Newly discovered hydrothermal fields along the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge around 63°E

The ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge(SWIR) to the east of the Melville fracture zone is characterized by very low melt supply and intensive tectonic activity. Due to its weak thermal budget and extremely slow spreading rate, the easternmost SWIR was considered to be devoid of hydrothermal activity until the discovery of the inactive Mt. Jourdanne hydrothermal field(27°51′S, 63°56′E) in 1998. During the COMRA DY115-20 cruise in2009, two additional hydrothermal fields(i.e., the Tiancheng(27°51′S, 63°55′E) and Tianzuo(27°57′S, 63°32′E)fields) were discovered. Further detailed investigations of these two hydrothermal sites were conducted by Chinese manned submersible Jiaolong in 2014–2015. The Tiancheng filed can be characterized as a lowtemperature(up to 13.2°C) diffuse flow hydrothermal field, and is hosted by fractured basalts with hydrothermal fauna widespread on the seafloor. The Tianzuo hydrothermal field is an inactive sulfide field, which is hosted by ultramafic rocks and controlled by detachment fault. The discovery of the three hydrothermal fields around Segment #11 which receives more melt than the regional average, provided evidence for local enhanced magmatism providing heat source to drive hydrothermal circulation. We further imply that hydrothermal activity and sulfide deposits may be rather promising along the easternmost SWIR.     

The influence of tropical Indian Ocean warming on the Southern Hemispheric stratospheric polar vortex

During the past decades, concurrent with global warming, most of global oceans, particularly the tropical Indian Ocean, have become warmer. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemispheric stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) exhibits a deepening trend. Although previous modeling studies reveal that radiative cooling effect of ozone depletion plays a dominant role in causing the deepening of SPV, the simulated ozone-depletion-induced SPV deepening is stronger than the observed. This suggests that there must be other factors canceling a fraction of the influence of the ozone depletion. Whether the tropical Indian Ocean warming (IOW) is such a factor is unclear. This issue is addressed by conducting ensemble atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments. And one idealized IOW with the amplitude as the observed is prescribed to force four AGCMs. The results show that the IOW tends to warm the southern polar stratosphere, and thus weakens SPV in austral spring to summer. Hence, it offsets a fraction of the effect of the ozone depletion. This implies that global warming will favor ozone recovery, since a warmer southern polar stratosphere is un-beneficial for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), which is a key factor to ozone depletion chemical reactions. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40775053 and 90711004), National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB421401), and Innovation Key Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos. KZCXZ-YW-Q11-03, KZCZ2-YW-Q03-08)     

Experimental and numerical investigation of local scour around a submerged vertical circular cylinder in steady currents

Local scour around a submerged vertical circular cylinder in steady currents was studied both experimentally and numerically. The physical experiments were conducted for two different cylinder diameters with a range of cylinder height-to-diameter ratios. Transient scour depth at the stagnation point (upstream edge) of the cylinder was measured using the so-called conductivity scour probes. Three-dimensional (3D) seabed topography around each model cylinder was measured using a laser profiler. The effect of the height-to-diameter ratio on the scour depth was investigated. The experimental results show that the scour depth at the stagnation point is independent on cylinder height-to-diameter ratio when the later is smaller than 2. The increase rate of equilibrium scour depth with cylinder height increases with an increase in Shields parameter.     

Crust and upper mantle heterogeneities in the southwest Pacific from surface wave phase velocity analysis

Direct earthquake-to-station Rayleigh and Love wave data observed on high gain broadband records are analyzed in order to improve the lateral resolution of the uppermost mantle in the southwest Pacific region. We used data of nine permanent Geoscope and Iris stations located in the southern hemisphere and nine other stations as part of two temporary networks, the first one installed in New Caledonia and Vanuatu (hereafter named Cavascope network) by ORSTOM and the EOST from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg (France) and the second one installed in the Fiji, Tonga and Niue islands (hereafter named Spase network) by Washington University in St. Louis (USA). In order to collect more significant details on the surficial structures, we included the analysis of short period waves down to 8 s. A multiple frequency filtering technique has been used to recover phase velocities of Rayleigh and Love waves for selected earthquakes with magnitude greater than 5.5 and with known centroid moment tensor (CMT). About 1100 well-distributed seismograms have been processed in the period range 8–100 s and corrections for topography and water depth have been applied to the observed phase velocities. The geographical distribution of phase velocity anomalies have then been computed using the tomographic method developed by Montagner [Montagner, J.P., 1986a. Regional three-dimensional structures using long-period surface waves. Ann. Geophys. 4 (B3), 283–294]. Due to a poor knowledge of dense, well-distributed, crustal thickness values and corresponding velocity models, we did not perform or speculate on the construction of an S-wave 3D velocity model; therefore, we limited this study to the interpretation of the phase velocity distribution. The location of phase velocity anomalies are well determined and the deviations are discussed within the framework of the geological context and compared with other tomographic models. At long periods, from 40 s to 100 s, our results agree well with most of previous studies: the tomographic imaging shows a large contrast between low and high phase velocities along the Solomon, New Hebrides and Fiji–Tonga trenches. The lowest phase velocity anomalies are distributed beneath northern and southern Fiji basins and the Lau basin (corresponding to the volume situated just above the dipping slabs), whereas the highest values are displayed beneath the Pacific plate and the eastern part of Indian plate downgoing under the North Fiji basin. At shorter periods, our results show that the phase velocity distributions are well correlated with the large structural crustal domains. The use of local temporary broadband stations in the central part of the studied area gives us the opportunity to observe surface waves showing well-dispersed trains, allowing extended velocity measurements down to 8 s although aliasing due to multipaths become important. The continental regions (Eastern Australia, New Guinea, Fiji islands and New Zealand) show low velocities which are likely due to thick continental crust, whereas the Tasmanian, D'Entrecasteaux, and the Northern and Southern Fiji basins are characterized by higher velocities suggesting thinner oceanic crust. Additional analysis including the anisotropic case and S-wave velocity inversion with depth is in progress.     

ON THE ORIGIN AGE OF THE SOUTHWEST BASIN IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

TheSouthChinaSea(SCS)islocatalinthejunCti0noftheEurasian,PacificandIndodeustralianPlates,andisoneofthebiggestrnarginalseasinthewesternPadfic~n.Uyeda(l977)regardedtheSCS'soriginasoneofthebasicprobboincompletelyre-solvedbytheTheoryofPlateTeCtoniesrv).Heaskedfl.Whydoesanarcriseup(theoriginofarcmountains)?2.Whyisthestressinthebackurcbasinregionextensional(theoriginofbackurcbasin)?3.Whyisthernantleintheinnerurcbelthot(theoriginofvohanismandhighgcothermalflow)?Therewermanyviewnointsontheori…     

华夏陆块闽西南坳陷二叠系含有机质页岩组成及赋气孔隙特征

华夏陆块从早古生代以来,经历了多期推覆与伸展构造的叠加。文中对华夏陆块闽西南仙亭、曲斗等地区/矿区附近及井下所采集的含有机质页岩样品进行实验测试,分析了有机质参数、矿物组成及赋气孔隙参数,将对中国华夏陆块闽西南二叠系页岩的储层特征研究及页岩气勘探前景预测提供理论依据。研究结果表明：(1)采用TOC残余碳分析实验、荧光显微镜及显微镜光度计实验等,认为闽西南二叠系页岩含碳量中等,为0.15%~2.71%;有机质成熟度高,为3.51%~4.33%。(2)储层矿物组成方面,利用X射线衍射实验进行全岩分析,结果显示黏土矿物占38.2%~49.6%,含量较高,主要为伊利石,含少量的绿泥石、蒙皂石;常见非黏土矿物主要为石英,均占45%以上;钾长石和斜长石含量较少,占1%~2.3%。(3)储层孔渗性方面：有效孔隙度为0.3%~11.4%,渗透率为(0.006 5~0.987)×10-3μm2;利用低温液氮吸附实验等对纳米级孔隙进行分析,认为部分小孔(2~50 nm)的孔容、比表面积较大,其次为微孔(小于2 nm)和大孔(大于50 nm)。此外,累计比表面积和累计孔容呈现出较好的正相关性,纳米孔隙累计比表面积、累计孔容与孔径之间的关系表明,闽西南二叠系页岩气主要赋存于微孔和小于10 nm的小孔中。依照页岩储层评价标准,闽西南二叠系海陆交互相页岩在有机质丰富、有机质成熟度、页岩厚度、矿物组成、孔隙结构等方面符合页岩气开发最低标准,具有勘探开发前景。     

夏季黔东南州局地暴雨与西太副高环流的关系

通过对黔东南州1996-2005年夏季发生局地暴雨的主要影响系统、各种物理量场的特征、地形等的综合分析,得出9次局地暴雨都与西太平洋副热带高压位置变化密切相关,西太平洋副热带高压外围的SW气流均增强为急流,并输送大量水汽和不稳定能量,而且特别有利的地形的强化作用,造成黔东南暴雨的落区不同.根据暴雨的不同落区,将其归纳为四种类型,即西部型暴雨、南部型暴雨、中部型暴雨、东部型暴雨.但中、南部型暴雨还有中低层低涡切变线配合产生.     

南支气流对高原低涡移出高原影响的数值试验

本文在对2000年以来移出青藏高原后活动时间长的高原低涡活动过程,进行对流层中层南支气流对高原低涡移出高原的影响的观测事实分析基础上,通过对2001年6月1~5日索县低涡移出高原活动的数值模拟和试验分析,得出了在高原低涡以南的南支气流减弱或者是没有南风或者是没有南风脉动的影响,会使低涡移出高原的速度减慢,移出高原12小时后减弱消失。低涡以南的南支气流起到了向低涡区输送水汽通量、正涡度平流的作用,提供利于低涡活动持续的条件。从而丰富了高原低涡东移的认识,为高原低涡洪涝暴雨的预报提供了科学依据。     

红河断裂带两侧地块地震震源参数研究

利用云南区域数字地震遥测台网资料,采用Brune圆位错模型对1998年12月至2006年8月云南境内M≥3地震和越南北部M>2地震测算震源参数。结果表明,红河断裂两侧活动块体的地震活动和震源参数存在较为明显的差异。就地震矩与震级的标度关系而言,滇西南块体与美国加州圣安德列斯断层和滇西实验场及其周边地区的结果一致,但与华南块体和越南北部地区有差异;从应力降的测算结果看,华南块体西缘的云南及越南北部地区的年均值为7.29MPa,滇西南块体为4.48MPa,两块体北部地震的应力降大于南部地区,应力降由北向南逐渐减小;就地震位错年均值而言,华南块体为12.3mm/a,滇西南块体为6.6mm/a。     

Lithostratigraphy and structure of the old red sandstone of the Northern Dingle Peninsula,Co. Kerry,Southwest Ireland

The lower part of the Old Red Sandstone in the Dingle Penisula has been previously assigned to one lithostratigraphic group (Dingle Group) despite marked variations in sedimentary facies. However the apparently oldest non-marine sequence in the northwest of the peninsula has sedimentary and lithological attributes that contrast strongly with those of the late Silurian-early Devonian Dingle Group to the south. This northern sequence, here renamed the Smerwick Group, evolved independently of the Dingle Group in a separate basin of deposition. Field relationships between the two groups in the north of the peninsula are interpreted as indicating that the Smerwick Group overlies, with angular unconformity, a normal Dingle Group succession. Similarly, it is argued that the Smerwick Group overlies, with angular unconformity, the Dingle Group in the northwest of the peninsula, but there the Dingle Group is attenuated, represented only by a conglomerate unit some 10 m thick. In the absence of biostratigraphic evidence the age of the Smerwick Group is poorly constrained. Nevertheless, we propose a tectonic model that suggests that the Smerwick Group evolved within a small extensional half-graben on the northern margin of the Munster Basin. This model accounts for the stratigraphic and structural relationships observed, and implies that the Smerwick Group is of Late Devonian age.