Preprints
There are 5726 Preprints listed.
Timing of Martian Core Formation from Models of Hf–W Evolution Coupled with N-body Simulations
Published: 2021-06-04
Subjects: Geochemistry, Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences
Determining how and when Mars formed has been a long-standing challenge for planetary scientists. The size and orbit of Mars are difficult to reproduce in classical simulations of planetary accretion, and this has inspired models of inner solar system evolution that are tuned to produce Mars-like planets. However, such models are not always coupled to geochemical constraints. Analyses of Martian [...]
Influence of fault zone maturity on fully dynamic earthquake cycles
Published: 2021-06-04
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We study the mechanical response of two-dimensional vertical strike-slip fault to coseismic damage evolution and interseismic healing of fault damage zones by simulating fully dynamic earthquake cycles. Our models show that fault damage zone structure evolution during the seismic cycle can have pronounced effects on the mechanical behavior of locked and creeping fault segments. Immature fault [...]
Field Performance of New Methane Detection Technologies: Results from the Alberta Methane Field Challenge
Published: 2021-06-04
Subjects: Oil, Gas, and Energy
Emerging methane technologies promise rapid and cost-effective methods to measure and monitor methane emissions. Here, we present results from the Alberta Methane Field Challenge – the first large-scale, concurrent field trial of eleven alternative methane emissions detection and quantification technologies at operating oil and gas sites. We evaluate new technologies by comparing their [...]
Multi-task deep learning of daily streamflow and water temperature
Published: 2021-06-03
Subjects: Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Deep learning models can accurately predict many hydrologic variables including streamflow and water temperature; however, these models have typically predicted hydrologic variables independently. This study explored the benefits of modeling two interdependent variables, daily average streamflow and daily average stream water temperature, together using multi-task deep learning. A multi-task [...]
Syn-Depositional Halokinesis in the Zechstein Supergroup (Lopingian) Controls Triassic Minibasin Genesis and Location
Published: 2021-06-03
Subjects: Geology, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Salt tectonics is typically caused by the flow of mobile evaporites in response to post-depositional gravity gliding and/or differential loading by overburden sediments. This situation is considerably more complex near the margins of salt basins, where carbonate and clastic rocks may be deposited at the same time and interbedded with more mobile evaporitic strata. In these cases, syn-depositional [...]
The effect of temperature-dependent material properties on simple thermal models of subduction zones
Published: 2021-06-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
To a large extent, the thermal structure of a subduction zone determines where seismicity occurs through the transition from brittle to ductile deformation and the depth of dehydration reactions. Thermal models of subduction zones can help understand this seismicity by accurate modelling of the thermal structure of the subduction zone. Here, we assess a common simplification in thermal models of [...]
The erosive power of the Malvinas Current: Influence of bottom currents on morpho-sedimentary features along the northern Argentine margin (SW Atlantic Ocean)
Published: 2021-06-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sediment deposits formed mainly under the influence of bottom currents (contourites) are widely used as high-resolution archives for reconstructing past ocean conditions. However, the driving processes of Contourite Depositional Systems (CDS) are not entirely understood. The aim of this study is to establish a clearer link between contourite features and the oceanographic processes that form [...]
An occurrence of radially-symmetric sedimentary structures in the basal Ediacaran cap dolostone (Keilberg Member) of the Otavi Group
Published: 2021-06-02
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Snowball Earth cap carbonate sequences provide an archive of what are likely the most dramatic climate transitions in all of Earth history. One approach to gain insight into these events is the detailed observation of sedimentary structures within these post-glacial units. Here, we report on newly discovered radially-symmetric sedimentary structures within the Keilberg Member post-Marinoan ‘cap [...]
Canadian emissions and unconventional oil production exceed the 2°C global warming scenario
Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Canada could highly impact the climate, as it possesses the world’s third largest resources of unconventional oil. This paper evaluates in three ways whether Canada is respecting a scenario of fossil fuel production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limiting warming to 2.0 °C by 2100. Firstly, McGlade and Ekins (2015) proposed a model providing production budgets for each fossil fuel producing [...]
Publication pressure threatens the integrity of palaeontological research
Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Paleobiology, Paleontology
Publications are the de facto currency of academia. Academics, palaeontologists included, are often judged by publication metrics, which usually include the impact factor of the journal in which they publish, the number of publications and the number of citations. However, in the race to publish in high-impact journals and the pressure to increase research productivity, sometimes corners are cut, [...]
Hydrology Research Articles are Becoming More Topically Diverse
Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We used Natural Language Processing (NLP) to assess topic diversity in all research articles (∼75,000) from eighteen water science and hydrology journals published between 1991 and 2019. We found that individual water science and hydrology research articles are becoming increasingly interdisciplinary in the sense that, on average, the number of equally-common topics represented in individual [...]
Ductile deformation during carbonation of serpentinized peridotite
Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Geology
Carbonated serpentinites (listvenites) in the Oman Ophiolite record mineralization of several GT of CO2, but the mechanisms providing permeability for continued reactive fluid flow are unclear. Samples of the Oman Drilling Project show that listvenites with a penetrative foliation have abundant microstructures related to crystal growth and indicate that the carbonation reaction occurred during [...]
A field guide for monitoring riverine macroplastic entrapment in water hyacinths
Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Fresh Water Studies, Hydrology, Remote Sensing
River plastic pollution is an environmental challenge of growing concern. However, there are still many unknowns related to the principal drivers of river plastic transport. Floating aquatic vegetation, such as water hyacinths, have been found to aggregate and carry large amounts of plastic debris in tropical river systems. Monitoring the entrapment of plastics in hyacinths is therefore crucial [...]
Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits – A review (part 1): Settings, mineralogy, ore geochemistry and classification
Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Characteristics of ten of the world’s metallogenic provinces hosting iron oxide Cu-Au (IOCG) deposits have been critically assessed, including their geological and tectonothermal evolution, alteration-mineralisation parageneses, and ore geochemistry. A new classification framework is proposed in which IOCG deposits form the major part of a family of deposits within Cu-Au-Fe (CGI) mineral systems. [...]
Application of Probabilistic Machine Learning to the prediction of Remotely Sensed Vegetation Health
Published: 2021-05-28
Subjects: Environmental Studies
Every prediction of the future carries some level of uncertainty; making this explicit is challenging. This paper introduces a Probabilistic Machine Learning algorithm, namely the Natural Gradient Boosting algorithm, as a modelling tool for predicting the Vegetation Health Index, a proxy for monitoring vegetation stress in response to changing weather conditions. It then elaborates on the time [...]