Three-dimensional image of the anisotropic bodies beneath central Honshu, Japan

Shear-wave splitting from local deep earthquakes is investigated to clarify the volume and the location of two anisotropic bodies in the mantle wedge beneath central Honshu, Japan. We observe a spatial variation in splitting parameters depending on the combination of sources and receivers, nearly N–S fast in the northern region, nearly E–W fast in the southern region and small time delays in the eastern region. Using forward modelling, two models with 30 and 10 per cent anisotropy are tested by means of a global search for the locations of anisotropic bodies with various volumes. The optimum model is obtained for 30 per cent anisotropy, which means a 5 per cent velocity difference between fast and slow polarized waves. The northern anisotropic body has a volume of 1.00° (longitude) × 0.5° (latitude) × 75 km (depth), with the orientation of the symmetry axis being N20°E. The southern anisotropic body has a volume of 1.25° × 1.25° × 100 km with the symmetry axis along N95°E. Our results show that the anisotropic bodies are located in low-velocity and low- Q regions of the mantle. This, together with petrological data and the location of volcanoes in the arc, suggests that the possible cause of the anisotropy is the preferred alignment of cracks filled with melt.     

Elasto‐plastic analysis of block structures through a homogenization method

The paper describes the development and numerical implementation of a constitutive relationship for modeling the elasto‐plastic behavior of block structures with periodic texture, regarded at a macroscopic scale as homogenized anisotropic media. The macroscopic model is shown to retain memory of the mechanical characteristics of the joints and of the shape of the blocks. The overall mechanical properties display anisotropy and singularities in the yield surface, arising from the discrete nature of the block structure and the geometrical arrangement of the units. The model is formulated in the framework of multi‐surface plasticity. It is implemented in an finite element (FE) code by means of two different algorithms: an implicit return mapping scheme and a minimization algorithm directly derived from the Haar–Karman principle. The model is validated against analytical and experimental results: the comparison between the homogenized continuum and the original block assembly shows a good agreement in terms of ultimate inelastic behavior, when the size of the block is small as compared with that of the whole assembly. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orientation of Galaxies in the Local Supercluster: A Review

The progress of the studies on the orientation of galaxies in the Local Supercluster (LSC) is reviewed and a summary of recent results is given. Following a brief introduction of the LSC, we describe the results of early studies based on two-dimensional analysis, which were mostly not conclusive. We describe next the three-dimensional analysis, which is used widely today. Difficulties and systematic effects are explained and the importance of selection effects is described. Then, results based on the new method and modern databases are given, which are summarized as follows. When the LSC is seen as a whole, galaxy planes tend to align perpendicular to the LSC plane with lenticulars showing the most pronounced tendency. Projections onto the LSC plane of the spin vectors of Virgo cluster member galaxies, and to some extent, those of the total LSC galaxies, tend to point to the Virgo cluster center. This tendency is more pronounced for lenticulars than for spirals. It is suggested that ‘field’ galaxies, i.e., those which do not belong to groups with more than three members, may be better objects than other galaxies to probe the information at the early epoch of the LSC formation through the analysis of galaxy orientations. Field lenticulars show a pronounced anisotropic distribution of spin vectors in the sense that they lay their spin vectors parallel to the LSC plane while field spirals show an isotropic spin-vector distribution.     

Effect of parallel electric field on electrostatic ion-cyclotron instability in anisotropic plasma in the presence of ion beam and general distribution function—Particle aspect analysis

Dispersion relation, resonant energy transferred, growth rate and marginal instability criteria for the electrostatic ion-cyclotron wave with general loss-cone distribution in low-β anisotropic, homogeneous plasma in the auroral acceleration region are discussed by investigating the trajectories of the charged particles. Effects of the parallel electric field, ion beam velocity, steepness of the loss-cone distribution and temperature anisotropy on resonant energy transferred and growth rate of the instability are discussed. It is found that the effect of the parallel electric field is to stabilize the wave and enhance the transverse acceleration of ions whereas the effect of steepness of loss-cone, ion beam velocity and the temperature anisotropy is to enhance the growth rate and decrease the transverse acceleration of ions. The steepness of the loss-cone also introduces a peak in the growth rate which shifts towards the lower side of the perpendicular wave number with the increasing steepness of the loss-cone.     

Seismic structure of the Helan–Liupan–Ordos western margin tectonic belt in North-Central China and its geodynamic implications

We study high-resolution three-dimensional P-wave velocity (Vp) tomography and anisotropic structure of the crust and uppermost mantle under the Helan–Liupan–Ordos western margin tectonic belt in North-Central China using 13,506 high-quality P-wave arrival times from 2666 local earthquakes recorded by 87 seismic stations during 1980–2008. Our results show that prominent low-velocity (low-V) anomalies exist widely in the lower crust beneath the study region and the low-V zones extend to the uppermost mantle in some local areas, suggesting that the lower crust contains higher-temperature materials and fluids. The major fault zones, especially the large boundary faults of major tectonic units, are located at the edge portion of the low-V anomalies or transition zones between the low-V and high-V anomalies in the upper crust, whereas low-V anomalies are revealed in the lower crust under most of the faults. Most of large historical earthquakes are located in the boundary zones where P-wave velocity changes drastically in a short distance. Beneath the source zones of most of the large historical earthquakes, prominent low-V anomalies are visible in the lower crust. Significant P-wave azimuthal anisotropy is revealed in the study region, and the pattern of anisotropy in the upper crust is consistent with the surface geologic features. In the lower crust and uppermost mantle, the predominant fast velocity direction (FVD) is NNE–SSW under the Yinchuan Graben and NWW–SEE or NW–SE beneath the Corridor transitional zone, Qilian Orogenic Belt and Western Qinling Orogenic Belt, and the FVD is NE–SW under the eastern Qilian Orogenic Belt. The anisotropy in the lower crust may be caused by the lattice-preferred orientation of minerals, which may reflect the lower-crustal ductile flow with varied directions. The present results shed new light on the seismotectonics and geodynamic processes of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and its northeastern margin.     

Synthetic Experiments Dealing with Anisotropic Model Building

It has been shown in the past that the interval-NMO velocity and the non-ellipticity parameter largely control the P-wave reflection time moveout of VTI media. To invert for these two parameters, one needs either reasonably large offsets, or some structure in the subsurface in combination with relatively mild lateral velocity variation.This paper deals with a simulation of an inversion approach, building on the assumption that accurately measured V _NMO, as defined by small offset asymptotics for a particular reflector, were available. Instead of such measurements we take synthetically computed data. First, an isotropic model is constructed which explains these V _NMO. Subsequently, residual moveout in common image gathers is modelled by ray tracing (replacing real data), along with its sensitivity for changes in the interval-NMO velocity and the non-ellipticity parameter under the constraint that V _NMO is preserved. This enables iterative updating of the non-ellipticity parameter and the interval-NMO velocity in a layer that can be laterally inhomogeneous.This approach is successfully applied for a mildly dipping reflector at the bottom of a layer with laterally varying medium parameters. With the exact V _NMO assumed to be given, lateral inhomogeneity and anisotropy can be distinguished for such a situation. However, for another example with a homogeneous VTI layer overlying a curved reflector with dip up to 30°, there appears to be an ambiguity which can be understood by theoretical analysis. Consistently with existing theory using the NMO-ellipse, the presented approach is successfully applied to the latter example if V _NMO in the strike direction is combined with residual moveout in dip direction.