Relating in situ hydraulic conductivity, particle size and relative density of superficial deposits in a heterogeneous catchment

Estimating the permeability of superficial deposits is fundamental to many aspects of catchment science, but can be problematic where insufficient in situ measurements are available from pumping tests in piezometers. Consequently, common practice is to estimate permeability from the material description or, where available, particlesize distribution using a formula such as Hazen. In this study, we examine the relationships between particlesize, relativedensity and hydraulicconductivity in superficial deposits in Morayshire, Northern Scotland: a heterogeneous environment typical of many catchments subject to previous glaciations. The superficial deposits comprise glaciofluvial sands and gravels, glacial tills and moraines, raised marine sediments, and blown sands. Thirty-eight sites were investigated: hydraulicconductivity measurements were made using repeated Guelph permeameter measurements, cone resistance was measured in situ with a Panda dynamic cone penetrometer; material descriptions were made in accordance with BS5930:1999; and disturbed samples were taken for particlesize analysis. Overall hydraulicconductivity (K) varied from 0.001 m/d to >40 m/d; glacial till had the lowest K (median 0.027 m/d) and glacial moraine the highest K (median 30 m/d). However, within each geological unit there was great variability in measured hydraulicconductivity values. Multiple linear regression of the data indicated that log d10 and relativedensity (indicated by cone resistance or BS5930:1999 soil state description) were independent predictors of log K and together gave a relationship with an R2 of 0.80. Material description using the largest fraction (e.g. sand or gravel) had little predictive power. Therefore, in heterogeneous catchments, the permeability of superficial deposits is most strongly related to the finest fraction (d10) and relativedensity of the material. In situ Guelph permeameter measurements at outcrops with good geological characterisation provide an easy and reliable method of determining the permeability of particular units of superficial deposits

A tribute to Professor William Dearman : new small-scale engineering geological maps of the United Kingdom

Professor William Robert (“Bill”) Dearman was the first British Professor of Engineering Geology and a world leader in the development of engineering geological mapping techniques and methodologies, recognised by being awarded the IAEG’s Hans Cloos Medal. The maps described here would not have been completed without his initial ideas and interpretative work. It is a great regret that the maps were not finished in time for him to see them before his death in January 2009. This paper and the maps described in it are, therefore, dedicated to his memory

Folded fabric tunes rock deformation and failure mode in the upper crust

The micro-mechanisms of brittle failure affect the bulk mechanical behaviour and permeability of crustal rocks. In low-porosity crystalline rocks, these mechanisms are related to mineralogy and fabric anisotropy, while confining pressure, temperature and strain rates regulate the transition from brittle to ductile behaviour. However, the effects of folded anisotropic fabrics, widespread in orogenic settings, on the mechanical behaviour of crustal rocks are largely unknown. Here we explore the deformation and failure behaviour of a representative folded gneiss, by combining the results of triaxial deformation experiments carried out while monitoring microseismicity with microstructural and damage proxies analyses. We show that folded crystalline rocks in upper crustal conditions exhibit dramatic strength heterogeneity and contrasting failure modes at identical confining pressure and room temperature, depending on the geometrical relationships between stress and two different anisotropies associated to the folded rock fabric. These anisotropies modulate the competition among quartz- and mica-dominated microscopic damage processes, resulting in transitional brittle to semi-brittle modes under P and T much lower than expected. This has significant implications on scales relevant to seismicity, energy resources, engineering applications and geohazards

A self-consistent model of Galactic stellar and dust infrared emission and the abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

We present a self-consistent three-dimensional Monte-Carlo radiative transfer model of the stellar and dust emission in the Milky-Way, and have computed synthetic observations of the 3.6 to 100 microns emission in the Galactic mid-plane. In order to compare the model to observations, we use the GLIMPSE, MIPSGAL, and IRAS surveys to construct total emission spectra, as well as longitude and latitude profiles for the emission. The distribution of stars and dust is taken from the SKY model, and the dust emissivities includes an approximation of the emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in addition to thermal emission. The model emission is in broad agreement with the observations, but a few modifications are needed to obtain a good fit. Firstly, by adjusting the model to include two major and two minor spiral arms rather than four equal spiral arms, the fit to the longitude profiles for |l|>30 degrees can be improved. Secondly, introducing a deficit in the dust distribution in the inner Galaxy results in a better fit to the shape of the IRAS longitude profiles at 60 and 100 microns. With these modifications, the model fits the observed profiles well, although it systematically under-estimates the 5.8 and 8.0 microns fluxes. One way to resolve this discrepancy is to increase the abundance of PAH molecules by 50% compared to the original model, although we note that changes to the dust distribution or radiation field may provide alternative solutions. Finally, we use the model to quantify which stellar populations contribute the most to the heating of different dust types, and which stellar populations and dust types contribute the most to the emission at different wavelengths.Comment: Published in A&A. This version has been revised (compared to the published version) to include additional references to previous work. Scripts to reproduce the results in this paper can be found as supplementary material on the A&A site, or at https://github.com/hyperion-rt/paper-galaxy-rt-mode

Knowledge-based energy functions for computational studies of proteins

This chapter discusses theoretical framework and methods for developing knowledge-based potential functions essential for protein structure prediction, protein-protein interaction, and protein sequence design. We discuss in some details about the Miyazawa-Jernigan contact statistical potential, distance-dependent statistical potentials, as well as geometric statistical potentials. We also describe a geometric model for developing both linear and non-linear potential functions by optimization. Applications of knowledge-based potential functions in protein-decoy discrimination, in protein-protein interactions, and in protein design are then described. Several issues of knowledge-based potential functions are finally discussed.Comment: 57 pages, 6 figures. To be published in a book by Springe

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports a measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample recorded with the ATLAS detector with an integrated luminosity of 0.30 pb^-1 for jets with transverse momentum between 25 and 70 GeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta| < 2.5. D*+/- mesons found in jets are fully reconstructed in the decay chain: D*+ -> D0pi+, D0 -> K-pi+, and its charge conjugate. The production rate is found to be N(D*+/-)/N(jet) = 0.025 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for D*+/- mesons that carry a fraction z of the jet momentum in the range 0.3 < z < 1. Monte Carlo predictions fail to describe the data at small values of z, and this is most marked at low jet transverse momentum.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (22 pages total), 5 figures, 1 table, matches published version in Physical Review

Search for supersymmetry in final states with jets, missing transverse momentum and one isolated lepton in sqrt{s} = 7 TeV pp collisions using 1 fb-1 of ATLAS data

We present an update of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon, using 1.04 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in the first half of 2011. The analysis is carried out in four distinct signal regions with either three or four jets and variations on the (missing) transverse momentum cuts, resulting in optimized limits for various supersymmetry models. No excess above the standard model background expectation is observed. Limits are set on the visible cross-section of new physics within the kinematic requirements of the search. The results are interpreted as limits on the parameters of the minimal supergravity framework, limits on cross-sections of simplified models with specific squark and gluino decay modes, and limits on parameters of a model with bilinear R-parity violation.Comment: 18 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 9 figures, 4 tables, final version to appear in Physical Review

Reducing heterotic M-theory to five dimensional supergravity on a manifold with boundary

This paper constructs the reduction of heterotic $M$-theory in eleven dimensions to a supergravity model on a manifold with boundary in five dimensions using a Calabi-Yau three-fold. New results are presented for the boundary terms in the action and for the boundary conditions on the bulk fields. Some general features of dualisation on a manifold with boundary are used to explain the origin of some topological terms in the action. The effect of gaugino condensation on the fermion boundary conditions leads to a `twist' in the chirality of the gravitino which can provide an uplifting mechanism in the vacuum energy to cancel the cosmological constant after moduli stabilisation.Comment: 16 pages, RevTe

Measurement of tau polarization in W->taunu decays with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

In this paper, a measurement of tau polarization in W->taunu decays is presented. It is measured from the energies of the decay products in hadronic tau decays with a single final state charged particle. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 24 pb^-1, were collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2010. The measured value of the tau polarization is Ptau = -1.06 +/- 0.04 (stat) + 0.05 (syst) - 0.07 (syst), in agreement with the Standard Model prediction, and is consistent with a physically allowed 95% CL interval [-1,-0.91]. Measurements of tau polarization have not previously been made at hadron colliders.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (25 pages total), 4 figures, 4 tables, revised author list, matches published EPJC versio