Wavefield downward extrapolation for migration velocity analysis on Marmousi data-set

The authors present a method for estimation of interval velocities using the downward continuation of the wavefield to perform layer-stripping migration velocity analysis. The generalized, phase-shift migration MG(F-K) in wavenumber-frequency domain was used for fulltime downward extrapolation of the wavefield. Such downward depth extrapolation accounts for strong changes of velocity in lateral and vertical directions and helps in correct positioning of the wavefield image in complex structures. Determination of velocity is the recursive process which means that the wavefield on depth level z _n−1 (n = 0, 1, ...) is an input data-set for determination of velocity on level z _n . The velocity ν [x, z _n − z _n−1] can be thus treated as interval velocity in Δz _n = z _n − z _n−1 step. This method was tested on synthetic Marmousi data-set and showed satisfactory results for complex, inhomogeneous media.     

Lignin degradation products as palaeoenvironmental proxies in the sediments of small lakes

The quantity and quality of lignin phenols (Σ8, Λ, S/V, C/V and (Ad/Al)_v) in the sediments of three small Lobelia lakes with neither inlets nor outlets were investigated and compared with palynological data and lithology of the profiles. The method of alkaline CuO oxidation was used. Substantial differences with respect to sedimentary lignin concentration and provenance recorded along the profiles and among the sites are in good agreement with pollen data describing the dominant type of vegetation and with indices of soil erosion in the lakes’ catchments. This relation shows that the compositions of lignin degradation products in these lakes are closely related to the local environmental conditions. In all the lakes gymnosperm wood is the main source of lignin products; however, each lake is characterized by different S/V index values. Especially good correlations were obtained between pine pollen proportions in sediments and the S/V index. The correlation between the C/V and (Ad/Al)_v indices indicates a higher degradation of organic matter when non-woody tissue is more abundant. This pilot study illustrates the usefulness and potential for a wider application of lignin oxidation products in palaeoecological reconstructions. This kind of data would be of special importance when investigating local presence/absence of woody plants and the role of angiosperms/gymnosperms in local vegetation. Estimates of lignin biodegradation levels, as well as the data on diagenetic processes, may afford supplementary information on possible disturbances in sedimentation.     

A review of geochemical background concepts and an example using data from Poland

One of the most crucial issues of recent environmental sciences is the topic of background concentrations of elements and organic compounds in various abiotic and biotic systems. The relationship between natural and anthropogenically altered concentrations of chemical species is a question that involves many implications in the geosciences, environmental and biological sciences, toxicology, and other related disciplines. This is especially important when interpreting geochemical and biogeochemical anomalies of toxic elements and/or organic compounds in various media. To better understand the potential impact of hazardous substances in the environment, we must become more familiar with their spatial and temporal distribution and with their behavior under different physico-chemical and biotic conditions. This review presents an assessment of the geochemical background concept as used by various authors. Different assumptions and approaches to this topic are presented, including direct, statistical, and integrated methods. Based on the results derived from geochemical and biogeochemical studies performed in selected forest ecosystems of Poland, an integrated method is presented. As a consequence of data processing, a normal distribution of data points was obtained using an iterative 2σ-technique. This method of estimating geochemical background is feasible and can be used for setting environmental quality standards or for studying the impact of anthropogenic pollution sources on the environment.     

Seismic doublets and multiplets at Polish coal and copper mines

The following criteria for selection of doublets at Polish coal mines were accepted: the difference in magnitude (based on seismic moment) of two events not larger than 0.15, the distance between their hypocenters not greater than 150 m, and the time interval between their occurrence not longer than 10 days. Similarly, the criteria for seismic events at copper mines are: the difference in magnitude not exceeding 0.15, the distance not greater than 200 m, and the time interval not longer than 20 days. Seismic events from the Wujek and Ziemowit coal mines that occurred between 1993 and 1995, and seismic events from the Polkowice copper mine that occurred between 1994 and 1996 and from the Rudna copper mine that occurred between 1994 and 2004 were considered. Their source parameters and focal mechanisms were known in most cases from previous studies. Altogether 108 seismic pairs from coal mines and 118 pairs from copper mines were found, forming doublets, triplets and quadruplets, within the magnitude range from 0.7 to 3.5. The distance and time intervals between two events forming pairs are not dependent on magnitude of these events. The focal mechanism of seismic events forming pairs is similar in over 60 percent of pairs at coal mines and in about one third of pairs at copper mines. Spatial distributions of doublets in particular sections of coal and copper mines display dominant linear trends, characteristic for a given area, which are often in conformity with the direction of nodal planes determined by fault plane solution of one or both the events forming a doublet. In such cases, the rupture plane can be discriminated among the nodal planes.     

Paleomagnetic study of Middle-Upper Jurassic sediments from the Polish segment of the Pieniny Klippen Belt

Middle-Upper Jurassic carbonates exposed in 7 separate fragments of three tectonic units were sampled in the Polish segment of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in 1981, before construction of the Niedzica-Czorsztyn dam. Demagnetization experiments performed about 20 years ago and analyzed lately with modern program package revealed the presence of Middle Miocene overprints acquired in the normal and reversed geomagnetic field, and pre-folding components of natural remanence acquired during the Middle-Upper Jurassic. A paleolatitude of 36N±7° was obtained for the studied area for this time on the basis of 3 normal and 1 reversed components. Three pre-folding pole positions are situated between pole positions of the normal and reversed Stable European Middle Jurassic field. The obtained paleomagnetic results imply several prefolding (pre-Upper Miocene) and postfolding (post-Upper Miocene) episodes of rotations of the studied fragments.     

Method for correction of the prestack migration amplitude of converted waves

The paper presents a method for correction of amplitude of prestack migration using the reflectivity function. The solution of wave equations for heterogeneous media expressed in the form of Neumann series for converted waves was used to find the reflectivity function. The performance of the proposed method was verified using synthetic models of wavefields. The synthetic models of wavefields were also used to compare amplitude correction levels required by the presented method and the standard amplitude correction methods, i.e., the methods using the spherical divergence and extention factor.     

Explicit Symplectic Integrator for Highly Eccentric Orbits

An explicit symplectic integrator is constructed for perturbed elliptic orbits of an arbitrary eccentricity. The perturbation should be Hamiltonian, but it may depend on time explicitly. The main feature of the integrator is the use of KS variables in the ten-dimensional extended phase space. As an example of its application the motion of an Earth satellite under the action of the planet's oblateness and of lunar perturbations is studied. The results confirm the superiority of the method over a classical Wisdom–Holman algorithm in both accuracy and computation time. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.