The Copernican principle in compact space–times

Copernicus realized that we are not at the centre of the Universe. A universe made finite by topological identifications introduces a new Copernican consideration: while we may not be at the geometric centre of the Universe, some galaxy could be. A finite universe also picks out a preferred frame: the frame in which the universe is smallest. Although we are not likely to be at the centre of the Universe, we must live in the preferred frame (if we are at rest with respect to the cosmological expansion). We show that the preferred topological frame must also be the comoving frame in a homogeneous and isotropic cosmological space–time. Some implications of topologically identifying time are also discussed.     

Correction to: A novel methodological approach for land subsidence prediction through data assimilation techniques

Computational Geosciences - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-021-10079-6     

A two‐invariant pseudoelastic model for reservoir compaction

Predicting the deformations of deep reservoirs due to fluid withdrawal/injection is a challenging task that could have important environmental, social, and economical impacts. Finite element models, if endowed with an appropriate constitutive law, represent a useful tool for computing the displacements, the deformations, and the stress distributions in reservoir applications. Several studies show that hypoelastic laws, based on a stress‐dependent vertical compressibility, are able to provide accurate results, confirmed by in situ and satellite measurements. On the other hand, such laws present some weaknesses related to the numerical implementation, in particular due to the nonsymmetry of the tangent operator. This paper presents a new constitutive model based on 2 invariants (the mean normal and deviatoric stresses), characterized by a variable pressure‐dependent bulk modulus K. This constitutive law allows for overcoming most shortcomings of the hypoelastic law, although preserving the same accuracy, reliability, and ease of use and calibration. This paper presents a procedure to identify the parameters of the new model, starting from the typically available data on the vertical compressibility. Numerical results show a good agreement between the 2 laws, suggesting the proposed approach as a valid alternative in reservoir applications.     

Preconditioners in computational geomechanics: A survey

The finite element (FE) solution of geomechanical problems in realistic settings raises a few numerical issues depending on the actual process addressed by the analysis. There are two basic problems where the linear solver efficiency may play a crucial role: 1. fully coupled consolidation and 2. faulted uncoupled consolidation. A class of general solvers becoming increasingly popular relies on the Krylov subspace (or Conjugate Gradient‐like) methods, provided that an efficient preconditioner is available. For both problems mentioned above, the possible preconditioners include the diagonal scaling (DS), the Incomplete LU decomposition (ILU), the mixed constraint preconditioning (MCP) and the multilevel incomplete factorization (MIF). The development and the performance of these algorithms have been the topic of several recent works. The present paper aims at providing a survey of the preconditioners available to date in computational geomechanics. In particular, a review and a critical discussion of DS, ILU, MCP and MIF are given along with some comparative numerical results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Volcanic stratigraphy of large-volume silicic pyroclastic eruptions during Oligocene Afro-Arabian flood volcanism in Yemen

A new stratigraphy for bimodal Oligocene flood volcanism that forms the volcanic plateau of northern Yemen is presented based on detailed field observations, petrography and geochemical correlations. The >1 km thick volcanic pile is divided into three phases of volcanism: a main basaltic stage (31 to 29.7 Ma), a main silicic stage (29.7 to 29.5 Ma), and a stage of upper bimodal volcanism (29.5 to 27.7 Ma). Eight large-volume silicic pyroclastic eruptive units are traceable throughout northern Yemen, and some units can be correlated with silicic eruptive units in the Ethiopian Traps and to tephra layers in the Indian Ocean. The silicic units comprise pyroclastic density current and fall deposits and a caldera-collapse breccia, and they display textures that unequivocally identify them as primary pyroclastic deposits: basal vitrophyres, eutaxitic fabrics, glass shards, vitroclastic ash matrices and accretionary lapilli. Individual pyroclastic eruptions have preserved on-land volumes of up to ∼850 km³. The largest units have associated co-ignimbrite plume ash fall deposits with dispersal areas >1×10⁷ km² and estimated maximum total volumes of up to 5,000 km³, which provide accurate and precisely dated marker horizons that can be used to link litho-, bio- and magnetostratigraphy studies. There is a marked change in eruption style of silicic units with time, from initial large-volume explosive pyroclastic eruptions producing ignimbrites and near-globally distributed tuffs, to smaller volume (<50 km³) mixed effusive-explosive eruptions emplacing silicic lavas intercalated with tuffs and ignimbrites. Although eruption volumes decrease by an order of magnitude from the first stage to the last, eruption intervals within each phase remain broadly similar. These changes may reflect the initiation of continental rifting and the transition from pre-break-up thick, stable crust supporting large-volume magma chambers, to syn-rift actively thinning crust hosting small-volume magma chambers.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Thellier palaeointensity experiments on Faroes flood basalts: technical aspects and geomagnetic implications

Based on palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic results, 108 samples from 27 flows from Palaeogene flood basalts of Faroe Islands were chosen for whole-rock Thellier palaeointensity experiments. Altogether 90 samples were rejected due to either chemical alterations or typical multidomain (MD) behaviour evidenced by pTRM-tails. AF pre-treatment was used to reduce the effect of MD grains on Thellier experiments. Only five flows (18 samples) yielded acceptable palaeointensity estimates, with flow mean VDMs ranging from 3.5 to 7.4×10²² A m². Modest selection criteria imposed on all published 5-160 Ma palaeointensity data left only 15 palaeomagnetic dipole moments: eight from whole-rock samples, six from submarine basaltic glass and one from single plagioclase crystals. More data are needed before the intriguing differences between results from different materials can be put into a geomagnetic context.     

Modern sedimentation processes in Lake Towuti,Indonesia, revealed by the composition of surface sediments

Lake Towuti on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, is located within the heart of the Indo‐Pacific Warm Pool. This tropical lake is surrounded by ultramafic (ophiolitic) rocks and lateritic soils that create a unique ferruginous depositional setting. In order to understand modern sediment deposition in Lake Towuti, a set of 84 lake surface sediment samples was collected from across the entirety of the lake and samples were analyzed for their physical, chemical, mineralogical and biological constituents. End‐member analyses were carried out to elucidate modern sediment origin, transport and depositional processes. This study found that allochthonous sediment, characterized by the concentrations of the elements Mg, Fe, Si and Al, as well as the clay and serpentine minerals, is dominated by fluvial supply from five distinct source areas. Granulometric data and the occurrence of organic matter of a terrestrial origin suggest that, in the southern and north‐eastern parts of the lake the near‐shore sediments may additionally be influenced by mass wasting. This is due at least partly to the particularly steep slopes in these areas. Furthermore, sediment composition suggests that sediment transport into deeper parts of the lake, particularly in the northern basin, is partly controlled by gravitational and density‐driven processes such as turbidity currents. Directional sediment transport by persistent lake currents, in contrast, appears to be less important. Organic matter deposition in the ultra‐oligotrophic lake, albeit limited, is dominated by autochthonous production, but with some contribution of fluvial and gravitational supply. Biogenic silica deposition, primarily from diatom frustules and sponge spicules, is very limited and is concentrated in only a few areas close to the shoreline that are characterized by shallow waters, but away from the areas of high suspension loads at the mouths of the major inlets. The results of this study build upon current and published work on short piston cores from Lake Towuti. Conversely, the results will support the interpretation of the depositional history and past climatic and environmental conditions derived from the composition of much longer records, which were obtained by the Towuti Drilling Project in May 2015 and are currently under investigation.