Mechanisms and models of iridium anomaly shape across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary     

Pincelli M. Hull  Peter J.S. Franks  Richard D. Norris 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2011,301(1-2):98-106

The interpretation of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) iridium anomaly – and other impact ejecta – as the result of a single, large asteroid impact has been the subject of much debate, in part due to the distribution of impact markers beyond the narrow confines of the K–Pg boundary sedimentary layer. Here, we revisit the hypothesized processes leading to the shape of K–Pg iridium profiles including geochemical remobilization and/or diffusion, prolonged deposition, volcanism, multiple impacts, and sediment mixing. Using evidence from the literature and modeling of one North Pacific site, we find that sediment mixing of a single impact event provides the most parsimonious mechanism for iridium profile shape in open ocean oxic sediments, while the increase in background iridium bracketing the boundary likely has a volcanic origin. In some past studies, a sediment mixing mechanism for iridium profile shape was ruled out based on an overly simplified set of expectations for the effect of sediment mixing on markers of geologically instantaneous events. Thus, we introduce and use a Lagrangian sediment mixing model to illustrate the theoretical effects of mixing on records of rapid events. The sediment mixing origin for iridium anomaly shape, the correspondence in mixing extent between iridium and microfossils, and the fit of sediment mixing models to an empirical iridium profile indicate that iridium may provide a better tracer of mixing than previously proposed K–Pg mixing tracers such as Ni-spinels.  相似文献   

Vibroseis productivity: shake and go   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Christine Krohn  Marvin Johnson  Rachel Ho  Michael Norris 《Geophysical Prospecting》2010,58(1):101-122

We use both model and field data to compare three methods for increasing vibroseis productivity and decreasing acquisition costs. The first method, HFVS (high-fidelity vibratory seismic), allows us to separate the responses from individual vibrators when multiple vibrators are operating simultaneously. The data quality of the separated records is superior to that of conventional correlated data because they are processed with measured ground-force signals, but the number of sweeps must be greater than or equal to the number of vibrators. The second method, cascaded sweep, eliminates the listening time between multiple sweeps and partially mitigates harmonic noise observed at later times on near-offset traces. Finally, a combined method, continuous-HFVS (C-HFVS), allows source separation with a single, long, segmented sweep. Separation is as good as with HFVS and interference noise is limited to times near the end of a sweep-segment length. All three methods produce acceptable seismic images for post-stack and prestack amplitude interpretation.
The choice of which option to use depends upon the area being investigated. HFVS has numerous benefits, especially when fine sampling is required to mitigate static problems and elevation changes. Due to the ability to separate individual responses, fine sampling can be achieved without sacrificing productivity. For deeper targets, cascaded sweep can be more efficient but data quality suffers from harmonic noise. C-HFVS, which combines features of HFVS and cascaded sweep, has the potential to result in the highest productivity, without sacrificing either fine sampling or data quality.  相似文献   

Advances in Understanding Top-of-Atmosphere Radiation Variability from Satellite Observations   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Norman G. Loeb  Seiji Kato  Wenying Su  Takmeng Wong  Fred G. Rose  David R. Doelling  Joel R. Norris  Xianglei Huang 《Surveys in Geophysics》2012,33(3-4):359-385

This paper highlights how the emerging record of satellite observations from the Earth Observation System (EOS) and A-Train constellation are advancing our ability to more completely document and understand the underlying processes associated with variations in the Earth’s top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation budget. Large-scale TOA radiation changes during the past decade are observed to be within 0.5?Wm^?2 per decade based upon comparisons between Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments aboard Terra and Aqua and other instruments. Tropical variations in emitted outgoing longwave (LW) radiation are found to closely track changes in the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During positive ENSO phase (El Ni?o), outgoing LW radiation increases, and decreases during the negative ENSO phase (La Ni?a). The coldest year during the last decade occurred in 2008, during which strong La Nina conditions persisted throughout most of the year. Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations show that the lower temperatures extended throughout much of the troposphere for several months, resulting in a reduction in outgoing LW radiation and an increase in net incoming radiation. At the global scale, outgoing LW flux anomalies are partially compensated for by decreases in midlatitude cloud fraction and cloud height, as observed by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, respectively. CERES data show that clouds have a net radiative warming influence during La Ni?a conditions and a net cooling influence during El Ni?o, but the magnitude of the anomalies varies greatly from one ENSO event to another. Regional cloud-radiation variations among several Terra and A-Train instruments show consistent patterns and exhibit marked fluctuations at monthly timescales in response to tropical atmosphere-ocean dynamical processes associated with ENSO and Madden–Julian Oscillation.  相似文献   

Sources of Error Model and Progress Metrics for Acoustic/Infrasonic Analysis: Location Estimation     

Stephen Arrowsmith  David Norris  Rod Whitaker  Dale Anderson 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2014,171(3-5):587-597

How well can we locate events using infrasound? This question has obvious implications for the use of infrasound within the context of nuclear explosion monitoring, and can be used to inform decision makers on the capability and limitations of infrasound as a sensing modality. This paper attempts to answer this question in the context of regional networks by quantifying current capability and estimating future capability using an example regional network in Utah. This example is contrasted with a sparse network over a large geographical region (representative of the IMS network). As a metric, we utilize the location precision, a measure of the total geographic area in which an event may occur at a 95 % confidence level. Our results highlight the relative importance of backazimuth and arrival time constraints under different scenarios (dense vs. sparse networks), and quantify the precision capability of the Utah network under different scenarios. The final section of this paper outlines the research and development required to achieve the estimated future location precision capability.  相似文献   

Very high strains recorded in mylonites along the Alpine Fault, New Zealand: implications for the deep structure of plate boundary faults   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Richard J. Norris  Alan F. Cooper 《Journal of Structural Geology》2003,25(12):2141

Oblique displacement on the Alpine Fault, which forms the principal structure along the Australian–Pacific plate boundary in South Island, New Zealand, has resulted in exhumation of a kilometre-wide mylonite zone in the hanging wall adjacent to the current brittle fault trace. The mylonites formed under amphibolite facies conditions at depths of ca. 25 km and have been uplifted during the past 5 Ma. A suite of 65–70 Ma pegmatite veins in the hanging wall Alpine schists has been progressively deformed within the mylonite zone and sheared out over a strike length of ca. 100 km. Measurements of the thickness distribution of the pegmatite veins within the non-mylonitised schists and at three localities within the progressively strained mylonites have been used to estimate strain values within the mylonites. The thicknesses approximate a log-normal distribution, with a mean value that is progressively reduced through the protomylonites, mylonites and ultramylonites. By assuming that the thickness distribution currently observed in the schists was the same for the pegmatites within the mylonites before strain, a model of deformation incorporating simple shear and simultaneous pure shear is used to strain the undeformed veins until a fit is obtained with the strained distributions. Shear strains calculated range from 12 to 22 for the protomylonites, 120 to 200 for the mylonites and 180 to 300 for the ultramylonites, corresponding to pure shear values of 1–3 in each case. These values are compatible with the strains predicted if most of the surface displacement on the fault over the past 5 Ma were accommodated within a 1–2-km-wide mylonite zone through the middle and lower crusts. The results suggest that processes such as erosional focussing of deformation and thermal weakening may cause intense strain localisation within the lower crust, with plate boundary deformation restricted to narrow zones rather than becoming increasingly distributed over a widening shear zone with depth.  相似文献   

Stocks, Chemistry, and Sensitivity to Climate Change of Dead Organic Matter Along the Canadian Boreal Forest Transect Case Study   总被引：6，自引：0，他引：6  

C. M. Preston  J. S. Bhatti  L. B. Flanagan  C. Norris 《Climatic change》2006,74(1-3):223-251

Improving our ability to predict the impact of climate change on the carbon (C) balance of boreal forests requires increased understanding of site-specific factors controlling detrital and soil C accumulation. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and black spruce (Picea mariana) stands along the Boreal Forest Transect Case Study (BFTCS) in northern Canada have similar C stocks in aboveground vegetation and large woody detritus, but thick forest floors of poorly-drained black spruce stands have much higher C stocks, comparable to living biomass. Their properties indicate hindered decomposition and N cycling, with high C/N ratios, strongly stratified and depleted δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values, high concentrations of tannins and phenolics, and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra typical of poorly decomposed plant material, especially roots and mosses. The thinner jack pine forest floor appears to be dominated by lichen, with char in some samples. Differences in quantity and quality of aboveground foliar and woody litter inputs are small and unlikely to account for the contrasts in forest floor accumulation and properties. These are more likely associated with site conditions, especially soil texture and drainage, exacerbated by increases in sphagnum coverage, forest floor depth, and tannins. Small changes in environmental conditions, especially reduced moisture, could trigger large C losses through rapid decomposition of forest floor in poorly drained black spruce stands in this region.  相似文献   

Chemical characterization of DOM in channels of a seasonal wetland   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Natalie Mladenov  Diane M. McKnight  Stephan A. Macko  Marnie Norris  Rose M. Cory  Lars Ramberg 《Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries》2007,69(4):456-471

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一个极高光度IRAS星系样本在20cm观测的初步结果     

李永生  苏步美 《天文研究与技术》2000,(3):15-21

使用澳大利亚致密阵 (ATCA)在 1 .4GHz上观测了一个极高光度的IRAS星系样本。在这个样本所包括的 3 7个IRAS星系中 ,探测到 1 9个源的射电发射 ,获得了它们的射电参数 ,如峰值位置 ,射电流量等。该样本的射电功率范围在 2 2 .9相似文献   

Western North Pacific monsoon depressions: Transitions to pre-tropical cyclone seedlings     

Jodi C. Beattie  Russell L. Elsberry 《Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences》2016,52(5):413-435

The objective of this study is to describe how a monsoon depression in the western North Pacific, which typically has a diameter of 1000 km, may be transitioned into a tropical cyclone with an inner core of strong winds and deep convection on the order of 100 km. Our previous case study of the pre-Typhoon Man-Yi monsoon depression formation is extended to show that the same cross-equatorial airstream continued and led to enhanced equatorial westerlies on the equatorward side of the pre-Man-Yi circulation, and a surge in the trade easterlies was also present on the poleward side. As these surges in the near-equatorial flow are inertially unstable, inward-directed wave-activity fluxes then led to flux convergence over the eastern vorticity maximum of the monsoon depression, which resulted in a scale contraction to that of a pretropical cyclone seedling. Eight case studies of the transitions of monsoon depressions during 2009 are presented that document persistent inward-directed wave-activity fluxes over a vorticity maximum within the monsoon depression is a key feature of each transition. In some transitions, the same cross-equatorial airstream as led to the monsoon depression formation continues as the primary airstream, and in other transitions another airstream to the west or enhanced tropical easterlies become the primary airstream. Analysis of 10 non-transitioning monsoon depressions during 2009 indicated the airstream wave-activity flux did not persist after the formation of the monsoon depression. In another 11 non-transitioning monsoon depressions, the inward-directed wave-activity flux was small and no region of wave-activity flux convergence was associated with the vorticity maximum in the monsoon depression.  相似文献   

Evaluating the importance of different coupled thermal,hydraulic, mechanical and chemical process simulations during fluid flow experiments in fractured novaculite and fractured granite     

Neil Chittenden  Christopher I. McDermott  Alexander E. Bond  James Wilson  Simon Norris 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2016,75(15):1133

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