surface wave tomography of the western united states from ambient seismic noise rayleigh and love wave phase velocity maps summary we present the results of rayleigh wave and love wave phase velocity tomography in the western united states using ambient seismic noise observed at over 250 broad band stations from the earthscope usarray transportable array and regional networks all available threecomponent time series for the 12 month span between 2005 november 1 and 2006 october 31 have been cross correlated to yield estimated empirical rayleigh and love wave green s functions the love wave signals were observed with higher average signal to noise ratio snr than rayleigh wave signals and hence cannot be fully explained by the scattering of rayleigh waves phase velocity dispersion curves for both rayleigh and love waves between 5 and 40 speriod were measured for each interstation path by applying frequency time analysis the average uncertainty and systematic bias of the measurements are estimated using a method based on analysing thousands of nearly linearly aligned station triplets we find that empirical green s functions can be estimated accurately from the negative time derivative of the symmetric component ambient noise cross correlation without explicit knowledge of the source distribution the average traveltime uncertainty is less than 1 s at periods shorter than 24 s we present rayleigh and love wave phase speed maps at periods of 8 12 16 and 20 s the maps show clear correlations with major geological structures and qualitative agreement with previous results based on rayleigh wave group speeds

dynamic topography produced by lower crustal flow against rheological strength heterogeneities bordering the tibetan plateau summary dynamic stresses developed in the deep crust as a consequence of flow of weak lower crust may explain anomalously high topography and extensional structures localized along orogenic plateau margins with lubrication equations commonly used to describe viscous flow in a thin gap geometry we model dynamic stresses associated with the obstruction of lower crustal channel flow due to rheological heterogeneity dynamic stresses depend on the mean velocity u viscosity and channel thickness h uniquely through the term u h 2 these stresses are then applied to the base of an elastic upper crust and the deflection of the elastic layer is computed to yield the predicted dynamic topography we compare model calculations with observed topography of the eastern tibetan plateau margin where we interpret channel flow of the deep crust to be inhibited by the rigid sichuan basin model results suggest that as much 1500 m of dynamic topography across a region of several tens to a hundred kilometres wide may be produced for lower crustal material with a viscosity of 2 10 18 p asfl owing in a 15 km thick channel around a rigid cylindrical block at an average rate of 80 mm yr 1

crustal deformation of the eastern tibetan plateau revealed by magnetotelluric imaging the ongoing collision of the indian and asian continents has created the himalaya and tibetan plateau through a range of deformation processes these include crustal thickening detachment of the lower lithosphere from the plate delamination and flow in a weakened lower crust 1 6 debate continues as to which of these processes are most significant 7 in eastern tibet large scale motion of the surface occurs but the nature of deformation at depth remains unresolved a large scale crustal flow channel has been proposed as an explanation for regional uplift in eastern tibet 6 8 9 but existing geophysical data 10 11 do not constrain the pattern of flow magnetotellurics uses naturally occurring electromagnetic waves to image the earth s subsurface here we present magnetotelluric data that image two major zones or channels of high electrical conductivity at a depth of 20 40 km the channels extend horizontally more than 800 km from the tibetan plateau into southwest china the electrical properties of the channels imply an elevated fluid content consistent with a weak crust 12 13 that permits flow on a geological timescale these findings support the hypothesis that crustal flow can occur in orogenic belts and contribute to uplift of plateaux our results reveal the previously unknown complexities of these patterns of crustal flow many previous studies of the indiaasia

long submarine lava flows observations and results from numerical modeling long 100 km lava flows are relatively common on mars and venus and have been identified on the moon but they are rarely documented on earth however although 75 of the earth s surface is covered by water only a small percentage of the ocean floor has been investigated at a resolution sufficient to unequivocally identify the boundaries of long submarine lava flows even so basaltic lava flows as long as 110 km have been identified on the deep 1500 m seafloor near hawaii and the east pacific rise ambient conditions on the deep ocean floor may favor the development of long lava flows for the following reasons first high pressures 15 mpa keep volatiles dissolved in basaltic lavas preventing viscosity increases associated with exsolution and vesiculation second seawater rapidly quenches the surface of submarine basalt flows so that an insulating glass layer 1 5 cm thick encases submarine flows within seconds after their emplacement this glass rind effectively insulates the molten flow interior from additional heat loss making submarine basalt flows behave as well insulated subaerial tube fed flows thus for identical basalt flows emplaced on the deep seafloor and subaerially a submarine flow could advance farther before stopping results of numerical modeling indicate that thin 1 m submarine basalt flows behave similarly to identical subaerial flows but thicker submarine flows may advance significantly farther than their subaerial counterparts

surface deformation and lower crustal flow in eastern tibet field observations and satellite geodesy indicate that little crustal shortening has occurred along the central to southern margin of the eastern tibetan plateau since about 4 million years ago instead central eastern tibet has been nearly stationary relative to southeastern china southeastern tibet has rotated clockwise without major crustal shortening and the crust along portions of the eastern plateau margin has been extended modeling suggests that these phenomena are the result of continental convergence where the lower crust is so weak that upper crustal deformation is decoupled from the motion of the underlying mantle this model also predicts east west extension on the high plateau without convective removal of tibetan lithosphere and without eastward movement of the crust east of the plateau

accelerated thawing of subarctic peatland permafrost over the last 50 years 1 in this study we provide a quantification of the main patterns of change of a subarctic peatland caused by permafrost decay monitored between 1957 and 2003 up thrusting of the peatland surface due to permafrost aggradation during the little ice age resulted in the formation of an extensive peat plateau that gradually fragmented into residual palsas from the 19th century to the present only about 18 of the original surface occupied by permafrost was thawed in 1957 whereas only 13 was still surviving in 2003 rapid permafrost melting over the last 50 years caused the concurrent formation of thermokarst ponds and fen bog vegetation with rapid peat accumulation through natural successional processes of terrestrialization the main climatic driver for accelerated permafrost thawing was snow precipitation which increased from 1957 to present while annual and seasonal temperatures remained relatively stable until about the mid 1990s when annual temperature rose well above the mean contrary to current expectations the melting of permafrost caused by recent climate change does not transform the peatland to a carbon source ecosystem as rapid terrestrialization exacerbates carbon sink conditions and tends to balance the local carbon budget

strombolian explosions 1 a large bubble breaking at the surface of a lava column as a source of sound strombolian activity consists of a series of explosions caused by the breaking of large overpressurized bubbles at the surface of the magma column acoustic pressure has been measured for 36 explosions at stromboli we propose that sound is generated by the vibration of the bubble before it bursts oscillations are driven by an initial overpressure inside the bubble assumed to be initially at rest just below the magma air interface inertia effects cause the bubble to overshoot its equilibrium radius then the bubble becomes underpressurized and contracts because of gas compressibility these oscillations are only slightly damped by viscous effects in the magma layer above the bubble the bubble cannot complete more than one cycle of vibration because of instabilities developing on the magma layer that lead to its breaking near the minimum radius assuming a simple geometry we model this vibration and constrain the radius and length of the bubble and the initial overpressure by fitting a synthetic waveform to the measured acoustic pressure the fit between synthetic and observed waveforms is very good both for frequency 60 rad s 1 and amplitude the initial bubble radius is 1 m and the length varies between several and a few tens of meters from the initial overpressure approximately 105 pa we calculate the maximum radial velocity of ejecta 30 m s 1 the generally good agreement between data and predictions of our model leads us to suggest that acoustic measurements are a powerful tool for the understanding of eruption dynamics

structure of the crust beneath the southeastern tibetan plateau from teleseismic receiver functions abstract southeastern tibet marks the site of presumed clockwise rotation of the crust due to the india eurasian collision and abutment against the stable sichuan basin and south china block knowing the structure of the crust is a key to better understanding of crustal deformation and seismicity in this region here we analyze recordings of teleseismic earthquakes from 25 temporary broadband seismic stations and one permanent station using the receiver function method we find that the crustal thickness decreases gradually from the tibetan plateau proper to the sichuan basin and yangtze platform but that significant intra crustal heterogeneity exists on shorter lateral scales 0 30 are detected beneath the southeastern margin of tibet but in the sichuan basin and southeastern yangtze platform the values are close to the global average combined with high regional heat flow and independent evidence for mid crustal layers of high electric conductivity the large intra crustal s wave velocity reduction 12 19 and the intermediate to high average crustal poisson s ratios are consistent with partial melt in the crust beneath parts of southeastern tibet these results could be used in support of deformation models involving intra crustal flow with the caveat that significant lateral variation in location and strength of this flow may occur

collapse and reconstruction of monowai submarine volcano kermadec arc 1998 2004 monowai submarine volcano is one of the three most historically active volcanoes of the kermadec arc repeat multibeam surveys of monowai cone from september 1998 and september 2004 and t wave data recorded by the reseau sismique polynesien network for the same period document the collapse and subsequent regrowth of the cone within this 6 a period grid differencing of the two bathymetric data sets acquired 6 a apart reveals that a landslide 2230 m long occurred between the surveys within which a postcollapse cone and talus ridge 0 023 km3 in volume subsequently formed the volume of this collapse minus postcollapse construction is 0 085 km3 we interpret an unusual strong amplitude t wave event on 24 may 2002 as recording hot landsliding where the 100 to 160 m thick collapse has unroofed the uppermost parts of the vent conduit with the subsequent explosive interaction and cooling of hot magma and volcaniclastic rubble with ambient seawater this interpretation is consistent with the lack of emergent events sharp onset and large amplitude of the 24 may 2002 t waves the subsequent 2500 t wave events between november 2002 and september 2004 occurred in swarms with emerging and waning activity and with typical explosive volcanic acoustic signatures which are interpreted as recording the regrowth of an 90 m high cone back to a near 1998 elevation at an average rate of 47 m a 1 this study provides 1 a lower bound for frequency magnitude relationships of landsliding for submarine arc volcanoes and 2 estimates of 0 013 km3 a 1 of submarine cone growth during eruptive cycles

saturated and subcooled hydrothermal boiling in groundwater flow channels as a source of harmonic tremor the potential of hydrothermal boiling in groundwater flow channels for generating harmonic tremor a relatively monochromatic ground vibration associated with volcanic activity is examined we use simple organ pipe theory of normal mode fluid vibration and fundamental energy considerations to develop a first order analytical model of a hydrothermal boiling source of harmonic tremor we use this model to estimate order of magnitude groundwater flow channel lengths and boiling heat transfer rates required to produce harmonic tremor with dominant frequencies in the range 0 5 5 hz and surface wave reduced displacements of up to 100 cm2 depending on groundwater sound speed flow channel lengths of the order of 1 1000 m are required to produce fluid vibration eigenfrequencies in the range 0 5 5 hz the boiling heat transfer rate required to produce tremor with a given surface wave reduced displacement depends on the tremor frequency and on whether saturated boiling or subcooled boiling is the cause of the tremor saturated boiling produces groundwater vibration via steam bubble growth whereas subcooled boiling produces groundwater vibration via steam bubble collapse we find that subcooled hydrothermal boiling is from 102 to 104 times more efficient than saturated boiling in converting boiling thermal power to seismic power for example the boiling heat transfer rates required to produce 1 hz tremor with reduced displacements of up to 100 cm2 via subcooled boiling are generally less than a few thousand megawatts for saturated boiling the required boiling heat transfer rates are several orders of magnitude larger than this the highest values of heat flow reported in the literature for volcanic crater lakes and terrestrial and ocean floor geothermal areas are of the order of 1000 mw taking this value as a first order estimate of an upper limit on possible boiling heat transfer rates in volcanic hydrothermal systems our results suggest that saturated hydrothermal boiling is capable of generating only low amplitude harmonic tremor with surface wave reduced displacements no higher than a few square centimeters however subcooled hydrothermal boiling could potentially generate high amplitude harmonic tremor with reduced displacements as large as several hundred square centimeters as a specific application of our model we evaluate the potential of hydrothermal boiling for generating harmonic tremor at recently active mount st helens and nevado del ruiz volcanoes we conclude that subcooled boiling likely could have produced the tremor episodes considered at both volcanoes saturated boiling also could explain the nevado del ruiz tremor but probably not the more powerful mount st helens tremor

contemporary crustal deformation around the southeast borderland of the tibetan plateau 1 we derive a detailed horizontal velocity field for the southeast borderland of the tibetan plateau using gps data collected from the crustal motion observation network of china between 1998 and 2004 our results reveal a complex deformation field that indicates that the crust is fragmented into tectonic blocks of various sizes separated by strike slip and transtensional faults most notably the regional deformation includes 10 11 mm yr left slip across the xianshuihe fault 7 mm yr left slip across the anninghe zemuhe xiaojiang fault zone 2 mm yr right slip across a shear zone trending northwest near the southern segment of the lancang river fault and 3 mm yr left slip across the lijiang fault deformation along the southern segment of the red river fault appears not significant at present time the region south and west of the xianshuihexiaojiang fault system whose eastward motion is resisted by the stable south china block to the east turns from eastward to southward motion with respect to south china resulting in clockwise rotation of its internal subblocks active deformation is detected across two previously unknown deformation zones one is located 150 km northwest of and in parallel with the longmenshan fault with 4 6 mm yr right slip and another is continued south southwestward from the xiaojiang fault abutting the red river fault with 7 mm yr left slip while both of these zones are seismically active the exact locations of faults responsible for such deformation are yet to be mapped by field geology comparing our gps results with predictions of various models proposed for tibetan plateau deformation we find that the relatively small sizes of the inferred microblocks and their rotation pattern lend support to a model with a mechanically weak lower crust experiencing distributed deformation underlying a stronger highly fragmented upper crust

explosive deep water basalt in the sumisu backarc rift eruption of 1 million year old tholeiitic basalt 1800 meters below sea level 18 megapascals in a backarc rift behind the bonin arc produced a scoriaceous breccia similar in some respects to that formed during subaerial eruptions explosion of the magma is thought to have produced frothy agglutinate which welded either on the sea floor or in a submarine eruption column the resulting 135 meter thick pyroclastic deposit has paleomagnetic inclinations that are random at a scale of 2 5 meters high magmatic water content which is about 1 3 percent by weight after vesiculation contributed to the explosivity

physical volcanology of the submarine mariana and volcano arcs narrow beam maps selected dredge samplings and surveys of the mariana and volcano arcs identify 42 submarine volcanos observed activity and sample characteristics indicate 22 of these to be active or dormant edifices in the volcano arc are larger than most of the mariana arc edifices more irregularly shaped with numerous subsidiary cones and regularly spaced at 50 70 km volcanos in the mariana arc tend to be simple cones sets of individual cones and volcanic ridges are elongate parallel to the trend of the arc or at 110 counterclockwise from that trend suggesting a strong fault control on the distribution of arc magmas volcanos in the mariana arc are generally developed west of the frontal arc ridge on rifted frontal arc crust or new back arc basin crust volcanos in the central mariana arc are usually subaerial large 500 km3 and spaced about 50 70 km apart those in the northern and southern marianas are largely submarine closer together and generally less than 500 km3 in volume there is a shoaling of the arc basement around iwo jima accompanied by the appearance of incompatible element enriched lavas with alkalic affinities the larger volcanic edifices must reflect either a higher magma supply rate or a greater age for the larger volcanos if the magma supply estimated at 10 20 km3 km of arc per million years at 18 n has been relatively constant along the mariana arc we can infer a possible evolutionary sequence for arc volcanos from small irregularly spaced edifices to large over 1000 km3 edifices spaced at 50 70 km the volcano distribution and basal depths are consistent with the hypothesis of back arc propagation into the volcano arc

eruption fed particle plumes and volcaniclastic deposits at a submarine volcano nw rota 1 mariana arc 1 nw rota 1 is an active submarine volcano in the mariana arc with a summit depth of 517 m and an explosively erupting volcanic vent southwest of the summit at a depth of 530 560 m during a period of ongoing explosive eruptions particle plumes surrounded the volcano and at least 3 3 107 m3 of volcaniclastic material was deposited on the southern flank particle plumes over the summit were magmatic hydrothermal in origin characterized by 3he enrichment hydrothermal precipitates and low ph values plumes at multiple depths below the summit surrounded the volcano and were composed overwhelmingly of fresh glassy shards of basalt rare anhydrite particles were present but there was a complete absence of other hydrothermal components in the deep plume samples these short lived anhydrite particles indicate the source of the deep plumes is from within or very near the eruptive vent and the mechanism for transport down the flanks of the volcano must be far faster than settling of individual particles the deep plumes most likely originated from sediment gravity flows generated by explosive eruptions or slope failure and landslides of unstable materials that had accumulated near the eruptive vent suspended sediments detach from the volcano slopes at multiple depths and are transported laterally up to tens of kilometers where they contribute to fall out deposits in distal sediments these observations link mechanisms for the transport of volcanic ash in the submarine environment to the types of deposits common in volcaniclastic aprons and fine ash layers in distal sediments

direct video and hydrophone observations of submarine explosive eruptions at nw rota 1 volcano mariana arc 1 extraordinary video and hydrophone observations of a submarine explosive eruption were made with a remotely operated vehicle in april 2006 at a depth of 550 560 m on nw rota 1 volcano in the mariana arc the observed eruption evolved from effusive to explosive while the eruption rate increased from near zero to 10 100 m3 h during the peak in activity cyclic explosive bursts 2 6 min long were separated by shorter non eruptive pauses lasting 10 100 s the size of the ejecta increased with the vigor of the explosions a portable hydrophone deployed near the vent recorded sounds correlated with the explosive bursts the highest amplitudes were 50 db higher than ambient noise at frequencies between 10 and 50 hz the acoustic data allow us to quantify the durations amplitudes and evolution of the eruptive events over time the low eruption rate high gas lava ratio and rhythmic eruptive behavior at nw rota 1 are most consistent with a strombolian eruptive style we interpret that the eruption was primarily driven by the venting of magmatic gases which was also the primary source of the sound recorded during the explosive bursts the rhythmic nature of the bursts can be explained by partial gas segregation in the conduit and upward migration in a transitional regime between bubbly flow and fully developed slug flow the strongest explosive bursts were accompanied by flashes of red glow and oscillating eruption plumes in the vent apparently caused by magma seawater interaction and rapid steam formation and condensation this is the first time submarine explosive eruptions have been witnessed with simultaneous near field acoustic recordings

contrast comparison of differential diagenetic pathways of lower tithonian carbonate materials from the betic cordillera s spain evidence for physico chemical paleo seawater properties abstract the reconstruction of paleoenvironmental conditions is based on the study of ancient rock materials for this purpose skeletal materials are often assumed to have higher preservation potential sometimes favored over the use of matrix micrite however factors such as ecology depositional setting mineralogy and diagenetic processes may obscure original geochemical signals and care must be taken when reading such an intricate record this work provides a thorough comparison between geochemical signatures of different carbonate materials interpreted in the light of their paleoenvironmental significance burial and diagenetic processes are taken into account contextualized by ammonite and belemnite ecology two sections deposited in epioceanic tethyan areas and corresponding to the same lower tithonian ammonite biozone are under scope a condensed pelagic and cephalopod rich limestone the alamedilla sector intercalated in thick mafic rocks piles and a typical ammonitico rosso facies the cardador section in contrast to depositional and taphonomic histories typical for a tethyan top swell site i e rather calcareous ammonitico rosso events of carbonate mud deposition rapid burial and early lithification synsedimentary sliding and over imposition of firmground horizons characterize pelagic cephalopod rich limestones differential taphonomy of carbonate skeletals agrees with differential preservation favoring inner cast preservation in ammonitico rosso and shell preservation neomorphic calcite in pelagic cephalopod rich limestones stable carbon and oxygen isotope data together with trace element data sr mg fe mn are presented for a wide range of carbonate materials matrix micrite neomorphic ammonite shells belemnite rostra and carbonate cements optical inspection including cathodoluminescence imaging and geochemical data suggest a fair preservation of the above mentioned materials except for diagenetic marine burial carbonate cements carbon isotope values fall within the typical tethyan late jurassic range ca 2 except data from belemnite rostra which are depleted around 1 which is interpreted as resulting from metabolic fractionation oxygen isotope values are more variable but the clustering of different carbonate materials within a narrow range of values between 1 and 1 is consistent with conservative diagenesis warmer burial fluids explain lower values in later diagenetic carbonate cements no evidence of pervasive diagenetic imprint is revealed by elemental composition the increased abundance of mg fe and especially mn up to 1500 ppm is recognized as hydrothermal contamination proximity to hydrothermal sources the mid subbetic volcanic ridge accords with higher mn concentration at the alamedilla site interestingly the timing of the mineralogical stabilization of each carbonate material reveals a potential record of a post sedimentary geochemical event the obtained information demonstrates the complexity of ancient carbonate records and encourages future research focused on the preservation potential of geochemical proxies throughout time the studied case hopes to be a representative example to approach the interpretation of potential past and present rare analogs

solidification and morphology of submarine lavas a dependence on extrusion rate the results of recent laboratory experiments with wax extruded beneath relatively cold water may be extrapolated to predict the surface morphology of submarine lavas as a function of the extrusion rate and melt viscosity the experiments with solidifying wax indicated that the surface morphology was controlled by a single parameter the ratio of the time taken for the surface to solidify and a time scale for lateral flow for submarine basalts a solution of the cooling problem which is dominated by conduction in the lava but convective heat transfer in the water and estimates of lava viscosities place this parameter within the empirically determined pillowing regime over a wide range of extrusion rates this result is consistent with the observation that pillow basalts are the most common products of submarine eruptions smoother surfaces corresponding to the various types of submarine sheet flows are predicted for sufficiently rapid extrusions of basaltic magma still higher eruption rates in regions of low topographic relief may produce submarine lava lakes minimum emplacement times can be calculated for submarine volcanic constructs of a single lava flow type

nature and tectonic setting of the southern kermadec submarine arc volcanoes an overview abstract the 1000 km long kermadec subduction system northern new zealand and adjacent havre trough back arc basin associated with the pacific australian plate boundary is an archetypal example of an active island arc convergent margin although the position and tectonic setting of the frontal arc is critical to understanding tectonism and magmatism within an arc back arc system this has not been unequivocally established for the kermadec subduction system swath surveys from the 35 37 s segment of the kermadec system reveal that the frontal arc comprises seven large arc stratovolcanoes rumble ii iii iv silent ii rumble v tangaroa and clark the frontal arc continues south with the whakatane volcano sited at the northern extremity of the taupo volcanic zone of these eight volcanoes the latter four are newly identified and all have constructional volumes varying between 50 and 260 km 3 all of these arc edifices are sited 15 25 km west of the kermadec frontal ridge bathymetric data similarly indicate that other kermadec arc volcanoes between 32 and 35 s also lie west of the ridge axis within the back arc region while north of 32 s the arc volcanoes lie along the frontal ridge this apparent variation in the tectonic position of the frontal arc coincides with other changes in the morphology of the subduction system north and south of 32 s and as suggested by pelletier and dupont 1990 may reflect differences in the length of the underlying subducted slab the 35 37 s frontal arc segment is sited within 35 45 km of the present day back arc rift axis and may control the initial loci of rift graben evolution sidescan imagery and seafloor photography of the southern kermadec arc volcanoes reveal a complex volcanic stratigraphy with intertwined pillow lavas proximal pillow breccias highly vesicular scoriaceous lapilli and pervasively mass wasted volcaniclastic and epiclastic detritus all volcanic deposits interdigitate with pelagic sediments a single k ar dated andesite from whakatane volcano suggests that the history of the present frontal arc may extend back to at least 0 77 ma while rumble iii and v volcanoes are the major although not exclusive sites of geologically recent edifice construction the historical acoustic record of southern kermadec submarine eruptions since 1958 is now regarded as equivocal with the july 1986 eruption of rumble iii the only unambiguous volcanic activity recorded in modern times

low wave speed zones in the crust beneath se tibet revealed by ambient noise adjoint tomography we present a refined 3d crustal model beneath se tibet from ambient noise adjoint tomography different from ray theory based tomography adjoint tomography in this study incorporates a spectral element method sem and takes empirical green s functions egfs of rayleigh waves from ambient noise interferometry as the direct observation the frequency dependent traveltime misfits between sem synthetic green s functions and egfs are minimized with a preconditioned conjugate gradient method meanwhile the 3d model gets improved iteratively utilizing 3d finite frequency kernels the new model shows 3 6 shear wave speed increasing beneath the western sichuan basin scb depth 15 km and the central chuan dian block cdb and 6 12 shear wave speed reduction in the mid lower crust beneath the northern and the southern cdb the inferred spatial pattern of low wave speed zones consistent with possible partial melt suggests more complex and disconnected geometry than the pervasive narrow zone from the channel flow models

neotectonics of the min shan china implications for mechanisms driving quaternary deformation along the eastern margin of the tibetan plateau the min shan region located along the eastern margin of the tibetan plateau north of the sichuan basin provides an important natural laboratory in which to study the rates and patterns of deformation and their relationship to mountain building at the margin of the plateau the topographic margin of the plateau is coincident with a north trending mountain range the min shan that stands nearly 2 km above the mean elevation of the plateau 3500 m in this region we exploit the preservation of a series of variably deformed quaternary sediments along the western flank of the range to investigate the pleistocene holocene deformation field within the min shan region mapping and field observations of remnant alluvial fans of late pleistocene age indicate that deformation within the min shan involved substantial 10 rapid down to the northwest tilting the geometry of the deposits and the partial preservation of an erosion surface beneath the basin suggest that much of the modern relief of the min shan relative to the tibetan plateau is a consequence of this late pleistocene tilting rates of tilting inferred from luminescence dating of interbedded loess have been remarkably rapid 10 8 rad yr similarly rapid rates of holocene differential rock uplift are inferred from tilted lacustrine sediments in the southwestern part of the range the range is bounded on the west by the min jiang fault zone an east vergent reverse fault however holocene alluvial terraces in headwaters of the min river are preserved across the fault in several places indicating that displacement rates on the min jiang fault are 1 mm yr active faulting only occurs along the eastern foot of the range huya fault for a short distance 60 km despite 3 km of relief on the eastern range front the relationship between these structures and the tilting observed in the min jiang basin is enigmatic the faults do not appear to exert a strong control on the rates and pattern of deformation within the basin a simple flexural model demonstrates that rates of tilting on the western flank of the min shan are too high to be simply attributed to an isostatic response to surficial loading and unloading of the lithosphere present day horizontal shortening across the min shan is geodetically determined to be less than 2 3 mm yr suggesting that only a small part of the observed tilting can be attributed to horizontal shortening thus tilting and concomitant differential rock uplift in the min shan appear to require an additional driving component we suggest that quaternary deformation along the western min shan may reflect the surface response to thickening of a weak lower crust at the margin of the tibetan plateau

crustal rheology of the himalaya and southern tibet inferred from magnetotelluric data the collision between the indian and asian continents which began about 70 million years ago involved a convergence of at least 1 400 km and raised the tibetan plateau since crustal material is too buoyant to be transported downwards into the earth s interior the mechanisms at work in plateau formation are important in understanding the evolution of the continents yet still a matter of debate geophysical observations in the himalaya and tibet using ultra low frequency radio waves now reveal that a partially molten layer is present along the entire length of the himalaya this weak layer implies that widespread crustal flow is occurring and explains many features of plateau evolution the cenozoic collision between the indian and asian continents formed the tibetan plateau beginning about 70 million years ago since this time at least 1 400 km of convergence has been accommodated1 by a combination of underthrusting of indian2 and asian lithosphere crustal shortening3 horizontal extrusion4 and lithospheric delamination5 rocks exposed in the himalaya show evidence of crustal melting1 6 and are thought to have been exhumed by rapid erosion and climatically forced crustal flow7 8 magnetotelluric data can be used to image subsurface electrical resistivity a parameter sensitive to the presence of interconnected fluids in the host rock matrix even at low volume fractions here we present magnetotelluric data from the tibetan himalayan orogen from 77 e to 92 e which show that low resistivity interpreted as a partially molten layer is present along at least 1 000 km of the southern margin of the tibetan plateau the inferred low viscosity of this layer is consistent with the development of climatically forced crustal flow in southern tibet

detection of widespread fluids in the tibetan crust by magnetotelluric studies magnetotelluric exploration has shown that the middle and lower crust is anomalously conductive across most of the north to south width of the tibetan plateau the integrated conductivity conductance of the tibetan crust ranges from 3000 to greater than 20 000 siemens in contrast stable continental regions typically exhibit conductances from 20 to 1000 siemens averaging 100 siemens such pervasively high conductance suggests that partial melt and or aqueous fluids are widespread within the tibetan crust in southern tibet the high conductivity layer is at a depth of 15 to 20 kilometers and is probably due to partial melt and aqueous fluids in the crust in northern tibet the conductive layer is at 30 to 40 kilometers and is due to partial melting zones of fluid may represent weaker areas that could accommodate deformation and lower crustal flow

petrography trace elements and oxygen and carbon isotopes of gordon group carbonates ordovician florentine valley tasmania australia gordon group carbonates are a thick 2 km stratigraphically continuous ordovician sequence that ranges in age from the arenig to the ashgill they were deposited in subtidal intertidal supratidal and channel depositional environments at a paleolatitude of about 10 n the biota is similar to modern tropical chlorozoan assemblages with abundant corals oncolites calcareous algae and stromatolites non skeletal grains are abundant and are predominantly intraclasts and pellets with some oolites and aggregates micrite is abundant with some sparry calcite cement dolomite which commonly replaces micrite extensive burrows and mud cracks formed mostly during early diagenesis by marine to mixed marine waters the gordon group limestones are characterized by high sr na ratios 2 6 4 6 similar to modern aragonitic carbonates the stratigraphic variations of sr na and mn are related to depositional environments diagenesis and dolomitization the low mn concentrations indicate oxidizing peritidal depositional environments with high rates of carbonate deposition na varies with salinity and the sr varies with facies the largest sr concentrations are in corals and micrites the sr na and mn concentrations have been affected by two stage meteoric diagenetic stabilization the first stage involves marked depletion of sr and na with no appreciable gain of mn due to inversion of aragonite to low mg calcite the second stage involves no significant change in sr and na with appreciable gain of mn which is due to recrystallization of low mg calcites and addition of spar cement in a semi closed diagenetic system sr concentrations decrease whereas mn and fe concentrations increase with increasing mg concentrations due to dolomitization in predominantly marine waters with some influx of meteoric waters the 18o and 13c isotopic fields of calcites and dolomites partly overlap and the dolomites are enriched relative to co existing calcites by 2 to 3 in 18o and by about 1 in 13c similar to modem marine and mixed marine dolomites low mn and fe concentrations indicative of least meteoric diagenetic change correspond to 5 0 0 5 18o and 1 0 05 13c suggesting that these values were the original late ordovician marine calcite values in tasmania these isotopic values are similar to the least altered late ordovician brachiopods and marine calcite cements from other areas the middle ordovician 18o and 13c values of marine cements are 7 and 0 respectively and these values match the marine cement values of the same age from other areas this shift towards heavier isotopic values from middle to late ordovician is probably due to both glaciation in the higher latitudes of gondwana and a slight drop in temperature 4 c depletion in 13c 18o sr and na and enrichment in mn in the lower and upper most part of the late ordovician tasmanian limestones indicative of pronounced meteoric diagenesis coincide with a major australia wide marine regressions

extensive volcaniclastic deposits at the mid atlantic ridge axis results of deep water basaltic explosive volcanic activity a recent mapping survey followed by submersible diving investigations revealed the existence of extensive volcaniclastic deposits on three adjoining progressively deeper segments of the mid atlantic ridge south west of the azores the maximum water depth at which subaqueous magmatic and hydro magmatic explosive processes can occur is controversial this discovery provides fundamental constraints on the dynamics of deep subaqueous volcanic eruptions using multibeam bathymetry sonar image interpretations submersible observations volcaniclastic sample descriptions and chemical analysis evidence of extensive deep water up to 1700 m magmatic explosive activity of basalt at the axis of a spreading mid ocean ridge is documented for the first time

acoustic noise and temperature monitoring of the crater lake of mount ruapehu volcano abstract acoustic signals in ruapehu crater lake which are now being telemetered via a satellite transmission system show promise as a possible precursor of increased volcanic activity from ruapehu the start of a recent period of rapid heating of crater lake was preceded by low frequency 2 hz acoustic signals these accompanied similar frequency seismic signals but seemed to be produced independently audio frequency 350 3000 hz acoustic noise also showed a very clear peak shortly before the lake temperature started to rise

manganese distribution in the carbonate fraction of shallow and deep marine lithofacies middle ordovician eastern tennessee abstract a marked increase in manganese content from shallow to deep marine lithofacies can be observed within the carbonate fraction of the middle ordovician sequence in eastern tennessee the distribution of manganese is controlled by 1 the original aragonite and calcite mineralogy of shallow and deep marine environments respectively 2 preferential substitution of manganese for calcium in the rhombohedral structure of calcite 3 anoxic depositional and diagenetic environments and 4 possibly volcanism

on the cause of abrupt vegetation collapse in north africa during the holocene climate variability vs vegetation feedback the abrupt desertification over the northern africa in the mid holocene is studied in both a complex and a simple coupled climate vegetation model in contrast to the previous mechanism that relies on strong positive vegetation climate feedback and the resulted multiple equilibria we propose a new mechanism in which the abrupt desertification is caused by low frequency climate variability rather than a positive vegetation climate feedback the implication of this new mechanism to modelling and observation is also discussed

surface wave array tomography in se tibet from ambient seismic noise and two station analysis i phase velocity maps summary empirical green s functions egfs between pairs of seismographs can be estimated from the time derivative of the long time cross correlation of ambient seismic noise these egfs reveal velocity dispersion at relatively short periods which can be used to resolve structures in the crust and uppermost mantle better than with traditional surface wave tomography we combine rayleigh wave dispersion estimates from egfs and from traditional two station ts analysis into a new approach to surface wave array tomography with data from dense receiver arrays we illustrate the methodology with continuous broad band recordings from a temporary seismographic network on the southeastern part of the tibetan plateau in sichuan and yunnan provinces sw china the egfs are robust under temporal changes in regional seismicity and the use of either ambient noise approximated by records without signal from events with magnitude mb 5 or 4 or surface wave coda produces similar results the egfs do not strongly depend on the presence of large earthquakes but they are not reciprocal for stations aligned in the n s direction this directionality reflects the paucity of seismicity to the north of the array using a far field representation of the surface wave green s function and an image transformation technique we infer from the egfs the rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion in the period band from 10 30 s a classical ts approach is used to determine rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion between 20 120 s together they constrain phase velocity variations for t 10 120 s which can be used to study the structure from the crust to the upper mantle beneath se tibet short and intermediate period 10 80 s phase velocities are prominently low suggesting that the crust and upper mantle beneath se tibet is characterized by slow shear wave propagation

global positioning system measurements from eastern tibet and their implications for india eurasia intercontinental deformation we present and interpret global positioning system gps measurements of crustal motions for the period 1991 1998 for a network encompassing the eastern part of the tibetan plateau and its foreland relative to a eurasian frame defined by minimizing the velocities of 16 gps stations in europe central asia and siberia stations within all parts of the plateau foreland in south china move 6 10 mm yr east southeast indicating that the eastward movement within the plateau is part of a broader eastward movement that involves the plateau and its eastern and northern foreland north of the plateau foreland stations move northeastward at 10 mm yr indicating that the northern boundary of the deformation zone lies north of the plateau with this realization of a eurasian frame the velocity of the gps station at bangalore in southern india implies that the northward motion of india is 5 12 mm yr slower than that predicted from the nuvel 1a plate reconstruction viewed relative to the south china block stations of the northeast plateau bounded on the north by the qilian shan and the altyn tagh fault move nne to ne with velocities ranging from 19 mm yr within the plateau to 5 11 mm yr in its foreland the altyn tagh fault shows left lateral slip of 10 mm yr at 95 e and shortening across the fault of 5 mm yr stations south and west of the xianshuihe xiaojiang fault system define a crustal fragment rotating clockwise at 10 mm yr relative to the south china block around the eastern himalayan syntaxis the gps measurements indicate no significant shortening 3 mm yr within the longmen shan of the central eastern plateau and its adjacent foreland although the longmen shan rise over 6 km in 100 km horizontal distance geological studies indicate that the deformational field was established diachronously in late miocene to pliocene time was characterized by no east west shortening of tibetan crust and has an inhomogeneous style of deformation resulting from a balance of different tectonic processes

earthquake focal mechanisms in yunnan and their inference on the regional stress field using the broadband records from a regional permanent network we determined the focal mechanisms of 174 small and moderate earthquakes 3 4 m w 6 0 from january 2008 to march 2011 in yunnan china by fitting the three component waveforms of p and s waves results show that the earthquakes predominantly have strike slip mechanisms with occasional normal and very few thrust faulting events most earthquakes occur in the upper crust above 16 km depth we then derive the regional distribution of the stress field through a damped linear inversion using the focal mechanisms obtained in this study and augmented by the solutions in the global centroid moment tensor gcmt catalog and in xu et al 2010 inversion results suggest that the entire region is predominantly under a strike slip faulting regime orientations of both maximum and minimum principle axes exhibit a clockwise rotational pattern the axes of maximum compression are oriented roughly north south with a gradual change across the region from trending northwest southeast in the south china block to trending northeast southwest in the indo china block this pattern is consistent with the surface horizontal velocity derived from geodetic observations localized normal faulting stress regions are observed in the tengchong volcanic zone and in the qiao jia segment of the xianshuihe xiaojiang fault zone online material tables of earthquake catalogs and figures describing stress inversion tests

venting of acid sulfate fluids in a high sulfidation setting at nw rota 1 submarine volcano on the mariana arc a comprehensive survey of hydrothermal plumes and their geochemistry revealed 16 hydrothermally active volcanoes along 1 200 km of the mariana arc from 13 5 n to 22 5 n of these 16 one volcano nw rota 1 is discharging sulfuric acid rich fluids producing some of the largest chemical anomalies ever observed in non buoyant hydrothermal plumes two types of venting were observed one of focused flow rich in al s si co2 fe mn and 3he and a second of diffuse flow rich in fe mn co2 and 3he but without al s and si the plume waters from the acid rich focused flow showed decreases in ph up to 0 73 ph units compared to ambient seawater and an estimated 80 percent of this change was brought about by volcanic and or hydrothermal so2 and possibly hcl with the remaining 20 percent by co2 conservative estimates suggest that the ph of the venting fluids was 1 0 the chemistry of this plume was also greatly different from that observed in any other hydrothermal setting an acid sulfate or high sulfidation fluid source was indicated from plume water samples rich in sulfuric acid native s al sulfate phosphate minerals and weathered silicate and amorphous silica phases the alunite group minerals and acidic fluids indicate that the most important hydrothermal reactions taking place within the hydrothermal system were resulting in advanced argillic alteration of the host volcanic rocks gas chemistry of the fluids revealed an he isotope signature with r ra 8 35 and 3he co2 3 25 109 these values are similar to those found along the global midocean ridge mor suggesting that the source of the 3he and co2 found here is predominantly from the upper mantle consistent with the position of nw rota 1 closest to the back arc in a chain of cross arc volcanoes the chemical signatures of the plumes arising from the diffuse flow remain greatly enriched in fe mn 3he and co2 but compared to the focused flow are low in mineral acidity h al and s the source of this diffuse flow is likely a fluid similar to that producing the acid rich plume but with a lower water to rock ratio and a longer reaction time resulting in the consumption of the mineral acidity this results in an increase in ph and the deposition of the alunite phosphate sulfate and other minerals close to the seafloor by comparison it is likely that the low ph focused flow ejects the vast majority of its mineral load into the water column which is not conducive to the formation of a mineral deposit at the sea floor and potentially would produce a barren prospect

complex and variable crustal and uppermost mantle seismic anisotropy in the western united states deformation in the crust and mantle measured using seismic anisotropy is poorly constrained in the western united states because of inconsistencies in the existing data a three dimensional model that reconciles these discrepancies reveals that seismic anisotropy in the crust correlates with different geological provinces but is unrelated to anisotropy in the underlying mantle

hydrothermal activity and volcano distribution along the mariana arc 1 submarine volcanic arcs extend for fully a third of the length of the mid ocean ridge system but systematic investigation of hydrothermal venting on those arcs is sparse here we report on the distribution of hydrothermal activity along the intraoceanic mariana arc we identify 76 volcanic edifices along 1370 km of arc grouped into 60 volcanic centers of which at least 26 20 submarine are hydrothermally or volcanically active the overall volcanic center density is 4 4 100 km of arc and that of active centers is 1 9 100 km an equal length of the tonga kermadec arc holds fewer centers 2 9 100 km but a similar density of active centers 1 8 100 km the lower percentage of active centers on the mariana arc results from its having both fewer caldera volcanoes since on both arcs calderas are twice as likely as cones to be active and a lower percentage of active calderas and cones active centers are found from 80 to 230 km above the subducting pacific slab and a quarter lie behind the arc front the frequency distribution of center spacing along the arc front peaks between 20 and 30 km and shows the asymmetric long tail shape typical for many other arcs especially those with volcano populations 20 there is no evidence for a regular spacing of volcanic centers using the new mariana data and recent data from the tonga kermadec arc we estimate that all intraoceanic arcs combined may contribute hydrothermal emissions equal to 10 of that from the global mid ocean ridge

rayleigh wave phase velocity maps of tibet and the surrounding regions from ambient seismic noise tomography ambient noise tomography is applied to the significant data resources now available across tibet and surrounding regions to produce rayleigh wave phase speed maps at periods between 6 and 50 s data resources include the permanent federation of digital seismographic networks five temporary u s program for array seismic studies of the continental lithosphere passcal experiments in and around tibet and chinese provincial networks surrounding tibet from 2003 to 2009 totaling 600 stations and 150 000 interstation paths with such a heterogeneous data set data quality control is of utmost importance we apply conservative data quality control criteria to accept between 5000 and 45 000 measurements as a function of period which produce a lateral resolution between 100 and 200 km across most of the tibetan plateau and adjacent regions to the east misfits to the accepted measurements among passcal stations and among chinese stations are similar with a standard deviation of 1 7 s which indicates that the final dispersion measurements from chinese and passcal stations are of similar quality phase velocities across the tibetan plateau are lower on average than those in the surrounding nonbasin regions phase velocities in northern tibet are lower than those in southern tibet perhaps implying different spatial and temporal variations in the way the high elevations of the plateau are created and maintained at short periods 20 s very high velocities are imaged in the tarim basin the ordos block and the sichuan basin these phase velocity dispersion maps provide information needed to construct a 3 d shear velocity model of the crust across the tibetan plateau and surrounding regions

automated detection extraction and measurement of regional surface waves our goal is to develop and test an effective method to detect identify extract and quantify surface wave signals for weak events observed at regional stations we describe an automated surface wave detector and extractor designed to work on weak surface wave signals across eurasia at intermediate periods 8 s 40 s the method is based on phase matched filters defined by the rayleigh wave group travel time predictions from the broadband group velocity maps presented by ritzwoller and levshin 1998 and ritzwoller et al 1998 and proceeds in three steps signal compression signal extraction or cleaning and measurement first the dispersed surface wave signals are compressed in time by applying an anti dispersion or phase matched filter defined from the group velocity maps we refer to this as the compressed signal second the surface wave is then extracted by filtering noise temporally isolated from the time compressed signal this filtered signal is then redispersed by applying the inverse of the phase matched filter finally we adaptively estimate spectral amplitude as well as group and phase velocity on the filtered signal the method is naturally used as a detector by allowing origin time to slide along the time axis we describe preliminary results of the application of this method to a set of nuclear explosions and earthquakes that occurred on or near the chinese lop nor test site from 1992 through 1996 and one explosion on the indian rajasthan test site that occurred in may of 1998

finite strain calculations of continental deformation 2 comparison with the india asia collision zone numerical experiments on a thin viscous sheet model for deformation of continental lithosphere subjected to an indenting boundary condition yield distributions of crustal thickness of stress and strain rate and of latitudinal displacements that may be compared with observations in the india asia collision zone a simple indenting boundary condition applied to initially laterally homogeneous sheets obeying a power law rheology produces results that are in broad agreement with the observations provided that the power law exponent is three or greater and the sheet can support vertically integrated stress differences of 2 1013 5 1012 n m 1 in regions in front of the indenter under these conditions the calculated deformation shows accommodation of convergence primarily by crustal thickening to produce a plateau in front of the indenter palaeomagnetic data from india and tibet and the observed distribution of topography suggest that much of the post eocene convergence of india with asia has been taken up by deformation within asia that involved crustal thickening the principal difference between calculation and observation is the absence from the calculated strain rate fields of east west extension of the plateau in front of the indenting boundary the calculations show that once such a plateau is formed the buoyancy force associated with the crustal thickness contrast inhibits further thickening and the plateau strains at less than half the rate of its immediate surroundings seismically determined regional strain rates exhibit a similar distribution with the tibetan plateau straining at about one quarter the rate of the tien shan and ningxia gansu regions calculated principal compressive stress orientations and regional strain rates agree with the seismically determined quantities in the mongolia baikal tien shan tibet and ningxia gansu regions of asia to within the uncertainty of the latter the vertically integrated stresses that are calculated for the viscous sheet are comparable with those that can be supported by a theologically stratified continental lithosphere obeying laboratory determined flow laws we suggest that the thin viscous sheet model described in this paper and its companion gives a simple and physically plausible description of the observed deformation in central asia in this description the predominant mechanism of accommodation of continental convergence is diffuse crustal thickening with shear on vertical planes playing a subsidiary role once large crustal thickness contrasts have been established

temporal changes of surface wave velocity associated with major sumatra earthquakes from ambient noise correlation abstract detecting temporal changes of the medium associated with major earthquakes has implications for understanding earthquake genesis here we report temporal changes of surface wave velocity over a large area associated with 3 major sumatra earthquakes in 2004 2005 and 2007 we use ambient noise correlation to retrieve empirical green s function egf of surface waves between stations because the process is completely repeatable the technique is powerful in detecting possible temporal change of medium we find that 1 excellent station pair psi in indonesia and chto in thailand shows significant time shifts up to 1 44 s after the 2004 and 2005 events in the rayleigh waves at 10 20 s but not in the love waves suggesting that the rayleigh time shifts are not from clock error the time shifts are frequency dependent with the largest shifts at the period band of 11 16 s we also observe an unusual excursion 1 month before the 2004 event we obtain a total of 17 pairs for june 2007 to june 2008 which allow us to examine the temporal and spatial variation of the time shifts we observed strong anomalies up to 0 68 s near the epicenter after the 2007 event but not in the region further away from the source or before the event or 3 months after the event the observations are interpreted as stress changes and subsequent relaxation in upper mid crust in the immediate vicinity of the rupture and the broad area near the fault zone

volcaniclastic deposits from the north arch volcanic field hawaii explosive fragmentation of alkalic lava at abyssal depths submarine explosive eruptions are generally considered to become less likely with increasing depth due to the increasing hydrostatic pressure of the overlying water column volcaniclastic deposits from the north arch volcanic field north of oahu have textural characteristics of explosive fragmentation yet were erupted in water depths greater than 4 200 m

the pliocene seamount series of la palma canary islands a pliocene submarine series of alkali basaltic pillow lavas hyaloclastites and breccias a a sheeted dike swarm b and a basal suite of gabbro and ultramafic rocks c from la palma canary islands is interpreted as a cross section through an uplifted seamount this series has been tilted to its present orientation of 50 230 plunge and azimuth probably by upwarping due to intrusions in the central portion of the island the basal plutonic complex c also includes intrusives coeval with up to 2000 m of younger subaerial alkali basaltic lavas unconformably overlying the submarine series the plutonic suite c is overlain abruptly by more than 1800 m of sills b 0 4 1 m thick on average with minor screens of lavas and breccias extrusives a form a 1750 m thick sequence of pillow lavas breccias and hyaloclastites the clastic rocks increase in abundance upward and are of four main types 1 breccias consisting of partly broken pillows formed nearly in situ 2 heterolithologic pillow fragment breccias 3 hyaloclastites composed dominantly of highly vesicular lapilli and ash sized shards the latter thought to have formed by near surface explosive eruptions and been subsequently transported downslope by mass flows 2 and 3 being interpreted to have been resedimented and 4 pillow scoria breccias from the upper 700 m of the extrusive section consisting of amoeboidal highly vesicular pillows and lava stringers and local bombs probably formed by cracking and bleeding of gas rich expanding pillow lava and some shallow submarine subaerial lava fountaining the extrusive series is chemically and mineralogically crudely zoned with the most differentiated rocks metatrachytes and mugearites at the base and most picritic lavas occurring near the top of the series subsequent to emplacement the entire extrusive and intrusive series has been hydrothermally altered the lower part to greenschist and the upper part to smectite zeolite facies mineral assemblages the la palma succession combined with evidence from surface studies of seamounts suggests that seamounts are formed by intrusive and extrusive processes in approximately equal portions the nature of eruptive clastic and depositional mechanisms changes drastically during growth of a seamount if the critical depth for major magmatic degassing is surpassed and especially if magmatic explosive processes can occur at very shallow water depth the critical depth depending on magma and thus volatile composition changes in slopes of a seamount influence depositional processes based on these factors at least three major depositional sites develop as a seamount grows summit flank and apron facies nonexplosive extrusive processes prevail in the deep water stage dominantly producing pillow lavas 75 these consist of individual pillow volcanoes up to 200 m high with large pillows near the base and decreasing pillow size toward the top of a volcano pillow breccias and pillow fragment breccias comprise approximately 20 of this facies the deep water flank and apron facies are characterized by debris flow deposits with possibjy rather dense matrix material the shallow water shoaling stage is reached when the seamount top reaches the critical depth for drastic increase in exsolution of magmatic volatiles about 800 m for the alkali basaltic seamount of la palma resulting in formation of mainly clastic rocks 70 in situ pillow rind breccias and scoriaceous amoeboidal breccias and pillows are formed in the summit regions of the seamount by repeated expansion and leaking of frothy pillow lava possibly by lava fountaining resedimented heterolithologic pillow fragment breccias lapilli breccias and hyaloclastites are deposited on the flanks and aprons of the seamount pillow lavas comprise 30 of these deposits

distribution of seismic wave speed changes associated with the 12 may 2008 mw 7 9 wenchuan earthquake 1 we used continuous recordings in sichuan china to track the temporal change of the seismic wave speed at a regional scale for 2 years including the wenchuan mw 7 9 earthquake the data are recorded by a temporary network of 156 broad band seismographs in a region that covers the southern 2 3 of the fault activated during the earthquake a doublet analysis applied on the codas of seismic noise cross correlation functions is used to detect temporal velocity changes we found clear evidence that the seismic velocity drops by up to 0 08 in the fault region just after the earthquake with fluctuations within 0 02 before the earthquake we compared the measurements in different sub arrays to get a spatial distribution of the velocity changes this distribution is consistent with the volumetric strain change during the wenchuan earthquake and shows that the co seismic velocity change is not controlled by the response of sediments

lithospheric structure and its relationship to seismic and volcanic activity in southwest china 1 the sichuan yunnan region in southwest china is located in the boundary area between the active tibetan plateau to the west and the stable south china platform to the east this region is characterized by complex cenozoic structures and active seismotectonics in this study we have used over 30 000 arrival times from 1315 local earthquakes recorded by 172 seismic stations to determine a detailed three dimensional 3 d p wave velocity structure of the lithosphere down to 85 km depth in this region we have taken into account the complex morphology of the moho discontinuity to conduct the tomographic inversions which leads to a better result than that with a flat moho as in the previous studies our results show that large velocity variations of up to 7 exist in the crust and upper mantle in the sichuan yunnan region the velocity image of the upper crust correlates with the surface geological features the sichuan basin is imaged as a prominent low velocity zone while the panzhihua mining district is imaged as a high velocity feature velocity changes are visible across some of the large fault zones and the faults and some large crustal earthquakes seem to occur at the boundary areas between slow and fast velocity anomalies some of the faults such as the red river fault may have cut through the crust and reached up to the upper mantle under the tengchong volcanic area strong low velocity zones are visible down to 85 km depth with a lateral extent of about 100 km suggesting the existence of magma chambers under the volcano it is unclear how the tengchong intraplate volcanism was generated it may be related to the collision processes between the indian plate burma microplate and the eurasian plate and the possible subduction of the burma microplate under the eurasian plate another possibility is that it was caused by the extensional fractures of the lithosphere and the upward intrusion of the hot asthenospheric materials it is also possible that the tengchong volcanism represents a hot spot with a lower mantle origin

thinning and flow of tibetan crust constrained by seismic anisotropy intermediate period rayleigh and love waves propagating across tibet indicate marked radial anisotropy within the middle to lower crust consistent with a thinning of the middle crust by about 30 the anisotropy is largest in the western part of the plateau where moment tensors of earthquakes indicate active crustal thinning the preferred orientation of mica crystals resulting from the crustal thinning can account for the observed anisotropy the middle to lower crust of tibet appears to have thinned more than the upper crust consistent with deformation of a mechanically weak layer that flows as if confined to a channel

petrographic and geochemical evidence for original aragonite mineralogy of upper jurassic carbonates mozduran formation sarakhs area iran abstract diverse skeletal and non skeletal grains with abundant red and blue green calcareous algae evaporites and early diagenetic dolomites in the mozduran carbonates are similar to those of modern warm water shallow marine carbonates isopachous and fibrous intragranular sparry calcite cements resemble modern aragonite morphologies concentric and radial ooids are like modern aragonitic forms which are formed in turbulent and in low energy environments respectively deformed ooids shattered micritic envelopes and spalled ooids indicate aragonite dissolution during meteoric diagenesis meteoric cements are equant mosaic to drusy calcites burial cements only occur as vein fillings sr and na covariance with mn supports evidence of inversion of aragonite to calcite with subsequent open phreatic diagenesis fe concentrations are a magnitude higher than mn due to a reducing phreatic environment high sr na ratios suggest original aragonite mineralogy the 18 o and 13 c field of mozduran limestone lies at the edge of the modern shallow marine field indicating a range from marine to meteoric cements differences in 18 o values between marine calcites and meteoric derived calcites is similar to that in the modern tropics the surface marine diagenetic trend line that passes through shallow marine modern whole carbonates cuts the mozduran limestone isotope field due to their formation in warm shallow marine waters given that atmospheric co 2 levels were similar to those at present increasing mn and fe values decreasing na and uniform sr values with increasingly lighter values of both 18 o and 13 c are exlained by extensive meteoric diagenesis the least altered marine calcite 18 o value of 2 6 pdb corresponds to 29 or 24 c depending on whether 0 of present seawater and 1 2 of ancient seawater with no ice caps are taken as a base an original calcite mineralogy postulated for some jurassic limestones is related to a non tropical origin

30 years in the life of an active submarine volcano a time lapse bathymetry study of the kick em jenny volcano lesser antilles effective monitoring is an essential part of identifying and mitigating volcanic hazards in the submarine environment this is more difficult than onshore because observations are typically limited to land based seismic networks and infrequent shipboard surveys since the first recorded eruption in 1939 the kick em jenny kej volcano located 8km off northern grenada has been the source of 13 episodes of t phase signals these distinctive seismic signals often coincident with heightened body wave seismicity are interpreted as extrusive eruptions they have occurred with a recurrence interval of around a decade yet direct confirmation of volcanism has been rare by conducting new bathymetric surveys in 2016 and 2017 and reprocessing 4 legacy datasets spanning 30 years we present a clearer picture of the development of kej through time processed grids with a cell size of 5m and vertical precision on the order of 1 4m allow us to correlate t phase episodes with morphological changes at the volcano s edifice in the time period of observation 7 09x106 m3 of material has been added through constructive volcanism yet 5 times this amount has been lost through landslides limited recent magma production suggests that kej may be susceptible to larger eruptions with longer repeat times than have occurred during the study interval behavior more similar to sub aerial volcanism in the arc than previously thought t phase signals at kej have a varied origin and are unlikely to be solely the result of extrusive submarine eruptions our results confirm the value of repeat swath bathymetry surveys in assessing submarine volcanic hazards

three dimensional velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in southwestern china and its tectonic implications using p and s arrival times from 4625 local and regional earthquakes recorded at 174 seismic stations and associated geophysical investigations this paper presents a three dimensional crustal and upper mantle velocity structure of southwestern china 21 34 n 97 105 e southwestern china lies in the transition zone between the uplifted tibetan plateau to the west and the yangtze continental platform to the east in the upper crust a positive velocity anomaly exists in the sichuan basin whereas a large scale negative velocity anomaly exists in the western sichuan plateau consistent with the upper crustal structure under the southern tibetan plateau the boundary between these two anomaly zones is the longmen shan fault the negative velocity anomalies at 50 km depth in the tengchong volcanic area and the panxi tectonic zone appear to be associated with temperature and composition variations in the upper mantle the red river fault is the boundary between the positive and negative velocity anomalies at 50 km depth the overall features of the crustal and the upper mantle structures in southwestern china are a low average velocity large crustal thickness variations the existence of a high conductivity layer in the crust or and upper mantle and a high heat flow value all these features are closely related to the collision between the indian and the asian plates

3d shear wave velocity structure beneath the southeastern tibetan plateau from ambient noise we perform high resolution 3d shear wave structures of the crust and upper mantle using continuous wave data recorded at 170 stations from national and regional networks in the southeastern tibetan plateau first empirical green s functions are obtained between all the possible station pairs then rayleigh wave group velocity and phase velocity dispersion curves are retrieved using the frequency time analysis method the rayleigh wave group velocity images at periods from 8 to 50 s and phase velocity images at periods from 8 to 40 s are inverted on a 1 1 grid finally the 1d shear wave structure beneath each grid and the 3d shear wave velocity structure are acquired by linear interpolation our results indicate that low velocity layers lvls are ubiquitous in the middle lower crust beneath the southeastern tibetan plateau but vary in depth 20 35 km thickness 5 20 km and strength 5 4 10 8 velocity reduction in different blocks the 3d geometry of the lvls is complex and cannot be interpreted as a model with a uniform flow channel the shear velocity in the chuandian block is unevenly distributed indicating that the block is inhomogeneous the 12 may 2008 wenchuan and 20 april 2013 lushan earthquake sequences m s 3 0 all occurred in the crustal layers in which lvls are inhibited by the strong sichuan basin and in which the topography and crustal thickness vary sharply this formed the earthquake preparation environment of the two earthquakes the ningnan qiaojia pull apart region is characterized by low shear wave velocity in the shallow crust which agrees well with the sedimentary features of the upper crust a relatively high velocity is observed in the central part of the low velocity sichuan basin in the shallow layers indicating the basement beneath the sichuan basin may be uplifted around the central part of the basin

surface wave tomography from ambient seismic noise of accelerograph networks in southern korea 1 an efficient and robust cross correlation technique for estimation of surface wave green s function between two locations is applied to a set of ambient noise data recorded by accelerograph networks in the southern korea we have estimated 1843 group velocities of rayleigh waves in the period band of 2 4 seconds from correlation pairs of 91 accelerograph stations relatively dense and uniform coverage of the pairs provides us with high resolution tomographic image of surface wave group velocities in the region the resulting group velocity distribution correlates well with the characteristic features of geological map of the region displaying low velocities for the sedimentary basins and regions of volcanic and metasedimentary rocks and high velocities for the regions where granitoid basement rocks outcrop the short period information from the accelerograph network can enhance resolution of the subsurface structures at depths within a few kilometers which may be predominantly responsible for simulation results of strong ground motions

broadband ambient noise surface wave tomography across the united states 1 this study presents surface wave dispersion maps across the contiguous united states determined using seismic ambient noise two years of ambient noise data are used from march 2003 through february 2005 observed at 203 broadband seismic stations in the us southern canada and northern mexico cross correlations are computed between all station pairs to produce empirical green functions at most azimuths across the us coherent rayleigh wave signals exist in the empirical green functions implying that ambient noise in the frequency band of this study 5 100 s period is sufficiently isotropically distributed in azimuth to yield largely unbiased dispersion measurements rayleigh and love wave group and phase velocity curves are measured together with associated uncertainties determined from the temporal variability of the measurements a sufficient number of measurements 2000 is obtained between 8 and 25 s period for love waves and 8 and 70 s period for rayleigh waves to produce tomographic dispersion maps both phase and group velocity maps are presented in these period bands resolution is estimated to be better than 100 km across much of the us from 8 40 s period for rayleigh waves and 8 20 s period for love waves which is unprecedented in a study at this spatial scale at longer and shorter periods resolution degrades as the number of coherent signals diminishes the dispersion maps agree well with each other and with known geological and tectonic features and in addition provide new information about structures in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath much of the us

surface wave array tomography in se tibet from ambient seismic noise and two station analysis ii crustal and upper mantle structure summary we determine the 3 d shear wave speed variations in the crust and upper mantle in the southeastern borderland of the tibetan plateau sw china with data from 25 temporary broad band stations and one permanent station interstation rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion curves were obtained at periods from 10 to 50 s from empirical green s function egf derived from ambient noise interferometry and from 20 to 150 s from traditional two station ts analysis here we use these measurements to construct phase velocity maps from 10 to 150 s using the average interstation dispersion from the egf and ts methods between 20 and 50 s and estimate from them with the neighbourhood algorithm the 3 d wave speed variations and their uncertainty the crust structure parametrized in three layers can be well resolved with a horizontal resolution about of 100 km or less because of the possible effect of mechanically weak layers on regional deformation of particular interest is the existence and geometry of low shear velocity layers lvls in some regions prominent lvls occur in the middle crust in others they may appear in the lower crust in some cases the lateral transition of shear wave speed coincides with major fault zones the spatial variation in strength and depth of crustal lvls suggests that the 3 d geometry of weak layers is complex and that unhindered crustal flow over large regions may not occur consideration of such complexity may be the key to a better understanding of relative block motion and patterns of seismicity

mud coated intraclasts a criterion for recognizing sandy mass transport deposits deep lacustrine massive sandstone of the upper triassic yanchang formation ordos basin central china abstract numerous examples of sandy mass transport deposits smtds in deep marine and deep lacustrine environments have been documented by researchers worldwide in recent years however it is an enormous challenge that how to distinguish the subaqueous mass transport processes from the depositional records after the rigorous examination of several outcrops in the ordos lacustrine basin in central china we propose that the mud coated intraclasts in the deep water thick massive sandstone of the yanchang formation are a viable criterion to recognize deposition from sandy debris flows in delta front environments these so called mud coated intraclasts are a newly discovered special depositional phenomenon in the massive clean sandstones in china s lacustrine basins a mud coated intraclast generally consists of two components an inner core and a mud coating the inner core is generally composed of muddy blobs or sandy lumps the mud coatings are generally composed of thin shales or mud rich fine grained sediments the inner core which is generally coated by nearly concentric ring shaped mud coatings is embedded in massive deep water sandstones because these features have never been documented in the geological literature the present authors called them mud coated intraclasts in the present study the depositional features suggest that the sediments that contain these mud coated intraclasts were characterized by en masse emplacement i e a bingham plastic behavior and were supported by the strength of the plastic medium at all times i e no flow transformations occurred during their transport and deposition accordingly mud coated intraclasts are one of the most significant criteria that indicate sandy debrites as the origin of the deep water thick massive sandstones in the yanchang formation this diagnostic feature may be useful to identify analogous smtds in other locations

high resolution bathymetric surveys using scanning sonars lava flow morphology hydrothermal vents and geologic structure at recent eruption sites on the juan de fuca ridge the coaxial and cleft segments of the juan de fuca ridge have isolated chronic high temperature and focused hydrothermal vent sites both segments also have experienced recent volcanic eruptions which produced extensive ephemeral low temperature and diffuse hydrothermal venting to study the geologic setting of these sites high resolution bathymetric surveys at eight locations on the coaxial and cleft segments were collected between 1993 and 1999 two 675 khz scanning sonar systems were used mesotech on the submersible alvin and imagenex on the remotely operated vehicle jason the bathymetry from these surveys can be gridded at a scale of 2 4 m and contoured at 1 m and thus can resolve many fine scale features on the seafloor that are indistinguishable in multibeam bathymetry collected at the sea surface bathymetric data at this resolution are particularly useful for identifying geologic features related to diking faulting and lava flow emplacement for example the high resolution bathymetric maps show that submarine fissure eruptions that form pillow lavas last long enough to become localized and to produce point source constructs along their length and their extrusion rate is low enough that no significant drainback occurs in contrast lobate sheet flows are formed by short lived high effusion rate eruptions in which no localization of output occurs along the eruptive fissure and inflation is quickly followed by drainback resulting in extensive collapse features however if the process of submarine lava flow inflation occurs at a slower rate and over a longer period of time it can create lava rises up to 25 m high with distinctive structure and morphology the scanning sonar data also show that fissures and grabens have formed or reactivated where dikes approach the surface adjacent to recent eruptive sites the fine scale bathymetry establishes that all the hydrothermal vent sites studied at the coaxial and cleft segments are located along prominent volcanic or tectonic extensional structures which provide the physical pathway for fluids from the subsurface to the seafloor furthermore the fine scale morphology of recent lava flows can be used as a qualitative indication of eruption duration

about the lithospheric structure of central tibet based on seismic data from the indepth iii profile signals from 11 shots and 8 earthquakes and numerous teleseismic events were recorded along the 400 km seismic line indepth iii in central tibet and interpreted together with previous seismic and tectonic data the abnormal behavior of various mantle phases reveals a complex moho transition zone especially in the northern part of the line in the changtang block where the lower crust and the mantle show unusually low velocities a shingled appearance of pn and no low velocity layer in the upper crust the strong east west anisotropy in the changtang block is related to an easterly escape movement of the whole lithosphere facilitated by the warm and weak layers in the lower crust and the upper mantle bounded apparently by two prominent west east running fault zones

deep submarine pyroclastic eruptions theory and predicted landforms and deposits submarine pyroclastic eruptions at depths greater than a few hundred meters are generally considered to be rare or absent because the pressure of the overlying water column is sufficient to suppress juvenile gas exsolution so that magmatic disruption and pyroclastic activity do not occur consideration of detailed models of the ascent and eruption of magma in a range of sea floor environments shows however that significant pyroclastic activity can occur even at depths in excess of 3000 m in order to document and illustrate the full range of submarine eruption styles we model several possible scenarios for the ascent and eruption of magma feeding submarine eruptions 1 no gas exsolution 2 gas exsolution but no magma disruption 3 gas exsolution magma disruption and hawaiian style fountaining 4 volatile content builds up in the magma reservoir leading to hawaiian eruptions resulting from foam collapse 5 magma volatile content insufficient to cause fragmentation normally but low rise speed results in strombolian activity and 6 volatile content builds up in the top of a dike leading to vulcanian eruptions we also examine the role of bulk interaction steam explosivity and contact surface steam explosivity as processes contributing to volcaniclastic formation in these environments we concur with most earlier workers that for magma compositions typical of spreading centers and their vicinities the most likely circumstance is the quiet effusion of magma with minor gas exsolution and the production of somewhat vesicular pillow lavas or sheet flows depending on effusion rate the amounts by which magma would overshoot the vent in these types of eruptions would be insufficient to cause any magma disruption the most likely mechanism of production of pyroclastic deposits in this environment is strombolian activity due to the localized concentration of volatiles in magma that has a low rise rate magmatic gas collects by bubble coalescence and ascends in large isolated bubbles which disrupt the magma surface in the vent producing localized blocks bombs and pyroclastic deposits another possible mode of occurrence of pyroclastic deposits results from vulcanian eruptions these deposits being characterized by the dominance of angular blocks of country rocks deposited in the vicinity of a crater should be easily distinguishable from strombolian and hawaiian eruptions however we stress that a special case of the hawaiian eruption style is likely to occur in the submarine environment if magmatic gas buildup occurs in a magma reservoir by the upward drift of gas bubbles in this case a layer of foam will build up at the top of the reservoir in a sufficient concentration to exceed the volatile content necessary for disruption and hawaiian style activity the deposits and landforms are predicted to be somewhat different from those of a typical primary magmatic volatile induced hawaiian eruption specifically typical pyroclast sizes might be smaller fountain heights may exceed those expected for the purely magmatic hawaiian case cooling of descending pyroclasts would be more efficient leading to different types of proximal deposits and runout distances for density flows would be greater potentially leading to submarine pyroclastic deposits surrounding vents out to distances of tens of meters to a kilometer in addition flows emerging after the evacuation of the foam layer would tend to be very depleted in volatiles and thus extremely poor in vesicles relative to typical flows associated with hawaiian style eruptions in the primary magmatic gas case we examine several cases of reported submarine volcaniclastic deposits found at depths as great as 3000 m and conclude that submarine hawaiian and strombolian eruptions are much more common than previously suspected at mid ocean ridges furthermore the latter stages of development of volcanic edifices seamounts formed in submarine environments are excellent candidates for a wide range of submarine pyroclastic activity due not just to the effects of decreasing water depth but also to 1 the presence of a summit magma reservoir which favors the buildup of magmatic foams enhancing hawaiian style activity and episodic dike emplacement which favors strombolian style eruptions and 2 the common occurrence of alkalic basalts the co2 contents of which favor submarine explosive eruptions at depths greater than tholeiitic basalts these models and predictions can be tested with future sampling and analysis programs and we provide a checklist of key observations to help distinguish among the eruption styles

nature and origin of authigenic rhodochrosite and siderite from the paleozoic aquifer northeast mississippi u s a abstract botryoidal rhodochrosite siderite and pyrite are the principal authigenic phases in fractured chert comprising the paleozoic aquifer of northeast mississippi locally alternating bands of near end member composition rhodochrosite and siderite occur in veinlets up to 2 mm wide in the fractured chert carbon isotope data for the carbonates 13c values ranging from 9 6 to 11 3 pdb indicate that both inorganic and organic c were incorporated into the authigenic phases the paleozoic aquifer is hydraulically connected with the overlying upper cretaceous coastal plain strata groundwater in the coastal plain units is undersaturated with respect to calcite and has relatively high fe and mn contents the latter apparently caused by the dissolution of fe mn oxyhydroxides the natural downward recharge of these waters into the paleozoic aquifer causes calcite dissolution in limestone at the base of the chert which in turn leads to the precipitation of rhodochrosite and siderite additionally pyrite is precipitated as so4 reduction occurs in the same zone rhodochrosite has not been previously documented as an authigenic phase in a fresh water aquifer system suggesting that the geochemical environment necessary for its precipitation is not common the alternating bands of rhodochrosite and siderite observed in this study coupled with available thermodynamic data indicate that the groundwater a mn2 afe2 ratio must have fluctuated over time variations in the ratio are best explained by variable eh conditions at the site where fe mn oxyhydroxide dissolution occurs

magma water interactions in subaqueous and emergent basaltic in the subaqueous growth and emergence of a basaltic volcano clasts are formed by one or a combination of 1 explosive release of magmatic volatiles 2 explosive expansion and collapse of steam formed at magma water contact surfaces 3 explosive expansion of steam following enclosure of water in magma or entrapment of water close to magma and 4 cooling contraction these processes named respectivelymagmatic explosivity contact surface steam explosivity bulk interaction steam explosivity andcooling contraction granulation can be enhanced by mutual interaction and feedback the first three explosive processes are limited at certain water depths hydrostatic pressures and become increasingly vigorous at shallower levels the depth of onset of magmatic explosivity depends largely on juvenile volatile content it is up to 200 m for tholeiitic magmas and up to 1 km for alkalic magmas at the depth where formation of clastic deposits becomes predominant over effusion of lavas magmatic explosivity is subordinate to steam explosivity as a clast forming process the upward transition to accumulation of dominantly clastic deposits is not simply related to the onset of substantial exsolution of magmatic volatiles and can occur without it contact surface explosivity commonly requires initiation by a vigorous impact between magma and water and although no certain depth limit is known likelihood of such explosivity decreases rapidly with depth clast generation by bulk interaction explosivity appears to be restricted to depths much shallower than that of the critical pressure of water which in sea water is at about 3 km cooling contraction granulation can occur in any depth of water but at shallow levels may be replaced by contact surface explosivity during continuous eruption under water tephra can be ejected and deposited within a cupola of steam such that rapid quenching does not occur emergent volcanoes are characterized by distinctive steam explosive activity that results primarily from a bulk interaction between rapidly ascending magma and a highly mobile slurry of clastic material water and steam the water gets into the vent by flooding across or through the top of the tephra pile and violent explosions cease when this access is sealed the eruptions during emergence of surtsey and capelinhos typify the distinctive explosive activity the style and controls of which are different from those of maar volcanoes

heterogeneity and anisotropy of the lithosphere of se tibet from surface wave array tomography 1 understanding the geotectonic evolution of the southeastern tibetan plateau requires knowledge about the structure of the lithosphere using data from 77 broadband stations in sw china we invert rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion curves from ambient noise interferometry t 1 0 40 s and teleseismic surface waves t 2 0 150 s for 3 d heterogeneity and azimuthal anisotropy in the lithosphere to 150 km depth our surface wave array tomography reveals 1 deep crustal zones of anomalously low shear wave speed and 2 substantial variations with depth of the pattern of azimuthal anisotropy upper crustal azimuthal anisotropy reveals a curvilinear pattern around the eastern himalayan syntaxis with fast directions generally parallel to the main strike slip faults the mantle pattern of azimuthal anisotropy is different from that in the crust and varies from north to south the tomographically inferred 3 d variation in azimuthal anisotropy helps constrain the source region of shear wave splitting south of 26 n off the high plateau most of the observed splitting can be accounted for by upper mantle anisotropy but for stations on the plateau proper with thick crust crustal anisotropy cannot be ignored on long wavelengths the pattern of azimuthal anisotropy in the crust differs from that in the mantle this is easiest explained if deformation varies with depth the deep crustal zones of low shear wave speed and presumably mechanical strength may represent loci of ductile deformation but their lateral variation suggests that in se tibet localized crustal channel flow and motion along the major strike slip faults are both important

interpretation and utility of infrasonic records from erupting volcanoes abstract in the most basic seismo acoustic studies at volcanoes infrasound monitoring enables differentiation between sub surface seismicity and the seismicity associated with gas release under optimal conditions complicated degassing signals can be understood relative explosion size can be assessed and variable seismo acoustic energy partitioning can be interpreted the extent to which these points may be investigated depends upon the quality of the infrasonic records a function of background wind noise microphone sensitivity and microphone array geometry and the type of activity generated by the volcano frequency of explosions bandwidth of the signals and coupling efficiency of the explosion to elastic energy to illustrate the features benefits and limitations of infrasonic recordings at volcanoes we showcase acoustic and seismic records from five volcanoes characterized by explosive degassing these five volcanoes erebus in antarctica karymsky in russia and sangay tungurahua and pichincha in ecuador were the focus of seismo acoustic experiments between 1997 and 2000 each case study provides background information about the volcanic activity an overview of visual observations during the period of monitoring and examples of seismo acoustic data we discuss the benefits and utility of the infrasound study at each respective volcano finally we compare the infrasound records and eruptive activity from these volcanoes with other volcanoes that have been the focus of previous seismo acoustic experiments

manganese minerals and associated fine particulates in the streambed of pinal creek arizona u s a a mining related acid drainage problem the pinal creek drainage basin in arizona is a good example of the principal non coal source of mining related acid drainage in the u s a namely copper mining infiltration of drainage waters from mining and ore refining has created an acid groundwater plume that has reacted with calcite during passage through the alluvium thereby becoming less acid where o2 is present and the water is partially neutralized iron oxides have precipitated and farther downstream where the ph of the stream water is near neutral high mn crusts have developed trace metal composition of several phases in the pinal creek drainage basin illustrates the changes caused by mining activities and the significant control mn crusts and iron oxide deposits exert on the distribution and concentration of trace metals the phases and locales considered are the dissolved phase of webster lake a former acid waste disposal pond selected sections of cores drilled in the alluvium within the intermittent reach of pinal creek and the dissolved phase suspended sediments and streambed deposits at specified locales along the perennial reach of pinal creek in the perennial reach of pinal creek manganese oxides precipitate from the streamflow as non cemented particulates and coatings of streambed material and as cemented black crusts chemical and x ray diffraction analyses indicate that the non cemented manganese oxides precipitate in the reaction sequence observed in previous laboratory experiments using simpler solution composition mn3o4 to mnooh to an oxide of higher oxidation number usually 4 0 i e na birnessite and that the black cemented crusts contain ca mn mg co3 and a 7 aphyllomanganate mixture of rancieite ca mn mn4o9 3h2o and takanelite mn ca mn4o9 3h2o in the laboratory aerating and increasing the ph of pinal creek water to 9 00 precipitated ca mn mg co3 from an anoxic groundwater that contained co2 hco3 and precipitated mn3o4 and subsequently mnooh from an oxic surface water from which most of the dissolved co2 had been removed it is suggested that the black cemented crusts form by precipitation of fe on the mn enriched carbonates creating a site for the mnfe oxidation cycle and thus encouraging the conversion of the carbonates to 7 aphysllomanganates the non magnetic 63 m size fractions of the black cemented crusts consisted mostly of the manganese calcium oxides but also contained about 20 ca mn mg co3 5 fe calculated as feooh 2 4 exchangeable cations and trace amounts of several silicates

ambient noise rayleigh wave tomography in western sichuan and eastern tibet abstract we perform rayleigh wave tomography in western sichuan and eastern tibet by applying the ambient noise method to broadband data recorded at 49 stations from the sichuan digital seismic network cross correlations of vertical component ambient noise data are computed in one hour segments and stacked over 7 months from june to december 2007 then rayleigh wave group dispersion curves from 6 to 48 s were measured using the multiple filter analysis method group velocity maps at periods from 8 to 44 s were inverted the resulting group velocity maps generally show good correlations with tectonic features the sichuan basin is clearly resolved with lower group velocities at the short periods 8 to 20 s due to thick sedimentary layers and a prominent low velocity zone exhibits in the middle crust beneath the eastern margin of the tibetan plateau the longmen shan thrust belt marks not only the rapid lateral velocity variation between the topographically high tibetan plateau and low elevation sichuan basin but also the transition from the thick crust beneath the tibetan plateau to the normal continental crust beneath the sichuan basin

hydroacoustic noise precursors of the 1990 eruption of kelut volcano indonesia abstract the results of a hydroacoustic monitoring experiment in the kelut crater lake indonesia prior to its 1990 eruption are presented with the benefit of hindsight indeed the underwater noise levels in three widely separated frequency bands together with the lake water temperature was radio transmitted and almost continuously recorded from a period of quiescence of the volcano till the onset of its 10 february 1990 eruption which destroyed the monitoring buoy the comparative analysis of the noise variations in the three bands together with seismic and temperature data have shed light on the mechanisms underlying the pre eruptive activity the three acoustic levels had shown conspicuous yet distinctive changes prior to the eruption acoustic level in the low frequency 1 50 hz band which increased one year before the resumption of seismic activity and the lake warming up is interpreted as the result of boiling at depth the source of high acoustic level in the audiometric 500 5000 hz range is clearly the bubbling of volcanic gases occurring as a strong convective column in the middle of the lake from the variations of this audiometric level we have estimated that the degassing rate in the lake increased by a hundred fold during the pre eruptive period variations of ultrasonic 20 100 khz frequency acoustic level seem to be related with pressure and thermal changes within the hydrothermal system and its rock matrix beneath the lake in conclusion this experiment demonstrates the potential of hydroacoustic monitoring as an early warning system at crater lake volcanoes

seismic detection of underwater volcanism the example of french polynesia we present a review of the principal methods used for the seismic detection and identification of active underwater volcanism based on our experience in french polynesia in particular we descrobe the 5 year activity in the tahiti mehetia area during which more than 32000 earthquakes were detected by the polynesian network we discuss the use of the following three types of seismic waves conventional mostly body waves seismic tremor andt waves propagated in the low velocity acoustic channel of the ocean for each of these waves we discuss the principal characteristics of the signals their spectral content the type of information they provide on the activity of the volcano and the various limitations faced by their use in detection or monitoring of underwater volcanic edifices we present a review of the principal swarms monitored by the polynesian network and discuss their characterization as either volcanic or tectonic

stress interaction effect on the occurrence probability of characteristic earthquakes in central apennines 1 in this study we compute the effect of stress change due to previous historical earthquakes on the probability of occurrence of future earthquakes on neighboring faults following a methodology developed in the last decade we start from the estimate of the probability of occurrence in the next 50 years for a characteristic earthquake on known seismogenic structures based on a time dependent renewal model then a physical model for the coulomb stress change caused by previous earthquakes on these structures is applied the influence of this stress change on the occurrence rate of characteristic earthquakes is computed taking into account both permanent clock advance and temporary rate and state perturbations we apply this method to the computation of earthquake hazard of the main seismogenic structures recognized in the central and southern apennines region for which both historical and paleoseismological data are available this study provides the opportunity of reviewing the problems connected with the estimate of the parameters of a renewal model in case of characteristic earthquakes characterized by return times longer than the time spanned by the available catalogues and the applicability of the concept of characteristic earthquake itself the results show that the estimated effect of earthquake interaction in this region is small compared with the uncertainties affecting the statistical model used for the basic time dependent hazard assessment

tectonic controls of phanerozoic sedimentary rock cycling the cyclic nature of the phanerozoic sedimentary rock distribution carbon sulphur coupling and material transfer among sedimentary reservoirs appears to be controlled by tectonic factors the distribution of preserved sedimentary mass in terms of rock mass remaining u geologic age shows a minimum c 300 350 ma ago which separates two subcycles of erosion and deposition of sedimentary rocks the older subcycle was interrupted because of the major continental collisions of the devonian and late carboniferous these collisions resulted in a reduction of outcrop areas of rocks of the older cycle relative to their masses leading to a decline in the probability of destruction and an increase in half life of these older sediments a strong correlation exists between the long term cyclicity in the phanerozoic global sea level curve and the distribution of carbon and sulphur among their major exogenic reservoirs this correlation is related to two principal tectonic modes of the phanerozoic oscillatory and submergent it is postulated that the submergent mode of active plate convergence obduction and subduction of sediments large ridge volume and high sea level gave rise to low erosion and sedimentation rates less restricted environments of carbonate deposition and relatively high atmospheric co 2 levels high temperatures resulting from an increased rate of production of co 2 from diagenetic and metamorphic reactions at subduction zones as sea level rose carbon was transferred from the sedimentary reservoir of reduced organic carbon to that of oxidized inorganic carbon in limestones whereas sulphur moved from the oxidized sulphate reservoir to the reduced sulphide reservoir as sea level fell reservoir transfers were opposite to those above culminating in the oscillatory mode of generally elevated continental interiors these reservoir transfers are consistent with secular changes observed in the distribution of 13 c and 34 s in sedimentary materials during the phanerozoic petrographic examination of phanerozoic oolite formations shows that ooids with preserved calcitic relict textures are characteristic of pre carboniferous carbonate rocks whereas ooids with relict textures indicative of initial aragonite mineralogy are dominant in rocks of younger age these changes in ooid mineralogy may be interpreted as reflecting changes in co 2 levels of the ocean atmosphere system consistent with the above tectonic considerations atmospheric co 2 levels were higher prior to carboniferous time favouring formation of calcitic ooids and skeletal parts after the carboniferous co 2 levels fell and aragonite and mg calcites of greater than 8 mol mg increased in abundance as precipitates

implications for the thermal regime of acoustic noise measurements in crater lake mount ruapehu new zealand hydrophone measurements of acoustic noise levels in the crater lake of mount ruapehu new zealand were made on 18 january 1991 from an inflatable rubber boat on the lake the greatest sound pressures were recorded in the 1 10 hz band with sound levels generally decreasing about 20 db per decade from 10 hz to 80 khz the low frequency noise did not have an obvious relationship to the tremor observed at a seismic station within 1 km of the lake the comparatively low levels of middle and high frequency sound meant that at the time of measurement direct steam input did not make a significant contribution to the heating of crater lake this is consistent with the earlier conclusion that during the last decade a major part of the heat input of crater lake has come from lake water that was heated below the lake and recycled back into the lake

diagenesis of shallowly buried miocene lacustrine carbonates from the hoh xil basin northern tibetan plateau implications for stable isotope based elevation estimates the oxygen isotopic composition of lacustrine carbonate deposits has been frequently used to reconstruct paleoaltimetry of orogenic belts however the primary oxygen isotopic composition of lacustrine carbonate can be partially or wholly altered by post depositional diagenetic processes such as deep burial recrystallization and the interaction with geologically younger meteoric waters to better understand how ancient lacustrine carbonates are diagenetically modified by meteoric waters we present detailed mineralogy petrography stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions and major and minor element geochemistry of lacustrine carbonates from the miocene wudaoliang group which underwent only shallow burial 300 m in the hoh xil basin northern tibetan plateau our observations indicate that the primary mineralogy in the wudaoliang carbonate muds consists of a mixture of both low mg and high mg calcite during or shortly after deposition the carbonate muds experienced stabilization and associated carbonate cementation in a closed phreatic meteoric diagenetic system interaction with 18 o depleted meteoric waters during diagenesis slightly reduced 18 o c values but overall the wudaoliang carbonates largely retained primary oxygen isotope compositions our data support previous interpretations that 18 o c values of the wudaoliang group lacustrine carbonates are indicative of the primary 18 o composition of miocene meteoric water and can be used for paleoelevation estimate of the miocene hoh xil basin northern tibetan plateau by demonstrating the oxygen isotopic fidelity of the wudaoliang carbonates we are able to rule out open system meteoric diagenesis from younger meteoric waters and subsequent isotopic alteration this study highlights that integration of scanning electron microscope and cathodoluminescence petrography with stable isotopic and mineralogical data enables the determination of the extent of meteoric diagenetic alteration in lacustrine carbonates particularly whether the diagenetic systems were open or closed with respect to the oxygen isotope

geological setting and genesis of coticules spessartine metapelites in the lower ordovician of the stavelot massif belgium the lower ordovician in the caledonian stavelot massif belgium contains a coticule member probably arenig in age composed of red hematite rich shales alternating with thin yellowish coticule beds these coticules are fine grained highly manganiferous metamorphic rocks mainly composed of spessartine garnet mica and quartz similar rocks of about the same age occur in several localities along the appalachian and caledonian fold belts the belgian coticules are thought to have originated from marly sediments which had been deposited rapidly probably by density currents and in which caco 3 had been diagenetically replaced by mnco 3 during metamorphism spessartine garnets were formed from this mnco 3 and mica manganese and iron are thought to have originated from volcanic exhalative processes

age of initiation of collision between india and asia a review of stratigraphic data abstract the collision of india with asia is perhaps the most profound tectonic event to have occurred in past 100 ma it is responsible for the uplift of the himalayas and tibetan plateau and has been argued to have been responsible for geological geochemical and climatological consequences of global extent yet the age of initiation of this collision remains poorly constrained the literature is replete with estimates that range from the late cretaceous 65 ma to latest eocene

the structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath south china from ambient noise and earthquake tomography summary two years of continuous recordings of ambient seismic noise observed at 354 stations in south china from 2009 to 2010 are used to estimate rayleigh wave group and phase velocity maps from 6 to 40 s period these results are merged with rayleigh wave phase velocity maps from 25 to 70 s period derived from earthquakes in the same time frame eikonal tomography generates the dispersion maps which by monte carlo inversion are used to estimate a 3 d vsv model of the crust and upper mantle down to a depth of 150 km across all of south china with attendant uncertainties a clear image emerges of the west yangtze block a region of the western yangtze craton characterized by relatively thick crust 40 km overlying a seismic mantle lithosphere that extends to at least 150 km that may have been the nucleus for the formation of the yangtze craton in the archean and may present a present day obstacle to the eastward expansion of tibet the west yangtze block contrasts with the thinner crust 30 km and mantle lithosphere 70 80 km beneath the eastern yangtze craton and south china foldbelt these observed differences are consistent with processes associated with flat slab subduction in the mesozoic that may have eroded the lithosphere of the eastern yangtze craton and the south china foldbelt

volcanic eruptions observed with infrasound 1 infrasonic airwaves produced by active volcanoes provide valuable insight into the eruption dynamics because the infrasonic pressure field may be directly associated with the flux rate of gas released at a volcanic vent infrasound also enhances the efficacy of volcanic hazard monitoring and continuous studies of conduit processes here we present new results from erebus fuego and villarrica volcanoes highlighting uses of infrasound for constraining quantitative eruption parameters such as eruption duration source mechanism and explosive gas flux

varied thermo rheological structure mechanical anisotropy and lithospheric deformation of the southeastern tibetan plateau abstract to investigate the lithospheric structure and deformation of the tibetan plateau we present thermo rheological models for two transects across the southeastern tibetan plateau se tibet showing strong lateral heterogeneity the geodynamic implications are also investigated in relation to gps motions seismic anisotropy seismicity distribution and crustal isostatic state the unmatched pattern between pms and sks splittings which even intersect at right angles to the south of 26 n suggests the crust mantle decoupling constrained by a brittle load bearing layer at the uppermost mantle beneath the indochina block the decoupling may occur below the uppermost mantle the strong crust beneath the south china plate and indochina block implied by the seismicity distribution has two thick brittle load bearing layers indicating a coupled system the crust beneath the emeishan large igneous province elip also has two brittle load bearing layers but the brittle deformation is restricted to the topmost 10 km of the upper and lower crust only one brittle load bearing layer resides in the upper crust in the other part of the chuandian block combining with gps and pms splitting we can infer that the weak crust with seismicity restricted into the depth of

the hazards of eruptions through lakes and seawater abstract eruptions through crater lakes or shallow seawater referred to here as subaqueous eruptions present hazards from hydromagmatic explosions such as base surges lahars and tsunamis which may not exist at volcanoes on dry land we have systematically compiled information from eruptions through surface water in order to understand the circumstances under which these hazards occur and what disastrous effects they have caused in the past subaqueous eruptions represent only 8 of all recorded eruptions but have produced about 20 of all fatalities associated with volcanic activity in historical time excluding eruptions that have resulted in about a hundred deaths or less lahars have killed people in the largest number of historical subaqueous eruptions 8 followed by pyroclastic flows excluding base surges 5 tsunamis 4 and base surges 2 subaqueous eruptions have produced lahars primarily on high 1000 m steep sided volcanoes containing small

geochemical evidence for sediment provenance in mudstones and fossil poor wackestones upper jurassic majorca island terra nova 24 437 445 2012 abstract the notion that diagenetic imprint on ancient carbonates significantly compromises palaeoenvironmental interpretations is revealed as an oversimplification the enigmatic case at the core of this research is an extended homogeneous macrofossil poor deposit showing distinctive dark brown colour and very fine grain size aumedra fm majorca island this markedly contrasts with standard ammonitico rosso ar facies known from jurassic epioceanic swells geochemical analysis of matrix micrite carbonate cements and belemnite rostra are used to interpret the aumedra carbonates stable carbon and oxygen isotopes and elemental abundance are compared with data from under and overlying deposits and coeval sections conspicuously higher than expected c and o isotope signature together with strontium enrichment and a typically low iron and manganese concentrations favour a distant shallower probably aragonitic sedimentary supply modern and ancient examples of carbonate deposition are integrated with possible hydrodynamic conditions justifying transport over the studied area a potential ne source is envisaged terra nova 00 1 9 2012

ambient noise rayleigh wave tomography of new zealand summary we present the first new zealand wide study of surface wave dispersion using ambient noise observed at 42 broad band stations in the national seismic network geonet and the global seismic network gsn year long vertical component time series recorded between 2005 april 1 and 2006 march 31 have been correlated with one another to yield estimated fundamental mode rayleigh wave green s functions we filter these green s functions to compute rayleigh wave group dispersion curves at periods of 5 50 s using a phase matched filter frequency time analysis technique the uncertainties of the measurements are estimated based on the temporal variation of the dispersion curves revealed by 12 overlapping 3 month stacks after selecting the highest quality dispersion curve measurements we compute group velocity maps from 7 to 25 s period these maps and 1 d shear wave velocity models at four selected locations exhibit clear correlations with major geological structures including the taranaki and canterbury basins the hikurangi accretionary prism and previously reported basement terrane boundaries

generation and propagation of infrasonic airwaves from volcanic explosions abstract analysis of infrasonic pressure waves generated by active volcanoes is essential to the understanding of volcanic explosion dynamics unlike seismic waves propagating in the earth infrasonic airwaves offer a relatively unfiltered representation of source motions at the vent during an eruption time varying acoustic propagation filters caused by changeable atmospheric conditions are minimal for microphones deployed at intermediate distances johnson et al j volcanol geotherm res in press

seismicity at old faithful geyser an isolated source of geothermal noise and possible analogue of volcanic seismicity abstract old faithful geyser in yellowstone national park u s a is a relatively isolated source of seismic noise and exhibits seismic behavior similar to that observed at many volcanoes including bubblequakes that resemble b type earthquakes harmonic tremor before and during eruptions and periods of seismic quiet prior to eruptions although old faithful differs from volcanoes in that the conduit is continuously open that rock fracturing is not a process responsible for seismicity and that the erupting fluid is inviscid h2o rather than viscous magma there are also remarkable similarities in the problems of heat and mass recharge to the system in the eruption dynamics and in the seismicity water rises irregularly into the immediate reservoir of old faithful as recharge occurs a fact that suggests that there are two enlarged storage regions one between 18 and 22 m the base of the immediate reservoir and one between about 10 and 12 m depth transport of heat from hot water or steam entering at the base of the recharging water column into cooler overlying water occurs by migration of steam bubbles upward and their collapse in the cooler water and by episodes of convective overturn an eruption occurs when the temperature of the near surface water exceeds the boiling point if the entire water column is sufficiently close to the boiling curve that the propagation of pressure release waves rarefactions down the column can bring the liquid water onto the boiling curve the process of conversion of the liquid water in the conduit at the onset of an eruption into a two phase liquid vapor mixture takes on the order of 30 s the seismicity is directly related to the sequence of filling and heating during the recharge cycle and to the fluid mechanics of the eruption short 0 2 0 3 s monochromatic high frequency events 20 60 hz resembling unsustained harmonic tremor and in some instances b type volcanic earthquakes occur when exploding or imploding bubbles of steam cause transient vibrations of the fluid column the frequency of the events is determined by the length of the water column and the speed of sound of the fluid in the conduit when these events occur damping is controlled by the characteristic and hydraulic impedances which depend on the above parameters as well as on the recharge rate of the fluid two periods of reduced seismicity of a few tens of seconds to nearly a minute in duration occur during the recharge cycle apparently when the water rises rapidly through the narrow regions of the conduit causing a sudden pressure increase that temporarily suppresses steam bubble formation a period of decreased seismicity also precedes preplay or an eruption this appears to be the time when rising steam bubbles move into a zone of boiling that is acoustically decoupled from the wall of the conduit because of the acoustic impedance mismatch between boiling water c 10 3 g cm 2 s 1 and rock c 3 10 5 g cm 2 s 1 sustained harmonic tremor occurs during the first one to one and a half minutes of an eruption of old faithful but is not detectable in the succeeding minutes of the eruption the eruption tremor is caused by hydraulic transients propagating within a sublayer of unvesiculated water that underlies the erupting two phase liquid vapor mixture the resonant frequencies of the fluid column decrease to about 1 hz when all of the water in the conduit has been converted to a water steam mixture surges are observed in the flow at this frequency but the resonance has not been detected seismically possibly because the two phase erupting fluid is seismically decoupled from the rock on which seismometers are placed if old faithful is an analogue for volcanic seismicity this study shows that because the frequency of tremor depends on the acoustic properties of the fluid and on conduit dimensions both properties must be considered in analysis of tremor in volcanic regions because magma sound speed can vary over nearly two orders of magnitude as it changes from an undersaturated liquid into a saturated two phase mixture tremor frequency might vary by this magnitude and very broad band seismographs may be required if tremor is to be monitored as magma goes from an undersaturated liquid to a vesiculated froth cessation of fluid induced seismicity may indicate that the processes that drive the transients cease but it is also possible that the processes that drive the transients continue but the fluid properties change so that the fluid becomes acoustically decoupled from the rock on which seismometers are placed