On Tension Failure of 2-D Rock Specimens and Associated Acoustic Emission

Summary To understand the failure mechanism of quasi-brittle materials like rock under tensile stress, observations on the failure process of granite and marble plate specimens under tension are summarized and presented. Micro- and macro-failure properties of rock plates under uniaxial tension have been characterized by using an acoustic emission technique. Acoustic emission signals associated with micro-fractures are captured to locate the sources. An algorithm based on arrival time difference is developed for this purpose. The results reveal clearly the failure processes of rock which include initiation, nucleation and propagation of micro-fractures when the axial stress is close to the peak strength of rock. It is believed that the difference in heterogeneity between granite and marble specimens leads to different fracture shapes and different behaviors of associated acoustic emissions. Numerical simulation of acoustic emissions for two-dimensional tensile test is also carried out. The simulated characteristics are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Post-Collisional Transition from Subduction- to Intraplate-type Magmatism in the Westernmost Mediterranean: Evidence for Continental-Edge Delamination of Subcontinental Lithosphere

Post-collisional magmatism in the southern Iberian and northwesternAfrican continental margins contains important clues for theunderstanding of a possible causal connection between movementsin the Earth's upper mantle, the uplift of continental lithosphereand the origin of circum-Mediterranean igneous activity. Systematicgeochemical and geochronological studies (major and trace element,Sr–Nd–Pb-isotope analysis and laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar-agedating) on igneous rocks provide constraints for understandingthe post-collisional history of the southern Iberian and northwesternAfrican continental margins. Two groups of magmatic rocks canbe distinguished: (1) an Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene (8·2–4·8Ma), Si–K-rich group including high-K (calc-alkaline)and shoshonitic series rocks; (2) an Upper Miocene to Pleistocene(6·3–0·65 Ma), Si-poor, Na-rich group includingbasanites and alkali basalts to hawaiites and tephrites. Maficsamples from the Si–K-rich group generally show geochemicalaffinities with volcanic rocks from active subduction zones(e.g. Izu–Bonin and Aeolian island arcs), whereas maficsamples from the Si-poor, Na-rich group are geochemically similarto lavas found in intraplate volcanic settings derived fromsub-lithospheric mantle sources (e.g. Canary Islands). The transitionfrom Si-rich (subduction-related) to Si-poor (intraplate-type)magmatism between 6·3 Ma (first alkali basalt) and 4·8Ma (latest shoshonite) can be observed both on a regional scaleand in individual volcanic systems. Si–K-rich and Si-poorigneous rocks from the continental margins of southern Iberiaand northwestern Africa are, respectively, proposed to havebeen derived from metasomatized subcontinental lithosphere andsub-lithospheric mantle that was contaminated with plume material.A three-dimensional geodynamic model for the westernmost Mediterraneanis presented in which subduction of oceanic lithosphere is inferredto have caused continental-edge delamination of subcontinentallithosphere associated with upwelling of plume-contaminatedsub-lithospheric mantle and lithospheric uplift. This processmay operate worldwide in areas where subduction-related andintraplate-type magmatism are spatially and temporally associated. KEY WORDS: post-collisional magmatism; Mediterranean-style back-arc basins; subduction; delamination; uplift of marine gateways     

Origin of Exceptionally Abundant Phonolites on Ua Pou Island (Marquesas, French Polynesia): Partial Melting of Basanites Followed by Crustal Contamination

On the basis of the first systematic mapping of Ua Pou, longknown for its exceptionally abundant phonolites, we estimatethat these rocks cover 65% of the surface of the island whereasmafic lavas cover 27% and intermediate ones 8%. The silica-undersaturatedsuite was erupted in a restricted time span (2·9–2·35Myr), following the emplacement of tholeiites derived from ayoung HIMU-type source at c. 4 Ma. Primitive basanites, derivedfrom a heterogeneous mantle source with a dominant EM II + HIMUsignature, represent likely parental magmas. The series is characterizedby a Daly gap defined by a lack of phonotephrites. We considerthat the most likely model for the origin of evolved lavas ispartial melting at depth of primitive basanites, leaving anamphibole-rich residuum and producing tephriphonolitic magmas.These tephriphonolitic magmas may have evolved by closed-systemfractional crystallization towards Group A phonolites. Threeother groups of phonolites could have been derived from tephriphonoliticmagmas by open-system fractional crystallization processes,characterized respectively by seawater contamination (GroupB), assimilation of nepheline syenite-type materials (GroupC) and extreme fractionation coupled with assimilation of theunderlying oceanic crust (Group D). The prominence of evolvedlavas is a consequence of their origin from partial meltingof mafic precursors followed by crustal contamination. KEY WORDS: Marquesas; French Polynesia; phonolite; partial melting; contamination     

Research on red tide occurrences using enclosed experimental ecosystems in west Xiamen Harbor, China—Relationship between various factors and red tide occurrences

A series of enclosed ecosystem experiments were conducted in a land-based tank near the seaside of West Xiamen Harbor. The results of experiments conducted in different seasons and years showed a repeatable phytoplankton succession. In this relatively stable ecosystem with added nutrients and trace metals, diatoms dominated initially, dinoflagellates dominated in the later stage, and dinoflagellate red tides eventually occurred. Vitamin B₁₂ enrichment may speed up this succession process. Stirring the water column could stop this process. Soluble Mn at a level of 3–4 μg/L in seawater, which also is the existing concentration of soluble Mn in Xiamen Harbor seawater, is sufficient for the multiplication of algae and occurrence of red tide. The present study showed that excessive soluble Mn in Xiamen Harbor cannot cause red tide, and that Fe was one of the important factors causing diatiom red tide in this present study. Project 39570145 supported by NSFC.     

Morphology and structure of the Galapagos Rise

Geophysical data collected on three U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office cruises to the Galapagos Rise are presented. These data allow definition of the morphology and structure of the Galapagos Rise.A postulated “hot spot” beneath the Galapagos platform is suggested as the cause of: (1) decreased seismicity along the spreading center for a 400 km E—W distance from the islands; (2) distinctive petro-chemistry of tholeiites from the islands and adjacent oceanic crust generated by the Galapagos Rise; (3) high-amplitude magnetic anomalies in a 1,000 km E—W band including and just north of the Galapagos platform; and (4) morphologic shape and the regionally elevated sea floor of the Galapagos Rise as it approaches the insular platform.