The Western Alps are among the best studied collisional belts with both detailed structural mapping and also crustal geophysical
investigations such as the ECORS and EGT seismic profile. By contrast, the present-day kinematics of the belt is still largely
unknown due to small relative motions and the insufficient accuracy of the triangulation data. As a consequence, several tectonic
problems still remain to be solved, such as the amount of N–S convergence in the Occidental Alps, the repartition of the deformation
between the Alpine tectonic units, and the relation between deformation and rotation across the Alpine arc. In order to address
these problems, the GPS ALPES group, made up of French, Swiss and Italian research organizations, has achieved the first large-scale
GPS surveys of the Western Alps. More than 60 sites were surveyed in 1993 and 1998 with a minimum observation of 3 days at
each site. GPS data processing has been done by three independent teams using different software. The different solutions
have horizontal repeatabilities (N–E) of 4–7 mm in 1993 and 2–3 mm in 1998 and compare at the 3–5-mm level in position and
2-mm/yr level in velocity. A comparison of 1993 and 1998 coordinates shows that residual velocities of the GPS marks are generally
smaller than 2 mm/yr, precluding a detailed tectonic interpretation of the differential motions. However, these data seem
to suggest that the N–S compression of the Western Alps is quite mild (less than 2 mm/yr) compared to the global convergence
between the African and Eurasian plate (6 mm/yr). This implies that the shortening must be accomodated elsewhere by the deformation
of the Maghrebids and/or by rotations of Mediterranean microplates. Also, E–W velocity components analysis supports the idea
that E–W extension exists, as already suggested by recent structural and seismotectonic data interpretation.
Received: 27 November 2000 / Accepted: 17 September 2001 相似文献
The increased frequency of wildfires in the United States has become a common prediction associated with the build-up of greenhouse gases. In this investigation, variations in annual wildfire data in Yellowstone National Park are compared to variations in historical climate conditions for the area. Univariate and multivariate analytical techniques reveal that (a) summer temperatures in the Park are increasing, (b) January-June precipitation levels are decreasing, and (c) variations in burn area within the Park are significantly related to the observed variations in climate. Outputs from four different general circulation model simulations for 2 × CO2 are included in the analyses; model predictions for increasing aridity in the Yellowstone Park area are generally in agreement with observed trends in the historical climate records. 相似文献
A comparison of each of the volumes of nine deposits of airborne volcanic ash from the Coatepeque Volcano in El Salvador, Central America to the amount of glass crust adhering to intratelluric phenocrysts shows an inverse relationship. As violence, volume, and eruptive abrasion increase, glass crusts decrease. The eruptive violence of a prehistoric eruption and the original volume of ash can thus be calculated from glass-to-crystal ratios observed in erosional remnants. 相似文献
Two milligrams of less than 125 μm size particles from the Luna 20 soil sample (22001,17) have been examined. The results of the mineral identification and analysis verify earlier assumptions that the nature of the lunar highlands is predominantly anorthositic in composition. The presence of highly magnesian clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and olivine suggests crystallization of Highland rocks in an ultrabasic environment. No fragments were observed that could be unequivocally assigned to mare basalt types. 相似文献
Considering food web energetics and elemental cycling together allows the testing of hypotheses about the coevolution of biological systems and their physical environment. We investigated the energy flow and the distribution of 25 elements in the Steina River.¶We constructed an annual energy flow network and estimated the emergy ("embodied energy" that includes all the energy involved in a process) contributions of resources sustaining the system. Furthermore, we measured the concentration of various macronutrients, essential elements, and heavy metals in the physical environment and trophic compartments. Finally, we examined the hypothesis of a positive relationship between the "rarity" of an element and its tendency to bioaccumulate. To do so, we used transformity, the relative energy input required to sustain a compartment's net production or the concentration differential of an element between the living community and the physical environment.¶The resulting energy flow network is one of the most complete available for streams. In the Steina, over 99% of the energy input is transported through the system without being processed. Dissolved inorganic matter and sunlight are the largest inputs, but uptake efficiency is much higher for dissolved and particulate organic matter. Transformities of trophic compartments and elements span 6 to 7 orders of magnitude.¶The tendency to bioaccumulate was as predicted for most elements, with macronutrients showing no accumulation and heavy elements accumulating in high-transformity compartments. However, Na and K were found at highest concentrations in consumers, and Pb, Ga, and Cd in algae. Improved estimates may become possible as more knowledge is available on ecosystem flows. We suggest further ways of testing hypotheses about strategies of element processing. 相似文献
In implementing into a molecular dynamics simulation code a simple interionic potential developed to describe the nine component system K2O-Na2O-CaO-MgO-FeO-Fe2O3-Al2O3-TiO2-SiO2 (KNCMFATS), it has been possible to reproduce satisfactorily a number of thermodynamic, structural and transport properties of a representative set of natural silicate melts. An important conclusion reached in this study is the good transferability of the potential from felsic to ultramafic compositions although this transferability becomes less accurate with high silica contents (rhyolitic composition and beyond) and with very iron-rich silicates (e.g. fayalite). A key feature of the simulation is to make the link between macroscopic properties of the melt and its microscopic structure and dynamics. We thus obtain a relationship between the molar volume of the melt, the number of network modifiers and the oxygen coordination number. The simulation also allows one to quantify the coordination environment around the cations as function of the melt composition. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity of the high temperature liquid is investigated. 相似文献
Recent mineral separate ages obtained on the Karoo large igneous province (southern Africa) suggest that the province was built by several distinct magmatic pulses over a rather long period on the order of 5–6 Ma concerning the main erupted volume [Jourdan, F., Féraud, G., Bertrand, H., Kampunzu, A.B., Tshoso, G., Watkeys, M.K., Le Gall., B., 2005. The Karoo large igneous province: Brevity, origin, and relation with mass extinction questioned by new 40Ar/39Ar age data, Geology 33, 745–748]. Although this apparently atypical province is dated in more detail compared to many other large igneous provinces, volumetrically important areas still lack sufficient high-quality data. The timing of the Karoo province is crucial as this event is correlated with the breakup activity of the Gondwana supercontinent. The Lesotho basalts represent a major lava sequence of the province, but have not yet been precisely dated by systematic analysis of mineral separates. We analyzed plagioclase separates from five lava flows encompassing the complete 1.4-km-thick Lesotho sequence from top to bottom using the 40Ar/39Ar method. We obtained five plateau and mini-plateau ages statistically indistinguishable and ranging from 182.3 ± 1.6 to 181.0 ± 2.0 Ma (2σ). We derived an apparent maximum duration for this event of 0.8 Ma by neglecting correlated errors embedded in the age uncertainties.
A critical review of previous ages obtained on the Lesotho sequence [Duncan R.A., Hooper, P.R., Rehacek, J., Marsh, J.S., Duncan, A.R., 1997. The timing and duration of the Karoo igneous event, southern Gondwana. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 18127–18138] shows that groundmass analyses are unreliable for high-resolution geochronology, due to alteration and 39Ar recoil effects. Discrepancy between our ages and a previous plagioclase age at 184 Ma obtained by the later workers is tentatively attributed to the heterogeneity of the monitor used and/or cryptic excess 40Ar. The current age database suggests that at least three temporally and spatially distinct brief major events (the Lesotho and southern Botswana lava piles and the Okavango dyke swarm) are so far recognized in the Karoo province. Identification of brief and volumetrically important Karoo magmatic events allows detecting the migration of the Karoo magmatism and potentially the stress regime that affected the southern African lithosphere at this time. A filtered compilation of 60 ages obtained with homogeneous intercalibrated standards suggests a shorter duration for the main pulses of the magmatism between 3 and 4.5 Ma, compared to a whole province duration of 10 Ma, between 182 and 172 Ma. 相似文献
Two detailed geoids have been computed in the region of North Jutland. The first computation used marine data in the offshore
areas. For the second computation the marine data set was replaced by the sparser airborne gravity data resulting from the
AGMASCO campaign of September 1996. The results of comparisons of the geoid heights at on-shore geometric control showed that
the geoid heights computed from the airborne gravity data matched in precision those computed using the marine data, supporting
the view that airborne techniques have enormous potential for mapping those unsurveyed areas between the land-based data and
the off-shore marine or altimetrically derived data.
Received: 7 July 1997 / Accepted: 22 April 1998 相似文献
We present a method of determining lower limits on the masses of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars and so constraining the PMS evolutionary tracks. This method uses the redshifted absorption feature observed in some emission-line profiles of T Tauri stars, indicative of infall. The maximum velocity of the accreting material measures the potential energy at the stellar surface, which, combined with an observational determination of the stellar radius, yields the stellar mass. This estimate is a lower limit owing to uncertainties in the geometry and projection effects. Using available data, we show that the computed lower limits can be larger than the masses derived from PMS evolutionary tracks for M 0.5 M. Our analysis also supports the notion that accretion streams do not impact near the stellar poles but probably hit the stellar surface at moderate latitudes. 相似文献