Structural elements of the Makran region, Oman sea and their potential relevance to tsunamigenisis

The character of convergence along the Arabian–Iranian plate boundary changes radically eastward from the Zagros ranges to the Makran region. This appears to be due to collision of continental crust in the west, in contrast to subduction of oceanic crust in the east. The Makran subduction zone with a length of about 900 km display progressively older and highly deformed sedimentary units northward from the coast, together with an increase in elevation of the ranges. North of the Makran ranges are large subsiding basins, flanked to the north by active volcanoes. Based on 2D seismic reflection data obtained in this study, the main structural provinces and elements in the Gulf of Oman include: (i) the structural elements on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate and, (ii) the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex. Based on detailed analysis of these data on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate five structural provinces and elements—the Musendam High, the Musendam Peneplain, the Musendam Slope, the Dibba Zone, and the Abyssal Plain have been identified. Further, the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex shown is to consist Accretionary Prism and the For-Arc Basin, while the Accretionary Prism has been subdivided into the Accretionary Wedge and the Accreted/Colored Mélange. Lastly, it is important to note that the Makran subduction zone lacks the trench. The identification of these structural elements should help in better understanding the seismicity of the Makran region in general and the subduction zone in particular. The 1945 magnitude 8.1 tsunamigenic earthquake of the Makran and some other historical events are illustrative of the coastal region’s vulnerability to future tsunami in the area, and such data should be of value to the developing Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System.     

辽宁省海洋环境保护与海岸带可持续开发利用

在分析综合辽宁省海岸带调查和沿海经济贝类污染监测资料基础上，根据辽宁海岸带水质，沉积物和生物污染现状及发展趋势。针对所存在的问题，讨论了辽宁省海洋污染特别是赤潮对海洋资源的破坏，并在组织机构，地方立法，海岸带环境保护规划，污染源控制与整体环境改进，监测方案等方面提出了建设海上辽宁、加强辽宁省海洋环境保护与海岸可持续开发利用的建议。     

福建海岛潮间带软体动物群落分布特征

福建海岛潮间带软体动物共鉴定248种，隶属于5纲78科161属，应用群落系数，等级聚类分析和极坐标排序研究软体动物落分布，结果表明，软体动物群落可分为3种类型，即河口型群落，近岸港湾群落和开阔海域群落，群落分布与海岛所处地理位置及其生境类型密切相关，盐度和水动力是重要的影响因子。     

象山港,三门湾潮间带生态学研究：Ⅱ.数量组成与分布

象山港、三门湾软相潮间带底栖动物数量的水平分布与港湾的屏蔽性程度有一定的关系，生物量是三门湾（１８０．９５ｇ／ｍ２）高于象山港（９４．４７ｇ／ｍ２），生物密度是象山港（８１６个／ｍ２）高于三门湾（３４７个／ｍ２）。决定所面生物数量变化的主要底栖动物种类数随着港湾屏蔽性程度的提高而相应地减少。生物数量的垂直分布主要受潮汐作用的影响，以中潮区为最高。生物量以６月份最大，密度是４月份最大。     

Wave Decay and Its Characteristics in Surf Zone

In accordance with the similarity between breaking waves and hydraulic jumps, the expressions for estimating wave decay and wave energy dissipation in the surf zone are derived based on the fundamental equations of fluid mechanics. Using the numerical solution of cnoidal wave theory, the various kinematic properties of waves in the surf zone, including the relative wave crest height, wave energy, and radiation stress are discussed. The values calculated with the method proposed in this paper are in good agreement with the experimental data gained by other researchers. The present expressions can be used in the studies of sediment transport on gently sloping beaches, especially on muddy beaches.     

The Agulhas Ridge, South Atlantic: The Peculiar Structure of a Fracture Zone

The Agulhas Ridge is a prominent topographic feature that parallels the Agulhas-Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ). Seismic reflection and wide angle/refraction data have led to the classification of this feature as a transverse ridge. Changes in spreading rate and direction associated with ridge jumps, combined with asymmetric spreading within the Agulhas Basin, modified the stress field across the fracture zone. Moreover, passing the Agulhas Ridge’s location between 80 and 69 Ma, the Bouvet and Shona Hotspots may have supplied excess material to this part of the AFFZ thus altering the ridge’s structure. The low crustal velocities and overthickened crust of the northern Agulhas Ridge segment indicate a possible continental affinity that suggests it may be formed by a small continental sliver, which was severed off the Maurice Ewing Bank during the opening of the South Atlantic. In early Oligocene times the Agulhas Ridge was tectono-magmatically reactivated, as documented by the presence of basement highs disturbing and disrupting the sedimentary column in the Cape Basin. We consider the Discovery Hotspot, which distributes plume material southwards across the AAFZ, as a source for the magmatic material.     

Modelling of periodic wave transformation in the inner surf zone

In this paper, we analyse the ability of the nonlinear shallow-water (NSW) equations to predict wave distortion and energy dissipation of periodic broken waves in the inner surf zone. This analysis is based on the weak-solution theory for conservative equations. We derive a new one-way model, which applies to the transformation of non-reflective periodic broken waves on gently sloping beaches. This model can be useful to develop breaking-wave parameterizations (in particular broken-wave celerity expression) in both time-averaged wave models and time-dependent Boussinesq-type models. We also derive a new wave set-up equation which provides a simple and explicit relation between wave set-up and energy dissipation. Finally, we compare numerical simulations of both, the NSW model and the simplified one-way model, with spilling wave breaking experiments and we find a good agreement.     

First results from the North Iceland experiment

Between June 2004 and September 2004 a temporary seismic network was installed on the northern insular shelf of Iceland and onshore in north Iceland. The seismic setup aimed at resolving the subsurface structure and, thus, the geodynamical transition from Icelandic crust to typical oceanic crust along Kolbeinsey Ridge. The experiment recorded about 1,000 earthquakes. The region encloses the Tjörnes Fracture Zone containing the Husavik–Flatey strike-slip fault and the extensional seismic Grimsey Lineament. Most of the seismicity occurs in swarms offshore. Preliminary results reveal typical mid-ocean crust north of Grimsey and a heterogeneous structure with major velocity anomalies along the seismic lineaments and north–south trending subsurface features. Complementary bathymetric mapping highlight numerous extrusion features along the Grimsey Lineament and Kolbeinsey Ridge. The seismic dataset promises to deliver new insights into the tectonic framework for earthquakes in an extensional transform zone along the global mid-ocean ridge system.     

渤海湾沿岸泥炭沼泽形成机制与时空分布

渤海湾沿岸的海陆过渡带，优越的水文地理环境有利于泥炭沼泽的形成与发育。海洋海退导致的海岸线变迁，是控制泥炭沼泽发育时间和空间分布的主导因素。间冰期和冰后期的海面上升期间，自海向陆发育了海侵基底泥炭；中全新世高海面期，在山前扇缘洼地和沟谷有泥炭沼泽发育；晚全新世海面下降期，泥炭沼泽主要发育在沿岸的海湾、泻湖、三角洲汊河间洼地及平原上的河滩、阶地、古河道等地。     

Seismic structure and tectonics of the Shackleton Fracture Zone (Drake Passage,Scotia Sea)

The structural framework of the southern part of the Shackleton Fracture Zone has been investigated through the analysis of a 130-km-long multichannel seismic reflection profile acquired orthogonally to the fracture zone near 60° S. The Shackleton Fracture Zone is a 800-km-long, mostly rectilinear and pronounced bathymetric lineation joining the westernmost South Scotia Ridge to southern South America south of Cape Horn, separating the western Scotia Sea plate from the Antarctic plate. Conventional processing applied to the seismic data outlines the main structures of the Shackleton Fracture Zone, but only the use of enhanced techniques, such as accurate velocity analyses and pre-stack depth migration, provides a good definition of the acoustic basement and the architecture of the sedimentary sequences. In particular, a strong and mostly continuous reflector found at about 8.0 s two-way traveltime is very clear across the entire section and is interpreted as the Moho discontinuity. Data show a complex system of troughs developed along the eastern flank of the crustal ridge, containing tilted and rotated blocks, and the presence of a prominent listric normal fault developed within the oceanic crust. Positive flower structures developed within the oceanic basement indicate strike-slip tectonism and partial reactivation of pre-existing faults. Present-day tectonic activity is found mostly in correspondence to the relief, whereas fault-induced deformation is negligible across the entire trough system. This indicates that the E–W-directed stress regime present in the Drake Passage region is mainly dissipated along a narrow zone within the Shackleton Ridge axis. A reappraisal of all available magnetic anomaly identifications in the western Scotia Sea and in the former Phoenix plate, in conjunction with new magnetic profiles acquired to the east of the Shackleton Fracture Zone off the Tierra del Fuego continental margin, has allowed us to propose a simple reconstruction of Shackleton Fracture Zone development in the general context of the Drake Passage opening.