Prediction of surface horizontal displacements, and gravity and tilt changes caused by filling the Three Gorges Reservoir

 Horizontal displacements, and gravity and tilt changes induced by filling the Three Gorges Reservoir are modeled using elastic loading Green functions. When the water surface reaches its highest level, the effects become maximum on the reservoir banks. The longitudinal and latitudinal components of the horizontal displacements reach −8.2 and 7.7 mm respectively, gravity is increased by up to 3.4 mGal, and the prime vertical and meridian components of the tilt changes are −7.8 and −17.5 arcseconds respectively. Accordingly, the filling of the reservoir will influence values observed from global positioning system (GPS), gravimetry and tilt measurements in the area. The results given can be used to provide important corrections for extracting earthquake-related signals from observed data. Received: 19 January 2001 / Accepted: 3 September 2001     

Climatically relevant periodicities in the thickness of biogenic carbonate varves in Spooensee, Switzerland (9740-6870 calendar yr BP)

Accurate determination of the thicknesses of 2717 biogenic carbonate varves from a Swiss lake (Soppensee), spanning the period from about 9740 to 6870 calendar yr BP, allowed the computation of a power spectrum using classical FFT methods. The presence of pronounced peaks at 40-50 and 20-25 yr agrees with the results of other studies on varve thickness and D¹⁴C which have been interpreted as indicating an association between solar forcing and varve thickness. The presence in the Soppensee varve series of an additional peak at 10.9 yr, corresponding to the Schwabe sunspot cycle, lends further support to this hypothesis. Because the Soppensee varves are of biogenic rather than clastic origin, any influence fluctuations in solar irradiance may have had on sedimentation rates is likely to have been exerted via primary production.     

Scattering of seismic waves by cracks in multi-layered geological regions: II. Numerical results

The mechanical model for plane strain, time-harmonic seismic wave propagation problems in cracked, multi-layered geological regions with surface topography and non-parallel interfaces was described in the first part of this work. Here, this model is used to investigate the response of such a region to the presence of traveling elastic waves generated by a seismic source. The computational methodology that was developed in the first part is based on a combination of both the regular (displacement-based) and the hypersingular (traction-based) Boundary Integral Equation Method (BIEM). First, the accuracy and convergence characteristics of this hybrid BIEM are studied. Then, a series of problems involving four different configurations of a reference geological deposit with both interface and internal cracks are solved, for a loading that is due to a seismically-induced pressure wave propagating upwards from the underlying rigid half-plane. The purpose of the numerical study is to investigate the influence of various key parameters of the problem, such as frequency and incidence angle of the incoming wave, size of the surface relief, location and size of the buried cracks, interaction effects between cracks and finally the presence of layers, on both the scattered displacement field and the stress concentration field.     

Rotation and dilation deformation mechanisms for auxetic behaviour in the α-cristobalite tetrahedral framework structure

 Analytical expressions are derived for the Poisson's ratios associated with a three-dimensional network of regular, corner-sharing tetrahedra in which: (1) the tetrahedra are assumed to be rigid and free to rotate relative to each other; (2) the tetrahedra are assumed to maintain shape and orientation but are free to change size (dilate); (3) tetrahedral rotation and dilation are assumed to act concurrently. The structure has a primitive unit cell containing four tetrahedra and is analogous to the molecular structure of α-cristobalite. Strain-dependent variations in Poisson's ratio are also predicted by the models. For deformation due to tetrahedral rotation the network is found to exhibit negative Poisson's ratios in each of the three principal directions, with the magnitude of the Poisson's ratio being dependent on the angle of rotation of the tetrahedra. The behaviour of the Poisson's ratio is isotropic in the transverse plane, but anisotropic elsewhere. In the dilation model negative Poisson's ratios equal to −1 are observed for uniaxial loading in any of the principal directions, with the value being constant irrespective of tetrahedral size. The model for concurrent tetrahedral rotation and dilation allows positive as well as negative Poisson's ratios, with the values determined by the framework geometry and relative strengths of the two mechanisms. The concurrent model also offers a design route to materials and structures having ultrahigh Young's moduli. Received: 15 February 2000 / Accepted: 1 October 2000     

体应变观测中的气压干扰机制和排除方法的研究

建立体应变理论气压干扰模型,通过实际观测资料研究了气压对体应变月变和日变的干扰过程,探讨消除干扰的方法,且和水位资料作了对比分析。     

不同温压条件下弹性波在岩石中传播速度的实验研究

对以岩浆岩为主的岩石类型进行了不同温压条件下弹性波传播速度的实验研究，结果表明：（１）岩石的物质组成是决定弹性波传播速度的主要因素。以岩浆岩为例，由酸性到基性波速呈增加趋势；（２）岩石中弹性波的传播速度随环境条件改变而变化。一般说来，随温压条件的升高而升高     

天山造山带及邻区孕震应力场及断裂带活动性特征的数值实验分析

天山造山带构造环境复杂,活动断裂带和强震分布广泛,且主要分布于阿尔泰山、天山、西昆仑—帕米尔弧形构造带上,尤以天山地区最为集中.迄今为止,天山造山带地区的主要断裂带的活动特征与孕震应力场特征之间的动力学机理尚未有清晰的认识.本文以GPS等实际观测数据为约束,建立有限元数值模型,计算了研究区域地壳形变、应力/应变积累速率、弹性应变能密度以及库仑应力变化率等关键因素.模拟计算结果显示地表速度场与研究区域实际GPS观测值基本一致,且主要断裂带上弹性应变能密度分布与实际地震活动性也基本吻合,验证了数值模型和结果的可靠性.结合最新的观测和数值模拟结果分析发现,研究区的断层和地震活动性主要受控于近南北向的主压应力,与主要观测特征相一致.同时,帕米尔高原北部边界带—塔什库尔干断裂（TKF）、天山造山带南边界的东侧—迈丹断裂（MDF）、兴地断裂（XDF）库仑应力增大明显,在未来强震发生的可能性较高,应予密切关注.     

The relationship between formation structure and thickness in the Permo-Triassic succession of the Southern Coalfield, Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia

Using trend-surface analysis, the patterns of formation structure and thickness variation in the Permo-Triassic succession of the Southern Coalfield, Sydney Basin, are resolved into geologically meaningful large- and small-scale features. The structural trends correspond to the regional syncline of the southern Sydney Basin and the negative and positive residual domains to smaller-scale structures including the South Bulli and Douglas Park Synclines and the Bulli and Kemira Anticlines. The results of trend-surface analysis and simple linear regression reveal an inverse relationship between structural elevation (relative to sea level) and formation thickness on both a regional and a local scale. This relationship is strongest for the Bulli Coal and the Bald Hill Claystone. In the case of the Bulli Coal, the present-day structural trends and formation thickness trends show a strong inverse correlation and the residuals show a moderate inverse correlation; the correlations between the inferred Middle Triassic structure of the Bulli Coal and formation thickness are even stronger than those involving the present-day structure. These results indicate that structures which were active during the Permo-Triassic and which influenced sedimentation have been preserved in the present-day structure. The persistence of the patterns of structure and thickness variation upward through the Permo-Triassic sequence suggests that sedimentation was controlled by contemporaneous basement subsidence, rather than by short-lived compaction-induced subsidence patterns.     

Sea ice thickness measurement and its underside morphology analysis using radar penetration in the Arctic Ocean

Sea ice, as an important component of the Arctic climate system, has drawn significant sci-entific interest. Sea ice thickness and its morphology have dramatic impacts on ocean-atmos- phere-ice interactions[1—4], which directly affect the exchange proces…