Vesicular komatiites, 3.5-Ga Komati Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa: inflation of submarine lavas and origin of spinifex zones

Komatiites of the 3.5-Ga Komati Formation are ultramafic lavas (>23% MgO) erupted in a submarine, lava plain environment. Newly discovered vesicular komatiites have vesicular upper crusts disrupted by synvolcanic structures that are similar to inflation-related structures of modern lava flows. Detailed outcrop maps reveal flows with upper vesicular zones, 2-15 m thick, which were (1) rotated by differential inflation, (2) intruded by dikes from the interior of the flow, (3) extended, forming a flooded graben, and/or (4) entirely engulfed. The largest inflated structure is a tumulus with 20 m of surface relief, which was covered by a compound flow unit of spinifex flow lobes. The lava that inflated and rotated the upper vesicular crust did not vesiculate, but crystallized as a thick spinifex zone with fist-size skeletal olivine. Instead of representing rapidly cooled lava, the spinifex zone cooled slowly beneath an insulating upper crust during inflation. Overpressure of the inflating lava may have inhibited vesiculation. This work describes the oldest vesicular komatiites known, illustrates the first field evidence for inflated structures in komatiite flows, proposes a new factor in the development of spinifex zones, and concludes that the inflation model is useful for understanding the evolution of komatiite submarine flow fields.     

Vesicle zonation and vertical structure of basalt flows

Observation and measurement of vertical sections of thin (< 10 m) basaltic lava flows show that the vertical structure of basalt flows, regardless of variation in chemical composition or thickness, can be divided into three, previously unrecognized, zones consisting of a fundamental and regular pattern in vesicle size and abundance. These zones can be characterized as follows: (1) an upper vesicular zone, (2) a middle nonvesicular or dense zone, and (3) a lower vesicular zone. The thickness of the upper vesicular zone is generally about one-half of the total vertical section, and the thickness of the lower vesicular zone is generally 30–40 cm regardless of the total flow thickness. In the upper vesicular zone, vesicles increase in diameter and decrease in number per unit cross-sectional area downward attaining a maximum diameter near the base of the upper vesicular zone. In the lower vesicular zone, vesicles increase in diameter and decrease in number per unit cross-sectional area upward attaining a maximum diameter at the top of the lower vesicular zone.Numerical simulations, performed for this study, suggest that these characteristic patterns of vesicle zonation are the result of the growth and rise of gas bubbles in cooling lavas rather than the result of dynamic conditions such as flow movement or convection. As a bubble grows, it begins to ascend, and continues to ascend until it is overtaken by solidification progressing inward from either the upper or lower cooling surfaces of the flow. Bubbles that start out high in the flow will ascend ahead of the lower solidification front and cease rising only after encountering the downward-advancing upper solidification front, and bubbles near the base of a flow will be entrapped by the upward-advancing lower solidification front. Bubbles that start and rise just above the lower solidification front form the lower part of the upper vesicular zone. Such bubbles will also have longer times in which to grow than bubbles that are either higher or lower and are therefore among the largest in the flow. A zone free of vesicles will remain between the last bubbles to ascend to the upper solidification front and the last bubbles to be overtaken by the lower solidification front.     

Bubble coalescence in basalt flows: comparison of a numerical model with natural examples

Gas accumulation in magma may be aided by coalescence of bubbles because large coalesced bubbles rise faster than small bubbles. The observed size distribution of gas bubbles (vesicles) in lava flows supports the concept of post-eruptive coalescence. A numerical model predicts the effects of rise and coalescence consistent with observed features. The model uses given values for flow thickness, viscosity, volume percentage of gas bubbles, and an initial size distribution of bubbles together with a gravitational collection kernel to numerically integrate the stochastic collection equation and thereby compute a new size spectrum of bubbles after each time increment of conductive cooling of the flow. Bubbles rise and coalesce within a fluid interior sandwiched between fronts of solidification that advance inward with time from top and bottom. Bubbles that are overtaken by the solidification fronts cease to migrate. The model predicts the formation of upper and lower vesicle-rich zones separated by a vesicle-poor interior. The upper zone is broader, more vesicular, and has larger bubbles than the lower zone. Basaltic lava flows in northern California exhibit the predicted zonation of vesicularity and size distribution of vesicles as determined by an impregnation technique. In particular, the size distribution at the tops and bottoms of flows is essentially the same as the initial distribution, reflecting the rapid initial solidification at the bases and tops of the flows. Many large vesicles are present in the upper vesicular zones, consistent with expected formation as a result of bubble coalescence during solidification of the lava flows. Both the rocks and model show a bimodal or trimodal size distribution for the upper vesicular zone. This polymodality is explained by preferential coalescence of larger bubbles with subequal sizes. Vesicularity and vesicle size distribution are sensitive to atmospheric pressure because bubbles expand as they decompress during rise through the flow. The ratio of vesicularity in the upper to that in the lower part of a flow therefore depends not only on bubble rise and coalescence, but also on flow thickness and atmospheric pressure. Application of simple theory to the natural basalts suggests solidification of the basalts at 1.0±0.2 atm, consistent with the present atmospheric pressure. Paleobathymetry and paleoaltimetry are possible in view of the sensitivity of vesicle size distributions to atmospheric pressure. Thus, vesicular lava flows can be used to crudely estimate ancient elevations and/or sea level air pressure.     

Cooling history and differentiation of a thick North Mountain Basalt flow (Nova Scotia,Canada)

A thick (<175 m) North Mountain Basalt flow at McKay Head, Nova Scotia (Canada) shows 25-cm-thick differentiated layers separated by 130 cm of basalt in its upper 34m. Upper layers (5 m below the lava top) are highly vesicular whereas lower ones are pegmatitic and contain a thin (2 cm) rhyolite band. The layering of the flow closely resemble that of some Hawaiian lava lakes. The eesicular basalts and mafic pegmatites are inferred to be liquid-rich segregations which drained into horizontal cracks that formed within a crystalline mush. The cracks resulted from a thermal contraction associated with cooling and shrinkage of the mush. Rhyolites were formed by in situ differentiation. Gas overpressures fractured the pegmatites and gas effervescence filter pressing forced silicarich residual liquid from pegmatite interstices into the fractures creating bands. Chemical differences between the pegmatitic layers and early formed, highly differentiated upper vesicular layers may reflect a role for volatiles in the differentiation process along with crystal fractionation.     

Evidence for volatile-influenced differentiation in a layered alkali basalt flow, Penghu Islands, Taiwan

An approximately 20-m-thick alkali basalt flow on the Penghu Islands contains ∼20 cm thick, horizontally continuous (>50 m), vesicular layers separated by ∼1.5 m of massive basalt in its upper 8.5 m. The three layers contain ocelli-like "vesicles" filled with nepheline and igneous carbonate. They are coarse grained and enriched in incompatible elements relative to the massive basalt with which they form sharp contacts. These vesicular layers (segregation veins) formed when residual liquid in the underlying crystal mush was forced (gas filter pressing) or siphoned into three thermally induced horizontal cracks that opened successively in the advancing crystal mush of the flow's upper crust. Most vesicular layer trace elements can be modelled by residual melt extraction after 25–40% fractional crystallization of massive basalt underlying each layer. Sulphur, Cl, As, Zn, Pb, K, Na, Rb, and Sr show large concentration changes between the top, middle, and bottom layers, with each vesicular and underlying massive basalt forming a chemically distinct "pair." The large changes between layers are difficult to account for by crystal fractionation alone, because other incompatible elements (e.g., La, Sm, Yb, Zr, Nb) and the major elements change little. The association of these elements (S, Cl, etc.) with "fluids" in various geologic environments suggests that volatiles influenced differentiation, perhaps by moving alkali, alkaline earth, and chalcophile elements as magma-dissolved volatile complexes. Volatiles may have also led to large grain sizes in the segregation veins by lowering melt viscosities and raising diffusion rates. The chemical variability between layers indicates that a convection and concentration mechanism acted within the flow. The specific process cannot be determined, but different rates of vesicle plume rise (through the flow) and/or accumulation in the upper crust's crystal mush might account for the chemical pairing and extreme variations in Cl, S, As, and C. This study emphasizes the importance of sampling vesicular rocks in flows. It also suggests that volatiles play important physical and chemical roles in rapidly differentiating mafic magmas in processes decoupled from crystal fractionation. Received: 11 November 1996 / Accepted: 20 September 1998     

Vesicle layering in solidified intrusive magma bodies: a newly recognized type of igneous structure

 We report a novel type of layering structure in igneous rocks. The layering structure in the Ogi picrite sill in Sado Island, Japan, is spatially periodic, and appears to be caused by the variation in vesicle volume fraction. The gas phase forming the vesicles apparently exsolved from the interstitial melt at the final stage of solidification of the magma body. We call this type of layering caused by periodic vesiculation in the solidifying magma body "vesicle layering." The presence of vesicle layering in other basic igneous bodies (pillow lava at Ogi and dolerite sill at Atsumi, Japan) implies that it may be a fairly common igneous feature. The width of individual layers slightly, but regularly, increases with distance from the upper contact. The layering plane is perpendicular to the long axes of columnar joints, regardless of gravitational direction, suggesting that the formation of vesicles is mainly controlled by the temperature distribution in the cooling magma body. We propose a model of formation of vesicle layering which is basically the same as that for Liesegang rings. The interplay between the diffusion of heat and magmatic volatiles in melt, and the sudden vesiculation upon supersaturation, both play important roles. Received: 15 February 1996 / Accepted: 24 June 1996     

穿越南沙礼乐滩的海底地震仪广角地震试验

本文对穿越礼乐滩东北部向西北方向延伸进入中央海盆长369 km的广角地震剖面OBS973-2进行了反演研究,以期了解南海南部陆缘的地壳结构,同时探讨南、北陆缘的共轭问题.结果表明OBS973-2剖面的速度模型中三个沉积层的速度分别为1.8～2.0 km/s、2.0～2.7 km/s和3.5～4.0 km/s;沿剖面沉积...     

Crustal structure of northeastern Tibetan plateau and Ordos block: Waveform interpretation of the Maqen-Jingbian seismic refraction profile

The Maqen-Jingbian wide-angle seismic reflection and refraction experiment was carried out in 1998, which aims at determining detailed structure in the crust and top of the upper mantle and understanding structural relation between the northeastern Tibetan plateau and the Ordos block. The 1-D crustal models inferred by waveform inversion show strong variations in crustal structure, which can be classified into four different types: ① an Ordos platform with the Proterozoic crust and two high-velocity layers in the northeast section, ② a transitional crust between the northeastern Tibetan plateau and the Ordos block across the Haiyuan earthquake zone, ③ the Qilian orogenic zone in the central part, and 4 the Qinling orogenic zone in the southwestern section. The Moho depth increases from ~42 km to ~62 km from the NE part to the SW part of the profile. The crystalline crust consists of the upper crust and lower crust in northeastern Tibetan plateau. There is an obviously low P-wave velocity layer dipping northeastward, which is 12–13 km thick, at the bottom of the upper crust in Qinling orogenic zone and Haiyuan earthquake zone. The lower crust is characterized by alternating high and low P-wave velocity layers. Beneath Ordos block, i.e., the NE part of the profile, the crust shows quite a smooth increase in P-wave velocity down to the Moho at a depth of about 42 km.     

Structure,and origin by injection of lava under surface crust,of tumuli, “lava rises”, “lava-rise pits”, and “lava-inflation clefts” in Hawaii

Tumuli are positive topographic features that are common on Hawaiian pahoehoe lava flow fields, particularly on shallow slopes, and 75 measured examples are presented here to document the size range. Tumuli form by up-tilting of crustal plates, without any crustal shortening, and are thus distinguished from pressure ridges which are up-buckled by laterally directed pressure. The axial or star-like systems of deep clefts that characterize tumuli are defined here as lava-inflation clefts; their tips advanced into red-hot lava and they widened as uplift proceeded and while the lava crust was thickening. Flat-surfaced uplifts, formed like tumuli by injection of lava under a surface crust, were previously called pressure plateaus, but lava rise is proposed instead. The pits that abound among lava rises, previously attributed to collapse or subsidence, are generally formed because the lava around them rose, and the name lava-rise pit is proposed. Unique examples of tumuli and lava rises, from which lava drained out under a surface crust 1.5 to 2.5 m thick, are described from Kilauea caldera. These examples show that in tumuli and lava rises the crust floats on considerable bodies of fluid lava, and is able to do so because of its higher vesicle content: the fluid lava loses many of its gas bubbles during residence beneath the crust. The bulk densities of samples from tumuli show a general downward increase. The form of the density profile is consistent with the relationship that for any given crustal thickness the density of fluid lava closely matched the average density of that crust, suggesting that the lava was stably density-stratified. It is inferred that stable stratification was regulated by out-flows of the more vesicular lava fractions, loss of bubbles through the lava-inflation clefts, and entry of injected lava at its level of neutral buoyancy. Below the uppermost meter the downward decrease in vesicularity closely conforms with that expected by compression of a uniform mass of gas per unit mass of lava.     

Internal differentiation of Kutsugata lava flow from Rishiri Volcano,Japan: Processes and timescales of segregation structures' formation

Internal differentiation processes in a solidifying lava flow were investigated for the Kutsugata lava flow from Rishiri Volcano in northern Japan. In a representative 6-m thick lava flow that was investigated in detail in this study, segregation products darker than the host lavas manifested mainly in the form of pipes (vesicle cylinders) and layers (vesicle sheets), occurring around 0.5–2.3 m and 2.0–4.0 m above the base, respectively. Both the cylinders and sheets are significantly richer in incompatible elements such as TiO₂ and K₂O than the host lavas, which suggest that these products essentially represent residual melt produced during solidification of the lava flow. Field observation and the geochemical features of the lavas suggest that the vesicle cylinders grew upward from near the base of the flow by continuous feeding of residual melt from the neighboring host lavas to the heads of the cylinders. On the other hand, the vesicle sheets were produced in situ in the solidifying lava flow as fracture veins caused by horizontal compression. The vesicle cylinders have a remarkably higher MgO content (up to 8 wt.%) than the host lava (< 6 wt.%), whereas the vesicle sheets display MgO depletion (as low as 3.5 wt.%). The relatively high MgO content of the vesicle cylinders cannot be explained solely by the mechanical mixing of olivine phenocrysts with the residual melt. It is suggested that the vesicle cylinders were produced by the extraction of olivine-bearing interstitial melt from an augite-plagioclase network in the host lava, whereas the vesicle sheets were formed by the migration of the residual melt from a crystal network consisting of plagioclase, augite, and olivine in the host lava into platy fractures. We infer that this selective crystal fractionation for forming the vesicle cylinders resulted from processes in which abundant vesicles rejected from the upward-migrating floor solidification front prevented olivine crystals from being incorporated into the crystal network in the host lava. The vesicle cylinders are considered to have formed in ∼ 1 day after the lava flow came to rest, while relatively large vesicle sheets (> 1 cm thick) appeared much later (after ∼ 9 days). The formation of these segregation products was essentially complete within 20 days after the lava emplacement.     

A Miocene coarse volcaniclastic mass-flow deposit in the Shimane Peninsula,SW Japan: product of a deep submarine eruption?

 A subaqueous volcaniclastic mass-flow deposit in the Miocene Josoji Formation, Shimane Peninsula, is 15–16 m thick, and comprises mainly blocks and lapilli of rhyolite and andesite pumices and non- to poorly vesiculated rhyolite. It can be divided into four layers in ascending order. Layer 1 is an inversely to normally graded and poorly sorted lithic breccia 0.3–6 m thick. Layer 2 is an inversely to normally graded tuff breccia to lapilli tuff 6–11 m thick. This layer bifurcates laterally into minor depositional units individually composed of a massive, lithic-rich lower part and a diffusely stratified, pumice-rich upper part with inverse to normal grading of both lithic and pumice clasts. Layer 3 is 2.5–3 m thick, and consists of interbedded fines-depleted pumice-rich and pumice-poor layers a few centimeters thick. Layer 4 is a well-stratified and well-sorted coarse ash bed 1.5–2 m thick. The volcaniclastic deposit shows internal features of high-density turbidites and contains no evidence for emplacement at a high temperature. The mass-flow deposit is extremely coarse-grained, dominated by traction structures, and is interpreted as the product of a deep submarine, explosive eruption of vesicular magma or explosive collapse of lava. Received: 10 January 1996 / Accepted: 23 February 1996     

Relation between electricity structure of the crust and deformation of crustal blocks on the northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was formed by coales-cence of microcontinents of different geologic histo-ries, i.e. it consists of a series of blocks, such as Hi-malayas, Lhasa, Qiangtang, Kunlun, Qaidam and Qi- lian blocks from south to north. The blocks moved firstly in the NNE direction, then in the NE direction and at last in the ENE or E-W direction from south to north by a combined action of Indian Plate moving northward and obstruction of Tarim and other blocksnorth of the plateau. T…     

Silicic lava dome growth in the 1934–1935 Showa Iwo-jima eruption, Kikai caldera, south of Kyushu, Japan

The 1934–1935 Showa Iwo-jima eruption started with a silicic lava extrusion onto the floor of the submarine Kikai caldera and ceased with the emergence of a lava dome. The central part of the emergent dome consists of lower microcrystalline rhyolite, grading upward into finely vesicular lava, overlain by coarsely vesicular lava with pumice breccia at the top. The lava surface is folded, and folds become tighter toward the marginal part of the dome. The dome margin is characterized by two zones: a fracture zone and a breccia zone. The fracture zone is composed of alternating layers of massive lava and welded oxidized breccia. The breccia zone is the outermost part of the dome, and consists of glassy breccia interpreted to be hyaloclastite. The lava dome contains lava with two slightly different chemical compositions; the marginal part being more dacitic and the central part more rhyolitic. The fold geometry and chemical compositions indicate that the marginal dacite had a slightly higher temperature, lower viscosity, and lower yield stress than the central rhyolite. The high-temperature dacite lava began to effuse in the earlier stage from the central crater. The front of the dome came in contact with seawater and formed hyaloclastite. During the later stage, low-temperature rhyolite lava effused subaerially. As lava was injected into the growing dome, the fracture zone was produced by successive fracturing, ramping, and brecciation of the moving dome front. In the marginal part, hyaloclastite was ramped above the sea surface by progressive increments of the new lava. The central part was folded, forming pumice breccia and wrinkles. Subaerial emplacement of lava was the dominant process during the growth of the Showa Iwo-jima dome.Editorial Responsibility J. McPhie     

Internal structure of the Buckboard Mesa basalt

Engineering studies on Buckboard Mesa in Nevada have included extensive coring and borchole photographing in a late Cenozoic basalt flow. The basalt was evidently extruded from a fissure, now marked by a cinder cone, localized in the moat of the Timber Mountain caldera. It is an olivine-bearing andesitic basalt with a moderately high potassium content. Away from complications near the vent only a single flow is present. Distributaries from the main channel branch to clusters of lava toes at the flow terminus. A vesicular facies overlies a dense facies in general, but alternating layers formed in an early flow stage complicate the stratigraphy. Structures formed in a transitional stage are flattened vesicles, layers of vesicles, and lineated vesicles. These flow structures commonly parallel concentric flattened cylinders of the various rock types. The cylindrical structure is apparently fundamental to lava flow mechanics. In the brittle stage, an orthogonal system of three sets of fractures developed in the lava parallel and perpendicular to the flow layering. Similar flow channels with cylindrical flow structure and related fractures are present in Columbia River basalt and elsewhere.     

利用接收函数方法研究四川地区地壳结构

采用接收函数反演和共转换点(CCP)偏移叠加成像方法, 利用四川数字地震台网宽频带的52个区域固定地震台站和布设的两条52个宽频带流动地震观测台站的远震地震波形数据资料, 对四川地区地壳结构进行研究。 结果表明, 四川地区的Moho面深度在青藏高原和四川盆地差异明显, 在川西高原地区地壳厚度为52~68 km, 在川滇地块地壳厚度为50~60 km, 在中地壳内存在不连续的低速层分布; 而在四川盆地地壳厚度为38~45 km, 地壳内没有低速层存在。 Moho面深度从川西高原的60多公里至四川盆地的约40 km, 在二者的交界处龙门山断裂带下面, 存在厚度约30 km左右宽的下降过渡带, 说明其下的Moho面可能受断层影响, 结构比较复杂; 在高原地区的上地壳界面和下地壳上界面比四川盆地的相应界面深; 高原地区在中地壳的上部有不连续的低速层分布, 在松潘—甘孜地块的上地壳下部存在向南东运动的脆性推覆体, 在羌塘—理塘地块的上地壳下部存在向南东和南运动的脆性物质流动。     

Layered convection with an interface at a depth of 1000 km: stability and generation of slab-like downwellings

We investigate the stability of hypothetical layered convection in the mantle and the mechanisms how the downwelling structures originating in the lower layer are generated. The stability is studied by means of numerical simulations of the double-diffusive convection in a 2D spherical model with radially dependent viscosity. We demonstrate that the stability of the layering strongly depends not only on the density contrast between the layers but also on the heating mode and the viscosity profile. In the case of the classical Boussinesq model with an internally heated lower layer, the density contrast of about 4% between the compositionally different materials is needed for the layered flow to be maintained. The inclusion of the adiabatic heating/cooling in the model reduces the temperature contrast between the two layers and, thus, enhances the stability of the layering. In this case, a density contrast of 2-3% is sufficient to preserve the layered convection on a time scale of billions of years. The generation of the downwelling structures in the lower layer occurs via mechanical or thermal coupling scenarios. If the viscosity dependent on depth and average temperature at each depth is considered, the low viscosity zone develops at a boundary between the two convecting layers which suppresses mechanical coupling. Then the downwelling structures originating in the lower layer develop beneath upper layer subductions, thus resembling continuous slab-like structures observed by seismic tomography.     

Deformation patterns in a high-viscosity lava flow inferred from the crystal preferred orientation and imbrication structures: an example from Salina (Aeolian Islands,southern Tyrrhenian Sea,Italy)

Shape-preferred orientation and imbrication structures of crystals have been measured on samples representative of the base, centre and top of a highly viscous lava flow on Salina (Aeolian Islands, southern Tyrrhenian Sea). The data allow zones with different deformation patterns to be identified. In the base and top of the flow, deformation leads to the development of discrete preferred orientation and imbrication of the elongate crystals. The sense of shear is right-lateral at the base and left-lateral at the top of the flow. Shear strain can be estimated by the analysis of crystal preferred orientation. Deformation increases from the flow centre to the outer, more viscous boundary layers. Random orientation of crystals in the inner zone supports the presence of plug flow in a pseudoplastic lava. The textural features of the studied lava may be related to different mechanisms (i.e. lateral expansion). We conclude that the observed crystal alignments and imbrication structures may be related to a plug flow moving between two non-deforming walls. The walls are represented by the solidified, broken upper and basal crust of the flow. The low shear strain values calculated in the outer margins of the flow are indicative of the last deformation event. Crystal preferred orientation and imbrication structures may be related to the occurrence of velocity gradients existing between the inner zone of the flow and its solidus or near-solidus outer margins.     

Velocity structure and active fault of Yanyuan-Mabian seismic zone—The result of high-resolution seismic refraction experiment

The authors processed the seismic refraction Pg-wave travel time data with finite difference tomography method and revealed velocity structure of the upper crust on active block boundaries and deep features of the active faults in western Sichuan Province. The following are the results of our investigation. The upper crust of Yanyuan basin and the Houlong Mountains consists of the superficial low-velocity layer and the deep uniform high-velocity layer, and between the two layers, there is a distinct, and gently west-dipping structural plane. Between model coordinates 180–240 km, P-wave velocity distribution features steeply inclined strip-like structure with strongly non-uniform high and low velocities alternately. Xichang Mesozoic basin between 240 and 300 km consists of a thick low-velocity upper layer and a high-velocity lower layer, where lateral and vertical velocity variations are very strong and the interface between the two layers fluctuates a lot. The Daliang Mountains to the east of the 300 km coordinate is a non-uniform high-velocity zone, with a superficial velocity of approximately 5 km/s. From 130 to 150 km and from 280 to 310 km, there are extremely distinct deep anomalous high-velocity bodies, which are supposed to be related with Permian magmatic activity. The Yanyuan nappe structure is composed of the superficial low-velocity nappe, the gently west-dipping detachment surface and the deep high-velocity basement, with Jinhe-Qinghe fault zone as the nappe front. Mopanshan fault is a west-dipping low-velocity zone, which extends to the top surface of the basement. Anninghe fault and Zemuhe fault are east-dipping, tabular-like, and low-velocity zones, which extend deep into the basement. At a great depth, Daliangshan fault separates into two segments, which are represented by drastic variation of velocity structures in a narrow strip: the west segment dips westward and the east segment dips eastward, both stretching into the basement. The east margin fault of Xichang Mesozoic basin features a strong velocity gradient zone, dipping southwestward and stretching to the top surface of the basement. The west-dipping, tabular-like, and low-velocity zone at the easternmost segment of the profile is a branch of Mabian fault, but the reliability of the supposition still needs to be confirmed by further study. Anninghe, Zemuhe and Daliangshan faults are large active faults stretching deep into the basement, which dominate strong seismic activities of the area. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB428400)     

上海地区地壳精细结构的综合地球物理探测研究

通过在上海地区开展深、浅地震反射、地震宽角反射/折射、高分辨地震折射和大地电磁测深等联合剖面探测, 获得了该地区近地表至Moho面的精细速度结构、电性结构和深浅构造关系.结果表明, 该地区地壳可划分为上、中、下三个组成部分.其中,上地壳厚为12～14 km,波速为57～59 km/s;中地壳厚度约为10 km,波速为59～62 km/s;下地壳厚为10～11 km, 波速为62～63 km/s,Moho面深度约为32 km.剖面浅部地质构造复杂,共解释出12条特征明显的断裂.其中,除3条断裂错断结晶基底（G界面）并向下延伸至上地壳底界面外,其他断裂均在深度3～5 km以上终止或收敛于G界面之上.此外,仅在剖面西侧基底下部约13～15 km埋深处发现一厚度在2 km左右的壳内高导层.所以,在综合各方面资料后分析认为,在剖面经过地区不存在发生大地震的深部构造条件,近地表所存在的活动断层是未来产生对该区有影响地震的震源区.     

The submarine eruption of the Bombarda volcano,Milos Island,Cyclades, Greece

The Milos volcanic field includes a well-exposed volcaniclastic succession which records a long history of submarine explosive volcanism. The Bombarda volcano, a rhyolitic monogenetic center, erupted ∼1.7 Ma at a depth <200 m below sea level. The aphyric products are represented by a volcaniclastic apron (up to 50 m thick) and a lava dome. The apron is composed of pale gray juvenile fragments and accessory lithic clasts ranging from ash to blocks. The juvenile clasts are highly vesicular to non-vesicular; the vesicles are dominantly tube vesicles. The volcaniclastic apron is made up of three fades: massive to normally graded pumice-lithic breccia, stratified pumice-lithic breccia, and laminated ash with pumice blocks. We interpret the apron beds to be the result of water-supported, volcaniclastic mass-How emplacement, derived directly from the collapse of a small-volume, subaqueous eruption column and from syn-eruptive, down-slope resedimentation of volcaniclastic debris. During this eruptive phase, the activity could have involved a complex combination of phreatomagmatic explosions and minor submarine effusion. The lava dome, emplaced later in the source area, is made up of flow-banded lava and separated from the apron by an obsidian carapace a few meters thick. The near-vertical orientation of the carapace suggests that the dome was intruded within the apron. Remobilization of pyroclastic debris could have been triggered by seismic activity and the lava dome emplacement. Published online: 30 January 2003 Editorial responsibility: J. McPhie