Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
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: 2022-01-29
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: 2022-01-28
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 [...]
Seismic Geomorphology of a Late Cretaceous Turbidite Channel system in Deepwater Kribi/Campo sub-basin, offshore Cameroon
Published: 2022-01-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
In this study, a seismic reflection dataset and well-log data were integrated to investigate the geometry and internal configuration of a turbidite channel system within the Late Cretaceous interval of the deep-water Kribi-Campo sub-basin, offshore Cameroon. This interval is characterized by a well-developed submarine channel system consisting of an early and a late-stage channel. [...]
Multidimensional Governing Equations of Matrix Flow Component of Subsurface Stormflow as Function of Bedrock Surface Geometry
Published: 2022-01-27
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Tectonics dominates over climatic and oceanographic factors in controlling the physiography of the Americas shelf-break at a continental scale
Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The continental shelf-break defines the boundary between shallow- and deep-ocean environments, and is modified by subaerial and submarine processes through geological time. The physiography of the shelf-break therefore records the cumulative influence of these processes, and dictates where, and how efficiently, particulates and pollutants are transported into the deep-ocean. Despite its [...]
Paired Δ47 and Δ48 analyses and model calculations constrain equilibrium, experimentally-manipulated kinetic isotope effects, and mixing effects in calcite
Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The high-precision analysis of the abundance of the dominant m/z 47 CO2 isotopologue derived from acid digestion of carbonate minerals (13C18O16O; denoted by Δ47) forms the basis for carbonate clumped isotope thermometry. Since the first measurements were published 16 years ago, considerable effort has gone into characterizing the relationship between Δ47 and carbonate precipitation temperature, [...]
Explaining Variance of Pleistocene Climate Sensitivity: Path, Epochal and CO2 dependence
Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Improved high-resolution paleo records of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and reconstructions of Earth’s surface temperature are available. We analyze one authoritative Pleistocene data set to explore how the climate sensitivity parameter S varies under different system states, using linear regression of mean annual surface temperature changes against CO2 forcing changes. On the [...]
Deep submarine infiltration of altered geothermal groundwater on the south Chilean Margin
Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Hydrology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Submarine groundwater discharge is increasingly recognized as an important component of the oceanic geochemical budget, but knowledge of the distribution of this phenomenon is limited. To date, reports of meteoric inputs to marine sediments are typically limited to shallow shelf and coastal environments, whereas contributions of freshwater along deeper sections of tectonically active margins like [...]