Large-Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flow Over a Rough Surface

A family of wall models is proposed that exhibits moresatisfactory performance than previousmodels for the large-eddy simulation (LES) of the turbulentboundary layer over a rough surface.The time and horizontally averaged statistics such asmean vertical profiles of windvelocity, Reynolds stress, turbulent intensities, turbulentkinetic energy and alsospectra are compared with wind-tunnel experimental data.The purpose of the present study is to obtain simulatedturbulent flows that are comparable with wind-tunnelmeasurements for use as the wind environment for thenumerical prediction by LES of source dispersion in theneutral atmospheric boundary layer.     

New palaeointensity results from Cretaceous basalt of Inner Mongolia, China

We present new Thellier-Thellier palaeointensity results from three cooling units (32 samples) of Inner Mongolia lava flows (91.7 Ma) emplaced during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (CNS). Based on rock-magnetic and microscopy observations the magneto-mineralogy of all samples is determined to be primary and unaltered high-Ti titanomagnetite. Accepted palaeointensity determinations, obtained in the 80-200 °C temperature interval, are of good technical quality with positive standard partial thermoremanent magnetisation (pTRM) checks and pTRM-tail checks. Obtained palaeointensity estimates range from 14.7 to 28.0 μT, with virtual axial dipole moments (VADM) of 2.4 to 4.6 (× 10²² Am²). The data agree well with recently published results from the same region and, combining the two datasets, we obtain independent estimates from six different cooling units yielding a time-averaged VADM of 3.2 ± 1.6 (× 10²² Am²). These data suggest a relatively low dipole moment towards the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron.     

Treatment of Malting Wastewater in a Granular Sludge Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR)

Aerobic granular sludge was successfully cultivated in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating wastewater from the malting process with a high content of particulate organic matter. At an organic loading rate of 3.2 kg/(m³ d) COD_total and an influent particle concentration of 0.95 g/L MLSS an average removal of 50% in COD_total and 80% in COD_dissolved could be achieved. A comparison of granular and flocculent sludge grown under the same operating conditions showed no significant difference in removal efficiency although granules exhibited a higher metabolic activity in terms of specific oxygen uptake rate (r_{O2, X}). Two distinct mechanisms of particle removal were observed for granular sludge: during initial granule formation, particles were incorporated into the biofilm matrix. For mature granules, a high level of protozoa growth on the granule surface accounted for the ability to remove particulate COD. Combined evaluation of the development in MLSS content and sludge bed settling rate (i.e., mean derivative of the normalized sludge volume) was found to be an adequate method for monitoring the characteristic settling properties of a granulizing sludge bed. By means of this method, a distinct substrate gradient out of several operating conditions was concluded to have the biggest impact on the formation of aerobic granular sludge.     

Spatially weighted supervised classification for remote sensing

A simple approach for incorporating a spatial weighting into a supervised classifier for remote sensing applications is presented. The classifier modifies the feature-space distance-based metric with a spatial weighting. This is facilitated by the use of a non-parametric (k-nearest neighbour, k-NN) classifier in which the spatial location of each pixel in the training data set is known and available for analysis. A remotely sensed image was simulated using a combined Boolean and geostatistical unconditional simulation approach. This simulated image comprised four wavebands and represented three classes: Managed Grassland, Woodland and Rough Grassland. This image was then used to evaluate the spatially weighted classifier. The latter resulted in modest increase in the accuracy of classification over the original k-NN approach. Two spatial distance metrics were evaluated: the non-centred covariance and a simple inverse distance weighting. The inverse distance weighting resulted in the greatest increase in accuracy in this case.     

Beds comprising debrite sandwiched within co-genetic turbidite: origin and widespread occurrence in distal depositional environments

Co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds occur in a variety of modern and ancient turbidite systems. Their basic character is distinctive. An ungraded muddy sandstone interval is encased within mud‐poor graded sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. The muddy sandstone interval preserves evidence of en masse deposition and is thus termed a debrite. The mud‐poor sandstone, siltstone and mudstone show features indicating progressive layer‐by‐layer deposition and are thus called a turbidite. Palaeocurrent indicators, ubiquitous stratigraphic association and the position of hemipelagic intervals demonstrate that debrite and enclosing turbidite originate in the same event. Detailed field observations are presented for co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds in three widespread sequences of variable age: the Miocene Marnoso Arenacea Formation in the Italian Apennines; the Silurian Aberystwyth Grits in Wales; and Quaternary deposits of the Agadir Basin, offshore Morocco. Deposition of these sequences occurred in similar unchannellized basin‐plain settings. Co‐genetic debrite–turbidite beds were deposited from longitudinally segregated flow events, comprising both debris flow and forerunning turbidity current. It is most likely that the debris flow was generated by relatively shallow (few tens of centimetres) erosion of mud‐rich sea‐floor sediment. Changes in the settling behaviour of sand grains from a muddy fluid as flows decelerated may also have contributed to debrite deposition. The association with distal settings results from the ubiquitous presence of muddy deposits in such locations, which may be eroded and disaggregated to form a cohesive debris flow. Debrite intervals may be extensive (> 26 × 10 km in the Marnoso Arenacea Formation) and are not restricted to basin margins. Such long debris flow run‐out on low‐gradient sea floor (< 0·1°) may simply be due to low yield strength (? 50 Pa) of the debris–water mixture. This study emphasizes that multiple flow types, and transformations between flow types, can occur within the distal parts of submarine flow events.     

U–Pb ages of Neoarchean granitoids from the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA: implications for crustal evolution in the Archean Wyoming province

Zircons in basement rocks from the eastern Wyoming province (Black Hills, South Dakota, USA) have been analyzed by ion microprobe (SHRIMP) in order to determine precise ages of Archean tectonomagmatic events. In the northern Black Hills (NBH) near Nemo, Phanerozoic and Proterozoic (meta)sedimentary rocks are nonconformably underlain by Archean biotite–feldspar gneiss (BFG) and Little Elk gneissic granite (LEG), both of which intrude older schists. The Archean granitoid gneisses exhibit a pervasive NW–SE-trending fabric, whereas an earlier NE–SW-trending fabric occurs sporadically only in the BFG, which is intruded by the somewhat younger LEG. Zircon crystals obtained from the LEG and BFG exhibit double terminations, oscillatory zoning, and Th/U ratios of 0.6±0.3—thereby confirming a magmatic origin for both lithologies. In situ analysis of the most U–Pb concordant domains yields equivalent ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages (upper intercept, U–Pb concordia) of 2559±6 and 2563±6 Ma (both ±2σ) for the LEG and BFG, respectively, which constrains a late Neoarchean age for sequential pulses of magmatism in the NBH. Unzoned (in BSE) patches of 2560 Ma zircon commonly truncate coeval zonation in the same crystals with no change in Th/U ratio, suggesting that deuteric, fluid-assisted recrystallization accompanied post-magmatic cooling. A xenocrystic core of magmatic zircon observed in one LEG zircon yields a concordant age of 2894±6 Ma (±2σ). This xenocryst represents the oldest crustal material reported thus far in the Black Hills. Whether this older zircon originated as unmelted residue of 2900 Ma crust that potentially underlies the Black Hills or as detritus derived from 2900 Ma crustal sources in the Wyoming province cannot be discerned. In the southern Black Hills (SBH), the peraluminous granite at Bear Mountain (BMG) of previously unknown age intrudes biotite–plagioclase schist. Zircon crystals from the BMG are highly metamict and altered, but locally preserve small domains suitable for in situ analysis. A U–Pb concordia upper intercept age of 2596±11 Ma (±2σ) obtained for zircon confirms both the late Neoarchean magmatic age of the BMG and a minimum age for the schist it intrudes. Taken together, these data indicate that the Neoarchean basement granitoids were emplaced at 2590–2600 Ma (SBH) and 2560 Ma (NBH), most likely in response to subduction associated with plate convergence (final assembly of supercontinent Kenorland?). In contrast, thin rims present on some LEG–BFG zircons exhibit strong U–Pb discordance, high common Pb, and low Th/U ratios—suggesting growth or modification under hydrothermal conditions, as previously suggested for similar zircons from SE Wyoming. The LEG–BFG zircon rims yield a nominal upper intercept date of 1940–2180 Ma, which may represent a composite of multiple rifting events known to have affected the Nemo area between 2480 and 1960 Ma. Together, these observations confirm the existence of a Paleoproterozoic rift margin along the easternmost Wyoming craton. Moreover, the 2480–1960 Ma time frame inferred for rifting in the Black Hills (Nemo area) corresponds closely to a 2450–2100 Ma time frame previously inferred for the fragmentation of supercontinent Kenorland.     

A GIS Analysis to Evaluate Areas Suitable for Crushed Stone Aggregate Quarries in New England,USA

Aggregate is a low unit-value mineral commodity. Costs to move aggregate from the mine site to the point of use is a large fraction of the resource cost to users. Production sites for aggregate occur where suitable source materials exist and where transportation and market conditions are favorable. The increasing demand for aggregate and the difficulty of developing and permitting new sites and of renewal of permits on existing sites of aggregate production indicates that aggregate will be supplied from sources yet to be developed or delineated in many areas. Site development and permitting for aggregate production is difficult because many land management plans and zoning actions fail to anticipate prospective source areas for aggregate in a way that is consistent with both the source rock quality and the transportation and socioeconomic factors that define the economic viability of the industry. Spatial analysis provides a method to integrate both geology and economic (transportation and marketplace) parameters in a regional model. Weights of evidence (WofE) analysis has been used to measure the spatial correlation of geologic map, transportation network, and population data with current production sites for crushed stone aggregate in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Weighted logistic regression (WLR) is used with the WofE results to rank areas in terms of their relative suitability for production of crushed stone. Spatial analysis indicates that 85% of the 106 crushed stone aggregate quarries in New England are sited within 1.6 km (1 mile) of either a principal highway or rail line in the region. Seventy-eight percent of crushed stone aggregate quarries are sited in census tracts with population densities exceeding 100 people/mile². These relations illustrate the importance of proximity to both transportation corridors and developing areas where aggregate is predominately used. Only one active crushed stone quarry is located in a census tract with a population density less than 15 people/mile², reflecting the lack of sufficient market demand in many rural areas to develop an operation there. However, since 1990, almost all new quarries have been developed in census tracts with population densities less than 200 people/mile², indicating the difficulty of permitting new quarry sites in highly populated areas. Crushed stone aggregate is produced predominately from three hard rock types that are distributed widely in New England; 28% of sites use granitic rock, 25% use carbonate rocks, and 25% use mafic rock types that are categorized as trap rock by the aggregate industry. The other crushed stone aggregate sources include a variety of fine-grained metamorphic rock types. Carbonate rocks and Jurassic basalt (the primary trap rock source) are the most prevalent source rocks on an area-weighted basis. Spatial analysis can be used on a regional scale to rank areas by their relative suitabilityfor crushed stone aggregate production based on geology, transportation, and population parameters. The results of this regional analysis can identify areas for more detailed evaluation. As transportation or population features change, the model can be revised easily to reflect these changes.