Morphology and crustal structure of a small transform fault along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: The Atlantis Fracture Zone

The Atlantis Fracture Zone (30° N) is one of the smallest transform faults along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with a spatial offset of 70 km and an age offset of ~ 6 Ma. The morphology of the Atlantis Fracture Zone is typical of that of slow-slipping transforms. The transform valley is 15–20 km wide and 2–4 km deep. The locus of strike-slip deformation is confined to a narrow band a few kilometers wide. Terrain created at the outside corners of the transform is characterized by ridges which curve toward the ridge-transform intersections and depressions which resemble nodal basins. Hooked ridges are not observed on the transform side of the ridge-transform intersections. Results of the three-dimensional inversion of the surface magnetic field over our survey area suggest that accretionary processes are sufficiently organized within 3–4 km of the transform fault to produce lineated magnetic anomalies. The magnetization solution further documents a 15-km, westward relocation of the axis of accretion immediately south of the transform about 0.25 Ma ago. The Atlantis Transform is associated with a band of high mantle Bouguer anomalies, suggesting the presence of high densities in the crust and/or mantle along the transform, or anomalously thin crust beneath the transform. Assuming that all the mantle Bouguer anomalies are due to crustal thickness variations, we calculate that the crust may be 2–3 km thinner than a reference 6-km thickness beneath the transform valley, and 2–3 km thicker beneath the mid-points of the spreading segments which bound the transform. Our results indicate that crustal thinning is not uniform along the strike of the fracture zone. Based on studies of the state of compensation of the transform, we conclude that the depth anomaly associated with the fracture zone valley is not compensated everywhere by thin crust. Instead, the regional relationship between bathymetry and gravity is best explained by compensation with an elastic plate with an effective thickness of ~ 4 km or greater. However, the remaining isostatic anomalies indicate that there are large variations away from this simple model which are likely due to variations in crustal thickness and density near the transform.     

The Effect of an Infaunal Suspension Feeding Bivalve Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) on Benthic Recruitment*

Abstract. Animal-animal interactions are recognized as critical in benthic invertebrate recruitment. The hypothesis tested was that benthic recruitment is more successful in low densities of infaunal suspension feeders than in high densities. Densities of young hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) ranging from 82.5 to 330m^-2 were placed in defaunated boxes of sand. The mean number of species, mean number of individuals, mean wet weight biomass, mean species richness and mean dominance index per sample were calculated per density of hard clams from May to October. The experiment did not support the hypothesis. It was concluded that feeding behaviour of dense populations of M. mercenaria did not preclude successful recruitment of other benthic species.     

Improvements in navigation using SeaBeam crossing errors

Adjustments to satellite constrained navigation are required to match SeaBeam bathymetric data at track crossings due to errors in dead reckoning and inaccuracies in satellite fixes. By shifting one of the SeaBeam swaths involved in a track crossing relative to the other and calculating the sum of the squares of the differences in bathymetry within the area of overlapping coverage, we map a two-dimensional error surface whose minimum corresponds to the best estimate of the correction to navigation required at the crossing point. Estimates of the covariance of this correction are derived from the error surface. We employ the curve fitting technique of Tarantola and Valette (1982) to invert for a smooth correction function to a starting model of the position of the ship as a function of time. This technique incorporates formal errors assigned to dead reckoning, satellite fixes, and the shifts required to match bathymetric swaths at crossing points in a simultaneous inversion for the correction function for all tracks within the study area.In a test of the method in a study area on the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a data set involving two cruises, 30 days of SeaBeam data, and 753 track crossings, we found that crossing SeaBeam swaths can potentially resolve the relative position of the ship on the two tracks to within 30 to 70 m. The inversion procedure yielded a much better constrained navigation function and much improved match of bathymetry. The final model of the navigation fit crossing shifts about as well as satellite data (with respect to their assigned data errors) with the RMS value of the crossing shifts decreasing from 1200 m in the original satellite-constrained navigation to 200 m in the final solution. However, the potential resolution of position using SeaBeam swaths was not fully achieved in the solution because there are systematic bathymetric artifacts in SeaBeam data, multiple local minima in the error surfaces in highly lineated topography, inadequate dead reckoning data, occasional bad satellite fixes, and limitations on the short period corrections allowed in the model.     

东海西湖凹陷反转构造定量研究:来自裂变径迹分析数据的约束

对来自东海陆架盆地西湖凹陷反转构造带上的 5口钻井 (XL1,XL2 ,XH,XY,XT)的 17个样品 (11个磷灰石、6个锆石样品 )进行了系统的裂变径迹年龄测定。样品的地层年代介于渐新世和上新世之间。锆石裂变径迹年龄表明 ,各样品所经历的最大埋藏温度小于 (2 2 5± 2 5 )℃。磷灰石裂变径迹的年龄则比锆石的要复杂。南侧 XT和XY两口井的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄大于相应的地层年龄 ,而北侧的 3口井的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄则小于相应的地层年龄。磷灰石年龄的分布表明西湖凹陷南部第三系地层所经历的最大沉积埋深小于北部 ,反转程度南弱北强。对于裂变径迹年龄小于地层年龄的样品 ,对地层剥蚀量进行了初步的估算     

High resolution velocity analysis of ocean bottom seismometer data by theτ-p method

A method of high resolution seismic velocity analysis for ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) records is applied to the study of the shallow oceanic crust, especially sedimentary and basement layers. This method is based on the direct-p mapping and the-sum inversion. We use data obtained from a 1989 airgun-OBS experiment in the northern Yamato Basin, Japan Sea and derive P- and S-wave velocity functions that can be compared with the seismic reflection profiles. Using split-spread profile records, we obtain interface dips and true interval velocities from the OBS data. These results show good agreement with the reflection profile records, the acoustic velocities of core samples, and sonic log profiles. We also present a method for estimating errors in the derived velocity functions by calculating covariance of the derived layers' thicknesses. The estimated depth errors are about 150 m at shallow depths, which is close to the seismic wavelength used. The high resolution of this method relies on accurate determination of shot positions by GPS, spatially dense seismic observations, and the use of unsaturated reflected waves arriving after the direct water wave that are observed on low-gain component records.     

Studies on filtration rate in four species of suspension feeding bivalves

The filtration rates of four kinds of bivalves that were cultivated dominantly around Xiamen sea area were measured by using a laboratory flowing system. The experimental results were shown below: (1) Filtration rates were measured in the range of 54 - 74.8 ml/ (g·min) among the four bivalves , sequencing descently Saccostrea cucullata > Sinonovacula constricta > Mytilus viridis > Rudi-tapes philippinarum. (2) The relationship between filtration rates on individual size showed a negative exponential function (FR = aW~b, FR' = aW~(b-1)), with b - 1 =- 0.435 6 and -0.392. (3) Filtration rates on Skeletonema costatum were much higher than on Alexandrium tamarensis and Scripp-silla trochoidea inS. cucullata and R. philippinarum. (4)FR'on algal densities was also shown a negative function (FR' = aD~(b-1)), with b -1 =- 0.143 and -0.215 2 in S. cucullata and R. philippinarum , respectively.     

变速成图方法及应用研究

研究了地震速度和变速成图传统方法中影响成图精度的主要因素 ,指出了传统方法中造成误差较大、准确性较低的原因。从解决传统方法中存在的问题入手 ,提出了相应的速度场建立和变速成图方法 :通过提高叠加速度分辨率 ,利用模型层析法或模型反演法实现叠加速度到层速度的转换 ,建立空间速度场 ,速度校正和时深转换。实际资料应用表明 ,该方法提高了速度场建立和变速成图精度 ,解决了山前高陡构造以及低幅度构造地区的变速成图问题。     

海水藻类和悬浮物浓度测量仪应用研究

本文主要针对用于赤监测的一种光谱测仪器－海水灌类和悬浮物浓度测度仪，介绍相关的设计原理与相关的识别算法。     

直立椭圆柱体重力场的谱分析及其应用

利用傅里叶积分变换法导出了埋藏的直立椭圆柱体的重力场在频率域中的解析公式，依此得了确定此直立椭圆柱体尺寸的公式，提出依据这些重力公式来计算侵入大洋地壳中的地幔柱的尺寸和洋壳厚度的方法。     

海洋声学测温及声层析法

海洋声层析法作为检测海洋内部变化一有力手段，正面临着海洋声学大尺度观测新挑战。本文就海洋声传播的绝热近似；声传播时间的非线性偏移；声速剖面的线性及非线性反演等与声学大尺度观测相关的一些水声学问题的发展现状及存在问题等进行了综述性论述。文中还介绍了赫德岛预演实验等利用声层析法观测海洋内部变化的一些具体应用例