Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geology
Statistical rock physics inversion for assessing source rock properties from seismic signatures: an application to the Canning Basin, Australia
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
Quantifying petrophysical properties and potentials of source rocks is important for subsurface modeling and characterization. However, predicting these properties using seismic signatures and well-log information is a high-dimensional, nonlinear inverse problem, and is subject to uncertainty due to data ambiguities. In this study, a statistical rock physics inversion workflow is proposed to [...]
Deglaciation history and relative sea level changes since the Last Glacial Maximum in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
Published: 2025-07-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
During the last glacial period, continents and surrounding shelves in high latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere were covered by ice sheets. Their retreat during the late Pleistocene and Holocene resulted in isostatic adjustments of the previously glaciated landmass, which influenced post-glacial changes in relative sea level (RSL). Many questions, however, remain about the timing and [...]
Machine Learning Insights into the Geochemical Life Cycle of the Columbia River Flood Basalts
Published: 2025-07-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Stratigraphy, Volcanology
Flood basalts are challenging to characterize in detail, despite enormous their erupted volumes, due to their age and chemical homogeneity. Here we explore machine learning (ML) approaches for classification and pattern identification in whole rock geochemical data of the Columbia River Flood Basalts (CRFB), which provide key constraints on magma generation, transport, and emplacement. We utilize [...]
Continental-Scale Carbonate Sedimentation and Environmental Correlates of the Shuram-Wonoka Excursion
Published: 2025-07-01
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Strata of the Ediacaran Period record many Earth-Life features that distinguish the Neoproterozoic-Phanerozoic transition. However, it is difficult to determine cause and effect relationships between Ediacaran events. Continental-scale patterns of sedimentation have been used as proxies to investigate controls on Phanerozoic macroevolution, including sea level drivers and potential carbon cycling [...]
Dynamics of the last ice sheet on the northern fringe of Poland: reconstruction inferred from landform analysis and 10Be surface exposure dating
Published: 2025-06-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology
The paper presents new results of glacial landforms mapping and analysis based on high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and 10Be surface exposure dating of erratic boulders on the northern fringe of Poland. We aimed to reconstruct the main ice-marginal positions, local ice flow directions and timing of the ice margin oscillations during the last deglaciation. A total number of 715 [...]
Generative geomodelling: Deep Learning vs. Geostatistics
Published: 2025-06-21
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Hydrology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Generative geomodelling aims to simulate subsurface facies distributions while honoring multiple types of conditioning data and geological knowledge. This study selects three typical multiple-point statistics (MPS) approaches—Direct Sampling (DS), Quick Sampling (QS), and SNESIM—and two Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) workflows—post-GANs perturbation and GANSim—as representatives to compare [...]
CO2-Based Leaching of Sulfidic Peridotite Drives Critical Mineral Mobilization and Carbonate Precipitation
Published: 2025-06-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology
The transition towards green energy requires both carbon dioxide removal and consistent supplies of energy-critical minerals. Injection and mineralization of supercritical CO2 at active mafic and ultramafic-hosted mines provides a potential avenue to achieve both, through the stable geologic storage of carbon and subsequent mobilization of critical metals. A sample from the Eagle occurrence, an [...]
Quantifying sulfur speciation in magmatic-hydrothermal fluids
Published: 2025-06-11
Subjects: Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Inorganic Chemistry, Natural Resource Economics, Physical Chemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Quantitative knowledge of sulfur speciation in the fluid phase is key to understanding sulfur degassing from magmas and its transfer along with metals by fluids across the lithosphere. Farsang and Zajacz(1) recently reported new sulfur speciation data using Raman spectroscopy measurements on aqueous H2SO4-NaCl(-KCl) solutions trapped as synthetic fluid inclusions in quartz at 875 °C and 2 kbar [...]
Data-Driven Facies Prediction: A Comparative Study of Random Forest, XGBoost, SVM, CatBoost, and K-Means
Published: 2025-06-10
Subjects: Analysis, Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology
Facies classification plays a critical role in characterizing subsurface heterogeneity and supporting effective reservoir development. Traditional methods, which often rely on core interpretation and manual log analysis, are limited by subjective interpretation and sparse data coverage. This study aims to improve facies prediction by comparing the performance of five machine learning models: [...]
Coupled trace element and Hf-isotope measurements of Hadean through Paleoarchean zircons from the Singhbhum Craton indicate derivation from a long-lived, mantle-derived protocrust
Published: 2025-06-07
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology
Due to the dearth of rock records during the Hadean, little is known about early crustal chemistry and geodynamics. Here, we present zircon trace and rare earth element and Lu-Hf measurements of zircons ~ 3.3 Ga to ~ 4.2 Ga from the Older Metamorphic Tonalitic Gneiss in the Singhbhum Craton to better understand geodynamic changes during the Hadean and Archean. We find decreasing, subchondritic [...]
Unprecedented decline in modern coral reef communities could indicate the onset of the Anthropocene
Published: 2025-06-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Stratigraphy
Coral reefs have experienced widespread and accelerated decline, driven by a combination of global and local anthropogenic stressors. To contextualize these changes, we compared the composition of coral reef communities on Curaçao between 1973 and 2023 with that of corals preserved in fossil reefs from the Last Interglacial period (128–116 ka). These fossil reefs, exposed along the island’s [...]
A revised boundary between the Scoor Pelitic Gneiss and the Lagan Mòr Formation in SW Mull?
Published: 2025-05-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
The Moine rocks of SW Mull have played a key role in our understanding of the Moine sequence in the NW Highlands. The Mull sequence was thought uniquely, to contain a continuous sedimentary sequence relating the Morar and Glenfinnan units seen elsewhere in Scotland. However, recent work by Krabbendam et al. (2021) and others, suggests that the Mull sequence does contain a major tectonic break, [...]
Archaean basalts record evidence of lithospheric extension prior to cratonisation
Published: 2025-05-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology
The dynamics of Earth’s early mantle remain enigmatic. A wide range of tectonic settings have been proposed for the Archaean eon prior to cratonisation, a time from which few samples are preserved in the geological record. Here, we reexamine this topic by estimating temperatures and depths of melt generation in the late Archaean mantle using a new geochemical data compilation of mafic igneous [...]
Paleo extreme waves in the North Atlantic: geological evidence from Sal Island, Cape Verde Archipelago.
Published: 2025-05-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology
The northwestern coast of Sal Island (Cape Verde Archipelago) is characterized by a rocky shoreline that is regularly impacted by Atlantic swells exceeding 4 m in height and 20 s in period. Yet, the only significant geomorphic expression of wave action is an extensive boulder ridge situated atop a rocky cliff, up to 80–100 m inland and between 10 and 15 m above present sea level. The presence of [...]
Decision-making under uncertainty for shallow geothermal systems in complex subsurface settings: application to a low-transmissivity aquifer
Published: 2025-05-08
Subjects: Geology, Hydrology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Sustainability
Excess thermal energy can be stored in the subsurface and recovered when needed to heat and cool buildings sustainably. Aquifer thermal energy storage systems (ATES) are gaining popularity worldwide. Most operational systems are located in thick productive aquifers. Their efficiency and wide applicability have been proven and there is now a tendency to explore more complex settings. Aquifers with [...]