basalt froze solid in contact with the rhyolite. Zoning of plagioclase shows that the mixing processes are driven initially by highly efficient micro-mingling; the emulsification is possibly a result of compositional gradient stresses (Korteweg stress) between miscible basalt and rhyolite. This is followed by chemical diffusion (hybridisation) and tend to protect antecrysts from reaction with the primitive magmas. When antecrysts originated in the evolved magma, they undergo dissolution due to thermal disequilibrium during mingling and chemical disequilibrium during hybridisation. We argue that such mixing processes are important in producing intermediate rocks in Iceland and elsewhere that shows only the chemical attributes of an origin by mixing. The preservation of emulsion textures is rare and highly dependent on cooling history.     

Observational and predictive uncertainties for multiple variables in a spatially distributed hydrological model

In this study, uncertainty in model input data (precipitation) and parameters is propagated through a physically based, spatially distributed hydrological model based on the MIKE SHE code. Precipitation uncertainty is accounted for using an ensemble of daily rainfall fields that incorporate four different sources of uncertainty, whereas parameter uncertainty is considered using Latin hypercube sampling. Model predictive uncertainty is assessed for multiple simulated hydrological variables (discharge, groundwater head, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture). Utilizing an extensive set of observational data, effective observational uncertainties for each hydrological variable are assessed. Considering not only model predictive uncertainty but also effective observational uncertainty leads to a notable increase in the number of instances, for which model simulation and observations are in good agreement (e.g., 47% vs. 91% for discharge and 0% vs. 98% for soil moisture). Effective observational uncertainty is in several cases larger than model predictive uncertainty. We conclude that the use of precipitation uncertainty with a realistic spatio‐temporal correlation structure, analyses of multiple variables with different spatial support, and the consideration of observational uncertainty are crucial for adequately evaluating the performance of physically based, spatially distributed hydrological models.     

An audiomagnetotelluric study of the Meugueur-Meugueur ring structure, Aïr, Niger: ring dyke or cone sheet?

Three radial audiomagnetotelluric (AMT) sounding profiles were carried out across the narrow, 65-km diameter troctolitic Meugueur-Meugueur ring structure, central Aïr, Niger, to study its electrical configuration; one profile extended across the bedrock into the large Ofoud complex situated slightly off geographical centre within the ring. Apparent resistivity data from 27 sites ranged from isotropic to strongly anisotropic. In nearly all soundings, one- and two-dimensional modelling indicated the presence of a major zone of low resistivity (60–600 Ωm), about 200 m thick, dipping steeply inwards at an angle of 65–80° and extending to a depth of at least 2–5 km. This layer, overlain and underlain by rocks of higher resistivities in excess of 5000 Ωm, is taken to be the outer contact. A highly resistive body, about 200 m in width, dipping inwards to a depth of at least 4 km is taken to be the Meugueur-Meugueur intrusion, which is thus interpreted to be a cone sheet.     

Pumping test in a confined aquifer under tidal influence

In a coastal environment, tide-induced head fluctuations can complicate the interpretation of drawdown data from pumping tests. For confined aquifers and sinusoidal tides, the superposition principle can be used to obtain a closed-form solution. After subtracting the net tidal effects, the drawdown data become amenable to the standard analyses. Numerical simulations have shown that the method is reliable when the distance of the monitoring well to the well does not exceed 10% of the distance between the well and the tidal boundary.