Quantitative analysis of Cenozoic faults and fractures and their impact on groundwater flow in the bedrock aquifers of Ireland

Faults and fractures are a critical store and pathway for groundwater in Ireland’s limestone bedrock aquifers either directly as conductive structures or indirectly as the locus for the development of karst conduits. From the quantitative analysis of post-Devonian faults and fractures in a range of lithological sequences, this report describes the principal characteristics of Cenozoic strike-slip faults and joints, the youngest and the most intrinsically conductive fractures within Irish bedrock. Analysis of these structures in more than 120 outcrop, quarry, mine and cave locations in a range of bedrock types, provides a basis for: (1) definition of quantitative models for their depth dependency, lithological control, scaling systematics and links to preexisting structure, (2) conceptualisation of their impact on groundwater behaviour, and (3) estimation of groundwater flow parameters. The quantitative models provide constraints on fracture-controlled flow connectivity. Commonly observed decreases in sustainable flows and water strike interceptions with depth are attributed to increasing confinement and decreasing fracture connectivity and dissolution. Faults and joints have quite different end member geometries, with faults having strongly heterogeneous scale-independent properties and joints more often showing scale-dependent stratabound properties. The highest and most sustainable groundwater flows are usually associated with the complexity of structure of Cenozoic faults and of preexisting Carboniferous structures (on which conductive fracturing localises), enhanced by karstification and strongly jointed limestone bedrock particularly in the near-surface. Increased groundwater flow is promoted within bedded, rather than massive (i.e. unbedded), limestone sequences, characterised by bedding-parallel fractures and karst connecting otherwise subvertical fractures and subvertical wells.

THE FDTD ANALYSIS OF NEAR-FIELD RESPONSE FOR MICROGROOVE STRUCTURE WITH STANDING WAVE ILLUMINATION FOR THE REALIZATION OF COHERENT STRUCTURED ILLUMINATION MICROSCOPY

Microstructures are widely used in the manufacture of functional surfaces. An optical-based super-resolution, non-invasive method is preferred for the inspection of surfaces with massive microstructures. The Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) uses standing-wave illumination to reach optical super-resolution. Recently, coherent SIM is being studied. It can obtain not only the super-resolved intensity distribution but also the phase and amplitude distribution of the sample surface beyond the diffraction limit. By analysis of the phase-depth dependency, the depth measurement for microgroove structures with coherent SIM is expected. FDTD analysis is applied for observing the near-field response of microgroove under the standing-wave illumination. The near-field phase shows depth dependency in this analysis. Moreover, the effects from microgroove width, the incident angle, and the relative position between the standing-wave peak and center of the microgroove are investigated. It is found the near-field phase change can measure depth until 200 nm (aspect ratio 1) with an error of up to 20.4 nm in the case that the microgroove width is smaller than half of the wavelength.

The FDTD Analysis of Near-Field Response for Microgroove Structure With Standing Wave Illumination for the Realization of Coherent Structured Illumination Microscopy

Microstructures are widely used in the manufacture of functional surfaces. An optical-based super-resolution, non-invasive method is preferred for the inspection of surfaces with massive microstructures. The Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) uses standing-wave illumination to reach optical super-resolution. Recently, coherent SIM is being studied. It can obtain not only the super-resolved intensity distribution but also the phase and amplitude distribution of the sample surface beyond the diffraction limit. By analysis of the phase-depth dependency, the depth measurement for microgroove structures with coherent SIM is expected. FDTD analysis is applied for observing the near-field response of microgroove under the standing-wave illumination. The near-field phase shows depth dependency in this analysis. Moreover, the effects from microgroove width, the incident angle, and the relative position between the standing-wave peak and center of the microgroove are investigated. It is found the near-field phase change can measure depth until 200 nm (aspect ratio 1) with an error of up to 20.4 nm in the case that the microgroove width is smaller than half of the wavelength.

Compton Scattering Imaging of Liquid Water in Porous Carbon-Based Materials

Synchrotron-based Compton scattering imaging with intense high-energy X-rays allows the visualization of light element substances in an electrochemical device under an operando condition. In this study, we apply this imaging technique to a water-contained, porous carbon-based composite, which is used as a material for the gas diffusion layer in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Analyses of the two-dimensional intensity images of Compton scattered X-rays provide the cross-sectional distributions of liquid water, as well as the depth dependency of the water content. In addition, the analyses reveal a significant interaction between the carbon materials and water droplets.

Stress Drops from Trench to Depth in the Northern Chilean Subduction Zone

<div> <div> <div> <p>At the northern Chilean subduction zone the IPOC network monitors seismicity since 2007. During the observation time period two very large earthquakes occurred, the 2007 MW 7.7 Tocopilla earthquake and the 2014 MW 8.1 Iquique earthquake and until today the subduction zone shows a vast amount of seismic activity. A large catalog was compiled and published including over 100000 events by Sippl et al. 2018. Therein, seismicity ranges from close to the trench till deep into the mantle to about 300km depth. Consequently, events occur under a broad variability of physical conditions.</p> <p>We extend the aforementioned catalog by applying a template matching technique to identify additional events, that are colocated with catalog events. Based on these events we apply an empirical Green’s function method called spectral ratio approach to estimate stress drops. The results cover different nucleation provinces i.e. the data set includes stress drops obtained at the interface, within the subducting plate, from crustal events, intermediate depth events, and from deep to very deep seismicity. The study therefore bears a great potential to better understand the stress drop distribution within an entire subduction zone.</p> </div> </div> </div><p>First results show no depth dependency in the shallowest 100 km but spatial variability with high stress drops focused to particular regions on the interface. We also find increased stress drop values in the crust when compared to events close or at the interface.</p>

Flow velocity quantification by exploiting the principles of the Doppler effect and magnetic particle imaging

Changes in blood flow velocity play a crucial role during pathogenesis and progression of cardiovascular diseases. Imaging techniques capable of assessing flow velocities are clinically applied but are often not accurate, quantitative, and reliable enough to assess fine changes indicating the early onset of diseases and their conversion into a symptomatic stage. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) promises to overcome these limitations. Existing MPI-based techniques perform velocity estimation on the reconstructed images, which restricts the measurable velocity range. Therefore, we developed a novel velocity quantification method by adapting the Doppler principle to MPI. Our method exploits the velocity-dependent frequency shift caused by a tracer motion-induced modulation of the emitted signal. The fundamental theory of our method is deduced and validated by simulations and measurements of moving phantoms. Overall, our method enables robust velocity quantification within milliseconds, with high accuracy, no radiation risk, no depth-dependency, and extended range compared to existing MPI-based velocity quantification techniques, highlighting the potential of our method as future medical application.

Depth-dependent valence stratification driven by oxygen redox in lithium-rich layered oxide

Lithium-rich nickel-manganese-cobalt (LirNMC) layered material is a promising cathode for lithium-ion batteries thanks to its large energy density enabled by coexisting cation and anion redox activities. It however suffers from a voltage decay upon cycling, urging for an in-depth understanding of the particle-level structure and chemical complexity. In this work, we investigate the Li1.2Ni0.13Mn0.54Co0.13O2 particles morphologically, compositionally, and chemically in three-dimensions. While the composition is generally uniform throughout the particle, the charging induces a strong depth dependency in transition metal valence. Such a valence stratification phenomenon is attributed to the nature of oxygen redox which is very likely mostly associated with Mn. The depth-dependent chemistry could be modulated by the particles’ core-multi-shell morphology, suggesting a structural-chemical interplay. These findings highlight the possibility of introducing a chemical gradient to address the oxygen-loss-induced voltage fade in LirNMC layered materials.

Depth-Dependent High Distortion Lens Calibration

Accurate correction of high distorted images is a very complex problem. Several lens distortion models exist that are adjusted using different techniques. Usually, regardless of the chosen model, a unique distortion model is adjusted to undistort images and the camera-calibration template distance is not considered. Several authors have presented the depth dependency of lens distortion but none of them have treated it with highly distorted images. This paper presents an analysis of the distortion depth dependency in strongly distorted images. The division model that is able to represent high distortion with only one parameter is modified to represent a depth-dependent high distortion lens model. The proposed calibration method obtains more accurate results when compared to existing calibration methods.

Depth-dependent soil mixing persists across climate zones

Soil mixing over long (>102 y) timescales enhances nutrient fluxes that support soil ecology, contributes to dispersion of sediment and contaminated material, and modulates fluxes of carbon through Earth’s largest terrestrial carbon reservoir. Despite its foundational importance, we lack robust understanding of the rates and patterns of soil mixing, largely due to a lack of long-timescale data. Here we demonstrate that luminescence, a light-sensitive property of minerals used for geologic dating, can be used as a long-timescale sediment tracer in soils to reveal the structure of soil mixing. We develop a probabilistic model of transport and mixing of tracer particles and associated luminescence in soils and compare with a global compilation of luminescence versus depth in various locations. The model–data comparison reveals that soil mixing rate varies over the soil depth, with this depth dependency persisting across climate and ecological zones. The depth dependency is consistent with a model in which mixing intensity decreases linearly or exponentially with depth, although our data do not resolve between these cases. Our findings support the long-suspected idea that depth-dependent mixing is a spatially and temporally persistent feature of soils. Evidence for a climate control on the patterns and intensities of soil mixing with depth remains elusive and requires the further study of soil mixing processes.