Electrical triggering of earthquakes: results of laboratory experiments at spring-block models

Recently published results of field and laboratory experiments on the seismic/acoustic response to injection of direct current(DC) pulses into the Earth crust or stressed rock samples raised a question on a possibility of electrical earthquake triggering. A physical mechanism of the considered phenomenon is not clear yet in view of the very low current density(10~(-7)–10~(-8) A/m~2) generated by the pulsed power systems at the epicenter depth(5–10 km) of local earthquakes occurred just after the current injection. The paper describes results of laboratory‘‘earthquake' triggering by DC pulses under conditions of a spring-block model simulated the seismogenic fault. It is experimentally shown that the electric triggering of the laboratory ‘‘earthquake'(sharp slip of a movable block of the spring-block system) is possible only within a range of subcritical state of the system, when the shear stress between the movable and fixed blocks obtains 0.98–0.99 of its critical value. The threshold of electric triggering action is about 20 A/m~2 that is 7–8 orders of magnitude higher than estimated electric current density for Bishkek test site(Northern Tien Shan, Kirghizia) where the seismic response to the man-made electric action was observed. In this connection, the electric triggering phenomena may be explained by contraction of electric current in the narrow conductive areas of the faults and the corresponding increase in current density or by involving the secondary triggering mechanisms like electromagnetic stimulation of conductive fluid migration into the fault area resulted in decrease in the fault strength properties.     

Authigenic Sanidine as a Mineral Indicator of Gravitation-Brine Catagenesis in Carboniferous Rocks in the Southern Limb of the Moscow Syneclise

The article presents data on numerous findings of authigenic K-feldspars in the Lower–Upper Carboniferous carbonate and terrigenous rocks in the southern limb of the Moscow syneclise, including the Oka–Tsna bar. In terms of the composition and crystalline structure, all feldspar morphotypes (idiomorphic monocrystalline fringes on the surface of sandy clastic grains, fine-crystalline aggregates, pseudomorphously replacing organogenic carbonate detritus, and pseudoskeletal crystals) are composed of K-sanidine with the overwhelming predominance of K over Na and extremely low concentrations of Ca, Ba, and Sr. As can be seen from 40Ar/39Ar dating, the authigenic sanidine mineralization took place during the Permian, i.e., 20–55 Ma later than the accumulation of host Carboniferous rocks. Mineralogical observations, as well as paleofacies and paleogeographic reconstructions, suggest that the formation of authigenic K-feldspars is associated with the gravitation-brine catagenesis in the southern limb of the Moscow syneclise as a result of the seepage of high-mineralization brines from Permian evaporate marine basins into the underlying older rocks.     

Sources of Minor and Rare-Earth Elements in Hydrothermal Edifices of Near-Continental Rifts with Sedimentary Cover: Evidence from the Guaymas Basin,Southern Trough

The mineralogy and geochemistry of a fragment of an active hydrothermal edifice from the Hydrothermal Hill of the Southern Trough valley of the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California were studied. The sample was collected from a depth of 1995 m by the Pisces manned submersible on cruise 12 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences. The fragment and the edifice itself consists of two accrete pipes: ore (pyrrhotite) and barren (carbonate) combined in a single edifice by an outer barite–opal zone. The ore edifice is located in the rift zone of the Guaymas Basin with a thick sedimentary cover and is depleted in metals in comparison with ores from rift zones of the open ocean, which are not blocked by sedimentary deposits. This is explained by loss of metals at the boundary between hot sills and sedimentary rocks and by the processes of interaction of hydrothermal solutions with sedimentary deposits. The sedimentary series faciitates long-term preservation of endogenous heat and the ore formation process. Ore edifices of the Guaymas Basin are mostly composed of pyrrhotite, have a specific set of major elements, microelements and REEs, and contain naphthenic hydrocarbons. They may be search signs of hidden polymetallic deposits, considered to be the roots of ore occurrences localized under the surface of the bottom in young active rifts with high spreading and sedimentation rates, i.e., in near-continental areas of rifts of the humid zone with avalanche sedimentation.