Review: The Yucat��n Peninsula karst aquifer, Mexico

The Yucatán Peninsula karst aquifer is one of the most extensive and spectacular karst aquifer systems on the planet. This transboundary aquifer system extends over an area of approximately 165,000? km² in México, Guatemala and Belize. The Triassic to Holocene Yucatán limestone platform is located in the vicinity of the North American/Caribbean plate boundary and has been reshaped by a series of tectonic events over its long geologic history. At the end of the Cretaceous period, the Yucatán Peninsula was hit by a large asteroid, which formed the Chicxulub impact crater. The Yucatán Peninsula karst aquifer hosts large amounts of groundwater resources which maintain highly diverse groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Large parts of the aquifer are affected by seawater intrusion. Anthropogenic pollution of the aquifer has been increasing over the past few decades, owing to relentless economic development and population growth on the Peninsula. This review summarizes the state of knowledge on the Yucatán Peninsula karst aquifer and outlines the main challenges for hydrologic research and practical groundwater-resources management on the Peninsula.     

Relationship between Magmatic,Metamorphic, and Hydrothermal Processes within the Baikal–Muya Terrane (Eastern Siberia): Constraints from High-Precision Geochronological Study of the Kedrovskii Granitoid Massif

Doklady Earth Sciences - High-precision dating of granitoids is of key significance for age identification of the main stages of crust formation in various blocks of the continental crust. Here we...     

昔日全球环境变化的自然磁记录

沉积物的岩石磁学参量反映了它在海洋及大陆范围内沉积时的古环境及古气候条件.尽管对这种现象的认识还不彻底,但人们对于那些导致磁性增强或减弱的作用已有了很好的了解.这些作用包括可变的陆源物质沉积通量,铁磁性矿物在原地的有机及无机形成,以及这些矿物成岩过程中的分解.至少在过去的700万年间,在大量的沉积记录中观察到了磁性矿物集合体的周期性出现,这些周期性出现涉及到了标准的米兰柯维奇理论的轨道频率,证实了岩石磁学同过去全球变化间的关系.但是,磁信号的定量解译仍然处在幼年期,并且受到了信号形成过程中复杂的相互作用的干扰.     

Polystyrene spherules in the Bristol Channel

Small polystyrene beads are becoming a common component of the plankton in certain areas. They are derived from the effluents of polystyrene manufacturers.     

Mesozoic magnetic lineations in the Mozambique Basin

East-west-trending Mesozoic magnetic anomalies M2 through M22 have been identified in the northern Mozambique Basin. These anomalies are best matched by sea floor created at 50°S trending N120°E and spreading at a rate of around 1.5 cm/yr. The northward increase in age inferred from the identifications of these anomalies are compatible with observed decrease in the “reliable” heat flow values from 1.4 to 1.1 μcal/cm² s to the north in the basin. The anomalies terminate in the southern part of the Mozambique Channel against a magnetic quiet zone to the north. Both the Mozambique Basin anomalies and those recently observed off Antarctica are strong evidence in favour of a Gondwanaland reconstruction that places Dronning Maud Land against southern Mozambique, and a late Jurassic or older separation between Africa and Antarctica.     

The Ms = 6.2, June 15, 1995 Aigion earthquake (Greece): evidence for low angle normal faulting in the Corinth rift

We present the results of a multidisciplinary study of the M_s = 6.2, 1995, June 15, Aigion earthquake (Gulf of Corinth, Greece). In order to constrain the rupture geometry, we used all available data from seismology (local, regional and teleseismic records of the mainshock and of aftershocks), geodesy (GPS and SAR interferometry), and tectonics. Part of these data were obtained during a postseismic field study consisting of the surveying of 24 GPS points, the temporary installation of 20 digital seismometers, and a detailed field investigation for surface fault break. The Aigion fault was the only fault onland which showed detectable breaks (< 4 cm). We relocated the mainshock hypocenter at 10 km in depth, 38 ° 21.7 N, 22 ° 12.0 E, about 15 km NNE to the damaged city of Aigion. The modeling of teleseismic P and SH waves provides a seismic moment M_o = 3.4 10¹⁸ N.m, a well constrained focal mechanism (strike 277 °, dip 33 °, rake – 77°), at a centroidal depth of 7.2 km, consistent with the NEIC and the revised Harvard determinations. It thus involved almost pure normal faulting in agreement with the tectonics of the Gulf. The horizontal GPS displacements corrected for the opening of the gulf (1.5 cm/year) show a well-resolved 7 cm northward motion above the hypocenter, which eliminates the possibility of a steep, south-dipping fault plane. Fitting the S-wave polarization at SERG, 10 km from the epicenter, with a 33° northward dipping plane implies a hypocentral depth greater than 10 km. The north dipping fault plane provides a poor fit to the GPS data at the southern points when a homogeneous elastic half-space is considered: the best fit geodetic model is obtained for a fault shallower by 2 km, assuming the same dip. We show with a two-dimensional model that this depth difference is probably due to the distorting effect of the shallow, low-rigidity sediments of the gulf and of its edges. The best-fit fault model, with dimensions 9 km E–W and 15 km along dip, and a 0.87 m uniform slip, fits InSAR data covering the time of the earthquake. The fault is located about 10 km east-northeast to the Aigion fault, whose surface breaks thus appears as secondary features. The rupture lasted 4 to 5 s, propagating southward and upward on a fault probably outcropping offshore, near the southern edge of the gulf. In the shallowest 4 km, the slip – if any – has not exceeded about 30 cm. This geometry implies a large directivity effect in Aigion, in agreement with the accelerogram aig which shows a short duration (2 s) and a large amplitude (0.5 g) of the direct S acceleration. This unusual low-angle normal faulting may have been favoured by a low-friction, high pore pressure fault zone, or by a rotation of the stress directions due to the possible dip towards the south of the brittle-ductile transition zone. This fault cannot be responsible for the long term topography of the rift, which is controlled by larger normal faults with larger dip angles, implying either a seldom, or a more recently started activity of such low angle faults in the central part of the rift.     

Seismic stability analysis of reinforced slopes

In this paper, the seismic stability of slopes reinforced with geosynthetics is analysed within the framework of the pseudo-static approach. Calculations are conducted by applying the kinematic theorem of limit analysis. Different failure modes are considered, and for each analytical expressions are derived that enable one to readily calculate the reinforcement force required to prevent failure and the yield acceleration of slopes subjected to earthquake loading. Several results are presented in order to illustrate the influence of seismic forces on slope stability. Moreover, a suitable procedure based on the assessment of earthquake-induced permanent displacement is proposed for the design of reinforced slopes in seismically active areas.