A Compatible Single-Phase/Two-Phase Numerical Model: 1. Modeling the Transient Salt-Water/Fresh-Water Interface Motion

Abstract A numerical model (NEWVAR) to simulate the transient movement of a discrete interface between salt water and fresh water has been developed. NEWVAR is designed to allow the analysis of a regional two-dimensional ground-water flow in coastal aquifers. The numerical solution permits the prediction of both regional fresh-water levels and two-dimensional fresh-water/salt-water interface by using nested square meshes.
The numerical solution is based on the finite-difference method; the Gauss-Jordan direct method is used for solving steady- and unsteady-state linear equations. Different procedures are used to avoid numerical difficulties in the transient position of the interface toe for two-dimensional areal flow.
The numerical solution was tested against the analytical ones for the cases of an advancing interface and of a floating fresh-water lens over sea water. These tests showed good agreement, thus verifying the finite-difference approximation. The results of an application of this model to a real aquifer are discussed in a companion paper entitled: "A Compatible Single-Phase/Two-Phase Numerical Model 2. Application to a Coastal Aquifer in Mexico."     

Mapping of Regional-scale Multi-element Geochemical Anomalies Using Hierarchical Clustering Algorithms

Natural Resources Research - Mapping of multi-element geochemical anomalies is the basic goal of stream sediment sampling in worldwide, and especially at 1:100,000 scale in Iran. In the central...     

Microbial deposits in the aftermath of the end‐Permian mass extinction: A diverging case from the Mineral Mountains (Utah,USA)

The Lower Triassic Mineral Mountains area (Utah, USA) preserves diversified Smithian and Spathian reefs and bioaccumulations that contain fenestral‐microbialites and various benthic and pelagic organisms. Ecological and environmental changes during the Early Triassic are commonly assumed to be associated with numerous perturbations (productivity changes, acidifica‐tion, redox changes, hypercapnia, eustatism and temperature changes) post‐dating the Permian–Triassic mass extinction. New data acquired in the Mineral Mountains sediments provide evidence to decipher the relationships between depositional environments and the growth and distribution of microbial structures. These data also help to understand better the controlling factors acting upon sedimentation and community turnovers through the Smithian–early Spathian. The studied section records a large‐scale depositional sequence during the Dienerian(?)–Spathian interval. During the transgression, depositional environments evolved from a coastal bay with continental deposits to intertidal fenestral–microbial limestones, shallow subtidal marine sponge–microbial reefs to deep subtidal mud‐dominated limestones. Storm‐induced deposits, microbialite–sponge reefs and shallow subtidal deposits indicate the regression. Three microbialite associations occur in ascending order: (i) a red beds microbialite association deposited in low‐energy hypersaline supratidal conditions where microbialites consist of microbial mats and poorly preserved microbially induced sedimentary structure; (ii) a Smithian microbialite association formed in moderate to high‐energy, tidal conditions where microbialites include stromatolites and associated carbonate grains (oncoids, ooids and peloids); and (iii) a Spathian microbialite association developed in low‐energy offshore conditions that is preserved as multiple decimetre thick isolated domes and coalescent domes. Data indicate that the morphologies of the three microbialite associations are controlled primarily by accommodation, hydrodynamics, bathymetry and grain supply. This study suggests that microbial constructions are controlled by changes between trapping and binding versus precipitation processes in variable hydrodynamic conditions. Due to the presence of numerous metazoans associated with microbialites throughout the Smithian increase in accommodation and Spathian decrease in accommodation, the commonly assumed anachronistic character of the Early Triassic microbialites and the traditional view of prolonged deleterious conditions during the Early Triassic time interval is questioned.     

A 17,900-year multi-proxy lacustrine record of Lago Puyehue (Chilean Lake District): introduction

This paper introduces the background and main results of a research project aimed at unravelling the paleolimnological and paleoclimatological history of Lago Puyehue (40° S, Lake District, Chile) since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), based on the study of several sediment cores from the lake and on extensive fieldwork in the lake catchment. The longest record was obtained in an 11-m-long piston core. An age-depth model was established by AMS ¹⁴C dating, ²¹⁰Pb and ²³⁷Cs measurements, identification of event-deposits, and varve-counting for the past 600 years. The core extends back to 17,915 cal. yr. BP, and the seismic data indicate that an open-lake sedimentary environment already existed several thousands of years before that. The core was submitted to a multi-proxy analysis, including sedimentology, mineralogy, grain-size, major geochemistry and organic geochemistry (C/N ratio, δ¹³C), loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility, diatom analysis and palynology. Along-core variations in sediment composition reveal that the area of Lago Puyehue was characterized since the LGM by a series of rapid climate fluctuations superimposed on a long-term warming trend. Identified climate fluctuations confirm a.o. the existence of a Late-Glacial cold reversal predating the northern-hemisphere Younger Dryas cold period by 500–1,000 years, as well as the existence of an early southern-hemisphere Holocene climatic optimum. Varve-thickness analyses over the past 600 years reveal periodicities similar to those associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, as well as intervals with increased precipitation, related to an intensification of the El Niño impact during the southern-hemisphere equivalent of the Little Ice Age.     

Geologically Constrained Fuzzy Mapping of Gold Mineralization Potential,Baguio District,Philippines

An application of the theory of fuzzy sets to the mapping of gold mineralization potential in the Baguio gold mining district of the Philippines is described. Proximity to geological features is translated into fuzzy membership functions based upon qualitative and quantitative knowledge of spatial associations between known gold occurrences and geological features in the area. Fuzzy sets of favorable distances to geological features and favorable lithologic formations are combined using fuzzy logic as the inference engine. The data capture, map operations, and spatial data analyses are carried out using a geographic information system. The fuzzy predictive maps delineate at least 68% of the known gold occurrences that are used to generate the model. The fuzzy predictive maps delineate at least 76% of the unknown gold occurrences that are not used to generate the model. The results are highly comparable with the results of previous stream-sediment geochemical survey in the area. The results demonstrate the usefulness of a geologically constrained fuzzy set approach to map mineral potential and to redirect surficial exploration work in the search for yet undiscovered gold mineralization in the mining district. The method described is applicable to other mining districts elsewhere.     

The relationship between lineaments and borehole yield in North West Province, South Africa: results from geophysical studies

Airborne magnetic data and Landsat imagery, as well as time-domain electromagnetic soundings, were used to assess groundwater potential of the region around the town of Mafikeng in North West Province, South Africa. Lineaments were extracted based on on-screen digital data derived from magnetic and Landsat 7 imagery. The relationship between lineament-intersection density and borehole yield was assessed using statistical analysis. The results were discussed with respect to factors that determine the groundwater potential of the area. Correlation between lineament-intersection frequency and borehole yield is 60?C65% in the south and southeastern parts, and 45?C50% within 5?C30?km radius of Mafikeng. The eastern and western parts of the study area are characterized by weak or no correlation. Areas that correspond to high correlation between lineament-intersection frequency and borehole yield suggest the significance of cross-cutting structures in controlling groundwater potential zones, while results that suggest low or no correlation represent the influence of other factors. The overall results demonstrate that the combined analysis of airborne magnetic data, satellite imagery, borehole yield and ground-based time-domain electromagnetic soundings provide the best approach for groundwater assessment within the hard rock and carbonate terrains of the study area.     

Comparing the performances of four stochastic optimisation methods using analytic objective functions, 1D elastic full‐waveform inversion,and residual static computation

We compare the performances of four stochastic optimisation methods using four analytic objective functions and two highly non‐linear geophysical optimisation problems: one‐dimensional elastic full‐waveform inversion and residual static computation. The four methods we consider, namely, adaptive simulated annealing, genetic algorithm, neighbourhood algorithm, and particle swarm optimisation, are frequently employed for solving geophysical inverse problems. Because geophysical optimisations typically involve many unknown model parameters, we are particularly interested in comparing the performances of these stochastic methods as the number of unknown parameters increases. The four analytic functions we choose simulate common types of objective functions encountered in solving geophysical optimisations: a convex function, two multi‐minima functions that differ in the distribution of minima, and a nearly flat function. Similar to the analytic tests, the two seismic optimisation problems we analyse are characterised by very different objective functions. The first problem is a one‐dimensional elastic full‐waveform inversion, which is strongly ill‐conditioned and exhibits a nearly flat objective function, with a valley of minima extended along the density direction. The second problem is the residual static computation, which is characterised by a multi‐minima objective function produced by the so‐called cycle‐skipping phenomenon. According to the tests on the analytic functions and on the seismic data, genetic algorithm generally displays the best scaling with the number of parameters. It encounters problems only in the case of irregular distribution of minima, that is, when the global minimum is at the border of the search space and a number of important local minima are distant from the global minimum. The adaptive simulated annealing method is often the best‐performing method for low‐dimensional model spaces, but its performance worsens as the number of unknowns increases. The particle swarm optimisation is effective in finding the global minimum in the case of low‐dimensional model spaces with few local minima or in the case of a narrow flat valley. Finally, the neighbourhood algorithm method is competitive with the other methods only for low‐dimensional model spaces; its performance sensibly worsens in the case of multi‐minima objective functions.     

Spatial variations in chemical weathering and CO2 consumption in Nepalese High Himalayan catchments during the monsoon season

The major ion chemistry of the Marsyandi basin and six of its tributaries in the Nepalese Himalaya have been investigated during the monsoon months of 2002. Weekly water samples taken at 10 river monitoring stations in the Annapurna watershed over the course of 4 months provide chemical weathering data for the region at an unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. The river chemistry of all but one basin is heavily dominated by carbonate weathering which, compared to silicate weathering, contributes 80 to 97% of the total solute load. This prevalence is due to a combination of (a) intrinsically faster dissolution kinetics of carbonates, (b) relatively high runoff and (c) glacial meltwater and low temperatures at high altitudes resulting in enhanced carbonate solubilities. Monitoring stations with headwaters in the Tethyan Sedimentary Series (TSS) are particularly carbonate-rich and slightly supersaturated with respect to calcite through half of the monsoon season. Silicate weathering in the TSS is driven largely by sulfuric acid and therefore does not contribute significantly to the drawdown of atmospheric CO₂. With respect to the tributaries in the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS), carbonate weathering is practically as predominant as for the TSS, in spite of the largely felsic lithology of the GHS. Relative to the TSS, the primary proton source in the GHS has shifted, with at least 80% of the protons derived from carbonic acid. Averaged over the whole field area, the CO₂ fluxes, based on silicate-derived Ca and Mg, are considerably lower than the global average. Assuming that this study area is representative of the entire range, we conclude that in situ weathering of the High Himalayas does not represent a significant sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide, despite the presence of a watershed south of the GHS that is characterized by a four times higher CO₂ consumption rate than the global average. Silicate weathering rates of all basins appear to be climate controlled, displaying a tight correlation with runoff and temperature. Given the extremely low chemical weathering under transport-limited conditions in high-altitude crystalline terrains outside of the monsoon season, this would result in virtually no chemical exhumation for 2/3 of the year in such a cold and arid climate, north of the rain shadow cast by the High Himalayas.     

Evolution of depositional settings in the Torrey area during the Smithian (Early Triassic,Utah, USA) and their significance for the biotic recovery

This work focuses on well‐exposed Lower Triassic sedimentary rocks in the area of Torrey (south‐central Utah, USA). The studied Smithian 8 deposits record a large‐scale third‐order sea‐level cycle, which permits a detailed reconstruction of the evolution of depositional settings. During the middle Smithian, peritidal microbial limestones associated with a rather low‐diversity benthic fauna were deposited seaward of the tidal flat siliciclastic red beds. Associated with siliceous sponges, microbial limestones formed small m‐scale patch reefs. During the late middle to late Smithian interval, the sedimentary system is characterized by tidal flat dolostones of an interior platform, ooid‐bioclastic deposits of a tide‐dominated shoal complex, and mid‐shelf bioclastic limestones. Microbial deposits, corresponding to sparse stromatolites formed in the interior platform, are contemporaneous with a well‐diversified marine fauna living in a seaward shoal complex and mid‐shelf area. The nature and distribution of these Smithian microbial deposits are not related to any particular deleterious environmental condition, highlighting that observed patterns of biotic recovery after the end‐Permian mass extinction were directly influenced by depositional settings. Facies evolution and stratal stacking patterns allow us to identify large, medium and small‐scale, as well as elementary depositional sequences. Large‐ and medium‐scale sequences are consistent with sea‐level changes, whereas small‐scale and elementary sequences are better explained by autocyclic processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Erosion balance in the watersheds of the western Paris Basin by high-frequency monitoring of discharge and suspended sediment in surface water

An accurate quantification of erosion, based on high-frequency monitoring of river discharge and suspended sediment fluxes is proposed for two watersheds in the western Paris Basin, a sensitive area with respect to erosion phenomena. This continuous monitoring makes it possible to include flood events of short duration, but significant erosion potential. The obtained erosion rate (16 and 21 t?km^?2?yr^?1) is among the weakest of the planet (3.5 to 18?000 t?km^?2?yr^?1). However, this annual balance does not reflect the behaviour of these rivers which can be torrential in certain cases. To cite this article: B. Laignel et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).