Ultrasonic Velocities, Acoustic Emission Characteristics and Crack Damage of Basalt and Granite

Acoustic emissions (AE), compressional (P), shear (S) wave velocities, and volumetric strain of Etna basalt and Aue granite were measured simultaneously during triaxial compression tests. Deformation-induced AE activity and velocity changes were monitored using twelve P-wave sensors and eight orthogonally polarized S-wave piezoelectric sensors; volumetric strain was measured using two pairs of orthogonal strain gages glued directly to the rock surface. P-wave velocity in basalt is about 3 km/s at atmospheric pressure, but increases by > 50% when the hydrostatic pressure is increased to 120 MPa. In granite samples initial P-wave velocity is 5 km/s and increases with pressure by < 20%. The pressure-induced changes of elastic wave speed indicate dominantly compliant low-aspect ratio pores in both materials, in addition Etna basalt also contains high-aspect ratio voids. In triaxial loading, stress-induced anisotropy of P-wave velocities was significantly higher for basalt than for granite, with vertical velocity components being faster than horizontal velocities. However, with increasing axial load, horizontal velocities show a small increase for basalt but a significant decrease for granite. Using first motion polarity we determined AE source types generated during triaxial loading of the samples. With increasing differential stress AE activity in granite and basalt increased with a significant contribution of tensile events. Close to failure the relative contribution of tensile events and horizontal wave velocities decreased significantly. A concomitant increase of double-couple events indicating shear, suggests shear cracks linking previously formed tensile cracks.     

Ground ice and slope sediments archiving late Quaternary paleoenvironment and paleoclimate signals at the margins of El'gygytgyn Impact Crater, NE Siberia

An accumulation terrace close to the El'gygytgyn Impact Crater in northeastern Siberia contains stratigraphic and periglacial evidence of the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic history and permafrost dynamics during late Quaternary time. A succession of paleo active-layer deposits that mirror environmental changes records periods favorable for the establishment and growth of ice-wedge polygonal networks and sediment variations. These two elements of the periglacial landscape serve as complementary paleoenvironmental archives that can be traced back to ∼ 14,000 cal yr BP. The slope sediments and the ground ice contained therein have prominent relative maxima and minima in properties (grain size, total organic content, oxygen isotopes). They document a regional early Holocene thermal maximum at about 9000 cal yr BP, followed by a transition to slightly cooler conditions, and a subsequent transition to slightly warmer conditions after about 4000 cal yr BP. Results from sedimentary analysis resemble morphological and geochemical (oxygen and hydrogen isotopes) results from ice wedge studies, in which successive generations of ice-wedge polygonal networks record warmer winters in late Holocene time. Moreover, peaks of light soluble cation contents and quartz-grain surface textures reveal distinct traces of cryogenic weathering. We propose a conclusive sedimentation model illustrating terrace formation in a permafrost terrain.     

Natronamphibol- (Osannit-) Aegirinschiefer in den Tarntaler Bergen

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 14 Textabbildungen.Aus Raumgründen kann hier nur ein enger Ausschnitt aus der einschlägigen Literatur gebracht werden.     

Three Dimensional Plate Kinematics in Romania

Since 1996 the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 461``Strong Earthquakes: A Challenge for Geosciences andCivil Engineering' is funded by the DeutscheForschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) asa German contribution to the UN initiative``International Decade of Disaster Reduction' (IDNDR).A central project of this CRC is the subproject B1``Three Dimensional Plate Kinematics in Romania', whichis installed to detect borders of the geotectonicplates in Romania, to quantify their three-dimensionalmovement rates and to determine in detail thedeformation of each geotectonic unit in the VranceaRegion as a contribution to the research of thetectonic cause of the intermediate depth earthquakesin this region. These aims shall be accomplished byrepeated GPS-measurements in a network which has beeninstalled in 1997 and measured until now in 1997 and1998. This network is consisting of 26 stations,covering an area of 250 km × 380 km with the Vranceaarea as the centre. The geodetic frame is given by sixstations of the CEGRN (Central European GeodynamicRegional Network) of the CEI-initiative CERGOP, forwhich coordinates and velocities in a global tectonicscenario are available. The paper gives informationabout the tectonic background, the geodetic network,the GPS-measurements and the achieved accuracies andfirst results of deformation analyses. It is shownthat until now no significant deformations could bedetected. But the extension of the GPS network andremeasurements with time intervals of two years willallow statements about the recent crustal movementswithin the lifetime of the CRC 461.     

反演寿县TMI微波频率的地表比辐射率(英)

利用一个微波辐射传输模式,晴天下的大气探测廓线,地面的部分观测资料以及卫星观测的亮温,计算了淮河流域能量和水循环实验(HUBEX)中,寿县地区的热带降雨观测卫星微波成像仪(TRMM/TMI)微波频率的地表比辐射率。通过比较所计算的微波地表比辐射率随地表状况的改变,发现地表微波比辐射率随地表状况的变化存在敏感性,并且其变化是合理的。本文中,地表肤温设定等于地表空气温度,并且仅计算了寿县的地表比辐射率,在HUBEX区域上的地表比辐射率的计算需要更多的观测资料。     

Relics of eclogite facies metamorphism in the Austroalpine basement,Hochgrössen (Speik complex), Austria

Summary Retrograde eclogites and serpentinites from the Hochgr?ssen massif, Styria, are parts of the Speik complex in the Austroalpine basement nappes of the Eastern Alps. They are in tectonic contact with pre-Alpine gneisses, amphibolites, and Permo-Triassic quartz phyllites (Rannach Series). The eclogites are derived from ocean-floor basalts with affinities to mid-ocean ridge and back-arc basin basalts. Fresh eclogites are rare and contain omphacite with a maximum of 39 mol% jadeite content, garnet (Py_15–19) and amphibole. Retrograde eclogites consist of amphibole and symplectites of Na-poor clinopyroxene (5–8 mol% Jd) + albite ± amphibole. Amphiboles are classified as edenite, pargasite, tschermakite, magnesiohornblende and actinolite. In relatively fresh eclogite, edenite is a common amphibole and texturally coexists with omphacite and garnet. An average temperature of 700 °C was obtained for eclogite facies metamorphism using garnet-pyroxene thermometry. A minimum pressure of 1.5 GPa is indicated by the maximum jadeite content in omphacite. Thermobarometric calculations using the TWEEQ program for amphibole in textural equilibrium with omphacite and garnet give pressures of 1.8–2.2 GPa at 700 °C. The equilibrium assemblage of Na-poor clinopyroxene, albite, amphibole and zoisite in the symplectites gives a pressure of about 0.6–0.8 GPa at 590–640 °C. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar radiometric dating of edenitic amphibole in textural equilibrium with omphacite gave a plateau age of 397.3 ± 7.8 Ma, and probably indicates retrograde cooling through the closure temperature for amphibole (∼500 °C). The age of the high-pressure metamorphism thus must be pre-Variscan and points to one of the earliest metamorphic events in the Austroalpine nappes known to date. Received June 11, 2000; revised version accepted January 2, 2001     

Contrasting Eoalpine P-T evolutions in the southern Koralpe,Eastern Alps

Summary The Koralpe crystalline complex and the Plankogel unit represent two lithologically distinct units within the Koralpe region of the southeastemmost Austroalpine crystalline basement. The Eoalpine P-T evolution of these two units is derived from new petrographical data. The Plankogel unit and the Koralpe crystalline complex show markedly different P-T evolutions during the early stages of the Eoalpine event. The rocks of the Koralpe crystalline complex experienced eclogite facies conditions with minimum pressures in the range of 15–16 kbar and temperatures in excess of 700°C. At the same time the Plankogel unit resided in a shallower environment at pressures of 10–11 kbar and temperatures of less than 600°C. The tectonic emplacement of the Plankogel unit into its present position on top of the Koralpe crystalline complex took place after the eclogite facies event in a relatively shallow crustal level. After their juxtaposition the Koralpe crystalline complex and the Plankogel unit were affected by a common amphibolite facies metamorphic overprint. The distinctly different P-T evolution during the early stages of the Eoalpine event and a common history at later stages imply that major tectonic processes were operative in this part of the Austroalpine crystalline basement during the Cretaceous. Such processes may have involved subduction of oceanic and continental lithosphere which may have lead to significant crustal shortening within the Austroalpine basement.

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Unterschiedliche Eoalpine P-T Entwicklungen in der Südlichen Koralpe, Ostalpen

Zusammenfassung Das Koralpenkristallin und die Plankogelserie stellen zwei unterschiedliche lithologische Einheiten in der südlichen Koralpe des ostalpinen Kristallins dar. Die P-T Entwicklung dieser beiden Einheiten während der Eoalpinen Metamorphose wurde anhand neuer petrographischer Daten abgeleitet. Das Koralpenkristallin und die Plankogelserie zeigen deutlich unterschiedliche P-T Entwicklungen in einem frühen Stadium der Eoalpinen Metamorphose. Die Gesteine des Koralpenkristallins waren eklogitfaziellen Bedingungen mit Mindestdrucken im Bereich von 15 bis 16 kbar und Temperaturen von über 700°C ausgesetzt. Die Plankogelserie verweilte zur gleichen Zeit in einem relativ seichten Niveau bei Drucken von 10 bis 11 kbar und Temperaturen unterhalb 600°C. Die Platznahme der Plankogelserie in ihrer heutigen Position im tektonisch Hangenden des Koralpenkristallins erfolgte nach dem eklogitfaziellen Ereignis in einem relativ seichten Krustenniveau. Nach ihrer Vereinigung erfuhren die beiden Einheiten eine gemeinsame amphibolitfazielle Überprägung. Die markant unterschiedlichen P-T Entwicklungen in einem frühen Stadium der eoalpinen Orogenese und die gemeinsame Entwicklung in einem späteren Stadium können als Hinweis auf eine umfangreiche tektonische Aktivität in diesem Teil des ostalpinen Grundgebirges in kretazischer Zeit gewertet werden. Diese Tektonik bestand eventuell in einer Subduktion von ozeanischer und kontinentaler Lithosphäre, und kann zu einer signifikanten Krustenverkürzung im Ostalpinen Kristallin geführt haben.

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Implications of Late Pleistocene Glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau for Present-Day Uplift Rates and Gravity Anomalies

Minimal and maximal models of Late Pleistocene Glaciation on the Tibetan Plateau are considered. The large ice sheet models indicate that disintegration of the ice sheet could have contributed up to 7 mm/yr of present vertical uplift and 2 mm/yr of horizontal extension. The former value can account for more than 50% of the observed uplift in central Tibet. The peak free-air gravity anomaly arising from the deglaciation would be around −5.4 mGal. In contrast, the smaller ice sheet models do not contribute significantly to the signals of present uplift and gravity anomalies. Modern geodetic measurements therefore have the potential to constrain the Late Pleistocene glaciation of the Tibetan Plateau. Assuming a large ice sheet over the Tibetan Plateau, the disintegration can contribute up to 6 m of eustatic sea-level rise.