Examples of Simultaneous Appearance of Deformations of the Earth’s Crust with Hour-long Period and Earthquakes

Doklady Earth Sciences - Records from broadband seismic station AAK located on Kirgiz Ridge, Tien Shan, are presented. The episodes of discrepancy between tectonic displacements and tidal...     

Lateral density inhomogeneities of the continental and oceanic lithosphere and their relationship with the Earth’s crust formation

This paper presents the results of the study of the free mantle surface (FMS) depth beneath continents and oceans. The reasons for the observed dependence of the FMS depth on the crustal thickness in the continental lithosphere are discussed. The influence of radial variations in the mantle’s density is evaluated. The calculations performed have indicated that the observed dependence of the FMS depth on the crustal thickness is caused mostly by lateral inhomogeneities in the lithospheric mantle, and the size of these inhomogeneities is proportional to the thickness of the crust. The origin of such inhomogeneities can be related to the process of continental crust formation.     

Gravitational interactions of the solid core and the Earth’s mantle and variations in the length of the day

A simple mechanical model explaining the long-period (about 100-year) variations in the Earth’s rotational velocity is proposed. This model takes into account the gravitational interaction of the mantle with the solid core of the Earth and the fact that the core rotation leads that of the mantle. Well-known Earth parameters provide estimates of the gravitational torque that support the proposed model. The mathematical problem involved reduces to the classical problem of a nonlinear oscillator exposed to a constant torque. The well-known parameters of the core-mantle system result in a stable equilibrium and a stable limiting cycle on the phase cylinder of this oscillator. This equilibrium corresponds to a single angular velocity for the mantle and solid core, with no long-period oscillations in the length of the day. The limiting cycle corresponds to the core rotation leading the mantle rotation. In this case, the ellipsoidality of the gravitationally interacting bodies provides a periodic interchange of kinetic angular momentum between the mantle and solid core that results in long-period variations in the length of the day. The proposed model does not support the formerly widespread opinion that the core rotates more slowly than the mantle.     

Barrier effect of degassing and destruction of the Earth’s crust

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

FeMgMn relations of ureilite olivines and pyroxenes and the genesis of ureilites

The Fe/Mn-Fe/Mg relations of published microprobe analyses of ureilite olivine cores suggest that FeO reduction in the magmatic stage was important in the genesis of some of these meteorites. Consideration of Mg/Mn and Fe/Mn partitioning between olivine and pigeonite cores shows that these two phases are not in equilibrium. The data are consistent with combined fractional crystallization and FeO reduction being the major processes of ureilite genesis. Few, if any, of the analyzed ureilites are consistent with a partial melting residue model.     

Correlation between large-scale motions in the liquid core of the Earth and geomagnetic jerks,earthquakes, and variations in the Earth’s length of day

We consider the correlation between seismicity, variations in the length of day, and geomagnetic jerks. We found that the jerks precede with in-phase variations in the number of strong earthquakes with М > 6.5 and the rate of the length of day in the range of periods of 5–8 years.     

Fluorine and chlorine in mantle minerals and the halogen budget of the Earth’s mantle

The fluorine (F) and chlorine (Cl) contents of arc magmas have been used to track the composition of subducted components, and the F and Cl contents of MORB have been used to estimate the halogen content of depleted MORB mantle (DMM). Yet, the F and Cl budget of the Earth’s upper mantle and their distribution in peridotite minerals remain to be constrained. Here, we developed a method to measure low concentrations of halogens (≥0.4 µg/g F and ≥0.3 µg/g Cl) in minerals by secondary ion mass spectroscopy. We present a comprehensive study of F and Cl in co-existing natural olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and amphibole in seventeen samples from different tectonic settings. We support the hypothesis that F in olivine is controlled by melt polymerization, and that F in pyroxene is controlled by their Na and Al contents, with some effect of melt polymerization. We infer that Cl compatibility ranks as follows: amphibole > clinopyroxene > olivine ~ orthopyroxene, while F compatibility ranks as follows: amphibole > clinopyroxene > orthopyroxene ≥ olivine, depending on the tectonic context. In addition, we show that F, Cl, Be and B are correlated in pyroxenes and amphibole. F and Cl variations suggest that interaction with slab melts and fluids can significantly alter the halogen content of mantle minerals. In particular, F in oceanic peridotites is mostly hosted in pyroxenes, and proportionally increases in olivine in subduction-related peridotites. The mantle wedge is likely enriched in F compared to un-metasomatized mantle, while Cl is always low (<1 µg/g) in all tectonic settings studied here. The bulk anhydrous peridotite mantle contains 1.4–31 µg/g F and 0.14–0.38 µg/g Cl. The bulk F content of oceanic-like peridotites (2.1–9.4 µg/g) is lower than DMM estimates, consistent with F-rich eclogite in the source of MORB. Furthermore, the bulk Cl budget of all anhydrous peridotites studied here is lower than previous DMM estimates. Our results indicate that nearly all MORB may be somewhat contaminated by seawater-rich material and that the Cl content of DMM could be overestimated. With this study, we demonstrate that the halogen contents of natural peridotite minerals are a unique tool to understand the cycling of halogens, from ridge settings to subduction zones.     

Measurement of the difference in the Earth’s gravitational potentials with the help of a transportable quantum clock

The results of the Russia’s first ground-based experiment for determination of the difference in the Earth’s gravitational potentials on the basis of the measurement of the gravitational effect of the time delay with the help of a high-stability transportable atomic clock are provided. The reference atomic clock was placed in Moscow oblast, and a transportable quantum clock with an instability of 3 × 10^–15 was placed in the Caucasus Mountains, with a difference in height of the clocks of 1804 m. The measured difference in the gravitational potentials between the positions of the two quantum clocks was (182.0 ± 3.1)10²m²s^-2 at a relative measurement error of no more than 1.7%.     

Irregularities in the Earth’s rotation and the overall angular momentum of the atmosphere

Methods of celestial mechanics are used to refine a mathematical model for irregularity in the axial rotation of the Earth proposed earlier. This refinement applies corrections (residuals) introduced by perturbations of zonal tides. We examine intraday and near-diurnal variations in the Earth’s axial rotation, and a celestial-mechanical model explaining the origin of the intraday and near-diurnal oscillations in the rotational angular velocity is constructed. The correspondence between the variations of the intrayear rotational irregularity and the overall angular momentum of the atmosphere is analyzed.     

Stress state of the Earth’s crust of the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka before the Simushir earthquake

The field of modern tectonic stresses was reconstructed for the Earth’s crust of the northwestern segment of the Pacific subduction zones. For this purpose, we used the method of cataclastic analysis and data on the magnitude of the stresses released at the source of the Simushir earthquake of 2006, which allowed us to determine both the orientation of the principal stress axes and the magnitude of the stresses and to estimate the effective strength of rock masses. The effective cohesion was estimated for this region of the Earth’s crust as 12 bar, and the maximum shear stresses are no higher than 300 bar. The analysis of the reconstructed stress field in the zone of the preparation of the Simushir earthquake showed that this region was almost free of domains with high stresses where brittle failure requires considerable energy inputs. The medium level of effective pressure indicates that this region is most favorable for the development of a large-scale brittle failure.     

Experimental study of the phase and melting relations of homogeneous basalt + peridotite mixtures and implications for the petrogenesis of flood basalts

Flood basalt provinces may constitute some of the most catastrophic volcanic events in the Earth's history. A popular model to explain them involves adiabatic ascent of plumes of anomalously hot peridotite from a thermal boundary layer deep in the mantle, across the peridotite solidus. However, peridotitic plumes probably require unreasonably high potential temperatures to generate sufficient volumes of magma and high enough melting rates to produce flood volcanism. This lead to the suggestion that low melting eclogitic or pyroxenitic heterogeneities may be present in the source regions of the flood basalts. In order to constrain petrogenetic models for flood basalts generated in this way, an experimental investigation of the melting relations of homogeneous peridotite + oceanic basalt mixtures has been performed. Experiments were conducted at 3.5 GPa on a fertile peridotite (MPY90)–oceanic basalt (GA1) compositional join. The hybrid basalt + peridotite compositions crystallised garnet lherzolite at subsolidus temperatures plus quenched ne-normative picritic liquids at temperatures just above the solidus, over the compositional range MPY90 to GA1₅₀MPY90₅₀. The solidus temperature decreased slightly from ∼1500 °C for MPY90 to ∼1450 °C for GA1₅₀MPY90₅₀. Compositions similar to GA1₃₀MPY90₇₀ have 100% melting compressed into a melting interval which is approximately 50–60% smaller than that for pure MPY90, due to a liquidus minimum. During adiabatic ascent of hybrid source material containing a few tens of percent basalt in peridotite, the lower solidus and compressed solidus–liquidus temperature interval may conspire to substantially enhance melt productivity. Mixtures of recycled oceanic crust and peridotite in mantle plumes may therefore provide a viable source for some flood volcanics. Evidence for this would include higher than normal Fe/Mg values in natural primary liquids, consistent with equilibration with more Fe-rich olivine than normal pyrolitic olivine (i.e. <Fo_89–92). Modelling of fractionation trends in West Greenland picrites is presented to demonstrate that melts parental to the Greenland picrites were in equilibrium at mantle P–T conditions with olivine with Fo_84–86, suggesting an Fe-enriched source compared with normal peridotite, and consistent with the presence of a basaltic component in the source. Received: 29 October 1999 / Accepted: 3 February 2000     

Estimation of the stress state of the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle in the area of the Southern Kuril Islands

The catastrophic Shikotan earthquake of October 4 (5), 1994, occurred in the Pacific Ocean. Its focus was located 80 km eastward of Shikotan Island. The stress state of the Earth’s crust in this area was estimated by the method of the cataclastic analysis of the whole range of the earthquake mechanisms. The performed reconstruction of the parameters of the current stress state of the Earth’s crust and the upper mantle in the area of the Southern Kuril Islands made it possible to establish that this area is characterized, on the one hand, by the presence of extensive areas of steady behavior of the stress tensor parameters and, on the other hand, by the presence of local sections of anomalously fast changes in these parameters.     

Physical and chemical changes of water in the deep interior of the Earth—Decrepitation-style mud-volcano-earthquake—A bright lamp to shed light on the mysteries of the deep interior of the Earth

The 2008-05-12 Wenchuan mud-volcano-earthquake was accompanied with eruption of a huge volume of gas and stone, revealing that earthquakes generally result from instant reverse phase explosion of supercritical water (SCW) at the supercritical point. In the deep parts of the crust and mantle there still exists a large amount of supercritical water equivalent in order of magnitude to that of the Earth’s hydrosphere. Soft fluids which exist in the MOHO at the top of the upper mantle are the so-called deep supercritical fluids (SCWD). Supercritical water (SCW) has n×10³ times strong capability to dissolve gas. Its viscosity is extremely low and its diffusivity is extremely strong. Therefore, it can naturally migrate toward a region with relatively negative pressure. In the steep break zone of the MOHO at the 57–65 km depth beneath the earthquake belt, due to mutation of overburden pressure, SCWD can automatically separate out CaSiO₃ and other inorganic salts, evolving into the SCW (H₂O-CO₂-CH₄O system. In going upwards to the 10–20-km depth of the crust SCW will be accumulated as an earthquake-pregnant reservoir in the broken terrain. The phase-transition heat of SCW is estimated at 606.62 kJ/kg and the reverse phasing kinetic energy is 2350.8 kJ/kg. When automatic exhaust at the time of decompression reaches the critical pressure (Pc), the instant explosion reverse phase will be normal-state air water. It will release a huge volume of energy and high-kinetic-energy gas which has been expanded by a factor of 1000, leading to the breaking of the country rocks overlying the earthquake-pregnant reservoir, thus giving rise to a Ms 8.0 earthquake. As a result, there were formed eruptive and air-driven (pneumatic) debris flows whose volumatric flow rate reaches n×10¹⁴ m³/s, and their force greatly exceeds the power of INT explosive of the same equivalent value.     

Fluctuations in the angular momentum of the atmosphere and intraday irregularities in the Earth’s rotation

Numerical celestial-mechanical models are used to compare (andg interpolate and forecast) near-diurnal tidal variations in the Earth’s axial rotation and oscillations in the global angular momentum of the atmosphere using the IERS data and NCEP/NCAR meteorological data. In order to improve the accuracy of interpolations and forecasts made for short and intraday time intervals, it is expedient to include the effect of small perturbations in short-term zonal tides, which influence fluctuations in Universal Time UT1 directly related to the Earth’s rotation. Due to the quasi-static formulation of the problem, it is assumed that the dynamics of the thin surface atmosphere are completely determined by the gradient of the tide-generating geopotential, which supports forced oscillations of the entire subsystem (i.e., of the mantle and atmospheric envelope). A comparison of the numerical simulations with the NCEP/NCAR data shows that the model is effective for applications in forecasting atmospheric tides.     

Stress State of the Earth’s Crust and Seismotectonics of Western Sichuan,China

Geotectonics - The results of using a technology for zoning hazardous faults developed at the Institute of Physics of the Earth based on natural stress data are presented. The source of these data...