Depositional history of the Miocene Lake Sinj (Dinaride Lake System,Croatia): a long-lived hard-water lake in a pull-apart tectonic setting

Early Miocene transpressional wrenching yielded a series of NW–SE-elongated pull-apart basins in the Dinarides of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They accommodated a huge lake system that gave rise to spectacular endemic mollusk radiation. Lake Sinj, moderately sized at 342 km², flooded the south-westernmost basin of this system. Due to the karstic environment, the hard-water, alkaline, long-lived lake developed a sediment infill with an average thickness of 370 m, dominated by authigenic limestone. The studied section represents the upper third of the basinal infill and provides detailed insights into the critical period of the lake and of the basinal evolution during the final stages of its filling. It comprises two large-scale, shallowing-upward cycles, both starting with fossil-poor limestones, gradually passing into coal-bearing carbonate rocks and coal seams. The fossil-poor intervals are interpreted as phases of repetitive acidification events due to changing lake level, which induced periodic drying and flooding of the uppermost littoral zone inhabited by starfruit (Damasonium) meadows. The flooding of the aerated, limy mud plain introduced H+ ions from organic-matter decay reactions into the shallow lake. This decreased its pH level, with catastrophic consequences for its biota. The ecosystem then stabilized during the orbitally-forced, dry climate phases. Based on the mollusk record, streams still influenced the marginal lake environment and rich organic-matter production created swamps and mires. The onset of mollusk radiation in the section correlates with stabilized lake alkalinity, as indicated by the disappearance of starfruits, ongoing authigenic carbonate production and by coal seams representing textbook examples for coal formation in alkaline environments. The inferred basinal setting fits well with the pull-apart basin model, pointing to the presence of an extended shallow ramp in front of a steep, fault-induced hillside of the hinterland.     

台风触发慢地震

有关慢地震的报导刮最初见于发生在日本伊豆半岛一个板内地震活动断层上的一次事件。之后又陆续监测到许多慢地震事件旧引。有研究人员认为,慢地震事件有可能触发普通地震（此观点得到数字模拟支持）,但就其对地震发生的广泛意义而言目前尚无确切定论。     

The viscosity of hydrous dacitic liquids: implications for the rheology of evolving silicic magmas

The viscosity of a series of six synthetic dacitic liquids, containing up to 5.04 wt% dissolved water, was measured above the glass transition range by parallel-plate viscometry. The temperature of the 10¹¹ Pa s isokom decreases from 1065 K for the anhydrous liquid, to 864 K and 680 K for water contents of 0.97 and 5.04 wt% H₂O. Including additional measurements at high temperatures by concentric-cylinder and falling-sphere viscometry, the viscosity (η) can be expressed as a function of temperature and water content w according to: where η is in Pa s, T is temperature in K, and w is in weight percent. Within the conditions of measurement, this parameterization reproduces the 76 viscosity data with a root-mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.16 log units in viscosity, or 7.8 K in temperature. The measurements show that water decreases the viscosity of the dacitic liquids more than for andesitic liquids, but less than for rhyolites. At low temperatures and high water contents, andesitic liquids are more viscous than the dacitic liquids, which are in turn more viscous than rhyolitic liquids, reversing the trend seen for high temperatures and low water contents. This suggests that the relative viscosity of different melts depends on temperature and water content as much as on bulk melt composition and structure. At magmatic temperatures, rhyolites are orders of magnitude more viscous than dacites, which are slightly more viscous than andesites. During degassing, all three liquids undergo a rapid viscosity increase at low water contents, and both dacitic and andesitic liquids will degas more efficiently than rhyolitic liquids. During cooling and differentiation, changing melt chemistry, decreasing temperature and increasing crystal content all lead to increases in the viscosity of magma (melt plus crystals). Under closed system conditions, where melt water content can increase during crystallization, viscosity increases may be small. Conversely, viscosity increases are very abrupt during ascent and degassing-induced crystallization.     

Geochemical and Nd‐Sr‐Pb isotopic evidence on the origin and geodynamic evolution of mid‐Cretaceous continental arc volcanic rocks of the Spences Bridge Group,south‐central British Columbia

The mid‐Cretaceous Spences Bridge Group (SBG) comprises a series of basaltic to rhyolitic lavas and related volcaniclastic rocks (Pimainus Formation) overlain by a succession of mainly amygdaloidal andesites (Spius Formation) related to the closure of the Methow–Tyaughton basin and accretion of the Insular terrane in the North American Cordillera. Geochemical variation in the SBG is related primarily to metasomatic processes in the mantle wedge. Pimainus lavas include low‐ to high‐K, tholeiitic and calc‐alkaline types, and have isotopic compositions (ε_Nd(100Ma) = + 5.2 to + 7.0, ε_Sr(100Ma) = − 10 to − 20, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.82 to 18.91, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.55 to 15.60, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.24 to 38.43) between the ranges for primitive arcs and accreted terrane crust. Crustal sources are identified only for some low–medium K dacite and rhyolite compositions. The occurrence of intermediate compositions with high MgO contents (up to 6 wt%) and the presence of adakitic trace element features in medium–high K felsic lavas attests to metasomatism of the mantle wedge by slab melts during Pimainus volcanism. Spius lavas have comparable K₂O and Pb isotopic compositions to the Pimainus, even higher MgO (up to 9.2 wt%), and display a mild intraplate character in having up to 0.6 wt% P₂O₅, 15 ppm Nb, and 240 ppm Zr. Spius Nd−Sr isotopic compositions (ε_Nd(100Ma) = + 5.3 to + 6.9, ε_Sr(100Ma) = − 14 to − 25) define an array extending from Pimainus to alkaline seamount compositions. The low ε_Sr values, elevated high field strength element contents, and moderate silica contents suggest Spius volcanism was related to the introduction of small melt fractions from the asthenosphere into the mantle wedge which had previously generated Pimainus melts. The range of compositional types in the Pimainus Formation constrains tectonic scenarios to include an elevated slab thermal regime, likely from approach of an ocean ridge system toward the continental margin. Spius volcanism may have been generated by asthenospheric upwelling triggered by slab window development or slab‐hinge roll‐back on closure of the Methow–Tyaughton basin. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calibration of complex subsurface reaction models using a surrogate-model approach

Automatic calibration of complex subsurface reaction models involves numerous difficulties, including the existence of multiple plausible models, parameter non-uniqueness, and excessive computational burden. To overcome these difficulties, this study investigated a novel procedure for performing simultaneous calibration of multiple models (SCMM). By combining a hybrid global-plus-polishing search heuristic with a biased-but-random adaptive model evaluation step, the new SCMM method calibrates multiple models via efficient exploration of the multi-model calibration space. Central algorithm components are an adaptive assignment of model preference weights, mapping functions relating the uncertain parameters of the alternative models, and a shuffling step that efficiently exploits pseudo-optimal configurations of the alternative models. The SCMM approach was applied to two nitrate contamination problems involving batch reactions and one-dimensional reactive transport. For the chosen problems, the new method produced improved model fits (i.e. up to 35% reduction in objective function) at significantly reduced computational expense (i.e. 40–90% reduction in model evaluations), relative to previously established benchmarks. Although the method was effective for the test cases, SCMM relies on a relatively ad-hoc approach to assigning intermediate preference weights and parameter mapping functions. Despite these limitations, the results of the numerical experiments are empirically promising and the reasoning and structure of the approach provide a strong foundation for further development.     

A model of inter-annual variability in beach levels

Beach profile data, collected twice per year at 19 stations over a 25 km length of coastline in Tremadoc Bay, have been analysed to quantify the inter-annual variability in beach levels over a 7 year period and the results compared against the output of a numerical model. Using hourly wind data as forcing, the morphological development of northern Tremadoc Bay was simulated by wave, tidal, longshore transport, total transport and bed level change models. The modelling methodology was efficient and innovative, allowing realistic simulations of long duration with a time step of 1 h, hence capturing the high frequency nature of wind events. The model was run for each of the 7 autumn/winter periods (generally November–April) and the modelled net change in beach levels compared with the data from all 19 stations. The model results had reasonable agreement with the beach profile surveys. However, the observed magnitude of bed level change in the bay lagged the model output by 1 year, indicating that sediment processes acting over a larger area are important in a relatively localised study of inter-annual variability.     

Artificial recharge through a thick, heterogeneous unsaturated zone

Thick, heterogeneous unsaturated zones away from large streams in desert areas have not previously been considered suitable for artificial recharge from ponds. To test the potential for recharge in these settings, 1.3 x 10(6) m(3) of water was infiltrated through a 0.36-ha pond along Oro Grande Wash near Victorville, California, between October 2002 and January 2006. The pond overlies a regional pumping depression 117 m below land surface and is located where thickness and permeability of unsaturated deposits allowed infiltration and saturated alluvial deposits were sufficiently permeable to allow recovery of water. Because large changes in water levels caused by nearby pumping would obscure arrival of water at the water table, downward movement of water was measured using sensors in the unsaturated zone. The downward rate of water movement was initially as high as 6 m/d and decreased with depth to 0.07 m/d; the initial time to reach the water table was 3 years. After the unsaturated zone was wetted, water reached the water table in 1 year. Soluble salts and nitrate moved readily with the infiltrated water, whereas arsenic and chromium were less mobile. Numerical simulations done using the computer program TOUGH2 duplicated the downward rate of water movement, accumulation of water on perched zones, and its arrival at the water table. Assuming 10 x 10(6) m(3) of recharge annually for 20 years, a regional ground water flow model predicted water level rises of 30 m beneath the ponds, and rises exceeding 3 m in most wells serving the nearby urban area.     

胶州湾浮游原生生物时空分布特征——丰度周年变化及与环境因子间的关系

为了解胶州湾浮游原生生物时空分布特征及与环境因子间的关系,自2007年6月～2008年5月,对青岛胶州湾内5个站点表层水的浮游原生生物丰度及环境因子进行了累计24次的周年采样调查及定性、定量分析.结果显示:(1) 浮游原生生物周年变动具有2个高峰,分别出现在4月和8月;(2) 浮游硅藻、鞭毛藻和纤毛虫的丰度周年变动均为双峰型:春节(4月)高峰、秋节(8月)高峰;(3) 浮游原生生物丰度与叶绿素a和溶解氧呈显著性相关,而其群落结构的变化与盐度、溶解氧、硝态氮和亚硝态氮的组合呈显著性相关.本工作为进一步探讨富营养化的内湾型近岸水体内原生生物生态学结构与功能提供了一份必要的基础资讯.     

Alternating Gaussian process modulated renewal processes for modeling threshold exceedances and durations

It is often of interest to model the incidence and duration of threshold exceedance events for an environmental variable over a set of monitoring locations. Such data arrive over continuous time and can be considered as observations of a two-state process yielding, sequentially, a length of time in the below threshold state followed by a length of time in the above threshold state, then returning to the below threshold state, etc. We have a two-state continuous time Markov process, often referred to as an alternating renewal process. The process is observed over a truncated time window and, within this window, duration in each state is modeled using a distinct cumulative intensity specification. Initially, we model each intensity over the window using a parametric regression specification. We extend the regression specification adding temporal random effects to enrich the model using a realization of a log Gaussian process over time. With only one type of renewal, this specification is referred to as a Gaussian process modulated renewal process. Here, we introduce Gaussian process modulation to the intensity for each state. Model fitting is done within a Bayesian framework. We clarify that fitting with a customary log Gaussian process specification over a lengthy time window is computationally infeasible. The nearest neighbor Gaussian process, which supplies sparse covariance structure, is adopted to enable tractable computation. We propose methods for both generating data under our models and for conducting model comparison. The model is applied to hourly ozone data for four monitoring sites at different locations across the United States for the ozone season of 2014. For each site, we obtain estimated profiles of up-crossing and down-crossing intensity functions through time. In addition, we obtain inference regarding the number of exceedances, the distribution of the duration of exceedance events, and the proportion of time in the above and below threshold state for any time interval.