Segmentation and kinematics of the North America‐Caribbean plate boundary offshore Hispaniola

We explored the submarine portions of the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden Fault zone (EPGFZ) and the Septentrional–Oriente Fault zone (SOFZ) along the Northern Caribbean plate boundary using high‐resolution multibeam echo‐sounding and shallow seismic reflection. The bathymetric data shed light on poorly documented or previously unknown submarine fault zones running over 200 km between Haiti and Jamaica (EPGFZ) and 300 km between the Dominican Republic and Cuba (SOFZ). The primary plate‐boundary structures are a series of strike‐slip fault segments associated with pressure ridges, restraining bends, step overs and dogleg offsets indicating very active tectonics. Several distinct segments 50–100 km long cut across pre‐existing structures inherited from former tectonic regimes or bypass recent morphologies formed under the current strike‐slip regime. Along the most recent trace of the SOFZ, we measured a strike‐slip offset of 16.5 km, which indicates steady activity for the past ~1.8 Ma if its current GPS‐derived motion of 9.8 ± 2 mm a^?1 has remained stable during the entire Quaternary.     

Frequency-independent impedances of soil-structure systems in horizontal and rocking modes

The frequency-independent foundation impedances, commonly used in soil-structure dynamic interaction problems, are developed for a circular footing resting on a homogeneous halfspace. As they ignore the structure attached to the foundation, the error introduced in the structural response may be 50 per cent or more in the neighbourhood of the fundamental frequency of the soil-structure system. The present study proposes a new method developed for most dynamic soil-structure interaction problems. The key idea is to retain for the frequency-independent impedances values computed for the fundamental frequency of the soil-structure system; thus these values include the dynamic characteristics of the whole soil-structure system and lead to a satisfactory approximation of the exact solution over a wide frequency range. The method is developed here for the horizontal and rocking modes of a structure with a circular base resting on a homogeneous halfspace. Numerical applications are given for a simple linear oscillator in order to make possible a thorough parametric study. The response of some idealized building-foundation systems to harmonic excitation or to a seismic input is next examined in order to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed model.     

Subaquatic slope instabilities: The aftermath of river correction and artificial dumps in Lake Biel (Switzerland)

River engineering projects are developing rapidly across the globe, drastically modifying water courses and sediment transfer. Investigation of the impact of engineering works focuses usually on short-term impacts, thus a longer-term perspective is still missing on the effects that such projects have. The ‘Jura Water Corrections’ – the largest river engineering project ever undertaken in Switzerland – radically modified the hydrological system of Lake Biel in the 19th and 20th Century. The deviation of the Aare River into Lake Biel more than 140 years ago, in 1878, thus represents an ideal case study to investigate the long-term sedimentological impacts of such large-scale river rerouting. Sediment cores, along with new high-resolution bathymetric and seismic reflection datasets were acquired in Lake Biel to document the consequences of the Jura Water Corrections on the sedimentation history of Lake Biel. Numerous subaquatic mass transport structures were detected on all of the slopes of the lake. Notably, a relatively large mass transport complex (0·86 km²) was observed on the eastern shore, along the path of the Aare River intrusion. The large amount of sediment delivered by the Aare River since its deviation into the lake likely caused sediment overloading resulting in subaquatic mass transport. Alternatively, the dumping since 1963 in a subaquatic landfill of material excavated during the second phase of river engineering, when the channels flowing into and out of Lake Biel were widened and deepened, might have triggered the largest mass transport, dated to 1964 or 1965. Additional potential triggers include two nearby small earthquakes in 1964 and 1965 (M_W 3·9 and 3·2, respectively). The data for this study indicate that relatively large mass transports have become recurrent in Lake Biel following the deviation of the Aare River, thus modifying hazard frequency for the neighbouring communities and infrastructure.     

Streamflow scaling properties: investigating characteristic scales from different statistical approaches

This paper studies the links between scaling properties of river flow time series by comparing the results of three techniques applied to an extended data set of 34 French discharge gauging stations. The three approaches used are based on different mathematical tools and hypotheses: (1) shape analysis of flood hydrographs; (2) a multifractal framework through spectral and moment analyses, and (3) flood frequency analysis through the fitting of flood duration frequency curves (QdF). The general aim is to test the hypothesis of scaling invariance of river flow and the shape invariance of the hydrographs, in order to investigate the link between scaling properties and flow dynamics. In particular, the coherence between different approaches widely used in the literature to describe these characteristics is evaluated through the estimation of parameters defining the range of time‐scales on which the scaling properties are valid. The results show that most of these timescale parameters are linked to the flow dynamics and suggest that the approaches applied are interrelated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary element method applied to linear soil–structure interaction on a heterogeneous soil

An extension of the boundary element method to heterogeneous domains composed of horizontal layers is here proposed. It includes a numerical computation of the corresponding Green's functions, thanks to an inverse Hankel transform of the closed form solutions obtained in the spectral domain with suitable variables derived from displacements and stress vectors to obtain the decoupling between P–SV and SH waves. Transmission and reflection operators are introduced to avoid the problem of overflowing exponentials met with in Thomson–Haskell matrices. Applications are given in the soil–structure interaction field to compute the impedances of surface and embedded circular foundations resting on a viscoelastic halfspace.     

Distribution and geological control of mud volcanoes and other fluid/free gas seepage features in the Mediterranean Sea and nearby Gulf of Cadiz

Existing knowledge on the distribution of mud volcanoes (MVs) and other significant fluid/free gas-venting features (mud cones, mud pies, mud-brine pools, mud carbonate cones, gas chimneys and, in some cases, pockmark fields) discovered on the seafloor of the Mediterranean Sea and in the nearby Gulf of Cadiz has been compiled using regional geophysical information (including multibeam coverage of most deepwater areas). The resulting dataset comprises both features proven from geological sampling, or in situ observations, and many previously unrecognized MVs inferred from geophysical evidence. The synthesis reveals that MVs clearly have non-random distributions that correspond to two main geodynamic settings: (1) the vast majority occur along the various tectono-sedimentary accretionary wedges of the Africa-Eurasia subduction zone, particularly in the central and eastern Mediterranean basins (external Calabrian Arc, Mediterranean Ridge, Florence Rise) but also along its westernmost boundary in the Gulf of Cadiz; (2) other MVs characterize thick depocentres along parts of the Mesozoic passive continental margins that border Africa from eastern Tunisia to the Levantine coasts, particularly off Egypt and, locally, within some areas of the western Mediterranean back-arc basins. Meaningfully accounting for MV distribution necessitates evidence of overpressured fluids and mud-rich layers. In addition, cross-correlations between MVs and other GIS-based data, such as maps of the Messinian evaporite basins and/or active (or recently active) tectonic trends, stress the importance of assessing geological control in terms of the presence, or not, of thick seals and potential conduits. It is contended that new MV discoveries may be expected in the study region, particularly along the southern Ionian Sea continental margins.     

Ecotoxicological approach for assessing the contamination of a Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem (Honolua Bay, Maui) by metals and a metalloid

The goal of this study was to assess the contamination of Honolua Bay using an ecotoxicological approach. First, the concentrations of 9 contaminants (metals and metalloid) were assessed in sediments and tropical marine organisms (alga Halimeda kanaloana, goatfish Parupeneus multifasciatus and urchin Tripneustes gratilla) sampled from Honolua and surrounding Bays. Then, the ecological parameters characterizing coral health (e.g. coral cover) were evaluated in Honolua Bay in the context of these contaminants. High concentrations of Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, and V in sediments from Honolua and Honokohau Bay were measured, but these concentrations were not mirrored in the organisms examined, except for Mn, suggesting that the metals are generally bound in chemically inert forms in these sediments. Moreover, few anthropogenic activities impact these bays and so the elevated Co, Cr, Mn, Ni and V concentrations in sediments appear to stem from their high natural background in Honolua and Honokohau watersheds. An analysis of the relationship between the ecological parameters and metal concentrations in Honolua Bay revealed a significant correlation between coral cover and Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, V, Zn concentrations in sediments, with coral cover decreasing with increasing metal concentration. Collectively, however, the data suggest that a complex mixture of land-based stressors (e.g. sediment, metals, nutrients) affect the coral health in Honolua Bay, rather than metal stress alone.     

The North Cycladic Detachment System

Low-angle normal faults accommodate a large part of continental post-orogenic extension. Besides the intrinsic rheological characteristics of the continental crust that may lead to the formation of shallow-dipping shear zones at the brittle–ductile transition, the role of pre-existing low-angle structures such as large thrusts has been proposed by several authors. We explore this question with the example of the North Cycladic Detachment System (NCDS) that is composed of a series of distinct detachments cropping out on the islands of Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, separating the Cycladic Blueschists in the footwall from the Upper Cycladic Nappe in the hanging wall. We show that these extensional structures are part of a single large-scale structure (more than 200 km along strike) that reactivates the Vardar suture zone. It extends eastward on Ikaria and westward offshore Evia and Thessalia where it probably connects to recent shallow-dipping normal faults evidenced on published seismic reflection profiles. The NCDS started its activity in the Oligocene concommitantly with the Aegean extension, and was still active in the Late Miocene. It has exhumed a series of metamorphic domes from southern Evia to Mykonos below low-angle detachment systems, made of low-angle normal faults and low-angle ductile shear zones. The ductile shear zones and the faults were created with a low dip and they kept the same attitude throughout their exhumation. We identify three main detachments that are part of a continuum of extension on the NCDS : Tinos detachment, Livada detachment and Mykonos detachment. A fourth detachment (Vari detachment) is the reactivation of an Eocene exhumation-related structure. Deformation in the footwall is characterized by intense stretching and flattening. Using the spatial evolution observed along strike from Andros to Mykonos we construct a history of formation of the NCDS starting with the reactivation of former thrusts leading to the exhumation of high-temperature metamorphic domes. The Aegean example shows that reactivation of earlier shallow-dipping discontinuities can play a fundamental role in continental post-orogenic extension.