Historical tsunami in the Makran Subduction Zone off the southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan and results of numerical modeling

Tsunami hazard in the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ), off the southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan, was studied by numerical modeling of historical tsunami in this region. Although the MSZ triggered the second deadliest tsunami in the Indian Ocean, among those known, the tsunami hazard in this region has yet to be analyzed in detail. This paper reports the results of a risk analysis using five scenario events based on the historic records, and identifies a seismic gap area in western Makran off the southern coast of Iran. This is a possible site for a future large earthquake and tsunami. In addition, we performed numerical modeling to explain some ambiguities in the historical reports. Based on the modeling results, we conclude that either the extreme run-up of 12–15 m assigned for the 1945 Makran tsunami in the historical record was produced by a submarine landslide triggered by the parent earthquake, or that these reports are exaggerated. The other possibility could be the generation of the huge run-up heights by large displacements on splay faults. The results of run-up modeling reveal that a large earthquake and tsunami in the MSZ is capable of producing considerable run-up heights in the far field. Therefore, it is possible that the MSZ was the source of the tsunami encountered by a Portuguese fleet in Dabhul in 1524.     

Quantitative analysis for maritime delimitation: Reassessing the Bay of Bengal delimitation between Bangladesh and Myanmar

This article examines technical aspects of the maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar (the ‘Bay of Bengal case’). This dispute was the first maritime delimitation determined by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The 2012 decision was also the first time that a maritime boundary for the seabed and subsoil of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the extended continental shelf (ECS) was determined by international adjudication. This was also therefore the first time that detailed technical quantification of seabed areas within the EEZ and ECS was needed for achieving an equitable division of these maritime zones in an international forum. Following review of the principles of maritime delimitation on which the ITLOS reached its determination, this article analyzes the legal status and delimitation effect of St. Martin's Island. Concerning the question of whether the legal regimes of the EEZ and continental shelf should be treated differently in a single delimitation line, although the ITLOS determined that the legal regimes should not be distinguished in the present case, a different approach is proposed for future cases. The article identifies how quantitative modelling can be used to achieve an equitable boundary and proposes a model to adjust provisional equidistance lines in accordance with the complex geophysical rules prescribed for the outer limits of the ECS in Article 76 of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC).     

Morphological indicators of structural control,relative sea-level fluctuations and platform drowning on present-day and Miocene carbonate platforms

The morphology of Carbonate platforms may be influenced by tectonic activity and eustatic variations. 3D seismic data and satellite imagery are used in order to investigate the morphological similarities between present-day carbonates platforms, East of Borneo Island and Miocene carbonate platforms of the South China Sea. The morphological similarities exhibit platform fragmentation, that could be caused by subtle faulting, sufficient to drown reef rims; platform contraction, which is a result of back-stepping of the reef margin during a relative sea level rise and polygonal patterns in internal lagoons, described as mesh reefs in modern platforms and possibly interpreted as karst in Miocene platforms.Vertical movements may trigger the formation of new geomorphological conditions that modify the distribution of coral growth with respect to the new hydrodynamic conditions in space and time. These movements (uplift and tilting) reduce and localize the space necessary for the coral ecosystem, explaining the contraction leading to drowning of parts of and, ultimately, the whole platform.     

Landscape-scale analysis of ecosystem risk and returns: A new tool for ICZM

Management of the coastal zone often focuses on “islands” of high value ecosystems, in terms of economic value or conservation. However, integrated management requires landscape-level analysis of all ecosystem values. The biodiversity portfolio analysis (BPA) method is derived from the logic used in share (equity) portfolio management in terms of balancing within a portfolio the returns with the risks. Optimising the returns from a share portfolio, or a suite of ecosystems in a landscape, is dependent on the relationship between the units in terms of risk and return. Three case studies are then presented to test the applicability of the BPA method at the international (North West Europe), regional (Durham Heritage Coast, UK) and local (part of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, UK) spatial scale. The Biodiversity Portfolio Analysis for NW Europe showed that risk and return were highly correlated in the studied Member States. The ranking of risk and return, with the highest first, was Ireland > UK > France=Netherlands > Belgium. For these Member States the risks to ecosystem service provision were positively correlated with GNI (r=0.97, P<0.01); suggesting that the higher the economic importance of coastal and marine resources in a Member State the more at risk the resources are. The regional and local case studies were more focussed on providing information on which to base Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) decision making; both case studies used stakeholder participation to determine risks and returns. The conclusions from these two case studies show how the BPA method can be useful in terms of setting ICZM priorities and in addressing local coastal issues. The BPA involves making a number of assumptions, however, it does provide coastal managers with a potential tool to strategically plan due to increased awareness of the interaction between the ecosystems in the portfolio.There is a need for such techniques, which involve stakeholder participation and which create objective outcomes, to support the implementation of ICZM.     

Dissolved iron in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean (CLIVAR SR3 section): Meridional and seasonal trends

We report measurements of dissolved iron (dFe, <0.4 μm) in seawater collected from the upper 300 m of the water column along the CLIVAR SR3 section south of Tasmania in March 1998 (between 42°S and 54°S) and November–December 2001 (between 47°S and 66°S). Results from both cruises indicate a general north-to-south decrease in mixed-layer dFe concentrations, from values as high as 0.76 nM in the Subtropical Front to uniformly low concentrations (<0.1 nM) between the Polar Front and the Antarctic continental shelf. Samples collected from the seasonal sea-ice zone in November–December 2001 provide no evidence of significant dFe inputs from the melting pack ice, which may explain the absence of pronounced ice-edge algal blooms in this sector of the Southern Ocean, as implied by satellite ocean-color images. Our data also allow us to infer changes in the dFe concentration of surface waters during the growing season. South of the Polar Front, a comparison of near-surface with subsurface (150 m depth) dFe concentrations in November–December 2001 suggests a net seasonal biological uptake of at least 0.14–0.18 nM dFe, of which 0.05–0.12 nM is depleted early in the growing season (before mid December). A comparison of our spring 2001 and fall 1998 data indicates a barely discernible seasonal depletion of dFe (0.03 nM) within the Polar Frontal Zone. Further north, most of our iron profiles do not exhibit near-surface depletions, and mixed-layer dFe concentrations are sometimes higher in samples from fall 1998 compared to spring 2001; here, the near-surface dFe distributions appear to be dominated by time-varying inputs of aerosol iron or advection of iron-rich subtropical waters from the north.     

Population connectivity of an overexploited coastal fish,Argyrosomus coronus (Sciaenidae), in an ocean-warming hotspot

The West Coast dusky kob Argyrosomus coronus is a commercially exploited fish with a distribution confined to the Angola–Benguela Frontal Zone (ABFZ) of the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. A previous study revealed that during a recent period of local warming the species extended its distribution into Namibian waters, where it hybridised with the resident and congeneric Argyrosomus inodorus. Environmental changes are a major threat to marine biodiversity and when combined with overfishing have the potential to accelerate the decline of species. However, little is known regarding the evolutionary history and population structure of A. coronus across the ABFZ. We investigated genetic diversity, population structure and historical demographic changes using mtDNA control region sequences and genotypes at six nuclear microsatellite loci, from 180 individuals. A single, genetically homogeneous population was indicated across the distributional range of A. coronus (φ_ST = 0.041, F_ST = 0.000, D = 0.000; p > 0.05). These findings imply that the oceanographic features within the ABFZ do not appear to significantly influence population connectivity in A. coronus, which simplifies management of the species. However, reconstruction of the demographic history points to a close link between the evolutionary history of A. coronus and the environmental characteristics of the ABFZ. This outcome suggests the species’ vulnerability to the rapid environmental changes being observed across this region, and highlights a pressing need for transboundary management to mitigate the impacts of climate change in this global hotspot of seawater temperature changes.     

斑岩铜矿成矿构造背景研究进展

斑岩铜矿是指与具斑状结构的中酸性侵入岩伴生,蚀变与矿化受流体、构造控制且分带明显,矿石以细脉浸染状为主,低品位、大储量的铜矿床,是最重要的铜矿床类型。大地构造背景对斑岩铜矿的形成具有重要意义,经典的斑岩铜矿主要产于岛弧、陆缘弧环境。然而,近年来国内矿床学家发现,国内形成于大陆环境的斑岩铜矿与大洋板块俯冲、板块消减作用无关,斑岩铜矿还可产于碰撞造山带,甚至是在陆内环境。相比之下,不同构造背景下形成的斑岩铜矿床含矿岩浆、成矿物质来源、矿床成因等方面存在一定差异与共性。综述了目前斑岩铜矿研究内容中的关于构造背景的一些重要观点和几个重要进展,对比了不同构造背景下形成的斑岩铜矿床的含矿岩浆、蚀变矿化、成矿流体等方面的共性与差异,以期对斑岩型矿床的成因与找矿提供一定的线索。     

构造应力环境对浅成岩体成矿系统的制约:从安庆月山岩体冷却过程动力学计算模拟结果分析

为探讨构造应力环境对浅成岩体成矿系统的制约,以安庆地区的月山岩体及其所形成的安庆铜矿床为例,在传统地质调查研究的基础上,通过假设不同的力学边界条件进行岩体冷却过程动力学的计算模拟实验研究。计算结果显示,在没有构造应力作用时,在岩体的接触带上不可能形成有利成矿定位的局部汇流扩容空间,挤压和拉伸作用都能够在岩体接触带形成局部汇流扩容空间,但二者的空间分布规律有着极大的差别,只有拉伸构造应力作用下的动力学计算模拟实验能在已发现矿体部位形成汇流扩容空间,表明构造应力环境对成矿定位的汇流空间的制约以及拉伸构造应力作用对月山岩体成矿的重要贡献。在拉伸构造应力和无构造应力作用时,接触带上的流体压力都是随着变形的进程而趋降低的,只有在挤压构造应力作用下,流体压力才会有一个超压的过程,流体超压是形成斑岩型矿床的重要机制。可见挤压环境才是一种有利于斑岩型矿床成矿的构造环境,铜陵-安庆地区缺乏与矽卡岩矿床相对应的斑岩型矿床主要原因之一是成矿时处于一种拉伸的构造应力作用环境。     

甘肃陇山地区葫芦河群变质玄武岩及大地构造环境恢复

葫芦河群变质玄武岩以其高不相容元素、稀土元素和低MgO、Cr和Ni含量有别于现代洋中脊玄武岩和岛弧玄武岩,在FeO-MgO-Al_2O_3和Ti/100-Zr-Y×3判别图上,均落在大陆玄武岩区。在剖面上,与变质玄武岩整合接触的巨厚的变砂岩和大量出现的火山角砾岩和集块岩是浅海环境的标志;密集的辉绿岩墙群是拉张性大地构造环境的特征。因此,本文认为葫芦河群变质玄武岩原岩形成于陆内裂陷海盆环境。     

镜质组反射率测试及其所反映的构造应力场

为了利用煤镜质组反射率推断豫北构造应力场,基于构造应力是造成镜质组反射率各向异性（VRA）的主要控制因素,对在豫北焦作、安阳、鹤壁三个矿区井下取的定向煤样品进行了室内显微镜下反射率测试,对测试数据按有关公式进行计算后就得出了由最大反射率值、中间反射率值、最小反射率值为轴组成的镜质组反射率椭球体（VRI）.结果表明,研究区煤样显示二轴晶正光性,它们经过了强烈的构造变形,研究区煤样镜质组反射率各向异性是由构造应力所引起;由镜质组反射率椭球体（VRI）得出的豫北构造应力场与钻探、节理统计、河南省区域构造应力场分析等方法得出的应力场基本上是吻合的,但也有一定的区别,主要体现在应力场到安阳、鹤壁矿区后发生了向左的偏转.总之,利用煤镜质组反射率各向异性推断构造应力场的方法是可行的、是有效的.