Observed Evolution of Linear and Nonlinear Effects at the Dahan Downhole Array,Taiwan: Analysis of the September 21, 1999 M 7.3 Chi-Chi Earthquake Sequence

— In this paper, the site characteristics of the Dahan downhole array are studied by analyzing the September 21, 1999 M 7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake sequence including the main shock and some aftershocks. The four-level array (0 m, 50 m, 100 m and 200 m) is located to the north of Hualien City in eastern Taiwan. Polarization analysis is used to check the orientation errors of the seismometers at different levels of depth. If the surface instrument is chosen as reference, the angle between the major polarization axes of the surface and any downhole records is the orientation error that must be corrected for the downhole accelerographs. The orientation errors at depths of 50 m, 100 m and 200 m are 32°, 120° and –84°. After the corrections, the coherency between the surface and downhole records is substantially improved. Spectral ratio analysis shows that the predominant frequency of the Chi-Chi main shock shifts to a lower frequency. We also simulate ground motions at different depths by using the Haskell method with a linear velocity structure model. The record at surface is chosen as the input motion. Compared with the observed data, ground acceleration can be well reproduced for the aftershocks (weak-motion events) of the September 21, 1999 M 7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake. However, for the Chi-Chi main shock, the synthetic waveform cannot match well with the observation neither in amplitude nor in phase. This indicates that large ground shaking probably induced the nonlinear site effect at that time, and the model used cannot support it.Acknowledgement. The authors would like to express their thanks to Dr. L.F. Bonilla and one anonymous reviewer for their valuable suggestions. This research was supported by the National Science Council under grant number NSC 89-2921-M-194-007. The Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica supplied the strong-motion data. The support of these organizations is gratefully acknowledged.     

A Nonlinear Model of Contaminant Transformations in an Aquatic Environment

A nonlinear model of the decomposition of a multicomponent contaminant is developed with allowance made for the distribution of components over their reactivity. Model application is illustrated by the analysis of published empirical data on organic matter biodegradation in water column and bottom sediments, in an activated-sludge bioreactor, and the biological absorption and enzymatic destruction of organic matter by macrophytes. Photodestruction, chemical destruction, and sedimentation are also considered. The nonlinear model is compared with a first-order reaction equation.__________Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2005, pp. 322–336.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Dolgonosov, Gubernatorova.     

Freshwater Deficiency and the World Market

The causes of freshwater deficiency are considered, the main causes being poor environmental conditions and excessive water consumption. The problem of water deficiency is shown to be insoluble without the development of intense water use, conservation, and protection. Based on studying water as a commodity, it is asserted that the market mechanism is not sufficient to cope with water deficiency. The potential of the international water market is shown to be very limited in contrast to the market of water-efficient processes and water-retaining products.     

Ecotoxicological Assessment of After-Effects of the Volga River Water Contamination

Comprehensive assessment of ecotoxicological situation in the Volga River basin is presented. Concentrations of organic and inorganic toxic substances are cited. Basic clinic and postmortem symptoms of intoxication in fish are described; changes in the cellular structure of their organs and tissues, as well as disturbances in hemogenesis, developing under the effect of toxic agents, are characterized. Based on the dose-effect dependences, calculated according to the values of the total concentration of toxic substances, standardized to MPC, and criteria of the physiological state of fish, cases of exceedance of the critical concentrations of pollutants are demonstrated for the investigated river sections.__________Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 4, 2005, pp. 410–424.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Moiseenko, Gashkina, Sharova, Pokoeva.     

Formation of Paleoproterozoic eclogitic mantle, Slave Province (Canada): Insights from in-situ Hf and U–Pb isotopic analyses of mantle zircons

In-situ Hf isotope analyses and U–Pb dates were obtained by laser ablation-MC-ICP-MS for a zircon-bearing mantle eclogite xenolith from the diamondiferous Jericho kimberlite located within the Archean Slave Province (Nunavut), Canada. The U–Pb zircon results yield a wide range of ages (2.0 to 0.8 Ga) indicating a complex geological history. Of importance, one zircon yields a U–Pb upper intercept date of 1989 ± 67 Ma, providing a new minimum age constraint for zircon crystallization and eclogite formation. In contrast, Hf isotope systematics for the same zircons display an intriguing uniformity, and corresponding Hf depleted mantle model ages range between 2.1 ± 0.1 and 2.3 ± 0.1 Ga; the youngest Hf model age is within error to the oldest U–Pb date.

The Jericho eclogites have previously been interpreted as representing remnants of metamorphosed oceanic crust, and their formation related to Paleoproterozoic subduction regimes along the western margin of the Archean Slave craton during the Wopmay orogeny. Hf isotope compositions and U–Pb results for the Jericho zircons reported here are in good agreement with a Paleoproterozoic subduction model, suggesting that generation of oceanic crust and eclogite formation occurred between 2.0 and 2.1 Ga. The slightly older Hf depleted mantle model ages (2.1 to 2.3 Ga) may be reconciled with this model by invoking mixing between ‘crustal’-derived Hf from sediments and more radiogenic Hf associated with the oceanic crust during the 2 Ga subduction event. This results in intermediate Hf isotope compositions for the Jericho zircons that yield ‘fictitiously’ older Hf model ages.     

First estimate for the age of a mesoproterozoic palaeomagnetic pole from the Volodarsk-Volynsky Massif,the Ukrainian Shield

Palaeomagnetic data are presented from the southern Volodarsk-Volynsky Massif (VVM) of the Korosten Pluton, the Ukrainian Shield. Laboratory experiments (AF and thermal demagnetization, IRM acquisition, thermal separation), field tests (consistency and secular variation methods) and optical observations indicate that single domain and nearly single domain magnetite is the dominant carrier of a primary TRM in the anorthosites. Palaeomagnetic poles from the three sampling sites (Golovino and Turchinka quarries) are indistinguishable at the 95% confidence level and have been combined to yield a mean pole at P_lat = 30 °N, P_lon = 178 °E, a₉₅ = 3.4 °.In the large slow cooling Korosten Pluton the U-Pb zircon/baddeleyite (U_zb) technique gives an age for the anorthosites, which are not equivalent to the time of magnetic blocking. Based on integrated analysis of geochronologic information and blocking-temperature data for magnetic minerals proposed by Briden et al. (1993), a first attempt has been undertaken to estimate the palaeomagnetic pole age from the Mesoproterozoic anorthosites. The Korosten Pluton has cooled from 850 °C (the closure temperature of U-Pb systematics in zircon/baddeleyite) to 350 °C (the closure temperature of K-Ar systematics in biotite) during 150 Ma after the emplacement of the anorthosites. Assuming a uniform cooling of the intrusion yields a rate of 3.3 °C/Ma. The cooling rate for the granites is 3.1 °C/Ma. The mafic and acid rocks have an average rate of 3.2 °C/Ma. Using the cooling gradient for the VVM (3.2 °C/Ma) and the mean natural blocking temperature of magnetite (520 °C) can be determined a remanence age. The estimate for TRM acquisition is 1656 ± 10.0 Ma.The magnetic pole for the VVM is in good agreement with the mean pole from the Baltic quartz porphyry dykes with an age of 1630 – 1648 Ma. The VVM pole is best dated and requires a revision of the latest paleogeographic reconstructions for the Fennoscandian and Ukrainian Shields at 1770 and 1650 Ma. (Pesonen et al., 2003).     

Seasonal variations in thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline in the northeastern part of the Black sea (Based on long-term data)

Seasonal evolution of the vertical thermal, halininc, and density structure of water in the phases of warming and heat loss is shown. The annual cycle of variability of seasonal and deep-water thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline is discussed. It is revealed that variations in the seasonal (subsurface) thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline depend on the surface environmental factors (air temperature, river runoff, and precipitation), while variations in the deep-water thermo-, halo-, and pycnocline depend on the dynamic factor impact (seasonal variations in the intensity of the general cyclonic circulation in the Black Sea).Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2005, pp. 28–34.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Titov.     

Determining the maximum degree of harmonic coefficients in geopotential models by Monte Carlo methods

Random errors for the harmonic coefficients of a geopotential model are generated from the matrix of normal equations by a parallel computer applying the Gibbs sampler. This leads to random values for the harmonic coefficients. They are transformed by nonlinear, quadratic transformations to random values for the square roots of degree variances, of mean squares of geoid undulations and gravity anomalies. The expected values of these quantities are not equal to the values of these quantities computed by the estimated harmonic coefficients, due to correlations and errors in the estimation. By hypothesis tests estimated harmonic coefficients distorted by correlations and errors are detected. Applying the tests to the geopotential model ITG-CHAMP01 of the Institute of Theoretical Geodesy in Bonn it is concluded that above the degree 62 the harmonic coefficients cannot add any information to the geopotential model.     

Modeling Energy Fluxes in Lake Ecosystems as a Means of Hydrobiological Studies

A mass-balance model was developed for the prediction of the biomass and annual production of phytoplankton, macrophytes, epiphytes, and phytobenthos (primary producers), bacterioplankton and bacteriobenthos (reducers), herbivorous and predator zooplankton, zoobenthos, planktivorous fish, benthivorous fish, and predatory fish (consumers). The model is controlled by a small number of parameters.__________Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2005, pp. 361–370.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Boulion.     

Numerical model of convection in sills

The numerical model of convection in magma sills is developed. The model is based on a full system of equations of fluid dynamics and includes heat transfer, buoyancy effects and diffusion of some minor component (marker). Solidification is treated as a phase transition. The results indicate that there are some qualitative differences between very thin sills with Rayleigh number Ra = 10⁵ and thin sills with Ra = 10⁶. For a basaltic magma the first case corresponds to the thickness of the sills of approximately 30 cm and the second case corresponds to the thickness of 60 cm. In the first case mixing is inefficient and conduction is the dominant form of heat transfer. In the second case mixing is efficient and convection is the dominant form of heat transfer. Some of the results can be scaled for the more viscous magmas in thicker sills.