Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Network Analysis of the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meetings
Published: 2018-06-20
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is an Earth and space science professional society based in the United States. AGU publishes scientific journals, sponsors meetings, and supports education and outreach efforts to promote public understanding of science. Research conducted by AGU members ranges from the Earth’s deep interior to the outer planets of our solar system. Little research exists on [...]
Exhumation of (U)HP/LT rocks caused by diachronous slab breakoff
Published: 2018-06-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Three-dimensional thermo-mechanical analogue models investigate how diachronous slab breakoff may lead to the exhumation of subducted continental crust. Slab breakoff initiates spontaneously in one location and migrates laterally along the plate boundary, causing a transient excess downward pull force on the plate boundary in front of the propagating slab tear. This pull force locally reduces the [...]
Wildlife Crime: The application of forensic geoscience to assist with criminal investigations
Published: 2018-06-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Wildlife crime is a growing problem in many rural areas. However, it can often be difficult to determine exactly what had happened and provide evidential Court material, especially where evidence is ephemeral. This paper presents a case study where a badger sett had been illegally filled and evidence was rapidly required to support a prosecution. A topographic surface survey was undertaken, [...]
Farmer’s data sourcing: A best practise example for mapping soil properties in permanent crops in South Tyrol (northern Italy)
Published: 2018-06-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Soil Science
In agriculture, detailed knowledge of soil properties is a key element for high-quality food production. However, soil data at a single parcel scale are generally unavailable. In this study, a best practice framework is presented where, through an operational chain from an individual farmer through a centralised database and with a geostatistical approach, new knowledge has been generated that [...]
Landscape classification with deep neural networks.
Published: 2018-06-18
Subjects: Computer and Systems Architecture, Computer Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Other Statistics and Probability, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
The application of deep learning, specifically deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), to the classification of remotely sensed imagery of natural landscapes has the potential to greatly assist in the analysis and interpretation of geomorphic processes. However, the general usefulness of deep learning applied to conventional photographic imagery at a landscape scale is, at yet, largely [...]
Post-critical SsPmp and Its Applications to Virtual Deep Seismic Sounding (VDSS): 1. Sensitivity to Lithospheric 1D and 2D structure
Published: 2018-06-15
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Virtual Deep Seismic Sounding (VDSS) has recently emerged as a novel method to image the Moho and potentially other lithospheric boundaries. The behavior of SsPmp, the post-critical reflection phase at the Moho that is utilized in VDSS, is rich with complexities not yet widely utilized. Here, motivated by observations from the Ordos Plateau in North China, we use synthetic seismograms computed [...]
How do intra-basement fabrics influence normal fault growth? Insights from the Taranaki Basin, offshore New Zealand
Published: 2018-06-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Pre-existing intra-basement structures can have a strong influence on the evolution of rift basins. Although 3D geometric relationships provide some insight into how intra-basement structures determine the broad geometry and spatial development (e.g. strike and dip) of rift-related faults, little is known about the impact of the former on the detailed kinematics (i.e. nucleation and tip [...]
A fossiliferous spherule-rich bed at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary in Mississippi, USA: implications for the K-Pg mass extinction event in the MS Embayment and Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain
Published: 2018-06-14
Subjects: Astrophysics and Astronomy, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
We describe an outcrop of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary exposed due to construction near New Albany, Union County, Mississippi. It consists of the Owl Creek Formation and overlying Clayton Formation. The Owl Creek Formation is rich in the ammonites Discoscaphites iris and Eubaculites carinatus, which, along with biostratigraphically important dinoflagellate cysts and calcareous [...]
Introduction to Interferometry of Fiber Optic Strain Measurements
Published: 2018-06-14
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Other Applied Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) measures the average axial strain (strain rate) along a subset of a fiber optic cable, as opposed to the particle displacement (velocity) at a particular small point sensor. In shifting from measuring a vector field to a tensor field, DAS changes the directional sensitivity of measurements of every type of seismic wave when compared to single component [...]
A strong role for the AMOC in partitioning global energy transport and shifting ITCZ position in response to latitudinally discrete solar forcing in the CESM1.2
Published: 2018-06-14
Subjects: Climate, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This preprint is a non peer reviewed version submitted to the Journal of Climate. This work has been accepted for publication with an updated title, A strong role for the AMOC in partitioning global energy transport and shifting ITCZ position in response to latitudinally discrete solar forcing in the CESM1.2. The accepted version is substantially different from the preprint version due to the [...]
Is the Earth Lazy? A review of work minimization in fault evolution
Published: 2018-06-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The principle of work minimization has been used in various forms to account for the development of active fault systems within a wide range of tectonic settings. We review the successes, challenges and implications learned from previous applications of work minimization. Examination of the energy budget provides insight into the competing influences of different processes within fault systems [...]
Effects of shoal margin collapses on the morphodynamics of a sandy estuary
Published: 2018-06-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Shoal margin collapses of several Mm3 have occurred in the Western Scheldt estuary, the Netherlands, on average five times a year over the last decades. While these collapses involve significant volumes of material, their effect on the channel‐shoal morphology is unknown. We hypothesize that collapses dynamicise the channel‐shoal interactions, which could impact the ecological functioning, flood [...]
A tutorial introduction to the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo solution of weakly nonlinear inverse problems
Published: 2018-06-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We present an introduction to Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) sampling of high-dimensional model spaces with focus on linear and weakly nonlinear inverse problems. This includes the theoretical foundations, intuitive examples, as well as applications to linear and nonlinear, adjoint-based traveltime tomography. HMC rests on the construction of an artificial Hamiltonian system where a model is [...]
Secondary microplastics were prevalent in sediment in a freshwater UK urban river
Published: 2018-06-07
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Plastic pollution has been documented in terrestrial and aquatic environments worldwide, with growing concern for ‘microplastics’ (MPs, <5 mm). Understanding of the sources, fate, and impact of MPs remains limited, particularly in freshwater environments. Furthermore, their small sizes and a lack of standardised methodology hinders monitoring and risk assessment of these emerging contaminants. [...]
New analogue materials for nonlinear lithosphere rheology, with an application to slab break-off
Published: 2018-06-07
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Stress-dependent nonlinear upper mantle rheology has a firm base in rock mechanical tests, where this nonlinearity results from dislocation creep of minerals. In the last few decades there has been some attention to nonlinear, power-law, materials for application in scaled analogue experiments for tectonic processes. However, studies describing the rheology of analogue materials with the same [...]