Temperature, strain rates, and rheology: the key parameters controling strength variations in the Australian lithosphere

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdala Tesauro ◽  
Mikhail Kaban ◽  
Alexey Petrunin ◽  
Alan Aitken
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Seismic Tomography ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
The Other ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Australian Plate

<p>The Australian plate is composed of tectonic features showing progression of the age from dominantly Phanerozoic in the east, Proterozoic in the centre, and Archean in the west. These tectonic structures have been investigated in the last three decades using a variety of geophysical methods, but it is still a matter of debates of how temperature and strength are distributed within the lithosphere. We construct a thermal crustal model assuming steady state variations and using surface heat flow data, provided by regional and global database, and heat generation values, calculated from existing empirical relations with seismic velocity variations, which are provided by AusREM seismic tomography model. The lowest crustal temperatures are observed in the eastern part of the WAC and the Officer basin, while Central and South Australia are regions with anomalously elevated heat flow values and temperatures caused by high heat production in the crustal rocks. On the other hand, the mantle temperatures, estimated in a previous study, applying a joint interpretation of the seismic tomography and gravity data, show that the Precambrian West and North Australian Craton (WAC and NAC) are characterized by thick and relatively cold lithosphere that has depleted composition (Mg# > 90). The depletion is stronger in the older WAC than the younger NAC. Substantially hotter and less dense lithosphere is seen fringing the eastern and southeastern margin of the continent. Both crustal and mantle thermal models are used as input for the lithospheric strength calculation. Another input parameter is the crustal rheology, which has been determined based on the seismic velocity distribution, assuming that low (high) velocities reflect more sialic (mafic) compositions and thus weaker (stiffer) rheologies. Furthermore, we use strain rate values obtained from a global mantle flow model constrained by seismic and gravity data. The combination of the values of the different parameters produce a large variability of the rigidity of the plate within the cratonic areas, reflecting the long tectonic history of the Australian plate. The sharp lateral strength variations are coincident with intraplate earthquakes location. The strength variations in the crust and upper mantle is also not uniformly distributed: In the Archean WAC most of the strength is concentrated in the mantle, while the Proterozoic Officer basin shows the largest values of the crustal strength. On the other hand, the younger eastern terranes are uniformly weak, due to the high temperatures.</p>

GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN 1962

Geophysics ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1049-1071
Author(s):  
Neal J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
The Other ◽  
Free World ◽  
Geophysical Exploration ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Ground Magnetic

Petroleum geophysical exploration in the Free World, consisting of seismic, gravity, ground magnetic, and other nonairborne geophysical methods, declined 10.0 percent over 1961. This is the sharpest in the continual series of declines that began in 1957 and amounts to a loss of 1,008 crew‐months; it is 32 percent down from the peak year of 1956. Airborne magnetometer activity, on the other hand, rose from 347,841 line‐miles in 1961 to 433,473, an increase of 25 percent.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Geophysics to the Knowledge of the Hidden Archaeological Heritage of Montenegro

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilena Cozzolino ◽  
Mile Baković ◽  
Nikola Borovinić ◽  
Giorgia Galli ◽  
Vincenzo Gentile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
The Other ◽  
Buried Structures ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Non Destructive

Montenegro is a land of great history which needs attention and care for a deeper knowledge and its making at the disposal of new generations. It is still a territory to be discovered, studied, and disclosed. It is important to understand how much hidden heritage there is still in this area to explore and exploit, but on the other hand, how much known heritage exists to protect and monitor, preventing its destruction and loss. In this context, Montenegro is heavily investing in the management of cultural heritage through initiatives for identification, protection, preservation, enhancement and fruition of them. In the frame of the knowledge, the use of non-destructive geophysical methods can be helpful for a cognitive investigation immediately in the bud of any archaeological verification project, safeguarded through preventive archaeology operations and the exploration of large areas within archaeological parks. In this paper, the results of geophysical prospections at the Hellenistic-Illyrian site of Mjace, the roman towns of Doclea and Municipium S, the medieval city of Svač, and the Stećci medieval tombstones graveyards of Novakovići, Žugića, and Plužine are presented. The study allowed the reconnaissance of new buried structures in the soil and has provided an updated view of the rich archaeological heritage of Montenegro.

Unraveling the upper mantle heterogeneity from integrated multi-observable inversions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Fullea ◽  
Sergei Lebedev ◽  
Zdenek Martinec ◽  
Nicolas Celli
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Tomography ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Density Field ◽  
Seismic Velocities ◽  
Satellite Gravity ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Multiple Data Sets

<p>The lateral and vertical thermochemical heterogeneity in the mantle is a long standing question in geodynamics. The forces that control mantle flow and therefore Plate Tectonics arise from the density and viscosity lateral and vertical variations. A common approach to estimate the density field for geodynamical purposes is to simply convert seismic tomography anomalies sometimes assuming constraints from mineral physics. Such converted density field does not match in general with the observed gravity field, typically predicting anomalies the amplitudes of which are too large. Knowledge on the lateral variations in lithospheric density is essential to understand the dynamic/residual isostatic components of the Earth’s topography linking deep and surface processes. The cooling of oceanic lithosphere, the bathymetry of mid oceanic ridges, the buoyancy and stability of continental cratons or the thermochemical structure of mantle plumes are all features central to Plate Tectonics that are dramatically related to mantle temperature and composition.</p><p><br>Conventional methods of seismic tomography, topography and gravity data analysis constrain distributions of seismic velocity and density at depth, all depending on temperature and composition of the rocks within the Earth. However, modelling and interpretation of multiple data sets provide a multifaceted image of the true thermochemical structure of the Earth that needs to be appropriately and consistently integrated. A simple combination of gravity, petrological and seismic models alone is insufficient due to the non-uniqueness and different sensitivities of these models, and the internal consistency relationships that must connect all the intermediate parameters describing the Earth involved. In fact, global Earth models based on different observables often lead to rather different, even contradictory images of the Earth.</p><p><br> Here we present a new global thermochemical model of the lithosphere-upper mantle (WINTERC-grav) constrained by state-of-the-art global waveform tomography, satellite gravity (geoid and gravity anomalies and gradiometric measurements from ESA's GOCE mission), surface elevation and heat flow data. WINTERC-grav is based upon an integrated geophysical-petrological approach where all relevant rock physical properties modelled (seismic velocities and density) are computed within a thermodynamically self-consistent framework allowing for a direct parameterization of the temperature and composition variables.</p>

Composition model of the crust beneath the Ordos basin and the Yinshan mountains in China, based on seismic velocity, heat flow and gravity data

2014 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. 246-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqian Zhang ◽  
Jiwen Teng ◽  
Qianshen Wang ◽  
Fuyun Wang ◽  
Qingtian Lü
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Ordos Basin ◽  
The Ordos Basin

Crustal seismic velocity and density structure of the Intermontane and Coast belts, southwestern Cordillera

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1362-1379 ◽  
Author(s):  
George D Spence ◽  
Nancy A McLean
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
High Density ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Seismic Velocities ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Reflection Data

Seismic refraction - wide-angle reflection data were recorded along a 450 km profile across the Intermontane, Coast, and Insular belts of the Canadian Cordillera. Crust and upper mantle structure was interpreted from traveltime inversion and forward-amplitude modelling, and the resultant seismic velocities were used to constrain modelling of the Bouguer gravity data along the profile. A high-velocity, high-density block in the upper 8 km of crust was interpreted as the subsurface extension of Harrison terrane; the Harrison fault at its eastern boundary may extend to at least 8 km depth and perhaps 20 km. Throughout the crust, both seismic velocities and densities are in general high beneath the Insular belt, low beneath the Coast and western Intermontane belts, and intermediate beneath the eastern Intermontane belt. However, densities are unusually low in the lower crust beneath the Coast belt (2800 kg/m3), relative to velocities (6.6-6.8 km/s). This indicates that Coast belt plutonic material is present throughout the crust; strong upper mantle reflectivity, previously interpreted on a Lithoprobe reflection line beneath the western Coast belt, may be high-density residue associated with the unusually low density plutonic material. Based on gravity data, Wrangellia must terminate sharply against the western edge of the Coast belt. In the lower crust, the lowest seismic velocities are found vertically beneath the surface trace of the Fraser fault, where velocities just above the Moho only reach 6.5 km/s, in contrast with 6.8 km/s beneath the western Coast belt and eastern Intermontane belt. This provides support for a subvertical geometry for the Fraser fault, perhaps with a broad zone of diffuse shearing in the lower crust. At this location, the Fraser fault does not appear to vertically offset the Moho, which is well-constrained at a uniform depth of km east of the Harrison fault.

Probing the oceanic upper mantle using M2 tidal magnetic field, waveform tomography, satellite gravity field, surface elevation and heat flow data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdenek Martinec ◽  
Javier Fullea ◽  
Jakub Velimsky
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Seismic Velocities ◽  
Flow Data ◽  
Satellite Gravity ◽  
Waveform Tomography

<p>Conventional methods of seismic tomography, surface topography and gravity data analysis constrain distributions of seismic velocity and density at depth, all depending on temperature and composition of the rocks within the Earth. WINTERC-grav, a new global thermochemical model of the lithosphere-upper mantle constrained by state-of-the-art global waveform tomography, satellite gravity (geoid and gravity anomalies and gradiometric measurements from ESA's GOCE mission), surface elevation and heat flow data has been recently released. WINTERC-grav is based upon an integrated geophysical-petrological approach where all relevant rock physical properties modelled (seismic velocities and density) are computed within a thermodynamically self-consistent framework allowing for a direct parameterization of the temperature and composition variables. In this study, we derive a new three dimensional distribution of the electrical conductivity in the Earth's upper mantle combining WINTERC-grav's thermal and compositional fields along with laboratory experiments constraining the conductivity of mantle minerals and melt. We test the derived conductivity model over oceans by simulating a tidally induced magnetic field. Here, we concentrate on the simulation of M2 tidal magnetic field induced by the ocean M2 tidal flow that is modelled by two different assimilative barotropic models, TPXO8-atlas (Egbert and Erofeeva, 2002) and DEBOT (Ein\v spigel and Martinec, 2017). We compare our synthetic results with the M2 tidal magnetic field estimated from 5 years of Swarm satellite observations and CHAMP satellite data by the comprehensive inversion of Sabaka et al. (2018).</p>

Heterogeneity detection in an experimental clay liner

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Guyonnet ◽  
Jean-Christophe Gourry ◽  
Lucien Bertrand ◽  
Nadia Amraoui
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dipole Mode ◽  
Compacted Clay ◽  
Clay Liners ◽  
Hydraulic Test ◽  
Clay Liner ◽  
Other Hand

In situ hydraulic tests to characterize the field hydraulic conductivity of clay liners used in landfill applications are often positioned randomly. Yet it is well known that the field performance of low permeability clay liners is generally controlled by heterogeneities that may provide preferential pathways for flow. In this paper, an experimental clay liner is investigated in which heterogeneities were incorporated in a controlled fashion. Heterogeneities were embedded within a compacted clay liner at different locations in the plane and at different depths. Heterogeneities of composition were installed by excavating compacted clay at specific locations and replacing it with a more permeable material. Heterogeneities of compaction were introduced by loosely backfilling the clay into the excavations. Two geophysical methods, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and the EM-38 electromagnetic method, were used to examine whether anomalies detected by geophysics were or were not correlated with the precise locations of the heterogeneities. Hydraulic tests were used to characterize the permeability of the intact clay on the one hand and of the heterogeneities on the other hand. Three different in situ hydraulic test methods were used: a pulse test performed in a hand-augered borehole, a sealed single ring infiltrometer test, and a large scale infiltration test (4 m2) that uses a color tracer to detect possible preferential flowpaths. The GPR showed no significant correlation with heterogeneity locations, nor did the EM-38 method when used in the vertical dipole mode. The EM-38 method used in the horizontal dipole mode, showed significant correlation with heterogeneities when they were apparent at the surface. On the other hand, the method did not clearly detect heterogeneities located at depth. There was consistency between the values of hydraulic conductivity obtained from the different hydraulic field and laboratory tests. "Intact" clay hydraulic conductivities were found to lie between 10–10 and 4 × 10–9 m/s, while the hydraulic conductivity of the heterogeneities of composition was approximately 10–7 m/s. The results of this experiment suggest that the EM-38 method may be useful to optimize hydraulic test locations when characterizing clay liners for landfill applications.Key words: clay liner, hydraulic conductivity, heterogeneity.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional gravity anomaly inversion in the Pyrenees using compressional seismic velocity model as structural similarity constraints

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Martin ◽  
Jérémie Giraud ◽  
Vitaliy Ogarko ◽  
Sébastien Chevrot ◽  
Stephen Beller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Tomography ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Thermal State ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Density Model ◽  
Real Field ◽  
Structural Constraints

Summary We explore here the benefits of using constraints from seismic tomography in gravity data inversion and how inverted density distributions can be improved by doing so. The methodology is applied to a real field case in which we reconstruct the density structure of the Pyrenees along a southwest-northeast transect going from the Ebro basin in Spain to the Arzacq basin in France. We recover the distribution of densities by inverting gravity anomalies under constraints coming from seismic tomography. We initiate the inversion from a prior density model obtained by scaling a pre-existing compressional seismic velocity Vp model using a Nafe-Drake relationship : the Vp model resulting from a full-waveform inversion of teleseismic data. Gravity data inversions enforce structural similarities between Vp and density by minimizing the norm of the cross-gradient between the density and Vp models. We also compare models obtained from 2.5D and 3D inversions. Our results demonstrate that structural constraints allow us to better recover the density contrasts close to the surface and at depth, without degrading the gravity data misfit. The final density model provides valuable information on the geological structures and on the thermal state and composition of the western region of the Pyrenean lithosphere.

A study of cometary eruptions through OH radio-lines

1999 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 249-254
Author(s):  
A.M. Silva ◽  
R.D. Miró
Keyword(s):  
Short Duration ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
The Other ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Radio Lines ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Sudden Rise

AbstractWe have developed a model for theH2OandOHevolution in a comet outburst, assuming that together with the gas, a distribution of icy grains is ejected. With an initial mass of icy grains of 108kg released, theH2OandOHproductions are increased up to a factor two, and the growth curves change drastically in the first two days. The model is applied to eruptions detected in theOHradio monitorings and fits well with the slow variations in the flux. On the other hand, several events of short duration appear, consisting of a sudden rise ofOHflux, followed by a sudden decay on the second day. These apparent short bursts are frequently found as precursors of a more durable eruption. We suggest that both of them are part of a unique eruption, and that the sudden decay is due to collisions that de-excite theOHmaser, when it reaches the Cometopause region located at 1.35 × 105kmfrom the nucleus.

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