Simulation of digital earthquake accelerograms using the inverse discrete Fourier transform

Acceleration time histories of horizontal earthquake ground motion are obtained by inverting the discrete Fourier transform, which is defined by modelling the probability distribution of the Fourier phase differences conditional on the Fourier amplitude. The Fourier amplitude spectrum is modelled as a scaled, lognormal probability density function. Three parameters are necessary to define the Fourier amplitude spectrum. They are the total energy of the accelerogram, the central frequency, and the spectral bandwidth. The Fourier phase differences are simulated conditional on the Fourier amplitudes. The amplitudes are classified into three categories: small, intermediate and large. For each amplitude category, a beta distribution or a combination of a beta distribution and a uniform distribution are defined for the phase differences. Seven parameters are needed to completely define the phase difference distributions: two for each of the three beta distributions, and the weight of the uniform distribution for phase differences corresponding to small Fourier amplitudes. Approximately 300 uniformly processed horizontal ground motion records from recent California earthquakes are used to develop prediction formulas for the model parameters, as well as to validate the simulation model. The moment magnitude of the earthquakes ranges from 5.8 to 7.3. The source to site distance for all the records is less than 100 km. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The fossil Coleoptera of the Two Creeks forest bed,Wisconsin

A 21-kg sample of plant detritus from the Two Creeks forest bed at the junction of Kewaunee and Manitowoc Counties, Wisconsin, has produced a small, but well-preserved fauna of Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera. Among the Coleoptera the majority of Carabidae (ground beetles) indicate moderately moist to fairly dry, open ground conditions with a sparsely vegetated substrate. Another significant beetle group is represented by the Scolytidae (bark beetles) nearly all of which inhabit spruce. The restricted number of Coleoptera species (21) is believed to represent an in situ assemblage and is part of about 50 taxa. Most of the Coleoptera identified to the species level have a transcontinental distribution, with the exception of two carabids which are extreme western forms, and nearly all reside within the boreal forest. The beetles indicate that the mean July temperature at Two Creeks approximately 11,850 yr B.P. was 14° to 16°C.     

Internal gravity waves in a stably stratified boundary layer

Often, a combination of waves and turbulence is present in the stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer. The presence of waves manifest itself in the vertical profiles of variances of fluctuations and in low-frequency contributions to the power spectra. In this paper we study internal waves by means of a linear stability analysis of the mean profiles in a stably stratified boundary layer and compare the results with observed vertical variance profiles of fluctuating wind and temperature along a 200 m mast. The linear stability analysis shows that the observed mean flow is unstable for disturbances in a certain frequency and wavenumber domain. These disturbances are expected to the detectable in the measurements. It is shown that indeed the calculated unstable frequencies are present in the observed spectra. Furthermore, the shape of the measured vertical variance profiles, which increase with height, is explained well by the calculated vertical structure of the amplitude of unstable Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, confirming the contribution of waves to the variances. Because turbulence and waves have quite distinct transport properties, estimates of diffusion from measurements of variances would strongly overestimate this diffusion. Therefore it is important to distinguish between them.     

A model for the irradiative coloration of smoky feldspar and the inhibiting influence of water

Radiation-induced smoky color and associatedelectron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals develop only in potassium feldspar (KAlSi₃O₈) free of structurally bound molecular water. Fluid inclusion water does not influence coloration. The integrated intensity of each of the four bands (11,600, 16,200, 19,100, and 27,200 cm^?1) in the optical absorption spectra are linearly correlated with the doubly-integrated intensity of a broad, asymmetric first derivative atg _eff=2.027 in EPR spectra. In microcline, the EPR pattern is resolved into an asymmetric six-line pattern atg _eff=2.024 and a single derivative atg _eff=2.009 which, based on analogy to alkali-silicate glass, are due respectively to [SiO₄/K⁺]²⁺ and a hole shared between two nonbonding oxygens on Si. We propose that structural water inhibits formation of smoky centers in feldspar by releasing atomic hydrogen during irradiation which destroys centers while diffusing towards a stable site.     

Changes in late Quaternary vegetation and insect communities in southwestern Ontario

The Gage Street site in Kitchener, Ontario, is a peat/marl sequence representing continuous lacustrine sedimentation from the time of deglaciation (ca. 13,000 yr B.P.) through 6900 yr B.P. Insect, pollen, and plant macrofossil remains isolated from the sediments indicate that from ca. 13,000 to 12,500 yr B.P. the region was characterized by parkland-tundra vegetation existing within thermal conditions more analogous to those today of the midboreal forest. The transition from parkland to coniferous forest at ca. 12,500 yr B.P. occurred within a climate that was only gradually warming. By the time of the spruce/pine transition at 10,500 yr B.P., an insect fauna had become established that is typical of southwestern Ontario today. The replacement of this fauna at ca. 8400 yr B.P. by one characteristic of the lowlands of the east-central United States represents the beginning of Hypsithermal conditions in southern Ontario. Vegetation and insects indicate that the climate continued to gradually warm through the mid-Holocene.     

Crustal contamination as an indicator of the extent of early Archaean continental crust: Pb isotopic evidence from the late Archaean gneisses of West Greenland

Ph isotopic analyses are reported for 119 samples of late Archaean (ca. 3000-2800 Myr) calc alkaline orthogneisses and associated anorthosites from southern West Greenland. Over most of the area. $\text{Pb}\text{Pb}$ whole rock isotope systematics indicate derivation of the magmatic precursors of the gneisses and anorthosites from a source region with a typically mantle-type $\text{U}\text{Pb}$ ratio (μ₁ value of 7.5) at. or shortly before, ca. 3000-2800 Myr ago. In contrast, in the Godthaabsfjord region, late Archaean Nûk gneisses and associated anorthosites were emplaced into or through early Archaean (ca. 3700 Myr) Amîtsoq gneisses, and crystallised with variable proportions of two isotopically distinct types of Pb which commenced their respective crustal developments at ca. 3000-2800 Myr and at ca. 3700 Myr ago. Isotopic and other geochemical constraints demonstrate that Nûk gneisses and their temporal equivalents were not produced by reworking or melting of Amîtsoq gneisses. Mixing of early and late Archaean Pb results from contamination of the magmatic precursors of Nûk gneisses and anorthosites (characterised by mantle-type Pb at time of emplacement) with ancient, unradiogenic Pb derived from ca. 3700 Myr-old Amîtsoq-type continental crust invaded by the Nûk magmas. The contaminant is considered to be a trace-element enriched fluid phase released from dehydrating older continental crust during progressive burial and heating by emplacement of calc alkaline magmas in the late Archaean ‘accretion differentiation superevent’. This was followed by mixing of the released fluids with younger Nûk magmas.Pb isotopic compositions of late Archaean gneisses and anorthosites outside the Godthaabsfjord region provide no evidence for the presence of early Archaean Amîtsoq-type continental crust in southern West Greenland in areas more than a few tens of km outside the known outcrop of Amîtsoq gneisses. We suggest that early Archaean crust does not exist at depth in late Archaean areas with undisturbed Pb-isotope systematics, either in Greenland or elsewhere in the North Atlantic craton.Pb-isotope evidence for crust magma interaction, involving selective extraction of certain trace elements by a fluid phase from wall rock and subsequent mixing between magma and contaminant fluid, provides a powerful tool for detection, sub-surface ‘mapping’, and geochronological and geochemical characterisation of deep, ancient continental crust.     

Proper elements: What are they?

The general ideas about the calculation of proper elements are given here, followed by a comparison of the hypotheses and simplifications made in three different theories: YKM theory, composition of the contributions of Yuasa, Kneevi and Milani, W theory corresponding to Williams's work and HLM theory, paper of Lemaitre and Morbidelli, based on Henrard's semi numerical method. Some short numerical comparisons conclude the paper.     

Nile floods recorded in deep Mediterranean sediments

Clastic mud beds rich in continental organic matter are observed recurrently in the Nile deep-sea turbidite system. They formed during flooding periods of the river similar to those that induce sapropel formation and occurred during periods of increased density stratification of the eastern Mediterranean. The very fine-grained flood deposits are intercalated within pelagic sediments, sapropels and Bouma-type turbidites. These flood deposits form by the successive reconcentrations of surface (hypopycnal) plumes by convective sedimentation, which in turn generate a fine-grained low-energy hyperpycnal flow. Sea-level high stands seem also to favor hypopycnal plume formation and increase clastic mud bed formation. Consequently, these muddy clastic beds provide a direct link between deep-marine sedimentary records and continental climatic change through flood frequency and magnitude.     

Contamination of surface waters by mining wastes in the Milluni Valley (Cordillera Real,Bolivia): Mineralogical and hydrological influences

This study is one of very few dealing with mining waste contamination in high altitude, tropical-latitude areas exploited during the last century. Geochemical, mineralogical and hydrological characterizations of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in surface waters and sediments were performed in the Milluni Valley (main reservoir of water supply of La Paz, Bolivia, 4000 m a.s.l.), throughout different seasons during 2002–2004 to identify contamination sources and sinks, and contamination control parameters. PHE concentrations greatly exceeded the World Health Organization water guidelines for human consumption. The very acidic conditions, which resulted from the oxidation of sulfide minerals in mining waste, favoured the enrichment of dissolved PHEs (Cd > Zn ? As ? Cu ∼ Ni > Pb > Sn) in surface waters downstream from the mine. Stream and lake sediments, mining waste and bedrock showed the highest PHE content in the mining area. With the exception of Fe, the PHEs were derived from specific minerals (Fe, pyrite; Zn, Cd, sphalerite, As, Fe, arsenopyrite, Cu, Fe, chalcopyrite, Pb, galena, Sn, cassiterite), but the mining was responsible for PHEs availability. Most of the PHEs were extremely mobile (As > Fe > Pb > Cd > Zn ∼ Cu > Sn) in the mining wastes and the sediments downstream from the mine. pH and oxyhydroxides mainly explained the contrasted availability of Zn (mostly in labile fractions) and As (associated with Fe-oxyhydroxides). Unexpectedly, Pb, Zn, As, and Fe were significantly attenuated by organic matter in acidic lake sediments.