Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
How do pre-existing normal faults influence rift geometry? A comparison of adjacent basins with contrasting underlying structure on the Lofoten Margin, Norway
Published: 2019-11-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Recent studies of natural, multiphase rifts suggest that the presence of pre‐existing faults may strongly influence fault growth during later rift phases. These findings compare well with predictions from recent scaled analogue experiments that simulate multiphase, non‐coaxial extension. However, in natural rifts we only get to see the final result of multiphase rifting. We therefore do not get [...]
Deep learning to infer eddy heat fluxes from sea surface height patterns of mesoscale turbulence
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, Planetary Sciences
Oceans play a major role in Earths climate by storing and transporting heat via turbulent currents called mesoscale eddies. However, direct monitoring of eddy-driven heat fluxes is currently impossible because it requires simultaneous surface and subsurface observations of velocity and heat content, while only surface properties of mesoscale eddies can be comprehensively measured by satellites in [...]
Ultramafic rock carbonation: Constraints from listvenite core BT1B, Oman Drilling Project
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Mineral Physics, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The occurrence of the quartz–carbonate alteration assemblage (listvenite) in ophiolites indicates that ultramafic rock represents an effective sink for dissolved CO2. However, the majority of earlier studies of ultramafic rock carbonation had to rely on the surface exposure of reaction textures and field relationships. Here we present the first observations on ultramafic rock alteration obtained [...]
The Fate of Carbon during Earth’s Core–Mantle Differentiation
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Carbon is an essential element for the existence and evolution of life on Earth, constitutes up to 50% of dry biomass, and is likely a requirement for all life in the universe. Its high abundance in Earth’s crust and mantle (the Bulk Silicate Earth, BSE) is surprising because carbon is strongly siderophile (metal-loving) and should have segregated almost completely into Earth’s core during [...]
Stable and Radioisotope Systematics Reveal Fossil Water as Fundamental Characteristic of Arid Orogenic-Scale Groundwater Systems
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In arid and semi-arid regions, persistent hydrological imbalances illuminate the considerable gaps in our spatiotemporal understanding of fundamental catchment-scale governing mechanisms. The Salar de Atacama basin is the most extreme example of groundwater-dominated continental basins and therefore is an ideal place to probe these unresolved questions. Geochemical and hydrophysical observations [...]
Coherent streamflow variability in Monsoon Asia over the past eight centuries---links to oceanic drivers
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Climate, Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Monsoon Asia region is home to ten of the world’s biggest rivers, supporting the lives of 1.7 billion people who rely on streamflow for water, energy, and food. Yet, a synoptic understanding of multi-centennial streamflow variability for this region is lacking. Here we produce the first large scale streamflow reconstruction over Monsoon Asia (63 stations in 16 countries), using a novel [...]
Logarithmic growth of dikes from a depressurizing magma chamber
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Dike propagation is an intrinsically multiphase problem, where deformation and fluid flow are intricately coupled in a fracture process. Here we perform the first fully-coupled simulations of dike propagation in two dimensions, accounting for depressurization of a circular magma chamber, dynamic fluid flow, fracture formation, and elastic deformation. Despite the complexity of the governing [...]
Directionality of ambient noise in the Mississippi embayment
Published: 2019-11-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise from 277 broadband stations within the Mississippi embayment (ME) with at least 1-month of recording time between 1990 and 2018 are used to estimate source locations of primary and secondary microseisms. We investigate source locations by analyzing the azimuthal distribution of the signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) and positive/negative amplitude [...]
Low-cost electronic sensors for environmental research: pitfalls and opportunities
Published: 2019-11-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Repeat observations underpin our understanding of environmental processes but financial constraints often limit scientists’ ability to deploy dense networks of conventional commercial instrumentation. Rapid growth in the Internet-Of-Things (IOT) and the maker movement is paving the way for low-cost electronic sensors to transform global environmental monitoring. Accessible and inexpensive sensor [...]
Ancient subducted oceans controlling the positioning of deep mantle plumes
Published: 2019-11-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Seismic imaging of the Earths interior reveals plumes originating from relatively hot regions of the lower mantle, surrounded by cooler material thought to be remnants of ancient subducted oceans. Based largely on geophysical data, two opposing hypotheses dominate the discussion on dynamics at the base of mantle: the large hot anomalies are thermo-chemical in nature; or, alternatively, they are [...]
Logjams are not jammed: measurements of log motions in Big Creek, Idaho
Published: 2019-11-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Colloquially, a "logjam" indicates a kinematic arrest of movement. Taken literally, it refers to a type of dense accumulation of wood in rivers widely recognized as bestowing numerous biological and physical benefits to the system but also present serious hazards to infrastructure. Despite this, no in-situ field measurements have assessed the degree of arrest in a naturally-formed logjam. Using [...]
Pore network model predictions of Darcy-scale multiphase flow heterogeneity validated by experiments
Published: 2019-11-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Small-scale heterogeneities in multiphase flow properties fundamentally control the flow of fluids from very small to very large scales in geologic systems. Inability to characterize these heterogeneities often limits numerical model descriptions and predictions of multiphase flow across scales. In this study, we evaluate the ability of pore network models (PNM) to characterize multiphase flow [...]
Growth, overprinting, and stabilization of Proterozoic Provinces in the southern Lake Superior region
Published: 2019-11-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
New geochronologic data in the southern Lake Superior region provide key information on the timing and nature of tectonic activity that pre-and post-date initial Paleoproterozoic growth of Laurentia during the geon 18 Penokean orogeny. The obducted Pembine ophiolite formed along the edge of a Paleoproterozoic ocean basin at least 30 m.y. prior to Penokean island arc/microcontinent accretion [...]
Nowcasting submarine slope instability at local, margin, and global scales using machine learning
Published: 2019-11-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Submarine slope instability (SSI) is a broad term for events ranging from 100 km3 instantaneous open slope failures on continental margins to 0.001 km3 creeping mudflows on heavily sedimented river deltas. SSI events such as the 2018 Sunda Strait and 1929 Grand Banks submarine landslides extract high societal tolls, yet SSI predictive capability is limited. SSI observational studies are resource [...]
Chemical versus mechanical denudation in meta-clastic and carbonate bedrock catchments on Crete, Greece, and mechanisms for steep and high carbonate topography
Published: 2019-11-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
On Crete — as is common elsewhere in the Mediterranean — carbonate massifs form high mountain ranges whereas topography is lower in areas with meta-clastic rocks. This observation suggests that differences in denudational processes between carbonate-rich rocks and quartzofeldspathic units impart a fundamental control on landscape evolution. Here we present new cosmogenic basin-average denudation [...]