An explanation for USGS Station 6 record, 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake: a caustic induced by a sedimentary wedge

Summary. The largest earthquake-induced acceleration yet recorded occurred at the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Strong Motion Array Station 6 during the 1979 October 15, Imperial Valley, California earthquake. This large acceleration (1.74 g, vertical component) is anomalously strong considering the low magnitude of the event ( M = 6.4), and the fact that receivers in the immediate neighbourhood of Station 6 recorded much lower accelerations. Previous studies of the records by other investigators have suggested a number of explanations for the anomaly, several of which implicate the near-receiver geological structure.
We present a detailed time and frequency domain analysis of the acceleration records at Stations 6, 5, 7, 8 and Diff Array to suggest that the anomalous acceleration is the consequence of the focusing of the incoming body waves by the lens-like effect of the sedimentary wedge between Imperial Valley and Brawley faults. The analyses include a detailed comparison of observed particle motions between neighbouring stations. Narrow band-pass filtered particle motions at Station 6 reveal the interaction of multipath arrivals as well as the frequency-dependent interference between them. Three-dimensional ray tracing experiments confirm the fact that the faulted sedimentary wedge is capable of focusing P -waves near Station 6. The interpretation that best combines theoretical and observed results is that amplification was due to the formation of an elliptic umbilic caustic with focus near the surface.     

Medieval Warming, Little Ice Age, and European impact on the environment during the last millennium in the lower Hudson Valley, New York, USA

Establishing natural climate variability becomes particularly important in large urban areas in anticipation of droughts. We present a well-dated bi-decadal record of vegetation, climate, land use, and fire frequency from a tidal marsh in the Hudson River Estuary. The classic Medieval Warm Period is evident through striking increases in charcoal and Pinus dominance from 800–1300 A.D., paralleling paleorecords southward along the Atlantic seaboard. Higher inputs of inorganic sediment during this interval suggest increased watershed erosion during drought conditions. The presence of the Little Ice Age ensues with increases in Picea and Tsuga, coupled with increasing organic percentages due to cooler, moister conditions. European impact is manifested by a decline in arboreal pollen due to land clearance, increased weedy plant cover (i.e., Ambrosia, Plantago, and Rumex), and an increase in inorganic particles to the watershed.     

长江中下游抛刀岭大型中硫型浅成低温热液金矿床的厘定及其找矿启示

长江中下游是全球重要的斑岩-矽卡岩铜多金属矿床成矿带之一,近年来识别出一些大型明矾石矿床、中小规模高硫型和低硫型金±银矿床,但是否存在中硫型矿化蚀变系统还不清楚.抛刀岭是近年来在长江中下游成矿带新发现的大型独立金矿床,文章通过岩芯编录、短波红外光谱和矿物成分的研究,厘定该矿床矿体主要产于～140 Ma英安斑岩脉中,成矿...     

淮河流域5～6月降水的年际及年代际变化

对淮河流域降水异常进行分析对于预测黄海绿潮具有重要意义。选取淮河流域10个站,长江流域15个站,通过对国家气象信息中心1951~2011年的逐月降水数据进行分析,研究淮河流域和长江流域5~6月平均降水异常。2000~2010年,淮河流域5~6月降水呈现增加趋势,与长江流域降水呈反位相变化。分别对淮河流域5~6月平均降水异常与印度洋偶极子指数(Dipole Mode Index,DMI),以及太平洋年代际振荡(the Pacific Decadal Oscillation,PDO)指数做相关性分析,结果表明:淮河流域5~6月平均降水异常与6个月前的DMI指数达到最大正相关,与20个月前的北太平洋(20°N以北)SST呈现明显的负相关,与PDO指数达到最大负相关。这表明,PDO、DMI指数对淮河流域5~6月降水异常的年代际、年际变化具有明显的指示作用。     

2003年江淮流域强降水过程与30—70d天低频振荡的联系

利用NCEP／NCAR再分析和地面观测站的逐日降水资料,研究了2003年夏季江淮流域强降水过程与低频振荡的联系。结果显示,主周期为30～70d的低频振荡对2003年江淮流域暴雨的形成具有重要贡献：低频涡旋在江淮地区降水期的对流层高、低层呈负、正配置,具有斜压结构,利于降水发生;850hPa上正涡度系统的传播具有明显的北传和西传特征;存在于西太平洋、西北太平洋及其以东地区的低频波列（P—J）的活动过程影响了我国2003年江淮低频强降水的形成;整层低频水汽通量显示来自副热带高压外围的西南季风对水汽输送的贡献较显著,且2003年江淮地区30-70d时间尺度上降水的水汽来源为南海而非孟加拉湾或西太平洋。     

Limiting hydrochemical factors for sustainability of water resources: The Cisjordanian experience

In Cisjordan, surface- and groundwater flow are either towards the Jordan Valley-Dead Sea-Arava Valley (the Rift) or the Mediterranean Sea. Due to upstream exploitation by riparians to the Jordan River, the historical annual flow, which fluctuated between 250 and 1100 Mm³, has declined to a mere 100-200 Mm³. The remaining flow south of Lake Kinneret is highly polluted and heavily loaded with salts. Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is one of the major water resources in the area. Annually, between 200 and 700 Mm³ reach the Lake as surface and groundwater flow. The relatively high salinity of the Lake is caused by thermomineral water discharging from springs and seepages located onshore and on the bottom of the Lake. The main factors causing deterioration of the groundwater quality in the Rift are of geogenic character. These are different types of brines, whose outflow and penetration into freshwater aquifers was triggered by overpumpage. Contemporary encroachment of seawater caused by intensive water exploitation in the Coastal Plain is manageable and reversible. However, due to lack of hydrogeological evidence, no such statement can be made about the circulation of seawater beneath the Coastal Plain and into the deep-seated Yarkon-Taninim aquifer or the upflow of brines in the Rift.The flow regimes of the different brine bodies could not be elucidated. Whether each such brine-body flows by its particular hydrological regime or whether the movement of the different bodies is intradependent or interdependent with the regional movement of fresh groundwater, remain open questions. Therefore, sustainable development of groundwater resources is clearly dependent on the elucidation of the relationship between changes in the pressure of the brine with depth and its relationship to the overlying freshwater.The average total annual recharge of all water sources in Cisjordan is 1820 Mm³, which means that the total production of water must be managed within the limits of this annual volume. During drought years, total groundwater extraction exceeds the safe yield, causing drastic lowering of water levels and upflow of saline waters from greater depths.Because of the structural complexity of aquifers and hydrochemical variability of the numerous groundwater bodies, new hydrochemical methods have been developed for the identification of groundwater bodies and for the elucidation of their origins. These methods combine macrochemical, microchemical, and isotopic evidences. By combining distribution patterns of rare earths, yttrium and stable isotopes, a complete picture of catchment lithology and the altitude and latitude of precipitation could be obtained.The area west of the Jordan River is characterized by the occurrence of transboundary surface- and groundwater basins in which fresh and saline water and brines flow across political borders between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It is very difficult to assess separately the annual safe yield of water resources for each of the two national entities. Neither country may dispose independently of its waters and is usually at the mercy of the other riparian. There is as yet no general multilateral international treaty in force allocating the water resources of international watercourses. At present there are two rules for the management of the waters of an international drainage basin—the rule of Equitable Distribution, and the obligation Not to Cause Significant Harm. The rules of equitable distribution have tended to focus on the issue of quantities of water rather than on quality of water, which is really relevant to the issue of equitable distribution. Future negotiations on the uses of the basin will need to deal with issues of characteristic salinities and geochemical features and on their impact on equitable sharing of water resources.     

Comparison of Fry strain ellipse and AMS ellipsoid trends to tectonic fabric trends in very low-strain sandstone of the Appalachian fold–thrust belt

In moderately to highly strained sandstones, both the long axis of the bedding-parallel finite-strain ellipse, as calculated by the normalized Fry method, and the projection of the long axis of the AMS ellipsoid on the plane of bedding, align well with local “structural grain” (trends of cleavage, folds, and faults). This relationship implies that results of both 2D Fry and AMS analyses represent the local layer-parallel tectonic strain component. Do both methods provide comparable results for very low-strain sandstone (e.g., <5%)? To address this question, Fry and AMS analyses were conducted in very low-strain sandstone from two localities in the Appalachian foreland fold–thrust belt: near Rosendale in New York and the Lackawanna synclinorium of Pennsylvania. We compared the map projections of both bedding-parallel Fry ellipses and AMS ellipsoids to the local structural grain. In both study areas, projections of the long axis of Fry strain ellipses do not cluster in a direction parallel to structural grain, whereas the projection of the long axes of AMS ellipsoids do cluster closely to structural grain. This observation implies that in very low-strain sandstone, AMS analysis provides a more sensitive “quick” indicator of tectonic fabric than does normalized Fry analysis.     

Using a fluvial archive to place extreme flood sediment (dis)connectivity dynamics in context of a longer-term record

The aim of this study was to establish the source and provenance of sediments deposited in a large floodplain sink during extreme floods in the Lockyer Creek catchment, Australia, in 2011 and 2013. We place the sediment source patterns in context of the longer-term record to determine whether coarse-grained sediment sources (i.e., very fine sand to very coarse sand) and the spatio-temporal pattern of (dis)connectivity have changed over time. We do this by matching the geochemical properties and age structure of a sediment profile located in a downstream floodplain sink to the elemental composition of source sediments. One hundred and fifty-seven sediment samples from 20 sites across the catchment are analysed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to compare the elemental ratio composition of the downstream floodplain sink to its source materials. We use Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating to determine the age structure of the sediments in the floodplain sink. The northern tributaries and parts of the Lockyer River trunk stream are the primary sources of coarse sediment. These areas are connected (coupled) to the lower trunk stream and floodplain sediment sink. Southern tributaries are largely disconnected (decoupled) and supply little sediment to the floodplain sediment sink. This pattern of sediment source contribution has remained similar over the last 6.8 ka at least. Sediment sources as observed in the 2011 flood have predominated over the mid-late Holocene whilst those in the 2013 flood are rare.     

Sedimentary and drainage evolution of the Condamine Valley Transition Zone (eastern Australia)

The basal succession of the Condamine Valley, which overlays the boundary between the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins (eastern Australia), contains a clay-rich horizon ‘the Transition Zone’ that marks a pronounced unconformity between the Jurassic Walloon Coal Measures and the Quaternary Condamine Alluvium. This paper provides insights into the tectonic and drainage evolution of the Condamine Valley through integrated analysis of U–Pb ages of detrital zircon from three samples (494 concordant analyses), stable oxygen isotope analysis on eight authigenic clay samples, X-ray fluorescence of primary and trace elements, and hyperspectral mineral analysis from two drill cores (Lone Pine 17 and Daandine 164). The Transition Zone is interpreted to consist of both weathered Jurassic sediments and Cenozoic clay deposits. Two sequential cycles of erosion, deposition and pedogenesis, related to geomorphological and climatic conditions are recognised. Distinctive oxygen isotope signatures of the two weathering fronts demonstrated an initial Early Cretaceous phase (δ¹⁸O?=?11.9–15.7‰ VSMOW) associated with laterisation and possible uplift, followed by Paleogene (δ¹⁸O?=?16.4–17.3‰ VSMOW) silcretisation of reworked Jurassic sediments. Detrital zircon geochronology yielded Jurassic maximum constraints for the age of deposition of three samples that are indistinguishable within error, the oldest of which (163?±?8?Ma from the lateritic profile) corresponds to the age of the underlying Walloon Coal Measures. The two overlaying samples from a silcrete profile and granular alluvium yielded overlapping yet younger ages of 150?±?6?Ma and 156?±?9?Ma, respectively. Vitrinite reflectance used as a proxy for the thermal condition of the coal strata enabled an estimated 2–3?km of burial and subsequent (likely Early Cretaceous) uplift. Geochemical insights from the Condamine Valley correspond to broad-scale climatic and tectonic conditions, suggesting that ‘transition zone equivalents’ and corresponding groundwater dynamics may occur in similar sedimentary settings throughout eastern Australia.     

海盆沉积“源-汇”系统分析:南海北部珠江海谷-西北次海盆第四纪深水浊积扇

运用近年来采集的高分辨率地震资料和多波束测深数据,在珠江海谷及西北次海盆深海平原区发现大规模发育的第四纪重力流沉积体系,该沉积体系沿珠江海谷以北西-南南东方向贯穿整个北部陆坡,进入西北次海盆后呈扇形展开,形成珠江海谷-西北次海盆大型深水浊积扇系统。据沉积体系空间展布特征差异,将珠江海谷划分为北、中、南三段,北段为过路侵蚀和水道下切,中段以水道充填和天然堤沉积为主,南段以水道-天然堤和朵叶体沉积共存为特征,揭示出北部陆坡珠江海谷是珠江口外陆缘物质输送海盆深海平原的主要通道;海盆区总体以朵叶体发育为特色,呈扇形展布。深水扇系统可分为三期次沉积体,其区域结构记录了重力流沉积物从侵蚀、卸载到南海海盆作为限制性盆地接收陆源沉积物的全过程,为“源-渠-汇”的研究构建了一个完美的范例。本文以珠江海谷-西北次海盆第四纪深水浊积扇沉积体系为例,完整地揭示了水道-扇体的组构和特征,清晰呈现了陆坡-海盆砂体展布的规律,可为建立南海北部新近纪早期深水扇形成模式提供参考,有助于指导南海深水油气勘探工作。