Block gliding and rheological deformation in the Southern Sydney basin

Block gliding caused by low frictional resistance or by the deformation of plastic substrates has been well documented from many parts of the world, but neither of these mechanisms explains the widespread gliding of sandstone blocks away from cliffs in the southern Sydney Basin of south‐eastern Australia. The movement of large blocks over declivities from near zero to a maximum of 5°, high frictional resistance and lack of high porewater pressures rule out a simple sliding mechanism and it is unlikely that slender towers of sandstone could have survived seismic vibration sufficient to overcome frictional resistance to gliding. Highly preferential dip control of the direction of gliding and of the development of benches over which the blocks move, together with mounds, similar to pressure ridges, on the benches, indicate that the block gliding is due to the rheological deformation of the underlying rock, even though it is a sandy siltstone lacking readily deformable beds. Estimated rates of deformation are only 11 m/Ma to 270 m/Ma, but are commensurate with the rates of erosional retreat of clifflines estimated from K‐Ar and ¹⁴C chronologies. This phenomenon may be a significant feature of many slowly eroding landscapes, and prompts revision of models of long‐term geomorphological evolution.     

A magnetotelluric profile of the Wind River Thrust, Wyoming

Data from ten magnetotelluric (MT) stations over the Wind River Uplift and adjacent basins are interpreted with constraints from the Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP) seismic reflection data and from gravity data. The MT data reveal the general configuration of the conductive basins and resistive uplifts; low resistivity zones are interpreted as faults which correspond to those visible in the COCORP sections.

The Wind River Thrust Fault is modelled as a conductive zone that can be traced to a depth of at least 20 km, and the crust beneath the Green River Basin is about 40 km thick.

The modelled constant dip of the Wind River Thrust is consistent with a tectonic model of lateral compressive stress.     

High-dispersion spectroscopic observations of Venus near superior conjunction: II. The carbon dioxide band at 7883 Å

Nine plates of the 7883-Å CO₂ band were taken between phase angles 7.2 and 10.7° in 1971. A curve-of-growth analysis of 28 rotational lines in the band indicates an average rotational temperature of 236 ± 8°K; the average slope of the curve of growth was 0.63 ± 0.06. The results for this band are compared to those for the 7820-Å band.     

An improved Venus cloud model

A simple radiative-transfer theory that allows for the change in the absorptions of sulfur and carbon dioxide with depth in the atmosphere of Venus can account simultaneously for (1) the spectral reflectance of Venus; (2) the wavelength dependence of contrast in uv cloud features; (3) the CO₂ line profile; (4) the change in slope of the curve of growth from the 7820- to the 10488-Å CO₂ bands; and (5) the rotational temperature near 246°K found for all CO₂ bands. The model cloud consists of 1-μm sulfuric-acid particles, which are well mixed between about 64 km and the 49-km cloud base found by Veneras 9 and 10, plus an overlapping cloud of much larger sulfur particles that extends down to the 35-km cloud base found by Venera 8. The mixing ratios (by number of molecules) below about 64 km are: H₂O, 2 × 10^?4; H₂SO₄, 10^?5; and sulfur, 10^?4. Although the cloud contains an order of magnitude more sulfur than sulfuric acid, the sulfur particles are an order of magnitude larger, and so have only about 1% of the number density of the acid droplets. The “black-white” radiative-transfer model assumes perfectly conservative scattering above the level (which depends on wavelength) where an absorber becomes “black” due to the local temperature and pressure. So-called homogeneous scattering models are inherently self-contradictory, and are inapplicable to planetary atmospheres; the vertical inhomogeneity is an essential feature that must be modeled correctly. The pressure of CO₂ line formation is about half the pressure in the region where uv markings occur.     

High-dispersion spectroscopic observations of Venus near superior conjunction: I. The carbon dioxide band at 7820 Å

Nine plates of the 7820 Å CO₂ band were taken in 1971. A curve-of-growth analysis of the CO₂ lines indicates a rotational temperature of 241 ± 2°K, with an average slope to the curve of growth of 0.60 ± 0.03. The Venus phase angle ranged from 7.2 to 10.7°. The equivalent widths of the 1971 data fall on a smooth curve fit through the 1969 data for this band; there does not appear to be any discontinuity in the phase curve at small phase angles.     

Fracture characteristics and stress directions in the quaternary sediments of the Ulleung Basin,East Sea: Based on resistivity image log data

Abstract

Geophysical evidence indicating the presence of gas hydrate has been found in the Ulleung Basin, which lies off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula; however, hydrate distribution in the basin is not well understood. Logging-while-drilling data for 13 sites in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, were obtained to investigate the distribution pattern of gas hydrate. Most of the sites yielded log data indicating the presence of gas hydrate. Prominent fractures (both resistive and conductive fractures) were clearly identified on the resistivity borehole images, particularly at seismic chimney sites. Resistive fractures, which contain large amounts of gas hydrate, are prominent in the seismic chimney sites. The strike and dip of each fracture was calculated and displayed on a stereographic plot and rosette diagram. From the fracture orientations on the stereographic plots, the maximum horizontal stress is NW–SE, reflecting the regional stress regime around the Ulleung Basin, although the fracture orientations are broadly distributed, indicating that the fracture pattern is not well-ordered on the rosette diagram. The fracture dips are between 36.46° and 63.66°; the range of dip azimuths is 0.94°–359°, and exhibit little change with depth. The dip azimuths are generally westerly to southwesterly.