Development of large‐scale seismites in Upper Cretaceous fluvial sandstones in a fault‐proximal setting

Large‐scale soft‐sediment deformation structures occur within fluvial sandstone bodies of the Upper Cretaceous Wahweap Formation in the Kaiparowits basin, southern Utah, USA. These structures represent an exceptional example of metre‐scale fault‐proximal, seismogenic load structures in nearly homogenous sandstones. The load structures consist of two types: large‐scale load casts and wedge‐shaped load structures. Large‐scale load casts penetrate up to 4·5 m into the underlying sandstone bed. Wedge‐shaped load structures include metre‐scale, parallel, sub‐vertical features and decimetre‐scale features along the periphery of the large‐scale load casts or other wedge‐shaped load structures. Wedge‐shaped load structures contain well‐developed, medial cataclastic shear deformation bands. All load structures contain pervasive well‐defined millimetre‐thick to centimetre‐thick internal laminae, oriented parallel to the outside form of the load structures and asymptotic to deformation bands. Both types of load structures formed because of an inverted density profile, earthquake‐triggered liquefaction and growth of irregularities (a Rayleigh–Taylor instability) on the sandstone–sandstone erosional contact. The internal laminae and deformation bands formed during deformation and clearly demonstrate polyphase deformation, recording a transition from liquefied to hydroplastic to brittle modes of deformation. Decimetre‐scale wedge‐shaped load structures on the edge of the large‐scale load casts probably formed towards the end of a seismic event after the sediment dewatered and increased the frictional contact of grains enough to impart strength to the sands. Metre‐scale wedge‐shaped load structures were created as the tips of downward foundering sediments were driven into fractures, which widened incrementally with seismic pulsation. With each widening of the fracture, gravity and a suction effect would draw additional sediment into the fracture. Superimposed laminae indicate a secondary syndeformational origin for internal laminae, probably by flow‐generated shearing and vibrofluidization mechanisms. Large‐scale and wedge‐shaped load structures, polyphase deformation and secondary laminae may characterize soft‐sediment deformation in certain fault‐proximal settings.     

Interdisciplinary survey in Messenia,Southwest Peloponnese,Greece

The survey of Messenia by the University of Minnesota Messenia Expedition (UMME) was recently followed by the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project (PRAP). Despite improvements in survey methodology, problems remain, particularly with the interpretation of field data and with extrapolation, especially when this is made based on survey results alone, without excavation. In addition, the work of the archaeologists has not yet been fully integrated with that of the earth scientists. Some examples are given of the difficulties encountered in this survey, especially concerning retrodictions (predictions about the past) of ancient settlement patterns and numbers. Suggestions are made here for further survey and selective excavation, especially in eastern Messenia, where fieldwork has been far less extensive than in western Messenia. More fieldwork is needed to determine the pattern of geomorphic changes in the region, especially in relation to the varying degrees of visibility and/or preservation of the ancient sites. Meanwhile, increased recent human activity is rapidly destroying or endangering those remains that have hitherto survived, so that survey is often de facto of a rescue nature. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Hydrologic processes at the urban residential scale

In the face of increasing urbanization, there is growing interest in application of microscale hydrologic solutions to minimize storm runoff and conserve water at the source. In this study, a physically based numerical model was developed to understand hydrologic processes better at the urban residential scale and the interaction of these processes among different best management practices (BMPs). This model simulates hydrologic processes using an hourly interval for over a full year or for specific storm events. The model was applied to treatment and control single‐family residential parcels in Los Angeles, California. Data collected from the control and treatment sites over 2 years were used to calibrate and validate the model. Annual storm runoff to the street was eliminated by 97% with installation of rain gutters, a driveway interceptor, and lawn retention basin. Evaluated individually, the driveway interceptor was the most effective BMP for storm runoff reduction (65%), followed by the rain gutter installation (28%), and lawn converted to retention basin (12%). An 11 m³ cistern did not substantially reduce runoff, but provided 9% of annual landscape irrigation demand. Simulated landscape irrigation water use was reduced 53% by increasing irrigation system efficiency, and adjusting application rates monthly based on plant water demand. The model showed that infiltration and surface runoff processes were particularly sensitive to the soil's physical properties and its effective depth. Replacing the existing loam soil with clay soil increased annual runoff discharge to the street by 63% when climate and landscape features remained unchanged. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

关于江西省岩浆作用、构造作用与成矿作用之间关系的新认识

本文以三板块构造模式解释江西省成矿作用的发展。认为中朝、扬子、华南三板块的边缘类似于安第斯型,它们与辛普森等人研究过的英国加里东地区、海西地区的岩浆作用和成矿作用完全可以对比。     

The Oxaya anticline (northern Chile): a buckle enhanced by river incision?

A prominent structure in the Western Escarpment of the Andes of northern Chile is the Oxaya anticline, dissected at the culmination by >1500 m deep valleys. The distribution of fault and fold structures indicates that the anticline could represent a simple buckle. Buckling thus appears to have accommodated crustal shortening in the plate overriding the subducting plate, between the trench and the Western Cordillera. Cross-cutting relationships between structures and dated strata indicated that the time interval of enhanced buckling coincides with the period when rates of valley formation were enhanced. We thus propose that the formation of this anticline was enhanced by fluvial incision, which is consistent with the results of published theoretical models.     

Observations of the von Karman constant over open-ocean waves

Forty-six open-ocean observations of the von Karman constant k , estimated from the momentum flux, wind velocity, and air temperature differences observed at the Argus Island tower, yielded an average value of 0.40±0.18 for |Ri|⩽0.014, where Ri is the gradient Richardson number. This average value agrees with the determinations of k over land by U. Hogstrom (1988) and S.F. Zhang et al. (1988). Scatter in these oceanic data sets may be due in part to ocean-wave influence as well as to instrumental and statistical variability     

Dissipation observations of drag coefficients over the open ocean

Forty-three open-ocean observations of drag coefficients observed at Argus Island Tower near Bermuda by the dissipation technique resulted in constant drag coefficients for mean horizontal wind velocities between 7.8 and10.4 m .s^{1}in good agreement with the larger near-neutral data set of DeLeonibus and Simpson [1] and the neutral data of Large and Pond [2], both of whom observed10^{3}C_{10} = 1.2whereC_{10}is the drag coefficient at l0 m. Ratios of vertical-to-horizontal wind velocity spectral densities averaged over an inertial subrange of 0.8 to 1.6 Hz ranged from 0.7 to 1.07 in agreement with the Busch and Panofsky [3] result that isotropy is approached only when the observation height is much greater than the Nyquist wavelength.     

The role of induced charges in the accretion of charged dust grains

The electrostatic interaction of charged dust grains is analysed by considering the interaction of two charged conducting spheres, rather than the hitherto considered model of a sphere and a point charge. Considerable mofification of the induced charge effects results when the nonzero radius of the second sphere is taken into account.In particular, it is shown that image charge or polarization effects can only be of significance as far as collision rates are concerned when modulus of the charge ratio of two colliding grains is very different from the ratio of their radii. Such a charge ratio deviates from the original Spitzer calculation, where grains have identical charge, irrespective of the grain material, for a given radius. This deviation may occur in cool gas clouds such as Hi regions and dense molecular clouds where the discreteness of electron charge is important, or in interstellar clouds where considerable photo-ionization of a mixture of grain materials of widely varying photoelectric efficiencies takes place.It is further argued that, with regard to the induced charge effects, the accretion rate will not be significantly different for dielectric as compared to conducting grains, regardless of the type of gas cloud under consideration.     

Computing residence times for flow towards a pumping well: nomograph solution and validity of the small draw-down approximation

A recent analytical model developed to compute the residence time of fluid flowing in an unconfined aquifer towards a single pumping well is examined. The solution is scaled and presented practically as a nomograph showing the relationship between the residence time, flow length and draw-down. In addition, a similar scaling process is undertaken for the same problem occurring in a confined aquifer so that the error introduced by approximating an unconfined system as a confined system can be understood over a wide range of conditions.

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Resumen Se examina un modelo analítico, recientemente desarrollado, para calcular el tiempo de residencia de un fluido, el cual está fluyendo dentro de un acuífero libre hacia un pozo de bombeo único. La solución después de ser ajustada, se presenta prácticamente como un nomograma, mostrando la relación entre el tiempo de residencia, la longitud del flujo y el abatimiento. Adicionalmente, un proceso similar de ajuste fue realizado para el mismo problema, pero bajo condiciones de acuífero confinado, por tanto el error causado por hacer la aproximación de un sistema libre como si fuera un sistema confinado, puede llegar a ser entendido para un rango amplio de condiciones.

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Résumé On analyse un modèle analytique récent pour calculer le temps de résidence dun fluide pendant son écoulement vers un puits de pompage dans une nappe libre. La solution a été mise-à-léchelle et présenté dune manière pratique, comme une nomogramme qui exprime la relation entre le temps de résidence, la distance de l› écoulement et le rabattement. De plus, on a utilisé un procédé similaire de mise-à-léchelle pour le même problème dans une nappe captive affin que lerreur introduite par lapproximation dune nappe libre par une nappe captive peut être interprétée pour une grande classe de conditions.