Stacking for the frequencies and Qs of 0S0 and 1S0

Summary. Using nine IDA records for the Indonesian earthquake of 1977 August 19, we have formed an optimal linear combination of the records and have measured the frequency and Q of ₀ S ₀ and ₁ S ₀. The frequency was measured using the moment ratio method. The attenuation was measured by the minimum width method and by the time-lapse method. The frequency and attenuation were measured simultaneously by varying them to obtain a best fit to the data. A 2000-hr stack, the sum of nine individual records, for ₀ S ₀ gave a frequency of 0.814664 mHz±4 ppm. The values for the Q of ₀ S ₀ for the three different methods of measurement were 5600,5833 and 5700, respectively. The error in the estimates of Q ^-1 is about 5 per cent for the minimum power method. For ₁ S ₀ a 300-hr stack yielded a frequency of 1.63151 mHz±30 ppm. The values of Q for this mode were 1960, 1800 and 1850, respectively, with an error in Q ^-1 of about 12 per cent for the minimum power method.     

Three-dimensional VP and VP /VS models of the upper crust in the Friuli area (northeastern Italy)

3-D images of P velocity and P - to S -velocity ratio have been produced for the upper crust of the Friuli area (northeastern Italy) using local earthquake tomography. The data consist of 2565 P and 930 S arrival times of high quality. The best-fitting V _P and V _P / V _S 1-D models were computed before the 3-D inversion. V _P was measured on two rock samples representative of the investigated upper layers of the Friuli crust. The tomographic V _P model was used for modelling the gravity anomalies, by converting the velocity values into densities along three vertical cross-sections. The computed gravity anomalies were optimized with respect to the observed gravity anomalies. The crust investigated is characterized by sharp lateral and deep V _P and V _P / V _S anomalies that are associated with the complex geological structure. High V _P / V _S values are associated with highly fractured zones related to the main faulting pattern. The relocated seismicity is generally associated with sharp variations in the V _P / V _S anomalies. The V _P images show a high-velocity body below 6 km depth in the central part of the Friuli area, marked also by strong V _P / V _S heterogeneities, and this is interpreted as a tectonic wedge. Comparison with the distribution of earthquakes supports the hypothesis that the tectonic wedge controls most of the seismicity and can be considered to be the main seismogenic zone in the Friuli area.     

40Ar/39Ar dates of eastern Iceland lavas

Summary. Twenty-two plateau ages obtained by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step-heating method span most of the time of formation of eastern Iceland. With one exception the dates are consistent with the stratigraphy, the exception having a very unusual argon release pattern. It is concluded that the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step-heating method can give correct dates on hydrothermally altered samples the total fusion ages of which are not correct; however, it is not possible to conclude from the results obtained that the method is inherently more accurate than the conventional method using carefully selected samples.
Though it is known from geological evidence that minor irregularities of spreading have occurred the results show that, within the resolution of the dates, spreading has been steady and symmetrical; in particular, neither a large eastward jump nor repetitive westward jumps can have occurred. The average half spreading rate for the period 2Myr to 12 Myr ago was 0.78 ± 0.16 cm yr-¹.     

On the linear relation between mb and Ms for discrimination between explosions and earthquakes

Summary. The statistical capability of the m _b: M _s discriminant for the discrimination of earthquake and explosion populations is examined by application of discriminant functions to a group of 83 explosions and 72 earthquakes in Eurasia. Equations are derived for the probability that an event is an earthquake or an explosion. The positive sign of DIS in the decision index equation, DIS _i = 34.3383 – 11.9569 mb _t + 7.1161 M _si , indicates that the event i is an earthquake. Its negative sign indicates that event i is an explosion. The probability of correct classification for an event, P _i , is related to its DIS _i value, by P _i = [1-exp (DIS _i )]⁻¹, where a large, positive DIS indicates a high probability that an event is an earthquake and a large, negative DIS indicates a high probability that an event is an explosion. The discrimination line M _s = 1.680 m _b– 4.825, or m _b= 0.595 M _s+ 2.872 very successfully separates the explosion population from the earthquake population. The points on this line have an equal chance of being an earthquake or an explosion; moreover, for any event, the distance parallel to the M _s-axis from the point representing that event in the m _b: M _s plane to this line is a measure of the probability for the correct classification of that event.     

The Oslo Rift: new palaeomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar age constraints

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar whole-rock and alkali feldspar ages demonstrate that dioritic to monzonitic dykes from Bøverbru and Lunner belong to the youngest recorded magmatic activity in the Oslo Rift region, southeast Norway. These dykes represent the terminal phase of rift and magmatic activity in the Oslo Graben, at the dawn of the Triassic (246–238 Ma).
  The Bøverbru and Lunner dyke ages are statistically concordant. However, the palaeomagnetic signature of the Bøverbru dyke is complex, and directions from the margins and the interior of the dyke differ in polarity. Therefore, the new Early Triassic palaeomagnetic pole for Baltica (Eurasia) is exclusively based on the less complex Lunner dykes and contacts (palaeomagnetic pole: latitude=52.9°N, longitude=164.4°E, dp / dm =4.5 ° /7.3°). The early Triassic palaeomagnetic pole [mean age: 243±5 Ma (2 σ )] is slightly different from the Upper Carboniferous–Permian (294–274 Ma) and Kiaman-aged poles from the Oslo Rift.     

222Rn and 226Ra: indicators of sea-ice effects on air-sea gas exchange

²²² Rn and ²²⁶Ra distributions beneath the sea ice of the Barents Sea revealed that ice cover has varied effects on air-sea gas exchange. Twice, once in late summer and once in late winter, seawater samples from the top meter below drill holes had ²²²Rn activities that were not lower than their ^226,Ra activities, indicating the existence of secular equilibrium and a negligible net exchange of ²²²Rn and other gases with the atmosphere. However, seawater in the upper 20-85 m usually exhibited at least some ²²²Rn depletion; ²²²Rn-to-²²⁶Ra activity ratios tended to have 'ice-free' values (0.3-0.9) in the summer and values between 0.9 and 1.0 in the winter. Integrated ²²²Rn depletions and piston velocities in both seasons typically fell in the lower 25% of the ranges for ice-free seawater, suggesting that a moderate but far from total reduction in gas exchange is normally caused by ice cover and/or meltwater. The results demonstrate that sea-ice interference with the oceanic uptake of atmospheric gases such as CO, is not well understood and needs further investigation.     

Single-zircon Pb-evaporation and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the metamorphic and granitic rocks in north-west Spitsbergen

North-west Spitsbergen consists of a complex of Caledonian and Grenvillian crystalline rocks, situated at the north-west corner of the Barents Shelf. The aim of this study is to understand the extent of pre-Caledonian basement rocks and their protoliths. Micas and zircon grains from six rocks from north-west Spitsbergen have been dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and single-zircon Pb-evaporation methods. Two grey granites yielded Late Caledonian mica ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and zircon ages of ca. 420-430 My, with inherited zircon grains as old as 1725 My. Zircon grains from a gneissose granite xenolith in a grey granites gave crystallization ages of ca. 960 My; some grains from a migmatite neosome show similar ages. Zircon grains yielding Archean and late Palaeoproterozoic ages (1600-1800 My) are interpreted as xenocrysts of detrital origin. The youngest ages obtained from detrital zircon grains from a greenschist facies quartzite of the Signehamna unit are ca. 1800 My. Similar schists are included as xenoliths in the 960 My old gneissose granite; therefore, the sedimentary protoliths of the unit are Mesoproterozoic. The dating results suggest a significant tectonothermal event during Grenvillian time; subsequent Caledonian events had less extensive thermal effects. However, it is still a matter of debate whether Grenvillian or Caledonian metamorphism produced the majority of the migmatites. A large population of zircon grains with Late Palaeoproterozoic ages suggests a wide surface exposure of rocks of this age in the source area, with some Archean zircons.     

Inefficient propagation of Sn under south-eastem China

Summary. Records of 21 earthquakes with ray paths crossing south-eastern China have been examined to establish the nature of propagation of the seismic wave S_n . S_n is seen at stations within 1500km of earthquakes, but not beyond 1500km. No single localized region of attenuation can account for all the missing or weak S_n waves. The inefficient propagation of S_n through south-eastern China is surprising in light of efficient S_n propagation in other continental platforms which, like south-eastern China, appear to have been stable throughout the Cenozoic.     

Depositional and tectonic evolution of a supradetachment basin: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Nova Formation, Panamint Range, California

The Nova Basin contains an upper Miocene to Pliocene supradetachment sedimentary succession that records the unroofing of the Panamint metamorphic core complex, west of Death Valley, California. Basin stratigraphy reflects the evolution of sedimentation processes from landslide emplacement during basin initiation to the development of alluvial fans composed of reworked, uplifted sections of the basin fill. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of volcanic units in middle and lower parts of the sequence provide age control on the tectonic and depositional evolution of the basin and, more generally, insights regarding the rate of change of depositional environments in supradetachment basins. Our work, along with earlier research, indicate basin deposition from 11.38 Ma to 3.35 Ma. The data imply sedimentation rates, uncorrected for compaction, of ~100 m Myr⁻¹ in the lower, high-energy part to ~1000 m Myr⁻¹ in the middle part characterized by debris-flow fan deposition. The observed variation in sediment flux rate during basin evolution suggests that supradetachment basins have complex depositional histories involving rapid transitions in both the style and rate of sedimentation.     

40Ar—39Ar ages of guyots in the western Pacific and discussion of their evolution

Summary. Six submarine rocks dredged from guyots in the western Pacific were dated by means of ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar step heating dating technique. All ages show mid- to late-Cretaceous ages in accordance with the generally supposed age of the ocean crust estimated from the magnetic anomaly pattern.
The back-tracked paths were calculated for the guyots with the use of their absolute ages, for both the Pacific plate movements proposed by Morgan and by Clague & Jarrard. In both cases these show birth places for the guyots, which are located near the equator.
Fossil ages are nearly concordant with the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages for the guyots which are older than 95 Myr, whereas the fossil ages are considerably younger than the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages for the guyots younger than 90 Myr. This contrast may be due to the world-wide marine transgression, whose climax is believed to have occurred at about 85 Myr BP.     

Use of 40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar thermochronology in basin thermal history reconstruction: an example from the Big Lake Suite granites, Warburton Basin, South Australia

The potential use of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronologic data from K-feldspars in reconstructing basin thermal history has been evaluated using the example of the Warburton/Cooper/Eromanga Basin, Australia's largest onshore oil- and gas-producing basin. Results from ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step-heating experiments reveal details of the evolution of the basin system, including the following: (1) the operation of high geothermal gradient regimes during the earliest basin evolution, suggesting that basin formation was active rather than passive; (2) slow cooling from a Permo-Triassic temperature peak of at least 250–300°C; (3) a rise in thermal gradients to contemporary bottom hole temperatures in the last 5–10 Myr; and (4) spatially variable recrystallization events between 100 and 50 Ma and at around 20 Ma. Initial microstructural observations serve as a useful predictor of the quality and nature of the obtainable age information. Data from 'pristine' K-feldspars may constrain the peak temperature conditions experienced in the basin, the basin's early thermal history and also any recent changes in thermal gradient. Contrasting data from texturally modified K-feldspars may constrain times of thermal transients and/or fluid flow, with the preferred interpretation that K-feldspars recrystallize in response to such events. The Warburton/Cooper/Eromanga Basin example suggests that the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar technique may serve as a useful adjunct to apatite and zircon fission track analysis and conventional organic maturation indices in basin thermal history analysis.     

Period and Qw of The Chandler Wobble

A splined ILS/IPMS data set (1900–1973) from the most homogeneous values available has been analysed by the maximum entropy method of Burg. Principal conclusions are: (1) the spectral character of the Chandler wobble is a single broad peak, (2) the period is 432·95 ± 1·02 mean solar days and, (3) the Q _w is 36±10. Measurements indicate that Q _w is non- stationary in time.     

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.     

南极大气CO_2、CH_4和N_2O本底趋势特征分析

对南极大气温室气体CO_2(含δ~(13)C-CO_2和δ~(18)O-CO_2)、CH_4和N_2O长期测值进行比较分析。结果表明,南极是全球大气温室气体浓度(CO_2稳定同位素丰度值)随纬度分布变化中的最低(高)区域。南极大气温室气体浓度值变化趋势、年增长率与全球整体上一致,但在具体数值上存在差异。南极CO_2平均年增长率(1958—2014年)为(1.43±0.59)mg·L~(–1)·a~(–1),低于同期赤道(1.51±0.72)mg·L~(–1)·a~(–1),但1980—2014年和2000—2014年年增长率均高于南半球中纬度地区。δ~(13)C-CO_2和δ~(18)O-CO_2丰度趋势揭示了化石燃料排放和全球尺度过程对CO_2的影响,但南极是受影响最小的区域。1983—2014年南极CH_4平均增长率为(6.2±4.9)μg·L~(–1)·a~(–1),低于北半球中纬度(6.5±5.6)μg·L~(–1)·a~(–1)而高于赤道(5.6±5.3)μg·L~(–1)·a~(–1)和南半球中纬度(6.1±4.9)μg·L~(–1)·a~(–1),这与CH_4人为排放增强主要在北半球中纬度地区而显著被OH氧化在赤道和中纬度地区的事实是吻合的。南极N_2O平均年增长率为(0.87±0.15)μg·L~(–1)·a~(–1)(2005—2013年),与南半球中纬度地区接近但低于北半球而高于赤道地区。     

Isolation and characteristics of one marine psychrotrophic cellulase-generating bacterium Ar/w/b/75°/10/5 from Chuckchi Sea,Arctic

Microorganisms living in polar zones play an important part as the potential source of organic activity materials with low temperature characteristics in the bio-technological applications. A psychrotrophic bacterium (strain Ar/w/b/75°/10/5) , producing cellulose at low temperatures during late-exponential and early-stationary phases of cell growth, was isolated from sea ice-covered surface water in Chuckchi Sea, Arctic. This bacterium, with rod cells, was Gram-negative, slightly halophilic. Colony growing on agar plate was in black. Optimum growth temperature was 15℃. No cell growth was observed at 351 or above. Optimum salt concentration for cell growth was between 2 and 3 % of sodium chloride in media. Maximal cellulase activity was detected at a temperature of 35℃ and pH8. Cellulase was irreversibly inactivated when incubated at 55℃ within 30 min. Enzyme can be kept stable at the temperature no higher than 25℃. Of special interest was that this bacterium produced various extracellular enzymes i     

Travel times of Pn -waves in the Aegean and surrounding area

Summary. Based on accurately located 23 very shallow earthquakes ( h = 1–14 km) in northern and central Greece by portable networks of seismic stations and by the joint epicentre method, the travel times of the P_n -waves from the foci of these earthquakes to the sites of 54 permanent stations in the Balkan region have been determined. The travel times of P_n -waves in the central and eastern part of the area (eastern Greece, south-eastern Yugoslavia, the Aegean Sea, Bulgaria, southern Romania, western Turkey) fit a straight line very well with the P_n velocity equal to 7.9 ± 0.1 km s^-1. On the contrary, the travel times of P_n -waves to stations in the western part of the area (Albania, western Greece) do not fit this curve because the P_n -waves travelling to these stations are delayed by more than 1 s due to the thicker crust under the Dinarides–Hellenides mountain range. Time delays for P_n -waves have been calculated for each permanent station in the Balkan area with respect to the mean travel-time curve of these waves in the central and eastern part of the area. Corrections of the travel times for these delays contribute very much to the improvement of the accuracy in the location of the shallow earthquakes in the Aegean and surrounding area.     

Fluxes of CO2 and CH4 in high latitude wetlands: measuring, modelling and predicting response to climate change

This review covers selected aspects of recent international efforts to measure and model greenhouse gas emission from northern wetlands, to identify the environmental factors that control gas emission, and to investigate wetlands'responses (particularly with respect to gas emission) to global change. Both bottom-up and top-to-bottom approaches, based respectively on local observations plus inventory of gas fluxes and inverse modelling of global circulation, agree on the size of the high latitude (>60_°N) contribution to global methane, which should be about 13% or 70 Tg/year. It has been shown that winter and spring fluxes are an essential part in the annual budget of CH₄ and especially CO₂ exchange (varying from 5 to 50%). Soil micro-organisms were shown to be able to respire during winter even at-16_°C. In comparison to aerobically respiring organisms, anaerobic methanogenic bacteria were less active in frozen soil, although they are subjected to significant stimulation by soil freeze-thaw cycles. The absence of immediate coupling of methanogenesis with plant photosynthesis implies that substrates for methane formation are derived from peat decomposition rather than from root exudation.     

Annual and daily variation in the occurrence of positive Dst index

Summary. The frequency of occurrence of the positive D_st for each UT hour has been computed using data for the years 1957–77. For all hours the seasonal variation shows a peak in June. The annual variation conforms with the Malin-Isikara mechanism. While the annual component of D_st+ exhibits a significant UT dependence which cannot be explained by the McIntosh effect, the semi-annual component has a relatively smaller significant time dependence. The diurnal component of D_st+ has a pronounced annual variation with a June maximum. The results presented here are compared and discussed in the light of an earlier analysis of D_st by Mayaud.     

Seismic image of a CO2 reservoir beneath a seismically active volcano

Mammoth Mountain is a seismically active volcano 200 000 to 50 000 years old, situated on the southwestern rim of Long Valley caldera, California. Since 1989 it has shown evidence of unrest in the form of earthquake swarms (Hill et al. 1990), volcanic 'long-period' earthquakes (Pitt & Hill 1994), increased output of magmatic ³He (Sorey et al. 1993) and the emission of about 500 tonnes day ⁻¹ of CO₂ (Farrar et al. 1995; Hill 1996; M. Sorey, personal communication, 1997), which has killed trees and poses a threat to human safety. Local-earthquake tomography shows that in mid-1989 areas of subsequent tree-kill were underlain by extensive regions where the ratio of the compressional and shear elastic-wave speeds V_P/V_S was about 9 per cent lower than in the surrounding rocks. Theory (Mavko & Mukerji 1995), experiment (Ito, DeVilbiss & Nur 1979), and experience at other geothermal/volcanic areas (Julian et al. 1996) and at petroleum reservoirs (Harris et al. 1996) indicate that V_P/V_S is sensitive to pore-fluid compressibility, through its effect on V_P . The observed V_P/V_S anomaly is probably caused directly by CO₂, and seismic V_P/V_S tomography is thus a promising tool for monitoring gas concentration and movement in volcanoes, which may in turn be related to volcanic activity.     

Pn velocity anisotropy in a continental upper mantle

Summary. Earlier interpretations of P _n travel-times from the extensive quarry-blast observation scheme in western Germany — now supplemented by explosion data from the 1972 Rhinegraben experiment — have been checked and enhanced using the new MOZAIC time-term method. The large data set (762 travel times) continues to require a considerable anisotropy of upper-mantle P velocity. The resulting estimates of the overall velocity variation — probably 0.50–0.60 km/s about a mean value of 8.05 km/s, that is, 6 to 7 per cent anisotropy — and of the direction of the maximum velocity (close to 20° E of north) are reasonably reliable. However, the detailed form of the anisotropy is obscured by various limitations of the data.
These results allow a realistic assessment of the resolving power of refraction-based studies of velocity anisotropy in the lithosphere. It is concluded that though such studies are probably adequate if the measurement of in situ anisotropy is required within the context of a generalized discussion of lithospheric dynamics they are not appropriate if a detailed specification of the anisotropy is desired.