Crustal motion and deformation in Greece from a decade of GPS measurements, 1993–2003

The Hellenic plate boundary region, located in the collision zone between the Nubian/Arabian and Eurasian lithospheric plates, is one of the seismo-tectonically most active areas of Europe. During the last 15 years, GPS measurements have been used to determine the crustal motion in the area of Greece with the aim to better understand the geodynamical processes of this region. An extended reoccupation network covering whole Greece has been measured periodically in numerous GPS campaigns since the late eighties, and a continuous GPS network has been operated in the region of the Ionian Sea since 1995. In this paper, we present a new detailed high-quality solution of continuous and campaign-type measurements acquired between 1993 and 2003. During the GPS processing, a special effort was made to obtain consistent results with highest possible accuracies and reliabilities. Data of 54 mainly European IGS and EUREF sites were included in the GPS processing in order to obtain results which are internally consistent with the European kinematic field and order to allow for a regional interpretation. After an overview of the results of the IGS/EUREF sites, the results from more than 80 stations in Greece are presented in terms of velocities, time series, trajectories and strain rates. Previous geodetic, geological and seismological findings are generally confirmed and substantially refined. New important results include the observation of deformation zones to the north and to the south of the North Aegean Trough and in the West Hellenic arc region, arc-parallel extension of about 19 mm/yr along the Hellenic arc, and compression between the Ionian islands and the Greek mainland. Due to continuous long-term observations of 4–8 years, it was possible to extract height changes from the GPS time series. In Greece, we observe a differential subsidence of the order of 2 mm/yr between the northern and central Ionian islands across the Kefalonia fault zone. The differential subsidence of the central Ionian islands with respect to the northwestern Greek mainland amounts to 4 mm/yr.     

Discriminating between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load: a new porosity‐based method,exemplified for the river Rhine

Sediments contained in the river bed do not necessarily contribute to morphological change. The finest part of the sediment mixture often fills the pores between the larger grains and can be removed without causing a drop in bed level. The discrimination between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load, therefore, is of practical importance for morphological predictions. In this study, a new method is proposed to estimate the cut‐off grain size that forms the boundary between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load. The method evaluates the pore structure of the river bed geometrically. Only detailed grain‐size distributions of the river bed are required as input to the method. A preliminary validation shows that the calculated porosity and cut‐off size values agree well with experimental data. Application of the new cut‐off size method to the river Rhine demonstrates that the estimated cut‐off size decreases in a downstream direction from about 2 to 0·05 mm, covariant with the downstream fining of bed sediments. Grain size fractions that are pore‐filling load in the upstream part of the river thus gradually become bed‐structure load in the downstream part. The estimated (mass) percentage of pore‐filling load in the river bed ranges from 0% in areas with a unimodal river bed, to about 22% in reaches with a bimodal sand‐gravel bed. The estimated bed porosity varies between 0·15 and 0·35, which is considerably less than the often‐used standard value of 0·40. The predicted cut‐off size between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load (D_c,p) is fundamentally different from the cut‐off size between wash‐load and bed‐material load (D_c,w), irrespective of the method used to determine D_c,p or D_c,w. D_c,w values are in the order of 10^?1 mm and mainly dependent on the flow characteristics, whereas D_c,p values are generally much larger (about 10⁰ mm in gravel‐bed rivers) and dependent on the bed composition. Knowledge of D_c,w is important for the prediction of the total sediment transport in a river (including suspended fines that do not interact with the bed), whereas knowledge of D_c,p helps to improve morphological predictions, especially if spatial variations in D_c,p are taken into account. An alternative to using a spatially variable value of D_c,p in morphological models is to use a spatially variable bed porosity, which can also be predicted with the new method. In addition to the morphological benefits, the new method also has sedimentological applications. The possibility to determine quickly whether a sediment mixture is clast‐supported or matrix‐supported may help to better understand downstream fining trends, sediment entrainment thresholds and variations in hydraulic conductivity.     

Experimental decipherment of the soft-sediment deformation observed in the upper part of the Talchir Formation (Lower Permian), Jharia Basin, India

Four types of soft-sediment folds of distinct geometry can be recognized in the upper part of the Talchir Formation (Lower Permian) of Jharia Basin, India. These folds, on systematic examination, indicate some events of progressive deformation. Experimental study reveals that if a layered stack of clay and overlying sand is allowed to flow slowly down a slope, differential velocity due to viscosity contrast leads to the deformation of the rheologic interface. The sharp planar contact gradually becomes wavy leading to the development of round-hinged folds involving sediments adjacent to it. With the advancement of the flow these folds gradually become overturned with the rotation of the axial plane in the direction of flow. Computer simulation suggests that progressive deformation of these folds by simple shearing may lead to the formation of tight isoclinal folds, which on dislocation along intrastratal normal faults may lead to the development of rootless isoclinal folds. The sheath folds observed in the studied section also indicate accentuation of the curved hinge due to simple shearing. The spatial distribution of these fold types in conjunction with the inferred direction of progressive deformation indicate basinward translation of the slump slice. If the same stack of sediments rapidly flows down the slope, the waveform generated at the interface quickly breaks in the form of roll-up recumbent fold due to Kelvin–Helmholtz instability.     

Three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3-D DDA) using a new contact resolution algorithm

This paper presents a new contact calculating algorithm for contacts between two polyhedra with planar boundaries in the three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3-D DDA). In this algorithm, all six type contacts in 3-D (vertex-to-face, vertex-to-edge, vertex-to-vertex, face-to-face, edge-to-edge, and edge-to-face) are simply transformed into the form of point-to-face contacts. The presented algorithm is a simple and efficient method and it can be easily coded into a computer program. In this paper, formulations of normal contact, shear contact and frictional force submatrices based on the new method are derived and the algorithm has been programmed in VC⁺⁺. Examples are provided to demonstrate the new contact rule between two blocks.     

新疆境内塔拉斯 费尔干纳断裂早侏罗世走滑的古地震证据

在野外考察过程中,于新疆乌恰地区早侏罗世康苏组沼泽相砂岩层中,发现并识别出软沉积物液化变形层,变形包括负载构造,球枕构造及卷曲变形构造。通过模拟试验的对比研究认为,该软沉积物变形机制与液化作用有关,触发沉积物液化的动力是古地震,并且根据地震震级与液化最大震中距的关系,推测出造成早侏罗世软沉积物变形的里氏地震震级为6相似文献   

蒙古塔木察格坳陷白垩系震积岩特征及其地质意义

通过岩芯观察,结合构造背景研究,在蒙古塔木察格坳陷白垩纪地层中识别出震积岩。震积岩的主要标志有微同沉积断裂、同沉积塑性变形构造、液化脉、震积枕状及伴生构造等。通过对塔219 井、塔1943 井等岩芯的系统观察,建立了蒙古塔木察格坳陷白垩系震积岩的垂向序列。震积岩的垂向序列自下而上依次为砂岩脉（砂火山）层段、水塑性褶皱变形层段、斧式构造层段、滑塌构造层段、阶梯状微断层和震裂缝层段、准原地沉积湖泊津浪丘状层理和内碎屑角砾岩层段、异地沉积震浊积岩层段,对应于地震由强变弱的一个变化过程。震积岩的发现具有重要的研究意义,有助于分析盆地边界断裂的强烈活动时期。     

新疆境内塔拉斯-费尔干纳断裂早侏罗世走滑的古地震证据

在野外考察过程中,于新疆乌恰地区早侏罗世康苏组沼泽相砂岩层中,发现并识别出软沉积物液化变形层,变形包括负载构造,球-枕构造及卷曲变形构造。通过模拟试验的对比研究认为,该软沉积物变形机制与液化作用有关,触发沉积物液化的动力是古地震,并且根据地震震级与液化最大震中距的关系,推测出造成早侏罗世软沉积物变形的里氏地震震级为6相似文献   

TBM在不良地质洞条件下的施工技术

TBM掘进机以其快速、高效、安全、优质等优点越来越广泛地被应用于隧洞开挖施工中,尤其更适用于深埋超长隧洞,然而在不良地质洞段中TBM掘进缓慢,甚至有卡刀可能,反而不如钻爆法灵活,这就需要根据围岩性状采取特殊技术处理措施,辅以监控量测手段对支护方案进行验证、调整支护措施、修正设计参数等。结合辽宁大伙房输水隧洞工程,总结了在不良地质洞条件下的超前地质预报方法、不良地质段处理措施以及围岩变形监测方法。     

无外加流体、350℃和差异应力条件下硫化物再活化实验研究

红透山块状硫化物矿石主要成分为黄铁矿、磁黄铁矿、黄铜矿、闪锌矿和石英、角闪石、黑云母等脉石矿物。将此矿石烘干后作为试料置于岩石三轴应力试验机,在13h内将轴压、围压和温度分步升至1276MPa、414MPa和350℃,然后在空气中自然冷却至室温。实验产物中黄铁矿、石英、长石等以脆性碎裂为主,而磁黄铁矿、黄铜矿、闪锌矿和云母等以塑性变形为主。再活化的黄铜矿、磁黄铁矿和少量闪锌矿呈脉和网脉穿插黄铁矿碎斑。实验结果表明,即使没有外来流体加入．构造动力作用所导致的流体包裹体破坏所释出的流体,就足以使成矿物质发生活化转移和再活化。     

利用InSAR技术研究黄土地区滑坡分布

InSAR技术能够获取大面积、连续、高精度的地表垂直形变信息,可用来监测地震、火山、滑坡等自然灾害造成的地表形变。文章介绍了InSAR技术在监测陕北黄土地区滑坡中的应用,首先进行野外地质勘察和TM光学遥感影像解译,接着通过EnviSat SAR数据差分干涉处理,获取研究区干涉形变场,提取出滑坡位移量,最后详细分析黄草湾至董家寺沿线一带的滑坡变形范围,并划定出了4个有一定变形的重点监视区。