Synthesis and Preliminary Characterisation of New Silicate, Phosphate and Titanite Reference Glasses

Eleven synthetic silicate and phosphate glasses were prepared to serve as reference materials for in situ microanalysis of clinopyroxenes, apatite and titanite, and other phosphate and titanite phases. Analytical results using different micro-analytical techniques showed that the glass fragments were homogeneous in major and trace elements down to the micrometre scale. Trace element determinations using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and secondary ionisation mass spectrometry (SIMS) showed good agreement for most elements (Li, Be, B, Cs, Rb, Ba, Sr, Ga, Pb, U, Th, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb) studied and provide provisional recommended values.     

Visual Event Screening of Continuous Seismic Data by Supersonograms

We present a new visualization method for human inspection of seismic data called supersonograms, which maximizes the amount of time and stations visible on screen while retaining the possibility to detect short and low-signal to noise ratio (SNR) signals. This visualization approach is integrated into a seismological software suite used in the seismic aftershock monitoring system (SAMS) of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) on-site inspections (OSI) to detect suspicious events eventually representing aftershocks from an underground nuclear explosion (UNE). During an OSI, huge amounts of continuous waveform data accumulate from up to 50 six-channel mini-arrays covering an inspection area of 1,000 square kilometers. Sought-after events can have magnitude as low as $\hbox{M}_{\rm L}\,{-2.0}$ and duration of just a few seconds, which makes it particularly hard to discover them in large, noisy datasets. Therefore, the data visualization is based on nonlinearly scaled, noise-adapted spectrograms, i.e., sonograms, which help to distinguish weak signal energy from stationary background noise. Four single-trace sonograms per mini-array can be combined into supersonograms, since the array aperture is small and sonograms suppress differences of local site noise, allowing an analyst to check array-wide signal coherence quickly. In this paper, we present the supersonograms and the software on the basis of a dataset from a creeping, inhabited landslide in Austria where the same station layout is used as in an OSI. Detected signals are fracture processes in the sedimentary landslide, i.e., slidequakes, with $\hbox{M}_{\rm L}\,{-0.5} \,\hbox{\,to}\,{-2.5}$ between July 2009 and July 2011. These signals are comparable in magnitude and duration to expected weak UNE aftershocks.     

The Hubble constant from galaxy lenses: impacts of triaxiality and model degeneracies

The Hubble constant can be constrained using the time delays between multiple images of gravitationally lensed sources. In some notable cases, typical lensing analyses assuming isothermal galaxy density profiles produce low values for the Hubble constant, inconsistent with the result of the HST Key Project  (72 ± 8 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹)  . Possible systematics in the values of the Hubble constant derived from galaxy lensing systems can result from a number of factors, for example, neglect of environmental effects, assumption of isothermality, or contamination by line-of-sight structures. One additional potentially important factor is the triaxial structure of the lensing galaxy halo; most lens models account for halo shape simply by perturbing the projected spherical lensing potential, an approximation that is often necessary but that is inadequate at the levels of triaxiality predicted in the cold dark matter paradigm. To quantify the potential error introduced by this assumption in estimates of the Hubble parameter, we strongly lens a distant galaxy through a sample of triaxial softened isothermal haloes and use an Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to constrain the lensing halo profile and the Hubble parameter from the resulting multiple image systems. We explore the major degeneracies between the Hubble parameter and several parameters of the lensing model, finding that without a way to accurately break these degeneracies accurate estimates of the Hubble parameter are not possible. Crucially, we find that triaxiality does not significantly bias estimates of the Hubble constant, and offer an analytic explanation for this behaviour in the case of isothermal profiles. Neglected triaxial halo shape cannot contribute to the low Hubble constant values derived in a number of galaxy lens systems.     

Local and remote response of the North Sea dynamics to morphodynamic changes in the Wadden Sea

The response of the tidal system in the southern North Sea to morphodynamic changes was investigated in a modelling study using fine resolution bathymetric observations available for 1982–2011. The Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model (SCHISM) was set up for the different sets of bathymetries. One set of bathymetry was compiled from a large number of bathymetric measurements over many years, while the other two reflected bathymetry state in the area of Wadden Sea during 2000 and 2011, respectively. The temporal and spatial evolution of bathymetry was dominated by migration of tidal channels. The M4 tide showed larger sensitivity to bathymetric change in the Wadden Sea than the M2 tide, whereas the structure of the latter remained rather robust. The largest change of the tidal wave due to the differences in bathymetries was located off the North Frisian Wadden Sea. Traces of changes were also found far away from the regions of their origin because the tidal waves in the North Sea propagate the local disturbances basin-wide. This illustrated an efficient physical mechanism of teleconnectivity, i.e. effecting the local responses to the larger-scale or remote change of ocean bottom caused by erosion and deposition. The tidal distortion resulting from the relatively small bathymetric changes was substantial, particularly in the coastal zone. This is a manifestation of the nonlinear tidal transformation in shallow oceans and is crucial for the sediment transport and the morphodynamic feedback, because of the altered tidal asymmetry.     

Passive seismic source localization via common-reflection-surface attributes

The common-reflection-surface (CRS) stack can be viewed as a physically justified extension of the classical common-midpoint (CMP) stack, utilizing redundant information not only in a single, but in several neighboring CMP gathers. The zero-offset CRS moveout is parameterized in terms of kinematic attributes, which utilize reciprocity and raypath symmetries to describe the two-way process of the actual wave propagation in active seismic experiments by the propagation of auxiliary one-way wavefronts. For the diffraction case, only the attributes of a single one-way wavefront, originating from the diffractor are sufficient to explain the traveltime differences observed at the surface. While paraxial ray theory gives rise to a second-order approximation of the CRS traveltime, many higher-order approximations were subsequently introduced either by squaring the second-order expression or by employing principles of optics and geometry. It was recently discovered that all of these higher-order operators can be formulated either for the optical projection or in an auxiliary medium of a constant effective velocity. Utilizing this duality and the one-way nature of the CRS parameters, we present a simple data-driven stacking scheme that allows for the estimation of the a priori unknown excitation time of a passive seismic source. In addition, we demonstrate with a simple data example that the output of the suggested workflow can directly be used for subsequent focusing-based normal-incidence-point (NIP) tomography, leading to a reliable localization in depth.     

Analogue models of caldera collapse in strike-slip tectonic regimes

Regional-scale faulting, particularly in strike-slip tectonic regimes, is a relatively poorly constrained factor in the formation of caldera volcanoes. To examine interactions between structures associated with regional-tectonic strike-slip deformation and volcano-tectonic caldera subsidence, we made scaled analogue models. Tabular (sill-like) inclusions of creamed honey in a sand/gypsum mix replicated shallow-level granitic magma chambers in the brittle upper crust. Lateral motion of a base plate sited below half the sand/gypsum pack allowed simulation of regional strike-slip deformation. Our experiments modelled: (1) strike-slip deformation of a homogeneous brittle medium; (2) strike-slip deformation of a brittle medium containing a passive magma reservoir; (3) caldera collapse into sill-like magma reservoirs without regional strike-slip deformation; and (4) caldera collapse into sill-like magma reservoirs after regional strike-slip deformation. Our results show that whilst the magma chamber shape principally influences the development and geometry of volcano-tectonic collapse structures, regional-tectonic strike-slip faults (Riedel shears and Y-shears) may affect a caldera’s structural evolution in two main ways. Firstly, regional strike-slip faults above the magma chamber may form a pre-collapse structural grain that is exploited and reactivated during subsidence. Our experiments show that such faults may preferentially reactivate where tangential to the collapse area and coincident with the chamber margins. In this case, volcano-tectonic extension in the caldera periphery tends to localise on regional-tectonic faults that lie just outside the chamber margins. In addition, volcano-tectonic reverse faults may link with and reactivate pre-collapse regional-tectonic faults that lie just inside the chamber margins. Secondly, where regional-tectonic strike-slip faults define corners in the magma chamber margin, they may halt the propagation of volcano-tectonic reverse faults. The experiments also highlight the potential difficulties in assessing the relative contributions of volcano-tectonic and regional-tectonic subsidence processes to the final caldera structure seen in the field. Disruption of the pre-collapse surface by regional-tectonic faulting was preserved during coherent volcano-tectonic subsidence to produce a caldera floor of differentially-subsided fault blocks. Without definitive evidence for syn-eruptive growth faulting, thickness changes in caldera fill across such regional-tectonic fault blocks in nature could be mistaken as evidence for piecemeal volcano-tectonic collapse.     

Antecedent aeolian dune topographic control on carbonate and evaporite facies: Middle Jurassic Todilto Member,Wanakah Formation,Ghost Ranch,New Mexico,USA

The Middle Jurassic Todilto Member of the Wanakah Formation is a carbonate and gypsum unit inset into the underlying aeolian Entrada Sandstone in the San Juan Basin. Field and thin section study of the uppermost Entrada and Todilto at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, identified Todilto facies and their relationship to remnant Entrada dune topography. Results support the previous interpretation that the Entrada dunes, housed in a basin below sea level, were rapidly flooded by marine waters. Mass wasting of the dunes gave rise to sediment‐gravity flows that largely buried remnant dune topography, leaving ca 12 m of relief that defined the antecedent condition for Todilto deposition. Previously interpreted as seasonal varves deposited in a stratified water body, the Todilto is reinterpreted as a microbial biolaminite. Most diagnostic are organic‐rich laminae with structures characteristic of filamentous microbes and containing trapped aeolian silt, and clotted‐texture laminae with a fabric associated with calcification of extracellular polymeric substances. The spatial arrangement of Todilto facies is controlled by the dune palaeotopography. A continuous basal laminated mudstone thickens over the dune crest, reflecting the optimum conditions for microbial mat development, and is interpreted to have been deposited when marine waters submerged the topography. Subsequent drying caused emergence of the crestal area, and formation of tepee structures and a dissolution breccia. Gypsiferous mudflats and periodic ponds occupied the dune flanks and interdune area, with gypsum concentrated within the interdune area. Entrada sands remained unstable during Todilto deposition with common injection structures into the Todilto, and a remnant slope caused the downslope movement and folding of Todilto strata on the upper lee face. Although some expansion of the gypsum occurred in the subsurface, facies architecture fostered development of a dissolution front adjacent to the interdune gypsum body with section collapse of gypsiferous limestone on the dune flanks.     

Pyroclastic dune bedforms: macroscale structures and lateral variations. Examples from the 2006 pyroclastic currents at Tungurahua (Ecuador)

Pyroclastic currents are catastrophic flows of gas and particles triggered by explosive volcanic eruptions. For much of their dynamics, they behave as particulate density currents and share similarities with turbidity currents. Pyroclastic currents occasionally deposit dune bedforms with peculiar lamination patterns, from what is thought to represent the dilute low concentration and fluid‐turbulence supported end member of the pyroclastic currents. This article presents a high resolution dataset of sediment plates (lacquer peels) with several closely spaced lateral profiles representing sections through single pyroclastic bedforms from the August 2006 eruption of Tungurahua (Ecuador). Most of the sedimentary features contain backset bedding and preferential stoss‐face deposition. From the ripple scale (a few centimetres) to the largest dune bedform scale (several metres in length), similar patterns of erosive‐based backset beds are evidenced. Recurrent trains of sub‐vertical truncations on the stoss side of structures reshape and steepen the bedforms. In contrast, sporadic coarse‐grained lenses and lensoidal layers flatten bedforms by filling troughs. The coarsest (clasts up to 10 cm), least sorted and massive structures still exhibit lineation patterns that follow the general backset bedding trend. The stratal architecture exhibits strong lateral variations within tens of centimetres, with very local truncations both in flow‐perpendicular and flow‐parallel directions. This study infers that the sedimentary patterns of bedforms result from four formation mechanisms: (i) differential draping; (ii) slope‐influenced saltation; (iii) truncative bursts; and (iv) granular‐based events. Whereas most of the literature makes a straightforward link between backset bedding and Froude‐supercritical flows, this interpretation is reconsidered here. Indeed, features that would be diagnostic of subcritical dunes, antidunes and ‘chute and pools’ can be found on the same horizon and in a single bedform, only laterally separated by short distances (tens of centimetres). These data stress the influence of the pulsating and highly turbulent nature of the currents and the possible role of coherent flow structures such as Görtler vortices. Backset bedding is interpreted here as a consequence of a very high sedimentation environment of weak and waning currents that interact with the pre‐existing morphology. Quantification of near‐bed flow velocities is made via comparison with wind tunnel experiments. It is estimated that shear velocities of ca 0·30 m.s^?1 (equivalent to pure wind velocity of 6 to 8 m.s^?1 at 10 cm above the bed) could emplace the constructive bedsets, whereas the truncative phases would result from bursts with impacting wind velocities of at least 30 to 40 m.s^?1.     

A 2000 year record of climatic change at Ongoke Lake,southwest Alaska

We analyzed sediments of the past 2000 years from Ongoke Lake, southwest Alaska, for organic carbon, organic nitrogen, biogenic silica (BSi), and diatom assemblages at decadal to centennial resolution to infer limnological changes that may be related to climatic variation in southwestern Alaska. The chronology is based on a ²¹⁰Pb profile from bulk sediments and nine AMS ¹⁴C ages from terrestrial plant macrofossils. Four of the ¹⁴C ages span a core depth interval of 60.5 cm but are statistically indistinguishable from one another with a mean of ~1300 AD, which compromises the determination of temporal trends at Ongoke Lake and comparison with other paleoclimate records. The diatom record suggests changes in the duration of ice cover and strength of thermal stratification that are probably related to temperature variation. This variation includes a cold interval around the first millennium cooling (FMC) and a warm interval spanning the medieval climate anomaly (MCA). However, the lake-sediment record shows no clear signals of temperature variation for the period of the Little Ice Age (LIA) or the twentieth century. Climatic changes during these periods may have been manifested through effective-moisture (precipitation minus evapotranspiration) variation in the Ongoke Lake area. We estimate water depths and infer effective-moisture fluctuations by applying a regional transfer function to our diatom record. Together with inferences from diatom autecologies, this water-depth reconstruction suggests that effective moisture increased steadily from 50 BC to 350 AD, which was followed by relatively dry conditions between 550 and 750 AD and relatively wet conditions between 750 and 1450 AD. Effective moisture was low from ~1450 to 1850 AD, coinciding with the LIA; an alternative age model places this interval between ~1315 and 1850 AD. During the past 150 years, effective moisture increased, with estimated water depths reaching peak values in the second half of the twentieth century. This study offers the first paleolimnological record for inferring centennial-scale climatic variation over the past two millennia from southwestern Alaska.