Shock temperatures in anorthite glass

Summary. Temperatures of CaAl₂Si₂O₈ (anorthite glass) shocked to pressures between 48 and 117 GPa have been measured in the range from 2500 to 5600 K, using optical pyrometry techniques. The pressure dependence of the shock temperatures deviates significantly from predictions based on a single high-pressure phase. Either a variable specific heat, or the existence of three phase transitions, at pressures of about 55, 85 and 100 GPa and with transition energies of about 0.5 MJ kg⁻¹ each (∼ 1.5 MJ kg⁻¹ total) can explain the shock-temperature data. The proposed phase transition at 100 GPa can possibly be identified with the stishovite melting transition. Theoretical models of the time dependence of the thermal radiation from the shocked anorthite based on the geometry of the experiment and the absorptive properties of the shocked material yield good agreement with observations, indicating that it is not necessary to invoke intrinsic time dependences to explain the data in many cases. Observed time dependences were used to calculate absorption coefficients of the shocked material of from about 2 mm⁻¹ to greater than 24 mm⁻¹– an increasing function of shock pressure. The assumption that the shocked material radiates as a black body is supported by the theoretical model, and by the close agreement between measured and calculated black body spectral radiance as a function of wavelength.     

Geomorphology, Stratigraphy, and Radiocarbon Chronology of LlanquihueDrift in the Area of the Southern Lake District, Seno Reloncaví, and Isla Grande de Chiloé, Chile

Glacial geomorphologic features composed of (or cut into) Llanquihue drift delineate former Andean piedmont glaciers in the region of the southern Chilean Lake District, Seno Reloncav', Golfo de Ancud, and northern Golfo Corcovado during the last glaciation. These landforms include extensive moraine belts, main and subsidiary outwash plains, kame terraces, and meltwater spillways. Numerous radiocarbon dates document Andean ice advances into the moraine belts during the last glacial maximum (LGM) at 29,363–29,385 ¹⁴C yr BP , 26,797 ¹⁴C yr BP , 22,295–22,570 ¹⁴C yr BP , and 14,805–14,869 ¹⁴C yr BP . Advances may also have culminated at close to 21,000 ¹⁴C yr BP , shortly before 17,800 ¹⁴C yr BP , and shortly before 15,730 ¹⁴C yr BP . The maximum at 22,295–22,567 ¹⁴C yr BP was probably the most extensive of the LGM in the northern part of the field area, whereas that at 14,805–14,869 ¹⁴C yr BP was the most extensive in the southern part. Snowline depression during these maxima was about 1000 m. Andean piedmont glaciers did not advance into the outer Llanquihue moraine belts during the portion of middle Llanquihue time between 29,385 ¹⁴C yr BP and more than 39,660 ¹⁴C yr BP . In the southern part of the field area, the Golfo de Ancud lobe, as well as the Golfo Corcovado lobe, achieved a maximum at the outermost Llanquihue moraine prior to 49,892 ¹⁴C yr BP . Pollen analysis of the Taiquemmire, which is located on this moraine, suggests that the old Llanquihue advance probably corresponds to the time of marine isotope stage 4. The implication is that the Andean snowline was then depressed as much as during the LGM. A Llanquihue-age glacier expansion into the outer moraine belts also occurred more than about 40,000 ¹⁴C yr BP for the Lago Llanquihue piedmont glacier.     

Determination of the fault plane using a single near-field seismic station with a finite-dimension source model

We explore the possibility of determining the actual fault plane of an earthquake from the inversion of near-source displacement seismograms of one station when a finite-dimension source is used instead of a point source model and when the complete displacement is taken into account, including near-field waves. Tests on synthetic seismograms and real data recorded at local distances show that this is possible even with a single, three-component station. A single accelerogram available for the Erzincan, Turkey, 1992 March 13, M _s = 6.8 earthquake is inverted and the solution found is compatible with other seismological studies and with the mechanism expected for the North Anatolian Fault.