Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geology
Quaternary E-W extension uplifts Kythira Island and segments the Hellenic Arc
Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
Several crustal and lithospheric mechanisms lead to deformation and vertical motion of the upper plate during subduction, but their relative contribution is often enigmatic. Multiple areas of the Hellenic Forearc have been uplifting since Plio-Quaternary times, yet spatiotemporal characteristics and sources of this uplift are poorly resolved. The remarkable geology and geomorphology of Kythira [...]
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 [...]
Phanerozoic sedimentary cover history of the Hudson Platform: a heuristic modeling perspective
Published: 2022-01-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
Understanding the long-term erosion and burial history of cratons is challenging due to the incompleteness of the rock record. Low-temperature thermochronology is used to elucidate these surface histories by inverting thermochronological data for the time-temperature history and incorporating sparse constraints and other assumptions about the regional geologic evolution. However, imposing certain [...]
Insights into Magma Storage Beneath a Frequently Erupting Arc Volcano (Villarrica, Chile) from Unsupervised Machine Learning Analysis of Mineral Compositions
Published: 2022-01-12
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Volcanology
A key method to investigate magma dynamics is the analysis of the crystal cargoes carried by erupted magmas. These cargoes may comprise crystals that crystallize in different parts of the magmatic system (throughout the crust) and/or different times. While an individual eruption likely provides a partial view of the sub-volcanic plumbing system, compiling data from multiple eruptions builds a [...]
Experimental multiblast craters and ejecta — seismo-acoustics, jet characteristics, craters, and ejecta deposits and implications for volcanic explosions
Published: 2022-01-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Blasting experiments were performed that investigate multiple explosions that occur in quick succession in unconsolidated ground and their effects on host material and atmosphere. Such processes are known to occur during phreatomagmatic eruptions at various depths, lateral locations, and energies. The experiments follow a multi-instrument approach in order to observe phenomena in the atmosphere [...]
Calibrating the temporal and spatial dynamics of the Ediacaran - Cambrian radiation of animals
Published: 2021-12-31
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Paleontology, Stratigraphy
The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, which incorporates the radiation of animals, lacks a robust global temporal and spatial framework, resulting in major uncertainty in the evolutionary dynamics of this critical radiation and its relationship to changes in palaeoenvironmental geochemistry. We first present a new δ13Ccarb composite reference curve for the Ediacaran Nama Group of southern Namibia, [...]
Structural traps and seals for expanding CO2 storage in the northern Horda Platform, North Sea
Published: 2021-12-24
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
The maturation of geological CCS along the Norwegian Continental Shelf is ongoing in the Norwegian North Sea, however, more storage sites are needed to reach climate mitigation goals by 2050. In order to augment the Aurora site and expand CO2 storage in the northern Horda Platform, regional traps and seals must be assessed to better understand the area’s potential. Here, we leverage wellbore and [...]
GANSim-3D for conditional geomodelling: theory and field application
Published: 2021-12-22
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Computational Engineering, Geology, Hydrology, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Theory and Algorithms, Water Resource Management
Geomodelling of subsurface reservoirs is important for water resources, hydrocarbon exploitation, and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Traditional geostatistics-based approaches cannot abstract complex geological patterns and are thus not able to simulate very realistic earth models. We present a Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)-based 3D reservoir simulation framework, GANSim-3D, which can [...]
A snapshot of the earliest stages of normal fault growth
Published: 2021-12-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Tectonics and Structure
Observations of how faults lengthen and accrue displacement during the very earliest stages of their growth are limited, reflecting the fact that the early syn-kinematic sediments that record this growth are often deeply buried and difficult to image with geophysical data. Here, we use borehole and high-quality 3D seismic reflection data from offshore Norway to quantify the lateral propagation [...]
Tectonic controls on geomorphology and spatial distribution of monogenetic volcanoes in the Central Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes (Argentina)
Published: 2021-12-16
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Monogenetic volcanoes are among the most common volcanic landforms on Earth. The morphology and distribution of small volcanoes can provide important information about eruption dynamics and tectonics. The Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes (CSVZ) comprises one of the most active magmatic regions on Earth. Characterized by the presence of polygenetic volcanoes and calderas in a complex tectonic [...]
Hermann Löns’ “Quintär” – an early approach to the geological stratigraphy of the Age of Humans and its significance in geosciences
Published: 2021-12-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Earth Sciences, Stratigraphy
In 1908, Hermann Löns outlined the concept of a Quintär” (“Quintary period”) to describe geological and biological manifestations of the Age of Humans. His definition of the “Quintary” consisted of two components: a lithostratigraphic (“Quintary deposits” or “Quintary stratum”), and a faunistic (“Quintary fauna”) one. With a view on the stratigraphic component, Löns already anticipated the [...]
Improving Urban Seismic Risk Estimates for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Incorporating Recent Geological Knowledge of Hazards
Published: 2021-12-07
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Tectonics and Structure
Many cities are built on or near active faults, which pose seismic hazard and risk to the urban population. This risk is exacerbated by city expansion, which may obscure signs of active faulting. Here we estimate the risk to Bishkek city, Kyrgyzstan, due to realistic earthquake scenarios based on historic earthquakes in the region and improved knowledge of the active faulting. We use previous [...]
Developing an internally consistent methodology for K-feldspar MAAD TL thermochronology
Published: 2021-12-06
Subjects: Geology
Luminescence thermochronology and thermometry can quantify recent changes in rock exhumation rates and rock surface temperatures, but these methods require accurate determination of several kinetic parameters. For K-feldspar thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves, which comprise overlapping signals of different thermal stability, it is challenging to develop measurements that capture these parameter [...]
Evaluating essential features of proppant transport at engineering scales combining field measurements with machine learning algorithms
Published: 2021-12-06
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Hydraulic Engineering, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Sustainability
The characterization of the proppant transport at a field-engineering scale is still challenging due to the lack of direct subsurface measurements. Features that control the proppant transport may link the experimental and numerical observations to the practical operations at a field scale. To improve the numerical and laboratory simulations, we propose a machine-learning-based workflow to [...]
Can machine learning improve carbon storage? Synergies of deep learning, uncertainty quantification and intelligent process control
Published: 2021-12-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Sustainability
As we transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy, negative emission technologies, such ascarbon capture and storage (CCS), can help us reduce CO2 emissions. Effective CO2 storage requires: (1) detailed site characterization, (2) regular, integrated risk assessment, and (3) flexible design and operation. We believe that recent advances in machine learning coupled with uncertainty [...]