Weathering,erosion and sediment composition in a high‐gradient river,Calabria, Italy

Source rock lithology and immediate modifying processes, such as chemical weathering and mechanical erosion, are primary controls on fluvial sediment supply. Sand composition and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of parent rocks, soil and fluvial sand of the Savuto River watershed, Calabria (Italy), were used to evaluate the modifications of source rocks through different sections of the basin, characterized by different geomorphic processes, in a sub‐humid Mediterranean climate. The headwaters, with gentle topography, produce a coarse‐grained sediment load derived from deeply weathered gneiss, having sand of quartzofeldspathic composition, compositionally very different from in situ degraded bedrock. Maximum estimated CIA values suggest that source rock has been affected significantly by weathering, and it testifies to a climatic threshold on the destruction of the bedrock. The mid‐course has steeper slopes and a deeply incised valley; bedrock consists of mica‐schist and phyllite with a very thin regolith, which provides large cobble to very coarse sand sediments to the main channel. Slope instability, with an areal incidence of over 40 per cent, largely supplies detritus to the main channel. Sand‐sized detritus of soil and fluvial sand is lithic. Estimated CIA value testifies to a significant weathering of the bedrock too, even if in this part of the drainage basin steeper slopes allow erosion to exceed chemical weathering. The lower course has a braided pattern and sediment load is coarse to medium–fine grained. The river cuts across Palaeozoic crystalline rocks and Miocene siliciclastic deposits. Sand‐sized detritus, contributed from these rocks and homogenized by transport processes, has been found in the quartzolithic distal samples. Field and laboratory evidence indicates that landscape development was the result of extensive weathering during the last postglacial temperature maximum in the headwaters, and of mass‐failure and fluvial erosional processes in the mid‐ and low course. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reversal sequence in a multiple scale dynamo mechanism

We investigate the temporal evolution of the magnetic dipole field intensity of the Earth through a multiscale dynamo mechanism. On a large range of spatio-temporal scales, the helical motions of the fluid flow are given by a schematic model of a fully developed turbulence. The system construction is symmetric with respect to left-handed and right-handed cyclones. The multiscale cyclonic turbulence coupled with a differential rotation (schematic ω dynamo) or alone (schematic ² dynamo) is the ingredient of the loop through which poloidal and toroidal fields are built from one another. Two kinds of reaction of the magnetic field on the flow are considered: the presence of a magnetic field first favours a larger-scale organization of the flow, and, second, impedes this flow by the effect of growing Lorentz forces. We obtain the general features of the geomagnetic field intensity observed over geological times and describe a general mechanism for reversals, excursions and secular variation. The mechanism happens to keep a memory during the chrons and loose it during the events (excursions and inversions).     

The snowball Earth aftermath: Exploring the limits of continental weathering processes

Carbonates capping Neoproterozoic glacial deposits contain peculiar sedimentological features and geochemical anomalies ascribed to extraordinary environmental conditions in the snowball Earth aftermath. It is commonly assumed that post-snowball climate dominated by CO₂ partial pressures several hundred times greater than modern levels, would be characterized by extreme temperatures, a vigorous hydrological cycle, and associated high continental weathering rates. However, the climate in the aftermath of a global glaciation has never been rigorously modelled. Here, we use a hierarchy of numerical models, from an atmospheric general circulation model to a mechanistic model describing continental weathering processes, to explore characteristics of the Earth system during the supergreenhouse climate following a snowball glaciation. These models suggest that the hydrological cycle intensifies only moderately in response to the elevated greenhouse. Indeed, constraints imposed by the surface energy budget sharply limit global mean evaporation once the temperature has warmed sufficiently that the evaporation approaches the total absorbed solar radiation. Even at 400 times the present day pressure of atmospheric CO₂, continental runoff is only 1.2 times the modern runoff. Under these conditions and accounting for the grinding of the continental surface by the ice sheet during the snowball event, the simulated maximum discharge of dissolved elements from continental weathering into the ocean is approximately 10 times greater than the modern flux. Consequently, it takes millions of years for the silicate weathering cycle to reduce post-snowball CO₂ levels to background Neoproterozoic levels. Regarding the origin of the cap dolostones, we show that continental weathering alone does not supply enough cations during the snowball melting phase to account for their observed volume.     

利用重复地震估算北京平原地区隐伏断裂深部的活动速率

利用首都圈数字化地震台网2001—2006年的波形资料分析北京平原地区隐伏断裂的深部滑动速率。通过波形互相关分析,识别出35组相似地震对和20组多重相似对,大部分相似地震活动表现为非周期性,重复间隔从数分钟到数百天不等。针对研究区内台站分布稀疏和低信噪比波形记录的现状,在波形相似的基础上,提出了采用在子采样条件下的S-P相对到时差(dSmP)和相对到时拾取误差来对相似地震震源位置的一致性进行强约束,进一步探索和完善波形意义上重复地震的识别方法。基于4组"重复地震"估算北京平原区黄庄-高丽营断裂和南口-孙河断裂在不同孕震深度处的滑动速率为1.0～1.2mm/a,怀安镇盆地南缘断裂地表以下9.4km处的滑动速率估计值为1.5mm/a,这一结果和地质资料结果相符。     

汶川地震断裂带科学深钻井孔附近微震观测问题及微震数据转换

为了配合汶川地震科学深钻,弄清楚钻孔附近浅层的断层面结构,中国地震局地球物理研究所分别在四川省绵竹市天池乡和四川省绵阳市南坝镇布设15套南非矿山地震研究所(IMS)生产的矿山地震仪.分析矿山地震仪天然微震监测中仪器布设、数据采集和数据处理等方面遇到的问题,介绍与该仪器对应的数据的文件格式,并实现该数据与通用地震数据格式SAC二进制格式的转换.     

Statistical characteristics of flow as indicators of channeling in heterogeneous porous and fractured media

We introduce two new channeling indicators D_ic and D_cc based on the Lagrangian distribution of flow rates. On the basis of the participation ratio, these indicators characterize the extremes of both the flow-tube width distribution and the flow rate variation along flow lines. The participation ratio is an indicator biased toward the larger values of a distribution and is equal to the normalized ratio of the square of the first-order moment to the second-order moment. Compared with other existing indicators, they advantageously provide additional information on the flow channel geometry, are consistently applicable to both porous and fractured media, and are generally less variable for media generated using the same parameters than other indicators. Based on their computation for a broad range of porous and fracture permeability fields, we show that they consistently characterize two different geometric properties of channels. D_ic gives a characteristic scale of low-flow zones in porous media and a characteristic distance between effectively flowing structures in fractured cases. D_cc gives a characteristic scale of the extension of high-flow zones in porous media and a characteristic channel length in fractured media. D_ic is mostly determined by channel density and permeability variability. D_cc is, however, more affected by the nature of the correlation structure like the presence of permeability channels or fractures in porous media and the length distribution in fracture networks.     

Comparison of LiDAR waveform processing methods for very shallow water bathymetry using Raman,near‐infrared and green signals

Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) bathymetry appears to be a useful technology for bed topography mapping of non‐navigable areas, offering high data density and a high acquisition rate. However, few studies have focused on continental waters, in particular, on very shallow waters (<2 m) where it is difficult to extract the surface and bottom positions that are typically mixed in the green LiDAR signal. This paper proposes two new processing methods for depth extraction based on the use of different LiDAR signals [green, near‐infrared (NIR), Raman] of the SHOALS‐1000T sensor. They have been tested on a very shallow coastal area (Golfe du Morbihan, France) as an analogy to very shallow rivers. The first method is based on a combination of mathematical and heuristic methods using the green and the NIR LiDAR signals to cross validate the information delivered by each signal. The second method extracts water depths from the Raman signal using statistical methods such as principal components analysis (PCA) and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. The obtained results are then compared to the reference depths, and the performances of the different methods, as well as their advantages/disadvantages are evaluated. The green/NIR method supplies 42% more points compared to the operator process, with an equivalent mean error (?4·2 cm verusu ?4·5 cm) and a smaller standard deviation (25·3 cm verusu 33·5 cm). The Raman processing method provides very scattered results (standard deviation of 40·3 cm) with the lowest mean error (?3·1 cm) and 40% more points. The minimum detectable depth is also improved by the two presented methods, being around 1 m for the green/NIR approach and 0·5 m for the statistical approach, compared to 1·5 m for the data processed by the operator. Despite its ability to measure other parameters like water temperature, the Raman method needed a large amount of reference data to provide reliable depth measurements, as opposed to the green/NIR method. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular evidence for life in the 3.5 billion year old Warrawoona chert

The biological origin of organic matter in the oldest siliceous sediments (cherts) is still debated. To address this issue, the insoluble organic matter (kerogen) was isolated from a chert of the Warrawoona group. The chemical structure of the kerogen was investigated through a combination of analytical techniques including solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance and pyrolysis. Although dominated by aromatic hydrocarbons, the pyrolysate comprises a homologous series of long chain aliphatic hydrocarbons characterized by odd-over-even carbon number predominance. This distribution is only consistent with a biological origin. As kerogen must be contemporaneous of the solidification of the chert, this observation should be regarded as an evidence for the presence of life on Earth, 3.5 By ago.     

From subduction to transform motion: a seabeam survey of the Hellenic trench system

Preliminary results of a multi-narrow beam survey of the Hellenic trench system, in the Eastern Mediterranean, are presented. The southwestern Ionian branch is divided in small basins, partly filled with Pleistocene sediments. The morphology suggests that the basins are deformed by a compressional stress acting roughly perpendicularly to the trench along N50°E. This direction is the direction of the regional slip vector of the shallow thrust-type earthquakes. The structure of the southeastern Pliny-Strabo branch is quite different. Narrow en-e´chelon slots, oriented N40°E, have been mapped within the main troughs oriented N60°E. The regional earthquake slip vector is also oriented along N40°E. We conclude that the Hellenic trench system is an active subduction system, dominated by thrust along the Ionian branch and by transform motion along the Pliny-Strabo branch.     

动载作用下混凝土细观损伤的CT图像分割和灰度共生矩阵特征值研究

动载作用下混凝土随应力变化的系列CT图像完整地记录了混凝土内部破损过程,在CT图像中能直接观察到细观裂纹时混凝土往往已发生宏观破坏,挖掘混凝土材料损伤的细观信息是混凝土细观力学分析的核心。本文基于混凝土单轴动态压缩CT试验,获得不同应力阶段的横断面CT图像,分别应用图像分割技术和灰度共生矩阵法提取孔隙率和4个特征值,研究孔隙率和4个特征值随应力的变化规律。结果表明孔隙率随应力的增加显示出单调增加的总趋势,个别部位在应力水平较小时孔隙率随应力增加变化不大,反映出混凝土的压密效应。受压密效应影响,对比度在低应力水平时随应力增加有升有降,能量对应力变化不够敏感,相关性和同质性随应力的增加单调增加,对应力变化较为敏感,能反映混凝土整体损伤过程。对混凝土CT图像进行分区后再研究孔隙率、同质性和相关性随应力的变化,可以更好地反映动载作用下混凝土的细观损伤过程。