Local geoid determination from airborne vector gravimetry

Methods are illustrated to compute the local geoid using the vertical and horizontal components of the gravity disturbance vector derived from an airborne GPS/inertial navigation system. The data were collected by the University of Calgary in a test area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and consist of multiple parallel tracks and two crossing tracks of accelerometer and gyro measurements, as well as precise GPS positions. Both the boundary-value problem approach (Hotine8pnn8gm/xxlarge8217.gif" alt="rsquo" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">s integral) and the profiling approach (line integral) were applied to compute the disturbing potential at flight altitude. Cross-over adjustments with minimal control were investigated and utilized to remove error biases and trends in the estimated gravity disturbance components. Final estimation of the geoid from the vertical gravity disturbance included downward continuation of the disturbing potential with correction for intervening terrain masses. A comparison of geoid estimates to the Canadian Geoid 2000 (CGG2000) yielded an average standard deviation per track of 14 cm if they were derived from the vertical gravity disturbance (minimally controlled with a cross-over adjustment), and 10 cm if derived from the horizontal components (minimally controlled in part with a simulated cross-over adjustment). Downward continuation improved the estimates slightly by decreasing the average standard deviation by about 0.5 cm. The application of a wave correlation filter to both types of geoid estimates yielded significant improvement by decreasing the average standard deviation per track to 7.6 cm.     

Estimation of the Source Time Function Based on Blind Deconvolution with Gaussian Mixtures

It is demonstrated that the blind deconvolution method is fully capable of recovering the unknown Green8t6lqw68k0p9v5g0/xxlarge8217.gif" alt="rsquo" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">s function and of estimating the source time functions from observed seismic data of small earthquakes. Based on the assumption of the Gaussian-mixture model of the Green8t6lqw68k0p9v5g0/xxlarge8217.gif" alt="rsquo" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">s function, the newly-formulated algorithm is evaluated using synthetic seismic data along with those of the May 8, 1996 Mexico earthquake (M_c = 4.6). Since the estimated results closely match the theoretical input very well, the method is then employed to analyze the source time functions of the July 7, 1995 Pu-Li, Taiwan earthquake (M_L = 5.3). The stations triggered by this event were azimuthally well covered. Using the estimated source time functions, information pertaining to the directivity effect is readily obtained, and the actual fault plane of this event is identified, thus clearly indicating that this method provides a most efficient way to estimate the source time function of a small earthquake.Acknowledgment The authors would like to express their thanks to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and Dr. I. Santamaria8t6lqw68k0p9v5g0/xxlarge8217.gif" alt="rsquo" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">s courteous assistance. They also appreciate the efforts of Drs. H.C. Chiu and R.J. Rau, who provided the seismic data and the fault plane solutions. The National Science Council, Taiwan, has supported this research (NSC 91-2119-M-194-011).     

Epithermal gold veins in a caldera setting: Banská Hodruša, Slovakia

The central zone of the large Miocene 8a/xxlarge352.gif" alt="Scaron" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">tiavnica stratovolcano in the Western Carpathians hosts epithermal Au mineralization of intermediate-sulfidation type, located at deep levels of the historic Rozália base-metal mine at Banská Hodru8a/xxlarge353.gif" alt="scaron" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">a. The Au mineralization occurs as subhorizontal veins at the base of pre-caldera andesites, close to the roof of a subvolcanic granodiorite intrusion. The veins are dismembered by a set of quartz–diorite porphyry sills and displaced by the younger, steeply dipping, Rozália base-metal vein, and parallel structures. The base-metal vein structures are related to resurgent horst uplift in the caldera center. The Au mineralization formed during two stages. Based on fluid inclusion evidence, both stages formed from fluids of low salinity (0–3 wt% NaCl eq.), which underwent extensive boiling at moderate temperatures (280–330°C). Variable pressure conditions (39–95 bars, neglecting the effect of CO₂) indicate continual opening of the system and a transition from suprahydrostatic towards hydrodynamic conditions at shallow depths (~550 m). The fluid inclusions of the Rozália base-metal vein show homogenization temperature peaks at ~285 and 187°C and salinities between 1 and 4 wt% NaCl eq. Precipitation of Au is considered to be the result of prolonged boiling of fluids and associated decrease in Au solubility. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope data for quartz and carbonate from the Au veins show a relatively homogeneous fluid composition (–2.7 to 1.18a/xxlarge8240.gif" alt="permil" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">8a/xxlarge948.gif" alt="delta" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">¹⁸O, –78 to –628a/xxlarge8240.gif" alt="permil" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">8a/xxlarge948.gif" alt="delta" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">D). The combined 8a/xxlarge948.gif" alt="delta" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">¹⁸O_fluid and 8a/xxlarge948.gif" alt="delta" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">D_fluid values suggest a mixed character of fluids, falling between the fields of typical magmatic and meteoric water influenced by 8a/xxlarge948.gif" alt="delta" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">¹⁸O_fluid shift due to fluid–rock isotopic exchange. End stages of open-system boiling and fractionation could have been reached, at least locally. Significantly lower isotopic composition of meteoric fluids associated with Au mineralization compared to those associated with the intrusion-related mineralizations could have resulted from changing paleoclimate and/or analytical problems of extraction of water from fluid inclusions. The proposed genetic model for the Au deposit at Rozália mine highlights the importance of hydrothermal activity during the early stage of caldera collapse. Caldera subsidence established new, convective, fluid-flow paths along marginal caldera faults, which acted as infiltration zones. Major metal precipitation occurred within subhorizontal structures that formed as the result of a collapse-related stress field. A shallow, differentiated magma chamber at the base of the volcano was the likely source of heat and magmatic components for the mineralizing fluids.Editorial handling: S. Nicolescu     

A Late Hauterivian short-lived anoxic event in the Mediterranean Tethys: the ‘Faraoni Event’

A Late Hauterivian interval (127.5 Ma), called the ȁ8;Faraoni Event’, which is characterised by the deposition of deep-marine black shales in the Mediterranean Tethys, is demonstrably of sufficient geological brevity to be qualified as an anoxic event. This event lies within the Pseudothurmannia catulloi ammonite subzone, coincides with the extinction of the calcareous nannofossil species Lithraphidites bollii, and records an increase in a globular planktonic foraminifer. High quantities of marine organic matter were preserved in pelagic successions from northern and central Italy, Switzerland, southeastern France, southern Spain and probably elsewhere in the Mediterranean Tethys and Atlantic Ocean. Carbon-isotope stratigraphy from Tethyan and Atlantic sections shows a minor positive excursion in the uppermost part of the Hauterivian and Lowermost Barremian, suggesting accelerated extraction of organic carbon from the ocean reservoir just after the ȁ8;Faraoni Event’. The duration of this short event is less than 100 ka according to cyclostratigraphy and coincides with a third-order sea-level rise. It is likely that similar forcing mechanisms responsible for global OAEs operated during this short time interval. To cite this article: F. Baudin, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Magnetic field measurements on four yellow supergiants. I

Multiyear high precision measurements of the longitudinal component of the magnetic field (B_e) of four supergiants are reported: 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge946.gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">Aqr (G0 Ib), 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge945.gif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">Aqr (G2 Ib), 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge603.gif" alt="epsiv" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">Gem (G8 Ib), and 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge603.gif" alt="epsiv" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">Peg (K2 Ib). The best measurement accuracy, 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge963.gif" alt="sgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">=0.8 G, was achieved for 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge603.gif" alt="epsiv" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">Peg. A Monte Carlo method was used to test the reliability of the derived measurement errors. The differences between the observational errors and the calculated Monte Carlo errors were 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge8764.gif" alt="sim" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">3.2%. For 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge946.gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">Aqr and 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge945.gif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">Aqr no statistically significant value of the magnetic field was recorded when averaged over a night. For eGem the following overnight average values of the magnetic field were recorded on five nights: 11.1±2.7 G, 9.8±2.5 G, –10.5±3.0 G, 38.1±7.4 G, and 5.3±1.5 G. For 8hp1jk7x73/xxlarge603.gif" alt="epsiv" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">Peg the magnetic field recorded over two nights was –5.3±0.9 G and – 2.7±0.8 G.Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 15–28 (February 2005).     

Seismic Performance of RC Frames Designed to Eurocode 8 or to the Greek Codes 2000

For the first time after the finalisation of the European Norm for seismic design of buildings (Eurocode 8 – EC8),the performance of RC buildings designed with this code is evaluated through systematic nonlinear analyses. Regular 4-, 8- or 12-storey RC frames are designed for a PGA of 0.2 or 0.4 g and to one of the three alternative ductility classes in EC8. As the Eurocodes are meant to replace soon existing national codes, design and performance is also compared to that of similar frames designed with the 2000 Greek national codes. The performance of alternative designs under the life-safety (475 years) and the damage limitation (95 years) earthquakes is evaluated through nonlinear seismic response analyses. The large difference in material quantities and detailing of the alternative designs does not translate into large differences in performance. Design for either Ductility Class High (H) or Medium (M) of EC8 is much more cost-effective than design for Ductility Class Low (L), even in moderate seismicity. It is also much more cost-effective than design to the 2000 Greek national codes.     

On the consistency of the indirect lognormal correction

The indirect lognormal correction is a change-of-support model commonly used in geostatistical applications when dealing with additive variables, for which the upscaling amounts to arithmetic averaging. It was designed as a generalization of the lognormal correction that states the permanence of lognormality, but so far its internal consistency has not been proven in the general case. After a recall of the theoretical conditions that change-of-support models must honor, the concept of conventional income is introduced and used to establish the mathematical consistency of the indirect lognormal correction. However, the suitability of this model is questionable in many situations, in particular when the support effect is important or when the point-support distribution presents a zero effect, is not continuous or not positively skewed.Tel.: +56-2-672-3504, +56-2-678-4498     

CO observations of Southern molecular clouds. Outflows from young stellar objects GRV 8 and GRV 16

¹²CO (1-0) observations of two Southern dark clouds (globules) associated with cometary nebulae GRV 8 (a biconical nebula) and GRV 16 (a conelike nebula) are presented. GRV 8 shows an outflow from the central part of the nebula (where in 2MASS images a star is located, which is perhaps responsible for this outflow); however, both lobes of the outflow are redshifted with a velocity of +1.95 km/s with respect to the molecular cloud. The two opposite redshifted lobes are a rather rare phenomenon that could be explained by the presence of a double star instead of a single one as the engine responsible for the outflow. The two lobes are almost parallel to the axis of symmetry of the biconical nebula. In the case of the conelike nebula GRV 16 we observe a bipolar outflow, where the eastern blueshifted lobe has a velocity of –4 km/s with respect to the molecular cloud, and the western redshifted one has a velocity +2.5 km/s. The outflow has a direction almost coinciding with the axis of symmetry of the conelike nebula. The star associated with the conelike nebula is responsible for this outflow.Published in Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 101–112 (February 2005).     

Spectroscopy of six highly evolved Abell planetary nebulae

We have undertaken visual spectroscopy of the highly evolved planetary nebulae (PNe) A8, A13, A62, A72, A78 and A83 over a wavelength range  4330 < λ < 6830 &#8491;  . This permits us to specify relative line intensities in various sectors of the nebular shells, and to investigate the variation of emission as a function of radius. We determine that the spectrum of the central star of A78 has varied appreciably over a period of 25 yr. There is now evidence for strong P Cygni absorption in the λ4589 and λ5412 transitions of He  ii , implying terminal velocities of the order of   V _∞≅ 3.83 × 10³ km s⁻¹  . We also note that the emission-line profiles of the sources can be used to investigate their intrinsic emission structures. We find that most PNe show appreciable levels of emission throughout their volumes; only one source (A13) possesses a thin-shell structure. Such results are in conformity with evolutionary theory, and probably reflect the consequences of adiabatic cooling in highly evolved outflows.     

L'upwelling de la côte atlantique du Maroc entre 1994 et 1998

The pelagic ecosystem of the Moroccan Atlantic coast is influenced by the spatiotemporal variability of upwelling. The changes in the physicochemical and biological parameters as well as their interrelationship and regrouping by the principal components analysis allowed us to subdivide the Atlantic coast in four active areas: two areas located at the north of Cape Juby (28°N), characterised by a summery activity and two areas located at the south, active permanently, with a variable intensity. To cite this article: A. Makaoui et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).