ALBERT

Description: This dataset contains subaquatic passive seismic recordings taken in September 2021 at 88 locations off Tuktoyaktuk Island as well as in a small lake (“Lake 3”) between the villages of Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. The measurements were part of the “Mackenzie Delta Permafrost Field Campaign” (mCan2021) within the “Modular Observation solutions for Earth Systems” (MOSES) program. Data is from a seismic intermediate-bandwidth seismic sensor lowered for few minutes to the bottom of the sea and lake, respectively, and from underwater short-period sensors deployed for a few days. The aim of the study was to determine the depth of the subaquatic permafrost (local lake and oceanic locations). Raw data is provided in proprietary “Cube” format and standard mseed format.

Description: Ambient seismic noise tomography is a novel, low-impact method for investigating the earth's structure. Although most passive seismic studies focus on structures on crustal scales, there are only a few examples of this technique being applied in a mineral exploration context. In this study, we performed an ambient seismic experiment to ascertain the relationship between the shallow shear wave velocity and mineralized zones in the Erzgebirge in Germany, one of the most important metal provinces in Europe. Late Variscan mineralized greisen and veins occurring in the Geyer-Ehrenfriedersdorf mining district of the Central Erzgebirge were mined from medieval times until the end of the 19th century. These occurrences represent a significant resource for commodities of high economic importance, such as tin, tungsten, zinc, indium, bismuth and lithium. Based on ambient noise data from a dense “LARGE-N” network comprising 400 low-power, short-period seismic stations, we applied an innovative tomographic inversion technique based on Bayesian statistics (transdimensional, hierarchical Monte Carlo search with Markov Chains using a Metropolis/Hastings sampler) to derive a three-dimensional shear wave velocity model. An auxiliary 3D airborne time-domain electromagnetic dataset is used to provide additional insight into the subsurface architecture of the area. The velocity model shows distinct anomalies down to approximately 500 m depth that correspond to known geological features of the study area, such as (a) gneiss intercalations in the mica schist-dominated host rock, imaged by a SW–NE striking low-velocity zone with a moderately steep northerly dip, and (b) a NW-trending strike-slip fault, imaged as a subvertical linear zone cross-cutting and offsetting this low-velocity domain. Similar to the velocity data, the electromagnetic data exhibit north-dipping (high-conductivity) structures in the mica schists, corresponding to the strike and dip of the predominant metamorphic fabric. An unsupervised classification performed on the bivariate 3D dataset yielded nine spatially coherent classes, one of which shows a high correspondence with drilled greisen occurrences in the roof zone of a granite pluton. The relatively high mean shear velocity and resistivity values of this class could be explained by changes in density and composition during greisen formation, as observed in other areas of the Erzgebirge. Our study demonstrates the great potential of the cost-efficient and low-impact ambient noise technology for mineral exploration, especially when combined with other independent geophysical datasets.

Description: In this study, 3-D models of P-wave velocity (Vp) and P- and S-wave ratio (Vp/Vs) of the crust and upper mantle in the Eastern and eastern Southern Alps (northern Italy and southern Austria) were calculated using local earthquake tomography (LET). The dataset includes high-quality arrival-times from well-constrained hypocenters observed by the dense, temporary seismic networks of the AlpArray AASN and SWATH-D. The resolution of the LET was checked by synthetic tests and analysis of the Model Resolution Matrix. The small inter-station spacing (average of ∼15 km within the SWATH-D network) allowed us to image crustal structure at unprecedented resolution across a key part of the Alps. The derived P velocity model revealed a highly heterogeneous crustal structure in the target area. One of the main findings is that the lower crust is thickened, forming a bulge at 30-50 km depth just south of and beneath the Periadriatic Fault and the Tauern Window. This indicates that the lower crust decoupled both from its mantle substratum as well as from its upper crust. The Moho, taken to be the iso-velocity contour of Vp=7.25 km/s, agrees with the Moho depth from previous studies in the European and Adriatic forelands. It is shallower on the Adriatic side than on the European side. This is interpreted to indicate that the European Plate subducted beneath the Adriatic Plate in the Eastern and eastern Southern Alps.

Description: We present results derived from a seismic refraction experiment and gravity measurements about the crustal structure of southern Sri Lanka and the adjacent Indian Ocean. A P-wave velocity model was derived using forward modelling of the observed travel times along a 509 km long, N-S trending profile at 81°E longitude. Our results show that the continental crust below southern Sri Lanka is up to 38 km thick. A ~ 65 km wide transition zone, which thins seawards to ~7 km thickness, divides stretched continental from oceanic crust. The adjacent, 4.7 to 7 km thick normal oceanic crust is covered by up to 4 km thick sediments. The oceanic crust is characterized by intra-crustal reflections and displays P-wave velocity variations, especially in oceanic layer 2, along our profile. In the central part of the profile, the uppermost mantle layer is characterized by normal P-wave mantle velocities of 8.0–8.1 km/s. At the southern end of the profile, unusual low upper mantle seismic velocities, ranging from 7.5 to 7.6 km/s only, characterize the uppermost mantle layer. These low upper mantle velocities are probably caused by partially serpentinized upper mantle. At even greater depths the upper mantle layer is characterized by velocities of 8.3 km/s on average. The type of margin along our profile is difficult to identify, since it is characterized by features typical for different types of margins.

Description: This dataset contains over 30 marine Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) profiles taken in September 2021 around Tuktoyaktuk Island (NWT / Beaufort Sea, Canada). The measurements were part of the “Mackenzie Delta Permafrost Field Campaign” (mCan2021) within the “Modular Observation solutions for Earth Systems” (MOSES) program. The collected profiles consist of numerous adjacent vertical soundings in a (quasi-symmetric) reciprocal Wenner-Schlumberger array, using a floating cable towed behind a boat. GPS records along the electrode streamer were taken, enabling the improvement of pre- processing by excluding measurements for which the cable was curved and electrode positions deviated too widely. The aim of the study was to determine the depth of the submarine permafrost. Cleaned data is provided in csv format.

Description: This collection contains permafrost related measurements in the Mackenzie Delta, NWT, Canada from the MOSES (Modular Observation Solutions for Earth Systems) field campaign in September 2021. The field campaign was focused on three subaquatic sites: a small thermokarst lake along the ITH just south of Trail Valley Creek, "Lake 3", an elongated lake with known methane occurence in the outer Mackenzie Delta, "Swiss Cheese Lake", and north and south of Tuktoyaktuk Island. At "Swiss Cheese Lake", we measured methane and CO2 concentrations in surface water and in the air above the lake, lake bed temperatures and detailed bathymetry. At "Lake 3" we measured active layer thickness on the lake banks, lake bed temperatures, and detailed bathymetry, as well as an ERT survey to estimate the talik depth below the lake. North and south of Tuktoyaktuk Island, we measured active layer thickness and sea bed temperatures and did an extensive ERT survey to obtain the depth of the subsea permafrost table. An additional passive seismic survey was carried out and the data is available at https://doi.org/10.5880/GIPP.202199.1.

Description: This dataset contains seven Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) profiles taken in September 2021 at “Lake 3”, a thermokarst lake near the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk-Highway (ITH), about 50 km north of Inuvik (NWT, Canada). The measurements were part of the “Mackenzie Delta Permafrost Field Campaign” (mCan2021) within the “Modular Observation solutions for Earth Systems” (MOSES) program. The collected profiles consist of numerous adjacent vertical soundings in a (quasi-symmetric) reciprocal Wenner-Schlumberger array. In addition to surveys on the lake, using a floating cable towed behind a boat, two “amphibian” profiles were taken. Starting as purely terrestrial surveys using metal spike electrodes, the cable was then moved towards the lake with some of the electrodes floating on the water surface, and some still on land. The aim of the study was to determine permafrost properties on the land, to detect a possible talik beneath the lake and to especially be able to infer the transition between the two below the shoreline.

Description: We provide new results from a controlled-source seismic experiment on the deepest part of the Val Sesia crust–mantle section of the Ivrea–Verbano zone (IVZ) in the Italian Alps. The IVZ is a tilted, almost complete section through the continental crust and exposes gabbros and peridotites in the structurally deepest level, coinciding with high-resolution gravity anomalies imaging the Ivrea geophysical body. The seismic experiment SEIZE (SEismic imaging of the Ivrea ZonE) was conducted along two crossing profiles: an NNE-SSW profile of ∼11 km length and an E-W profile of ∼16 km length. 432 vibration points were recorded with 110 receivers resulting in 24 392 traveltime picks. Inversion methods using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques have been used to derive an isotropic 3-D P-wave velocity model based on first break traveltimes (refracted phases) from controlled source seismic data. Resulting seismic P-wave velocities (Vp ) range from 4.5 to 7.5 km s−1, with an expected general trend of increasing velocities with depth. A sharp velocity change from low Vp in the West to high Vp in the East marks the Insubric Zone (ISZ), the Europe–Adria plate boundary. The most prominent feature of the 3-D tomography model is a high-velocity body (Vp increases from 6 to 7.5 km s−1) that broadens downwards. Its pointy shape peaks the surface East of Balmuccia at a location coincident with the exposed Balmuccia peridotite. Considering rock physics, high-resolution gravity and other geophysical data, we interpret this high-velocity body as dominantly composed of peridotite. The dimension of this seismically imaged peridotite material is far bigger than interpreted from geological cross-sections and requires a revision of previous models. The interpretation of ultramafic bodies in the IVZ as fragments of mantle peridotites interfingered in the crust during pre-Permian accretion is not supported by the new data. Instead, we revive a model that the contact between the Balmuccia peridotite and the Permian mafic magmas might represent a fossil continental crust–mantle transition zone.