The presence, characteristics and earthquake implications of the St. Lawrence fault zone within and near Lake Ontario (Canada–USA)

Questions persist concerning the earthquake potential of the populous and industrial Lake Ontario (Canada–USA) area. Pertinent to those questions is whether the major fault zone that extends along the St. Lawrence River valley, herein named the St. Lawrence fault zone, continues upstream along the St. Lawrence River valley at least as far as Lake Ontario or terminates near Cornwall (Ontario, Canada)–Massena (NY, USA). New geological studies uncovered paleotectonic bedrock faults that are parallel to, and lie within, the projection of that northeast-oriented fault zone between Cornwall and northeastern Lake Ontario, suggesting that the fault zone continues into Lake Ontario. The aforementioned bedrock faults range from meters to tens of kilometers in length and display kinematically incompatible displacements, implying that the fault zone was periodically reactivated in the study area. Beneath Lake Ontario the Hamilton–Presqu'ile fault lines up with the St. Lawrence fault zone and projects to the southwest where it coincides with the Dundas Valley (Ontario, Canada). The Dundas Valley extends landward from beneath the western end of the lake and is marked by a vertical stratigraphic displacement across its width. The alignment of the Hamilton–Presqu'ile fault with the St. Lawrence fault zone strongly suggests that the latter crosses the entire length of Lake Ontario and continues along the Dundas Valley.The Rochester Basin, an east–northeast-trending linear trough in the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario, lies along the southern part of the St. Lawrence fault zone. Submarine dives in May 1997 revealed inclined layers of glaciolacustrine clay along two different scarps within the basin. The inclined layers strike parallel to the long dimension of the basin, and dip about 20° to the north–northwest suggesting that they are the result of rigid-body rotation consequent upon post-glacial faulting. Those post-glacial faults are growth faults as demonstrated by the consistently greater thickness, unit-by-unit, of unconsolidated sediments on the downthrown (northwest) side of the faults relative to their counterparts on the upthrown (southeast) side. Underneath the western part of Lake Ontario is a monoclinal warp that displaces the glacial and post-glacial sediments, and the underlying bedrock–sediment interface. Because of the post-glacial growth faults and the monoclinal warp the St. Lawrence fault zone is inferred to be tectonically active beneath Lake Ontario. Furthermore, within the lake it crosses at least five major faults and fault zones and coexists with other neotectonic structures. Those attributes, combined with the large earthquakes associated with the St. Lawrence fault zone well to the northeast of Lake Ontario, suggest that the seismic risk in the area surrounding and including Lake Ontario is likely much greater than previously believed.     

Crystal features of supergene gold at Hannan South,Western Australia

Deep weathering of basalt-hosted sulphidic gold mineralisation has resulted in remobilisation of the gold and the formation of a supergene deposit. The deposit occurs beneath an ephemeral lake system and is at least partially saturated by highly saline groundwater. A general downward movement of an iron redox front associated with the weathering has controlled the distribution of the gold and its morphology. It is unusual in that the high fineness gold crystals formed are coarse and well-preserved. Small octahedra, up to 50 μm, are the most abundant form of gold crystals but large, up to 3 mm, octahedral plates are common. Crystal morphology variations described here suggest that the gold is initially precipitated as euhedral octahedra and plates. Subsequent dissolution and recrystallisation associated with fluctuations in the chemical environment above the redox front has led to the development of the more common irregular dendritic or wire gold forms observed in other supergene deposits.     

∼3,850 Ma tonalites in the Nuuk region,Greenland: geochemistry and their reworking within an Eoarchaean gneiss complex

The Eoarchaean (>3,600 Ma) Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland is dominated by polyphase orthogneisses with a complex Archaean tectonothermal history. Some of the orthogneisses have c. 3,850 Ma zircons, and they vary from rare single phase metatonalites to more common complexly banded migmatites. This is due to heterogeneous strain, in situ anatexis and granitic veining superimposed during younger tectonothermal events. In the single-phase tonalites with c. 3,850 Ma zircon, oscillatory-zoned prismatic zircon is all 3,850 Ma old, but shows patchy ancient loss of radiogenic Pb. SHRIMP spot analyses and laser ablation ICP-MS depth profiling show that thin (usually < 10 μm) younger (3,660–3,590 Ma and Neoarchaean) shells of lower Th/U metamorphic zircon are present on these 3,850 Ma zircons. Several samples with this simple zircon population occur on islands near Akilia. In contrast, migmatites usually contain more complex zircon populations, with often more than one generation of igneous zircon present. Additional zircon dating of banded gneisses across the Complex shows that samples with c. 3,850 Ma igneous zircon are not just a phenomenon restricted to Akilia and adjacent islands. For example, migmatites from Itilleq (c. 65 km from Akilia) contain variable amounts of oscillatory-zoned 3,850 Ma and 3,650 Ma zircon, interpreted, respectively, as the rock age and the time of crustal melting under Eoarchaean metamorphism. With only 110–140 ppm Zr in the tonalites and likely magmatic temperatures of >850°C, zircon solubility–melt composition relationships show that they were only one-third saturated in zircon. Any zircon entrained in the precursor magmas would thus have been highly soluble. Combined with the cathodoluminesence imaging, this demonstrates that the c. 3,850 Ma oscillatory zoned zircon crystallised out of the melt and hence gives a magmatic age. Thus the rare well-preserved tonalites and palaeosome in migmatites testify that c. 3,850 Ma quartzo–feldspathic rocks are a widespread (but probably minor) component in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex. C. 3,850 Ma zircon with negative Eu anomalies (showing growth in felsic systems) also occurs as detrital grains in rare c. 3,800 Ma metaquartzites and as inherited grains in some 3,660 Ma granites (sensu stricto). These demonstrate that still more c. 3,850 Ma rocks were present, but were recycled into Eoarchaean sediments and crustally derived granites. The major and trace element characteristics (e.g. LREE enrichment, HREE depletion, low MgO) of the best-preserved c. 3,850 Ma rocks are typical of Archaean TTG suites, and thus argue for crust formation processes involving important contributions from melting of hydrated mafic crust to the earliest Archaean. Five c. 3,850 Ma tonalites were selected as the best preserved on the basis of field criteria and zircon petrology. Four of these samples have overlapping initial ɛ_Nd (3,850 Ma) values from +2.9 to +3.6± 0.5, with the fourth having a slightly lower value of +0.6. These data provide additional evidence for a markedly LREE-depleted early terrestrial mantle reservoir. The role of c. 3,850 Ma crust should be considered in interpreting isotope signatures of the younger (3,800–3,600 Ma) rocks of the Itsaq Gneiss Complex. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Rotation history of Alaskan tectonic blocks

Alaska is considered to be tectonically comprised of five elongate blocks separated by transcurrent faults formed prior to rotation which enter the state from the southeast and continue westward to the edge of the Bering Sea continental shelf. We propose an additional, inactive fault, indicated by gravity and magnetic data and other observations, to extend between the Bering Strait and the Arctic Ocean continental shelf east of the Northwind escarpment, separating northern Alaska from northeast Siberia. Near the center of the state the faults are bent, concave to the south, about the north-south axis of the so-called Alaska orocline. In our reconstruction the blocks have rotated from a position whereby the north slope was adjacent to Banks Island of the Canadian basin. During the rotation the northernmost, or Brooks block, was squeezed, up to 15% in the western end, to its present width. After rotation, when the three southern blocks were in their present position, the Brooks block and the next block to the south were pushed eastward by North America moving against Siberia, forming the bend in the British-Richardson-Ogilvie Mountains we call the Ogilvie orocline.     

Lower Eocene carbonate-cemented “chimney” structures (Varna, Bulgaria) — Control of seepage rates on their formation and stable isotopic signature

The genesis of Lower Eocene calcite-cemented columns, “pisoid”-covered structures and horizontal interbeds, clustered in dispersed outcrops in the Pobiti Kamani area (Varna, Bulgaria) is related to fossil processes of hydrocarbon migration. Field observations, petrography and stable isotope geochemistry of the cemented structures and associated early-diagenetic veins, revealed that varying seepage rates of a single, warm hydrocarbon-bearing fluid, probably ascending along active faults, controlled the type of structure formed and its geochemical signature. Slow seepage allowed methane to oxidize within the sediment under ambient seafloor conditions (δ¹⁸O = − 1 ± 0.5‰ V-PDB), explaining columns' depleted δ¹³C ratios of − 43‰. Increasing seepage rates caused methane to emanate into the water column (δ¹³C = − 8‰) and raised precipitation temperatures (δ¹⁸O = − 8‰). Calcite-cemented conduits formed and upward migrating fluids also affected interbed cementation. Even higher-energy fluid flow and temperatures likely controlled the formation of “pisoids”, whereby sediment was whirled up and cemented.     

Effect of sampling and linkage on fault length and length–displacement relationship

The power-law exponent (n) in the equation: D=cL ⁿ , with D = maximum displacement and L = fault length, would be affected by deviations of fault trace length. (1) Assuming n=1, numerical simulations on the effect of sampling and linkage on fault length and length–displacement relationship are done in this paper. The results show that: (a) uniform relative deviations, which means all faults within a dataset have the same relative deviation, do not affect the value of n; (b) deviations of the fault length due to unresolved fault tip decrease the values of n and the deviations of n increase with the increasing length deviations; (c) fault linkage and observed dimensions either increase or decrease the value of n depending on the distribution of deviations within a dataset; (d) mixed deviations of the fault lengths are either negative or positive and cause the values of n to either decrease or increase; (e) a dataset combined from two or more datasets with different values of c and orders of magnitude also cause the values of n to deviate. (2) Data including 19 datasets and spanning more than eight orders of fault length magnitudes (10⁻²–10⁵ m) collected from the published literature indicate that the values of n range from 0.55 to 1.5, the average value being 1.0813, and the peak value of n _d (double regression) is 1.0–1.1. Based on above results from the simulations and published data, we propose that the relationship between the maximum displacement and fault length in a single tectonic environment with uniform mechanical properties is linear, and the value of n deviated from 1 is mainly caused by the sampling and linkage effects.     

Oscillations of galactic cosmic rays and solar indices before the arrival of relativistic solar protons

Using modern wavelet analysis techniques, we have made an attempt to search for oscillations of intensity of galactic cosmic rays (GCR), sunspot numbers (SS) and magnitudes of coronal index (CI) implying that the time evolution of those oscillations may serve as a precursor of Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs) of solar cosmic rays (SCR). From total number of 70 GLEs registered in 1942–2006, the four large events — 23 February 1956, 14 July 2000, 28 October 2003, and 20 January 2005 — have been chosen for our study. By the results of our analysis, it was shown that a frequency of oscillations of GCR decreases as time approaches to the event day. We have also studied a behaviour of common periodicities of GCR and SCR within the time interval of individual GLE. The oscillations of GLE occurrence rate (OR) at different stages of the solar activity (SA) cycle is of special interest. We have found some common periodicities of SS and CI in the range of short (2.8, 5.2, 27 and 60 days), medium (0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.3, 1.8 and 3.2 years) and long (4.6 and 11.0 years) periods. Short and medium periodicities, in general, are rather concentrated around the maxima of solar cycles and display the complex phase relations. When comparing these results with the behaviour of OR oscillations we found that the period of 11 years is dominating (controlling); it is continuous over the entire time interval of 1942–2006, and during all this time it displays high synchronization and clear linear ratios between the phases of oscillations of η, SS and CI. It implies that SCR generation is not isolated stochastic phenomena characteristic exclusively for chromospheric and/or coronal structures. In fact, this process may have global features and involve large regions in the Sun’s atmosphere.     

Palaeointensity In the Pelagic Realm: Marine Sediment Data Compared With Archaeomagnetic and Lake Sediment Records

Summary. Four box cores collected from the Ontong—Java plateau during the Eurydice expedition have been used to make relative geomagnetic palaeo-intensity measurements. Rock magnetic measurements on the sediments show that they are characterized by a uniform magnetic mineralogy, and that they are suitable for relative intensity estimates. These are obtained by normalizing the NRM by an ARM imparted in a low DC bias field. the palaeoceanographic event known as the preservation spike is used to establish a crude time-scale for the record so that it may be compared with other data from the same region, and also with global palaeointensity estimates. the marine sediment data are quite similar to Australian intensity data from lake sediments and archaeomagnetic sources, but as might be expected exhibit some obvious differences from the global record.     

A numerical study of the nocturnal heat island over a medium-sized mid-latitude city (Columbus,Ohio)

A numerical investigation is conducted of the nocturnal heat island over Columbus, Ohio, a relatively flat mid-latitude city. Specifically, a cross-sectional steady-state numerical model to simulate the (thermal) structure of the nocturnal urban boundary layer is developed from a one-dimensional, time-dependent model due to Estoque. The model is applied to Columbus for special periods in September 1968 and March 1969 during which comparable experimental data were collected. The numerical simulations agree well with the observed data with respect to the detailed spatial form of the surface-based thermal boundary layer across the city. The use of the model for other metropolitan areas, for ascertaining the relative effect of city size and building geometry on the development of the thermal boundary layer, and for determining the effect of alternate land-use strategies on the thermal stratification are also discussed.Digest of portion of a dissertation submitted to the Pennsylvania State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.Presented in part at the Air Pollution, Turbulence and Diffusion Symposium, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 7–10 December 1971.On assignment from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce.