Seismic rays in an ellipsoidal earth model: theoretical analysis and estimation of deviations due to the ellipticity

Summary. A first-order form of the Euler's equations for rays in an ellipsoidal model of the Earth is obtained. The conditions affecting the velocity law for a monotonic increase, with respect to the arc length, in the angular distance to the epicentre, and in the angle of incidence, are the same in the ellipsoidal and spherical models. It is therefore possible to trace rays and to compute travel times directly in an ellipsoidal earth as in the spherical model. Thus comparison with the rays of the same coordinates in a spherical earth provides an estimate of the various deviations of these rays due to the Earth's flattening, and the corresponding travel-time differences, for mantle P -waves and for shallow earthquakes. All these deviations are functions both of the latitude and of the epicentral distance. The difference in the distance to the Earth's centre at points with the same geocentric latitude on rays in the ellipsoidal and in the spherical model may reach several kilometres. Directly related to the deformation of the isovelocity surfaces, this difference is the only cause of significant perturbation in travel times. Other differences, such as that corresponding to the ray torsion, are of the first order in ellipticity, and may exceed 1 km. They induce only small differences in travel time, less than 0.01s. Thus, we show that the ellipticity correction obtained by Jeffreys (1935) and Bullen (1937) by a perturbational method can be recovered by a direct evaluation of the travel times in an ellipsoidal model of the Earth. Moreover, as stated by Dziewonski & Gilbert (1976), we verify the non-dependence of this correction on the choice of the velocity law.     

The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar‐forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon‐14 wiggle‐match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric ¹⁴C; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO₂; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP ¹⁰Be flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of stress release models to historical earthquakes from North China

Univariate and multivariate stress release models are fitted to historical earthquake data from North China. It is shown that a better fit is obtained by treating separately the Eastern part of the region, including the North China Plain and Bohai Sea, and the Western part of the region, including the Ordos Plateau and its Eastern boundary. Further improvement is obtained by fitting the large events (M7.6) and smaller events in the Western region by different stress release models. The comparisons are made by computing the likelihoods of the fitted models and discounting the number of parameters used by Akaike's AIC criterion. The models are used to develop long-term risk scenarios for the East and West regions.     

岩体三维节点偶对分析及其应用

本文讨论了节点偶对分析的三维扩展。节点偶对分析是针对摩擦滑动节理单元的约束边界进行的序列矢量判定。在三维节理单元的分析中,几何约束和相应的力学判据极为复杂,采用节点偶对等效结合力方法才能迎刃而解。文中对三维转向节理模型的分析得到合理的结果,它表明本文所提出的方法可成功地应用于节理岩体的有限元分析。     

East Asian monsoon variation and climate changes in Jeju Island, Korea, during the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene

A 4.96-m-long sediment core from the Hanon paleo-maar in Jeju Island, Korea was studied to investigate the paleoclimatic change and East Asian monsoon variations during the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene (23,000-9000 cal yr BP). High-resolution TOC content, magnetic susceptibility, and major element composition data indicate that Jeju Island experienced the coldest climate around 18,000 cal yr BP, which corresponds to the last glacial maximum (LGM). Further, these multi-proxy data show an abrupt shift in climatic regime from cold and arid to warm and humid conditions at around 14,000 cal yr BP, which represents the commencement of the last major deglaciation. After the last major deglaciation, the TOC content decreased from 13,300 to 12,000 cal yr BP and from 11,500 to 9800 cal yr BP, thereby reflecting the weakening of the summer monsoon. The LGM in Jeju Island occurred later in comparison with the Chinese Loess Plateau. Such a disparity in climatic change events between central China and Jeju Island appears to be caused by the asynchrony between the coldest temperature event and the minimum precipitation event in central China and by the buffering effect of the Pacific Ocean.     

Focal mechanism inversion in the Giudicarie–Lessini seismotectonic region (Southern Alps, Italy): Insights on tectonic stress and strain

A set of 41 focal mechanisms (1989–2006) from P-wave first polarities is computed from relocated seismic events in the Giudicarie–Lessini region (Southern Alps). Estimated hypocentral depths vary from 3.1 to 20.8 km, for duration magnitudes (M_D) in the range 2.7–5.1. Stress and strain inversions are performed for two seismotectonic zones, namely G (Giudicarie) and L (Lessini). This subdivision is supported by geological evidence, seismicity distribution, and focal mechanism types. The available number of data (16 in G, 22 in L) does not make possible any further subdivisions. Seismotectonic zones G and L are undergoing different kinematic regimes: thrust with strike-slip component in G, and strike-slip in L. Principal stress and strain axes in each sub-region show similar orientations. The direction of maximum horizontal compressive stress is roughly perpendicular to the thrust fronts along the Giudicarie Belt in zone G, and compatible with right-lateral strike-slip reactivation of the faults belonging to the Schio-Vicenza system in zone L. On the whole, kinematic regimes and horizontal stress orientations show a good fit with other stress data from focal mechanisms and breakouts and with geodetic strain rate axes.     

Morphological analysis of the drainage system in the Eastern Alps

We study the morphology of the major rivers draining the Eastern Alps to test whether the active tectonics of this part of the orogen is reflected in the shape of channel profiles of the river network. In our approach we compare channel profiles measured from digital elevation models with numerically modelled channel profiles using a stream power approach. It is shown that regions of high stream power coincide largely with regions of highest topography and largest uplift rates, while the forelands and the Pannonian Basin are characterised by a significantly lower stream power. From stream power modelling we conclude that there is young uplift at the very east of the Eastern Alps, in the Bohemian Massif and in the Pohorje Range. The impact of the Pleistocene glaciations is explored by comparing properties of rivers that drain in proximal and distal positions relative to the ice sheet during the last glacial maximum. Our analysis shows that most knick points, wind gaps and other non-equilibrium features of catchments covered by ice during the last glaciations (Salzach, Enns) can be correlated with glacial processes. In contrast the ice free catchments of the Mur and Drava are characterized by channels in morphological equilibrium at the first approximation and are showing only weak evidence of the strong tectonic activity within these catchments. Finally, the channel profiles of the Adige and the divide between the upper Rhine and Danube catchments differ significantly from the other catchments. We relate this to the fact that the Adige and the Rhine respond to different base levels from the remainder of the Eastern Alps: The Adige may preserve a record from the Messininan base level change and the Rhine is subject to the base level lowering in the Rhine Graben.     

安徽省黄山地区唐家坞组生物地层

安徽省南部黄山市刘村一带唐家坞组的时代以往归为晚志留世,新近在唐家坞组中采获腕足类、瓣鳃类、腹足类等多门类化石,并首次采获胞石、鹦鹉螺等化石,其中胞石Conochitina(Densichitana)dens的时代为兰多维列世末至文洛克世初期,含这些化石的层位相当于秀山动物群的层位。结合地质情况分析,唐家坞组时限主要属于早志留世。