ALBERT

Description: Seismic tomography images of the upper mantle structures beneath the Pacific Northwestern United States display a maze of high-velocity anomalies, many of which produce distorted waveforms evident in the USArray observations indicative of the Juan de Fuca (JdF) slab. The inferred location of the slab agrees quite well with existing contour lines defining the slab's upper interface. Synthetic waveforms generated from a recent tomography image fit teleseismic travel times quite well and also some of the waveform distortions. Regional earthquake data, however, require substantial changes to the tomographic velocities. By modeling regional waveforms of the 2008 Nevada earthquake, we find that the uppermost mantle of the 1D reference model AK135, the reference velocity model used for most tomographic studies, is too fast for the western United States. Here, we replace AK135 with mT7, a modification of an older Basin-and-Range model T7. We present two hybrid velocity structures satisfying the waveform data based on modified tomographic images and conventional slab wisdom. We derive P and SH velocity structures down to 660 km along two cross sections through the JdF slab. Our results indicate that the JdF slab is subducted to a depth of 250 km beneath the Seattle region, and terminates at a shallower depth beneath Portland region of Oregon to the south. The slab is about 60 km thick and has a P velocity increase of 5% with respect to mT7. In order to fit waveform complexities of teleseismic Gulf of Mexico and South American events, a slab-like high-velocity anomaly with velocity increases of 3% for P and 7% for SH is inferred just above the 660 discontinuity beneath Nevada.

Description: The 2010 eruptive activity at the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system began 20 March with a basaltic flank eruption on a 300 m long fissure on the Fimmvörðuháls Pass, in between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull volcanoes. The magma expelled from the fissure is olivine- and plagioclase-bearing mildly alkali basalt that exhibits uniform and rather primitive whole-rock composition. This event provides a rare opportunity to assess deep magmatic processes in Iceland. Melt inclusions (MIs) hosted in olivine phenocrysts were analyzed for their major, trace and volatile element concentrations to enable identification of magmatic source(s) for Eyjafjallajökull volcano and to better constrain processes occurring at depth. The MIs, in particular those in Mg-rich olivines, record primary magma composition before homogenisation and differentiation during magma ascent. The olivine phenocrysts hosting the MIs have a large compositional range, extending from Fo73 to Fo87, reflecting changes in the magma characteristics from the source to the surface. The MI compositions exhibit significant variations with MgO ranging from 5.2 to 7.2 wt%. This compositional range was caused by a binary mixing of two basaltic end-members followed by fractional crystallization process. The sources of these end-members are identical to those of Katla and Surtsey basalts, with a dominant role of the Katla source. Trace element characteristics of the Fimmvörðuháls MIs suggest important proportions of recycled oceanic crust in their mantle sources.

Description: Small-magnitude earthquakes and ground deformation are the precursors most frequently recorded before volcanic eruptions. Analogous signals (using acoustic emissions) have also been reported before the bulk brittle failure of crustal rock in the laboratory. Models based on laboratory and field data have focused on precursory behavior during deformation under a constant stress. A new model is proposed for extending analyses to deformation under an increasing stress. It describes how precursory time series can be determined from a parent relation between fracturing and stress, together with time-dependent changes in applied stress and rock resistance. The model applies to rock in which these stresses do not interact with each other and occupy volumes much smaller than the total volume being deformed. It identifies how the amounts of fracturing observed during deformation are controlled not only by stress concentrations at macroscopic heterogeneities, such as crack tips but also by rock composition, temperature, confining pressure, and the distribution of energy among atoms. The results appear to be scale independent, and so may be used to investigate whether the approach to bulk failure is limited by changes in applied stress or in rock weakening. When applied to pre-eruptive data from Hawaii, the analysis suggests that precursory signals are controlled by an increase in applied stress, rather than by creep deformation under a constant stress.

Description: The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic province in the western US with an average elevation of ∼1.9 km where, in contrast to neighboring provinces, there is little evidence of large scale tectonic deformation or magmatism. Recent availability of Earthscope/USArray seismic data allow us to better examine the crust and upper mantle structure beneath the region and test proposed explanations for the plateau's uplift and relative stability. Using phase velocities for fundamental mode Rayleigh waves and P receiver functions, we perform over 800 joint inversions for 1-D shear wave velocity VS profiles sampling the plateau and surrounding regions down to 150 km depth. We image a sharp change in crustal thickness at the western edge of the Colorado Plateau with a more gradual increase eastward moving into the Rocky Mountains. A relatively thick (≳100 km) lithosphere beneath the plateau extends into the Rocky Mountains to the north. We use empirical scaling relations to estimate densities from our VS results, and predict the associated gravity anomalies, which are inconsistent with the observed distribution of the Bouguer gravity anomalies. We somewhat reconcile the prediction and observations by assuming that lateral density variations below 50 km can be ignored and the lithospheric root is therefore neutrally buoyant. While there is some evidence for small scale convection and lithospheric removal at its edges, the shape of the lithospheric mantle anomaly is consistent with a large scale uplift of the plateau by heating since removal of the Farallon slab. We conclude that the lithospheric root is key to the long term stability of the Colorado Plateau, leading to a colder, stronger crust.

Description: Hysteresis loops provide essential information concerning both induced and remanent magnetizations and are an important tool for characterizing magnetic mineral assemblages. Although the hysteresis behavior of mixed natural magnetic assemblages has been a focal point of much recent work, little progress has been made in unmixing of hysteresis loops into characteristic components. Unmixing strategies can act as cornerstones for interpretation of rock magnetic data and have become popular for characterizing isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition curves. Unmixing of hysteresis loops is, however, a challenging task because the individual component loops in the mixture must meet stringent shape constraints. We present a new technique for decomposing an ensemble of hysteresis loops into a small number of end-members based on linear mixing theory. The end-members are not based on type curves but instead are derived directly from the hysteresis data. Particular attention is paid to the form of the end-members, ensuring they meet the shape constraints expected for hysteresis loops of natural magnetic mineral assemblages. Marine sediments from the Southern Ocean and lake sediments from Butte Valley, northern California, provide case studies on which the proposed unmixing method is tested.

Description: This paper presents a new constitutive model that simulates the mechanical behavior of methane hydrate-bearing soil based on the concept of critical state soil mechanics, referred to as the “Methane Hydrate Critical State (MHCS) model”. Methane hydrate-bearing soil is, under certain geological conditions, known to exhibit greater stiffness, strength and dilatancy, which are often observed in dense soils and also in bonded soils such as cemented soil and unsaturated soil. Those soils tend to show greater resistance to compressive deformation but the tendency disappears when the soil is excessively compressed or the bonds are destroyed due to shearing. The proposed model represents these features by introducing five extra model parameters to the conventional critical state model. It is found that, for an accurate prediction of ground settlement, volumetric yielding plays an important role when hydrate soil undergoes a significant change in effective stresses and hydrate saturation, which are expected during depressurization for methane gas recovery.

Description: Experimental heating tests were performed on Volterra gypsum to study the micromechanical consequences of the dehydration reaction. The experimental conditions were drained at 5 MPa fluid pressure and confining pressures ranging from 15 to 55 MPa. One test was performed with a constantly applied differential stress of 30 MPa. The reaction is marked by (1) a porosity increase and homogeneous compaction, (2) a swarm of acoustic emissions, (3) a large decrease in P and S wave velocities, and (4) a decrease in VP/VS ratio. Wave velocity data are interpreted in terms of crack density and pore aspect ratio, which, modeling pores as spheroids, is estimated at around 0.05 (crack-like spheroid). Complementary tests performed in an environmental scanning electron microscope indicate that cracks first form inside the gypsum grains and are oriented preferentially along the crystal structure of gypsum. Most of the visible porosity appears at later stages when grains shrink and grain boundaries open. Extrapolation of our data to serpentinites in subduction zones suggest that the signature of dehydrating rocks in seismic tomography could be a low apparent Poisson's ratio, although this interpretation may be masked by anisotropy development due to preexisting crystal preferred orientation and/or deformation-induced cracking. The large compaction and the absence of strain localization in the deformation test suggests that dehydrating rocks maybe seen as soft inclusions and could thus induce ruptures in the surrounding, nonreacting rocks.

Description: We use a two-dimensional displacement discontinuity method (DDM) for quasi-static boundary value problems to investigate sinusoidal faults of finite length in an otherwise homogeneous and isotropic elastic material. The DDM incorporates a complementarity algorithm to enforce appropriate contact boundary conditions along the model fault. The numerical solution for the model sinusoidal fault converges to the analytical solution for a straight fault of finite length as the ratio amplitude/wavelength goes to zero. It does not converge to the analytical solution for an infinite sinusoidal interface as the ratio distance/wavelength goes to zero. We provide stick, slip, and opening distributions along wavy faults with a range of uniform coefficients of friction, amplitude/wavelength ratios, and wave numbers. As the number of sinusoidal waves or the amplitude/wavelength is increased, mean slip decreases. Additionally, the fault geometry causes slip to deviate significantly from the elliptical distribution of a planar fault. We demonstrate that the displacement discontinuity of wavy faults cannot be prescribed a priori. This necessitates implementation of the complementarity algorithm and precludes an analytical solution. We employ the terms lee and stoss instead of releasing and restraining bends because a local minimum in slip may occur along lee sides, as well as stoss sides. In some cases, lee sides stick while stoss sides slip. Trends in the slip perturbation can be explained by the angular relationship between the local fault trace and the orientation of the remote principal stresses; however, the displacement discontinuity along a wavy model fault cannot be explained by this relationship alone.

Description: At Cranfield, Mississippi, United States, a large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) injection through an injection well (∼3,080 m deep) was continuously monitored using U-tube samplers in two observation wells located 68 and 112 m east of the injector. The Lower Tuscaloosa Formation injection zone, which consists of amalgamated fluvial point-bar and channel-fill deposits, presents an interesting environment for studying fluid flow in heterogeneous formations. Continual fluid sampling was carried out during the first month of CO2 injection. Two subsequent tracer tests using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and krypton were conducted at different injection rates to measure flow velocity change. The field observations showed significant heterogeneity of fluid flow and for the first time clearly demonstrated that fluid flow evolved with time and injection rate. It was found the wells were connected through numerous, separate flow pathways. CO2 flowed through an increasing fraction of the reservoir and sweep efficiency improved with time. The field study also first documented in situ component exchange between brine and gas phases during CO2 injection. It was found that CH4 degassed from brine and is enriched along the gas–water contact. Multiple injectate flow fronts with high CH4 concentration arrived at different times and led to gas composition fluctuations in the observation wells. The findings provide valuable insights into heterogeneous multiphase flow in rock formations and show that conventional geological models and static fluid flow simulations are unable to fully describe the heterogeneous and dynamic flow during fluid injection.

Description: By regressing simple, independent variables that describe climate and tectonic processes against measures of topography and relief of 69 mountain ranges worldwide, we quantify the relative importance of these processes in shaping observed landscapes. Climate variables include latitude (as a surrogate for mean annual temperature and insolation, but most importantly for the likelihood of glaciation) and mean annual precipitation. To quantify tectonics we use shortening rates across each range. As a measure of topography, we use mean and maximum elevations and relief calculated over different length scales. We show that the combination of climate (negative correlation) and tectonics (positive correlation) explain substantial fractions (〉25%, but

Description: We present a new approach to extracting spatially and temporally continuous ground deformation fields from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data. We focus on unwrapped interferograms from a single viewing geometry, estimating ground deformation along the line-of-sight. Our approach is based on a wavelet decomposition in space and a general parametrization in time. We refer to this approach as MInTS (Multiscale InSAR Time Series). The wavelet decomposition efficiently deals with commonly seen spatial covariances in repeat-pass InSAR measurements, since the coefficients of the wavelets are essentially spatially uncorrelated. Our time-dependent parametrization is capable of capturing both recognized and unrecognized processes, and is not arbitrarily tied to the times of the SAR acquisitions. We estimate deformation in the wavelet-domain, using a cross-validated, regularized least squares inversion. We include a model-resolution-based regularization, in order to more heavily damp the model during periods of sparse SAR acquisitions, compared to during times of dense acquisitions. To illustrate the application of MInTS, we consider a catalog of 92 ERS and Envisat interferograms, spanning 16 years, in the Long Valley caldera, CA, region. MInTS analysis captures the ground deformation with high spatial density over the Long Valley region.

Description: In shallow magmatic intrusions, a characteristic layering structure (hereafter referred to as cyclic layering) can sometimes be observed. This cyclic layering is caused by double diffusion and crystallization kinetics, and different from what is observed as rhythmic layering caused by gravity. The cyclic layering is visualized as differential weathering in response to the differential stiffness caused by textural variations such as those in the volume fraction, number density, and size of vesicles or crystals. The spacing of layers seems to increase according to a geometric progression, like as in Liesegang bands of a diffusion-precipitation system. In order to understand the development condition for cyclic layering and the characteristics of textural variations, such as the spacing of layering in crystallized multi-component melts by conductive cooling, we carried out a numerical experiment on the 1D crystallization process of a binary eutectic melt. This simulation took into account the cooling from contact with country rock as well as the compositional and thermal diffusion and the kinetics of diffusion-limited crystallization. The governing equations include dimensionless control parameters describing the relative importance of thermal diffusion or compositional diffusion (Lewis number, Le) and the effective latent heat release (Stefan number, St). From the results of the numerical experiments, it was found that the layering develops through eutectic oscillation (compositional and thermal oscillation below the eutectic point), suggesting that the bi-activating condition, whereby both phases cooperatively activate their crystallization rates, is essential for the development of layering. No layering is observed at the margin, and the length of the region with no layering increases exponentially with decreasing St. The amplitude of textural oscillation decreases with decreasing St. Thus, practically no layering develops at small latent heat release. Three types of layering structure or oscillatory profiles of texture are observed (short, long and multiple types), depending mainly on Le. Realistic values of Le and St suggest that natural cyclic layering is the multiple or long type of layering. The common ratios of geometric progressions converge with increasing Le to constants in the range of approximately 1.02–1.05, which is similar to the range of the natural observations. Experiments with no latent heat release by the second-phase simulating vesicles show similar oscillatory behaviors, suggesting that the latent heat release of the first crystallizing phase is an essential factor for the development of vesicle layering.

Description: Using fundamental mode Rayleigh waves from the INDEPTH-IV and Namche-Barwa seismic experiments for periods between 20 and 143 s, we have investigated the lithospheric structure beneath eastern Tibet. We have found a ∼200-km-wide high velocity body, starting at ∼60 km depth and roughly centered beneath the Bangong-Nijuang Suture, which is most likely a piece of the underthrusting Indian continental lithosphere. The sub-horizontal underthrusting of the Indian lithosphere beneath eastern Tibet appears to be accompanied by its lateral tearing into at least two fragments, and subsequent break-off of the westernmost portion at ∼91°E-33°N. The uppermost mantle low velocity zone we observe beneath the N. Qiangtang and Songpan-Ganzi terranes is most probably due to warmer and thinner lithosphere relative to southern Tibet. We attribute the low velocity zones concentrated along the northern and southern branches of the eastern Kunlun fault at lithospheric depths to strain heating caused by shearing. The azimuthal fast directions at all periods up to 143 s (∼200 km peak sensitivity depth) beneath the N. Qiangtang and Songpan-Ganzi terranes are consistent, suggesting vertically coherent deformation between crust and uppermost mantle. Furthermore, the low velocity zone below the Kunlun Shan reaching down to 〉200 km argues against a present southward continental subduction along the southern margin of Qaidam Basin.

Description: The unique physical and chemical properties of cratonic lithosphere are thought to be key to its long-term survival and its resistance to pervasive modification by tectonic processes. Study of mantle structure in southeast Canada and the northeast US offers an excellent opportunity to address this issue because the region spans 3 billion years of Earth history, including Archean formation of the Superior craton and younger accretion of terranes to eastern Laurentia during the Proterozoic Grenville and Phanerozoic Appalachian orogenies. Trending NW–SE through each of these terranes is the track of the Great Meteor hot spot, which affected the region during the Mesozoic. Here we study mantle seismic velocity structure beneath this region of eastern North America using tomographic inversion of teleseismic P-wave relative arrival-times recorded by a large-aperture seismograph network. There are no large-scale systematic differences between Superior and Grenville mantle wave speed structure, which may suggest that tectonic stabilization of cratons occurred in a similar fashion during the Archean and Proterozoic. Cratonic lithosphere is largely thought to be resistant to modification by hot spot processes, in contrast to younger terranes where lithospheric erosion and significant magmatism are expected. Low velocities beneath the regions affected by the Great Meteor hot spot are broadest beneath the Paleozoic Appalachian terranes, indicating pervasive modification of the lithosphere during magmatism. The zone of modification narrows considerably into the Proterozoic Grenville province before disappearing completely in the Archean Superior craton, where the surface signature of Mesozoic magmatism is limited to kimberlite eruptions.

Description: It is well known that the Ionian Sea is characterized by thin (8–11 km) crystalline crust, thick (5–7 km) sedimentary cover, and low heat flow, typical for a Mesozoic (at least) basin. Yet seismic data have not yielded univocal interpretations, and a debate has developed on the oceanic versus “thinned continental” nature of the Ionian basin. Here we analyze the magnetic anomaly pattern of the Ionian Sea and compare it to synthetic fields produced by a geopotential field generator, considering realistic crust geometry. The Ionian basin is mostly characterized by slightly negative magnetic residuals and by a prominent positive (150 nT at sea level) “B” anomaly at the northwestern basin margin. We first test continental crust models, considering a homogeneous crystalline crust with K = 1 × 10−3, then a 5 km thick deep crustal layer of serpentinite (K = 1 × 10−1). The first model yields insignificant anomalies, while the second gives an anomaly pattern anticorrelated with the observed residuals. We subsequently test oceanic crust models, considering a 2 km thick 2A basaltic layer with K = 5 × 10−3, magnetic remanence of 5 A/m, and a unique magnetic polarity (no typical oceanic magnetic anomaly stripes are apparent in the observed data set). Magnetic remanence directions were derived from Pangean-African paleopoles in the 290–190 Ma age window. Only reverse polarity models reproduce the B anomaly, and among them the 220–230 Ma models best approximate magnetic features observed on the abyssal plain and at the western basin boundary. The Ionian Sea turns out to be the oldest preserved oceanic floor known so far.

Description: The devastation inflicted by recent earthquakes demonstrates the danger of under-predicting the size of earthquakes. Unfortunately, earthquakes may rupture fault-sections larger than previously observed, making it essential to develop predictive rupture models. We present numerical models based on earthquake physics and fault zone data, that determine whether a rupture on a segmented fault could cascade and grow into a devastating, multisegment earthquake. We demonstrate that weakened (damaged) fault zones and bi-material interfaces promote rupture propagation and greatly increase the risk of cascading ruptures and triggered seismicity. This result provides a feasible explanation for the outstanding observation of a very large (10 km) rupture jump documented in the MW7.8 2001 Kunlun, China earthquake. However, enhanced inter-seismic deformation and energy dissipation at fault tips suppress rupture propagation and may turn even small discontinuities into effective earthquake barriers. By assessing fault stability, identifying rupture barriers and foreseeing multisegment earthquakes, we provide a tool to improve earthquake prediction and hazard analysis.

Description: We use first-principles molecular dynamics simulations to study the behavior of cation ordering in the non-equivalent octahedral sites of Mg-Fe olivine solid solutions. Our theoretical calculations confirm the previous experimental finding that Mg2+ and Fe2+ can invert their octahedral site occupancy at a critical temperature. Assuming that the site preference of Fe changes discontinuously between two states in which it is completely restricted to either M1 or M2 sites, we have calculated the transition temperature, Tt, between the two extreme states. Under ambient pressure Tt is calculated to be 520°C that agrees fairly with the experimental finding in which, however, the ordering state changed discontinuously over a much smaller range of the site occupancy of Fe. Tt is found to be pressure sensitive, showing an increase by 30 to 100°C per unit GPa, depending upon the iron content. Using the Indian continental geotherm, we estimate a depth of around 75 Km corresponding to the calculated transition pressure and temperature of cation ordering, which matches well with the depth for the Hales discontinuity marked by a jump of shear wave velocity by ∼4%. For olivine solid solutions with 12.5% iron, the ordering transition increases Vs from 4.5 to 4.7 Km/s. Both the inferences, viz. depth of discontinuity and magnitude of velocity increase find support from the modeling of teleseismic earthquake waveforms recorded over broadband seismographs on the Dharwar Craton. This leads us to infer that the cation ordering transition in ferromagnesian olivine might be a potential factor for the Hales discontinuity.

Description: Deformation fabrics in Earth's crust and mantle are commonly used to constrain the tectonic history, deformation mechanisms, and rheological properties of the lithosphere. Their formation involves heterogeneous and multiscale deformation processes that current single-scale models cannot capture. Here we present a micromechanics-based MultiOrder Power Law Approach (MOPLA) for the simulation of multiscale fabrics in crustal scale high-strain zones. We consider the progressive deformation in a crustal high-strain zone on three different scales. On the macroscopic scale, representing the average assemblage of rock units at a point, we regard the rock mass as a continuum made of many first-order elements. The progressive deformation of first-order elements in the macroscopic flow field simulates tectonic transposition. On the scale of an individual first-order element, we regard it as an Eshelby inhomogeneity embedded in a poly element continuum. We apply Eshelby's inhomogeneity formalism for power law materials to relate the flow field inside a first-order element to the macroscopic flow field. On the scale pertinent to structures observed on the outcrop or smaller scale, the partitioned flow fields inside individual first-order elements are used to examine the fabric development. We implement MOPLA in MathCad, apply the approach to a natural example of the Cascade Lake shear zone, and discuss the implications of multiscale deformation. Our model predicts lineation patterns observed in natural high-strain zones that have remained unexplained by single-scale models.

Description: Vibrational densities of states and phonon dispersion relations for Mg0.875Fe0.125O ferropericlase in the high- and low-spin (HS and LS) states were calculated from first principles lattice dynamics using the internally consistent LDA+U technique. Finite-temperature thermodynamic properties were determined based on the quasi-harmonic approximation including the HS and LS mixing entropy and the magnetic entropy effects, which gave pressure and temperature variations of the low-spin fraction. Our results suggest that for thermodynamic modeling of the earth's interior, the effect of the mixed spin state cannot be ignored in the lower mantle, especially the lowermost part. The anomaly in the seismic wave velocity due to the spin crossover transition of ferropericlase, if it exists, is difficult to detect because of the wide pressure range of the transition, which is broadened by the temperature effect and the damping of the amplitude of the slow seismic wave.

Description: In the Ursa Basin, Gulf of Mexico, in situ mudstone permeability near the seafloor declines from 1.1 × 10−16 to 5.8 × 10−19 m2 over a depth of 578 m. We can reproduce this in situ permeability-porosity behavior through consolidation experiments in the laboratory. We use uniaxial constant-rate-of-strain consolidation experiments to measure permeability-porosity relationships and derive in situ permeabilities of 31 mudstone samples collected at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Sites U1324 and U1322. Although these mudstones have similar grain-size distributions, permeability at a given porosity varies significantly between the samples due to small variations in composition or fabric. We calculate an upscaled permeability relationship based on the observed permeability variation in the samples and determine a resultant large-scale permeability anisotropy of around 30. Based on this upscaled relationship and observations of in situ pressure, we calculate upward fluid flow rates of 0.5 mm/yr. We find that given the observed compressibility, permeability, and the geologic forcing at Ursa, overpressures are predicted as observed in the subsurface. The primary mechanism for overpressure generation at Ursa is sediment loading due to rapid burial. Low vertical permeabilities, accompanied by high sedimentation rates, can cause severe overpressure near the seafloor, which controls fluid flow and can reduce slope stability as observed in the Mississippi Canyon region. Such flow systems, especially at intermediate depths on passive margins, are important due to their control over macroscale behavior such as topographic gradient of continental slopes and submarine landslides, but have been largely understudied in the past.

Description: Explosive activity at Stromboli volcano is analyzed using a high-frame rate (50 Hz) thermal camera and differential pressure transducers. We develop a thermal image-based decomposition method to derive vertical and horizontal exit velocities of the explosive cloud. Peak vertical velocity ranges between 23 and 203 m/s, slightly higher than previous estimates and rapidly decreasing to a constant value of 30–50 m/s within the first ∼0.1 s. Plume velocities are consistent with an elongated cloud expanding much faster vertically than horizontally and indicating the interaction with the conduit wall. Considering a vent radius of ∼2 m we estimate a volumetric flux of 200–600 m3/s, which converts to total volumes of gas-particles of 103–104 m3 for a single eruption. These volumes are proportional to the thermal energy recorded by the camera, providing a means to convert thermal radiance to volumes. Comparing the thermal onset of the explosions with the arrival time of the acoustic pressure, we demonstrate that infrasound is propagating 0.14−1.7 s ahead of the explosive front. The time difference between thermal and acoustic onsets constrains the infrasonic source within the conduit at 15–35 m below the crater rim. Peak amplitudes of acoustic pressure show a power law relationship (p ∼ U2) with the exit vertical velocities consistent with the energy balance of a two-phase flow rapidly accelerated in the conduit by gas decompression. Our results support monopole isotropic acoustic radiation of a source embedded within the conduit walls and indicate that explosive dynamics undergo strong accelerations of 103–104 m/s2.

Description: We present a high resolution 3 dimensional (3D) P wave velocity model for Tenerife Island, Canaries, covering the top of Teide volcano (3,718 m a.s.l.) down to around 8 km below sea level (b.s.l). The tomographic inversion is based on a large data set of travel times obtained from a 3D active seismic experiment using offshore shots (air guns) recorded at more than 100 onshore seismic stations. The obtained seismic velocity structure is strongly heterogeneous with significant (up to 40%) lateral variations. The main volcanic structure of the Las Cañadas-Teide-Pico Viejo Complex (CTPVC) is characterized by a high P wave velocity body, similar to many other stratovolcanoes. The presence of different high P wave velocity regions inside the CTPVC may be related to the geological and volcanological evolution of the system. The presence of high P wave velocities at the center of the island is interpreted as evidence for a single central volcanic source for the formation of Tenerife. Furthermore, reduced P wave velocities are found in a small confined region in CTPVC and are more likely related to hydrothermal alteration, as indicated by the existence of fumaroles, than to the presence of a magma chamber beneath the system. In the external regions, surrounding CTPVC a few lower P wave velocity regions can be interpreted as fractured zones, hydrothermal alterations, porous materials and thick volcaniclastic deposits.

Description: Eastern Indonesia and the southern Philippines comprise a huge and seismically highly active region that has received less than the deserved attention in tsunami research compared with the surrounding areas exposed to the major subduction zones. In an effort to redress the balance the tsunami hazard in this region is studied by establishing a tsunami event database which, in combination with seismological and tectonic information from the region, has allowed us to define and justify a number of ‘credible worst-case’ tsunami scenarios. These scenarios have been used in numerical simulations of tsunami generation and propagation to study maximum water level along potentially affected shorelines. The scenarios have in turn been combined to provide regional tsunami hazard maps. In many cases the simulations indicate that the maximum water level may exceed 10 m locally and even reach above 20 m in the vicinity of the source, which is of the same order as what is forecasted along the Sumatra and Java trenches for comparable return periods. For sections of coastlines close to a source, a tsunami may strike only a few minutes after it is generated, providing little time for warning. Moreover, several of the affected areas are highly populated and are therefore also high risk areas. The combination of high maximum water levels, short warning times, dense populations, and relatively short return periods suggests strongly that the tsunami hazard and risk in these regions are alarmingly high.

Description: We determine the geographical boundary and average shear velocity structure of the Pacific Anomaly at the base of the mantle based on travel time analysis of ScSH-SH and ScS2 (ScSScS)-SS phases and waveform modeling results. We further constrain the detailed geometry of the northern Anomaly around (20°N, −170°E) and its transition to the surrounding high velocity region along three perpendicular cross sections on the basis of forward waveform modeling of the observed direct S and ScS phases. The observed differential travel-time residuals and waveform modeling results allow the whole geographic boundary of the Anomaly to be delineated and the area of the base of the Anomaly is estimated to be 1.9 × 107 km2. The maximum shear velocity perturbation inside the Anomaly reaches −5% in the lowermost 500 km of the mantle. Waveform analysis suggests that the northern Anomaly reaches 450 km above the CMB with both steeply and shallowly dipping edges and its basal layer extends beneath the surrounding mantle with the degree of extension changing rapidly across a small distance. The inferred characteristics of the Anomaly support the previous suggestion that the Pacific Anomaly represents a chemical anomaly. However, unlike the inferred features of the African Anomaly pointing to an ancient compositionally distinct and geologically stable anomaly, the existence of several separated piles extending into the mid-lower mantle, the complex morphology of the piles with both steeply and shallowly dipping edges and the presence of many ultra-low velocity zones at its base suggest that the Pacific Anomaly likely possesses varying intrinsic compositions and exhibits complex interaction with the surrounding mantle.

Description: Using seismic profiles of triplicated waveforms, we show significant lateral variations in the SH velocity (Vs) structure of the transition zone (TZ) beneath Korea and adjacent regions. Beneath Sakhalin, we detected a high Vs anomaly (∼2%) limited to middle regions of the TZ (mid-TZ), and a large Vs jump across the 660-km discontinuity. A similar jump in Vs also occurs beneath the northern portion of the North China Craton (NCC). Beneath Korea, a high Vs anomaly (∼2%) in the lower TZ is inferred, accompanied by a relatively small Vs jump across the 660-km discontinuity, which is depressed by about ∼15–20 km. The deep structure under the eastern part of northeast China (NEC) also includes a slight Vs anomaly (∼1%) in the lower TZ but does not exhibit significant depression of the 660-km discontinuity. Compared with previous study, our observations reveal strong regional variations of the TZ structure on a relatively short scale. These variations most likely reflect the geometrical distribution of the subducting northwest Pacific plate. Our results suggest that the subducting slab dips across the mid-TZ under Sakhalin, and becomes flattened atop of the 660-km discontinuity beneath Korea, while only the tip of the slab reaches the lower TZ beneath the NEC. The TZ beneath the NCC does not show evidence of the slab stagnation.

Description: The fine-scale seismic structure of the central Mexico subduction zone is studied using moderate-sized (M4-6) intraslab earthquakes. Regional waveforms from the Mapping the Rivera Subduction Zone (MARS) seismic array are complicated and contain detailed information about the subduction zone structure, including evidence of lateral heterogeneity. This waveform information is used to model the structure of the subducted plates, particularly along the transition from flat to normal subduction, where recent studies have shown evidence for possible slab tearing along the eastern projection of the Orozco Fracture Zone (OFZ). The lateral extent of a thin ultra-slow velocity layer (USL) imaged atop the Cocos slab in recent studies along the Meso America Subduction Experiment array is examined here using MARS waveforms. We find an edge to this USL which is coincident with the western boundary of the projected OFZ region. Forward modeling of the 2D structure of the subducted Rivera and Cocos plates using a finite difference algorithm provides constraints on the velocity and geometry of each slab's seismic structure in this region and confirms the location of the USL edge. We propose that the Cocos slab is currently fragmenting into a North Cocos plate and a South Cocos plate along the projection of the OFZ, in agreement with observations of variable Cocos plate motion on either side of the OFZ. This tearing event may be a young analogy to the 10 Ma Rivera-Cocos plate boundary, and may be related to the slab rollback in central Mexico.

Description: Characterizing the vigor of magmatic activity in Yellowstone requires knowledge of the mechanisms and rates of heat transport between magma and the ground surface. We present results from a heat flow study in two vapor dominated, acid-sulfate thermal areas in the Yellowstone Caldera, the 0.11 km2 Obsidian Pool Thermal Area (OPTA) and the 0.25 km2 Solfatara Plateau Thermal Area (SPTA). Conductive heat flux through a low permeability layer capping large vapor reservoirs is calculated from soil temperature measurements at 〉600 locations and from laboratory measurements of soil properties. The conductive heat output is 3.6 ± 0.4 MW and 7.5 ± 0.4 MW from the OPTA and the SPTA, respectively. The advective heat output from soils is 1.3 ± 0.3 MW and 1.2 ± 0.3 MW from the OPTA and the SPTA, respectively and the heat output from thermal pools in the OPTA is 6.8 ± 1.4 MW. These estimates result in a total heat output of 11.8 ± 1.4 MW and 8.8 ± 0.4 MW from OPTA and SPTA, respectively. Focused zones of high heat flux in both thermal areas are roughly aligned with regional faults suggesting that faults in both areas serve as conduits for the rising acid vapor. Extrapolation of the average heat flux from the OPTA (103 ± 2 W·m−2) and SPTA (35 ± 3 W·m−2) to the ∼35 km2 of vapor dominated areas in Yellowstone yields 3.6 and 1.2 GW, respectively, which is less than the total heat output transported by steam from the Yellowstone Caldera as estimated by the chloride inventory method (4.0 to 8.0 GW).

Description: Using two recent high-resolution earthquake catalogs, I examine clustering in California seismicity by plotting the average rate of earthquakes as a function of both space and time from target events of M 2 to 5. Comparisons between pre- and post-target event activity can be used to resolve earthquake-to-earthquake triggering associated with target events of different magnitudes. The results are more complicated than predicted by computer simulations of earthquake triggering that begin with background events occurring at random times. In particular, at least some of the temporal clustering of seismicity at short scales (0.1 to 5 km) does not appear to be caused by local earthquake triggering, but instead reflects an underlying physical process that temporarily increases the seismicity rate, such as is often hypothesized to drive earthquake swarms. Earthquake triggering for M 〈 4.5 earthquakes is only resolvable in average seismicity rates at times less than about one day and to distances of less than about 10 km, and its linear density decreases as r−1.5 to r−2.5, significantly steeper than some previous studies have found.

Description: Although kinematic earthquake source inversions show dominantly pulse-like subshear rupture behavior, seismological observations, laboratory experiments and theoretical models indicate that earthquakes can operate with different rupture styles: either as pulses or cracks, that propagate at subshear or supershear speeds. The determination of rupture style and speed has important implications for ground motions and may inform about the state of stress and strength of active fault zones. We conduct 2D in-plane dynamic rupture simulations with a spectral element method to investigate the diversity of rupture styles on faults governed by velocity-and-state-dependent friction with dramatic velocity-weakening at high slip rate. Our rupture models are governed by uniform initial stresses, and are artificially initiated. We identify the conditions that lead to different rupture styles by investigating the transitions between decaying, steady state and growing pulses, cracks, sub-shear and super-shear ruptures as a function of background stress, nucleation size and characteristic velocity at the onset of severe weakening. Our models show that small changes of background stress or nucleation size may lead to dramatic changes of rupture style. We characterize the asymptotic properties of steady state and self-similar pulses as a function of background stress. We show that an earthquake may not be restricted to a single rupture style, but that complex rupture patterns may emerge that consist of multiple rupture fronts, possibly involving different styles and back-propagating fronts. We also demonstrate the possibility of a super-shear transition for pulse-like ruptures. Finally, we draw connections between our findings and recent seismological observations.

Description: We use boundary element methods to develop antiplane, strike-slip earthquake cycle models consisting of faulting in an elastic plate with possibly different thickness and stiffness on either side of the fault overlying a linear, Maxwell viscoelastic substrate. We show that isolated plate models that neglect the coupling of the plate to the underlying substrate might significantly overpredict the asymmetry in deformation across the fault. We also show that flow in a low-viscosity channel in the lower crust could significantly contribute to the asymmetry. Through a fully probabilistic scheme, we invert geodetic data across three strike-slip fault systems for effective elastic thickness and elastic stiffness on both sides of the fault using geological and geophysical constraints. For the Renun segment of the Great Sumatra fault, inversion results show the elastic layer on the east side is stiffer than the west side but the effective elastic thicknesses are not resolvable. For the Carrizo segment of the San Andreas fault, the inversion results slightly favor a thicker elastic layer on the east side (∼2.2 times) but stiffer layer on west side (∼1.2 times); however, uniform effective elastic thickness and stiffness cannot be ruled out. For the Aksay segment of the Altyn Tagh fault in northern Tibet, inversion results show the effective elastic crust of the Tarim Basin must be stiffer and thicker than the effective elastic crust of the Tibetan Plateau to the south, but the viscosity of a hypothesized mid-crustal Tibetan channel is not resolvable.

Description: Morphochronologic slip-rates on the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) along the southern front of the Pingding Shan at ∼90.5°E are determined by cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) dating of seven offset terraces at two sites. The terraces are defined based upon morphology, elevation and dating, together with fieldwork and high-resolution satellite analysis. The majority of the CRN model ages fall within narrow ranges (

Description: The spectral induced polarization (SIP) signature of soil contaminated with organic pollutant was studied. Using a flow column experiment, the effect of crystal violet (CV, a polar organic pollutant) on the temporal change of the SIP response over a broad frequency range (1 mHz to 45 KHz) was determined. Complimentary measurements were used to determine the effect of CV on the chemical composition of both the pore water and the solid surface. In addition, analysis of the experimental results was carried out by using both chemical complexation and induced polarization models. Our results shows that adsorption of CV to the mineral surface resulted in release of inorganic ions to the soil solution, increasing the solution electrical conductivity and therefore also the real part of the complex conductivity. Despite the increase in the real part of the complex conductivity, the imaginary part of the complex conductivity decreased with increasing concentration of adsorbed CV. Using the Revil induced polarization model, we were able to show that the contribution of the adsorbed CV to the polarization of the soil is negligible, and that the main process affecting the polarization is the decrease in the density of the inorganic surface species. The results of this study can be used to better interpret SIP signature of soils contaminated by organic compounds.

Description: Hydrothermal convection in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, is driven by heat extracted at the brittle-ductile transition, which is in turn supplied by magmatic intrusion of the lower-crust. We present a numerical model that approximates this circulation in a statistical sense, being constrained by TVZ dimensions and mean thermal properties, but incorporating a permeability distribution of arbitrary heterogeneity. A particle tracking methodology that accounts for advective and dispersive transport is introduced, and ensembles of several tens of thousands of flow paths are constructed for each of the modeled geothermal systems. These flow paths reveal the nature of mass recharge in multicell convective systems, and suggest the ages of waters in TVZ geothermal systems vary between 5 and 50 kyr. Flow path ensembles are used to delineate catchments for each of the modeled systems and a method for calculating their areas is introduced. Catchment area is shown to be proportional to system heat output and area, which is consistent with a 1-D analytical model of heat and mass transfer. As an approximation to catchments delineated by particle tracking, we outline a method of Voronoi tessellation based on the positions and heat outputs of geothermal systems. This method is used to delineate catchments for geothermal systems in the TVZ and Iceland.

Description: We develop a global-scale P wave velocity model (LLNL-G3Dv3) designed to accurately predict seismic travel times at regional and teleseismic distances simultaneously. The model provides a new image of Earth's interior, but the underlying practical purpose of the model is to provide enhanced seismic event location capabilities. The LLNL-G3Dv3 model is based on ∼2.8 million P and Pn arrivals that are re-processed using our global multiple-event locator called Bayesloc. We construct LLNL-G3Dv3 within a spherical tessellation based framework, allowing for explicit representation of undulating and discontinuous layers including the crust and transition zone layers. Using a multiscale inversion technique, regional trends as well as fine details are captured where the data allow. LLNL-G3Dv3 exhibits large-scale structures including cratons and superplumes as well numerous complex details in the upper mantle including within the transition zone. Particularly, the model reveals new details of a vast network of subducted slabs trapped within the transition beneath much of Eurasia, including beneath the Tibetan Plateau. We demonstrate the impact of Bayesloc multiple-event location on the resulting tomographic images through comparison with images produced without the benefit of multiple-event constraints (single-event locations). We find that the multiple-event locations allow for better reconciliation of the large set of direct P phases recorded at 0–97° distance and yield a smoother and more continuous image relative to the single-event locations. Travel times predicted from a 3-D model are also found to be strongly influenced by the initial locations of the input data, even when an iterative inversion/relocation technique is employed.

Description: Providing high-fidelity paleointensity estimates is pivotal to identify temporal fluctuation of ancient geomagnetic field. Despite abundance of available paleointensity data in Japan, only dozen of them satisfy modern standards with systematic alteration checks. High-fidelity paleointensity estimates were obtained from historic andesitic lavas collected from Mt. Aso (Ojodake, ≈700 BC), Mt. Kirishima (Iwoyama, AD 1768; Ohachi, AD 1235), and Mt. Sakurajima (An-ei, AD 1779; Nabeyama, AD 764–766). Variation of geomagnetic field intensity is distinctively different from the prediction of global models (ARCH3k.1, CALS3k.3, CALS3k.4, CALS7k.2, and CALS10k.1b) for the past 4000 years in Japan. The compilation of high-fidelity Thellier data set in Japan showed two obvious high intensities at AD 590–765 and AD 1330–1435 and one low intensity at ≈700 BC. These time intervals with anomalous high/low intensities are nearly identical to three of the four potential archeomagnetic jerks recognized from the European archeomagnetic data, implying that the archeomagnetic jerks were global (or at least northern hemispheric) features. To improve the poor representation of regional geomagnetic field variation with respect to the global model prediction, more high-fidelity paleointensity determinations are required in East Asia.

Description: We present an improved rendition of the geodetic velocity and strain fields in Sicily and southern Calabria obtained through the analysis of 18 years of GPS observations from continuous and survey station networks. The dense spatial coverage of geodetic data provides precise quantitative estimates of previously established first-order active kinematic features, including: i) a narrow east-west-elongated belt of contraction (∼1–1.5 mm/yr) extending offshore northern Sicily from Ustica to Stromboli across the Aeolian Islands; ii) a narrow east-west-trending contractional belt located along the northern rim of the Hyblean Plateau in southern Sicily, with shortening at up to 4.4 mm/yr; iii) right motion (∼3.6 mm/yr) on the Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni fault (ATLF) system, a main shear zone extending from the Aeolian Islands to the Ionian coast of Sicily, with significant transpression and transtension partitioned between discrete sectors of the fault; iv) transtension (∼1 mm/yr) across the Sicily Channel between Sicily and North Africa. We use geodetic observations coupled to geological constraints to better elucidate the interplay of crustal blocks revealed in the investigated area. In particular, we focus on the ATLF, which forms the primary boundary between the Sicilian and Calabrian blocks. The ATLF juxtaposes north-south contraction between Sicily and the Tyrrhenian block with northwest-southeast extension in northeastern Sicily and Calabria. Contraction between Sicily and Tyrrhenian blocks probably arises from the main Europe-Nubia convergence, although Sicily has a component of lateral motion away from Nubia. We found that convergence is not restricted to the northern offshore, as commonly believed, but is widely accommodated between the frontal belt and the northern rim of the Hyblean foreland in southern Sicily. Geodetic data also indicate that active right shear on the ATLF occurs to the southeast of the mapped fault array in northern Sicily, suggesting the fault cuts through till the Ionian coast of the island. The small geodetic divergence between the Hyblean and Apulian blocks rimming on both sides the Calabria block and subjacent Ionian slab, coupled with marine geophysical evidences in the Ionian Sea lends credit to the proposed deep root of the ATLF and to a fragmentation of the Ionian domain.

Description: New high-precision U/Pb zircon geochronology from the Oman-United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) ophiolite provides insight into the timing and duration of magmatism and the tectonic setting during formation of the lower crust. The new data come from a well-preserved and exposed crustal section in the center of the Wadi Tayin massif. Single grain and grain fragment 206Pb/238U dates from upper-level gabbros, tonalites/trondhjemites and gabbroic pegmatites, corrected for initial Th exclusion, range from 112.55 ± 0.21 to 95.50 ± 0.17 Ma, with most data clustered between 96.40 ± 0.17 to 95.50 ± 0.17 Ma. Zircon dates from upper-level gabbros are most consistent with the ophiolite forming at a fast spreading ridge with half-rates of 50–100 km/Ma. Dates from tonalites/trondhjemites and from a gabbroic pegmatite associated with a wehrlite intrusion overlap with dates from adjacent upper-level gabbros, suggesting that any age differences between these three magmatic series are smaller than the analytical uncertainties or intrasample variability in the dates. Three of the dated upper-level gabbros and a single gabbroic pegmatite from the base of the crust have 〉1 Ma intrasample variability in single grain dates, suggesting assimilation of older crust during the formation or crystallization of the magmas. Whole rock εNd(t) of seven samples, including the upper-level gabbros with variable zircon dates, have tightly clustered initial values ranging from εNd(96 Ma) = 7.59 ± 0.23 to 8.28 ± 0.31. The εNd values are similar to those from other gabbros within the ophiolite, suggesting that any assimilated material had a similar isotopic composition to primitive basaltic magmas. The new dates suggest that the studied section formed at a fast spreading mid-ocean ridge between ∼96.4–95.5 Ma. The large intrasample variability in zircon dates in some samples is unexpected in this setting, and may be related to propagation of a younger ridge into older oceanic lithosphere.

Description: Magnetic hysteresis measurements of sediments have resulted in widespread reporting of “pseudo-single-domain”-like magnetic properties. In contrast, the ideal single domain (SD) properties that would be expected to be responsible for high quality paleomagnetic records are rare. Determining whether SD particles are rare or common in sediments requires application of techniques that enable discrimination among different magnetic components in a sediment. We apply a range of such techniques and find that SD particles are much more common than has been reported in the literature and that magnetite magnetofossils (the inorganic remains of magnetotactic bacteria) are widely preserved at depth in a range of sediment types, including biogenic pelagic carbonates, lacustrine and marine clays, and possibly even in glaci-marine sediments. Thus, instead of being rarely preserved in the geological record, we find that magnetofossils are widespread. This observation has important implications for our understanding of how sediments become magnetized and highlights the need to develop a more robust basis for understanding how biogenic magnetite contributes to the magnetization of sediments. Magnetofossils also have grain sizes that are substantially smaller than the 1–15 μm size range for which there is reasonable empirical support for relative paleointensity studies. The different magnetic response of coexisting fine biogenic and coarser lithogenic particles is likely to complicate relative paleointensity studies. This issue needs much closer attention. Despite the fact that sediments have been subjected to paleomagnetic investigation for over 60 years, much remains to be understood about how they become magnetized.

Description: The electrical conductivity of olivine and its high-pressure polymorphs with various iron contents [XFe = Fe/(Fe + Mg) = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0] was measured over a wide range of pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions covering the stability field of olivine, wadsleyite and ringwoodite in a Kawai-type multianvil apparatus. The pressure was determined using in situ X-ray diffraction of MgO as a pressure marker in SPring 8. Molybdenum electrodes were used so that oxygen fugacity is similar to that for the iron-wüstite buffer. The transition from low-pressure phase to high-pressure phase led to an increase of conductivity. In the stability field of each phase, the electrical conductivity slightly increased with increasing pressure at a constant temperature, suggesting a negative activation volume. The conductivity increased with increasing total iron content for each phase. All electrical conductivity data fit the formula for electrical conductivity σ = σ0 XFeexp{−[ΔE0 − αXFe1/3 + P(ΔV0 − βXFe)]/kT}, where σ0 is the pre-exponential term, ΔE0 and ΔV0 are the activation energy and the activation volume at very low total iron concentration, respectively, and k is the Boltzmann constant. The activation energy decreased with increasing total Fe content in olivine and ringwoodite. Dependence of the activation energy on the total Fe content suggests that the dominant mechanism of charge transport is Fe2+-Fe3+ hopping (small polaron). The activation volume for small polaron conduction in olivine and its high-pressure polymorphs tends to decrease with total Fe content. For olivine with low Fe content, the activation volume for small polaron conduction still is negative and very small. Assuming constant Fe content (XFe = 0.1) and oxygen buffer condition, the conductivity will increase with depth mainly due to the increase of the temperature along the mantle adiabat.

Description: We describe and apply a new inversion method for 3-D modeling of magnetic anomalies designed for general application but which is particularly useful for the interpretation of near-seafloor magnetic anomalies. The crust subsurface is modeled by a set of prismatic cells, each with uniform magnetization, that together reproduce the observed magnetic field. This problem is linear with respect to the magnetization, and the number of cells is normally greater than the amount of available data. Thus, the solution is obtained by solving an under-determined linear problem. A focused solution, exhibiting sharp boundaries between different magnetization domains, is obtained by allowing the amplitudes of magnetization to vary between a pre-determined range and by minimizing the region of the 3-D space where the source shows large variations, i.e., large gradients. A regularization functional based on a depth-weighting function is also introduced in order to counter-act the natural decay of the magnetic field intensity with depth. The inversion method has been used to explore the characteristics of the submarine hydrothermal system of Brothers volcano in the Kermadec arc, by inverting near-bottom magnetic data acquired by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). Different surface expressions of the hydrothermal vent fields show specific vertical structures in their underlying demagnetization regions that we interpret to represent hydrothermal upflow zones. For example, at focused vent sites the demagnetized conduits are vertical, pipe-like structures extending to depths of ∼1000 m below the seafloor, whereas at diffuse vent sites the demagnetization regions are characterized by thin and inclined conduits.

Description: Thermal interaction between volcanic particles and water during explosive eruptions has been quantified using a numerical heat transfer model for spherical particles. The model couples intraparticle conduction with heat transfer from the particle surface by boiling water in order to explore heat loss with time for a range of particle diameters. The results are combined with estimates of particle settling times to provide insight into heat removal during eruption from samples of volcanic particles produced by explosive eruption. Heat removal is restricted by resistance to heat transfer from the volcanic particles with intraparticle thermal conduction important for large particles and surface cooling by boiling dominating for small particles. In most cases, volcanic particles approach thermal equilibrium with the surrounding fluid during an explosive eruption. Application of the results to a sample from the Gjálp 1996, Iceland eruption indicates that, relative to 0○C, 70–80% of the heat is transferred from the particles to boiling water during the settling time before burial in the stratigraphic succession. The implication is that, for subglacial explosive eruptions, much of the heat content of the magma is coupled into melting ice extremely rapidly. If all particles of the Gjálp 1996 deposit were cooled to the local boiling point by the end of the eruption then approximately 78% of the initial heat content was removed from the erupting magma during the eruption. This is consistent with calorimetric calculations based on volumes of ice melted during and after the eruption.

Description: In fine-grained, faulted sediments, both stratigraphic and fault-induced structural variations can simultaneously determine the gas hydrate distribution. Insights into hydrate distribution can be obtained from P wave velocity (VP) and attenuation (QP−1) character of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). In this paper, we apply frequency domain full-waveform inversion (FWI) to surface-towed 2D multichannel seismic data from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin, India, to image the fine-scale (100 × 30 m) VP and QP−1 variations within the GHSZ. We validate the inverted VP model by reconciling it with a sonic log from a nearby (∼250 m) well. The VP model shows a patchy distribution of hydrate. Away from the faults-dominated parts of the profile, hydrates demonstrate stratigraphic control which appears to be permeability driven. The QP−1 model suggests that attenuation is relatively suppressed in hydrates-bearing sediments. Elevated attenuation in non-hydrate-bearing sediments could be driven by the apparent pore fluid immiscibility at seismic wavelengths. The VP and the QP−1 models also suggest that fault zones within the GHSZ can be hydrate- or free-gas-rich depending on the relative supply of free gas and water from below the GHSZ.

Description: We have conducted new equation of state measurements on liquid Fe2SiO4 in a collaborative, multi-technique study. The liquid density (ρ), the bulk modulus (K), and its pressure derivative (K′) were measured from 1 atm to 161 GPa using 1-atm double-bob Archimedean, multi-anvil sink/float, and shock wave techniques. Shock compression results on initially molten Fe2SiO4 (1573 K) fitted with previous work and the ultrasonically measured bulk sound speed (Co) in shock velocity (US)-particle velocity (up) space yields the Hugoniot: US = 1.58(0.03) up + 2.438(0.005) km/s. Sink/float results are in agreement with shock wave and ultrasonic data, consistent with an isothermal KT = 19.4 GPa and K′ = 5.33 at 1500°C. Shock melting of initially solid Fe2SiO4 (300 K) confirms that the Grüneisen parameter (γ) of this liquid increases upon compression where γ = γo(ρo/ρ)q yields a q value of –1.45. Constraints on the liquid fayalite EOS permit the calculation of isentropes for silicate liquids of general composition in the multicomponent system CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-FeO at elevated temperatures and pressures. In our model a whole mantle magma ocean would first crystallize in the mid-lower mantle or at the base of the mantle were it composed of either peridotite or simplified “chondrite” liquid, respectively. In regards to the partial melt hypothesis to explain the occurrence and characteristics of ultra-low velocity zones, neither of these candidate liquids would be dense enough to remain at the core mantle boundary on geologic timescales, but our model defines a compositional range of liquids that would be gravitationally stable.

Description: The strength of the crust and the mantle lithosphere are strongly influenced by the temperature, the thickness and the composition of the crust and mantle lithosphere, and by inherited weaknesses. It consequently strongly depends on the geodynamic setting and is then expected to be different from one orogen to another, which might explain the diversity of deformation styles. Here we use 2D thermomechanical models at lithospheric scale to study the effect of the strength of the upper and middle crust on the geometry of contractional systems. The role of extensional inheritance is included by forward modeling the formation of rift basin or passive margin and using the resulting extensional structure as initial condition for lithospheric scale inversion. Our results demonstrate that: 1) crustal strength strongly controls the width and the elevation of orogenic wedge; 2) relative weak crust facilitates efficient propagating of thick-skinned crustal scale thrusts; 3) contraction of a strong crust leads to the formation of long thrust sheets and an anti-formal stack in the core of the orogen or the accretion of upper crust depending on the depth of the decoupling zone in the mid crust; 4) erosion processes favor the localization of shortening in a narrow crustal orogen; 5) rifting inheritance can explain the presence at shallower depth of lower crustal or mantle material previously upwelled and facilitates the propagation of the deformation in the external part of the chain. The range of predicted behaviors is compared to first order with the Zagros, the Alps and the Pyrenees, three natural examples for which the crustal structure is well constrained by geophysical data.

Description: We present DR2012, a global SV-wave tomographic model of the upper mantle. We use an extension of the automated waveform inversion approach of Debayle (1999) which improves our mapping of the transition zone with extraction of fundamental and higher-mode information. The new approach is fully automated and has been successfully used to match approximately 375,000 Rayleigh waveforms. For each seismogram, we obtain a path average shear velocity and quality factor model, and a set of fundamental and higher-mode dispersion and attenuation curves. We incorporate the resulting set of path average shear velocity models into a tomographic inversion. In the uppermost 200 km of the mantle, SV wave heterogeneities correlate with surface tectonics. The high velocity signature of cratons is slightly shallower (≈200 km) than in other seismic models. Thicker continental roots are not required by our data, but can be produced by imposing a priori a smoother model in the vertical direction. Regions deeper than 200 km show no velocity contrasts larger than ±1% at large scale, except for high velocity slabs within the transition zone. Comparisons with other seismic models show that current surface wave datasets allow to build consistent models up to degrees 40 in the upper 200 km of the mantle. The agreement is poorer in the transition zone and confined to low harmonic degrees (≤10).

Description: An improved inversion technique is needed to effectively separate the frequency dependence of the source from the intrinsic attenuation of the medium. We developed a cluster-event method (CEM) in which clusters of nearby events, instead of individual events, pair with stations to form the basis for measurements of Q value and corner frequency (fc). We assume that the raypaths from one cluster to a station share an identical Q while each event in the same cluster is allowed for only one fc in the inversion process. This approach largely reduces the degrees of freedom to achieve a robust inversion. We use an optimization algorithm of simulated annealing to solve the nonlinear inverse problem. The CEM was applied to events at 70–150 km depths in the Japan subduction zone recorded by F-net. We show that the method proposed here leads to better constraints on both source parameters and attenuation. The resultant Q's in the mantle wedge increase from lower than 300 beneath the arc and back-arc to greater than 600 in the fore-arc region. The fc's satisfy a self-similar scaling relationship with seismic moment of M0 ∝ fc−3 with a best fit stress drop of 21.9 ± 6.9 MPa in Madariaga's form. This contrasts to the stress drop of 1.4 ± 1.1 MPa for a global data set composed of prior measurements for crustal events. The results of this study agree with results from previous studies, except with an upward deviation due to higher corner frequencies and stress drops.

Description: A water-filled three-meter diameter spherical shell, geometrically similar to the Earth's core, shows precessionally forced flows. The precessional torque is supplied by the daily rotation of the laboratory by the Earth. We identify the precessionally forced flow to be primarily the spin-over inertial mode, i.e., a uniform vorticity flow whose rotation axis is not aligned with the sphere's rotation axis. A systematic study of the spin-over mode is carried out, showing that the amplitude depends on the ratio of precession to rotation rates (the Poincaré number), in marginal qualitative agreement with Busse's (1968) laminar theory. We find its phase differs significantly though, likely due to topographic effects. At high rotation rates, free shear layers are observed. Comparison with previous computational studies and implications for the Earth's core are discussed.

Description: Water content in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) has been broadly debated in the Earth science community as a key issue for plate dynamics. In this study, a systematic series of three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation are performed in an attempt to verify a hypothesis regarding the behavior of subducted oceanic plate and the role of crust in the MTZ under wet conditions. This hypothesis is based on the seismic observations of structural variations associated with large-scale flattened high velocity anomalies (i.e., stagnant slabs) in the MTZ. In our model, weak (low-viscosity) fault zones (WFZs), which presumably correspond to the fault boundaries of large subduction earthquakes, are imposed on the top part of subducting plates. The phase transitions of olivine to wadsleyite and ringwoodite to perovskite+magnesiowüstite under both “dry” and “wet” conditions are considered based on recent high pressure experiments. The effect of viscosity reduction of wet garnet is also considered for oceanic crust in the MTZ. Results show that there is a substantial difference in the behaviors of subducting plate and the trace of crustal materials between the models under dry and wet conditions. Under wet conditions the subducting plate tends to stagnate with a maximum lateral extent of over 1000 km. The weaker and denser crustal material (garnet rich) is fed into the WFZs and is advected faster than the plate main body of peridotite (olivine rich). Thus, the viscosity and density contrast between the crustal materials and the peridotite permits the plate segmentation under a wet MTZ condition.

Description: The 20 March–12 April basaltic effusive eruption at Fimmvörðuháls, southern Iceland, was an important opportunity to directly observe interactions between lava and snow/ice. The eruption site has local perennial snowfields and snow covered ice, and at the time of eruption it was covered with an additional ∼1–3 m of seasonal snow. Syn-eruption observations of interactions between lava and snow/ice are grouped into four categories: (1) lava advancing directly on top of snow, (2) lava advancing on top of tephra-covered snow, (3) snow/ice melting at lava flow margins, and (4) lava flowing beneath snow. Based on syn- and post-eruption observations in 2010/11, we conclude that the features seen in the lava flow field show only limited and localized evidence for the influence of snow/ice presence during the eruption. Estimated melting rates from radiant and conductive heating at the flow fronts are too slow (on the order of 5 m/hr) to allow for complete melting of snow/ice ahead of the advancing lava flows, at least during periods of observed rapid lava advance rates (15–55 m/hr). Thus we conclude that during those periods, which largely established the aerial extent of the lava flow field, lava advanced on top of snow; that this likely was the predominant mode of lava emplacement for much of the eruption is supported by many syn-eruption field observations. Examination of the lava flows subsequent to the eruption has so far only found subtle evidence for interactions between lava and snow/ice; for example, locally lava flows have fractured and are collapsing, or have developed marginal rubble aprons from melting of snow banks that were partly covered by lava flow margins.

Description: Using Doppler radar technology we are able to show that eruptions at Santiaguito volcano, Guatemala, are comprised of multiple explosive degassing pulses occurring at a frequency of 0.2 to 0.3 Hz. The Doppler radar system was installed about 2.7 km away from the active dome on the top of Santa Maria volcano. During four days of continuous measurement 157 eruptive events were recorded. The Doppler radar data reveals a vertical uplift of the dome surface of about 50 cm immediately prior to a first degassing pulse. Particle velocities range from 10 to 15 m/s (in the line of sight of the radar). In 80% of the observed eruptions a second degassing pulse emanates from the dome with significantly higher particle velocities (20–25 m/s again line of sight) and increased echo power, which implies an increase in mass flux. We carry out numerical experiments of ballistic particle transport and calculate corresponding synthetic radar signals. These calculations show that the observations are consistent with a pulsed release of material from the dome of Santiaguito volcano.

Description: Based on 1–2 years of continuous observations of seismic ambient noise data obtained at more than 600 stations in and around Tibet, Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps are constructed from 10 s to 60 s period. A 3-D Vsv model of the crust and uppermost mantle is derived from these maps. The 3-D model exhibits significant apparently inter-connected low shear velocity features across most of the Tibetan middle crust at depths between 20 and 40 km. These low velocity zones (LVZs) do not conform to surface faults and, significantly, are most prominent near the periphery of Tibet. The observations support the internal deformation model in which strain is dispersed in the deeper crust into broad ductile shear zones, rather than being localized horizontally near the edges of rigid blocks. The prominent LVZs are coincident with strong mid-crustal radial anisotropy in western and central Tibet and probably result at least partially from anisotropic minerals aligned by deformation, which mitigates the need to invoke partial melt to explain the observations. Irrespective of their cause in partial melt or mineral alignment, mid-crustal LVZs reflect deformation and their amplification near the periphery of Tibet provides new information about the mode of deformation across Tibet.

Description: A combination of diffusion and advection in fine grained sediments can create a patchy Bottom Simulating Reflector (BSR) which has little to no apparent correlation with the overlying hydrate distribution. Using 2D seismic data from faulted, clay-rich sediments in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, we show both the hydrate distribution and the BSR structure are fault controlled. Our demonstration hinges upon a kinematically accurate P wave velocity (VP) model which is estimated using a composite traveltime-inversion, depth-migration method in an iterative manner. The flexibility of the method allows simultaneous usage of traveltimes from multiple, discontinuous reflectors. The application begins with a simple VP model from time processing which is reflective of a diffusive, continuous, hydrate– and free gas–bearing system. The application converges in three iterations yielding a final VP model which is suggestive of a patchy distribution of hydrates and free gas possibly developing through a combined diffusive-advective system. The depth image corresponding to the final VP model can be interpreted for faults that suggest ongoing tectonism. The BSR appears to be truncated at active faults zones. Both the final VP model and the corresponding depth image can be reconciled with the hydrate distribution and BSR depth at logging/coring sites located ∼250 m away from the line by projecting the sites along the strike direction of the regional faults.

Description: We document geodetic strain across the Nepal Himalaya using GPS times series from 30 stations in Nepal and southern Tibet, in addition to previously published campaign GPS points and leveling data and determine the pattern of interseismic coupling on the Main Himalayan Thrust fault (MHT). The noise on the daily GPS positions is modeled as a combination of white and colored noise, in order to infer secular velocities at the stations with consistent uncertainties. We then locate the pole of rotation of the Indian plate in the ITRF 2005 reference frame at longitude = − 1.34° ± 3.31°, latitude = 51.4° ± 0.3° with an angular velocity of Ω = 0.5029 ± 0.0072°/Myr. The pattern of coupling on the MHT is computed on a fault dipping 10° to the north and whose strike roughly follows the arcuate shape of the Himalaya. The model indicates that the MHT is locked from the surface to a distance of approximately 100 km down dip, corresponding to a depth of 15 to 20 km. In map view, the transition zone between the locked portion of the MHT and the portion which is creeping at the long term slip rate seems to be at the most a few tens of kilometers wide and coincides with the belt of midcrustal microseismicity underneath the Himalaya. According to a previous study based on thermokinematic modeling of thermochronological and thermobarometric data, this transition seems to happen in a zone where the temperature reaches 350°C. The convergence between India and South Tibet proceeds at a rate of 17.8 ± 0.5 mm/yr in central and eastern Nepal and 20.5 ± 1 mm/yr in western Nepal. The moment deficit due to locking of the MHT in the interseismic period accrues at a rate of 6.6 ± 0.4 × 1019 Nm/yr on the MHT underneath Nepal. For comparison, the moment released by the seismicity over the past 500 years, including 14 MW ≥ 7 earthquakes with moment magnitudes up to 8.5, amounts to only 0.9 × 1019 Nm/yr, indicating a large deficit of seismic slip over that period or very infrequent large slow slip events. No large slow slip event has been observed however over the 20 years covered by geodetic measurements in the Nepal Himalaya. We discuss the magnitude and return period of M 〉 8 earthquakes required to balance the long term slip budget on the MHT.

Description: We develop a transient, 3-D Eulerian model (Ash3d) to predict airborne volcanic ash concentration and tephra deposition during volcanic eruptions. This model simulates downwind advection, turbulent diffusion, and settling of ash injected into the atmosphere by a volcanic eruption column. Ash advection is calculated using time-varying pre-existing wind data and a robust, high-order, finite-volume method. Our routine is mass-conservative and uses the coordinate system of the wind data, either a Cartesian system local to the volcano or a global spherical system for the Earth. Volcanic ash is specified with an arbitrary number of grain sizes, which affects the fall velocity, distribution and duration of transport. Above the source volcano, the vertical mass distribution with elevation is calculated using a Suzuki distribution for a given plume height, eruptive volume, and eruption duration. Multiple eruptions separated in time may be included in a single simulation. We test the model using analytical solutions for transport. Comparisons of the predicted and observed ash distributions for the 18 August 1992 eruption of Mt. Spurr in Alaska demonstrate to the efficacy and efficiency of the routine.

Description: Global positioning system (GPS) time series in Guerrero (Mexico) reveal the existence of large slow slip events (SSEs) at the boundary between the Cocos and North American plates. In this study, we examined the last three SSEs that occurred in 2001/2002, 2006 and 2009/2010, and their impact on the strain accumulation along the Guerrero subduction margin. GPS displacements were inverted to retrieve the slip distribution during each SSE and the inter-SSE coupling of the subduction interface. The three analyzed SSEs have equivalent moment magnitudes of between 7.50 and 7.65, their lateral extents are variable, and they all show significant slip in the Guerrero seismic gap. During the inter-SSE epochs, the interplate coupling is high in the area where slow slip subsequently occurs. In the Guerrero gap, the shallow portion of the plate interface from the trench to the coast is weakly coupled. The average slip deficit accumulated in the Guerrero gap over a period of 12 years, which corresponds to three cycles of SSE, is only 1/4 of the slip deficit accumulated on both sides of the gap. Moreover, the regions of large slip deficit coincide with the rupture areas of recent large earthquakes. We conclude that the SSEs in the Guerrero gap release a significant part of the strain accumulated during the inter-SSE period. If large subduction thrust earthquakes occur in the Guerrero gap, their recurrence time is probably increased compared to adjacent regions.

Description: We assess the co-seismic deformation inferred from earthquake moment tensor solutions for subducting slabs at depths greater than 50 km globally. We rotate each moment tensor into a local slab reference frame, then sum tensors within 50 km depth bins to approximate long term deformation characteristics. This builds upon previous analyses by using the up-to-date global Centroid Moment Tensor catalog, incorporating a more complete slab geometry, and focusing on the 3-D aspects of slab deformation. Results show a general consistency with Isacks and Molnar (1969), who found that most slabs can be divided into intermediate-extensional, intermediate-extensional-deep-compressional, and intermediate to deep-compressional categories. Exceptions to these three categories can be related to slab bending in the top 100 km, plate convergence that is oblique to the trench normal direction, and regions of higher focal mechanism heterogeneity. The regions of higher focal mechanism heterogeneity appear where there are along-strike changes in slab geometry and/or evidence of double-seismic zones. We find that the sense of deformation in the intermediate strain axis direction is opposite to that of the down-dip direction, in agreement with Kuge and Kawakatsu (1993). By quantitative comparison to numerical models of global mantle flow, we show that these observations are consistent with deformation of viscous slabs responding to their own negative buoyancy and an upper to lower mantle viscosity increase.

Description: To gain insight into the longevity of subduction zone segmentation, we use coral microatolls to examine an 1100-year record of large earthquakes across the boundary of the great 2004 and 2005 Sunda megathrust ruptures. Simeulue, a 100-km-long island off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddles this boundary: northern Simeulue was uplifted in the 2004 earthquake, whereas southern Simeulue rose in 2005. Northern Simeulue corals reveal that predecessors of the 2004 earthquake occurred in the 10th century AD, in AD 1394 ± 2, and in AD 1450 ± 3. Corals from southern Simeulue indicate that none of the major uplifts inferred on northern Simeulue in the past 1100 years extended to southern Simeulue. The two largest uplifts recognized at a south-central Simeulue site—around AD 1422 and in 2005—involved little or no uplift of northern Simeulue. The distribution of uplift and strong shaking during a historical earthquake in 1861 suggests the 1861 rupture area was also restricted to south of central Simeulue, as in 2005. The strikingly different histories of the two adjacent patches demonstrate that this boundary has persisted as an impediment to rupture through at least seven earthquakes in the past 1100 years. This implies that the rupture lengths, and hence sizes, of at least some future great earthquakes and tsunamis can be forecast. These microatolls also provide insight into megathrust behavior between earthquakes, revealing sudden and substantial changes in interseismic strain accumulation rates.

Description: We have determined the elastic and vibrational properties of periclase-structured (Mg0.65Fe0.35)O (“FP35”), a composition representative of deep mantle “pyrolite” or chondrite-pyroxenite models, from nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NRIXS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements in diamond-anvil cells at 300 K. Combining with in situ XRD measurements, the Debye sound velocity of FP35 was determined from the low-energy region of the partial phonon density of states (DOS) obtained from NRIXS measurements in the pressure range of 70 to 140 GPa. In order to obtain an accurate description of the equation of state (EOS) for FP35, separate XRD measurements were performed up to 126 GPa at 300 K. A new spin crossover EOS was introduced and applied to the full P-V data set, resulting in a zero-pressure volume V0 = 77.24 ± 0.17 Å3, bulk modulus K0 = 159 ± 8 GPa and its pressure-derivative K′0 = 4.12 ± 0.42 for high-spin FP35 and K0,LS = 72.9 ± 1.3 Å3, K0,LS = 182 ± 17 GPa with K′0,LS fixed to 4 for low-spin FP35. The high-spin to low-spin transition occurs at 64 ± 3 GPa. Using the spin crossover EOS and Debye sound velocity, we derived the shear (VS) and compressional (VP) velocities for FP35. Comparing our data with previous results on (Mg,Fe)O at similar pressures, we find that the addition of iron decreases both VP and VS, while elevating their ratio (VP/VS). Small amounts (

Description: We have performed a series of co-compression experiments on Au, Pt, Mo, MgO and NaCl to extend internally consistent pressure calibration and characterize shear strength of pressure media to 2.5 Mbar. Measured unit cell volumes of calibrants show differences between existing pressure scales of ∼10% above 2 Mbar. A new comprehensive pressure scale is proposed in good agreement with recent reduced shock isotherms for Au, Mo and Pt and with internal agreement to 3% at Mbar pressures. Deviatoric stresses were analyzed for each material based on diffraction line broadening and line shifts due to anisotropic strain. The measured strength of Ne at 2.5 Mbar is 8 GPa. Diffraction line width analysis suggests that deviatoric stress conditions at 2.5 Mbar are similar for He and Ne media.

Description: The 3D Vp, Vp/Vs, P- and S-wave attenuation structure of the Cocos subduction zone in Mexico is imaged using earthquakes recorded by two temporary seismic arrays and local stations. Direct P wave arrivals on vertical components and direct S wave arrivals on transverse components from local earthquakes are used for velocity imaging. Relative delay times for P and PKP phases from teleseismic events are also used to obtain a deeper velocity structure beneath the southern seismic array. Using a spectral-decay method, we calculate a path attenuation operator t* for each P and S waveform from local events, and then invert for 3D spatial variations in attenuation (Qp−1 and Qs−1). Inversion results reveal a low-attenuation and high-velocity Cocos slab. The slab dip angle increases from almost flat in central Mexico near Mexico City to about 30° in southern Mexico near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. High attenuation and low velocity in the crust beneath the Trans-Mexico Volcanic Belt correlate with low resistivity, and are probably related to dehydration of the slab and melting processes. The most pronounced high-attenuation, low-Vp and high-Vp/Vs anomaly is found in the crust beneath the Veracruz Basin. A high-velocity structure dipping into the mantle from the side of Gulf of Mexico coincides with a discontinuity from a receiver functions study, and provides an evidence for the collision between the Yucatán Block and Mexico in the Miocene.

Description: In the upper crust, the chemical influence of pore water promotes time dependent brittle deformation through sub-critical crack growth. Sub-critical crack growth allows rocks to deform and fail at stresses well below their short-term failure strength, and even at constant applied stress (“brittle creep”). Here we provide a micromechanical model describing time dependent brittle creep of water-saturated rocks under triaxial stress conditions. Macroscopic brittle creep is modeled on the basis of microcrack extension under compressive stresses due to sub-critical crack growth. The incremental strains due to the growth of cracks in compression are derived from the sliding wing crack model of Ashby and Sammis (1990), and the crack length evolution is computed from Charles' law. The macroscopic strains and strain rates computed from the model are non linear, and compare well with experimental results obtained on granite, low porosity sandstone and basalt rock samples. Primary creep (decelerating strain) corresponds to decelerating crack growth, due to an initial decrease in stress intensity factor with increasing crack length in compression. Tertiary creep (accelerating strain as failure is approached) corresponds to an increase in crack growth rate due to crack interactions. Secondary creep with apparently constant strain rate arises as an inflexion between those two end-member phases. The minimum strain rate at the inflexion point can be estimated analytically as a function of model parameters, effective confining pressure and temperature, which provides an approximate creep law for the process. The creep law is used to infer the long term strain rate as a function of depth in the upper crust due to the action of the applied stresses: in this way, sub-critical cracking reduces the failure stress in a manner equivalent to a decrease in cohesion. We also investigate the competition with pressure solution in porous rocks, and show that the transition from sub-critical cracking to pressure solution dominated creep occurs with increasing depth and decreasing strain rates.

Description: We develop a theory of using difference wavefields of repeated sources to locate and quantify temporal medium change and apply the theory to locate temporal change of seismic properties beneath the Japan subduction zone using repeated earthquakes. Our theory states the difference wavefields of two repeated sources in a temporally changed medium can be equivalently treated as wavefields propagating from conceptual sources, with their location at the place of temporal change and their strengths equal to the product of magnitude of medium property change and magnitude of the initial wavefields from the repeated sources. When the medium change extends to a finite region, the conceptual sources become volumetric sources distributed over the region of the medium change and propagating in the direction of the initial wave. The conceptualization establishes a theoretical framework for possible applications of using difference wavefields to locate and quantify temporal medium changes in geological sciences, ultrasonic experiments, civil engineering and medical imaging. We search repeating earthquakes occurring in the Japan subduction zone, formulate an empirical procedure to extract the difference wavefields between repeating earthquakes and determine temporal change of seismic properties using a back-projection method. We locate the temporal change of seismic properties beneath the Japan subduction zone to be at (37.2°N, 142°E), and estimate the magnitude of the conceptual body force associated with the temporal change to be 1.15 × 1010N, or as a reference, a 0.87% density change for an assumed volume of temporal change of 103 km3.

Description: Active volcanoes are significant natural sources of trace elements to the atmosphere yet the processes of emission and the impacts of deposition into terrestrial and aquatic environments remain poorly understood. The varying contributions of volatile degassing and magma ejection (i.e., spattering, spraying, extrusion and fragmentation) to the emission of trace elements from Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) are investigated through measurement of high-resolution trace element size distributions using cascade impactors in 2009 and 2010. The volatile elements (e.g., As, Cd, Tl, Cu, Pb, Zn) are strongly correlated across the size distribution and exist in the plume primarily as fine sulfate (0.6 μm diameter) with lesser amounts transported as coarse sulfates (3.5 μm diameter) and coarse chlorides (11 μm diameter). These results suggest that trace elements released from the magma as chlorides react rapidly with H2SO4 in the plume to form sulfates. In contrast, the non-volatile elements (e.g., alkali earth and rare earth) exist primarily as particles in the 1–10 μm range and show no correlation with sulfate, chloride or the volatile elements, suggesting that they are emitted primarily by magma ejection. Trace element emission fluxes from Masaya in 2010 were estimated using filter pack measurements, with emissions of Cu, Zn, As, Tl, Rb and Cd each in excess of 10 kg d−1. These emission fluxes are similar to those measured in 2000–2001 suggesting notable decadal stability in the emission of trace elements from Masaya.

Description: We revisit the rupture zone of the 1989 Mw6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, central California, by developing high-resolution three-dimensional (3-D) Vp and Vp/Vs models. We apply the simul2000 inversion method and algorithm to a set of “composite” events, which have greater number of picks per event and reduced random picking errors compared with traditional master events. Our final P-wave velocity model generally agrees with previous studies, showing a high velocity body of above 6.7 km/s in the southeast rupture zone of the main shock. The 3-D Vp/Vs model, however, has different features, with low Vp/Vs in the upper crust and high Vp/Vs anomalies in deeper layers of the rupture zone. We interpret the low Vp/Vs at shallow depths to be granitic rocks, whereas at greater depths the areas of higher Vp/Vs (around 1.725–1.75) presumably are mafic rocks. The resulting 3-D velocity model was used to improve absolute locations for all local events between 1984 and 2010 in our study area. We then applied a similar event cluster analysis, waveform cross-correlation, and differential time relocation methods to improve relative event location accuracy. Over 88% of the seismicity falls into similar event clusters. A dramatic sharpening of seismicity patterns is obtained after using these methods. The medians of the relative location uncertainties calculated by using the bootstrap approach are 5 m for horizontal and 8 m for vertical. Differential times from cross-correlation are used to estimate in situ near-source Vp/Vs ratio within each event cluster. The high-resolution Vp/Vs method confirms the trend of the velocity variations from the tomographic results, although absolute values are slightly different.

Description: We here exploit fundamental mode Rayleigh and Love seismic wave information and the high resolution satellite global gravity model GGM02C to obtain a 1° × 1° 3-D image of: (a) upper-mantle isotropic shear-wave speeds; (b) densities; and (c) density-vS coupling below the European plate (20°N–90°N) (40°W–70°E). The 3-D image of the density-vS coupling provides unprecedented detail of information on the compositional and thermal contributions to density structures. The accurate and high-resolution crustal model allows us to compute a reliable residual topography to understand the dynamic implications of our models. The correlation between residual topography and mantle residual gravity anomalies defines three large-scale regions where upper mantle dynamics produce surface expression: the East European Craton; the eastern side of the Arabian Plate; and the Mediterranean Basin. The effects of mantle convection are also clearly visible at: (1) the Eastern Sirt Embayment; (2) the West African Craton northern margins; (3) the volcanically active region of the Canarian Archipelago; (4) the northern edge of the Central European Volcanic Province; and (5) the Northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, between Greenland and Iceland. Strong connections are observed among areas of weak radial anisotropy and areas where the mantle dynamics show surface expression. Although both thermal and additional dependencies have been incorporated into the density model, convective down-welling in the mantle below the East European Craton is required to explain the strong correlation between the estimated negative mantle residual anomalies and the negative residual topography.

Description: We have applied a tomographic imaging technique to the inversion of a DInSAR data set at Campi Flegrei caldera. This technique allowed us to determine the temporal and spatial distribution of volumetric strain sources up to 5 km depth. Results have shown complex spatial and temporal patterns, identifying important features that were not noticed before. The first result is the observation of positive strain sources (expansion) migrating upward (in 2000 and 2006). We have interpreted them as hot fluid batches injected at the bottom of the geothermal reservoir, migrating upward and reaching the surface. Furthermore we have identified an injection episode (in 1997), which was not recognized before. This batch did not reach the surface and probably dissipated by diffusion and lateral advection without producing significant ground uplift. The injection of fluid batches does not occur at the center of the caldera, but along its borders. The three identified injection episodes (in 1997, 2000 and 2006) occur in different points. In 2000 and 2006, the injected fluids migrated, subsequently, toward the center of the caldera. Our findings agrees with results of other geophysical and geochemical studies. These results suggest a new framework for the modeling of Campi Flegrei geothermal system and for the interpretation of data recorded by the multiparametric monitoring networks on the caldera.

Description: The influence of inaccuracies in density scaling on the structural evolution of physical analogue experiments of salt systems has been debated, and is here investigated considering a gravity spreading example. Plane strain finite element numerical analysis was used to systematically evaluate the impact of changes in density scaling on buoyancy force, sediment strength, and pressure gradient. A range of densities typical of natural systems (including compacting sediment) and physical analogue experiments was included. A fundamental shift in the structure of the salt-sediment system, from diapir-minibasin pairs to expulsion rollover, was observed when sediment and salt densities were altered from values typical of physical experiments (1600 and 990 kg/m3) to those most often found in nature (1900–2300 and 2150 kg/m3). Experiments equivalent to physical analogue models but with reduced sediment density showed diapir-minibasin pair geometry, persisting to sediment densities of ∼1300 kg/m3. Salt burial by pre-kinematic sediments was found to suppress diapir formation for thicknesses greater than ∼750 m (0.75 cm at the laboratory scale). The relative importance of disproportionately high buoyancy force, low sediment strength, and pressure gradient in physical experiments was investigated by isolating each of these scaling errors in turn. Buoyancy was found to be most influential in the development of diapir-minibasin pairs versus expulsion rollover geometry. Finally, we demonstrate that dry physical analogue experiments with sediment density reduced to ∼1140 kg/m3 (achievable through mixing with hollow glass beads) would provide a reasonable approximation of submarine salt systems in nature (including water load and hydrostatic pore fluid pressure).

Description: The 2010–2011 Canterbury sequence is a complex system of seismic events that started with a Mw 7.1 earthquake and continued with large aftershocks with dramatic consequences, particularly for the city of Christchurch. We model the main earthquakes using InSAR data, providing displacement maps and the respective modeling for the September 4th, 2010, February 22nd, 2011 and June 13th, 2011 events. Relocated aftershocks, field and GPS surveys are used to constrain models obtained by inversion of InSAR data; the fault slip distribution is retrieved with a variable patch size approach aimed at maximizing the spatial resolution on the fault plane. For the September 2010 earthquake we estimated significant slip values below 10 km depth; the calamitous February 2011 event in Christchurch is modeled with a double fault source with slip values less than 2 m down to 7 km depth; for the second June 13th event in Christchurch we identified a NW-SE striking fault as responsible for the earthquake. Last, we introduce the use of InSAR coherence maps to quickly detect the areas subject to soil liquefaction in Christchurch, as shown for the two main events.

Description: Away from active plate boundaries the relationships between spatiotemporal variations in density and geothermal gradient are important for understanding the evolution of topography in continental interiors. In this context the classic concept of the continental lithosphere as comprising three static layers of different densities (upper crust, lower crust, and upper mantle) is not adequate to assess long-term changes in topography and relief in regions associated with pronounced thermal anomalies in the mantle. We have therefore developed a one-dimensional model, which is based on thermodynamic equilibrium assemblage computations and deliberately excludes the effects of melting processes like intrusion or extrusions. Our model calculates the “metamorphic density” of rocks as a function of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition. It not only provides a useful tool for quantifying the influence of petrologic characteristics on density, but also allows the modeled “metamorphic” density to be adjusted to variable geothermal gradients and applied to different geodynamic environments. We have used this model to simulate a scenario in which the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is subjected to continuous heating over a long period of time (130 Ma), and demonstrate how an anorogenic plateau with an elevation of 1400 m can be formed solely as a result of heat transfer within the continental lithosphere. Our results show that, beside dynamic topography (of asthenospheric origin), density changes within the lithosphere have an important impact on the evolution of anorogenic plateaus.

Description: Static stress transfer is one physical mechanism to explain triggered seismicity. Coseismic stress-change calculations strongly depend on the parameterization of the causative finite-fault source model. These models are uncertain due to uncertainties in input data, model assumptions, and modeling procedures. However, fault model uncertainties have usually been ignored in stress-triggering studies and have not been propagated to assess the reliability of Coulomb failure stress change (ΔCFS) calculations. We show how these uncertainties can be used to provide confidence intervals for co-seismic ΔCFS-values. We demonstrate this for the MW = 5.9 June 2000 Kleifarvatn earthquake in southwest Iceland and systematically map these uncertainties. A set of 2500 candidate source models from the full posterior fault-parameter distribution was used to compute 2500 ΔCFS maps. We assess the reliability of the ΔCFS-values from the coefficient of variation (CV) and deem ΔCFS-values to be reliable where they are at least twice as large as the standard deviation (CV ≤ 0.5). Unreliable ΔCFS-values are found near the causative fault and between lobes of positive and negative stress change, where a small change in fault strike causes ΔCFS-values to change sign. The most reliable ΔCFS-values are found away from the source fault in the middle of positive and negative ΔCFS-lobes, a likely general pattern. Using the reliability criterion, our results support the static stress-triggering hypothesis. Nevertheless, our analysis also suggests that results from previous stress-triggering studies not considering source model uncertainties may have lead to a biased interpretation of the importance of static stress-triggering.

Description: The constitutive thermo-hydro-mechanical equations of fractured media are embodied in the theory of mixtures applied to three-phase poroelastic media. The solid skeleton contains two distinct cavities filled with the same fluid. Each of the three phases is endowed with its own temperature. The constitutive relations governing the thermomechanical behavior, generalized diffusion and transfer are structured by, and satisfy, the dissipation inequality. The cavities exchange both mass and energy. Mass exchanges are driven by the jump in scaled chemical potential, and energy exchanges by the jump in coldness. The finite element approximation uses the displacement vector, the two fluid pressures and the three temperatures as primary variables. It is used to analyze a generic hot dry rock geothermal reservoir. Three parameters of the model are calibrated from the thermal outputs of Fenton Hill and Rosemanowes HDR reservoirs. The calibrated model is next applied to simulate circulation tests at the Fenton Hill HDR reservoir. The finer thermo-hydro-mechanical response provided by the dual porosity model with respect to a single porosity model is highlighted in a parameter analysis. Emphasis is put on the influence of the fracture spacing, on the effective stress response and on the permeation of the fluid into the porous blocks. The dual porosity model yields a thermally induced effective stress that is less tensile compared with the single porosity response. This effect becomes significant for large fracture spacings. In agreement with field data, fluid loss is observed to be high initially and to decrease with time.

Description: Both aftershocks and geodetically measured postseismic displacements are important markers of the stress relaxation process following large earthquakes. Postseismic displacements can be related to creep-like relaxation in the vicinity of the coseismic rupture by means of inversion methods. However, the results of slip inversions are typically non-unique and subject to large uncertainties. Therefore, we explore the possibility to improve inversions by mechanical constraints. In particular, we take into account the physical understanding that postseismic deformation is stress-driven, and occurs in the coseismically stressed zone. We do joint inversions for coseismic and postseismic slip in a Bayesian framework in the case of the 2004 M6.0 Parkfield earthquake. We perform a number of inversions with different constraints, and calculate their statistical significance. According to information criteria, the best result is preferably related to a physically reasonable model constrained by the stress-condition (namely postseismic creep is driven by coseismic stress) and the condition that coseismic slip and large aftershocks are disjunct. This model explains 97% of the coseismic displacements and 91% of the postseismic displacements during day 1–5 following the Parkfield event, respectively. It indicates that the major postseismic deformation can be generally explained by a stress relaxation process for the Parkfield case. This result also indicates that the data to constrain the coseismic slip model could be enriched postseismically. For the 2004 Parkfield event, we additionally observe asymmetric relaxation process at the two sides of the fault, which can be explained by material contrast ratio across the fault of ∼1.15 in seismic velocity.

Description: We analyzed 118 well-constrained focal mechanisms to estimate the pore fluid pressure field of the stimulated region during the fluid injection experiment in Basel, Switzerland. This technique, termed focal mechanism tomography (FMT), uses the orientations of slip planes within the prevailing regional stress field as an indicator of the fluid pressure along the plane at the time of slip. The maximum value and temporal change of excess pore fluid pressures are consistent with the known history of the wellhead pressure applied at the borehole. Elevated pore fluid pressures were concentrated within 500 m of the open hole section, which are consistent with the spatiotemporal evolution of the induced microseismicity. Our results demonstrate that FMT is a robust approach, being validated at the meso-scale of the Basel stimulation experiment. We found average earthquake triggering excess pore fluid pressures of about 10 MPa above hydrostatic. Overpressured fluids induced many small events (M 〈 3) along faults unfavorably oriented relative to the tectonic stress pattern, while the larger events tended to occur along optimally oriented faults. This suggests that small-scale hydraulic networks, developed from the high pressure stimulation, interact to load (hydraulically isolated) high strength bridges that produce the larger events. The triggering pore fluid pressures are substantially higher than that predicted from a linear pressure diffusion process from the source boundary, and shows that the system is highly permeable along flow paths that allow fast pressure diffusion to the boundaries of the stimulated region.

Description: The high Fe-Ti eclogites with exsolved lamellar in 530–600 m depths from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) main hole in the Sulu Ultra-High Pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt, eastern China, record an anomalously high susceptibility (κ), natural remanent magnetization (NRM) and Köenigsberger ratio Q (NRM/Ji, Ji is induced magnetization). This provides us with a good opportunity to study the effects of magnetic minerals and exsolution lamellae on the magnetic properties of deep rocks. In this paper, we have measured systematically magnetic properties and mineral assemblage and structure for three special samples (No. 83, No.86 and No.89). Results show that these Fe-Ti-rich eclogites are the result of the fine-grained (titano)-magnetite exsolution in pyroxene and lamellar structure consisting of finely interlayered ilmenite and hematite in exsolved hemo-ilmenite. We found that the dominant Fe-bearing oxide minerals in samples studied are ilmenite, hematite (Hem + Ilm up to 25%), little (titano)magnetite and pyrite. The ferromagnetic susceptibility is mainly controlled by fine grained (titano)magnetite and NRM is closely related to the exsolved lamellar structure. We hence propose that the anomalous magnetism of these eclogites observed in our samples is the result of exsolution from homogenous pyroxene and ilmeno-hematite during cooling and decompression processes. These Fe-Ti-rich eclogites might be one of the sources of high-magnetic anomalies observed in the Sulu subduction zone, eastern China.

Description: The Makran Subduction Zone has the highest incoming sediment thickness (up to 7.5 km) of any subduction zone. These sediments have formed a wide accretionary prism (∼400 km). Seismicity in the Makran is generally low; however the margin experienced an Mw 8.1 earthquake in 1945 which generated a significant regional tsunami. Seismic reflection data and swath bathymetry data from offshore Pakistan are used to analyze the structure and fault activity of the outer accretionary prism. The outer prism has a simple structure of seaward verging imbricate thrust faults, many continuous for over 100 km along strike. Fault activity is analyzed using basin stratigraphy and fault geometry, revealing a frontal continuously active zone, a central intermittently active zone, and a landward inactive zone. Over 75% of the faults in the seaward ∼70 km of the prism show evidence for recent activity. The décollement occurs within the lower sediment section, but steps onto the top-basement surface in regions of elevated basement topography. Fault spacing (6 km) and taper (4.5°) are comparable to other margins such as S. Hikurangi, Cascadia and Nankai, suggesting that high sediment input is not leading to an unusual prism structure. The décollement is unreflective, which is unexpected considering other prism characteristics predicting a weak surface, and may suggest a potentially stronger décollement than previously predicted. This study provides a significant advance in our understanding of the structure of an end-member convergent margin and demonstrates that systematic analyses of accretionary prism structure can help to elucidate subduction zone dynamics with ultimate relevance to seismogenic potential.

Description: This paper presents the application of a computational homogenization technique to examine the stress-induced permeability evolution in a quasi-brittle material susceptible to damage. The concepts involved in the constitutive modeling and the computational procedures are summarized. The developments are applied to investigate the response of the model in simulating experimental investigations of permeability evolution in a granitic rock. The influence of both the isotropic and the deviatoric stress states on the evolution of the spatially averaged permeability is derived from the computational simulations and is compared with experimental observations. It is shown that with the provision of supplemental material parameters the computational approach is able to satisfactorily match the experimental results.

Description: In West Bohemia, central Europe, during October 2008 an earthquake swarm of 25,000 shocks with a maximum event of ML ∼ 3.7–3.8 occurred at depths of 7–11 km. In 2007, annual GPS campaigns were launched. During the co-seismic phase, displacements of a few centimeters were detected at GPS sites. Maximum displacement was revealed at the KOPA site, which subsided by 167 mm. The epicentral area is covered by eluvium of 4–10 m thick, and is located in undulating pastures and well-forested valleys where visible surface soil effects could not be observed. To test possible fault manifestations, rough geomorphologic, geoelectric, and geochemical surveys were performed. GPS and seismic data, with geologic materials, were used to build a forward model for surface displacements, crustal deformations, and shear and normal stress fields. The fields enabled us to better determine crustal deformations and stresses that appeared within the seismic cycle, during the pre-, co-, and post-seismic phases. During the co-seismic phase, modeled fault motions along N-S faults located within the epicentral zone reached 0.6–1 mm/day. Possible structural block rotations were comprised of these motions. A dominant role for stress accumulation, release, and relaxation was assigned to the Mariánské Lázně fault zone and the Nový Kostel zone. Strain loads slowly, and when local PT conditions with an action of deep magmatic fluids reach instability, the strain is released and stress balancing occurs. The process leads to the reversible motions known for silent earthquakes. A forward crustal deformation model for West Bohemia is also presented within.

Description: We make use of the effects of rupture directivity on waveform shape to analyze the rupture processes of 58 large, deep earthquakes in the Izu-Bonin-Marianas subduction zone. For more than half of the analyzed earthquakes, we determine a best-fitting unilateral rupture direction using teleseismic data. For 20 of these earthquakes, the constraints on the rupture direction allow the fault plane to be identified. Where the subducting slab dips at a moderate angle, near-horizontal fault planes dominate at all studied depths (50–600 km). Within more steeply dipping slabs, fault planes tend to dip toward the south and west. Rotated into the plane of the slab, the poles of the definitively identified faults form a single tight cluster pointing up and toward the surface of the slab. Identified ruptures have a tendency to propagate away from the top surface of the slab between 100 and 300 km depth, but appear to be randomly oriented at greater depths. The occurrence of predominantly near-horizontal faults at intermediate depths agrees with previous observations in several other subduction zones. However, at depths ≥300 km, the results from the Izu-Bonin-Marianas system differ from those previously obtained for Tonga-Kermadec, where both horizontal and vertical faults were identified. We consider various physical mechanisms to explain our observations and conclude that, while pre-existing slab structures may be reactivated if they are favorably oriented, the observed asymmetry in deep fault orientations may instead result from external forces acting on the slab, and resulting changes in slab morphology.

Description: Here we develop a lherzolite melting model and explore the effects of variations in mantle composition, pressure, temperature, and H2O content on melt composition. New experiments and a compilation of experimental liquids saturated with all of the mantle minerals (olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and/or spinel) are used to calibrate a model that predicts the temperature and major element composition of a broad spectrum of primary basalt types produced under anhydrous to low H2O-content conditions at upper mantle pressures. The model can also be used to calculate the temperature and pressure at which primary magmas were produced in the mantle, as well as to model both near-fractional adiabatic decompression and batch melting. Our experimental compilation locates the pressure interval of the plagioclase to spinel transition on the solidus and shows that it is narrow (∼0.1 GPa) for melting of natural peridotite compositions. The multiple saturation boundaries determined by our model provide a method for assessing the appropriate mineral assemblage, as well as the extent of the fractional crystallization correction required to return a relatively primitive liquid to equilibrium with the mantle source. We demonstrate that an inaccurate fractionation correction can overestimate temperature and depths of melting by hundreds of degrees and tens of kilometers, respectively. This model is particularly well suited to examining the temperature and pressure of origin for intraplate basaltic volcanism and is used to examine the petrogenesis of a suite of Holocene basaltic lavas from Diamond Crater in Oregon's High Lava Plains (HLP).

Description: The influence of a viscoplastic lava rheology on the dynamics of channeled lava flows is analyzed using analogue experiments. The experiments used slurries of polyethylene glycol and kaolin, which flowed with a constant flux down an inclined channel under water. Three sets of complementary experiments are presented: isothermal, cooling, and solidifying flows which quantified the effects of the viscoplastic rheology on shear, internal convection and surface crust formation. The isothermal and cooling experiments showed the formation of unyielded central plug regions which were not broken up by the convective overturning. In the solidifying experiments flows fell into one of three regimes: a tube regime, in which crust covered the entire flow surface; a shear-controlled regime, with a mobile raft of crust in the channel center and open shear zones near the walls; and a plug-controlled regime where the width of the central crust was determined by the width of the central plug region. The crust coverage is parameterized in terms of two dimensionless parameters: the ratio wp of central plug region width to channel width and a parameter ϑ which characterizes the relative importance of the strain and solidification rates. Finally the dynamics of typical lava flows on Mt Etna and the 1984 Mauna Loa lava flow are examined. We show that our parameterization agrees with lava flow crust widths observed in the field and find that even small yield strengths have a major effect on crust coverage.

Description: The East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) represents a plate boundary extending over ∼500 km between the Arabian and Anatolian plates. Relative plate motion occurs with slip rates ranging from 6 to 10 mm/yr and has resulted in destructive earthquakes in eastern Turkey as documented by historical records. In this study, we investigate the seismic activity along the EAFZ and fault kinematics based on recordings from a densified regional seismic network providing the best possible azimuthal coverage for the target region. We optimize a reference 1-D velocity model using a grid-search approach and re-locate hypocenters using the Double-Difference earthquake relocation technique. The refined hypocenter catalog provides insights into the kinematics and internal deformation of the fault zone down to a resolution ranging typically between 100 and 200 m. The distribution of hypocenters suggests that the EAFZ is characterized by NE-SW and E-W oriented sub-segments that are sub-parallel to the overall trend of the fault zone. Faulting mechanisms are predominantly left-lateral strike-slip and thus in good correlation with the deformation pattern derived from regional GPS data. However, we also observe local clusters of thrust and normal faulting events, respectively. While normal faulting events typically occur on NS-trending subsidiary faults, thrust faulting is restricted to EW-trending structures. This observation is in good accordance with kinematic models proposed for evolving shear zones. The observed spatiotemporal evolution of hypocenters indicates a systematic migration of micro- and moderate-sized earthquakes from the main fault into adjacent fault segments within several days documenting progressive interaction between the major branch of the EAFZ and its secondary structures. Analyzing the pre versus post-seismic phase for M 〉 5 events we find that aftershock activities are initially spread to the entire source region for several months but start to cluster at the central part of the main shock rupture thereafter.

Description: At subduction zones, aqueous fluids released from the subducting slab play an important role in island arc volcanism, triggering partial melting and accretion magmatism. We used the Network-magnetotelluric (MT) method to obtain the deep (〉100 km), large-scale electrical resistivity structure beneath Kyushu, Japan, with the aim of identifying regions of deep fluids and magma that feeds subduction zone volcanoes in the region. Network-MT observations, in which dipoles of about 10–30 km in length were used to measure the electric potential difference, were performed over all of Kyushu, in the Southwest Japan Arc, where the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) is subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate at a high angle. Using the Network-MT data, we obtained the large-scale electrical resistivity structure along four profiles across each of four Quaternary active volcanoes at the volcanic front of the Kyushu subduction zone. The resistivity models have two features in common: a conductor beneath each volcano, whose base extends to the backarc side, and a resistor along the hinge line of the subducting PSP in the forearc. The conductor indicates regions of fluid released from the slab or partial melting of the mantle, representing a magma source for subduction zone volcanoes in this region.

Description: During the eruption of the ice-covered Eyjafjallajökull volcano, a series of images from an airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) were obtained by the Icelandic Coast Guard. Cloud obscured the summit from view during the first three days of the eruption, making the weather-independent SAR a valuable monitoring resource. Radar images revealed the development of ice cauldrons in a 200 m thick ice cover within the summit caldera, as well as the formation of cauldrons to the immediate south of the caldera. Additionally, radar images were used to document the subglacial and supraglacial passage of floodwater to the north and south of the eruption site. The eruption breached the ice surface about four hours after its onset at about 01:30 UTC on 14 April 2010. The first SAR images, obtained between 08:55 and 10:42 UTC, show signs of limited supraglacial drainage from the eruption site. Floodwater began to drain from the ice cap almost 5.5 h after the beginning of the eruption, implying storage of meltwater at the eruption site due to initially constricted subglacial drainage from the caldera. Heat transfer rates from magma to ice during early stages of cauldron formation were about 1 MW m−2 in the radial direction and about 4 MW m−2 vertically. Meltwater release was characterized by accumulation and drainage with most of the volcanic material in the ice cauldrons being drained in hyperconcentrated floods. After the third day of the eruption, meltwater generation at the eruption site diminished due to an insulating lag of tephra.

Description: We employ the classical problem of an inclusion in an elastic half-space to model effects of sub-surface serpentinization on crustal deformation, change of stress state, and surface uplift. At the TAG hydrothermal field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the model suggests that an anomalous salient 3 km in diameter and 100 m high that projects 3.5 km westward from the east valley wall may have resulted from a relatively deep-seated well-serpentinized body exhibiting transformational strain. The associated large strains would likely result in sub-surface fracturing or faulting, but surface uplift may be relatively insensitive to the exact depth and shape of the serpentinized region. Serpentinization of a region beneath the footwall of the TAG detachment fault will tend to promote slip along some overlying normal faults, which may then enhance fluid pathways to the deeper crust to continue the serpentinization process. Our solution for the Miyazaki Plain above the Kyushu-Palau subduction zone in SW Japan explains the observed uplift of ≈120 m. The small transformational strains associated with serpentinization in this region may promote thrust-type events in the aseismic slip zone near the upper boundary of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate as well as intraplate earthquakes associated with normal faulting. The rate of serpentinization needed to produce the observed uplift at the Miyazaki Plain is significantly greater than that needed at TAG, though significantly smaller on per unit volume basis. Thermal effects of serpentinization in both regions appear to be small, but uplift data provide an additional constraint on inferring serpentinization from geological and seismological observations.

Description: The sustained heat and gas output from Erebus volcano reflects a regime of magma convection that we investigate here using a bi-phase (melt and crystals), fluid dynamical model. Following validity and verification tests of the model, we carried out four single-phase and three bi-phase numerical 30-year- simulations, in an idealized 2D geometry representing a lava lake cooled from above and a reservoir heated from below that are linked by a 4-to-10–m-diameter conduit. We tested the effects of crystals on convection while changing conduit size and the system boundaries from closed to open. Neglecting crystal settling yields only a limited number of features, i.e., (i) the formation of a central instability, (ii) the average temperature evolution, and (iii) the average velocity range of the surface flow motion. Bi-phase simulations show that while crystals are quite efficiently transported by the liquid phase a small decoupling reflecting their large size (5 cm) results in settling. This leads to more complex circulation patterns and enhances the vigor of fluid motion. A sufficiently large conduit sustains convection and retains 6 and 20% of crystals in suspension, for a closed and open system, respectively. Model outputs do not yet correspond well with field observations of Erebus lava lake (e.g., real surface velocities are much faster than those modeled), suggesting that exsolved volatiles are an important source of buoyancy.

Description: During hydrostatic compression conducted within the elastic regime, P and S-wave velocities measured on porous rock samples generally increase with pressure and reach asymptotic values at high pressures. The increase in velocities can be attributed to the gradual closure of compliant cracks, in which case the high-pressure velocities reflect only the influence of the stiff, non-closable pores. A procedure is presented to extract the complete pore aspect ratio distribution from the pressure dependence of dry velocities, assuming that the rock contains a distribution of cracks with different aspect ratios, and one family of stiff pores having an aspect ratio that generally will lie between 0.01 and 1. The model is able to invert successfully many sets of experimental data on dry sandstones taken from the literature. The pore aspect ratio distribution inverted from dry data can then be used to predict saturated velocities as functions of pressure, by introducing fluid into the pores. For ultrasonic velocity measurements that are performed at high frequencies in the laboratory (∼ MHz), the predictions of saturated velocities using effective medium theories match well the experimental data for a good number of sandstone data sets. The saturated velocities thus predicted are always more accurate than those predicted from the Gassmann relations, which underpredict the saturated velocities by a large amount. These results are only weakly dependent on the choice of the effective medium theory.

Description: The source model of the 2008 Mw 5.4 Chino Hills, California, earthquake is constrained using near-field seismic body waves recorded by the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN). Finite fault inversions are preformed for the two fault models based on the nodal planes derived from the CISN moment tensor solution. The northeast dipping plane (strike = 289°; dip = 62°), which has a similar strike as the nearby Whittier fault, is chosen as the causative fault because it fits the data significantly better. Our inversion result indicates that the majority of the Chino Hills earthquake rupture occurred in a compact area. In particular, 48% of the total seismic moment (1.6 × 1017 Nm) was released by the failure of a 1.8 km2 asperity located east of the hypocenter in a short time window from 0.4 to 0.8 s after the rupture initiation. The average slip is approximately 0.5 m but the maximum slip is 1.8 m. The average rupture velocity is 1.9 km/s. The static stress drop calculated using the slip model is up to 80 MPa and the average stress drop changes from 19 to 38 MPa, depending on the average schemes. The weighted average slip velocity is 6.5 m/s for entire rupture and is 11 m/s for the east asperity. The inferred available energy and radiated energy are 8 × 1013 J and 2.5 × 1013 J, respectively. Radiation efficiency is then 0.31, which is moderately low compared with previous earthquakes but consistent with the inferred high average fracture energy density, ranging from 6.5 to 14.8 MJ/m2.

Description: We analyze the kinematic and crustal deformations of Mt. Etna from 2003 to 2008 as imaged by the Mt. Etna continuous GPS (CGPS) network (Etn@net). Through a careful analysis of GPS time series, six coherent phases of crustal deformations have been identified, three inflation phases and three deflation phases, superimposed on a major inflation of the volcanic edifice since 2001. The inversions of GPS velocities have enabled: 1) a better understanding of the evolution of the volcanic sources acting beneath the volcano; 2) analysis of the strain rate patterns; and 3) a delineation of potential coupling between volcanic sources and the observed ground deformations. The modeling of the pressure sources has shown a separation between inflation and deflation sources. The deflation sources show an upward migration, from 5.5 toward 2.0 km (b.s.l.), while the inflation sources are located within 5.5 and 4.0 km (b.s.l.). Our results indicate that the kinematic and ground deformations of the mid-upper eastern flank are driven by the interplay between the effect of the magmatic sources and a southeastward motion. Furthermore, clockwise rotations have been detected that prevailed over the eastern motion of the flank during the inflation phases preceding the 2004–2005 and 2006 eruptions. Finally, the accordance between the higher geodetic shear strain rates and the area with the highest seismic energy release shows that measured geodetic shear strain rates can provide useful information on the potential occurrence of seismic activity.

Description: The western Hellenic subduction zone (WHSZ) exhibits well-documented along-strike variations in lithosphere density (i.e., oceanic versus continental), subduction rates, and overriding plate extension. Differences in slab density are believed to drive deformation rates along the WHSZ; however, this hypothesis has been difficult to test given the limited seismic constraints on the structure of the WHSZ, particularly beneath northern Greece. Here, we present high-resolution seismic images across northern and southern Greece to constrain the slab composition and mantle wedge geometry along the WHSZ. Data from two temporary arrays deployed across Greece in a northern line (NL) and southern line (SL) are processed using a 2D teleseismic migration algorithm based on the Generalized Radon Transform. Images of P- and S-wave velocity perturbations reveal N60E dipping low-velocity layers beneath both NL and SL. The ∼8 km thick layer beneath SL is interpreted as subducted oceanic crust while the ∼20 km thick layer beneath NL is interpreted as subducted continental crust. The thickness of subducted continental crust inferred within the upper mantle suggests that ∼10 km of continental crust has accreted to the overriding plate. The relative position of the two subducted crusts implies ∼70–85 km of additional slab retreat in the south relative to the north. Overall, our seismic images are consistent with the hypothesis that faster sinking of the denser, oceanic portion of the slab relative to the continental portion can explain the different rates of slab retreat and deformation in the overriding plate along the WHSZ.

Description: USArray has now provided several years of high-quality seismic data and improved ray coverage for much of the western United States. This allows increased resolution for regional studies of the lithosphere and deeper structure of the North American continent. In this study, we use Pn phases in the USArray data set to solve for velocity structure in the uppermost mantle in the western United States. This article focuses on localized imaging techniques that complement traditional Pn tomography analysis. We apply waveform cross-correlation to obtain inter-station travel times between the closely and uniformly spaced USArray stations. This allows us to use traces without phase picks and reduces errors associated with the picking. We obtain differential times that can directly be used to fit locally for slowness and, depending on the approach, for the direction and curvature of the incoming wavefront. The various measurements of incoming wavefronts at different sub-arrays provide constraints on azimuthal variations in velocity. The traditional tomography approach and the local fitting method reveal similar large-scale features. No regularization is applied with the local method, and the resulting velocity maps reveal smaller-scale structures than the tomographic images.

Description: We defined a new global moving hot spot reference frame (GMHRF), using a comprehensive set of radiometric dates from arguably the best-studied hot spot tracks, refined plate circuit reconstructions, a new plate polygon model, and an iterative approach for estimating hot spot motions from numerical models of whole mantle convection and advection of plume conduits in the mantle flow that ensures their consistency with surface plate motions. Our results show that with the appropriate choice of a chain of relative motion linking the Pacific plate to the plates of the Indo-Atlantic hemisphere, the observed geometries and ages of the Pacific and Indo-Atlantic hot spot tracks were accurately reproduced by a combination of absolute plate motion and hot spot drift back to the Late Cretaceous (∼80 Ma). Similarly good fits were observed for Indo-Atlantic tracks for earlier time (to ∼130 Ma). In contrast, attempts to define a fixed hot spot frame resulted in unacceptable misfits for the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (80–50 Ma), highlighting the significance of relative motion between the Pacific and Indo-Atlantic hot spots during this period. A comparison of absolute reconstructions using the GMHRF and the most recent global paleomagnetic frame reveals substantial amounts of true polar wander at rates varying between ∼0.1°/Ma and 1°/Ma. Two intriguing, nearly equal and antipodal rotations of the Earth relative to its spin axis are suggested for the 90–60 Ma and 60–40 Ma intervals (∼9° at a 0.3–0.5°/Ma rate); these predictions have yet to be tested by geodynamic models.

Description: We investigate the triggering of seismic tremor and slow slip event in Guerrero (Mexico) by the February 27, 2010 Maule earthquake (Mw 8.8). Triggered tremors start with the arrival of S wave generated by the Maule earthquake, and keep occurring during the passing of ScS, SS, Love and Rayleigh waves. The Rayleigh wave dispersion curve footprints the high frequency energy envelope of the triggered tremor, indicating a strong modulation of the source of tremors by the passing surface wave. This correlation and modulation by the passing waves is progressively lost with time over a few hours. The tremor activity continues during the weeks/months after the earthquake. GPS time series suggest that the second sub-event of the 2009–2010 SSE in Guerrero is actually triggered by the Maule earthquake. The southward displacement of the GPS stations starts coincidently with the earthquake and tremors. The long duration of tremors indicate a continuing deformation process at depth, which we propose to be the second sub-event of the 2009–2010 SSE. We show a quasi-systematic correlation between surface displacement rate measured by GPS and tremor activity, suggesting that the NVT are controlled by the variations in the slip history of the SSE. This study shows that two types of tremors emerge: (1) Those directly triggered by the passing waves and (2) those triggered by the stress variations associated with slow slip. This indicates the prominent role of aseismic creep in the Mexican subduction zone response to a large teleseismic earthquake, possibly leading to large-scale stress redistribution.

Description: We pioneer a technique of surface-exposure dating based upon the characteristic form of an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) bleaching profile beneath a rock surface; this evolves as a function of depth and time. As a field illustration of this new method, the maximum age of a premier example of Barrier Canyon Style (BCS) rock art in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA, is constrained. The natural OSL signal from quartz grains is measured from the surface to a depth of 〉10 mm in three different rock samples of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. Two samples are from talus with unknown daylight exposure histories; one of these samples was exposed at the time of sampling and one was buried and no longer light exposed. A third sample is known to have been first exposed 80 years ago and was still exposed at the time of sampling. First, the OSL-depth profile of the known-age sample is modeled to estimate material-dependent and environmental parameters. These parameters are then used to fit the model to the corresponding data for the samples of unknown exposure history. From these fits we calculate that the buried sample was light exposed for ∼700 years before burial and that the unburied sample has been exposed for ∼120 years. The shielded surface of the buried talus sample is decorated with rock art; this rock fell from the adjacent Great Gallery panel. Related research using conventional OSL dating suggests that this rockfall event occurred ∼900 years ago, and so we deduce that the rock art must have been created between ∼1600 and 900 years ago. Our results are the first credible estimates of exposure ages based on luminescence bleaching profiles. The strength of this novel OSL method is its ability to establish both ongoing and prior exposure times, at decadal to millennial timescales or perhaps longer (depending on the environmental dose rate) even for material subsequently buried. This has considerable potential in many archeological, geological and geo-hazard applications.

Description: Petrophysical analyses of mafic and ultramafic xenoliths reveal large contrasts in acoustic impedance between the lower crustal rocks and uppermost mantle rocks both beneath Ichinomegata Crater in NE Japan and beneath Oki-Dogo Island in SW Japan. In contrast to minor contrasts in acoustic impedance both among the lower crustal rocks and among the uppermost mantle rocks beneath Ichinomegata Crater, relatively large contrasts in acoustic impedance are present beneath Oki-Dogo Island between granulite and olivine gabbro in the lower crustal rocks as well as between plagioclase-bearing wehrlite and other cumulus peridotites in the uppermost mantle rocks. Based on the existing petrologic models of the lower crust and uppermost mantle beneath Ichinomegata Crater and Oki-Dogo Island, we then constructed model structures of the lower crust and uppermost mantle beneath these two areas, composed of units with randomly arranged, 100 m thick, foliation-parallel horizontal layers of xenolith samples, and used these model structures to examine the seismic reflectivity beneath these two areas. The results suggest the presence of strong seismic reflectors between the lower crust and the uppermost mantle in both areas. Although no other recognizable seismic reflector is expected beneath Ichinomegata Crater, many seismic reflectors due to the above contrasts in acoustic impedance are expected both in the lower crust and in the uppermost mantle beneath Oki-Dogo Island. Thus a remarkable contrast in seismic reflectivity in the lower crust and uppermost mantle is likely present between these two areas as well as between NE Japan and SW Japan.

Description: A new model of the subducted Juan de Fuca plate beneath western North America allows first-order correlations between the occurrence of Wadati-Benioff zone earthquakes and slab geometry, temperature, and hydration state. The geo-referenced 3D model, constructed from weighted control points, integrates depth information from earthquake locations and regional seismic velocity studies. We use the model to separate earthquakes that occur in the Cascadia forearc from those that occur within the underlying Juan de Fuca plate and thereby reveal previously obscured details regarding the spatial distribution of earthquakes. Seismicity within the slab is most prevalent where the slab is warped beneath northwestern California and western Washington suggesting that slab flexure, in addition to expected metamorphic dehydration processes, promotes earthquake occurrence within the subducted oceanic plate. Earthquake patterns beneath western Vancouver Island are consistent with slab dehydration processes. Conversely, the lack of slab earthquakes beneath western Oregon is consistent with an anhydrous slab. Double-differenced relocated seismicity resolves a double seismic zone within the slab beneath northwestern California that strongly constrains the location of the plate interface and delineates a cluster of seismicity 10 km above the surface that includes the 1992 M7.1 Mendocino earthquake. We infer that this earthquake ruptured a surface within the Cascadia accretionary margin above the Juan de Fuca plate. We further speculate that this earthquake is associated with a detached fragment of former Farallon plate. Other subsurface tectonic elements within the forearc may have the potential to generate similar damaging earthquakes.

Description: Large-scale crustal deformation in the Levant is mainly related to the DST and the CFS. The former is an active left lateral transform, bounding the Arabian plate and the Sinai sub-plate, and the latter branches out of the former and separates the Sinai sub-plate into two tectonic domains. In this study we obtain the velocities of 33 permanent GPS stations and 145 survey stations that were surveyed in three campaigns between 1996 and 2008. We use a simple 1-D elastic dislocation model to infer the slip rate and locking depth along various segments of the DST. We infer a 3.1–4.5 mm/yr slip rate and a 7.8–16.5 km locking depth along the DST north of the CFS, and a slip rate of 4.6–5.9 mm/yr and locking depth of 11.8–24 km along the Jericho Valley, south of the CFS. Further south, along the Arava Valley we obtain a slip rate of 4.7–5.4 mm/yr and a locking depth of 12.1–23 km. We identify an oblique motion along the Carmel Fault with ∼0.7 mm/yr left-lateral and ∼0.6 mm/yr extension rates, resulting in N-S extension across the Carmel Fault. This result, together with the decrease in DST slip velocity from the Jericho Valley to the segment north of the CFS, confirms previous suggestions, according to which part of the slip between Arabia and Sinai is being transferred from the DST to the CFS.

Description: Plate eduction is a geodynamic process characterized by normal-sense coherent motion of previously subducted continental plate. This mechanism may occur after slab detachment has separated the negatively buoyant oceanic plate from the positively buoyant orogenic root. Eduction may therefore be partly responsible for exhumation of high pressure rocks and late orogenic extension. We used two-dimensional thermomechanical modeling to investigate the main features of the plate eduction model. The results show that eduction can lead to the quasi adiabatic decompression of the subducted crust (≈2 GPa) in a timespan of 5 My, large localized extensional strain in the former subduction channel, flattening of the slab, and a topographic uplift associated with extension of the orogen. In order to further investigate the forces involved in the eduction process, we ran systematic parametric simulations and compared them to analytic plate velocity estimations. These experiments showed that eduction is a plausible mechanism as long as the viscosity of the asthenospheric mantle is lower than 1022 Pa.s while subduction channel viscosity does not exceed 1021 Pa.s. We suggest that eduction can be a viable geodynamic mechanism and discuss its potential role during the orogenic evolution of the Norwegian Caledonides.