Subsoil structure and site effects: A comparison between results from SPAC and HVSR in sites of complex geology

We present the results of the analysis of array recorded microtremors at 14 sites, close to the edges of the Mygdonian basin in northern Greece (Euroseistest). These measurements were made in order to better constrain the geometry and velocity structure of the basin as the soil layers taper out close to rock outcrop, where geology is complex and we may expect significant changes of the subsoil structure over short distances. The data were analysed using the SPAC method and HVSR. The first interprets the measurements as Rayleigh waves (for the vertical component we analysed) and allows to invert a phase velocity dispersion curve from computed correlation coefficients. The second estimates a local transfer function directly, from ratios of Fourier amplitude spectra. A phase velocity dispersion curve could be derived for 12 of the 14 measurement sites, and at three of the sites no resonant frequency was observed in the HVSR. It is encouraging that we obtained good results at most of our sites, in spite of the lateral heterogeneity expected close to the edges of Euroseistest. Our results allow us to obtain shear wave velocity models at most of the measurement sites (12 out of 14). They are also useful to explore the relation between size of the array and wavelength range for which a dispersion curve may be estimated, which in our case has strong limitations. We identify the frequency of resonance of the sediments as a small loss of coherency in SPAC’s correlation coefficients. Finally, we also consider the applicability of the joint inversion of the resonance frequency determined using HVSR and the phase velocity dispersion curve obtained from SPAC.     

Effects of temperature and wave conditions on chemical dispersion efficacy of heavy fuel oil in an experimental flow-through wave tank

The effectiveness of chemical dispersants (Corexit 9500 and SPC 1000) on heavy fuel oil (IFO180 as test oil) has been evaluated under different wave conditions in a flow-through wave tank. The dispersant effectiveness was determined by measuring oil concentrations and droplet size distributions. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model indicated that wave type and temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the dynamic dispersant effectiveness (DDE). At higher temperatures (16 °C), the test IFO180 was effectively dispersed under breaking waves with a DDE of 90% and 50% for Corexit 9500 and SPC 1000, respectively. The dispersion was ineffective under breaking waves at lower temperature (10 °C), and under regular wave conditions at all temperatures (10-17 °C), with DDE < 15%. Effective chemical dispersion was associated with formation of smaller droplets (with volumetric mean diameters or VMD ? 200 μm), whereas ineffective dispersion produced large oil droplets (with VMD ? 400 μm).     

A laboratory study on the kinetics of the formation of oil-suspended particulate matter aggregates using the NIST-1941b sediment

The formation of oil-suspended particulate matter aggregates (OSAs) results from the heteroaggregation between dispersed oil droplets and suspended particulate matter present in coastal waters. This process has been recognized by the oil spill remediation community to enhance natural cleansing of oiled shorelines and oil dispersion in the water column. While several studies have been conducted on the formation and characteristics of OSAs, few studies have addressed the kinetics of OSA formation. Operationally, this has left decision-makers lacking information on the time scale of this process and its significance to oil dispersion in real spills. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the kinetics of OSA formation as a function of mixing energy and the sediment-to-oil ratio using the standard reference material 1941b. Results showed that formation of OSAs increased exponentially with the mixing time and reached a maximum within 4 h. When the shaking rate increased from 2.0 to 2.3 Hz, the maximum oil trapping efficiency increased from 20% to 42% and the required shaking time decreased from 3.7 to 0.7 h.     

Chronic exposure of adults and embryos of Pandalus borealis to oil causes PAH accumulation, initiation of biomarker responses and an increase in larval mortality

Adult shrimps (Pandalus borealis) and their embryos were exposed to an oil-water dispersion (OWD) at concentrations of 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L using a continuous flow system. Lysosomal membrane stability was analysed in haemocytes using the neutral red retention assay and an alkaline unwinding assay was used to measure DNA damage in hepatopancreas tissue. Exposure to oil induced concentration and time dependent biomarker responses in adult shrimps together with the accumulation of PAH in their tissues. Oil exposure of shrimp embryos caused increased mortality in the resultant larvae, even if the larvae were kept in clean water after hatching. There were minor differences observed in larval stage development times in the first part of the experiments. The fatty acid composition of embryos exposed to oil was different to that of non-exposed larvae. PAH tissue concentration and biomarker responses correlated to the reduced survival of the shrimp larvae.     

基于余弦调制Chebyshev窗的弹性波高精度正演

有限差分时间域正演是弹性波逆时偏移和全波形反演的基础,正演的计算精度也控制着偏移结果的准确性,若精度不高,则在偏移、反演后会带来假象.为了有效提高正演精度,本文结合窗函数优化方法,在窗函数截断伪谱法空间褶积序列以逼近有限差分算子的基础上,提出了一种基于Chebyshev窗的余弦调制模型,在原始Chebyshev窗的基础上引入了调制次数和调制范围,通过调节这两个参数可以人工可视化的调节截断误差,新的窗函数继承了Chebyshev窗的特点,在不明显降低截断谱范围的基础上明显降低了截断误差.本文针对不同正演阶数N,给出了一组经验调制系数,并通过数值模拟方法,对比了新方法、改进二项式窗和基于最小二乘优化方法的正演效果.结果表明,基于余弦调制的Chebyshev窗控制数值频散的能力更强,在大网格下可以得到更精确的正演结果.从经济角度分析,该方法减小了计算花费,提高了计算效率.     

The role of channel morphology on the mobility and dispersion of bed sediment in a small gravel‐bed stream

This study uses a unique 10‐year tracer dataset from a small gravel‐bed stream to examine bed mobility and sediment dispersion over long timescales and at a range of spatial scales. Seasonal tracer data that captured multiple mobilizing events was examined, while the effects of morphology on bed mobility and sediment dispersion were captured at three spatial scales: within morphological units (unit scale), between morphological units (reach scale) and between reaches with different channel morphologies (channel scale). This was achieved by analyzing both reach‐average mobility and travel distance data, as well as the development of ‘mobility maps’ that capture the spatial variability in tracer mobility within the channel. The tracer data suggest that sediment transport in East Creek remains near critical the majority of the time, with only rare large events resulting in high mobility rates and grain travel distances large enough to move sediment past dominant bedforms. While a variable capturing both the magnitude and frequency of flow events within a season yielded a better predictor to sediment mobility and dispersion than peak discharge alone, the distribution of events of different magnitude within the season played a large role in determining tracer mobility rates and travel distances. The effects of morphology differed depending on the analysis scale, demonstrating the importance of scale, and therefore study design, when examining the effect of morphology on sediment transport. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于频散曲线合成面波地震记录的方法

准确提取频散曲线是瑞雷波勘探的重要环节,检验各种频散曲线求取方法的正确性和稳定性至关重要。基于频散曲线,选择抽样脉冲信号作为子波,推导出了合成单炮面波地震记录的理论公式,并利用该公式,针对不同弹性层状介质模型的频散曲线合成了面波地震记录。通过对其波场特征对比和频谱分析,同时采用频率-波数域法反求其频散曲线,结果与模型频散曲线几乎相同,从而充分验证了该面波合成方法的正确性。      

四阶龙格-库塔方法的一种改进算法及地震波场模拟

提出了求解波动方程的四阶龙格-库塔方法的一种改进算法.首先将原四阶龙格-库塔方法合并为两级格式, 然后在第一级中引入加权参数以获得加权算法. 针对这种改进方法,研究了它的稳定性条件; 对一维问题导出了频散关系, 给出了数值频散结果,并与四阶的 Lax-Wendroff (LWC) 方法和位移-应力交错网格方法进行了对比; 对二维问题, 使用我们的改进方法、四阶LWC和交错网格三种方法进行了声波波场模拟, 并进行了计算效率分析和不同方法计算结果的比较; 最后选取两个层状介质模型进行了声波和弹性波波场模拟. 数值结果表明,本文的改进方法具有非常弱的数值频散和高的计算效率, 是一种在地震勘探领域具有巨大应用潜力的数值方法.     

3D soil structure of the Mygdonian basin for site response analysis

The 3D structure of the Mygdonian sedimentary basin (N. Greece) is investigated. The aim of this study is to propose a 3D model of this sedimentary structure that can later be used to model the seismic records currently being obtained by the permanent accelerograph network operating in the area. This model builds on previous efforts and incorporates new data. The geometry and dynamic properties of the soil layers were inverted using data from microtremor array measurements, seismic refraction profiles, boreholes, and geotechnical investigations. Phase-velocity dispersion curves of Rayleigh waves were determined at 27 sites in the basin using the spatial autocorrelation method (SPAC) introduced by Aki [1]. S-wave velocity profiles were inverted from these dispersion curves and the whole valley structure was interpolated using our new results and all previously available data. The proposed 3D model describes the geometry and shear-wave velocities of the Mygdonian and pre-Mygdonian sedimentary systems, and the top bedrock surface. Our results indicate that this 3D model correctly reflects the geometry and dynamic properties of the sedimentary layers. The case of Euroseistest, where the subsoil structure is the result of bringing together many disparate data, could be used as an example for similar alluvial basins throughout the world, where usually only scarce data is available.     

Comparison of theory and experiments for dispersion in homogeneous porous media

Modeling dispersion in homogeneous porous media with the convection–dispersion equation commonly requires computing effective transport coefficients. In this work, we investigate longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients arising from the method of volume averaging, for a variety of periodic, homogeneous porous media over a range of particle Péclet (Pe_p) numbers. Our objective is to validate the upscaled transverse dispersion coefficients and concentration profiles by comparison to experimental data reported in the literature, and to compare the upscaling approach to the more common approach of inverse modeling, which relies on fitting the dispersion coefficients to measured data. This work is unique in that the exact microscale geometry is available; thus, no simplifying assumptions regarding the geometry are required to predict the effective dispersion coefficients directly from theory. Transport of both an inert tracer and non-chemotactic bacteria is investigated for an experimental system that was designed to promote transverse dispersion. We highlight the occurrence of transverse dispersion coefficients that (1) depart from power-law behavior at relatively low Pe_p values and (2) are greater than their longitudinal counterparts for a specific range of Pe_p values. The upscaling theory provides values for the transverse dispersion coefficient that are within the 98% confidence interval of the values obtained from inverse modeling. The mean absolute error between experimental and upscaled concentration profiles was very similar to that between the experiments and inverse modeling. In all cases the mean absolute error did not exceed 12%. Overall, this work suggests that volume averaging can potentially be used as an alternative to inverse modeling for dispersion in homogeneous porous media.