Deformation Patterns of an Accretionary Wedge in the Transition Zone from Subduction to Collision Offshore Southwestern Taiwan

Swath bathymetry data and seismic reflection profiles have been used to investigate details of the deformation pattern in the area offshore southwestern Taiwan where the Luzon subduction complex encroaches on the passive Chinese continental margin. Distinctive fold-and-thrust structures of the convergent zone and horst-and-graben structures of the passive margin are separated by a deformation front that extends NNW-ward from the eastern edge of the Manila Trench to the foot of the continental slope. This deformation front gradually turns into a NNE–SSW trending direction across the continental slope and the Kaoping Shelf, and connects to the frontal thrusts of the mountain belt on land Taiwan. However, the complex Penghu submarine canyon system blurs the exact location of the deformation front and nature of many morphotectonic features offshore SW Taiwan. We suggest that the deformation front offshore SW Taiwan does not appear as a simple structural line, but is characterized by a series of N–S trending folds and thrusts that terminate sequentially in an en-echelon pattern across the passive Chinese continental slope. A number of NE–SW trending lineaments cut across the fold-and-thrust structures of the frontal accretionary wedge and exhibit prominent dextral displacement indicative of the lateral expulsion of SW Taiwan. One of the prominent lineaments, named the Yung-An lineament, forms the southeastern boundary of the upper part of the Penghu submarine canyon, and has conspicuous influence over the drainage pattern of the canyon     

The Agulhas Ridge, South Atlantic: The Peculiar Structure of a Fracture Zone

The Agulhas Ridge is a prominent topographic feature that parallels the Agulhas-Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ). Seismic reflection and wide angle/refraction data have led to the classification of this feature as a transverse ridge. Changes in spreading rate and direction associated with ridge jumps, combined with asymmetric spreading within the Agulhas Basin, modified the stress field across the fracture zone. Moreover, passing the Agulhas Ridge’s location between 80 and 69 Ma, the Bouvet and Shona Hotspots may have supplied excess material to this part of the AFFZ thus altering the ridge’s structure. The low crustal velocities and overthickened crust of the northern Agulhas Ridge segment indicate a possible continental affinity that suggests it may be formed by a small continental sliver, which was severed off the Maurice Ewing Bank during the opening of the South Atlantic. In early Oligocene times the Agulhas Ridge was tectono-magmatically reactivated, as documented by the presence of basement highs disturbing and disrupting the sedimentary column in the Cape Basin. We consider the Discovery Hotspot, which distributes plume material southwards across the AAFZ, as a source for the magmatic material.     

Imaging of Buried Archaeological Materials: The Reflection Properties of Archaeological Wood

Effective marine archaeological site management demands detailed information on not only the spatial distribution of artefacts but also the degradation state of the materials present. Although sonar methods have frequently been used in an attempt to detect buried wooden shipwrecks they are currently unable to indicate their degradation state. To assess the sensitivity of acoustic measurements to changes in the degradation state of such material, and hence the potential for sonars to quantify degradation, laboratory measurements of compressional wave velocity, as well as bulk density for oak and pine samples, in varying states of decay, were undertaken. These data enabled the calculation of theoretical reflection coefficients for such materials buried in various marine sediments. As wood degrades, the reflection coefficients become more negative, resulting in the hypothesis that the more degraded wood becomes, the easier it should be to detect. Typical reflection coefficients of the order of −0.43 and −0.52 for the most degraded oak and pine samples in sand are predicted. Conversely, for wood exposed to seawater the predicted reflection coefficients are large and positive for undegraded material (0.35 for oak, 0.18 for pine) and decrease to zero or slightly below for the most degraded samples. This indicates that exposed timbers, when heavily degraded, can be acoustically transparent and so undetectable by acoustic methods. Corroboration of these experimental results was provided through comparison with high resolution seismic reflection data that has been acquired over two shipwrecks.     

Geophysical Evidence of a Relict Oceanic Crust in the Southwestern Scotia Sea

The southwestern part of the Scotia Sea, at the corner of the Shackleton Fracture Zone with the South Scotia Ridge has been investigated, combining marine magnetic profiles, multichannel seismic reflection data, and satellite-derived gravity anomaly data. From the integrated analysis of data, we identified the presence of the oldest part of the crust in this sector, which tentative age is older than anomaly C10 (28.7 Ma). The area is surrounded by structural features clearly imaged by seismic data, which correspond to gravity lows in the satellite-derived map, and presents a rhomboid-shaped geometry. Along its southern boundary, structural features related to convergence and possible incipient subduction beneath the continental South Scotia Ridge have been evidenced from the seismic profile. We interpret this area, now located at the edge of the south-western Scotia Sea, as a relict of ocean-like crust formed during an earlier, possibly diffuse and disorganized episode of spreading at the first onset of the Drake Passage opening. The successive episode of organized seafloor spreading responsible for the opening of the Drake Passage that definitively separated southern South America from the Antarctic Peninsula, instigated ridge-push forces that can account for the subduction-related structures found along the western part of the South Scotia Ridge. This seafloor accretion phase occurred from 27 to about 10 Ma, when spreading stopped in the western Scotia Sea Ridge, as resulted from the identification of the marine magnetic anomalies.     

Experimental study of reflection coefficient and wave forces acting on perforated caisson

The reflection coefficient and the total horizontal forces of regular waves acting on theperforated caisson are experimentally investigated. The empirical relationship between reflection coefficient and the ratio of the total horizontal forces acting on the perforated caisson to those on solid vertical walls with the relative chamber width, relative water depth and porosity of perforated wall, etc. are given. Moreover, the results of the ratio of the total horizontal forces are also compared with formulas given by Chinese Harbour Design Criteria and Takahashi, which may be useful for the practical engineering application.     

分层流体中内孤立波在潜浮式竖直薄板上透射和反射

采用边缘层理论研究了两层流体系统中内孤立波在潜浮式竖直薄板上的透射和反射问题,提出了非线性演化方程的“初值”条件,分析了内孤立波与薄板非线性相互作用的效应。研究表明:流体层的密度比以及薄板伸入上下层的深度对于反射和透射波结构具有显著的影响,薄板伸入下层越深、密度差越小,则薄板阻碍孤立波透射的效率越高;透射波通常演化为单峰孤立波和迅速衰减的尾波,反射波演化为缓慢衰减的尾波列;对于具有小密度差的跃层结构,内孤立波在潜浮式竖直薄板上的透射及其演化近乎是无障碍的。     

山东蓬莱大黑山岛碱性火山岩地球化学特征

庙岛群岛中的大黑山岛出露碱性火山岩,对研究壳-幔过程及黄、渤海演化具重要意义。文中作者对大黑山岛火山岩的常、微量元素、K-Ar年龄及Nd-Sr-Pb同位素体系进行测试确定。结果表明,岩石属钠质碱性玄武岩系列,岩浆岩喷发可分为8Ma前和8Ma后两个阶段;岩石常量元素含量除K2O、Na2O外差异小;随着火山岩的演化,岩浆源区深度变大;大黑山火山岩Nd-Sr-Pb同位素比值与夏威夷洋岛玄武岩相似,其岩浆的地幔端元组分为PREMA DM,又以PREMA为主,并有MORB物质混入。     

Experimental study of strong reflection of regular water waves over submerged breakwaters in tandem

A series of laboratory experiments was carried out to investigate the strong reflection of regular water waves over a train of submerged breakwaters. Rectangular and trapezoidal shapes of submerged breakwaters are employed and compared for reflecting capability of incident waves. Measured reflection coefficients of regular waves over impermeable submerged breakwaters are verified by comparing with those of the eigenfunction expansion method. A very good agreement is observed. Reflection coefficients of permeable submerged breakwaters are less than those of impermeable breakwaters. The trapezoidal shape is recommended for a submerged breakwater in terms of reflecting capability and practical application.     

Separation of Waves by Interpolation Method

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