The Mw = 6.0, 7 September 1999 Athens Earthquake

On 7 September 1999 at 11:56 GMT a destructive earthquake (M_w = 6.0) occurred close to Athens (Greece). The rupture process is examined using data from the Cornet local permanent network, as well as teleseismic recordings. Data recorded by a temporary seismological network were analyzed to study the aftershock sequence. The mainshock was relocated at 38.105°N, 23.565°E, about 20 km northwest of Athens. Four foreshocks were also relocated close to the mainshock. The modeling of teleseismic P and SH waves provides a well-constrained focal mechanism of the mainshock (strike = 105°, dip = 55° and rake = -80°) at a depth of 8 km and a seismic moment M₀ = 1.010²⁵ dyn·cm. The obtained fault plane solution represents normal faulting indicating an almost north-south extension. More than 3500 aftershocks were located, 1813 of which present RMS < 0.1 s and ERH, ERZ < 1.0 km. Two main clusters were distinguished, while the depth distribution is concentrated between 2 and 11 km. Over 1000 fault plane solutions of aftershocks were constrained, the majority of which also correspond to N–S extension. No surface breaks were observed but the fault plane solution of the mainshock is in agreement with the tectonics of the area and with the focal mechanisms obtained by aftershocks. The hypocenter of the mainshock is located on the deep western edge of the fault plane. The relocated epicenter coincides with the fringe that represents the highest deformation observed on the differential interferometric image. The calculated source duration is 5 sec, while the estimated dimensions of the fault are 15 km length and 10 km width. The source process is characterized by unilateral eastward rupture propagation, towards the city of Athens. An evident stop phase observed in the recordings of the Cornet local stations is interpreted as a barrier caused by the Aegaleo Mountain.     

Mantle Structure Beneath the SW Slave Craton, Canada: Constraints from Garnet Geochemistry in the Drybones Bay Kimberlite

This study describes the petrography of peridotite xenoliths,and the major and trace element geochemistry of garnets in bothxenoliths and coarse concentrate from the Drybones Bay kimberlite.The temperature and depth of equilibration of clinopyroxeneand garnet show that the mantle lithosphere beneath the SW marginof the Slave Province was at least 160 km thick at the timeof kimberlite emplacement (     

A Platinum Group Element and Re-Os Isotope Investigation of Siderophile Element Recycling in Subduction Zones: Comparison of Grenada, Lesser Antilles Arc, and the Izu-Bonin Arc

The picritic (MgO >13·5%) lavas of Grenada providea unique opportunity to evaluate the platinum group elements(PGE) and Os isotope compositions of primitive subduction-generatedmelts. Compared with other arc lavas they have undergone verylimited crustal contamination (     

Cordieritite and Leucogranite Formation during Emplacement of Highly Peraluminous Magma: the El Pilon Granite Complex (Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina)

Cordieritites and highly peraluminous granites within the ElPilón granite complex, Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina,were emplaced during a medium-P, high-T metamorphic event duringthe initial decompression of a Cambrian orogen along the southwesternmargin of Gondwana. Very fresh orbicular and massive cordierititebodies with up to 90% cordieritite are genetically associatedwith a cordierite monzogranite pluton and a larger body of porphyriticgranodiorite. The petrogenesis of this association has beenstudied using petrographical, mineralogical, thermobarometric,geochemical, geochronological and isotope methods. The graniticmagmas were formed by anatexis of mid-crustal metamorphic rocksformed earlier in the Pampean orogeny. The cordieritites appearat the top of feeder conduits that connected the source regionlocated at     

Internal deformation of Sikhote Alin volcanic belt, far eastern Russia: Paleocene paleomagnetic results

We present paleomagnetic results of Paleocene welded tuffs of the 53–50 Ma Bogopol Group from the northern region (46°N, 137°E) of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt. Characteristic paleomagnetic directions with high unblocking temperature components above 560 °C were isolated from all the sites. A tilt-corrected mean paleomagnetic direction from the northern region is D=345.8°, I=49.9°, α₉₅=14.6° (N=9). The reliability of the magnetization is ascertained through the presence of normal and reversed polarities. The mean paleomagnetic direction from the northern region of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt reflects a counterclockwise rotation of 29° from the Paleocene mean paleomagnetic direction expected from its southern region. The counterclockwise rotation of 25° is suggested from the paleomagnetic data of the Kisin Group that underlies the Bogopol Group. These results establish that internal tectonic deformation occurred within the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt over the past 50 Ma. The northern region from 44.6° to 46.0°N in the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt was subjected to counterclockwise rotational motion through 29±17° with respect to the southern region. The tectonic rotation of the northern region is ascribable to relative motion between the Zhuravlevka terrane and the Olginsk–Taukhinsk terranes that compose the basements of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt.     

Some results obtained on the study of the chemical composition of Eurasian oils depending on the depth and age of the reservoir rock

The sulfur, paraffin, resin and asphaltene contents of some 6570 Cenozoic, Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eurasian oils were analysed statistically in terms of reservoir age and depth. The database includes all principal oil-bearing basins from 60 Eurasian countries. The results of the studies of the relationships between the distribution of oils with different sulfur, paraffin, resin and asphaltene contents and the reservoir age and depth are presented. Predictive trends are established allowing polynomial predictions of average properties.     

Cenozoic tectonic events at the border of the Paraná Basin, São Paulo, Brazil

In the last decade, even in areas that had been considered tectonically stable, a great amount of Cenozoic, including the Quaternary period, structural data have been collected throughout Brazil. The main goal of this study is to describe the Cenozoic structures and tectonic evolution of an area that is located at the border of the Paraná Basin in the state of São Paulo.The research methods consisted of the analysis of: (1) brittle structure data, mainly conjugate fractures and fault slip data; (2) lineaments traced on air photos and TM Landsat and radar images; and (3) a second-order base surface map.The study area, during the Cenozoic, has been affected by five strike–slip tectonic events, which generated mainly strike–slip faults, and secondarily normal and reverse ones. The events were named, from the oldest to the youngest, E1-NE, E2-EW, E3-NW, E4-NS, and E5-NNE; and the maximum principal stresses σ1 strike approximately NE–SW, E–W, NW–SE, N–S, and NNE–SSW, respectively. Event E2-EW seems to have been contemporaneous with the deposition of the Rio Claro Formation, the most important Cenozoic deposit of probable Neogenic age, and also to have controlled the distribution of its deposits. Event E3-NW was the strongest one in the area, as is pointed out by structural data, and the maximum principal stress σ1 of event E5-NNE is partially concordant with the orientation of σH-max of well break-out data in the Paraná Basin, suggesting a Neotectonic activity for this event. Finally, discontinuities parallel and correlated to the directions of strike–slip faults of the Cenozoic events seem to have actively controlled the sculpturing of the relief in the study area.     

Geochronological constraints on the evolution of the Embu Complex, São Paulo, Brazil

Petrologic and geochronological work was carried out on a roadside outcrop of amphibolite facies orthogneisses near São Lourenço da Serra, about 50 km southwest of São Paulo City. These orthogneisses belong to the Embu Complex, within the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano Orogenic Cycle mobile belts of SE Brazil. The outcrop consists of predominantly foliated biotite tonalites and granodiorites, which were cut by granitic veins and pegmatites prior to final deformation. SHRIMP U/Pb measurements on zircons from one granodioritic–tonalitic gneiss indicate magmatic crystallization of the protolith at 811±13 Ma (MSWD=1.0). Zircons with dates of ca. 2000 and ca. 1000 Ma in this rock are interpreted as inherited from older crust. One zircon analyzed from the gneiss and three zircons from a discordant pegmatitic vein indicate an event at 650–700 Ma, perhaps related to the intrusion of the pegmatites. A regression of Rb–Sr whole rock data for four biotite gneisses yielded an imperfect isochron, giving an apparent age of 821±68 Ma and an elevated initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.719±0.005. The elevated initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio and the inherited zircons indicate involvement of older crust in the genesis of the gneisses. Rb–Sr feldspar and whole rock pairs yield ca. 560 Ma tielines, giving the time of final cooling below 300–350 °C, and the cessation of medium-grade metamorphism and ductile deformation. These results document a series of tectono-thermal events spanning 250 million years during the Brasiliano Orogenic Cycle. They relate to ca. 800 Ma magmatic arc activity and later allochthonous terrane assembly during closure of the Adamastor Ocean, resulting in the accretion of Western Gondwana.     

Rates of Deglaciation during the Last Glaciation and Holocene in the Cordillera Vilcanota-Quelccaya Ice Cap Region, Southeastern Perú

Moraine chronology is combined with digital topography to model deglacial rates of paleoglacier volumes in both the Huancané Valley on the west side of the Quelccaya Ice Cap and the Upismayo Valley on the northwest side of the Cordillera Vilcanota. The fastest rates of deglaciation (39×10⁻⁵ to 114×10⁻⁵ km³ yr⁻¹ and 112×10⁻⁵ to 247×10⁻⁵ km³ yr⁻¹ for each valley, respectively) were calculated for the most recent paleoglaciers, corresponding to the last few centuries. These results are consistent with observations in the Venezuelan Andes showing high rates of deglaciation since the Little Ice Age. These rates also fall within the range of 20th century rates of deglaciation measured on the Quelccaya Ice Cap (29×10⁻⁵ to 220×10⁻⁵ km³ yr⁻¹, Brecher and Thompson, 1993; Thompson, 2000). These results imply that rates of deglaciation may fluctuate significantly over time and that high rates of deglaciation may not be exclusive to the late 20th century. Equilibrium line altitude (ELA) depressions for the ice volumes of the last glaciation modeled here were computed as 230 m for the Quelccaya Ice Cap and 170 m for the Cordillera Vilcanota. Maximum ELA depressions are lower than previously published: <500 m for the Cordillera Vilcanota and <400 m for the Quelccaya Ice Cap. These lower values could imply a topographic control over paleoglacier extent.