Predicting ground-motion variations at the Turkey-flat test site,California

Results of a single group participating in an international experiment are analyzed. The experiment served to verify computational predictions of the ground-motion variations due to near-surface geological effects at a site established for that purpose by the California Department of Conservation. Based on an acceleration record at a rock location, and geotechnical model of medium, records at the other locations of a nearby sedimentary deposit were predicted. A 2-D finite-difference sensitivity analysis suggested that the lateral wave-propagation effects are negligibly small, and locally 1-D computations are sufficient for the present site. Those computations are compared with observations not available to the authors during the blind prediction. Peak accelerations, peak velocities and RMS accelerations were predicted with errors less than 159%, 114% and 62%, respectively. Maxima of the response spectra were fitted within a factor of 2. The predicted and observed Husid's plots (i.e., the normalized cumulative plots of the acceleration squared) have the correlation coefficients 0.98. The detected misfits do not show any simple relation to the instrument location, component, frequency, or time.     

Prediction of UT1–UTC,LOD and AAM χ<Subscript>3</Subscript> by combination of least-squares and multivariate stochastic methods

This article presents the application of a multivariate prediction technique for predicting universal time (UT1–UTC), length of day (LOD) and the axial component of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM χ ₃). The multivariate predictions of LOD and UT1–UTC are generated by means of the combination of (1) least-squares (LS) extrapolation of models for annual, semiannual, 18.6-year, 9.3-year oscillations and for the linear trend, and (2) multivariate autoregressive (MAR) stochastic prediction of LS residuals (LS + MAR). The MAR technique enables the use of the AAM χ ₃ time-series as the explanatory variable for the computation of LOD or UT1–UTC predictions. In order to evaluate the performance of this approach, two other prediction schemes are also applied: (1) LS extrapolation, (2) combination of LS extrapolation and univariate autoregressive (AR) prediction of LS residuals (LS + AR). The multivariate predictions of AAM χ ₃ data, however, are computed as a combination of the extrapolation of the LS model for annual and semiannual oscillations and the LS + MAR. The AAM χ ₃ predictions are also compared with LS extrapolation and LS + AR prediction. It is shown that the predictions of LOD and UT1–UTC based on LS + MAR taking into account the axial component of AAM are more accurate than the predictions of LOD and UT1–UTC based on LS extrapolation or on LS + AR. In particular, the UT1–UTC predictions based on LS + MAR during El Niño/La Niña events exhibit considerably smaller prediction errors than those calculated by means of LS or LS + AR. The AAM χ ₃ time-series is predicted using LS + MAR with higher accuracy than applying LS extrapolation itself in the case of medium-term predictions (up to 100 days in the future). However, the predictions of AAM χ ₃ reveal the best accuracy for LS + AR.     

Probabilistic seismic hazard evaluation in underground mines

Stress concentrations produced by rock deformation due to extraction in underground mines induce seismicity that can take the shape of violent and quite dangerous rockbursts.The hazard evaluation presented in this paper is based on a Bayesian probabilistic synthesis of information determined from mining situations during excavation, with previous and present data from microseismicity and seismoacustics.The method proposed in this study is an example of time-dependent on-line seismic hazard evaluation. All results presented were obtained retrospectiely for different underground coal mines in Poland and Czechoslovakia.On leave from Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences 01-452 Warszawa, ul. Ksiecia Janusza 64, Poland.     

Assessment of mercury mobility and bioavailability by fractionation method in sediments from coastal zone inundated by the 26 December 2004 tsunami in Thailand

The 26 December 2004 tsunami covered significant portion of a coastal zone with a blanket of potentially contaminated sediments. In this report are presented results on mercury concentrations in sediments deposited by the tsunami in a coastal zone of Thailand. Since the total mercury concentrations are insufficient to assess mercury mobility and bioavailability in sediment, its fractionation was applied. Sediments were sampled within 50 days after the event and analyzed by sequential extraction method. The procedure of sequential extraction involved five subsequent stages performed with solutions of chloroform, deionized water, 0.5 M HCl, 0.2 M NaOH, and aqua regia. The mean concentration of total mercury in sediments was 119 ± 50 ng g⁻¹ dry mass (range 66–230). The fractionation revealed that mercury is mainly bound to the least bioavailable sulphides 75 ± 6% (range 62–86), organomercury compounds 14 ± 7% (range 4–26), and humic matter 9 ± 7% (range 1–27). The lowest contributions bring fractions of water-soluble mercury 0.8 ± 1.0% (range 0.1–3.6) and acid soluble mercury 0.9 ± 0.5% (range 0.2–2.1). Although, the total mercury content is similar in a reference sample and in the tsunami sediments, the highly toxic organomercury fraction contribution is higher in the latter. The results were compared with chemical and sedimentological properties of the sediments but no significant correlations were obtained between them.     

Redbed-type gold mineralisation, Kupferschiefer, south-west Poland

A new type of gold mineralisation containing minor amounts of platinum and palladium has been found proximal to the secondary redox interface located below the Cu-Ag Kupferschiefer orebody of the Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine in the south-western part of the Lubin-Sieroszowice district, Poland. This deposit can be classified as redbed-type gold. Our study shows that gold, platinum and palladium occur in secondary red-coloured sections of the basal Zechstein sedimentary rocks and in the uppermost Weissliegendes sandstone. Noble metal mineralisation occurs within an average interval of 0.22 m, which lies directly below the copper ores. The average grade of the horizon is 2.25 ppm Au, 0.138 ppm Pt and 0.082 ppm Pd with a metal content of several tens of tonnes of gold. A transition zone has been recognised between the gold-bearing horizon and the copper deposit. This transition zone is characterised by the presence of low grades of copper (<0.2 wt%) and elevated gold contents (>0.5 ppm). Native gold accompanied by electrum, mercury-bearing gold, haematite, covellite, chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite has been identified in the gold-bearing horizon. In some sections, Pd-arsenides, tetra-auricupride, Co-arsenides, clausthalite, tennantite, digenite, yarrowite, spionkopite and galena have also been noted.     

Wood storage in a wide mountain river: case study of the Czarny Dunajec,Polish Carpathians

Storage of large woody debris in the wide, mountain, Czarny Dunajec River, southern Poland, was investigated following two floods of June and July 2001 with a seven‐year frequency. Within a reach, to which wood was delivered only by bank erosion and transport from upstream, wood quantities were estimated for eighty‐nine, 100 m long, channel segments grouped into nine sections of similar morphology. Results from regression analysis indicated the quantity of stored wood to be directly related to the length of eroded, wooded banks and river width, and inversely related to unit stream power at the flood peak. The largest quantities of wood (up to 33 t ha^?1) were stored in wide, multi‐thread river sections. Here, the relatively low transporting ability of the river facilitated deposition of transported wood while a considerable length of eroded channel and island banks resulted in a large number of trees delivered from the local riparian forest. In these sections, a few morphological and ecological situations led to the accumulation of especially large quantities of wood within a small river area. Very low amounts of wood were stored in narrow, single‐thread sections of regulated or bedrock channel. High stream power facilitated transport of wood through these sections while the high strength of the banks and low channel sinuosity prevented bank retreat and delivery of trees to the channel. Considerable differences in the character of deposited wood existed between wide, multi‐thread channel sections located at different distances below a narrow, 7 km long, channellized reach of the river. Wood deposited close to the downstream end of the channellized reach was highly disintegrated and structured into jams, whereas further downstream well preserved shrubs and trees prevailed. This apparently reflects differences in the distance of wood transport and shows that in a mountain river wider than the height of trees growing on its banks, wood can be transported long distances along relatively narrow, single‐thread reaches but is preferentially deposited in wide, multi‐thread reaches. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deciphering late Devonian–early Carboniferous P–T–t path of mylonitized garnet-mica schists from Prins Karls Forland,Svalbard

Quartz-in-garnet inclusion barometry integrated with trace element thermometry and calculated phase relations is applied to mylonitized schists of the Pinkie unit cropping out on the island of Prins Karls Forland, western part of the Svalbard Archipelago. This approach combines conventional and novel techniques and allows deciphering of the pressure–temperature (P–T) evolution of mylonitic rocks, for which the P–T conditions could not have been easily deciphered using traditional methods. The results obtained suggest that rocks of the Pinkie unit were metamorphosed under amphibolite facies conditions at 8–10 kbar and 560–630°C and mylonitized at ~500 to 550°C and 9–11 kbar. The P–T results are coupled with in-situ Th–U-total Pb monazite dating, which records amphibolite facies metamorphism at c. 359–355 Ma. This is the very first evidence of late Devonian–early Carboniferous metamorphism in Svalbard and it implies that the Ellesmerian Orogeny on Svalbard was associated with metamorphism up to amphibolite facies conditions. Thus, it can be concluded that the Ellesmerian collision between the Franklinian margin of Laurentia and Pearya and Svalbard caused not only commonly accepted brittle deformation and weak greenschist facies metamorphism, but also a burial and deformation of rock complexes at much greater depths at elevated temperatures.     

A reconstruction of the palaeohydrological conditions of a flood‐plain: a multi‐proxy study from the Grabia River valley mire,central Poland

This study investigated the Grabia River valley mire in central Poland to reconstruct its palaeoenvironmental conditions from the Younger Dryas to the present. We analysed sedimentological, biological and geochemical data from the palaeo‐oxbow lake and valley mire to identify the principal hydrological trends, especially episodes of high water level. During the Lateglacial and Holocene, the Grabia River had a meandering channel, and its hydraulic parameters and the channel dimensions changed in response to climatic oscillations and vegetation development. We identified phases of high flood intensity and high groundwater level that correlate with regional and supraregional climatic events. The frequency and timing of palaeohydroclimatic oscillations show strong similarities to records from other sites in Poland and the rest of Europe. We show that various analytical methods, namely, pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera, Chironomidae, sedimentological, geochemical and radiocarbon data, can be effective tools for reconstructing past hydroclimatic changes in palaeo‐oxbow lakes and investigating the effects of past climate changes on river environments. The high sensitivity of the biota, especially Cladocera, to changes in water level permits the reconstruction of palaeoecological changes, especially flood episodes that occurred in the river valley. In particular, the increase in the proportion of sediment‐associated Cladocera and pelagic taxa was closely correlated with floods. Through comparisons with the palaeobiological data, geochemical data allowed the identification of humid phases within the fen associated with a rising groundwater table, direct fluvial activity (floods) and alluvial deposition. We also discuss the limitations of palaeohydrological reconstructions based on these proxies, especially on fossil aquatic invertebrates.     

Intensity of in‐lake processes in floodplain lakes within the Bug River zone of fluvial activity

The paper presents a new approach to calculating the erosion and deposition values of floodplain lake basins, the erosion–deposition index (EDI). The EDI is a sum of the basin geometry indices (BGIs), which can be calculated for a separate cross section of the lake. The distribution of processes within the basin was investigated in two selected floodplain lakes with the use of BGIs. Field research was carried out in the Bug River valley from 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2011. The highest erosion was observed in the lakes located close to the parent river. Deposition processes were observed in lakes with high inflow of groundwater. The results showed that EDI values of 48 out of the 71 floodplain lakes ranged from ?0.2 to 0.2. Spatial distribution of erosion and deposition processes within the lake basins resulted from a velocity of water inflowing or flowing through the basin. This was observed especially in contrafluent–confluent lake. Inflow of rivers water via upstream crevasse occurred later than via downstream one, but energy of flowing water was higher, which favoured erosion of this part of the lake basin. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.