Search results for "PROCESSES"

Collapse of a two-dimensional brittle granular column: Implications for understanding dynamic rock fragmentation in a landslide

2015

We investigate numerically the failure, collapse and flow of a two-dimensional brittle granular column over a horizontal surface. In our discrete element simulations, we consider a vertical monolayer of spherical particles that are initially held together by tensile bonds, which can be irreversibly broken during the collapse. This leads to dynamic fragmentation within the material during the flow. Compared to what happens in the case of a non-cohesive granular column, the deposit is much rougher, and the internal stratigraphic structure of the column is not preserved during the collapse. As has been observed in natural rockslides, we find that the deposit consists of large blocks laying on …

Channel forms recovery in an ephemeral river after gravel mining (Palancia River, Eastern Spain)

2017

[EN] During the 1970s, the Palancia River was intensively affected by gravel mining instream. This activity completely destroyed the fluvial forms, devastating the original wandering pattern. At the end of the 1980s, gravel mining ceased and the river started a process of recovery, only altered by several clearing operations. The aim of this work is to describe these processes of change, analyzing the river's morphosedimentary conditions through a GIS analysis of aerial photographs previous to, simultaneous with, and subsequent to the intense gravel mining activity. Results explain the current difficulties of some ephemeral rivers to recover their original forms, because of the sediment and…

New insights on secondary minerals from Italian sulfuric acid caves

2018

Sulfuric acid minerals are important clues to identify the speleogenetic phases of hypogene caves. Italy hosts ~25% of the known worldwide sulfuric acid speleogenetic (SAS) systems, including the famous well-studied Frasassi, Monte Cucco, and Acquasanta Terme caves. Nevertheless, other underground environments have been analyzed, and interesting mineralogical assemblages were found associated with peculiar geomorphological features such as cupolas, replacement pockets, feeders, sulfuric notches, and sub-horizontal levels. In this paper, we focused on 15 cave systems located along the Apennine Chain, in Apulia, in Sicily, and in Sardinia, where copious SAS minerals were observed. Some of the…

Microbiology and atmospheric processes: biological, physical and chemical characterization of aerosol particles

2008

Abstract. The interest in bioaerosols has traditionally been linked to health hazards for humans, animals and plants. However, several components of bioaerosols exhibit physical properties of great significance for cloud processes, such as ice nucleation and cloud condensation. To gain a better understanding of their influence on climate, it is therefore important to determine the composition, concentration, seasonal fluctuation, regional diversity and evolution of bioaerosols. In this paper, we will review briefly the existing techniques for detection, quantification, physical and chemical analysis of biological particles, attempting to bridge physical, chemical and biological methods for …

Antisana volcano: A representative andesitic volcano of the eastern cordillera of Ecuador: Petrography, chemistry, tephra and glacial stratigraphy

2017

Antisana volcano is representative of many active andesitic strato-volcanoes of Pleistocene age in Ecuador's Eastern Cordillera. This study represents the first modern geological and volcanological investigation of Antisana since the late 1890's; it also summarizes the present geochemical understanding of its genesis. The volcano's development includes the formation and destruction of two older edifices (Antisana I and II) during some 400 + ka. Antisana II suffered a sector collapse about 15,000 years ago which was followed by the birth and growth of Antisana III. During its short life Antisana III has generated >= 50 eruptions of small to medium intensity, often associated with andesitic t…

Sedimentation close to the active Medlicott Wadia Thrust (Western Himalaya): how to estimate climatic base level changes and tectonics.

2017

16 pages; International audience; The Medlicott-Wadia Thrust (MWT) is one of the major active out-of-sequence thrusts in the Himalaya. Studies on Quaternary terraces in its vicinity have been performed using sedimentological, geomorphic and geochronological methods. We focus on the Riasi zone, south of the Pir Panjal range, in the Jammu and Kashmir region of India. The sedimentary units of Quaternary landforms have been mapped as a function of their location with respect to the thrust faults, their relative chronology, and their lithology. Three aggrading sedimentary units, five thin units above strath surfaces at the footwall of the fault system, and seven thin units above strath surfaces …

Seismic sources and stress transfer interaction among axial normal faults and external thrust fronts in the Northern Apennines (Italy): A working hyp…

2016

In this study we analyse the main potential seismic sources in some axial and frontal sectors of the Northern Apennines, in Italy. This region was hit by a peculiar series of earthquakes that started in 1916 on the external thrust fronts near Rimini. Later, in 1917-1921, seismicity (up to Mw approximate to 6.5) shifted into the axial zone and clearly migrated north-westward, along the belt of active normal faults. The collection of fault-slip data focused on the active normal faults potentially involved in this earthquake series. The acquired data allowed us to better characterize the geometry and kinematics of the faults. In a few instances, the installation of local seismic networks durin…

Igneous petrology, zircon geochronology and geochemistry of multiply emplaced granitoid bodies from the Palaeoproterozoic Usagaran domain in central …

2019

Abstract This study reports igneous petrology, zircon ages and geochemistry for Palaeoproterozoic I-type granitic, granodioritic, Qtz-monzonitic, Qtz-monzodioritic and monzodioritic rocks from the Usagaran domain of southwestern Tanzania. These rocks can be subdivided into three groups according to their age, T-t evolution and geochemistry. The oldest group is made up of amphibolite-facies calcic-alkalic gneisses, ranging in age between ∼1984 and ∼1910 Ma, which have been divided into two subgroups regarding their T-t evolution. The first subgroup shows a constant increase in T, and the second subgroup first shows a decrease in T, followed by an increase in T. The second group consists of a…

Optimizing Gaussian Process Regression for Image Time Series Gap-Filling and Crop Monitoring

2020

Image processing entered the era of artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms emerged as attractive alternatives for time series data processing. Satellite image time series processing enables crop phenology monitoring, such as the calculation of start and end of season. Among the promising algorithms, Gaussian process regression (GPR) proved to be a competitive time series gap-filling algorithm with the advantage of, as developed within a Bayesian framework, providing associated uncertainty estimates. Nevertheless, the processing of time series images becomes computationally inefficient in its standard per-pixel usage, mainly for GPR training rather than the fitting step. To…

2016

Gianluca Tramontana was supported by the GEOCARBON EU FP7 project (GA 283080). Dario Papale, Martin Jung and Markus Reichstein acknowledge funding from the EU FP7 project GEOCARBON (grant agreement no. 283080) and the EU H2020 BACI project (grant agreement no. 640176). Gustau Camps-Valls wants to acknowledge the support by an ERC Consolidator Grant with grant agreement 647423 (SEDAL). Kazuhito Ichii was supported by Environment Research and Technology Development Funds (2-1401) from the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the JAXA Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM) project (no. 115). Christopher R. Schwalm was supported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gran…