Discussion on the feature of strong earthquake: Orderly distribution in time, space and intensity before the Western Kunlun Mountain Pass M=8.1 earthquake

Introduction The Western Kunlun Mountain Pass M=8.1 earthquake occurred on November 14, 2001 is the other M=8 earthquake occurred 50 years after Dangxiong, Tibet M=8.0 earthquake in Chinese mainland. The earthquake has caused the attention of the seismologists in the following aspects: 1) The fracture length is more than 400 km, which is far away from the estimated length by the statistic empirical function between the magnitude and the fracture length (WANG, et al, 2002); 2) The aftersh…     

Optimal Model for Geoid Determination from Airborne Gravity

Two different approaches for transformation of airborne gravity disturbances, derived from gravity observations at low-elevation flying platforms, into geoidal undulations are formulated, tested and discussed in this contribution. Their mathematical models are based on Green's integral equations. They are in these two approaches defined at two different levels and also applied in a mutually reversed order. While one of these approaches corresponds to the classical method commonly applied in processing of ground gravity data, the other approach represents a new method for processing of gravity data in geoid determination that is unique to airborne gravimetry. Although theoretically equivalent in the continuous sense, both approaches are tested numerically for possible numerical advantages, especially due to the inverse of discretized Fredholm's integral equation of the first kind applied on different data. High-frequency synthetic gravity data burdened by the 2-mGal random noise, that are expected from current airborne gravity systems, are used for numerical testing. The results show that both approaches can deliver for the given data a comparable cm-level accuracy of the geoidal undulations. The new approach has, however, significantly higher computational efficiency. It would be thus recommended for real life geoid computations. Additional errors related to regularization of gravity data and the geoid, and to accuracy of the reference field, that would further deteriorate the quality of estimated geoidal undulations, are not considered in this study.     

盆地岩石圈结构与油气成藏及分布

本文综述了大陆岩石圈研究现状和克拉通盆地、裂谷盆地和前陆盆地的岩石圈结构特征,指出在古裂谷、褶皱带或区域性深断裂等陆壳构造薄弱带上发育起来的多期叠合盆地,具有很好的含油气前景。大型含油气盆地往往存在地幔上隆、地壳减薄和地壳内低速层,盆地基底沉降与盖层沉积厚度较大。适度的后期构造活动改造和岩浆活动有利于沉积盆地内油气生成与保存。     

Separate lead isotope analyses of leachate and residue rock fractions: implications for metal source tracing in ore deposit studies

Separate lead isotope analyses of leachate and residue fractions are applied to a broad spectrum of rocks commonly investigated in metallogenic studies. Resulting data highlight a systematic behavior of leachate and residue fractions with respect to lead isotope compositions, which essentially depends on the mineralogical composition of the rock. Granitoid and high-grade metamorphic rocks have residue compositions virtually identical to common lead. In contrast, low-grade metasedimentary rocks may have residue compositions swamped by radiogenic lead of leach-resistant zircons. Mafic magmatic rocks have residues that are often more radiogenic than leachates, depending on the ratio of leach-refractory zircons to common lead in the residual fraction of these rocks. Separate leachate and residue analyses of source rocks provide two lead isotope end members whose mixture may represent lead with the appropriate ore fluid composition. Our leaching experiments indicate that hot acid solutions (and by inference hydrothermal fluids) preferentially leach radiogenic lead from medium- to high-grade metamorphic and granitoid rocks, whereas they preferentially leach common lead from low-grade metasedimentary and mafic magmatic rocks. The method presented in this study provides a reliable alternative to other methods (i.e., age-correction of bulk-rock compositions) for the determination of the common lead signature of felsic to intermediate magmatic rocks. This may be preferable to age-corrected bulk-rock analyses, where ages to apply for corrections of bulk-rock data are not known or where moderately to highly altered rocks must be used. Case studies of orogenic gold and MVT districts of Peru (Pataz and San Vicente, respectively) show that separate leachate and residue lead isotope analyses carried out systematically on whole rocks allow a more thorough evaluation of metal source reservoirs than does the standard method of age-corrected or uncorrected bulk-rock analyses.     

Predictive GIS-Based Model of Rockfall Activity in Mountain Cliffs

Rockfall susceptibility has been analysed in mountain cliffs of the Cantabrian Range, North Spain. The main aim of this analysis has been to build a predictive model of rockfall activity from a low number of environmental and geological variables. The rockfall activity has been quantified in a GIS. The cartographic information used shows the spatial distribution of all the recent talus screes as well as their associated source areas in the rock-slopes. The area relation At/Ar (recent talus scree polygon/source basins) in the rock slopes has been used as the rockfall activity indicator. This relation has been validated in 50 pilot rock-slopes and compared with the relation number of recent rock fragments/source basin, obtained from field work. The environmental factors causing rockfall depend on the rock slope situation, and these are: altitude and sun radiation on the rock cliff. The geological factors considered are: lithology, relative position of the main discontinuities with respect to the topographic surface and two morphologic parameters: the roughness and slope gradient. A logistic regression analysis has been applied to a population of 442 limestone and quartzite rock cliffs. The dependent variable is the rockfall activity indicator, which allows the definition of two classes of rock cliff units: low and high activity. The independent variables are altitude, sun radiation (equinox radiation, summer solstice radiation, winter solstice radiation), slope roughness, slope gradient,anisotropy and lithology. Results suggest that it is possible tobuild a valid cartographic predictive model for rockfall activity in mountain rock cliffs from a limited number of easily obtainable variables. The method is especially applicable in massive rock slopes or in regions with uniform rock mass characteristics.     

Computational study of tetrahedral Al–Si and octahedral Al–Mg ordering in phengite

 As part of a wider study of the nature and origins of cation order–disorder in micas, a variety of computational techniques have been used to investigate the nature of tetrahedral and octahedral ordering in phengite, K₂ ^[6](Al₃Mg)^[4](Si₇Al)O₂₀(OH)₄. Values of the atomic exchange interaction parameters J _n used to model the energies of order–disorder were calculated. Both tetrahedral Al–Si and octahedral Al–Mg ordering were studied and hence three types of interaction parameter were necessary: for T–T, O–O and T–O interactions (where T denotes tetrahedral sites and O denotes octahedral sites). Values for the T–T and O–O interactions were taken from results on other systems, whilst we calculated new values for the T–O interactions. We have demonstrated that modelling the octahedral and tetrahedral sheets alone and independently produces different results from modelling a whole T–O–T layer, hence justifying the inclusion of the T–O interactions. Simulations of a whole T–O–T layer of phengite indicated the presence of short-range order, but no long-range order was observed. Received: 8 August 2002 / Accepted: 14 February 2003 Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to EPSRC (EJP) and the Royal Society (CIS) for financial support. Monte Carlo simulations were performed on the Mineral Physics Group's Beowulf cluster and the University of Cambridge's High Performance Computing Facility.     

Validation of Landslide Susceptibility Maps; Examples and Applications from a Case Study in Northern Spain

A procedure for validating landslide susceptibility maps wasapplied in a study area in northern Spain and the results obtained compared. Validationwas used to carry out sensitivity analysis for individual variables and combinationsof variables. The validity of different map-making methods was tested, as well as theutility of different types of Favourability Functions. The results obtained show thatvalidation is essential to determine the predictive value of susceptibility maps. Italso helps to better select the most suitable function and significant variables, thus improving the efficiency of the mapping process. Validation based on a temporal strategy makes it possible to derive hazard maps from susceptibility maps.     

Evidence for fullerenes in solid bitumen from pillow lavas of Proterozoic age from Mítov (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic)

Andesitic pillow lavas containing biogenic, solid bitumen (SB) are a constituent of a Neoproterozoic volcanosedimentary sequence (Teplá-Barrandian unit, Bohemian Massif) in the Mítov area of the Czech Republic. A black shale formation that is crosscut by these andesitic basalts is 565 Ma old. Carbon disulfide extracts of two powdered samples of SB contain 0.2 and 0.3 ppm of C₆₀, respectively, as determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The peak assignment based on retention time is fully supported by high-resolution electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS). No C₇₀ was detected, nor was C₆₀ found in two other SB samples from this locality. Other investigated carbonaceous samples from Bohemia (coals and anthracites of Upper Paleozoic age and anthraxolite, graphitoids, and graphite of Upper Proterozoic age) did not contain fullerenes at concentrations above the detection limit of 0.01 ppm. The absence of C₆₀ in these samples was confirmed by EI-MS. The proposed mechanism of fullerene formation involves a primary algal phase, generation of a hydrocarbonaceous mixture in the course of thermal evolution of the sedimentary series, and their high-temperature transformation related to the extrusion of basalt. An important feature for fullerene conservation was the enclosure of fullerenes in SB with a structure similar to glasslike carbon, where the fullerene was protected against oxidation.