营口—潍坊断裂带对辽东湾坳陷东部凸起的形成及构造分段的控制作用——来自物理模拟实验和断层几何学特征的证据

辽东湾坳陷是渤海湾盆地的重要组成部分,其发育受营口—潍坊断裂带控制。其东支的两条分支断层大体沿其次级构造单元辽东湾东部凸起的两侧延伸。本文应用大量地震测线的构造几何学特征分析,结合构造物理模拟试验,认为辽东湾坳陷东部凸起是在先期存在的低凸起的基础上,在渐新世东营组沉积期因营口—潍坊断裂带的右行走滑形成的。以Lz205测线和Lz185测线之间为界可分为类似的两段,各自经历了一个自南而北的右旋走滑伸展—剪切走滑—右旋走滑挤压的变化过程。这种变化由北东向的基底断裂与由之派生的新生代内的北北东内断裂间的关系造成,在两者的交汇点(如Lz151)或走向发生转折处(如Lz255)右旋走滑作用发生变换,其南侧拉张下沉,正断层发育,表现为右旋走滑伸展,北侧则挤压隆升,表现为右旋走滑挤压。南、北两侧相反的力学性质是走滑活动派生的局部差异应力场造成的。构造物理模拟试验证实了右旋走滑伸展—剪切走滑—右旋走滑挤压的变化过程。     

Time-series temperature measurements at high-temperature hydrothermal vents, East Pacific Rise 9°49′–51′N: evidence for monitoring a crustal cracking event

Temperature measurements of hydrothermal vent fluids provide an important indicator of the physical and chemical state of mid-ocean ridge crest hydrothermal and magmatic systems. Changes in vent fluid temperature and chemistry can have dramatic effects on biological communities that inhabit these unique ecosystems. In an attempt to understand temporal variability of ridge crest hydrothermal activity as it relates to geological processes at the ridge axis, six high-temperature hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise crest between 9°49′N and 9°51′N were instrumented and sampled repeatedly during five years following a submarine volcanic eruption in 1991. Bio9 vent, located on the floor of the axial trough near 9°50.2′N, has the most complete record of fluid temperatures from 1991 to 1997, including a continuous temperature record of nearly three years (1994–1997). Bio9 vent fluids were 368°C in 1991, increased to an estimated temperature ≥388°C after a second volcanic event in 1992, and thereafter declined over the next 2 years reaching a temperature of 365°C in December 1993. Continuous temperature records and point measurements made by Alvin's thermocouple probe show Bio9 vent fluids were stable for 15 months at 365±1°C, until March 26, 1995. On March 26, an abrupt 7°C increase occurred over a period of eight days at this vent, and a maximum temperature of 372±1°C persisted for 14 days. The vent fluid cooled gradually over 3.5 months to 366±1°C, and for several months at the end of the recording period the temperature increased a few degrees. A continuous record of fluid temperature at this vent between November 1995 and November 1997 shows a 5±1°C increase for the two-year period. The abrupt temperature increase at Bio9 vent, and coincident changes in faunal community structure, and geochemistry of vent fluids from this area suggest that a crustal event occurred, either in the form of a cracking front in the crust or intrusion of a small dike. Based on the results of a microseismicity experiment conducted around the Bio9 vent in 1995 [Sohn et al., Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 78 (1997) F647; Sohn et al., Nature (in press)], and the identification of a small earthquake swarm which occurred on March 22, 1995 we conclude that the temperature anomaly measured at Bio9 four days following the swarm was caused by a cracking front penetrating into hot crustal rocks beneath the vent.     

A Crustal Upheaval in a Coastal Zone After Ocean Water Loading

A crustal upheaval in a coastal zone is studied by introducing a simplified theoretical model of an equivalent elastic plate on which oceanic water is acting as a static loading. With a solution for the plate, the author notes what is seen as a crustal upheaval under the loading of static oceanic water in a qualitative scope. The solution requires some assumed parameters for the plate and the loading. Some other conditions should be also given to realize a possible dynamical understanding of a sea level rise seen after global climatological warming and glacial melting.     

Role of scavenging in a synaphobranchid eel (Diastobranchus capensis,Barnard, 1923), from northeastern Chatham Rise,New Zealand

Scavengers perform an important role in deep-sea ecosystems, recycling carrion. However, scavenged material can be difficult to discern from predation. The synaphobranchid eel Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923, is common bycatch in deep-water fisheries for orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus Collett, 1889) in New Zealand waters. Despite anecdotal reports of scavenging in D. capensis, their ecology and feeding are little known. Scavenged material was estimated to be approximately 39 per cent (by weight) of the diet of D. capensis from northeastern Chatham Rise, New Zealand, from water depths of 1062–1196 m. Scavenged material was defined as fragmentary food items from animals and plants either not normally available to the eel, or from animals larger than the eel consuming them (e.g., fish heads and tails, spent squid spermatophores, beaks and tentacle crowns, and seaweed). D. capensis were primarily piscivorous, with the diet supplemented by squid, natant decapods and mysids. The weight or number of food items did not increase with the size of the eel, nor was there any major ontogenetic shift in the composition of the diet. D. capensis probably plays an important role in mid-slope communities, recycling carrion.     

Magnetic properties of some young basalts from the East Pacific Rise

We report the results of a study of the magnetic properties of basalts recovered from the axis and from 0.7 m.y. old crust at 21° N and 19°30 S on the East Pacific Rise as well as from the 9°03 N overlapping spreading centers. The natural remanent magnetization of the samples from 21° N and 19°30 S decreases from the axis to 0.7 m.y. old crust as a result of low-temperature oxidation. In addition, the magnetic properties of the samples from the 21° N sites indicate that: (1) the magnetic susceptibility and the Koenigsberger ratio decrease with low-temperature alteration, (2) the Curie temperature, the median demagnetizing field and the remanent coercivity increase with maghemitization, (3) the saturation magnetization measured at room temperature does not change significantly with age. The magnetic properties of the basalt samples from the 9°03 N overlapping spreading centers indicate the presence of a high magnetization zone at the tip of the eastern spreading center. This high magnetization zone is the result of the high percentage of unaltered, fine-grained titanomagnetites present in the samples. These measurements are consistent with the results of the three-dimensional inversion of the magnetic field over the 9°03 N overlapping system [Sempere et al., 1984] as well as with detailed tectonic and geochemical investigations of overlapping spreading centers (Sempere and Macdonald, 1986a; Langmuir et al., 1986; Natland et al., 1986). The high magnetization zone appears to be the result of the eruption of highly fractionated basalts enriched in iron associated with the propagation of one of the limbs of the overlapping system into older lithosphere and not just to rapid decay, due to low-temperature oxidation, of the initially high magnetization of pillows extruded in the neovolcanic zone.     

Sea Beam,SeaMARC II and ALVIN-based studies of faulting on the East Pacific Rise 9°20′ N–9°50′ N

A study of Sea Beam bathymetry and SeaMARC II side-scan sonar allows us to make quantitative measures of the contribution of faulting to the creation of abyssal hill topography on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) 9°15 N–9°50 N. We conclude that fault locations and throws can be confidently determined with just Sea Beam and SeaMARC II based on a number of in situ observations made from the ALVIN submersible. A compilation of 1026 fault scarp locations and scarp height measurements shows systematic variations both parallel and perpendicular to the ridge axis. Outward-facing fault scarps (facing away from the ridge axis), begin to develop within 2 km of the ridge and reach their final average height of 60 m at 5–7 km. Beyond these distances, outward-dipping faults appear to be locked, although there is some indication of continued lengthening of outward-facing fault scarps out to the edge of the survey area. Inward-facing fault scarps (facing toward the ridge axis), initiate 2 km off axis and increase in height and length out to the edge of our data at 30 km, where the average height of inward fault scarps is 60–70 m and the length is 30 km. Continued slip on inward faults at a greater distance off axis is probable, but based on fault lengths, 80% of the lengthening of inward fault scarps occurs within 30 km of the axis (>95% for outward faults). Along-strike propagation and linkage of these faults are common. Outward-dipping faults accommodate more apparent horizontal strain than inward ones within 10 km of the ridge. The net horizontal extension due to faulting at greater distances is estimated as 4.2–4.3%, and inward and outward faults contribute comparably. Both inward- and outward-facing fault scarps increase in height from north to south in our study area in the direction of decreasing inferred magma supply. Average fault spacing is 2 km for both inward-dipping and outward-dipping faults. The azimuths of fault scarps document the direction of ridge spreading, but they are sensitive to local changes in least compressive stress direction near discontinuities. Both the ridge trend and fault scarp azimuths show a clockwise change in trend of 3–5° from 9°50 N to 9°15 N approaching the 9° N overlapping spreading center.     

Tracing the history of submarine hydrothermal inputs and the significance of hydrothermal hafnium for the seawater budget—a combined Pb-Hf-Nd isotope approach

Secular variations in the Pb isotopic composition of a mixed hydrogenous-hydrothermal ferromanganese crust from the Bauer Basin in the eastern Equatorial Pacific provide clear evidence for changes in hydrothermal contributions during the past 7 Myr. The nearby Galapagos Rise spreading center provided a strong hydrothermal flux prior to 6.5 Ma. After 6.5 Ma, the Pb became stepwise more radiogenic and more similar to Equatorial Pacific seawater, reflecting the westward shift of spreading to the presently active East Pacific Rise (EPR). A second, previously unrecognized enhanced hydrothermal period occurred between 4.4 and 2.9 Ma, which reflects either off-axis hydrothermal activity in the Bauer Basin or a late-stage pulse of hydrothermal Pb from the then active, but waning Galapagos Rise spreading center.Hafnium isotope time-series of the same mixed hydrogenous-hydrothermal crust show invariant values over the past 7 Myr. Hafnium isotope ratios, as well as Nd isotope ratios obtained for this crust, are identical to that of hydrogenous Equatorial Pacific deep water crusts and clearly indicate that hydrothermal Hf, similar to Nd, does not travel far from submarine vents. Therefore, we suggest that hydrothermal Hf fluxes do not contribute significantly to the global marine Hf budget.     

The distribution of geothermal fields along the East Pacific Rise from 13°10′ N to 8°20′ N: Implications for deep seated origins

In 1983 a combined SeaMARC I, Sea Beam swath mapping expedition traversed the East Pacific Rise from 13°20 N to 9°50 N, including most of the Clipperton Transform Fault at 10°15 N, and a chain of seamounts at 9°50 N which runs obliquely to both the ridge axis and transform fault trends. We collected temperature, salinity and magnetic data along the same track. These data, combined with Deep-Tow data and French hydrocasts, are used to construct a thermal section of the rise axis from 13°10 N to 8°20 N.Thermal data collected out to 25 km from the rise axis and along the Clipperton Transform Fault indicate that temperatures above the rise axis are uniformly warmer by 0.065°C than bottom water temperatures at equal depths off the axis. The rise axis thermal structure is punctuated by four distinct thermal fields with an average spacing of 155 km. All four of these fields are located on morphologic highs. Three fields are characterized by lenses of warmed water 20 km in length and 300 m thick. Additional clues to hydrothermal activity are provided in two cases by high concentrations of CH₄, dissolved Mn and ³He in the water column and in another case by concentrations of benthic animals commonly associated with hydrothermal regions.We use three methods to estimate large-scale heat loss. Heat flow estimates range from 1250 MW to 5600 MW for one thermal field 25 km in length. Total convective heat loss for the four major fields is estimated to lie between 2100 MW and 9450 MW. If we add the amount of heat it takes to warm the rest of the rise axis (489 km in length) by 0.065.°C, then the calculated axial heat loss is from 12,275 to 38,525 MW (19–61% of the total heat theoretically emitted from crust between 0 and 1 m.y. in age).     

东太平洋海隆热液活动区沉积岩心的地球化学研究

东太平洋隆是现代海底热液活动及热液沉积分布最为广泛的构造环境之一。本文对采自 EPR13°N 现代海底热液活动区附近的两个沉积物岩心分别进行了元素地球化学分析，并结合沉积物中有孔虫壳体对岩心进行关键层位 14C 年代学研究。目的在于通过对比距现代海底热液喷口不同距离的两岩心的地球化学特征，研究热液活动在岩心沉积物中所何存的地球化学记录，探讨海底热液活动对洋中脊附近沉积作用的贡献，以及热液活动在一定地质历史时期内的变化规律。显示，距热液喷口区相对较近的 B13－26 岩心沉积物含有丰富的热液特征组分，绝大多数微量元素和 REE 都与 Fe和Mn 成较强的正相关关系，而与 Al、Na、Ca、Mg、Ti 等元素相关性较弱或呈负相关，说明这些元素的富集机制主要是热液成因非晶质 Fe－Mn 化合物对热液及海水中元素的吸附作用。距热液喷口区相对较远的 B13－62岩心上部沉积物中元素的富集特征与 B13－26 岩心相似，但中下部沉积物中 Fe 与 Mn 无明显的相关关系，说明这些元素的富集主要受深海粘土沉积的影响，而受热液活动的影响减弱或消失。由于与海隆扩张轴距离的不同，两岩心受热液活动影响的强度不同。由海隆扩张轴向外，沉积作用受热活动的影响逐渐减弱，正常深海沉积作用逐渐加强。两个岩心沉积物地球化学上的共性是 Ca 和 Sr 都与其他元素呈现负相关关系或极微弱的正相关关系，表明生物碳酸盐沉积作用的独特性。有孔虫 14C 年龄测定结果表明，B13－26 岩心 35～250cm 段年龄十分接近，前后相差仅在几百年内。根据年龄测量中的误差范围，可以断定这段沉积物岩心是短时间内快速沉积的产物。结合热液活动特征性元素在岩心中的分布特征，判断该岩心段记录一次强烈的热液活动事件，从而形成了典型的事件沉积。在 B13－62 岩心的45～50cm 处测得有孔虫的 14C 年龄为距今 32900±530 yr。由于 14C 测年方法上的局限性，在岩心 135～140cm 处 14C 测年只能给出大于40000 yr 的结果。显然，B13－62 岩心处早期并没有受到热液活动明显的影响，沉积速率非常缓慢，只是在近期受到了热液活动的影响，形成了上部富含 Fe、Mn、Zn、Cr、Co、Ni、V 等热液活动特征元素的沉积。