Seismic anisotropy within the uppermost mantle of southern Germany

This paper presents an updated interpretation of seismic anisotropy within the uppermost mantle of southern Germany. The dense network of reversed and crossing refraction profiles in this area made it possible to observe almost 900 traveltimes of the P_n phase that could be effectively used in a time-term analysis to determine horizontal velocity distribution immediately below the Moho. For 12 crossing profiles, amplitude ratios of the P_n phase compared to the dominant crustal phase were utilized to resolve azimuthally dependent velocity gradients with depth. A P -wave anisotropy of 3–4 per cent in a horizontal plane immediately below the Moho at a depth of 30 km, increasing to 11 per cent at a depth of 40 km, was determined. For the axis of the highest velocity of about 8.03 km s⁻¹ at a depth of 30 km a direction of N31°F was obtained. The azimuthal dependence of the observed P_n amplitude is explained by an azimuth-dependent sub-Moho velocity gradient decreasing from 0.06 s⁻¹ in the fast direction to 0 s⁻¹ in the slow direction of horizontal P -wave velocity. From the seismic results in this study a petrological model suggesting a change of modal composition and percentage of oriented olivine with depth was derived.     

Ccte d'Ivoire-Ghana margin: seismic imaging of passive rifted crust adjacent to a transform continental margin

During May 1990 and January-February 1991, an extensive geophysical data set was collected over the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana continental margin, located along the equatorial coast of West Africa. The Ghana margin is a transform continental margin running subparallel to the Romanche Fracture Zone and its associated marginal ridge—the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Ridge. From this data set, an explosive refraction line running ∼ 150 km, ENE-WSW between 3°55'N, 3°21'W and 4°23'N, 2°4'W, has been modelled together with wide-angle airgun profiles, and seismic reflection and gravity data. This study is centred on the Côte d'Ivoire Basin located just to the north of the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Ridge, where bathymetric data suggest that a component of normal rifting occurred, rather than the transform motion observed along the majority of the equatorial West African margin.
Traveltime and amplitude modelling of the ocean-bottom seismometer data shows that the continental Moho beneath the margin rises in an oceanward direction, from ∼ 24 km below sea level to ∼ 17 km. In the centre of the line where the crust thins most rapidly, there exists a region of anomalously high velocity at the base of the crust, reaching some 8 km in thickness. This higher-velocity region is thought to represent an area of localized underplating related to rifting. Modelling of marine gravity data, collected coincident with the seismic line, has been used to test the best-fitting seismic model. This modelling has shown that the observed free-air anomaly is dominated by the effects of crustal thickness, and that a region of higher density is required at the base of the crust to fit the observed data. This higher-density region is consistent in size and location with the high velocities required to fit the seismic data.     

The S reflector west of Galicia: the seismic signature of a detachment fault

The so-called S reflector is a group of bright, continuous reflections underlying the landward-tilted fault blocks of the west Galicia rifted margin, S has been interpreted as the brittle-ductile transition, the lop of an intrusion, a detachment fault, and the crust-mantle boundary. To constrain the internal structure of the reflector, we have carried out detailed analyses of these reflections. We compare the waveforms of the seafloor reflection and its first multiple, both to determine the amplitude of the seafloor reflection and to show (hat the seafloor is in effect a spike in the reflectivity series so that the seafloor reflection can be used as the far-field wavelet, including both source and receiver ghosts. We compare (he waveform of the seafloor and 5 and show that, within the resolution of our data, S is a reflection from a step increase in acoustic impedance. This result is confirmed through complex trace analysis, and in particular the determination of the apparent polarity of S, and the examination of the instantaneous frequency function: S is consistently positive polarity, and shows no significant frequency anomaly. Simple modelling shows that S is very unlikely to be a reflection from a thin layer. We thus conclude that S is probably a single steplike interface. From the varying frequency content of the data, we determine a value for the effective Q between S and the seafloor, and use this to assess the amplitude loss due to attenuation and scattering. We use a comparison between the seafloor and the S reflection to constrain the amplitude of S, and estimate a reflection coefficient for S of at least 0.2 in places, decreasing landwards. By analogy with structures developed in the highly extended regions of the western United States, we consider that the most likely interpretation of S is as a sharp west-dipping detachment fault separating a 'granitic' upper plate from a higher-velocity lower plate, locally probably serpentinized mantle.     

高分辨率地震技术探测采空区研究——以贾汪煤矿区为例

高分辨率地震技术可广泛用于工程物探。本文主要利用高分辨率地震勘探探测采空区的位置和范围，为建筑物地基稳定性的评价提供可靠的依据；同时，从理论分析和野外试验两方面探讨了高分辨地震技术的野外数据采集、资料处理和资料解释，并简单介绍了在贾汪矿区的应用效果。研究结果表明，高分辨率地震技术能查明建筑场地内的采空区     

Preliminary seismic hazard maps of Slovenia

The preparation of the preliminary seismic hazard maps of the territory of Slovenia has been based on an expansion of the basic approach laid out by Cornell in 1968. Three seismic source models were prepared. Two of them are based mainly on the earthquake catalogue using the Poissonian probability model. A map of seismic energy release and a map of earthquake epicenter density are used to delineate seismic sources in these models. The geometry of the third model which is based on a rough estimate of seismotectonic setting is taken from the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis of a nuclear power plant in Slovenia. Published ground motion attenuation models based on strong motion records of recent strong earthquakes in Italy are used. Test maps for variable and uniform b-values are presented. The computer program, Seisrisk III, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey is used.     

Hazard mapping based on macroseismic data considering the influence of geological conditions

The object of this study is to consider directly the influence of regional geological conditions on the assessment of seismic hazard. It is assumed that macroseismic data at individual locations contain, in an average way, the influence of geological conditions.A Data Base referring to 199 historical (5) and instrumental (194, in the 1947–1993 period) events with macroseismic information in 1195 locations of Portugal was built. For any given seismic event, whenever macroseismic information was available at a location (town, village, etc.), an EMS-92 intensity value was estimated. To each one of those locations a geological unit, representing the most common type of soil, was assigned, based on the Geological Portuguese Map at a scale 1:500 000; the geological units were grouped into three categories: soft, intermediate and hard soils.The Data Base was used to determine the attenuation laws in terms of macroseismic intensity for the three different geological site conditions, using multiple linear regression analysis. The reasonability of the laws was tested by (i) checking residual distributions and (ii) comparing the map of isoseismals of important earthquakes with the isoseismals generated by the attenuation curves derived for each one of the three different soil classes, taking into consideration the soil class of each site. The main results of attenuation modeling are: high dispersion on macroseismic intensity data; all the models predict intensity values, for short hypocentral distances, lower than the ones observed; and for some important analyzed earthquakes and for the observed range of distances, the models confirm the expectancy that macroseismic intensity increases from hard to soft soil.The approach to obtain the hazard assessment at each location consisted in the use of the attenuation law specifically derived for the class of soil of that particular location. This method, which considers the influence of the regional geology, was illustrated with the mapping of hazard for the country for several return periods. Comparison with previous maps not taking into consideration the regional geological conditions emphasizes the importance of this new parameter. It can be concluded that (i) soil segmentation is clearly the cause for hazard increase in the region to the north of Lisbon, especially at sites with soft and intermediate soils as the ones in lower Tagus valley; the maximum increase on hazard is, in any case, less than one degree; (ii) when geological conditions are disregarded in the attenuation regression analysis, hazard pattern is similar to the one obtained for the case of hard soil everywhere.