Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Image processing on meso-scale photographs of brittle shear zones
Published: 2022-02-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Study of structures and fabrics from different scales of observation is an indispensable first step in structural geology and other branches of geoscience. We process three selected images of brittle shear zones from quartzite, limestone and schist samples using various methods, steps and filters. Such exercises more effectively detect brittle planes when the planes are not too close-spaced and [...]
Mitigation of installation-related effects for small-scale borehole-to-surface ERT
Published: 2022-02-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Strong methane point sources contribute a disproportionate fraction of total emissions across multiple basins in the U.S.
Published: 2022-02-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Understanding, prioritizing, and mitigating methane (CH4) emissions requires quantifying methane budgets from facility scales to regional scales with the ability to differentiate between source sectors. We deployed a tiered observing system for multiple basins in the United States (San Joaquin Valley, Uintah, Denver-Julesberg, Permian, Marcellus). We quantify strong point source emissions (>10 kg [...]
Changes in mean and extreme precipitation scale universally with global mean temperature across and within climate models
Published: 2022-02-09
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Projections of precipitation from global climate models are crucial for risk assessment and adaptation strategies under different emission scenarios, yet model uncertainty limits their application. Here, we assess inter-model differences by separating the response of precipitation to anthropogenic forcing within 21 individual, bias-adjusted CMIP6 models using a pattern filtering technique. The [...]
The western Andes at ~20–22°S: A contribution to the quantification of crustal shortening and kinematics of deformation
Published: 2022-02-09
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Andes are an emblematic active Cordilleran orogen. It is admitted that mountain-building in the Central Andes at ~20°S started by Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic along the subduction margin, and propagated eastward. In general, the structures sustaining the uplift of the West Andean flank are dismissed, and their contribution to mountain-building remains poorly solved. Here, we focus on two [...]
Indian Plate paleogeography, subduction, and horizontal underthrusting below Tibet: paradoxes, controvercies, and opportunities
Published: 2022-02-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
The India-Asia collision zone is the archetype to calibrate geological responses of continent-continent collision, but hosts a paradox: there is no orogen-wide geological record of oceanic subduction after initial collision around 60-55 Ma, yet thousands of kilometers of post-collisional subduction occurred before arrival of unsubductable continental lithosphere that currently horizontally [...]
Antecedent conditions control thresholds of tile-runoff generation and nitrogen export in intensively managed landscapes
Published: 2022-02-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Threshold changes in rainfall-runoff generation commonly represent shifts in runoff mechanisms and hydrologic connectivity controlling water and solute transport and transformation. In watersheds with limited human influence, threshold runoff responses reflect interaction between precipitation event and antecedent soil moisture. Similar analyses are lacking in intensively managed landscapes where [...]
The revolutionary impact of the Deep Time concept: Geology’s modernity and societal implications
Published: 2022-02-05
Subjects: Education, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
I propose throughout this short op-ed that Geology, as one of the most recently established core sciences, is the one most at risk of societal misinterpretation precisely because of its innovativeness. The discovery of ‘deep time’ and the revelation of temporal change were triggered by the advance of geological methodology, which pushed the boundary of the scientific establishment of the time [...]
Tsunami effects on the Coast of Mexico by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption, Tonga
Published: 2022-02-05
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The massive explosion by the January 14, 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga triggered a trans-oceanic tsunami generated by coupled ocean and atmospheric shock waves during the explosion. The tsunami reached first the coast of Tonga, and later many coasts around the world. The shock wave went around the globe, causing sea perturbations as far as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean [...]
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in river discharge: modeling loads upstream and downstream of a PFAS manufacturing plant in the Cape Fear watershed, North Carolina.
Published: 2022-02-03
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Cape Fear River is an important source of drinking water in North Carolina, and many drinking water intakes in the watershed are affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). We quantified PFAS concentrations and loads in river water upstream and downstream of a PFAS manufacturing plant that has been producing PFAS since 1980. River samples collected from September 2018 to February [...]
2021 North American Heatwave Amplified by Climate-Change-Driven Nonlinear Interactions
Published: 2022-02-03
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Heat conditions in North America in summer 2021 exceeded prior heatwaves by margins many would have considered impossible under current climate conditions. Associated severe impacts highlight the need for understanding the heatwave’s physical drivers and relations to climate change, to improve the projection and prediction of future extreme heat risks. Here, we find that slow- and fast-moving [...]
The PATCH Lab: A database and workspace for Cenozoic terrestrial paleoclimate and environment reconstruction
Published: 2022-02-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In the last two decades, analytical advances and a growing interest in relevant research questions has brought a rapid increase in the amount of stable isotope data used for reconstructing terrestrial paleoclimates and environments. As the spatial and temporal resolution of proxy data continues to improve, the quantitative interpretation of these data is becoming increasingly common. These [...]
Thermal evolution and resources of the Bowland Basin (NW England) from apatite fission-track analyses and multidimensional basin modelling
Published: 2022-01-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Once highlighted for having significant shale gas resource potential, the Bowland Basin has been at the centre of both scientific and political controversy over the last decade. Previous shale gas resource estimates range from 10^3 - 10^1 TCF. Repeated events of induced seismicity following hydraulic fracturing operations led to an indefinite government moratorium and abandonment of operations [...]
Effect of Pressure and Stress cycles on fluid flow in hydraulically-fractured, low-porosity, anisotropic sandstone
Published: 2022-01-30
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Hydraulic fracture in deep rock masses is used across a variety of disciplines, from unconventional oil and gas to geothermal exploration. The overall efficiency of this process requires not only knowledge of the fracture mechanics of the rocks, but also how the newly generated fractures influence macro-scale pore connectivity. We here use cylindrical samples of Crab Orchard sandstone (90mm [...]
Structural and Stratigraphic Modeling Techniques in Shale and Tight Oil Basin Reservoir Studies
Published: 2022-01-29
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The validity of regional and basin-wide geomodels of unconventional and tight-oil plays depends on the accuracy and precision of the available structural and stratigraphic frameworks. Integrated reservoir models, combining seismic, log, core, and production data, are critical tools necessary for capturing the basin fill history and for predicting the 3D facies architecture. For researchers, the [...]