Cretaceous length of day perturbation by mantle avalanche

These last 10 years, numerical models of mantle convection have emphasized the role of the 670 km endothermic phase change in generating avalanches that trigger catastrophic mass transfers between upper and lower mantle. On the other hand, scientists have emphasized the concomitance of large-scale worldwide geophysical and tectonic events, which could find their deep thermal roots in the huge mass transfers induced by the avalanches. In particular, the paleontological records show two periods of length of day (l.o.d.) shortening between 420 and 360, and 200 and 80 Myr BP. This last event is synchronous with a strong true polar wander and a global warming of the upper mantle. In order to study the potential effects of the avalanche on the main component of the Earth’s rotation, the Liouville equation has been solved and the l.o.d. evolution has been calculated from the perturbations of the inertia tensor. The results show that the inertia tensor of the Earth’s is mainly sensitive to the global transfers through the 670 km discontinuity. The l.o.d. perturbations will be synchronous with the global thermal effects of the avalanche. These theoretical results allow proposing a self-consistent physical mechanism to explain periods of the Earth’s rotation acceleration. Within this context, the l.o.d. shortening during the Cenozoic and Cretaceous brings one more clue to the possible participation of a mantle avalanche in generating the concomitant large scale events which have occurred during this very particular period of the Earth’s history.     

Where did rotational shortening occur in the Himalayas? - Inferences from palaeomagnetic remagnetisations

In metacarbonates of the Lesser (LH) and Tethyan (TH) Himalayas of Kumaon/Garhwal (N-India) characteristic remanent magnetisations carried by pyrrhotite (unblocking temperatures: 250-330°C) and magnetite (demagnetising spectra: 15-50 mT) have been identified. Negative fold tests indicate remanence acquisition after the main folding phase, which is of short-wavelength character and occurs during the early orogenese of the Himalayas. A thermal or thermochemical origin of magnetisation is likely and the age of remanence acquisition is indicated to be about 40 Ma by ⁴⁰K/³⁹Ar cooling and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar crystallisation ages. In the Kumaon LH a long-wavelength tilting is indicated by a distribution of the remanence directions along a small-circle in N-S direction. Steepening of the remanence directions in the TH related to ramping on the Main Central Thrust (MCT) was not observed, in contrast to other related studies. In the Alaknanda valley of LH a 38±8 Ma age of remanence acquisition is supported by comparison of observed inclinations to the apparent polar wander path of India. Clockwise rotation of 20.3±11.7° (LH/Alaknanda valley) and 11.3±8.5° (TH) with respect to the Indian plate is observed, indicating that there is no significant evidence for rotational shortening along the MCT since about 40 Ma. Our results suggest that most of rotational underthrusting and oroclinal bending has not been accommodated by the MCT, but by the main thrusts south of it. The latest Miocene/Pliocene age of the Main Boundary Thrust indicates that oroclinal bending is a late-orogenic process.     

玛尼7.9级地震对昆仑山口西8.1级地震的触发作用及动力背景初探

根据库仑静应力变化的概念，对青藏块体中部地区1997年11月8日玛尼7．9级地震及2001年11月14日昆仑山口西8．1级地震的应力触发作用进行了初步研究。不同震源机制解计算结果表明，玛尼地震造成了昆仑地震断层面上10^-3MPa量级的库仑应力增量，该变化仅使得昆仑地震的发生提前了最长10年左右，表明当前地壳应变能水平可能并不很低。对照20世纪初以来全球7级以上强震频度和强度演化特征与地球自转变化的关系，认为地球自转幅度衰减、变化频率升高是近期强震活动的重要控制因素。昆仑山口西8．1级地震的发生，可能是地球自转持续加速阶段后期，青藏块体内部区域应力场逐渐强化，及玛尼地震应力触发的结果。     

地震周期的存在及形成机制讨论

根据1900～2000年中国大陆、台湾及全球地层记录及前人的研究，论证了地层周期存在的可能性及形成机制。作者认为，是太阳活动、月球运动轨道及各行星运动轨道的周期性变化，通过磁力及万有引力改变地球内部物质的分布，从而引起地球自转速度的周期性变化，最终致使地展出现周期性的活跃期及平静期。     

Study of Triggering Action Between the Mani （Ms7.9） and the West Kunlun Mountains Pass （ Ms 8.1 ） Great Earthquakes and Their Dynamic Background

Based on Coulomb static stress variation, the stress trigging action of the Mani ( Ms7.9, Nov.1997) earthquake on the West Kuulun Mountains Pass (MsS.1, Nov. 2001 ) earthquake is researched. Results of different source mechanism resolutions show that a 10_3 MPa Coulomb stress due to the Mani earthquake was added to the fracture fault of the Kunlun earthquake, and this may shift the broken date to about 10 years earlier, and infer that the stress level in the crust is not low. Comparing the relationship between strong earthquake strength and frequency and earth rotation change, it is shown that the strength‘s decrease and the variation period‘ s shortening of earth rotation are important controlling factors on strong earthquake activity. This great event with Ms = 8.1 took place probably due to a gradual strengthening background of regional stress field within the Qinghai-Xizang block in the period of acceleration of change of day‘s length and stress triggering from the Mani earthquake.     

Early Miocene rotational process in the eastern part of south-west Japan inferred from paleomagnetic studies

Abstract This paper provides untilted paleomagnetic data obtained from the early Miocene strata around the Kanazawa‐Iozen area, in the eastern part of south‐west Japan. A thick pile of volcaniclastics and marine transgressive sediments underlie the area; they were deposited in the early stage of the Japan Sea opening event. Progressive thermal demagnetization tests isolated stable primary magnetic vectors from eight sites in the upper part of the Iozen Formation. Overall, the tilt‐corrected mean direction of this unit is D = 36.4°, I = 51.6° and α₉₅ = 12.1. Together with a published paleomagnetic and chronological database, the present results suggest that clockwise rotation of south‐west Japan, linked to the back‐arc opening, commenced in the early Miocene and accelerated at the same time as rapid subsidence along the Japan Sea coast. Post‐opening, differential rotation within the eastern part of south‐west Japan is assumed, based on selected paleomagnetic data from the latest Early Miocene.     

高耸塔架结构节点损伤基于神经网络的两步诊断法

本文针对高耸钢塔架结构的损伤特点，建立了具有节点损伤的有限元模型，提出了一种分层神经网络两步诊断法：第一步，由基于区域残余力理论的第一层神经网络进行结构损伤区域的初诊；第二步，由基于应变模态理论的第二层神经网络进行损伤区域内的具体损伤节点位置和程度的诊断。对一平面塔架结构的数值仿真分析表明：本文提出的损伤诊断方法的结果是令人满意的。     

全球地震纬度分布特征和北纬35°峰值异常浅析

本文取1900年─1980年全球Ms≥6．0地震7936次分析后发现，地震发生在南北回归线（23°5N—23°5S）之间占49．69％，发生在南北极因（63°5N—63°5S）之间占99．17％，发生在南北极圈外只占0．83％，即很少发生地震；其中8级地震98次，在35°N线为高峰。又分析了公元648年─1979年全球M≥8级地震257次主要亦集中在35°N线附近。尤其是历史上破坏性极大的地震在35°N线附近者多。这些现象可能和地球自转有一定关系。     

由一次西周日食记载得到的地球自转变化

本文结合１９９７年３月９日全食的新疆观测及地球自转变化趋势讨论了发生在中国西周时期的一次日食的记载，以及由此得到的地球自转速度变化值。