Structural controls of the Tuscarora geothermal field, Elko County, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dering, G.; Faulds, J. E.

2012-12-01

Tuscarora is an amagmatic geothermal system located ~90 km northwest of Elko, Nevada, in the northern part of the Basin and Range province ~15 km southeast of the Snake River Plain. Detailed geologic mapping, structural analysis, and well data have been integrated to identify the structural controls of the Tuscarora geothermal system. The structural framework of the geothermal field is defined by NNW- to NNE-striking normal faults that are approximately orthogonal to the present extension direction. Boiling springs, fumaroles, and siliceous sinter emanate from a single NNE-striking, west-dipping normal fault. Normal faults west of these hydrothermal features mostly dip steeply east, whereas normal faults east of the springs primarily dip west. Thus, the springs, fumaroles, and sinter straddle a zone of interaction between fault sets that dip toward each other, classified as a strike-parallel anticlinal accommodation zone. Faults within the geothermal area are mostly discontinuous along strike with offsets of tens to hundreds of meters, whereas the adjacent range-bounding fault systems of the Bull Run and Independence Mountains accommodate several kilometers of displacement. The geothermal field lies within a broad step over between the southward terminating west-dipping Bull Run fault zone and the northward terminating west-dipping Independence Mountains fault zone. Neither of these major fault zones is known to host high temperature geothermal systems. The accommodation zone lies within the broad step over and contains both east-dipping antithetic and west-dipping synthetic faults. Accommodation zones are relatively common structural components of extended terranes that transfer strain between oppositely dipping fault sets via a network of subsidiary normal faults. This study has identified the hinge zone of an anticlinal accommodation zone as the site most conducive to fluid up-flow. The recognition of this specific portion of an accommodation zone as a favorable structural setting for geothermal activity may be a useful exploration tool for development of drilling targets in extensional terranes, as well as for developing geologic models of known geothermal fields. This type of information may ultimately help to reduce the risks of targeting successful geothermal wells in such settings.

Audio-magnetotelluric investigation of allochthonous iron formations in the Archaean Reguibat shield (Mauritania): structural and mining implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bronner, G.; Fourno, J. P.

1992-11-01

The M'Haoudat range, considered as an allochthonous unit amid the strongly metamorphosed Archaean basement (Tiris Group), belongs to the Lower Proterozoic Ijil Group, weakly metamorphosed, constituted mainly by iron quartzites including red jaspers and high grade iron ore. Audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) soundings (frequency range 1-7500 HZ) were performed together with the systematic survey of the range (SNIM mining company). The non-linear least squares method was used to perform a smoothness-constrained data model. The obvious AMT resistivity contrasts between the M'Haoudat Unit (150-3500 ohm. m) and the Archaean basement (20 000 ohm. m) allow to state precisely that the two thrust surfaces, on both sides of the range, join together at a depth which increases from North-West to South-East, as the ore bodies. Inside the steeply dipping M'Haoudat Unit, the main beds of iron quartzites (1500-3500 ohm. m), schists (1000-1500 ohm. m) and hematite ores (150-300 ohm. m) were distinguished when their thickness exceeded 30 to 50 m. The existence of an hydrostatic level (1-50 ohm. m) and the steeply dipping architecture, very likely responsible for the lack of resistivity contrast on the upper part of some profiles, complicate the interpretation at high frequencies the thin layers being poorly defined.

Influence of fracture anisotropy on ground water ages and chemistry, Valley and Ridge province, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, W.C.; Plummer, Niel; Busenberg, E.; Lindsey, B.D.; Gburek, W.J.

2002-01-01

Model ground water ages based on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and tritium/helium-3 (3H/3He) data were obtained from two arrays of nested piezometers located on the north limb of an anticline in fractured sedimentary rocks in the Valley and Ridge geologic province of Pennsylvania. The fracture geometry of the gently east plunging fold is very regular and consists predominately of south dipping to subhorizontal to north dipping bedding-plane parting and east striking, steeply dipping axial-plane spaced cleavage. In the area of the piezometer arrays, which trend north-south on the north limb of the fold, north dipping bedding-plane parting is a more dominant fracture set than is steeply south dipping axial-plane cleavage. The dating of ground water from the piezometer arrays reveals that ground water traveling along paths parallel to the dip direction of bedding-plane parting has younger 3H/3He and CFC model ages, or a greater component of young water, than does ground water traveling along paths opposite to the dip direction. In predominantly unmixed samples there is a strong positive correlation between age of the young fraction of water and dissolved sodium concentration. The travel times inferred from the model ages are significantly longer than those previously calculated by a ground water flow model, which assumed isotropically fractured layers parallel to topography. A revised model factors in the directional anisotropy to produce longer travel times. Ground water travel times in the watershed therefore appear to be more influenced by anisotropic fracture geometry than previously realized. This could have significant implications for ground water models in other areas underlain by similarly tilted or folded sedimentary rock, such as elsewhere in the Valley and Ridge or the early Mesozoic basins.

Steeply-dipping extension fractures in the Newark basin, New Jersey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herman, G.C.

2009-01-01

Late Triassic and Early Jurassic bedrock in the Newark basin is pervasively fractured as a result of Mesozoic rifting of the east-central North American continental margin. Tectonic rifting imparted systematic sets of steeply-dipping, en ??chelon, Mode I, extension fractures in basin strata including ordinary joints and veins. These fractures are arranged in transitional-tensional arrays resembling normal dip-slip shear zones. They contributed to crustal stretching, sagging, and eventual faulting of basin rift deposits. Extension fractures display progressive linkage and spatial clustering that probably controlled incipient fault growth. They cluster into three prominent strike groups correlated to early, intermediate, and late-stage tectonic events reflecting about 50- 60?? of counterclockwise rotation of incremental stretching directions. Finite strain analyses show that extension fractures allowed the stretching of basin strata by a few percent, and these fractures impart stratigraphic dips up to a few degrees in directions opposing fracture dips. Fracture groups display three-dimensional spatial variability but consistent geometric relations. Younger fractures locally cut across and terminate against older fractures having more complex vein-cement morphologies and bed-normal folds from stratigraphic compaction. A fourth, youngest group of extension fractures occur sporadically and strike about E-W in obliquely inverted crustal blocks. A geometric analysis of overlapping fracture sets shows how fracture groups result from incremental rotation of an extending tectonic plate, and that old fractures can reactivate with oblique slip components in the contemporary, compressive stress regime. ?? 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aseismic deformation of a fold-and-thrust belt imaged by SAR interferometry near Shahdad, southeast Iran

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fielding, Eric J.; Wright, Tim J.; Muller, Jordan; Parsons, Barry E.; Walker, Richard

2004-01-01

At depth, many fold-and-thrust belts are composed of a gently dipping, basal thrust fault and steeply dipping, shallower splay faults that terminate beneath folds at the surface. Movement on these buried faults is difficult to observe, but synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry has imaged slip on at least 600 square kilometers of the Shahdad basal-thrust and splay-fault network in southeast Iran.

Multi-type Tectonic Responses to Plate Motion Changes of Mega-Offset Transform Faults at the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.; Lin, J.; Yang, H.; Zhou, Z.

2017-12-01

Magmatic and tectonic responses of a mid-ocean ridge system to plate motion changes can provide important constraints on the mechanisms of ridge-transform interaction and lithospheric properties. Here we present new analysis of multi-type responses of the mega-offset transform faults at the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (PAR) system to plate motion changes in the last 12 Ma. Detailed analysis of the Heezen, Tharp, and Udintsev transform faults showed that the extensional stresses induced by plate motion changes could have been released through a combination of magmatic and tectonic processes: (1) For a number of ridge segments with abundant magma supply, plate motion changes might have caused the lateral transport of magma along the ridge axis and into the abutting transform valley, forming curved "hook" ridges at the ridge-transform intersection. (2) Plate motion changes might also have caused vertical deformation on steeply-dipping transtensional faults that were developed along the Heezen, Tharp, and Udintsev transform faults. (3) Distinct zones of intensive tectonic deformation, resembling belts of "rift zones", were found to be sub-parallel to the investigated transform faults. These rift-like deformation zones were hypothesized to have developed when the stresses required to drive the vertical deformation on the steeply-dipping transtensional faults along the transform faults becomes excessive, and thus deformation on off-transform "rift zones" became favored. (4) However, to explain the observed large offsets on the steeply-dipping transtensional faults, the transform faults must be relatively weak with low apparent friction coefficient comparing to the adjacent lithospheric plates.

A Moho ramp imaged beneath the High Himalaya in Garhwal, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldwell, W. B.; Klemperer, S. L.; Lawrence, J.; Rai, S. S.; Ashish, A.

2011-12-01

In this study we image the Moho beneath the Himalaya of Garhwal, India (at approximately 79°E) using common conversion point (CCP) stacking of receiver functions (RFs). We calculate RFs using iterative time-domain deconvolution on a catalog of 450 events recorded on a linear array of 21 broadband seismometers operated for 21 months in 2005-2006 by India's National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI). Our images show a horizontal Moho beneath the Lesser Himalaya and an abrupt increase of ≥ 5 km in Moho depth beneath the High Himalaya, implying a local dip of 20±5°. A steeply-dipping Moho beneath the High Himalaya has been proposed by some workers on the basis of gravity modeling, and is observed in some seismic images elsewhere in the range, but is not a widely-recognized feature of the Himalaya. Geophysical profiles across the Himalaya are not numerous enough to say whether the steep Moho is a local feature only, or is widespread but has not yet been consistently observed. A steeply-dipping Moho implies a flexure in the downgoing India plate, which we propose may play a role in the formation of the topographic front of the Himalaya. Recent studies have proposed that a ramp in the Main Himalayan Thrust-the basal décollement into which the Himalayan thrust faults root-may focus rock uplift, leading to an abrupt steepening of topography and the observed physiographic transition between the Lesser and Higher Himalaya. The mechanism of rock uplift may be out-of-sequence thrusting on the MCT-I, or stacking of imbricate thrust sheets which form as a result of underplating at the ramp. A flexure of the India plate, implied by the steep Moho dip that we observe, is a likely mechanism for controlling the formation and location of this décollement ramp, and thereby the initiation of high topography. Geophysical profiles across the Himalaya are not yet numerous enough to constrain along-strike variations in this steeply-dipping Moho, so its relationship to the formation of the topographic front of the Himalaya throughout the rest of the range remains a topic for further study.

Geology and preliminary hydrogeologic characterization of the cell-house site, Berlin, New Hampshire, 2003-04

USGS Publications Warehouse

Degnan, James R.; Clark, Stewart F.; Harte, Philip T.; Mack, Thomas J.

2005-01-01

At the cell-house site, thin, generally less than 20-foot thick overburden, consisting of till and demolition materials, overlies fractured crystalline bedrock. Bedrock at the site consists of gneiss with thin discontinuous lenses of chlorite schist and discontinuous tabular pegmatite. Two distinct fracture domains, with principal trends to the west and northwest, and to the north, overlap near the site. The cell-house site shows principal trends common to both domains. Gneiss is the most abundant rock at the site. Steeply dipping fractures within the gneiss terminate on subhorizontal contacts with pegmatite and on moderately dipping contacts with chlorite schist. Steeply northwest-dipping en Echelon fracture zones, parallel joint zones, and silicified brittle faults show consistent strikes to the northeast. Gently east-dipping to subhorizontal fractures, sub-parallel to gneissosity, strike northeast. The impermeable cap, barrier wall, and bedrock surface topography affect ground-water flow in the overburden. There is relatively little ground-water flow in the overburden in the capped area and a poor hydraulic connection between the overburden and the underlying bedrock over most of the site. The overburden beneath the cap may receive inflow through or beneath the barrier wall, or by flow through vertical fractures in the underlying bedrock beneath the barrier wall. The bedrock aquifer near the river is well connected to the river and head difference in the bedrock across the site are large (greater than 13 ft). Horizontal hydraulic conductivities of 0.2 to 20 ft/d were estimated for the bedrock. Individual fractures or fracture zones likely have hydraulic conductivities greater than the bulk rock. Subhorizontal fractures occur at pegmatite contacts or along chlorite schist lenses and may serve as ground-water conduits to the steeply dipping fractures in gneiss. The effective hydraulic conductivity across the site is likely to be in the low range of the estimated values (0.2 ft/d). Ground water discharges to the river from the bedrock aquifer and is greatest during periods of large river stage fluctuations.

Structure of the San Andreas Fault Zone in the Salton Trough Region of Southern California: A Comparison with San Andreas Fault Structure in the Loma Prieta Area of Central California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuis, G. S.; Catchings, R.; Scheirer, D. S.; Goldman, M.; Zhang, E.; Bauer, K.

2016-12-01

The San Andreas fault (SAF) in the northern Salton Trough, or Coachella Valley, in southern California, appears non-vertical and non-planar. In cross section, it consists of a steeply dipping segment (75 deg dip NE) from the surface to 6- to 9-km depth, and a moderately dipping segment below 6- to 9-km depth (50-55 deg dip NE). It also appears to branch upward into a flower-like structure beginning below about 10-km depth. Images of the SAF zone in the Coachella Valley have been obtained from analysis of steep reflections, earthquakes, modeling of potential-field data, and P-wave tomography. Review of seismological and geodetic research on the 1989 M 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, in central California (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1550), shows several features of SAF zone structure similar to those seen in the northern Salton Trough. Aftershocks in the Loma Prieta epicentral area form two chief clusters, a tabular zone extending from 18- to 9-km depth and a complex cluster above 5-km depth. The deeper cluster has been interpreted to surround the chief rupture plane, which dips 65-70 deg SW. When double-difference earthquake locations are plotted, the shallower cluster contains tabular subclusters that appear to connect the main rupture with the surface traces of the Sargent and Berrocal faults. In addition, a diffuse cluster may surround a steep to vertical fault connecting the main rupture to the surface trace of the SAF. These interpreted fault connections from the main rupture to surface fault traces appear to define a flower-like structure, not unlike that seen above the moderately dipping segment of the SAF in the Coachella Valley. But importantly, the SAF, interpreted here to include the main rupture plane, appears segmented, as in the Coachella Valley, with a moderately dipping segment below 9-km depth and a steep to vertical segment above that depth. We hope to clarify fault-zone structure in the Loma Prieta area by reanalyzing active-source data collected after the earthquake for steep reflections.

Construction Foundation Report for Seepage Control Adits Abiquiu Dam and Reservoir, New Mexico

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-02

by broad folds and gentle regional dips to the north and west. Steeply dipping normal faults with a general north to northeast trend are common and...often exhibit throws in excess of 200 feet. Jointing is generally north-west to north-east and are nearly vertical to vertical. [1] The close of the...numerous minor joints. Joints faces in the mudstone are commonly striated and slickensided in random orientations. [1] The Agua Zarca Sandstone member of

Internal structure of Puna Ridge: evolution of the submarine East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai ̀i

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leslie, Stephen C.; Moore, Gregory F.; Morgan, Julia K.

2004-01-01

Multichannel seismic reflection, sonobuoy, gravity and magnetics data collected over the submarine length of the 75 km long Puna Ridge, Hawai ̀i, resolve the internal structure of the active rift zone. Laterally continuous reflections are imaged deep beneath the axis of the East Rift Zone (ERZ) of Kilauea Volcano. We interpret these reflections as a layer of abyssal sediments lying beneath the volcanic edifice of Kilauea. Early arrival times or 'pull-up' of sediment reflections on time sections imply a region of high P-wave velocity ( Vp) along the submarine ERZ. Refraction measurements along the axis of the ridge yield Vp values of 2.7-4.85 km/s within the upper 1 km of the volcanic pile and 6.5-7 km/s deeper within the edifice. Few coherent reflections are observed on seismic reflection sections within the high-velocity area, suggesting steeply dipping dikes and/or chaotic and fractured volcanic materials. Southeastward dipping reflections beneath the NW flank of Puna Ridge are interpreted as the buried flank of the older Hilo Ridge, indicating that these two ridges overlap at depth. Gravity measurements define a high-density anomaly coincident with the high-velocity region and support the existence of a complex of intrusive dikes associated with the ERZ. Gravity modeling shows that the intrusive core of the ERZ is offset to the southeast of the topographic axis of the rift zone, and that the surface of the core dips more steeply to the northwest than to the southeast, suggesting that the dike complex has been progressively displaced to the southeast by subsequent intrusions. The gravity signature of the dike complex decreases in width down-rift, and is absent in the distal portion of the rift zone. Based on these observations, and analysis of Puna Ridge bathymetry, we define three morphological and structural regimes of the submarine ERZ, that correlate to down-rift changes in rift zone dynamics and partitioning of intrusive materials. We propose that these correspond to evolutionary stages of developing rift zones, which may partially control volcano growth, mobility, and stability, and may be observable at many other oceanic volcanoes.

Geoelectric structure of northern Cambay rift basin from magnetotelluric data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danda, Nagarjuna; Rao, C. K.; Kumar, Amit

2017-10-01

Broadband and long-period magnetotelluric data were acquired over the northern part of the Cambay rift zone along an east-west profile 200 km in length. The decomposed TE- and TM-mode data were inverted using a 2-D nonlinear conjugate gradient algorithm to obtain the lithospheric structure of the region. A highly conductive ( 1000 S) layer was identified within the Cambay rift zone and interpreted as thick Quaternary and Tertiary sediments. The crustal conductors found in the profile were due to fluid emplacement in the western part, and the presence of fluids and/or interconnected sulfides caused by metamorphic phases in the eastern part. The demarcation of the Cambay rift zone is clearly delineated with a steeply dipping fault on the western margin, whereas the eastern margin of the rift zone gently dips along the NE-SW axis, representing a half-graben structure. A highly resistive body identified outside the rift zone is interpreted as an igneous granitic intrusive complex. Moderately conductive (30-100 Ω-m) zones indicate underplating and the presence of partial melt due to plume-lithosphere interactions.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Origin and nature of crystal reflections: Results from integrated seismic measurements at the KTB superdeep drilling site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harjes, H.-P.; Bram, K.; Dürbaum, H.-J.; Gebrande, H.; Hirschmann, G.; Janik, M.; KlöCkner, M.; Lüschen, E.; Rabbel, W.; Simon, M.; Thomas, R.; Tormann, J.; Wenzel, F.

1997-08-01

For almost 10 years the KTB superdeep drilling project has offered an excellent field laboratory for adapting seismic techniques to crystalline environments and for testing new ideas for interpreting seismic reflections in terms of lithological or textural properties of metamorphic rock units. The seismic investigations culminated in a three-dimensional (3-D) reflection survey on a 19×19 km area with the drill site at its center. Interpretation of these data resulted in a detailed, structural model of the German Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB) location with dominant, steep faults in the upper crust. The 3-D reflection survey was part of a suite of seismic experiments, ranging from wide-angle reflection and refraction profiles to standard vertical seismic profiles (VSP) and more sophisticated surface-to-borehole observations. It was predicted that the drill bit would meet the most prominent, steeply dipping, crustal reflector at a depth of about 6500-7000 m, and indeed, the borehole penetrated a major fault zone in the depth interval between 6850 and 7300 m. This reflector offered the rare opportunity to relate logging results, reflective properties, and geology to observed and modeled data. Post-Variscan thrusting caused cataclastic deformation, with partial, strong alterations within a steeply dipping reverse fault zone. This process generated impedance contrasts within the fault zone on a lateral scale large enough to cause seismic reflections. This was confirmed by borehole measurements along the whole 9.1 km deep KTB profile. The strongest, reflected signals originated from fluid-filled fractures and cataclastic fracture zones rather than from lithological boundaries (i.e., first-order discontinuities between different rock types) or from texture- and/or foliation-induced anisotropy. During the interpretation of seismic data at KTB several lessons were learned: Conventional processing of two-dimensional (2-D) reflection data from a presite survey showed predominantly subhorizontal layering in the upper crust with reflectivity striking in the Variscan direction. Drilling, however, revealed that all rock units are steeply dipping. This confirms that surface common depth point (CDP) seismics strongly enhances subhorizontal reflectivity and may thus produce a very misleading crustal image. Although this was shown for synthetic examples earlier, the KTB provides the experimental proof of how crucial this insight can be.

Microearthquakes in the ahuachapan geothermal field, el salvador, central america.

PubMed

Ward, P L; Jacob, K H

1971-07-23

Microearthquakes occur on a steeply dipping plane interpreted here as the fault that allows hot water to circulate to the surface in the geothermal region. These small earthquakes are common in many geothermal areas and may occur because of the physical or chemical effects of fluids and fluid pressure.

Oblique Northeastward Lateral Extrusion of a Crustal Block in North-central Taiwan: a Mechanism for Syn-tectonic Extension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gourley, J. R.; Byrne, T.

2005-12-01

An integrated data set of earthquake locations (Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau), focal mechanisms from the Broadband Array of Taiwan Seismicity (BATS), GPS velocities and geologic data are combined to constrain the geometry and kinematics of a crustal block within the metamorphic basement of Taiwan's northeastern Central Range. The active block is bounded by two parallel seismic zones that accommodate uplift and northeastward oblique lateral extrusion. The western shear zone is a region that dips vertically to steeply west and projects generally to the western boundary between the Slate Belt and pre-Tertiary metamorphic basement. BATS focal mechanisms consistently show east-side-up, left-lateral normal displacements. Late-stage geologic structures published previously show left-lateral faulting followed by east-west extension. The eastern shear zone dips vertically to steeply west and projects to the eastern boundary of the metamorphic basement, which correlates with the eastern mountain front in this area. BATS focal mechanisms show west-side-up reverse displacements. The kinematics of these two zones define a crustal scale block that is interpreted to be moving up and northeast towards the Okinawa Trough. The extrusion of this crustal block may be driven in part by the topographic difference between the Central Range and the Okinawa Trough, as well as by the active collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian basement high. This proposed northeastern lateral extrusion mirrors the active lateral extrusion in southwestern Taiwan which is observed on the southern side of the Eurasian basement high collision. The involvement of the basement high in the collision and adjacent regions appears to be an important factor in understanding local structural variations in the arc-continent collision and should be considered in both forward and reverse modeling of Taiwan deformation.

Oppositely dipping thrusts and transpressional imbricate zone in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abd El-Wahed, Mohamed A.

2014-12-01

This paper documents the 40-60 km wide ENE-WSW trending Mubarak-Barramiya shear belt (MBSB) in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt by examining its structural styles, kinematics and geometry. Our study revealed the existence of prevalent dextral and minor sinistral conjugate shear zones. The MBSB is metamorphic belt (greenschist-amphibolite) characterized by at least three post-collisional (740-540 Ma) ductile Neoproterozoic deformation events (D1, D2 and D3) followed by a brittle neotectonic deformation (D4). D1 event produced early top-to-the-northwest thrust displacements due to NW-SE shortening. D2 produced discrete zones of NNW-trending upright folds and culminated in initiation of major NW-trending sinistral shear zones of the Najd Fault System (NFS, at c. 640-540 Ma ago) as well as steeply dipping S2 foliation, and shallowly plunging L2 lineation. NW-to NNW-trending F2 folds are open to steep and vary in plunge from horizontal to vertical. D2 deformational fabrics are strongly overprinted by D3 penetrative structures. D3 is characterized by a penetrative S3 foliation, steeply SE- to NW-plunging and shallowly NE-plunging stretching lineations (L3), asymmetric and sheath folds (F3) consistent with dextral sense of movement exhibited by delta- and sigma-type porphyroclast systems and asymmetric boudinage fabrics. D2-D3 represent a non-coaxial progressive event formed in a dextral NE- over NW-sinistral shear zone during a partitioned transpression in response to E-W-directed compression during oblique convergence between East and West Gondwana developed due to closure of the Mozambique Ocean and amalgamation of the Arabian-Nubian Shield in Cryogenian-early Ediacaran time.

An integrated geophysical and hydraulic investigation to characterize a fractured-rock aquifer, Norwalk, Connecticut

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lane, J.W.; Williams, J.H.; Johnson, C.D.; Savino, D.M.; Haeni, F.P.

2002-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an integrated geophysical and hydraulic investigation at the Norden Systems, Inc. site in Norwalk, Connecticut, where chlorinated solvents have contaminated a fractured-rock aquifer. Borehole, borehole-to-borehole, surface-geophysical, and hydraulic methods were used to characterize the site bedrock lithology and structure, fractures, and transmissive zone hydraulic properties. The geophysical and hydraulic methods included conventional logs, borehole imagery, borehole radar, flowmeter under ambient and stressed hydraulic conditions, and azimuthal square-array direct-current resistivity soundings. Integrated interpretation of geophysical logs at borehole and borehole-to-borehole scales indicates that the bedrock foliation strikes northwest and dips northeast, and strikes north-northeast to northeast and dips both southeast and northwest. Although steeply dipping fractures that cross-cut foliation are observed, most fractures are parallel or sub-parallel to foliation. Steeply dipping reflectors observed in the radar reflection data from three boreholes near the main building delineate a north-northeast trending feature interpreted as a fracture zone. Results of radar tomography conducted close to a suspected contaminant source area indicate that a zone of low electromagnetic (EM) velocity and high EM attenuation is present above 50 ft in depth - the region containing the highest density of fractures. Flowmeter logging was used to estimate hydraulic properties in the boreholes. Thirty-three transmissive fracture zones were identified in 11 of the boreholes. The vertical separation between transmissive zones typically is 10 to 20 ft. Open-hole and discrete-zone transmissivity was estimated from heat-pulse flowmeter data acquired under ambient and stressed conditions. The open-hole transmissivity ranges from 2 to 86 ft2/d. The estimated transmissivity of individual transmissive zones ranges from 0.4 to 68 ft2/d. Drawdown monitoring in nearby boreholes under pumping conditions identified hydraulic connections along a northeast-southwest trend between boreholes as far as 560 ft apart. The vertical distribution of fractures can be described by power law functions, which suggest that the fracture network contains transmissive zones consisting of closely spaced fractures surrounded by a less fractured and much less permeable rock mass.

Geology of the Elephanta Island fault zone, western Indian rifted margin, and its significance for understanding the Panvel flexure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samant, Hrishikesh; Pundalik, Ashwin; D'souza, Joseph; Sheth, Hetu; Lobo, Keegan Carmo; D'souza, Kyle; Patel, Vanit

2017-02-01

The Panvel flexure is a 150-km long tectonic structure, comprising prominently seaward-dipping Deccan flood basalts, on the western Indian rifted margin. Given the active tectonic faulting beneath the Panvel flexure zone inferred from microseismicity, better structural understanding of the region is needed. The geology of Elephanta Island in the Mumbai harbour, famous for the ca. mid-6th century A.D. Hindu rock-cut caves in Deccan basalt (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is poorly known. We describe a previously unreported but well-exposed fault zone on Elephanta Island, consisting of two large faults dipping steeply east-southeast and producing easterly downthrows. Well-developed slickensides and structural measurements indicate oblique slip on both faults. The Elephanta Island fault zone may be the northern extension of the Alibag-Uran fault zone previously described. This and two other known regional faults (Nhava-Sheva and Belpada faults) indicate a progressively eastward step-faulted structure of the Panvel flexure, with the important result that the individual movements were not simply downdip but also oblique-slip and locally even rotational (as at Uran). An interesting problem is the normal faulting, block tectonics and rifting of this region of the crust for which seismological data indicate a normal thickness (up to 41.3 km). A model of asymmetric rifting by simple shear may explain this observation and the consistently landward dips of the rifted margin faults.

Internal architecture, permeability structure, and hydrologic significance of contrasting fault-zone types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rawling, Geoffrey C.; Goodwin, Laurel B.; Wilson, John L.

2001-01-01

The Sand Hill fault is a steeply dipping, large-displacement normal fault that cuts poorly lithified Tertiary sediments of the Albuquerque basin, New Mexico, United States. The fault zone does not contain macroscopic fractures; the basic structural element is the deformation band. The fault core is composed of foliated clay flanked by structurally and lithologically heterogeneous mixed zones, in turn flanked by damage zones. Structures present within these fault-zone architectural elements are different from those in brittle faults formed in lithified sedimentary and crystalline rocks that do contain fractures. These differences are reflected in the permeability structure of the Sand Hill fault. Equivalent permeability calculations indicate that large-displacement faults in poorly lithified sediments have little potential to act as vertical-flow conduits and have a much greater effect on horizontal flow than faults with fractures.

Structural architecture of the central Brooks Range foothills, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Thomas E.; Potter, Christopher J.; O'Sullivan, Paul B.

2002-01-01

Five structural levels underlie the Brooks Range foothills, from lowest to highest: (1) autochthon, at a depth of ~9 km; (2) Endicott Mountains allochthon (EMA), thickest under the northern Brooks Range (>15 km) and wedging out northward above the autochthon; (3) higher allochthons (HA), with a composite thickness of 1.5+ km, wedging out northward at or beyond the termination of EMA; (4) Aptian-Albian Fortress Mountain Formation (FM), deposited unconformably on deformed EMA and HA and thickening northward into a >7-km-thick succession of deformed turbidites (Torok Formation); (5) gently folded Albian-Cenomanian deltaic deposits (Nanushuk Group). The dominant faulting pattern in levels 2-3 is thin-skinned thrusting and thrust-related folds formed before deposition of Cretaceous strata. These structures are cut by younger steeply south-dipping reverse faults that truncate and juxtapose structural levels 1-4 and expose progressively deeper structural levels to the south. Structural levels 4-5 are juxtaposed along a north-dipping zone of south-vergent folds and thrusts. Stratigraphic and fission-track age data suggest a kinematic model wherein the foothills belt was formed first, by thrusting of HA and EMA as deformational wedges onto the regionally south-dipping authochon at 140-120Ma. After deposition of FM and Torok during mid-Cretaceous hinterland extension and uplift, a second episode of contractional deformation at 60 Ma shortened the older allochthonous deformational wedges (EMA, HA) and overlying strata on north-vergent reverse faults. To the north, where the allochthons wedge out, shortening caused duplexing in the Torok and development of a triangle zone south of the Tuktu escarpment.

Post-magmatic tectonic deformation of the outer Izu-Bonin-Mariana forearc system: initial results of IODP Expedition 352

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurz, Walter; Ferré, Eric C.; Robertson, Alastair; Avery, Aaron; Christeson, Gail L.; Morgan, Sally; Kutterorf, Steffen; Sager, William W.; Carvallo, Claire; Shervais, John; Party IODP Expedition 352, Scientific

2015-04-01

IODP Expedition 352 was designed to drill through the entire volcanic sequence of the Bonin forearc. Four sites were drilled, two on the outer fore arc and two on the upper trench slope. Site survey seismic data, combined with borehole data, indicate that tectonic deformation in the outer IBM fore arc is mainly post-magmatic. Post-magmatic extension resulted in the formation of asymmetric sedimentary basins such as, for example, the half-grabens at sites 352-U1439 and 352-U1442 located on the upper trench slope. Along their eastern margins these basins are bounded by west-dipping normal faults. Sedimentation was mainly syn-tectonic. The lowermost sequence of the sedimentary units was tilted eastward by ~20°. These tilted bedding planes were subsequently covered by sub-horizontally deposited sedimentary beds. Based on biostratigraphic constraints, the minimum age of the oldest sediments is ~ 35 Ma; the timing of the sedimentary unconformities lies between ~ 27 and 32 Ma. At sites 352-U1440 and 352-U1441, located on the outer forearc, post-magmatic deformation resulted mainly in strike-slip faults possibly bounding the sedimentary basins. The sedimentary units within these basins were not significantly affected by post-sedimentary tectonic tilting. Biostratigraphic ages indicate that the minimum age of the basement-cover contact lies between ~29.5 and 32 Ma. Overall, the post-magmatic tectonic structures observed during Expedition 352 reveal a multiphase tectonic evolution of the outer IBM fore arc. At sites 352-U1439 and 352-U1442, shear with dominant reverse to oblique reverse displacement was localized along distinct subhorizontal cataclastic shear zones as well as steeply dipping slickensides and shear fractures. These structures, forming within a contractional tectonic regime, were either re-activated as or cross-cut by normal-faults as well as strike-slip faults. Extension was also accommodated by steeply dipping to subvertical mineralized veins and extensional fractures. Faults observed at sites 352-U1440 and 352-U1441 show mainly strike-slip. The sediments overlying the igneous basement, of maximum Late Eocene to Recent age, document ash and aeolian input, together with mass wasting of the fault-bounded sediment ponds.

Analysis of fractures from borehole televiewer logs in a 500m deep hole at Xiaguan, Yunnan province, Southwest China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhai, Qingshan; Springer, J.E.; Zoback, M.D.

1990-01-01

Fractures from a 500 m deep hole in the Red River fault zone were analyzed using an ultrasonic borehole televiewer. Four hundred and eighty individual fractures were identified between 19 m and 465 m depth. Fracture frequency had no apparent relation to the major stratigraphic units and did not change systematically with depth. Fracture orientation, however, did change with stratigraphic position. The borehole intersected 14 m of Cenozoic deposits, 363 m of lower Ordovician clastic sediments, and 106 m of older ultramafic intrusions. The clastic sequence was encountered again at a depth of 484 m, suggesting a large fault displacement. Fractures in the top 162 m of the sedimentary section appear randomly distributed. Below that depth, they are steeply dipping with northerly and north-westerly strikes, parallel to the major active faults in the region. Fractures in the ultramafic section strike roughly eastwest and are steeply dipping. These orientations are confined to the ultramafic section and are parallel to an older, inactive regional fault set. ?? 1990.

Application of Borehole Geophysical Methods for Assessing Agro-Chemical Flow Paths in Fractured Bedrock Underlying the Black Brook Watershed, Northwestern New Brunswick

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desroches, A.; Butler, K.

2009-05-01

The upper Saint John River valley represents an economically important agricultural region that suffers from high nitrate levels in the groundwater as a result of fertilizer use. This study focuses on the fractured bedrock aquifer beneath the Black Brook Watershed, near Saint-Andre (Grand Falls), New Brunswick, where prediction of nitrate migration is limited by a lack of knowledge of the bedrock fracture characteristics. Bedrock consists of a fine-grained, siliciclastic unit of the Grog Brook Group gradationally overlain by a carbonate unit assigned to the Matapédia Group. Groundwater flow through the fractured bedrock is expected to be primarily influenced by the distribution and orientation of fractures in these rock units. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the select suite of borehole-geophysical tools used to identify and describe the fractured bedrock characteristics, and assists in understanding the migration pathways of agrochemical leachate from farm fields. Fracture datasets were acquired from five new vertical boreholes that ranged from 50 to 140 metres in depth, and from three outcrop locations along the new Trans-Canada Highway, approximately two kilometres away. The borehole-geophysical methods used included natural gamma ray (GR), single point resistance (SPR), spontaneous potential (SP), slim-hole optical borehole televiewer (OBI) and acoustic borehole televiewer (ABI). The ABI and OBI tools delivered high-resolution oriented images of the borehole walls, and enabled visualization of fractures in situ, and provided accurate information on the location, orientation, and aperture. The GR, SPR and SP logs identified changes in lithology, bed thickness and conductive fracture zones. Detailed inspection of the borehole televiewer images identified 390 fractures. Equal-area stereographic and rose diagrams of fracture planes have been used to identify three discrete fracture sets: 1) steeply dipping fractures that strike 068o/248o, with fracture subsets dipping roughly 70o to 80o towards the N-NW and S-SE; 2) steeply dipping fractures that strike towards 156o/336o, with fracture subsets dipping roughly 70o to 80o towards the NE and SW; and 3) primary set of moderately dipping fractures that strike 074o/254o and dip roughly 30o to 40o towards the SE. The strike of the steeply dipping fracture sets are oriented roughly perpendicular to each other, reflecting two distinct fracture generation events. The low-angle fractures are most common and correspond to openings along bedding planes that dip roughly 38o towards 164o. This is a result of penetrating only one limb of a fold; presumably a similar set of bedding-plane openings occur along the adjacent limb of the fold, with resultant fracture dips towards the northwest. Fractures exposed in outcrops along the Trans-Canada Highway exhibit a similar orientation distribution to that observed in the boreholes. However, as expected, these exposures show a greater proportion of fractures with dips between 80o and 90o, compared to the vertical boreholes. A Terzaghi fracture probability correction was applied to the boreholes in order to account for this bias. The combined fracture datasets provide valuable information towards understanding groundwater flow and migration pathways of fertilizer leachate into the bedrock aquifer, and will lead to the development of more complex hydrogeological models.

Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure of Mt. Etna, Italy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Villasenor, A.; Benz, H.M.; Filippi, L.; De Luca, G.; Scarpa, R.; Patane, G.; Vinciguerra, S.

1998-01-01

The three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure of Mt. Etna is determined to depths of 15 km by tomographic inversion of first arrival times from local earthquakes recorded by a network of 29 permanent and temporary seismographs. Results show a near-vertical low-velocity zone that extends from beneath the central craters to a depth of 10 km. This low-velocity region is coincident with a band of steeply-dipping seismicity, suggesting a magmatic conduit that feeds the summit eruptions. The most prominent structure is an approximately 8-km-diameter high-velocity body located between 2 and 12 km depth below the southeast flank of the volcano. This high-velocity body is interpreted as a remnant mafic intrusion that is an important structural feature influencing both volcanism and east flank slope stability and faulting.

Deformation driven by subduction and microplate collision: Geodynamics of Cook Inlet basin, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bruhn, R.L.; Haeussler, Peter J.

2006-01-01

Late Neogene and younger deformation in Cook Inlet basin is caused by dextral transpression in the plate margin of south-central Alaska. Collision and subduction of the Yakutat microplate at the northeastern end of the Aleutian subduction zone is driving the accretionary complex of the Chugach and Kenai Mountains toward the Alaska Range on the opposite side of the basin. This deformation creates belts of fault-cored anticlines that are prolific traps of hydrocarbons and are also potential sources for damaging earthquakes. The faults dip steeply, extend into the Mesozoic basement beneath the Tertiary basin fill, and form conjugate flower structures at some localities. Comparing the geometry of the natural faults and folds with analog models created in a sandbox deformation apparatus suggests that some of the faults accommodate significant dextral as well as reverse-slip motion. We develop a tectonic model in which dextral shearing and horizontal shortening of the basin is driven by microplate collision with an additional component of thrust-type strain caused by plate subduction. This model predicts temporally fluctuating stress fields that are coupled to the recurrence intervals of large-magnitude subduction zone earthquakes. The maximum principal compressive stress is oriented east-southeast to east-northeast with nearly vertical least compressive stress when the basin's lithosphere is mostly decoupled from the underlying subduction megathrust. This stress tensor is compatible with principal stresses inferred from focal mechanisms of earthquakes that occur within the crust beneath Cook Inlet basin. Locking of the megathrust between great magnitude earthquakes may cause the maximum principal compressive stress to rotate toward the northwest. Moderate dipping faults that strike north to northeast may be optimally oriented for rupture in the ambient stress field, but steeply dipping faults within the cores of some anticlines are unfavorably oriented with respect to both modeled and observed stress fields, suggesting that elevated fluid pressure may be required to trigger fault rupture. ?? 2006 Geological Society of America.

The Silent Canyon caldera complex: a three-dimensional model based on drill-hole stratigraphy and gravity inversion

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKee, Edwin H.; Hildenbrand, Thomas G.; Anderson, Megan L.; Rowley, Peter D.; Sawyer, David A.

1999-01-01

The structural framework of Pahute Mesa, Nevada, is dominated by the Silent Canyon caldera complex, a buried, multiple collapse caldera complex. Using the boundary surface between low density Tertiary volcanogenic rocks and denser granitic and weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks (basement) as the outer fault surfaces for the modeled collapse caldera complex, it is postulated that the caldera complex collapsed on steeply- dipping arcuate faults two, possibly three, times following eruption of at least two major ash-flow tuffs. The caldera and most of its eruptive products are now deeply buried below the surface of Pahute Mesa. Relatively low-density rocks in the caldera complex produce one of the largest gravity lows in the western conterminous United States. Gravity modeling defines a steep sided, cup-shaped depression as much as 6,000 meters (19,800 feet) deep that is surrounded and floored by denser rocks. The steeply dipping surface located between the low-density basin fill and the higher density external rocks is considered to be the surface of the ring faults of the multiple calderas. Extrapolation of this surface upward to the outer, or topographic rim, of the Silent Canyon caldera complex defines the upper part of the caldera collapse structure. Rock units within and outside the Silent Canyon caldera complex are combined into seven hydrostratigraphic units based on their predominant hydrologic characteristics. The caldera structures and other faults on Pahute Mesa are used with the seven hydrostratigraphic units to make a three-dimensional geologic model of Pahute Mesa using the "EarthVision" (Dynamic Graphics, Inc.) modeling computer program. This method allows graphic representation of the geometry of the rocks and produces computer generated cross sections, isopach maps, and three-dimensional oriented diagrams. These products have been created to aid in visualizing and modeling the ground-water flow system beneath Pahute Mesa.

Outward-dipping ring-fault structure at rabaul caldera as shown by earthquake locations.

PubMed

Mori, J; McKee, C

1987-01-09

The locations of a large number of earthquakes recorded at Rabaul caldera in Papua New Guinea from late 1983 to mid-1985 have produced a picture of this active caldera's structural boundary. The earthquake epicenters form an elliptical annulus about 10 kilometers long by 4 kilometers wide, centered in the southern part of the Rabaul volcanic complex. A set of events with well-constrained depth determinations shows a ring-fault structure that extends from the surface to a depth of about 4 kilometers and slopes steeply outward from the center of the caldera. This is the first geophysical data set that clearly outlines the orientation of an active caldera's bounding faults. This orientation, however, conflicts with the configuration of many other calderas and is not in keeping with currently preferred models of caldera formation.

Characterising the range of seismogenic behaviour on detachment faults - the case of 13o20'N, Mid Atlantic Ridge.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craig, T. J.; Parnell-Turner, R.

2017-12-01

Extension at slow- and intermediate-spreading mid-ocean ridges is commonly accommodated through slip on long-lived detachment faults. These curved, convex-upward faults consist of a steeply-dipping section thought to be rooted in the lower crust or upper mantle which rotates to progressively shallower dip-angles at shallower depths, resulting in a domed, sub-horizontal oceanic core complex at the seabed. Although it is accepted that detachment faults can accumulate kilometre-scale offsets over millions of years, the mechanism of slip, and their capacity to sustain the shear stresses necessary to produce large earthquakes, remains debated. In this presentation we will show a comprehensive seismological study of an active oceanic detachment fault system on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 13o20'N, combining the results from a local ocean-bottom seismograph deployment with waveform inversion of a series of larger, teleseismically-observed earthquakes. The coincidence of these two datasets provides a more complete characterisation of rupture on the fault, from its initial beginnings within the uppermost mantle to its exposure at the surface. Our results demonstrate that although slip on the steeply-dipping portion of detachment fault is accommodated by failure in numerous microearthquakes, the shallower-dipping section of the fault within the upper few kilometres is relatively strong, and is capable of producing large-magnitude earthquakes. Slip on the shallow portion of active detachment faults at relatively low angles may therefore account for many more large-magnitude earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges than previously thought, and suggests that the lithospheric strength at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges may be concentrated at shallow depths.

Crustal anisotropy across eastern Tibet and surroundings modeled as a depth-dependent tilted hexagonally symmetric medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Jiayi; Ritzwoller, Michael H.; Shen, Weisen; Wang, Weitao

2017-04-01

Two types of surface wave anisotropy are observed regularly by seismologists but are only rarely interpreted jointly: apparent radial anisotropy, which is the difference in propagation speed between horizontally and vertically polarized waves inferred from Love and Rayleigh waves, and apparent azimuthal anisotropy, which is the directional dependence of surface wave speeds (usually Rayleigh waves). We show that a new data set of Love and Rayleigh wave isotropic phase speeds and Rayleigh wave azimuthal anisotropy observed within and surrounding eastern Tibet can be explained simultaneously by modeling the crust as a depth-dependent tilted hexagonally symmetric (THS) medium. We specify the THS medium with depth-dependent hexagonally symmetric elastic tensors tilted and rotated through dip and strike angles and estimate these quantities using a Bayesian Monte Carlo inversion to produce a 3-D model of the crust and uppermost mantle on a 0.5° × 0.5° spatial grid. In the interior of eastern Tibet and in the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, we infer a steeply dipping THS upper crustal medium overlying a shallowly dipping THS medium in the middle-to-lower crust. Such vertical stratification of anisotropy may reflect a brittle to ductile transition in which shallow fractures and faults control upper crustal anisotropy and the crystal-preferred orientation of anisotropic (perhaps micaceous) minerals governs the anisotropy of the deeper crust. In contrast, near the periphery of the Tibetan Plateau the anisotropic medium is steeply dipping throughout the entire crust, which may be caused by the reorientation of the symmetry axes of deeper crustal anisotropic minerals as crustal flows are rotated near the borders of Tibet.

Dismembered Archaean ophiolite in the southeastern Wind River Mountains, Wyoming: Remains of Archaean oceanic crust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harper, G. D.

1986-01-01

Archean mafic and ultramafic rocks occur in the southeastern Wind River Mountains near Atlantic City, Wyoming and are interpreted to represent a dismembered ophiolite suite. The ophiolitic rocks occur in a thin belt intruded by the 2.6 Ga Louis Lake Batholith on the northwest. On the southeast they are in fault contact with the Miners Delight Formation comprised primarily of metagraywackes with minor calc-alkaline volcanics. The ophiolitic and associated metasedimentry rocks (Goldman Meadows Formation) have been multiply deformed and metamorphosed. The most prominant structures are a pronounced steeply plunging stretching lineation and steeply dipping foliation. These structural data indicate that the ophiolitic and associated metasedimentary rocks have been deformed by simple shear. The ophiolitic rocks are interpreted as the remains of Archean oceanic crust, probably formed at either a mid-ocean ridge or back-arc basin. All the units of a complete ophiolite are present except for upper mantle periodotities. The absence of upper mantle rocks may be the result of detactment within the crust, rather than within the upper mantle, during emplacement. This could have been the result of a steeper geothermal gradient in the Archean oceanic lithosphere, or may have resulted from a thicker oceanic crust in the Archean.

Mapping Inherited Fractures in the Critical Zone Using Seismic Anisotropy From Circular Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novitsky, Christopher G.; Holbrook, W. Steven; Carr, Bradley J.; Pasquet, Sylvain; Okaya, David; Flinchum, Brady A.

2018-04-01

Weathering and hydrological processes in Earth's shallow subsurface are influenced by inherited bedrock structures, such as bedding planes, faults, joints, and fractures. However, these structures are difficult to observe in soil-mantled landscapes. Steeply dipping structures with a dominant orientation are detectable by seismic anisotropy, with fast wave speeds along the strike of structures. We measured shallow ( 2-4 m) seismic anisotropy using "circle shots," geophones deployed in a circle around a central shot point, in a weathered granite terrain in the Laramie Range of Wyoming. The inferred remnant fracture orientations agree with brittle fracture orientations measured at tens of meters depth in boreholes, demonstrating that bedrock fractures persist through the weathering process into the shallow critical zone. Seismic anisotropy positively correlates with saprolite thickness, suggesting that inherited bedrock fractures may control saprolite thickness by providing preferential pathways for corrosive meteoric waters to access the deep critical zone.

Seismic-Reflection Technology Defines Potential Vertical Bypass in Hydrogeologic Confinement within Tertiary Carbonates of the Southeastern Florida Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, K. J.; Walker, C.; Westcott, R. L.

2011-12-01

Continuous improvements in shallow-focused, high-resolution, marine seismic-reflection technology has provided the opportunity to evaluate geologic structures that breach confining units of the Floridan aquifer system within the southeastern Florida Platform. The Floridan aquifer system is comprised mostly of Tertiary platform carbonates. In southeastern Florida, hydrogeologic confinement is important to sustainable use of the Floridan aquifer system, where the saline lower part is used for injection of wastewater and the brackish upper part is an alternative source of drinking water. Between 2007 and 2011, approximately 275 km of 24- and 48-channel seismic-reflection profiles were acquired in canals of peninsular southeastern Florida, Biscayne Bay, present-day Florida shelf margin, and the deeply submerged Miami Terrace. Vertical to steeply dipping offsets in seismic reflections indicate faults, which range from Eocene to possible early Pliocene age. Most faults are associated with karst collapse structures; however, a few tectonic faults of early Miocene to early Pliocene age are present. The faults may serve as a pathway for vertical groundwater flow across relatively low-permeability carbonate strata that separate zones of regionally extensive high-permeability in the Floridan aquifer system. The faults may collectively produce a regional confinement bypass system. In early 2011, twenty seismic-reflection profiles were acquired near the Key Biscayne submarine sinkhole located on the seafloor of the Miami Terrace. Here the water depth is about 365 m. A steeply dipping (eastward) zone of mostly deteriorated quality of seismic-reflection data underlies the sinkhole. Correlation of coherent seismic reflections within and adjacent to the disturbed zone indicates a series of faults occur within the zone. It is hypothesized that upward movement of groundwater within the zone contributed to development of a hypogenic karst system and the resultant overlying sinkhole. Study of this modern seafloor sinkhole may provide clues to the genesis of the more deeply buried Tertiary karst collapse structures. Three-dimensional geomodeling of the seismic-reflection data from the Key Biscayne sinkhole further aids visualization of the seismic stratigraphy and structural system that underlies the sinkhole.

Fault geometries in basement-induced wrench faulting under different initial stress states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naylor, M. A.; Mandl, G.; Supesteijn, C. H. K.

Scaled sandbox experiments were used to generate models for relative ages, dip, strike and three-dimensional shape of faults in basement-controlled wrench faulting. The basic fault sequence runs from early en échelon Riedel shears and splay faults through 'lower-angle' shears to P shears. The Riedel shears are concave upwards and define a tulip structure in cross-section. In three dimensions, each Riedel shear has a helicoidal form. The sequence of faults and three-dimensional geometry are rationalized in terms of the prevailing stress field and Coulomb-Mohr theory of shear failure. The stress state in the sedimentary overburden before wrenching begins has a substantial influence on the fault geometries and on the final complexity of the fault zone. With the maximum compressive stress (∂ 1) initially parallel to the basement fault (transtension), Riedel shears are only slightly en échelon, sub-parallel to the basement fault, steeply dipping with a reduced helicoidal aspect. Conversely, with ∂ 1 initially perpendicular to the basement fault (transpression), Riedel shears are strongly oblique to the basement fault strike, have lower dips and an exaggerated helicoidal form; the final fault zone is both wide and complex. We find good agreement between the models and both mechanical theory and natural examples of wrench faulting.

Seismic reflection images of shallow faulting, northernmost Mississippi embayment, north of the New Madrid seismic zone

USGS Publications Warehouse

McBride, J.H.; Nelson, W.J.

2001-01-01

High-resolution seismic reflection surveys document tectonic faults that displace Pleistocene and older strata just beyond the northeast termination of the New Madrid seismic zone, at the northernmost extent of the Mississippi embayment. These faults, which are part of the Fluorspar Area fault complex in southeastern Illinois, are directly in line with the northeast-trending seismic zone. The reflection data were acquired using an elastic weight-drop source recorded to 500 msec by a 48-geophone array (24-fold) with a 10-ft (??3.0m) station interval. Recognizable reflections were recorded to about 200 msec (100-150 m). The effects of multiple reflections, numerous diffractions, low apparent velocity (i.e., steeply dipping) noise, and the relatively low-frequency content of the recorded signal provided challenges for data processing and interpreting subtle fault offsets. Data processing steps that were critical to the detection of faults included residual statics, post-stack migration, deconvolution, and noise-reduction filtering. Seismic migration was crucial for detecting and mitigating complex fault-related diffraction patterns, which produced an apparent 'folding' of reflectors on unmigrated sections. Detected individual offsets of shallow reflectors range from 5 to 10 m for the top of Paleozoic bedrock and younger strata. The migrated sections generally indicate vertical to steeply dipping normal and reverse faults, which in places outline small horsts and/or grabens. Tilting or folding of stratal reflectors associated with faulting is also locally observed. At one site, the observed faulting is superimposed over a prominent antiformal structure, which may itself be a product of the Quaternary deformation that produced the steep normal and reverse faults. Our results suggest that faulting of the Paleozoic bedrock and younger sediments of the northern Mississippi embayment is more pervasive and less localized than previously thought.

Final Project Report: Imaging Fault Zones Using a Novel Elastic Reverse-Time Migration Imaging Technique

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

Huang, Lianjie; Chen, Ting; Tan, Sirui

Imaging fault zones and fractures is crucial for geothermal operators, providing important information for reservoir evaluation and management strategies. However, there are no existing techniques available for directly and clearly imaging fault zones, particularly for steeply dipping faults and fracture zones. In this project, we developed novel acoustic- and elastic-waveform inversion methods for high-resolution velocity model building. In addition, we developed acoustic and elastic reverse-time migration methods for high-resolution subsurface imaging of complex subsurface structures and steeply-dipping fault/fracture zones. We first evaluated and verified the improved capabilities of our newly developed seismic inversion and migration imaging methods using synthetic seismicmore » data. Our numerical tests verified that our new methods directly image subsurface fracture/fault zones using surface seismic reflection data. We then applied our novel seismic inversion and migration imaging methods to a field 3D surface seismic dataset acquired at the Soda Lake geothermal field using Vibroseis sources. Our migration images of the Soda Lake geothermal field obtained using our seismic inversion and migration imaging algorithms revealed several possible fault/fracture zones. AltaRock Energy, Inc. is working with Cyrq Energy, Inc. to refine the geologic interpretation at the Soda Lake geothermal field. Trenton Cladouhos, Senior Vice President R&D of AltaRock, was very interested in our imaging results of 3D surface seismic data from the Soda Lake geothermal field. He planed to perform detailed interpretation of our images in collaboration with James Faulds and Holly McLachlan of University of Nevada at Reno. Using our high-resolution seismic inversion and migration imaging results can help determine the optimal locations to drill wells for geothermal energy production and reduce the risk of geothermal exploration.« less

Deformation style of the Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in southern Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanjanapayont, Pitsanupong

2014-10-01

Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in southern Thailand are widespread from NNE-SSW and N-S in Chumphon and Trang provinces. The Mesozoic stratigraphic units are the marine Triassic Sai Bon Formation and the non-marine Jurassic-Cretaceous Thung Yai Group, the latter subdivided into Khlong Min, Lam Thap, Sam Chom, and Phun Phin Formations. These units overlie Permian carbonate rocks with an angular unconformity, and are overlain unconformably by Cenozoic units and the Quaternary sediments. The Mesozoic rocks have been folded to form two huge first-ordered syncline or synclinoria, the Chumphon and Surat Thani-Krabi-Trang synclinoria. These synclinoria are elongated in NNE-SSW to N-S direction, and incorporate asymmetric lower-order parasitic folds. The folds have moderately to steeply dipping eastward limbs and more gently dipping westward limbs. These folds were transected by brittle fractures in four major directions. These geologic structures indicate WNW-ESE to E-W contraction with top-to-the-east simple shear at some time before the deposition of the Cenozoic sedimentary units. No major deformation has affected the rocks subsequently, apart from the formation of the fault-controlled Cenozoic basins.

Shallow seismicity of arc-continent collision near Lae, Papua New Guinea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulig, Christopher; McCaffrey, Robert; Abers, Geoffrey A.; Letz, Horst

1993-11-01

In northeastern New Guinea, the narrow Ramu-Markham Valley (RMV) separates island arc rocks to the north from those of continental origin to the south and appears to be the western, onland extension of the New Britain trench. To explore the tectonic processes at the leading edge of the island arc during collision, we operated a portable seismic network for six weeks near the city of Lae at the eastern end of the RMV. We observed a narrow, near-vertical belt of seismicity between 10 and 30 km depth, that we call the Lae Seismic Zone (LSZ), starting at the RMV in the southwest and trending northeasterly cutting across surface geologic structure. The truncation of the LSZ along a steep plane by the Ramu-Markham Fault Zone (RMFZ) and earthquake first motions suggest that the earthquakes occur in the hanging wall of a steep, N-dipping fault that crops out at the RMFZ. We also consider that the LSZ is within the lower plate of a gently dipping thrust. Below 20 km depth the microearthquake zone is truncated by a gently, NE-dipping plane coinciding in depth and dip with nodal planes of recent large ( mb = 5.6 and 6.0) thrust earthquakes. We suggest that the Huon Peninsula is being emplaced onto the Australian plate along a gently (~ 25°) dipping thrust fault that is 20 km deep beneath Lae. The RMFZ may be a steeply dipping thrust fault that connects with this gently, N-dipping thrust but accommodates little convergence at present. The LSZ trends nearly perpendicular to an anticlinal range which appears to be sheared in a left-lateral sense. P-wave first motions for earthquakes in the LSZ with steep (70° to 90° dip) nodal planes that strike parallel to the LSZ suggest a component of south-side-up displacement also. Hence, the crustal block south of the LSZ may be rising relative to the Huon Peninsula and the rapid Quaternary uplift rates estimated for the Lae coastal region may be higher than the uplift rate of the Huon Peninsula as a whole. We suggest that the LSZ reveals a tear of small offset in the Huon terrane but may be similar to a structure that produced a magnitude 7 earthquake near Madang in 1970.

Gravity and Magnetic Anomaly Interpretations and 2.5D Cross-Section Models over the Border Ranges Fault System and Aleutian Subduction Zone, Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mankhemthong, N.; Doser, D. I.; Baker, M. R.; Kaip, G.; Jones, S.; Eslick, B. E.; Budhathoki, P.

2011-12-01

Quaternary glacial covers and lack of dense geophysical data on the Kenai Peninsula cause a location and geometry of the Border Ranges fault system (BRFS) within a recent forearc-accretionary boundary of Aleutian subduction zone in southern Alaska are unclear. Using new ~1,300 gravity collections within the Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula regions complied with prior 1997 gravity and aeromagnetic data help us better imaging these fault and the subduction structures. Cook Inlet forearc basin is corresponded by deep gravity anomaly lows; basin boundaries are characterized by a strong gravity gradient, where are considered to be traces of Border Ranges fault system on the east and Castle Mountain and Bruin Bay fault system on the west and northwest of the forearc basin respectively. Gravity anomaly highs over accreted rocks generally increase southeastward to the Aleutian trench, but show a gravity depression over the Kenai Mountains region. The lineament between gravity high and low in the same terrenes over the Kenai Peninsula is may be another evidence to determine the Southern Edge of the Yakutat Microplate (SEY) as inferred by Eberhart-Phillips et al. (2006). Our 2.5-D models illustrate the main fault of the BRFS dips steeply toward the west with a downslip displacement. Gravity and Magnetic anomaly highs, on the east of the BRFS, probably present a slice of the ultramafic complex emplaced by faults along the boundary of the forearc basin and accretionary wedge terranes. Another magnetic high beneath the basin in the southern forearc basin support a serpentiznied body inferred by Saltus et al. (2001), with a decreasing size toward the north. Regional density-gravity models show the Pacific subducting slab beneath the foreacre-arc teranes with a gentle and flatted dip where the subducting plate is located in north of SEY and dips more steeply where it is located on the south of SEY. The gravity depression over the accreted terrene can be explained by a density low slab beneath, which does not exist on the south. Results of 2.5-D density models will be used to guide the building of 3-D inversion models. Plausible interpretations of a modeling structure by implementing a 3-D model will be compared, and the most reasonable model will be used for structures representative of the BRFS including the subduction tectonics in southern Alaska.

Characterizing the Inner Accretionary Prism of the Nankai Trough with 3D Seismic and Logging While Drilling at IODP Site C0002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boston, B.; Moore, G. F.; Jurado, M. J.; Sone, H.; Tobin, H. J.; Saffer, D. M.; Hirose, T.; Toczko, S.; Maeda, L.

2014-12-01

The deeper, inner parts of active accretionary prisms have been poorly studied due the lack of drilling data, low seismic image quality and typically thick overlying sediments. Our project focuses on the interior of the Nankai Trough inner accretionary prism using deep scientific drilling and a 3D seismic cube. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 348 extended the existing riser hole to more than 3000 meters below seafloor (mbsf) at Site C0002. Logging while drilling (LWD) data included gamma ray, resistivity, resistivity image, and sonic logs. LWD analysis of the lower section revealed on the borehole images intense deformation characterized by steep bedding, faults and fractures. Bedding plane orientations were measured throughout, with minor gaps at heavily deformed zones disrupting the quality of the resistivity images. Bedding trends are predominantly steeply dipping (60-90°) to the NW. Interpretation of fractures and faults in the image log revealed the existence of different sets of fractures and faults and variable fracture density, remarkably high at fault zones. Gamma ray, resistivity and sonic logs indicated generally homogenous lithology interpretation along this section, consistent with the "silty-claystone" predominant lithologies described on cutting samples. Drops in sonic velocity were observed at the fault zones defined on borehole images. Seismic reflection interpretation of the deep faults in the inner prism is exceedingly difficult due to a strong seafloor multiple, high-angle bedding dips, and low frequency of the data. Structural reconstructions were employed to test whether folding of seismic horizons in the overlying forearc basin could be from an interpreted paleothrust within the inner prism. We used a trishear-based restoration to estimate fault slip on folded horizons landward of C0002. We estimate ~500 m of slip from a steeply dipping deep thrust within the last ~0.9 Ma. Folding is not found in the Kumano sediments near C0002, where normal faults and tilting dominate the modern basin deformation. Both logging and seismic are consistent in characterizing a heavily deformed inner prism. Most of this deformation must have occurred during or before formation of the overlying modern Kumano forearc basin sediments.

Steeply dipping heaving bedrock, Colorado: Part 3 - Environmental controls and heaving processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Noe, D.C.; Higgins, J.D.; Olsen, H.W.

2007-01-01

This paper examines the environmental processes and mechanisms that govern differential heaving in steeply dipping claystone bedrock near Denver, Colorado. Three potential heave mechanisms and causal processes were evaluated: (1) rebound expansion, from reduced overburden stress; (2) expansive gypsum-crystal precipitation, from oxidation of pyrite; and (3) swelling of clay minerals, from increased ground moisture. First, we documented the effect of short-term changes in overburden stress, atmospheric exposure, and ground moisture on bedrock at various field sites and in laboratory samples. Second, we documented differential heaving episodes in outcrops and at construction and developed sites. We found that unloading and exposure of the bedrock in construction-cut areas are essentially one-time processes that result in drying and desiccation of the near-surface bedrock, with no visible heaving response. In contrast, wetting produces a distinct swelling response in the claystone strata, and it may occur repeatedly as natural precipitation or from lawn irrigation. We documented 2.5 to 7.5 cm (1 to 3 in.) of differential heaving in 24 hours triggered by sudden infiltration of water at the exposed ground surface in outcrops and at construction sites. From these results, we interpret that rebound and pyrite weathering, both of which figure strongly into the long-term geologic evolution of the geologic framework, do not appear to be major heave mechanisms at these excavation depths. Heaving of the claystone takes two forms: (1) hydration swelling of dipping bentonitic beds or zones, and (2) hydration swelling within bedrock blocks accommodated by lateral, thrust-shear movements, along pre-existing bedding and fracture planes.

Kinematic variables and water transport control the formation and location of arc volcanoes.

PubMed

Grove, T L; Till, C B; Lev, E; Chatterjee, N; Médard, E

2009-06-04

The processes that give rise to arc magmas at convergent plate margins have long been a subject of scientific research and debate. A consensus has developed that the mantle wedge overlying the subducting slab and fluids and/or melts from the subducting slab itself are involved in the melting process. However, the role of kinematic variables such as slab dip and convergence rate in the formation of arc magmas is still unclear. The depth to the top of the subducting slab beneath volcanic arcs, usually approximately 110 +/- 20 km, was previously thought to be constant among arcs. Recent studies revealed that the depth of intermediate-depth earthquakes underneath volcanic arcs, presumably marking the slab-wedge interface, varies systematically between approximately 60 and 173 km and correlates with slab dip and convergence rate. Water-rich magmas (over 4-6 wt% H(2)O) are found in subduction zones with very different subduction parameters, including those with a shallow-dipping slab (north Japan), or steeply dipping slab (Marianas). Here we propose a simple model to address how kinematic parameters of plate subduction relate to the location of mantle melting at subduction zones. We demonstrate that the location of arc volcanoes is controlled by a combination of conditions: melting in the wedge is induced at the overlap of regions in the wedge that are hotter than the melting curve (solidus) of vapour-saturated peridotite and regions where hydrous minerals both in the wedge and in the subducting slab break down. These two limits for melt generation, when combined with the kinematic parameters of slab dip and convergence rate, provide independent constraints on the thermal structure of the wedge and accurately predict the location of mantle wedge melting and the position of arc volcanoes.

Large-scale mud diapirism as a record of late-stage Laramide tectonism within the Eocene Green River Formation, Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, Samuel M.; Klimek, Jason N.

2017-08-01

The Gruene and Verde mud diapirs, which range in size from 70 to 95 m in diameter, are exposed within the Wilkins Peak Member of the Eocene Green River Formation near Flaming Gorge Reservoir, southwest Wyoming. These diapirs are sourced from the lower unit of the Wilkins Peak Member (lower, middle, and upper units can be defined based on dominant lithology), and were emplaced into the upper unit of the Wilkins Peak Member, cross-cutting hundreds of meters of strata. The structures contain brecciated dolomicritic and lime mudstones with minor amounts of siliciclastic clays. Pervasive quartz veining is present throughout both diapirs. Though heavily disturbed, original bedding can be seen in both localities, either dipping radially outward towards the margins of the diapir as is dominant at the Gruene diapir or tilted but near horizontal as is the dominant expression at the smaller Verde diapir. The Gruene diapir can be seen in contact with several fluvial sandstone bodies within the upper Wilkins Peak strata in outcrop, and these fluvial sandstones transition from regional, near-horizontal dips to steeply dipping beds and bedsets within 50 m of the diapir. These sands show no signs of brittle deformation, and dip ranges from 20 to 50° radially away from the center of the diapir to the north, west, and east where sands are observed. These are interpreted here to have been deformed pre-lithification, at or near the surface, by the rising mud diapir, offering an important control on the timing of diapirism near the end of the early Eocene. Deformation structures such as clastic dikes, brecciation, and convoluted bedding have been documented by others at or near this stratigraphic interval in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, and these smaller structures have been interpreted as seismites. We suggest that these mud diapirs are a larger-scale expression of this same seismic activity.

Stress–strain state of adjacent rock mass under slice mining of steeply dipping ore bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baryshnikov, VD; Gakhova, LN

2018-03-01

Under analysis is the stress state of rock mass surrounding stopes in the initial cutting layer displaced in plan relative to the above-lying extracted layer in the overcut rock mass. The authors determine the boundaries of the post-limiting deformation zones during stoping advance using the Mohr–Coulomb criterion. The sequence of stoping to ensure better support conditions is proposed.

Geophysical investigation of the Denali fault and Alaska Range orogen within the aftershock zone of the October-November 2002, M = 7.9 Denali fault earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, M.A.; Nokleberg, W.J.; Ratchkovski, N.A.; Pellerin, L.; Glen, J.M.; Brocher, T.M.; Booker, J.

2004-01-01

The aftershock zone of the 3 November 2002, M = 7.9 earthquake that ruptured along the right-slip Denali fault in south-central Alaska has been investigated by using gravity and magnetic, magnetotelluric, and deep-crustal, seismic reflection data as well as outcrop geology and earthquake seismology. Strong seismic reflections from within the Alaska Range orogen north of the Denali fault dip as steeply as 25°N and extend to depths as great as 20 km. These reflections outline a relict crustal architecture that in the past 20 yr has produced little seismicity. The Denali fault is nonreflective, probably because this fault dips steeply to vertical. The most intriguing finding from geophysical data is that earthquake aftershocks occurred above a rock body, with low electrical resistivity (>10 Ω·m), that is at depths below ∼10 km. Aftershocks of the Denali fault earthquake have mainly occurred shallower than 10 km. A high geothermal gradient may cause the shallow seismicity. Another possibility is that the low resistivity results from fluids, which could have played a role in locating the aftershock zone by reducing rock friction within the middle and lower crust.

Depth-varying seismogenesis on an oceanic detachment fault at 13°20‧N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craig, Timothy J.; Parnell-Turner, Ross

2017-12-01

Extension at slow- and intermediate-spreading mid-ocean ridges is commonly accommodated through slip on long-lived faults called oceanic detachments. These curved, convex-upward faults consist of a steeply-dipping section thought to be rooted in the lower crust or upper mantle which rotates to progressively shallower dip-angles at shallower depths. The commonly-observed result is a domed, sub-horizontal oceanic core complex at the seabed. Although it is accepted that detachment faults can accumulate kilometre-scale offsets over millions of years, the mechanism of slip, and their capacity to sustain the shear stresses necessary to produce large earthquakes, remains subject to debate. Here we present a comprehensive seismological study of an active oceanic detachment fault system on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 13°20‧N, combining the results from a local ocean-bottom seismograph deployment with waveform inversion of a series of larger teleseismically-observed earthquakes. The unique coincidence of these two datasets provides a comprehensive definition of rupture on the fault, from the uppermost mantle to the seabed. Our results demonstrate that although slip on the deep, steeply-dipping portion of detachment faults is accommodated by failure in numerous microearthquakes, the shallow, gently-dipping section of the fault within the upper few kilometres is relatively strong, and is capable of producing large-magnitude earthquakes. This result brings into question the current paradigm that the shallow sections of oceanic detachment faults are dominated by low-friction mineralogies and therefore slip aseismically, but is consistent with observations from continental detachment faults. Slip on the shallow portion of active detachment faults at relatively low angles may therefore account for many more large-magnitude earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges than previously thought, and suggests that the lithospheric strength at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges may be concentrated at shallow depths.

Simulation of ground-water flow to assess geohydrologic factors and their effect on source-water areas for bedrock wells in Connecticut

USGS Publications Warehouse

Starn, J. Jeffrey; Stone, Janet Radway

2005-01-01

Generic ground-water-flow simulation models show that geohydrologic factors?fracture types, fracture geometry, and surficial materials?affect the size, shape, and location of source-water areas for bedrock wells. In this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, ground-water flow was simulated to bedrock wells in three settings?on hilltops and hillsides with no surficial aquifer, in a narrow valley with a surficial aquifer, and in a broad valley with a surficial aquifer?to show how different combinations of geohydrologic factors in different topographic settings affect the dimensions and locations of source-water areas in Connecticut. Three principal types of fractures are present in bedrock in Connecticut?(1) Layer-parallel fractures, which developed as partings along bedding in sedimentary rock and compositional layering or foliation in metamorphic rock (dips of these fractures can be gentle or steep); (2) unroofing joints, which developed as strain-release fractures parallel to the land surface as overlying rock was removed by erosion through geologic time; and (3) cross fractures and joints, which developed as a result of tectonically generated stresses that produced typically near-vertical or steeply dipping fractures. Fracture geometry is defined primarily by the presence or absence of layering in the rock unit, and, if layered, by the angle of dip in the layering. Where layered rocks dip steeply, layer-parallel fracturing generally is dominant; unroofing joints also are typically well developed. Where layered rocks dip gently, layer-parallel fracturing also is dominant, and connections among these fractures are provided only by the cross fractures. In gently dipping rocks, unroofing joints generally do not form as a separate fracture set; instead, strain release from unroofing has occurred along gently dipping layer-parallel fractures, enhancing their aperture. In nonlayered and variably layered rocks, layer-parallel fracturing is absent or poorly developed; fracturing is dominated by well-developed subhorizontal unroofing joints and steeply dipping, tectonically generated fractures and (or) cooling joints. Cross fractures (or cooling joints) in nonlayered and variably layered rocks have more random orientations than in layered rocks. Overall, nonlayered or variably layered rocks do not have a strongly developed fracture direction. Generic ground-water-flow simulation models showed that fracture geometry and other geohydrologic factors affect the dimensions and locations of source-water areas for bedrock wells. In general, source-water areas to wells reflect the direction of ground-water flow, which mimics the land-surface topography. Source-water areas to wells in a hilltop setting were not affected greatly by simulated fracture zones, except for an extensive vertical fracture zone. Source-water areas to wells in a hillside setting were not affected greatly by simulated fracture zones, except for the combination of a subhorizontal fracture zone and low bedrock vertical hydraulic conductivity, as might be the case where an extensive subhorizontal fracture zone is not connected or is poorly connected to the surface through vertical fractures. Source-water areas to wells in a narrow valley setting reflect complex ground-water-flow paths. The typical flow path originates in the uplands and passes through either till or bedrock into the surficial aquifer, although only a small area of the surficial aquifer actually contributes water to the well. Source-water areas in uplands can include substantial areas on both sides of a river. Source-water areas for wells in this setting are affected mainly by the rate of ground-water recharge and by the degree of anisotropy. Source-water areas to wells in a broad valley setting (bedrock with a low angle of dip) are affected greatly by fracture properties. The effect of a given fracture is to channel the

Subsurface geometry of the San Andreas-Calaveras fault junction: influence of serpentinite and the Coast Range Ophiolite

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watt, Janet Tilden; Ponce, David A.; Graymer, Russell W.; Jachens, Robert C.; Simpson, Robert W.

2014-01-01

While an enormous amount of research has been focused on trying to understand the geologic history and neotectonics of the San Andreas-Calaveras fault (SAF-CF) junction, fundamental questions concerning fault geometry and mechanisms for slip transfer through the junction remain. We use potential-field, geologic, geodetic, and seismicity data to investigate the 3-D geologic framework of the SAF-CF junction and identify potential slip-transferring structures within the junction. Geophysical evidence suggests that the San Andreas and Calaveras fault zones dip away from each other within the northern portion of the junction, bounding a triangular-shaped wedge of crust in cross section. This wedge changes shape to the south as fault geometries change and fault activity shifts between fault strands, particularly along the Calaveras fault zone (CFZ). Potential-field modeling and relocated seismicity suggest that the Paicines and San Benito strands of the CFZ dip 65° to 70° NE and form the southwest boundary of a folded 1 to 3 km thick tabular body of Coast Range Ophiolite (CRO) within the Vallecitos syncline. We identify and characterize two steeply dipping, seismically active cross structures within the junction that are associated with serpentinite in the subsurface. The architecture of the SAF-CF junction presented in this study may help explain fault-normal motions currently observed in geodetic data and help constrain the seismic hazard. The abundance of serpentinite and related CRO in the subsurface is a significant discovery that not only helps constrain the geometry of structures but may also help explain fault behavior and the tectonic evolution of the SAF-CF junction.

Strain distribution across a partially molten middle crust: Insights from the AMS mapping of the Carlos Chagas Anatexite, Araçuaí belt (East Brazil)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavalcante, Geane C. G.; Egydio-Silva, Marcos; Vauchez, Alain; Camps, Pierre; Oliveira, Eurídice

2013-10-01

The easternmost part of the Neoproterozoic Araçuaí belt comprises an anatectic domain that involves anatexites (the Carlos Chagas unit), leucogranites and migmatitic granulites that display a well-developed fabric. Microstructural observations support that the deformation occurred in the magmatic to submagmatic state. Structural mapping integrating field and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) revealed a complex, 3D structure. The northern domain displays gently dipping foliations bearing a NW-trending lineation, southward, the lineation trend progressively rotates to EW then SW and the foliation is gently folded. The eastern domain displays E-W and NE-SW trending foliations with moderate to steeply dips bearing a dominantly NS trending lineation. Magnetic mineralogy investigation suggests biotite as the main carrier of the magnetic susceptibility in the anatexites and ferromagnetic minerals in the granulites. Crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) measurements using the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique suggest that the magnetic fabric comes from the crystalline anisotropy of biotite and feldspar grains, especially. The delineation of several structural domains with contrasted flow fabric suggests a 3D flow field involving westward thrusting orthogonal to the belt, northwestward orogen-oblique escape tectonics and NS orogen-parallel flow. This complex deformation pattern may be due to interplay of collision-driven and gravity-driven deformations.

A Kosloff/Basal method, 3D migration program implemented on the CYBER 205 supercomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pyle, L. D.; Wheat, S. R.

1984-01-01

Conventional finite difference migration has relied on approximations to the acoustic wave equation which allow energy to propagate only downwards. Although generally reliable, such approaches usually do not yield an accurate migration for geological structures with strong lateral velocity variations or with steeply dipping reflectors. An earlier study by D. Kosloff and E. Baysal (Migration with the Full Acoustic Wave Equation) examined an alternative approach based on the full acoustic wave equation. The 2D, Fourier type algorithm which was developed was tested by Kosloff and Baysal against synthetic data and against physical model data. The results indicated that such a scheme gives accurate migration for complicated structures. This paper describes the development and testing of a vectorized, 3D migration program for the CYBER 205 using the Kosloff/Baysal method. The program can accept as many as 65,536 zero offset (stacked) traces.

A new perspective on the geometry of the San Andreas Fault in southern California and its relationship to lithospheric structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fuis, Gary S.; Scheirer, Daniel S.; Langenheim, Victoria; Kohler, Monica D.

2012-01-01

The widely held perception that the San Andreas fault (SAF) is vertical or steeply dipping in most places in southern California may not be correct. From studies of potential‐field data, active‐source imaging, and seismicity, the dip of the SAF is significantly nonvertical in many locations. The direction of dip appears to change in a systematic way through the Transverse Ranges: moderately southwest (55°–75°) in the western bend of the SAF in the Transverse Ranges (Big Bend); vertical to steep in the Mojave Desert; and moderately northeast (37°–65°) in a region extending from San Bernardino to the Salton Sea, spanning the eastern bend of the SAF in the Transverse Ranges. The shape of the modeled SAF is crudely that of a propeller. If confirmed by further studies, the geometry of the modeled SAF would have important implications for tectonics and strong ground motions from SAF earthquakes. The SAF can be traced or projected through the crust to the north side of a well documented high‐velocity body (HVB) in the upper mantle beneath the Transverse Ranges. The north side of this HVB may be an extension of the plate boundary into the mantle, and the HVB would appear to be part of the Pacific plate.

Active backstop faults in the Mentawai region of Sumatra, Indonesia, revealed by teleseismic broadband waveform modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin; Bradley, Kyle Edward; Wei, Shengji; Wu, Wenbo

2018-02-01

Two earthquake sequences that affected the Mentawai islands offshore of central Sumatra in 2005 (Mw 6.9) and 2009 (Mw 6.7) have been highlighted as evidence for active backthrusting of the Sumatran accretionary wedge. However, the geometry of the activated fault planes is not well resolved due to large uncertainties in the locations of the mainshocks and aftershocks. We refine the locations and focal mechanisms of medium size events (Mw > 4.5) of these two earthquake sequences through broadband waveform modeling. In addition to modeling the depth-phases for accurate centroid depths, we use teleseismic surface wave cross-correlation to precisely relocate the relative horizontal locations of the earthquakes. The refined catalog shows that the 2005 and 2009 "backthrust" sequences in Mentawai region actually occurred on steeply (∼60 degrees) landward-dipping faults (Masilo Fault Zone) that intersect the Sunda megathrust beneath the deepest part of the forearc basin, contradicting previous studies that inferred slip on a shallowly seaward-dipping backthrust. Static slip inversion on the newly-proposed fault fits the coseismic GPS offsets for the 2009 mainshock equally well as previous studies, but with a slip distribution more consistent with the mainshock centroid depth (∼20 km) constrained from teleseismic waveform inversion. Rupture of such steeply dipping reverse faults within the forearc crust is rare along the Sumatra-Java margin. We interpret these earthquakes as 'unsticking' of the Sumatran accretionary wedge along a backstop fault separating imbricated material from the stronger Sunda lithosphere. Alternatively, the reverse faults may have originated as pre-Miocene normal faults of the extended continental crust of the western Sunda margin. Our waveform modeling approach can be used to further refine global earthquake catalogs in order to clarify the geometries of active faults.

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

Huntsman, J.R.

Eastern slate belt lithologies in the central Flowers quadrangle consist of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. Very fine-grained quartz-white mica phyllite containing narrow, discontinuous layers of thinly laminated chlorite-rich rock and fine-grained, thinly layered, feldspar crystal felsic metatuff comprise the dominant, mappable units consistent across the quadrangle. An increase in grain size accompanied by a replacement of chlorite-rich lithologies with biotite [+-] garnet assemblages suggest metamorphic grade increases towards the western half of the quadrangle (quartz-muscovite schist and biotite-quartz-muscovite-feldspar gneiss). An early, northeast-trending foliation (050[degree] to 060[degree]) dipping moderately to steeply southeast persists across the quadrangle and is axial planar tomore » tight to isoclinal, recumbent to moderately inclined folds. Later non-coaxial folding produced steeply plunging, northerly trending (000[degree] to 020[degree]), open, asymmetric structures verging towards the east/southeast. Shear zones formed locally along the axial trend of these later folds and produced protomylonitic to mylonitic ( ) fabrics. Map patterns and cross-sectional interpretations are best explained by modification of zig-zag fold interference patterns. Thin section examination reveals garnets growing across the early axial planar foliation. The observed increase in metamorphic grade across the quadrangle matches the regional Alleghanian prograde event and constrains relative timing of observed deformational fabrics. Noticeably absent are regional, late-stage upright folds.« less

Marine geology and earthquake hazards of the San Pedro Shelf region, southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, Michael A.; Normark, William R.; Langenheim, V.E.; Calvert, Andrew J.; Sliter, Ray

2004-01-01

High-resolution seismic-reflection data have been com- bined with a variety of other geophysical and geological data to interpret the offshore structure and earthquake hazards of the San Pedro Shelf, near Los Angeles, California. Prominent structures investigated include the Wilmington Graben, the Palos Verdes Fault Zone, various faults below the western part of the shelf and slope, and the deep-water San Pedro Basin. The structure of the Palos Verdes Fault Zone changes mark- edly southeastward across the San Pedro Shelf and slope. Under the northern part of the shelf, this fault zone includes several strands, but the main strand dips west and is probably an oblique-slip fault. Under the slope, this fault zone con- sists of several fault strands having normal separation, most of which dip moderately east. To the southeast near Lasuen Knoll, the Palos Verdes Fault Zone locally is a low-angle fault that dips east, but elsewhere near this knoll the fault appears to dip steeply. Fresh sea-floor scarps near Lasuen Knoll indi- cate recent fault movement. The observed regional structural variation along the Palos Verdes Fault Zone is explained as the result of changes in strike and fault geometry along a master strike-slip fault at depth. The shallow summit and possible wavecut terraces on Lasuen knoll indicate subaerial exposure during the last sea-level lowstand. Modeling of aeromagnetic data indicates the presence of a large magnetic body under the western part of the San Pedro Shelf and upper slope. This is interpreted to be a thick body of basalt of Miocene(?) age. Reflective sedimentary rocks overlying the basalt are tightly folded, whereas folds in sedimentary rocks east of the basalt have longer wavelengths. This difference might mean that the basalt was more competent during folding than the encasing sedimentary rocks. West of the Palos Verdes Fault Zone, other northwest-striking faults deform the outer shelf and slope. Evidence for recent movement along these faults is equivocal, because age dates on deformed or offset sediment are lacking.

Structure of the San Andreas fault zone at SAFOD from a seismic refraction survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hole, J.A.; Ryberg, T.; Fuis, G.S.; Bleibinhaus, F.; Sharma, A.K.

2006-01-01

Refraction traveltimes from a 46-km long seismic survey across the San Andreas Fault were inverted to obtain two-dimensional velocity structure of the upper crust near the SAFOD drilling project. The model contains strong vertical and lateral velocity variations from <2 km/s to ???6 km/s. The Salinian terrane west of the San Andreas Fault has much higher velocity than the Franciscan terrane east of the fault. Salinian basement deepens from 0.8 km subsurface at SAFOD to ???2.5 km subsurface 20 km to the southwest. A strong reflection and subtle velocity contrast suggest a steeply dipping fault separating the Franciscan terrane from the Great Valley Sequence. A low-velocity wedge of Cenozoic sedimentary rocks lies immediately southwest of the San Andreas Fault. This body is bounded by a steep fault just northeast of SAFOD and approaches the depth of the shallowest earthquakes. Multiple active and inactive fault strands complicate structure near SAFOD. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Juxtaposition of contrasting structural regimes across a portion of the Norumbega fault system in the northern Casco Bay region of Maine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, D. P., Jr.; Hussey, A. M., II

2015-12-01

It has long been recognized that Paleozoic stratified rocks in some regions of central New England are dominated by relatively flat structural features (e.g., recumbent folds, shallow dipping foliation) while other areas are dominated by near vertical upright structures. The northern Casco Bay region of coastal Maine (Brunswick 7.5' quadrangle and adjacent areas) provides an excellent venue for studying the relationships between these two structural regimes as they are in close proximity due to juxtaposition by high angle faulting associated with the Norumbega fault system. Stratified rocks exposed west of the Flying Point fault in northern Casco Bay are dominated by moderately east dipping foliation (ave. = 025o, 37o), moderate northeast plunging mineral lineations, and recumbent to gently inclined minor folds. In stark contrast, immediately east of the Flying Point fault, stratified rocks are dominated by steep east dipping foliation (ave. = 014o, 73o), subhorizontal mineral lineations, and upright to steeply inclined minor folds. The structural differences correspond directly to differences in the thermal histories preserved in these rocks as revealed by earlier thermochronological studies. Rocks in the zone of upright structures east of the Flying Point fault were last subjected to high grade metamorphic conditions and granitic plutonism in the Late Devonian and were relatively cold (<300oC) by Late Carboniferous time. In contrast, flat lying rocks west of the Flying Point fault were over 500oC in the Early Permian and Permian pegmatites are common. Geochronological studies north of the study area have revealed that the two distinctly different structural styles are not the product of strain partitioning during the same deformational episode, but rather they represent two temporally and kinematically distinct deformational events. Swanson (1999), originally suggested flat structures west of the Flying Point fault are consistent with an episode of northwest directed thrusting and our findings are consistent with this interpretation. However, this flat phase of deformation significantly post-dates the older upright structures preserved to the east and thus models for the structural evolution of the region must integrate both the kinematic and temporal differences in this deformation.

Eastern boundary of the Siletz terrane in the Puget Lowland from gravity and magnetic modeling with implications for seismic hazard analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, M. L.; Blakely, R. J.; Wells, R. E.; Dragovich, J.

2011-12-01

The forearc of the Cascadia subduction zone in coastal Oregon and Washington is largely composed of a 15-30 km-thick stack of basalt flows comprising the Crescent Formation (WA) and Siletz River Volcanics (OR), and collectively termed the Siletz terrane. We are developing 3-D structural maps of the Puget Lowland to distinguish older and currently active structures for seismic hazard analysis. The boundaries of the Siletz terrane in particular may strongly influence crustal rheology and neotectonic structures of the region. Careful analysis of the areal extent of this terrane will also facilitate more accurate interpretation of seismic data and gravity anomalies, which will help define the extent and shape of overlying basins. Absence of extensive outcrop in the Lowland and a widespread veneer of Quaternary deposits require extensive subsurface geophysical studies to establish Lowland-wide crustal structure. Previous studies have used active seismic surveys and interpretation of existing industry seismic data, with several studies using gravity and magnetic data or passive-source tomography support. However, steeply dipping boundaries in the mid-crust are difficult targets for seismic study. We need to independently discriminate between potential models established by seismic data using gravity and magnetic datasets. In the Puget Lowland the Siletz is a region of high seismic wave speed, density, and magnetic susceptibility, and therefore its mid-crustal boundaries are good targets for definition by gravity and magnetic data. We present interpretations of gravity and magnetic anomalies for the Puget Lowland region that together establish the most likely position and structure of the Crescent Formation boundary in the mid-upper crust. Well-constrained physical properties of Crescent basalts inform our aeromagnetic map interpretation and give us baseline values for constructing three two-dimensional models by simultaneous forward modeling of aeromagnetic and isostatic gravity anomalies for the Lowland. Based on this work, the likely position of the eastern boundary of the Siletz terrane is east of the Puget Sound and west of the foothills of the Cascade arc, extending in a north-trending line through Lake Washington and merging to the north with the Southern Whidbey Island fault zone. Our preferred location agrees with suggested locations from past study of seismic data targeted at the Seattle basin, but we extend that location through the entire Puget Lowland by analysis of magnetic potential calculated from aeromagnetic data. We also find that the boundary is sharp and most likely dips west, suggesting a reverse-fault juxtaposition of Crescent rocks against Western Melange belt lithologies. The Crescent itself contains steeply dipping packages of basalt of contrasting magnetic character, indicating significant deformation within the Crescent formation under the Seattle uplift. Finally, the boundary location implies that the eastern third of the Seattle basin is shallower than previously estimated from gravity data.

Thin-skinned tectonics of upper Ojai Valley and Sulfur Mountain vicinity, Ventura basin, California

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

Huftile, G.J.

1988-03-01

The Upper Ojai Valley is a tectonic depression between opposing reverse faults. The active, north-dipping San Cayetano fault forms its northern border and has 5.8 km of dip-slip displacement at the Silverthread oil field and 2.6 km of displacement west of Sisar Creek. The fault dies out farther west in Ojai Valley. The southern border is formed by the late Quaternary Sisar-Big-Canyon-Lion fault set, which dips south and merges into a decollement within the south-dipping, ductile Rincon Formation. Folds with north-dipping fold axes, including the Lion Mountain anticline and Reeves syncline, are probably Pliocene. During the late Quaternary, the Sulfurmore » Mountain anticlinorium began forming as a fault-propagation fold, followed closely by the ramping of the south-dipping faults to the surface. One, the Lion fault, cuts the Pleistocene Saugus Formation. To the east, the San Cayetano fault overrides and folds the south-dipping faults. Cross-section balancing shows that the Miocene and younger rocks above the decollement are shortened 6.1 km more than the more competent rocks below. A solution to this bed-length problem is that the decollement becomes a ramp and merges at depth with the steeply south-dipping Oak Ridge fault. This implies that the Sisar, Big Canyon, and Lion faults are frontal thrusts to the Oak Ridge fault. Oil is produced primarily from Mohnian sands and shales north of the Big Canyon fault and from fractured Mohnian shale beneath the Sisar fault.« less

Structural and diagenetic evolution of deformation bands in contractional and extensional tectonic regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichhubl, P.; O'Brien, C. M.; Elliott, S. J.

2016-12-01

Mechanisms of brittle deformation of sediments and sedimentary rock change with burial because of increasing confining stress, change in pore fluid chemical and temperature conditions, and diagenetic state. In the field, these changes are observed in a transition from early non-cataclastic to later cataclastic deformation bands and to joint-based structures. Jurassic eolian sandstones in the San Rafael monocline and adjacent San Rafael Desert region, Utah, allow comparison of deformation band structures and their diagenetic attributes in contractional and extensional tectonic settings in close proximity. In the Entrada and Navajo Sandstones, we observe up to six generations of deformation bands, with earliest non-cataclastic bands having diffuse boundaries to host rock, and short and irregular traces. Later bands are cataclastic, more sharply defined, with long and straight traces. Cataclastic bands in the San Rafael monocline are interpreted to form as reverse faults during progressive rotation of the steeply dipping fold limb, resulting in an array of bands of varying dip. Bands in the San Rafael Desert form as normal faults with a narrower dip range. Although structural characteristics of bands differ in extensional and contractional tectonic regimes, cataclastic bands in either regime have comparable amount of porosity loss and quartz cementation indicating that tectonic regime does not influence band diagenesis. Abundance of quartz cement in bands, determined by point counting of SEM images, increases from earlier to later generations of bands and, within a single generation, with increasing slip along the band, reaching up to 24% of band volume. This trend is attributed to an increase in cataclasis with increasing host rock cementation and confining stress during burial, and, within the same generation, with increasing slip. Porosity loss by cementation tends to dominate over porosity loss by mechanical compaction. These findings demonstrate that quartz cementation and thus band permeability are primarily controlled by the degree of cataclasis in the bands, and highlight the interdependence of mechanical deformation and chemical diagenetic processes in deformation bands.

The offshore Palos Verdes fault zone near San Pedro, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, M.A.; Normark, W.R.; Langenheim, V.E.; Calvert, A.J.; Sliter, R.

2004-01-01

High-resolution seismic-reflection data are combined with a variety of other geophysical and geological data to interpret the offshore structure and earthquake hazards of the San Pedro shelf, near Los Angeles, California. Prominent structures investigated include the Wilmington graben, the Palos Verdes fault zone, various faults below the west part of the San Pedro shelf and slope, and the deep-water San Pedro basin. The structure of the Palos Verdes fault zone changes markedly along strike southeastward across the San Pedro shelf and slope. Under the north part of the shelf, this fault zone includes several strands, with the main strand dipping west. Under the slope, the main fault strands exhibit normal separation and mostly dip east. To the southeast near Lasuen Knoll, the Palos Verdes fault zone locally is low angle, but elsewhere near this knoll, the fault dips steeply. Fresh seafloor scarps near Lasuen Knoll indicate recent fault movement. We explain the observed structural variation along the Palos Verdes fault zone as the result of changes in strike and fault geometry along a master right-lateral strike-slip fault at depth. Complicated movement along this deep fault zone is suggested by the possible wave-cut terraces on Lasuen Knoll, which indicate subaerial exposure during the last sea level lowstand and subsequent subsidence of the knoll. Modeling of aeromagnetic data indicates a large magnetic body under the west part of the San Pedro shelf and upper slope. We interpret this body to be thick basalt of probable Miocene age. This basalt mass appears to have affected the pattern of rock deformation, perhaps because the basalt was more competent during deformation than the sedimentary rocks that encased the basalt. West of the Palos Verdes fault zone, other northwest-striking faults deform the outer shelf and slope. Evidence for recent movement along these faults is equivocal, because we lack age dates on deformed or offset sediment.

Optimizing the design of vertical seismic profiling (VSP) for imaging fracture zones over hardrock basement geothermal environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiser, Fabienne; Schmelzbach, Cedric; Maurer, Hansruedi; Greenhalgh, Stewart; Hellwig, Olaf

2017-04-01

A primary focus of geothermal seismic imaging is to map dipping faults and fracture zones that control rock permeability and fluid flow. Vertical seismic profiling (VSP) is therefore a most valuable means to image the immediate surroundings of an existing borehole to guide, for example, the placing of new boreholes to optimize production from known faults and fractures. We simulated 2D and 3D acoustic synthetic seismic data and processed it through to pre-stack depth migration to optimize VSP survey layouts for mapping moderately to steeply dipping fracture zones within possible basement geothermal reservoirs. Our VSP survey optimization procedure for sequentially selecting source locations to define the area where source points are best located for optimal imaging makes use of a cross-correlation statistic, by which a subset of migrated shot gathers is compared with a target or reference image from a comprehensive set of source gathers. In geothermal exploration at established sites, it is reasonable to assume that sufficient à priori information is available to construct such a target image. We generally obtained good results with a relatively small number of optimally chosen source positions distributed over an ideal source location area for different fracture zone scenarios (different dips, azimuths, and distances from the surveying borehole). Adding further sources outside the optimal source area did not necessarily improve the results, but rather resulted in image distortions. It was found that fracture zones located at borehole-receiver depths and laterally offset from the borehole by 300 m can be imaged reliably for a range of the different dips, but more source positions and large offsets between sources and the borehole are required for imaging steeply dipping interfaces. When such features cross-cut the borehole, they are particularly difficult to image. For fracture zones with different azimuths, 3D effects are observed. Far offset source positions contribute less to the image quality as fracture zone azimuth increases. Our optimization methodology is best suited for designing future field surveys with a favorable benefit-cost ratio in areas with significant à priori knowledge. Moreover, our optimization workflow is valuable for selecting useful subsets of acquired data for optimum target-oriented processing.

Localization of uranium minerals in channel sediments at the base of the Shinarump conglomerate, Monument Valley, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Witkind, I.J.

1954-01-01

formation (Permian) to the Salt Wash member of the Morrison formation (Jurassic), The dominant structural element of the area is the Monument upwarp, a arge asymmetrical anticline whose northern end is near the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers in Utah, and whose southern end disappears near Kayenta, Ariz. Asymmetrical anticlines with steeply dipping east flanks and gently dipping west flanks are superimposed on the upwarp. These subsidiary structures trend north. The uranium ore bodies are localized in conglomeratic sandstone of the Upper Triassic Shinarump conglomerate that fills channels scoured in the underlying Lower and Middle (?) Triassic Moenkopi formation. These channels range from relatively narrow and shallow ones 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep to much broader and deeper ones 2,300 feet wide and 70 feet deep. Two types of channels can be distinguished-r-a short-type less than 2 miles Iong 5 and a long-type traceable for distances greater than 2 miles Plant matter in the form of trees, branches,'and twigs was deposited with Shinarump sediments in the channels. It is suggested that when the Shinarump conglomerate was invaded by mineralizing solutions the uranium ore was deposited primarily in localities formerly occupied by the plant material. Further, it is suggested that the short channels are more likely to have ore accumulations than long channels.

Demonstration of Advanced Geophysics and Classification Methods on Munitions Response Sites - East Fork Valley Range Complex, Former Camp Hale

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

with cores of igneous and metamorphic rocks flanked by steeply dipping sedimentary rocks . The valley floors range in elevation from about 9,310 to...Camp Hale, East Fork Valley Range Complex Munitions Response Site. This project is one in a series of projects funded by ESTCP to use advanced...Technology Certification Program ft Feet FUDS Formerly Used Defense Site GPS Global Positioning System ID Identification IMU Inertial Measurement Unit

Deformation Analyses and Lithologic Characterization in Overpressured Basins Based on Logging While Drilling and Wireline Results from the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iturrino, G. J.; Pirmez, C.; Moore, J. C.; Reichow, M. K.; Dugan, B. E.; Sawyer, D. E.; Flemings, P. B.; Shipboard Scientific Party, I.

2005-12-01

IODP Expedition 308 drilled transects along the Brazos-Trinity IV and Ursa Basins in the western and eastern Gulf of Mexico, respectively, for examining how sedimentation, overpressure, fluid flow, and deformation are coupled in passive margin settings. A total of eight holes were logged using either logging while drilling (LWD) or wireline techniques to evaluate the controls on slope stability, understand the timing of sedimentation and slumping, establish the petrophysical properties of shallow sediments, and provide a better understanding of turbidite systems. Overall, the log responses vary for the different lithostratigraphic units and associated regional seismic reflectors. The data acquired also make bed-to-bed correlation between sites possible, which is valuable for the study of sandy turbidites and studies of regional deformation. The thick sedimentary successions drilled at these basins show records of the evolution of channel-levee systems composed of low relief channels that were incapable of confining the turbidity currents causing an overspill of sand and silt. In addition, mass transport deposits at shallow depths, and transitions between interbedded silt, sand, and mud units are common features identified in many of the downhole logging data. In the Ursa Basin sediments, resistivity-at-the-bit images show significant deformation of the overlying hemipelagic drape and distal turbidites that were drilled in these areas. Numerous dipping beds throughout these intervals with dips ranging from 5 to 55 degrees confirm core observations. Steeply deformed beds, with dips as high as 65 degrees, and folded and faulted beds suggest down slope remobilization as mass-transport deposits. Resistivity images also show evidence of these mass-transport deposits where steep dips and folds suggest the presence of overturned beds within a series of cyclic intervals that we interpret as a succession of sand-silt-mud lamina. Preliminary structural analyses suggest that many of the deformation features trend in an E-W direction with the majority dipping to the north.

Crustal structure in the Kiruna area, northern Sweden, based on seismic reflection profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juhojuntti, Niklas; Bergman, Stefan; Olsson, Sverker

2013-04-01

Northernmost Sweden is currently one of the most active mining areas in Europe. In order to better understand the regional three-dimensional crustal structure and to support deep ore exploration, we have acquired a 74 km long seismic reflection profile in the Kiruna area. The upper crust in this area is largely composed of various supracrustal units, which are dominated by metabasalts, acidic metavolcanics and clastic metasedimentary rocks, resting on an Archaean metagranitoid complex. All of these units have been intruded by plutonic rocks, and to variable degrees folded, sheared and metamorphosed, during the Svecokarelian orogeny. The profile crosses several steep ductile shear zones, some of which extend for hundreds of kilometres along strike. Many of the lithological contacts and deformation zones are expected to be seismically reflective. The profile is located only a few kilometres from the world's largest underground iron-ore mine in Kiruna, and closer to the profile there are several known ore bodies, some of which are active exploration targets. For the seismic recording we used approximately 350 geophones in split-spread configuration, at a separation of 25 m. The main seismic source was the Vibsist system (an impact source), which normally was employed at every geophone station. We also fired explosive charges (8-16 kg) at a few locations distributed along the profile to image deeper structures, although at very low resolution. Wireless seismometers were placed along and to the side of the profile, mainly in order to achieve better velocity control and to study out-of-the-plane reflections. Some mining blasts in Kiruna were also recorded. The upper crust in the area is quite reflective, most clearly demonstrated by the dynamite shot records. Some of the reflections appear to originate from steeply dipping structures. The dynamite shot records show a set of reflections at 3-4 s twt, corresponding to a depth of roughly 10 km, the explanation for which is unknown at present. Many of the dynamite shot records also show reflections from deeper in the crust. The preliminary stacked sections based on the Vibsist data show reflections down to depths of at least 5 km, some of which have been tentatively interpreted to originate at the contacts between basalts and felsic metavolcanics. In the further data analysis, special focus is given to the processing of reflections from steeply dipping structures and to the integration of the low-fold dynamite and high-fold Vibsist data.

Geologic controls of subdivision damage near Denver, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Noe, D.C.

2005-01-01

This case study investigates the geologic controls on damaging ground deformations in a residential subdivision near Denver, Colo. Moderate to severe damage has occurred in certain areas where linear, parallel heave features with up to 0.3 in (1 ft) of differential displacement have formed across roads and under houses. Other areas have small, localized depressions that have formed in the roadsides with no discernable damage to nearby houses. Still other areas show no evidence of ground movements. The bedrock beneath the subdivision consists of steeply dipping Cretaceous strata of the Benton Shale, Niobrara Formation, and Pierre Shale. Quaternary soil deposits and fill, 0-16 m (0-53 ft) thick, overlie the bedrock. The most pronounced and damaging linear-heave features are coincident with steeply dipping, silty claystone with thin layers of very highly plastic bentonite. These heave features diminish as the depth to bedrock increases, and become small to negligible where the bedrock is overlain by 3 m (10 ft) or more of overburden soil deposits or fill. In contrast, areas having no visible damage and those having localized surface depressions are typically underlain by 1-12 m (3-39 ft) of alluvial-terrace deposits or fill. The depressions appear to have been caused by settlement over improperly filled water-and-sewer line trenches. The overall relationship between geology and ground deformations as seen in this subdivision may be useful for predicting, and thereby reducing, damage for future subdivision projects. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering ?? ASCE.

Modeling of fault activation and seismicity by injection directly into a fault zone associated with hydraulic fracturing of shale-gas reservoirs

DOE PAGES

Rutqvist, Jonny; Rinaldi, Antonio P.; Cappa, Frédéric; ...

2015-03-01

We conducted three-dimensional coupled fluid-flow and geomechanical modeling of fault activation and seismicity associated with hydraulic fracturing stimulation of a shale-gas reservoir. We simulated a case in which a horizontal injection well intersects a steeply dip- ping fault, with hydraulic fracturing channeled within the fault, during a 3-hour hydraulic fracturing stage. Consistent with field observations, the simulation results show that shale-gas hydraulic fracturing along faults does not likely induce seismic events that could be felt on the ground surface, but rather results in numerous small microseismic events, as well as aseismic deformations along with the fracture propagation. The calculated seismicmore » moment magnitudes ranged from about -2.0 to 0.5, except for one case assuming a very brittle fault with low residual shear strength, for which the magnitude was 2.3, an event that would likely go unnoticed or might be barely felt by humans at its epicenter. The calculated moment magnitudes showed a dependency on injection depth and fault dip. We attribute such dependency to variation in shear stress on the fault plane and associated variation in stress drop upon reactivation. Our simulations showed that at the end of the 3-hour injection, the rupture zone associated with tensile and shear failure extended to a maximum radius of about 200 m from the injection well. The results of this modeling study for steeply dipping faults at 1000 to 2500 m depth is in agreement with earlier studies and field observations showing that it is very unlikely that activation of a fault by shale-gas hydraulic fracturing at great depth (thousands of meters) could cause felt seismicity or create a new flow path (through fault rupture) that could reach shallow groundwater resources.« less

Modeling of fault activation and seismicity by injection directly into a fault zone associated with hydraulic fracturing of shale-gas reservoirs

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

Rutqvist, Jonny; Rinaldi, Antonio P.; Cappa, Frédéric

We conducted three-dimensional coupled fluid-flow and geomechanical modeling of fault activation and seismicity associated with hydraulic fracturing stimulation of a shale-gas reservoir. We simulated a case in which a horizontal injection well intersects a steeply dip- ping fault, with hydraulic fracturing channeled within the fault, during a 3-hour hydraulic fracturing stage. Consistent with field observations, the simulation results show that shale-gas hydraulic fracturing along faults does not likely induce seismic events that could be felt on the ground surface, but rather results in numerous small microseismic events, as well as aseismic deformations along with the fracture propagation. The calculated seismicmore » moment magnitudes ranged from about -2.0 to 0.5, except for one case assuming a very brittle fault with low residual shear strength, for which the magnitude was 2.3, an event that would likely go unnoticed or might be barely felt by humans at its epicenter. The calculated moment magnitudes showed a dependency on injection depth and fault dip. We attribute such dependency to variation in shear stress on the fault plane and associated variation in stress drop upon reactivation. Our simulations showed that at the end of the 3-hour injection, the rupture zone associated with tensile and shear failure extended to a maximum radius of about 200 m from the injection well. The results of this modeling study for steeply dipping faults at 1000 to 2500 m depth is in agreement with earlier studies and field observations showing that it is very unlikely that activation of a fault by shale-gas hydraulic fracturing at great depth (thousands of meters) could cause felt seismicity or create a new flow path (through fault rupture) that could reach shallow groundwater resources.« less

Geophysical characterization of Range-Front Faults, Snake Valley, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Asch, Theodore H.; Sweetkind, Donald S.

2010-01-01

In September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, collected audiomagnetotelluric (AMT) data along two profiles on the eastern flank of the Snake Range near Great Basin National Park to refine understanding of the subsurface geology. Line 1 was collected along Baker Creek, was approximately 6.7-km long, and recorded subsurface geologic conditions to approximately 800-m deep. Line 2, collected farther to the southeast in the vicinity of Kious Spring, was 2.8-km long, and imaged to depths of approximately 600 m. The two AMT lines are similar in their electrical response and are interpreted to show generally similar subsurface geologic conditions. The geophysical response seen on both lines may be described by three general domains of electrical response: (1) a shallow (mostly less than 100-200-m deep) domain of highly variable resistivity, (2) a deep domain characterized by generally high resistivity that gradually declines eastward to lower resistivity with a steeply dipping grain or fabric, and (3) an eastern domain in which the resistivity character changes abruptly at all depths from that in the western domain. The shallow, highly variable domain is interpreted to be the result of a heterogeneous assemblage of Miocene conglomerate and incorporated megabreccia blocks overlying a shallowly eastward-dipping southern Snake Range detachment fault. The deep domain of generally higher resistivity is interpreted as Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (Pole Canyon limestone and Prospect Mountain Quartzite) and Mesozoic and Cenozoic plutonic rocks occurring beneath the detachment surface. The range of resistivity values within this deep domain may result from fracturing adjacent to the detachment, the presence of Paleozoic rock units of variable resistivities that do not crop out in the vicinity of the lines, or both. The eastern geophysical domain is interpreted to be a section of Miocene strata at depth, overlain by Quaternary alluvial fill. These deposits lie east of a steeply east-dipping normal fault that cuts all units and has about 100 m of east-side-down offset.

Investigating the Influence of Regional Stress on Fault and Fracture Permeability at Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site

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

Reeves, Donald M.; Smith, Kenneth D.; Parashar, Rishi

Regional stress may exert considerable control on the permeability and hydraulic function (i.e., barrier to and/or conduit for fluid flow) of faults and fractures at Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). In-situ measurements of the stress field are sparse in this area, and short period earthquake focal mechanisms are used to delineate principal horizontal stress orientations. Stress field inversion solutions to earthquake focal mechanisms indicate that Pahute Mesa is located within a transtensional faulting regime, represented by oblique slip on steeply dipping normal fault structures, with maximum horizontal stress ranging from N29°E to N63°E and average of N42°E. Averagemore » horizontal stress directions are in general agreement with large diameter borehole breakouts from Pahute Mesa analyzed in this study and with stress measurements from other locations on the NNSS.« less

Assessment of feasible strategies for seasonal underground hydrogen storage in a saline aquifer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sáinz-García, Alvaro; Abarca, Elena; Rubí, Violeta; Grandia, Fidel

2017-04-01

Renewable energies are unsteady, which results in temporary mismatches between demand and supply. The conversion of surplus energy to hydrogen and its storage in geological formations is one option to balance this energy gap. This study evaluates the feasibility of seasonal storage of hydrogen produced from wind power in Castilla-León region (northern Spain). A 3D multiphase numerical model is used to test different extraction well configurations during three annual injection-production cycles in a saline aquifer. Results demonstrate that underground hydrogen storage in saline aquifers can be operated with reasonable recovery ratios. A maximum hydrogen recovery ratio of 78%, which represents a global energy efficiency of 30%, has been estimated. Hydrogen upconing emerges as the major risk on saline aquifer storage. However, shallow extraction wells can minimize its effects. Steeply dipping geological structures are key for an efficient hydrogen storage.

Tectonic analysis of folds in the Colorado plateau of Arizona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, G. H.

1975-01-01

Structural mapping and analysis of folds in Phanerozoic rocks in northern Arizona, using LANDSAT-1 imagery, yielded information for a tectonic model useful in identifying regional fracture zones within the Colorado Plateau tectonic province. Since the monoclines within the province developed as a response to differential movements of basement blocks along high-angle faults, the monoclinal fold pattern records the position and trend of many elements of the regional fracture system. The Plateau is divided into a mosaic of complex, polyhedral crustal blocks whose steeply dipping faces correspond to major fracture zones. Zones of convergence and changes in the trend of the monoclinal traces reveal the corners of the blocks. Igneous (and salt) diapirs have been emplaced into many of the designated zones of crustal weakness. As loci of major fracturing, folding, and probably facies changes, the fractures exert control on the entrapment of oil and gas.

Effects of End CAP and Aspect Ratio on Transmission of Sound across a Truss-Like Periodic Double Panel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

EL-RAHEB, M.; WAGNER, P.

2002-02-01

Transmission of sound across 2-D truss-like periodic double panels separated by an air gap and in contact with an acoustic fluid on the external faces is analyzed. Each panel is made of repeated cells. Combining the transfer matrices of the unit cell forms a set of equations for the overall elastic frequency response. The acoustic pressure in the fluids is expressed using a source boundary element method. Adding rigid reflecting end caps confines the air in the gap between panels which influences sound transmission. Measured values of transmission loss differ from the 2-D model by the wide low-frequency dip of the mass-spring-mass or “msm” resonance also termed the “air gap resonance”. In this case, the panels act as rigid masses and the air gap acts as an adiabatic air spring. Results from the idealized 3-D and 2-D models, incorporating rigid cavities and elastic plates, reveal that the “msm” dip is absent in 2-D models radiating into a semi-infinite medium. The dip strengthens as aspect ratio approaches unity. Even when the dip disappears in 2-D, TL rises more steeply for frequencies above the “msm” frequency.

Direct evidence from anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility for lateral melt migration at superfast spreading centers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varga, Robert J.; Horst, Andrew J.; Gee, Jeffrey S.; Karson, Jeffrey A.

2008-08-01

Rare, fault-bounded escarpments expose natural cross sections of ocean crust in several areas and provide an unparalleled opportunity to study the end products of tectonic and magmatic processes that operated at depth beneath oceanic spreading centers. We mapped the geologic structure of ocean crust produced at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) and now exposed along steep cliffs of the Pito Deep Rift near the northern edge of the Easter microplate. The upper oceanic crust in this area is typified by basaltic lavas underlain by a sheeted dike complex comprising northeast striking, moderately to steeply southeast dipping dikes. Paleomagnetic remanence of oriented blocks of dikes collected with both Alvin and Jason II indicate clockwise rotation of ˜61° related to rotation of the microplate indicating structural coupling between the microplate and crust of the Nazca Plate to the north. The consistent southeast dip of dikes formed as the result of tilting at the EPR shortly after their injection. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of dikes provides well-defined magmatic flow directions that are dominantly dike-parallel and shallowly plunging. Corrected to their original EPR orientation, magma flow is interpreted as near-horizontal and parallel to the ridge axis. These data provide the first direct evidence from sheeted dikes in ocean crust for along-axis magma transport. These results also suggest that lateral transport in dikes is important even at fast spreading ridges where a laterally continuous subaxial magma chamber is present.

Internal tectonic structure of the Central American Wadati-Benioff zone based on analysis of aftershock sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Å PičáK, Aleš; Hanuš, VáClav; VaněK, JiřÃ.­; BěHounková, Marie

2007-09-01

Relocated Engdahl et al. (1998) global seismological data for 10 aftershock sequences were used to analyze the internal tectonic structure of the Central American subduction zone; the main shocks of several of these were the most destructive and often referenced earthquakes in the region (e.g., the 1970 Chiapas, 1983 Osa, 1992 Nicaragua, 1999 Quepos, 2001 El Salvador earthquakes). The spatial analysis of aftershock foci distribution was performed in a rotated Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z) related to the Wadati-Benioff zone, and not in a standard coordinate system (ϕ, λ, h are latitude, longitude, focal depth, respectively). Available fault plane solutions were also transformed into the plane approximating the Wadati-Benioff zone. The spatial distribution of earthquakes in each aftershock sequence was modeled as either a plane fit using a least squares approximation or a volume fit with a minimum thickness rectangular box. The analysis points to a quasi-planar distribution of earthquake foci in all aftershock sequences, manifesting the appurtenance of aftershocks to fracture zones. Geometrical parameters of fracture zones (strike, dip, and dimensions) hosting individual sequences were calculated and compared with the seafloor morphology of the Cocos Plate. The smooth character of the seafloor correlates with the aftershock fracture zones oriented parallel to the trench and commonly subparallel to the subducting slab, whereas subduction of the Cocos Ridge and seamounts around the Quepos Plateau coincides with steeply dipping fracture zones. Transformed focal mechanisms are almost exclusively (>90%) of normal character.

Internal tectonic structure of the Central American Wadati-Benioff zone based on analysis of aftershock sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Špičák, Aleš; Hanuš, Václav; Vaněk, Jiří; Běhounková, Marie

2007-09-01

Relocated Engdahl et al. (1998) global seismological data for 10 aftershock sequences were used to analyze the internal tectonic structure of the Central American subduction zone; the main shocks of several of these were the most destructive and often referenced earthquakes in the region (e.g., the 1970 Chiapas, 1983 Osa, 1992 Nicaragua, 1999 Quepos, 2001 El Salvador earthquakes). The spatial analysis of aftershock foci distribution was performed in a rotated Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z) related to the Wadati-Benioff zone, and not in a standard coordinate system ($\\varphi$, λ, h are latitude, longitude, focal depth, respectively). Available fault plane solutions were also transformed into the plane approximating the Wadati-Benioff zone. The spatial distribution of earthquakes in each aftershock sequence was modeled as either a plane fit using a least squares approximation or a volume fit with a minimum thickness rectangular box. The analysis points to a quasi-planar distribution of earthquake foci in all aftershock sequences, manifesting the appurtenance of aftershocks to fracture zones. Geometrical parameters of fracture zones (strike, dip, and dimensions) hosting individual sequences were calculated and compared with the seafloor morphology of the Cocos Plate. The smooth character of the seafloor correlates with the aftershock fracture zones oriented parallel to the trench and commonly subparallel to the subducting slab, whereas subduction of the Cocos Ridge and seamounts around the Quepos Plateau coincides with steeply dipping fracture zones. Transformed focal mechanisms are almost exclusively (>90%) of normal character.

Geologic map of the Horse Mountain Quadrangle, Garfield County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perry, W.J.; Shroba, R.R.; Scott, R.B.; Maldonado, Florian

2003-01-01

New 1:24,000-scale geologic map of the Horse Mountain 7.5' quadrangle, in support of the USGS Western Colorado I-70 Corridor Cooperative Geologic Mapping Project, summarizes available geologic information for the quadrangle. It provides new interpretations of the stratigraphy, structure, and geologic hazards in the area of the southwest flank of the White River uplift. Bedrock strata include the Paleocene and early Eocene Wasatch Formation down through Ordovician and Cambrian units into Precambrian hornblende tonalite. The Wasatch Formation includes the Shire, Molina and Atwell Gulch Members which are mapped separately. The underlying Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group is subdivided into the Willams Fork and Iles Formations. The Cameo-Fairfield clinker zone within the Williams Fork Formation is mapped separately. The Iles Formation includes the Rollins Sandstone Member at the top, mapped separately, and the Cozzette Sandstone and Corcoran Sandstone Members, which are undivided. The Mancos Shale consists of four members, an upper member, the Niobrara Member, the Juana Lopez Member, and a lower member, undivided. The Lower Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone, the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, and Jurassic Entrada Sandstone are mapped separately. The Lower Jurassic and Upper Triassic Glen Canyon Sandstone is mapped with the Entrada in the Horse Mountain Quadrangle. The upper Triassic Chinle Formation and the Lower Permian and Triassic(?) State Bridge Formation are present. The Pennsylvanian and Permian Maroon Formation is undivided. All the exposures of the Middle Pennsylvanian Eagle Valley Evaporite are diapiric, intruded into the Middle Pennsylvanian Eagle Valley Formation, which includes locally mappable limestone beds. The Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian Belden Formation and the Lower Mississippian Leadville Limestone are present. The Upper Devonian Chaffee Group consists of the Dyer Dolomite and the underlying Parting Quartzite, undivided. Locally, the Lower Ordovician Manitou Formation is mapped separately beneath the Chaffee. Elsewhere, Ordovician through Cambrian units, the Manitou and Dotsero Formations, underlain by the Sawatch Quartzite, are undivided. The southwest flank of the White River uplift is a late Laramide structure that is represented by the steeply southwest-dipping Grand Hogback, which is only present in the southwestern corner of the map area, and less steeply southwest-dipping older strata that flatten to nearly horizontal attitudes in the northern part of the map area. Between these two are a complex of normal faults, the largest of which dips southward placing Chafee dolostone and Leadville Limestone adjacent to Eagle Valley and Maroon Formations. Diapiric Eagle Valley Evaporite intruded close to the fault on the down-thrown side. Removal of evaporite by either flow or dissolution from under younger parts of the strata create structural benches, folds, and sink holes on either side of the normal fault. A prominent dipslope of the Morrison-Dakota-Mancos part of the section forms large slide blocks and mass movement deposits consisting of a chaos of admixed Morrison and Dakota lithologies. The major geologic hazard in the area consists of large landslides both associated with dip-slope slide blocks and the steep slopes of the Eagle Valley Formation and Belden Formation in the northern part of the map. Abandoned coal mines are present along the north face of the Grand Hogback in the lower part of the Mesaverde Group

Quaternary low-angle slip on detachment faults in Death Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayman, N.W.; Knott, J.R.; Cowan, D.S.; Nemser, E.; Sarna-Wojcicki, A. M.

2003-01-01

Detachment faults on the west flank of the Black Mountains (Nevada and California) dip 29??-36?? and cut subhorizontal layers of the 0.77 Ma Bishop ash. Steeply dipping normal faults confined to the hanging walls of the detachments offset layers of the 0.64 Ma Lava Creek B tephra and the base of 0.12-0.18 Ma Lake Manly gravel. These faults sole into and do not cut the low-angle detachments. Therefore the detachments accrued any measurable slip across the kinematically linked hanging-wall faults. An analysis of the orientations of hundreds of the hanging-wall faults shows that extension occurred at modest slip rates (<1 mm/yr) under a steep to vertically oriented maximum principal stress. The Black Mountain detachments are appropriately described as the basal detachments of near-critical Coulomb wedges. We infer that the formation of late Pleistocene and Holocene range-front fault scarps accompanied seismogenic slip on the detachments.

Inferring Complex Aquifer Structure from the Combined Use of Hydraulic and Groundwater Age Data in Groundater Flow Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leray, S.; De Dreuzy, J.; Aquilina, L.; Labasque, T.; Bour, O.

2011-12-01

While groundwater age data have been classically used to determine aquifer hydraulic properties such as recharge and/or porosity, we show here that they contain more valuable information on aquifer structure in complex hard rock contexts. Our numerical modeling study is based on the developed crystalline aquifer of Ploemeur (Brittany, France) characterized by two transmissive structures: the interface between an intruding granite and overlying micaschists dipping moderately to the North and a steeply dipping fault striking North 20. We explore the definition and evolution of the supplying volume to the pumping well of the Ploemeur medium under steady-state conditions. We first show that, with the help of general observations on the site, hydraulic data, such as piezometric levels or transmissivity derived from pumping tests, can be used to refine recharge spatial distribution and rate and bulk aquifer transmissivity. We then model the effect of aquifer porosity and thickness on environmental tracer concentrations. Porosity gives the range of the mean residence time, shifting the probability density function of residence times along the time axis whereas aquifer thickness affects the shape of the residence times distribution. It also modifies the mean concentration of CFCs taken as the convolution product of the atmospheric tracer concentration with the probability density function of residence times. Because porosity may be estimated by petrologic and gravimetric investigations, the thickness of the aquifer can be advantageously constrained by groundwater ages and then compared to other results from inversion of geophysical data. More generally, we advocate using groundwater age data at the aquifer discharge locations to constrain complex aquifer structures when recharge and porosity can be fixed by other means.

Reactivation of intrabasement structures during rifting: A case study from offshore southern Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Thomas B.; Jackson, Christopher A.-L.; Bell, Rebecca E.; Duffy, Oliver B.; Fossen, Haakon

2016-10-01

Pre-existing structures within crystalline basement may exert a significant influence over the evolution of rifts. However, the exact manner in which these structures reactivate and thus their degree of influence over the overlying rift is poorly understood. Using borehole-constrained 2D and 3D seismic reflection data from offshore southern Norway we identify and constrain the three-dimensional geometry of a series of enigmatic intrabasement reflections. Through 1D waveform modelling and 3D mapping of these reflection packages, we correlate them to the onshore Caledonian thrust belt and Devonian shear zones. Based on the seismic-stratigraphic architecture of the post-basement succession, we identify several phases of reactivation of the intrabasement structures associated with multiple tectonic events. Reactivation preferentially occurs along relatively thick (c. 1 km), relatively steeply dipping (c. 30°) structures, with three main styles of interactions observed between them and overlying faults: i) faults exploiting intrabasement weaknesses represented by intra-shear zone mylonites; ii) faults that initiate within the hangingwall of the shear zones, inheriting their orientation and merging with said structure at depth; or iii) faults that initiate independently from and cross-cut intrabasement structures. We demonstrate that large-scale discrete shear zones act as a long-lived structural template for fault initiation during multiple phases of rifting.

Characterizing structures on borehole images and logging data of the Nankai trough accretionary prism: new insights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jurado, Maria Jose

2016-04-01

IODP has extensively used the D/V Chikyu to drill the Kumano portion of the Nankai Trough, including two well sites within the Kumano Basin. IODP Expeditions 338 and 348 drilled deep into the inner accretionary prism south of the Kii Peninsula collecting a suite of LWD data, including natural gamma ray, electrical resistivity logs and borehole images, suitable to characterize structures (fractures and faults) inside the accretionary prism. Structural interpretation and analysis of logging-while-drilling data in the deep inner prism revealed intense deformation of a generally homogenous lithology characterized by bedding that dips steeply (60-90°) to the NW, intersected by faults and fractures. Multiple phases of deformation are characterized. IODP Expedition borehole images and LWD data acquired in the last decade in previous and results of NantroSEIZE IODP Expeditions (314, 319) were also analyzed to investigate the internal geometries and structures of the Nankai Trough accretionary prism. This study focused mainly on the characterization of the different types of structures and their specific position within the accretionary prism structures. New structural constraints and methodologies as well as a new approach to the characterization of study of active structures inside the prism will be presented.

Two-dimensional magnetotelluric model of deep resistivity structure in the Bodie-Aurora district of California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sampson, Jay A.

2006-01-01

Introduction: Magnetotelluric data were acquired during October 2001 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of a study to examine the structural nature of basins in the transition zone between the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the Basin and Range province of Nevada. Magnetotelluric (MT) geophysical studies assist the mapping of geologic structure and the inference of lithologic packages that are concealed beneath the Earth's surface. The Basin and Range province has a complicated geologic history, which includes extension and compression of the Earth's crust to form the basins and ranges that blanket much of Nevada. The basins and ranges in the vicinity of this study trend northeastward and are bounded by steeply dipping strike slip faults. Interestingly, deep east-west magnetic trends occur in the aeromagnetic data of this study area indicating that the northeast-trending basins and ranges represent only thin-skinned deformation at the surface with an underlying east-west structure. To investigate this issue, MT data were acquired at seven stations in eastern California, 20 km east of Mono Lake. The purpose of this report is to present a two-dimensional apparent resistivity model of the MT data acquired for this study.

Steeply dipping heaving bedrock, Colorado: Part 2 - Mineralogical and engineering properties

USGS Publications Warehouse

Noe, D.C.; Higgins, J.D.; Olsen, H.W.

2007-01-01

This paper describes the mineralogical and engineering properties of steeply dipping, differentially heaving bedrock, which has caused severe damage near the Denver area. Several field sites in heave-prone areas have been characterized using high sample densities, numerous testing methodologies, and thousands of sample tests. Hydrometer testing shows that the strata range from siltstone to claystone (33 to 66 percent clay) with occasional bentonite seams (53 to 98 percent clay mixed with calcite). From X-ray diffraction analyses, the claystone contains varying proportions of illite-smectite and discrete (pure) smectite, and the bentonite contains discrete smectite. Accessory minerals include pyrite, gypsum, calcite, and oxidized iron compounds. The dominant exchangeable cation is Ca2+, except where gypsum is prevalent, and Mg2+ and Na1+ are elevated. Scanning electron microscope analyses show that the clay fabric is deformed and porous and that pyrite is absent within the weathered zone. Unified Soil Classification for the claystone varies from CL to CH, and the bentonite is CH to MH. Average moisture content values are 17 percent for claystone and 32 percent for bentonite, and these are typically 0 to 5 percent lower than the plastic limit. Swell-consolidation and suction testing shows a full range of swelling potentials from low to very high. These findings confirm that type I (bed-parallel, symmetrical to asymmetrical) heave features are strongly associated with changes in bedrock composition and mineralogy. Composition changes are not necessarily a factor for type II (bed-parallel to bed-oblique, strongly asymmetrical) heave features, which are associated with movements along subsurface shear zones.

Seismic Reflectivity of the Crust in the Northern Salton Trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, K.; Fuis, G. S.; Goldman, M.; Persaud, P.; Ryberg, T.; Langenheim, V. E.; Scheirer, D. S.; Rymer, M. J.; Hole, J. A.; Stock, J. M.; Catchings, R.

2015-12-01

The Salton Trough in southern California is a tectonically active pull-apart basin that was formed by migrating step-overs between strike-slip faults, of which the San Andreas Fault (SAF) and the Imperial Fault are the current, northernmost examples. The Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP) was undertaken to improve our knowledge of fault geometry and seismic velocities within the sedimentary basins and underlying crystalline crust around the SAF. Such data are useful as input for modeling scenarios of strong ground shaking in the surrounding high-population areas. We used pre-stack depth migration of line segments from shot gathers in several seismic profiles that were acquired in the northern part of the SSIP study area (Lines 4 - 7). Our migration approach can be considered as an infinite-frequency approximation of the Fresnel volume pre-stack depth migration method. We use line segments instead of the original waveform data. We demonstrate the method using synthetic data and analyze real data from Lines 4 - 7 to illustrate the relationship between distinct phases in the time domain and their resulting image at depth. We show both normal-moveout reflections from sub-horizontal interfaces and reverse-moveout reflections from steep interfaces, such as faults. Migrated images of dipping faults, such as the SAF and the Pinto Mountain Fault, are presented in this way. The SAF is imaged along Line 4, through the Mecca Hills, as a number of steeply dipping fault segments that collectively form a flower structure, above 5 km depth, that sole into a moderately NE-dipping fault below that depth. The individual migrated reflection packages correlate with mapped surface fault traces in the Mecca Hills. A similar geometry is seen on Line 6, from Palm Springs through Yucca Valley, where fault splays sole or project into a moderately dipping SAF below 10-km depth. We also show and discuss the reflectivity pattern of the middle and lower crust for Lines 4 - 7.

Reply to Comments on "the Cenozoic Fold-and-Thrust Belt of Eastern Sardinia: Evidences from the Integration of Field Data With Numerically Balanced Geological Cross Section" by Arragoni et al. (2016)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salvini, F.; Arragoni, S.; Cianfarra, P.; Maggi, M.

2017-10-01

The comment by Berra et al. (2017) on the evidence of Alpine tectonics in Eastern Sardinia proposed by Arragoni et al. (2016) is based on the sedimentological interpretations of few local outcrops in a marginal portion of the study area. The Cenozoic Alpine fold-and-thrust setting, which characterizes this region, presents flat-over-flat shear planes acting along originally stratigraphic contacts, where stratigraphic continuity is obviously maintained. The ramp sectors present steeply dipping bedding attitudes, and there is no need to invoke and to force prograding clinoforms with unrealistic angles to justify them. The balanced geological cross section proposed by Arragoni et al. (2016) is fully supported by robust newly collected structural data and is compatible with the overall tectonic setting, while the interpretation proposed by Berra et al. (2017) lacks a detailed structural investigation. We believe that the partial application of the techniques available to modern geology may lead to incorrect interpretations, thus representing an obstacle for the progress of knowledge in the Earth sciences.

Earthquake scaling laws for rupture geometry and slip heterogeneity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thingbaijam, Kiran K. S.; Mai, P. Martin; Goda, Katsuichiro

2016-04-01

We analyze an extensive compilation of finite-fault rupture models to investigate earthquake scaling of source geometry and slip heterogeneity to derive new relationships for seismic and tsunami hazard assessment. Our dataset comprises 158 earthquakes with a total of 316 rupture models selected from the SRCMOD database (http://equake-rc.info/srcmod). We find that fault-length does not saturate with earthquake magnitude, while fault-width reveals inhibited growth due to the finite seismogenic thickness. For strike-slip earthquakes, fault-length grows more rapidly with increasing magnitude compared to events of other faulting types. Interestingly, our derived relationship falls between the L-model and W-model end-members. In contrast, both reverse and normal dip-slip events are more consistent with self-similar scaling of fault-length. However, fault-width scaling relationships for large strike-slip and normal dip-slip events, occurring on steeply dipping faults (δ~90° for strike-slip faults, and δ~60° for normal faults), deviate from self-similarity. Although reverse dip-slip events in general show self-similar scaling, the restricted growth of down-dip fault extent (with upper limit of ~200 km) can be seen for mega-thrust subduction events (M~9.0). Despite this fact, for a given earthquake magnitude, subduction reverse dip-slip events occupy relatively larger rupture area, compared to shallow crustal events. In addition, we characterize slip heterogeneity in terms of its probability distribution and spatial correlation structure to develop a complete stochastic random-field characterization of earthquake slip. We find that truncated exponential law best describes the probability distribution of slip, with observable scale parameters determined by the average and maximum slip. Applying Box-Cox transformation to slip distributions (to create quasi-normal distributed data) supports cube-root transformation, which also implies distinctive non-Gaussian slip distributions. To further characterize the spatial correlations of slip heterogeneity, we analyze the power spectral decay of slip applying the 2-D von Karman auto-correlation function (parameterized by the Hurst exponent, H, and correlation lengths along strike and down-slip). The Hurst exponent is scale invariant, H = 0.83 (± 0.12), while the correlation lengths scale with source dimensions (seismic moment), thus implying characteristic physical scales of earthquake ruptures. Our self-consistent scaling relationships allow constraining the generation of slip-heterogeneity scenarios for physics-based ground-motion and tsunami simulations.

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

Davis, B.E.; Ahner, P.F.; Singelton, A.H.

In situ gasification of steeply dipping coal beds (UCG-SDB) has significant advantages over the more conventional horizontal UCG. In fact, the UCG-SDB process appears to be both technically and operationally competitive with surface gasifiers. The results of the Rawlins UCG-SDB field test program suggest that the process can compete with more conventional sources of synthesis gas on an economic basis. The SDB process mechanism has several advantages over the horizontal process and performs in a fashion similar to surface packedbed reactors. The oxygen requirements for the process are quite low and the degree of process control observed at Rawlins ismore » very attractive.« less

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

Davis, B.E.; Ahner, P.F.

In-situ gasification of steeply dipping coal beds (UCG-SDB) has significant advantages over the more conventional horizontal UCG. In fact, the UCG-SDB process appears to be both technically and operationally competitive with surface gasifiers. The results of the Rawlins UCG-SDB field test program suggest that the process can compete with more conventional sources of synthesis gas on an economic basis. The SDB process mechanism has several advantages over the horizontal process and performs in a fashion similar to surface packed bed reactors. The oxygen requirements for the process are quite low and the degree of process control observed at Rawlins ismore » very attractive.« less

Exploring the effect of anisotropy on body-wave tomography models: Rollback and subduction of the Alboran slab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, H.; Bezada, M.

2017-12-01

Teleseismic P-wave tomography models often show low-velocity anomalies behind subducted slabs (i.e. opposite the direction of subduction). One such anomaly, behind the Alboran slab in the westernmost Mediterranean, requires partial melt in the mantle if taken at face-value. However, mantle anisotropy can cause low-velocity anomalies in tomographic models that assume isotropy. In fact, results from SKS splitting suggest rollback-induced anisotropy within the low-velocity region, and we investigate if this anisotropy can explain the sub-slab anomaly. We include anisotropy as an a priori constraint on the inversion and test different magnitudes, azimuths, and dips within the low-velocity region. We find that a range of anisotropic models can fit the travel time data as well as the isotropic models while significantly reducing or eliminating the low-velocity anomaly behind the slab. We conclude that this alternative interpretation (delays are caused by anisotropic structure) is as consistent with the travel time data as an isotropic low-velocity anomaly, and more consistent with SKS splitting observations and the known history of rollback. In addition, we find that models that include anisotropy with steeply dipping fast axes, meant to simulate the effect of downgoing entrained mantle, provide a poorer fit to the travel times than all the other models. This suggests that the slab may no longer be actively subducting.

Gravimetric and magnetic fabric study of the Sintra Igneous complex: laccolith-plug emplacement in the Western Iberian passive margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terrinha, Pedro; Pueyo, Emilio L.; Aranguren, Aitor; Kullberg, José Carlos; Kullberg, Maria Carla; Casas-Sainz, Antonio; Azevedo, Maria do Rosário

2017-12-01

The geometry and emplacement of the 96 km2, Late Cretaceous Sintra Igneous complex (SIC, ca. 80 Ma) into the West Iberian passive margin is presented, based on structural data, gravimetric modeling, and magnetic fabrics. A granite laccolith ( 76 km2, < 1 km thick, according to gravimetric modeling) surrounds a suite of gabbro-diorite-syenite plugs ( 20 km2, 4 km deep) and is encircled by cone sheets and radial dykes. Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility was interpreted from 54 sites showing fabrics of para- and ferro-magnetic origin. Most fabrics can be interpreted to have a magmatic origin, according to the scarcity of solid-state deformation in most part of the massif. Magnetic foliations are shallowly dipping in the granite laccolith and contain a sub-horizontal ENE-WSW lineation. The gabbro-syenite body displays concentric magnetic foliations having variable dips and steeply-plunging lineations. The SIC can be interpreted to be intruded along an NNW-SSE, 200 km-long fault, perpendicular to the magnetic lineation within the laccolith, and was preceded by the intrusion of basic sills and plugs. The SIC intruded the Mesozoic series of the Lusitanian Basin during the post-rift, passive margin stage, and its geometry was only slightly modified during the Paleogene inversion that resulted in thrusting of the northern border of the intrusion over the country rocks.

Orientations of Pre-existing Structures along the Scarp of the Bilila-Mtakataka Fault in the Central Malawi Rift.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elifritz, E. A.; Johnson, S.; Beresh, S. C. M.; Mendez, K.; Mynatt, W. G.; Mayle, M.; Laó-Dávila, D. A.; Atekwana, E. A.; Chindandali, P. R. N.; Chisenga, C.; Gondwe, S.; Mkumbwa, M.; Kalindekafe, L.; Kalaguluka, D.; Salima, J.

2017-12-01

The NW-SE Bilila-Mtakataka Fault is suggested to be 100 km in length and is located in the Malawi Rift, a portion of the magma-poor Western Branch of the East African Rift System. This fault is exposed south of Lake Malawi and occurs close to the epicenter of the 1989 6.2 magnitude Salima Earthquake. Moreover, it traverses rocks with inherited Precambrian fabrics that may control the modern rifting process. The effect of the orientation of the pre-existing fabric on the formation of this potentially seismogenic fault has not been well studied. In this project, we measured the older foliations, dikes, and joints in addition to younger faults and striations to understand how the active faulting of the Bilila-Mtakataka Fault is affected by the older fabric. The Fault is divided into 5 segments and 4 linkage zones. All four linkage zones were studied in detail and a Brunton compass was used to determine orientations of structures. The linkage zone between segments 1 and 2 occurs between a regional WNW-ESE joint and the border fault, which is identified by a zig-zag pattern in SRTM data. Precambrian gneiss is cut by oblique steeply-dipping faults in this area. Striations and layer offsets suggest both right-lateral and normal components. This segment strikes NE-SW, in contrast with the NW-SE average strike of the entire fault. The foliations, faults, dikes, and joints collected in this area strike NE-SW, therefore running parallel to the segment. The last 3 southern linkage zones all strike NW-SE and the linkage zone between segment 3 and 4 has a steep dip angle. Dip angles of structures vary from segment to segment, having a wide range of results. Nonetheless, all four linkage zones show structures striking parallel to its segment direction. The results show that pre-existing meso-scale and regional structures and faults strike parallel to the fault scarp. The parallelism of the structures suggest that they serve as planes of weakness, controlling the localization of extension expressed as the border fault. Thus, further studies of the Precambrian foliation in the subsurface are necessary to understand the characterization of the fault where it is unexposed at depth.

Effects of Pre-existing Structures on the Seismicity of the Charlevoix Seismic Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fadugba, O. I.; Choi, E.; Powell, C. A.

2017-12-01

The Charlevoix Seismic Zone (CSZ) occurs along the early Paleozoic St. Lawrence rift zone in southeastern Quebec at the location of a major Devonian impact crater. The crater superimposed major, steeply dipping basement faults trending N35°E. Many earthquakes are recorded each year in the CSZ and are concentrated within and beneath the impact crater. Some large-magnitude earthquakes associated with the rift faults occurred outside the crater. The primary goal of this research is to investigate combined effects of the pre-existing structures and regional stresses on earthquake activity in the CSZ. We set up some models using PyLith, an open-source finite-element code for simulations of crustal deformation. Our models will be compared with those of Baird et al. (2010), which took a different numerical approach for the same purpose of relating the regional structures, stresses, and seismicity. Adopting the results from recent hypocenter relocation study, we will modify the locations and dips of the rift faults and assess the effect of the new fault geometries on stress distributions. Finally, we will discuss whether modeled stress distributions can explain the seismicity distribution in the CSZ and published focal mechanism solutions. As a part of our efforts to enhance the reproducibility of these types of complex geodynamic models, selected models in this study will be made available in the form of sharable and reproducible packages. Such packaging is enabled by GeoTrust, an EarthCube-funded project that aims to automate the creation of a self-contained metadata package that provides a complete description of all data elements associated with a computational experiment.

Upper crust beneath the central Illinois basin, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

McBride, J.H.; Kolata, Dennis R.

1999-01-01

Newly available industry seismic reflection data provide critical information for understanding the structure and origin of the upper crust (0-12 km depth) beneath the central Illinois basin and the seismic-tectonic framework north of the New Madrid seismic zone in the central Mississippi Valley. Mapping of reflector sequences furnishes the first broad three-dimensional perspective of the structure of Precambrian basement beneath the central United States Midcontinent. The highly coherent basement reflectivity is expressed as a synformal wedge of dipping and subhorizontal reflections situated beneath the center of the Illinois basin that thickens and deepens to the northeast (e.g., 0 to ???5.3 km thickness along a 123 km south to north line). The thickening trend of the wedge qualitatively mimics the northward thickening of the Late Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone; however, other Paleozoic units in the Illinois basin generally thicken southward into the basin center. The seismic data also reveal an anomalous subsequence defined by a spoon-shaped distribution of disrupted reflections located along the southern margin of the wedge. The boundaries of this subsequence are marked by distinct steeply dipping reflections (possible thrust faults?) that continue or project up to antiformal disruptions of lower Paleozoic marker reflectors, suggesting Paleozoic or possibly later tectonic reactivation of Precambrian structure. The areal extent of the subsequence appears to roughly correspond to an anomalous concentration of larger magnitude upper to middle crustal earthquakes. There are multiple hypotheses for the origin of the Precambrian reflectivity, including basaltic flows or sills interlayered with clastic sediments and/or emplaced within felsic igneous rocks. Such explanations are analogous to nearby Keweenawan rift-related volcanism and sedimentation, which initiated during Proterozoic rifting, and were followed eventually by reverse faulting along the rift margins caused by Grenville compression.

Indicators of recent geodynamic activity in the Książ Castle area (Świebodzice Unit, Sudetes) in the light of structural analysis and geodetic measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasza, Damian; Kowalski, Aleksander; Wojewoda, Jurand; Kaczorowski, Marek

2018-01-01

Abstract. Indicators of recent geodynamic activity in the Książ Castle area are registered by the measuring instruments of the SRC PAS (Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences) Geodynamic Laboratory at Książ. Over 40 years of continuous observations from quartz horizontal pendulums (since 1974) and over 10 years of observations from water-tube tiltmeters (since 2002) have documented irregularly repeatable strong signals related to the relative displacement of blocks in the rock substrate, on which Książ Castle is located. These signals have dip (rotational) and vertical strike-slip components. Also, the presence of a horizontal strike-slip component is evidenced by geometric anomalies (deformations) of the shape of the Pelcznica river valley, which directly correspond to the orientation of the main faults in the area. Recent geodynamic activity is documented by destruction of (the construction elements in the castle complex. Instrumental indicators of movement, geodetic measurements and structural analysis of the rock massif have allowed for constructing a model showing the main unconformity surfaces in the analysed rock massif. Sinistral, NE-SW and ENE-WSW-oriented strike-slip faults prevail in the laboratory corridors, along with perpendicular WNW-ESE and NW-SSE-oriented clextral and normal faults. Most dislocations are accompanied by zones of intense cataclasys, secondary silification, and Fe and Mn mineralization. Generally, the faults were formed due to reactivation of joint fractures cutting the steeply N-and S-dipping (at 75-90°) deposits of the Książ Conglomerate Formation.

P-wave velocity structure beneath the northern Antarctic Peninsula: evidence of a steeply subducting slab and a deep-rooted low-velocity anomaly beneath the central Bransfield Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Yongcheol; Kim, Kwang-Hee; Lee, Joohan; Yoo, Hyun Jae; Plasencia L., Milton P.

2012-12-01

Upper-mantle structure between 100 and 300 km depth below the northern Antarctic Peninsula is imaged by modelling P-wave traveltime residuals from teleseismic events recorded on the King Sejong Station (KSJ), the Argentinean/Italian stations (JUBA and ESPZ), an IRIS/GSN Station (PMSA) and the Seismic Experiment in Patagonia and Antarctica (SEPA) broad-band stations. For measuring traveltime residuals, we applied a multichannel cross-correlation method and inverted for upper-mantle structure using VanDecar's method. The new 3-D velocity model reveals a subducted slab with a ˜70° dip angle at 100-300 km depth and a strong low-velocity anomaly confined below the SE flank of the central Bransfield Basin. The low velocity is attributed to a thermal anomaly in the mantle that could be as large as 350-560 K and which is associated with high heat flow and volcanism in the central Bransfield Basin. The low-velocity zone imaged below the SE flank of the central Bransfield Basin does not extend under the northern Bransfield Basin, suggesting that the rifting process in that area likely involves different geodynamic processes.

Crustal-scale thrusting and origin of the Montreal River monocline-A 35-km-thick cross section of the midcontinent rift in northern Michigan and Wisconsin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, W.F.; Peterman, Z.E.; Sims, P.K.

1993-01-01

A structurally simple, 35-km-thick, north facing stratigraphic succession of Late Archean to Middle Proterozoic rocks is exposed near the Montreal River, which forms the border between northern Wisconsin and Michigan. This structure, the Montreal River monocline, is composed of steeply dipping to vertical sedimentary rocks and flood basalts of the Keweenawan Supergroup (Middle Proterozoic) along the south limb of the Midcontinent rift, and disconformably underlying sedimentary rocks of the Marquette Range Supergroup (Early Proterozoic). These rocks lie on an Archean granite-greenstone complex, about 10 km of which is included in the monocline. This remarkable thickness of rocks appears to be essentially structurally intact and lacks evidence of tectonic thickening or repetition.Tilting to form the monocline resulted from southward thrusting on listric faults of crustal dimension. The faults responsible for the monocline are newly recognized components of a well-known regional fault system that partly closed and inverted the Midcontinent rift system. Resetting of biotite ages on the upper plate of the faults indicates that faulting and uplift occurred at about 1060 +/−20 Ma and followed very shortly after extension that formed the Midcontinent rift system.

Quantitative geometric description of fracture systems in an andesite lava flow using terrestrial laser scanner data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massiot, Cécile; Nicol, Andrew; Townend, John; McNamara, David D.; Garcia-Sellés, David; Conway, Chris E.; Archibald, Garth

2017-07-01

Permeability hosted in andesitic lava flows is dominantly controlled by fracture systems, with geometries that are often poorly constrained. This paper explores the fracture system geometry of an andesitic lava flow formed during its emplacement and cooling over gentle paleo-topography, on the active Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. The fracture system comprises column-forming and platy fractures within the blocky interior of the lava flow, bounded by autobreccias partially observed at the base and top of the outcrop. We use a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) dataset to extract column-forming fractures directly from the point-cloud shape over an outcrop area of ∼3090 m2. Fracture processing is validated using manual scanlines and high-resolution panoramic photographs. Column-forming fractures are either steeply or gently dipping with no preferred strike orientation. Geometric analysis of fractures derived from the TLS, in combination with virtual scanlines and trace maps, reveals that: (1) steeply dipping column-forming fracture lengths follow a scale-dependent exponential or log-normal distribution rather than a scale-independent power-law; (2) fracture intensities (combining density and size) vary throughout the blocky zone but have similar mean values up and along the lava flow; and (3) the areal fracture intensity is higher in the autobreccia than in the blocky zone. The inter-connected fracture network has a connected porosity of ∼0.5 % that promote fluid flow vertically and laterally within the blocky zone, and is partially connected to the autobreccias. Autobreccias may act either as lateral permeability connections or barriers in reservoirs, depending on burial and alteration history. A discrete fracture network model generated from these geometrical parameters yields a highly connected fracture network, consistent with outcrop observations.

Geophysical Log Data from Basalt Aquifers Near Waipahu on the Island of Oahu and Pahoa on the Island of Hawaii, Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paillet, Frederick L.; Hess, Alfred E.

1995-01-01

Two relatively new geophysical logging techniques, the digitally enhanced borehole acoustic televiewer and the heat-pulse flowmeter, were tested from 1987 to 1991 at two sites in Hawaii: Waipahu on the island of Oahu, and Pahoa on the island of Hawaii. Although these data were obtained in an effort to test and improve these two logging techniques, the measurements are of interest to hydrologists studying the aquifers in Hawaii. This report presents a review of the measurements conducted during this effort and summarizes the data obtained in a form designed to make that data available to hydrologists studying the movement of ground water in Hawaiian aquifers. Caliper logs obtained at the Waipahu site indicate the distribution of openings in interbed clinker zones between relatively dense and impermeable basalt flows. The flowmeter data indicate the pattern of flow induced along seven observation boreholes that provide conduits between interbed zones in the vicinity of the Mahoe Pumping Station at the Waipahu site. The televiewer image logs obtained in some of the Waipahu Mahoe boreholes do not show any significant vertical or steeply dipping fractures that might allow communication across the dense interior of basalt flows. Acoustic televiewer logs obtained at the Pahoa site show that a number of steeply dipping fractures and dikes cut across basalt flows. Although flow under ambient hydraulic-head conditions in the Waipahu Mahoe Observation boreholes is attributed to hydraulic gradients associated with pumping from a nearby pumping station, flow in the Waipio Deep Observation borehole on Oahu and flow in the Scientific Observation borehole on Hawaii are attributed to the effects of natural recharge and downward decreasing hydraulic heads associated with that recharge.

Basement and cover-rock deformation during Laramide contraction in the northern Madison Range (Montana) and its influence on Cenozoic basin formation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kellogg, K.S.; Schmidt, C.J.; Young, S.W.

1995-01-01

Two major Laramide fault systems converge in the northwestern Madison Range: the northwest-striking, southwest-vergent Spanish Peaks reverse fault and the north-striking, east-vergent Hilgard thrust system. Analysis of foliation attitudes in basement gneiss north and south of the Spanish Peaks fault indicates that the basement in thrusted blocks of the Hilgard thrust system have been rotated by an amount similar to that of the basement-cover contact. Steeply dipping, north-striking breccia zones enclosing domains of relatively undeformed basement may have permitted domino-style rotation of basement blocks during simple shear between pairs of thrusts. No hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in this unique structural province. However, petroleum exploration here has focused on basement-cored anticlines, both surface and subthrust, related to the two major Laramide fault systems and on the fault-bounded blocks of Tertiary rocks within the post-Laramide extensional basins. -from Authors

Revealing topographic lineaments through IHS enhancement of DEM data. [Digital Elevation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murdock, Gary

1990-01-01

Intensity-hue-saturation (IHS) processing of slope (dip), aspect (dip direction), and elevation to reveal subtle topographic lineaments which may not be obvious in the unprocessed data are used to enhance digital elevation model (DEM) data from northwestern Nevada. This IHS method of lineament identification was applied to a mosiac of 12 square degrees using a Cray Y-MP8/864. Square arrays from 3 x 3 to 31 x 31 points were tested as well as several different slope enhancements. When relatively few points are used to fit the plane, lineaments of various lengths are observed and a mechanism for lineament classification is described. An area encompassing the gold deposits of the Carlin trend and including the Rain in the southeast to Midas in the northwest is investigated in greater detail. The orientation and density of lineaments may be determined on the gently sloping pediment surface as well as in the more steeply sloping ranges.

Fault zone characterization using P- and S-waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wawerzinek, Britta; Buness, Hermann; Polom, Ulrich; Tanner, David C.; Thomas, Rüdiger

2014-05-01

Although deep fault zones have high potential for geothermal energy extraction, their real usability depends on complex lithological and tectonic factors. Therefore a detailed fault zone exploration using P- and S-wave reflection seismic data is required. P- and S-wave reflection seismic surveys were carried out along and across the eastern border of the Leinetal Graben in Lower Saxony, Germany, to analyse the structural setting, different reflection characteristics and possible anisotropic effects. In both directions the P-wave reflection seismic measurements show a detailed and complex structure. This structure was developed during several tectonic phases and comprises both steeply- and shallowly-dipping faults. In a profile perpendicular to the graben, a strong P-wave reflector is interpreted as shallowly west-dipping fault that is traceable from the surface down to 500 m depth. It is also detectable along the graben. In contrast, the S-waves show different reflection characteristics: There is no indication of the strong P-wave reflector in the S-wave reflection seismic measurements - neither across nor along the graben. Only diffuse S-wave reflections are observable in this region. Due to the higher resolution of S-waves in the near-surface area it is possible to map structures which cannot be detected in P-wave reflection seismic, e.g the thinning of the uppermost Jurassic layer towards the south. In the next step a petrophysical analysis will be conducted by using seismic FD modelling to a) determine the cause (lithological, structural, or a combination of both) of the different reflection characteristics of P- and S-waves, b) characterize the fault zone, as well as c) analyse the influence of different fault zone properties on the seismic wave field. This work is part of the gebo collaborative research programme which is funded by the 'Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur' and Baker Hughes.

Rare normal faulting earthquake induced by subduction megaquake: example from 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishiyama, T.; Sugito, N.; Echigo, T.; Sato, H.; Suzuki, T.

2012-04-01

A month after March 11 gigantic M9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake, M7.0 intraplate earthquake occurred at a depth of 5 km on April 11 beneath coastal area of near Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture. Focal mechanism of the mainshock indicates that this earthquake is a normal faulting event. Based on field reconnaissance and LIDAR mapping by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, we recognized coseismic surface ruptures, presumably associated with the main shock. Coseismic surface ruptures extend NNW for about 11 km in a right-stepping en echelon manner. Geomorphic expressions of these ruptures commonly include WWS-facing normal fault scarps and/or drape fold scarp with open cracks on their crests, on the hanging wall sides of steeply west-dipping normal fault planes subparallel to Cretaceous metamorphic rocks. Highest topographic scarp height is about 2.3 m. In this study we introduce preliminary results of a trenching survey across the coseismic surface ruptures at Shionohira site, to resolve timing of paleoseismic events along the Shionohira fault. Trench excavations were carried out at two sites (Ichinokura and Shionohira sites) in Iwaki, Fukushima. At Shionohira site a 2-m-deep trench was excavated across the coseismic fault scarp emerged on the alluvial plain on the eastern flank of the Abukuma Mountains. On the trench walls we observed pairs of steeply dipping normal faults that deform Neogene to Paleogene conglomerates and unconformably overlying, late Quaternary to Holocene fluvial units. Sense of fault slip observed on the trench walls (large dip-slip with small sinistral component) is consistent with that estimated from coseismic surface ruptures. Fault throw estimated from separation of piercing points on lower Unit I and vertical structural relief on folded upper Unit I is consistent with topographic height of the coseismic fault scarp at the trench site. In contrast, vertical separation of Unit II, unconformably overlain by Unit I, is measured as about 1.5 m, twice as large as coseismic vertical component of slip, indicative of penultimate seismic event prior to the 2011 earthquake. Abrupt thickening of overlying Unit I may also suggest preexisting topographic relief prior to its deposition. Radiocarbon dating of charred materials included in event horizons and tephrostratigraphy at two sites indicate that penultimate event prior to the 2011 event might occurred at about 40 ka. This normal fault earthquake is in contrast to compressional or neutral stress regimes in Tohoku region before the 2011 megaquake and rarity of the normal faulting earthquake inferred from these paleoseismic studies may reflect its mechanical relation to the gigantic megathrust earthquakes, such as unusual, enhanced extensional stress on the hangingwall block induced by mainshock and/or postseismic creep after the M~9 earthquake.

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

Not Available

Gulf Research and Development Company is implementing a DOE-sponsored Underground Coal Gasification project in Steeply Dipping Coal Beds (UCG/SDB) in order to assess the economic and technical viability of UCG in SDB. In the Fall 1980 drilling program, 2 vertical and 2 slant process wells; 3 hydrologic and 1 exploratory well and 4 HFEM wells were completed. The Spring, 1981 program will consist of drilling the remaining instrumentation wells necessary to track the progress of the underground reactor in real time. These will consist of: 6 additional High Frequency Electromagnetic wells (HFEM) and 3 extensometer wells (X). These wells willmore » be installed vertically with an expected deviation of two degrees or less.« less

Bayesian inference and interpretation of centroid moment tensors of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence, Kyushu, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallo, Miroslav; Asano, Kimiyuki; Gallovič, František

2017-09-01

On April 16, 2016, Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu region, Japan, was devastated by a shallow M JMA7.3 earthquake. The series of foreshocks started by M JMA6.5 foreshock 28 h before the mainshock. They have originated in Hinagu fault zone intersecting the mainshock Futagawa fault zone; hence, the tectonic background for this earthquake sequence is rather complex. Here we infer centroid moment tensors (CMTs) for 11 events with M JMA between 4.8 and 6.5, using strong motion records of the K-NET, KiK-net and F-net networks. We use upgraded Bayesian full-waveform inversion code ISOLA-ObsPy, which takes into account uncertainty of the velocity model. Such an approach allows us to reliably assess uncertainty of the CMT parameters including the centroid position. The solutions show significant systematic spatial and temporal variations throughout the sequence. Foreshocks are right-lateral steeply dipping strike-slip events connected to the NE-SW shear zone. Those located close to the intersection of the Hinagu and Futagawa fault zones are dipping slightly to ESE, while those in the southern area are dipping to WNW. Contrarily, aftershocks are mostly normal dip-slip events, being related to the N-S extensional tectonic regime. Most of the deviatoric moment tensors contain only minor CLVD component, which can be attributed to the velocity model uncertainty. Nevertheless, two of the CMTs involve a significant CLVD component, which may reflect complex rupture process. Decomposition of those moment tensors into two pure shear moment tensors suggests combined right-lateral strike-slip and normal dip-slip mechanisms, consistent with the tectonic settings of the intersection of the Hinagu and Futagawa fault zones.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Initiation and Along-Axis Segmentation of Seaward-Dipping Volcanic Sequences Captured in Afar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebinger, C.; Wolfenden, E.; Yirgu, G.; Keir, D.

2003-12-01

The Afar triple junction zone provides a unique opportunity to examine the early development of magmatic margins, as respective limbs of the triple junction capture different stages of the breakup process. Initial rifting in the southernmost Red Sea occurred concurrent with, or soon after flood basaltic magmatism at ~31 Ma in the Ethiopia-Yemen plume province, whereas the northern part of the Main Ethiopian rift initiated after 12 Ma. Both rift systems initiated with the development of high-angle border fault systems bounding broad basins, but 8-10 My after rifting we see riftward migration of strain from the western border fault to narrow zones of increasingly more basaltic magmatism. These localised zones of faulting and volcanism (magmatic segments) show a segmentation independent of the border fault segmentation. The much older, more evolved magmatic segments in the southern Red Sea, where not onlapped by Pliocene-Recent sedimentary strata, dip steeply riftward and define a regional eastward flexure into transitional oceanic crust, as indicated by gravity models constrained by seismic refraction and receiver function data. The southern Red Sea magmatic segments have been abandoned in Pliocene-Recent triple junction reorganisations, whereas the process of seaward-dipping volcanic sequence emplacement is ongoing in the seismically and volcanically active Main Ethiopian rift. Field, remote sensing, gravity, and seismicity data from the Main Ethiopian and southern Red Sea rifts indicate that seaward-dipping volcanic sequences initiate in moderately stretched continental crust above a narrow zone of dike-intrusion. Our comparison of active and ancient magmatic segments show that they are the precursors to seaward-dipping volcanic sequences analogous to those seen on passive continental margins, and provides insights into the initiation of along-axis segmentation of seafloor-spreading centers.

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 178 (Antarctic Peninsula): Sedimentology of glacially influenced continental margin topsets and foresets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eyles, N.; Daniels, J.; Osterman, L.E.; Januszczak, N.

2001-01-01

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 178 (February-April 1998) drilled two sites (Sites 1097 and 1103) on the outer Antarctic Peninsula Pacific continental shelf. Recovered strata are no older than late Miocene or early Pliocene (<4.6 Ma). Recovery at shallow depths in loosely consolidated and iceberg-turbated bouldery sediment was poor but improved with increasing depth and consolidation to allow description of lithofacies and biofacies and interpretation of depositional environment. Site 1097 lies on the outer shelf within Marguerite Trough which is a major outlet for ice expanding seaward from the Antarctic Peninsula and reached a maximum depth drilled of 436.6 m below the sea floor (mbsf). Seismic stratigraphic data show flat-lying upper strata resting on strata that dip gently seaward. Uppermost strata, to a depth of 150 mbsf, were poorly recovered, but data suggest they consist of diamictites containing reworked and abraded marine microfauna. This interval is interpreted as having been deposited largely as till produced by subglacial cannibalization of marine sediments (deformation till) recording ice sheet expansion across the shelf. Underlying gently dipping strata show massive, stratified and graded diamictite facies with common bioturbation and slump stuctures that are interbedded with laminated and massive mudstones with dropstones. The succession contains a well-preserved in situ marine microfauna typical of open marine and proglacial marine environments. The lower gently dipping succession at Site 1097 is interpreted as a complex of sediment gravity flows formed of poorly sorted glacial debris. Site 1103 was drilled in that part of the continental margin that shows uppermost flat-lying continental shelf topsets overlying steeper dipping slope foresets seaward of a structural mid-shelf high. Drilling reached a depth of 363 mbsf with good recovery in steeply dipping continental slope foreset strata. Foreset strata are dominated by massive and chaotically stratified diamictites interbedded with massive and graded sandstones and mudstones. The sedimentary record and seismic stratigraphy is consistent with deposition on a continental slope from debris flows and turbidity currents released from a glacial source. Data from Sites 1097 and 1103 suggest the importance of aggradation of the Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf by tilt deposition and progradation of the slope by mass flow. This may provide a model for the interpretation of Palaeozoic and Proterozoic glacial successions that accumulated on glacially influenced continental margins.

Neo-Deterministic Seismic Hazard Assessment at Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant Site, Tennessee, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandmayr, E.; Cameron, C.; Vaccari, F.; Fasan, M.; Romanelli, F.; Magrin, A.; Vlahovic, G.

2017-12-01

Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant (WBNPP) is located within the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone (ETSZ), the second most naturally active seismic zone in the US east of the Rocky Mountains. The largest instrumental earthquakes in the ETSZ are M 4.6, although paleoseismic evidence supports events of M≥6.5. Events are mainly strike-slip and occur on steeply dipping planes at an average depth of 13 km. In this work, we apply the neo-deterministic seismic hazard assessment to estimate the potential seismic input at the plant site, which has been recently targeted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a seismic hazard reevaluation. First, we perform a parametric test on some seismic source characteristics (i.e. distance, depth, strike, dip and rake) using a one-dimensional regional bedrock model to define the most conservative scenario earthquakes. Then, for the selected scenario earthquakes, the estimate of the ground motion input at WBNPP is refined using a two-dimensional local structural model (based on the plant's operator documentation) with topography, thus looking for site amplification and different possible rupture processes at the source. WBNNP features a safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) design with PGA of 0.18 g and maximum spectral amplification (SA, 5% damped) of 0.46 g (at periods between 0.15 and 0.5 s). Our results suggest that, although for most of the considered scenarios the PGA is relatively low, SSE values can be reached and exceeded in the case of the most conservative scenario earthquakes.

Tertiary evolution of the Shimanto belt (Japan): A large-scale collision in Early Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raimbourg, Hugues; Famin, Vincent; Palazzin, Giulia; Yamaguchi, Asuka; Augier, Romain

2017-07-01

To decipher the Miocene evolution of the Shimanto belt of southwestern Japan, structural and paleothermal studies were carried out in the western area of Shikoku Island. All units constituting the belt, both in its Cretaceous and Tertiary domains, are in average strongly dipping to the NW or SE, while shortening directions deduced from fault kinematics are consistently orientated NNW-SSE. Peak paleotemperatures estimated with Raman spectra of organic matter increase strongly across the southern, Tertiary portion of the belt, in tandem with the development of a steeply dipping metamorphic cleavage. Near the southern tip of Ashizuri Peninsula, the unconformity between accreted strata and fore-arc basin, present along the whole belt, corresponds to a large paleotemperature gap, supporting the occurrence of a major collision in Early Miocene. This tectonic event occurred before the magmatic event that affected the whole belt at 15 Ma. The associated shortening was accommodated in two opposite modes, either localized on regional-scale faults such as the Nobeoka Tectonic Line in Kyushu or distributed through the whole belt as in Shikoku. The reappraisal of this collision leads to reinterpret large-scale seismic refraction profiles of the margins, where the unit underlying the modern accretionary prism is now attributed to an older package of deformed and accreted sedimentary units belonging to the Shimanto belt. When integrated into reconstructions of Philippine Sea Plate motion, the collision corresponds to the oblique collision of a paleo Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc with Japan in Early Miocene.

Geometry and earthquake potential of the shoreline fault, central California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hardebeck, Jeanne L.

2013-01-01

The Shoreline fault is a vertical strike‐slip fault running along the coastline near San Luis Obispo, California. Much is unknown about the Shoreline fault, including its slip rate and the details of its geometry. Here, I study the geometry of the Shoreline fault at seismogenic depth, as well as the adjacent section of the offshore Hosgri fault, using seismicity relocations and earthquake focal mechanisms. The Optimal Anisotropic Dynamic Clustering (OADC) algorithm (Ouillon et al., 2008) is used to objectively identify the simplest planar fault geometry that fits all of the earthquakes to within their location uncertainty. The OADC results show that the Shoreline fault is a single continuous structure that connects to the Hosgri fault. Discontinuities smaller than about 1 km may be undetected, but would be too small to be barriers to earthquake rupture. The Hosgri fault dips steeply to the east, while the Shoreline fault is essentially vertical, so the Hosgri fault dips towards and under the Shoreline fault as the two faults approach their intersection. The focal mechanisms generally agree with pure right‐lateral strike‐slip on the OADC planes, but suggest a non‐planar Hosgri fault or another structure underlying the northern Shoreline fault. The Shoreline fault most likely transfers strike‐slip motion between the Hosgri fault and other faults of the Pacific–North America plate boundary system to the east. A hypothetical earthquake rupturing the entire known length of the Shoreline fault would have a moment magnitude of 6.4–6.8. A hypothetical earthquake rupturing the Shoreline fault and the section of the Hosgri fault north of the Hosgri–Shoreline junction would have a moment magnitude of 7.2–7.5.

Prestack depth migration for complex 2D structure using phase-screen propagators

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

Roberts, P.; Huang, Lian-Jie; Burch, C.

1997-11-01

We present results for the phase-screen propagator method applied to prestack depth migration of the Marmousi synthetic data set. The data were migrated as individual common-shot records and the resulting partial images were superposed to obtain the final complete Image. Tests were performed to determine the minimum number of frequency components required to achieve the best quality image and this in turn provided estimates of the minimum computing time. Running on a single processor SUN SPARC Ultra I, high quality images were obtained in as little as 8.7 CPU hours and adequate images were obtained in as little as 4.4more » CPU hours. Different methods were tested for choosing the reference velocity used for the background phase-shift operation and for defining the slowness perturbation screens. Although the depths of some of the steeply dipping, high-contrast features were shifted slightly the overall image quality was fairly insensitive to the choice of the reference velocity. Our jests show the phase-screen method to be a reliable and fast algorithm for imaging complex geologic structures, at least for complex 2D synthetic data where the velocity model is known.« less

Evidence for large-magnitude, post-Eocene extension in the northern Shoshone Range, Nevada, and its implications for Carlin-type gold deposits in the lower plate of the Roberts Mountains allochthon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colgan, Joseph P.; Henry, Christopher D.; John, David A.

2014-01-01

The northern Shoshone and Toiyabe Ranges in north-central Nevada expose numerous areas of mineralized Paleozoic rock, including major Carlin-type gold deposits at Pipeline and Cortez. Paleozoic rocks in these areas were previously interpreted to have undergone negligible postmineralization extension and tilting, but here we present new data that suggest major post-Eocene extension along west-dipping normal faults. Tertiary rocks in the northern Shoshone Range crop out in two W-NW–trending belts that locally overlie and intrude highly deformed Lower Paleozoic rocks of the Roberts Mountains allochthon. Tertiary exposures in the more extensive, northern belt were interpreted as subvertical breccia pipes (intrusions), but new field data indicate that these “pipes” consist of a 35.8 Ma densely welded dacitic ash flow tuff (informally named the tuff of Mount Lewis) interbedded with sandstones and coarse volcaniclastic deposits. Both tuff and sedimentary rocks strike N-S and dip 30° to 70° E; the steeply dipping compaction foliation in the tuffs was interpreted as subvertical flow foliation in breccia pipes. The southern belt along Mill Creek, previously mapped as undivided welded tuff, includes the tuff of Cove mine (34.4 Ma) and unit B of the Bates Mountain Tuff (30.6 Ma). These tuffs dip 30° to 50° east, suggesting that their west-dipping contacts with underlying Paleozoic rocks (previously mapped as depositional) are normal faults. Tertiary rocks in both belts were deposited on Paleozoic basement and none appear to be breccia pipes. We infer that their present east tilt is due to extension on west-dipping normal faults. Some of these faults may be the northern strands of middle Miocene (ca. 16 Ma) faults that cut and tilted the 34.0 Ma Caetano caldera ~40° east in the central Shoshone Range (

Control of fault shearing on the fabric of a syn-tectonic granite : magnetic fabric and crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) of quartz input

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, Bastien; Géraud, Yves; Diraison, Marc; Oliot, Emilien

2013-04-01

The late-Miocene monzogranitic pluton of Porto Azzurro (PA) on Elba Island (Italy), was emplaced in the footwall of the N-S striking Zuccale Fault (ZF), a Low-Angle Normal Fault (LANF). In the Barbarossa outcrop, this poorly exposed pluton shows few NNE-SSW and WNW-ESE striking shear bands, respectively moderately dipping eastward and steeply dipping northward, which appear to be associated to the brittle fracturation, and no clear relationship between all these structures and the ZF is described. In order to get information about possible relationship between these shear bands, brittle structures and prior fabric of this igneous stock, and about the timing of formation of these ductile deformations relative to the pluton emplacement, rock fabrics were studied on samples taken both inside and outside of one of these shear bands. The magnetic fabric was analyzed with anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility measurements (AMS), and the crystallographic preferred orientations of dynamically recrystallized quartz were measured with the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) method. Quartz CPOs are directly compared, after EBSD data processing, with the macroscopic ductile structures orientation, according to the geographical North. The pooling of data of these two methods reveals two distinct petrofabrics within the Barbarossa monzogranite. The first fabric, with a low dip angle, is identified only on samples taken outside of the influence of the shear bands. Orientation of paramagnetic minerals, with biotite as the main magnetic mineral carrier, and quartz CPOs are consistent, pervasive within the whole outcrop and are linked to the eastward extension produced by the LANF Zuccale Fault. This fabric suggests that the dynamic of the magmatic supplies during emplacement of the pluton of PA was controlled by the LANF's extension, and confirms this magmatic intrusion to be likely syn-tectonic. The second fabric is identified close or within the studied shear bands with a similar orientation to them. Our data show that these ductile structures impose a local new tectonic fabric overprinting the pre-existing one. The common re-orientation of the magnetic minerals, of the recrystallized quartz and of the brittle structures suggest a strain localization and a continuous strain process localized along stain bands from late-magmatic flowing, highlighted by biotite orientation, then during shear bands activation, at temperature around 350-400° C. Finally, these structures would have remained active through the ductile-brittle transition, leading to the localized intense fracturation of the Barbarossa outcrop.

Hydrogeologic setting, ground-water flow, and ground-water quality at the Lake Wheeler Road research station, 2001-03 : North Carolina Piedmont and Mountains Resource Evaluation Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chapman, Melinda J.; Bolich, Richard E.; Huffman, Brad A.

2005-01-01

Results of a 2-year field study of the regolith-fractured bedrock ground-water system at the Lake Wheeler Road research station in Wake County, North Carolina, indicate both disconnection and interaction among components of the ground-water system. The three components of the ground-water system include (1) shallow, porous regolith; (2) a transition zone, including partially weathered rock, having both secondary (fractures) and primary porosity; and (3) deeper, fractured bedrock that has little, if any, primary porosity and is dominated by secondary fractures. The research station includes 15 wells (including a well transect from topographic high to low settings) completed in the three major components of the ground-water-flow system and a surface-water gaging station on an unnamed tributary. The Lake Wheeler Road research station is considered representative of a felsic gneiss hydrogeologic unit having steeply dipping foliation and a relatively thick overlying regolith. Bedrock foliation generally strikes N. 10? E. to N. 30? E. and N. 20? W. to N. 40? W. to a depth of about 400 feet and dips between 70? and 80? SE. and NE., respectively. From 400 to 600 feet, the foliation generally strikes N. 70? E. to N. 80? E., dipping 70? to 80? SE. Depth to bedrock locally ranges from about 67 to 77 feet below land surface. Fractures in the bedrock generally occur in two primary sets: low dip angle, stress relief fractures that cross cut foliation, and steeply dipping fractures parallel to foliation. Findings of this study generally support the conceptual models of ground-water flow from high to low topographic settings developed for the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Provinces in previous investigations, but are considered a refinement of the generalized conceptual model based on a detailed local-scale investigation. Ground water flows toward a surface-water boundary, and hydraulic gradients generally are downward in recharge areas and upward in discharge areas; however, local variations in vertical gradients are apparent. Water-quality sampling and monitoring efforts were conducted to characterize the interaction of components of the ground-water system. Elevated nitrate concentrations as high as 22 milligrams per liter were detected in shallow ground water from the regolith at the study site. These elevated nitrate concentrations likely are related to land use, which includes agricultural practices that involve animal feeding operations and crop fertilization. Continuous ground-water-quality data indicate seasonal fluctuations in field water-quality properties, differences with respect to depth, and fluctuations during recharge events. Water-quality properties recorded in the regolith well following rainfall indicate the upwelling of deeper ground water in the discharge area, likely from ground water in the transition-zone fractures. Additionally, interaction with a surface-water boundary appears likely in the ground-water discharge area, as water levels in all three ground-water zones, including the deep bedrock, mimic the surface-water rise during rainfall.

Geophysical characteristics and crustal structure of greenstone terranes: Canadian Shield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, M. D.; Losier, L.; Thurston, P. C.; Gupta, V. K.; Gibb, R. A.; Grieve, R. A. F.

1986-01-01

Geophysical studies in the Canadian Shield have provided some insights into the tectonic setting of greenstone belts. Greenstone belts are not rooted in deep crustal structures. Geophysical techniques consistently indicate that greenstones are restricted to the uppermost 10 km or so of crust and are underlain by geophysically normal crust. Gravity models suggest that granitic elements are similarly restricted, although magnetic modelling suggests possible downward extension to the intermediate discontinuity around approx. 18 km. Seismic evidence demonstrates that steeply-dipping structure, which can be associated with the belts in the upper crust, is not present in the lower crust. Horizontal intermediate discontinuities mapped under adjacent greenstone and granitic components are not noticeably disrupted in the boundary zone. Geophysical evidence points to the presence of discontinuities between greenhouse-granite and adjacent metasedimentary erranes. Measured stratigraphic thicknesses of greenstone belts are often twice or more the vertical thicknesses determined from gravity modelling. Explantations advanced for the discrepancy include stratigraphy repeated by thrust faulting and/or listric normal faulting, mechanisms which are consistent with certain aspects of conceptual models of greenstone development. Where repetition is not a factor the gravity evidence points to removal of the root zones of greenstone belts. For one region, this has been attributed to magmatic stopping during resurgent caldera activity.

Role of Precambrian compositions and fabrics in the development of foreland structures, southern Front Range, Colorado

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

Chase, R.B.

1985-01-01

The Front Range terminates to the south as three basement-cored uplifts located north and west of the Canon City embayment. Precambrian units consist of foliated and non-foliated granitic rocks, augen gneiss, interlayered schist and gneiss, amphibolite, quartzite, and pegmatite. Precambrian deformations include at least three phases of folding, two phases of crenulation cleavage development, and local mylonitization. Metamorphic conditions reached those of cordierite-sillimanite grade. Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments surround and overlap the exposed uplifts to form south-plunging arches. Excellent three-dimensional exposure of structural relationships between Precambrian rocks and overlying Phanerozoic sediments is present. Deformation styles in the sedimentary cover aremore » strongly influenced by underlying Precambrian lithologies and structural orientations. Where the crystalline units are granitic, with steeply-dipping foliation or no directional fabric, uplifts are bounded by high angle faults. Some such faults show evidence of repeated movements and reversals dating back to Precambrian time. The boundary between mechanical basement and suprastructure is clearly not defined as the base of the sedimentary section. Balanced cross-sections constructed through the southern Front Range must include contemporaneous flexural folds and thrusts in Precambrian schistose and gneissic rocks as well as in Phanerozoic sedimentary layers.« less

A low-temperature ductile shear zone: The gypsum-dominated western extension of the brittle Fella-Sava Fault, Southern Alps.

PubMed

Bartel, Esther Maria; Neubauer, Franz; Heberer, Bianca; Genser, Johann

2014-12-01

Based on structural and fabric analyses at variable scales we investigate the evaporitic gypsum-dominated Comeglians-Paularo shear zone in the Southern Alps (Friuli). It represents the lateral western termination of the brittle Fella-Sava Fault. Missing dehydration products of gypsum and the lack of annealing indicate temperatures below 100 °C during development of the shear zone. Despite of such low temperatures the shear zone clearly exhibits mylonitic flow, thus evidencing laterally coeval activity of brittle and viscous deformation. The dominant structures within the gypsum rocks of the Lower Bellerophon Formation are a steeply to gently S-dipping foliation, a subhorizontal stretching lineation and pure shear-dominated porphyroclast systems. A subordinate simple shear component with dextral displacement is indicated by scattered σ-clasts. Both meso- and microscale structures are characteristic of a subsimple shear type of deformation with components of both coaxial and non-coaxial strain. Shortening in a transpressive regime was accommodated by right-lateral displacement and internal pure shear deformation within the Comeglians-Paularo shear zone. The shear zone shows evidence for a combination of two stretching faults, where stretching occurred in the rheologically weaker gypsum member and brittle behavior in enveloping lithologies.

Geomorphology and Kinematics of the Nobi-Ise Active Fault Zone, Central Japan: Implications for the kinematic growth of tectonic landforms within an active thrust belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishiyama, T.; Mueller, K. J.; Togo, M.; Takemura, K.; Okada, A.

2002-12-01

We present structural models constrained by tectonic geomorphology, surface geologic mapping and high-resolution seismic reflection profiles to define the kinematic evolution and geometry of active fault-related folds along the Nobi-Ise active fault zone (NAFZ). The NAFZ is an active intraplate fault system in central Japan, and consists of a 110-km-long array of active, east-verging reverse faults. We focus on the northern half of the NAFZ, where we use the kinematic evolution of active fault-related folds to constrain rates of slip on underlying blind thrusts and the rate of contraction across the belt since early Quaternary time. Fluvial terraces folded across the east-dipping forelimb, and west-dipping backlimb of the frontal Kuwana anticline suggest that it grows above a stacked sequence of thin-skinned wedge thrusts. Numerous secondary, bedding-parallel thrusts also deform the terraces and are interpreted to form by flexural slip folding that acts to consume slip on the primary blind thrusts across synclinal axial surfaces. Late Holocene fold scarps formed in the floodplain of the Ibi River east of Kuwana anticline coincide with the projected surface trace of the east-vergent wedge thrust tip and indicate the structure has accommodated coseismic (?) kink-band migration of a fault-bend fold during a historic blind thrust earthquake in 1586. A topographic cross-section based on a detailed photogrammetric map suggests 111 m of uplift of ca. 50-80 ka fluvial terraces deposited across the forelimb. For a 35° thrust, this yields the minimum slip rate of 2.7-4.8 mm/yr on the deepest wedge thrust beneath Kuwana anticline. Kinematic analysis for the much larger thrust defined to the west (the Fumotomura fault) suggests that folding of fluvial terraces occurred by trishear fault-propagation folding above a more steeply-dipping (54°), basement-involved blind thrust that propagated upward from the base of the seismogenic crust (about 12 km). Pleistocene growth strata defined by tephra (ca. 1.6 Ma) suggest the Fumotomura fault slips at a rate of 0.7-0.9 mm/yr.

Improving the resolution of the 2010 Haiti earthquake fault geometry using temporary seismometer deployments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douilly, R.; Haase, J. S.; Ellsworth, W. L.; Bouin, M.; Calais, E.; Armbruster, J. G.; Mercier De Lepinay, B. F.; Deschamps, A.; Saint Louis, M.; Meremonte, M. E.; Hough, S. E.

2011-12-01

Haiti has several active faults that are capable of producing large earthquakes such as the 2010 Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake. This earthquake was not unexpected, given geodetic measurements showing strain accumulation on the Enriquillo Plantain Garden Fault Zone, the major fault system in southern Haiti (Manaker et al. 2008). GPS and INSAR data (Calais et al., 2010) show, however, that this rupture occurred on the previously unmapped Léogâne fault, a 60° north dipping oblique blind thrust located immediately north of the Enriquillo Fault. Following the earthquake, several groups installed temporary seismic stations to record aftershocks. Natural Resources Canada installed three broadband seismic stations, Géoazur installed 21 ocean bottom seismometers, L'Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris installed 5 broadband seismometers, and the United States Geological Survey deployed 17 short period and strong motion seismometers in and around Port-au-Prince. We use data from this complete set of stations, along with data from permanent regional stations, to relocate all of the events from March 17 to June 24, to determine the regional one-dimensional crustal structure and determine focal mechanisms. The aftershock locations from the combined data set clearly delineate the Léogâne fault. The strike and dip closely agrees with that of the global centroid moment tensor solution, but appears to be more steeply dipping than the finite fault inversions. The aftershocks also delineate a flat structure on the west side of the rupture zone and may indicate triggered seismicity on the Trois Baies fault, although the depths of these events are not as well constrained. There is no clear evidence for aftershocks on the other rupture segments inferred in the Hayes et al. (2010) mainshock rupture model. There is a cluster of aftershocks in the hanging wall near the western patch of high slip identified by Calais et al. (2010) and Meng et al. (2011), or central patch in the Hayes et al. (2010) model. We use first-motion focal mechanism solutions to clarify the relationship of the fault geometry to the mechanisms of the larger events.

Fault zone processes in mechanically layered mudrock and chalk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrill, David A.; Evans, Mark A.; McGinnis, Ronald N.; Morris, Alan P.; Smart, Kevin J.; Wigginton, Sarah S.; Gulliver, Kirk D. H.; Lehrmann, Daniel; de Zoeten, Erich; Sickmann, Zach

2017-04-01

A 1.5 km long natural cliff outcrop of nearly horizontal Eagle Ford Formation in south Texas exposes northwest and southeast dipping normal faults with displacements of 0.01-7 m cutting mudrock, chalk, limestone, and volcanic ash. These faults provide analogs for both natural and hydraulically-induced deformation in the productive Eagle Ford Formation - a major unconventional oil and gas reservoir in south Texas, U.S.A. - and other mechanically layered hydrocarbon reservoirs. Fault dips are steep to vertical through chalk and limestone beds, and moderate through mudrock and clay-rich ash, resulting in refracted fault profiles. Steeply dipping fault segments contain rhombohedral calcite veins that cross the fault zone obliquely, parallel to shear segments in mudrock. The vertical dimensions of the calcite veins correspond to the thickness of offset competent beds with which they are contiguous, and the slip parallel dimension is proportional to fault displacement. Failure surface characteristics, including mixed tensile and shear segments, indicate hybrid failure in chalk and limestone, whereas shear failure predominates in mudrock and ash beds - these changes in failure mode contribute to variation in fault dip. Slip on the shear segments caused dilation of the steeper hybrid segments. Tabular sheets of calcite grew by repeated fault slip, dilation, and cementation. Fluid inclusion and stable isotope geochemistry analyses of fault zone cements indicate episodic reactivation at 1.4-4.2 km depths. The results of these analyses document a dramatic bed-scale lithologic control on fault zone architecture that is directly relevant to the development of porosity and permeability anisotropy along faults.

Geologic map of the Storm King Mountain quadrangle, Garfield County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bryant, Bruce; Shroba, Ralph R.; Harding, Anne E.; Murray, Kyle E.

2002-01-01

New 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping in the Storm King Mountain 7.5' quadrangle, in support of the USGS Western Colorado I-70 Corridor Cooperative Geologic Mapping Project, provides new data on the structure on the south margin of the White River uplift and the Grand Hogback and on the nature, history, and distribution of surficial geologic units. Rocks ranging from Holocene to Proterozoic in age are shown on the map. The Canyon Creek Conglomerate, a unit presently known to only occur in this quadrangle, is interpreted to have been deposited in a very steep sided local basin formed by dissolution of Pennsylvanian evaporite late in Tertiary time. At the top of the Late Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation is a unit of sandstone, siltstone, and claystone from which Late Cretaceous palynomorphs were obtained in one locality. This interval has been mapped previously as Ohio Creek Conglomerate, but it does not fit the current interpretation of the origin of the Ohio Creek. Rocks previously mapped as Frontier Sandstone and Mowry Shale are here mapped as the lower member of the Mancos Shale and contain beds equivalent to the Juana Lopez Member of the Mancos Shale in northwestern New Mexico. The Pennsylvanian Eagle Valley Formation in this quadrangle grades into Eagle Valley Evaporite as mapped by Kirkham and others (1997) in the Glenwood Springs area. The Storm King Mountain quadrangle spans the south margin of the White River uplift and crosses the Grand Hogback monocline into the Piceance basin. Nearly flat lying Mississippian through Cambrian sedimentary rocks capping the White River uplift are bent into gentle south dips and broken by faults at the edge of the uplift. South of these faults the beds dip moderately to steeply to the south and are locally overturned. These dips are interrupted by a structural terrace on which are superposed numerous gentle minor folds and faults. This terrace has an east-west extent similar to that of the Canyon Creek Conglomerate to the north. We interpret that the terrace formed by movement of Eagle Evaporite from below in response to dissolution and diapirism in the area underlain by the conglomerate. A low-angle normal fault dipping gently north near the north margin of the quadrangle may have formed also in response to diapirism and dissolution in the area of the Canyon Creek Conglomerate. Along the east edge of the quadrangle Miocene basalt flows are offset by faults along bedding planes in underlying south-dipping Cretaceous rocks, probably because of diapiric movement of evaporite into the Cattle Creek anticline (Kirkham and Widmann, 1997). Steep topography and weak rocks combine to produce a variety of geologic hazards in the quadrangle.

Magnetite deposits near Klukwan and Haines, southeastern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robertson, Eugene C.

1956-01-01

Low-grade iron ore is found in magnetite-bearing pyroxenite bodies near Klukwan and Haines in Southeastern Alaska. An alluvial fan at Haines also contains magnetite-bearing rock of possible economic significance. The Haines-Klukwan area is underlain by rocks of Mesozoic Including epidote diorite, quartz diorite, and alaskite of the Coast Range batholith, metabasalt (recrystallized lava flows and pyroclastic rocks), and, in the southern part, interbedded slate and limestone. Layering and foliation, where perceptible, generally strike northwest and dip steeply northeast. The iron deposits are found at or near the contact between the metabasalt and epidote diorite; they appear to represent highly-altered lava flows that were metamorphosed during the emplacement of the batholith. Several billion tens of rock containing about 13 percent magnetic iron are included in the pyroxenite body at Klukwan. Sampling and dip-needle data suggest the presence there of two or three tabular aches in which the rock has an average magnetic iron content of 20 percent or more. Pyroxenite bodies outcropping in three areas near Haines apparently are lower in grade than the Klukwan deposit; lack of exposures prevented thorough sampling but reconnaissance traverses with a dip needle failed to reveal important zones of high-grade iron ore. An alluvial fan adjoining the pyroxenite body at Klukwan contains several hundred million tons of broken rock having a magneticiron content of about 10 percent.

Insights Into Magma Ascent During Shallow-Level Crustal Shortening From Magnetic Fabrics of the Philipsburg Batholith, SW Montana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naibert, T. J.; Geissman, J. W.

2007-12-01

Latest Cretaceous development of the Sevier fold and thrust belt in SW Montana overlapped spatially with silicic magmatism. In the fold thrust belt, large volumes of magma were emplaced well east of the main magmatic arc, now exposed as the Idaho Batholith. Hypothesized mechanisms for emplacement of magma within the overthrust belt often involve magma ascent along shallow, west-dipping faults. The ~ 74 Ma (K-Ar method) Philipsburg Batholith is a 122 km2 tabular granodiorite emplaced into deformed Precambrian Belt Supergroup through Cretaceous strata. The Philipsburg Batholith lies in the upper plate of the Georgetown- Princeton Thrust, NW of Anaconda, Montana and cross-cuts two other previously mapped faults. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements of 122 sites from the Philipsburg Batholith define magnetic foliations and/or lineations to test magma ascent along the Georgetown-Princeton Thrust. AMS fabrics in the Philipsburg Batholith, dominantly defined by magnetite, are generally oblate or triaxial and are typically very consistent at the site level. Preliminary fabric data show subhorizontal foliations across most of the batholith, with steeply dipping foliations near the margins and a minor increase in foliation dip near the inferred fault trace. The hypothesis of magma ascent along fault surfaces will be supported if further data confirm the concentration of relatively steep foliation orientations across the trace of the Georgetown-Princeton thrust.

The Transantarctic Mountains of southern Victoria Land: The application of Apatite fission track analysis to a rift shoulder uplift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzgerald, Paul G.

1992-06-01

A fission track study of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) in the Granite Harbour and Wilson Piedmont Glacier areas of southern Victoria Land reveals information on the timing of uplift, the amount of uplift and erosion, and the structure of the mountains, especially the onshore Transantarctic Mountain Front (TAM Front), which represents the boundary between East and West Antarctica. Apatite ages are < 175 Ma and represent a thermal regime established after heating accompanying Jurassic magmatism. An apatite age profile from Mount England records a break in slope indicating uplift began at ˜55 Ma. Horizontal sampling traverses, plus fieldwork, delineate the structure of the TAM Front as a zone of north-south striking, steeply dipping normal faults, with displacements, dominantly down to the east, of 40-1000 m. The overall structure of the mountains in the area studied can be envisaged as a large tilt block or flexure. Its westerly limb dips gently under the ice cap, compared to its faulted eastern edge, the TAM Front. The bounding structure to the south is the Ferrar fault and to the north is a graben through which the Mackay Glacier drains the polar plateau. The edge of the flexure, or axis of maximum uplift, lies at Mount Termination, ˜30 km west of the McMurdo Sound coast. There has been ˜6 km of uplift since the early Cenozoic and 4.5-5 km of erosion along this axis. The amount of uplift decreases to the west at the same rate as the decrease in dip of the Kukri Peneplain, but the amount of erosion decreases more quickly as indicated by the increasing height of the mountains to the west. The axis of maximum uplift is traced north to Granite Harbour. The axis does not parallel the coast but has a more northerly trend. North-south striking longitudinal faults that delineate the structure of the TAM Front lie at an acute angle to the axis, indicating a dextral component to the dominantly east-west extension in the Ross Embayment. Architecture of the TAM typifies the features of an upper plate passive mountain range, whereas the Ross Embayment has the characteristics of a lower plate. The TAM Front represents an upper plate breakaway zone. Transfer faults may exist up major outlet glaciers that cut the TAM. The inflection point in the coastline at the southern end of McMurdo Sound may be due to the presence of a major transfer fault up or near the Skelton Glacier.

Relationship between the Porco, Bolivia, Ag-Zn-Pb-Sn deposit and the Porco Caldera

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cunningham, C.G.

1994-01-01

The Porco Ag-Zn-Pb-Sn deposit, a major Ag producer in the 16th century and currently the major Zn producer in Bolivia, consists of a swarm of fissure-filling veins in the newly recognized Porco caldera. The caldera measures 5 km by 3 km and formed in response to the eruption of the 12 Ma crystal-rich dacitic Porco Tuff. The mineralization is associated with, and is probably genetically related to, the 8.6 Ma Huayna Porco stock. The Porco deposit consists of steeply dipping irregular and curvilinear veins that cut the intracaldera Porco Tuff about 1 km east of the Huayna Porco stock. Most of the veins are aligned along the structural margin (ring fracture) of the caldera. The ore deposit is zoned around the Huayna Porco stock. The primary Ag minerals are most abundant in the upper parts of the viens. Fluid inclusions in sphalerite stalactites have homogenization temperatures of about 225??C and salinities of about 8 wt% NaCl equiv. The stalactites and the presence of sparse vapor-rich inclusions suggest deposition of sphalerite under boiling conditions. -from Authors

ANALYSIS OF OIL-BEARING CRETACEOUS SANDSTONE HYDROCARBON RESERVOIRS, EXCLUSIVE OF THE DAKOTA SANDSTONE, ON THE JICARILLA APACHE INDIAN RESERVATION, NEW MEXICO

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

Jennie Ridgley

2000-01-21

An additional 450 wells were added to the structural database; there are now 2550 wells in the database with corrected tops on the Juana Lopez, base of the Bridge Creek Limestone, and datum. This completes the structural data base compilation. Fifteen oil and five gas fields from the Mancos-ElVado interval were evaluated with respect to the newly defined sequence stratigraphic model for this interval. The five gas fields are located away from the structural margins of the deep part of the San Juan Basin. All the fields have characteristics of basin-centered gas and can be considered as continuous gas accumulationsmore » as recently defined by the U.S. Geological Survey. Oil production occurs in thinly interbedded sandstone and shale or in discrete sandstone bodies. Production is both from transgressive and regressive strata as redefined in this study. Oil production is both stratigraphically and structurally controlled with production occurring along the Chaco slope or in steeply west-dipping rocks along the east margin of the basin. The ElVado Sandstone of subsurface usage is redefined to encompass a narrower interval; it appears to be more time correlative with the Dalton Sandstone. Thus, it was deposited as part of a regressive sequence, in contrast to the underlying rock units which were deposited during transgression.« less

Fracture Patterns within the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singha, K.; White, T.; Perron, J.; Chattopadhyay, P. B.; Duffy, C.

2012-12-01

Rock fractures are known to exist within the deep Critical Zone and are expected to influence groundwater flow, but there are limited data on their orientation and spatial arrangement and no general framework for systematically predicting their effects. Here, we explore fracture patterns within the Susquehanna-Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory, and consider how they may be influenced by weathering, rock structure, and stress via field observations of variable fracture orientation within the site, with implications for the spatial variability of structural control on hydrologic processes. Based on field observations from 16-m deep boreholes and surface outcrop, we suggest that the appropriate structural model for the watershed is steeply dipping strata with meter- to decimeter-scale folds superimposed, including a superimposed fold at the mouth of the watershed that creates a short fold limb with gently dipping strata. These settings would produce an anisotropy in the hydraulic conductivity and perhaps also flow, especially within the context of the imposed stress field. Recently conducted 2-D numerical stress modeling indicates that the proxy for shear fracture declines more rapidly with depth beneath valleys than beneath ridgelines, which may produce or enhance the spatial variability in permeability. Even if topographic stresses do not cause new fractures, they could activate and cause displacement on old fractures, making the rocks easier to erode and increasing the permeability, and potentially driving a positive feedback that enhances the growth of valley relief. Calculated stress fields are consistent with field observations, which show a rapid decline in fracture abundance with increasing depth below the valley floor, and predict a more gradual trend beneath ridgetops, leading to a more consistent (and lower) hydraulic conductivity with depth on the ridgetops when compared to the valley, where values are higher but more variable with depth. Hydraulic conductivity is a fundamental property controlling the zone of active flow within the watershed.

3D Model of the Tuscarora Geothermal Area

DOE Data Explorer

Faulds, James E.

2013-12-31

The Tuscarora geothermal system sits within a ~15 km wide left-step in a major west-dipping range-bounding normal fault system. The step over is defined by the Independence Mountains fault zone and the Bull Runs Mountains fault zone which overlap along strike. Strain is transferred between these major fault segments via and array of northerly striking normal faults with offsets of 10s to 100s of meters and strike lengths of less than 5 km. These faults within the step over are one to two orders of magnitude smaller than the range-bounding fault zones between which they reside. Faults within the broad step define an anticlinal accommodation zone wherein east-dipping faults mainly occupy western half of the accommodation zone and west-dipping faults lie in the eastern half of the accommodation zone. The 3D model of Tuscarora encompasses 70 small-offset normal faults that define the accommodation zone and a portion of the Independence Mountains fault zone, which dips beneath the geothermal field. The geothermal system resides in the axial part of the accommodation, straddling the two fault dip domains. The Tuscarora 3D geologic model consists of 10 stratigraphic units. Unconsolidated Quaternary alluvium has eroded down into bedrock units, the youngest and stratigraphically highest bedrock units are middle Miocene rhyolite and dacite flows regionally correlated with the Jarbidge Rhyolite and modeled with uniform cumulative thickness of ~350 m. Underlying these lava flows are Eocene volcanic rocks of the Big Cottonwood Canyon caldera. These units are modeled as intracaldera deposits, including domes, flows, and thick ash deposits that change in thickness and locally pinch out. The Paleozoic basement of consists metasedimenary and metavolcanic rocks, dominated by argillite, siltstone, limestone, quartzite, and metabasalt of the Schoonover and Snow Canyon Formations. Paleozoic formations are lumped in a single basement unit in the model. Fault blocks in the eastern portion of the model are tilted 5-30 degrees toward the Independence Mountains fault zone. Fault blocks in the western portion of the model are tilted toward steeply east-dipping normal faults. These opposing fault block dips define a shallow extensional anticline. Geothermal production is from 4 closely-spaced wells, that exploit a west-dipping, NNE-striking fault zone near the axial part of the accommodation zone.

Geometrical and mechanical constraints on the formation of ring-fault calderas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folch, A.; Martí, J.

2004-04-01

Ash-flow, plate-subsidence (piston-like) calderas are bounded by a set of arcuated sub-vertical collapse faults named ring-faults. Experimental studies on caldera formation, performed mostly using spherical or cylindrical magma chamber geometries, find that the resulting ring-faults correspond to steeply outward dipping reverse faults, and show that pre-existing fractures developed during pre-eruptive phases of pressure increase may play a major role in controlling the final collapse mechanism, a situation that should be expected in small to medium sized ring-fault calderas developed on top of composite volcanoes or volcanic clusters. On the other hand, some numerical experiments indicate that large sill-like, elongated magma chambers may induce collapse due to roof bending without fault reactivation, as seems to occur in large plate-subsidence calderas formed independently of pre-existing volcanoes. Also, numerical experiments allow the formation of nearly vertical or steeply inward dipping normal ring-faults, in contrast with most of the analogue models. Using a thermoelastic model, we investigate the geometrical and mechanical conditions to form ring-fault calderas, in particular the largest ones, without needing a previous crust fracturing. Results are given in terms of two dimensionless geometrical parameters, namely λ and e. The former is the chamber extension to chamber depth ratio, whereas the latter stands for the chamber eccentricity. We propose that the ( λ, e) pair determinates two different types of ring-fault calderas with different associated collapse regimes. Ring-fault region A is related to large plate-subsidence calderas (i.e. Andean calderas or Western US calderas), for which few depressurisation is needed to set up a collapse initially governed by flexural bending of the chamber roof. In contrast, ring-fault region B is related to small to moderate sized calderas (i.e. composite volcano calderas), for which much depressurisation is needed. Our opinion is that collapse requires, in the latter case, reactivation of pre-existing fractures and it is therefore more complex and history dependent.

Post-glacial rock avalanches in the Obersee Valley, Glarner Alps, Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagelisen, Jan; Moore, Jeffrey R.; Vockenhuber, Christoph; Ivy-Ochs, Susan

2015-06-01

The geological record of prehistoric rock avalanches provides invaluable data for assessing the hazard posed by these rare but destructive mass movements. Here we investigate two large rock avalanches in the Obersee valley of the Glarner Alps, Switzerland, providing detailed mapping of landslide and related Quaternary phenomena, revised volume estimates for each event, and surface exposure dating of rock avalanche deposits. The Rautispitz rock avalanche originated from the southern flank of the Obersee valley, releasing approximately 91 million m3 of limestone on steeply-dipping bedding planes. Debris had maximum horizontal travel distance of ~ 5000 m, a fahrboeschung angle (relating fall height to length) of 18°, and was responsible for the creation of Lake Obersee; deposits are more than 130 m thick in places. The Platten rock avalanche encompassed a source volume of 11 million m3 sliding from the northern flank of the Obersee valley on similar steeply-dipping limestone beds (bedrock forms a syncline under the valley). Debris had a maximum horizontal travel distance of 1600 m with a fahrboeschung angle of 21°, and is more than 80 m thick in places. Deposits of the Platten rock avalanche are superposed atop those from the Rautispitz event at the end of the Obersee valley where they dam Lake Haslensee. Runout for both events was simulated using the dynamic analysis code DAN3D; results showed excellent match to mapped deposit extents and thickness and helped confirm the hypothesized single-event failure scenarios. 36Cl cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating of 13 deposited boulders revealed a Younger Dryas age of 12.6 ± 1.0 ka for the Rautispitz rock avalanche and a mid-Holocene age of 6.1 ± 0.8 ka for the Platten rock avalanche. A seismological trigger is proposed for the former event due to potentially correlated turbidite deposits in nearby Lake Zurich.

A Normal-faulting Paleostress in the Vicinity of Up-dip Limit of Seismogenic Zone Detected by Meso-scale Fault Analysis in a Tectonic Mélange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, K.; Ikesawa, E.; Kimura, G.

2003-12-01

The Mugi mélange in the Shimanto Belt, SW Japan, is a mixture of terrigenous and oceanic materials of late Cretaceous to Paleocene. Intermittent bedding planes trend ENE-WSW to E-W (subparallel to the Nankai trough axis) and dip steeply northward. The Mugi mélange consists of several duplex units accompanied by shear zones of basalt layers at their boundaries. Systematic shear fabrics and P-T conditions estimated from analyses of vitrinite reflectance and fluid inclusions indicate that the Mugi mélange had once been subducted to a significant depth (6-7 km below sea floor, which appears to coincide with the up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone), then underplated to the Shimanto accretionary prism, and is now exhumed on ground surface. In this study, for the purpose of determining paleostress fields related to the processes in which subducted materials were deformed, underplated and uplifted to surface, orientations of meso-scale faults and striations were analyzed. Stress inversion techniques including Angelier's Inversion, Multiple Inversion and Ginkgo Method were applied to fault-slip data obtained in each duplex unit of the Mugi mélange, and the results were almost consistent with each other. Most of the resultant σ 1 axes trend N-S horizontally, and are parallel to poles of shale cleavages, which are roughly parallel to bedding planes. Although the cleavages slightly vary their orientations according to later rotation, σ 1 axis changes together with them. This cleavage-controlled paleostress has a low Bishop's stress ratio (i.e. low magnitude of σ 2), therefore is an axial compressional stress normal to cleavages. The restored paleostress was probably exerted just before or at the same time of the formation of duplex structure and the rotation of bedding planes. The meso-scale faults appear to have been formed as normal ones due to overburden. P-T conditions estimated by analysis of fluid inclusions, which occur in the mineral veins sealing measured faults, and cross-cutting relationships between the faults and unit boundary shear zones indicate the simultaneity of these faulting and duplexing. The duplex structure is thought to be formed at the moment of underplating and be caused by stepdown of the décollement. A great variety of drastic changes in properties of material and circumstance such as stress field may occur at the very point of the stepdown, underplating of subducted material, and the up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone.

Aftershocks illuminate the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake causative fault zone and nearby active faults

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horton, J. Wright; Shah, Anjana K.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Snyder, Stephen L.; Carter, Aina M

2015-01-01

Deployment of temporary seismic stations after the 2011 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake produced a well-recorded aftershock sequence. The majority of aftershocks are in a tabular cluster that delineates the previously unknown Quail fault zone. Quail fault zone aftershocks range from ~3 to 8 km in depth and are in a 1-km-thick zone striking ~036° and dipping ~50°SE, consistent with a 028°, 50°SE main-shock nodal plane having mostly reverse slip. This cluster extends ~10 km along strike. The Quail fault zone projects to the surface in gneiss of the Ordovician Chopawamsic Formation just southeast of the Ordovician–Silurian Ellisville Granodiorite pluton tail. The following three clusters of shallow (<3 km) aftershocks illuminate other faults. (1) An elongate cluster of early aftershocks, ~10 km east of the Quail fault zone, extends 8 km from Fredericks Hall, strikes ~035°–039°, and appears to be roughly vertical. The Fredericks Hall fault may be a strand or splay of the older Lakeside fault zone, which to the south spans a width of several kilometers. (2) A cluster of later aftershocks ~3 km northeast of Cuckoo delineates a fault near the eastern contact of the Ordovician Quantico Formation. (3) An elongate cluster of late aftershocks ~1 km northwest of the Quail fault zone aftershock cluster delineates the northwest fault (described herein), which is temporally distinct, dips more steeply, and has a more northeastward strike. Some aftershock-illuminated faults coincide with preexisting units or structures evident from radiometric anomalies, suggesting tectonic inheritance or reactivation.

Magnetotelluric study to characterize Kachchh Mainland Fault (KMF) and Katrol Hill Fault (KHF) in the western part of Kachchh region of Gujarat, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, Kapil; Chaudhary, Peush; Patel, Pruthul; Chaudhary, B. S.; Chopra, Sumer

2018-02-01

The Kachchh Mainland Fault (KMF) is a major E-W trending fault in the Kachchh region of Gujarat extending >150 km from Lakhpat village in the west to the Bhachau town in the east. The Katrol Hill Fault (KHF) is an E-W trending intrabasinal fault located in the central region of Kachchh Basin and the south of KMF. The western parts of both of the faults are characterized, and the sediment thickness has been estimated in the region using a Magnetotelluric (MT) survey at 17 sites along a 55 km long north-south profile with a site spacing of 2-3 km. The analysis reveals that the maximum sediment thickness is 2.3 km (Quaternary, Tertiary, and Mesozoic) in the region, out of which, the Mesozoic sediments feature a maximum thickness of 2 km. The estimated sediment thickness is found consistent with the thickness suggested by a deep borehole (depth approx. 2.5 km) drilled by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at Nirona (Northern part of the study area). From 2-D inversion of the MT data, three conductive zones are identified from north to south. The first conductive zone is dipping nearly vertical down to 7-8 km depth. It becomes north-dipping below 8 km depth and is inferred as KMF. The second conductive zone is found steeply dipping into the southern limbs near Manjal village (28 km south of Nirona), which is inferred as the KHF. A vertical-dipping (down to 20 km depth) conductive zone has also been observed near Ulat village, located 16 km north of Manjal village and 12 km south of Nirona village. This conductive zone becomes listric north-dipping beyond 20 km depth. It is reported first time by a Geophysical survey in the region.

Structural Analyses of the Kahiltna Terrane: A Kinematic Record of the Collision of the Talkeetna Superterrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bier, S. E.; Fisher, D.

2002-12-01

Macro-, meso-, and microscale structural analyses from several localities across the ~1000 km Kahiltna Terrane provide valuable kinematic insights into the late Cretaceous collision between the Talkeetna superterrane and North America. The Kahiltna Terrane, a Jurassic-Cretaceous flysch basin inboard of the Talkeetna superterrane (Wrangellia, Peninsular, and Alexander terranes), contains incremental strain indicators that record a history of oblique collision and subsequent deformation in a strike-slip regime. A comparison of structural data from localities across the Kahiltna terrane suggests a unique history not yet described in previous work on south-central Alaskan tectonics. Data was collected from the Reindeer Hills area, the northwestern Talkeetna Mountains, Denali National Park, the Peters Hills, and the Tordrillo Mountains. In the Reindeer Hills, a melange zone occurs as a series of exposures dismembered by ongoing strike slip faulting between the flysch of the Kahiltna terrane and the precollisional edge of the North American continent. This melange is characterized by fault-bounded blocks of Paleozoic limestone and sandstone within an argillite matrix with a conspicuous scaly fabric. The blocks range in size from 10 cm to tens of meters; and melange fish indicate a south-directed shear sense. The melange is overlain by a red and green (Triassic-Jurassic?) conglomerate along an unconformity that likely marks the base of a perched slope basin near the toe of an accretionary wedge. The strike of bedding and cleavage in this area trends EW. The fold axes trend NW-SE and folds verge to the south. In the northwest corner of the Talkeetna Mountains, the structure is dominated by north vergent folds and faults. The strike of bedding trends ~025°; whereas the strike of the cleavage is ~060°. Both cleavage and bedding dip to the southeast. The fold axes trend roughly NE-SW. North of the Denali Fault System, in Denali National Park, strike of bedding is ~122° and the dip is to the southwest. Folds can be divided into two sets: 1) tight folds with axes trending E-W and 2) open folds with axes that trend N-S. Cleavage is axial planar to the first set of folds. Crenulation cleavage that trends E-W may also be associated with the first set of folds. In the Peters Hills, reversals in facing direction indicate the presence of multiple macroscale folds. The strike of bedding and cleavage trend ~240° and dip to the northwest. Outcrop observations of smaller scale north-vergent folds and larger scale south-vergent folds suggest multiple deformation events. Stretching lineations trend NE-SW, and incremental strain indicators record indicate a dextral shearing event. The Kahiltna terrane exposed in the vicinity of the Tordrillo Mountains consists of alternating volcaniclastic sandstones and turbidite sequences. The strike of bedding and cleavage is ~240°, and they dip steeply to the northwest. Small isoclinal folds and faults indicate northwestward transport and deformation overprinted by large-scale open folds that verge to the east. Observations of the melange indicate precollisional northward-dipping subduction beneath an accretionary assemblage of Triassic(?) material. Structural observations from multiple localities across the Kahiltna terrane indicate northward-directed thrusting related to dextral transpression and oblique collision of the Talkeetna superterrane, with varying amounts of obliquity along the margin.

JACK CREEK BASIN, MONTANA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kiilsgaard, Thor H.; Van Noy, Ronald M.

1984-01-01

A mineral survey of the Jack Creek basin area in Montana revealed that phosphate rock underlies the basin. The phosphate rock is in thin beds that dip steeply and are broken and offset by faults. These features plus the rugged topography of the region would make mining difficult; however, this study finds the area to have a probable mineral-resource potential for phosphate. Sedimentary rock formations favorable for oil and gas also underlie the basin. No oil or gas has been produced from the basin or from nearby areas in southwestern Montana, but oil and gas have been produced from the same favorable formations elsewhere in Montana. The possibility of oil and gas being produced from the basin is slight but it cannot be ignored.

Magnetotelluric Imaging of the Lithosphere Across the Variscan Orogen (Iberian Autochthonous Domain, NW Iberia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves Ribeiro, J.; Monteiro-Santos, F. A.; Pereira, M. F.; Díez Fernández, R.; Dias da Silva, Í.; Nascimento, C.; Silva, J. B.

2017-12-01

A new magnetotelluric (MT) survey comprising 17 MT soundings throughout a 30 km long N30°W transect in the Iberian autochthons domain of NW Iberia (Central Iberian Zone) is presented. The 2-D inversion model shows the resistivity structure of the continental crust up to 10 km depth, heretofore unavailable for this region of the Variscan Orogen. The MT model reveals a wavy structure separating a conductive upper layer underlain by a resistive layer, thus picturing the two main tectonic blocks of a large-scale D2 extensional shear zone (i.e., Pinhel shear zone). The upper layer represents a lower grade metamorphic domain that includes graphite-rich rocks. The lower layer consists of high-grade metamorphic rocks that experienced partial melting and are associated with granites (more resistive) emplaced during crustal thinning. The wavy structure is the result of superimposed crustal shortening responsible for the development of large-scale D3 folds (e.g., Marofa synform), later deflected and refolded by a D4 strike-slip shear zone (i.e., Juzbado-Penalva do Castelo shear zone). The later contribution to the final structure of the crust is marked by the intrusion of postkinematic granitic rocks and the propagation of steeply dipping brittle fault zones. Our study demonstrates that MT imaging is a powerful tool to understand complex crustal structures of ancient orogens in order to design future prospecting surveys for mineral deposits of economic interest.

Defining the natural fracture network in a shale gas play and its cover succession: The case of the Utica Shale in eastern Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ladevèze, P.; Séjourné, S.; Rivard, C.; Lavoie, D.; Lefebvre, R.; Rouleau, A.

2018-03-01

In the St. Lawrence sedimentary platform (eastern Canada), very little data are available between shallow fresh water aquifers and deep geological hydrocarbon reservoir units (here referred to as the intermediate zone). Characterization of this intermediate zone is crucial, as the latter controls aquifer vulnerability to operations carried out at depth. In this paper, the natural fracture networks in shallow aquifers and in the Utica shale gas reservoir are documented in an attempt to indirectly characterize the intermediate zone. This study used structural data from outcrops, shallow observation well logs and deep shale gas well logs to propose a conceptual model of the natural fracture network. Shallow and deep fractures were categorized into three sets of steeply-dipping fractures and into a set of bedding-parallel fractures. Some lithological and structural controls on fracture distribution were identified. The regional geologic history and similarities between the shallow and deep fracture datasets allowed the extrapolation of the fracture network characterization to the intermediate zone. This study thus highlights the benefits of using both datasets simultaneously, while they are generally interpreted separately. Recommendations are also proposed for future environmental assessment studies in which the existence of preferential flow pathways and potential upward fluid migration toward shallow aquifers need to be identified.

K-feldspar megacryst accumulations formed by mechanical instabilities in magma chamber margins, Asha pluton, NW Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocher, Sebastián; Alasino, Pablo H.; Grande, Marcos Macchioli; Larrovere, Mariano A.; Paterson, Scott R.

2018-07-01

The Asha pluton, the oldest unit of the San Blas intrusive complex (Early Carboniferous), exhibits impressive examples of magmatic structures formed by accumulation of K-feldspar megacrysts, enclaves, and schlieren. Almost all recognized structures are meter-scale, vertically elongate bodies of variable shapes defined as fingers, trails, drips, and blobs. They preferentially developed near the external margin of the Asha pluton and generally are superimposed by chamber-wide magmatic fabrics. They mostly have circular or sub-circular transverse sections with an internal fabric defined by margin-parallel, inward-dipping concentric foliation and steeply plunging lineation at upper parts and flat foliation at lower parts. The concentration of megacrysts usually grades from upper sections, where they appear in a proportion similar to the host granite, to highly packed accumulations of K-feldspar along with grouped flattened enclaves at lower ends. These features suggest an origin by downward localized multiphase magmatic flow, narrowing and 'log jamming', and gravitational sinking of grouped crystals and enclaves, with compaction and filter pressing as main mechanisms of melt removal. Crystal size distribution analysis supports field observations arguing for a mechanical origin of accumulations. The magmatic structures of the Asha pluton represent mechanical instabilities generated by thermal and compositional convection, probably owing to cooling and crystallization near the pluton margins during early stages of construction of the intrusive complex.

Extensional Late Paleozoic deformation on the western margin of Pangea, Patlanoaya area, Acatlán Complex, southern Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos-Arias, M. A.; Keppie, J. D.; Ortega-Rivera, A.; Lee, J. W. K.

2008-02-01

New mapping in the northern part of the Paleozoic Acatlán Complex (Patlanoaya area) records several ductile shear zones and brittle faults with normal kinematics (previously thought to be thrusts). These movement zones separate a variety of units that pass structurally upwards from: (i) blueschist-eclogitic metamorphic rocks (Piaxtla Suite) and mylonitic megacrystic granites (Columpio del Diablo granite ≡ Ordovician granites elsewhere in the complex); (ii) a gently E-dipping, listric, normal shear zone with top to the east kinematic indicators that formed under upper greenschist to lower amphibolite conditions; (iii) the Middle-Late Ordovician Las Minas quartzite (upper greenschist facies psammites with minor interbedded pelites intruded by mafic dikes and a leucogranite dike from the Columpio del Diablo granite) unconformably overlain by the Otate meta-arenite (lower greenschist facies psammites and pelites): roughly temporal equivalents are the Middle-Late Ordovician Mal Paso and Ojo de Agua units (interbedded metasandstone and slate, and metapelite and mafic minor intrusions, respectively) — some of these units are intruded by the massive, 461 ± 2 Ma, Palo Liso megacrystic granite: decussate, contact metamorphic muscovite yielded a 40Ar/ 39Ar plateau age of 440 ± 4 Ma; (iv) a steeply-moderately, E-dipping normal fault; (v) latest Devonian-Middle Permian sedimentary rocks (Patlanoaya Group: here elevated from formation status). The upward decrease in metamorphic grade is paralleled by a decrease in the number of penetrative fabrics, which varies from (i) three in the Piaxtla Suite, through (ii) two in the Las Minas unit (E-trending sheath folds deformed by NE-trending, subhorizontal folds with top to the southeast asymmetry, both associated with a solution cleavage), (iii) one in the Otate, Mal Paso, and Ojo de Agua units (steeply SE-dipping, NE-SW plunging, open-close folds), to (iv) none in the Patlanoaya Group. 40Ar/ 39Ar analyses of muscovite from the earliest cleavage in the Las Minas unit yielded a plateau age of 347 ± 3 Ma and show low temperature ages of ˜ 260 Ma. Post-dating all of these structures and the Patlanoaya Group are NE-plunging, subvertical folds and kink bands. An E-W, vertical normal fault juxtaposes the low-grade rocks against the Anacahuite amphibolite that is cut by megacrystic granite sheets, both of which were deformed by two penetrative fabrics. Amphibole from this unit has yielded a 40Ar/ 39Ar plateau age of 299 ± 6 Ma, which records cooling through ˜ 490 °C and is probably related to a Permo-Carboniferous reheating event during exhumation. The extensional deformation is inferred to have started in the latest Devonian (˜ 360 Ma) during deposition of the basal Patlanoaya Group, lasting through the rapid exhumation of the Piaxtla Suite at ˜ 350-340 Ma synchronous with cleavage development in the Las Minas unit, deposition of the Patlanoaya Group with active fault-related exhumation suggested by Mississippian and Early Permian conglomerates (˜ 340 and 300 Ma, respectively), and continuing at least into the Middle Permian (≡ 260 Ma muscovite ages). The continuity of Mid-Continent Mississippian fauna from the USA to southern Mexico suggests that this extensional deformation occurred on the western margin of Pangea after closure of the Rheic Ocean.

Fault geometry and cumulative offsets in the central Coast Ranges, California: Evidence for northward increasing slip along the San Gregorio-San Simeon-Hosgri fault

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.; Jachens, R.C.; Graymer, R.W.; Colgan, J.P.; Wentworth, C.M.; Stanley, R.G.

2012-01-01

Estimates of the dip, depth extent, and amount of cumulative displacement along the major faults in the central California Coast Ranges are controversial. We use detailed aeromagnetic data to estimate these parameters for the San Gregorio–San Simeon–Hosgri and other faults. The recently acquired aeromagnetic data provide an areally consistent data set that crosses the onshore-offshore transition without disruption, which is particularly important for the mostly offshore San Gregorio–San Simeon–Hosgri fault. Our modeling, constrained by exposed geology and in some cases, drill-hole and seismic-reflection data, indicates that the San Gregorio–San Simeon–Hosgri and Reliz-Rinconada faults dip steeply throughout the seismogenic crust. Deviations from steep dips may result from local fault interactions, transfer of slip between faults, or overprinting by transpression since the late Miocene. Given that such faults are consistent with predominantly strike-slip displacement, we correlate geophysical anomalies offset by these faults to estimate cumulative displacements. We find a northward increase in right-lateral displacement along the San Gregorio–San Simeon–Hosgri fault that is mimicked by Quaternary slip rates. Although overall slip rates have decreased over the lifetime of the fault, the pattern of slip has not changed. Northward increase in right-lateral displacement is balanced in part by slip added by faults, such as the Reliz-Rinconada, Oceanic–West Huasna, and (speculatively) Santa Ynez River faults to the east.

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

Not Available

The US Department of Energy is funding an underground coal gasification (UCG) project in steeply dipping coal beds (SDB), at North Knobs, about 8 miles west of Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming. The project is being conducted to determine the technical, economic and environmental viability of such a technology. The development of SDB is an interesting target for UCG since such beds contain coals not normally mineable economically by ordinary techniques. Although the underground gasification of SDB has not been attempted in the US, Soviet experience and theoretical work indicate that the gasification of SDB in place offers all the advantagesmore » of underground gasification of horizontal coal seams plus some unique characteristics. The steep angle of dip helps to channel the produced gases up dip to offtake holes and permits the ash and rubble to fall away from the reaction zone helping to mitigate the blocking of the reaction zone in swelling coals. The intersection of SDB with the surface makes the seam accessible for drilling and other preparation. The tests at the North Knobs site will consist of three tests, lasting 20, 80 and 80 days, respectively. A total of 9590 tons of coal is expected to be gasified, with surface facilities utilizing 15 acres of the total section of land. The environmental effects of the experiment are expected to be very small. The key environmental impact is potential groundwater contamination by reaction products from coal gasification. There is good evidence that the surrounding coal effectively blocks the migration of these contaminants.« less

Seismic evidence for mantle suture and a collisional origin for the Canadian Cordillera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Gu, Y. J.; Currie, C. A.; Johnston, S. T.; Hung, S. H.; Schaeffer, A. J.; Audet, P.

2017-12-01

The North American Cordillera is a Phanerozoic orogenic belt that extends from Mexico to Alaska. Its eastern boundary is marked by pronounced changes in geophysical observations (e.g., mantle seismic velocity, surface heat flow, and effective elastic thickness) indicating a steep structural gradient beneath the Cordilleran foreland and the adjacent North American Craton. Seismological constraints on this boundary zone have been highly uneven: on the one hand, the knowledge of subsurface structures of the US Cordillera has been greatly enhanced by the USArray; on the other hand, detailed surveys of the northern counterpart, the Canadian Cordillera, are limited due to relatively sparse broadband data coverage. Questions pertaining to where and how Cordillera-Craton transition occurs in the upper mantle remain debated. Here, we utilize new teleseismic travel-time data from recently deployed networks in the Alberta foreland basin and nearby USArray stations and invert for mantle seismic velocities using finite-frequency tomography. The resulting high-resolution 3D model shows a dramatic increase in lithosphere thickness (>200 km) from the Cordillera to Craton. Additionally, independent calculations of mantle temperature from P (4.3%) and S (7.0%) velocity contrasts yield a consistent eastward 200-300 °C decrease at 150 km depth. We attribute the sharp structural and temperature/velocity gradients to the Cordillera-Craton boundary (CCB) established since at least the Late Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma). The CCB dips steeply to the west beneath a carbonate belt that delineates a cryptic orogenic suture near the southern Rocky Mountain Trench, which provides strong evidence for an upper mantle suture between North America and an allochthonous Cordillera. The westward-dipping CCB may be a preserved structure associated with partial subduction of the leading edge of the North American Craton during its terminal collision with a microcontinent (Cordillera); this would require a strong craton lithosphere in order to preserve the observed geometry for >100 Ma. In this case, the earlier interpretation of the Cordillera as an accretionary orogen characterized by thin-skinned thrusting of exotic terranes over an intact North American basement and oceanward-tapering lithospheric mantle, is deemed unlikely.

Preliminary report on the Apex and Paymaster mines, Washington County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinkel, Arthur R.

1951-01-01

The Apex and Paymaster mines in the Tutsagubet mining district, 25 miles southwest of St. George, Utah, are at an elevation of about 5,000 feet in the Beaver Dam Mountains. The ore was deposited in a steeply dipping fault zone which cuts a thick series of gently dipping limestones of Pennsylvanian age with minor interbedded shales and sandstones. The ore now consists primarily of copper oxides, but is reported to contain small quantities of lead and sine oxides. Complete oxidation extends to the 1,400 level of the Apex mine, the deepest level in this mine. Lead oxides are reported to have been more plentiful in the workings near surface, but the stoped area is now caved to the 1,330 level. The ore bodies probably formed largely as a filling in the fault fissure, and in crushed zones along the fault, with only minor replacement extending for short distances along the bedding. The sulfides oxidized essentially in place and migration of the oxidized copper ores is believed to be limited to a few feet. Additional exploration below the known ore shoots in the Apex and Paymaster mines and along the fissure between the two mines may disclose new ore bodies.

Borehole sampling of fracture populations - compensating for borehole sampling bias in crystalline bedrock aquifers, Mirror Lake, Grafton County, New Hampshire

USGS Publications Warehouse

McDonald, G.D.; Paillet, Frederick L.; Barton, C.C.; Johnson, C.D.

1997-01-01

The clustering of orientations of hydraulically conductive fractures in bedrock at the Mirror Lake, New Hampshire fractured rock study site was investigated by comparing the orientations of fracture populations in two subvertical borehole arrays with those mapped on four adjacent subvertical roadcuts. In the boreholes and the roadcuts, the orientation of fracture populations appears very similar after borehole data are compensated for undersampling of steeply dipping fractures. Compensated borehole and pavement fracture data indicate a northeast-striking population of fractures with varying dips concentrated near that of the local foliation in the adjacent rock. The data show no correlation between fracture density (fractures/linear meter) and distance from lithologic contacts in both the boreholes and the roadcuts. The population of water-producing borehole fractures is too small (28 out of 610 fractures) to yield meaningful orientation comparisons. However, the orientation of large aperture fractures (which contains all the producing fractures) contains two or three subsidiary clusters in orientation frequency that are not evident in stereographic projections of the entire population containing all aperture sizes. Further, these subsidiary orientation clusters do not coincide with the dominant (subhorizontal and subvertical) regional fracture orientations.

Geology and economic potential for chromite in the Zhob Valley ultramafic rock complex, Hindubagh, Quetta division, West Pakistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rossman, D.L.; Ahmad, Zaki; Rahman, Hamidur

1971-01-01

The ultramafic rocks making up the Zhob Valley igneous complex have yielded small amounts of metallurgical-grade chromite since the early part of the century. From 1968-1970 a cooperative study undertaken by the Geological Survey of Pakistan and the U. S. Geological Survey, under the auspices of the Government of Pakistan and the Agency for International Development, evaluated the chromite potential of the Zhob Valley area and provided data for effective exploration. The Jung Tor Ghar ultramafic rock mass, covering an area of about 45 square miles, is a thrust-fault block completely surrounded and underlain (?) by sedimentary rocks as young as Late Cretaceous in age. The igneous rocks were thrust from the northwest along an east-trending, north-dipping fault in Late Cretaceous or Paleocene time and were peneplaned, dissected, and deeply laterized by mid-Eocene time. The ultramafic rocks consist of interlayered harzburgite and dunite and a cross-cutting dunite here called transgressive dunite. Layered structure passes without discernible deviation from the interlayered harzburgite-dunite through the transgressive dunite. The lowest rocks in the mass, composed mainly of transgressive dunite, grade upward into the interlayered rock about 3,000 feet above the fault block base. The upper transgressive dunites tend to form interconnecting linear networks and probably a few pipe-like structures. The transgressive dunite is thought to have formed by action of water derived from the underlying sedimentary rocks; the water heated by the hot ultramafic rock (at the time of emplacement) altered the pyroxene to olivine and talc, and, with lowering temperature, to serpentine. Other interpretations are possible. Virtually all the chromite in the Jung Tor Ghar lies in or immediately above the masses of transgressive dunite. This fact provides a key to chromite exploration: The most favorable zone for prospecting lies in the vicinity of the upper contacts of the transgressive dunite masses where they. are flatly dipping; if the transgressive dunite masses are steeply dipping or pipe-like, the chromite tends to be more centrally located. The Jung Tor Ghar is believed to contain enough unmined chromite at practical minable depths to equal or exceed that mined to date but the individual deposits are likely to be small.

Joint Local/Teleseismic Tomographic Inversion in Taiwan Using TAIGER and Other Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, E.; Wu, F. T.; Huang, B.; Liang, W.; Wang, C.; Rawlinson, N.; Okaya, D. A.

2008-12-01

Taiwan, one of the most active orogenic belts, is at the intersection of two subduction zones. In southern Taiwan, the South China Sea Slab (SCSS), part of Eurasian Plate (EP), subducts beneath the Luzon arc along the Manila trench. In northern Taiwan, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) subducts beneath the Ryukyu arc along the Ryukyu trench. The thin skinned model and lithospheric deformation model have been proposed to explain the formation of orogeny. To distinguish between these two geodynamically possible processes, imaging of the deep structures below Taiwan is necessary. In this study, explosion data, local/regional earthquakes and teleseisms are used to invert the velocity structures of Taiwan from surface to about 150 km. Temporary passive broadband (on land and at the ocean bottom), active sources array datasets of the TAIGER (TAiwan Integrated GEodynamics Research) project and permanent array datasets of the BATS (Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology) and CWB (Central Weather Bureau) are used in this study. FMTOMO (fast marching tomography) of Rawlinson et al. (2006) is employed to invert the 3D P-wavespeed beneath Taiwan. The derived velocity perturbations dVp (dVp= Vfinal-Vinital) are clearly related to geology and tectonics. At shallow depth (< 10km), dVp >0 under the Central Range (Pre-Tertiary metamorphic rocks) and dVp < 0 under the Foothills (Pliocene sedimentary). Below a depth about 20 km, the placement of the high and low anomalies is reversed, i.e., dVp>0 under the Foothills and dVp<0 under the Central Range; the low velocity core of the Central Ranges extend down to about 50 km, forming the mountain root. A steeply dipping high velocity zone lies under the thickening 'mountain root' in central Taiwan. In southern Taiwan, the high velocity zone dips eastward coinciding with the Benioff Zone. The geometry of the high velocity zones in the upper mantle are key to understanding the Taiwan orogeny.

Acoustic Reverse Time Migration of the Cascadia Subduction Zone Dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, L.; Mallick, S.

2017-12-01

Reverse time migration (RTM) is a wave-equation based migration method, which provides more accurate images than ray-based migration methods, especially for the structures in deep areas, making it an effective tool for imaging the subduction plate boundary. In this work, we extend the work of Fortin (2015) and applied acoustic finite-element RTM on the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) dataset. The dataset was acquired by Cascadia Open-Access Seismic Transects (COAST) program, targeting the megathrust in the central Cascadia subduction zone (Figure 1). The data on a 2D seismic reflection line that crosses the Juan de Fuca/North American subduction boundary off Washington (Line 5) were pre-processed and worked through Kirchhoff prestack depth migration (PSDM). Figure 2 compares the depth image of Line 5 of the CSZ data using Kirchhoff PSDM (top) and RTM (bottom). In both images, the subducting plate is indicated with yellow arrows. Notice that the RTM image is much superior to the PSDM image by several aspects. First, the plate boundary appears to be much more continuous in the RTM image than the PSDM image. Second, the RTM image indicates the subducting plate is relatively smooth on the seaward (west) side between 0-50 km. Within the deformation front of the accretionary prism (50-80 km), the RTM image shows substantial roughness in the subducting plate. These features are not clear in the PSDM image. Third, the RTM image shows a lot of fine structures below the subducting plate which are almost absent in the PSDM image. Finally, the RTM image indicates that the plate is gently dipping within the undeformed sediment (0-50 km) and becomes steeply dipping beyond 50 km as it enters the deformation front of the accretionary prism. Although the same conclusion could be drawn from the discontinuous plate boundary imaged by PSDM, RTM results are far more convincing than the PSDM.

Relationships among in-situ stress, fractures and faults, and fluid flow: Monterey formation, Santa Maria Basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Finkbeiner, T.; Barton, C.A.; Zoback, M.D.

1997-01-01

We used borehole televiewer (BHTV) data from four wells within the onshore and offshore Santa Maria basin, California, to investigate the relationships among fracture distribution, orientation, and variation with depth and in-situ stress. Our analysis of stress-induced well-bore breakouts shows a uniform northeast maximum horizontal stress (SH max) orientation in each well. This direction is consistent with the SH max direction determined from well-bore breakouts in other wells in this region, the northwest trend of active fold axes, and kinematic inversion of nearby earthquake focal plane mechanisms. In contrast to the uniformity of the stress field, fracture orientation, dip, and frequency vary considerably from well to well and within each well. With depth, fractures can be divided into distinct subsets on the basis of fracture frequency and orientation, which correlate with changes of lithology and physical properties. Although factors such as tectonic history, diagenesis, and structural variations obviously have influenced fracture distribution, integration of the in-situ stress and fracture data sets indicates that many of the fractures, faults, and bedding planes are active, small-scale strike-slip and reverse faults in the current northeast-trending transpressive stress field. In fact, we observed local breakout rotations in the wells, providing kinematic evidence for recent shear motion along fracture and bedding-parallel planes. Only in the onshore well do steeply dipping fractures strike parallel to SHmax. Drill-stem tests from two of the offshore wells indicate that formation permeability is greatly enhanced in sections of the wells where fractures are favorably oriented for shear failure in the modern stress field. Thus, relatively small-scale active faults provide important conduits along which fluids migrate.

Tectonic controls on nearshore sediment accumulation and submarine canyon morphology offshore La Jolla, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Le Dantec, Nicolas; Hogarth, Leah J.; Driscoll, Neal W.; Babcock, Jeffrey M.; Barnhardt, Walter A.; Schwab, William C.

2010-01-01

CHIRP seismic and swath bathymetry data acquired offshore La Jolla, California provide an unprecedented three-dimensional view of the La Jolla and Scripps submarine canyons. Shore-parallel patterns of tectonic deformation appear to control nearshore sediment thickness and distribution around the canyons. These shore-parallel patterns allow the impact of local tectonic deformation to be separated from the influence of eustatic sea-level fluctuations. Based on stratal geometry and acoustic character, we identify a prominent angular unconformity inferred to be the transgressive surface and three sedimentary sequences: an acoustically laminated estuarine unit deposited during early transgression, an infilling or “healing-phase” unit formed during the transgression, and an upper transparent unit. Beneath the transgressive surface, steeply dipping reflectors with several dip reversals record faulting and folding along the La Jolla margin. Scripps Canyon is located at the crest of an antiform, where the rocks are fractured and more susceptible to erosion. La Jolla Canyon is located along the northern strand of the Rose Canyon Fault Zone, which separates Cretaceous lithified rocks to the south from poorly cemented Eocene sands and gravels to the north. Isopach and structure contour maps of the three sedimentary units reveal how their thicknesses and spatial distributions relate to regional tectonic deformation. For example, the estuarine unit is predominantly deposited along the edges of the canyons in paleotopographic lows that may have been inlets along barrier beaches during the Holocene sea-level rise. The distribution of the infilling unit is controlled by pre-existing relief that records tectonic deformation and erosional processes. The thickness and distribution of the upper transparent unit are controlled by long-wavelength, tectonically induced relief on the transgressive surface and hydrodynamics.

Reservoir characterization of Mesaverde (Campanian) bedload fluvial meanderbelt sandstones, northwestern Colorado

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

Jones, J.R. Jr.

1984-04-01

Reservoir characterization of Mesaverde meanderbelt sandstones is used to determined directional continuity of permeable zones. A 500-m (1600 ft) wide fluvial meanderbelt in the Mesaverde Group is exposed as laterally continuous 3-10-m (10-33-ft) high sandstone cliffs north of Rangely, Colorado. Forty-eight detailed measured sections through 3 point bar complexes oriented at right angles to the long axis of deposition and 1 complex oriented parallel to deposition were prepared. Sections were tied together by detailed sketches delineating and tracing major bounding surfaces such as scours and clay drapes. These complexes contain 3 to 8 multilateral sandstone packages separated by 5-20 cmmore » (2-8 in.) interbedded siltstone and shale beds. Component facies are point bars, crevasse splays, chute bars, and floodplain/overbank deposits. Two types of lateral accretion surfaces are recognized in the point bar facies. Gently dipping lateral accretions containing fining-upward sandstone packages. Large scale trough cross-bedding at the base grades upward into ripples and plane beds. Steeply dipping lateral accretion surfaces enclose beds characterized by climbing ripple cross laminations. Bounding surfaces draped by shale lags can seal vertically stacked point bars from reservoir communication. Scoured boundaries allow communication in some stacked point bars. Crevasse splays showing climbing ripples form tongues of very fine-grained sandstone which flank point bars. Chute channels commonly cut upper point bar surfaces at their downstream end. Chute facies are upward-fining with small scale troughs and common dewatering structures. Siltstones and shales underlie the point bar complexes and completely encase the meanderbelt system. Bounding surfaces at the base of the complexes are erosional and contain large shale rip-up clasts.« less

Faulting and hydration of the Juan de Fuca plate system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nedimović, Mladen R.; Bohnenstiehl, DelWayne R.; Carbotte, Suzanne M.; Pablo Canales, J.; Dziak, Robert P.

2009-06-01

Multichannel seismic observations provide the first direct images of crustal scale normal faults within the Juan de Fuca plate system and indicate that brittle deformation extends up to ~ 200 km seaward of the Cascadia trench. Within the sedimentary layering steeply dipping faults are identified by stratigraphic offsets, with maximum throws of 110 ± 10 m found near the trench. Fault throws diminish both upsection and seaward from the trench. Long-term throw rates are estimated to be 13 ± 2 mm/kyr. Faulted offsets within the sedimentary layering are typically linked to larger offset scarps in the basement topography, suggesting reactivation of the normal fault systems formed at the spreading center. Imaged reflections within the gabbroic igneous crust indicate swallowing fault dips at depth. These reflections require local alteration to produce an impedance contrast, indicating that the imaged fault structures provide pathways for fluid transport and hydration. As the depth extent of imaged faulting within this young and sediment insulated oceanic plate is primarily limited to approximately Moho depths, fault-controlled hydration appears to be largely restricted to crustal levels. If dehydration embrittlement is an important mechanism for triggering intermediate-depth earthquakes within the subducting slab, then the limited occurrence rate and magnitude of intraslab seismicity at the Cascadia margin may in part be explained by the limited amount of water imbedded into the uppermost oceanic mantle prior to subduction. The distribution of submarine earthquakes within the Juan de Fuca plate system indicates that propagator wake areas are likely to be more faulted and therefore more hydrated than other parts of this plate system. However, being largely restricted to crustal levels, this localized increase in hydration generally does not appear to have a measurable effect on the intraslab seismicity along most of the subducted propagator wakes at the Cascadia margin.

Tectonic setting of the Taubaté Basin (Southeastern Brazil): Insights from regional seismic profiles and outcrop data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cogné, Nathan; Cobbold, Peter R.; Riccomini, Claudio; Gallagher, Kerry

2013-03-01

In southeastern Brazil, a series of onshore Tertiary basins provides good evidence for post-rift tectonic activity. So as better to constrain their tectonic setting, we have revisited outcrops in the Taubaté and Resende basins and have reinterpreted 11 seismic profiles of the Taubaté Basin. Where Eocene to Oligocene strata crop out, syn-sedimentary faults are common and their senses of slip are mainly normal. In contrast, for two outcrops in particular, where syn-sedimentary faults have put Precambrian crystalline basement against Eocene strata, senses of slip are strongly left-lateral, as well as normal. Thus we distinguish between thin-skinned and thick-skinned faulting. Furthermore, at four outcrops, Precambrian basement has overthrust Tertiary or Quaternary strata. On the seismic profiles, basal strata onlap basement highs. Structures and stratigraphic relationships are not typical of a rift basin. Although normal faults are common, they tend to be steeply dipping, their stratigraphic offsets are small (tens of metres) and the faults do not bound large stratigraphic wedges or tilted blocks. At the edges of the basin, Eocene or Oligocene strata dip basinward, have been subject to exhumation, and in places form gentle anticlines, so that we infer post-Oligocene inversion. We conclude that, after an earlier phase of deformation, probably during the Late Cretaceous, the Taubaté Basin formed under left-lateral transtension during the Palaeogene, but was subject to right-lateral transpression during the Neogene. Thus the principal directions of stress varied in time. Because they did so consistently with those of the adjacent regions, as well as those of the Incaic and Quechua phases of Andean orogeny, we argue that the Tertiary basins of southeast Brazil have resulted from reactivation of Precambrian shear zones under plate-wide stress.

Analysis of fractures intersecting Kahi Puka Well 1 and its relation to the growth of the island of Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morin, R.H.; Paillet, Frederick L.

1996-01-01

As part of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project, Kahi Puka Well 1 penetrated about 275 m of Mauna Loa basalts overlying a sequence of Mauna Kea flow units as it was drilled and cored to a total depth of 1053 m below land surface. A borehole televiewer (BHTV) was run in most of the well in successive stages prior to casing in order to obtain magnetically oriented acoustic images of the borehole wall. A total of 283 individual fractures were identified from this log and characterized in terms of strike and dip. These data are divided into three vertical sections based upon age and volcanic source, and lower hemisphere stereographic plots identify two predominant, subparallel fracture subsets common to each section. Assuming that most of the steeply dipping fractures observed in the BHTV log are tensile features generated within basalt flows during deposition and cooling, this fracture information can be combined with models of the evolution of the island of Hawaii to investigate the depositional history of these Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea basalts over the past 400 kyr. The directions of high-angle fractures appear to be generally parallel to topography or to the coastline at the time of deposition, as is supported by surface mapping of modern flows. Consequently, an overall counterclockwise rotation of about 75?? in the strike of these fractures from the bottom to the top of the well represents a systematic change in depositional slope direction over time. We attribute the observed rotation in the orientations of the two predominant fracture subsets over the past 400 kyr to changes in the configurations of volcanic sources during shield building and to the structural interference of adjacent volcanoes that produces shifts in topographic patterns.

Analysis of fractures intersecting Kahi Puka Well 1 and its relation to the growth of the island of Hawaii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morin, Roger H.; Paillet, Frederick L.

1996-05-01

As part of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project, Kahi Puka Well 1 penetrated about 275 m of Mauna Loa basalts overlying a sequence of Mauna Kea flow units as it was drilled and cored to a total depth of 1053 m below land surface. A borehole televiewer (BHTV) was run in most of the well in successive stages prior to casing in order to obtain magnetically oriented acoustic images of the borehole wall. A total of 283 individual fractures were identified from this log and characterized in terms of strike and dip. These data are divided into three vertical sections based upon age and volcanic source, and lower hemisphere stereographic plots identify two predominant, subparallel fracture subsets common to each section. Assuming that most of the steeply dipping fractures observed in the BHTV log are tensile features generated within basalt flows during deposition and cooling, this fracture information can be combined with models of the evolution of the island of Hawaii to investigate the depositional history of these Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea basalts over the past 400 kyr. The directions of high-angle fractures appear to be generally parallel to topography or to the coastline at the time of deposition, as is supported by surface mapping of modern flows. Consequently, an overall counterclockwise rotation of about 75° in the strike of these fractures from the bottom to the top of the well represents a systematic change in depositional slope direction over time. We attribute the observed rotation in the orientations of the two predominant fracture subsets over the past 400 kyr to changes in the configurations of volcanic sources during shield building and to the structural interference of adjacent volcanoes that produces shifts in topographic patterns.

Slip localization on the southern Alpine Fault, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, N. C.; Boulton, C.; Carpenter, B. M.; Batt, G. E.; Toy, V. G.

2013-06-01

of a detailed field study of the southern onshore portion of New Zealand's Alpine Fault reveal that for 75 km along-strike, dextral-normal slip on this long-lived structure is highly localized in phyllosilicate-rich fault core gouges and along their contact with more competent rocks. At three localities (Martyr River, McKenzie Creek, and Hokuri Creek), we document complete cross sections through the fault. New 40Ar/39Ar dates on mylonites, combined with microstructural and mechanical data on phyllosilicate-rich fault core gouges show that modern slip is localized onto a single, steeply dipping 1 to 12 m-thick fault core composed of impermeable (k = 10-20 to 10-22 m2), frictionally weak (μs = 0.12-0.37), velocity-strengthening, illite-chlorite, and saponite-chlorite-lizardite fault gouges. Fault core materials are (1) comparable to those of other major weak-cored faults (e.g., San Andreas Fault) and (2) most compatible with fault creep, despite paleoseismic evidence of quasiperiodic large magnitude earthquakes (Mw > 7) on this portion of the Alpine Fault. We conclude that frictional properties of gouges at the surface do not characterize the overall seismogenic behavior of the southern Alpine Fault.

Bend Faulting at the Edge of a Flat Slab: The 2017 Mw7.1 Puebla-Morelos, Mexico Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melgar, Diego; Pérez-Campos, Xyoli; Ramirez-Guzman, Leonardo; Spica, Zack; Espíndola, Victor Hugo; Hammond, William C.; Cabral-Cano, Enrique

2018-03-01

We present results of a slip model from joint inversion of strong motion and static Global Positioning System data for the Mw7.1 Puebla-Morelos earthquake. We find that the earthquake nucleates at the bottom of the oceanic crust or within the oceanic mantle with most of the moment release occurring within the oceanic mantle. Given its location at the edge of the flat slab, the earthquake is likely the result of bending stresses occurring at the transition from flat slab subduction to steeply dipping subduction. The event strikes obliquely to the slab, we find a good agreement between the seafloor fabric offshore the source region and the strike of the earthquake. We argue that the event likely reactivated a fault first created during seafloor formation. We hypothesize that large bending-related events at the edge of the flat slab are more likely in areas of low misalignment between the seafloor fabric and the slab strike where reactivation of preexisting structures is favored. This hypothesis predicts decreased likelihood of bending-related events northwest of the 2017 source region but also suggests that they should be more likely southeast of the 2017 source region.

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

Davis, B.E.; Singleton, A.H.; McAllister, K.K.

During the past twenty-five years, there have been significant developments in Underground Coal Gasification technology in the US. Government-funded programs have focused on the development of two process configurations: the Controlled Retracting Injection Point (CRIP) and the Steeply Dipping Bed (SDB). Private industry has participated in these programs and is continuing its activities in the development and commercialization of these technologies. This paper will trace the evolution of today`s processes from their origins in the Russian technologies and advancements that are continuing to be made in bringing the technologies to commercial reality in both the US and overseas. The statusmore » of both the CRIP and SDB technologies will be discussed along with developments in processes for utilization of the UCG product gas to generate power and to make chemicals and liquid fuels.« less

Degradation and Local Survival of Permafrost Through the Last Interglaciation in Interior Alaska and Yukon Territory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes, A. V.; Froese, D. G.; Jensen, B. J.

2006-12-01

Permafrost in northern North America is warming, and recent modeling efforts have predicted the widespread disappearance of permafrost through much of the northern hemisphere over the next century. However, little is known of the impacts of past sustained warm intervals on permafrost dynamics, antiquity, and distribution due to difficulties in establishing reliable chronologies. Permafrost thus remains the last element of the Arctic cryosphere for which there is poor understanding of its adaptability to past warmer-than-present climate. Here we present observations from three sites in the region of interior Alaska and Yukon Territory that remained ice-free during Plio-Pleistocene glaciations, which collectively demonstrate the variable nature of the response of permafrost to warming during the last interglaciation. Chronology for all sites is based on identification of Old Crow tephra (OCt; 140±10 ka) by glass major element composition. Throughout the study region, OCt is consistently associated with organic-rich sediments that represent the last interglaciation on the basis of pollen, insect, and macrofossil assemblages. At the Palisades site on the Yukon River, 250 km west of Fairbanks, OCt is 1.5-3.5 m below thick (>1m) organic-rich silts and peats that are locally rich in beaver-chewed wood and large wood stumps, some of which are in growth position. In contrast, placer mining at Thistle Creek in central Yukon Territory exposes a dramatic thaw unconformity that is presumably related to local, but incomplete, permafrost degradation during the last interglaciation. In upslope positions at Thistle Creek, OCt is incorporated into a steeply dipping, 30 cm thick, organic-rich silt horizon that truncates at least one intact, relict ice wedge. The steeply dipping organic- rich horizon grades downslope into organic-rich silt with dense accumulations of wood fragments, including tree stems up to 2 m long. Evidence for similar permafrost degradation during the last interglaciation is present at Ch'ijee's Bluff in northern Yukon Territory. At multiple sites along the bluff, OCt underlies a 10-20 cm thick organic-rich silt horizon that grades laterally into wedge-shaped accumulations of deformed organic-rich silt and woody debris, including large stumps and tree stems. These wedge-shaped accumulations consistently truncate OCt and represent melting and subsequent infilling of ice wedge networks. The exposures at these three sites, separated by nearly 1000 km, illustrate the variable response of permafrost to climate warming during the last interglaciation that probably reflects the importance of local site factors (ie. aspect, slope, vegetation cover) in determining the extent of permafrost degradation. Significantly, relict ice below OCt indicates that permafrost survived peak warmth of the last interglaciation at Thistle Creek, despite the dramatic melting suggested by the steeply dipping thaw unconformity. It is commonly assumed that permafrost disappeared from interior Alaska during the last interglaciation and that peak warmth was likely 3°C higher than present, based on the apparent absence of massive ice bodies underlying OCt in the Fairbanks region. Our observations suggest that reports of the death of permafrost in interior Alaska and Yukon during the last interglaciation may be greatly exaggerated, and that deep permafrost is likely to persist in the discontinuous permafrost zone, at least locally, despite future global warming.

Possible Impact Origin for the Late Ordovician Bear Swamp Structure in the Finger Lakes Region of New York

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leiphart, D.

2010-12-01

Impact structures, or astroblemes, are one of rarest formations in the geologic record. Presently there are 176 confirmed impact structures on the planet with roughly two-thirds of them evident at the surface. A potential impact structure has been discovered in a 3D seismic survey in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York (Figure 1 - N42o43.187’; W76o16.637’). The Bear Swamp crater is uppermost Ordovician (~444 Ma) in age and is situated within the fluvial-deltaic to shallow marine Queenston Formation. This nearly circular structure measures 3.5 km (2.2 mi) in diameter and is completely buried in the subsurface at a depth of approximately 1,220 m (4,000 ft). Seismic data show a central uplift within the crater that rises about 160 m (525 ft) above the base. Around the central uplift is an annular basin that is more than 300 m (~1,000 ft) thick and is characterized by synformal seismic reflectors (Figure 1). This three-dimensional morphology resembles other complex craters of confirmed impact origin. Two exploration wells were drilled into the crater and image logs were run. The first well tested the central rebound which consists of steeply dipping beds and heavily brecciated zones. The second well was drilled in the annular basin which contains alternating sequences of chaotic zones and shallow dipping beds. Based on analogous impact structures, this crater fill is here interpreted as resurge breccias and turbidites which were the result of intense wave action in the moments after impact. Above these impact-related deposits lies a zone of very thin (~2cm) laminae which resemble varved sediments in lacustrine environments. A bioturbated zone overlies these thin laminae, which is in turn capped by the End Ordovician unconformity. Observations of both seismic and well data are consistent with a shallow marine to transition zone impact origin for the Bear Swamp crater. Figure 1: Location map showing the area of the ~180 km2 (70 mi2) 3D seismic survey and the proposed Bear Swamp Astrobleme. The map in the lower left is a time slice through a coherency volume at 650 milliseconds. The inset at the lower right is a cutout of the 3D volume with the Queenston top and base crater horizon extrapolated out.

Scoria Cone and Tuff Ring Stratigraphy Interpreted from Ground Penetrating Radar, Rattlesnake Crater, Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, S. E.; McNiff, C. M.; Marshall, A. M.; Courtland, L. M.; Connor, C.; Charbonnier, S. J.; Abdollahzadeh, M.; Connor, L.; Farrell, A. K.; Harburger, A.; Kiflu, H. G.; Malservisi, R.; Njoroge, M.; Nushart, N.; Richardson, J. A.; Rookey, K.

2013-12-01

Numerous recent studies have demonstrated that detailed investigation of scoria cone and maar morphology can reveal rich details the eruptive and erosion histories of these volcanoes. A suite of geophysical surveys were conducted to images Rattlesnake Crater in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, AZ, US. We report here the results of ~3.4 km of ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys that target the processes of deposition and erosion on the pair of cinder cones that overprint the southeast edge of Rattlesnake crater and on the tuff ring that forms the crater rim. Data were collected with 500, 250, 100, and 50 MHz antennas. The profiles were run in a radial direction down the northeast flanks of the cones (~1 km diameter, ~120 meters height) , and on the inner and outer margins of the oblong maar rim (~20-80 meters height). A maximum depth of penetration of GPR signal of ~15m was achieved high on the flanks of scoria cones. A minimum depth of essentially zero penetration occurred in the central crater. We speculate that maximum penetration occurs near the peaks of the cones and crater rim because ongoing erosion limits new soil formation. Soil formation would tend to increase surface conductivity and hence decrease GPR penetration. Soil is probably better developed within the crater, precluding significant radar penetration there. On the northeast side of the gently flattened rim of the easternmost scoria cone, the GPR profile shows internal layering that dips ~20 degrees northeast relative to the current ground surface. This clearly indicates that the current gently dipping surface is not a stratigraphic horizon, but reflects instead an erosive surface into cone strata that formed close to the angle of repose. Along much of the cone flanks GPR profiles show strata dipping ~4-5 degrees more steeply than the current surface, suggesting erosion has occurred over most of the height of the cone. An abrupt change in strata attitude is observed at the gradual slope diminishment at the base of the scoria cone, where the dip of GPR reflectors changes from radially out from the cone to horizontal or radially inward toward the cone. These changes suggest that grain avalanche packages thin at the base of the slope or that cone strata terminate against the pre-existing surface. We do not identify continuous tephra fall deposits extending from the base of the cone, which would be indicative of violent strombolian activity. On one profile strong diffractors at the base of the cone suggest the presence of now-buried ballistics that rolled to the bottom of the slope. A major question to be addressed with the GPR data is whether the scoria cone erosion by downslope granular flow can be modeled using the diffusion-advection equation with constant diffusivity and advection terms, and in contrast, how much of the profile is explained by downslope movement at the time of the eruption. GPR reflecting horizons on the maar rim are smoother in appearance than those on the scoria cone, perhaps indicating finer-grained material and the absence of diffracting blocks. On the west rim layers suggest indicated a paleo-rim with a flat top ~50 meters wide, surrounded on both sides by strata dipping more steeply than the current surface. Radar stratgraphy outside the northeastern maar rim is much more complex.

New insights on active fault geometries in the Mentawai region of Sumatra, Indonesia, from broadband waveform modeling of earthquake source parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

WANG, X.; Wei, S.; Bradley, K. E.

2017-12-01

Global earthquake catalogs provide important first-order constraints on the geometries of active faults. However, the accuracies of both locations and focal mechanisms in these catalogs are typically insufficient to resolve detailed fault geometries. This issue is particularly critical in subduction zones, where most great earthquakes occur. The Slab 1.0 model (Hayes et al. 2012), which was derived from global earthquake catalogs, has smooth fault geometries, and cannot adequately address local structural complexities that are critical for understanding earthquake rupture patterns, coseismic slip distributions, and geodetically monitored interseismic coupling. In this study, we conduct careful relocation and waveform modeling of earthquake source parameters to reveal fault geometries in greater detail. We take advantage of global data and conduct broadband waveform modeling for medium size earthquakes (M>4.5) to refine their source parameters, which include locations and fault plane solutions. The refined source parameters can greatly improve the imaging of fault geometry (e.g., Wang et al., 2017). We apply these approaches to earthquakes recorded since 1990 in the Mentawai region offshore of central Sumatra. Our results indicate that the uncertainty of the horizontal location, depth and dip angle estimation are as small as 5 km, 2 km and 5 degrees, respectively. The refined catalog shows that the 2005 and 2009 "back-thrust" sequences in Mentawai region actually occurred on a steeply landward-dipping fault, contradicting previous studies that inferred a seaward-dipping backthrust. We interpret these earthquakes as `unsticking' of the Sumatran accretionary wedge along a backstop fault that separates accreted material of the wedge from the strong Sunda lithosphere, or reactivation of an old normal fault buried beneath the forearc basin. We also find that the seismicity on the Sunda megathrust deviates in location from Slab 1.0 by up to 7 km, with along strike variation. The refined megathrust geometry will improve our understanding of the tectonic setting in this region, and place further constraints on rupture processes of the hazardous megathrust.

Crustal structure of Wrangellia and adjacent terranes inferred from geophysical studies along a transect through the northern Talkeetna Mountains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glen, J.M.G.; Schmidt, J.; Pellerin, L.; McPhee, D.K.; O'Neill, J. M.

2007-01-01

Recent investigations of the Talkeetna Mountains in south-central Alaska were undertaken to study the region's framework geophysics and to reinterpret structures and crustal composition. Potential field (gravity and magnetic) and magnetotelluric (MT) data were collected along northwest-trending profiles as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Talkeetna Mountains transect project. The Talkeetna Mountains transect area comprises eight 1:63,360 quadrangles (???9500 km2) in the Healy and Talkeetna Mountains 1?? ?? 3?? sheets that span four major lithostratigraphic terranes (Glen et al., this volume) including the Wrangellia and Peninsular terranes and two Mesozoic overlap assemblages inboard (northwest) of Wrangellia. These data were used here to develop 21/2-dimensional models for the three profiles. Modeling results reveal prominent gravity, magnetic, and MT gradients (???3.25 mGal/ km, ???100nT/km, ???300 ohm-m/km) corresponding to the Talkeetna Suture Zone-a first-order crustal discontinuity in the deep crust that juxtaposes rocks with strongly contrasting rock properties. This discontinuity corresponds with the suture between relatively dense magnetic crust of Wrangellia (likely of oceanic composition) and relatively less dense transitional crust underlying Jurassic to Cretaceous flysch basins developed between Wrangellia and North America. Some area of the oceanic crust beneath Wrangellia may also have been underplated by mafic material during early to mid-Tertiary volcanism. The prominent crustal break underlies the Fog Lakes basin approximately where theTalkeetna thrust faultwaspreviouslymappedas a surface feature. Potential fieldand MT models, however, indicate that the Talkeetna Suture Zone crustal break along the transect is a deep (2-8 km), steeply west-dipping structure-not a shallow east-dipping Alpine nappe-like thrust. Indeed, most of the crustal breaks in the area appear to be steep in the geophysical data, which is consistent with regional geologic mapping that indicates that most of the faults are steep normal, reverse, strike-slip, or oblique-slip faults. Mapping further indicates that many of these features, which likely formed during Jurassic and Cretaceous time, such as the Talkeetna Suture Zone have reactivated inTertiary time (O'Neill et al., 2005). Copyright ?? 2007 The Geological Society of America.

Fault-zone structure and weakening processes in basin-scale reverse faults: The Moonlight Fault Zone, South Island, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alder, S.; Smith, S. A. F.; Scott, J. M.

2016-10-01

The >200 km long Moonlight Fault Zone (MFZ) in southern New Zealand was an Oligocene basin-bounding normal fault zone that reactivated in the Miocene as a high-angle reverse fault (present dip angle 65°-75°). Regional exhumation in the last c. 5 Ma has resulted in deep exposures of the MFZ that present an opportunity to study the structure and deformation processes that were active in a basin-scale reverse fault at basement depths. Syn-rift sediments are preserved only as thin fault-bound slivers. The hanging wall and footwall of the MFZ are mainly greenschist facies quartzofeldspathic schists that have a steeply-dipping (55°-75°) foliation subparallel to the main fault trace. In more fissile lithologies (e.g. greyschists), hanging-wall deformation occurred by the development of foliation-parallel breccia layers up to a few centimetres thick. Greyschists in the footwall deformed mainly by folding and formation of tabular, foliation-parallel breccias up to 1 m wide. Where the hanging-wall contains more competent lithologies (e.g. greenschist facies metabasite) it is laced with networks of pseudotachylyte that formed parallel to the host rock foliation in a damage zone extending up to 500 m from the main fault trace. The fault core contains an up to 20 m thick sequence of breccias, cataclasites and foliated cataclasites preserving evidence for the progressive development of interconnected networks of (partly authigenic) chlorite and muscovite. Deformation in the fault core occurred by cataclasis of quartz and albite, frictional sliding of chlorite and muscovite grains, and dissolution-precipitation. Combined with published friction and permeability data, our observations suggest that: 1) host rock lithology and anisotropy were the primary controls on the structure of the MFZ at basement depths and 2) high-angle reverse slip was facilitated by the low frictional strength of fault core materials. Restriction of pseudotachylyte networks to the hanging-wall of the MFZ further suggests that the wide, phyllosilicate-rich fault core acted as an efficient hydrological barrier, resulting in a relatively hydrous footwall and fault core but a relatively dry hanging-wall.

Textural and structural evidence for a predeformation hydrothermal origin of the Tungsten Queen Deposit, Hamme District, North Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Foose, M.P.; Slack, J.F.; Casadevall, T.

1980-01-01

The Hamme tungsten district is composed of a series of steeply dipping quartz-wolframite veins in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Veins are concentrated near the border of the lower Paleozoic Vance County pluton, along its western contact with green-schist-facies metapelites and metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina slate belt. One of these quartz veins, the Snead-Walker, hosts the Tungsten Queen deposit. The vein is 0 to 10 m thick and trends N 35 degrees E for approximately 3,500 m through slate belt rocks and the granitic pluton. The deposit has been worked to a depth of nearly 520 m and contains eight en echelon ore lodes that plunge 42 degrees to 65 degrees between S 10 degrees E and S 10 degrees W. Ore lodes commonly are encased in thin lenses of quartz-sericite greisen. The principal ore mineral is huebnerite and is accompanied by scattered occurrences of pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, and tetrahedrite. The gangue is predominantly quartz with minor amounts of fluorite, sericite, and carbonate.Studies of minor structures and mineral textures indicate that both the wall rock and the ore and gangue minerals within the vein have been deformed by at least two events. The first event produced relatively gentle, open, and shallow-plunging folds; later, an intense episode of right-lateral shearing developed steeply plunging, tight folds and numerous northeast-trending shears. This latter deformation also developed a prominent alignment of ore and gangue minerals oblique to the vein walls and may have formed the en echelon distribution of ore lodes.In relatively undeformed parts of the vein, clusters of euhedral huebnerite crystals are oriented perpendicular to vein layering. Some prismatic crystals have terminations with cappings of sulfides and in polished thin section show concentric growth zones. These features are similar to textures found in unmetamorphosed tungsten-bearing hydrothermal vein deposits such as those at Pasto Bueno, Peru; Carrock Fell, England; and Panasqueria, Portugal. The relationships of mineral textures and minor structures indicate that the Tungsten Queen deposit formed by open-space fillings of linear faults or fractures and was subsequently deformed by at least two episodes of folding and shearing.

Up-dip partitioning of displacement components on the oblique-slip Clarence Fault, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicol, Andrew; Van Dissen, Russell

2002-09-01

Active strike-slip faults in New Zealand occur within an obliquely-convergent plate boundary zone. Although the traces of these faults commonly delineate the base of mountain ranges, they do not always accommodate significant shortening at the free surface. Along the active trace of Clarence Fault in northeastern South Island, New Zealand, displaced landforms and slickenside striations indicate predominantly horizontal displacements at the ground surface, and a right-lateral slip rate of ca. 3.5-5 mm/year during the Holocene. The Inland Kaikoura mountain range occupies the hanging wall of the fault and rises steeply from the active trace to altitudes of ca. 3 km. The geomorphology of the range indicates active uplift and mountain building, which is interpreted to result, in part, from a vertical component of fault slip at depth. These data are consistent with the fault accommodating oblique-slip at depth aligned parallel to the plate-motion vector and compatible with regional geodetic data and earthquake focal-mechanisms. Oblique-slip on the Clarence Fault at depth is partitioned at the free surface into: (1) right-lateral displacement on the fault, and (2) hanging wall uplift produced by distributed displacement on small-scale faults parallel to the main fault. Decoupling of slip components reflects an up-dip transfer of fault throw to an off-fault zone of distributed uplift. Such zones are common in the hanging walls of thrusts and reverse faults, and support the idea that the dip of the oblique-slip Clarence Fault steepens towards the free surface.

Igneous sills record far-field and near-field stress interactions during volcano construction: Isle of Mull, Scotland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, T. L.; Walker, R. J.; Healy, D.; Bubeck, A.; England, R. W.; McCaffrey, K. J. W.

2017-11-01

Sill emplacement is typically associated with horizontally mechanically layered host rocks in a near-hydrostatic far-field stress state, where contrasting mechanical properties across the layers promote transitions from dykes, or inclined sheets, to sills. We used detailed field observations from the Loch Scridain Sill Complex (Isle of Mull, UK), and mechanical models to show that layering is not always the dominant control on sill emplacement. The studied sills have consistently shallow dips (1°-25°) and cut vertically bedded and foliated metamorphic basement rocks, and horizontally bedded cover sedimentary rocks and lavas. Horizontal and shallowly-dipping fractures in the host rock were intruded with vertical opening in all cases, whilst steeply-dipping discontinuities within the sequence (i.e. vertical fractures and foliation in the basement, and vertical polygonal joints in the lavas) were not intruded during sill emplacement. Mechanical models of slip tendency, dilation tendency, and fracture susceptibility for local and overall sill geometry data, support a radial horizontal compression during sill emplacement. Our models show that dykes and sills across Mull were emplaced during NW-SE horizontal shortening, related to a far-field tectonic stress state. The dykes generally accommodated phases of NE-SW horizontal tectonic extension, whereas the sills record the superposition of the far-field stress with a near-field stress state, imposed by emplacement of the Mull Central Volcano. We show that through detailed geometric characterisation coupled with mechanical modelling, sills may be used as an indication of fluctuations in the paleostress state.

Surface deformation in volcanic rift zones

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollard, D.D.; Delaney, P.T.; Duffield, W.A.; Endo, E.T.; Okamura, A.T.

1983-01-01

The principal conduits for magma transport within rift zones of basaltic volcanoes are steeply dipping dikes, some of which feed fissure eruptions. Elastic displacements accompanying a single dike emplacement elevate the flanks of the rift relative to a central depression. Concomitant normal faulting may transform the depression into a graben thus accentuating the topographic features of the rift. If eruption occurs the characteristic ridge-trough-ridge displacement profile changes to a single ridge, centered at the fissure, and the erupted lava alters the local topography. A well-developed rift zone owes its structure and topography to the integrated effects of many magmatic rifting events. To investigate this process we compute the elastic displacements and stresses in a homogeneous, two-dimensional half-space driven by a pressurized crack that may breach the surface. A derivative graphical method permits one to estimate the three geometric parameters of the dike (height, inclination, and depth-to-center) and the mechanical parameter (driving pressure/rock stiffness) from a smoothly varying displacement profile. Direct comparison of measured and theoretical profiles may be used to estimate these parameters even if inelastic deformation, notably normal faulting, creates discontinuities in the profile. Geological structures (open cracks, normal faults, buckles, and thrust faults) form because of stresses induced by dike emplacement and fissure eruption. Theoretical stress states associated with dilation of a pressurized crack are used to interpret the distribution and orientation of these structures and their role in rift formation. ?? 1983.

Tectono-stratigraphy and low-grade metamorphism of Late Permian and Early Jurassic accretionary complexes within the Kurosegawa belt, Southwest Japan: Implications for mechanisms of crustal displacement within active continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, Hidetoshi; Kurihara, Toshiyuki; Mori, Hiroshi

2013-04-01

We characterize the tectono-stratigraphic architecture and low-grade metamorphism of the accretionary complex preserved in the Kurosegawa belt of the Kitagawa district in eastern Shikoku, Southwest Japan, in order to understand its internal structure, tectono-metamorphic evolution, and assessments of displacement of continental fragments within the complex. We report the first ever documented occurrence of an Early Jurassic radiolarian assemblage within the accretionary complex of the Kurosegawa belt that has been previously classified as the Late Permian accretionary complex, thus providing a revised age interpretation for these rocks. The accretionary complex is subdivided into four distinct tectono-stratigraphic units: Late Permian mélange and phyllite units, and Early Jurassic mélange and sandstone units. The stratigraphy of these four units is structurally repeated due to an E-W striking, steeply dipping regional fault. We characterized low-grade metamorphism of the accretionary complex via illite crystallinity and Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material. The estimated pattern of low-grade metamorphism showed pronounced variability within the complex and revealed no discernible spatial trends. The primary thermal structure in these rocks was overprinted by later tectonic events. Based on geological and thermal structure, we conclude that continental fragments within the Kurosegawa belt were structurally translated into both the Late Permian and Early Jurassic accretionary complexes, which comprise a highly deformed zone affected by strike-slip tectonics during the Early Cretaceous. Different models have been proposed to explain the initial structural evolution of the Kurosegawa belt (i.e., micro-continent collision and klippe tectonic models). Even if we presuppose either model, the available geological evidence requires a new interpretation, whereby primary geological structures are overprinted and reconfigured by later tectonic events.

Controlled source electrical methods for deep exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Stanley H.

1983-07-01

Application of controlled source electrical methods (CSEM) is impeded by natural field, electrification, geological, cultural, and topographic noise. Lateral resolution of parameters of adjacent steeply dipping bodies and vertical resolution of parameters of adjacent beds in a flatly dipping sequence are concerns with any CSEM method. Current channeling into a localized good conductor from a surrounding, overlying, or underlying conductor poses problems for the interpreter. A summary of the results of several recent experiments with CSEM techniques illustrates that with care and difficulty they can be used to depths on the order of 20 km. If measurements are made on a relatively uniform resistive surface, as can be found in glaciated Precambrian terranes, then either a grounded bipole or a loop source is acceptable. Most of the recent CSEM experiments were made over resistive Precambrian rocks and all were directed toward detecting a conductive layer near 20 km depth. For exploration beyond this depth, however, the MT/AMT method would seem to be preferred. The rationale behind this conclusion is largely contained in consideration of the ratio of signal to natural field noise. Where thick irregular surficial overburden of low resistivity occurs, two- and three-dimensional modeling is necessary to stripp off the effects of the shallow layers. This may not be possible for CSEM and then MT/AMT becomes the only alternative.

Rupture Process During the Mw 8.1 2017 Chiapas Mexico Earthquake: Shallow Intraplate Normal Faulting by Slab Bending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okuwaki, R.; Yagi, Y.

2017-12-01

A seismic source model for the Mw 8.1 2017 Chiapas, Mexico, earthquake was constructed by kinematic waveform inversion using globally observed teleseismic waveforms, suggesting that the earthquake was a normal-faulting event on a steeply dipping plane, with the major slip concentrated around a relatively shallow depth of 28 km. The modeled rupture evolution showed unilateral, downdip propagation northwestward from the hypocenter, and the downdip width of the main rupture was restricted to less than 30 km below the slab interface, suggesting that the downdip extensional stresses due to the slab bending were the primary cause of the earthquake. The rupture front abruptly decelerated at the northwestern end of the main rupture where it intersected the subducting Tehuantepec Fracture Zone, suggesting that the fracture zone may have inhibited further rupture propagation.

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

Davis, B.E.; Krajewski, S.A.; Ahner, P.F.

The site qualification program for the North Knobs UCG site near Rawlins, Wyoming has been completed. This site will be the location for the field tests of Underground Coal Gasification of Steeply Dipping Beds undertaken by Gulf Research and Development Company for DOE in a cost shared contract. Site characterization included a comprehensive geotechnical analysis along with vegetation, historical, and archeological studies. The G coal seam chosen for these tests is a subbituminous B coal with a true seam thickness of 22 feet and has thin coal benches above and below the main seam. The water table is at 90more » feet below the surface. Hydrologic studies have defined the seam as an aquiclude (non-aquifer). The site is deemed restorable to regulatory requirements. Evaluation of this site indicates total acceptability for the three-test program planned by GR and DC.« less

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

Davis, B.E.; Krajewski, S.A.; Ahner, P.F.

The site qualification program for the North Knobs UCG site near Rawlins, Wyoming has been completed. This site will be the location for the field tests of Underground Coal Gasification of Steeply Dipping Beds undertaken by Gulf Research and Development Company for DOE in a cost shared contract. Site characterization included a comprehensive geotechnical analysis along with vegetation, historical, and archeological studies. The G coal seam chosen for these tests is a subbituminous B coal with a true seam thickness of 22 feet and has thin coal benches above and below the main seam. The water table is at 90more » feet below the surface. Hydrologic studies have defined the seam as an aquiclude (nonaquifer). The site is deemed restorable to regulatory requirements. Evaluation of this site indicates total acceptability for the three-test program planned by GR and DC.« less

Evaluating connection of aquifers to springs and streams, Great Basin National Park and vicinity, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Sweetkind, Donald S.; Jackson, Tracie R.; Dotson, K. Elaine; Plume, Russell W.; Hatch, Christine E.; Halford, Keith J.

2015-12-22

Groundwater flow from southern Spring Valley continues through the western side of Hamlin Valley before being directed northeast toward the south end of Snake Valley. This flow is constrained by southward-flowing groundwater from Big Spring Wash and northward-flowing groundwater beneath central Hamlin Valley. The redirection to the northeast corresponds to a narrowing of the width of flow in southern Snake Valley caused by a constriction formed by a steeply dipping middle Paleozoic siliciclastic confining unit exposed in the flanks of the mountains and hills on the east side of southern Snake Valley and shallowly buried beneath basin fill in the valley. The narrowing of groundwater flow could be responsible for the large area where groundwater flows to springs or is lost to evapotranspiration between Big Springs in Nevada and Pruess Lake in Utah.

Categorizing vitric lithofacies on seamounts: implications for recognizing deep-marine pyroclastic deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portner, R. A.; Clague, D. A.

2011-12-01

Glassy fragmental deposits commonly found capping seamounts have been variably interpreted as the products of quench-fragmentation (hyaloclastite), suppressed steam expansion, and/or explosive fire-fountains (pyroclastite). To better understand these vitriclastic deposits we use a multidisciplinary approach that outlines six lithofacies based on textures, sedimentary structures, geochemical diversity, and associations with seamount landforms. All seamounts studied yield MORB compositions and formed on or near mid-ocean ridge axes of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Consolidated deposits were sampled from the Taney (~29 Ma), President Jackson (~3 Ma), and Vance (~2 Ma) seamounts using ROV manipulator arms and dredge hauls. Unconsolidated deposits from the currently active Axial Seamount of the Juan de Fuca Ridge were sampled using ROV push core and vacuum techniques. Lithofacies occur with talus breccias and pillow basalt on steeply dipping outer flanks and caldera walls, and with pillow and sheet flows on subhorizontal rims and nested caldera floors of the seamounts. Vitric lithofacies within or near steeply dipping regions have very angular textures, coarse grain-sizes and abundant crystalline basalt fragments. Jig-saw fit texture is common in units with monomict geochemistry and closely associated with adjacent pillow basalt, suggesting in-situ fragmentation akin to pillow breccia. Similar units bearing polymodal geochemistry are generally associated with talus breccias along caldera walls and basal slopes, and are interpreted as fault-scarp derived debrites. Laterally these lithofacies abruptly grade into bottom-current reworked lithofacies on flat caldera floors. Reworked lithofacies have >40% muddy matrix with abundant angular mineral fragments, biogenic grains and minor devitrified glass shards. They typically exhibit well-defined planar lamination and locally show sinusoidal ripple forms. Horizontal burrows including Planolites are common. Locally this lithofacies has a structureless to 'swirled' habit and interdigitating bedding contacts where it is host to matrix-supported subround vitric lapilli with low-vesicularity. These rare globules have mud-filled embayments, bubbles and quench-cracks, jig-saw fit texture, and fluidal morphologies suggesting a pepperitic origin. Laterally, bottom current reworked lithofacies grade into fine-to medium-grained ash lithofacies proximal to volcanic-constructional landforms. These landforms have broad morphologies with subdued slopes and are interpreted as source vents. Lithofacies generated from these vents invariably contain an abundance of low-vesicular limu-o-Pele'- or highly-vesicular round lapilli. Units are coarse-tail reverse to normal graded and crudely planar laminated or structureless. Locally, basal contacts are erosive. This facies is interpreted as fall-out from particle lofting or high-density gravity flows generated by explosive eruptions. By combining high-resolution bathymetric mapping and sampling with post-cruise geochemical and petrographic examination, we outline a previously unrecognized diversity to seamount-capping vitriclastic deposits. This approach will be useful for studies focused on deciphering explosive origins of deep-marine volcaniclastic deposits.

Structural Controls of the Tuscarora Geothermal Field, Elko County, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dering, Gregory M.

Detailed geologic mapping, structural analysis, and well data have been integrated to elucidate the stratigraphic framework and structural setting of the Tuscarora geothermal area. Tuscarora is an amagmatic geothermal system that lies in the northern part of the Basin and Range province, ˜15 km southeast of the Snake River Plain and ˜90 km northwest of Elko, Nevada. The Tuscarora area is dominated by late Eocene to middle Miocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks, all overlying Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks. A geothermal power plant was constructed in 2011 and currently produces 18 MWe from an ˜170°C reservoir in metasedimentary rocks at a depth of 1740 m. Analysis of drill core reveals that the subsurface geology is dominated to depths of ˜700-1000 m by intracaldera deposits of the Eocene Big Cottonwood Canyon caldera, including blocks of basement-derived megabreccia. Furthermore, the Tertiary-Paleozoic nonconformity within the geothermal field has been recognized as the margin of this Eocene caldera. Structural relations combined with geochronologic data from previous studies indicate that Tuscarora has undergone extension since the late Eocene, with significant extension in the late Miocene-Pliocene to early Pleistocene. Kinematic analysis of fault slip data reveal an east-west-trending least principal paleostress direction, which probably reflects an earlier episode of Miocene extension. Two distinct structural settings at different scales appear to control the geothermal field. The regional structural setting is a 10-km wide complexly faulted left step or relay ramp in the west-dipping range-bounding Independence-Bull Run Mountains normal fault system. Geothermal activity occurs within the step-over where sets of east- and west-dipping normal faults overlap in a northerly trending accommodation zone. The distribution of hot wells and hydrothermal surface features, including boiling springs, fumaroles, and siliceous sinter, indicate that the geothermal system is restricted to the narrow (< 1 km) axial part of the accommodation zone, where permeability is maintained at depth around complex fault intersections. Shallow up-flow appears to be focused along several closely spaced steeply west-dipping north-northeast-striking normal faults within the axial part of the accommodation zone. These faults are favorably oriented for extension and fluid flow under the present-day northwest-trending regional extension direction indicated by previous studies of GPS geodetic data, earthquake focal mechanisms, and kinematic data from late Quaternary faults. The recognition of the axial part of an accommodation zone as a favorable structural setting for geothermal activity may be a useful exploration tool for development of drilling targets in extensional terranes, as well as for developing geologic models of known geothermal fields. Preliminary analysis of broad step-overs similar to Tuscarora reveals that geothermal activity occurs in a variety of subsidiary structural settings within these regions. In addition, the presence of several high-temperature systems in northeastern Nevada demonstrates the viability of electrical-grade geothermal activity in this region despite low present-day strain rates as indicated by GPS geodetic data. Geothermal exploration potential in northeastern Nevada may therefore be higher than previously recognized.

Links between the distribution of intermediate depth seismicity and structure of the incoming plate in the Lesser Antilles arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bie, L.; Garth, T.; Rietbrock, A.

2017-12-01

The Lesser Antilles subduction zone offers a unique opportunity to study the subduction of oceanic material formed at a slow spreading mid-ocean ridge. The seismicity rates in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone vary strongly along the arc, and low seismicity rates in the Southern part of the Arc have made accurate mapping of the slab at depth difficult. Here we present an innovative method of constraining the slab geometry using global earthquake catalogue data, and a prescribed formula for the geometry of the slab. The global earthquake catalogues are filtered for events of different quality, and the slab fit is weighted to events that are well located by observations at several stations. This allows a series of slab profiles to be fitted to the seismicity within the slab. These profiles are used to produce a smoothed slab geometry for the whole arc. The results confirm the marked difference in the slab geometry between the steeply dipping Northern part (> 14°latitude) of the arc and the more shallow dip of the Southern part of the arc (< 14° latitude). The change in dip at 14° latitude occurs abruptly. We therefore support the hypothesis that the North and South parts of the arc are in fact separate subducting plates with a distinct gap between them. This theory has previously been supported by tele-seismic tomography (Benthem et al., 2013), and shear wave splitting observations in the region. In addition, the subducted slab geometry beneath the Lesser Antilles is used to quantify variations in the thickness of the WBZ (Wadati-Benioff zone) seismicity along strike. We find a significant variation in the WBZ thickness along strike, which cannot be explained by the relatively small variation in age of the incoming plate. We propose that these variations are instead explained by pre-existing structures in the subducting plate. The thickness of the WBZ correlates well with the occurrence of paleo-spreading ridges of the incoming plate, as inferred from global plate age models (Muller et al., 2008). Ridges on the incoming plate, inferred from variations in the gravity anomaly, and related to transform faults at the spreading ridge, correlate with marked changes in the thickness of the WBZ along the arc. These findings support the hypothesis that there is a direct link between WBZ seismicity and hydration of the mantle of the incoming plate.

Geology of the Alaska-Juneau lode system, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twenhofel, William Stephens

1952-01-01

The Alaska-Juneau lode system for many years was one of the worlds leading gold-producing areas. Total production from the years 1893 to 1946 has amounted to about 94 million dollars, with principal values in contained gold but with some silver and lead values. The principal mine is the Alaska-Juneau mine, from which the lode system takes its name. The lode system is a part of a larger gold-bearing belt, generally referred to as the Juneau gold belt, along the western border of the Coast Range batholith. The rocks of the Alaska-Juneau lode system consist of a monoclinal sequence of steeply northeasterly dipping volcanic, state, and schist rocks, all of which have been metamorphosed by dynamic and thermal processes attendant with the intrusion of the Coast Range batholith. The rocks form a series of belts that trend northwest parallel to the Coast Range. In addition to the Coast Range batholith lying a mile to the east of the lode system, there are numerous smaller intrusives, all of which are sill-like in form and are thus conformable to the regional structure. The bedded rocks are Mesozoic in age; the Coast Range batholith is Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous in age. Some of the smaller intrusives pre-date the batholith, others post-date it. All of the rocks are cut by steeply dipping faults. The Alaska-Juneau lode system is confined exclusively to the footwall portion of the Perseverance slate band. The slate band is composed of black slate and black phyllite with lesser amounts of thin-bedded quartzite. Intrusive into the slate band are many sill-like bodies of rocks generally referred to as meta-gabbro. The gold deposits of the lode system are found both within the slate rocks and the meta-gabbro rocks, and particularly in those places where meta-gabbro bodies interfinger with slate. Thus the ore bodies are found in and near the terminations of meta-gabbro bodies. The ore bodies are quartz stringer-lodes composed of a great number of quartz veins from 6 inches to 3 feet wide and extending along their strike and dip for several tens to hundreds of feet. In addition to quartz, the only other vein gangue mineral is ankerite. It occurs in small amounts along the borders of the quartz veins. Metallic vein minerals, in addition to native gold, are, in order of decreasing abundance, pyrrhotite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite. In the aggregate the metallic minerals comprise only 1 to 2 percent of the total amount of vein material. The wall rock, particularly the meta-gabbro, was profoundly altered by the vein-forming processes. The principal effects on the meta-gabbro were the addition of large amounts of soda, potash, titanium, carbon dioxide, and phosphorous, and the removal of considerable quantities of iron, magnesia, lime, and combined water. Silica also may have been decreased. The mineralogical changes involved in the alteration were the development of biotite and ankerite at the expense of original hornblende and feldspar, resulting in a brown-colored biotite- and ankerite-rich rock. The slates are relatively unaffected by the vein-forming processes. Because of their small size, relatively low grade, and discontinuity, no attempt has been made to mine any individual vein. The prevailing practice has been to mine large blocks of ground by a system of modified block-caving, followed by hand sorting to remove the barren country rock from the gold-bearing quartz prior to milling.

The Later Paleozoic granites of the Greater Caucasus Fore Range zone: geochemistry, magnetic properties and the structural and metamorphic evolution.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamzolkin, Vladimir; Latyshev, Anton; Ivanov, Stanislav; Vidjapin, Jury

2017-04-01

Clarification of the position of the granitic intrusions associated with the Blyb Metamorphic Complex is the important problem of the reconstruction of the structural evolution of the Greater Caucasus Fore Range zone. Based of the rock geochemistry we found out that the quartz diorites, granodiorites and syeno-granites of the BMC formed in suprasubduction conditions and refer to I-type granites. However, their emplacement was multistage coinciding with the various stages of the BMC evolution. We detected the mineral associations typical for the epidote-amphibolite facies in the Balkan massif, but these metamorphic features are absent in the granodiorite intrusions in the southern part of the Fore Range zone. Thus, quartz diorites of the Balkan intrusion intruded after the high-pressure metamorphism of the host rocks, but before the epidote-amphibolite stage, and the Southern granodiorite intrusions are younger. The measurements of the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility (AMS) in the Balkan intrusion indicated the shallow orientation of the minimal (north-eastern strike) and maximal (north-western strike) axes of the AMS ellipsoid. This result is compatible with the idea of the north-east compression fixed in the fold deformation structures of the BMC host rocks (Vidyapin, Kamzolkin, 2015). However, the macroscopic foliation in the granites dips to the east steeply. The discrepancy of the texture orientation of the granites, the host rock structure and the magnetic fabric can be explained as a result of the repeated changes of the stress field during the evolution of the Fore Range nappe structures. The reported study was partially supported by RFBR, research projects No. 16-35-00571mol_a; 16-05-01012a.

Resolving the fine-scale velocity structure of continental hyperextension at the Deep Galicia Margin using full-waveform inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davy, R. G.; Morgan, J. V.; Minshull, T. A.; Bayrakci, G.; Bull, J. M.; Klaeschen, D.; Reston, T. J.; Sawyer, D. S.; Lymer, G.; Cresswell, D.

2018-01-01

Continental hyperextension during magma-poor rifting at the Deep Galicia Margin is characterized by a complex pattern of faulting, thin continental fault blocks and the serpentinization, with local exhumation, of mantle peridotites along the S-reflector, interpreted as a detachment surface. In order to understand fully the evolution of these features, it is important to image seismically the structure and to model the velocity structure to the greatest resolution possible. Traveltime tomography models have revealed the long-wavelength velocity structure of this hyperextended domain, but are often insufficient to match accurately the short-wavelength structure observed in reflection seismic imaging. Here, we demonstrate the application of 2-D time-domain acoustic full-waveform inversion (FWI) to deep-water seismic data collected at the Deep Galicia Margin, in order to attain a high-resolution velocity model of continental hyperextension. We have used several quality assurance procedures to assess the velocity model, including comparison of the observed and modeled waveforms, checkerboard tests, testing of parameter and inversion strategy and comparison with the migrated reflection image. Our final model exhibits an increase in the resolution of subsurface velocities, with particular improvement observed in the westernmost continental fault blocks, with a clear rotation of the velocity field to match steeply dipping reflectors. Across the S-reflector, there is a sharpening in the velocity contrast, with lower velocities beneath S indicative of preferential mantle serpentinization. This study supports the hypothesis that normal faulting acts to hydrate the upper-mantle peridotite, observed as a systematic decrease in seismic velocities, consistent with increased serpentinization. Our results confirm the feasibility of applying the FWI method to sparse, deep-water crustal data sets.

Southern Mozambique basin: most promising hydrocarbon province offshore eat Africa

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

De Buyl, M.; Flores, G.

1984-09-01

Recent offshore acquisition of 12,800 km (8,000 mi) of seismic reflection data, with gravity and magnetic profiles encompassing the southern half of the Mozambique basin, reveals new facets of the subsurface geology. Integrated interpretation of these new geophysical data with old well information results in the development of depositional and tectonic models that positively establish the hydrocarbon potential of the basin. The recent comprehensive interpretation affords the following conclusions. (1) Significant oil shows accompany wet gas discoveries suggest that the South Mozambique basin is a mature province, as the hydrocarbon associations imply thermogenic processes. (2) Super-Karoo marine Jurassic sequences havemore » been encountered in Nhamura-1 well onshore from the application of seismic stratigraphy and well correlation. (3) Steeply dipping reflectors truncated by the pre-Cretaceous unconformity testify to significant tectonic activity preceding the breakup of Gondwanaland. Hence, preconceived ideas about the depth of the economic basement and the absence of mature source rocks of pre-Cretaceous age should be revised. (4) Wildcats in the vicinity of ample structural closures have not been, in retrospect, optimally positioned nor drilled to sufficient depth to test the viability of prospects mapped along a major offshore extension of the East African rift system delineated by this new survey.« less

Inflation-predictable behavior and co-eruption deformation at Axial Seamount.

PubMed

Nooner, Scott L; Chadwick, William W

2016-12-16

Deformation of the ground surface at active volcanoes provides information about magma movements at depth. Improved seafloor deformation measurements between 2011 and 2015 documented a fourfold increase in magma supply and confirmed that Axial Seamount's eruptive behavior is inflation-predictable, probably triggered by a critical level of magmatic pressure. A 2015 eruption was successfully forecast on the basis of this deformation pattern and marked the first time that deflation and tilt were captured in real time by a new seafloor cabled observatory, revealing the timing, location, and volume of eruption-related magma movements. Improved modeling of the deformation suggests a steeply dipping prolate-spheroid pressure source beneath the eastern caldera that is consistent with the location of the zone of highest melt within the subcaldera magma reservoir determined from multichannel seismic results. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Geoelectric characteristics of portions of the Raha fault zone and surrounding rocks, Jabal As Silsilah Quadrangle, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zablocki, Charles J.; Hajnour, M.O.

1987-01-01

Telluric-electric and auto-magnetotelluric measurements obtained in and around the Raha fault zone in the Buqaya area indicate that it dips steeply to the southwest. Large contrasts in the electrical properties of Qarnayn and Maraghan metasedimentary rocks located on either side of the fault are characteristic of the rocks within the fault zone. However, no large electrical contrasts were detected along several segments of a southern branch of the main fault in the Shiaila area, indicating that the rocks on either side of the fault are of similar composition. Extremely low resistivity readings in the Buqaya and Shiaila areas are associated with fracturing and clay-bearing gouge that accompany known shear zones. The locations of several shallow plutons have been inferred from these studies, one of which is probably a source of gold-bearing quartz veins in the metasedimentary rocks of the Shiaila area.

Geology and genesis of the Baid al Jimalah tungsten deposit, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kamilli, R.J.; Cole, J.C.; Elliott, J.E.; Criss, R.E.

1993-01-01

The Baid ad Jimalah tungsten deposit in Saudi Arabia consists predominantly of swarms of steeply dipping, subparallel, tungsten-bearing quartz veins and of less abundant, smaller stockwork veins. It is spatially, temporally, and genetically associated with a 569 Ma, highly differentiated, porphyritic, two-feldspar granite that intrudes Late Proterozoic immature sandstones. Baid al Jimalah is similar in character and origin to Phanerozoic tungsten-tin greisen deposits throughout the world, especially the Hemerdon deposit in Devon, England. It is also analogous to Climax-type molybdenum deposits, which contain virtually identical mineral assemblages, but with the relative proportions of molybdenum and tungsten mineralization reversed, primarily owing to differences in oxygen fugacity. This similarity in mineralization styles and fluid histories indicates that metallogenic processes in granite-related deposits in the late Precambrian were similar to those seen in the Phanerozoic. -from Authors

Influence of pre-tectonic carbonate facies architecture on deformation patterns of syntectonic turbidites, an example from the central Mexican fold-thrust belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vásquez Serrano, Alberto; Tolson, Gustavo; Fitz Diaz, Elisa; Chávez Cabello, Gabriel

2018-04-01

The Mexican fold-thrust belt in central México excellently exposes relatively well preserved syntectonic deposits that overlay rocks with lateral lithostratigraphic changes across the belt. We consider the deformational effects of these changes by investigating the geometry, kinematics and strain distribution within syntectonic turbidites, which are deposited on top of Albian-Cenomanian shallow and deep water carbonate layers. Field observations and detailed structural analysis at different stratigraphic and structural levels of the Late Cretaceous syntectonic formation are compared with the deformation as a function of lithological and structural variations in the underlying carbonate units, to better understand the effect of these lithostratigraphic variations on deformation, kinematics, strain distribution and propagation of deformation. From our kinematic analyses, we conclude that the syntectonic strata are pervasively affected by folding in all areas and that deformation partitioning localized shear zones at the boundaries of this unit, particularly along the contact with massive carbonates. At the boundaries with massive platformal carbonates, the turbidites are strongly deformed by isoclinal folding with a pervasive sub-horizontal axial plane cleavage and 70-60% shortening. In contrast, contacts with thinly-bedded carbonate layers (basinal facies), do not show strain localization, and have horizontal shortening of 50-40% that is accommodated by buckle folds with a less pervasive, steeply dipping cleavage. The mechanical properties variations in the underlying pre-tectonic units as a function of changes in lithostratigraphy fundamentally control the deformation in the overlying syntectonic strata, which is an effect that could be expected to occur in any deformed sedimentary sequence with such variations.

Structural analysis of a fractured basement reservoir, central Yemen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veeningen, Resi; Rice, Hugh; Schneider, Dave; Grasemann, Bernhard; Decker, Kurt

2013-04-01

The Pan-African Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS), within which Yemen lies, formed as a result of Neoproterozoic collisional events between c. 870-550 Ma. Several subsequent phases of extension occurred, from the Mesozoic (due to the breakup of Gondwana) to the Recent (forming the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea). These resulted in the formation of numerous horst- and-graben structures and the development of fractured basement reservoirs in the southeast part of the ANS. Two drill cores from the Mesozoic Marib-Shabwa Basin, central Yemen, penetrated the upper part of the Pan-African basement. The cores show both a lithological and structural inhomogeneity, with variations in extension-related deformation structures such as dilatational breccias, open fractures and closed veins. At least three deformation events have been recognized: D1) Ductile to brittle NW-SE directed faulting during cooling of a granitic pluton. U-Pb zircon ages revealed an upper age limit for granite emplacement at 627±3.5 Ma. As these structures show evidence for ductile deformation, this event must have occurred during the Ediacaran, shortly after intrusion, since Rb/Sr and (U-Th)/He analyses show that subsequent re-heating of the basement did not take place. D2) The development of shallow dipping, NNE-SSW striking extensional faults that formed during the Upper Jurassic, simultaneously with the formation of the Marib-Shabwa Basin. These fractures are regularly cross-cut by D3. D3) Steeply dipping NNE-SSW to ENE-WSW veins that are consistent with the orientation of the opening of the Gulf of Aden. These faults are the youngest structures recognized. The formation of ductile to brittle faults in the granite (D1) resulted in a hydrothermally altered zone ca. 30 cm wide replacing (mainly) plagioclase with predominantly chlorite, as well as kaolinite and heavy element minerals such as pyrite. The alteration- induced porosity has an average value of 20%, indicating that the altered zone is potentially a good fluid-flow pathway and also a suitable reservoir for hydrocarbons. The youngest faults (D3) are often filled with calcite, (saddle) dolomite and pyrite that formed at temperatures between 100 and 150° C. Fluid inclusions within calcite have abundant hydrocarbon-rich components indicating that these veins formed synchronously with hydrocarbon migration. The same minerals were deposited within the ductile to brittle faults within the granite (formed during D1). This resulted in significant porosity reduction, especially in the faults themselves, reducing the fluid flow efficiency within the altered granite, locking up hydrocarbons and reducing the reservoir quality.

Structural, metamorphic and geochronological insights on the Variscan evolution of the Alpine basement in the Belledonne Massif (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fréville, Kévin; Trap, Pierre; Faure, Michel; Melleton, Jérémie; Li, Xian-Hua; Lin, Wei; Blein, Olivier; Bruguier, Olivier; Poujol, Marc

2018-02-01

A structural and petrochronological study was carried out in the southern part of the Belledonne crystalline massif. A first tectonometamorphic event, Dx, corresponds to the eastward thrusting of the Chamrousse ophiolitic complex characterized by a low-temperature-moderate-pressure metamorphism reaching 0.535 ± 0.045 GPa and 427.5 ± 17.5 °C. A subsequent D1 deformation is defined by a penetrative S1 foliation that mostly dips toward the west and displays an E-W- to NE-SW-trending mineral and stretching lineation L1. D1 is associated with a top-to-the east shearing and is responsible for the crustal thickening accommodated by the eastward nappe stacking and the emplacement of the Chamrousse ophiolitic complex upon the Rioupéroux-Livet unit. This event is characterized by an amphibolite facies metamorphism (0.58 GPa ± 0.06; 608 ± 14 °C) that attains partial melting at the base of the nappe pile (0.78 ± 0.07 GPa; 680.5 ± 11.5 °C). LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of monazite grains from the mica schists of the Rioupéroux-Livet unit constrain the age of D1 to 337 ± 7 Ma. The D2 tectono-metamorphic event is characterized by NE-SW trending, upright to NE-verging synfolial folding. Folding associated with D2 is pervasively developed in all lithotectonic units with the development of a steeply-dipping S2 foliation. In particular, D2 involves the uppermost weakly metamorphosed Taillefer unit. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating performed on detrital zircon grains shows that the Taillefer conglomerates was deposited during the Visean. A zircon SIMS U-Pb age of 352 ± 1 Ma from a plagioglase-rich leucocratic sill of the Rioupéroux-Livet unit is interpreted as the age of magmatic emplacement. Our results suggest that the D2 event took place between 330 Ma and 310 Ma. We propose a new interpretation of the tectonometamorphic evolution of the southern part of the Belledonne massif, focusing on the Middle Carboniferous stages of the Variscan orogeny.

Estimation of the depth of faulting in the northeast margin of Argyre basin (Mars) by structural analysis of lobate scarps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrero-Gil, Andrea; Ruiz, Javier; Egea-González, Isabel; Romeo, Ignacio

2017-04-01

Lobate scarps are tectonic structures considered as the topographic expression of thrust faults. For this study we have chosen three large lobate scarps (Ogygis Rupes, Bosporos Rupes and a third unnamed one) located in Aonia Terra, in the southern hemisphere of Mars near the northeast margin of the Argyre impact basin. These lobate scarps strike parallel to the edge of Thaumasia in this area, showing a roughly arcuate to linear form and an asymmetric cross section with a steeply frontal scarp and a gently dipping back scarp. The asymmetry in the cross sections suggests that the three lobate scarps were generated by ESE-vergent thrust faults. Two complementary methods were used to analyze the faults underlying these lobate scarps based on Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data and the Mars imagery available: (i) analyzing topographic profiles together with the horizontal shortening estimations from cross-cut craters to create balanced cross sections on the basis of thrust fault propagation folding [1]; (ii) using a forward mechanical dislocation method [2], which predicts fault geometry by comparing model outputs with real topography. The objective is to obtain fault geometry parameters as the minimum value for the horizontal offset, dip angle and depth of faulting of each underlying fault. By comparing the results obtained by both methods we estimate a preliminary depth of faulting value between 15 and 26 kilometers for this zone between Thaumasia and Argyre basin. The significant sizes of the faults underlying these three lobate scarps suggest that their detachments are located at a main rheological change. Estimates of the depth of faulting in similar lobate scarps on Mars or Mercury [3] have been associated to the depth of the brittle-ductile transition. [1] Suppe (1983), Am. J. Sci., 283, 648-721; Seeber and Sorlien (2000), Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 1067-1079. [2] Toda et al. (1998) JGR, 103, 24543-24565. [3] i.e. Schultz and Watters (2001) Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 4659-4662; Ruiz et al. (2008) EPSL, 270, 1-12; Egea-Gonzalez et al. (2012) PSS, 60, 193-198; Mueller et al. (2014) EPSL, 408, 100-109.

Anatomy of the western Java plate interface from depth-migrated seismic images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopp, H.; Hindle, D.; Klaeschen, D.; Oncken, O.; Reichert, C.; Scholl, D.

2009-11-01

Newly pre-stack depth-migrated seismic images resolve the structural details of the western Java forearc and plate interface. The structural segmentation of the forearc into discrete mechanical domains correlates with distinct deformation styles. Approximately 2/3 of the trench sediment fill is detached and incorporated into frontal prism imbricates, while the floor sequence is underthrust beneath the décollement. Western Java, however, differs markedly from margins such as Nankai or Barbados, where a uniform, continuous décollement reflector has been imaged. In our study area, the plate interface reveals a spatially irregular, nonlinear pattern characterized by the morphological relief of subducted seamounts and thicker than average patches of underthrust sediment. The underthrust sediment is associated with a low velocity zone as determined from wide-angle data. Active underplating is not resolved, but likely contributes to the uplift of the large bivergent wedge that constitutes the forearc high. Our profile is located 100 km west of the 2006 Java tsunami earthquake. The heterogeneous décollement zone regulates the friction behavior of the shallow subduction environment where the earthquake occurred. The alternating pattern of enhanced frictional contact zones associated with oceanic basement relief and weak material patches of underthrust sediment influences seismic coupling and possibly contributed to the heterogeneous slip distribution. Our seismic images resolve a steeply dipping splay fault, which originates at the décollement and terminates at the sea floor and which potentially contributes to tsunami generation during co-seismic activity.

Receiver Functions From Regional and Near-Teleseismic P Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, J.; Levin, V.

2001-05-01

P waves from regional-distance earthquakes are complex and reverberatory, as would be expected from a combination of head waves, post-critical crustal reflections and shallow-incident P from the upper mantle. Although developed to analyze steeply-incident teleseismic P waves, receiver function analysis can also retrieve information about crustal structure from regional and near-teleseismic P. Using a new method to estimate receiver functions, based on multiple-taper spectral analysis, regional-distance RFs for GSN stations RAYN and ANTO show broad agreement with teleseismic RFs. At RAYN the moveout of the Moho-converted Ps phase, relative to direct P, follows well the predictions of the IASP91 earth model. The Moho-converted Ps phase shows complexity associated with the transition-zone triplication near Δ =20o and constant delay (zero moveout) as Δ -> 0, consistent with conversion from Pn. Similar behavior is seen for ANTO for events that arrive from the west. For eastern backazimuths the ANTO RFs show features whose moveout is negative as Δ -> 0. This moveout is poorly fit by reverberations in flat layers or by direct scattering from a dipping interface, but is consistent with a topographic scatterer 20--30 km eastward of the ANTO site. Regional receiver functions may therefore be useful in judging whether teleseismic RFs at a particular station are suitable candidates for a 1-D velocity structure inversion. Synthetic seismograms of regional P phases, computed with a locked-mode reflectivity approach, confirm broad features of the RAYN and ANTO regional receiver functions.

Anatomy of the western Java plate interface from depth-migrated seismic images

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kopp, H.; Hindle, D.; Klaeschen, D.; Oncken, O.; Reichert, C.; Scholl, D.

2009-01-01

Newly pre-stack depth-migrated seismic images resolve the structural details of the western Java forearc and plate interface. The structural segmentation of the forearc into discrete mechanical domains correlates with distinct deformation styles. Approximately 2/3 of the trench sediment fill is detached and incorporated into frontal prism imbricates, while the floor sequence is underthrust beneath the d??collement. Western Java, however, differs markedly from margins such as Nankai or Barbados, where a uniform, continuous d??collement reflector has been imaged. In our study area, the plate interface reveals a spatially irregular, nonlinear pattern characterized by the morphological relief of subducted seamounts and thicker than average patches of underthrust sediment. The underthrust sediment is associated with a low velocity zone as determined from wide-angle data. Active underplating is not resolved, but likely contributes to the uplift of the large bivergent wedge that constitutes the forearc high. Our profile is located 100 km west of the 2006 Java tsunami earthquake. The heterogeneous d??collement zone regulates the friction behavior of the shallow subduction environment where the earthquake occurred. The alternating pattern of enhanced frictional contact zones associated with oceanic basement relief and weak material patches of underthrust sediment influences seismic coupling and possibly contributed to the heterogeneous slip distribution. Our seismic images resolve a steeply dipping splay fault, which originates at the d??collement and terminates at the sea floor and which potentially contributes to tsunami generation during co-seismic activity. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V.

Structure of the inositol-1-phosphate cytidylyltransferase from Thermotoga maritima.

PubMed

Kurnasov, Oleg V; Luk, Hung-Jie Daniel; Roberts, Mary F; Stec, Boguslaw

2013-09-01

The unique steps in the synthesis of an unusual osmolyte in hyperthermophiles, di-myo-inositol-1,1'-phosphate (DIP), involve the production of CDP-inositol and its condensation with an inositol-1-phosphate molecule to form phosphorylated DIP. While many organisms fuse both activities into a single enzyme, the two are separate in Thermotoga maritima. The crystal structure of the T. maritima inositol-1-phosphate cytidylyltransferase, which as a soluble protein may transiently associate with its membrane-embedded partner phospho-DIP synthase (P-DIPS), has now been obtained. The structure shows a conserved motif of sugar nucleotide transferases (COG1213) with a structurally reinforced C-terminal Cys bonded to the core of the protein. A bound arsenosugar identifies the location of the active site for inositol 1-phosphate. Based on homologous structures from several species and the identification of the crucial conserved aspartate residue, a catalytic mechanism for this enzyme is proposed as well as a mode for its association with P-DIPS. This structure imposes constraints on the mode of association, communication and temperature activation of two separate enzymes in T. maritima. For the first time, a working model for the membrane-bound P-DIPS unit has been constructed. This sheds light on the functioning of the phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol synthases involved in many physiological processes that are homologous to P-DIPS. This work provides fresh insights into the synthesis of the unusual thermoprotective compound DIP in hyperthermophiles.

Precisions on the structure of the Basque Arc (western Pyrenees, Spain): preliminary results from magnetic fabrics from the Biscay Synclinorium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vegas, Néstor; Aranguren, Aitor; Rodríguez-Méndez, Lidia; Cuevas, Julia; María Tubía, José; Julián Esteban, José

2017-04-01

The Mesozoic Basque-Cantabrian basin (western Pyrenees) was inverted during the Alpine Orogeny in late Cretaceous-Eocene times. The central sector of the basin, the Basque Arc is characterized by the existence of large folds (80 km long) that outline an arc. This study focuses on the interpretation of AMS fabrics in rocks from the Biscay Synclinorium, a major fold system of the Basque Arc that verges to the NE, with sub-horizontal, N110˚ E trending axes and axial planes striking to N110˚ E and dipping steeply to the SW (Calvo-Rathert et al., 2007). The aim of this contribution is characterize the deformation around the Biscay Synclinorium. For this reason we combined fieldwork with magnetic fabric analysis of 95 cores in Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of the Biscay Synclinorium. 68 cores come from the Calcareous formation (marls, sandy limestones and limestones of Cenomanian to Campanian age) that makes part of the northeastern limb of the synclinorium and the remaining 27 cores from the Detrital-calcareous flysch (a multilayer sequence with sandy limestones and marls of Maastrichtian age) that crops out in the synclinorium core (Garrote et al., 1991). In the Upper Cretaceous Calcareous formation there is a penetrative cleavage that mainly strikes to N110˚ E dipping 50˚ to 60˚ to the SW (S1). In the Detrital-calcareous flysch of the core, the best-preserved planar structure is the bedding and only locally an axial planar cleavage is observed. Intersection lineations are sub-horizontal and N110˚ E-trending. The measurements of the magnetic susceptibility provide low k values ranging between 99x10-6 and 403x10-6 SI. The anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility, P, reaches values of 1.213, pointing to the overprinting of tectonic deformation on primary magnetic fabrics of sedimentary origin. The magnetic foliation shows a fairly uniform arrangement that is nearly coincident with the dominant planar structures of the rocks, S0 or S1in the core and the limb of the synclinorium respectively. The magnetic lineation, instead, yields complex patterns, as evidenced by the finding of two main sets of magnetic lineations: 1) weakly plunging N110˚ E-trending lineations; 2) steeply plunging N200˚ E-trending lineations. In both cases the magnetic fabric reflects a tectonic origin but with different geological meaning. The first set, dominant in the core of the synclinorium, is characterised by magnetic lineations parallel to the intersection lineation between S0 and S1. In contrast, the other set come from sites located along the limb of the synclinorium, where lower deformation would be expected. However, owing to the steep plunging of the magnetic lineation and to fact that the highest P values are obtained along this limb, we consider that the second set of magnetic fabrics reflects the existence of a major shear zone at the regional scale, with a top-to-the-NE motion, that has remained unknown until now. Calvo-Rathert, M., Cuevas, J., Tubía, J.M. et al. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) (2007) 96: 1163. doi:10.1007/s00531-006-0149-8 Garrote, A., García, J., Fernández, J., Cerezo, A., Tijero, F. and Zapata, M. (1991). Memoria Hoja n° 63-III (Eibar), 1:25.000. Ente Vasco de la Energía-EVE. , pp. 1-50

Bedrock geologic map of the Miles Pond and Concord quadrangles, Essex and Caledonia Counties, Vermont, and Grafton County, New Hampshire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rankin, Douglas W.

2018-04-20

The bedrock geologic map of the Miles Pond and Concord quadrangles covers an area of approximately 107 square miles (276 square kilometers) in east-central Vermont and adjacent New Hampshire, north of and along the Connecticut River. This map was created as part of a larger effort to produce a new bedrock geologic map of Vermont through the collection of field data at a scale of 1:24,000. The majority of the map area consists of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium, a post-Early Devonian structure that is cored by metamorphosed Cambrian to Silurian sedimentary, volcanic, and plutonic rocks. A major feature on the map is the Monroe fault, interpreted to be a west-directed, steeply dipping Late Devonian (Acadian) thrust fault. To the west of the Monroe fault, rocks of the Connecticut Valley-Gaspé trough dominate and consist primarily of metamorphosed Silurian and Devonian sedimentary rocks. To the north, the Victory pluton intrudes the Bronson Hill anticlinorium. The Bronson Hill anticlinorium consists of the metamorphosed Albee Formation, the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, the Comerford Intrusive Complex, the Highlandcroft Granodiorite, and the Joselin Turn tonalite. The Albee Formation is an interlayered, feldspathic metasandstone and pelite that is locally sulfidic. Much of the deformed metasandstone is tectonically pinstriped. In places, one can see compositional layering that was transposed by a steeply southeast-dipping foliation. The Ammonoosuc Volcanics are lithologically complex and predominantly include interlayered and interfingered rhyolitic to basaltic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, as well as lesser amounts of siltstone, phyllite, graywacke, and grit. The Comerford Intrusive Complex crops out east of the Monroe fault and consists of metamorphosed gabbro, diorite, tonalite, aplitic tonalite, and crosscutting diabase dikes. Abundant mafic dikes from the Comerford Intrusive Complex intruded the Albee Formation and Ammonoosuc Volcanics east of the Monroe fault. The Highlandcroft Granodiorite and Joslin Turn tonalite plutons intruded during the Middle to Late Ordovician.West of the Monroe fault, the Connecticut Valley-Gaspé trough consists of the Silurian and Devonian Waits River and Gile Mountain Formations. The Waits River Formation is a carbonaceous muscovite-biotite-quartz (±garnet) phyllite containing abundant beds of micaceous quartz-rich limestone. The Gile Mountain Formation consists of interlayered metasandstone and graphitic (and commonly sulfidic) slate, along with minor calcareous metasandstone and ironstone. Graded bedding is common in the Gile Mountain Formation. Rocks of the Devonian New Hampshire Plutonic Suite intruded as plutons, dikes, and sills. The largest of these is the Victory pluton, which consists of weakly foliated, biotite granite and granodiorite. The Victory pluton also intruded a large part of the Albee Formation to the north.This report consists of a geologic map and an online geographic information systems database that includes contacts of bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information. The geologic map is intended to serve as a foundation for applying geologic information to problems involving land use decisions, groundwater availability and quality, earth resources such as natural aggregate for construction, assessment of natural hazards, and engineering and environmental studies for waste disposal sites and construction projects.

Geologic map of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone in the vicinity of Lake Pillsbury and adjacent areas of Mendocino, Lake, and Glenn Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ohlin, Henry N.; McLaughlin, Robert J.; Moring, Barry C.; Sawyer, Thomas L.

2010-01-01

The Lake Pillsbury area lies in the eastern part of the northern California Coast Ranges, along the east side of the transform boundary between the Pacific and North American plates (fig. 1). The Bartlett Springs Fault Zone is a northwest-trending zone of faulting associated with this eastern part of the transform boundary. It is presently active, based on surface creep (Svarc and others, 2008), geomorphic expression, offset of Holocene units (Lienkaemper and Brown, 2009), and microseismicity (Bolt and Oakeshott, 1982; Dehlinger and Bolt, 1984; DePolo and Ohlin, 1984). Faults associated with the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone at Lake Pillsbury are steeply dipping and offset older low to steeply dipping faults separating folded and imbricated Mesozoic terranes of the Franciscan Complex and interleaved rocks of the Coast Range Ophiolite and Great Valley Sequence. Parts of this area were mapped in the late 1970s and 1980s by several investigators who were focused on structural relations in the Franciscan Complex (Lehman, 1978; Jordan, 1975; Layman, 1977; Etter, 1979). In the 1980s the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mapped a large part of the area as part of a mineral resource appraisal of two U.S. Forest Service Roadless areas. For evaluating mineral resource potential, the USGS mapping was published at a scale of 1:62,500 as a generalized geologic summary map without a topographic base (Ohlin and others, 1983; Ohlin and Spear, 1984). The previously unpublished mapping with topographic base is presented here at a scale of 1:30,000, compiled with other mapping in the vicinity of Lake Pillsbury. The mapping provides a geologic framework for ongoing investigations to evaluate potential earthquake hazards and structure of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone. This geologic map includes part of Mendocino National Forest (the Elk Creek Roadless Area) in Mendocino, Glenn, and Lake Counties and is traversed by several U.S. Forest Service Routes, including M1 and M6 (fig. 2). The study area is characterized by northwest-trending ridges separated by steep-sided valleys. Elevations in this part of the Coast Ranges vary from 1,500 ft (457 m) to 6,600 ft (2,012 m), commonly with gradients of 1,000 ft per mile (90 m per km). The steep slopes are covered by brush, grass, oak, and conifer forests. Access to most of the area is by county roads and Forest Service Route M6 from Potter Valley to Lake Pillsbury and by county road and Forest Service Route M6 and M1 from Upper Lake and State Highway 20. From the north, State Highway 261 provides access from Covelo. Forest Service Route M1 trends roughly north from its intersection with Route M6 south of Hull Mountain and through the Elk Creek and Black Butte Roadless areas to State Highway 261. Side roads used for logging and jeep trails provide additional access in parts of the area.

Offshore geology and geomorphology from Point Piedras Blancas to Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watt, Janet Tilden; Johnson, Samuel Y.; Hartwell, Stephen R.; Roberts, Michelle

2015-01-01

Sea level was approximately 120 to 130 m lower during the Last Glacial Maximum (about 21 ka). This approximate depth corresponds to the modern shelf break, a lateral change from the gently dipping (0.8° to 1.0°) outer shelf to the slightly more steeply dipping (about 1.5° to 2.5°) upper slope in the central and northern parts of the map area. South of Point San Luis in San Luis Bay, deltaic deposits offshore of the mouth of the Santa Maria River (11 km south of the map area) have prograded across the shelf break and now form a continuous low-angle (about 0.8°) ramp that extends to water depths of more than 160 m. The shelf break defines the landward boundary of slope deposits. North of Estero Bay, the shelf break is characterized by a distinctly sharp slope break that is mapped as a landslide headscarp above landslide deposits. Multibeam imagery and seismic-reflection profiles across this part of the shelf break show evidence of slope failure, such as slumping, sliding, and soft-sediment deformation, along the entire length of the scarp. Notably, this shelf-break scarp corresponds to a west splay of the Hosgri Fault that dies out just north of the scarp, suggesting that faulting is controlling the location (and instability) of the shelf break in this area.

Subduction zone evolution and low viscosity wedges and channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manea, Vlad; Gurnis, Michael

2007-12-01

Dehydration of subducting lithosphere likely transports fluid into the mantle wedge where the viscosity is decreased. Such a decrease in viscosity could form a low viscosity wedge (LVW) or a low viscosity channel (LVC) on top of the subducting slab. Using numerical models, we investigate the influence of low viscosity wedges and channels on subduction zone structure. Slab dip changes substantially with the viscosity reduction within the LVWs and LVCs. For models with or without trench rollback, overthickening of slabs is greatly reduced by LVWs or LVCs. Two divergent evolutionary pathways have been found depending on the maximum depth extent of the LVW and wedge viscosity. Assuming a viscosity contrast of 0.1 with background asthenosphere, models with a LVW that extends down to 400 km depth show a steeply dipping slab, while models with an LVW that extends to much shallower depth, such as 200 km, can produce slabs that are flat lying beneath the overriding plate. There is a narrow range of mantle viscosities that produces flat slabs (5 to10 × 10 19 Pa s) and the slab flattening process is enhanced by trench rollback. Slab can be decoupled from the overriding plate with a LVC if the thickness is at least a few 10 s of km, the viscosity reduction is at least a factor of two and the depth extent of the LVC is several hundred km. These models have important implications for the geochemical and spatial evolution of volcanic arcs and the state of stress within the overriding plate. The models explain the poor correlation between traditional geodynamic controls, subducting plate age and convergence rates, on slab dip. We predict that when volcanic arcs change their distance from the trench, they could be preceded by changes in arc chemistry. We predict that there could be a larger volatile input into the wedge when arcs migrate toward the trench and visa-versa. The transition of a subduction zone into the flat-lying regime could be preceded by changes in the volatile budget such that the dehydration front moves to shallower depths. Our flat-slab models shed some light on puzzling flat subduction systems, like in Central Mexico, where there is no deformation within the overriding plate above the flat segment. The lack of in-plane compression in Central Mexico suggests the presence of a low viscosity shear zone above the flat slab.

Attenuation of pressure dips underneath piles of spherocylinders.

PubMed

Zhao, Haiyang; An, Xizhong; Gou, Dazhao; Zhao, Bo; Yang, Runyu

2018-05-30

The discrete element method (DEM) was used to simulate the piling of rod-like (elongated sphero-cylindrical) particles, mainly focusing on the effect of particle shape on the structural and force properties of the piles. In this work, rod-like particles of different aspect ratios were discharged on a flat surface to form wedge-shaped piles. The surface properties of the piles were characterized in terms of angle of repose and stress at the bottom of the piles. The results showed that the rise of the angle of repose became slower with the increase of particle aspect ratio. The pressure dip underneath the piles reached the maximum when the particle aspect ratio was around 1.6, beyond which the pressure dip phenomenon became attenuated. Both the pressure dip and the shear stress dip were quantitatively examined. The structure and forces inside the piles were further analyzed to understand the change in pressure dip, indicating that "bridging" or "arching" structures within the piles were the cause of the pressure dip.

Recent Intermediate Depth Earthquakes in El Salvador, Central Mexico, Cascadia and South-West Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemoine, A.; Gardi, A.; Gutscher, M.; Madariaga, R.

2001-12-01

We studied occurence and source parameters of several recent intermediate depth earthquakes. We concentrated on the Mw=7.7 salvadorian earthquake which took place on January 13, 2001. It was a good example of the high seismic risk associated to such kind of events which occur closer to the coast than the interplate thrust events. The Salvadorian earthquake was an intermediate depth downdip extensional event which occured inside the downgoing Cocos plate, next to the downdip flexure where the dip increases sharply before the slab sinks more steeply. This location corresponds closely to the position of the Mw=5.7 1996 and Mw=7.3 1982 downdip extensional events. Several recent intermediate depth earthquakes occured in subduction zones exhibiting a ``flat slab'' geometry with three distinct flexural bends where flexural stress may be enhanced. The Mw=6.7 Geiyo event showed a downdip extensional mechanism with N-S striking nodal planes. This trend was highly oblique to the trench (Nankai Trough), yet consistent with westward steepening at the SW lateral termination of the SW Japan flat slab. The Mw=6.8 Olympia earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone occured at the downdip termination of the Juan de Fuca slab, where plate dip increases from about 5o to over 30o. The N-S orientation of the focal planes, parallel to the trench indicated downdip extension. The location at the downdip flexure corresponds closely to the estimated positions of the 1949 M7.1 Olympia and 1965 M6.5 Seattle-Tacoma events. Between 1994 and 1999, in Central Mexico, an unusually high intermediate depth seismicity occured where several authors proposed a flat geometry for the Cocos plate. Seven events of magnitude between Mw=5.9 and Mw=7.1 occured. Three of them were downdip compressional and four where down-dip extensional. We can explain these earthquakes by flexural stresses at down-dip and lateral terminations of the supposed flat segment. Even if intermediate depth earthquakes occurence could be favored by stress transfer between intermediate depth and interplate zone during the earthquake cycle, flexural stresses associated with bendings which are not only present at ``flat slab'' geometry but also at ``normal'' dipping subduction zone, seem to govern the location of intermediate depth seismicity and to explain their focal mechanisms in El Salvador, SW Japon, Cascadia and Central Mexico.

Structure of the Castillo granite, Southwest Spain: Variscan deformation of a late Cadomian pluton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

EguíLuz, L.; Apraiz, A.; ÁBalos, B.

1999-12-01

A geometrical reconstruction of the 500 Ma old Castillo granite pluton (SW Iberia) is completed on the basis of structural and geophysical (rock magnetism) techniques. The pluton is intrusive into latest Proterozoic-earliest Cambrian metasediments and conforms a tabular intrusion 6 km in diameter and 1.7 km thick that was emplaced at a depth of 10 km. Its magnetic fabric reveals that the strike of moderately to steeply dipping magmatic flow planes forms a high angle to the regional tectonic trends. Magnetic foliations and associated moderately to gently plunging magnetic lineations represent magmatic flow planes and directions. The internal anisotropy of the granite together with the structure shown by the country rocks attest the lateral propagation of the pluton and its latter inflation. The pluton's root zone would correspond to a likely thin, subvertical feeder structure initiated near the orientation of regional σ1 at the time of emplacement. During the Variscan orogeny the pluton was tilted and underwent localized brittle-ductile strain in relation to shear zone deformation in the footwall of a major ductile thrust. Tilting permits the observation and study of a vertical profile of the intrusion. Localized deformation caused superposition of tectonic zonations on the magmatic ones, a reactivation of the basal contact of the pluton, and dismemberment from its root. This and other granitoid plutons of similar age emplaced at a similar depth constrained the creation of crustal mechanical heterogeneity and anisotropy. This controlled the site of pluton emplacement, the nucleation of a major ductile thrust, and localization of deformation and tectonic displacements along the pluton margins during later orogenic reactivation.

Analysis of magnetotelluric profile data from the Ruby Mountains metamorphic core complex and southern Carlin Trend region, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wannamaker, Philip E.; Doerner, William M.; Stodt, John A.; Sodergen, Timothy L.; Rodriguez, Brian D.

2002-01-01

We have collected about 150 magnetotelluric (MT) soundings in northeastern Nevada in the region of the Ruby Mountains metamorphic core complex uplift and southern Carlin mineral trend, in an effort to illuminate controls on core complex evolution and deposition of world-class gold deposits. The region has experienced a broad range of tectonic events including several periods of compressional and extensional deformation, which have contributed to the total expression of electrical resistivity. Most of the soundings are in three east-west profiles across increasing degrees of core uplift to the north (Bald Mountain, Harrison Pass and Secret Pass latitudes). Two shorter lines cross a prominent east-west structure to the north of the northern profile. MT impedance tensor and vertical magnetic field rotations imply a N-NNE average regional geoelectric strike, similar to surface geologic trends. Model resistivity cross sections were derived using a 2-D inversion algorithm, which damps departures of model parameters from an a priori structure, emphasizing the transverse magnetic (TM) mode and vertical magnetic field data. Geological interpretation of the resistivity combines previous seismic, potential field and isotope models, structural and petrological models for regional compression and extension, and detailed structural/stratigraphic interpretations incorporating drilling for petroleum and mineral exploration. To first order, the resistivity structure is one of a moderately conductive, Phanerozoic sedimentary section fundamentally disrupted by intrusion and uplift of resistive crystalline rocks. Late Devonian and early Mississippian shales of the Pilot and Chainman Formations together form an important conductive marker sequence in the stratigraphy and show pronounced increases in conductance (conductivity-thickness product) from east to west. These increases in conductance are attributed to graphitization caused by Elko-Sevier era compressional shear deformation and possibly by intrusive heating. The resistive crystalline central massifs adjoin the host stratigraphy across crustal-scale, subvertical fault zones. These zones provide electric current pathways to the lower crust for heterogeneous, upper crustal induced current flow. Resistive core complex crust may be steeply bounded under the middle of the neighboring grabens and not deepen at a shallow angle to arbitrary distances to the west. The numerous crustal breaks imaged with MT may contribute to the low effective elastic thickness estimated regionally for the Great Basin and exemplify the mid-crustal, steeply dipping slip zones in which major earthquakes nucleate. An east-west oriented conductor in the crystalline upper crust spans the East Humboldt Range and northern Ruby Mountains. The conductor may be related to an inferred ArcheanProterozoic suture or nearby graphitic metasediments, with possible alteration by middle Tertiary magmatic activity. Lower crustal resistivity everywhere under the profiles is low and appears quasi one-dimensional. It is consistent with a low rock porosity (

Seismic Reflection Profiles Image the Rodgers Creek Fault and Cotati Basin Beneath Urban Santa Rosa, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, R. A.; Langenheim, V. E.; McLaughlin, R. J.; Stephenson, W. J.; Odum, J. K.

2008-12-01

The USGS in collaboration with the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) group at the University of Texas, Austin, the Sonoma County Water Agency, the city of Santa Rosa, and with support from NSF, collected 13-km of high-resolution seismic-reflection data in two profiles on the Santa Rosa Plain. The purpose of this survey was to image basin structure and stratigraphy in this seismically-active area and to provide constraints for earthquake hazard assessment. We acquired the data using a 9,990 kg minivib I truck in P-wave mode, which swept from 15 to 120 Hz, along city streets and creek-side roads. The common- midpoint spacing of these data is 2.5 m while nominal fold is 36 traces. The Rodgers Creek fault, a northward extension of the Hayward fault which passes through the city of Santa Rosa, has not been imaged previously by seismic reflection data. The east-west trending Santa Rosa Creek profile images several faults including the steeply dipping Rodgers Creek fault as it passes near Doyle Elementary School. In this vicinity the fault zone appears to consist of at least two strands with a set of arched reflectors between them. West of the Rodgers Creek fault, and in general agreement with preexisting gravity data and geologic mapping, we interpret a sedimentary basin more than 1 km deep that underlies downtown Santa Rosa, which was heavily damaged in the 1906 earthquake. This basin shallows to the west as the profile crosses the southeastern side of Trenton Ridge, a concealed basement high. Reflectors within the basin show a thickening sequence of layered strata and apparent dips of about 10 degrees east in the 400 to 800 m depth range that decrease to about 1 degree at 50 m depth. These new data will help to constrain existing seismic velocity models for this area which currently show only flat-lying basin fill.

Gravity and magnetic survey of the Oaxaca city region: Cenozoic horst-and-graben structure superimposed on the Oaxaca-Juarez terrane boundary, southern Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campos-Enríquez, J. O.; Belmonte-Jiménez, S. I.; Keppie, J. D.; Ortega-Gutiérrez, F.; Arzate, J. A.; Martínez-Silva, J.; Martínez-Serrano, R. G.

2010-04-01

A geophysical survey of the Oaxaca Fault along the north-trending Etla and Zaachila valleys area, southern Mexico, shows a series of NNW-SSE Bouguer and magnetic anomalies with steeper gradients towards the east. The Oaxaca Fault represents Tertiary extensional reactivation of the Juarez shear zone that constitutes the boundary between the Oaxaca and Juárez terranes. Cooperative interpretation of six combined gravity and magnetic NE-SW profiles perpendicular to the valleys indicates the presence of a composite depression comprising three N-S sub-basins: the northern Etla and southern Zaachila sub-basins separated by the Atzompa sub-basin. The Etla sub-basin is bounded by the moderately E-dipping, Etla Fault and the more steeply W-dipping Oaxaca Fault, which together constitute a graben that continues southwards into the Atzompa graben. The deeper Zaachila sub-basin, south of Oaxaca city, is a wide V-shaped graben with a horst in the middle. The new geophysical data suggest that the Oaxaca-Juarez terrane boundary is displaced sinistrally ca. 20 km along the E-W Donají Fault, which defines the northern boundary of the Zaachila sub-basin. On the other hand, the Oaxaca Fault may either continue unbroken southwards along the western margin of the horst in the Zaachila sub-basin or be offset along with the terrane boundary. The sinistral movement may have taken place either during the Late Mesozoic-Early Cenozoic, Laramide Orogeny as a lateral ramp in the thrust plane or under Miocene-Pliocene, NE-SW extension. The former suggests that the Donají Fault is a transcurrent fault, whereas the latter implies that it is a transfer fault. The models imply that originally the suture was continuous south of the Donaji Fault and provide a constraint for the accretion of the Oaxaca and Juarez terranes.

The May 2005 eruption of Fernandina volcano, Galápagos: The first circumferential dike intrusion observed by GPS and InSAR

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chadwick, W.W.; Jonsson, Sigurjon; Geist, Dennis J.; Poland, M.; Johnson, Daniel J.; Batt, S.; Harpp, Karen S.; Ruiz, A.

2011-01-01

The May 2005 eruption of Fernandina volcano, Galápagos, occurred along circumferential fissures parallel to the caldera rim and fed lava flows down the steep southwestern slope of the volcano for several weeks. This was the first circumferential dike intrusion ever observed by both InSAR and GPS measurements and thus provides an opportunity to determine the subsurface geometry of these enigmatic structures that are common on Galápagos volcanoes but are rare elsewhere. Pre- and post- eruption ground deformation between 2002 and 2006 can be modeled by the inflation of two separate magma reservoirs beneath the caldera: a shallow sill at ~1 km depth and a deeper point-source at ~5 km depth, and we infer that this system also existed at the time of the 2005 eruption. The co-eruption deformation is dominated by uplift near the 2005 eruptive fissures, superimposed on a broad subsidence centered on the caldera. Modeling of the co-eruption deformation was performed by including various combinations of planar dislocations to simulate the 2005 circumferential dike intrusion. We found that a single planar dike could not match both the InSAR and GPS data. Our best-fit model includes three planar dikes connected along hinge lines to simulate a curved concave shell that is steeply dipping (~45–60°) toward the caldera at the surface and more gently dipping (~12–14°) at depth where it connects to the horizontal sub-caldera sill. The shallow sill is underlain by the deep point source. The geometry of this modeled magmatic system is consistent with the petrology of Fernandina lavas, which suggest that circumferential eruptions tap the shallowest parts of the system, whereas radial eruptions are fed from deeper levels. The recent history of eruptions at Fernandina is also consistent with the idea that circumferential and radial intrusions are sometimes in a stress-feedback relationship and alternate in time with one another.

The Robinson and Weatherly uraniferous pyrobitumen deposits near Placerville, San Miguel County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilmarth, V.R.; Vickers, R.C.

1953-01-01

Uranium deposits that contain uraniferous pyrobitumen of possible hydrothermal origin occur at the Weatherly and Robinson properties near Placerville, San Miguel County, Colo. These deposits were mined for copper, silver, and gold more than 50 years ago and were developed for uranium in 1950. The Robinson property, half a mile east of Placerville, consists of the White Spar, New Discovery Lode, and Barbara Jo claims. The rocks in this area are nearly horizontal sandstones, shales, limestones, and conglomerates of the Cutler formation of Permian age and the Dolores formation of Triassic and Jurassic (?) age. These rocks have been faulted extensively and intruded by a Tertiary (?) andesite porphyry dike. Uranium-bearing pyrobitumen associated with tennantite, tetrahedrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, bornite, azurite, malachite, calcite, barite, and quartz occurs in a lenticular body as much as 40 feet long and 6 feet wide along a northwest-trending, steeply dipping normal fault. The uranium content of eleven samples from the uranium deposit ranges from 0.001 to 0.045 percent uranium and averages about 0.02 percent uranium. The Weatherly property, about a mile northwest of Placerville, consists of the Black King claims nos. 1, 4, and 5. The rocks in this area include the complexly faulted Cutler formation of Permian age and the Dolores formation of Triassic and Jurassic (?) age. Uranium-bearing pyrobitumen arid uranophane occur, along a northwest-trending, steeply dipping normal fault and in the sedimentary rocks on the hanging wall of the fault. Lens-shaped deposits in the fault zone are as much as 6 feet long and 2 feet wide and contain as much as 9 percent uranium; whereas channel samples across the fault zone contain from 0.001 to 0.014 percent uranium. Tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, fuchsite, malachite, azurite, erythrite, bornite, and molybdite in a gangue of pyrite, calcite, barite, and quartz are associated with the uraniferous material. In the sedimentary rocks on the hanging wall, uranium-bearing pyrobitumen occurs in replacement lenses as much as,8 inches wide and 6 feet long, and in nodules as much as 6 inches in diameter for approximately 100 feet away from the fault. Pyrite and calcite are closely associated with the uraniferous material in the sedimentary rocks. Samples from the replacement bodies contain from 0. 007 to 1.4 percent uranium.

The crustal structure of the eastern Fennoscandian Shield and central part of the East-European platform based on seismic, regional geophysic and geological data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mints, M. V.; Berzin, R. G.; Babayants, P. S.; Konilov, A. N.; Suleimanov, A. K.; Zamozhniaya, N. G.; Zlobin, V. L.

2003-04-01

The 1-EU and 4B CDP transects worked out during 1998-2002 years by "Spetsgeophyzica", together with previously developed CDP profiles, have crossed most of the main tectonic units of the eastern Fennoscandian Shield and central part of the East-European platform. They provide seismic images of the Early Precambrian crust and upper mantle from the surface to about 80 km depth (25 s). The Neoarchaean granite-greenstone complexes of the Karelia craton along the 4B profile form a series of the tectonic slices descending eastward, some of which can be traced to the Moho. The Palaeoproterozoic structures presented by two main types: (1) volcano-sedimentary (VS) and (2) granulite-gneiss (GN) belts. The Pechenga-Varzuga VS belt has been identified as overthrust-underthrust southward-dipping package. Tectonic slices formed by the Palaeoproterozoic VS belts alternating with slices of the Neoarchaean granite-gneisses form the imbricated crustal unit that extends along the eastern margin of the Neoarchaean Karelia craton. The slices dip steeply northeastward flattening and partially juxtaposing at 20 km depth at the 1-EU cross-section. This level, which can be understood as the surface of main detachment, ascends westward. An imbrication and related thickening of the crust was caused by displacement of crustal slices in western and southwestern directions because of the Palaeoproterozoic collision event. The Palaeoproterozoic Onega unit comprising VS assemblages originated in a setting of the rifted passive margin forms the northwestward displaced thrust nappe complex. It is considered initially belonging to the southern edge of the Svecofennian passive margin. The Lapland GN belt has been transected by the Polar and EGGI profiles. Both cross-sections demonstrated that it constitutes thick composite crustal-scale tectonic slice. According to geophysical data, the continuation of the Lapland GN belt beneath the platform cover of the East European Craton forms an extended arch-shaped system of the belts approximately 2000 km long. In the vicinity of Moscow the thrust-nappe structure of these belts was recently recognized from reflection seismic profiling along 1-EU profile. The work has been developed in frames of the MPR RF Program and The SVEKALAPKO project and supported by the RFBR, grant No.00-05-64241.

Along-strike Variations in the Himalayas Illuminated by the Aftershock Sequence of the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake Using the NAMASTE Local Seismic Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendoza, M.; Ghosh, A.; Karplus, M. S.; Nabelek, J.; Sapkota, S. N.; Adhikari, L. B.; Klemperer, S. L.; Velasco, A. A.

2016-12-01

As a result of the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, more than 8,000 people were killed from a combination of infrastructure failure and triggered landslides. This earthquake produced 4 m of peak co-seismic slip as the fault ruptured 130 km east under densely populated cities, such as Kathmandu. To understand earthquake dynamics in this part of the Himalayas and help mitigate similar future calamities by the next destructive event, it is imperative to study earthquake activities in detail and improve our understanding of the source and structural complexities. In response to the Gorkha event, multiple institutions developed and deployed a 10-month long dense seismic network called NAMASTE. It blanketed a 27,650 km2 area, mainly covering the rupture area of the Gorkha earthquake, in order to capture the dynamic sequence of aftershock behavior. The network consisted of a mix of 45 broadband, short-period, and strong motion sensors, with an average spacing of 20 km. From the first 6 months of data, starting approximately 1.5 after the mainshock, we develop a robust catalog containing over 3,000 precise earthquake locations, and local magnitudes that range between 0.3 and 4.9. The catalog has a magnitude of completeness of 1.5, and an overall low b-value of 0.78. Using the HypoDD algorithm, we relocate earthquake hypocenters with high precision, and thus illustrate the fault geometry down to depths of 25 km where we infer the location of the gently-dipping Main Frontal Thrust (MFT). Above the MFT, the aftershocks illuminate complex structure produced by relatively steeply dipping faults. Interestingly, we observe sharp along-strike change in the seismicity pattern. The eastern part of the aftershock area is significantly more active than the western part. The change in seismicity may reflect structural and/or frictional lateral heterogeneity in this part of the Himalayan fault system. Such along-strike variations play an important role in rupture complexities and arresting the mainshock from rupturing further east. This catalog serves as a starting point for not only identifying the physical processes controlling the earthquake cycles, but also areas of increased stress, in this segment of the Himalayas.

Landslides: Geomorphology and Sea Cliff Hazard Potential, Santa Barbara - Isla Vista, California J.F. Klath and E.A. Keller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klath, J. F.; Keller, E. A.

2015-12-01

Coastal areas are often characterized by high population densities in an ever changing, dynamic environment. The world's coasts are often dominated by steeply sloping sea cliffs, the morphology of which reflects rock type, wave erosion, and surface erosion, as well as human activities such changing vegetation, urban runoff, and construction of coastal defenses. The Santa Barbara and Goleta area, with over 17 km of sea cliffs and beaches, extends from Santa Barbara Point west to the hamlet of Isla Vista. A deeper understanding of the local geology and the physical processes generating slope failure and, thus, landward cliff retreat is important for general public safety, as well as future development and planning. Our research objective includes assessment of landslide hazard potential through investigation of previous landslides and how these events relate to various physical variables and characteristics within the surrounding bedrock. How does landslide frequency, volume, and type relate to varying local bedrock and structure? Two geologic formations dominate the sea cliffs of the Santa Barbara area: Monterey shale (upper, middle, and lower) and Monterey Sisquoc shale. Geology varies from hard cemented shale and diatomaceous, low specific gravity shale to compaction shale. Variations in landslide characteristics are linked closely to the geology of a specific site that affects how easily rock units are weathered and eroded by wave erosion, naturally occurring oil and water seeps, burnt shale events, and landslide type and frequency on steeply dipped bedding planes/daylighting beds. Naturally occurring features linked to human processes often weaken bedrock and, thus, increase the likelihood of landslides. We categorize landslide frequency, type, and triggers; location of beach access, drainage pipes, and water; and oil and tar seeps in order to develop suggestions to minimize landslide potential. Lastly, using previously published erosion cliff retreat rates and sea level rise estimates, a map displaying likely position of the coastline by 2100 will be created. This information will be useful to the county of Santa Barbara, California when considering future development and hazard mitigation plans.

Lattice-matched double dip-shaped BAlGaN/AlN quantum well structures for ultraviolet light emission devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Seoung-Hwan; Ahn, Doyeol

2018-05-01

Ultraviolet light emission characteristics of lattice-matched BxAlyGa1-x-y N/AlN quantum well (QW) structures with double AlGaN delta layers were investigated theoretically. In contrast to conventional single dip-shaped QW structure where the reduction effect of the spatial separation between electron and hole wave functions is negligible, proposed double dip-shaped QW shows significant enhancement of the ultraviolet light emission intensity from a BAlGaN/AlN QW structure due to the reduced spatial separation between electron and hole wave functions. The emission peak of the double dip-shaped QW structure is expected to be about three times larger than that of the conventional rectangular AlGaN/AlN QW structure.

The 2015 April 25 Gorkha Earthquake and its Aftershocks: Implications for lateral heterogeneity on the Main Himalayan Thrust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitra, S.; Kumar, A.; Priestley, K. F.

2016-12-01

The 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Mw 7.8) occurred by thrust faulting on a ˜150 km long and ˜70 km wide, locked downdip segment of the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT), causing the Himalaya to slip SSW over the Indian Plate, and was followed by major-to-moderate aftershocks. Back projection of teleseismic P-wave and inversion of teleseismic body waves provide constraints on the geometry and kinematics of the mainshock rupture and source mechanism of aftershocks. The mainshock initiated ˜80 km west of Katmandu, close to the locking line on the MHT and propagated eastwards, along ˜117° azimuth, for a duration of ˜70 s, in multi-stage rupture. The mainshock has been modeled using four sub-events, propagating from west-to-east. The first sub-event (0-20 s) ruptured at a velocity of ˜3.5 km/s on a ˜6° N dipping flat segment of the MHT with thrust motion. The second sub-event (20-35 s) ruptured a ˜18° W dipping lateral ramp on the MHT in oblique thrust motion. The rupture velocity dropped from 3.5 km/s to 2.5 km/s, as a result of updip propagation of the rupture. The third sub-event (35-50 s) ruptured a ˜7° N dipping, eastward flat segment of the MHT with thrust motion and resulted in the largest amplitude arrivals at teleseismic distances. The fourth sub-event (50-70 s) occurred by left-lateral strike-slip motion on a steeply dipping transverse fault, at high angle to the MHT and arrested the eastward propagation of the mainshock rupture. Eastward stress build-up following the mainshock resulted in the largest aftershock (Mw 7.3), which occurred on the MHT, immediately east of the mainshock rupture. Source mechanism of moderate aftershocks reveal stress adjustment at the edges of the mainshock fault, flexural faulting on top of the downgoing Indian Plate and extensional faulting in the hanging wall of the MHT.

The 2015 April 25 Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake and its aftershocks: implications for lateral heterogeneity on the Main Himalayan Thrust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Ajay; Singh, Shashwat K.; Mitra, S.; Priestley, K. F.; Dayal, Shankar

2017-02-01

The 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Mw 7.8) occurred by thrust faulting on a ˜150 km long and ˜70 km wide, locked downdip segment of the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT), causing the Himalaya to slip SSW over the Indian Plate, and was followed by major-to-moderate aftershocks. Back projection of teleseismic P-wave and inversion of teleseismic body waves provide constraints on the geometry and kinematics of the main-shock rupture and source mechanism of aftershocks. The main-shock initiated ˜80 km west of Katmandu, close to the locking line on the MHT and propagated eastwards along ˜117° azimuth for a duration of ˜70 s, with varying rupture velocity on a heterogeneous fault surface. The main-shock has been modelled using four subevents, propagating from west-to-east. The first subevent (0-20 s) ruptured at a velocity of ˜3.5 km s- 1 on a ˜6°N dipping flat segment of the MHT with thrust motion. The second subevent (20-35 s) ruptured a ˜18° W dipping lateral ramp on the MHT in oblique thrust motion. The rupture velocity dropped from 3.5 km s- 1 to 2.5 km s- 1, as a result of updip propagation of the rupture. The third subevent (35-50 s) ruptured a ˜7°N dipping, eastward flat segment of the MHT with thrust motion and resulted in the largest amplitude arrivals at teleseismic distances. The fourth subevent (50-70 s) occurred by left-lateral strike-slip motion on a steeply dipping transverse fault, at high angle to the MHT and arrested the eastward propagation of the main-shock rupture. Eastward stress build-up following the main-shock resulted in the largest aftershock (Mw 7.3), which occurred on the MHT, immediately east of the main-shock rupture. Source mechanisms of moderate aftershocks reveal stress adjustment at the edges of the main-shock fault, flexural faulting on top of the downgoing Indian Plate and extensional faulting in the hanging wall of the MHT.

New Structural Interpretation of the Central Confusion Range, Western Utah, Based On Balanced Cross Sections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yezerski, D.; Greene, D. C.

2009-12-01

The Confusion Range is a topographically low mountain range in the Basin and Range of west-central Utah, located east of and in the hanging wall of the Snake Range core complex. Previous workers have used a gravity sliding model to interpret the Confusion Range as a large structural trough or synclinorium (e.g. Hose, 1977). Based on existing mapping (Hose, 1965; Hintze, 1974) and new field data, we use balanced and restored cross sections to reinterpret the structure of the Confusion Range as an east-vergent fold-and-thrust belt formed during the Sevier Orogeny. The Confusion Range consists of Cambro-Ordovician through Triassic strata, with predominantly thick-bedded, competent carbonate rocks in the lower Paleozoic (lPz) section and incompetent shales and thin-bedded carbonates in the upper Paleozoic (uPz) section. The contrasting mechanical behavior of these stratigraphic sections results in faulted folds within uPz carbonates above detachments in shale-rich units, deforming in response to ramp-flat thrust faulting of the underlying lPz units. East of the axis of the Conger Mountain (Mtn) syncline, we attribute the increase in structural elevation of lPz rocks to a subsurface thrust sheet consisting of lPz strata that advanced eastward via a high-angle ramp from a lower detachment in the Kanosh Shale to an upper detachment in the Pilot Shale. The doubling of lPz strata that resulted continues through the eastern Confusion Range where a series of small-displacement thrust faults comprising the Kings Canyon thrust system gently tilt strata to the west. In the Conger Range, west of the Conger Mtn syncline, our analysis focuses on reinterpreting the geometrically unlikely folding depicted in previous cross sections as more admissible, fault-cored, asymmetric, detached folding. In our interpretation, resistance created by a steeply-dipping thrust ramp in the lPz section west of Conger Mtn resulted in folding of uPz strata into an east-vergent anticline. Continued east-vergent contraction against the ramp resulted in the west-dipping limb of the anticline, consisting of Ely Limestone, developing into an overturned, west-vergent, synclinal backfold detached in the Chainman Shale. Further contraction exceeded the fold capacity of the detachment fold and resulted in the formation of the Browns Wash fault as an east-vergent thrust fault. The Browns Wash fault is a key component in the development of the present structural geometry, emplacing a west-vergent overturned syncline (detachment fold) in the hanging wall against an east-vergent overturned syncline (footwall syncline) in the footwall. Further west, underlying the western Conger Range and Buckskin Hills, lPz strata are exposed in what we interpret to be a ramp anticline overlying a subsurface thrust ramp. This interpretation implies a lateral ramp separating lPz rocks in the Buckskin Hills from uPz rocks exposed in the Knoll Hill anticline to the north. UPz and Mesozoic strata exposed to the west on the edge of Snake Valley were emplaced by a Tertiary west-dipping normal fault that truncated the west limb of the ramp anticline.

Geologic implications of new zircon U-Pb ages from the White Mountain Peak Metavolcanic Complex, eastern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherer, Hannah H.; Ernst, W. G.; Brooks Hanson, R.

2008-04-01

The NNW-trending White-Inyo Range includes intrusive and volcanic rocks on the eastern flank of the Sierran volcano-plutonic arc. The NE-striking, steeply SE-dipping Barcroft reverse fault separates folded, metamorphosed Mesozoic White Mountain Peak mafic and felsic volcanic flows, volcanogenic sedimentary rocks, and minor hypabyssal plugs on the north from folded, well-bedded Neoproterozoic-Cambrian marble and siliciclastic strata on the south. The 163 ± 2 Ma Barcroft Granodiorite rose along this fault, and thermally recrystallized its wall rocks. However, new SHRIMP-RG ages of magmatic zircons from three White Mountain Peak volcanogenic metasedimentary rocks and a metafelsite document stages of effusion at ˜115-120 Ma as well as at ˜155-170 Ma. The U-Pb data confirm the interpretation by Hanson et al. (1987) that part of the metasedimentary-metavolcanic pile was laid down after Late Jurassic intrusion of the Barcroft pluton. The Lower Cretaceous, largely volcanogenic metasedimentary section lies beneath a low-angle thrust fault, the upper plate of which includes interlayered Late Jurassic mafic and felsic metavolcanic rocks and the roughly coeval Barcroft pluton. Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous volcanism in this sector of the Californian continental margin, combined with earlier petrologic, structural, and geochronologic studies, indicates that there was no gap in igneous activity at this latitude of the North American continental margin.

Performance of erosion control treatments on reapplied topsoil.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-05-01

Roadside revegetation projects present substantial challenges to successful development of : desired plant associations and vegetation structure. Cut or fill slopes are often steeply inclined, : highly compacted, and lacking topsoil. Excavated topsoi...

Evidence for fourth generation structures in the Piedra Lumbre region, Western Picuris Mountains, New Mexico

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

Chernoff, C.B.; Helper, M.A.; Mosher, S.

1993-02-01

Mid-Proterozoic Hondo Group metasediments in the western Picuris Mountains, New Mexico clearly display 3 generations of previously recognized penetrative, synmetamorphic structures and a previously undocumented forth generation of overprinting folds with an associated axial planar foliation. The earliest structures include: (1) a bedding-parallel S[sub 1] foliation and rare, rootless, intrafolial F[sub 1] folds; (2) north-verging, west-trending F[sub 2] folds and an axial planar metamorphic foliation (S[sub 2]); (3) a steeply dipping, N-S striking crenulation cleavage (S[sub 3]). In the Piedra Lumbre region, southwest-plunging, open, upright chevron and box folds (F[sub 4]) locally reorient F[sub 2], S[sub 2] and S[sub 3]more » crenulations. The largest F[sub 4] folds in the Piedra Lumbre region have half-wavelengths of 500 meters. An associated nearly vertical foliation (S[sub 4]) overprints the first three foliations. The S[sub 4] foliation is a crenulation cleavage in micaceous layers and a discontinuous alignment of biotite laths in quartzose layers. Crystallization of biotite during S[sub 4] and chloritoid after S[sub 4], along with static recrystallization and mineral replacement by chlorite, suggests this deformation occurred during the waning stages of mid-Proterozoic metamorphism. The orientation of F[sub 2] and F[sub 4] folds are similar and both appear to occur on a regional scale. Interference of open upright F[sub 4] folds and tight, north-verging, overturned F[sub 2] folds produces a geometry that resembles that of the kilometer-scale Copper Hill Anticline of the western Picuris Mountains, previously interpreted to be solely the result of F[sub 2] folding.« less

Crustal structure associated with Gondwana graben across the Narmada-Son lineament in India: An inference from aeromagnetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, D. Atchuta; Babu, H. V. Ram; Sinha, G. D. J. Sivakumar

1992-10-01

Aeromagnetic data over an 80-km-wide belt along the ENE-trending Narmada-Son lineament (NSL), starting from Baroda in the west and continuing to the south of Jabalpur in the east, has been studied to understand the structural and tectonic framework of the region. The area is covered by generally E-W-trending steeply dipping and folded Archean phyllites and quartzites as basement, with Bijawars (Upper Precambrian), upper Vindhyans (Upper Proterozoic), and Gondwanas (Upper Carboniferous) overlying them. Overlapping them all are the Deccan trap (Cretaceous-Eocene) flows. Aeromagnetic linements and their disposition and pattern in this region suggest major dislocations in the crust. The region around Hoshangabad, which is the intersection point of the NSL and the northwestern extension of the Godavari lineament, appears to have been intensely disturbed. Spectral analysis of aeromagnetic profiles across the NSL belt brought out a deep magnetic interface within crust at depths varying from 4 km to about 20 km below the surface, perhaps corresponding to the discontinuity characterized by the interface of granitic and basaltic rocks. There is a significant downwarping of this interface under the Hoshangabad region, suggesting that this is perhaps related to the evolution of the Gondwana basin structure in this area. This warping of the magnetic interface may be a reflection of the crustal flexuring and rift faulting. Elsewhere in the world, concentrations of carbonatite complexes and dike swarms are known to occur in areas of crustal flexuring and rift faulting. The occurrence of carbonatite complexes in this region (e.g. at Amba Dongar and Barwaha, and dike swarms in the Dadiapada region) gives credence to the present inferences from the aeromagnetic study.

Geophysical modeling of the structural relationships between the Precambrian Reading Prong rocks and the Paleozoic sedimentary sequence, Easton quadrangle, PA

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

Thomas, D.M.; Malinconico, L.L. Jr.

1993-03-01

This project involves the geophysical modeling of the structural relationships between the Precambrian Reading Prong rocks and the Paleozoic sedimentary cover rocks near Easton, Pennsylvania. The Precambrian rocks have generally been assumed to have been emplaced on the Paleozoic sequence along a shallow thrust fault. However, at present time the attitude of the faults bordering the Precambrian terranes are all very steeply dipping. This was explained by the subsequent folding of the whole sequence during later orogenic activity. The objective of this work is to determine the attitude and depth of the fault contact between the Precambrian crystalline rocks andmore » the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. A series of traverses (each separated by approximately one mile) were established perpendicular to the strike of the Precambrian rocks. Along each traverse both gravity and magnetic readings were taken at 0.2 kilometer intervals. The data were reduced and presented as profiles and contour maps. Both the magnetic and gravity data show positive anomalies that correlate spatially with the location of the Precambrian rocks. The gravity data have a long wavelength regional trend increasing to the north with a shorter wavelength anomaly of 2 milligals which coincides with the Precambrian rocks. The magnetic data have a single positive anomaly of almost 1,000 gammas which also coincides with the Precambrian terrane. These data will now be used to develop two dimensional density and susceptibility models of the area. From these models, the thickness of each formation and the structural relationships between them, as well as the attitude and depth of the fault contact will be determined.« less

Integrating geologic and satellite imagery data for high-resolution mapping and gold exploration targets in the South Eastern Desert, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoheir, Basem; Emam, Ashraf

2012-05-01

The granitoid-greenstone belts of the Arabian-Nubian Shield are well-endowed with lode gold and massive sulfide ores. Although generally characterized by excellent outcrops and arid desert realm, poor accessibility and lack of finance have been always retardant to detailed geologic mapping of vast areas of the shield. Lack of comprehensive geological information and maps at appropriate scales would definitely hinder serious exploration programs. In this study, band ratioing, principal component analysis (PCA), false-color composition (FCC), and frequency filtering (FFT-RWT) of ASTER and ETM+ data have substantially improved visual interpretation for detailed mapping of the Gebel Egat area in South Eastern Desert of Egypt. By compiling field, petrographic and spectral data, controls on gold mineralization have been assessed in terms of association of gold lodes with particular lithological units and structures. Contacts between foliated island arc metavolcanics and ophiolites or diorite are likely to be favorable loci for auriferous quartz veins, especially where the NW-SE foliation is deflected into steeply dipping NNW-trending shear planes. High-resolution mapping of the greenstone belt, structures and alteration zones associated with gold lodes in the study area suggests that dilatation by foliation deflection was related to emplacement of the Egat granitic intrusion, attendant with a sinistral transpression regime (i.e., ˜640-550 Ma?). Gold mineralization associated with granitoid intrusions in transpression-induced pull-apart structures elsewhere in the Eastern Desert (e.g., Fawakhir, Sukari and Hangaliya mines) emphasize the reliability of this setting as a model for gold exploration targets in greenstone terrains of Egypt, and may be elsewhere in the Arabian-Nubian Shield.

Earthquake-by-earthquake fold growth above the Puente Hills blind thrust fault, Los Angeles, California: Implications for fold kinematics and seismic hazard

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leon, L.A.; Christofferson, S.A.; Dolan, J.F.; Shaw, J.H.; Pratt, T.L.

2007-01-01

Boreholes and high-resolution seismic reflection data collected across the forelimb growth triangle above the central segment of the Puente Hills thrust fault (PHT) beneath Los Angeles, California, provide a detailed record of incremental fold growth during large earthquakes on this major blind thrust fault. These data document fold growth within a discrete kink band that narrows upward from ???460 m at the base of the Quaternary section (200-250 m depth) to 82% at 250 m depth) folding and uplift occur within discrete kink bands, thereby enabling us to develop a paleoseismic history of the underlying blind thrust fault. The borehole data reveal that the youngest part of the growth triangle in the uppermost 20 m comprises three stratigraphically discrete growth intervals marked by southward thickening sedimentary strata that are separated by intervals in which sediments do not change thickness across the site. We interpret the intervals of growth as occurring after the formation of now-buried paleofold scarps during three large PHT earthquakes in the past 8 kyr. The intervening intervals of no growth record periods of structural quiescence and deposition at the regional, near-horizontal stream gradient at the study site. Minimum uplift in each of the scarp-forming events, which occurred at 0.2-2.2 ka (event Y), 3.0-6.3 ka (event X), and 6.6-8.1 ka (event W), ranged from ???1.1 to ???1.6 m, indicating minimum thrust displacements of ???2.5 to 4.5 m. Such large displacements are consistent with the occurrence of large-magnitude earthquakes (Mw > 7). Cumulative, minimum uplift in the past three events was 3.3 to 4.7 m, suggesting cumulative thrust displacement of ???7 to 10.5 m. These values yield a minimum Holocene slip rate for the PHT of ???0.9 to 1.6 mm/yr. The borehole and seismic reflection data demonstrate that dip within the kink band is acquired incrementally, such that older strata that have been deformed by more earthquakes dip more steeply than younger strata. Specifically, strata dip 0.4?? at 4 m depth, 0.7?? at 20 m depth, 8?? at 90 m, 16?? at 110 m, and 17?? at 200 m. Moreover, structural restorations of the borehole data show that the locus of active folding (the anticlinal active axial surface) does not extend to the surface in exactly the same location from earthquake to earthquake. Rather, that the axial surfaces migrate from earthquake to earthquake, reflecting a component of fold growth by kink band migration. The incremental acquisition of bed dip in the growth triangle may reflect some combination of fold growth by limb rotation in addition to kink band migration, possibly through a component of trishear or shear fault bend folding. Alternatively, the component of limb rotation may result from curved hinge fault bend folding, and/or the mechanical response of loosely consolidated granular sediments in the shallow subsurface to folding at depth. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Subsurface imaging, TAIGER experiments and tectonic models of Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Francis T.; Kuo-Chen, H.; McIntosh, K. D.

2014-08-01

The seismicity, deformation rates and associated erosion in the Taiwan region clearly demonstrate that plate tectonic and orogenic activities are at a high level. Major geologic units can be neatly placed in the plate tectonic context, albeit critical mapping in specific areas is still needed, but the key processes involved in the building of the island remain under discussion. Of the two plates in the vicinity of Taiwan, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) is oceanic in its origin while the Eurasian Plate (EUP) is comprised partly of the Asian continental lithosphere and partly of the transitional lithosphere of the South China Sea basin. It is unanimously agreed that the collision of PSP and EU is the cause of the Taiwan orogeny, but several models of the underlying geological processes have been proposed, each with its own evolutionary history and implied subsurface tectonics. TAIGER (TAiwan Integrated GEodynamics Research) crustal- and mantle-imaging experiments recently made possible a new round of testing and elucidation. The new seismic tomography resolved structures under and offshore of Taiwan to a depth of about 200 km. In the upper mantle, the steeply east-dipping high velocity anomalies from southern to central Taiwan are clear, but only the extreme southern part is associated with seismicity; toward the north the seismicity disappears. The crustal root under the Central Range is strongly asymmetrical; using 7.5 km/s as a guide, the steep west-dipping face on the east stands in sharp contrast to a gradual east-dipping face on the west. A smaller root exists under the Coastal Range or slightly to the east of it. Between these two roots lies a well delineated high velocity rise spanning the length from Hualien to Taitung. The 3-D variations in crustal and mantle structures parallel to the trend of the island are closely correlated with the plate tectonic framework of Taiwan. The crust is thickest in the central Taiwan collision zone, and although it thins toward the south, the crust is over 30 km thick over the subduction in the south; in northern Taiwan, the northward subducting PSP collides with Taiwan and the crust thins under northern Taiwan where the subducting indenter reaches 50 km in depth. The low Vp/Vs ratio of around 1.6 at a mid-crustal depth of 25 km in the Central Range indicates that current temperatures could exceed 700 °C. The remarkable thickening of the crust under the Central Range, its rapid uplift without significant seismicity, its deep exhumation and its thermal state contribute to make it the core of orogenic activities on Taiwan Island. The expanded network during the TAIGER deployment captured broadband seismic data yielding enhanced S-splitting results with mainly SKS/SKKS data. The polarization directions of the fast S-waves follow very closely the structural trends of the island, supporting the concept of a vertically coherent Taiwan orogeny in the outer few hundred kilometers of the Earth.

Geodetic Imaging of Glacio-Seismotectonic Processes in Southern Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauber, J.; Bruhn, R.; Forster, R.; Hofton, M.

2008-12-01

Across southern Alaska the northwest directed motion of the Pacific plate is accompanied by migration and collision of the Yakutat terrane. The Yakutat terrane is a fragment of the North American plate margin that is partly subducted beneath and partly accreted to the continental margin. Over the last couple of decades the rate of ongoing deformation associated with subduction and a locked main thrust zone has been estimated by geodetic measurements. In the last five years more extensive geodetic measurements, structural and tectonic field studies, thermochronolgy, and high-resolution lidar have been acquired and analyzed as part of the STEEP project [Pavlis et al., 2006]. The nature and magnitude of accretion and translation on upper crustal faults and folds remains uncertain, however, due to complex variations in the style of tectonic deformation, pervasive and changing glaciation, and the logistical challenges of conducting field studies in formidable topography. In this study, we analyze new high-resolution lidar data to extract locations, geometry, and heights of seismogenic faults and zones of active folding across the Malaspina-Seward-Bagley region of the southern Alaska plate boundary that is hypothesized to accommodate upper crustal shortening and right-lateral slip. Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) lidar swath data acquired by Krabill et al. in the summer of 2005 and ICESat data (1993-present) cross a number of proposed faults and folds partially masked by glaciation, including the Malaspina thrust, Esker Creek, Chugach-St.Elias thrust, and Contact. Focal mechanisms from this region indicate mostly shallow (0-30 km) thrust and oblique strike-slip faulting. Similarly, rupture in the 1979 St. Elias earthquake (M=7.4) started as a shallow, north-dipping thrust that later changed to more steeply NE dipping with a large right-lateral strike-slip component. Additionally, we are using the morphology and dynamics of glaciers derived from L-Band SAR ice velocities and SAR images to infer the large scale sub-ice structures that form the structural framework of the Seward-Bagley Basins. The new lidar, InSAR, and STEEP results provide constraints that enable us to critically re-evaluate alternate models of the nature of tectonics and structures hidden beneath the ice originally proposed by Ford et al [2003] . Ford, A.L., R.R. Forster, and R.L. Bruhn, 2003, Ice surface velocity patterns on Seward Glacier, Alaska/Yukon, and their implications for regional tectonics in the Saint Elias Mountains, Annals of Glaciology, 36, 21-28.

Detection of sedimentary structural elements using formation micro imager technique, a case study from South Mansoura-1 well, Nile Delta, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abd El-Wahed, Ahmed G.; Anan, Tarek I.

2016-12-01

A detailed structure and sedimentology interpretation was performed for the South Mansoura-1 well. The Formation Micro Imager (FMI) is recorded and interpreted over the interval 9100-8009 ft. This interval belongs to Sidi Salem and Qawasim Formations. Based on azimuth trend of manually picked dips (bed boundaries), the interval can be divided into 4 structural dip zones (Zone 1 (9100-8800 ft), variable azimuth direction with the major trends mainly to SW&NE; Zone 2 (8800-8570 ft), bedding dip azimuth is mainly to the NW; Zone 3 (8570-8250 ft), bedding dip azimuth is mainly to the NE; and Zone 4 (8250-8009 ft), bedding dip azimuth is mainly to the NW). Lamination identified over the interval shows a dominant dip azimuth trend toward North North-West direction. The interbedded shale units are highly laminated and show little evidence of bioturbation. Sand exhibits abundant cross bedding showing a dominant dip azimuth trends toward NNE and NE and more locally to the E. Sixteen truncations identified over the interval show variable azimuth trend with the major trend mainly to the North North-West.

Seismicity within a propagating ice shelf rift: the relationship between icequake locations and ice shelf structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heeszel, David S.; Fricker, Helen A.; Bassis, Jeremy N.; O'Neel, Shad; Walter, Fabian

2014-01-01

Iceberg calving is a dominant mass loss mechanism for Antarctic ice shelves, second only to basal melting. An important known process involved in calving is the initiation and propagation of through-penetrating fractures called rifts; however, the mechanisms controlling rift propagation remain poorly understood. To investigate the mechanics of ice-shelf rifting, we analyzed seismicity associated with a propagating rift tip on the Amery Ice Shelf, using data collected during the Austral summers of 2004-2007. We investigated seismicity associated with fracture propagation using a suite of passive seismological techniques including icequake locations, back projection, and moment tensor inversion. We confirm previous results that show that seismicity is characterized by periods of relative quiescence punctuated by swarms of intense seismicity of one to three hours. However, even during periods of quiescence, we find significant seismic deformation around the rift tip. Moment tensors, calculated for a subset of the largest icequakes (MW > -2.0) located near the rift tip, show steeply dipping fault planes, horizontal or shallowly plunging stress orientations, and often have a significant volumetric component. They also reveal that much of the observed seismicity is limited to the upper 50 m of the ice shelf. This suggests a complex system of deformation that involves the propagating rift, the region behind the rift tip, and a system of rift-transverse crevasses. Small-scale variations in the mechanical structure of the ice shelf, especially rift-transverse crevasses and accreted marine ice, play an important role in modulating the rate and location of seismicity associated with propagating ice shelf rifts.

Social support and nocturnal blood pressure dipping: a systematic review.

PubMed

Fortmann, Addie L; Gallo, Linda C

2013-03-01

Attenuated nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality than resting BP measurements. Studies have reported associations between social support, variously defined, and BP dipping. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to investigate associations of functional and structural social support with nocturnal BP dipping assessed over a minimum of 24 hours. A total of 297 articles were identified. Of these, 11 met criteria for inclusion; all studies were cross-sectional in design and included adult participants only (mean age = 19 to 72 years). Evidence was most consistent for an association between functional support and BP dipping, such that 5 of 7 studies reported statistically (or marginally) significant positive associations with BP dipping. Statistically significant functional support-BP dipping associations were moderate (standardized effect size (d) = 0.41) to large (d = 2.01) in magnitude. Studies examining structural support were fewer and relatively less consistent; however, preliminary evidence was observed for associations of marital status and social contact frequency with BP dipping. Statistically significant structural support findings were medium (d = 0.53) to large (d = 1.13) in magnitude. Overall, findings suggest a link between higher levels of functional support and greater nocturnal BP dipping; preliminary evidence was also observed for the protective effects of marriage and social contact frequency. Nonetheless, the relatively small number of studies conducted to date and the heterogeneity of findings across meaningful subgroups suggest that additional research is needed to substantiate these conclusions.

The dynamical conductance of graphene tunnelling structures.

PubMed

Zhang, Huan; Chan, K S; Lin, Zijing

2011-12-16

The dynamical conductances of graphene tunnelling structures were numerically calculated using the scattering matrix method with the interaction effect included in a phenomenological approach. The overall single-barrier dynamical conductance is capacitative. Transmission resonances in the single-barrier structure lead to dips in the capacitative imaginary part of the response. This is different from the ac responses of typical semiconductor nanostructures, where transmission resonances usually lead to inductive peaks. The features of the dips depend on the Fermi energy. When the Fermi energy is below half of the barrier height, the dips are sharper. When the Fermi energy is higher than half of the barrier height, the dips are broader. Inductive behaviours can be observed in a double-barrier structure due to the resonances formed by reflection between the two barriers.

Magnetic fabric study of rock deformation during alpine tectonic evolution on a cross section through the Eastern Alps (Austria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gruber, K.; Scholger, R.; Pueyo, E. L.

2010-05-01

Measurements of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) were carried out on samples from more than seventy sites collected in the Eastern Alps. The sites were taken alongside a North-South transect (about 15°30` East Longitude) from Scheibbs in the North to Kapfenberg in the South, comprising most of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) nappes, Helvetic and Penninic Flysh units as well as the greywacke zone. Samples were taken in detail mostly in Mesozoic rocks of the NCA, from North to South: Bajuvaric (Frankenfels, Lunz, Sulzbach and Reisalpen nappes), Tirolic (Ötscher, Göller, Rotwald-Gindelstein nappes) and Juvavic (Mürzalpen nappe) system. Two to six sites per thrust sheet or nappe were analysed for a structural investigation of the relationship between magnetic fabric and tectonic strain. Standard paleomagnetic drill cores were taken. All measurements were performed in the Petrophysics and Paleomagnetic laboratories of the University of Leoben using AGICO MFK1-Kappabridge susceptibility system and a 2-G cryogenic magnetometer. Statistical evaluation of the AMS data was perfomed using the software package AGICO ANISOFT 4.2. (Chadima et al., 2009). Throughout the Eastern Alps transect distinct changes of the magnetic fabric are observed. Primary sedimentary fabrics and very low susceptibility values are dominant in most cases in the northernmost and southernmost part of the transect. Some inverse fabrics were found in few sites of the nappes and the percentage increases towards the south which might be related to tectonic events. Contrastingly, isotropic fabrics dominate in the middle part. The Helvetic and Penninic Flysh units yield in general weak oblate fabrics. A few sites show a tendency to inverse fabrics which indicate the presence of a certain amount of strain within this unit. The oblate fabrics of the Helvetic and Flysh units show either shallow NE dipping or slightly steeper SW dipping k1-axis orientation. Within the inverse fabrics, even steeper NE or SW dipping k1-axis are present. In a previous paleomagnetic study of the same samples (Pueyo et al., 2002) both, primary and secondary remanent magnetization vectors were observed. No significant rotations were detected in the Flysh units. All samples from the Bajuvaric system show dominantly very low susceptibility values and isotropic fabrics and were therefore excluded from further investigations. Bajuvaric nappes hardly show any significant rotations based on paleomagnetic data (Pueyo et al., 2002). The nappes of the Tirolic and Juvavic systems have very low susceptibility values but they increase slightly towards the south. The shape of the anisotropy ellipsoid remains oblate (group A) in most cases and the degree of anisotropy is very weak. Also more prolate fabrics (group B) are present. Group A and B show a trend to shallow N or S dipping k1-axis in the North. Further in the south the k1-axis of group A tend to dip steeply NE. Shallow NE or SW dipping and slightly steeper NE or SW dipping oriented prolate susceptibility ellipsoids are dominant in group B. Tirolic and Juvavic units display clockwise rotation ranging between 30 and more than 100° (Pueyo et al., 2002), which was assigned to block rotation. Shallow E dipping and NNW dipping oblate susceptibility ellipsoids are dominant in the Basement. A general increase of the degree of rotation (Pueyo et al., 2002) as well as better defined susceptibility ellipsoids with mainly oblate fabrics towards the south can be observed. Six Tertiary deviatoric paleostress tensor groups are described by Peresson & Decker (1997). The new AMS data will be presented and correlated to the young tectonic history of the Eastern Alps. The study was funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) in the frame of the Geophysics of the Earths Crust Programme. Peresson, H. and Decker, K., 1997. The Tertiary dynamics of the northern Eastern Alps (Austria): Changing palaeostresses in a collisional plate boundary, Tectonophysics, 272, 125 - 157. Pueyo, E.L., Schneider, M., Mauritsch, H.J., Scholger, R., Lein, R., 2002. A paleomagnetic cross section through the Eastern Northern Calcareous Alps: preliminary data in the Mariazell meridian. Pangeo poster.

Magnetic Fabric Associated with Faulting of Poorly Consolidated Basin Sediments of the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, M. R.; Minor, S. A.; Caine, J. S.

2015-12-01

Permanent strain in sediments associated with shallow fault zones can be difficult to characterize. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data were obtained from 120 samples at 6 sites to assess the nature of fault-related AMS fabrics for 4 faults cutting Miocene-Pliocene basin fill sediments of the Rio Grande rift of north-central New Mexico. The San Ysidro (3 sites), Sand Hill, and West Paradise faults within the northern Albuquerque basin have normal offset whereas an unnamed fault near Buckman in the western Española basin has oblique strike-slip offset. Previous studies have shown that detrital magnetite controls magnetic susceptibility in rift sandstones, and in a 50-m-long hanging wall traverse of the San Ysidro fault, non-gouge samples have typical sedimentary AMS fabrics with Kmax and Kint axes (defining magnetic foliation) scattered within bedding. For the 5 normal-fault sites, samples from fault cores or adjacent mixed zones that lie within 1 m of the principal slip surface developed common deformation fabrics with (1) magnetic foliation inclined in the same azimuth but more shallowly dipping than the fault plane, and (2) magnetic lineation plunging down foliation dip with nearly the same trend as the fault striae, although nearer for sand versus clay gouge samples. These relations suggest that the sampled fault materials deformed by particulate flow with alignment of magnetite grains in the plane of maximum shortening. For a 2-m-long traverse at the Buckman site, horizontal sedimentary AMS foliation persists to < 15 cm to the fault slip surface, wherein foliation in sand and clay gouge rotates toward the steeply dipping fault plane in a sense consistent with sinistral offset. Collectively these data suggest permanent deformation fabrics were localized within < 1 m of fault surfaces and that AMS fabrics from gouge samples can provide kinematic information for faults in unconsolidated sediments which may lack associated slickenlines.

Broadening the interpretive framework of deepwater deposits: 3D characterization of outcrop scale bedforms within supercritical dominated slope deposits of the Fish Creek-Vallecito Basin, Late-Miocene Gulf of California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, L. M.; Steel, R.; Olariu, C.

2017-12-01

Study of seafloor bathymetry, numerical and physical modeling, and direct observation of turbidity currents increasingly suggests that sediment gravity flows over moderately steep basin slopes commonly reach Froude supercritical states. However, interpretation of supercritical features in deepwater outcrops remains limited in both quantity and scope, leaving stratigraphic qualities of supercritical deposits poorly understood. Slope turbidites on along steep margins of the early Gulf of California are exposed in seismic scale outcrops of the Late Miocene Lycium Member in the Fish Creek-Vallecito Basin of south-central California where they build 100s m-thick slopes. Measured sections, bedding orientation, and facies descriptions collected both for strike- and dip-oriented sections are combined with photogrammetric to characterize selected bedforms in three-dimensions. Analysis shows upflow accreting stacks of 10s of beds into a variety of bedforms with wavelengths and widths tens to hundreds of meters in scale and heights of 5-15 m. Beds have low-angle sinusoidal to sigmoidal down dip geometries and lens or lobate strike geometries. Bedding facies are dominated by 5-50 cm thick, normally graded, laminated sandstones capped by 1-3 cm bioturbated muds. Sandstones transition into interbedded sandstones and silty mudstones or 1-2 m thick silty mudstones. In places, Present also are incisional, steeply dipping backsets of 0.5-3 m-thick boulder-rich, amalgamated, structureless sandtones with abundant soft sediment deformation. that can transition downflow into arching, thinning, normally-graded sandstones. These bedforms are interpreted here as large-scale, long-lived supercritical deposits that represent preserved antidune and possibly cyclic steps bedforms or as-yet undefined bedforms incorporating by not bound by hydraulic jumps. This characterization provides new understanding of the nature of supercritical deposits and an important framework criteria for recognizing similar deposits elsewhere.

Geology and Fluorspar Deposits of the Levias-Keystone and Dike-Eaton Areas, Crittenden County, Kentucky

USGS Publications Warehouse

Trace, Robert Denny

1962-01-01

The fault systems of the Levias-Keystone and Dike-Eaton areas, in the Kentucky-Illinois fiuorspar district, are a complex northeastward-trending sys- tem and a simple northwestward-trending system of steeply dipping normal faults, associated in part with a lamprophyre dike. Fluorspar mining started in the area about 1900 and, as of 1945, more than 200,000 tons of crude ore probably has been mined; most of the ore was from the Levias-Keystone area. A small quantity of zinc and lead ore also is present in the Dike-Eaton area. The deposits are localized along faults that displace fiat-lying or low-dipping limestones, sandstones, and shales of the Meramec and Chester series of Missis- sippian age. Movement along most of the faults was principally vertical, with displacement as much as 600 feet. Some horizontal movement occurred along at least one fault. Geologic mapping of the surface and data from underground workings have revealed 13 faults in an area of four-fifths of a square mile. Only a few of these faults are known to contain economically important deposits of fiuorspar. The most abundant vein minerals are calcite and fiuorite with subordinate quantities of sphalerite, galena, barite, and quartz. Some weathering products of sphalerite and galena are present also. The veins are dominantly calcite that contains fiuorite lenses but in places are mainly fiuorite having lesser quantities of calcite. Sphalerite- and galena-bearing deposits are present in the Dike-Eaton area. The ore bodies mainly are the result of fissure filling and replacement of calcite by fiuorite; in addition a small amount of limestone wallrock probably has been replaced. Residual concentrations of high-grade fluorspar in the overburden above faults have yielded some so-called gravel fiuorspar. The position of the veins within the faults may be related to one or more factors such as type of wallrock, change in dip of the fault, and amount of displacement.

The upper crust laid on its side: tectonic implications of steeply tilted crustal slabs for extension in the basin and range

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Keith A.

2005-01-01

Tilted slabs expose as much as the top 8–15 km of the upper crust in many parts of the Basin and Range province. Exposures of now-recumbent crustal sections in these slabs allow analysis of pre-tilt depth variations in dike swarms, plutons, and thermal history. Before tilting the slabs were panels between moderately dipping, active Tertiary normal faults. The slabs and their bounding normal faults were tilted to piggyback positions on deeper footwalls that warped up isostatically beneath them during tectonic unloading. Stratal dips within the slabs are commonly tilted to vertical or even slightly overturned, especially in the southern Basin and Range where the thin stratified cover overlies similarly tilted basement granite and gneiss. Some homoclinal recumbent slabs of basement rock display faults that splay upward into forced folds in overlying cover sequences, which thereby exhibit shallower dips. The 15-km maximum exposed paleodepth for the slabs represents the base of the brittle upper crust, as it coincides with the depth of the modern base of the seismogenic zone and the maximum focal depths of large normal-fault earthquakes in the Basin and Range. Many upended slabs accompany metamorphic core complexes, but not all core complexes have corresponding thick recumbent hanging-wall slabs. The Ruby Mountains core complex, for example, preserves only scraps of upper-plate rocks as domed-up extensional klippen, and most of the thick crustal section that originally overlay the uplifted metamorphic core now must reside below little-tilted hanging-wall blocks in the Elko-Carlin area to the west. The Whipple and Catalina Mountains core complexes in contrast are footwall to large recumbent hanging-wall slabs of basement rock exposing 8-15 km paleodepths that originally roofed the metamorphic cores; the exposed paleodepths require that a footwall rolled up beneath the slabs.

3-D ore body modeling and structural settings of syn-to late orogenic Variscan hydrothermal mineralization, Siegerland district, Rhenish Massif, NW Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Meike; Hellmann, André; Meyer, Franz Michael

2013-04-01

The Siegerland district is located in the fold-and thrust-belt of the Rhenish Massif and hosts diverse syn-to late orogenic mineralization styles. Peak-metamorphism and deformation occurred at 312-316±10 Ma (Ahrendt et al., 1978) at temperature-pressure conditions of 280-320°C and 0.7-1.4 kbar (Hein, 1993). In addition to syn-orogenic siderite-quartz mineralization at least four different syn-to late orogenic mineralization stages are identified comprising Co-Ni-Cu-Au, Pb-Zn-Cu, Sb-Au, and hematite-digenite-bornite ores (Hellmann et al., 2012). The earliest type of syn-orogenic ore mineralization is formed by siderite-quartz veins, trending N-S, E-W and NE-SW. The vein systems are closely related to fold and reverse fault geometries (Hellmann et al., 2012). The most important structural feature is the first-order Siegen main reverse fault showing an offset into three major faults (Peters et al., 2012). The structural control on ore formation is demonstrated by the Co-Ni-Cu-Au mineralization generally hosted by NE-ENE trending reverse faults and associated imbrication zones that have reactivated the older siderite-quartz veins. In this study, we developed a 3-D model of the Alte Buntekuh ore bodies in the Siegerland district, using Datamine Studio3 to investigate the structural setting of Co-Ni-Cu-Au mineralization. The salient structural and spatial data for the 3-D model were taken from old mine level plans as well as from geological and topographical maps. The ore bodies are located immediately in the hanging wall of the southern branch of the Siegen main reverse fault (Peters et al., 2012). From the model it becomes obvious, that the earlier siderite-quartz veins, dipping steeply to the NW, are cross-cut and segmented by oppositely dipping oblique reverse faults. Individual ore body segments are rotated and displaced, showing a plunge direction to the SW. The 3-D model further reveals the presence of hook-like, folded vein arrays, highly enriched in cobalt mineralization. These vein-hooks are characterized by a dip direction to the W, which is opposite to the plunge of F1-folds. The vein-hooks are interpreted to have formed during oblique normal faulting. The compilation of historical mining and mineralogical information in combination with 3-D ore body modeling provides new insights into the structural evolution of mineralization and can be used to evaluate further mineral potential of the area, especially in currently non-explored depth levels. The 3-D ore body model is also vital for resource calculation and the design of a brown-fields drilling program. References Ahrendt, H., Hunziker, J.C. and Weber, K. (1978). Z. dt. geol. Ges. 129, 229-247 Hein, U.F. (1993). Min. Mag. 57, 451-476 Hellmann, A., Wagner, T. and Meyer, F.M. (2012). Conference proceedings GB 2012. http://www.geologicabelgica.be/PDF/GB/S13/S13_8_Hellmann.pdf Peters, M., Hellmann A. and Meyer, F.M. (2012). Conference proceedings GeoHannover 2012. Series of paper of the German Society of Geosciences, Vol. 80, 387.

Integrated characterization of the geologic framework of a contaminated site in West Trenton, New Jersey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ellefsen, Karl J.; Burton, William C.; Lacombe, Pierre J.

2012-01-01

Fractured sedimentary bedrock and groundwater at the former Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, New Jersey (United States of America) are contaminated with chlorinated solvents. Predicting contaminant migration or removing the contaminants requires an understanding of the geology. Consequently, the geologic framework near the site was characterized with four different methods having different spatial scales: geologic field mapping, analyses of bedrock drill core, analyses of soil and regolith, and S-wave refraction surveys. A fault zone is in the southeast corner of the site and separates two distinct sedimentary formations; the fault zone dips (steeply) southeasterly, strikes northeasterly, and extends at least 550 m along its strike direction. Drill core from the fault zone is extensively brecciated and includes evidence of tectonic contraction. Approximately 300 m east of this fault zone is another fault zone, which offsets the contact between the two sedimentary formations. The S-wave refraction surveys identified both fault zones beneath soil and regolith and thereby provided constraints on their lateral extent and location.

Uranium-bearing copper deposits in the Coyote district, Mora County, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zeller, H.D.; Baltz, Elmer Harold

1954-01-01

Uranium-bearing copper deposits occur in steeply dipping beds of the Sangre de Cristo formation of Pennsylvanian and Permian(?) age south of Coyote, Mora County, N. Mex. Mapping and sampling of these deposits indicate that they are found in lenticular carbonaceous zones in shales and arkosic sandstones. Samples from these zones contain as much as 0.067 percent uranium and average 3 percent copper. Metatyuyamunite is dissemihatedin some of the arkosic sandstone beds, and uraninite is present in some of the copper sulfide nodules occurring in the shale. These sulfide nodules are composed principally of chalcocite but include some bornite, covellite, pyrite, and malachite. Most of the samples were collected near the surface from the weathered zone. The copper and uranium were probably deposited with the sediments and concentrated into zones during compaction and lithification. Carbonaceous material in the Sangre de Cristo formation provided the environment that precipitated uranium and copper from mineral-charged connate waters forced from the clayey sediments.

The stratigraphy of the Steep Rock Group, N.W. Ontario, with evidence of a major unconformity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilks, M. E.; Nisbet, E. G.

1986-01-01

The Steep Rock Group is exposed 6 km north of Atikokan, 200 km west of Thunder Bay. It is situated on the southern margin of the Wabigoon Belt of the Archaean Superior Province, N. W. Ontario. Reinvestigation of the geology of the Group has shown that the Group lies unconformably on the Tonalite Complex to the east. This unconformity has been previously suspected, from regional and ine mapping but no conclusive outcrop evidence for its existence has as yet been published. The strike of the group, comprised of Basal Conglomerate, Carbonate Member, Ore Zone and Ashrock is generally north-northwest dipping steeply to the southwest. Of the 7 contacts between the Steep Rock Group and the Tonalite Complex, 3 expose the unconformity (The Headland, S. Roberts Pit, Trueman Point), and 4 are faulted. These three outcrops demonstrate unequivocally that the Steep Rock group was laid down unconformably on the underlying Tonalite Complex, which is circa 3 Ga old.

Application of near real-time radial semblance to locate the shallow magmatic conduit at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dawson, P.; Whilldin, D.; Chouet, B.

2004-01-01

Radial Semblance is applied to broadband seismic network data to provide source locations of Very-Long-Period (VLP) seismic energy in near real time. With an efficient algorithm and adequate network coverage, accurate source locations of VLP energy are derived to quickly locate the shallow magmatic conduit system at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. During a restart in magma flow following a brief pause in the current eruption, the shallow magmatic conduit is pressurized, resulting in elastic radiation from various parts of the conduit system. A steeply dipping distribution of VLP hypocenters outlines a region extending from sea level to about 550 m elevation below and just east of the Halemaumau Pit Crater. The distinct hypocenters suggest the shallow plumbing system beneath Halemaumau consists of a complex plexus of sills and dikes. An unconstrained location for a section of the conduit is also observed beneath the region between Kilauea Caldera and Kilauea Iki Crater.

Geology of the Bir Nifazi Quadrangle, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Quick, James E.; Bosch, Paul S.

1990-01-01

A north-trending, 10-km-long belt of gossans crops out within the ophiolite beneath the upper-basalt sequence at Jabal Mardah. Reconnaissance drilling indicates that one of the larger gossans is underlain by a steeply dipping, 15-m-thick, sulfide-rich volcanic wacke that averages 1 percent nickel locally. The ore is composed of pyrite, millerite, polydymite, and minor sphalerite that fill interstices between clasts of the wacke and are intimately intergrown with quartz and nickel-rich epidote and chlorite. These textures and assemblages suggest that the sulfides crystallized in situ from infiltrating hydrothermal fluids. Tuffs and basalt flows appear to have acted as impermeable barriers that channeled the hydrothermal fluids through the more permeable wacke where sulfides were deposited. Carbonate-replaced serpentinized peridotite at the base of the ophiolite is considered a potential source for the nickel. In contrast to most nickel deposits, the mineralized rocks at Jabal Mardah have extremely high Ni/Cu (130 to 260) and negligible concentrations (< 5 ppb) of platinum-group elements.

Imaging crust and mantle discontinuities across tectonic boundaries in North America with Sp receiver functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Karen M.; Hopper, Emily

2015-04-01

When broadband stations are spaced at ~70 km or less, as with the EarthScope Transportable Array in North America, common conversion point stacking of Sp receiver functions is capable of continuous three-dimensional imaging of velocity gradients at shallow mantle depths, provided that the gradients are localized over ~30 km or less. In the tectonically active western United States, Sp common conversion points stacks reveal a strong and coherent negative velocity gradient (velocity drop with increasing depth) that falls within the transition from high velocity lithosphere to low velocity asthenosphere seen in surface wave tomography. This negative velocity gradient is interpretable as the seismological lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. Its depth varies significantly across certain tectonic boundaries at horizontal length scales of less than ~75 km, consistent with a rheologically strong mantle lithosphere in which strain can localize. When station spacing is sufficiently dense (~5 km) coherent imaging of discontinuities in the upper and lower crust is possible, even for Sp phases with dominant periods close to 10 s. With data from the 85 broadband stations of the SESAME array in the southeastern United States (an EarthScope Flexible Array experiment) and adjacent Transportable Array and permanent stations, common conversion point stacking of Sp phases resolves strong velocity gradients in the upper and lower crust that are continuous over hundreds of horizontal kilometers. Across the Suwannee suture (the northern edge of the Gondwanan or peri-Gondwanan Suwannee lithosphere that accreted to Laurentia in the last stages of the Appalachian orogeny) a strong positive velocity discontinuity dips southward from the surface expression of the suture to depths of 25-30 km. Modeling with common conversion point stacks of synthetic Sp phases demonstrates that Sp data can resolve the dipping discontinuity, despite the presence of sediment-filled Mesozoic rift basins and younger sedimentary cover. We interpret the dipping discontinuity as the contact between Suwannee crust and the crust of either Laurentia or previously accreted peri-Gondwanan terranes. The positive sign of the discontinuity could represent an increase in isotropic velocity between the Suwannee crust and the crust to which it accreted, or it could correspond to the base of a strongly foliated radially anisotropic crustal shear zone. In contrast to the more steeply-dipping suture previously inferred from COCORP reflection profiles, the positive discontinuity imaged by the Sp data dips southward at an angle of less than 10˚. This geometry implies that Suwannee crust overthrust the continental margin by more than 300 km and that the final assembly of Pangea in this region included significant convergence.

Significant structural reinterpretation of the giant October Field, Gulf of Suez, Egypt using SCAT, isogon based sections and 3D seismic

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

Sercombe, W.J.; Smith, G.W.; Morse, J.D.

1996-01-01

The October field, a sub-salt giant in the extensional Gulf of Suez (Egypt) has been structurally reinterpreted for new reserve opportunities. Quantitative SCAT analyses of the wellbore dip data have been integrated with 3D seismic by using dip isogons to construct local structural sections. SCAT dip analysis was critical to the reinterpretation because SCAT revealed important structural information that previously was unresolvable using conventional tadpole plots. In gross aspect, the October Field is a homocline that trends NW-SE, dips to the NE, and is closed on the SW (updip) by the major Clysmic Normal Fault. SCAT accurately calculated the overallmore » trend of the field, but also identified important structural anomalies near the Clysmic fault and in the northwest and southeast plunge ends. In the northwest plunge end, SCAT has identified new, south dipping blocks that are transitional to the structurally-higher North October field. The southeast plunge end has been reinterpreted with correct azimuthal trends and new fault-block prospects. These new SCAT results have successfully improved the 3D seismic interpretation by providing a foundation of accurate in-situ structural control in an area of poor-to-fair seismic quality below the Miocene salt package.« less

Significant structural reinterpretation of the giant October Field, Gulf of Suez, Egypt using SCAT, isogon based sections and 3D seismic

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

Sercombe, W.J.; Smith, G.W.; Morse, J.D.

1996-12-31

The October field, a sub-salt giant in the extensional Gulf of Suez (Egypt) has been structurally reinterpreted for new reserve opportunities. Quantitative SCAT analyses of the wellbore dip data have been integrated with 3D seismic by using dip isogons to construct local structural sections. SCAT dip analysis was critical to the reinterpretation because SCAT revealed important structural information that previously was unresolvable using conventional tadpole plots. In gross aspect, the October Field is a homocline that trends NW-SE, dips to the NE, and is closed on the SW (updip) by the major Clysmic Normal Fault. SCAT accurately calculated the overallmore » trend of the field, but also identified important structural anomalies near the Clysmic fault and in the northwest and southeast plunge ends. In the northwest plunge end, SCAT has identified new, south dipping blocks that are transitional to the structurally-higher North October field. The southeast plunge end has been reinterpreted with correct azimuthal trends and new fault-block prospects. These new SCAT results have successfully improved the 3D seismic interpretation by providing a foundation of accurate in-situ structural control in an area of poor-to-fair seismic quality below the Miocene salt package.« less

Dip and anisotropy effects on flow using a vertically skewed model grid.

PubMed

Hoaglund, John R; Pollard, David

2003-01-01

Darcy flow equations relating vertical and bedding-parallel flow to vertical and bedding-parallel gradient components are derived for a skewed Cartesian grid in a vertical plane, correcting for structural dip given the principal hydraulic conductivities in bedding-parallel and bedding-orthogonal directions. Incorrect-minus-correct flow error results are presented for ranges of structural dip (0 < or = theta < or = 90) and gradient directions (0 < or = phi < or = 360). The equations can be coded into ground water models (e.g., MODFLOW) that can use a skewed Cartesian coordinate system to simulate flow in structural terrain with deformed bedding planes. Models modified with these equations will require input arrays of strike and dip, and a solver that can handle off-diagonal hydraulic conductivity terms.

Semi-automatic mapping of geological Structures using UAV-based photogrammetric data: An image analysis approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasuki, Yathunanthan; Holden, Eun-Jung; Kovesi, Peter; Micklethwaite, Steven

2014-08-01

Recent advances in data acquisition technologies, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have led to a growing interest in capturing high-resolution rock surface images. However, due to the large volumes of data that can be captured in a short flight, efficient analysis of this data brings new challenges, especially the time it takes to digitise maps and extract orientation data. We outline a semi-automated method that allows efficient mapping of geological faults using photogrammetric data of rock surfaces, which was generated from aerial photographs collected by a UAV. Our method harnesses advanced automated image analysis techniques and human data interaction to rapidly map structures and then calculate their dip and dip directions. Geological structures (faults, joints and fractures) are first detected from the primary photographic dataset and the equivalent three dimensional (3D) structures are then identified within a 3D surface model generated by structure from motion (SfM). From this information the location, dip and dip direction of the geological structures are calculated. A structure map generated by our semi-automated method obtained a recall rate of 79.8% when compared against a fault map produced using expert manual digitising and interpretation methods. The semi-automated structure map was produced in 10 min whereas the manual method took approximately 7 h. In addition, the dip and dip direction calculation, using our automated method, shows a mean±standard error of 1.9°±2.2° and 4.4°±2.6° respectively with field measurements. This shows the potential of using our semi-automated method for accurate and efficient mapping of geological structures, particularly from remote, inaccessible or hazardous sites.

Recently active contractile deformation in the forearc of southern Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, S. R.; Farber, D.; Audin, L.; Finkel, R. C.

2010-12-01

In the Precordillera and Western Cordillera of southern Peru (14°-18°S), vast pediment surfaces have been abandoned through drainage diversion and river incision, with the major drainages carving deep canyons. Within this region, we have identified range-sub-parallel contractile structures that accommodate significant distributed crustal deformation. Young geomorphic features document both the presence and youthfulness of these contractile structures. Here, we determine exposure ages on geomorphic features such as pediment surfaces and fluvial terraces using in situ produced cosmogenic radionuclides, in conjunction with field and remote mapping. This chronologic data reveals that ancient surfaces have been preserved as a result of very low erosion rates. We measure this rate to be <0.5m/Ma on genetically similar surfaces spanning over 4 degrees of latitude throughout this region. While many ancient surfaces are preserved in forearc localities, we also observe young (30ka-1Ma) low-relief pediment surfaces modified by recent processes. Specifically, active structures accommodating compressional stresses locally displace active drainages and offset river terraces leading to their abandonment. Based on our chronology and geomorphic mapping, we calculate a Pleistocene river incision rate of ~0.3mm/yr determined from data collected along exoreic rivers. This rate is consistent with longer-term incision rates measured in other localities along this margin. We suggest that, in this region of southern Peru, the steep western wedge of the Andean margin supports the high topography of the Altiplano through a combination of uplift along steeply dipping contractile west-vergent structures and isostatic responses to the focused removal of large amounts of crustal material through canyon incision. Further, that these range sub-parallel structures are related at depth to a thrust system that plays a role in not only the maintenance of the Andean margin, but potentially in its formation as well.

Structure of the Hat Creek graben region: Implications for the structure of the Hat Creek graben and transfer of right-lateral shear from the Walker Lane north of Lassen Peak, northern California, from gravity and magnetic anomalies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, Victoria; Jachens, Robert C.; Clynne, Michael A.; Muffler, L. J. Patrick

2016-01-01

Interpretation of magnetic and new gravity data provides constraints on the geometry of the Hat Creek Fault, the amount of right-lateral offset in the area between Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak, and confirmation of the influence of pre-existing structure on Quaternary faulting. Neogene volcanic rocks coincide with short-wavelength magnetic anomalies of both normal and reversed polarity, whereas a markedly smoother magnetic field occurs over the Klamath Mountains and its Paleogene cover. Although the magnetic field over the Neogene volcanic rocks is complex, the Hat Creek Fault, which is one of the most prominent normal faults in the region and forms the eastern margin of the Hat Creek Valley, is marked by the eastern edge of a north-trending magnetic and gravity high 20-30 km long. Modeling of these anomalies indicates that the fault is a steeply dipping (~75-85°) structure. The spatial relationship of the fault as modeled by the potential-field data, the youngest strand of the fault, and relocated seismicity suggests that deformation continues to step westward across the valley, consistent with a component of right-lateral slip in an extensional environment. Filtered aeromagnetic data highlight a concealed magnetic body of Mesozoic or older age north of Hat Creek Valley. The body’s northwest margin strikes northeast and is linear over a distance of ~40 km. Within the resolution of the aeromagnetic data (1-2 km), we discern no right-lateral offset of this body. Furthermore, Quaternary faults change strike or appear to end, as if to avoid this concealed magnetic body and to pass along its southeast edge, suggesting that pre-existing crustal structure influenced younger faulting, as previously proposed based on gravity data.

Heavier Group 13 Metal(I) Heterocycles Stabilized by Sterically Demanding Diiminophosphinates: A Structurally Characterized Monomer-Dimer Pair For Gallium.

PubMed

Hawley, Andrew L; Ohlin, C André; Fohlmeister, Lea; Stasch, Andreas

2017-01-05

We have synthesized and characterized the monomeric diiminophosphinate-stabilized Group 13 metal(I) complexes [ Dip LE:], Dip L=Ph 2 P(NDip) 2 , Dip=2,6-iPr 2 C 6 H 3 ; E=Ga (1), In (2) and Tl (3). In addition, we structurally characterized the dimeric complex [( Dip LGa) 2 ], 1 2 . Similar synthetic attempts using Mes L=Ph 2 P(NMes) 2 , Mes=2,4,6-Me 3 C 6 H 2 afforded product mixtures from which the mixed oxidation state species [( Mes L) 3 Ga 4 I 3 ] 4 was isolated. [ Dip LGa:] 1 is converted with dry air to the gallium(III) oxide species [( Dip LGaO) 2 ] 5. Density Functional Theory studies on [ Dip LE:] and [( Dip LE) 2 ], E=Al-Tl, shed light on the bonding in these compounds and show that the newly formed E-E bonding interactions can be described as weak single σ-bond with no significant π-bonding contribution for E=Al, Ga. A large contribution to the dimer binding enthalpies results from London dispersion forces. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Intraplate deformation on north-dipping basement structures in the Northern Gawler Craton, Australia: reactivation of original terrane boundaries or later intra-cratonic thrusts?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baines, G.; Giles, D.; Betts, P. G.; Backé, G.

2007-12-01

Multiple intraplate orogenic events have deformed Neoproterozoic to Carboniferous sedimentary sequences that cover the Archean to Mesoproterozoic basement of the northern Gawler Craton, Australia. These intraplate orogenies reactivated north-dipping basement penetrating faults that are imaged on seismic reflection profiles. These north-dipping structures pre-date Neoproterozoic deposition but their relationships to significant linear magnetic and gravity anomalies that delineate unexposed Archean to Early Mesoproterozoic basement terranes are unclear. The north-dipping structures are either terrane boundaries that formed during continental amalgamation or later faults, which formed during a mid- to late-Mesoproterozoic transpressional orogeny and cross-cut the original lithological terrane boundaries. We model magnetic and gravity data to determine the 3D structure of the unexposed basement of the northern Gawler Craton. These models are constrained by drill hole and surface observations, seismic reflection profiles and petrophysical data, such that geologically reasonable models that can satisfy the data are limited. The basement structures revealed by this modelling approach constrain the origin and significance of the north-dipping structures that were active during the later intraplate Petermann, Delamerian and Alice Springs Orogenies. These results have bearing on which structures are likely to be active during present-day intraplate deformation in other areas, including, for example, current seismic activity along similar basement structures in the Adelaide "Geosyncline".

Foreland structure - Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming

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

Clark, D.M.

1996-06-01

Analysis of public drilling records from the AMOCO Beartooth Number 1 and 1 A sidetrack boreholes (SW1/4, SE1/4, Section 19, T.8 S., R.20 E., Carbon County, Montana) continues. Several additional inferences are made about this large foreland structure, and subsequent interpretation of the structural model of the northeast corner of the Beartooth Mountain Block and structural relationship with the Big Horn Basin. The structure is described as a large recumbent to sub-horizontal, synclinal fold with the overturned upper limb out diagonally by the Beartooth Thrust or Thrust Zone and a complex thrust fault zone below the Beartooth Thrust. The singlemore » recorded dip angle and direction of the Beartooth Thrust at depth was 19 degrees to the northwest(?). The dipmeter dip angle on the Beartooth Thrust, 19 degrees, validates foreland structural theory of decreasing dip angles at a vertical depth of 8,232 feet (2,509 m), in the Precambrian crystalline basement. The northwest dip direction may be attributable to secondary structural folding. The record of northwest, southeast, and southwest dip of bedding surfaces and faults in sections of the overturned upper limb, in both boreholes, suggests possible, less intense secondary folding, after thrust fault deformation. Given the overall geometry of this large foreland structure, there is little doubt that the average direction of maximum principal stress (sigma 1) was oriented in a northeast - southwest direction.« less

Proximity of the Seismogenic Dog Valley Fault to Stampede and Prosser Creek Dams Near Truckee, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cronin, V. S.; Strasser, M. P.

2017-12-01

The M 6.0 Truckee earthquake of 12 September 1966 caused a variety of surface effects observed over a large area, but the rupture plane of the causative fault did not displace the ground surface. The fault that generated the earthquake was named the Dog Valley fault [DVF], and its ground trace was assumed to be within a zone of subparallel drainage lineaments. The plunge and trend of the dip vector for the best fault-plane solution is 80° 134° with 0° rake, corresponding to a steep NE striking left-lateral strike-slip fault (Tsai and Aki, 1970). The Stampede Dam was completed along the trend of the Dog Valley fault in 1970, just four years after the Truckee earthquake, and impounds almost a quarter-million acre-feet of water. Failure of Stampede Dam would compromise Boca Dam downstream and pose a catastrophic threat to people along the Truckee River floodplain to Reno and beyond. Two 30 m long trenches excavated across a suspected DVF trend by the US Bureau of Reclamation in the 1980s did not find evidence of faulting (Hawkins et al., 1986). The surface trace of the DVF has remained unknown. We used the Seismo-Lineament Analysis Method [SLAM] augmented with a total least squares analysis of the focal locations of known or suspected aftershocks, along with focal mechanism data from well located events since 1966, to constrain the search for the DVF ground trace. Geomorphic analysis of recently collected aerial lidar data along this composite seismo-lineament has lead to a preliminary interpretation that the DVF might extend from the Prosser Creek Reservoir near 39.396°N 120.168°W through or immediately adjacent to the Stampede Dam structure. A second compound geomorphic lineament is sub-parallel to this line 1.6 km to the northwest, and might represent another strand of the DVF. As noted by Hawkins et al. (1986), human modification of the land surface complicates structural-geomorphic analysis. Fieldwork in 2016 took advantage of drought conditions to examine the exposed shoreface of Stampede Reservoir near the dam, and exposures of steeply dipping strike-slip faults were found.

Fractured-aquifer hydrogeology from geophysical logs: Brunswick group and Lockatong Formation, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morin, Roger H.; Senior, Lisa A.; Decker, Edward R.

2000-01-01

The Brunswick Group and the underlying Lockatong Formation are composed of lithified Mesozoic sediments that constitute part of the Newark Basin in southeastern Pennsylvania. These fractured rocks form an important regional aquifer that consists of gradational sequences of shale, siltstone, and sandstone, with fluid transport occurring primarily in fractures. An extensive suite of geophysical logs was obtained in seven wells located at the borough of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, in order to better characterize the areal hydrogeologic system and provide guidelines for the refinement of numerical ground water models. Six of the seven wells are approximately 120 m deep and the seventh extends to a depth of 335 m. Temperature, fluid conductivity, and flowmeter logs are used to locate zones of fluid exchange and to quantify transmissivities. Electrical resistivity and natural gamma logs together yield detailed stratigraphic information, and digital acoustic televiewer data provide magnetically oriented images of the borehole wall from which almost 900 fractures are identified.Analyses of the geophysical data indicate that the aquifer penetrated by the deep well can be separated into two distinct structural domains, which may, in turn, reflect different mechanical responses to basin extension by different sedimentary units:1. In the shallow zone (above 125 m), the dominant fracture population consists of gently dipping bedding plane partings that strike N46°E and dip to the northwest at about 11 degrees. Fluid flow is concentrated in the upper 80 m along these subhorizontal fractures, with transmissivities rapidly diminishing in magnitude with depth.2. The zone below 125 m marks the appearance of numerous high-angle fractures that are orthogonal to the bedding planes, striking parallel but dipping steeply southeast at 77 degrees.This secondary set of fractures is associated with a fairly thick (approximately 60 m) high-resistivity, low-transmissivity sandstone unit that is abruptly terminated by a thin shale bed at a depth of 190 m. This lower contact effectively delineates the aquifer's vertical extent at this location because no detectable evidence of ground water movement is found below it. Thus, fluid flow is controlled by fractures, but fracture type and orientation are related to lithology. Finally, a transient thermal-conduction model is successfully applied to simulate observed temperature logs, thereby confirming the effects of ground-surface warming that occurred in the area as a result of urbanization at the turn of the century. The systematic warming of the upper 120 m has increased the transmissivity of this aquifer by almost 10%, simply due to changes in fluid viscosity and density.

The Dauki Thrust Fault and the Shillong Anticline: An incipient plate boundary in NE India?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, E. K.; Seeber, L.; Steckler, M. S.; Akhter, S. H.; Mondal, D.; Lenhart, A.

2012-12-01

The Shillong Massif is a regional contractional structure developing across the Assam sliver of the Indian plate near the Eastern Syntaxis between the Himalaya and Burma arcs. Faulting associated with the Shillong Massif is a major source of earthquake hazard. The massif is a composite basement-cored asymmetric anticline and is 100km wide, >350km long and 1.8km high. The high relief southern limb preserves a Cretaceous-Paleocene passive margin sequence despite extreme rainfall while the gentler northern limb is devoid of sedimentary cover. This asymmetry suggests southward growth of the structure. The Dauki fault along the south limb builds this relief. From the south-verging structure, we infer a regional deeply-rooted north-dipping blind thrust fault. It strikes E-W and obliquely intersects the NE-SW margin of India, thus displaying three segments: Western, within continental India; Central, along the former passive margin; and Eastern, overridden by the west-verging Burma accretion system. We present findings from recent geologic fieldwork on the western and central segments. The broadly warped erosional surface of the massif defines a single anticline in the central segment, east of the intersection with the hinge zone of the continental margin buried by the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta. The south limb of the anticline forms a steep topographic front, but is even steeper structurally as defined by the Cretaceous-Eocene cover. Below it, Sylhet Trap Basalts intrude and cover Precambrian basement. Dikes, presumably parallel to the rifted margin, are also parallel to the front, suggesting thrust reactivation of rift-related faults. Less competent Neogene clastics are preserved only near the base of the mountain front. Drag folds in these rocks suggest north-vergence and a roof thrust above a blind thrust wedge floored by the Dauki thrust fault. West of the hinge zone, the contractional structure penetrates the Indian continent and bifurcates. After branching into the Dapsi Fault, the Dauki Fault continues westward as the erosion-deposition boundary combined with a belt of N-S shortening. The Dapsi thrust fault strikes WNW across the Shillong massif and dips NNE. It is mostly blind below a topographically expressed fold involving basement and passive-margin cover. Recent fieldwork has shown that the fault is better exposed in the west, where eventually Archean basement juxtaposes folded and steeply dipping fluvial sediment. Both Dauki and Dapsi faults probably continue beyond the Brahmaputra River, where extreme fluvial processes mask them. The area between the two faults is a gentle southward monocline with little or no shortening. Thus uplift of this area stems from slip on the Dauki thrust fault, not from pervasive shortening. The Burma foldbelt overrides the Shillong Plateau and is warped but continuous across the eastern segment of the Dauki fault. The Haflong-Naga thrust front north of the Dauki merges with the fold-thrust belt in the Sylhet basin to the south, despite >150km of differential advance due to much greater advance of the accretionary prism in the basin. Where the Dauki and Haflong-Naga thrusts cross, the thrust fronts are nearly parallel and opposite vergence. We trace a Dauki-related topographic front eastward across the Burma Range. This and other evidence suggest that the Dauki Fault continues below the foldbelt.

Crust-mantle boundaries in the Taiwan - Luzon arc-continent collision system determined from local earthquake tomography and layered Vp models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ustaszewski, K. M.; Wu, Y.; Suppe, J.; Huang, H.; Carena, S.; Chang, C.

2011-12-01

We performed 3D mapping of crust-mantle boundaries in the Taiwan-Luzon arc-continent collision zone using a local earthquake tomographic model, providing better insight into the mode of subduction polarity reversal. The mapped crust-mantle discontinuities include three tectonically distinct Mohos. Furthermore, a crust-mantle boundary marks the eastern limit of the Eurasian lower crust against the mantle of the Philippine Sea plate. It dips steeply to the east underneath eastern and southern Taiwan and steepens progressively towards north until it becomes vertical at 23.7°N. From there it continues northward in a slightly overturned orientation, where the limit of the tomographic model at the northern tip of the island prevents further mapping. In order to map several Moho discontinuities, we contoured a surface of constant Vp = 7.5 km s-1 constrained from local earthquake tomography and confined to regions with a minimum of 500 rays per tomography cell. Additional constraints for the Moho were derived from layered (1D) Vp models using P-wave arrivals of local earthquakes recorded at 52 seismic stations, employing a genetic algorithm. The Moho of the Eurasian and the Philippine Sea plates are topologically disconnected across the plate boundary. Beneath southern Taiwan, the Eurasian Moho dips to the E at 50-60°, following the orientation of the plate boundary and continuous with the Benioff zone. Towards north, the Eurasian Moho twists to become subvertical, again together with the plate boundary. At the same time, it steps westward into a more external position underneath the thrust belt, giving way to the north-dipping Philippine Sea plate. The Philippine Sea plate Moho shallows towards the surface along the Longitudinal Valley suture. It forms a synform-like crustal root with an axis parallel to the trend of geological units at surface and it is interpreted as the base of the magmatic Luzon arc. Towards the north, the crustal root deepens from 30 km to about 70 km underneath the Ryukyu trench. In northeasternmost Taiwan, a subhorizontal Moho lies at about 30-35 km depth and is topologically disconnected from the main eastward subducting Eurasian Moho. It lies above the north-dipping Philippine Sea slab and is interpreted to be a newly formed Moho established by delamination of the Eurasian mantle lithosphere and lowermost crust.

Laramide structure of the central Sangre de Cristo Mountains and adjacent Raton Basin, southern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindsey, D.A.

1998-01-01

Laramide structure of the central Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Culebra Range) is interpreted as a system of west-dipping, basement-involved thrusts and reverse faults. The Culebra thrust is the dominant structure in the central part of the range; it dips 30 -55?? west and brings Precambrian metamorphic base-ment rocks over unmetamorphosed Paleozoic rocks. East of the Culebra thrust, thrusts and reverse faults break the basement and overlying cover rocks into north-trending fault blocks; these boundary faults probably dip 40-60?? westward. The orientation of fault slickensides indicates oblique (northeast) slip on the Culebra thrust and dip-slip (ranging from eastward to northward) movement on adjacent faults. In sedimentary cover rocks, east-vergent anticlines overlie and merge with thrusts and reverse faults; these anticlines are interpreted as fault-propagation folds. Minor east-dipping thrusts and reverse faults (backthrusts) occur in both the hanging walls and footwalls of thrusts. The easternmost faults and folds of the Culebra Range form a continuous structural boundary between the Laramide Sangre de Cristo highland and the Raton Basin. Boundary structures consist of west-dipping frontal thrusts flanked on the basinward side by poorly exposed, east-dipping backthrusts. The backthrusts are interpreted to overlie structural wedges that have been emplaced above blind thrusts in the basin margin. West-dipping frontal thrusts and blind thrusts are interpreted to involve basement, but backthrusts are rooted in basin-margin cover rocks. At shallow structural levels where erosion has not exposed a frontal thrust, the structural boundary of the basin is represented by an anticline or monocline. Based on both regional and local stratigraphic evidence, Laramide deformation in the Culebra Range and accompanying synorogenic sedimentation in the western Raton Basin probably took place from latest Cretaceous through early Eocene time. The earliest evidence of uplift and erosion of a highland is the appearance of abundant feldspar in the Late Cretaceous Vermejo Formation. Above the Vermejo, unconformities overlain by conglomerate indicate continued thrusting and erosion of highlands from late Cretaceous (Raton) through Eocene (Cuchara) time. Eocene alluvial-fan conglomerates in the Cuchara Formation may represent erosion of the Culebra thrust block. Deposition in the Raton Basin probably shifted north from New Mexico to southern Colorado from Paleocene to Eocene time as movement on individual thrusts depressed adjacent segments of the basin.

Seismotectonics of the central segment of the Indonesian Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eva, C.; Cattaneo, M.; Merlanti, F.

1988-01-01

In this paper, a revision of seismicity affecting the central segment of the Indonesian island arc ranging between 110° and 126° E is presented. Using the areal and in-depth distribution of seismic activity, strain release maps and focal mechanisms, lateral changes in the Wadati-Benioff zone have been analyzed to determine possible boundaries between portions of lithosphere with different subduction geometries. The seismicity pattern indicates that the Sumbawa-Flores-Wetar sector shows different forms of behaviour with respect to the adjacent sectors. These include driving mechanism, inclination and continuity of the subducting slab and subduction features. This area therefore seems to be isolated from the Sunda and Banda arcs by two principal boundaries, these having a nearly N-S trend in the Bali region and with a nearly E-W trend in the region ranging between Wetar-Northern Timor and Tanibar. The first boundary, characterized by an absolute minimum of seismic activity at all ranges of depth, has been interpreted in terms of subduction of the Roo Rise aseismic bathymetric ridge. For the second boundary, dividing a northwardly steeply-dipping slab from an E-W subducting slab dipping with an angle of 30 ° -40 °, a tear in the upper part (depth less than 300 km) and a hinge fault system in the deepest part of the lithosphere, have been proposed. From the analysis of focal mechanisms of shallow earthquakes, it was inferred that the central part of the Indonesian Arc is subject to a vortex-shaped stress field centred on the Savu Basin. In this model, the compressive axes appear to rotate counterclockwise (from SW to NNE) in the Sumba-Sumbawa-Western Flores region and clockwise (from W to NNW) in the Timor-Eastern Flores zone. To interpret these features, on the basis of seismological evidence, a lateral discontinuity in the arc-trench system close to Sumba, a collision between Sumba and Sumbawa and a rotation towards the north-northeast of Sumba have been suggested. The proposed structural discontinuity, trending NW-SE, may represent a major transcurrent fault zone through which the Australian continental lithosphere comes into contact with the Indian oceanic lithosphere.

Imaging a vertical shaft from a tunnel using muons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonal, N.; Preston, L. A.; Dorsey, D. J.; Schwellenbach, D.; Green, A.; Smalley, D.

2015-12-01

We use muon technology to image a vertical shaft from a tunnel. The density of the materials through which cosmic ray muons pass influences the flux of muons because muons are more attenuated by higher density material. Additionally, muons can travel several kilometers allowing measurements through deep rock. Density maps are generated from muon flux measurements to locate subsurface features like tunnel structures and ore bodies. Additionally, muon data can be jointly inverted with other data such as gravity and seismic to produce higher quality earth models than produced from a single method. We collected several weeks of data in a tunnel to image a vertical shaft. The minimum length of rock between the vertical shaft and the detector is 120 meters and the diameter of the vertical shaft is 4.6 meters. The rock the muons traveled through consists of Tertiary age volcanic tuff and steeply dipping, small-displacement faults. Results will be presented for muon flux in the tunnel and Monte-Carlo simulations of this experiment. Simulations from both GEANT4 (Geometry And Tracking version 4) and MCNP6 (Monte-Carlo N-Particle version 6) models will be compared. The tunnel overburden from muon measurements is also estimated and compared with actual the overburden. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Seismotectonics of the Loma Prieta, California, region determined from three-dimensional Vp, Vp/Vs, and seismicity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eberhart-Phillips, D.; Michael, A.J.

1998-01-01

Three-dimensional Vp and Vp/Vs velocity models for the Loma Prieta region were developed from the inversion of local travel time data (21,925 P arrivals and 1,116 S arrivals) from earthquakes, refraction shots, and blasts recorded on 1700 stations from the Northern California Seismic Network and numerous portable seismograph deployments. The velocity and density models and microearthquake hypocenters reveal a complex structure that includes a San Andreas fault extending to the base of the seismogenic layer. A body with high Vp extends the length of the rupture and fills the 5 km wide volume between the Loma Prieta mainshock rupture and the San Andreas and Sargent faults. We suggest that this body controls both the pattern of background seismicity on the San Andreas and Sargent faults and the extent of rupture during the mainshock, thus explaining how the background seismicity outlined the along-strike and depth extent of the mainshock rupture on a different fault plane 5 km away. New aftershock focal mechanisms, based on three-dimensional ray tracing through the velocity model, support a heterogeneous postseismic stress field and can not resolve a uniform fault normal compression. The subvertical (or steeply dipping) San Andreas fault and the fault surfaces that ruptured in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake are both parts of the San Andreas fault zone and this section of the fault zone does not have a single type of characteristic event.

Kinematics of a large-scale intraplate extending lithosphere: The Basin-Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, R. B.; Eddington, P. K.

1985-01-01

Upper lithospheric structure of the Cordilleran Basin Range (B-R) is characterised by an E-W symmetry of velocity layering. The crust is 25 km thick on its eastern active margin, thickening to 30 km within the central portion and thinning to approx. 25 km on the west. Pn velocities of 7.8 to 7.9 km/s characterize the upper mantle low velocity cushion, 7.4 km/s to 7.5 km/s, occurs at a depth of approx. 25 km in the eastern B-R and underlies the area of active extension. An upper-crustal low-velocity zone in the eastern B-R shows a marked P-wave velocity inversion of 7% at depths of 7 to 10 km also in the area of greatest extension. The seismic velocity models for this region of intraplate extension suggest major differences from that of a normal, thermally underformed continental lithosphere. Interpretations of seismic reflection data demonstrate the presence of extensive low-angle reflections in the upper-crust of the eastern B-R at depths from near-surface to 7 to 10 km. These reflections have been interpreted to represent low-angle normal fault detachments or reactivated thrusts. Seismic profiles across steeply-dipping normal faults in unconsolidated sediments show reflections from both planar to downward flatening (listric) faults that in most cases do not penetrate the low-angle detachments. These faults are interpreted as late Cenozoic and cataclastic mylonitic zones of shear displacement.

Geologic map of the Fittstown 7.5΄ quadrangle, Pontotoc and Johnston Counties, Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lidke, David J.; Blome, Charles D.

2017-01-09

This 1:24,000-scale geologic map includes new geologic mapping as well as compilation and revision of previous geologic maps in the area. Field investigations were carried out during 2009–2011 that included mapping and investigations of the geology and hydrology of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma, west of the map area.The Fittstown quadrangle is in Pontotoc and Johnston Counties in south-central Oklahoma, which is in the northeastern part of the Arbuckle Mountains. The Arbuckle Mountains are composed of a thick sequence of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that overlie Lower Cambrian and Precambrian igneous rocks; these latter rocks are not exposed in the quadrangle. From Middle to Late Pennsylvanian time, the Arbuckle Mountains region was folded, faulted, and uplifted. Periods of erosion followed these Pennsylvanian mountain-building events, beveling this region and ultimately developing the current subtle topography that includes hills and incised uplands. The southern and northwestern parts of the Fittstown quadrangle are directly underlain by Lower Ordovician dolomite of the Arbuckle Group that has eroded to form an extensive, stream-incised upland containing the broad, gently southeast-plunging, Pennsylvanian-age Hunton anticline. The northeastern part of the map area is underlain by Middle Ordovician to Pennsylvanian limestone, shale, and sandstone units that predominantly dip northeast and form the northeastern limb of the Hunton anticline; this limb is cut by steeply dipping, northwest-southeast striking faults of the Franks fault zone. This limb and the Franks fault zone define the southwestern margin of the Franks graben, which is underlain by Pennsylvanian rocks in the northeast part of the map area.

Tectonic significance of magnetic and gravity data across northern California (lat. 39[degree]N. to lat. 41[degree]N. )

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

Griscom, A.; Roberts, C.W.; Halvorson, P.F.

1993-04-01

Aeromagnetic and isostatic residual gravity maps of an east-west transect across northern California show important tectonic features. A linear magnetic anomaly and west-sloping gradient extends over 300 km along the Franciscan-Great Valley contact (FGC) and across the Klamath Mountains province (KM) north to lat. 40[degree]45'N. The anomaly source lies at depths of 5--10 km beneath the KM and the FGC, and implies that the Franciscan complex of the Coast Ranges is thrust (and wedged) at least 80 km eastward beneath the KM to approximately long. 122[degree]40 minutes W. Calculations on a circular gravity low of [minus]50 mGal centered at themore » circular Bald Rock pluton (diameter about 15 km) in the Sierran foothills indicate a pluton thickness of about 15 km. The nearby Cascade and Merrimac plutons are located on the gradients of this gravity anomaly, have a relatively minor effect on it, and thus are interpreted to be thick (up to 5 km) laccolithic sills that emanate from the Bald Rock pluton, thinning away from it to a feather edge. Model studies indicate that the northeast contact of the Feather River periodotite body (FRPB) north of lat. 39[degree]40 minutes N. generally dips steeply northeast or vertical. The same contact south of this latitude dips east at angles of about 45[degree] to depths of at least 10 km. Magnetic patterns extending from the northern Sierra across the Cascades to the Klamath Mountains suggest that the FRPB may correlate with the Trinity ophiolite.« less

Steeply dipping heaving bedrock, Colorado: Part 1 - Heave features and physical geological framework

USGS Publications Warehouse

Noe, D.C.; Higgins, J.D.; Olsen, H.W.

2007-01-01

Differentially heaving bedrock has caused severe damage near the Denver metropolitan area. This paper describes heave-feature morphologies, the underlying bedrock framework, and their inter-relationship. The heave features are linear to curvilinear and may attain heights of 0.7 m (2.4 ft), widths of 58 m (190 ft), and lengths of 1,067 m (3,500 ft). They are nearly symmetrical to highly asymmetrical in cross section, with width-to-height ratios of 45:1 to 400:1, and most are oriented parallel with the mountain front. The bedrock consists of Mesozoic sedimentary formations having dip angles of 30 degrees to vertical to overturned. Mixed claystone-siltstone bedding sequences up to 36-m (118-ft) thick are common in the heave-prone areas, and interbeds of bentonite, limestone, or sandstone may be present. Highly fractured zones of weathered to variably weathered claystone extend to depths of 19.5 to 22.3 m (64 to 73 ft). Fracture spacings are 0.1 to 0.2 m (0.3 to 0.7 ft) in the weathered and variably weathered bedrock and up to 0.75 m (2.5 ft) in the underlying, unweathered bedrock. Curvilinear shear planes in the weathered claystone show thrust or reverse offsets up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft). Three associations between heave-feature morphologies and the geological framework are recognized: (1) Linear, symmetrical to asymmetrical heaves are associated with primary bedding composition changes. (2) Linear, highly asymmetrical heaves are associated with shear planes along bedding. (3) Curvi-linear, highly asymmetrical heaves are associated with bedding-oblique shear planes.

Implications of a localized zone of seismic activity near the Inner Piedmont-Blue Ridge boundary

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

Douglas, S.; Powell, C.

1994-03-01

A small but distinct cluster of earthquake activity is located in Henderson County, NC, near the boundary of the Inner Piedmont and Blue Ridge physiographic provinces. Over twenty events have occurred within the cluster since 1776 and four had body-wave magnitudes exceeding 3.0. Average focal depth for instrumentally recorded events is 7.7 km. Epicenters plot within the Inner Piedmont, roughly 13 km from the surface expression of the Brevard fault zone. The reason for sustained earthquake activity in Henderson County is not known but the close spatial association of the events with the Brevard fault suggests a causal relationship. Themore » Brevard zone dips steeply to the SE and the events could be associated with the fault at depth. An even more intriguing possibility is that the events are associated with the intersection of the Brevard zone and the decollemont; this possibility is compatible with available information concerning the depth to the decollemont and the dip on the Brevard zone. An association of seismic activity with the Brevard zone at depth is supported by the presence of another small cluster of activity located in Rutherford County, NC. This cluster is located in the Inner Piedmont, roughly 30 km NE of the Henderson cluster and 16 km from the Brevard fault zone. Association of seismic activity with known faults is very rare in the eastern US and has implications for tectonic models and hazard evaluation. Additional research must be conducted to determine the feasibility that activity is associated with the Brevard zone.« less

The regional structural setting of the 2008 Wells earthquake and Town Creek Flat Basin: implications for the Wells earthquake fault and adjacent structures

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henry, Christopher S.; Colgan, Joseph P.

2011-01-01

The 2008 Wells earthquake occurred on a northeast-striking, southeast-dipping fault that is clearly delineated by the aftershock swarm to a depth of 10-12 km below sea level. However, Cenozoic rocks and structures around Wells primarily record east-west extension along north- to north-northeast-striking, west-dipping normal faults that formed during the middle Miocene. These faults are responsible for the strong eastward tilt of most basins and ranges in the area, including the Town Creek Flat basin (the location of the earthquake) and the adjacent Snake Mountains and western Windermere Hills. These older west-dipping faults are locally overprinted by a younger generation of east-dipping, high-angle normal faults that formed as early as the late Miocene and have remained active into the Quaternary. The most prominent of these east-dipping faults is the set of en-échelon, north-striking faults that bounds the east sides of the Ruby Mountains, East Humboldt Range, and Clover Hill (about 5 km southwest of Wells). The northeastern-most of these faults, the Clover Hill fault, projects northward along strike toward the Snake Mountains and the approximately located surface projection of the Wells earthquake fault as defined by aftershock locations. The Clover Hill fault also projects toward a previously unrecognized, east-facing Quaternary fault scarp and line of springs that appear to mark a significant east-dipping normal fault along the western edge of Town Creek Flat. Both western and eastern projections may be northern continuations of the Clover Hill fault. The Wells earthquake occurred along this east-dipping fault system. Two possible alternatives to rupture of a northern continuation of the Clover Hill fault are that the earthquake fault (1) is antithetic to an active west-dipping fault or (2) reactivated a Mesozoic thrust fault that dips east as a result of tilting by the west-dipping faults along the west side of the Snake Mountains. Both alternatives are precluded by the depths of the earthquake and aftershocks, about 8 km and as deep as 12 km, respectively. These depths are below where an antithetic fault would intersect any main fault, and a tilted, formerly shallow and sub-horizontal thrust fault would not extend to depths of more than about 5–6 km. The east-dipping, high-angle, earthquake fault cuts older west-dipping faults rather than reactivating them, highlighting a change in the structural style of Basin and Range extension in this region from closely-spaced, west-dipping faults that rotated significantly during slip and accommodated large-magnitude extension, to widely-spaced, high-angle faults that accommodate much less total strain over a long time span.

Superimposed deformation in seconds: breccias from the impact structure at Kentland, Indiana (USA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjørnerud, M. G.

1998-05-01

Breccias from the central uplift at the Kentland, Indiana impact structure have outcrop and microscopic characteristics that give insight into events that may occur in a carbonate-dominated sedimentary sequence in the moments following hypervelocity impact. Three distinct types of brecciated rock bodies — fault breccias, breccia lenses, and breccia dikes — suggest multiple mechanisms of fragmentation. The fault breccias occur along steeply dipping faults that coincide with compositional discontinuities in the stratigraphic succession. The breccia lenses and dikes are less localized in occurrence and show no systematic spatial distribution or orientation. The fault breccias and breccia lenses show no consistent cross-cutting relationships, but both are transected by the breccia dikes. Textural analysis reveals significant differences in particle size distributions for the different breccias. The fault breccias are typically monomict, coarsest and least uniform in grain size, and yield the highest power-law exponent (fractal dimension) in plots of particle size vs. frequency. The polymict dike filling is finest and most uniform in grain size, has the lowest power-law exponent, and is locally laminated and size-sorted. SEM images of the dike-filling breccia show that fragmentation occurred to the scale of microns. Material within the breccia lenses has textural characteristics intermediate between the other two types, but the irregular morphology of these bodies suggests a mechanism of formation different from that of either of the other breccia categories. The breccia lenses and dikes both have sub-mm-scale spheroidal vugs that may have been formed by carbon dioxide bubbles released during sudden devolatilization of the carbonate country rock. Collectively, these observations shed light on the processes that occur during the excavation and modification phases of crater formation in carbonate strata — heterogeneous, polyphase, multiscale deformation accomplished over a time interval of seconds.

Tectonic evolution of the Gaoua region, Burkina Faso: Implications for mineralization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baratoux, L.; Metelka, V.; Naba, S.; Ouiya, P.; Siebenaller, L.; Jessell, M. W.; Naré, A.; Salvi, S.; Béziat, D.; Franceschi, G.

2015-12-01

The interpretation of high-resolution airborne geophysical data integrated with field structural and lithological observations were employed in the creation of a litho-structural framework for the Gaoua region, Burkina Faso. The granite-greenstone domain of Paleoproterozoic age was affected by multiple deformation and mineralization events. The early tectonic phase is characterized by the emplacement of voluminous tholeiitic and calc-alkaline lavas, probably in a volcanic arc setting. The copper mineralization in Gongondy, Dienemera and Mt Biri is concentrated in a diorite/andesite breccia, and is interpreted as porphyry-copper style formed at an early stage of the evolution of the area. Evidence for the first deformation event D1Ga corresponding to N-S shortening was only found in the E-W trending mafic unit bordering the Gaoua batholith to the south. A second deformation phase D2Ga occurred under greenschist facies conditions and lead to a development of more or less penetrative metamorphic foliation and its subsequent folding under overall E-W compression. At later stages, the D2Ga switched to a transcurrent regime characterized by intense N-S to NW-trending steeply dipping shear zones. The first significant gold mineralization event is related to this transcurrent tectonic phase. During subsequent D3Ga, intense network of brittle to brittle-ductile NW and NE faults developed. Economic gold concentrations are attributed to the D3Ga event and are associated with the remobilization of early disseminated low grade gold concentrations. Significant deposits in the area are Nassara, Gomblora, Batié West and Kampti. The last deformation event D4Ga resulted in E-W trending thrust faults and crenulation cleavage planes, under overall N-S compression. No mineralization events related to this stage have been seen.

Stratigraphy and structure of the Miners Mountain area, Wayne County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luedke, Robert G.

1953-01-01

The Miners Mountain area includes about 85 square miles in Wayne County, south-central Utah. The area is semiarid and characterized by cliffs and deep canyons. Formations range in age from Permian to Upper Jurassic and have an aggregate thickness of about 3,500 feet. Permian formations are the buff Coconino sandstone and the overlying white, limy, shert-containing Kaibab limestone. Unconformably overlying the Kaihab is the lower Triassic Moenkopi formation of reddish-brown and yellow mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone; it contains the Sinbad limestone member (?) in the lower part. Thin, lenticular Shinarump conglomerate unconformably overlies the Moenkopi, but grades upward into the Upper Triassic Chinle formation of variegated mudstone with some interbedded sandstone and limestone lenses. Uncomformably overlying the Chinle are the Wingate sandstone, Kayenta formation, and Navajo sandstone of the Jurassic (?) Glen Canyon group, which consist of red to white sandstone. Only the lower part of the Carmel formation of the Upper Jurassic San Rafael group is exposed in the area; it consists of variegated siltstone, sandstone, limestone, and gypsum. The conspicuous structural feature in the area is the Teasdale anticline which trends northwest, is about 14 miles long, and is asymmetric with a steeper west flank. Bounding the anticline on the northeast and east is the Capitol Reef monocline, the northern part of the Waterpocket Fold. Strata in the area are broken by steeply-dipping normal faults with small displacements, except for the Teasdale fault which has a maximum displacement of over 1,000 feet. Jointing is prominent in some formations. The major orogenic movement in the area is believed to be late Upper Cretaceous to early Tertiary. Epeirogenic uplift occurred intermittently throughout Tertiary and perhaps Quaternary time.

Growth of a Structure Connecting the 2010 M 7.2 El Mayor - Cucapah Rupture with the Elsinore Faul

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donnellan, A.; Parker, J. W.

2015-12-01

The M 7.2 El Mayor - Cucapah earthquake occurred on 4 April 2010 in the northern part of Baja, Mexico. The rupture extended about 120 km from near the northern tip of the Gulf of California to the US - Mexican border south of the Elsinore fault zone. Most of the aftershocks occurred within days of the main event. On 14 June 2010 a M 5.7 late aftershock occurred 8 km southeast of Ocotillo, CA and is the largest aftershock in the sequence. The right-lateral event occurred in a cluster of aftershocks and was followed by its own aftershock sequence. UAVSAR data were collected for a swath covering the aftershock on 13 April, 2010 just after the El Mayor - Cucapah earthquake and before the earthquake on 21 October 2009. The line was reflown 1 July 2010 after the M 5.7 14 June 2010 aftershock. Data have been continued to be collected semi yearly to yearly since then. Repeat Pass Interferomety (RPI) products spanning the aftershock show the growth of a lineament that with an azimuth of 121.5° or a strike of -58.5°. The interferograms suggest that a stepover develops following the earthquake. The epicenter of the M 5.7 aftershock is proximal to the linear discontinuity in the postseismic interferogram and the mechanism of the event is consistent with slip on this stepover. Inversions for slip on the northeast linear structure that steps west of the mainshock rupture yield a moment magnitude ranging from 5.5 - 5.8, which is consistent with the magnitude of the aftershock. Slip occurs at a depth of 2-10 km on a steeply dipping fault.

Hydrogeology, Aquifer Geochemistry, and Ground-Water Quality in Morgan County, West Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boughton, Carol J.; McCoy, Kurt J.

2006-01-01

Private and public wells throughout Morgan County, W. Va., were tested to determine aquifer hydraulic, geochemical, and water-quality characteristics. The entire study area is located in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, a region of complex geologic structure and lithology. Aquifers in the study area are characterized by thin to thick bedded formations with interbedding among the various limestones, shales, sandstones, and siltstones that are folded into a series of steeply dipping north-south trending anticlines and synclines. Zones of ground-water production typically consist of one to two fracture sets, with little to no production from unfractured bedrock matrix. Measurements of transmissivity range from 2 to 1,490 feet squared per day, with the larger transmissivities occurring near bedding contacts and in zones with cross-faulting or jointing. Ground water flows from recharge areas in the uplands to local drainages and to deeper flow systems that appear to be controlled by regional geologic structure. The overall flow direction is from south to north within the study area. Ground water within the study area is predominantly a calcium-bicarbonate type water reflecting contact with carbonate rocks. Sodium-bicarbonate and calcium-magnesium-sulfate end-members also exist, with many samples exhibiting mixing, which may be the result of flow between the differing rock types or within units containing both carbonate rocks and shales. Values of water-quality characteristics that were greater than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standards included radon-222, pH, turbidity, iron, manganese, aluminum, and total- and fecal-coliform and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. Concentrations of radon-222 were detected in all samples from all units, with the largest concentrations (1,330 and 2,170 picocuries per liter) from the Clinton Formation.

Anatomy of a Plate Boundary at Shallow Crustal Levels: a Composite Section from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, N. C.; Toy, V. G.; Boulton, C. J.; Carpenter, B. M.

2010-12-01

New Zealand's Alpine Fault is mostly a moderately SE-dipping dextral reverse plate boundary structure, but at its southern end, strike-slip-normal motion is indicated by offset of recent surfaces, juxtaposition of sediments, and both brittle and ductile shear sense indicators. At the location of uplift polarity reversal fault rocks exhumed from both the hangingwall Pacific and footwall Australian Plates are juxtaposed, offering a remarkably complete cross section of the plate boundary at shallow crustal levels. We describe Alpine Fault damage zone and fault core structures overprinted on Pacific and Australian plate mylonites of a variety of compositions, in a fault-strike perpendicular composite section spanning the reversal in dip-slip polarity. The damage zone is asymmetric; on the Australian Plate 160m of quartzose paragneiss-derived mylonites are overprinted by brittle faults and fractures that increase in density towards the principal slip surface (PSS). This damage zone fabric consists of 1-10m-spaced, moderately to steeply-dipping, 1-20cm-thick gouge-filled faults, overprinted on and sub-parallel to a mylonitic foliation sub-parallel to the PSS. On the Pacific Plate, only 40m of the 330m section of volcaniclastic-derived mylonites have brittle damage in the form of unhealed fractures and faults, as well as a pervasive greenschist facies hydrothermal alteration absent in the footwall. These damage-related structures comprise a network of small-offset faults and fractures with increasing density and intensity towards the PSS. The active Pacific Plate fault core is composed of ~1m of cataclasite grading into folded protocataclasite that is less folded and fractured with increasing distance from the PSS. The active Australian Plate fault core is <1.5m wide and consists of 3 distinct foliated clay gouges, as well as a 4cm thick brittle ultracataclasite immediately adjacent to the active PSS. The Australian Plate foliated clay gouge contains stringers of quartz that become less continuous and more sigmoidal toward the PSS, indicating a strain gradient across the gouge zone. Gouge textures are consistent with deformation by pressure solution. Intact wafers from one of the gouges, experimentally -sheared in a biaxial configuration under true-triaxial loading at σn’= 31MPa and Pf = 10MPa, yielded a friction coefficient, μss = 0.32 and displayed velocity strengthening behavior. No significant re-strengthening was observed during hold periods of slide-hold tests. Well-cemented glacial till (~8000 years old), which caps many outcrops, is a marker that shows that the damage zone is not active in the near-surface, but most of the fault core is. The active near-surface damage zone here is <40m wide and the active fault core is <2.5m wide. Both overprint a much wider, inactive damage zone. The combination of rheologically-weak Australian Plate fault rocks with surface rupture traces indicates distinctly different coseismic and interseismic behaviors along the southern strike-slip-normal segment of the Alpine Fault.

Why did the 1756 Tjellefonna rockslide occur? A back-analysis of the largest historic rockslide in Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandøy, Gro; Oppikofer, Thierry; Nilsen, Bjørn

2017-07-01

On 22 February 1756 the largest historically recorded rockslide in Norway took place at Tjelle in the Langfjord (Western Norway). The rockslide created three displacement waves of up to 50 m in height that caused 32 casualties and destroyed most houses and boats along the shores of the Langfjord. The trigger and contributing factors leading to the Tjellefonna rockslide are largely unknown and even seismic triggering has previously been suggested. This study provides a thorough back-analysis of the Tjellefonna rockslide using detailed geomorphological, engineering geological and tectonic field mapping in combination with topographic reconstructions, bathymetry analysis, volume estimations and numerical slope stability analysis. The back-scarp and eastern flank of the Tjellefonna scar form several tens of meter high rock walls, while the basal failure surface and other parts of the scar are covered by rock avalanche debris that extend from the back-scarp down to the bottom of the Langfjord. The rockslide occurred in granodioritic gneisses with variably developed metamorphic foliation that is folded and strike parallel to the fjord. Two prominent fault zones are present in close proximity to the Tjellefonna scar; one is steeply SE-dipping (Tjelle fault), while the other one is sub-horizontal to shallow SE-dipping (Ritlehamran fault). Both fault zones are linked to the Møre-Trøndelag Fault Complex, with one of its branches forming the Langfjord lineament and probably also the faults at Tjellefonna. Additionally, there are four persistent joint sets that together with the metamorphic foliation and the Tjelle fault define the back-scarp of the rockslide and give a fracturing of the rock mass corresponding to a Geological Strength Index (GSI) of 45-55. The GSI decreases significantly to 10-20 in the fault zones, which form distinct weakness zones in the rock slope. Volume estimates based on a reconstruction of the ante-rockslide topography range from 9.3 to 10.4 million m3, which is lower than previous volume estimates (12-15 million m3). Large portions of the failed rock mass remained on land and only approximately 3.9 million m3 entered the fjord. The observed discontinuities in the rock mass at Tjellefonna do not allow for a simple kinematic failure mechanism due to the lack of moderately SE-dipping structures. The basal failure surface was most likely not composed of a single structure, but of a complex interplay of fault zones, metamorphic foliation, joints and broken rock bridges. Numerical slope stability modelling highlights that weak fault zones are essential for the development of the failure surface over a long time. This progressive failure was likely aided by low- to medium-magnitude earthquakes that are frequent in the region. Numerical slope stability modelling and historical accounts suggest, however, that heavy, long-lasting rainfall was the triggering factor for the 1756 Tjellefonna rockslide rather than an earthquake.

3D Fault Network of the Murchison Domain, Yilgarn Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdie, Ruth; Gessner, Klaus

2014-05-01

The architecture of Archean granite-greenstone terranes is often controlled by networks of 10 km to 100 km-scale shear zones that record displacement under amphibolite facies to greenschist facies metamorphic conditions. The geometry of such crustal scale 'fault networks' has been shown to be highly relevant to understand the tectonic and metamorphic history of granite-greenstone terranes, as well as the availability of structural controlled fluid pathways related to magmatic and hydrothermal mineralization. The Neoarchean Yilgarn Craton and the Proterozoic orogens around its margins constitute one of Earth's greatest mineral treasure troves, including iron, gold, copper and nickel mineral deposits. Whereas the Yilgarn Craton is one of the best studied Archean cratons, its enormous size and limited outcrop are detrimental to the better understanding of what controls the distribution of these vast resources and what geodynamic processes were involved the tectonic assembly of this part of the Australian continent. Here we present a network of the major faults of the NW Yilgarn Craton between the Yalgar Fault, Murchison's NW contact with the Narryer Terrane to the Ida Fault, its boundary with the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane. The model has been constructed from various geophysical and geological data, including potential field grids, Geological Survey of Western Australia map sheets, seismic reflection surveys and magnetotelluric traverses. The northern extremity of the modelled area is bounded by the Proterozoic cover and the southern limit has been arbitrarily chosen to include various greenstone belts. In the west, the major faults in the upper crust, such as the Carbar and Chundaloo Shear Zones, dip steeply towards the west and then flatten off at depth. They form complex branching fault systems that bound the greenstone belts in a series of stacked faults. East of the Ida, the far east of the model, the faults have been integrated with Geoscience Australia's pmd*CRC Eastern Goldfields model. In the central portion, the major faults such as the Youanmi and Wattle Creek, dip to the east and can be followed into the fabric of the Yarraquin Seismic Province. The Wattle Creek Shear Zone in particular can be traced on all three of the Youanmi seismic lines. The greenstones are cradled between these major faults and antithetic westward dipping subsidiary faults such as the Edale Shear Zone. While the Ida Fault cannot be located with great confidence, the slight drop in Moho depth toward the east and the overall change of seismic texture delineate the Youanmi-Eastern Goldfields boundary. The Lawler's Anticline, presumably located in the hanging wall of the Ida Fault, again changes the style of faulting with the Lawler's tonalite forming the core of a 10 km-scale antiform. The fault network presented here is a milestone to a craton-wide integrated structural model and will hopefully contribute to provide a better spatial context for geological, geochemical and geophysical data in our quest to understand the tectonics and mineral potential of the Yilgarn craton.

A Combined Structural Geology and GIS Approach to Rockslides: an Example from Western Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, I.; Derron, M. H.; Jaboyedoff, M.

2004-12-01

The western coast of Norway presents an ideal area to study active rockslide development due to the recent post-glacial uplift. This study presents the preliminary results of a combined GIS-structural geology approach to the examination of a potentially catastrophic rockslide in the Romsdalen area of western Norway, a mountainous area, despite being well populated, that is particularly vulnerable to rockslides. Svarttinden is a 1600m high mountain lying on a 12-1300m plateau 1km from the southern edge of the Romsdalen Valley. Recent landslide activity from the mountain side under investigation is evinced by the presence of a debris fan, which has been previously dated at c.5000BP. The rockslide removed in the region of 5 millions m3 of rock material. The purpose of this study was to determine the cause of the previous slide and evaluate the likelihood of further rockslides from the same mountainside by applying GIS and structural geology. Preliminary investigations have shown that the mountain is dissected by a north-south trending, steeply-dipping brittle fault. This has acted as a transfer fault, delimiting the western extent of the palaeo-rockslide. The palaeo-rockslide failed along a single, flat-lying (30-35°) down-slop dipping brittle fault. Remnants of a fault breccia up to 20cm are found on this surface. Evidence exists for shearing on this structure and we consider this a major fault plane (MFP), along which the rockslide has occurred. SEM examination of the microstructures present in this fault gouge will be presented. The western half of this mountain, which lies to the east of the major north-south transfer fault, is underlain by the same low-angle fault gouge. The volume of the rock mass above this MFP is approximately 7 millions m3. Several other low-angle structures are present above the MFP, further weakening the rockmass. Up to several metres of down-slope displacement is observed on these structures. High angle tension fractures are abundant in the mountainside above the MFP, detaching down onto it. These structures increase in frequency and displacement downslope. The low-angle fault planes lie sub-parallel to a local, shallowly north-dipping foliation in the gneissic host-rocks and appear to be localized along fold discontinuities within the gneisses. These folds appear to have acted as a significant 'locking mechanism' for movement along the failure planes as evidence is seen for fault tip-zones buttressing against the high angle southern limbs of these folds and reverse high angle fault structures in the fold axial planes, representing local vertical extension as opposed to downslope shearing. Local ramp structures in the MFP led to the increased frequency of high-angle tension fractures. This suggests that the geometry of the MFP is probably a significant factor in changing the degree of fracturing of the potential rockslide rockmass and therefore may have an affect on the continuity of the rockmass prior to failure. To estimate the volume above the MFP a potential sliding surface was inferred in 3D from field observations and the concept of "sloping local base level" (SLBL). Using a digital terrain model, the SLBL permits to define a surface above which the rocks are assumed erodible (Jaboyedoff 2004). Then the spatial distribution of the shear stress on the sliding plane and the energy of propagation of blocks can be estimated and introduced in a GIS for hazards assessment and zoning. References Jaboyedoff, M., Baillifard, F., Couture, R., Locat, J., and Locat, P. 2004: Toward preliminary hazard assessment using DEM topographic analysis and simple mechanic modeling.

Heterogeneous Flow of an Extruded granitic dome in the Bronson Hill Terrane, Massachusetts, USA: Evidence for Oblique Convergence and Indentation, and the Alleghanian Orogeny

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massey, M. A.; Moecher, D. P.

2006-12-01

One widely cited model for Appalachian orogenesis in New England invokes the tripartite Alpine sequence of nappe folding/thrusting, back-folding, and doming to explain regional and outcrop-scale structural relationships. Recent work suggests lateral extrusion driven by oblique convergence as an important mechanism responsible for structures, fabrics, and mineral assemblages in the Bronson Hill terrane (BHT) of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Just as the Alpine model has evolved to incorporate elements of lateral extrusion, and syn- to post-orogenic collapse, we propose similar revisions for southern New England. Detailed mapping and structural analysis of the W- to WNW-dipping BHT in south-central MA reveals: (1) a sub-vertical, transpressional dextral thrust high strain zone (Bonemill/Conant Brook shear zone) bounding the eastern margin of the Monson granitic gneiss dome (MG) with two modes of Sil+Qtz+Fs lineations plunging WNW and SSW; (2) a moderate to steeply-dipping sinistral high strain zone bounding the western margin of the MG with WNW- and SSW-plunging Ms+Qtz+Grt lineations; (3) an apparently random arrangement of gneiss, s and s-l tectonites, protomylonites, and mylonites composing the body of the MG, also containing WNW and SSW Qtz+Fs lineations. Extrapolation to a regional scale from central CT to northern MA indicates: (1) a gradual increase in s-l and l-s tectonites to the north from predominantly s-tectonites in central CT; (2) transition of lineation plunge from NW in central CT to bimodal WNW and SSW distribution to the north; (3) amphibolite facies metamorphism was pre- to synkinematic with respect to deformation. We propose that these observations may be accounted for by transpression and extrusion, rather than discreet phases of deformation invoked by the traditional three-stage model. Synchronous operation of high strain zones bounding the MG accommodated northward orogen-parallel extrusion in addition to a component of orogen-normal shortening and sub-vertical extrusion, thus constituting bulk heterogeneous flow. Existing geochronology/thermochronology constrains deformation to the late Paleozoic Alleghanian orogeny. The consistency in timing and similarity in style with deformation associated with the Pelham dome demonstrate the significance of orogen-parallel flow in the BHT. We go further by presenting a working late Paleozoic tectonic model incorporating data from this study with existing contributions from other workers in southern New England. This model involves oblique convergence and underthrusting of Avalon in the late Mississippian/early Pennsylvanian continuing into and throughout most of the Permian. Synorogenic compressional and extensional structures from upper amphibolite to greenschist facies are explained by progressive deformation, including extrusion, orogenic collapse, and wedging, throughout an evolving metamorphic gradient.

Influence of geologic setting on ground-water availability in the Lawrenceville area, Gwinnett County, Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Lester J.; Kath, Randy L.; Crawford, Thomas J.; Chapman, Melinda J.

2005-01-01

Obtaining large quantities of ground water needed for municipal and industrial supply in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge physiographic provinces can be challenging because of the complex geology and the typically low primary permeability of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Areas of enhanced secondary permeability in the bedrock do occur, however, and 'high-yield' wells are not uncommon, particularly where careful site-selection techniques are used prior to test drilling. The U.S. Geological Survey - in cooperation with the City of Lawrenceville, Georgia - conducted this study from 2000 to 2002 to learn more about how different geologic settings influence the availability of ground water in igneous and metamorphic bedrock with the expectation that this knowledge could be used to help identify additional water resources in the area. In compositionally layered-rock settings, wells derive water almost exclusively from lithologically and structurally controlled water-bearing zones formed parallel to foliation and compositional layering. These high-permeability, water-bearing zones - termed foliation-parallel parting systems -combined with high-angle joint systems, are the primary control for the high-yield wells drilled in the Lawrenceville area; yields range from 100 to several hundred gallons per minute (gal/min). Near Lawrenceville, areas with high ground-water yield are present in sequences of amphibolite, biotite gneiss, and button schist where the structural attitude of the rocks is gently dipping, in areas characterized by abundant jointing, and in topographic settings with a continuous source of recharge along these structures. In massive-rock settings, wells derive water mostly from joint systems, although foliation-parallel parting systems also may be important. Wells deriving water primarily from steeply-dipping joint systems typically have low yields ranging from 1 to 5 gal/min. Joint systems in massive-rock settings can be identified and characterized by using many of the methods described in this report. Geologic mapping was the primary method used to determine the distribution, variability, and relative concentrations (intensity) of joint systems. In the subsurface, joints were characterized by taking orientation measurements in the open boreholes of wells using acoustic and/or optical televiewers. In this investigation, the only practical approach found for locating areas of high ground-water potential was first through detailed geologic mapping followed by test drilling, borehole geophysical logging, and aquifer testing. Geologic methods help characterize both large- and small-scale structures and other lithologic and stratigraphic features that influence development of increased secondary permeability in the bedrock. The rock types, discontinuities, depth of weathering, topographic position, and recharge potential - which were the principal factors assessed through detailed geologic mapping - must be evaluated carefully, in relation to one another, to assess the ground-water potential in a given area.

Identifying Faults Associated with the 2001 Avoca Induced(?) Seismicity Sequence of Western New York State Using Potential Field Wavelets.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horowitz, F. G.; Ebinger, C.; Jordan, T. E.

2017-12-01

Results from recent DOE and USGS sponsored projects in the (intraplate) northeastern portions of the US and southeastern portions of Canada have identified locations of steeply dipping structures - many previously unknown - from a Poisson wavelet multiscale edge ('worm') analysis of gravity and magnetic fields. The Avoca sequence of induced(?) seismicity in western New York state occurred during January and February of 2001. The Avoca earthquake sequence is associated with industrial hydraulic fracturing activity "related to a proposed natural gas storage facility near Avoca to be constructed by solution mining" (Kim, 2001). The main Avoca event was a felt Mb = 3.2 earthquake on Feb. 3, 2001 recorded by the Lamont Cooperative Seismic Network. Earlier, smaller events were located by the Canadian Geological Survey's seismic network north of the Canadian border - implying that the event locations might be biased because they occurred off the southern edge of the array. Some of these events were also felt locally, according to local newspaper reports. By plotting the location of the seismic events and that of the injection well - reported via it's API number - we find a strong correlation with structures detected via our potential field worms. The injection occurred near a NE-SW striking structure that was not activated. All but one of the earthquakes occurred about 5 km north of the injection well on or nearby to an E-W striking structure that appears to intersect the NE-SW structure. The final, small (MN=2.2) earthquake was located on a different complex structure about 10 km north of the other events. We suggest that potential field methods such as ours might be appropriate to locating structures of concern for induced seismic activity in association with industrial activity. Reference: Kim, W.-Y. (2001). The Lamont cooperative seismic network and the national seismic system: Earthquake hazard studies in the northeastern United States. Tech. Rep. 98-01, Lamont Cooperative Seismic Network, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY.

Tilted middle Tertiary ash-flow calderas and subjacent granitic plutons, southern Stillwater Range, Nevada: cross sections of an Oligocene igneous center

USGS Publications Warehouse

John, D.A.

1995-01-01

Steeply tilted late Oligocene caldera systems in the Stillwater caldera complex record a number of unusual features including extreme thickness of caldera-related deposits, lack of evidence for structural doming of the calderas and preservation of vertical compositional zoning in the plutonic rocks. The Stillwater caldera complex comprises three partly overlapping ash-flow calderas and subjacent plutonic rocks that were steeply tilted during early Miocene extension. The Job Canyon caldera, the oldest (ca. 29-28 Ma) caldera, consists of two structural blocks. The 25 to 23 Ma Poco Canyon and Elevenmile Canyon calderas and underlying Freeman Creek pluton overlap in time and space with each other. Caldera collapse occurred mostly along subvertical ring-fracture faults that penetrated to depths of >5 km and were repeatedly active during eruption of ash-flow tuffs. The calderas collapsed as large piston-like blocks, and there is no evidence for chaotic collapse. Preserved parts of caldera floors are relatively flat surfaces several kilometers across. -from Author

Geologic map of the Weka Dur gold deposit, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, modified from the 1967 original map compilation of M.P. Guguev and others

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peters, Stephen G.; Stettner, Will R.; Masonic, Linda M.

2014-01-01

The Weka Dur gold deposit lies in a cluster of other gold deposits in Badakhshan Province (Ragh district), such as the Kadar, Nesheb Dur, and Rishaw gold occurrences. These gold occurrences lie within a zone of late Hercynian folding and are most likely related to fluids that originated from orogenic processes. The Weka Dur deposit is the largest recorded gold occurrence in Afghanistan and is hosted in Proterozoic mica schist and amphibolite that is intruded by diabase dikes and other intrusive rocks. The tabular orebody is 350 meters (m) long and 2 m wide and can be traced downdip for 110 m. Mineralization consists of ochreous, brecciated schists containing high gold concentrations along gently and steeply dipping fissures. The brecciated rocks grade to 46.7 grams per ton (g/t) silver and contain arsenopyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and scheelite. Trenches and adits were constructed, mapped, and sampled during the 1960s. Calculated resources are 958.3 kilograms of gold, averaging 4.1 g/t gold.

Field survey of earthquake effects from the magnitude 4.0 southern Maine earthquake of October 16, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amy L. Radakovich,; Alex J. Fergusen,; Boatwright, John

2016-06-02

The magnitude 4.0 earthquake that occurred on October 16, 2012, near Hollis Center and Waterboro in southwestern Maine surprised and startled local residents but caused only minor damage. A two-person U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team was sent to Maine to conduct an intensity survey and document the damage. The only damage we observed was the failure of a chimney and plaster cracks in two buildings in East and North Waterboro, 6 kilometers (km) west of the epicenter. We photographed the damage and interviewed residents to determine the intensity distribution in the epicentral area. The damage and shaking reports are consistent with a maximum Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) of 5–6 for an area 1–8 km west of the epicenter, slightly higher than the maximum Community Decimal Intensity (CDI) of 5 determined by the USGS “Did You Feel It?” Web site. The area of strong shaking in East Waterboro corresponds to updip rupture on a fault plane that dips steeply east. 

Irregular focal mechanisms observed at Salton Sea Geothermal Field: Possible influences of anthropogenic stress perturbations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crandall-Bear, Aren; Barbour, Andrew J.; Schoenball, Martin; Schoenball, Martin

2018-01-01

At the Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF), strain accumulation is released through seismic slip and aseismic deformation. Earthquake activity at the SSGF often occurs in swarm-like clusters, some with clear migration patterns. We have identified an earthquake sequence composed entirely of focal mechanisms representing an ambiguous style of faulting, where strikes are similar but deformation occurs due to steeply-dipping normal faults with varied stress states. In order to more accurately determine the style of faulting for these events, we revisit the original waveforms and refine estimates of P and S wave arrival times and displacement amplitudes. We calculate the acceptable focal plane solutions using P-wave polarities and S/P amplitude ratios, and determine the preferred fault plane. Without constraints on local variations in stress, found by inverting the full earthquake catalog, it is difficult to explain the occurrence of such events using standard fault-mechanics and friction. Comparing these variations with the expected poroelastic effects from local production and injection of geothermal fluids suggests that anthropogenic activity could affect the style of faulting.

Structural analysis of the Elbow-Cranberry-Iskwasum lakes area: A multiply reactivated deformation corridor in the trans-Hudson orogen of Manitoba

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, James Joseph

The Elbow-Cranberry-Iskwasum lakes area comprises a large portion of the eastern Amisk collage in the Palaeoproterozoic Flin Flon Belt (southern Trans-Hudson Orogen) of Manitoba, Canada. Deformation episodes recorded in the Flin Flon Belt are divided into pre-, early, late and post-Hudsonian orogeny, and are distinguished by the orientation of structures and changes in metamorphic conditions. Detailed structural analysis, petrography, geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology indicate a structural history spanning 180 m.y. in the Amisk collage. Accretion of the 1.92--1.88 Ga tectonostratigraphic assemblages that constitute the Amisk collage began prior to 1.868 Ga, the age of the oldest dyke to cross-cut the earliest mylonitic fabrics. The deformational history has been discerned, in which six generations of ductile structures F1 - F6 were followed by development of brittle-ductile and brittle structures F7 . Movements along the late structures may have continued until 1.690 Ga, during exhumation of the collage. The macroscopic structural grain in the central Flin Flon Belt is steeply dipping, generally trends north to north-northeast, and is dominated by two regionally pervasive foliations ( S2 and S5 ). Its grain contrasts strongly with the shallowly-dipping, east--west-trending grain in the adjacent Kisseynew domain. Foliations of different generations have been distinguished by their age relative to regional metamorphic mineral growth. Regional metamorphism in the Flin Flon Belt is interpreted as having culminated at moderate pressure and temperature, between 1.820 and 1.805 Ga. The development of S2 between 1.868 and 1.845 Ga was associated with east--west shortening of the successor magmatic arc that overprinted the Amisk collage. S3 and S4 were associated with shear zones, and are not regionally widespread. The S5 regional-scale Elbow Lake shear zone, and a pervasive crenulation cleavage in the wall rocks, developed during an episode of sinistral transpression that postdated regional metamorphism. The Elbow Lake shear zone appears to have triclinic symmetry. Most of the tectonostratigraphic assemblages, and subordinate formations, in the study area are structurally bound; the boundaries vary in age from early accretionary to post-collisional. Maximum displacements between assemblages occurred along the early shear zones. A high-strain corridor south of Elbow Lake, with four generations of near-parallel foliations ( S1,S 2,S3 and S5 ), records multiple reactivations. Vertical extension was important in post- S1 deformations, even in the later stages. Post-orogenic, low-angle extensional features, common in many mountain belts, appear to be absent in the southern portion of the Trans-Hudson Orogen. This may indicate that erosion was the dominant unroofing mechanism. The regional-scale Berry Creek shear zone transects the southern portion of the field area. Though covered by Ordovician limestone for most of its length, the Berry Creek shear zone is well imaged in regional geophysical maps. The latest portion of the brittle history on the Berry Creek shear zone probably controlled the sharp truncation of the geophysically imaged anomalies.

Crustal inheritance and arc magmatism: Magnetotelluric constraints from the Washington Cascades on top-down control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedrosian, P.; Peacock, J.; Bowles-martinez, E.; Schultz, A.; Hill, G.

2017-12-01

Worldwide, arc volcanism occurs along relatively narrow magmatic arcs, the locations of which are considered to mark the onset of dehydration reactions within the subducting slab. This `bottom-up' approach, in which the location of arc volcanism reflects where fluids and melt are generated, explains first-order differences in trench-to-arc distance and is consistent with known variations in the thermal structure and geometry of subducting slabs. At a finer scale, arc segmentation, magmatic gaps, and anomalous forearc and backarc magmatism are also frequently interpreted in terms of variations in slab geometry, composition, or thermal structure.The role of inherited crustal structure in controlling faulting and deformation is well documented; less well examined is the role of crustal structure in controlling magmatism. While the source distribution of melt and subduction fluids is critical to determining the location of arc magmatism, we argue that crustal structure provides `top-down' control on patterns or seismicity and deformation as well as the channeling and ascent of arc magmas. We present evidence within the Washington Cascades based upon correlation between a new three-dimensional resistivity model, potential-field data, seismicity, and Quaternary volcanism. We image a mid-Tertiary batholith, intruded within an Eocene crustal suture zone, and extending throughout much of the crustal column. This and neighboring plutons are interpreted to channel crustal fluids and melt along their margins within steeply dipping zones of marine to transitional metasedimentary rock. Mount St. Helens is interpreted to be fed by fluids and melt generated further east at greater slab depths, migrating laterally (underplating?) beneath the Spirit Lake batholith, and ascending through metasedimentary rocks within the brittle crust. At a regional scale, we argue that this concealed suture zone controls present-day deformation and seismicity as well as the distribution of forearc magmatism. More generally, our results highlight the control that inherited crustal structure has on both the location and style of arc magmatism. We also address divergent interpretations of the Southern Washington Cascades Conductor, which we show results from limited data density and modeling assumptions in previous studies.

Complex deformation associated with anhydrite layers in the Tromsø Basin, SW Barents Sea.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marfo, George; Olakunle Omosanya, Kamaldeen; Johansen, Ståle Emil; Zervas, Ioannis

2017-04-01

Internal and external deformation associated with salt structures is of prime interest due to their economic importance as hydrocarbon seals, reservoirs, repositories for chemical waste and their implication on drilling. Salt structures are often associated with anhydrites, which may 'cap' or are enclosed within the allochthonous salt structures. Despite their economic importance, the internal and external structures of evaporites remain poorly studied from field and seismic data due to the sparse outcrops of evaporites and poor seismic imaging. The zero-phased, normal polarity, high resolution multiple 2D seismic data, in combination with detailed interpretation of wireline logs provide an excellent study into the salt structures, and offers a good opportunity to investigate the dynamics, geometries and mechanisms driving deformation of internal and external salt layers associated with the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian Salt structures in the Tromsø Basin. The methods include seismic interpretation and the application of multiple seismic attributes to map stratigraphic units and discontinuities. Our results show that the anhydrite layers are marked by high amplitude reflections at the crests and flanks or fully enclosed within the salt diapirs. Crestal and lateral anhydrite caprocks represent external salt structures whilst the entrained anhydrites or stringers are intrasalt structures. Anhydrite caprocks generally show structural styles such as faults and large-scale folds which are harmonic to the top salt structure. In contrast, anhydrite stringers show folds of varying scale, which are harmonic to disharmonic to the top salt structure. Boudins and steeply dipping stringer fragments are also interpreted within the stringers. Caprock deformation is attributed to salt upwelling. Folding and boudinaging of originally horizontal and continuous stringer layers formed from a multiphase superimposed sequence of ductile and brittle deformation in response to complex multi-dimensional salt flow. Internal salt flow involves radial and tangential compression, which leads to dominant fold structures near the margins. Boudins on the lower flanks of the diapir formed due radial extension. Our study further demonstrates that differential geometries exhibited by the different anhydrite groups imply that the mechanisms deforming internal and external salt structures are different. The results from this study are comparable to observations from salt mines, field exposures, scaled physical and numerical models.

Ductile and Brittle Neogene Deformation of Late Permian Orthogneiss in the Northern Ailao Shan-Red River Shear Zone: View from the Xuelong Shan Block

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wintsch, R. P.; Yi, D.; Yi, K.; Wang, Q. F.; Wang, G. H.

2014-12-01

The orthogneisses in the core of the Xuelong Shan block are surrounded by ductile and then brittle fault rocks. This lens-shape block is in fault contact with Triassic marbles on the eastern margin and Jurassic-Cretaceous mudstones on the western margin. The rocks in the core of the Xuelong Shan block contain multiply foliated feldspathic orthogneisses with local amphibolites, largely overprinted by protomylonitic deformation. Foliation strengthens to the east to become mylonites and ultramylonites, with a 30 m wide zone of loosely cemented fault breccia adjacent to brittlely faulted Triassic marbles. In contrast, the rocks to the west are dominated by brittle deformation, with mylonites becoming cataclasites and then breccias facing the mudstones to the east. Well-foliated phyllonites are locally present within the cataclasites. Early S1 gneissosity striking ENE are recognized only in the interior protomylonite. In the east, the dominate mylonitic S2 foliation strikes 340° with a moderate dip to the east, and an L2 mineral stretching lineation plunges gently north. However, in the west S2 cleavage is transposed into a NNW trending schistosity that dips steeply to the ENE, with down-dip mineral stretching lineations. Whole rock chemistry indicates a granitic to granodioritic protolith for all the rocks including the ultramylonites, but also suggests the progressive loss of alkalis with increasing deformation. Trace element compositions show these rocks lie in the volcanic arc/syn-collisional granite field. U-Pb SHRIMP ages show an Early Triassic age for these granite, with possible Middle Permian inheritance in some cores. These ages are consistent with the period of the closure of the northern Paleo-Tethys ocean. Metamorphic rim ages of ~ 30 Ma record a small amount of zircon dissolution/precipitation probably associated with the Oligocene ductile deformation that produced the upper greenschist facies mylonites. These results support the geologic history of the ASRRSZ based on data obtained in the southern Diancang Shan block. Permian granitoids were intruded and ductily deformed in the Early Triassic. The left lateral shearing that brought these blocks to the surface was delayed until the Neogene extrusion of the Indochina block.

The Dandridge-Vonore Fault Zone in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone (and Rejuvenation of the Smokies?)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, R. T.; Hatcher, R. D., Jr.; Forman, S. L.; Gamble, E. D. S.; Warrell, K. F.

2017-12-01

The eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ) trends 045o from NE Alabama and NW Georgia through Tennessee to SE Kentucky, and seismicity is localized 5-26 km deep in the basement. The ETSZ is the second most seismically active region in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, although no historic earthquakes larger than Mw 4.8 have been recorded here. Late Quaternary paleoiseismic evidence suggests that the ETSZ is capable of M7+ earthquakes and that neotectonic faults may have significantly influenced the regional relief. We have identified an 80 km-long, 060o-trending corridor in eastern Tennessee that contains collinear northeast-striking thrust, strike-slip, and normal Quaternary faults with displacements of 1-2 m, herein termed the Dandridge-Vonore fault zone (DVFZ). French Broad River alluvium in the northeast DVFZ near Dandridge, TN, is displaced by a 050o-striking, SE-dipping thrust fault and by a set of related fissures that record at least two significant post 25 ka paleo-earthquakes. Southwest of Dandridge near Alcoa, TN, a 060o-striking, SE-dipping thrust fault cuts Little River alluvium and records two significant post-15 ka paleo-earthquakes. Farther southwest at Vonore, colluvium with alluvial cobbles is thrust >1 m by a 057o-striking, steeply SE-dipping fault that may also have a significant strike-slip component, and Little Tennessee River alluvium is dropped >2 m along a 070o- striking normal fault. The DVFZ partly overlaps and is collinear with a local trend of maximum seismicity that extends 30 km farther SW of the DVFZ (as currently mapped), for a total length of 110 km. The DVFZ is coincident with a steep gradient in S-wave velocities (from high velocity on the SE to low velocity on the NW) at mid-crustal depths of 20 to 24 km, consistent with a fault and source zone at hypocentral depths in the crystalline basement. Moreover, the DVFZ parallels the NW foot of Blue Ridge Mountains, and the sense of thrusting at all sites of Quaternary faulting in the DVFZ is consistent with uplift of the Blue Ridge.

High Resolution Seismic Imaging of the Trench Canyon Fault Zone, Mono Lake, Northeastern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novick, M. W.; Jayko, A. S.; Roeske, S.; McClain, J. S.; Hart, P. E.; Boyle, M.

2009-12-01

High resolution seismic imaging of Mono Lake, located in northeastern California, has revealed an approximately northwest striking fault in the area to the west of aerially exposed Negit Volcano. This fault, henceforth referred to as the Trench Canyon Fault (TCF), has also been mapped onshore along a correlating strike as far north as Cedar Hill Volcano, located to the northeast of the lake on the California/Nevada border. Onshore, the TCF was mapped for approximately 10 kilometers using air photos, DEM images, and standard geologic pace and compass mapping techniques. The TCF post- dates the last glacial maximum, evidenced by the cutting of wave cut benches along Cedar Hill Volcano. Relict, non-historic shorelines, left by the steady evaporation of Mono Lake beginning approximately 13k, are also repeatedly cut by the fault. Additional evidence of fault presence includes sag ponds, pressure ridges, tectonically fractured rocks, and normal fault scarps found along strike. Offshore, DEM images show a northeast striking structure to the northwest of Negit Volcano, which is co-linear with the onshore TCF. High resolution seismic imaging of the structure, using an applied acoustic/SIG mini-sparker system, reveals steeply dipping Holocene sediments, as well as volcanic deposits from active vents which have erupted in the last 1000 years, offset by the fault. Detailed structural analysis of the previously unstudied Trench Canyon Fault (TFC) and faults in the Cedar Hill region of northern California, along with seismic studies of sediments beneath Mono Lake not only allow for a better comprehension of this minor fault system, but provide greater understanding of the larger and more complex Walker Lane Shear Zone. Fault analyses, combined and correlated with those from CHV, give a better understanding of how slip is transferred into the complicated Mina defection to the east, from the dextral and normal faults along the Sierra Nevada Range front.

Nature of the high-binding-energy dip in the low-temperature photoemission spectra of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dessau, D. S.; Shen, Z.-X.; Wells, B. O.; King, D. M.; Spicer, W. E.; Arko, A. J.; Lombardo, L. W.; Mitzi, D. B.; Kapitulnik, A.

1992-03-01

At the transition to superconductivity, an anomalous high-binding-energy (~=-90 meV) dip appears in the low-temperature photoemission spectra taken along the Γ-M¯ high-symmetry direction of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. This paper details experiments which further characterize the energy and k-space dependence of this dip structure. The dip occurs over a wide portion of the Γ-M¯ zone diagonal (110), yet shows minimal energy dispersion. In the spectra taken along the Γ-X zone edge (100), the dip is very weak or not present. We show that these results imply that the dip is not an artifact dependent on the experiment or special features of the band structure and therefore is an intrinsic feature of the superconducting state of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. The behavior of the normal-state bands along Γ-M¯ in relation to the local-density-approximation prediction of a Bi-O-based electron ``pocket'' is also discussed, with our data explained most naturally if the Bi-O band remains above the Fermi level for all k.

Models of Deformation of Uppermost Oceanic Lithosphere: Comparison of Crustal Flexure in the Blönduós Area, Northern Iceland, and Structure of East Pacific Rise Crust at Hess Deep

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horst, A. J.; Karson, J. A.; Varga, R. J.; Gee, J. S.

2007-12-01

Models of the internal structure of oceanic crust have been constructed from studies of ophiolites and from more recent observations of tectonic windows into the upper crust. Spreading rate and/or magma supply are the central variables that control ridge processes and the ultimate architecture of ocean crust. In addition to ophiolites, Iceland also provides an important analog to study mid-ocean ridge processes and structure. Flexure zones in Iceland characterize the structure of Tertiary-Recent lava flows, and are areas wherein lavas dip regionally inward toward the axis of one of several ~N/S-trending rift zones. These rift zones are interpreted to represent fossil spreading centers which were abandoned during a series of eastward-directed ridge jumps. In the Hildará area, north-central Iceland, the eastern side of a regional flexure is characterized by westward-dipping lavas, approximately 6-8 Ma, which are cut by east-dipping normal faults and dikes. The upper-crustal structure within this flexure zone from slow spread (~20 mm/yr) crust exhibits remarkable similarities to the structure of the upper crust created at a fast-spreading (110 mm/yr) segment of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) observed at Hess Deep. In this modern ocean setting, ~1 Ma crust is characterized by west-dipping lavas above consistently east-dipping (away from the EPR) dikes and dike-subparallel fault zones. In both locations, paleomagnetic and structural data indicate that west-dipping lavas and east-dipping dikes result from tectonic rotations. In addition, cross-cutting dike relationships demonstrate that dike intrusion occurred both during and after normal fault- related tilting. These data indicate that fault-controlled tilting was initiated within the narrow neovolcanic zone of the ridge and is not associated with off-axis processes. Lavas at magmatically robust ridges commonly flow away from elevated ridge-crests. Measurement of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of the lavas from the flexure in Iceland suggests a mean flow direction to the northeast, that is, away from the fossil-ridge axis, demonstrating that the fossil spreading center from which the lavas were extruded was located to the west. Despite the distinct differences in spreading rates, the high magma supply in both environments resulted in a very similar upper crustal architecture.

Reconnaissance geology of the Jabal Dalfa Quadrangle, sheet 21/43 C, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Greene, Robert C.

1983-01-01

The Jabal Dalfa quadrangle (sheet 21/43 C) is part of the Najd province in west-central Saudi Arabia. The quadrangle is mostly a plain, tilted gently northeastward, but local inselbergs and two areas of dissected uplands rise as much as 200 m above the plain. Wadi Bishah and Wadi Ranyah terminate in the quadrangle. The quadrangle is underlain by Precambrian metavolcanic, metasedimentary, and plutonic rocks. The gneiss outcrops in the northeast and east-central parts of the quadrangle are apparently the oldest rocks. After they were emplaced, a wide variety of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks were deposited at Jabal Dalfa and Umm Shat, and in the northeast part of the quadrangle as the Arfan formation. Subsequently, granite gneiss was emplaced in the west part of the quadrangle and intruded by gabbro. Metabasalt and meta-andesite were extruded in a wide north-trending belt through the middle of the quadrangle and at Jabal Silli. Intrusion of small bodies of granitic rocks and Najd faulting conclude the Precambrian history of the area. Surficial deposits include sand and gravel covering the plains, alluvial fans, and voluminous dune sands. In the southeast part of the quadrangle, the layered rocks strike north and dip steeply. They are oriented parallel to the Nabitah fault zone. In the northeast and east-central parts of the quadrangle, layered rocks and gneiss are sheared into slices by the southernmost faults of the major Najd fault zone. Bedding and foliation in these slices strike northwest, parallel to the faults. Gneiss in the west part of the quadrangle also strikes northwest, and dips steeply to vertically; layered rocks underlying Jabal Silli strike northeast. Layered metamorphic rocks in the Jabal Dalfa quadrangle are mostly in the greenschist facies. Projection of data from other quadrangles suggests that the oldest gneiss is about 780 Ma old and the Arfan formation, Umm Shat, and Jabal Dalfa layered rocks are about 775 to 745 Ma old. The gneiss of Shaib Hadhaq is probably about 720 Ma old, the gabbro is 640 to 625 Ma old, and the granite is about 600 Ma old. The airborne magnetometer survey suggests that considerable additional gabbro underlies the west part of the quadrangle. Concealed serpentinite bodies, particularly in the Nabitah fault zone, are also suggested. Elongate anomalies and linear gradients indicate that the northeast part of the quadrangle is probably part of the Najd fault zone. A number of gold-bearing quartz veins in the quadrangle were mined in ancient times, and on, at Jabal Umm Matirah has been drilled and found to be uneconomic. A nickel-copper prospect has proved uneconomic. geochemical survey for additional deposits of metals was completed in 1982.

The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone: Reactivation of an Ancient Continent-Continent Suture Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, C. A.

2014-12-01

The eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ) may represent reactivation of an ancient shear zone that accommodated left-lateral, transpressive motion of the Amazon craton during the Grenville orogeny. Several different lines of evidence support this concept including velocity models for the crust, earthquake hypocenter alignments, focal mechanism solutions, potential field anomalies, paleomagnetic pole positions, and isotopic geochemical studies. The ETSZ trends NE-SW for about 300 km and displays remarkable correlation with the prominent New York - Alabama (NY-AL) aeromagnetic lineament. Vp and Vs models for the crust derived from a local ETSZ earthquake tomography study reveal the presence of a narrow, NE-SW trending, steeply dipping zone of low velocities that extends to a depth of at least 24 km and is associated with the vertical projection of the NY-AL aeromagnetic lineament. The low velocity zone is interpreted as a major basement fault. The recent Mw 4.2 Perry County eastern Kentucky earthquake occurred north of the ETSZ but has a focal depth and mechanism that are similar to those for ETSZ earthquakes. We investigate the possibility that the proposed ancient shear zone extends into eastern Kentucky using Bouguer and aeromagnetic maps. The southern end of the ETSZ is characterized by hypocenters that align along planes dipping at roughly 45 degrees and focal mechanisms that contain large normal faulting components. The NY-AL aeromagnetic lineament also changes trend in the southern end of the ETSZ and the exact location of the lineament is ambiguous. We suggest that the southern portion of the ETSZ involves reactivation of reverse faults (now as normal faults) that mark the ancient transition between a collisional to a more transpressive boundary between Amazonia and Laurentia during the formation of the super continent Rodinia.

Stratovolcano stability assessment methods and results from Citlaltepetl, Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zimbelman, D.R.; Watters, R.J.; Firth, I.R.; Breit, G.N.; Carrasco-Nunez, Gerardo

2004-01-01

Citlaltépetl volcano is the easternmost stratovolcano in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Situated within 110 km of Veracruz, it has experienced two major collapse events and, subsequent to its last collapse, rebuilt a massive, symmetrical summit cone. To enhance hazard mitigation efforts we assess the stability of Citlaltépetl's summit cone, the area thought most likely to fail during a potential massive collapse event. Through geologic mapping, alteration mineralogy, geotechnical studies, and stability modeling we provide important constraints on the likelihood, location, and size of a potential collapse event. The volcano's summit cone is young, highly fractured, and hydrothermally altered. Fractures are most abundant within 5–20-m wide zones defined by multiple parallel to subparallel fractures. Alteration is most pervasive within the fracture systems and includes acid sulfate, advanced argillic, argillic, and silicification ranks. Fractured and altered rocks both have significantly reduced rock strengths, representing likely bounding surfaces for future collapse events. The fracture systems and altered rock masses occur non-uniformly, as an orthogonal set with N–S and E–W trends. Because these surfaces occur non-uniformly, hazards associated with collapse are unevenly distributed about the volcano. Depending on uncertainties in bounding surfaces, but constrained by detailed field studies, potential failure volumes are estimated to range between 0.04–0.5 km3. Stability modeling was used to assess potential edifice failure events. Modeled failure of the outer portion of the cone initially occurs as an "intact block" bounded by steeply dipping joints and outwardly dipping flow contacts. As collapse progresses, more of the inner cone fails and the outer "intact" block transforms into a collection of smaller blocks. Eventually, a steep face develops in the uppermost and central portion of the cone. This modeled failure morphology mimics collapse amphitheaters

Fracture permeability in the Matalibong-25 corehole, Tiwi geothermal field, Philippines

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

Nielson, D.L.; Moore, J.N.; Clemente, W.C.

1996-12-31

The Tiwi geothermal field is located in southern Luzon on the northeast flank of Mt. Malinao, an andesitic volcano that was active 0.5 to 0.06 Ma. Matalibong-25 (Mat-25) was drilled through the Tiwi reservoir to investigate lithologic and fracture controls on reservoir permeability and to monitor reservoir pressure. Continuous core was collected from 2586.5 to 8000 feet (789 to 2439 meters) with greater than 95% recovery. The reservoir rocks observed in Mat-25 consist mainly of andesitic and basaltic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks above 6600 feet depth (2012 meters) and andesitic sediments below, with a transition from subaerial to subaqueous (marine)more » deposition at 5250 feet (1601 meters). The rocks in the reservoir interval are strongly altered and veined. Common secondary minerals include chlorite, illite, quartz, calcite rite, epidote, anhydrite, adularia and wairakite. An {sup 39}Ar/{sup 40}Ar age obtained on adularia from a quartz-adularia-cemented breccia at a depth of 6066 feet (2012 meters) indicates that the hydrothermal system has been active for at least 320,000 years. Fractures observed in the core were classified as either veins (sealed) or open fractures, with the latter assumed to represent fluid entries in the geothermal system. Since the core was not oriented, only fracture frequency and dip angle with respect to the core axis could be determined. The veins and open fractures are predominantly steeply dipping and have a measured density of up to 0.79 per foot in the vertical well. Below 6500 feet (1982 meters) there is a decrease in fracture intensity and in fluid inclusion temperatures.« less

Characterization of fractures and flow zones in a contaminated shale at the Watervliet Arsenal, Albany County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, John H.; Paillet, Frederick L.

2002-01-01

Flow zones in a fractured shale in and near a plume of volatile organic compounds at the Watervliet Arsenal in Albany County, N. Y. were characterized through the integrated analysis of geophysical logs and single- and cross-hole flow tests. Information on the fracture-flow network at the site was needed to design an effective groundwater monitoring system, estimate offsite contaminant migration, and evaluate potential containment and remedial actions.Four newly drilled coreholes and four older monitoring wells were logged and tested to define the distribution and orientation of fractures that intersected a combined total of 500 feet of open hole. Analysis of borehole-wall image logs obtained with acoustic and optical televiewers indicated 79 subhorizontal to steeply dipping fractures with a wide range of dip directions. Analysis of fluid resistivity, temperature, and heat-pulse and electromagnetic flowmeter logs obtained under ambient and short-term stressed conditions identified 14 flow zones, which consist of one to several fractures and whose estimated transmissivity values range from 0.1 to more than 250 feet squared per day.Cross-hole flow tests, which were used to characterize the hydraulic connection between fracture-flow zones intersected by the boreholes, entailed (1) injection into or extraction from boreholes that penetrated a single fracture-flow zone or whose zones were isolated by an inflatable packer, and (2) measurement of the transient response of water levels and flow in surrounding boreholes. Results indicate a wellconnected fracture network with an estimated transmissivity of 80 to 250 feet squared per day that extends for at least 200 feet across the site. This interconnected fracture-flow network greatly affects the hydrology of the site and has important implications for contaminant monitoring and remedial actions.

Distribution of aseismic slip rate on the Hayward fault inferred from seismic and geodetic data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, D.A.; Burgmann, R.; Nadeau, R.M.; d'Alessio, M.

2005-01-01

We solve for the slip rate distribution on the Hayward fault by performing a least squares inversion,of geodetic and seismic data sets. Our analysis focuses on the northern 60 km of the fault. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data from 13 independent ERS interferograms are stacked to obtain range change rates from 1992 to 2000. Horizontal surface displacement rates at 141 bench marks are measured using GPS from 1994 to 2003. Surface creep observations and estimates of deep slip rates determined from characteristic repeating earthquake sequences are also incorporated in the inversion. The fault is discretized into 283 triangular dislocation elements that approximate the nonplanar attributes of the fault surface. South of the city of Hayward, a steeply, east dipping fault geometry accommodates the divergence of the surface trace and the microseismicity at depth. The inferred slip rate distribution is consistent with a fault that creeps aseismically at a rate of ???5 mm/yr to a depth of 4-6 km. The interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data require an aseismic slip rate that approaches the geologic slip rate on the northernmost fault segment beneath Point Pinole, although the InSAR data might be complicated by a small dip-slip component at this location. A low slip rate patch of <1 mm/yr is inferred beneath San Leandro consistent with the source location of the 1868 earthquake. We calculate that the entire fault is accumulating a slip rate deficit equivalent to a Mw = 6.77 ?? 0.05 per century. However, this estimate of potential coseismic moment represents an upper bound because we do not know how much of the accumulated strain will be released through aseismic processes such as afterslip. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

Imaging the Alpine Fault: preliminary results from a detailed 3D-VSP experiment at the DFDP-2 drill site in Whataroa, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lay, Vera; Bodenburg, Sascha; Buske, Stefan; Townend, John; Kellett, Richard; Savage, Martha; Schmitt, Douglas; Constantinou, Alexis; Eccles, Jennifer; Lawton, Donald; Hall, Kevin; Bertram, Malcolm; Gorman, Andrew

2017-04-01

The plate-bounding Alpine Fault in New Zealand is an 850 km long transpressive continental fault zone that is late in its earthquake cycle. The Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) aims to deliver insight into the geological structure of this fault zone and its evolution by drilling and sampling the Alpine Fault at depth. Previously analysed 2D reflection seismic data image the main Alpine Fault reflector at a depth of 1.5-2.2 km with a dip of approximately 48° to the southeast below the DFDP-2 borehole. Additionally, there are indications of a more complex 3D fault structure with several fault branches which have not yet been clearly imaged in detail. For that reason we acquired a 3D-VSP seismic data set at the DFDP-2 drill site in January 2016. A zero-offset VSP and a walk-away VSP survey were conducted using a Vibroseis source. Within the borehole, a permanently installed "Distributed Acoustic Fibre Optic Cable" (down to 893 m) and a 3C Sercel slimwave tool (down to 400 m) were used to record the seismic wavefield. In addition, an array of 160 three-component receivers with a spacing of 10 m perpendicular and 20 m parallel to the main strike of the Alpine Fault was set up and moved successively along the valley to record reflections from the main Alpine Fault zone over a broad depth range and to derive a detailed 3D tomographic velocity model in the hanging wall. We will show a detailed 3D velocity model derived from first-arrival traveltime tomography. Subsets of the whole data set were analysed separately to estimate the corresponding ray coverage and the reliability of the observed features in the obtained velocity model. By testing various inversion parameters and starting models, we derived a detailed near-surface velocity model that reveals the significance of the old glacial valley structures. Hence, this new 3D model improves the velocity model derived previously from a 2D seismic profile line in that area. Furthermore, processing of the dense 3C data shows clear reflections on both inline and crossline profiles. Correlating single reflection events enables us to identify the origin of reflections recorded in the data and reveal their 3D character. This array data gives strong evidence for reflections coming from the side, possibly from the steeply dipping valley flanks. Finally, the data will be processed using advanced seismic imaging methods to derive a detailed structural image of the valley and the fault zone at depth. Thus, the results will provide a detailed basis for a seismic site characterization at the DFDP-2 drill site, that will be of crucial importance for further structural and geological investigations of the architecture of the Alpine Fault in this area.

Revised preliminary geologic map of the Rifle Quadrangle, Garfield County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shroba, R.R.; Scott, R.B.

1997-01-01

The Rifle quadrangle extends from the Grand Hogback monocline into the southeastern part of the Piceance basin. In the northeastern part of the map area, the Wasatch Formation is nearly vertical, and over a distance of about 1 km, the dip decreases sharply from about 70-85o to about 15-30o toward the southwest. No evidence of a fault in this zone of sharp change in dip is observed but exposures in the Shire Member of the Wasatch Formation are poor, and few marker horizons that might demonstrate offset are distinct. In the central part of the map area, the Shire Member is essentially flat lying. In the south and southwest part of the map area, the dominant dip is slightly to the north, forming an open syncline that plunges gently to the northwest. Evidence for this fold also exists in the subsurface from drill-hole data. According to Tweto (1975), folding of the early Eocene to Paleocene Wasatch Formation along the Grand Hogback reqired an early Eocene age for the last phase of Laramide compression. We find the attitude of the Wasatch Formation to be nearly horizontal, essentially parallel to the overlying Anvil Points Member of the Eocene Green River Formation; therefore, we have no information that either confirms or disputes that early Eocene was the time of the last Laramide event. Near Rifle Gap in the northeast part of the map area, the Mesaverde Group locally dips about 10o less steeply than the overlying Wasatch Formation, indicating that not only had the formation of the Hogback monocline not begun by the time the Wasatch was deposited at this locality, but the underlying Mesaverde Group was locally tilted slightly toward the present White River uplift. Also the basal part of the Atwell Gulch Member of the Wasatch Formation consists of fine-grained mudstones and siltstones containing sparse sandstone and rare conglomerates, indicating that the source of sediment was not from erosion of the adjacent Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group. The most likely source of andesitic conglomerate clasts abundant in the upper part of the Atwell Gulch Member was Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary andesitic igneous rocks, remnants of which are present southeast of the Piceance Basin (Tweto, 1979). Thinning of the Atwell Gulch and Molina Members to the northwest also suggests a southeastern source of sediments, ruling out a northeastern source related to earlier deformation of the Upper Cretaceous Mesa Verde Group.

Source Mechanism of Vulcanian Degassing at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico, Determined From Moment-Tensor Inversion of Very-long-period Seismic Waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chouet, B.; Dawson, P.; Arciniega, A.

2004-12-01

The source mechanism of very-long-period (VLP) signals accompanying degassing exhalations at Popocatépetl is analyzed in the 15-70~s band by minimizing the residual error between data and synthetics calculated for a point source embedded in a homogeneous medium. The waveforms of two events (04/23/00, 05/23/00) representative of mild Vulcanian eruptions are well reproduced by our inversion, which takes into account volcano topography. The source centroid is positioned 1500~m below the western perimeter of the summit crater, and the modeled source is composed of a shallow-dipping crack (sill with easterly dip of 10° ) intersecting a steeply-dipping crack (northeast striking dike with northwest dip of 83° ), whose surface trace bisects the vent. Both cracks undergo a similar sequence of inflation, deflation, and reinflation --- reflecting a cycle of pressurization, depressurization, and repressurization within a time interval of 3-5~min. The largest moment release occurs in the sill, showing a maximum volume change of 500-1000\\:m3, pressure drop of 3-5~MPa, and amplitude of recovered pressure equal to 1.2 times the amplitude of the pressure drop. In contrast, the maximum volume change in the dike is 200-300\\:m3, with a corresponding pressure drop of 1-2~MPa and pressure recovery equal to the pressure drop. Accompanying these volumetric sources is a single force with magnitude of 5 × 108~N, consistent with melt advection in response to the pressure transients. The source-time history of the three components of this force confirms that significant mass movement starts in the sill and triggers a mass movement response in the dike within ˜ 5~s. Such source behavior is consistent with the opening of an escape pathway for accumulated gases from slow pressurization of the sill driven by magma crystallization. The opening of a pathway for pent-up gases in the sill and rapid evacuation of this separated gas phase induces the pressure drop. Pressure recovery in the magma filling the sill is driven by diffusion of gases from the resulting supersaturated melt into bubbles. Assuming a penny-shaped crack at ambient pressure of 40~MPa, the observed pressure and volume variations can be modeled with the following attributes: crack radius, (100~m), crack aperture, (5~m), bubble number density, (1010 - 1012\\:m-3), initial bubble radius, (10-6\\:m), final bubble radius, ( ˜ 10-5\\:m), and net decrease of gas concentration in the melt, (0.01~wt%).

Source mechanism of Vulcanian degassing at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico, determined from waveform inversions of very long period signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chouet, Bernard; Dawson, Phillip; Arciniega-Ceballos, Alejandra

2005-07-01

The source mechanism of very long period (VLP) signals accompanying volcanic degassing bursts at Popocatépetl is analyzed in the 15-70 s band by minimizing the residual error between data and synthetics calculated for a point source embedded in a homogeneous medium. The waveforms of two eruptions (23 April and 23 May 2000) representative of mild Vulcanian activity are well reproduced by our inversion, which takes into account volcano topography. The source centroid is positioned 1500 m below the western perimeter of the summit crater, and the modeled source is composed of a shallow dipping crack (sill with easterly dip of 10°) intersecting a steeply dipping crack (northeast striking dike dipping 83° northwest), whose surface extension bisects the vent. Both cracks undergo a similar sequence of inflation, deflation, and reinflation, reflecting a cycle of pressurization, depressurization, and repressurization within a time interval of 3-5 min. The largest moment release occurs in the sill, showing a maximum volume change of 500-1000 m3, pressure drop of 3-5 MPa, and amplitude of recovered pressure equal to 1.2 times the amplitude of the pressure drop. In contrast, the maximum volume change in the dike is less (200-300 m3), with a corresponding pressure drop of 1-2 MPa and pressure recovery equal to the pressure drop. Accompanying these volumetric sources are single-force components with magnitudes of 108 N, consistent with melt advection in response to pressure transients. The source time histories of the volumetric components of the source indicate that significant mass movement starts within the sill and triggers a mass movement response in the dike within a few seconds. Such source behavior is consistent with the opening of a pathway for escape of pent-up gases from slow pressurization of the sill driven by magma crystallization. The opening of this pathway and associated rapid evacuation of volcanic gases induces the pressure drop. Pressure recovery in the magma filling the sill is driven by diffusion of gases from the resulting supersaturated melt into bubbles. Assuming a penny-shaped crack at ambient pressure of 40 MPa, the observed pressure and volume variations can be modeled with the following attributes: crack radius (100 m), crack aperture (5 m), bubble number density (1010-1012 m-3), initial bubble radius (10-6 m), final bubble radius (˜10-5 m), and net decrease of gas concentration in the melt (0.01 wt %).

Source mechanism of Vulcanian degassing at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico, determined from waveform inversions of very long period signals

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chouet, Bernard A.; Dawson, Phillip B.; Arciniega-Ceballos, Alejandra

2005-01-01

The source mechanism of very long period (VLP) signals accompanying volcanic degassing bursts at Popocatépetl is analyzed in the 15–70 s band by minimizing the residual error between data and synthetics calculated for a point source embedded in a homogeneous medium. The waveforms of two eruptions (23 April and 23 May 2000) representative of mild Vulcanian activity are well reproduced by our inversion, which takes into account volcano topography. The source centroid is positioned 1500 m below the western perimeter of the summit crater, and the modeled source is composed of a shallow dipping crack (sill with easterly dip of 10°) intersecting a steeply dipping crack (northeast striking dike dipping 83° northwest), whose surface extension bisects the vent. Both cracks undergo a similar sequence of inflation, deflation, and reinflation, reflecting a cycle of pressurization, depressurization, and repressurization within a time interval of 3–5 min. The largest moment release occurs in the sill, showing a maximum volume change of 500–1000 m3, pressure drop of 3–5 MPa, and amplitude of recovered pressure equal to 1.2 times the amplitude of the pressure drop. In contrast, the maximum volume change in the dike is less (200–300 m3), with a corresponding pressure drop of 1–2 MPa and pressure recovery equal to the pressure drop. Accompanying these volumetric sources are single-force components with magnitudes of 108 N, consistent with melt advection in response to pressure transients. The source time histories of the volumetric components of the source indicate that significant mass movement starts within the sill and triggers a mass movement response in the dike within a few seconds. Such source behavior is consistent with the opening of a pathway for escape of pent-up gases from slow pressurization of the sill driven by magma crystallization. The opening of this pathway and associated rapid evacuation of volcanic gases induces the pressure drop. Pressure recovery in the magma filling the sill is driven by diffusion of gases from the resulting supersaturated melt into bubbles. Assuming a penny-shaped crack at ambient pressure of 40 MPa, the observed pressure and volume variations can be modeled with the following attributes: crack radius (100 m), crack aperture (5 m), bubble number density (1010–1012 m−3), initial bubble radius (10−6 m), final bubble radius (∼10−5 m), and net decrease of gas concentration in the melt (0.01 wt %).

Criteria for Seismic Splay Fault Activation During Subduction Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dedontney, N.; Templeton, E.; Bhat, H.; Dmowska, R.; Rice, J. R.

2008-12-01

As sediment is added to the accretionary prism or removed from the forearc, the material overlying the plate interface must deform to maintain a wedge structure. One of the ways this internal deformation is achieved is by slip on splay faults branching from the main detachment, which are possibly activated as part of a major seismic event. As a rupture propagates updip along the plate interface, it will reach a series of junctions between the shallowly dipping detachment and more steeply dipping splay faults. The amount and distribution of slip on these splay faults and the detachment determines the seafloor deformation and the tsunami waveform. Numerical studies by Kame et al. [JGR, 2003] of fault branching during dynamic slip-weakening rupture in 2D plane strain showed that branch activation depends on the initial stress state, rupture velocity at the branching junction, and branch angle. They found that for a constant initial stress state, with the maximum principal stress at shallow angles to the main fault, branch activation is favored on the compressional side of the fault for a range of branch angles. By extending the part of their work on modeling the branching behavior in the context of subduction zones, where critical taper wedge concepts suggest the angle that the principal stress makes with the main fault is shallow, but not horizontal, we hope to better understand the conditions for splay fault activation and the criteria for significant moment release on the splay. Our aim is to determine the range of initial stresses and relative frictional strengths of the detachment and splay fault that would result in seismic splay fault activation. In aid of that, we conduct similar dynamic rupture analyses to those of Kame et al., but use explicit finite element methods, and take fuller account of overall structure of the zone (rather than focusing just on the branching junction). Critical taper theory requires that the basal fault be weaker than the overlying material, so we build on previous work by incorporating the effect of strength contrasts between the basal and splay faults. The relative weakness of the basal fault is often attributed to high pore pressures, which lowers the effective normal stress and brings the basal fault closer to failure. We vary the initial stress state, while maintaining a constant principal stress orientation, to see how the closeness to failure affects the branching behavior for a variety of branch step-up angles.

Character and Implications of a Newly Identified Creeping Strand of the San Andreas fault NE of Salton Sea, Southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janecke, S. U.; Markowski, D.

2015-12-01

The overdue earthquake on the Coachella section, San Andreas fault (SAF), the model ShakeOut earthquake, and the conflict between cross-fault models involving the Extra fault array and mapped shortening in the Durmid Hill area motivate new analyses at the southern SAF tip. Geologic mapping, LiDAR, seismic reflection, magnetic and gravity datasets, and aerial photography confirm the existence of the East Shoreline strand (ESS) of the SAF southwest of the main trace of the SAF. We mapped the 15 km long ESS, in a band northeast side of the Salton Sea. Other data suggest that the ESS continues N to the latitude of the Mecca Hills, and is >35 km long. The ESS cuts and folds upper Holocene beds and appears to creep, based on discovery of large NW-striking cracks in modern beach deposits. The two traces of the SAF are parallel and ~0.5 to ~2.5 km apart. Groups of east, SE, and ENE-striking strike-slip cross-faults connect the master dextral faults of the SAF. There are few sinistral-normal faults that could be part of the Extra fault array. The 1-km wide ESS contains short, discontinuous traces of NW-striking dextral-oblique faults. These en-echelon faults bound steeply dipping Pleistocene beds, cut out section, parallel tight NW-trending folds, and produced growth folds. Beds commonly dip toward the ESS on both sides, in accord with persistent NE-SW shortening across the ESS. The dispersed fault-fold structural style of the ESS is due to decollements in faulted mud-rich Pliocene to Holocene sediment and ramps and flats along the strike-slip faults. A sheared ladder-like geometric model of the two master dextral strands of the SAF and their intervening cross-faults, best explains the field relationships and geophysical datasets. Contraction across >40 km2 of the southernmost SAF zone in the Durmid Hills suggest that interaction of active structures in the SAF zone may inhibit the nucleation of large earthquakes in this region. The ESS may cross the northern Coachella Valley to join the blind Palm Spring dextral fault- a source of microearthquakes and differential subsidence. The ESS may also continue north parallel to the margin of the Salton Trough or have both a NW and NE branch. The risk of a future large earthquake directly beneath the greater Palm Springs metropolitan area may be larger if the first or last options are correct.

Field-based Constraints on Lower Crustal Flow From the World's Largest Exposure of Lower Continental Crust, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumond, G.; Gonclaves, P.; Williams, M. L.; Bowring, S. A.

2005-12-01

Predictions about the behavior and geometry of lower continental crust during orogenesis have included: it is rheologically weak; it flows under the influence of a tectonic or topographic load; and it is characterized by pervasive shallow fabrics produced by high-temperature deformation mechanisms. Arguably the world's largest exposure of lower continental crust that still preserves much of its deep crustal deformation history is the central portion of the Snowbird tectonic zone in the western Canadian Shield. Recent fieldwork along a ca. 100 km-long transect of this exposure is characterized by an early, penetrative shallow fabric. A 40 km-long segment of this transect, dominated by charnockite and granodiorite orthogneisses, is characterized by km-scale domains of shallow, granulite-grade gneissic foliation (S1) with a spectacular rodding lineation (L1) defined by: 1) discontinuous ribbons of recrystallized Pl + Qtz + Hb + Cpx + Opx, in addition to mm- to cm-scale core-and-mantle structure in Pl and Kfs, and 2) near-continuous, 10s of cm-long rods of compositional banding. Isoclinally-folded layering is locally preserved perpendicular to (L1). We interpret (L1) as a composite lineation with both intersection and extension components. Thermobarometric data, microstructural, and kinematic observations are compatible with high-grade (700-800°C) ductile, top-to-the-ESE flow during production of S1 at 1.0-1.1 GPa (30-40 km paleodepths in the Neoarchean. S1 is variably transposed into upright, open, shallowly-plunging F2 folds with sub-horizontal, NW-striking enveloping surfaces. The weakly folded S1 is locally overprinted by <10 m-wide penetrative high-strain zones in which S1 has been transposed into steeply-dipping, NE-striking foliation (S2). D2 high-strain zones contain shallow SW-plunging stretching lineations (locally L-tectonites) and dextral, oblique-slip kinematics. D2 low-strain zones preserve Type 2 (mushroom-crescent) fold interference patterns resulting from superposition of upright F2 folds with sub-vertical NE-striking axial planes onto isoclinal, recumbent F1 folds. Metamorphic reactions that led to Grt-production during development of S1 were intrinsically syn-kinematic, with garnet growing in the Na-rich recrystallized mantles of Pl-porphyroclasts. Relatively H2O-poor and/or CO2-rich conditions are required by the preservation of fine-grained microstructures and absence of grain-coarsening or recrystallization in the S1 tectonite. We speculate that the shallow S1 tectonite exposed in the central Snowbird tectonic zone transect represents an important and unique field-based analog for the nature of deep crustal reflectivity and lower crustal flow in collisional orogens. Furthermore, our results suggest that the strength of the lower continental crust is dynamic and evolving. In this particular case, flow of relatively weak lower crust during production of S1 was followed by a period of near-isobaric cooling and strengthening. Subsequent deformation events produced steep fabrics (e.g. S2), 10s of m- to 100s of km-scale moderately- to steeply-dipping shear zones, and local reactivation of S1, reflecting the dramatic effects of strain partitioning in a heterogeneous and anisotropic medium.

Accurate estimation of seismic source parameters of induced seismicity by a combined approach of generalized inversion and genetic algorithm: Application to The Geysers geothermal area, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picozzi, M.; Oth, A.; Parolai, S.; Bindi, D.; De Landro, G.; Amoroso, O.

2017-05-01

The accurate determination of stress drop, seismic efficiency, and how source parameters scale with earthquake size is an important issue for seismic hazard assessment of induced seismicity. We propose an improved nonparametric, data-driven strategy suitable for monitoring induced seismicity, which combines the generalized inversion technique together with genetic algorithms. In the first step of the analysis the generalized inversion technique allows for an effective correction of waveforms for attenuation and site contributions. Then, the retrieved source spectra are inverted by a nonlinear sensitivity-driven inversion scheme that allows accurate estimation of source parameters. We therefore investigate the earthquake source characteristics of 633 induced earthquakes (Mw 2-3.8) recorded at The Geysers geothermal field (California) by a dense seismic network (i.e., 32 stations, more than 17.000 velocity records). We find a nonself-similar behavior, empirical source spectra that require an ωγ source model with γ > 2 to be well fit and small radiation efficiency ηSW. All these findings suggest different dynamic rupture processes for smaller and larger earthquakes and that the proportion of high-frequency energy radiation and the amount of energy required to overcome the friction or for the creation of new fractures surface changes with earthquake size. Furthermore, we observe also two distinct families of events with peculiar source parameters that in one case suggests the reactivation of deep structures linked to the regional tectonics, while in the other supports the idea of an important role of steeply dipping faults in the fluid pressure diffusion.

Fault zone hydrogeologic properties and processes revealed by borehole temperature monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulton, P. M.; Brodsky, E. E.

2015-12-01

High-resolution borehole temperature monitoring can provide valuable insight into the hydrogeologic structure of fault zones and transient processes that affect fault zone stability. Here we report on results from a subseafloor temperature observatory within the Japan Trench plate boundary fault. In our efforts to interpret this unusual dataset, we have developed several new methods for probing hydrogeologic properties and processes. We illustrate how spatial variations in the thermal recovery of the borehole after drilling and other spectral characteristics provide a measure of the subsurface permeability architecture. More permeable zones allow for greater infiltration of cool drilling fluids, are more greatly thermally disturbed, and take longer to recover. The results from the JFAST (Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project) observatory are consistent with geophysical logs, core data, and other hydrologic observations and suggest a permeable damage zone consisting of steeply dipping faults and fractures overlays a low-permeability clay-rich plate boundary fault. Using high-resolution time series data, we have also developed methods to map out when and where fluid advection occurs in the subsurface over time. In the JFAST data, these techniques reveal dozens of transient earthquake-driven fluid pulses that are spatially correlated and consistently located around inferred permeable areas of the fault damage zone. These observations are suspected to reflect transient fluid flow driven by pore pressure changes in response to dynamic and/or static stresses associated with nearby earthquakes. This newly recognized hydrologic phenomenon has implications for understanding subduction zone heat and chemical transport as well as the redistribution of pore fluid pressure which influences fault stability and can trigger other earthquakes.

Measuring permanence of CO2 storage in saline formations: The Frio experiment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hovorka, Susan D.; Benson, Sally M.; Doughty, Christine; Freifeild, Barry M.; Sakurai, Shinichi; Daley, Thomas M.; Kharaka, Yousif K.; Holtz, Mark H.; Trautz, Robert C.; Nance, H. Seay; Myer, Larry R.; Knauss, Kevin G.

2006-01-01

If CO2 released from fossil fuel during energy production is returned to the subsurface, will it be retained for periods of time significant enough to benefit the atmosphere? Can trapping be assured in saline formations where there is no history of hydrocarbon accumulation? The Frio experiment in Texas was undertaken to provide answers to these questions.One thousand six hundred metric tons of CO2 were injected into the Frio Formation, which underlies large areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Reservoir characterization and numerical modeling were used to design the experiment, as well as to interpret the results through history matching. Closely spaced measurements in space and time were collected to observe the evolution of immiscible and dissolved CO2 during and after injection. The high-permeability, steeply dipping sandstone allowed updip flow of supercritical CO2 as a result of the density contrast with formation brine and absence of a local structural trap.The front of the CO2 plume moved more quickly than had been modeled. By the end of the 10-day injection, however, the plume geometry in the plane of the observation and injection wells had thickened to a distribution similar to the modeled distribution. As expected, CO2 dissolved rapidly into brine, causing pH to fall and calcite and metals to be dissolved.Postinjection measurements, including time-lapse vertical seismic profiling transects along selected azimuths, cross-well seismic topography, and saturation logs, show that CO2 migration under gravity slowed greatly 2 months after injection, matching model predictions that significant CO2 is trapped as relative permeability decreases.

Neotectonic reactivation of shear zones and implications for faulting style and geometry in the continental margin of NE Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezerra, F. H. R.; Rossetti, D. F.; Oliveira, R. G.; Medeiros, W. E.; Neves, B. B. Brito; Balsamo, F.; Nogueira, F. C. C.; Dantas, E. L.; Andrades Filho, C.; Góes, A. M.

2014-02-01

The eastern continental margin of South America comprises a series of rift basins developed during the breakup of Pangea in the Jurassic-Cretaceous. We integrated high resolution aeromagnetic, structural and stratigraphic data in order to evaluate the role of reactivation of ductile, Neoproterozoic shear zones in the deposition and deformation of post-rift sedimentary deposits in one of these basins, the Paraíba Basin in northeastern Brazil. This basin corresponds to the last part of the South American continent to be separated from Africa during the Pangea breakup. Sediment deposition in this basin occurred in the Albian-Maastrichtian, Eocene-Miocene, and in the late Quaternary. However, our investigation concentrates on the Miocene-Quaternary, which we consider the neotectonic period because it encompasses the last stress field. This consisted of an E-W-oriented compression and a N-S-oriented extension. The basement of the basin forms a slightly seaward-tilted ramp capped by a late Cretaceous to Quaternary sedimentary cover ~ 100-400 m thick. Aeromagnetic lineaments mark the major steeply-dipping, ductile E-W- to NE-striking shear zones in this basement. The ductile shear zones mainly reactivated as strike-slip, normal and oblique-slip faults, resulting in a series of Miocene-Quaternary depocenters controlled by NE-, E-W-, and a few NW-striking faults. Faulting produced subsidence and uplift that are largely responsible for the present-day morphology of the valleys and tablelands in this margin. We conclude that Precambrian shear zone reactivation controlled geometry and orientation, as well as deformation of sedimentary deposits, until the Neogene-Quaternary.

Mesozoic basin development beneath the southeastern US coastal plain: evidence from new COCORP profiling

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

McBride, J.H.; Nelson, K.D.; Arnow, J.A.

1985-01-01

New COCORP profiling on the Georgia coastal plain indicates that the Triassic/Early Jurassic South Georgia basin is a composite feature, which includes several large half-grabens separated by intervening regions where the Triassic/Early Jurassic section is much thinner. Two half-grabens imaged on the profiles have apparent widths of 125 and 40 km, and at their deepest points contain about 5 km of basin fill. Both basins are bounded on their south flanks by major normal faults that dip moderately steeply toward the north, and are disrupted internally by subsidiary normal faults within the basin fill sequences. The orientation of the mainmore » basin-bounding faults suggests that they might have reactivated Paleozoic south-vergent structures formed on the south side of the Alleghenian suture. Evolution of the South Georgia basin appears to follow a model of initial, rapid rifting followed by flexural subsidence. The major episode of normal faulting, and hence extension, within the South Georgia basin occurred prior to extrusion of an areally extensive sequence of Early Jurassic basalt flows. This sequence is traceable across most of the width of the South Georgia basin in western Georgia, and may extend as far east as offshore South Carolina. Jurassic strata above the basalt horizon are notably less faulted and accumulated within a broadly subsiding basin that thins both to the north and south. The occurrence of the basalt relatively late in the rift sequence supports the hypothesis that the southeastern US may have been a major area of incipient spreading after Pangea had begun to separate.« less

Modeling and validation of a 3D velocity structure for the Santa Clara Valley, California, for seismic-wave simulations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hartzell, S.; Harmsen, S.; Williams, R.A.; Carver, D.; Frankel, A.; Choy, G.; Liu, P.-C.; Jachens, R.C.; Brocher, T.M.; Wentworth, C.M.

2006-01-01

A 3D seismic velocity and attenuation model is developed for Santa Clara Valley, California, and its surrounding uplands to predict ground motions from scenario earthquakes. The model is developed using a variety of geologic and geophysical data. Our starting point is a 3D geologic model developed primarily from geologic mapping and gravity and magnetic surveys. An initial velocity model is constructed by using seismic velocities from boreholes, reflection/refraction lines, and spatial autocorrelation microtremor surveys. This model is further refined and the seismic attenuation is estimated through waveform modeling of weak motions from small local events and strong-ground motion from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Waveforms are calculated to an upper frequency of 1 Hz using a parallelized finite-difference code that utilizes two regions with a factor of 3 difference in grid spacing to reduce memory requirements. Cenozoic basins trap and strongly amplify ground motions. This effect is particularly strong in the Evergreen Basin on the northeastern side of the Santa Clara Valley, where the steeply dipping Silver Creek fault forms the southwestern boundary of the basin. In comparison, the Cupertino Basin on the southwestern side of the valley has a more moderate response, which is attributed to a greater age and velocity of the Cenozoic fill. Surface waves play a major role in the ground motion of sedimentary basins, and they are seen to strongly develop along the western margins of the Santa Clara Valley for our simulation of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Gravity study through the Tualatin Mountains, Oregon: Understanding crustal structure and earthquake hazards in the Portland urban area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blakely, R.J.; Beeson, M.H.; Cruikshank, K.; Wells, R.E.; Johnson, Aaron H.; Walsh, K.

2004-01-01

A high-resolution gravity survey through the Tualatin Mountains (Portland Nills) west of downtown Portland exhibits evidence of faults previously identified from surface geologic and aeromagnetic mapping. The gravity survey was conducted in 1996 along the 4.5-km length of a twin-bore tunnel, then under construction and now providing light-rail service between downtown Portland and communities west of the Portland Hills. Gravitational attraction gradually increases from west to east inside the tunnel, which reflects the tunnel's location between low-density sedimentary deposits of the Tualatin basin to the west and high-density, mostly concealed Eocene basalt to the east. Superimposed on this gradient are several steplike anomalies that we interpret as evidence for faulted contacts between rocks of contrasting density. The largest of these anomalies occurs beneath Sylvan Creek, where a fault had previously been mapped inside the tunnel. Another occurs 1200 m from the west portal, at the approximate intersection of the tunnel with an aeromagnetic anomaly associated with the Sylvan fault (formerly called the Oatfield fault). Lithologic cross sections based on these gravity data show that the steplike anomalies are consistent with steeply dipping reverse faults, although strike-slip displacements also may be important. Three gravity lows correspond with topographic lows directly overhead and may reflect zones of shearing. Several moderate earthquakes (M ??? 3.5) occurred near the present-day location of the tunnel in 1991, suggesting that some of these faults or other faults in the Portland Hills fault zone are seismically active.

Plate Margin Deformation and Active Tectonics Along the Northern Edge of the Yakutat Terrane in the Saint Elias Orogen, Alaska and Yukon, Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruhn, Ronald L.; Sauber, Jeanne; Cotton, Michele M.; Pavlis, Terry L.; Burgess, Evan; Ruppert, Natalia; Forster, Richard R.

2012-01-01

The northwest directed motion of the Pacific plate is accompanied by migration and collision of the Yakutat terrane into the cusp of southern Alaska. The nature and magnitude of accretion and translation on upper crustal faults and folds is poorly constrained, however, due to pervasive glaciation. In this study we used high-resolution topography, geodetic imaging, seismic, and geologic data to advance understanding of the transition from strike-slip motion on the Fairweather fault to plate margin deformation on the Bagley fault, which cuts through the upper plate of the collisional suture above the subduction megathrust. The Fairweather fault terminates by oblique-extensional splay faulting within a structural syntaxis, allowing rapid tectonic upwelling of rocks driven by thrust faulting and crustal contraction. Plate motion is partly transferred from the Fairweather to the Bagley fault, which extends 125 km farther west as a dextral shear zone that is partly reactivated by reverse faulting. The Bagley fault dips steeply through the upper plate to intersect the subduction megathrust at depth, forming a narrow fault-bounded crustal sliver in the obliquely convergent plate margin. Since . 20 Ma the Bagley fault has accommodated more than 50 km of dextral shearing and several kilometers of reverse motion along its southern flank during terrane accretion. The fault is considered capable of generating earthquakes because it is linked to faults that generated large historic earthquakes, suitably oriented for reactivation in the contemporary stress field, and locally marked by seismicity. The fault may generate earthquakes of Mw <= 7.5.

Origin of the Uinta recess, Sevier fold thrust belt, Utah: influence of basin architecture on fold thrust belt geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulsen, Timothy; Marshak, Stephen

1999-11-01

Structural trends in the Sevier fold-thrust belt define a pronounced concave-to-the-foreland map-view curve, the Uinta recess, in north-central Utah. This recess separates two convex-to-the-foreland curves, the Provo salient on the south and the Wyoming salient on the north. The two limbs of the recess comprise transverse zones (fault zones at a high-angle to the regional trend of the orogen) that border the flanks of the east-west-trending Uinta/Cottonwood arch. Our structural analysis indicates that the transverse zones formed during the Sevier orogeny, and that they differ markedly from each other in structural style. The Charleston transverse zone (CTZ), on the south side of the arch, initiated as a complex sinistral strike-slip fault system that defines the abrupt northern boundary of the Provo salient. The Mount Raymond transverse zone (MRTZ), on the north side of the arch, represents the region in which the southeast-verging southern limb of the gently curving Wyoming salient was tilted northwards during the Laramide phase of uplift of the Uinta/Cottonwood arch. In effect, the MRTZ represents an oblique cross section through a thrust belt. The contrasting architecture of these transverse zones demonstrates how pre-deformation basin geometry influences the geometry of a fold-thrust belt. Analysis of isopach maps indicates that, at the time the Sevier fold-thrust belt formed, the area just north of the present site of the Uinta/Cottonwood arch was a basement high, with a gently dipping north flank, and a steeply dipping south flank. Thus, predeformational sediment thickened abruptly to the south of the high and thickened gradually to the north of the high. As illustrated by sandbox models, the distance that a fold-thrust belt propagates into the foreland depends on the thickness of the sedimentary layer being deformed, so the shape of the salient mimics the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the sedimentary basin. Where basins taper gradually along strike, the thrust belt curves gently, but where basins taper abruptly along strike, the thrust belt curves so tightly that it disarticulates and becomes bounded laterally by a strike-slip accommodation zone. The geometry of the Uinta recess provides a field example of this concept. Differential movement of Sevier thrusts led to formation of gradually curving thrusts on the north side of the high, because of the gradual slope of the high's north flank, but led to the along-strike disarticulation of thrusts on the south side of the high, because of the steep slope of the high's south flank. In effect, therefore, thrust belt map-view geometry provides insight into predeformational basin geometry.

Traditional and innovative methods applied to a crystalline aquifer for characterizing fault zone hydrology at different scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bour, O.; Ruelleu, S.; Le Borgne, T.; Boudin, F.; Moreau, F.; Durand, S.; Longuevergne, L.

2011-12-01

Crystalline rocks aquifers are difficult to characterize since flow is mainly localized in few fractures or faults. In particular, the geometry of the main flow paths and the connections of the aquifer with the sub-surface are often poorly constrained. Here, we present results from different geophysical and hydraulic methods to quantify fault zone hydrology of a crystalline confined aquifer (Ploemeur, French Brittany). This outstandingly productive crystalline rock aquifer is exploited at a rate of about 10 6 m3 per year since 1991. The pumping site is located at the intersection of two main structures: the contact zone between granite roof and overlying micaschists, and a steeply dipping fault striking North 20°, with combined dextral strike-slip and normal components. Core samples and borehole optical imagery reveals that the contact zone at the granite roof consists of alternating deformed granitic sheets and enclaves of micaschists, pegmatite and aplite dykes, as well as quartz veins. Locally, this contact is marked by mylonites and pegmatite-bearing breccias that are often but not systematically associated with major borehole inflows. Other significant inflows are localized within single fractures independently of the lithologies encountered. At the borehole scale the structural and hydraulic properties of the aquifer are thus highly variable. At the site scale - typically a kilometer squared - the water levels are monitored in 22 boreholes, 100 meters deep in average. The connectivity of the main flow paths and the hydraulic properties are relatively well constrained and quantified thanks to cross-borehole flowmeter tests and traditional pumping tests. In complement, long-base tiltmeters monitoring and ground-surface leveling allows to monitor sub-surface deformation. It provides a quantification of the hydro-mechanical properties of the aquifer and better constraints about the geometry of the main fault zone. Surprisingly, the storage coefficient of the confined aquifer is relatively high, in agreement with ground-surface deformation measurements that suggest a relativity high compressibility of the fault zone. At larger scale, we show through a high-resolution gravimetric survey that the highly fractured contact between granite and micaschists, which constitutes the main path for groundwater flow, is a gently dipping structure. A 3D gravimetric model confirms also the presence of sub-vertical faults that may constitute important drains for the aquifer recharge. In addition, groundwater temperature monitoring allows to shows that the main water supply comes from a depth of at least 300 meters. Such a depth in a low relief region involves relatively deep groundwater circulation that can be achieved only thanks to major permeable fault zone. This field example shows the advantages and limitations of some traditional and innovative methods to characterize fault zone hydrology in crystalline bedrock aquifers.

Evolution of transmission spectra of double cladding fiber during etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, Oleg V.; Tian, Fei; Du, Henry

2017-11-01

We investigate the evolution of optical transmission through a double cladding fiber-optic structure during etching. The structure is formed by a section of SM630 fiber with inner depressed cladding between standard SMF-28 fibers. Its transmission spectrum exhibits two resonance dips at wavelengths where two cladding modes have almost equal propagation constants. We measure transmission spectra with decreasing thickness of the cladding and show that the resonance dips shift to shorter wavelengths, while new dips of lower order modes appear from long wavelength side. We calculate propagation constants of cladding modes and resonance wavelengths, which we compare with the experiment.

Geology of the Zambales ophiolite, Luzon, Philippines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rossman, D.L.; Castanada, G.C.; Bacuta, G.C.

1989-01-01

The Zambales ophiolite of western Luzon, Philippines, exposes a typical succession of basalt flows, diabasic dikes, gabbro and tectonized harzburgite. The age established by limiting strata is late Eocene. Lack of evidence of thrust faulting and the general domal disposition of the lithologie units indicate that the ophiolitic rocks are exposed by uplift. Highly complex internal layered structures within the complex are related to processes developed during formation of the ophiolite and the Zambales ophiolite may be one of the least disturbed (by emplacement) ophiolitic masses known. The exposed mass trends north and the upper surface plunges at low angles (a few degrees) to the north and south. The chemistry and composition of the rocks in the northwest part of the Zambales area (Acoje block) is distinct from that in the southeastern segment (Coto block). The Acoje block, according to Evans (1983) and Hawkins and Evans (1983), resembles (on a chemical basis) arc-tholeiite series rocks from intra-island arcs and the rocks in the Coto block are typical back-arc basin rock series. The present writer believes that the ophiolite composes a single genetic unit and that the changes in composition are the result of changes that took place during the initial formation. The gabbro probably formed below a spreading center in an elongate, in cross section, V-shaped, magma chamber. The gabbro is estimated by the writer to be less than 2 km thick and may be less than 1 km in places. Numerous erosional windows through the gabbro in the northern and eastern side of the Zambales area show that the gabbro remaining in those areas is likely to be only a few hundred meters thick. Harzburgite is exposed to a depth of about 800 m in the Bagsit River area and this may be the deepest part of the ophiolite accessible for study on which there is any control on depth. A transitional zone, about 200 m thick lying between the gabbro and harzburgite, is composed of serpentinized dunite. Commonly the dunite contains disseminated sulfide minerals and at the Acoje Mines, platinum-group elements. A compositional layering within the gabbro is in places cumulate in the lower part of the unit but may have formed by nucleation higher up on the relatively steep sides of the magma chamber. A widespread gneissic banding in the gabbro forms large mappable structures which are many times more complex than is the disposition of the major rock units. These structures are believed to be the result of extensive slumping in the magma chamber. The structure produced by the cumulate layering merges with the gneissic banding, commonly without discernible change in attitude. This tectonic layered structure crosses the gabbro-peridotite boundary at any angle without seeming to disturb the original rock distribution. At greater depths below the boundary (ca. 800 m), the harzburgite contains low dipping banding, which probably reflects the result of differential movement within the mantle. Chromite occurs almost exclusively in a zone that generally lies no more than 200-300 m below the gabbro-peridotite boundary. Refractory-grade chromite is found in this zone below the olivine gabbro in the Goto block and as low-grade metallurgical grade chromite below norite in the Acoje block. At Acoje Mines the chromite is present in layers in dunite, which the writer interprets as being distributed in a zone along the gently dipping (ca. 25??) gabbro-peridotite boundary. The steeply dipping (ca. 60-80 ?? ) individual layers lie en echelon along the boundary at an angle (ca. 50 ?? ) to the contact. At Coto the chromite forms large discontinuous masses in the lowest dunite and in the uppermost harzburgite. Except for the chromite present as layers at Acoje, the regional tectonic layering crosses the chromite deposits without structural deviation. The chromite deposits and associated peridotite may be cumulate in origin, but have been modified to such an extent that cumulate textures are gener

Geomorphology of submerged river channels indicates Late Quaternary tectonic activity in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrabec, M.; Slavec, P.; Poglajen, S.; Busetti, M.

2012-04-01

We use multibeam and parametric subbottom sonar data, complemented with multichannel and high-resolution single-channel seismic profiles, to investigate sea-bottom morphology and subbottom sediment structure in the south-eastern half of the Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea. The study area comprises 180 km2 of predominantly flat seabed with the water depth from 20 to 25 m. Pre-Quaternary basement consists of Mesozoic-Paleogene carbonate platform unit, overlain by Eocene marls and sandstones, covered by up to 300 m thick Quaternary sediments of predominantly continental origin. The uppermost few meters of sediment consist of Holocene fine-grained marine deposits. Structurally, the investigated area belongs to the imbricated rim of the Adriatic microplate and is dissected by several NE-dipping low-angle thrusts with up to several kms of displacement. The thrusts are cut by younger NE-SW-trending steeply dipping faults with sinistral and/or normal offset, mapped onshore. The continuation of those faults into the offshore area is suggested by mismatch of thrust structures between parallel seismic profiles. Geodetic data on present-day tectonic activity is controversial. Whereas the Adriatic microplate is currently moving northwards towards Eurasia at the rate of 2-4 mm/yr, the GNSS data show no measurable deformation in the Gulf of Trieste. On the other hand, onshore precise-levelling data suggest localized vertical motions in the range of 1 mm/yr, interpreted as an indication of thrust activity. High-resolution swath bathymetry revealed several current-related erosional and depositional features such as gullies and megadunes with up to 5 m of relief. The most conspicuous seabed morphological features are pre-Holocene river channels preserved in low-erosion submarine environment, which make excellent markers for studying the long-term geomorphological evolution of the area. The WNW-ESE-trending paleo-Rižana river is characterized by highly sinuous meandering channels. Sequential profiles perpendicular to the river course suggest consistent ~NE-ward lateral shifting of channels, parallel with inclination of the present-day seabed and with the present-day lateral gradient in channel depth. A longitudinal profile of the Rižana river plain revealed downstream increase in elevation of the stream bed, visible both from seabed bathymetry and from vertical position of channel lag deposits in subbottom sonar profiles. These observations suggest post-depositional tectonic tilting of the fluvial sediments that could be related either to activation of NE-dipping thrusts in the pre-Quaternary basement, or to minor anticlinal folding associated with Quaternary transpressional faulting along NW-SE-trending zones, implied from seismic profiles NW-ward of our study area. An enigmatic low-sinuosity channel feature runs along the coastline in the NE-SW direction and crosses the paleo-Rižana channel. Subbottom sonar profiles show asymmetric channel geometry and strong reflectors (channel lag deposits?) at the channel bottom, typical of other documented river channels in the area. This feature is vertically offset by a NE-SW-trending linear morphological flexure that corresponds in location and orientation to the onshore Monte Spaccato fault. Subbottom profiling revealed in several places an abrupt truncation of horizontal reflectors that could be manifestation of faulting. These indications of Late Quaternary - Holocene tectonic activity may have important implications for seismic hazard in the heavily populated coastal area of the Gulf of Trieste.

Anomalous Electron Spectrum and Its Relation to Peak Structure of Electron Scattering Rate in Cuprate Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Deheng; Mou, Yingping; Feng, Shiping

2018-02-01

The recent discovery of a direct link between the sharp peak in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate of cuprate superconductors and the well-known peak-dip-hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum is calling for an explanation. Within the framework of the kinetic-energy-driven superconducting mechanism, the complicated line-shape in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of cuprate superconductors is investigated. It is shown that the interaction between electrons by the exchange of spin excitations generates a notable peak structure in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate around the antinodal and nodal regions. However, this peak structure disappears at the hot spots, which leads to that the striking peak-dip-hump structure is developed around the antinodal and nodal regions, and vanishes at the hot spots. The theory also confirms that the sharp peak observed in the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is directly responsible for the remarkable peak-dip-hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of cuprate superconductors.

Linking Precursor Alterations to Nanoscale Structure and Optical Transparency in Polymer Assisted Fast-Rate Dip-Coating of Vanadium Oxide Thin Films

PubMed Central

Glynn, Colm; Creedon, Donal; Geaney, Hugh; Armstrong, Eileen; Collins, Timothy; Morris, Michael A.; Dwyer, Colm O’

2015-01-01

Solution processed metal oxide thin films are important for modern optoelectronic devices ranging from thin film transistors to photovoltaics and for functional optical coatings. Solution processed techniques such as dip-coating, allow thin films to be rapidly deposited over a large range of surfaces including curved, flexible or plastic substrates without extensive processing of comparative vapour or physical deposition methods. To increase the effectiveness and versatility of dip-coated thin films, alterations to commonly used precursors can be made that facilitate controlled thin film deposition. The effects of polymer assisted deposition and changes in solvent-alkoxide dilution on the morphology, structure, optoelectronic properties and crystallinity of vanadium pentoxide thin films was studied using a dip-coating method using a substrate withdrawal speed within the fast-rate draining regime. The formation of sub-100 nm thin films could be achieved rapidly from dilute alkoxide based precursor solutions with high optical transmission in the visible, linked to the phase and film structure. The effects of the polymer addition was shown to change the crystallized vanadium pentoxide thin films from a granular surface structure to a polycrystalline structure composed of a high density of smaller in-plane grains, resulting in a uniform surface morphology with lower thickness and roughness. PMID:26123117

Interplay of superconductivity and bosonic coupling in the peak-dip-hump structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 +δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Tristan L.; Zhang, Wentao; Ma, Jonathan; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Moore, Joel E.; Lanzara, Alessandra

2018-04-01

Because of the important role of electron-boson interactions in conventional superconductivity, it has long been asked whether any similar mechanism is at play in high-temperature cuprate superconductors. Evidence for strong electron-boson coupling is observed in cuprates with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), in the form of a dispersion kink and peak-dip-hump structure. What is missing is evidence of a causal relation to superconductivity. Here we revisit the problem using the technique of time-resolved ARPES on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 +δ . We focus on the peak-dip-hump structure, and show that laser pulses shift spectral weight into the dip as superconductivity is destroyed on picosecond time scales. We compare our results to simulations of Eliashberg theory in a superconductor with an Einstein boson, and find that the magnitude of the shift in spectral weight depends on the degree to which the bosonic mode contributes to superconductivity. Further study could address one of the longstanding mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity.

Seismicity and structure of Nazca Plate subduction zone in southern Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, H.; Kim, Y.; Clayton, R. W.

2015-12-01

We image the Nazca plate subduction zone system by detecting and (re)locating intra-slab earthquakes in southern Peru. Dense seismic arrays (PeruSE, 2013) were deployed along four lines to target geophysical characterization of the subduction system in the transition zone between flat and normal dipping segments of the Nazca plate (2-15°S). The arc volcanism is absent near the flat slab segment, and currently, the correlation between the location of the active volcanic front and corresponding slab depth is neither clear nor consistent between previously published models from seismicity. We detect 620 local earthquakes from August 2008 to February 2013 by manually picking 6559 and 4145 arrival times for P- and S-phases, respectively. We observe that the S-phase data is helpful to reduce the trade-off between origin time and depth of deeper earthquakes (>100 km). Earthquake locations are relocated to constrain the Nazca slab-mantle interface in the slab-dip transition zone using 7322 measurements of differential times of nearby earthquake pairs by waveform cross-correlation. We also employ the double-difference tomography (Zhang and Thurber, 2003) to further improve earthquake source locations and the spatial resolution of the velocity structure simultaneously. The relocated hypocenters clearly delineate the dipping Wadati-Benioff zone in the slab-dip transition zone between the shallow- (25°) to-flat dipping slab segment in the north and the normal (40°) dipping segment in the south. The intermediate-depth seismicity in the flat slab region stops at a depth of ~100 km and a horizontal distance of ~400 km from the trench. We find a significant slab-dip difference (up to 10°) between our relocated seismicity and previously published slab models along the profile region sampling the normal-dip slab at depth (>100 km).

Milk caseins as useful vehicle for delivery of dipyridamole drug.

PubMed

Dezhampanah, Hamid; Esmaili, Masoomeh; Hasani, Leila

2018-05-01

The interaction of bovine milk α- and β-caseins as an efficient drug carrier system with Dipyridamole (DIP) was investigated using spectroscopy and molecular docking studies at different temperatures (20-37 °C). FTIR, CD, and fluorescence spectroscopy methods demonstrated that α- and β-caseins interact with DIP molecule mainly via hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions and change in secondary structure of α- and β-caseins. DIP showed a higher quenching efficiency and binding constant of α-casein than β-casein. There was only one binding site for DIP and it was located on the surface of the protein molecule. The thermodynamic parameters of calculation showed that the binding process occurs spontaneously and demonstrated that α- and β-caseins provide very good binding and entrapment to DIP via hydrogen bonds, Van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, and docking study showed that DIP binds to the Trp residues of α- and β-casein molecules with short distances. Docking study showed that DIP molecule made several hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions with α- and β-caseins. The study of cell culture and micellar solubility of DIP demonstrated α- and β-caseins relatively the same helping in delivery of DIP. Milk α- and β-caseins are considered as a useful vehicle for the solublization and stabilization of DIP in aqueous solution at natural pH.

Structure and geomorphology of the "big bend" in the Hosgri-San Gregorio fault system, offshore of Big Sur, central California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, S. Y.; Watt, J. T.; Hartwell, S. R.; Kluesner, J. W.; Dartnell, P.

2015-12-01

The right-lateral Hosgri-San Gregorio fault system extends mainly offshore for about 400 km along the central California coast and is a major structure in the distributed transform margin of western North America. We recently mapped a poorly known 64-km-long section of the Hosgri fault offshore Big Sur between Ragged Point and Pfieffer Point using high-resolution bathymetry, tightly spaced single-channel seismic-reflection and coincident marine magnetic profiles, and reprocessed industry multichannel seismic-reflection data. Regionally, this part of the Hosgri-San Gregorio fault system has a markedly more westerly trend (by 10° to 15°) than parts farther north and south, and thus represents a transpressional "big bend." Through this "big bend," the fault zone is never more than 6 km from the shoreline and is a primary control on the dramatic coastal geomorphology that includes high coastal cliffs, a narrow (2- to 8-km-wide) continental shelf, a sharp shelfbreak, and a steep (as much as 17°) continental slope incised by submarine canyons and gullies. Depth-converted industry seismic data suggest that the Hosgri fault dips steeply to the northeast and forms the eastern boundary of the asymmetric (deeper to the east) Sur Basin. Structural relief on Franciscan basement across the Hosgri fault is about 2.8 km. Locally, we recognize five discrete "sections" of the Hosgri fault based on fault trend, shallow structure (e.g., disruption of young sediments), seafloor geomorphology, and coincidence with high-amplitude magnetic anomalies sourced by ultramafic rocks in the Franciscan Complex. From south to north, section lengths and trends are as follows: (1) 17 km, 312°; (2) 10 km, 322°; (3)13 km, 317°; (4) 3 km, 329°; (5) 21 km, 318°. Through these sections, the Hosgri surface trace includes several right steps that vary from a few hundred meters to about 1 km wide, none wide enough to provide a barrier to continuous earthquake rupture.

Fault structure in the Nepal Himalaya as illuminated by aftershocks of the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake recorded by the local NAMASTE network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, A.; Mendoza, M.; LI, B.; Karplus, M. S.; Nabelek, J.; Sapkota, S. N.; Adhikari, L. B.; Klemperer, S. L.; Velasco, A. A.

2017-12-01

Geometry of the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT), that accommodates majority of the plate motion between Indian and Eurasian plate, is being debated for a long time. Different models have been proposed; some of them are significantly different from others. Obtaining a well constrained geometry of the MHT is challenging mainly because of the lack of high quality data, inherent low resolution and non-uniqueness of the models. We used a dense local seismic network - NAMASTE - to record and analyze a prolific aftershock sequence following the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, and determine geometry of the MHT constrained by precisely located well-constrained aftershocks. We detected and located more than 15,000 aftershocks of the Gorkha earthquake using Hypoinverse and then relatively relocated using HypoDD algorithm. We selected about 7,000 earthquakes that are particularly well constrained to analyze the geometry of the megathrust. They illuminate fault structure in this part of the Himalaya with unprecedented detail. The MHT shows two subhorizontal planes connected by a duplex structure. The duplex structure is characterized by multiple steeply dipping planes. In addition, we used four large-aperture continental-scale seismic arrays at teleseismic distances to backproject high-frequency seismic radiation. Moreover, we combined all arrays to significantly increase the resolution and detectability. We imaged rupture propagation of the mainshock showing complexity near the end of the rupture that might help arresting of the rupture to the east. Furthermore, we continuously scanned teleseismic data for two weeks starting from immediately after the mainshock to detect and locate aftershock activity only using the arrays. Spatial pattern of the aftershocks was similar to the existing global catalog using conventional seismic network and technique. However, we detected more than twice as many aftershocks using the array technique compared to the global catalog including many aftershocks that were undetected by the global network. This method might provide new tool to rapidly detect aftershock activity immediately after a large damaging earthquake to guide fast and more effective disaster response.

Two distinct superconducting phases in LiFeAs

PubMed Central

Nag, P. K.; Schlegel, R.; Baumann, D.; Grafe, H.-J.; Beck, R.; Wurmehl, S.; Büchner, B.; Hess, C.

2016-01-01

A non-trivial temperature evolution of superconductivity including a temperature-induced phase transition between two superconducting phases or even a time-reversal symmetry breaking order parameter is in principle expected in multiband superconductors such as iron-pnictides. Here we present scanning tunnelling spectroscopy data of LiFeAs which reveal two distinct superconducting phases: at = 18 K a partial superconducting gap opens, evidenced by subtle, yet clear features in the tunnelling spectra, i.e. particle-hole symmetric coherence peak and dip-hump structures. At Tc = 16 K, these features substantiate dramatically and become characteristic of full superconductivity. Remarkably, the distance between the dip-hump structures and the coherence peaks remains practically constant in the whole temperature regimeT ≤ . This rules out the connection of the dip-hump structures to an antiferromagnetic spin resonance. PMID:27297474

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Dibromido{2-[(4-tert-butylmethylphenyl) iminomethyl]pyridine-κ2 N, N'}Zinc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalaj, M.; Ghazanfarpour-Darjani, M.; Seftejani, F. B.; Lalegani, A.

2017-12-01

The title compound [Zn( dip)Br2] was synthesized using the Schiff base bidentate ligand (E)-4- tert-butyl- N-(pyridine-2-ylmethylene)benzeneamine ( dip) and zinc(II) bromide salts. It has been characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that in this structure, the zinc(II) ion is located on an inversion center and exhibits a ZnN2Br2 tetrahedral geometry. In this structure the dip ligand is coordinated with zinc(II) ion in a cyclic-bidentate fashion forming a five-membered metallocyclic ring. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic sp. gr. P21/ m with a = 9.2700(13) Å, b = 7.6128(11) Å, c = 12.3880(17) Å, and β = 97.021(3)°.

Continentward-Dipping Normal Faults, Boudinage and Ductile Shear at Rifted Passive Margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clerc, C. N.; Ringenbach, J. C.; Jolivet, L.; Ballard, J. F.

2017-12-01

Deep structures resulting from the rifting of the continental crust are now well imaged by seismic profiles. We present a series of recent industrial profiles that allow the identification of various rift-related geological processes such as crustal boudinage, ductile shear of the base of the crust and low-angle detachment faulting. Along both magma-rich and magma-poor rifted margins, we observe clear indications of ductile deformation of the deep continental crust. Large-scale shallow dipping shear zones are identified with a top-to-the-continent sense of shear. This sense of shear is consistent with the activity of the Continentward-Dipping Normal Faults (CDNF) that accommodate the extension in the upper crust. This pattern is responsible for an oceanward migration of the deformation and of the associated syn-tectonic deposits (sediments and/or volcanics). We discuss the origin of the Continentward-Dipping Normal Faults (CDNF) and investigate their implications and the effect of sediment thermal blanketing on crustal rheology. In some cases, low-angle shear zones define an anastomosed pattern that delineates boudin-like structures that seem to control the position and dip of upper crustal normal faults. We present some of the most striking examples from several locations (Uruguay, West Africa, South China Sea…), and discuss their rifting histories that differ from the classical models of oceanward-dipping normal faults.

Mapping the subducted Nazca plate in the lower mantle beneath South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Contenti, S. M.; Gu, Y. J.; Okeler, A.

2009-12-01

Recent improvements in data coverage have enabled high-resolution imaging of the morphology of subduction zones and mantle plumes. In this study, we migrate the SS precursors from over 5000 seismograms to obtain a detailed map of mid- and upper-mantle reflectors beneath the northern portion of the South American subduction zone, where the oceanic Nazca plate is descending below the South American plate. In addition to an elevated 410 and depressed 660 (as expected for a subduction zone), strong mid-mantle reflectors at 800-1100 km depth are also apparent. The amplitudes of these steeply dipping reflectors are comparable to that of the 660-kilometer discontinuity. This anomaly outlines a high-velocity (therefore presumably cold) region present in recent finite-frequency based mantle velocity models, suggesting the extension of slab material into the lower mantle. The strength of the reflection is interpreted to be caused by a relatively sharp velocity change, likely due to a strong temperature gradient in combination with mineral phase transitions, the presence of water, or other chemical heterogeneities. Significant mass and heat exchange is therefore expected between the upper- and lower-mantle beneath the study region.

Cretaceous radiolarians from Baliojong ophiolite sequence, Sabah, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jasin, Basir; Tongkul, Felix

2013-10-01

The Baliojong ophiolite sequence exposed along the Baliojong River in Northern Sabah consists of volcanic rocks, mostly basalts, overlain by sedimentary layers consisting of well-bedded cherts, mudstones and sandstones. The ophiolite sequence occurs as steeply-dipping overturned thrust slices oriented approximately north-south. A total of 42 chert samples were collected from the sedimentary layers. However, most of the samples contain poorly preserved radiolarians. Only nine samples yielded moderately well-preserved radiolarians from three selected thrust slices. A total of 32 taxa were identified. Based on the stratigraphic distribution of selected taxa, the radiolarians can be divided into two assemblage zones. The first assemblage zone is Dictyomitra communis Zone characterized by the occurrence of Dictyomitra communis, Archaeodictyomitra (?) lacrimula, Sethocapsa (?) orca, Dictyomitra pseudoscalaris, and Pantanellium squinaboli. The assemblage indicates Barremian to Aptian in age. The second assemblage zone Pseudodictyomitra pseudomacrocephala Zone contains Pseudodictyomitra pseudomacrocephala, Dictyomitra gracilis, Dictyomitra montesserei, Xitus mclaughlini, and Dictyomitra obesa. This assemblage indicates an age of Albian and the presence of Pseudodictyomitra tiara suggests the age may extend up to Cenomanian. Each thrust slice yielded more or less similar radiolarian assemblages indicating that they all came from the same sedimentary layers.

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

Not Available

The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy Underground Coal Conversion (UCC) program is to develop the technology to produce clean fuels from coal deposits unsuitable for commercial exploitation by conventional mining techniques. The highest priority is to develop and demonstrate, in conjunction with industry, a commercially feasible process for underground gasification of low-rank coal in the 1985--1987 time period. The program will also attempt to develop cost-effective technologies to utilize steeply dipping seams and bituminous coal by UCC. Results of the program to date indicate that, while UCC is technically feasible, it still contains some process unknowns, environmental risks,more » and economic risks that require R and D. In order to contribute to the national energy goals, a strong DOE program which incorporates maximum industry involvement is planned. Major projects are described in some detail. Finally, a strong program of supporting activities will address specific problems identified in the field testing and will seek to advance UCC technology. In summary, the program's strategy is to remove the high-risk elements of UCC by resolving those technical, environmental, and economic uncertainties that remain, and to enable industry to assume responsibility for commercialization of the process.« less

The 12 September 1999 Upper East Rift Zone dike intrusion at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cervelli, Peter; Segall, P.; Amelung, F.; Garbeil, H.; Meertens, C.; Owen, S.; Miklius, Asta; Lisowski, M.

2002-01-01

Deformation associated with an earthquake swarm on 12 September 1999 in the Upper East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano was recorded by continuous GPS receivers and by borehole tiltmeters. Analyses of campaign GPS, leveling data, and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data from the ERS-2 satellite also reveal significant deformation from the swarm. We interpret the swarm as resulting from a dike intrusion and model the deformation field using a constant pressure dike source. Nonlinear inversion was used to find the model that best fits the data. The optimal dike is located beneath and slightly to the west of Mauna Ulu, dips steeply toward the south, and strikes nearly east-west. It is approximately 3 by 2 km across and was driven by a pressure of ??? 15 MPa. The total volume of the dike was 3.3 x 106 m3. Tilt data indicate a west to east propagation direction. Lack of premonitory inflation of Kilauea's summit suggests a passive intrusion; that is, the immediate cause of the intrusion was probably tensile failure in the shallow crust of the Upper East Rift Zone brought about by persistent deep rifting and by continued seaward sliding of Kilauea's south flank.

Grizzly Valley fault system, Sierra Valley, CA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gold, Ryan; Stephenson, William; Odum, Jack; Briggs, Rich; Crone, Anthony; Angster, Steve

2012-01-01

The Grizzly Valley fault system (GVFS) strikes northwestward across Sierra Valley, California and is part of a network of active, dextral strike-slip faults in the northern Walker Lane (Figure 1). To investigate Quaternary motion across the GVFS, we analyzed high-resolution (0.25 m) airborne LiDAR data (Figure 2) in combination with six, high-resolution, P-wave, seismic-reflection profiles [Gold and others, 2012]. The 0.5- to 2.0-km-long seismic-reflection profiles were sited orthogonal to suspected tectonic lineaments identified from previous mapping and our analysis of airborne LiDAR data. To image the upper 400–700 m of subsurface stratigraphy of Sierra Valley (Figure 3), we used a 230-kg accelerated weight drop source. Geophone spacing ranged from 2 to 5 m and shots were co-located with the geophones. The profiles reveal a highly reflective, deformed basal marker that we interpret to be the top of Tertiary volcanic rocks, overlain by a 120- to 300-m-thick suite of subhorizontal reflectors we interpret as Plio-Pleistocene lacustrine deposits. Three profiles image the principle active trace of the GVFS, which is a steeply dipping fault zone that offsets the volcanic rocks and the basin fill (Figures 4 & 5).

Regional-scale advective, diffusive, and eruptive dynamics of CO2 and brine leakage through faults and wellbores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Na-Hyun; Han, Weon Shik; Han, Kyungdoe; Park, Eungyu

2015-05-01

Regional-scale advective, diffusive, and eruptive transport dynamics of CO2 and brine within a natural analogue in the northern Paradox Basin, Utah, were explored by integrating numerical simulations with soil CO2 flux measurements. Deeply sourced CO2 migrates through steeply dipping fault zones to the shallow aquifers predominantly as an aqueous phase. Dense CO2-rich brine mixes with regional groundwater, enhancing CO2 dissolution. Linear stability analysis reveals that CO2 could be dissolved completely within only 500 years. Assigning lower permeability to the fault zones induces fault-parallel movement, feeds up-gradient aquifers with more CO2, and impedes down-gradient fluid flow, developing anticlinal CO2 traps at shallow depths (<300 m). The regional fault permeability that best reproduces field spatial CO2 flux variation is estimated 1 × 10-17 ≤ kh < 1 × 10-16 m2 and 5 × 10-16 ≤ kv < 1 × 10-15 m2. The anticlinal trap serves as an essential fluid source for eruption at Crystal Geyser. Geyser-like discharge sensitively responds to varying well permeability, radius, and CO2 recharge rate. The cyclic behavior of wellbore CO2 leakage decreases with time.

Widespread uplift and 'trapdoor' faulting on Galápagos volcanoes observed with radar interferometry.

PubMed

Amelung, F; Jónsson, S; Zebker, H; Segall, P

2000-10-26

Volcanic uplift, caused by the accumulation of magma in subsurface reservoirs, is a common precursor to eruptions. But, for some volcanoes, uplift of metres or more has not yet led to an eruption. Here we present displacement maps of volcanoes in the Galápagos Islands, constructed using satellite radar interferometry, that might help explain this dichotomy. We show that all but one of the seven volcanoes on the islands of Isabela and Fernandina deformed during 1992-99. Cerro Azul and Fernandina erupted during the observation period and show evidence of inflation, co-eruptive deflation and shallow dyke intrusion. In contrast, the largest volcano, Sierra Negra, has not erupted, yet exhibits spatially and temporally variable deformation, with a maximum uplift of 2.7 m between 1992 and 1999, which can be modelled by a shallow inflating sill. Inflation during 1997-98, however, was accompanied by 'trapdoor' faulting on a steeply dipping fracture system within the caldera. Repeated trapdoor faulting over geological time has formed an arcuate intra-caldera ridge within Sierra Negra and may have acted to relax stresses above the magma chamber, inhibiting summit eruptions. Similar processes may help explain large uplift unaccompanied by eruptive activity at other volcanoes.

The Origin of High-angle Dip-slip Earthquakes at Geothermal Fields in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbour, A. J.; Schoenball, M.; Martínez-Garzón, P.; Kwiatek, G.

2016-12-01

We examine the source mechanisms of earthquakes occurring in three California geothermal fields: The Geysers, Salton Sea, and Coso. We find source mechanisms ranging from strike slip faulting, consistent with the tectonic settings, to dip slip with unusually steep dip angles which are inconsistent with local structures. For example, we identify a fault zone in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field imaged using precisely-relocated hypocenters with a dip angle of 60° yet double-couple focal mechanisms indicate higher-angle dip-slip on ≥75° dipping planes. We observe considerable temporal variability in the distribution of source mechanisms. For example, at the Salton Sea we find that the number of high angle dip-slip events increased after 1989, when net-extraction rates were highest. There is a concurrent decline in strike-slip and strike-slip-normal faulting, the mechanisms expected from regional tectonics. These unusual focal mechanisms and their spatio-temporal patterns are enigmatic in terms of our understanding of faulting in geothermal regions. While near-vertical fault planes are expected to slip in a strike-slip sense, and dip slip is expected to occur on moderately dipping faults, we observe dip slip on near-vertical fault planes. However, for plausible stress states and accounting for geothermal production, the resolved fault planes should be stable. We systematically analyze the source mechanisms of these earthquakes using full moment tensor inversion to understand the constraints imposed by assuming a double-couple source. Applied to The Geysers field, we find a significant reduction in the number of high-angle dip-slip mechanisms using the full moment tensor. The remaining mechanisms displaying high-angle dip-slip could be consistent with faults accommodating subsidence and compaction associated with volumetric strain changes in the geothermal reservoir.

Restoration of the di-myo-inositol-phosphate pathway in the piezo-hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus barophilus.

PubMed

Cario, Anaïs; Mizgier, Alex; Thiel, Axel; Jebbar, Mohamed; Oger, Phil M

2015-11-01

Most Thermococcales accumulate di-myo-inositol-phosphate (DIP) as an organic solute as a response to heat stress. We have studied the accumulation of this osmolyte in the high-hydrostatic pressure adapted hyperthermophile Thermococcus barophilus. We found no accumulation of DIP under any of the stress conditions tested, although this archaeon harbors the 3 DIP synthesis genes. Lack of synthesis is due to the lack of expression of TERMP_01135 coding for the second step of DIP synthesis. In contrast to other species, the T. barophilus synthesis operon is interrupted by a four gene locus, in reverse orientation. Restoring an operon like structure at the DIP locus restored DIP synthesis, but did not have an impact on growth characteristics, suggesting that other mechanisms have evolved in this organism to cope with heat stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Geology of the Ishmas gold district, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Doebrich, Jeff L.; White, Willis M.

1991-01-01

The Ishmas gold district was mapped at 1:25,000 scale to place auriferous mineralization into geologic perspective, to assist in creating an ore-deposit model, and to aid in devising a strategy for subsequent exploration elsewhere in the Jabal Ishmas-Wadi Tathlith gold belt. The precratonic evolution of the district began with the deposition of a tholeiitic mafic volcanic and volcaniclastic sequence that was intruded by diabase and gabbro. Basaltic to rhyodacitic volcanism following a calc-alkaline evolutionary trend ensued. Subsequent deposition of a thick wacke and sandstone unit represented the final phase in the volcano sedimentary accumulation. The emplacement of a large lopolithic layered-gabbro complex marked the end of the precratonic evolutionary cycle. The district coincides with the boundary of two allochthonous terranes. The collisional Nabitah orogeny represents the suturing of the two terranes. The effects of this event are manifested by numerous north-trending, steeply dipping faults, shear zones, and mylonite belts, as well as diapiric serpentinite. During the waning stages of the orogeny, auriferous quartz pods were precipitated in dilatant structures within the north-trending shear zones by deep-seated circulating fluids. The emplacement of a tonalite stock was closely followed by the formation of N. 20°-35° W. -trending faults. These faults influenced the emplacement of dacite porphyry stocks and associated auriferous quartz veins. The auriferous veins are massive, tabular open-fracture fillings that are spatially, temporally, and genetically related to the dacite porphyry. The emplacement of a quartz monzodiorite stock was responsible for additional auriferous quartz vein mineralization that is almost exclusively hosted by the intrusion. A nearly random orientation of the veins indicates that no regional structure influenced their formation. The formation of a series of N. 60°-80° W -trending faults represents the final episode in the district's geologic history and corresponds to the cratonic reactivation that affected a large part of the Arabian Shield (that is, the Najd faulting event). 

Crustal structure and deformation under the Longmenshan and its surroundings revealed by receiver function data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Ya; Liu, Jianxin; Zhou, Keping; Chen, Bo; Guo, Rongwen

2015-07-01

The convergence of India and Eurasia and the obstruction from the rigid Sichuan Basin cause the Longmenshan (LMS) to have the steepest topographic gradient at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. However, the mechanisms of surface uplift are still controversial. In this paper, we estimate the crustal structure and deformation under the LMS and its surroundings by analyzing a large amount of receiver function data recorded by regional seismic networks of the China Earthquake Administration. We apply a comprehensive splitting measurement technique on Ps conversion phase at the Moho (Moho Ps splitting) to calculate crustal anisotropy from azimuthal variations of receiver functions. Our results show that most of the seismic stations beneath the LMS area exhibit significant seismic anisotropy with the splitting time of 0.22-0.94 s and a fast polarization direction of NW-SE, while less or even no crustal anisotropy has been observed under the Sichuan Basin. Comparing the fast polarization directions of Moho Ps splitting with the indicators of lithospheric deformation (such as shear wave splitting, absolute plate motion, and global positioning system) imply a consistent tendency of deformation between the lower crust and upper mantle, but decoupling deformation in the crust beneath the LMS area. We further compare Moho Ps splitting time to that estimated from previous SKS splitting, indicating that crustal anisotropy is an important source of the SKS splitting time in this study area. In addition, a thick crust (>50 km) with high Vp/Vs values (1.74-1.86) is also observed using the H-κ stacking method. These seismic observations are consistent with the scenario that the LMS area has been built by the lower crustal flow. Combined with the seismic reflection/refraction profile and geology studies, we further suggest that the lower crustal flow may extrude upward into the upper crust along the steeply dipping strike faults under the LMS area, resulting in the surface uplift of the LMS.

Structural Analysis of Ogygis Rupes Lobate Scarp on Mars.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrero-Gil, A.; Ruiz, J.; Romeo, I.; Egea-González, I.

2016-12-01

Ogygis Rupes is a 200 kilometers long lobate scarp, striking N30ºE, with approximately 2km of maximum structural relief. It is located in Aonia Terra, in the southern hemisphere of Mars near the northeast margin of Argyre impact basin. Similar to other large lobate scarps on Mercury or Mars, it shows a roughly arcuate to linear form, and an asymmetric cross section with a steeply rising scarp face and a gently declining back scarp. This asymmetry suggests that Ogygis Rupes is the topographic expression of a ESE-vergent thrust fault. By using the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data and the Mars imagery available we have measure the horizontal shortening on impact craters cross-cut by this lobate scarp to obtain a minimum value for the horizontal offset of the underling fault. Two complementary methods were used to estimate fault geometry parameters as fault displacement, dip angle and depth of faulting: (i) analyzing topographic profiles together with the horizontal shortening estimations from cross-cut craters to create balanced cross sections on the basis of the thrust fault propagation folding [1]; (ii) using a forward mechanical dislocation method [2], which predicts fault geometry by comparing model outputs with real topography. The significant size of the fault underlying this lobate scarp suggests that its detachment is located at a main rheological change, for which we have obtained a preliminary depth value of around 30 kilometers by the methods listed above. Estimates of the depth of faulting in similar lobate scarps [3] have been associated to the depth of the brittle-ductile transition. [1] Suppe (1983), Am. J. Sci., 283, 648-721; Seeber and Sorlien (2000), Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 1067-1079. [2] Toda et al. (1998) JGR, 103, 24543-24565. [3] i.e. Schultz and Watters (2001) Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 4659-4662; Ruiz et al. (2008) EPSL, 270, 1-12; Egea-Gonzalez et al. (2012) PSS, 60, 193-198; Mueller et al. (2014) EPSL, 408, 100-109.

Full-waveform seismic tomography of the Vrancea, Romania, subduction region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baron, Julie; Morelli, Andrea

2017-12-01

The Vrancea region is one of the few locations of deep seismicity in Europe. Seismic tomography has been able to map lithospheric downwelling, but has not been able yet to clearly discriminate between competing geodynamic interpretations of the geological and geophysical evidence available. We study the seismic structure of the Vrancea subduction zone, using adjoint-based, full-waveform tomography to map the 3D vP and vS structure in detail. We use the database that was built during the CALIXTO (Carpathian Arc Lithosphere X-Tomography) temporary experiment, restricted to the broadband sensors and local intermediate-depth events. We fit waveforms with a cross-correlation misfit criterion in separate time windows around the expected P and S arrivals, and perform 17 iterations of vP and vS model updates (altogether, requiring about 16 million CPU hours) before reaching stable convergence. Among other features, our resulting model shows a nearly vertical, high-velocity body, that overlaps with the distribution of seismicity in its northeastern part. In its southwestern part, a slab appears to dip less steeply to the NW, and is suggestive of ongoing - or recently concluded - subduction geodynamic processes. Joint inversion for vP and vS allow us to address the vP/vS ratio distribution, that marks high vP/vS in the crust beneath the Focsani sedimentary basin - possibly due to high fluid pressure - and a low vP/vS edge along the lower plane of the subducting lithosphere, that in other similar environment has been attributed to dehydration of serpentine in the slab. In spite of the restricted amount of data available, and limitations on the usable frequency pass-band, full-waveform inversion reveals its potential to improve the general quality of imaging with respect to other tomographic techniques - although at a sensible cost in terms of computing resources. Our study also shows that re-analysis of legacy data sets with up-to-date techniques may bring new, useful, information.

The quadrupole ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rishbeth, H.

1986-01-01

The principal features that might exist in the terrestrial paleoionosphere, if the geomagnetic field were to assume a quadrupole form during a polarity reversal are discussed. Complicated phenomena would be expected to occur at magnetic equators and magnetospherically-driven plasma convection might occur at latitudes where the magnetic field is steeply inclined. The influence of magnetic field strength on ionospheric structure is considered in general terms.

Regional and geomorphic influence on the productivity, composition, and structure of oak ecosystems in the western central hardwoods region

Treesearch

Amber M. Steele; John M. Kabrick; Randall J. Miles

2013-01-01

The steeply dissected glaciated landscapes of the Chariton River Hills Ecological Subsection (CRHES) in northern Missouri have extensive, but largely unmanaged, oak forests that are relatively unstudied. There is increasing interest in these forests for oak ecosystem restoration, ecological site description, and production of oak timber for biofuels. Our objectives...

Postseismic deformation associated with the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, China: Constraining fault geometry and investigating a detailed spatial distribution of afterslip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Zhongshan; Yuan, Linguo; Huang, Dingfa; Yang, Zhongrong; Chen, Weifeng

2017-12-01

We reconstruct two types of fault models associated with the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, one is a listric fault connecting a shallowing sub-horizontal detachment below ∼20 km depth (fault model one, FM1) and the other is a group of more steeply dipping planes further extended to the Moho at ∼60 km depth (fault model two, FM2). Through comparative analysis of the coseismic inversion results, we confirm that the coseismic models are insensitive to the above two type fault geometries. We therefore turn our attention to the postseismic deformation obtained from GPS observations, which can not only impose effective constraints on the fault geometry but also, more importantly, provide valuable insights into the postseismic afterslip. Consequently, FM1 performs outstandingly in the near-, mid-, and far-field, whether considering the viscoelastic influence or not. FM2 performs more poorly, especially in the data-model consistency in the near field, which mainly results from the trade-off of the sharp contrast of the postseismic deformation on both sides of the Longmen Shan fault zone. Accordingly, we propose a listric fault connecting a shallowing sub-horizontal detachment as the optimal fault geometry for the Wenchuan earthquake. Based on the inferred optimal fault geometry, we analyse two characterized postseismic deformation phenomena that differ from the coseismic patterns: (1) the postseismic opposite deformation between the Beichuan fault (BCF) and Pengguan fault (PGF) and (2) the slightly left-lateral strike-slip motions in the southwestern Longmen Shan range. The former is attributed to the local left-lateral strike-slip and normal dip-slip components on the shallow BCF. The latter places constraints on the afterslip on the southwestern BCF and reproduces three afterslip concentration areas with slightly left-lateral strike-slip motions. The decreased Coulomb Failure Stress (CFS) change ∼0.322 KPa, derived from the afterslip with viscoelastic influence removed at the hypocentre of the Lushan earthquake, indicates that the postseismic left-lateral strike-slip and normal dip-slip motions may have a mitigative effect on the fault loading in the southwestern Longmen Shan range. Nevertheless, it is much smaller than the total increased CFS changes (∼8.368 KPa) derived from the coseismic and viscoelastic deformations.

Geophysical constraints on geodynamic processes at convergent margins: A global perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artemieva, Irina; Thybo, Hans; Shulgin, Alexey

2016-04-01

Convergent margins, being the boundaries between colliding lithospheric plates, form the most disastrous areas in the world due to intensive, strong seismicity and volcanism. We review global geophysical data in order to illustrate the effects of the plate tectonic processes at convergent margins on the crustal and upper mantle structure, seismicity, and geometry of subducting slab. We present global maps of free-air and Bouguer gravity anomalies, heat flow, seismicity, seismic Vs anomalies in the upper mantle, and plate convergence rate, as well as 20 profiles across different convergent margins. A global analysis of these data for three types of convergent margins, formed by ocean-ocean, ocean-continent, and continent-continent collisions, allows us to recognize the following patterns. (1) Plate convergence rate depends on the type of convergent margins and it is significantly larger when, at least, one of the plates is oceanic. However, the oldest oceanic plate in the Pacific ocean has the smallest convergence rate. (2) The presence of an oceanic plate is, in general, required for generation of high-magnitude (M N 8.0) earthquakes and for generating intermediate and deep seismicity along the convergent margins. When oceanic slabs subduct beneath a continent, a gap in the seismogenic zone exists at depths between ca. 250 km and 500 km. Given that the seismogenic zone terminates at ca. 200 km depth in case of continent-continent collision, we propose oceanic origin of subducting slabs beneath the Zagros, the Pamir, and the Vrancea zone. (3) Dip angle of the subducting slab in continent-ocean collision does not correlate neither with the age of subducting oceanic slab, nor with the convergence rate. For ocean-ocean subduction, clear trends are recognized: steeply dipping slabs are characteristic of young subducting plates and of oceanic plates with high convergence rate, with slab rotation towards a near-vertical dip angle at depths below ca. 500 km at very high convergence rate. (4) Local isostasy is not satisfied at the convergent margins as evidenced by strong free air gravity anomalies of positive and negative signs. However, near-isostatic equilibrium may exist in broad zones of distributed deformation such as Tibet. (5) No systematic patterns are recognized in heat flow data due to strong heterogeneity of measured values which are strongly affected by hydrothermal circulation, magmatic activity, crustal faulting, horizontal heat transfer, and also due to low number of heat flow measurements across many margins. (6) Low upper mantle Vs seismic velocities beneath the convergent margins are restricted to the upper 150 km and may be related to mantle wedge melting which is confined to shallow mantle levels. Artemieva, I.M., Thybo, H., and Shulgin, A., 2015. Geophysical constraints on geodynamic processes at convergent margins: A global perspective. Gondwana Research, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2015.06.010

Seismic source parameters of the induced seismicity at The Geysers geothermal area, California, by a generalized inversion approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picozzi, Matteo; Oth, Adrien; Parolai, Stefano; Bindi, Dino; De Landro, Grazia; Amoroso, Ortensia

2017-04-01

The accurate determination of stress drop, seismic efficiency and how source parameters scale with earthquake size is an important for seismic hazard assessment of induced seismicity. We propose an improved non-parametric, data-driven strategy suitable for monitoring induced seismicity, which combines the generalized inversion technique together with genetic algorithms. In the first step of the analysis the generalized inversion technique allows for an effective correction of waveforms for the attenuation and site contributions. Then, the retrieved source spectra are inverted by a non-linear sensitivity-driven inversion scheme that allows accurate estimation of source parameters. We therefore investigate the earthquake source characteristics of 633 induced earthquakes (ML 2-4.5) recorded at The Geysers geothermal field (California) by a dense seismic network (i.e., 32 stations of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Geysers/Calpine surface seismic network, more than 17.000 velocity records). We find for most of the events a non-selfsimilar behavior, empirical source spectra that requires ωγ source model with γ > 2 to be well fitted and small radiation efficiency ηSW. All these findings suggest different dynamic rupture processes for smaller and larger earthquakes, and that the proportion of high frequency energy radiation and the amount of energy required to overcome the friction or for the creation of new fractures surface changes with the earthquake size. Furthermore, we observe also two distinct families of events with peculiar source parameters that, in one case suggests the reactivation of deep structures linked to the regional tectonics, while in the other supports the idea of an important role of steeply dipping fault in the fluid pressure diffusion.

The Source Inversion Validation (SIV) Initiative: A Collaborative Study on Uncertainty Quantification in Earthquake Source Inversions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, P. M.; Schorlemmer, D.; Page, M.

2012-04-01

Earthquake source inversions image the spatio-temporal rupture evolution on one or more fault planes using seismic and/or geodetic data. Such studies are critically important for earthquake seismology in general, and for advancing seismic hazard analysis in particular, as they reveal earthquake source complexity and help (i) to investigate earthquake mechanics; (ii) to develop spontaneous dynamic rupture models; (iii) to build models for generating rupture realizations for ground-motion simulations. In applications (i - iii), the underlying finite-fault source models are regarded as "data" (input information), but their uncertainties are essentially unknown. After all, source models are obtained from solving an inherently ill-posed inverse problem to which many a priori assumptions and uncertain observations are applied. The Source Inversion Validation (SIV) project is a collaborative effort to better understand the variability between rupture models for a single earthquake (as manifested in the finite-source rupture model database) and to develop robust uncertainty quantification for earthquake source inversions. The SIV project highlights the need to develop a long-standing and rigorous testing platform to examine the current state-of-the-art in earthquake source inversion, and to develop and test novel source inversion approaches. We will review the current status of the SIV project, and report the findings and conclusions of the recent workshops. We will briefly discuss several source-inversion methods, how they treat uncertainties in data, and assess the posterior model uncertainty. Case studies include initial forward-modeling tests on Green's function calculations, and inversion results for synthetic data from spontaneous dynamic crack-like strike-slip earthquake on steeply dipping fault, embedded in a layered crustal velocity-density structure.

Forming Ganymede's grooves at smaller strain: Toward a self-consistent local and global strain history for Ganymede

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bland, Michael T.; McKinnon, William B.

2015-01-01

The ubiquity of tectonic features formed in extension, and the apparent absence of ones formed in contraction, has led to the hypothesis that Ganymede has undergone global expansion in its past. Determining the magnitude of such expansion is challenging however, and extrapolation of locally or regionally inferred strains to global scales often results in strain estimates that exceed those based on global constraints. Here we use numerical simulations of groove terrain formation to develop a strain history for Ganymede that is generally consistent at local, regional, and global scales. These simulations reproduce groove-like amplitudes, wavelengths, and average slopes at modest regional extensions (10-15%). The modest strains are more consistent with global constraints on Ganymede's expansion. Yet locally, we also find that surface strains can be much larger (30-60%) in the same simulations, consistent with observations of highly-extended impact craters. Thus our simulations satisfy both the smallest-scale and largest-scale inferences of strain on Ganymede. The growth rate of the topography is consistent with (or exceeds) predictions of analytical models, and results from the use of a non-associated plastic rheology that naturally permits localization of brittle failure (plastic strain) into linear fault-like shear zones. These fault-like zones are organized into periodically-spaced graben-like structures with stepped, steeply-dipping faults. As in previous work, groove amplitudes and wavelengths depend on both the imposed heat flux and surface temperature, but because our brittle strength increases with depth, we find (for the parameters explored) that the growth rate of topography is initially faster for lower heat flows. We observe a transition to narrow rifting for higher heat flows and larger strains, which is a potential pathway for breakaway margin or band formation.

Ambient vibrations of unstable rock slopes - insights from numerical modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burjanek, Jan; Kleinbrod, Ulrike; Fäh, Donat

2017-04-01

The recent events in Nepal (2015 M7.8 Gorkha) and New Zealand (2016 M7.8 Kaikoura) highlighted the importance of earthquake-induced landslides, which caused significant damages. Moreover, landslide created dams present a potential developing hazard. In order to reduce the costly consequences of such events it is important to detect and characterize earthquake susceptible rock slope instabilities before an event, and to take mitigation measures. For the characterisation of instable slopes, acquisition of ambient vibrations might be a new alternative to the already existing methods. We present both observations and 3D numerical simulations of the ambient vibrations of unstable slopes. In particular, models of representative real sites have been developed based on detailed terrain mapping and used for the comparison between synthetics and observations. A finite-difference code has been adopted for the seismic wave propagation in a 3D inhomogeneous visco-elastic media with irregular free surface. It utilizes a curvilinear grid for a precise modeling of curved topography and local mesh refinement to make computational mesh finer near the free surface. Topographic site effects, controlled merely by the shape of the topography, do not explain the observed seismic response. In contrast, steeply-dipping compliant fractures have been found to play a key role in fitting observations. Notably, the synthetized response is controlled by inertial mass of the unstable rock, and by stiffness, depth and network density of the fractures. The developed models fit observed extreme amplification levels (factors of 70!) and show directionality as well. This represents a possibility to characterize slope structure and infer depth or volume of the slope instability from the ambient noise recordings in the future.

Forming Ganymede’s grooves at smaller strain: Toward a self-consistent local and global strain history for Ganymede

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bland, Michael T.; McKinnon, W. B.

2015-01-01

The ubiquity of tectonic features formed in extension, and the apparent absence of ones formed in contraction, has led to the hypothesis that Ganymede has undergone global expansion in its past. Determining the magnitude of such expansion is challenging however, and extrapolation of locally or regionally inferred strains to global scales often results in strain estimates that exceed those based on global constraints. Here we use numerical simulations of groove terrain formation to develop a strain history for Ganymede that is generally consistent at local, regional, and global scales. These simulations reproduce groove-like amplitudes, wavelengths, and average slopes at modest regional extensions (10–15%). The modest strains are more consistent with global constraints on Ganymede’s expansion. Yet locally, we also find that surface strains can be much larger (30–60%) in the same simulations, consistent with observations of highly-extended impact craters. Thus our simulations satisfy both the smallest-scale and largest-scale inferences of strain on Ganymede. The growth rate of the topography is consistent with (or exceeds) predictions of analytical models, and results from the use of a non-associated plastic rheology that naturally permits localization of brittle failure (plastic strain) into linear fault-like shear zones. These fault-like zones are organized into periodically-spaced graben-like structures with stepped, steeply-dipping faults. As in previous work, groove amplitudes and wavelengths depend on both the imposed heat flux and surface temperature, but because our brittle strength increases with depth, we find (for the parameters explored) that the growth rate of topography is initially faster for lower heat flows. We observe a transition to narrow rifting for higher heat flows and larger strains, which is a potential pathway for breakaway margin or band formation.

Structural control on the CO2 release west of Mt. Epomeo resurgent block (Ischia, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vita, S.; Marotta, E.; Ventura, G.; Chiodini, G.

2003-04-01

Volcanism at Ischia started more than 150 ka B.P. and continued until the last eruption occurred in 1302 A.D. Ischia is dominated by the caldera forming eruption of Mt. Epomeo Green Tuff (55 ka), which was followed by block resurgence inside the caldera from 33 ka B.P. Resurgence influenced the volcanic activity determining the conditions for magma ascent mainly along the eastern edge of the resurgent block. The resurgent area has a poligonal shape resulting from reactivation of regional faults and by activation of faults related to volcanotectonism. The western sector is bordered by inward dipping, high angle strike-slip/reverse faults testifying a compressional stress regime in this area. These features are cut by late outward dipping normal faults due to gravitational stress. The activity of the volcanic system is testified by seismicity and thermal manifestations. Fumarolic activity concentrates along the faults that borders westward the Mt. Epomeo resurgent block, where the Green Tuff overlies fractured lavas. The structural data show that, outside the most active degassing zone, fractures show a NNW-SSE strike and dip toward Mt. Epomeo. These fractures delimit the northern sector of Mt. Epomeo and show strike and dip consistent with the inward dipping reverse faults. Inside the degassing area fractures show a NW-SE strike and dip outward Mt. Epomeo. These gravity-related faults cut the lavas where the hydrothermal circulation is active. The dip direction of the NW-SE striking fractures within the degassing zone is not consistent with that of the strike-slip/reverse faults (i.e. towards NE) but agrees well with that of the gravity-induced faults (dip direction towards SW). Inside the degassing zone, NW-SE striking faults with lengths not exceeding the hydrothermalized extension occur. This arrangement indicate that the syn-resurgence faults act as permeability barriers, whereas the youngest faults act as the main fluid pathway.

Cigarette smokers show steeper discounting of both food and cigarettes than money.

PubMed

Odum, Amy L; Baumann, Ana A L

2007-12-01

People with drug addiction show steeper discounting of drugs of abuse than money. One suggestion is that this effect is related to withdrawal processes in drug dependence. We investigated whether it could be related to the fact that drugs are directly consumable, whereas money is not. We determined whether regular cigarette smokers discount food (another consumable outcome) less steeply than cigarettes, both of which were predicted to be discounted more steeply than money. Cigarette smokers (N=20) indicated preferences for immediate and delayed outcomes in a titration procedure that determined indifference points at various delays. In three separate conditions, the choices involved food, cigarettes, or money. The value of the delayed option was always US$ 10 or US$ 10 worth of the outcome. Cigarette smokers discounted both cigarettes and food more steeply than money. Most importantly, cigarettes and food were discounted to a similar degree. Cigarettes may be steeply discounted in part due to their consumable nature, rather than solely due to withdrawal-related processes.

Aluminum reduction cell electrode

DOEpatents

Payne, J.R.

1983-09-20

The invention is directed to an anode-cathode structure for an electrolytic cell for the reduction of alumina wherein the structure is comprised of a carbon anode assembly which straddles a wedge-shaped refractory hard metal cathode assembly having steeply sloped cathodic surfaces, each cathodic surface being paired in essentially parallel planar relationship with an anode surface. The anode-cathode structure not only takes into account the structural weakness of refractory hard metal materials but also permits the changing of the RHM assembly during operation of the cell. Further, the anode-cathode structure enhances the removal of anode gas from the interpolar gap between the anode and cathode surfaces. 10 figs.

Aluminum reduction cell electrode

DOEpatents

Payne, John R.

1983-09-20

The invention is directed to an anode-cathode structure for an electrolytic cell for the reduction of alumina wherein the structure is comprised of a carbon anode assembly which straddles a wedge-shaped refractory hard metal cathode assembly having steeply sloped cathodic surfaces, each cathodic surface being paired in essentially parallel planar relationship with an anode surface. The anode-cathode structure not only takes into account the structural weakness of refractory hard metal materials but also permits the changing of the RHM assembly during operation of the cell. Further, the anode-cathode structure enhances the removal of anode gas from the interpolar gap between the anode and cathode surfaces.

Effectiveness of Dexamethasone Iontophoresis for Temporomandibular Joint Involvement in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

PubMed Central

Mina, Rina; Melson, Paula; Powell, Stephanie; Rao, Marepalli; Hinze, Claas; Passo, Murray; Graham, T. Brent; Brunner, Hermine I.

2011-01-01

Objective Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement is common in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Dexamethasone iontophoresis (DIP) uses low-grade electric currents for transdermal dexamethasone delivery into deeper anatomic structures. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of DIP for the treatment of TMJ involvement in JIA, and to delineate variables that are associated with improvement after DIP. Methods Medical records of all JIA patients who underwent DIP for TMJ involvement at a larger tertiary pediatric rheumatology center from 1997 to 2011 were reviewed. DIP was performed using a standard protocol. The effectiveness of DIP was assessed by comparing the maximal inter-incisor opening (MIOTMJ) and the maximal lateral excursion (MLETMJ) before and after treatment. Results Twenty-eight patients (ages 2– 21 years) who received an average of eight DIP treatment sessions per involved TMJ were included in the analysis. Statistically significant improvement in the median MIOTMJ (p< 0.0001) was observed in 68%. The median MLETMJ (p= 0.03) improved in 69%, and resolution of TMJ pain occurred in 73% of the patients who had TMJ pain at baseline. Side effects of DIP were transient site erythema (86%), skin blister (4%), and metallic taste (4%). Improvement in TMJ range of motion from DIP is associated with lower MIOTMJ, lower MLETMJ, and absence of TMJ crepitus at baseline. Conclusion In this pilot study DIP appeared to be an effective and safe initial treatment of TMJ involvement in JIA, especially among patients with decreased TMJ measurements. Prospective controlled studies are needed. PMID:22034112

Protracted tectono-metamorphic history of the SE Superior Province : contribution of 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology in the Abitibi-Opatica contact zone, Québec, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daoudene, Yannick; Tremblay, Alain; Ruffet, Gilles; Leclerc, François; Goutier, Jean

2015-04-01

Archean orogens mainly consist of greenstone belts juxtaposing deeper crustal domains of TTG-type plutonic rocks. The greenstone belts show regional folds, penetrative steeply-dipping fabrics, and localised shear zones, whereas the plutonic belts predominantly display dome structures. Concurrently, rocks in Archean orogens undergone MT/HT-LP/MP metamorphic conditions that vary, from upper to lower crustal domains, between greenschist- and granulite-facies, respectively. These structural and metamorphic variations are well-documented, but modes of deformation related to such orogens is still debated. Some studies suggest that the Archean tectonic processes were comparable to present-day plate tectonics and the Archean greenstone belts were interpreted as tectonic collages commonly documented in Phanerozoic subduction/collision zones. Alternative models propose that the Archean tectonics were different from those predicted by the plate tectonics paradigm, mainly due to the existence of a hotter mantle and a mechanically weak crust. In such models, the burying and exhumation of crustal rocks are attributed to the vertical transfer of material, resulting in the development of pop-down and domes structures. As a contribution of the study of mechanisms that might have operated during the Archean, we present a structural and metamorphic study of the contact zone between the Abitibi subprovince (ASP), which contains greenstone belts, and the Opatica subprovince (OSP), which is dominated by plutonic rocks, of the Superior Province. The 40Ar/39Ar dating of amphiboles and micas is used to constrain the age and duration of regional metamorphism and associated deformations. On the basis of seismic profiling, showing a north-dipping lithospheric-scale reflector, the ASP-OSP contact has been interpreted as the surficial trace of an Archean subduction zone. However, our structural analysis suggest that the ASP overlies the OSP and that the ASP-OSP contact does not show evidences of an important sub-vertical shearing deformation as expected if it was a major upper plate-lower plate boundary. Furthermore, the contact does not present significant metamorphic break between the two domains, but a progressive increasing of metamorphism toward the OSP, from greenschist- to amphibolite-facies conditions. Based on these structural and metamorphic characteristics, we suggest that the OSP exposes the deepest rocks at outcrop of an ASP-OSP crust in the study area. Regionally, the 40Ar/39Ar ages acquired during this study indicate that the ASP-OSP contact records a protracted metamorphic history that started around 2685 Ma. The structural and isotopic age data suggest that, from ~2685 Ma to ~2632 Ma, the deepest level of the ASP and the underlying OSP reached amphibolite-facies metamorphic conditions and that regional deformation was accommodated by an overall horizontal shortening and sub-vertical transfers of crustal material. Subsequently, the cooling of these crustal rocks was accompanied by strain localisation, which led to the development of oblique strike-slip shear zones from ~2600 Ma, when the lateral flowing of crustal material became predominant. Our 40Ar/39Ar data compared with metamorphic ages documented in adjacent areas of the Superior Province suggests that the peak and duration of regional metamorphism might have been coeval over a large region. This rather favours a mode of pervasive deformation as expected in vertical tectonics.

Contraintes sismiques sur les structures crustales de l'Abitibi et de l'Opatica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellefleur, Gilles

The objectives of the work presented in this thesis are two-fold. The first consists in determining the tri-dimensional orientation of reflective structures from seismic reflection data acquired along 2D crooked profiles, while the second, based on these orientations, consists in defining geometric constraints on the tectonic scenarios proposed for the Abitibi and Opatica subprovinces. To provide precise estimates of reflector orientations, we use three distinct approaches, which, however, require acquisition profiles that call locally provide 3D informations. In the first, we use crossdip analysis and interpretation of the seismic sections improved by applying the crossdip corrections to determine the orientations of the reflectors. In the second, the strikes and dips of reflectors are estimated in the crooked parts of seismic reflection profiles by estimating a measure of coherency along the traveltime trajectories defined by a particular azimuth, dip and depth, and a medium velocity. Finally, we also use the dip of reflections observed on intersecting profiles to establish the 3D orientation of reflective structures. In general, reflectors observed in the Abitibi greenstone belt and Opatica belt have strikes parallel to the deformation structures mapped at surface, suggesting that the reflectors are related to the tectonic processes which affected independently or simultaneously the two subprovinces. Most of the reflectors recovered in the Opatica belt strike ENE-WSW and dip shallowly to the north and to the south. Their attitudes coincide with the orientations of deformation fabrics associated with a N-S shortening event, which affected the belt between 2700 and 2680 Ma. Mantle reflections, previously interpreted as a relict suture of an Archean subduction zone, dip to the north at around 30°--45° and are also associated with this N-S event. Reflectors with NNE strikes and shallow dips toward the east are correlated with surface evidence for early west vergent thrusting in the Opatica crust. Mid-crustal reflectors in the Abitibi define two areas with distinctive geometry: reflectors beneath the southern Abitibi belt are oppositely-dipping, and convergent at depth, providing a V-shape aspect to the greenstone rocks, other reflectors beneath the northern Abitibi belt are, in general, similarly oriented, dipping at an average of 30° toward the north. These north-dipping reflectors are partly disrupted by a low-reflectivity zone located north of the Casa-Berardi tectonic zone at mid-crustal levels. The low reflectivity zone is attributed to rocks of the Opatica belt, located underneath the northern Abitibi greenstone belt during a late stage of the accretion of the two subprovinces. The geometry of the reflectors recovered in the Abitibi and Opatica is consistent with the different tectonic histories proposed for the two subprovinces, until common deformation during a N-S shortening event. Attitudes recovered in the northern Abitibi belt and Opatica are consistent with tectonic scenarios involving underthrusting of Abitibi middle and lower-crustal terranes beneath the Opatica belt, while the oppositely dipping reflectors recovered in the middle crust beneath the southern Abitibi belt could be representative of a rifted volcanic arc environment.

The influence of topographic stresses on faulting, emphasizing the 2008 Wenchuan, China earthquake rupture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Styron, R. H.; Hetland, E. A.; Zhang, G.

2013-12-01

The weight of large mountains produces stresses in the crust that locally may be on the order of tectonic stresses (10-100 MPa). These stresses have a significant and spatially-variable deviatoric component that may be resolved as strong normal and shear stresses on range-bounding faults. In areas of high relief, the shear stress on faults can be comparable to inferred stress drops in earthquakes, and fault-normal stresses may be greater than 50 MPa, and thus may potentially influence fault rupture. Additionally, these stresses may be used to make inferences about the orientation and magnitude of tectonic stresses, for example by indicating a minimum stress needed to be overcome by tectonic stress. We are studying these effects in several tectonic environments, such as the Longmen Shan (China), the Denali fault (Alaska, USA) and the Wasatch Fault Zone (Utah, USA). We calculate the full topographic stress tensor field in the crust in a study region by convolution of topography with Green's functions approximating stresses from a point load on the surface of an elastic halfspace, using the solution proposed by Liu and Zoback [1992]. The Green's functions are constructed from Boussinesq's solutions for a vertical point load on an elastic halfspace, as well as Cerruti's solutions for a horizontal surface point load, accounting for irregular surface boundary and topographic spreading forces. The stress tensor field is then projected onto points embedded in the halfspace representing the faults, and the fault normal and shear stresses at each point are calculated. Our primary focus has been on the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, as this event occurred at the base of one of Earth's highest and steepest topographic fronts and had a complex and well-studied coseismic slip distribution, making it an ideal case study to evaluate topographic influence on faulting. We calculate the topographic stresses on the Beichuan and Pengguan faults, and compare the results to the coseismic slip distribution, considering several published fault models. These models differ primarily in slip magnitude and planar vs. listric fault geometry at depth. Preliminary results indicate that topographic stresses are generally resistive to tectonic deformation, especially above ~10 km depth, where the faults are steep in all models. Down-dip topographic shear stresses on the fault are normal sense where the faults dip steeply, and reach 20 MPa on the fault beneath the Pengguan massif. Reverse-sense shear up to ~15 MPa is present on gently-dipping thrust flats at depth on listric fault models. Strike-slip shear stresses are sinistral on the steep, upper portions of faults but may be dextral on thrust flats. Topographic normal stress on the faults reaches ~80 MPa on thrust ramps and may be higher on flats. Coseismic slip magnitude is negatively correlated with topographic normal and down-dip shear stresses. The spatial patterns of topographic stresses and slip suggest that topographic stresses have significantly suppressed slip in certain areas: slip maxima occur in areas of locally lower topographic stresses, while areas of higher down-dip shear and normal stress show less slip than adjacent regions.

Dia-Interacting Protein (DIP) Imposes Migratory Plasticity in mDia2-Dependent Tumor Cells in Three-Dimensional Matrices

PubMed Central

Wyse, Meghan M.; Lei, Jun; Nestor-Kalinoski, Andrea L.; Eisenmann, Kathryn M.

2012-01-01

Tumor cells rely upon membrane pliancy to escape primary lesions and invade secondary metastatic sites. This process relies upon localized assembly and disassembly cycles of F-actin that support and underlie the plasma membrane. Dynamic actin generates both spear-like and bleb structures respectively characterizing mesenchymal and amoeboid motility programs utilized by metastatic cells in three-dimensional matrices. The molecular mechanism and physiological trigger(s) driving membrane plasticity are poorly understood. mDia formins are F-actin assembly factors directing membrane pliancy in motile cells. mDia2 is functionally coupled with its binding partner DIP, regulating cortical actin and inducing membrane blebbing in amoeboid cells. Here we show that mDia2 and DIP co-tether to nascent blebs and this linkage is required for bleb formation. DIP controls mesenchymal/amoeboid cell interconvertability, while CXCL12 induces assembly of mDia2:DIP complexes to bleb cortices in 3D matrices. These results demonstrate how DIP-directed mDia2-dependent F-actin dynamics regulate morphological plasticity in motile cancer cells. PMID:23024796

Short-term forecasting of aftershock sequences, microseismicity and swarms inside the Corinth Gulf continental rift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segou, Margarita

2014-05-01

Corinth Gulf (Central Greece) is the fastest continental rift in the world with extension rates 11-15 mm/yr with diverse seismic deformation including earthquakes with M greater than 6.0, several periods of increased microseismic activity, usually lasting few months and possibly related with fluid diffusion, and swarm episodes lasting few days. In this study I perform a retrospective forecast experiment between 1995-2012, focusing on the comparison between physics-based and statistical models for short term time classes. Even though Corinth gulf has been studied extensively in the past there is still today a debate whether earthquake activity is related with the existence of either a shallow dipping structure or steeply dipping normal faults. In the light of the above statement, two CRS realization are based on resolving Coulomb stress changes on specified receiver faults, expressing the aforementioned structural models, whereas the third CRS model uses optimally-oriented for failure planes. The CRS implementation accounts for stress changes following all major ruptures with M greater than 4.5 within the testing phase. I also estimate fault constitutive parameters from modeling the response to major earthquakes at the vicinity of the gulf (Aσ=0.2, stressing rate app. 0.02 bar/yr). The generic ETAS parameters are taken as the maximum likelihood estimates derived from the stochastic declustering of the modern seismicity catalog (1995-2012) with minimum triggering magnitude M2.5. I test whether the generic ETAS can efficiently describe the aftershock spatio-temporal clustering but also the evolution of swarm episodes and microseismicity. For the reason above, I implement likelihood tests to evaluate the forecasts for their spatial consistency and for the total amount of predicted versus observed events with M greater than 3.0 in 10-day time windows during three distinct evaluation phases; the first evaluation phase focuses on the Aigio 1995 aftershock sequence (15/06/1995, M6.4), the second covers the period between September 2006-May 2007, characterized for its intense microseismicity, and the third is related with the May 2013 swarm. The conclusions support that (1) geology based CRS models are preferred over optimally oriented planes (2) CRS models are consistent forecasters (60-70%) of transient seismicity, having in most cases comparable performance with ETAS models (3) microseismicity and swarms are not triggered by static stress changes of preceding local events with magnitude M greater than 4.5 and (4) the generic ETAS model can efficiently describe the recent swarm episode. The findings of this study have a number of important implications for future short-term forecasting and time-dependent hazard within Corinth Gulf.

Physics-Based and Statistical Forecasting in Slowly Stressed Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segou, M.; Deschamps, A.

2013-12-01

We perform a retrospective forecasting experiment between 1995-2012, comparing the predictive power of physics-based and statistical models in Corinth Gulf (Central Greece), which is the fastest continental rift in the world with extension rates 11-15 mm/yr, but also at least three times lower than the motion accommodated by the San Andreas Fault System (~40 mm/yr). The seismicity of the western Corinth gulf has been characterized by significant historical events (1817 M6.6, 1861 M6.7, 1889 M7.0) whereas the modern instrumental catalog (post-1964) reveals one major event, the 1995 Aigio M6.4 (15/06/1995) together with several periods of increased microseismic activity, usually lasting few months and possibly related with fluid diffusion. We examine six predictive models, three based on the combination of Coulomb stress changes and rate-and-state theory (CRS), two epidemic type aftershock sequence (ETAS) models and one hybrid CRS-ETAS (h-ETAS) model. We investigate whether the above forecast models can adequately describe the episodic swarm activity within the gulf. Even though Corinth gulf has been studied extensively in the past there is still today a debate whether earthquake activity is related with the existence of either a shallow dipping structure or steeply dipping normal faults. In the light of the above statement, two CRS realization are based on resolving Coulomb stress changes on specified receiver faults, expressing the aforementioned structural models, whereas the third CRS model uses optimally-oriented for failure planes. In our CRS implementation we account for stress changes following all major ruptures within our testing phase with M greater than 4.5. We also estimate fault constitutive parameters from modeling the response to major earthquakes at the vicinity of the gulf (Ασ=0.2, stressing rate 0.02 bar/yr). The ETAS parameters are taken as the maximum likelihood estimates derived from stochastic declustering of the modern seismicity catalog with minimum triggering magnitude M2.5. We implement likelihood tests to evaluate our forecasts for their spatial consistency and for the total amount of predicted versus observed events with M greater than 3.0 in 10-day time intervals in two distinct evaluation phases. The first evaluation phase focuses on the Aigio 1995 aftershock sequence (15/06/1995, M6.4) whereas the second covers the period between September 2006-May 2007, characterized for the intense swarm activity.We find that (1) geology based CRS models are preferred over optimally oriented planes (2) CRS models are consistent forecasters (60-70%) of transient seismicity, having in most cases comparable performance with ETAS models (3) swarms are not triggered by static stress changes of preceding local events.

Towards a volcanic-structural balance: relative importance of volcanism, folding, and remobilisation of nickel sulphides at the Perseverance Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposit, Western Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duuring, Paul; Bleeker, Wouter; Beresford, Steve W.; Hayward, Nicholas

2010-03-01

Perseverance is a world-class, komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide deposit situated in the well-endowed Leinster nickel camp of the Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt, Western Australia. The mine stratigraphy at Perseverance trends north-northwest (NNW), dips steeply to the west, and is overturned. Stratigraphic footwall units lie along the western margin of the Perseverance Ultramafic Complex (PUC). The PUC comprises a basal nickel sulphide-bearing orthocumulate- to mesocumulate-textured komatiite that is overlain by a thicker, nickel sulphide-poor, dunite lens. Hanging wall rocks include rhyodacite that is texturally and compositionally similar to footwall volcanic rocks. These rocks separate the PUC from a second sequence of nickeliferous, E-facing, spinifex-textured komatiite units (i.e. the East Perseverance komatiite). Past workers argue for a conformable stratigraphic contact between the PUC and the East Perseverance komatiite and conclude that the PUC is extrusive. This study, however, clearly demonstrates that these komatiite sequences are discordant, implying that the PUC may have intruded rhyodacite country rock as a sill with subsequent structural juxtaposition against the East Perseverance komatiite. Early N-S shortening associated with the regional DI deformation event (corresponding to the local DP1 to DP3 events at Perseverance) resulted in the heterogeneous partitioning of strain along the margins of the competent dunite. A mylonite developed in the more ductile footwall rocks along the footwall margin of the PUC, while isoclinal F3 folds, such as the Hanging wall limb and Felsic Nose folds, formed in low-mean stress domains along the fringes of the elongated dunite lens. Strata-bound massive and disseminated nickel sulphides were passively fold thickened in hinge areas of isoclinal folds, whereas basal massive sulphides lubricated fold limbs and promoted thrust movement along shallowly dipping lithological contacts. Massive sulphides were physically remobilised up to 20 m from their primary footwall position into deposit-scale fold hinges to form the 1A and Felsic Nose orebodies. First-order controls on the geometry of the Perseverance deposit include the thermomechanical erosion of footwall rocks and the channelling of the mineralised komatiitic magma. Second- or third-order controls are several postvolcanic deformation events, which resulted in the progressive folding and shearing of the footwall contact, as well as the passive fold thickening of massive and disseminated sulphide orebodies. Massive sulphides were physically remobilised into multiple generations of fold hinges and shear zones. Important implications for near-mine exploration in the Leinster camp include identifying nickeliferous komatiite units, defining their three-dimensional geometry, and targeting fold hinge areas. Fold plunge directions and stretching lineations are indicators of potential plunge directions of massive sulphide orebodies.

Interests of hydrogeological observatories for characterizing heterogeneous groundwater systems: the example of the Ploemeur hard-rock aquifer (French Brittany)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bour, O.; Le Borgne, T.; Aquilina, L.; Labasque, T.; Lavenant, N.; Boudin, F.; Leray, S.; De Dreuzy, J.; Longuevergne, L.; Hochreutener, R.; Davy, P.

2012-12-01

Heterogeneous aquifers are often poorly constrained by the available data. There is a strong need of characterizing at multiple space and time scales heterogeneous groundwater systems to improve model predictions. Here, we present results from the site of Ploemeur (French Brittany) that belongs to the network of hydrogeological sites H+, and where complementarity approaches have been developed for almost fifteen years. This outstandingly heterogeneous crystalline rock aquifer is used for water supply at a rate of about 10^6 m3 per year since 1991. The geology of the area is relatively complex and involves two main structures: a highly fractured contact zone between the Ploemeur's granite and the overlying micaschists, and a steeply dipping fault striking North 20°. The contact zone in itself consists of alternating deformed granitic sheets and enclaves of micaschists, pegmatite and aplite dykes, and locally mylonites and pegmatite-bearing breccias that are often associated with major borehole inflows. At the site scale - typically a square kilometer - and at relatively shallow depth (100 to 150 m), the connectivity of the main flow paths and the hydraulic properties are relatively well constrained and quantified thanks to cross-borehole flowmeter tests and traditional pumping tests. However, such data are relatively limited in explaining the functioning of this confined groundwater system at the regional scale. Groundwater chemistry and groundwater dating permit to go further to identify distinct reservoirs and in particular a relatively deep groundwater component whose age is older than 50 years. Groundwater temperature measurements demonstrate the role of the pumping that influences greatly the spatial distribution of groundwater temperature and quality. Moreover, it suggests that the main water supply comes from a depth of at least 300 meters. This implies relatively deep groundwater circulation that can be achieved only thanks to major permeable fault zone. At the watershed scale - typically ten square kilometers - we show through a high-resolution gravimetric survey that the highly fractured contact between granite and micaschists, which constitutes the main path for groundwater flow, is a gently dipping structure towards the North. This is consistent with measurements of the ground surface deformation through long-base tiltmeters, which suggest that recharge of the aquifer come from the North. Finally, a numerical model of the site that combines hydraulic and age information confirms the geometry of the major permeable fault zone and the consistency of the different datasets. The Ploemeur example shows how multiple datasets at different scales may be combined to characterize and model heterogeneous groundwater systems. It also shows the interests of using specific sites as hydrogeological observatories to test novel field methods, to evaluate the relevance of numerical and theoretical models, to monitor groundwater changes and to improve our knowledge on groundwater systems.

Near-surface structure of the Central Scandinavian Caledonides in northern Trøndelag, Norway, from correlation of seismic and MT profiles using gravity and magnetic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebbing, J.; Goerigk, L.; Nasuti, A.; Roberts, D.; Korja, T. J.; Smirnov, M.

2014-12-01

The deep geology of northern Trøndelag is somewhat speculative as the Central Scandinavian Caledonides are intersected by the Møre-Trøndelag Fault Complex (MTFC) and only a few depth-penetrating geophysical profiles exist. Here, we correlate the mapped geological units and faults between a seismic-reflection profile and a MT profile. The seismic-reflection data were acquired in 5 segments over the period 1986-1990. The westernmost section of the seismic profile is dominated by a complex pattern of reflections and diffractions. This type of pattern is typical of polydeformed terranes with a mixture of contrasting felsic and mafic lithologies. The two steeply-dipping strands of the MTFC (Hitra-Snåsa and Verran faults) that transect the profile do not show any distinctive signature in the seismic data. The MT data were acquired in 2007 from the Swedish border to the Norwegian coast. The conductivity profile shows some distinct vertical changes as well as changes from the near-surface to shallow depths. The strands of the MTFC show especially a distinctive change in conductivity. The two profiles are almost parallel but separated by 100 km. To correlate the structures seen on both profiles, we have applied lineament analysis and 3D modelling of the gravity and magnetic field. The tilt derivative of the magnetic and isostatic gravity anomaly clearly allows us to identify and link the main geological boundaries between the profiles and to trace the strands of the MTFC from one profile to the other. This trend analysis indicates that at least the Verran Fault visibly modifies the pattern of seismic reflections. However, the main change in crustal lithology occurs farther to the west, almost at the coast where the Tarva Fault intersects the MT profile. This integrated analysis shows the benefit of combining gravity and magnetic interpretations with MT and seismic data to enable us to understand the near-surface geology and structure in more detail.

Paleoproterozoic Keulik-Kenirim Ore-Bearing Gabbro-Peridotite Complex, Kola Region: A New Occurrence of Ferropicritic Magmatism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolkin, V. F.; Lokhov, K. I.; Skublov, S. G.; Sergeeva, L. Yu.; Lokhov, D. K.; Sergeev, S. A.

2018-03-01

Comprehensive research of ore-bearing differentiated intrusions of the Keulik-Kenirim structural unit, which represents a fragment of the Paleoproterozoic Pechenga-Varzuga Belt, has been carried out for the first time. The intrusions are subvolcanic by type and lenticular in shape, nearly conformable and steeply dipping. They are made up of peridotite, olivine and plagioclase pyroxenites, and gabbro metamorphosed under amphibolite facies conditions along with host basic volcanics. All intrusive rocks are enriched in TiO2 and FeO. Sulfide Cu-Ni mineralization is represented by disseminated, pocket, and stringer-disseminated types, which are clustered in the peridotitic zone as hanging units and bottom lodes. The Ni content in disseminated ore is estimated at 0.45-0.55 wt % and 1.15-3.32 wt % in ore pockets; the Cu grades are 0.17-0.20 and 0.46-5.65 wt %, respectively. To determine the age of intrusions and metamorphism of intrusive and volcanic rocks, various isotopic systems have been used: Sm-Nd (TIMS) in rock and U-Pb (SIMS SHRIMP) and Lu-Hf (LA-ICP-MS) in zircon. Conclusions on the origin of zircons are based on concentrations of trace elements including REE therein and Hf-Nd correlation in zircons and rocks. The U-Pb system of zircons reflects episodes of igneous rock formation (1982 ± 12 Ma) and their postmagmatic transformation (1938 ± 20 Ma). The last disturbance of the U-Pb isotopic system occurred 700 and 425 Ma. Xenogenic zircons dated from 3.17 to 2.65 Ga have been revealed in the studied samples. These zircons were captured by magma from the Archean basement during its ascent. The intrusions were emplaced synchronously with economic ore formation in the Pechenga ore field (1985 ± 10 Ma). The peak metamorphism of intrusive rocks under amphibolite facies conditions is recorded at 40 Ma later. The differentiated intrusions of the Keulik-Kenirim structural unit are close in their internal structure, mineralogy, and geochemistry, as well as in age and features of related Cu-Ni mineralization to ore-bearing intrusions of the Pechenga ore field, which are derivatives of ferropicritic (ferriferous) magmatism.

Metabauxite horizons containing remobilized-origin gem diaspore and related mineralization, Milas-Muğla province, SW Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatipoğlu, Murat; Türk, Necdet; Chamberlain, Steven C.; Murat Akgün, A.

2010-10-01

Remobilized-origin gem diaspore and related minerals occur as infill within structurally controlled voids that developed in the upper of two distinct karst unconformity-type metabauxite (diasporite) horizons in the İlbir Mountains area of the Milas-Muğla province, SW Turkey. Colour-change diaspore (trademarked as zultanite) and associated mineral specimens (greenish muscovite, chloritoid, donbassite, specular hematite, ilmenite, goethite, and younger calcite) occur in fracture zones (veins and open structures) that cross-cut the metabauxite horizons. The mineralized fracture zones do not extend into the enclosing marbles, probably because of the ductility contrast between the brittle bauxite and relatively plastic carbonate beds. Thick, white to light gray and dark gray limestone beds were deposited in the İlbir Mountains area during the Cretaceous (146-65 Ma), and contain two stratigraphically distinct karst-fill bauxite horizons. Al-, Fe-, Si- and Ti-rich solutions that infiltrated the karstified limestone probably originated from altered schist and gneiss that surround the basin. The limestone beds (>2000 m thick) were subjected to burial metamorphism, forming marble. Subsequently, the marble block was folded during nappe emplacement toward the SSW as part of late Alpine contractional deformation during the Paleogene (65-23.8 Ma). The upper bauxite horizons within the folded block were cross-cut by fracture zones because of their relatively brittle rheology. At this time, increased pressure and temperature in the bauxite horizons resulted in remobilization of the primary constituents of the bauxite within an aqueous complex, resulting in the crystallization of coarse-grained assemblages in the cross-cutting structures. Ultimately, erosion and mineral exploration revealed the steeply dipping bauxite outcrops and mine workings evident today. This paper focuses on the mine geology of surface outcrops of diasporic bauxite, the upper bauxite horizon within underground mine galleries at elevations of 600, 632, 637, 642, 652, 657, and 702 m, and in open pits at sites in the Küçükçamlık and Büyükçamlık hills, Milas-Muğla province, SW Turkey.

Structural and numerical modeling of fluid flow and evolving stress fields at a transtensional stepover: A Miocene Andean porphyry copper system as a case study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nuñez, R. C.; Griffith, W. A.; Mitchell, T. M.; Marquardt, C.; Iturrieta, P. C.; Cembrano, J. M.

2017-12-01

Obliquely convergent subduction orogens show both margin-parallel and margin-oblique fault systems that are spatially and temporally associated with ore deposits and geothermal systems within the volcanic arc. Fault orientation and mechanical interaction among different fault systems influence the stress field in these arrangements, thus playing a first order control on the regional to local-scale fluid migration paths as documented by the spatial distribution of fault-vein arrays. Our selected case study is a Miocene porphyry copper-type system that crops out in the precordillera of the Maule region along the Teno river Valley (ca. 35°S). Several regional to local faults were recognized in the field: (1) Two first-order, N-striking subvertical dextral faults overlapping at a right stepover; (2) Second-order, N60°E-striking steeply-dipping, dextral-normal faults located at the stepover, and (3) N40°-60°W striking subvertical, sinistral faults crossing the stepover zone. The regional and local scale geology is characterized by volcano-sedimentary rocks (Upper Eocene- Lower Miocene), intruded by Miocene granodioritic plutons (U-Pb zircon age of 18.2 ± 0.11 Ma) and coeval dikes. We implement a 2D boundary element displacement discontinuity method (BEM) model to test the mechanical feasibility of kinematic model of the structural development of the porphyry copper-type system in the stepover between N-striking faults. The model yields the stress field within the stepover region and shows slip and potential opening distribution along the N-striking master faults under a regionally imposed stress field. The model shows that σ1 rotates clockwise where the main faults approach each other, becoming EW when they overlap. This, in turn leads to the generation of both NE- and NW-striking faults within the stepover area. Model results are consistent with the structural and kinematic data collected in the field attesting for enhanced permeability and fluid flow transport and arrest spatially associated with the stepover.

Kink-style detachment folding in Bachu fold belt of central Tarim Basin, China: geometry and seismic interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, Zhang; Jinjiang, Zhang; Shuyu, Yan; Jiang, Liu; Jinhai, Zhang; Zhongpei, Zhang

2010-05-01

The phenomenon of Kink banding is well known throughout the engineering and geophysical sciences. Associated with layered structures compressed in a layer-parallel direction, it arises for example in stratified geological systems under tectonic compression. Our work documented it is also possible to develop super large-scale kink-bands in sedimentary sequences. We interpret the Bachu fold uplift belt of the central Tarim basin in western China to be composed of detachment folds flanked by megascopic-scale kink-bands. Those previous principal fold models for the Bachu uplift belt incorporated components of large-scale thrust faulting, such as the imbricate fault-related fold model and the high-angle, reverse-faulted detachment fold model. Based on our observations in the outcrops and on the two-dimension seismic profiles, we interpret that first-order structures in the region are kink-band style detachment folds to accommodate regional shortening, and thrust faulting can be a second-order deformation style occurring on the limb of the detachment folds or at the cores of some folds to accommodate the further strain of these folds. The belt mainly consists of detachment folds overlying a ductile decollement layer. The crests of the detachment folds are bounded by large-scale kink-bands, which are zones of angularly folded strata. These low-signal-tonoise, low-reflectivity zones observed on seismic profiles across the Bachu belt are poorly imaged sections, which resulted from steeply dipping bedding in the kink-bands. The substantial width (beyond 200m) of these low-reflectivity zones, their sub-parallel edges in cross section, and their orientations at a high angle to layering between 50 and 60 degrees, as well as their conjugate geometry, support a kink-band interpretation. The kink-band interpretation model is based on the Maximum Effective Moment Criteria for continuous deformation, rather than Mohr-Column Criteria for brittle fracture. Seismic modeling is done to identify the characteristics and natures of seismic waves within the kink-band and its fold structure, which supplies the further evidences for the kink-band interpretation in the region.

Laryngeal dynamics of pedagogical taan gestures in Indian classical singing.

PubMed

Radhakrishnan, Nandhakumar; Scherer, Ronald C; Bandyopadhyay, Santanu

2011-05-01

Vocal modulations characterize many styles of singing. Vibrato, trill, and trillo are some of the ornaments that Western classical singers use. Likewise, taan is one of the basic frequency modulations demonstrated by Hindustani Indian classical singers. The objective of this descriptive study was to discover the F₀ contour of taan; establish selected acoustic, aerodynamic, and glottographic characteristics of the taan gesture; and explore the pedagogical taan utterances demonstrated by a well-known singer and teacher. Exploratory. Fundamental frequency, alternating current (AC) glottal flow, and electroglottographic width measures were obtained for taan productions by the classical Indian singer and teacher who demonstrated taan rate variations based on his pedagogical approach. The structure of the taan gesture was found to be an F₀ lowering and rising (the "taan dip") followed by a relatively flat portion (the "taan superior surface"). Rate of the F₀ structure of the taan gestures ranged from approximately 1.65 to 3.41Hz, and the F₀ extent ranged from 1.87 to 2.21semitone (ST). As the rate of the taan gesture increased, the superior surface shortened, whereas the taan dip stayed relatively constant (ranging from 170 to 230 ms). AC flow was greater for the lowest frequencies of the dip and faster rates. The pedagogical taan gesture has a specific structure of an F₀ dip followed by a relatively flat F₀ portion that shortens as taan rate increases. The F₀ dip and extent are relatively robust across rate. The taan productions are voluntarily controlled, in contrast to vibrato productions. Copyright © 2011 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Viscous dipping, application to the capture of fluids in living organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechantre, Amandine; Michez, Denis; Damman, Pascal

Some insects, birds and mammals use flower nectar as their energy resources. For this purpose, they developed specific skills to ingest viscous fluids. Depending on the sugar content, i.e., the viscosity, different strategies are observed in vivo. Indeed, butterflies use simple suction for low viscosity nectars; hummingbirds have a tongue made from two thin flexible sheets that bend to form a tube when immersed in a fluid; other animals exhibit in contrast complex papillary structures. We focus on this last method generally used for very viscous nectars. More specifically, bees and bats possess a tongue decorated with microstructures that, according to biologists, would be optimized for fluid capture by viscous dipping. In this talk, we will discuss this assumption by comparing physical models of viscous dipping to in vivo measurements. To mimic the tongue morphology, we used various rod shapes obtained by 3D printing. The influence of the type and size of lateral microstructures was then investigated and used to build a global framework describing viscous dipping for structured rods/tongues.

The Salton Seismic Imaging Project: Tomographic characterization of a sediment-filled rift valley and adjacent ranges, southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davenport, K.; Hole, J. A.; Stock, J. M.; Fuis, G. S.; Carrick, E.; Tikoff, B.

2011-12-01

The Salton Trough in Southern California represents the northernmost rift of the Gulf of California extensional system. Relative motion between the Pacific and North American plates is accommodated by continental rifting in step-over zones between the San Andreas, Imperial, and Cerro Prieto transform faults. Rapid sedimentation from the Colorado River has isolated the trough from the southern portion of the Gulf of California, progressively filling the subsiding rift basin. Based on data from previous seismic surveys, the pre-existing continent has ruptured completely, and a new ~22 km thick crust has been created entirely by sedimentation overlying rift-related magmatism. The MARGINS, EarthScope, and USGS-funded Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP) was designed to investigate the nature of this new crust, the ongoing process of continental rifting, and associated earthquake hazards. SSIP, acquired in March 2011, comprises 7 lines of onshore seismic refraction / wide-angle reflection data, 2 lines of refraction / reflection data in the Salton Sea, and a line of broadband stations. This presentation focuses on the refraction / wide-angle reflection line across the Imperial Valley, extending ~220 km across California from Otay Mesa, near Tijuana, to the Colorado River. The data from this line includes seventeen 100-160 kg explosive shots and receivers at 100 m spacing across the Imperial Valley to constrain the structure of the Salton Trough rift basin, including the Imperial Fault. Eight larger shots (600-920 kg) at 20-35 km spacing and receivers at 200-500 m spacing extend the line across the Peninsular Ranges and the Chocolate Mountains. These data will contrast the structure of the rift to that of the surrounding crust and provide constraints on whole-crust and uppermost mantle structure. Preliminary work has included tomographic inversion of first-arrival travel times across the Valley, emphasizing a minimum-structure approach to create a velocity model of the upper crust. Ongoing modeling provides constraints on the basin margins, showing a steeply dipping western edge of the rift valley approximately coincident to the shoreline of the ancient Lake Cahuilla. Low velocity sediments and low velocity crystalline crust within the Imperial Valley are consistent with previous studies and contrast with faster crystalline rocks near the surface outside the rift. Ongoing analysis will provide a more detailed image of upper crustal structure, as well as preliminary modeling of the entire crust.

Normal Faulting at the Western Margin of the Altiplano Plateau, Southern Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schildgen, T. F.; Hodges, K. V.; Whipple, K. X.; Perignon, M.; Smith, T. M.

2004-12-01

Although the western margin of the Altiplano Plateau is commonly used to illustrate the marked differences in the evolution of a mountain range with strong latitudinal and longitudinal precipitation gradients, the nature of tectonism in this semi-arid region is poorly understood and much debated. The western margin of the Altiplano in southern Peru and northern Chile marks an abrupt transition from the forearc region of the Andes to the high topography of the Cordillera Occidental. This transition has been interpreted by most workers as a monocline, with modifications due to thrust faulting, normal faulting, and gravity slides. Based on recent fieldwork and satellite image analysis, we suggest that, at least in the semi-arid climate of southern Peru, this transition has been the locus of significant high-angle normal faulting related to the block uplift of the Cordillera Occidental. We have focused our initial work in the vicinity of 15\\deg S latitude, 71\\deg W longitude, where the range front crosses Colca Canyon, a major antecedent drainage northwest of Arequipa. In that area, Oligocene to Miocene sediments of the Moquegua Formation, which were eroded from uplifted terrain to the northeast, presently dip to the northeast at angles between 2 and 10º. Field observations of a normal fault contact between the Moquegua sedimentary rocks and Jurassic basement rocks, as well as 15-m resolution 3-D images generated from ASTER satellite imagery, show that the Moquegua units are down-dropped to the west across a steeply SW-dipping normal fault of regional significance. Morphology of the range front throughout southern Peru suggests that normal faulting along the range front has characterized the recent tectonic history of the region. We present geochronological data to constrain the timing of movement both directly from the fault zone as well as indirectly from canyon incision that likely responded to fault movement.

Flexure and faulting of sedimentary host rocks during growth of igneous domes, Henry Mountains, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jackson, M.D.; Pollard, D.D.

1990-01-01

A sequence of sedimentary rocks about 4 km thick was bent, stretched and uplifted during the growth of three igneous domes in the southern Henry Mountains. Mount Holmes, Mount Ellsworth and Mount Hillers are all about 12 km in diameter, but the amplitudes of their domes are about 1.2, 1.85 and 3.0 km, respectively. These mountains record successive stages in the inflation of near-surface diorite intrusions that are probably laccolithic in origin. The host rocks deformed along networks of outcrop-scale faults, or deformation bands, marked by crushed grains, consolidation of the porous sandstone and small displacements of sedimentary beds. Zones of deformation bands oriented parallel to the beds and formation contacts subdivided the overburden into thin mechanical layers that slipped over one another during doming. Measurements of outcrop-scale fault populations at the three mountains reveal a network of faults that strikes at high angles to sedimentary beds which themselves strike tangentially about the domes. These faults have normal and reverse components of slip that accommodated bending and stretching strains within the strata. An early stage of this deformation is displayed at Mount Holmes, where states of stress computed from three fault samples correlate with the theoretical distribution of stresses resulting from bending of thin, circular, elastic plates. Field observations and analysis of frictional driving stresses acting on horizontal planes above an opening-mode dislocation, as well as the paleostress analysis of faulting, indicate that bedding-plane slip and layer flexure were important components of the early deformation. As the amplitude of doming increased, radial and circumferential stretching of the strata and rotation of the older faults in the steepening limbs of the domes increased the complexity of the fault patterns. Steeply-dipping, map-scale faults with dip-slip displacements indicate a late-stage jostling of major blocks over the central magma chamber. Radial dikes pierced the dome and accommodated some of the circumferential stretching. ?? 1990.

Fault geometry of 2015, Mw7.2 Murghab, Tajikistan earthquake controls rupture propagation: Insights from InSAR and seismological data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangha, Simran; Peltzer, Gilles; Zhang, Ailin; Meng, Lingsen; Liang, Cunren; Lundgren, Paul; Fielding, Eric

2017-03-01

Combining space-based geodetic and array seismology observations can provide detailed information about earthquake ruptures in remote regions. Here we use Landsat-8 imagery and ALOS-2 and Sentinel-1 radar interferometry data combined with data from the European seismology network to describe the source of the December 7, 2015, Mw7.2 Murghab (Tajikistan) earthquake. The earthquake reactivated a ∼79 km-long section of the Sarez-Karakul Fault, a NE oriented sinistral, trans-tensional fault in northern Pamir. Pixel offset data delineate the geometry of the surface break and line of sight ground shifts from two descending and three ascending interferograms constrain the fault dip and slip solution. Two right-stepping, NE-striking segments connected by a more easterly oriented segment, sub-vertical or steeply dipping to the west were involved. The solution shows two main patches of slip with up to 3.5 m of left lateral slip on the southern and central fault segments. The northern segment has a left-lateral and normal oblique slip of up to a meter. Back-projection of high-frequency seismic waves recorded by the European network, processed using the Multitaper-MUSIC approach, focuses sharply along the surface break. The time progression of the high-frequency radiators shows that, after a 10 second initiation phase at slow speed, the rupture progresses in 2 phases at super-shear velocity (∼4.3-5 km/s) separated by a 3 second interval of slower propagation corresponding to the passage through the restraining bend. The intensity of the high-frequency radiation reaches maxima during the initial and middle phases of slow propagation and is reduced by ∼50% during the super-shear phases of the propagation. These findings are consistent with studies of other strike-slip earthquakes in continental domain, showing the importance of fault geometric complexities in controlling the speed of fault propagation and related spatiotemporal pattern of the high-frequency radiation.

Crossbedding of the Potomac Formation in Fairfax County, Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weir, Gordon Whitney

1976-01-01

Crossbedding in sandstone units is the most conspicuous sedimentary structure of the Potomac Formation in Fairfax County, Virginia. Most sets of crossbeds are a few feet thick and several feet wide and tens of feet long. Trough sets are dominant, but planar sets are also common. Dip directions of crossbeds show great variation, though westerly dips are sparse. The averages (resultant vectors) of crossbedding dip-directions measured at 33 localities do not show significant differences according to their geographic or stratigraphic distribution. The average dip-direction of the 292 crossbeds measured is N. 85? E. The data suggest that the depositional slope was easterly in Fairfax County throughout the time of deposition of the Potomac Formation. Major sand bodies, potential aquifers of the formation, are probably elongated along easterly trends.

Structural deformation at the Flynn Creek impact crater, Tennessee - A preliminary report on deep drilling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roddy, D. J.

1979-01-01

The geologic and core drilling studies described in the present paper show that the Flynn Creek crater has such distinctive morphological features as a broad flat hummocky floor; large central peak; locally terraced crater walls; uplifted, as well as flat-lying rim segments; and a surrounding ejecta blanket. The major structural features include a shallow depth of total brecciation and excavation as compared with apparent crater diameter; a thin breccia lens underlain by a thin zone of disrupted strata; concentric ring fault zones in inner rim, beneath crater wall, and outer crater floor regions; a large central uplift underlain by a narrow dipping zone of deeply disrupted strata; faulted, folded, brecciated, and fractured rim strata; and uplifted rim strata, which dip away from the crater, and flat-lying rim strata, which terminate as inward dipping rocks.

Future Rice Is Discounted Less Steeply than Future Money in Thailand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takahashi, Masaharu; Masataka, Nobuo; Malaivijitnond, Suchinda; Wongsiri, Siriwat

2008-01-01

There is evidence that people discount food more steeply than money, suggesting that primary or consumable reinforcers lose value quickly, whereas conditioned or nonconsumable reinforcers lose value slowly. In the present study, discounting rates of baht (unstable currency) and rice (preservable food) were compared during a period of unstable…

Dipping San Andreas and Hayward faults revealed beneath San Francisco Bay, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parsons, T.; Hart, P.E.

1999-01-01

The San Francisco Bay area is crossed by several right-lateral strike-slip faults of the San Andreas fault zone. Fault-plane reflections reveal that two of these faults, the San Andreas and Hayward, dip toward each other below seismogenic depths at 60?? and 70??, respectively, and persist to the base of the crust. Previously, a horizontal detachment linking the two faults in the lower crust beneath San Francisco Bay was proposed. The only near-vertical-incidence reflection data available prior to the most recent experiment in 1997 were recorded parallel to the major fault structures. When the new reflection data recorded orthogonal to the faults are compared with the older data, the highest, amplitude reflections show clear variations in moveout with recording azimuth. In addition, reflection times consistently increase with distance from the faults. If the reflectors were horizontal, reflection moveout would be independent of azimuth, and reflection times would be independent of distance from the faults. The best-fit solution from three-dimensional traveltime modeling is a pair of high-angle dipping surfaces. The close correspondence of these dipping structures with the San Andreas and Hayward faults leads us to conclude that they are the faults beneath seismogenic depths. If the faults retain their observed dips, they would converge into a single zone in the upper mantle -45 km beneath the surface, although we can only observe them in the crust.

Nonmonotonous electron mobility due to structurally induced resonant coupling of subband states in an asymmetric double quantum well

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

Nayak, R. K.; Das, S.; Panda, A. K.

We show that sharp nonmonotic variation of low temperature electron mobility μ can be achieved in GaAs/Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As barrier delta-doped double quantum well structure due to quantum mechanical transfer of subband electron wave functions within the wells. We vary the potential profile of the coupled structure as a function of the doping concentration in order to bring the subbands into resonance such that the subband energy levels anticross and the eigen states of the coupled structure equally share both the wells thereby giving rise to a dip in mobility. When the wells are of equal widths, the dip inmore » mobility occurs under symmetric doping of the side barriers. In case of unequal well widths, the resonance can be obtained by suitable asymmetric variation of the doping concentrations. The dip in mobility becomes sharp and also the wavy nature of mobility takes a rectangular shape by increasing the barrier width. We show that the dip in mobility at resonance is governed by the interface roughness scattering through step like changes in the subband mobilities. It is also gratifying to show that the drop in mobility at the onset of occupation of second subband is substantially supressed through the quantum mechanical transfer of subband wave functions between the wells. Our results can be utilized for performance enhancement of coupled quantum well devices.« less

Influence of the cooling method on the structure of 55AlZn coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendala, J.

2011-05-01

In metallization processes, metals or metal alloys are used which have a low melting point and good anticorrosion properties. Moreover, they must form durable intermetallic compounds with iron or its alloys. The most common hot-dip metallization technology involves galvanizing, however, molten multi-component metal alloys are used as well. An addition of aluminium to the zinc bath causes an increase in corrosion resistance of the obtained coatings. The article presents results of tests of obtaining coatings by the batch hot-dip method in an 55AlZn bath. Kinetics of the coating growth in the tested alloys were determined in the changeable conditions of bath temperature, dip time and type of cooling. The structure of coatings and their phase composition were revealed. As a result of the tests performed, it has been found that an increase in total thickness of the coatings as a function of the dipping time at a constant temperature is almost of a parabolic nature, whereas an increase in the transient layer is of a linear nature. The structure was identified by the XRD analysis and the morphology of the coatings was tested by means of SEM. It has been found that the cooling process with the use of higher rates of cooling causes a size reduction of the structure in the outer layer and a reduction of thickness of both the intermediate diffusion layer and the whole coating by ca. 25 %.

UV spectroscopy of Z Chamaeleontis. I - Time dependent dips in superoutburst

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harlaftis, E. T.; Hassall, B. J. M.; Naylor, T.; Charles, P. A.; Sonneborn, G.

1992-01-01

Extensive IUE observations of the dwarf nova Z Cha during the 1987 April superoutburst and IUE-Exosat observations during the 1985 July superoutburst are presented. The UV light curve shows two dips when folded on the orbital period. One dip, at orbital phase 0.8 becomes shallower as the superoutburst progresses and can be associated with decreasing mass transfer rate from the secondary star. The other dip, at orbital phase 0.15, appears after the development of the superhump and some days after the occurrence of the largest dip at phase 0.8. The continuum flux distribution during superoutbursts is fainter and redder than in low-inclination dwarf novae during superoutbursts. This is interpreted in terms of the extended vertical disk structure which occults the hot inner parts of the disk with the development of a 'cool' bulge on the edge of the disk at orbital phase 0.75. Details of the behaviour of the UV emission lines during eclipse and away from eclipse are discussed.

Ultra-long-period fiber grating cascaded to a knob-taper for simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Chengguo; Chen, Xudong; Zhou, Yu; He, Jiang; Yang, Wenlei; Geng, Tao; Sun, Weimin; Yuan, Libo

2018-06-01

This study presents a simple Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) to obtain the bimodal characteristics that realize simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature through cascading an ultra-long-period fiber grating and a knob-shaped taper. We obtain the multi-dip feature from the MZI, and the Dips 2 and 5 are selected from 11 interference dips. Experimental results indicated that the wavelength sensitivities of Dips 2 and 5 are - 0.54 nm mɛ-1 and 0.058 nm °C-1, and - 0.53 nm mɛ-1 and 0.055 nm °C-1 to strain and temperature, respectively. The depth sensitivities are - 3.3 dB mɛ- 1, - 0.015 dB °C-1 and -5.8 dB mɛ-1, and 0.06 dB °C-1 for Dips 2 and 5, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed structure is suitable for simultaneous strain and temperature measurements.

Ultra-long-period fiber grating cascaded to a knob-taper for simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Chengguo; Chen, Xudong; Zhou, Yu; He, Jiang; Yang, Wenlei; Geng, Tao; Sun, Weimin; Yuan, Libo

2018-03-01

This study presents a simple Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) to obtain the bimodal characteristics that realize simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature through cascading an ultra-long-period fiber grating and a knob-shaped taper. We obtain the multi-dip feature from the MZI, and the Dips 2 and 5 are selected from 11 interference dips. Experimental results indicated that the wavelength sensitivities of Dips 2 and 5 are - 0.54 nm mɛ-1 and 0.058 nm °C-1, and - 0.53 nm mɛ-1 and 0.055 nm °C-1 to strain and temperature, respectively. The depth sensitivities are - 3.3 dB mɛ- 1, - 0.015 dB °C-1 and -5.8 dB mɛ-1, and 0.06 dB °C-1 for Dips 2 and 5, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed structure is suitable for simultaneous strain and temperature measurements.

Mapping 3D fault geometry in earthquakes using high-resolution topography: Examples from the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah (Mexico) and 2013 Balochistan (Pakistan) earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yu; Walker, Richard T.; Elliott, John R.; Parsons, Barry

2016-04-01

Fault dips are usually measured from outcrops in the field or inferred through geodetic or seismological modeling. Here we apply the classic structural geology approach of calculating dip from a fault's 3-D surface trace using recent, high-resolution topography. A test study applied to the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake shows very good agreement between our results and those previously determined from field measurements. To obtain a reliable estimate, a fault segment ≥120 m long with a topographic variation ≥15 m is suggested. We then applied this method to the 2013 Balochistan earthquake, getting dips similar to previous estimates. Our dip estimates show a switch from north to south dipping at the southern end of the main trace, which appears to be a response to local extension within a stepover. We suggest that this previously unidentified geometrical complexity may act as the endpoint of earthquake ruptures for the southern end of the Hoshab fault.

Subsurface structures of the active reverse fault zones in Japan inferred from gravity anomalies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, N.; Sawada, A.; Hiramatsu, Y.; Okada, S.; Tanaka, T.; Honda, R.

2016-12-01

The object of our study is to examine subsurface features such as continuity, segmentation and faulting type, of the active reverse fault zones. We use the gravity data published by the Gravity Research Group in Southwest Japan (2001), the Geographical Survey Institute (2006), Yamamoto et al. (2011), Honda et al. (2012), and the Geological Survey of Japan, AIST (2013) in this study. We obtained the Bouguer anomalies through terrain corrections with 10 m DEM (Sawada et al. 2015) under the assumed density of 2670 kg/m3, a band-pass filtering, and removal of linear trend. Several derivatives and structural parameters calculated from a gravity gradient tensor are applied to highlight the features, such as a first horizontal derivatives (HD), a first vertical derivatives (VD), a normalized total horizontal derivative (TDX), a dip angle (β), and a dimensionality index (Di). We analyzed 43 reverse fault zones in northeast Japan and the northern part of southwest Japan among major active fault zones selected by Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion. As the results, the subsurface structural boundaries clearly appear along the faults at 21 faults zones. The weak correlations appear at 13 fault zones, and no correlations are recognized at 9 fault zones. For example, in the Itoigawa-Shizuoka tectonic line, the subsurface structure boundary seems to extend further north than the surface trace. Also, a left stepping structure of the fault around Hakuba is more clearly observed with HD. The subsurface structures, which detected as the higher values of HD, are distributed on the east side of the surface rupture in the north segments and on the west side in the south segments, indicating a change of the dip direction, the east dipping to the west dipping, from north to south. In the Yokote basin fault zone, the subsurface structural boundary are clearly detected with HD, VD and TDX along the fault zone in the north segment, but less clearly in the south segment. Also, Di implies the existence of 3D-like structure with E-W trend around the segment boundary. The distribution of dip angle β along the fault zone implies a reverse faulting, corresponding to the faulting type of this fault zone reported by previous studies.

Microplate-based platform for combined chromatin and DNA methylation immunoprecipitation assays

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The processes that compose expression of a given gene are far more complex than previously thought presenting unprecedented conceptual and mechanistic challenges that require development of new tools. Chromatin structure, which is regulated by DNA methylation and histone modification, is at the center of gene regulation. Immunoprecipitations of chromatin (ChIP) and methylated DNA (MeDIP) represent a major achievement in this area that allow researchers to probe chromatin modifications as well as specific protein-DNA interactions in vivo and to estimate the density of proteins at specific sites genome-wide. Although a critical component of chromatin structure, DNA methylation has often been studied independently of other chromatin events and transcription. Results To allow simultaneous measurements of DNA methylation with other genomic processes, we developed and validated a simple and easy-to-use high throughput microplate-based platform for analysis of DNA methylation. Compared to the traditional beads-based MeDIP the microplate MeDIP was more sensitive and had lower non-specific binding. We integrated the MeDIP method with a microplate ChIP assay which allows measurements of both DNA methylation and histone marks at the same time, Matrix ChIP-MeDIP platform. We illustrated several applications of this platform to relate DNA methylation, with chromatin and transcription events at selected genes in cultured cells, human cancer and in a model of diabetic kidney disease. Conclusion The high throughput capacity of Matrix ChIP-MeDIP to profile tens and potentially hundreds of different genomic events at the same time as DNA methylation represents a powerful platform to explore complex genomic mechanism at selected genes in cultured cells and in whole tissues. In this regard, Matrix ChIP-MeDIP should be useful to complement genome-wide studies where the rich chromatin and transcription database resources provide fruitful foundation to pursue mechanistic, functional and diagnostic information at genes of interest in health and disease. PMID:22098709

Magnetic field and radiative transfer modelling of a quiescent prominence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunár, S.; Schwartz, P.; Dudík, J.; Schmieder, B.; Heinzel, P.; Jurčák, J.

2014-07-01

Aims: The aim of this work is to analyse the multi-instrument observations of the June 22, 2010 prominence to study its structure in detail, including the prominence-corona transition region and the dark bubble located below the prominence body. Methods: We combined results of the 3D magnetic field modelling with 2D prominence fine structure radiative transfer models to fully exploit the available observations. Results: The 3D linear force-free field model with the unsheared bipole reproduces the morphology of the analysed prominence reasonably well, thus providing useful information about its magnetic field configuration and the location of the magnetic dips. The 2D models of the prominence fine structures provide a good representation of the local plasma configuration in the region dominated by the quasi-vertical threads. However, the low observed Lyman-α central intensities and the morphology of the analysed prominence suggest that its upper central part is not directly illuminated from the solar surface. Conclusions: This multi-disciplinary prominence study allows us to argue that a large part of the prominence-corona transition region plasma can be located inside the magnetic dips in small-scale features that surround the cool prominence material located in the dip centre. We also argue that the dark prominence bubbles can be formed because of perturbations of the prominence magnetic field by parasitic bipoles, causing them to be devoid of the magnetic dips. Magnetic dips, however, form thin layers that surround these bubbles, which might explain the occurrence of the cool prominence material in the lines of sight intersecting the prominence bubbles. Movie and Appendix A are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

The geometry of slip surfaces in the hanging-wall of the Sierra Madre fault, La-Canada, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dor, O.; Sammis, C. G.; Ben-Zion, Y.

2009-12-01

Fault-slip data from the granitic hanging-wall of the Sierra Madre fault near La-Canada, California, show a steeply dipping conjugate set of cm- to decimeter scale slip surfaces (115 data samples) with moderate to strong inclinations of slip vectors. These off-fault damage elements may be associated with Mohr-Coulomb slip in the stress field of a propagating earthquake rupture. At the microscale, we identified two dominant fracture orientations. The first appears both near and far from the fault and is compatible with Andersonian failure on the main fault. The second appears only within meters from the fault and may be associated with the formation of the slip surfaces. Characterization of damage fabric in the microscale suggests that in-situ failure of grains under tension with minimal strain immediately above the fault plane may be associated with an opening mode of rupture. We conclude that the architecture of the slip surfaces was developed during slip events over a finite displacement history with fairly stable faulting conditions, and that with continuing displacement, as the rock mass approached the surface, a dynamic opening mode could have led to the shattering of grains in the immediate vicinity of the slip zone.

Fibrous gypsum veins as diffuse features and within fault zones: the case study of the Pisco Basin (Ica desert, southern Peru)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rustichelli, Andrea; Di Celma, Claudio; Tondi, Emanuele; Baud, Patrick; Vinciguerra, Sergio

2016-04-01

New knowledge on patterns of fibrous gypsum veins, their genetic mechanisms, deformation style and weathering are provided by a field- and laboratory-based study carried out on the Neogene to Quaternary Pisco Basin sedimentary strata (porous sandstones, siltstones and diatomites) exposed in the Ica desert, southern Peru. Gypsum veins vary considerably in dimensions, attitudes and timing and can develop in layered and moderately fractured rocks also in the absence of evaporitic layers. Veins occur both as diffuse features, confined to certain stratigraphic levels, and localised within fault zones. Arrays formed by layer-bounded, mutually orthogonal sets of steeply-dipping gypsum veins are reported for the first time. Vein length, height and spacing depend on the thickness of the bed packages in which they are confined. Within fault zones, veins are partly a product of faulting but also inherited layer-bounded features along which faults are superimposed. Due to the different petrophysical properties with respect to the parent rocks and their susceptibility to textural and mineralogical modifications, water dissolution and rupture, gypsum veins may have a significant role in geofluid management. Depending on their patterns and grade of physical and chemical alteration, veins may influence geofluid circulation and storage, acting as barriers to flow and possibly also as conduits.

The migration law of overlay rock and coal in deeply inclined coal seam with fully mechanized top coal caving.

PubMed

Liu, Jian; Chen, Shan-Le; Wang, Hua-Jun; Li, Yu-Cheng; Geng, Xiaowei

2015-07-01

In a mine area, some environment geotechnics problems always occure, induced by mined-out region such as the subsidence and cracks at ground level, deformation and destruction of buildings, landslides destruction of water resources and the ecological environment. In order to research the migration of surrounding rock and coal in steeply inclined super high seams which used fully mechanized top coal caving, a working face of a certain mine was made as an example, analyzed the migration law of the overlay rock and coal under different caving ratio of fully mechanized top coal caving with numerical simulation analysis. The results suggest that the laws of overlay rock deformation caused by deeply inclined coal seam were different from horizontal coal seam. On the inclined direction, with an increase of dip angle and caving ratio, the vertical displacement of overlay rock and coal became greater, the asymmetric phenomenon of vertical displacement became obvious. On the trend direction, active region and transition region in goaf became smaller along with the increase of mining and caving ratio. On the contrary, the stable region area became greater. Therefore, there was an essential difference between the mechanism of surface movement deformation with deeply inclined coal seam and that with horizontal coal seam.

Blind test of methods for obtaining 2-D near-surface seismic velocity models from first-arrival traveltimes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zelt, Colin A.; Haines, Seth; Powers, Michael H.; Sheehan, Jacob; Rohdewald, Siegfried; Link, Curtis; Hayashi, Koichi; Zhao, Don; Zhou, Hua-wei; Burton, Bethany L.; Petersen, Uni K.; Bonal, Nedra D.; Doll, William E.

2013-01-01

Seismic refraction methods are used in environmental and engineering studies to image the shallow subsurface. We present a blind test of inversion and tomographic refraction analysis methods using a synthetic first-arrival-time dataset that was made available to the community in 2010. The data are realistic in terms of the near-surface velocity model, shot-receiver geometry and the data's frequency and added noise. Fourteen estimated models were determined by ten participants using eight different inversion algorithms, with the true model unknown to the participants until it was revealed at a session at the 2011 SAGEEP meeting. The estimated models are generally consistent in terms of their large-scale features, demonstrating the robustness of refraction data inversion in general, and the eight inversion algorithms in particular. When compared to the true model, all of the estimated models contain a smooth expression of its two main features: a large offset in the bedrock and the top of a steeply dipping low-velocity fault zone. The estimated models do not contain a subtle low-velocity zone and other fine-scale features, in accord with conventional wisdom. Together, the results support confidence in the reliability and robustness of modern refraction inversion and tomographic methods.

Collisional emplacement history of the Naga-Andaman ophiolites and the position of the eastern Indian suture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharyya, S. K.

2007-02-01

Dismembered late Mesozoic ophiolites occur in two parallel belts along the eastern margin of the Indian Plate. The Eastern Belt, closely following the magmatic arc of the Central Burma Basin, coincides with a zone of high gravity. It is considered to mark a zone of steeply dipping mafic-ultramafic rocks and continental metamorphic rocks, which are the locus of two closely juxtaposed sutures. In contrast, the Western Belt, which follows the eastern margin of the Indo-Burma Range and the Andaman outer-island-arc, broadly follows a zone of negative gravity anomalies. Here the ophiolites occur mainly as rootless subhorizontal bodies overlying Eocene-Oligocene flyschoid sediments. Two sets of ophiolites that were accreted during the Early Cretaceous and mid-Eocene are juxtaposed in this belt. These are inferred to be westward propagated nappes from the Eastern Belt, emplaced during the late Oligocene collision between the Burmese and Indo-Burma-Andaman microcontinents. Ophiolite occurrences in the Andaman Islands belong to the Western Belt and are generally interpreted as upthrust oceanic crust, accreted due to prolonged subduction activity to the west of the island arc. This phase of subduction began only in the late Miocene and thus could not have produced the ophiolitic rocks, which were accreted in the late Early Eocene.

Geohydrology of the Keechi, Mount Sylvan, Oakwood, and Palestine salt domes in the northeast Texas salt-dome basin

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

Carr, J.E.; Halasz, S.J.; Peters, H.B.

1980-01-01

The salt within these domes has penetrated as much as 20,000 feet of Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata, and presently extends to within 120 to 800 feet of the land surface. The salt penetrates or closely underlies major freshwater and salinewater aquifers within the basin. To provide a safe repository for radioactive wastes within one or more of these domes, a thorough understanding of the geohydrology needs to be obtained, and the hydrologic stability of the domes needs to be established for the expected life of the storage facility. Dissolution may exist at all four candidate salt domes, possibly through contactmore » with Cretaceous or Tertiary aquifers, or through fault systems in the vicinity of the domes. Strata overlying and surrounding Palestine and Keechi Salt Domes have been arched into steeply-dipping folds that are complexly faulted. Similar conditions exist at Oakwood and Mount Sylvan Domes, except that the Tertiary strata have been only moderately disturbed. Additional problems concerning the hydrologic stability of Oakwood and Palestine Salt Domes have resulted from the disposal of oil-field salinewater in the cap rock at the Oakwood Dome and previous solution mining of salt at the Palestine Dome.« less

A recent deep earthquake doublet in light of long-term evolution of Nazca subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zahradník, J.; Čížková, H.; Bina, C. R.; Sokos, E.; Janský, J.; Tavera, H.; Carvalho, J.

2017-03-01

Earthquake faulting at ~600 km depth remains puzzling. Here we present a new kinematic interpretation of two Mw7.6 earthquakes of November 24, 2015. In contrast to teleseismic analysis of this doublet, we use regional seismic data providing robust two-point source models, further validated by regional back-projection and rupture-stop analysis. The doublet represents segmented rupture of a ˜30-year gap in a narrow, deep fault zone, fully consistent with the stress field derived from neighbouring 1976-2015 earthquakes. Seismic observations are interpreted using a geodynamic model of regional subduction, incorporating realistic rheology and major phase transitions, yielding a model slab that is nearly vertical in the deep-earthquake zone but stagnant below 660 km, consistent with tomographic imaging. Geodynamically modelled stresses match the seismically inferred stress field, where the steeply down-dip orientation of compressive stress axes at ˜600 km arises from combined viscous and buoyant forces resisting slab penetration into the lower mantle and deformation associated with slab buckling and stagnation. Observed fault-rupture geometry, demonstrated likelihood of seismic triggering, and high model temperatures in young subducted lithosphere, together favour nanometric crystallisation (and associated grain-boundary sliding) attending high-pressure dehydration as a likely seismogenic mechanism, unless a segment of much older lithosphere is present at depth.

Mapping Shear Zones, Faults, and Crustal Deformation Fabric With Receiver Functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulte-Pelkum, V.; Mahan, K. H.

2014-12-01

Dipping faults, shear zones, and pervasive anisotropic crustal fabric due to deformation are all capable of generating strong near-station mode conversions of teleseismic body waves, even for weak (a few percent) velocity anisotropy. These conversions can be found using the receiver function technique. Dipping foliation and dipping isotropic velocity contrasts can occur in isolation or together in deformed crust. Both generate receiver function arrivals that have a characteristic periodicity with azimuth. Different fixed azimuthal phase shifts between radial and tangential component receiver functions distinguish dipping or tilted structure and fabric from horizontal axis anisotropy. We demonstrate a method that uses these characteristics to map geologically relevant information such as strike and depth of foliation of dipping isotropic velocity contrasts and of horizontal symmetry axis anisotropy contrasts. The method uses waveforms without matching them via forward modeling, which makes choices such as slow versus fast axis symmetry and isotropic dip versus anisotropic axis tilt unnecessary. It also does not use shear wave splitting of the converted waves, which is more difficult to isolate. We show results from the continental U.S. and Canada and from the collision zones in the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau and Taiwan. We discuss interpretation of our results in the light of recent laboratory measurements of deformed crustal rocks and contributions to the seismic signal from individual minerals such as micas, amphiboles, and quartz. Our observations are connected to geological ground truth by using structural maps and sample anisotropy determined using electron backscatter diffraction from exhumed deep crust in the Athabasca granulite province to predict the seismic signal from present-day deep crust. We also discuss the reconciliation of measurements from anisotropic receiver functions, surface waves, and split shear waves.

X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY OF THE HIGH-MASS X-RAY BINARY PULSAR CENTAURUS X-3 OVER ITS BINARY ORBIT

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

Naik, Sachindra; Ali, Zulfikar; Paul, Biswajit, E-mail: snaik@prl.res.in

2011-08-20

We present a comprehensive spectral analysis of the high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) pulsar Centaurus X-3 with the Suzaku observatory covering nearly one orbital period. The light curve shows the presence of extended dips which are rarely seen in HMXBs. These dips are seen up to as high as {approx}40 keV. The pulsar spectra during the eclipse, out-of-eclipse, and dips are found to be well described by a partial covering power-law model with high-energy cutoff and three Gaussian functions for 6.4 keV, 6.7 keV, and 6.97 keV iron emission lines. The dips in the light curve can be explained by themore » presence of an additional absorption component with high column density and covering fraction, the values of which are not significant during the rest of the orbital phases. The iron line parameters during the dips and eclipse are significantly different compared to those during the rest of the observation. During the dips, the iron line intensities are found to be lesser by a factor of 2-3 with a significant increase in the line equivalent widths. However, the continuum flux at the corresponding orbital phase is estimated to be lesser by more than an order of magnitude. Similarities in the changes in the iron line flux and equivalent widths during the dips and eclipse segments suggest that the dipping activity in Cen X-3 is caused by an obscuration of the neutron star by dense matter, probably structures in the outer region of the accretion disk, as in the case of dipping low-mass X-ray binaries.« less

Geologic map of the Kings Mountain and Grover quadrangles, Cleveland and Gaston Counties, North Carolina, and Cherokee and York Counties, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horton, J. Wright

2006-01-01

This geologic map of the Kings Mountain and Grover 7.5-minute quadrangles, N.C.-S.C., straddles a regional geological boundary between the Inner Piedmont and Carolina terranes. The Kings Mountain sequence (informal name) on the western flank of the Carolina terrane in this area includes the Neoproterozoic Battleground and Blacksburg Formations. The Battleground Formation has a lower part consisting of metavolcanic rocks and interlayered schist, and an upper part consisting of quartz-sericite phyllite and schist interlayered with quartz-pebble metaconglomerate, aluminous quartzite, micaceous quartzite, manganiferous rock, and metavolcanic rocks. The Blacksburg Formation consists of phyllitic metasiltstone interlayered with thinner units of marble, laminated micaceous quartzite, hornblende gneiss, and amphibolite. Layered metamorphic rocks of the Inner Piedmont terrane include muscovite-biotite gneiss, muscovite schist, and amphibolite. The Kings Mountain sequence has been intruded by metatonalite and metatrondhjemite (Neoproterozoic), metadiorite and metagabbro (Paleozoic), and High Shoals Granite (Pennsylvanian). Layered metamorphic rocks of the Inner Piedmont in this area have been intruded by Toluca Granite (Ordovician?), Cherryville Granite and associated pegmatite (Mississippian), and spodumene pegmatite (Mississippian). Diabase dikes (early Jurassic) are locally present throughout the area. Ductile fault zones of regional scale include the Kings Mountain and Kings Creek shear zones. In this area, the Kings Mountain shear zone forms the boundary between the Inner Piedmont and Carolina terranes, and the Kings Creek shear zone separates the Battleground Formation from the Blacksburg Formation. Structural styles change across the Kings Mountain shear zone from steeply-dipping layers, foliations, and folds on the southeast to gently- and moderately-dipping layers, foliations, and recumbent folds on the northwest. Mineral assemblages in the Kings Mountain sequence show a westward decrease from upper amphibolite facies (sillimanite zone) near the High Shoals Granite on the east side of the map to greenschist (epidote-amphibolite) facies in the south-central part of the area near the Kings Mountain shear zone. Amphibolite-facies mineral assemblages in the Inner Piedmont terrane increase in grade from the kyanite zone near the Kings Mountain shear zone to the sillimanite zone in the northwest part of the map. Surficial deposits include alluvium in the stream valleys and colluvium along ridges and steep slopes. These quadrangles are unusual in their richness and variety of mineral deposits, which include spodumene (lithium), cassiterite (tin), mica, feldspar, silica, clay, marble, kyanite and sillimanite, barite, manganese, sand and gravel, gold, pyrite, and iron. (Abstract from pamphlet.)

Geologic Map of the Kings Mountain and Grover Quadrangles, Cleveland and Gaston Counties, North Carolina, and Cherokee and York Counties, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horton, J. Wright

2008-01-01

This geologic map of the Kings Mountain and Grover 7.5-min quadrangles, N.C.-S.C., straddles a regional geological boundary between the Inner Piedmont and Carolina terranes. The Kings Mountain sequence (informal name) on the western flank of the Carolina terrane in this area includes the Neoproterozoic Battleground and Blacksburg Formations. The Battleground Formation has a lower part consisting of metavolcanic rocks and interlayered schist and an upper part consisting of quartz-sericite phyllite and schist interlayered with quartz-pebble metaconglomerate, aluminous quartzite, micaceous quartzite, manganiferous rock, and metavolcanic rocks. The Blacks-burg Formation consists of phyllitic metasiltstone interlayered with thinner units of marble, laminated micaceous quartzite, hornblende gneiss, and amphibolite. Layered metamorphic rocks of the Inner Piedmont terrane include muscovite-biotite gneiss, muscovite schist, and amphibolite. The Kings Mountain sequence has been intruded by metatonalite and metatrondhjemite (Neoproterozoic), metagabbro and metadiorite (Paleozoic?), and the High Shoals Granite (Pennsylvanian). Layered metamorphic rocks of the Inner Piedmont in this area have been intruded by the Toluca Granite (Ordovician?), the Cherryville Granite and associated pegmatite (Mississippian), and spodumene pegmatite (Mississippian). Diabase dikes (early Jurassic) are locally present throughout the area. Ductile fault zones of regional scale include the Kings Mountain and Kings Creek shear zones. In this area, the Kings Mountain shear zone forms the boundary between the Inner Piedmont and Carolina terranes, and the Kings Creek shear zone separates the Battleground Formation from the Blacksburg Formation. Structural styles change across the Kings Mountain shear zone from steeply dipping layers, foliations, and folds on the southeast to gently and moderately dipping layers, foliations, and recumbent folds on the northwest. Mineral assemblages in the Kings Mountain sequence show a westward decrease from upper amphibolite facies (sillimanite zone) near the High Shoals Granite in the eastern side of the map area to upper greenschist (epidote-amphibolite) facies in the south-central part of the area near the Kings Mountain shear zone. Amphibolite-facies mineral assemblages in the Inner Piedmont terrane increase in grade from the kyanite zone near the Kings Mountain shear zone to the sillimanite zone in the northwestern part of the map area. Surficial deposits include alluvium in the stream valleys and colluvium along ridges and steep slopes. These quadrangles are unusual in the richness and variety of the mineral deposits that they contain, which include spodumene (lithium), cassiterite (tin), mica, feldspar, silica, clay, marble, kyanite and sillimanite, barite, manganese, sand and gravel, gold, pyrite, and iron.

Seismicity and structure of Nazca Plate subduction zone in southern Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, H.; Kim, Y.; Clayton, R. W.; Thurber, C. H.

2016-12-01

We define subducting plate geometries in the Nazca subduction zone by (re)locating intra-slab earthquakes in southern Peru (2-18°S) and taking previously published converted phase analysis results, to clarify the slab geometry and inferred relationships to the seismicity. We also provide both P- and S-wave velocities of the subducting Nazca Plate and mantle wedge portions close to the slab using double-difference tomography (Zhang and Thurber, 2003) to understand upper plate volcanism and subduction process. A total of 492 regional earthquakes from August 2008 to February 2013 recorded from the dense seismic array (PeruSE, 2013) are selected for the relocation and tomography. The relocated seismicity shows a smooth contortion in the slab-dip transition zone for 400 km between the shallow (25°)-to-flat dipping interface in the north and 40°-dipping interface in the south. We find a significant slab-dip difference (up to 10°) between our results and previously published slab models along the profile region sampling the normal-dip slab at depth (>100 km). Robust features in both P- and S-wave tomography inversions are dipping low-velocity slabs down to 100 km transitioning to higher-velocities at 100-140 km in both flat slab and dipping slab regions. Differences in the velocities of the mantle wedge between the two regions may indicate different hydration states in the wedge.

Undergraduates Discovering Folds in ''Flat'' Strata: An Unusual Undergraduate Geology Field Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abolins, Mark

2014-01-01

Undergraduates learned to measure, map, and interpret bedding plane attitudes during a semesterlong geology field methods course in a field area where strata dip less than 98. Despite the low dip of the strata, 2011 field course students discovered a half-kilometer-wide structural basin by using digital levels and Brunton pocket transits to…

Structure and Evolution of the Central Andes of Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez, L.; Pfiffner, O. A.

2009-04-01

Three major units make up the Andes in Peru: (1) The Western Cordillera consists of the Cretaceous Coastal Batholith intruding Jurassic to Cretaceous volcaniclastics (Casma group) in the west, and a fold-and-thrust belt of Mesozoic sediments in the east. Eocene and Miocene volcanics (Calipuy group and equivalents) overly all of these rock types. (2) The Central Highland contains a folded Paleozoic-Mesozoic sedimentary sequence overlain by thick Quaternary deposits. A major fault puts Neoproterozoic basement rocks of the Eastern Cordillera next to these units. (3) In the Eastern Cordillera, Late Paleozoic clastic successions unconformably overly folded Early Paleozoic sediments and a Neoproterozoic basement in the east. Permian (locally Triassic) granitoids intruded these units and were affected by folding and thrusting. In the core of the Eastern Cordillera, Early Cretaceous overly Early or Late Paleozoic strata. To the west, a thrust belt of Paleozoic to Cenozoic strata forms the transition to the foreland of the Brasilian shield. The most external part of this thrust belt involves Pliocene sediments and is referred to as Subandine zone. The Coastal Batholith is internally undeformed. The adjacent fold-and-thrust belt to the east is characterized by tight, nearly isoclinal upright folds with amplitudes of up to 1000 m. At the surface only Cretaceous rocks are observed. Using balancing techniques, a detachment horizon at the base of the Lowermost Cretaceous (Goyallarisquizga group - Oyon Formation) can be proposed. Further east, folds are more open, asymmetric and east verging, Jurassic sediments appear in the cores of the anticlines. The abrupt change in style from upright tight folding in the west to more open folding in the east is explained by a primary difference in the depositional sequence, most probably associated with synsedimentary faulting. The overlying volcanics of the Calipuy group and equivalents are, in turn, only slightly folded. In the Northern part of the Western Cordillera, near Huaraz, a vertical fault puts a Late Miocene to Early Pliocene batholith (Cordillera Blanca) in direct contact to Miocene volcanics (Calipuy group, Cordillera Negra). The structure of the Central Highlands is characterized by relatively open folds in the Paleozoic to Mesozoic strata. Overlying Quaternary deposits are tilted and locally even folded. Eocene to Miocene undeformed granitoids intrude these structures. A swarm of NNW-SSE striking and steeply dipping faults separate the Eastern Cordillera from the Highlands. Some of these faults suggest block faulting. However, near Huancayo a clear indication of strike-slip motion could be found. The Neoproterozoic basement rocks and the Early Paleozoic sediments are unconformably overlain by Late Paleozoic sediments which in turn are folded. Within the Subandine zone, the structural style is characterized by east directed imbricate thrusting. The thrust faults cut down into the crystalline basement going west, suggesting a detachment within upper crustal crystalline basement rocks. In the Central Peruvian Andes, compressional deformation events progressed from west to east. Early Cretaceous plutons of the coast batholith intruded folded Jurassic to Early Cretaceous volcaniclastic rocks of the Casma group and suggest an Early Cretaceous phase of shortening in the Pacific coastal area of the Western Cordillera (referred to as Mochica phase in the literature). Within the Western Cordillera, a major phase of pre-Eocene erosion removed a substantial amount of the tight upright folds. The youngest strata folded are of Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene age (Red Beds). The overlying volcanics are slightly younger (middle Eocene) and bracket the tight folding, referred to as Inca phase, to Late Paleocene to Early Eocene times. This is corroborated by Eocene to Miocene granitic intrusions in the adjacent fold-and-thrust belt. Still younger deformations, referred to as Quechua Phase, produced gentle folds within the Eocene volcanics. Vertical motions in the Cordillera Blanca juxtaposed a Late Miocene-Pliocene batholith to Late Miocene volcanics. These movements are post-Pleistonce in age and still active. In the Central High Zone, even Pleistocene deposits were tilted and locally folded. Timing of the steeply dipping faults bordering the Eastern Cordillera is more difficult to assess. Cretaceous strata in tectonic contact with Neoproterozoic basement indicate a Cenozoic age. But within the fold-and-thrust belt of the Subandine zone in the east, youngest strata affected by thrusting are progressively younger toward the east. They suggest thrust propagation ranging from Oligocene to Pliocene age. These young thrust faults were responsible for the uplift of the Central Highland to their present elevation.

Electrical resistivity structure of the Great Slave Lake shear zone, northwest Canada: implications for tectonic history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yaotian; Unsworth, Martyn; Liddell, Mitch; Pana, Dinu; Craven, James A.

2014-10-01

Three magnetotelluric (MT) profiles in northwestern Canada cross the central and western segments of Great Slave Lake shear zone (GSLsz), a continental scale strike-slip structure active during the Slave-Rae collision in the Proterozoic. Dimensionality analysis indicates that (i) the resistivity structure is approximately 2-D with a geoelectric strike direction close to the dominant geological strike of N45°E and that (ii) electrical anisotropy may be present in the crust beneath the two southernmost profiles. Isotropic and anisotropic 2-D inversion and isotropic 3-D inversions show different resistivity structures on different segments of the shear zone. The GSLsz is imaged as a high resistivity zone (>5000 Ω m) that is at least 20 km wide and extends to a depth of at least 50 km on the northern profile. On the southern two profiles, the resistive zone is confined to the upper crust and pierces an east-dipping crustal conductor. Inversions show that this dipping conductor may be anisotropic, likely caused by conductive materials filling a network of fractures with a preferred spatial orientation. These conductive regions would have been disrupted by strike-slip, ductile deformation on the GSLsz that formed granulite to greenschist facies mylonite belts. The pre-dominantly granulite facies mylonites are resistive and explain why the GSLsz appears as a resistive structure piercing the east-dipping anisotropic layer. The absence of a dipping anisotropic/conductive layer on the northern MT profile, located on the central segment of the GSLsz, is consistent with the lack of subduction at this location as predicted by geological and tectonic models.

Latitudinal Variations Of The F3 Layer Observed From The SEALION Ionosonde Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uemoto, J.; Ono, T.; Maruyama, T.; Saito, S.; Iizima, M.; Kumamoto, A.

2006-12-01

[INTRODUCTION] The occurrence probability, local time, solar and magnetic activity dependences of the F3 layer have been clarified experimentally from ionosonde observations as well as model calculation, whereas some unexplained problems have remained; It has been reported that the F3 layer was frequently obrved in June solstice season at Fortaleza in Brazil (geographic latitude -4 deg, geographic longitude 322 deg, and dip latitude -5.4 deg) though in this season (local winter season), frequently occurrences of the F3 layer were not predicted from the model calculation with normal values of the E x B drift and meridional neutral wind and seasonal dependence of occurrences at Waltair (17.7 deg, 83.3 deg, 11.5 deg) shows a different tendency from that at Fortaleza. The latter problem seems to result from geographic control or differences of dip latitude between two observation locations, however, its physical mechanism has not been clarified. Then conjugate observations in a magnetic meridional plane are needed. For the purpose of clarifying the mechanism of the F3 layer in more detail, we are analyzing the ionosonde data of the South East Asian Low-latitude IOnosonde Network [SEALION] mainly provided by NiCT which consists of 4 ionosonde stations. In this study, we analyzed ionosonde data observed at Chiang Mai (CMU [18.8 deg, 98.9 deg, 13.0 deg]), Chumphon(CPN [10.7 deg, 99.4 deg, 3.3 deg]) and Kototabang (KTB [-0.2 deg, 100.3 deg, -10.0 deg]). [ANALYSIS] As a result from analyzing ionosonde data on 31st March, 2005, following dip latitudinal differences have been found; At CPN, in the vicinity of the dip equator, the F3 layer moved upward rapidly and disappeared in earlier local time, while at CMU and KTB, in the low dip latitude region, the F3 layer stayed at almost the same altitude and remained to be detectable with longer time duration. [CONCLUSION] From comparing between observation results and the model calculation, it is suggested that such a dip latitudinal difference can be explained by considering that (1) the magnetic field line at the F2 peak which moved upward by the E x B drift (corresponding to the F3 peak or subsequently ionization ledge peak) in the vicinity of the dip equator is also crossing at that in the low dip latitude region and (2) a dip latitudinal difference of field aligned plasma diffusion effects; In the vicinity of the dip equator, since plasma at the upward drifted peak altitude diffuses aligned magnetic field line to higher altitude, plasma density at upward drifted peak decreases and becomes smaller immediately than the F2 peak existing at the usual altitude, then double peak structure is observable from the ground with shorter duration time and the ionization ledge structure might be formed in earlier local time. On the other hand, in the low latitude region, since plasma are transported from the vicinity of the dip equator, plasma density at upward drifted peak altitude is retained denser than that at usual F2 peak altitude for a longer time. Then double peak structure is observable from the ground with longer duration time.

Electrochromic TiO2 Thin Film Prepared by Dip-Coating Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suriani, S.; Kamisah, M. M.

2002-12-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were prepared by using sol-gel dip coating technique. The coating solutions were prepared by reacting titanium isopropoxide as precursors and ethanol as solvent. The films were formed on transparent ITO-coated glass by a dip coating technique and final dried at various temperatures up to 600 °C for 30 minutes. The films were characterized with the UV-Vis-NIR Spectrometer, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). XRD results show that the films dried at 600 °C form anatase structure. From the spectroscopic studies, the sample shows electrochromic property.

Origin of the Nubian and similar sandstones

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKee, E.D.

1963-01-01

The Nubian Sandstone and similar sandstone bodies exposed across much of northern Africa and adjoining parts of Asia are characteristically formed of clean sand that is conspicuously cross stratified throughout. Such sandstone, here called Nubian-type sandstone, ranges from Cambrian through Cretaceous in age and its genesis has been interpreted in many ways. Studies of its primary structures, and of the direction of sand transport, based on statistical measurements of foreset dip directions, have contributed new data on its genesis. By far the most common structure in Nubian-type sandstone is a medium-scale planar-type cross stratification in which sets of evenly dipping cross beds are bounded by essentially flat-lying top and bottom surfaces to form tabular bodies. Other less numerous but typical structures are large-scale, truncated-wedge cross strata, trough-type cross strata, intraformational recumbent folds, small-scale ripple laminae, and dipping sets of tabular-planar cross beds. An analysis of these structures suggests that in the typical Nubian Sandstone of Cretaceous age eolian deposits are not represented and normal marine types probably also are lacking; flood plain, pond or lagoon, and other continental and marginal environments are indicated. In the Carboniferous rocks of Sinai Peninsula some beach sandstone and possibly some eolian, in addition to the types described, form part of the sequence. Direction of sand transport, as determined from cross-bed dips, was northerly in the Cretaceous Nubian of Libya, Sudan, and Egypt; easterly in the Jurassic Adigrat of Ethiopia; westerly in the Carboniferous of Sinai; northwesterly in the early Paleozoic of Jordan. ?? 1963 Ferdinand Enke Verlag Stuttgart.

A wave equation migration method for receiver function imaging: 2. Application to the Japan subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ling; Wen, Lianxing; Zheng, Tianyu

2005-11-01

The newly developed wave equation poststack depth migration method for receiver function imaging is applied to study the subsurface structures of the Japan subduction zone using the Fundamental Research on Earthquakes and Earth's Interior Anomalies (FREESIA) broadband data. Three profiles are chosen in the subsurface imaging, two in northeast (NE) Japan to study the subducting Pacific plate and one in southwest (SW) Japan to study the Philippine Sea plate. The descending Pacific plate in NE Japan is well imaged within a depth range of 50-150 km. The slab image exhibits a little more steeply dipping angle (˜32°) in the south than in the north (˜27°), although the general characteristics between the two profiles in NE Japan are similar. The imaged Philippine Sea plate in eastern SW Japan, in contrast, exhibits a much shallower subduction angle (˜19°) and is only identifiable at the uppermost depths of no more than 60 km. Synthetic tests indicate that the top 150 km of the migrated images of the Pacific plate is well resolved by our seismic data, but the resolution of deep part of the slab images becomes poor due to the limited data coverage. Synthetic tests also suggest that the breakdown of the Philippine Sea plate at shallow depths reflects the real structural features of the subduction zone, rather than caused by insufficient coverage of data. Comparative studies on both synthetics and real data images show the possibility of retrieval of fine-scale structures from high-frequency contributions if high-frequency noise can be effectively suppressed and a small bin size can be used in future studies. The derived slab geometry and image feature also appear to have relatively weak dependence on overlying velocity structure. The observed seismicity in the region confirms the geometries inferred from the migrated images for both subducting plates. Moreover, the deep extent of the Pacific plate image and the shallow breakdown of the Philippine Sea plate image are observed to correlate well with the depth extent of the seismicity beneath NE and SW Japan. Such a correlation supports the inference that the specific appearance of slabs and intermediate-depth earthquakes are a consequence of temperature-dependent dehydration induced metamorphism occurring in the hydrated descending oceanic crust.

Field observations of Flood Basalt structure: Implications for offshore interpretation and sub-volcanic investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Single, R.; Jerram, D.; Pearson, D.; Hobbs, R.

2003-04-01

Field investigations in Skye and Namibia have provided insight into structure and architecture of CFBs. The studies have been developed into lava sequence models in 3-D software GoCad. The understanding has been applied to interpretation of lavas in the Faeroe-Shetland trough. Volcanics hinder petroleum exploration in this play due to their complex internal geometries and velocity structure. Seismic resolution is poor beneath volcanics. Fieldwork has shown that lavas on Skye have developed from (olivine-phyric) compound basalts towards the base of the sequence, into more massive flows higher up the succession. Fieldwork in the Etendeka CFBs reveal a similar style of lava field development. The focus of the offshore study is through the area of the GFA-99 seismic data. Detailed 3-D interpretation over the central data area is 20x20km in dimensions. The lava sequence present may be sub-divided vertically and laterally into 4 zones between the following seismic picks: Base basalt/sub-basalt sills, top compound lava-dominated series, top Middle Series, top hyaloclastites, top massive basalt. Within the lava sequence, the surfaces have rugose topographies. Lower zone lavas are characterised by discontinuous, indistinct reflectors. These are interpreted to be sub-aerially effused basalts with compound-braided architecture. Middle Series basalts are considered to be a combination of compound lavas and more massive, tabular flows. Steeply dipping seismic reflectors also form part of the Middle Series and are interpreted as foreset-bedded hyaloclastites. The uppermost lavas have strong reflection characteristics and are laterally extensive. These are interpreted to be massive tabular lavas covering an area >8.4 x10^3 km^2. Such flows exist in upper parts of CFB sequences as evidenced from fieldwork. Complex stacking arrangements of lavas seen in the field, and the complexities observed in seismic, suggest that many factors need to be considered within CFBs for improved sub-volcanic imaging. Factors include understanding: The facies-zones present, changes in velocity structure and the geometries present within facies types. EU 5th Framework Project SIMBA is a collaborative research project combining industrial and academic partners in flood basalt research. SIMBA incorporates: TotalFinaElf GRC, ARK Geophysics, Norsk Hydro, Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) and Universities of Durham, Cambridge, UC Dublin and Brest.

Seismic images of a tectonic subdivision of the Greenville Orogen beneath lakes Ontario and Erie

USGS Publications Warehouse

Forsyth, D. A.; Milkereit, B.; Davidson, A.; Hanmer, S.; Hutchinson, Deborah R.; Hinze, W. J.; Mereu, R.F.

1994-01-01

New seismic data from marine air-gun and Vibroseis profiles in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie provide images of subhorizontal Phanerozoic sediments underlain by a remarkable series of easterly dipping reflections that extends from the crystalline basement to the lower crust. These reflections are interpreted as structural features of crustal-scale subdivisions within the Grenville Orogen. Broadly deformed, imbricated, and overlapping thrust sheets within the western Central Metasedimentary Belt are succeeded to the west by a complex zone of easterly dipping, apparent thrust faults that are interpreted as a southwest subsurface extension of the boundary zone between the Central Metasedimentary Belt and the Central Gneiss Belt. The interpreted Central Metasedimentary Belt boundary zone has a characteristic magnetic anomaly that provides a link from the adjacent ends of lakes Ontario and Erie to structures exposed 150 km to the north. Less reflective, west-dipping events are interpreted as structures within the eastern Central Gneiss Belt. The seismic interpretation augments current tectonic models that suggest the exposed ductile structures formed at depth as a result of crustal shortening along northwest-verging thrust faults. Relatively shallow reflections across the boundary region suggest local, Late Proterozoic extensional troughs containing post-Grenville sediments, preserved possibly as a result of pre-Paleozoic reactivation of basement structures.

Seismic investigation of the Kunlun Fault: Analysis of the INDEPTH IV 2-D active-source seismic dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seelig, William George

The Tibetan Plateau has experienced significant crustal thickening and deformation since the continental subduction and collision of the Asian and Indian plates in the Eocene. Deformation of the northern Tibetan Plateau is largely accommodated by strike-slip faulting. The Kunlun Fault is a 1000-km long strike-slip fault near the northern boundary of the Plateau that has experienced five magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes in the past 100 years and represents a major rheological boundary. Active-source, 2-D seismic reflection/refraction data, collected as part of project INDEPTH IV (International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya, phase IV) in 2007, was used to examine the structure and the dip of the Kunlun fault. The INDEPTH IV data was acquired to better understand the tectonic evolution of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, such as the far-field deformation associated with the continent-continent collision and the potential subduction of the Asian continent beneath northern Tibet. Seismic reflection common depth point (CDP) stacks were examined to look for reflectivity patterns that may be associated with faulting. A possible reflection from the buried North Kunlun Thrust (NKT) is identified at 18-21 km underneath the East Kunlun Mountains, with an estimated apparent dip of 15°S and thrusting to the north. Minimally-processed shot gathers were also inspected for reflections off near-vertical structures such as faults and information on first-order velocity structure. Shot offset and nearest receiver number to reflection was catalogued to increase confidence of picks. Reflections off the North Kunlun (NKF) and South Kunlun Faults (SKF) were identified and analyzed for apparent dip and subsurface geometry. Fault reflection analysis found that the North Kunlun Fault had an apparent dip of approximately 68ºS to an estimated depth of 5 km, while the South Kunlun Fault dipped at approximately 78ºN to an estimated 3.5 km depth. Constraints on apparent dip and geometry of the NKF/SKF and NKT provide information valuable for seismic hazard analysis.

Gravity investigations of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, south-central Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scheirer, Daniel S.; Scheirer, Allegra Hosford

2006-01-01

The geological configuration of the Arbuckle Uplift in the vicinity of Chickasaw National Recreation Area in south-central Oklahoma plays a governing role in the distribution of fresh and mineral springs within the park and in the existence of artesian wells in and around the park. A confining layer of well-cemented conglomerate lies immediately below the surface of the recreation area, and groundwater migrates from an area of meteoric recharge where rocks of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer crop out as close as two kilometers to the east of the park. Prominent, Pennsylvanian-aged faults are exposed in the aquifer outcrop, and two of the fault traces project beneath the conglomerate cover toward two groups of springs within the northern section of the park. We conducted gravity fieldwork and analysis to investigate the subsurface extensions of these major faults beneath Chickasaw National Recreation Area. By defining gravity signatures of the faults where they are exposed, we infer that the Sulphur and Mill Creek Faults bend to the south-west where they are buried. The South Sulphur Fault may project westward linearly if it juxtaposes rocks that have a density contrast opposite that of that fault's density configuration in the Sulphur Syncline area. The Sulphur Syncline, whose eastern extent is exposed in the outcrop area of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer, does not appear to extend beneath Chickasaw National Recreation Area nor the adjacent City of Sulphur. The South Sulphur Fault dips steeply northward, and its normal sense of offset suggests that the Sulphur Syncline is part of a graben. The Mill Creek Fault dips vertically, and the Reagan Fault dips southward, consistent with its being mapped as a thrust fault. The Sulphur and Mill Creek Synclines may have formed as pull-apart basins in a left-lateral, left-stepping strike-slip environment. The character of the gravity field of Chickasaw National Recreation Area is different from the lineated gravity field in the area of Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer outcrop. This change in character is not due to the presence of the overlying conglomerate layer, which is quite thin (<100 m) in the area of the park with the springs. The presence of relatively high-density Precambrian basement rocks in a broader region suggests that significant gravity anomalies may arise from variations in basement topography. Understanding of the geological configuration of Chickasaw National Recreation Area can be improved by expanding the study area and by investigating complementary geophysical and borehole constraints of the subsurface.

Deep seismic reflection evidence for ancient subduction and collision zones within the continental lithosphere of northwestern Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balling, N.

2000-12-01

Deep seismic profiling experiments in the region of NW Europe (including BABEL in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea, Mobil Search in the Skagerrak and MONA LISA in the North Sea) have demonstrated the existence of seismic reflectors in the mantle lithosphere beneath the Baltic Shield, the Tornquist Zone and the North Sea basins. Different sets of reflectors are observed, notably dipping and sub-horizontal. Dipping, distinct reflectivity, which may be followed from Moho/Moho offsets into the deeper parts of the continental lithosphere, is of special interest because of its tectonic and geodynamic significance. Such reflectivity, observed in several places, dipping 15-35° and covering a depth range of 30-90 km, constrained by surface geological information and radiometric age data, is interpreted to represent fossil, ancient subduction and collison zones. Subduction slabs with remnant oceanic basaltic crust transformed into eclogite is assumed, in particular, to generate deep seismic reflectivity. Deep seismic evidence is presented for subduction, crustal accretion and collision processes with inferred ages from 1.9 to 1.1 Ga from the main structural provinces within the Baltic Shield including Svecofennian, Transscandinavian Igneous Belt, Gothian and Sveconorwegian. Along the southwestern border of Baltica (in the southeastern North Sea) south-dipping crustal and sub-crustal reflectivity is observed down to a depth of about 90 km, close to the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. These structures are interpreted to reveal a lithosphere-scale Caledonian (ca. 440 Ma) suture zone resulting from the closure of the Tornquist Sea/Thor Ocean and the amalgamation of Baltica and Eastern Avalonia. These results demonstrate that deep structures within the continental lithosphere, originating from early crust-forming plate tectonic processes, may survive for a very long time and form seismic marker reflectivity of great value in geotectonic interpretation and reconstructions. Furthermore, the depth of dipping reflectivity from ancient structures, such as subduction slabs, significantly contributes information about the thickness of the coherent lithosphere. The seismic observations and our interpretations support plate tectonic and structural models, suggesting crustal growth and amalgamation of tectonic units in the Baltic Shield and along its southwestern margin generally from the northeast (in present-day orientation) towards the southwest and west, likely to result in regional deep structural and tectonic age zonations.

First-order and subsidiary faults controlling the time-space evolution of the Central Italy 2016 seismic sequence - a multi-source data detailed 3D reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavecchia, Giusy; de nardis, Rita; Ferrarini, Federica; Cirillo, Daniele; Brozzetti, Francesco

2017-04-01

The Central Italy 2016 seismic sequence, with its three major events (24 August, Mw 6.0/6.2; 26 October Mw5.9/6.0; 30 October Mw6.5/6.6), activated a well-known active west-dipping extensional fault alignment of central Italy (Vettore-Gorzano faults, VEGO). Soon after the first event, based on geological, interferometric and at that moment available seismological data, a preliminary 3D fault model of VEGO was built. Such a model is here updated and improved at the light of a large amount of relocated earthquake data (time interval 24 August to 30 November 2016, 0.1≤ML ≤6.5, Chiaraluce at al., submitted to SRL) plus additional geological information. The 3D modeling was done using the software package MOVE from the Midland Valley. All the available data were taken into consideration (surface traces, fault-slip data, primary co-seismic surface fractures, geological maps and cross-sections, hypocentral locations and focal mechanisms of both background seismicity and seismic sequences). The VEGO geometric configuration did not substantially changed with respect to the previous model, but some additional structures involved in the sequence were reconstructed. In particular, four additional faults are well evident: a NE-dipping normal fault (dip-angle 50˚ ) antithetic to Vettore Fault, located at depths between 1 and 5 km; a WNW dipping plane (dip-angle 30˚ ) located at depth between 1 and 4 km within the Vettore footwall volume; this structure represents a splay of the late Miocene Sibillini thrust, which is evidently cross-cut and dislocated by the Vettore normal fault; a SW-dipping normal fault representing an unknown northward prosecution of the VEGO alignment, where since 26 October a relevant seismic activity was released; an unknown east-dipping low-angle detachment, where VEGO detaches at a depth of about 10-11 km. An uninterrupted microseismic activity has illuminated such a detachment not only during the overall sequence, but also in the previous months. At the light of the reconstructed geometric pattern integrated with the evidences of primary co-seismic fractures, it results evident that the Central Italy seismic sequence represents a "classic", although complex, intra-Apennine normal-faulting event, reactivating a long-term quiescent seismogenic alignment (e.g. VEGO). The reactivated and inverted compressional structures are confined at shallow depth within the Vettore footwall, and in no way control the major events of the sequence. Conversely, an important regional role is played by the east-dipping detachment. It represents the missing geometric link between the Altotiberina LANF of northern Umbria and the recently discovered LANF of Latium-Abruzzi.

Spatial Comparisons of Tremor and Slow Slip as a Constraint on Fault Strength in the Northern Cascadia Subduction Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, K.; Schmidt, D. A.; Houston, H.

2017-12-01

We measure displacement vectors from about 50 or more PANGA 3-component GPS stations to analyze six large ETS events from 2007 - 2016 in northern Cascadia, and invert for slip on a realistic plate interface. Our previous results indicated that significant slip of up to 2 cm occurs 10 to 15 km up-dip of the western edge of tremor beneath the Olympic Peninsula. This far up-dip aseismic slip persists in several of the ETS events. We also find that this offset appears to vary along-strike with a greater offset beneath the Olympic Peninsula and up into the Strait of Juan de Fuca in comparison to lower Puget Sound. To explain this, we explore how properties (temperature and permeability) of the overlying structure may influence fault strength. In our conceptual model, the observation that slip inferred from GPS can extend updip of tremor suggests that updip of the observed edge of tremor, seismogenic patches that could produce tremor and low frequency earthquakes (LFEs) are too strong to fail from the relatively minor amount of far up-dip slow slip. This is consistent with the observation that, within the ETS zone, down-dip LFEs occur frequently, whereas up-dip LFEs occur only during the largest ETS events and are unaffected by tidal stresses until the later stages of an ETS event. This suggests that the up-dip seismogenic patches have a larger discrepancy between their strength and stress states, and therefore require larger stress perturbations (such as those from a propagating ETS slip pulse) to trigger seismic failure. We consider whether lateral variations in overlying structure may explain the along-strike variations in far up-dip aseismic slip. There is an abrupt change in lithology from the meta-sediments of the Olympic accretionary complex to the mafic basalts of the Crescent terrane. The juxtaposition of these different lithologies could potentially explain the along-strike variations in far up-dip aseismic slip. We propose to explore whether relative changes in either thermal conductivity or permeability could lead to effects of a reasonable magnitude and on a comparable length scale to explain the observed offset between tremor and slow slip in northern Cascadia. By using simple first-order models, we explore whether relative changes in these diffusive properties may encourage aseismic slip, but fail to generate tremor.

Structural expression of a rolling hinge in the footwall of the Brenner Line normal fault, eastern Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axen, Gary J.; Bartley, John M.; Selverstone, Jane

1995-12-01

The kinematic and temporal sequence of structures observed to overprint mylonites along the Brenner Line low-angle normal fault may record passage of the footwall through two rolling hinges, at the top and bottom of a ramp in the shear zone. The structures comprise west down brittle and brittle-ductile structures and east down brittle structures. PT conditions of formation (250° to >400°C and 2-23 km depth), obtained from analysis of oriented fluid inclusion planes, indicate that west down structures were formed at greater depths and temperatures, and therefore earlier, than the east down structures. These data suggest that the brittle structures formed under conditions that permit crystal-plastic deformation at long-term geologic strain rates and therefore probably reflect transient rapid strain rates and/or high fluid pressure. Structures inferred to have formed at a lower hinge are consistent with viscous flow models of rolling-hinge deformation and support the concept of a crustal asthenosphere. Such high temperatures at shallow crustal depth also suggest significant upward advection of heat by extensional unroofing of warm rocks, which may have reduced the flexural rigidity of the footwall and thus affected mechanical behavior at the upper rolling hinge. Exposed mylonitic foliation within a few hundred meters of the Brenner line and on top of the east-west trending anticlines in the footwall dips ˜15° west. Our data favor a ramp dip of ˜25° but permit a dip as great as 45°. Fluid inclusion data suggest that structures related to the hinge at the base of the ramp formed at depths of 12-25 km. If the average dip of the Brenner shear zone to those depths was 20°, intermediate between the favored ramp dip and the dip of exposed foliation, then the horizontal component of slip could be as high as 33-63 km. The two discrete sets of structures with opposite shear senses, formed in the temporal sequence indicated by PT data, are consistent with subvertical simple shear models of rolling-hinge strain. This kinematic pattern is not predicted by the flexural-failure model for rolling hinges. However, the predominance of normal slip at the upper hinge, which extends rather than shortens the mylonitic foliation, fails to match the subvertical simple shear model, which predicts shortening of the foliation there. One possible solution is that superposition of regional extension upon hinge-related stresses modified the rolling-hinge kinematics. Such a modified subvertical shear model can account for the observed small foliation-parallel extensional strains if the foliation was bent <5°-10° passing through the upper hinge. If more bending than that occurred, the data suggest rolling-hinge kinematics in which deformation is achieved by uniform-sense simple shear across the shear zone as in the subvertical simple shear model but in which material lines parallel to the shear-zone foliation and the detachment fault undergo very small length changes, presumably indicating that footwall rocks retained significant resistance to shear and underwent minimal permanent strain. The mechanics that would generate such a rolling hinge are uncertain but may incorporate aspects of both subvertical simple shear and flexural failure. An important kinematic consequence of such a rolling hinge is that all of the net slip across a normal fault, not only its horizontal component, is converted into horizontal extension. This implies a significantly larger magnitude of crustal extension across dipping normal faults whose footwalls passed through a rolling hinge than for those that did not develop along with a hinge.

Robotic complex for the development of thick steeply-inclined coal seams and ore deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikitenko, M. S.; Malakhov, Yu V.; Neogi, Biswarup; Chakraborty, Pritam; Banerjee, Dipesu

2017-09-01

Proposal for the formulation of robotic complexes for steeply inclined coal seams as a basis of the supportive-enclosing walking module and power support with a controlled outlet for mining industry has been represented in this literature. In mining industry, the available resource base reserves and mineral deposits are concentrated deep down the earth crust leading towards a complicated geological condition i.e. abrupt ore bedding and steeply inclined strata with the high gas content and fire hazard of thick coal stratum, heading against an unfavorable and sometimes human labor life risk during subversive mining. Prevailing towards the development of effective robotic complexes based on the means of “unmanned technologies” for extraction of minerals from hard-to-reach deposits and make sure the safety of underground staff during sublevel mining technology.

Effect of Process Parameters on the Structure and Properties of Galvanized Sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, S. K.; Saha, B. B.; Triathi, B. D.; Avtar, Ram

2010-07-01

The effect of galvanizing parameters on the structure (spangle size and coating microstructure) and properties (formability and corrosion resistance) of galvanized sheets was studied in a hot dip process simulator (HDPS) in a conventional Pb bearing (0.08-0.10%) zinc bath by varying zinc bath Al level (0.10-0.28%), bath temperature (718-743 K), dipping time (1.5-3.5 s), wiping gas flow rate (200-450 lpm), nozzle distance (15-17 mm) and wiping delay time (0.1-2.1 s). Al level in the range of 0.18-0.24% in combination with dipping time of 1.5-2.5 s and bath temperature of 718-733 K results in superior formability ( E cv: ~9.3 mm) of the composite (thickness: 0.8 mm). High post-dip cooling rates (~25 K/s) suppress spangle growth (spangle size: ~2 mm). The spangle size of the GI sheet strongly influences the corrosion rate which increases from 5.8 to 9.2 mpy with a decrease in spangle size from 17.5 to 3 mm. By controlling the Al level (0.20%) in zinc bath and bath temperature (733 K), the corrosion rate of mini-spangle GI sheet can be controlled to a level of 5.5 mpy.

Orogen-scale anticline revealed in the Southern Alps of New Zealand by structural thermochronology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Renjie; Brandon, Mark

2017-04-01

A dense set of cooling ages from the Southern Alps reveals an orogen-scale anticline of cooling-age isosurfaces (isochrones) and provides an interesting example of structural thermochronology, where isochrones are used as structural markers. The isochrone concept is an integral aspect of the age-elevation method, but the latter implicitly assumes that all isochrones are horizontal. Our experience in New Zeland and elsewhere is that isochrones are commonly tilted after formation. We use a more general approach that solves for orientation of the isochrone surfaces, and also the slope of the age-elevation trend, where "elevation" is measured normal to the isochrone surfaces. In New Zealand, collision and convergence between the Pacific and Australian plates have resulted in the formation and continuing growth of the Southern Alps, a prototypical orogenic wedge. In the western side, the Southern Alps is bounded by the Alpine fault, along with deeply exhumed rocks from depths up to 25 km. There are 150 apatite and 200 zircon fission-track (AFT, ZFT) ages that cover the vast region of the South Island of New Zealand from Lake Summer to Lake Wanaka. The AFT ages range from <0.5 to 140 Ma, and the ZFT ages, from <0.5 to 400 Ma. Our approach was initiated by McPhillips and Brandon (Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.05.022). We use a least-squares method to solve for a best-fit sequence of dipping isochrone surfaces. The solution specifies the strike, dip and spacing of the parallel isochrones, the last of which indicates the velocity of the isochrones passing through the closure depth. We find that the calculation of the entire dataset failed to yield reasonable results, implying nonplanar structures at the regional scale. Using subsets of data, we observed three distinct zones of isochrones from E to W across the South Island. 1) The large area east of the Southern Alps in the central South Island contains ZFT isochrones that dip shallowly (< 1-5 degrees) to the east, with ages of 100 Ma and older. The spacing of the isochrones is narrow and indicates low ( 10-100 m/Ma) velocity crossing the closure depth of the samples. 2) In the eastern flank of the Southern Alps, the isochrone dip increases to 5-20 degrees with younger ages, 50 to < 5 Ma, and a much wide spacing of 1000-2000 m/Ma. 3) In the western flank of the Southern Alps around the Mount Cook, the isochrones have a similarly young age and spacing, but dip 10-30 degrees to the west. Collectively, these observations indicate an anticlinal structure across the Southern Alps. We have shown previously that cooling ages provide a kind of upside-down stratigraphy, with age surfaces (isochrones) formed at the closure isotherm and becoming older above that horizon. The isochrones first form as nearly horizontal surfaces and then serve as passive markers of deformation above the closure isotherm. We suggest that the isochrones exposed in the east flank of Southern Alps were formed and tilted to the east as they were advected through the large east-dipping retroshear zone that underlies the Southern Alps. In contrast, the west-dipping isochrones exposed in the west flank of the Southern Alps were formed within the retroshear zone, and their west dip is probably due to shear-induced rotation.

Multistory duplexes with forward dipping roofs, north central Brooks Range, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, W.K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Plafker, G.

1997-01-01

The Endicott Mountains allochthon has been thrust far northward over the North Slope parautochthon in the northern Brooks Range. Progressively younger units are exposed northward within the allochthon. To the south, the incompetent Hunt Fork Shale has thickened internally by asymmetric folds and thrust faults. Northward, the competent Kanayut Conglomerate forms a duplex between a floor thrust in Hunt Fork and a roof thrust in the Kayak Shale. To the north, the competent Lisburne Group forms a duplex between a floor thrust in Kayak and a roof thrust in the Siksikpuk Formation. Both duplexes formed from north vergent detachment folds whose steep limbs were later truncated by south dipping thrust faults that only locally breach immediately overlying roof thrusts. Within the parautochthon, the Kayak, Lisburne, and Siksikpuk-equivalent Echooka Formation form a duplex identical to that in the allochthon. This duplex is succeeded abruptly northward by detachment folds in Lisburne. These folds are parasitic to an anticlinorium interpreted to reflect a fault-bend folded horse in North Slope "basement," with a roof thrust in Kayak and a floor thrust at depth. These structures constitute two northward tapered, internally deformed wedges that are juxtaposed at the base of the allochthon. Within each wedge, competent units have been shortened independently between detachments, located mainly in incompetent units. The basal detachment of each wedge cuts upsection forward (northward) to define a wedge geometry within which units dip regionally forward. These dips reflect forward decrease in internal structural thickening by forward vergent folds and hindward dipping thrust faults. Copyright 1997 by the American Geophysical Union.

Socioeconomic Disparity in Later-Year Group Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms: Role of Health and Social Engagement Change.

PubMed

Lee, Hyunjoo; Park, Sojung; Kwon, Eunsun; Cho, Joonyoung

2017-06-01

This study explored heterogeneous change patterns of South Korean older adults' depressive symptoms by poverty status, focusing on health status and social engagement changes. We used data from four waves (2006-2012) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Our sample contained 2461 poor and 1668 non-poor individuals. All were 65 years old or older at baseline. We used latent class growth analysis to identify trajectory groups' depressive symptoms. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine how a range of changes in health conditions and social engagement was associated with trajectories among poor and non-poor participants. Among the poor, five heterogeneous trajectories with clear patterns were identified: high-to-moderate, stable-high, slightly-increasing, steeply-increasing, and stable-low. Among non-poor, high-to-moderate, steeply-increasing, and stable-low groups were found. A decrease in health conditions was the most vulnerable subgroup's (steeply-increasing) primary risk factor. Poor older adults who reduced participation in, or decreased contact with, social networks were likely to belong to the steeply-increasing group. Our study provides impetus for organizational and/or environmental support systems to facilitate social engagement among poor older adults. Future research should examine whether the significance of social engagement among poor elders applies in less-developed and developed countries.

Evolution of Continental Lower Crust Recorded By an Exhumed Deep Crustal Intracontinental Shear Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumond, G.; Mahan, K. H.; Regan, S. P.; Williams, M. L.; Goncalves, P.; Wood, V. R.

2014-12-01

Exposures of deep crustal shear zones are fundamental records of strain localization and the temporal evolution of ductile to brittle behavior as these tectonites were exhumed to the surface. We present results from a decade of field-based research on a deeply exhumed (~35 km-paleodepths) strike-slip shear zone in the western Churchill province of the Canadian Shield. The Grease River shear zone is a >400 km-long and 7 km-thick structure that cuts the Athabasca granulite terrane, North America's largest exposure of continental lower crust (>20,000 km2). The shear zone is dominated by granulite- to amphibolite-grade L-S and L>S tectonites characterized by penetrative NE-striking steeply-dipping foliations with gently-plunging to sub-horizontal stretching and intersection lineations. These fabrics are locally overprinted by pseudotachylyte and narrow (<500 m-thick) greenschist-grade zones of cataclasite. Dextral kinematics are defined by deflected foliation trajectories, C' shear bands, and well-developed σ- and δ-type porphyroclasts of Kfs + Pl + Opx + Grt + Hb in felsic to intermediate granulite paragneisses and orthogneisses. Data collected along a well-exposed, nearly 150 km-long segment of the shear zone documents a >100 m.y. episodic record of transpressive to strike-slip intracontinental strain accumulation that coincided with two oppositely convergent orogenies: the east-vergent arc-continent collision of the 1.94-1.90 Ga Taltson orogen and the west-vergent continent-continent collision of the 1.9-1.8 Ga Trans-Hudson orogen. Deformation mechanisms evolved from distributed ductile dynamic recrystallization and grain-size reduction to localized pseudotachylyte development, cataclastic flow, and brittle faulting. Lower crustal behavior during strain localization was dynamic. Melt-weakened mono-cyclic crust was juxtaposed against strong isobarically-cooled poly-cyclic crust along the shear zone at 1.92-1.90 Ga. Brittle-ductile reactivation of the structure during exhumation to middle crustal levels was coincident with fluid-mediated retrograde reactions that facilitated crustal-scale segmentation and transpressive uplift of lower crustal granulites at 1.85 Ga. This study illustrates that lower crustal rheology is spatially and temporally heterogeneous.

Tectonic evolution of kid metamorphic complex and the recognition of Najd fault system in South East Sinai, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sultan, Yasser M.; El-Shafei, Mohamed K.; Arnous, Mohamed O.

2017-03-01

A low-to medium-grade metamorphic belt of a volcano-sedimentary succession occurs in the eastern side of South Sinai as a part of the northernmost extension of the Arabian-Nubian Shield in Egypt. The belt is known as the Kid metamorphic complex. It is considered as one of the major belt among the other exposed metamorphic belts in South Sinai. Here, we detect and investigate the signature of the Najd Fault system in South Sinai based on detailed structural analysis in field and digital image processing. The enhanced satellite image and the geo-spatial distributions confirm that the Kid belt is essentially composed of nine Precambrian units. Field relations and geometrical analysis of the measured structural data revealed that the study area underwent four successive deformational phases (D1-D4). D1 is an upright tight to isoclinal large-scale folds that caused few F1 small-scale folds and a steeply dipping S1 axial plane foliation. The second deformational event D2 produced dominant of sub-horizontal S2 foliation planes accompanied with recumbent isoclinal folds and NW-SE trending L2 lineations. The main sense during D2 was top-to-the-NW with local reversals to the SE. The third folding generations F3 is recorded as axial plane S3-surfaces and is characterized by open concentric folding that overprinting both F1 and F2 folds and has a flexural-slip mechanism. F3 fold hinges plunge to the west-northwest or east-southeast indicate north-northeast-south-southwest shortening during D3. The fourth deformational event D4 is characterized by NE plunging open concentric folding overprint the pre-existing fold generations and formed under flexural slip mechanism reflecting coaxial deformation and indicating change in the stress regime as a result of the change in shortening from NE-SW to NW-SE. This phase is probably accompanied with the final assembly of east and west Gondwana. The dextral NW-SE shear zone that bounded the southwestern portion of the metamorphic belt is probably related to reactivation of the Najd fault system during Oligo-Miocene in South Sinai.

Geology of drill hole UE25p No. 1: A test hole into pre-Tertiary rocks near Yucca Mountain, southern Nevada

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

Carr, M.D.; Waddell, S.J.; Vick, G.S.

1986-12-31

Yucca Mountain in southern Nye County, Nevada, has been proposed as a potential site for the underground disposal of high-level nuclear waste. An exploratory drill hole designated UE25p No. 1 was drilled 3 km east of the proposed repository site to investigate the geology and hydrology of the rocks that underlie the Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rock sequence forming Yucca Mountain. Silurian dolomite assigned to the Roberts Mountain and Lone Mountain Formations was intersected below the Tertiary section between a depth of approximately 1244 m (4080 ft) and the bottom of the drill hole at 1807 m (5923 ft). Thesemore » formations are part of an important regional carbonate aquifer in the deep ground-water system. Tertiary units deeper than 1139 m (3733 ft) in drill hole UE25p No. 1 are stratigraphically older than any units previously penetrated by drill holes at Yucca Mountain. These units are, in ascending order, the tuff of Yucca Flat, an unnamed calcified ash-flow tuff, and a sequence of clastic deposits. The upper part of the Tertiary sequence in drill hole UE25p No. 1 is similar to that found in other drill holes at Yucca Mountain. The Tertiary sequence is in fault contact with the Silurian rocks. This fault between Tertiary and Paleozoic rocks may correlate with the Fran Ridge fault, a steeply westward-dipping fault exposed approximately 0.5 km east of the drill hole. Another fault intersects UE25p No. 1 at 873 m (2863 ft), but its surface trace is concealed beneath the valley west of the Fran Ridge fault. The Paintbrush Canyon fault, the trace of which passes less than 100 m (330 ft) east of the drilling site, intersects drill hole UE25p No. 1 at a depth of approximately 78 m (255 ft). The drill hole apparently intersected the west flank of a structural high of pre-Tertiary rocks, near the eastern edge of the Crater Flat structural depression.« less

Crustal Structure of Northern Grenada Basin Call into Question the Origin of Arc Migration in the Lesser Antilles: Preliminary Results from GARANTI Cruise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jean-Frederic, L.; Lallemand, S.; Marcaillou, B.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Agranier, A.; Arcay, D.; Audemard, F. A.; Bassetti, M. A.; Beslier, M. O.; Boucard, M.; Cornée, J. J.; Fabre, M.; Gay, A.; Graindorge, D.; Heuret, A.; Laigle, M.; Léticée, J. L.; Malengros, D.; Mercier de Lepinay, B.; Morena, P.; Münch, P.; Oliot, E.; Oregioni, D.; Padron, C.; Philippon, M. M.; Quillevere, F.; Ratzov, G.; Schenini, L.; Yates, B.; Zami, F.

2017-12-01

The Grenada Basin, a crescent-shape basin forming a back-arc relative to the Lesser Antilles arc, separate Aves Ridge, a remnant early paleogene arc, from Eocene-Oligocene and Late Miocene - actual Lesser Antilles arcs. In its northern part the shallowness and rough topography of the basin basement call into questioned the relevance of opening of a back arc basin for the northern Grenada Basin. During the GARANTI survey (May-June 2017 french R/V L'Atalante), we acquired two transversal (EW) and one basin parallel (NS), ca. 300km long, combined wide-angle seismic (WAS) and multichannel seismic reflection (MCS) lines, plus ca. 3500km of MCS together with multibeam bathymetric data and dredged 14 sites across Grenada basin. Part of these profiles are located in the northern Grenada Basin, north and south of Saba Bank carbonate plateform. South of Saba Bank, the existence of buried crustal faults extending across Aves Ridge and the basin suggest continuity of inherited structures between the two domains. Preliminary modeling of the WAS data along the northern line shows an about 35km thick crust across the Lesser Antilles arc and in the Grenada basin at that latitude, suggesting no or only little extension in the back arc. Along the western side of Saba Bank the north trending Aves Ridge is cut at low angle by steeply dipping reverse faults that vanish southward. North of Saba Bank our data merged with seismic profiles from the AntiTheSis project reveal transpressive deformation south of the Anegada passage, trending N40° to N110° extending toward the Lesser Antilles Eo-Oligocene outer-arc. Only few N90° trending faults extend toward the active arc. These faults trend at high angle with N140-160° intra-arc fault system observed further south. Dredge samples from transpressive ridges west of the outer arc provided mix arc volcanic rocks in foraminifers rich carbonate limestones of possibly mid-Cenozoic age. Our new data call into question the mechanisms that led to arc migration in the Lesser Antilles during mid Cenozoic.

Insights into Near-Surface Structural Control of Hydrothermal Fluid Movement at Rabbit Creek Thermal Area, Yellowstone National Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, B.; Elliot, M.; Sims, K. W. W.

2017-12-01

Recent geophysical imaging efforts at Yellowstone National Park have generated questions about the geologic controls of hydrothermal fluid movement within the parks thermal areas. Currently, faults and lava flow contacts are assumed to be the primary permeability pathways for deeper fluid migration to the surface. Although intuition dictates that these structures are responsible, few studies have definitively shown that this is true. Earlier geophysical imaging efforts of phase separation in Norris Geyser Basin have shown strong evidence for fractures and faulting conducting hydrothermal waters. However, no geologically mapped faults are at the surface to confirm these interpretations. Therefore, during the summer of 2017, UW surface geophysical data acquisition focused on understanding the geologic controls for a thermal area within the well-mapped Rabbit Creek Fault Zone (RCFZ). The RCFZ strikes N-S along the eastern edge of Midway Geyser Basin (i.e. the western edge of the Mallard Lake Dome) about 2.8 Km SE of Grand Prismatic spring. The section of the fault zone within the Rabbit Creek thermal area is exposed on the eastern valley wall and dips steeply to the west. Regardless at our site, this puts the two of the plateau rhyolites (i.e. the Biscuit Basin Flow and Mallard Lake flow) next to each other ( 100 m apart) with a small amount of overlying alluvial, glacial and hydrothermal deposits covering the actual fault trace. Interestingly, at least two mapped reverse faults from the Mallard Lake Dome trend NW-SE into the site and are interpreted to intersect to the RCFZ. At RCFZ, DC resistivity and seismic refraction profiling combined with Self-Potential, Magnetics, and Transient Electromagnetic soundings were acquired to provide images and in situ geophysical properties. These data highlight the variable fracturing and surface expressions of the hydrothermal fluids associated with the RCFZ and the NW trending fault zone associated with the Mallard Lake Dome. Therefore, the shallow geophysics at this one study area indicates faulting is the dominant control for hydrothermal waters reaching the surface.

The Preston Geothermal Resources; Renewed Interest in a Known Geothermal Resource Area

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

Wood, Thomas R.; Worthing, Wade; Cannon, Cody

2015-01-01

The Preston Geothermal prospect is located in northern Cache Valley approximately 8 kilometers north of the city of Preston, in southeast Idaho. The Cache Valley is a structural graben of the northern portion of the Basin and Range Province, just south of the border with the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP). This is a known geothermal resource area (KGRA) that was evaluated in the 1970's by the State of Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) and by exploratory wells drilled by Sunedco Energy Development. The resource is poorly defined but current interpretations suggest that it is associated with the Cachemore » Valley structural graben. Thermal waters moving upward along steeply dipping northwest trending basin and range faults emanate in numerous hot springs in the area. Springs reach temperatures as hot as 84° C. Traditional geothermometry models estimated reservoir temperatures of approximately 125° C in the 1970’s study. In January of 2014, interest was renewed in the areas when a water well drilled to 79 m (260 ft) yielded a bottom hole temperature of 104° C (217° F). The well was sampled in June of 2014 to investigate the chemical composition of the water for modeling geothermometry reservoir temperature. Traditional magnesium corrected Na-K-Ca geothermometry estimates this new well to be tapping water from a thermal reservoir of 227° C (440° F). Even without the application of improved predictive methods, the results indicate much higher temperatures present at much shallower depths than previously thought. This new data provides strong support for further investigation and sampling of wells and springs in the Northern Cache Valley, proposed for the summer of 2015. The results of the water will be analyzed utilizing a new multicomponent equilibrium geothermometry (MEG) tool called Reservoir Temperature Estimate (RTEst) to obtain an improved estimate of the reservoir temperature. The new data suggest that other KGRAs and overlooked areas may need to be investigated using improved geothermal exploration methods.« less

Simultaneous strain and temperature sensor based on polarization maintaining fiber and multimode fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Rui; Dong, Changbin; Wang, Zixiao; Wu, Yue; Yang, Yuguang; Jian, Shuisheng

2018-06-01

A novel, simultaneous strain and temperature sensor utilizing polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) and multimode fiber (MMF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in this paper. The sensing head of this sensor can be obtained by splicing PMF and MMF in the structure of PMF-MMF-PMF. The extinction ratio of the transmission spectrum can be over 30 dB. The strain sensitivities of sensor by two spectrum dips can be 1.01 pm/με and 1.27 pm/με in the range from 0 to 2000 με. Meanwhile, the temperature sensitivities of 49 pm/°C and 41 pm/°C can be achieved by two spectrum dips in the range from 30 °C to 70 °C. The sensitivity difference between the two spectrum dips can be used to realize dual parameters fiber sensing. This sensor exhibits the advantages of simple fabrication, compact structure and multi-purpose measuring. It may have the great potential in fields of robot arms and artificial limbs.

Seismic images of an extensional basin, generated at the hangingwall of a low-angle normal fault: The case of the Sansepolcro basin (Central Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barchi, Massimiliano R.; Ciaccio, Maria Grazia

2009-12-01

The study of syntectonic basins, generated at the hangingwall of regional low-angle detachments, can help to gain a better knowledge of these important and mechanically controversial extensional structures, constraining their kinematics and timing of activity. Seismic reflection images constrain the geometry and internal structure of the Sansepolcro Basin (the northernmost portion of the High Tiber Valley). This basin was generated at the hangingwall of the Altotiberina Fault (AtF), an E-dipping low-angle normal fault, active at least since Late Pliocene, affecting the upper crust of this portion of the Northern Apennines. The dataset analysed consists of 5 seismic reflection lines acquired in the 80s' by ENI-Agip for oil exploration and a portion of the NVR deep CROP03 profile. The interpretation of the seismic profiles provides a 3-D reconstruction of the basin's shape and of the sedimentary succession infilling the basin. This consisting of up to 1200 m of fluvial and lacustrine sediments: this succession is much thicker and possibly older than previously hypothesised. The seismic data also image the geometry at depth of the faults driving the basin onset and evolution. The western flank is bordered by a set of E-dipping normal faults, producing the uplifting and tilting of Early to Middle Pleistocene succession along the Anghiari ridge. Along the eastern flank, the sediments are markedly dragged along the SW-dipping Sansepolcro fault. Both NE- and SW-dipping faults splay out from the NE-dipping, low-angle Altotiberina fault. Both AtF and its high-angle splays are still active, as suggested by combined geological and geomorphological evidences: the historical seismicity of the area can be reasonably associated to these faults, however the available data do not constrain an unambiguous association between the single structural elements and the major earthquakes.

Internal structures of the nieuwpoort bank (southern north sea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Maeyer, P.; Wartel, S.; de Moor, G.

The subbottom survey of the Nieuwpoort Banks allows recognition of 4 successive stages underlain by leper Clay: (1) The bank rests upon a sedimentary unit, at least 2 to 5 m thick, having a subhorizontal or wedge-like interior stratification. (2) This unit is cut by a subhorizontal erosive surface. (3) On top of this a first ridge, still recognizable on its interior structure and with shoreward-dipping foreset beds, developed. (4) On top of this former ridge the present-day bank was formed with shoreward-dipping foreset beds. Since the same structures are observed in the Stroom Bank, it seems likely that the above mentioned scheme can be generalized for all near-shore ridges close to the Belgian coast.

Structural, optical, morphological and electrical properties of undoped and Al-doped ZnO thin films prepared using sol—gel dip coating process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boukhenoufa, N.; Mahamdi, R.; Rechem, D.

2016-11-01

In this work, sol—gel dip-coating technique was used to elaborate ZnO pure and ZnO/Al films. The impact of Al-doped concentration on the structural, optical, surface morphological and electrical properties of the elaborated samples was investigated. It was found that better electrical and optical performances have been obtained for an Al concentration equal to 5%, where the ZnO thin films exhibit a resistivity value equal to 1.64104 Ω·cm. Moreover, highest transparency has been recorded for the same Al concentration value. The obtained results from this investigation make the developed thin film structure a potential candidate for high optoelectronic performance applications.

Continentward-dipping detachment fault system and asymmetric rift structure of the Baiyun Sag, northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhichao; Mei, Lianfu; Liu, Jun; Zheng, Jinyun; Chen, Liang; Hao, Shihao

2018-02-01

The rift architecture and deep crustal structure of the distal margin at the mid-northern margin of the South China Sea have been previously investigated by using deep seismic reflection profiles. However, one fundamental recurring problem in the debate is the extensional fault system and rift structure of the hyperextended rift basins (Baiyun Sag and Liwan Sag) within the distal margin because of the limited amount of seismic data. Based on new 3D seismic survey data and 2D seismic reflection profiles, we observe an array of fault blocks in the Baiyun Sag, which were tilted towards the ocean by extensional faulting. The extensional faults consistently dip towards the continent. Beneath the tilted fault blocks and extensional faults, a low-angle, high-amplitude and continuous reflection has been interpreted as the master detachment surface that controls the extension process. During rifting, the continentward-dipping normal faults evolved in a sequence from south to north, generating the asymmetric rift structure of the Baiyun Sag. The Baiyun Sag is separated from the oceanic domain by a series of structural highs that were uplifted by magmatic activity in response to the continental breakup at 33 Ma and a ridge jump to the south at 26-24 Ma. Therefore, we propose that magmatism played a significant role in the continental extension and final breakup in the South China Sea.

Controlled Growth of Ultrathin Film of Organic Semiconductors by Balancing the Competitive Processes in Dip-Coating for Organic Transistors.

PubMed

Wu, Kunjie; Li, Hongwei; Li, Liqiang; Zhang, Suna; Chen, Xiaosong; Xu, Zeyang; Zhang, Xi; Hu, Wenping; Chi, Lifeng; Gao, Xike; Meng, Yancheng

2016-06-28

Ultrathin film with thickness below 15 nm of organic semiconductors provides excellent platform for some fundamental research and practical applications in the field of organic electronics. However, it is quite challenging to develop a general principle for the growth of uniform and continuous ultrathin film over large area. Dip-coating is a useful technique to prepare diverse structures of organic semiconductors, but the assembly of organic semiconductors in dip-coating is quite complicated, and there are no reports about the core rules for the growth of ultrathin film via dip-coating until now. In this work, we develop a general strategy for the growth of ultrathin film of organic semiconductor via dip-coating, which provides a relatively facile model to analyze the growth behavior. The balance between the three direct factors (nucleation rate, assembly rate, and recession rate) is the key to determine the growth of ultrathin film. Under the direction of this rule, ultrathin films of four organic semiconductors are obtained. The field-effect transistors constructed on the ultrathin film show good field-effect property. This work provides a general principle and systematic guideline to prepare ultrathin film of organic semiconductors via dip-coating, which would be highly meaningful for organic electronics as well as for the assembly of other materials via solution processes.

Recent photometric monitoring of KIC 8462852, the detection of a potential repeat of the Kepler day 1540 dip and a plausible model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourne, R.; Gary, B. L.; Plakhov, A.

2018-04-01

This paper presents V- and g΄-band observations of the F2V star KIC 8462852, which exhibited enigmatic fade patterns in Kepler mission data. We introduce a transit simulation model for interpretation of these fades, and use it to interpret a 2017 August dip as a repeat of the Kepler day 1540 dip (D1540). We suggest the 2017 August and D1540 dips may be caused by a brown dwarf and an associated ring system in a 1601-d elliptical orbit. Transiting icy moons of the proposed brown dwarf, sublimating near periapsis like comets, could provide an explanation for the significant dips observed by Kepler, as well as the recent 2017 May to October dips and the long-term variation in flux detected by Simon et al. Whereas the presence of such a ring structure is attractive for its ability to explain short-term fade events, we do not address how such a ring system can be created and maintained. This speculation predicted a brightening of ˜1 per cent that occurred during October 2017. In addition, this scenario predicts that a set of dimming events, similar to those in 2013 (Kepler) and in 2017 (reported here), can be expected to repeat during 2021 October to 2022 January and a repeat of D1540 should occur on 2021 December 27.

Lower plate deformation structures along the Costa Rica erosive plate boundary - results from IODP Expedition 344 (CRISP 2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandstätter, Jennifer; Kurz, Walter; Micheuz, Peter; Krenn, Kurt

2015-04-01

The primary objective of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 344 offshore the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica was to sample and quantify the material entering the seismogenic zone of the Costa Rican erosive subduction margin. Fundamental to this objective is an understanding of the nature of both the subducting Cocos plate crust and of the overriding Caribbean plate. The subducting Cocos plate is investigated trying to define its hydrologic system and thermal state. The forearc structures recorded by the sediment deposited on the forearc, instead, document periods of uplift and subsidence and provide important information about the process of tectonic erosion that characterizes the Costa Rica margin. Offshore the western margin of Costa Rica, the oceanic Cocos plate subducts under the Caribbean plate, forming the southern end of the Middle America Trench. Subduction parameters including the age, convergence rate, azimuth, obliquity, morphology, and slab dip all vary along strike. The age of the Cocos plate at the Middle America Trench decreases from 24 Ma offshore the Nicoya Peninsula to 15 Ma offshore the Osa Peninsula. Subduction rates vary from 70 mm/y offshore Guatemala to 90 mm/y offshore southern Costa Rica. Convergence obliquity across the trench varies from offshore Nicaragua, where it is as much as 25° oblique, to nearly orthogonal southeast of the Nicoya Peninsula. Passage of the Cocos plate over the Galapagos hotspot created the aseismic Cocos Ridge, an overthickened welt of oceanic crust. This ridge is ~25 km thick, greater than three times normal oceanic crustal thickness. During IODP Expedition 344, the incoming Cocos plate was drilled at sites U1381 and U1414. Site U1381 is located ~4.5 km seaward of the deformation front offshore the Osa Peninsula and Caño Island. It is located on a local basement high. Basement relief often focuses fluid flow, so data from this site are likely to document the vigor of fluid flow in this area. Site U1414 is located ~1 km seaward of the deformation front offshore the Osa Peninsula and Caño Island. Primary science goals at Site U1414 included characterization of the alteration state of the magmatic basement. Brittle structures within the incoming plate (sites U1380, U1414) are mineralized extensional fractures and shear fractures. The shear fractures mainly show a normal component of shear. Within the sedimentary sequence both types of fractures dip steeply (vertical to subvertical) and strike NNE-SSW. Deformation bands trend roughly ENE-WSW, sub-parallel to the trend of the Cocos ridge. Structures in the Cocos Ridge basalt mainly comprise mineralized veins at various orientations. A preferred orientation of strike directions was not observed. Some veins show straight boundaries, others are characterized by an irregular geometry characterized by brecciated wall rock clasts embedded within vein precipitates. The vein mineralization was analysed in detail by RAMAN spectroscopy. Precipitation conditions and fluid chemistry were analysed by fluid inclusions entrapped within vein minerals. Vein mineralizations mainly consist of carbonate (fibrous aragonite, calcite), chalcedony, and quartz. Vein mineralization is mainly characterized by zoned antitaxial growth of carbonate fibres including a suture along the central vein domains. Quartz is often characterized by fibre growth of crystals perpendicular to the vein boundaries, too. These zoned veins additinally have wall rock alteration seams consisting of clay minerals. The precipitation sequence basically indicates that fluid chemistry evolved from an CO2-rich towards a SiO2- rich fluid.

Earthquake relocation near the Leech River Fault, southern Vancouver Island

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, G.; Liu, Y.; Regalla, C.

2015-12-01

The Leech River Fault (LRF), a northeast dipping thrust, extends across the southern tip of Vancouver Island in Southwest British Columbia, where local tectonic regime is dominated by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath the North American plate at the present rate of 40-50 mm/year. British Columbia geologic map (Geoscience Map 2009-1A) shows that this area also consists of many crosscutting minor faults in addition to the San Juan Fault north of the LRF. To investigate the seismic evidence of the subsurface structures of these minor faults and of possible hidden active structures in this area, precise earthquake locations are required. In this study, we relocate 941 earthquakes reported by Canadian National Seismograph Network (CNSN) catalog from 2000 to 2015 within a 100km x 55km study area surrounding the LRF. We use HypoDD [Waldhauser, F., 2001] double-difference relocation method by combining P/S phase arrivals provided by the CNSN at 169 stations and waveform data with correlation coefficient values greater than 0.7 at 50 common stations and event separation less than 10km. A total of 900 out of the 931 events satisfy the above relocation criteria. Velocity model used is a 1-D model extracted from the Ramachandran et al. (2005) model. Average relative location errors estimated by the bootstrap method are 546.5m (horizontal) and 1128.6m (in depth). Absolute errors reported by SVD method for individual clusters are ~100m in both dimensions. We select 5 clusters visually according to their epicenters (see figure). Cluster 1 is parallel to the LRF and a thrust FID #60. Clusters 2 and 3 are bounded by two faults: FID #75, a northeast dipping thrust marking the southwestern boundary of the Wrangellia terrane, and FID #2 marking the northern boundary. Clusters 4 and 5, to the northeast and northwest of Victoria respectively, however, do not represent the surface traces of any mapped faults. The depth profile of Cluster 5 depicts a hidden northeast dipping structure, while other clusters illustrate near-vertical structures. Seismicity of Clusters 1 and 3 suggests vertically dipping patterns for FID #60 and FID #2, while Cluster 4 may reveal a hidden vertically dipping structure. It is noteworthy that most events in this area are deeper than 20km, but the explanation for such deep earthquakes is still unclear.

The Maurice field: New gas reserves from buried structure along the Oligocene trend of southwestern Louisiana

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

Prescott, M.P.

1990-09-01

Significant new gas reserves have recently been discovered in the Marginulina texana sands along the Oligocene trend at the Maurice field. Detailed subsurface maps and seismic data are presented to exhibit the extent and nature of this local buried structure and to demonstrate future opportunities along the Oligocene trend. Since discovery in 1988, the MARG. TEX. RC has extended the Maurice field one-half mile south and has encountered over 170 ft of Marginulina texana pay Estimated reserves are in the order of 160 BCFG with limits of the reservoir still unknown. This reserve addition would increase the estimated ultimate ofmore » the Maurice field by over 70% from 220 BCFG to 380 BCFG. Cross sections across the field depict the new reservoir trap as a buried upthrown fault closure with an anticipated gas column of 700 ft. Interpretation of the origin of this local structure is that of a buried rotated fault block on an overall larger depositional structure. Detailed subsurface maps at the Marginulina texana and the overlying Miogypsinoides level are presented. These maps indicate that one common fault block is productive from two different levels. The deeper Marginulina texana sands are trapped on north dip upthrown to a southern boundary fault, Fault B. The overlying Miogypsinoides sands are trapped on south dip downthrown to a northern boundary fault, Fault A. The northern boundary fault, Fault A, was the Marginulina texana expansion fault and rotated that downthrown section to north dip. Because of the difference in dip between the two levels, the apex of the deeper Marginulina texana fault closure is juxtaposed by one mile south relative to the overlying Miogypsinoides fault closure. Analysis indicates that important structural growth occur-red during Marginulina texana deposition with a local unconformity covering the apex of the upthrown fault closure. State-of-the-art reconnaissance seismic data clearly exhibit this buried rotated fault block.« less

Some examples of deep structure of the Archean from geophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smithson, S. B.; Johnson, R. A.; Pierson, W. R.

1986-01-01

The development of Archean crust remains as one of the significant problems in earth science, and a major unknown concerning Archean terrains is the nature of the deep crust. The character of crust beneath granulite terrains is especially fascinating because granulites are generally interpreted to represent a deep crustal section. Magnetic data from this area can be best modeled with a magnetized wedge of older Archean rocks (granulitic gneisses) underlying the younger Archean greenstone terrain. The dip of the boundary based on magnetic modeling is the same as the dip of the postulated thrust-fault reflection. Thus several lines of evidence indicate that the younger Archean greenstone belt terrain is thrust above the ancient Minnesota Valley gneiss terrain, presumably as the greenstone belt was accreted to the gneiss terrain, so that the dipping reflection represents a suture zone. Seismic data from underneath the granulite-facies Minnesota gneiss terrain shows abundant reflections between 3 and 6 s, or about 9 to 20 km. These are arcuate or dipping multicyclic events indicative of layering.

Embedding of polyaniline molecules on adhesive tape using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pamatmat, J. K.; Gillado, A. V.; Herrera, M. U.

2017-05-01

Polyaniline molecules are embedded on adhesive tape using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The infrared spectrum shows the existence of molecular vibrational modes associated with the presence of polyaniline molecules on the sample. With the addition of polyaniline molecules, the conductivity of adhesive tape increases. Surface conductivity increases with number of dipping cycle until it reaches a certain value. Beyond this value, surface conductivity begins to decrease. The surface conductivity of the sample is associated with the connectivity of the embedded polyaniline molecules. The connectivity increases as the number of dipping cycle progresses. Meanwhile, the decrease in surface conductivity is attributed to the eroding of existing embedded structure at higher number of dipping cycle.

Ginga observations of dipping low mass X ray binaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smale, Alan P.; Mukai, Koji; Williams, O. Rees; Jones, Mark H.; Parmar, Arvind N.; Corbet, Robin H. D.

1989-01-01

Ginga observations of several low mass X ray binaries displaying pronounced dips of variable depth and duration in their X ray light curves are analyzed. The periodic occultation of the central X ray source by azimuthal accretion disk structure is considered. A series of spectra selected by intensity from the dip data from XB1916-053, are presented. The effects of a rapidly changing column density upon the spectral fitting results are modeled. EXO0748-676 was observed in March 1989 for three days. The source was found to be in a bright state with a 1 to 20 keV flux of 8.8 x 10 (exp -10) erg/sqcms. The data include two eclipses, observed with high time resolution.

The gluon density of the proton at low x from a QCD analysis of F2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aid, S.; Andreev, V.; Andrieu, B.; Appuhn, R.-D.; Arpagaus, M.; Babaev, A.; Baehr, J.; Bán, J.; Ban, Y.; Baranov, P.; Barrelet, E.; Barschke, R.; Bartel, W.; Barth, M.; Bassler, U.; Beck, H. P.; Behrend, H.-J.; Belousov, A.; Berger, Ch.; Bernardi, G.; Bernet, R.; Bertrand-Coremans, G.; Besançon, M.; Beyer, R.; Biddulph, P.; Bispham, P.; Bizot, J. C.; Blobel, V.; Borras, K.; Botterweck, F.; Boudry, V.; Braemer, A.; Brasse, F.; Braunschweig, W.; Brisson, V.; Bruncko, D.; Brune, C.; Buchholz, R.; Büngener, L.; Bürger, J.; Büsser, F. W.; Buniatian, A.; Burke, S.; Burton, M.; Buschhorn, G.; Campbell, A. J.; Carli, T.; Charles, F.; Charlet, M.; Clarke, D.; Clegg, A. B.; Clerbaux, B.; Colombo, M.; Contreras, J. G.; Cormack, C.; Coughlan, J. A.; Courau, A.; Coutures, Ch.; Cozzika, G.; Criegee, L.; Cussans, D. G.; Cvach, J.; Dagoret, S.; Dainton, J. B.; Dau, W. D.; Daum, K.; David, M.; Delcourt, B.; Del Buono, L.; De Roeck, A.; De Wolf, E. A.; Di Nezza, P.; Dollfus, C.; Dowell, J. D.; Dreis, H. B.; Droutskoi, A.; Duboc, J.; Düllmann, D.; Dünger, O.; Duhm, H.; Ebert, J.; Ebert, T. R.; Eckerlin, G.; Efremenko, V.; Egli, S.; Ehrlichmann, H.; Eichenberger, S.; Eichler, R.; Eisele, F.; Eisenhandler, E.; Ellison, R. J.; Elsen, E.; Erdmann, M.; Erdmann, W.; Evrard, E.; Favart, L.; Fedotov, A.; Feeken, D.; Felst, R.; Feltesse, J.; Ferencei, J.; Ferrarotto, F.; Flamm, K.; Fleischer, M.; Flieser, M.; Flügge, G.; Fomenko, A.; Fominykh, B.; Forbush, M.; Formánek, J.; Foster, J. M.; Franke, G.; Fretwurst, E.; Gabathuler, E.; Gabathuler, K.; Gamerdinger, K.; Garvey, J.; Gayler, J.; Gebauer, M.; Gellrich, A.; Genzel, H.; Gerhards, R.; Goerlach, U.; Goerlich, L.; Gogitidze, N.; Goldberg, M.; Goldner, D.; Gonzalez-Pineiro, B.; Gorelov, I.; Goritchev, P.; Grab, C.; Grässler, H.; Grässler, R.; Greenshaw, T.; Grindhammer, G.; Gruber, A.; Gruber, C.; Haack, J.; Haidt, D.; Hajduk, L.; Hamon, O.; Hampel, M.; Hanlon, E. M.; Hapke, M.; Haynes, W. J.; Heatherington, J.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henderson, R. C. W.; Henschel, H.; Herynek, I.; Hess, M. F.; Hildesheim, W.; Hill, P.; Hiller, K. H.; Hilton, C. D.; Hladký, J.; Hoeger, K. C.; Höppner, M.; Horisberger, R.; Hudgson, V. L.; Huet, Ph.; Hütte, M.; Hufnagel, H.; Ibbotson, M.; Itterbeck, H.; Jabiol, M.-A.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jacobsson, C.; Jaffre, M.; Janoth, J.; Jansen, T.; Jönsson, L.; Johnson, D. P.; Johnson, L.; Jung, H.; Kalmus, P. I. P.; Kant, D.; Kaschowitz, R.; Kasselmann, P.; Kathage, U.; Katzy, J.; Kaufmann, H. H.; Kazarian, S.; Kenyon, I. R.; Kermiche, S.; Keuker, C.; Kiesling, C.; Klein, M.; Kleinwort, C.; Knies, G.; Ko, W.; Köhler, T.; Köhne, J. H.; Kolanoski, H.; Kole, F.; Kolya, S. D.; Korbel, V.; Korn, M.; Kostka, P.; Kotelnikov, S. K.; Krämerkämper, T.; Krasny, M. W.; Krehbiel, H.; Krücker, D.; Krüger, U.; Krüner-Marquis, U.; Kubenka, J. P.; Küster, H.; Kuhlen, M.; Kurča, T.; Kurzhöfer, J.; Kuznik, B.; Lacour, D.; Lamarche, F.; Lander, R.; Landon, M. P. J.; Lange, W.; Lanius, P.; Laporte, J.-F.; Lebedev, A.; Leverenz, C.; Levonian, S.; Ley, Ch.; Lindner, A.; Lindström, G.; Link, J.; Linsel, F.; Lipinski, J.; List, B.; Lobo, G.; Loch, P.; Lohmander, H.; Lomas, J.; Lopez, G. C.; Lubimov, V.; Lüke, D.; Magnussen, N.; Malinovski, E.; Mani, S.; Maraček, R.; Marage, P.; Marks, J.; Marshall, R.; Martens, J.; Martin, R.; Martyn, H.-U.; Martyniak, J.; Masson, S.; Mavroidis, T.; Maxfield, S. J.; McMahon, S. J.; Mehta, A.; Meier, K.; Mercer, D.; Merz, T.; Meyer, C. A.; Meyer, H.; Meyer, J.; Migliori, A.; Mikocki, S.; Milstead, D.; Moreau, F.; Morris, J. V.; Mroczko, E.; Müller, G.; Müller, K.; Murín, P.; Nagovizin, V.; Nahnhauer, R.; Naroska, B.; Naumann, Th.; Newman, P. R.; Newton, D.; Neyret, D.; Nguyen, H. K.; Nicholls, T. C.; Niebergall, F.; Niebuhr, C.; Niedzballa, Ch.; Nisius, R.; Nowak, G.; Noyes, G. W.; Nyberg-Werther, M.; Oakden, M.; Oberlack, H.; Obrock, U.; Olsson, J. E.; Ozerov, D.; Panaro, E.; Panitch, A.; Pascaud, C.; Patel, G. D.; Peppel, E.; Perez, E.; Phillips, J. P.; Pichler, Ch.; Pieuchot, A.; Pitzl, D.; Pope, G.; Prell, S.; Prosi, R.; Rabbertz, K.; Rädel, G.; Raupach, F.; Reimer, P.; Reinshagen, S.; Ribarics, P.; Rick, H.; Riech, V.; Riedlberger, J.; Riess, S.; Rietz, M.; Rizvi, E.; Robertson, S. M.; Robmann, P.; Roloff, H. E.; Roosen, R.; Rosenbauer, K.; Rostovtsev, A.; Rouse, F.; Royon, C.; Rüter, K.; Rusakov, S.; Rybicki, K.; Rylko, R.; Sahlmann, N.; Sanchez, E.; Sankey, D. P. C.; Schacht, P.; Schiek, S.; Schleper, P.; von Schlippe, W.; Schmidt, C.; Schmidt, D.; Schmidt, G.; Schöning, A.; Schröder, V.; Schuhmann, E.; Schwab, B.; Schwind, A.; Sefkow, F.; Seidel, M.; Sell, R.; Semenov, A.; Shekelyan, V.; Sheviakov, I.; Shooshtari, H.; Shtarkov, L. N.; Siegmon, G.; Siewert, U.; Sirois, Y.; Skillicorn, I. O.; Smirnov, P.; Smith, J. R.; Solochenko, V.; Soloviev, Y.; Spiekermann, J.; Spielman, S.; Spitzer, H.; Starosta, R.; Steenbock, M.; Steffen, P.; Steinberg, R.; Stella, B.; Stephens, K.; Stier, J.; Stiewe, J.; Stösslein, U.; Stolze, K.; Strachota, J.; Straumann, U.; Struczinski, W.; Sutton, J. P.; Tapprogge, S.; Tchernyshov, V.; Thiebaux, C.; Thompson, G.; Truöl, P.; Turnau, J.; Tutas, J.; Uelkes, P.; Usik, A.; Valkár, S.; Valkárová, A.; Vallée, C.; Van Esch, P.; Van Mechelen, P.; Vartapetian, A.; Vazdik, Y.; Verrecchia, P.; Villet, G.; Wacker, K.; Wagener, A.; Wagener, M.; Walker, I. W.; Walther, A.; Weber, G.; Weber, M.; Wegener, D.; Wegner, A.; Wellisch, H. P.; West, L. R.; Willard, S.; Willard, S.; Winde, M.; Winter, G.-G.; Wittek, C.; Wright, A. E.; Wünsch, E.; Wulff, N.; Yiou, T. P.; Žáček, J.; Zarbock, D.; Zhang, Z.; Zhokin, A.; Zimmer, M.; Zimmermann, W.; Zomer, F.; Zuber, K.; H1 Collaboration

1995-02-01

We present a QCD analysis of the proton structure function F2 measured by the H1 experiment at HERA, combined with data from previous fixed target experiments. The gluon density is extracted from the scaling violations of F2 in the range 2 · 10 -4 < x < 3 · 10 -2 and compared with an approximate solution of the QCD evolution equations. The gluon density is found to rise steeply with decreasing x.

Imaging an Explosion with a 1000 Sensors: The SPE Large N Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mellors, R. J.; Snelson, C. M.; Pitarka, A.; Chen, T.; Matzel, E.; Walter, W. R.

2016-12-01

The Source Physics Experiment (SPE) is a series of heavily instrumented chemical explosions at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) designed to improve understanding of seismic wave generation and propagation from explosions. On April 26, 2016, a 5000 kg TNT equivalent chemical explosion (SPE5) was detonated at a depth of 76.5 meters (center) in a stemmed hole. The explosion was recorded by a temporary deployment of 1000 geophones with a variable spacing from 25 to 100 m and consisting of 500 vertical and 500 three-component 5 Hz geophones. Distance from ground zero to the geophones range from 400 to 3000 m. The shot is located in a weathered granite intrusive body surrounded by volcanic tuffs, Paleozoic carbonates, and alluvium. The purpose is to map the 3D waveform propagation with emphasis on the generation of S waves and to compare with synthetics. A focus is the transition from the granite to alluvium that occurs at a steeply dipping strike-slip fault. A secondary goal is to record ambient noise data for tomography. An active source experiment using a weight drop was also conducted. Data recovery was good, with approximately 95% of data recovered from the shot and up to 99% in the following weeks. In addition to the SPE5 shot, a variety of local earthquakes and teleseismic events were recorded. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

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

Bartke, T.C.

Under the US Department of Energy's Underground-Coal-Conversion program, four field tests were completed in 1979 and preparations were begun in 1980 for two additional field tests to be operated in 1981. The Laramie Energy Technology Center (LETC) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) completed Hanna IV, an air gasification test in Wyoming subbituminous coal. The Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) completed Pricetown 1, an air gasification test in West Virginia bituminous coal. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) completed Hoe Creek 3, a steam-oxygen gasification test in Wyoming subbituminous coal. Gulf Research and Development Co. completed Steeply Dipping Beds (SDB) Test 1,more » primarily an air gasification test in Wyoming subbituminous coal and the first SDB test in the US. In 1980, Gulf R and D Co. began preparation of SDB Test 2, scheduled for operation in the fall of 1981. The DOE project teams at LETC, METC, LLNL, and SNL, in association with the Washington Irrigation and Development Co. (WIDCo), Washington Water Power (WWP), and the State of Washington, are preparing a field test site in the Centralia-Chehalis coal district of Washington. A series of large coal block tests will be completed prior to the field test, scheduled for operation in 1982 or 1983. This field test will utilize a directionally drilled link and steam-oxygen gasification system. This paper summarizes the results of the four recently completed field tests and the plans for additional tests.« less

Nucleation and growth of strike slip faults in granite.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Segall, P.; Pollard, D.P.

1983-01-01

Fractures within granodiorite of the central Sierra Nevada, California, were studied to elucidate the mechanics of faulting in crystalline rocks, with emphasis on the nucleation of new fault surfaces and their subsequent propagation and growth. Within the study area the fractures form a single, subparallel array which strikes N50o-70oE and dips steeply to the S. Some of these fractures are identified as joints because displacements across the fracture surfaces exhibit dilation but no slip. The joints are filled with undeformed minerals, including epidote and chlorite. Other fractures are identified as small faults because they display left-lateral strike slip separations of up to 2m. Slickensides, developed on fault surfaces, plunge 0o-20o to the E. The faults occur parallel to, and in the same outcrop with, the joints. The faults are filled with epidote, chlorite, and quartz, which exhibit textural evidence of shear deformation. These observations indicate that the strike slip faults nucleated on earlier formed, mineral filled joints. Secondary, dilational fractures propagated from near the ends of some small faults contemporaneously with the left-lateral slip on the faults. These fractures trend 25o+ or -10o from the fault planes, parallel to the direction of inferred local maximum compressive stress. The faults did not propagate into intact rock in their own planes as shear fractures. -from Authors

Environmental geochemistry of a Kuroko-type massive sulfide deposit at the abandoned Valzinco mine, Virginia, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Seal, R.R.; Hammarstrom, J.M.; Johnson, A.N.; Piatak, N.M.; Wandless, G.A.

2008-01-01

The abandoned Valzinco mine, which worked a steeply dipping Kuroko-type massive sulfide deposit in the Virginia Au-pyrite belt, contributed significant metal-laden acid-mine drainage to the Knight's Branch watershed. The host rocks were dominated by metamorphosed felsic volcanic rocks, which offered limited acid-neutralizing potential. The ores were dominated by pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite, which represented significant acid-generating potential. Acid-base accounting and leaching studies of flotation tailings - the dominant mine waste at the site - indicated that they were acid generating and therefore, should have liberated significant quantities of metals to solution. Field studies of mine drainage from the site confirmed that mine drainage and the impacted stream waters had pH values from 1.1 to 6.4 and exceeded aquatic ecosystem toxicity limits for Fe, Al, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. Stable isotope studies of water, dissolved SO42 -, and primary and secondary sulfate and sulfide minerals indicated that two distinct sulfide oxidation pathways were operative at the site: one dominated by Fe(III) as the oxidant, and another by molecular O2 as the oxidant. Reaction-path modeling suggested that geochemical interactions between tailings and waters approached a steady state within about a year. Both leaching studies and geochemical reaction-path modeling provided reasonable predictions of the mine-drainage chemistry.

Succession of structural events in the Goren greenstone belt (Burkina Faso): Implications for West African tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hein, Kim A. A.

2010-02-01

Ten years after field investigations in the SE Goren greenstone belt (GGB) of Burkina Faso by the Sanmatenga J.V., sponsored field studies conducted in 2007 have significantly enhanced structural datasets. The studies in 2007 were conducted across an expanded area of the GGB that included both southwestern and northeastern domains, and portions of the Pissila batholith to the west of the GGB. A revision of tectonic models proposed by Hein et al. [Hein, K.A.A., Morel, V., Kagoné, O., Kiemde, F., Mayes, K., 2004. Birimian lithological succession and structural evolution in the Goren Segment of the Boromo-Goren Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso. Journal of African Earth Sciences 39, 1-23] is now possible. Three deformation events characterise the Goren greenstone belt. The deformation, D1 (previously D3) resulted in the formation of NW to NNW-trending steeply-dipping dextral-reverse shear zones folds and a penetrative S1-C schistosity that formed during a period of NE-SW shortening. The event is termed the Tangaean Event because it can be correlated across NE Burkina Faso in the Boromo, Bouroum, Yalago and Oudalan-Gorouol greenstone belts. The deformation, D2 (previously D2) resulted in the progressive development of NNE to NE-trending macroscopic to mesoscopic folds and a penetrative axial planar cleavage (S2), which was followed by the formation of dextral- and sinistral-reverse shears and a pervasive schistosity (S2-C). The first-order crustal-scale Sabce Shear Zone, which traverses the northern portion of the study area, is associated with macroscopic anticlockwise drag rotation of NW to NNW-trending D1 shears and folds: (the macroscopic fold was previously classified as D1). D2 in the GGB corresponds with the Eburnean Orogeny at 2130-1980 Ma, as described by [Feybesse, J.-L., Billa, M., Guerrot, C., Duguey, E., Lescuyer, J.-L, Milesi, J.-P., Bouchot, V., 2006, The paleoproterozoic Ghanian province: geodynamic model and ore controls, including regional stress modelling. Precambrian Research, 149-196]. The deformation D3 (previously D4) is recognised throughout the GGB. It is characterised by the formation of kinks and chevron folds (F3), or crenulation cleavage (S3) that are hosted by narrow WNW-trending shear zones. These formed during a period of north-south shortening termed the Wabo-Tampelse Event that post-dates the Eburnean Orogeny.

Pre-impact tectonothermal evolution of the crystalline basement-derived rocks in the ICDP-USGS Eyreville B core, Chesapeake Bay impact structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gibson, R.L.; Townsend, G.N.; Horton, J. Wright; Reimold, W.U.

2009-01-01

Pre-impact crystalline rocks of the lowermost 215 m of the Eyreville B drill core from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure consist of a sequence of pelitic mica schists with subsidiary metagraywackes or felsic metavolcanic rocks, amphibolite, and calc-silicate rock that is intruded by muscovite (??biotite, garnet) granite and granite pegmatite. The schists are commonly graphitic and pyritic and locally contain plagioclase porphyroblasts, fi brolitic sillimanite, and garnet that indicate middle- to upper-amphibolite-facies peak metamorphic conditions estimated at ??0.4-0.5 GPa and 600-670 ??C. The schists display an intense, shallowly dipping, S1 composite shear foliation with local micrometer- to decimeter-scale recumbent folds and S-C' shear band structures that formed at high temperatures. Zones of chaotically oriented foliation, resembling breccias but showing no signs of retrogression, are developed locally and are interpreted as shear-disrupted fold hinges. Mineral textural relations in the mica schists indicate that the metamorphic peak was attained during D1. Fabric analysis indicates, however, that subhorizontal shear deformation continued during retrograde cooling, forming mylonite zones in which high-temperature shear fabrics (S-C and S-C') are overprinted by progressively lower- temperature fabrics. Cataclasites and carbonate-cemented breccias in more competent lithologies such as the calc-silicate unit and in the felsic gneiss found as boulders in the overlying impactite succession may refl ect a fi nal pulse of low-temperature cataclastic deformation during D1. These breccias and the shear and mylonitic foliations are cut by smaller, steeply inclined anastomosing fractures with chlorite and calcite infill (interpreted as D2). This D2 event was accompanied by extensive chlorite-sericitecalcite ?? epidote retrogression and appears to predate the impact event. Granite and granite pegmatite veins display local discordance to the S1 foliation, but elsewhere they are affected by high-temperature mylonitic shear deformation, suggesting a late-D1 intrusive timing close to the metamorphic peak. The D1 event is tentatively interpreted as a thrusting event associated with westward-verging collision between Gondwana and Laurentia before or during the Permian-Carboniferous Alleghanian orogeny. It is unclear whether subsequent brittle deformation, described here as D2, could be part of regional dextral Alleghanian strike-slip faulting or younger Mesozoic normal faulting. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Confirmation of the southwest continuation of the Cat Square terrane, southern Appalachian Inner Piedmont, with implications for middle Paleozoic collisional orogenesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huebner, Matthew T.; Hatcher, Robert D.; Merschat, Arthur J.

2017-01-01

Detailed geologic mapping, U-Pb zircon geochronology and whole-rock geochemical analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis that the southwestern extent of the Cat Square terrane continues from the northern Inner Piedmont (western Carolinas) into central Georgia. Geologic mapping revealed the Jackson Lake fault, a ∼15 m-thick, steeply dipping sillimanite-grade fault zone that truncates lithologically distinct granitoids and metasedimentary units, and roughly corresponds with a prominent aeromagnetic lineament hypothesized to represent the southern continuation of the terrane-bounding Brindle Creek fault. Results of U-Pb SHRIMP geochronology indicate Late Ordovician to Silurian granitoids (444–439 Ma) occur exclusively northwest of the fault, whereas Devonian (404–371 Ma) granitoids only occur southeast of the fault. The relatively undeformed Indian Springs granodiorite (three individual bodies dated 317–298 Ma) crosscuts the fault and occurs on both sides, which indicates the Jackson Lake fault is a pre-Alleghanian structure. However, detrital zircon signatures from samples southeast of the Jackson Lake fault reveal dominant Grenville provenance, in contrast to Cat Square terrane detrital zircon samples from the northern Inner Piedmont, which include peri-Gondwanan (600–500 Ma) and a prominent Ordovician-Silurian (∼430 Ma) signature. We interpret the rocks southeast of the Jackson Lake fault to represent the southwestern extension of the Cat Square terrane primarily based on the partitioning of granitoid ages and lithologic distinctions similar to the northern Inner Piedmont.Data suggest Cat Square terrane metasedimentary rocks were initially deposited in a remnant ocean basin setting and developed into an accretionary prism in front of the approaching Carolina superterrane, ultimately overridden by it in Late Devonian to Early Mississippian time. Burial to >20 km resulted in migmatization of lower plate rocks, forming an infrastructure beneath the Carolina superterrane suprastructure. Provenance patterns support ∼250 km of Devonian dextral translation of the composite Inner Piedmont, which places the northern portion of the Inner Piedmont adjacent to a suite of ∼430 Ma plutons in the Virginia Blue Ridge during deposition. The megascopic thrust-nappe structural style of the northern Inner Piedmont, combined with southwest-directed lateral extrusion at mid-crustal depths, may reconcile differences in timing of metamorphism between the Carolina and central Georgia Inner Piedmont and structural contrasts between the Brindle Creek and Jackson Lake faults.

Lithospheric Structure Beneath the Hangay Dome, Central Mongolia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stachnik, J. C.; Meltzer, A.; Souza, S.; Munkhuu, U.; Tsaagan, B.; Russo, R. M.

2014-12-01

The Mongolian Plateau is a broad regional uplift positioned between the Siberian Craton to the north and the far northern edge of the India-Asia collision to the south. Within this intracontinental setting of high topography, the Hangay Dome in central Mongolia reaches elevations of 4 km and contains intermittent basaltic magmatism over the last 30 Ma. The relationship between high topography, magmatism, and geodynamic processes remains largely unsolved although processes ranging from lithospheric delamination to mantle plume effects have been proposed. A temporary array of seismic stations was deployed around the Hangay Dome to determine lithospheric structure. Preliminary results are shown from receiver function analysis, ambient noise tomography, and teleseismic P-wave tomography. Crustal thickness measurements from H-k stacking of receiver functions range from 42 km to 57 km across the array, with thicker crust beneath the highest topography. The bulk crustal Vp/Vs ratio ranges from 1.71 to 1.9 with a median value for the array of 1.77, perhaps indicating a variable crustal composition with some regions having a more mafic crust. The stacked receiver functions are also combined with ambient noise phase velocity dispersion measurements in a joint inversion for shear velocity profiles at each station which reveals crustal thickness estimates consistent with the H-k stacks while also determining the shear velocity step at the Moho. Teleseismic P-wave travel time residuals ranging between +/-1 second are inverted for a 3D P-wave velocity model using finite-frequency kernels. Notable features include 1) a low velocity anomaly (-3%) in the upper 200 km beneath the eastern part of the Hangay Dome near the Orkhon River Valley, , 2) a steeply dipping low velocity anomaly to the north of the Hangay Dome, perhaps related to the nearby Baikal Rift, and 3) generally higher velocities in the upper 200 km surrounding the high topography. To first order, the high topography of the Hangay Dome appears to be largely supported by thickened crust. However, lower P-wave velocities in the upper mantle beneath the dome are observed. The relative contributions of crustal thickness and upper mantle structure for support of topography and their relationship to magmatism will be determined with further refinement of the models.

Post-orogenic subsidence and uplift of the Carpathian belt: An integrated approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertotti, G.; Matenco, L.; Drijkonigen, G.; Krijgsman, W.; Tarapoanca, M.; Panea, I.; Vasiliev, I.; Milea, M.; Cloetingh, S.

2003-04-01

Several hundred metres thick Pliocene to Quaternary sequences outcropping along the Carpathian front steeply dip away from the mountain belt towards the Carpathian foredeep. They overly the Carpathian fold-and-thrust belt and document that, following the main contractional stages, the orogenic wedge first subsided and was then uplifted. Uplift occurred coeval with substantial subsidence in the basin adjacent to the E, the Focsani Depression. To define the precise kinematics of such movements and thereby constrain these vertical movements taking place in the "wrong" place and in the "wrong" time, the Netherlands Research Center for Integrated Solid Earth Science has launched a large campaign of geological and geophysical investigation. The main components of the project are as follows: 1) acquisition of nearly 100km of seismic data designed to image the uppermost hundred metres of the Earth's crust and thereby making a precise connection between features visible in Industry lines and at the surface 2) paleomagnetic investigations in order to constrain the age of the poorly dated continental to lacustrine sediments 3) A seismic experiment designed to detect 3-D effects on 2-D acquisition 4) Structural work to determine the stress/strain conditions during subsidence and subsequent uplift At a larger scale, these activities are embedded in the effort made by ISES and connected groups to precisely constrain the kinematics of the Pannonian-Carpathian system. Seismic acquisition has been performed during the summer 2002 and has been technically very successful thanks also to the effort of the prospecting company Prospectiunii SA. Lines have been processed and are currently being interpreted. The most apparent feature is the lack of localized deformation demonstrating that subsidence and tilting affected areas of several tens of kilometers and are not related to single faults. Sampling for paleomagnetic studies has been carried out in 2002 along the same section where seismic acquisition took place. Preliminary measurements show good analytical results and will therefore produce relevant results in the coming months.

Deformation of the Roberts Mountains Allochthon in north-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Evans, James George; Theodore, Ted G.

1978-01-01

During the Antler orogeny in Late Devonian and Early Mississippian time, early and middle Paleozoic siliceous rocks, largely chert and sha1e, were thrust eastward for 90 to 160 km over coexisting carbonate rocks. Minor and major structures of two small areas of the allochthon at Battle Mountain and in the southern Tuscarora Mountains were studied in order to characterize the deformation and test the consistency of the movement plan with respect to the large eastward displacement. In the Battle Mountain area, the lower Paleozoic Scott Canyon and Valmy Formations were deformed in the Antler orogeny but were unaffected by later tectonism during late Paleozoic or early Mesozoic. In the southern Tuscarora Mountains area, the Ordovician and Silurian siliceous rocks deformed in the Antler Orogeny were deformed by later, possibly Mesozoic, folding and thrusting. Most of the minor folding visible in the allochthon is in the cheret, but proportionally more of the strain was taken up in the shale and argillite, both poorly exposed but predominant rock types. Most minor folds, concentric in form, plunge at small angles to the north-northeast and south-southwest with steeply dipping or vertical axial planes. The b-fabric axis, parallel to these folds, is identical apparently to the B-kinematic axis. The horizontal component of tectonic shortening of the allochthon, N. 70?-75? W. both in the Battle Mountain area and in the southern Tuscarora Mountains area, is therefore consistent with an eastward direction of movement of the allochthon. Folds with west- northwest trends locally present in the allochthon, may have formed in the direction of tectonic transport. In the southern Tuscarora Mountains, local strain in and below the allochthon was different from the prevailing strain in the allochthon, and tectonic shortening was locally at large angles to the accepted direction of movement of the allochthon.

Variable post-Paleozoic deformation detected by seismic reflection profiling across the northwestern "prong" of New Madrid seismic zone

USGS Publications Warehouse

McBride, J.H.; Pugin, Andre J.M.; Nelson, W.J.; Larson, T.H.; Sargent, S.L.; Devera, J.A.; Denny, F.B.; Woolery, E.W.

2003-01-01

High-resolution shallow seismic reflection profiles across the northwesternmost part of the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) and northwestern margin of the Reelfoot rift, near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the northern Mississippi embayment, reveal intense structural deformation that apparently took place during the late Paleozoic and/or Mesozoic up to near the end of the Cretaceous Period. The seismic profiles were sited on both sides of the northeast-trending Olmsted fault, defined by varying elevations of the top of Mississippian (locally base of Cretaceous) bedrock. The trend of this fault is close to and parallel with an unusually straight segment of the Ohio River and is approximately on trend with the westernmost of two groups of northeast-aligned epicenters ("prongs") in the NMSZ. Initially suspected on the basis of pre-existing borehole data, the deformation along the fault has been confirmed by four seismic reflection profiles, combined with some new information from drilling. The new data reveal (1) many high-angle normal and reverse faults expressed as narrow grabens and anticlines (suggesting both extensional and compressional regimes) that involved the largest displacements during the late Cretaceous (McNairy); (2) a different style of deformation involving probably more horizontal displacements (i.e., thrusting) that occurred at the end of this phase near the end of McNairy deposition, with some fault offsets of Paleocene and younger units; (3) zones of steeply dipping faults that bound chaotic blocks similar to that observed previously from the nearby Commerce geophysical lineament (CGL); and (4) complex internal deformation stratigraphically restricted to the McNairy, suggestive of major sediment liquefaction or landsliding. Our results thus confirm the prevalence of complex Cretaceous deformations continuing up into Tertiary strata near the northern terminus of the NMSZ. ?? 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphological development of the Florida Escarpment: Observations on the generation of time transgressive unconformities in carbonate terrains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paull, C.K.; Twichell, D.C.; Spiess, Fred N.; Curray, Joseph R.

1991-01-01

An unconformity of 100 m.yr magnitude continues to form on the western edge of the Florida-Bahama Platform, near 26??N, where distal Mississippi Fan sediments are progressively burying the Florida Escarpment. Multiple perspectives of the developing unconformity's morphology are revealed using available technologies including GLORIA images of the entire platform's edge, Seabeam bathymetric contours, and Deep-Tow's high resolution side-scan data calibrated with bottom photographs. The structure and stratigraphy of the buried escarpment and the associated unconformity are resolved by airgun, sparker, and Deep-Tow's 4 kHz seismic reflection data; we summarize the morphological data on the exposed part of the unconformity and the sedimentary deposits accumulating in the basin above the unconformity. The exposed cliff face is composed of a staircase of bedding-plane terraces which are developed along joint planes. The terraces extend 100-1000 m along the escarpment's face, and the intervening vertical walls are up to 100 m high. The jointed morphology of this Mesozoic limestone cliff apparently reflects erosional exposure of its interior anatomy rather than its accretionary shape. The change in slope between the platform face and the abyssal plain is very abrupt. In places along the contact between the escarpment and fan sediments, reduced chemical-charged brine seeps occur, which locally cause carbonate dissolution and precipitation, sulfide mineralization, and the deposition of a fossiliferous and organic carbon-rich lens associated with chemosynthetic communities. These seep deposits and escarpment-derived megabreccias intercalate with basinal sediments that overlie the unconformity. Because surface seismic reflection data do not produce images of the escarpment's face that closely reflect the exposed escarpment's morphology, they must also be of limited value in characterizing the surface of similar steeply dipping buried escarpments. Thus, the downslope extent of the heavily eroded platform edge is unclear. 

Detachment Fault Behavior Revealed by Micro-Seismicity at 13°N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parnell-Turner, R. E.; Sohn, R. A.; MacLeod, C. J.; Peirce, C.; Reston, T. J.; Searle, R. C.

2016-12-01

Under certain tectono-magmatic conditions, crustal accretion and extension at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges is accommodated by low-angle detachment faults. While it is now generally accepted that oceanic detachments initiate on steeply dipping faults that rotate to low-angles at shallow depths, many details of their kinematics remain unknown. Debate has continued between a "continuous" model, where a single, undulating detachment surface underlies an entire ridge segment, and a "discrete" (or discontinuous) model, where detachments are spatially restricted and ephemeral. Here we present results from a passive microearthquake study of detachment faulting at the 13°N region of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This study is one component of a joint US-UK seismic study to constrain the sub-surface structure and 3-dimensional geometry of oceanic detachment faults. We detected over 300,000 microearthquakes during a 6-month deployment of 25 ocean bottom seismographs. Events are concentrated in two 1-2 km wide ridge-parallel bands, located between the prominent corrugated detachment fault surface at 13°20'N and the present-day spreading axis, separated by a 1-km wide patch of reduced seismicity. These two bands are 7-8 km in length parallel to the ridge and are clearly limited in spatial extent to the north and south. Events closest to the axis are generally at depths of 6-8 km, while those nearest to the oceanic detachment fault are shallower, at 4-6 km. There is an overall trend of deepening seismicity northwards, with events occurring progressively deeper by 4 km over an along-axis length of 8 km. Events are typically very small, and range in local magnitude from ML -1 to 3. Focal mechanisms indicate two modes of deformation, with extension nearest to the axis and compression at shallower depths near to the detachment fault termination.

Seismological, geodetic, macroseismic and historical context of the 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong (Manipur) India earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gahalaut, V. K.; Martin, Stacey S.; Srinagesh, D.; Kapil, S. L.; Suresh, G.; Saikia, Saurav; Kumar, Vikas; Dadhich, Harendra; Patel, Aqeel; Prajapati, Sanjay K.; Shukla, H. P.; Gautam, J. L.; Baidya, P. R.; Mandal, Saroj; Jain, Ashish

2016-10-01

The 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong earthquake (in the state of Manipur in northeastern India) on 4 January 2016 at 04:35 Indian Standard Time (3 January, 23:05 UTC) was the strongest earthquake to strike Manipur since 1988. Using data from Indian stations, we constrain the hypocentral depth of the mainshock at 59 ± 3.8 km and determine a strike-slip mechanism with a moderate reverse component on a steeply dipping plane. Though coseismic offsets from GPS measurements from four nearby sites were inadequate to provide further constraints on the focal mechanism, they were consistent with the magnitude and hypocentral depth of the earthquake. The epicentre of the mainshock was located 15-km west of the Churachandpur Mao Fault (CMF) but it was unrelated to this structure and was instead a typical intra-slab earthquake within the Indian plate. A strong motion instrument at the Loktak Power Station (LOK), 56-km from the epicentre, recorded a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.027g while a PGA of 0.103g was recorded at Shillong (SHL) at an epicentral distance of 111-km. We also present macroseismic observations from 461 locations in north-eastern India and the adjacent areas for this earthquake. The highest intensities ( 7 EMS) were observed in the Manipur Valley and in the hills to the west while shaking was perceptible as far as Delhi and Jaipur. Lastly, we present a catalogue of 333 felt earthquakes in Manipur from 1588 ± 1 CE to 1955 derived from the royal chronicle of the kings of Manipur known as the Cheitharon Kumpapa, discuss important historical earthquakes in the region, and also estimate intensity magnitudes for the 1852 (MI 6.5 ± 0.8), 1869 (MI 7.1 ± 0.7), 1880 (MI 6.3 ± 0.7) and 2016 (MI 6.8 ± 0.8) earthquakes.

Blasting preparation for selective mining of complex structured ore deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinin, M. A.; Dolzhikov, V. V.

2017-10-01

Technological features of ore mining in the open pit development for processing of complex structured ore deposit of steeply falling occurrence have been considered. The technological schemes of ore bodies mining under different conditions of occurrence, consistency and capacity have been considered and offered in the paper. These technologies permit to reduce losses and dilution, but to increase the completeness and quality of mined ore. A method of subsequent selective excavation of ore bodies has been proposed. The method is based on the complex use of buffer-blasting technology for the muck mass and the principle of trim blasting at ore-rock junctions.

Study of structural and optical properties of PbS thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homraruen, T.; Sudswasd, Y.; Sorod, R.; Kayunkid, N.; Yindeesuk, W.

2018-03-01

This research aimed to synthesize lead sulfide (PbS) thin films on glass slides using the successive ion layer absorption and reaction (SILAR) method. We studied the optical properties and structure of PbS thin films by changing the number of dipping cycles and the concentration of precursor solution. The results of this experiment show that different conditions have a considerable influence on the thickness and absorbance of the films. When the number of dipping cycles and the concentration of the solution are increased, film thickness and absorbance tend to become higher. The xrays diffraction pattern showed all the diffraction peaks which confirmed the face center cubic and the structure of PbS had identified. Grain size computation was used to confirm how much these conditions could be affected.

A Lower Carboniferous two-stage extensional basin along the Avalon-Meguma terrane boundary: Evidence from southeastern Isle Madame, Nova Scotia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Force, E.R.; Barr, S.M.

2006-01-01

Anomalously thick and coarse clastic sedimentary successions, including over 5000 m of conglomerate, are exposed on Isle Madame off the southern coast of Cape Breton Island. Two steeply to moderately dipping stratigraphic packages are recognized: one involving Horton and lower Windsor groups (Tournasian-Visean); the other involving upper Windsor and Mabou (Visean-Namurian) groups. Also anomalous on Isle Madame are three long narrow belts of "basement" rocks, together with voluminous chloritic microbreccia and minor semi-ductile mylonite, which are separated from the conglomerate-dominated successions by faults. The angular relations between the cataclastic rocks and the conglomerate units, combined with the presence of cataclasite clasts in the conglomerate units and evidence of dip-slip faults within the basin, suggest an extensional setting, where listric normal faults outline detachment allochthons. Allochthon geometry requires two stages of extension, the older stage completed in early Windsor Group time and including most of the island, and the more local younger stage completed in Mabou Group time. Domino-style upper-plate faulting in the younger stage locally repeated the older detachment relation of basement and conglomerate to form the observed narrow belts. Re-rotation of older successions in the younger stage also locally overturned the Horton Group. These features developed within a broad zone of Carboniferous dextral transcurrent faulting between already-docked Avalon and Meguma terranes. Sites of transpression and transtension alternated along the Cobequid-Chedabucto fault zone that separated these terranes. The earlier extensional features in Isle Madame likely represent the northern headwall and associated clastic debris of a pull-apart or other type of transtensional basin developed along part of this fault zone that had become listric; they were repeated and exposed by being up-ended in the second stage of extension, also on listric faults. The two-stage history on Isle Madame exposes the deeper parts of one of the Horton-age extensional basins of the Maritimes, others of which have been described as half-grabens based on their shallower exposures.

Integrated Geophysical Characteristics of the 2015 Illapel, Chile, Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herman, M. W.; Yeck, W. L.; Nealy, J. L.; Hayes, G. P.; Barnhart, W. D.; Benz, H.; Furlong, K. P.

2015-12-01

On September 16th, 2015, an Mw 8.3 earthquake (USGS moment magnitude) ruptured offshore of central Chile, 50 km west of the city of Illapel and 200 km north of Santiago. The earthquake occurred just north of where the Juan Fernandez Ridge enters the subduction zone. In this study, we integrate multiple seismic and geodetic datasets, including multiple-event earthquake relocations; moment tensors of the Illapel mainshock, aftershocks, and prior regional seismicity; finite fault models (FFMs) of the mainshock rupture; subduction zone geometry; Coulomb stress transfer calculations; and co-seismic GPS offsets and InSAR images. These datasets allow us to (a) assess the context of the Illapel earthquake sequence with respect to historical seismicity in central Chile; (b) constrain the relationship between subduction geometry and the kinematic characteristics of the earthquake sequence; and (c) understand the distribution of aftershocks with respect to the rupture zone. Double source W-phase moment tensor analysis indicates the Illapel mainshock rupture began as a smaller Mw ~7.2 thrusting event before growing into a great-sized Mw 8.3 earthquake. Relocated aftershock seismicity is concentrated around the main region of slip, and few aftershocks occur on the megathrust shallower than ~15 km, despite the FFM indicating slip near the trench. This distribution is consistent with the aftershock behavior following the 2010 Maule and 2014 Iquique earthquakes: aftershocks primarily surround the rupture zones and are largely absent from regions of greatest slip. However, in contrast to the recent 2014 Iquique and 2010 Maule events, which ruptured in regions of the Chilean subduction zone that had not had large events in over a century, this earthquake occurred in a section of the subduction zone that hosted a large earthquake as recently as 1943, as well as earlier significant events in 1880 and 1822. At this section of the subduction zone, in addition to the impinging Juan Fernandez Ridge, the slab geometry changes from steeply dipping south of the Illapel earthquake to a nearly horizontal dip adjacent to the event. Combining these various observations provides insight into the links between regional tectonics and the timing and distribution of megathrust earthquakes at this segment of the central Chilean subduction zone.

Horizontal ground deformation patterns and magma storage during the Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii: episodes 22-42

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hoffmann, J.P.; Ulrich, G.E.; Garcia, M.O.

1990-01-01

Horizontal ground deformation measurements were made repeatedly with an electronic distance meter near the Puu Oo eruption site approximately perpendicular to Kilauea's east rift zone (ERZ) before and after eruptive episodes 22-42. Line lengths gradually extended during repose periods and rapidly contracted about the same amount following eruptions. The repeated extension and contraction of the measured lines are best explained by the elastic response of the country rock to the addition and subsequent eruption of magma from a local reservoir. The deformation patterns are modeled to constrain the geometry and location of the local reservoir near Puu Oo. The observed deformation is consistent with deformation patterns that would be produced by the expansion of a shallow, steeply dipping dike just uprift of Puu Oo striking parallel to the trend of the ERZ. The modeled dike is centered about 800 m uprift of Puu Oo. Its top is at a depth of 0.4 km, its bottom at about 2.9 km, and the length is about 1.6 km; the dike strikes N65?? E and dips at about 87??SE. The model indicates that the dike expanded by 11 cm during repose periods, for an average volumetric expansion of nearly 500 000 m3. The volume of magma added to the dike during repose periods was variable but correlates positively with the volume of erupted lava of the subsequent eruption and represents about 8% of the new lava extruded. Dike geometry and expansion values are used to estimate the pressure increase near the eruption site due to the accumulation of magma during repose periods. On average, vent pressures increased by about 0.38 MPa during the repose periods, one-third of the pressure increase at the summit. The model indicates that the dikelike body below Puu Oo grew in volume from 3 million cubic meters (Mm3) to about 10-12 Mm3 during the series of eruptions. The width of this body was probably about 2.5-3.0 m. No net long-term deformation was detected along the measured deformation lines. ?? 1990 Springer-Verlag.

Geophysical and geochemical constraints on the geodynamic origin of the Vrancea Seismogenic Zone Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fillerup, Melvin A.

The Vrancea Seismogenic Zone (VSZ) of Romania is a steeply NW-dipping volume (30 x 70 x 200 km) of intermediate-depth seismicity in the upper mantle beneath the bend zone of the Eastern Carpathians. The majority of tectonic models lean heavily on subduction processes to explain the Vrancea mantle seismicity and the presence of a Miocene age calc-alkaline volcanic arc in the East Carpathian hinterland. However, recent deep seismic reflection data collected over the Eastern Carpathian bend zone image an orogen lacking (1) a crustal root and (2) dipping crustal-scale fabrics routinely imaged in modern and ancient subduction zones. The DRACULA I and DACIA-PLAN deep seismic reflection profiles show that the East Carpathian orogen is supported by crust only 30-33 km thick while the Focsani basin (foreland) and Transylvanian basin (hinterland) crust is 42 km and 46 km thick respectively. Here the VSZ is interpreted as the former Eastern Carpathian orogenic root which was removed as a result of continental lithospheric delamination and is seismically foundering beneath the East Carpathian bend zone. Because large volumes of calc-alkaline volcanism are typically associated with subduction settings existing geochemical analyses from the Calimani, Gurghiu, and Harghita Mountains (CGH) have been reinterpreted in light of the seismic data which does not advocate the subduction of oceanic lithosphere. CGH rocks exhibit a compositional range from basalt to rhyolite, many with high-Mg# (Mg/Mg+Fe > 0.60), high-Sr (>1000 ppm), and elevated delta-O18 values (6-8.7 /) typical of arc lavas, and are consistent with mixing of mantle-derived melts with a crustal component. The 143Nd/144Nd (0.5123-0.5129) and 87Sr/86Sr (0.7040-0.7103) ratios similarly suggest mixing of mantle and crustal end members to obtain the observed isotopic compositions. A new geochemical model is presented whereby delamination initiates a geodynamic process like subduction but with the distinct absence of subducted oceanic lithosphere to produce the CGH lavas. The origin of the VSZ presented here suggests that the delamination of continental lithosphere is a process capable of producing mantle earthquakes and calc-alkaline volcanism without subduction tectonics.

Identification of Missing Proteins Defined by Chromosome-Centric Proteome Project in the Cytoplasmic Detergent-Insoluble Proteins.

PubMed

Chen, Yang; Li, Yaxing; Zhong, Jiayong; Zhang, Jing; Chen, Zhipeng; Yang, Lijuan; Cao, Xin; He, Qing-Yu; Zhang, Gong; Wang, Tong

2015-09-04

Finding protein evidence (PE) for protein coding genes is a primary task of the Phase I Chromosome-Centric Human Proteome Project (C-HPP). Currently, there are 2948 PE level 2-4 coding genes per neXtProt, which are deemed missing proteins in the human proteome. As most samples prepared and analyzed in the C-HPP framework were focusing on detergent soluble proteins, we posit that as a natural composition the cytoplasmic detergent-insoluble proteins (DIPs) represent a source of finding missing proteins. We optimized a workflow and separated cytoplasmic DIPs from three human lung and three human hepatoma cell lines via differential speed centrifugation. We verified that the detergent-soluble proteins (DSPs) could be sufficiently depleted and the cytoplasmic DIP isolation was partially reproducible with Spearman r > 0.70 according to two independent SILAC MS experiments. Through label-free MS, we identified 4524 and 4156 DIPs from lung and liver cells, respectively. Among them, a total of 23 missing proteins (22 PE2 and 1 PE4) were identified by MS, and 18 of them had translation evidence; in addition, six PE5 proteins were identified by MS, three with translation evidence. We showed that cytoplasmic DIPs were not an enrichment of transmembrane proteins and were chromosome-, cell type-, and tissue-specific. Furthermore, we demonstrated that DIPs were distinct from DSPs in terms of structural and physical-chemical features. In conclusion, we have found 23 missing proteins and 6 PE5 proteins from the cytoplasmic insoluble proteome that is biologically and physical-chemically different from the soluble proteome, suggesting that cytoplasmic DIPs carry comprehensive and valuable information for finding PE of missing proteins. The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the data set identifier PXD001694.

Observation of variable pre-eclipse dips and disk winds in the eclipsing LMXB XTE J1710-281

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raman, Gayathri; Maitra, Chandreyee; Paul, Biswajit

2018-04-01

We report the first detection of highly ionized Fe species in the X-ray spectrum of the eclipsing and dipping Low Mass X-ray Binary XTE J1710-281. Using archival Chandra and Suzaku observations, we have carried out a spectro-timing analysis of the source during three different epochs. We compare the average orbital profile and obtain differences in pre-eclipse dip morphologies between different observation epochs. We observe an orbit to orbit evolution of the dips for the first time in this source in both the Chandra observations, reflecting changes in the structure of the accretion disc in timescales of hours. We further perform intensity resolved spectroscopy for both the Chandra and the Suzaku data to characterize the changes in the spectral parameters from the persistent to the dipping intervals. We find that the absorbers responsible for the dips, can be best described using a partially ionized partial covering absorber, with an ionization parameter, log(ξ) of ˜2. The photon index of the source remained at ˜2 during both the Chandra and the Suzaku observations. In the 0.6-9 keV Suzaku spectra, we detect a broad 0.72 keV Fe L-alpha emission line complex and two narrow absorption lines at ˜6.60 keV and ˜7.01 keV. The highly ionized Fe line signatures, being an indicator of accretion disc-winds, has been observed for the first time in XTE J1710-281.

Stratigraphy and structure of the western Kentucky fluorspar district

USGS Publications Warehouse

Trace, R.D.; Amos, D.H.

1984-01-01

The western Kentucky fluorspar district is part of the larger Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district, the largest producer of fluorspar in the United States. This report is based largely on data gathered from 1960 to 1974 during the U.S. Geological Survey-Kentucky Geological Survey cooperative geologic mapping program of Kentucky. It deals chiefly with the stratigraphy and structure of the district and, to a lesser extent, with the fluorspar-zinc-lead-barite deposits. Sedimentary rocks exposed in the district range in age from Early Mississippian (Osagean) to Quaternary. Most rocks exposed at the surface are Mississippian in age; two-thirds are marine fossiliferous limestones, and the remainder are shales, siltstones, and sandstones. Osagean deep-water marine silty limestone and chert are present at the surface in the southwestern corner of the district. Meramecian marine limestone is exposed at the surface in about half the area. Chesterian marine and fluvial to fluviodeltaic clastic sedimentary rocks and marine limestone underlie about one-third of the area. The total sequence of Mississippian rocks is about 3,000 ft thick. Pennsylvanian rocks are dominantly fluvial clastic sedimentary rocks that change upward into younger fluviodeltaic strata. Pennsylvanian strata of Morrowan and Atokan age are locally thicker than 600 ft along the eastern and southeastern margin and in the major grabens of the district where they have been preserved from erosion. Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments of the Mississippi embayment truncate Paleozoic formations in and near the southwestern corner of the district and are preserved mostly as erosional outliers. The deposits are Gulfian nonmarine gravels, sands, and clays as much as 170 ft thick and upper Pliocene fluvial continental deposits as thick as 45 ft. Pleistocene loess deposits mantle the upland surface of the district, and Quaternary fluvial and fluviolacustrine deposits are common and widespread along the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers and their major tributaries. Many mafic dikes and a few mafic sills are present. The mafic rocks are mostly altered mica peridotites or lamprophyres that are composed of carbonate minerals, serpentine, chlorite, and biotite and contain some hornblende, pyroxene, and olivine. Most of the dikes are in a north-north west-trending belt 6 to 8 mi wide and strike N. 20 0 -30 0 W. The dikes dip from 80 0 to 90 0 and are commonly 5 to 10 ft wide. Radioisotopic study indicates that the dikes are Early Permian in age. The district is just southeast of the intersection of the east-trending Rough Creek-Shawneetown and northeast-trending New Madrid fault systems. The district's principal structural features are a northwest-trending domal anticline, the Tolu Arch, and a series of steeply dipping to nearly vertical normal faults and fault zones that trend dominantly northeastward and divide the area into elongated northeast-trending grabens and horsts. Formation of these grabens and horsts was one of the major tectonic events in the district. Vertical displacement may be as much as 3,000 ft but commonly ranges from a few feet to a few hundred feet; no substantial horizontal movement is believed to have taken place. Many cross faults having only a few feet of displacement trend northwestward and are occupied at places by mafic dikes. Faulting was mostly post-Early Permian to pre-middle Cretaceous in age. Many theories have been advanced to explain the structural history of the district. A generally acceptable overall hypothesis that would account for all the structural complexities, however, is still lacking. Useful structural data, such as the structural differences between the grabens and the horsts, have been obtained, however, from the recently completed geologic mapping. Mapping also has more clearly shown the alinement of the Tolu Arch, the belt of dikes, and an unusually deep graben (the Griffith Bluff graben); this alinement suggests that possibl

Reaction mechanism of a PbS-on-ZnO heterostructure and enhanced photovoltaic diode performance with an interface-modulated heterojunction energy band structure.

PubMed

Li, Haili; Jiao, Shujie; Ren, Jinxian; Li, Hongtao; Gao, Shiyong; Wang, Jinzhong; Wang, Dongbo; Yu, Qingjiang; Zhang, Yong; Li, Lin

2016-02-07

A room temperature successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method is introduced for fabricating quantum dots-on-wide bandgap semiconductors. Detailed exploration of how SILAR begins and proceeds is performed by analyzing changes in the electronic structure of related elements at interfaces by X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy, together with characterization of optical properties and X-ray diffraction. The distribution of PbS QDs on ZnO, which is critical for optoelectrical applications of PbS with a large dielectric constant, shows a close relationship with the dipping order. A successively deposited PbS QDs layer is obtained when the sample is first immersed in Na2S solution. This is reasonable because the initial formation of different chemical bonds on ZnO nanorods is closely related to dangling bonds and defect states on surfaces. Most importantly, dipping order also affects their optoelectrical characteristics greatly, which can be explained by the heterojunction energy band structure related to the interface. The formation mechanism for PbS QDs on ZnO is confirmed by the fact that the photovoltaic diode device performance is closely related to the dipping order. Our atomic-scale understanding emphasises the fundamental role of surface chemistry in the structure and tuning of optoelectrical properties, and consequently in devices.

Electromagnetic dip and hump solitary structures in oxygen-hydrogen dissipative plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, S.; Haseeb, Mahnaz Q.; Hasnain, H.

2017-10-01

The excitation of low frequency magnetosonic waves in O + - H + - e - and O + - H - - e - collisional plasmas is studied. The light ions (hydrogen) may be positive as well as negative and are warm, and the heavy ions (oxygen) are considered as the cold species. The inertia of isothermal electrons is also considered. The collisions of ions and electrons with neutrals are taken into account. The hydrodynamic equations represent the dynamics of positive ions, negative ions, and isothermal electrons along with Maxwell's equations. The damped Korteweg de Vries equation is derived by employing the reductive perturbation technique and its time dependent solution is presented. Dip magnetosonic solitary structures are observed when both ions are positive and hump structures are seen in the presence of negative ions. The effects of variations of different plasma parameters on magnetosonic solitary structures in the presence of collisions are discussed.

Synthesis of galium nitride thin films using sol-gel dip coating method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamid, Maizatul Akmam Ab; Ng, Sha Shiong

2017-12-01

In this research, gallium nitride (GaN) thin film were grown on silicon (Si) substrate by a low-cost sol-gel dip coating deposition method. The GaN precursor solution was prepared using gallium (III) nitrate hydrate powder, ethanol and diethanolamine as a starting material, solvent and surfactant respectively. The structural, morphological and optical characteristics of the deposited GaN thin film were investigated. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy observations showed that crack free and dense grains GaN thin films were formed. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed that the oxygen content in the deposited films was low. X-ray diffraction results revealed that deposited GaN thin films have hexagonal wurtzite structure.

Corynebacterium diphtheriae invasion-associated protein (DIP1281) is involved in cell surface organization, adhesion and internalization in epithelial cells

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the causative agent of diphtheria, is well-investigated in respect to toxin production, while little is known about C. diphtheriae factors crucial for colonization of the host. In this study, we investigated the function of surface-associated protein DIP1281, previously annotated as hypothetical invasion-associated protein. Results Microscopic inspection of DIP1281 mutant strains revealed an increased size of the single cells in combination with an altered less club-like shape and formation of chains of cells rather than the typical V-like division forms or palisades of growing C. diphtheriae cells. Cell viability was not impaired. Immuno-fluorescence microscopy, SDS-PAGE and 2-D PAGE of surface proteins revealed clear differences of wild-type and mutant protein patterns, which were verified by atomic force microscopy. DIP1281 mutant cells were not only altered in shape and surface structure but completely lack the ability to adhere to host cells and consequently invade these. Conclusions Our data indicate that DIP1281 is predominantly involved in the organization of the outer surface protein layer rather than in the separation of the peptidoglycan cell wall of dividing bacteria. The adhesion- and invasion-negative phenotype of corresponding mutant strains is an effect of rearrangements of the outer surface. PMID:20051108

Taking apart the Big Pine fault: Redefining a major structural feature in southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Onderdonk, N.W.; Minor, S.A.; Kellogg, K.S.

2005-01-01

New mapping along the Big Pine fault trend in southern California indicates that this structural alignment is actually three separate faults, which exhibit different geometries, slip histories, and senses of offset since Miocene time. The easternmost fault, along the north side of Lockwood Valley, exhibits left-lateral reverse Quaternary displacement but was a north dipping normal fault in late Oligocene to early Miocene time. The eastern Big Pine fault that bounds the southern edge of the Cuyama Badlands is a south dipping reverse fault that is continuous with the San Guillermo fault. The western segment of the Big Pine fault trend is a north dipping thrust fault continuous with the Pine Mountain fault and delineates the northern boundary of the rotated western Transverse Ranges terrane. This redefinition of the Big Pine fault differs greatly from the previous interpretation and significantly alters regional tectonic models and seismic risk estimates. The outcome of this study also demonstrates that basic geologic mapping is still needed to support the development of geologic models. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

Geoelectric Characterization of Thermal Water Aquifers Using 2.5D Inversion of VES Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyulai, Á.; Szűcs, P.; Turai, E.; Baracza, M. K.; Fejes, Z.

2017-03-01

This paper presents a short theoretical summary of the series expansion-based 2.5D combined geoelectric weighted inversion (CGWI) method and highlights the advantageous way with which the number of unknowns can be decreased due to the simultaneous characteristic of this inversion. 2.5D CGWI is an approximate inversion method for the determination of 3D structures, which uses the joint 2D forward modeling of dip and strike direction data. In the inversion procedure, the Steiner's most frequent value method is applied to the automatic separation of dip and strike direction data and outliers. The workflow of inversion and its practical application are presented in the study. For conventional vertical electrical sounding (VES) measurements, this method can determine the parameters of complex structures more accurately than the single inversion method. Field data show that the 2.5D CGWI which was developed can determine the optimal location for drilling an exploratory thermal water prospecting well. The novelty of this research is that the measured VES data in dip and strike direction are jointly inverted by the 2.5D CGWI method.

Nanoscale surface analysis on second generation advanced high strength steel after hot dip galvanizing.

PubMed

Arndt, M; Duchoslav, J; Preis, K; Samek, L; Stifter, D

2013-09-01

Second generation advanced high strength steel is one promising material of choice for modern automotive structural parts because of its outstanding maximal elongation and tensile strength. Nonetheless there is still a lack of corrosion protection for this material due to the fact that cost efficient hot dip galvanizing cannot be applied. The reason for the insufficient coatability with zinc is found in the segregation of manganese to the surface during annealing and the formation of manganese oxides prior coating. This work analyses the structure and chemical composition of the surface oxides on so called nano-TWIP (twinning induced plasticity) steel on the nanoscopic scale after hot dip galvanizing in a simulator with employed analytical methods comprising scanning Auger electron spectroscopy (SAES), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and focused ion beam (FIB) for cross section preparation. By the combination of these methods, it was possible to obtain detailed chemical images serving a better understanding which processes exactly occur on the surface of this novel kind of steel and how to promote in the future for this material system galvanic protection.

Optical fiber tip interferometer gas pressure sensor based on anti-resonant reflecting guidance mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y. B.; Wang, D. N.; Xu, Ben; Wang, Z. K.

2018-05-01

We propose and demonstrate a gas pressure sensor based on an anti-resonant reflecting guidance (ARRG) mechanism in quartz capillary tube with an open cavity. The device is simple in fabrication by only fusion splicing a segment of capillary tube with single mode fiber. It has compact size, robust structure, convenient mode of operation, and high sensitivity of 4.278 nm/MPa. Moreover, as two Faby-Perot cavities exist in the device, which create the interference spectrum with several distinct resonance dips, a simultaneous gas pressure and temperature detection can be readily achieved by tracing two dip wavelengths. The error in the measurement due to the choice of different resonant dips can be effectively reduced by using the Fourier band pass filtering method.

Genetic fine-mapping of DIPLOSPOROUS in Taraxacum (dandelion; Asteraceae) indicates a duplicated DIP-gene

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background DIPLOSPOROUS (DIP) is the locus for diplospory in Taraxacum, associated to unreduced female gamete formation in apomicts. Apomicts reproduce clonally through seeds, including apomeiosis, parthenogenesis, and autonomous or pseudogamous endosperm formation. In Taraxacum, diplospory results in first division restitution (FDR) nuclei, and inherits as a dominant, monogenic trait, independent from the other apomixis elements. A preliminary genetic linkage map indicated that the DIP-locus lacks suppression of recombination, which is unique among all other map-based cloning efforts of apomeiosis to date. FDR as well as apomixis as a whole are of interest in plant breeding, allowing for polyploidization and fixation of hybrid vigor, respectively. No dominant FDR or apomixis genes have yet been isolated. Here, we zoom-in to the DIP-locus by largely extending our initial mapping population, and by analyzing (local) suppression of recombination and allele sequence divergence (ASD). Results We identified 24 recombinants between two most closely linked molecular markers to DIP in an F1-population of 2227 plants that segregates for diplospory and lacks parthenogenesis. Both markers segregated c. 1:1 in the entire population, indicating a 1:1 segregation rate of diplospory. Fine-mapping showed three amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) closest to DIP at 0.2 cM at one flank and a single AFLP at 0.4 cM at the other flank. Our data lacked strong evidence for ASD at marker regions close to DIP. An unexpected bias towards diplosporous plants among the recombinants (20 out of 24) was found. One third of these diplosporous recombinants showed incomplete penetrance of 50-85% diplospory. Conclusions Our data give interesting new insights into the structure of the diplospory locus in Taraxacum. We postulate a locus with a minimum of two DIP-genes and possibly including one or two enhancers or cis-regulatory elements on the basis of the bias towards diplosporous recombinants and incomplete penetrance of diplospory in some of them. We define the DIP-locus to 0.6 cM, which is estimated to cover ~200-300 Kb, with the closest marker at 0.2 cM. Our results confirm the minor role of suppression of recombination and ASD around DIP, making it an excellent candidate to isolate via a chromosome-walking approach. PMID:20659311

Genetic fine-mapping of DIPLOSPOROUS in Taraxacum (dandelion; Asteraceae) indicates a duplicated DIP-gene.

PubMed

Vijverberg, Kitty; Milanovic-Ivanovic, Slavica; Bakx-Schotman, Tanja; van Dijk, Peter J

2010-07-26

DIPLOSPOROUS (DIP) is the locus for diplospory in Taraxacum, associated to unreduced female gamete formation in apomicts. Apomicts reproduce clonally through seeds, including apomeiosis, parthenogenesis, and autonomous or pseudogamous endosperm formation. In Taraxacum, diplospory results in first division restitution (FDR) nuclei, and inherits as a dominant, monogenic trait, independent from the other apomixis elements. A preliminary genetic linkage map indicated that the DIP-locus lacks suppression of recombination, which is unique among all other map-based cloning efforts of apomeiosis to date. FDR as well as apomixis as a whole are of interest in plant breeding, allowing for polyploidization and fixation of hybrid vigor, respectively. No dominant FDR or apomixis genes have yet been isolated. Here, we zoom-in to the DIP-locus by largely extending our initial mapping population, and by analyzing (local) suppression of recombination and allele sequence divergence (ASD). We identified 24 recombinants between two most closely linked molecular markers to DIP in an F1-population of 2227 plants that segregates for diplospory and lacks parthenogenesis. Both markers segregated c. 1:1 in the entire population, indicating a 1:1 segregation rate of diplospory. Fine-mapping showed three amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) closest to DIP at 0.2 cM at one flank and a single AFLP at 0.4 cM at the other flank. Our data lacked strong evidence for ASD at marker regions close to DIP. An unexpected bias towards diplosporous plants among the recombinants (20 out of 24) was found. One third of these diplosporous recombinants showed incomplete penetrance of 50-85% diplospory. Our data give interesting new insights into the structure of the diplospory locus in Taraxacum. We postulate a locus with a minimum of two DIP-genes and possibly including one or two enhancers or cis-regulatory elements on the basis of the bias towards diplosporous recombinants and incomplete penetrance of diplospory in some of them. We define the DIP-locus to 0.6 cM, which is estimated to cover approximately 200-300 Kb, with the closest marker at 0.2 cM. Our results confirm the minor role of suppression of recombination and ASD around DIP, making it an excellent candidate to isolate via a chromosome-walking approach.

Buffalo Metropolitan Area, New York Water Resources Management. Interim Report on Feasibility of Flood Management in Cazenovia Creek Watershed.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-03-01

flow downstream causing minor ice Jamming in Reaches 1 and 2, these reaches may derive less direct benefit from the proposed structural works than...their greatest overall impact upon the lower and central basins. The upper basin experiences relatively minor flood damages and would be little affected...dipping to the south at approximately 40 feet per mile. This is locally affected by minor folding which may modify the dip to as much as 60 feet per

Crustal structure and fault geometry of the 2010 Haiti earthquake from temporary seismometer deployments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Douilly, Roby; Haase, Jennifer S.; Ellsworth, William L.; Bouin, Marie‐Paule; Calais, Eric; Symithe, Steeve J.; Armbruster, John G.; Mercier de Lépinay, Bernard; Deschamps, Anne; Mildor, Saint‐Louis; Meremonte, Mark E.; Hough, Susan E.

2013-01-01

Haiti has been the locus of a number of large and damaging historical earthquakes. The recent 12 January 2010 Mw 7.0 earthquake affected cities that were largely unprepared, which resulted in tremendous losses. It was initially assumed that the earthquake ruptured the Enriquillo Plantain Garden fault (EPGF), a major active structure in southern Haiti, known from geodetic measurements and its geomorphic expression to be capable of producing M 7 or larger earthquakes. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data, however, showed that the event ruptured a previously unmapped fault, the Léogâne fault, a north‐dipping oblique transpressional fault located immediately north of the EPGF. Following the earthquake, several groups installed temporary seismic stations to record aftershocks, including ocean‐bottom seismometers on either side of the EPGF. We use data from the complete set of stations deployed after the event, on land and offshore, to relocate all aftershocks from 10 February to 24 June 2010, determine a 1D regional crustal velocity model, and calculate focal mechanisms. The aftershock locations from the combined dataset clearly delineate the Léogâne fault, with a geometry close to that inferred from geodetic data. Its strike and dip closely agree with the global centroid moment tensor solution of the mainshock but with a steeper dip than inferred from previous finite fault inversions. The aftershocks also delineate a structure with shallower southward dip offshore and to the west of the rupture zone, which could indicate triggered seismicity on the offshore Trois Baies reverse fault. We use first‐motion focal mechanisms to clarify the relationship of the fault geometry to the triggered aftershocks.

Thin-skinned tectonics of the Upper Ojai Valley and Sulphur Mountain area, Ventura basin, California

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

Huftile, G.J.

1991-08-01

By integrating surface mapping with subsurface well data and drawing cross sections and subsurface maps, the geometry of shallow structures and their geologic history of the Upper Ojai Valley of California can be reconstructed. The geometry of shallow structures, the geologic history, and the location of earthquake foci then offer constraints on the deep structure of this complex area. The Upper Ojai Valley is a tectonic depression between opposing reverse faults. Its northern border is formed by the active, north-dipping San Cayetano fault, which has 6.0 km of stratigraphic separation in the Silverthread area of the Ojai oil field andmore » 2.6 km of stratigraphic separation west of Sisar Creek. The fault dies out farther west in Ojai Valley, where the south-vergent shortening is transferred to a blind thrust. The southern border of the Upper Ojai Valley is formed by the Quaternary Lion fault set, which dips south and merges into the Sisar decollement within the south-dipping, ductile, lower Miocene Rincon formation. By the middle Pleistocene, the Sulphur Mountain anticlinorium and the Big Canyon syncline began forming as a fault-propagation fold; the fault-propagation fold is rooted in the Sisar decollement, a passive backthrust rising from a blind thrust at depth. The formation of the Sulphur Mountain anticlinorium was followed closely by the ramping of the south-dipping Lion fault set to the surface over the nonmarine upper Pleistocene Saugus Formation. To the east, the San Cayetano fault overrides and folds the Lion Fault set near the surface. Area-balancing of the deformation shows shortening of 15.5 km, and suggests a 17 km depth to the brittle-ductile transition.« less

Extensional tectonics and collapse structures in the Suez Rift (Egypt)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chenet, P. Y.; Colletta, B.; Desforges, G.; Ousset, E.; Zaghloul, E. A.

1985-01-01

The Suez Rift is a 300 km long and 50 to 80 km wide basin which cuts a granitic and metamorphic shield of Precambrian age, covered by sediments of Paleozoic to Paleogene age. The rift structure is dominated by tilted blocks bounded by NW-SE normal faults. The reconstruction of the paleostresses indicates a N 050 extension during the whole stage of rifting. Rifting began 24 My ago with dikes intrusions; main faulting and subsidence occurred during Early Miocene producing a 80 km wide basin (Clysmic Gulf). During Pliocene and Quaternary times, faulting is still active but subsidence is restricted to a narrower area (Present Gulf). On the Eastern margin of the gulf, two sets of fault trends are predominant: (1) N 140 to 150 E faults parallel to the gulf trend with pure dip-slip displacement; and (2) cross faults, oriented NOO to N 30 E that have a strike-slip component consistent with the N 050 E distensive stress regime. The mean dip cross fault is steeper (70 to 80 deg) than the dip of the faults parallel to the Gulf (30 to 70 deg). These two sets of fault define diamond shaped tilted block. The difference of mechanical behavior between the basement rocks and the overlying sedimentary cover caused structural disharmony and distinct fault geometries.

Chemical bath deposited and dip coating deposited CuS thin films - Structure, Raman spectroscopy and surface study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tailor, Jiten P.; Khimani, Ankurkumar J.; Chaki, Sunil H.

2018-05-01

The crystal structure, Raman spectroscopy and surface microtopography study on as-deposited CuS thin films were carried out. Thin films deposited by two techniques of solution growth were studied. The thin films used in the present study were deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and dip coating deposition techniques. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of both the as-deposited thin films showed that both the films possess covellite phase of CuS and hexagonal unit cell structure. The determined lattice parameters of both the films are in agreement with the standard JCPDS as well as reported data. The crystallite size determined by Scherrer's equation and Hall-Williamsons relation using XRD data for both the as-deposited thin films showed that the respective values were in agreement with each other. The ambient Raman spectroscopy of both the as-deposited thin films showed major emission peaks at 474 cm-1 and a minor emmision peaks at 265 cm-1. The observed Raman peaks matched with the covellite phase of CuS. The atomic force microscopy of both the as-deposited thin films surfaces showed dip coating thin film to be less rough compared to CBD deposited thin film. All the obtained results are presented and deliberated in details.

The eye of the field geologist and the mind of the tectonician: one view of dynamic crustal rheology in convergent orogens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, M.

2004-05-01

Orogens record evidence of interaction between converging plates. However, the response of continental crust to tectonic and gravitational loads is dependent on rheology, which is influenced by composition, architecture, thermal profile and strain rate. Crustal rocks undergo melting in deeper parts of orogens. Greywackes and metapelites are the most fertile protoliths, generating 20-50 and 30 vol. % melt respectively at 1 GPa and 1173K; geophysical data suggest >6 but <20 vol. % interconnected melt in deep crust of active orogens. In numerical models of orogens, the transition from coupled doubly-vergent wedge structure to plateau formation and full basal decoupling requires a viscosity drop of 4 orders of magnitude, inferred to be melt weakening. Deformation experiments on granite indicate a dramatic drop in strength (to 100-200 MPa) as the melt wetting transition is approached at 7 vol. % melt, and a more gradual decrease to <1 MPa prior to the drop at the solid-to-liquid transition (RCMP). Important properties of melting systems are viscosity of the melt, rheology of the crystalline framework of grains and permeability of this framework to flow. Permeability is due to an intergranular network of connected pores, compositional layering/fabric and networks of deformation bands; melt distribution is heterogeneous on multiple length scales. The microstructure of anatectic rocks and the magnitude of weakening accompanying melting suggest a limited role for intracrystalline plasticity with increasing vol. % melt and dominance of melt-assisted diffusion creep or diffusion accommodated granular flow. The intrinsic weakness of melt-bearing intervals in the crust makes them ideal detachment horizons. Observations from metasedimentary migmatitic granulites show preservation of (i) early fabrics, suggesting that the strain field emergent under subsolidus conditions controlled initial distribution of melt produced by suprasolidus mica breakdown, and (ii) layering in melt-depleted rocks, implying that they were quasi-continuously drained. Studies of migmatitic granulites demonstrate that melt migrates from grain boundaries to mesoscale networks of structures (mm to m) to steeply-inclined conduits recorded by rod or tabular granite intrusions (m to dm). Melt loss from lower crust yields residual rocks composed of strong minerals (feldspar, pyroxene and garnet) with only minor melt on grain boundaries. Thus, weakening of lower crust due to melting is followed by its strengthening. Around the brittle-to-viscous transition zone granite accumulates in subhorizontal tabular plutons, which implies transient presence of significantly weaker layers in shallow orogenic crust; these are potential detachment horizons. Field studies of exhumed orogens suggest deformation commonly is laterally, transversely and vertically diachronous, reflecting the spatial and temporal variation in the weakening-to-strengthening cycle. There may be important sub-horizontal movement horizons, which allow (partial) decoupling of crustal layers. At upper-to-middle crustal levels rocks are metamorphosed in greenschist-amphibolite facies, with local enhancement by pluton-advected heat to amphibolite-granulite facies and thrust-style brittle-ductile deformation (e.g., Acadian, NH). Rocks from middle crustal levels are in amphibolite facies and have penetrative steep fabrics (e.g., Acadian, western ME) or exhibit a complex network of shallowly- and steeply-dipping fabrics (e.g., St. Malo, France). Rocks from lower crustal levels are in amphibolite-granulite facies and have shallow fabrics due to crustal flow, although these may be steepened by later deformation including core-complex formation (e.g., S. Brittany, France).

Geologic map of the Grand Junction Quadrangle, Mesa County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scott, Robert B.; Carrara, Paul E.; Hood, William C.; Murray, Kyle E.

2002-01-01

This 1:24,000-scale geologic map of the Grand Junction 7.5' quadrangle, in support of the USGS Western Colorado I-70 Corridor Cooperative Geologic Mapping Project, provides new interpretations of the stratigraphy, structure, and geologic hazards in the area of the junction of the Colorado River and the Gunnison River. Bedrock strata include the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale through the Lower Jurassic Wingate Sandstone units. Below the Mancos Shale, which floors the Grand Valley, the Upper and Lower(?)Cretaceous Dakota Formation and the Lower Cretaceous Burro Canyon Formation hold up much of the resistant northeast- dipping monocline along the northeast side of the Uncompahgre uplift. The impressive sequence of Jurassic strata below include the Brushy Basin, Salt Wash, and Tidwell Members of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, the Middle Jurassic Wanakah Formation and informal 'board beds' unit and Slick Rock Member of the Entrada Formation, and the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation and Wingate Sandstone. The Upper Triassic Chinle Formation and Early Proterozoic meta-igneous gneiss and migmatitic meta- sedimentary rocks, which are exposed in the Colorado National Monument quadrangle to the west, do not crop out here. The monoclinal dip slope of the northeastern margin of the Uncompahgre uplift is apparently a Laramide structural feature. Unlike the southwest-dipping, high-angle reverse faults in the Proterozoic basement and s-shaped fault- propagation folds in the overlying strata found in the Colorado National Monument 7.5' quadrangle along the front of the uplift to the west, the monocline in the map area is unbroken except at two localities. One locality displays a small asymmetrical graben that drops strata to the southwest. This faulted character of the structure dies out to the northwest into an asymmetric fault-propagation fold that also drops strata to the southwest. Probably both parts of this structure are underlain by a northeast-dipping high-angle reverse fault. The other locality displays a second similar asymmetric fold. No evidence of post-Laramide tilting or uplift exists here, but the antecedent Unaweep Canyon, only 30 km to the south-southwest of the map area, provides clear evidence of Late Cenozoic, if not Pleistocene, uplift. The major geologic hazards in the area include large landslides associated with the dip-slope-underlain, smectite-rich Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation and overlying Dakota and Burro Canyon Formations. Active landslides affect the southern bank of the Colorado River where undercutting by the river and smectitic clays in the Mancos trigger landslides. The Wanakah, Morrison, and Dakota Formations and the Mancos Shale create a significant hazard to houses and other structures by containing expansive smectitic clay. In addition to seasonal spring floods associated with the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, a serious flash flood hazard associated with sudden summer thunderstorms threatens the intermittent washes that drain the dip slope of the monocline.

Geologic Setting of the Hamme Tungsten District, North Carolina and Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parker, John Mason

1963-01-01

The Hamme tungsten district is in the eastern part of the Piedmont province, mainly in Vance County, North Carolina, but it extends a few miles into Virginia. The district is underlain by a central lenticular pluton of albite granodiorite that trends north-northeastward and is flanked on both sides by metamorphic rocks of low and medium grade that dip steeply westward. The relative ages of the metamorphic rocks are uncertain. The oldest rocks are likely to be the biotite gneisses in the eastern part of the district; successively younger units expose westward across the district are sericite-chlorite phyllites, greenstone, metafelsites, and metabasalts. The biotite gneisses and minor intercalated hornblende gneiss, which have a total thickness of many thousand feet, were derived from sediments. Some of the gneiss grades into phyllites and as probably formed by metasomatic alteration of the phyllites. Sericite-chlorite phyllite, epidote-quartz meta siltstone, quartzite, and conglomeratic phyllite occur principally in a wide belt on the west side of the central albite granodiorite. This unit is some 10,000 feet thick and originally consisted mainly of sediments of the graywacke suite. Greenstone totaling about 500 feet in thickness lies west of the phyllite and was derived from maflc lava flows and andesitic tuff. Metamorphosed massive aphanitic and porphyritic flows and dikes that range in composition from dacite to rhyolite, and phyllitic metatuffs and tuffaceous breccia are exposed west of the greenstone. These total at least 3,000 feet in thickness. Massive metabasalt that resembles greenstone but is less altered is common in the area between the Hamme district and the Virgilina district to the west. The thickness of the metabasalt is about 600 to 6,000 feet. The metamorphic rocks of the Hamme and Virgilina districts are parts of the Carolina slate belt, but map units cannot be directly correlated. Rocks in the Hamme district are thought by the writer to have been derived mainly from graywackes and volcanic flows, and subordinately from pyroclastic materials, whereas the rocks of the Virgilina district were interpreted by earlier workers as being mainly volcanic with much pyroclastic material but little sediment. Igneous, and perhaps pseudo igneous, rocks in the district include hornblende gabbro, albite granodiorite, aplite, and pegmatite--all of which are probably middle Paleozoic in age--and diabase and hypersthene tonalite of Late Triassic age. The gabbro forms three lenticular to subcircular bodies up to 2% miles in width in the western part of the area. Albite granodiorite forms a pluton with a maximum width of 7 miles which occupies the center of the area. At its northeastern end the pluton narrows abruptly to a point. Phyllite forms the wall rocks on all sides of the albite granodiorite. The contact is gradational and conformable in most places, but on the northwest side it cuts across wall structure for about 3 miles. Near its western edge the albite granodiorite includes a northeast-trending zone of schistose wall rock in and near which are localized the tungsten deposits. The origin of the albite granodiorite is uncertain, but it may have formed by the metasomatic replacement of the wallrocks, during which albite porphyroblasts developed first and were followed by microcline and quartz. Diabase and hypersthene tonalite occur as dikes and sills along four northward-trending belts. The dikes are a few feet to more than 300 feet thick, and several extend along strike for more than 10 miles. The Hamme district Is in the eastern part of the Carolina slate belt, and the Virg1l1na district lies along the western side of the belt. Rocks in the Hamme district dip mostly westward and in the Vifg1lina district dip mainly eastward into a syncline. This syncline, here named the Spewmarrow syncline, may be a structure of regional significance. Tungsten in the Hamme district occurs mainly

Dip-in Indicators for Visual Differentiation of Fuel Mixtures Based on Wettability of Fluoroalkylchlorosilane-Coated Inverse Opal Films.

PubMed

Sedighi, Abootaleb; Qiu, Shuang; Wong, Michael C K; Li, Paul C H

2015-12-30

We have developed the dip-in indicator based on the inverse opal film (IOF) for visual differentiation of organic liquid mixtures, such as oil/gasoline or ethanol/gasoline fuel mixtures. The IOF consists of a three-dimensional porous structure with a highly ordered periodic arrangement of nanopores. The specularly reflected light at the interface of the nanopores and silica walls contributes to the structural color of the IOF film. This color disappears when the nanopores are infiltrated by a liquid with a similar refractive index to silica. The disappearance of the structural color provides a means to differentiate various liquid fuel mixtures based on their wettability of the nanopores in the IOF-based indicators. For differentiation of various liquid mixtures, we tune the wettability threshold of the indicator in such a way that it is wetted (color disappears) by one liquid but is not wetted by the other (color remains). Although colorimetric differentiation of liquids based on IOF wettability has been reported, differentiation of highly similar liquid mixtures require complicated readout approaches. It is known that the IOF wettability is controlled by multiple surface properties (e.g., oleophobicity) and structural properties (e.g., neck angle and film thickness) of the nanostructure. Therefore, we aim to exploit the combined tuning of these properties for differentiation of fuel mixtures with close compositions. In this study, we have demonstrated that, for the first time, the IOF-based dip-in indicator is able to detect a slight difference in the fuel mixture composition (i.e., 0.4% of oil content). Moreover, the color/no-color differentiation platform is simple, powerful, and easy-to-read. This platform makes the dip-in indicator a promising tool for authentication and determination of fuel composition at the point-of-purchase or point-of-use.

KINKFOLD—an AutoLISP program for construction of geological cross-sections using borehole image data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özkaya, Sait Ismail

2002-04-01

KINKFOLD is an AutoLISP program designed to construct geological cross-sections from borehole image or dip meter logs. The program uses the kink-fold method for cross-section construction. Beds are folded around hinge lines as angle bisectors so that bedding thickness remains unchanged. KINKFOLD may be used to model a wide variety of parallel fold structures, including overturned and faulted folds, and folds truncated by unconformities. The program accepts data from vertical or inclined boreholes. The KINKFOLD program cannot be used to model fault drag, growth folds, inversion structures or disharmonic folds where the bed thickness changes either because of deformation or deposition. Faulted structures and similar folds can be modelled by KINKFOLD by omitting dip measurements within fault drag zones and near axial planes of similar folds.

A research about characteristics of longitudinal variations of ES layers irregularities based on CHAMP occultation measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Sunmin

2018-04-01

Based on the data of CHAMP occultation measurements, this paper makes a preliminary analysis of the longitudinal variations of ES irregular structure by using Fourier decomposition and reconstruction technique. It is found that the longitudinal variations of the ES irregular structure show the features of multiple wave-numbers, which is dominated by the wave number 1 to the wave number 5 components, and decrease from the amplitudes of the wave number 6 components. The features of wave number structures are very different in different DIP latitude and different seasons. The number of crests in summer and autumn is mostly 3 or 4 crest structures, while the number of crests in spring achieves 5 at DIP 15°N with small fluctuates, the crests number of winter is the least. In the multiple wave-numbers structure, the wave number 4 component shows a significant dependence on the season, mainly in the summer and autumn, particularly obvious from July to October.

Sub-volcanic slope influencing the development of major structures at volcanoes during strike-slip faulting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrade, Daniel; van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin; Robin, Claude

2014-05-01

Volcano-basement interactions can deeply determine the structural development of volcanoes basically by the propagation of stress and strain fields from the basement into the volcanic edifice, and vice versa. An extensively studied case of such interactions is the propagation of a strike-slip fault through a volcanic edifice, which gives place to a strong tendency of major volcanic construction and destruction events to occur in a sub-parallel trend with respect to the strike of the fault. During precedent studies, however, both scaled and natural prototypes have always considered that the surfaces on which volcanoes stand (i.e. the sub-volcanic slope) are horizontal. The scaled experiments presented here show that the dip-angle and dip-direction of the subvolcanic slopes can systematically and significantly change the deformation patterns developed by the volcanic edifice during strike-slip faulting. When the dip-direction of the sub-volcanic slope and the strike of the fault are nearly parallel, an increased development and concentration of the deformation on the down-slope side of the volcanic cone occurs. In medium to long-term, this would imply again a tendency of major volcanic structures growing in a sub-parallel trend with respect to the strike of the fault, but with one preferred direction: that of the dip-direction. In the experiments, the dip-direction of the sub-volcanic slope was set progressively oblique, up to perpendicular, with respect to the strike of the fault by: 1) rotating in the same sense as the strike-slip fault, or 2) rotating in the opposite sense as the fault. In both cases, the downslope side of the volcanic cone still concentrates the deformation, but the deformed sectors progressively rotate which results in a structural development (construction and destruction) of the edifice occurring clearly oblique with respect to the strike of the fault. Imbabura volcano (Ecuador) is traversed by the strike-slip El Angel-Río Ambi fault, whose sense of movement (left- or right-lateral) has not been clearly established yet. Aditionally, Imbabura has been constructed on the NW, medium to lower flank of the neighbor Cubilche volcano. The application of the experimental results presented above to the case of Imbabura volcano helps to understand the particular structure of this volcano which displays a complex history of construction and destruction events. Additionally, the experiments strongly suggests that the El Angel-Río Ambi fault is left-lateral.

Resonant Raman spectra of diindenoperylene thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholz, R.; Gisslén, L.; Schuster, B.-E.; Casu, M. B.; Chassé, T.; Heinemeyer, U.; Schreiber, F.

2011-01-01

Resonant and preresonant Raman spectra obtained on diindenoperylene (DIP) thin films are interpreted with calculations of the deformation of a relaxed excited molecule with density functional theory (DFT). The comparison of excited state geometries based on time-dependent DFT or on a constrained DFT scheme with observed absorption spectra of dissolved DIP reveals that the deformation pattern deduced from constrained DFT is more reliable. Most observed Raman peaks can be assigned to calculated A_g-symmetric breathing modes of DIP or their combinations. As the position of one of the laser lines used falls into a highly structured absorption band, we have carefully analyzed the Raman excitation profile arising from the frequency dependence of the dielectric tensor. This procedure gives Raman cross sections in good agreement with the observed relative intensities, both in the fully resonant and in the preresonant case.

Resonant Raman spectra of diindenoperylene thin films.

PubMed

Scholz, R; Gisslén, L; Schuster, B-E; Casu, M B; Chassé, T; Heinemeyer, U; Schreiber, F

2011-01-07

Resonant and preresonant Raman spectra obtained on diindenoperylene (DIP) thin films are interpreted with calculations of the deformation of a relaxed excited molecule with density functional theory (DFT). The comparison of excited state geometries based on time-dependent DFT or on a constrained DFT scheme with observed absorption spectra of dissolved DIP reveals that the deformation pattern deduced from constrained DFT is more reliable. Most observed Raman peaks can be assigned to calculated A(g)-symmetric breathing modes of DIP or their combinations. As the position of one of the laser lines used falls into a highly structured absorption band, we have carefully analyzed the Raman excitation profile arising from the frequency dependence of the dielectric tensor. This procedure gives Raman cross sections in good agreement with the observed relative intensities, both in the fully resonant and in the preresonant case.

An Electron Density Model above the Sunspot from a Mapping of NOAA 7260 at 17 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Xing-Feng; Yao, Jin-Xing Yao

2002-06-01

The brightness temperature distribution of microwave emission in a solar active region generally shows a ring structure, with a dip at the centre. However, no dip was found in the Nobeyama Radioheliograph left handed circular polarization (LCP) image on 1992 August 18; instead, there was a peak. This is a completely LCP source with zero right-handed circular polarization (RCP). We examine this structure in terms of the joint effect of gyroresonance and bremsstrahlung mechanism with a raised electron density above the central part of the sunspot, and the commonly assumed temperature and vertical dipole magnetic field models. The raised electron density is found to be 1.4 × 1011 cm-3 at the chromosphere base.

Photoinduced phase separation with local structural ordering in organic molecular conductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuchiya, S.; Nakagawa, K.; Yamada, J.; Taniguchi, H.; Toda, Y.

2017-10-01

In this work, polarized pump-probe spectroscopy was carried out to investigate the effects of a structural ordering of molecules on photoinduced phase separation (PIPS) in the organic conductors κ -(BEDT-TTF ) 2X [X =Cu [N (CN) 2]Br (κ -B r ) and Cu (NCS) 2 (κ -NCS)]. We found that the anisotropic response for the probe polarization appeared at around Tg, where the glasslike structural transition occurs. The anisotropy can be a result of a transient destruction of the local ordering of molecules, indicating a connection between the glasslike transition and PIPS. Moreover, we found that the PIPS response gradually develops with decreasing temperature in κ -Br, whereas it steeply increases in κ -NCS. This qualitative difference suggests that the structural ordering caused by a PIPS is more crucial in κ -NCS than in κ -Br.

Hunting remnants of maar-diatreme-volcanoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroner, Corinna; Kämpf, Horst; Matthes, Heidrun; Jahr, Thomas; Markwart, David; Hermann, Tobias; Mrlina, Jan

2010-05-01

In the area of the Rostock-Leipzig-Regensburg fault zone (Germany) several centres of seismic activity are found with seismicity manifesting itself in swarm earthquakes. The occurrence of these earthquakes is globally linked to ascending magma and magmatic fluids. Information is scarce regarding the depth and geometry of the magmatic source, dynamics in the sub-Moho/lower crust region and fluid-tectonic processes in the upper crust in this area. From studies of maar structures located in the seismic active section of the fault zone magma-tectonic phenomena can be reconstructed. For this purpose two relicts of maar volcanoes of different age within a distance of 60 km are investigated by geophysical surveys. Both structures are located in a distance of a few 10 km from recent swarm earthquake centres. The diatreme structure near Ebersbrunn/W-Saxony which is probably of tertiary age is known for several years, the late Quaternary, volcanic palaeo-lake near Mýtina close to the Czech-German border was only recently discovered. Both structures are characterized by distinct gravimetric and magnetic anomalies of about -2 mGal and several 100 nT resp. indicating steeply dipping structures as well as electrical conductivity anomalies. The magnetic total field anomaly of the Ebersbrunn structure has an uncommon rugged appearance. The hypothesis of an origin related to a redistribution of material with high magnetic susceptibility values and saponification of magnetic minerals due to melt water run-off after the last glacial period could not be confirmed. Thus the heterogeneous anomaly character appears to be mainly associated with the degree of weathering of the volcanic material within the diatreme with depth. From 3D gravimetric and magnetic modelling information is gained on geometry and structural composition. Drilling results were used as additional boundary conditions. In both cases modelling reveals an inner zone of significantly reduced density and increased magnetic susceptibility. For both structures the geometry can clearly be associated with a maar-diatreme-volcano. While at Mýtina a maar filled with sediments exists, only the root zone of a diatreme is left at Ebersbrunn. A third structure, the so-called Trias slab of Greiz located roughly 16 km NW of Ebersbrunn, has been surveyed recently as it might also be of volcanic origin. The results so far, however, are inconclusive. An elongated gravimetric anomaly of about -1.5 mGal and an indistinct magnetic total field anomaly of 20 nT are found. The anomaly fields do not contravene but also do not corroborate the hypothesis of a carbonatitic breccia. Further investigations are necessary. The two structures unequivocally identified to be of volcanic origin bear the potential to contribute to the reconstruction of the palaeovolcanologic evolution and thus provide additional constraints to the evaluation of the hazard potential for the tectonically active section of the Regensburg-Leipzig-Rostock fault zone.

Newly identified "Tunnunik" impact structure, Prince Albert Peninsula, northwestern Victoria Island, Arctic Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewing, Keith; Pratt, Brian R.; Hadlari, Thomas; Brent, Tom; BÉDard, Jean; Rainbird, Robert H.

2013-02-01

Regional geological mapping of the glaciated surface of northwestern Victoria Island in the western Canadian Arctic revealed an anomalous structure in otherwise flat-lying Neoproterozoic and lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks, located south of Richard Collinson Inlet. The feature is roughly circular in plan view, approximately 25 km in diameter, and characterized by quaquaversal dips of approximately 45°, decreasing laterally. The core of the feature also exhibits local vertical dips, low-angle reverse faults, and drag folds. Although brecciation was not observed, shatter cones are pervasive in all lithologies in the central area, including 723 Ma old dikes that penetrate Neoproterozoic limestones. Their abundance decreases distally, and none was observed in surrounding, horizontally bedded strata. This circular structure is interpreted as a deeply eroded meteorite impact crater of the complex type, and the dipping strata as the remnants of the central uplift. The variation in orientation and shape of shatter cones point to variably oriented stresses with the passage of the shock wave, possibly related to the presence of pore water in the target strata as well as rock type and lithological heterogeneities, especially bed thickness. Timing of impact is poorly constrained. The youngest rocks affected are Late Ordovician (approximately 450 Ma) and the impact structure is mantled by undisturbed postglacial sediments. Regional, hydrothermal dolomitization of the Ordovician limestones, possibly in the Late Devonian (approximately 360 Ma), took place before the impact, and widespread WSW-ENE-trending normal faults of probable Early Cretaceous age (approximately 130 Ma) apparently cross-cut the impact structure.