Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Erosion rate maps highlight spatio-temporal patterns of uplift and quantify sediment export of the Northern Andes
Published: 2022-12-30
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Erosion rates are widely used to assess tectonic uplift and sediment export from mountain ranges. However, the scarcity of erosion rate measurements often hinders detailed tectonic interpretations. Here, we present 25 new cosmogenic nuclide-derived erosion rates from the Northern Andes of Colombia to study spatio-temporal patterns of uplift along the Central and Eastern Cordillera. Specifically, [...]
Information Content of Hydrologic Data across Space: Streamflow Predictions using Machine Learning
Published: 2022-12-29
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This study aimed to assess the usefulness of data from donor watersheds to predict streamflow in parent watersheds. For this purpose, Long-Short Memory Network (LSTM) is used as an information extraction algorithm. Data from a total of 434 watersheds were used in this study. Out of these 434 watersheds, 57 watersheds were selected as the parent watersheds. These 57 watersheds were those where [...]
Deep Learning Models for River Classification at Sub-Meter Resolutions from Multispectral and Panchromatic Commercial Satellite Imagery
Published: 2022-12-28
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Remote sensing of the Earth's surface water is critical in a wide range of environmental studies, from evaluating the societal impacts of seasonal droughts and floods to the large-scale implications of climate change. Consequently, a large literature exists on the classification of water from satellite imagery. Yet, previous methods have been limited by 1) the spatial resolution of public [...]
Changes in Streamflow Statistical Structure across the United States due to Recent Climate Change
Published: 2022-12-26
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A variety of watershed responses to climate change are expected due to non-linear interactions between various hydrologic processes acting at different timescales that are modulated by watershed properties. Changes in statistical structure (spectral properties) of streamflow in the USA due to climate change were studied for water years 1980-2013. The Fractionally differenced Autoregressive [...]
Uncertainties in Water Scarcity Index due to water use and climate changes: Case of two Legal Amazon watersheds
Published: 2022-12-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
Water scarcity is a major global problem with the potential to impact socioeconomic development and the environment. Currently, mitigating issues related to the lack of water has become an aim for the public and private sectors. Water scarcity can be estimated by the ratio between water use (withdrawal or consumption) and water availability (a minimum discharge), named Water Stress Index (WSI). [...]
The Low Permeability of the Earth’s Precambrian Crust
Published: 2022-12-21
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The large volume of deep groundwater in the Precambrian crust has only recently been understood to be relatively hydrogeologically isolated from the rest of the hydrologic cycle. Currently, the paucity of permeability measurements in the Precambrian crust is a barrier to modeling fluid flow and solute transport in these low porosity and permeability deep environments. Estimates of permeability [...]
Acoustic full waveform inversion for 2-D ambient noise source imaging
Published: 2022-12-20
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We present a method for estimating seismic ambient noise sources by acoustic full waveform inversion of interstation cross-correlations. The method is valid at local scales for laterally heterogeneous media, and ambient noise sources confined to the Earth's surface. Synthetic tests performed using an actual field array geometry, are used to illustrate three unique aspects of our work. First: the [...]
Return of the Atacama deep Slow Slip Event : the 5-year recurrence confirmed by continuous GPS
Published: 2022-12-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Four years ago, using survey GPS measurements, the first deep slow slip event (SSE) was detected in Chile (near Copiapó, Atacama region), unrelated to any major earthquake. It was located between 40 and 60 km depth on the subduction interface, lasted approximately 18 months (2014-2016.5) and reached an equivalent magnitude of Mw~6.9. The single permanent station operating in the region between [...]
Synthesizing Sea Surface Temperature and Satellite Altimetry Observations Using Deep Learning Improves the Accuracy and Resolution of Gridded Sea Surface Height Anomalies
Published: 2022-12-17
Subjects: Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Gridded sea surface height (SSH) maps estimated from satellite altimetry are widely used for estimating surface ocean geostrophic currents. Satellite altimeters observe SSH along one-dimensional tracks widely spaced in space and time, making accurately reconstructing the two-dimensional (2D) SSH field challenging. Traditionally, SSH is mapped using optimal interpolation (OI). However, OI [...]
Evolution of the seasonal dynamics of the lake-terminating glacier Fjallsjökull, southeast Iceland, inferred using high-resolution repeat UAV imagery
Published: 2022-12-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Glaciology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Proglacial lakes are becoming ubiquitous at the termini of many glaciers worldwide, leading to increased glacier mass loss and terminus retreat, yet an understanding of the key processes forcing their behaviour is lacking. This study utilised high-resolution repeat uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV)-Structure from Motion (SfM) imagery to provide insights into the changing dynamics of Fjallsjökull, a [...]
Stinging News: ‘Dickinsonia’ discovered in the Upper Vindhyan of India Not Worth the Buzz
Published: 2022-12-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A recent report of Dickinsonia tenuis ‘hiding in plain sight’ at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in rocks of the Maihar sandstone (Upper Vindhyan) has important implications for paleogeography and the age of the Upper Vindhyan. We visited the site in December 2022 and found the evidence for Dickisonia lacking. The ‘fossil’ resembles decayed parts of modern Apis dorsata (giant honeybees) hives. In [...]
A treatise on InSAR geometry and 3D displacement estimation
Published: 2022-12-14
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The estimation of displacement vectors for (objects on) the Earth’s surface using satellite InSAR requires geometric transformations of the observables based on orbital viewing geometries. Usually, there are insufficient viewing geometries available for full 3D reconstruction, leading to non-unique solutions. Currently, there is no standardized approach to deal with this problem, resulting in [...]
Thermal stratification and meromixis in four dilute temperate zone lakes
Published: 2022-12-14
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Four adjacent lakes (Arco, Budd, Deming, and Josephine) within Itasca State Park in Minnesota, USA are reported to be meromictic in the scientific literature. However, seasonally persistent chemoclines have never been documented. We collected seasonal profiles of temperature and specific conductance and placed temperature sensor chains in two lakes for ~ 1 year to explore whether these lakes [...]
Citizen and Machine Learning-aided High-resolution mapping of urban heat exposure and stress
Published: 2022-12-13
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Through conversion of land cover to more built-up, impervious surfaces, cities are creating hotter environments for urban residents. Existing measurements of heat and heat stress, however, are often insufficient to capture intra-urban variability of exposure. This study provides a replicable method for modeling air temperature, humidity, and heat stress over an urban area, engaging citizens in [...]
Satellite-derived solar radiation for intra-hour and intra-day applications: biases and uncertainties by season and altitude
Published: 2022-12-13
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Accurate estimates of the surface solar radiation (SSR) are a prerequisite for intra-day forecasts of solar resources and photovoltaic power generation. Intra-day SSR forecasts are of interest to power traders and to operators of solar plants and power grids who seek to optimize their revenues and maintain the grid stability by matching power supply and demand. Our study analyzes systematic [...]