Coda-Q before and after the 1986 Andreanof Islands earthquake

Coda-Q values before and after the May 7, 1986 Andreanof Islands earthquake in the central Aleutian subduction zone were calculated from microearthquake seismograms on the basis of Aki's single backscattering model. Digital waveforms from 329 microeathquakes in 5.4 years before the mainshock and 40 aftershocks recorded by 11 stations of the Central Aleutians Seismic Network were utilized. Before the mainshock, coda-Q in the rupture zone west of the mainshock epicenter was 15% higher than theQ outside the rupture zone to the west. A lowQ in the region east of the mainshock epicenter is inferred, but lacks solid evidence. The highQ region accords with the part of the rupture zone where most seismic moment was released. During approximately two months after the mainshock, coda-Q in the rupture zone decreased about 10%. PrecursoryQ changes were not found in the 5.4 years before the mainshock. It is deduced that a coda-Q precursor, if it existed, was of small magnitude (<10%), or its duration was either shorter than one year or longer than four years.     

A ∼6100 14C yr record of El Niño activity from the Galápagos Islands

Lithostratigrahic and mineralogic analyses of sediments from hypersaline Bainbridge Crater Lake, Galápagos Islands, provide evidence of past El Niño frequency and intensity. Laminated sediments indicate that at least 435 moderate to very strong El Niño events have occurred since 6100 ¹⁴C yr BP (7130 cal yr BP), and that frequency and intensity of events increased at about 3000 ¹⁴C yr BP (3100 cal yr BP). El Niño activity was present between 6100 and 4000 ¹⁴C yr BP (4600 cal yr BP) but infrequent. The Bainbridge record indicates that there has been considerable millennial-scale variability in El Niño since the mid-Holocene.     

南海诸岛外来地名的命名背景及其历史影响

19世纪中叶至20世纪30年代英美等国在我国南海海域的测绘活动,给这里的岛礁留下了一大批以英语为主的外语名称。文中论述了南海诸岛外来地名的命名背景及其对我国三次公布官方名称所产生的深刻影响,在总结历史教训的基础上,分析了当前处理南海地名问题的缺陷,提出了若干改进建议。     

南海东沙海域天然气水合物地震数据多次压制及速度特征

多次波衰减是海洋地震数据处理中的一个关键问题。东沙海域多次波极其发育,由于地形的急剧变化和地质条件的影响,多次波变形严重(不符合双曲线规律)。采用常规的处理方法效果并不明显,并可能造成成果剖面上出现明显的多次压制痕迹,很难达到保幅处理。针对此区多次波的特点,提出一种频率分离的方法将数据分离后再进行不同处理,可以很好地解决多次波的压制并突出有效波;在没有有效反射的位置,剖面的背景噪音也更符合视觉习惯;更重要的是,处理中没有频率损失,处理结果更和谐。另外,叠前偏移处理技术的运用可以使含水合物地层的接触关系、反射特征更清楚。叠前时间偏移所建立的速度模型也能够表现含水合物地层、BSR与含游离气层的相对速度关系。     

The Byers Basin: Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonic and depositional evolution of the forearc deposits of the South Shetland Islands and its implications for the northern Antarctic Peninsula

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the Jurassic–Cretaceous stratigraphic evolution of fore-arc deposits exposed along the west coast of the northern Antarctic Peninsula. In the South Shetland Islands, Upper Jurassic deep-marine sediments are uncomformably overlain by a Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastic sequence that crops out on Livingston, Snow and Low islands. U-Pb zircon ages are presented for the upper Anchorage Formation (153.1 ± 1.7 Ma) and the Cape Wallace granodiorite of Low Island (137.1 ± 1.7 Ma) as well as ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 136–139 Ma for Low Island andesites. Data are also presented for a U-Pb age of 109.0 ± 1.4 Ma for the upper volcanic succession of Snow Island. In combination with published stratigraphy, these data provide a refined chrono- and litho-stratigraphic framework for the deposits herein referred to as the Byers Basin. Tentative correlation is explored with previously described deposits on Adelaide and Alexander islands, which could suggest further continuation of the Byers Basin towards the south. We also discuss possible correlation of the Byers Basin with the Larsen Basin, a sequence that shows the evolution of foreland to back-arc deposits more or less contemporaneously with the fore-arc to intra-arc evolution of the Byers Basin.     

南沙群岛开发区划初步研究

概述了南沙群岛的主权,区位,自然环境与资源条件,指出南沙群岛区域发展在中国建设中的作用,进一步讨论了南沙群岛开发问题,提出了南沙群岛开发区划方案,划分出３个开发区;Ｉ西部和南部大陆架上大陆坡海石油天然气和拖网渔业资源开发区,ＩＩ北部岛礁海珍品,海洋动力能源和热带陆地资源开发区,Ⅲ北部深海大洋性延绳钓渔业资源开发区。     

The Canary Islands swell: a coherence analysis of bathymetry and gravity

The Canary Archipelago is an intraplate volcanic chain, located near the West African continental margin, emplaced on old oceanic lithosphere of Jurassic age, with an extended volcanic activity since Middle Miocene. The adjacent seafloor does not show the broad oceanic swell usually observed in hotspot-generated oceanic islands. However, the observation of a noticeable depth anomaly in the basement west of the Canaries might indicate that the swell is masked by a thick sedimentary cover and the influence of the Canarian volcanism. We use a spectral approach, based on coherence analysis, to determine the swell and its compensation mechanism. The coherence between gravity and topography indicates that the swell is caused by a subsurface load correlated with the surface volcanic load. The residual gravity/geoid anomaly indicates that the subsurface load extends 600 km SSW and 800 km N and NNE of the islands. We used computed depth anomalies from available deep seismic profiles to constrain the extent and amplitude of the basement uplift caused by a relatively low-density anomaly within the lithospheric mantle, and coherence analysis to constrain the elastic thickness of the lithosphere ( T_e ) and the compensation depth of the swell. Depth anomalies and coherence are well simulated with T_e =28–36 km, compensation depth of 40–65 km, and a negative density contrast within the lithosphere of ∼33 kg m⁻³. The density contrast corresponds to a temperature increment of ∼325°C, which we interpret to be partially maintained by a low-viscosity convective layer in the lowermost lithosphere, and which probably involves the shallower parts of the asthenosphere. This interpretation does not require a significant rejuvenation of the mechanical properties of the lithosphere.     

Crustal contamination and fluid/rock interaction in the carbonatites of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain): a C, O, H isotope study

Fuerteventura—the second largest of the Canary Islands consists of Mesozoic sediments, submarine volcanic rocks, dike swarms and plutons of the Basal Complex, and younger subaerial basaltic and trachytic series. Carbonatites are found in two Basal Complex exposures: the Betancuria Massif in the central part of the island and the Esquinzo area in the north. values of the carbonatites increase progressively from south to north of the island. This phenomenon is attributed to different degrees of assimilation of sedimentary carbonate. Homogeneous, typically magmatic values for carbonatites which have preserved primary igneous textures and minerals suggest a well-mixed reservoir where changes in values result from the storage of carbonate magmas at different structural levels. The magma storage allowed assimilation of sediment to varying degrees before final emplacement of carbonatites. Shifts in towards more positive and negative values from presumed primary compositions are observed in the carbonatites. On the basis of the oxygen isotope compositions of calcite, mica and K-feldspar, and the hydrogen isotope compositions of micas, the changes in the values of the carbonatites can be related to fluid/rock interactions.     

南沙北部伸展构造的基本特征及其动力学意义

南沙地块辫啊以中南－美洲断裂为分界,其东、西两侧伸展构造的几何学与运动学表明,晚白垩世至早渐新世,其伸展作用以纯剪切为主;中渐新世至早中新世,伸展带东段转换为简单剪切,西段剪切渐停。伸展作用的主要动力来源于陆缘俯冲板片的拆沉、软流圈地幔热物质乘隙上拱和部分熔融作用及周边板块的相互作用。     

西沙群岛生物碳酸盐的成因和沉积:来自活体仙掌藻的证据

A recent island survey reveals that the Xuande Atoll and the Yongle Atoll in the Xisha Islands can be classified into one of two systems: the depleted atoll system and growth atoll system; the survey also indicates that the decreased area of several shoals is an unbearable burden for the Xisha Islands, of which the largest island area is 2.13 km2 and the minimum elevation is 1.4 m. According to a survey on the ecological characteristics of Halimeda in the Laolongtou breaker zone of Shidao Island in the Xisha Islands, the green and white living Halimeda are collected,the isotopic ages of 14 C contained in the Halimeda are shown to be 27 years and 55 years, respectively, and carbonate mainly occurs in five types, i.e., luster, segment, sand, sand grain, and marl in the formation. The Halimeda segments mainly provide the carbonate sediments of long-term biogenic deposits in the reef environment and the annual productivity per area is 60–100 g/m2; the characteristics of the microstructure of the Halimeda are analyzed, the aragonite raphide carbonate is deposited and enriched in the cortexes, medullas and cysts, and the Halimeda generally contain major elements such as C, O, Ca, Cl, Mg, K, Na, S and Al, and are rich in trace elements such as tellurium(Te), rhodium(Rh) and strontium. It is believed that the Halimeda grow slowly,including the biotic community of reef corals in the reef areas, thus they possess an environmental remediation capacity, but it takes much time to remedy the environment, and it is necessary to make the law to protect the diversity and vulnerability of the Xisha marine ecology, the ecology of the reef community and the island environment in a scientific way. As indicated in the survey, under the background of global warming and sea-level rise, the discovery of large amounts of Halimeda in the Laolongtou sea area is significant for the natural increase of the depleted atoll system of the Xuande Atoll, while the Halimeda segments represent the primary form of the fossil Halimeda, of which the species can be identified and preserved in great numbers under geological conditions. The Miocene was discovered in large amounts in the Xichen-1 well, therefore the study on the characteristics and mechanism of Halimeda carbonate sediments plays a pivotal role in the formation and construction of organic reefs in the South China Sea as well as oil and gas exploration.