Why the Sacramento Delta area differs from other parts of the great valley: Numerical modeling of thermal structure and thermal subsidence of forearc basins     

V. O. Mikhailov  T. Parsons  R. W. Simpson  E. P. Timoshkina  C. Williams 《Izvestiya Physics of the Solid Earth》2007,43(1):75-90

Data on present-day heat flow, subsidence history, and paleotemperature for the Sacramento Delta region, California, have been employed to constrain a numerical model of tectonic subsidence and thermal evolution of forearc basins. The model assumes an oceanic basement with an initial thermal profile dependent on its age subjected to refrigeration caused by a subducting slab. Subsidence in the Sacramento Delta region appears to be close to that expected for a forearc basin underlain by normal oceanic lithosphere of age 150 Ma, demonstrating that effects from both the initial thermal profile and the subduction process are necessary and sufficient. Subsidence at the eastern and northern borders of the Sacramento Valley is considerably less, approximating subsidence expected from the dynamics of the subduction zone alone. These results, together with other geophysical data, show that Sacramento Delta lithosphere, being thinner and having undergone deeper subsidence, must differ from lithosphere of the transitional type under other parts of the Sacramento Valley. Thermal modeling allows evaluation of the rheological properties of the lithosphere. Strength diagrams based on our thermal model show that, even under relatively slow deformation (10⁻¹⁷ s⁻¹), the upper part of the delta crystalline crust (down to 20–22 km) can fail in brittle fashion, which is in agreement with deeper earthquake occurrence. Hypocentral depths of earthquakes under the Sacramento Delta region extend to nearly 20 km, whereas, in the Coast Ranges to the west, depths are typically less than 12–15 km. The greater width of the seismogenic zone in this area raises the possibility that, for fault segments of comparable length, earthquakes of somewhat greater magnitude might occur than in the Coast Ranges to the west. The text was submitted by the authors in English.  相似文献   

A device for measuring downwearing rates on cohesive shore platforms     

Richard Charman  Tim Cane  Cherith Moses  Rendel Williams 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2007,32(14):2212-2221

The device described in this paper, known as the traversing erosion beam, is believed to be the first to be designed specifically for measuring rates of downwearing of cohesive foreshores, such as clay shore platforms, under high‐energy wave conditions. It is primarily constructed of Flexlink Aluminium Structural System components and consists of a horizontal beam with a main leg and two further support legs. A sliding ‘dolly’ module is moved along the beam at precise intervals using a longitudinal scale as a reference. The topographic profile of the measurement surface is transferred to the dolly by a vertical sliding steel alloy rod, from which the relative height differences are measured by a separate engineer's digital height gauge placed on the dolly. The main leg of the device fits into a marine grade stainless steel box, which is deeply embedded into the foreshore or shore platform to act a permanent datum. The box is robust and can be expected to have a lifetime of at least a year, and possibly even five years or more. Sample data are provided from a clay shore platform at Warden Point in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent (UK), which demonstrate that the TEB can provide information on seasonal as well as annual rates of downwearing. The device has also been tested successfully on a peat and clay foreshore at Pett Level in Sussex and on a shore platform cut in glacial till at Easington, Yorkshire. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Robust H∞ control for aseismic structures with uncertainties in model parameters     

宋刚  林家浩  赵岩 《地震工程与工程振动(英文版)》2007,6(4):409-416

This paper presents a robust H∞ output feedback control approach for structural systems with uncertainties in model parameters by using available acceleration measurements and proposes conditions for the existence of such a robust output feedback controller. The uncertainties of structural stiffness, damping and mass parameters are assumed to be norm-bounded. The proposed control approach is formulated within the framework of linear matrix inequalities, for which existing convex optimization techniques, such as the LMI toolbox in MATLAB, can be used effectively and conveniently. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed robust H∞ strategy, a six-story building was subjected both to the 1940 El Centro earthquake record and to a suddenly applied Kanai-Tajimi filtered white noise random excitation. The results show that the proposed robust H∞ controller provides satisfactory results with or without variation of the structural stiffness, damping and mass parameters.  相似文献   

A statistical riverine litter propagation model.     

C E Balas  A T Williams  S L Simmons  A Ergin 《Marine pollution bulletin》2001,42(11):1169-1176

A statistical riverine litter propagation (RLP) model based on importance sampling Monte Carlo (ISMC) simulation was developed in order to predict the frequency distribution of certain litter types in river reaches. The model was preliminarily calibrated for plastic sheeting by a pilot study conducted on the River Taff, Wales (UK). Litter movement was predominantly controlled by reach characteristics, such as vegetation overhang and water-course obstructions. These affects were modeled in the simulations, by utilizing geometric distributions of river reaches in the time domain. The proposed model satisfactorily simulated the dosing experiments performed at the River Taff. It was concluded from the preliminary calibrations that, the RLP model can be efficiently utilized to portray litter propagation at any arbitrarily selected river site, provided that the stream flows and reach characteristics are calibrated by representative probability distributions of similar sections. Therefore, the RLP model can be considered as a new statistical technique that can predict litter propagation in river sections.  相似文献   

Arsenic in mine waters: an international study   总被引：4，自引：4，他引：4  

M. Williams 《Environmental Geology》2001,40(3):267-278

 Hydrochemical data are presented for arsenic (As) in the mine waters of 34 gold and base-metal mining localities in seven countries of south-east Asia, Africa and Latin America, encompassing contrasting climatic settings and at least eight discrete styles of primary mineralization. Peak dissolved As concentrations at these sites range from 0.005–72 mg/l, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) potable water threshold of 50 μg/l exceeded in 25 cases. Arsenate (As⁵⁺) constitutes the dominant species at over 80% of sites. Very high dissolved As concentrations (>1 mg/l) show no systematic between-site relationship with mine water pH/Eh regime. Important determinants of mine water As fluxes include iron hydrochemistry, the presence of cyanic ore processing effluents, site geology, the paragenetic sequence that follows sulphide oxidation, climate and mine management. Human toxicological impacts of As contamination have been recognized at only one case-study site, with a further four considered to warrant more detailed risk assessment. Received: 2 November 1999 · Accepted: 21 March 2000  相似文献   

Polyphase Metamorphism in the Danba Domal Terrain, Songpan-Garzê Orogenic Belt (China): P-T-t-d Paths and Constraints from U-Pb, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr Geochronology     

M. Huang  I.S. Buick  R. Maas  I.S. Williams 《Gondwana Research》2001,4(4):634-635

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A comparison of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) mRNA inducibility in four species of Atlantic coast anadromous fishes     

Isaac Wirgin  Blake Konkle  Mark Pedersen  Cheryl Grunwald  Jim Williams  Simon C. Courtenay 《Estuaries and Coasts》1996,19(4):913-922

Quantification of levels of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) gene expression in sentinel species of fishes has been proposed as a management tool to evaluate contamination of aquatic systems. Based on preliminary studies, we hypothesized that differences in CYP1A mRNA inducibility among individuals, populations, or species might lead to spurious conclusions when using this approach in environmental monitoring programs. To address this possibility, we quantitated and compared CYP1A mRNA induction levels in four species of common Atlantic Coast estuarine fish: smooth flounder, hogchoker, striped bass, and Atlantic tomcod, which were treated with model chemicals (beta naphthoflavone (β-NF), or benzo[a]pyrene at 10 ppm) known to induce CYP1A mRNA, or were exposed to contaminated environments. Species-specific CYP1A DNA probes were generated from PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification of genomic DNA using conserved oligonucleotide primers, and, along with cloned rainbow trout and Atlantic tomcod CYP1A cDNA probes were used to quantify CYP1A mRNA levels in northern blot analyses. Successful PCR amplification of CYP1A hybridizable DNA fragments was observed for all four species. Results from northern blot analyses showed large differences in CYP1A mRNA induction among species; only Atlantic tomcod exhibited significant induction of CYP1A mRNA for both chemically treated (97-fold) and environmentally exposed fish (34-fold). Significant, although lower, levels of induction were observed in β-NF treated (14-fold) smooth flounder, but not in environmentally exposed smooth flounder. Only low levels (not significant) of CYP1A gene induction were detected in hogchokers and striped bass. We conclude that CYP1A mRNA inducibility differed significantly among fish taxa perhaps due to differences in regulation of gene expression, suggesting that careful selection of sentinel species should be exercised prior to the use of CYP1A mRNA induction in environmental monitoring programs. However, the significance of differences in CYP1A mRNA inducibility in relation to higher level biological endpoints has yet to be determined.  相似文献   

A summary of sulfur dioxide emission rate measuremnts from Guatemalan volcanoes     

RJ Andres  WI Rose  RE Stoiber  SN Williams  O Matías  R Morales 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1993,55(5):379-388

Measurements of the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission rate from three Guatemalan volcanoes provide data which are consistent with theoretical and laboratory studies of eruptive and shallow magma chamber processes. In particular, unerupted magma makes a major contribution to the measured SO₂ emission rates at Santiaguito, a continuously erupting dacitic volcanic dome. Varying shallow magma convection rates can explain the variations in SO₂ emission rates at Santiaguito. At Fuego, a basaltic volcano currently in repose, SO₂ emission rate measurements are consistent with a high level magma body that is crystallizing and releasing volatiles. At Pacaya, a continuously erupting basaltic volcano, recent SO₂ emission rate measurements support laboratory simulation studies of strombolian eruptions; these studies indicate that the majority of gas escapes during eruptions and little gas escapes between eruptions.Average SO₂ emission rates over the last 20 years for Santiaguito, Fuego and Pacaya are 80, 160 and 260 Mg/d, respectively. On a global scale, these three volcanoes account for 1% of the annual global volcanic output of SO₂. Santiaguito and Pacaya, together, emit 6% of the total annual SO₂ emitted by continuously erupting volcanoes.Even though SO₂ measurements at these volcanoes have been made infrequently and by different investigators, the collective data help to establish a useful baseline by which to judge future changes. A more complete record of SO₂ emission rates from these volcanoes could lead to a better understanding of their eruption mechanisms and reduce the impact of their future eruptions on Guatemalan society.  相似文献   

Discussion of "Vadose Zone Monitoring with the Neutron Moisture Probe" by John H. Kramer, Stephen J. Cullen, and Lome G. Everett, Ground Water Monitoring Review, v. 12, no. 3, pp. 177, Summer 1992.     

Michael A. Williams 《Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation》1993,13(1):159-161

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The volcanics of the gregory rift valley,east Africa     

L. A. J. Williams 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1970,34(2):439-465

The paper reviews the stratigraphy, style of activity and some aspects of the petrology of Tertiary to Recent sodic alkaline volcanic rocks in Kenya, eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. Repeated extrusions of basaltic and nephelinitic volcanics occurred from Miocene times onwards, confirming indications from chemical data that magmas of these compositions were parental. At some central volcanoes, a basalt-trachyte-phonolite series evidently arose by fractional crystallization of basaltic magma, whereas various courses of crystallization from a nephelinitic parent led to the production of phonolites, tephrites and basanites as well as olivine-and melilite-bearing nephelinites and melanephelinites. Phonolitic and trachytic volcanics which dominate an area of repeated upwarping (the Kenya dome) probably originated by processes of partial melting rather than by differentiation of basaltic magma. The basalt-trachyte association which characterizes many central volcanoes north and south of the dome can perhaps best be explained by postulating independent sources for the basic and salic volcanics.  相似文献