Pore pressure diffusion and the mechanism of reservoir-induced seismicity

The study of reservoir-induced seismicity offers a controlled setting to understand the physics of the earthquake process. Data from detailed investigations at reservoirs in South Carolina suggested that the mechanism of transmission of stress to hypocentral locations is by a process of diffusion of pore pressure (Pp). These results were compared with available worldwide data. The seismic hydraulic diffusivity, _s , was estimated from various seismological observations, and was found to be a good estimate of the material hydraulic diffusivity, . Application of these results to a dedicated experiment to understand RIS at Monticello Reservoir, S.C., suggested that the diffusing Pp front plays a dual role in the triggering of seismicity. The spatial and temporal pattern of RIS can be explained by the mechanical effect of diffusion of Pp with a characteristic hydraulic diffusivity within an order of magnitude of 5×10⁴ cm²/s, corresponding to permeability values in the millidarcy range. The triggering of seismicity is due to the combined mechanical effect of Pp in reducing the strength and, possibly, the chemical effect in reducing the coefficient of friction between the clays in the pre-existing fractures and the rocks that enclose these fractures.     

Contrasting styles of Archaean crustal evolution in parts of southern West Greenland

Aspects of the crustal evolution of three areas in the Archaean block of southern West Greenland are compared and new Rb and Sr isotope data are presented for one of them (inner Godthåbsfjord). It is concluded that major differences resulted from variations in crustal thickness with the early Archaean Amîtsoq gneisses controlling later events.     

Seasonal variation in standing crop of the seagrassSyringodium filiforme and associated macrophytes in the Northern Indian River,Florida

Seasonal variation in the standing crop of the seagrassSyringodium filiforme and its associated macrophytes was studied in a northern basin of the Indian River, a large mesohaline lagoon in central Florida, near the northern distributional limit ofS. filiforme. The minimum standing crop occurred from February through April and the maximum in September. Two other seagrasses,Halodule wrightii andHalophila engelmannii, together with a drift algal community, occurred in the study quadrat, but were not major components of the macrophytic system. The formation of sizeable sandy patches within Indian River seagrass beds is partially due to the burrowing activities ofLimulus polyphemus. Thermal stresses associated with the northern geographicalS. filiforme range may contribute to this phenomenon by restricting annual production, hence limiting patch regrowth.     

Lunar periods as grouping variables for temporally fixed sampling regimes in a tidally dominated estuary

The complex interaction of a daily temporally fixed sampling design with seasonal, tidal, and diurnal cycles can result in serious aliasing and reduced usefulness of estuarine data. The choice of appropriate sampling windows for data grouping and analysis of tidally influenced data is complex and must take into account both solar and lunar influences and their interactions in order to represent actual estuarine conditions. A fixed modulus for grouping or time-series analysis introduces errors. Grouping data by calendar month can be misleading since calendar months may have as many as three or as few as one spring tide. Daily measurements of salinity and water clarity at a fixed time of day were analyzed to illustrate the effects of aliasing. Although the length of synodical (lunar) months is also variable, a seasonally adjusted grouping variable based on solar and synodical month (MO-DAY), created to partially correct for aliasing, was found to be an efficient way to remove short-term cycles for the identification of long-term trends, episodic events, and spatial patterns.     

Control of Carbonate Sedimentation and Reef Growth in Llandovery Sequences on the Northwestern Margin of the Yangtze Platform, South China

The later Telychian (late Llandovery, Silurian) sea-level highstand was a suitable setting for global carbonate deposition and reef growth in epeiric seas. However, evidence from the northwest margin of Yangtze Platform indicates that small carbonate platforms developed in rapidly-subsiding small basins and were principally controlled by muddy clastic input. In particular, sediments of the Ningqiang Formation, late Telychian, usually more than 2000 m thick, are mostly shales, but eight major units of discontinuous (15 km maximum width) and relatively thin (120 m maximum thickness) reef-bearing carbonates, which developed when the sedimentation rate apparently lessened, occur within a relatively short time interval. This interval is between upper griestonensis to spiralis-grandis graptolite biozones, estimated as a c. 2 Ma duration. More than 30 small- to medium-scale patch reefs occur in several parts of the sequence, but only within the carbonate units. Shelly faunas common throughout the sequence reveal water depth to have been shallow during deposition of the Ningqiang Formation equivalent to BA2–3, which has a depth range from low intertidal to the base of the photic zone. BA3 is interpreted as being no more than 60 m deep (Boucot, 1975), which is above normal wave base, frequently affected by storms (Chen et al., 1996), and is regarded as optimum depth for high diversity of Silurian faunas (Boucot, 1975; Brett, 1991). Thus, the rate of sediment accumulation kept pace with basement subsidence, and was a substantial factor for limiting reef growth. Sharp contacts between carbonate units and shales indicate that carbonate units are constrained by frequent inputs of terrigenous debris, as the major cause for termination of carbonate deposition. Therefore, carbonate platforms, and reefs they contained, formed during times when sediment input to the basin lessened and ended when it increased; present evidence does not allow correlation to modeled dry episodes, and we interpret the control to be principally tectonic. Overall, sedimentation in the region was terminated by the end of Telychian time by tectonic uplift of the Yangtze Platform; the southwestward migration of palaeocoastline shows this progression. Sedimentation ceased until Middle Devonian time. Ludlow marine transgression has been recognized in the offshore area of Ningjiang Bay.     

Linking the Abundance of Estuarine Fish and Crustaceans in Nearshore Waters to Shoreline Hardening and Land Cover

Human alteration of land cover (e.g., urban and agricultural land use) and shoreline hardening (e.g., bulkheading and rip rap revetment) are intensifying due to increasing human populations and sea level rise. Fishes and crustaceans that are ecologically and economically valuable to coastal systems may be affected by these changes, but direct links between these stressors and faunal populations have been elusive at large spatial scales. We examined nearshore abundance patterns of 15 common taxa across gradients of urban and agricultural land cover as well as wetland and hardened shoreline in tributary subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Coastal Bays. We used a comprehensive landscape-scale study design that included 587 sites in 39 subestuaries. Our analyses indicate shoreline hardening has predominantly negative effects on estuarine fauna in water directly adjacent to the hardened shoreline and at the larger system-scale as cumulative hardened shoreline increased in the subestuary. In contrast, abundances of 12 of 15 species increased with the proportion of shoreline comprised of wetlands. Abundances of several species were also significantly related to watershed cropland cover, submerged aquatic vegetation, and total nitrogen, suggesting land-use-mediated effects on prey and refuge habitat. Specifically, abundances of four bottom-oriented species were negatively related to cropland cover, which is correlated with elevated nitrogen and reduced submerged and wetland vegetation in the receiving subestuary. These empirical relationships raise important considerations for conservation and management strategies in coastal environments.     

Petrology and geochemistry of REE-rich Mafé banded iron formations (Bafia group,Cameroon)

Archaean–Paleoproterozoic foliated amphibole-gneisses and migmatites interstratified with amphibolites, pyroxeno-amphibolites and REE-rich banded-iron formations outcrop at Mafé, Ndikinimeki area. The foliation is nearly vertical due to tight folds. Flat-lying quartz-rich mica schists and quartzites, likely of Pan-African age, partly cover the formations. Among the Mafé BIFs, the oxide BIF facies shows white layers of quartz and black layers of magnetite and accessory hematite, whereas the silicate BIF facies is made up of thin discontinuous quartz layers alternating with larger garnet (almandine–spessartine) + chamosite + ilmenite ± Fe-talc layers. REE-rich oxide BIFs compositions are close to the East Pacific Rise (EPR) hydrothermal deposit; silicate BIFs plot midway between EPR and the associated amphibolite, accounting for a contamination by volcanic materials, in addition to the hydrothermal influence during their oceanic deposition. The association of an oceanic setting with alkaline and tholeiitic magmatism is typical of the Algoma-type BIF deposit. The REE-rich BIFs indices recorded at Mafé are interpreted as resulting from an Archaean–Paleoproterozoic mineralization.