Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Natural sampling and aliasing of marine geochemical signals
Published: 2024-03-09
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
It is well known that the sedimentary rock record is both incomplete and biased. Correlation between geographically distinct records is problematic in the absence of absolute age constraints, which can profoundly affect interpretations of geological and geochemical data. We use a computational process model to create canonical examples of carbonate-siliciclastic stratigraphic cross-sections from [...]
The Great Oxidation Event (GOE): Biogeochemical Feedback and Tipping Points
Published: 2024-03-09
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Approximately 1.4 Ga after life first appeared, atmospheric O2 suddenly jumped by more than an order of magnitude over a 20-50 Ma period. The contrast between these two timescales does not seem to be due to any sudden, large-amplitude change in external forcing. However, it could be due to processes intrinsic to the geobiological system itself, namely, positive feedback between atmospheric O2 and [...]
Lunar Crater Detection Using YOLOv8 Deep Learning
Published: 2024-03-09
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In lunar exploration missions, the detection of lunar craters is essential for scientific inquiry, navigation, and terrain analysis. Conventional approaches for identifying craters depend on labor- and time-intensive manual inspection or semi-automated procedures. An effective and precise way to automate this procedure is through the use of deep learning algorithms. In this brief message, we [...]
Linking local climate scenarios to global warming levels: Applicability, prospects and uncertainties
Published: 2024-03-08
Subjects: Climate, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Global warming levels (GWLs) are increasingly becoming a central concept in climate change studies. In recent years, their integrative quality for climate change impact analysis has been demonstrated, and methodological advancements have helped to compensate for some inherent shortfalls of the concept. However, their applicability at the regional level is debatable, and no study to date has [...]
Evaluation of the Sentinel-1 SAR image processing algorithms performance
Published: 2024-03-08
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The following paper discussed the performance of previously developed SAR algorithms applied to Sentinel-1 imagery. The outputs of algorithms were correlated to top-performing Sentinel-2 reNDVI algorithms. The study found that Levelled and Normalized Sigma nought outperformed the Gamma Nought, and, especially, Sigma Nought, and RVI algorithms.
Assessing the Earthquake Recording Capability of an Ocean-bottom Distributed Acoustic Sensing Array in the Sanriku region, Japan
Published: 2024-03-07
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sparse seismic instrumentation in the oceans limits our understanding of the Earth’s dynamics. The emerging technology of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), which can turn existing fiber-optic cable arrays into thousands of seismic sensors, has the potential to fill the data gap. Yet, the power of OBDAS for routine seismic monitoring has to be further explored. In this study, we investigate the [...]
Moving graphs: Predicting barchan dune migration rates from their shapes
Published: 2024-03-07
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In this study, geometric perspectives on sand dune formation and motion are summarized, introduced, and combined to predict time-averaged velocities (migration rates) of barchan dunes directly from their shapes. First, it is proposed that smaller sediment accumulations outpace larger ones due to differences in surface-to-volume ratio. This ratio is defined by a bedform’s wavelength and its [...]
Plant controls over tropical wetland nitrous oxide dynamics: a review
Published: 2024-03-07
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Tropical wetlands are an important global source of greenhouse gas emissions, including nitrous oxide, a potent and long-last greenhouse gas. Tropical wetland ecosystems can be highly heterogeneous, featuring a variety of vegetation types, from grasses through to palms and mangroves. A variety of plant-mediated processes can exert key controls over wetland plant/soil nitrogen transportation and [...]
Sediment Corrections for Distributed Acoustic Sensing
Published: 2024-03-06
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
On continental margins, sediments cause significant and spatially variable delays in seismic phase arrival times. The strong impedance contrast of the sediment-bedrock interface causes P-wave splitting that is clearly seen on Distributed Acoustic Sensing recordings of earthquakes, resulting in additional phase arrivals that must be picked separately. We introduce sediment corrections to correctly [...]
Gibraltar subduction zone is invading the Atlantic
Published: 2024-03-05
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Subduction initiation is a cornerstone of the Wilson cycle. It marks the turning point in an ocean’s lifetime, allowing its lithosphere to be recycled into the mantle. However, formation of subduction zones in Atlantic-type oceans is challenging, given it commonly involves the action of an external force, such as the slab pull from a nearby subduction zone, a far-field compression or the impact [...]
Three-dimensional mineral dendrites reveal a non-classical crystallization pathway
Published: 2024-03-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Geochemistry, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics
Manganese (Mn) dendrites are a common type of mineral dendrite that typically forms two-dimensional structures on rock surfaces. Three-dimensional (3D) Mn dendrites in rocks have rarely been reported, hence their growth implications have largely escaped attention. Here, we combine high-resolution X-ray and electron-based data with numerical modelling to give the first detailed description of [...]
Storage Efficiency and Reduced Complexity Modelling
Published: 2024-03-04
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is vital to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. Most CCS projects rely on the permanent geological storage of CO2 within deep sedimentary rock formations, but accurately constraining the capacity of these reservoirs usually involves detailed and computationally demanding reservoir modelling and simulation of the pressure evolution and [...]
MYTH-BUSTING: WAS PULAU TIGA REALLY FIRST CREATED BY A MUD VOLCANO ERUPTION IN 1897?
Published: 2024-03-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
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The problems of the Anthropocene in the Geologic Time Scale, and beyond
Published: 2024-02-29
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The formalization of the Anthropocene in the Geologic Time Scale (GTS) is a matter of debate. An assessment of the two current options, one formalizing the Anthropocene as an Epoch and the other considering the Anthropocene as an informal event in the Earth’s history that does not require formalization, are critically analyzed. The focus of the analysis is on the philosophical issues underlying [...]
Unconfined gravity current interactions with orthogonal topography: Implications for combined-flow processes and the depositional record.
Published: 2024-02-28
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Turbidity current behaviour is affected by interactions with seafloor topography. Changes in flow dynamics will depend on the physiographic configuration of the topography (orientation and gradient), and the character of the incoming flow (magnitude and rheology). A better understanding of how unconfined turbidity currents interact with topography will improve interpretations of the stratigraphic [...]