Strategy for Applying Neutrino Geophysics to the Earth Sciences Including Planetary Habitability

Antineutrino data constrain the concentrations of the heat producing elements U and Th as well as potentially the concentration of K. Interpretation is similar to but not homologous with gravity. Current geoneutrino physics efficiently asks simple questions taking advantage of what is already known about the Earth. A few measurements with some sites in the ocean basins will constrain the concentration of U and Th in the crust and mantle and whether the mantle is laterally heterogeneous. These results will allow Earth science arguments about the formation, chemistry, and dynamics of the Earth to be turned around and appraised. In particular, they will tell whether the Earth accreted its expected share of these elements from the solar nebula and how long radioactive heat will sustain active geological processes on the Earth. Both aspects are essential to evaluating the Earth as a common or rare habitable planet.     

剪切速率对结构性吹填软土力学特性影响试验研究

黏土在剪切变形过程中,剪切速率的不同会对其结构破坏产生不同影响,从而影响其力学特性.本文以天津滨海新区吹填软土为研究对象,在对吹填软土关于结构性讨论的基础上,开展了剪切速率对其力学性状影响的三轴试验研究,分析其剪切速率力学效应.试验结果表明:随着剪切速率的提高,在低围压条件下,吹填软土的强度及其结构屈服应力均先减小后增大,存在临界剪切速率,而在高围压条件下,强度及其结构屈服应力则逐渐增大,与剪切速率呈正相关关系,临界剪切速率逐渐消失; 吹填软土的黏聚力在不同围压下随剪切速率提高均呈现减小趋势,内摩擦角在低围压条件下随剪切速率提高呈现增大趋势,在高围压条件下则随剪切速率提高呈现减小趋势; 在剪切过程中,孔隙水压力均随着轴向应变的增大到某一值然后稳定下来,随着围压的进一步加大,孔隙水压力的稳定值会随剪切速率的提高呈减小趋势.     

Early-season mapping of crops and cultural operations using very high spatial resolution Pléiades images

The aim of this study was to assess the contribution of very high spatial resolution (VHSR) Pléiades images to both early season crop identification and the mapping of bare soil surface characteristics due to cultural operations. The study region covering 21 km² is located west of the peri-urban territory of the Versailles plain and the Alluets plateau (Yvelines, France). About 100 cropped fields were observed on the ground synchronously with two Pléiades images of 3 and 24 April 2013 and one SPOT4 image of 2 April 2013. The GIS structuring of these field data along with vector information about field boundaries was used for delimitating both training and test zones for the support vector machine classifier with polynomial function kernel (pSVM). The pSVM was computed on the spectral bands and NDVI for both single-date Pléiades and the bi-temporal Pléiades pair. For the single-date classifications of crops, the overall per-pixel accuracy reached 87% for the SPOT4 image of 2 April (6 classes), 79% for the Pléiades image of 3 April (6 classes) and 82% for that of 24 April (7 classes). At the earlier date (2–3 April), the Pléiades image very well discriminated cultural operations (>77%, user’s or producer’s accuracies) as well as fallows and grasslands, while winter cereals and rapeseed were better discriminated by the SPOT4 image winter cereals (>70%, user’s or producer’s accuracies). As Pléiades images revealed within-field spatial variations of early phenological stages of winter cereals that could be critical for adjusting management of zones with delayed development during the growing season, they brought information complementary to multispectral images with high spatial resolution. For the bi-temporal Pléiades image, the overall per-pixel accuracy was about 80% (7 classes), winter crops, grasslands and fallows being very well detected while confusions occurred between spring barley at initial stages (2–3 leaves) and bare soils prepared for other spring crops. Using an additional validation field set covering ∼1/3 of the study area croplands, the crop map resulting from the bi-temporal Pléiades pair achieved correct crop prediction for about 89.7% of the validation fields when considering composite classes for winter cereals and for spring crops. Early-season Pléiades images therefore show a considerable potential for anticipating regional crop patterns and detecting soil tillage operations in spring.     

The Parameterisation of Scalar Transfer over Rough Ice

We test a surface renewal model that is widely used over snow and ice surfaces to calculate the scalar roughness length (z _s ), one of the key parameters in the bulk aerodynamic method. For the first time, the model is tested against observations that cover a wide range of aerodynamic roughness lengths (z ₀). During the experiments, performed in the ablation areas of the Greenland ice sheet and the Vatnajökull ice cap in Iceland, the surface varied from smooth snow to very rough hummocky ice. Over relatively smooth snow and ice with z ₀ below a threshold value of approximately 10^?3 m, the model performs well and in accord with earlier studies. However, with growing hummock size, z ₀ increases well above the threshold and the bulk aerodynamic flux becomes significantly smaller than the eddy-correlation flux (e.g. for z ₀ = 0.01 m, the bulk aerodynamic flux is about 50% smaller). Apparently, the model severely underpredicts z _s over hummocky ice. We argue that the surface renewal model does not account for the deep inhomogeneous roughness sublayer (RSL) that is generated by the hummocks. As a consequence, the homogeneous substrate ice grain cover becomes more efficiently ‘ventilated’. Calculations with an alternative model that includes the RSL and was adapted for use over hummocky ice, qualitatively confirms our observations. We suggest that, whenever exceedance of the threshold occurs (z ₀  >  10^?3 m, i.e., an ice surface covered with at least 0.3-m high hummocks), the following relation should be used to calculate scalar roughness lengths, ln (z _s /z ₀)  =  1.5  ? 0.2 ln (Re _*)  ? 0.11(ln (Re _*))².     

Evaluation of oxygen isotopes in carbonate as an indicator of lake evolution in arid areas: The modern Qinghai Lake, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

The oxygen isotopic composition of carbonate in lakes has been used as a useful indicator in Palaeolimnological research, and has made some important contributions to our understanding of lacustrine systems. For modern lakes in arid or cold areas, however, there are few data available to test the effect of lake salinity and temperature on the oxygen isotopic composition of various carbonate sources such as ostracod, bulk carbonate, and fine-grained carbonate (< 60 μm). Here we examined the oxygen isotopic composition of ostracods, bulk carbonate, and fine-grained carbonates, as well as that of coexisting water from Lake Qinghai and the smaller surrounding lakes and ponds on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Our investigation highlights three key effects. First, the oxygen isotopic composition of ostracods, bulk carbonate, and fine-grained carbonate in the lakes and ponds shows a clear response to lake water δ¹⁸O values, and these vary with water salinity. The relationship between lake water δ¹⁸O and salinity is not only dominated by the evaporation/freshwater input ratios, but is also controlled by the distance to the mouth of the major rivers supplying to the lake. Second, the ostracod, bulk carbonate, and fine-grained carbonate show similar isotopic change trends in the study area, and oxygen isotopic differences between ostracods and authigenic carbonate may be explained by the different water temperatures and very small ‘vital offsets’ of ostracods. Finally, the effect of water depth on temperature leads to increasing δ¹⁸O values in carbonates as water depth increases, both in benthic ostracods living on the lake bottom, as well as in bulk carbonate precipitated at the water surface.For arid, high-altitude Lake Qinghai, our results suggest that variations in the δ¹⁸O values of carbonate in Lake Qinghai are mainly controlled by the oxygen-isotope ratio of the lake water changing with water salinity. As a secondary effect, increasing water depth leads to cooler bottom and surface water, which may result in more positive δ¹⁸O values of ostracod and bulk carbonate.     

Analysis of small-scale heterogeneity in clastic rocks by using computerized X-ray tomography (CT)

The aim of this study is to recognize the basic clastic rock types on the basis of Hounsfield Units (HUs) by using statistical methods (hypothesis tests, distribution fitting, and confidence intervals). How does this recognition depend on depositional history of samples tested? Does the numerical pattern of HUs obtained from small-scale analyzing of some particular sedimentary structures coincide to the textural expectations of those sedimentary structures? Are the HU values provided by the CT measurements capable of evidencing micro-cycles belonging to a particular depositional history?For testing the numerical recognition, we analyze macroscopically homogeneous argillaceous marl, siltstone and fine sandstone samples with similar depositional background, age, and degree of diagenesis. The preliminary research shows that the Hounsfield Units can identify different sedimentary rocks considerably well. There are significant differences among the confidence intervals belonging to the different rock types. However, there also have been some slight overlaps among them.For analyzing the effects of the depositional processes in case of a particular rock type, samples from channel sandstone, distributary mouth-bar, massive (structureless) sandstone from a delta-fed turbidity fan, and channel sandstone with traction carpet origin from a delta-fed turbidity fan (all coming from Pannonian basin filling series) are used. The results prove again the significant differences in the terms of both confidence intervals and distribution-types; however, some overlapping also occurs.     

Numerical modelling of soil nails in loose fill slope under surcharge loading

A plane–strain numerical model has been developed to mimic a nailed loose fill slope under surcharge loading. The model has been used to back-analyse a field test that was conducted to examine the behaviour of soil nails in loose fill slopes under surcharge loading. Incremental elasto-plastic analyses coupled with pore water diffusion have been performed to study the internal deformation, water content redistribution in the soil, and the performance of the soil nails during and after the application of surcharge loading. The model parameters describing the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the nailed slope were obtained from field or laboratory tests. Different modelling techniques and boundary conditions for mimicking soil–nail interaction in loose fill material have been examined. Comparisons between numerical predictions and field measurements demonstrate that a new interfacial model, denoted as the embedded bond–slip interface model, is more suitable for mimicking the interfacial behaviour. Despite the simplicity of the numerical model, the predicted responses are in close agreement with the field test results, in particular the mobilisation and distribution of nail forces in response to surcharge loading. Both the numerical and the field test results suggest that soil nails are capable of increasing the overall stability of a loose fill slope for the loading conditions considered in this study. The increase in confining stress along the soil nails near the surcharge area is central to the overall stabilising mechanism. On the contrary, the nail forces mobilised near the nail heads are much smaller, indicating that the beneficial effect of having a structural grillage system at the slope face is limited for the range of surcharge pressures considered in this study.     

Mapping mineralogy in evaporite basins through time using multispectral Landsat data: Examples from the Bonneville basin,Utah, USA

The Bonneville basin, located in north-western Utah, is a vast evaporite basin which is home to the world-renowned Bonneville Salt Flats international speedway and is a highly valued landscape undergoing rapid change and anthropogenic influence. Air quality, snowpack, the local hydrological system, and state tourism are all impacted by the nature of the surface sediments exposed in the Bonneville basin. Mapping the Bonneville basin over time with remote sensing methods provides insight into the dynamics and impacts of the changing surface landscape. Utilizing the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors, a set of band math indices are empirically established to map the predominant halite, gypsum, and carbonates mineralogical zones of the Bonneville basin. Spectral comparisons of representative samples from the study area and image-derived spectra indicate the halite of the Bonneville basin is wet and that gypsum deposits are slightly mixed with halite. The established indices are assessed in four ways, all of which support the ability of the indices to accentuate the associated mineralogical endmembers. Two study areas within the Bonneville basin are investigated temporally from 1986, 1995, 2005, and 2016 and show changing patterns in mineral distribution that align with surface processes active through these timescales. These indices provide a resource for mapping mineralogy though time in evaporite basins globally with diverse applications for questions about land use and environmental change.     

Anisotropic cosmological models with bulk viscosity for variable <Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis> and Λ

In this paper we have considered axially symmetric Bianchi-I, Kantowski Sachs and Bianchi-III space-time models with bulk viscosity, where the gravitational constant G and the cosmological term Λ vary with time. In Einstein equations this variation in G and Λ are taken in such a way as to preserve the energy momentum tensor. Solutions are obtained with the cosmological term varying inversely with square of time.