A seismological study of shallow weak micro-earthquakes in the urban area of Hamburg city,Germany, and its possible relation to salt dissolution

In the night from 8/9 April 2009, shortly after midnight on Maundy Thursday before Easter, several people in Gross Flottbek, Hamburg, felt unusual strong ground shocks so that some of them left their houses in fear of earthquake shaking. Police and fire brigade received phone calls of worried residents. A few days later, Internet pages were published where people reported their observations. On 21 April 2009 at about 8 p.m. local time, a second ground-shaking event was felt. Damage to buildings or infrastructure did not occur to our knowledge. The Institute of Geophysics, University of Hamburg, installed from 22 April to 17 May 2009 three temporal seismic stations in the epicentral area. Seismological data from two nearby stations at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron at 1 km and the Geophysical Institute at 7 km distance were collected and integrated to the temporal network. The events occurred above the roof of the shallow Othmarschen Langenfelde salt diapir, in an area known for active sinkhole formation and previous historic ground-shaking events. The analysis of the seismological data shows that three shallow micro-earthquakes occurred from 8 to 21 April at a depth of about 100 m, the largest one with a moment magnitude of about M _W 0.6. Depth location of such shallow events is difficult with standard methods and is here constrained by waveform modeling of surface waves. Earthquakes occurring in soft sediments within the uppermost 100 m are a rare phenomena and cannot be explained by standard models. Rupture process in soft sediments differs from those on faults in more competent rock. We discuss the rupture and source mechanism of the events in the context of previous historic shocks and existing sinkhole and deformation data. Although the event was weak, the rupture duration of 0.3 s was unusual long. Three possible models for the generation of repeated ground-shaking events in Gross Flottbek are developed and discussed, implying quit different hazards for subsidence, ground motion, and sinkhole formation. Our favored model postulates that roof failure occurs in an existing soil cavity beneath the epicenter at a depth of about 100 m. Other models bearing a smaller geo-hazard cannot be disproved with the data available, but future geophysical experiments may be planned to resolve this question.     

The structural state of the former lower continental crust in Calabria (S. Italy)

In the Northern Serre (S. Italy), a continuous section through a former lower continental crust is exposed (Schenk 1984, 1985). These granulite facies rocks have not been penetratively deformed during their uplift to higher crustal levels. Therefore, they allow to study the structural state of the lower continental crust. Most rockforming minerals, among them ortho- and clinopyroxene and cordierite, show recrystallization structures. Quarz basal subgrain boundaries are developed in lower levels of the lower crust and disappear toward higher levels. In addition to dimensional orientations of the rockforming minerals, the preferred crystallographic orientations of plagioclases, cordierite, amphibole, pyroxenes and, rarely, quartz reflect the strain orientation of the prograde high-T deformation. During this deformation, the stretching direction was constant NNE-SSW throughout the exposed lower crustal section. Shear indicators are rare. This points to the fact that deformation has been homogeneous and coaxial flattening. There is only a small variation in orientation and strength of textures throughout the exposed lower crust. Therefore, neighbouring layers of different composition rather than different deformation might serve as seismic reflectors in the former lower crust.

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Zusammenfassung In der nördlichen Serre (Süditalien) ist ein zusammenhängender Bereich einer ehemaligen kontinentalen Unterkruste aufgeschlossen (Schenk 1984, 1985). Diese granulitfaziellen Gesteine sind bei ihrem Aufstieg in höhere Krustenbereiche nicht durchgreifend überprägt worden. Deshalb läßt sich an ihnen noch der strukturelle Zustand der ehemaligen Unterkruste studieren. Außer in Feldspäten, Quarz und Amphibol tritt auch in Ortho- und Klinopyroxen und in Cordierit Rekristallisation auf. In tieferen Krustenniveaus sind im Quarz basisparallele Subkorngrenzen entwickelt, die in höheren Krustenbereichen nicht auftreten. Sowohl die Gestaltregelungen der gesteinsbildenden Minerale als auch die kristallographischen Plagioklas-, Cordierit-, Amphibol-, Pyroxen- und (seltener) Quarzregelungen spiegeln die Strain-orientierung der prograden hochtemperierten Deformation wider. Während dieser Deformation blieb die Streckung im gesamten Unterkrustenbereich konstant NNE-SSW orientiert. Scherindikatoren sind selten. Beides deutet darauf hin, daß die Deformation homogen und als koachsiale Plättung abgelaufen ist. Im gesamten aufgeschlossenen Unterkrustenbereich variieren weder Intensität noch Orientierung der kristallographischen und gestaltlichen Regelungen der gesteinsbildenden Minerale wesentlich. Deshalb sollten in der ehemaligen Unterkruste Lagen unterschiedlicher Deformation weniger als seismische Reflektoren in Frage kommen als Lagen unterschiedlicher Zusammensetzung.

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Résumé Le Massif de la Serre Septentrionale en Calabre (Sud de l'Italie) représente un tronçon d'une ancienne croûte continentale profonde (Schenk 1984, 1985). Les roches du faciès granulite qui le constituent n'ont pas subi de déformation penetrative lors de leur ascension dans les niveaux plus superficiels de la croûte. Leur étude permet donc de reconstruire les caractéristiques structurales de l'ancienne croûte profonde. Non seulement les feldspaths, le quartz et l'amphibole, mais encore l'orthopyroxène, le clinopyroxène et la cordiérite ont recristallisé. Dans les niveaux les plus profonds de la croûte on observe dans les cristaux de quartz des bordures de sous-grains parallèles à la base. Celles-ci n'apparaissent plus dans les niveaux plus superficiels. L'orientation des cristaux des minéraux constitutifs des roches, de même que l'orientation des réseaux cristallins du plagioclase, de la cordiérite, de l'amphibole, du pyroxène et (mais plus rarement) du quartz réflètent la direction de contrainte de la phase de déformation prograde de haute température. Pendant cette phase de déformation, la direction d'extension est demeurée NNE-SSW. Les témoins de cisaillement sont rares, ce qui montre que la déformation s'est effectuée de façon homogène, en relation avec un aplatissement coaxial. Les textures varient très peu en orientation comme en intensité dans toute la coupe de croûte profonde exposée. En conséquence, l'existence de réflecteurs sismiques devrait refléter des différences dans les compositions minéralogiques des roches plutôt que dans leurs caractéristiques structurales.

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Influence of plastic fines content on the liquefaction susceptibility of sands: monotonic loading

Acta Geotechnica - The paper presents an experimental study on the effect of plastic fines content on the undrained behavior and liquefaction susceptibility of sand–fines mixtures under...     

Modern and Pleistocene boron isotope composition of the benthic foraminifer Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi

Here we present the first species-specific study of boron isotopes in the epibenthic foraminifer species Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi. Coretop samples from a water depth profile from 1000 to 4500 m on the northern flank of the Walvis Ridge are 4.4‰ lower than the values expected, based on calculations of the δ¹¹B_borate of ambient seawater. Similar values for this foraminifer species are presented from ODP site 668B at the Sierra Leone Rise, in the equatorial Atlantic. The consistency between data of the same species suggests the offsets are primary, rather than diagenetic. Glacial C. wuellerstorfi from ODP 668B and Walvis Ridge have boron isotope compositions only slightly different to interglacial samples, that is no larger than + 0.10 pH units, or + 23 µmol kg^− 1 in [CO₃²⁻] above the reconstructed glacial lysocline, and − 0.07 pH units, or − 14 µmol kg^− 1 in [CO₃²⁻] below. We use these results to suggest that glacial deep water pH in the Atlantic was similar to interglacial pH. The new data resolve the inconsistency between the previously reported high bottom water pH and the lack of significant carbonate preservation of the glacial deep ocean.     

Origin of ore fluids in the Muruntau gold system: Constraints from noble gas, carbon isotope and halogen data

Hydrothermal vein minerals directly associated with native gold mineralization in the Muruntau vein system (Uzbekistan) have been studied for noble gas, carbon isotope and halogen chemistry of the trapped ore-related fluids. Helium trapped in early arsenopyrite 1, which has preserved the original fluid signature better than associated scheelite and quartz, indicates a small input from a mantle source (?5% of total He). However, the overwhelming majority of the He in the fluid (∼95%) is from crustal sources. The noble gases Ne, Kr and Xe in the sample fluids are dominated by gases of atmospheric origin. The carbon isotope (δ¹³C: −2.1‰ to −5.3‰) and halogen characteristics of the fluids (log Br/Cl: −2.64 to −3.23) lend further support for the activity of juvenile fluids during the main ore stage. The high proportion of crustal components in the ore-forming fluids may be explained by intense fluid-rock interaction and is also supported by previous Nd and Sr isotope studies. The involvement of a juvenile fluid component during the main stage of hydrothermal activity at Muruntau (∼275 Ma) can be linked to the emplacement of lamprophyric dikes at Muruntau, due to apparently overlapping ages for high-temperature alteration, related ore vein formation and intrusion of the dikes. The input of mantle-derived fluids, possibly related to the Hercynian collisional event in the western Tien Shan, stimulated intense fluid-rock interaction in the crust. In this context, the mantle-derived fluid should be considered as one possible carrier of metals. Significant amounts of external meteoric fluids circulating in fracture systems are interpreted to have modified the noble gas signature of fluid in quartz, mostly during late, low temperature fluid circulation.