KSC-2011-6089

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cleanup of Launch Pad 39B is in progress beside the pad's flame trench. The trench is 450 feet long, 58 feet wide and 42 feet deep with an inner inverted V-shaped steel flame deflector. Sand, reinforcing steel and large wooden mats were placed over the pad's concrete surfaces during deconstruction to protect them from falling debris. In the distance is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. In 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of rockets and spacecraft. The lightning protection system, consisting of three lightning towers and a wire catenary system, will remain. For information on NASA's future plans, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The 1990-1991 project summaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Project summaries for 1990-91 at the Georgia Institute of Technology are presented. The following research projects were studied: a lunar surface vehicle model; lunar loader/transporter; trenching and cable-laying device for the lunar surface; a lunar vehicle system for habitat transport and placement; and lunar storage facility.

Field Trials of the Nereus Hybrid Underwater Robotic Vehicle in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

autonomously. International Submarine Engineering Limited reported the successful de- ployment of an autonomous underwater vehicle designed to deploy fiber...formed by CoorsTek Inc., and titanium joint rings manufactured at WHOI that are bonded to the ceramic with a high-strength epoxy material. For additional

Diode having trenches in a semiconductor region

DOEpatents

Palacios, Tomas Apostol; Lu, Bin; Matioli, Elison de Nazareth

2016-03-22

An electrode structure is described in which conductive regions are recessed into a semiconductor region. Trenches may be formed in a semiconductor region, such that conductive regions can be formed in the trenches. The electrode structure may be used in semiconductor devices such as field effect transistors or diodes. Nitride-based power semiconductor devices are described including such an electrode structure, which can reduce leakage current and otherwise improve performance.

KSC-2010-4785

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-22

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, caps from the fuel tanks that serviced the shuttle's external fuel tank are seen in this image above the flame trench during deconstruction of Launch Pad 39B. Starting in 2009, the structure at Pad B was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

The New Britain trench and 149° embayment, Western Solomon Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiffin, D. L.; Davies, H. L.; Honza, E.; Lock, J.; Okuda, Y.

1987-09-01

The western New Britain Trench contains relatively thin sediment fill in the east, compared to the west where a sequence of thick turbidites is ponded behind a basement high in the trench axis, The trench trends toward Huon Gulf, but intersects the Trobriand Trench at an acute angle at the 149° Embayment, where both trenches end. Seismic structure west of the trench is incoherent, related to incipient collision of the Indian-Australia Plate and the South Bismarck Plate. The collision suture is marked by the Markham Canyon, continuous in its upper reaches with the Ramu-Markham Fault Zone on shore.

Refractory Materials for Flame Deflector Protection System Corrosion Control: Refractory Ceramics Literature Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, Luz Marina; Hintze, Paul E.; Parlier, Christopher R.; Curran, Jerome P.; Kolody, Mark; Perusich, Stephen; Whitten, Mary C.; Trejo, David; Zidek, Jason; Sampson, Jeffrey W.;

Target deployment and retrieval using JIAOLONG manned submersible in the depth of 6600 m in Mariana Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xiang; Ding, Kang; Ren, Yu-gang; Fu, Wen-tao; Ding, Zhong-jun; Zhao, Sheng-ya; Liu, Bao-hua

2017-10-01

China's 7000 m manned submersible JIAOLONG carried out an exploration cruise at the Mariana Trench from June to July 2016. The submersible completed nine manned dives on the north and south area of the Mariana Trench from the depth of 5500 to 6700 m, to investigate the geological, biological and chemical characteristics in the hadal area. During the cruise, JIAOLONG deployed a gas-tight serial sampler to collect the water near the sea bottom regularly. Five days later, the sub located the sampler in another dive and retrieved it successfully from the same location, which is the first time that scientists and engineers finished the high accuracy in-situ deployment and retrieval using a manned submersible with Ultra-Short Base Line (USBL) positioning system at the depth more than 6600 m. In this task, we used not only the USBL system of the manned submersible but also a compound strategy, including five position marks, the sea floor terrain, the depth contour, and the heading of the sub. This paper introduces the compound strategy of the target deployment and retrieval with the practical diving experience of JIAOLONG, and provides a promising technique for other underwater vehicles such as manned submersible or Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) under similar conditions.

Single-Run Single-Mask Inductively-Coupled-Plasma Reactive-Ion-Etching Process for Fabricating Suspended High-Aspect-Ratio Microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yao-Joe; Kuo, Wen-Cheng; Fan, Kuang-Chao

2006-01-01

In this work, we present a single-run single-mask (SRM) process for fabricating suspended high-aspect-ratio structures on standard silicon wafers using an inductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) etcher. This process eliminates extra fabrication steps which are required for structure release after trench etching. Released microstructures with 120 μm thickness are obtained by this process. The corresponding maximum aspect ratio of the trench is 28. The SRM process is an extended version of the standard process proposed by BOSCH GmbH (BOSCH process). The first step of the SRM process is a standard BOSCH process for trench etching, then a polymer layer is deposited on trench sidewalls as a protective layer for the subsequent structure-releasing step. The structure is released by dry isotropic etching after the polymer layer on the trench floor is removed. All the steps can be integrated into a single-run ICP process. Also, only one mask is required. Therefore, the process complexity and fabrication cost can be effectively reduced. Discussions on each SRM step and considerations for avoiding undesired etching of the silicon structures during the release process are also presented.

Seismicity and Structure of the Incoming Pacific Plate Subducting into the Japan Trench off Miyagi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obana, K.; Fujie, G.; Kodaira, S.; Takahashi, T.; Yamamoto, Y.; Sato, T.; Yamashita, M.; Nakamura, Y.; Miura, S.

2015-12-01

Stresses within the oceanic plate in trench axis and outer-rise region have been characterized by shallow extension and deep compression due to the bending of the plate subducting into the trench. The stress state within the incoming/subducting oceanic plate is an important factor not only for the occurrence of shallow intraplate normal-faulting earthquakes in the trench-outer rise region but also the hydration of the oceanic plate through the shallow normal faults cutting the oceanic lithosphere. We investigate seismic velocity structure and stress state within the incoming/subducting Pacific Plate in the Japan Trench based on the OBS aftershock observations for the December 2012 intraplate doublet, which consists of a deep reverse faulting (Mw 7.2) and a shallow normal faulting (Mw 7.2) earthquake, in the Japan Trench off Miyagi. Hypocenter locations and seismic velocity structures were estimated from the arrival time data of about 3000 earthquakes by using double-difference tomography method (Zhang and Thurber, 2003). Also, focal mechanisms were estimated from first motion polarities by using the program HASH by Hardebeck and Shearer (2002). The results show that the earthquakes occurred mainly within the oceanic crust and the uppermost mantle. The deepest event was located at a depth of about 60 km. Focal mechanisms of the earthquakes shallower than a depth of 40 km indicate normal-faulting with T-axis normal to the trench. On the other hand, first motion polarities of the events at depths between 50 and 60 km can be explained a reverse faulting. The results suggest that the neutral plane of the stress between shallow extension and deep compression locates at 40 to 50 km deep. Seismic velocity structures indicate velocity decrease in the oceanic mantle toward the trench. Although the velocity decrease varies with locations, the results suggest the bending-related structure change could extend to at least about 15 km below the oceanic Moho in some locations.

Prefabricated Refractory Panels for Use in KSC's Flame Deflectors: A Feasibility Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, Luz Maria; Trejo, David

2010-01-01

The launch complexes at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have been used to launch space vehicles for the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. NASA is currently designing and developing a new space vehicle. The launch complexes have been in service for a significant duration and the aggressive conditions of the Florida coast and the launches have resulted in failures within the launch complexes. Of particular interests is the performance of the refractory lining that covers the steel base structure for the diversion of the exhaust from the launched vehicles (i.e., the flame deflectors). An unprotected steel base structure would likely experience loss of strength and possible failure when subjected to the high temperatures during launches. The refractory lining is critical for successful launches. The refractory material currently used in the flame trenches was developed in 1959 and is the only refractory material approved for use in these facilities. Significant effort and costs are expended in repairing the lining system after each launch. NASA is currently performing a comprehensive research program to assess and develop refractory materials for improved performance in the flame trenches. However, one challenge associated with the use of refractory materials in the flame trench is that the materials should be cured, dried, and fired to maximize their properties and characteristics. Because of the large size of the deflectors and trenches, drying and firing of the lining system is difficult, if not impossible. Most refractory materials are dried and fired before use. Because the refractory materials used for the deflector lining cannot be dried and fired, the full potential of the materials are not being realized. A system that could use refractory materials that could be cured, dried, and sintered in a controlled environment would likely improve the performance of the lining system. This report evaluates the feasibility of fabricating and placing prefabricated refractory panels on the deflector. Panels could be fabricated and processed off-site in a controlled environment to maximize performance. These panels could then be transported to KSC and installed on the flame deflector. The findings of this report indicate that conventionally reinforced, prefabricated refractory panels can likely be designed, fabricated, and placed on the deflector. Post-tensioning of the panels will reduce the amount of "open' joints, which can be susceptible to accelerated erosion and abrasion. The panels, produced with newer, better performing refractory materials, should exhibit lower deterioration, providing a more economical system. A method for placing the panels has been provided. The findings of this research indicate that post-tensioned, prefabricated refractory panels can be placed on the flame deflectors and should exhibit improved performance when compared with the current method of gunning the refractories on the deflector. Further evaluation will be needed to confirm these findings. Specific focus should be placed on the performance of the joints transverse to the exhaust flow, erosion/abrasion rates of "closed" joints, uplift forces at joints transverse to the exhaust flow, development of composite action between the steel base and the refractory panels, and refractory material resistance to the launch and Florida coast environment.

Capacitive radio frequency discharges with a single ring-shaped narrow trench of various depths to enhance the plasma density and lateral uniformity

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

Ohtsu, Y., E-mail: ohtsuy@cc.saga-u.ac.jp; Matsumoto, N.; Schulze, J.

2016-03-15

Spatial structures of the electron density and temperature in ring-shaped hollow cathode capacitive rf plasma with a single narrow trench of 2 mm width have been investigated at various trench depths of D = 5, 8, 10, 12, and 15 mm. It is found that the plasma density is increased in the presence of the trench and that the radial profile of the plasma density has a peak around the narrow hollow trench near the cathode. The density becomes uniform further away from the cathode at all trench depths, whereas the electron temperature distribution remains almost uniform. The measured radial profiles of the plasmamore » density are in good agreement with a theoretical diffusion model for all the trench depths, which explains the local density increase by a local enhancement of the electron heating. Under the conditions investigated, the trench of 10 mm depth is found to result in the highest plasma density at various axial and radial positions. The results show that the radial uniformity of the plasma density at various axial positions can be improved by using structured electrodes of distinct depths rather than planar electrodes.« less

Variations in seismic velocity distribution along the Ryukyu (Nansei-Shoto) Trench subduction zone at the northwestern end of the Philippine Sea plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishizawa, Azusa; Kaneda, Kentaro; Oikawa, Mitsuhiro; Horiuchi, Daishi; Fujioka, Yukari; Okada, Chiaki

2017-06-01

The Ryukyu (Nansei-Shoto) island arc-trench system, southwest of Japan, is formed by the subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate. Among the subduction zones surrounding the Japan Islands, the Ryukyu arc-trench system is unique in that its backarc basin, the Okinawa Trough, is the area with current extensively active rifting. The length of the trench is around 1400 km, and the geological and geophysical characteristics vary significantly along the trench axis. We conducted multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection and wide-angle seismic surveys to elucidate the along-arc variation in seismic structures from the island arc to the trench regions, shooting seven seismic lines across the arc-trench system and two along-arc lines in the island arc and the forearc areas. The obtained P-wave velocity models of the Ryukyu arc crust were found to be heterogeneous (depending on the seismic lines), but they basically consist of upper, middle, and lower crusts, indicating a typical island arc structure. Beneath the bathymetric depressions cutting the island arc—for example, the Kerama Gap and the Miyako Saddle—the MCS record shows many across-arc normal faults, which indicates the presence of an extensional regime along the island arc. In the areas from the forearc to the trench, the subduction of the characteristic seafloor features on the PHS plate affects seismic structures; the subducted bathymetric high of the Amami Plateau is detected in the northern trench: the Luzon-Okinawa fracture zone beneath the middle and southern trenches. There are low-velocity (< 4.5 km/s) wedges along the forearc areas, except for off Miyako-jima Island. The characteristic high gravity anomaly at the forearc off Miyako-jima Island is caused not by a bathymetric high of a large-scale accretionary wedge but by shallower materials with a high P-wave velocity of 4.5 km/s.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

The great 1933 Sanriku-oki earthquake: reappraisal of the main shock and its aftershocks and implications for its tsunami using regional tsunami and seismic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, Naoki; Kirby, Stephen H.; Umino, Norihito; Hino, Ryota; Kazakami, Tomoe

2016-09-01

The aftershock distribution of the 1933 Sanriku-oki outer trench earthquake is estimated by using modern relocation methods and a newly developed velocity structure to examine the spatial extent of the source-fault and the possibility of a triggered interplate seismicity. In this study, we first examined the regional data quality of the 1933 earthquake based on smoked-paper records and then relocated the earthquakes by using the 3-D velocity structure and double-difference method. The improvements of hypocentre locations using these methods were confirmed by the examination of recent earthquakes that are accurately located based on ocean bottom seismometer data. The results show that the 1933 aftershocks occurred under both the outer- and inner-trench-slope regions. In the outer-trench-slope region, aftershocks are distributed in a ˜280-km-long area and their depths are shallower than 50 km. Although we could not constrain the fault geometry from the hypocentre distribution, the depth distribution suggests the whole lithosphere is probably not under deviatoric tension at the time of the 1933 earthquake. The occurrence of aftershocks under the inner trench slope was also confirmed by an investigation of waveform frequency difference between outer and inner trench earthquakes as recorded at Mizusawa. The earthquakes under the inner trench slope were shallow (depth ≦30 km) and the waveforms show a low-frequency character similar to the waveforms of recent, precisely located earthquakes in the same area. They are also located where recent activity of interplate thrust earthquakes is high. These suggest that the 1933 outer-trench-slope main shock triggered interplate earthquakes, which is an unusual case in the order of occurrence in contrast with the more common pairing of a large initial interplate shock with subsequent outer-slope earthquakes. The off-trench earthquakes are distributed about 80 km width in the trench perpendicular direction. This wide width cannot be explained from a single high-angle fault confined at a shallow depth (depth ≦50 km). The upward motion of the 1933 tsunami waveform records observed at Sanriku coast also cannot be explained from a single high-angle west-dipping normal fault. If we consider additional fault, involvement of high-angle, east-dipping normal faults can better explain the tsunami first motion and triggering of the aftershock in a wide area under the outer trench slope. Therefore multiple off-trench normal faults may have activated during the 1933 earthquake. We also relocated recent (2001-2012) seismicity by the same method. The results show that the present seismicity in the outer-trench-slope region can be divided into several groups along the trench. Comparison of the 1933 rupture dimensions based on our aftershock relocations with the morphologies of fault scarps in the outer trench slope suggest that the rupture was limited to the region where fault scarps are largely trench parallel and cross cut the seafloor spreading fabric. These findings imply that bending geometry and structural segmentation of the incoming plate largely controls the spatial extent of the 1933 seismogenic faulting. In this shallow rupture model for this largest outer trench earthquake, triggered seismicity in the forearc and structural control of faulting represent an important deformation styles for off-trench and shallow megathrust zones.

Integrated optical refractometer based on bend waveguide with air trench structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Jin Hwa; Park, Jaehoon; Kang, Chan-mo; Son, Youngdal; Do, Lee-Mi; Baek, Kyu-Ha

2015-07-01

This study proposed a novel optical sensor based on a refractometer integrating a bend waveguide and a trench structure. The optical sensor is a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) device involving a bend waveguide with maximum optical loss. A trench structure was aligned with the partially exposed core layer's sidewall of the bend waveguide, providing a quantitative measurement condition. The insertion losses of the proposed 1 x 2 single-mode optical splitter-type sensor were 4.38 dB and 8.67 dB for the reference waveguide and sensing waveguide, respectively, at a wavelength of 1,550 nm. The optical loss of the sensing waveguide depends on the change in the refractive index of the material in contact with the trench, but the reference waveguide had stable optical propagating characteristic regardless of the variations of the refractive index.

Model-based correction for local stress-induced overlay errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stobert, Ian; Krishnamurthy, Subramanian; Shi, Hongbo; Stiffler, Scott

2018-03-01

Manufacturing embedded DRAM deep trench capacitors can involve etching very deep holes into silicon wafers1. Due to various design constraints, these holes may not be uniformly distributed across the wafer surface. Some wafer processing steps for these trenches results in stress effects which can distort the silicon wafer in a manner that creates localized alignment issues between the trenches and the structures built above them on the wafer. In this paper, we describe a method to model these localized silicon distortions for complex layouts involving billions of deep trench structures. We describe wafer metrology techniques and data which have been used to verify the stress distortion model accuracy. We also provide a description of how this kind of model can be used to manipulate the polygons in the mask tape out flow to compensate for predicted localized misalignments between design shapes from a deep trench mask and subsequent masks.

Design, fabrication, and characteristics of microheaters with low consumption power using SDB SOI membrane and trench structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Gwiy-Sang; Choi, Sung-Kyu; Nam, Hoy-Duck

2001-10-01

This paper presents the optimized design, fabrication and thermal characteristics of micro-heaters for thermal MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) applications using SDB and SOI membranes and trench structures. The micro-heater is based on a thermal measurement principle and contains for thermal isolation regions a 10 micrometers thick Si membrane with oxide-filled trenches in the SOI membrane rim. The micro- heater was fabricated with Pt-RTD on the same substrate by using MgO as medium layer. The thermal characteristics of the micro-heater with the SOI membrane is 280 degree(s)C at input power 0.9 W; for the SOI membrane with 10 trenches, it is 580 degree(s)C due to reduction of the external thermal loss. Consequently, the micro-heater with trenches in SOI membrane rim provides a powerful and versatile alternative technology for improving the performance of micro-thermal sensors and actuators.

Students investigate environmental restoration site in New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, John F.; Baldridge, W. Scott; Jiracek, George R.; Gonzalez, Victor; Pope, Paul A.

Investigations conducted during the 1997 Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE) field course at one site at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) successfully delineated a waste disposal trench dug in the 1940s. The survey, which was popular with the students, provided them with important experience in “real world” geophysical problems and demonstrated that students can obtain useful and important results during a short field exercise.The utility of the magnetic, seismic refraction, and ground-penetrating radar methods will be demonstrated on a profile through one of the major waste trenches at the site. The magnetic and radar methods are sensitive to the presence of metallic objects buried within the trenches. A low-velocity trench structure is defined by the seismic refraction data. Models of the trench structure are both accurate (linear dimensions are probably good to within a few meters) and somewhat different from prior expectations.

A novel fabrication method for suspended high-aspect-ratio microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yao-Joe; Kuo, Wen-Cheng

2005-11-01

Suspended high-aspect-ratio structures (suspended HARS) are widely used for MEMS devices such as micro-gyroscopes, micro-accelerometers, optical switches and so on. Various fabrication methods, such as SOI, SCREAM, AIM, SBM and BELST processes, were proposed to fabricate HARS. However, these methods focus on the fabrication of suspended microstructures with relatively small widths of trench opening (e.g. less than 10 µm). In this paper, we propose a novel process for fabricating very high-aspect-ratio suspended structures with large widths of trench opening using photoresist as an etching mask. By enhancing the microtrenching effect, we can easily release the suspended structure without thoroughly removing the floor polymer inside the trenches for the cases with a relatively small trench aspect ratio. All the process steps can be integrated into a single-run single-mask ICP-RIE process, which effectively reduces the process complexity and fabrication cost. We also discuss the phenomenon of corner erosion, which results in the undesired etching of silicon structures during the structure-releasing step. By using the proposed process, 100 µm thick suspended structures with the trench aspect ratio of about 20 are demonstrated. Also, the proposed process can be used to fabricate devices for applications which require large in-plane displacement. This paper was orally presented in the Transducers'05, Seoul, Korea (paper ID: 3B1.3).

Selective epitaxial growth properties and strain characterization of Si1- x Ge x in SiO2 trench arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koo, Sangmo; Jang, Hyunchul; Ko, Dae-Hong

2017-04-01

In this study, we investigated the formation of a Si1- x Ge x fin structure in SiO2 trench arrays via an ultra-high-vacuum chemical-vapor deposition (UHV-CVD) selective epitaxial growth (SEG) process. Defect generation and microstructures of Si1- x Ge x fin structures with different Ge concentrations ( x = 0.2, 0.3 and 0.45) were examined. In addition, the strain evolution of a Si1- x Ge x fin structure was analyzed by using reciprocal space mapping (RSM). An (111) facet was formed from the Si1- x Ge x epi-layer and SiO2 trench wall interface to minimize the interface and the surface energy. The Si1- x Ge x fin structures were fully relaxed along the direction perpendicular to the trenches regardless of the Ge concentration. On the other hand, the fin structures were fully or partially strained along the direction parallel to the trenches depending on the Ge concentration: fully strained Si0.8Ge0.2 and Si0.7Ge0.3, and a Si0.55Ge0.45 strain-relaxed buffer. We further confirmed that the strain on the Si1- x Ge x fin structures remained stable after oxide removal and H2/N2 post-annealing.

Polarization-Directed Surface Plasmon Polariton Launching

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

Gong, Yu; Joly, Alan G.; El-Khoury, Patrick Z.

The relative intensities of propagating surface plasmons (PSPs) simultaneously launched from opposing edges of a symmetric trench structure etched into a silver thin film may be controllably varied by tuning the linear polarization of the driving field. This is demonstrated through transient multiphoton photoemission electron microscopy measurements performed using a pair of spatially separated phase-locked femtosecond pulses. Our measurements are rationalized using finite-difference time domain simulations, which reveal that the coupling efficiency into the PSP modes is inversely proportional to the magnitude of the localized surface plasmon fields excited at the trench edges. Additional experiments on single step edges alsomore » show asymmetric PSP launching with respect to polarization, analogous to the trench results. Our combined experimental and computational results allude to the interplay between localized and propagating surface plasmon modes in the trench; strong coupling to the localized modes at the edges correlates to weak coupling to the PSP modes. Simultaneous excitation of the electric fields localized at both edges of the trench results in complex interactions between the right- and left-side PSP modes with Fabry-Perot and cylindrical modes. This results in a trench width-dependent PSP intensity ratio using otherwise identical driving fields. A systematic exploration of polarization directed PSP launching from a series of trench structures reveals an optimal PSP contrast ratio of 4.2 using a 500 nm-wide trench.« less

Trench-parallel variations in Pacific and Indo-Australian crustal velocity structure due to Louisville Ridge seamount subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stratford, W. R.; Knight, T. P.; Peirce, C.; Watts, A. B.; Grevemeyer, I.; Paulatto, M.; Bassett, D.; Hunter, J.; Kalnins, L. M.

2012-12-01

Variations in trench and forearc morphology, and lithospheric velocity structure are observed where the Louisville Ridge seamount chain subducts at the Tonga-Kermadec Trench. Subduction of these seamounts has affected arc and back-arc processes along the trench for the last 5 Myr. High subduction rates (80 mm/yr in the north, 55 mm/yr in the south), a fast southwards migrating collision zone (~180 km/myr), and the obliquity of the subducting plate and the seamount chain to the trench, make this an ideal location to study the effects of seamount subduction on lithospheric structure. The "before and after" subduction regions have been targeted by several large-scale geophysical projects in recent years; the most recent being the R/V Sonne cruise SO215 in 2011. The crust and upper mantle velocity structure observed in profiles along strike of the seamount chain and perpendicular to the trench from this study, are compared to a similar profile from SO195, recorded ~100 km to the north. The affects of the passage of the seamounts through the subduction system are indicated by velocity anomalies in the crust and mantle of the overriding plate. Preliminary results indicate that in the present collision zone, mantle velocities (Pn) are reduced by ~5%. Around 100 km to the north, where seamounts are inferred to have subducted ~1 Myr ago, a reduction of 7% in mantle P-wave velocity is observed. The width of the trench slope and elevation of the forearc also vary along strike. At the collision zone a >100 km wide collapse region of kilometre-scale block faults comprise the trench slope, while the forearc is elevated. The elevated forearc has a 5 km think upper crust with a Vp of 2.5-5.5 km/s and the collapse zone also has upper crustal velocities as low as 2.5 km/s. To the east in the Pacific Plate, lower P-wave velocities are also observed and attributed to serpentinization due to deep fracturing in the outer trench high. Large bending faults permeate the crust and the Osbourn Seamount, currently on the verge of subduction, is fractured stepwise down into the trench. Pn velocities in the hinge zone of the Pacific Plate are as low as 7.3 km/s indicating that fracturing and serpentinization may also extend to sub-crustal depths. Finally, trench-parallel variations in subduction zone velocity structure are used to infer the degree to which seamount subduction has altered the physical state of the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates both pre- and post subduction.

Seismic Structure of the Oceanic Plate Entering the Central Part of the Japan Trench Obtained from Ocean-Bottom Seismic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohira, A.; Kodaira, S.; Fujie, G.; No, T.; Nakamura, Y.; Miura, S.

2017-12-01

In trench-outer rise regions, the normal faults develop due to the bending of the incoming plate, which cause numerous normal-faulting earthquakes and systematic structural variations toward trenches. In addition to the effects on the bend-related normal fault, structural variations which are interpreted to be attributed to pseudofaults, a fracture zone, and petit-spot volcanic activities are observed in the oceanic plate entering the central part of the Japan Trench, off Miyagi. In May-June 2017, to understand detail structural variations and systematic structural changes of the oceanic plate toward the trench, we conducted an active-source seismic survey off Miyagi using R/V Kaimei, a new research vessel of JAMSTEC. Along a 100 km-long seismic profile which is approximately perpendicular to the trench axis, we deployed 40 ocean-bottom seismometers at intervals of 2 km and fired a large airgun array (total volume 10,600 cubic inches) with 100 m shooting intervals. Multi-channel seismic reflection data were also collected along the profile. On OBS records we observed refractions from the sedimentary layer and the oceanic crust (Pg), wide-angle reflections from the crust-mantle boundary (PmP), and refractions from the uppermost mantle (Pn). Pg is typically observed clearly at near offsets (approximately 20 km) but it highly attenuates at far offsets (> 20 km). A triplication of Pg-PmP-Pn with strong amplitudes is observed at ranges from 30 km to 60 km offsets. Pn is typically weak and its apparent velocity is approximately 8 km/sec. High attenuation of Pg and weak Pn may indicate the complex crustal structure related to petit-spot volcanic activities and/or a fracture zone, which are recognized in bathymetry data around the profile.

KSC-2013-4177

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-4172

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-4181

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-4178

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Structural changes and shallow geological structure of the isolated basins in the forearc slope of the Japan Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misawa, A.; Arai, K.; Fujiwara, T.; Sato, M.; Shin'ichiro, Y.; Hirata, K.; Kanamatsu, T.

2017-12-01

On the forearc slope of the Japan Trench is a typical subsidence region associated with the subduction erosion in the Japan Trench. Arai et al. (2014) reported the existence of the isolated basins with widths of up to several tens of kilometers using the seismic profiles that acquired before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw 9.0) in the forearc slope. The isolated basin probably formed due to subsidence accompanying the regional activity of normal fault systems in the forearc slope. Arai et al. (2014) suggested that the geological structures of the forearc slope along the Japan Trench are typical of those resulting from subduction erosion and proposed that the episodic subsidence accompanied by normal faulting is the most recent deformation. During the 2011 large earthquake, seafloor on the landward slope of the Japan Trench moved 50 m east-southeast toward trench (Fujiwara et al., 2011). In addition, aftershock activity after the 2011 large earthquake have predominated in the activity of the normal fault system. Therefore, there have a possibility that new isolated basin is formed after the 2011 large earthquake in the forearc slope of the Japan Trench. In order to capture the structural change in the isolated basins, we compared the seismic profiles acquired before (Multi-Channel Seismic (MCS) data acquired with KR07-05 cruise) and after (Single-Channel Seismic (SCS) data acquired with NT15-07 cruise) the 2011 large earthquake. However, the large-scale structural changes are not identified around the isolated basin. In order to capture the small-scale structural change in the shallow part of the isolated basins using high-resolution data, we make an attempt at the marine geological and geophysical survey in the offshore Tohoku region using R/V Shinsei-Maru of JAMSTEC (KS-17-8 cruise) in August 2017. In this cruise, we plan to carry out the following surveys; (1) swath bathymetric survey, (2) high-resolution parametric subbottom profiler (SBP) survey, (3) geomagnetic survey. In this presentation, we will show the latest results about the shallow structure of the isolated basin in the forearc slope.

A close-range photogrammetric technique for mapping neotectonic features in trenches

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fairer, G.M.; Whitney, J.W.; Coe, J.A.

1989-01-01

Close-range photogrammetric techniques and newly available computerized plotting equipment were used to map exploratory trench walls that expose Quaternary faults in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Small-scale structural, lithologic, and stratigraphic features can be rapidly mapped by the photogrammetric method. This method is more accurate and significantly more rapid than conventional trench-mapping methods, and the analytical plotter is capable of producing cartographic definition of high resolution when detailed trench maps are necessary. -from Authors

Comparison between infaunal communities of the deep floor and edge of the Tonga Trench: Possible effects of differences in organic matter supply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leduc, Daniel; Rowden, Ashley A.; Glud, Ronnie N.; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Kitazato, Hiroshi; Clark, Malcolm R.

2016-10-01

Hadal trenches are characterised by environmental conditions not found in any other environment, thereby providing new opportunities to understand the processes that shape deep-sea benthic communities. Technological advances have led to an increase in the number of investigations in hadal trenches over the last two decades. However, more quantitative samples including the deepest parts of trenches is needed to better understand trends in benthic diversity, abundance, biomass and community structure in these extreme habitats, and how these may be shaped by environmental and/or evolutionary factors. In this study, we describe and compare the abundance, biomass, vertical distribution in the sediment, diversity, and community structure of nematodes and other infauna in sediments from the Horizon Deep ( 10 800 m) in the Tonga Trench and a site on the edge of the trench ( 6250 m). Mean nematode abundance was six times greater at the Horizon Deep site (387 ind. 10 cm-2) than at the trench edge site (65 ind. 10 cm-2). A similar pattern was observed for biomass (15 vs 2 μgDW 10 cm-2, respectively), which likely resulted from elevated organic matter supply at the Horizon Deep site. There was no significant difference in nematode species richness between the two sites, but diversity measured using rarefaction was significantly greater at the trench edge site than at the Horizon Deep site [ES(20); 13.8 vs 7.8]. Dominance was much more pronounced in the Horizon Deep, which may be due to competitive exclusion by a small number of opportunistic species. Nematode community structure differed significantly both between sites and among sediment depth layers. The presence of subsurface peaks in pigment concentrations, bacteria abundance, and nematode abundance at the Horizon Deep site is consistent with a recent turbidite event, and may also reflect high rates of bioturbation by larger fauna resulting from high food availability. Determining the relative influences of different environmental factors on hadal trench benthic communities will require further investigation based on quantitative samples encompassing the trench axis as well as the oceanic and continental slopes.

Spreading of the ocean floor: Undeformed sediments in the peru-chile trench

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scholl, D. W.; von Huene, Roland E.; Ridlon, J.B.

1968-01-01

None of the expected stratigraphic and structural effects of a spreading sea floor have been imposed on the sedimentary fill of the Peru-Chile Trench. During at least the last several million years, and perhaps during much of the Cenozoic, the trench has not been affected by an oceanic crust thrusting under the continent.

High Density Faraday Cup Array or Other Open Trench Structures and Method of Manufacture Thereof

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilchrist, Kristin Hedgepath (Inventor); Bower, Christopher A. (Inventor); Stoner, Brian R. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A detector array and method for making the detector array. The detector array includes a substrate including a plurality of trenches formed therein, and a plurality of collectors electrically isolated from each other, formed on the walls of the trenches, and configured to collect charged particles incident on respective ones of the collectors and to output from the collectors signals indicative of charged particle collection. In the detector array, adjacent ones of the plurality of trenches are disposed in a staggered configuration relative to one another. The method forms in a substrate a plurality of trenches across a surface of the substrate such that adjacent ones of the trenches are in a staggered sequence relative to one another, forms in the plurality of trenches a plurality of collectors, and connects a plurality of electrodes respectively to the collectors.

Accretionary processes along the Middle America Trench off Costa Rica

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

Shipley, T.H.; Stoffa, P.L.; McIntosh, K.

1990-06-01

The geometry of large-scale structures within modern accretionary prisms is known entirely from seismic reflection studies using single or grids of two-dimensional profiles. Off Costa Rica the authors collected a three-dimensional reflection data set covering a 9 km wide {times} 22 km long {times} 6 km thick volume of the accretionary prism just arcward of the Middle America Trench. The three-dimensional processing and ability to examine the prism as a volume has provided the means to map structures from a few hundred meters to kilometers in size with confidence. Reflections from within the prism define the gross structural features andmore » tectonic processes active along this particular portion of the Middle America Trench. So far in the analysis, these data illustrate the relationships between the basement, the prism shape, and overlying slope sedimentary deposits. For instance, the subducted basement relief (of several hundred meters amplitude) does seem to affect the larger scale through-going faults within the prism. Offscraping of the uppermost 45 m of sediments occurs within 4 km of the trench creating a small pile of sediments at the base of the trench. How this offscraped sediment is incorporated into the prism is still being investigated. Underplating of parts of the 400 m thick subducted section begin: at a very shallow structural level, 4 to 10 km arcward of the trench. Amplitude anomalies associated with some of the larger arcward dipping structures in the prism and surface mud volcanoes suggest that efficient fluid migration paths may extend from the top of the downgoing slab at the shelf edge out into the lower and middle slope region, a distance of 50 to 100 km.« less

Semiconductor devices having a recessed electrode structure

DOEpatents

Palacios, Tomas Apostol; Lu, Bin; Matioli, Elison de Nazareth

2015-05-26

An electrode structure is described in which conductive regions are recessed into a semiconductor region. Trenches may be formed in a semiconductor region, such that conductive regions can be formed in the trenches. The electrode structure may be used in semiconductor devices such as field effect transistors or diodes. Nitride-based power semiconductor devices are described including such an electrode structure, which can reduce leakage current and otherwise improve performance.

Observation of water mass characteristics in the southwestern Mariana Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, H.; Xie, Q.; Hong, B.

2016-12-01

The identification of large water mass characteristic can help oceanographer to better understand the oceanic circulation structures and other physical processes in open oceans. In current stage, the water mass characteristics were recognized well by extensive observation in the upper ocean, however, it was rarely studied in deep oceans, especially for deep trench with > 6000 m depth. In this study, we use observed data collected by CTDs during several surveys to investigate the water mass physical characteristic and transport in the world deepest trench, `Challenger Deep', in the southwestern Mariana Trench. The preliminary results show complex vertical structures of water mass in this trench. From surface to 4500 m, the water masses are occupied by typical tropical surface water, NPTUW, NPMW, NPIW and NPDW. Under 4500m, the water mass shows mixing characteristics of NPDW and AABW, which indicate AABW can be transported by form the deep ocean of the South Ocean to Northwestern Pacific and it can affect local water mass characteristics. The baroclinic geostrophic current calculated from the CTDs data shows the westerly transport of water mass can reach about 1.0 SV in the trench which is close to previous results.

Outdoor Testing Areas | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL

Science.gov Websites

of engineers running tests on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles at the Medium-Voltage Outdoor Test large microgrids hub, located in the outdoor low-voltage test yard, includes underground trench access pits for full enclosure of rotating machinery under test. Key Infrastructure Secured underground pits

KSC-2013-4173

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers continue to remove the bricks from the flame trench walls that are below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. New crawler track panels will be installed. The space shuttle-era flame trench deflector has been completely removed. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Discovery of dense aggregations of stalked crinoids in Izu-Ogasawara trench, Japan.

PubMed

Oji, Tatsuo; Ogawa, Yujiro; Hunter, Aaron W; Kitazawa, Kota

2009-06-01

Stalked crinoids are recognized as living fossils that typically inhabit modern deep-water environments exceeding 100 m. Previous records of stalked crinoids from hadal depths (exceeding 6000 m) are extremely rare, and no in-situ information has been available. We show here that stalked crinoids live densely on rocky substrates at depths over 9000 m in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench off the eastern coast of Japan, evidenced by underwater photos and videos taken by a remotely operated vehicle. This is the deepest in-situ observation of stalked crinoids and demonstrates that crinoid meadows can exist at hadal depths close to the deepest ocean floor, in a fashion quite similar to populations observed in shallower depths.

Seismic velocity structure of the incoming Pacific Plate subducting into the central part of the Japan Trench revealed by traveltime tomography using OBS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obana, K.; Fujie, G.; Kodaira, S.; Takahashi, T.; Yamamoto, Y.; Miura, S.; Shinohara, M.

2016-12-01

Subduction of oceanic plates plays an important role in the water transportation from the earth surface into the deep mantle. Recent active seismic survey studies succeed to image that the seismic velocities within the oceanic crust and the uppermost mantle in the outer rise region decreases toward the trench axis. These velocity changes are considered as an indication of the hydration and alteration of the incoming oceanic plates prior to the subduction. However, the area with sufficient resolution of the active seismic studies is often limited at depths corresponding to the oceanic crust and several km beneath the oceanic Moho. In this study, we have examined the seismic velocity structure of the incoming/subducting Pacific Plate beneath the trench axis and outer trench-slope of the central part of the Japan Trench. The seismicity in the Pacific Plate, including several M7-class intra-plate earthquakes, has been active since the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in the study area. These activities were observed by the ocean bottom seismographs (OBS) deployed repeatedly. The data obtained from these OBS observations allow us to resolve the seismic velocity structures at greater depths compared to the active seismic surveys. We conducted 3-D traveltime tomography by using double-difference tomography method (Zhang and Thurber, 2003). The results show that the seismic velocities within the oceanic mantle decreased toward the trench axis. The velocity reduction begins at about 80 km seaward of the trench axis and extended to a depth of at least 30 km beneath the trench axis area. If the observed P-wave velocity reduction from 8.4 km/s to 7.7 km/s at a depth of 15 km below the oceanic Moho is caused by the serpentinization of the oceanic mantle (Carlson and Miller, 2003), roughly 2.5 weight per cent of water is expected in the low velocity anomalies in the oceanic mantle.

In situ respiration measurements of megafauna in the Kermadec Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunnally, Clifton C.; Friedman, Jason R.; Drazen, Jeffrey C.

2016-12-01

The aim of this paper is to measure metabolic rates of megafauna living in depths greater than 6000 m. Echinoderms, actinarians and a polychaete were captured by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and inserted into respiration chambers in situ at depths of 4049 m, 7140 m and 8074 m in the region of the Kermadec Trench SW Pacific Ocean. Hadal research has moved into a new frontier as technological improvements now allow for a meticulous investigation of trench ecology in depths greater than 6000 m. The development of an in situ respirometer for use in these studies was deployed in the Kermadec Trench to obtain the first ever rates of basal metabolic rates of hadal megafauna. Typical deep-sea experiments of individual animal physiology must deal with covarying factors of pressure, temperature, light and food supply in this study investigated the effects of pressure and increased food supply on overall animal metabolism. In the Kermadec Trench, holothurian respiration rates (n=4), 0.079±0.011 (mean±SE) μmol-O2 g-1 h-1, were higher than those captured at abyssal depths (n=2), 0.018±0.002 μmol-O2 g-1h-1, in the same region (p<0.001). When Q10 adjusted to a common temperature of 2.5 °C trench holothurian respiration rates ranged between 0.068 and 0.119 μmol-O2 g-1 h-1. Anemone respiration rates were remarkably similar between abyssal and hadal specimens, 0.110 and 0.111 μmol-O2 g-1 h-1, respectively. Our results on echinoderm respiration when corrected for temperature and mass fall below the slope regression when compared with other in situ measurements at shallower ocean depths.

Structural deformation and detailed architecture of accretionary wedge in the northern Manila subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, J.; Wu, S.; Yao, Y.; Chen, C.

2017-12-01

The South China Sea (SCS) which located at the southeast edge of the Eurasian plate, is heavily influenced by the Philippine Sea plate and the Indo-Australian plate. As eastern boundary of the SCS, Manila subduction zone was created by the northwestern movement of the Philippine Sea plate, recorded the key information on formation and evolution of the SCS and often triggered off earthquakes and tsunami in the East and South Asia. Using high resolution multi-channel seismic data across the northern Manila subduction zone, this study analyzed sedimentary characteristics of oceanic basin and trench, and fine described features of structural deformation and architecture of accretionary wedge and magmatism to discuss the time of subduction inception, thrust motion and influence of seamount subduction on the geometry of the Manila trench. Results show that lower slope of accretionary wedge mainly consist of imbricated thrusts with blind thrust as the frontal fault and structural wedge whereas upper slope was obscure for intensely structural deformation and magmatism. All the thrust faults merged into a detachment fault/surface which may root in Lower Miocene or even older strata, cut off the Miocene near buried seamount and extended the Pliocene upward, suggesting that this detachment fault was obviously influenced by buried seamount and basement high below the accretionary wedge. Magmatism began to be active from late Miocene and continued to be intense during Pliocene and Quaternary in the oceanic basin, trench and accretionary wedge. Based on characteristics of sedimentary and structural deformation, this study proposed that accretionary wedge of the northern Manila subduction zone formed before 16.5 Ma and propagated to the SCS through piggyback propagation thrusting when seafloor spreading of the SCS was still ongoing before 15 Ma. Subduction of extended continental crust in the northeastern SCS created a significantly concaving eastward to geometric shape of the northern Manila trench. With the subducting of fossil ridge of the SCS to the Manila trench and ridge/trench collision happening in the future, the convexly westward arc feature of Manila trench was changed to flat and will be even concave eastward.

Electrodeposition of Gold to Conformally Fill High Aspect Ratio Nanometric Silicon Grating Trenches: A Comparison of Pulsed and Direct Current Protocols

PubMed Central

Znati, Sami A.; Chedid, Nicholas; Miao, Houxun; Chen, Lei; Bennett, Eric E.; Wen, Han

2016-01-01

Filling high-aspect-ratio trenches with gold is a frequent requirement in the fabrication of x-ray optics as well as micro-electronic components and other fabrication processes. Conformal electrodeposition of gold in sub-micron-width silicon trenches with an aspect ratio greater than 35 over a grating area of several square centimeters is challenging and has not been described in the literature previously. A comparison of pulsed plating and constant current plating led to a gold electroplating protocol that reliably filled trenches for such structures. PMID:27042384

Vertically distinct microbial communities in the Mariana and Kermadec trenches

PubMed Central

Donaldson, Sierra; Osuntokun, Oladayo; Xia, Qing; Nelson, Alex; Blanton, Jessica; Allen, Eric E.; Church, Matthew J.; Bartlett, Douglas H.

2018-01-01

Hadal trenches, oceanic locations deeper than 6,000 m, are thought to have distinct microbial communities compared to those at shallower depths due to high hydrostatic pressures, topographical funneling of organic matter, and biogeographical isolation. Here we evaluate the hypothesis that hadal trenches contain unique microbial biodiversity through analyses of the communities present in the bottom waters of the Kermadec and Mariana trenches. Estimates of microbial protein production indicate active populations under in situ hydrostatic pressures and increasing adaptation to pressure with depth. Depth, trench of collection, and size fraction are important drivers of microbial community structure. Many putative hadal bathytypes, such as members related to the Marinimicrobia, Rhodobacteraceae, Rhodospirilliceae, and Aquibacter, are similar to members identified in other trenches. Most of the differences between the two trench microbiomes consists of taxa belonging to the Gammaproteobacteria whose distributions extend throughout the water column. Growth and survival estimates of representative isolates of these taxa under deep-sea conditions suggest that some members may descend from shallower depths and exist as a potentially inactive fraction of the hadal zone. We conclude that the distinct pelagic communities residing in these two trenches, and perhaps by extension other trenches, reflect both cosmopolitan hadal bathytypes and ubiquitous genera found throughout the water column. PMID:29621268

KSC-00pp1297

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-09-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- A long view of Launch Complex 39 is caught by the early morning sun. Left of center is Launch Pad 39A with Space Shuttle Discovery. At its left is the 300,000-gallon water tank that is part of the sound suppression system. Hoses from the tank can be seen coiling under the pad, next to the opening of the flame trench, part of the flame detector system. In the foreground is a retention pond; another is at right center. At far right, the ball-shaped structure is a 850,000-gallon storage tank for the cryogenic liquid oxygen, one of the propellants of the orbiter’s main engines. On the horizon can be seen the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building

Elimination of trench defects and V-pits from InGaN/GaN structures

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

Smalc-Koziorowska, Julita; Grzanka, Ewa; Czernecki, Robert

2015-03-09

The microstructural evolution of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells grown by metalorganic chemical vapor phase epitaxy was studied as a function of the growth temperature of the GaN quantum barriers (QBs). We observed the formation of basal stacking faults (BSFs) in GaN QBs grown at low temperature. The presence of BSFs terminated by stacking mismatch boundaries (SMBs) leads to the opening of the structure at the surface into a V-shaped trench loop. This trench may form above an SMB, thereby terminating the BSF, or above a junction between the SMB and a subsequent BSF. Fewer BSFs and thus fewer trench defectsmore » were observed in GaN QBs grown at temperatures higher than 830 °C. Further increase in the growth temperature of the GaN QBs led to the suppression of the threading dislocation opening into V-pits.« less

Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and geochronology of Neogene trench-slope cover sediments in the south Boso Peninsula, central Japan: Implications for the development of a shallow accretionary complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiyonobu, Shun; Yamamoto, Yuzuru; Saito, Saneatsu

2017-07-01

The geological structure and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Middle to Late Miocene trench-slope succession in the southern Boso Peninsula, central Japan, were examined to obtain chronological constraints on the accretion and formation of the trench-slope architecture. As a result, trench-slope cover sediments (Kinone and Amatsu Formations) are clearly distinguishable from the Early Miocene Hota accretionary complex (Hota Group). The Hota accretionary complex was deposited below the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) and was affected by intense shearing, forming an east-west trending and south-verging fold and thrust belt. In contrast, the trench-slope cover sediments basically have a homoclinal dip, except at the northern rim where they are bounded by fault contact. They contain many species of calcareous nannofossils and foraminifers, which are indicative of their depositional environment above the CCD, and they show shallowing-upward sedimentary structures. Biostratigraphy revealed that the depositional age of the trench-slope sediments is ca. 15-5.5 Ma, suggesting that there is an approximately 2 myr hiatus beween the Miura Group and the underlying accretionary prism. Based on these results, the age of accretion of the Hota Group is inferred to be between ca. 17-15 Ma, and the group is covered by trench-slope sediments overlain on it after ca. 15 Ma. The timing of accretion and the age of the trench-slope basin tend to be younger southward of the Boso Peninsula. The accretionary system of the Boso Peninsula apparently developed in two stages, in the Middle Miocene and in the Late Miocene to Pliocene.

Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry in semiconductor manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guittet, Pierre-Yves; Mantz, Ulrich; Weidner, Peter; Stehle, Jean-Louis; Bucchia, Marc; Bourtault, Sophie; Zahorski, Dorian

2004-05-01

Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IRSE) metrology is an emerging technology in semiconductor production environment. Infineon Technologies SC300 implemented the first worldwide automated IRSE in a class 1 clean room in 2002. Combining properties of IR light -- large wavelength, low absorption in silicon -- with a short focus optics -- no backside reflection -- which allow model-based analysis, a large number of production applications were developed. Part of Infineon IRSE development roadmap is now focused on depth monitoring for arrays of 3D dry-etched structures. In trench DRAM manufacturing, the areal density is high, and critical dimensions are much lower than mid-IR wavelength. Therefore, extensive use of effective medium theory is made to model 3D structures. IR-SE metrology is not limited by shrinking critical dimensions, as long as the areal density is above a specific cut-off value determined by trenches dimensions, trench-filling and surrounding materials. Two applications for depth monitoring are presented. 1D models were developed and successfully applied to the DRAM trench capacitor structures. Modeling and correlation to reference methods are shown as well as dynamic repeatability and gauge capability results. Limitations of the current tool configuration are reviewed for shallow structures.

Saturn Apollo Program

NASA Image and Video Library

1967-11-01

This is a view of the the first test flight of the Saturn V vehicle (SA-501) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch complex 39A. The thrust chambers of the first stage's five engines extend into the 45-foot-square hole in the mobile launcher platform. Until liftoff, the flames impinged downward onto a flame deflector that diverted the blast lengthwise in the flame trench. Here, a flame deflector, coated with a black ceramic, is in place below the opening, while a yellow (uncoated) spare deflector rests on its track in the background. It took a tremendous flow of water (28,000 gallons per minute) to cool the flame deflector and trench. The Apollo 4 was launched on November 9, 1967 from KSC.

Bait attending fishes of the abyssal zone and hadal boundary: Community structure, functional groups and species distribution in the Kermadec, New Hebrides and Mariana trenches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linley, T. D.; Stewart, A. L.; McMillan, P. J.; Clark, M. R.; Gerringer, M. E.; Drazen, J. C.; Fujii, T.; Jamieson, A. J.

2017-03-01

Baited landers were deployed at 83 stations at four locations in the west Pacific Ocean from bathyal to hadal depths: The Kermadec Trench, the New Hebrides Trench, the adjoining South Fiji Basin and the Mariana Trench. Forty-seven putative fish species were observed. Distinct fish faunal groups were identified based on maximum numbers and percentage of observations. Both analyses broadly agreed on the community structure: A bathyal group at <3000 m in the New Hebrides and Kermadec trenches, an abyssal group (3039 - 4692 m) in the Kermadec Trench, an abyssal-hadal transition zone (AHTZ) group (Kermadec: 4707-6068 m, Mariana: 4506-6198 m, New Hebrides: 2578-6898 m, South Fiji Basin: 4074-4101 m), and a hadal group of endemic snailfish in the Kermadec and Mariana trenches (6750-7669 m and 6831-8143 m respectively). The abyssal and hadal groups were absent from the New Hebrides Trench. Depth was the single factor that best explained the biological variation between samples (16%), the addition of temperature and average surface primary production for the previous year increased this to 36% of variation. The absence of the abyssal group from the New Hebrides Trench and South Fiji Basin was due to the absence of macrourids (Coryphaenoides spp.), which defined the group. The macrourids may be energetically limited in these areas. In their absence the species of the AHTZ group appear released of competition with the macrourids and are found far shallower at these sites. The fish groups had distinct feeding strategies while attending the bait: The bathyal and abyssal groups were almost exclusively necrophagous, the AHTZ group comprised predatory and generalist feeders, while the hadal snailfishes were exclusively predators. With increasing depth, predation was found to increase while scavenging decreased. The data suggest scavenging fish fauna do not extend deeper than the hadal boundary.

14. Photocopy of engineering drawing. PROJECT WS315A: INSTRUMENTATION TRENCH DETAILSSTRUCTURAL, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

14. Photocopy of engineering drawing. PROJECT WS-315A: INSTRUMENTATION TRENCH DETAILS-STRUCTURAL, 17, APRIL 1956. - Cape Canaveral Air Station, Launch Complex 17, Facility 28401, East end of Lighthouse Road, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL

Waveform complexity caused by near trench structure and its impact on earthquake source study: application to the 2015 Illapel earthquake sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Y.; Wei, S.; Wu, W.; Ni, S.

2017-12-01

Among various types of 3D heterogeneity in the Earth, trench might be the most complex systems, which includes rapidly varying bathymetry and usually thick sediment below water layer. These structure complexities can cause substantial waveform complexities on seismograms, but their corresponding impact on the earthquake source studies has not yet been well understood. Here we explore those effects via studies of two moderate aftershocks (one near the coast while the other close to the Peru-Chile trench axis) in the 2015 Illapel earthquake sequence. The horizontal locations and depths of these two events are poorly constrained and the reported results of various agencies display substantial variations. Thus, we first relocated the epicenters using the P-wave first arrivals and determined other parameters by waveform fitting. In a jackknifing way, we found that the trench event has large differences between regional and teleseismic solutions, in particular for depth, while the coastal event shows consistent results. The teleseismic P/Pdiff waves between these two events also display distinctly different features. More specifically, the trench event has more complex P/Pdiff waves and stronger coda waves, in terms of amplitude and duration (longer than 100s). The coda waves are coherent across stations at different distances and azimuths, indicating a more likely origin of scattering waves due to 3D heterogeneity near trench. To quantitatively model those 3D effects, we adopted a hybrid waveform simulation approach that computes the 3D wavefield in the source region by the Spectral Element Method (SEM) and then propagates the wavefield to teleseismic and shadow zone distances through the Direct Solution Method (DSM). We incorporated the GEBCO bathymetry and water layer into the SEM simulations and assumed the IASP91 1D model for DSM computation. Comparing with the poor 1D synthetics fitting to the data, we do obtain dramatic improvement in 3D waveform fittings across a series of frequency bands. With sensitivity tests of 3D waveform modeling, the centroid longitude and depth for the near trench event are refined. Our study suggests that the complex trench structure must be taken into account for a reliable analysis of shallow earthquake near trench, in particular for the shallowest tsunamigenic earthquakes.

Estimating Foreign-Object-Debris Density from Photogrammetry Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Jason; Metzger, Philip; Lane, John

2013-01-01

Within the first few seconds after launch of STS-124, debris traveling vertically near the vehicle was captured on two 16-mm film cameras surrounding the launch pad. One particular piece of debris caught the attention of engineers investigating the release of the flame trench fire bricks. The question to be answered was if the debris was a fire brick, and if it represented the first bricks that were ejected from the flame trench wall, or was the object one of the pieces of debris normally ejected from the vehicle during launch. If it was typical launch debris, such as SRB throat plug foam, why was it traveling vertically and parallel to the vehicle during launch, instead of following its normal trajectory, flying horizontally toward the north perimeter fence? By utilizing the Runge-Kutta integration method for velocity and the Verlet integration method for position, a method that suppresses trajectory computational instabilities due to noisy position data was obtained. This combination of integration methods provides a means to extract the best estimate of drag force and drag coefficient under the non-ideal conditions of limited position data. This integration strategy leads immediately to the best possible estimate of object density, within the constraints of unknown particle shape. These types of calculations do not exist in readily available off-the-shelf simulation software, especially where photogrammetry data is needed as an input.

Localized water reverberation phases and its impact on back-projection images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, H.; Castillo, J.; Yu, C.; Meng, L.; Zhan, Z.

2017-12-01

Coherent radiators imaged by back-projections (BP) are commonly interpreted as part of the rupture process. Nevertheless, artifacts introduced by structure related phases are rarely discriminated from the rupture process. In this study, we adopt the logic of empirical Greens' function analysis (EGF) to discriminate between rupture and structure effect. We re-examine the waveforms and BP images of the 2012 Mw 7.2 Indian Ocean earthquake and an EGF event (Mw 6.2). The P wave codas of both events present similar shape with characteristic period of approximately 10 s, which are back-projected as coherent radiators near the trench. S wave BP doesn't image energy radiation near the trench. We interpret those coda waves as localized water reverberation phases excited near the trench. We perform a 2D waveform modeling using realistic bathymetry model, and find that the sharp near-trench bathymetry traps the acoustic water waves forming localized reverberation phases. These waves can be imaged as coherent near-trench radiators with similar features as that in the observations. We present a set of methodology to discriminate between the rupture and propagation effects in BP images, which can serve as a criterion of subevent identification.

The Japan Trench and its juncture with the Kuril Trench: cruise results of the Kaiko project, Leg 3

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cadet, J.-P.; Kobayashi, K.; Aubouin, J.; Boulegue, J.; Deplus, C.; Dubois, J.; von Huene, Roland E.; Jolivet, L.; Kanazawa, T.; Kasahara, J.; Koizumi, K.; Lallemand, S.; Nakamura, Y.; Pautot, G.; Suyehiro, K.; Tani, S.; Tokuyama, H.; Yamazaki, T.

1987-01-01

This paper presents the results of a detailed survey combining Seabeam mapping, gravity and geomagnetic measurements as well as single-channel seismic reflection observations in the Japan Trench and the juncture with the Kuril Trench during the French-Japanese Kaiko project (northern sector of the Leg 3) on the R/V "Jean Charcot". The main data acquired during the cruise, such as the Seabeam maps, magnetic anomalies pattern, and preliminary interpretations are discussed. These new data cover an area of 18,000 km2 and provide for the first time a detailed three-dimensional image of the Japan Trench. Combined with the previous results, the data indicate new structural interpretations. A comparative study of Seabeam morphology, single-channel and reprocessed multichannel records lead to the conclusion that along the northern Japan Trench there is little evidence of accretion but, instead, a tectonic erosion of the overriding plate. The tectonic pattern on the oceanic side of the trench is controlled by the creation of new normal faults parallel to the Japan Trench axis, which is a direct consequence of the downward flexure of the Pacific plate. In addition to these new faults, ancient normal faults trending parallel to the N65?? oceanic magnetic anomalies and oblique to the Japan trench axis are reactivated, so that two directions of normal faulting are observed seaward of the Japan Trench. Only one direction of faulting is observed seaward of the Kuril Trench because of the parallelism between the trench axis and the magnetic anomalies. The convergent front of the Kuril Trench is offset left-laterally by 20 km relative to those of the Japan Trench. This transform fault and the lower slope of the southernmost Kuril Trench are represented by very steep scarps more than 2 km high. Slightly south of the juncture, the Erimo Seamount riding on the Pacific plate, is now entering the subduction zone. It has been preceded by at least another seamount as revealed by magnetic anomalies across the landward slope of the trench. Deeper future studies will be necessary to discriminate between the two following hypothesis about the origin of the curvature between both trenches: Is it due to the collision of an already subducted chain of seamounts? or does it correspond to one of the failure lines of the America/Eurasia plate boundary? ?? 1987.

Structure and lithology of the Japan Trench subduction plate boundary fault

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkpatrick, James D.; Rowe, Christie D.; Ujiie, Kohtaro; Moore, J. Casey; Regalla, Christine; Remitti, Francesca; Toy, Virginia; Wolfson-Schwehr, Monica; Kameda, Jun; Bose, Santanu; Chester, Frederick M.

2015-01-01

The 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake ruptured to the trench with maximum coseismic slip located on the shallow portion of the plate boundary fault. To investigate the conditions and physical processes that promoted slip to the trench, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 343/343T sailed 1 year after the earthquake and drilled into the plate boundary ˜7 km landward of the trench, in the region of maximum slip. Core analyses show that the plate boundary décollement is localized onto an interval of smectite-rich, pelagic clay. Subsidiary structures are present in both the upper and lower plates, which define a fault zone ˜5-15m thick. Fault rocks recovered from within the clay-rich interval contain a pervasive scaly fabric defined by anastomosing, polished, and lineated surfaces with two predominant orientations. The scaly fabric is crosscut in several places by discrete contacts across which the scaly fabric is truncated and rotated, or different rocks are juxtaposed. These contacts are inferred to be faults. The plate boundary décollement therefore contains structures resulting from both distributed and localized deformation. We infer that the formation of both of these types of structures is controlled by the frictional properties of the clay: the distributed scaly fabric formed at low strain rates associated with velocity-strengthening frictional behavior, and the localized faults formed at high strain rates characterized by velocity-weakening behavior. The presence of multiple discrete faults resulting from seismic slip within the décollement suggests that rupture to the trench may be characteristic of this margin.

A structural and electronic comparison of armchair and zigzag epitaxial graphene sidewall nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nevius, Meredith; Wang, F.; Palacio, I.; Celis, A.; Tejeda, A.; Taleb-Ibrahimi, A.; de Heer, W.; Berger, C.; Conrad, E.

2014-03-01

Graphene grown on sidewalls of trenches etched in SiC shows particular promise as a candidate for post-Si CMOS electronics because of its ballistic transport, exceptional mobilities, low intrinsic doping, and the opening of a large band gap. However, before definitive progress can be made toward epitaxial graphene-based transistors, we must fully understand the nuances of graphene ribbon growth on different SiC facets. We have now confirmed that sidewall ribbons grown in graphene's two primary crystallographic directions (``armchair'' and ``zigzag'') differ greatly in both structure and electronic band-structure. We present data from both geometries obtained using low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), micro-ARPES and dark-field micro-ARPES. We demonstrate that while graphene grows on stable facets of trenches oriented for armchair edge growth, trenches oriented for zigzag edge growth prefer narrow ribbons of graphene on the (0001) surface near the trench edge. The structure of these zigzag edge graphene ribbons is complex and paramount to understanding their transport. This work was supported by the NSF under grants DMR-1005880 and DMR-0820382, the W. M. Keck Foundation and the Partner University Fund from the Embassy of France

Unexpectedly higher metazoan meiofauna abundances in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench compared to the adjacent abyssal plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Christina; Martínez Arbizu, Pedro

2015-01-01

We studied meiofauna standing stocks and community structure in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and its adjacent abyssal plains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. In general, the Nematoda were dominant (93%) followed by the Copepoda (4%). Nematode abundances ranged from 87% to 96%; those of copepods from 2% to 7%. The most diverse deployment yielded 17 taxa: Acari, Amphipoda, Annelida, Bivalvia, Coelenterata, Copepoda, Cumacea, Gastrotricha, Isopoda, Kinorhyncha, Loricifera, Nematoda, Ostracoda, Priapulida, Tanaidacea, Tantulocarida, and Tardigrada. Nauplii were also present. Generally, the trench slope and the southernmost deployments had the highest abundances (850-1392 individuals/cm2). The results of non-metric multidimensional scaling indicated that these deployments were similar to each other in meiofauna community structure. The southernmost deployments were located in a zone of higher particulate organic carbon (POC) flux (g Corg m-2 yr-1), whereas the trench slope should have low POC flux due to depth attenuation. Also, POC and abundance were significantly correlated in the abyssal plains. This correlation may explain the higher abundances at the southernmost deployments. Lateral transport was also assumed to explain high meiofauna abundances on the trench slope. Abundances were generally higher than expected from model results. ANOSIM revealed significant differences between the trench slope and the northern abyssal plains, between the central abyssal plains and the trench slope, between the trench slope and the southern abyssal plains, between the central and the southern abyssal plains, and between the central and northern deployments. The northern and southern abyssal plains did not differ significantly. In addition, a U-test revealed highly significant differences between the trench-slope and abyssal deployments. The taxa inhabited mostly the upper 0-3 cm of the sediment layer (Nematoda 80-90%; Copepoda 88-100%). The trench-slope and abyssal did not differ in occupancy of the top layer. Furthermore, sediment depth and abundance were strongly correlated, but the sediment texture itself and the grain sizes showed only slight correlations with abundance. In the trench slope no correlation between sediment texture and abundance was found. We suggest that sediment is not the only factor that affects meiofauna abundance in the study area. The results of our study were compared with other trench and nontrench studies, and in most cases, the abundance decreases with depth initially but increases again below a certain depth, especially in deep-sea trenches below productive waters. No generalization can be made, however, about the depth at which the reversal occurs; it depends on the area of investigation and on a mixture of many other factors (e.g., sediment heterogeneity, oxygen, redox potential, proximity to land masses, and season).

Depth-varying azimuthal anisotropy in the Tohoku subduction channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xin; Zhao, Dapeng

2017-09-01

We determine a detailed 3-D model of azimuthal anisotropy tomography of the Tohoku subduction zone from the Japan Trench outer-rise to the back-arc near the Japan Sea coast, using a large number of high-quality P and S wave arrival-time data of local earthquakes recorded by the dense seismic network on the Japan Islands. Depth-varying seismic azimuthal anisotropy is revealed in the Tohoku subduction channel. The shallow portion of the Tohoku megathrust zone (<30 km depth) generally exhibits trench-normal fast-velocity directions (FVDs) except for the source area of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0) where the FVD is nearly trench-parallel, whereas the deeper portion of the megathrust zone (at depths of ∼30-50 km) mainly exhibits trench-parallel FVDs. Trench-normal FVDs are revealed in the mantle wedge beneath the volcanic front and the back-arc. The Pacific plate mainly exhibits trench-parallel FVDs, except for the top portion of the subducting Pacific slab where visible trench-normal FVDs are revealed. A qualitative tectonic model is proposed to interpret such anisotropic features, suggesting transposition of earlier fabrics in the oceanic lithosphere into subduction-induced new structures in the subduction channel.

Novel trench gate field stop IGBT with trench shorted anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xudong, Chen; Jianbing, Cheng; Guobing, Teng; Houdong, Guo

2016-05-01

A novel trench field stop (FS) insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) with a trench shorted anode (TSA) is proposed. By introducing a trench shorted anode, the TSA-FS-IGBT can obviously improve the breakdown voltage. As the simulation results show, the breakdown voltage is improved by a factor of 19.5% with a lower leakage current compared with the conventional FS-IGBT. The turn off time of the proposed structure is 50% lower than the conventional one with less than 9% voltage drop increased at a current density of 150 A/cm2. Additionally, there is no snapback observed. As a result, the TSA-FS-IGBT has a better trade-off relationship between the turn off loss and forward drop. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61274080) and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No. 2013M541585).

Meiofauna hotspot in the Atacama Trench, eastern South Pacific Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danovaro, R.; Gambi, C.; Della Croce, N.

2002-05-01

Meiofaunal assemblages were investigated (in terms of abundance, biomass, individual size and community structure) at bathyal and hadal depths (from 1050 to 7800 m) in the Atacama Trench in the upwelling sector of the eastern South Pacific Ocean, in relation to the distribution and availability of potential food sources (phytopigments, biochemical compounds and bacterial biomass) in this highly productive region. Meiofaunal density and biomass in the Atacama Trench were one to two orders of magnitude higher than values reported in other "oligotrophic" hadal systems. The Atacama Trench presented very high concentrations of nutritionally rich organic matter at 7800-m depth and displayed characteristics typical of eutrophic systems. Surprisingly, despite a decrease in chlorophyll- a and organic matter concentrations of about 50% from bathyal to hadal depths, meiofaunal abundance in hadal sediments was 10-fold higher than at bathyal depths. As indicated by the higher protein to carbohydrate ratio observed in trench sediments, the extraordinarily high meiofaunal density reported in the Atacama Trench was more dependent upon organic matter quality than on its quantity. The trophic richness of the system was reflected by a shift of the size structure of the benthic organisms. In contrast with typical trends of deep-sea systems, the ratio of bacterial to meiofaunal biomass decreased with increasing depth and, in the Atacama Trench, meiofaunal biomass largely dominated total benthic biomass. Nematodes at 7800-m depth accounted for more than 80% of total density and about 50% of total meiofaunal biomass. In hadal sediments a clear meiofaunal dwarfism was observed: the individual body size of nematodes and other taxa was reduced by 30-40% compared to individuals collected at bathyal depths. The peculiarity of this trophic-rich system allows rejection of previous hypotheses, which explained deep-sea dwarfism by the extremely oligotrophic conditions typical of deep-sea regions.

DLC coating on a micro-trench by bipolar PBII&D and analysis of plasma behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Wonsoon; Tokioka, Hideyuki; Tanaka, Masaaki; Choi, Junho

2014-08-01

Bipolar plasma-based ion implantation and deposition (bipolar PBII&D) has been recognized as a promising technique for coating deposition on complex three-dimensional targets. As the target is fully immersed in the plasma throughout the process, the plasma sheath can be formed with quite high conformability around the target. In this study, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating was deposited on a micro-trench pattern by using bipolar PBII&D, and the structure of the DLC film across the overall surface region of the trench was examined by making use of their corresponding Raman spectra. The two types of negative high voltage pulses were applied to the targets for comparison: -0.5 and -15 kV. The scale of the micro-trench used in the study is much smaller than that of the plasma sheath produced under these negative voltages (about 1 cm and 14 cm for -0.5 kV and -15 kV, respectively). The plasma behaviour (i.e., ion flux, impact angle and energy) in the surrounding of the micro-trench was calculated with the particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision method (PIC-MCCM). As a result, DLC film was successfully coated on the overall surface of the trench. When the applied negative voltage was -0.5 kV, the structure of DLC film coated on the sidewall of the trench became a more polymer-like carbon (PLC) than those of the top and bottom surfaces. This, as indicated by the simulation results, is because the ions, which strike the sidewall, tend to have less incident energy. Whereas in the case of -15 kV, the DLC film on the sidewall was a more graphite-like carbon (GLC) film, despite its smaller incident ion energy in comparison to those of the top and bottom surfaces. This phenomenon is attributed to the sputtering effect from the bottom surface of the trench, as evidenced by the plasma simulation.

31. VIEW LOOKING EAST DOWN THE FLAME TRENCH OF THE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

31. VIEW LOOKING EAST DOWN THE FLAME TRENCH OF THE STATIC TEST TOWER AS A JUPITER ROCKET IS BEING HOISTED INTO POSITION. DATE AND PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN, MSFC PHOTO LAB. - Marshall Space Flight Center, Saturn Propulsion & Structural Test Facility, East Test Area, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

P-wave Velocity Structure Across the Mariana Trench and Implications for Hydration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eimer, M. O.; Wiens, D.; Lizarralde, D.; Cai, C.

2017-12-01

Estimates of the water flux at subduction zones remain uncertain, particularly the amount of water brought into the trench by the subducting plate. Normal faulting related to the bending of the incoming plate has been proposed to provide pathways for water to hydrate the crust and upper mantle. A passive and active source seismic experiment spanning both the incoming plate and forearc was conducted in 2012 in central Mariana to examine the role of hydration at subduction zones. The active-source component of the survey used the R/V M.G. Langsethairgun array and 68 short period sensors, including suspended hydrophones, deployed on 4 transects. This study at the Mariana trench offers a comparison to related studies of incoming plate hydration in Middle America, where differing thermal structures related to plate age predict different stability fields for hydrous minerals. The forearc structure is also of interest, since Mariana is characterized by large serpentine seamounts and may have a serpentinized mantle wedge. The velocity structure will also be important for the relocation of earthquakes in the incoming plate, since the seismicity can offer a constraint for the depth extent of these bending faults. We examine the P-wave velocity structure along a 400-km long wide-angle refraction transect perpendicular to the trench and spanning both the forearc and incoming plate. Preliminary results indicate a velocity reduction in the crust and uppermost mantle at the bending region of the incoming plate, relative to the plate's structure away from the trench. This reduction suggests that outer-rise faults extend into the upper mantle and may have promoted serpentinization of that material. Mantle Pn refraction phases are not observed in the forearc, consistent with the ambient noise tomography results that show upper-mantle velocities similar to that of the lower crust. The lack of contrast between the upper mantle and crustal velocities from the ambient noise has been interpreted to indicate extensive serpentinization of the shallow mantle wedge.

Enhanced Propagating Surface Plasmon Signal Detection

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

Gong, Y.; Joly, Alan G.; El-Khoury, Patrick Z.

2016-12-21

Overcoming the dissipative nature of propagating surface plasmons (PSPs) is pre-requisite to realizing functional plasmonic circuitry, in which large bandwidth signals can be manipulated over length scales far-below the diffraction limit of light. To this end, we report on a novel PSP enhanced signal detection technique achieved in an all-metallic substrate. We take advantage of two strategically spatio-temporally separated phase-locked femtosecond laser pulses, incident onto lithographically patterned PSP coupling structures. We follow PSP propagation with joint femtosecond temporal and nanometer spatial resolution in a time-resolved non-linear photoemission electron microscopy scheme. Initially, a PSP signal wave packet is launched from amore » hole etched into the silver surface from where it propagates through an open trench structure and is decoded through the use of a timed probe pulse. FDTD calculations demonstrate that PSP signal waves may traverse open trenches in excess of 10 microns in diameter, thereby allowing remote detection even through vacuum regions. This arrangement results in a 10X enhancement in photoemission relative to readout from the bare metal surface. The enhancement is attributed to an all-optical homodyne detection technique that mixes signal and reference PSP waves in a non-linear scheme. Larger readout trenches achieve higher readout levels, however reduced transmission through the trench limits the trench size to 6 microns for maximum readout levels. However, the use of an array of trenches increases the maximum enhancement to near 30X. The attainable enhancement factor may be harnessed to achieve extended coherent PSP propagation in ultrafast plasmonic circuitry.« less

Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: where do all the seeds go?

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeFalco, Lesley A.; Esque, Todd C.; Nicklas, Melissa B.; Kane, Jeffrey M.

2012-01-01

Revegetation of degraded arid lands often involves supplementing impoverished seed banks and improving the seedbed, yet these approaches frequently fail. To understand these failures, we tracked the fates of seeds for six shrub species that were broadcast across two contrasting surface disturbances common to the Mojave Desert—sites compacted by concentrated vehicle use and trenched sites where topsoil and subsurface soils were mixed. We evaluated seedbed treatments that enhance soil-seed contact (tackifier) and create surface roughness while reducing soil bulk density (harrowing). We also explored whether seed harvesting by granivores and seedling suppression by non-native annuals influence the success of broadcast seeding in revegetating degraded shrublands. Ten weeks after treatments, seeds readily moved off of experimental plots in untreated compacted sites, but seed movements were reduced 32% by tackifier and 55% through harrowing. Harrowing promoted seedling emergence in compacted sites, particularly for the early-colonizing species Encelia farinosa, but tackifier was largely ineffective. The inherent surface roughness of trenched sites retained three times the number of seeds than compacted sites, but soil mixing during trench development likely altered the suitability of the seedbed thus resulting in poor seedling emergence. Non-native annuals had little influence on seed fates during our study. In contrast, the prevalence of harvester ants increased seed removal on compacted sites, whereas rodent activity influenced removal on trenched sites. Future success of broadcast seeding in arid lands depends on evaluating disturbance characteristics prior to seeding and selecting appropriate species and seasons for application.

Trench-shaped binding sites promote multiple classes of interactions between collagen and the adherence receptors, alpha(1)beta(1) integrin and Staphylococcus aureus cna MSCRAMM.

PubMed

Rich, R L; Deivanayagam, C C; Owens, R T; Carson, M; Höök, A; Moore, D; Symersky, J; Yang, V W; Narayana, S V; Höök, M

1999-08-27

Most mammalian cells and some pathogenic bacteria are capable of adhering to collagenous substrates in processes mediated by specific cell surface adherence molecules. Crystal structures of collagen-binding regions of the human integrin alpha(2)beta(1) and a Staphylococcus aureus adhesin reveal a "trench" on the surface of both of these proteins. This trench can accommodate a collagen triple-helical structure and presumably represents the ligand-binding site (Emsley, J., King, S. L., Bergelson, J. M., and Liddington, R. C. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 28512-28517; Symersky, J., Patti, J. M., Carson, M., House-Pompeo, K., Teale, M., Moore, D., Jin, L., Schneider, A., DeLucas, L. J., Höök, M., and Narayana, S. V. L. (1997) Nat. Struct. Biol. 4, 833-838). We report here the crystal structure of the alpha subunit I domain from the alpha(1)beta(1) integrin. This collagen-binding protein also contains a trench on one face in which the collagen triple helix may be docked. Furthermore, we compare the collagen-binding mechanisms of the human alpha(1) integrin I domain and the A domain from the S. aureus collagen adhesin, Cna. Although the S. aureus and human proteins have unrelated amino acid sequences, secondary structure composition, and cation requirements for effective ligand binding, both proteins bind at multiple sites within one collagen molecule, with the sites in collagen varying in their affinity for the adherence molecule. We propose that (i) these evolutionarily dissimilar adherence proteins recognize collagen via similar mechanisms, (ii) the multisite, multiclass protein/ligand interactions observed in these two systems result from a binding-site trench, and (iii) this unusual binding mechanism may be thematic for proteins binding extended, rigid ligands that contain repeating structural motifs.

An evaluation of applicability of seismic refraction method in identifying shallow archaeological features A case study at archaeological site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahangardi, Morteza; Hafezi Moghaddas, Naser; Keivan Hosseini, Sayyed; Garazhian, Omran

2015-04-01

We applied the seismic refraction method at archaeological site, Tepe Damghani located in Sabzevar, NE of Iran, in order to determine the structures of archaeological interests. This pre-historical site has special conditions with respect to geographical location and geomorphological setting, so it is an urban archaeological site, and in recent years it has been used as an agricultural field. In spring and summer of 2012, the third season of archaeological excavation was carried out. Test trenches of excavations in this site revealed that cultural layers were often disturbed adversely due to human activities such as farming and road construction in recent years. Conditions of archaeological cultural layers in southern and eastern parts of Tepe are slightly better, for instance, in test trench 3×3 m²1S03, third test trench excavated in the southern part of Tepe, an adobe in situ architectural structure was discovered that likely belongs to cultural features of a complex with 5 graves. After conclusion of the third season of archaeological excavation, all of the test trenches were filled with the same soil of excavated test trenches. Seismic refraction method was applied with12 channels of P geophones in three lines with a geophone interval of 0.5 meter and a 1.5 meter distance between profiles on test trench 1S03. The goal of this operation was evaluation of applicability of seismic method in identification of archaeological features, especially adobe wall structures. Processing of seismic data was done with the seismic software, SiesImager. Results were presented in the form of seismic section for every profile, so that identification of adobe wall structures was achieved hardly. This could be due to that adobe wall had been built with the same materials of the natural surrounding earth. Thus, there is a low contrast and it has an inappropriate effect on seismic processing and identifying of archaeological features. Hence the result could be that application of the seismic method in order to determine the archaeological features, having the same conditions, is not affordable and efficient in comparison to GPR or magnetic methods which yield more desirable results.

KSC-02pd0590

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-04-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour rests on Launch Pad 39A after rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Shuttle comprises the orbiter, in front, and the taller orange external tank behind it flanked by twin solid rocket boosters. The Shuttle sits on the Mobile Launcher Platform that straddles the flame trench below. On either side of Endeavour's tail and main engines are the tail service masts that support the fluid,, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter's liquid oxyen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. At left is the open Rotating Service Structure and the Fixed Service Structure to its right, with its 80-foot lightning mast on top. Mission STS-111 is designated UF-2, the 14th assembly flight to the International Space Station. Endeavour's payload includes the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo and Mobile Base System. The mission also will swap resident crews on the Station, carrying the Expedition 5 crew and returning to Earth Expedition 4. Liftoff of Endeavour is scheduled between 4 and 8 p.m. May 30, 2002

Seismic reflection images of the accretionary wedge of Costa Rica

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

Shipley, T.H.; Stoffa, P.L.; McIntosh, K.

The large-scale structure of modern accretionary wedges is known almost entirely from seismic reflection investigations using single or grids of two-dimensional profiles. The authors will report on the first three-dimensional seismic reflection data volume collected of a wedge. This data set covers a 9-km-wide {times} 22-km-long {times} 6-km-thick volume of the accretionary wedge just arcward of the Middle America Trench off Costa Rica. The three-dimensional processing has improved the imaging ability of the multichannel data, and the data volume allows mapping of structures from a few hundred meters to kilometers in size. These data illustrate the relationships between the basement,more » the wedge shape, and overlying slope sedimentary deposits. Reflections from within the wedge define the gross structural features and tectonic processes active along this particular convergent margin. So far, the analysis shows that the subdued basement relief (horst and graben structures seldom have relief of more than a few hundred meters off Costa Rica) does affect the larger scale through going structural features within the wedge. The distribution of mud volcanoes and amplitude anomalies associated with the large-scale wedge structures suggests that efficient fluid migration paths may extend from the top of the downgoing slab at the shelf edge out into the lower and middle slope region at a distance of 50-100 km. Offscraping of the uppermost (about 45 m) sediment occurs within 4 km of the trench, creating a small pile of sediments near the trench lower slope. Underplating of parts of the 400-m-thick subducted sedimentary section begins at a very shallow structural level, 4-10 km arcward of the trench. Volumetrically, the most important accretionary process is underplating.« less

Past seismic slip-to-the-trench recorded in Central America megathrust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vannucchi, Paola; Spagnuolo, Elena; Aretusini, Stefano; Di Toro, Giulio; Ujiie, Kohtaro; Tsutsumi, Akito; Nielsen, Stefan

2017-12-01

The 2011 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake revealed that co-seismic displacement along the plate boundary megathrust can propagate to the trench. Co-seismic slip to the trench amplifies hazards at subduction zones, so its historical occurrence should also be investigated globally. Here we combine structural and experimental analyses of core samples taken offshore from southeastern Costa Rica as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 344, with three-dimensional seismic reflection images of the subduction zone. We document a geologic record of past co-seismic slip to the trench. The core passed through a less than 1.9-million-year-old megathrust frontal ramp that superimposes older Miocene biogenic oozes onto late Miocene-Pleistocene silty clays. This, together with our stratigraphic analyses and geophysical images, constrains the position of the basal decollement to lie within the biogenic oozes. Our friction experiments show that, when wet, silty clays and biogenic oozes are both slip-weakening at sub-seismic and seismic slip velocities. Oozes are stronger than silty clays at slip velocities of less than or equal to 0.01 m s-1, and wet oozes become as weak as silty clays only at a slip velocity of 1 m s-1. We therefore suggest that the geological structures found offshore from Costa Rica were deformed during seismic slip-to-the-trench events. During slower aseismic creep, deformation would have preferentially localized within the silty clays.

Large trench-parallel gravity variations predict seismogenic behavior in subduction zones.

PubMed

Song, Teh-Ru Alex; Simons, Mark

2003-08-01

We demonstrate that great earthquakes occur predominantly in regions with a strongly negative trench-parallel gravity anomaly (TPGA), whereas regions with strongly positive TPGA are relatively aseismic. These observations suggest that, over time scales up to at least 1 million years, spatial variations of seismogenic behavior within a given subduction zone are stationary and linked to the geological structure of the fore-arc. The correlations we observe are consistent with a model in which spatial variations in frictional properties on the plate interface control trench-parellel variations in fore-arc topography, gravity, and seismogenic behavior.

Designing 4H-SiC P-shielding trench gate MOSFET to optimize on-off electrical characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyoung, Sinsu; Hong, Young-sung; Lee, Myung-hwan; Nam, Tae-jin

2018-02-01

In order to enhance specific on-resistance (Ron,sp), the trench gate structure was also introduced into 4H-SiC MOSFET as Si MOSFET. But the 4H-SiC trench gate has worse off-state characteristics than the Si trench gate due to the incomplete gate oxidation process (Šimonka et al., 2017). In order to overcome this problem, P-shielding trench gate MOSFET (TMOS) was proposed and researched in previous studies. But P-shielding has to be designed with minimum design rule in order to protect gate oxide effectively. P-shielding TMOS also has the drawback of on-state characteristics degradation corresponding to off state improvement for minimum design rule. Therefore optimized design is needed to satisfy both on and off characteristics. In this paper, the design parameters were analyzed and optimized so that the 4H-SiC P-shielding TMOS satisfies both on and off characteristics. Design limitations were proposed such that P-shielding is able to defend the gate oxide. The P-shielding layer should have the proper junction depth and concentration to defend the electric field to gate oxide during the off-state. However, overmuch P-shielding junction depth disturbs the on-state current flow, a problem which can be solved by increasing the trench depth. As trench depth increases, however, the breakdown voltage decreases. Therefore, trench depth should be designed with due consideration for on-off characteristics. For this, design conditions and modeling were proposed which allow P-shielding to operate without degradation of on-state characteristics. Based on this proposed model, the 1200 V 4H-SiC P-shielding trench gate MOSFET was designed and optimized.

Trench process and structure for backside contact solar cells with polysilicon doped regions

DOEpatents

De Ceuster, Denis; Cousins, Peter John; Smith, David D

2014-03-18

A solar cell includes polysilicon P-type and N-type doped regions on a backside of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. An interrupted trench structure separates the P-type doped region from the N-type doped region in some locations but allows the P-type doped region and the N-type doped region to touch in other locations. Each of the P-type and N-type doped regions may be formed over a thin dielectric layer. Among other advantages, the resulting solar cell structure allows for increased efficiency while having a relatively low reverse breakdown voltage.

Trench process and structure for backside contact solar cells with polysilicon doped regions

DOEpatents

De Ceuster, Denis; Cousins, Peter John; Smith, David D

2013-05-28

A solar cell includes polysilicon P-type and N-type doped regions on a backside of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. An interrupted trench structure separates the P-type doped region from the N-type doped region in some locations but allows the P-type doped region and the N-type doped region to touch in other locations. Each of the P-type and N-type doped regions may be formed over a thin dielectric layer. Among other advantages, the resulting solar cell structure allows for increased efficiency while having a relatively low reverse breakdown voltage.

Trench process and structure for backside contact solar cells with polysilicon doped regions

DOEpatents

De Ceuster, Denis; Cousins, Peter John; Smith, David D.

2010-12-14

A solar cell includes polysilicon P-type and N-type doped regions on a backside of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. An interrupted trench structure separates the P-type doped region from the N-type doped region in some locations but allows the P-type doped region and the N-type doped region to touch in other locations. Each of the P-type and N-type doped regions may be formed over a thin dielectric layer. Among other advantages, the resulting solar cell structure allows for increased efficiency while having a relatively low reverse breakdown voltage.

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

Arendt, Paul N.; DePaula, Ramond F.; Zhu, Yuntian T.

An array of carbon nanotubes is prepared by exposing a catalyst structure to a carbon nanotube precursor. Embodiment catalyst structures include one or more trenches, channels, or a combination of trenches and channels. A system for preparing the array includes a heated surface for heating the catalyst structure and a cooling portion that cools gas above the catalyst structure. The system heats the catalyst structure so that the interaction between the precursor and the catalyst structure results in the formation of an array of carbon nanotubes on the catalyst structure, and cools the gas near the catalyst structure and alsomore » cools any carbon nanotubes that form on the catalyst structure to prevent or at least minimize the formation of amorphous carbon. Arrays thus formed may be used for spinning fibers of carbon nanotubes.« less

High-voltage 4H-SiC trench MOS barrier Schottky rectifier with low forward voltage drop using enhanced sidewall layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Doohyung; Sim, Seulgi; Park, Kunsik; Won, Jongil; Kim, Sanggi; Kim, Kwangsoo

2015-12-01

In this paper, a 4H-SiC trench MOS barrier Schottky (TMBS) rectifier with an enhanced sidewall layer (ESL) is proposed. The proposed structure has a high doping concentration at the trench sidewall. This high doping concentration improves both the reverse blocking and forward characteristics of the structure. The ESL-TMBS rectifier has a 7.4% lower forward voltage drop and a 24% higher breakdown voltage. However, this structure has a reverse leakage current that is approximately three times higher than that of a conventional TMBS rectifier owing to the reduction in energy barrier height. This problem is solved when ESL is used partially, since its use provides a reverse leakage current that is comparable to that of a conventional TMBS rectifier. Thus, the forward voltage drop and breakdown voltage improve without any loss in static and dynamic characteristics in the ESL-TMBS rectifier compared with the performance of a conventional TMBS rectifier.

A High-Quality Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Fiber Sensor by Femtosecond Laser One-Step Processing

PubMed Central

Zhao, Longjiang; Jiang, Lan; Wang, Sumei; Xiao, Hai; Lu, Yongfeng; Tsai, Hai-Lung

2011-01-01

During new fiber sensor development experiments, an easy-to-fabricate simple sensing structure with a trench and partially ablated fiber core is fabricated by using an 800 nm 35 fs 1 kHz laser. It is demonstrated that the structure forms a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with the interference between the laser light passing through the air in the trench cavity and that in the remained fiber core. The fringe visibilities are all more than 25 dB. The transmission spectra vary with the femtosecond (fs) laser ablation scanning cycle. The free spectral range (FSR) decreases as the trench length increases. The MZI structure is of very high fabrication and sensing repeatability. The sensing mechanism is theoretically discussed, which is in agreement with experiments. The test sensitivity for acetone vapor is about 104 nm/RIU, and the temperature sensitivity is 51.5 pm/°C at 200 ∼ 875 °C with a step of 25 °C. PMID:22346567

Subduction erosion and implication for evolution model of the Yap trench: new evidence from the latest geophysical survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Z.; Dong, D.; Bai, Y.; Zhang, G.

2017-12-01

The subduction of oceanic plateau, including the ridge and seamount, with buoyant feature will lead to the occurrence of subduction erosion. Yap Trench is a unique structure related to the Caroline Ridge subduction, but with lower research degree. Previous studies lacked the investigation of crustal structure and subduction erosion model based on integrated geophysical data in Yap Trench. In 2015, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences acquired swath bathymetric, multi-channel seismic and gravity data by research vessel "Kexue" in the Yap Trench and its adjacent area, providing the chance to further explore this subduction system. For this research, we mainly used the latest data to analyze the topography and crustal structure in Yap subduction system, which is significant for the construction of subduction erosion model. We reveal that, (1) The mean value of arc-ward slope is 8° according with bathymetric slope features in erosive margins(>3°). The increasing trend to dip angles in arc-ward slope shows the control of subducting plate with different elevation from north to south; (2) The horst and graben structures and different scales of seamounts display the rough features in the subducting plate, facilitating the overlying Yap Arc erosion. In the front of the Yap Arc, collision scars identified on the bathymetric map indicates the seamount subducting; (3) The horst and graben structures, with thinner crust of 2-4 km thick, in subducting plate, possibly eroded the Yap Arc basement and made it thinner during subduction. The subducted seamounts with high topography underplated the Yap Arc, which uplifted and thickened the overlying plate crust. Therefore, it is suggested that. subduction erosion model is varied in Yap subduction sysytem which is affected by topography and crust structure of subducting plate. The two types of subduction erosion models in Yap Trench exhibit a good case to reveal the process and mode of plate subducting in subduction zone. Acknowledge: This study was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA11030102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41476042, 41506055 )

Experiments and Phase-field Modeling of Hydrate Growth at the Interface of Migrating Gas Fingers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, X.; Jimenez-Martinez, J.; Porter, M. L.; Cueto-Felgueroso, L.; Juanes, R.

2016-12-01

The first indisputable observation of a large expanse of intact seamount exposed in the inner slope of any convergent plate margin was in June 2016. The only other potential evidence for an exposed subducted seamount was observations from a series of Nautile submersible dives in the 1980's. On these dives, brecciated boulders of Cretaceous reefal debris lay on the deepest 30 m of the inner slope of the Japan Trench near Daiichi-Kashima Seamount. Because the subducting plate within 60 to 120 km outboard of a trench is usually heavily faulted, it has been suggested that seamounts impinging on a forearc region should be heavily deformed. This is not what we observed in the inner Mariana Trench during the third leg of the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer's expedition to the Mariana subduction region. In June 2016 we recorded 275 m of exposed reef on Dive 4 (at 20.5°N) with the NOAA "Deep Discoverer" remotely operated vehicle (D-2 ROV), starting at 5,995 m on the inner slope of the Mariana Trench. The deposits are morphologically identical to observations on Dive 16 on a summit escarpment of the Cretaceous Fryer Guyot ( 20.5°N) just east of the trench. We interpret the inner trench slope exposure to be part of a Cretaceous reef complex of a seamount partially subducted beneath the overriding plate edge. Large-scale differences in the two exposures are the prevalence of vertical debris chutes between steep ridges seen in Dive 4 versus smoother, steeper slopes on Dive 16. The reefal sequences on Dive 16 show numerous fossils including bivalves in place, and layers with rudist morphology (S. Stanley, 2017, pers. comm.) in alternating tan and white bands. Similar sequences were observed on Dive 4. Slump scars observed on Dive 4 indicate mass wasting, but there is no indication of shearing or large-scale deformation. Thus, we interpret the exposure to reveal a large section of the reef complex that is partially subducted and largely intact beneath the overriding Philippine Sea Plate edge.

A Subducted Seamount Revealed: 2016, NOAA OER Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fryer, P. B.; Kelley, C.; Pomponi, S. A.; Glickson, D.; Amon, D.

2017-12-01

The first indisputable observation of a large expanse of intact seamount exposed in the inner slope of any convergent plate margin was in June 2016. The only other potential evidence for an exposed subducted seamount was observations from a series of Nautile submersible dives in the 1980's. On these dives, brecciated boulders of Cretaceous reefal debris lay on the deepest 30 m of the inner slope of the Japan Trench near Daiichi-Kashima Seamount. Because the subducting plate within 60 to 120 km outboard of a trench is usually heavily faulted, it has been suggested that seamounts impinging on a forearc region should be heavily deformed. This is not what we observed in the inner Mariana Trench during the third leg of the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer's expedition to the Mariana subduction region. In June 2016 we recorded 275 m of exposed reef on Dive 4 (at 20.5°N) with the NOAA "Deep Discoverer" remotely operated vehicle (D-2 ROV), starting at 5,995 m on the inner slope of the Mariana Trench. The deposits are morphologically identical to observations on Dive 16 on a summit escarpment of the Cretaceous Fryer Guyot ( 20.5°N) just east of the trench. We interpret the inner trench slope exposure to be part of a Cretaceous reef complex of a seamount partially subducted beneath the overriding plate edge. Large-scale differences in the two exposures are the prevalence of vertical debris chutes between steep ridges seen in Dive 4 versus smoother, steeper slopes on Dive 16. The reefal sequences on Dive 16 show numerous fossils including bivalves in place, and layers with rudist morphology (S. Stanley, 2017, pers. comm.) in alternating tan and white bands. Similar sequences were observed on Dive 4. Slump scars observed on Dive 4 indicate mass wasting, but there is no indication of shearing or large-scale deformation. Thus, we interpret the exposure to reveal a large section of the reef complex that is partially subducted and largely intact beneath the overriding Philippine Sea Plate edge.

The impact of splay faults on fluid flow, solute transport, and pore pressure distribution in subduction zones: A case study offshore the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauer, Rachel M.; Saffer, Demian M.

2015-04-01

Observations of seafloor seeps on the continental slope of many subduction zones illustrate that splay faults represent a primary hydraulic connection to the plate boundary at depth, carry deeply sourced fluids to the seafloor, and are in some cases associated with mud volcanoes. However, the role of these structures in forearc hydrogeology remains poorly quantified. We use a 2-D numerical model that simulates coupled fluid flow and solute transport driven by fluid sources from tectonically driven compaction and smectite transformation to investigate the effects of permeable splay faults on solute transport and pore pressure distribution. We focus on the Nicoya margin of Costa Rica as a case study, where previous modeling and field studies constrain flow rates, thermal structure, and margin geology. In our simulations, splay faults accommodate up to 33% of the total dewatering flux, primarily along faults that outcrop within 25 km of the trench. The distribution and fate of dehydration-derived fluids is strongly dependent on thermal structure, which determines the locus of smectite transformation. In simulations of a cold end-member margin, smectite transformation initiates 30 km from the trench, and 64% of the dehydration-derived fluids are intercepted by splay faults and carried to the middle and upper slope, rather than exiting at the trench. For a warm end-member, smectite transformation initiates 7 km from the trench, and the associated fluids are primarily transmitted to the trench via the décollement (50%), and faults intercept only 21% of these fluids. For a wide range of splay fault permeabilities, simulated fluid pressures are near lithostatic where the faults intersect overlying slope sediments, providing a viable mechanism for the formation of mud volcanoes.

GLORIA mosaic of the Gulf of Alaska and the British Columbia margin: Deep-sea channels, margin deformation, and the Queen Charlotte fault

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

Bruns, T.R.; Carlson, P.R.; Stevenson, A.J.

1990-05-01

GLORIA images collected from 1986 to 1989 show sea-floor morphology from the shelf break seaward to 400 km in the Gulf of Alaska and a 70-km-wide swath along British Columbia. Along the Aleutian convergent margin sediment is dominantly trapped in mid-slope basins, where few canyons reach the trench. Accretionary wedge structures range from highly discontinuous to long and continuous. The Yakutat transition margin is either extensively cut by dendritic drainages or, at sea-valley mouths, covered by glacially derived sediment. Young structures underlie the slope from Middleton Island to Pamplona Spur, but are absent from Pamplona Spur to Cross Sound. Alongmore » the southeast Alaska transform margin the Queen Charlotte fault is imaged as a narrow linear feature. The fault steps westward at Tuzo Wilson Knolls, which likely is a spreading ridge segment. Large anticlines lie seaward of and trend parallel to the fault. On the abyssal plain off the Shumagin margin inherited structural and bathymetric features trend parallel to magnetic anomalies, and trench parallel features reflect faulting as the ocean plate bends into the trench. To the north, three turbidite systems drain the margin. The Surveyor system begins between Pamplona Spur and Alsek Canyon and empties into the Aleutian Trench. The Chirikof system arises near Cross Sound and ends in turbidite fans south of the Kodiak-Bowie Seamount chain, a relic Chirikov channel that once carried sediment westward to the Aleutian Trench. The Mukluk and Horizon channels start along southeast Alaska and end 1,000 km away on the Tufts abyssal plain.« less

Surface characterization of InP trenches embedded in oxide using scanning probe microscopy

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

Mannarino, Manuel, E-mail: manuel.mannarino@imec.be, E-mail: manuelmannarino@gmail.com; Chintala, Ravi; Vandervorst, Wilfried

2015-12-14

Metrology for structural and electrical analyses at device level has been identified as one of the major challenges to be resolved for the sub-14 nm technology nodes. In these advanced nodes, new high mobility semiconductors, such as III–V compounds, are grown in narrow trenches on a Si substrate. Probing the nature of the defects, the defect density, and the role of processing steps on the surface of such structures are prime metrology requirements. In order to enable defect analysis on a (III–V) surface, a proper sample preparation for oxide removal is of primary importance. In this work, the effectiveness of differentmore » chemical cleanings and thermal annealing procedures is investigated on both blanket InP and oxide embedded InP trenches by means of scanning probe microscopy techniques. It is found that the most effective approach is a combination of an HCl-based chemical cleaning combined with a low-temperature thermal annealing leading to an oxide free surface with atomically flat areas. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been the preferred method for such investigations on blanket films due to its intrinsic sub-nm spatial resolution. However, its application on oxide embedded structures is non-trivial. To perform STM on the trenches of interest (generally <20 nm wide), we propose a combination of non-contact atomic force microscopy and STM using the same conductive atomic force microscopy tip Our results prove that with these procedures, it is possible to perform STM in narrow InP trenches showing stacking faults and surface reconstruction. Significant differences in terms of roughness and terrace formation are also observed between the blanket and the oxide embedded InP.« less

Time-Accurate Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of a Pair of Moving Solid Rocket Boosters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strutzenberg, Louise L.; Williams, Brandon R.

2011-01-01

Since the Columbia accident, the threat to the Shuttle launch vehicle from debris during the liftoff timeframe has been assessed by the Liftoff Debris Team at NASA/MSFC. In addition to engineering methods of analysis, CFD-generated flow fields during the liftoff timeframe have been used in conjunction with 3-DOF debris transport methods to predict the motion of liftoff debris. Early models made use of a quasi-steady flow field approximation with the vehicle positioned at a fixed location relative to the ground; however, a moving overset mesh capability has recently been developed for the Loci/CHEM CFD software which enables higher-fidelity simulation of the Shuttle transient plume startup and liftoff environment. The present work details the simulation of the launch pad and mobile launch platform (MLP) with truncated solid rocket boosters (SRBs) moving in a prescribed liftoff trajectory derived from Shuttle flight measurements. Using Loci/CHEM, time-accurate RANS and hybrid RANS/LES simulations were performed for the timeframe T0+0 to T0+3.5 seconds, which consists of SRB startup to a vehicle altitude of approximately 90 feet above the MLP. Analysis of the transient flowfield focuses on the evolution of the SRB plumes in the MLP plume holes and the flame trench, impingement on the flame deflector, and especially impingment on the MLP deck resulting in upward flow which is a transport mechanism for debris. The results show excellent qualitative agreement with the visual record from past Shuttle flights, and comparisons to pressure measurements in the flame trench and on the MLP provide confidence in these simulation capabilities.

29 CFR Appendix C to Subpart P of... - Timber Shoring for Trenches

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

.... Stable rock is exempt from shoring requirements and therefore, no data are presented for this condition... § 1926.652. (A) When loads imposed by structures or by stored material adjacent to the trench weigh in excess of the load imposed by a two-foot soil surcharge. The term “adjacent” as used here means the area...

29 CFR Appendix C to Subpart P of... - Timber Shoring for Trenches

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

.... Stable rock is exempt from shoring requirements and therefore, no data are presented for this condition... § 1926.652. (A) When loads imposed by structures or by stored material adjacent to the trench weigh in excess of the load imposed by a two-foot soil surcharge. The term “adjacent” as used here means the area...

29 CFR Appendix C to Subpart P of... - Timber Shoring for Trenches

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

.... Stable rock is exempt from shoring requirements and therefore, no data are presented for this condition... § 1926.652. (A) When loads imposed by structures or by stored material adjacent to the trench weigh in excess of the load imposed by a two-foot soil surcharge. The term “adjacent” as used here means the area...

29 CFR Appendix C to Subpart P of... - Timber Shoring for Trenches

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

.... Stable rock is exempt from shoring requirements and therefore, no data are presented for this condition... § 1926.652. (A) When loads imposed by structures or by stored material adjacent to the trench weigh in excess of the load imposed by a two-foot soil surcharge. The term “adjacent” as used here means the area...

29 CFR Appendix C to Subpart P of... - Timber Shoring for Trenches

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

.... Stable rock is exempt from shoring requirements and therefore, no data are presented for this condition... § 1926.652. (A) When loads imposed by structures or by stored material adjacent to the trench weigh in excess of the load imposed by a two-foot soil surcharge. The term “adjacent” as used here means the area...

RF dual-gate-trench LDMOS on InGaAs with improved performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Payal, M.; Singh, Y.

2018-02-01

A new power dual-gate-trench LDMOSFET (DGTLDMOS) structure implemented on emerging InGaAs material is proposed. The proposed device consists of two gates out of which one gate is placed horizontally on the surface while other gate is located vertically in a trench. The dual-gate structure of DGTLDMOS creates two channels in p-base which carry current simultaneously from drain to source. This not only enhances the drain current (ID) but also reduces specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) and improves the peak transconductance (gm) resulting higher cut-off frequency (fT) and maximum oscillation frequency (fmax). Another trench filled with Al2O3 is placed in the drift region between gate and drain to enhance reduced-surface-field effect leading to higher breakdown voltage (Vbr) even at increased drift region doping. Based on 2D simulations, it is demonstrate that a DGTLDMOS designed for Vbr of 90 V achieves 2.2 times higher ID, 10 times reduction in Ron,sp, 1.8 times improvement in gm, 2.8 times increase in fT, and 1.8 times improvement in fmax with 3.3 times reduction in cell pitch as compared to the conventional LDMOS.

Microfabricated structures with electrical isolation and interconnections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, William A. (Inventor); Juneau, Thor N. (Inventor); Roessig, Allen W. (Inventor); Lemkin, Mark A. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

The invention is directed to a microfabricated device. The device includes a substrate that is etched to define mechanical structures at least some of which are anchored laterally to the remainder of the substrate. Electrical isolation at points where mechanical structures are attached to the substrate is provided by filled isolation trenches. Filled trenches may also be used to electrically isolate structure elements from each other at points where mechanical attachment of structure elements is desired. The performance of microelectromechanical devices is improved by 1) having a high-aspect-ratio between vertical and lateral dimensions of the mechanical elements, 2) integrating electronics on the same substrate as the mechanical elements, 3) good electrical isolation among mechanical elements and circuits except where electrical interconnection is desired.

Phoenix Dodo Trench

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-06-04

This image was taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) on the ninth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 9 (June 3, 2008). The center of the image shows a trench informally called "Dodo" after the second dig. "Dodo" is located within the previously determined digging area, informally called "Knave of Hearts." The light square to the right of the trench is the Robotic Arm's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP). The Robotic Arm has scraped to a bright surface which indicated the Arm has reached a solid structure underneath the surface, which has been seen in other images as well. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10763

Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: Where do all the seeds go?

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeFalco, L.A.; Esque, T.C.; Nicklas, M.B.; Kane, J.M.

2012-01-01

Revegetation of degraded arid lands often involves supplementing impoverished seed banks and improving the seedbed, yet these approaches frequently fail. To understand these failures, we tracked the fates of seeds for six shrub species that were broadcast across two contrasting surface disturbances common to the Mojave Desert-sites compacted by concentrated vehicle use and trenched sites where topsoil and subsurface soils were mixed. We evaluated seedbed treatments that enhance soil-seed contact (tackifier) and create surface roughness while reducing soil bulk density (harrowing). We also explored whether seed harvesting by granivores and seedling suppression by non-native annuals influence the success of broadcast seeding in revegetating degraded shrublands. Ten weeks after treatments, seeds readily moved off of experimental plots in untreated compacted sites, but seed movements were reduced 32% by tackifier and 55% through harrowing. Harrowing promoted seedling emergence in compacted sites, particularly for the early-colonizing species Encelia farinosa, but tackifier was largely ineffective. The inherent surface roughness of trenched sites retained three times the number of seeds than compacted sites, but soil mixing during trench development likely altered the suitability of the seedbed thus resulting in poor seedling emergence. Non-native annuals had little influence on seed fates during our study. In contrast, the prevalence of harvester ants increased seed removal on compacted sites, whereas rodent activity influenced removal on trenched sites. Future success of broadcast seeding in arid lands depends on evaluating disturbance characteristics prior to seeding and selecting appropriate species and seasons for application. ?? 2010 Society for Ecological Restoration International.

New GaN Schottky barrier diode employing a trench on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ha, Min-Woo; Lee, Seung-Chul; Choi, Young-Hwan; Kim, Soo-Seong; Yun, Chong-Man; Han, Min-Koo

2006-10-01

A new GaN Schottky barrier diode employing a trench structure, which is proposed and fabricated, successfully decreases a forward voltage drop without sacrificing any other electric characteristics. The trench is located in the middle of Schottky contact during a mesa etch. The Schottky metal of Pt/Mo/Ti/Au is e-gun evaporated on the 300 nm-deep trench as well as the surface of the proposed GaN Schottky barrier diode. The trench forms the vertical Au Schottky contact and lateral Pt Schottky contact due to the evaporation sequence of Schottky metal. The forward voltage drops of the proposed diode and conventional one are 0.73 V and 1.25 V respectively because the metal work function (5.15 eV) of the vertical Au Schottky contact is considerably less than that of the lateral Pt Schottky contact (5.65 eV). The proposed diode exhibits the low on-resistance of 1.58 mΩ cm 2 while the conventional one exhibits 8.20 mΩ cm 2 due to the decrease of a forward voltage drop.

An L-shaped low on-resistance current path SOI LDMOS with dielectric field enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Fan; Xiaorong, Luo; Kun, Zhou; Yuanhang, Fan; Yongheng, Jiang; Qi, Wang; Pei, Wang; Yinchun, Luo; Bo, Zhang

2014-03-01

A low specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) SOI NBL TLDMOS (silicon-on-insulator trench LDMOS with an N buried layer) is proposed. It has three features: a thin N buried layer (NBL) on the interface of the SOI layer/buried oxide (BOX) layer, an oxide trench in the drift region, and a trench gate extended to the BOX layer. First, on the on-state, the electron accumulation layer forms beside the extended trench gate; the accumulation layer and the highly doping NBL constitute an L-shaped low-resistance conduction path, which sharply decreases the Ron,sp. Second, in the y-direction, the BOX's electric field (E-field) strength is increased to 154 V/μm from 48 V/μm of the SOI Trench Gate LDMOS (SOI TG LDMOS) owing to the high doping NBL. Third, the oxide trench increases the lateral E-field strength due to the lower permittivity of oxide than that of Si and strengthens the multiple-directional depletion effect. Fourth, the oxide trench folds the drift region along the y-direction and thus reduces the cell pitch. Therefore, the SOI NBL TLDMOS structure not only increases the breakdown voltage (BV), but also reduces the cell pitch and Ron,sp. Compared with the TG LDMOS, the NBL TLDMOS improves the BV by 105% at the same cell pitch of 6 μm, and decreases the Ron,sp by 80% at the same BV.

Evaluation of Anisotropic Biaxial Stress Induced Around Trench Gate of Si Power Transistor Using Water-Immersion Raman Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Takahiro; Yokogawa, Ryo; Oasa, Kohei; Nishiwaki, Tatsuya; Hamamoto, Takeshi; Ogura, Atsushi

2018-05-01

The trench gate structure is one of the promising techniques to reduce on-state resistance (R on) for silicon power devices, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors and power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. In addition, it has been reported that stress is induced around the trench gate area, modifying the carrier mobilities. We evaluated the one-dimensional distribution and anisotropic biaxial stress by quasi-line excitation and water-immersion Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The results clearly confirmed anisotropic biaxial stress in state-of-the-art silicon power devices. It is theoretically possible to estimate carrier mobility using piezoresistance coefficients and anisotropic biaxial stress. The electron mobility was increased while the hole mobility was decreased or remained almost unchanged in the silicon (Si) power device. The stress significantly modifies the R on of silicon power transistors. Therefore, their performance can be improved using the stress around the trench gate.

DOSE ASSESSMENT OF THE FINAL INVENTORIES IN CENTER SLIT TRENCHES ONE THROUGH FIVE

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

Collard, L.; Hamm, L.; Smith, F.

2011-05-02

In response to a request from Solid Waste Management (SWM), this study evaluates the performance of waste disposed in Slit Trenches 1-5 by calculating exposure doses and concentrations. As of 8/19/2010, Slit Trenches 1-5 have been filled and are closed to future waste disposal in support of an ARRA-funded interim operational cover project. Slit Trenches 6 and 7 are currently in operation and are not addressed within this analysis. Their current inventory limits are based on the 2008 SA and are not being impacted by this study. This analysis considers the location and the timing of waste disposal in Slitmore » Trenches 1-5 throughout their operational life. In addition, the following improvements to the modeling approach have been incorporated into this analysis: (1) Final waste inventories from WITS are used for the base case analysis where variance in the reported final disposal inventories is addressed through a sensitivity analysis; (2) Updated K{sub d} values are used; (3) Area percentages of non-crushable containers are used in the analysis to determine expected infiltration flows for cases that consider collapse of these containers; (4) An updated representation of ETF carbon column vessels disposed in SLIT3-Unit F is used. Preliminary analyses indicated a problem meeting the groundwater beta-gamma dose limit because of high H-3 and I-129 release from the ETF vessels. The updated model uses results from a recent structural analysis of the ETF vessels indicating that water does not penetrate the vessels for about 130 years and that the vessels remain structurally intact throughout the 1130-year period of assessment; and (5) Operational covers are included with revised installation dates and sets of Slit Trenches that have a common cover. With the exception of the modeling enhancements noted above, the analysis follows the same methodology used in the 2008 PA (WSRC, 2008) and the 2008 SA (Collard and Hamm, 2008). Infiltration flows through the vadose zone are identical to the flows used in the 2008 PA, except for flows during the operational cover time period. The physical (i.e., non-geochemical) models of the vadose zone and aquifer are identical in most cases to the models used in the 2008 PA. However, the 2008 PA assumed a uniform distribution of waste within each Slit Trench (WITS Location) and assumed that the entire inventory of each trench was disposed of at the time the first Slit Trench was opened. The current analysis considers individual trench excavations (i.e., segments) and groups of segments (i.e., Inventory Groups also known as WITS Units) within Slit Trenches. Waste disposal is assumed to be spatially uniform in each Inventory Group and is distributed in time increments of six months or less between the time the Inventory Group was opened and closed.« less

Structural variability of the Tonga-Kermadec forearc characterized using robustly constrained geophysical data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Funnell, M. J.; Peirce, C.; Robinson, A. H.

2017-09-01

Subducting bathymetric anomalies enhance erosion of the overriding forearc crust. The deformation associated with this process is superimposed on pre-existing variable crustal and sedimentary structures developed as a subduction system evolves. Recent attempts to determine the effect and timescale of Louisville Ridge seamount subduction on the Tonga-Kermadec forearc have been limited by simplistic models of inherited overriding crustal structure that neglect along-strike variability. Synthesis of new robustly tested seismic velocity and density models with existing data sets from the region, highlight along-strike variations in the structure of the Tonga-Kermadec subducting and overriding plates. As the subducting plate undergoes bend-faulting and hydration throughout the trench-outer rise region, observed oceanic upper- and mid-crustal velocities are reduced by ∼1.0 km s-1 and upper mantle velocities by ∼0.5 km s-1. In the vicinity of the Louisville Ridge Seamount Chain (LRSC), the trench shallows by 4 km and normal fault throw is reduced by >1 km, suggesting that the subduction of seamounts reduces plate deformation. We find that the extinct Eocene frontal arc, defined by a high velocity (7.0-7.4 km s-1) and density (3.2 g cm-3) lower-crustal anomaly, increases in thickness by ∼6 km, from 12 to >18 km, over 300 km laterally along the Tonga-Kermadec forearc. Coincident variations in bathymetry and free-air gravity anomaly indicate a regional trend of northward-increasing crustal thickness that predates LRSC subduction, and highlight the present-day extent of the Eocene arc between 32°S and ∼18°S. Within this framework of existing forearc crustal structure, the subduction of seamounts of the LRSC promotes erosion of the overriding crust, forming steep, gravitationally unstable, lower-trench slopes. Trench-slope stability is most likely re-established by the collapse of the mid-trench slope and the trenchward side of the extinct Eocene arc, which, within the framework of forearc characterization, implies seamount subduction commenced at ∼22°S.

Heterogeneous structure of the incoming plate in the Japan Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Y.; Fujie, G.; Yamaguchi, A.; Kodaira, S.; Miura, S.

2017-12-01

We have conducted seismic surveys in around the Japan Trench subduction zone, northeastern Japan, to investigate the structural features of the incoming Pacific plate and the frontal prism. Thickness of the hemiplegic sediments on the deposited on the incoming Pacific plate shows the variation along trench axis between 200 and 600 ms two-way travel time (TWT). This is remarkably thinner than other subduction zones with megathrust earthquakes like Sumatra subduction zone. Off Miyagi, central part of the Japan Trench which is the main ruptured region of 2011 Tohoku earthquake, has 200 - 300 ms TWT of the incoming sediments thickness. Off Iwate, northern part of the Japan Trench, has thicker incoming sediments 500 ms TWT, and Off Fukushima, southern part of the Japan Trench, has 300 - 400 ms TWT. We found at least three areas with anomalously thin sediments; Area I: 38N 145N, Area II: 39.5N 144.5E, Area III: 39N 144.5N. At the Area I, located on the outer rise off Miyagi, the receiver function analysis using Ocean Bottom Seismograph data revealed the existence of PS conversion surfaces below the interpreted basement on the seismic sections. This implies that the interface between sediments and the igneous basement is located below the interpreted basement reflections. Previous studies suggested the existence of the petit spots in this Area I. Area II shows apparently very thin sediments near the trench axis on seismic profiles, where the petit spot volcanism was observed. Shallow sediment sampling conducted in this area indicates no major surface erosion. These observations suggest that the petit spot volcanism, like sill intrusion, masked the original deeper basement reflections and caused the apparent thin sediments on seismic profiles. Area III also has thin sediments and rough basement topography, which has possibly been caused by another petit spot activity. Petit spot area with apparent very thin sediments in the trench axis (Area II) is located next to the northern edge of the large slip zone of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The volcanic activities like petit spots on the incoming plate introduce heterogeneous input into the subduction zone, which could be important factors to control the megathrust seismo- and tsunamigenesis in the subduction zone.

Recent Results of Hadal Investigations in the Southern Mariana Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fryer, P. B.; Hellebrand, E.; Sharma, S. K.; Acosta-Maeda, T.; Jicha, B. R.; Cameron, J.

2014-12-01

The deepest parts of the southern Mariana Trench have variously been interpreted to 1) indicate strike-slip motion along the trench, 2) contain a series of 3 sediment ponds at greater than 10,900 m depth separated from one another by fault-controlled ridges on the subducting plate, and 3) have an even deeper feature in the western-most pond (Vitiaz Deep). Recent lander deployments in all three ponds and the Deepsea Challenger submersible dive by J. Cameron in 2012 showed that the deepest ponds within the Challenger Deep area have nearly unbroken, flat surfaces. One point explored showed veined serpentinite at a depth of 10,800+ m. The potential for active serpentinite-hosted seeps and vent communities was demonstrated for the Shinkai Vent Field at 5,800m depth. Rocks collected using the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution's hybrid remotely operated vehicle, Nereus, in 2009 from deep (10,879 m) on the incoming plate south of the Challenger Deep, were recovered from the base of a fault scarp where large, columnar-jointed blocks are draped with sediment. Optical microscopy, electron-microprobe and Raman analysis show that they are partially altered massive diabase with altered interstitial glass and containing microbial tubules in vug-filling secondary phases. The chain of seamounts striking NNW, colinear with the Lyra Trough, has been interpreted as a boundary between the Pacific Plate and the seafloor north of the Caroline Ridge. Sediments, drilled from above postulated basement north of the Caroline Ridge are no older that Oligocene. Ar/Ar age dates completed for one rock collected by Nereus in 2009 give a weighted mean plateau age, based on two experiments, of 24.6 +/- 3.2 Ma. Thus, the igneous basement of the subducting plate south of the Challenger Deep is, far younger than the Jurassic Pacific Plate subducting further east. This represents a previously unidentified tectonic plate. With new vehicles and technologies the future for hadal exploration is ripe.

The tectonic origin of the Aurora and Concordia Trenches, Dome C area, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cianfarra, P.; Bianchi, C.; Forieri, A.; Salvini, F.; Tabacco, I. E.

2003-04-01

The bedrock below the Ice Cap in the Dome C area, East Antarctica, is characterised by the presence of a series of elongated depressions separating rigdes, with the Aurora and Concordia Trenches representing the major depressions. At these depressions the ice cap reaches a thickness of over 4000 m, leaving the possibility to have water deposits at their bottom. The well known Lake Vostok represents by far the largest and most famous of these structures. The relative young age of the Antarctic Ice Cap, about 38 Ma, compared with the old, Mesozoic age of the former, continental landscape constrains the age of these structures in Cenozoic time. The Aurora and Concordia trenches show a characteristic asymmetric shape, difficult to merely explain with erosional processes. On the other hand, this asymmetric shape is typical of morphologies resulting from fault activity, and specifically the presence of active normal faults with planes of variable dip. The bedrock morphologies at these trenches were compared with normal faulting processes by a series of numerical modelling to evaluate the possibility of a tectonic origin. Modelling of the bedrock morphology was simulated by the Hybrid Cellular Automata method (HCA) through the Forc2D software implementation. Within the Italian PNRA (Programma Nazionale Ricerche in Antartide) a series of airborne radar surveys was performed in the Lake Vostok-Dome C region in the last decade. Four meaningful bedrock profiles were selected, to provide, as close as possible, across strike sections of the Aurora and Concordia trenches . The optimal orientation was then achieved by projecting the data along a perfectly across strike trajectory. In this way it was possible to simulate the faulting as a cylindrical deformation, suitable to be modelled by 2D software. Two sections were prepared for each trench and the same fault setting was applied to each couple. The match was obtained by a forward modelling approach, in that the fault trace and the displacement were tuned until a satisfactory match was obtained. The obtained results confirmed the feasibility of the tectonic origin of the Aurora and Concordia trenches.

KSC-08pd2377

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A view from above of repairs made to the walls of the Launch Pad 39A flame trench at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Workers sprayed a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75-foot by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs being completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-08pd2375

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – An inspector stands in the Launch Pad 39A flame trench at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after tests of the repairs on the wall. Workers sprayed a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75-foot by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs being completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-08pd2373

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A closeup of the wall in the Launch Pad 39A flame trench at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after repairs were made. Workers sprayed a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75-foot by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs being completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-08pd2374

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Launch Pad 39A flame trench at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, inspectors test the repairs on the wall. Workers sprayed a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75-foot by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs being completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-08pd2372

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This view of the Launch Pad 39A flame trench at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows the areas on the walls recently repaired. Workers sprayed a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75-foot by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs being completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Structural control on the Tohoku earthquake rupture process investigated by 3D FEM, tsunami and geodetic data

PubMed Central

Romano, F.; Trasatti, E.; Lorito, S.; Piromallo, C.; Piatanesi, A.; Ito, Y.; Zhao, D.; Hirata, K.; Lanucara, P.; Cocco, M.

2014-01-01

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw = 9.1) highlighted previously unobserved features for megathrust events, such as the large slip in a relatively limited area and the shallow rupture propagation. We use a Finite Element Model (FEM), taking into account the 3D geometrical and structural complexities up to the trench zone, and perform a joint inversion of tsunami and geodetic data to retrieve the earthquake slip distribution. We obtain a close spatial correlation between the main deep slip patch and the local seismic velocity anomalies, and large shallow slip extending also to the North coherently with a seismically observed low-frequency radiation. These observations suggest that the friction controlled the rupture, initially confining the deeper rupture and then driving its propagation up to the trench, where it spreads laterally. These findings are relevant to earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment because they may help to detect regions likely prone to rupture along the megathrust, and to constrain the probability of high slip near the trench. Our estimate of ~40 m slip value around the JFAST (Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project) drilling zone contributes to constrain the dynamic shear stress and friction coefficient of the fault obtained by temperature measurements to ~0.68 MPa and ~0.10, respectively. PMID:25005351

Structural control on the Tohoku earthquake rupture process investigated by 3D FEM, tsunami and geodetic data.

PubMed

Romano, F; Trasatti, E; Lorito, S; Piromallo, C; Piatanesi, A; Ito, Y; Zhao, D; Hirata, K; Lanucara, P; Cocco, M

2014-07-09

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw = 9.1) highlighted previously unobserved features for megathrust events, such as the large slip in a relatively limited area and the shallow rupture propagation. We use a Finite Element Model (FEM), taking into account the 3D geometrical and structural complexities up to the trench zone, and perform a joint inversion of tsunami and geodetic data to retrieve the earthquake slip distribution. We obtain a close spatial correlation between the main deep slip patch and the local seismic velocity anomalies, and large shallow slip extending also to the North coherently with a seismically observed low-frequency radiation. These observations suggest that the friction controlled the rupture, initially confining the deeper rupture and then driving its propagation up to the trench, where it spreads laterally. These findings are relevant to earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment because they may help to detect regions likely prone to rupture along the megathrust, and to constrain the probability of high slip near the trench. Our estimate of ~40 m slip value around the JFAST (Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project) drilling zone contributes to constrain the dynamic shear stress and friction coefficient of the fault obtained by temperature measurements to ~0.68 MPa and ~0.10, respectively.

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

Kokkoris, George; Boudouvis, Andreas G.; Gogolides, Evangelos

An integrated framework for the neutral flux calculation inside trenches and holes during plasma etching is described, and a comparison between the two types of structure in a number of applications is presented. First, a detailed and functional set of equations for the neutral and ion flux calculations inside long trenches and holes with cylindrical symmetry is explicitly formulated. This set is based on early works [T. S. Cale and G. B. Raupp, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 8, 1242 (1990); V. K. Singh et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 10, 1091 (1992)], and includes new equations for themore » case of holes with cylindrical symmetry. Second, a method for the solution of the respective numerical task, i.e., one or a set of linear or nonlinear integral equations, is described. This method includes a coupling algorithm with a surface chemistry model and resolves the singularity problem of the integral equations. Third, the fluxes inside trenches and holes are compared. The flux from reemission is the major portion of the local flux at the bottom of both types of structure. The framework is applied in SiO{sub 2} etching by fluorocarbon plasmas to predict the increased intensity of reactive ion etching lag in SiO{sub 2} holes compared to trenches. It is also applied in deep Si etching: By calculating the flux of F atoms at the bottom of very high aspect ratio (up to 150) Si trenches and holes during the gas chopping process, the aspect ratio at which the flux of F atoms is eliminated and etching practically stops is estimated.« less

KSC-08pd1584

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-06-02

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A member of the walk-down team takes a close look at debris scattered across Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center following launch of space shuttle Discovery on its STS-124 mission. During the post-launch walk down, the pad team noted severe launch damage on a 100’ X 20’ section of the east wall of the north flame trench. Broken sections of the flame trench wall were scattered from the flame trench to the pad perimeter fence. NASA is forming an investigation board. The flame trench transecting the pad's mound at ground level is 490 feet long, 58 feet wide and 40 feet high. It is made of concrete and refractory brick. The top of the solid rocket booster flame deflector abuts with that of the orbiter flame deflector to form a flattened, inverted V-shaped structure beneath the mobile launcher platform's three exhaust holes. The orbiter flame deflector is fixed and is 38 feet high, 72 feet long and 57.6 feet wide. The deflector weighs 1.3 million pounds. The solid rocket booster deflector is 42.5 feet high, 42 feet long and 57 feet wide. The structure weighs 1.1 million pounds. The deflectors are built of steel and covered with a high-temperature concrete surface with an average thickness of 5 inches. There are two movable solid rocket booster side flame deflectors, one located on each side of the flame trench. They are 19.5 feet high, 44 feet long and 17.5 feet wide. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Numerical Simulation of Film Cooling with a Coolant Supplied Through Holes in a Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalatov, A. A.; Panchenko, N. A.; Borisov, I. I.; Severina, V. V.

2017-05-01

The results of numerical simulation and experimental investigation of the efficiency of film cooling behind a row of holes in a trench in the range of blowing ratio variation 0.5 ≤ m ≤ 2.0 are presented. This scheme is of practical interest for use in the systems of cooling the blades of high-temperature gas turbines. Comparative analysis has shown that the efficiency of the trench scheme substantially exceeds the efficiency of the traditional scheme. The commercial package ANSYS CFX 14 was used in the Calculation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of film cooling. It is shown that the best agreement between predicted and experimental data is provided by the use of the SST model of turbulence. Analysis of the physical picture of flow has shown that the higher efficiency of film cooling with secondary air supply to the trench is mainly due to the preliminary spreading of a coolant in the trench, decrease in the intensity and scale of the vortex pair structure, absence of the coolant film departure from the plate surface, and to the more uniform transverse distribution of the coolant film.

GaN-based light emitting diodes using p-type trench structure for improving internal quantum efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Garam; Sun, Min-Chul; Kim, Jang Hyun; Park, Euyhwan; Park, Byung-Gook

2017-01-01

In order to improve the internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based LEDs, a LED structure featuring a p-type trench in the multi-quantum well (MQW) is proposed. This structure has effects on spreading holes into the MQW and reducing the quantum-confined stark effect (QCSE). In addition, two simple fabrication methods using electron-beam (e-beam) lithography or selective wet etching for manufacturing the p-type structure are also proposed. From the measurement results of the manufactured GaN-based LEDs, it is confirmed that the proposed structure using e-beam lithography or selective wet etching shows improved light output power compared to the conventional structure because of more uniform hole distribution. It is also confirmed that the proposed structure formed by e-beam lithography has a significant effect on strain relaxation and reduction in the QCSE from the electro-luminescence measurement.

Slab stagnation and buckling in the mantle transition zone: Rheology, phase transition, trench migration, and seismic structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bina, Craig; Cizkova, Hana

2014-05-01

Subducting slabs may exhibit buckling instabilities and consequent folding behavior in the mantle transition zone for various combinations of dynamical parameters, accompanied by temporal variations in dip angle, plate velocity, and trench retreat. Parameters governing such behavior include both viscous forces (slab and mantle rheology) and buoyancy forces (slab thermal structure and mineral phase relations). 2D numerical experiments show that many parameter sets lead to slab deflection at the base of the transition zone, typically accompanied by quasi-periodic oscillations (consistent with previous scaling analyses) in largely anticorrelated plate and rollback velocities, resulting in undulating stagnant slabs as buckle folds accumulate subhorizontally atop the lower mantle. Slab interactions with mantle phase transitions are important components of this process (Bina and Kawakatsu, 2010; Čížková and Bina, 2013). For terrestrial parameter sets, trench retreat is found to be nearly ubiquitous, and trench advance is quite rare - due to both rheological structure and ridge-push effects (Čížková and Bina, 2013). Recent analyses of global plate motions indicate that significant trench advance is also rare on Earth, being largely restricted to the Izu-Bonin arc (Matthews et al., 2013). Consequently, we explore the conditions necessary for terrestrial trench advance through dynamical models involving the unusual geometry associated with the Philippine Sea region. Detailed images of buckled stagnant slabs are difficult to resolve due to smoothing effects inherent in seismic tomography, but velocity structures computed for compositionally layered slabs, using laboratory data on relevant mineral assemblages, can be spatially low-pass filtered for comparison with tomographic images of corresponding resolution. When applied to P-wave velocity anomalies from stagnant slab material beneath northeast China, model slabs which undulate due to compound buckling fit observations better than a flat-lying slab (Zhang et al., 2013). Earthquake hypocentral distributions and focal mechanisms may provide clearer insights into slab buckling, as they appear to vary systematically across regions of slab stagnation (Fukao and Obayashi, 2013). Stress fields computed from our dynamical models may help to illuminate such observations. References: Bina, C.R., and H. Kawakatsu, Buoyancy, bending, and seismic visibility in deep slab stagnation, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 183, 330-340, 2010. Čížková, H., and C.R. Bina, Effects of mantle and subduction-interface rheologies on slab stagnation and trench rollback, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 379, 95-103, 2013. Fukao, Y., and M. Obayashi, Deepest hypocentral distributions associated with stagnant slabs and penetrated slabs, Fall Meeting Abstracts, AGU, DI14A-01, 2013. Li, Z.-H., and N.M. Ribe, Dynamics of free subduction from 3-D boundary element modeling, J. Geophys. Res., 117, B06408. Matthews, D.C., L. Zheng, and R.G. Gordon, Do trenches advance? Fall Meeting Abstracts, AGU, T43D-2682, 2013. Zhang, Y., Y. Wang, Y. Wu, C. Bina, Z. Jin, and S. Dong, Phase transitions of harzburgite and buckled slab under eastern China, Geochem. Geophys. Geosys., 14, 1182-1199, 2013.

Structure of the tsunamigenic plate boundary and low-frequency earthquakes in the southern Ryukyu Trench

PubMed Central

Arai, Ryuta; Takahashi, Tsutomu; Kodaira, Shuichi; Kaiho, Yuka; Nakanishi, Ayako; Fujie, Gou; Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Yamamoto, Yojiro; Ishihara, Yasushi; Miura, Seiichi; Kaneda, Yoshiyuki

2016-01-01

It has been recognized that even weakly coupled subduction zones may cause large interplate earthquakes leading to destructive tsunamis. The Ryukyu Trench is one of the best fields to study this phenomenon, since various slow earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred; yet the fault structure and seismic activity there are poorly constrained. Here we present seismological evidence from marine observation for megathrust faults and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs). On the basis of passive observation we find LFEs occur at 15–18 km depths along the plate interface and their distribution seems to bridge the gap between the shallow tsunamigenic zone and the deep slow slip region. This suggests that the southern Ryukyu Trench is dominated by slow earthquakes at any depths and lacks a typical locked zone. The plate interface is overlaid by a low-velocity wedge and is accompanied by polarity reversals of seismic reflections, indicating fluids exist at various depths along the plate interface. PMID:27447546

Reconstructing the internal structure and long-term evolution of hazardous sinkholes combining trenching, electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) and ground penetrating radar (GPR)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabregat, Ivan; Gutiérrez, Francisco; Roqué, Carles; Comas, Xavier; Zarroca, Mario; Carbonel, Domingo; Guerrero, Jesús; Linares, Rogelio

2017-05-01

The approaches aimed at characterising specific damaging sinkholes have received limited attention compared with other ground instability phenomena (e.g. landslides). Moreover, the practicality of the trenching technique in combination with numerical dating and retro-deformation analysis for sinkhole site-investigations has been barely explored. This work illustrates the advantages of combining geomorphic mapping, electrical resistivity imaging (ERI), ground penetrating radar (GPR) and trenching for sinkhole characterisation and shows how the trenching technique contributes to fill significant gaps that neither geomorphic nor geophysical methods can address. Two large sinkholes (> 200 m long) related to the interstratal karstification of evaporites and generated by contrasting subsidence mechanisms (sagging, collapse) were investigated in the Fluvia Valley, NE Spain. Although GPR data may provide high resolution information on subsidence-related stratigraphic and structural features at shallow depth, the profiles acquired in the investigated sites with 100 MHz shielded and 40 MHz unshielded antennae provided limited insight into the internal geometry of the sinkholes due to reduced signal penetration related to the presence of conductive clayey material. The ERI sections satisfactorily imaged the general geometry of the sagging and collapse subsidence structures up to depths higher than 100 m and clearly captured the basal contact of the low-resistivity sinkhole fill in the sections with adequate layout and resolution. The trenches, despite their limited depth (ca. 5 m) allowed us to obtain valuable objective information on several key aspects of the subsidence phenomenon: (1) mechanisms (deformation style) and kinematics (progressive versus episodic); (2) limits of ground deformation; (3) temporal evolution (expansion versus contraction); (4) chronology and timing of most recent deformation phase; (5) rates of subsidence and sedimentation; and (6) the role played by subsidence in the development of lacustrine environments and the associated sedimentation patterns.

Plasmon resonance and perfect light absorption in subwavelength trench arrays etched in gallium-doped zinc oxide film

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

Hendrickson, Joshua R., E-mail: joshua.hendrickson.4@us.af.mil; Leedy, Kevin; Cleary, Justin W.

Near-perfect light absorption in subwavelength trench arrays etched in highly conductive gallium-doped zinc oxide films was experimentally observed in the mid infrared regime. At wavelengths corresponding to the resonant excitation of surface plasmons, up to 99% of impinging light is efficiently trapped and absorbed in the periodic trenches. Scattering cross sectional calculations reveal that each individual trench acts like a vertical split ring resonator with a broad plasmon resonance spectrum. The coupling of these individual plasmon resonators in the grating structure leads to enhanced photon absorption and significant resonant spectral linewidth narrowing. Ellipsometry measurements taken before and after device fabricationmore » result in different permittivity values for the doped zinc oxide material, indicating that localized annealing occurred during the plasma etching process due to surface heating. Simulations, which incorporate a 50 nm annealed region at the zinc oxide surface, are in a good agreement with the experimental results.« less

KSC-08pd2376

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A van travels the width of the Launch Pad 39A flame trench at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after tests of the repairs on the wall. Workers sprayed a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75-foot by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs being completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Field and Laboratory Data From an Earthquake History Study of Scarps in the Hanging Wall of the Tacoma Fault, Mason and Pierce Counties, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nelson, Alan R.; Personius, Stephen F.; Sherrod, Brian L.; Buck, Jason; Bradley, Lee-Ann; Henley, Gary; Liberty, Lee M.; Kelsey, Harvey M.; Witter, Robert C.; Koehler, R.D.; Schermer, Elizabeth R.; Nemser, Eliza S.; Cladouhos, Trenton T.

2008-01-01

As part of the effort to assess seismic hazard in the Puget Sound region, we map fault scarps on Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM, an application of LiDAR) imagery (with 2.5-m elevation contours on 1:4,000-scale maps) and show field and laboratory data from backhoe trenches across the scarps that are being used to develop a latest Pleistocene and Holocene history of large earthquakes on the Tacoma fault. We supplement previous Tacoma fault paleoseismic studies with data from five trenches on the hanging wall of the fault. In a new trench across the Catfish Lake scarp, broad folding of more tightly folded glacial sediment does not predate 4.3 ka because detrital charcoal of this age was found in stream-channel sand in the trench beneath the crest of the scarp. A post-4.3-ka age for scarp folding is consistent with previously identified uplift across the fault during AD 770-1160. In the trench across the younger of the two Stansberry Lake scarps, six maximum 14C ages on detrital charcoal in pre-faulting B and C soil horizons and three minimum ages on a tree root in post-faulting colluvium, limit a single oblique-slip (right-lateral) surface faulting event to AD 410-990. Stratigraphy and sedimentary structures in the trench across the older scarp at the same site show eroded glacial sediments, probably cut by a meltwater channel, with no evidence of post-glacial deformation. At the northeast end of the Sunset Beach scarps, charcoal ages in two trenches across graben-forming scarps give a close maximum age of 1.3 ka for graben formation. The ages that best limit the time of faulting and folding in each of the trenches are consistent with the time of the large regional earthquake in southern Puget Sound about AD 900-930.

AJ26 rocket engine testing news briefing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

Operators at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center are completing modifications to the E-1 Test Stand to begin testing Aerojet AJ26 rocket engines in early summer of 2010. Modifications include construction of a 27-foot-deep flame deflector trench. The AJ26 rocket engines will be used to power Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus II space vehicles to provide commercial cargo transportation missions to the International Space Station for NASA. Stennis has partnered with Orbital to test all engines for the transport missions.

KSC-2013-3619

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams, Souhegan River Watershed Dam Number 13 (NH 00432 & 00481). NHWRB175.20 Merrimack River Basin, New Ipswich, New Hampshire. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-01

the embankment. This core is 12 feet thick measured horizontally. Beneath the embankment is an earthfihi cutoff trench which is 12 feet wide at the...variable thickness and extends from the cutoff trench to the downstream toe of the embankment. It is made up of sand designated SM-SP. The natural...pendicular to the axis of the dam. The walls of the structure are 10 inches thick and the top slab is 8 inches thick . The structure is founded on bedrock

Seismicity in the source areas of the 1896 and 1933 Sanriku earthquakes and implications for large near-trench earthquake faults

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obana, Koichiro; Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Fujie, Gou; Kodaira, Shuichi; Kaiho, Yuka; Yamamoto, Yojiro; Miura, Seiichi

2018-03-01

In the northern part of the Japan Trench, the 1933 Showa-Sanriku earthquake (Mw 8.4), an outer-trench, normal-faulting earthquake, occurred 37 yr after the 1896 Meiji-Sanriku tsunami earthquake (Mw 8.0), a shallow, near-trench, plate-interface rupture. Tsunamis generated by both earthquakes caused severe damage along the Sanriku coast. Precise locations of earthquakes in the source areas of the 1896 and 1933 earthquakes have not previously been obtained because they occurred at considerable distances from the coast in deep water beyond the maximum operational depth of conventional ocean bottom seismographs (OBSs). In 2015, we incorporated OBSs designed for operation in deep water (ultradeep OBSs) in an OBS array during two months of seismic observations in the source areas of the 1896 and 1933 Sanriku earthquakes to investigate the relationship of seismicity there to outer-rise normal-faulting earthquakes and near-trench tsunami earthquakes. Our analysis showed that seismicity during our observation period occurred along three roughly linear trench-parallel trends in the outer-trench region. Seismic activity along these trends likely corresponds to aftershocks of the 1933 Showa-Sanriku earthquake and the Mw 7.4 normal-faulting earthquake that occurred 40 min after the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Furthermore, changes of the clarity of reflections from the oceanic Moho on seismic reflection profiles and low-velocity anomalies within the oceanic mantle were observed near the linear trends of the seismicity. The focal mechanisms we determined indicate that an extensional stress regime extends to about 40 km depth, below which the stress regime is compressional. These observations suggest that rupture during the 1933 Showa-Sanriku earthquake did not extend to the base of the oceanic lithosphere and that compound rupture of multiple or segmented faults is a more plausible explanation for that earthquake. The source area of the 1896 Meiji-Sanriku tsunami earthquake is characterized by an aseismic region landward of the trench axis. Spatial heterogeneity of seismicity and crustal structure might indicate the near-trench faults that could lead to future hazardous events such as the 1896 and 1933 Sanriku earthquakes, and should be taken into account in assessment of tsunami hazards related to large near-trench earthquakes.

Towards the development of multifunctional molecular indicators combining soil biogeochemical and microbiological variables to predict the ecological integrity of silvicultural practices.

PubMed

Peck, Vincent; Quiza, Liliana; Buffet, Jean-Philippe; Khdhiri, Mondher; Durand, Audrey-Anne; Paquette, Alain; Thiffault, Nelson; Messier, Christian; Beaulieu, Nadyre; Guertin, Claude; Constant, Philippe

2016-05-01

The impact of mechanical site preparation (MSP) on soil biogeochemical structure in young larch plantations was investigated. Soil samples were collected in replicated plots comprising simple trenching, double trenching, mounding and inverting site preparation. Unlogged natural mixed forest areas were used as a reference. Analysis of soil nutrients, abundance of bacteria and gas exchanges unveiled no significant difference among the plots. However, inverting site preparation resulted in higher variations of gas exchanges when compared with trenching, mounding and unlogged natural forest. A combination of the biological and physicochemical variables was used to define a multifunctional classification of the soil samples into four distinct groups categorized as a function of their deviation from baseline ecological conditions. According to this classification model, simple trenching was the approach that represented the lowest ecological risk potential at the microsite level. No relationship was observed between MSP method and soil bacterial community structure as assessed by high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene; however, indicator genotypes were identified for each multifunctional soil class. This is the first identification of multifunctional molecular indicators for baseline and disturbed ecological conditions in soil, demonstrating the potential of applied microbial ecology to guide silvicultural practices and ecological risk assessment. © 2016 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

Evolution and hydration of the Juan de Fuca crust and uppermost mantle: a plate-scale seismic investigation from ridge to trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carbotte, S. M.; Canales, J.; Carton, H. D.; Nedimovic, M. R.; Han, S.; Marjanovic, M.; Gibson, J. C.; Janiszewski, H. A.; Horning, G.; Delescluse, M.; Watremez, L.; Farkas, A.; Biescas Gorriz, B.; Bornstein, G.; Childress, L. B.; Parker, B.

2012-12-01

The evolution of oceanic lithosphere involves incorporation of water into the physical and chemical structure of the crust and shallow mantle through fluid circulation, which initiates at the mid-ocean ridge and continues on the ridge flanks long after crustal formation. At subduction zones, water stored and transported with the descending plate is gradually released at depth, strongly influencing subduction zone processes. Cascadia is a young-lithosphere end member of the global subduction system where relatively little hydration of the downgoing Juan de Fuca (JdF) plate is expected due to its young age and presumed warm thermal state. However, numerous observations support the abundant presence of water within the subduction zone, suggesting that the JdF plate is significantly hydrated prior to subduction. Knowledge of the state of hydration of the JdF plate is limited, with few constraints on crustal and upper mantle structure. During the Cascadia Ridge-to-Trench experiment conducted in June-July 2012 over 4000 km of active source seismic data were acquired as part of a study of the evolution and state of hydration of the crust and shallow mantle of the JdF plate prior to subduction at the Cascadia margin. Coincident long-streamer (8 km) multi-channel seismic (MCS) and wide-angle ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data were acquired in a two-ship program with the R/V Langseth (MGL1211), and R/V Oceanus (OC1206A). Our survey included two ridge-perpendicular transects across the full width of the JdF plate, a long trench-parallel line ~10 km seaward of the Cascadia deformation front, as well as three fan lines to study mantle anisotropy. The plate transects were chosen to provide reference sections of JdF plate evolution over the maximum range of JdF plate ages (8-9 Ma), offshore two contrasting regions of the Cascadia Subduction zone, and provide the first continuous ridge-to-trench images acquired at any oceanic plate. The trench-parallel line was designed to characterize variations in plate structure and hydration linked to JdF plate segmentation for over 450 km along the margin. Shipboard brute stacks of the MCS data reveal evidence for reactivation of abyssal hill faulting in the plate interior far from the trench. Ridgeward-dipping lower crustal reflectors are observed, similar to those observed in mature Pacific crust elsewhere, as well as conjugate reflectivity near the deformation front along the Oregon transect. Bright intracrustal reflectivity is also observed along the trench-parallel transect with marked changes in reflectivity along the Oregon and Washington margins. Initial inspection of the OBS record sections indicate good quality data with the expected oceanic crustal and upper mantle P-wave arrivals: Ps and Pg refractions through sedimentary and igneous layers, respectively, PmP wide-angle reflections from the crust-mantle transition zone, and Pn upper mantle refractions. The Pg-PmP-Pn triplication is typically observed at 40-50 km source-receiver offsets. Pn characteristics show evidence for upper mantle azimuthal anisotropic propagation: along the plate transects Pn is typically weaker and difficult to observe beyond ~80 km offsets, while along the trench-parallel transect Pn arrivals have higher amplitude and are easily observed up to source-receiver offsets of 160-180 km. An overview on the Cascadia Ridge to Trench data acquisition program and preliminary results will be presented.

Paleoseismic Trenching on 1939 Erzincan and 1942 Niksar-Erbaa Earthquake Surface Ruptures, the North Anatolian Fault (Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akyuz, H. S.; Karabacak, V.; Zabci, C.; Sancar, T.; Altunel, E.; Gursoy, H.; Tatar, O.

2009-04-01

Two devastating earthquakes occurred between Erzincan (39.75N, 39.49E) and Erbaa, Tokat (40.70N, 36.58E) just three years one after another in 1939 and 1942. While 1939 Erzincan earthquake (M=7.8) ruptured nearly 360 km, 1942 Erbaa-Niksar earthquake (M=7.1) has a length of 50 km surface rupture. Totally, more than 35000 citizens lost their lives after these events. Although Turkey has one of the richest historical earthquake records, there is no clear evidence of the spatial distribution of paleoevents within these two earthquake segments of the North Anatolian Fault. 17 August 1668 Anatolian earthquake is one of the known previous earthquakes that may have occurred on the same segments with a probable rupture length of more than 400 km. It is still under debate in different catalogues, if it was ruptured in multiple events or a single one. We achieved paleoseismic trench studies to have a better understanding on the recurrence of large earthquakes on these two faults in the framework of T.C. DPT. Project no. 2006K120220. We excavated a total of 8 trenches in 7 different sites. While three of them are along the 1942 Erbaa-Niksar Earthquake rupture, others are located on the 1939 Erzincan one. Alanici and Direkli trenches were excavated on the 1942 rupture. Direkli trench site is located at the west of Niksar, Tokat (40.62N, 36.85E) on the fluvial terrace deposits of the Kelkit River. Only one paleoevent could be determined from the structural relationships of the trench wall stratigraphy. By radiocarbon dating of charcoal sample from above the event horizon indicates that this earthquake should have occurred before 480-412 BC. The second trench, Alanici, on the same segment was located between Erbaa and Niksar (40.65N, 36.78E) at the western boundary of a sag-pond. While signs of two (possible three) earthquakes were identified on the trench wall, the prior event to 1942 Earthquake is dated to be before 5th century AD. We interpreted this to have possibility of missing intermediate events or dating of reworked samples. To resolve this problem, another trenching (Gunese trench; 40.67N, 36.68E) was done close to western end of 1942 Earthquake rupture. Three events were logged on the trench wall, which was exposed by excavating a linear depression. Penultimate event horizon contains many of small ceramic pieces, which may mark a large hazard. Umurca trench excavated on the 1939 Erzincan earthquake surface rupture. From three (possible 4) paleoevents of Umurca Trench (40.32N, 37.57E), penultimate event, UMURCA-2, was determined to be after 1625- 1644 AD) and UMURCA-3 to be after 1409-1455 AD with radiocarbon dating. In addition to that, some preliminary dating results of Resadiye-2 trench (40.38N, 37.34E) give a panultimate event, RES-2, to be before 1423-1522 AD and a prior one RES-3 to be after 894-1045 AD. Radiocarbon dating of samples from the project's last year trenches and some more from the previous ones are still underway. There will be a clearer picture in terms of understanding recurrence character of the North Anatolian Fault along these segments after having of all dating results.

Novel failure mechanism and improvement for split-gate trench MOSFET with large current under unclamped inductive switch stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Ye; Yang, Zhuo; Xu, Zhiyuan; Liu, Siyang; Sun, Weifeng; Shi, Longxing; Zhu, Yuanzheng; Ye, Peng; Zhou, Jincheng

2018-04-01

In this paper, a novel failure mechanism under unclamped inductive switch (UIS) for Split-Gate Trench Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) with large current is investigated. The device sample is tested and analyzed in detail. The simulation results demonstrate that the nonuniform potential distribution of the source poly should be responsible for the failure. Three structures are proposed and verified available to improve the device UIS ruggedness by TCAD simulation. The best one of the structures the device with source metal inserting into source poly through contacts in the field oxide is carried out and measured. The results demonstrate that the optimized structure can balance the trade-off between the UIS ruggedness and the static characteristics.

KSC-08pd2108

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers weld a steel grid structure to the wall of the flame trench on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2107

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers weld a steel grid structure to the wall of the flame trench on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Silicon trench photodiodes on a wafer for efficient X-ray-to-current signal conversion using side-X-ray-irradiation mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ariyoshi, Tetsuya; Takane, Yuta; Iwasa, Jumpei; Sakamoto, Kenji; Baba, Akiyoshi; Arima, Yutaka

2018-04-01

In this paper, we report a direct-conversion-type X-ray sensor composed of trench-structured silicon photodiodes, which achieves a high X-ray-to-current conversion efficiency under side X-ray irradiation. The silicon X-ray sensor with a length of 22.6 mm and a trench depth of 300 µm was fabricated using a single-poly single-metal 0.35 µm process. X-rays with a tube voltage of 80 kV were irradiated along the trench photodiode from the side of the test chip. The theoretical limit of X-ray-to-current conversion efficiency of 83.8% was achieved at a low reverse bias voltage of 25 V. The X-ray-to-electrical signal conversion efficiency of conventional indirect-conversion-type X-ray sensors is about 10%. Therefore, the developed sensor has a conversion efficiency that is about eight times higher than that of conventional sensors. It is expected that the developed X-ray sensor will be able to markedly lower the radiation dose required for X-ray diagnoses.

Rapid trench initiated recrystallization and stagnation in narrow Cu interconnect lines

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

O'Brien, Brendan B.; Rizzolo, Michael; Prestowitz, Luke C.

2015-10-26

Understanding and ultimately controlling the self-annealing of Cu in narrow interconnect lines has remained a top priority in order to continue down-scaling of back-end of the line interconnects. Recently, it was hypothesized that a bottom-up microstructural transformation process in narrow interconnect features competes with the surface-initiated overburden transformation. Here, a set of transmission electron microscopy images which captures the grain coarsening process in 48 nm lines in a time resolved manner is presented, supporting such a process. Grain size measurements taken from these images have demonstrated that the Cu microstructural transformation in 48 nm interconnect lines stagnates after only 1.5 h atmore » room temperature. This stubborn metastable structure remains stagnant, even after aggressive elevated temperature anneals, suggesting that a limited internal energy source such as dislocation content is driving the transformation. As indicated by the extremely low defect density found in 48 nm trenches, a rapid recrystallization process driven by annihilation of defects in the trenches appears to give way to a metastable microstructure in the trenches.« less

The barrier to misfit dislocation glide in continuous, strained, epitaxial layers on patterned substrates

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

Watson, G.P.; Ast, D.G.; Anderson, T.J.

1993-09-01

In a previous report [G. P. Watson, D. G. Ast, T. J. Anderson, and Y. Hayakawa, Appl. Phys. Lett. [bold 58], 2517 (1991)] we demonstrated that the motion of misfit dislocations in InGaAs, grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy on patterned GaAs substrates, can be impeded even if the strained epitaxial layer is continuous. Trenches etched into GaAs before growth are known to act as a barrier to misfit dislocation propagation [E. A. Fitzgerald, G. P. Watson, R. E. Proano, D. G. Ast, P. D. Kirchner, G. D. Pettit, and J. M. Woodall, J. Appl. Phys. [bold 65], 2220 (1989)]more » when those trenches create discontinuities in the epitaxial layers; but even shallow trenches, with continuous strained layers following the surface features, can act as barriers. By considering the strain energy required to change the length of the dislocation glide segments that stretch from the interface to the free surface, a simple model is developed that explains the major features of the unique blocking action observed at the trench edges. The trench wall angle is found to be an important parameter in determining whether or not a trench will block dislocation glide. The predicted blocking angles are consistent with observations made on continuous 300 and 600 nm thick In[sub 0.04]Ga[sub 0.96]As films on patterned GaAs. Based on the model, a structure is proposed that may be used as a filter to yield misfit dislocations with identical Burgers vectors or dislocations which slip in only one glide plane.« less

Paleoseismology of a possible fault scarp in Wenas Valley, central Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrod, Brian L.; Barnett, Elizabeth A.; Knepprath, Nichole; Foit, Franklin F.

2013-01-01

In October 2009, two trenches excavated across an 11-kilometer-long scarp at Wenas Valley in central Washington exposed evidence for late Quaternary deformation. Lidar imagery of the Wenas Valley illuminated the west-northwest-trending, 2- to 8-meter-high scarp as it bisected alluvial fans developed at the mouths of canyons along the south side of Umtanum Ridge. The alignment of the scarp and aeromagnetic lineaments suggested that the scarp may be a product of and controlled by the same tectonic structure that produced the magnetic lineaments. Several large landslides mapped in the area demonstrated the potential for large mass-wasting events in the area. In order to test whether the scarp was the result of an earthquake-generated surface rupture or a landslide, trenches were excavated at Hessler Flats and McCabe Place. The profiles of bedrock and soil stratigraphy that underlie the scarp in each trench were photographed, mapped, and described, and a sequence of depositional and deformational events established for each trench. The McCabe Place trench exposed a sequence of volcaniclastic deposits overlain by soils and alluvial deposits separated by three unconformities. Six normal faults and two possible reverse faults deformed the exposed strata. Crosscutting relations indicated that up to five earthquakes occurred on a blind reverse fault, and a microprobe analysis of lapilli suggested that the earliest faulting occurred after 47,000 years before present. The Hessler Flat trench exposure revealed weathered bedrock that abuts loess and colluvium deposits and is overlain by soil, an upper sequence of loess, and colluvium. The latter two units bury a distinctive paloesol.

Flexural models of trench/outer rise topography of coronae on Venus with axisymmetric spherical shell elastic plates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, W.; Schubert, Gerald; Sandwell, David T.

1992-01-01

Magellan altimetry has revealed that many coronae on Venus have trenches or moats around their peripheries and rises outboard of the trenches. This trench/outer rise topographic signature is generally associated with the tectonic annulus of the corona. Sandwell and Schubert have interpreted the trench/outer rise topography and the associated tectonic annulus around coronae to be the result of elastic bending of the Venus lithosphere (though the tectonic structures are consequences of inelastic deformation of the lithosphere). They used two-dimensional elastic plate flexure theory to fit topographic profiles across a number of large coronae and inferred elastic lithosphere thicknesses between about 15 and 40 km, similar to inferred values of elastic thickness for the Earth's lithosphere at subduction zones around the Pacific Ocean. Here, we report the results of using axisymmetric elastic flexure theory for the deformation of thin spherical shell plates to interpret the trench/outer rise topography of the large coronae modeled by Sandwell and Schubert and of coronae as small as 250 km in diameter. In the case of a corona only a few hundred kilometers in diameter, the model accounts for the small planform radius of the moat and the nonradial orientation of altimetric traces across the corona. By fitting the flexural topography of coronae we determine the elastic thickness and loading necessary to account for the observed flexure. We calculate the associated bending moment and determine whether the corona interior topographic load can provide the required moment. We also calculate surface stresses and compare the stress distribution with the location of annular tectonic features.

KSC-2009-2294

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mobile Launcher Platform-1, on top of the crawler-transporter, nears the flame trench (lower left) on the top of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MLP has been handed over to the Constellation Program for its future use for the Ares I-X flight test in the summer of 2009. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ground Control System hardware was installed in MLP-1 in December 2008. The MLP is being moved to the launch pad to check out the installed hardware with the Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 equipment, using the actual circuits that will be used when the fully stacked Ares I-X vehicle is rolled out later this year for launch. Following this testing, MLP-1 will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to begin stacking, or assembling, Ares I-X. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Microstructural analysis in the depth direction of a heteroepitaxial AlN thick film grown on a trench-patterned template by nanobeam X-ray diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shida, K.; Takeuchi, S.; Tohei, T.; Miyake, H.; Hiramatsu, K.; Sumitani, K.; Imai, Y.; Kimura, S.; Sakai, A.

2018-04-01

This work quantitatively assessed the three-dimensional distribution of crystal lattice distortions in an epitaxial AlN thick film grown on a trench-patterned template, using nanobeam X-ray diffraction. Position-dependent ω-2θ-φ mapping clearly demonstrated local tilting, spacing and twisting of lattice planes as well as fluctuations in these phenomena on a sub-micrometer scale comparable to the pitch of the trench-and-terrace patterning. Analysis of the crystal lattice distortion in the depth direction was performed using a newly developed method in which the X-ray nanobeam diffracted from the sample surface to specific depths can be selectively detected by employing a Pt wire profiler. This technique generated depth-resolved ω-2θ-φ maps confirming that fluctuations in lattice plane tilting and spacing greatly depend on the dislocation distribution and the history of the AlN epitaxial growth on the trench-patterned structure. It was also found that both fluctuations were reduced on approaching the AlN surface and, in particular, were sharply reduced at specific depths in the terrace regions. These sharp reductions are attributed to the formation of sacrificial zones with degraded crystal quality around the trenches and possibly lead to raising the crystal quality near the surface of the AlN film.

GLORIA imagery links sedimentation in Aleutian Trench to Yakutat margin via surveyor channel

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

Carlson, P.R.; Bruns, T.R.; Mann, D.M.

1990-06-01

GLORIA side-scan sonar imagery shows that the continental slope developing along the active margin of the Gulf of Alaska is devoid of large submarine canyons, in spite of the presence of large glacially formed sea valleys that cross the continental shelf. In the western and northern Gulf, discontinuous, actively growing deformation structures disrupt or divert the downslope transport of sediment into the Aleutian Trench. To the east of Middleton Island, the slope is intensively gullied and incised only by relatively small canyons. At the base of the gullied slope between Pamplona Spur and Alsek Valley, numerous small slope gullies coalescemore » into three turbidity current channels that merge to form the Surveyor deep-sea channel. About 350 km from the margin, the channel crosses the structural barrier formed by the Kodiak-Bowie Seamount chain and heads south for another 150 km where it bends northerly, perhaps influenced by the oceanic basement relief of the Patton Seamounts. The channel, now up to 5 km wide and deeply entrenched to 450 m, continues northerly for 200 km where it intercepts the Aleutian Trench, some 700 km from the Yakutat margin. South of Surveyor Channel, GLORIA imagery revealed evidence of another older channel. The older channel meanders through a gap in the seamount chain and eventually bends northwesterly. This now inactive, largely buried channel may have carried turbidity currents to the Aleutian Trench concurrent with the active Surveyor Channel.« less

Phoenix's 'Dodo' Trench

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

This image was taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) on the ninth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 9 (June 3, 2008). The center of the image shows a trench informally called 'Dodo' after the second dig. 'Dodo' is located within the previously determined digging area, informally called 'Knave of Hearts.' The light square to the right of the trench is the Robotic Arm's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP). The Robotic Arm has scraped to a bright surface which indicated the Arm has reached a solid structure underneath the surface, which has been seen in other images as well.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

KSC-2013-3620

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

KSC-2013-3621

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

KSC-2013-3615

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

KSC-2013-2610

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-06-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are removing the flame trench deflector that sits below and between the left and right crawler track panels. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

KSC-2013-3618

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers inspect the brick walls of the flame trench area that is located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

Two-dimensional Numerical Models of Accretionary Wedges Deformation in Response to Subduction and Obduction: Evidence from the Middle Part of the Manila Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, L.; Ding, W.; Chen, L.; Gerya, T.

2016-12-01

The Manila Trench is located at the eastern boundary of the South China Sea (SCS). It was created by the subduction of the South China Sea Plate beneath the Philippine Sea Plate since the early Neogene, and also influenced by the northwestern movement of the Philippine Sea Plate. There is wide discussion whether the dual-subduction and widespread seamounts in the South China Sea would have play important roles in the 'S-shaped' geometry and the different diving angle along the Manila Trench. Multi-beam tectono-geomorphological studies on the accretionary wedges have suggested that: (1) the stress direction of the subduction along the middle part of the Manila Trench, between 17o and 18 o N, is NW55 o; (2) The Manila Trench is actually caused by obduction due to the northwestern movement of the Philippine Sea Plate. Although the NW 55 o stress direction has been supported by detailed analysis on the trend of the folds, thrust faults, extension fractures and large sea-floor canyon, its obduction-origin is purely based on regional structure. Here we use 2D numerical modeling experiments to investigate the deformation style of accretionary wedge in response to the seamounts subduction and obduction, and provide new insights into the mechanism responsible for the Luzon obduction along the Manila Trench. Our preliminary results show that: (1) the accretionary wedge is eroded faster in subduction model; (2) the velocity field direction of the slab differs in two models at the beginning of seamount subduction, which is vertical in obduction model, but oblique in subduction model; (3) both sides of the accretionary wedge deform strongly in subduction model, whereas in obduction model only the leading edge shows intensive deformation. Further modelling will focus on other parts of the Manila Trench with different slab age and subduction velocity to see their tectonic influences on the accretionary wedges.

Seismic anisotropy in the Hellenic subduction zone: Effects of slab segmentation and subslab mantle flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evangelidis, C. P.

2017-12-01

The segmentation and differentiation of subducting slabs have considerable effects on mantle convection and tectonics. The Hellenic subduction zone is a complex convergent margin with strong curvature and fast slab rollback. The upper mantle seismic anisotropy in the region is studied focusing at its western and eastern edges in order to explore the effects of possible slab segmentation on mantle flow and fabrics. Complementary to new SKS shear-wave splitting measurements in regions not adequately sampled so far, the source-side splitting technique is applied to constrain the depth of anisotropy and to densify measurements. In the western Hellenic arc, a trench-normal subslab anisotropy is observed near the trench. In the forearc domain, source-side and SKS measurements reveal a trench-parallel pattern. This indicates subslab trench-parallel mantle flow, associated with return flow due to the fast slab rollback. The passage from continental to oceanic subduction in the western Hellenic zone is illustrated by a forearc transitional anisotropy pattern. This indicates subslab mantle flow parallel to a NE-SW smooth ramp that possibly connects the two subducted slabs. A young tear fault initiated at the Kefalonia Transform Fault is likely not entirely developed, as this trench-parallel anisotropy pattern is observed along the entire western Hellenic subduction system, even following this horizontal offset between the two slabs. At the eastern side of the Hellenic subduction zone, subslab source-side anisotropy measurements show a general trench-normal pattern. These are associated with mantle flow through a possible ongoing tearing of the oceanic lithosphere in the area. Although the exact geometry of this slab tear is relatively unknown, SKS trench-parallel measurements imply that the tear has not reached the surface yet. Further exploration of the Hellenic subduction system is necessary; denser seismic networks should be deployed at both its edges in order to achieve a more definite image of the structure and geodynamics of this area.

Spatial variations in the nature of the oceanic plate in the northwestern Pacific margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujie, G.; Kodaira, S.; Shirai, T.; Dannowski, A.; Thorwart, M.; Grevemeyer, I.; Morgan, J. P.; Miura, S.

2016-12-01

Subduction of the oceanic plate plays an important role in the various processes in subduction zones, including arc magmatism and generation of earthquakes. Thus the nature of the incoming plate, such as its relief, thermal state, lithology, and the water content, are considered to shape these subduction zone processes.In 2014 and 2015, to reveal the nature of the incoming plate in the ocean-ward area of the 2011 M9 Tohoku earthquake, we conducted wide-angle seismic surveys in the trench-outer rise region of the Japan Trench. We designed a 600 km long seismic survey line perpendicular to the trench axis and deployed 88 OBSs at intervals of 6 km and shot a tuned airgun array of R/V Kairei.We have applied a traveltime inversion to model the P-wave velocity (Vp) structure. The resulting Vp model shows that Vp within the oceanic crust and the topmost mantle decreases in the vicinity of the trench axis probably due to the plate bending. In addition, we observed low Vp at the top of the oceanic crust in the area of petit spot volcanos. The low Vp area may be related to magma intrusions because we observed several structural interfaces in the shallow area.We found two structural features that we did not anticipate. First, crustal thickness abruptly changes at around the center of our survey line ( 300-km east from the trench axis); crust thickness is 7-km in the west and 6-km in the east. Second, mantle Vp shows significant variations along the survey line, 7.5 km/s in the bend-fault area (western area), 8.0 km/s around the center, 8.5 km/s in the eastern area. Based on the shear wave splitting observed in our data set, we infer that high mantle Vp in the eastern area is related with the changes in the orientation of the mantle anisotropy. Since we do not see any remarkable topographic features indicating the off-ridge activities, we consider that these observed structural features are related with the activities near the ancient spreading ridge when the oceanic plate formed, indicating that the oceanic plate in the NW Pacific margin, the input to the northeastern Japanese island arc, is more complicated here than we previously thought.In this presentation, we will show an overview of the Vp model along the whole profile and detailed seismic structure beneath the petit-spot area derived by the P-to-S converted waves.

4. GENERAL VIEW SHOWING EARTHEN BERM AROUND STRUCTURE. NOTE INSTRUMENTATION ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

4. GENERAL VIEW SHOWING EARTHEN BERM AROUND STRUCTURE. NOTE INSTRUMENTATION TRENCH IN FOREGROUND RIGHT; VIEW TO WEST. - Cape Canaveral Air Station, Launch Complex 17, Facility 28401, East end of Lighthouse Road, Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, FL

Improving performance of Si/CdS micro-/nanoribbon p-n heterojunction light emitting diodes by trenched structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shiyuan; Wu, Yuanpeng; Ma, Xiangyang; Yang, Zongyin; Liu, Xu; Yang, Qing

2018-05-01

Realizing high performance silicon based light sources has been an unremitting pursuit for researchers. In this letter, we propose a simple structure to enhance electroluminescence emission and reduce the threshold of injected current of silicon/CdS micro-/nanoribbon p-n heterojunction visible light emitting diodes, by fabricating trenched structure on silicon substrate to mount CdS micro-/nanoribbon. A series of experiments and simulation analysis favors the rationality and validity of our mounting design. After mounting the CdS micro-/nanoribbon, the optical field confinement increases, and absorption and losses from high refractive silicon substrate are effectively reduced. Meanwhile the sharp change of silicon substrate near heterojunction also facilitates the balance between electron current and hole current, which substantially conduces to the stable amplification of electroluminescence emission in CdS micro-/nanoribbon.

A new species of the deep-sea spongicolid genus Spongicoloides (Crustacea, Decapoda, Stenopodidea) and a new species of the glass sponge genus Corbitella (Hexactinellida, Lyssacinosida, Euplectellidae) from a seamount near the Mariana Trench, with a novel commensal relationship between the two genera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kou, Qi; Gong, Lin; Li, Xinzheng

2018-05-01

A new species of the deep-sea spongicolid genus Spongicoloides Hansen, 1908 and a new species of the euplectellid genus Corbitella Gray, 1867 are described and illustrated based on the material recently collected by the remotely operated vehicle 'Faxian' at a seamount near the Mariana Trench. The new deep-sea spongicolid species can be distinguished from the congeneric species by a series of morphological features and the validity of the new species was supported by the molecular phylogenetic analysis. By means of the microscleres of regular hexasters and onychohexasters, the new sponge species can easily be distinguished from other Corbitella species. The new euplectellid sponge species is the host of the new spongicolid shrimp species: this is the first discovery of an association between Spongicoloides and Corbitella. The present study increases the species diversity of both genera as well as yielding new insight into the commensal relationships between spongicolid shrimps and their sponge hosts.

Lunar surface vehicle model competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

During Fall and Winter quarters, Georgia Tech's School of Mechanical Engineering students designed machines and devices related to Lunar Base construction tasks. These include joint projects with Textile Engineering students. Topics studied included lunar environment simulator via drop tower technology, lunar rated fasteners, lunar habitat shelter, design of a lunar surface trenching machine, lunar support system, lunar worksite illumination (daytime), lunar regolith bagging system, sunlight diffusing tent for lunar worksite, service apparatus for lunar launch vehicles, lunar communication/power cables and teleoperated deployment machine, lunar regolith bag collection and emplacement device, soil stabilization mat for lunar launch/landing site, lunar rated fastening systems for robotic implementation, lunar surface cable/conduit and automated deployment system, lunar regolith bagging system, and lunar rated fasteners and fastening systems. A special topics team of five Spring quarter students designed and constructed a remotely controlled crane implement for the SKITTER model.

KSC-08pd2109

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This elevated view shows workers on a platform welding a steel grid structure to the wall of the flame trench on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2106

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers prepare to weld a steel grid structure to the wall of the flame trench on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Reprocessing and Interpretation of Vintage Seismic Reflection Data: Evidence for the Tectonic History of the Rocky Mountain Trench, Northwest Montana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porter, M.; Speece, M. A.; Rutherford, B. S.; Constenius, K. N.

2014-12-01

In 1983 Techno, Inc. collected five seismic reflection profiles in the region between Whitefish, Montana and the United States-Canada border. The poulter method was used to gather four of these profiles and one profile was collected using a vibroseis source. We are currently reprocessing these data in order to construct a regional geological interpretation. The profiles cover a key position in the hinterland of the Cordillera in the lee of the Lewis thrust salient where the east-northeast verging Lewis thrust fault system translated (horizontal displacement >100 km) and inverted a thick, strong slab of primarily Belt-Purcell rocks out of a deep Precambrian depositional basin onto a cratonic platform. In this event, Belt-Purcell rocks were thrust over complexly imbricated Phanerozoic strata in the foreland. Late Mesozoic compressional deformation was followed by Cenozoic extensional collapse of the over-thickened Cordillera and subsequent basin and range style deformation that produced an array of northwest trending grabens. Three of the seismic profiles cross the Rocky Mountain Trench; the Trench is a linear structure of regional dimension that is an expression of the extensional fragmentation of the Cordillera. Strong reflections, interpreted as sills encased within Lower Belt rocks (encountered in the Arco-Marathon 1 Paul Gibbs borehole), outline the complexly folded and faulted structure of the eastern limb of the Purcell anticlinorium. East of the Rocky Mountain Trench stratified reflections within Belt rocks clearly outline the Wigwam Thrust. Beneath the Whitefish Range, an apparent inflection in the strongly reflective basal Cambrian veneer marks the westerly increase in dip of the Rocky Mountain Basal Detachment. The dip contrast between the foreland and hinterland might be a manifestation of the tectonic loading of the Belt basin margin and the loading might have localized extension across the Rocky Mountain Trench.

Trench Advance By the Subduction of Buoyant Features - Application to the Izu-Bonin-Marianas Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goes, S. D. B.; Fourel, L.; Morra, G.

2014-12-01

Most subduction trenches retreat, not only today but throughout the Cenozoic. However, a few trenches clearly advance during part of the evolution, including Izu-Bonin Marianas (IBM) and Kermadec. Trench retreat is well understood as a basic consequence of slab pull, but it is debated what causes trench advance. The IBM trench underwent a complex evolution: right after its initiation, it rotated clockwise, leading to very fast retreat in the north and slow retreat in the south. But since 10-15 Ma, IBM trench motions have switched to advance at the southern end, and since 5 Ma also the northern end is advancing. Based on 2-D subduction models, it has been proposed proposed that the change in age of the subducting plate at the IBM trench (from 40-70 m.y. at the initiation of the trench 45 m.y. ago to 100-140 m.y. lithosphere subducting at the trench today) and its effect on plate strength could explain the transition from trench retreat to trench advance, and that the age gradient (younger in the north and older in the south) could explain the rotation of the trench. However, with new 3-D coupled fluid-solid subduction model where we can include such lateral age gradients, we find that this does not yield the observed behaviour. Instead, we propose an alternative mechanism, involving the subduction of the buoyant Caroline Island Ridge at the southern edge of the Mariana trench and show that it can explain both trench motion history and the current morphology of the IBM slab as imaged by seismic tomography.

The GaN trench gate MOSFET with floating islands: High breakdown voltage and improved BFOM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Lingyan; Müller, Stephan; Cheng, Xinhong; Zhang, Dongliang; Zheng, Li; Xu, Dawei; Yu, Yuehui; Meissner, Elke; Erlbacher, Tobias

2018-02-01

A novel GaN trench gate (TG) MOSFET with P-type floating islands (FLI) in drift region, which can suppress the electric field peak at bottom of gate trench during the blocking state and prevent premature breakdown in gate oxide, is proposed and investigated by TCAD simulations. The influence of thickness, position, doping concentration and length of the FLI on breakdown voltage (BV) and specific on-resistance (Ron_sp) is studied, providing useful guidelines for design of this new type of device. Using optimized parameters for the FLI, GaN FLI TG-MOSFET obtains a BV as high as 2464 V with a Ron_sp of 3.0 mΩ cm2. Compared to the conventional GaN TG-MOSFET with the same structure parameters, the Baliga figure of merit (BFOM) is enhanced by 150%, getting closer to theoretical limit for GaN devices.

Single transverse mode laser in a center-sunken and cladding-trenched Yb-doped fiber.

PubMed

Liu, Yehui; Zhang, Fangfang; Zhao, Nan; Lin, Xianfeng; Liao, Lei; Wang, Yibo; Peng, Jinggang; Li, Haiqing; Yang, LuYun; Dai, NengLi; Li, Jinyan

2018-02-05

We report a novel center-sunken and cladding-trenched Yb-doped fiber, which was fabricated by a modified chemical vapor deposition process with a solution-doping technique. The simulation results showed that the fiber with a core diameter of 40 µm and a numerical aperture of 0.043 has a 1217 µm 2 effective mode area at 1080 nm. It is also disclosed that the leakage loss can be reduced lower than 0.01 dB/m for the LP 01 mode, while over 80 dB/m for the LP 11 mode by optimizing the bending radius as 14 cm. A 456 W laser output was observed in a MOPA structure. The laser slope efficiency was measured to be 79% and the M 2 was less than 1.1, which confirmed the single mode operation of the large mode area center-sunken cladding-trenched Yb-doped fiber.

Pronounced zonation of seismic anisotropy in the Western Hellenic subduction zone and its geodynamic significance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olive, Jean-Arthur; Pearce, Frederick; Rondenay, Stéphane; Behn, Mark D.

2014-04-01

Many subduction zones exhibit significant retrograde motion of their arc and trench. The observation of fast shear-wave velocities parallel to the trench in such settings has been inferred to represent trench-parallel mantle flow beneath a retreating slab. Here, we investigate this process by measuring seismic anisotropy in the shallow Aegean mantle. We carry out shear-wave splitting analysis on a dense array of seismometers across the Western Hellenic Subduction Zone, and find a pronounced zonation of anisotropy at the scale of the subduction zone. Fast SKS splitting directions subparallel to the trench-retreat direction dominate the region nearest to the trench. Fast splitting directions abruptly transition to trench-parallel above the corner of the mantle wedge, and rotate back to trench-normal over the back-arc. We argue that the trench-normal anisotropy near the trench is explained by entrainment of an asthenospheric layer beneath the shallow-dipping portion of the slab. Toward the volcanic arc this signature is overprinted by trench-parallel anisotropy in the mantle wedge, likely caused by a layer of strained serpentine immediately above the slab. Arcward steepening of the slab and horizontal divergence of mantle flow due to rollback may generate an additional component of sub-slab trench-parallel anisotropy in this region. Poloidal flow above the retreating slab is likely the dominant source of back-arc trench-normal anisotropy. We hypothesize that trench-normal anisotropy associated with significant entrainment of the asthenospheric mantle near the trench may be widespread but only observable at shallow-dipping subduction zones where stations nearest the trench do not overlie the mantle wedge.

Improved shallow trench isolation and gate process control using scatterometry based metrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudolph, P.; Bradford, S. M.

2005-05-01

The ability to control critical dimensions of structures on semiconductor devices is essential to improving die yield and device performance. As geometries shrink, accuracy of the metrology equipment has increasingly become a contributing factor to the inability to detect shifts which result in yield loss. Scatterometry provides optical measurement that better enables process control of critical dimensions. Superior precision, accuracy, and higher throughput can be achieved more cost effectively through the use of this technology in production facilities. This paper outlines the implementation of Scatterometry based metrology in a production facility. The accuracy advantage it has over conventional Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) measurement is presented. The Scatterometry tool used has demonstrated repeatability on the order of 3σ < 1 nm at STI-Etch-FICD for CD and Trench Depth (TD), and Side Wall Angle (SWA) measurements to within 0.1 degrees. Poly CD also shows 3σ < 1 nm, and poly thickness measurement 3σ < 2.5 Å. Scatterometry has capabilities which include measurement of CD, structure height and trench depth, Sidewall angle (SWA), and film thickness. The greater accuracy and the addition of in-situ Trench depth and sidewall angle have provided new measurement capabilities. There are inherent difficulties in implementing scatterometry in production wafer fabs. Difficulties with photo resist measurements, film characterization and stack set-up will be discussed. In addition, there are challenges due to the quantity data generated, in how to organize and store this data effectively. A comparison of the advantages and shortcomings of the method are presented.

Variably-saturated groundwater modeling for optimizing managed aquifer recharge using trench infiltration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heilweil, Victor M.; Benoit, Jerome; Healy, Richard W.

2015-01-01

Spreading-basin methods have resulted in more than 130 million cubic meters of recharge to the unconfined Navajo Sandstone of southern Utah in the past decade, but infiltration rates have slowed in recent years because of reduced hydraulic gradients and clogging. Trench infiltration is a promising alternative technique for increasing recharge and minimizing evaporation. This paper uses a variably saturated flow model to further investigate the relative importance of the following variables on rates of trench infiltration to unconfined aquifers: saturated hydraulic conductivity, trench spacing and dimensions, initial water-table depth, alternate wet/dry periods, and number of parallel trenches. Modeling results showed (1) increased infiltration with higher hydraulic conductivity, deeper initial water tables, and larger spacing between parallel trenches, (2) deeper or wider trenches do not substantially increase infiltration, (3) alternating wet/dry periods result in less overall infiltration than keeping the trenches continuously full, and (4) larger numbers of parallel trenches within a fixed area increases infiltration but with a diminishing effect as trench spacing becomes tighter. An empirical equation for estimating expected trench infiltration rates as a function of hydraulic conductivity and initial water-table depth was derived and can be used for evaluating feasibility of trench infiltration in other hydrogeologic settings

Metrology of deep trench etched memory structures using 3D scatterometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinig, Peter; Dost, Rene; Moert, Manfred; Hingst, Thomas; Mantz, Ulrich; Moffitt, Jasen; Shakya, Sushil; Raymond, Christopher J.; Littau, Mike

2005-05-01

Scatterometry is receiving considerable attention as an emerging optical metrology in the silicon industry. One area of progress in deploying these powerful measurements in process control is performing measurements on real device structures, as opposed to limiting scatterometry measurements to periodic structures, such as line-space gratings, placed in the wafer scribe. In this work we will discuss applications of 3D scatterometry to the measurement of advanced trench memory devices. This is a challenging and complex scatterometry application that requires exceptionally high-performance computational abilities. In order to represent the physical device, the relatively tall structures require a high number of slices in the rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) theoretical model. This is complicated further by the presence of an amorphous silicon hard mask on the surface, which is highly sensitive to reflectance scattering and therefore needs to be modeled in detail. The overall structure is comprised of several layers, with the trenches presenting a complex bow-shape sidewall that must be measured. Finally, the double periodicity in the structures demands significantly greater computational capabilities. Our results demonstrate that angular scatterometry is sensitive to the key parameters of interest. The influence of further model parameters and parameter cross correlations have to be carefully taken into account. Profile results obtained by non-library optimization methods compare favorably with cross-section SEM images. Generating a model library suitable for process control, which is preferred for precision, presents numerical throughput challenges. Details will be discussed regarding library generation approaches and strategies for reducing the numerical overhead. Scatterometry and SEM results will be compared, leading to conclusions about the feasibility of this advanced application.

Comparative feeding ecology of abyssal and hadal fishes through stomach content and amino acid isotope analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerringer, M. E.; Popp, B. N.; Linley, T. D.; Jamieson, A. J.; Drazen, J. C.

2017-03-01

The snailfishes, family Liparidae (Scorpaeniformes), have found notable success in the hadal zone from 6000-8200 m, comprising the dominant ichthyofauna in at least five trenches worldwide. Little is known about the biology of these deepest-living fishes, nor the factors that drive their success at hadal depths. Using recent collections from the Mariana Trench, Kermadec Trench, and neighboring abyssal plains, this study investigates the potential role of trophic ecology in structuring fish communities at the abyssal-hadal boundary. Stomach contents were analyzed from two species of hadal snailfishes, Notoliparis kermadecensis and a newly-discovered species from the Mariana Trench. Amphipods comprised the majority (Kermadec: 95.2%, Mariana: 97.4% index of relative importance) of stomach contents in both species. Decapod crustaceans, polychaetes (N. kermadecensis only), and remains of carrion (squid and fish) were minor dietary components. Diet analyses of abyssal species (families Macrouridae, Ophidiidae, Zoarcidae) collected from near the trenches and the literature are compared to those of the hadal liparids. Stomachs from abyssal fishes also contained amphipods, however macrourids had a higher trophic plasticity with a greater diversity of prey items, including larger proportions of carrion and fish remains; supporting previous findings. Suction-feeding predatory fishes like hadal liparids may find an advantage to descending into the trench - where amphipods are abundant. More generalist feeders and scavengers relying on carrion, such as macrourids, might not benefit from this nutritional advantage at hadal depths. Compound specific isotope analysis of amino acids was used to estimate trophic level of these species (5.3±0.2 Coryphaenoides armatus, 5.2±0.2 C. yaquinae, 4.6±0.2 Spectrunculus grandis, 4.2±0.2 N. kermadecensis, 4.4±0.2 Mariana snailfish). Source amino acid δ15N values were especially high in hadal liparids (8.0±0.3‰ Kermadec, 6.7±0.2‰ Mariana), suggesting a less surface-derived food source than seen in the scavenging abyssal macrourids, C. armatus (3.5±0.3‰) and C. yaquinae (2.2±0.3‰). These results are compared to bulk muscle tissue isotopic compositions. This study provides the first comprehensive examination of the feeding ecology of the ocean's deepest-living fishes and informs new understanding of trophic interactions and fish community structure in and near the hadal zone.

Structure and fault mechanics of the shallow rupture zone of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, IODP expedition 343/343T (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chester, F. M.

2013-12-01

The Japan Trench convergent margin produces frequent large interplate earthquakes greater than M7.5, and is known to display the primary characteristics of non-accretionary margins. The 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake demonstrates the capability of this margin to rupture the full extent of the seismogenic zone and up-dip to the trench axis in a single great event. A variety of observations indicate that the slip magnitude of this rupture increased towards the trench, with 50+ m of slip occurring at the ~20-km-wide frontal prism of accreted sediments and lower trench slope. IODP expedition 343/343T (JFAST) was designed to address fundamental questions of earthquake physics through rapid-response drilling, but also provides new information on sediment accretion and the architecture of the frontal prism. The JFAST drill site is located above a horst block in the subducting plate and 6 km landward from the trench axis; three boreholes were drilled through the prism and across the plate-boundary. Palinspastic reconstruction of the prism structure based on a seismic line through the drill site, logging data, and lithologic and structural observations of core samples document a single dominant décollement that accommodated almost all of the interplate displacement (~3.2 km) at the drill site. The décollement is located in pelagic clay near the base of the incoming sediment section of the subducting plate, and maintains this stratigraphic position trenchward until it enters the graben below the trench axis where it cuts down-section to follow the basal strata. The structure indicates about half the incoming sediment is offscraped onto the leading edge of the prism but similar amount of sediment may be removed from the base of the frontal prism associated with progressive amplification of horsts and grabens more landward below the prism. The localization of nearly all the interplate displacement to a single narrow décollement composed of sheared pelagic clay indicates the décollement is relatively weak over geologic time. Borehole measurements of temperature across the plate boundary confirm the Tohoku earthquake ruptured the décollement and, consistent with results of high-speed friction experiments on sheared clay, that the décollement is extremely weak during seismic slip. These results, combined with borehole data indicating that the current in situ stress is approximately lithostatic, support the hypothesis that dynamic weakening of wet clay at seismic slip rates favor earthquake rupture propagation to shallow depths even though the frictional properties of wet clay at low slip rates prohibit the nucleation of slip instabilities. Core samples of sheared clay from the décollement are being analyzed to identify earthquake-related microstructures and determine the mechanisms of dynamic weakening during seismic slip.

Launch Pad in a Box

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mantovani, J. G.; Tamasy, G. J.; Mueller, R. P.; Townsend, I. I.; Sampson, J. W.; Lane, M. A.

2016-01-01

NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is developing a new deployable launch system capability to support a small class of launch vehicles for NASA and commercial space companies to test and launch their vehicles. The deployable launch pad concept was first demonstrated on a smaller scale at KSC in 2012 in support of NASA Johnson Space Center's Morpheus Lander Project. The main objective of the Morpheus Project was to test a prototype planetary lander as a vertical takeoff and landing test-bed for advanced spacecraft technologies using a hazard field that KSC had constructed at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). A steel pad for launch or landing was constructed using a modular design that allowed it to be reconfigurable and expandable. A steel flame trench was designed as an optional module that could be easily inserted in place of any modular steel plate component. The concept of a transportable modular launch and landing pad may also be applicable to planetary surfaces where the effects of rocket exhaust plume on surface regolith is problematic for hardware on the surface that may either be damaged by direct impact of high speed dust particles, or impaired by the accumulation of dust (e.g., solar array panels and thermal radiators). During the Morpheus free flight campaign in 2013-14, KSC performed two studies related to rocket plume effects. One study compared four different thermal ablatives that were applied to the interior of a steel flame trench that KSC had designed and built. The second study monitored the erosion of a concrete landing pad following each landing of the Morpheus vehicle on the same pad located in the hazard field. All surfaces of a portable flame trench that could be directly exposed to hot gas during launch of the Morpheus vehicle were coated with four types of ablatives. All ablative products had been tested by NASA KSC and/or the manufacturer. The ablative thicknesses were measured periodically following the twelve Morpheus free flight tests. The thermal energy from the Morpheus rocket exhaust plume was only found to be sufficient to cause appreciable ablation of one of the four ablatives that were tested. The rocket exhaust plume did cause spalling of concrete during each descent and landing on a landing pad in the hazard field. The Extended Abstract ASE Earth and Space Conference April, 2016 - Orlando, FL concrete surface was laser scanned following each Morpheus landing, and the total volume of spalled concrete that eroded between the first and final landings of the Morpheus Project's test campaign was estimated. This paper will also describe a new deployable launch system (DLS) capability that is being developed at KSC and was publicly announced in May 2015 (KSC Partnerships, 2015). The DLS is a set of multi-user Ground Support Equipment that will be used to test and launch small class launch vehicles. The system is comprised of four main elements: the Launch Stand, the Flame Deflector, the Pad Apron and the KAMAG transporter. The system elements are designed to be deployed at launch or test sites within the KSC/CCAFS boundaries. The DLS is intended to be used together with the Fluid and Electrical System of the Universal Propellant Servicing Systems and Mobile Power Data and Communications Unit.

Launch Pad in a Box

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mantovani, James; Tamasy, Gabor; Mueller, Rob; Townsend, Van; Sampson, Jeff; Lane, Mike

2016-01-01

NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is developing a new deployable launch system capability to support a small class of launch vehicles for NASA and commercial space companies to test and launch their vehicles. The deployable launch pad concept was first demonstrated on a smaller scale at KSC in 2012 in support of NASA Johnson Space Center's Morpheus Lander Project. The main objective of the Morpheus Project was to test a prototype planetary lander as a vertical takeoff and landing test-bed for advanced spacecraft technologies using a hazard field that KSC had constructed at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). A steel pad for launch or landing was constructed using a modular design that allowed it to be reconfigurable and expandable. A steel flame trench was designed as an optional module that could be easily inserted in place of any modular steel plate component. The concept of a transportable modular launch and landing pad may also be applicable to planetary surfaces where the effects of rocket exhaust plume on surface regolith is problematic for hardware on the surface that may either be damaged by direct impact of high speed dust particles, or impaired by the accumulation of dust (e.g., solar array panels and thermal radiators). During the Morpheus free flight campaign in 2013-14, KSC performed two studies related to rocket plume effects. One study compared four different thermal ablatives that were applied to the interior of a steel flame trench that KSC had designed and built. The second study monitored the erosion of a concrete landing pad following each landing of the Morpheus vehicle on the same pad located in the hazard field. All surfaces of a portable flame trench that could be directly exposed to hot gas during launch of the Morpheus vehicle were coated with four types of ablatives. All ablative products had been tested by NASA KSC and/or the manufacturer. The ablative thicknesses were measured periodically following the twelve Morpheus free flight tests. The thermal energy from the Morpheus rocket exhaust plume was only found to be sufficient to cause appreciable ablation of one of the four ablatives that were tested. The rocket exhaust plume did cause spalling of concrete during each descent and landing on a landing pad in the hazard field. The Extended Abstract ASE Earth and Space Conference April, 2016 - Orlando, FL concrete surface was laser scanned following each Morpheus landing, and the total volume of spalled concrete that eroded between the first and final landings of the Morpheus Project's test campaign was estimated. This paper will also describe a new deployable launch system (DLS) capability that is being developed at KSC and was publicly announced in May 2015 (KSC Partnerships, 2015). The DLS is a set of multi-user Ground Support Equipment that will be used to test and launch small class launch vehicles. The system is comprised of four main elements: the Launch Stand, the Flame Deflector, the Pad Apron and the KAMAG transporter. The system elements are designed to be deployed at launch or test sites within the KSC/CCAFS boundaries. The DLS is intended to be used together with the Fluid and Electrical System of the Universal Propellant Servicing Systems and Mobile Power Data and Communications Unit

Using Combustion Synthesis to Reinforce Berms and Other Regolith Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriquez, Gary

2013-01-01

The Moonraker Excavator and other tools under development for use on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids will be employed to construct a number of civil engineering projects and to mine the soil. Mounds of loose soil will be subject to the local transport mechanisms plus artificial mechanisms such as blast effects from landers and erosion from surface vehicles. Some of these structures will require some permanence, with a minimum of maintenance and upkeep. Combustion Synthesis (CS) is a family of processes and techniques whereby chemistry is used to transform materials, often creating flame in a hard vacuum. CS can be used to stabilize civil engineering works such as berms, habitat shielding, ramps, pads, roadways, and the like. The method is to unroll thin sheets of CS fabric between layers of regolith and then fire the fabric, creating a continuous sheet of crusty material to be interposed among layers of loose regolith. The combination of low-energy processes, ISRU (in situ resource utilization) excavator, and CS fabrics, seems compelling as a general method for establishing structures of some permanence and utility, especially in the role of robotic missions as precursors to manned exploration and settlement. In robotic precursory missions, excavator/ mobility ensembles mine the Lunar surface, erect constructions of soil, and dispense sheets of CS fabrics that are covered with layers of soil, fired, and then again covered with layers of soil, iterating until the desired dimensions and forms are achieved. At the base of each berm, for example, is a shallow trench lined with CS fabric, fired and filled, mounded, and then covered and fired, iteratively to provide a footing against lateral shear. A larger trench is host to a habitat module, backfilled, covered with fabric, covered with soil, and fired. Covering the applied CS fabric with layers of soil before firing allows the resulting matrix to incorporate soil both above and below the fabric ply into the fused layer, developing a very irregular surface which, like sandpaper, can provide an anchor for loose soil. CS fabrics employ a coarse fiberglass weave that persists as reinforcement for the fired material. The fiberglass softens at a temperature that exceeds the combustion temperature by factors of two to three, and withstands the installation process. This type of structure should be more resistant to rocket blast effects from Lunar landers.

Deep Structure of Northern Apennines Subduction Orogen (Italy) as Revealed by a Joint Interpretation of Passive and Active Seismic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piana Agostinetti, Nicola; Faccenna, Claudio

2018-05-01

The Apennines is a well-studied orogeny formed by the accretion of continental slivers during the subduction of the Adriatic plate, but its deep structure is still a topic of controversy. Here we illuminated the deep structure of the Northern Apennines belt by combining results from the analysis of active seismic (CROP03) and receiver function data. The result from combining these two approaches provides a new robust view of the structure of the deep crust/upper mantle, from the back-arc region to the Adriatic subduction zone. Our analysis confirms the shallow Moho depth beneath the back-arc region and defines the top of the downgoing plate, showing that the two plates separate at depth about 40 km closer to the trench than reported in previous reconstructions. This spatial relationship has profound implications for the geometry of the shallow subduction zone and of the mantle wedge, by the amount of crustal material consumed at trench.

Radial and Azimuthal Anisotropy Tomography of the NE Japan Subduction Zone: Implications for the Pacific Slab and Mantle Wedge Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishise, Motoko; Kawakatsu, Hitoshi; Morishige, Manabu; Shiomi, Katsuhiko

2018-05-01

We investigate slab and mantle structure of the NE Japan subduction zone from P wave azimuthal and radial anisotropy using travel time tomography. Trench normal E-W-trending azimuthal anisotropy (AA) and radial anisotropy (RA) with VPV > VPH are found in the mantle wedge, which supports the existence of small-scale convection in the mantle wedge with flow-induced LPO of mantle minerals. In the subducting Pacific slab, trench parallel N-S-trending AA and RA with VPH > VPV are obtained. Considering the effect of dip of the subducting slab on apparent anisotropy, we suggest that both characteristics can be explained by the presence of laminar structure, in addition to AA frozen-in in the subducting plate prior to subduction.

Small-scale spatial variation in near-surface turbidites around the JFAST site near the Japan Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshikawa, Shuro; Kanamatsu, Toshiya; Kasaya, Takafumi

2016-03-01

This paper aims to improve our understanding of the depositional processes associated with turbidites related to recent earthquake events. A series of short sediment cores (ca. 20-30 cm long) were recovered from the landward slope of the Japan Trench around JFAST (Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project) site C0019 by a remotely operated vehicle, KAIKO 7000 II, and the sample sites were accurately located using an LBL (long base line) acoustic navigation system. The properties of the cores were analyzed using visual observations, soft X-ray radiographs, smear slides, measurement of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, and analysis of radioactive elements (134Cs, 137Cs, and excess 210Pb). For the first time, small-scale (ca. 200-1000 m) spatial variations in recent earthquake-triggered deep-sea turbidites, the formation of which was probably linked to the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, are described. We also examine the submarine landslide that probably generated the sediment unit below the turbidites, which is thought to be an important process in the study area. The spatial distribution and characteristics of the near-surface seismoturbidite obtained immediately after the earthquake, presented here, will enable precise calibration of offshore evidence of recent earthquakes, and thus facilitate the use of the sedimentary archive for paleoseismic interpretations. Furthermore, although sampling for turbidite seismology on steep slopes has not been widely performed previously, our results suggest that the recent event deposits may be continuously tracked from the slope to the basin using a combination of the present sampling method and conventional large-scale investigation techniques.

Investigation of the layout and optical proximity correction effects to control the trench etching process on 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyoung, Sinsu; Jung, Eun-Sik; Sung, Man Young

2017-07-01

Although trench gate and super-junction technology have micro-trench problems when applied to the SiC process due to the material characteristics. In this paper, area effects are analyzed from the test element group with various patterns and optical proximity correction (OPC) methods are proposed and analyzed to reduce micro-trenches in the SiC trench etching process. First, the loading effects were analyzed from pattern samples with various trench widths (Wt). From experiments, the area must limited under a proper size for a uniform etching profile and reduced micro-trenches because a wider area accelerates the etch rate. Second, the area effects were more severely unbalanced at corner patterns because the corner pattern necessarily has an in-corner and out-corner that have different etching areas to each other. We can balance areas using OPC patterns to overcome this. Experiments with OPC represented improved micro-trench profile from when comparing differences of trench depth (Δdt) at out corner and in corner. As a result, the area effects can be used to improve the trench profile with optimized etching process conditions. Therefore, the trench gate and super-junction pillar of the SiC power MOSFET can have an improved uniform profile without micro-trenches using proper design and OPC.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Effects of trench profile and self-aligned ion implantation on electrical characteristics of 1.2 kV 4H-SiC trench MOSFETs using bottom protection p-well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seok, Ogyun; Ha, Min-Woo; Kang, In Ho; Kim, Hyoung Woo; Kim, Dong Young; Bahng, Wook

2018-06-01

The effects of a trench profile and self-aligned ion implantation on the electrical characteristics of 1.2 kV 4H-SiC trench MOSFETs employing a bottom protection p-well (BPW) were investigated to improve blocking capability by simulation studies. The trench profile and thickness of a SiO2 spacer during self-aligned ion implantation for BPW affect electrons flow through a trench gate as well as E-field concentration at the gate insulator on a trench bottom. At trench angle higher than 84° and a SiO2 spacer thicker than 0.2 µm showed that the Al concentration penetrated into the trench sidewall during ion implantation is less than 0.3% in comparison with the background doping concentration in a drift region. Under the optimum conditions with a trench angle of 90° and 0.2-µm-thick SiO2 spacer, a high breakdown voltage of 1.45 kV with a low E-field peak in the gate insulator was achieved.

KSC-2013-3616

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Work will continue to repair or replace the bricks on the walls. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

KSC-2013-3617

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a large bulldozer is used to remove the remaining portions of the flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2012 Philippine Sea plate and vicinity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smoczyk, Gregory M.; Hayes, Gavin P.; Hamburger, Michael W.; Benz, Harley M.; Villaseñor, Antonio; Furlong, Kevin P.

2013-01-01

The complex tectonics surrounding the Philippine Islands are dominated by the interactions of the Pacific, Sunda, and Eurasia plates with the Philippine Sea plate (PSP). The latter is unique because it is almost exclusively surrounded by zones of plate convergence. At its eastern and southeastern edges, the Pacific plate is subducted beneath the PSP at the Izu-Bonin, Mariana, and Yap trenches. Here, the subduction zone exhibits high rates of seismic activity to depths of over 600 km, though no great earthquakes (M>8.0) have been observed, likely because of weak coupling along the plate interface. In the northeast, the PSP subducts beneath Japan and the eastern margin of the Eurasia plate at the Nankai and Ryukyu trenches, extending westward to Taiwan. The Nankai portion of this subduction zone has hosted some of the largest earthquakes along the margins of the PSP, including a pair of Mw8.1 megathrust events in 1944 and 1946. Along its western margin, the convergence of the PSP and the Sunda plate is responsible for a broad and active plate boundary system extending along both sides of the Philippine Islands chain. The region is characterized by opposite-facing subduction systems on the east and west sides of the islands, and the archipelago is cut by a major transform structure: the Philippine Fault. Subduction of the Philippine Sea plate occurs at the eastern margin of the islands along the Philippine Trench and its northern extension, the East Luzon Trough. On the west side of Luzon, the Sunda Plate subducts eastward along a series of trenches, including the Manila Trench in the north, the smaller Negros Trench in the central Philippines, and the Sulu and Cotabato trenches in the south. Twentieth and early twentyfirst century seismic activity along the boundaries of the Philippine Sea plate has produced seven great (M>8.0) earthquakes and 250 large (M>7) events. Among the most destructive events were the 1923 Kanto, the 1948 Fukui, and the 1995 Kobe, Japan, earthquakes; the 1935 and the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquakes; and the 1976 M7.6 Moro Gulf and 1990 M7.6 Luzon, Philippines, earthquakes.

What controls landward vergence of the accretionary prism offshore northern Sumatra?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frederik, M. C. G.; Gulick, S. P. S.; Austin, J. A., Jr.; Bangs, N. L.; Udrekh, U.

2014-12-01

The accretionary prism offshore northern Sumatra consists of steep outer slopes (5-12°), and a plateau ~100-120 km wide comprised of anticlinal folds of 2-16 km wavelength seaward of a steep slope adjacent to the Aceh (forearc) Basin. Our study area, 1-7°N and 92-97°E, covers the entire forearc from northwest of Aceh to west of Simeulue Island. Five 2D MCS seismic profiles transecting the prism from the Sunda Trench to the Aceh Basin, along with multibeam data, have been used to investigate wedge morphology and structure. Analysis of fold vergence along the profiles and areal classification of the predominant vergence reveal three structural zones: 1) predominantly landward-vergent folds near the Sunda Trench, 2) predominantly seaward-vergent folds near the Aceh Basin, and 3) mixed vergent folds between those two zones. Extensive landward vergence is uncommon in accretionary prisms worldwide. One explanation is the existence of a backstop with a seaward dipping edge, such that overlying younger sediments accreted to the prism form landward-vergent folds. We propose a backstop geometry that extends from under the Aceh Basin to under the mixed vergence zone, based on the observed structural zones and published velocity models of this margin. The backstop may consist either of older accreted sediment or the granitic Sunda Block. With the existence of a strong inner wedge acting as a backstop, together with suspected indurated sediments forming the landward vergence zone, rupture during major subduction zone earthquakes nucleating under the forearc basin or central plateau high can propagate farther seaward toward the Sunda Trench and displace greater volumes of water than a more landward rupture, yielding more hazardous tsunami. Using bathymetric data of before and after the 2004 earthquake, we are now testing the hypothesis that maximum slip occurs near the trench. These results will be presented.

Trench 'bathtubbing' and surface plutonium contamination at a legacy radioactive waste site.

PubMed

Payne, Timothy E; Harrison, Jennifer J; Hughes, Catherine E; Johansen, Mathew P; Thiruvoth, Sangeeth; Wilsher, Kerry L; Cendón, Dioni I; Hankin, Stuart I; Rowling, Brett; Zawadzki, Atun

2013-01-01

Radioactive waste containing a few grams of plutonium (Pu) was disposed between 1960 and 1968 in trenches at the Little Forest Burial Ground (LFBG), near Sydney, Australia. A water sampling point installed in a former trench has enabled the radionuclide content of trench water and the response of the water level to rainfall to be studied. The trench water contains readily measurable Pu activity (~12 Bq/L of (239+240)Pu in 0.45 μm-filtered water), and there is an associated contamination of Pu in surface soils. The highest (239+240)Pu soil activity was 829 Bq/kg in a shallow sample (0-1 cm depth) near the trench sampling point. Away from the trenches, the elevated concentrations of Pu in surface soils extend for tens of meters down-slope. The broader contamination may be partly attributable to dispersion events in the first decade after disposal, after which a layer of soil was added above the trenched area. Since this time, further Pu contamination has occurred near the trench-sampler within this added layer. The water level in the trench-sampler responds quickly to rainfall and intermittently reaches the surface, hence the Pu dispersion is attributed to saturation and overflow of the trenches during extreme rainfall events, referred to as the 'bathtub' effect.

Partitioning soil respiration: examining the artifacts of the trenching method.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savage, K. E.; Davidson, E. A.; Finzi, A.; Giasson, M. A.; Wehr, R. A.

2014-12-01

Soil respiration (Rs) is a combination of autotrophic (Ra) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh). Several methods have been developed to tease out the components of Rs, such as isotopic analyses, and removing Ra input through tree girdling and root exclusion experiments. Trenching involves severing the rooting system surrounding a plot to remove the Ra component within the plot. This method has some potential limitations. Reduced water uptake in trenched plots could change soil water content, which is one of the environmental controllers of Rs in many ecosystems. Eliminating root inputs could reduce heterotrophic decomposition of SOM via lack of priming. On the other hand, the severed dead roots may temporarily increase available carbon substrate for Rh. At the Harvard Forest, MA, we used the trenching method to partition Rs into its components Ra and Rh. Pre-trenched Rs was measured from spring to fall of 2012. In late fall of 2012, a trench was excavated to 1m depth around a 5x5m area, severing all roots. Plastic tarp was placed along the trench walls and then backfilled. Four automated Rs chambers were placed in the trenched plot and four in an un-trenched plot. Respiration was measured hourly for each chamber along with soil temperature and moisture from spring through fall of 2013 and 2014. Eighty root decomposition bags were placed in the organic soil horizon of the trenched (40) and un-trenched (40) plots at the time of trenching in 2012 and measured in 2013 and 2014. These data are being used to estimate the size and duration of any artifact due to root death. As expected, Rs was lower in the trenched plot (Rh only) than in the un-trenched plot (Rh + Ra) in 2013, but the reverse was unexpectedly observed during a period of low precipitation in 2014. High rates of ET combined with below-average precipitation dried the un-trenched plot to a point where Rh was inhibited, whereas less ET allowed the un-trenched plots to remain measurably wetter.

Single-event burnout hardening of planar power MOSFET with partially widened trench source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Jiang; Liu, Hainan; Cai, Xiaowu; Luo, Jiajun; Li, Bo; Li, Binhong; Wang, Lixin; Han, Zhengsheng

2018-03-01

We present a single-event burnout (SEB) hardened planar power MOSFET with partially widened trench sources by three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation. The advantage of the proposed structure is that the work of the parasitic bipolar transistor inherited in the power MOSFET is suppressed effectively due to the elimination of the most sensitive region (P-well region below the N+ source). The simulation result shows that the proposed structure can enhance the SEB survivability significantly. The critical value of linear energy transfer (LET), which indicates the maximum deposited energy on the device without SEB behavior, increases from 0.06 to 0.7 pC/μm. The SEB threshold voltage increases to 120 V, which is 80% of the rated breakdown voltage. Meanwhile, the main parameter characteristics of the proposed structure remain similar with those of the conventional planar structure. Therefore, this structure offers a potential optimization path to planar power MOSFET with high SEB survivability for space and atmospheric applications. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61404161, 61404068, 61404169).

KSC-05PD-0893

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. During a walkdown of Launch Pad 39B, the STS-114 crew pauses for a photograph in the flame trench underneath the pad. The flame trench, built with concrete and refractory brick, bisects the pad at ground level. It is 490 feet long, 58 feet wide and 42 feet deep. The flame deflector system includes an inverted, V-shaped steel structure covered with a high-temperature concrete material five inches thick that extends across the center of the flame trench. One side of the V receives and deflects the flames from the Orbiter main engines; the opposite side deflects the flames from the Solid Rocket Boosters. There are also two movable deflectors at the top of the trench to provide additional protection to Shuttle hardware from the Solid Rocket Booster flames. STS-114 is designated the first Return to Flight mission, with a launch window extending from July 13 to July 31. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight. It provides the crew of each mission an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown activities. The test ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cutoff. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the launch pad.

III/V nano ridge structures for optical applications on patterned 300 mm silicon substrate

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

Kunert, B.; Guo, W.; Mols, Y.

We report on an integration approach of III/V nano ridges on patterned silicon (Si) wafers by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Trenches of different widths (≤500 nm) were processed in a silicon oxide (SiO{sub 2}) layer on top of a 300 mm (001) Si substrate. The MOVPE growth conditions were chosen in a way to guarantee an efficient defect trapping within narrow trenches and to form a box shaped ridge with increased III/V volume when growing out of the trench. Compressively strained InGaAs/GaAs multi-quantum wells with 19% indium were deposited on top of the fully relaxed GaAs ridges as an activemore » material for optical applications. Transmission electron microcopy investigation shows that very flat quantum well (QW) interfaces were realized. A clear defect trapping inside the trenches is observed whereas the ridge material is free of threading dislocations with only a very low density of planar defects. Pronounced QW photoluminescence (PL) is detected from different ridge sizes at room temperature. The potential of these III/V nano ridges for laser integration on Si substrates is emphasized by the achieved ridge volume which could enable wave guidance and by the high crystal quality in line with the distinct PL.« less

Submersible Research in Extreme Environments Using a Novel Light-Tethered Hybrid ROV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowen, A. D.; Fryer, P.; Shank, T.; Edwards, M.

2003-12-01

The Hybrid Remotely Operated Vehicle (HROV) will provide the U.S. oceanographic community with capable and cost-effective technology for routine access to the world's oceans to 11,000 meters. The hybrid vehicle design permits operation as an untethered, fully autonomous vehicle, and also as a self-powered ROV employing a 3mm diameter optical fiber tether for real-time telemetry of data and video to operators on a surface ship. Several environments that are currently inaccessible for detailed research have sufficiently mature and testable scientific problems that could be addressed using the HROV. The greatest depths on the surface of Earth are found in oceanic trenches. The complex effects of subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath both continental and oceanic lithospheric plates are subjects of intense interest in the marine geological and geophysical community because they are prime areas where oceanic lithosphere is recycled back into the mantle. Recent studies of the Challenger Deep (CD) in the Mariana Trench show potential fluid conduits on the subducting plate that occur at depths greater than 10,000 m. The inner trench slope in the vicinity of the CD is a site where fluids derived from the down-going plate and talus from the overriding plate may be interacting. The processes of talus accumulation at this locality and the ultimate fate of the material may be critical to understanding the processes of tectonic erosion and of arc recycling in convergent plate margins. Also, the biology and microbiology of these sites is virtually unknown. The HROV will be ideally suited to conduct pioneering mapping and sampling of these seafloor environments. Over the past few decades, mid-ocean ridge studies have been enabled by deep submergence vehicle access and capabilities, and likewise, this branch of science has provided compelling need for the current family of synergistic deep submergence systems. With the recent identification and first-order mapping and dredging studies of ultra-slow spreading ridges in the Arctic, for instance, scientists are poised to make breakthroughs in our understanding of this important end-member of seafloor spreading environment. The ability to sample and observe detailed geological, biological and chemical processes occurring at these slowest spreading MORs will undoubtedly revolutionize our understanding of how seafloor spreading is manifested in these settings. In addition, we expect to find a host of novel biological communities and chemical-biochemical processes associated with recently discovered hydrothermal venting on Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean as a consequence of tectonic isolation starting in the late Mesozoic. It was not until the middle Miocene that deep water communication was reestablished with the north Atlantic and not until 3Ma with the north Pacific . Currently, Iceland essentially blocks potential migrations from the mid-Atlantic ridge to the Gakkel ridge. The HROV will be highly applicable to operations under-ice, such as those that will be required for survey, close-up inspection, and sampling of sites on the ultra slow spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Basin.

Alternative methods to trench backfill.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-04-30

Conduit structures dealing with hydraulic drainage needs in the Louisiana highway system include pipe culverts, pipe arch culverts, storm drains, sewers, etc. Although the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) has standard s...

Trench ‘Bathtubbing’ and Surface Plutonium Contamination at a Legacy Radioactive Waste Site

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Radioactive waste containing a few grams of plutonium (Pu) was disposed between 1960 and 1968 in trenches at the Little Forest Burial Ground (LFBG), near Sydney, Australia. A water sampling point installed in a former trench has enabled the radionuclide content of trench water and the response of the water level to rainfall to be studied. The trench water contains readily measurable Pu activity (∼12 Bq/L of 239+240Pu in 0.45 μm-filtered water), and there is an associated contamination of Pu in surface soils. The highest 239+240Pu soil activity was 829 Bq/kg in a shallow sample (0–1 cm depth) near the trench sampling point. Away from the trenches, the elevated concentrations of Pu in surface soils extend for tens of meters down-slope. The broader contamination may be partly attributable to dispersion events in the first decade after disposal, after which a layer of soil was added above the trenched area. Since this time, further Pu contamination has occurred near the trench-sampler within this added layer. The water level in the trench-sampler responds quickly to rainfall and intermittently reaches the surface, hence the Pu dispersion is attributed to saturation and overflow of the trenches during extreme rainfall events, referred to as the ‘bathtub’ effect. PMID:24256473

Habitat heterogeneity of hadal trenches: Considerations and implications for future studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Heather A.; Jamieson, Alan J.

2018-02-01

The hadal zone largely comprises a series of subduction trenches that do not form part of the continental shelf-slope rise to abyssal plain continuum. Instead they form geographically isolated clusters of deep-sea (6000-11,000 m water depth) environments. There is a growing realization in hadal science that ecological patterns and processes are not driven solely by responses to hydrostatic pressure, with comparable levels of habitat heterogeneity as observed in other marine biozones. Furthermore, this heterogeneity can be expressed at multiple scales from inter-trench levels (degrees of geographical isolation, and biochemical province), to intra-trench levels (variation between trench flanks and axis), topographical features within the trench interior (sedimentary basins, ridges, escarpments, 'deeps', seamounts) to the substrate of the trench floor (seabed-sediment composition, mass movement deposits, bedrock outcrop). Using best available bathymetry data combined with the largest lander-derived imaging dataset that spans the full depth range of three hadal trenches (including adjacent slopes); the Mariana, Kermadec and New Hebrides trenches, the topographic variability, fine-scale habitat heterogeneity and distribution of seabed sediments of these three trenches have been assessed for the first time. As well as serving as the first descriptive study of habitat heterogeneity at hadal depths, this study also provides guidance for future hadal sampling campaigns taking into account geographic isolation, total trench particulate organic matter flux, maximum water depth and area.

Intra- and intertrench variations in flexural bending of the Manila, Mariana and global trenches: implications on plate weakening in controlling trench dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Fan; Lin, Jian; Zhou, Zhiyuan; Yang, Hongfeng; Zhan, Wenhuan

2018-02-01

We conducted detailed analyses of a global array of trenches, revealing systematic intra- and intertrench variations in plate bending characteristics. The intratrench variations of the Manila and Mariana Trenches were analysed in detail as end-member cases of the relatively young (16-36 Ma) and old (140-160 Ma) subducting plates, respectively. Meanwhile, the intertrench variability was investigated for a global array of additional trenches including the Philippine, Kuril, Japan, Izu-Bonin, Aleutian, Tonga-Kermadec, Middle America, Peru, Chile, Sumatra and Java Trenches. Results of the analysis show that the trench relief (W0) and width (X0) of all systems are controlled primarily by the faulting-reduced elastic thickness near the trench axis (Tem) and affected only slightly by the initial unfaulted thickness (TeM) of the incoming plate. The reduction in Te has caused significant deepening and narrowing of trench valleys. For the cases of relatively young or old plates, the plate age could be a dominant factor in controlling the trench bending shape, regardless the variations in axial loadings. Our calculations also show that the axial loading and stresses of old subducting plates can vary significantly along the trench axis. In contrast, the young subducting plates show much smaller values and variations in axial loading and stresses.

Crustal structure of the Sunda-Banda arc transition: results from marine geophysical investigations offshore eastern Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Planert, L.; Shulgin, A.; Kopp, H.; Lueschen, E.; Mueller, C.; Flueh, E.; Djajadihardja, Y.; Engels, M.

2009-04-01

The Sunda-Banda arc transition, the easternmost portion of the Indonesian convergent margin, presents a probably unique natural laboratory to study lower plate variability and related upper plate deformation in the so-called ‘subduction factory' for a deeper understanding of forearc evolution. In neighboring margin segments, we can observe strong changes of the incoming plate (transition from an oceanic to a continental lower plate, increasing plate age to the East, presence/absence of an oceanic plateau, variability in plate roughness) as well as a wide range of corresponding forearc structures, including large sedimentary basins and an accretionary prism/outer arc high of variable size and shape. During RV Sonne cruise SO190 in 2006 (SINDBAD: Seismic and Geoacoustic Investigations along the Sunda-Banda Arc Transition), we acquired a combination of seismic wide-angle OBH/OBS refraction, multichannel streamer and gravity data in order to study the seismic velocity structure of the subducting crust and the overriding island arc along a number of trench normal corridors located between 113°E and 121°E. Additionally, a number of trench parallel profiles were conducted which mainly focus on the internal structure of the large sedimentary basins and which were also intended for further clarifying the type of underlying forearc crust and mantle respectively. We used a tomographic approach for refracted and reflected phases to obtain seismic velocity models which again were used for prestack depth-migration of the MCS data. In turn, we incorporated the highly resolved sedimentary portions as a priori structure in our tomography. The results show the seismic velocity structure of the incoming plate, starting 100 km seaward of the trench, and the adjoining forearc down to depths of 20-28 km, i.e. well into the upper mantle, and at the same time fit the gravity data very well, using simple velocity-density relations. In the Argo abyssal plain, the models show 8.0-8.5 km thick oceanic crust. The velocities in the crust and uppermost mantle are reduced within distances of ~50 km seaward of the trench, which coincides with the onset of normal faulting on the incoming oceanic plate. Anomalously low mantle velocities of 7.5 km/s directly beneath the Moho are possibly due to the intrusion of seawater and subsequent serpentinisation of mantle peridotite. Landward of the trench in the outer arc high, velocities do not exceed 5.5 km/s down to the top of the subducting slab, which can be traced over ~70 km length beneath the forearc down to ~13 km depth. The plate boundary is of irregular shape, obviously imprinted by the complex deformation of the oceanic basement prior to subduction, which is further amplified as response to thrusting/downbending of the dissected oceanic blocks. Offshore Lombok island, our models reveal the geometry of the Lombok basin as well as the forearc Moho in ~16 km depth. Reduced upper mantle velocities suggest a hydrated shallow mantle wedge for this corridor. Further east offshore Sumba island, where the Java trench terminates and the transition to the collisional regime further east occurs, our models show a subducting oceanic plate of similar thickness and structure. But different to the situation offshore Lombok, we find no evidence for a shallow mantle wedge beneath the forearc; crustal-type velocities are found down to depths of ~20 km. The different forearc regime is most likely related to the collision with the Sumba block. Our results give a detailed view into the complex structure in both the deeper and shallower portions of this convergent margin.

Outer Rise Faulting And Mantle Serpentinization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranero, C. R.; Phipps Morgan, J.; McIntosh, K.; Reichert, C.

Dehydration of serpentinized mantle of the downgoing slab has been proposed to cause both intermediate depth earthquakes (50-300 km) and arc volcanism at sub- duction zones. It has been suggested that most of this serpentinization occurs beneath the outer rise; where normal faulting earthquakes due to bending cut > 20 km deep into the lithosphere, allowing seawater to reach and react with underlying mantle. However, little is known about flexural faulting at convergent margins; about how many normal faults cut across the crust and how deeply they penetrate into the man- tle; about the true potential of faults as conduits for fluid flow and how much water can be added through this process. We present evidence that pervasive flexural faulting may cut deep into the mantle and that the amount of faulting vary dramatically along strike at subduction zones. Flexural faulting increases towards the trench axis indicat- ing that active extension occurs in a broad area. Multibeam bathymetry of the Pacific margin of Costa Rica and Nicaragua shows a remarkable variation in the amount of flexural faulting along the incoming ocean plate. Several parameters seem to control lateral variability. Off south Costa Rica thick crust of the Cocos Ridge flexes little, and little to no faulting develops near the trench. Off central Costa Rica, normal thick- ness crust with magnetic anomalies striking oblique to the trench displays small offset faults (~200 m) striking similar to the original seafloor fabric. Off northern Costa Rica, magnetic anomalies strike perpendicular to the trench axis, and a few ~100m-offset faults develop parallel to the trench. Further north, across the Nicaraguan margin, magnetic anomalies strike parallel to the trench and the most widespread faulting de- velops entering the trench. Multichannel seismic reflection images in this area show a pervasive set of trenchward dipping reflections that cross the ~6 km thick crust and extend into the mantle to depths of at least 20 km. Some reflections project updip to offsets in top basement and seafloor, indicating that they are fault plane reflections. Such a deeply penetrating tectonic fabric could have not developed during crustal cre- ation at the paleo-spreading center where the brittle layer is few km thick. Thus, they must be created during flexure of the plate entering the trench. This data imply that deep and widespread serpentinization of the incoming lithosphere can occur when the lithosphere is strongly faulted; that the extent of lithospheric faulting is closely re- lated to the crustal structure of the incoming plate; and that the amount of lithosphere faulting can change dramatically within a hundred km distance along a trench axis.

Geology of Saipan, Mariana Islands; Part 1, General geology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloud, Preston E.; Schmidt, Robert George; Burke, Harold W.

1956-01-01

Saipan, situated about 15° N. and 146° E., is one of the larger and more southerly of the Mariana Islands. The 15 small islands of this chain are strung along an eastwardly convex ridge for more than 400 miles north to south, midway between Honshu and New Guinea and about 1,200 miles east of the Philippines. Paralleling this ridge 60 to 100 miles further east is a deep submarine trench, beyond which lies the Pacific Basin proper. To the west is the Philippine Sea, generally deeper than 2,000 fathoms. The trench coincides with a zone of negative gravity anomalies, earthquake foci occur at increasing depths westward from it, and silica- and alumina-rich volcanic rocks characterize the emergent island chain itself. The contrast between these features and those of the Pacific Basin proper to the east is held to favor the conclusion that the Mariana island arc and trench define the structural and petrographic front of Asia

High-directionality fiber-chip grating coupler with interleaved trenches and subwavelength index-matching structure.

PubMed

Benedikovic, Daniel; Alonso-Ramos, Carlos; Cheben, Pavel; Schmid, Jens H; Wang, Shurui; Xu, Dan-Xia; Lapointe, Jean; Janz, Siegfried; Halir, Robert; Ortega-Moñux, Alejandro; Wangüemert-Pérez, J Gonzalo; Molina-Fernández, Iñigo; Fédéli, Jean-Marc; Vivien, Laurent; Dado, Milan

2015-09-15

We present the first experimental demonstration of a new fiber-chip grating coupler concept that exploits the blazing effect by interleaving the standard full (220 nm) and shallow etch (70 nm) trenches in a 220 nm thick silicon layer. The high directionality is obtained by controlling the separation between the deep and shallow trenches to achieve constructive interference in the upward direction and destructive interference toward the silicon substrate. Utilizing this concept, the grating directionality can be maximized independent of the bottom oxide thickness. The coupler also includes a subwavelength-engineered index-matching region, designed to reduce the reflectivity at the interface between the injection waveguide and the grating. We report a measured fiber-chip coupling efficiency of -1.3  dB, the highest coupling efficiency achieved to date for a surface grating coupler in a 220 nm silicon-on-insulator platform fabricated in a conventional dual-etch process without high-index overlays or bottom mirrors.

Characterization of the Scale Model Acoustic Test Overpressure Environment using Computational Fluid Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nielsen, Tanner; West, Jeff

2015-01-01

The Scale Model Acoustic Test (SMAT) is a 5% scale test of the Space Launch System (SLS), which is currently being designed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The purpose of this test is to characterize and understand a variety of acoustic phenomena that occur during the early portions of lift off, one being the overpressure environment that develops shortly after booster ignition. The pressure waves that propagate from the mobile launcher (ML) exhaust hole are defined as the ignition overpressure (IOP), while the portion of the pressure waves that exit the duct or trench are the duct overpressure (DOP). Distinguishing the IOP and DOP in scale model test data has been difficult in past experiences and in early SMAT results, due to the effects of scaling the geometry. The speed of sound of the air and combustion gas constituents is not scaled, and therefore the SMAT pressure waves propagate at approximately the same speed as occurs in full scale. However, the SMAT geometry is twenty times smaller, allowing the pressure waves to move down the exhaust hole, through the trench and duct, and impact the vehicle model much faster than occurs at full scale. The DOP waves impact portions of the vehicle at the same time as the IOP waves, making it difficult to distinguish the different waves and fully understand the data. To better understand the SMAT data, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed with a fictitious geometry that isolates the IOP and DOP. The upper and lower portions of the domain were segregated to accomplish the isolation in such a way that the flow physics were not significantly altered. The Loci/CHEM CFD software program was used to perform this analysis.

Seismicity and state of stress near the Japan Trench axis off Miyagi, northeast Japan, after the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obana, K.; Kodaira, S.; Takahashi, T.; Yamamoto, Y.; Nakamura, Y.; No, T.; Fujie, G.; Hino, R.; Shinohara, M.

2013-12-01

The 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake ruptured roughly 200 km wide and 500 km long megathrust along the Japan Trench. The rupture propagated to the trench axis with a maximum slip about 50 m near the trench axis. As a consequence of this large near-trench slip, earthquakes have been activated near the axis of the Japan Trench off Miyagi, northeast Japan. We have conducted ocean bottom seismograph (OBS) experiments in the Japan Trench axis area, surrounding area of the IODP JFAST drilling site, since the occurrence of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Although conventionally used OBS cannot be deployed at seafloor deeper than 6000 m water depth, we used newly developed ultra-deep OBS using ceramic sphere, which can be deployed at a depth of 9000 m, for the observations in the trench axis. The ultra-deep OBS has almost equivalent dimensions and weight with the conventionally used OBS, thus we can handle it in the same manner with the conventionally OBS without any special operation. As a result of a series of the OBS observations, we obtained accurate hypocenter locations and focal mechanisms in both seaward and landward of the trench axis. Earthquakes near the trench axis area were located within the overriding and incoming/subducting plates with very few on the plate interface below the inner trench slope landward of the trench axis. Most of the earthquakes both in the overriding and incoming/subducting plates having normal or strike-slip faulting focal mechanisms with T-axis normal to the trench axis. This indicates that tensional stress is dominant in the trench axis area. However, most seaward part of the seismicity within the overriding plate is characterized by a localized cluster of trench-normal compressional earthquakes, which may relate to spatial variation of the frictional behavior of the shallowest part of the megathrust. On the other hand, trench-normal extensional earthquakes in the incoming/subducting Pacific plate were located at depths shallower than about 35 to 40 km. The deepest trench-normal extensional earthquake observed during OBS observations from December 2012 to January 2013 is slightly shallower than that observed from May to June in 2011 but further observations are required to investigate the temporal change. Continued and repeated earthquake observations could provide information on post-seismic behavior of the megathrust and recovery process of the stress state.

KSC Launch Pad Flame Trench Environment Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, Luz Marina; Hintze, Paul E.; Parlier, Christopher R.; Curran, Jerome P.; Kolody, Mark R.; Sampson, Jeffrey W.

2010-01-01

This report summarizes conditions in the Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) flame trenches during a Space Shuttle Launch, as they have been measured to date. Instrumentation of the flame trench has been carried out by NASA and United Space Alliance for four Shuttle launches. Measurements in the flame trench are planned to continue for the duration of the Shuttle Program. The assessment of the launch environment is intended to provide guidance in selecting appropriate test methods for refractory materials used in the flame trench and to provide data used to improve models of the launch environment in the flame trench.

Comparative analysis of film cooling efficiency at coolant supply into a single array of triangular dimples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalatov, A. A.; Petliak, O. O.; Severin, S. D.; Panchenko, N. A.

2018-03-01

The purpose of this work is a comparative study of the physical structure and film cooling efficiency of the single array of inclined holes, placed in triangular dimples and in a trench. The software package ANSYS CFX 17.0 was used along with RANS SST turbulence model. Calculations were made in a wide range of the blowing ratio ranging from 0.5 to 2.0. Results of modeling have shown high efficiency of triangular film cooling configuration. At m ≥ 1.5, the triangular configuration is comparable with the trench configuration in terms of the film cooling efficiency.

Ridge InGaAs/InP multi-quantum-well selective growth in nanoscale trenches on Si (001) substrate

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

Li, S.; Zhou, X.; Li, M.

Metal organic chemical vapor deposition of InGaAs/InP multi-quantum-well in nanoscale V-grooved trenches on Si (001) substrate was studied using the aspect ratio trapping method. A high quality GaAs/InP buffer layer with two convex (111) B facets was selectively grown to promote the highly uniform, single-crystal ridge InP/InGaAs multi-quantum-well structure growth. Material quality was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and room temperature micro-photoluminescence measurements. This approach shows great promise for the fabrication of photonics devices and nanolasers on Si substrate.

KSC-08pd2114

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers spray a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2119

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers spray a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2117

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers spray a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2115

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers on a platform spray a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2118

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers pack a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre into steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench. Fondue Fyre was developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2111

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This elevated view of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows workers preparing to fill steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench, with a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre, developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2112

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This elevated view of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows the steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench, which workers will be filling with a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre, developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2113

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This elevated view of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows workers filling steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench, with a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre, developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2110

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This elevated view of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows workers preparing to fill steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench, with a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre, developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Development of a Shallow Decollement Along the South-Central Chile Margin from 2D Seismic Reflection Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, K.; Bangs, N. L.; Arnulf, A. F.; Trehu, A. M.; Contreras Reyes, E.

2017-12-01

In January and February, 2017, we acquired approximately 5,000 km of deep-penetrating 2D seismic reflection data along the Chile trench between 30° - 44°S as a part of the 2017 Crustal Examination from Valdivia to Illapel to Characterize Huge Earthquakes (CEVICHE) project, on the R/V Langseth. We used a 6,600 in3 airgun source to shoot every 50 m and recorded shots on a 15,100 m, 1212 channel streamer. This survey targeted the structure of this subduction zone across the slip regions of the 2015 Illapel (Mw 8.3), the 2010 Maule (Mw 8.8), and 1960 Valdivia (Mw 9.5) earthquakes. Two dip lines between 37.5°S and 39°S, within the overlapping slip areas of the Maule and Valdivia earthquakes, show a range in the style of initial thrust faulting at the deformation front. At 37.5°S, just south of the Arauco Peninsula, protothrusts at the deformation front are typical of many well-sedimented trench sections in subduction zones worldwide. Here we observe incipient landward-dipping thrusts consisting of 15 faults with typical horizontal spacing of 750 m that can be seen to extend down through the entire 2.5 km thick sediment sequence to the top of the subducting ocean crust. Some form conjugate fault pairs, but all have small offsets of 10-50 m. These thrusts appear to sole into a proto-decollement located just above the top of the ocean crust; however, farther landward beneath the lower slope, a thick, 2.5 km, sequence of layered sediment can be traced > 20 km into the subduction zone. The position of the primary decollement appears to be located near the top of the trench sediment sequence, well above the proto-decollement, allowing subduction of the entire trench sequence. A second line at 39°S across the deformation front shows no frontal thrusts or apparent deformation within the 1.5 km thick section of trench sediment. All of the incoming sediment appears to be subducting beneath a stable decollement that we can image near the top of the trench sediment sequence. The decollement along the northern line may be currently stepping down and transitioning from minimal accretion, typical of this segment of the Chile margin, to accretion of the entire trench section. Alternatively, the initial deformation at the toe may cease and allow slip to shift upward to the shallow decollement and continue to subduct the entire trench sediment section.

Deformation patterns in the southwestern part of the Mediterranean Ridge (South Matapan Trench, Western Greece)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andronikidis, Nikolaos; Kokinou, Eleni; Vafidis, Antonios; Kamberis, Evangelos; Manoutsoglou, Emmanouil

2017-12-01

Seismic reflection data and bathymetry analyses, together with geological information, are combined in the present work to identify seabed structural deformation and crustal structure in the Western Mediterranean Ridge (the backstop and the South Matapan Trench). As a first step, we apply bathymetric data and state of art methods of pattern recognition to automatically detect seabed lineaments, which are possibly related to the presence of tectonic structures (faults). The resulting pattern is tied to seismic reflection data, further assisting in the construction of a stratigraphic and structural model for this part of the Mediterranean Ridge. Structural elements and stratigraphic units in the final model are estimated based on: (a) the detected lineaments on the seabed, (b) the distribution of the interval velocities and the presence of velocity inversions, (c) the continuity and the amplitudes of the seismic reflections, the seismic structure of the units and (d) well and stratigraphic data as well as the main tectonic structures from the nearest onshore areas. Seabed morphology in the study area is probably related with the past and recent tectonics movements that result from African and European plates' convergence. Backthrusts and reverse faults, flower structures and deep normal faults are among the most important extensional/compressional structures interpreted in the study area.

Installation of water and gas-sampling wells in low-level radioactive-waste burial trenches, West Valley, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.

1978-01-01

A low-level radioactive-waste burial site, West Valley, N.Y., operated from 1963 to 1975, contains 12 refuse-filled trenches about 20 feet deep in till. Twenty-eight wells, 1.25 inch in diameter, were driven to selected depths in 11 of the 12 trenches to obtain gas and water samples for chemical and radiochemical analysis, water-level measurements for evaluation of trench-cover permeability. Gas from unsaturated refuse above the trench water level was detected in nearly all wells. Rapid water-level response in most wells to pumping of water from trench sumps 20 to 275 feet distant showed the refuse to be highly permeable. Described in detail are the methods and equipment used to (1) install the wells, (2) collect gas and water samples, and (3) monitor radiation and methane concentrations while driving wells into trenches. A record of each well driven into the burial trenches is included. (Woodard-USGS)

Measurement of plasma sheath overlap above a trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheridan, T. E.; Steinberger, Thomas E.

2017-06-01

The plasma sheath above a rectangular trench has been experimentally characterized as the trench width is varied in a radio frequency (rf) plasma discharge for two different rf powers giving two different sets of plasma parameters. Measurements were made using the positions and all six normal mode frequencies of two dust particles floating just inside the sheath edge above the center of the trench. We find that sheath overlap occurs when the trench width ≲ 3 s 0 for a trench depth ≈0.7s0, where s0 is the planar sheath width. The electric field gradient inside the sheath edge increases with rf power.

High (36)Cl/Cl ratios in Chernobyl groundwater.

PubMed

Roux, Céline; Le Gal La Salle, Corinne; Simonucci, Caroline; Van Meir, Nathalie; Fifield, L Keith; Diez, Olivier; Bassot, Sylvain; Simler, Roland; Bugai, Dmitri; Kashparov, Valery; Lancelot, Joël

2014-12-01

After the explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in April 1986, contaminated material was buried in shallow trenches within the exclusion zone. A (90)Sr plume was evidenced downgradient of one of these trenches, trench T22. Due to its conservative properties, (36)Cl is investigated here as a potential tracer to determine the maximal extent of the contamination plume from the trench in groundwater. (36)Cl/Cl ratios measured in groundwater, trench soil water and leaf leachates are 1-5 orders of magnitude higher than the theoretical natural (36)Cl/Cl ratio. This contamination occurred after the Chernobyl explosion and currently persists. Trench T22 acts as an obvious modern point source of (36)Cl, however other sources have to be involved to explain such contamination. (36)Cl contamination of groundwater can be explained by dilution of trench soil water by uncontaminated water (rainwater or deep groundwater). With a plume extending further than that of (90)Sr, radionuclide which is impacted by retention and decay processes, (36)Cl can be considered as a suitable tracer of contamination from the trench in groundwater provided that modern release processes of (36)Cl from trench soil are better characterized. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing earthquake hazards with fault trench and LiDAR maps in the Puget Lowland, Washington, USA (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, A. R.; Bradley, L.; Personius, S. F.; Johnson, S. Y.

2010-12-01

Deciphering the earthquake histories of faults over the past few thousands of years in tectonically complex forearc regions relies on detailed site-specific as well as regional geologic maps. Here we present examples of site-specific USGS maps used to reconstruct earthquake histories for faults in the Puget Lowland. Near-surface faults and folds in the Puget Lowland accommodate 4-7 mm/yr of north-south shortening resulting from northward migration of forearc blocks along the Cascadia convergent margin. The shortening has produced east-trending uplifts, basins, and associated reverse faults that traverse urban areas. Near the eastern and northern flanks of the Olympic Mountains, complex interactions between north-south shortening and mountain uplift are reflected by normal, oblique-slip, and reverse surface faults. Holocene oblique-slip movement has also been mapped on Whidbey Island and on faults in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in the northeastern lowland. The close proximity of lowland faults to urban areas may pose a greater earthquake hazard there than do much longer but more distant plate-boundary faults. LiDAR imagery of the densely forested lowland flown over the past 12 years revealed many previously unknown 0.5-m to 6-m-high scarps showing Holocene movement on upper-plate faults. This imagery uses two-way traveltimes of laser light pulses to detect as little as 0.2 m of relative relief on the forest floor. The returns of laser pulses with the longest travel times yield digital elevation models of the ground surface, which we vertically exaggerate and digitally shade from multiple directions at variable transparencies to enhance identification of scarps. Our maps include imagery at scales of 1:40,000 to 1:2500 with contour spacings of 100 m to 0.5 m. Maps of the vertical walls of fault-scarp trenches show complex stratigraphies and structural relations used to decipher the histories of large surface-rupturing earthquakes. These logs (field mapping at 1:8 to 1:20 scales) of 25 trenches are included in five published (and one in preparation) maps along with lithologic descriptions of stratigraphic units and tables of 14C, structural, and stratigraphic data. Maps include soil profile data, topographic profiles across scarps, structural orientation data, or photographs of trench sites or trench walls. Stratigraphy and 14C ages suggest that earthquake recurrence varies from less than a century to many thousands of years. Interpretation and synthesis of such data are reserved for journal papers, which commonly cannot accommodate the detailed, large-format information shown on the maps. Many thanks to Brian Sherrod, Harvey Kelsey, Jason Buck, Ray Wells, Liz Schermer, Rob Witter, Rich Koehler, Rich Briggs, Robert Bogar, Gary Henley, Dave Harding, Koji Okumura, Silvio Pezzopane, Bob Bucknam, Zeb Maharrey, Bill Laprade, Ralph Haugerud, Lee Liberty, Michael Polenz, Eliza Nemser, Trenton Cladouhos, and many others for days to many weeks of effort in our trenches over the past 12 years.

Hypothetical model for the bending of the Mariana Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCabe, Robert; Uyeda, Seiya

The southern Mariana Arc has a distinct eastward convex shape which is more pronounced than the typical arcuate structure observed above oceanic subduction zones. The Yap Trench is offset hundreds of kilometers westward from the main Izu-Bonin-Mariana trend. Between the southern Mariana Arc and the Yap Trench, the Mariana Arc has an anomalous east-west orientation and is characterized by a markedly lower seismicity than the main Mariana trend. Situated east of the Yap Trench is the ESE trending Caroline Ridge that geochemically resembles the Hawaiian hot spot trend. Paleomagnetic data from Truk and the generally increasing ages to the WNW trend of the Caroline Ridge suggest that the Caroline Ridge is part of the Pacific plate as suggested by Clague and Jarrard (1973). Pacific plate motion for the Caroline Ridge predicts that the ridge has collided with the Yap Trench during the Tertiary. Other evidence for this collision is observed on the island of Yap and by the fact that this portion of the arc has not had volcanic activity during the Neogene period. Paleomagnetic studies show that since the early Oligocene, Guam has rotated greater than 50° clockwise. During this same period, Saipan has rotated only 35° clockwise. These data, the similar bends of the west Mariana Ridge and the Mariana Ridge, and the orientation of fold axes on Guam and Saipan suggest that the clockwise rotation occurred after the initiation of spreading of the Parece Vela Basin and before the opening of the Mariana Trough. This investigation also suggests that the east-west trending portion of the Mariana Trench is a transform boundary which developed in response to the collision.

Correlations between Crustal Structure and Slip on the Cascadia Megathrust (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trehu, A. M.

2013-12-01

A number of active-source seismic imaging experiments of the Cascadia forearc margin have been conducted over the past three decades. Seismic P-wave velocity models derived from these experiments, when combined with geodetic, potential field, morphological and other data, reveal structures in both the upper and lower plate that can be correlated with current microseismic activity, geodetic signals indicating interplate locking, and apparent segmentation of past large plate boundary earthquakes as determined from onshore and offshore paleoseismic data. These data are being interpreted to construct maps of the apparent seismic velocity structure averaged over several km above and below the expected plate boundary and extending from the region characterized by episodic tremor and slip up dip to the deformation front. Preliminary results for the recent CIET, COAST and Ridge-to-Trench experiments that support, challenge or extend an evolving working model for structural constraints on plate boundary deformation in Cascadia will also be discussed. Other co-PIs who have planned and executed the CIET, COAST and Ridge-to-Trench experiments are listed below with the lead PI for each group listed first. CIET (Cascadia Initiative Science Team): Doug Toomey, Emilie Hooft (both at Un. of Oregon); Bob Dziak (Oregon State Un. NOAA); William Wilcock (Un. Washington); Susan Schwartz (UC Santa Cruz); John Collins, Jeff McGuire (WHOI); Maya Tolstoy (LDEO); Richard Allen (UC Berkeley) COAST (Cascadia Open-Access Seismic Transects): Steve Holbrook (Un. Wyoming); Graham Kent (Un. Nevada Reno); Katie Keranen (Un. Oklahoma); Paul Johnson (Un. Washington); Jackie Caplan-Auerbach (Western Washington Un.); Harold Tobin (Un. Wisconson) Ridge-to-Trench: Suzanne Carbotte, Helene Carton, Geoff Abers (all at LDEO); Pablo Canales (WHOI); Mladen Nedimovic (Dalhousie Un.)

Subduction-Related Structure in the Mw 9.2, 1964 Megathrust Rupture Area Offshore Kodiak Island, Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krabbenhoeft, A.; von Huene, R.; Klaeschen, D.; Miller, J. J.

2016-12-01

Some of the largest earthquakes worldwide, including the 1964 9.2 Mw megathrust earthquake, occurred in Alaskan subduction zones. To better understand rupture processes and their mechanisms, we relate seafloor morphology from multibeam and regional bathymetric compilations with sub-seafloor images and seismic P-wave velocity structures. We re-processed legacy multichannel seismic (MCS) data including shot- and intra-shotgather interpolation, multiple removal and Kirchhoff depth migration. These images even reveal the shallow structure of the subducting oceanic crust. Traveltime tomography of a coincident vintage (1994) wide angle dataset reveals the P-wave velocity distribution as well as the deep structure of the subducting plate to the ocean crust Moho. The subducting oceanic crust morphology is rough and partly hidden by a thick sediment cover that reaches 3 km depth at the trench axis. Bathymetry shows two major contrasting upper plate morphologies: the shallow dipping lower slope consists of trench-parallel ridges that form the accreted prism whereas the steep rough middle and upper slopes are composed of competent older rock.Thrust faults are distributed across the entire slope, some of which connect with the subducted plate interface. A subtle change in seafloor gradient from the lower to the middle slope coincides with a thrust fault zone marking the boundary between the margin framework and the frontal prism. It corresponds to the most prominent lateral increase in seismic P-wave velocities, 25 km landward of the trench axis.Major thrusts in several MCS-lines are correlated with bathymetric data, showing their > 100 km lateral extent, which might also be tsunamigenic paths of earthquake rupture from the seismogenic zone to the seafloor.

P-wave tomography of the Chile Triple Junction region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, M. R.; Priestley, K. F.; Tilmann, F. J.; Iwamori, H.; Bataille, K.

2010-12-01

We investigate the crustal and upper mantle structure of the Aysén region of Chile. This region is situated from 44 to 49oS, a place where the diverging oceanic Nazca and Antarctic plates subduct beneath the South American continent. The Seismic Experiment in the Aysén Region of CHile (SEARCH) project operated a network of up to 60 land-based seismometers in this region between 2004 and 2006, centred over a 6 Ma subducted spreading centre between the oceanic plates. The data is used to examine the P-wave velocity structure beneath the region using relative-arrival teleseismic travel time tomography, using 2534 P-wave residuals from 173 teleseismic earthquakes. It is possible to image the velocity structure beneath the seismic network down to ˜300 km depth. The velocity structure has a maximum resolution of ˜60 km and shows a large difference between the northern and southern parts of the region. To the north, a ˜100 km thick fast anomaly exists which dips away from the subduction trench; this is likely to be related to the subducting Nazca plate. Going to the south, as the age of this plate at the subduction trench decreases, the fast anomaly migrates further from the trench suggesting that the Nazca plate subducts at a low angle over a larger distance before the subduction angle steepens and hence slab tears exist across the fracture zones between parts of the slab of different age. Where the 6 Ma subducted ridge segment is predicted to lie there is a region of lower velocities between ˜200 and ˜100 km depth, and no fast region associated with a subducting slab is present. Instead, the lower velocities indicate the presence of an asthenospheric window between the subducted Nazca and Antarctic plate.

The damage is done: Low fault friction recorded in the damage zone of the shallow Japan Trench décollement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keren, Tucker T.; Kirkpatrick, James D.

2016-05-01

Fault damage zones record the integrated deformation caused by repeated slip on faults and reflect the conditions that control slip behavior. To investigate the Japan Trench décollement, we characterized the damage zone close to the fault from drill core recovered during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 343 (Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project (JFAST)). Core-scale and microscale structures include phyllosilicate bands, shear fractures, and joints. They are most abundant near the décollement and decrease in density sharply above and below the fault. Power law fits describing the change in structure density with distance from the fault result in decay exponents (n) of 1.57 in the footwall and 0.73 in the hanging wall. Microstructure decay exponents are 1.09 in the footwall and 0.50 in the hanging wall. Observed damage zone thickness is on the order of a few tens of meters. Core-scale structures dip between ~10° and ~70° and are mutually crosscutting. Compared to similar offset faults, the décollement has large decay exponents and a relatively narrow damage zone. Motivated by independent constraints demonstrating that the plate boundary is weak, we tested if the observed damage zone characteristics could be consistent with low-friction fault. Quasi-static models of off-fault stresses and deformation due to slip on a wavy, frictional fault under conditions similar to the JFAST site predict that low-friction fault produces narrow damage zones with no preferred orientations of structures. These results are consistent with long-term frictional weakness on the décollement at the JFAST site.

KSC-2013-3622

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crawler track panels have been removed and construction workers continue to repair the concrete on the surface of the pad. The flame trench deflector that was located below and between the left and right crawlerway tracks has been removed. Pad B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossman

Beatty, Nevada: A section in U.S. Geological Survey research in radioactive waste disposal - Fiscal years 1986-1990 (WRI 91-4084)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andraski, Brian J.; Fisher, Jeffrey M.; Prudic, David E.; Trask, N.J.; Stevens, P.R.

1991-01-01

A low-level radioactive-waste disposal facility in the Amargosa Desert of Nevada, about 17 km southeast of Beatty and 169 km northwest of Las Vegas, has been operating since 1962. This was the first commercially operated radioactive waste disposal facility in the United States. Wastes at the facility are emplaced in 2 to 15-m deep trenches and covered by backfilling with previously excavated materials. Annual precipitation in the area averages about 112 mm. Vegetation is sparse with creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) being the dominant species. Soils in the area are skeletal and are underlain by more than 170 m of unconsolidated alluvial-fan, fluvial, and ephemeral-lake deposits. Depth to water is about 85 m.Initial field investigations (1976-1980) included monitoring of soil-water content and water potential in an unvegetated soil profile, and collection of meteorological data at the disposal facility. Design of additional hydrogeologic investigations and long-term studies of soil-water movement in a vegetated soil profile began in 1982 and field data collection has been ongoing since 1984. Studies to evaluate the modifying effects of trench construction on the natural site environment and to determine changes in trench structural stability began in 1987. Design of studies to measure gas and vapor movement in the trenches at the facility began in 1989.

Gravity at sea--A memoir of a marine geophysicist.

PubMed

Tomoda, Yoshibumi

2010-01-01

A history of studies on the gravity measurements at sea in Japan is reviewed with an emphasis on the contribution of the author. The first successful measurements at sea were made in 1923 by Vening Meinesz in the Netherlands using the pendulum apparatus installed in a submarine. However, the gravity measurements using a submarine are not convenient because the access to a submarine is limited. Professor Chuji Tsuboi made a number of unsuccessful attempts at developing a gravity meter that can be operated on a normal surface ship by reducing the noise by minimizing the motion of the gravity meter through a mechanical design. I have chosen a new approach toward the measurements of gravity on a surface ship by simplifying the mechanical part using a string gravity meter that was installed directly on a vertical gyroscope in combination with the numerical and/or electronic reduction of noises. With this gravity meter TSSG (Tokyo Surface Ship Gravity Meter), we firstly succeeded in measuring gravity at sea onboard a surface ship in July 1961 and the measurements have been extended to the northwestern Pacific and beyond. The results reveal the fine structures of gravity field in and around trenches that provide important clues as to a number of geodynamic issues including the nature of the trench-trench interaction and the interaction of trenches with seamounts.

Single-crystal silicon trench etching for fabrication of highly integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelhardt, Manfred

1991-03-01

The development of single crystal silicon trench etching for fabrication of memory cells in 4 16 and 64Mbit DRAMs is reviewed in this paper. A variety of both etch tools and process gases used for the process development is discussed since both equipment and etch chemistry had to be improved and changed respectively to meet the increasing requirements for high fidelity pattern transfer with increasing degree of integration. In additon to DRAM cell structures etch results for deep trench isolation in advanced bipolar ICs and ASICs are presented for these applications grooves were etched into silicon through a highly doped buried layer and at the borderline of adjacent p- and n-well areas respectively. Shallow trench etching of large and small exposed areas with identical etch rates is presented as an approach to replace standard LOCOS isolation by an advanced isolation technique. The etch profiles were investigated with SEM TEM and AES to get information on contathination and damage levels and on the mechanism leading to anisotropy in the dry etch process. Thermal wave measurements were performed on processed single crystal silicon substrates for a fast evaluation of the process with respect to plasma-induced substrate degradation. This useful technique allows an optimization ofthe etch process regarding high electrical performance of the fully processed memory chip. The benefits of the use of magnetic fields for the development of innovative single crystal silicon dry

Experimental investigation of factors limiting slow axis beam quality in 9xx nm high power broad area diode lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winterfeldt, M.; Crump, P.; Wenzel, H.; Erbert, G.; Tränkle, G.

2014-08-01

GaAs-based broad-area diode lasers are needed with improved lateral beam parameter product (BPPlat) at high power. An experimental study of the factors limiting BPPlat is therefore presented, using extreme double-asymmetric (EDAS) vertical structures emitting at 910 nm. Continuous wave, pulsed and polarization-resolved measurements are presented and compared to thermal simulation. The importance of thermal and packaging-induced effects is determined by comparing junction -up and -down devices. Process factors are clarified by comparing diodes with and without index-guiding trenches. We show that in all cases studied, BPPlat is limited by a non-thermal BPP ground-level and a thermal BPP, which depends linearly on self-heating. Measurements as a function of pulse width confirm that self-heating rather than bias-level dominates. Diodes without trenches show low BPP ground-level, and a thermal BPP which depends strongly on mounting, due to changes in the temperature profile. The additional lateral guiding in diodes with trenches strongly increases the BPP ground-level, but optically isolates the stripe from the device edges, suppressing the influence of the thermal profile, leading to a BPP-slope that is low and independent of mounting. Trenches are also shown to initiate strain fields that cause parasitic TM-polarized emission with large BPPlat, whose influence on total BPPlat remains small, provided the overall polarization purity is >95%.

Gravity at sea —A memoir of a marine geophysicist—

PubMed Central

TOMODA, Yoshibumi

2010-01-01

A history of studies on the gravity measurements at sea in Japan is reviewed with an emphasis on the contribution of the author. The first successful measurements at sea were made in 1923 by Vening Meinesz in the Netherlands using the pendulum apparatus installed in a submarine. However, the gravity measurements using a submarine are not convenient because the access to a submarine is limited. Professor Chuji Tsuboi made a number of unsuccessful attempts at developing a gravity meter that can be operated on a normal surface ship by reducing the noise by minimizing the motion of the gravity meter through a mechanical design. I have chosen a new approach toward the measurements of gravity on a surface ship by simplifying the mechanical part using a string gravity meter that was installed directly on a vertical gyroscope in combination with the numerical and/or electronic reduction of noises. With this gravity meter TSSG (Tokyo Surface Ship Gravity Meter), we firstly succeeded in measuring gravity at sea onboard a surface ship in July 1961 and the measurements have been extended to the northwestern Pacific and beyond. The results reveal the fine structures of gravity field in and around trenches that provide important clues as to a number of geodynamic issues including the nature of the trench-trench interaction and the interaction of trenches with seamounts. PMID:20948173

Ripple formation on Si surfaces during plasma etching in Cl2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakazaki, Nobuya; Matsumoto, Haruka; Sonobe, Soma; Hatsuse, Takumi; Tsuda, Hirotaka; Takao, Yoshinori; Eriguchi, Koji; Ono, Kouichi

2018-05-01

Nanoscale surface roughening and ripple formation in response to ion incidence angle has been investigated during inductively coupled plasma etching of Si in Cl2, using sheath control plates to achieve the off-normal ion incidence on blank substrate surfaces. The sheath control plate consisted of an array of inclined trenches, being set into place on the rf-biased electrode, where their widths and depths were chosen in such a way that the sheath edge was pushed out of the trenches. The distortion of potential distributions and the consequent deflection of ion trajectories above and in the trenches were then analyzed based on electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations of the plasma sheath, to evaluate the angular distributions of ion fluxes incident on substrates pasted on sidewalls and/or at the bottom of the trenches. Experiments showed well-defined periodic sawtooth-like ripples with their wave vector oriented parallel to the direction of ion incidence at intermediate off-normal angles, while relatively weak corrugations or ripplelike structures with the wave vector perpendicular to it at high off-normal angles. Possible mechanisms for the formation of surface ripples during plasma etching are discussed with the help of Monte Carlo simulations of plasma-surface interactions and feature profile evolution. The results indicate the possibility of providing an alternative to ion beam sputtering for self-organized formation of ordered surface nanostructures.

SFTYCHEF: A Consultative, Diagnostic Expert System for Trench Excavation Safety Analysis on Light Commercial Construction Projects.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-30

Safe Trench Excavation ...... 2 Applicability to Solution via Expert System. 3 Background: Expert Systems ..................... 4 Definition of an...trench, drownings in the trench, and other mishaps which are the result of a lack of S C- proper consideration for safe construction practices. Although...the problem is not a new one, there is as yet no *" obvious method that will guarantee a safe trench. In addition, the expertise needed to provide case

Building a Subduction Zone Observatory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gomberg, Joan S.; Bodin, Paul; Bourgeois, Jody; Cashman, Susan; Cowan, Darrel; Creager, Kenneth C.; Crowell, Brendan; Duvall, Alison; Frankel, Arthur; González, Frank I.; Houston, Heidi; Johnson, Paul; Kelsey, Harvey; Miller, Una; Roland, Emily C.; Schmidt, David; Staisch, Lydia; Vidale, John; Wilcock, William; Wirth, Erin

2016-01-01

Subduction zones contain many of Earth’s most remarkable geologic structures, from the deepest oceanic trenches to glacier-covered mountains and steaming volcanoes. These environments formed through spectacular events: Nature’s largest earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are born here.

Design and fabrication of MEMS devices using the integration of MUMPs, trench-refilled molding, DRIE and bulk silicon etching processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Mingching; Fang, Weileun

2005-03-01

This work integrates multi-depth DRIE etching, trench-refilled molding, two poly-Si layers MUMPs and bulk releasing to improve the variety and performance of MEMS devices. In summary, the present fabrication process, named MOSBE II, has three merits. First, this process can monolithically fabricate and integrate poly-Si thin-film structures with different thicknesses and stiffnesses, such as the flexible spring and the stiff mirror plate. Second, multi-depth structures, such as vertical comb electrodes, are available from the DRIE processes. Third, a cavity under the micromachined device is provided by the bulk silicon etching process, so that a large out-of-plane motion is allowed. In application, an optical scanner driven by the self-aligned vertical comb actuator was demonstrated. The poly-Si micromachined components fabricated by MOSBE II can further integrate with the MUMPs devices to establish a more powerful MOEMS platform.

Temperature-Dependent Adhesion of Graphene Suspended on a Trench

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Graphene deposited over a trench has been studied in the context of nanomechanical resonators, where experiments indicate adhesion of the graphene sheet to the trench boundary and sidewalls leads to self-tensioning; however, this adhesion is not well understood. We use molecular dynamics to simulate graphene deposited on a trench and study how adhesion to the sidewalls depends on substrate interaction, temperature, and curvature of the edge of the trench. Over the range of parameters we study, the depth at the center of the sheet is approximately linear in substrate interaction strength and temperature but not trench width, and we explain this using a one-dimensional model for the sheet configuration. PMID:26652939

3-D visualisation of palaeoseismic trench stratigraphy and trench logging using terrestrial remote sensing and GPR - combining techniques towards an objective multiparametric interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneiderwind, S.; Mason, J.; Wiatr, T.; Papanikolaou, I.; Reicherter, K.

2015-09-01

Two normal faults on the Island of Crete and mainland Greece were studied to create and test an innovative workflow to make palaeoseismic trench logging more objective, and visualise the sedimentary architecture within the trench wall in 3-D. This is achieved by combining classical palaeoseismic trenching techniques with multispectral approaches. A conventional trench log was firstly compared to results of iso cluster analysis of a true colour photomosaic representing the spectrum of visible light. Passive data collection disadvantages (e.g. illumination) were addressed by complementing the dataset with active near-infrared backscatter signal image from t-LiDAR measurements. The multispectral analysis shows that distinct layers can be identified and it compares well with the conventional trench log. According to this, a distinction of adjacent stratigraphic units was enabled by their particular multispectral composition signature. Based on the trench log, a 3-D-interpretation of GPR data collected on the vertical trench wall was then possible. This is highly beneficial for measuring representative layer thicknesses, displacements and geometries at depth within the trench wall. Thus, misinterpretation due to cutting effects is minimised. Sedimentary feature geometries related to earthquake magnitude can be used to improve the accuracy of seismic hazard assessments. Therefore, this manuscript combines multiparametric approaches and shows: (i) how a 3-D visualisation of palaeoseismic trench stratigraphy and logging can be accomplished by combining t-LiDAR and GRP techniques, and (ii) how a multispectral digital analysis can offer additional advantages and a higher objectivity in the interpretation of palaeoseismic and stratigraphic information. The multispectral datasets are stored allowing unbiased input for future (re-)investigations.

Gravity signatures of terrane accretion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franco, Heather; Abbott, Dallas

1999-01-01

In modern collisional environments, accreted terranes are bracketed by forearc gravity lows, a gravitational feature which results from the abandonment of the original trench and the initiation of a new trench seaward of the accreted terrane. The size and shape of the gravity low depends on the type of accreted feature and the strength of the formerly subducting plate. Along the Central American trench, the accretion of Gorgona Island caused a seaward trench jump of 48 to 66 km. The relict trench axes show up as gravity lows behind the trench with minimum values of -78 mgal (N of Gorgona) and -49 mgal (S of Gorgona) respectively. These forearc gravity lows have little or no topographic expression. The active trench immediately seaward of these forearc gravity lows has minimum gravity values of -59 mgal (N of Gorgona) and -58 mgal (S of Gorgona), respectively. In the north, the active trench has a less pronounced gravity low than the sediment covered forearc. In the Mariana arc, two Cretaceous seamounts have been accreted to the Eocene arc. The northern seamount is most likely a large block, the southern seamount may be a thrust slice. These more recent accretion events have produced modest forearc topographic and gravity lows in comparison with the topographic and gravity lows within the active trench. However, the minimum values of the Mariana forearc gravity lows are modest only by comparison to the Mariana Trench (-216 mgal); their absolute values are more negative than at Gorgona Island (-145 to -146 mgal). We speculate that the forearc gravity lows and seaward trench jumps near Gorgona Island were produced by the accretion of a hotspot island from a strong plate. The Mariana gravity lows and seaward trench jumps (or thrust slices) were the result of breaking a relatively weak plate close to the seamount edifice. These gravity lows resulting from accretion events should be preserved in older accreted terranes.

3-D visualisation of palaeoseismic trench stratigraphy and trench logging using terrestrial remote sensing and GPR - a multiparametric interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneiderwind, Sascha; Mason, Jack; Wiatr, Thomas; Papanikolaou, Ioannis; Reicherter, Klaus

2016-03-01

Two normal faults on the island of Crete and mainland Greece were studied to test an innovative workflow with the goal of obtaining a more objective palaeoseismic trench log, and a 3-D view of the sedimentary architecture within the trench walls. Sedimentary feature geometries in palaeoseismic trenches are related to palaeoearthquake magnitudes which are used in seismic hazard assessments. If the geometry of these sedimentary features can be more representatively measured, seismic hazard assessments can be improved. In this study more representative measurements of sedimentary features are achieved by combining classical palaeoseismic trenching techniques with multispectral approaches. A conventional trench log was firstly compared to results of ISO (iterative self-organising) cluster analysis of a true colour photomosaic representing the spectrum of visible light. Photomosaic acquisition disadvantages (e.g. illumination) were addressed by complementing the data set with active near-infrared backscatter signal image from t-LiDAR measurements. The multispectral analysis shows that distinct layers can be identified and it compares well with the conventional trench log. According to this, a distinction of adjacent stratigraphic units was enabled by their particular multispectral composition signature. Based on the trench log, a 3-D interpretation of attached 2-D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles collected on the vertical trench wall was then possible. This is highly beneficial for measuring representative layer thicknesses, displacements, and geometries at depth within the trench wall. Thus, misinterpretation due to cutting effects is minimised. This manuscript combines multiparametric approaches and shows (i) how a 3-D visualisation of palaeoseismic trench stratigraphy and logging can be accomplished by combining t-LiDAR and GPR techniques, and (ii) how a multispectral digital analysis can offer additional advantages to interpret palaeoseismic and stratigraphic data. The multispectral data sets are stored allowing unbiased input for future (re)investigations.

Water movement in the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, K.F.; McMahon, P.B.

1987-01-01

Four unsaturated zone monitoring sites and a meteorologic station were installed at the low level radioactive waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina, to investigate the geohydrologic and climatologic factors affecting water movement in the unsaturated zone. The study site is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The unsaturated zone consists of a few centimeters to > 1 m of surface sand, underlain by up to 15 m of clayey sand. Two monitoring sites were installed in experimental trenches and two were installed in radioactive waste trenches. Two different trench designs were evaluated at the monitoring sites. A meteorologic station was used to measure precipitation and to calculate actual evapotranspiration using the Bowen ratio method. Soil-moisture tensiometers, soil-moisture conductance probes, and temperature sensors were used to monitor soil-water movement in and adjacent to the trenches. Tracer tests using sodium chloride were conducted at each monitoring site. Data collection at the monitoring sites began in January 1982 and continued until early May 1984. Tensiometer data show that the unsaturated materials had their highest percent saturations in the winter and spring. Saturations in the backfill sand varied from 20 to 100%. They varied from about 75 to 100% in the adjacent undisturbed and overlying compacted clayey sand. Additionally, because tensiometer data indicate negligible water storage changes in the unsaturated zone, it is estimated that approximately 43 cm of recharge reached the water table. During 1984, the rise and fall of ponded water in an experimental trench was continuously monitored with a digital recorder. A cross-sectional finite element model of variably saturated flow was used to test the conceptual model of water movement in the unsaturated zone and to illustrate the effect of trench design on water movement into the experimental trenches. Monitoring and model results show that precipitation on trenches infiltrated the trench cap and moved vertically into the trench backfill material. The trench construction practice of placing a compacted clayey-sand barrier around the trench greatly inhibits soil water from entering the trench. (Author 's abstract)

Design and optimization of a novel 3D detector: The 3D-open-shell-electrode detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Manwen; Tan, Jian; Li, Zheng

2018-04-01

A new type of three-dimensional (3D) detector, namely 3D-Open-Shell-Electrode Detector (3DOSED), is proposed in this study. In a 3DOSED, the trench electrode can be etched all the way through the detector thickness, totally eliminating the low electric field region existed in the conventional 3D-Trench-Electrode detector. Full 3D technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations have been done on this novel silicon detector structure. Through comparing of the simulation results of the detector, we can obtain the best design of the 3SOSED. In addition, simulation results show that, as compared to the conventional 3D detector, the proposed 3DOSED can improve not only detector charge collection efficiency but also its radiation hardness with regard to solving the trapping problem in the detector bulk. What is more, it has been shown that detector full depletion voltage is also slightly reduced, which can improve the utility aspects of the detector. When compared to the conventional 3D detector, we find that the proposed novel 3DOSED structure has better electric potential and electric field distributions, and better electrical properties such as detector full depletion voltage. In 3DOSED array, each pixel cell is isolated from each other by highly doped trenches, but also electrically and physically connected with each other through the remaining silicon bulk between broken electrodes.

Modeling the Geometry of Plate Boundary and Seismic Structure in the Southern Ryukyu Trench Subduction Zone, Japan, Using Amphibious Seismic Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Y.; Takahashi, T.; Ishihara, Y.; Kaiho, Y.; Arai, R.; Obana, K.; Nakanishi, A.; Miura, S.; Kodaira, S.; Kaneda, Y.

2018-02-01

Here we present the new model, the geometry of the subducted Philippine Sea Plate interface beneath the southern Ryukyu Trench subduction zone, estimated from seismic tomography and focal mechanism estimation by using passive and active data from a temporary amphibious seismic network and permanent land stations. Using relocated low-angle thrust-type earthquakes, repeating earthquakes, and structural information, we constrained the geometry of plate boundary from the trench axis to a 60 km depth with uncertainties of less than 5 km. The estimated plate geometry model exhibited large variation, including a pronounced convex structure that may be evidence of a subducted seamount in the eastern portion of study area, whereas the western part appeared smooth. We also found that the active earthquake region near the plate boundary, defined by the distance from our plate geometry model, was clearly separated from the area dominated by short-term slow-slip events (SSEs). The oceanic crust just beneath the SSE-dominant region, the western part of the study area, showed high Vp/Vs ratios (>1.8), whereas the eastern side showed moderate or low Vp/Vs (<1.75). We interpreted this as an indication that high fluid pressures near the surface of the slab are contributing to the SSE activities. Within the toe of the mantle wedge, P and S wave velocities (<7.5 and <4.2 km/s, respectively) lower than those observed through normal mantle peridotite might suggest that some portions of the mantle may be at least 40% serpentinized.

Seismic velocity structure of the sediment seaward of Cascadia Subduction Zone deformation front

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, S.; Gibson, J. C.; Carbotte, S. M.; Canales, J. P.; Nedimovic, M. R.; Carton, H. D.

2015-12-01

We present seismic velocity structure of the sediment section seaward of the Cascadia Subduction Zone deformation front (DF), derived from multichannel seismic data acquired during the 2012 Juan de Fuca Ridge to Trench experiment. Detailed velocity analyses are conducted on every 100th prestack-time-migrated common reflection point gather (625 m spacing) within 45 km seaward of the DF along two ridge-to-trench transects offshore Oregon at 44.6˚N and Washington at 47.4˚N respectively, and on every 200th common mid-point gather (1250 m spacing) along a ~400 km-long trench-parallel transect ~15 km from the DF. We observe a landward increase of sediment velocity starting from ~15-20 km from the DF on both Oregon and Washington transects, which may result from increased horizontal compressive tectonic stress within the accretionary wedge and thermally induced dehydration processes in the sediment column. Although the velocity of near-basement sediments at 30 km from the DF is similar (~3.1 km/s) on both transects, the velocity increases are larger on the Washington transect, to ~4.0 km/s beneath the DF (sediment thickness ~3.2 km), than on the Oregon transect, to ~3.6 km/s beneath the DF (sediment thickness ~3.5 km). The long-wavelength sediment velocity structure on the trench-parallel transect confirms this regional difference in deep sediment velocity and also highlights variations related to a group of WNW-trending strike-slip faults along the margin. Offshore Washington, where higher sediment velocity seaward of the DF is observed, the accretionary wedge is wide with a decollement located close to the basement and landward-verging thrust faults. By contrast, offshore Oregon, the lower sediment velocity seaward of the DF is associated with a narrow accretionary wedge, a shallow decollement ~1 km above the basement, and seaward-verging thrust faults. The regional differences in deep sediment velocity may be related to the along-strike variation in sediment composition, esp. clay mineral content, which may modulate the pore fluid pressure in the sediment through dehydration reactions, and affect the mechanical properties of the accretionary wedge further landward.

Trench Inserts as Long-term Barriers to Root Transmission for Control of Oak Wilt

Treesearch

A. Dan Wilson; D.G. Lester

2002-01-01

Physical and chemical barriers to root penetration and root grafting across trenches were evaluated for their effectiveness in improving trenches as barriers to root transmission of the oak wilt fungus in live oaks. Four trench insert materials were tested, including water-permeable Typar and Biobarrier, and water-impermeable Geomembranc of two thicknesses....

Fabrication of silicon-embedded low resistance high-aspect ratio planar copper microcoils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syed Mohammed, Zishan Ali; Puiu, Poenar Daniel; Aditya, Sheel

2018-01-01

Low resistance is an important requirement for microcoils which act as a signal receiver to ensure low thermal noise during signal detection. High-aspect ratio (HAR) planar microcoils entrenched in blind silicon trenches have features that make them more attractive than their traditional counterparts employing electroplating through a patterned thick polymer or achieved through silicon vias. However, challenges met in fabrication of such coils have not been discussed in detail until now. This paper reports the realization of such HAR microcoils embedded in Si blind trenches, fabricated with a single lithography step by first etching blind trenches in the silicon substrate with an aspect ratio of almost 3∶1 and then filling them up using copper electroplating. The electroplating was followed by chemical wet etching as a faster way of removing excess copper than traditional chemical mechanical polishing. Electrical resistance was further reduced by annealing the microcoils. The process steps and challenges faced in the realization of such structures are reported here followed by their electrical characterization. The obtained electrical resistances are then compared with those of other similar microcoils embedded in blind vias.

Heterodyne Interferometry with a Scanning Optical Microscope.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hobbs, Philip Charles Danby

The design and implementation of a confocal optical microscope which functions as an electronically scanned heterodyne interferometer are described. Theoretical models based on Fourier optics for general samples and on exact series solution of the scalar Helmholtz equation for a class of trench structures are developed and compared with experimental data. Good agreement is obtained. The associated data acquisition system, also described, enables the system to measure both the amplitude (to 12 bits) and the phase (to 0.1^circ) of a returned optical beam, at a continuous rate of 30,000 points per second. The microscope system uses a wide-band tellurium dioxide acousto-optic cell for electronic scanning, frequency shifting, and beam splitting/combining. It uses a stationary reference beam on the sample for vibration cancellation, which results in a system of great vibration immunity. It can measure relief ranging from a few tenths of a micron down to a few Angstroms, and line widths down to well below 0.4 micron, using light of 0.5 micron wavelength. Angstrom resolution can be achieved in a single full-speed scan, without special vibration isolation equipment, providing that folding mirrors are avoided. A signal processing algorithm based on Fourier deconvolution is presented; it takes advantage of the extra bandwidth of a confocal system and the availability of both amplitude and phase, to improve the lateral resolution by approximately a factor of two. Experimental results are shown, which demonstrate phase edge resolution (10%-90%) of 0.45 lambda (raw data), and 0.18 lambda (after filtering), in excellent agreement with the Fourier optics prediction. The exact scalar theory calculates the response of the microscope as it scans over an infinitely long rectangular trench in a plane boundary on which Dirichlet boundary conditions apply. An expansion in cavity modes inside the trench is used to match the field and its derivatives across the mouth of the trench to get the self-consistent solution. A listing is appended of a program for an HP personal computer which performs the simulation in 1 to 5 minutes' running time for most cases. The trench theory is compared with the Fourier theory and with experimental results for actual metal trenches, with good results.

Basins in ARC-continental collisions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Draut, Amy E.; Clift, Peter D.; Busby, Cathy; Azor, Antonio

2012-01-01

Arc-continent collisions occur commonly in the plate-tectonic cycle and result in rapidly formed and rapidly collapsing orogens, often spanning just 5-15 My. Growth of continental masses through arc-continent collision is widely thought to be a major process governing the structural and geochemical evolution of the continental crust over geologic time. Collisions of intra-oceanic arcs with passive continental margins (a situation in which the arc, on the upper plate, faces the continent) involve a substantially different geometry than collisions of intra-oceanic arcs with active continental margins (a situation requiring more than one convergence zone and in which the arc, on the lower plate, backs into the continent), with variable preservation potential for basins in each case. Substantial differences also occur between trench and forearc evolution in tectonically erosive versus tectonically accreting margins, both before and after collision. We examine the evolution of trenches, trench-slope basins, forearc basins, intra-arc basins, and backarc basins during arc-continent collision. The preservation potential of trench-slope basins is low; in collision they are rapidly uplifted and eroded, and at erosive margins they are progressively destroyed by subduction erosion. Post-collisional preservation of trench sediment and trench-slope basins is biased toward margins that were tectonically accreting for a substantial length of time before collision. Forearc basins in erosive margins are usually floored by strong lithosphere and may survive collision with a passive margin, sometimes continuing sedimentation throughout collision and orogeny. The low flexural rigidity of intra-arc basins makes them deep and, if preserved, potentially long records of arc and collisional tectonism. Backarc basins, in contrast, are typically subducted and their sediment either lost or preserved only as fragments in melange sequences. A substantial proportion of the sediment derived from collisional orogenesis ends up in the foreland basin that forms as a result of collision, and may be preserved largely undeformed. Compared to continent-continent collisional foreland basins, arc-continent collisional foreland basins are short-lived and may undergo partial inversion after collision as a new, active continental margin forms outboard of the collision zone and the orogen whose load forms the basin collapses in extension.

An elastic-perfectly plastic analysis of the bending of the lithosphere at a trench

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turcotte, D. L.; Mcadoo, D. C.; Caldwell, J. G.

1978-01-01

A number of authors have modeled the flexure of the lithosphere at an oceanic trench using a thin elastic plate with a hydrostatic restoring force. In some cases good agreement with observed topography is obtained but in other cases the slope of the lithosphere within the trench is greater than that predicted by the elastic theory. In this paper the bending of a thin plate is considered using an elastic-perfectly plastic rheology. It is found that the lithosphere behaves elastically seaward of the trench, but that plasticity decreases the radius of curvature within the trench. The results are compared with a number of observed trench profiles. The elastic-perfectly plastic profiles are in excellent agreement with those profiles that deviate from elastic behavior.

Filling high aspect ratio trenches by superconformal chemical vapor deposition: Predictive modeling and experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenjiao B.; Abelson, John R.

2014-11-01

Complete filling of a deep recessed structure with a second material is a challenge in many areas of nanotechnology fabrication. A newly discovered superconformal coating method, applicable in chemical vapor deposition systems that utilize a precursor in combination with a co-reactant, can solve this problem. However, filling is a dynamic process in which the trench progressively narrows and the aspect ratio (AR) increases. This reduces species diffusion within the trench and may drive the component partial pressures out of the regime for superconformal coating. We therefore derive two theoretical models that can predict the possibility for filling. First, we recast the diffusion-reaction equation for the case of a sidewall with variable taper angle. This affords a definition of effective AR, which is larger than the nominal AR due to the reduced species transport. We then derive the coating profile, both for superconformal and for conformal coating. The critical (most difficult) step in the filling process occurs when the sidewalls merge at the bottom of the trench to form the V shape. Experimentally, for the Mg(DMADB)2/H2O system and a starting AR = 9, this model predicts that complete filling will not be possible, whereas experimentally we do obtain complete filling. We then hypothesize that glancing-angle, long-range transport of species may be responsible for the better than predicted filling. To account for the variable range of species transport, we construct a ballistic transport model. This incorporates the incident flux from outside the structure, cosine law re-emission from surfaces, and line-of-sight transport between internal surfaces. We cast the transport probability between all positions within the trench into a matrix that represents the redistribution of flux after one cycle of collisions. Matrix manipulation then affords a computationally efficient means to determine the steady-state flux distribution and growth rate for a given taper angle. The ballistic transport model predicts a deeper position for the peak of the super-conformal growth rate than the diffusion-reaction model, and successfully explains the observation of complete filling. These models can be used to predict the behavior of any system given a small set of kinetic coefficients to describe the growth rate.

Trench formation in <110> silicon for millimeter-wave switching device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datta, P.; Kumar, Praveen; Nag, Manoj; Bhattacharya, D. K.; Khosla, Y. P.; Dahiya, K. K.; Singh, D. V.; Venkateswaran, R.; Kumar, Devender; Kesavan, R.

1999-11-01

Anisotropic etching using alkaline solution has been adopted to form trenches in silicon while fabricating surface oriented bulk window SPST switches. An array pattern has been etched on silicon with good control on depth of trenches. KOH-water solution is seen to yield a poor surface finish. Use of too much of additive like isopropyl alcohol improves the surface condition but distorts the array pattern due to loss of anisotropy. However, controlled use of this additive during the last phase of trench etching is found to produce trenched arrays with desired depth, improved surface finish and minimum distortion of lateral dimensions.

In Situ Grouting of Liquid Waste Disposal Trenches and Experimental Reactor Fuel Disposal Wells at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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

Johnson, Ch.; Cange, J.; Lambert, R.

In the early to mid-1960's, liquid low-level wastes (LLLW) generated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were disposed of in specially-constructed, gravel-filled trenches within the Melton Valley watershed at the lab. The initial selected remedy for Trenches 5 and 7 was in situ vitrification; however, an amendment to the record of decision changed the remedy to in situ grouting of the trenches. The work was accomplished by filling the void space within the crushed stone section of each trench with cementitious grout. The contaminated soil surrounding the trenches (1-m perimeter) was then grouted with acrylamide grout. At the HRE fuel wells,more » a 1-m ring of soil surrounding the fuel wells was grouted with acrylamide. The results of the hydraulic conductivity tests ranged from 4.74 x 10{sup -6} to 3.60 x 10{sup -7} cm/sec, values that were well below the 1 x 10{sup -5} cm/sec design criterion. In summary: The ISG Project was conducted to decrease hydraulic conductivity and thereby decrease water flow and contaminate migration from the area of the trenches. The initial remedy for Trenches 5 and 7 in the Melton Valley ROD was for in situ vitrification of the trench matrix. The remedy was changed to in situ grouting of the trenches and HRE fuel wells through an amendment to the ROD after moisture was found in the trenches. The grouting of the trenches was accomplished by filling the void space within the crushed stone section of each trench with cementitious grout. The contaminated soil surrounding the trenches (1-m perimeter) was then grouted with acrylamide grout to further reduce water infiltration. Soil backfill above each of the seven HRE fuel wells was removed to a depth of approximately 1 m by augering, and the soils were replaced with a cement plug to prevent water infiltration from migrating down the original borehole. Soil surrounding the fuel wells was then grouted with acrylamide to ensure water infiltration through the HRE fuel wells is prevented. A summary of the quantities used is shown. After completion of grouting, in-situ hydraulic conductivities of the grouted materials were measured to verify attainment of the design objective. The areas were then covered with multi-layer caps as part of the MV hydrologic isolation project. (authors)« less

Trenching in the New Madrid seismic zone

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

Not Available

1990-01-01

Trenching studies of the San Andreas fault have been of great value to geologists in California for determining not only the prehistoric occurrences of earthquakes on the fault but also the age of these movements. In the New Madrid seismic zone, US Geological Survey scientists have been trenching across suspected faults to try to assess earthquake frequency in the Central US. The following photographs document these trenching studies.

Structure-based capacitance modeling and power loss analysis for the latest high-performance slant field-plate trench MOSFET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Kenya; Sudo, Masaki; Omura, Ichiro

2018-04-01

Field-plate trench MOSFETs (FP-MOSFETs), with the features of ultralow on-resistance and very low gate–drain charge, are currently the mainstream of high-performance applications and their advancement is continuing as low-voltage silicon power devices. However, owing to their structure, their output capacitance (C oss), which leads to main power loss, remains to be a problem, especially in megahertz switching. In this study, we propose a structure-based capacitance model of FP-MOSFETs for calculating power loss easily under various conditions. Appropriate equations were modeled for C oss curves as three divided components. Output charge (Q oss) and stored energy (E oss) that were calculated using the model corresponded well to technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation, and we validated the accuracy of the model quantitatively. In the power loss analysis of FP-MOSFETs, turn-off loss was sufficiently suppressed, however, mainly Q oss loss increased depending on switching frequency. This analysis reveals that Q oss may become a significant issue in next-generation high-efficiency FP-MOSFETs.

Photomosaics and event evidence from the Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site, trench 1, cuts 5–24, San Andreas Fault Zone, southern California (2010–2012)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scharer, Katherine M.; Fumal, Tom E.; Weldon, Ray J.; Streig, Ashley R.

2015-08-24

The Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site is located within the northern Big Bend of the southern San Andreas Fault (lat 34.8122° N., lon 118.9034° W.), in a small structural basin formed by the fault (fig. 1). The site has been the focus of over a decade of paleoseismic study due to high stratigraphic resolution and abundant dateable material. Trench 1 (T1) was initially excavated as a 50-m long, fault-perpendicular trench crossing the northern half of the basin (Lindvall and others, 2002; Scharer and others, 2014a). Owing to the importance of a high-resolution trench site at this location on a 200-km length of the fault with no other long paleoseismic records, later work progressively lengthened and deepened T1 in a series of excavations, or cuts, that enlarged the original excavation. Scharer and others (2014a) provide the photomosaics and event evidence for the first four cuts, which largely show the upper section of the site, represented by alluvial deposits that date from about A.D. 1500 to present. Scharer and others (2014b) discuss the earthquake evidence and dating at the site within the context of prehistoric rupture lengths and magnitudes on the southern San Andreas Fault. Here we present the photomosaics and event evidence for a series of cuts from the lower section, covering sediments that were deposited from about A.D. 500 to 1500 (fig. 2).

New Seafloor Map of the Puerto Rico Trench Helps Assess Earthquake and Tsunami Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ten Brink, Uri; Danforth, William; Polloni, Christopher; Andrews, Brian; Llanes, Pilar; Smith, Shepard; Parker, Eugene; Uozumi, Toshihiko

2004-09-01

The Puerto Rico Trench, the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, is located where the North American (NOAM) plate is subducting under the Caribbean plate (Figure 1). The trench region may pose significant seismic and tsunami hazards to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where 4 million U.S. citizens reside. Widespread damage in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola from an earthquake in 1787 was estimated to be the result of a magnitude 8 earthquake north of the islands. A tsunami killed 40 people in NW Puerto Rico following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in 1918. Large landslide escarpments have been mapped on the seafloor north of Puerto Rico, although their ages are unknown. The Puerto Rico Trench is atypical of oceanic trenches. Subduction is highly oblique (10°-20°) to the trench axis with a large component of left-lateral strike-slip motion. Similar convergence geometry is observed at the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth. In addition to its extremely deep seafloor, the Puerto Rico Trench is also characterized by the most negative free-air gravity anomaly on Earth, -380 mGal, located 50 km south of the trench, where water depth is 7950 m (Figure 2). A tilted carbonate platform provides evidence for extreme vertical tectonism in the region. This platform was horizontally deposited over Cretaceous to Paleocene arc rocks starting in the Late Oligocene. Then, at 3.5 Ma, the carbonate platform was tilted by 4° toward the trench over a time period of less than 40 kyr, such that its northern edge is at a depth of 4000 m and its reconstructed elevation on land in Puerto Rico is at +1300 m (Figures 1 and 2).

Primary sedimentary structures and the internal architecture of a Martian sand body in search of evidence for sand transport and deposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basu, Abhijit

1988-01-01

Lunar experiences show that unmanned sample return missions, despite limitations on sample size, can produce invaluable data to infer crustal processes, regolith processes, regolith-atmosphere/ionosphere interaction processes, etc. Drill cores provide a record of regolith evolution as well as a more complete sample of the regolith than small scoops and/or rakes. It is proposed that: (1) a hole be drilled in a sand body to obtain continuous oriented cores; a depth of about 10 m would be compatible with what we know of bed form hierarchy of terrestrial stream deposits; (2) two trenches, at right angles to each other and close to the drill-hole, be dug and the walls scraped lightly such that primary/internal sedimentary structures of the sand body become visible; (3) the walls of the trenches be made gravitationally stable by impregnation techniques; (4) acetate or other peels of a strip on each wall be taken; and (5) appropriately scaled photographs of the walls be taken at different sun-angles to ensure maximum ease of interpretation of sedimentary structures; and, to correlate these structural features with those in the core at different depth levels of the core.

Structural controls on the megathrust segmentation of the Middle America Trench from multiple geophysical observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naif, S.; Bassett, D.

2016-12-01

Subduction zone megathrusts display complex seismogenic behaviors that vary at intra- and inter-margin scales. Many different physical properties have been proposed to be primarily responsible for this behavior, such as the composition of subducted sediments, the hydration state of the incoming oceanic plate, and the pore-fluid pressure at the plate interface. Here, we focus on the northern Middle America Trench and show that subducting plate structures control megathrust segmentation. We analyze multiple types of seafloor geophysical observations and compare them to the distinct behavioral and spatial characteristics of the 1992 Nicaragua (Mw7.6), 2012 El Salvador (Mw7.3), 2012 Guatemala (Mw7.4), and 2012 Costa Rica (Mw7.6) events. The residual topography, residual gravity, and magnetic anomaly structure of the incoming oceanic plate and forearc seafloor are correlated. The forearc is composed of multiple unique segments that are bounded by subducting fracture zones. These boundaries correlate with foreshock and aftershock seismicity and also coincide with the hypocenter of all four earthquakes. The relationship between observed structures, earthquake slip inversions, and radiated energy of the four large events will be discussed.

Sulfate Deposition in Regolith Exposed in Trenches on the Plains Between the Spirit Landing Site and Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater, Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Alian; Haskin, L. A.; Squyres, S. W.; Arvidson, R.; Crumpler, L.; Gellert, R.; Hurowitz, J.; Schroeder, C.; Tosca, N.; Herkenhoff, K.

2005-01-01

During its exploration within Gusev crater between sol 01 and sol 158, the Spirit rover dug three trenches (Fig. 1) to expose the subsurface regolith [1, 2, 9]. Laguna trench (approx. 6 cm deep, approx.203 m from the rim of Bonneville crater) was dug in Laguna Hollow at the boundary of the impact ejecta from Bonneville crater and the surrounding plains. The Big Hole trench (approx. 6-7 cm deep) and The Boroughs trench (approx. 11 cm deep) were dug in the plains between the Bonneville crater and the Columbia Hills (approx.556 m and approx.1698 m from the rim of Bonneville crater respectively). The top, wall and floor regolith of the three trenches were investigated using the entire set of Athena scientific instruments [10].

Interim-status groundwater monitoring plan for the 216-B-63 trench. Revision 1

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

Sweeney, M.D.

1995-06-13

This document outlines the groundwater monitoring plan for interim-status detection-level monitoring of the 216-B-63 Trench. This is a revision of the initial groundwater monitoring plan prepared for Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) by Bjornstad and Dudziak (1989). The 216-B-63 Trench, located at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State, is an open, unlined, earthern trench approximately 1.2 m (4 ft) wide at the bottom, 427 m (1400 ft) long, and 3 m (10 ft) deep that received wastewater containing hazardous waste and radioactive materials from B Plant, located in the 200 East Area. Liquid effluent discharge to the 216-B-63 Trench beganmore » in March 1970 and ceased in February 1992. The trench is now managed by Waste Tank Operations.« less

Steady film flow over a substrate with rectangular trenches forming air inclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varchanis, S.; Dimakopoulos, Y.; Tsamopoulos, J.

2017-12-01

Film flow along an inclined, solid substrate featuring periodic rectangular trenches may either completely wet the trench floor (Wenzel state) or get pinned on the entrance and exit corners of the trench (Cassie state) or assume other configurations in between these two extremes. Such intermediate configurations are examined in the present study. They are bounded by a second gas-liquid interface inside the trench, which adheres to its walls forming two three-phase contact lines, and encloses a different amount of air under different physical conditions. The Galerkin finite-element method is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations in a physical domain, which is adaptively remeshed. Multiple steady solutions, connected by turning points and transcritical bifurcations as well as isolated solution branches, are revealed by pseudo-arc-length continuation. Two possible configurations of a single air inclusion inside the trench are examined: the inclusion either surrounds the upstream convex corner or is attached to the upstream trench wall. The penetration of the liquid inside the trench is enhanced primarily by increasing either the wettability of the substrate or capillary over viscous forces or by decreasing the flow rate. Flow hysteresis may occur when the liquid wetting of the upstream wall decreases abruptly, leading to drastically different flow patterns for the same parameter values. The interplay of inertia, viscous, gravity, and capillary forces along with substrate wettability determines the volume of the air encapsulated in the trench and the extent of deformation of the outer free surface.

Paleoseismic Investigations of the Walnut Site on the San Jacinto Fault

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fumal, T.E.; Kendrick, K.J.

2008-01-01

The Walnut paleoseismic site is located along the northern San Jacinto fault about 3 km southeast of the San Bernardino, California city center (Figures 1, 2). More than 340 meters of trenches were excavated across the fault zone at this site as part of an Alquist-Priolo fault study (Figure 3). We photographed and logged the SE wall and most of the NE wall of trench 1, both walls of trenches 2 and 7, the NW walls of trenches 3 and 4 and the SE wall of trench 6. After carefully cleaning the trench walls we put up a 1m by 0.5m string and nail grid. For trenches 1, 2, 6, and 7, we photographed each 1m by 0.5m panel individually and photologged on these unrectified photos. These large-scale photos were later rectified to remove the distortion due to irregularities in the trench walls and slight distortion introduced by the camera lens. Field linework was then transferred to the rectified photomosaics. We also took a set of overview photographs for each trench taken from the top of the trench towards the opposite wall. We spliced together these overview photos to make photomosaics of all of the trenches. Because the photos were taken at a downward angle, there is significant distortion. Some of this distortion has been corrected: an attempt was made to keep horizontal grid lines horizontal and there has been some horizontal scaling to align vertical lines between benches. Although the string and nail grid spacing is 1 meter by 0.5 meter, because of the distortion in the photos and subsequent adjustments, the scale is variable along the benches, from bench to bench and from trench to trench for these overview mosaics. This report serves principally as a repository for the overview photomosaics. Sheet 1 shows the overview mosaics for both walls of trenches 1 and 2 along with some linework including most of the fault traces, a prominent unconformity within the fluvial deposits and the larger bodies of liquefied sand. Sheet 2 shows the overview mosaics for the SE wall of trench 3 and the NW wall of trench 4 along with photomosaics of both walls of trench 7 and the SE wall of trench 6 that were complied from the rectified, large scale photos. No linework has been portrayed on these photomosaics. Sheet 3 shows the overview mosaics of both walls of trench 1 with the locations of detrital charcoal samples that were collected. A later version of this report will contain photomosaics for trenches 1 and 2 compiled from the individual, fully rectified photos covering each 1m by 0.5m area with detailed linework superimposed. The trenches exposed a main, Holocene-active, fault zone about 5-12 m wide which juxtaposes Late Pleistocene (?) fluvial sand and gravel southwest of the fault against organic-rich, Holocene fine sand, silt and clay apparently deposited in a marsh. Most of the faults in the main zone appear to rupture to the ground surface making it impossible to resolve individual prehistoric earthquakes along this zone. However, the main fault zone is associated with a slight upwarp and growth strata associated with this folding has recorded evidence for at least 6 late-Holocene earthquakes. Deformation due to liquefaction is further evidence of large earthquakes at these horizons. The fine-grained Holocene deposits contain abundant detrital charcoal. We have so far dated 36 samples from 20 stratigraphic layers. We used 27 of these dates in an Oxcal chronological model in order to constrain the ages of the six earthquakes. Too few samples have so far been dated from the uppermost horizons so the ages of the two youngest earthquakes recorded at the site are poorly constrained. However, it appears that the youngest sediment at the site was deposited about 2000 years ago and the thick surface soil indicate that the two youngest earthquake recorded at the site may be about this old. The radiocarbon dates provide good constraints on the ages of the four older earthquakes (Table 1). The ages of these four earthquakes suggest an aver

Water and tritium movement through the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near Sheffield, Illinois, 1981-85

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mills, Patrick C.; Healy, Richard W.

1993-01-01

The movement of water and tritium through the unsaturated zone was studied at a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near Sheffield, Bureau County, Illinois, from 1981 to 1985. Water and tritium movement occurred in an annual, seasonally timed cycle; recharge to the saturated zone generally occurred in the spring and early summer. Mean annual precipitation (1982-85) was 871 mm (millimeters); mean annual recharge to the disposal trenches (July 1982 through June 1984) was estimated to be 107 mm. Average annual tritium flux below the study trenches was estimated to be 3.4 mCi/yr (millicuries per year). Site geology, climate, and waste-disposal practices influenced the spatial and temporal variability of water and tritium movement. Of the components of the water budget, evapotranspiration contributed most to the temporal variability of water and tritium movement. Disposal trenches are constructed in complexly layered glacial and postglacial deposits that average 17 m (meters) in thickness and overlie a thick sequence of Pennsylvanian shale. The horizontal saturated hydraulic conductivity of the clayey-silt to sand-sized glacial and postglacial deposits ranges from 4.8x10 -1 to 3.4x10 4 mm/d (millimeters per day). A 120-m-long horizontal tunnel provided access for hydrologic measurements and collection of sediment and water samples from the unsaturated and saturated geologic deposits below four disposal trenches. Trench-cover and subtrench deposits were monitored with soil-moisture tensiometers, vacuum and gravity lysimeters, piezometers, and a nuclear soil-moisture gage. A cross-sectional, numerical ground-water-flow model was used to simulate water movement in the variably saturated geologic deposits in the tunnel area. Concurrent studies at the site provided water-budget data for estimating recharge to the disposal trenches. Vertical water movement directly above the trenches was impeded by a zone of compaction within the clayey-silt trench covers. Water entered the trenches primarily at the trench edges where the compacted zone was absent and the cover was relatively thin. Collapse holes in the trench covers that resulted from inadequate compaction of wastes within the trenches provided additional preferential pathways for surface-water drainage into the trenches; drainage into one collapse hole during a rainstorm was estimated to be 1,700 L (liters). Till deposits near trench bases induced lateral water and tritium movement. Limited temporal variation in water movement and small flow gradients (relative to the till deposits) were detected in the unsaturated subtrench sand deposit; maximum gradients during the spring recharge period averaged 1.62 mm/mm (millimeter per millimeter). Time-of-travel of water moving from the trench covers to below the trenches was estimated to be as rapid as 41 days (assuming individual water molecules move this distance in one recharge cycle). Tritium concentrations in water from the unsaturated zone ranged from 200 (background) to 10,000,000 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). Tritium concentrations generally were higher below trench bases (averaging 91,000 pCi/L) than below intertrench sediments (averaging 3,300 pCi/L), and in the subtrench Toulon Member of the Glasford Formation (sand) (averaging 110,000 pCi/L) than in the Hulick Till Member of the Glasford Formation (clayey silt) (averaging 59,000 pCi/L). Average subtrench tritium concentration increased from 28,000 to 100,000 pCi/L during the study period. Within the trench covers, there was a strong seasonal trend in tritium concentrations; the highest concentrations occurred in late summer when soil-moisture contents were at a minimum. Subtrench tritium movement occurred in association with the annual cycle of water movement, as well as independently of the cycle, in apparent response to continuous water movement through the subtrench sand deposits and to the deterioration of trench-waste containers. The increase in concen

Water and tritium movement through the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near Sheffield, Illinois, 1981-85

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mills, Patrick C.; Healy, R.W.

1991-01-01

The movement of water and tritium through the unsaturated zone was studied at a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near Sheffield, Bureau County, Illinois, from 1981 to 1985. Water and tritium movement occurred in an annual, seasonally timed cycle; recharge to the saturated zone generally occurred in the spring and early summer. Mean annual precipitation (1982-85) was 871 millimeters; mean annual recharge to the disposal trenches (July 1982 through June 1984) was estimated to be 107 millimeters. Average annual tritium flux below the study trenches was estimated to be 3.4 millicuries per year. Site geology, climate, and waste-disposal practices influenced the spatial and temporal variability of water and tritium movement. Of the components of the water budget, evapotranspiration contributed most to the temporal variability of water and tritium movement. Disposal trenches are constructed in complexly layered glacial and postglacial deposits that average 17 meters in thickness and overlie a thick sequence of Pennsylvanian shale. The horizontal saturated hydraulic conductivity of the clayey-silt to sand-sized glacial and postglacial deposits ranges from 4.8x10^-1 to 3.4x10^4 millimeters per day. A 120-meter-long horizontal tunnel provided access for hydrologic measurements and collection of sediment and water samples from the unsaturated and saturated geologic deposits below four disposal trenches. Trench-cover and subtrench deposits were monitored with soil-moisture tensiometers, vacuum and gravity lysimeters, piezometers, and a nuclear soil-moisture gage. A cross-sectional, numerical ground-water-flow model was used to simulate water movement in the variably saturated geologic deposits in the tunnel area. Concurrent studies at the site provided water-budget data for estimating recharge to the disposal trenches. Vertical water movement directly above the trenches was impeded by a zone of compaction within the clayey-silt trench covers. Water entered the trenches primarily at the trench edges where the compacted zone was absent and the cover was relatively thin. Collapse holes in the trench covers that resulted from inadequate compaction of wastes within the trenches provided additional preferential pathways for surface-water drainage into the trenches; drainage into one collapse hole during a rainstorm was estimated to be 1,700 liters. Till deposits near trench bases induced lateral water and tritium movement. Limited temporal variation in water movement and small flow gradients (relative to the till deposits) were detected in the unsaturated subtrench sand deposit; maximum gradients during the spring recharge period averaged 1.62 millimeters per millimeter. Time-of-travel of water moving from the trench covers to below the trenches was estimated to be as rapid as 41 days (assuming individual water molecules move this distance in one recharge cycle). Tritium concentrations in water from the unsaturated zone ranged from 200 (background) to 10,000,000 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). Tritium concentrations generally were higher below trench bases (averaging 91,000 pCi/L) than below intertrench sediments (averaging 3,300 pCi/L), and in the subtrench Toulon Member of the Glasford Formation (sand) (averaging 110,000 pCi/L) than in the Hulick Till Member of the Glasford Formation (clayey silt) (averaging 59,000 pCi/L). Average subtrench tritium concentration increased from 28,000 to 100,000 pCi/L during the study period. Within the trench covers, there was a strong seasonal trend in tritium concentrations; the highest concentrations occurred in late summer when soil-moisture contents were at a minimum. Subtrench tritium movement occurred in association with the annual cycle of water movement, as well as independently of the cycle, in apparent response to continuous water movement through the subtrench sand deposits and to the deterioration of trench-waste containers. The increase in concentrations of tritium with incre

Evaluation of Permeable Reactive Barrier Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-12-09

and-fill operation, where the trench was initially stabilized using guar gum and subsequently broken down by circulating an enzyme through the trench...80 Peerless Reactive cell placed within gravel-filled capture trench, guar gum used during installation Uranium Mill Tailings Site...Regulatory Issues 5.3.1 Biostat. The use of guar gum (a natural food thickener) as a reactive medium or as a support for trench excavation, is gaining

Presumed filter-feeding in a deep-sea benthic shrimp (Decapoda, Caridea, Stylodactylidae), with records of the deepest occurrence of carideans.

PubMed

Wicksten, Mary; De Grave, Sammy; France, Scott; Kelley, Christopher

2017-01-01

Using the remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer , we observed a large stylodactylid shrimp resting on a sedimented sea floor at 4826 m in the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. The shrimp was not collected but most closely resembled Bathystylodactylus bathyalis , known previously only from a single broken specimen. Video footage shows the shrimp facing into the current and extending its upraised and fringed first and second pereopods, presumably capturing passing particles. The video footage is the first ever to show a living deep-sea stylodactylid and constitutes the deepest record for the family. We provide a list of the deepest reports of caridean shrimps world-wide.

Water Deluge Test at Pad 39B

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-24

About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.

Wet Flow Test at Launch Complex 39B

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-20

About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.

Thin seam miner/trench mining concepts for Illinois Basin surface coal mines

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

Caudle, R.D.; Lall, V.

1985-07-01

A hybrid surface/underground mining concept, trench-auger mining is an attempt to increase the depth to which coal seams can be surface mined economically by reducing the amount of overburden which must be removed and reclaimed. In this concept the coal seam is first exposed by digging a series of parallel trenches 400 to 1200 ft apart with conventional surface mining equipment. After surface mining the coal from the bottom of the trench, the coal under the surface between the trenches would be extracted with extended-depth augers, operating from the bottoms of the trenches. The RSV Mining Equipment Co. of Hollandmore » has developed a Thin Seam Miner (TSM). The TSM is essentially a remotely controlled, continuous underground mining machine. The hydraulically driven drum cutter head and coal handling auger flights can be operated from a distance outside the underground mine workings. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate Thin Seam Miner/Trench Mining (TSM/TM) concepts for use under conditions existing in the Illinois Coal Basin.« less

Chemical characteristics of hadal waters in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench of the western Pacific Ocean.

PubMed

Gamo, Toshitaka; Shitashima, Kiminori

2018-01-01

Vertical profiles of potential temperature, salinity, and some chemical components were obtained at a trench station (29°05'N, 142°51'E; depth = 9768 m) in the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) Trench in 1984 and 1994 to characterize the hadal waters below ∼6000 m depth. We compared portions of both the 1984 and 1994 profiles with nearby data obtained between 1976 and 2013. Results demonstrated that the hadal waters had slightly higher potential temperature and nitrate and lower dissolved oxygen than waters at sill depths (∼6000 m) outside the trench, probably due to the effective accumulation of geothermal heat and active biological processes inside the trench. The silicate, iron, and manganese profiles in 1984 showed slight but significant increases below ∼6000 m depth, suggesting that these components may have been intermittently supplied from the trench bottom. Significant amounts of 222 Rn in excess over 226 Ra were detected in the hadal waters up to 2675 m from the bottom, reflecting laterally supplied 222 Rn from the trench walls.

Water movement in the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, Kevin F.; McMahon, Peter B.

1989-01-01

Four unsaturated-zone monitoring sites and a meteorologic station were installed at the low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, S.C., to investigate the geohydrologic and climatologic factors affecting water movement in the unsaturated zone. The study site is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The unsaturated zone consists of a few centimeters to more than 1 meter of surface sand, underlain by up to 15 meters of clayey sand. Two monitoring sites were installed in experimental trenches, and two were installed in radioactive-waste trenches. Two different trench designs were evaluated at the monitoring sites. A meteorologic station was used to measure precipitation and to calculate actual evapotranspiration using the Bowen ratio method. Soil-moisture tensiometers, soil-moisture conductance probes, and temperature sensors were used to monitor soil-water movement in and adjacent to the trenches. Tracer tests using sodium chloride were conducted at each monitoring site. Hydrologic properties of unsaturated-zone materials were also determined. Data collection at the monitoring sites began in January 1982 and continued until early May 1984. Tensiometer data show that the unsaturated materials had their highest percent saturations in winter and spring. Saturations in the backfill sand varied from 20 to 100 percent, and in the adjacent undisturbed and overlying compacted clayey sand, from about 75 to 100 percent. The same pattern generally was observed at all four monitoring sites. The tracer-test data indicate that water movement occurred mainly during the recharge period, winter and spring. The tracer-test results enabled computation of rates of unsaturated flow in the compacted clayey-sand cap, the compacted clayey-sand barrier, and the backfill sand. A micro-scale hydrologic budget was determined for an undisturbed part of the site from July 1983 through June 1984.Total precipitation was 144 centimeters, and actual evapotranspiration was 101 centimeters. Additionally, because tensiometer data indicate negligible water-storage changes in the unsaturated zone, it is estimated that approximately 43 centimeters of recharge reached the water table. During 1984, the rise and fall of ponded water in an experimental trench was continuously monitored with a digital recorder. This water-level record was used to compute the rate of leakage of ponded water from that trench--1 x 10 -5 centimeter per second. A cross-sectional finite-element model of variably saturated flow was used to test the conceptual model of water movement in the unsaturated zone and to illustrate the effect of trench design on water movement into the experimental trenches. Monitoring and model results show that precipitation on trenches infiltrated the trench cap and moved vertically into the trench backfill material. Precipitation on the undisturbed material adjacent to the trenches moved vertically through the surface sand and continued either downward into undisturbed clayey sand or laterally along the sand/clayey-sand interface into the backfill sand, depending on trench design. The trench construction practice of placing a compacted clayey-sand barrier around the trench greatly inhibits soil water from entering the trench.

Geologic framework and evidence for neotectonism in the epicentral area of the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, William C.; Harrison, Richard W.; Spears, David B.; Evans, Nicholas H.; Mahan, Shannon

2015-01-01

The epicenters of the main shock and associated aftershocks of the 2011 moment magnitude, Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake, and the updip projection of the possible fault plane that triggered the quakes, are contained in the areas of 2 adjoining 7.5′ quadrangles in the central Virginia Piedmont. These quadrangles have therefore been the focus of concentrated geologic study in the form of bedrock and surficial mapping and near-surface trenching in order to identify potential seismogenic structures. Bedrock mapping has outlined a series of northeast-southwest–trending lithologic belts that include the Ordovician Chopawamsic and Quantico Formations, the narrow neck of the Late Ordovician Ellisville pluton, and mélange zone III of the Mine Run Complex. The region was affected by at least two ductile deformational events, one in the early Paleozoic that was broadly synchronous with the intrusion of the pluton, and one later in the Paleozoic. The earlier deformation produced the Quantico synclinorium and other regional folds, and the later deformation produced faults with associated high-strain zones. Two of these faults have been trenched at their intersection along the east-dipping eastern contact of the Ellisville neck, near where the causative fault for the earthquake projects to the surface. The trenches have exposed abundant evidence of post-Paleozoic fracturing and faulting, including brecciated quartz-tourmaline veins, slickensided thrust and strike-slip faults, and clay-filled fractures. Fluvial and colluvial gravels that overlie these brittle structures have yielded optically stimulated luminescence ages ranging from ca. 27 to 10 ka. These structures are likely representative of surface features associated with Quaternary earthquakes in the Central Virginia seismic zone.

Space Launch System Scale Model Acoustic Test Ignition Overpressure Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nance, Donald K.; Liever, Peter A.

2015-01-01

The overpressure phenomenon is a transient fluid dynamic event occurring during rocket propulsion system ignition. This phenomenon results from fluid compression of the accelerating plume gas, subsequent rarefaction, and subsequent propagation from the exhaust trench and duct holes. The high-amplitude unsteady fluid-dynamic perturbations can adversely affect the vehicle and surrounding structure. Commonly known as ignition overpressure (IOP), this is an important design-to environment for the Space Launch System (SLS) that NASA is currently developing. Subscale testing is useful in validating and verifying the IOP environment. This was one of the objectives of the Scale Model Acoustic Test (SMAT), conducted at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The test data quantifies the effectiveness of the SLS IOP suppression system and improves the analytical models used to predict the SLS IOP environments. The reduction and analysis of the data gathered during the SMAT IOP test series requires identification and characterization of multiple dynamic events and scaling of the event waveforms to provide the most accurate comparisons to determine the effectiveness of the IOP suppression systems. The identification and characterization of the overpressure events, the waveform scaling, the computation of the IOP suppression system knockdown factors, and preliminary comparisons to the analytical models are discussed.

Space Launch System Scale Model Acoustic Test Ignition Overpressure Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nance, Donald; Liever, Peter; Nielsen, Tanner

2015-01-01

The overpressure phenomenon is a transient fluid dynamic event occurring during rocket propulsion system ignition. This phenomenon results from fluid compression of the accelerating plume gas, subsequent rarefaction, and subsequent propagation from the exhaust trench and duct holes. The high-amplitude unsteady fluid-dynamic perturbations can adversely affect the vehicle and surrounding structure. Commonly known as ignition overpressure (IOP), this is an important design-to environment for the Space Launch System (SLS) that NASA is currently developing. Subscale testing is useful in validating and verifying the IOP environment. This was one of the objectives of the Scale Model Acoustic Test, conducted at Marshall Space Flight Center. The test data quantifies the effectiveness of the SLS IOP suppression system and improves the analytical models used to predict the SLS IOP environments. The reduction and analysis of the data gathered during the SMAT IOP test series requires identification and characterization of multiple dynamic events and scaling of the event waveforms to provide the most accurate comparisons to determine the effectiveness of the IOP suppression systems. The identification and characterization of the overpressure events, the waveform scaling, the computation of the IOP suppression system knockdown factors, and preliminary comparisons to the analytical models are discussed.

Lunar breccias, petrology, and earth planetary structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ridley, W. I.

1978-01-01

Topics covered include: (1) petrologic studies of poikiloblastic textured rocks; (2) petrology of aluminous mare basalts in breccia 14063; (3) petrology of Apollo 15 breccia 15459; (4) high-alumina mare basalts; (5) some petrological aspects of imbrium stratigraphy; (6) petrology of lunar rocks and implication to lunar evolution; (7) the crystallization trends of spinels in Tertiary basalts from Rhum and Muck and their petrogenetic significance; (8) the geology and evolution of the Cayman Trench; (9) The petrochemistry of igneous rocks from the Cayman Trench and the Captains Bay Pluton, Unalaska Island and their relation to tectonic processes at plate margins; and (10) the oxide and silicate mineral chemistry of a Kimberlite from the Premier Mine with implications for the evolution of kimberlitic magma.

[Laser induced fluorescence spectrum characteristics of common edible oil and fried cooking oil].

PubMed

Mu, Tao-tao; Chen, Si-ying; Zhang, Yin-chao; Chen, He; Guo, Pan; Ge, Xian-ying; Gao, Li-lei

2013-09-01

In order to detect the trench oil the authors built a trench oil rapid detection system based on laser induced fluorescence detection technology. This system used 355 nm laser as excitation light source. The authors collected the fluorescence spectrum of a variety of edible oil and fried cooking oil (a kind of trench oil) and then set up a fluorescence spectrum database by taking advantage of the trench oil detection system It was found that the fluorescence characteristics of fried cooking oil and common edible oil were obviously different. Then it could easily realize the oil recognition and trench oil rapid detection by using principal component analysis and BP neural network, and the overall recognition rate could reach as high as 97.5%. Experiments showed that laser induced fluorescence spectrum technology was fast, non-contact, and highly sensitive. Combined with BP neural network, it would become a new technique to detect the trench oil.

Note: long range and accurate measurement of deep trench microstructures by a specialized scanning tunneling microscope.

PubMed

Ju, Bing-Feng; Chen, Yuan-Liu; Zhang, Wei; Zhu, Wule; Jin, Chao; Fang, F Z

2012-05-01

A compact but practical scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with high aspect ratio and high depth capability has been specially developed. Long range scanning mechanism with tilt-adjustment stage is adopted for the purpose of adjusting the probe-sample relative angle to compensate the non-parallel effects. A periodical trench microstructure with a pitch of 10 μm has been successfully imaged with a long scanning range up to 2.0 mm. More innovatively, a deep trench with depth and step height of 23.0 μm has also been successfully measured, and slope angle of the sidewall can approximately achieve 67°. The probe can continuously climb the high step and exploring the trench bottom without tip crashing. The new STM could perform long range measurement for the deep trench and high step surfaces without image distortion. It enables accurate measurement and quality control of periodical trench microstructures.

Die singulation method

DOEpatents

Swiler, Thomas P.; Garcia, Ernest J.; Francis, Kathryn M.

2013-06-11

A method is disclosed for singulating die from a semiconductor substrate (e.g. a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate or a bulk silicon substrate) containing an oxide layer (e.g. silicon dioxide or a silicate glass) and one or more semiconductor layers (e.g. monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon) located above the oxide layer. The method etches trenches through the substrate and through each semiconductor layer about the die being singulated, with the trenches being offset from each other around at least a part of the die so that the oxide layer between the trenches holds the substrate and die together. The trenches can be anisotropically etched using a Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) process. After the trenches are etched, the oxide layer between the trenches can be etched away with an HF etchant to singulate the die. A release fixture can be located near one side of the substrate to receive the singulated die.

Die singulation method

DOEpatents

Swiler, Thomas P [Albuquerque, NM; Garcia, Ernest J [Albuquerque, NM; Francis, Kathryn M [Rio Rancho, NM

2014-01-07

A method is disclosed for singulating die from a semiconductor substrate (e.g. a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate or a bulk silicon substrate) containing an oxide layer (e.g. silicon dioxide or a silicate glass) and one or more semiconductor layers (e.g. monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon) located above the oxide layer. The method etches trenches through the substrate and through each semiconductor layer about the die being singulated, with the trenches being offset from each other around at least a part of the die so that the oxide layer between the trenches holds the substrate and die together. The trenches can be anisotropically etched using a Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) process. After the trenches are etched, the oxide layer between the trenches can be etched away with a HF etchant to singulate the die. A release fixture can be located near one side of the substrate to receive the singulated die.

Trial coring in LLRW trenches at Chalk River

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

Donders, R.E.; Killey, R.W.D.; Franklin, K.J.

1996-12-31

As part of a program to better characterize the low-hazard radioactive waste managed by AECL at Chalk River, coring techniques in waste trenches are being assessed. Trial coring has demonstrated that sampling in waste regions is possible, and that boreholes can be placed through the waste trenches. Such coring provides a valuable information gathering technique. Information available from trench coring includes: (1) trench cover depth, waste region depth, waste compaction level, and detailed stratigraphic data; (2) soil moisture content and facility drainage performance; (3) borehole gamma logs that indicate radiation levels in the region of the borehole; (4) biochemical conditionsmore » in the waste regions, vadose zone, and groundwater; (5) site specific information relevant to contaminant migration modelling or remedial actions; (6) information on contaminant releases and inventories. Boreholes through the trenches can also provide a means for early detection of potential contaminant releases.« less

How large is the fault slip at trench in the M=9 Tohoku-oki earthquake?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kelin; Sun, Tianhaozhe; Fujiwara, Toshiya; Kodaira, Shuichi; He, Jiangheng

2015-04-01

It is widely known that coseismic slip breached the trench during the 2011 Mw=9 Tohoku-oki earthquake, responsible for generating a devastating tsunami. For understanding both the mechanics of megathrust rupture and the mechanism of tsunami generation, it is important to know how much fault slip actually occurred at the trench. But the answer has remained elusive because most of the data from this earthquake do not provide adequate near-trench resolution. Seafloor GPS sites were located > 30 km from the trench. Near-trench seafloor pressure records suffered from complex vertical deformation at local scales. Seismic inversion does not have adequate accuracy at the trench. Inversion of tsunami data is highly dependent on the parameterization of the fault near the trench. The severity of the issue is demonstrated by our compilation of rupture models for this earthquake published by ~40 research groups using multiple sets of coseismic observations. In the peak slip area, fault slip at the trench depicted by these models ranges from zero to >90 m. The faults in many models do not reach the trench because of simplification of fault geometry. In this study, we use high-resolution differential bathymetry, that is, bathymetric differences before and after the earthquake, to constrain coseismic slip at and near the trench along a corridor in the area of largest moment release. We use a 3D elastic finite element model including real fault geometry and surface topography to produce Synthetic Differential Bathymetry (SDB) and compare it with the observed differential bathymetry. Earthquakes induce bathymetric changes by shifting the sloping seafloor seaward and by warping the seafloor through internal deformation of rocks. These effects are simulated by our SDB modeling, except for the permanent formation of the upper plate which is like to be limited and localized. Bathymetry data were collected by JAMSTEC in 1999, 2004, and in 2011 right after the M=9 earthquake. Our SDB results indicate that a fault slip of about 60 m at the trench, increasing landward by a few metres over a distance of 50 km, is needed to explain the differential bathymetry data for the time interval of 1999 - 2011. Most of this slip presumably happened during the 2011 earthquake, although very limited aseismic slip from 1999 to just prior to the earthquake cannot be ruled out. The 2004 - 2011 differential bathymetry data would indicate about 45 m near-trench slip, but this estimate is less reliable because the 2004 survey had a very short segment seaward of the trench, causing very large uncertainties in the 2004 - 2011 data.

The Relationships of Upper Plate Ridge-Trench-Trench and Ridge-Trench-Transform Triple Junction Evolution to Arc Lengthening, Subduction Zone initiation and Ophiolitic Forearc Obduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casey, J.; Dewey, J. F.

2013-12-01

The principal enigma of large obducted ophiolite slabs is that they clearly must have been generated by some form of organized sea-floor spreading/plate-accretion, such as may be envisioned for the oceanic ridges, yet the volcanics commonly have arc affinity (Miyashiro) with boninites (high-temperature/low-pressure, high Mg and Si andesites), which are suggestive of a forearc origin. PT conditions under which boninites and metamorphic soles form and observations of modern forearc systems lead us to the conclusion that ophiolite formation is associated with overriding plate spreading centers that intersect the trench to form ridge-trench-trench of ridge-trench-tranform triple junctions. The spreading centers extend and lengthen the forearc parallel to the trench and by definition are in supra-subduction zone (SSZ) settings. Many ophiolites likewise have complexly-deformed associated mafic-ultramafic assemblages that suggest fracture zone/transform along their frontal edges, which in turn has led to models involving the nucleation of subduction zones on fracture zones or transpressional transforms. Hitherto, arc-related sea-floor-spreading has been considered to be either pre-arc (fore-arc boninites) or post-arc (classic Karig-style back arc basins that trench-parallel split arcs). Syn-arc boninites and forearc oceanic spreading centers that involve a stable ridge/trench/trench triple or a ridge-trench-transform triple junction, the ridge being between the two upper plates, are consistent with large slab ophiolite formation in an obduction-ready settting. The direction of subduction must be oblique with a different sense in the two subduction zones and the oblique subduction cannot be partitioned into trench orthogonal and parallel strike-slip components. As the ridge spreads, new oceanic lithosphere is created within the forearc, the arc and fore-arc lengthen significantly, and a syn-arc ophiolite forearc complex is generated by this mechanism. The ophiolite ages along arc-strike; a distinctive diachronous MORB-like to boninitic to arc volcanic stratigraphy develops vertically in the forearc and eruption centers progressively migrate from the forearc back to the main arc massif with time. Dikes in the ophiolite are commonly highly oblique to the trench (as are back-arc magnetic anomalies in modern environments). Boninites and high-mg andesites are generated in the fore-arc under the aqueous, low pressure/high temperature, regime at the ridge above the instantaneously developed subducting and dehydrating slab. We review both modern subduction environments and ancient obducted ophiolite analogues that illustrate this tectonic model for subduction initiation and the creation and rapid divergent-convergent plate tectonic transitions to ophiolitic forearcs.

Marine geology of the Forearc region, southern Mariana Island arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karig, D. E.; Ranken, Beverly

The Mariana Arc serves as a type example of an oceanic arc system because of its long history without a continental influence and because of the large suite of data collected from that area. The concentration of deep-sea drilling and related survey data near 18°N has been interpreted in support of subsidence and narrowing of the forearc with time as a result of tectonic erosion. On the contrary, interpretation of a lesser concentration of data from the south end of the arc presented here suggests growth and relative uplift of the lower trench slope. Truncation of all forearc elements occurs south of 13°N, probably as a result of strike slip faulting along east-west fractures that define a transform between the back arc spreading ridge and the trench. North of 13°30'N the inner trench slope is ribbed with ridges that trend parallel to or convex toward the trench. These ridges are largest and perhaps most structurally active at the base of the trench slope. Depositional depth of sediments in Deep Sea Drilling Project holes drilled in the upper slope apron, concave upward slopes of this apron, which trap turbidites, and internal arcward fanning of deeper apron strata are cited in support of relative uplift and arcward rotation of the seaward part of the inner slope and of minor absolute uplift of the sediment apron. This pattern of vertical displacement and rotation, coupled with progressive downlap rather than truncation of apron strata, argues against tectonic erosion and subsidence. The conflicting data may be a result of changing response of the arc over time. Forearc volcanism and tectonic disruption of the basement beneath the upper slope apparently ceased by the early Oligocene. Younger features are more compatible with intermittent accretion of oceanic material, possibly tectonically mixed into the arc basement.

Improving OBS operations in ultra-deep ocean during the Southern Mariana Trench expeditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, X.; Lin, J.; Xu, M.; Zhou, Z.

2017-12-01

The Mariana Trench Research Initiative, led by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and through international collaboration, focuses on investigating the deep and shallow lithospheric structure, earthquake characteristics, extreme geological environments, and the controlling geodynamic mechanisms for the formation of Earth's deepest basins in the southern Mariana Trench. Two multidisciplinary research expeditions were executed during December 2016 and June 2017, respectively, on board R/V Shiyan 3. A main task of the Mariana Initiative is to conduct the Southern Mariana OBS Experiment (SMOE), the first OBS seismic experiment across the Challenger Deep. The SMOE expeditions include both active and passive source seismic experiments and employed a large number of broadband OBS instruments. Due to the deep water, rough weather, strong winds, and other unfavorable factors, it was challenging to deploy/recover the OBSs. During the two expeditions we developed and experimented with a number of ways to improve the success rate of OBS operations in the harsh ultra-deep ocean environment of the Southern Mariana Trench. All newly acquired OBSs underwent a series of uniquely designed deep-ocean tests to improve the instrument performance and maximize reliability during their deployment under the ultra-high pressure conditions. The OBS deployment and recovery followed a unified standard operation procedure and aided by an instrumental checklist, which were specifically designed and strictly enforced for operation during the expeditions. Furthermore, an advanced ship-based radio positioning system was developed to rapidly and accurately locate the OBS instruments when they reached the sea surface; the system proved its effectiveness even under extreme weather conditions. Through the development and application of the novel methods for operation in deep oceans, we overcame the rough sea and other unfavorable factors during the first two expeditions to the southern Mariana Trench and achieved a highly successful OBS operation program.

Trench-breaching afterslip following deeper coseismic slip of the 2012 Mw 7.6 Costa Rica earthquake constrained by near-trench pressure and land-based geodetic observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Tianhaozhe; Davis, Earl E.; Wang, Kelin; Jiang, Yan

2017-12-01

Large rupture of the shallowest portion of subduction thrust faults (megathrusts), such as during the 2011 moment magnitude (Mw) 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake, can generate the most devastating tsunamis. However, it remains unclear whether such trench-breaching rupture is typical of other subduction earthquakes. The main difficulty in answering this question is the common lack of near-trench geodetic monitoring in subduction zones worldwide. Seafloor and sub-seafloor fluid pressure measurements at two closely located borehole observatories in the Middle America trench have provided clear evidence for the absence of trench-breaching rupture during the 2012 Mw 7.6 Costa Rica earthquake, and for the presence of substantial trench-breaching afterslip at slow rates after the rupture (Davis et al., 2015). In this study, we compare postseismic seafloor pressure change at the trench with coastal Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) displacements. The same temporal characteristics of the deformation at the trench and coastal sites indicate that both offshore and onshore deformation were the consequence of afterslip that occurred over a wide spatial range updip of the rupture. By determining the co- and post-seismic slip distributions and inferring the associated shear stress changes on the megathrust, we show that the mechanical behaviour varies in the dip direction. The slip behaviour of the shallow megathrust at Costa Rica is consistent with conventional conceptual models, and contrasts with the behaviour of the shallowest megathrust during the Tohoku-oki event.

Geology and neotectonism in the epicentral area of the 2011 M5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, William C.; Spears, David B.; Harrison, Richard W.; Evans, Nicholas H.; Schindler, J. Stephen; Counts, Ronald C.

2015-01-01

arc (Ordovician Chopawamsic Formation) to Laurentia, intrusion of a granodiorite pluton (Ordovician Ellisville pluton), and formation of a post-Chopawamsic successor basin (Ordovician Quantico Formation), all accompanied by early Paleozoic regional deformation and metamorphism. Local transpressional faulting and retrograde metamorphism occurred in the late Paleozoic, followed by diabase dike intrusion and possible local normal faulting in the early Mesozoic. The overall goal of the bedrock mapping is to determine what existing geologic structures might have been reactivated during the 2011 seismic event, and surfi cial deposits along the South Anna River are being mapped in order to determine possible neotectonic uplift. In addition to bedrock and surfi cial studies, we have excavated trenches in an area that contains two late Paleozoic faults and represents the updip projection of the causative fault for the 2011 quake. The trenches reveal faulting that has offset surfi cial deposits dated as Quaternary in age, as well as numerous other brittle structures that suggest a geologically recent history of neotectonic activity.

Computational Prediction of Pressure and Thermal Environments in the Flame Trench With Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brehm, Christoph; Sozer, Emre; Barad, Michael F.; Housman, Jeffrey A.; Kiris, Cetin C.; Moini-Yekta, Shayan; Vu, Bruce T.; Parlier, Christopher R.

2014-01-01

One of the key objectives for the development of the 21st Century Space Launch Com- plex is to provide the exibility needed to support evolving launch vehicles and spacecrafts with enhanced range capacity. The launch complex needs to support various proprietary and commercial vehicles with widely di erent needs. The design of a multi-purpose main ame de ector supporting many di erent launch vehicles becomes a very challenging task when considering that even small geometric changes may have a strong impact on the pressure and thermal environment. The physical and geometric complexity encountered at the launch site require the use of state-of-the-art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools to predict the pressure and thermal environments. Due to harsh conditions encountered in the launch environment, currently available CFD methods which are frequently employed for aerodynamic and ther- mal load predictions in aerospace applications, reach their limits of validity. This paper provides an in-depth discussion on the computational and physical challenges encountered when attempting to provide a detailed description of the ow eld in the launch environ- ment. Several modeling aspects, such as viscous versus inviscid calculations, single-species versus multiple-species ow models, and calorically perfect gas versus thermally perfect gas, are discussed. The Space Shuttle and the Falcon Heavy launch vehicles are used to study di erent engine and geometric con gurations. Finally, we provide a discussion on traditional analytical tools which have been used to provide estimates on the expected pressure and thermal loads.

Studying Near-Trench Characteristics of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Megathrust Rupture Using Differential Multi-Beam Bathymetry before and after the Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, T.; Fujiwara, T.; Kodaira, S.; Wang, K.; He, J.

2014-12-01

Large coseismic motion (up to ~ 31 m) of seafloor GPS sites during the 2011 M 9 Tohoku earthquake suggests large rupture at shallow depths of the megathrust. However, compilation of all published rupture models, constrained by the near-field seafloor geodetic observation and also various other datasets, shows large uncertainties in the slip of the most near-trench (within ~ 50 km from the trench) part of the megathrust. Repeated multi-beam bathymetry surveys that cover the trench axis, carried out by Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, for the first time recorded coseismic deformation in a megathrust earthquake at the trench. In previous studies of the differential bathymetry (DB) before and after the earthquake to determine coseismic fault slip, only the rigid-body translation component of the upper plate deformation was considered. In this work, we construct Synthetic Differential Bathymetry (SDB) using an elastic deformation model and make comparisons with the observed DB. We use a 3-D elastic Finite Element model with actual fault geometry of the Japan trench subduction zone and allowing the rupture to breach the trench. The SDB can well predict short-wavelength variations in the observed DB. Our tests using different coseismic slip models show that the internal elastic deformation of the hanging wall plays an important role in generating DB. Comparing the SDB with the observed DB suggests that the largest slip is located within ~ 50 km from the trench. The SDB proves to be the most effective tool to evaluate the performance of different rupture models in predicting near-trench slip. Our SDB work will further explore the updip slip variation. The SDB may help to constrain the slip gradient in the updip direction and may help to determine whether the large shallow slip in the Tohoku earthquake plateaued at the trench or before reaching the trench. Resolving these issues will provide some of the key tests for various competing models that were proposed to explain the large shallow rupture in this event.

46. BASE OF UMBILICAL MAST FROM UMBILICAL MAST TRENCH. ERECTION ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

46. BASE OF UMBILICAL MAST FROM UMBILICAL MAST TRENCH. ERECTION AND RETRACTION CYLINDERS BETWEEN MAST AND TRENCH WALL. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Sediment Pathways Across Trench Slopes: Results From Numerical Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cormier, M. H.; Seeber, L.; McHugh, C. M.; Fujiwara, T.; Kanamatsu, T.; King, J. W.

2015-12-01

Until the 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake, the role of earthquakes as agents of sediment dispersal and deposition at erosional trenches was largely under-appreciated. A series of cruises carried out after the 2011 event has revealed a variety of unsuspected sediment transport mechanisms, such as tsunami-triggered sheet turbidites, suggesting that great earthquakes may in fact be important agents for dispersing sediments across trench slopes. To complement these observational data, we have modeled the pathways of sediments across the trench slope based on bathymetric grids. Our approach assumes that transport direction is controlled by slope azimuth only, and ignores obstacles smaller than 0.6-1 km; these constraints are meant to approximate the behavior of turbidites. Results indicate that (1) most pathways issued from the upper slope terminate near the top of the small frontal wedge, and thus do not reach the trench axis; (2) in turn, sediments transported to the trench axis are likely derived from the small frontal wedge or from the subducting Pacific plate. These results are consistent with the stratigraphy imaged in seismic profiles, which reveals that the slope apron does not extend as far as the frontal wedge, and that the thickness of sediments at the trench axis is similar to that of the incoming Pacific plate. We further applied this modeling technique to the Cascadia, Nankai, Middle-America, and Sumatra trenches. Where well-defined canyons carve the trench slopes, sediments from the upper slope may routinely reach the trench axis (e.g., off Costa Rica and Cascadia). In turn, slope basins that are isolated from the canyons drainage systems must mainly accumulate locally-derived sediments. Therefore, their turbiditic infill may be diagnostic of seismic activity only - and not from storm or flood activity. If correct, this would make isolated slope basins ideal targets for paleoseismological investigation.

Recent sediment dynamics in hadal trenches: Evidence for the influence of higher-frequency (tidal, near-inertial) fluid dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turnewitsch, Robert; Falahat, Saeed; Stehlikova, Jirina; Oguri, Kazumasa; Glud, Ronnie N.; Middelboe, Mathias; Kitazato, Hiroshi; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Ando, Kojiro; Fujio, Shinzou; Yanagimoto, Daigo

2014-08-01

In addition to high hydrostatic pressure, scarcity of food is viewed as a factor that limits the abundance and activity of heterotrophic organisms at great ocean depths, including hadal trenches. Supply of nutritious food largely relies on the flux of organic-rich particulate matter from the surface ocean. It has been speculated that the shape of hadal trenches helps to ‘funnel' particulate matter into the deeper parts of the trench, leading to sediment ‘focussing' and improved benthic food supply. Here we investigate for five Northwest Pacific trenches the efficiency of sediment focussing by evaluating ratios of measured (sediment-derived) and expected (water-column-derived) sedimentary inventories of the naturally occurring and radioactive particulate-matter tracer 210Pbxs. The sites comprise a broad range of surface-ocean productivity and physical-oceanographic regimes. Across the five trench-axis settings the inventory ratio varies between 0.5 and 4.1, with four trench-axis settings having ratios>1 (sediment focussing) and one trench-axis setting a ratio<1 (sediment winnowing). Although the fluid- and sediment-dynamical forcing behind sediment focussing remains unclear, this study finds evidence for another mechanism that is superimposed on, and counteracts, the focussing mechanism. This superimposed mechanism is related to higher-frequency (tidal, near-inertial) fluid dynamics. In particular, there is evidence for a strong and negative relation between the intensity of propagating internal tides and the extent of sediment focussing in the trench-axis. The relation can be approximated by a power function and the most intense drop in sediment focussing already occurs at moderate internal-tide intensities. This suggests that propagating internal tides may have a subtle but significant influence on particulate-matter dynamics and food supply in hadal trenches in particular, but possibly also in the deep seas in general. A mechanism for the influence of internal tides on sediment dynamics is proposed.

Deep 'Stone Soup' Trenching by Phoenix

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Digging by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Aug. 23, 2008, during the 88th sol (Martian day) since landing, reached a depth about three times greater than in any trench Phoenix has excavated. The deep trench, informally called 'Stone Soup' is at the borderline between two of the polygon-shaped hummocks that characterize the arctic plain where Phoenix landed.

The lander's Surface Stereo Imager took this picture of Stone Soup trench on Sol 88 after the day's digging. The trench is about 25 centimeters (10 inches) wide and about 18 centimeters (7 inches) deep.

When digging trenches near polygon centers, Phoenix has hit a layer of icy soil, as hard as concrete, about 5 centimeters or 2 inches beneath the ground surface. In the Stone Soup trench at a polygon margin, the digging has not yet hit an icy layer like that.

Stone Soup is toward the left, or west, end of the robotic arm's work area on the north side of the lander.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Benthic Carbon Mineralization in Hadal Trenches: Insights From In Situ Determination of Benthic Oxygen Consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Min; Glud, Ronnie N.; Pan, Binbin; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Xu, Yunping; Lin, Gang; Chen, Duofu

2018-03-01

Hadal trenches have been proposed as depocenters of organic material and hot spots for organic matter mineralization. In this study, we for the first time quantified the total benthic O2 uptake in hadal trenches using in situ chamber incubations. Three trenches in the tropical Pacific were targeted and exhibited relatively high diagenetic activity given the great water depths, that is, the Mariana Trench (2.0 × 102 μmol O2 m-2 d-1, 10,853 m), the Mussau Trench (2.7 ± 0.1 × 102 μmol O2 m-2 d-1, 7,011 m), and the New Britain Trench (6.0 ± 0.1 × 102 μmol O2 m-2 d-1, 8,225 m). Combined with the analyses of total organic carbon and δ13C of total organic carbon in the sediments and previously published in situ O2 microprofiles from hadal settings, we suggest that hadal benthic carbon mineralization partly is governed by the surface production and also is linked to the distance from land. Therefore, we highlight that terrestrial organic matter can be of importance in sustaining benthic communities in some hadal settings.

Photomosaics and Logs of Trenches on the San Andreas Fault near Coachella, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Philibosian, Belle; Fumal, Thomas E.; Weldon, Ray J.; Kendrick, Katherine J.; Scharer, Katherine M.; Bemis, Sean P.; Burgette, Reed J.; Wisely, Beth A.

2009-01-01

Valley in southern California east of Dillon Road and south of Avenue 44. Three benched trenches, a total of more than 950 m, were excavated across the fault zone as part of an Alquist-Priolo fault investigation study. These trenches exposed a thick section of latest Holocene lacustrine, fluvial, and shoreline deposits. Only the central and eastern trenches exposed faulting so we confined our investigations to those two trenches. In the central trench, we photographed and logged in detail both walls of about 70 m of the trench where it spanned several zones of complex faulting which form a 15-m-wide depression. After carefully cleaning the trench walls, we put up a 1- by 0.5-m string- and nail-grid. We photographed each 1- by 0.5-m panel individually and then photologged features directly on these unrectified photos. The photos were digitally rectified later to remove distortion caused by irregularities in the trench walls and to correct the slight distortion introduced by the camera lens. The rectified photos were spliced together to make photomosaics of the trench walls. Most of the field linework and descriptions were then transferred to the rectified photomosaics. For the eastern trench, we took a set of overview photographs of the full length (about 200 m) of each wall. These photographs were taken from the top of the trench towards the opposite wall. Because the photographs were taken at a downward angle, there is significant distortion. We logged directly on these photos in the field, recording significant contacts, primarily between lacustrine and subaerial deposits, along with descriptions. For this report, we spliced together these unrectified overview photos and transfered field linework and some descriptions. For both trenches, contacts and lithologhic descriptions of stratigraphic units, faults and carbon sample locations are indicated on the photomosaics. Lacustrine deposits are tinted to better show deformation across the fault zones. Evidence for six paleoearthquakes rated as 'probable' is indicated with red stars that contain the sequential event number (1 is most recent event). Evidence for two additional 'possible' paleoearthquakes is indicated with blue stars. The sedimentary deposits contain abundant dateable material which includes detrital charcoal, lenses of organic material formed in-situ, and shells. Two organic fractions, humic acids and acid-alkali-acid-pretreated (AAA), were dated for 13 of 15 samples taken from organic layers and both dates are shown for these samples on the photomosaics and tables 1 and 2. All radiocarbon dates are in 14C years B.P. (considered to be A.D. 1950). Horizontal distance is measured along the trenches from the southwest ends of the logged exposures (marked as 0 m), and depth is measured from the highest points on the ground surface within the logged exposures. Bench locations are indicated by white lines and gaps in the photomosaics. Note that faults and contacts that are somewhat oblique to the trench walls occasionally appear disconnected owing to the approximately 1 m width of the benches.

Meiofauna abundance and community patterns along a transatlantic transect in the Vema Fracture Zone and in the hadal zone of the Puerto Rico trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Christina; Escobar Wolf, Kaibil; Lins, Lidia; Martínez Arbizu, Pedro; Brandt, Angelika

2018-02-01

Despite the increasing sampling effort that occurred in the deep-sea environment during the last decades, knowledge about meiofauna ecology in trenches and Fracture Zones is still scarce. Based on the lack of this information, a longitudinal transect across the Vema Fracture Zone in the North Atlantic was sampled to test whether meiofauna abundances differ between Northeast and Northwest Atlantic basins, separated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Also, for examination of meiofauna depth pattern, the Puerto Rico trench floor, its upper trench slope and the Western North Atlantic abyssal were investigated. In this study, meiofauna communities were dominated by Nematoda (93%) and Copepoda (4%). The highest total abundance of meiofauna was found in the Puerto Rico trench and the lowest in the Western basin. We found significant differences between the Eastern and Western Atlantic basins, which were potentially caused by differences in current regimes. Stronger currents observed in the Western basin possibly led to the coarser sediment grain size observed in this region, and consequently to the lower abundances of the major groups found there. Besides grain size, the total abundance of meiofauna was significantly correlated with total nitrogen, total organic carbon, and water depth. Moreover, our study reveals a trend of increasing abundance of total meiofauna with increasing water depth in the Puerto Rico trench. Also, significant differences between the Western abyssal and the Puerto Rico trench were discovered. Generally, the meiofauna abundance in the investigated area decreased from East to West but increased with increasing water depth in the Puerto Rico trench. Due to funnelling of organic sediments increased food availability towards deeper regions in trenches could occur and promote higher abundance.

Permeability of covers over low-level radioactive-waste burial trenches, West Valley, Cattaraugus County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.

1980-01-01

Among the facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, near the hamlet of West Valley in the northern part of Cattaraugus County, N.Y., is a State-licensed burial ground for commercial low-level radioactive wastes. The 11-acre burial ground contains a series of trenches excavated in a silty-clay till of low permeability that contains scattered pods of silt, sand, and gravel. Gas pressure in the unsaturated parts of radioactive waste burial trenches responds to fluctuations in atmospheric pressure. Measurements of atmospheric pressure and the differential pressure between the trench gas and the atmosphere on several dates in 1977-78 were used to calculate hydraulic conductivity of the reworked silty-clay till that covers the trenches. Generally the hydraulic conductivity of covers over trenches that had a history of rapidly rising water levels are higher, at least seasonally, than covers over trenches in which the water level remained low. This supports the hypothesis that recharge occurs through the cover, presumably through fractures caused by desiccation and (or) subsidence. Hydraulic conductivities of the cover as calculated from gas- and air-pressure measurements at several trenches were 100 to 1,000 times greater than those calculated from the increase in water levels in the trenches. This difference suggests that the values obtained from the air- and gas-pressure measurements need to be adjusted and at present are not directly usable in ground-water flux calculations. The difference in magnitude of values may be caused by rapidly decreasing hydraulic conductivity during periods of recharge or by the clogging of fractures with sediment washed in by runoff. (USGS)

Analysis of P and Pdiff Coda Arrivals for Water Reverberations to Evaluate Shallow Slip Extent in Large Megathrust Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhode, A.; Lay, T.

2017-12-01

Determining the up-dip rupture extent of large megathrust ruptures is important for understanding their tsunami excitation, frictional properties of the shallow megathrust, and potential for separate tsunami earthquake occurrence. On land geodetic data have almost no resolution of the up-dip extent of faulting and teleseismic observations have limited resolution that is strongly influenced by typically poorly known shallow seismic velocity structure near the toe of the accretionary prism. The increase in ocean depth as slip on the megathrust approaches the trench has significant influence on the strength and azimuthal distribution of water reverberations in the far-field P wave coda. For broadband P waves from large earthquakes with dominant signal periods of about 10 s, water reverberations generated by shallow fault slip under deep water may persist for over a minute after the direct P phases have passed, giving a clear signal of slip near the trench. As the coda waves can be quickly evaluated following the P signal, recognition of slip extending to the trench and associated enhanced tsunamigenic potential could be achieved within a few minutes after the P arrival, potentially contributing to rapid tsunami hazard assessment. We examine the broadband P wave coda at distances from 80 to 120° for a large number of recent major and great earthquakes with independently determined slip distributions and known tsunami excitation to evaluate the prospect for rapidly constraining up-dip rupture extent of large megathrust earthquakes. Events known to have significant shallow slip, at least locally extending to the trench (e.g., 2016 Illapel, Chile; 2010 Maule, 2010 Mentawai) do have relatively enhanced coda levels at all azimuths, whereas events that do not rupture the shallow megathrust (e.g., 2007 Sumatra, 2014 Iquique, 2003 Hokkaido) do not. Some events with slip models lacking shallow slip show strong coda generation, raising questions about the up-dip resolution of slip of their finite-fault models, and others show strong azimuthal patterns in coda strength that suggest propagation from the slip zone to the deep near-trench environments is involved rather than slip near the trench. The various behaviors will be integrated into an assessment of this approach.

ROCK AND SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AT THE MER GUSEV CRATER AND MERIDIANI PLANUM LANDING SITES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ming, Douglas W.; Richter, L.; Arvidson, R.; Bell, J.; Cabrol, N.; Gorevan, S.; Greeley, R.; Herkenhoff, K.

2006-01-01

Following the successful landings of both Mars Exploration Rover (MER) vehicles at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum, respectively, their Athena suite of instruments is being used to study the geologic history of these two very different landing sites on Mars that had been selected on the basis of showing different types of evidence for aqueous processes in the planet s past. Utilizing the on-board instruments as well as the rovers mobility system, a wide range of physical properties investigations is carried out as well - the subject of this abstract - that provide additional information on the geology and processes at the sites. Results of the mission in general as well as of the physical properties studies thus far greatly exceed expectations in that observations and measurements by both vehicles show a rich variety in materials and processes: the Gusev site in the vicinity of the lander is remarkably flat and generally devoid of large rocks along traverses up to the time of this writing (approx.Sol 50) and suggestive of a deflated surface with generally only thin veneers of bright dust while exhibiting evidence of a widespread occurrence of a crust from cemented fines that has been observed to fail in the form of blocky clods when disturbed by vehicle rolling action; numerous small and shallow depressions - presumably created by impacts - are observed at the site which are infilled with bright, fine-grained material that likewise appears indurated and which was studied by a trenching experiment; small ripple bedforms are scattered across the site and were characterized in terms of particle size distributions. At the Meridiani site, studies so far - up to approx.Sol 33 - have focussed on soils and the rock outcrop encountered within the approx.20 m diameter crater that the spacecraft came to rest in: from a physical properties point of view, a mantle of dark, well-sorted, apparently basaltic sand with small to moderate cohesion has been of interest - and has been studied by a trenching experiment - as well as a fine-grained unit underlying the mantle at least locally within the crater. Rock grindings were accomplished successfully at both sites at the time of this writing, suggesting different strengths of the two targets (the basaltic rock nicknamed Adirondack at Gusev and the Meridiani rock outcrop) in addition to enabling compositional measurements below the original rock surfaces.

Controlling factors of stratigraphic occurrences of fine-grained turbidites: Examples from the Japanese waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikehara, K.

2017-12-01

Fine-grained turbidite has been used for subaqueous paleoseismology, and has been recognized from shallow- to deep-water environments around the Japanese islands. Stratigraphic occurrence of fine-grained turbidites in the deepest Beppu Bay, south Japan, with its water depth of 75 m suggest clear influence of sea-level changes. Turbidite frequency was high during the post glacial sea-level rising and last 2.7 ka, and was low during the Holocene maximum sea-level highstand (5.3-2.7 ka). Retreat and progress of coastal delta front of the nearby river might affect the sediment supply to the deepest basin. On the other hand, fine-grained turbidites found in the forearc basins ( 3500 and 4500 m in water depths) and trench floor ( 6000 m in water depth) along the southern Ryukyu arc have no clear relation with sea-level changes. Sediment and bathymetric characteristics suggest that origin of these fine-grained turbidites is Taiwan. Remarkable tectonic uplift of Taiwanese coast with small mountainous rivers and narrow shelf may produce the continuous supply of fine-grained turbidites in this area. The Japan Trench floor composes of a series of small basins reflecting subducting horst-graben structure of the Pacific Plate. Each small basin acts as a natural sediment trap receiving the earthquake-induced turbidity currents. Thick fine-grained turbidites are also occurred in the small basins in the Japan Trench floor ( 7500 m in water depth). These are most likely induced by huge earthquakes along the Japan Trench. Thus, their stratigraphic occurrences might have close relation with recurrence of huge earthquakes in the past.

Geological evidence of pre-2012 Emilia, Italy, seismic events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caputo, Riccardo; Minarelli, Luca; Papathanassiou, Giorgos; Poli, Eliana M.; Rapti-Caputo, Dimitra; Sboras, Sotiris; Stefani, Marco; Zanferrari, Adriano

2013-04-01

In May 2012, two moderate (ML = 5.9 and 5.8) earthquakes, associated with a noticeable aftershock sequence, affected the eastern sector of the Po Plain, Italy. The causative faults are two segments of the Ferrara Arc thrust system representing the most frontal portion of the buried Northern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt. Few weeks after the earthquake, a palaeoseismological trench was excavated south of the San Carlo village (western Ferrara Province), where a system of aligned ground ruptures were observed. In the trench walls we observed several features documenting the occurrence of past liquefaction events affecting the same site. For example, i) 10 cm-thick dikes filled with injected sand and associated with vertical displacements have no correspondence with the fractures mapped at the surface before the excavation; ii) some thick dikes are arrested below the ploughed level or even by older sedimentary layers; iii) along the internal slope of the palaeo-channel exposed by the trench, load structures and slided blocks are observed; iv) in correspondence with the ground fractures characterised by vertical displacement and opening occurred during the 2012 earthquake and thick dikes, observed at the surface and in the trench's walls, respectively, sand and water ejection did not occur. In conclusion, the results of the palaeoseismological investigation document for the first time that shacking (i.e. seismic) events occurred in the past producing a sufficient ground motion capable of triggering liquefaction phenomena prior to, but likely stronger than, the May 2012 earthquake. A likely candidate is the November 17, 1570 Ferrara earthquake.

Neglecting safety precautions may lead to trenching fatalities.

PubMed

Deatherage, J Harold; Furches, Lisa K; Radcliffe, Mike; Schriver, William R; Wagner, John P

2004-06-01

Trench collapses ranked as the seventh leading cause of the possible twenty-nine causes of OSHA-inspected fatal construction events during the period 1991-2001. This study aims to examine why these fatalities occurred. Forty-four case files from OSHA inspections of fatal trench collapses were reviewed. Improper protection of the excavation site where work was taking place was the leading fatality cause. Several organizational or physical conditions were present at many fatal sites; the most frequent was that no training had been provided for trenching. Presence of a competent, diligent person at the site would have prohibited most fatalities. The top cited violation was lack of protection, that is, benching, shoring, sloping, trench boxes, etc. (29 CFR 1926.652 (a) (1)). Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Trench Safety–Using a Qualitative Approach to Understand Barriers and Develop Strategies to Improve Trenching Practices

PubMed Central

FLYNN, MICHAEL A.; SAMPSON, JULIE M.

2015-01-01

Despite efforts to ensure workplace safety and health, injuries and fatalities related to trenching and excavation remain alarmingly high in the construction industry. Because properly installed trenching protective systems can potentially reduce the significant number of trenching fatalities, there is clearly a need to identify the barriers to the use of these systems and to develop strategies to ensure these systems are utilized consistently. The current study reports on the results of focus groups with construction workers and safety management personnel to better understand these barriers and to identify solutions. The results suggest several factors, from poor planning to pressures from experienced workers and supervisors, which present barriers to safe trenching practices. Based on the results, it is recommended that safety trainings incorporate unique messages for new workers, experienced workers and management in an effort to motivate each group to work safely as well as provide them with solutions to overcome the identified barriers. PMID:26550006

Hadal disturbance in the Japan Trench induced by the 2011 Tohoku–Oki Earthquake

PubMed Central

Oguri, Kazumasa; Kawamura, Kiichiro; Sakaguchi, Arito; Toyofuku, Takashi; Kasaya, Takafumi; Murayama, Masafumi; Fujikura, Katsunori; Glud, Ronnie N.; Kitazato, Hiroshi

2013-01-01

In situ video observations and sediment core samplings were performed at two hadal sites in the Japan Trench on July, 2011, four months after the Tohoku–Oki earthquake. Video recordings documented dense nepheloid layers extending ~30–50 m above the sea bed. At the trench axis, benthic macrofauna was absent and dead organisms along with turbid downslope current were observed. The top 31 cm of sediment in the trench axis revealed three recent depositions events characterized by elevated 137Cs levels and alternating sediment densities. At 4.9 km seaward from the trench axis, little deposition was observed but the surface sediment contained 134Cs from the Fukushima Dai–ichi nuclear disaster. We argue that diatom blooms observed by remote sensing facilitated rapid deposition of 134Cs to hadal environment and the aftershocks induced successive sediment disturbances and maintained dense nepheloid layers in the trench even four months after the mainshock. PMID:23715086

Near-trench slip potential of megaquakes evaluated from fault properties and conditions

PubMed Central

Hirono, Tetsuro; Tsuda, Kenichi; Tanikawa, Wataru; Ampuero, Jean-Paul; Shibazaki, Bunichiro; Kinoshita, Masataka; Mori, James J.

2016-01-01

Near-trench slip during large megathrust earthquakes (megaquakes) is an important factor in the generation of destructive tsunamis. We proposed a new approach to assessing the near-trench slip potential quantitatively by integrating laboratory-derived properties of fault materials and simulations of fault weakening and rupture propagation. Although the permeability of the sandy Nankai Trough materials are higher than that of the clayey materials from the Japan Trench, dynamic weakening by thermally pressurized fluid is greater at the Nankai Trough owing to higher friction, although initially overpressured fluid at the Nankai Trough restrains the fault weakening. Dynamic rupture simulations reproduced the large slip near the trench observed in the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake and predicted the possibility of a large slip of over 30 m for the impending megaquake at the Nankai Trough. Our integrative approach is applicable globally to subduction zones as a novel tool for the prediction of extreme tsunami-producing near-trench slip. PMID:27321861

Analysis of Fast Charging Station Network for Electrified Ride-Hailing Services

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

Wood, Eric W; Rames, Clement L; Kontou, Eleftheria

Today's electric vehicle (EV) owners charge their vehicles mostly at home and seldom use public direct current fast charger (DCFCs), reducing the need for a large deployment of DCFCs for private EV owners. However, due to the emerging interest among transportation network companies to operate EVs in their fleet, there is great potential for DCFCs to be highly utilized and become economically feasible in the future. This paper describes a heuristic algorithm to emulate operation of EVs within a hypothetical transportation network company fleet using a large global positioning system data set from Columbus, Ohio. DCFC requirements supporting operation ofmore » EVs are estimated using the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection tool. Operation and installation costs were estimated using real-world data to assess the economic feasibility of the recommended fast charging stations. Results suggest that the hypothetical transportation network company fleet increases daily vehicle miles traveled per EV with less overall down time, resulting in increased demand for DCFC. Sites with overhead service lines are recommended for hosting DCFC stations to minimize the need for trenching underground service lines. A negative relationship was found between cost per unit of energy and fast charging utilization, underscoring the importance of prioritizing utilization over installation costs when siting DCFC stations. Although this preliminary analysis of the impacts of new mobility paradigms on alternative fueling infrastructure requirements has produced several key results, the complexity of the problem warrants further investigation.« less

Trench logs, terrestrial lidar system imagery, and radiocarbon data from the kilometer-62 site on the Greenville Fault, southeastern Alameda County, California, 2014

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lienkaemper, James J.; DeLong, Stephen B.; Avdievitch, Nikita N.; Pickering, Alexandra J; Guilderson, Thomas P.

2015-01-01

In 2014, we investigated an abrupt 8.5-meter (m), right-laterally deflected stream channel located near the Greenville Fault in southeastern Alameda County, California (-121.56224° E, 37.53430° N) that we discovered using 0.5-m resolution, 2011 aerial lidar imagery flown along the active fault trace. Prior to trenching we surveyed the site using a terrestrial lidar system (TLS) to document the exact geomorphic expression of this deflected stream channel before excavating a trench adjacent to it. We trenched perpendicular to the fault hoping to document the prehistoric history of earthquake ruptures along the fault. However, the alluvial stratigraphy that we document in these trench logs shows conclusively that this trench did not expose any active fault trace. Using other local geomorphic evidence for the fault location, a straight fault scarp immediately north of this stream projects slightly upslope of the west end of our trench and may be the actual location of the active fault trace. Five radiocarbon samples establish age control for the alluvial sequence documented in the trench, which may in the future be useful in constraining the long-term slip rate of the Greenville Fault. The deflection had been caused by an abrupt nontectonic termination of unit u30, a relatively thick (0.15–0.35 m) silt that is more erosion resistant than the adjacent cohesionless sand and gravel. 

Slab roll-back and trench retreat as controlling factor for basin subsidence in southern Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandes, Christian; Winsemann, Jutta

2015-04-01

Slab roll-back and trench retreat are important factors for basin subsidence, magma generation and volcanism in arc-trench systems. Based on the sedimentary and tectonic record of the southern Central American island-arc we conclude that repeated phases of slab roll-back and trench retreats occurred the arc-trench system since the Late Cretaceous. These trench retreats were most probably related to the subduction of oceanic plateaus and seamounts and effected both the fore-arc and back-arc evolution. We used numerical basin modelling techniques to analyse the burial history of fore-arc and back-arc basins in Central America and combined the results with field data of the sedimentological evolution of the basin-fills. From the basin models, geohistory curves were extracted for the fore-arc and back-arc basins to derive the subsidence evolution. The Sandino Fore-arc Basin is characterized by low subsidence during the first 40 Myr. Since the Late Cretaceous the basin has a linear moderate subsidence with a phase of accelerated subsidence in the Oligocene. In the North and South Limón Back-arc Basin, subsidence started at approximately the same time as in the Sandino Fore-arc Basin. The North and South Limón Basins show a linear subsidence trend in the Paleocene and Eocene. Evidence for trench retreats is given by pulses of uplift in the outer-arc area, followed by subsidence in both the fore-arc and back-arc basins. The first slab roll-back probably occurred during the Early Paleocene. This is indicated by the collapse of carbonate platforms, and the re-deposition of large carbonate blocks into deep-water turbidites. A new pulse of uplift or decreased subsidence, respectively during the Late Eocene is attributed to subduction of rough crust. A subsequent slab detachment and the establishment of a new subduction zone further westward was described by Walther et al. (2000). Strong uplift affected the entire fore-arc area, which led to the deposition of very coarse-grained deepwater channel-levee complexes in the Sandino Fore-arc Basin. The channel-fills are rich in reworked shallow-water carbonates that points to strong uplift of the inner fore-arc. A subsequent trench retreat is indicated by an increased subsidence during the Early Oligocene in the Sandino Fore-arc Basin and the collapse of the Barra Honda carbonate platform in North Costa Rica. Another trench retreat might have occurred in Miocene times (Cailleau and Oncken, 2008). A phase of higher subsidence from 18 to 13 Ma is documented in the geohistory curve of the North Limon Back-arc Basin. After a short pulse of uplift the subsidence increased to approx. 300 m/myr (Brandes et al., 2008). References: Brandes C., Astorga A., Littke R. and Winsemann J. (2008) Basin modelling of the Limón Back-arc Basin (Costa Rica): burial history and temperature evolution of an island-arc related basin system. Basin Research 20, 1, 119-142. Cailleau, B. and Oncken, O. (2008) Past forearc deformation in Nicaragua and coupling at the megathrust interface: Evidence for subduction retreat. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 9, Q07S24, doi:10.1029/2007GC001754. Walther, C.H.E., Flueh, E.R., Ranero, C.R., von Huene, R. and Strauch, W. (2000) Crustal structure across the Pacific margin of Nicaragua: evidence for ophiolithic basement and a shallow mantle sliver. Geophysical Journal International 141, 759-777.

Optical absorption of suspended graphene based metal plasmonic grating in the visible range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Y. X.; Chen, B. B.; Yang, J. B.; He, X.; Huang, J.; Zhang, J. J.; Zhang, Z. J.

2018-05-01

We employ finite-difference time-domain ( FDTD) method and Raman spectroscopy to study the properties of graphene, which is suspended on a gold/SiO2/Si grating structure with different trench depth of SiO2 layer. The absorption enhancement of suspended graphene and plasmonic resonance of metal grating are investigated in the visible range using 2D FDTD method. Moreover, it is found that the intensity of the Raman features depends very sensitively on the trench depth of SiO2 layer. Raman enhancement in our experiments is attributed to the enhanced optical absorption of graphene by near-field coupling based metal plasmonic grating. The enhanced absorption of suspended graphene modulated by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) offers a potential application for opto-electromechanical devices.

Understanding Extension in the Southern Marianas and the Challenger Deep: a 21ST Century Geoscientific Challenge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, R. J.; Ribeiro, J. M.; Martinez, F.; Ohara, Y.

2017-12-01

The Challenger Deep (CD) is the deepest spot on Earth's solid surface and the reasons for its great depth are controversial. In general, trench depths (without sediments) are thought to reflect slab age; old oceanic lithosphere arrives at the trench deeper so similar downbending makes deeper trenches than young oceanic lithosphere. Slab tears and edges and short slabs also may help trenches deepen by making it easier to roll back. In the case of the CD, we are unsure of subducted oceanic lithosphere age because this lies near the juncture of Jurassic and Oligocene crusts. A slab edge to the west and a slab tear to the east may also help the Pacific plate roll back and contribute to its depth. A possible unexamined reason for CD's great depth may be strong extension of the overlying plate associated with opening of the Mariana Trough backarc basin (MT-BAB). GPS on islands indicate southward-increasing extension rates of at least 45mm/yr at the latitude of Guam (Kato et al. 2003 GRL; see Martinez et al. T037 for more info); extension rates are likely to be greater in the MT-BAB north of CD. There are few convergent margins where strong extension affects the overriding plate. Overriding plate extension may help deepen trenches by narrowing the plate coupling zone (Gvirtzman and Stern 2003 Tectonics). Asthenosphere outflow from the shrinking Philippine Sea plate could also push against the slab to depress it. The region around the CD is very deep water, presenting major challenges for future study. The combined deepwater assets and brainpower of the US, Japan, and China are needed to do this work. Both subducting and overriding plates need study. For the downgoing plate, we need IODP drilling and refraction studies to determine its age and crustal and lithospheric structure; electromagnetic sounding would also help reveal upper plate structure. We need passive OBS studies to map slab tears and edges. We need to better understand the tectonic evolution of the MT-BAB-CD region over the last few Ma. To do this, we need better sampling of seafloor basalts to determine their composition and age. Further exploration is needed to find more forearc seeps such as Shinkai Seep Field (Okumura et al. 2016, G3). Understanding the CD and surrounding region provides a natural focus for joint US-Japan-China marine geoscientific research in the 21st Century.

Integrated device architectures for electrochromic devices

DOEpatents

Frey, Jonathan Mack; Berland, Brian Spencer

2015-04-21

This disclosure describes systems and methods for creating monolithically integrated electrochromic devices which may be a flexible electrochromic device. Monolithic integration of thin film electrochromic devices may involve the electrical interconnection of multiple individual electrochromic devices through the creation of specific structures such as conductive pathway or insulating isolation trenches.

Accretion in the wake of terrane collision: The Neogene accretionary wedge off Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fruehn, J.; von Huene, Roland E.; Fisher, M.A.

1999-01-01

Subduction accretion and repeated terrane collision shaped the Alaskan convergent margin. The Yakutat Terrane is currently colliding with the continental margin below the central Gulf of Alaska. During the Neogene the terrane's western part was subducted after which a sediment wedge accreted along the northeast Aleutian Trench. This wedge incorporates sediment eroded from the continental margin and marine sediments carried into the subduction zone on the Pacific plate. Prestack depth migration was performed on six seismic reflection lines to resolve the structure within this accretionary wedge and its backstop. The lateral extent of the structures is constrained by high-resolution swath bathymetry and seismic lines collected along strike. Accretionary structure consists of variably sized thrust slices that were deformed against a backstop during frontal accretion and underplating. Toward the northeast the lower slope steepens, the wedge narrows, and the accreted volume decreases notwith-standing a doubling of sediments thickness in the trench. In the northeasternmost transect, near the area where the terrane's trailing edge subducts, no frontal accretion is observed and the slope is eroded. The structures imaged along the seismic lines discussed here most likely result from progressive evolution from erosion to accretion, as the trailing edge of the Yakutat Terrane is subducting.

Whiskerless Schottky diode

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, William L. (Inventor); Mcleod, Kathleen A. (Inventor); Mattauch, Robert J. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A Schottky diode for millimeter and submillimeter wave applications is comprised of a multi-layered structure including active layers of gallium arsenide on a semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate with first and second insulating layers of silicon dioxide on the active layers of gallium arsenide. An ohmic contact pad lays on the silicon dioxide layers. An anode is formed in a window which is in and through the silicon dioxide layers. An elongated contact finger extends from the pad to the anode and a trench, preferably a transverse channel or trench of predetermined width, is formed in the active layers of the diode structure under the contact finger. The channel extends through the active layers to or substantially to the interface of the semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate and the adjacent gallium arsenide layer which constitutes a buffer layer. Such a structure minimizes the effect of the major source of shunt capacitance by interrupting the current path between the conductive layers beneath the anode contact pad and the ohmic contact. Other embodiments of the diode may substitute various insulating or semi-insulating materials for the silicon dioxide, various semi-conductors for the active layers of gallium arsenide, and other materials for the substrate, which may be insulating or semi-insulating.

Fast and low power Michelson interferometer thermo-optical switch on SOI.

PubMed

Song, Junfeng; Fang, Q; Tao, S H; Liow, T Y; Yu, M B; Lo, G Q; Kwong, D L

2008-09-29

We designed and fabricated silicon-on-insulator based Michelson interferometer (MI) thermo-optical switches with deep etched trenches for heat-isolation. Switch power was reduced approximately 20% for the switch with deep etched trenches, and the MI saved approximately 50% power than that of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. 10.6 mW switch power, approximately 42 micros switch time for the MI with deep trenches, 13.14 mW switch power and approximately 34 micros switch time for the MI without deep trenches were achieved.

'Dodo' and 'Baby Bear' Trenches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager took this image on Sol 11 (June 5, 2008), the eleventh day after landing. It shows the trenches dug by Phoenix's Robotic Arm. The trench on the left is informally called 'Dodo' and was dug as a test. The trench on the right is informally called 'Baby Bear.' The sample dug from Baby Bear will be delivered to the Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. The Baby Bear trench is 9 centimeters (3.1 inches) wide and 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) deep.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Soil prokaryotic communities in Chernobyl waste disposal trench T22 are modulated by organic matter and radionuclide contamination.

PubMed

Theodorakopoulos, Nicolas; Février, Laureline; Barakat, Mohamed; Ortet, Philippe; Christen, Richard; Piette, Laurie; Levchuk, Sviatoslav; Beaugelin-Seiller, Karine; Sergeant, Claire; Berthomieu, Catherine; Chapon, Virginie

2017-08-01

After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986, contaminated soils, vegetation from the Red Forest and other radioactive debris were buried within trenches. In this area, trench T22 has long been a pilot site for the study of radionuclide migration in soil. Here, we used 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to obtain a comprehensive view of the bacterial and archaeal diversity in soils collected inside and in the vicinity of the trench T22 and to investigate the impact of radioactive waste disposal on prokaryotic communities. A remarkably high abundance of Chloroflexi and AD3 was detected in all soil samples from this area. Our statistical analysis revealed profound changes in community composition at the phylum and OTUs levels and higher diversity in the trench soils as compared to the outside. Our results demonstrate that the total absorbed dose rate by cell and, to a lesser extent the organic matter content of the trench, are the principal variables influencing prokaryotic assemblages. We identified specific phylotypes affiliated to the phyla Crenarchaeota, Acidobacteria, AD3, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and WPS-2, which were unique for the trench soils. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Morning Frost in Trench Dug by Phoenix, Sol 113

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

This image from the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows morning frost inside the 'Snow White' trench dug by the lander, in addition to subsurface ice exposed by use of a rasp on the floor of the trench.

The camera took this image at about 9 a.m. local solar time during the 113th Martian day of the mission (Sept. 18, 2008). Bright material near and below the four-by-four set of rasp holes in the upper half of the image is water-ice exposed by rasping and scraping in the trench earlier the same morning. Other bright material especially around the edges of the trench, is frost. Earlier in the mission, when the sun stayed above the horizon all night, morning frost was not evident in the trench.

This image is presented in approximately true color.

The trench is 4 to 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) deep, about 23 centimeters (9 inches) wide.

Phoenix landed on a Martian arctic plain on May 25, 2008. The mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development was by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Morning Frost in Trench Dug by Phoenix, Sol 113 (False Color)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

This image from the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows morning frost inside the 'Snow White' trench dug by the lander, in addition to subsurface ice exposed by use of a rasp on the floor of the trench.

The camera took this image at about 9 a.m. local solar time during the 113th Martian day of the mission (Sept. 18, 2008). Bright material near and below the four-by-four set of rasp holes in the upper half of the image is water-ice exposed by rasping and scraping in the trench earlier the same morning. Other bright material especially around the edges of the trench, is frost. Earlier in the mission, when the sun stayed above the horizon all night, morning frost was not evident in the trench.

This image is presented in false color that enhances the visibility of the frost.

The trench is 4 to 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) deep, about 23 centimeters (9 inches) wide.

Phoenix landed on a Martian arctic plain on May 25, 2008. The mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development was by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

GaAs on Si epitaxy by aspect ratio trapping: Analysis and reduction of defects propagating along the trench direction

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

Orzali, Tommaso, E-mail: tommaso.orzali@sematech.org; Vert, Alexey; O'Brien, Brendan

2015-09-14

The Aspect Ratio Trapping technique has been extensively evaluated for improving the quality of III-V heteroepitaxial films grown on Si, due to the potential for terminating defects at the sidewalls of SiO{sub 2} patterned trenches that enclose the growth region. However, defects propagating along the trench direction cannot be effectively confined with this technique. We studied the effect of the trench bottom geometry on the density of defects of GaAs fins, grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on 300 mm Si (001) wafers inside narrow (<90 nm wide) trenches. Plan view and cross sectional Scanning Electron Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy, togethermore » with High Resolution X-Ray Diffraction, were used to evaluate the crystal quality of GaAs. The prevalent defects that reach the top surface of GaAs fins are (111) twin planes propagating along the trench direction. The lowest density of twin planes, ∼8 × 10{sup 8 }cm{sup −2}, was achieved on “V” shaped bottom trenches, where GaAs nucleation occurs only on (111) Si planes, minimizing the interfacial energy and preventing the formation of antiphase boundaries.« less

Water Flow Test at Launch Complex 39B

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-20

Water flowed during a test at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Complex 39B. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.

Water Deluge Test at Launch Complex 39B

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-24

About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.

Crustal-Scale Seismic Structure From Trench to Forearc in the Cascadia Subduction Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rathnayaka, Sampath; Gao, Haiying

2017-09-01

The (de)hydration process and the amount of hydrated sediment carried by the downgoing oceanic plate play a key role in the subduction dynamics. A high-resolution shear velocity model from the crust down to the uppermost mantle, extending from trench to forearc, is constructed in the northern Cascadia subduction zone to investigate seismic characteristics related to slab deformation and (de)hydration at the plate boundary. A total of 220 seismic stations are used, including the Cascadia Initiative Amphibious Array and inland broadband and short-period stations. The empirical Green's functions extracted from continuous ambient noise data from 2006 to 2014 provide high-quality Rayleigh wave signals at periods of 4-50 s. We simulate wave propagation using finite difference method to generate station Strain Green's Tensors and synthetic waveforms. The phase delays of Rayleigh waves between the observed and synthetic data are measured at multiple period ranges. We then invert for the velocity perturbations from the reference model and progressively improve the model resolution. Our tomographic imaging shows many regional- and local-scale low-velocity features, which are possibly related to slab (de)hydration from the oceanic plate to the overriding plate. Specifically, we observe (1) NW-SE oriented linear low-velocity features across the trench, indicating hydration of the oceanic plate induced by bending-related faultings; (2) W-E oriented fingerlike low-velocity structures off the continental margins due to dehydration of the Juan de Fuca plate; and (3) seismic lows atop the plate interface beneath the Washington forearc, indicating fluid-rich sediments subducted and overthrusted at the accretionary wedge.

Phoenix's Lay of the Land

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

This image from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the spacecraft's recent activity site as of the 23rd Martian day of the mission, or Sol 22 (June 16, 2008), after the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet's northern polar plains. The mosaic was taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager (SSI). Parts of Phoenix can be seen in the foreground.

The first two trenches dug by the lander's Robotic Arm, called 'Dodo' and 'Goldilocks,' were enlarged on the 19th Martian day of the mission, or Sol 18 (June 12, 2008), to form one trench, dubbed 'Dodo-Goldilocks.' Scoops of material taken from those trenches are informally called 'Baby Bear' and 'Mama Bear.' Baby Bear was carried to Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, instrument for analysis, while Mama Bear was delivered to Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer instrument suite, or MECA, for a closer look.

The color inset picture of the Dodo-Goldilocks trench, also taken with Phoenix's SSI, reveals white material thought to be ice.

More recently, on Sol 22 (June 16, 2008), Phoenix's Robotic Arm began digging a trench, dubbed 'Snow White,' in a patch of Martian soil near the center of a polygonal surface feature, nicknamed 'Cheshire Cat.' The 'dump pile' is located at the top of the trench, and has been dubbed 'Croquet Ground.' The digging site has been nicknamed 'Wonderland.'

The Snow White trench, seen here in an SSI image from Sol 22 (June 16, 2008) is about 2 centimeters (.8 inches) deep and 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. As of Sol 25 (June 19, 2008), the trench is 5 centimeters (2 inches deep) and the trench has been renamed 'Snow White 1,' as a second trench has been dug to its right and nicknamed 'Snow White 2.'

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Three-dimensional Distribution of Azimuthal and Radial Anisotropy in the Japan Subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishise, M.; Kawakatsu, H.; Shiomi, K.

2014-12-01

Seismic anisotropy has close relationships with past and present tectonic and dynamic processes. Therefore, detailed description of seismic anisotropy of subduction zones provides important information for our understanding of the subduction system. The most common method of detecting anisotropy is the S-wave splitting measurement. However, conventional S-wave splitting analysis is not an appropriate way to investigate anisotropy in the mantle and slab because the technique has no vertical resolution. Thus, we have improved common traveltime tomography to estimate three-dimensional anisotropic structures of P-wave, assuming that the modeling space is composed of weakly anisotropic medium with a hexagonal symmetry about a horizontal axis (Ishise & Oda, 2005, JGR; Ishise & Oda, 2008, PEPI). Recently, we extended the anisotropic tomography for P-wave radial anisotropy with vertical hexagonal symmetry axis (Ishise & Kawakatsu, 2012 JpGU). In this study, we expand the study area of our previous regional analyses of P-wave azimuthal and radial anisotropic tomography (Ishise & Oda, 2005; Ishise & Kawakatsu, 2012, JpGU; Ishise et al., 2012, SSJ) using Hi-net arrival time data and examine the subduction system around the Japan islands, where two trenches with different strike directions and plate junction are included. Here are some of the remarkable results associated with the PAC slab and mantle structure. (1) N-S-trending fast axis of P-wave anisotropy is dominant in the PAC slab. (2) the mantle wedge shows trench-normal anisotropy across the trench-trench junction. (3) horizontal velocity (PH) tends to be faster than vertical velocity (PV) in the slab. (4) PV tends to be faster than PH in the mantle wedge. The characteristics of the obtained azimuthal and radial anisotropy of the PAC slab and the mantle wedge qualitatively consistent with heterogeneous plate models (e.g., Furumura & Kennet, 2005) and numerical simulations of mantle flow (Morishige & Honda, 2011; 2013). In addition, the azimuthal anisotropy in the PAC slab that we obtained is subparallel to that in the PAC plate before subducting (e.g., Shimamura et al., 1983). Therefore, we suggest that the slab anisotropy is "frozen anisotropy", which is attributed to the episode before subduction, and mantle wedge anisotropy reflects present dynamics.

Efficiency of depleted UO2 based semiconductor neutron detectors in direct and indirect configuration—A GEANT4 simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parida, M. K.; Prabakar, K.; Sundari, S. T.

2018-03-01

In the present work, Monte Carlo simulations using GEANT4 are carried out to estimate the efficiency of semiconductor neutron detectors with depleted UO2 (DUO2) as converter material, in both planar (direct and indirect) and 3D geometry (cylindrical perforation and trenches structure) configurations. The simulations were conducted for neutrons of variable energy viz., thermal (25 meV) and fast (1 to 10 MeV) that were incident on varying thicknesses (0.25 μm to 1000 μm), diameters (1 μm to 9 μm) and widths (1 μm to 9 μm) along with depths (50 μm to 275 μm) of DUO2 for planar, cylindrical perforated and trench structures, respectively. In the case of direct planar detectors, efficiency was found to increase with the thickness of DUO2 and the rate at which efficiency increased was found to follow the macroscopic fission cross section at the corresponding neutron energy. In the case of indirect planar detector, efficiency was lower as compared to direct configuration and was found to saturate beyond a thickness of ~3 μm. This saturation is explained on the basis of mean free path of neutrons in the DUO2 material. For the 3D perforated silicon detectors of cylindrical (trench) geometry, backfilled with DUO2, the efficiency for detection of thermal neutrons ~25 meV and fast neutrons ~ typical energy of 10 MeV was found to be ~0.0159% (~0.0177%) and ~0.0088% (0.0098%), respectively. These efficiency values were two (one) order values higher than planar indirect detector for thermal (fast) neutrons. Histogram plots were also obtained from the GEANT4 simulations to monitor the energy distribution of fission products in planar (direct and indirect) and 3D geometry (cylindrical and trench) configurations. These plots revealed that, for all the detector configurations, the energy deposited by the fission products are higher as compared to the typical gamma ray background. Thus, for detectors with DUO2 as converter material, higher values of low level discriminator (LLD) can be set, so as to achieve good background discrimination.

Sedimentation in the central segment of the Aleutian Trench: Sources, transport, and depositional style

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

Stevenson, A.J.; Scholl, D.W.; Vallier, T.L.

1990-05-01

The central segment of the Aleutian Trench (162{degree}W to 175{degree}E) is an intraoceanic subduction zone that contains an anomalously thick sedimentary fill (4 km maximum). The fill is an arcward-thickening and slightly tilted wedge of sediment characterized acoustically by laterally continuous, closely spaced, parallel reflectors. These relations are indicative of turbidite deposition. The trench floor and reflection horizons are planar, showing no evidence of an axial channel or any transverse fan bodies. Cores of surface sediment recover turbidite layers, implying that sediment transport and deposition occur via diffuse, sheetlike, fine-grained turbidite flows that occupy the full width of the trench.more » The mineralogy of Holocene trench sediments document a mixture of island-arc (dominant) and continental source terranes. GLORIA side-scan sonar images reveal a westward-flowing axial trench channel that conducts sediment to the eastern margin of the central segment, where channelized flow cases. Much of the sediment transported in this channel is derived from glaciated drainages surrounding the Gulf of Alaska which empty into the eastern trench segment via deep-sea channel systems (Surveyor and others) and submarine canyons (Hinchinbrook and others). Insular sediment transport is more difficult to define. GLORIA images show the efficiency with which the actively growing accretionary wedge impounds sediment that manages to cross a broad fore-arc terrace. It is likely that island-arc sediment reaches the trench either directly via air fall, via recycling of the accretionary prism, or via overtopping of the accretionary ridges by the upper parts of thick turbidite flows.« less

VL1 Digs A Deep Hole On Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

VIKING LANDER DIGS A DEEP HOLE ON MARS -- This six-inch-deep, 12- inch-wide, 29-inch-long hole was dug Feb. 12 and 14 by Viking Lander 1 as the first sequence in an attempt to reach a foot beneath the surface of the red planet. The activity is in the same area where Lander 1 acquired its first soil samples last July. The trench was dug by repeatedly backhoeing in a left-right-center pattern. The backhoe teeth produced the small parallel ridges at the far end of the trench (upper left). The larger ridges running the length of the trench are material left behind during the backhoe operation. What appears to be small rocks along the ridges and in the soil at the near end of the trench are really small dirt clods. The clods and the steepness of the trench walls indicate the material is cohesive and behaves something like ordinary flour. After a later sequence, to be performed March 1 and 2, a soil sample will be taken from the bottom of the trench for inorganic soil analysis and later for biology analysis. Information about the soil taken from the bottom of the trench may help explain the weathering process on Mars and may help resolve the dilemma created by Viking findings that first suggest but then cast doubt on the possibility of life in the Martian soil. The trench shown here is a result of one of the most complex command sequences yet performed by the lander. Viking l has been operating at Chryse Planitia on Mars since it landed July 20, 1976.

Anisotropy in subduction zones: Insights from new source side S wave splitting measurements from India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Sunil K.; Kumar, M. Ravi; Davuluri, Srinagesh

2017-08-01

This study presents 106 splitting and 40 null measurements of source side anisotropy in subduction zones, utilizing direct S waves registered at two stations sited on the Indian continent, which show null shear wave splitting measurements for SKS phases. Our results suggest that trench-parallel anisotropy is dominant beneath the Philippines, Mariana, Izu-Bonin, and edge of the Java slab, while plate motion-parallel anisotropy is observed beneath the Solomon, Aegean, Japan, and Java slabs. Results from Kuril and Aleutian regions reveal trench-oblique anisotropy. We chose to interpret these observations primarily in terms of mantle flow beneath a subduction zone. While the two-dimensional (2-D) slab entrained flow model offers a simple explanation for trench-normal fast polarization azimuths (FPA), the trench-parallel FPA can be reconciled by extension due to slab rollback. The model that invokes age of the subducting lithosphere can explain anisotropy in the subslab, derived from rays recorded at the updip stations. However, when downdip stations are used, contributions from the slab and supraslab need to be considered. In Japan, anisotropy in the subslab mantle shallower than 300 km might be associated with trench-parallel mantle flow resulting in the alignment of FPA in the same direction. Anisotropy in the deeper part, above the transition zone, is probably associated with 2-D flow resulting in trench-normal FPA. Anisotropy in the Mariana Trench might be associated with trench-parallel mantle flow in the supraslab region, with similar deformation in the upper mantle and the transition zone.

Environmental Assessment for Explosives Ordnance Disposal Proficiency Training Range at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

s) __ Test Plt(s) __ Test Trench(es) __ Deep Test(s) __ PZ or Humus Removal __ Testing/Excav. (strategy unknown) __ Mitigation/Block Excavation...Collection __ Surface Collection _Auger/Soil Corer _Shovel Test (s) .lL... Test Pit (s) _Test Trench (es) __ Deep Test (s) _ PZ or Humus Removal

Tunnel specificity and forager movement in subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae and Termitidae).

PubMed

Evans, T A

2002-06-01

The movement of foragers of two species of Australian, subterranean, mound-building termites, Coptotermes lacteus (Froggatt) (Rhinotermitidae) and Nasutitermes exitiosus (Hill) (Termitidae), was investigated in their natural habitat using artificial feeding sites along trenches dug to mimic natural forager tunnels that radiate out from the central mound-nests. Termites were dyed by self-feeding on cardboard soaked with histological fat-stains on one or two trenches and then termites were collected from other feeding sites at two and four weeks after the fat-stains were placed. At two and four weeks after marking commenced, 60-75% of marked termites were found in trenches containing the marked paper, and 2-16% were found in trenches on the opposite side of the nest. The proportion of marked termites in a sample was three to eight times greater in the trenches containing the marked paper relative to other trenches. Although difficulties with fat-stains used as markers might explain some of the observed patterns, it is evident that C. lacteus and N. exitiosus foragers do not move randomly between feeding sites in their natural habitat.

Geological setting of the Concordia Trench-Lake system in East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cianfarra, P.; Forieri, A.; Salvini, F.; Tabacco, I. E.; Zirizotti, A.

2009-06-01

This study presents the interpretation of radio echo-sounding (RES) data collected during the 2003 geophysical campaign of PNRA (Italian National Research Project in Antarctica), which focused on the exploration of the Concordia Trench-Lake system in East Antarctica. The data allow us to identify a new lake (ITL-28) at the southern edge of the Concordia Trench and a series of N-S trending subglacial troughs cutting through the Belgica Highlands. We have mapped the bedrock morphology at 3 km resolution, which led to an improved geographical and geomorphological characterization of the Concordia Trench, Concordia Ridge, Concordia Lake and South Hills. Improved knowledge of the Concordia Trench allowed us to model the 3-D geometry of the Concordia fault, suggesting that it played a role in governing the morpho-tectonic evolution of the bedrock in the Dome C region, and to propose a Cenozoic age for its activity. We recognize the importance of catchment basin morphology in hosting subglacial lakes, and discuss the role played by tectonics, glacial scouring and volcanism in the origin of the trench lakes, basin lakes and relief lakes, respectively.

Evaluation of Schottky barrier height on 4H-SiC m-face \\{ 1\\bar{1}00\\} for Schottky barrier diode wall integrated trench MOSFET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Yusuke; Ishimori, Hiroshi; Kinoshita, Akimasa; Kojima, Takahito; Takei, Manabu; Kimura, Hiroshi; Harada, Shinsuke

2017-04-01

We proposed an Schottky barrier diode wall integrated trench MOSFET (SWITCH-MOS) for the purposes of shrinking the cell pitch and suppressing the forward degradation of the body diode. A trench Schottky barrier diode (SBD) was integrated into a trench gate MOSFET with a wide shielding p+ region that protected the trench bottoms of both the SBD and the MOS gate from high electrical fields in the off state. The SBD was placed on the trench sidewall of the \\{ 1\\bar{1}00\\} plane (m-face). Static and transient simulations revealed that SWITCH-MOS sufficiently suppressed the bipolar current that induced forward degradation, and we determined that the optimum Schottky barrier height (SBH) was from 0.8 to 2.0 eV. The SBH depends on the crystal planes in 4H-SiC, but the SBH of the m-face was unclear. We fabricated a planar m-face SBD for the first time, and we obtained SBHs from 1.4 to 1.8 eV experimentally with titanium or nickel as a Schottky metal.

The effect of trench width on the behavior of buried rigid pipes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balkaya, Müge; Saǧlamer, Ahmet

2014-12-01

In this study, in order to determine the effect of trench width (Bd) on the behavior of buried rigid pipes, a concrete pipe having an outside diameter of 150 cm and wall thickness (t) of 15 cm was analyzed using 2D PLAXIS finite element program. In the analyses, three different trench widths (Bd = 2.20 m, 3.40 m, and 4.40 m) were modeled. The results of the analyses indicated that, as the width of the trench increases, the axial force, shear force, bending moment, effective normal stress, and the earth load acting on the pipe increased. The variations of the loads acting on the pipe due to the increasing trench widths were also evaluated using the Marston load theory. When the loads calculated by the Marston Load Theory and the finite element analysis were compared with each other, it was seen that the Marston Load Theory resulted in slightly higher load values than the finite element analysis. On the other hand, for the two methods, the loads acting on the pipe increased with increasing trench width.

Phoenix Deepens Trenches on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander took this false color image on Oct. 21, 2008, during the 145th Martian day, or sol, since landing. The bluish-white areas seen in these trenches are part of an ice layer beneath the soil.

The trench on the upper left, called 'Dodo-Goldilocks,' is about 38 centimeters (15 inches) long and 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) deep. The trench on the right, called 'Upper Cupboard,' is about 60 centimeters (24 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) deep. The trench in the lower middle is called 'Stone Soup.'

The Phoenix mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Using U-Pb Detrital Zircon to Identify Evolution of Sediment Drainage in the South Central Pyrenean Foreland Basin, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, J. D.; Stockli, D. F.; McKay, M. P.; Thomson, K.; Puigdefabregas, C.; Castelltort, S.; Dykstra, M.; Fildani, A.

2014-12-01

Until the 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake, the role of earthquakes as agents of sediment dispersal and deposition at erosional trenches was largely under-appreciated. A series of cruises carried out after the 2011 event has revealed a variety of unsuspected sediment transport mechanisms, such as tsunami-triggered sheet turbidites, suggesting that great earthquakes may in fact be important agents for dispersing sediments across trench slopes. To complement these observational data, we have modeled the pathways of sediments across the trench slope based on bathymetric grids. Our approach assumes that transport direction is controlled by slope azimuth only, and ignores obstacles smaller than 0.6-1 km; these constraints are meant to approximate the behavior of turbidites. Results indicate that (1) most pathways issued from the upper slope terminate near the top of the small frontal wedge, and thus do not reach the trench axis; (2) in turn, sediments transported to the trench axis are likely derived from the small frontal wedge or from the subducting Pacific plate. These results are consistent with the stratigraphy imaged in seismic profiles, which reveals that the slope apron does not extend as far as the frontal wedge, and that the thickness of sediments at the trench axis is similar to that of the incoming Pacific plate. We further applied this modeling technique to the Cascadia, Nankai, Middle-America, and Sumatra trenches. Where well-defined canyons carve the trench slopes, sediments from the upper slope may routinely reach the trench axis (e.g., off Costa Rica and Cascadia). In turn, slope basins that are isolated from the canyons drainage systems must mainly accumulate locally-derived sediments. Therefore, their turbiditic infill may be diagnostic of seismic activity only - and not from storm or flood activity. If correct, this would make isolated slope basins ideal targets for paleoseismological investigation.

The importance of trenching in paleoseismic studies in Venezuela: brief historical summary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murria, J.

2009-04-01

Paleoseismic studies have proved to be a powerful tool in seismic hazards assessment by he contributing to asses the seismogenic potential of a given fault by expanding the time window o seismic activity beyond the limits of historical and instrumental seismicity. Trenching has been an essential tool for paleoseismic studies in Venezuela. The first paleoseismic trenching project in Venezuela goes back to 1968 when Compania Shell de Venezuela retained the services of Woodward Clyde and Associates,(WCA), USA to asses the seismic integrity of the earthen dikes of Costa Oriental of Lake Maracaibo Protection System (COLM) in western Venezuela. The study was carried out under the general coordination of this author. An important part of this project included a seismology and seismic geology study under the direction of Geologist L.S. Cluff. This was the first ever study undertaken in Venezuela and included two excavations across the Oca Fault north of the city of Maracaibo. After several years of inactivity, FUNVISIS (The Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research) carried out in 1980 a seismic hazard (SHA) for the Uribante Caparo Hydroelectric Project southwest Venezuela. In 1989, MARAVEN, an operating company of PETROLE0S DE VENEUELA S.A. (PDVSA) undertook the project of a products pipeline form Maracaibo to El Vigia, south of Lake Maracaibo. Again, FUNVISIS was contracted to carry out a SHA, which included the digging of 5 trenches, which were supplemented with five more trenches for the COLM project. Trenching activity contined in Venezuela in the framework of SHA project, under the direction of Dr. Audemard. In 2001 Venezuelan trenching experience was exported to the neighboring Colombia as e Dr. Audemard t undertook a palaoseismicity project which included the digging of five trenches. In conclusion, paleoseismicty studies have given us the possibility of extending the scope of both instrumental and historical seismicity by some 10,000 years, trenching has proved for paleoseismic studies to be a valuable to.

Fault trends on the seaward slope of the Aleutian Trench: Implications for a laterally changing stress field tied to a westward increase in oblique convergence

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mortera-Gutierrez, C. A.; Scholl, D. W.; Carlson, R.L.

2003-01-01

Normal faults along the seaward trench slope (STS) commonly strike parallel to the trench in response to bending of the oceanic plate into the subduction zone. This is not the circumstance for the Aleutian Trench, where the direction of convergence gradually changes westward, from normal to transform motion. GLORIA side-scan sonar images document that the Aleutian STS is dominated by faults striking oblique to the trench, west of 179??E and east of 172??W. These images also show a pattern of east-west trending seafloor faults that are aligned parallel to the spreading fabric defined by magnetic anomalies. The stress-strain field along the STS is divided into two domains west and east, respectively, of 179??E. Over the western domain, STS faults and nodal planes of earthquakes are oriented oblique (9??-46??) to the trench axis and (69??-90??) to the magnetic fabric. West of 179??E, STS fault strikes change by 36?? from the E-W trend of STS where the trench-parallel slip gets larger than its orthogonal component of convergence. This rotation indicates that horizontal stresses along the western domain of the STS are deflected by the increasing obliquity in convergence. An analytical model supports the idea that strikes of STS faults result from a superposition of stresses associated with the dextral shear couple of the oblique convergence and stresses caused by plate bending. For the eastern domain, most nodal planes of earthquakes strike parallel to the outer rise, indicating bending as the prevailing mechanism causing normal faulting. East of 172??W, STS faults strike parallel to the magnetic fabric but oblique (10??-26??) to the axis of the trench. On the basis of a Coulomb failure criterion the trench-oblique strikes probably result from reactivation of crustal faults generated by spreading. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

Elasto-plastic deformation and plate weakening due to normal faulting in the subducting plate along the Mariana Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhiyuan; Lin, Jian

2018-06-01

We investigated variations in the elasto-plastic deformation of the subducting plate along the Mariana Trench through an analysis of flexural bending and normal fault characteristics together with geodynamic modeling. Most normal faults were initiated at the outer-rise region and grew toward the trench axis with strikes mostly subparallel to the local trench axis. The average trench relief and maximum fault throws were measured to be significantly greater in the southern region (5 km and 320 m, respectively) than the northern and central regions (2 km and 200 m). The subducting plate was modeled as an elasto-plastic slab subjected to tectonic loading at the trench axis. The calculated strain rates and velocities revealed an array of normal fault-like shear zones in the upper plate, resulting in significant faulting-induced reduction in the deviatoric stresses. We then inverted for solutions that best fit the observed flexural bending and normal faulting characteristics, revealing normal fault penetration to depths of 21, 20, and 32 km beneath the seafloor for the northern, central, and southern regions, respectively, which is consistent with the observed depths of the relocated normal faulting earthquakes in the central Mariana Trench. The calculated deeper normal faults of the southern region might lead to about twice as much water being carried into the mantle per unit trench length than the northern and central regions. We further calculated that normal faulting has reduced the effective elastic plate thickness Te by up to 52% locally in the southern region and 33% in both the northern and central regions. The best-fitting solutions revealed a greater apparent angle of the pulling force in the southern region (51-64°) than in the northern (22-35°) and central (20-34°) regions, which correlates with a general southward increase in the seismically-determined dip angle of the subducting slab along the Mariana Trench.

40 CFR 265.201 - Special requirements for generators of between 100 and 1,000 kg/mo that accumulate hazardous...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... structure (e.g., dike or trench), a drainage control system, or a diversion structure (e.g., standby tank... this inflow (e.g., waste feed cutoff system or by-pass system to a stand-by tank). Note: These systems are intended to be used in the event of a leak or overflow from the tank due to a system failure (e.g...

40 CFR 265.201 - Special requirements for generators of between 100 and 1,000 kg/mo that accumulate hazardous...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... structure (e.g., dike or trench), a drainage control system, or a diversion structure (e.g., standby tank... this inflow (e.g., waste feed cutoff system or by-pass system to a stand-by tank). Note: These systems are intended to be used in the event of a leak or overflow from the tank due to a system failure (e.g...

40 CFR 265.201 - Special requirements for generators of between 100 and 1,000 kg/mo that accumulate hazardous...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... structure (e.g., dike or trench), a drainage control system, or a diversion structure (e.g., standby tank... this inflow (e.g., waste feed cutoff system or by-pass system to a stand-by tank). Note: These systems are intended to be used in the event of a leak or overflow from the tank due to a system failure (e.g...

40 CFR 265.201 - Special requirements for generators of between 100 and 1,000 kg/mo that accumulate hazardous...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... structure (e.g., dike or trench), a drainage control system, or a diversion structure (e.g., standby tank... this inflow (e.g., waste feed cutoff system or by-pass system to a stand-by tank). Note: These systems are intended to be used in the event of a leak or overflow from the tank due to a system failure (e.g...

Log and data from a trench across the Hubbell Spring Fault Zone, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Personius, S.F.; Eppes, M.C.; Mahan, S.A.; Love, D.W.; Mitchell, D.K.; Murphy, Anne

2000-01-01

This report contains field and laboratory data resulting from a trench study of the Hubbell Spring fault zone near Albuquerque, New Mexico. This trench was excavated in September, 1997, as part of earthquake hazards investigations of Quaternary faults in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The trench was excavated across the youngest of several fault strands near the northern end of the Hubbell Spring fault zone. The site is located on Pueblo of Isleta tribal lands, approximately 1 km south of the southern boundary of Kirtland Air Force Base. Thus the paleoearthquake data derived from investigations at the Hubbell Spring site will be useful in assessing potential earthquake hazards in Isleta Pueblo, Kirtland Air Force Base/Sandia National Laboratories, and the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The purpose of this report is to present a detailed trench log, a scarp profile, soils data (table 1), magnetic susceptibility data (table 2), luminescence and uranium-series ages (tables 3 and 4), and detailed unit descriptions (table 5) obtained in this investigation. S.F. Personius had primary responsibility for siting, excavating, describing, and interpreting the trench; S.A. Mahan did the luminescence dating, and James B. Paces did the uranium-series dating. M.C. Eppes and D.W. Love assisted with trench logging and mapping; and M.C. Eppes, D.K. Mitchell, and A. Murphy did the soils analyses.

Vertical motions of the Puerto Rico Trench and Puerto Rico and their cause

USGS Publications Warehouse

ten Brink, Uri S.

2005-01-01

The Puerto Rico trench exhibits great water depth, an extremely low gravity anomaly, and a tilted carbonate platform between (reconstructed) elevations of +1300 m and -4000 m. I argue that these features are manifestations of large vertical movements of a segment of the Puerto Rico trench, its forearc, and the island of Puerto Rico that took place 3.3 m.y. ago over a time period as short as 14-40 kyr. I explain these vertical movements by a sudden increase in the slab's descent angle that caused the trench to subside and the island to rise. The increased dip could have been caused by shearing or even by a complete tear of the descending North American slab, although the exact nature of this deformation is unknown. The rapid (14-40 kyr) and uniform tilt along a 250 km long section of the trench is compatible with scales of mantle flow and plate bending. The proposed shear zone or tear is inferred from seismic, morphological, and gravity observations to start at the trench at 64.5??W and trend southwestwardly toward eastern Puerto Rico. The tensile stresses necessary to deform or tear the slab could have been generated by increased curvature of the trench following a counterclockwise rotation of the upper plate and by the subduction of a large seamount.

Large landslides associated with a diapiric fold in Canelles Reservoir (Spanish Pyrenees): Detailed geological-geomorphological mapping, trenching and electrical resistivity imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutiérrez, Francisco; Linares, Rogelio; Roqué, Carles; Zarroca, Mario; Carbonel, Domingo; Rosell, Joan; Gutiérrez, Mateo

2015-07-01

Detailed geomorphological-geological mapping in Canelles Reservoir, the Spanish Pyrenees, reveals the presence of several large landslides overlooked in previous cartographic works. One of the slope movements, designated as the Canelles landslide, corresponds to a 40 × 106 m3 translational landslide reactivated in 2006 by a severe decline in the reservoir water level. The geomorphic features mapped in the upper part of the Canelles landslide, including surface ruptures corroborated by electrical resistivity imaging and trenching, indicate multiple displacement episodes previous to the 2006 human-induced event. Consistently, the stratigraphic and structural relationships observed in a trench record at least two displacement events older and larger in magnitude than the 2006 reactivation. The oldest recorded event occurred in the 6th to 7th Centuries and the second in 1262-1679 yr AD. This latter episode might be correlative to the 1373 Ribagorza earthquake (Mw 6.2), which caused the reactivation of a landslide and the consequent destruction of a village in the adjacent valley. The available data indicate that over more than one millennium the kinematics of the landslide has been characterised by discrete small-displacement episodes. These data, together with the available literature on rapid rockslides, do not concur with the acceleration predicted by modelling in a previous investigation, which foresees a speed of 16 m s- 1 despite the low average dip of the sliding surface (9-10°). This case study illustrates that the trenching technique may provide valuable practical information on the past behaviour of landslides, covering a much broader time span than instrumental and historical records.

To accrete or not accrete, that is the question

USGS Publications Warehouse

von Huene, Roland E.

1986-01-01

Along modern convergent margins tectonic processes span a spectrum from accretion to erosion. The process of accretion is generally recognized because it leaves a geologic record, whereas the process of erosion is generally hypothetical because it produces a geologic hiatus. Major conditions that determine the dominance of accretion or erosion at modern convergent margins are: 1) rate and direction of plate convergence, 2) sediment supply and type in the trench, and 3) topography of the subducting ocean floor. Most change in structure has been ascribed to plate motion, but both erosion and accretion are observed along the same convergence margin. Thus sediment supply and topography are probably of equivalent importance to plate motion because both erosion and accretion are observed under constant conditions of plate convergence. The dominance of accretion or erosion at a margin varies with the thickness of trench sediment. In a sediment flooded trench, the proportions of subducted and accreted sediment are commonly established by the position of a decollement along a weak horizon in the sediment section. Thus, the vertical variation of sediment strength and the distribution of horizontal stress are important factors. Once deformation begins, the original sediment strength is decreased by sediment remolding and where sediment thickens rapidly, increases in pore fluid pressure can be pronounced. In sediment-starved trenches, where the relief of the subducting ocean floor is not smoothed over, the front of the margin must respond to the topography subducted as well as that accreted. The hypothesized erosion by the drag of positive features against the underside of the upper plate (a high stress environment) may alternate with erosion due to the collapse of a margin front into voids such as graben (a low stress environment). ?? 1986 Ferdinand Enke Verlag Stuttgart.

High Aspect Ratio Sub-15 nm Silicon Trenches From Block Copolymer Templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Xiaodan; Liu, Zuwei; Gunkel, Ilja; Olynick, Deirdre; Russell, Thomas; University of Massachusetts Amherst Collaboration; Oxford Instrument Collaboration; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Collaboration

2013-03-01

High-aspect-ratio sub-15 nm silicon trenches are fabricated directly from plasma etching of a block copolymer (BCP) mask. Polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) 40k-b-18k was spin coated and solvent annealed to form cylindrical structures parallel to the silicon substrate. The BCP thin film was reconstructed by immersion in ethanol and then subjected to an oxygen and argon reactive ion etching to fabricate the polymer mask. A low temperature ion coupled plasma with sulfur hexafluoride and oxygen was used to pattern transfer block copolymer structure to silicon with high selectivity (8:1) and fidelity. The silicon pattern was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and grazing incidence x-ray scattering. We also demonstrated fabrication of silicon nano-holes using polystyrene-b-polyethylene oxide (PS-b-PEO) using same methodology described above for PS-b-P2VP. Finally, we show such silicon nano-strucutre serves as excellent nano-imprint master template to pattern various functional materials like poly 3-hexylthiophene (P3HT).

Hydrogen-terminated diamond vertical-type metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors with a trench gate

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

Inaba, Masafumi, E-mail: inaba-ma@ruri.waseda.jp; Muta, Tsubasa; Kobayashi, Mikinori

2016-07-18

The hydrogen-terminated diamond surface (C-H diamond) has a two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) layer independent of the crystal orientation. A 2DHG layer is ubiquitously formed on the C-H diamond surface covered by atomic-layer-deposited-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Using Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a gate oxide, C-H diamond metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) operate in a trench gate structure where the diamond side-wall acts as a channel. MOSFETs with a side-wall channel exhibit equivalent performance to the lateral C-H diamond MOSFET without a side-wall channel. Here, a vertical-type MOSFET with a drain on the bottom is demonstrated in diamond with channel current modulationmore » by the gate and pinch off.« less

Approach to high quality GaN lateral nanowires and planar cavities fabricated by focused ion beam and metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy.

PubMed

Pozina, Galia; Gubaydullin, Azat R; Mitrofanov, Maxim I; Kaliteevski, Mikhail A; Levitskii, Iaroslav V; Voznyuk, Gleb V; Tatarinov, Evgeniy E; Evtikhiev, Vadim P; Rodin, Sergey N; Kaliteevskiy, Vasily N; Chechurin, Leonid S

2018-05-08

We have developed a method to fabricate GaN planar nanowires and cavities by combination of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) patterning of the substrate followed by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE). The method includes depositing a silicon nitride mask on a sapphire substrate, etching of the trenches in the mask by FIB with a diameter of 40 nm with subsequent MOVPE growth of GaN within trenches. It was observed that the growth rate of GaN is substantially increased due to enhanced bulk diffusion of the growth precursor therefore the model for analysis of the growth rate was developed. The GaN strips fabricated by this method demonstrate effective luminescence properties. The structures demonstrate enhancement of spontaneous emission via formation of Fabry-Perot modes.

Effects of two stormwater management methods on the quality of water in the upper Biscayne aquifer at two commercial areas in Dade County, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKenzie, D.J.; Irwin, G.A.

1988-01-01

This study is part of a continued effort to assess the effects of urban stormwater recharge on the water quality of the Biscayne aquifer in southeast Florida. In this report, the water-quality effects on shallow ground water resulting from stormwater disposal by exfiltration trench and grassy swale were investigated at two small commercial areas in Dade County, Florida. One study area (airport ) was located near the Miami International Airport and had a drainage area of about 10 acres overlying a sandy soil; the other study area ( free zone ) was located at the Miami International Free Trade Zone and had a drainage area of about 20 acres overlying limestone. The monitoring design for each study area consisted of seven sites and included water-quality sampling of the stormwater in the catch basin of the exfiltration trench, ground water from two wells 1 foot from the trench (trench wells), two wells 20 feet from the trench, and ground water from two wells at the swale from April 1985 through May 1986. Eleven water-quality variables (target variables) commonly found in high levels in urban stormwater runoff were used as tracers to estimate possible changes in ground-water quality that may have been caused by stormwater recharge. Comparison of the distribution of target variables indicated that the concentrations tended to be greater in the stormwater in the exfiltration trench than in water from the two wells 1 foot from the trench at both study areas. The concentration difference for several target variables was statistically significant at the 5-percent level. Lead, for example, had median concentrations of 23 and 4 micrograms per liter, respectively, in stormwater and water from the two trench wells at the airport study area, and 38 and 2 micrograms per liter, respectively, in stormwater and groundwater at the free zone. Similar reductions in concentrations between stormwater and water from the two trench wells were indicated for zinc at both study areas and also for nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic content at the free zone. This trend suggested that the exfiltration trench at both study areas may function as a partial trap for some chemical substances present in stormwater. A comparison of the distribution of the 11 target variables and major ionic composition in water from the two trench wells and the two wells 20 feet from the trench did not indicate a notable horizontal stratification at either study area. A vertical difference between 10 and 15 feet, however, was indicated at the free zone with major ions in greater concentrations at 15 feet. The vertical variability in groundwater near the trench at the free zone may have been the result of stormwater dilution in the upper (10-foot ) zone. The groundwater quality at the swale was quite dissimilar to that near the exfiltration trench at both the airport and free zone study areas. Data indicated that the groundwater environment at both sales was anaerobic as evidenced by abundant ammonia nitrogen and iron and trace levels of sulfate. Anaerobic conditions at the swale may have been the result of poor drainage and high organic content of soils. Significant biochemical cycling in the ground water at the swales precluded any assessment of quality effects that may result from storm-water infiltration.

Use of OSL dating to establish the stratigraphic framework of Quaternary eolian sediments, Anton scarp upper trench, Northeastern Colorado High Plains, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mahan, S.A.; Noe, D.C.; McCalpin, J.P.

2009-01-01

This paper contains the results of the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating used to establish stratigraphic ages and relationships of eolian sediments in a trench in northeastern Colorado, USA. This trench was located in the upper face of the Anton scarp, a major topographic lineament trending NW-SE for a distance of 135 km, in anticipation of intersecting near-surface faulting. The trench was 180 m long, 4.5-6.0 m deep, and exposed 22 m of stratigraphic section, most of which dipped gently west and was truncated by gulley channeling at the face of the scarp. No direct evidence of faulting was found in the upper trench. The stratigraphy from the trench was described, mapped and dated using OSL on quartz and potassium feldspar, and 14C obtained from woody material. OSL dating identified two upper loess units as Peoria Loess and Gilman Canyon Loess, deposited between 16 and 30 ka ago. The bottom layers of the trench were substantially older, giving OSL ages in excess of 100 ka. These older ages are interpreted as underestimates, owing to saturation of the fast component of OSL. Using OSL and 14C dating, we can constrain the erosion and down cutting of the scarp face as occurring between 16 and 5.7 ka. As the trenching investigation continues in other parts of the scarp face, the results of this preliminary study will be of importance in relating the ages of the strata that underlie different parts of the scarp, and in determining whether Quaternary faulting was a mechanism that contributed to the formation of this regional geomorphic feature.

Lateral-delivered organic matter boosts hadal bacterial abundance in the Mariana Trench: A hypothesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, C.; Liu, H.; Lu, F.; Zou, L.; Tian, J.

2017-12-01

Hadal trenches are part of the least investigated biosphere on Earth due to the great challenge of sampling. Limited studies on microbiology by far have suggested that the hadalsphere hosts a heterotrophic microbial community that is likely fed by organic matter from surface-sinking biomass or re-suspended and laterally transported sediments. The uniqueness of trench environment and its potential role in global carbon sequestration entitle a detailed study on microbial-driven carbon cycle of the trench system. In this study, we conducted a vertical sampling of the microbial community and measured the environmental factors from the epipelagic zone down to the hadal zone at the Mariana Trench. 16S rRNA gene composition showed high stratification at the first 1000 meters below surface (mbs) but a nearly uniformed microbial community composition was observed at the abyssopelagic and the hadalpelagic water columns. The deep-sea bacteria were generally chemoheterotrophs and the majority of them were similar to those present at the ocean surface, suggesting influence of epipelagic primary production on deep sea bacterial communication at the trench location. Several deep-sea-enriched but surface-depleted bacteria could be characterized by potential degraders of polysaccharides and n-alkanes. Therefore, recalcitrant hydrocarbons or carbohydrates are likely important carbon sources supporting the deep-sea biosphere. In spite of consistent community composition, a remarkable increase in biomass of small-sized microbial aggregates was detected at 8727 mbs. Enhanced CDOM proportions in the trench imply intensified microbial activity in hadal water compared to the above water column, which agree with the notion of possible extra carbon input from lateral transportation of slope material. These observations extend our understanding in carbon cycle driven by metabolically diverse microorganisms at the trench and may shed light on the complexity of hadal biogeochemistry.

Estimates of effective elastic thickness of oceanic lithosphere using model including surface and subsurface loads and effective elastic thickness of subduction zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, A.; Yongtao, F.

2016-12-01

The effective elastic thickness (Te) is an important parameter that characterizes the long term strength of the lithosphere, which has great significance on understanding the mechanical properties and evolution of the lithosphere. In contrast with many controversies regarding elastic thickness of continent lithosphere, the Te of oceanic lithosphere is thought to be in a simple way that is dependent on the age of the plate. However, rescent studies show that there is no simple relationship between Te and age at time of loading for both seamounts and subduction zones. As subsurface loading is very importand and has large influence in the estimate of Te for continent lithosphere, and many oceanic features such as subduction zones also have considerable subsurface loading. We introduce the method to estimate the effective elastic thickness of oceanic lithosphere using model including surface and subsurface loads by using free-air gravity anomaly and bathymetric data, together with a moving window admittance technique (MWAT). We use the multitaper spectral estimation method to calculate the power spectral density. Through tests with synthetic subduction zone like bathymetry and gravity data show that the Te can be recovered in an accurance similar to that in the continent and there is also a trade-off between spatial resolution and variance for different window sizes. We estimate Te of many subduction zones (Peru-Chile trench, Middle America trench, Caribbean trench, Kuril-Japan trench, Mariana trench, Tonga trench, Java trench, Ryukyu-Philippine trench) with an age range of 0-160 Myr to reassess the relationship between elastic thickness and the age of the lithosphere at the time of loading. The results do not show a simple relationship between Te and age.

Advances in Hadal Research in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, J.; Zhang, X. H.; Xin, Y.; Xu, H.; Chen, D.; Zhang, C.

2017-12-01

Trenches (depths > 6000 m) are the least explored oceanic provinces, which may offer unique insight into microbial biogeography, diversity, and adaptations in the hadal environment that is characterized by extremely high pressure and low temperature. We have carried out three cruises since 2015 in order to systematically study the dynamics of the hadal ecosystems in the Mariana Trench, utilizing expertise from physical oceanography, sedimentology, organic geochemistry, and microbial genomics. A cross-trench mooring array composed of 5 independent mooring systems was deployed along 143 ºE in the `Challenger Deep', which was kept fully operational for nearly one year at depths from 4000 m to 10000 m. The one-year continuous ADCP and current data revealed unusual temporal changes in hydrodynamics in the trench system. With the assistance of a custom-designed deep water collection system, we successfully obtained seawater up to 1200 liters at depths of 2000 m, 4000 m, 6000 m, 8000 m and 10000 m below sea surface. Filtration of >1000 liters of hadal water provided valuable information on the genomics of pico/nano-plankton, archaea and bacteria, and viruses, and their potential roles in nutrient and element cycling in the hadal ecosystem. Four sediment traps were deployed at the Challenge Deep at depth of 2000 m, 4000 m, 6000 m and 8000 m, which provided downward POC fluxes at the monthly resolution. Lastly, sediment cores (0- 450 cm) were collected from the hadal seafloor at water depths down to 10853 m. Preliminary results show rates of organic matter degradation and accumulation are enhanced in the trench axis, suggesting an influence of lateral transport from trench slope and rim. Overall, our studies demonstrated a dynamic trench system with strong interactions among physical, chemical, sedimentary and biological processes in the trench.

Deep-Sea Trench Microbiology Down to 10.9 Kilometers Below the Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartlett, D. H.

2012-12-01

Deep-sea trenches, extending to more than 10.9 km below the sea surface, are among the most remote and infrequently sampled habitats. As a result a global perspective of microbial diversity and adaptation is lacking in these extreme settings. I will present the results of studies of deep-sea trench microbes collected in the Puerto Rico Trench (PRT), Tonga Trench, New Britain Trench and Mariana Trench. The samples collected include sediment, seawater and animals in baited traps. The analyses to be described include microbial community activity and viability measurements as a function of hydrostatic pressure, microbial culturing at high pressure under various physiological conditions, phylogenetics and metagenome and single-cell genome characterizations. Most of the results to date stem from samples recovered from the PRT. The deep-sea PRT Trench microbes have more in common at the species level with other deep-sea microbial communities previously characterized in the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea than with the microbial populations above them in shallow waters. They also harbor larger genomes with more genes assigned to signal transduction, transcription, replication, recombination and repair and inorganic ion transport. The overrepresented transporters in the PRT metagenome include di- and tri-carboxylate transporters that correspond to the prevailing catabolic processes such as butanoate, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism. A surprisingly high abundance of sulfatases for the degradation of sulfated polysaccharides were also present in the PRT. But, perhaps the most dramatic adaptational feature of the PRT microbes is heavy metal resistance, as reflected in the high numbers of metal efflux systems present. Single-cell genomics approaches have proven particularly useful for placing PRT metagenomic data into context.

Corrective action investigation plan: Cactus Spring Waste Trenches. Revision 2

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

NONE

This Correction Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) contains environmental sample collection objectives and logic for the CAU No. 426, which includes the Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, CAS No. RG-08-001-RG-CS. The Cactus Spring Waste Trenches are located at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) which is part of the Nellis Air Force Range, approximately 255 kilometers (km) (140 miles [mi]) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, by air. The purpose of this investigation is to generate sufficient data to establish the types of waste buried in the trenches, identify the presence and nature of contamination, determine the vertical extent of contaminant migration below themore » Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, and determine the appropriate course of action for the site. The potential courses of action for the site are clean closure, closure in place (with or without remediation), or no further action.« less

Deaths from trench cave-in in the construction industry.

PubMed

Suruda, A; Smith, G; Baker, S P

1988-07-01

At least 70 US construction workers die each year in trench cave-ins, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for work in trenches have been criticized as hard to understand and inadequate. This study examined 306 fatal cases, obtained mainly from OSHA investigations, from 1974 to 1986. Most of the deaths occurred in shallow trenches while digging sewer lines, and were caused by failing to shore or brace the walls of the trench. The risk of cave-in death was higher in young workers and those in small firms; only 12% of the deaths were in unionized companies. OSHA issued citations in 94% of the cases, with fines ranging up to $58,400; the average fine was $1,991 per death. Death due to cave-in is a significant risk for construction workers, and can be prevented by proper protective measures.

Effect of surface roughness of trench sidewalls on electrical properties in 4H-SiC trench MOSFETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutsuki, Katsuhiro; Murakami, Yuki; Watanabe, Yukihiko; Onishi, Toru; Yamamoto, Kensaku; Fujiwara, Hirokazu; Ito, Takahiro

2018-04-01

The effects of the surface roughness of trench sidewalls on electrical properties have been investigated in 4H-SiC trench MOSFETs. The surface roughness of trench sidewalls was well controlled and evaluated by atomic force microscopy. The effective channel mobility at each measurement temperature was analyzed on the basis of the mobility model including optical phonon scattering. The results revealed that surface roughness scattering had a small contribution to channel mobility, and at the arithmetic average roughness in the range of 0.4-1.4 nm, there was no correlation between the experimental surface roughness and the surface roughness scattering mobility. On the other hand, the characteristics of the gate leakage current and constant current stress time-dependent dielectric breakdown tests demonstrated that surface morphology had great impact on the long-term reliability of gate oxides.

Microbial activity of trench leachates from shallow-land, low-level radioactive waste disposal sites.

PubMed Central

Francis, A J; Dobbs, S; Nine, B J

1980-01-01

Trench leachate samples collected anoxically from shallow-land, low-level radioactive waste disposal sites were analyzed for total aerobic and anaerobic populations, sulfate reducers, denitrifiers, and methanogens. Among the several aerobic and anaerobic bacteria isolated, only Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Citrobacter sp., and Clostridium sp. were identified. Mixed bacterial cultures isolated from the trench leachates were able to grow anaerobically in trench leachates, which indicates that the radionuclides and organic chemicals present were not toxic to these bacteria. Changes in concentrations of several of the organic constituents of the waste leachate samples were observed due to anaerobic microbial activity. Growth of a mixed culture of trench-water bacteria in media containing a mixture of radionuclides, 60Co, 85Sr, and 134,137Cs, was not affected at total activity concentrations of 2.6 X 10(2) and 2.7 X 10(3) pCi/ml. PMID:7406490

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.

53. VIEW FROM FLOOR OF MAST TRENCH SHOWING BASE OF ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

53. VIEW FROM FLOOR OF MAST TRENCH SHOWING BASE OF ERECT UMBILICAL MAST. AIR-CONDITIONING DUCTS VISIBLE ON RIGHT SIDE OF MAST. HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR ARMS FOR OPENING TRENCH DOORS VISIBLE ON LEFT SIDE OF PHOTO. 'DOOR STOP' PEDESTAL IN FOREGROUND. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Plume Delineation in the BC Cribs and Trenches Area

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

Rucker, Dale F.; Sweeney, Mark D.

2004-11-30

HydroGEOPHYSICS, Inc. and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) were contracted by Fluor Hanford Group, Inc. to conduct a geophysical investigation in the area of the BC Cribs and Trenches (subject site) at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. The BC Cribs and Trenches are located south of the 200 East Area. This document provides the details of the investigation to identify existing infrastructure from legacy disposal activities and to delineate the edges of a groundwater plume that contains radiological and heavy metal constituents beneath the 216-B-26 and 216-B-52 Trenches, and the 216-B-14 through 216-B-19 Cribs.

Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-26

Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, prepare new heat-resistant bricks for installation on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.

Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-26

Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, attach new heat-resistant bricks on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.

Changes in soil hydraulic properties caused by construction of a simulated waste trench at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shakofsky, S.M.

1995-01-01

In order to assess the effect of filled waste disposal trenches on transport-governing soil properties, comparisons were made between profiles of undisturbed soil and disturbed soil in a simulated waste trench. The changes in soil properties induced by the construction of a simulated waste trench were measured near the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in the semi-arid southeast region of Idaho. The soil samples were collected, using a hydraulically- driven sampler to minimize sample disruption, from both a simulated waste trench and an undisturbed area nearby. Results show that the undisturbed profile has distinct layers whose properties differ significantly, whereas the soil profile in the simulated waste trench is. by comparison, homogeneous. Porosity was increased in the disturbed cores, and, correspondingly, saturated hydraulic conductivities were on average three times higher. With higher soil-moisture contents (greater than 0.32), unsaturated hydraulic conductivities for the undisturbed cores were typically greater than those for the disturbed cores. With lower moisture contents, most of the disturbed cores had greater hydraulic conductivities. The observed differences in hydraulic conductivities are interpreted and discussed as changes in the soil pore geometry.

Corrective action investigation plan: Cactus Spring Waste Trenches. Revision 2

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

NONE

This Correction Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) contains environmental sample collection objectives and logic for the Corrective Action Unit No. 426, which includes the Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, located at the Tonopah Test Range. The purpose of this investigation is to generate sufficient data to establish the types of waste buried in the trenches, identify the presence and nature of contamination, determine the vertical extent of contaminant migration below the Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, and determine the appropriate course of action for the site. The potential courses of action for the site are clean closure, closure in place (with or withoutmore » remediation), or no further action. The scope of this investigation will include drilling and collecting subsurface samples from within and below the trenches. Sampling locations will be biased toward the areas most likely to be contaminated. The Cactus Spring Waste Trenches Site is identified as one of three potential locations for buried, radioactively contaminated materials from the Double Tracks Test. This test was the first of four storage-transportation tests conducted in 1963 as part of Operation Roller Coaster. The experiment involved the use of live animals to assess the inhalation intake of a plutonium aerosol.« less

Stress interaction between subduction earthquakes and forearc strike-slip faults: Modeling and application to the northern Caribbean plate boundary

USGS Publications Warehouse

ten Brink, Uri S.; Lin, J.

2004-01-01

Strike-slip faults in the forearc region of a subduction zone often present significant seismic hazard because of their proximity to population centers. We explore the interaction between thrust events on the subduction interface and strike-slip faults within the forearc region using three-dimensional models of static Coulomb stress change. Model results reveal that subduction earthquakes with slip vectors subparallel to the trench axis enhance the Coulomb stress on strike-slip faults adjacent to the trench but reduce the stress on faults farther back in the forearc region. In contrast, subduction events with slip vectors perpendicular to the trench axis enhance the Coulomb stress on strike-slip faults farther back in the forearc, while reducing the stress adjacent to the trench. A significant contribution to Coulomb stress increase on strike-slip faults in the back region of the forearc comes from "unclamping" of the fault, i.e., reduction in normal stress due to thrust motion on the subduction interface. We argue that although Coulomb stress changes from individual subduction earthquakes are ephemeral, their cumulative effects on the pattern of lithosphere deformation in the forearc region are significant. We use the Coulomb stress models to explain the contrasting deformation pattern between two adjacent segments of the Caribbean subduction zone. Subduction earthquakes with slip vectors nearly perpendicular to the Caribbean trench axis is dominant in the Hispaniola segment, where the strike-slip faults are more than 60 km inland from the trench. In contrast, subduction slip motion is nearly parallel to the Caribbean trench axis along the Puerto Rico segment, where the strike-slip fault is less than 15 km from the trench. This observed jump from a strike-slip fault close to the trench axis in the Puerto Rico segment to the inland faults in Hispaniola is explained by different distributions of Coulomb stress in the forearc region of the two segments, as a result of the change from the nearly trench parallel slip on the Puerto Rico subduction interface to the more perpendicular subduction slip beneath Hispaniola. The observations and modeling suggest that subduction-induced strike-slip seismic hazard to Puerto Rico may be smaller than previously assumed but the hazard to Hispaniola remains high. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.

An ocean bottom seismometer study of shallow seismicity near the Mid- America Trench offshore Guatemala ( Pacific).

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ambos, E.L.; Hussong, D.M.; Holman, C.E.

1985-01-01

Five ocean bottom seismometers recorded seismicity near the Mid-America Trench offshore Guatemala for 27 days in 1979. The array was emplaced in the lower slope region, just above the topographic trench. Approximately 170 events were recorded by 3 or more seismometers, and almost half were located with statistical hypocentral errors of <10 km. Most epicenters were located immediately landward of the trench axis, and many were further confined to a zone NW of the array. In terms of depth, most events were located within the subducting Cocos plate rather than in the overlying plate or at the plate-plate boundary. Most magnitudes ranged between 3.0 and 4.0 mb, and the threshold magnitude of locatable events was about 2.8 mb. Two distinct composite focal mechanisms were determined. One appears to indicate high- angle reverse faulting in the subducting plate, in a plane parallel to trench axis strike. The other, constructed for some earthquakes in the zone NW of the array, seems to show normal faulting along possible fault planes oriented quasi-perpendicular to the trench axis. Projection of our seismicity sample and of well-located WWSSN events from 1954 to 1980 onto a plane perpendicular to the trench axis shows a distinct gap between the shallow seismicity located by our array, and the deeper Wadati-Benioff zone seismicity located by the WWSSN. We tentatively ascribe this gap to inadequate sampling.-from Authors

Trench foot: the medical response in the first World War 1914-18.

PubMed

Atenstaedt, Robert L

2006-01-01

The approaching 90-year anniversary of United States entry into the Great War is an apt time to examine the response to trench foot (now called nonfreezing cold injury [NFCI]) in this conflict. Trench foot appeared in the winter of 1914, characterized by pedal swelling, numbness, and pain. It was quickly recognized by military-medical authorities. There was little debate over whether it was frostbite or new condition, and it was quickly accepted as a specific disease. The major etiologies proposed were exposure, diet, and infection. The opinion emerged that it was caused by circulatory changes in the foot caused by cold, wet, and pressure. Predisposing factors included dietary inadequacy and fatigue. A number of labels were first given to the disease. However, the name "trench foot" was eventually officially sanctioned. Trench foot became a serious problem for the Allies, leading to 75 000 casualties in the British and 2000 in the American forces. Therapy for trench foot involved a number of conventional, tried-and-tested, and conservative methods. Some more innovative techniques were used. Amputation was only used as a last resort. Prevention involved general measures to improve the trench environment; modification of the footwear worn by the men; and the provision of greases to protect them from moisture. The medical reaction to this condition seems to have been relatively effective. The causation was identified, and prophylactic measures were introduced to fit this model; these seem to have been successful in reducing the prevalence of the condition by 1917-18.

Design and experiment on 2KF-15 type disc cutter and shallow fertilization machine in rubber plantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yiguo; Zhang, Yuan; Wang, Yeqin

2017-12-01

At present, the trenching and fertilization machine has a serious weed plug problem when trenching and fertilization operation in rubber plantation. So a disc cutter and shallow fertilization machine in rubber plantation named 2KF-15 was designed, the design scheme used the front disc cutter cutting the grass, while using the rear of the disc furrow to trenching, the prototype of a disc anti-plugging trenching and shallow fertilization machine was completed. Afterwards, a series of trenching and fertilization field experiments were carried out, and the results showed that the ditching depth of this machine could achieve from 131 to 176 mm, and the average depth could reach 156 mm, the ditching depth stability coefficient could achieve 90.3%; The fertilizer amount of this machine could achieve from 113.2 to 156.4 kg/hm2, the average fertilizer amount reach 134.2kg/hm2, the fertilizer amount stability coefficient could achieve 89.6%, the fertilizer broken rate was 0%, the fertilizer coverage rate of 98.4%;The situation of fertilizer accumulation occurred less by using this machine, and the fertilization performance was relatively stable. This new designed machine for trenching, fertilization and covering the soil were carried out at the same time. So the number of operations could be effectively reduced. This new designed machine does not only meet the agronomic requirements of rubber plantation fertilization, but also provides a reference for the trenching and fertilization operation in other.

SPECIAL ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONAL STORMWATER RUNOFF COVERS OVER SLIT TRENCHES

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

Collard, L; Luther Hamm, L

2008-12-18

Solid Waste Management (SWM) commissioned this Special Analysis (SA) to determine the effects of placing operational stormwater runoff covers (referred to as covers in the remainder of this document) over slit trench (ST) disposal units ST1 through ST7 (the center set of slit trenches). Previously the United States Department of Energy (DOE) entered into an agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) to place covers over Slit Trenches 1 and 2 to be able to continue disposing Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) solid wastemore » (see USDOE 2008). Because the covers changed the operating conditions, DOE Order 435.1 (DOE 1999) required that an SA be performed to assess the impact. This Special Analysis has been prepared to determine the effects of placing covers over slit trenches at about years 5, 10 and 15 of the 30-year operational period. Because some slit trenches have already been operational for about 15 years, results from analyzing covers at 5 years and 10 years provide trend analysis information only. This SA also examined alternatives of covering Slit Trenches 1 and 2 with one cover and Slit Trenches 3 and 4 with a second cover versus covering them all with a single cover. Based on modeling results, minimal differences exist between covering Slit Trench groups 1-2 and 3-4 with two covers or one large cover. This SA demonstrates that placement of covers over slit trenches will slow the subsequent release and transport of radionuclides in the vadose zone in the early time periods (from time of placement until about 100 years). Release and transport of some radionuclides in the vadose zone beyond 100 years were somewhat higher than for the case without covers. The sums-of-fractions (SOFs) were examined for the current waste inventory in ST1 and ST2 and for estimated inventories at closure for ST3 through ST7. In all cases SOFs were less than one (except for one SOF for ST5 that remained at one), indicating that there should be no unacceptable impacts on operations from placing covers for the cover alternatives that were analyzed. Minimal operational limits provided in Table 4 should be used as the new set of limits for Slit Trenches 1 through 7. ST1 and ST2 are expected to be covered about 15 years after the first disposal in ST1. Because the time of actual placement of covers over the other slit trenches is unknown, this SA did not consider limit increases, only limit decreases. Thus, each minimal operational limit is the minimum of the Performance Assessment (PA) final limit and the limit calculated in this SA if covers were placed at about 5, 10 or 15 years. If other cover times are desired, further analysis will be required.« less

Varying Structure and Physical Properties of the Lithosphere Subducting Beneath Indonesia, Consequences on the Subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacob, J.; Dyment, J.

2013-12-01

We make inferences on the structure, age and physical properties of the subducting northern Wharton Basin lithosphere by (1) modeling the structure and age of the lithosphere subducted under the Sumatra trench through three-plate reconstructions involving Australia, Antarctica, and India, and (2) superimposing the resulting fracture zones and magnetic isochrons to the geometry of the subducting plate as imaged by seismic tomography. The model of Pesicek et al. (2010) was digitized and smoothed in order to get a realistic topography of the subducting plate. The fracture zone and magnetic isochron geometry was draped on this topography assuming a N18°E direction of subduction. This model provides an effective means to study the effect of varying physical properties of the subducting lithosphere on the subduction along the Sumatra trench. 1) The age of the oceanic lithosphere determines its thickness and buoyancy, then its ability to comply with or resist subduction. We define the "subductability" of the lithosphere as the extra weight applied on the asthenosphere by the part of the bulk lithospheric density exceeding the asthenospheric density. A negative subductability means that the bulk lithospheric density is lower than the asthenospheric density, i.e. the plate will resist subduction, which is the case for lithosphere less than ~23 Ma. The area off Sumatra corresponds to oceanic lithosphere formed between 80 and 38 Ma, with a lower subductability than other areas along the Sunda Trench. 2) The spreading rate at which the oceanic lithosphere was formed has implications of the structure and composition of the oceanic crust, and therefore on its rheology. In a subduction zone, the contact between the subducting and overriding plates is often considered to be the top of the oceanic crust and the overlying sediments. The roughness of this interface and the rheology of its constitutive material are essential parameters constraining the slip of the down going plate in the seismogenic zone, and therefore the characteristics of the resulting earthquakes. Indeed the rough topography of a slow crust may offer more asperities, and therefore a more irregular slip, than the smooth topography of a fast crust. Conversely, the weak rheology of serpentines present in a slow crust would favor a regular slip, unlike the brittle magmatic rocks of the fast crust and the underlying dry olivine mantle. 3) Local features, including fracture zones and seamounts, may affect the seismic segmentation of the subduction zone. Many seamounts have been mapped in the Wharton Basin between 10°S and 15°S., their age decreasing from 136 Ma to the East to 47 Ma to the West, with anomalously younger ages in Christmas Island. Similar seamounts belonging to the same province may have existed further north and subducted in the Sunda Trench from southern Sumatra to Java and eastward. Conversely, the Roo Rise, a larger plateau located south of Eastern Java, may have more difficulty to enter the subduction, as suggested by the geometry of the Sunda Trench in this area, diverting from the regular arc by a maximum of 60 km. References Pesicek, J.D., C.H. Thurber, S. Widiyantoro, H. Zhang, H.R. DeShon, and E.R. Engdahl (2010), Sharpening the tomographic image of the subducting slab below Sumatra, the Andaman Islands and Burma, Geophys. J. Int., 182, 433-453.

Paleoseismic Investigation of the Ranong and Khlong Marui faults, Chumphon Province, Southern Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenton, C. H.; Sutiwanich, C.

2005-12-01

The Ranong and Khlong Marui faults are northeast-southwest trending structures in the Isthmus of Kra, southern Thailand, that apparently link the extensional regimes of the Mergui Basin in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. These faults are depicted commonly as strike-slip faults, acting as conjugate structures to the dominant northwest-southeast trending strike-slip faults, in Southeast Asia. These faults are parallel to the predominant structural grain in the Carboniferous rocks of peninsular Thailand. In addition, they appear to be bounding structures for several Tertiary basins, including the onshore parts of the Surat Thani basin and the offshore Chumphon basin. Initial remote sensing studies showed that both faults have relatively subdued geomorphic expressions. Field reconnaissance investigations indicated a lack of youthful tectonic geomorphology along the Khlong Marui fault and ambiguous evidence for recent movement along the Ranong fault. Fault exposures along both fault trends and on minor parallel faults in the region indicated that, rather than predominantly strike-slip motion, these faults have experienced up-to-the-west reverse movement. Because of its more youthful geomorphic expression, several sites along the Ranong fault were chosen for paleoseismic trenching. Initial trench exposures indicate an absence of Holocene movement. Some exposures indicate the possibility of Late Tertiary-Early Holocene vertical movement. These investigations are currently ongoing and we hope to report our conclusions at the Fall Meeting.

The effects of depth, distance, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on genetic differentiation of abyssal and hadal isopods (Macrostylidae)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riehl, Torben; Lins, Lidia; Brandt, Angelika

2018-02-01

The largest habitat on Earth, the abyssal oceans below 3500 m depth, is commonly assumed to represent a continuous environment due to homogeneity of environmental factors and the lack of physical barriers. Yet, the presence of bathymetric features, such as Mid-Ocean Ridges, and hadal trenches provide a discontinuation. During the Vema-TRANSIT expedition in 2014/2015 to the tropical North Atlantic, a transatlantic transect was studied following the full extent of the Vema Fracture Zone in an east-west direction and including the Puerto Rico Trench (PRT). The aim of this study was to test whether large bathymetric features represent barriers to dispersal and may lead to differentiation and eventually speciation. In this study, these potential barriers included the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and the transition ( 3000 m) from the hadal PRT to the adjacent abyss. Genetic differentiation and differences in community structure (species composition) from east and west of the MAR, as well as abyssal and hadal depth zones were tested for using the poor dispersers Macrostylidae (Crustacea, Isopoda) as a model Distribution patterns showed that certain macrostylid species have ranges extending more than 2000 km, in some cases across oceanic ridges and trench-abyss transitions. Contrastingly, there was a clear signal for geographic population structure coinciding with the east-west division of the Atlantic by the MAR as well as with the abyss-hadal zonation. These results support the hypotheses that depth gradients as well as oceanic ridges reduce dispersal even though barriers may not be absolute. Additionally, positive correlation between genetic- and geographic distances showed that the vast size of the deep sea itself is a factor responsible for creating diversity.

Toward Implementing Long-term Slip History and Paleoseismicity Into Active Fault Databases to Compute Effective Recurrence Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzenz, D. D.; Jalobeanu, A.; Ferry, M. A.

2011-12-01

The first year of data from the Cascadia Initiative ocean-bottom seismograph deployment has provided a unique opportunity to image the structure of a plate from formation at the spreading center to subduction beneath the continental margin. However, traditional Rayleigh wave tomography of the Juan de Fuca plate using teleseismic sources is unusually difficult, because the region contains a large velocity heterogeneity at the ocean-continent margin; the azimuthal range of sources is limited, with most earthquakes lying in narrow azimuthal ranges to the northwest along the Aleutian and western Pacific trenches or to the southeast along the Middle and South American trenches; the orientation of many of the focal mechanisms leads to nodes in Rayleigh wave excitation towards the Juan de Fuca region; and the great circle paths from most sources to the receivers travel great distances close to ocean/continent boundaries or trenches and island arcs, producing complex waveforms. Nevertheless, we construct an initial tomographic image of the Juan de Fuca plate by subdividing the area into regions with relatively uniform wavefield composition when necessary; by using the two-plane-wave representation of the wavefield within the subregions; and by removing noise from the vertical component of the Rayleigh wave signals using information from the horizontal and pressure records. If the seismometer is slightly tilted, some of the often large horizontal noise contaminates the vertical component, and when water (gravity) waves penetrate to the seafloor, the associated pressure variations cause vertical displacements. By removing these two sources of noise, we are able to construct Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps in the period range 20 to 125 s, yielding excellent control on lithospheric mantle structure.

Characterizing the Iron Wash fault: A fault line scarp in Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozaci, O.; Ostenaa, D.; Goodman, J.; Zellman, M.; Hoeft, J.; Sowers, J. M.; Retson, T.

2015-12-01

The Iron Wash fault (IWF) is an approximately 30 mile-long, NW-SE trending structure, oriented perpendicular to the San Rafael Monocline near Green River in Utah. IWF exhibits well-expressed geomorphic features such as a linear escarpment with consistently north side down displacement. The fault coincides with an abrupt change in San Rafael Monocline dip angle along its eastern margin. The IWF is exposed in incised drainages where Jurassic Navajo sandstone (oldest) and Lower Carmel Formation (old), are juxtaposed against Jurassic Entrada sandstone (younger) and Quaternary alluvium (youngest). To assess the recency of activity of the IWF we performed detailed geomorphic mapping and a paleoseismic trenching investigation. A benched trench was excavated across a Quaternary fluvial terrace remnant across the mapped trace of the IWF. The uppermost gravel units and overlying colluvium are exposed in the trench across the projection of the fault. In addition, we mapped the basal contact of the Quaternary gravel deposit in relation to the adjacent fault exposures in detail to show the geometry of the basal contact near and across the fault. We find no evidence of vertical displacement of these Quaternary gravels. A preliminary U-series date of calcite cementing unfaulted fluvial gravels and OSL dating of a sand lens within the unfaulted fluvial gravels yielded approximately 304,000 years and 78,000 years, respectively. These preliminary results of independent dating methods constrains the timing of last activity of the IWF to greater than 78,000 years before present suggesting that IWF not an active structure. Its distinct geomorphic expression is most likely the result of differential erosion, forming a fault-line scarp.

Geologic evaluation of major Landsat lineaments in Nevada and their relationship to ore districts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rowan, Lawrence C.; Wetlaufer, Pamela Heald

1979-01-01

Analysis of diverse geologic, geophysical, and geochemical data shows that eight major lineament systems delineated in Landsat images of Nevada are morphological and tonal expressions of substantially broader structural zones. Southern Nevada is dominated by the 175 km-wide northwest-trending Walker Lane, a 150 km-wide zone of east-trending lineament systems consisting of the Pancake Range, Warm Springs, and Timpahute lineament systems, and a 125 km-wide belt of northeast-trending faults termed the Pahranagat lineament system. Northern Nevada is dominated by the northeast-trending 75-200km wide Midas Trench lineament system, which is marked by northeasterly-oriented faults, broad gravity anomalies, and the Battle Mountain heat flow high; this feature appears to extend into central Montana. The Midas Trench system is transected by the Northern Nevada Rift, a relatively narrow zone of north-northwest-trending basaltic dikes that give rise to a series of prominent aeromagnetic highs. The northwest-trending Rye Patch lineament system, situated at the northeast boundary of the Walker Lane, also intersects the Midas Trench system and is characterized by stratigraphic discontinuities and alignment of aeromagnetic anomalies. Field relationships indicate that all the lineament systems except for the Northern Nevada Rift are conjugate shears formed since mid-Miocene time during extension of the Great Basin. Metallization associated with volcanism was widespread along these systems during the 17-6 m.y. period. However, these zones appear to have been established prior to this period, probably as early as Precambr-an time. These lineament systems are interpreted to be old, fundamental, structural zones that have been reactivated episodically as stress conditions !changed in the western United States. Many metal districts are localized within these zones as magma rose along the pre-existing conduits.

Joint geophysical and petrological models for the lithosphere structure of the Antarctic Peninsula continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yegorova, Tamara; Bakhmutov, Vladimir; Janik, Tomasz; Grad, Marek

2011-01-01

The Antarctic Peninsula (AP) is a composite magmatic arc terrane formed at the Pacific margin of Gondwana. Through the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic subduction has stopped progressively from southwest to northeast as a result of a series of ridge trench collisions. Subduction may be active today in the northern part of the AP adjacent to the South Shetland Islands. The subduction system is confined by the Shackleton and Hero fracture zones. The magmatic arc of the AP continental margin is marked by high-amplitude gravity and magnetic anomaly belts reaching highest amplitudes in the region of the South Shetland Islands and trench. The sources for these anomalies are highly magnetic and dense batholiths of mafic bulk composition, which were intruded in the Cretaceous, due to partial melting of upper-mantle and lower-crustal rocks. 2-D gravity and magnetic models provide new insights into crustal and upper-mantle structure of the active and passive margin segments of the northern AP. Our models incorporate seismic refraction constraints and physical property data. This enables us to better constrain both Moho geometry and petrological interpretations in the crust and upper mantle. Model along the DSS-12 profile crosses the AP margin near the Anvers Island and shows typical features of a passive continental margin. The second model along the DSS-17 profile extends from the Drake Passage through the South Shetland Trench/Islands system and Bransfield Strait to the AP and indicates an active continental margin linked to slow subduction and on-going continental rifting in the backarc region. Continental rifting beneath the Bransfield Strait is associated with an upward of hot upper mantle rocks and with extensive magmatic underplating.

Numerical modelling of the role of salt in continental collision: An application to the southeast Zagros fold-and-thrust belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazian, Reza Khabbaz; Buiter, Susanne J. H.

2014-09-01

The Zagros fold-and-thrust belt formed in the collision of Arabia with Central Iran. Its sedimentary sequence is characterised by the presence of several weak layers that may control the style of folding and thrusting. We use 2-D thermo-mechanical models to investigate the role of salt in the southeast Zagros fold-and-thrust belt. We constrain the crustal and lithospheric thickness, sedimentary stratification, convergence velocity, and thermal structure of the models from available geological and geophysical data. We find that the thick basal layer of Hormuz salt in models on the scale of the upper-mantle decouples the overlying sediments from the basement and localises deformation in the sediments by trench-verging shear bands. In the collision stage of the models, basement dips with + 1° towards the trench. Including the basal Hormuz salt improves the fit of predicted topography to observed topography. We use the kinematic results and thermal structure of this large-scale model as the initial conditions of a series of upper-crustal-scale models. These models aim to investigate the effects of basal and intervening weak layers, salt strength, basal dip, and lateral salt distribution on deformation style of the simply folded Zagros. Our results show that in addition to the Hormuz salt at the base of the sedimentary cover, at least one intervening weak layer is required to initiate fold-dominated deformation in the southeast Zagros. We find that an upper-crustal-scale model, with a basal and three internal weak layers with viscosities between 5 × 1018 and 1019 Pa s, and a basement that dips + 1° towards the trench, best reproduces present-day topography and the regular folding of the sedimentary layers of the simply folded Zagros.

The formation of endoderm-derived taste sensory organs requires a Pax9-dependent expansion of embryonic taste bud progenitor cells.

PubMed

Kist, Ralf; Watson, Michelle; Crosier, Moira; Robinson, Max; Fuchs, Jennifer; Reichelt, Julia; Peters, Heiko

2014-10-01

In mammals, taste buds develop in different regions of the oral cavity. Small epithelial protrusions form fungiform papillae on the ectoderm-derived dorsum of the tongue and contain one or few taste buds, while taste buds in the soft palate develop without distinct papilla structures. In contrast, the endoderm-derived circumvallate and foliate papillae located at the back of the tongue contain a large number of taste buds. These taste buds cluster in deep epithelial trenches, which are generated by intercalating a period of epithelial growth between initial placode formation and conversion of epithelial cells into sensory cells. How epithelial trench formation is genetically regulated during development is largely unknown. Here we show that Pax9 acts upstream of Pax1 and Sox9 in the expanding taste progenitor field of the mouse circumvallate papilla. While a reduced number of taste buds develop in a growth-retarded circumvallate papilla of Pax1 mutant mice, its development arrests completely in Pax9-deficient mice. In addition, the Pax9 mutant circumvallate papilla trenches lack expression of K8 and Prox1 in the taste bud progenitor cells, and gradually differentiate into an epidermal-like epithelium. We also demonstrate that taste placodes of the soft palate develop through a Pax9-dependent induction. Unexpectedly, Pax9 is dispensable for patterning, morphogenesis and maintenance of taste buds that develop in ectoderm-derived fungiform papillae. Collectively, our data reveal an endoderm-specific developmental program for the formation of taste buds and their associated papilla structures. In this pathway, Pax9 is essential to generate a pool of taste bud progenitors and to maintain their competence towards prosensory cell fate induction.

Implications from palaeoseismological investigations at the Markgrafneusiedl Fault (Vienna Basin, Austria) for seismic hazard assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hintersberger, Esther; Decker, Kurt; Lomax, Johanna; Lüthgens, Christopher

2018-02-01

Intraplate regions characterized by low rates of seismicity are challenging for seismic hazard assessment, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, evaluation of historic earthquake catalogues may not reveal all active faults that contribute to regional seismic hazard. Secondly, slip rate determination is limited by sparse geomorphic preservation of slowly moving faults. In the Vienna Basin (Austria), moderate historical seismicity (Imax, obs / Mmax, obs = 8/5.2) concentrates along the left-lateral strike-slip Vienna Basin Transfer Fault (VBTF). In contrast, several normal faults branching out from the VBTF show neither historical nor instrumental earthquake records, although geomorphological data indicate Quaternary displacement along those faults. Here, located about 15 km outside of Vienna, the Austrian capital, we present a palaeoseismological dataset of three trenches that cross one of these splay faults, the Markgrafneusiedl Fault (MF), in order to evaluate its seismic potential. Comparing the observations of the different trenches, we found evidence for five to six surface-breaking earthquakes during the last 120 kyr, with the youngest event occurring at around 14 ka. The derived surface displacements lead to magnitude estimates ranging between 6.2 ± 0.5 and 6.8 ± 0.4. Data can be interpreted by two possible slip models, with slip model 1 showing more regular recurrence intervals of about 20-25 kyr between the earthquakes with M ≥ 6.5 and slip model 2 indicating that such earthquakes cluster in two time intervals in the last 120 kyr. Direct correlation between trenches favours slip model 2 as the more plausible option. Trench observations also show that structural and sedimentological records of strong earthquakes with small surface offset have only low preservation potential. Therefore, the earthquake frequency for magnitudes between 6 and 6.5 cannot be constrained by the trenching records. Vertical slip rates of 0.02-0.05 mm a-1 derived from the trenches compare well to geomorphically derived slip rates of 0.02-0.09 mm a-1. Magnitude estimates from fault dimensions suggest that the largest earthquakes observed in the trenches activated the entire fault surface of the MF including the basal detachment that links the normal fault with the VBTF. The most important implications of these palaeoseismological results for seismic hazard assessment are as follows. (1) The MF is an active seismic source, capable of rupturing the surface despite the lack of historical earthquakes. (2) The MF is kinematically and geologically equivalent to a number of other splay faults of the VBTF. It is reasonable to assume that these faults are potential sources of large earthquakes as well. The frequency of strong earthquakes near Vienna is therefore expected to be significantly higher than the earthquake frequency reconstructed for the MF alone. (3) Although rare events, the potential for earthquake magnitudes equal or greater than M = 7.0 in the Vienna Basin should be considered in seismic hazard studies.

A seismic transect across West Antarctica: Evidence for mantle thermal anomalies beneath the Bentley Subglacial Trench and the Marie Byrd Land Dome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lloyd, Andrew J.; Wiens, Douglas A.; Nyblade, Andrew A.; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Aster, Richard C.; Huerta, Audrey D.; Wilson, Terry J.; Dalziel, Ian W. D.; Shore, Patrick J.; Zhao, Dapeng

2015-12-01

West Antarctica consists of several tectonically diverse terranes, including the West Antarctic Rift System, a topographic low region of extended continental crust. In contrast, the adjacent Marie Byrd Land and Ellsworth-Whitmore mountains crustal blocks are on average over 1 km higher, with the former dominated by polygenetic shield and stratovolcanoes protruding through the West Antarctic ice sheet and the latter having a Precambrian basement. The upper mantle structure of these regions is important for inferring the geologic history and tectonic processes, as well as the influence of the solid earth on ice sheet dynamics. Yet this structure is poorly constrained due to a lack of seismological data. As part of the Polar Earth Observing Network, 13 temporary broadband seismic stations were deployed from January 2010 to January 2012 that extended from the Whitmore Mountains, across the West Antarctic Rift System, and into Marie Byrd Land with a mean station spacing of ~90 km. Relative P and S wave travel time residuals were obtained from these stations as well as five other nearby stations by cross correlation. The relative residuals, corrected for both ice and crustal structure using previously published receiver function models of crustal velocity, were inverted to image the relative P and S wave velocity structure of the West Antarctic upper mantle. Some of the fastest relative P and S wave velocities are observed beneath the Ellsworth-Whitmore mountains crustal block and extend to the southern flank of the Bentley Subglacial Trench. However, the velocities in this region are not fast enough to be compatible with a Precambrian lithospheric root, suggesting some combination of thermal, chemical, and structural modification of the lithosphere. The West Antarctic Rift System consists largely of relative fast uppermost mantle seismic velocities consistent with Late Cretaceous/early Cenozoic extension that at present likely has negligible rift related heat flow. In contrast, the Bentley Subglacial Trench, a narrow deep basin within the West Antarctic Rift System, has relative P and S wave velocities in the uppermost mantle that are ~1% and ~2% slower, respectively, and suggest a thermal anomaly of ~75 K. Models for the thermal evolution of a rift basin suggest that such a thermal anomaly is consistent with Neogene extension within the Bentley Subglacial Trench and may, at least in part, account for elevated heat flow reported at the nearby West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice Core and at Subglacial Lake Whillans. The slowest relative P and S wave velocity anomaly is observed extending to at least 200 km depth beneath the Executive Committee Range in Marie Byrd Land, which is consistent with warm possibly plume-related, upper mantle. The imaged low-velocity anomaly and inferred thermal perturbation (~150 K) are sufficient to support isostatically the anomalous long-wavelength topography of Marie Byrd Land, relative to the adjacent West Antarctic Rift System.

Computation of Unsteady Flow in Flame Trench For Prediction of Ignition Overpressure Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kwak, Dochan; Kris, Cetin

2010-01-01

Computational processes/issues for supporting mission tasks are discussed using an example from launch environment simulation. Entire CFD process has been discussed using an existing code; STS-124 conditions were revisited to support wall repair effort for STS-125 flight; when water bags were not included, computed results indicate that IOP waves with the peak values have been reflected from SRB s own exhaust hole; ARES-1X simulations show that there is a shock wave going through the unused exhaust hole, however, it plays a secondary role; all three ARES-1X cases and STS-1 simulations showed very similar IOP magnitudes and patters on the vehicle; with the addition of water bags and water injection, it will further diminish the IOP effects.

The Moho discontinuity beneath Taiwan orogenic zone inferred from receiver function analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, H.; Chen, C.; Liang, W.

2013-12-01

We determine the depth variations of the Moho discontinuity beneath Taiwan from receiver function analysis. Taiwan is a young (~6.5 Ma) orogenic zone as a consequence of oblique collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In northeastern Taiwan, the Philippine Sea Plate subducts northwestward under the Eurasian Plate along the Ryukyu Trench; in southern Taiwan, the Eurasian Plate subducts eastward beneath the Philippine Sea Plate along the Manila Trench. Recent tomographic models of Taiwan reveal P-wave velocity variations of the lithospheric structure that provide important constraints on the orogenic processes in this region. However, the depth variations of the Moho discontinuity, a key observation for better understanding crustal deformation, remain elusive. In this study, we aim to delineate the Moho depth variations by analyzing seismic converted phases indicative of the presence of discontinuity structure. We analyze waveform data from teleseismic events recorded at the Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATS). Preliminary results of receiver functions beneath BATS stations in eastern Taiwan show that more than one converted phase (P-to-S) are likely present in crustal depths, suggesting possible multiple crustal layering, which may complicate the detection of the Moho. We further carry out synthetic experiments to explore possible crustal structures that reconcile our observations.

Floodplain/wetlands assessment for the interceptor trench field study near the Weldon Spring Quarry, Weldon Spring Site, Missouri

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

Van Lonkhuyzen, R.A.

1999-12-15

The US Department of Energy proposes to construct a groundwater interceptor trench near the Weldon Spring Quarry at the Weldon Spring Site in Missouri. The trench would be located near two palustrine wetland areas. Impacts to wetland hydrology and biotic communities are expected to be negligible. No long-term adverse impacts to floodplains are expected.

Assessment of Trench Inserts as Barriers to Root Transmission for Control of Oak Wilt in Texas Live Oaks

Treesearch

A. Dan Wilson; D.G. Lester

1996-01-01

Four trench insert materials, including water-permeable Typar® polyethylene spunbonded fabric, Biobarrier® or Typar® with trifluralin-impregnated nodules, and water-impermeable polyethylene Geomembrane liners of two thicknesses (20 and 30 mil) were tested for effectiveness in improving trenches as physical barriers to root transmission for control of oak wilt. Research...

Large-scale trench-perpendicular mantle flow beneath northern Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

Persistence of termiticides in soil inside and outside miniature concrete foundations (Isoptera)

Treesearch

J.E. Mulrooney; T.L. Wagner; B.M. Kard; P.D. Gerard

2006-01-01

A cooperative study of termiticide longevity was initiated in 1990 between the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO), termiticide manufacturers, and the USDA Forest Service. By-the-label applications of seven termiticides were made to soil in trenches inside and outside miniature concrete foundations, and soil samples were collected at 1,...

Paleoseismology at high latitudes: Seismic disturbance of upper Quaternary deposits along the Castle Mountain fault near Houston, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haeussler, Peter J.; Best, Timothy C.; Waythomas, Christopher F.

2002-01-01

Most paleoseismic studies are at low to moderate latitudes. Here we present results from a high-latitude (61°30′ N) trenching study of the Castle Mountain fault in south-central Alaska. This fault is the only one known in the greater Anchorage, Alaska, area with historical seismicity and a Holocene fault scarp. It strikes east-northeast and cuts glacial and postglacial sediments in an area of boreal spruce-birch forest, shrub tundra, and sphagnum bog. The fault has a prominent vegetation lineament on the upthrown, north side of the fault. Nine trenches were logged across the fault in glacial and postglacial deposits, seven along the main trace, and two along a splay. In addition to thrust and strike-slip faulting, important controls on observed relationships in the trenches are the season in which faulting occurred, the physical properties of the sediments, liquefaction, a shallow water table, soil-forming processes, the strength of the modern root mat, and freeze-thaw processes. Some of these processes and physical properties are unique to northern-latitude areas and result in seismic disturbance effects not observed at lower latitudes.The two trenches across the Castle Mountain fault splay exposed a thrust fault and few liquefaction features. Radiocarbon ages of soil organic matter and charcoal within and overlying the fault indicate movement on the fault at ca. 2735 cal. (calendar) yr B.P. and no subsequent movement. In the remaining seven trenches, surface faulting was accompanied by extensive liquefaction and a zone of disruption 3 m or more wide. The presence of numerous liquefaction features at depths of <0.5–1.0 m indicates faulting when the ground was not frozen—i.e., from about April to October. Sandy-matrix till, sand, silt, gravel, and pebbly peat were injected up to the base of the modern soil, but did not penetrate the interlocking spruce-birch root mat. The strength of the root mat prohibited development of a nonvegetated scarp face and colluvial wedge. In only one trench did we observe a discrete fault plane with measurable offset. It lay beneath a 2-m-thick carapace of liquefied sand and silt and displayed a total of 0.9–1.85 m of thrust motion since deposition of the oldest deposits in the trenches at ca. 13,500 yr B.P. We found liquefaction ejecta on paleosols at only one other trench, where there were bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis) tussocks that lacked an extensive root mat. From crosscutting relationships, we interpret three paleoliquefaction events on the main trace of the Castle Mountain fault: 2145–1870, 1375–1070, and 730–610 cal. yr B.P. These four earthquakes on the Castle Mountain fault in the past ∼2700 yr indicate an average recurrence interval of ∼700 yr. As it has been 600–700 yr since the last significant earthquake, a significant (magnitude 6–7) earthquake in the near future may be likely. Paleoseismic data indicate that the timing and recurrence interval of megathrust earthquakes is similar to the timing and recurrence interval of Castle Mountain fault earthquakes, suggesting a possible link between faulting on the megathrust and on “crustal” structures.

Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-26

Progress continues on the new flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, are on an elevated work stand to install new heat-resistant bricks on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.

Pad 39B Flame Trench Brick Work

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-26

Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, cut new heat-resistant bricks to size for the concrete walls of the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New heat-resistant bricks are being attached with epoxy mortar to the flame trench walls. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA's Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.

Leg 67: the Deep Sea Drilling Project Mid-America Trench transect off Guatemala.

USGS Publications Warehouse

von Huene, Roland E.

1980-01-01

Drilling on the Cocos plate recovered a basal chalk sequence deposited during early and mid-Miocene time, a short interval of abyssal red clay, and an upper sequence of late Miocene and younger sediment deposited within an area influenced by a terrigenous source. In the trench, a mud and sand fill less than 400,000 yr old overlies the oceanic sequence. The entire section shows no evidence of compressive deformation. In contrast, the section cored on the trench's landward slope 3 km from the trench axis is affected by tectonism. The section contains a Cretaceous to Pliocene claystone sequence capped by Pliocene to Quaternary hemipelagic slope deposits.- from Authors

First Dodo Trench with White Layer Visible in Dig Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

These color images were taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Stereo Surface Imager on the ninth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 9 (June 3, 2008). The images of the trench shows a white layer that has been uncovered by the Robotic Arm (RA) scoop and is now visible in the wall of the trench. This trench was the first one dug by the RA to understand the Martian soil and plan the digging strategy.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

The relationship between plate velocity and trench viscosity in Newtonian and power-law subduction calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

King, Scott D.; Hager, Bradford H.

1990-01-01

The relationship between oceanic trench viscosity and oceanic plate velocity is studied using a Newtonian rheology by varying the viscosity at the trench. The plate velocity is a function of the trench viscosity for fixed Rayleigh number and plate/slab viscosity. Slab velocities for non-Newtonian rheology calculations are significantly different from slab velocities from Newtonian rheology calculations at the same effective Rayleigh number. Both models give reasonable strain rates for the slab when compared with estimates of seismic strain rate. Non-Newtonian rheology eliminates the need for imposed weak zones and provides a self-consistent fluid dynamical mechanism for subduction in numerical convection models.

Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) of High Aspect Ratio SiC Microstructures using a Time-Multiplexed Etch-Passivate Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, Laura J.; Beheim, Glenn M.

2006-01-01

High aspect ratio silicon carbide (SiC) microstructures are needed for microengines and other harsh environment micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Previously, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of low aspect ratio (AR less than or = 1) deep (greater than 100 micron) trenches in SiC has been reported. However, existing DRIE processes for SiC are not well-suited for definition of high aspect ratio features because such simple etch-only processes provide insufficient control over sidewall roughness and slope. Therefore, we have investigated the use of a time-multiplexed etch-passivate (TMEP) process, which alternates etching with polymer passivation of the etch sidewalls. An optimized TMEP process was used to etch high aspect ratio (AR greater than 5) deep (less than 100 micron) trenches in 6H-SiC. Power MEMS structures (micro turbine blades) in 6H-SiC were also fabricated.

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

Ruzic, David

The Thermoelectric-Driven Liquid-Metal Plasma-Facing Structures (TELS) project was able to establish the experimental conditions necessary for flowing liquid metal surfaces in order to be utilized as surfaces facing fusion relevant energetic plasma flux. The work has also addressed additional developments along with progressing along the timeline detailed in the proposal. A no-cost extension was requested to conduct other relevant experiment- specifically regarding the characterization droplet ejection during energetic plasma flux impact. A specially designed trench module, which could accommodate trenches with different aspect ratios was fabricated and installed in the TELS setup and plasma gun experiments were performed. Droplet ejectionmore » was characterized using high speed image acquisition and also surface mounted probes were used to characterize the plasma. The Gantt chart below had been provided with the original proposal, indicating the tasks to be performed in the third year of funding. These tasks are listed above in the progress report outline, and their progress status is detailed below.« less

The RSS rolls back revealing STS-102 Discovery on Launch Pad 39B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - With the Rotating Service Structure rolled back, Space Shuttle Discovery is revealed, poised for launch on mission STS-102 at 6:42 a.m. EST March 8. It sits on the Mobile Launcher Platform, which straddles the flame trench below that helps deflect the intense heat of launch. Made of concrete and refractory brick, the trench is 490 feet long, 58 feet wide and 40 feet high. Situated above the external tank is the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm with the '''beanie cap,''' a vent hood. On this eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, Discovery carries the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, the primary delivery system used to resupply and return Station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. Leonardo will deliver up to 10 tons of laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies for outfitting the newly installed U.S. Laboratory Destiny.

KSC-08pd2116

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This elevated view of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows workers filling steel grid structures, welded to the wall of the flame trench, with a heat-resistant concrete called Fondue Fyre, developed during NASA's Apollo lunar program. At left are the pad's "rainbirds." These nozzles are part of the pad sound suppression system which protects the orbiter and its payloads from being damaged by acoustical energy reflected from the mobile launcher platform during liftoff. Damage to the trench occurred during the May 31 launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Method for making circular tubular channels with two silicon wafers

DOEpatents

Yu, Conrad M.; Hui, Wing C.

1996-01-01

A two-wafer microcapillary structure is fabricated by depositing boron nitride (BN) or silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) on two separate silicon wafers (e.g., crystal-plane silicon with [100] or [110] crystal orientation). Photolithography is used with a photoresist to create exposed areas in the deposition for plasma etching. A slit entry through to the silicon is created along the path desired for the ultimate microcapillary. Acetone is used to remove the photoresist. An isotropic etch, e.g., such as HF/HNO.sub.3 /CH.sub.3 COOH, then erodes away the silicon through the trench opening in the deposition layer. A channel with a half-circular cross section is then formed in the silicon along the line of the trench in the deposition layer. Wet etching is then used to remove the deposition layer. The two silicon wafers are aligned and then bonded together face-to-face to complete the microcapillary.

Directed Self-Assembly on Photo-Crosslinked Polystyrene Sub-Layers: Nanopattern Uniformity and Orientation

PubMed Central

Koh, Haeng-Deog; Kim, Mi-Jeong

2016-01-01

A photo-crosslinked polystyrene (PS) thin film is investigated as a potential guiding sub-layer for polystyrene-block-poly (methyl methacrylate) block copolymer (BCP) cylindrical nanopattern formation via topographic directed self-assembly (DSA). When compared to a non-crosslinked PS brush sub-layer, the photo-crosslinked PS sub-layer provided longer correlation lengths of the BCP nanostructure, resulting in a highly uniform DSA nanopattern with a low number of BCP dislocation defects. Depending on the thickness of the sub-layer used, parallel or orthogonal orientations of DSA nanopattern arrays were obtained that covered the entire surface of patterned Si substrates, including both trench and mesa regions. The design of DSA sub-layers and guide patterns, such as hardening the sub-layer by photo-crosslinking, nano-structuring on mesas, the relation between trench/mesa width, and BCP equilibrium period, were explored with a view to developing defect-reduced DSA lithography technology. PMID:28773768

KSC01padig145

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-03-07

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- With the Rotating Service Structure rolled back, Space Shuttle Discovery is revealed, poised for launch on mission STS-102 at 6:42 a.m. EST March 8. It sits on the Mobile Launcher Platform, which straddles the flame trench below that helps deflect the intense heat of launch. Made of concrete and refractory brick, the trench is 490 feet long, 58 feet wide and 40 feet high. Situated above the external tank is the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm with the “beanie cap,” a vent hood. On this eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, Discovery carries the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, the primary delivery system used to resupply and return Station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. Leonardo will deliver up to 10 tons of laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies for outfitting the newly installed U.S. Laboratory Destiny

KSC01pp0442

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-03-08

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- With the Rotating Service Structure rolled back, Space Shuttle Discovery is revealed, poised for launch on mission STS-102 at 6:42 a.m. EST March 8. It sits on the Mobile Launcher Platform, which straddles the flame trench below that helps deflect the intense heat of launch. Made of concrete and refractory brick, the trench is 490 feet long, 58 feet wide and 40 feet high. Situated above the external tank is the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm with the “beanie cap,” a vent hood. On this eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, Discovery carries the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, the primary delivery system used to resupply and return Station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. Leonardo will deliver up to 10 tons of laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies for outfitting the newly installed U.S. Laboratory Destiny

KSC-2011-6090

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cleanup of Launch Pad 39B is in progress beside the pad's flame trench. The trench is 450 feet long, 58 feet wide and 42 feet deep with an inner inverted V-shaped steel flame deflector. Sand, reinforcing steel and large wooden mats were placed over the pad's concrete surfaces during deconstruction to protect them from falling debris. In 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of rockets and spacecraft. The lightning protection system, consisting of three lightning towers and a wire catenary system, will remain. For information on NASA's future plans, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Modeling of leachate recirculation using combined drainage blanket-horizontal trench systems in bioreactor landfills.

PubMed

Feng, Shi-Jin; Cao, Ben-Yi; Xie, Hai-Jian

2017-10-01

Leachate recirculation in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills operated as bioreactors offers significant economic and environmental benefits. Combined drainage blanket (DB)-horizontal trench (HT) systems can be an alternative to single conventional recirculation approaches and can have competitive advantages. The key objectives of this study are to investigate combined drainage blanket -horizontal trench systems, to analyze the effects of applying two recirculation systems on the leachate migration in landfills, and to estimate some key design parameters (e.g., the steady-state flow rate, the influence width, and the cumulative leachate volume). It was determined that an effective recirculation model should consist of a moderate horizontal trench injection pressure head and supplementary leachate recirculated through drainage blanket, with an objective of increasing the horizontal unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and thereby allowing more leachate to flow from the horizontal trench system in a horizontal direction. In addition, design charts for engineering application were established using a dimensionless variable formulation.

Color View 'Dodo' and 'Baby Bear' Trenches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager took this image on Sol 14 (June 8, 2008), the 14th Martian day after landing. It shows two trenches dug by Phoenix's Robotic Arm.

Soil from the right trench, informally called 'Baby Bear,' was delivered to Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, on Sol 12 (June 6). The following several sols included repeated attempts to shake the screen over TEGA's oven number 4 to get fine soil particles through the screen and into the oven for analysis.

The trench on the left is informally called 'Dodo' and was dug as a test.

Each of the trenches is about 9 centimeters (3 inches) wide. This view is presented in approximately true color by combining separate exposures taken through different filters of the Surface Stereo Imager.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Recent Radiation Test Results for Trench Power MOSFETs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Casey, Megan C.; Wilcox, Edward P.; Phan, Anthony M.; Kim, Hak S.; Topper, Alyson D.; Ladbury, Raymond L.; Label, Kenneth A.

2017-01-01

Single-event effect (SEE) radiation test results are presented for various trench-gate power MOSFETs. The heavy-ion response of the first (and only) radiation-hardened trench-gate power MOSFET is evaluated: the manufacturer SEE response curve is verified and importantly, no localized dosing effects are measured, distinguishing it from other, non-hardened trench-gate power MOSFETs. Evaluations are made of n-type commercial and both n- and p-type automotive grade trench-gate device using ions comparable to of those on the low linear energy transfer (LET) side of the iron knee of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum, to explore suitability of these parts for missions with higher risk tolerance and shorter duration, such as CubeSats. Part-to-part variability of SEE threshold suggests testing with larger sample sizes and applying more aggressive derating to avoid on-orbit failures. The n-type devices yielded expected localized dosing effects including when irradiated in an unbiased (0-V) configuration, adding to the challenge of inserting these parts into space flight missions.

Notes on Field Fortification, Third Edition

DTIC Science & Technology

1916-01-01

always be kept in view, as this determines the organization of the cover. In field fortifications, natural topographical, or exist- ing artificial ... artificial means as will be later considered. The forms of simple rifle trenches shown may be regarded as normal types of hasty trenches ap- plicable to...secure concealment. This may be partly accomplished by locating the trench so as to take advantage of any existing natur- al screen or by artificial

Methods for protecting subsea pipelines and installations

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

Rochelle, W.R.; Simpson, D.M.

1981-01-01

The hazards for subsea pipelines and installations are described. Methods currently being used to protect subsea pipelines and installations are discussed with the emphasis on various trenching methods and equipment. Technical data on progress rates for trenching and feasible depths of trench are given. Possible methods for protection against icebergs are discussed. A case for more comprehensive data on icebergs is presented. Should a pipeline become damaged, repair methods are noted.

How to identify and manage oak wilt in Texas

Treesearch

D. N. Appel; R. S. Cameron; A. D. Wilson; J. D. Johnson.

2008-01-01

Measures can be taken to break root connections between live oaks or dense groups of red oaks to reduce or stop root transmission of the oak wilt fungus. The most common technique is to sever roots by trenching at least 4 ft deep with trenching machines, rock saws, or ripper bars. Trenches more than 4 ft deep may be needed to assure control in deeper soils. Although...

Incidence of Trench Breakouts Following Applications of Trench Insert Barriers to Control Root Transmission of Ceratocytis Fagacearum in Texas Live Oaks, 1998

Treesearch

A. Dan Wilson; D.G. Lester

1999-01-01

Fourth-year field evaluations of four trench insert materials, including water-permeable Typar® polypropylene spunbonded fabric, Biobarrier® or Typar® with trifluralin-impregnated nodules, and water-impermeable polyethylene Geomembrane liners of two thicknesses (20 and 30 mil), were conducted to further test the effectiveness of these physical and/or chemical...

Trench motion-controlled slab morphology and stress variations: Implications for the isolated 2015 Bonin Islands deep earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ting; Gurnis, Michael; Zhan, Zhongwen

2017-07-01

The subducted old and cold Pacific Plate beneath the young Philippine Sea Plate at the Izu-Bonin trench over the Cenozoic hosts regional deep earthquakes. We investigate slab morphology and stress regimes under different trench motion histories with mantle convection models. Viscosity, temperature, and deviatoric stress are inherently heterogeneous within the slab, which we link to the occurrence of isolated earthquakes. Models expand on previous suggestions that observed slab morphology variations along the Izu-Bonin subduction zone, exhibited as shallow slab dip angles in the north and steeper dip angles in the south, are mainly due to variations in the rate of trench retreat from the north (where it is fast) to the south (where it is slow). Geodynamic models consistent with the regional plate tectonics, including oceanic plate age, plate convergence rate, and trench motion history, reproduce the seismologically observed principal stress direction and slab morphology. We suggest that the isolated 680 km deep, 30 May 2015 Mw 7.9 Bonin Islands earthquake, which lies east of the well-defined Benioff zone and has its principal compressional stress direction oriented toward the tip of the previously defined Benioff zone, can be explained by Pacific slab buckling in response to the slow trench retreat.

Creating nanostructures on silicon using ion blistering and electron beam lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giguère, Alexandre; Beerens, Jean; Terreault, Bernard

2006-01-01

We have investigated the patterning of silicon surfaces using ion blistering in conjunction with e-beam lithography. Variable width (150-5000 nm) trenches were first written in 500 nm thick PMMA resist spin coated on silicon, using an electron beam. Next, 10 keV H2+ ions were implanted to various fluences through the masks. The resist was then removed and the samples were rapidly thermally annealed at 900 °C. The resulting surface morphologies were investigated by atomic force microscopy. In the wider trenches, round blisters with 600-900 nm diameter are observed, which are similar to those observed on unmasked surfaces. In submicron trenches, there is a transition in morphology, caused by the proximity to the border. The blisters are smaller and they are densely aligned along the trench direction ('string of pearls' pattern). Unusual blister geometries are observed in the narrowest trenches (150 nm) at higher H doses (>=1 × 1017 H cm-2)—such as tubular blisters aligned along the trench. It was also found that for H doses of >=6 × 1016 H cm-2 the surface swells uniformly, which has implications for the blistering mechanism. The prospects for accomplishing ion cutting, layer transfer and bonding of finely delineated patterns of silicon onto another material are discussed in the light of the above results.

Special Analysis: Disposal of ETF Activated Carbon Vessels in Slit Trenches at the E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility

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

Collard, L.B.

2003-08-25

This Special Analysis (SA) addresses two contaminants of concern, H-3 and I-129, in three Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) Activated Carbon Vessels awaiting disposal as solid waste. The Unreviewed Disposal Question (UDQ) evaluation listed two options for disposal of this waste, disposal as Components-in-Grout (CIG) or disposal in Slit Trenches with sealed openings to restrict release of H-3 form the vessels. Consumption of the CIG inventory limit and consumption of CIG facility volume are shown for the ETF vessels to allow easy comparison with the consumption of Slit Trench inventory limit and consumption of the Slit Trench facility volume . Themore » inventory projections are based on doubling the inventory of the three ETF vessels in the E-Area to account for the unknown inventory of three ETF vessels in the ETF. When the grout ultimately is assumed to degrade hydraulically, the water movement is not impeded as much as the release is accelerated by the presence of the grout. Under these conditions for the CIG trenches relative to the Slit Trenches, the well concentrations are higher, the inventory limit is lower and for a given inventory the inventory limit consumption is higher.« less

Experimental Characterization of Thermo-electric Driven Liquid Lithium Flow in Narrow Trenches for Magnetic Confinement Fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wenyu; Christenson, Michael; Fiflis, Peter; Curreli, Davide; Andruczyk, Daniel; Ruzic, David

2013-10-01

The application of liquid metal, especially liquid lithium has become an important topic for plasma facing component (PFC) design. A liquid PFC can effectively eliminate the erosion and thermal stress problems compared to the solid PFC while transferring heat and prolong the lifetime limit of the PFCs. A liquid lithium surface can also suppress the hydrogen isotopes recycling and getter the impurities in fusion reactors. The Lithium/metal infused trench (LiMIT) concept successfully proved that the thermoelectric effect can be utilized to drive liquid lithium flow within horizontally placed metallic open trenches in transverse magnetic field. A limiter based on this concept was tested in HT-7 and gave out positive results. However a broader application of this concept may require the trench be tilted or even placed vertically, for which strong capillary force caused by narrow trenches may be the solution. A new LiMIT design with very narrow trenches have been manufactured and tested in University of Illinois and related results will be presented. Based on this idea new limiters are designed for EAST and LTX and scheduled experiments on both devices will be discussed. This project is supported by DOE/ALPS contract: DEFG02- 99ER54515.

Sedimentary depositional environments in the Gulf of Alaska from GLORIA Imagery

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

Carlson, P.R.; Bruns, T.R.; Stevenson, A.J.

1990-05-01

GLORIA side-scan images provide new insight to the morphology and sedimentology of the Gulf of Alaska and show that tectonism strongly influences downslope and abyssal plain sediment transport. Along the Fairweather-Queen Charlotte transform margin south of Cross Sound short, chute-like canyons cross the slope to submarine-fan channels. At least one canyon is offset by strike-slip motion along the fault Fan channels coalesce to form two deep-sea turbidite channels (Mukluk and Horizon) that extend 1,000 km southward to the Tufts Abyssal Plain. From Cross Sound to Pamplona Spur, dendritic gulley systems and short chutes cross the slope into tributary channels thatmore » merge into major channels. Tributary channels from Cross Sound to Alsek Valley form the Chirikov channel system which bends westward and ends in turbidite fans south of the Kodiak-Bowie Seamount chain. A probable ancestral Chirikov channel carried sediment westward to the Aleutian Trench, Channels from Alsek Valley to Pamplona Spur coalesce 280 km seaward of the slope to form the Surveyor Channel which meanders across the abyssal plain 500 km to the Aleutian trench. Between Pamplona Spur and Middleton Island, dendritic slope canyons reach the eastern end of the Aleutian Trench sediment moves southwestward along the trench. Southwest of Middleton Island, discontinuous trench-parallel subduction ridges change slope drainage from a dendritic to trellised pattern as sediment is forced to flow around the ridges to the Aleutian Trench. At least two small fans have been constructed on the trench floor. Southwest of Kodiak Island, subduction ridges create mid-slope basins that trap modern sediment.« less

The dynamics of double slab subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holt, A. F.; Royden, L. H.; Becker, T. W.

2017-04-01

We use numerical models to investigate the dynamics of two interacting slabs with parallel trenches. Cases considered are: a single slab reference, outward dipping slabs (out-dip), inward dipping slabs (in-dip) and slabs dipping in the same direction (same-dip). Where trenches converge over time (same-dip and out-dip systems), large positive dynamic pressures in the asthenosphere are generated beneath the middle plate and large trench-normal extensional forces are transmitted through the middle plate. This results in slabs that dip away from the middle plate at depth, independent of trench geometry. The single slab, the front slab in the same-dip case and both out-dip slabs undergo trench retreat and exhibit stable subduction. However, slabs within the other double subduction systems tend to completely overturn at the base of the upper mantle, and exhibit either trench advance (rear slab in same-dip), or near-stationary trenches (in-dip). For all slabs, the net slab-normal dynamic pressure at 330 km depth is nearly equal to the slab-normal force induced by slab buoyancy. For double subduction, the net outward force on the slabs due to dynamic pressure from the asthenosphere is effectively counterbalanced by the net extensional force transmitted through the middle plate. Thus, dynamic pressure at depth, interplate coupling and lithospheric stresses are closely linked and their effects cannot be isolated. Our results provide insights into both the temporal evolution of double slab systems on Earth and, more generally, how the various components of subduction systems, from mantle flow/pressure to interplate coupling, are dynamically linked.

Slab Roll-Back and Trench Retreat As Controlling Factor for Island-Arc Related Basin Evolution: A Case Study from Southern Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandes, C.; Winsemann, J.

2014-12-01

Slab roll-back and trench retreat are important factors for basin subsidence, magma generation and volcanism in arc-trench systems. From the sedimentary and tectonic record of the Central American island-arc it is evident that repeated slab roll-back and trench retreats occurred since the Late Cretaceous. These trench retreats were most probably related to the subduction of oceanic plateaus and seamounts. Evidence for trench retreats is given by pulses of uplift in the outer-arc area, followed by subsidence in both the fore-arc and back-arc basins. The first slab roll-back probably occurred during the Early Paleocene indicated by the collapse of carbonate platforms, and the re-deposition of large carbonate blocks into deep-water turbidites. At this time the island-arc was transformed from an incipient non-extensional stage into an extensional stage. A new pulse of uplift or decreased subsidence, respectively during the Late Eocene is attributed to subduction of rough crust, a subsequent slab detachment and the establishment of a new subduction zone further westward. Strong uplift especially affected the outer arc of the North Costa Rican arc segment. In the Sandino Fore-arc basin very coarse-grained deep-water channel-levee complexes were deposited. These deposits contain large well-rounded andesitic boulders and are rich in reworked shallow-water carbonates pointing to uplift of the inner fore-arc. Evidence for the subsequent trench retreat is given by an increased subsidence during the early Oligocene in the Sandino Fore-arc Basin and the collapse of the Barra Honda platform in North Costa Rica. Another trench retreat might have occurred in Miocene times. A phase of higher subsidence from 18 to 13 Ma is documented in the geohistory curve of the North Limon Back-arc Basin. After a short pulse of uplift the subsidence increased to approx. 300 m/myr.

Corrrective action decision document for the Cactus Spring Waste Trenches (Corrective Action Unit No. 426). Revision No. 1

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

NONE

The Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) for the Cactus Spring Waste Trenches (Corrective Action Unit [CAU] No. 426) has been prepared for the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Nevada Environmental Restoration Project. This CADD has been developed to meet the requirements of the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) of 1996, stated in Appendix VI, {open_quotes}Corrective Action Strategy{close_quotes} (FFACO, 1996). The Cactus Spring Waste Trenches Corrective Action Site (CAS) No. RG-08-001-RG-CS is included in CAU No. 426 (also referred to as the {open_quotes}trenches{close_quotes}); it has been identified as one of three potential locations for buried, radioactively contaminated materials frommore » the Double Tracks Test. The trenches are located on the east flank of the Cactus Range in the eastern portion of the Cactus Spring Ranch at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) in Nye County, Nevada, on the northern portion of Nellis Air Force Range. The TTR is approximately 225 kilometers (km) (140 miles [mi]) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, by air and approximately 56 km (35 mi) southeast of Tonopah, Nevada, by road. The trenches were dug for the purpose of receiving waste generated during Operation Roller Coaster, primarily the Double Tracks Test. This test, conducted in 1963, involved the use of live animals to assess the biological hazards associated with non-nuclear detonation of plutonium-bearing devices (i.e., inhalation uptake of plutonium aerosol). The CAS consists of four trenches that received solid waste and had an overall impacted area of approximately 36 meters (m) (120 feet [ft]) long x 24 m (80 ft) wide x 3 to 4.5 m (10 to 15 ft) deep. The average depressions at the trenches are approximately 0.3 m (1 ft) below land surface.« less

Chemical Characteristics of Seawater and Sediment in the Yap Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, H.; Sun, C.; Yang, G.

2017-12-01

In June 2016, seawater samples at sediment-seawater interface and sediment samples were collected by the he Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, at four sampling sites located in the Yap Trench. Seawater samples from different depths of the trench were also collected by CTD. Chemical parameters, including pH, alkanility, concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved and total organic carbon, methane, dimethylsulfoniopropionate, nutrients, carbohydrates, and amino acids were analyzed in the seawater samples. Concentrations of total organic carbon, six constant elements and nine trace elements were determined in the sediment samples. All the vertical profiles of the chemical parameters in the seawater have unique characteristics. Our resluts also showed that the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) was between 4500 m and 5000 m in the trench. The hadal sediment at 6500 m depth under the CCD line was siliceous ooze favored for the burial of orgaic carbon, attributed to accumulation of surface sediment by gravity flow. The abyssal sediment at the 4500 m depth was calcareous ooze. Various microfossils, such as discoasters and diatoms, were identified in different sediment layers of the sediment samples.Based on the ratios of Fe/Al and Ti/Al, and the correlation between different elements, the sediment in the Yap Trench were derived from biogenic, terrestrial, volcanic and autogenic sources. The ratios of Ni/Co and V/Cr showed that the deposition environment of the trench should be oxidative, arributed to inflow of the Antractic bottom oxygen-rich seawater.The high concentraiont of Ca in the sediment from the station 371-Yap-S02 below 4 cm depth indicated that there was no large-scale volcanic eruption in the research area and the volcanic materials in the sediment might orginated from the Mariana Volcanic Arc, and the Carolyn Ridge has been slowly sinking on the east side of the trench due to plate subduction. This study is the first systematic study of chemical characteristics in the seawater and sediment of the Yap Trench.

Anisotropic relaxation behavior of InGaAs/GaAs selectively grown in narrow trenches on (001) Si substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, W.; Mols, Y.; Belz, J.; Beyer, A.; Volz, K.; Schulze, A.; Langer, R.; Kunert, B.

2017-07-01

Selective area growth of InGaAs inside highly confined trenches on a pre-patterned (001) Si substrate has the potential of achieving a high III-V crystal quality due to high aspect ratio trapping for improved device functionalities in Si microelectronics. If the trench width is in the range of the hetero-layer thickness, the relaxation mechanism of the mismatched III-V layer is no longer isotropic, which has a strong impact on the device fabrication and performance if not controlled well. The hetero-epitaxial nucleation of InxGa1-xAs on Si can be simplified by using a binary nucleation buffer such as GaAs. A pronounced anisotropy in strain release was observed for the growth of InxGa1-xAs on a fully relaxed GaAs buffer with a (001) surface inside 20 and 100 nm wide trenches, exploring the full composition range from GaAs to InAs. Perpendicular to the trench orientation (direction of high confinement), the strain release in InxGa1-xAs is very efficiently caused by elastic relaxation without defect formation, although a small compressive force is still induced by the trench side walls. In contrast, the strain release along the trenches is governed by plastic relaxation once the vertical film thickness has clearly exceeded the critical layer thickness. On the other hand, the monolithic deposition of mismatched InxGa1-xAs directly into a V-shaped trench bottom with {111} Si planes leads instantly to a pronounced nucleation of misfit dislocations along the {111} Si/III-V interfaces. In this case, elastic relaxation no longer plays a role as the strain release is ensured by plastic relaxation in both directions. Hence, using a ternary seed layer facilitates the integration of InxGa1-xAs covering the full composition range.

Logs and data from trenches across the Hayward Fault at Tyson's Lagoon (Tule Pond), Fremont, Alameda County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Linenkaemper, James J.; Dawson, Timothy E.; Personius, Stephen F.; Seitz, Gordon G.; Reidy, Liam M.; Schwartz, David P.

2002-01-01

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this publication is to make available detailed trench logs (sheets 1, 2), radiocarbon dates (table 1) and pollen data (fig. 1) obtained as a result of an intensive subsurface investigation of the Hayward Fault at Tyson's Lagoon (Tule Pond) from August to November 2000 (figs. 1, 2 on sheet 1). The Hayward Fault is recognized to be among the most hazardous in the United States (Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, 1999). This document makes available geologic evidence for historical and prehistoric surfacerupturing earthquakes that were recorded at the site. Prehistoric earthquakes deduced from geologic evidence are called paleoearthquakes. Establishing a chronology of paleoearthquakes is of immediate use in resolving the level of hazard posed by the Hayward Fault for producing large earthquakes in the future. Preliminary findings of this investigation have been presented in Lienkaemper and others (2001). A formal report on our conclusions based on these data is in preparation. The investigation at Tyson's Lagoon is ongoing, so these products should not be considered final. Lienkaemper, Dawson, and Personius interpreted the geology and logged the trenches. Seitz and Reidy performed analyses on radiocarbon and pollen samples, respectively. Schwartz led the critical-review field team. Previous trenching work was done at Tyson's Lagoon (figs. 2, 3 on sheet 1). Lienkaemper (1992) references the location of most of those trenches. The earlier trenching was generally for the evaluation of local faultrupture hazard, except for the study of Williams (1993), which was a paleoearthquake investigation. An unpublished study by J.N. Alt in 1998 (shown on our site map as trenches 98A and 98B, fig. 3, on sheet 1), also sought evidence of paleoearthquakes. Alt's study and one by Woodward-Clyde and Associates (1970; trenches 70A to 70G, fig. 3) were located south of Walnut Avenue in one of the few areas that still remain undisturbed and were, thus, useful in planning our work in 2000.

KSC-08pd1503

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-05-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Against the dark sky, lights bathe space shuttle Discovery, revealed after rollback of the rotating service structure in preparation for launch on the STS-124 mission. First motion was at 8:33 p.m. and rollback was complete at 9:07 p.m. The rotating structure provides protected access to the shuttle for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. It is supported by a rotating bridge that pivots on a vertical axis on the west side of the pad's flame trench. After the RSS is rolled back, the orbiter is ready for fuel cell activation and external tank cryogenic propellant loading operations. The pad is cleared to the perimeter gate for operations to fill the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants used by the shuttle’s main engines. This is done at the pad approximately eight hours before the scheduled launch. Above the orange external tank is the oxygen vent hood, called the "beanie cap," at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm extending from the fixed service structure. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. Below is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end, flush against the shuttle. The White Room provides access into the shuttle. The STS-124 mission is the second of three flights launching components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The shuttle crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system, or RMS. The 14-day flight includes three spacewalks. Launch is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Controls on intrusion of near-trench magmas of the Sanak-Baranof Belt, Alaska, during Paleogene ridge subduction, and consequences for forearc evolution

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kusky, Timothy M.; Bradley, Dwight C.; Donely, D. Thomas; Rowley, David; Haeussler, Peter J.

2003-01-01

A belt of Paleogene near-trench plutons known as the Sanak-Baranof belt intruded the southern Alaska convergent margin. A compilation of isotopic ages of these plutons shows that they range in age from 61 Ma in the west to ca. 50 Ma in the east. This migrating pulse of magmatism along the continental margin is consistent with North Pacific plate reconstructions that suggests the plutons were generated by migration of a trench-ridge-trench triple junction along the margin. On the Kenai Peninsula the regional lower greenschist metamorphic grade of the turbiditic host rocks, texture of the plutons, contact-metamorphic assemblage, and isotopic and fluid inclusion studies suggest that the plutons were emplaced at pressures of 1.5–3.0 kbars (5.2–10.5 km) into a part of the accretionary wedge with an ambient temperature of 210–300 °C. The presence of kyanite, garnet, and cordierite megacrysts in the plutons indicates that the melts were generated at a depth greater than 20 km and minimum temperature of 650 °C. These megacrysts are probably xenocrystic remnants of a restitic or contact metamorphic phase entrained by the melt during intrusion. However, it is also possible that they are primary magmatic phases crystallized from the peraluminous melt.Plutons of the Sanak-Baranof belt serve as time and strain markers separating kinematic regimes that predate and postdate ridge subduction. Pre-ridge subduction structures are interpreted to be related to the interaction between the leading oceanic plate and the Chugach terrane. These include regional thrust faults, NE-striking map-scale folds with associated axial planar foliation, type-1 mélanges, and an arrayof faults within the contact aureole indicating shortening largely accommodated by layer-parallel extension. Syn-ridge subduction features include the plutons, dikes, and ductile shear zones within contact aureoles with syn-kinematic metamorphic mineral growth and foliation development. Many of the studied plutons have sheeted margins and appear to have intruded along extensional jogs in margin-parallel strike-slip faults, whereas others form significant angles with the main faults and may have been influenced by minor faults of other orientations. Some of the plutons of the Sanak-Baranof belt have their long axes oriented parallel to faults of an orthorhombic fault set, implying that these faults may have provided a conduit for magma emplacement. This orthorhombic set of late faults is interpreted to have initially formed during the ridge subduction event, and continued to be active for a short time after passage of the triple junction. ENE-striking dextral faults of this orthorhombic fault system exhibit mutually crosscutting relationships with Eocene dikes related to ridge subduction, and mineralized strike-slip and normal faults of this system have yielded 40Ar/39Ar ages identical to near-trench intrusives related to ridge subduction. Movement on the orthorhombic fault system accommodated exhumation of deeper levels of the southern Alaska accretionary wedge, which is interpreted as a critical taper adjustment to subduction of younger oceanic lithosphere during ridge subduction. These faults therefore accommodate both deformation of the wedge and assisted emplacement of near-trench plutons. Structures that crosscut the plutons and aureoles include the orthorhombic fault set and dextral strike-slip faults, reflecting a new kinematic regime established after ridge subduction, during underthrusting of the trailing oceanic plate with new dextral-oblique convergence vectors with the overriding plate. The observation that the orthorhombic fault set both cuts and is cut by Eocene intrusives demonstrates the importance of these faults for magma emplacement in the forearc.A younger, ca. 35 Ma suite of plutons intrudes the Chugach terrane in the Prince William Sound region, and their intrusion geometry was strongly influenced by pre-existing faults developed during ridge subduction. The generation of these plutons may be related to the sudden northward migration of the triple junction at ca. 40–33 Ma, as the ridge was being subducted nearly parallel to the trench during this interval. These younger plutons are used to provide additional constraints on the structural evolution of the wedge. Late- to post-ridge subduction fabrics include a pressure solution cleavage and additional movement on the orthorhombic fault system. After triple junction migration, subduction of the trailing oceanic plate involved a significant component of dextral transpression and northward translation of the Chugach terrane. This change in kinematics is recorded by very late gouge-filled dextral faults in the late structures of the accretionary prism.

Mobility versus terrain: a game theoretic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bednarz, David; Muench, Paul

2016-05-01

Mobility and terrain are two sides of the same coin. You cannot describe mobility unless you describe the terrain. For example, if my world is trench warfare, the tank may be the ideal vehicle. If my world is urban warfare, clearing buildings and such, the tank may not be an ideal vehicle, perhaps an anthropomorphic robot would be better. We seek a general framework for mobility that captures the relative value of different mobility strategies. Game theory is positively the right way to analyze the interactions of rational players who behave strategically. In this paper, we will describe the interactions between a mobility player, who is trying to make it from point A to point B with one chance to refuel, and a terrain player who is trying to minimize that probability by placing an obstacle somewhere along the path from A to B. In previous work [1], we used Monte Carlo methods to analyze this mobility game, and found optimal strategies for a discretized version of the game. Here we show the relationship of this game to a classic game of timing [2], and use solution methods from that literature to solve for optimal strategies in a continuous version of this mobility game.

Seismic imaging and velocity structure around the JFAST drill site in the Japan Trench: low Vp, high Vp/ Vs in the transparent frontal prism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Kodaira, Shuichi; Cook, Becky J.; Jeppson, Tamara; Kasaya, Takafumi; Yamamoto, Yojiro; Hashimoto, Yoshitaka; Yamaguchi, Mika; Obana, Koichiro; Fujie, Gou

2014-12-01

Seismic image and velocity models were obtained from a newly conducted seismic survey around the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project (JFAST) drill site in the Japan Trench. Pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) analysis was applied to the multichannel seismic reflection data to produce an accurate depth seismic profile together with a P wave velocity model along a line that crosses the JFAST site location. The seismic profile images the subduction zone at a regional scale. The frontal prism where the drill site is located corresponds to a typically seismically transparent (or chaotic) zone with several landward-dipping semi-continuous reflections. The boundary between the Cretaceous backstop and the frontal prism is marked by a prominent landward-dipping reflection. The P wave velocity model derived from the PSDM analysis shows low velocity in the frontal prism and velocity reversal across the backstop interface. The PSDM velocity model around the drill site is similar to the P wave velocity model calculated from the ocean bottom seismograph (OBS) data and agrees with the P wave velocities measured from the core experiments. The average Vp/ Vs in the hanging wall sediments around the drill site, as derived from OBS data, is significantly larger than that obtained from core sample measurements.

Logs and data from trenches across the Berryessa Fault at the Jerd Creek site, northeastern Napa County, California, 2011-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lienkaemper, James J.; Rosa, Carla M.; Cappelle, Ian J.; Wolf, Evan M.; Knepprath, Nichole E.; Piety, Lucille A.; Derouin, Sarah A.; Reidy, Liam M.; Redwine, Joanna L.; Sickler, Robert R.

2014-01-01

The primary purpose of this report is to provide drafted field logs of exploratory trenches excavated across the Berryessa Fault section of the northern Green Valley Fault (Lienkaemper, 2012; Lienkaemper and others, 2013) in 2011 and 2012 that show evidence for at least one surface-rupturing earthquake in the past few centuries. The site location and site detail are shown on sheet 1. The trench logs are shown on sheets 1, 2, 3 and 4. We also provide radiocarbon ages used for chronological modeling of the earthquake history and a field description of a soil profile in one trench. A formal report based on these logs and data is in preparation.

Phoenix Deepens Trenches on Mars (3D)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander took this anaglyph on Oct. 21, 2008, during the 145th Martian day, or sol. Phoenix landed on Mars' northern plains on May 25, 2008.

The trench on the upper left, called 'Dodo-Goldilocks,' is about 38 centimeters (15 inches) long and 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) deep. The trench on the right, called 'Upper Cupboard,' is about 60 centimeters (24 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) deep. The trench in the lower middle is called 'Stone Soup.'

The Phoenix mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Ground-Truth On The CSUEB Campus: Results From Integrating Geophysical, Geological And Geospatial Methods And Fault Trench Studies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abimbola, A.; Strayer, L. M.; McEvilly, A.

2015-12-01

A major (>M6) earthquake on the Hayward fault would be catastrophic, resulting in wide-ranging structural damage and potential loss of life. California State University, East Bay (CSUEB), in Hayward lies within the Hayward fault zone and is home to student residents. The campus is bound to the west by the Hayward and on the east by Chabot (CF) fault and is pervasively cut by anastomosing secondary splay faults. In June 2015 three exploratory trenches were opened on CSUEB campus to evaluate faulting within the proposed construction area of new student housing. Previous work by Dibblee found minor faulting in this area that we consider to be splays of the CF. We took the opportunity to conduct an active seismic survey, coincident with two of these three trenches. The purpose of our survey was to compare the results of these two methods, to further assess seismic hazard on campus, and to contribute to the ongoing effort to create a 3D model of the campus area. P-waves were generated by plate and 3.5kg sledgehammer, recorded on a 48-channel single component array for P-wave tomography and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW). Line 1 was 141m long with 3m receiver spacing and 9m shot spacing, and Line 2 was 188m long with 4m receivers spacing and 12m spacing. Initial P-wave tomography models show two velocity structures. To a depth of 25m, velocities ranged from 750-3000 m/s. At depths below 25m, we recorded P-wave velocities up to 6500 m/s, flanked by lower velocities, suggesting a bedrock unit bound by tectonically sheared material. Trench results indicate that faults and shears are indeed present in the top 2m. Additional near-surface seismic surveys are planned for the fall of 2015 to extend the trace of these faults, as they appear to cut across the entire campus. Furthermore, additional analysis of current and future seismic surveys will provide data on strong ground motion and offer insight into seismic hazards on the CSUEB campus. These new data will be integrated into an ongoing effort to create a 3D model of the geologic and tectonic setting of the CSUEB campus.

Hiding earthquakes from scrupulous monitoring eyes of dense local seismic networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogiatzis, P.; Ishii, M.; Kiser, E.

2012-12-01

Accurate and complete cataloguing of aftershocks is essential for a variety of purposes, including the estimation of the mainshock rupture area, the identification of seismic gaps, and seismic hazard assessment. However, immediately following large earthquakes, the seismograms recorded by local networks are noisy, with energy arriving from hundreds of aftershocks, in addition to different seismic phases interfering with one another. This causes deterioration in the performance of detection and location of earthquakes using conventional methods such as the S-P approach. This is demonstrated by results of back-projection analysis of teleseismic data showing that a significant number of events are undetected by the Japan Meteorological Agency, within the first twenty-four hours after the Mw9.0 Tohoku-oki, Japan earthquake. The spatial distribution of the hidden events is not arbitrary. Most of these earthquakes are located close to the trench, while some are located at the outer rise. Furthermore, there is a relatively sharp trench-parallel boundary separating the detected and undetected events. We investigate the cause of these hidden earthquakes using forward modeling. The calculation of raypaths for various source locations and takeoff angles with the "shooting" method suggests that this phenomenon is a consequence of the complexities associated with subducting slab. Laterally varying velocity structure defocuses the seismic energy from shallow earthquakes located near the trench and makes the observation of P and S arrivals difficult at stations situated on mainland Japan. Full waveform simulations confirm these results. Our forward calculations also show that the probability of detection is sensitive to the depth of the event. Shallower events near the trench are more difficult to detect than deeper earthquakes that are located inside the subducting plate for which the shadow-zone effect diminishes. The modeling effort is expanded to include three-dimensional structure in velocity and intrinsic attenuation to evaluate possible laterally varying patterns. Our study suggests that the phenomenon of hidden earthquakes could be present at other regions around the world with active subductions. Considering that many of these subduction zones are not as well monitored as Japan, the number of missed events, especially after large earthquakes, could be significant. The results of this work can help to identify "blind spots" of present seismic networks, and can contribute to improving monitoring activities.

Railway vehicle body structures

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

Not Available

1985-01-01

The strength and durability of railway vehicle structures is a major topic of engineering research and design. To reflect this importance the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers organised a conference to discuss all matters relating to railway vehicle design. This book presents the papers discussed in that conference. The contents include: Vehicle body design and the UIC's international contribution; LUL prototype 1986 stock - body structure; vehicle structure for the intermediate capacity transmit system vehicles; car body technology of advanced light rapid transit vehicles; concepts, techniques and experience in the idealization of car body structures for finitemore » element analysis; Calcutta metropolitan railway; design for a lightweight diesel multiple unit body; the design of lightweight inter-city coal structures; the BREL international coach body shell structure; new concepts and design techniques versus material standards; structures of BR diesel electric freight locomotives; structural design philosophy for electric locomotives; suspension design for a locomotive with low structural frequencies; freight wagon structures; a finite element study of coal bodyside panels including the effects of joint flexibility; a fresh approach to the problem of car body design strength; energy absorption in automatic couplings and draw gear; passenger vehicle design loads and structural crashworthiness; design of the front part of railway vehicles (in case of frontal impact); the development of a theoretical technique for rail vehicle structural crashworthiness.« less

Structural features related to the volcanic gases in Southern Okinawa Trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, H. F.; Hsu, S. K.; Tsia, C. H.; Chen, S. C.; Wu, M. F.

2016-12-01

The Okinawa Trough is a rifted back-arc basin, heavily sedimented and formed in an intracontinental rift zone behind the Ryukyu trench-arc system. The Southern Okinawa Trough (SOT) east of Taiwan is the place where post-collisional extension happened. The collision moved southwestward and the Ryukyu trench-arc extension westward, Arc volcanism is dominant in the Northern Ryukyu volcanic arc and back-arc volcanism in the Southern Okinawa Trough. Marine geophysical data including side-scan sonar (SSS), sub-bottom profiler (SBP) and echo sounder system (EK60) data are used in this study. Active fluid activities out of seafloor are obvious from various images observed on these data, such as gas plumes. These hydrothermal vents have been located at a water depth of 1400 m. Our preliminary results show that gas seepage structures appear in the location where is a week zone, such as a normal fault in the slope. The hydrothermal activity within the Okinawa Trough is associated with volcanism located in rift zones in the Southern Okinawa Trough. However, the origin of the submarine hydrothermal fluids within the Okinawa Trough is diverse with contributions from volcanic, sedimentary and magmatic sources, needed further investigations.

Fault identification using multidisciplinary techniques at the Mars/Uranus Station antenna sites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Santo, D. S.; Schluter, M. B.; Shlemon, R. J.

1992-01-01

A fault investigation was performed at the Mars and Uranus antenna sites at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in the Mojave desert. The Mars/Uranus Station consists of two large-diameter reflector antennas used for communication and control of deep-space probes and other missions. The investigation included interpretation of Landsat thematic mapper scenes, side-looking airborne radar transparencies, and both color-infrared and black-and-white aerial photography. Four photolineaments suggestive of previously undocumented faults were identified. Three generally discrete morphostratigraphic alluvial-fan deposits were also recognized and dated using geomorphic and soil stratigraphic techniques. Fourteen trenches were excavated across the four lineaments; the trenches show that three of the photolineaments coincide with faults. The last displacement of two of the faults occurred between about 12,000 and 35,000 years ago. The third fault was judged to be older than 12,000 years before present (ybp), although uncertainty remains. None of the surface traces of the three faults crosses under existing antennas or structures; however, their potential activity necessitates appropriate seismic retrofit designs and loss-prevention measures to mitigate potential earthquake damage to facilities and structures.

Vertical slab sinking and westward subduction offshore of Mesozoic North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigloch, Karin; Mihalynuk, Mitchell G.

2013-04-01

Subducted slabs in the mantle, as imaged by seismic tomography, preserve a record of ancient subduction zones. Ongoing debate concerns how direct this link is. How long ago did each parcel of slab subduct, and where was the trench located relative to the imaged slab position? Resolving these questions will benefit paleogeographic reconstructions, and restrict the range of plausible rheologies for mantle convection simulations. We investigate one of the largest and best-constrained Mesozoic slab complexes, the "Farallon" in the transition zone and lower mantle beneath North America. We quantitatively integrate observations from whole-mantle P-wave tomography, global plate reconstructions, and land geological evidence from the North American Cordillera. These three data sets permit us to test the simplest conceivable hypothesis for linking slabs to paleo-trenches: that each parcel of slab sank only vertically shortly after entering the trench That is, we test whether within the limits of tomographic resolution, all slab material lies directly below the location where it subducted beneath its corresponding arc. Crucially and in contrast to previous studies, we do not accept or impose an Andean-style west coast trench (Farallon-beneath-continent subduction) since Jurassic times, as this scenario is inconsistent with many geological observations. Slab geometry alone suggests that trenches started out as intra-oceanic because tomography images massive, linear slab "walls" in the lower mantle, extending almost vertically from about 800 km to 2000+ km depth. Such steep geometries would be expected from slabs sinking vertically beneath trenches that were quasi-stationary over many tens of millions of years. Intra-oceanic trenches west of Mesozoic North America could have been stationary, whereas a coastal Farallon trench could not, because the continent moved westward continuously as the Atlantic opened. Overlap of North American west-coast positions, as reconstructed in a hotspot reference frame, with elongate slab walls predicts where and when the intra-oceanic trenches would have been overridden by the westward-moving continent. Land geology plays the role of a validating data set: trench override is predicted to coincide with accretion of buoyant arc terranes, deformation of the continental margin and slab window volcanism. We find excellent agreement between predicted and observed accretion episodes, validating both vertical sinking (within observational uncertainties of a few hundred kilometers laterally), and westward subduction beneath an archipelago of island arcs west of Jura-Cretaceous North America. Amalgamation of the arcs with North America occurred as the intervening ocean crust was consumed. Implied slab sinking rates are of 10±2 mm/a, uniformly for three different slab walls. We conclude that the hypothesis of essentially vertical slab sinking produces a self-consistent model that explains first-order observations of 200 Ma - 50 Ma Cordilleran geology. By contrast, the standard scenario of a continental Farallon trench requires massive amounts of slab to be laterally displaced by 1000+ km after subduction, and offers no explanation for a long series of Cretaceous terrane accretions.

Logs of Paleoseismic Excavations Across the Central Range Fault, Trinidad

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crosby, Christopher J.; Prentice, Carol S.; Weber, John; Ragona, Daniel

2009-01-01

This publication makes available maps and trench logs associated with studies of the Central Range Fault, part of the South American-Caribbean plate boundary in Trinidad. Our studies were conducted in 2001 and 2002. We mapped geomorphic features indicative of active faulting along the right-lateral, Central Range Fault, part of the South American-Caribbean plate boundary in Trinidad. We excavated trenches at two sites, the Samlalsingh and Tabaquite sites. At the Samlalsingh site, sediments deposited after the most recent fault movement bury the fault, and the exact location of the fault was unknown until we exposed it in our excavations. At this site, we excavated a total of eleven trenches, six of which exposed the fault. The trenches exposed fluvial sediments deposited over a strath terrace developed on Miocene bedrock units. We cleaned the walls of the excavations, gridded the walls with either 1 m X 1 m or 1 m X 0.5 m nail and string grid, and logged the walls in detail at a scale of 1:20. Additionally, we described the different sedimentary units in the field, incorporating these descriptions into our trench logs. We mapped the locations of the trenches using a tape and compass. Our field logs were scanned, and unit contacts were traced in Adobe Illustrator. The final drafted logs of all the trenches are presented here, along with photographs showing important relations among faults and Holocene sedimentary deposits. Logs of south walls were reversed in Illustrator, so that all logs are drafted with the view direction to the north. We collected samples of various materials exposed in the trench walls, including charcoal samples for radiocarbon dating from both faulted and unfaulted deposits. The locations of all samples collected are shown on the logs. The ages of seventeen of the charcoal samples submitted for radiocarbon analysis at the University of Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Tucson, Ariz., are given in Table 1. Samples found in Table 1 are shown in red on the trench logs. All radiocarbon ages are calibrated and given with 2 standard deviation age ranges. Our studies suggest that the Central Range Fault is a Holocene fault capable of producing damaging earthquakes in Trinidad

Characterisation of a neutron diffraction detector prototype based on the Trench-MWPC technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buffet, J. C.; Clergeau, J. F.; Cuccaro, S.; Guérard, B.; Mandaroux, N.; Marchal, J.; Pentenero, J.; Platz, M.; Van Esch, P.

2017-12-01

The Trench Multi-Wire-Proportional-Chamber is a new type of MWPC which has been designed to fulfill the requirements of the 2D curved neutron detector under development for the XtremeD neutron diffractometer, under construction at ILL. In this design, anode wires are mounted orthogonally to a stack of metallic cathode plates which are insulated from each other by ceramic spacers. A row of teeth is spark-eroded along the edge of the cathode plates so that anode wires appear to be stretched along trenches machined across a segmented cathode plane. This design was tested on a prototype detector module mounted in a vessel filled with a mixture of 3He-Ar-CO2 at 7 bar. The detector configuration as well as measurements performed on this prototype at ILL neutron test beam line are presented. Results show that the Trench-MWPC design provides uniform amplification gain across the detection area despite the absence of the top cathode wires used to balance the electric field in standard Cathode-Anode-Cathode MWPC configurations. The presence of cathode trench side-walls surrounding anode wires minimises the spread of neutron-induced charge across electrodes, allowing for detector operation at reduced amplification gain without compromising the signal to noise per electrode. Pulse-height spectra acquired under various neutron flux conditions demonstrated that the Trench-MWPC design minimises space-charge effects, thanks to its low amplification gain combined with the fast collection of ions by cathode trench side-walls surrounding anode wires. Measurements also showed that this space-charge effect reduction results in a high local count-rate of ~100 kHz at 10% count loss when irradiating the detector with a small 5 mm × 5 mm neutron beam.

Ocean mixing in deep-sea trenches: New insights from the Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Haren, Hans; Berndt, Christian; Klaucke, Ingo

2017-11-01

Reliable very deep shipborne SBE 911plus Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) data to within 60 m from the bottom and Kongsberg EM122 0.5° × 1° multibeam echosounder data are collected in the Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench. A new position and depth are given for the deepest point in the world's ocean. The data provide insight into the interplay between topography and internal waves in the ocean that lead to mixing of the lowermost water masses on Earth. Below 5000 m, the vertical density stratification is weak, with a minimum buoyancy frequency N = 1.0 ± 0.6 cpd, cycles per day, between 6500 and 8500 m. In that depth range, the average turbulence is coarsely estimated from Thorpe-overturning scales, with limited statistics to be ten times higher than the mean values of dissipation rate εT = 3 ± 2 × 10-11 m2 s-3 and eddy diffusivity KzT = 2 ± 1.5 × 10-4 m2 s-1 estimated for the depth range between 10,300 and 10,850 m, where N = 2.5 ± 0.6 cpd. Inertial and meridionally directed tidal inertio-gravity waves can propagate between the differently stratified layers. These waves are suggested to be responsible for the observed turbulence. The turbulence values are similar to those recently estimated from CTD and moored observations in the Puerto Rico Trench. Yet, in contrast to the Puerto Rico Trench, seafloor morphology in the Mariana Trench shows up to 500 m-high fault scarps on the incoming tectonic plate and a very narrow trench, suggesting that seafloor topography does not play a crucial role for mixing.

A test of present-day plate geometries for northeast Asia and Japan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demets, Charles

1992-01-01

Alternative geometries for the present-day configuration of plate boundaries in northeast Asia and Japan are tested using NUVEL-1 and 256 horizontal earthquake slip vectors from the Japan and northern Kuril trenches. Statistical analysis of the slip vectors is used to determine whether the North American, Eurasian, or Okhotsk plate overlies the trench. Along the northern Kuril trench, slip vectors are well-fit by the NUVEL-1 Pacific-North America Euler pole, but are poorly fit by the Pacific-Eurasia Euler pole. Results for the Japan trench are less conclusive, but suggest that much of Honshu and Hokkaido are also part of the North American plate. The simplest geometry consistent with the trench slip vectors is a geometry in which the North American plate extends south to 41 deg N, and possibly includes northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido. Although these results imply that the diffuse seismicity that connects the Lena River delta to Sakhalin Island and the eastern Sea of Japan records motion between Eurasia and North America, onshore geologic and seismic data define an additional belt of seismicity in Siberia that cannot be explained with this geometry. Assuming that these two seismic belts constitute evidence for an Okhotsk block, two published kinematic models for motion of the Okhotsk block are tested. The first model, which predicts motion of up to 15 mm/yr relative to North America, is rejected because Kuril and Japan trench slip vectors are fit more poorly than for the simpler geometry described above. The second model gives a good fit to the trench slip vectors, but only if Okhotsk-North America motion is slower than 5 mm/yr.

Appropriate Technology for Treating Wastewater at Remote Sites on Army Installations: Preliminary Findings

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

firing ranges, and training areas--four conventional methods have been used to treat human wastes: trenching and cat holing, pit latrines, vault toilets...stations, and training and recrea- tional areas. The Army now uses four conventional methods to treat human wastes at such sites: trenching and cat ...holing, pit latrines, vault toilets, and chemical toilets ("port-a-pots"). Trenching and cat holing are used when troops are on bivouac; waste is

Deep 'Stone Soup' Trenching by Phoenix (Stereo)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Digging by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Aug. 23, 2008, during the 88th sol (Martian day) since landing, reached a depth about three times greater than in any trench Phoenix has excavated. The deep trench, informally called 'Stone Soup' is at the borderline between two of the polygon-shaped hummocks that characterize the arctic plain where Phoenix landed.

Stone Soup is in the center foreground of this stereo view, which appears three dimensional when seen through red-blue glasses. The view combines left-eye and right-eye images taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 88 after the day's digging. The trench is about 25 centimeters (10 inches) wide and about 18 centimeters (7 inches) deep.

When digging trenches near polygon centers, Phoenix has hit a layer of icy soil, as hard as concrete, about 5 centimeters or 2 inches beneath the ground surface. In the Stone Soup trench at a polygon margin, the digging has not yet hit an icy layer like that.

Stone Soup is toward the left, or west, end of the robotic arm's work area on the north side of the lander.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

The centenary of the discovery of trench fever, an emerging infectious disease of World War 1.

PubMed

Anstead, Gregory M

2016-08-01

In 1915, a British medical officer on the Western Front reported on a soldier with relapsing fever, headache, dizziness, lumbago, and shin pain. Within months, additional cases were described, mostly in frontline troops, and the new disease was called trench fever. More than 1 million troops were infected with trench fever during World War 1, with each affected soldier unfit for duty for more than 60 days. Diagnosis was challenging, because there were no pathognomonic signs and symptoms and the causative organism could not be cultured. For 3 years, the transmission and cause of trench fever were hotly debated. In 1918, two commissions identified that the disease was louse-borne. The bacterium Rickettsia quintana was consistently found in the gut and faeces of lice that had fed on patients with trench fever and its causative role was accepted in the 1920s. The organism was cultured in the 1960s and reclassified as Bartonella quintana; it was also found to cause endocarditis, peliosis hepatis, and bacillary angiomatosis. Subsequently, B quintana infection has been identified in new populations in the Andes, in homeless people in urban areas, and in individuals with HIV. The story of trench fever shows how war can lead to the recrudescence of an infectious disease and how medicine approached an emerging infection a century ago. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The medical response to trench nephritis in World War One.

PubMed

Atenstaedt, R L

2006-08-01

Around the 90-year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, it is important to remember the international effort that went into responding to the new diseases, which appeared during the First World War, such as trench nephritis. This condition arose among soldiers in spring 1915, characterized by breathlessness, swelling of the face or legs, headache, sore throat, and the presence of albumin and renal casts in urine. It was speedily investigated by the military-medical authorities. There was debate over whether it was new condition or streptococcal nephritis, and the experts agreed that it was a new condition. The major etiologies proposed were infection, exposure, and diet (including poisons). Research pointed to the origin of the disease as being infective rather than toxic, but no definite cause was discovered. A number of labels were given to the disease, including war nephritis. However, trench nephritis was the one used most widely. Trench nephritis was a serious problem for the Allies, leading to 35 000 casualties in the British and 2000 in the American forces. There were also hundreds of deaths. The condition was treated in line with pre-war regimens designed for acute nephritis. No significant preventative methods were implemented for trench nephritis, as there was no consensus regarding causation. The medical response to trench nephritis was largely ineffective, with medical commentators recognizing that there had been a lack of medical progress.

Finite Element Analysis of IPS Empress II Ceramic Bridge Reinforced by Zirconia Bar

PubMed Central

Kermanshah, H.; Bitaraf, T.; Geramy, A.

2012-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of trenched zirconia bar on the von Mises stress distribution of IPS –Empress II core ceramics. Materials and Methods: The three-dimensional model including a three-unit bridge from the second premolar to the second molar was designed. The model was reinforced with zirconia bar (ZB), zirconia bar with vertical trench (VZB) and zirconia bar with horizontal trench (HZB) (cross sections of these bars were circular). The model without zirconia bar was designed as the control. The bridges were loaded by 200 N and 500 N on the occlusal surface at the middle of the pontic component and von Mises stresses were evaluated along a defined path. Results: In the connector area, von Mises stress in MPa were approximately identical in the specimens with ZB (at molar connector (MC): 4.75 and at premolar connector (PC): 6.40) and without ZB (MC: 5.50, PC: 6.68), and considerable differences were not recognized. Whereas, Von-Mises stress (MPa) in the specimens with horizontal trenched Zirconia bar (HZB) (MC: 3.91, PC: 2.44) and Vertical trenched Zirconia bar (VZB) (MC: 2.53, PC: 2.56) was decreased considerably. Conclusion: Embeded trenched zirconia bar could reinforce IPS-Empress II at the connector area which is a main failure region in all ceramic fixed partial dentures. PMID:23323181

Finite Element Analysis of IPS Empress II Ceramic Bridge Reinforced by Zirconia Bar.

PubMed

Kermanshah, H; Bitaraf, T; Geramy, A

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of trenched zirconia bar on the von Mises stress distribution of IPS -Empress II core ceramics. The three-dimensional model including a three-unit bridge from the second premolar to the second molar was designed. The model was reinforced with zirconia bar (ZB), zirconia bar with vertical trench (VZB) and zirconia bar with horizontal trench (HZB) (cross sections of these bars were circular). The model without zirconia bar was designed as the control. The bridges were loaded by 200 N and 500 N on the occlusal surface at the middle of the pontic component and von Mises stresses were evaluated along a defined path. IN THE CONNECTOR AREA, VON MISES STRESS IN MPA WERE APPROXIMATELY IDENTICAL IN THE SPECIMENS WITH ZB (AT MOLAR CONNECTOR (MC): 4.75 and at premolar connector (PC): 6.40) and without ZB (MC: 5.50, PC: 6.68), and considerable differences were not recognized. Whereas, Von-Mises stress (MPa) in the specimens with horizontal trenched Zirconia bar (HZB) (MC: 3.91, PC: 2.44) and Vertical trenched Zirconia bar (VZB) (MC: 2.53, PC: 2.56) was decreased considerably. Embeded trenched zirconia bar could reinforce IPS-Empress II at the connector area which is a main failure region in all ceramic fixed partial dentures.

Novel vertical silicon photodiodes based on salicided polysilicon trenched contacts

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

Kaminski, Yelena; TowerJazz Ltd. Migdal Haemek; Shauly, Eitan

2015-12-07

The classical concept of silicon photodiodes comprises of a planar design characterized by heavily doped emitters. Such geometry has low collection efficiency of the photons absorbed close to the surface. An alternative, promising, approach is to use a vertical design. Nevertheless, realization of such design is technologically challenged, hence hardly explored. Herein, a novel type of silicon photodiodes, based on salicided polysilicon trenched contacts, is presented. These contacts can be prepared up to 10 μm in depth, without showing any leakage current associated with the increase in the contact area. Consequently, the trenched photodiodes revealed better performance than no-trench photodiodes. Amore » simple two dimensional model was developed, allowing to estimate the conditions under which a vertical design has the potential to have better performance than that of a planar design. At large, the deeper the trench is, the better is the vertical design relative to the planar (up to 10 μm for silicon). The vertical design is more advantageous for materials characterized by short diffusion lengths of the carriers. Salicided polysilicon trenched contacts open new opportunities for the design of solar cells and image sensors. For example, these contacts may passivate high contact area buried contacts, by virtue of the conformity of polysilicon interlayer, thus lowering the via resistance induced recombination enhancement effect.« less

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.

High Resolution Magnetic surveys across the Emeelt and Hustaï faults near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleury, S.; Munschy, M.; Schlupp, A.; Ferry, M.; Munkhuu, U.

2012-04-01

During the 20th century, Mongolia was one of the most seismic active intra-continental areas in the world. Some recent observations raise strong concern on still unidentified structures around Ulaanbaatar (1.5 M inhabitants). Near the city, instrumental seismicity shows continuous activity with five M 4+ events since 1974 and a M 5.4. Since 2005, the number of earthquake in the shallow crust (above 10-20 km) has significantly increased on the Emeelt fault area, west of Ulaanbaatar. A multi-disciplinary study - including GPR profiling, magnetic mapping, DGPS microtopography, morphotectonic observations and paleoseismic trenching - was carried out in the fault areas to assess their seismogenic potential. We present preliminary results of high resolution magnetic surveys using three axis fluxgate magnetic sensors. In Emeelt and Hustaï area, about 4 km2 were prospected with survey line spacing of 5 m to investigate the subsurface characteristic of the active faults. The main faults are clearly detected as well as secondary branches that affect buried paleo-channels. The combined approach of morphotectonic observations and magnetic measurements was used to select the location of paleoseismic trenches. The fluxgate equipment, being an easy, non-invasive and high-resolution way of mapping was used inside trenches to map exposures. Micro magnetic surveys were conducted on the walls of the trenches along 30 m, with a vertical extent of 2 m and a spacing of 0.1 m between each line. These measurements are used to define different units of sediments with a very high level of detail particularly where the stratigraphic interfaces are poorly visible. Magnetic mapping reveals a fault zone in recent units that consists of intense deformational patterns. Simultaneous use of horizontal and vertical maps may yield a 3D interpretation of the distribution of sedimentary layers. Faulted units related to recent depositional process attest for the ongoing activity of the Emeelt and Hustaï faults. This novel approach brings supplementary physical measurements to classic trench observations as well as access to physical properties not observable with the naked eye. It proves to be a useful complement to photologs and field observations. Finally, our multidisciplinary approach helps assess seismic hazard for the nearby capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.

Mantle Serpentinization near the Central Mariana Trench Constrained by Ocean Bottom Surface Wave Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, C.; Wiens, D. A.; Lizarralde, D.; Eimer, M. O.; Shen, W.

2017-12-01

We investigate the crustal and uppermost mantle seismic structure across the Mariana trench by jointly inverting Rayleigh wave phase and group velocities from ambient noise and longer period phase velocities from Helmholtz tomography of teleseismic waveforms. We use data from a temporary deployment in 2012-2013, consisting of 7 island-based stations and 20 broadband ocean bottom seismographs, as well as data from the USGS Northern Mariana Islands Seismograph Network. To avoid any potential bias from the starting model, we use a Bayesian Monte-Carlo algorithm to invert for the azimuthally-averaged SV-wave velocity at each node. This method also allows us to apply prior constraints on crustal thickness and other parameters in a systematic way, and to derive formal estimates of velocity uncertainty. The results show the development of a low velocity zone within the incoming plate beginning about 80 km seaward of the trench axis, consistent with the onset of bending faults from bathymetry and earthquake locations. The maximum depth of the velocity anomaly increases towards the trench, and extends to about 30 km below the seafloor. The low velocities persist after the plate is subducted, as a 20-30 km thick low velocity layer with a somewhat smaller velocity reduction is imaged along the top of the slab beneath the forearc. An extremely low velocity zone is observed beneath the serpentine seamounts in the outer forearc, consistent with 40% serpentinization in the forearc mantle wedge. Azimuthal anisotropy results show trench parallel fast axis within the incoming plate at uppermost mantle depth (2%-4% anisotropy). All these observations suggest the velocity reduction in the incoming plate prior to subduction results from both serpentinized normal faults and water-filled cracks. Water is expelled from the cracks early in subduction, causing a modest increase in the velocity of the subducting mantle, and moves upward and causes serpentinization of the outer forearc. Assuming the velocity anomaly remaining in the subducting plate mantle is caused by serpentinization, calculations suggest the top 20 km of the slab mantle retains 10-15% serpentinization beyond the outer forearc. The amount of water carried into the deep mantle by this layer ( 54 Tg/Myr/m) is two to three times greater than previous estimates for the entire slab.

Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 426: Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, Tonopah Test Range, Nevada

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

Dave Madsen

This Closure Report provides the documentation for closure of the Cactus Spring Waste Trenches Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 426. The site is located on the Tonopah Test Range, approximately 225 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas, NV. CAU 426 consists of one corrective action site (CAS) which is comprised of four waste trenches. The trenches were excavated to receive solid waste generated in support of Operation Roller Coaster, primary the Double Tracks Test in 1963, and were subsequently backfilled. The Double Tracks Test involved use of live animals to assess the biological hazards associated with the nonnuclear detonation of plutonium-bearing devices.more » The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection approved Corrective Action Plan (CAP)which proposed ''capping'' methodology. The closure activities were completed in accordance with the approved CAP and consisted of constructing an engineered cover in the area of the trenches, constructing/planting a vegetative cover, installing a perimeter fence and signs, implementing restrictions on future use, and preparing a Post-Closure Monitoring Plan.« less

A sub-atmospheric chemical vapor deposition process for deposition of oxide liner in high aspect ratio through silicon vias.

PubMed

Lisker, Marco; Marschmeyer, Steffen; Kaynak, Mehmet; Tekin, Ibrahim

2011-09-01

The formation of a Through Silicon Via (TSV) includes a deep Si trench etching and the formation of an insulating layer along the high-aspect-ratio trench and the filling of a conductive material into the via hole. The isolation of the filling conductor from the silicon substrate becomes more important for higher frequencies due to the high coupling of the signal to the silicon. The importance of the oxide thickness on the via wall isolation can be verified using electromagnetic field simulators. To satisfy the needs on the Silicon dioxide deposition, a sub-atmospheric chemical vapor deposition (SA-CVD) process has been developed to deposit an isolation oxide to the walls of deep silicon trenches. The technique provides excellent step coverage of the 100 microm depth silicon trenches with the high aspect ratio of 20 and more. The developed technique allows covering the deep silicon trenches by oxide and makes the high isolation of TSVs from silicon substrate feasible which is the key factor for the performance of TSVs for mm-wave 3D packaging.

Partial liquid-penetration inside a deep trench by film flowing over it

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Phuc-Khanh; Dimakopoulos, Yiannis; Tsamopoulos, John

2014-11-01

Liquid film flow along substrates featuring a deep trench may not wet the trench floor, but create a second gas-liquid interface inside the trench. The liquid penetration inside the trench depends on the location and shape of this inner interface. The penetration increases by decreasing the two three-phase contact lines between the inner interface and the two side-walls or the flow rate and depends on the liquid properties. This partial-penetration is studied by employing the Galerkin / finite element method to solve the two-dimensional steady-state Navier-Stokes equations in a physical domain that is adaptively remeshed. Multiple branches of steady solutions connected via turning points are revealed by pseudo arc-length continuation. Flow hysteresis may occur in a certain range of liquid penetration depth, when the interaction of the two interfaces changes qualitatively. This induces an abrupt jump of penetration distance and deformation amplitude of the outer interface. Work supported by the General Secretariat of Research & Technology of Greece through the program ``Excellence'' (Grant No. 1918) in the framework ``Education and Lifelong Learning'' co-funded by the ESF.

Cenozoic tectonics of western North America controlled by evolving width of Farallon slab.

PubMed

Schellart, W P; Stegman, D R; Farrington, R J; Freeman, J; Moresi, L

2010-07-16

Subduction of oceanic lithosphere occurs through two modes: subducting plate motion and trench migration. Using a global subduction zone data set and three-dimensional numerical subduction models, we show that slab width (W) controls these modes and the partitioning of subduction between them. Subducting plate velocity scales with W(2/3), whereas trench velocity scales with 1/W. These findings explain the Cenozoic slowdown of the Farallon plate and the decrease in subduction partitioning by its decreasing slab width. The change from Sevier-Laramide orogenesis to Basin and Range extension in North America is also explained by slab width; shortening occurred during wide-slab subduction and overriding-plate-driven trench retreat, whereas extension occurred during intermediate to narrow-slab subduction and slab-driven trench retreat.

Snow White Trench Prepared for Sample Collection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The informally named 'Snow White' trench is the source for the next sample to be acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander for analysis by the wet chemistry lab.

The Surface Stereo Imager on Phoenix took this shadow-enhanced image of the trench, on the eastern end of Phoenix's work area, on Sol 103, or the 103rd day of the mission, Sept. 8, 2008. The trench is about 23 centimeters (9 inches) wide.

The wet chemistry lab is part of Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity suite of instruments.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Trench dynamics: Effects of dynamically migrating trench on subducting slab morphology and characteristics of subduction zones systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Masaki

2017-07-01

Understanding the mechanisms of trench migration (retreat or advance) is crucial to characterizing the driving forces of Earth's tectonics plates, the origins of subducting slab morphologies in the deep mantle, and identifying the characteristics of subduction zones systems, which are among the fundamental issues of solid Earth science. A series of numerical simulations of mantle convection, focusing on plate subduction in a three-dimensional (3-D) regional spherical shell coordinate system, was performed to examine subduction zone characteristics, including geodynamic relationships among trench migration, back-arc stress, and slab morphology. The results show that a subducting slab tends to deflect around the base of the mantle transition zone and form a sub-horizontal slab because its front edge (its 'toe') is subject to resistance from the highly viscous lower mantle. As the sub-horizontal slab starts to penetrate into the lower mantle from its 'heel,' the toe of the slab is drawn into the lower mantle. The results for models with dynamically migrating trenches suggest that trench retreat is the dynamically self-consistent phenomenon in trench migration. The reason for this is that the strong lateral mantle flow that is generated as a sequence of events leading from corner flow at the subduction initiation to return flow of the formation of a sub-horizontal slab in the shallower part of mantle wedge produces the retreat of the subducting slab. In fact, a 'mantle suction force,' which is generated in the mantle wedge to fill space left by the retreating subducting plate, is enhanced by the subsequent trench retreat. Even when upwelling flow with significant positive buoyancy originates just above a mantle phase boundary at a depth of 410 km (as inferred from independent seismic tomographic, geodynamic, geochemical, and mineral physics), reaches the base of the overriding plate, and the overriding plate is slightly thinned, lithospheric stress tends to be compressed above the upwelling flow. The reason for this is that the strong lateral mantle flow originating from the upwelling flow generates resistance drag force at the base of the overriding plates. This situation may apply to a case of East Asia, under which the typical morphology of sub-horizontal slabs can be seen by seismic tomography. The strong lateral velocity observed in the shallower mantle wedge in the present numerical simulation may account for both the compressional subduction tectonics and back arc compression in the Japan-Kuril-Kamchatka, Aleutian, and South Chile trenches, as well as for weak plate-slab coupling, strong seismic coupling, and the possibility of great earthquakes along these trenches.

Printing of structures less than 0,3 μm by i-line exposure using resists TDMR-AR80 and TDMR-AR95

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behrendt, A.; Dow, T.; Stoeflin, K.

2007-03-01

There is increasing interest in high resolution i-line resists which allow the printing of structures smaller than 0.3μm. We have evaluated the resists TDMR-AR80 und TDMR-AR95 from TOK Company in order to check their potential concerning minimum line sizes with sufficient process window in regard to focus/exposure process latitude, with our main focus on trench structures. The Bossung Plots of dense lines and semi-dense lines were determined. The resist and etch profiles were characterised both by inline-SEM measurements and cross-sections. The influence of several stepper illumination modes and Off Axis Illumination (OAI) on the focus/exposure process window was investigated. The resists TDMR-AR80 and TDMR-AR95 enable printing of trench structures less than 0.3μm. For 0.3μm lines, our specification limit of 0.3μm +/- 10% was reached within a focus range from - 0.1 to 1.0 microns. OAI illumination mode enlarged the focus window by 20% in comparison to the standard illumination mode. Structures of 0.28μm and 0.26μm were printed with a focus window of 0.7μm which shows the high potential of this resist generation. The implementation of the resist in production provides large amounts of data which enable the calculation of parameters related to process stability (wafer to wafer and lot to lot CD-standard deviation, Cp-, Cpk-values etc.).

Low-cost solar array structure development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, A. H.

1981-06-01

Early studies of flat-plate arrays have projected costs on the order of $50/square meter for installed array support structures. This report describes an optimized low-cost frame-truss structure that is estimated to cost below $25/square meter, including all markups, shipping an installation. The structure utilizes a planar frame made of members formed from light-gauge galvanized steel sheet and is supposed in the field by treated-wood trusses that are partially buried in trenches. The buried trusses use the overburden soil to carry uplift wind loads and thus to obviate reinforced-concrete foundations. Details of the concept, including design rationale, fabrication and assembly experience, structural testing and fabrication drawings are included.

Low-cost solar array structure development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, A. H.

1981-01-01

Early studies of flat-plate arrays have projected costs on the order of $50/square meter for installed array support structures. This report describes an optimized low-cost frame-truss structure that is estimated to cost below $25/square meter, including all markups, shipping an installation. The structure utilizes a planar frame made of members formed from light-gauge galvanized steel sheet and is supposed in the field by treated-wood trusses that are partially buried in trenches. The buried trusses use the overburden soil to carry uplift wind loads and thus to obviate reinforced-concrete foundations. Details of the concept, including design rationale, fabrication and assembly experience, structural testing and fabrication drawings are included.

Label-free specific detection of femtomolar cardiac troponin using an integrated nanoslit array fluidic diode.

PubMed

Liu, Yifan; Yobas, Levent

2014-12-10

We demonstrate here for the first time the utility of an integrated nanofluidic diode for detecting and quantifying physiologically relevant macromolecules. Troponin T, a key human cardiac protein biomarker, was selectively and rapidly detected free of labels for concentrations down to 10 fg/mL (∼ 0.3 fM) in buffer as well as 10 pg/mL (∼ 300 fM) in untreated human serum. This ultrasensitive detection arises from monolithic integration of a unique nanofluidic diode structure that is highly robust and amenable to site-specific surface modification. The structure features a planar nanoslit array where each nanoslit is defined at a nominal width of 70 nm over a micrometer-scale silicon trench without the use of high-resolution patterning techniques. Through vapor deposition, a glass layer is placed at a nonuniform thickness, tapering the trench profile upward and contributing to the triangular nanoslit structure. This asymmetric profile is essential for ionic current rectification noted here at various pH values, ionic strengths, and captured target species, which modulate the surface-charge density within the sensitive region of the nanoslit. The nanoslit, unlike nanopores, offers only 1D confinement, which appears to be adequate for reasonable rectification. The measurements are found in quantitative agreement with the diode simulations for the first time based on a pH- and salt-dependent surface-charge model.

Picking up Clues from the Discard Pile (Stereo)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

As NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander excavates trenches, it also builds piles with most of the material scooped from the holes. The piles, like this one called 'Caterpillar,' provide researchers some information about the soil.

On Aug. 24, 2008, during the late afternoon of the 88th Martian day after landing, Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager took separate exposures through its left eye and right eye that have been combined into this stereo view. The image appears three dimensional when seen through red-blue glasses.

This conical pile of soil is about 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall. The sources of material that the robotic arm has dropped onto the Caterpillar pile have included the 'Dodo' and ''Upper Cupboard' trenches and, more recently, the deeper 'Stone Soup' trench.

Observations of the pile provide information, such as the slope of the cone and the textures of the soil, that helps scientists understand properties of material excavated from the trenches.

For the Stone Soup trench in particular, which is about 18 centimeters (7 inches) deep, the bottom of the trench is in shadow and more difficult to observe than other trenches that Phoenix has dug. The Phoenix team obtained spectral clues about the composition of material from the bottom of Stone Soup by photographing Caterpillar through 15 different filters of the Surface Stereo Imager when the pile was covered in freshly excavated material from the trench.

The spectral observation did not produce any sign of water-ice, just typical soil for the site. However, the bigger clumps do show a platy texture that could be consistent with elevated concentration of salts in the soil from deep in Stone Soup. The team chose that location as the source for a soil sample to be analyzed in the lander's wet chemistry laboratory, which can identify soluble salts in the soil.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Picking up Clues from the Discard Pile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

As NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander excavates trenches, it also builds piles with most of the material scooped from the holes. The piles, like this one called 'Caterpillar,' provide researchers some information about the soil.

On Aug. 24, 2008, during the late afternoon of the 88th Martian day after landing, Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager took separate exposures through red, green and blue filters that have been combined into this approximately true-color image.

This conical pile of soil is about 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall. The sources of material that the robotic arm has dropped onto the Caterpillar pile have included the 'Dodo' and ''Upper Cupboard' trenches and, more recently, the deeper 'Stone Soup' trench.

Observations of the pile provide information, such as the slope of the cone and the textures of the soil, that helps scientists understand properties of material excavated from the trenches.

For the Stone Soup trench in particular, which is about 18 centimeters (7 inches) deep, the bottom of the trench is in shadow and more difficult to observe than other trenches that Phoenix has dug. The Phoenix team obtained spectral clues about the composition of material from the bottom of Stone Soup by photographing Caterpillar through 15 different filters of the Surface Stereo Imager when the pile was covered in freshly excavated material from the trench.

The spectral observation did not produce any sign of water-ice, just typical soil for the site. However, the bigger clumps do show a platy texture that could be consistent with elevated concentration of salts in the soil from deep in Stone Soup. The team chose that location as the source for a soil sample to be analyzed in the lander's wet chemistry laboratory, which can identify soluble salts in the soil.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

The Characteristics of Turbidite Beds of Southwest Ryukyu Trench Floor: A new Approach From the X-ray Fluorescence Core Scanning Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsiung, K. H.; Kanamatsu, T.; Ikehara, K.; Usami, K.; Saito, S.; Murayama, M.

2017-12-01

The southwest Ryukyu Trench near Taiwan is an ideal place for source-to-sink studies based on the distinctive sediment transport route between the terrestrial sediment source in Taiwan and the marine sink in the Ryukyu Trench. Using the bathymetric and seismic reflection data, we develop a sediment transport routes for understanding the ultimate sink of the southwest Ryukyu Trench floor. The southwest Ryukyu Trench floor can be regarded as the most distal depositional basin and isolated from the Ryukyu forearc basins. In addition, part of sediment from the proximal sources of the Ryukyu Islands and Yaeyama accretionary prism could be transported to the trench floor. We collected the piston core, PC04, from the southwest Ryukyu Trench floor of 6,147 m water depth in 3.23 m core length from cruise KR15-18, 2015. The coring site locates behind the natural levee of an obvious channel in the Ryukyu trench floor. The PC04 is composed of gray silty clay interbedded with numerous silt layers. Most of the silt layers are less than 2 cm in thickness. Based upon the core observation, X-ray fluorescence core scanning analysis and 14C age determinations, thirty-seven individual and thin beds were determined as turbidites. The results of X-ray fluorescence core scanning analysis provide continuous and high-resolution (1.0 mm of each point) assessment of relative change in the elemental ratios. Ca/Fe is a proxy for the terrigenous component of the sediment, indicating the High Ca and low Fe of each turbidite layers. Zr/Rb ratios of the marine sediments commonly used in the reflection of the original grain size variation. A large part of deep-sea turbidite beds are characterized by high Ca/Fe and Zr/Rb ratio values. These turbidite beds can be linked spatially over a distance of ˜200 km via submarine canyons within the Taiwan orogen. However, it is difficult to be linked temporally to certain events.

Coupling intensity and isostatic competition between subducting slab and overriding plate control trench motions and tectonics of the overriding plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, G.; Moresi, L. N.

2017-12-01

Trench motions not only reflect tectonic regimes on the overriding plate but also shed light on the competition between subducting slab and overriding plate, however, major controls over trench advance or retreat and their consequences are still illusive. We use 2D thermo-mechanical experiments to study the problem. We find that the coupling intensity particularly in the uppermost 200 km and the isostatic competition between subducting slab and overriding plate largely determine trench motion and tectonics of in the overriding plate. Coupling intensity is the result of many contributing factors, including frictional coefficient of brittle part of the subducting interface and the viscosity of the ductile part, thermal regime and rheology of the overriding plate, and water contents and magmatic activity in the subducting slab and overriding plate. In this study, we are not concerned with the dynamic evolution of individual controlling parameter but simply use effective media. For instance, we impose simple model parameters such as frictional coefficient and vary the temperature and strain-rate dependent viscosity of the weak layer between the subducting slab and overriding plate. In the coupled end-member case, strong coupling leads to strong corner flow, depth-dependent compression/extension, and mantle return flow on the overriding plate side. It results in fast trench retreat, broad overriding plate extension, and even slab breakoff. In the decoupled end-member case, weak coupling causes much weaker response on the overriding plate side compared with the coupled end-member case, and the subducting slab can be largely viewed as a conveyer belt. We find that the isostatic competition between the subducting slab and overriding plate also has a major control over trench motion, and may better be viewed in 3D models. This is consistent with the findings in previous 3D studies that trench motion is most pronounced close to the slab edge. Here we propose that the differential subduction and isostatic differences along strike are the major cause of complex trench behavior and tectonic variations in the overriding plate. Finally, our models must be placed in a reference frame outside our modeled domain when used in global scale.

Seismic anisotropy and mantle flow in the Hellenic subduction zone: The possible effects of trench retreat and slab tear at both ends.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evangelidis, Christos

2017-04-01

The upper mantle anisotropy pattern in the entire area of the Hellenic subduction zone have been analyzed for fast polarization directions and delay times to investigate the complex 3D pattern of mantle flow around the subducting slab. All previous studies do incorporate a significant number of measurements in the backarc area of the Aegean and in two cross-sections along the Hellenic subduction system. However, the transitional area from oceanic to continental subduction in the Western Hellenic trench has not been adequately sampled so far. Moreover, the eastern termination of the Hellenic subduction and the possible origin of a trench parallel anisotropy remains unclear. Here, I focus on the two possible ends of the high curvature Hellenic arc. I have now measured SKS splitting parameters from all broadband stations of the Hellenic Unified Seismic Network (HUSN), that they have not been measured before, specially concentrated in the transitional area from oceanic to continental subduction system. Complementary, using the Source-Side splitting technique to teleseismic S-wave records from intermediate depth earthquake in the Hellenic trench, the anisotropy measurements are increased in regions where no stations are installed. In western Greece, the Hellenic subduction system is separated by the Cephalonia Transform Fault (CTF), a dextral offset of 100 km, into the northern and southern segments, which are characterized by different convergence rates and slab composition. Recent seismic data show that north of CTF there is a subducted continental lithosphere in contrast to the region south of CTF where the on-going subduction is oceanic. The new measurements, combined with previously published observations, provide the most complete up-to-date spatial coverage for the area. Generally, the pronounced zonation of seismic anisotropy across the subduction zone, as inferred from other studies, is also observed here. Fast SKS splitting directions are trench-normal in the region nearest to the trench. The fast splitting directions change abruptly to trench-parallel above the corner of the mantle wedge and rotate back to trench-normal over the back-arc. Additionally, beneath western Greece, between the western Gulf of Corinth in the south and the Epirus-Thessaly area in the north, a transitional anisotropy pattern emerges that possibly depicts the passage from the continental to the oceanic subducted slabs and the subslab mantle flow due to the trench retreat. At the eastern side of the Hellenic arc, from eastern Crete to the Dodecanese Islands, the inferred subslab measurements of anisotropy show a general trench perpendicular pattern. This area is characterized as a STEP fault region with multiple trench normal strike slip faults. The difference between the fast roll-back in the Aegean and the slow lithospheric processes in the western Anatolia is accommodated by a broad shear zone of lithospheric deformation and a possible slab tear inferred from seismic tomography and geophysical studies but with a relative unknown geometry. Thus, the observed anisotropy pattern possibly resembles the 3D return flow around the slab edge that is caused by the inferred slab break.

Arc/Forearc Lengthening at Plate Triple Junctions and the Formation of Ophiolitic Soles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casey, John; Dewey, John

2013-04-01

The principal enigma of large obducted ophiolite slabs is that they clearly must have been generated by some form of organized sea-floor spreading/plate-accretion, such as may be envisioned for the oceanic ridges, yet the volcanics commonly have arc affinity (Miyashiro) with boninites (high-temperature/low-pressure, high Mg and Si andesites), which are suggestive of a forearc origin. PT conditions under which boninites and metamorphic soles form and observations of modern forearc systems lead us to the conclusion that ophiolite formation is associated with overidding plate spreading centers that intersect the trench to form ridge-trench-trench of ridge-trench-tranform triple junctions. The spreading centers extend and lengthen the forearc parallel to the trench and by definition are in supra-subduction zone (SSZ) settings. Many ophiolites likewise have complexly-deformed associated mafic-ultramafic assemblages that suggest fracture zone/transform t along their frontal edges, which in turn has led to models involving the nucleation of subduction zones on fracture zones or transpressional transforms. Hitherto, arc-related sea-floor-spreading has been considered to be either pre-arc (fore-arc boninites) or post-arc (classic Karig-style back arc basins that trench-parallell split arcs). Syn-arc boninites and forearc oceanic spreading centers that involve a stable ridge/trench/trench triple or a ridge-trench-transform triple junction, the ridge being between the two upper plates, are consistent with large slab ophiolite formation in a readied obduction settting. The direction of subduction must be oblique with a different sense in the two subduction zones and the oblique subduction cannot be partitioned into trench orthogonal and parallel strike-slip components. As the ridge spreads, new oceanic lithosphere is created within the forearc, the arc and fore-arc lengthen significantly, and a syn-arc ophiolite forearc complex is generated by this mechanism. The ophiolite ages along arc-strike; a distinctive diachronous MORB-like to boninitic to arc volcanic stratigraphy develops vertically in the forearc and eruption centers progressively migrate from the forearc back to the main arc massif with time. Dikes in the ophiolite are highly oblique to the trench (as are back-arc magnetic anomalies. Boninites and high-mg andesites are generated in the fore-arc under the aqueous, low pressure/high temperature, regime at the ridge above the instantaneously developed subducting and dehydrating slab. Subducted slab refrigeration of the hanging wall ensues and accretion of MORB metabasites to the hanging wall of the subduction channel initiates. Mafic protolith garnet/two pyroxene granulites to greenschists accrete and form the inverted P and T metamorphic sole prior to obduction. Sole accretion of lithosphere begins at about 1000°C and the full retrogressive sole may be fully formed within ten to fifteen million years of accretion, at which time low grade subduction melanges accrete. Obduction of the SSZ forearc ophiolite with its subjacent metamorphic sole occurs whenever the oceanic arc attempts subduction of a stable buoyant continental or back arc margin.

Seismic Barrier Protection of Critical Infrastructure from Earthquakes

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

structure composed of opposing boreholes or trenches to mitigate seismic waves from diffracting and traveling in the vertical plane. Computational...dams, etc., pose significant risk to civilians while adding tremendous cost and recovery time to regain their functionality. Lower energy earthquakes...the most destructive are surface waves (Rayleigh, Love, shear) which can travel great distances in the far field from the earthquake hypocenter and

Lander Trench Dug by Opportunity

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-27

On March 20, 2004, NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used a wheel to dig a trench revealing subsurface material beside the lander hardware that carried the rover to the surface of Mars 55 Martian days earlier.

Multi-layer waste containment barrier

DOEpatents

Smith, Ann Marie; Gardner, Bradley M.; Nickelson, David F.

1999-01-01

An apparatus for constructing an underground containment barrier for containing an in-situ portion of earth. The apparatus includes an excavating device for simultaneously (i) excavating earthen material from beside the in-situ portion of earth without removing the in-situ portion and thereby forming an open side trench defined by opposing earthen sidewalls, and (ii) excavating earthen material from beneath the in-situ portion of earth without removing the in-situ portion and thereby forming a generally horizontal underground trench beneath the in-situ portion defined by opposing earthen sidewalls. The apparatus further includes a barrier-forming device attached to the excavating device for simultaneously forming a side barrier within the open trench and a generally horizontal, multi-layer barrier within the generally horizontal trench. The multi-layer barrier includes at least a first layer and a second layer.

Charge deposition model for investigating SE-microdose effect in trench power MOSFETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Wan; Weisong, Zhou; Daoguang, Liu; Hanliang, Bo; Jun, Xu

2015-05-01

It was demonstrated that heavy ions can induce large current—voltage (I-V) characteristics shift in commercial trench power MOSFETs, named single event microdose effect (SE-microdose effect). A model is presented to describe this effect. This model calculates the charge deposition by a single heavy ion hitting oxide and the subsequent charge transport under an electric field. Holes deposited at the SiO2/Si interface by a Xe ion are calculated by using this model. The calculated results were then used in Sentaurus TCAD software to simulate a trench power MOSFET's I-V curve shift after a Xe ion has hit it. The simulation results are consistent with the related experiment's data. In the end, several factors which affect the SE-microdose effect in trench power MOSFETs are investigated by using this model.

The contexts and early Acheulean archaeology of the EF-HR paleo-landscape (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania).

PubMed

de la Torre, Ignacio; Albert, Rosa M; Macphail, Richard; McHenry, Lindsay J; Pante, Michael C; Rodríguez-Cintas, Ágata; Stanistreet, Ian G; Stollhofen, Harald

2017-08-03

Renewed fieldwork at the early Acheulean site of EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) has included detailed stratigraphic studies of the sequence, extended excavations in the main site, and has placed eleven additional trenches within an area of nearly 1 km 2 , to sample the same stratigraphic interval as in the main trench across the broader paleo-landscape. Our new stratigraphic work suggests that EF-HR is positioned higher in the Bed II sequence than previously proposed, which has implications for the age of the site and its stratigraphic correlation to other Olduvai Middle Bed II sites. Geological research shows that the main EF-HR site was situated at the deepest part of an incised valley formed through river erosion. Archaeological excavations at the main site and nearby trenches have unearthed a large new assemblage, with more than 3000 fossils and artefacts, including a hundred handaxes in stratigraphic position. In addition, our test-trenching approach has detected conspicuous differences in the density of artefacts across the landscape, with a large cluster of archaeological material in and around the main trench, and less intense human activity at the same level in the more distant satellite trenches. All of these aspects are discussed in this paper in the light of site formation processes, behavioral contexts, and their implications for our understanding of the early Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Receiver function structure beneath a broad-band seismic station in south Sumatra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacPherson, K. A.; Hidayat, D.; Goh, S.

2010-12-01

We estimated the one-dimensional velocity structure beneath a broad-band station in south Sumatra by the forward modeling and inversion of receiver functions. Station PMBI belongs to the GEOFON seismic network maintained by GFZ-Potsdam, and at a longitude of 104.77° and latitude of -2.93°, sits atop the south Sumatran basin. This station is of interest to researchers at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, as data from it and other stations in Sumatra and Singapore will be incorporated into a regional velocity model for use in seismic hazard analyses. Three-component records from 193 events at teleseismic distances and Mw ≥ 5.0 were examined for this study and 67 records were deemed to have sufficient signal to noise characteristics to be retained for analysis. Observations are primarily from source zones in the Bougainville trench with back-azimuths to the east-south-east, the Japan and Kurile trenches with back-azimuths to the northeast, and a scattering of observations from other azimuths. Due to the level of noise present in even the higher-quality records, the usual frequency-domain deconvolution method of computing receiver functions was ineffective, and a time-domain iterative deconvolution was employed to obtain usable wave forms. Receiver functions with similar back-azimuths were stacked in order to improve their signal to noise ratios. The resulting wave forms are relatively complex, with significant energy being present in the tangential components, indicating heterogeneity in the underlying structure. A dip analysis was undertaken but no clear pattern was observed. However, it is apparent that polarities of the tangential components were generally reversed for records that sample the Sunda trench. Forward modeling of the receiver functions indicates the presence of a near-surface low-velocity layer (Vp≈1.9 km/s) and a Moho depth of ~31 km. Details of the crustal structure were investigated by employing time-domain inversions of the receiver functions. General features of those velocity models providing a good fit to the waveform include an approximately one kilometer thick near-surface low-velocity zone, a high-velocity layer over a velocity inversion at mid-crustal depths, and a crust-mantle transition at depths between 30 km and 34 km.

Subduction zones: Not relevant to present-day problems of waste disposal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Silver, E.A.

1972-01-01

SUBDUCTION zones are considered to be sites of disposal for vast areas of the Earth's surface1, while new surface is generated simultaneously at rise crests2. Bostrom and Sherif3 suggest that the world's industrial and domestic waste be dumped into subduction zones at deep sea trenches to allow nature to complete the recycling process at geologically rapid rates of 5 to 10 cm/yr. They also point out that trenches are often sites of rapid rates of deposition and suggest that the dumped wastes would, speaking geologically, soon be buried. Francis4 suggests that canisters of toxic chemical and radioactive wastes could be dumped onto trench sediments and be expected to sink at rates of 20 m/yr, assuming that the mass of turbidites in the trench fill often spontaneously liquefies on shaking by earthquakes. The assumption is based on the supposed lack of evidence for deformed sediment in trenches. I will argue that the suggestion of Bostrom and Sherif3 is not useful for the next few dozen generations of human populations and will point out observational evidence to show that Francis's4 assumption is incorrectly founded. ?? 1972 Nature Publishing Group.

Fabrication of microchannels in polycrystalline diamond using pre-fabricated Si substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandran, Maneesh; Elfimchev, Sergey; Michaelson, Shaul; Akhvlediani, Rozalia; Ternyak, Orna; Hoffman, Alon

2017-10-01

In this paper, we report on a simple, feasible method to fabricate microchannels in diamond. Polycrystalline diamond microchannels were produced by fabricating trenches in a Si wafer and subsequently depositing a thin layer of diamond onto this substrate using the hot filament vapor deposition technique. Fabrication of trenches in the Si substrate at different depths was carried out by standard photolithography, and the subsequent deposition of the diamond layer was performed by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition technique. The growth mechanism of diamond that leads to the formation of closed diamond microchannels is discussed in detail based on the Knudsen number and growth chemistry of diamond. Variations in the crystallite size, crystalline quality, and thickness of the diamond layer along the trench depths were systematically analyzed using cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Defect density and formation of non-diamond forms of carbon in the diamond layer were found to increase with the trench depth, which sets a limit of 5-45 μm trench depth (or an aspect ratio of 1-9) for the fabrication of diamond microchannels using this method under the present conditions.

Excavationless Exterior Foundation Insulation Field Study

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

Schirber, T.; Mosiman, G.; Ojczyk, C.

Building science research supports installing exterior (soil side) foundation insulation as the optimal method to enhance the hygrothermal performance of new homes. With exterior foundation insulation, water management strategies are maximized while insulating the basement space and ensuring a more even temperature at the foundation wall. However, such an approach can be very costly and disruptive when applied to an existing home, requiring deep excavation around the entire house. The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team implemented an innovative, minimally invasive foundation insulation upgrade technique on an existing home. The approach consisted of using hydrovac excavation technology combined with a liquidmore » insulating foam. The team was able to excavate a continuous 4" wide by 4' to 5' deep trench around the entire house, 128 linear feet, except for one small part under the stoop that was obstructed with concrete debris. The combination pressure washer and vacuum extraction technology also enabled the elimination of large trenches and soil stockpiles normally produced by backhoe excavation. The resulting trench was filled with liquid insulating foam, which also served as a water-control layer of the assembly. The insulation was brought above grade using a liquid foam/rigid foam hybrid system and terminated at the top of the rim joist. Cost savings over the traditional excavation process ranged from 23% to 50%. The excavationless process could result in even greater savings since replacement of building structures, exterior features, utility meters, and landscaping would be minimal or non-existent in an excavationless process.« less

Excavationless Exterior Foundation Insulation Field Study

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

Schirber, T.; Mosiman, G.; Ojczyk, C.

Building science research supports installing exterior (soil side) foundation insulation as the optimal method to enhance the hygrothermal performance of new homes. With exterior foundation insulation, water management strategies are maximized while insulating the basement space and ensuring a more even temperature at the foundation wall. However, such an approach can be very costly and disruptive when applied to an existing home, requiring deep excavation around the entire house. The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team implemented an innovative, minimally invasive foundation insulation upgrade technique on an existing home. The approach consisted of using hydrovac excavation technology combined with liquid insulatingmore » foam. The team was able to excavate a continuous 4 inches wide by 4 feet to 5 feet deep trench around the entire house, 128 linear feet, except for one small part under the stoop that was obstructed with concrete debris. The combination pressure washer and vacuum extraction technology also enabled the elimination of large trenches and soil stockpiles normally produced by backhoe excavation. The resulting trench was filled with liquid insulating foam, which also served as a water-control layer of the assembly. The insulation was brought above grade using a liquid foam/rigid foam hybrid system and terminated at the top of the rim joist. Cost savings over the traditional excavation process ranged from 23% to 50%. The excavationless process could result in even greater savings since replacement of building structures, exterior features, utility meters, and landscaping would be minimal or non-existent in an excavationless process.« less

Flexible ultrathin-body single-photon avalanche diode sensors and CMOS integration.

PubMed

Sun, Pengfei; Ishihara, Ryoichi; Charbon, Edoardo

2016-02-22

We proposed the world's first flexible ultrathin-body single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) as photon counting device providing a suitable solution to advanced implantable bio-compatible chronic medical monitoring, diagnostics and other applications. In this paper, we investigate the Geiger-mode performance of this flexible ultrathin-body SPAD comprehensively and we extend this work to the first flexible SPAD image sensor with in-pixel and off-pixel electronics integrated in CMOS. Experimental results show that dark count rate (DCR) by band-to-band tunneling can be reduced by optimizing multiplication doping. DCR by trap-assisted avalanche, which is believed to be originated from the trench etching process, could be further reduced, resulting in a DCR density of tens to hundreds of Hertz per micrometer square at cryogenic temperature. The influence of the trench etching process onto DCR is also proved by comparison with planar ultrathin-body SPAD structures without trench. Photon detection probability (PDP) can be achieved by wider depletion and drift regions and by carefully optimizing body thickness. PDP in frontside- (FSI) and backside-illumination (BSI) are comparable, thus making this technology suitable for both modes of illumination. Afterpulsing and crosstalk are negligible at 2µs dead time, while it has been proved, for the first time, that a CMOS SPAD pixel of this kind could work in a cryogenic environment. By appropriate choice of substrate, this technology is amenable to implantation for biocompatible photon-counting applications and wherever bended imaging sensors are essential.

Application of ground-penetrating radar to investigation of near-surface fault properties in the San Francisco Bay region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cai, J.; McMechan, G.A.; Fisher, M.A.

1996-01-01

In many geologic environments, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) provides high-resolution images of near-surface Earth structure. GPR data collection is nondestructive and very economical. The scale of features detected by GPR lies between those imaged by high-resolution seismic reflection surveys and those exposed in trenches and is therefore potentially complementary to traditional techniques for fault location and mapping. Sixty-two GPR profiles were collected at 12 sites in the San Francisco Bay region. Results show that GPR data correlate with large-scale features in existing trench observations, can be used to locate faults where they are buried or where their positions are not well known, and can identify previously unknown fault segments. The best data acquired were on a profile across the San Andreas fault, traversing Pleistocene terrace deposits south of Olema in Marin County; this profile shows a complicated multi-branched fault system from the ground surface down to about 40 m, the maximum depth for which data were recorded.

Method for making circular tubular channels with two silicon wafers

DOEpatents

Yu, C.M.; Hui, W.C.

1996-11-19

A two-wafer microcapillary structure is fabricated by depositing boron nitride (BN) or silicon nitride (Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}) on two separate silicon wafers (e.g., crystal-plane silicon with [100] or [110] crystal orientation). Photolithography is used with a photoresist to create exposed areas in the deposition for plasma etching. A slit entry through to the silicon is created along the path desired for the ultimate microcapillary. Acetone is used to remove the photoresist. An isotropic etch, e.g., such as HF/HNO{sub 3}/CH{sub 3}COOH, then erodes away the silicon through the trench opening in the deposition layer. A channel with a half-circular cross section is then formed in the silicon along the line of the trench in the deposition layer. Wet etching is then used to remove the deposition layer. The two silicon wafers are aligned and then bonded together face-to-face to complete the microcapillary. 11 figs.

High performance multi-finger MOSFET on SOI for RF amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhikari, M. Singh; Singh, Y.

2017-10-01

In this paper, we propose structural modifications in the conventional planar metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) on silicon-on-insulator by utilizing trenches in the epitaxial layer. The proposed multi-finger MOSFET (MF-MOSFET) has dual vertical-gates placed in separate trenches to form multiple channels in the p-base which carry the drain current in parallel. The proposed device uses TaN as gate electrode and SiO2 as gate dielectric. Simultaneous conduction of multiple channels enhances the drain current (ID) and provides higher transconductance (gm) leading to significant improvement in cut-off frequency (ft). Two-dimensional simulations are performed to evaluate and compare the performance of the MF-MOSFET with the conventional MOSFET. At a gate length of 60 nm, the proposed device provides 4 times higher ID, 3 times improvement in gm and 1.25 times increase in ft with better control over the short channel effects as compared with the conventional device.

Extension and transtension in the plate boundary zone of the northeastern Caribbean

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

Speed, R.C.; Larue, D.K.

1991-03-01

The authors propose that the Caribbean (Ca)-North American (NA) plate boundary zone (pbz) from the Puerto Rico Trench to the Venezuelan Basin from Mona Canyon east has been in left-transtension over the last 15-20 ma. A boundary-normal component of extension occurs throughout the pbz and is a principal cause of the Puerto Rico Trench. Such extension is due to WNW velocity of NA-Ca and the northward pullaway of NA from its S-dipping slab, which is below Puerto Rico. Strike slip motion may be taken up among terranes in the pbz by rigid CCW rotation and by oblique slip at theirmore » boundaries. Rotation of the largest terrane, Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands (PRVI), has caused such major structures as the Muertos thrust and Anegada Passage. The model implies NA-Ca velocity estimated from Cayman transforms is more accurate than that from slip vectors from seisms in the NA slab.« less

High power, compact, picosecond MOPA based on single trench fiber with single polarized diffraction-limited output.

PubMed

Jain, D; Alam, S; Codemard, C; Jung, Y; Zervas, M N; Sahu, J K

2015-09-01

We experimentally demonstrate an all-solid Yb-doped 30 μm core diameter single trench fiber. Measurements ensure a robust effective single-mode operation without the need of tight coiling as required for conventional fibers thanks to the ultralow NA (∼0.038) and resonant ring surrounding the core. All-solid and cylindrical design ensures the suitability for mass scale production with the added benefit of all-fiberized device structure. A compact master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) has been built using this fiber delivering ∼23.5  ps pulses at 13.5 MHz repetition rate delivering up to ∼52  W of average output power corresponding to a pulse energy of ∼3.8  μJ and peak power of >160  kW, while maintaining ∼76% slope efficiency. The output beam exhibits a polarization extinction ratio of more than 15 dB and a M2 less than 1.15.

Morphological and ontogenetic stratification of abyssal and hadal Eurythenes gryllus sensu lato (Amphipoda: Lysianassoidea) from the Peru-Chile Trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eustace, Ryan M.; Ritchie, Heather; Kilgallen, Niamh M.; Piertney, Stuart B.; Jamieson, Alan J.

2016-03-01

The globally ubiquitous lysianassoid amphipod, Eurythenes gryllus, has been shown to consist of multiple genetically distinct cryptic taxa, with depth considered a major driver of speciation and morphological divergence. Here we examine morphological variation of E. gryllus sensu lato through a continuous depth distribution that spans from abyssal (3000-6000 m) into hadal depths (>6000 m) in the Peru-Chile Trench (SE Pacific Ocean). Three distinct morphospecies were identified: one was confirmed as being E. magellanicus (4602-5329 m) based on DNA sequence and morphological similarity. The other two morphologically distinct species were named based upon depth of occurrence; Abyssal (4602-6173 m) and Hadal (6173-8074 m). The three Eurythenes morphospecies showed vertical ontogenetic stratification across their bathymetric range, where juveniles were found shallower in their depth range and mature females deeper. Potential ecological and evolutionary drivers that explain the observed patterns of intra and inter-specific structure, such as hydrostatic pressure and topographical isolation, are discussed.

Superconducting energy storage magnet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boom, Roger W. (Inventor); Eyssa, Yehia M. (Inventor); Abdelsalam, Mostafa K. (Inventor); Huang, Xianrui (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A superconducting magnet is formed having composite conductors arrayed in coils having turns which lie on a surface defining substantially a frustum of a cone. The conical angle with respect to the central axis is preferably selected such that the magnetic pressure on the coil at the widest portion of the cone is substantially zero. The magnet structure is adapted for use as an energy storage magnet mounted in an earthen trench or tunnel where the strength the surrounding soil is lower at the top of the trench or tunnel than at the bottom. The composite conductor may be formed having a ripple shape to minimize stresses during charge up and discharge and has a shape for each ripple selected such that the conductor undergoes a minimum amount of bending during the charge and discharge cycle. By minimizing bending, the working of the normal conductor in the composite conductor is minimized, thereby reducing the increase in resistance of the normal conductor that occurs over time as the conductor undergoes bending during numerous charge and discharge cycles.

PROCESS WATER BUILDING, TRA605. AERIAL TAKEN WHILE SEVERAL PIPE TRENCHES ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

PROCESS WATER BUILDING, TRA-605. AERIAL TAKEN WHILE SEVERAL PIPE TRENCHES REMAINED OPEN. CAMERA FACES EASTERLY. NOTE DUAL PIPES BETWEEN REACTOR BUILDING AND NORTH SIDE OF PROCESS WATER BUILDING. PIPING NEAR WORKING RESERVOIR HEADS FOR RETENTION RESERVOIR. PIPE FROM DEMINERALIZER ENTERS MTR FROM NORTH. SEE ALSO TRENCH FOR COOLANT AIR DUCT AT SOUTH SIDE OF MTR AND LEADING TO FAN HOUSE AND STACK. INL NEGATIVE NO. 2966-A. Unknown Photographer, 7/31/1951 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Test Reactor Area, Materials & Engineering Test Reactors, Scoville, Butte County, ID

High aspect ratio sub-15 nm silicon trenches from block copolymer templates.

PubMed

Gu, Xiaodan; Liu, Zuwei; Gunkel, Ilja; Chourou, S T; Hong, Sung Woo; Olynick, Deirdre L; Russell, Thomas P

2012-11-08

High-aspect-ratio sub-15-nm silicon trenches are fabricated directly from plasma etching of a block copolymer mask. A novel method that combines a block copolymer reconstruction process and reactive ion etching is used to make the polymer mask. Silicon trenches are characterized by various methods and used as a master for subsequent imprinting of different materials. Silicon nanoholes are generated from a block copolymer with cylindrical microdomains oriented normal to the surface. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

PBF Reactor Building (PER620) under construction. Aerial view with camera ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

PBF Reactor Building (PER-620) under construction. Aerial view with camera facing northeast. Steel framework is exposed for west wing and high bay. Concrete block siding on east wing. Railroad crane set up on west side. Note trenches proceeding from front of building. Left trench is for secondary coolant and will lead to Cooling Tower. Shorter trench will contain cables leading to control area. Photographer: Larry Page. Date: March 22, 1967. INEEL negative no. 67-5025 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, SPERT-I & Power Burst Facility Area, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Altimetry data over trenches and island-arcs and convection in the mantle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Transfer function techniques were developed to calculate the isostatic component of the geoid signal over trench/island arc/back arc systems. Removal of this isostatic component from geoid profiles determined by GEOS 3 radar altimetry leaves a residual geoid that can be attributed to the effect of mass inhomogeneities below the depth of compensation. Efforts are underway to extend the analysis to all the major trench/island arc systems of the world in order to provide more detailed understanding of the dynamic processes occurring beneath island arcs.

Cleanup Verification Package for the 116-K-2 Effluent Trench

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

J. M. Capron

2006-04-04

This cleanup verification package documents completion of remedial action for the 116-K-2 effluent trench, also referred to as the 116-K-2 mile-long trench and the 116-K-2 site. During its period of operation, the 116-K-2 site was used to dispose of cooling water effluent from the 105-KE and 105-KW Reactors by percolation into the soil. This site also received mixed liquid wastes from the 105-KW and 105-KE fuel storage basins, reactor floor drains, and miscellaneous decontamination activities.

KSC-08pd0671

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-03-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, rollback of the rotating service structure reveals space shuttle Endeavour atop the mobile launcher platform. First motion was at 8:23 a.m. and rollback was complete at 8:55 a.m. Above the orange external tank is seen the "beanie cap" at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, extending from the fixed service structure. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. Below is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end, flush against the shuttle. The crew gains access into the orbiter through the White Room. On either side of the main engines and below the wings are the tail service masts, which provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. The rotating structure provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. The structure is supported by a rotating bridge that pivots about a vertical axis on the west side of the pad's flame trench. After the RSS is rolled back, the orbiter is ready for fuel cell activation and external tank cryogenic propellant loading operations. The pad is cleared to the perimeter gate for operations to fill the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants used by the shuttle’s main engines. This is done at the pad approximately eight hours before the scheduled launch. Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Launch is scheduled for 2:28 a.m. EDT March 11. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-08pd0667

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-03-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the rotating service structure has rolled away to uncover space shuttle Endeavour, resting on the mobile launcher platform. First motion was at 8:23 a.m. and rollback was complete at 8:55 a.m. Above the orange external tank is seen the "beanie cap" at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, extending from the fixed service structure. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. Below is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end, flush against the shuttle. The crew gains access into the orbiter through the White Room. On either side of the main engines and below the wings are the tail service masts, which provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. The rotating structure provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. The structure is supported by a rotating bridge that pivots about a vertical axis on the west side of the pad's flame trench. After the RSS is rolled back, the orbiter is ready for fuel cell activation and external tank cryogenic propellant loading operations. The pad is cleared to the perimeter gate for operations to fill the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants used by the shuttle’s main engines. This is done at the pad approximately eight hours before the scheduled launch. Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Launch is scheduled for 2:28 a.m. EDT March 11. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-08pd0670

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-03-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, rollback of the rotating service structure (at left) reveals space shuttle Endeavour atop the mobile launcher platform. First motion was at 8:23 a.m. and rollback was complete at 8:55 a.m. Above the orange external tank is seen the "beanie cap" at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, extending from the fixed service structure. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. Below is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end, flush against the shuttle. The crew gains access into the orbiter through the White Room. On either side of the main engines and below the wings are the tail service masts, which provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. The rotating structure provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. The structure is supported by a rotating bridge that pivots about a vertical axis on the west side of the pad's flame trench. After the RSS is rolled back, the orbiter is ready for fuel cell activation and external tank cryogenic propellant loading operations. The pad is cleared to the perimeter gate for operations to fill the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants used by the shuttle’s main engines. This is done at the pad approximately eight hours before the scheduled launch. Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Launch is scheduled for 2:28 a.m. EDT March 11. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Geologic and paleoseismic study of the Lavic Lake fault at Lavic Lake Playa, Mojave Desert, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rymer, M.J.; Seitz, G.G.; Weaver, K.D.; Orgil, A.; Faneros, G.; Hamilton, J.C.; Goetz, C.

2002-01-01

Paleoseismic investigations of the Lavic Lake fault at Lavic Lake playa place constraints on the timing of a possible earlier earthquake along the 1999 Hector Mine rupture trace and reveal evidence of the timing of the penultimate earthquake on a strand of the Lavic Lake fault that did not rupture in 1999. Three of our four trenches, trenches A, B, and C, were excavated across the 1999 Hector Mine rupture; a fourth trench, D, was excavated across a vegetation lineament that had only minor slip at its southern end in 1999. Trenches A-C exposed strata that are broken only by the 1999 rupture; trench D exposed horizontal bedding that is locally warped and offset by faults. Stratigraphic evidence for the timing of an earlier earthquake along the 1999 rupture across Lavic Lake playa was not exposed. Thus, an earlier event, if there was one along that rupture trace, predates the lowest stratigraphic level exposed in our trenches. Radiocarbon dating of strata near the bottom of trenches constrains a possible earlier event to some time earlier than about 4950 B.C. Buried faults revealed in trench D are below a vegetation lineament at the ground surface. A depositional contact about 80 cm below the ground surface acts as the upward termination of fault breaks in trench D. Thus, this contact may be the event horizon for a surface-rupturing earthquake prior to 1999-the penultimate earthquake on the Lavic Lake fault. Radiocarbon ages of detrital charcoal samples from immediately below the event horizon indicate that the earthquake associated with the faulting occurred later than A.D. 260. An approximately 1300-year age difference between two samples at about the same stratigraphic level below the event horizon suggests the potential for a long residence time of detrital charcoal in the area. Coupled with a lack of bioturbation that could introduce young organic material into the stratigraphic section, the charcoal ages provide only a maximum bounding age; thus, the recognized event may be younger. There is abundant, subtle evidence for pre-1999 activity of the Lavic Lake fault in the playa area, even though the fault was not mapped near the playa prior to the Hector Mine earthquake. The most notable indicators for long-term presence of the fault are pronounced, persistent vegetation lineaments and uplifted basalt exposures. Primary and secondary slip occurred in 1999 on two southern vegetation lineaments, and minor slip locally formed on a northern lineament; trench exposures across the northern vegetation lineament revealed the post-A.D. 260 earthquake, and a geomorphic trough extends northward into alluvial fan deposits in line with this lineament. The presence of two basalt exposures in Lavic lake playa indicates the presence of persistent compressional steps and uplift along the fault. Fault-line scarps are additional geomorphic markers of repeated slip events in basalt exposures.

Structural interpretation and physical property estimates based on COAST 2012 seismic reflection profiles offshore central Washington, Cascadia subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, S. I.; Tobin, H. J.; Everson, E. D.; Fortin, W.; Holbrook, W. S.; Kent, G.; Keranen, K. M.

2014-12-01

The Cascadia subduction zone has a history of large magnitude earthquakes, but a near-total lack of plate interface seismicity, making the updip limit of the seismogenic zone difficult to locate. In addition, the central Cascadia accretionary prism is characterized by an extremely low wedge taper angle, landward vergent initial thrusting, and a flat midslope terrace between the inner and outer wedges, unlike most other accretionary prisms (e.g. the Nankai Trough, Japan). The Cascadia Open Access Seismic Transect (COAST) lines were shot by R/V Marcus Langseth in July of 2012 off central Washington to image this subduction zone. Two trench-parallel and nine trench-perpendicular lines were collected. In this study, we present detailed seismic interpretation of both time- and depth-migrated stacked profiles, focused on elucidating the deposition and deformation of both pre- and syn-tectonic sediment in the trench and slope. Distribution and timing of sediments and their deformation is used to unravel the evolution of the wedge through time. Initially, interpretation of the time-sections is carried out to support the building of tomographic velocity models to aid in the pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) of selected lines. In turn, we use PSDM velocity models to estimate porosity and pore pressure conditions at the base of the wedge and across the basal plate interface décollement where possible, using established velocity-porosity transforms. Interpretation in this way incorporates both accurate structural relationships and robust porosity models to document wedge development and present-day stress state, in particular regions of potential overpressure. Results shed light on the origin and evolution of the mid-slope terrace and the low taper angle for the forearc wedge. This work may shed light ultimately on the position of the potential updip limit of the seismogenic zone beneath the wedge.

Kinematic Reconstruction of the Costa Rican Margin: Evidence for Discontinuities in Deformation Across the Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gose, B.; Bangs, N. L.; McIntosh, K. D.

2016-12-01

Recently acquired 3D seismic reflection data shows that both in-sequence and out-of sequence faults makeup the interior structure of the Costa Rican convergent margin. Recent studies have found evidence for a phase of accretion that led to the formation of a series of thrust-bounded folds that are easily observable within the margin-wedge fabric. Along a primary 2D transect through the center of the 3D survey, faults partition the outer 23km of the margin into 8 fault-bounded segments that can be divided into two characteristic zones, those closest to the trench (S1-S3) and those furthest (S4-S8) separated by a slope break 10 km from the trench (Fig 1). To better understand the observed structure, each segment was characterized as a fault-propagation fold and geometrically modeled using Paradigm's Geosec 2D software. Kinematic flexural slip modules were applied in order to perform bed-length balancing and generate a geologic reconstruction of the margin. Results show the section of the margin spanning from 3-23km from the deformation front has experienced 27.5% shortening, assuming the interpreted horizons were initially flat and continuous. The individual values for percent shortening are not consistent across the margin but distributed into two zones each with progressively increasing strain in the landward direction. Zone 2 (landward) begins with a percent shortening for S8 at 22% and linearly decreases to 2% shortening as you move seaward to S4. The Zone 1-2 boundary is marked by a slope break coinciding with an increase in percent shortening (S3,15%) followed by less shortening seaward (9%, 8%). Shortening and the associated strain is focused at the landward side of the two zones, within S3 and S8. We conclude that the Costa Rican margin has some degree of mechanical partitioning, with a notable discontinuity in strain patterns occurring 10 km from the trench.

Structural characteristics of the décollement zone and underthrust sediments in the Nankai accretionary prism: Geologic architectures in the Site C0023, IODP Expedition 370

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Y.; Okutsu, N.; Yamada, Y.; Bowden, S.; Tonai, S.; Yang, K.; Tsang, M. Y.; Hirose, T.; Kamiya, N.

2017-12-01

Expedition 370 penetrated the accretionary prism, plate boundary décollement zone, and underthrust sediment and touched the basement basalt on the Philippine Sea Plate. The drilling site (C0023) is located 4 km NE from the legacy sites, Sites 808 and 1174. Compared to the legacy sites, the décollement zone is characterized by weak and intermittent negative reflectors in the seismic profile. Onboard physical properties, e.g. porosity and P-wave velocity data, indeed show the smaller gaps at the top of the décollement zone. The nature of the deformation along the décollement zone represented 40 m thick phacoidal deformation zone composed of fragmented mudstone with slickenlines on the surfaces in the Sites 808 and 1174. Compare with this, décollement zone in Site C0023 represented the weaker and non-localized deformation zone comprised of alternating zone of 1 m thick phacoidal deformation zones and a few 10 m of intact intervals in the Site C0023. Many normal faults striking parallel to the trench were identified just below the décollement zone, which is indicative of non-localized deformations along the décollement zone. Many of these faults were accompanied with calcite and sulphate mineral veins (anhydrite and barite), indicative of high-temperature fluid migration just above the ridge-spreading center. Based on the paleomagnetic restoration of structure to the geologic coordinate, attitudes of the bedding and fault planes in the Site C0023 are controlled by two factors: 1) subduction/accretion producing the trench-parallel bedding strikes and trench-perpendicular principal stress and 2) ridge spreading that produces ridge-parallel bedding and vein strikes. The former developed in the accretionary prism and the upper part of the underthrust sediment (<900 mbsf), whereas the latter occurs in the lower part (>900 mbsf). These tectonic variations might affect fluid migration pathways.

Analysis of pavement structure sensitivity to passage of oversized heavy duty vehicle in terms of bearing capacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawid, Rys; Piotr, Jaskula

2018-05-01

Oversized heavy duty vehicles occur in traffic very rarely but they reach extremely high weights, even up to 800 tonne. The detrimental impact of these vehicles on pavement structure is much higher than in case of commercial vehicles that comprise typical traffic, thus it is necessary to assess the sensitivity of pavement structure to passage of oversized vehicles. The paper presents results of sample calculations of load equivalency factor of a heavy duty oversized vehicle with usage of mechanistic-empirical approach. The effects of pavement thickness, type of distress (cracking or rutting) and pavement condition (new or old with structural damage) were considered in the paper. Analysis revealed that a single pass of an 800 tonne oversized vehicle is equivalent to pass of up to 377 standard 100 kN axles. Load equivalency factor calculated for thin structures is almost 3 times lower than for thick structures, however, the damage effect caused by one pass of an oversized vehicle is higher in the case of thin structure. Bearing capacity of a pavement structure may be qualified as sufficient for passage of an oversized heavy duty vehicle when the measured deflection, for example in an FWD test, does not exceed the maximum deflections derived from mechanistic-empirical analysis. The paper presents sample calculation of maximum deflections which allow to consider passage of an oversized vehicle as safe over different pavement structures. The paper provides road administration with a practical tool which helps to decide whether to issue a permit of passage for a given oversized vehicle.