Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The 2021 eruption of the Cumbre Vieja Volcanic Ridge on La Palma, Canary Islands
Published: 2022-02-17
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Almost exactly half a century after the eruption of the Teneguía Volcano on La Palma (26 October to 28 November 1971), a new eruption occurred on the island and lasted for 85 days from 19 September until 13 December 2021. This new eruption opened a volcanic vent complex on the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja rift zone, the N-S elongated polygenetic volcanic ridge that has developed on La Palma [...]
The development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in India: A critical review
Published: 2022-02-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a three-tier process- carbon capture, transport and storage. The capture consists of pre-combustion, oxy-combustion and post-combustion capture. Transport of CO2 is most viable through pipelines.The biotic CO2storage occurs through terrestrial or oceanic pathways and can be simulated naturally or artificially. The abiotic/geologic storage is achieved [...]
Source rock properties and kerogen decomposition kinetics of Eocene shales from petroliferous Barmer basin, western Rajasthan, India
Published: 2022-02-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Hydrocarbon exploration and production are going on in Barmer basin (Rajasthan, India) for more than a decade. The potential source rocks are of Paleocene – Eocene age, and Mesozoic siltstones form the reservoirs. The western and central portions of the Rajasthan basin are characterised by extensive lignite formations, which can be promising for artificial transformation to oil and gas. We [...]
Ageostrophic contribution by the wind and waves induced flow to the lateral stirring in the Mediterranean Sea
Published: 2022-02-11
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We study the impact of the Ekman currents and Stokes drift on the horizontal mixing and transport properties of the Mediterranean Sea. FSLE at the ocean surface are computed over the whole basin using 25 years of satellite altimetry derived geostrophic currents, 10-m wind velocity and wave fields. We find that the transport pathways unveiled by the geostrophic Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) [...]
Fuzzy graph theory applied to brittle plane network- A need for carbon sequestration models
Published: 2022-02-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Improved carbon sequestration (CCS) models with rocks as sinks require incorporation of uncertainty into the models. In such cases of uncertain geoscientific problems, fuzzy graph theory can be useful. Brittle shear plane network with indistinct shear planes is common in natural sheared rocks, and can be targeted for CCS. Due to non-unique possibility of continuity of P-planes, it is not possible [...]
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: 2022-02-10
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 [...]