Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Engineering
Geostatistical Earth Modelling of Cyclic Depositional Facies and Diagenesis
Published: 2018-07-02
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
In siliciclastic and carbonate reservoirs, depositional facies are often described as being organized in cyclic successions that are overprinted by diagenesis. Most reservoir modelling workflows are not able to reproduce stochastically such patterns. Herein, a novel geostatistical method is developed to model depositional facies architectures that are rhythmic and cyclic, together with [...]
Micromorphological report of Hof ter Coign
Published: 2018-06-28
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, Geology, Life Sciences, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Soil Science
Micromorphological report of the Hof ter Coign site (Belgium)
Evaluation of open-access global digital elevation models (AW3D30, SRTM and ASTER) for flood modelling purposes
Published: 2018-06-25
Subjects: Aerospace Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computational Engineering, Computer Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Hydraulic Engineering, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Digital Elevation Models (DEM) are a key piece of information for the accurate representation of topographic controls exerted in hydrologic and hydraulic models. Many practitioners rely on open-access global datasets usually obtained from space-borne survey due to the cost and sparse coverage of sources of higher resolution. In may 2016 the Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency publicly released an [...]
Preparing for the Utilization of Data Science / Data Analytics in Earth Science Research
Published: 2018-06-21
Subjects: Computational Engineering, Computer Sciences, Databases and Information Systems, Education, Engineering, Mathematics, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Science and Mathematics Education, Statistics and Probability
Data analytics is the process of examining large amounts of varying data types to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations and other useful information. The Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Earth Science Data Analytics (ESDA) Cluster was created to facilitate the co-analysis of Earth science data and information. In addition to pioneering the definition of ESDA, the cluster has [...]
Landscape classification with deep neural networks.
Published: 2018-06-18
Subjects: Computer and Systems Architecture, Computer Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Other Statistics and Probability, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
The application of deep learning, specifically deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), to the classification of remotely sensed imagery of natural landscapes has the potential to greatly assist in the analysis and interpretation of geomorphic processes. However, the general usefulness of deep learning applied to conventional photographic imagery at a landscape scale is, at yet, largely [...]
Surface albedo as a proxy for land-cover clearing in seasonally dry forests: evidence from the Brazilian Caatinga
Published: 2018-05-16
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Other Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Ongoing increase in human and climate pressures, in addition to the lack of monitoring initiatives, makes the Caatinga one of the most vulnerable forests in the world. The Caatinga is located in the semi-arid region of Brazil and its vegetation phenology is highly dependent on precipitation, which has a high spatial and temporal variability. Under these circumstances, satellite image-based [...]
Rainfall-Runoff modelling using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks
Published: 2018-05-01
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Rainfall-runoff modelling is one of the key challenges in the field of hydrology. Various approaches exist, ranging from physically based over conceptual to fully data driven models. In this paper, we propose a novel data driven approach, using the Long-Short-Term-Memory (LSTM) network, a special type of recurrent neural networks. The advantage of the LSTM is its ability to learn long-term [...]
Strain analysis of a seismically-imaged mass-transport complex, offshore Uruguay
Published: 2018-04-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geology, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Strain style, magnitude, and distribution within mass-transport complexes (MTCs) is important for understanding the process evolution of submarine mass flows and for estimating their runout distances. Structural restoration and quantification of strain in gravitationally-driven passive margins have been shown to approximately balance between updip extensional and downdip compressional domains; [...]
Climatic influences on the offset between d18O of cave drip waters and precipitation inferred from global monitoring data
Published: 2018-03-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Speleology
We present a meta-analysis of data from 22 caves and 96 drip sites from 4 continents where both the cave drip water d18O and the weighted mean d18O of precipitation have been measured. Drip water d18O is similar to the weighted mean d18O of precipitation (within ± 0.3 ‰) for sites where mean annual temperature (MAT) is less than 15 °C (85% of drips where MAT < 15 °C) and an aridity index [...]
Communicating Unnatural Disasters
Published: 2018-01-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Risk Analysis, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Off the back of the 2017 hurricanes we extend the notion of human-influenced meteo-hydro hazards to include deeper geophysical events. We question where to place Human responsibility in a changing world, and we outline ways to bridge the gaps between scientist’s technical knowledge and ‘meaning’ as it is understood by people at risk. This short Op-ed has been rejected by Science after two rounds [...]
Submarine salt dissolution in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil
Published: 2017-12-30
Subjects: Engineering, Other Engineering
Salt dissolution occurs when evaporite-dominated rocks come into contact with NaCl-undersaturated fluids. Salt dissolution can positivity and negatively impact hydrocarbon and mineral exploration, seismic imaging, drilling, and structural restorations in salt-bearing sedimentary basins. However, due to typically poor seismic imaging and a lack of borehole data, few studies have analysed the [...]
The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production
Published: 2017-12-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Glaciology, Hydrology, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
High elevation or high latitude hydropower production (HP) strongly relies on water resources that are influenced by glacier melt and are thus highly sensitive to climate warming. Despite of the wide-spread glacier retreat since the development of HP infrastructure in the 20th century, little quantitative information is available about the role of glacier mass loss for HP. We provide the first [...]
Optimising tidal range power plant operation
Published: 2017-12-11
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computational Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Power and Energy
Tidal range power plants represent an attractive approach for the large-scale generation of electricity from the marine environment. Even though the tides and by extension the available energy resource are predictable, they are also variable in time. This variability poses a challenge regarding the optimal transient control of power plants. Here we consider simulation methods which include the [...]
Characterising Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones
Published: 2017-12-07
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In this work, we analyse the characterisation of drainage multiphase flow properties on heterogeneous rock cores using a rich experimental dataset and mm-m scale numerical simulations. Along with routine multiphase flow properties, 3D sub-metre scale capillary pressure heterogeneity is characterised by combining experimental observations and numerical calibration, resulting in a 3D numerical [...]
Comparison of 0-D, 1-D and 2-D model capabilities for tidal range energy resource assessments
Published: 2017-11-22
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computational Engineering, Earth Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Hydraulic Engineering, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Power and Energy
Tidal range energy projects present an attractive means for the predictable and large-scale generation of electricity from the marine environment. In particular, proposals are under consideration in UK waters, with their feasibility currently being under high levels of scrutiny. This is due to a combination of potential environmental and socio-economic impacts that are challenging to quantify in [...]