Seismic imaging of mid-Pleistocene tunnel-valleys in the North Sea Basin—high resolution from low frequencies     

Daniel Praeg   《Journal of Applied Geophysics》2003,53(4):273-298

Seismic reflection methods provide continuous access both to stratigraphy (vertical) and to subsurface morphology (horizontal), for which the scales of interest may differ by orders of magnitude. Seismic surveys of Quaternary successions have generally sought to optimise vertical resolution, through the use of higher source frequency content. Here, I show that low-frequency bandwidth is not necessarily a limiting factor for the seismic resolution of glacigenic morpho-sedimentary features. Observations are presented from a buried network of large mid-Pleistocene (Elsterian) tunnel-valleys in the southern North Sea Basin, across a 100×130 km study area with water depths less than 30 m. Low-frequency 2D and 3D seismic multi-channel data, acquired for deeper hydrocarbon exploration, are compared with previously available high-frequency single- and multi-channel profiles (5–15 km grid spacing). The low-frequency data contribute to a new understanding of the basal morphology and fill stratigraphy of the tunnel-valleys, in part due to higher data densities (≥1 km grid spacing), but also to improved imaging of reflectors at depth. The tunnel-valleys are seen to be overdeepened troughs, shallow (≤0.5 km) relative to their widths (≤6 km). The basal unconformity defines a series of arborescent elements, convergent to the south; erosional overlap by younger elements to the north has resulted in anastomosing patterns in places. The fill is dominated by axially downlapping clinoforms, descending to the north, onlapped and overlain by subhorizontal reflectors. Well data show that sand-dominated glaciofluvial sediments are overlain by glaciolacustrine to marine muds. Better definition of the clinoforms on low- versus high-frequency multi-channel data is suggested to reflect the coarse spatial scale of the backset glaciofluvial strata. The results support a simple interpretation of time-transgressive tunnel-valley formation by coeval glaciofluvial erosion and backfill beneath the outer tens of kilometres of the northward receding Elsterian ice sheet margin. Comparable submarginal interpretations have been proposed for drainage features (tunnel-valleys and eskers) of the last deglaciation of both northern Europe and North America using integrated geomorphologic and stratigraphic methods. Commercial 2D and 3D seismic data are widely available from exploration areas such as the North Sea and are argued to constitute an underexploited resource for Quaternary research.  相似文献   

Using DC resistivity tomography to detect and characterize mountain permafrost   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Christian Hauck  Daniel Vonder Mühll  Hansruedi Maurer 《Geophysical Prospecting》2003,51(4):273-284

Direct-current (DC) resistivity tomography has been applied to different mountain permafrost regions. Despite problems with the very high resistivities of the frozen material, plausible results were obtained. Inversions with synthetic data revealed that an appropriate choice of regularization constraints was important, and that a joint analysis of several tomograms computed with different constraints was required to judge the reliability of individual features. The theoretical results were verified with three field experiments conducted in the Swiss and the Italian Alps. At the first site, near Zermatt, Switzerland, the location and the approximate lateral and vertical extent of an ice core within a moraine could be delineated. On the Murtel rock glacier, eastern Swiss Alps, a steeply dipping boundary at its frontal part was observed, and extremely high resistivities of several MΩ indicated a high ice content. The base of the rock glacier remained unresolved by the DC resistivity measurements, but it could be constrained with transient EM soundings. On another rock glacier near the Stelvio Pass, eastern Italian Alps, DC resistivity tomography allowed delineation of the rock glacier base, and the only moderately high resistivities within the rock glacier body indicated that the ice content must be lower compared with the Murtel rock glacier.  相似文献   

A review of the physics and ecological implications of the thermal bar circulation     

Paul R. Holland  Anthony Kay 《Limnologica》2003,33(3):153-162

Following recent applications of numerical modelling and remote sensing to the thermal bar phenomenon, this paper seeks to review the current state of knowledge on the effect of its circulation on lacustrine plankton ecosystems. After summarising the literature on thermal bar hydrodynamics, a thorough review is made of all plankton observations taken in the presence of a thermal bar. Two distinct plankton growth regimes are found, one with production favoured throughout the inshore region and another with a maximum in plankton biomass near the position of the thermal bar. Possible explanations for the observed distributions are then discussed, with reference to numerical modelling studies, and the scope for future study of this interdisciplinary topic is outlined.  相似文献   

Comparative study of the inelastic response of base isolated buildings   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Daniel Ordoez  Dora Foti  Luis Bozzo 《地震工程与结构动力学》2003,32(1):151-164

This article presents a numeric comparative study of the inelastic structural response of base isolated buildings. The comparative study includes the following isolation systems: laminated rubber bearings, New Zealand one, pure friction and the frictional pendulum ones. The study is based on obtaining non‐linear response spectra for various design parameters using six earthquake records. Usually the base isolation of a new building seeks to maintain the structure in the linear elastic range. The response of old weak buildings or the response of new ones subjected to extreme earthquakes may not be, necessarily, in the aforementioned ideal elastic range. Consequently, it is important to characterize the response of isolated buildings responding inelastically. A conclusion from this research is that the isolators affect significantly the structural response of weak systems. Rubber isolators seem slightly less sensitive to plastification that may occur in the structure compared to friction isolators. Ductility demands in the structure are affected significantly by friction and neoprene protected systems, in particular sliding ones where larger demands are obtained. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

A statistical approach to evaluating distance metrics and analog assignments for pollen records     

Daniel G. Gavin  W. Wyatt Oswald  Eugene R. Wahl  John W. Williams 《Quaternary Research》2003,60(3):356-367

The modern analog technique typically uses a distance metric to determine the dissimilarity between fossil and modern biological assemblages. Despite this quantitative approach, interpretation of distance metrics is usually qualitative and rules for selection of analogs tend to be ad hoc. We present a statistical tool, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, which provides a framework for identifying analogs from distance metrics. If modern assemblages are placed into groups (e.g., biomes), this method can (1) evaluate the ability of different distance metrics to distinguish among groups, (2) objectively identify thresholds of the distance metric for determining analogs, and (3) compute a likelihood ratio and a Bayesian probability that a modern group is an analog for an unknown (fossil) assemblage. Applied to a set of 1689 modern pollen assemblages from eastern North America classified into eight biomes, ROC analysis confirmed that the squared-chord distance (SCD) outperforms most other distance metrics. The optimal threshold increased when more dissimilar biomes were compared. The probability of an analog vs no-analog result (a likelihood ratio) increased sharply when SCD decreased below the optimal threshold, indicating a nonlinear relationship between SCD and the probability of analog. Probabilities of analog computed for a postglacial pollen record at Tannersville Bog (Pennsylvania, USA) identified transitions between biomes and periods of no analog.  相似文献   

Deconvolving the δO seawater component from subseasonal coral δO and Sr/Ca at Rarotonga in the southwestern subtropical Pacific for the period 1726 to 1997     

Lei Ren  Braddock K. Linsley  Daniel P. Schrag 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2003,67(9):1609-1621

To reconstruct oceanographic variations in the subtropical South Pacific, 271-year long subseasonal time series of Sr/Ca and δ¹⁸O were generated from a coral growing at Rarotonga (21.5°S, 159.5°W). In this case, coral Sr/Ca appears to be an excellent proxy for sea surface temperature (SST) and coral δ¹⁸O is a function of both SST and seawater δ¹⁸O composition (δ¹⁸O_sw). Here, we focus on extracting the δ¹⁸O_sw signal from these proxy records. A method is presented assuming that coral Sr/Ca is solely a function of SST and that coral δ¹⁸O is a function of both SST and δ¹⁸O_sw. This method separates the effects of δ¹⁸O_sw from SST by breaking the instantaneous changes of coral δ¹⁸O into separate contributions by instantaneous SST and δ¹⁸O_sw changes, respectively. The results show that on average δ¹⁸O_sw at Rarotonga explains ∼39% of the variance in δ¹⁸O and that variations in SST explains the remaining ∼61% of δ¹⁸O variance. Reconstructed δ¹⁸O_sw shows systematic increases in summer months (December-February) consistent with the regional pattern of variations in precipitation and evaporation. The δ¹⁸O_sw also shows a positive linear correlation with satellite-derived estimated salinity for the period 1980 to 1997 (r = 0.72). This linear correlation between reconstructed δ¹⁸O_sw and salinity makes it possible to use the reconstructed δ¹⁸O_sw to estimate the past interannual and decadal salinity changes in this region. Comparisons of coral δ¹⁸O and δ¹⁸O_sw at Rarotonga with the Pacific decadal oscillation index suggest that the decadal and interdecadal salinity and SST variability at Rarotonga appears to be related to basin-scale decadal variability in the Pacific.  相似文献   

A late quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska     

Daniel R Muhs  Thomas A AgerJosh Been  J.Platt BradburyWalter E Dean 《Quaternary Research》2003,60(1):110-122

Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that region. Particle size and geochemical data indicate that the mineral fraction of the lake sediments is not derived from the local basalt and is probably eolian. Silt deposition took place from at least the latter part of the mid-Wisconsin interstadial period through the Holocene, based on radiocarbon dating. Based on the locations of likely loess sources, eolian silt in western Alaska was probably deflated by northeasterly winds from glaciofluvial sediments. If last-glacial winds that deposited loess were indeed from the northeast, this reconstruction is in conflict with a model-derived reconstruction of paleowinds in Alaska. Mass accumulation rates in Zagoskin Lake were higher during the Pleistocene than during the Holocene. In addition, more eolian sediment is recorded in the lake sediments than as loess on the adjacent landscape. The thinner loess record on land may be due to the sparse, herb tundra vegetation that dominated the landscape in full-glacial time. Herb tundra would have been an inefficient loess trap compared to forest or even shrub tundra due to its low roughness height. The lack of abundant, full-glacial, eolian silt deposition in the loess stratigraphic record of central Alaska may be due, therefore, to a mimimal ability of the landscape to trap loess, rather than a lack of available eolian sediment.  相似文献   

Comparative studies of the kinetic parameters of various algaenans and kerogens via open-system pyrolyses     

Daniel Dessort  Jacques Connan  Sylvie Derenne  Claude Largeau 《Organic Geochemistry》1997,26(11-12)

Kinetic parameters were determined for the first time, via open-system pyrolyses, on algaenans (highly resistant biomacromolecules that are selectively preserved during kerogen formation) isolated from extant microalgae. Parallel studies were also carried out on 10 kerogens exhibiting, with one exception, a low level of maturity. These kerogens included samples chiefly derived from the selective preservation of the above algaenans and samples mainly, or almost exclusively, derived from the “natural vulcanization” pathway. Important differences in activation energy (E_a) distributions were observed between the four algaenans investigated and correlated with their chemical structures. The kerogens predominantly derived from algaenan-selective preservation (Pula alginite, NE 70 and BJ 248 Torbanites, Rundle Oil Shale) also exhibited pronounced differences in E_a distributions. These distributions provided: (i) information on the diversity of the source materials; and (ii) reflected the occurrence of important differences in chemical structures and thermal behaviour between three of the tested kerogens, even though they are all classified as low maturity type I. The Kimmeridge Clay samples and the Lorca Oil Shale showed broad E_a distributions shifted to low energies when compared with the above algaenans and kerogens. Such shifts reflect an important (or even almost exclusive for some of these kerogens) contribution of materials originating from sulphur incorporation into various lipids during early diagenesis. Finally, the kinetic data derived for the nine low maturity fossil samples were extrapolated to a very low, geological heating rate of 3°C Ma⁻¹ and the generation rate curves and cumulative yield curves thus obtained were compared.  相似文献   

Phase relations of osumilite and dehydration melting in pelitic rocks: a simple thermodynamic model for the KFMASH system     

T. J. B. Holland  E. V. S. S. K. Babu  D. J. Waters 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1996,124(3-4):383-394

 Thermodynamic modelling of (1) osumilite solid solutions and (2) dehydration melting in pelitic compositions within the KFMASH system is quite successful in reproducing the invariant and univariant reactions determined in experimental studies. Even though rather preliminary, such melt thermodynamic models may be very useful in interpolating and extrapolating the limited information available from a small number of experimental runs. These methods allow the compositions of all phases to be monitored as a function of pressure, temperature and equilibrium phase assemblage for any desired bulk composition. Locating the higher variance phase fields (e.g. quadrivariant, quinivariant) is often difficult or impossible by inspection, but is made relatively easy using thermodynamic software such as thermocalc. In the KFMASH system the calculated partition of Fe and Mg between osumilite, garnet, cordierite, orthopyroxene and biotite are shown to be in good agreement with experimental and natural data and allow reliable calculation of mineral compositions coexisting with quartz-saturated and H₂O-undersaturated melts for a variety of bulk compositions. These phase diagram calculations allow quite tight limits to be placed on the pressure, temperature and water activity conditions which accompanied metamorphism of natural osumilite occurrences in Nain, Namaqualand, and Rogaland. At fixed bulk composition, the initial melting of pelites by dehydration of biotite can occur via univariant, divariant or trivariant equilibria depending upon pressure of metamorphism. Of particular interest is that, for low pressures or more magnesian bulk compositions, fluid-absent melting begins by generating liquid from the high-variance assemblage biotite+cordierite+K-feldspar+ quartz. This type of modelling allows investigation, at least qualitatively, of the fine scale details of melt production as a function of changes in pressure, temperature and bulk composition. Received: 29 November 1995 / Accepted: 22 April 1996  相似文献   

Partial melting of metagreywackes, Part II. Compositions of minerals and melts   总被引：16，自引：0，他引：16  

Jean-Marc Montel  Daniel Vielzeuf 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1997,128(2-3):176-196

A series of experiments on the fluid-absent melting of a quartz-rich aluminous metagreywacke has been carried out. In this paper, we report the chemical composition of the phases present in the experimental charges as determined by electron microprobe. This analytical work includes biotite, plagioclase, orthopyroxene, garnet, cordierite, hercynite, staurolite, gedrite, oxide, and glass, over the range 100–1000 MPa, 780–1025 °C. Biotites are Na- and Mg-rich, with Ti contents increasing with temperature. The compositions of plagioclase range from An₁₇ to An₃₅, with a significant orthoclase component, and are always different from the starting minerals. At high temperature, plagioclase crystals correspond to ternary feldspars with Or contents in the range 11–20 mol%. Garnets are almandine pyrope grossular spessartine solid solutions, with a regular and significant increase of the grossular content with pressure. All glasses are silicic (SiO₂ = 67.6–74.4 wt%), peraluminous, and leucocratic (FeO + MgO = 0.9–2.9 wt%), with a bulk composition close to that of peraluminous leucogranites, even for degrees of melting as high as 60 vol.%. With increasing pressure, SiO₂ contents decrease while K₂O increases. At any pressure, the melt compositions are more potassic than the water-saturated granitic minima. The H₂O contents estimated by mass balance are in the range 2.5–5.6 wt%. These values are higher than those predicted by thermodynamic models. Modal compositions were estimated by mass balance calculations and by image processing of the SEM photographs. The positions of the 20 to 70% isotects (curves of equal proportion of melt) have been located in the pressure-temperature space between 100 MPa and 1000 MPa. With increasing pressure, the isotects shift toward lower temperature between 100 and 200 MPa, then bend back toward higher temperature. The melting interval increases with pressure; the difference in temperature between the 20% and the 70% isotects is 40 °C at 100 MPa, and 150 °C at 800 MPa. The position of the isotects is interpreted in terms of both the solubility of water in the melt and the nature of the reactions involved in the melting process. A comparison with other partial melting experiments suggests that pelites are the most fertile source rocks above 800 MPa. The difference in fertility between pelites and greywackes decreases with decreasing pressure. A review of the glass compositions obtained in experimental studies demonstrates that partial melting of fertile rock types in the crust (greywackes, pelites, or orthogneisses) produces only peraluminous leucogranites. More mafic granitic compositions such as the various types of calk-alkaline rocks, or mafic S-type rocks, have never been obtained during partial melting experiments. Thus, only peraluminous leucogranites may correspond to liquids directly formed by partial melting of metasediments. Other types of granites involve other components or processes, such as restite unmixing from the source region, and/or interaction with mafic mantle-derived materials. Received: 11 July 1995 / Accepted: 27 February 1997  相似文献