Periglacial trimlines,former nunataks and the altitude of the last ice sheet in Wester Ross,northwest Scotland     

Colin K. Ballantyne  Danny McCarroll  Atle Nesje  Svein Olaf Dahl 《第四纪科学杂志》1997,12(3):225-238

High-level weathering limits separating ice-scoured topography from frost-weathered detritus were identified on 28 mountains in Wester Ross at altitudes of 700–960 m, and a further 22 peaks support evidence of ice scouring to summit level. Weathering limits are defined most clearly on sandstone and gneiss, which have resisted frost shattering during the Late Devensian Lateglacial, but can also be distinguished on schists and quartzite. Schmidt hammer measurements and analyses of clay mineral assemblages indicate significantly more advanced rock and soil weathering above the weathering limits. The persistence of gibbsite above weathering limits indicates that they represent the upper limit of Late Devensian glacial erosion. The regular decline of weathering-limit altitudes along former flowlines eliminates the possibility that the weathering limits represent former thermal boundaries between protective cold-based and erosive warm-based ice. The weathering limits are therefore interpreted as periglacial trimlines that define the maximum surface altitude of the last ice sheet. Calculated basal shear stresses of 50–95 kPa are consistent with this interpretation. Reconstruction of ice-sheet configuration indicates that the former ice-shed lay above 900 m along the present watershed, and that the ice surface descended northwestwards, with broad depressions along major troughs and localised domes around independent centres of ice dispersal. Extrapolation of the ice surface gradient and altitude suggests that the ice sheet did not overrun the Outer Hebrides, but was confluent with the independent Outer Hebrides ice-cap in the North Minch basin. Erratics located up to 140 m above the reconstructed ice surface are inferred to have been emplaced by a pre-Late Devensian ice sheet (or ice sheets) of unknown age. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Deep neural network application for 4D seismic inversion to changes in pressure and saturation: Optimizing the use of synthetic training datasets     

Gustavo Côrte  Jesper Dramsch  Hamed Amini  Colin MacBeth 《Geophysical Prospecting》2020,68(7):2164-2185

In this work, we tackle the challenge of quantitative estimation of reservoir dynamic property variations during a period of production, directly from four-dimensional seismic data in the amplitude domain. We employ a deep neural network to invert four-dimensional seismic amplitude maps to the simultaneous changes in pressure, water and gas saturations. The method is applied to a real field data case, where, as is common in such applications, the data measured at the wells are insufficient for properly training deep neural networks, thus, the network is trained on synthetic data. Training on synthetic data offers much freedom in designing a training dataset, therefore, it is important to understand the impact of the data distribution on the inversion results. To define the best way to construct a synthetic training dataset, we perform a study on four different approaches to populating the training set making remarks on data sizes, network generality and the impact of physics-based constraints. Using the results of a reservoir simulation model to populate our training datasets, we demonstrate the benefits of restricting training samples to fluid flow consistent combinations in the dynamic reservoir property domain. With this the network learns the physical correlations present in the training set, incorporating this information into the inference process, which allows it to make inferences on properties to which the seismic data are most uncertain. Additionally, we demonstrate the importance of applying regularization techniques such as adding noise to the synthetic data for training and show a possibility of estimating uncertainties in the inversion results by training multiple networks.  相似文献   

Fluvial dynamics and 14C-10Be disequilibrium on the Bolivian Altiplano     

Kristina Hippe  Tiemen Gordijn  Vincenzo Picotti  Irka Hajdas  John D. Jansen  Marcus Christl  Christof Vockenhuber  Colin Maden  Naki Akçar  Susan Ivy-Ochs 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2019,44(3):766-780

Determining sediment transfer times is key to understanding source-to-sink dynamics and the transmission of environmental signals through the fluvial system. Previous work on the Bolivian Altiplano applied the in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be-chronometer to river sands and proposed sediment storage times of ~10–20 kyr in four catchments southeast of Lake Titicaca. However, the fidelity of those results hinges upon isotopic steady-state within sediment supplied from the source area. With the aim of independently quantifying sediment storage times and testing the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be steady-state assumption, we dated sediment storage units within one of the previously investigated catchments using radiocarbon dating, cosmogenic ¹⁰Be-²⁶Al isochron burial dating, and ¹⁰Be-²⁶Al depth-profile dating. Palaeosurfaces appear to preserve remnants of a former fluvial system, which has undergone drainage reversal, reduction in catchment area, and local isostatic uplift since ~2.8 Ma. From alluvium mantling the palaeosurfaces we gained a deposition age of ~580 ka, while lower down fluvial terraces yielded ≤34 ka, and floodplains ~3–1 ka. Owing to restricted channel connectivity with the terraces and palaeosurfaces, the main source of channel sediment is via reworking of the late Holocene floodplain. Yet modelling a set of feasible scenarios reveals that floodplain storage and burial depth are incompatible with the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be disequilibrium measured in the channel. Instead we propose that the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be offset results from: (i) non-uniform erosion whereby deep gullies supply hillslope-derived debris; and/or (ii) holocene landscape transience associated with climate or human impact. The reliability of the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be chronometer vitally depends upon careful evaluation of sources of isotopic disequilibrium in a wide range of depositional and erosional landforms in the landscape. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Intra-survey reservoir fluctuations – implications for quantitative 4D seismic analysis     

Veronica Omofoma  Colin MacBeth  Hamed Amini 《Geophysical Prospecting》2019,67(2):282-297

During the time taken for seismic data to be acquired, reservoir pressure may fluctuate as a consequence of field production and operational procedures and fluid fronts may move significantly. These variations prevent accurate quantitative measurement of the reservoir change using 4D seismic data. Modelling studies on the Norne field simulation model using acquisition data from ocean-bottom seismometer and towed streamer systems indicate that the pre-stack intra-survey reservoir fluctuations are important and cannot be neglected. Similarly, the time-lapse seismic image in the post-stack domain does not represent a difference between two states of the reservoir at a unique base and monitor time, but is a mixed version of reality that depends on the sequence and timing of seismic shooting. The outcome is a lack of accuracy in the measurement of reservoir changes using the resulting processed and stacked 4D seismic data. Even for perfect spatial repeatability between surveys, a spatially variant noise floor is still anticipated to remain. For our particular North Sea acquisition data, we find that towed streamer data are more affected than the ocean-bottom seismometer data. We think that this may be typical for towed streamers due to their restricted aperture compared to ocean-bottom seismometer acquisitions, even for a favourable time sequence of shooting and spatial repeatability. Importantly, the pressure signals on the near and far offset stacks commonly used in quantitative 4D seismic inversion are found to be inconsistent due to the acquisition timestamp. Saturation changes at the boundaries of fluid fronts appear to show a similar inconsistency across sub-stacks. We recommend that 4D data are shot in a consistent manner to optimize aerial time coverage, and that additionally, the timestamp of the acquisition should be used to optimize pre-stack quantitative reservoir analysis.  相似文献   

Late Holocene floodplain incision and alluvial fan formation in the central Grampian Highlands,Scotland: chronology,environment and implications     

Colin K. Ballantyne  Graeme Whittington 《第四纪科学杂志》1999,14(7):651-671

A section cut across an alluvial fan and the underlying floodplain terrace in the central Grampian Highlands provides an unusually complete record of late Holocene events. At ca. 2.7–2.4 cal kyr BP floodplain aggradation was replaced by net floodplain incision. Pollen evidence and charcoal counts provide no evidence for contemporaneous anthropogenic landscape change, and the timing of the transition suggests that it reflects an increase in high-magnitude erosive flood events following overall climatic deterioration. The overlying fan was deposited by torrential hyperconcentrated flows during three brief storm-generated depositional events at ca. 2.2–2.1, 1.9–1.8 and 0.9–0.7 cal kyr BP, separated and succeeded by prolonged periods of stability and peat accumulation. During these three events, a cumulative total of ca. 6750 m³ of sediment was deposited, probably in no more than a few hours over a timescale of two millennia. These findings imply that proposed links between human activity and the development of alluvial fans or debris cones require reassessment, and that different elements of the Holocene alluvial landscape have responded in different ways to the same climatic inputs. Aggregation of dating evidence relating to aggradation or incision of alluvial landforms at different scales therefore may produce misleading results. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Probabilistic domain decomposition for the solution of the two-dimensional magnetotelluric problem     

Alexander Bihlo  Colin G. Farquharson  Ronald D. Haynes  J Concepción Loredo-Osti 《Computational Geosciences》2017,21(1):117-129

Probabilistic domain decomposition is proposed as a novel method for solving the two-dimensional Maxwell’s equations as used in the magnetotelluric method. The domain is split into non-overlapping sub-domains and the solution on the sub-domain boundaries is obtained by evaluating the stochastic form of the exact solution of Maxwell’s equations by a Monte-Carlo approach. These sub-domains can be naturally chosen by splitting the sub-surface domain into regions of constant (or at least continuous) conductivity. The solution over each sub-domain is obtained by solving Maxwell’s equations in the strong form. The sub-domain solver used for this purpose is a meshless method resting on radial basis function-based finite differences. The method is demonstrated by solving a number of classical magnetotelluric problems, including the quarter-space problem, the block-in-half-space problem and the triangle-in-half-space problem.  相似文献   

Sensitivity of the elastic anisotropy and seismic reflection amplitude of the Eagle Ford Shale to the presence of kerogen          下载免费PDF全文

Colin M. Sayers  Shiguang Guo  Josimar Silva 《Geophysical Prospecting》2015,63(1):151-165

The Eagle Ford Shale of Central and South Texas is currently of great interest for oil and gas exploration and production. Laboratory studies show that the Eagle Ford Shale is anisotropic, with a correlation between anisotropy and total organic carbon. Organic materials are usually more compliant than other minerals present in organic‐rich shales, and their shapes and distribution are usually anisotropic. This makes organic materials an important source of anisotropy in organic‐rich shales. Neglecting shale anisotropy may lead to incorrect estimates of rock and fluid properties derived from inversion of amplitude versus offset seismic data. Organic materials have a significant effect on the PP and PS reflection amplitudes from the Austin Chalk/Upper Eagle Ford interface, the Upper Eagle Ford/Lower Eagle Ford interface, and the Lower Eagle Ford/Buda Limestone interface. The higher kerogen content of the Lower Eagle Ford compared with that of the Upper Eagle Ford leads to a negative PP reflection amplitude that dims with offset, whereas the PS reflection coefficient increases in magnitude with increasing offset. The PP and PS reflection coefficients at the Austin Chalk/Upper Eagle Ford interface, the Upper Eagle Ford/Lower Eagle Ford interface, and the Lower Eagle Ford/Buda Limestone interface all increase in magnitude with increasing volume fraction of kerogen.  相似文献   

Development of ST:REAM: a reach‐based stream power balance approach for predicting alluvial river channel adjustment          下载免费PDF全文

Chris Parker  Colin R Thorne  Nicholas J Clifford 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2015,40(3):403-413

River channel sediment dynamics are important in integrated catchment management because changes in channel morphology resulting from sediment transfer have important implications for many river functions. However, application of existing approaches that account for catchment‐scale sediment dynamics has been limited, largely due to the difficulty in obtaining data necessary to support them. It is within this context that this study develops a new, reach‐based, stream power balance approach for predicting river channel adjustment. The new approach, named ST:REAM (sediment transport: reach equilibrium assessment method), is based upon calculations of unit bed area stream power (ω) derived from remotely sensed slope, width and discharge datasets. ST:REAM applies a zonation algorithm to values of ω that are spaced every 50 m along the catchment network in order to divide the branches of the network up into relatively homogenous reaches. ST:REAM then compares each reach's ω value with the ω of its upstream neighbour in order to predict whether or not the reach is likely to be either erosion dominated or deposition dominated. The paper describes the application of ST:REAM to the River Taff in South Wales, UK. This test study demonstrated that ST:REAM can be rapidly applied using remotely sensed data that are available across many river catchments and that ST:REAM correctly predicted the status of 87.5% of sites within the Taff catchment that field observations had defined as being either erosion or deposition dominated. However, there are currently a number of factors that limit the usefulness of ST:REAM, including inconsistent performance and the need for additional, resource intensive, data to be collected to both calibrate the model and aid interpretation of its results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Quantifying potential propagule pressure of aquatic invasive species from the commercial shipping industry in Canada     

Lo VB  Levings CD  Chan KM 《Marine pollution bulletin》2012,64(2):295-302

We quantify and compare different measures of potential propagule pressure (PPP) of aquatic invasive species (AIS) from commercial vessels in Canada. We used ship arrivals and ballast water discharge volumes as proxies for PPP from ballast water organisms, and wetted surface area (WSA) as a proxy for hull fouling PPP, to determine their relative contributions to total PPP. For three regions studied, PPP proxies correlated significantly across ports and some vessel categories. Relative contributions of ship arrivals, ballast discharge, and WSAs to PPP, evidenced by non-significant correlations across these measures, varied across regions, ports, vessel types, and seasons. Flow-through (dominant on east and west coasts) and empty-refill (in Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region) were the major ballast water exchange methods employed by the vessels surveyed. These methods have different biological efficacy for AIS removal, influencing PPP. Our study illustrates benefits and limitations of using different PPP proxies to estimate invasion risk.  相似文献   

Setting new thermal standards for transitional and coastal (TraC) waters     

Wither A  Bamber R  Colclough S  Dyer K  Elliott M  Holmes P  Jenner H  Taylor C  Turnpenny A 《Marine pollution bulletin》2012,64(8):1564-1579

The construction of a new generation of coastal power stations in the UK and other western European countries has highlighted the absence of robust standards for thermal discharges to transitional and coastal waters. The proposed discharge volumes are greater than hitherto, yet there has been little independent critical examination of their potential impact, whilst much of the existing guidance has been adapted from freshwater practice. This review considers the available knowledge on the tolerance and behaviour of fish and other marine biota to heated effluents. Appropriate ways are suggested of grouping fish species to reflect their sensitivity to thermal effects. The plethora of existing standards are considered and their validity assessed in a framework of predicted seawater temperature rise. Those species or groups of organisms most likely to be affected are identified and finally specific recommendations for thermal standards consistent with long term sustainability are proposed.  相似文献