A Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment for Western Australia

The occurrence of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December, 2004 has raised concern about the difficulty in determining appropriate tsunami mitigation measures in Australia, due to the lack of information on the tsunami threat. A first step in the development of such measures is a tsunami hazard assessment, which gives an indication of which areas of coastline are most likely to experience tsunamis, and how likely such events are. Here we present the results of a probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment for Western Australia (WA). Compared to other parts of Australia, the WA coastline experiences a relatively high frequency of tsunami occurrence. This hazard is due to earthquakes along the Sunda Arc, south of Indonesia. Our work shows that large earthquakes offshore of Java and Sumba are likely to be a greater threat to WA than those offshore of Sumatra or elsewhere in Indonesia. A magnitude 9 earthquake offshore of the Indonesian islands of Java or Sumba has the potential to significantly impact a large part of the West Australian coastline. The level of hazard varies along the coast, but is highest along the coast from Carnarvon to Dampier. Tsunamis generated by other sources (e.g., large intra-plate events, volcanoes, landslides and asteroids) were not considered in this study.     

Patterns of Seismicity Associated with USGS Identified Areas of Potentially Induced Seismicity

A systematic review across U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified potentially induced seismic locations was conducted to discover seismic distance patterns and trends over time away from injection disposal wells. Previous research indicates a 10 km (6 miles) average where the majority of induced seismicity is expected to occur within individual locations, with some areas reporting a larger radius of 35 km (22 miles) to over 70 km (43 miles). This research analyzed earthquake occurrences within nine USGS locations where specified wells were identified as contributors to induced seismicity to determine distance patterns from disposal wells or outward seismic migration over time using established principles of hydrogeology. Results indicate a radius of 31.6 km (20 miles) where 90% of felt earthquakes occur among locations, with the closest proximal felt seismic events, on average, occurring 3 km (1.9 miles) away from injection disposal wells. The results of this research found distance trends across multiple locations of potentially induced seismicity.     

Automated co-registration and calibration in SfM photogrammetry for landslide change detection

Landslides represent hazardous phenomena, often with significant implications. Monitoring landslides with time-series surface observations can indicate surface failure. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) employing compact digital cameras, in conjunction with structure-from-motion (SfM) and multi-view stereo (MVS) image processing approaches, have become commonplace in the geoscience research community. These methods offer relatively low-cost, flexible solutions for many geomorphological monitoring applications. However, conventionally ground control points (GCPs) are required for registration purposes, the provision of which is often expensive, difficult or even impracticable in hazardous and inaccessible terrain. In an attempt to overcome the reliance on GCPs, this paper reports research that has developed a morphology-based strategy to co-register multi-temporal UAV-derived products. It applies the attribute of curvature in combination with the scale-invariant feature transform algorithm, to generate time-invariant curvature features, which serve as pseudo-GCPs. Openness, a surface morphological digital elevation model derivative, is applied to identify relatively stable ground regions from which pseudo-GCPs are selected. A sensitivity threshold quantifies the minimum detectable change alongside unresolved biases and misalignment errors. The approach is evaluated at two study sites in the UK, first at Sandford with artificially induced surface change, and second at an active landslide at Hollin Hill, with multi-epoch SfM-MVS products derived from a consumer-grade UAV. Elevation changes and annual displacement rates at dm-level are estimated, with optimal results achieved over winter periods. The morphology-based co-registration strategy resulted in relative error ratios (i.e. mean error divided by average flying height) in the range 1:800–2500, comparable with those reported by similar studies conducted with UAVs augmented with real time kinematic (RTK)-Global Navigation Satellite Systems. Analysis demonstrates the potential of the morphology-based strategy for a semi-automatic, and practical co-registration approach to quantify surface motion. This can ultimately complement geotechnical and geophysical investigations and support the understanding of landslide behaviour, model prediction and construction of measures for mitigating risks. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Arecibo ALFA Array Observations in Search of Lunar Meteoroid-Strike EMPs

Earth, Moon, and Planets - We present the preliminary results of a search for transient Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP) associated with the impact of meteoroids on the lunar surface as observed with...     

The Creston,California, meteorite fall and the origin of L chondrites

It has been proposed that all L chondrites resulted from an ongoing collisional cascade of fragments that originated from the formation of the ~500 Ma old asteroid family Gefion, located near the 5:2 mean‐motion resonance with Jupiter in the middle Main Belt. If so, L chondrite pre‐atmospheric orbits should be distributed as expected for that source region. Here, we present contradictory results from the orbit and collisional history of the October 24, 2015, L6 ordinary chondrite fall at Creston, CA (here reclassified to L5/6). Creston's short 1.30 ± 0.02 AU semimajor axis orbit would imply a long dynamical evolution if it originated from the middle Main Belt. Indeed, Creston has a high cosmic ray exposure age of 40–50 Ma. However, Creston's small meteoroid size and low 4.23 ± 0.07° inclination indicate a short dynamical lifetime against collisions. This suggests, instead, that Creston originated most likely in the inner asteroid belt and was delivered via the ν₆ resonance. The U‐Pb systematics of Creston apatite reveals a Pb‐Pb age of 4,497.1 ± 3.7 Ma, and an upper intercept U‐Pb age of 4,496.7 ± 5.8 Ma (2σ), circa 70 Ma after formation of CAI, as found for other L chondrites. The K‐Ar (age ~4.3 Ga) and U,Th‐He (age ~1 Ga) chronometers were not reset at ~500 Ma, while the lower intercept U‐Pb age is poorly defined as 770 ± 320 Ma. So far, the three known L chondrites that impacted on orbits with semimajor axes a <2.0 AU all have high (>3 Ga) K‐Ar ages. This argues for a source of some of our L chondrites in the inner Main Belt. Not all L chondrites originate in a continuous population of Gefion family debris stretching across the 3:1 mean‐motion resonance.     

Late Caledonian dyke-swarms in Southern Scotland: New field,petrological and geochemical data for the Wigtown Peninsula,Galloway

Several hundred, dominantly NE-trending dykes invade Silurian flysch sediments of the Wigtown Peninsula. The most basic dykes are K-rich biotite-lamprophyres, hornblende-lamprophyres and appinites ('diorites' of previous maps). More acidic (qz and cm normative) dykes include restricted andesitic compositions ('porphyritcs', c. 57 per cent SiO₂) and a continuum from dacitic to rhyolitic compositions ('acid porphyrites' and 'porphyries', c. 63–71 per cent SiO₂). The relative abundance of basic to intermediate + acidic dykes, based on examination of 180 thin sections and 70 new whole-rock analyses, is approximately 7:1. The biotite- and hornblende-lamprophyres are distinct in chemistry and distribution, biotite-lamprophyres being confined to the south of the Peninsula. Neither type has any compositional equivalent among the plutonic rocks of the area. Porphyrite and porphyry dykes do not represent simple lamprophyre fractionates, but may be derived from at least two (intermediate and acidic) parent magmas, which may represent crustally-contaminated lamprophyre or entirely separate crustal melts. Emplacement of all dyke compositions was apparently episodic through Wenlock to early Devonian times (c. 425-395 Ma). Early dykes post-date the main deformation (D₁) but predate minor (D₂) folding, both D₁ and D₂ being related to thrusting. On the current accretionary model for the Southern Uplands, this implies that dyke emplacement commenced before the end of accretion in a compressional tectonic regime—scarcely consistent with the moderate (up to 6 per cent) crustal extension represented by the dykes. The geochemistry of the lamprophyres requires a deep mantle origin several hundred kilometres behind any subduction zone. This suggests that the 'lapetus suture', at the time of dyke emplacement, was much farther south than its currently inferred position and places the Southern Uplands in a back-arc situation.     

Geology and thermochronometry of the east edge of the Median Batholith (Median Tectonic Zone): a new perspective on Permian to Cretaceous crustal growth of New Zealand

Abstract We report new field, petrological and isotopic data and interpretations from one of New Zealand’s major basement geological boundaries, the contact between the east side of the Median Batholith (formerly Median Tectonic Zone) and the allochthonous Mesozoic terranes of the Eastern Province. In the Nelson and Hollyford–Eglinton areas this contact is a Cenozoic fault, the Median Tectonic Line of earlier workers. However, in the Longwood Range, unfaulted pre-Cenozoic geological relations are preserved intact. Our new Ar–Ar, U–Pb and isotopic data show that the Median Batholith in the Longwood Range consists of two suites. (i) Eastern, isotopically primitive (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.702 to 0.703; ?_NdT = + 7 to + 8) trondhjemite and gabbroic rocks of Permian age that we believe are part of the intraoceanic Brook Street arc of the Eastern Province. (ii) Western, isotopically more evolved (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.703 to 0.704; ?_NdT = + 3 to + 5) quartz diorites, quartz monzodiorites and rare granites of Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic age that we correlate with a pulse of magmatism elsewhere in the Median Batholith. Field observations in the Longwood Range indicate intrusive, not faulted, contacts between these units and constrain accretion of the Brook Street Terrane to Gondwana to have occurred 230–245 Ma. Intra-batholith shear zones (T ~ 600°C and P ~ 0.2–0.3 GPa) were active at approximately 220 Ma. Modelling of K-feldspar Ar incremental heating ages indicate that most of the Longwood Range had cooled below 175°C by the Middle Jurassic and experienced no subsequent reheating. Significant additional post-accretionary Early Cretaceous and Cenozoic thermotectonic activity in Median Batholith in the Hollyford-Eglinton area is indicated by a new 140 ± 2 Ma U-Pb zircon date on a Largs ignimbrite, as well as by Cenozoic K-feldspar Ar–Ar ages in the Middle Triassic Mistake Diorite.     

Thermodynamics of hydration of Na- and K-clinoptilolite to 300 °C

The hydration state of Na- and K-exchanged clinoptilolite from Castle Creek (Idaho, U.S.A.) has been measured by a pressure titration method to 300 °C and P _H2O<30 bars. The water content of clinoptilolite can be predicted as a function of water activity and temperature with the equation: a _H2O = [exp[[−ΔH _h ^∘/nRT] + [ΔS _h ^∘/nR] − 1/nRT· [W₁ X _h + W₂ X _{h 2}]− ln(X _a/X _h)]]⁻¹ where T is degrees in Kelvin, ΔH _h ^∘ is the standard molal enthalpy of hydration, ΔS _h ^∘ is the entropy of hydration, X _h and X _a are, respectively, the mole fractions of the hydrous and anhydrous components of the solid solution, W ₁ and W ₂ are interaction parameters, n is the maximum number of moles of H₂O per formula unit (based on 12 oxygens), and R is the gas constant. This equation can be used to locate clinoptilolite-H₂O isohydrons in a _H2O-T space below the liquid-vapor equilibrium curve of water. The standard molal Gibbs free energy of hydration is −47.62 ± 5.52 kJ/mol H₂O and −5.40 ± 2.71 kJ/mol H₂O for the Na- and K-clinoptilolite, respectively. These standard-state thermodynamic properties of clinoptilolite hydration are in good agreement with previous data at low H₂O pressures. The experiments indicate that clinoptilolite progressively dehydrates with increasing temperature at pressures along the liquid-vapor equilibrium curve. Kinetic data above 150 °C show that clinoptilolite dehydration and hydration reactions are fast and reversible and that steady-state hydration states are attained in minutes. Received: 19 June 1998 / Revision, accepted 14 December 1998     

Constraints on the mass and abundance of black holes in the Galactic halo: the high-mass limit

We establish constraints on the mass and abundance of black holes in the Galactic halo by determining their impact on globular clusters, which are conventionally considered to be little evolved. Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations and simple evolutionary models, we argue that black holes with masses M _bh≳(1–3)×10⁶ M_⊙ can comprise no more than a fraction f _bh≈0.17 of the total halo density at Galactocentric radius R ≈8 kpc. This bound arises from requiring stability of the cluster mass function. A more restrictive bound may be derived if we demand that the probability of destruction of any given, low-mass M _c≈(2.5–7.5)×10⁴ M_⊙] globular cluster not exceed 50 per cent; this bound is f _bh≲0.025–0.05 at R ≈8 kpc. This constraint improves those based on disc heating and dynamical friction arguments as well as current lensing results. At smaller radius the constraint on f _bh strengthens, while at larger radius an increased fraction of black holes is allowed.