The Evolution of Alpine Ultramafic Rocks and Partial Melting of the Upper Mantle

Ultramafic rocks of Tibet and Xinjiang are the products of partial melting of the upper mantle. The evolution of their mineral composition is marked by two parallel evolutionary series: one is the progressive increase of the 100 Mg/(Mg+Fe~(2+) ratio of silicate minerals in order of lherzolite→harzburgite→dunite, i.e. the increase in magnesium; the other is the increase of the 100 Cr/(Cr+Al) ratio of accessory chrome spinel in the same order, i. e. the increase in Chromium. The above-mentioned evolutionary trends are contrary to that of magmatic differentiation. The evolution of fabrics of ultramafic rocks is characterized by progressive variation in order of protogranular texture→melted residual texture, symplectic texture and clastophyritic texture→equigranular mosaic texture and tabular mosaic texture. Experiments of partial melting of lherzolite have convincingly shown that the evolution of Alpine ultramafic rocks resulted from the partial melting of pyrolite. Various subtypes of them represent different degrees of partial melting. The vertical zoning marked by more basic rocks in the upper part and more acid rocks in the lower actually belongs to the fusion zoning of pyrolite.     

The phase velocities of Rayleigh waves and the lateral variation of lithospheric structure in Tibetan Plateau

According to a Sino-U. S. joint project, eleven broadband digital PASSCAL seismometers had been deployed inside the Tibetan Plateau, of which 7 stations were on the profile from Lhasa to Golmud and other 4 stations situated at Maxin, Yushu, Xigatze and Linzhi. Dispersions and phase velocities of the Rayleigh surface waves (10s–120s) were obtained on five paths distributed in the different blocks of Tibetan Plateau. Inversions of the S-wave velocity structures in Songpan-Ganzi block, Qiang-Tang block, Lhasa block and the faulted rift zone were obtained from the dispersion data. The results show that significant lateral variation of the S-wave velocity structures among the different blocks exists. The path from Wenquan to Xigatze (abbreviated as Wndo-Xiga) passes through the rift-zone of Yadong-Anduo. The phase velocities of Rayleigh waves from 10s to 100s on this path are significantly higher than that on other paths. The calculated mean crustal velocity on this path is 3.8 km/s, much greater than that on other paths, where mean crustal velocities of 3.4–3.5 km/s are usually observed. Low velocity zones with different thicknesses and velocities are observed in the middle-lower crust for different paths. Songpan-Ganzi block, located in the northern part of Tibetan Plateau is characterized by a thinner crust of 65 km thick and a prominent low velocity zone in the upper mantle. The low velocity zone with a velocity of 4.2 km/s is located at a depth form 115 km to 175 km. While in other blocks, no low velocity zone in the upper mantle is observed. The value of Sn in Songpan-Ganzi is calculated to be 4.5 km/s, while those in Qiang-Tang and Lhasa blocks are about 4.6 km/s. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,14, Supp., 566–573, 1992.     

Three-dimensional structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath the south China area from long period surface waves

In the present study the long period surface wave records of 238 wave-paths from 79 earthquakes within China and its adjacent regions received by 30 seismic network stations are measured by using the improved match-filtering frequency-time analysis technique and the grid dispersion inversion method to obtain the rayleigh pure-path dispersion values for 147 slant grids of 4° × 4° in this area, then a three-dimensional shear wave velocity model of the crust and upper mantle beneath south China area to a depth of 170 km is inversed. It is found that there are obvious differences among the main structural units, and there are also certain differences among the subordinate elements even in the individual unit. The crustal thickness of this area is ranging from 30 to 43 km, and is getting thicker gradually from the east to the west. The average shear velocity of crust is ranging form 3.48 to 3.68 km/s with the lowest in the northeast part and highest in the west part. No obvious crustal low velocity layer of large scale is detected. There exist upper mantle low velocity zones in the most of south China area with the starting depth ranging from 75 to 106 km. The lowest shear velocity within the low velocity zones is about 4.28–4.38 km/s. Despite of the existing of upper mantle low velocity zones beneath the most of south China area, the interfaces between the important layers are quite clear, the variation of the bedding surfaces is very gentle, and the lateral changes measured in a larger scale of the underground structure are rather small. It may indicate that the crustal and upper mantle structure of the main part of south China area belongs to the relatively stable structure of the continental blocks except for the fringe areas such as the fold-faulted region in the west part and the fault system along the southeastern coast which may belong to the tectonically active area. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,15, 159–167, 1993. This subject is supported by the National Science Foundation of China.     

流域地理景观的GIS数据三维可视化

应用以"GIS"为核心的空间信息技术,是开展"数字流域"工程建设自然和最佳的选择。结合"清江流域水文水情与洪水演进仿真系统"的具体研制,分析流域地理数据特点及传统GIS在"数字流域"建设中的优缺点,在应用传统GIS二维方式展示形式管理和预处理先期各类基础流域地理空间数据及其相应属性数据的基础上,为满足仿真系统系列三维可视化要求,建立面向流域空间实体对象的数据模型,定义流域地理空间对象数据结构,将流域地理常规的GIS数据以三维形式展示,在实际的系统开发过程中,取得较好的三维可视化效果,并可满足"数字清江"建设各阶段综合处理、分析、评价、决策以及可视化等方面的需求。     

Constraining P-wave velocity variations in the upper mantle beneath Southeast Asia

We have produced a P-wave model of the upper mantle beneath Southeast (SE) Asia from reprocessed short period International Seismological Centre (ISC) P and pP data, short period P data of the Annual Bulletin of Chinese Earthquakes (ABCE), and long period PP-P data. We used 3D sensitivity kernels to combine the datasets, and mantle structure was parameterized with an irregular grid. In the best-sampled region our data resolve structure on scale lengths less than 150 km. The smearing of crustal anomalies to larger depths is reduced by a crustal correction using an a priori 3D model. Our tomographic inversions reveal high-velocity roots beneath the Archean Ordos Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and other continental blocks in SE Asia. Beneath the Himalayan Block we detect high seismic velocities, which we associate with subduction of Indian lithospheric mantle. This structure is visible above the 410 km discontinuity and may not connect to the remnant of the Neo-Tethys oceanic slab in the lower mantle. Our images suggest that only the southwestern part of the Tibetan plateau is underlain by Indian lithosphere and, thus, that the upper mantle beneath northeastern Tibet is primarily of Asian origin. Our imaging also reveals a large-scale high-velocity structure in the transition zone beneath the Yangtze Craton, which could have been produced in multiple subduction episodes. The low P-wave velocities beneath the Hainan Island are most prominent in the upper mantle and transition zone; they may represent counter flow from the surrounding subduction zones, and may not be unrelated to processes beneath eastern Tibet.     

Dynamical Climatology of the Upper Mesosphere, Lower Thermosphere and Ionosphere

The main features of upper atmosphere dynamics as an important part of upper atmosphere climatology are presented. The dynamics of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) are of special interest. The results are based on the long series of investigations in East Siberia and data from a world-wide network of observatories. We present the regional climatic norms for the prevailing wind and semi-diurnal tide and the main features of the quasi-periodic structure of the wind field. The non-zonality of MLT dynamics is demonstrated as well as regional differences in the response of the wind field to stratospheric disturbances, solar activity variations and geomagnetic storms.     

塔巴庙上古生界砂岩储层成岩作用对孔隙结构的影响

通过研究砂岩储层成岩作用对孔隙结构的影响,证实了引起砂岩储层中的低孔、低渗,已为成岩作用的关键因素。早期强烈的机械压实和胶结作用造成砂岩储层原生孔隙不发育,孔喉配位数以0为主,少量可发育1条~2条喉道,孔隙度损失38%~25%。随后的千枚岩岩屑及其它碎屑矿物的溶蚀和蚀变作用,形成了粒间溶孔、粒内微孔、粒内蜂窝状溶孔以及高岭石晶间隙等,此类孔隙半径一般在8μm~20μm,喉道半径在5μm~10μm,平均孔喉比在2~5左右。但其具有数量多,规模大的特点,一般占总孔隙度的70%以上,对各层段砂岩储层储集性能有一定的改善。保留下来的主要是砂岩储层储集空间类型,有极少量的原生粒间孔主要分布在下石盒子组。     

On the origin of oriented rutile needles in garnet from UHP eclogites

Although oriented rutile needles in garnet have been reported from several ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) rocks and considered to be important UHP indicators, their crystallographic features including growth habit and lattice correspondences with garnet host have never been properly characterized. This paper presents a detailed analytical electron microscopic (AEM) study on evenly distributed oriented rutile needles in garnet of two eclogitic rocks from Sulu. Some garnet in one UHP diamondiferous quartzofeldspathic rock from the Saxonian Erzgebirge, and in one high‐pressure (HP) felsic granulite from Bohemia also contain a few unevenly distributed oriented rutile needles. They have also been studied for the purpose of comparison. Despite different distribution patterns, AEM revealed that all rutile needles are oriented along the 〈111〉 directions of garnet with their lateral sides surrounded by the {110} planes of garnet, and that the growth directions of most needles are close to the normal of the {101} planes of rutile. No other specific crystallographic orientation relationships between rutile and garnet host were observed, and there is no pyroxene associated with rutile, as necessitated by the precipitation reaction of rutile in garnet as previously proposed. A simple solid‐state precipitation scenario for the formation of the rutile needles in garnet in these two eclogitic rocks is not justified. Three alternative mechanisms are considered for the formation of oriented rutile needles: (i) the rutile needles may be inherited from precursor minerals; (ii) the rutile needles may be formed by a dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism; and (iii) the rutile needles may be formed by cleaving and healing of garnet with rutile deposition. None of these mechanisms can fully explain the observations, although the first one is less likely and the third one is preferred. This study presents an example where the presence of oriented/aligned inclusions in minerals does not necessarily imply a precipitation origin.     

The earthquake foci and deep structure of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle along the southern Sakhalin-Sea of Okhotsk-Kamchatka profile

The Kuril-Kamchatka seismofocal zone was thought to be a single plate approximately 90 km wide and dipping to a depth of 700 km at an angle of 40°–45°. This concept reflects primarily the physical differences (elastic wave velocities, density, temperature, etc.) between the seismofocal zone and the mantle hosting it. Detailed investigations show that the seismofocal zone proper is also heterogeneous with earthquake hypocenters variably concentrated and clustered within this zone, where both seismogenic and aseismic strata, as well as subvertical zones, can be identified. The latter are reflected in the structure and faults of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle.     

Parameterisation of the Planetary Boundary Layer for Diagnostic Wind Models

The planetary boundary-layer (PBL) parameterization is a key issue for the definition of initial wind flow fields in diagnostic models. However, PBL theories usually treat separately stable, neutral, and convective stability conditions, so that their implementation in diagnostic wind models is not straightforward. In the present paper, an attempt is made to adopt a comprehensive PBL parameterisation, covering stable/neutral and unstable atmospheric conditions, which appears suitable to diagnostic models. This parameterisation is implemented into our diagnostic mass-consistent code. A validation of the consistency between the implemented PBL parameterisations has been checked through an analysis of the sensitivity of the vertical wind profiles to atmospheric stability.