Effects of Young's modulus on fault displacement

Elastic crack models predict a linear relationship between displacement (u) and rupture (trace) length (L) during slip in a fault zone. Attempts to find universal-scaling laws for L/u, however, have generally failed. Here I propose that these attempts have failed because they do not take into account the changes in the mechanical properties, in particular Young's modulus (stiffness), of the fault zone as it evolves. I propose that Young's modulus affects fault displacement both spatially and temporally: spatially when the trace of a fault at a given time dissects host rocks of different stiffnesses, and temporally when the stiffness of the fault zone itself changes. During the evolution of an active fault zone, the effective Young's modulus of its damage zone and fault core normally decreases, and so does the L/u ratio of the fault. By contrast, during inactive periods sealing and healing of the damage zone and core may increase the stiffness, hence the L/u ratio in subsequent slips. This model predicts that not only will the scaling of L/u within a given fault population vary in space and time, but also that of individual faults. To cite this article: A. Gudmundsson, C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Seismic activity at the MCT in Sikkim Himalaya

A microearthquake survey in the Sikkim Himalaya raised a question whether the north–south segment of the Main Central Thrust (MCT) in this part of the Himalaya is seismically active(?). Fault-plane solution of a cluster of events occurred below this segment of the MCT shows right-lateral strike-slip motion. The seismic observations and the geological evidences suggest that a NNE–SSW trending strike-slip fault, beneath this segment, caused right lateral movement on the MCT, and is seismically active.     

Formation and shortening deformation of a back-arc rift basin revealed by deep seismic profiling, central Japan

The northern Fossa Magna (NFM) basin is a Miocene rift system produced in the final stages of the opening of the Sea of Japan. It divides the major structure of Japan into two regions, with north-trending geological structures to the NE of the basin and EW trending structures to the west of the basin. The Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line (ISTL) bounds the western part of the northern Fossa Magna and forms an active fault system that displays one of the largest slip rates (4–9 mm/year) in the Japanese islands. Deep seismic reflection and refraction/wide-angle reflection profiling were undertaken in 2002 across the northern part of ISTL in order to delineate structures in the crust, and the deep geometry of the active fault systems. The seismic images are interpreted based on the pattern of reflectors, the surface geology and velocities derived from refraction analysis. The 68-km-long seismic section suggests that the Miocene NFM basin was formed by an east dipping normal fault with a shallow flat segment to 6 km depth and a deeper ramp penetrating to 15 km depth. This low-angle normal fault originated as a comparatively shallow brittle/ductile detachment in a high thermal regime present in the Miocene. The NFM basin was filled by a thick (>6 km) accumulation of sediments. Shortening since the late Neogene is accommodated along NS to NE–SE trending thrust faults that previously accommodated extension and produce fault-related folds on their hanging wall. Based on our balanced geologic cross-section, the total amount of Miocene extension is ca. 42 km and the total amount of late Neogene to Quaternary shortening is ca. 23 km.     

描述黄河中下游河道横断面形态的新指标

描述河流横断面的窄深程度,无非是用来衡量它对过流能力和输沙能力的影响大小,及其在河流地貌方面的时空上的调整变化。回顾总结了以往描述横断面形态的常用指标,包括河相系数、宽深比,或湿周与平均水深的比值,指出这几种指标在描述黄河中下游河道时所存在的共同缺点:(1)缺乏物理意义;(2)不能真正代表断面的窄深程度;(3)明显的夸大了宽浅和窄深断面的差别。从表称流量的概念出发,作者认为,应该使用具有明确物理意义的等面积的表称流速来描述断面形态。如果用表称流速来衡量黄河下游河南和山东河道的断面形态的差别,就会发现,断面形态的不同,其对过流能力的影响不过1:2,远不象河相系数和宽深比所描述的达到1:6甚至1:11那样的悬殊程度;黄河下游河道主槽“多来多排”的主要影响因素是表称流速。     

Relationship between solar radiation and the development and morphology of small cirque glaciers (Maladeta Mountain massif, Central Pyrenees, Spain)

Abstract Spatial and temporal variations in radiative fluxes influence glacier mass‐balance in mountain areas. The primary goal of this study was to assess differences in solar radiation on three glacial cirques located in the Maladeta Mountain massif (Central Spanish Pyrenees), and analyse their implications on glacier development and morphology. A quantitative approach is adopted to obtain the values of solar radiation (direct, diffuse and global radiation), combining several field data parameters (measured at 55 control‐points) with the solar radiation modelling package Ecosim. The data obtained confirm that the morphologies of the glacial bodies developed in the three cirques have a good correlation with the spatial variation on solar radiation inputs, favouring also the conservation (Aneto and Coronas cirques) or total vanishing (Llosás cirque) of the glacial remnants analysed here. The study shows how strongly in this Alpine‐Mediterranean context solar radiation — firstly as a function of latitude and time of year, and locally as a function of topographic slope, aspect and shadowing — controls the mass‐balance and the spatial distribution of melting in small glaciers, having an effect on the development of their morphologies.     

基于灰度形态学的高分辨率遥感影像预处理

提出了一种从高分辨率遥感影像中提取线性目标时影像预处理的方法。该方法基于灰度形态学的Top-Hat运算和灰度膨胀运算，用Top-Hat算子除去影像的噪声，再利用灰度膨胀增强影像目标和背景之间的对比度，使目标更易于识别。经过处理的遥感影像，能够更有效地提取影像的目标。     

IMD法在多光谱图像分类中的应用

数学形态学着重于分析和处理图像的几何结构信息。根据这一原理，在图像分类预处理过程中，对各种地物区域的几何结构特点进行分析，构造相应的结构元素，然后对图像进行形态迭代分解法(IMD，Iterative Morphological Decompostion)变换。在变换结果中，地物区域的灰度信息进行了归一化处理，同时区域的几何结构特点和独立地物得到了有效保留。将多光谱图像的IMD变换结果进行分类实验的结果表明，该方法可以有效提高多光谱图像分类的精度和效率，具有较强的适用性。