Application of the Spatial Auto-Correlation Method for Shear-Wave Velocity Studies Using Ambient Noise

Ambient seismic noise or microtremor observations used in spatial auto-correlation (SPAC) array methods consist of a wide frequency range of surface waves from the frequency of about 0.1 Hz to several tens of Hz. The wavelengths (and hence depth sensitivity of such surface waves) allow determination of the site S-wave velocity model from a depth of 1 or 2 m down to a maximum of several kilometres; it is a passive seismic method using only ambient noise as the energy source. Application usually uses a 2D seismic array with a small number of seismometers (generally between 2 and 15) to estimate the phase velocity dispersion curve and hence the S-wave velocity depth profile for the site. A large number of methods have been proposed and used to estimate the dispersion curve; SPAC is the one of the oldest and the most commonly used methods due to its versatility and minimal instrumentation requirements. We show that direct fitting of observed and model SPAC spectra generally gives a superior bandwidth of useable data than does the more common approach of inversion after the intermediate step of constructing an observed dispersion curve. Current case histories demonstrate the method with a range of array types including two-station arrays, L-shaped multi-station arrays, triangular and circular arrays. Array sizes from a few metres to several-km in diameter have been successfully deployed in sites ranging from downtown urban settings to rural and remote desert sites. A fundamental requirement of the method is the ability to average wave propagation over a range of azimuths; this can be achieved with either or both of the wave sources being widely distributed in azimuth, and the use of a 2D array sampling the wave field over a range of azimuths. Several variants of the method extend its applicability to under-sampled data from sparse arrays, the complexity of multiple-mode propagation of energy, and the problem of precise estimation where array geometry departs from an ideal regular array. We find that sparse nested triangular arrays are generally sufficient, and the use of high-density circular arrays is unlikely to be cost-effective in routine applications. We recommend that passive seismic arrays should be the method of first choice when characterizing average S-wave velocity to a depth of 30 m (V_s30) and deeper, with active seismic methods such as multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) being a complementary method for use if and when conditions so require. The use of computer inversion methodology allows estimation of not only the S-wave velocity profile but also parameter uncertainties in terms of layer thickness and velocity. The coupling of SPAC methods with horizontal/vertical particle motion spectral ratio analysis generally allows use of lower frequency data, with consequent resolution of deeper layers than is possible with SPAC alone. Considering its non-invasive methodology, logistical flexibility, simplicity, applicability, and stability, the SPAC method and its various modified extensions will play an increasingly important role in site effect evaluation. The paper summarizes the fundamental theory of the SPAC method, reviews recent developments, and offers recommendations for future blind studies.     

Mineral chemistry and petrogenesis of chromitites from the Khoy ophiolite complex,Northwestern Iran: Implications for aggregation of two ophiolites

The Khoy ophiolitic complex in Northwestern Iran is a part of the Tethyan ophiolite belt, and is divided into two sections: the Eastern ophiolite in Qeshlaq and Kalavanes (Jurassic–Cretaceous) and the Western ophiolite in Barajouk, Chuchak and Hessar (Late Cretaceous). Our chromitites can be clearly classified into two groups: high‐Al chromitites (Cr# = 0.38–0.44) from the Eastern ophiolite, and high‐Cr chromitites (Cr# = 0.54–0.72) from the Western ophiolite. The chromian spinels in high‐Al chromitite include primary mineral inclusions mainly as Na‐bearing diopside and pargasite with subordinate rutile and their formation was probably related to reaction between a MORB (mid‐ocean‐ridge basalt)‐like melt with depleted harzburgite, possibly in a back‐arc setting. Their host harzburgites contain clinopyroxene with higher contents of Al₂O₃, Na₂O, Cr₂O₃, and TiO₂ relative to Western harzburgites and are possibly residue after moderate partial melting (~15 %) whereas the Western harzburgite is residue after high partial melting (~25 %). The chromian spinel in the Western Khoy chromitites contains inclusions such as clinopyroxene, olivine and platinum group mineral‐bearing sulfides. These Western chromitites were possibly formed at two stages during arc growth and are divided into the moderately high‐Cr# chromitites (Barajouk and Hessar) and the high‐Cr# chromitites (Chuchak A and C). The former crystallized from island‐arc‐tholeiite (IAT) melts during reaction with the host depleted harzburgites, whereas the latter crystallized from boninitic melts (second stage melt) during reaction with highly depleted harzburgite in a supra‐subduction‐zone environment. Based on the mineral chemistry of chromian spinels, pyroxenes, and mineral inclusions, the chromitites and the host peridotites from the Eastern and Western Khoy ophiolites were formed in a back‐arc basin and arc‐related setting, respectively. The Khoy ophiolitic complex is a tectonic aggregate of the two different ophiolites formed in two different tectonic settings at different ages.     

Is there horizontal phase propagation of 5-min oscillations at high velocities?

New observations of the photospheric 5-min oscillations are presented which prove that the physical reality of the very high horizontal phase propagation velocities observed in connection with the oscillations cannot be maintained. Instead, a statistical model is proposed to explain the observed phase relations.Mitteilungen aus dem Fraunhofer Institut Nr. 119.     

A Perspective on Water Resources in China: Interactions between Climate Change and Soil Degradation

Water is one of the most critical resources in China. Climate change and soil degradation will be two major, interrelated environmental challenges faced by managers of water resources in coming decades. In this study, we used a water-balance model and updated databases to assess the interacting impacts of climate change and soil degradation on Chinas future water resources. We plotted the spatial pattern of changes in actual and potential evapotranspiration, soil moisture deficits, and surface runoff across China in the 2020s using a resolution of 0.5° latitude and longitude under scenarios based on climate change, soil degradation, and a combination of the two. The results showed that climate change would affect the magnitude and spatial pattern of water resources on a national scale. Some regions in central, southwestern, and northeastern China would become more vulnerable to disastrous drought and floods as a result of soil degradation. Under the combined impacts of climate change and soil degradation, soil moisture deficits would increase most in central, western, and southwestern China; surface runoff would increase most in southeastern China. More detailed process-based models are needed to capture feedback mechanisms more effectively.     

Origin of fine‐grained peridotite xenoliths from Iraya volcano of Batan Island,Philippines: deserpentinization or metasomatism at the wedge mantle beneath an incipient arc?

Abstract Peridotite xenoliths from the subarc mantle, which have been rarely documented, are described from Iraya volcano of the Luzon arc, the Philippines, and are discussed in the context of wedge-mantle processes. They are mainly harzburgite, with subordinate dunite, and show various textures from weakly porphyroclastic (C-type) to extremely fine-grained equigranular (F-type). Textural characteristics indicate a transition from the former to the latter by recrystallization. The F-type peridotite has inclusion-rich fine-grained olivine and radially aggregated orthopyroxene, being quite different in texture from ordinary mantle-derived peridotites previously documented. Despite their strong textural contrast, the two types do not show any systematic difference in modal composition. The harzburgite of C-type has ordinary mantle peridotite mineralogy; olivine is mostly Fo91–92 and chromian spinel mostly has Cr#s (= Cr/[Cr + Al] atomic ratios) from 0.3 to 0.6. Olivine is slightly more Fe-rich (Fo89–91) and spinel is more enriched in Cr (the Cr#, 0.4–0.8) and Fe³⁺ in F-type peridotites than in C-type harzburgite. Orthopyroxene in F-type peridotites is relatively low in CaO (<1 wt%), Al₂O₃ (<2 wt%) and Cr₂O₃ (<0.4 wt%). The F-type peridotite was possibly formed from the C-type one by recrystallization including local dissolution and precipitation of orthopyroxene assisted by fluid (or melt) of subduction origin. Textural characteristics, however, indicate a deserpentinization origin from abyssal serpentinite of which protolith was a C-type peridotite. In this scenario the initial abyssal serpentinite was possibly dehydrated due to an initiation of magmatic activity beneath an incipient oceanic arc like Batan Island. The F-type peridotite is characteristic of the upper mantle of island arc, especially of incipient arc.     

Numerical Simulation of Accretion Discs in Close Binary Systems andDiscovery of Spiral Shocks

The history of hydrodynamic numerical simulations for accretion disks in close binary systems is reviewed, in which emphasis is placed, in particular, on the facts that spiral shock waves were numerically found in 1986 by researchers including one of the present authors and that spiral structure was discovered in IP Pegasi in 1997 by Steeghs et al. The results of our two and three-dimensional numerical simulations in recent years are then summarized, with comparison being made with observations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of frozen soil and snow cover on cold‐season soil water dynamics in Tokachi,Japan

Despite the potential impact of winter soil water movements in cold regions, relatively few field studies have investigated cold‐season hydrological processes that occur before spring‐onset of snowmelt infiltration. The contribution of soil water fluxes in winter to the annual water balance was evaluated over 5 years of field observations at an agricultural field in Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. In two of the winters, soil frost reached a maximum depth of 0·2 m (‘frozen’ winters), whereas soil frost was mostly absent during the remaining three winters (‘unfrozen’ winters). Significant infiltration of winter snowmelt water, to a depth exceeding 1·0 m, occurred during both frozen and unfrozen winters. Such infiltration ranged between 126 and 255 mm, representing 28–51% of total annual soil water fluxes. During frozen winters, a substantial quantity of water (ca 40 mm) was drawn from deeper layers into the 0–0·2 m topsoil layer when this froze. Under such conditions, the progression and regression of the freezing front, regulated by the thickness of snow cover, controlled the quantity of soil water flux below the frozen layer. During unfrozen winters, 13–62 mm of water infiltrated to a depth of 0·2 m, before the spring snowmelt. These results indicate the importance of correctly evaluating winter soil water movement in cold regions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molybdenite Mineralization and Re‐Os Geochronology of the Escondida and Escondida Norte Porphyry Deposits,Northern Chile

Molybdenum is an economically important subproduct of North Chilean porphyry‐type deposits, and thus spatial and temporal distribution of molybdenite as the primary Mo‐bearing mineral in the Escondida and Escondida Norte deposits were characterized using several mineralogical and chemical techniques and the Re‐Os dating method. Molybdenum is distributed extensively in the two deposits, and high molybdenum concentrations (>500 ppm) are recognized particularly in the chlorite‐sericite transitional zone between the potassic and sericitic zones. Two modes of occurrence of molybdenite are observed in the Escondida deposit: aggregates with Cu‐Fe‐sulfide minerals in fine veinlets (sulfide‐veinlet type), and monomineralic microveinlets associated with NE‐trending faults. The former and the latter yielded ages of 36.1 ± 0.2 Ma and 35.2 ± 0.2 Ma, respectively. Re‐Os dating of Escondida Norte molybdenites also show two distinct episodes, at 37.7 ± 0.3 Ma and a younger episode at 36.6 ± 0.2 Ma. These data indicate that the Escondida Norte is older than the main Escondida deposit. The Re‐Os age data combined with those of the porphyry emplacement suggest that the molybdenite mineralization in the Escondida district occurred as several short episodic pulses during the late‐magmatic to hydrothermal transition, and that the Cu‐Mo deposits were formed in a variable overall period spanning 1 to 5 m.y.     

Reconnaissance report on landslide disasters in northeast Japan following the M 9 T��hoku earthquake

An earthquake of M_w 9.0 struck the Pacific coast in northeast Japan on March 11, 2011 and was followed by a hugely damaging tsunami along 500 km of the Japanese coastline. An inland aftershock of M. 7.0 occurred on April 11; during which, surface fault ruptures appeared on land. A large variety of landslide disasters resulted from these earthquakes in various parts of northeastern Honshu, Japan. The full extent of the landslides is still being determined. This brief report introduces some of the landslide phenomena so far investigated by the Japanese Landslide Society. These are (1) failure of a water reservoir embankment dam in Sukagawa, Fukushima prefecture, (2) landslides and surface seismic fault rupture from the April 11 aftershock in Iwaki, Fukushima, (3) a concentration of surface failures at Matsushima Bay in Miyagi prefecture, and (4) small landslides on modified slopes in residential areas around Sendai city.     

Future climate of the Caribbean from a super-high-resolution atmospheric general circulation model

Present-day (1979–2003) and future (2075–2099) simulations of mean and extreme rainfall and temperature are examined using data from the Meteorological Research Institute super-high-resolution atmospheric general circulation model. Analyses are performed over the 20-km model grid for (1) a main Caribbean basin, (2) sub-regional zones, and (3) specific Caribbean islands. Though the model’s topography underestimates heights over the eastern Caribbean, it captures well the present-day spatial and temporal variations of seasonal and annual climates. Temperature underestimations range from 0.1 °C to 2 °C with respect to the Japanese Reanalysis and the Climatic Research Unit datasets. The model also captures fairly well sub-regional scale variations in the rainfall climatology. End-of-century projections under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change SRES A1B scenario indicate declines in rainfall amounts by 10–20 % for most of the Caribbean during the early (May–July) and late (August–October) rainy seasons relative to the 1979–2003 baselines. The early dry season (November–January) is also projected to get wetter in the far north and south Caribbean by approximately 10 %. The model also projects a warming of 2–3 °C over the Caribbean region. Analysis of future climate extremes indicate a 5–10 % decrease in the simple daily precipitation intensity but no significant change in the number of consecutive dry days for Cuba, Jamaica, southern Bahamas, and Haiti. There is also indication that the number of hot days and nights will significantly increase over the main Caribbean basin.