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Comparing thermal wave function methods for multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree simulations
(2014)
We compare two methods for creating stochastic temperature wave functions that can be used for Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree (MCTDH) simulations. In the first method, the MCTDH coefficients are chosen randomly, while the other method uses a single Hartree product of random single-particle functions (SPFs). We find that using random SPFs dramatically improves convergence for a model system for surface sticking.
We have investigated the influence that megathrust earthquake slip has on the activation of splay faults using a 2-D finite element method (FEM), taking into account the effects of gravity and variations in the frictional strength properties of splay faults. We simulated both landward-dipping and seaward-dipping splay fault geometries, and imposed depth-variable slip distributions of subduction events. Our results indicate that the two types of splay fault exhibit a similar behavior, with variations in frictional properties along the faults affecting only the seismic magnitude. The triggering process is controlled by a critical depth. Megathrust slip concentrated at depths shallower than the critical depth will favor normal displacement, while megathrust slip concentrated at depths deeper than the critical depth is likely to result in reverse motion. Our results thus provide a useful tool for predicting the activation of secondary faults and may have direct implications for tsunami hazard research.
In hydrology, the storage-discharge relationship is a fundamental catchment property. Understanding what controls this relationship is at the core of catchment science. To date, there are no direct methods to measure water storage at catchment scales (10(1)-10(3)km(2)). In this study, we use direct measurements of terrestrial water storage dynamics by means of superconducting gravimetry in a small headwater catchment of the Regen River, Germany, to derive empirical storage-discharge relationships in nested catchments of increasing scale. Our results show that the local storage measurements are strongly related to streamflow dynamics at larger scales (> 100km(2); correlation coefficient=0.78-0.81), but at small scale, no such relationship exists (similar to 1km(2); correlation coefficients=-0.11). The geologic setting in the region can explain both the disconnection between local water storage and headwater runoff, and the connectivity between headwater storage and streams draining larger catchment areas. More research is required to understand what controls the form of the observed storage-discharge relationships at the catchment scale. This study demonstrates that high-precision gravimetry can provide new insights into the complex relationship between state and response of hydrological systems.
Advance in geocomputation
(2014)
In situ UV laser spot Ar-40/Ar-39 analyses of distinct phengite types in eclogite-facies rocks from the Sesia-Lanzo Zone (Western Alps, Italy) were combined with SIMS boron isotope analyses as well as boron (B) and lithium (Li) concentration data to link geochronological information with constraints on fluid-rock interaction. In weakly deformed samples, apparent Ar-40/Ar-39 ages of phengite cores span a range of similar to 20 Ma, but inverse isochrons define two distinct main high-pressure (HP) phengite core crystallization periods of 88-82 and 77-74 Ma, respectively. The younger cores have on average lower B contents (similar to 36 mu g/g) than the older ones (similar to 43-48 mu g/g), suggesting that loss of B and resetting of the Ar isotopic system were related. Phengite cores have variable delta B-11 values (-18 parts per thousand to -10 parts per thousand), indicating the lack of km scale B homogenization during HP crystallization.
Overprinted phengite rims in the weakly deformed samples generally yield younger apparent Ar-40/Ar-39 ages than the respective cores. They also show variable effects of heterogeneous excess 40 Ar incorporation and Ar loss. One acceptable inverse isochron age of 77.1 +/- 1.1 Ma for rims surrounding older cores (82.6 +/- 0.6 Ma) overlaps with the second period of core crystallization. Compared to the phengite cores, all rims have lower B and Li abundances but similar delta B-11 values (-15 parts per thousand to -9 parts per thousand), reflecting internal redistribution of B and Li and internal fluid buffering of the B isotopic composition during rim growth. The combined observation of younger Ar-40/Ar-39 ages and boron loss, yielding comparable values of both parameters only in cores and rims of different samples, is best explained by a selective metasomatic overprint. In low permeability samples, this overprint caused recrystallization of phengite rims, whereas higher permeability in other samples led to complete recrystallization of phengite grains.
Strongly deformed samples from a several km long, blueschist-facies shear zone contain mylonitic phengite that forms a tightly clustered group of relatively young apparent Ar-40/Ar-39 ages (64.7-68.8 Ma), yielding an inverse isochron age of 65.0 +/- 3.0 Ma. Almost complete B and Li removal in mylonitic phengite is due to leaching into a fluid. The B isotopic composition is significantly heavier than in phengites from the weakly deformed samples, indicating an external control by a high-delta B-11 fluid (delta B-11 = + 7 +/- 4 parts per thousand). We interpret this result as reflecting phengite recrystallization related to deformation and associated fluid flow in the shear zone. This event also caused partial resetting of the Ar isotope system and further B loss in more permeable rocks of the adjacent unit. We conclude that geochemical evidence for pervasive or limited fluid flow is crucial for the interpretation of Ar-40/Ar-39 data in partially metasomatized rocks.
In aquatic environments, community dynamics of bacteria, especially actively growing bacteria (AGB), are tightly linked with dissolved organic matter (DOM) quantity and quality. We analyzed the community dynamics of DNA-synthesizing and accordingly AGB by linking an improved bromodeoxyuridine immunocytochemistry approach with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (BrdU-FACS). FACS-sorted cells of even oligotrophic ecosystems in winter were characterized by 16S rRNA gene analysis. In incubation experiments, we examined community shifts of AGB in response to the addition of N-acetyl-glucosamine (NAG), one of the most abundant aminosugars in aquatic systems. Our improved BrdU-FACS analysis revealed that AGB winter communities of oligotrophic Lake Stechlin (northeastern Germany) substantially differ from those of total bacteria and consist of Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, Deltaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Candidatus OP10 and Chloroflexi. AGB populations with different BrdU-fluorescence intensities and cell sizes represented different phylotypes suggesting that single-cell growth potential varies at the taxon level. NAG incubation experiments demonstrated that a variety of widespread taxa related to Alpha-, Beta-, Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Spirochaetes, Verrucomicrobia and Chloroflexi actively grow in the presence of NAG. The BrdU-FACS approach enables detailed phylogenetic studies of AGB and, thus, to identify those phylotypes which are potential key players in aquatic DOM cycling.
Identification and characterization of growing large-scale en-echelon fractures in a salt mine
(2014)
The spatiotemporal seismicity of acoustic emission (AE) events recorded in the Morsleben salt mine is investigated. Almost a year after backfilling of the cavities from 2003, microevents are distributed with distinctive stripe shapes above cavities at different depth levels. The physical forces driving the creation of these stripes are still unknown. This study aims to find the active stripes and track fracture developments over time by combining two different temporal and spatial clustering techniques into a single methodological approach. Anomalous seismicity parameters values like sharp b-value changes for two active stripes are good indicators to explain possible stress accumulation at the stripe tips. We identify the formation of two new seismicity stripes and show that the AE activities in active clusters are migrated mostly unidirectional to eastward and upward. This indicates that the growth of underlying macrofractures is controlled by the gradient of extensional stress. Studying size distribution characteristic in terms of frequency-magnitude distribution and b-value in active phase and phase with constant seismicity rate show that deviations from the Gutenberg-Richter power law can be explained by the inclusion of different activity phases: (1) the inactive period before the formation of macrofractures, which is characterized by a deficit of larger events (higher b-values) and (2) the period of fracture growth characterized by the occurrence of larger events (smaller b-values).
Marine seismology usually relies on temporary deployments of stand alone seismic ocean bottom stations (OBS), which are initialized and synchronized on ship before deployment and re-synchronized and stopped on ship after recovery several months later. In between, the recorder clocks may drift and float at unknown rates. If the clock drifts are large or not linear and cannot be corrected for, seismological applications will be limited to methods not requiring precise common timing. Therefore, for example, array seismological methods, which need very accurate timing between individual stations, would not be applicable for such deployments.
We use an OBS test-array of 12 stations and 75 km aperture, deployed for 10 months in the deep sea (4.5-5.5 km) of the mid-eastern Atlantic. The experiment was designed to analyse the potential of broad-band array seismology at the seafloor. After recovery, we identified some stations which either show unusual large clock drifts and/or static time offsets by having a large difference between the internal clock and the GPS-signal (skew).
We test the approach of ambient noise cross-correlation to synchronize clocks of a deep water OBS array with km-scale interstation distances. We show that small drift rates and static time offsets can be resolved on vertical components with a standard technique. Larger clock drifts (several seconds per day) can only be accurately recovered if time windows of one input trace are shifted according to the expected drift between a station pair before the cross-correlation. We validate that the drifts extracted from the seismometer data are linear to first order. The same is valid for most of the hydrophones. Moreover, we were able to determine the clock drift at a station where no skew could be measured. Furthermore, we find that instable apparent drift rates at some hydrophones, which are uncorrelated to the seismometer drift recorded at the same digitizer, indicate a malfunction of the hydrophone.
Crustal earthquake swarms are an expression of intensive cracking and rock damaging over periods of days, weeks or month in a small source region in the crust. They are caused by longer lasting stress changes in the source region. Often, the localized stressing of the crust is associated with fluid or gas migration, possibly in combination with pre-existing zones of weaknesses. However, verifying and quantifying localized fluid movement at depth remains difficult since the area affected is small and geophysical prospecting methods often cannot reach the required resolution.
We apply a simple and robust method to estimate the velocity ratio between compressional (P) and shear (S) waves (upsilon(P)/upsilon(S)-ratio) in the source region of an earthquake swarm. The upsilon(P)/upsilon(S)-ratio may be unusual small if the swarm is related to gas in a porous or fractured rock. The method uses arrival time difference between P and S waves observed at surface seismic stations, and the associated double differences between pairs of earthquakes. An advantage is that earthquake locations are not required and the method seems lesser dependent on unknown velocity variations in the crust outside the source region. It is, thus, suited for monitoring purposes.
Applications comprise three natural, mid-crustal (8-10 km) earthquake swarms between 1997 and 2008 from the NW-Bohemia swarm region. We resolve a strong temporal decrease of upsilon(P)/upsilon(S) before and during the main activity of the swarm, and a recovery of upsilon(P)/upsilon(S) to background levels at the end of the swarms. The anomalies are interpreted in terms of the Biot-Gassman equations, assuming the presence of oversaturated fluids degassing during the beginning phase of the swarm activity.
The Ceres earthquake of 29 September 1969 is the largest known earthquake in southern Africa. Digitized analog recordings from Worldwide Standardized Seismographic Network stations (Powell and Fries, 1964) are used to retrieve the point source moment tensor and the most likely centroid depth of the event using full waveform modeling. A scalar seismic moment of 2.2-2.4 x 10(18) N center dot m corresponding to a moment magnitude of 6.2-6.3 is found. The analysis confirms the pure strike-slip mechanism previously determined from onset polarities by Green and Bloch (1971). Overall good agreement with the fault orientation previously estimated from local aftershock recordings is found. The centroid depth can be constrained to be less than 15 km. In a second analysis step, we use a higher order moment tensor based inversion scheme for simple extended rupture models to constrain the lateral fault dimensions. We find rupture propagated unilaterally for 4.7 s from east-southwest to west-northwest for about 17 km ( average rupture velocity of about 3: 1 km/s).
The general warming trend of the last deglaciation was interrupted by the Younger Dryas, a period of abrupt cooling and widespread environmental change(1-10). Ice core records suggest the abrupt cooling began 12,846 years ago in Greenland(10), about 170 years before the significant environmental and vegetation change in western Europe(7) classically defined as the Younger Dryas. However, this difference in timing falls within age model uncertainties. Here we use the hydrogen isotope composition of lipid biomarkers from precisely dated varved sediments from Lake Meerfelder Maar to reconstruct hydroclimate over western Europe. We observe a decrease in the hydrogen isotope values of both aquatic and terrestrial lipids 12,850 years ago, indicating cooling climate in this region synchronous with the abrupt cooling in Greenland. A second drop occurs 170 years later, mainly in the hydrogen isotope record of aquatic lipids but to a lesser extent in the terrestrial lipids, which we attribute to aridification, as well as a change in moisture source and pathway. We thus confirm that there was indeed a lag between cooling and substantial hydrologic and environmental change in western Europe. We suggest the delay is related to the expansion of sea ice in the North Atlantic Ocean and the subsequent southward migration of the westerly wind system(9). We further suggest that these hydrological changes amplified environmental change in western Europe at the onset of the Younger Dryas.
Eolian dust is a significant source of iron and other nutrients that are essential for the health of marine ecosystems and potentially a controlling factor of the high nutrient-low chlorophyll status of the Subarctic North Pacific. We map the spatial distribution of dust input using three different geochemical tracers of eolian dust, He-4, Th-232 and rare earth elements, in combination with grain size distribution data, from a set of core-top sediments covering the entire Subarctic North Pacific. Using the suite of geochemical proxies to fingerprint different lithogenic components, we deconvolve eolian dust input from other lithogenic inputs such as volcanic ash, ice-rafted debris, riverine and hemipelagic input. While the open ocean sites far away from the volcanic arcs are dominantly composed of pure eolian dust, lithogenic components other than eolian dust play a more crucial role along the arcs. In sites dominated by dust, eolian dust input appears to be characterized by a nearly uniform grain size mode at similar to 4 mu m.
Applying the Th-230-normalization technique, our proxies yield a consistent pattern of uniform dust fluxes of 1-2 g/m(2)/yr across the Subarctic North Pacific. Elevated eolian dust fluxes of 2-4 g/m(2)/yr characterize the westernmost region off Japan and the southern Kurile Islands south of 45 degrees N and west of 165 degrees E along the main pathway of the westerly winds. The core-top based dust flux reconstruction is consistent with recent estimates based on dissolved thorium isotope concentrations in seawater from the Subarctic North Pacific. The dust flux pattern compares well with state-of-the-art dust model predictions in the western and central Subarctic North Pacific, but we find that dust fluxes are higher than modeled fluxes by 0.5-1 g/m(2)/yr in the northwest, northeast and eastern Subarctic North Pacific. Our results provide an important benchmark for biogeochemical models and a robust approach for downcore studies testing dust-induced iron fertilization of past changes in biological productivity in the Subarctic North Pacific.
Numerical simulation of fluid-flow processes in a 3D high-resolution carbonate reservoir analogue
(2014)
A high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) outcrop model of a Jurassic carbonate ramp was used in order to perform a series of detailed and systematic flow simulations. The aim of this study was to test the impact of small- and large-scale geological features on reservoir performance and oil recovery. The digital outcrop model contains a wide range of sedimentological, diagenetic and structural features, including discontinuity surfaces, shoal bodies, mud mounds, oyster bioherms and fractures. Flow simulations are performed for numerical well testing and secondary oil recovery. Numerical well testing enables synthetic but systematic pressure responses to be generated for different geological features observed in the outcrops. This allows us to assess and rank the relative impact of specific geological features on reservoir performance. The outcome documents that, owing to the realistic representation of matrix heterogeneity, most diagenetic and structural features cannot be linked to a unique pressure signature. Instead, reservoir performance is controlled by subseismic faults and oyster bioherms acting as thief zones. Numerical simulations of secondary recovery processes reveal strong channelling of fluid flow into high-permeability layers as the primary control for oil recovery. However, appropriate reservoir-engineering solutions, such as optimizing well placement and injection fluid, can reduce channelling and increase oil recovery.
Carbonate reservoirs pose significant challenges for reservoir modelling and flow prediction due to heterogeneities in rock properties, limits to seismic resolution and limited constraints on subsurface data. Hence, a systematic and streamlined approach is needed to construct geological models and to quickly evaluate key sensitivities in the flow models. This paper discusses results from a reservoir analogue study of a Middle Jurassic carbonate ramp in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco that has stratigraphic and structural similarities to selected Middle East reservoirs. For this purpose, high-resolution geological models were constructed from the integration of sedimentological, diagenetic and structural studies in the area. The models are approximately 1200 x 1250 m in size, and only faults (no fractures) with offsets greater than 1 m are included. Novel methods have been applied to test the response of flow simulations to the presence or absence of specific geological features, including proxies for hardgrounds, stylolites, patch reefs, and mollusc banks, as a way to guide the level of detail that is suitable for modelling objectives. Our general conclusion from the study is that the continuity of any geological feature with extreme permeability (high or low) has the most significant impact on flow.
Whilst sophisticated multiphase fluid flow models are routinely employed to understand behaviour of oil and gas reservoirs, high-resolution data describing the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of rock characteristics is rarely available to populate models. We present a new approach to developing a quantitative understanding of the effect of individual controls on the distribution of petrophysical properties and their impact on fluid flow. This involves simulating flow through high-detail permeability architectures generated by forward modelling of the coupled depositional-diagenetic evolution of isolated platforms using CARB3D(+). This workflow is exemplified by an investigation of interactions between subsidence and climate, and their expression in spatial variations in reservoir quality in an isolated carbonate platform of similar size and subsidence history to the Triassic Latemar Platform.
Dissolutional lowering during subaerial exposure controls platform-top graininess via platform top hydrodynamics during the subsequent transgression. Dissolved carbonate is reprecipitated as cements by percolating meteoric waters. However, associated subsurface meteoric dissolution generates significant secondary porosity under a more humid climate. Slower subsidence enhances diagenetic overprinting during repeated exposure events. Single-phase streamline simulations show how early diagenesis develops more permeable fairways within the finer-grained condensed units that can act as thief zones for flow from the grainier but less diagenetically altered cyclic units.
Lacustrine sediments have been widely used to investigate past climatic and environmental changes on millennial to seasonal time scales. Sedimentary archives of lakes in mountainous regions may also record non-climatic events such as earthquakes. We argue herein that a set of 64 annual laminae couplets reconciles a stratigraphically inconsistent accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C-14 chronology in a similar to 4-m-long sediment core from Lake Mengda, in the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau. The laminations suggest the lake was formed by a large landslide, triggered by the 1927 Gulang earthquake (M = 8.0). The lake sediment sequence can be separated into three units based on lithologic, sedimentary, and isotopic characteristics. Starting from the bottom of the sequence, these are: (1) unweathered, coarse, sandy valley-floor deposits or landslide debris that pre-date the lake, (2) landslide-induced, fine-grained soil or reworked landslide debris with a high organic content, and (3) lacustrine sediments with low organic content and laminations. These annual laminations provide a high-resolution record of anthropogenic and environmental changes during the twentieth century, recording enhanced sediment input associated with two phases of construction activities. The high mean sedimentation rates of up to 4.8 mm year(-1) underscore the potential for reconstructing such distinct sediment pulses in remote, forested, and seemingly undisturbed mountain catchments.
The Tibetan Plateau is a region that is highly sensitive to recent global warming, but the complexity and heterogeneity of its mountainous landscape can result in variable responses. In addition, the scarcity and brevity of regional instrumental and palaeoecological records still hamper our understanding of past and present patterns of environmental change. To investigate how the remote, high-alpine environments of the Nianbaoyeze Mountains, eastern Tibetan Plateau, are affected by climate change and human activity over the last similar to 600 years, we compared regional tree-ring studies with pollen and diatom remains archived in the dated sediments of Dongerwuka Lake (33.22A degrees N, 101.12A degrees E, 4,307 m a.s.l.). In agreement with previous studies from the eastern Tibetan Plateau, a strong coherence between our two juniper-based tree-ring chronologies from the Nianbaoyeze and the Anemaqin Mountains was observed, with pronounced cyclical variations in summer temperature reconstructions. A positive directional trend to warmer summer temperatures in the most recent decades, was, however, not observed in the tree-ring record. Likewise, our pollen and diatom spectra showed minimal change over the investigated time period. Although modest, the most notable change in the diatom relative abundances was a subtle decrease in the dominant planktonic Cyclotella ocellata and a concurrent increase in small, benthic fragilarioid taxa in the similar to 1820s, suggesting higher ecosystem variability. The pollen record subtly indicates three periods of increased cattle grazing activity (similar to 1400-1480 AD, similar to 1630-1760 AD, after 1850 AD), but shows generally no significant vegetation changes during past similar to 600 years. The minimal changes observed in the tree-ring, diatom and pollen records are consistent with the presence of localised cooling centres that are evident in instrumental and tree-ring data within the southeastern and eastern Tibetan Plateau. Given the minor changes in regional temperature records, our complacent palaeoecological profiles suggest that climatically induced ecological thresholds have not yet been crossed in the Nianbaoyeze Mountains region.
A geological feature in the Qaidam Basin known as the "Shell Bar" contains millions of freshwater clam shells buried in situ. Since the 1980s, this feature in the now hyper-arid basin has been interpreted to be lake deposits that provide evidence for a warmer and more humid climate than present during late marine isotope stage 3 (MIS 3). Global climate during late MIS 3 and the last glacial maximum, however, was cold and dry, with much lower sea levels. We re-investigated the feature geomorphologically and sedimentologically, and employed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to verify the chronology of the sediments. We interpret the Shell Bar to be a remnant of a river channel formed by a stream that ran across an exposed lake bed during a regressive lake phase. Deflation of the surrounding older, fine-grained lacustrine deposits has left the fluvial channel sediments topographically inverted, indicating the erosive nature of the landscape. Luminescence ages place the formation of the Shell Bar in MIS 5 (similar to 113-99 ka), much older than previous radiocarbon ages of < 40 ka BP, but place the paleoclimatic inferences more in accord with other regional and global climate proxy records. We present a brief review of the age differences derived from C-14 and OSL dating of some critical sections that were thought to represent a warmer and more humid climate than present during late MIS 3. We attribute the differences to underestimation of C-14 ages. We suggest that C-14 ages older than similar to 25 ka BP may require re-investigation, especially dates on samples from arid regions.
The Shell Bar in the Qaidam Basin, China, is a prominent geological feature composed of millions of densely packed Corbicula shells. Since the mid 1980s, it has been regarded as evidence for existence of a large lake during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 in the presently hyper-arid Qaidam Basin. Early studies suggested the bivalve shells accumulated at the shore of a large lake, whereas more recent work led to the conclusion that the Shell Bar was formed within a deeper water body. Based on our re-assessment of sediments and fossils from the Shell Bar, investigation of exposed fluvio-lacustrine sections upstream of the Shell Bar and study of nearby modern streams, we infer that the Shell Bar represents a stream deposit. Corbicula is a typical stream-dweller around the world. Preservation of Corbicula shells of different sizes, as well as occurrence of many articulated shells, provide evidence against post-mortem transport and accumulation along a lake shore. Additionally, the SE-NW alignment of the Shell Bar is similar to modern intermittent stream beds in its vicinity and corresponds to the present-day slope towards the basin centre further NW, and furthermore, the predominantly sandy sediments also indicate that the Shell Bar was formed in a stream. Abundant ostracod shells in the Shell Bar sediments originated from stream-dwelling species that are abundant in modern streams in the vicinity of the Shell Bar, or in part from fluvio-lacustrine sediments exposed upstream of the Shell Bar, as a result of erosion and re-deposition. Deflation of alluvial fine-grained sediments in the Shell Bar region and protection of the stream deposits by the large and thick-walled Corbicula shells reversed the former channel relief and yielded the modern exposure, which is a prominent morphological feature. Occurrence of Corbicula shells in the Qaidam Basin indicates climate was apparently warmer than present during the formation of the Shell Bar because Corbicula does not live at similar or higher altitudes in the region today. Because the Shell Bar is no longer considered a deposit formed within a lake, its presence does not indicate paleoclimate conditions wetter than today.