Preprints
There are 4721 Preprints listed.
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 [...]
Towards a predictive multi-phase model for alpine mass movements and process cascades
Published: 2021-12-22
Subjects: Engineering
Alpine mass movements can generate process cascades involving different materials including rock, ice, snow, and water. Numerical modelling is an essential tool for the quantification of natural hazards, but state-of-the-art operational models reach their limits when facing unprecedented or complex events. Here, we advance our predictive capabilities for process cascades on the basis of a [...]
Red noise in steady-state multiphase flow
Published: 2021-12-21
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Understanding the interaction between competing fluids in the pore space of rocks is key for predicting subsurface flow and trapping, such as with CO2 in a saline aquifer. These processes occur over a large span of timescales (from seconds to thousands of years), and length scales (from microns to kilometres). Understanding the link between these temporal and spatial scales will enable us to [...]
Evolution of rift systems and their fault networks in response to surface processes
Published: 2021-12-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Continental rifting is responsible for the generation of major sedimentary basins, both during rift inception and during the formation of rifted continental margins. Geophysical and field studies revealed that rifts feature complex networks of normal faults but the factors controlling fault network properties and their evolution are still matter of debate. Here, we employ high-resolution 2D [...]
Understanding process controls on groundwater recharge variability across Africa through recharge landscapes
Published: 2021-12-21
Subjects: Engineering
Groundwater is critical in supporting current and future reliable water supply throughout Africa. Although continental maps of groundwater storage and recharge have been developed, we currently lack a clear understanding on how the controls on groundwater recharge vary across the entire continent. Reviewing the existing literature, we synthesize information on reported groundwater recharge [...]
Basement sliding and the formation of fault systems on Mt Etna volcano
Published: 2021-12-18
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The influence of faulting on the eruptive mechanisms of Mt Etna has been intensively studied, especially regarding the importance of regional tectonics, magma pressure, gravitational spreading and east flank instability. Here we examine the influence of an additional process: the wholesale sliding of the Etna massif along its sloping basement. Using laboratory analogue experiments, we create a [...]
Downward-propagating eruption following vent unloading implies no direct magmatic trigger for the 2018 lateral collapse of Anak Krakatau
Published: 2021-12-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Stratigraphy, Volcanology
The lateral collapse of Anak Krakatau volcano, Indonesia, in December 2018 highlighted the potentially devastating impacts of volcanic edifice instability. Nonetheless, the trigger for the Anak Krakatau collapse remains obscure. The volcano had been erupting for the previous six months, and although failure was followed by intense explosive activity, it is the period immediately prior to collapse [...]
How do tectonics influence the initiation and evolution of submarine canyons? A case study from the Otway Basin, SE Australia
Published: 2021-12-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
The architecture of canyon-fills can provide a valuable record of the link between tectonics, sedimentation, and depositional processes in submarine settings. We integrate 3D and 2D seismic reflection data to investigate the dominant tectonics and sedimentary processes involved in the formation of two deeply buried (c. 500 m below seafloor), and large (c. 3-6 km wide, >35 km long) Late Miocene [...]
Uncertainty quantification of geological model parameters in 3D gravity inversion by Hessian informed Markov chain Monte Carlo
Published: 2021-12-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences
Geological modeling has been widely adopted to investigate underground geometries. However, modeling processes inevitably have uncertainties due to scarcity of data, measurement errors, and simplification of modeling methods. Recent developments in geomodeling methods have introduced a Bayesian framework to constrain the model uncertainties by considering additional geophysical data into the [...]
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 [...]
Causes of the Arctic's Lower-Tropospheric Warming Structure
Published: 2021-12-16
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Arctic amplification has been attributed predominantly to a positive lapse rate feedback in winter, when boundary-layer temperature inversions focus warming near the surface. Predicting high-latitude climate change effectively thus requires identifying the local and remote physical processes that set the Arctic’s vertical warming structure. In this study, we analyze output from the CESM Large [...]
Mineralogy and diagenesis of Mars-analog paleosols from eastern Oregon, USA
Published: 2021-12-16
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Ancient (4.1-3.7-billion-year-old) layered sedimentary rocks on Mars are rich in clay minerals which formed from aqueous alteration of the Martian surface. Many of these sedimentary rocks appear to be composed of vertical sequences of Fe/Mg clay minerals overlain by Al clay minerals that resemble paleosols (ancient, buried soils) from Earth. The types and properties of minerals in paleosols can [...]
Detection of organic carbon in Mars-analog paleosols with thermal and evolved gas analysis
Published: 2021-12-16
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Ancient, buried soils, or paleosols, may have been preserved in the geological record on Mars, and are considered high-priority targets for biosignature investigation. Studies of paleosols on Earth that are similar in composition to putative martian paleosols can provide a reference frame for constraining their organic preservation potential on Mars. However, terrestrial paleosols typically [...]
Matched Field Processing accounting for complex Earth structure: method and review
Published: 2021-12-16
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology
Matched Field Processing (MFP) is a technique to locate the source of a recorded wavefield. It is the generalization of plane-wave beamforming, allowing for curved wavefronts. In the standard approach to MFP, simple analytical Green's functions are used as synthetic wavefields that the recorded wavefields are matched against. We introduce an advancement of MFP by utilizing Green's functions [...]
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 [...]