Dinosaurs, spherules, and the “magic” layer: A new K-T boundary clay site in Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohor, Bruce F.; Triplehorn, Don M.; Nichols, Douglas J.; Millard, Hugh T., Jr.

1987-10-01

A new Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary clay site has been found along Dogie Creek in Wyoming in the drainage of Lance Creek—the type area of the Lance Formation of latest Cretaceous age. The boundary clay was discovered in the uppermost part of the Lance Formation, 4 7 cm beneath the lowest lignite in the Paleocene Fort Union Formation and approximately 1 m above a fragmented dinosaur bone. The boundary clay consists of a basal kaolinitic claystone layer as much as 3 cm thick containing hollow goyazite spherules, overlain by a 2 3 mm smectitic layer (the “magic” layer) containing both shock-metamorphosed minerals and an iridium anomaly of 21 ppb. A palynological break coincides with the base of the claystone layer; numerous Late Cretaceous palynomorph species terminate at this boundary. The paleontological significance of this new boundary site lies in its close association with the well-studied assemblage of dinosaurs and other vertebrates and flora within the type area of the Lance Formation. The spherules at the Dogie Creek site are extremely well preserved by virtue of their replacement by the mineral goyazite. This preservation should facilitate the resolution of the origin of the spherules and of their host layer.

Imaging paleoslabs in the D″ layer beneath Central America and the Caribbean using seismic waveform inversion

PubMed Central

Borgeaud, Anselme F. E.; Kawai, Kenji; Konishi, Kensuke; Geller, Robert J.

2017-01-01

D″ (Dee double prime), the lowermost layer of the Earth’s mantle, is the thermal boundary layer (TBL) of mantle convection immediately above the Earth’s liquid outer core. As the origin of upwelling of hot material and the destination of paleoslabs (downwelling cold slab remnants), D″ plays a major role in the Earth’s evolution. D″ beneath Central America and the Caribbean is of particular geodynamical interest, because the paleo- and present Pacific plates have been subducting beneath the western margin of Pangaea since ~250 million years ago, which implies that paleoslabs could have reached the lowermost mantle. We conduct waveform inversion using a data set of ~7700 transverse component records to infer the detailed three-dimensional S-velocity structure in the lowermost 400 km of the mantle in the study region so that we can investigate how cold paleoslabs interact with the hot TBL above the core-mantle boundary (CMB). We can obtain high-resolution images because the lowermost mantle here is densely sampled by seismic waves due to the full deployment of the USArray broadband seismic stations during 2004–2015. We find two distinct strong high-velocity anomalies, which we interpret as paleoslabs, just above the CMB beneath Central America and Venezuela, respectively, surrounded by low-velocity regions. Strong low-velocity anomalies concentrated in the lowermost 100 km of the mantle suggest the existence of chemically distinct denser material connected to low-velocity anomalies in the lower mantle inferred by previous studies, suggesting that plate tectonics on the Earth’s surface might control the modality of convection in the lower mantle. PMID:29209659

Further constraints on the African superplume structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Sidao; Helmberger, Don V.

2003-11-01

It is well established that there is a large-scale low velocity structure in the lowermost mantle beneath Africa, extending from the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean to the Southwestern Indian Ocean with a volume greater than 10 billion km 3 (>7000 km long, 1000 km across and 1200 km high) [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 206 (2003) 119]. This low velocity structure is often called the African superplume. Various studies also require sharp boundaries for the plume. However, as for its height and shear velocity reduction, there has been some controversy, especially concerning the velocities at the core-mantle-boundary (CMB). Here, we present an assortment of phases involving S diff, SKS, S and S cS with both vertical and horizontal paths sampling a 2D corridor through the structure. Travel time and waveform modeling of these seismic phases argues for a model with shear velocity reduction of approximately 3% within the superplume (which is basically a 200 km thick layer low velocity layer beneath the Southern Atlantic Ocean, and a 1200 km high structure beneath South Africa), and against a model of a substantially reduced low velocity layer (up to 10%, 300 km) beneath the superplume. We also analyzed P diff and the differential times of P cP-P and compared them with S diff and S cS-S observations along the same great circle paths. The P-velocity is not very anomalous, at most -0.5%, much smaller than -1% as expected from a thermal anomaly with -3% lower S-velocity [Geophys. Res. Lett. 27 (2000) 421], thus again arguing for a chemical origin which was suggested from the modeling of African superplume sharp sides [Science 296 (2002) 1850].

A case study of cumulus formation beneath a stratocumulus sheet: Its structure and effect on boundary layer budgets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barlow, Roy W.; Nicholls, S.

1990-01-01

On several occasions during the FIRE Marine Stratocumulus IFO off the California coast, small cumulus were observed to form during the morning beneath the main stratocumulus (Sc) deck. This occurs in the type of situation described by Turton and Nicholls (1987) in which there is insufficient generation of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) from the cloudtop or the surface to sustain mixing throughout the layer, and a separation of the surface and cloud layers occurs. The build up of humidity in the surface layer allows cumuli to form, and the more energetic of these may penetrate back into the Sc deck, reconnecting the layers. The results presented were collected by the UKMO C-130 aircraft flying in a region where these small cumulus had grown to the extent that they had penetrated into the main Sc deck above. The structure of these penetrative cumulus are examined and their implications on the layer flux and radiation budget discussed.

Fluctuating pressures measured beneath a high-temperature, turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate at Mach number of 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrott, Tony L.; Jones, Michael G.; Albertson, Cindy W.

1989-01-01

Fluctuating pressures were measured beneath a Mach 5, turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate with an array of piezoresistive sensors. The data were obtained with a digital signal acquisition system during a test run of 4 seconds. Data sampling rate was such that frequency analysis up to 62.5 kHz could be performed. To assess in situ frequency response of the sensors, a specially designed waveguide calibration system was employed to measure transfer functions of all sensors and related instrumentation. Pressure time histories were approximated well by a Gaussian prohibiting distribution. Pressure spectra were very repeatable over the array span of 76 mm. Total rms pressures ranged from 0.0017 to 0.0046 of the freestream dynamic pressure. Streamwise, space-time correlations exhibited expected decaying behavior of a turbulence generated pressure field. Average convection speed was 0.87 of freestream velocity. The trendless behavior with sensor separation indicated possible systematic errors.

Seismic evidence for the depression of the D″ discontinuity beneath the Caribbean: Implication for slab heating from the Earth's core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, Justin Yen-Ting; Hung, Shu-Huei; Kuo, Ban-Yuan; Zhao, Li

2017-06-01

The lowermost 100-300 km of the Earth's mantle commonly regarded as the thermal boundary layer (TBL) of mantle circulation is characterized by its complex physical properties. Beneath the Caribbean this so-called D″ layer features relatively high velocities and abrupt impedance increase at the top (designated as the D″ discontinuity). These seismic characteristics have been attributed to the accumulation of ancient subducted slab material and the phase transition in the major lower mantle mineral of pervoskite. Geodynamic models predict that the blanketing cold slabs may trap enough heat from core to be buoyantly destabilized, and eventually broken apart and entrained into the bottom of the convection cell. Here we explore the D″ structure with unprecedented resolution through modeling traveltimes, amplitudes, and waveform shapes from the USArray. We find an east-to-west asymmetrical undulation of the D″ discontinuity with a V-shaped depression of ∼70-160 km over a lateral distance of 600 km beneath northern South America. The shear velocity perturbations vary in the same trend showing the most pronounced reduction of ∼3-4% below the thinnest D″ layer in close proximity to an intermittently undetected discontinuity. The strong correlation between the D″ topography and velocity variations indicates the phase transition boundary has been perturbed or even disrupted by the large lateral temperature gradient of slab material which has been reheated from the core over extended periods of time.

Pressure fluctuations beneath instability wavepackets and turbulent spots in a hypersonic boundary layer

DOE PAGES

Casper, Katya M.; Beresh, Steven J.; Schneider, Steven P.

2014-09-09

To investigate the pressure-fluctuation field beneath turbulent spots in a hypersonic boundary layer, a study was conducted on the nozzle wall of the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. Controlled disturbances were created by pulsed-glow perturbations based on the electrical breakdown of air. Under quiet-flow conditions, the nozzle-wall boundary layer remains laminar and grows very thick over the long nozzle length. This allows the development of large disturbances that can be well-resolved with high-frequency pressure transducers. A disturbance first grows into a second-mode instability wavepacket that is concentrated near its own centreline. Weaker disturbances are seen spreading from the centre. The wavesmore » grow and become nonlinear before breaking down to turbulence. The breakdown begins in the core of the packets where the wave amplitudes are largest. Second-mode waves are still evident in front of and behind the breakdown point and can be seen propagating in the spanwise direction. The turbulent core grows downstream, resulting in a spot with a classical arrowhead shape. Behind the spot, a low-pressure calmed region develops. However, the spot is not merely a localized patch of turbulence; instability waves remain an integral part. Limited measurements of naturally occurring disturbances show many similar characteristics. From the controlled disturbance measurements, the convection velocity, spanwise spreading angle, and typical pressure-fluctuation field were obtained.« less

High-Reynolds-number turbulent-boundary-layer wall pressure fluctuations with skin-friction reduction by air injection.

PubMed

Winkel, Eric S; Elbing, Brian R; Ceccio, Steven L; Perlin, Marc; Dowling, David R

2008-05-01

The hydrodynamic pressure fluctuations that occur on the solid surface beneath a turbulent boundary layer are a common source of flow noise. This paper reports multipoint surface pressure fluctuation measurements in water beneath a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer with wall injection of air to reduce skin-friction drag. The experiments were conducted in the U.S. Navy's Large Cavitation Channel on a 12.9-m-long, 3.05-m-wide hydrodynamically smooth flat plate at freestream speeds up to 20 ms and downstream-distance-based Reynolds numbers exceeding 200 x 10(6). Air was injected from one of two spanwise slots through flush-mounted porous stainless steel frits (approximately 40 microm mean pore diameter) at volume flow rates from 17.8 to 142.5 l/s per meter span. The two injectors were located 1.32 and 9.78 m from the model's leading edge and spanned the center 87% of the test model. Surface pressure measurements were made with 16 flush-mounted transducers in an "L-shaped" array located 10.7 m from the plate's leading edge. When compared to no-injection conditions, the observed wall-pressure variance was reduced by as much as 87% with air injection. In addition, air injection altered the inferred convection speed of pressure fluctuation sources and the streamwise coherence of pressure fluctuations.

Constraint on subsurface structures beneath Reiner Gamma on the Moon using the Kaguya Lunar Radar Sounder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bando, Yuichi; Kumamoto, Atsushi; Nakamura, Norihiro

2015-07-01

Reiner Gamma is a sinuous feature in Oceanus Procellarum; it has a higher reflectance of the visible wavelength than the surrounding flat mare basalt, and displays a high crustal magnetic field. Previous studies relating to the origin of Reiner Gamma have provided contradictory depths of magnetic source bodies in the lunar crust as either shallow or deep. If a shallow ejecta layer existed beneath the Reiner Gamma formation, a subsurface lithological boundary between the denser mare basalt and the less dense ejecta blanket would be expected. This study examines subsurface stratifications using the Lunar Radar Sounder (LRS) onboard the Kaguya spacecraft. Taking into account the LRS-determined dielectric constants, the influence of surface clutter, and the energy loss of the LRS radar pulses in the high frequency band (5 MHz), no evidence was found of subsurface boundaries down to a depth of 1000-m at Reiner Gamma. Given the LRS range resolution of 75-m, the source of the magnetic anomaly is considered to be either strongly magnetized thin breccia layers at depths shallower than 75-m, or less magnetized thick layers at depths deeper than 1000-m.

An experimental study of the wall-pressure fluctuations beneath low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers.

PubMed

Van Blitterswyk, Jared; Rocha, Joana

2017-02-01

A more complete understanding of the physical relationships, between wall-pressure and turbulence, is required for modeling flow-induced noise and developing noise reduction strategies. In this study, the wall-pressure fluctuations, induced by low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers, are experimentally studied using a high-resolution microphone array. Statistical characteristics obtained using traditional cross-correlation and cross-spectra analyses are complimented with wall-pressure-velocity cross-spectra and wavelet cross-correlations. Wall-pressure-velocity correlations revealed that turbulent activity in the buffer layer contributes at least 40% of the energy to the wall-pressure spectrum at all measured frequencies. As Reynolds number increases, the low-frequency energy shifts from the buffer layer to the logarithmic layer, as expected for regions of uniform streamwise momentum formed by hairpin packets. Conditional cross-spectra suggests that the majority of broadband wall-pressure energy is concentrated within the packets, with the pressure signatures of individual hairpin vortices estimated to decay on average within traveling ten displacement thicknesses, and the packet signature is retained for up to seven boundary layer thicknesses on average.

The relationship between surface topography, gravity anomalies, and temperature structure of convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parsons, B.; Daly, S.

1983-01-01

Consideration is given to the relationship between the temperature structure of mantle convection and the resulting surface topography and gravity anomalies, which are used in its investigation. Integral expressions relating the three variables as a function of wavelength are obtained with the use of Green's function solutions to the equations of motion for the case of constant-viscosity convection in a plane layer subject to a uniform gravitational field. The influence of the boundary conditions, particularly at large wavelengths, is pointed out, and surface topographies and gravity produced by convection are illustrated for a number of simple temperature distributions. It is shown that the upper thermal boundary layer plays an important role in determining the surface observables, while temperatures near the bottom of the layer affect mainly that boundary. This result is consistent with an explanation of geoid anomalies over mid-ocean swells in terms of convection beneath the lithosphere.

On the Complicated 410 km Discontinuity beneath Eastern China with the Seismic Triplications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Y.; Li, G.; Sui, Y.

2013-12-01

The seismic triplications from the seismograms of mid-deep earthquakes at the Ryuku subduction zone recorded by the Chinese Digital Seismic Network (CDSN) between the epicentral distance between 10°-23° are used to study the upper mantle structure beneath Eastern China. Comparing the observed seismograms with the synthetic ones from different models based on IASP91 earth model and using the ray-tracing method, we found that the 410 km discontinuity is a gradient zone with the thickness of 20 km and there is low velocity layer atop the discontinuity which becomes thin from north to south beneath Eastern China. The complicated 410 km discontinuity with an atop low velocity layer may be caused by the dehydration of the Philippine sea subducting materials which are observed by the seismic tomopgraphy (Qu, et al., 2007; Li and van der Hilst, 2010). The low velocity gradient zone between the depths of 80-200 km is also been observed and may be related to the lithospheric-asthenosphere boundary.

Magnetotelluric investigations of the lithosphere beneath the central Rae craton, mainland Nunavut, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spratt, Jessica E.; Skulski, Thomas; Craven, James A.; Jones, Alan G.; Snyder, David B.; Kiyan, Duygu

2014-03-01

New magnetotelluric soundings at 64 locations throughout the central Rae craton on mainland Nunavut constrain 2-D resistivity models of the crust and lithospheric mantle beneath three regional transects. Responses determined from colocated broadband and long-period magnetotelluric recording instruments enabled resistivity imaging to depths of > 300 km. Strike analysis and distortion decomposition on all data reveal a regional trend of 45-53°, but locally the geoelectric strike angle varies laterally and with depth. The 2-D models reveal a resistive upper crust to depths of 15-35 km that is underlain by a conductive layer that appears to be discontinuous at or near major mapped geological boundaries. Surface projections of the conductive layer coincide with areas of high grade, Archean metasedimentary rocks. Tectonic burial of these rocks and thickening of the crust occurred during the Paleoproterozoic Arrowsmith (2.3 Ga) and Trans-Hudson orogenies (1.85 Ga). Overall, the uppermost mantle of the Rae craton shows resistivity values that range from 3000 Ω m in the northeast (beneath Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula) to 10,000 Ω m beneath the central Rae craton, to >50,000 Ω m in the south near the Hearne Domain. Near-vertical zones of reduced resistivity are identified within the uppermost mantle lithosphere that may be related to areas affected by mantle melt or metasomatism associated with emplacement of Hudsonian granites. A regional decrease in resistivities to values of 500 Ω m at depths of 180-220 km, increasing to 300 km near the southern margin of the Rae craton, is interpreted as the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary.

Aerogeophysical evidence for active volcanism beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blankenship, Donald D.; Bell, Robin E.; Hodge, Steven M.; Brozena, John M.; Behrendt, John C.

1993-01-01

Although it is widely understood that the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) would cause a global sea-level rise of 6 m, there continues to be considerable debate about the response of this ice sheet to climate change. The stability of the WAIS, which is characterized by a bed grounded well below sea level, may depend on geologically controlled conditions at the base, which are independent of climate. Ice streams moving up to 750 m/yr disperse material from the interior through to the oceans. As these ice streams tend to buffer the reservoir of slow-moving inland ice from exposure to oceanic degradation, understanding the ice-streaming process is important for evaluating WAIS stability. There is strong evidence that ice streams slide on a lubricating layer of water-saturated till. Development of this basal layer requires both water and easily eroded sediments. Active lithospheric extension may elevate regional heat flux, increase basal melting, and trigger ice streaming. If a geologically defined boundary with a sharp contrast in geothermal flux exists beneath the WAIS, ice streams may only be capable of operating as a buffer over a restricted region. Should ocean waters penetrate beyond this boundary, the ice-stream buffer would disappear, possibly triggering a collapse of the inland ice reservoir. Aerogeophysical evidence for active volcanism and elevated heat flux beneath the WAIS near the critical region where ice streaming begins is presented.

Boundary-layer exchange by bubble: A novel method for generating transient nanofluidic layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jennissen, Herbert P.

2005-10-01

Unstirred layers (i.e., Nernst boundary layers) occur on every dynamic solid-liquid interface, constituting a diffusion barrier, since the velocity of a moving liquid approaches zero at the surface (no slip). If a macromolecule-surface reaction rate is higher than the diffusion rate, the Nernst layer is solute depleted and the reaction rate becomes mass-transport limited. The thickness of a Nernst boundary layer (δN) generally lies between 5 and 50μm. In an evanescent wave rheometer, measuring fibrinogen adsorption to fused silica, we made the fundamental observation that an air bubble preceding the sample through the flow cell abolishes the mass-transport limitation of the Nernst diffusion layer. Instead exponential kinetics are found. Experimental and simulation studies strongly indicate that these results are due to the elimination of the Nernst diffusion layer and its replacement by a dynamic nanofluidic layer (δν) maximally 200-300nm thick. It is suggested that the air bubble leads to a transient boundary-layer separation into a novel nanoboundary layer on the surface and the bulk fluid velocity profile separated by a vortex sheet with an estimated lifetime of 30-60s. A bubble-induced boundary-layer exchange from the Nernst to the nanoboundary layer and back is obtained, giving sufficient time for the measurement of unbiased exponential surface kinetics. Noteworthy is that the nanolayer can exist at all and displays properties such as (i) a long persistence and resistance to dissipation by the bulk liquid (boundary-layer-exchange-hysteresis) and (ii) a lack of solute depletion in spite of boundary-layer separation. The boundary-layer-exchange by bubble (BLEB) method therefore appears ideal for enhancing the rates of all types of diffusion-limited macromolecular reactions on surfaces with contact angles between 0° and 90° and only appears limited by slippage due to nanobubbles or an air gap beneath the nanofluidic layer on very hydrophobic surfaces. The possibility of producing nanoboundary layers without any nanostructuring or nanomachining should also be useful for fundamental physical studies in nanofluidics.

To the theory of particle lifting by terrestrial and Martian dust devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurgansky, M. V.

2018-01-01

The combined Rankine vortex model is applied to describe the radial profile of azimuthal velocity in atmospheric dust devils, and a simplified model version is proposed of the turbulent surface boundary layer beneath the Rankine vortex periphery that corresponds to the potential vortex. Based on the results by Burggraf et al. (1971), it is accepted that the radial velocity near the ground in the potential vortex greatly exceeds the azimuthal velocity, which makes tractable the problem of the surface shear stress determination, including the case of the turbulent surface boundary layer. The constructed model explains exceeding the threshold shear velocity for aeolian transport in typical dust-devil vortices both on Earth and on Mars.

Mach 6 flow field surveys beneath the forebody of an airbreathing missile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, P. J.; Hunt, J. L.

1986-01-01

Wall static, local stream static, and pitot pressure surveys were made on the windward side of a hypersonic airbreathing missile at full-scale length Reynolds numbers. In the inviscid part of the flow field, the experimental massflow ratios agreed with trends predicted by a three-dimensional method-of-characteristics solution. At a longitudinal station 3.5 diameters downstrea of the nose, the boundary layer was transitional or turbulent at zero incidence but became laminar as the angle of attack increased. The bell-shaped distribution of the boundary layer across the width of the body affected the mass flow distribution out to the bow shock and decreased the mass flow available the engine inlet.

Bi-directional, buried-wire skin-friction gage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Higuchi, H.; Peake, D. J.

1978-01-01

A compact, nonobtrusive, bi-directional, skin-friction gage was developed to measure the mean shear stress beneath a three-dimensional boundary layer. The gage works by measuring the heat flux from two orthogonal wires embedded in the surface. Such a gage was constructed and its characteristics were determined for different angles of yaw in a calibration experiment in subsonic flow with a Preston tube used as a standard. Sample gages were then used in a fully three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer on a circular cone at high relative incidence, where there were regimes of favorable and adverse pressure gradients and three-dimensional separation. Both the direction and magnitude of skin friction were then obtained on the cone surface.

Optimized capping layers for EUV multilayers

DOEpatents

Bajt, Sasa [Livermore, CA; Folta, James A [Livermore, CA; Spiller, Eberhard A [Livermore, CA

2004-08-24

A new capping multilayer structure for EUV-reflective Mo/Si multilayers consists of two layers: A top layer that protects the multilayer structure from the environment and a bottom layer that acts as a diffusion barrier between the top layer and the structure beneath. One embodiment combines a first layer of Ru with a second layer of B.sub.4 C. Another embodiment combines a first layer of Ru with a second layer of Mo. These embodiments have the additional advantage that the reflectivity is also enhanced. Ru has the best oxidation resistance of all materials investigated so far. B.sub.4 C is an excellent barrier against silicide formation while the silicide layer formed at the Si boundary is well controlled.

Nucleation of ripplocations through atomistic modeling of surface nanoindentation in graphite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freiberg, D.; Barsoum, M. W.; Tucker, G. J.

2018-05-01

In this work, we study the nucleation and subsequent evolution behavior of ripplocations - a newly proposed strain accommodating defect in layered materials where one, or more, layers buckle orthogonally to the layers - using atomistic modeling of graphite. To that effect, we model the response to cylindrical indenters with radii R of 50, 100, and 250 nm, loaded edge-on into graphite layers and the strain gradient effects beneath the indenter are quantified. We show that the response is initially elastic followed by ripplocation nucleation, and growth of multiple fully reversible ripplocation boundaries below the indenter. In the elastic region, the stress is found to be a function of indentation volume; beyond the elastic regime, the interlayer strain gradient emerges as paramount in the onset of ripplocation nucleation and subsequent in-plane stress relaxation. Furthermore, ripplocation boundaries that nucleate from the alignment of ripplocations on adjacent layers are exceedingly nonlocal and propagate, wavelike, away from the indented surface. This work not only provides a critical understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings of the deformation of layered solids and formation of kink boundaries, but also provides a more complete description of the nucleation mechanics of ripplocations and their strain field dependence.

Structure and development of the Southeast Georgia Embayment and northern Blake Plateau: Preliminary analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dillon, William P.; Paull, Charles K.; Buffler, Richard T.; Fail, Jean-Pierre

1979-01-01

Multichannel seismic reflection profiles from the Southeast Georgia Embayment and northern Blake Plateau show reflectors that have been correlated tentatively with horizons of known age. The top of the Cretaceous extends smoothly seaward beneath the continental shelf and Blake Plateau, unaffected at the present shelf edge. A reflector inferred to correspond approximately to the top of the Jurassic section onlaps and pinches out against rocks below. A widespread smooth reflector probably represents a volcanic layer of Early Jurassic age that underlies only the northwestern part of the research area. A major unconformity beneath the inferred volcanic layer is probably of Late Triassic or Early Jurassic age. This unconformity dips rather smoothly seaward beneath the northern Blake Plateau, but south of a geological boundary near 31°N, it has subsided much more rapidly, and reaches depths of more than 12 km. Development of the continental margin north of the boundary began with rifting and subsidence of continental basement in the Triassic. An episode of volcanism may have been due to stresses associated with a spreading center jump at about 175 million years ago. Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits form an onlapping wedge above the inferred early Jurassic volcanics and Triassic sedimentary rocks. During Cenozoic times, development of Gulf Stream flow caused a radical decrease in sedimentation rates so that a shelf that was much narrower than the Mesozoic shelf was formed by progradation against the inner edge of the stream. South of the 31°N geological boundary, the basement probably is semi-oceanic and reef growth, unlike that in the area to the north, has been very active at the outer edge of the plateau.

Unsteady turbulent boundary layers in swimming rainbow trout.

PubMed

Yanase, Kazutaka; Saarenrinne, Pentti

2015-05-01

The boundary layers of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, swimming at 1.02±0.09 L s(-1) (mean±s.d., N=4), were measured by the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique at a Reynolds number of 4×10(5). The boundary layer profile showed unsteadiness, oscillating above and beneath the classical logarithmic law of the wall with body motion. Across the entire surface regions that were measured, local Reynolds numbers based on momentum thickness, which is the distance that is perpendicular to the fish surface through which the boundary layer momentum flows at free-stream velocity, were greater than the critical value of 320 for the laminar-to-turbulent transition. The skin friction was dampened on the convex surface while the surface was moving towards a free-stream flow and increased on the concave surface while retreating. These observations contradict the result of a previous study using different species swimming by different methods. Boundary layer compression accompanied by an increase in local skin friction was not observed. Thus, the overall results may not support absolutely the Bone-Lighthill boundary layer thinning hypothesis that the undulatory motions of swimming fish cause a large increase in their friction drag because of the compression of the boundary layer. In some cases, marginal flow separation occurred on the convex surface in the relatively anterior surface region, but the separated flow reattached to the fish surface immediately downstream. Therefore, we believe that a severe impact due to induced drag components (i.e. pressure drag) on the swimming performance, an inevitable consequence of flow separation, was avoided. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Exploring the southern ocean response to climate change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinson, Douglas G.; Rind, David; Parkinson, Claire

1993-01-01

The purpose of this project was to couple a regional (Southern Ocean) ocean/sea ice model to the existing Goddard Institute for Space Science (GISS) atmospheric general circulation model (GCM). This modification recognizes: the relative isolation of the Southern Ocean; the need to account, prognostically, for the significant air/sea/ice interaction through all involved components; and the advantage of translating the atmospheric lower boundary (typically the rapidly changing ocean surface) to a level that is consistent with the physical response times governing the system evolution (that is, to the base of the fast responding ocean surface layer). The deeper ocean beneath this layer varies on time scales several orders of magnitude slower than the atmosphere and surface ocean, and therefore the boundary between the upper and deep ocean represents a more reasonable fixed boundary condition.

The Granular Blasius Problem: High inertial number granular flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsang, Jonathan; Dalziel, Stuart; Vriend, Nathalie

2017-11-01

The classical Blasius problem considers the formation of a boundary layer through the change at x = 0 from a free-slip to a no-slip boundary beneath an otherwise steady uniform flow. Discrete particle model (DPM) simulations of granular gravity currents show that a similar phenomenon exists for a steady flow over a uniformly sloped surface that is smooth upstream (allowing slip) but rough downstream (imposing a no-slip condition). The boundary layer is a region of high shear rate and therefore high inertial number I; its dynamics are governed by the asymptotic behaviour of the granular rheology as I -> ∞ . The μ(I) rheology asserts that dμ / dI = O(1 /I2) as I -> ∞ , but current experimental evidence is insufficient to confirm this. We show that `generalised μ(I) rheologies', with different behaviours as I -> ∞ , all permit the formation of a boundary layer. We give approximate solutions for the velocity profile under each rheology. The change in boundary condition considered here mimics more complex topography in which shear stress increases in the streamwise direction (e.g. a curved slope). Such a system would be of interest in avalanche modelling. EPSRC studentship (Tsang) and Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (Vriend).

Wave-induced coherent turbulence structures and sediment resuspension in the nearshore of a prototype-scale sandy barrier beach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kassem, Hachem; Thompson, Charlotte E. L.; Amos, Carl L.; Townend, Ian H.

2015-10-01

The suspension of sediments by oscillatory flows is a complex case of fluid-particle interaction. The aim of this study is to provide insight into the spatial (time) and scale (frequency) relationships between wave-generated boundary layer turbulence and event-driven sediment transport beneath irregular shoaling and breaking waves in the nearshore of a prototype sandy barrier beach, using data collected through the Barrier Dynamics Experiment II (BARDEX II). Statistical, quadrant and spectral analyses reveal the anisotropic and intermittent nature of Reynolds' stresses (momentum exchange) in the wave boundary layer, in all three orthogonal planes of motion. The fractional contribution of coherent turbulence structures appears to be dictated by the structural form of eddies beneath plunging and spilling breakers, which in turn define the net sediment mobilisation towards or away from the barrier, and hence ensuing erosion and accretion trends. A standing transverse wave is also observed in the flume, contributing to the substantial skewness of spanwise turbulence. Observed low frequency suspensions are closely linked to the mean flow (wave) properties. Wavelet analysis reveals that the entrainment and maintenance of sediment in suspension through a cluster of bursting sequence is associated with the passage of intermittent slowly-evolving large structures, which can modulate the frequency of smaller motions. Outside the boundary layer, small scale, higher frequency turbulence drives the suspension. The extent to which these spatially varied perturbation clusters persist is associated with suspension events in the high frequency scales, decaying as the turbulent motion ceases to supply momentum, with an observed hysteresis effect.

The Hengill geothermal area, Iceland: variation of temperature gradients deduced from the maximum depth of seismogenesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Foulger, G.R.

1995-01-01

Given a uniform lithology and strain rate and a full seismic data set, the maximum depth of earthquakes may be viewed to a first order as an isotherm. These conditions are approached at the Hengill geothermal area, S. Iceland, a dominantly basaltic area. The temperature at which seismic failure ceases for the strain rates likely at the Hengill geothermal area is determined by analogy with oceanic crust, and is about 650 ?? 50??C. The topographies of the top and bottom of the seismogenic layer were mapped using 617 earthquakes. The thickness of the seismogenic layer is roughly constant and about 3 km. A shallow, aseismic, low-velocity volume within the spreading plate boundary that crosses the area occurs above the top of the seismogenic layer and is interpreted as an isolated body of partial melt. The base of the seismogenic layer has a maximum depth of about 6.5 km beneath the spreading axis and deepens to about 7 km beneath a transform zone in the south of the area. -from Author

Seismic evidence of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath Izu-Bonin area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, H.; Gao, Y.; Zhou, Y.

2016-12-01

The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), separating the rigid lithosphere and the ductile asthenosphere layers, is the seismic discontinuity with the negative velocity contrast of the Earth's interior [Fischer et al., 2010]. The LAB has been also termed the Gutenberg (G) discontinuity that defines the top of the low velocity zone in the upper mantle [Gutenberg, 1959; Revenaugh and Jordan, 1991]. The seismic velocity, viscosity, resistivity and other physical parameters change rapidly with the depths across the boundary [Eaton et al., 2009]. Seismic detections on the LAB in subduction zone regions are of great help to understand the interactions between the lithosphere and asthenosphere layers and the geodynamic processes related with the slab subductions. In this study, the vertical broadband waveforms are collected from three deep earthquake events occurring from 2000 to 2014 with the focal depths of 400 600 km beneath the Izu-Bonin area. The waveform data is processed with the linear slant stack method [Zang and Zhou, 2002] to obtain the vespagrams in the relative travel-time to slowness domain and the stacked waveforms. The sP precursors reflected on the LAB (sLABP), which have the negative polarities with the amplitude ratios of 0.17 0.21 relative to the sP phases, are successfully extracted. Based on the one-dimensional modified velocity model (IASP91-IB), we obtain the distributions for six reflected points of the sLABP phases near the source region. Our results reveal that the LAB depths range between 58 and 65 km beneath the Izu-Bonin Arc, with the average depth of 62 km and the small topography of 7 km. Compared with the results of the tectonic stable areas in Philippine Sea [Kawakatsu et al., 2009; Kumar and Kawakatsu, 2011], the oceanic lithosphere beneath the Izu-Bonin Arc shows the obvious thinning phenomena. We infer that the lithospheric thinning is closely related with the partial melting, which is caused by the volatiles continuously released from the subducted western Pacific slab in deep Earth, and the strong erosions of the small-scale mantle convection in the back-arc mantle wedge.

Lithospheric discontinuities beneath the U.S. Midcontinent - signatures of Proterozoic terrane accretion and failed rifting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chen; Gilbert, Hersh; Fischer, Karen M.; Andronicos, Christopher L.; Pavlis, Gary L.; Hamburger, Michael W.; Marshak, Stephen; Larson, Timothy; Yang, Xiaotao

2018-01-01

Seismic discontinuities between the Moho and the inferred lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) are known as mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs) and have been ascribed to a variety of phenomena that are critical to understanding lithospheric growth and evolution. In this study, we used S-to-P converted waves recorded by the USArray Transportable Array and the OIINK (Ozarks-Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky) Flexible Array to investigate lithospheric structure beneath the central U.S. This region, a portion of North America's cratonic platform, provides an opportunity to explore how terrane accretion, cratonization, and subsequent rifting may have influenced lithospheric structure. The 3D common conversion point (CCP) volume produced by stacking back-projected Sp receiver functions reveals a general absence of negative converted phases at the depths of the LAB across much of the central U.S. This observation suggests a gradual velocity decrease between the lithosphere and asthenosphere. Within the lithosphere, the CCP stacks display negative arrivals at depths between 65 km and 125 km. We interpret these as MLDs resulting from the top of a layer of crystallized melts (sill-like igneous intrusions) or otherwise chemically modified lithosphere that is enriched in water and/or hydrous minerals. Chemical modification in this manner would cause a weak layer in the lithosphere that marks the MLDs. The depth and amplitude of negative MLD phases vary significantly both within and between the physiographic provinces of the midcontinent. Double, or overlapping, MLDs can be seen along Precambrian terrane boundaries and appear to result from stacked or imbricated lithospheric blocks. A prominent negative Sp phase can be clearly identified at 80 km depth within the Reelfoot Rift. This arrival aligns with the top of a zone of low shear-wave velocities, which suggests that it marks an unusually shallow seismic LAB for the midcontinent. This boundary would correspond to the top of a region of mechanically and chemically rejuvenated mantle that was likely emplaced during late Precambrian/early Cambrian rifting. These observations suggest that the lithospheric structure beneath the Reelfoot Rift may be an example of a global phenomenon in which MLDs act as weak zones that facilitate the removal of cratonic lithosphere that lies beneath.

Developing a framework for integrating turbulence measurements and modeling of ecosystem-atmosphere interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markfort, C. D.

2017-12-01

Aquatic ecosystems are integrators of nutrient and carbon from their watersheds. The effects of climate change in many cases will enhance the rate of these inputs and change the thermodynamics within aquatic environments. It is unclear the extent these changes will have on water quality and carbon assimilation, but the drivers of these processes will be determined by the complex interactions at the land-water and air-water interfaces. For example, flow over and beneath wind-driven surface waves generate turbulence that plays an important role in aquatic ecology and biogeochemistry, exchange of gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and it is important for the transfer of energy and controlling evaporation. Energy transferred from the atmosphere promotes the generation and maintenance of waves. A fraction of the energy is transferred to the surface mixed layer through the generation of turbulence. Energy is also transferred back to the atmosphere by waves. There is a need to quantify the details of the coupled boundary layers of the air-water system to better understand how turbulence plays a role in the interactions. We have developed capabilities to conduct field and laboratory experiments using eddy covariance on tall-towers and rafts, UAS platforms integrated with remote sensing, and detailed wind-wave measurements with time-resolved PIV in a new boundary layer wind-wave tunnel. We will show measurements of the detailed structure of the air and water boundary layers under varying wind and wave conditions in the newly developed IIHR Boundary-Layer Wind-Wave Tunnel. The facility combines a 30-m long recirculating water channel with an open-return boundary layer wind tunnel. A thick turbulent boundary layer is developed in the 1 m high air channel, over the water surface, allowing for the study of boundary layer turbulence interacting with a wind-driven wave field. Results will help interpret remote sensing, energy budget measurements, and turbulence transport models for sheltered lakes influenced by terrain and tall trees.

Numerical investigation of an internal layer in turbulent flow over a curved hill

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, S-W.

1989-01-01

The development of an internal layer in a turbulent boundary layer flow over a curved hill is investigated numerically. The turbulence field of the boundary layer flow over the curved hill is compared with that of a turbulent flow over a symmetric airfoil (which has the same geometry as the curved hill except that the leading and trailing edge plates were removed) to study the influence of the strongly curved surface on the turbulence field. The turbulent flow equations are solved by a control-volume based finite difference method. The turbulence is described by a multiple-time-scale turbulence model supplemented with a near-wall turbulence model. Computational results for the mean flow field (pressure distributions on the walls, wall shearing stresses and mean velocity profiles), the turbulence structure (Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy profiles), and the integral parameters (displacement and momentum thicknesses) compared favorably with the measured data. Computational results show that the internal layer is a strong turbulence field which is developed beneath the external boundary layer and is located very close to the wall. Development of the internal layer was more obviously observed in the Reynolds stress profiles and in the turbulent kinetic energy profiles than in the mean velocity profiles. In this regard, the internal layers is significantly different from wall-bounded simple shear layers in which the mean velocity profile characterizes the boundary layer most distinguishably. Development of such an internal layer, characterized by an intense turbulence field, is attributed to the enormous mean flow strain rate caused by the streamline curvature and the strong pressure gradient. In the turbulent flow over the curved hill, the internal layer begin to form near the forward corner of the hill, merges with the external boundary layer, and develops into a new fully turbulent boundary layer as the fluid flows in the downstream direction. For the flow over the symmetric airfoil, the boundary layer began to form from almost the same location as that of the curved hill, grew in its strength, and formed a fully turbulent boundary layer from mid-part of the airfoil and in the downstream region. Computational results also show that the detailed turbulence structure in the region very close to the wall of the curved hill is almost the same as that of the airfoil in most of the curved regions except near the leading edge. Thus the internal layer of the curved hill and the boundary layer of the airfoil were also almost the same. Development of the wall shearing stress and separation of the boundary layer at the rear end of the curved hill mostly depends on the internal layer and is only slightly influenced by the external boundary layer flow.

The history and fate of three families of lithosphere on Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, C. T.

2016-12-01

Based on compilations of surface heat flux to constrain the thermal boundary layer thickness, lithosphere thickness can be shown to have a trimodal distribution. In ocean basins, lithosphere thickness ranges from thin (<10 km) beneath young ocean basins, which dominate, to thick (<100 km) beneath old ocean basins, which are rare due to subduction. Continents have thicker lithospheres and define two additional peaks: 30%, reflecting most of the Archean cratons, are 180-220 km thick and 60% are 90-140 km thick. While ocean basins subduct after their lithospheres grow thick, continents do not, despite their thicker lithospheres. The insubductibility of continents is because the buoyancy of thick crust compensates for the thick cold lithosphere and because continental thermal boundary layers do not grow indefinitely. Lithospheric growth is understood to be limited by the onset of small-scale convective instabilities, but why then do continental lithospheres have two different critical thicknesses? Initial thickness, at the time of formation, is critical. Continental lithospheres less than 120 km thick are subject to magmatic modification (refertilization) in the form of thermo-chemical erosion, which gradually thins the lithosphere. Lithospheres greater than 120 km appear to be relatively immune to significant lithospheric thinning. This may in part be because refertilization-driven destabilization does not occur since deep melting is suppressed beneath thick lithosphere. To resist thermal thinning, it seems necessary that anomalously thick lithospheres were born with intrinsic strength, widely hypothesized to have been imparted by the unusual petrogenesis of cratonic mantle, wherein high degrees of melting early in Earth's history resulted in the formation of a dehydrated and strong chemical boundary layer. Another possibility is that cratonic mantle is characterized by the strengthening effects of larger grain size, owing to the high degrees of melting that decrease the number of clinopyroxene pinning points. In summary, a lithosphere's fate depends on the nature of its origin. Continental lithospheres born thick will have long, boring lives, continental lithospheres born thin will be forever tormented, and oceanic lithospheres are fated to have calm but brief lives at the Earth's surface.

Modelling Unsteady Wall Pressures Beneath Turbulent Boundary Layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahn, B-K.; Graham, W. R.; Rizzi, S. A.

2004-01-01

As a structural entity of turbulence, hairpin vortices are believed to play a major role in developing and sustaining the turbulence process in the near wall region of turbulent boundary layers and may be regarded as the simplest conceptual model that can account for the essential features of the wall pressure fluctuations. In this work we focus on fully developed typical hairpin vortices and estimate the associated surface pressure distributions and their corresponding spectra. On the basis of the attached eddy model, we develop a representation of the overall surface pressure spectra in terms of the eddy size distribution. Instantaneous wavenumber spectra and spatial correlations are readily derivable from this representation. The model is validated by comparison of predicted wavenumber spectra and cross-correlations with existing emperical models and experimental data.

3D geometry of a plate boundary fault related to the 2016 Off-Mie earthquake in the Nankai subduction zone, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuji, Takeshi; Minato, Shohei; Kamei, Rie; Tsuru, Tetsuro; Kimura, Gaku

2017-11-01

We used recent seismic data and advanced techniques to investigate 3D fault geometry over the transition from the partially coupled to the fully coupled plate interface inboard of the Nankai Trough off the Kii Peninsula, Japan. We found that a gently dipping plate boundary décollement with a thick underthrust layer extends beneath the entire Kumano forearc basin. The 1 April 2016 Off-Mie earthquake (Mw6.0) and its aftershocks occurred, where the plate boundary décollement steps down close to the oceanic crust surface. This location also lies beneath the trenchward edge of an older accretionary prism (∼14 Ma) developed along the coast of the Kii peninsula. The strike of the 2016 rupture plane was similar to that of a formerly active splay fault system in the accretionary prism. Thus, the fault planes of the 2016 earthquake and its aftershocks were influenced by the geometry of the plate interface as well as splay faulting. The 2016 earthquake occurred within the rupture area of large interplate earthquakes such as the 1944 Tonankai earthquake (Mw8.1), although the 2016 rupture area was much smaller than that of the 1944 event. Whereas the hypocenter of the 2016 earthquake was around the underplating sequence beneath the younger accretionary prism (∼6 Ma), the 1944 great earthquake hypocenter was close to oceanic crust surface beneath the older accretionary prism. The variation of fault geometry and lithology may influence the degree of coupling along the plate interface, and such coupling variation could hinder slip propagation toward the deeper plate interface in the 2016 event.

A Experimental Study of Fluctuating Pressure Loads Beneath Swept Shock Wave/boundary Layer Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garg, Sanjay

An experimental research program providing basic knowledge and establishing a database on the fluctuating pressure loads produced on aerodynamic surfaces beneath three-dimensional shock wave/boundary layer interactions is described. Such loads constitute a fundamental problem of critical concern to future supersonic and hypersonic flight vehicles. A turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate is subjected to interactions with swept planar shock waves generated by sharp fins. Fin angles from 10 ^circ to 20^circ at freestream Mach numbers of 3 and 4 produce a variety of interaction strengths from weak to very strong. Miniature pressure transducers flush-mounted in the flat plate have been used to measure interaction-induced wall pressure fluctuations. The distributions of properties of the pressure fluctuations, such as their rms level, amplitude distribution and power spectra, are also determined. Measurements have been made for the first time in the aft regions of these interactions, revealing fluctuating pressure levels as high as 155 dB, which places them in the category of significant aeroacoustic load generators. The fluctuations near the foot of the fin are dominated by low frequency (0-5 kHz) components, and are caused by a previously unrecognized random motion of the primary attachment line. This phenomenon is probably intimately linked to the unsteadiness of the separation shock at the start of the interaction. The characteristics of the pressure fluctuations are explained in light of the features of the interaction flowfield. In particular, physical mechanisms responsible for the generation of high levels of surface pressure fluctuations are proposed based on the results of the study. The unsteadiness of the flowfield of the surface is also examined via a novel, non-intrusive optical technique. Results show that the entire shock structure generated by the interaction undergoes relatively low-frequency oscillations.

Thermal evolution of the high-pressure ice layers beneath a buried ocean within Titan and Ganymede

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choblet, G.; Tobie, G.

2015-12-01

Deep interiors of massive icy satellites such as Titan and Ganymede probably harbor a buried ocean above high-pressure (HP) ice layers. The nature and location of the lower interface of the ocean is ultimately controlled by the amount of heat transferred through the surface ice Ih layer but it also involves equilibration of heat and melt transfer in the HP ices. While the Rayleigh number associated to such HP ice layers is most probably supercritical, classical subsolidus convection might not be a viable mechanism as the radial temperature gradient in the cold boundary layer is likely to exceed the slope of the melting curve. A significant part of the heat transfer could be achieved via the mass flux of warm liquid through this cold boundary layer up to the global phase boundary, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as heat-pipe mechanism. We present 3D spherical simulations of thermal convection in these HP ice layers that address for the first time this complex interplay. First, scaling relationships are proposed to describe this configuration for a large range of Rayleigh numbers and solidus curves. We then focus on a more realistic set-up where a prescribed basal heat flux is considered in a plausible range for the thermal history of Ganymede or Titan together with the expected viscosity law for HP ices.

Complementary study of the internal porous silicon layers formed under high-dose implantation of helium ions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lomov, A. A., E-mail: lomov@ftian.ru; Myakon’kikh, A. V.; Chesnokov, Yu. M.

The surface layers of Si(001) substrates subjected to plasma-immersion implantation of helium ions with an energy of 2–5 keV and a dose of 5 × 10{sup 17} cm{sup –2} have been investigated using high-resolution X-ray reflectivity, Rutherford backscattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The electron density depth profile in the surface layer formed by helium ions is obtained, and its elemental and phase compositions are determined. This layer is found to have a complex structure and consist of an upper amorphous sublayer and a layer with a porosity of 30–35% beneath. It is shown that the porous layer has the sharpestmore » boundaries at a lower energy of implantable ions.« less

Diagenetic Layers in the Upper Walls of Valles Marineris, Mars: Evidence for Drastic Climate Change Since the Mid-Hesperian

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treiman, Allan H.; Fuks, Kelly H.; Murchie, Scott

1995-01-01

A packet of relatively resistant layers, totaling approx. 400 m thickness, is present at the tops of the chasma walls throughout Valles Marineris. The packet consists of an upper dark layer (approx. 50 m thick), a central bright layer (approx. 250 m thick), and a lower dark layer (approx. 100 m thick). The packet appears continuous and of nearly constant thickness and depth below ground surface over the whole Valles system (4000 km E-W, 800 km N-S), independent of elevation (3-10 km) and age of plateau surface (Noachian through upper Hesperian). The packet continues undisturbed beneath the boundary between surface units of Noachian and Hesperian ages, and continues undisturbed beneath impact craters transected by chasma walls. These attributes are not consistent with layer formation by volcanic or sedimentary deposition, and are consistent with layer formation in situ, i.e., by diagenesis, during or after upper Hesperian time. Diagenesis seems to require the action of aqueous solutions in the near subsurface, which are not now stable in the Valles Marineris area. To permit the stability of aqueous solutions, Mars must have had a fairly dense atmosphere, greater than or equal to 1 bar CO2, when the layers formed. Obliquity variations appear to be incapable of producing such a massive atmosphere so late in Mars' history.

Vertical gas injection into liquid cross-stream beneath horizontal surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, In-Ho; Makiharju, Simo; Lee, Inwon; Perlin, Marc; Ceccio, Steve

2013-11-01

Skin friction drag reduction on flat bottomed ships and barges can be achieved by creating an air layer immediately beneath the horizontal surface. The simplest way of introducing the gas is through circular orifices; however the dynamics of gas injection into liquid cross-streams under horizontal surfaces is not well understood. Experiments were conducted to investigate the development of the gas topology following its vertical injection through a horizontal surface. The liquid cross-flow, orifice diameter and gas flow rate were varied to investigate the effect of different ratios of momentum fluxes. The testing was performed on a 4.3 m long and 0.73 m wide barge model with air injection through a hole in the transparent bottom hull. The incoming boundary layer was measured via a pitot tube. Downstream distance based Reynolds number at the injection location was 5 × 105 through 4 × 106 . To observe the flow topology, still images and video were recorded from above the model (i.e. through the transparent hull), from beneath the bottom facing upward, and from the side at an oblique angle. The transition point of the flow topology was determined and analyzed.

Fine-scale crustal structure of the Azores Islands from teleseismic receiver functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spieker, K.; Rondenay, S.; Ramalho, R. S.; Thomas, C.; Helffrich, G. R.

2016-12-01

The Azores plateau is located near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and consists of nine islands, most of which lie east of the MAR. Various methods including seismic reflection, gravity, and passive seismic imaging have been used to investigate the crustal thickness beneath the islands. They have yielded thickness estimates that range between roughly 10 km and 30 km, but until now models of the fine-scale crustal structure have been lacking. A comparison of the crustal structure beneath the islands that lie west and east of the MAR might give further constraints on the evolution of the islands. For example, geochemical studies carried out across the region predict the existence of volcanic interfaces that should be detected seismically within the shallow crust of some of the islands. In this study, we use data from ten seismic stations located on the Azores Islands to investigate the crustal structure with teleseismic P-wave receiver functions. We query our resulting receiver functions for signals associated with the volcanic edifice, the crust-mantle boundary, and potential underplated layers beneath the various islands. The islands west of the MAR have a crustal structure comprising two discontinuities - an upper one at 1-2 km depth marking the base of the volcanic edifice, and a lower one at 10 km depth that we interpret as crust-mantle boundary. The islands east of the MAR can be subdivided into two groups. The central islands that are closer to the MAR exhibit a crustal structure similar to that of the western islands, with a volcanic edifice reaching a depth of 2 km and an average crust-mantle boundary at around 12 km depth. The easternmost islands, located on the oldest lithosphere, exhibit a more complex crustal structure with evidence for a mid-crustal interface and an underplated layer, yielding an effective crust-mantle boundary at >15 km depth. The difference in structure between proximal and distal islands might be related to the age of the plate at the time of emplacement of the islands, with an older plate providing conditions that are more favourable for basaltic underplating.

Core-Mantle Boundary Complexities beneath the Mid-Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, D.; Helmberger, D. V.; Jackson, J. M.

2016-12-01

The detailed core-mantle boundary (CMB) structures beneath the Mid-Pacific are important to map the boundary of Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP) and the location of ultra-low velocity zone (ULVZ) related to the LLSVP and the D" layer, which are crucial for answering the key questions regarding to the mantle dynamics. Seismic data from deep earthquakes in the Fiji-Tonga region recorded by stations of USArray provide great sampling of the CMB beneath the Mid-Pacific. Here we explore the USArray data with different seismic phases to study the CMB complexities beneath the Mid-Pacific. First, we examined the differential travel time and amplitude between ScS and S for data at western US and confirm the northeastern boundary of the mid-Pacific LLSVP. The delayed ScS-S travel times and smaller amplitude of ScS require the existence of ULVZ locally. Secondly, the Sdiff data recorded by stations at central US shows variation in multi-pathing, that is, the presence of secondary arrivals following the S phase at diffracted distances (Sdiff) which suggests that the waveform complexity is due to structures at the eastern edge of the mid-Pacific LLSVP. This study reinforces previous studies that indicate late arrivals occurring after the primary Sdiff arrivals. A tapered wedge structure with low shear velocity allows for wave energy trapping, producing the observed waveform complexity and delayed arrivals at large distances. The location of the low velocity anomaly agrees with that inferred from the ScS-S measurements. We also observed advanced SV arrivals, which can be explained by the emerging of the D" discontinuity to the east of the boundary of the LLSVP to produce a "pseudo anisotropy". Thirdly, the arrivals of the SPdKS phase support the presence of an ULVZ within a two-humped LLSVP. A sharp 10 secs jump of the differential travel time between S and SKS (TS-SKS) across distance range of 5° is observed. The associated SKS waveform distortions suggest that the differential travel time anomaly is mainly controlled by the SKS, which is explained by a possible slab subducted to the lower mantle.

Evidence for strong lateral seismic velocity variation in the lower crust and upper mantle beneath the California margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lai, Voon; Graves, Robert; Wei, Shengji; Helmberger, Don

2017-01-01

Regional seismograms from earthquakes in Northern California show a systematic difference in arrival times across Southern California where long period (30–50 seconds) SH waves arrive up to 15 seconds earlier at stations near the coast compared with sites towards the east at similar epicentral distances. We attribute this time difference to heterogeneity of the velocity structure at the crust-mantle interface beneath the California margin. To model these observations, we propose a fast seismic layer, with thickness growing westward from the San Andreas along with a thicker and slower continental crust to the east. Synthetics generated from such a model are able to match the observed timing of SH waveforms better than existing 3D models. The presence of a strong upper mantle buttressed against a weaker crust has a major influence in how the boundary between the Pacific plate and North American plate deforms and may explain the observed asymmetric strain rate across the boundary.

Instability waves and transition in adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bose, Rikhi; Zaki, Tamer A.; Durbin, Paul A.

2018-05-01

Transition to turbulence in incompressible adverse-pressure-gradient (APG) boundary layers is investigated by direct numerical simulations. Purely two-dimensional instability waves develop on the inflectional base velocity profile. When the boundary layer is perturbed by isotropic turbulence from the free stream, streamwise elongated streaks form and may interact with the instability waves. Subsequent mechanisms that trigger transition depend on the intensity of the free-stream disturbances. All evidence from the present simulations suggest that the growth rate of instability waves is sufficiently high to couple with the streaks. Under very low levels of free-stream turbulence (˜0.1 % ), transition onset is highly sensitive to the inlet disturbance spectrum and is accelerated if the spectrum contains frequency-wave-number combinations that are commensurate with the instability waves. Transition onset and completion in this regime is characterized by formation and breakdown of Λ vortices, but they are more sporadic than in natural transition. Beneath free-stream turbulence with higher intensity (1-2 % ), bypass transition mechanisms are dominant, but instability waves are still the most dominant disturbances in wall-normal and spanwise perturbation spectra. Most of the breakdowns were by disturbances with critical layers close to the wall, corresponding to inner modes. On the other hand, the propensity of an outer mode to occur increases with the free-stream turbulence level. Higher intensity free-stream disturbances induce strong streaks that favorably distort the boundary layer and suppress the growth of instability waves. But the upward displacement of high amplitude streaks brings them to the outer edge of the boundary layer and exposes them to ambient turbulence. Consequently, high-amplitude streaks exhibit an outer-mode secondary instability.

Channelized ice melting in the ocean boundary layer beneath Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica.

PubMed

Stanton, T P; Shaw, W J; Truffer, M; Corr, H F J; Peters, L E; Riverman, K L; Bindschadler, R; Holland, D M; Anandakrishnan, S

2013-09-13

Ice shelves play a key role in the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheets by buttressing their seaward-flowing outlet glaciers; however, they are exposed to the underlying ocean and may weaken if ocean thermal forcing increases. An expedition to the ice shelf of the remote Pine Island Glacier, a major outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that has rapidly thinned and accelerated in recent decades, has been completed. Observations from geophysical surveys and long-term oceanographic instruments deployed down bore holes into the ocean cavity reveal a buoyancy-driven boundary layer within a basal channel that melts the channel apex by 0.06 meter per day, with near-zero melt rates along the flanks of the channel. A complex pattern of such channels is visible throughout the Pine Island Glacier shelf.

Igneous Crystallization and Localized Deformation in the Shallow Mantle beneath Slow Spreading Ridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelemen, P.; Kikawa, E.; Miller, J.

2004-05-01

Building upon previous work, and incorporating new results from ODP Leg 209, we will provide a synthesis of melt migration mechanisms beneath oceanic spreading ridges, with an emphasis on the thick conductive boundary layer extending to about 20 km depth beneath slow-spreading ridges. In adiabatically upwelling mantle, ascending melt acts as a "solvent", creating additional melt by dissolving pyroxene in surrounding wall rocks, and thus forming high porosity dissolution channels. Mature dissolution channels lack pyroxene, and allow migration of pyroxene-undersaturated melt through the shallow mantle. In conductively cooled mantle, melts begin to crystallize due to cooling, and in addition reactions with surrounding peridotite consume melt. Where melt fluxes are large, this can create a permeability barrier that ultimately leads to an upstream increase in melt pressure and, in some cases, causes hydrofracture and magma ascent in dikes. Where melt fluxes are small, porous flow of crystallizing melt continues upward into the conductive boundary layer. This leads to formation of "impregnated peridotite", with igneous plag and pyroxene precipitated along olivine grain boundaries, and forms melts that are in equilibrium with lherzolite assemblages at relatively low pressures. Impregnated peridotites from ODP Leg 209 have "equilibrated" textures and contain olivine, 2 pyroxenes, plag and Cr-rich spinel. Mg#, Cr# and Ni are high, extending to residual peridotite values. Crystallization pressure can be estimated using local lava compositions. 87 MORB glasses from 14 to 16°N with Mg# from 60 to 73 [from PetDB] could be plagioclase lherzolite saturated at 5.4 kb (+ - 1.4 kb 2 sigma) and 1220 C (+ - 16°C 2 sigma) [using Kinzler & Grove, JGR 92]. Plag ranges from An 60 to 75. Subsolidus PT for the plag spinel lherzolite assemblage are not well constrained, but are about 3 kb and 700-800 C, consistent with the conductive geotherm inferred from igneous PT estimates. Thus, melts began to cool and crystallize at depths > 15 km. Impregnated and residual peridotites in our core appear undeformed. Though they may have a strong olivine LPO, there are few shape fabrics. Instead skeletal, interstitial pyroxene and spinel extend for mm in 2D and 3D. Core from most sites includes high T mylonitic shear zones (mainly impregnated peridotite) and low T fault gouge. Shear zones and faults are not all parallel; numerous, cross-cutting planes of localized deformation formed at >1000 C to <100 C, from >15 km to the seafloor. These accommodated subsolidus deformation during corner flow and exhumation of peridotites and high P igneous rocks, in keeping with previous inferences that the thermal boundary layer beneath the MAR extends to about 20 km. Penetrative deformation of blocks between shear zones and faults was minor. Localization of deformation at high temperature may have been facilitated by the presence of melt.

Velocity structure around the 410 km discontinuity beneath the East China Sea based on the waveform modeling method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, W.; Cui, Q.; Gao, Y.; Wei, R.; Zhou, Y.; Yu, J.

2017-12-01

The 410 km discontinuity is the upper boundary of the mantle transition zone. Seismic detections on the structure and morphology of the 410 km discontinuity are helpful to understand the compositions of the Earth's interior and the relevant geodynamics. In this paper, we select the broadband P waveforms of an intermediate earthquake that occurred in the Ryukyu subduction zone and retrieved from the China Digital Seismograph Network, and study the fine velocity structure around the 410 km discontinuity by matching the observed triplicated waveforms with the theoretical ones. Our results reveal that (1) the 410 km discontinuity beneath the East China Sea is mostly a sharp boundary with a small-scale uplift of 8-15 km and a gradient boundary up to 20 km in the most southern part, and (2) there exist a low velocity layer atop the 410 km discontinuity with the thickness of 50-62 km and P-wave velocity decrease of 0.5%-1.5%, and (3) a high velocity anomaly with P-wave decrease of 1.0%-3.0% below 440 km. Combining with the previous topographic results in this area, we speculate that the high velocity anomaly is relevant to the stagnancy of the western Pacific slab in the mantle transition zone, the decomposition of phase E in the slab results in the increase of water content, which would cause the uplift of the 410 km discontinuity, and the low velocity layer atop the discontinuity should be related to the partial melting of the mantle peridotite induced by the dehydration of the hydrous minerals.

In-flight Compressible Turbulent Boundary Layer Measurements on a Hollow Cylinder at a Mach Number of 3.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, R. D.; Gong, L.

1978-01-01

Skin temperatures, shearing forces, surface static pressures, and boundary layer pitot pressures and total temperatures were measured on a hollow cylinder 3.04 meters long and 0.437 meter in diameter mounted beneath the fuselage of the YF-12A airplane. The data were obtained at a nominal free stream Mach number of 3.0 and at wall-to-recovery temperature ratios of 0.66 to 0.91. The free stream Reynolds number had a minimal value of 4.2 million per meter. Heat transfer coefficients and skin friction coefficients were derived from skin temperature time histories and shear force measurements, respectively. Boundary layer velocity profiles were derived from pitot pressure measurements, and a Reynolds analogy factor of 1.11 was obtained from the measured heat transfer and skin friction data. The skin friction coefficients predicted by the theory of van Driest were in excellent agreement with the measurements. Theoretical heat transfer coefficients, in the form of Stanton numbers calculated by using a modified Reynolds analogy between skin friction and heat transfer, were compared with measured values. The measured velocity profiles were compared to Coles' incompressible law-of-the-wall profile.

Hairpin vortices in the outer and near wall regions of the canonical turbulent boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, James; Wu, Xiaohua; Moin, Parviz

2016-11-01

While the dominance of hairpin vortices and their significance for transport processes in the transitional and early turbulent regions of the canonical turbulent boundary layer has been widely accepted, opinion is divided about the developed flow downstream. Here we investigate the representative vortical structures in the outer and near wall regions for the momentum thickness Reynolds number, Reθ , of up to 3000 using the DNS database described in. This boundary layer grows spatially from a laminar state at Reθ = 80 beneath a freestream of continuous and nearly isotropic turbulence decaying from an intensity of 3 to 0.8%. The vortical structures are visualized with the swirling strength, λci. In the outer region hairpin vortices appear and are advected over distances corresponding to about 300 - 400 in Reθ within the fully turbulent region, demonstrating that they are not remnants of transitional structures. The near wall vortical structures are more difficult to visualize and require careful tuning of the swirling strength and making invisible the flow above the near wall region of the flow. The hairpins in this region occur in intermittent clusters that have features remarkably similar to transitional turbulent spots.

Global stability behaviour for the BEK family of rotating boundary layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Christopher; Thomas, Christian

2017-12-01

Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the linear global stability behaviour of the Bödewadt, Ekman, von Kármán (BEK) family of flows, for cases where a disc rotates beneath an incompressible fluid that is also rotating. This extends the work reported in recent studies that only considered the rotating-disc boundary layer with a von Kármán configuration, where the fluid that lies above the boundary layer remains stationary. When a homogeneous flow approximation is made, neglecting the radial variation of the basic state, it can be shown that linearised disturbances are susceptible to absolute instability. We shall demonstrate that, despite this prediction of absolute instability, the disturbance development exhibits globally stable behaviour in the BEK boundary layers with a genuine radial inhomogeneity. For configurations where the disc rotation rate is greater than that of the overlying fluid, disturbances propagate radially outwards and there is only a convective form of instability. This replicates the behaviour that had previously been documented when the fluid did not rotate beyond the boundary layer. However, if the fluid rotation rate is taken to exceed that of the disc, then the propagation direction reverses and disturbances grow while convecting radially inwards. Eventually, as they approach regions of smaller radii, where stability is predicted according to the homogeneous flow approximation, the growth rates reduce until decay takes over. Given sufficient time, such disturbances can begin to diminish at every radial location, even those which are positioned outwards from the radius associated with the onset of absolute instability. This leads to the confinement of the disturbance development within a finitely bounded region of the spatial-temporal plane.

Investigation of the lithosphere of the Texas Gulf Coast using phase-specific Ps receiver functions produced by wavefield iterative deconvolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurrola, H.; Berdine, A.; Pulliam, J.

2017-12-01

Interference between Ps phases and reverberations (PPs, PSs phases and reverberations thereof) make it difficult to use Ps receiver functions (RF) in regions with thick sediments. Crustal reverberations typically interfere with Ps phases from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). We have developed a method to separate Ps phases from reverberations by deconvolution of all the data recorded at a seismic station by removing phases from a single wavefront at each iteration of the deconvolution (wavefield iterative deconvolution or WID). We applied WID to data collected in the Gulf Coast and Llano Front regions of Texas by the EarthScope Transportable array and by a temporary deployment of 23 broadband seismometers (deployed by Texas Tech and Baylor Universities). The 23 station temporary deployment was 300 km long; crossing from Matagorda Island onto the Llano uplift. 3-D imaging using these data shows that the deepest part of the sedimentary basin may be inboard of the coastline. The Moho beneath the Gulf Coast plain does not appear in many of the images. This could be due to interference from reverberations from shallower layers or it may indicate the lack of a strong velocity contrast at the Moho perhaps due to serpentinization of the uppermost mantle. The Moho appears to be flat, at 40 km) beneath most of the Llano uplift but may thicken to the south and thin beneath the Coastal plain. After application of WID, we were able to identify a negatively polarized Ps phase consistent with LAB depths identified in Sp RF images. The LAB appears to be 80-100 km deep beneath most of the coast but is 100 to 120 km deep beneath the Llano uplift. There are other negatively polarized phases between 160 and 200 km depths beneath the Gulf Coast and the Llano Uplift. These deeper phases may indicate that, in this region, the LAB is transitional in nature and rather than a discrete boundary.

Investigation of passive shock wave-boundary layer control for transonic airfoil drag reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagamatsu, H. T.; Brower, W. B., Jr.; Bahi, L.; Ross, J.

1982-01-01

The passive drag control concept, consisting of a porous surface with a cavity beneath it, was investigated with a 12-percent-thick circular arc and a 14-percent-thick supercritical airfoil mounted on the test section bottom wall. The porous surface was positioned in the shock wave/boundary layer interaction region. The flow circulating through the porous surface, from the downstream to the upstream of the terminating shock wave location, produced a lambda shock wave system and a pressure decrease in the downstream region minimizing the flow separation. The wake impact pressure data show an appreciably drag reduction with the porous surface at transonic speeds. To determine the optimum size of porosity and cavity, tunnel tests were conducted with different airfoil porosities, cavities and flow Mach numbers. A higher drag reduction was obtained by the 2.5 percent porosity and the 1/4-inch deep cavity.

The Turbulent Boundary Layer: An Experimental Study of the Transport of Momentum and Heat with the Effect of Roughness

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-05-01

first author also wishes to sincerely thank the agencies which provided the financial support during his stay at Stanford University: - Fundacao de ...Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP); - Mineracao Matheus Leme Ltda; - Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo. The authors also...number error T Mean tamperature xix T Adiabatic wall temperatura aw T Average wire temperature Tt Temperature of transpiration air beneath the porous

Seismic and Gravitational Studies of Melting in the Mantle’s Thermal Boundary Layers

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

east pacific rise near 10 degrees n , in Modern ocean floor processes and the geological record, Geological Society Special...Seattle, WVA. Kent, G. NM., A. J. Harding, and J1. A. Orcutt (1993a). Distribution of mnagimia beneathI lie East Pacific Rise near the 9 degrees 03... hydrothermal evidence for a cracking event on the East Pacific Rise crest at 9󈧶’ N , Nature, 396(6707), 159-161. 189

Effect of inhomogeneity due to temperature on the propagation of shear waves in an anisotropic layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Bishwanath; Pal, Prakash Chandra; Kundu, Santimoy; Prasad, Narayan

2017-07-01

The present paper is concerned with the propagation of shear waves in an anisotropic inhomogeneous layer whose elastic constants are functions of temperature. The dependence of material properties on temperature gives rise to inhomogeneity of the layer which is one of the trivial characteristics of the constituent layers of earth which may cause due to the presence of various types of elements and compounds beneath the earth. The layer is lying over a rigid foundation and there is no loading on the upper boundary. The dispersion equation of shear waves has been obtained in closed form. Numerical computations are performed and graphs are plotted to show the effect of inhomogeneity and anisotropy factors on the dimensionless phase velocity. It is found that the phase velocity is considerably influenced by the inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the layer.

Large-scale trench-perpendicular mantle flow beneath northern Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, M. C.; Rumpker, G.; Woelbern, I.

2017-12-01

We investigate the anisotropic properties of the forearc region of the central Andean margin by analyzing shear-wave splitting from teleseismic and local earthquakes from the Nazca slab. The data stems from the Integrated Plate boundary Observatory Chile (IPOC) located in northern Chile, covering an approximately 120 km wide coastal strip between 17°-25° S with an average station spacing of 60 km. With partly over ten years of data, this data set is uniquely suited to address the long-standing debate about the mantle flow field at the South American margin and in particular whether the flow field beneath the slab is parallel or perpendicular to the trench. Our measurements yield two distinct anisotropic layers. The teleseismic measurements show a change of fast polarizations directions from North to South along the trench ranging from parallel to subparallel to the absolute plate motion and, given the geometry of absolute plate motion and strike of the trench, mostly perpendicular to the trench. Shear-wave splitting from local earthquakes shows fast polarizations roughly aligned trench-parallel but exhibit short-scale variations which are indicative of a relatively shallow source. Comparisons between fast polarization directions and the strike of the local fault systems yield a good agreement. We use forward modelling to test the influence of the upper layer on the teleseismic measurements. We show that the observed variations of teleseismic measurements along the trench are caused by the anisotropy in the upper layer. Accordingly, the mantle layer is best characterized by an anisotropic fast axes parallel to the absolute plate motion which is roughly trench-perpendicular. This anisotropy is likely caused by a combination of crystallographic preferred orientation of the mantle mineral olivine as fossilized anisotropy in the slab and entrained flow beneath the slab. We interpret the upper anisotropic layer to be confined to the crust of the overriding continental plate. This is explained by the shape-preferred orientation of micro-cracks in relation to local fault zones which are oriented parallel the overall strike of the Andean range. Our results do not provide any evidence for a significant contribution of trench-parallel mantle flow beneath the subducting slab to the measurements.

An experimental study of the sources of fluctuating pressure loads beneath swept shock/boundary-layer interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Settles, G. S.; Garg, S.

1993-01-01

An experimental research program providing basic knowledge and establishing a database on the fluctuating pressure loads produced on aerodynamic surfaces beneath three dimensional shock wave/boundary layer interactions is described. Such loads constitute a fundamental problem of critical concern to future supersonic and hypersonic flight vehicles. A turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate is subjected to interactions with swept planar shock waves generated by sharp fins at angle of attack. Fin angles from 10 to 20 deg at freestream Mach numbers of 3 and 4 produce a variety of interaction strengths from weak to very strong. Miniature Kulite pressure transducers flush-mounted in the flat plate are used to measure interaction-induced wall pressure fluctuations. The distributions of properties of the pressure fluctuations, such as their ring levels, amplitude distributions, and power spectra, are also determined. Measurements were made for the first time in the aft regions of these interactions, revealing fluctuating pressure levels as high as 160 dB. These fluctuations are dominated by low frequency (0-5 kHz) signals. The maximum ring levels in the interactions show an increasing trend with increasing interaction strength. On the other hand, the maximum ring levels in the forward portion of the interactions decrease linearly with increasing interaction sweep back. These ring pressure distributions and spectra are correlated with the features of the interaction flowfield. The unsteadiness of the off-surface flowfield is studied using a new, non-intrusive technique based on the shadow graph method. The results indicate that the entire lambda-shock structure generated by the interaction undergoes relatively low-frequency oscillations. Some regions where particularly strong fluctuations are generated were identified. Fluctuating pressure measurements are also made along the line of symmetry of an axisymmetric jet impinging upon a flat plate at an angle. This flow was chosen as a simple analog to the impinging jet region found in the rear portion of the shock wave/boundary layer interactions under study. It is found that a sharp peak in ring pressure level exists at or near the mean stagnation point. It is suggested that the phenomena responsible for this peak may be active in the swept interactions as well, and may cause the extremely high fluctuating pressures observed in the impinging jet region in the present experimental program.

Evidence from central Mexico supporting the Younger Dryas extraterrestrial impact hypothesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Israde-Alcántara, Isabel; Bischoff, James L.; Domínguez-Vázquez, Gabriela; Li, Hong-Chun; DeCarli, Paul S.; Bunch, Ted E.; Wittke, James H.; Weaver, James C.; Firestone, Richard B.; West, Allen; Kennett, James P.; Mercer, Chris; Xie, Sujing; Richman, Eric K.; Kinzie, Charles R.; Wolbach, Wendy S.

2012-01-01

We report the discovery in Lake Cuitzeo in central Mexico of a black, carbon-rich, lacustrine layer, containing nanodiamonds, microspherules, and other unusual materials that date to the early Younger Dryas and are interpreted to result from an extraterrestrial impact. These proxies were found in a 27-m-long core as part of an interdisciplinary effort to extract a paleoclimate record back through the previous interglacial. Our attention focused early on an anomalous, 10-cm-thick, carbon-rich layer at a depth of 2.8 m that dates to 12.9 ka and coincides with a suite of anomalous coeval environmental and biotic changes independently recognized in other regional lake sequences. Collectively, these changes have produced the most distinctive boundary layer in the late Quaternary record. This layer contains a diverse, abundant assemblage of impact-related markers, including nanodiamonds, carbon spherules, and magnetic spherules with rapid melting/quenching textures, all reaching synchronous peaks immediately beneath a layer containing the largest peak of charcoal in the core. Analyses by multiple methods demonstrate the presence of three allotropes of nanodiamond: n-diamond, i-carbon, and hexagonal nanodiamond (lonsdaleite), in order of estimated relative abundance. This nanodiamond-rich layer is consistent with the Younger Dryas boundary layer found at numerous sites across North America, Greenland, and Western Europe. We have examined multiple hypotheses to account for these observations and find the evidence cannot be explained by any known terrestrial mechanism. It is, however, consistent with the Younger Dryas boundary impact hypothesis postulating a major extraterrestrial impact involving multiple airburst(s) and and/or ground impact(s) at 12.9 ka.

Evidence from Central Mexico supporting the Younger Dryas extraterrestrial impact hypothesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Israde-Alcántaraa, Isabel; Bischoff, James L.; Domínguez-Vázquez, Gabriela; Li, Hong-Chun; DeCarli, Paul S.; Bunch, Ted E.; Wittke, James H.; Weaver, James C.; Firestone, Richard B.; West, Allen; Kennett, James P.; Mercer, Chris; Xie, Sujing; Richman, Eric K.; Kinzie, Charles R.; Wolbach, Wendy S.; Stanley, Steven M.

2012-01-01

We report the discovery in Lake Cuitzeo in central Mexico of a black, carbon-rich, lacustrine layer, containing nanodiamonds, microspherules, and other unusual materials that date to the early Younger Dryas and are interpreted to result from an extraterrestrial impact. These proxies were found in a 27-m-long core as part of an interdisciplinary effort to extract a paleoclimate record back through the previous interglacial. Our attention focused early on an anomalous, 10-cm-thick, carbon-rich layer at a depth of 2.8 m that dates to 12.9 ka and coincides with a suite of anomalous coeval environmental and biotic changes independently recognized in other regional lake sequences. Collectively, these changes have produced the most distinctive boundary layer in the late Quaternary record. This layer contains a diverse, abundant assemblage of impact-related markers, including nanodiamonds, carbon spherules, and magnetic spherules with rapid melting/quenching textures, all reaching synchronous peaks immediately beneath a layer containing the largest peak of charcoal in the core. Analyses by multiple methods demonstrate the presence of three allotropes of nanodiamond: n-diamond, i-carbon, and hexagonal nanodiamond (lonsdaleite), in order of estimated relative abundance. This nanodiamond-rich layer is consistent with the Younger Dryas boundary layer found at numerous sites across North America, Greenland, and Western Europe. We have examined multiple hypotheses to account for these observations and find the evidence cannot be explained by any known terrestrial mechanism. It is, however, consistent with the Younger Dryas boundary impact hypothesis postulating a major extraterrestrial impact involving multiple airburst(s) and and/or ground impact(s) at 12.9 ka.

Boundary-layer mantle flow under the Dead Sea transform fault inferred from seismic anisotropy.

PubMed

Rümpker, Georg; Ryberg, Trond; Bock, Günter

2003-10-02

Lithospheric-scale transform faults play an important role in the dynamics of global plate motion. Near-surface deformation fields for such faults are relatively well documented by satellite geodesy, strain measurements and earthquake source studies, and deeper crustal structure has been imaged by seismic profiling. Relatively little is known, however, about deformation taking place in the subcrustal lithosphere--that is, the width and depth of the region associated with the deformation, the transition between deformed and undeformed lithosphere and the interaction between lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle flow at the plate boundary. Here we present evidence for a narrow, approximately 20-km-wide, subcrustal anisotropic zone of fault-parallel mineral alignment beneath the Dead Sea transform, obtained from an inversion of shear-wave splitting observations along a dense receiver profile. The geometry of this zone and the contrast between distinct anisotropic domains suggest subhorizontal mantle flow within a vertical boundary layer that extends through the entire lithosphere and accommodates the transform motion between the African and Arabian plates within this relatively narrow zone.

Seismic structure of the lithosphere and upper mantle beneath the ocean islands near mid-oceanic ridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haldar, C.; Kumar, P.; Kumar, M. Ravi

2014-05-01

Deciphering the seismic character of the young lithosphere near mid-oceanic ridges (MORs) is a challenging endeavor. In this study, we determine the seismic structure of the oceanic plate near the MORs using the P-to-S conversions isolated from quality data recorded at five broadband seismological stations situated on ocean islands in their vicinity. Estimates of the crustal and lithospheric thickness values from waveform inversion of the P-receiver function stacks at individual stations reveal that the Moho depth varies between ~ 10 ± 1 km and ~ 20 ± 1 km with the depths of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) varying between ~ 40 ± 4 and ~ 65 ± 7 km. We found evidence for an additional low-velocity layer below the expected LAB depths at stations on Ascension, São Jorge and Easter islands. The layer probably relates to the presence of a hot spot corresponding to a magma chamber. Further, thinning of the upper mantle transition zone suggests a hotter mantle transition zone due to the possible presence of plumes in the mantle beneath the stations.

Crustal structure beneath the Kenya Rift from axial profile data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mechie, J.; Keller, Gordon R.; Prodehl, C.; Gaciri, S.; Braile, L.W.; Mooney, W.D.; Gajewski, D.; Sandmeier, K.-J.

1994-01-01

Modelling of the KRISP 90 axial line data shows that major crustal thinning occurs along the axis of the Kenya Rift from Moho depths of 35 km in the south beneath the Kenya Dome in the vicinity of Lake Naivasha to 20 km in the north beneath Lake Turkana. Low Pn velocities of 7.5-7.7 km/s are found beneath the whole of the axial line. The results indicate that crustal extension increases to the north and that the low Pn velocities are probably caused by magma (partial melt) rising from below and being trapped in the uppermost kilometres of the mantle. Along the axial line, the rift infill consisting of volcanics and a minor amount of sediments varies in thickness from zero where Precambrian crystalline basement highs occur to 5-6 km beneath the lakes Turkana and Naivasha. Analysis of the Pg phase shows that the upper crystalline crust has velocities of 6.1-6.3 km/s. Bearing in mind the Cainozoic volcanism associated with the rift, these velocities most probably represent Precambrian basement intruded by small amounts of igneous material. The boundary between the upper and lower crusts occurs at about 10 km depth beneath the northern part of the rift and 15 km depth beneath the southern part of the rift. The upper part of the lower crust has velocities of 6.4-6.5 km/s. The basal crustal layer which varies in thickness from a maximum of 2 km in the north to around 9 km in the south has a velocity of about 6.8 km/s. ?? 1994.

Seismic Imaging of Mantle Plumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nataf, Henri-Claude

The mantle plume hypothesis was proposed thirty years ago by Jason Morgan to explain hotspot volcanoes such as Hawaii. A thermal diapir (or plume) rises from the thermal boundary layer at the base of the mantle and produces a chain of volcanoes as a plate moves on top of it. The idea is very attractive, but direct evidence for actual plumes is weak, and many questions remain unanswered. With the great improvement of seismic imagery in the past ten years, new prospects have arisen. Mantle plumes are expected to be rather narrow, and their detection by seismic techniques requires specific developments as well as dedicated field experiments. Regional travel-time tomography has provided good evidence for plumes in the upper mantle beneath a few hotspots (Yellowstone, Massif Central, Iceland). Beneath Hawaii and Iceland, the plume can be detected in the transition zone because it deflects the seismic discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depths. In the lower mantle, plumes are very difficult to detect, so specific methods have been worked out for this purpose. There are hints of a plume beneath the weak Bowie hotspot, as well as intriguing observations for Hawaii. Beneath Iceland, high-resolution tomography has just revealed a wide and meandering plume-like structure extending from the core-mantle boundary up to the surface. Among the many phenomena that seem to take place in the lowermost mantle (or D''), there are also signs there of the presence of plumes. In this article I review the main results obtained so far from these studies and discuss their implications for plume dynamics. Seismic imaging of mantle plumes is still in its infancy but should soon become a turbulent teenager.

Crustal structure of a transform plate boundary: San Francisco Bay and the central California continental margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holbrook, W.S.; Brocher, T.M.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Hole, J.A.

1996-01-01

Wide-angle seismic data collected during the Bay Area Seismic Imaging Experiment provide new glimpses of the deep structure of the San Francisco Bay Area Block and across the offshore continental margin. San Francisco Bay is underlain by a veneer (<300 m) of sediments, beneath which P wave velocities increase rapidly from 5.2 km/s to 6.0 km/s at 7 km depth, consistent with rocks of the Franciscan subduction assemblage. The base of the Franciscan at-15-18 km depth is marked by a strong wide-angle reflector, beneath which lies an 8- to 10-km-thick lower crust with an average velocity of 6.75??0.15 km/s. The lower crust of the Bay Area Block may be oceanic in origin, but its structure and reflectivity indicate that it has been modified by shearing and/or magmatic intrusion. Wide-angle reflections define two layers within the lower crust, with velocities of 6.4-6.6 km/s and 6.9-7.3 km/s. Prominent subhorizontal reflectivity observed at near-vertical incidence resides principally in the lowermost layer, the top of which corresponds to the "6-s reflector" of Brocher et al. [1994]. Rheological modeling suggests that the lower crust beneath the 6-s reflector is the weakest part of the lithosphere; the horizontal shear zone suggested by Furlong et al. [1989] to link the San Andreas and Hayward/Calaveras fault systems may actually be a broad zone of shear deformation occupying the lowermost crust. A transect across the continental margin from the paleotrench to the Hayward fault shows a deep crustal structure that is more complex than previously realized. Strong lateral variability in seismic velocity and wide-angle reflectivity suggests that crustal composition changes across major transcurrent fault systems. Pacific oceanic crust extends 40-50 km landward of the paleotrench but, contrary to prior models, probably does not continue beneath the Salinian Block, a Cretaceous arc complex that lies west of the San Andreas fault in the Bay Area. The thickness (10 km) and high lower-crustal velocity of Pacific oceanic crust suggest that it was underplated by magmatism associated with the nearby Pioneer seamount. The Salinian Block consists of a 15-km-thick layer of velocity 6.0-6.2 km/s overlying a 5-km-thick, high-velocity (7.0 km/s) lower crust that may be oceanic crust, Cretaceous arc-derived lower crust, or a magmatically underplated layer. The strong structural variability across the margin attests to the activity of strike-slip faulting prior to and during development of the transcurrent Pacific/North American plate boundary around 29 Ma. Copyright 1996 by the American Geophysical Union.

Evidence from central Mexico supporting the Younger Dryas extraterrestrial impact hypothesis.

PubMed

Israde-Alcántara, Isabel; Bischoff, James L; Domínguez-Vázquez, Gabriela; Li, Hong-Chun; DeCarli, Paul S; Bunch, Ted E; Wittke, James H; Weaver, James C; Firestone, Richard B; West, Allen; Kennett, James P; Mercer, Chris; Xie, Sujing; Richman, Eric K; Kinzie, Charles R; Wolbach, Wendy S

2012-03-27

We report the discovery in Lake Cuitzeo in central Mexico of a black, carbon-rich, lacustrine layer, containing nanodiamonds, microspherules, and other unusual materials that date to the early Younger Dryas and are interpreted to result from an extraterrestrial impact. These proxies were found in a 27-m-long core as part of an interdisciplinary effort to extract a paleoclimate record back through the previous interglacial. Our attention focused early on an anomalous, 10-cm-thick, carbon-rich layer at a depth of 2.8 m that dates to 12.9 ka and coincides with a suite of anomalous coeval environmental and biotic changes independently recognized in other regional lake sequences. Collectively, these changes have produced the most distinctive boundary layer in the late Quaternary record. This layer contains a diverse, abundant assemblage of impact-related markers, including nanodiamonds, carbon spherules, and magnetic spherules with rapid melting/quenching textures, all reaching synchronous peaks immediately beneath a layer containing the largest peak of charcoal in the core. Analyses by multiple methods demonstrate the presence of three allotropes of nanodiamond: n-diamond, i-carbon, and hexagonal nanodiamond (lonsdaleite), in order of estimated relative abundance. This nanodiamond-rich layer is consistent with the Younger Dryas boundary layer found at numerous sites across North America, Greenland, and Western Europe. We have examined multiple hypotheses to account for these observations and find the evidence cannot be explained by any known terrestrial mechanism. It is, however, consistent with the Younger Dryas boundary impact hypothesis postulating a major extraterrestrial impact involving multiple airburst(s) and and/or ground impact(s) at 12.9 ka.

Lubrication theory for a random fibrous medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirbod, Parisa; Andreopoulos, Yiannis; Weinbaum, Sheldon

2007-11-01

In the classical theory for a slipper bearing one examines the relative motion of an inclined planar surface and a horizontal planar surface. The solution for the pressure distribution and lift force are independent of which boundary is moving and there is an optimum tilt k=h1/h2=2.2 for maximum lift. This symmetry is lost if the intervening space is filled with a soft porous fibrous material. In this paper the generalized Reynolds equation derived in Feng and Weinbaum (2000) J. Fluid Mech. 422:281 is extended to treat a random fiber matrix satisfying the widely used Carman-Kozeny equation. We show that the solutions are strikingly different depending on whether a) the inclined upper boundary moves or b) the upper boundary is stationary and the horizontal lower boundary moves beneath it. The behavior depends critically on the value of the dimensionless fiber interaction layer thickness α=H/√Kp . In a) the pressure and lift force increase as 2̂ and asymptotically approach a limiting behavior for large values of α since the fluid is pushed forward by the tilt of the upper boundary. In b) the pressure and lift force decay as &-2circ; since the fiber interaction layer thickness decreases and the amount of fluid dragged though the fluid gap decreases as α increases and vanishes for α>> 1.

Effect of Vortex Circulation on Injectant from a Single Film-Cooling Hole and a Row of Film-Cooling Holes in a Turbulent Boundary Layer. Part 1. Injection Beneath the Vortex Downwash

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

coefficients vortex circulation, symbols used in vorticity plots representing circulation values derived from different vortex core models injection...derived from different vortex core models dimensionless core size parameter: t wice the a verage core radius divided by t h e i n jection hole...Wall Heating, xjd=109.2, m=0.5, Single Injection Hole Vortex w, Temp. Difference Range (.5- 2.5) degree s 91. Local Temperature Distribution

Pressure fluctuations beneath turbulent spots and instability wave packets in a hypersonic boundary layer.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beresh, Steven Jay; Casper, Katya M.; Schneider, Steven P.

2010-12-01

The development of turbulent spots in a hypersonic boundary layer was studied on the nozzle wall of the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. Under quiet flow conditions, the nozzle wall boundary layer remains laminar and grows very thick over the long nozzle length. This allows the development of large turbulent spots that can be readily measured with pressure transducers. Measurements of naturally occurring wave packets and developing turbulent spots were made. The peak frequencies of these natural wave packets were in agreement with second-mode computations. For a controlled study, the breakdown of disturbances created by spark and glow perturbations were studiedmore » at similar freestream conditions. The spark perturbations were the most effective at creating large wave packets that broke down into turbulent spots. The flow disturbances created by the controlled perturbations were analyzed to obtain amplitude criteria for nonlinearity and breakdown as well as the convection velocities of the turbulent spots. Disturbances first grew into linear instability waves and then quickly became nonlinear. Throughout the nonlinear growth of the wave packets, large harmonics are visible in the power spectra. As breakdown begins, the peak amplitudes of the instability waves and harmonics decrease into the rising broad-band frequencies. Instability waves are still visible on either side of the growing turbulent spots during this breakdown process.« less

Internal Gravity Waves: Generation and Breaking Mechanisms by Laboratory Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

la Forgia, Giovanni; Adduce, Claudia; Falcini, Federico

2016-04-01

Internal gravity waves (IGWs), occurring within estuaries and the coastal oceans, are manifest as large amplitude undulations of the pycnocline. IGWs propagating horizontally in a two layer stratified fluid are studied. The breaking of an IGW of depression shoaling upon a uniformly sloping boundary is investigated experimentally. Breaking dynamics beneath the shoaling waves causes both mixing and wave-induced near-bottom vortices suspending and redistributing the bed material. Laboratory experiments are conducted in a Perspex tank through the standard lock-release method, following the technique described in Sutherland et al. (2013). Each experiment is analysed and the instantaneous pycnocline position is measured, in order to obtain both geometric and kinematic features of the IGW: amplitude, wavelength and celerity. IGWs main features depend on the geometrical parameters that define the initial experimental setting: the density difference between the layers, the total depth, the layers depth ratio, the aspect ratio, and the displacement between the pycnoclines. Relations between IGWs geometric and kinematic features and the initial setting parameters are analysed. The approach of the IGWs toward a uniform slope is investigated in the present experiments. Depending on wave and slope characteristics, different breaking and mixing processes are observed. Sediments are sprinkled on the slope to visualize boundary layer separation in order to analyze the suspension e redistribution mechanisms due to the wave breaking.

Lithospheric Structure and Active Deformation in the Salton Trough from Coseismic and Postseismic Models of the 2010 Mw 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fielding, E. J.; Huang, M. H.; Dickinson, H.; Freed, A. M.; Burgmann, R.; Gonzalez-Ortega, J. A.; Andronicos, C.

2016-12-01

The 4 April 2010 Mw 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah (EMC) Earthquake ruptured about 120 km along several NW-striking faults to the west of the Cerro Prieto Fault in the Salton Trough of Baja California, Mexico. We analyzed interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR), SAR and optical pixel offsets, and continuous and campaign GPS data to optimize an EMC coseismic rupture model with 9 fault segments, which fits the complex structure of the faults. Coseismic slip inversion with a layered elastic model shows that largely right-lateral slip is confined to upper 10 km with strong variations along strike. Near-field GPS measures slip on a north-striking normal fault that ruptured at the beginning of the earthquake, previously inferred from seismic waveforms. EMC Earthquake postseismic deformation shows the Earth's response to the large coseismic stress changes. InSAR shows rapid shallow afterslip at the north and south ends of the main ruptures. Continuous GPS from the Plate Boundary Observatory operated by UNAVCO measures the first six years of postseismic deformation, extremely rapid near the rupture. Afterslip on faults beneath the coseismic rupture cannot explain far-field displacements that are best explained by viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and upper mantle. We built a viscoelastic 3D finite element model of the lithosphere and asthenosphere based on available data for the region with the EMC coseismic faults embedded inside. Coseismic slip was imposed on the model, allowed to relax for 5 years, and then compared to the observed surface deformation. Systematic exploration of the viscoelastic parameters shows that horizontal and vertical heterogeneity is required to fit the postseismic deformation. Our preferred viscoelastic model has weaker viscosity layers beneath the Salton Trough than adjacent blocks that are consistent with the inferred differences in the geotherms. Defining mechanical lithosphere as rocks that have viscosities greater than 10^19 Pa s (able to sustain stresses for more than 100 years), we infer the thickness of lithosphere beneath the Salton Trough to be 32 km and 65 km beneath the Peninsula Ranges to the west. These mechanical lithosphere-asthenosphere boundaries (LABs) are shallower than the observed seismic LABs, but probably better represent the strength of the blocks in this area.

Potential Magma Chambers beneath the Tatun Volcanic Area, Taiwan: Results from Magnetotelluric Survey and Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C.

2013-12-01

Previous earthquakes analysis indicated existing seismicity anomaly beneath Tatun volcano, Taiwan, possibly caused by the fluid activity of the volcano. Helium isotope studies also indicated that over 60% of the fumarolic gases and vapors originated from deep mantle in the Tatun volcano area. The chemistry of the fumarolic gases and vapors and seismicity anomaly are important issues in view of possible magma chamber in the Tatun volcano, where is in the vicinity of metropolitan Taipei, only 15 km north of the capital city. In this study magnetotelluric (MT) soundings and monitoring were deployed to understand the geoelectric structures in the Tatun volcano as Electromagnetic methods are sensitive to conductivity contrasts and can be used as a supplementary tool to delineate reservoir boundaries. An anticline extending more than 10 km beneath the Chih-Shin-Shan and Da-You-Kan areas was recognized. Low resistivity at a shallow and highly porous layer 500m thick might indicate circulation of heated water. However, a high resistivity layer at depth between 2 and 6 km was detected. This layer could be associated with high micro-earthquakes zone. The characteristics of this layer produced by either the magma chamber or other geothermal activity were similar to that of some other active volcanic areas in the world. At 6 km underground was a dome structure of medium resistivity. This structure could be interpreted as a magma chamber in which the magma is possibly cooling down, as judged by its relatively high resistivity. The exact attributes of the magma chamber were not precisely determined from the limited MT soundings. At present, a joint monitors including seismic activity, ground deformation, volcanic gases, and changes in water levels and chemistry are conducted by universities and government agencies. When unusual activity is detected, a response team may do more ground surveys to better determine if an eruption is likely.

Receiver Functions Imaging of the Moho and LAB in the Southern Caribbean plate boundary and Venezuela

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masy, J.; Levander, A.; Niu, F.

2011-12-01

We have made teleseismic Ps and Sp receiver functions from data recorded from 2003 to 2009 by the permanent national seismic network of Venezuela, the BOLIVAR (Broadband Onshore-offshore Lithospheric Investigation of Venezuela and the Antilles arc Region) and WAVE (Western Array for Venezuela) experiments. The receiver functions show rapid variations in Moho and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) depths both across and along the southern Caribbean plate boundary region. We used a total of 69 events with Mw > 6 occurring at epicentral distances from 30° to 90° for the Ps receiver functions, and 43 events with Mw > 5.7 from 55° to 85° to make Sp receiver functions. For CCP stacking we constructed a 3D velocity model from numerous active source profiles (Schmitz et al., 2001; Bezada et al., 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Guedez, 2008; Magnani et al., 2009), from finite-frequency P wave upper mantle tomography model of Bezada et al., (2010) and the Rayleigh wave tomography model of Miller et al., (2009). The Moho ranges in depth from ~25 km beneath the Caribbean Large Igneous Provinces to ~55 km beneath the Mérida Andes in western Venezuela. These results are consistent with previous receiver functions studies (Niu et al., 2007) and the available active source profiles. Beneath the Maracaibo Block in northwestern Venezuela, we observe a strong positive signal at 40 to 60 km depth dipping ~6° towards the continent. We interpret this as the Moho of the Caribbean slab subducting beneath northernmost South America from the west. Beneath northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela the top of this slab has been previously inferred from intermediate depth seismicity (Malavé and Suarez, 1995), which indicates a slab dipping between 20° - 30° beneath Lake Maracaibo. Our results could indicate that the slab is tearing beneath Lake Maracaibo as suggested previously by Masy et al. (2011). The deeper (> 100 km depth) part of the slab has been imaged using P-wave tomography (Bezada et al, 2010). Like others we attribute the uplift of the Mérida Andes to flat Caribbean slab subduction (for example Kellogg and Bonini, 1982). In central Venezuela beneath the Cordillera de la Costa we observe a positive signal shallower than the Moho at <30 km depth beneath the entire range. We interpret this as a detachment surface beneath Caribbean & arc terranes thrust onto the SA margin (Bezada et al., 2010). The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath the Mérida Andes is shallow, ~65km depth, and parallels the range. In the plate boundary region under the Cordillera de la Costa the lithosphere is also thin, ~65km, beneath the Cariaco basin the lithosphere thickens to 85 km. In the far east under Serranía del Interior the lithosphere is ~75 km. Cratonic lithosphere thickness varies from 85 to 100 km.

Control of a shock wave-boundary layer interaction using localized arc filament plasma actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, Nathan Joseph

Supersonic flight is currently possible, but expensive. Inexpensive supersonic travel will require increased efficiency of high-speed air entrainment, an integral part of air-breathing propulsion systems. Although mixed compression inlet geometry can significantly improve entrainment efficiency, numerous Shock Wave-Boundary Layer Interactions (SWBLIs) are generated in this configuration. The boundary layer must therefore develop through multiple regions of adverse pressure gradient, causing it to thicken, and, in severe cases, separate. The associated increase in unsteadiness can have adverse effects on downstream engine hardware. The most severe consequence of these interactions is the increased aerodynamic blockage generated by the thickened boundary layer. If the increase is sufficient, it can choke the flow, causing inlet unstart, and resulting in a loss of thrust and high transient forces on the engine, airframe, and aircraft occupants. The potentially severe consequences associated with SWBLIs require flow control to ensure proper operation. Traditionally, boundary layer bleed has been used to control the interaction. Although this method is effective, it has inherent efficiency penalties. Localized Arc Filament Plasma Actuators (LAFPAs) are designed to generate perturbations for flow control. Natural flow instabilities act to amplify certain perturbations, allowing the LAFPAs to control the flow with minimal power input. LAFPAs also have the flexibility to maintain control over a variety of operating conditions. This work seeks to examine the effectiveness of LAFPAs as a separation control method for an oblique, impinging SWBLI. The low frequency unsteadiness in the reflected shock was thought to be the natural manifestation of a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the shear layer above the separation region. The LAFPAs were therefore placed upstream of the interaction to allow their perturbations to convect to the receptivity region (near the shear layer origin/separation line). Streamwise PIV measurements did not show that the boundary layer or separation region were energized by the actuation. The primary effect of the LAFPAs was the displacement of the reflected shock upstream. Jaunet et al. (2012) observed a similar shift in the reflected shock when they heated the wall beneath the boundary layer. A significantly greater power deposition was used in that work, and significantly larger shock displacements were observed. Although the LAFPAs output significantly less power (albeit in an unsteady, highly localized fashion), a parametric sweep strongly pointed to heating as the primary control mechanism. Further investigation and analysis showed that the near-wall heating of the flow by the plasma was the primary control mechanism of the LAFPAs, despite the small power input. The reflected shock was displaced by an increase in the separation region size, which was caused by the degradation of the upstream boundary layer. The LAFPAs degrade the upstream boundary layer through a variety of heating associated mechanisms: 1) Decreasing the density increases the mass flow deficit, 2) The altered skin-friction coefficient acts to retard the flow and make the velocity profile less full, and 3) The heating moves the sonic line further from the wall. Other mechanisms may also play a role.

Crustal shear wave velocity and radial anisotropy beneath the Rio Grande rift from ambient noise tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Yuanyuan V.; Li, Aibing

2015-02-01

Shear wave velocity and radial anisotropy beneath New Mexico are obtained from ambient seismic noise tomography using data from the Transportable Array. Besides the distinct seismic structure imaged across the Rio Grande rift from the Colorado Plateau to the Great Plains, both velocity and anisotropy models also reveal significant variations along the rift. The rift at Albuquerque is characterized by remarkably low velocity in the shallow crust, high velocity and strong positive anisotropy in the middle and lower crust, and low velocity in the upper mantle. These observations can be interpreted as magma accumulation in the shallow crust and significant mafic underplating in the lower crust with abundant melt supply from the hot mantle. We propose that the Albuquerque region has recently been experiencing the most vigorous extensional deformation in the rift. Positive anisotropy with Vsh > Vsv appears in the central and southern rifts with a stronger anisotropy beneath younger volcanoes, reflecting layering of magma intrusion due to past and recent rifting activities. The low velocities in the uppermost mantle are observed under high-elevation places, the Jemez Lineament, northern rift, and east rift boundary, implying that the buoyancy of hot mantle largely compensates the local high topography. Low mantle velocities appear at the boundary of the southern rift, corresponding to the large lithosphere thickness change, instead of the rift center, consistent with the prediction from the small-scale, edge-driven mantle convection model. We conclude that the edge-driven upper mantle convection is probably the dominant mechanism for the recent and current rifting and uplift in the Rio Grande rift.

Imaging megathrust zone and Yakutat/Pacific plate interface in Alaska subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y.; Abers, G. A.; Li, J.; Christensen, D. H.; Calkins, J. A.

2012-12-01

We image the subducted slab underneath a 450 km long transect of the Alaska subduction zone. Dense stations in southern Alaska are set up to investigate (1) the geometry and velocity structure of the downgoing plate and their relation to slab seismicity, and (2) the interplate coupled zone where the great 1964 (magnitude 9.3) had greatest rupture. The joint teleseismic migration of two array datasets (MOOS, Multidisciplinary Observations of Onshore Subduction, and BEAAR, Broadband Experiment Across the Alaska Range) based on teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) using the MOOS data reveal a shallow-dipping prominent low-velocity layer at ~25-30 km depth in southern Alaska. Modeling of these RF amplitudes shows a thin (3-6.5 km) low-velocity layer (shear wave velocity less than 3 km/s), which is ~20-30% slower than normal oceanic crustal velocities, between the subducted slab and the overriding North America plate. The observed low-velocity megathrust layer (with Vp/Vs ratio exceeding 2.0) may be due to a thick sediment input from the trench in combination of elevated pore fluid pressure in the channel. The subducted crust below the low-velocity channel has gabbroic velocities with a thickness of 11-15 km. Both velocities and thickness of the low-velocity channel abruptly increase as the slab bends in central Alaska, which agrees with previously published RF results. Our image also includes an unusually thick low-velocity crust subducting with a ~20 degree dip down to 130 km depth at approximately 200 km inland beneath central Alaska. The unusual nature of this subducted segment has been suggested to be due to the subduction of the Yakutat terrane. Subduction of this buoyant crust could explain the shallow dip of the thrust zone beneath southern Alaska. We also show a clear image of the Yakutat and Pacific plate subduction beneath the Kenai Peninsula, and the along-strike boundary between them at megathrust depths. Our imaged western edge of the Yakutat terrane, at ~30-42 km depth in the central Kenai along the megathrust, aligns with the western end of the geodetically locked patch with high slip deficit, and coincides with the boundary of aftershock events from the 1964 earthquake. It seems plausible that this sharp change in the nature of the downgoing plate controls the slip distribution of great earthquakes on this plate interface.

Photovoltaic module and laminate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bunea, Gabriela E.; Kim, Sung Dug; Kavulak, David F.J.

A photovoltaic module is disclosed. The photovoltaic module has a first side directed toward the sun during normal operation and a second, lower side. The photovoltaic module comprises a perimeter frame and a photovoltaic laminate at least partially enclosed by and supported by the perimeter frame. The photovoltaic laminate comprises a transparent cover layer positioned toward the first side of the photovoltaic module, an upper encapsulant layer beneath and adhering to the cover layer, a plurality of photovoltaic solar cells beneath the upper encapsulant layer, the photovoltaic solar cells electrically interconnected, a lower encapsulant layer beneath the plurality of photovoltaicmore » solar cells, the upper and lower encapsulant layers enclosing the plurality of photovoltaic solar cells, and a homogenous rear environmental protection layer, the rear environmental protection layer adhering to the lower encapsulant layer, the rear environmental protection layer exposed to the ambient environment on the second side of the photovoltaic module.« less

When Boundary Layers Collide: Plumes v. Subduction Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moresi, L. N.; Betts, P. G.; Miller, M. S.; Willis, D.; O'Driscoll, L.

2014-12-01

Many subduction zones retreat while hotspots remain sufficiently stable in the mantle to provide an approximate reference frame. As a consequence, the mantle can be thought of as an unusual convecting system which self-organises to promote frequent collisions of downgoing material with upwellings. We present three 3D numerical models of subduction where buoyant material from a plume head and an associated ocean-island chain or plateau produce flat slab subduction and deformation of the over-riding plate. We observe transient instabilities of the convergent margin including: contorted trench geometry; trench migration parallel with the plate margin; folding of the subducting slab and orocline development at the convergent margin; and transfer of the plateau to the overriding plate. The presence of plume material beneath the oceanic plateau causes flat subduction above the plume, resulting in a "bowed" shaped subducting slab. In the absence of a plateau at the surface, the slab can remain uncoupled from the over-riding plate during very shallow subduction and hence there is very little shortening at the surface or advance of the plate boundary. In plateau-only models, plateau accretion at the edge of the overriding plate results in trench migration around the edge of the plateau before subduction re-establishes directly behind the trailing edge of the plateau. The plateau shortens during accretion and some plateau material subducts. In a plateau-plus-plume model, accretion is associated with rapid trench advance as the flat slab drives the plateau into the margin. This indentation stops once a new convergent boundary forms close to the original trench location. A slab window formed beneath the accreted plateau allows plume material to flow from beneath the subducting plate to the underside of the overriding plate. In all of these models the subduction zone maintains a relatively stable configuration away from the buoyancy anomalies within the downgoing plate. The models provide a dynamic context for plateau and plume accretion in accretionary orogenic systems.

Detection of a Sharp Structural Boundary in Lowermost Mantle Beneath Alaska by Core Phase PKPbc-df Differential Travel Times - Observation from the Anomalous South Sandwich Islands to Alaska Path

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, L.; Kawakatsu, H.; Takeuchi, N.

2017-12-01

Differential travel time residuals of PKPbc and PKPdf for the path from South Sandwich Islands (SSI) to Alaska are usually used to constrain anisotropy of the western hemisphere of the Earth's inner-core. For this polar path, it has been found that PKPbc-df differential residuals are generally anomalously larger than data that sample other regions, and also show strong lateral variation. Due to sparse distribution of seismic stations in Alaska in early times, previous researches have been unable to propose a good model to explain this particular data set. Using data recorded by the current dense stations in Alaska for SSI earthquakes, we reexamine the anomalous behavior of core phase PKPbc-df differential travel times and try to explain the origin. The data sample the inner-core for the polar paths, as well as the lowermost mantle beneath Alaska. Our major observations are: (1) fractional travel time residuals of PKPbc-df increase rapidly within 2° (up to 1%). (2) A clear shift of the residual pattern could be seen for earthquakes with different locations. (3) The residual shows systematic lateral variation: at northern part, no steep increase of residual can be seen. A sharp lateral structural boundary with a P-wave velocity contrast of about 3% at lowermost mantle beneath East Alaska is invoked to explain the steep increase of the observed residuals. By combining the effects of a uniformly anisotropic inner-core and the heterogeneity, the observed residual patterns could be well reproduced. This high velocity anomaly might be related with an ancient subducted slab. Lateral variation of the PKPbc-df residuals suggests that the heterogeneity layer is not laterally continuous and may terminate beneath Northeastern Alaska. We also conclude that core phases may be strongly affected by heterogeneities at lowermost mantle, and should be carefully treated if they are used to infer the inner-core structure.

Skin friction measurements by a new nonintrusive double-laser-beam oil viscosity balance technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monson, D. J.; Higuchi, H.

1980-01-01

A portable dual-laser-beam interferometer that nonintrusively measures skin friction by monitoring the thickness change of an oil film subject to shear stress is described. The method is an advance over past versions in that the troublesome and error-introducing need to measure the distance to the oil leading edge and the starting time for the oil flow has been eliminated. The validity of the method was verified by measuring oil viscosity in the laboratory, and then using those results to measure skin friction beneath the turbulent boundary layer in a low-speed wind tunnel. The dual-laser-beam skin friction measurements are compared with Preston tube measurements, with mean velocity profile data in a 'law-of-the-wall' coordinate system, and with computations based on turbulent boundary-layer theory. Excellent agreement is found in all cases. This validation and the aforementioned improvements appear to make the present form of the instrument usable to measure skin friction reliably and nonintrusively in a wide range of flow situations in which previous methods are not practical.

Skin Friction Measurements by a Dual-Laser-Beam Interferometer Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monson, D. J.; Higuchi, H.

1981-01-01

A portable dual-laser-beam interferometer that nonintrusively measures skin friction by monitoring the thickness change of an oil film subject to shear stress is described. The method is an advance over past versions in that the troublesome and error-introducing need to measure the distance to the oil leading edge and the starting time for the oil flow has been eliminated. The validity of the method was verified by measuring oil viscosity in the laboratory, and then using those results to measure skin friction beneath the turbulent boundary layer in a low speed wind tunnel. The dual-laser-beam skin friction measurements are compared with Preston tube measurements, with mean velocity profile data in a "law-of-the-well" coordinate system, and with computations based on turbulent boundary-layer theory. Excellent agreement is found in all cases. (This validation and the aforementioned improvements appear to make the present form of the instrument usable to measure skin friction reliably and nonintrusively in a wide range of flow situations in which previous methods are not practical.)

Martian Dust Devils: Laboratory Simulations of Particle Threshold

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greeley, Ronald; Balme, Matthew R.; Iverson, James D.; Metzger, Stephen; Mickelson, Robert; Phoreman, Jim; White, Bruce

2003-01-01

An apparatus has been fabricated to simulate terrestrial and Martian dust devils. Comparisons of surface pressure profiles through the vortex core generated in the apparatus with both those in natural dust devils on Earth and those inferred for Mars are similar and are consistent with theoretical Rankine vortex models. Experiments to determine particle threshold under Earth ambient atmospheric pressures show that sand (particles > 60 micron in diameter) threshold is analogous to normal boundary-layer shear, in which the rotating winds of the vortex generate surface shear and hence lift. Lower-pressure experiments down to approx. 65 mbar follow this trend for sand-sized particles. However, smaller particles (i.e., dust) and all particles at very low pressures (w 10-60 mbar) appear to be subjected to an additional lift function interpreted to result from the strong decrease in atmospheric pressure centered beneath the vortex core. Initial results suggest that the wind speeds required for the entrainment of grains approx. 2 microns in diameter (i.e., Martian dust sizes) are about half those required for entrainment by boundary layer winds on both Earth and Mars.

Crustal velocity structure across the Main Ethiopian Rift: results from two-dimensional wide-angle seismic modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackenzie, G. D.; Thybo, H.; Maguire, P. K. H.

2005-09-01

We present the results of velocity modelling of a recently acquired wide-angle seismic reflection/refraction profile across the Main Ethiopian Rift. The models show a continental type of crust with significant asymmetry between the two sides of the rift. A 2- to 5-km-thick layer of sedimentary and volcanic sequences is modelled across the entire region. This is underlain by a 40- to 45-km-thick crust with a c. 15-km-thick high-velocity lowest crustal layer beneath the western plateau. This layer is absent from the eastern side, where the crust is 35 km thick beneath the sediments. We interpret this layer as underplated material associated with the Oligocene flood basalts of the region with possible subsequent addition by recent magmatic events. Slight crustal thinning is observed beneath the rift, where Pn velocities indicate the presence of hot mantle rocks containing partial melt. Beneath the rift axis, the velocities of the upper crustal layers are 5-10 per cent higher than outside the rift, which we interpret as resulting from mafic intrusions that can be associated with magmatic centres observed in the rift valley. Variations in seismic reflectivity suggest the presence of layering in the lower crust beneath the rift, possibly indicating the presence of sills, as well as some layering in the proposed underplated body.

Spatial Distribution of the Earthquakes beneath the Pamir-Hindu Kush Region: Implications for the Collision between two Oppositely Subducted Slabs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ning, J.; Lou, X.; Cai, C.; Yu, C.

2009-12-01

We employed a double-difference algorithm (hypoDD) to relocate the Earthquakes reported by the International Seismological Center within the region bounded by 66~78°E and 32~42°N between 1964 and 2003. Among the listed 10224 events in the catalog, 7655 events have at least six P-wave arrival times recorded by 279 stations in the region within 60~90°E and 20~50°N. Totally we have about 135,000 P wave arrival picks and 42,000 S wave arrival picks. 269,365 P-phase pairs and 212,354 S-phase pairs are selected. The average offset between linked events is 10.74 km. The double-difference travel time match in the hypoDD program retains 6018 out of the 7655 events. Then 4751 events are grouped into 182 clusters recorded by 80 stations. The other 1267 events are outliers. Finally 2134 events are successfully relocated and 1479 of them have depth greater than 70 km. There is a distinct feature beneath Hindu Kush region, a double-layered Wadati-Benioff zone which has never been revealed before. Both layers are composed of two parts: the upper part and the lower part. However, the Wadati-Benioff zone in the Pamir region is totally different: it does not have double-layered structure. The Wadati-Benioff zone beneath the Hindu Kush region and the one beneath the Pamir region meet with each other at depth of about 130 km and form back-to-back bow shapes at the boundary region. This explicit feature not only gainsays the statement that a gap exists between the Wadati-Benioff zones beneath the Hindu Kush and the Pamir, but also gainsays the statement that the two Wadati-Benioff zones have geometrical coherence. Based upon above results, along with Harvard CMT solutions, seismological tomography results and geochemical evidences, we propose that beneath the Pamir-Hindu Kush region there exist two oppositely subducted slabs which are colliding with each other at depth of about 130 km. This new model is different from the tear model. It can reasonably explain the Harvard CMT solutions. It naturally relates the intermediate-depth earthquakes under the Pamir with both the intense shallow earthquakes along the northern boundary of the Pamir in Tajikistan and the Ophiolite belt facing south in northern Pamir zone. It also helps us find a way out of the difficulty that Punjab Wedge could not supply enough material diversely subducting into the deep Earth’s interior of Pamir region although it can exert strong extrusion to Pamir zone. When the plate coming from south does not have enough material deeply subducting into the Pamir region, south-concaved northern Pamir arc is indeed the right place for supplying enough material. This new model is also different from the traditional opposing subduction model. It is not based on chanciness. It supplies a reasonable solution to overcome the difficulty that we will face when we find that the seismic gap between the two Wadati-Benioff zones does not exist. When there are no strong evidences for the traditional opposing subduction model, “collision” is the key to reconcile all observations.

Detailed Configuration of the Underthrusting Indian Lithosphere Beneath Western Tibet Revealed by Receiver Function Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qiang; Zhao, Junmeng; Yuan, Xiaohui; Liu, Hongbing; Pei, Shunping

2017-10-01

We analyze the teleseismic waveform data recorded by 42 temporary stations from the Y2 and ANTILOPE-1 arrays using the P and S receiver function techniques to investigate the lithospheric structure beneath western Tibet. The Moho is reliably identified as a prominent feature at depths of 55-82 km in the stacked traces and in depth migrated images. It has a concave shape and reaches the deepest location at about 80 km north of the Indus-Yarlung suture (IYS). An intracrustal discontinuity is observed at 55 km depth below the southern Lhasa terrane, which could represent the upper border of the eclogitized underthrusting Indian lower crust. Underthrusting of the Indian crust has been widely observed beneath the Lhasa terrane and correlates well with the Bouguer gravity low, suggesting that the gravity anomalies in the Lhasa terrane are induced by topography of the Moho. At 20 km depth, a midcrustal low-velocity zone (LVZ) is observed beneath the Tethyan Himalaya and southern Lhasa terrane, suggesting a layer of partial melts that decouples the thrust/fold deformation of the upper crust from the shortening and underthrusting in the lower crust. The Sp conversions at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) can be recognized at depths of 130-200 km, showing that the Indian lithospheric mantle is underthrusting with a ramp-flat shape beneath southern Tibet and probably is detached from the lower crust immediately under the IYS. Our observations reconstruct the configuration of the underthrusting Indian lithosphere and indicate significant along strike variations.

Shallow crustal radial anisotropy beneath the Tehran basin of Iran from seismic ambient noise tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirzad, Taghi; Shomali, Z. Hossein

2014-06-01

We studied the shear wave velocity structure and radial anisotropy beneath the Tehran basin by analyzing the Rayleigh wave and Love wave empirical Green's functions obtained from cross-correlation of seismic ambient noise. Approximately 199 inter-station Rayleigh and Love wave empirical Green's functions with sufficient signal-to-noise ratios extracted from 30 stations with various sensor types were used for phase velocity dispersion analysis of periods ranging from 1 to 7 s using an image transformation analysis technique. Dispersion curves extracted from the phase velocity maps were inverted based on non-linear damped least squares inversion method to obtain a quasi-3D model of crustal shear wave velocities. The data used in this study provide an unprecedented opportunity to resolve the spatial distribution of radial anisotropy within the uppermost crust beneath the Tehran basin. The quasi-3D shear wave velocity model obtained in this analysis delineates several distinct low- and high-velocity zones that are generally separated by geological boundaries. High-shear-velocity zones are located primarily around the mountain ranges and extend to depths of 2.0 km, while the low-shear-velocity zone is located near regions with sedimentary layers. In the shallow subsurface, our results indicate strong radial anisotropy with negative magnitude (VSV > VSH) primarily associated with thick sedimentary deposits, reflecting vertical alignment of cracks. With increasing depth, the magnitude of the radial anisotropy shifts from predominantly negative (less than -10%) to predominantly positive (greater than 5%). Our results show a distinct change in radial anisotropy between the uppermost sedimentary layer and the bedrock.

Numerical simulation of groundwater flow at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Joseph L.; Johnson, Kenneth H.; Frans, Lonna M.

2016-08-18

Information about groundwater-flow paths and locations where groundwater discharges at and near Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is necessary for understanding the potential migration of subsurface contaminants by groundwater at the shipyard. The design of some remediation alternatives would be aided by knowledge of whether groundwater flowing at specific locations beneath the shipyard will eventually discharge directly to Sinclair Inlet of Puget Sound, or if it will discharge to the drainage system of one of the six dry docks located in the shipyard. A 1997 numerical (finite difference) groundwater-flow model of the shipyard and surrounding area was constructed to help evaluate the potential for groundwater discharge to Puget Sound. That steady-state, multilayer numerical model with homogeneous hydraulic characteristics indicated that groundwater flowing beneath nearly all of the shipyard discharges to the dry-dock drainage systems, and only shallow groundwater flowing beneath the western end of the shipyard discharges directly to Sinclair Inlet.Updated information from a 2016 regional groundwater-flow model constructed for the greater Kitsap Peninsula was used to update the 1997 groundwater model of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. That information included a new interpretation of the hydrogeologic units underlying the area, as well as improved recharge estimates. Other updates to the 1997 model included finer discretization of the finite-difference model grid into more layers, rows, and columns, all with reduced dimensions. This updated Puget Sound Naval Shipyard model was calibrated to 2001–2005 measured water levels, and hydraulic characteristics of the model layers representing different hydrogeologic units were estimated with the aid of state-of-the-art parameter optimization techniques.The flow directions and discharge locations predicted by this updated model generally match the 1997 model despite refinements and other changes. In the updated model, most groundwater discharge recharged within the boundaries of the shipyard is to the dry docks; only at the western end of the shipyard does groundwater discharge directly to Puget Sound. Particle tracking for the existing long-term monitoring well network suggests that only a few wells intercept groundwater that originates as recharge within the shipyard boundary.

Investigation of the groundwater system at Masaya Caldera, Nicaragua, using transient electromagnetics and numerical simulation

USGS Publications Warehouse

MacNeil, R.E.; Sanford, W.E.; Connor, C.B.; Sandberg, S.K.; Diez, M.

2007-01-01

The distribution of groundwater beneath Masaya Volcano, in Nicaragua, and its surrounding caldera was characterized using the transient electromagnetic method (TEM). Multiple soundings were conducted at 30 sites. Models of the TEM data consistently indicate a resistive layer that is underlain by one or more conductive layers. These two layers represent the unsaturated and saturated zones, respectively, with the boundary between them indicating the water-table elevation. A map of the TEM data shows that the water table in the caldera is a subdued replica of the topography, with higher elevations beneath the edifice in the south-central caldera and lower elevations in the eastern caldera, coinciding with the elevation of Laguna de Masaya. These TEM data, combined with regional hydrologic data, indicate that the caldera in hydrologically isolated from the surrounding region, with as much as 60??m of difference in elevation of the groundwater table across caldera-bounding faults. The water-table information and estimates of fluxes of water through the system were used to constrain a numerical simulation of groundwater flow. The simulation results indicate that basalt flows in the outer parts of the caldera have a relatively high transmissivity, whereas the central edifice has a substantially lower transmissivity. A layer of relatively high transmissivity must be present at depth within the edifice in order to deliver the observed flux of water and steam to the active vent. This hydrologic information about the caldera provides a baseline for assessing the response of this isolated groundwater system to future changes in magmatic activity. ?? 2007.

Electrical feature at the depths of lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath the petit-spot volcanic field in northwestern Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baba, K.; Abe, N.; Hirano, N.; Ichiki, M.

2017-12-01

Small-scale volcanoes possibly associated with flexure of oceanic lithosphere are called "petit-spots" and petit-spot volcanic fields have been recognized in many places in the world since the first discovery in northwestern Pacific (NWP) (Hirano et al., 2001; 2006). We have investigated the electrical feature of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) through marine magnetotelluric (MT) survey to elucidate the magma generation and migration process of the NWP petit-spot. The MT array that consists of nine sites covers about 1,000 km times 1,000 km area around the petit-spot. The data were collected during several periods in 2002-2008. A one-dimensional (1-D) representative structure in the array was first estimated to explain the averaged MT responses in the array. The 1-D profile suggest that the resistive layer, which may be interpreted as cool lithosphere, is likely thicker than predictions by typical models for thermally conductive cooling of the lithosphere having a finite thickness over time since its creation at a mid-ocean ridge (Baba et al., 2017). We have further analyzed the data using a three-dimensional inversion approach (Siripunvaraporn et al., 2005; Tada et al., 2012; Baba et al., 2013). Preliminary results show that the resistive lithospheric layer may be thinner just beneath the petit-spot field. Distribution of the relatively high conductivity anomaly at the LAB depth is critical to discuss if the petit-spot magma source is ubiquitous. Therefore, necessity of the feature should be carefully examined. Quantitative interpretation of electrical conductivity in terms of partial melting and volatile (H2O and CO2) contents in the mantle will also be attempted and presented in the conference.

New Insight into the Lithosphere Structure of the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulliam, J.; Gurrola, H.; Mickus, K. L.; Keller, G. R.

2016-12-01

The Gulf Coast of Texas is a passive margin remaining after the breakup of Pangaea. The opening of the western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was the result of the Yucatan block rifting away from North America and rotating to its present location but the exact nature of this rifting is not well understood. Some models describe it as passive rifting while other models consider it to be the result of active volcanic rifting. Until recently the sparse distribution of seismic stations limits our ability to image the deep crust and upper mantle that are important to the understanding of important tectonic process of the area. Here we present new observations from passive seismic imaging using data from a broadband 26-station profile across the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) and the EarthScope Transportable Array. Ps receiver function (RF) imaging of the GCP profile reveals possible remnants of a subducted slab beneath the GCP of the central Texas coast outboard of the Balcones fault zone. The presence of a remnant late Paleozoic slab associated with the assembly of Pangaea may imply that rifting associated with the opening of the GOM did not completely overprint older features, which suggests that passive rifting was responsible for the opening of western GOM. A remnant slab would provide a plausible explanation for a low velocity layer imaged beneath the coastal region by Sp RF imaging. A strong negative S110p phase observed in an Sp receiver functions image across the GCP of central Texas may be interpreted as the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere boundary (LAB) but observations of other positive and negative phases in the 110 and 200 km depth interval lead us to believe the interval is a semi-ductile region with layered flow. We refer to this interval as a "Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Transition Zone" (LATZ). The LATZ model is supported by observed high P but low S-wave velocities in this depth interval of tomographic models and by SKS analysis that inferred a large amount of anisotropy in the mantle beneath the GCP. Low velocity anomalies observed in Pn and body wave tomography models beneath the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen (SOA) suggests flow of warm mantle material beneath the SOA from the Rockies and Rio Grande Rift toward the GCP; a direction consistent with the seismic anisotropy polarization inferred beneath the region from SKS splitting measurements.

Constraints on the structure of the crust and lithosphere beneath the Azores Islands from teleseismic receiver functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spieker, Kathrin; Rondenay, Stéphane; Ramalho, Ricardo; Thomas, Christine; Helffrich, George

2018-05-01

The Azores Archipelago is located near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and consists of nine islands, resting on both sides of the ridge. Various methods including seismic reflection, gravity and passive seismic imaging have previously been used to investigate the crustal thickness beneath the islands. They have yielded thickness estimates that range between roughly 10 and 30 km, but until now models of the more fine-scale crustal structure have been lacking. Pending questions include the thickness of the volcanic edifice beneath the islands and whether crustal intrusions or even underplating can be observed beneath any island. In this study, we use data from nine seismic stations located on the Azores Islands to investigate the crustal structure with teleseismic P-wave receiver functions. Our results indicate that the base of the volcanic edifice is located approximately 1 to 4 km depth beneath the different islands and that the crust-mantle boundary has an average depth of ˜17 km. There is strong evidence for magmatic underplating beneath the island of São Jorge, and indications that the underplating is also present beneath São Miguel and possibly Santa Maria. Additionally, the seismological lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, defined as a seismic velocity drop in the uppermost mantle, seems to deepen with increasing distance from the MAR. It has a depth of ˜45 km beneath the islands close to the MAR, compared to depths >70 km beneath the more distal islands.

MT data inversion and sensitivity analysis to image electrical structure of Zagros collision zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Layegh Haghighi, T.; Montahaei, M.; Oskooi, B.

2018-01-01

Magnetotelluric (MT) data from 46 stations on a 470-km-long profile across the Zagros fold-thrust belt (ZFTB) that marks the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone were inverted to derive 2-D electrical resistivity structure between Busher on the coast of Persian Gulf and Posht-e-Badam, 160 km north east of Yazd. The model includes prominent anomalies in the upper and lower crust, beneath the brittle-ductile transition depth and mostly related to the fluid distribution and sedimentary layers beneath the profile. The conductivities and dimensions of the fault zone conductors (FZCs) and high conductivity zones (HCZs) as the major conductive anomalies in a fault zone conceptual model vary significantly below the different faults accommodated in this region. The enhanced conductivity below the site Z30 correlates well with the main Zagros thrust (MZT), located at the western boundary of Sanandaj-Sirjan zone (SSZ) and known as the transition between the two continents. The depth extent of the huge conductor beneath the south west of the profile, attributed to the thick sedimentary columns of the Arabian crust, cannot be resolved due to the smearing effect of the smoothness constraint employed in the regularized inversion procedure and the sensitivity of MT data to the conductance of the subsurface. We performed different tests to determine the range of 2-D models consistent with the data. Our approach was based on synthetic studies, comprising of hypothesis testing and the use of a priori information throughout the inversion procedure as well as forward modeling. We conclude that the minimum depth extent of the conductive layer beneath the southwest of the profile can be determined as approximately deeper than 15 km and also the screening effect of the conductive overburden is highly intense in this model and prevents the deep structures from being resolved properly.

Interaction Between Downwelling Flow and the Laterally-Varying Thickness of the North American Lithosphere Inferred from Seismic Anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behn, M. D.; Conrad, C. P.; Silver, P. G.

2005-12-01

Shear flow in the asthenosphere tends to align olivine crystals in the direction of shear, producing a seismically anisotropic asthenosphere that can be detected using a number of seismic techniques (e.g., shear-wave splitting (SWS) and surface waves). In the ocean basins, where the asthenosphere has a relatively uniform thickness and lithospheric anisotropy appears to be small, observed azimuthal anisotropy is well fit by asthenospheric shear flow in global flow models driven by a combination of plate motions and mantle density heterogeneity. In contrast, beneath the continents both the lithospheric ceiling and asthenospheric thickness may vary considerably across cratonic regions and ocean-continent boundaries. To examine the influence of a continental lithosphere with variable thickness on predictions of continental seismic anisotropy, we impose lateral variations in lithospheric viscosity in global models of mantle flow driven by plate motions and mantle density heterogeneity. For the North American continent, the Farallon slab descends beneath a deep cratonic root, producing downwelling flow in the upper mantle and convergent flow beneath the cratonic lithosphere. We evaluate both the orientation of the predicted azimuthal anisotropy and the depth dependence of radial anisotropy for this downwelling flow and find that the inclusion of a strong continental root provides an improved fit to observed SWS observations beneath the North American craton. Thus, we hypothesize that at least some continental anisotropy is associated with sub-lithospheric viscous shear, although fossil anisotropy in the lithospheric layer may also contribute significantly. Although we do not observe significant variations in the direction of predicted anisotropy with depth, we do find that the inclusion of deep continental roots pushes the depth of the anisotropy layer deeper into the upper mantle. We test several different models of laterally-varying lithosphere and asthenosphere viscosity. These models can be used to separate the contributions of asthenospheric flow and lithospheric fossil fabric in observations of continental anisotropy.

Seismic Discontinuities beneath the Southwestern United States from S Receiver Functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akanbi, O. E.; Li, A.

2015-12-01

S- Receiver functions along the Colorado Plateau-Rio Grande Rift-Great Plains Transect known as La RISTRA in the southwestern United States have been utilized to map the Moho and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath this tectonically active region. The receiver functions were stacked according to ray piercing points with moveout corrections in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of converted S-to-P phases. The Moho appears at 30-40 km beneath the Rio Grande Rift (RGR) and deepens to 35-45 km beneath the Great Plains (GP) and the Colorado Plateau (CP). A sharp discontinuity is observed along the profile with the average depth of 80 km beneath the RGR, 100 km beneath the GP, and 160 km beneath the CP. This discontinuity is consistent with the top of a low velocity zone in a shear wave model beneath the array and is interpreted as the LAB. Strong phases imaged at ~90 km beneath the CP and GP could be a combination of side-lobes of the Moho conversions and primary Sp phases from a mid-lithosphere discontinuity (MLD). The relatively shallow Moho and LAB beneath the Rio Grande Rift is indicative of lithosphere extension and asthenosphere upwarp. In addition, the LAB shows depth-step depressions at the RGR-CP and RGR-GP boundaries, providing evidence for mantle downwelling. The variation of the lithospheric depth across the RISTRA array supports that edge-driven, small-scale mantle convection is largely responsible for the recent extension and uplift in the Rio Grande Rift and the Colorado Plateau.

Mechanisms in wing-in-ground effect aerodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Marvin Alan

An aircraft in low-level flight experiences a large increase in lift and a marked reduction in drag, compared with flight at altitude. This phenomenon is termed the 'wing-in-ground' effect. In these circumstances a region of high pressure is created beneath the aerofoil, and a pressure difference is set up between its upper and lower surfaces. A pressure difference is not permitted at the trailing edge and therefore a mechanism must exist which allows the pressures above and below to adjust themselves to produce a continuous pressure field in the wake. It is the study of this mechanism and its role in the aerodynamics of low-level flight that forms the basis of our investigation. We begin in Chapter 2 by considering the flow past a thin aero-foil moving at moderate distances from the ground, the typical ground clearance a being of order unity. The aforementioned mechanism is introduced and described in detail in the context of this inviscid problem. Chapter 3 considers the same flow for large and small ground clearances and in the later case shows that the flow solution beneath the aerofoil takes on a particularly simple form. In this case the lift is shown to increase as a-1. In Chapter 4 we focus on the flow past the trailing edge of an aerofoil moving even nearer the ground, with the ground just outside the boundary layer. We show that in this case our asymptotic theory for small a is consistent with a 'triple-deck' approach to the problem which incorporates ground effects via a new pressure-displacement law. The triple-deck ground-interference problem is stated and solved. In Chapter 5 we investigate the case where the aerofoil is so near the ground that the ground is inside the boundary layer. Here the moving ground interacts with the aerofoil in a fully viscous way and the non-linear boundary layer equations hold along the entire length of the aerofoil. Again a pressure difference at the trailing edge is not permitted and this produces upstream adjustment back to the leading edge. Regions of reversed flow can occur and their effects, with regard to downforce production and racing car undertray design, are considered. In Chapter 6 we consider 'wing-in-tunnel' effects.

Lithospheric radial anisotropy beneath the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Risheng; Ko, Justin Yen-Ting; Wei, Shengji; Zhan, Zhongwen; Helmberger, Don

2017-05-01

The Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB), where a layer of low viscosity asthenosphere decouples with the upper plate motion, plays an essential role in plate tectonics. Most dynamic modeling assumes that the shear velocity can be used as a surrogate for viscosity which provides key information about mantle flow. Here, we derive a shear velocity model for the LAB structure beneath the Gulf of Mexico allowing a detailed comparison with that beneath the Pacific (PAC) and Atlantic (ATL). Our study takes advantage of the USArray data from the March 25th, 2013 Guatemala earthquake at a depth of 200 km. Such data is unique in that we can observe a direct upward traveling lid arrival which remains the first arrival ahead of the triplications beyond 18°. This extra feature in conjunction with upper-mantle triplication sampling allows good depth control of the LAB and a new upper-mantle seismic model ATM, a modification of ATL, to be developed. ATM has a prominent low velocity zone similar to the structure beneath the western Atlantic. The model contains strong radial anisotropy in the lid where VSH is about 6% faster than VSV. This anisotropic feature ends at the bottom of the lithosphere at about the depth of 175 km in contrast to the Pacific where it extends to over 300 km. Another important feature of ATM is the weaker velocity gradient from the depth of 175 to 350 km compared to Pacific models, which may be related to differences in mantle flow.

Onset of thermally induced gas convection in mine wastes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lu, N.; Zhang, Y.

1997-01-01

A mine waste dump in which active oxidation of pyritic materials occurs can generate a large amount of heat to form convection cells. We analyze the onset of thermal convection in a two-dimensional, infinite horizontal layer of waste rock filled with moist gas, with the top surface of the waste dump open to the atmosphere and the bedrock beneath the waste dump forming a horizontal and impermeable boundary. Our analysis shows that the thermal regime of a waste rock system depends heavily on the atmospheric temperature, the strength of the heat source and the vapor pressure. ?? 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metamorphosis of a Hairpin Vortex into a Young Turbulent Spot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singer, Bart A.; Joslin, Ronald D.

1995-01-01

Direct numerical simulation was used to study the formation and growth of a hairpin vortex in a flat-plate boundary layer and its later development into a young turbulent spot. Fluid injection through a slit in the wall triggered the initial vortex. The legs of the vortex were stretched into a hairpin shape as it traveled downstream. Multiple hairpin vortex heads developed between the stretched legs. New vortices formed beneath the streamwise-elongated vortex legs. The continued development of additional vortices resulted in the formation of a traveling region of highly disturbed ow with an arrowhead shape similar to that of a turbulent spot.

Core drilling through the ross ice shelf (antarctica) confirmed Basal freezing.

PubMed

Zotikov, I A; Zagorodnov, V S; Raikovsky, J V

1980-03-28

New techniques that have been used to obtain a continuous ice core through the whole 416-meter thickness of the Ross Ice Shelf at Camp J-9 have demonstrated that the bottom 6 meters of the ice shelf consists of sea ice. The rate of basal freezing that is forming this ice is estimated by different methods to be 2 centimeters of ice per year. The sea ice is composed of large vertical crystals, which form the waffle-like lower boundary of the shelf. A distinct alignment of the crystals throughout the sea ice layer suggests the presence of persistent long-term currents beneath the ice shelf.

A simple hydrodynamic model of tornado-like vortices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurgansky, M. V.

2015-05-01

Based on similarity arguments, a simple fluid dynamic model of tornado-like vortices is offered that, with account for "vortex breakdown" at a certain height above the ground, relates the maximal azimuthal velocity in the vortex, reachable near the ground surface, to the convective available potential energy (CAPE) stored in the environmental atmosphere under pre-tornado conditions. The relative proportion of the helicity (kinetic energy) destruction (dissipation) in the "vortex breakdown" zone and, accordingly, within the surface boundary layer beneath the vortex is evaluated. These considerations form the basis of the dynamic-statistical analysis of the relationship between the tornado intensity and the CAPE budget in the surrounding atmosphere.

Perspectives of mid-infrared optical coherence tomography for inspection and micrometrology of industrial ceramics

PubMed Central

Su, Rong; Kirillin, Mikhail; Chang, Ernest W.; Sergeeva, Ekaterina; Yun, Seok H.; Mattsson, Lars

2014-01-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising tool for detecting micro channels, metal prints, defects and delaminations embedded in alumina and zirconia ceramic layers at hundreds of micrometers beneath surfaces. The effect of surface roughness and scattering of probing radiation within sample on OCT inspection is analyzed from the experimental and simulated OCT images of the ceramic samples with varying surface roughnesses and operating wavelengths. By Monte Carlo simulations of the OCT images in the mid-IR the optimal operating wavelength is found to be 4 µm for the alumina samples and 2 µm for the zirconia samples for achieving sufficient probing depth of about 1 mm. The effects of rough surfaces and dispersion on the detection of the embedded boundaries are discussed. Two types of image artefacts are found in OCT images due to multiple reflections between neighboring boundaries and inhomogeneity of refractive index. PMID:24977838

A taxonomy of three species of negative velocity arrivals in the lithospheric mantle beneath the United States using Sp receiver functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, K.; Dueker, K.; McClenahan, J.; Hansen, S. M.; Schmandt, B.

2012-12-01

The Transportable Array, with significant supplement from past PASSCAL experiments, provides an unprecedented opportunity for a holistic view over the geologically and tectonically diverse continent. New images from 34,000 Sp Receiver Functions image lithospheric and upper mantle structure that has not previously been well constrained, significant to our understanding of upper mantle processes and continental evolution. The negative velocity gradient (NVG) found beneath the Moho has been elusive and is often loosely termed the "Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary" (LAB).This label is used by some researchers to indicate a rheological boundary, a thermal gradient, an anisotropic velocity contrast, or a compositional boundary, and much confusion has arisen around what observed NVG arrivals manifest. Deconvolution across up to 400 stations simultaneously has enhanced the source wavelet estimation and allowed for more accurate receiver functions. In addition, Sdp converted phases are precursory to the direct S phase arrival, eliminating the issue of contamination from reverberated phases that add noise to Ps receiver functions in this lower-lithospheric and upper mantle depth range. We present taxonomy of the NVG arrivals beneath the Moho across the span of the Transportable Array (125° - 85° W). The NVG is classified into three different categories, primarily distinguished by the estimated temperature at the depth of the arrival. The first species of Sp NVG arrivals is found to be in the region west of the Precambrian rift hinge line, at a depth range of 70 - 90 km, corresponding to a temperature of >1150° C. This temperature and depth is predicted to be supersolidus for a 0.02% weight H2O Peridotite (Katz et al., 2004), supporting the theory that these arrivals are due to a melt-staging area (MSA), which could be correlated with the base of the thermal lithosphere. The current depth estimate of the cratonic US thermal LAB ranges from 150-220 km (Yuan and Romanowitz, 2010), and yet a pervasive arrival in our Sp and Ps images shows a NVG ranging from 80 - 110 km depth, with temperature estimates of ~800° C. Clearly internal to the lithosphere, this signal cannot be a LAB arrival. Hence, our second species of NVG is a Mid-Lithospheric Discontinuity (MLD) that we interpret as a layer of sub-solidus metasomatic minerals that have solidus in the 1000-1100°C range near three Gpa. These low solidus minerals are amphibole, phlogophite, and carbon-bearing phases. A freezing front (solidus) near three Gpa freezing front would concentrate these low velocity minerals to make a metasomatic layer over Ga time-scales to explain our NVG MLD arrivals. A third species of NVG, in the "warm" category of 950-1150° C, exists beneath the intermountain west region of Laramide shortening that extends from Montana to New Mexico. This region has experienced abundant post-Eocene alkaline magmatism. Mantle xenoliths from this region provide temperature at depth measurements which are in agreement with our surface wave velocity based temperature estimates. Thus, this NVG arrival is interpreted as a near to super-solidus metasomatic layer. Noteworthy is that a deeper arrival (150-190 km) is intermittently observed which would be more relative to the base of the thermal lithosphere.

Icelandic-type crust

USGS Publications Warehouse

Foulger, G.R.; Du, Z.; Julian, B.R.

2003-01-01

Numerous seismic studies, in particular using receiver functions and explosion seismology, have provided a detailed picture of the structure and thickness of the crust beneath the Iceland transverse ridge. We review the results and propose a structural model that is consistent with all the observations. The upper crust is typically 7 ?? 1 km thick, heterogeneous and has high velocity gradients. The lower crust is typically 15-30 ?? 5 km thick and begins where the velocity gradient decreases radically. This generally occurs at the V p ??? 6.5 km s-1 level. A low-velocity zone ??? 10 000 km2 in area and up to ??? 15 km thick occupies the lower crust beneath central Iceland, and may represent a submerged, trapped oceanic microplate. The crust-mantle boundary is a transition zone ???5 ?? 3 km thick throughout which V p increases progressively from ???7.2 to ???8.0 km s-1. It may be gradational or a zone of alternating high- and low-velocity layers. There is no seismic evidence for melt or exceptionally high temperatures in or near this zone. Isostasy indicates that the density contrast between the lower crust and the mantle is only ???90 kg m-3 compared with ???300 kg m-3 for normal oceanic crust, indicating compositional anomalies that are as yet not understood. The seismological crust is ???30 km thick beneath the Greenland-Iceland and Iceland-Faeroe ridges, and eastern Iceland, ???20 km beneath western Iceland, and ???40 km thick beneath central Iceland. This pattern is not what is predicted for an eastward-migrating plume. Low attenuation and normal V p/V s ratios in the lower crust beneath central and southwestern Iceland, and normal uppermost mantle velocities in general, suggest that the crust and uppermost mantle are subsolidus and cooler than at equivalent depths beneath the East Pacific Rise. Seismic data from Iceland have historically been interpreted both in terms of thin-hot and thick-cold crust models, both of which have been cited as supporting the plume hypothesis. This suggests that the plume model for Iceland is an a priori assumption rather than a hypothesis subject to testing. The long-extinct Ontong-Java Plateau, northwest India and Parana??, Brazil large igneous provinces, beneath which mantle plumes are not expected are all underlain by mantle low-velocity bodies similar to that beneath Iceland. A plume interpretation for the mantle anomaly beneath Iceland is thus not required.

Structure of the lower crust beneath the Carolina Trough, U.S. Atlantic continental margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tréhu, Anne M.; Ballard, A.; Dorman, L.M.; Gettrust, J.F.; Klitgord, Kim D.; Schreiner, A.

1989-01-01

Data from three large-offset seismic profiles provide information on the crustal structure beneath the Carolina trough. The profiles, obtained by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Naval Oceanographic Research Development Agency, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1985, were oriented parallel to the trough and were located (1) seaward of the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA), which is generally thought to represent the boundary between oceanic and continental crust; (2) along the axis of the trough between the ECMA and the hinge zone, which is thought to reflect the landward limit of highly stretched and altered transitional crust; and (3) along the Carolina platform landward of the basement hinge zone on crust thought to have been thinned only slightly during rifting. These data constrain the velocity structure of the lower crust and provide evidence for a thick lens of high-velocity (>7.1 km/s) lower crustal material that extends beneath the Carolina trough and the adjacent ocean basin. This lens reaches a maximum thickness of about 13 km beneath the deepest part of the trough, thins to about 5 km seaward of the ECMA, and is either very thin or absent landward of the hinge zone. It is interpreted to represent material that was underplated beneath and/or intruded into the crust during the late stage of continental rifting and that led to an anomalously thick plutonic layer during the early seafloor spreading phase. These data thus support the recent conclusions of White et al. (1987b) and Mutter et al. (1988) that the initiation of seafloor spreading is attended in many, if not most, cases by the generation of an anomalously large volume of melt.

Building and Modification of the Continental Lithosphere: the History of the Contiguous U.S. as told by MLDs and LABs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopper, E.; Fischer, K. M.

2016-12-01

The lithosphere preserves a record of past and present tectonic processes in its internal structures and its boundary with the underlying asthenosphere. We use common conversion point stacked Sp converted waves recorded by EarthScope's Transportable Array, as well as other available permanent and temporary broadband stations, to image such structures in the lithospheric mantle of the contiguous U.S. In the tectonically youngest western U.S., a shallow, sharp velocity gradient at the base of the lithosphere suggests a boundary defined by ponded melt. The lithosphere thickens with age of volcanism, implying the lithosphere is a melt-mitigated, conductively cooling thermal boundary layer. Beneath older, colder lithosphere where melt fractions are likely much lower, the velocity gradient at the base of such a layer should be a more diffuse, primarily thermal boundary. This is consistent with observations in the eastern U.S. where the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is locally sharp and shallower only in areas of inferred enhanced upwelling - such as ancient hot spot tracks and areas of inferred delamination. In the cratonic interior, the LAB is even more gradual in depth, and is transparent to Sp waves with dominant periods of 10 s. Although seismic imaging only provides a snapshot of the lithosphere as it is today, preserved internal structures extend the utility of this imaging back into deep geological time. Ancient accretion within the cratonic lithospheric mantle is preserved as dipping structures associated with relict subducted slabs from Paleoproterozoic continental accretion, suggesting that lateral accretion was integral to the cratonic mantle root formation process. Metasomatism, melt migration and ponding below a carbonated peridotite solidus explain a sub-horizontal mid-lithospheric discontinuity (MLD) commonly observed at 70-100 km depth. This type of MLD is strongest in Mesoproterozoic and older lithosphere, suggesting that it formed more vigorously in the deep past, that a billion years or more are required to build up an observable volatile-rich layer, or that strong, ancient lithosphere is required to support an inherently weak, volatilized layer.

A high ozone episode in winter 2013 in the Uinta Basin oil and gas region characterized by aircraft measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oltmans, S. J.; Karion, A.; Schnell, R. C.; Pétron, G.; Sweeney, C.; Wolter, S.; Neff, D.; Montzka, S. A.; Miller, B. R.; Helmig, D.; Johnson, B. J.; Hueber, J.

2014-08-01

During the winter of 2012-2013 atmospheric surface ozone mole fractions exceeded the US 8 h standard of 75 ppb on 39 days in the Uinta Basin of Utah. As part of the Uinta Basin Winter Ozone Study (UBWOS) aircraft flights were conducted throughout the basin with continuous measurements of ozone (O3), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and discrete whole air flask samples for determination of ∼50 trace gases including a number of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs). During the course of seven flights conducted between 31 January and 7 February 2013, coinciding with strong, multi-day temperature inversions, O3 levels gradually built up in the shallow boundary layer from ∼45 ppb to ∼140 ppb. Near-surface CH4 mole fractions increased during the episode from near background levels of ∼2 ppm to over 10 ppm. Based on elevated levels of CH4 across the basin and high correlations of CH4 with NMHCs from the discrete air samples, O3 precursor NMHCs were also inferred to be elevated throughout the basin. Discrete plumes of high NO2 were observed in the gas production region of the basin suggesting that gas processing plants and compressor facilities were important point sources of reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx). Vertical profiles obtained during the flights showed that the high O3 mole fractions (as well as other elevated constituents) were confined to a shallow layer from near the ground to 300-400 m above ground level (m a.g.l.) capped by a strong temperature inversion. The highest mole fractions of the measured constituents during the study period were in an isothermal cold layer that varied from ∼300 m depth on 4 February to ∼150 m on 5 February. A gradient layer with declining mole fractions with altitude extended above the isothermal layer to ∼1900 m a.s.l. (300-400 m a.g.l.) indicative of some mixing of air out of the boundary layer. O3 mole fractions continued to increase within the basin as the high O3 episode developed over the course of a week. CH4 mole fractions, on the other hand, leveled off after several days. On several flights, the aircraft sampled the plume of a coal-fired power plant (located east of the main gas field) flowing above the inversion layer. These measurements ruled out the effluents of the power plant as a significant source of NOx for O3 production beneath the temperature inversion in the basin. The presence of elevated O3 precursors within the basin and the rapid daytime production of O3 in the atmosphere beneath the temperature inversion both indicated that O3 was being produced from precursors emitted within the basin beneath the temperature inversion. Although observations show that horizontal winds in the surface layer were relatively light during the high ozone event, they were sufficient to disperse precursors up to 80 km from primary sources in the main gas field in the southeast quadrant to the balance of the Uinta Basin.

Differentiation of magma oceans and the thickness of the depleted layer on Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomatov, V. S.; Stevenson, D. J.

1993-01-01

Various arguments suggest that Venus probably has no asthenosphere, and it is likely that beneath the crust there is a highly depleted and highly viscous mantle layer which was probably formed in the early history of the planet when it was partially or completely molten. Models of crystallization of magma oceans suggest that just after crystallization of a hypothetical magma ocean, the internal structure of Venus consists of a crust up to about 70 km thickness, a depleted layer up to about 500 km, and an enriched lower layer which probably consists of an undepleted 'lower mantle' and heavy enriched accumulates near the core-mantle boundary. Partial or even complete melting of Venus due to large impacts during the formation period eventually results in differentiation. However, the final result of such a differentiation can vary from a completely differentiated mantle to an almost completely preserved homogeneous mantle depending on competition between convection and differentiation: between low viscosity ('liquid') convection and crystal settling at small crystal fractions, or between high viscosity ('solid') convection and percolation at large crystal fractions.

Laser interferometer skin-friction measurements of crossing-shock-wave/turbulent-boundary-layer interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrison, T. J.; Settles, G. S.; Narayanswami, N.; Knight, D. D.

1994-01-01

Wall shear stress measurements beneath crossing-shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interactions have been made for three interactions of different strengths. The interactions are generated by two sharp fins at symetric angles of attack mounted on a flat plate. The shear stress measurements were made for fin angles of 7 and 11 deg at Mach 3 and 15 deg at Mach 3.85. The measurements were made using a laser interferometer skin-friction meter, a device that determines the wall shear by optically measuring the time rate of thinning of an oil film placed on the test model surface. Results of the measurements reveal high skin-friction coefficients in the vicinity of the fin/plate junction and the presence of quasi-two-dimensional flow separation on the interaction center line. Additionally, two Navier-Stokes computations, one using a Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model and one using a k-epsilon model, are compared with the experimental results for the Mach 3.85, 15-deg interaction case. Although the k-epsilon model did a reasonable job of predicting the overall trend in portions of the skin-friction distribution, neither computation fully captured the physics of the near-surface flow in this complex interaction.

Interface dissolution control of the 14C profile in marine sediment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keir, R.S.; Michel, R.L.

1993-01-01

The process of carbonate dissolution at the sediment-water interface has two possible endmember boundary conditions. Either the carbonate particles dissolve mostly before they are incorporated into the sediment by bioturbation (interface dissolution), or the vertical mixing is rapid relative to their extermination rate (homogeneous dissolution). In this study, a detailed radiocarbon profile was determined in deep equatorial Pacific sediment that receives a high rate of carbonate supply. In addition, a box model of sediment mixing was used to simulate radiocarbon, carbonate content and excess thorium profiles that result from either boundary process following a dissolution increase. Results from homogeneous dissolution imply a strong, very recent erosional event, while interface dissolution suggests that moderately increased dissolution began about 10,000 years ago. In order to achieve the observed mixed layer radiocarbon age, increased homogeneous dissolution would concentrate a greater amount of clay and 230Th than is observed, while for interface dissolution the predicted concentrations are too small. These results together with small discontinuities beneath the mixed layer in 230Th profiles suggest a two-stage increase in interface dissolution in the deep Pacific, the first occurring near the beginning of the Holocene and the second more recently, roughly 5000 years ago. ?? 1993.

Laser Interferometer Skin-Friction measurements of crossing-shock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrison, T. J.; Settles, G. S.

1993-01-01

Wall shear stress measurements beneath crossingshock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interactions have been made for three interactions of different strengths. The interactions are generated by two sharp fins at symmetric angles of attack mounted on a flat plate. The shear stress measurements were made for fin angles of 7 and 11 degrees at Mach 3 and 15 degrees at Mach 4. The measurements were made using a Laser Interferometer Skin Friction (LISF) meter; a device which determines the wail shear by optically measuring the time rate of thinning of an oil film placed on the test model surface. Results of the measurements reveal high skin friction coefficients in the vicinity of the fin/plate junction and the presence of quasi-two-dimensional flow separation on the interaction centerline. Additionally, two Navier-Stokes computations, one using a Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model and one using a k- model, are compared to the experimental results for the Mach 4, 15 degree interaction case. While the k- model did a reasonable job of predicting the overall trend in portions of the skin friction distribution, neither computation fully captured the physics of the near surface flow in this complex interaction.

Using Receiver Functions to Image the Montana Crust and Upper Mantle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirianni, R. T.; Russo, R. M.

2008-12-01

We determined receiver functions (RFs) at six permanent Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) stations to examine crust and upper mantle structure of the Wyoming craton (WC) and Medicine Hat block (MHB). The Deep Probe & SAREX projects (Henstock et al., 1998; Clowes et al., 2002; Gorman et al., 2002) used active source seismics to model a high velocity crustal layer (the so-called 7x layer) beneath the WC. This layer exhibits P wave velocities that are high for lower continental crust (~7+ km/s) and extends from 30-55 km below the surface. Interpretations of the active source data indicate that this layer may represent wide scale crustal underplating of the WC, implying post-Archean craton modification with implications for Laurentia assembly. We used 43 earthquakes from a wide azimuthal distribution recorded at the Montana ANSS stations; high signal-to-noise ratios of 25 of these RFs were acceptable for further analysis. Receiver functions constrain crustal velocity structure beneath a seismometer by using P-to-S wave conversions at sharp velocity contrast boundaries. Preliminary results for seismic stations DGMT, EGMT, and LAO, located to the east of the Deep Probe and SAREX seismic line on the Wyoming craton/Medicine Hat block show the influence of sedimentary cover and a strong Ps phase at approximately four seconds after P. At BOZ and MSO, located in the Rocky mountains, the sedimentary cover signal previously noted is absent, and instead we observe a sharp Ps phase at about four and a half seconds after P. RFs at station RLMT (on the WC) are highly anomalous, probably reflecting complex conversions from two differently oriented dipping layers. We will use the RFs to produce suites of acceptable structural models to test for the presence and lateral extent of the 7x layer and other structural features of the Rocky Mountains-craton transition.

Sub-crustal seismic activity beneath Klyuchevskoy Volcano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, M. J.; Droznina, S.; Levin, V. L.; Senyukov, S.

2013-12-01

Seismic activity is extremely vigorous beneath the Klyuchevskoy Volcanic Group (KVG). The unique aspect is the distribution in depth. In addition to upper-crustal seismicity, earthquakes take place at depths in excess of 20 km. Similar observations are known in other volcanic regions, however the KVG is unique in both the number of earthquakes and that they occur continuously. Most other instances of deep seismicity beneath volcanoes appear to be episodic or transient. Digital recording of seismic signals started at the KVG in early 2000s.The dense local network reliably locates earthquakes as small as ML~1. We selected records of 20 earthquakes located at depths over 20 km. Selection was based on the quality of the routine locations and the visual clarity of the records. Arrivals of P and S waves were re-picked, and hypocentral parameters re-established. Newl locations fell within the ranges outlined by historical seismicity, confirming the existence of two distinct seismically active regions. A shallower zone is at ~20 km depth, and all hypocenters are to the northeast of KVG, in a region between KVG and Shiveluch volcano. A deeper zone is at ~30 km, and all hypocenters cluster directly beneath the edifice of the Kyuchevskoy volcano. Examination of individual records shows that earthquakes in both zones are tectonic, with well-defined P and S waves - another distinction of the deep seismicity beneath KVG. While the upper seismic zone is unquestionably within the crust, the provenance of the deeper earthquakes is enigmatic. The crustal structure beneath KVG is highly complex, with no agreed-upon definition of the crust-mantle boundary. Rather, a range of values, from under 30 to over 40 km, exists in the literature. Similarly, a range of velocity structures has been reported. Teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) provide a way to position the earthquakes with respect to the crust-mantle boundary. We compare the differential travel times of S and P waves from deep events observed at a site closest to the epicenter to delay times of Ps phases in RFs that we associate with the crust-mantle transition. Both observations are essentially differences between travel times of S and P waves originating at the same place, and traversing the same velocity structure. Consequently, the uncertainty of the velocity structure beneath the KVG does not influence the comparison. For all events nominally located at 28-30 km beneath KVG the S-P time at the nearest site (CIR) significantly exceeds 4 seconds. Given that crust-mantle boundary Ps times at nearby sites are ~3 s, these earthquakes take place in the upper mantle. Both recent RFs and wide-angle reflection (Deep Seismic Sounding) studies in the late 1970s identified additional boundaries beneath KVG at depths in excess of 40 km. The nature of these boundaries is unclear, however their sharpness suggests chemical changes or the presence of fluids or melts. Chemistry of Klyuchevskoy lavas suggests sub-crustal origin with no clear magma chamber within the crust. Sub-crustal earthquakes we describe show that processes in the magma conduit at the base of the crust beneath KVG are vigorous enough to promote brittle failure in the surrounding mantle rock. The complex seismic structure of the uppermost mantle beneath KVG may reflect a history of magma injection that is accompanied by seismic energy release.

Constraints on mantle melt geometries from body wave attenuation in the Salton Trough and Snake River Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrnes, J. S.; Bezada, M.

2017-12-01

Melt can be retained in the mantle at triple junctions between grain boundaries, be spread in thin films along two-grain boundaries, or be organized by shear into elongate melt-rich bands. Which of these geometries is most prevalent is unknown. This ambiguity makes the interpretation of anomalous seismic velocities and quality factors difficult, since different geometries would result in different mechanical effects. Here, we compare observations of seismic attenuation beneath the Salton Trough and the Snake River Plain; two regions where the presence of melt has been inferred. The results suggest that seismic attenuation is diagnostic of melt geometry. We measure the relative attenuation of P waves from deep focus earthquakes using a time-domain method. Even though the two regions are underlain by comparably strong low-velocity anomalies, their attenuation signature is very different. The upper mantle beneath the Salton Trough is sufficiently attenuating that the presence of melt must lower Qp, while attenuation beneath the Snake River Plain is not anomalous with respect to surrounding regions. These seemingly contradictory results can be reconciled if different melt geometries characterize each region. SKS splitting from the Salton Trough suggests that melt is organized into melt-rich bands, while this is not the case for the Snake River Plain. We infer that beneath the Snake River Plain melt is retained at triple junctions between grain boundaries, a geometry that is not predicted to cause seismic attenuation. More elongate geometries beneath the Salton Trough may cause seismic attenuation via the melt-squirt mechanism. In light of these results, we conclude that prior observations of low seismic velocities with somewhat high quality factors beneath the East Pacific Rise and Southern California suggest that melt does not organize into elongate bands across much of the asthenosphere.

On the seat of the solar cycle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gough, D.

1981-01-01

A discussion of some of the issues raised in connection with the seat of the solar cycle are presented. Is the cycle controlled by a strictly periodic oscillator that operates in the core, or is it a turbulent dynamo confined to the convection zone and possibly a thin boundary layer beneath it? Sunspot statistics are discussed, with a view to ascertaining the length of the memory of the cycle, without drawing a definitive conclusion. Also discussed are some of the processes that might bring about variations delta L and delta R in the luminosity and the radius of the photosphere. It appears that the ratio W = delta lnR/delta lnL increases with the depth of the disturbance that produces the variations, so that imminent observations might determine whether or not the principal dynamical processes are confined to only the outer layers of the Sun.

Shear wave velocity variation across the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, from receiver function inversion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bannister, S.; Bryan, C.J.; Bibby, H.M.

2004-01-01

The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand is a region characterized by very high magma eruption rates and extremely high heat flow, which is manifest in high-temperature geothermal waters. The shear wave velocity structure across the region is inferred using non-linear inversion of receiver functions, which were derived from teleseismic earthquake data. Results from the non-linear inversion, and from forward synthetic modelling, indicate low S velocities at ???6- 16 km depth near the Rotorua and Reporoa calderas. We infer these low-velocity layers to represent the presence of high-level bodies of partial melt associated with the volcanism. Receiver functions at other stations are complicated by reverberations associated with near-surface sedimentary layers. The receiver function data also indicate that the Moho lies between 25 and 30 km, deeper than the 15 ?? 2 km depth previously inferred for the crust-mantle boundary beneath the TVZ. ?? 2004 RAS.

The stably stratified internal boundary layer for steady and diurnally varying offshore flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garratt, J. R.

1987-03-01

A two-dimensional numerical mesoscale model is used to investigate the internal structure and growth of the stably stratified internal boundary layer (IBL) beneath warm, continental air flowing over a cooler sea. Two situations are studied — steady-state and diurnally varying offshore flow. In the steady-state case, vertical profiles of mean quantities and eddy diffusion coefficients ( K) within the IBL show small, but significant, changes with increasing distance from the coast. The top of the IBL is well defined, with large vertical gradients within the layer and a maximum in the coast-normal wind component near the top. Well away from the coast, turbulence, identified by non-zero K, decreases to insignificant levels near the top of the IBL; the IBL itself is characterised by a critical value of the layer-flux Richardson number equal to 0.18. The overall behaviour of the mean profiles is similar to that found in the horizontally homogeneous stable boundary layer over land. A simple physical model is used to relate the depth of the layer h to several relevant physical parameters viz., x, the distance from the coast and U, the large-scale wind (both normal to the coastline) and gδθ/θ, Δθ being the temperature difference between continental mixed-layer air and sea surface, θ is the mean potential temperature and g is the acceleration due to gravity. Excellent agreement with the numerical results is found, with h = 0.014 x 1/2 U ( gδθ/θ)-1/2. In the diurnally varying case, the mean profiles within the IBL show only small differences from the steady-state case, although diurnal variations, particularly in the wind maximum, are evident within a few hundred kilometres of the coast. A mesoscale circulation normal to the coast, and superimposed upon the mean offshore flow, develops seawards of the coastline with maximum vertical velocities about sunset, of depth about 2 km and horizontal scale ≈ 500 km. The circulation is related to the advection, and subsequent decay, of daytime convective turbulence over the sea.

Ocean mixing beneath Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, West Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimura, Satoshi; Jenkins, Adrian; Dutrieux, Pierre; Forryan, Alexander; Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.; Firing, Yvonne

2016-12-01

Ice shelves around Antarctica are vulnerable to an increase in ocean-driven melting, with the melt rate depending on ocean temperature and the strength of flow inside the ice-shelf cavities. We present measurements of velocity, temperature, salinity, turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, and thermal variance dissipation rate beneath Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, West Antarctica. These measurements were obtained by CTD, ADCP, and turbulence sensors mounted on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The highest turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate is found near the grounding line. The thermal variance dissipation rate increases closer to the ice-shelf base, with a maximum value found ˜0.5 m away from the ice. The measurements of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate near the ice are used to estimate basal melting of the ice shelf. The dissipation-rate-based melt rate estimates is sensitive to the stability correction parameter in the linear approximation of universal function of the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory for stratified boundary layers. We argue that our estimates of basal melting from dissipation rates are within a range of previous estimates of basal melting.

New Crustal Boundary Revealed Beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, through ROSETTA-Ice Integrated Aerogeophysics, Geology, and Ocean Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinto, K. J.; Siddoway, C. S.; Bell, R. E.; Lockett, A.; Wilner, J.

2017-12-01

Now submerged within marine plateaus and rises bordering Antarctica, Australia and Zealandia, the East Gondwana accretionary margin was a belt of terranes and stitched by magmatic arcs, later stretched into continental ribbons separated by narrow elongate rifts. This crustal architecture is known from marine geophysical exploration and ocean drilling of the mid-latitude coastal plateaus and rises. A concealed sector of the former East Gondwana margin that underlies the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS), Antarctica, is the focus of ROSETTA-ICE, a new airborne data acquisition campaign that explores the crustal makeup, tectonic boundaries and seafloor bathymetry beneath RIS. Gravimeters and a magnetometer are deployed by LC130 aircraft surveying along E-W lines spaced at 10 km, and N-S tie lines at 55 km, connect 1970s points (RIGGS) for controls on ocean depth and gravity. The ROSETTA-ICE survey, 2/3 completed thus far, provides magnetic anomalies, Werner depth-to-basement solutions, a new gravity-based bathymetric model at 20-km resolution, and a new crustal density map tied to the 1970s data. Surprisingly, the data reveal that the major lithospheric boundary separating East and West Antarctica lies 300 km east of the Transantarctic Mountains, beneath the floating RIS. The East and West regions have contrasting geophysical characteristics and bathymetry, with relatively dense lithosphere, low amplitude magnetic anomalies, and deep bathymetry on the East Antarctica side, and high amplitude magnetic anomalies, lower overall density and shallower water depths on the West Antarctic side. The Central High, a basement structure cored at DSDP Site 270 and seismically imaged in the Ross Sea, continues beneath RIS as a faulted but coherent crustal ribbon coincident with the tectonic boundary. The continuity of Gondwana margin crustal architecture discovered beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet requires a revision of the existing tectonic framework. The sub-RIS narrow rift basins and transfer zones, and the crustal boundary that is well-separated from the Transantarctic Mountains front, control the bathymetry, impart the large-scale patterning within and upon the base of the ice sheet, influence oceanographic circulation, and therefore are of import for Ross Ice Shelf stability.

Seismic tomography shows that upwelling beneath Iceland is confined to the upper mantle

USGS Publications Warehouse

Foulger, G.R.; Pritchard, M.J.; Julian, B.R.; Evans, J.R.; Allen, R.M.; Nolet, G.; Morgan, W.J.; Bergsson, B.H.; Erlendsson, P.; Jakobsdottir, S.; Ragnarsson, S.; Stefansson, R.; Vogfjord, K.

2001-01-01

We report the results of the highest-resolution teleseismic tomography study yet performed of the upper mantle beneath Iceland. The experiment used data gathered by the Iceland Hotspot Project, which operated a 35-station network of continuously recording, digital, broad-band seismometers over all of Iceland 1996-1998. The structure of the upper mantle was determined using the ACH damped least-squares method and involved 42 stations, 3159 P-wave, and 1338 S-wave arrival times, including the phases P, pP, sP, PP, SP, PcP, PKIKP, pPKIKP, S, sS, SS, SKS and Sdiff. Artefacts, both perceptual and parametric, were minimized by well-tested smoothing techniques involving layer thinning and offset-and-averaging. Resolution is good beneath most of Iceland from ??? 60 km depth to a maximum of ??? 450 km depth and beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone and near-shore parts of the Reykjanes ridge. The results reveal a coherent, negative wave-speed anomaly with a diameter of 200-250 km and anomalies in P-wave speed, Vp, as strong as -2.7 per cent and in S-wave speed, Vs, as strong as -4.9 per cent. The anomaly extends from the surface to the limit of good resolution at ??? 450 km depth. In the upper ??? 250 km it is centred beneath the eastern part of the Middle Volcanic Zone, coincident with the centre of the ??? 100 mGal Bouguer gravity low over Iceland, and a lower crustal low-velocity zone identified by receiver functions. This is probably the true centre of the Iceland hotspot. In the upper ??? 200 km, the low-wave-speed body extends along the Reykjanes ridge but is sharply truncated beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone. This suggests that material may flow unimpeded along the Reykjanes ridge from beneath Iceland but is blocked beneath the Tjornes Fracture Zone. The magnitudes of the Vp, Vs and Vp/Vs anomalies cannot be explained by elevated temperature alone, but favour a model of maximum temperature anomalies <200 K, along with up to ??? 2 per cent of partial melt in the depth range ??? 100-300 km beneath east-central Iceland. The anomalous body is approximately cylindrical in the top 250 km but tabular in shape at greater depth, elongated north-south and generally underlying the spreading plate boundary. Such a morphological change and its relationship to surface rift zones are predicted to occur in convective upwellings driven by basal heating, passive upwelling in response to plate separation and lateral temperature gradients. Although we cannot resolve structure deeper than ??? 450 km, and do not detect a bottom to the anomaly, these models suggest that it extends no deeper than the mantle transition zone. Such models thus suggest a shallow origin for the Iceland hotspot rather than a deep mantle plume, and imply that the hotspot has been located on the spreading ridge in the centre of the north Atlantic for its entire history, and is not fixed relative to other Atlantic hotspots. The results are consistent with recent, regional full-thickness mantle tomography and whole-mantle tomography images that show a strong, low-wave-speed anomaly beneath the Iceland region that is confined to the upper mantle and thus do not require a plume in the lower mantle. Seismic and geochemical observations that are interpreted as indicating a lower mantle, or core-mantle boundary origin for the North Atlantic Igneous Province and the Iceland hotspot should be re-examined to consider whether they are consistent with upper mantle processes.

Thickness and Lower Limit Seismogenic Layer within the Crust beneath Japanese Islands on the Japan Sea Side

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsubara, M.; Sato, H.

2015-12-01

1. Introduction I investigate the depth of the seismogenic layer in order to estimate the lower limit of the seismogenic fault plane since this depth is related to the size of the earthquake caused by the active fault. I have indexes D10 and D90 as the upper and lower limits of the seismogenic layer defined as the depth above which 10 % and 90 % of the whole crustal earthquakes occurred from the surface, respectively. The difference between the D10 and D90 is the thickness of the seismogenic layer. 2. Data and method The NIED Hi-net has a catalog of hypocenters determined with one-dimensional　velocity (1D) structure (Ukawa et al., 1984) and I estimated the D10 and D90 with this catalog at first. I construct the system to relocate the hypocenters from 2001 to 2013 with magnitude greater than 1.5 on the Japan Sea side shallower than 50 km depth with the three-dimensional velocity (3D) structure (Matsubara and Obara, 2011) obtained by seismic tomography. I estimate the D10 and D90 from the hypocenter catalog with 3D structure. 3. Result Many earthquakes shallower than 5 km with 1D structure are relocated to deeper with 3D structure and the earthquakes deeper than 15 km are relocated to about 5 km shallower. With 3D structure D10 deepens and D90 shallows from 1D structure. D90 beneath the northern Honshu is deeper than the other area and D90 beneath the Japan Sea is much deeper than the inland area. The thickness of the seismogenic layer beneath the Japan Sea is also thick from 8-16 km. D90 on the Japan Sea side of the southwestern Japan on the west side of the Itoigawa Shizuoka Tectonic Line is very shallow as 11-16 km and the thickness of the seismogenic layer is also thin as 2-7 km. 4. Discussion Omuralieva et al. (2012) relocated the JMA unified hypocenters with 3D structure and estimated shallower D90 than that from the JMA catalog. Very deep D90 beneath the northern Hokkaido and northern Honshu is consistent with our result. 5. Conclusion Using 3D velocity structure D10 deepens, D90 shallows, and the thickness of the seismogenic layer becomes thinner. The thickness of the seismogenic layer is thick beneath the northern Honshu, however, that is very thin beneath southwestern Japan on the Japan Sea side.

Crustal P-wave velocity structure from Altyn Tagh to Longmen mountains along the Taiwan-Altay geoscience transect

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wang, Y.-X.; Mooney, W.D.; Han, G.-H.; Yuan, X.-C.; Jiang, M.

2005-01-01

Based upon the seismic experiments along Geoscience Transect from the Altyn Tagh to the Longmen Mountains, the crustal P-wave velocity structure was derived to outline the characteristics of the crustal structure. The section shows a few significant features. The crustal thickness varies dramatically, and is consistent with tectonic settings. The Moho boundary abruptly drops to 73km depth beneath the southern Altyn Tagh from 50km below the Tarim basin, then rises again to about 58km depth beneath the Qaidam basin. Finally, the Moho drops again to about 70km underneath the Songpan-Garze Terrane and rises to 60km near the Longmen Mountains with a step-shape. Further southeast, the crust thins to 52km beneath the Sichuan basin in the southeast of the Longmen Mountains. In the north of the Kunlun fault, a low-velocity zone, which may be a layer of melted rocks due to high temperature and pressure at depth, exists in the the bottom of the middle crust. The two depressions of the Moho correlate with the Qilian and Songpan-Garze terranes, implying that these two mountains have thick roots. According to our results, it is deduced that the thick crust of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau probably is a result of east-west and northwest-southeast crustal shortening since Mesozoic time during the collision between the Asian and Indian plates.

Subducted seamounts and recent earthquakes beneath the central Cascadia forearc

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tréhu, Anne M.; Blakely, Richard J.; Williams, Mark C.

2012-01-01

Bathymetry and magnetic anomalies indicate that a seamount on the Juan de Fuca plate has been subducted beneath the central Cascadia accretionary complex and is now located ∼45 km landward of the deformation front. Passage of this seamount through the accretionary complex has resulted in a pattern of uplift followed by subsidence that has had a profound influence on slope morphology, gas hydrate stability, and sedimentation. Based on potential-field data and a new three-dimensional seismic velocity model, we infer that this is the most recent of several seamounts subducted over the past several million years beneath this segment of Cascadia. More deeply subducted seamounts may be responsible for recent earthquake activity on the plate boundary in this region and for along-strike variations in the thickness of the subduction channel, which may affect coupling across the plate boundary.

New sedimentary-core records and a recent co-seismic turbidite help to unravel the paleoseismicity of the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes, Philip; Orpin, Alan; Howarth, Jamie; Patton, Jason; Lamarche, Geoffroy; Woelz, Susanne; Hopkins, Jenni; Gerring, Peter; Mitchell, John; Quinn, Will; McKeown, Monique; Ganguly, Aratrika; Banks, Simon; Davidson, Sam

2017-04-01

The Hikurangi margin straddles the convergent boundary between the Pacific and Australia tectonic plates and is New Zealand's potentially largest earthquake and tsunami hazard. The 3000 m-deep Hikurangi Trough, off eastern Marlborough, Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay, and East Cape, marks the location where the Pacific plate is subducting beneath the eastern continental margin of the North Island and northeastern South Island. To date the Hikurangi margin has a short historical record relative to the recurrence of great earthquakes and tsunami, and consequently the associated hazard remains poorly constrained. In October 2016 a new, international, 5-year project commenced to evaluate the pre-historic earthquake history of the margin. In November 2016 a RV Tangaroa voyage acquired 50 sediment cores up to 5.5 m long from sites on the continental margin between the Kaikoura coast and Poverty Bay. Core sites were selected using available 30 kHz multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, sub-bottom acoustic profiles, archived sediment samples, and results from numerical modelling of turbidity currents. Sites fell into three general categories: turbidite distributary systems; small isolated slope-basins; and Hikurangi Channel, levees, and trough. Typical of the margin, the terrigenous-dominated sequence included layers of gravel, sand, mud, and volcanic ash. Many of these layers are turbidites, some of which may have been triggered by strong shaking associated with earthquakes (subduction megathrust and other coastal faults). Some cores contain up to 25 individual turbidites. This library of turbidites may provide the basis of new paleoseismic records that span several hundred kilometres of strike along the plate boundary. During the voyage the 14th November 2016 (NZDT) Mw 7.8 Kaikoura Earthquake occurred, causing strong ground shaking beneath the Kaikoura Canyon region. Sampling with a multicorer within five days of the earthquake, we recovered what appeared to be a very recently emplaced, still-fluidised, co-seismic turbidite about 10-20 cm thick over a very large region offshore of Marlborough and Wairarapa. This event appears to extend at least 300 km from Kaikoura and offers a rare opportunity to calibrate our paleoseismic data and to test hypotheses of turbidite triggering and emplacement. Up to five cores detected this highly fluidised layer overlying the pre-earthquake seabed, clearly visible as an oxidised layer. Our sampling spanned channel, channel-levee, and basin floor environments. On-board observations indicated that the turbidite was still settling on the seabed and the boundary with the overlying water column was diffuse. Further laboratory characterisation of the stratigraphy, physical properties, and benthic assemblages along with radionuclide analyses will test this hypothesis further.

Crustal gravitational potential energy change at the convergent plate boundary near Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo, C.; Hsu, S.

2003-12-01

The Taiwan orogen has formed due to the convergence between the Philippine Sea plate and Eurasian plate. Numerous earthquakes are occurring along the active convergent plate boundary in eastern Taiwan. To the northeast, the Philippine Sea plates is subducting northwards beneath the Ryukyu Arc. To the south, the Eurasian plate is subducting eastwards beneath the Luzon Arc. The plate interaction has caused crustal deformation and produced earthquakes. The earthquakes have caused radial permanent displacement of the crust and have altered the crustal gravitational potential energy. Here we use the earthquake source mechanisms, determined by the Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATs) from 1995 to 2003, to calculate the crustal gravitational potential energy (GPE) change and discuss their tectonic implication along the convergent plate boundary. In Ilan Plain, the westernmost Okinawa Trough, it shows a crustal GPE loss. It is related to the crustal subsidence because of the backarc extension of the Okinawa Trough. In contrast, due to the Philippine Sea plate subucting northwards beneath Eurasian Plate, the Ryukyu convergent boundary shows systematic crustal GPE gain. Near Taiwan, the crustal GPE change is gained, indicating the collisional convergence of the Luzon Arc. To the south of Taiwan, along the Luzon Arc the crustal GPE is also gain, representing the initial uplifting of the Taiwan mountain belt.

Lowermost mantle anisotropy and deformation along the boundary of the African LLSVP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynner, Colton; Long, Maureen D.

2014-05-01

Shear wave splitting of SK(K)S phases is often used to examine upper mantle anisotropy. In specific cases, however, splitting of these phases may reflect anisotropy in the lowermost mantle. Here we present SKS and SKKS splitting measurements for 233 event-station pairs at 34 seismic stations that sample D″ beneath Africa. Of these, 36 pairs show significantly different splitting between the two phases, which likely reflects a contribution from lowermost mantle anisotropy. The vast majority of discrepant pairs sample the boundary of the African large low shear velocity province (LLSVP), which dominates the lower mantle structure beneath this region. In general, we observe little or no splitting of phases that have passed through the LLSVP itself and significant splitting for phases that have sampled the boundary of the LLSVP. We infer that the D″ region just outside the LLSVP boundary is strongly deformed, while its interior remains undeformed (or weakly deformed).

Seismic anisotropy along the Cyprean arc and northeast Mediterranean Sea inferred from shear wave splitting analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yolsal-Çevikbilen, Seda

2014-08-01

The Cyprean arc is considered to be a convergent boundary in the Eastern Mediterranean where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Anatolian plate. Mapping the lateral variations of seismic anisotropy parameters can provide essential hints to mantle dynamics and flow patterns in relation to the geometry and style of deformation developed under different pressure, temperature conditions around the subducting African lithosphere. In this study, seismic anisotropy parameters, fast polarization directions (ϕ) and delay times (δt) beneath the Cyprean arc and NE Mediterranean Sea are inferred from the shear wave splitting analysis performed on core-mantle refracted teleseismic shear waves (SKS phases). Earthquake data used in the present work are extracted from the continuous recordings of 8 broad-band seismic stations located in the study region for a time period during 1999 and 2012. The overall results exhibits clear evidences of mantle anisotropy with relatively uniform NE-SW aligned fast polarization directions. No abrupt changes in fast polarization directions (ϕ) are observed. However, near the Dead Sea Transform Fault, ϕ values tend to rotate from NE-SW to N-S and NW-SE in accordance with Pn anisotropy observations. Delay times (δt) vary between 0.61 s ± 0.10 s and 1.90 s ± 0.13 s. The range of delay times are generally consistent with those observed in the mantle rather than implying a crustal anisotropy. A predominant pattern of NNE-SSW fast polarization directions that is coherent with earlier SKS splitting measurements observed beneath north, central and East Anatolia suggests a SW directed asthenospheric flow caused by slab rollback process along the Hellenic and Cyprean arcs. Furthermore, apparent splitting parameters did not exhibit any significant directional dependence which may imply possibility of the presence of anisotropic models with two-layer anisotropy or dipping axis of symmetry beneath the northeast Mediterranean Sea and Cyprean arc. Consequently, a simple, single-layered and sub-horizontal anisotropy model is tentatively suggested for the study region.

Foundering of the Lithospheric Mantle under the Eastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by Full-Wave Pn Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, X.; Shen, Y.

2017-12-01

An accurate tomography model of the lithospheric mantle is essential for understanding the dynamics and evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. Using regional earthquake records, we obtain the first full-wave Pn tomography model for the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The resulting three-dimensional model exhibits similarities to and notable differences from the previous models based on ray theory. The juxtaposition of a high-velocity anomaly under the eastern Qiangtang Terrane and a low-velocity anomaly to the south near the Bangong-Nujiang Suture (BNS) provides strong evidence that the underthrusting Indian Plate does not reach the BNS beneath the plateau east of 90°E. The model shows no evidence for a southward-subducted Qaidam lithosphere. The sandwich-like layering of a low-velocity layer between two high-velocity layers at 80 to 160 km depths, mainly beneath the Qiangtang Terrane, is consistent with the results of S-to-P receiver functions. The observed contact between these two high-velocity layers beneath the Kunlun suggests that the lower high-velocity layer can be identified as the foundering Tibetan lithospheric mantle, which may be caused by gravitational instability. Beneath the eastern Kunlun Fault and the West Qinling orogen, a southward dipping high-velocity anomaly underlies a low-velocity mantle anomaly, is a pattern consistent with a delaminated mantle lithosphere and associated upwelling asthenosphere. Together with the evidence for lithospheric delamination beneath the central and southern Tibetan Plateau in previous studies, our findings suggest that the lithospheric foundering plays an important role in the formation of the Tibetan Plateau.

The role of harzburgite layers in the morphology of subducting plates and the behavior of oceanic crustal layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Masaki

2014-05-01

Previous numerical studies of mantle convection focusing on subduction dynamics have indicated that the viscosity contrast between the subducting plate and the surrounding mantle have a primary effect on the behavior of subducting plates. The seismically observed plate stagnation at the base of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) under the Western Pacific and Eastern Eurasia is considered to mainly result from a viscosity increase at the ringwoodite to perovskite + magnesiowüstite (Rw→Pv+Mw) phase decomposition boundary, i.e., the boundary between the upper and lower mantle. The harzburgite layer, which is sandwiched between basaltic crust and depleted peridotite (lherzolite) layers, is a key component of highly viscous, cold oceanic plates. However, the possible sensitivity of the effective viscosity of harzburgite layers in the morphology of subducting plates that are flattened in the MTZ and/or penetrated in the lower mantle has not been examined systematically in previous three-dimensional (3D) numerical modeling studies that consider the viscosity increase at the boundary between the upper and lower mantle. In this study, in order to investigate the role of harzburgite layers in the morphology of subducting plates and the behavior of oceanic crustal layers, I performed a series of numerical simulations of mantle convection with semi-dynamic plate subduction in 3D regional spherical-shell geometry. The results show that a buckled crustal layer is observed under the "heel" of the stagnant slab that begins to penetrate into the lower mantle, regardless of the magnitude of the viscosity contrast between the harzburgite layer and the underlying mantle, when the factor of viscosity increase at the boundary of the upper and lower mantle is larger than 60-100. As the viscosity contrast between the harzburgite layer and the underlying mantle increases, the curvature of buckling is larger. When the viscosity increase at the boundary of the upper and lower mantle and the viscosity contrast between the harzburgite layer and the underlying mantle are larger, the volumes of crustal and harzburgite materials trapped in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) are also larger, although almost all of the materials penetrate into the lower mantle. These materials are trapped in the MTZ for over tens of millions of years. The bending of crustal layers numerically observed in the present study is consistent with seismological evidence that there is a piece of subducted oceanic crust in the uppermost lower mantle beneath the subducting slab under the Mariana trench [Niu et al., 2003, JGR]. The results of the present study suggest that when the viscosity increase at the boundary of the upper and lower mantle is larger than 60-100, a seismically observed stagnant slab is reproduced. This result is consistent with the previous independent geodynamic studies. For instance, a 2D geodynamic model with lateral viscosity variations suggested that it would need to be substantially greater than 30, say, around 100, to explain the positive geoid anomaly in the subduction zones where the subducting slab reaches the boundary between the upper and lower mantle such as that of the western Pacific [Tosi et al., 2009, GJI]. References: [1] Tajima, F. Yoshida, M. and Ohtani, E., Conjecture with water and rheological control for subducting slab in the mantle transition zone, Geoscience Frontiers, doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.005, 2014. [2] Yoshida, M. The role of harzburgite layers in the morphology of subducting plates and the behavior of oceanic crustal layers, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40(20), 5387-5392, doi:10.1002/2013GL057578, 2013. [3] Yoshida, M. and Tajima, F., On the possibility of a folded crustal layer stored in the hydrous mantle transition zone, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 219, 34-48, doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2013.03.004, 2013.

The Role of Oceanic Transform Faults in Seafloor Spreading: A Global Perspective From Seismic Anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eakin, Caroline M.; Rychert, Catherine A.; Harmon, Nicholas

2018-02-01

Mantle anisotropy beneath mid-ocean ridges and oceanic transforms is key to our understanding of seafloor spreading and underlying dynamics of divergent plate boundaries. Observations are sparse, however, given the remoteness of the oceans and the difficulties of seismic instrumentation. To overcome this, we utilize the global distribution of seismicity along transform faults to measure shear wave splitting of over 550 direct S phases recorded at 56 carefully selected seismic stations worldwide. Applying this source-side splitting technique allows for characterization of the upper mantle seismic anisotropy, and therefore the pattern of mantle flow, directly beneath seismically active transform faults. The majority of the results (60%) return nulls (no splitting), while the non-null measurements display clear azimuthal dependency. This is best simply explained by anisotropy with a near vertical symmetry axis, consistent with mantle upwelling beneath oceanic transforms as suggested by numerical models. It appears therefore that the long-term stability of seafloor spreading may be associated with widespread mantle upwelling beneath the transforms creating warm and weak faults that localize strain to the plate boundary.

Method of producing strained-layer semiconductor devices via subsurface-patterning

DOEpatents

Dodson, Brian W.

1993-01-01

A method is described for patterning subsurface features in a semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device includes an internal strained layer. The method comprises creating a pattern of semiconductor material over the semiconductor device, the semiconductor material having a predetermined thickness which stabilizes areas of the strained semiconductor layer that lie beneath the pattern. Subsequently, a heating step is applied to the semiconductor device to cause a relaxation in areas of the strained layer which do not lie beneath the semiconductor material pattern, whereby dislocations result in the relaxed areas and impair electrical transport therethrough.

Depth-Penetrating Measurements Developed for Thermal Barrier Coatings Incorporating Thermographic Phosphors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eldridge, Jeffrey I.; Bencic, Timothy J.

2004-01-01

The insulating properties of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) provide highly beneficial thermal protection to turbine engine components by reducing the temperature sustained by those components. Therefore, measuring the temperature beneath the TBC is critical for determining whether the TBC is performing its insulating function. Currently, noncontact temperature measurements are performed by infrared pyrometry, which unfortunately measures the TBC surface temperature rather than the temperature of the underlying component. To remedy this problem, the NASA Glenn Research Center, under the Information Rich Test Instrumentation Project, developed a technique to measure the temperature beneath the TBC by incorporating a thin phosphor layer beneath the TBC. By performing fluorescence decay-time measurements on light emission from this phosphor layer, Glenn successfully measured temperatures from the phosphor layer up to 1100 C. This is the first successful demonstration of temperature measurements that penetrate beneath the TBC. Thermographic phosphors have a history of providing noncontact surface temperature measurements. Conventionally, a thermographic phosphor is applied to the material surface and temperature measurements are performed by exciting the phosphor with ultraviolet light and then measuring the temperature-dependent decay time of the phosphor emission at a longer wavelength. The innovative feature of the new approach is to take advantage of the relative transparency of the TBC (composed of yttria-stabilized zirconia) in order to excite and measure the phosphor emission beneath the TBC. The primary obstacle to achieving depth-penetrating temperature measurements is that the TBCs are completely opaque to the ultraviolet light usually employed to excite the phosphor. The strategy that Glenn pursued was to select a thermographic phosphor that could be excited and emit at wavelengths that could be transmitted through the TBC. The phosphor that was selected was yttria doped with europia (Y2O3:Eu), which has a minor excitation peak at 532 nm (green) and an emission peak at 611 nm (red)--both are wavelengths that exhibit significant transmission through the TBC. The measurements were performed on specimens consisting of a 25- m-thick phosphor layer beneath a 100- m-thick TBC. The 532-nm (green) excitation light was provided by a frequency-doubled YAG:Nd (yttrium-aluminum-garnet:neodymium) laser, and the fluorescence decay time measurements were acquired with a modified Raman microscope. The preceding graph compares the intensity of the phosphor emission of the phosphor layer above the TBC versus that of the phosphor layer beneath the TBC. Although there was considerable attenuation of the phosphor signal (a factor of 30), the phosphor emission at the reduced intensity was more than sufficient to perform fluorescence decay time measurements. The following graph shows the fluorescence lifetime temperature dependency for the Y2O3:Eu phosphor layers both above and below the TBC. These curves show an excellent match and indicate that, despite the attenuation due to the overlying TBC, the phosphor layer beneath the TBC still functions as an effective temperature indicator.

A Study of the Physical Processes of an Advection Fog BoundaryLayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, D.; Yan, W.; Kang, Z.; Dai, Z.; Liu, D.; Liu, M.; Cao, L.; Chen, H.

2016-12-01

Using the fog boundary layer observation collected by a moored balloon between December 1 and 2, 2009, the processes of advection fog formation and dissipation under cold and warm double-advection conditions was studied. the conclusions are as follows: 1. The advection fog process was generated by the interaction between the near-surface northeast cold advection and the upper layer's southeast warm, humid advection. The ground fog formed in an advection cooling process, and the thick fog disappeared in two hours when the wind shifted from the northeast to the northwest. The top of the fog layer remained over 600 m for most of the time. 2. This advection fog featured a double-inversion structure. The interaction between the southeast warm, humid advection of the upper layer and the descending current generated the upper inversion layer. The northeast cold advection near the ground and the warm, humid advection in the high-altitude layer formed the lower layer clouds and lower inversion layer. The upper inversion layer was composed of southeast warm, humid advection and a descending current with increasing temperature. The double inversion provided good thermal conditions for maintaining the thick fog layer. 3. The southeast wind of the upper layer not only created the upper inversion layer but also brought vapour-rich air to the fog region. The steady southeast vapour transportation by the southeast wind was the main condition that maintained the fog thickness, homogeneous density, and long duration. The low-altitude low-level jet beneath the lower inversion layer helped maintain the thickness and uniform density of the fog layer by enhancing the exchange of heat, momentum and vapour within the lower inversion layer. 4. There were three transportation mechanisms associated with this advection fog: 1) The surface layer vapour was delivered to the lower fog layer. 2) The low-altitude southeast low-level jet transported the vapour to the upper layer. 3) The vapour was exchanged between the upper and lower layers via the turbulent exchange and vertical air motion, which mixed the fog density and maintained the thickness of the fog. These mechanisms explain why the fog top was higher than the lower inversion layer and reached the upper inversion layer, as well as why this advection fog was so thick.

Multiple mantle upwellings through the transition zone beneath the Afar Depression?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, J. O.; Kendall, J. M.; Stuart, G. W.; Thompson, D. A.; Ebinger, C. J.; Keir, D.; Ayele, A.; Goitom, B.; Ogubazghi, G.

2012-12-01

Previous seismic studies using regional deployments of sensors in East-Africa show that low seismic velocities underlie Africa, but their resolution is limited to the top 200-300km of the Earth. Thus, the connection between the low velocities in the uppermost mantle and those imaged in global studies in the lower mantle is unclear. We have combined new data from Afar, Ethiopia with 7 other regional experiments and global network stations across Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen, to produce high-resolution models of upper mantle P- and S-wave velocities to the base of the transition zone. Relative travel time tomographic inversions show that within the transition zone two focussed sharp-sided low velocity regions exist: one beneath the Western Ethiopian plateau outside the rift valley, and the other beneath the Afar depression. Estimates of transition zone thickness suggest that this is unlikely to be an artefact of mantle discontinuity topography as a transition zone of normal thickness underlies the majority of Afar and surrounding regions. However, a low velocity layer is evident directly above the 410 discontinuity, co-incident with some of the lowest seismic velocities suggesting that smearing of a strong low velocity layer of limited depth extent may contribute to the tomographic models in north-east Afar. The combination of seismic constraints suggests that small low temperature (<50K) upwellings may rise from a broader low velocity plume-like feature in the lower mantle. This interpretation is supported by numerical and analogue experiments that suggest the 660km phase change and viscosity jump may impede flow from the lower to upper mantle creating a thermal boundary layer at the base of the transition zone. This allows smaller, secondary upwellings to initiate and rise to the surface. These, combined with possible evidence of melt above the 410 discontinuity can explain the seismic velocity models. Our images of secondary upwellings suggest that there is no evidence for a plume in the classical sense (i.e. a narrow conduit). Instead, we propose that secondary upwellings rise from the base of the transition zone and connect with the northeast flowing African superswell in the upper mantle.

Upper mantle structure across the Trans-European Suture Zone imaged by S-receiver functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knapmeyer-Endrun, Brigitte; Krüger, Frank; Geissler, Wolfram H.; Passeq Working Group

2017-01-01

We present a high-resolution study of the upper mantle structure of Central Europe, including the western part of the East European Platform, based on S-receiver functions of 345 stations. A distinct contrast is found between Phanerozoic Europe and the East European Craton across the Trans-European Suture Zone. To the west, a pronounced velocity reduction with depth interpreted as lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is found at an average depth of 90 km. Beneath the craton, no strong and continuous LAB conversion is observed. Instead we find a distinct velocity reduction within the lithosphere, at 80-120 km depth. This mid-lithospheric discontinuity (MLD) is attributed to a compositional boundary between depleted and more fertile lithosphere created by late Proterozoic metasomatism. A potential LAB phase beneath the craton is very weak and varies in depth between 180 and 250 km, consistent with a reduced velocity contrast between the lower lithosphere and the asthenosphere. Within the Trans-European Suture Zone, lithospheric structure is characterized by strong heterogeneity. A dipping or step-wise increase to LAB depth of 150 km is imaged from Phanerozoic Europe to 20-22° E, whereas no direct connection to the cratonic LAB or MLD to the east is apparent. At larger depths, a positive conversion associated with the lower boundary of the asthenosphere is imaged at 210-250 km depth beneath Phanerozoic Europe, continuing down to 300 km depth beneath the craton. Conversions from both 410 km and 660 km discontinuities are found at their nominal depth beneath Phanerozoic Europe, and the discontinuity at 410 km depth can also be traced into the craton. A potential negative conversion on top of the 410 km discontinuity found in migrated images is analyzed by modeling and attributed to interference with other converted phases.

New constraints on the crustal structure beneath northern Tyrrhenian Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, V. L.; Park, J. J.

2009-12-01

We present new seismological data on the seismic structure beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea between Corsica and the coast of Italy. Teleseismic receiver functions from two Tyrrhenian islands (Elba and Gorgona) identify clear P-to-S mode-converted waves from two distinct interfaces, at ~20 and ~45 km depth. Both interfaces are characterized by an increase of seismic wavespeed with depth. Using a summation of direct and multiply-reflected body waves within the P wave coda we estimate the mean ratio of compressional and shear wave speeds above the 45 km interface to be 1.75-1.80. Using reflectivity computations in 1D layered models we develop a model of seismic wavespeed distribution that yields synthetic seismograms very similar to those observed. We apply a Ps-multiple summation procedure to the synthetic waveforms to further verify the match between observed and predicted wavefields. The lower layer of our model, between 20 and 45 km, has Vp ~ 7.5 km/sec, a value that can be ascribed to either very fast crustal rocks or very slow upper mantle rocks. The Vp/Vs ratio is ~1.8 in this intermediate layer. On the basis of a well-constrained downward increase in seismic wave speed beneath this second layer, we interpret it as the magmatically reworked lower crust, a lithology that has been proposed to explain high-Vp layers in the crustal roots of island-arc terranes and volcanically altered continental margins, as well as lower-crustal high-Vp features sometimes seen beneath continental rifts. The presence of a thick layer of high-Vp, but crustal, lithology beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea differs considerably from previous estimates that interpreted the interface at ~20 km as the Moho. Our new interpretation obviates a need for a crustal thickness change of over 20 km at the crest of the Apennines orogen. We propose an alteration in the properties of the lower crust instead. We argue that ongoing convergent subduction of the Adriatic lithospehre is not required beneath northern Apennines, and that a delamination or vertical "drip" of detached lithosphere would fit the observations well.

Thermal impacts of engineering activities and vegetation layer on permafrost in different alpine ecosystems of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qingbai; Zhang, Zhongqiong; Gao, Siru; Ma, Wei

2016-08-01

Climate warming and engineering activities have various impacts on the thermal regime of permafrost in alpine ecosystems of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Using recent observations of permafrost thermal regimes along the Qinghai-Tibet highway and railway, the changes of such regimes beneath embankments constructed in alpine meadows and steppes are studied. The results show that alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau can have a controlling role among engineering construction effects on permafrost beneath embankments. As before railway construction, the artificial permafrost table (APT) beneath embankments is not only affected by climate change and engineering activities but is also controlled by alpine ecosystems. However, the change rate of APT is not dependent on ecosystem type, which is predominantly affected by climate change and engineering activities. Instead, the rate is mainly related to cooling effects of railway ballast and heat absorption effects of asphalt pavement. No large difference between alpine and steppe can be identified regarding the variation of soil temperature beneath embankments, but this difference is readily identified in the variation of mean annual soil temperature with depth. The vegetation layer in alpine meadows has an insulation role among engineering activity effects on permafrost beneath embankments, but this insulation gradually disappears because the layer decays and compresses over time. On the whole, this layer is advantageous for alleviating permafrost temperature rise in the short term, but its effect gradually weakens in the long term.

Hydrogeologic setting and ground water flow beneath a section of Indian River Bay, Delaware

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krantz, David E.; Manheim, Frank T.; Bratton, John F.; Phelan, Daniel J.

2004-01-01

The small bays along the Atlantic coast of the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) are a valuable natural resource, and an asset for commerce and recreation. These coastal bays also are vulnerable to eutrophication from the input of excess nutrients derived from agriculture and other human activities in the watersheds. Ground water discharge may be an appreciable source of fresh water and a transport pathway for nutrients entering the bays. This paper presents results from an investigation of the physical properties of the surficial aquifer and the processes associated with ground water flow beneath Indian River Bay, Delaware. A key aspect of the project was the deployment of a new technology, streaming horizontal resistivity, to map the subsurface distribution of fresh and saline ground water beneath the bay. The resistivity profiles showed complex patterns of ground water flow, modes of mixing, and submarine ground water discharge. Cores, gamma and electromagnetic-induction logs, and in situ ground water samples collected during a coring operation in Indian River Bay verified the interpretation of the resistivity profiles. The shore-parallel resistivity lines show subsurface zones of fresh ground water alternating with zones dominated by the flow of salt water from the estuary down into the aquifer. Advective flow produces plumes of fresh ground water 400 to 600 m wide and 20 m thick that may extend more than 1 km beneath the estuary. Zones of dispersive mixing between fresh and saline ground water develop on the upper, lower, and lateral boundaries of the the plume. the plumes generally underlie small incised valleys that can be traced landward to stream draining the upland. The incised valleys are filled with 1 to 2 m of silt and peat that act as a semiconfining layer to restrict the downward flow of salt water from the estuary. Active circulation of both the fresh and saline ground water masses beneath the bay is inferred from the geophysical results and supported by geochemical data.

Physical subdivision and description of the water-bearing sediments of the Santa Clara Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wentworth, Carl M.; Jachens, Robert C.; Williams, Robert A.; Tinsley, John C.; Hanson, Randall T.

2015-01-01

Maps and cross sections show the elevations of cycle boundaries and the underlying bedrock surface, the varying thicknesses of the cycles and of their fine tops and coarse bottoms, and the aggregate thickness of coarse layers in those bottom intervals. Coarse sediment is more abundant toward some parts of the basin margin and in the southern part of the basin. Cycle boundary surfaces are relatively smooth, and their shapes are consistent with having been intercycle topographic surfaces. The underlying bedrock surface has a relief of more than 1,200 feet and deepens toward the center of the basin and the west edge of the fault-bounded Evergreen Basin, which is concealed beneath the east side of the Quaternary basin. The absence of consistent abrupt changes in thicknesses or boundary elevations across the basin or in cross section indicates that the interior of the basin is largely unfaulted, with the Silver Creek strand of the San Andreas system at the west edge of the Evergreen Basin being the sole exception. The east and west margins of the Santa Clara Basin, in contrast, are marked by reverse and thrust fault systems.

The rheological structure of the lithosphere in the Eastern Marmara region, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oruç, Bülent; Sönmez, Tuba

2017-05-01

The aim of this work is to propose the geometries of the crustal-lithospheric mantle boundary (Moho) and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) and the 1D thermal structure of the lithosphere, in order to establish a rheological model of the Eastern Marmara region. The average depths of Moho and LAB are respectively 35 km and 51 km from radially averaged amplitude spectra of EGM08 Bouguer anomalies. The geometries of Moho and LAB interfaces are estimated from the Parker-Oldenburg gravity inversion algorithm. Our results show the Moho depth varies from 31 km at the northern part of North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) to 39 km below the mountain belt in the southern part of the NAFZ. The depth to the LAB beneath the same parts of the region ranges from 45 km to 55 km. Having lithospheric strength and thermal boundary layer structure, we analyzed the conditions of development of lithosphere thinning. A two-dimensional strength profile has been estimated for rheology model of the study area. Thus we suggest that the rheological structure consists of a strong upper crust, a weak lower crust, and a partly molten upper lithospheric mantle.

Sensitivity of the Oceanic Turbulent Boundary Layer to Cyclic Insolation Change with Response Periods of 23 to 2.5 Ky: an Equatorial Atlantic Record for the Last 200 Ka

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcintyre, Andrew

1990-01-01

Time series of sea-surface temperature in cores sited beneath the region of maximum divergence centered on 10 degrees W are characterized by two sets of periodic signals. The dominant signal is centered on a period of 23 Ky and is coherent with and lags, approx. 2.5 Ky, the precessional component of orbitally controlled insolation. The subdominant periods occur between 4.0 and 2.5 Ky. Both sets of signals record variation in the seasonal intensity of oceanic divergence modulated by variation in tropical easterly intensity. The longer periods are a response to precessional forcing. The forcing responsible for the shorter periods is unknown.

Characterization and impact of "dead-zone" eddies in the tropical Northeast Atlantic Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuette, Florian; Karstensen, Johannes; Krahmann, Gerd; Hauss, Helena; Fiedler, Björn; Brandt, Peter; Visbeck, Martin; Körtzinger, Arne

2016-04-01

Localized open-ocean low-oxygen dead-zones in the tropical Northeast Atlantic are recently discovered ocean features that can develop in dynamically isolated water masses within cyclonic eddies (CE) and anticyclonic modewater eddies (ACME). Analysis of a comprehensive oxygen dataset obtained from gliders, moorings, research vessels and Argo floats shows that eddies with low oxygen concentrations at 50-150 m depths can be found in surprisingly high numbers and in a large area (from about 5°N to 20°N, from the shelf at the eastern boundary to 30°W). Minimum oxygen concentrations of about 9 μmol/kg in CEs and close to anoxic concentrations (< 1 μmol/kg) in ACMEs were observed. In total, 495 profiles with oxygen concentrations below the minimum background concentration of 40 μmol/kg could be associated with 27 independent "dead-zone" eddies (10 CEs; 17 ACMEs). The low oxygen concentration right beneath the mixed layer has been attributed to the combination of high productivity in the surface waters of the eddies and the isolation of the eddies' cores. Indeed eddies of both types feature a cold sea surface temperature anomaly and enhanced chlorophyll concentrations in their center. The oxygen minimum is located in the eddy core beneath the mixed layer at around 80 m depth. The mean oxygen anomaly between 50 to 150 m depth for CEs (ACMEs) is -49 (-81) μmol/kg. Eddies south of 12°N carry weak hydrographic anomalies in their cores and seem to be generated in the open ocean away from the boundary. North of 12°N, eddies of both types carry anomalously low salinity water of South Atlantic Central Water origin from the eastern boundary upwelling region into the open ocean. This points to an eddy generation near the eastern boundary. A conservative estimate yields that around 5 dead-zone eddies (4 CEs; 1 ACME) per year entering the area north of 12°N between the Cap Verde Islands and 19°W. The associated contribution to the oxygen budget of the shallow oxygen minimum zone in that area is about -10.3 (-3.0) μmol/kg/yr for CEs (ACMEs). The consumption within these eddies represents an essential part of the total consumption in the open tropical Northeast Atlantic Ocean and might be partly responsible for the formation of the shallow oxygen minimum zone.

Lithospheric structure beneath the Caribbean- South American plate boundary from S receiver functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masy, J.; Levander, A.; Niu, F.

2010-12-01

We have analyzed teleseismic S-wave data recorded by the permanent national seismic network of Venezuela and the BOLIVAR broadband array (Broadband Onshore-offshore Lithospheric Investigation of Venezuela and the Antilles arc Region) deployed from 2003 to 2005. A total of 28 events with Mw > 5.7 occurring at epicentral distances from 55° to 85° were used. We made Sp receiver functions to estimate the rapid variations of lithospheric structure in the southern Caribbean plate boundary region to try to better understand the complicated tectonic history of the region. Estimated Moho depth ranges from ~20 km beneath the Caribbean Large Igneous Provinces to ~50 km beneath the Mérida Andes in western Venezuela and the Sierra del Interior in northeastern Venezuela. These results are consistent with previous receiver functions studies (Niu et al., 2007) and active source profiles (Schmitz et al., 2001; Bezada et al., 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Guedez, 2008; Magnani et al., 2009). Beneath the Maracaibo Block we observe a signal at a depth of 100 km dipping ~24° towards the continent, which we interpret as the top of the oceanic Caribbean slab that is subducting beneath South America from the west. The deeper part of the slab was previously imaged using P-wave tomography (Bezada et al, 2010), and the upper part inferred from intermediate depth seismicity (Malavé and Suarez, 1995). These studies indicate flat slab subduction beneath northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela with the slab dipping between 20° - 30° beneath Lake Maracaibo. Like others we attribute the flat slab subduction to the uplift of the Mérida Andes (for example Kellogg and Bonini, 1982). In eastern Venezuela beneath the Sierra del Interior we also observe a deep signal that we interpret as deep South American lithosphere that is detaching from the overriding plate as the Atlantic subducts and tears away from SA (Bezada et al., 2010; Clark et al, 2008). The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is not a continuous feature under the entire region, instead it is seen beneath the Cordillera de la Costa in central Venezuela at ~130 km, also under the Perijá Range and the Sierra del Interior. Under the Guayana Shield we observe two distinct regions with LAB depths at ~150 km depth. We also see the LAB at this depth in places north of the Orinoco River, suggesting the presence of cratonic structures north of the river. These results are in good agreement with the structures observed by Miller et al. (2009) in Rayleigh wave tomography images.

Rocky Mountain evolution: Tying Continental Dynamics of the Rocky Mountains and Deep Probe seismic experiments with receiver functions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rumpfhuber, E.-M.; Keller, Gordon R.; Sandvol, E.; Velasco, A.A.; Wilson, D.C.

2009-01-01

In this study, we have determined the crustal structure using three different receiver function methods using data collected from the northern transect of the Continental Dynamics of the Rocky Mountains (CD-ROM) experiment. The resulting migrated image and crustal thickness determinations confirm and refine prior crustal thickness measurements based on the CD-ROM and Deep Probe experiment data sets. The new results show a very distinct and thick lower crustal layer beneath the Archean Wyoming province. In addition, we are able to show its termination at 42??N latitude, which provides a seismic tie between the CD-ROM and Deep Probe seismic experiments and thus completes a continuous north-south transect extending from New Mexico into Alberta, Canada. This new tie is particularly important because it occurs close to a major tectonic boundary, the Cheyenne belt, between an Archean craton and a Proterozoic terrane. We used two different stacking techniques, based on a similar concept but using two different ways to estimate uncertainties. Furthermore, we used receiver function migration and common conversion point (CCP) stacking techniques. The combined interpretation of all our results shows (1) crustal thinning in southern Wyoming, (2) strong northward crustal thickening beginning in central Wyoming, (3) the presence of an unusually thick and high-velocity lower crust beneath the Wyoming province, and (4) the abrupt termination of this lower crustal layer north of the Cheyenne belt at 42??N latitude. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.

Precambrian crust beneath the Mesozoic northern Canadian Cordillera discovered by Lithoprobe seismic reflection profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, Frederick A.; Clowes, Ronald M.; Snyder, David B.; van der Velden, Arie J.; Hall, Kevin W.; Erdmer, Philippe; Evenchick, Carol A.

2004-04-01

The Cordillera in northern Canada is underlain by westward tapering layers that can be followed from outcrops of Proterozoic strata in the Foreland belt to the lowermost crust of the orogenic interior, a distance of as much as 500 km across strike. They are interpreted as stratified Proterozoic rocks, including ˜1.8-0.7 Ga supracrustal rocks and their basement. The layering was discovered on two new deep seismic reflection profiles in the Yukon (Line 3; ˜650 km) and northern British Columbia (Line 2; ˜1245 km in two segments) that were acquired as part of the Lithoprobe Slave-Northern Cordillera Lithospheric Evolution (SNORCLE) transect. In the Mackenzie Mountains of the eastern Yukon, the layering in Line 3 is visible between 5.0 and 12.0 s (˜15 to 36 km depth). It is followed southwestward for nearly 650 km (˜500 km across strike) and thins to less than 1.0 s (˜3.0-3.5 km thickness) near the Moho at the Yukon-Alaska international boundary. In the northern Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, the upper part of the layering on Line 2 correlates with outcrops of Proterozoic (1.76-1.0 Ga) strata in the Muskwa anticlinorium. At this location, the layering is at least 15 km thick and is followed westward then southward into the middle and lower crust for ˜700 km (˜300 km across strike). It disappears as a thin taper at the base of the crust ˜150 km east of the coast of the Alaskan panhandle. The only significant disruption in the layering occurs at the Tintina fault zone, a late to postorogenic strike-slip fault with up to 800 km of displacement, which appears as a vertical zone of little reflectivity that disrupts the continuity of the deep layering on both profiles (˜300 km apart). The base of the layered reflection zone coincides with the Moho, which exhibits variable character and undulates in a series of broad arches with widths of ˜150 km. In general, the mantle appears to have few reflections. However, at the southwest end of Line 3 near the Alaska-British Columbia border, a reflection dips eastward from ˜14.0 s to ˜21.0 s (˜45 to 73 km depth) beneath exposed Eocene magmatic rocks. It is interpreted as a relict subduction surface of the Kula plate. Our interpretation of Proterozoic layered rocks beneath most of the northern Cordillera suggests a much different crustal structure than previously considered: (1) Ancient North American crust comprising up to 25 km of metamorphosed Proterozoic to Paleozoic sediments plus 5-10 km of pre-1.8 Ga crystalline basement projects westward beneath most of the northern Canadian Cordillera. (2) The lateral (500 km by at least 1000 km) and vertical (up to 25 km) extent of the Proterozoic layers and their internal deformation are consistent with a long-lived margin for northwestern North America with alternating episodes of extension and contraction. (3) The detachments that carry deformed rocks of the Mackenzie Mountains and northern Rocky Mountains are largely confined to the upper crustal region above the layering. (4) Accreted terranes include thin klippen that were thrust over North American pericratonic strata (e.g., Yukon-Tanana), and terranes such as Nisling and Stikinia that thicken westward as the underlying Proterozoic layers taper and disappear. (5) The ages of exposed rocks are not necessarily indicative of the ages of underlying crust, a frequent observation in Lithoprobe interpretations, so that estimates of crustal growth based on surface geology may not be representative.

A receiver function investigation of the Lithosphere beneath Southern California using Wavefield Iterative Deconvolution(WID)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ainiwaer, A.; Gurrola, H.

2017-12-01

In traditional Ps receiver functions (RFs) imaging, PPs and PSs phases from the shallow layers (near surface and crust) can be miss stacked as Ps phases or interfere with deeper Ps phases. To overcome interference between phases, we developed a method to produce phase specific Ps, PPs and PSs receiver functions (wavefield iterative deconvolution or WID). Rather than preforming a separate deconvolution of each seismogram recorded at a station, WID processes all the seismograms from a seismic station in a single run. Each iteration of WID identifies the most prominent phase remaining in the data set, based on the shape of its wavefield (or moveout curve), and then places this phase on the appropriate phase specific RF. As a result, we produce PsRFs that are free of PPs and PSs phase; and reverberations thereof. We also produce phase specific PPsRFs and PSsRFs but moveout curves for these phases and their higher order reverberations are not as distinct from one another. So the PPsRFs and the PSsRFs are not as clean as the PsRFs. These phase specific RFs can be stacked to image 2-D or 3-D Earth structure using common conversion point (CCP) stacking or migration. We applied WID to 524 Southern California seismic stations to construct 3-D PsRF image of lithosphere beneath southern California. These CCP images exhibit a Ps phases from the Moho and the lithosphere asthenosphere boundary (LAB) that are free of interference from the crustal reverberations. The Moho and LAB were found to be deepest beneath the Sierra Nevada, Tansverse Range and Peninsular Range. Shallow Moho and Lab is apparent beneath the Inner Borderland and Salton Trough. The LAB depth that we estimate is in close agreement to recent published results that used Sp imaging (Lekic et al., 2011). We also found complicated structure beneath Mojave Block where mid crustal features are apparent and anomalous Ps phases at 60 km depth are observed beneath Western Mojave dessert.

Weak ductile shear zone beneath the western North Anatolian Fault Zone: inferences from earthquake cycle model constrained by geodetic observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamasaki, T.; Wright, T. J.; Houseman, G. A.

2013-12-01

After large earthquakes, rapid postseismic transient motions are commonly observed. Later in the loading cycle, strain is typically focused in narrow regions around the fault. In simple two-layer models of the loading cycle for strike-slip faults, rapid post-seismic transients require low viscosities beneath the elastic layer, but localized strain later in the cycle implies high viscosities in the crust. To explain this apparent paradox, complex transient rheologies have been invoked. Here we test an alternative hypothesis in which spatial variations in material properties of the crust can explain the geodetic observations. We use a 3D viscoelastic finite element code to examine two simple models of periodic fault slip: a stratified model in which crustal viscosity decreases exponentially with depth below an upper elastic layer, and a block model in which a low viscosity domain centered beneath the fault is embedded in a higher viscosity background representing normal crust. We test these models using GPS data acquired before and after the 1999 Izmit/Duzce earthquakes on the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey). The model with depth-dependent viscosity can show both high postseismic velocities, and preseismic localization of the deformation, if the viscosity contrast from top to bottom of layer exceeds a factor of about 104. However, with no lateral variations in viscosity, this model cannot explain the proximity to the fault of maximum postseismic velocities. In contrast, the model which includes a localized weak zone beneath the faulted elastic lid can explain all the observations, if the weak zone extends down to mid-crustal levels and outward to 10 or 20 km from the fault. The non-dimensional ratio of relaxation time to earthquake repeat time, τ/Δt, is the critical parameter in controlling the observed deformation. In the weak-zone model, τ/Δt should be in the range 0.005 to 0.01 in the weak domain, and larger than ~ 1.0 elsewhere. This implies a viscosity in the weak zone of ~ 1018×0.3 Pa s, and larger than ~ 1020 Pa s outside this region. Models with sharp boundaries to the weak zone fit the data better than those with a smooth increase of viscosity away from the fault. Thus abrupt changes in material properties, such as those that might result from grain-size reduction, may be required in addition to any effect from shear heating. Unlike some previous models, we do not require non-linear stress-dependent viscosities. Our models imply that geodetic strain rates decay to a quasi-steady state within about 10% of the inter-earthquake period (years or decades) and that interseismic geodetic observations can therefore be used to infer the long-term geological slip rate, provided there has not been a recent earthquake. Rheologies inferred from postseismic studies alone likely reflect the rheology of the weak zone beneath the fault, and should not be used to infer the strength profile of normal lithosphere.

Appraisal of an Array TEM Method in Detecting a Mined-Out Area Beneath a Conductive Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hai; Xue, Guo-qiang; Zhou, Nan-nan; Chen, Wei-ying

2015-10-01

The transient electromagnetic method has been extensively used for the detection of mined-out area in China for the past few years. In the cases that the mined-out area is overlain by a conductive layer, the detection of the target layer is difficult with a traditional loop source TEM method. In order to detect the target layer in this condition, this paper presents a newly developed array TEM method, which uses a grounded wire source. The underground current density distribution and the responses of the grounded wire source TEM configuration are modeled to demonstrate that the target layer is detectable in this condition. The 1D OCCAM inversion routine is applied to the synthetic single station data and common middle point gather. The result reveals that the electric source TEM method is capable of recovering the resistive target layer beneath the conductive overburden. By contrast, the conductive target layer cannot be recovered unless the distance between the target layer and the conductive overburden is large. Compared with inversion result of the single station data, the inversion of common middle point gather can better recover the resistivity of the target layer. Finally, a case study illustrates that the array TEM method is successfully applied in recovering a water-filled mined-out area beneath a conductive overburden.

Simulated impact damage in a thick graphite/epoxy laminate using spherical indenters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poe, C. C., Jr.

1988-01-01

The extent of fiber damage due to low-velocity impacts was determined for very thick graphite/epoxy laminates. The impacts were simulated by pressing spherical indenters against the laminates. After the forces were applied, the laminate was cut into smaller pieces so that each piece contained a test site. Then the pieces were deplied and the individual plies were examined to determine the extent of fiber damage. Broken fibers were found in the outer layers directly beneath the contact site. The locus of broken fibers resembled cracks. The cracks were more or less oriented in the direction of the fibers in the contiguous layers. The maximum length and depth of the cracks increased with increasing contact pressure and indenter diameter. The length and depth of the cracks were also predicted using maximum compression and shear stress criteria. The internal stresses were calculated using Hertz's law and Love's solution for pressure applied on part of the boundary of a semi-infinite body. The predictions and measurements were in good agreement.

New insight into the Upper Mantle Structure Beneath the Pacific Ocean Using PP and SS Precursors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurrola, H.; Rogers, K. D.

2013-12-01

The passing of the EarthScope Transportable array has provided a dense data set that enabled beam forming of SS and PP data that resultes in improved frequency content to as much a 1 Hz in the imaging of upper mantle structure. This combined with the application of simultaneous iterative deconvolution has resulted in images to as much as 4 Hz. The processing however results in structure being averaged over regions of 60 to 100 km in radius. This is becomes a powerful new tool to image the upper mantle beneath Oceanic regions where locating stations is expensive and difficult. This presentation will summarize work from a number of regions as to new observations of the upper mantle beneath the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Images from a region of the Pacific Ocean furthest from hot spots or subduction zones (we will refer to this as the 'reference region'). show considerable layering in the upper mantle. The 410 km discontinuity is always imaged using these tools and appears to be a very sharp boundary. It does usually appear as an isolated positive phase. There appears to be a LAB at ~100 km as expected but there is a strong negative phase at ~ 200 km with a positive phase 15 km deeper. This is best explained as a lens of partial melt as expected for this depth based on the geothermal gradient. If so this should be a low friction point and so we would expect it to accommodate plate motion. Imaging of the Aleutian subduction zone does show the 100 km deep LAB as it descends but this 200 km deep horizon appears as a week descending positive anomaly without the shallower negative pulse. In addition to the 410, 100 and 200 km discontinuities there are a number of paired anomalies, between the 200 and 400 km depths, with a negative pulse 15 to 20 km shallower then the positive pulse. We do not believe these are side lobes or we would see side lobes on the 100 km and 410 km discontinuities. We believe these to be the result of friction induced partial melt along zones of critical failure to accommodate differential mantle flow with depth. The paired layers disappear beneath the Hawaiian Island chain. We believe heat from the hot spot warms the mantle beneath the Hawaiian island chain so flow is more easily accommodated. As a result the lenses of melt disappear in the region near hot spots.

Seismological evidence for a localized mushy zone at the Earth's inner core boundary.

PubMed

Tian, Dongdong; Wen, Lianxing

2017-08-01

Although existence of a mushy zone in the Earth's inner core has been hypothesized several decades ago, no seismic evidence has ever been reported. Based on waveform modeling of seismic compressional waves that are reflected off the Earth's inner core boundary, here we present seismic evidence for a localized 4-8 km thick zone across the inner core boundary beneath southwest Okhotsk Sea with seismic properties intermediate between those of the inner and outer core and of a mushy zone. Such a localized mushy zone is found to be surrounded by a sharp inner core boundary nearby. These seismic results suggest that, in the current thermo-compositional state of the Earth's core, the outer core composition is close to eutectic in most regions resulting in a sharp inner core boundary, but deviation from the eutectic composition exists in some localized regions resulting in a mushy zone with a thickness of 4-8 km.The existence of a mushy zone in the Earth's inner core has been suggested, but has remained unproven. Here, the authors have discovered a 4-8 km thick mushy zone at the inner core boundary beneath the Okhotsk Sea, indicating that there may be more localized mushy zones at the inner core boundary.

Intermediate-depth earthquakes within young Cocos plate beneath Central Mexico: A hypothesis test for dehydration embrittlement and shear instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, T.

2010-12-01

Subducting slab undergoes a series of dehydration reactions on their ways into the mantle and these processes are responsible for transporting water, recycling volatiles and chemical elements in arc magmas. It is generally accepted that the SOC is hydrated. However, it is not clear if subducting oceanic mantle (SOM) is hydrated and how deep the hydration is. Seismic refraction studies found that normal-fault type faulting can extend 12-20 km deep into the interior of the slab off Nicaragua, suggesting deep hydration of the SOM. Seismic refraction studies also found that the uppermost SOM is seismically slow and is partially serpentinized. The fluids released from dehydration inside the SOM can reduce the normal stress locally and facilitate the occurrences of intra-slab events through dehydration embrittlement and hydraulic fracture. It has been suggested that the dehydration of antigorite at about 600C is particularly important in facilitating the lower plane of the double seismic zone. To link the dehydration process to the occurrences of intra-slab events, it is critical to clarify where these events are located, either located at the dehydration boundary or in the neighborhood rocks. However, if the SOM is anhydrous, other mechanism, such as shear instabilities, has to be invoked to explain the occurrences of intermediate-depth intraslab earthquakes. Here I discuss locations of intermediate-depth intraslab earthquakes in Central Mexico subduction zone, where young Cocos plate subducts beneath North America plate. Recent studies involving local converted wave modeling and receiver function analysis indicate the presence of an ultra-slow velocity layer (USL) of about 3 km thick, likely an over-pressured upper oceanic crust. Most events display anomalously large converted SP waves that are 2-2.5 secs after direct P waves and finite difference modeling converge the location of these events about 9 km below the lower boundary USL. With a lower oceanic crust of about 3-5 km estimated from receiver function, these intermediate-depth earthquakes are about 6 km inside the SOM. There is no clear evidence yet indicating the presence of a partially serpentinized layer in such a young plate (10-15 Ma). Further waveform modeling is undertaken to explore the presence of such a partially serpentinized layer.

Imaging megathrust zone and Yakutat/Pacific plate interface in Alaska subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y.; Abers, G. A.; Li, J.; Christensen, D. H.; Calkins, J. A.

2013-05-01

We image the subducted slab underneath a 450 km long transect of the Alaska subduction zone. Dense stations in southern Alaska are set up to investigate (1) the geometry and velocity structure of the downgoing plate and their relation to slab seismicity, and (2) the interplate coupled zone where the great 1964 (magnitude 9.3) had greatest rupture. The joint teleseismic migration of two array datasets (MOOS, Multidisciplinary Observations of Onshore Subduction, and BEAAR, Broadband Experiment Across the Alaska Range) based on teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) using the MOOS data reveal a shallow-dipping prominent low-velocity layer at ~25-30 km depth in southern Alaska. Modeling of these RF amplitudes shows a thin (<6.5 km) low-velocity layer (shear wave velocity of ~3 km/s), which is ~20-30% slower than normal oceanic crustal velocities, between the subducted slab and the overriding North American plate. The observed low-velocity megathrust layer (with P-to-S velocity ratio (Vp/Vs) exceeding 2.0) may be due to a thick sediment input from the trench in combination of elevated pore fluid pressure in the channel. The subducted crust below the low-velocity channel has gabbroic velocities with a thickness of 11-12 km. Both velocities and thickness of the low-velocity channel abruptly increase as the slab bends in central Alaska, which agrees with previously published RF results. Our image also includes an unusually thick low-velocity crust subducting with a ~20 degree dip down to 130 km depth at approximately 200 km inland beneath central Alaska. The unusual nature of this subducted segment has been suggested to be due to the subduction of the Yakutat terrane. We also show a clear image of the Yakutat and Pacific plate subduction beneath the Kenai Peninsula, and the along-strike boundary between them at megathrust depths. Our imaged western edge of the Yakutat terrane, at 25-30 km depth in the central Kenai along the megathrust, aligns with the western end of the geodetically locked patch with high slip deficit, and coincides with the boundary of aftershock events from the 1964 earthquake. It seems plausible that this sharp change in the nature of the downgoing plate controls the slip distribution of great earthquakes on this plate interface.

Imaging Ruptured Lithosphere Beneath the Arabian Peninsula Using S-wave Receiver Functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, S. E.; Rodgers, A. J.; Schwartz, S. Y.; Al-Amri, A. M.

2006-12-01

The lithospheric thickness beneath the Arabian Peninsula has important implications for understanding the tectonic processes associated with continental rifting along the Red Sea. However, estimates of the lithospheric thickness are limited by the lack of high-resolution seismic observations sampling the lithosphere- asthenosphere boundary (LAB). The S-wave receiver function technique allows point determinations of Moho and LAB depths by identifying S-to-P conversions from these discontinuities beneath individual seismic stations. This method is superior to P-wave receiver functions for identifying the LAB because P-to-S multiple reverberations from shallower discontinuities (such as the Moho) often mask the direct conversion from the LAB while S-to-P boundary conversions arrive earlier than the direct S phase and all multiples arrive later. We interpret crustal and lithospheric structure across the entire Arabian Peninsula from S-wave receiver functions computed at 29 stations from four different seismic networks. Generally, both the Moho and the LAB are shallowest near the Red Sea and become deeper towards the Arabian interior. Near the coast, the Moho increases from about 12 to 35 km, with a few exceptions showing a deeper Moho beneath stations that are situated on higher topography in the Asir Province. The crustal thickening continues until an average depth of about 40-45 km is reached over both the central Arabian Shield and Platform. The LAB near the coast is at a depth of about 50 km, increases rapidly, and reaches an average maximum depth of about 120 km beneath the Arabian Shield. At the Shield-Platform boundary, a distinct step is observed in the lithospheric thickness where the LAB depth increases to about 160 km. This step may reflect remnant lithospheric thickening associated with the Shield's accretion onto the Platform and has an important role in guiding asthenospheric flow beneath the eastern margin of the Red Sea. This work was performed in part under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract W-7405-Eng-48.

Three-dimensional turbulent boundary layers; Proceedings of the Symposium, Berlin, West Germany, March 29-April 1, 1982

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernholz, H. H.; Krause, E.

Papers are presented on recent research concerning three-dimensional turbulent boundary layers. Topics examined include experimental techniques in three-dimensional turbulent boundary layers, turbulence measurements in ship-model flow, measurements of Reynolds-stress profiles in the stern region of a ship model, the effects of crossflow on the vortex-layer-type three-dimensional flow separation, and wind tunnel investigations of some three-dimensional separated turbulent boundary layers. Also examined are three-dimensional boundary layers in turbomachines, the boundary layers on bodies of revolution spinning in axial flows, the effect on a developed turbulent boundary layer of a sudden local wall motion, three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer along a concave wall, the numerical computation of three-dimensional boundary layers, a numerical study of corner flows, three-dimensional boundary calculations in design aerodynamics, and turbulent boundary-layer calculations in design aerodynamics. For individual items see A83-47012 to A83-47036

Zeppelin NT - Measurement Platform for the Exploration of Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics in the Planetary Boundary Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofzumahaus, Andreas; Holland, Frank; Oebel, Andreas; Rohrer, Franz; Mentel, Thomas; Kiendler-Scharr, Astrid; Wahner, Andreas; Brauchle, Artur; Steinlein, Klaus; Gritzbach, Robert

2014-05-01

The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the chemically most active and complex part of the atmosphere where freshly emitted reactive trace gases, tropospheric radicals, atmospheric oxidation products and aerosols exhibit a large variability and spatial gradients. In order to investigate the chemical degradation of trace gases and the formation of secondary pollutants in the PBL, a commercial Zeppelin NT was modified to be used as an airborne measurement platform for chemical and physical observations with high spatial resolution. The Zeppelin NT was developed by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (ZLT) and is operated by Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The modification was performed in cooperation between Forschungszentrum Jülich and ZLT. The airship has a length of 75 m, can lift about 1 ton of scientific payload and can be manoeuvered with high precision by propeller engines. The modified Zeppelin can carry measurement instruments mounted on a platform on top of the Zeppelin, or inside the gondola beneath the airship. Three different instrument packages were developed to investigate a. gas-phase oxidation processes involving free radicals (OH, HO2) b. formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) c. new particle formation (nucleation) The presentation will describe the modified airship and provide an overview of its technical performance. Examples of its application during the recent PEGASOS flight campaigns in Europe will be given.

Seismic structure of the uppermost mantle beneath the Kenya rift

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keller, Gordon R.; Mechie, J.; Braile, L.W.; Mooney, W.D.; Prodehl, C.

1994-01-01

A major goal of the Kenya Rift International Seismic Project (KRISP) 1990 experiment was the determination of deep lithospheric structure. In the refraction/wide-angle reflection part of the KRISP effort, the experiment was designed to obtain arrivals to distances in excess of 400 km. Phases from interfaces within the mantle were recorded from many shotpoints, and by design, the best data were obtained along the axial profile. Reflected arrivals from two thin (< 10 km), high-velocity layers were observed along this profile and a refracted arrival was observed from the upper high-velocity layer. These mantle phases were observed on record sections from four axial profile shotpoints so overlapping and reversed coverage was obtained. Both high-velocity layers are deepest beneath Lake Turkana and become more shallow southward as the apex of the Kenya dome is approached. The first layer has a velocity of 8.05-8.15 km/s, is at a depth of about 45 km beneath Lake Turkana, and is observed at depths of about 40 km to the south before it disappears near the base of the crust. The deeper layer has velocities ranging from 7.7 to 7.8 km/s in the south to about 8.3 km/s in the north, has a similar dip as the upper one, and is found at depths of 60-65 km. Mantle arrivals outside the rift valley appear to correlate with this layer. The large amounts of extrusive volcanics associated with the rift suggest compositional anomalies as an explanation for the observed velocity structure. However, the effects of the large heat anomaly associated with the rift indicate that composition alone cannot explain the high-velocity layers observed. These layers require some anisotropy probably due to the preferred orientation of olivine crystals. The seismic model is consistent with hot mantle material rising beneath the Kenya dome in the southern Kenya rift and north-dipping shearing along the rift axis near the base of the lithosphere beneath the northern Kenya rift. This implies lithosphere thickening towards the north and is consistent with a thermal thinning of the lithosphere from below in the south changing to thinning of the lithosphere due to stretching in the north. ?? 1994.

The Phoenix Scout Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, P. H.

2003-12-01

Phoenix will restore the 2001 lander to flight condition and select a scientic payload from instruments flown on Mars Polar Lander and delivered for the 2001 lander. Landing in May 2008 at the beginning of northern Summer, Phoenix will explore the subsurface ice layers discovered by Odyssey scientists at about 70 N latitude. Descent and panoramic imaging will reveal the small scale geology of this ice-rich region and a robotic arm will dig layer by layer beneath the surface. A German-supplied camera on the arm will examine the trench walls for stratigraphic clues to the origin of the region. Two instruments on the deck will receive samples taken from various depths from the surface to an impermeable ice layer. A thermal evolved gas analyzer (TEGA) will accept samples in one of eight ovens, heating the samples to 1000C will performing differential scanning calorimetry on them. The gases are piped to a mass spectrometer and all species between 1 and 140 Da are identified. Altered minerals (clays, carbonates,etc.) and organics materials can be clearly identified by the multi-dimensional nature (mass, temperature, and depth) of this experiment. Isotopic ratios for hydrogen, neon, argon, carbon, and nitrogen will give clues to the history of the soils and ices. The MECA instrument performs microscopy, electro-chemistry, and conductivity measurments on samples. Bringing water from Earth and mixing it in a sealed cell with samples creates the same conditions as when the ice melts beneath the surface and allows us to determine the acqueous chemistry of the soils. Acidity, redox potential, and salt content are all acquired giving us the first idea of what the biological potential of this habitat might be. Microscopes examine the grain structures and the thermal and electrical conductivity of the soil is examined with a special probe on the scoop. A Canadian MET station uses a lidar to measure the depth of the boundary layer and also pressure and temperature throughout northern Summer and Fall. Phoenix provides insight into the biological potential of the near surface ice.

Evaluating stratiform cloud base charge remotely

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, R. Giles; Nicoll, Keri A.; Aplin, Karen L.

2017-06-01

Stratiform clouds acquire charge at their upper and lower horizontal boundaries due to vertical current flow in the global electric circuit. Cloud charge is expected to influence microphysical processes, but understanding is restricted by the infrequent in situ measurements available. For stratiform cloud bases below 1 km in altitude, the cloud base charge modifies the surface electric field beneath, allowing a new method of remote determination. Combining continuous cloud height data during 2015-2016 from a laser ceilometer with electric field mill data, cloud base charge is derived using a horizontal charged disk model. The median daily cloud base charge density found was -0.86 nC m-2 from 43 days' data. This is consistent with a uniformly charged region 40 m thick at the cloud base, now confirming that negative cloud base charge is a common feature of terrestrial layer clouds. This technique can also be applied to planetary atmospheres and volcanic plumes.