Accretion and exhumation at a Variscan active margin, recorded in the Saxothuringian flysch

The Saxothuringian flysch basin, on the north flank of the Central European Variscides, was fed and eventually overthrust by the northwestern, active margin of the Tepla-Barrandian terrane. Clast spectra, mineral composition and isotopic ages of detrital mica and zircon have been analyzed in order to constrain accretion and exhumation of rocks in the orogenic wedge. The earliest clastic sediments preserved are of early Famennian age (ca. 370?Ma). They are exposed immediately to the NW of the suture, and belong to the par-autochthon of the foreland. Besides ultramafic (?ophiolite) material, these rocks contain clasts derived from Early Paleozoic continental slope sediments, originally deposited at the NW margin of the Saxothuringian basin. These findings, together with the paleogeographic position of the Famennian clastics debris on the northwestern passive margin, indicate that the Saxothuringian narrow ocean had been closed by that time. Microprobe analyses of detrital hornblendes suggest derivation from the “Randamphibolit” unit, now present in the middle part of the Saxothuringian allochthon (Münchberg nappes). Detrital zircons of metamorphic rocks formed a little earlier (ca. 380?Ma) indicate rapid recycling at the tectonic front. The middle part of the flysch sequence (ca. early to middle Viséan), both in the par-autochthon and in the allochthon, contains abundant clasts of Paleozoic rocks derived from the northwestern slope and rise, together with debris of Cadomian basement, 500-Ma granitoids and 380?Ma (early Variscan) crystalline rocks. All of these source rocks were still available in the youngest part of the flysch (c. middle to late Viséan), but some clasts record, in addition, accretion of the northwestern shelf. Our findings permit deduction of minimum rates of tectonic shortening well in excess of 10–30?mm per year, and rates of exhumation of ca. 3?mm/a, and possibly more.     

安徽省江淮地区清水钻进的管井取水效果探讨

本文根据施工实践的结果，综合分析对比了清水钻进与泥浆钻进的管井取水效果，指出清水钻进成井工艺是在现有机具设备条件下提高管井单井取水量的一个重要技术措施。特别是在安徽江淮相对贫水地区，采用清水钻进工艺成井的地质效果尤为明显。     

Conductivity of NaCl solution at 0.4–5.0 GPa and 25–500 °C

NaCI-H₂O is the most fundamental ternary system in geology. Until now, the measurements of electrical conductivity of NaCl solutions are still little at high pressures (> O.5 GPa) We measured the conductivity of 0.01 m NaCl solution at 0.4–5.0 GPa and 25-500°C. The results are consistent with that of Quist and Marshall (1968) at 0.4 GPa. The conductivity of NaCl solution increases with increasing temperature. The results also show that the conductivity of NaCl solution changes little with increasing pressure below 1.5 GPa and changes rapidly with increasing pressure above 1.5 GPa. The rapid increase of the conductivity of NaCl solution may play an important role in many geological processes (such as the genesis of ore deposits under hydrothermal condition) and other fields. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Comparison of Cu and Zn cycling in eutrophic lakes with oxic and anoxic hypolimnion

Data on the cycling of Cu and Zn in two eutrophic lakes are presented: Lake Greifen that becomes seasonally anoxic in its hypolimnion and Lake Sempach that is aerated during winter and oxygenated during summer. They suggest that hypolimnetic oxygenation 1) enhances the release of copper from the sediment but 2) also accelerates the entrapment and deposition of Cu and Zn by freshly formed Mn- and Fe-oxides.     

Barotropic local instability and severe storm process

By means of barotropic model, the characteristic and initial value problems are investigated to reveal the local two-dimensional barotropic instability of the nonuniform current to the dynamic mechanism of the formation of the Yangtze-Huaihe River severe storm in July 1991. Analytical theory and numerical experiment show that (i) the unstable developing modes are chiefly the two periods of about 44 d and 10 d, which are fundamentally consistent with that of the precipitation change of the Yangtze-Huaihe River. (ii) The growth rate of the local perturbation is dominated by the meridional wave numbern = 1–5 and zonal wave numberk = 1–12, i.e. the severe storm over the Yangtze-Huaihe River results from the interaction of the systems at different latitudes and waves of different scales, (iii) The perturbation over the Yangtze-Huaihe River possesses the property of local intensification, which slowly migrates westward over the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze-Huaihe River. (iv) The growth rate of the instability, especially the propagation velocity of the perturbation, is sensitive to the external parameters ū and α. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Crustal structure of Dabieshan orogenic belt

The crustal structures ofP velocity and density on the deep seismic sounding profile across the Ilabieshan orogenic belt are presented. There is a 5-km-thick crustal “root” between the Yuexi and Xiaotian where the elevation is highest on the profile. An apparent Moho offset of 4. 5 km beneath the Xiaotian-Mozitan fault marks the paleo-suture of the Triassic collision. A high-velocity anomaly zone at the depth below 3 km beneath the ultra-high pressure (UHP) zone may be correlated to the higher content of UHP metamorphic rocks. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Joint Earthquake Science Foundation.     

Interpretation of S-wave data from Tai’an-Xinzhou DSS profile and its relationship with Xingtai earthquakes

On the basis of S wave information from Tai’an-Xinzhou DSS profile and with reference to the results from P-wave interpretation, the 2-D structures, including S-wave velocity V _s, ratio γ between V _p and V _s; and Poisson’ s ratio σ, are calculated; the structural configuration of the profile is presented and the relevant inferences are drawn from the above results. Upwarping mantle districts (V _s≈4.30 km/s) and sloping mantle districts (V _s≈4.50 km/s) of the profile with velocity difference about −4% at the top of upper mantle are divided according to the differences of V _s, γ and σ in different media and structures, also with reference to the information of their neighbouring regions; the existence of Niujiaqiao-Dongwang high-angle ultra-crustal fault zone is reaffirmed; the properties of low and high velocity blocks (zones) including the crust-mantle transitionalzone and the boudary indicators of North China rift valley are discussed. A comprehensive study is conducted on the relation of the interpretation results with earthquakes. It is concluded that the mantle upwarps, thermal material upwells through the high-angle fault, the primary hypocenter was located at the crust-mantle juncture 30.0∼33.0 km deep, and additional stress excited the M _S=6.8 and M _S=7.2 earthquakes at specific locations around 9.0 km below Niujiaqiao-Dongwang, the earthquakes took place around the high-angle ultra-crustal fault and centered in the brittle media and rock strata with low γ and low σ values. This subject is part of the 85-907-02 key project during the “8th Five-Year Plan” from the State Science and Technology Commission.     

Testing an earthquake prediction algorithm

A test to evaluate earthquake prediction algorithms is being applied to a Russian algorithm known asM8 TheM8 algorithm makes intermediate term predictions for earthquakes to occur in a large circle, based on integral counts of transient seismicity in the circle. In a retroactive prediction for the period January 1, 1985 to July 1, 1991 the algorithm as configured for the forward test would have predicted eight of ten strong earthquakes in the test area. A null hypothesis, based on random assignment of predictions, predicts eight earthquakes in 2.87% of the trials. The forward test began July 1, 1991 and will run through December 31, 1997. As of July 1, 1995, the algorithm had forward predicted five out of nine earthquakes in the test area, which success ratio would have been achieved in 53% of random trials with the null hypothesis.     

Observations of flux rope – associated particle bursts with GEOTAIL in the distant tail

Geotail energetic particle, magnetic field data and plasma observations (EPIC, MGF and CPI experiments) have been examined for a number of energetic particle bursts in the distant tail (120Re < |X_GSM| < 130 Re), associated with moving magnetic field structures, following substorm onsets. The features obtained from this data analysis are consistent with the distant magnetotail dynamics determined first by ISEE3 observations and explained in terms of the neutral line model. At the onset of the bursts, before plasma sheet entrance, energetic electrons appear as a field-aligned beam flowing in the tailward direction, followed by anisotro-pic ions. Within the flux rope region, suprathermal ions exhibit a convective anisotropy, which allows determination of the plasma flow velocity, assuming that the anisotropy arises from the Compton-Getting effect. The velocities thus determined in the plasma sheet are estimated to be 200–650 km/s, and compare favourably with the velocities derived from the CPI electron and proton experiment. The estimated length of magnetic field structures varies between 28 and 56 Re and depends on the strength of the westward electrojet intensification. Finally, the three structures reported here show clear magnetic field signatures of flux rope topology. The existence of a strong magnetic field aligned approximately along the Y-axis and centred on the north-to-south excursion of the field, and the bipolar signature in both By and/or Bz components, is consistent with the existence of closed field lines extending from Earth and wrapping around the core of the flux rope structure.     

静海地震台地磁短周期变化及其在地震短临预报中的应用

近年来的一些研究表明，由于地震前孕震区地下介质的电性结构的变化，将导致地磁短周期转换函数发生异常变化。通过对地震前后的地磁短周期转换函数的参数的计算、分析和研究，有可能提取出可靠的地震短临前兆异常（曾小苹等，１９９０）。为了进一步开展对该方法研究工作并使其在我区地震预测预报研究中得到应用，我们使用了静海台的地磁记录资料，分析计算了该台地磁短周期转换函数在地震前后的变化情况，确立了该方法应用天津地区地震预报的短临异常特征及指标，取得了较好的效果。