Holocene activity of the Scilla Fault, Southern Calabria: Insights from coastal morphological and structural investigations

Integration of on-land and offshore geomorphological and structural investigations coupled to extensive radiometric dating of co-seismically uplifted Holocene beaches allows characterization of the geometry, kinematics and seismotectonics of the Scilla Fault, which borders the eastern side of the Messina Strait in Calabria, Southern Italy. This region has been struck by destructive historical earthquakes, but knowledge of geologically-based source parameters for active faults is relatively poor, particularly for those running mostly offshore, as the Scilla Fault does. The  30 km-long normal fault may be divided into three segments of  10 km individual length, with the central and southern segments split in at least two strands. The central and northern segments are submerged, and in this area marine geophysical data indicate a youthful morphology and locally evidence for active faulting. The on-land strand of the western segment displaces marine terraces of the last interglacial (124 to 83 ka), but seismic reflection profiles suggest a full Quaternary activity. Structural data collected on bedrock faults exposed along the on-land segment provide evidence for normal slip and  NW-SE extension, which is consistent with focal mechanisms of large earthquakes and GPS velocity fields in the region. Detailed mapping of raised Holocene marine deposits exposed at the coastline straddling of the northern and central segments supplies evidence for two co-seismic displacements at  1.9 and  3.5 ka, and a possible previous event at  5 ka. Co-seismic displacements show a consistent site value and pattern of along-strike variation, suggestive of characteristic-type behaviour for the fault. The  1.5–2.0 m average co-seismic slips during these events document M_e  6.9–7.0 earthquakes with  1.6–1.7 ka recurrence time. Because hanging-wall subsidence cannot be included into slip magnitude computation, these slips reflect footwall uplift, and represent minimum average estimates. The palaeoseismological record based on the palaeo-shorelines suggests that the last rupture on the Scilla Fault during the February 6, 1783 M_w = 5.9–6.3 earthquake was at the expected time but it may have not entirely released the loaded stress since the last great event at  1.9 ka. Comparison of the estimated co-seismic extension rate based on the Holocene shoreline record with available GPS velocities indicates that the Scilla Fault accounts for at least  15–20% of the contemporary geodetic extension across the Messina Strait.     

Late Quaternary contourites and glaciomarine sedimentation in the Fram Strait

Two sites in the eastern Fram Strait, the Vestnesa Ridge and the Yermak Plateau, have been surveyed and sampled providing a depositional record over the last glacial‐interglacial cycle. The Fram Strait is the only deep‐water connection from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic and contains a marine sediment record of both high latitude thermohaline flow and ice sheet interaction. On the Vestnesa Ridge, the western Svalbard margin, a sediment drift was identified in 1226 m of water. Gravity and multicores from the crest of the drift recovered turbidites and contourites. ¹⁴C dating indicates an age range of 8287 to 26 900 years BP (Early Holocene to Late Weichselian). The Yermak Plateau is characterized by slope sediments in 961 m of water. Gravity and multicores recovered contourites and hemipelagites. ¹⁴C ages were between 8615 and 46 437 years BP (Early Holocene to mid‐Weichselian). Downcore dinoflagellate cyst analyses from both sites provide a record of changing surface water conditions since the mid‐Weichselian, suggesting variable sea ice extent, productivity and polynyas present even during the Last Glacial Maximum. Four layers of ice‐rafted debris were also identified and correlated within the cores. These events occurred ca at 9, 24 to 25, 26 to 27 and 43 ka, asynchronous with Heinrich layers in the wider north‐east Atlantic and here interpreted as reflecting instability in the Svalbard/Barents Ice sheet and the northward advection of warm Atlantic water during the Late Weichselian. The activity of the ancestral West Spitsbergen Current is interpreted using mean sortable silt records from the cores. On the Vestnesa Ridge drift the modern mass accumulation rate, calculated using excess ²¹⁰Pb, is 0·076 g cm^?2 year^?1. On the Yermak Plateau slope the modern mass accumulation rate is 0·053 g cm^?2 year^?1.     

Shear strength characterization of municipal solid waste at the Suzhou landfill, China

The current practice of slope stability analysis for a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill usually overlooks the dependence of waste properties on the fill age or embedment depth. Changes in shear strength of MSW as a function of fill age were investigated by performing field and laboratory studies on the Suzhou landfill in China. The field study included sampling from five boreholes advanced to the bottom of the landfill, cone penetration tests and monitoring of pore fluid pressures. Twenty-six borehole samples representative of different fill ages (0 to 13 years) were used to perform drained triaxial compression tests. The field and laboratory study showed that the waste body in the landfill can be sub-divided into several strata corresponding to different ranges of fill age. Each of the waste strata has individual composition and shear strength characteristics. The triaxial test results showed that the MSW samples exhibited a strain-hardening and contractive behavior. As the fill age of the waste increased from 1.7 years to 11 years, the cohesion mobilized at a strain level of 10% was found to decrease from 23.3 kPa to 0 kPa, and the mobilized friction angle at the same strain level increasing from 9.9° to 26°. For a confinement stress level greater than 50 kPa, the shear strength of the recently-placed MSW seemed to be lower than that of the older MSW. This behavior was consistent with the cone penetration test results. The field measurement of pore pressures revealed a perched leachate mound above an intermediate cover of soils and a substantial leachate mound near the bottom of the landfill. The measurements of shear strength properties and pore pressures were utilized to assess the slope stability of the Suzhou landfill.     

Inhomogeneous substrate analysis using EM300 backscatter imagery

Backscatter reflectivity from multibeam echo-sounders provides a powerful tool to efficiently characterize seafloor substrates. A comprehensive EM300 bathymetric and backscatter survey has been completed of Cook Strait, in central New Zealand. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the realtime corrections applied to the raw EM300 multibeam data and additional corrections required to compute angular variations of the backscatter strength. The corrections, including the local absorption coefficient, the influence of seafloor topography and sound refraction in the water column, are determined for different Cook Strait seafloor substrates. Modifying MB-System software code, we extracted the backscatter signal parameters in order to quantify the raw backscatter strength and apply additional processing. Profiles of backscatter strength versus incidence angle were computed for a variety of sites characterized by flat seafloor and homogeneous substrates, and for which ground-truth data were available. For each homogeneous site, different but characteristic backscatter profiles are observed that can be interpreted in terms of sediment facies. To analyze heterogeneous substrates, we present a statistical technique, based on a 3-dimensional distribution of (incidence angle, backscatter strength) couples that preserves geological information of the substrate components. This analysis, using backscatter data acquired on a submarine volcano, north of New Zealand, clearly differentiates soft sediments and lava flows within a heterogeneous substrate.     

台湾海峡西部柱状沉积物粘土矿物的分析

根据台湾海峡西部10个柱102个样品的X 射线衍射等分析,鉴定了该区粘土矿物组合与含量变化,分析了其与沉积环境的关系.结果表明,该区粘土矿物组合大多数站位以伊利石含量占首位,绿泥石和高岭石次之,且含少量蒙脱石;伊利石含量随距岸、水深的增加而递增,高岭石则反之;蒙脱石含量与火山活动密切相关,绿泥石含量呈斑块状分布;775和819号站有典型的陆相层,为早玉木冰期的“台湾陆桥”或“东山陆桥”提供有力证据.     

筒型基础沉贯阻力估算方法

系统地总结国外有代表性工程实践对筒型基础沉贯阻力的研究 ,并将各种方法综合起来 ,提出了加权综合估算法 ,供今后的研究和工程实践参考     

闽南-台湾浅滩渔场浮游软体动物的分布

本文分析了1987年12月至1988年11月在闽南-台湾浅滩渔场6个航次采集的浮游软体动物,初步鉴定44种,以马蹄(?)螺、棒笔帽螺、尖笔帽螺和蝴蝶螺为该海区的优势种。本文研究了它们的季节变化,平面分布和垂直分布,并讨论了它们与上升流及其他水系的关系。     

台湾海峡海洋捕捞业管理策略和投资方向

本文收集了１９８５￣１９９４年福建省在台湾海峡生产的具有代表性的５０对拖网渔船、１２０艘单拖渔船、４８组灯光围网渔船、３８对大围缯渔船、３１艘定置网渔船的技术参数及生产资料，计算并分析了其适正捕捞力量、经济指标，得出了一些有益的结论：（１）根据台湾海峡渔业资源，把握正确的投资方向，已成为进一步发展海洋捕捞业的关键。（２）由于台湾海峡的渔业资源正遭受越来越大的压力，为了保护渔业资源，应当限制捕捞力量     

台湾海峡中北部夏季溶解氧饱和度分布与上升流的关系

本文据台湾海峡中北部1983年5月至1984年5月、1987年7,8月和1988年5～7月调查资料,讨论了该海域夏季溶解氧饱和度分布特征及其与上升流的关系,结果表明该海区夏季上升流的中心位置经常出现于海坛岛北侧至湄洲岛一带海域,西南季风是该区上升流产生的主要动力因子,该区上升流平均流速为4.4×10~(-3)cm/s。