Physical properties of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks from the Sulu terrain, eastern central China: implications for the seismic structure at the Donghai (CCSD) drilling site

About 30 samples representing major lithologies of Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks were collected from surface exposures and exploration wells, and compressional (Vp) and shear wave (Vs) velocities and their directional dependence (anisotropy) were determined over a range of constant confining pressures up to 600 MPa and temperatures ranging from 20 to 600 °C. Samples range in composition from acidic to ultramafic. P- and S-wave velocities measured at 600 MPa vary from 5.08 to 8.64 km/s and 2.34 to 4.93 km/s, respectively. Densities are in the range from 2.60 to 3.68 g/cm³. To make a direct tie between seismic measurements (refraction and reflection) and subsurface lithologies, the experimental velocity data (corresponding to shallow depths) were used to calculate velocity profiles for the different lithologies and profiles of reflection coefficients at possible lithologic interfaces across the projected 5000-m Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Program (CCSD) crustal segment. Comparison of calculated in situ velocities with respective intrinsic velocities suggests that the in situ velocities at shallow depths are lowered by an increased abundance of open microcracks. The strongly reflective zone beneath the Donghai drill site can be explained by the impedance contrasts between the different lithologies. Contacts between eclogite/peridotite and felsic rocks (gt-gneiss, granitic gneiss), in particular, may give rise to strong seismic reflections. In addition, shear-induced (lattice preferred orientation (LPO)-related) seismic anisotropy can increase reflectivity. For the explanation of the high velocity bodies (>6.4 km/s) around 1000 m and below 3200-m depth, large proportions of eclogite/peridotite (about 40 and 30 vol.%, respectively) are needed.     

Seismic wave velocity and anisotropy of serpentinized peridotite in the Oman ophiolite

Shallow seismic measurements in harzburgite from the Oman ophiolite performed in a zone where the maximum horizontal anisotropy is expected (vertical foliation and horizontal lineation) point to a dominant dependence of seismic properties on fracturing.

Optical microscopy studies show that microcracks are guided by the serpentine (lizardite) penetrative network oriented subparallel to the harzburgite foliation and subperpendicular to the mineral lineation, and that serpentine (lizardite) vein filling has a maximum concentration of (001) planes parallel to the veins walls. The calculated elastic properties of the oriented alteration veins filled with serpentine in an anisotropic matrix formed by oriented crystals of olivine and orthopyroxene are compared with seismic velocities measured on hand specimens.

Laboratory ultrasonic data indicate that open microcracks are closed at 100 MPa pressure, e.g. (J. Geophys. Res. 65, (1960) 1083) and (Proc. ODP Sci. Results Leg 118, (1990) 227). Above this pressure, laboratory measurements and modeling show that P-compressional and S-shear wave velocities are mainly controlled by the mineral preferred orientation. Veins sealed with serpentine are effective in slightly lowering P and S velocities and increasing anisotropy. The penetrative lizardite network does not affect directly the geometry of seismic anisotropy, but contributes indirectly in the fact that this network controls the microcrack orientations.

Comparison between seismic measurements of peridotite and gabbro in the same conditions suggest that P- and S-waves anisotropies are a possible discriminating factor between the two lithologies in the suboceanic lithosphere.     

Shock-induced thermal transformations of ries-biotites

Thermal transformations in biotites depending on increasing postshock temperatures were studied.A decrease of the unit cell volume, caused by oxidation of octahedral Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ at temperature rangings of about 400–500° C was observed.In the same temperature range (500° C) the biotite lattice becomes thermodynamically unstable. Intersheet and octahedral layers are decomposed, whereas individual SiO₄-tetrahedra are more resistant to thermal vibrations. The decomposition of the biotite leads to the formation of new minerals and amorphous phases. By X-ray analysesmagnetite, hercynite, pyroxene, feldspar, and quartz were identified.Thermal transformations of biotite induced by shock waves are characterized by states of distinct disequilibrium.     

Environmental Radioxenon Levels in Europe: a Comprehensive Overview

Activity concentration data from ambient radioxenon measurements in ground level air, which were carried out in Europe in the framework of the International Noble Gas Experiment (INGE) in support of the development and build-up of a radioxenon monitoring network for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification regime are presented and discussed. Six measurement stations provided data from 5 years of measurements performed between 2003 and 2008: Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen, Norway), Stockholm (Sweden), Dubna (Russian Federation), Schauinsland Mountain (Germany), Bruyères-le-Châtel and Marseille (both France). The noble gas systems used within the INGE are designed to continuously measure low concentrations of the four radioxenon isotopes which are most relevant for detection of nuclear explosions: ^131mXe, ^133mXe, ¹³³Xe and ¹³⁵Xe with a time resolution less than or equal to 24 h and a minimum detectable concentration of ¹³³Xe less than 1 mBq/m³. This European cluster of six stations is particularly interesting because it is highly influenced by a high density of nuclear power reactors and some radiopharmaceutical production facilities. The activity concentrations at the European INGE stations are studied to characterise the influence of civilian releases, to be able to distinguish them from possible nuclear explosions. It was found that the mean activity concentration of the most frequently detected isotope, ¹³³Xe, was 5–20 mBq/m³ within Central Europe where most nuclear installations are situated (Bruyères-le-Châtel and Schauinsland), 1.4–2.4 mBq/m³ just outside that region (Stockholm, Dubna and Marseille) and 0.2 mBq/m³ in the remote polar station of Spitsbergen. No seasonal trends could be observed from the data. Two interesting events have been examined and their source regions have been identified using atmospheric backtracking methods that deploy Lagrangian particle dispersion modelling and inversion techniques. The results are consistent with known releases of a radiopharmaceutical facility.     

Performance of the complete travel-time equation of state at simultaneous high pressure and temperature

The complete travel-time equation of state (CT-EOS) is presented by utilizing thermodynamics relations, such as; $$K_T = K_S (1 + \alpha \gamma T)^{ - 1} , \gamma = \frac{{\alpha K_S }}{{\rho C_P }}, \left. {\frac{{\partial C_P }}{{\partial P}}} \right)_T = - \frac{T}{\rho }\left[ {\alpha ^2 + \left. {\frac{{\partial \alpha }}{{\partial T}}} \right)_P } \right], etc.$$ The CT-EOS enables us to analyze ultrasonic experimental data under simultaneous high pressure and high temperature without introducing any assumption, as long as the density, or thermal expansivity, and heat capacity are also available as functions of temperature at zero pressure. The performance of the CT-EOS was examined by using synthesized travel-time data with random noise of 10^?5 and 10^?4 amplitude up to 4 GPa and 1500 K. Those test conditions are to be met with the newly developed GHz interferometry in a gas medium piston cylinder apparatus. The results suggest that the combination of the CT-EOS and accurate experimental data (10^?4 in travel time) can determine thermodynamic and elastic parameters, as well as their derivatives with unprecedented accuracy, yielding second-order pressure derivatives (?² M/?P ²) of the elastic moduli as well as the temperature derivatives of their first-order pressure derivatives ?² M/?P?T). The completeness of the CT-EOS provides an unambiguous criterion to evaluate the compatibility of empirical EOS with experimental data. Furthermore because of this completeness, it offers the possibility of a new and absolute pressure calibration when X-ray (i.e., volume) measurements are made simultaneously with the travel-time measurements.     

Ocean/ice shelf interaction in the southern Weddell Sea: results of a regional numerical helium/neon simulation

Ocean/ice interaction at the base of deep-drafted Antarctic ice shelves modifies the physical properties of inflowing shelf waters to become Ice Shelf Water (ISW). In contrast to the conditions at the atmosphere/ocean interface, the increased hydrostatic pressure at the glacial base causes gases embedded in the ice to dissolve completely after being released by melting. Helium and neon, with an extremely low solubility, are saturated in glacial meltwater by more than 1000%. At the continental slope in front of the large Antarctic caverns, ISW mixes with ambient waters to form different precursors of Antarctic Bottom Water. A regional ocean circulation model, which uses an explicit formulation of the ocean/ice shelf interaction to describe for the first time the input of noble gases to the Southern Ocean, is presented. The results reveal a long-term variability of the basal mass loss solely controlled by the interaction between waters of the continental shelf and the ice shelf cavern. Modeled helium and neon supersaturations from the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf front show a “low-pass” filtering of the inflowing signal due to cavern processes. On circumpolar scales, the simulated helium and neon distributions allow us to quantify the ISW contribution to bottom water, which spreads with the coastal current connecting the major formation sites in Ross and Weddell Seas.