时间域航空电磁扩散特征和成像深度研究

为了研究时间域航空电磁系统扩散特征,基于连续性边界条件将电磁场向下延拓得到地下介质中各点处的频率域响应,通过傅里叶变换将其变换到时间域.计算阶跃波形发射时垂直磁偶极子和水平磁偶极子在均匀半空间介质和两层介质中产生的电磁场,通过电流密度矢量图和随时间变化的电流密度等值线展示电磁场在地下介质中的扩散过程.电磁场在地下的扩散受电阻率结构的影响.在良导地区电磁场扩散慢、衰减快,而在高阻地区电磁场扩散快、衰减慢.垂直磁偶极子在地下产生的感应电流形成一个电流环随时间向下、向外扩散.水平磁偶极子在地下产生的感应电流形成两个互相叠加的电流环.时间域电磁场扩散代表着真正物理意义上的电磁扩散,因为它展示了地下电磁场空间分布随时间的变化和场强的衰减.基于对感应电流环的研究,我们探究了扩散深度和时间域航空电磁数据成像深度的关系.时间域电磁场扩散规律的研究不仅加深了对电磁扩散特征的理解,更有助于提高航空电磁数据解释水平.     

三维时间域航空电磁有理Krylov正演研究

常规的三维时间域航空电磁模拟通常采用隐式步长方法进行时间离散,需要几次矩阵分解和上百次右端源项回带,计算效率较低.为了提高正演计算效率,本文提出使用有理Krylov方法求解时间域电场扩散方程.首先使用非结构四面体网格进行空间离散,采用Nédélec矢量基函数近似四面体单元内的电场;然后基于有限元离散给出矩阵指数和矢量乘积表示的电场显式解;最后采用有理Arnoldi算法构造Krylov子空间内的正交基函数并进一步求解矩阵指数与矢量的乘积,直接得到任意时刻的电场解向量,避免步长离散过程.此外,本文还提出一种指数加权偏移参数优化方法,使得有理Arnoldi近似在瞬变衰减晚期具备更高的精度,从而降低Krylov子空间阶数并提高计算效率.通过和层状模型解析解的对比验证了有理Krylov方法的精度.针对三维异常体模型使用全局网格和局部网格剖分并和其他数值方法比较,进一步说明了有理Krylov方法的有效性.

     

航空瞬变电磁法对地下典型目标体的探测能力研究

航空电磁法的探测能力受飞行高度、发射波形、发射磁矩和发射基频等因素的影响,致使不同分量间的勘探能力存在差异.航空电磁如对所有磁场和磁感应分量、on-和off-time数据进行观测和解释,不仅数据量大、耗时长,而且出现大量冗余数据.目前国内针对此问题尚无系统解决方法.本文针对吊舱式直升机航空电磁系统,采用积分方程法求解频率域响应,经汉克尔变换转换到时间域,计算了地下三维目标体的 B 和d B /dt时间域响应.利用异常体响应与背景场响应作比值,并通过设定响应阀值定义最大勘探深度,进而分析不同发射波形、不同分量以及on-和off-time期间的航空电磁系统的探测能力.基于本文分析手段,可根据实际勘探目标,确定一套探测能力较强的航空电磁最佳参数组合,为野外测量和数据处理提供技术指导,高效完成勘探任务.     

Transient electromagnetic field in magneto-viscous medium

When using Transient Geo-Electromagnetics (TEM) unusually slow decaying transients are sometimes observed in the absence of well-conductive objects. Many researchers explain this phenomenon by presence of material with magneto-viscous or superparamagnetic (SPM) properties. The analysis of electromagnetic (EM) field equations in conductive SPM medium is suggested in the present paper. It is shown that in a simplest case of small size single-domain magnetic particles with relative higher potential barrier energy, the SPM-medium is characterized by a very slow decaying exponential transient magnetic field, the level of which is much more as compared to that of due to non-magnetic medium of the same conductivity. This situation is traced up to the late transient time like 0.1 s and more. SPM and Induction fields are in the near zone additive. They depend in a different way on the superparamagnetic and electric properties of the SPM-medium. They also depend in different ways on the transient time and on the size of the transmitter–receiver configuration. These characteristics make it possible to recognize the presence of SPM-effect and to separate these fields.     

Scaling model experiments on propagation of electromagnetic waves using salt solution to simulate the Earth's crust: Loma Prieta and Kobe earthquakes

Propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves from an earthquake focus in the conductive Earth has been investigated using 1/1,000,000 scaling models taking earth-ionosphere and ocean-Moho plane parallel-plate waveguides into account. Microwaves at a frequency, ω_m, a million times higher than that of seismic EM signal (SEMS), ω, were generated at the model focus. They are propagated in a salt solution modeling the earth's crust and reflected by ocean, fault planes, ionosphere and Moho plane all made by aluminum. Distribution of EM power was mapped by scanning a detector antenna over the model Earth's surface. The skin depth, δ, calculated by the exact skin depth equation, 1/δ=ω(μ/2)^1/2 [(1+(1/ωρ)²)^1/2 −1]^1/2 where dielectric constant, and permeability, μ are the same but resistivity, ρ, 10⁻⁶ times smaller than that of Earth, gave 10⁻⁶ times small skin depth validating the model scaling index. Images for evanescent and wave-ripple standing waves disturbed by normal, strike-slip and dip-slip conductive fault planes have been obtained using an aluminum plate. The co-circular contour map above the epicenter due to evanescence was pushed to the north east direction from the epicenter by the presence of ocean for the Loma Prieta earthquake, while to north direction for the Kobe earthquake. The intensity of EM ULF emissions for the Loma Prieta earthquake is discussed quantitatively.     

Experimental validation of the wavefield transform of electromagnetic fields

The wavefield transform is a mathematical technique for transforming low-frequency electromagnetic (EM) signals to a non-diffusive wave domain. The ray approximation is valid in the transform space and this makes traveltime tomography for 3D mapping of the electrical conductivity distribution in the subsurface possible. The transform, however, imposes stringent frequency bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio requirements on the data. Here we discuss a laboratory scale experiment designed to collect transform quality EM data, and to demonstrate the practical feasibility of transforming these data to the wavefield domain.
We have used the scalable nature of EM fields to design a time-domain experiment using graphite blocks to simulate realistic field conditions while leaving the time scale undisturbed. The spatial dimensions have been scaled down by a factor of a thousand by scaling conductivity up by a factor of a million. The graphite blocks have two holes drilled into them to carry out cross-well and borehole-to-surface experiments. Steel sheets have been inserted between the blocks to simulate a conductive layer.
Our experiments show that accurate EM data can be recorded on a laboratory scale model even when the scaling of some features, such as drill-hole diameters, is not maintained. More importantly, the time-domain EM data recorded in cross-well and surface-to-borehole modes can be usefully and accurately transformed to the wavefield domain. The observed wavefield propagation delay is proportional to the direct distance between the transmitter and receiver in a homogeneous medium. In a layered medium, data accuracy is reduced and, hence, our results are not so conclusive. On the basis of the experimental results we conclude that the wavefield transform could constitute a valid approach to the interpretation of accurate, undistorted time-domain data if further improvement in the transform can be realized.     

Controls on event runoff coefficients in the eastern Italian Alps

Analyses of event runoff coefficients provide essential insight on catchment response, particularly if a range of catchments and a range of events are compared by a single indicator. In this study we examine the effect of climate, geology, land use, flood types and initial soil moisture conditions on the distribution functions of the event runoff coefficients for a set of 14 mountainous catchments located in the eastern Italian Alps, ranging in size from 7.3 to 608.4 km². Runoff coefficients were computed from hourly precipitation, runoff data and estimates of snowmelt. A total of 535 events were analysed over the period 1989–2004. We classified each basin using a “permeability index” which was inferred from a geologic map and ranged from “low” to “high permeability”. A continuous soil moisture accounting model was applied to each catchment to classify ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ initial soil moisture conditions. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of runoff coefficients is highly correlated with mean annual precipitation, with the mean runoff coefficient increasing with mean annual precipitation. Geology, through the ‘permeability index’, is another important control on runoff coefficients for catchments with mean annual precipitation less than 1200 mm. Land use, as indexed by the SCS curve number, influences runoff coefficient distribution to a lesser degree. An analysis of the runoff coefficients by flood type indicates that runoff coefficients increase with event snowmelt. Results show that there exists an intermediate region of subsurface water storage capacity, as indexed by a flow–duration curve-based index, which maximises the impact of initial wetness conditions on the runoff coefficient. This means that the difference between runoff coefficients characterised by wet and dry initial conditions is negligible both for basins with very large storage capacity and for basins with small storage capacity. For basins with intermediate storage capacities, the impact of the initial wetness conditions may be relatively large.     

The entrance of pyroclastic flows into the sea, II. theoretical considerations on subaqueous emplacement and welding

The submarine counterparts of late Quaternary subaerial pyroclastic flow deposits off the western flanks of Dominica, Lesser Antilles, have been investigated by 3.5 kHz seismic profiling and dredging (cruise EN20 of R/V “Endeavor”). Block-and-ash flow deposits formed by dome collapse and a welded ignimbrite from a prominent fan at Grande Savanne, Dominica. This fan can be traced underwater as a major constructional ridge (2–4 km wide and 200–400 m thick) to over 13 km offshore at a water depth of 1800 m. The submarine ridge has a volume of 14 km³ and has the characteristic morphology of a debris flow apron composed of several individual units. The evidence suggests that pyroclastic flows can move underwater without losing their essential character.     

Stochastic simulation of volcanic tremor from Ruapehu

The most common volcanic tremor produced by Ruapehu is a continuous signal with a dominant frequency of about 2 Hz. This signal has a sharply peaked spectrum, and an autocorrelation function with a high degree of coherence, even for lags of over 20 seconds. These characteristics strongly suggest that the cause of this tremor is a single resonator, probably a fluid-filled cavity resonating in an “organ-pipe” mode.The stochastic simulation of such a resonator uses the equation of motion of a Simple Harmonic Oscillator, which applies to an “organ-pipe” fundamental resonance, with either the characteristics of the oscillator, or the forcing function, containing a random element. A “white noise” forcing function, which would be appropriate for excitation of the cavity by a high pressure gas input, gave good agreement with the observed spectra and autocorrelation functions. Another possible model used an oscillator with a damping factor which varied randomly, and was sometimes negative, so oscillations built up, rather than decayed. This also gave a reasonable simulation of Ruapehu tremor.The third excitation model used a Poisson process, in which during each time interval there was a certain probability of applying a fixed impulse to the resonator. It was found that the impulses had to be frequent, i.e. several times a second, to match the characteristics of Ruapehu tremor.It has been suggested that tremor is composed of a succession of low-frequency (“B-type”) earthquakes. The results of this simulation show that at Ruapehu tremor could be produced by a resonator with positive feedback just sustaining oscillation, or by a resonator excited by external impulses. The most promising model for low-frequency earthquakes describes them as the result of a major external disturbance of the resonator.     

Contribution of the 3-D visualization of acoustic borehole signals (full waveforms) to a quick formation evaluation

Logging and continuous coring are carried out when drilling and looking for materials such as gravels, sand, and clay or in order to evaluate the fracture state of a deep site intended for waste storage. However, in some cases of non-consolidated formations, the results may be disappointing because of the borehole conditions. Full waveforms, as seismic signals, provide information about physical parameters of the grounds crossed by the sonic tool, and this information is almost independent of borehole conditions. Traditional displays in variable area or density show the wave arrival times and the frequencies with depth; for variable density, a color scale permits to see clustered instantaneous phases.In order to determine precisely and simultaneously the three signal parameters (arrival time, frequency, and amplitude) in the depth-propagation time domain, a 3-D visualization software has been developed. The “view” parameters, which give a nice display of the 3-D→2-D projection of the signals in a parallel perspectives relative to depth, are estimated on the monitor screen in an interactive way. A larger size version of the software is available for displaying in detail the acoustic signals for the whole borehole. However, this program needs a large computer, and the maximum size of the drawing depends on the computer memory available for use.The comparison between traditional and 3-D displays shows that without previous preprocessing, the 3-D visualization (1) shows the very small and continuous variations of amplitude (and, therefore, of attenuation) with depth better; and (2) can bring out interferences and “energetic peaks” by simply changing the “view” parameters. As the attenuation of the different waves is directly determined, fresh zones can be distinguished immediately from fracture zones and hard ground from soft ground. The geometry of major fracturing can be deduced directly from graphical representation; i.e. open or closed, and horizontal or oblique fractures. The calculation of their “vertical thickness” is straightfoward. Microfractures, induced by drilling or otherwise, are not detected, but microfractured rocks are detectable.     

On the time-domain electromagnetic response of a conductive permeable sphere

The time-domain EM response of a conducting sphere has been subject of past studies with a particular goal of understanding the response of steel unexploded ordnance items. A change in formulas and parameter definition between authors has created inconsistency between published results and analytic formulas. Correction of formulas is required for further studies based on the conducting permeable sphere.     

Stationary magnetospheric convection on November 24, 1981. 2.Small-scale structures in the dayside cusp/cleft

A case study of the dayside cusp/cleft region during an interval of stationary magnetospheric convection (SMC) on November, 24, 1981 is presented, based on detailed measurements made by the AUREOL-3 satellite. Layered small-scale field-aligned current sheets, or loops, superimposed to a narrow V-shaped ion dispersion structure, were observed just equatorward from the region of the “cusp proper”. The equatorward sheet was accompanied by a very intense and short (less than 1 s) ion intensity spike at 100 eV. No major differences were noted of the characteristics of the LLBL, or “boundary cusp”, and plasma mantle precipitation during this SMC period from those typical of the cusp/cleft region for similar IMF conditions. Simultaneous NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 measurements described in Despirak et al. were used to estimate the average extent of the “cusp proper” (defined by dispersed precipitating ions with the energy flux exceeding 10⁻³ erg cm⁻² s⁻¹) during the SMC period, as ≈0.73∼ ILAT width, 2.6–3.4 h in MLT, and thus the recently merged magnetic flux, 0.54–0.70 × 10⁷ Wb. This, together with the average drift velocity across the cusp at the convection throat, ≈0.5 km s⁻¹, allowed to evaluate the cusp merging contribution to the total cross-polar cap potential difference, ≈33.8–43.8 kV. It amounts to a quite significant part of the total cross-polar cap potential difference evaluated from other data. A “shutter” scenario is suggested for the ion beam injection/penetration through the stagnant plasma region in the outer cusp to explain the pulsating nature of the particle injections in the low- and medium-altitude cusp region.     

Geophysical modeling of the northern Appalachian Brompton-Cameron, Central Maine, and Avalon terranes under the New Jersey Coastal Plain

A regional terrane map of the New Jersey Coastal Plain basement was constructed using seismic, drilling, gravity and magnetic data. The Brompton-Cameron and Central Maine terranes were coalesced as one volcanic island arc terrane before obducting onto Laurentian, Grenville age, continental crust in the Taconian orogeny [Rankin, D.W., 1994. Continental margin of the eastern United States: past and present. In: Speed, R.C., (Ed.), Phanerozoic Evolution of North American Continent-Ocean Transitions. DNAG Continent-Ocean Transect Volume. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 129–218]. Volcanic island-arc rocks of the Avalon terrane are in contact with Central Maine terrane rocks in southern Connecticut where the latter are overthrust onto the Brompton-Cameron terrane, which is thrust over Laurentian basement. Similarities of these allochthonous island arc terranes (Brompton-Cameron, Central Maine, Avalon) in lithology, fauna and age suggest that they are faulted segments of the margin of one major late Precambrian to early Paleozoic, high latitude peri-Gondwana island arc designated as “Avalonia”, which collided with Laurentia in the early to middle Paleozoic. The Brompton Cameron, Central Maine, and Avalon terranes are projected as the basement under the eastern New Jersey Coastal Plain based on drill core samples of metamorphic rocks of active margin/magmatic arc origin. A seismic reflection profile across the New York Bight traces the gentle dipping (approximately 20 degrees) Cameron's Line Taconian suture southeast beneath allochthonous Avalon and other terranes to a 4 sec TWTT depth (approximately 9 km) where the Avalonian rocks are over Laurentian crust. Gentle up-plunge (approximately 5 degrees) projections to the southwest bring the Laurentian Grenville age basement and the drift-stage early Paleozoic cover rocks to windows in Burlington Co. at approximately 1 km depth and Cape May Co. at approximately 2 km depths. The antiformal Shellburne Falls and Chester domes and Chain Lakes-Pelham dome-Bronson Hill structural trends, and the synformal Connecticut Valley-Gaspe structural trend can be traced southwest into the New Jersey Coastal Plain basement. A Mesozoic rift basin, the “Sandy Hook basin”, and associated eastern boundary fault is identified, based upon gravity modeling, in the vicinity of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The thickness of the rift-basin sedimentary rocks contained within the “Sandy Hook basin” is approximately 4.7 km, with the basin extending offshore to the east of the New Jersey coast. Gravity modeling indicates a deep rift basin and the magnetic data indicates a shallow magnetic basement caused by magnetic diabase sills and/or basalt flows contained within the rift-basin sedimentary rocks. The igneous sills and/or flows may be the eastward continuation of the Watchung and Palisades bodies.     

Self-diffusion studies of pore fluids in unconsolidated sediments by PFG NMR

The self-diffusion of water and hexadecane in medium and coarse sands from glacial sand deposits in central Germany were investigated by pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR). Due to the restriction of the diffusion path at the pore/grain interface, the measured apparent self-diffusion coefficients (D(Δ)) in the pore space depend on the observation time (Δ) in the PFG NMR experiment. Although the bulk self-diffusion coefficients of water and hexadecane differ by about one order of magnitude, the apparent self-diffusion coefficients in the pore space obey the same characteristic time-behaviour, which depends only on geometrical properties of the pore system. Using the “short-time diffusion” model, surface-to-volume (S/V) ratios and inherent self-diffusion coefficients (D₀) of the pore fluids were extracted from these diffusion measurements. The S/V ratios obtained are independent of the pore fluid used and agree with known geometrical properties of the sand grains. Moreover, the D₀ values are consistent with the corresponding bulk self-diffusion coefficients measured separately. In contrast to these results of PFG NMR, simultaneous investigations of longitudinal (T₁) nuclear magnetic relaxation reveal that the relaxation time of the pore fluid is a less suitable parameter for a quantitative estimation of geometrical properties of the pore/grain interface in these unconsolidated sediments since it depends on chemical properties of the fluid/grain interface.     

High-pressure phase transformations of FeS: Novel phases at conditions of planetary cores

Iron sulfide (FeS) was investigated using first-principles calculations up to a pressure of 400 GPa. A number of new phase transitions were found. An antiferromagnetic MnP-type structure, FeS II, was confirmed to be stable at low pressures, whereas at high pressures (40–135 GPa) we find a new stable phase, with a non-magnetic MnP-type structure, FeS VI. The observed first-order change in the cell shape between the two phases can be explained by the difference in magnetic configurations. The calculated cell parameters, atomic coordinates, and bulk modulus of non-magnetic MnP-type phase are consistent with those determined from experiment. The upper pressure limit of the stability of the non-magnetic MnP-type phase was calculated to be 135 GPa. A hitherto unsuspected phase transition from the non-magnetic MnP-type to a phase with Pmmn symmetry, FeS VII, was identified using the evolutionary crystal structure prediction (USPEX) method. The structure of the Pmmn phase has no known analogues, but can be described as a distortion of the NaCl-type structure. The Pmmn phase with the distorted NaCl-type structure is stable from 135 GPa at least up to 400 GPa. According to previous experiments and the present study, the transition sequence of FeS at low temperatures is as follows: troilite ➔ antiferromagnetic MnP-type phase ➔ monoclinic phase ➔ non-magnetic MnP-type phase ➔ Pmmn phase. The calculated volume reduction from the monoclinic to the non-magnetic MnP-type phase is 1.0% at 40 GPa, which is in good agreement with experimental observations. The calculated volume reduction from the non-magnetic MnP-type to the Pmmn phase is 3.7% at 135 GPa.     

一种磁张量探测系统载体的磁张量补偿方法

针对磁张量系统载体产生的磁张量值对系统测量精度产生很大影响的问题,以及现有磁补偿模型存在非线性、分体式和参数多的问题,提出一种磁张量系统载体的一体化线性磁张量补偿方法.分析了载体硬磁材料产生固有磁张量值和软磁材料产生感应磁张量值的微观机理,并推导了相应的数学表达式,结合固有磁场影响和感应磁场影响建立了载体磁张量补偿模型.模型中含有20个载体磁张量补偿系数,对模型求解得到补偿系数,结合三分量磁场测量值即可达到对载体磁张量的补偿.实测实验表明,磁张量补偿方法计算得到的载体磁张量值与载体实际产生的磁张量值仅差32 nT/m,可以有效完成对磁张量系统的载体磁张量补偿.     

Dynamics of the transport of the phosphorus and silicon at the water-bottom boundary in the Baltic Sea

The study of the fine structure of the phosphorus and silicon distribution in near-bottom layers and in the interstitial water of the sediments has been carried out in the different Baltic Sea regions (Gulf of Finland, Bornholm, Gotland). The data of this study are used to calculate the flows and effective transport coefficients for mineral phosphorus and silicon exchange processes between sediment and near-bottom layer. The values of nutrient flows varied depending on sediment type from 9.8 to 632 μg-at. m⁻² year⁻¹ for phosphorus and from 232.4 to 1881.1 μg-at. m⁻² year⁻¹ for silicon. The dependence of the effective transport coefficients versus the distance from the bottom (h) is expressed by empirically-derived equation: K_eff = Ah^−b. The values of constants “A” and “b” depend on the hydrochemical conditions, sediment type and hydrophysical conditions in the near-bottom layers. Calculated constants for regions are discussed.     

ELF propagation parameters for uniform models of the Earth–ionosphere waveguide

Uniform models for the Earth–ionosphere cavity are considered with particular attention to the physical properties of the ionosphere for the extremely low frequency (ELF) range. Two consistent features have long been recognized for the range: the presence of two distinct altitude layers of maximum energy dissipation within the lower ionosphere, and a “knee”-like change in the vertical conductivity profile representing a transition in dominance from ion-dominated to electron-dominated conductivity. A simplified two-exponential version of the Greifinger and Greifinger (1978) technique widely used in ELF work identifies two slopes in the conductivity profile and, providing accurate results in the ELF communication band (45–75 Hz), simulates too flat a frequency dependence of the quality factor within the Schumann resonance frequency range (5–40 Hz). The problem is traced to the upward migration, with frequency increasing, of the lower dissipation layer through the “knee” region resulting in a pronounced decrease of the effective scale height for conductivity. To overcome this shortcoming of the two-exponential approximation and still retain valuable model analyticity, a more general approach (but still based on the Greifinger and Greifinger formalism) is presented in the form of a “knee” model whose predictions for the modal frequencies, the wave phase velocities and the quality factors reasonably represent observations in the Schumann resonance frequency range.     

Growth of large sulfide structures on the endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca ridge

Mapping and sampling with DSRV “Alvin” has established that sulfide blocks 0.5 m across, dredged from the axial valley of the Endeavour Segment at 47°57′N, are samples of unusually large sulfide structures. The steep-sided structures, up to 30 m in length, 20 m in height, and 10–15 m across, are localized by venting along normal faults at the base of the western axial valley wall, and are distributed for about 200 m along strike paralleling the 020 trend of the ridge crest. High-temperature fluids (350 to more than 400°C) pass through the massive sulfide structures and enter seawater through small, concentric “nozzle-like” features projecting from the top or the sides of the larger vent structures. Diffuse, low-temperature flow is pervasive in the vicinity of the active sulfide structures, exiting from basalt and sulfide surfaces alike. Evidence of recent volcanic activity is sparse.The two largest samples taken with the dredge would not have been recoverable using the submersible. These samples represent massive, complex portions of the sulfide structures which were not closely associated with rapid high-temperature fluid flow at the time of sampling; they contain textural evidence of sealed hydrothermal fluid exit channels. Mineralogy is dominated by Fe sulfides nnd amorphous silica. Pyrite, marcasite, wurtzite, chalcopyrite, and iss are the most common sulfide phases. Pyrrhotite, galena, and sphalerite are present in trace amounts. Barite, amorphous silica, and chalcedony are the only non-sulfide phases; anhydrite is not observed in any of the dredge samples, although it is common in the chimney-like samples recovered by “Alvin”.Specific mineralogical-textural zones within the dredge samples are anaoogous to individual layers in East Pacific Rise at 21°N and southern Juan de Fuca Ridge samples, with two exceptions: a coarse-grained, highly porous Fe sulfide-rich interior containing sulfidized tubeworm casts, and a 2–5 cm thick zone near the outer margin of the samples dominated by late stage amorphous silica. The porous interior may have formed by dendritic crystal growth from a slowly circulating fluid within a large enclosed chamber. The amorphous silica deposited from a seawater/hydrothermal fluid mixture percolating slowly through the walls of the enclosed chamber; conductive cooling of the fluid as it traversed the walls allowed amorphous silica to precipitate. These silica-rich zones are the densest, most durable portions of the structures and may be responsible for the lasting stability of the large sulfide features.Observations in these samples are consistent with two distinct phases of development. Phase 1 is analogous to chimney growth and construction at 21°N and ends when flow channels become sealed to rapid flow of through-going fluid. The flow is evidently redirected within the structure. Phase 2 includes dissolution of anhydrite and precipitation of amorphous silica during conductive cooling of sluggishly circulating hydrothermal fluid or seawater/hydrothermal fluid mixtures. Evolution of vent structures through phase 2 allows lateral and vertical growth of unusually large structures.