A laboratory experiment to monitor the contact state of a fault by transmission waves

We performed a series of laboratory experiments in which elastic waves were transmitted across a simulated fault. Two types of experiments were carried out: (1) Normal Stress Holding Test (NSHT): normal stress was kept constant for about 3 h without shear stress and transmission waves were observed. (2) Shear Stress Increasing Test (SSIT): shear stress was gradually increased until a stick-slip event occurred. Transmission waves were continuously observed throughout the process of stress accumulation. We focused on the change in transmission waves during the application of shear stress and especially during precursory slips.It was found in NSHT that the amplitude of transmission waves linearly increased with the logarithm of stationary contact time. The increase amounted to a few percent after about 3 h. Creep at asperity contacts is responsible for this phenomenon. From a theoretical consideration, it was concluded that the real contact area increased with the logarithm of stationary contact time.We observed in SSIT a significant increase in wave amplitude with shear stress application. This phenomenon cannot be attributed to the time effect observed in NSHT. Instead, it can be explained by the mechanism of “junction growth” proposed by Tabor. Junction growth yields an increase in real contact area. It is required for junction growth to occur that the material in contact is already plastic under a purely normal loading condition. A computer simulation confirmed that this requirement was satisfied in our experiments. We also found that the rate at which the amplitude increased was slightly reduced prior to a stick-slip event. The onset time of the reduction well coincides with the onset of precursory slip. The cause of the reduction is attributed to the reset of stationary contact time due to displacement. This interpretation is supported by the result of NSHT. Taking the time of stationary contact in SSIT into account, we may expect the change in wave amplitude to be, at most, only a few percent. The observed slight reduction in increasing rate is, in this sense, reasonable. The static stiffness of the fault also decreases with precursory slip. It was also found that low frequency waves are a better indicator of precursory slip than high frequency waves. This might suggest that low frequency waves with longer wavelength are a better indicator of average behavior of faults. The problem, however, merits a further investigation. The shifts in phase were also found to be a good indicator of the change in contact state of the fault. The changes in both amplitude and phase of transmission waves are unifyingly understood through the theory of transmission coefficient presented by Pyrak-Nolte et al. Rough surfaces have a tendency to give larger stick-slips than smooth surfaces. The amount of precursory slip is larger for rough surfaces than for smooth surfaces. Although it was confirmed by a computer simulation that rough surfaces have larger contact diameters than smooth surfaces, the rigorous relationship between the surface roughness (contact diameter) and the amount of precursory slips was not established.     

Rock fracturing by explosive energy: review of state-of-the-art

A study of the dynamic rock fracture initiation and propagation due to explosive energy is presented through a detailed state-of-the-art review. Explosive energy dissipation in crushing and fracturing is examined and the various means to enhance the explosive energy utilization for dynamic rock fracturing are reviewed. The study highlights the need for a better understanding of the dynamic fracturing process particularly in the presence of in situ stresses in the rock mass.     

Control of dust emissions by geomorphic conditions, wind environments and land use in northern China: An examination based on dust storm frequency from 1960 to 2003

The degree to which dust emissions are controlled by geomorphic conditions, wind environments and land use was investigated using the dust storm frequency (DSF) and data from more than 300 meteorological stations throughout northern China. Our analysis showed that most dust emissions originated in gobi deserts that developed in piedmont alluvial fans of the Kunlun, Qilian and Helan mountains. Dust emissions are low from other gobi desert regions, such as the northern Gurbantunggut and eastern Taklimakan, where high vegetation coverage restrained dust emissions or where dust-size particles are not abundant after a long period of strong wind erosion. Sandy deserts with relatively high vegetation coverage or an extensive cover by mobile sands are not a major dust source. Although the highest dust emissions did not appear in regions with the highest wind energy, DSF trends in each region from 1960 to 2003 were closely related to local wind activity. DSF was low in regions with high levels of human activity, where the mean DSF from 1960 to 2003 did not exceed 4 days/year; even from the 1960s to the early 1970s, the period with the greatest DSF, frequency did not exceed 8 days/year, which indicates that extensive land use did not contribute to DSF. The low DSF in these areas might result from the fact that although land use could produce abundant fine soil fractions, vegetation coverage and soil moisture remained higher than in the gobi deserts of arid China, thereby decreasing dust-storm occurrence.     

Palaeovariations in the East-Asian Monsoon Regime Geochemically Recorded in Varved Sediments of Lake Sihailongwan (Northeast China, Jilin Province). Part 2: a 200-Year Record of Atmospheric Lead-210 Flux Variations and its Palaeoclimatic Implications

Palaeovariations of the atmospheric ²¹⁰Pb flux in Northeast China (Long Gang area, Jilin province), quantified by high resolution ²¹⁰Pb measurements on seasonally laminated sediments of Lake Sihailongwan are presented on decadal scale. The mean flux of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb between 1790 and 1970 for the centre of the lake basin is 517 Bq m⁻² yr⁻¹ with maximum deviations between −23% and +27% of this value. Flux rates above this average were found between 1783 and 1813, around 1836, and between 1860 and 1901. The mean ²¹⁰Pb^exc flux rates derived were clearly lower around 1821, 1908, 1930, and 1953. The ²¹⁰Pb^exc flux reached its minimum of 344 Bq m⁻² yr⁻¹ during the period 1977–1982. The atmospheric flux of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb is correlated with the precipitation frequency during the summer monsoon and shows coinciding variability with geochemical proxies that document the groundwater inflow into the lake. Al₂O₃-rich dust of remote provenance scavenged by wet-deposition in the rainy season is the major carrier of the atmospheric ²¹⁰Pb^exc flux.     

Re-evaluation of focal depths and source mechanisms of selected earthquakes in the Afar depression

We present a stepwise inversion procedure to assess the focal depth and model earthquake source complexity of seven moderate-sized earthquakes  (6.2 > M _w > 5.1)  that occurred in the Afar depression and the surrounding region. The Afar depression is a region of highly extended and intruded lithosphere, and zones of incipient seafloor spreading. A time-domain inversion of full moment tensor was performed to model direct P and SH waves of teleseismic data. Waveform inversion of the selected events estimated focal depths in the range of 17–22 km, deeper than previously published results. This suggests that the brittle–ductile transition zone beneath parts of the Afar depression extends more than 22 km. The effect of near-source velocity structure on the moment tensor elements was also investigated and was found to respond little to the models considered. Synthetic tests indicate that the size of the estimated, non-physical, non-isotropic source component is rather sensitive to incorrect depth estimation. The dominant double couple part of the moment tensor solutions for most of the events indicates that their occurrence is mainly due to shearing. Parameters associated with source directivity (rupture velocity and azimuth) were also investigated. Re-evaluation of the analysed events shows predominantly normal faulting consistent with the relative plate motions in the region.     

Palaeovariations in the East-Asian Monsoon Regime Geochemically Recorded in Varved Sediments of Lake Sihailongwan (Northeast China, Jilin Province). Part 1: Hydrological Conditions and Dust Flux

The varved sediments of the dimictic Lake Sihailongwan (Long Gang mountain area, Jilin Province, Northeast China) represent a palaeoclimatic archive which documents the local precipitation frequency during the summer monsoon, and variations in the aeolian flux of dust with their remote sources in the arid and semi-arid regions of inner Asia. Based on a detailed discussion of sediment genesis in Lake SHL, dust flux rates and palaeohydrological conditions were reconstructed on a decadal scale over the past 220 years. The aeolian influx by dry and wet deposition was quantified and characterised in its chemical composition. Photosynthetic production in the lake is positively correlated with the inflow of nutrient-rich groundwater. The groundwater discharge largely reflects the strength of the summer monsoon. Net accumulation rates for biogenic silica were determined for annually laminated sediments from the centre of the U-shaped lake basin based on sediment data. In a Si-balance model of the modern lake, the depositional flux of biogenic silica could be independently quantified on the base of hydrochemical monitoring data. Comparison of the both estimates allowed to asses the focussing of the particle flux in the lake. Though water retention in Lake SHL is rather high (ca. 30 years), changes in the hydrological conditions are sensitively recorded in the sediments because (i) nutrient-rich groundwater discharges into the productive zone of the lake, (ii) a substantial proportion of the total dissolved Si-inventory of the mixed lake (ca. 30%) is annually consumed by diatom growth, and (3) sediment accumulation is substantially focussed towards the flat bottom of the lake basin. The bulk siliciclastic sediment fraction (ca. 75 wt.%) largely originates from influx of dust of remote provenance. In sediment thin-sections, the dry-deposited dust fraction is microscopically identifiable as seasonal silt layer. Aeolian input by wet-deposition shows a distinctly higher variability than the influx of dust by dry-deposition. As diatom production, wet-deposition of dust is positively correlated with the rainfall during the summer monsoon. The inferred positive correlation between rainfall and dust flux during the summer monsoon implies that dust deposition is determined by the out-wash efficiency of mineral particles for a permanent high atmospheric dust concentration over Northeast China in the last 220 years.