Seeing below the basalt – offshore Faroes

Exploration in the basalt covered areas of the Faroes offshore has always suffered from poor seismic imaging below the basalt. Long offset 2D and 3D seismic data were acquired and a significant improvement in the seismic image below top basalt has been achieved. Deep towing of the source and receiver cables helped by extending the seismic bandwidth towards lower frequencies. Bubble‐tuned rather than conventional peak‐tuned source arrays gave little, if any, incremental benefit. The improvement in the imaging comes primarily from the approach to processing the data. High frequencies (dominantly noise) are filtered out of the data early in the processing to concentrate on the low frequency data. Careful multiple removal is important with several passes of demultiple being applied to the data using both Surface‐Related Multiple Elimination (SRME) and Radon techniques. Velocity analysis is performed as an iterative process taking into account the geological model. Reprocessing legacy 2D surveys, acquired with wide‐ranging parameters, using these processing techniques improved these datasets significantly, indicating that sub‐basalt imaging seems to be more sensitive to processing than to the choice of acquisition parameters.     

Borehole study of compressional and shear attenuation of basalt flows penetrated by the Brugdan and William wells on the Faroes shelf

We investigated the seismic attenuation of compressional (P‐) and converted shear (S‐) waves through stacked basalt flows using short‐offset vertical seismic profile (VSP) recordings from the Brugdan (6104/21–1) and William (6005/13–1A) wells in the Faroe‐Shetland Trough. The seismic quality factors (Q) were evaluated with the classical spectral ratio method and a root‐mean‐square time‐domain amplitude technique. We found the latter method showed more robust results when analysing signals within the basalt sequence. For the Brugdan well we calculated effective Q estimates of 22–26 and 13–17 for P‐ and S‐waves, respectively, and 25–33 for P‐waves in the William well. An effective Q_S/Q_P ratio of 0.50–0.77 was found from a depth interval in the basalt flow sequence where we expect fully saturated rocks. P‐wave quality factor estimates are consistent with results from other VSP experiments in the North Atlantic Margin, while the S‐wave quality factor is one of the first estimates from a stacked basalt formation using VSP data. Synthetic modelling demonstrates that seismic attenuation for P‐ and S‐waves in the stacked basalt flow sequence is mainly caused by one‐dimensional scattering, while intrinsic absorption is small.     

Seismic characterization of hyperconcentrated flows in a volcanic environment

We present direct observations and monitoring data of a hyperconcentrated flow that occurred along La Lumbre ravine, one of the most active channels of Volcán de Colima in Mexico. Flow properties were inferred from video images and seismic data recorded by a geophone installed outside the channel. We collected flow samples 400 m upstream from the monitoring station and analyzed the variation of sediment concentration and grain‐size distribution over time. A joint analysis of hydrological (i.e. flow velocity, wetted perimeter) and rheological (i.e. yield stress τ_y and dynamic viscosity μ_m ) parameters was performed to characterize the flow. Different flow regimes and sediment transport processes were identified and analyzed in comparison with both the amplitude and spectral features of the seismic signal. We observed differing sediment concentrations at the same discharge, suggesting a decoupling between sediment transport processes and discharge for low‐magnitude flows. A straightforward correlation was found between the amplitude of the seismic signal and the sediment concentration, and a value of 1.8 × 10^?3 mm/s was identified that can be used as a threshold to recognize the hyperconcentrated phase of the flow. This information was tested on the complete seismic dataset gathered at La Lumbre ravine during the 2015 rainy season. We identified the transition from streamflow to hyperconcentrated flow (and/or vice versa) in 16 low‐magnitude events and we validated this result using the video recordings. The correlation between seismic amplitude and sediment concentration is valid at La Lumbre ravine but would need to be tested in other locations for the development of automatic flow classification methods. This work contributes to standardized seismic methods for characterizing flow processes in volcanic environments, also for the development of lahar early warning systems. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Imaging and regional distribution of basalt flows in the Faeroe-Shetland Basin

We demonstrate that the use of long-offset seismic data allows wide-angle reflections and diving waves to be recorded, and that these can be used in conjunction with prestack depth migrations to constrain and to image the base of the basalt flows and the underlying structure in the Faeroe-Shetland Basin. Crustal velocity models are built first by inverting the traveltimes of the recorded reflections and diving waves using ray-tracing methods. Finer details of the velocity structure can then be refined by analysis of the amplitudes and waveforms of the arrivals. We show that prestack depth migration of selected wide-angle arrivals of known origin, such as the base-basalt reflection, using the crustal velocity model, allows us to build a composite image of the structure down to the pre-rift basement. This has the advantage that the wide-angle first-arriving energy must be primary, and not from one of the many multiples or mode-converted phases that plague near-offset seismic data. This allows us to ‘tag’ these primary arrivals with confidence and then to identify the same arrivals on higher-resolution prestack migrations that include data from all offsets. Examples are drawn from the Faeroe-Shetland Basin, with a series of regional maps of the entire area showing the basalt depths and the thickness of the basalt flows and underlying sediment down to the top of the pre-rift basement. The maps show how the basalts thin to the southeast away from their presumed source west of the present Faeroe Islands, and also show the extent to which the structure of the pre-rift basement controls the considerable variations in sediment thickness between the basement and the cap formed by the overlying basalt flows.     

Noble gases in pillow basalt glasses from the northern Mariana Trough back-arc basin

Noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions have been measured in eight samples of pillow basalt glasses collected from seven different localities along 250 km of the Mariana Trough spreading and rifting axis. The samples have uniform and mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like ³He/⁴He values of 9–12 × 10^–6 (6.4–8.6 times atmospheric) despite large variations in ⁴He. Concentrations of the noble gases Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe show much smaller variations between samples, but larger variations in isotopic compositions of Ne, Ar, and Xe. Excess radiogenic ²¹Ne is observed in some samples. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar varies widely (atmospheric to 1880). Kr is atmospheric in composition for all samples. Some samples show a clear excess ¹²⁹Xe, which is a well-known MORB signature. Isotopic compositions of the heavier noble gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) in some samples, however, show more atmospheric components. These data reflect the interaction of a MORB-like magma with an atmospheric component such as seawater or of a depleted mantle source with a water-rich component that was probably derived from the subducting slab.     

Fractionation trends of basalt magmas in lava flows

Chemical compositions of schlieren in basalt flows are compared with those of the host rocks for tracing the fractionation trends of basalt magmas under extrusive conditions. In the Warner high-alumina basalt of California and in the tholeiite of Hawaii and Japan, total iron increases markedly from the host rock to the schlieren whileSiO ₂ is nearly constant. In the high-alumina basalt of Huzi Volcano and in the tholeiite near Catania, Italy, total iron is nearly constant during fractionation whileSiO ₂ increases. In basalts of the hypersthenic rock series or calc-alkali rock series from California, total iron is also nearly constant whileSiO ₂ increases. The difference in fractionation trend in these flows is attributable to the difference of the state of oxidation of iron in the original magmas. Oxygen partial pressure of the magmas would not be maintained constant during the fractionation of extrusive bodies.     

Notes on the variation of magnetization within basalt lava flows and dikes

Summary The magnetic properties of basaltic rocks are dominated by the contained primary Fe–Ti oxides. At solidus temperature (1000°C) the composition of these primary oxides is restricted to titanomagnetite (Fe_3-xTi_xO₄) and hemoilmenites (Fe_2-yTi_yO₃). The examination of 269 chemical analyses of the primary Fe–Ti oxides in basalts (in sensu lato) gives an average ofx=0.61 (T _c=168°C) for the titanomagnetites andy=0.89 (T _c=–121°C) for the hemoilmenites. If distinction is made between tholeiites, alkali basalts and andesites, a clear difference for thex-values is observed: the average for tholeiitesx=0.64 (T _c=144°C), for alkali basaltsx=0.52 (T _c=253°C), for andesitesx=0.38 (T _c=341°C).Environment of crystallization and cooling rate are major interrelated factors influencing subsequent changes in the mineralogy of the primary Fe–Ti oxides and resulting magnetic properties. This has been tested by studying the variation of magnetization and some of its parameters in three different basalt rock units: a dike, 180 cm, and two lava flows, 3 m and 33 m thick, respectively. Grain size and oxidation state of the titanomagnetites control the variation of magnetization in these basalt units.     

Seismic view on the svalbard passive continental margin

Deep seismic sounding measurements were performed in the continent-ocean transition zone of the western Svalbard and Barents Sea margin, during the expeditions in 1985–2008. Seismic energy (airgun and TNT shots) was recorded along several profiles by onshore seismic stations and ocean bottom seismometers, and hydrophone systems. Good quality reflected and refracted P waves provided an excellent data base for a seismic modelling along the profiles. TNT sources were recorded even up to 300 km distances. A minimal depth of about 6 km of the Moho interface was found east of the Molloy Deep. The Moho discontinuity dips down to 28 km beneath the continental part of the northernmost profile and down to maximum 32 km beneath other profiles. The evolution of the region is considered to be within a shearrift tectonic setting. The continent-ocean transition zone along the northernmost profile is mostly dominated by extension; therefore, the last stage of the development of the margin can be classified as rifting. The uplifted Moho interface close to the Molloy Deep can be interpreted as a south-western end of the Molloy Ridge. The margin of the southern Spitsbergen is rather of sheared character while the western Barents Sea margin is of slow to ultraslow spreading type.     

Rifting and basin inversion in the eastern margin of the Japan Sea

Abstract Extensional basin formation and subsequent basin inversion in the southern area of the eastern margin of the Japan Sea were studied on the basis of the interpretation of seismic profiles (total length approximately 15 000 km) and the fossil analyses of 77 sea-bottom samples. Rift (Early to Early Middle Miocene), post-rift (Middle to Late Miocene), pre-inversion (Late Miocene to Pliocene) and inversion stages (Pliocene to Quaternary) were differentiated by the extension and contraction of the crust. Many small-scale rifts were formed in the Sado Ridge and the Mogami Trough during the rift stage, simultaneous with back-are spreading of the Japan Sea. Most of the rifts were east- or southeast-facing, rotational half-grabens bounded by west-dipping normal faults at their eastern boundaries. The syn-rift sequence can be divided into lower and upper units by an erosional surface. The sequences are presumed to be composed mainly of fining-upward sediments. The trend of most rifts is north-northeast with the remainder being of east-northeast-bias. The north-northeast trending rifts are distributed widely in the Sado Ridge and Mogami Trough and do not show an en échelon arrangement, suggesting that they were formed mainly by pure extension nearly perpendicular to the arc. The east-northeast trending rifts are presumed to have been developed by a north-northwest extension in the late rift stage, which may have accompanied a right-lateral movement in the eastern margin of the Japan Sea. During the post-rift stage, the rifts and adjacent horsts subsided and became covered by the post-rift sequence, characterized by parallel and continuous reflections. This suggested no significant tectonic movements in this period. In the pre-inversion stage many of the rifts subsided again, presumably because of down-warping due to weak compressional stress. The normal faults reactivated as reverse faults during the inversion stage due to an increase in compressional stress. Many of the rifts have been uplifted and transformed into east-vergent asymmetric anticlines. The basin inversion is greatest in the Sado Ridges and in the Dewa Bank Chain, while it is least developed in the Mogami Trough and in the western slope of the Sado Ridge, in which some normal faults have not been reactivated. The increase and decrease of the inversion corresponds to the peak and trough of undulation at an interval of about 50 km trending parallel to the arc.     

Rheology of the 1983 Royal Gardens basalt flows,Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii

Ten carefully surveyed topographic profiles across a 1983 Royal Gardens basalt flow from the East Rift of the Kilauea Volcano were matched to digitally derived preflow profiles to construct accurate flow cross sections. Geometric parameters measured on these sections were then used to compute yield strengths and viscosities by means of several rheologic models. Calculated yield strengths (1.5–50 × 10³ Pa) and viscosities (0.2–8.2 × 10⁶ Pas) are comparable to earlier field estimates and slightly higher than laboratory determined values for aa basalt. Both yield strength and viscosity increased systematically downstream. The maximum observed temperature drop of 30 °C is insufficient to account for the 30-fold increase in yield strength, but could explain the three-fold order-of-magnitude increase in viscosity. The yield-strength increase downstream is more likely due to increasing crystallization and brecciation with time. For any cross section, calculations of rheologic parameters based on flow-margin depths generally gave lower values than those based on the dimensions of levees. This relationship may be attributed to the earlier formation and less complex evolution of the margins. The various equations gave more consistent results for upstream profiles, suggesting that calculations for remotely observed flows should avoid measurements near flow termini.     

云南区域地震台网网缘及邻省(国) 中强震速报定位

利用云南区域数字地震台网46个地震台的记录资料,将2002-2008年间云南区域数字地震台网速报的、震中位于云南省界外300 km以内邻省(国)的中强震速报定位参数,与中国地震台网中心正式速报结果(M≥5.0)(中国地震台网大震速报目录,2002-2007年)及云南地震台网正式速报结果作比较(M＜5.0),总结速报分析...     

青藏高原东北缘壳幔各向异性研究:基于SKS和Pms震相分析

利用甘肃和青海两省固定宽频带地震台记录的远震波形资料,挑选高质量SKS震相,联合使用最小切向能量方法和旋转互相关方法获得230对高信噪比分裂参数;同时对接收函数中Pms震相随方位角的变化进行拟合,得到了24个台站的地壳各向异性分裂参数.整个区域SKS分裂快波方向均值为123°,Pms分裂快波方向均值为132°,且大部分区域SKS、Pms快波方向与地表构造走向相一致,说明青藏高原东北缘以岩石圈垂直连贯变形为主,地壳上地幔相互耦合.SKS、Pms分裂时差均值分别为1.0s和0.6s,显示地壳各向异性对于SKS分裂时差有较大贡献.昆仑断裂附近Pms、SKS分裂快波方向与昆仑断裂走向基本一致,说明昆仑断裂可能是岩石圈尺度深大断裂;而阿尔金断裂东缘二者快波方向显著差异意味着阿尔金断裂在东缘可能仅为地壳尺度的断裂.     

Implication of environmental flows in river basin management

Consideration of environmental flows in river basin management poses great challenges. Environmental flows are interpreted as the natural or regulated releases of water needed in a river to maintain specified valued features of the river ecosystems. This has never been considered explicitly in water resources management of a river basin. An attempt is, therefore, made here to reflect the perception and implications of environmental flows in water resources management. Assessment approaches are reviewed in the context of flow characteristics of a river system and recommendations are put forward on what is to be done to adopt this new concept in practice.     

P‐wave velocity distribution in basalt flows of the Enni Formation in the Faroe Islands from refraction seismic analysis

The main objective of this work is to establish the applicability of shallow surface‐seismic traveltime tomography in basalt‐covered areas. A densely sampled ～1300‐m long surface seismic profile, acquired as part of the SeiFaBa project in 2003 ( Japsen et al. 2006 ) at Glyvursnes in the Faroe Islands, served as the basis to evaluate the performance of the tomographic method in basalt‐covered areas. The profile is centred at a ～700‐m deep well. V_P, V_S and density logs, a zero‐offset VSP, downhole‐geophone recordings and geological mapping in the area provided good means of control. The inversion was performed with facilities of the Wide Angle Reflection/Refraction Profiling program package ( Ditmar et al. 1999 ). We tested many inversion sequences while varying the inversion parameters. Modelled traveltimes were verified by full‐waveform modelling. Typically an inversion sequence consists in several iterations that proceed until a satisfactory solution is reached. However, in the present case with high velocity contrasts in the subsurface we obtained the best result with two iterations: first obtaining a smooth starting model with small traveltime residuals by inverting with a high smoothing constraint and then inverting with the lowest possible smoothing constraint to allow the inversion to have the full benefit of the traveltime residuals. The tomogram gives usable velocity information for the near‐surface geology in the area but fails to reproduce the expected velocity distribution of the layered basalt flows. Based on the analysis of the tomogram and geological mapping in the area, a model was defined that correctly models first arrivals from both surface seismic data and downhole‐geophone data.     

银川断陷盆地地壳结构与构造的地震学证据

通过跨银川断陷盆地,完成了一条长68.9 km的高分辨深地震反射探测剖面,首次获得了银川盆地地壳精细结构、地堑型断陷盆地深部断裂系（黄河断裂、银川断裂、贺兰山东麓断裂）特征及深浅构造关系.结果表明：银川断陷盆地上地壳为双程走时8 s（深度约20 km）反射面以上的区域,上地壳上部地层层位丰富,地层分段连续性较好,上地壳下部地层分层特征不明显,地质构造简单;下地壳(8～13 s)反射能量较弱,反射同相轴不明显;下地壳下部壳幔过渡带（13 s附近）由一组能量较强、持续时间较长（1.5 s）的反射波组组成,厚度约4.5 km.芦花台断裂、银川断裂分别于12～12.5 km、18～19 km深处交汇于贺兰山东麓断裂,贺兰山东麓断裂于28～29 km深处交汇于黄河断裂,黄河断裂为错断Moho面的深大断裂,银川地堑为以黄河断裂为主,其他断裂为辅组合而成的负花状构造.根据贺兰山东麓断裂和银川断裂的相互关系,认为贺兰山东麓断裂对1739年平罗—银川8级地震起主要控制作用.     

A case study of sub-basalt imaging in land region covered with basalt flows

In this study, a set of 20 2D seismic lines, acquired over the Golan Heights basaltic plateau, was processed and analysed. Although the data were acquired and processed by standard techniques, in some cases good-quality seismic images were obtained under several hundred metres of basalts. We describe how the seismic characteristics of the top basalt layer were defined and show the effect of the numerous widespread volcanic sources on the quality of the final images. The new data reveal the first images of the sedimentary sequence under the basalt flows, and indicate that strands of the Dead Sea Transform extend into this area. The entire region was found to be very deformed. Several attractive traps for hydrocarbon exploration were also identified on the output sections.     

塔里木盆地结晶基底的反射地震调查

大型克拉通内部沉积盆地基底组构与盆地起源和油气聚集有密切关系.除了钻井岩心及周缘露头研究可提供盆地结晶基底类型证据外,反射地震信号记录了沉积盆地起源时期的有关大地构造作用信息,盆地基底组构可通过记录长度大的反射地震剖面研究.2007年中石化在塔里木盆地将1400 km的地震剖面接收记录从6 s加长到12 s,为研究克拉通盆地结晶基底的组构和类型提供了难得的第一手资料.这篇文章主要介绍这次调查的反射地震剖面,讨论深反射地震数据处理的关键技术,展示塔里木盆地巴楚—塔中地区的四条12 s反射地震剖面,并对反射剖面的散射模式作初步分析.本次调查表明,将地震剖面接收记录从6 s加长到12 s,采集处理的成本只增加了3％左右,但是可为研究克拉通盆地结晶基底和上地壳不均匀性提供很有价值的第一手资料.     

塔里木盆地结晶基底的反射地震调查

大型克拉通内部沉积盆地基底组构与盆地起源和油气聚集有密切关系.除了钻井岩心及周缘露头研究可提供盆地结晶基底类型证据外,反射地震信号记录了沉积盆地起源时期的有关大地构造作用信息,盆地基底组构可通过记录长度大的反射地震剖面研究.2007年中石化在塔里木盆地将1400 km的地震剖面接收记录从6 s加长到12 s,为研究克拉通盆地结晶基底的组构和类型提供了难得的第一手资料.这篇文章主要介绍这次调查的反射地震剖面,讨论深反射地震数据处理的关键技术,展示塔里木盆地巴楚—塔中地区的四条12 s反射地震剖面,并对反射剖面的散射模式作初步分析.本次调查表明,将地震剖面接收记录从6 s加长到12 s,采集处理的成本只增加了3％左右,但是可为研究克拉通盆地结晶基底和上地壳不均匀性提供很有价值的第一手资料.