Thrust faulting and crust—upper mantle structure in East Australia

Summary. The mid-crustal earthquake of 1973 March 9 (m_b= 5.5, h ≤ 20 km) located 60 km south-west of Sydney, Australia, provides unambiguous evidence of contemporary thrust faulting in South-eastern Australia — a region of high heat flow and Cenozoic basaltic volcanism. Aftershock locations suggest a steeply dipping fault in the depth range from 8 to 24 km with a lateral extent of about 8 km. The mechanism solution is consistent with a tectonic stress field that is dominated by east—west horizontal compression. A seismic moment of 5.7 ± 10²³± 20 per cent dyne-cm was computed from surface-wave amplitudes. Minimum values of slip and stress drop, 2 cm and 1 bar respectively, were estimated from the moment and a fault size taken' from aftershock locations.
Refinement modelling by a controlled Monte Carlo technique was used to provide unbiased models directly from multimode group velocities. The dispersion of fundamental and higher mode surface waves recorded at the digital high-gain station at Charters Towers, Queensland, and the WWSSN station at Adelaide, South Australia, is satisfied by crust- and upper-mantle models which have neither pronounced S-wave low-velocity zones nor thick high-velocity lids within 140 km of the Earth's surface. These models have subcrustal shear velocities of 4.20–4.32 km/s which are 0.4–0.5 km/s slower than Canadian shield shear velocities (CANSD).     

Generation of a stochastic precipitation model for the tropical climate

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - A tropical country like Malaysia is characterized by intense localized precipitation with temperatures remaining relatively constant throughout the year. A...     

Geomasking sensitive health data and privacy protection: an evaluation using an E911 database

Geomasking is used to provide privacy protection for individual address information while maintaining spatial resolution for mapping purposes. Donut geomasking and other random perturbation geomasking algorithms rely on the assumption of a homogeneously distributed population to calculate displacement distances, leading to possible under-protection of individuals when this condition is not met. Using household data from 2007, we evaluated the performance of donut geomasking in Orange County, North Carolina. We calculated the estimated k-anonymity for every household based on the assumption of uniform household distribution. We then determined the actual k-anonymity by revealing household locations contained in the county E911 database. Census block groups in mixed-use areas with high population distribution heterogeneity were the most likely to have privacy protection below selected criteria. For heterogeneous populations, we suggest tripling the minimum displacement area in the donut to protect privacy with a less than 1% error rate.     

Zoogeography of marine Bryozoa around South Africa

The zoogeography of marine Bryozoa around South Africa was investigated using published distribution records, museum catalogues, and an examination of previously unworked bryozoan material in (mostly) museum collections. Although a total of 276 valid species are recognised, it was not possible to unambiguously assess geographic patterns of diversity. At all depth zones examined (shore and inner-shelf, 0–30 m; mid- and outer-shelf, 31–350 m; bathyal, >500 m), there was a clear geographic structure to communities that mirrored established regional patterns of biogeography. Too few samples were collected from the shelf edge (351–500 m) and they were consequently excluded from zoogeographic analysis. Communities on the shore and inner-shelf and on the mid- and outer-shelf were more similar to each other than they were to bathyal communities, and the pronounced structure in bathyal communities suggests heterogeneity in the deep sea around South Africa.     

Potassium-argon radioages of karroo volcanic rocks from Lesotho

The geology of Lesotho is relatively simple: the overall structure being that of a large shallow basin of Karroo sediments and volcanics. The rocks analysed in this study were collected in December 1966. The principal objectives of the study were (a) to date the inception of Karroo volcanism and (b) to arrive at an estimate of the time-span represented by the lava section along the Bushman’s Pass road east of Maseru. The date at which volcanism began in Lesotho is important because of recent discoveries of early mammalian fossils in underlying beds; in relation to the Phanerozoic Time-Scale and to the K-Ar age pattern found in the Karroo dolerites of South Africa byMcDougall (1963). Cox andHornung (1966) have suggested that the fractionation stage reached by Karroo magmas may depend upon either the height of the magma column or the time that elapsed since the beginning of the volcanic episode. An estimate of the time-span of volcanism along the Bushman’s Pass section is of interest because of the extensive palaeomagnetic work done on these rocks at the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysical Research in Johannesburg. The paper contains the results of triplicate conventional total degassing whole rock K-Ar age determinations on 8 Drakensberg lavas and on 8 Karroo dolerite sills and dykes. The analysed rocks are described petrographically and the age pattern obtained from them is discussed in relation to the age and petrological information available from other Karroo igneous rocks. It is concluded that Karroo volcanism began in Lesotho around 187 m.y. and that « Karroo » intrusive activity continued intermittently until at least 155 m.y. ago. Some possible geological and petrological implications of these conclusions are outlined.     

Compressional velocity in source regions of deep earthquakes: An application of the master earthquake technique

The technique of earthquake location relative to a master event is used to estimate near-source velocity and take-off angles for rays travelling to selected stations. Computations of a reconnaissance nature were carried out with arrival times of P and pP from deep earthquakes beneath the northwest corner of the Fiji plateau, the Peru-Brazil border region and the basin separating Fiji from the Tonga arc. These data yield estimates of compressional velocity of 11.2 ± 0.4, 11.4 ± 0.7 and 10.7 ± 0.3 km/sec respectively. Each of these velocities and the other parameters of each model space are essentially independent of their starting values. The corresponding depth ranges are 600–660, 580–650 and 540–600 km. These in-situ velocities are 5–10% higher than those of the Helmberger and Wiggins model. To account for such high velocities by a thermal effect alone would require an improbably high thermal contrast of 1000°C between “normal” mantle and the cooler earthquake zones. Spinels of proposed mantle composition would have compressional velocities of about 10.4 km/sec at temperatures that are taken as normal for these depths. If the high values of near-source velocity are explained by the addition of a post-spinel assemblage, then by implication this transformation occurs at shallower depths in those seismic zones than in the “normal” mantle.     

Ignimbrite volcanism in North Wales

Many episodes of ignimbrite volcanism have occurred in North Wales. Ignimbrites can be recognised amongst the Pre-Cambrian rocks and from almost every stage of the Ordovician succession. The best known and most instructively exposed ignimbrite volcanies are those of Caradocian age in Snowdonia. In this deeply incised mountainous area it is possible to demonstrate the major characteristics of ignimbrite volcanism and to examine the relationship between numerous intrusive rhyolite masses and the extrusive rocks. Both acid and basic magmas were available in North Wales during Ordovician times, and at several of the volcanic centres the rocks show a differentiation sequence from pyroxeneandesite to alkali-rhyolite. The emergence and growth of volcanic islands upon which the ignimbrites were deposited is revealed in the stratigraphical record. An intimate relationship exists between magmatism and crustal unrest, and it is possible to discuss certain problems regarding the petrogenesis of the rocks, the location and character of the volcanic vents and the palaeogeography of North Wales during the Ordovician. Definition of the terms employed and criteria used in the identification of Welsh ignimbrites is given, and the field relationships and petrology of a number of areas are described in detail.