Calculating the two-dimensional magnetotelluric Jacobian in finite elements using reciprocity

To speed up the calculation of the field Jacobian for 2-D magnetoteliuric inversion using finite elements, the principle of electromagnetic reciprocity is applied. The governing relationship for the Jacobian of the field along strike is obtained by differentiating the Helmholtz equation with respect to the resistivity of each region in the finite-element mesh. The result is a similar Helmholtz equation for the Jacobian, with new sources distributed over all nodes within the parameter medium. However, according to the principle of electromagnetic reciprocity, the roles of sources and receivers are interchangeable. Utilizing reciprocity, the field values obtained from the original forward problem and for new unit sources imposed at the receivers are then utilized in the calculation of the Jacobian by simple multiplication and summation with finite-element terms at each rectangle in the mesh. For the auxiliary (across-strike) fields, the Jacobian terms are obtained by solving source vectors loaded with parabola coefficients used in the approximation to Maxwell's equations. Jacobian terms for the apparent resistivity ( p _a), the impedance phase (φ) and the vertical magnetic field ( K _zy) are then calculated utilizing the parallel- and auxiliary-field Jacobians. Comparison of Jacobian values obtained from reciprocity calculations and by differencing two forward solutions show that the reciprocity method is accurate and can be used to decrease the number of calculations required to obtain sensitivities by one to two orders of magnitude.     

Experiments on numerical modeling of intense convection

Results of numerical simulations using the WRF-ARW nonhydrostatic model are presented for eight episodes of intense convection over European Russia in the summer of 2007. The calculations were performed on four nested grids with horizontal grid meshes of 27, 9, 3, and 1 km. Convection was parametrized on the first two grids and explicitly resolved on the other two. It has been found that simulations on finer grids with explicit calculation of convective flows make it possible to reproduce heavy rainfalls and strong-wind zones in the areas of intense convection. A preliminary verification of the short-range predictions of convective systems shows that the maximum 12-h precipitation totals and the maximum winds at 10 m are close, in the order of magnitude, to the observed values. Prediction of convection centers is the weakest point. Difficulties in the model verification associated with the absence of data with high space-time resolution are discussed.     

Optical counterpart of the radio event accompanying the 3B flare of 13 May 1981

Excepting intermittent type III activity, all the radio events over the frequency range 8–8000 MHz accompanying the initial stage of the 3B flare of 13 May, 1981 had their onset in a 2-min interval immediately preceding the peak of an impulsive Hα brightening (kernel) well away from the main flare. This kernel is identified as one footpoint of a loop of magnetic flux whose other end terminated in a transient brightening in an adjacent active region.     

Do southern Appalachian Mountain summer stream temperatures respond to removal of understory rhododendron thickets?

Dense understory thickets of the native evergreen shrub Rhododendron maximum expanded initially following elimination of American chestnut by the chestnut blight, and later in response to loss of the eastern hemlock due to hemlock woolly adelgid invasion. Rhododendron thickets often blanket streams and their riparian zones, creating cool, low-light microclimates. To determine the effect of such understory thickets on summer stream temperatures, we removed riparian rhododendron understory on 300 m reaches of two southern Appalachian Mountain headwater streams, while leaving two 300 m reference reaches undisturbed. Overhead canopy was left intact in all four streams, but all streams were selected to have a significant component of dead or dying eastern hemlock in the overstory, creating time-varying canopy gaps throughout the reach. We continuously monitored temperatures upstream, within and downstream of treatment and reference reaches. Temperatures were monitored in all four streams in the summer before treatments were imposed (2014), and for two summers following treatment (2015, 2016). Temperatures varied significantly across and within streams prior to treatment and across years for the reference streams. After rhododendron removal, increases in summer stream temperatures were observed at some locations within the treatment reaches, but these increases did not persist downstream and varied by watershed, sensor, and year. Significant increases in daily maxima in treatment reaches ranged from 0.9 to 2.6°C. Overhead canopy provided enough shade to prevent rhododendron removal from increasing summer temperatures to levels deleterious to native cold-water fauna (average summer temperatures remained below 16°C), and local temperature effects were not persistent.     

Impact of user parameters in inversion velocity analysis

Migration velocity analysis is a method devoted to the evaluation of both reflectivity and background velocity models, associated with the high and low wavenumber components of the model, respectively. Inversion velocity analysis is one of its improved versions, leading to more stable background velocity updates. Still, the impact of the user parameters should be understood for an optimal update of the background velocity. We show that a sign reversal of the background velocity gradient could occur when the selected surface offset range or the space lag range is too small. We derive the theoretical limits and check their consistency through simulations in a simple model with a single interface. These guidelines determine the necessary ranges of surface offsets and space lags for a proper update of the background velocity model. We discuss their applicability on the Marmousi model. Artefacts in the retrieved background velocity model are observed when the guidelines are not satisfied.     

Changes in an urban water resource,an example from Sydney,Australia

This paper examines present and future resource utilization in the tidal section of the Georges River in the southern part of Sydney. Over the last 30 years, the physical characteristics of the river have changed as a result of urbanization, changed hydrologic regime and sand dredging. Urbanization has resulted in an increase in population from 190,000 in 1947 to 550,000. This has resulted in an increase in runoff, sediment input to the river and waste disposal. The change in hydrologic regime has resulted in a substantial increase in the magnitude and frequency of flooding which has increased erosion. Sand dredging has increased the channel capacity, enlarged the tidal prism and increased water turbidity. It has also resulted in extensive bank erosion in the upper part of the river and extensive deposition lower down as tailings are deposited. Although most of these changes have resulted in the deterioration of environmental quality, use of the river for recreation and as an urban amenity has increased.     

Fault growth by segment linkage in seismically active settings: Examples from the Southern Apennines, Italy, and the Coast Ranges, California

Most models for fault growth and scaling are based on analysis of faults which display dip-slip (i.e. reverse, normal) and strike-slip kinematics; by contrast, little information is derived from faults displaying oblique-slip kinematics. Observations on mesoscopic transpressional faults from the Salinian Block of California and transtensional faults from the Southern Apennines of Italy reveal a complex kinematic history of fault propagation. Faults initially nucleate as isolate segments, which are later kinematically and mechanically linked via development of diffuse deformation zones and/or localised oblique connecting splays. The geometry of observed mesoscopic faults is similar to that of the host, larger structures, thus suggesting that the produced fault patterns are scale independent. Moreover, the overprinting relationships among minor fault-related fabrics permit to define a relative chronology within fault arrays, thus enabling a general sequence of structural stages to be correctly established. Based on minor fabrics and their overprinting relationships, a kinematic deformation model of fault growth by segment linkage is presented, which may have a wide applicability in the field of seismic hazard evaluation.     

Strontium,lead and oxygen isotopic investigation of the Skaergard intrusion,East Greenland

New Pb, Sr and O isotopic analyses of rocks from the Skaergard intrusion indicate the following: (1) initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the gabbroic magma was less than or equal to 0.7041; (2) limited contamination of magma with crustal Sr and Pb may have occurred in a deep reservoir below the presently exposed parts of the intrusion; (3) marked crustal contamination occurred at high level in marginal border group rocks, but these rocks effectively shielded the main magma body from further interaction with country rock gneisses; (4) subsolidus interaction between Skaergard gabbros and hydrothermal fluids modified δ¹⁸O values but had little effect on Sr and perhaps Pb isotopic ratios; (5) late-stage melanogranophyres may be comagmatic with the Skaergard magma, but silicic granophyres are not; (6) silicic granophyres contain large and varied proportions of crustal Sr and Pb; some may be largely anatectic melts derived from the deep crust whereas others may represent mixing of such anatectic melts with late-stage differentiated liquids of the Skaergard intrusion (e.g. Sydtoppen sill).     

Precambrian tidal and glacial clastic deposits: implications for Precambrian Earth–Moon dynamics and palaeoclimate

Over the past decade the study of Precambrian clastic tidal rhythmites — stacked laminae of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that display periodic variations in thickness reflecting a strong tidal influence on sedimentation — has provided accurate palaeotidal and palaeorotational data. Palaeotidal records obtained from tidal rhythmites may be systematically abbreviated, however, and derived periods and frequencies can be misleading. The validity of such values, including past length of day, can be assessed by testing for internal self-consistency through application of the laws of celestial mechanics. Such a test supports the estimated length of day of h derived from the late Neoproterozoic (620 Ma) Elatina–Reynella rhythmites in South Australia, and the indicated mean rate of lunar retreat of cm/year since 620 Ma. The validity of estimated lengths of day obtained from other Precambrian tidal rhythmites remain unverified because the data sets contain only one primary value directly determined from the rhythmites. The Elatina–Reynella data militate against significant Earth expansion at least since 620 Ma, and suggest that the free nutation or ‘tipping' of the Earth's fluid core has undergone a resonance with the Earth's annual forced nutation since the Neoproterozoic. Glaciogenic deposits are readily distinguishable from ejecta resulting from impacts with Earth-crossing bodies. Palaeomagnetic data, based on the geocentric axial dipole model for the geomagnetic field, indicate that Neoproterozoic and Palaeoproterozoic glaciation and cold climate near sea level occurred in low palaeolatitudes. This enigmatic finding may imply global glaciation or an increased obliquity of the ecliptic, and is relevant to modelling the effect of ice sheet formation on the Earth's obliquity history by obliquity–oblateness feedback mechanisms. Through multidisciplinary studies, clastic sedimentology and geophysics together can make substantial contributions to understanding Precambrian Earth–Moon dynamics and global palaeoenvironments.