Pressure sensitivity of olivine slip systems: first-principle calculations of generalised stacking faults

We have used a first-principle approach based on the calculation of generalised stacking faults (GSF) to study the influence of pressure on the mechanical properties of forsterite. Six cases corresponding to [100] glide over (010), (021) and (001), and [001] glide over (100), (010) and (110) have been considered. The relaxed energy barriers associated with plastic shear have been calculated by constraining the Si atoms to move perpendicular to the fault plane and allowing Mg and O atoms to move in every direction. These conditions, which preserve dilations as a relaxation process, introduce Si–O tetrahedral tilting as an additional relaxation mechanism. Relaxed GSF show little plastic anisotropy of [100] glide over different planes and confirms that [001] glide is intrinsically easier than [100] glide. The GSF are affected by the application of a 10 GPa confining pressure with a different response for each slip system that cannot be explained by sole elastic effect. In particular, [100](010) is found to harden significantly under pressure compared to [001](010). Our results give the first theoretical framework to understand the pressure-induced change of dominant slip systems observed by Couvy et al. (in Eur J Mineral 16(6):877–889, 2004) and P. Raterron et al. (in GRL, submitted). It appears necessary to account for the influence of pressure on the mechanical properties of silicates in the context of the deep Earth.     

Structural stability of gravity dams: a progressive assessment considering uncertainties in shear strength parameters

Structural sliding stability of gravity dams is generally quantified using deterministic factor of safety, FS_det. Large FS_det (e.g. 3 in normal condition), are used in existing guidelines to guard against material and load uncertainties. Some guidelines allow an arbitrary reduction in FS_det (e.g. 2) when the knowledge in strength parameters increases from material test data. Yet, those reduced FS_det are not based on a rational consideration of uncertainties. Propagation of uncertainties could be done using probabilistic analyses, such as Monte-Carlo simulations (MC) which are complex and challenging for practical use. There is thus a need to develop simplified reliability based safety assessment procedures that could rationalise the adjustment of FS_det. This paper presents a progressive analysis methodology using four safety evaluation formats of increasing complexity: (i) deterministic, (ii) semi-probabilistic (partial coefficient), (iii) reliability based Adjustable Factor of Safety (AFS), and (iv) probabilistic. Comprehensive comparisons are made for the sliding safety evaluation of a 80 m gravity dam. Results are presented in terms of sliding factors of safety, allowable water levels, and demand/capacity ratios. It is shown that the AFS formulation, using direct integration, is simple and practical to use in complement to existing dam safety guidelines before undertaking MC simulations.     

Scientific prospects for spectroscopy of the gamma-ray burst prompt emission with SVOM

SVOM (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor) is a Sino-French space mission dedicated to the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the next decade, capable to detect and localise the GRB emission, and to follow its evolution in the high-energy and X-ray domains, and in the visible and NIR bands. The satellite carries two wide-field high-energy instruments: a coded-mask gamma-ray imager (ECLAIRs; 4–150 keV), and a gamma-ray spectrometer (GRM; 15–5500 keV) that, together, will characterise the GRB prompt emission spectrum over a wide energy range. In this paper we describe the performances of the ECLAIRs and GRM system with different populations of GRBs from existing catalogues, from the classical ones to those with a possible thermal component superimposed to their non-thermal emission. The combination of ECLAIRs and the GRM will provide new insights also on other GRB properties, as for example the spectral characterisation of the subclass of short GRBs showing an extended emission after the initial spike.     

Bulk-rock geochemistry and plagioclase zoning in lavas exposed along the northern flank of the Western Blanco Depression (Northeast Pacific): Insight into open-system magma chamber processes

The present study is based on a set of lavas and crosscutting dikes collected by dives along detailed vertical transects on the northern flank of the western part of the Blanco Transform Fault, Northeast Pacific. The studied area consists of a small basin, the Western Blanco Depression (WBD), extending from the southern end of the Juan de Fuca ridge to a pseudofault trace 60 km eastward. The Northern Scarp of the WBD comprises a volcanic unit overlying a sheeted-dike complex. Major and trace element data, coupled with Sr–Nd isotope ratios, reveal a two-component mantle source, composed by an isotopically depleted matrix variably veined by more enriched material. One chemical group (NS2), indistinguishable from the other Northern Scarp samples on the basis of trace element data, has an unusually depleted isotopic composition typical of a nearly pure mantle end-member. Some cogenetic samples of the Northern Scarp have been used to constrain the differentiation modalities. Anorthite and MgO content profiles in plagioclase xenocrysts and phenocrysts reveal (i) the existence of H₂O-bearing evolved melts in the mushy zones and (ii) the occurrence of mixing process between these melts and anhydrous mafic liquids. The hydration is supported by other petrographic features such as high magmatic fO₂ values, calculated from Fe–Ti oxide pairs, and the presence of pyroxene inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts. Mixing, consistent with the existence of Ni-rich ferrobasalts, is interpreted to be the consequence of the reservoir refilling by mafic liquids (Mg# = 70). These petrological and geochemical evidences are combined with the evolution of Mg# with depth to suggest a periodic open-system magma chamber evolution beneath the southern end of the Juan de Fuca ridge.     

Extrinsic and intrinsic forcing of fluvial development: understanding natural and anthropogenic influences

This paper introduces a special issue arising from the biennial meeting of the Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG) that took place in September 2008 in Budapest, Hungary. Combining a two-day conference and three-day field excursion, this meeting provided an excellent opportunity for presentation and discussion of recent advances in research on fluvial evolution from the Plio-Pleistocene to the historical period. This editorial seeks to place these advances within the contexts both of long-term geomorphological research and the achievements of FLAG. It thus highlights progress towards a better understanding of fluvial responses to internal and external (including anthropogenic) forcing. It also points out some of the main obstacles, which can be targeted as goals for further research. Typically these relate to observed discrepancies in fluvial system responses, such as in patterns of lateral erosion and the timing of terrace incision, despite apparently similar fluvial parameters. Possible explanations for these discrepancies are mentioned, and the potential of new methods (especially in geochronology and modelling) to clarify such discrepancies is underlined. Finally the editorial provides brief reviews of the ten papers in this special issue (many of them developed from presentations in Budapest), which cover various areas in Europe (Hungary, England, Germany, Portugal, Russia), Asia (India) and South America (Bolivian Andes), placing them, in turn, within the context of this wider review of fluvial research.     

Geophysical exploration of an active pockmark field in the Bay of Concarneau,southern Brittany,and implications for resident suspension feeders

About a decade ago, a large field of pockmarks (individual features up to 30 m in diameter and <2 m deep) was discovered in water depths of 15–40 m in the Bay of Concarneau in southern Brittany along the French Atlantic coast, covering an overall area of 36 km² and characterised by unusually high pockmark densities in places reaching 2,500 per square kilometre. As revealed by geophysical swath and subbottom profile data ground-truthed by sediment cores collected during two campaigns in 2005 and 2009, the confines of the pockmark field show a spectacular spatial association with those of a vast expanse of tube mats formed by a benthic community of the suspension-feeding amphipod Haploops nirae. The present study complements those findings with subbottom chirp profiles, seabed sonar imagery and ultrasonic backscatter data from the water column acquired in April 2011. Results show that pockmark distribution is influenced by the thickness of Holocene deposits covering an Oligocene palaeo-valley system. Two groups of pockmarks were identified: (1) a group of large (>10 m diameter), more widely scattered pockmarks deeply rooted (up to 8 ms two-way travel time, TWTT) in the Holocene palaeo-valley infills, and (2) a group of smaller, more densely spaced pockmarks shallowly rooted (up to 2 ms TWTT) in interfluve deposits. Pockmark pore water analyses revealed high methane concentrations peaking at ca. 400 μl/l at 22 and 30 cm core depth in silty sediments immediately above Haploops-bearing layers. Water column data indicate acoustic plumes above pockmarks, implying ongoing pockmark activity. Pockmark gas and/or fluid expulsion resulting in increased turbidity (resuspension of, amongst others, freshly settled phytoplankton) could at least partly account for the strong spatial association with the phytoplankton-feeding H. nirae in the Bay of Concarneau, exacerbating impacts of anthropogenically induced eutrophication and growing offshore trawling activities. Tidally driven hydraulic pumping in gas-charged pockmarks represents a good candidate as large-scale short-term triggering mechanism of pockmark activation, in addition to episodic regional seismic activity.     

Peierls dislocation modelling in perovskite (CaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>): comparison with tausonite (SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>) and MgSiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> perovskite

We present here a numerical modelling study of dislocations in perovskite CaTiO₃. The dislocation core structures and properties are calculated through the Peierls–Nabarro model using the generalized stacking fault (GSF) results as a starting model. The GSF are determined from first-principles calculations using the VASP code. The dislocation properties such as collinear, planar core spreading and Peierls stresses are determined for the following slip systems: [100](010), [100](001), [010](100), [010](001), [001](100), [001](010), and All dislocations exhibit lattice friction, but glide appears to be easier for [100](010) and [010](100). [001](010) and [001](100) exhibit collinear dissociation. Comparing Peierls stresses among tausonite (SrTiO₃), perovskite (CaTiO₃) and MgSiO₃ perovskite demonstrates the strong influence of orthorhombic distortions on lattice friction. However, and despite some quantitative differences, CaTiO₃ appears to be a satisfactory analogue material for MgSiO₃ perovskite as far as dislocation glide is concerned.     

IN-SITU observations of irregular ionospheric structure associated with the plasmapause

Additional studies of the ion composition results obtained from the OGO-6 satellite support earlier observations of irregularities in the distribution of H⁺ and He⁺ within the light ion trough near L = 4, which has been associated with the plasmapause. These irregularities are in the form of sub-troughs superimposed upon the major mid latitude decrease of the light ions. In the sub-troughs, ionization depletions and recoveries of as much as an order of magnitude are observed within a few degrees of latitude, usually exhibited in a pattern which changes significantly with longitude as the Earth rotates beneath the relatively fixed satellite orbit. The location and properties exhibited by these sub-troughs appear to be consistent with the concept of a plasmasphere distortion in the form of “plasmatails” resulting from the combined effects of magnetospheric convection plus corotation. Like the light ion trough, the “plasmatail” irregularity in H⁺ may be obscured on the day side by the dominant topside distribution of O⁺. Consequently, these light ion irregularities are seen as an important factor for studies of plasmapause-trough relationships.     

Forsterite to wadsleyite phase transformation under shear stress and consequences for the Earth's mantle transition zone

We have studied the phase transformation of forsterite to wadsleyite under shear stress at the Earth's transition zone pressure and temperature conditions. Two-step experiments were performed using a multi-anvil press. First, we hot pressed iron-free forsterite at 6 or 11 GPa and 1100 °C. Then we deformed a slab of this starting material using a direct simple shear assembly at 16 GPa and 1400 °C for 1, 15, 35, 40, or 60 min. Both the starting material and the deformed samples were characterized using optical and scanning electron microscopy including measurements of crystal preferred orientations (CPO) by electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The phase transformation occurs very rapidly, in less than 1 min, and metastable forsterite relics are not observed after deformation. The grain size of wadsleyite is slightly smaller than the forsterite starting material. The water contents obtained from FTIR analyses in forsterite and wadsleyite are 65–124 wt ppm H₂O and 114–736 wt ppm H₂O, respectively, which are well below water solubility at similar conditions in the presence of free water. Wadsleyite aggregates display weak CPO patterns with [1 0 0] axes concentrated at low angle to the shear direction, [0 1 0] axes perpendicular to the shear plane and nearly random [0 0 1] axes. Only a few dislocations were observed in wadsleyite with TEM. This observation is consistent with the assumption that most dislocations formed during the initial high-stress stages of these stress-relaxation experiments, were consumed in the phase transformation, probably enhancing the transformation rate. CPO patterns vary as a function of the water content: with increasing water content the density of [1 0 0] axes parallel to the shear direction decreases, and the density of [0 0 1] axes increases. Viscoplastic self-consistent modeling of CPO evolution using previously reported glide systems for wadsleyite, i.e., [1 0 0]{0 k l} and 1/2 〈1 1 1〉{1 0 1}, cannot reproduce the measured CPO, unless the [0 0 1](0 1 0) system, for which dislocations have not been observed by TEM, is also activated. In addition, wadsleyite grain growth suggests the participation of diffusion-assisted processes in deformation. Calculated anisotropies for P and S-waves using measured CPO are always below 1%. This very low anisotropy is due to both the low finite strain achieved in the experiments, which leads to weak wadsleyite CPO, and to the diluting effect of added majorite. The present experiments emphasize the importance of stress, grain size evolution and water content in the forsterite to wadsleyite phase transformation and subsequent deformation in the transition zone.