Seismic structure and tectonics of the Shackleton Fracture Zone (Drake Passage,Scotia Sea)

The structural framework of the southern part of the Shackleton Fracture Zone has been investigated through the analysis of a 130-km-long multichannel seismic reflection profile acquired orthogonally to the fracture zone near 60° S. The Shackleton Fracture Zone is a 800-km-long, mostly rectilinear and pronounced bathymetric lineation joining the westernmost South Scotia Ridge to southern South America south of Cape Horn, separating the western Scotia Sea plate from the Antarctic plate. Conventional processing applied to the seismic data outlines the main structures of the Shackleton Fracture Zone, but only the use of enhanced techniques, such as accurate velocity analyses and pre-stack depth migration, provides a good definition of the acoustic basement and the architecture of the sedimentary sequences. In particular, a strong and mostly continuous reflector found at about 8.0 s two-way traveltime is very clear across the entire section and is interpreted as the Moho discontinuity. Data show a complex system of troughs developed along the eastern flank of the crustal ridge, containing tilted and rotated blocks, and the presence of a prominent listric normal fault developed within the oceanic crust. Positive flower structures developed within the oceanic basement indicate strike-slip tectonism and partial reactivation of pre-existing faults. Present-day tectonic activity is found mostly in correspondence to the relief, whereas fault-induced deformation is negligible across the entire trough system. This indicates that the E–W-directed stress regime present in the Drake Passage region is mainly dissipated along a narrow zone within the Shackleton Ridge axis. A reappraisal of all available magnetic anomaly identifications in the western Scotia Sea and in the former Phoenix plate, in conjunction with new magnetic profiles acquired to the east of the Shackleton Fracture Zone off the Tierra del Fuego continental margin, has allowed us to propose a simple reconstruction of Shackleton Fracture Zone development in the general context of the Drake Passage opening.     

城市建设中的地震小区划与浅层地震探测

简要阐述地震小区划在现代城市建设中的重要性以及在实施地震小区划的研究中浅层地震探测的重要作用及其方法原理,并给出应用浅层地震探测在城市地震小区划中的实例。     

Fast static correction methods for high-frequency multichannel marine seismic reflection data: A high-resolution seismic study of channel-levee systems on the Bengal Fan

Very high-frequency marine multichannel seismic reflection data generated by small-volume air- or waterguns allow detailed, high-resolution studies of sedimentary structures of the order of one to few metres wavelength. The high-frequency content, however, requires (1) a very exact knowledge of the source and receiver positions, and (2) the development of data processing methods which take this exact geometry into account. Static corrections are crucial for the quality of very high-frequency stacked data because static shifts caused by variations of the source and streamer depths are of the order of half to one dominant wavelength, so that they can lead to destructive interference during stacking of CDP sorted traces. As common surface-consistent residual static correction methods developed for land seismic data require fixed shot and receiver locations two simple and fast techniques have been developed for marine seismic data with moving sources and receivers to correct such static shifts. The first method – called CDP static correction method – is based on a simultaneous recording of Parasound sediment echosounder and multichannel seismic reflection data. It compares the depth information derived from the first arrivals of both data sets to calculate static correction time shifts for each seismic channel relative to the Parasound water depths. The second method – called average static correction method – utilises the fact that the streamer depth is mainly controlled by bird units, which keep the streamer in a predefined depth at certain increments but do not prevent the streamer from being slightly buoyant in-between. In case of calm weather conditions these streamer bendings mainly contribute to the overall static time shifts, whereas depth variations of the source are negligible. Hence, mean static correction time shifts are calculated for each channel by averaging the depth values determined at each geophone group position for several subsequent shots. Application of both methods to data of a high-resolution seismic survey of channel-levee systems on the Bengal Fan shows that the quality of the stacked section can be improved significantly compared to stacking results achieved without preceding static corrections. The optimised records show sedimentary features in great detail, that are not visible without static corrections. Limitations only result from the sea floor topography. The CDP static correction method generally provides more coherent reflections than the average static correction method but can only be applied in areas with rather flat sea floor, where no diffraction hyperbolae occur. In contrast, the average static correction method can also be used in regions with rough morphology, but the coherency of reflections is slightly reduced compared to the results of the CDP static correction method.     

地层学的发展推动油气地质理论研究的进步

自上个世纪50年代以来,地层学经历了彻底的变革,逐渐由“相模式”、“沉积体系”、“地震地层学”发展到目前的“层序地层学”,形成高分辨率层序地层学和事件地层学的理论体系和研究方法。文章围绕层序地层学、高分辨率层序地层学基本方法及理论体系,与含油气系统相关关系进行了讨论。     

Crustal Structures of the Northernmost South China Sea: Seismic Reflection and Gravity Modeling

The South China Sea (SCS) is a marginal sea off shore Southeast Asia. Based on magnetic study, oceanic crust has been suggested in the northernmost SCS. However, the crustal structure of the northernmost SCS was poorly known. To elaborate the crustal structures in the northernmost SCS and off southwest Taiwan, we have analyzed 20 multi-channel seismic profiles of the region. We have also performed gravity modeling to understand the Moho depth variation. The volcanic basement deepens southeastwards while the Moho depth shoals southeastwards. Except for the continental margin, the northernmost SCS can be divided into three tectonic regions: the disturbed and undisturbed oceanic crust (8–12 km thick) in the southwest, a trapped oceanic crust (8 km thick) between the Luzon-Ryukyu Transform Plate Boundary (LRTPB) and Formosa Canyon, and the area to the north of the Formosa Canyon which has the thickest sediments. Instead of faulting, the sediments across the LRTPB have only displayed differential subsidence offset of about 0.5–1 s in the northeast side, indicating that the LRTPB is no longer active. The gravity modeling has shown a relatively thin crust beneath the LRTPB, demonstrating the sheared zone character along the LRTPB. However, probably because of post-spreading volcanism, only the transtension-shearing phenomenon of volcanic basement in the northwest and southeast ends of the LRTPB can be observed. These two basement-fractured sites coincide with low gravity anomalies. Intensive erosion has prevailed over the whole channel of the Formosa Canyon.     

An Application of Direct Ritz Method for Random Seismic Responses of Jacket Platforms

1 .IntroductionNowadays tremendous efforts have been devotedtothe analysis of randomseismic responses .Forexample ,American PetroleumInstitute (API) has declared that the analysis of randomseismic re-sponsesis a useful tool for safety inspection. Owing to the complexity of platformand randomness ofload,it is difficult to carry out the randomresponse analysis of a jacket platform. The conventionalrandomvibration methods ,such as square root of the sumof squares (SRSS) and complete quadratic…     

江苏岸外辐射沙脊群东沙稳定性研究

东沙是江苏岸外辐射沙脊群中的第二大沙洲,具有独特的地形地貌和水动力条件,对它进行稳定性研究为揭示整个辐射沙洲及其邻近岸滩的动态演变都非常有益。通过利用多年遥感卫片资料、1998年取得的现场水文泥沙观测资料和东沙滩面表层沉积物资料等,对东沙的地形地貌特征、沉积特征和东沙两侧潮汐通道的水流泥沙特征等进行了详细分析。研究结果表明,东沙的沙脊偏于西侧,西侧滩面较窄、高程较高且岸线较为顺直,东侧滩面较宽、高程较低且岸线较为破碎;西洋和陈家坞槽均处于冲刷状态,净输沙的主要方向为输向槽外或输向条子泥;东沙近三十年来面积有所缩小且有外围向中央收缩的趋势,尤其以向东、向南方向的迁移最为明显。     

Relationship between the seismicity and geologic structure of the Blanco Transform Fault Zone

Morphologic studies of an oceanic transform, the Blanco Transform Fault Zone (BTFZ), have shown it to consist of a series of extensional basins that offset the major strike-slip faults. The largest of the extensional basins, the Cascadia Depression, effectively divides the transform into a northwest segment, composed of several relatively short strike-slip faults, and a southeast segment dominated by fewer, longer faults. The regional seismicity distribution (m _b 4.0) and frequency-magnitude relationships (b-values) of the BTFZ show that the largest magnitude events are located on the southeast segment. Furthermore, estimates of the cumulative seismic moment release and seismic moment release rate along the southeast segment are significantly greater than that of the northwest segment. These observations suggest that slip along the southeast segment is accommodated by a greater number of large magnitude earthquakes. Comparison of the seismic moment rate, derived from empirical estimates, with the seismic moment rate determined from plate motion constraints suggests a difference in the seismic coupling strength between the segments. This difference in coupling may partially explain the disparity in earthquake size distribution. However, the results appear to confirm the relation between earthquake size and fault length, observed along continental strike-slip faults, for this oceanic transform.     

Relationship between Shot-Induced Noise and Shot Interval in Seismic Refraction Experiments at Sea

Seismic noise induced by the seismic source during continuous profiling reduces the signal-to-noise ratio and hence the data quality. This noise is largely dependent on the shot interval. In this paper, the noise amplitude of refraction seismic records from a special experiment is analysed as a function of the shot interval. An empirical exponential relationship between mean peak noise amplitude and shot interval is deduced. By increasing the shot interval, the induced noise can be minimized on all successive records. This results in an improvement of the data, predominantly the signal-to-noise ratio. Because the seismic signal and the shot-induced noise have nearly the same spectra, the chance of improving the signal-to-noise ratio by stacking is significantly reduced.