Seismic amplitude tomography for crustal attenuation beneath China

Amplitude tomography reconstructs seismic attenuation directly from recorded wave amplitudes. We have applied the tomography to amplitude data reported in the 'Annual Bulletin of Chinese Earthquakes' and interpreted the regionally varying crustal attenuation in terms of tectonics. The seismic amplitudes were originally recorded for determining the M _L and M _S magnitudes. They generally correspond to the maximum amplitudes of the horizontal components of the short-period S waves and intermediate-period Rayleigh waves. Both sets of measurements are sensitive to crustal structure. The peak amplitudes from M _L amplitudes spread spherically with significant dispersion and scattering. M _S amplitudes show cylindrical spreading with little dispersion. Average crustal Q values for attenuation at 1 Hz are 737 and 505 for M _L and M _S, respectively, with substantial regional variations. Frequency dependence in the attenuation is also indicated. Regions with the lowest attenuation (high Q values) are beneath the south China Block, Sichuan Basin, Ordos Platform, the Daxinganling and the Korea Craton. These tend to be tectonically inactive regions, which are generally dominated by intrusive and cratonic rocks in the upper crust. Regions with the highest attenuation (low Q values) are beneath Bohai Basin, Yunnan, eastern Songpan-Ganzi Terrain, margins of the Ordos platform and the Qilian Shan. These are predominantly active basins, grabens and fold belts. The continental margin also highly attenuates both S and surface waves.     

Geospatial and geostatistical approach for groundwater potential zone delineation

Over the past few decades, groundwater has become an essential commodity owing to increased demand as a result of growing population, industrialization, urbanization and so on. The water supply situation is expected to become more severe in the future because of continued unsustainable water use and projected change in hydrometeorological parameters due to climate change. This study is based on the integrated approach of remote sensing, geographical information system and multicriteria decision‐making techniques to determine the most important contributing factors that affect the groundwater resources and to delineate the groundwater potential zones. Ten thematic layers, namely, geomorphology, geology, soil, topographic elevation (digital elevation model), land use/land cover, drainage density, lineament density, proximity of surface water bodies, surface temperature and post‐monsoon groundwater depth, were considered for the present study. These thematic layers were selected for groundwater prospecting based on the literature; discussion with the experts of the Central Ground Water Board, Government of India; field observations; geophysical investigation; and multivariate techniques. The thematic layers and their features were assigned suitable weights on Saaty's scale according to their relative significance for groundwater occurrence. The assigned weights of the layers and their features were normalized by using the analytic hierarchy process and eigenvector method. Finally, the selected thematic maps were integrated using a weighted linear combination method to create the final groundwater potential zone map. The final output map shows different zones of groundwater potential, namely, very good (16%), good (35%), moderate (28%) low (17%) and very low (2.1%). The groundwater potential zone map was finally validated using the discharge and groundwater depth data from 28 and 98 pumping wells, respectively, which showed good correlation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Taratash indenter and its role in the geological structure of the Urals

This work presents the results of studying zones bounded by the Archean and Early Proterozoic Taratash block, which breaks the meridional structure of the Urals, pinching its structural zones at the latitude of the town of Miass. The mesostructures of rupture zones, microtextures of tectonites, anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility, and seismic-wave propagation rate in blastomylonites were studied. The kinematic history of the Taratash block consists of two phases: (1) exhumation in the Middle Riphean under conditions of crustal extension; and (2) the formation of an indenter in the Late Paleozoic under conditions of compression.     

An institutional analysis of the evolution of inland waterway transport and inland ports on the Pearl River

Inland waterway transport (IWT) is the most appropriate means of transportation in the pursuit of a sustainable development strategy. The development of IWT varies per region. Public entities and institutions play an important role in the development of IWT. This paper analyses the development of IWT on the Pearl River from an institutional perspective. Chinese national fiscal reforms, land use reforms and the transfer of power from the central government to local governments impact the governance of IWT. The paper demonstrates that the privatization of inland ports was triggered by the mismatch between the objectives of IWT operators and either public objectives or market demand. This process unfolded while top-level governors did not aim for privatization. The paper shows how formal institutional changes of IWT on the Pearl River are both the result of deliberate design and a path creation in the transformation from the Chinese planned economy to the Chinese market economy. It also shows how institutional changes resulted in a dual development path (i.e. a rapid development of inland terminals but underdevelopment of inland waterways) of IWT in the Pearl River. Policy recommendations are provided based on the research findings with specific attention to the factors hindering IWT development on the Pearl River at the level of the waterway infrastructure and inland ports.     

Comparison of Numerical and Analytical Liquefaction Analyses of Tailings

The seismic performance of a tailings impoundment can be adversely affected by the behavior of the retained tailings. However, there remains considerable uncertainty in tailings liquefaction analysis. Twenty cyclic simple shear tests conducted on tailings from a gold mine in Quebec, Canada, were simulated numerically. The simulations indicated that the dynamic behavior of tailings could be modelled reasonably well, except that the weighted cyclic resistance curve of the tailings differed from that of clean sand which was used to develop the constitutive model (UBCSAND). An (N₁)_60-CS value of 10 blows/30 cm was estimated for the tailings based on calibration at a CSR of 0.10 for 15 cycles of loading. Numerical simulation of the behavior of a 20-m-high deposit of tailings during an earthquake (M_w = 5.9) indicated liquefaction of the upper 8 m of tailings. Liquefaction analysis using the Simplified method with published magnitude scaling factors (MSF) did not predict the occurrence of liquefaction. The use of MSF values calculated from the laboratory testing predicted liquefaction in the upper 8 m of tailings, corresponding quite well with the numerical simulation. The results indicate that both analytical and numerical methods can be used to evaluate the potential for tailings liquefaction under seismic loads.     

Modeling coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures: effect of slide rheology,experimental validation,and case studies off the US East Coast

Natural Hazards - We perform numerical simulations to assess how coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures (SMFs) is affected by slide kinematics and rheology. Two types of two-layer SMF...