Search results for "Geophysics"

Two-year global simulation of L-band brightness temperatures over land

2003

International audience; This letter presents a synthetic L-band (1.4 GHz) multiangular brightness temperature dataset over land surfaces that was simulated at a half-degree resolution and at the global scale. The microwave emission of various land-covers (herbaceous and woody vegetation, frozen and unfrozen bare soil, snow, etc.) was computed using a simple model [L-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere (L-MEB)] based on radiative transfer equations. The soil and vegetation characteristics needed to initialize the L-MEB model were derived from existing land-cover maps. Continuous simulations from a land-surface scheme for 1987 and 1988 provided time series of the main variables driving t…

New advances in dial-lidar-based remote sensing of the volcanic CO2 flux

2017

We report here on the results of a proof-of-concept study aimed at remotely sensing the volcanic CO2 flux using a Differential Adsorption lidar (DIAL-lidar). The observations we report on were conducted on June 2014 on Stromboli volcano, where our lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) was used to scan the volcanic plume from ~ 3 km distance from the summit vents. The obtained results prove that a remotely operating lidar can resolve a volcanic CO2 signal of a few tens of ppm (in excess to background air) over km-long optical paths. We combine these results with independent estimates of plume transport speed (from processing of UV Camera images) to derive volcanic CO2 flux time-series of ≈16-3…

Understanding the SO 2 degassing budget of Mt Etna’s paroxysms: First clues from the december 2015 sequence

2019

The persistent open-vent activity of basaltic volcanoes is periodically interrupted by spectacular but hazardous paroxysmal explosions. The rapid transition from quiescence to explosive eruption poses a significant challenge for volcanic hazard assessment and mitigation, and improving our understanding of the processes that trigger these paroxysmal events is critical. Although magmatic gas is unquestionably the driver, direct measurements of a paroxysm’s gas flux budget have remained challenging, to date. A particularly violent paroxysmal sequence took place on Etna on December 2015, intermittently involving all summit craters, especially the Voragine (VOR) that had previously displayed no…

The 1430s: a cold period of extraordinary internal climate variability during the early Spörer Minimum with social and economic impacts in north-west…

2016

Changes in climate affected human societies throughout the last millennium. While European cold periods in the 17th and 18th century have been assessed in detail, earlier cold periods received much less attention due to sparse information available. New evidence from proxy archives, historical documentary sources and climate model simulations permit us to provide an interdisciplinary, systematic assessment of an exceptionally cold period in the 15th century. Our assessment includes the role of internal, unforced climate variability and external forcing in shaping extreme climatic conditions and the impacts on and responses of the medieval society in north-western and central Europe. Climate…

Diagenetic stability of non-traditional stable isotope systems (Ca, Sr, Mg, Zn) in teeth – An in-vitro alteration experiment of biogenic apatite in i…

2021

Stable isotope ratios and trace element concentrations of fossil bones and teeth are important geochemical proxies for the reconstruction of diet and past environment in archaeology and palaeontology. However, since diagenesis can significantly alter primary diet-related isotope signatures and elemental compositions, it is important to understand and quantify alteration processes. Here, we present the results of in-vitro alteration experiments of dental tissues from a modern African elephant molar reacted in aqueous solutions at 30 °C and 90 °C for 4 to 63 days. Dental cubes with ≈ 3 mm edge length, comprising both enamel and dentin, were placed into 2 mL of acidic aqueous sol…

Partitioning of nitrogen during melting and recycling in subduction zones and the evolution of atmospheric nitrogen

2019

Abstract The subduction of sediment connects the surface nitrogen cycle to that of the deep Earth. To understand the evolution of nitrogen in the atmosphere, the behavior of nitrogen during the subduction and melting of subducted sediments has to be estimated. This study presents high-pressure experimental measurements of the partitioning of nitrogen during the melting of sediments at sub-arc depths. For quantitative analysis of nitrogen in minerals and glasses, we calibrated the electron probe micro-analyzer on synthetic ammonium feldspar to measure nitrogen concentrations as low as 500 μg g−1. Nitrogen abundances in melt and mica are used together with mass balance calculations to determi…

Influence of pre-existing salt diapirs on 3D folding patterns

2014

Abstract The 3D detachment folding instability gives rise to a wide variety of fold shapes (e.g. from dome shape structures to long en-echelon or straight anticlines) as a result of interactions between growing fold segments. The 3D growth of these folds, as well as the wavelength and lateral propagation of folds, is controlled by the physical parameters of a detachment layer and its overburden. However, the existence of initial heterogeneities, such as pre-existing salt plugs within the sedimentary cover, might affect fold development as well. We use numerical modeling to investigate how the fold pattern is affected by pre-existing salt structures. High-resolution 3D folding simulations (w…

Reply to 'Limited Late Antique cooling'

2017

Constraining electric resistivity tomography by direct push electric conductivity logs and vibracores: An exemplary study of the Fiume Morto silted r…

2018

The inversion of geoelectric data is nonunique. Therefore, electric resistivity tomography (ERT) usually results in different subsurface models that fit observed apparent resistivity values equally well. To reduce the uncertainty, constraints on the geometry and resistivity of subsurface structures can be incorporated into the ERT inversion. We test different ways of constraining ERT by applying (1) improved starting models, (2) structural constraints, and (3) structural and resistivity constraints. A priori information is needed for these approaches, which is acquired from direct push electrical conductivity (DP-EC) logs and vibracores in our study. We found that adapting high vertical re…

Neocomian to early Aptian syn-rift evolution of the normal to oblique-rifted North Gabon Margin (Interior and N'Komi Basins).

2009

18 pages; International audience; The North Gabon coastal rift basins consist of a set of 130–150 long-segment asymmetrically tilted half grabens (Interior Basin) and 000–020 short-segment en échelon half grabens (N'Komi Basin) separated by 040–060 major transverse faults. Tectono-sedimentary analysis of field and subsurface data reveals the control exerted by extensional tectonism over continental sedimentation. During Berriasian to early Barremian times, uniform uniaxial 040–060 extension was responsible for the stretching of the brittle upper crust over a 100-km wide domain. During late Barremian–early Aptian times, the main locus of extension stepped westward resulting in severe end-rif…