The Pitcairn hotspot in the South Pacific: distribution and composition of submarine volcanic sequences

Multibeam bathymetry and bottom imaging (Simrad EM12D) studies on an area of about 9500 km² were conducted over the Pitcairn hotspot near 25°10′S, 129° 20′W. In addition, 15 dives with the Nautile submersible enabled us to obtain ground-true observations and to sample volcanic structures on the ancient ocean crust of the Farallon Plate at 3500–4300 m depths. More than 100 submarine volcanoes overprint the ancient crust and are divided according to their size into large (>2000 m in height), intermediate (500–2000 m high) and small (<500 m high) edifices. The interpretation of seafloor backscatter imagery accompanied by submersible observations and sampling enabled us to infer that the total volume of submarine lava erupted during hotspot activity is about 5900 km³ within a radius of about 110 km. The most recent volcanic activities occur on both small and large edifices composed of a great variety of lava flows. These flows vary in composition, following a succession from picritic basalt to alkali basalt, trachybasalt, trachy-andesite and to trachyte. Their large range of SiO₂ (48–62%), Na₂O+K₂O (2–11%), Ba (300–1300 ppm), MgO (1–11%), Nb (19–130 ppm), Ni (4–400 ppm) and rare earth elements suggests that crystal–liquid fractionation from basanite and/or picritic melt sources was a major process. The variation in composition between the least evolved basaltic rocks and the other more evolved silicic lava is marked by a difference in their flow morphology (pillow, giant tubes, tabular to blocky flows). The lava composition and field observation indicate that several magmatic pulses giving rise to cyclic eruptions are responsible for the construction of the edifices. The two larger edifices (>2000 m high) show more extensive eruptive events and a wider range in compositional variability than the smaller (<500 m high) ones. Several (five) submersible transects made along the slope of one of the largest edifices (Bounty) enabled us to observe at least nine successive eruptive cycles progressing from pillow and giant tubular basalt to tabular/blocky trachy-andesite and trachyte flows. Pyroclasts and hyaloclastites are often found with these eruptive sequences. The smaller edifices, forming individualized cones, are built mainly of evolved silicic (SiO₂>53%) flows consisting essentially of alternating sequences of trachy-andesite and trachyte. The distribution and composition of the small edifices suggest that they are the result of sub-crustal forceful magma injection and channeling supplied from reservoirs associated with the large volcanoes.     

Thermal Treatment of Eight CVOC Source Zones to Near Nondetect Concentrations

In situ thermal desorption (ISTD) was used for the treatment of eight separate source zones containing chlorinated solvents in a tight loess (silt/clay) above the water table. The source areas were as much as 365 m (1200 feet) apart. A target volume of 38,200 m³ (49,950 cubic yards) of subsurface material to a depth of 9.1 m (30 feet) was treated in a period of 177 days. Energy was delivered through 367 thermal conduction heater borings, and vapors were extracted from 68 vertical vacuum wells. A vapor extraction and capture system, including a surface cover and vertical vacuum wells next to heater borings, provided for effective pneumatic control and capture of the chlorinated volatile organic compound (CVOC) vapors. A central treatment system, based on condensation and granular activated carbon filtration, was used to treat the vapors. Approximately 5675 kg (12,500 pounds) of contaminants was recovered in the extracted vapors. Forty-seven soil samples were used to document remedial performance. Based on these, the concentrations of the target contaminants were reduced to below the target remedial goals in all eight areas, typically with concentrations below 0.01 mg/kg in locations that had had CVOC concentrations higher than 1000 mg/kg. Turn-key costs for the thermal remediation were $3.9 million, and the unit treatment cost, including all utilities, was $103 per cubic meter treated ($79 per cubic yard).     

Assessment of observational networks with the Representer Matrix Spectra method—application to a 3D coastal model of the Bay of Biscay

The development of coastal ocean modeling in the recent years has allowed an improved representation of the associated complex physics. Such models have become more realistic, to the point that they can now be used to design observation networks in coastal areas, with the idea that a “good” network is a network that controls model state error. To test this ability without performing data assimilation, we set up a technique called Representer Matrix Spectra (RMS) technique that combines the model state and observation error covariance matrices into a single scaled representer matrix. Examination of the spectrum and the eigenvectors of that matrix informs us on which model state error modes a network can detect and constrain amidst the observation error background. We applied our technique to a 3D coastal model in the Bay of Biscay, with a focus on mesoscale activity, and tested the performance of various altimetry networks and an in situ array deployment strategy. It appears that a single nadir altimeter is not efficient enough at capturing coastal mesoscale physics, while a wide swath altimeter would do a much better job. Testing various local in situ array configurations confirms that adding a current meter to a vertical temperature measurement array improves the detection of secondary variability modes, while shifting the array higher on the shelf break would obviously enhance the model constraint along the coast. The RMS technique is easily set up and used as a “black box,” but the utility of its results is maximized by previous knowledge of model state error physics. The technique provides both quantitative (eigenvalues) and qualitative (eigenvectors) tools to study and compare various network options. The qualitative approach is essential to discard possibly inconsistent modes.     

地震应急卫星站点常见问题与故障处理

对地震应急卫星通信系统的站点进行了简要介绍,根据日常卫星运行维护工作中的经验,总结了省地震局卫星站点容易出现的故障,提出了通过设备指示灯快速识别设备故障的方法,并对可能出现的常见故障提出了解决方案,对省地震局应急通信现场工程师有一定的参考和实用价值。     

顾及非线性改正的动力学方法反演GRACE时变重力场模型

本文利用解的叠加原理求解了轨道扰动微分方程组,构建了扰动位系数与轨道和星间距变率的观测方程,并分别引入非线性改正项.通过惯性坐标系与运动坐标系的转换求解状态转移方程组,分析了观测方程的低频误差特征,导出了目前常用的消除剩余星间距变率低频误差的五参数或七参数经验公式.此外,根据非惯性力模型误差是分段标定的特点,提出利用三次样条函数来处理低频误差,通过模拟计算表明三次样条函数处理低频误差略优于七参数.最后,处理实际的GRAEC Level-1b数据,解算了2006年1月至2009年12月期间的月时变重力场模型UCAS_Grace01,通过在不同区域进行比较可以得出本文计算的时变重力场模型与国际官方机构精度基本是一致的结论.

     

High-resolution flood hazard mapping based on nonstationary frequency analysis: case study of Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam

Flood modelling inputs used to create flood hazard maps are normally based on the assumption of data stationarity for flood frequency analysis. However, changes in the behaviour of climate systems can lead to nonstationarity in flood series. Here, we develop flood hazard maps for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, under nonstationary conditions using extreme value analysis, a coupled 1D–2D model and high-resolution topographical data derived from LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. Our findings indicate that ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) and PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) influence the magnitude and frequency of extreme rainfall, while global sea-level rise causes nonstationarity in local sea levels, having an impact on flood risk. The detailed flood hazard maps show that areas of high flood potential are located along river banks, with 0.60 km² of the study area being unsafe for people, vehicles and buildings (H5 zone) under a 100-year return period scenario.     

Resistance of a coastal ecosystem to increasing eutrophic conditions: the Bay of Brest (France), a semi-enclosed zone of Western Europe

The Bay of Brest is a semi-enclosed coastal ecosystem receiving high nutrients loading from freshwater inputs. In order to analyse the response of phytoplankton stocks to increasing eutrophic conditions, a survey of the annual cycle of hydrographic properties, nutrients and chlorophyll a concentrations, and carbon uptake rates was performed at four stations in 1993. This database has been compared to earlier measurements performed during several comparable surveys within the last 20 years. As compared to the seventies, a doubled nitrate loading is now entering this ecosystem, which is related to increased agricultural activities on the drainage basins, while the geographical origin of the nitrate input has been modified. As a result of these anthropogenic modifications, summer averaged Si/N stoichiometric balance has decreased during the two last decades but, contrary to what has been observed in other coastal ecosystems, phytoplankton stocks have not increased. Several ecological factors have hindered eutrophication: the high hydrodynamic mixing with adjacent marine waters, caused by the macrotidal regime, induces important nutrients losses, temperature and mostly light limit primary production while Si and P high recycling maintain nitrogen limitation in this ecosystem. Conjunction of these non-anthropogenic factors explains the global stability of phytoplankton stocks.