Effect of Sliding Rate on the Activity of Acoustic Emission During Stable Sliding

--The mechanical and statistical characteristics of acoustic emission (AE) events during stable sliding are investigated through a laboratory experiment using a granite specimen with a pre-cut fault. Numerous AE events are found to be generated on the pre-cut fault, indicating that microscopically unstable fracture occurs during macroscopically stable sliding. The composite focal mechanism solution of AE events is determined from the first motion directions of P-waves. The determined mechanism is consistent with the double-couple one expected for the slip on the pre-cut fault. The source radii of large AE events are estimated to be about 10 mm from the widths of the first P-wave pulses. These indicate that the AE events are generated by shear fracture whose faulting area is a part of the pre-cut fault plane. The occurrence of AE events as a stochastic process approximately obeys the Poisson process, if the effect of mutually dependent events consti tuting clusters is corrected. The observed amplitude-frequency relation of AE events approximately follows a power law for a limited amplitude range. As the macroscopic sliding rate increases, the number of AE events per unit sliding distance decreases. This rate dependence of the AE activity is qualitatively consistent with the observation that the real area of contact between sliding surfaces decreases with an increase in the sliding rate as reported in the literature.     

Analytical Model for Permeability Evolution in Microcracking Rock

— Analytical expressions to predict the enhancement of permeability due to stress-induced microcracking in initially low porosity rock are presented. A fracture mechanical microcrack model is employed to derive integrated effective hydraulic variables as a function of stress, which are then used to calculate the evolution of permeability using the statistically-based Dienes model. The model enables determination of permeability enhancement as a function of two loading parameters and three material parameters. Results are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements and indicate that appreciable increases in permeability can be anticipated during brittle failure. The analytical nature of the model makes it easily incorporatable into numerical models that require quantification of the permeability evolution as a function of stress, for which there is currently no law.     

Exploration and discovery in Yellowstone Lake: results from high-resolution sonar imaging, seismic reflection profiling, and submersible studies

‘No portion of the American continent is perhaps so rich in wonders as the Yellow Stone’ (F.V. Hayden, September 2, 1874)Discoveries from multi-beam sonar mapping and seismic reflection surveys of the northern, central, and West Thumb basins of Yellowstone Lake provide new insight into the extent of post-collapse volcanism and active hydrothermal processes occurring in a large lake environment above a large magma chamber. Yellowstone Lake has an irregular bottom covered with dozens of features directly related to hydrothermal, tectonic, volcanic, and sedimentary processes. Detailed bathymetric, seismic reflection, and magnetic evidence reveals that rhyolitic lava flows underlie much of Yellowstone Lake and exert fundamental control on lake bathymetry and localization of hydrothermal activity. Many previously unknown features have been identified and include over 250 hydrothermal vents, several very large (>500 m diameter) hydrothermal explosion craters, many small hydrothermal vent craters (1–200 m diameter), domed lacustrine sediments related to hydrothermal activity, elongate fissures cutting post-glacial sediments, siliceous hydrothermal spire structures, sublacustrine landslide deposits, submerged former shorelines, and a recently active graben. Sampling and observations with a submersible remotely operated vehicle confirm and extend our understanding of the identified features. Faults, fissures, hydrothermally inflated domal structures, hydrothermal explosion craters, and sublacustrine landslides constitute potentially significant geologic hazards. Toxic elements derived from hydrothermal processes also may significantly affect the Yellowstone ecosystem.     

A unified formulation of the piecewise exact method for inelastic seismic demand analysis including the P‐delta effect

The non‐linear analysis of single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) systems provides the essential background information for both strength‐based design and displacement‐based evaluation/design methodologies through the development of the inelastic response spectra. The recursive solution procedure called the piecewise exact method, which is efficiently used for the response analysis of linear SDOF systems, is re‐formulated in this paper in a unified format to analyse the non‐linear SDOF systems with multi‐linear hysteresis models. The unified formulation is also capable of handling the P‐delta effect, which generally involves the negative post‐yield stiffness of the hysteresis loops. The attractiveness of the method lies in the fact that it provides the exact solution when the loading time history is composed of piecewise linear segments, a condition that is perfectly satisfied for the earthquake excitation. Based on simple recursive relationships given for positive, negative and zero effective stiffnesses, the unified form of the piecewise exact method proves to be an extremely powerful and probably the best tool for the SDOF inelastic time‐history and response spectrum analysis including the P‐delta effect. A number of examples are presented to demonstrate the implementation of the method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterisation of the 1997 Vulcanian explosions of Soufrière Hills Volcano,Montserrat, by video analysis

The activity of Convention at Montserrat Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, during the period 1995–1999 included numerous violent explosions. Two major cycles of Vulcanian explosions occurred in 1997: a first of 13 explosions between 4 and 12 August and a second of 75 between 22 September and 21 October. The explosions were short-lived events lasting a few tens of seconds during which partial fountain collapse generated pyroclastic surges and pyroclastic flows, and buoyant plumes ascended 3–15 km into the atmosphere. Each explosion discharged on average 3×10⁵ m³ (dense-rock equivalent, DRE) of magma, draining the conduit to depths of 1–2 km. The paper focuses on the first few seconds of three explosions of the 75 that occurred in September/October 1997: 6 October 1997 at 17:50, 7 October 1997 at 16:02 and 9 October 1997 at 12:32. Physical parameters such as exit velocities, magmatic water contents and magma pressures at fragmentation are estimated by following and modelling the ascent of individual momentum-dominated finger jets visible on videos during the initial stages of each explosion. The model treats each finger jet as an incompressible flow sustained by a steady flux of gas and particles during the few seconds of ascent, and produces results that compare favourably with those using a multiphase compressible code run using similar eruptive parameters. Each explosion reveals a progressive increase in eruptive intensity with time, jet exit velocities increasing from 40 m s^–1 at the beginning of the explosion up to 140 m s^–1 after a few seconds. Modelling suggests that the first magma to exit was largely degassed, whereas that discharged after a few seconds contained up to 2 wt% water. Magma overpressures up to ~10 MPa are estimated to have existed in the conduit immediately prior to each explosion. Progressive increases in jet exit velocity with time over the first few seconds of each explosion provide direct evidence for strong pre-eruptive gradients in water content and magma pressure in the upper reaches (probably 100–500 m) of the conduit. Fountain collapse occurred during the first 10–20 s of each explosion because the discharging jets had bulk densities up to 100 times that of the atmosphere and were unable to entrain enough air to become buoyant. Such high eruptive densities were due to the presence of partially degassed magma in the conduit.Editorial responsibility: A. Woods     

Computer Simulation of Shaped Charge Detonation Using Meshless Particle Method

Shaped charges are widely applied in the defense industry and civil engineering for penetrating hardened targets. Simulations of shaped charges are generally based on traditional grid-based numerical methods. Different from the existing literature, the SPH method is applied in this paper to simulate the detonation process of shaped charge explosive. The combination of the meshless, Lagrangian and particle nature inherent in the SPH method is very attractive in dealing with large deformations and large inhomogeneities in extremely transient situations such as detonation process. The SPH method and some related numerical aspects are briefly discussed first, followed by applications in simulating shaped charge detonations. The effects of different detonation cavity angles and different charge head lengths are investigated. The results demonstrate that major shaped charge detonation phenomena are captured with revealing observations.     

Spatial probabilistic modeling of slope failure using an integrated GIS Monte Carlo simulation approach

Spatial probabilistic modeling of slope failure using a combined Geographic Information System (GIS), infinite-slope stability model and Monte Carlo simulation approach is proposed and applied in the landslide-prone area of Sasebo city, southern Japan. A digital elevation model (DEM) for the study area has been created at a scale of 1/2500. Calculated results of slope angle and slope aspect derived from the DEM are discussed. Through the spatial interpolation of the identified stream network, the thickness distribution of the colluvium above Tertiary strata is determined with precision. Finally, by integrating an infinite-slope stability model and Monte Carlo simulation with GIS, and applying spatial processing, a slope failure probability distribution map is obtained for the case of both low and high water levels.     

Famennian microbial reef facies, Napier and Oscar Ranges, Canning Basin, western Australia

Following the Frasnian–Famennian mass extinction, which eliminated most skeletal reef-building fauna, the early Famennian reefs of the Canning Basin were constructed primarily by reef-framework microbial communities. In the Napier and Oscar Ranges, the Famennian reef complexes had high-energy, reef-flat depositional environments on a reef-rimmed platform that transitioned into low-energy, deep-water reefs growing in excess of 50 m below sea level. High-energy, reef-flat depositional environments contain doming fenestral stromatolites that grade into porous thrombolites and are associated with coarse-grained sandstones and grainstones. The reef-margin subfacies contains mounds of microdigitate thrombolites, which are more delicate than the reef-flat thrombolites and locally contain abundant red algae, Girvanella, renalcids and sediment-filled tubes. Within the thrombolites, the red algae are in upright growth positions, suggesting that the thrombolites are largely composed of carbonate that precipitated in situ. Reefal-slope environments are dominated by Wetheredella and Rothpletzella with locally abundant Girvanella, renalcids and Uralinella. In reefal-slope strata, delicate fans and microdigitate stromatolites of Wetheredella and Rothpletzella are often oriented horizontal or diagonal to bedding and are interpreted as syndepositionally toppled over. Most mesoscale microbial community structures contain several species of microbial fossils, and no single microbial species appears to have controlled the morphology of the community structure. Therefore, the depositional environment must have determined the distribution and morphology of the stromatolites, thrombolites and other microbial community structures. The adaptability of microbial communities to various reef environments allowed them to fill ecological niches opportunistically after the Frasnian–Famennian mass extinction.