Fault-controlled Soil CO2 Degassing and Shallow Magma Bodies: Summit and Lower East Rift of Kilauea Volcano (Hawaii), 1997

Soil CO₂ flux measurements were carried out along traverses across mapped faults and eruptive fissures on the summit and the lower East Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano. Anomalous levels of soil degassing were found for 44 of the tectonic structures and 47 of the eruptive fissures intercepted by the surveyed profiles. This result contrasts with what was recently observed on Mt. Etna, where most of the surveyed faults were associated with anomalous soil degassing. The difference is probably related to the differences in the state of activity at the time when soil gas measurements were made: Kilauea was erupting, whereas Mt. Etna was quiescent although in a pre-eruptive stage. Unlike Mt. Etna, flank degassing on Kilauea is restricted to the tectonic and volcanic structures directly connected to the magma reservoir feeding the ongoing East Rift eruption or in areas of the Lower East Rift where other shallow, likely independent reservoirs are postulated. Anomalous soil degassing was also found in areas without surface evidence of faults, thus suggesting the possibility of previously unknown structures. Received: November 2003, revised: January 2005, accepted: January 2005     

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.     

Hall effect on magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause

We analyze in situ observations of magnetic reconnection at the Earth magnetopause to estimate the importance of the Hall current during the merging of interplanetary and magnetospheric magnetic field lines. The reconnection process is studied through numerical simulations, integrating the Hall MHD equations in 2.5 dimensions. A large influence of the Hall effect is found, which can be measured by a significant increase of the reconnection rate.     

Seismically induced rock slope failures resulting from topographic amplification of strong ground motions: The case of Pacoima Canyon, California

The 1994 Northridge earthquake (M_w = 6.7) triggered extensive rock slope failures in Pacoima Canyon, immediately north of Los Angeles, California. Pacoima Canyon is a narrow and steep canyon incised in gneissic and granitic rocks. Peak accelerations of nearly 1.6 g were recorded at a ridge that forms the left abutment of Pacoima Dam; peak accelerations at the bottom of the canyon were less than 0.5 g, suggesting the occurrence of topographic amplification. Topographic effects have been previously suggested to explain similarly high ground motions at the site during the 1971 (M_w = 6.7) San Fernando earthquake. Furthermore, high landslide concentrations observed in the area have been attributed to unusually strong ground motions rather than higher susceptibility to sliding compared with nearby zones. We conducted field investigations and slope stability back-analyses to confirm the impact of topographic amplification on the triggering of landslides during the 1994 earthquake. Our results suggest that the observed extensive rock sliding and falling would have not been possible under unamplified seismic conditions, which would have generated a significantly lower number of areas affected by landslides. In contrast, modelling slope stability using amplified ground shaking predicts slope failure distributions matching what occurred in 1994. This observation confirms a significant role for topographic amplification on the triggering of landslides at the site, and emphasises the need to select carefully the inputs for seismic slope stability analyses.     

Seismic response of the Mexico City Basin: A review of twenty years of research

Mexico City, political and economic center of Mexico, was founded in a lake, at more than 2000 m above sea level. The lacustrine mud under the downtown area is associated with high seismic risk. Twenty years after the destructive 1985 earthquake (Ms = 8.1) we review published research on seismic response in the Mexico Basin, especially seismic and microtremor studies on soft ground and the influence of the seismic response of lake mud on damage.     

Evaluating the Impact of Drought Using Remote Sensing in a Mediterranean,Semi-arid Region

This paper analyses monthly differences in drought impact on vegetation activity in a semi-arid region in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula between 1987 and 2000. The study determines spatial differences in the effects of drought on the natural vegetation and agricultural crops by means of the joint use of vegetation indexes derived from AVHRR images, a drought index (standardized precipitation index), and Geographic Information Systems. The results show that the effect of drought on vegetation varies noticeably between areas, a pattern that is determined mainly by the location of land-cover types. The influence also varies each month and, in general, is higher during the spring and summer. Aridity and vegetation characteristics similarly account, in part, for spatial differences in the impact of drought on vegetation. In general, the most arid areas, where vegetation cover and activity are low, are those in which the interannual variability of vegetation activity is more determined by the drought occurrence. In assessing drought impact, this analysis takes into account the effects of drought on the vegetation and also considers spatial and seasonal differences. The results should be useful for the management of natural vegetation and crops and for the development of better drought mitigation strategies.     

Regional wind fields and dunefield migration,southern Brazil

This paper examines a seemingly anomalous situation in southern Brazil where the dunefields on Santa Catarina Island (e.g. Joaquina Beach) migrate to the NNW, almost completely the opposite direction (c. 160) to the dunefields immediately to the south (e.g. Pinheira Beach), and some much further to the north (e.g. Cabo Frio) which migrate to the SSW. A variety of mechanisms are examined to explain the differences in dunefield migration including grain size variations, topographic effects on local winds, shoreline orientation, and regional wind field changes. The mean grain sizes of the two beaches, Pinheira and Joaquina, are not sufficiently different to restrict aeolian sediment transport in either place, nor to account for a lack of transport from the NNE to the SSW in the case of Joaquina. Some topographic steering of the wind is likely but could not account for the long‐term average difference in migration trends of the island dunefields compared to the mainland dunefields. While the orientation of the shoreline to prevailing winds is an important control on beach and dune sediment transport, it is not the dominant controlling mechanism. An analysis of the regional wind patterns demonstrates that there is a major shift in the regional wind field near the island such that the dominant island winds blow from the SW/SSW while those further south blow from the NE. It is concluded that this is the predominant reason for the divergence in the direction of migration of the dunefields. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Angélica Copper Deposit: Exotic Type Mineralization in the Tocopilla Plutonic Complex of the Coastal Cordillera, Northern Chile

The Angélica copper deposit is situated at the southernmost sector of the Jurassic Tocopilla plutonic complex in the North Chilean Coastal Cordillera. This deposit occurs in monzonitic to monzodioritic rocks, and has platelike orebodies with no appreciable hydrothermal alteration nor sulfide mineralization. The mineralized zones are located in the western side of the two main normal faults with NE and NW orientations, and are characterized principally by impregnation of supergene copper products of atacamite and minor amounts of chrysocolla, lavendulan and “black copper”. Generally, chrysocolla is more abundant at a distal NE sector of the deposit. The black copper is Cu‐Fe‐Mn‐Si‐Cl‐rich multimineral aggregates composed of atacamite with minor amounts of quartz, pseudomalachite, dioptase, neotocite, gypsum, paratacamite and melanothallite, and its surface exhibits nanometer‐sized cylindrical morphologies. All these characteristics suggest an exotic origin for the Angélica copper deposit. A few vein‐type copper deposits situated at the southwestern sector along the NE‐oriented fault are inferred as the possible source of the Angélica copper deposit.     

Toward high spatial resolution in solar observations

To achieve high spatial resolution capability for IR solar observations, we suggest the use of a special mask placed before the entrance aperture of large conventional optical telescopes. Such a mask would match well the resolution of a non-redundant array and would provide safe operation of a large telescope used for solar observations. The proposed solution has the additional advantage of relatively low cost because already-existing optical telescopes are used.