GRIDA3—a shared resources manager for environmental data analysis and applications

GRIDA3 (Shared Resources Manager for Environmental Data Analysis and Applications) is a multidisciplinary project designed to deliver an integrated system to forge solutions to some environmental challenges such as the constant increase of polluted sites, the sustainability of natural resources usage and the forecast of extreme meteorological events. The GRIDA3 portal is mainly based on Web 2.0 technologies and EnginFrame framework. The portal, now at an advanced stage of development, provides end-users with intuitive Web-interfaces and tools that simplify job submission to the underneath computing resources. The framework manages the user authentication and authorization, then controls the action and job execution into the grid computing environment, collects the results and transforms them into an useful format on the client side. The GRIDA3 Portal framework will provide a problem-solving platform allowing, through appropriate access policies, the integration and the sharing of skills, resources and tools located at multiple sites across federated domains.     

Evidence of multiple thermokarst lake generations from an 11 800‐year‐old permafrost core on the northern Seward Peninsula,Alaska

Permafrost degradation influences the morphology, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology of Arctic landscapes over a range of time scales. To reconstruct temporal patterns of early to late Holocene permafrost and thermokarst dynamics, site‐specific palaeo‐records are needed. Here we present a multi‐proxy study of a 350‐cm‐long permafrost core from a drained lake basin on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, revealing Lateglacial to Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in a central location of Beringia. Use of radiocarbon dating, micropalaeontology (ostracods and testaceans), sedimentology (grain‐size analyses, magnetic susceptibility, tephra analyses), geochemistry (total nitrogen and carbon, total organic carbon, δ¹³C_org) and stable water isotopes (δ¹⁸O, δD, d excess) of ground ice allowed the reconstruction of several distinct thermokarst lake phases. These include a pre‐lacustrine environment at the base of the core characterized by the Devil Mountain Maar tephra (22 800±280 cal. a BP, Unit A), which has vertically subsided in places due to subsequent development of a deep thermokarst lake that initiated around 11 800 cal. a BP (Unit B). At about 9000 cal. a BP this lake transitioned from a stable depositional environment to a very dynamic lake system (Unit C) characterized by fluctuating lake levels, potentially intermediate wetland development, and expansion and erosion of shore deposits. Complete drainage of this lake occurred at 1060 cal. a BP, including post‐drainage sediment freezing from the top down to 154 cm and gradual accumulation of terrestrial peat (Unit D), as well as uniform upward talik refreezing. This core‐based reconstruction of multiple thermokarst lake generations since 11 800 cal. a BP improves our understanding of the temporal scales of thermokarst lake development from initiation to drainage, demonstrates complex landscape evolution in the ice‐rich permafrost regions of Central Beringia during the Lateglacial and Holocene, and enhances our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in thermokarst‐affected regions of the Arctic.     

Wind wave climate change: Impacts on the littoral processes at the Northern Buenos Aires Province Coast, Argentina

Several works reported wind-wave climate changes at Buenos Aires Province continental shelf. The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of these changes in the coastal processes of the region. This study is carried out by means of visual wave parameters gathered at the surf zone of Pinamar and by a conveniently implemented and validated numerical wave model (SWAN). Numerical results corresponding to a grid point located 30 km off Pinamar show a significant increase of wave heights from the S and SSE directions and in the frequency of occurrence of waves coming from the S, SSE and E. It is shown that these slight offshore appreciated trends would not have significant effects on the breaker heights observed at the surf zone at Pinamar. On the contrary, the slight positive trend observed offshore in the frequency of occurrence could be affecting the incidence of waves onshore, producing an increase in the number of cases of normal incidence at the surf zone and, consequently, a significant decrease in the alongshore wave energy flux assessed at Pinamar. This reduction in the alongshore wave energy flux could be responsible for some coastal changes detected in the region as, for instance, the remarkable shortening of Punta Rasa spit located 70 km northward Pinamar.     

Pingüino In-bearing polymetallic vein deposit,Deseado Massif,Patagonia, Argentina: characteristics of mineralization and ore-forming fluids

The Pingüino deposit, located in the low sulfidation epithermal metallogenetical province of the Deseado Massif, Patagonia, Argentina, represents a distinct deposit type in the region. It evolved through two different mineralization events: an early In-bearing polymetallic event that introduced In, Zn, Pb, Ag, Cd, Au, As, Cu, Sn, W and Bi represented by complex sulfide mineralogy, and a late Ag–Au quartz-rich vein type that crosscut and overprints the early polymetallic mineralization. The indium-bearing polymetallic mineralization developed in three stages: an early Cu–Au–In–As–Sn–W–Bi stage (Ps₁), a Zn–Pb–Ag–In–Cd–Sb stage (Ps₂) and a late Zn–In–Cd (Ps₃). Indium concentrations in the polymetallic veins show a wide range (3.4 to 1,184 ppm In). The highest indium values (up to 1,184 ppm) relate to the Ps₂ mineralization stage, and are associated with Fe-rich sphalerites, although significant In enrichment (up to 159 ppm) is also present in the Ps₁ paragenesis associated with Sn-minerals (ferrokesterite and cassiterite). The hydrothermal alteration associated with the polymetallic mineralization is characterized by advanced argillic alteration within the immediate vein zone, and sericitic alteration enveloping the vein zone. Fluid inclusion studies indicate homogenisation temperatures of 308.2–327°C for Ps₁ and 255–312.4°C for Ps₂, and low to moderate salinities (2 to 5 eq.wt.% NaCl and 4 to 9 eq.wt.% NaCl, respectively). δ³⁴S values of sulfide minerals (+0.76‰ to +3.61‰) indicate a possible magmatic source for the sulfur in the polymetallic mineralization while Pb isotope ratios for the sulfides and magmatic rocks (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios of 17.379 to 18.502; 15.588 to 15.730 and 38.234 to 38.756, respectively) are consistent with the possibility that the Pb reservoirs for both had the same crustal source. Spatial relationships, hydrothermal alteration styles, S and Pb isotopic data suggest a probable genetic relation between the polymetallic mineralization and dioritic intrusions that could have been the source of metals and hydrothermal fluids. Mineralization paragenesis, alteration mineralogy, geochemical signatures, fluid inclusion data and isotopic data, confirm that the In-bearing polymetallic mineralization from Pingüino deposit is a distinct type, in comparison with the well-known epithermal low sulfidation mineralization from the Deseado Massif.     

Simulation of marine controlled source electromagnetic measurements using a parallel fourier <Emphasis Type="Italic">hp</Emphasis>-finite element method

We introduce a new numerical method to simulate geophysical marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) measurements for the case of 2D structures and finite 3D sources of electromagnetic (EM) excitation. The method of solution is based on a spatial discretization that combines a 1D Fourier transform with a 2D self-adaptive, goal-oriented, hp-Finite element method. It enables fast and accurate simulations for a variety of important, challenging and practical cases of marine CSEM acquisition. Numerical results confirm the high accuracy of the method as well as some of the main physical properties of marine CSEM measurements such as high measurement sensitivity to oil-bearing layers in the subsurface. In our model, numerical results indicate that measurements could be affected by the finite oil-bearing layer by as much as 10⁴% (relative difference). While the emphasis of this paper is on EM simulations, the method can be used to simulate different physical phenomena such as seismic measurements.     

Oblique rifting in Salina, Lipari and Vulcano islands (Aeolian islands, southern Italy)

A structural analysis carried out on the volcanic products of the islands of Salina, Lipari and Vulcano (Aeolian archipelago) points out that the large-scale tectonic setting is dominated by NW-SE trending right-lateral extensional strike-slip faults and by N-S to NE-SW trending normal faults and fractures. This fault pattern generates pull-apart type structures, developing between different right-hand overlapping fault segments and a characteristic extensional imbricate fan geometry at the tip of the major strike-slip faults. All the structures, representing the surface expression of an active crustal discontinuity which controls the evolutionary history of the magmatism of the three islands, are kinematically compatible with a N100°E extension related to a rifting process affecting southern Italy.     

Modelling of fractured carbonate reservoirs: outline of a novel technique via a case study from the Molasse Basin, southern Bavaria, Germany

Fluid flow in low-permeable carbonate rocks depends on the density of fractures, their interconnectivity and on the formation of fault damage zones. The present-day stress field influences the aperture hence the transmissivity of fractures whereas paleostress fields are responsible for the formation of faults and fractures. In low-permeable reservoir rocks, fault zones belong to the major targets. Before drilling, an estimate for reservoir productivity of wells drilled into the damage zone of faults is therefore required. Due to limitations in available data, a characterization of such reservoirs usually relies on the use of numerical techniques. The requirements of these mathematical models encompass a full integration of the actual fault geometry, comprising the dimension of the fault damage zone and of the fault core, and the individual population with properties of fault zones in the hanging and foot wall and the host rock. The paper presents both the technical approach to develop such a model and the property definition of heterogeneous fault zones and host rock with respect to the current stress field. The case study describes a deep geothermal reservoir in the western central Molasse Basin in southern Bavaria, Germany. Results from numerical simulations indicate that the well productivity can be enhanced along compressional fault zones if the interconnectivity of fractures is lateral caused by crossing synthetic and antithetic fractures. The model allows a deeper understanding of production tests and reservoir properties of faulted rocks.     

Ozone abundance on Mars from infrared heterodyne spectra: I. Acquisition, retrieval, and anticorrelation with water vapor

Observations of ozone on Mars were made using the Goddard Space Flight Center's Infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer and Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind and Composition at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. Ozone is an important observable tracer of martian photochemistry. Infrared heterodyne spectroscopy with spectral resolution ?¹⁰⁶ is the only technique that directly measures ozone in the martian atmosphere from the surface of the Earth. Ozone column abundances down to the martian surface were acquired in seven data sets taken between 1988 and 2003 at various orbital positions (LS=40°, 74°, 102°, 115°, 202°, 208°, 291°). Ozone abundances are compared with those retrieved using ultraviolet techniques, showing good agreement. Odd hydrogen (HO_X) chemistry predicts anticorrelation of ozone and water vapor abundances. Retrieved ozone abundances consistently show anticorrelation with corresponding water vapor abundances, providing strong confirmation of odd hydrogen activity. Deviation from strict anticorrelation between the observed total column densities of ozone and water vapor suggests that constituent vertical distribution is an additional, significant factor.     

Dynamical Evolution of High Velocity Clouds

HI observations of high-velocity clouds(HVCs) indicate that they are interacting with their ambientmedium. The question on the dynamical and thermal stabilization of a cold dense neutral cloud in a hot, thin, and magnetized ambient halo plasma is investigated by plasma-neutral gas simulations.The simulations show the formation of a comet-likehead-tail structurecombined with a magnetic barrier whichexerts a stabilizing pressure on the cloud and hindershot plasma from diffusing into the cloud.