Seismic scattering at the top of the mantle Transition Zone     

H. Thybo  L. Nielsen 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2003,216(3):259-269

We document strong seismic scattering from around the top of the mantle Transition Zone in all available high resolution explosion seismic profiles from Siberia and North America. This seismic reflectivity from around the 410 km discontinuity indicates the presence of pronounced heterogeneity in the depth interval between 320 and 450 km in the Earth’s mantle. We model the seismic observations by heterogeneity in the form of random seismic scatterers with typical scale lengths of kilometre size (10-40 km by 2-10 km) in a 100-140 km thick depth interval. The observed heterogeneity may be explained by changes in the depths to the α-β-γ spinel transformations caused by an unexpectedly high iron content at the top of the mantle Transition Zone. The phase transformation of pyroxenes into the garnet mineral majorite probably also contributes to the reflectivity, mainly below a depth of 400 km, whereas we find it unlikely that the presence of water or partial melt is the main cause of the observed strong seismic reflectivity. Subducted oceanic slabs that equilibrated at the top of the Transition Zone may also contribute to the observed reflectivity. If this is the main cause of the reflectivity, a substantial amount of young oceanic lithosphere has been subducted under Siberia and North America during their geologic evolution. Subducted slabs may have initiated metamorphic reactions in the original mantle rocks.  相似文献   

Explosion seismic reflections from the Earth’s core     

H Thybo  A.R Ross 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2003,216(4):693-702

Recent seismological studies have presented evidence for the existence of a layer with ultra-low seismic velocities at the core-mantle boundary at ca. 2900 km depth. We report high-amplitude, high-frequency, and laterally coherent seismic arrivals from three nuclear explosions in Siberia. With recording station intervals of 15 km, the seismic phases are readily correlated and show the presence of a thin, ultra-low velocity zone in a region where it was not previously reported. The duration and complexity of the arrivals are inconsistent with a simple core-mantle boundary and require a hitherto unidentified, kilometre-scale, fine structure in the ultra-low velocity zone. The observations may be explained by a ca. 7 km thick, two-layer, ultra-low velocity zone with exceptional low velocities, which indicate the presence of high percentages of melt (>15%), in particular in the lower part of the zone. Waveform variation implies lateral change in the thickness and physical properties of the ultra-low velocity zone with a wavelength of less than 100 km.  相似文献   

Evaluating foundation mass,damping and stiffness by the least‐squares method     

S. H. Ju 《地震工程与结构动力学》2003,32(9):1431-1442

This paper discusses how to use the three‐dimensional (3D) time‐domain finite‐element method incorporating the least‐squares method to calculate the equivalent foundation mass, damping and stiffness matrices. Numerical simulations indicate that the accuracy of these equivalent matrices is acceptable when the applied harmonic force of 1+sine is used. Moreover, the accuracy of the least‐squares method using the 1+sine force is not sensitive to the first time step for inclusion of data. Since the finite‐element method can model problems flexibly, the equivalent mass, damping and stiffness matrices of very complicated soil profiles and foundations can be established without difficulty using this least‐squares method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

An Efficient Numerical Method for Computing Synthetic Seismograms for a Layered Half-space with Sources and Receivers at Close or Same Depths   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

H.-m. Zhang  X.-f. Chen  S. Chang 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2003,160(3-4):467-486

— It is difficult to compute synthetic seismograms for a layered half-space with sources and receivers at close to or the same depths using the generalized R/T coefficient method (Kennett, 1983; Luco and Apsel, 1983; Yao and Harkrider, 1983; Chen, 1993), because the wavenumber integration converges very slowly. A semi-analytic method for accelerating the convergence, in which part of the integration is implemented analytically, was adopted by some authors (Apsel and Luco, 1983; Hisada, 1994, 1995). In this study, based on the principle of the Repeated Averaging Method (Dahlquist and Björck, 1974; Chang, 1988), we propose an alternative, efficient, numerical method, the peak-trough averaging method (PTAM), to overcome the difficulty mentioned above. Compared with the semi-analytic method, PTAM is not only much simpler mathematically and easier to implement in practice, but also more efficient. Using numerical examples, we illustrate the validity, accuracy and efficiency of the new method.  相似文献   

Environmental Emission of Mercury During Gold Mining by Amalgamation Process and its Impact on Soils of Gympie, Australia     

H.S. Dhindsa  A.R. Battle  S. Prytz 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2003,160(1-2):145-156

— The aims of this study were to estimate the total amount of mercury released to the environment during 60 years of gold mining (1867–1926) at Gympie, Queensland, Australia and to measure the mercury levels in soil samples surrounding the mining activity. We estimated that 1902 tonnes of mercury was released to the environment and about 1236 tonnes of which was released to the air. The mean mercury in the soil samples in the vicinity of the Scottish battery varied from 1.07 to 99.26 μg g^?1 as compared to 0.075 μg g^?1 as background mercury concentrations. The maximum mercury concentration measured in sediments of the Langton Gully was 6.12 μg g^?1. These results show that large amount of mercury was used in this area during gold mining. Since mining is active in the area and Langton Gully flows into Mary River, we therefore, recommend that mercury concentration in air and fish should be monitored.  相似文献   

Characterisation of the 1997 Vulcanian explosions of Soufrière Hills Volcano,Montserrat, by video analysis     

Formenti  Y.  Druitt  T. H.  Kelfoun  K. 《Bulletin of Volcanology》2003,65(8):587-605

The activity of Convention at Montserrat Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, during the period 1995–1999 included numerous violent explosions. Two major cycles of Vulcanian explosions occurred in 1997: a first of 13 explosions between 4 and 12 August and a second of 75 between 22 September and 21 October. The explosions were short-lived events lasting a few tens of seconds during which partial fountain collapse generated pyroclastic surges and pyroclastic flows, and buoyant plumes ascended 3–15 km into the atmosphere. Each explosion discharged on average 3×10⁵ m³ (dense-rock equivalent, DRE) of magma, draining the conduit to depths of 1–2 km. The paper focuses on the first few seconds of three explosions of the 75 that occurred in September/October 1997: 6 October 1997 at 17:50, 7 October 1997 at 16:02 and 9 October 1997 at 12:32. Physical parameters such as exit velocities, magmatic water contents and magma pressures at fragmentation are estimated by following and modelling the ascent of individual momentum-dominated finger jets visible on videos during the initial stages of each explosion. The model treats each finger jet as an incompressible flow sustained by a steady flux of gas and particles during the few seconds of ascent, and produces results that compare favourably with those using a multiphase compressible code run using similar eruptive parameters. Each explosion reveals a progressive increase in eruptive intensity with time, jet exit velocities increasing from 40 m s^–1 at the beginning of the explosion up to 140 m s^–1 after a few seconds. Modelling suggests that the first magma to exit was largely degassed, whereas that discharged after a few seconds contained up to 2 wt% water. Magma overpressures up to ~10 MPa are estimated to have existed in the conduit immediately prior to each explosion. Progressive increases in jet exit velocity with time over the first few seconds of each explosion provide direct evidence for strong pre-eruptive gradients in water content and magma pressure in the upper reaches (probably 100–500 m) of the conduit. Fountain collapse occurred during the first 10–20 s of each explosion because the discharging jets had bulk densities up to 100 times that of the atmosphere and were unable to entrain enough air to become buoyant. Such high eruptive densities were due to the presence of partially degassed magma in the conduit.Editorial responsibility: A. Woods  相似文献   

Indoor Radon Radioactivity at the University of Brunei Darussalam     

T.K. Sheng  H.S. Jer 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2003,160(1-2):75-80

— Indoor radon radioactivity in the rooms on the ground floor and first floor of the Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam was measured using a system that consists of an air filter pump, ZnS detector, photomultiplier tube and counter. Ground floor rooms' radon radioactivity was found to be about three times higher than that of the first floor. The maximum ground floor indoor radioactivity is only 0.39 Bqm^?3, a value relatively low and safe compared to the mean outdoor radon concentration of 1.41 Bqm^?3 measured (HU and TAN, 2000). The main source of radon emanation originates from the ground soil rather than the building materials.  相似文献   

Source mechanism of the 22/11/1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake and its aftershock sequence     

A. Hofstetter  H.K. Thio  G. Shamir 《Journal of Seismology》2003,7(1):99-114

The Gulf of Aqaba earthquake occurred on 22/11/1995 with M _W = 7.2 and was the largest event to occur along the Dead Sea Transform in at least a century. We determined the source mechanism of the event based on the inversion of the P and SH waveforms observed by teleseismic stations. Our solution consists of 2 similar subevents, where the first exhibits a left-lateral strike-slip motion with a normal component and the second subevent shows an almost pure left-lateral strike-slip motion along the gulf major fault system. The total seismic moment is 7.7 × 10²⁶ dyne-cm, with source duration of 15 seconds. The aftershock sequence was recorded by the regional broad band stations BGIO and JER, of the Israel Seismic Network, and KEG, of the MEDNET regional network for earthquakeswith M _W > 4.0. Aftershock epicenter seems to cluster mainly in the Eilat basin and the Aragonese basin. The dominant mechanism indicates left-lateral strike slip motion along the gulf trend, similar to the mainshock.  相似文献   

The colonization of periphytic diatom species on artificial substrates in the Ashar canal, Basrah, Iraq   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

H.A. Hameed 《Limnologica》2003,33(1):54-61

Studies have been conducted between March 1993 and March 1994 in the Ashar canal, a backwater of the Shatt al-Arab River, Iraq. Using artificial substrates, the colonization and development of seventy-five diatom species belonging to twenty genera could be revealed. Taxa apportionment varied seasonally as well as within each season. A few species have been found during all experiments. These are Amphora ovalis, Bacillaria paradoxa, Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta, Cyclotella meneghiniana, Cymbella ventricosa, Navicula tripunctata var. schizonemoides, Rhoicosphenia curvata, and Synedra ulna. The occurrence of B. paradoxa in Experiment 1 (March-April 1993) and Experiment 4 (end of January to beginning of March 1994) was higher than 50%. Similarity of species increased towards the end of each season, and the communities from experiments 1 and 4 were more similar than others. The experiments also suggest that week 4 represents the equilibrium phase while week 6 reflects the increase in biological interactions. The results could also indicate the sequence of primary colonizers and the community development towards the equilibrium.  相似文献   

Water and sediment outbursts from advanced Franz Josef Glacier,New Zealand   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Timothy R. H. Davies  Chris C. Smart  Jill M. Turnbull 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2003,28(10):1081-1096

The Franz Josef Glacier, Westland, New Zealand, has a history of catastrophic sediment‐laden outburst ?oods associated with extreme rainfall events when the glacier toe is advanced over its own sediments. Consideration of these events and inspection of recent sediment deposits suggest that there are three distinct modes of outburst. The ?rst is associated with fans fed by over?ow along the glacier margin. As the glacier has advanced across its own fore?eld gravels, it is inferred that the primary drainage conduit has developed a reach of negative slope. In high ?ows massive boulders can block the conduit, trapping lesser clasts. The resulting backup of water causes over?ows through marginal moulins, producing the fan type of deposit. The second type of outburst deposits massive imbricated boulders at a greater or lesser distance from the glacier portal. In this case, pressure buildup drives the blockage out of the portal where the boulders deposit. Smaller materials are generally carried away. The third type consists of very shallow ?ows, and produces massive gravel deposits of uncertain provenance. In this condition, the excess pressure in the conduit results in slight uplift of the glacier and widespread discharge of water and sediment below the glacier snout; gravels and smaller sediments are laid down in a massive deposit across the fore?eld. The massive, boulder‐veneered deposit from the December 1995 outburst is interpreted in the light of the above mechanisms as a hyperconcentrated ?ow deposit from hydraulic jacking, overlain by boulders emplaced by a subsequent conduit outburst. A possible association of outbursts with the present advanced position of the glacier is suggested. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献