Microwave palaeointensity from the R3–N3 geomagnetic field reversal

The microwave palaeointensity technique has been used to determine palaeointensity during the R3–N3 geomagnetic field reversal, using lavas from the Esja region of southwestern Iceland. The resulting intensity determinations have been compared to two previous studies which used the Shaw and Thellier techniques. Both reported low field intensities during the reversal except for four flows that produced high values (20.4–36.8 μT) using the Shaw technique compared to a single maximum intermediate value of 15.9 μT using the Thellier method. In this paper, an average microwave transitional palaeointensity of 6.95 ± 2.07 μT is found for samples used in the Shaw technique study, and of 7.80 ± 1.61 μT for samples used in the Thellier study, demonstrating that there is no evidence for strong fields during this reversal.     

Magnetotelluric response of a uniformly stratified earth containing a magnetized layer

Summary The magnetotelluric (MT) response is studied of a uniformly stratified earth which contains a magnetized layer. The impedance as a function of the layer parameters (resistivity, ρ permeability, μ and thickness h ) is discussed. The MT response from a layer (μ, ρ, h ) is equivalent to that from a layer (μ/μ_r=μ₀, μ_rρ, μ_r h ) where μ_r is the relative permeability of the layer. Thus the effect of a magnetized layer is to make it apppear μ_r times more resistive and μ_r times thicker than an unmagnetized equivalent layer. Master curves of apparent resistivity and phase are computed for three-layer models with varying permeability associated with varying resistivity in each layer. An example of MT field data is presented in which the most reasonable interpretation is that a magnetized layer exists beneath the observatory site.     

Extended formulation for Rayleigh-wave computations at high frequencies in a spherical layered earth

Summary. The earlier formulation of dispersion function, amplitude response and surface ellipticity for Rayleigh waves in a spherical layered earth has been extended by the reduced-delta matrix to avoid computational instability at high frequencies. We derive a modified formulation, where the layer thickness is kept separated during matrix multiplications. The present formulations are valid for an unlimited frequency range. A numerical experiment with single precision (six decimal digits accuracy) on an IBM 360/44 computer is performed at frequencies from 0.4 to 12.5 Hz on a Shield structure down to a depth of 1090 km below which a complete sphere is assumed. The experiment shows that both reduced-delta matrix and modified formulations generate roots of the dispersion equation without any reduction of layers. However, to avoid unnecessary computation, a layer-reduction procedure has been derived from a modified formulation when the contribution of deep layers becomes insignificant on surface waves.     

Limitations on the parameters of the solar wind in modelling lunar electromagnetic induction

Summary. A striking feature of the day-side response of the Moon to periodic fluctuations in the solar wind is the rapid rise, and subsequent fall, in the amplitude of the transfer function as the inducing field frequency increases. This behaviour can be characterized by the amplitude values at the two frequencies 24 and 40 mHz. Before the response of a conductivity model representing the Moon can be calculated at a given frequency, the parameters (ν, θ) (where ν is the solar wind speed and θ is the angle between the solar wind velocity and the magnetic field propagation direction) have to be specified. By applying some results due to Parker (1972) to the above two data points, we have determined constraints on the parameter space (ν, θ). In particular, we determine the region of the (ν, θ) space in which conductivity models may be found that satisfy our data pair. Outside this region, there are no conductivity models satisfying the data pair, and hence many (ν, θ) values are inconsistent with the original data and the model assumptions.     

Determination of earthquake early warning parameters, τc and Pd, for southern California

We explore a practical approach to earthquake early warning in southern California by determining a ground-motion period parameter  τ _c   and a high-pass filtered displacement amplitude parameter Pd from the initial 3 s of the P waveforms recorded at the Southern California Seismic Network stations for earthquakes with M > 4.0. At a given site, we estimate the magnitude of an event from  τ _c   and the peak ground-motion velocity ( PGV ) from Pd . The incoming three-component signals are recursively converted to ground acceleration, velocity and displacement. The displacements are recursively filtered with a one-way Butterworth high-pass filter with a cut-off frequency of 0.075 Hz, and a P -wave trigger is constantly monitored. When a trigger occurs,  τ _c   and Pd are computed. We found the relationship between  τ _c   and magnitude ( M ) for southern California, and between Pd and PGV for both southern California and Taiwan. These two relationships can be used to detect the occurrence of a major earthquake and provide onsite warning in the area around the station where onset of strong ground motion is expected within seconds after the arrival of the P wave. When the station density is high, the methods can be applied to multistation data to increase the robustness of onsite early warning and to add the regional warning approach. In an ideal situation, such warnings would be available within 10 s of the origin time of a large earthquake whose subsequent ground motion may last for tens of seconds.     

11 million years of Oligocene geomagnetic field behaviour

An 11 million year long record of the Oligocene geomagnetic field has been obtained from pelagic sediments of DSDP Hole 522 An average sample spacing of 4 cm yielded approximately one specimen per 4 to 8 kyr. The rock magnetics are remarkabh consistent across the entire interval. Previous work demonstrated a magnetic mineralogy dominated by magnetically stable magnetite. The natural remanent magnetism (NRM) carries an Oligocene polarity timescale that is in excellent agreement with the Oligocene reversal record as determined from marine magnetic anomalies (MMAs), including many of the so-called 'crypto-chrons'. Normalized NRM intensities from the undisturbed portions of the record yield a time series of variations with features consistent with a number of other palaeointensity time series derived from both sedimentary and lava sequences. These features include consistent, major decreases in palaeointensity (DIPs) at reversal boundaries, and occasional DIPs between reversal boundaries that could correspond to lineated 'tiny wiggles' in the MMA records. The data set suggests that the overall field strength was 40 per cent higher in the first half of the Oligocene when the average reversal frequency was 1.6 Myr^-1 than in the second half when the reversal frequency was 4 Myr^-1. There is also a weak dependence of average field strength on length of polarity interval. Finally, in the three cores suited to spectral analysis (of coherent polarity and relative intensity independent of lithological contamination), there is a persistent ca. 30–50ka periodicity in the variations of the relative intensity, suggesting that the geomagnetic field 'pulses' at about this frequency, not only during the Brunhes (as demonstrated by Tauxe & Shackleton 1994), but in the Oligocene as well.     

南极中山站极光与地磁场扰动关系的分析

通过观测的极光与地磁扰动之间关系的分析,初步得出了南极中山站夜间（１１～２４ＵＴ左右）强、中、弱极光出现的频次在时间上的分布规律与地磁场扰动的关系,弱极光１０时开始出现, １５时左右频次达到高峰;中等极光１１时开始,１２到１９时出现的频次平稳, ２１到２２时频次达到高峰;强极光１６时开始, ２０到２１时极光频次达到高峰。各类极光出现的频次在时间上的分布与其所对应的地磁场扰动基本上是一致的,弱极光伴随着地磁场扰动幅度小;强极光伴随着地磁场扰动幅度大。极光的开始时间和地磁场扰动的时间不完全对应,这与极光的变化状态有关,这种变化状态受复杂的空间物理过程控制。     

Transient and impulse responses of a one-dimensional linearly attenuating medium—II. A parametric study

Summary. We investigate one-dimensional waves in a standard linear solid for geophysically relevant ranges of the parameters. The critical parameters are shown to be T*= t_u/Q_m where t _u is the travel time and Q_m the quality factor in the absorption band, and τ⁻¹ _m , the high-frequency cut-off of the relaxation spectrum. The visual onset time, rise time, peak time, and peak amplitude are studied as functions of T* and τ _m. For very small τ _m , this model is shown to be very similar to previously proposed attenuation models. As τ _m grows past a critical value which depends on T* , the character of the attenuated pulse changes. Seismological implications of this model may be inferred by comparing body wave travel times with a'one second'earth model derived from long-period observations and corrected for attenuation effects assuming a frequency independent Q over the seismic band. From such a comparison we speculate that there may be a gap in the relaxation spectrum of the Earth's mantle for relaxation times shorter than about one second. However, observational constraints from the attenuation of body waves suggest that such a gap might in fact occur at higher frequencies. Such a hypothesis would imply a frequency dependence of Q in the Earth's mantle for short-period body waves.     

On the construction of geomagnetic timescales from non-prejudicial treatment of magnetic anomaly data from multiple ridges

When marine magnetic-anomaly data are used to construct geomagnetic polarity timescales, the usual assumption of a smooth spreading-rate function at one seafloor spreading ridge forces much more erratic rate functions at other ridges. To eliminate this problem, we propose a formalism for the timescale problem that penalizes non-smooth spreading behaviour equally for all ridges. Specifically, we establish a non-linear Lagrange multiplier optimization problem for finding the timescale that (1) agrees with known chron ages and with anomaly-interval distance data from multiple ridges and (2) allows the rate functions for each ridge to be as nearly constant as possible, according to a cumulative penalty function. The method is applied to a synthetic data set reconstructed from the timescale and rate functions for seven ridges, derived by Cande & Kent (1992) under the assumption of smooth spreading in the South Atlantic. We find that only modest changes in the timescale (less than 5 per cent for each reversal) are needed if no one ridge is singled out for the preferential assumption of smoothness. Future implementation of this non-prejudicial treatment of spreading-rate data from multiple ridges to large anomaly-distance data sets should lead to the next incremental improvement to the pre-Quaternary geomagnetic polarity timescale, as well as allow a more accurate assessment of global and local changes in seafloor spreading rates over time.     

FIR filter effects and nucleation phases

The symmetric impulse response of linear phase Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters most commonly used in modern seismic recording systems produces precursory signals to impulsive arrivals. These acausal filter-generated artefacts may result in misinterpretations of various onset properties. Prior to any onset interpretation, these effects have to be removed from the seismic record. This can be achieved without loss of bandwidth by post-filtration of the digital seismograms if the filter coefficients and the decimation ratios are known. We have analysed numerous signals from different instruments and sampling rates for precursory phases and found that—in contrast to commonly held beliefs—FIR-filter-related precursory signals are not always easy to recognize visually from their waveform signature. Furthermore, they can exhibit surprisingly similar properties to those reported for nucleation phases, although the majority of nucleation phases reported in the past have been obtained on instruments with a causal response. We demonstrate examples of filter-related precursory signals for events scanning nine orders of moment, from 10¹⁰ N m to 10¹⁹ N m. Surprisingly, the lower bound of the artefact durations as a function of seismic moment scales close to the cube root of the seismic moment. We interpret this as being caused by the fact that above a certain seismic moment, the attenuated source signal acts as a causal lowpass filter of a smaller bandwidth than the FIR filter. Assuming an ω^-2 source model, constant stress drop and an empirical relationship between the maximum artefact duration and the cut-off frequency of the FIR filter, the artefact durations are expected to scale proportional to the 1/2.5 power of the seismic moment, in comparison to 1/3 as proposed for nucleation phases.     

CONSTRAINED BACKGROUND BILINEARIZATION WITH A GENERALIZED SIMULATED ANNEALING ALGORITHM

Generalized simulated annealing(GSA)is an optimization technique for locating the global optimum.Inthis paper GSA was used as the optimization procedure in the constrained background bilinearization(CBBL)of two-way bilinear data in order to reduce the possibility of sinking into local optima.Thebehaviour of the algorithm and its comparison with the modified Powell algorithm were studied bysimulations and real fluorescence excitation-emission data for organic dye mixtures.     

Effect of removing small (<150?μm) chironomids on inferring temperature in cold lakes

Sieving samples for chironomid analysis with a 150 μm mesh was shown to greatly reduce sample preparation time, and use of only larger specimens did not affect chironomid-inferred salinities in African lakes. Here, we tested if this method is suitable for temperature reconstruction in colder lakes at higher latitudes. Removal of specimens <150 μm in two training sets, one from Canada and one from Sweden, had little impact on the performance statistics of the calibration models. Chironomid abundance, however, decreased greatly because more than half of the head capsules in assemblages were <150 μm. This had major impacts on the temperature reconstructions. Inferences were on average 2°C warmer with the modified models (all specimens >150 μm) than those obtained with the full model (all specimens >100 μm). General patterns of temperature change were also altered. For Lake 7 on Southampton Island, Canada, a cooling trend was reconstructed with the full Canadian model while the modified Canadian model yielded a warming trend. When only specimens >150 μm were used, two to three times more wet sediment was needed to obtain a sufficient number of head capsules. These results indicate that, in cold lakes (mean July/August air temperature ≤11°C), large proportions of head capsules are <150 μm, and sieving the samples in a 150 μm mesh leads to altered temperature reconstructions.     

Preliminary palaeomagnetic results of an Archaean dolerite dyke of west Greenland: geomagnetic field intensity at 2.8 Ga

The geomagnetic field intensity during Archaean times is evaluated from a palaeomagnetic and chronological study of a dolerite dyke intruded into the 3000 Ma Nuuk Gneisses at Nuuk (64.2°N, 51.7°W), west Greenland. Plagioclase from the dolerite dyke yields a mean K-Ar age of 2752 Ma. Palaeomagnetic directions after thermal demagnetization of the dyke and the gneiss reveal a positive baked-contact test, indicating that the high-temperature-component magnetization of the dyke is primary. Thellier experiments on 12 dyke specimens yield a palaeointensity value of 13.5±4.4 μT. The virtual dipole moment at ca. 2.8 Ga is 1.9±0.6 × 10²² Am², which is about one-quarter of the present value. The present study and other available data imply that the Earth's magnetic field at 2.7 ∼ 2.8 Ga was characterized by a weak dipole moment and that a fairly strong geomagnetic field similar to the present intensity followed the weak field after ca. 2.6 Ga.     

On the frequency contents of local events: source or path effect?

Local events which occurred in the Timanfaya volcanic field are analysed and their spectral contents are interpreted as being due to the effect of a finely layered medium with large impedance contrast, the presence of which is well known from well-logging data. By considering the layered medium as a filter, its spectral response (amplitude and phase) is computed from different randomly generated values of its parameters (total thickness, mean thickness of the individual layers and impedance contrast), showing that this stratigraphic filter acts as a low-pass filter. This effect can be correctly modelled by means of an exponential correlation function. However, in some cases resonant peaks appear in the spectrum superimposed on the low-pass filter effect, which can only be attributed to resonant scattering. An analysis of the phase and group delay associated with the amplitudes is made and strongly suggests that it is necessary to incorporate the theory of resonant scattering for the retrieval of medium properties. From the point of view of the amplitudes, the superposition of both effects, low-pass filter and resonant peaks, allows us to reproduce the gross features that are usually attributed to source effects. The need for a careful analysis of the local site response previous to any interpretation of the spectral features in terms of source characteristics is thus emphasized.     

The period and Q of the Chandler wobble

Summary. We have extended our calculation of the theoretical period of the Chandler wobble to account for the non-hydrostatic portion of the Earth's equatorial bulge and the effect of the fluid core upon the lengthening of the period due to the pole tide. We find the theoretical period of a realistic perfectly elastic Earth with an equilibrium pole tide to be 426.7 sidereal days, which is 8.5 day shorter than the observed period of 435.2 day. Using Rayleigh's principle for a rotating Earth, we exploit this discrepancy together with the observed Chandler Q to place constraints on the frequency dependence of mantle anelasticity. If Qμ in the mantle varies with frequency σ as σα between 30 s and 14 months and if Qμ in the lower mantle is of order 225 at 30 s, we find that 0.04 ρ^α≤ 0.11; if instead Qμ in the lower mantle is of order 350 near 200 s, we find that 0.11 ≤α≤ 0.19. In all cases these limits arise from exceeding the 68 per cent confidence limits of ± 2.6 day in the observed period. Since slight departures from an equilibrium pole tide affect the Q much more strongly than the period we believe these limits to be robust.     

Inversion of 3-D structural geometry using geological least-squares criteria

Oil exploration requires quantitative determination of structural geometry in sedimentary basins. This leads to back-and-forth use of geological methods, e.g. cross-section balancing and geophysical techniques, such as tomography, and the synthesis becomes tedious, especially in three dimensions. This suggests that they should be as much as possible quantitatively integrated into a single consistent framework. For this integration, we propose using inversion techniques, i.e. multicriteria optimization. We locally model a geological structure as a ( geometric) foliation , the leaves of which represent deposition isochrons. We consider a geological structure as a set of foliations joined along faults and unconformities. We propose five kinds of geological data to constrain structural geometry quantitatively: dip measurements that may be available along wells, developability and smoothness of deposition isochrons, the directions of fold axes, and layer parallelism. Using concepts of differential geometry, we formulate these data in terms of least-squares criteria. To solve the canonical non-uniqueness problem raised by the inversion of parametric representations of geometrical objects such as foliations (many parametrizations describe the same object), we introduce the additional criterion method which consists of adding an unphysical objective function to the physical objective function, so as to make the solution unique. Assuming well trajectories and borehole correlations to be known, we optimize, with respect to these criteria, several simple structures comprising one foliation, including a field example.     

Using attributes of electromagnetic waves to determine the water content and frost table in a permafrost area

The thawing-melting of the permafrost damages the subground of highways on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. With the application of ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) technology, the maximum permafrost melting interface can be effectively distinctly differentiated and imaged. A hierarchical feature of the permafrost region is shown clearly on the imaging profile of GPR data. The complete ablation zone or part of it is displayed distinctly. In addition, the details of subsurface layers can be effectively characterized by GPR attribute-analysis technology. With the attribute calculation and filter, the instantaneous amplitude, instantaneous frequency, and relative wave impedance can be applied in a more efficient way to divide the complete ablation zone, part of the ablation and non-ablation interface. The relative distribution of water content in a seasonally thawing permafrost region can be obtained through a comprehensive GPR attribute analysis.     

Solution of the inverse problem of seismology for laterally inhomogeneous media

Summary. The Backus-Gilbert method has been extended to the estimation of the seismic wave velocity distribution in 2-D or 3-D inhomogeneous media from a finite set of travel-time data. The method may be applied to the inversion of body wave as well as surface wave data. The problem of determining a local average of the unknown velocity corrections may be reduced to a choice of a suitable δ-ness criterion for the averaging kernel. For 2-D and 3-D inhomogeneous media the simplest criterion is to minimize a sum of 'spreads' over all the coordinates. The use of this criterion requires the solution (the averaged velocity corrections) to be represented as a sum of functions, each of which depends only on one coordinate. This is a basic restriction of the method. In practice it is possible to achieve good agreement between the solution and a real velocity distribution by a reasonable choice of the coordinate system.
Numerical tests demonstrate the efficiency of the method. Some examples of the application of the method to the inversion of real seismological data for body and surface waves are given.     

Transient and impulse responses of a one-dimensional linearly attenuating medium — I. Analytical results

Summary. The transient and impulse responses (Green's function) for onedimensional wave propagation in a standard linear solid are calculated using a Laplace Transform method. The spectrum of relaxation times is chosen so as to model a constant Q medium within an absorption band covering a broad frequency range which may be chosen so as to include the seismic frequencies. The inverse transform may be evaluated asymptotically in the limit of very long propagation times using the saddle point method. For shorter propagation times the method of steepest descent may be modified so as to yield an accurate first motion approximation. The character of the small amplitude precursor to the large amplitude Visible' signal is investigated analytically. It is shown that the signal velocity is intermediate between the high-frequency ('unrelaxed') and the low-frequency ('relaxed') limits of the phase velocity.     

陕北黄河中游淤地坝拦沙功能失效的判断标准

利用2011 年第一次全国水利普查中4157 座骨干坝数据、1989 年陕北淤地坝调查中1640座中小坝数据,分别计算了1950-2011 年期间骨干坝、1956-1989 年期间中小坝的逐年平均淤积比例,得到截至2011 年,1980 年前修建骨干坝的平均淤积比例基本稳定,平均值为0.77,1980 年后开始逐渐下降;截至1989 年,1980 年前修建中小坝的平均淤积比例基本稳定,平均值为0.88,1980 年后开始逐渐下降的变化趋势,确定平均淤积比例0.77、0.88 分别为骨干坝、中小坝拦沙能力失效的判断标准。利用陕北淤地坝调查数据计算得到的骨干坝拦沙功能失效判断一致;在无定河、延河流域,水文站输沙数据的变化趋势与淤地坝是否拦沙显著相关。最后从淤地坝工程结构的角度,剖析了排水排沙位置的改变是判断标准形成的原因。