A geologic study of the Juan del Grijalva landslide,the most important mass movement during the last century in Mexico

On November 4th 2007, along the Grijalva River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, has occurred one of the largest landslides ever known. This landslide, known as Juan del Grijalva, destroyed the town of the same name, killing 20 people, and moved 55 million cubic meters of rock and debris down slope to completely block the Grijalva River. In order to understand the characteristics and factors that triggered the Juan del Grijalva landslide, geologic studies were conducted at the site. The results indicate that the landslide was composed of a lithologic sequence of thin-bedded shales and thin to medium-thick-bedded sandstones. This was faulted into several blocks dipping in the same sense as the mass movement. The main triggering factor was the increment of the pore pressure into the lithologic unit due to water saturation after 5 days of heavy rain before the incident. According to records from the last century, the Juan del Grijalva mass movement represents one of the largest mass movements recorded all over the world. The risk conditions of the area after the landslide lead to the rapid construction of an artificial channel to drain the accumulating mass of water upstream and therefore prevent a future catastrophic inundation down stream.     

A geospatial framework to estimate depth of scour under buildings due to storm surge in coastal areas

Hurricanes and tropical storms represent one of the major hazards in coastal communities. Storm surge generated by strong winds and low pressure from these systems have the potential to bring extensive flooding in coastal areas. In many cases, the damage caused by the storm surge may exceed the damage from the wind resulting in the total collapse of buildings. Therefore, in coastal areas, one of the sources for major structural damage could be due to scour, where the soil below the building that serves as the foundation is swept away by the movement of the water. The existing methodologies to forecast hurricane flood damage do not differentiate between the different damage mechanisms (e.g., inundation vs. scour). Currently, there are no tools available that predominantly focus on forecasting scour-related damage for buildings. Such a tool could provide significant advantages for planning and/or preparing emergency responses. Therefore, the focus of this study was to develop a methodology to predict possible scour depth due to hurricane storm surges using an automated ArcGIS tool that incorporates the expected hurricane conditions (flow depth, velocity, and flood duration), site-specific building information, and the associated soil types for the foundation. A case study from Monmouth County (NJ), where the scour damages from 2012 Hurricane Sandy were recorded after the storm, was used to evaluate the accuracy of the developed forecasting tool and to relate the scour depth to potential scour damage. The results indicate that the developed tool provides relatively consistent results with the field observations.     

Extending the double-difference location technique to mining applications part I: Numerical study

The location of the seismic event hypocenter is the very first task undertaken when studying any seismological problem. The accuracy of the solution can significantly influence consecutive stages of analysis, so there is a continuous demand for new, more efficient and accurate location algorithms. It is important to recognize that there is no single universal location algorithm which will perform equally well in any situation. The type of seismicity, the geometry of the recording seismic network, the size of the controlled area, tectonic complexity, are the most important factors influencing the performance of location algorithms. In this paper we propose a new location algorithm called the extended double difference (EDD) which combines the insensitivity of the double-difference (DD) algorithm to the velocity structure with the special demands imposed by mining: continuous change of network geometry and a very local recording capability of the network for dominating small induced events. The proposed method provides significantly better estimation of hypocenter depths and origin times compared to the classical and double-difference approaches, the price being greater sensitivity to the velocity structure than the DD approach. The efficiency of both algorithms for the epicentral coordinates is similar.     

Field detection of chlorophyll-a concentration in the sea surface layer by an airborne oceanographic lidar

An airborne oceanographic lidar, with a frequency-tripled Q-switched Nd： YAG laser of 355 nm, has been designed to measure chlorophyll-a （Chl-a） concentration in the sea surface layer by the Ocean Remote Sensing Institute, OUC. The field experiment was carried out in the bay which is located south of the Liaodong Peninsula on the 10th of September 2005. After the flight, the raw data were processed and analyzed by the fluorescence-to-Raman ratio method with seawater attenuation coefficients calculated from signal profiles. The results of Chl-a concentration sea water were also compared with those of Chl-a concentration by measurements by lidar are shown. The measurements in clear a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS）.     

Geochemistry of the high-Mg andesites at Zhangwu, western Liaoning: Implication for delamination of newly formed lower crust

Ten volcanic samples at Zhangwu,western Liaoning Province,North China were selected for a sys-tematic geochemical,mineralogical and geochronological study,which provides an opportunity to ex-plore the interaction between the continental crust and mantle beneath the north margin of the North China craton.Except one basalt sample(SiO2= 50.23%),the other nine samples are andesitic with SiO2 contents ranging from 53% to 59%.They have relatively high MgO(3.4%―6.1%,Mg#=50―64) and Ni and Cr contents(Ni 27×10?6―197×10?6,Cr 51×10?6―478×10?6).Other geochemical characteristics of Zhangwu high-Mg andesites(HMAs) include strong fractionation of light rare earth elements(LREE) from heavy rare earth elements(HREE),and Sr from Y,with La/Yb greater than 15,and high Sr/Y(34― 115).Zircons of andesite YX270 yield three age groups with no Precambrian age,which precludes ori-gin of the Zhangwu HMAs from the partial melting of the Precambrian crust.The oldest age group peaking at 253 Ma is interpreted to represent the collision of the Siberia block and the North China block,resulting in formation of the Central Asian orogenic belt by closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean.The intermediate age group corresponds to the basalt underplating which caused the wide-spread coeval granitoids in the North China craton with a peak 206Pb/238U age of 172 Ma.The youngest age group gives a 206Pb/238U age of 126±2 Ma,which is interpreted as the eruption age of the Zhangwu HMAs.The high 87Sr/86Sri(126 Ma)>0.706 and low εNd(t)= ?6.36―?13.99 of the Zhangwu HMAs are distinct from slab melts.The common presence of reversely zoned clinopyroxene phenocrysts in the Zhangwu HMAs argues against the origin of the Zhangwu HMAs either from melting of the water saturated mantle or melting of the lower crust.In light of the evidence mentioned above,the envisaged scenario for the formation of the Zhangwu HMAs is related to the basaltic underplating at the base of the crust,which led to the thickening of the lower crust and formation of lower crustal eclogite,followed by foundering of the eclogitic lower crust into the asthenosphere.The foundered eclogite then melted and the resul-tant melts interacted with surrounding peridotite during their upward transport,which finally produced the high-Mg andesites.This well explains the high-Mg adakitic characters and absence of ancient in-herited zircon in the Zhangwu lavas.     

Data-Driven Predictive Modeling of Mineral Prospectivity Using Random Forests: A Case Study in Catanduanes Island (Philippines)

The Random Forests (RF) algorithm is a machine learning method that has recently been demonstrated as a viable technique for data-driven predictive modeling of mineral prospectivity, and thus, it is instructive to further examine its usefulness in this particular field. A case study was carried out using data from Catanduanes Island (Philippines) to investigate further (a) if RF modeling can be used for data-driven modeling of mineral prospectivity in areas with few (i.e., <20) mineral occurrences and (b) if RF modeling can handle predictor variables with missing values. We found that RF modeling outperforms evidential belief (EB) modeling of prospectivity for hydrothermal Au–Cu deposits in Catanduanes Island, where 17 hydrothermal Au–Cu prospects are known to exist. Moreover, just like EB modeling, RF modeling allows analysis of the spatial relationships between known prospects and individual layers of predictor data. Furthermore, RF modeling can handle missing values in predictor data through an RF-based imputation technique whereas in EB modeling, missing values are simply represented by maximum uncertainty. Therefore, the RF algorithm is a potentially useful method for data-driven predictive modeling of mineral prospectivity in regions with few (i.e., <20) occurrences of mineral deposits of the type sought. However, further testing of the method in other regions with few mineral occurrences is warranted to fully determine its usefulness in data-driven predictive modeling of mineral prospectivity.     

Application of array-based waveform cross-correlation techniques to aftershock sequences: the 2003 Lefkada Island,Greece, case

Cross-correlation analysis was applied to events in the 2003 Lefkada Island, Greece, sequence in order to identify clusters of seismicity within the extensive aftershock sequence along a fault zone of approximately 100 km length. Data from the small-aperture TRISAR array, covering the first 2 days of aftershock activity, were used. Array-based waveform correlation has a great advantage over single channel correlation analysis in that the validity of waveform matches with relatively low correlation coefficients can be examined by checking the alignment of correlation traces on the different channels. The length of the fault zone leads inevitably to a great diversity in the waveforms, although a small number of clusters of very similar events emerge from the TRISAR data. Events which the correlation analysis had placed within the same cluster were listed in the ISC Bulletin with separations of up to tens of kilometres. This made it necessary to check the validity of the TRISAR clusters by applying the same procedure independently to the three-component stations of the National Seismographic Network of the National Observatory of Athens, located at local to regional distances from the aftershock area. Results suggest that array-based waveform correlation provides a robust tool both for identifying event clusters within large aftershock areas and for identifying situations in which bulletin event location estimates need re-evaluation.     

Strain analysis and stratigraphic status of Nongkhya,Sumer and Mawmaram conglomerates of Shillong basin,Meghalaya, India

Shillong basin, one of the Purana basins of the Indian peninsula is situated in the central and eastern parts of the Shillong plateau of NE India. Metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks of the basin are of Mesoproterozoic age and lithostratigraphically belong to Shillong Group (erstwhile Shillong series) comprising Lower Metapelitic Formation (LMF) and Upper Quartzitic Formation (UQF). A long, persistent, faulted and tectonically attenuated conglomerate known as Nongkhya-Sumer-Mawmaram-conglomerate separates these two formations. In the present work, quantitative strain analyses of the pebbles of Sumer, Nongkhya and Mawmaram conglomerates of Ri-Bhoi and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya are carried out using manual and computerized programmes. Eight different techniques for intrapebble, interpebble and bulk rock strain estimation are applied and results are compared systematically. Sumer and Mawmaram conglomerates bear the testimony of broadly flattening type of deformation (0 < k < 1) while Nongkhya conglomerate shows constriction type (1 < k < α). The change in strain ellipsoid shape from Nongkhya to Mawmaram area is accompanied by a change of fabric from S < L to L < S tectonites. Affinity of rotational strain is more in Nongkhya conglomerate as compared to Sumer and Mawmaram conglomerates. The compactness of pebbles is high in case of Nongkhya conglomerate and low to moderate in Sumer and Mawmaram conglomerates indicating high strain in Nongkhya conglomerate (northeastern part of Shillong basin) relative to Sumer and Mawmaram conglomerates (southwestern part of Shillong basin). Thus strain magnitude increases from SW to NE direction of the Shillong basin.     

Magnetotelluric sounding results in eastern Tibetan Plateau

The results of Zayü-Qingshuihe MT sounding profile carried out in eastern Tibetan Plateau are presented in this paper. Using 2-D RRI method, the resistivity distribution with depth is obtained along the profile. It is featured by the resistivity zones in the horizontal direction and layers in the vertical direction. The Bangong-Nujiang suture zone and Jinshajiang suture zone are both important electrical conductivity-separating zones in the plateau, and the former is a zone with relatively low resistivity while the latter is an electrical conductivity gradient zone. The highly electrical conductive bodies in the mid and lower crust of northern Qiangtang and Bayan Har Terrain might be caused by regional melting due to shear heating during the process of subduction in tectonic evolution.     

Nonlinear coupled analysis of a single point mooring system

Coupled effects on a single point mooring(SPM) system subjected to the combined action of wind,waves and current are studied in this paper. Due to the complicatedness of the sea state and the huge size of the vessel,physical experimental study is both time consuming and uneconomical,whereas the numerical study is cost-effective and DNV software provides powerful SESAM software in solving the issues. This paper focuses on the modeling process of the SPM system,catenary equilibrium calculation,static analysis of the vessel in three different scenarios,and dynamic response simulation of the SPM system under environmental excitations. The three scenarios in study are as follows:the SPM is under the combined function of(a) wind,waves and current,(b) wind and waves,(c) current and waves. They are so set that one can compare the contributions of different types of loads in both static and dynamic studies. Numerical study shows that wind and current are the two major factors contributing to the mooring line tension,and surge and sway are the two dominant motions of the moored vessel subjected to environmental excitations.