A magnetic model for deep plutonic bodies beneath the central Taupo Volcanic Zone, North Island, New Zealand

The central Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a region of intense Quaternary rhyolitic volcanism and geothermal activity in the North Island of New Zealand from which about 14,000 km³ of pyroclastics and lavas have been erupted during the last 1.6 Ma. Analysis of aeromagnetic surveys over the TVZ showed the presence of long-wavelength (10 to 25 km) magnetic anomalies which roughly follow the trend of the currently active eastern TVZ, from the north of Lake Taupo to the east of Lake Rotorua. An interpretation of the long-wavelength magnetic anomalies using 3-D magnetic modelling suggests that these anomalies are caused by the magnetic effects of < 3 km thick sequence of volcanic rocks and deeper magnetised bodies within the non-magnetic upper crust (4–7 km depth) beneath the young (age < 0.7 Ma), currently active eastern TVZ. The deep magnetised bodies are interpreted as solidified rhyolitic sub-volcanic plutons that have cooled down to below their Curie temperature.Although the existence of plutonic bodies beneath the TVZ has been postulated prior to this study, this magnetic interpretation result appears to be the first geophysical model of such bodies.     

Geophysical evidence on the structure of the Taupo Volcanic Zone and its hydrothermal circulation

The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) of New Zealand is characterised by extensive volcanism and by high rates of magma production. Associated with this volcanism are numerous high-temperature (> 250 °C) geothermal systems through which the natural heat output of 4200 ± 500 MW is channelled. Outside the geothermal fields the heat flow is negligible. The average heat flux from the central 6000 km² of the TVZ, which contains most of the geothermal fields, is 700 mW/m³. This heat flux appears to be more concentrated along the eastern margin of the TVZ.Schlumberger resistivity measurements (AB/2 of 500 m and 1000 m) have identified 17 distinct geothermal fields with natural heat outputs greater than 20 MW. An additional six, low-heat-output geothermal fields also occur, and may represent formerly more active systems now in decline. Two extinct fields have also been identified. The average spacing between fields is 10–15 km. The distribution of geothermal fields does not appear to be directly associated with individual volcanic features except for the geothermal system that occurs within Lake Taupo and which occupies the vent of the 1800 yr.B.P. Taupo eruption. The positions of the geothermal fields do not appear to have varied for at least the last 200,000 years. These data are consistent with a model of large-scale convection occurring throughout the TVZ, in which the geothermal fields represent the upper portion of the rising, high-temperature, convective plumes. The majority of the recharge to the convection system is provided by the downward movement of cold meteoric water between the fields which suppresses the heat flow in these regions.Gravity measurements indicate that to a depth of about 2.5 km the upper layers of the TVZ consist of low-density pyroclastic infill. A seismic refraction interface with velocity change from 3.2 km/s to 5.5 km/s occurs at a similar depth. The cross-sectional area of the convection plumes (identified electrically) appears to increase at depths of 1–2 km, consistent with a decrease in permeability at the depth at which the velocity and density increase.The seismicity is dominated by swarm activity which accounts for about half of all earthquakes and is highly variable in both space and time. The small number of seismic events (and swarms) that have well determined depths show a cut off of seismicity at depths of 7–9 km. The depth of the transition from brittle to ductile behaviour of the rocks is identified with the transition from a regime where heat is transported by (hydrothermal) convection and pore pressures are near-hydrostatic to a regime where heat transport is dominantly conductive and pore pressures are lithostatic. Within the convective region, temperatures are moderated by the circulation of water so that the depth of the transition from convective to conductive heat transfer can be linked to the bottom of the seismogenic zone. Rocks must become ductile within about 1 km of the bottom of the overlying convective zone.Seismic refraction studies suggest that the crust beneath the TVZ is highly thinned with a seismic velocity of about 7.5 km/ s, typical of the upper mantle, occurring at depth of 15 km. Seismological studies indicate the upper mantle is highly attenuating beneath the TVZ. Conductive heat transfer between the bottom of the convective system, at about 8 km, and the base of the material with crustal velocities, at 15 km, is not able to provide all the heat that is discharged at the surface. Repeated intrusion from the mantle may provide the additional heat transport required.     

Infrastructure and evolution of ocean-ridge discontinuities in Iceland

There are two main ocean-ridge discontinuities in Iceland: the Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ) and the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ). The TFZ is a 120-km-long and as much as 70-km-wide WNW-trending zone of high seismicity. It has three main seismic lineaments: the Husavik-Flatey Fault (HFF), the Dalvik lineament, and the Grimsey lineament. The HFF, a dextral strike-slip fault and active as a transform fault for about 9 Ma, has a cumulative transform-parallel displacement of some 60 km. Offshore, the HFF is marked by a transform (fracture-zone) valley, 5–10 km wide and 3–4 km deep. Onshore the Flateyjarskagi Peninsula the HFF is marked by a 3–5-km-wide zone of intense crustal deformation with numerous strike-slip and normal faults, transform-parallel dykes, dense sets of mineral veins, and subzones of completely crushed rocks, that is, fault cores. Where the HFF comes on land on Tjörnes there is a similar, but much thinner, zone of crushed rocks. The seismic lineaments are located a few tens of kilometres south (Dalvik) and north (Grimsey) of, and run subparallel with, the HFF. Both lineaments are composed of sets of NNW-trending sinistral faults arranged en echelon.The SISZ is a 70-km-long and 10–20-km wide zone of almost continuous seismicity located between the overlapping West and East Volcanic Zones. It produces the largest earthquakes in Iceland, some of which exceed M7, during which the N–S width of the zone may be as great as 50–60 km. The SISZ is partly covered with Holocene lava flows where the seismogenic faults occur as dextral NNE-trending and sinistral ENE-trending conjugate arrays with push-ups between their nearby ends. The same fault-segment trends occur in the Pleistocene pile north of the Holocene lava flows.The HFF is neither perpendicular to the nearby ridge segments nor parallel with the spreading vector. As a consequence, the North Volcanic Zone has propagated to the north and the Kolbeinsey Ridge to the south during the past 1 Ma, resulting in the development of the Grimsey and Dalvik lineaments. Similarly, the tip of the East Volcanic Zone has been propagating rapidly to the southwest during the past 3 Ma. The tip has been at its present location for no more than several hundred thousand years, thus making the SISZ less stable than the HFF. If the propagation of the tip of the East Volcanic Zone continues, it will eventually reach the Reykjanes Ridge, whereby either the West or the East Volcanic Zone becomes extinct. Then the SISZ dies out as a major seismic zone.     

Monitoring and mapping of hydrogen sulphide emissions across an active geothermal field: Rotorua,New Zealand

Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) is one of a number of gaseous species associated with geothermal activity in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand. The city of Rotorua is located within Rotorua Caldera in the TVZ and is one of the few urban areas in the world where a large population (>60,000 people) is frequently exposed to geothermal emissions. In order to evaluate the health hazard from long-term exposure to H₂S being emitted from the Rotorua geothermal field, a passive sampler has been developed to measure concentrations of H₂S at many locations across the city simultaneously. In contrast to other passive or pump-based samplers, the sampler is inexpensive, easily mass-manufactured, and involves the reaction of H₂S with silver halide contained in treated photographic paper. H₂S-exposed paper shows a distinct colour change from white to dark brown as H₂S concentrations increase and is sensitive to concentrations between ≪30 and around 1000 ppb. Rotorua city can be divided into three regions—an area of low H₂S concentration in the west, a ‘corridor’ of high concentrations running north–south through the city centre where H₂S is being emitted, and an area of medium concentration to the east which is influenced by the prevailing wind direction, creating a plume from the central corridor. The data give new insight into the subsurface routes of degassing in the Rotorua geothermal field, by showing the surface expression of the main upflow zone and the direction of the conjectured faulting below.     

Genesis of lavas of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, North Island, New Zealand

The Taupo Volcanic Zone forms part of the Taupo-Hikurangi subduction system, and comprises five volcanic centres: Tongariro, Taupo, Maroa, Okataina and Rotorua. Tongariro Volcanic Centre is formed almost entirely of andesite while the other four centres contain predominantly rhyolitic volcanics and later fissure eruptions of high-Al basalt. Estimated total volume of each lava type are as follows: 2 km³ of high-Al basalt (< 0.1%); 260 km³ of andesite (< 2.5%); 5 km³ of dacite (< 0.1%); > 10,000 km³ of rhyolite and ignimbrite (> 97.4%).The location of the andesites and vent alignments suggest a source from a subduction zone underlying the area. However, the lavas differ chemically from island-arc andesites such as those of Tonga; in particular by having higher contents of the alkali elements, light REE and Sr and Pb isotopes. This suggests some crustal contamination, and it is considered that this may occur beneath the wide accretionary prism of the subduction system. Amphibolite of the subduction zone will break down between 80 and 100 km and a partial melt will rise. A multi-stage process of magma genesis is then likely to occur. High-Al basalts are thought to be derived from partial melting of a garnet-free peridotite near the top of the mantle wedge overlying the subduction zone, locations of the vents controlled largely by faults within the crust. Rhyolites and ignimbrites were probably derived from partial melting of Mesozoic greywacke and argillite under the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Initial partial melting may have been due to hydration of the base of the crust; the “water” having come from dehydration of the downgoing slab. The partial melts would rise to form granodiorite plutons and final release of the magma to form rhyolites and ignimbrites was allowed because of extension within the Taupo graben.Dacites of the Bay of Plenty probably resulted from mixing of andesitic magma with small amounts of rhyolitic magma, but those on the eastern side of the Rotorua-Taupo area were more likely formed by a higher degree of partial melting of the Mesozoic greywacke-argillite basement. This may be due to intrusion of andesite magma on this side of the Taupo volcanic zone.     

Asymmetric,multiple-block collapse at Rotorua Caldera,Taupo Volcanic Zone,New Zealand

Calderas worldwide have been classified according to their dominant collapse styles, although there is a good deal of speculation about the processes involved. Recent laboratory experiments have tried to constrain these processes by modelling magma withdrawal and observing the effects on overlying materials. However, many other factors also contribute to final caldera morphology. Rotorua Caldera formed during the eruption of the Mamaku Ignimbrite. Collapse structure and evolution of Rotorua Caldera is interpreted based its geophysical response, geology and geomorphology, and the stratigraphy of the Mamaku Ignimbrite. Rotorua Caldera is situated at the edge of the extensional Taupo Volcanic Zone, in which major faults strike NE-SW. A second, less dominant fault set strikes NW-SE. These two fault sets have a strong influence on the morphology of Rotorua Caldera. No one style of collapse can be applied to Rotorua Caldera; it was formed during a single eruption, but subsided as many blocks and shows features of trapdoor, piecemeal and downsag types of collapse. Here Rotorua Caldera is described, according to its composition, activity and geometry, as a rhyolitic, single event, asymmetric, multiple-block, single locus collapse structure. The Mamaku Ignimbrite is the only ignimbrite to have erupted from Rotorua Caldera. Extracaldera thickness of the Mamaku Ignimbrite is up to 145 m, whereas inside the caldera it may be greater than 1 km thick. The Mamaku Ignimbrite can be separated into a basal tephra sequence and main ignimbrite sequence. The main ignimbrite sequence contains no observable flow unit boundaries but can be split into lower, middle and upper parts (LMI, mMI, uMI respectively) based on crystal content, welding, jointing, devitrification and vapour phase alteration. Juvenile clasts within the ignimbrite comprise three consanguineous silicic pumice types and andesitic fragments. Only the most evolved pumice type occurs in the basal tephra sequence. All three pumice types occur together throughout the main ignimbrite sequence, whereas the andesitic fragments are only present in uMI. Lithic lag breccias in uMI indicate a late stage of caldera collapse. Concentration of lithic fragments increases towards the middle of the ignimbrite, and may also reflect increased subsidence rate during an earlier stage. Collapse of Rotorua Caldera is thought to have occurred throughout the eruption of the main ignimbrite sequence of the Mamaku Ignimbrite, allowing simultaneous eruption of all the different pumice types and causing the abrupt transition from deposition of the basal tephra sequence to the main ignimbrite sequence.     

Seismicity at Fuego,Pacaya, Izalco,and San Cristobal Volcanoes,Central America, 1973–1974

Seismic data collected at four volcanoes in Central America during 1973 and 1974 indicate three sources of seismicity: regional earthquakes with hypocentral distances greater than 80 km, earthquakes within 40 km of each volcano, and seismic activity originating at the volcanoes due to eruptive processes. Regional earthquakes generated by the underthrusting and subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate are the most prominent seismic feature in Central America. Earthquakes in the vicinity of the volcanoes occur on faults that appear to be related to volcano formation. Faulting near Fuego and Pacaya volcanoes in Guatemala is more complex due to motion on a major E-W striking transform plate boundary 40 km north of the volcanoes. Volcanic activity produces different kinds of seismic signatures. Shallow tectonic or A-type events originate on nearby faults and occur both singly and in swarms. There are typically from 0 to 6 A-type events per day withb value of about 1.3. At very shallow depths beneath Pacaya, Izalco, and San Cristobal large numbers of low-frequency or B-type events are recorded with predominant frequencies between 2.5 and 4.5 Hz and withb values of 1.7 to 2.9. The relative number of B-type events appears to be related to the eruptive states of the volcanoes; the more active volcanoes have higher levels of seismicity. At Fuego Volcano, however, low-frequency events have unusually long codas and appear to be similar to tremor. High-amplitude volcanic tremor is recorded at Fuego, Pacaya, and San Cristobal during eruptive periods. Large explosion earthquakes at Fuego are well recorded at five stations and yield information on near-surface seismic wave velocities (α=3.0±0.2 km/sec.).     

A study on 3-D velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in Sichuan -Yunnan region, China

Many evidences indicate that the collision of two plates deformed strongly the crust of the SYR, and the deformation has been continued up to the present. In addition, the SYR is in the south segment of the South-North Seismic Zone of China, which is one of the regions in the Chinese mainland, where the seismic activity is very high, and the strong earthquakes frequently occurred. Since the 1970s, a series of large earthquakes with magnitude M>7.0 occurred in SYR, such as the 1970 Tongha…     

川滇地区地壳上地幔三维速度结构研究

根据云南和四川地震台网174个台站记录的4625个区域地震初至Ｐ波和Ｓ波走时资料，并结合其它深部地球物理资料，确定了川滇地区地壳上地幔三维速度结构．在上地壳速度异常分布中，四川盆地为正异常，川西高原为负异常，龙门山断裂带为正、负异常的边界．龙门山断裂、鲜水河断裂以及红河断裂等，在下地壳和上地幔的速度异常中仍显示出构造分界特征，说明它们可能穿透了莫霍界面．腾冲火山区和攀西构造带在50km深度上呈现负速度异常，与上地幔温度和物质组成的差异相联系．川滇地区地壳结构的总体特征是:地壳和上地幔的低平均速度，地壳厚度变化剧烈，地壳和（或）上地幔存在高导层、高热流值．这些同印度板块与欧亚板块碰撞的构造背景有关．川滇菱形块体在地壳内总体上为正常或正异常速度，而其边界的深大走滑断裂存在负速度异常，它有助于地壳块体沿断裂的侧向挤出．在主要的地震带上，中下地壳的负速度异常与地震活动性相关．多数强烈地震发生在具有正速度异常或正常速度分布的上中地壳深度上，而其下方则通常是负速度异常带．      

3D S-wave velocity structure of the Ningdu basin in Jiangxi province inferred from ambient noise tomography with dense array

The Ningdu basin, located in southern Jiangxi province of southwest China, is one of the Mesozoic basin groups which has exploration prospects for geothermal energy. A study on the detailed velocity structure of the Ningdu basin can provide important information for geothermal resource exploration. In this study, we deployed a dense seismic array in the Ningdu basin to investigate the 3D velocity structure and discuss implications for geothermal exploration and geological evolution. Based on the dense seismic array including 35 short-period (5 s-100 ?Hz) seismometers with an average interstation distance of ～5 ?km, Rayleigh surface wave dispersion curves were extracted from the continuous ambient noise data for surface wave tomographic inversion. Group velocity tomography was conducted and the 3D S-wave velocity structure was inverted by the neighborhood algorithm. The results revealed obvious low-velocity anomalies in the center of the basin, consistent with the low-velocity Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. The basement and basin-controlling fault can also be depicted by the S-wave velocity anomalies. The obvious seismic interface is about 2 ?km depth in the basin center and decreases to 700 ?m depth near the basin boundary, suggesting spatial thickness variations of the Cretaceous sediment. The fault features of the S-wave velocity profile coincide with the geological cognition of the western boundary basin-controlling fault, which may provide possible upwelling channels for geothermal fluid. This study suggests that seismic tomography with a dense array is an effective method and can play an important role in the detailed investigations of sedimentary basins.     

Crustal seismic structure and depth distribution of earthquakes in the Archean Kuusamo region,Fennoscandian Shield

Two-dimensional crustal velocity models are derived from passive seismic observations for the Archean Karelian bedrock of north-eastern Finland. In addition, an updated Moho depth map is constructed by integrating the results of this study with previous data sets. The structural models image a typical three-layer Archean crust, with thickness varying between 40 and 52 km. P wave velocities within the 12–20 km thick upper crust range from 6.1 to 6.4 km/s. The relatively high velocities are related to layered mafic intrusive and volcanic rocks. The middle crust is a fairly homogeneous layer associated with velocities of 6.5–6.8 km/s. The boundary between middle and lower crust is located at depths between 28 and 38 km. The thickness of the lower crust increases from 5–15 km in the Archean part to 15–22 km in the Archean–Proterozoic transition zone. In the lower crust and uppermost mantle, P wave velocities vary between 6.9–7.3 km/s and 7.9–8.2 km/s. The average V_p/V_s ratio increases from 1.71 in the upper crust to 1.76 in the lower crust.The crust attains its maximum thickness in the south-east, where the Archean crust is both over- and underthrust by the Proterozoic crust. A crustal depression bulging out from that zone to the N–NE towards Kuusamo is linked to a collision between major Archean blocks. Further north, crustal thickening under the Salla and Kittilä greenstone belts is tentatively associated with a NW–SE-oriented collision zone or major shear zone. Elevated Moho beneath the Pudasjärvi block is primarily explained with rift-related extension and crustal thinning at ∼2.4–2.1 Ga.The new crustal velocity models and synthetic waveform modelling are used to outline the thickness of the seismogenic layer beneath the temporary Kuusamo seismic network. Lack of seismic activity within the mafic high-velocity body in the uppermost 8 km of crust and relative abundance of mid-crustal, i.e., 14–30 km deep earthquakes are characteristic features of the Kuusamo seismicity. The upper limit of seismicity is attributed to the excess of strong mafic material in the uppermost crust. Comparison with the rheological profiles of the lithosphere, calculated at nearby locations, indicates that the base of the seismogenic layer correlates best with the onset of brittle to ductile transition at about 30 km depth.We found no evidence on microearthquake activity in the lower crust beneath the Archean Karelian craton. However, a data set of relatively well-constrained events extracted from the regional earthquake catalogue implies a deeper cut-off depth for earthquakes in the Norrbotten tectonic province of northern Sweden.     

A study on 3-D velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in Sichuan-Yunan region, China

Based on the first arrival P and S data of 4 625 regional earthquakes recorded at 174 stations dispersed in the Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, the 3-D velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in the region is determined, incorporating with previous deep geophysical data. In the upper crust, a positive anomaly velocity zone exists in the Sichuan basin, whereas a negative anomaly velocity zone exists in the western Sichuan plateau. The boundary between the positive and negative anomaly zones is the Longmenshan fault zone. The images of lower crust and upper mantle in the Longmenshan fault, Xianshuihe fault, Honghe fault and others show the characteristic of tectonic boundary, indicating that the faults likely penetrate the Moho discontinuity. The negative velocity anomalies at the depth of 50 km in the Tengchong volcanic area and the Panxi tectonic zone appear to be associated with the temperature and composition variations in the upper mantle. The overall features of the crustal and the upper mantle structures in the Sichuan-Yunnan region are the lower average velocity in both crust and uppermost mantle, the large crustal thickness variations, and the existence of high conductivity layer in the crust or/and upper mantle, and higher geothermal value. All these features are closely related to the collision between the India and the Asia plates. The crustal velocity in the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block generally shows normal value or positive anomaly, while the negative anomaly exists in the area along the large strike-slip faults as the block boundary. It is conducive to the crustal block side-pressing out along the faults. In the major seismic zones, the seismicity is relative to the negative anomaly velocity. Most strong earthquakes occurred in the upper-mid crust with positive anomaly or normal velocity, where the negative anomaly zone generally exists below. Foundation item: National Scientific and Technological Development Program (95-973-02-02), the Climb Program (95-S-05-01) of National Scientific and Technological Ministry of China, and the State Natural Sciences Foundation of China (49874021). Contribution No. 02FE2004, Institute of Geophysics, China Seismological Bureau.     

Suboceanic earthquake location and seismic structure in the Kanto district,central Japan

We present a combined method, using sP depth-phase data and double-difference arrival times, to determine the precise hypocenter locations of earthquakes that occur under the Pacific Ocean outside of the area covered by the land-based seismic network. We assess the effectiveness of the combined method using a data set of P- and S-wave arrival times and sP depth phase from suboceanic earthquakes recorded by both land-based seismic stations and offshore seismic stations (OFS). The hypocenters of the offshore earthquakes relocated using the combined method are consistent with those determined using the standard location method and OFS data. The differences in the hypocenters relocated by the two methods are less than 4 km. We applied the method to the subduction region that underlies the Kanto district, central Japan, and located a large number of earthquakes that occurred beneath the Pacific Ocean. We then determined the detailed 3D seismic velocity structure by inverting a large number of arrival times of P- and S-waves and sP depth phase from the relocated earthquakes in the study region. High-velocity anomalies related to the cold subducting Pacific slab and low-velocity anomalies related to the hot mantle wedge are clearly imaged. Beneath active volcanoes, low-velocity zones are visible from the surface to a depth of 100 km, reflecting fluids released by dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab. Strong lateral heterogeneities are revealed on the upper boundary of the Pacific slab beneath the forearc region. The low-velocity areas under the offshore region are associated with low seismicity and weak interplate coupling. A low-velocity layer is imaged along the upper boundary of the Philippine Sea slab in the northern part of Kanto district, which may reflect dehydration of the slab. Our tomographic images indicate that the overlaying Philippine Sea plate has effects on the spatial distribution of active volcanoes related to the subducting Pacific slab in the study region.     

Mamaku Ignimbrite: a caldera-forming ignimbrite erupted from a compositionally zoned magma chamber in Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

Mamaku Ignimbrite was deposited during the formation of Rotorua Caldera, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, 220–230 ka. Its outflow sheet forms a fan north, northwest and southwest of Rotorua, capping the Mamaku–Kaimai Plateau. Mamaku Ignimbrite can be divided into a partly phreatomagmatic basal sequence, and a main sequence which comprises lower, middle, and upper ignimbrite. The internal stratigraphy indicates that it was emplaced progressively from a pyroclastic density current of varying energy that became less particulate away from source. Gradational contacts between lower, middle, and upper ignimbrite are consistent with it being deposited during one eruptive event from the same source. Variations in lithic clast content and coexistence of different pumice types through the ignimbrite sequence indicate that caldera collapse occurred throughout the eruption, but particularly when middle Mamaku Ignimbrite was deposited and in the final stages of deposition of upper Mamaku Ignimbrite. Maximum lithic data and the location of lithic lag breccias in upper Mamaku Ignimbrite confirm Rotorua Caldera as the source. At least 120 m of geothermally altered intra-caldera Mamaku Ignimbrite occurs inside Rotorua Caldera. Pumice clasts in the Mamaku Ignimbrite are dacite to high-silica rhyolite and can be chemically divided into three types: high–silica rhyolite (type 1), rhyolite (type 2), and dacite (type 3). All are petrogenetically related and types 1 and 2 may be derived by up to 20% crystal fractionation from the type 3 dacite. All three types probably resided in a single, gradationally zoned magma chamber. Andesitic juvenile fragments are found only in upper Mamaku Ignimbrite and inferred to represent a discrete magma that was injected into the silicic chamber and is considered to have accumulated as a sill at the base of the magma chamber. The contrast in density between the andesitic and silicic magmas did not allow eruption of the andesitic fragments during the deposition of lower and middle Mamaku Ignimbrite. The advanced stage of caldera collapse, late in the main eruptive phase, created withdrawal dynamics that allowed andesitic magma to reach the surface as fragments within upper Mamaku Ignimbrite.     

2014年新疆于田MS7.3地震序列重定位及其发震构造初步研究

2014年2月12日在新疆于田县发生了M_S7.3地震,主震前一天在震区发生了M_S5.4前震,震后余震活动频繁,由于震区台站十分稀疏和不均匀、地壳速度结构复杂,台网常规定位结果精度有限,很难从中获得序列的空间分布特征和活动趋势的正确认识.本文首先利用位于震区附近的于田地震台5年记录的远震波形数据,采用接收函数方法研究了震区附近的地壳结构,建立了震源区的地壳速度模型.在此基础上,联合震相到时和方位角对2014年于田M_S7.3地震序列(从2014年02月11日-2014年04月30日,共计577次地震)进行了重新绝对定位.结果显示,(1) 重定位后的前震和主震震中位置明显向地表破裂带及其附近的阿尔金分支断裂(南肖尔库勒断裂和阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂)靠近,两者相距5.4 km,主震位置为36.076°N、82.576°E,震源深度为22 km, 前震位置为36.055°N、82.522°E,震源深度为19 km;(2) 本文重定位结果显示,余震序列沿NEE-SWW展布,优势分布长度约73 km、宽度约16 km,平均震源深度为14.8 km,其中77%的余震分布在地表破裂带的西南端,这部分余震中少数沿阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂分布,绝大多数沿北东东向的南肖尔库勒断裂分布,位于地表破裂带东北端的余震沿阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂分布,但发生在地表破裂带的余震极少;重定位后,位于地表破裂带西南侧的震中分布由台网目录的近南北向变为北东向,与地表破裂带、南肖尔库勒断裂和阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂走向一致;(3) 沿重定位剖面的地震分布,可推断位于地表破裂带西南段的南肖尔库勒断裂与位于北东段的阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂倾向反向,南肖尔库勒断裂的倾向为SE,阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂的倾向为NW,这与本次地震野外考察得到的断裂性质一致.综合重定位结果、地表破裂带分布、震源机制解、南肖尔库勒断裂和阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂的性质认为,2014年于田M_S7.3地震的发震构造为阿尔金断裂西南尾段的两条分支断裂——南肖尔库勒断裂和阿什库勒-肖尔库勒断裂.     

Shallow seismicity, triggered seismicity, and ambient noise tomography at the long-dormant Uturuncu Volcano, Bolivia

Using a network of 15 seismometers around the inflating Uturuncu Volcano from April 2009 to 2010, we find an average rate of about three local volcano-tectonic earthquakes per day, and swarms of 5–60 events a few times per month with local magnitudes ranging from −1.2 to 3.7. The earthquake depths are near sea level, more than 10 km above the geodetically inferred inflation source and the Altiplano Puna Magma Body. The Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake on 27 February 2010 triggered hundreds of earthquakes at Uturuncu with the onset of the Love and Rayleigh waves and again with the passage of the X2/X3 overtone phases of Rayleigh waves. This is one of the first incidences in which triggering has been observed from multiple surface wave trains. The earthquakes are oriented NW–SE similar to the regional faults and lineaments. The b value of the catalog is 0.49, consistent with a tectonic origin of the earthquakes. We perform ambient noise tomography using Love wave cross-correlations to image a low-velocity zone at 1.9 to 3.9 km depth below the surface centered slightly north of the summit. The low velocities are perhaps related to the hydrothermal system and the low-velocity zone is spatially correlated with earthquake locations. The earthquake rate appears to vary with time—a seismic deployment from 1996 to 1997 reveals 1–5 earthquakes per day, whereas 60 events/day were seen during 5 days using one seismometer in 2003. However, differences in analysis methods and magnitudes of completeness do not allow direct comparison of these seismicity rates. The rate of seismic activity at Uturuncu is higher than at other well-monitored inflating volcanoes during periods of repose. The frequent swarms and triggered earthquakes suggest the hydrothermal system is metastable.     

Buchitic metagreywacke xenoliths from Mount Ngauruhoe,Taupo Volcanic Zone,New Zealand

Buchitic sedimentary xenoliths, a few centimetres to several decimetres diameter, occur in Recent andesite from Mount Ngauruhoe, Tongariro Volcanic Center, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Bulk chemistry and Sr isotope compositions of the xenoliths indicate that they are greywacke and argillite derived from Mesozoic Torlesse terrane basement that partly underlies the Taupo Volcanic Zone. The xenoliths contain up to 80% glass with quartz, apatite and zircon remaining as unmelted phases. Glasses within the xenoliths are peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.0 − 1.4), have high normative corundum (2–7%), appreciable FeO (2–4 wt.%), MgO (0.2–1.5 wt.%), TiO₂ (0.17–0.84 wt.%), relatively high normative An (1.0–5.3%), and do not represent S-type granitic melts. In the argillite the glass has higher amounts of AI₂O₃, FeO, MgO, CaO and K₂O, and has less SiO₂ and Na₂O than glass in the greywacke. Silica-rich glass (up to 80 wt.% SiO₂) surrounds partially melted quartz. Variable glass chemistry reflects the heterogeneous (layered) nature of the xenoliths. Cordierite (Mg/(Mg + Fe + Mn) = 0.78-0.58), orthopyroxene (En_43–56), Mg-rich ilmenite, rutile, pleonaste, V-Cr-Ti spinel, and pyrrhotite occur in the glass of the xenoliths. The dominant cordierite, orthopyroxene, spinel assemblage can be accounted for by disequilibrium breakdown reactions under low oxidation conditions < QFM) involving phengite and chlorite which are abundant in Torlesse greywacke and argillite cropping out along the eastern side of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Comparison with glass compositions and phase relations of disequilibrium melting experiments on Torlesse greywacke and argillite indicates a minimum temperature of 775°C and a maximum pressure of 1.5 kbar for fusion of the xenoliths that underwent a rapid rate of heating at a depth of less than 5 km and a cooling period constrained by the time of quenching when they were erupted.     

云南普洱糯扎渡水库蓄水前后P波速度结构变化特征

基于云南省糯扎渡水库台网17个台站所记录到的2009年11月至2014年9月期间的5 247次地震的P波绝对到时资料和相对到时资料,以及波形互相关得到的相对到时资料,采用双差地震层析成像方法联合反演了糯扎渡水库库区蓄水前和蓄水后2011年11月30日至2012年12月31日及2013年1月1日至2014年9月30日这3个阶段的震源参数和三维P波速度结构。结果显示:糯扎渡水库蓄水后,水库库区地震的发生频次增多,经重定位后的震源深度大多在10 km以内,尤其以5 km以内的居多,与前人得到的水库诱发地震震源深度小于10 km的结果基本吻合;随着蓄水量的增加,库水沿断层渗透,孔隙压力变化导致地震增多的区域延伸至左岸支库黑江和库区回水至库区中段的澜沧江段,并进一步向威远江和小黑江延伸,这些区域的P波速度降低;整体的水库渗水作用最大深度不超过7 km。      

A multi-scale 3-D crust velocity model in the Hefei-Chao Lake area around the southern segment of Tanlu Fault Zone

Regional high-precision velocity models of the crust are an important foundation for examining seismic activity, seismogenic environments, and disaster distribution characteristics. The Hefei-Chao Lake area contains the main geological units of Hefei Basin, with thick sediments and the Chao Lake depression. Several major concealed faults of the southern NNE-trending Tanlu Fault Zone cross this area. To further explore the underground distribution characteristics of the faults and their tectonic evolutionary relationship with adjacent tectonic units, this study used ambient noise data recorded by a seismic array deployed in Hefei City and Chao Lake, constructing a 3-D velocity model at the depth of 1–8 km. Then a multi-scale high-resolution 3-D velocity model of this area was constructed by this new upper crustal velocity model with the previous middle and lower crustal model. The new model reveals that a high-velocity belt is highly consistent with the strike of the Tanlu Fault Zone, and a low-velocity sedimentary characteristic is consistent with the Hefei Basin and Chao Lake depression. The distribution morphology of high and low velocity bodies shows that the sedimentary pattern of Hefei-Chao Lake area is closely related to the tectonic evolution of the Tanlu Fault Zone since the Mesozoic. This study also identifies multiple low-velocity anomalies in the southeastern Hefei City. We speculate that strong ground motion during the 2009 Feidong earthquake (magnitude of 3.5) was related to amplification by the thick sediments in the Hefei Basin. We also discuss further applications of multi-scale high-resolution models of the shallow layer to strong ground motion simulations in cities and for earthquake disaster assessments.     

Timing of volcanic, plutonic and geothermal activity at Ngatamariki, New Zealand

Four ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates on mineral separates from fresh and hydrothermally altered volcanic and plutonic rocks from the Ngatamariki geothermal field indicate that andesitic volcanism took place in the eastern portion of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) prior to 1.2 Ma and probably considerably earlier. These data significantly extend the onset and duration of andesitic volcanism in the east-central TVZ over previous estimates. Intrusive activity is represented at Ngatamariki by a dioritic pluton, the only such pluton yet recognized in the entire TVZ. Hornblende from the pluton yields a crystallization age of near 550 ka. Hydrothermal alteration spatially associated with the pluton produced sericite of a similar age. Overlying and postdating the most intense hydrothermal alteration zone is the Whakamaru Ignimbrite (or its equivalent) which was emplaced at 330 ka. Two distinct geothermal systems may have been active at nearly the same site from 550 ka to present. The most intense activity occurred before 330 ka and was associated with emplacement of the Ngatamariki diorite. This was followed by the less intense system that is currently active. The geothermal regime at Ngatamariki has, therefore, probably been active intermittently for at least 550 ka.