Seismic Hazard for Selected Sites in Greece: A Bayesian Estimate of Seismic Peak Ground Acceleration

A procedure for estimating maximum values of seismic peak ground accelerationat the examined site and quantiles of its probabilistic distribution in a future timeinterval of a given length is considered. The input information for the method areseismic catalog and regression relation between peak seismic acceleration at a givenpoint and magnitude and distance from the site to epicenter (seismic attenuation law).The method is based on Bayesian approach, which simply accounts for influenceof uncertainties of seismic acceleration values. The main assumptions for the method are Poissonian character of seismic events flow and distribution law of Gutenberg-Richter's type. The method is applied to seismic hazard estimation in six selected sitesin Greece.     

Behaviour of a rupture of the 21 June 2000 earthquake in South Iceland as revealed in an asphalted car park

A major earthquake (M=6.6) occurred on 21 June 2000, in South Iceland. This paper presents an unusual example of left-lateral strike-slip displacement recorded in a newly asphalted car park surface through a mechanically consistent pattern of open fissures and pressure ridges resulting from simple shear and rotation. Measurement of these features allows accurate reconstruction of the local deformation. The behaviour of the asphalt layer resembles that of analogue physical models, especially in terms of rotations induced by shear deformation. It is finally shown that through a wide range of scales some basic patterns associating rotation and opposite senses of strike-slip exist in the South Iceland Seismic Zone.     

An X-ray absorption fine structure and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of gallium-silica complexes in aqueous solution

The influence of aqueous silica on gallium(III) hydrolysis in dilute (2 × 10⁻⁴ ≤ m_Ga ≤ 5 × 10⁻³) and moderately concentrated (0.02 ≤ m_Ga ≤ 0.3) aqueous solutions was studied at ambient temperature, using high resolution X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, respectively. Results show that, in Si-free acidic solutions (pH < 3), Ga is hexa-coordinated with oxygens of H₂O molecules and/or OH groups in the first coordination sphere of the metal. With increasing pH, these hydroxyl groups are progressively replaced by bridging oxygens (-O-), and polymerized Ga-hydroxide complexes form via Ga-O-Ga chemical bonds. In the 2.5-3.5 pH range, both XAFS and NMR spectra are consistent with the dominant presence of the Ga₁₃ Keggin polycation, which has the same local structure as A1₁₃. Under basic pH (pH > 8), Ga exhibits a tetrahedral coordination, corresponding to Ga(OH)₄⁻ species, in agreement with previous NMR and potentiometric studies. Major changes in Ga hydrolysis have been detected in the presence of aqueous silica. Ga is tetra-coordinated, both in basic and acid (i.e., at pH > 2.7) Si-bearing solutions (0.01 ≤ m_Si ≤ 0.2), and forms stable gallium-silicate complexes. In these species, Ga binds via bridging oxygen to 2 ± 1 silicons, with an average Ga-Si distance of 3.16 ± 0.05 Å, and to 2 ± 1 silicons, with an average Ga-Si distance of 3.39 ± 0.03 Å. These two sets of Ga-Si distances imply the formation of two types of Ga-silicate aqueous complex, cyclic Ga-Si_2-3 species (formed by the substitution of Si in its tri-, tetra- or hexa-cyclic polymers by Ga atoms), and chainlike GaSi_2-4 species (similar to those found for A1), respectively. The increase in the number of Si neighbors (a measure of the complex concentration and stability), in alkaline media, with increasing SiO₂(aq) content and decreasing pH is similar to that for A1-Si complexes found in neutral to basic solutions. At very acid pH and moderate silica concentrations, the presence of another type of Ga-Si complex, in which Ga remains hexa-coordinated and binds to the silicon tetrahedra via the GaO₆ octahedron corners, has also been detected. These species are similar to those found for Al³⁺ in acid solutions. Thus, as for aluminum, silicic acid greatly hampers Ga hydrolysis and enhances Ga mobility in natural waters via the formation of gallium-silicate complexes.     

Sediment yield and storage variations in the Négron River catchment (south western Parisian Basin,France) during the Holocene period

In the Négron River catchment area (162 km²), surface‐sediment stores are composed of periglacial calcareous ‘grèze’ (5 × 10⁶ t) and loess (21 × 10⁶ t), and Holocene alluvium (12·6 × 10⁶ t), peat (0·6 × 10⁶ t) and colluvium (18·5 × 10⁶ t). Seventy‐five per cent of the Holocene sediments is stored along the thalwegs. Present net sediment yield, calculated from solid discharge at the Négron outlet, is low (0·6 t km^?2 a^?1) due to the dominance of carbonate rocks in the catchment. Mean sediment yield during the Holocene period is 7·0 t km^?2 a^?1 from alluvium stores and 7·6 t km^?2 a^?1 from colluvium stores. Thus, the gross sediment yield during the Holocene period is about 18·7 t km^?2 a^?1 and the sediment delivery ratio 3 per cent. The yield considerably varies from one sub‐basin to another (3·9 to 24·5 t km^?2 a^?1) according to lithology: about 25 per cent and 50 per cent of initial stores of periglacial grèze and loess respectively were reworked during the Holocene period. Sediment yield has increased by a factor of 6 in the last 1000 years, due to the development of agriculture. The very high rate of sediment storage on the slope during that period (88 per cent of the yield) can be accounted for by the formation of cultivation steps (‘rideaux’). It is predicted that the current destruction of these steps will result in a sediment wave reaching the valley floors in the coming decades. Subboreal and Subatlantic sediments and pollen assemblages in the Taligny marsh, where one‐third of the alluvium is stored, show the predominant influence of human activity during these periods in the Négron catchment. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

地下水潮汐现象的物理机制和统一数学方程

用新的分层承压含水层模式 ,不但考虑含水层的力学压缩性质 ,而且考虑含水层的渗流特性 ,并结合扰动信息源的频率特性 ,分别研究扰动源地球固体潮、大气潮和地表负荷潮对承压井水位和流量的影响机理 ,给出相应的偏微分方程。从方程的解释或数值解讨论扰动源与承压井含水层的力学压缩参数、渗流特性参数及与频率特性频数的关系 ,进而给出承压井水位和流量对地球固体潮、大气潮和地表负荷潮汐响应的统一数学方程及其潮汐响应函数 ,并揭示了上述几类潮汐扰动信息源对承压井水位和流量影响的物理机理     

Comparison between the Chile and Mexico triple junction areas substantiates slab window development beneath northwestern Mexico during the past 12-10 Myr

When combined with the Miocene-Recent volcanic record of Baja California, a parallel drawn between the Chile and Mexico triple junction areas substantiates slab window development beneath northwestern Mexico during the past 12-10 Myr. The slab-free zone manifestations challenge the notion that ridge subduction has not occurred beneath the southern Baja California peninsula. The geochemically distinctive rocks from the Santa Clara volcanic field of west-central Baja California, including coeval adakites and niobium-enriched basalt, are commonly inferred to signal partial melting of the subducting plate at shallow depths and relatively high temperatures, before slab dehydration occurs. Such PT conditions for slab melting have only been observed in association with spreading-ridge subduction. We propose that slab window development beneath southern Baja California and mainland Mexico (30° to 18°N) resulted from subduction of the East Pacific rise.     

Le Bassin lusitanien (Portugal) à l'Aptien supérieur–Albien : organisation séquentielle,proposition de corrélations, évolutionThe Lusitanian Basin (Portugal) during the late Aptian–Albian: sequential arrangement,proposal of correlations,evolution

. Three transgressive–regressive 2nd-order cycles were identified in the Upper Aptian–Albian fluvial and marine deposits of the Lusitanian Basin. Its widespread nature, probably including eustatic origin, allows correlation between the southern package, with precise stratigraphic positioning, and the northern series with a poorly constrained age. The main unconformities can be related to the onset of an oceanic crust, in the western margin of Galicia during the Late Aptian, in the bay of Biscay during the Early Albian, and, to the northwest of the Galicia triple point, during the Middle to Late Albian transition, and, at the Albian–Cenomanian boundary, to a probable compressive event with Africa due to the rotation of Iberia. To cite this article: J. Dinis et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 757–764.     

Effet de l'agrégation sur le transport de la kaolinite recouverte d'acide humique à travers un sable de quartz d'origine naturelleAggregation effect on the transport of humic-coated kaolinite colloids through a natural quartz sand

To evaluate the risk of contaminant transport by mobile colloids, it is necessary to understand how colloids and associated pollutants behave during their migration through uncontaminated soil or groundwater. In this study, we investigated the influence of aggregation induced by Ca²⁺ and trace metals (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺) concentrations on the transport of humic-coated kaolinite colloids through a natural quartz sand at pH=4. Adsorbed divalent cations reduce the colloids surface charge and thereby induce aggregation and deposition in porous media. To cite this article: R. Ait Akbour et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 981–985.     

Soulèvement et plissement tectoniques révélés par analyse mathématique empirique de profils longitudinaux de rivières : un cas à TaiwanEmpirical mathematical analysis of longitudinal river profiles reveals tectonic uplift and folding: a case in Taiwan

We analyse longitudinal river profiles in southwestern Taiwan. As all necessary data are not available, a physical modelling of river erosion would be subject to large uncertainties. We thus shortcut this modelling and adopt simple empirical exponential equations giving riverbed elevation as a function of downstream distance. We identify a positive altimetric anomaly, which reveals active uplift of an anticline at the front of the fold-and-thrust belt. To cite this article: J. Angelier, R.-F. Chen, C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 1103–1111.