Composition and exhalation flux of gases from mud volcanoes in Taiwan

Many mud volcanoes are distributed along the tectonic sutures in southern Taiwan and can be divided into five zones based on their relative positions in different tectonic domains. Most active mud volcanoes are exhaling methane-dominated gases. Nevertheless, some gases show unusual carbon dioxide-dominated and/or nitrogen-excess compositions. This implies that there are multiple sources for the gas compositions of mud volcanoes in Taiwan.For better understanding the total amount of exhalation gases and its flux, the gas flow and compositions were continuously measured in the interval of two minutes at Chung-lun (CL) bubbling mud pool for a few months. The major compositions of gases exhaling from this site were 75~90% of CO₂ and 5~12% of CH₄. The amount of gases exhaling from the mud pool can be estimated to be about 1.4 ton/year for CH₄ and 28 ton/year for CO₂, respectively. The preliminary results of exhaling gas flux from the major vents of representative active mud volcanoes, yielded an estimated total CH₄ output of the mud volcanoes in Taiwan of ca. 29 ton/year during quiescent period.     

Sr isotope diversity of hot spring and volcanic lake waters from Zao volcano,Japan

The ratio of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr was measured from different water samples of thermal/mineral (hot spring as well as crater lake) and meteoric origins, in order to specify the location and to verify the detailed model of a volcano-hydrothermal system beneath Zao volcano. The ratio showed a trimodal distribution for the case of thermal/mineral water: 0.7052–0.7053 (Type A, Zao hot spring), 0.7039–0.7043 (Type B, Okama crater lake and Shin-funkiko hot spring), and 0.7070–0.7073 (Type C, Gaga, Aone, and Togatta hot springs), respectively. However, in comparison, the ratio was found to be higher for meteoric waters (0.7077–0.7079). The water from the central volcanic edifice (Type B) was found to be similar to that of nearby volcanic rocks in their Sr isotopic ratio. This indicates that the Sr in water was derived from shallow volcanic rocks. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio for water from the Zao hot spring (Type A) was intermediate between those of the pre-Tertiary granitic and the Quaternary volcanic rocks, thus suggesting that the water had reacted with both volcanic and granitic rocks. The location of the vapor–liquid separation was determined as the boundary of the pre-Tertiary granitic and the Quaternary volcanic rocks by comparing the results of this strontium isotopic study with those of Kiyosu and Kurahashi [Kiyosu, Y., Kurahashi, M., 1984. Isotopic geochemistry of acid thermal waters and volcanic gases from Zao volcano in Japan. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 21, 313–331.].     

中国东北地区远震S波走时层析成像研究

利用中国东北流动和固定台网的234个宽频带地震仪在2009年6月—2011年5月所记录的远震波形数据,采用波形相关方法拾取了10301个有效的S震相相对走时残差数据,进一步采用两种射线走时层析成像的方法,反演获取了研究区下方深达800 km的S波速度结构,不同射线走时层析成像方法的结果对本区的S波速度异常结构起到一定的约束作用.S波成像结果与我们先前开展的P波成像研究结果整体相似：在长白山下方发现有一个高速异常结构,这可能就是俯冲到欧亚大陆板块下方的太平洋板块,由于板块的部分下沉,使得板块的形状并没有呈现出明显的板片状.长白山、阿尔山、五大连池火山下方都有低速异常体,长白山和阿尔山下的低速异常向下延伸至地幔转换带附近,可能与其上部的火山形成有关.五大连池火山下方的低速异常向下延伸至200 km左右,不同埋深的低速异常结构可能意味着五大连池与长白山和阿尔山有着不同的成因.松辽盆地呈现以高速异常为主导、高低速异常混合分布的特性,暗示松辽盆地岩石圈地幔可能遭受了改造与破坏,可能有岩石圈拆沉的过程,盆地南部下方的低速异常与长白山和阿尔山下的低速异常有连通性,可能是下地幔热物质上涌的一个通道.S波和P波相似的成像结果从另一个角度展示了中国东北地区的上地幔速度异常结构,对我们认识此区的地下结构提供了重要的约束.     

Distinct activity phases during the recent geologic history of a Gulf of Mexico mud volcano

Laser line scan imaging and chirp sub-bottom profiling were used to detail the morphology of a submarine mud volcano and brine-filled crater at 652 m water depth in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The mud volcano has a relief of 6 m and a basal diameter of about 80 m. The feature comprises a central, brine-filled crater (253 m²) surrounded by a continuous bed of methanotrophic mussels (Bathymodiolus childressi) covering 434 m² and a patchy bed covering an additional 214 m² of the periphery. The brine pool was mostly <2 m deep, but there were two holes of >28 m and 12 m deep, respectively at the northern end of the pool which emitted continual streams of small clear bubbles. Sub-bottom profiles indicated three distinct strata beneath the present surface of the mud volcano. Integration of 17 profiles shows that the mud volcano has been built in at least three successive stages: the lowest stage deposited 35,400 m³, while the middle and upper stages deposited 7700 and 20,400 m³, respectively. Piston cores were taken at the northern edge of the mussel bed and a site ∼100 m southwest of the pool. Mussel and lucinid shells were recovered from the closer core, lucinid shells from the distant core. A mussel shell from 3.4 m sub-bottom had a Δ¹⁴C age of 16.2 ka. Mixture of modern carbon with “carbon dead” reservoir material would produce actual ages ∼2 ka less than the radiocarbon ages.     

The thermal structure of the Dvurechenskii mud volcano and its implications for gas hydrate stability and eruption dynamics

The sediment temperature distribution at mud volcanoes provides insights into their activity and into the occurrence of gas hydrates. If ambient pressure and temperature conditions are close to the limits of the gas hydrate stability field, the sediment temperature distribution not only limits the occurrence of gas hydrates, but is itself influenced by heat production and consumption related to the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates. Located in the Sorokin Trough in the northern Black Sea, the Dvurechenskii mud volcano (DMV) was in the focus of detailed investigations during the M72/2 and M73/3a cruises of the German R/V Meteor and the ROV Quest 4000 m in February and March 2007. A large number of in-situ sediment temperature measurements were conducted from the ROV and with a sensor-equipped gravity corer. Gas hydrates were sampled in pressurized cores using a dynamic autoclave piston corer (DAPC). The thermal structure of the DMV suggests a regime of fluid flow at rates decreasing from the summit towards the edges of the mud volcano, accompanied by intermittent mud expulsion at the summit. Modeled gas hydrate dissociation temperatures reveal that the gas hydrates at the DMV are very close to the stability limits. Changes in heat flow due to variable seepage rates probably do not result in changes in sediment temperature but are compensated by gas hydrate dissociation and formation.     

泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应及其对天然气水合物赋存的影响

泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应对天然气水合物赋存的影响是探索泥底辟/泥火山发育区水合物赋存规律的关键问题。笔者在分析总结国外泥底辟/泥火山流体热异常及其对天然气水合物赋存之影响的基础上,重点探讨了我国南海北部陆坡珠江口盆地神狐海域SH5站位未钻获水合物的原因及泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应对天然气水合物赋存的影响。当初寄予厚望的位于泥底辟之上的SH5站位未成功钻遇水合物的原因是晚期泥底辟刺穿水合物稳定带使深部高温流体沿着泥底辟和断裂通道上侵,该过程致使水合物稳定带温度场升高进而导致早期形成的水合物发生分解,因此,泥底辟/泥火山的流体热效应会直接制约水合物的赋存。探索泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应及其对水合物成藏的影响,不仅为丰富和完善流体渗漏构造环境下天然气水合物成藏动力学研究与勘探提供了热力学理论依据,而且对天然气水合物勘探开发及资源潜力评价等具有重要的指导意义。     

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.     

Three dimensional seismic studies of deep-water hazard-related features on the northern slope of South China Sea

Mass transport deposits and geological features related to fluid flow such as gas chimneys, mud diapirs and volcanos, pockmarks and gas hydrates are pervasive on the canyon dominated northern slope of the Pearl River Mouth basin of the South China Sea. These deposits and structures are linked to serious geohazards and are considered risk factors for seabed installations. Based on high resolution three dimensional seismic surveys, seismic characteristics, distributions and origins of these features are analyzed. A distribution map is presented and geometrical parameters and spatial distribution patterns are summarized. Results show that various groups of the mapped features are closely tied to local or regional tectonism and sedimentary processes. Mass transport complexes are classified as slides near the shelf break, initially deformed slumps on the flanks of canyons and highly deformed slumps on the lower slope downslope of the mouth of canyons. We propose them to be preconditioned by pore pressure changes related to sea level fluctuations, steep topography, and fluid and fault activities. Gas chimneys are mainly located in the vicinity of gas reservoirs, while bottom-simulating reflectors are observed within the gas chimney regions, suggesting gas chimneys serve as conduits for thermogenic gas. Mud diapirs/volcanos and pockmarks are observed in small numbers and the formation of pockmarks is related to underlying gas chimneys and faults. This study aims at reducing risks for deep-water engineering on the northern slope of South China Sea.     

火山监测研究进展及其对中国火山灾害监测预警工作的启示

中国及邻区分布着众多的全新世陆相活火山,并留下了大量的喷发历史记录。对这些活火山开展监测和研究工作是预测火山喷发和火山灾害减灾防灾工作的重要途径。高度剥蚀的晚中生代火山区的大量地质填图,以及在活火山区的地球物理、地球化学等近实时的探测工作,极大地深化了我国东部中生代—新生代陆相火山岩的成分特征、岩浆演化规律及喷发方式等方面的认识,是开展火山监测的理想研究对象。近年来,火山灾害日益引起关注,全球火山监测研究进展迅速。本文系统梳理了目前国内外主要的火山监测方法及取得的重要进展,并分析了未来火山灾害减灾防灾工作的发展趋势及我国火山监测工作的发展方向,旨在通过介绍国际火山监测工作,为我国将来开展火山监测、预测与火山灾害相关的减灾防灾等方面的研究和国际合作提供借鉴。