Rapid variability of active galactic nuclei: The 160min periodicity in NGC 3516, NGC 4151 and Quasar 3C 273

The analysis of all the available data between 1968 and 1991 on rapid variability of optical and X-ray luminosity of three AGNs, NGC 3516, NGC 4151 and 3C 273, shows the presence of small-amplitude (˜ 1 %) but statistically confident (≈︁ 5s̀) periodicity of 160.0105 (± 6) min. Within the error limits it coincides with the period P₀ = 160.0101 (± 1) min of global oscillations of the Sun. An independence of the observed period on AGN red shift z favours the hypothesis about a cosmological origin of the 160min oscillation.     

Spacecraft potential control aboard Equator-S as a test for Cluster-II

The payload of Equator-S was complemented by the potential control device (PCD) to stabilise the electric potential of the spacecraft with respect to the ambient plasma. Low potentials are essential for accurate measurements of the thermal plasma. The design of PCD is inherited from instruments for Geotail and Cluster and utilises liquid metal ion sources generating a beam of indium ions at several keV. The set-up of the instrument and its interaction with the plasma instruments on board is presented. When the instrument was switched on during commissioning, unexpectedly high ignition and operating voltages of some ion emitters were observed. An extensive investigation was initiated and the results, which lead to an improved design for Cluster-II, are summarised. The cause of the abnormal behaviour could be linked to surface contamination of some emitters, which will be monitored and cured by on-board procedures in future. The mission operations on Equator-S were not at all affected, because of the high redundancy built into the instrument so that a sufficient number of perfectly operating emitters were available and were turned on routinely throughout the mission. Observations of the effect of spacecraft potential control on the plasma remained limited to just one event on January 8, 1998, which is analysed in detail. It is concluded that the ion beam lead to the predicted improvement of the particle measurements even outside the low density regions of the magnetosphere where the effect of spacecraft potential control would have been much more pronounced, and that the similar instruments for the four Cluster-II spacecraft to be launched in 2000 will be very important to ensure accurate plasma data from this mission.     

弧后盆地层序地层研究

在简述弧后盆地成因及其层序地层研究现状之后,通过国内外比较典型例子的对比分析,探讨活动边缘层序地层特征,并认为在弧后盆地开展露头层序地层工作是可行的。     

德格—中甸微板块在三叠纪时期各沉积构造带的性质和沉积盆地演化

德格—中甸微板块是在晚二叠世初随甘孜—理塘洋的产生而从扬子板块西缘分离出来的。在三叠纪时期受金沙江缝合带与甘孜—理塘缝合带构造作用的相互影响,其沉积构造性质也由被动边缘盆地演化为活动边缘盆地,同时分裂为白玉—义敦前陆盆地,昌台—乡城岛弧带、玉隆—稻城弧前盆地。     

Recurrence behaviors of segment-rupturing earthquakes on active faults of the Chinese mainland

IntroductionStrongorlargeearthquakesoccurredalongaspecificsegmentofanactivefaultarecalledsegment-rupturingearthquakes.Suchearthquakesoccurrepeatedlyatpreviouslocations.Thecurrentrecurrencemodelsforearthquakesrepeatedatpreviouslocationswereproposedonlimiteddatafromcharacteristicearthquakesonplateboundaries,mainlyincludingthetime-predictableandslippredictablemodels(Shimazaki,Nakata,1980),thequasi-periodicmodel(Bakun,McEvilly,1984;Savage,Cockerham,1986),andthetime-andmagnitude-predictablemodel…     

Hydrocarbons in the Bay of Bengal and Central Indian Basin bottom sediments: indicators of geochemical processes in the lithosphere

A study on the bulk distributions and molecular structures of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in organic matter of the sediments from the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern and Central Indian Basins was undertaken. The former two regions represent areas characterised by “normal” sedimentation while the third one mainly represents a region of “active tectonism”. Content of the hydrocarbons in the sediments of “normal” sedimentation ranges between 4.6 and 10.5 μg/g and aromatic hydrocarbons ranges between 0 and 0.38 μg/g. n-Alkanes in the sediments of the northern deep part of the Bay of Bengal consist mostly of long-chain structures (total C₂₅–C₃₃ up to 70%) with a high carbon preference index (CPI=3.01–3.43), indicating a large contribution of organic matter from terrigenous sources. The sediments from the Eastern Indian Basin have n-alkane distributions in which the long-chain components did not exceed 52.5% and the CPI was 1.7–1.90, indicating that the hydrocarbons are mostly derived from marine sources. Sharp increases of hydrocarbons are found in the vicinity of the tectonically active region of the Central Indian Basin, particularly in the sediments collected from the fracture zone. The total concentration of hydrocarbons increase to 170 μg/g and the aromatic hydrocarbons fraction to 156.3 μg/g. The proportion of short-chain n-alkanes increases up to 70%, CPI decreases to 0.76–1.12, and high concentrations of n-C₁₆ (16–40%) occur, all of which are absent in the other samples. The molecular content of PAH includes the unsubstituted individual structures: biphenyl, fluorene, pyrene, perylene, benzo(ghi)perylene, and the groups of homologues of naphthalene, benzofluorene, phenanthrene and chrysene. The association of the PAH and composition of paraffin hydrocarbons in the surficial sediments of deformation zone indicate that these are the resultant products of hydrothermal processes. It is, therefore, suggested that the association and composition of the hydrocarbons in sediments can be utilised as a paleoceanographic parameter to decipher the history of tectonism of an area.     

龙岗金垅顶子近代活动火山的岩石学与地球化学

距今１６００ 年前喷发的金龙顶子火山是龙岗火山群中一座最年轻的近代活动火山, 它的喷发物包括金龙顶子火山锥体 （海拔９９９．４ｍ ）、熔岩流及其广布的火山碎屑席 （四海火山渣层）。金龙顶子火山岩为单一的粗面玄武岩, 有着极为相似的ＲＥＥ和不相容元素分布模式, ８７Ｓｒ／８６Ｓｒ和１４３Ｎｄ／１４４Ｎｄ 分别变化于０．７０４８４６～０．７０４９２１ 和０．５１２６１９～０．０．５１２６４６, 这反映了它们直接来自地幔源区, 岩浆上升过程极少演化和壳源混染, 具有较为原始的岩浆特点。年轻火山岩中的幔源捕虏体提供了该区存在相对低温 （～９００℃） 含水的地幔。     

活跃破碎的图像识别

破碎波峰线长度的速度谱Λ(c)及其高阶矩是研究破碎能量耗散、动量通量等关键问题的有效工具。活跃破碎的图像识别是正确计算Λ(c)的一个关键前提。Kleiss等2011年给出了一种基于对数累积灰度函数(L)的导函数区分活跃破碎与尾迹的阈值方法,但阈值的确定仍存在一定的主观性,得到的破碎阈值可能偏低。我们通过对渤海海域拍摄的白冠破碎观测资料的分析,发现L函数的二阶导数往往存在稳定的次峰,次峰所对应的灰度值正可作为区分活跃破碎与尾迹的灰度阈值,由此提出一种基于L函数二阶导数次峰的阈值确定方法。     

利用祁连山主动源资料研究2016年门源6.4级地震前后波速变化

采用叠加、互相关、插值拟合等方法对祁连山气枪主动源台网数据进行处理,针对2016年1月21日青海门源6.4级地震前后气枪激发地震P波、S波震相的走时变化特征进行了分析,结果表明,地震前约6个月时,震中附近3个台站的相对走时出现下降变化（走时减少）,至震前约3个月时低值异常恢复正常,之后再次出现走时下降变化,地震即发生于走时变化恢复过程中。S波走时变化最大下降幅度达18ms,震后走时变化逐渐恢复正常,且3个台站变化趋势较为一致,其中,距震中最近的台站的S波走时变化最明显（ZDY38台）,较远台站的走时变化幅度较小,其变化特征与震源区位置有关。走时缩短意味着速度增加,可能与区域应力积累间存在一定的关系。     

FIRST REPORT OF BERO ZECO ACTIVE FAULT IN GÊRZÊ, NORTHERN TIBET

In the interior of the Tibetan Plateau, the active tectonics are primarily marked by conjugate strike slip faults and north-trending rifts, which represent the E-W extension since late Cenozoic of the plateau. The conjugate faults are mainly composed of NE-trending left-lateral strike-slip faults in Qiangtang terrane and NW-trending right-lateral strike-slip faults in Lhasa terrane. While, the rifts mainly strike N, NNW and NNE within southern Tibet. However, it is still a debate on the deformational style and specific adjustment mechanism of E-W extension. One of key reasons causing this debate is the lack of detailed investigation of these active faults, especially within the northwestern plateau. Recently, we found a 20km long, NNW-trending active fault at Bero Zeco in northwestern Tibet. This fault is presented as fault sag ponds, channel offsets and fault scarps. Displacement of channels and geomorphic features suggested that the Bero Zeco Fault(BZF)is a dextral strike-slip fault with a small amount of normal slip component, which may result from the E-W extensional deformation in the interior of Tibet. BZF strikes N330°~340°W, as shown on the satellite image. The main Quaternary strata in the studied area are two stages alluvial fans around the Bero Zeco. From the satellite images, the old alluvial fans were cut by the lake shoreline leaving many of lake terraces. And the young fans cut across the lake terraces and the old fans. By contrasting to the "Paleo-Qiangtang Huge Lake" since late Quaternary, these old alluvial fans could be late Pleistocene with age ranging from 40ka to 50ka. And the young fans could be Holocene. The sag ponds along the BZF are distributed in the late Pleistocene alluvial fans. Also, the BZF displaced the late Pleistocene fans without traces within Holocene fans, suggesting that the BZF is a late Pleistocene active fault. The fault scarps are gentler with the slope angle of around 10° and the vertical offset is about 2m by field measurement. Reconstruction of the offset of channels suggested that the accumulated dextral offset could be about 44m on the late Pleistocene alluvial fans. Therefore, we infer that the dextral slip-rate could be around 1mm/a showing a low-rate deformation characteristic. The angle between the strike of BZF and principal compressive stress axis(σ₁)is around 30°, which is significantly different to the other faults within the conjugate strike-slip fault zones that is 60°~75°. Now, the deformation mechanisms on these conjugate faults are mainly proposed in the studies of obtuse angle between the faults and σ₁, which is likely not applicable for the BZF. We infer that the BZF could be the northward prolongation of the north-trending rifts based on the geometry. This difference suggests that the conjugate strike-slip faults may be formed by two different groups:one is obtuse angle, which is related to block extrusion or shear zones in Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes possibly; the other is acute angle, which may represent the characteristics of new-born fractures. And more studies are needed on their deformation mechanisms.