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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
USGS2012

Earthquakes of Loihi submarine volcano and the Hawaiian hot spot

Loihi is an active submarine volcano located 35 km south of the island of Hawaii and may eventually grow to be the next and southernmost island in the Hawaiian chain. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded two major earthquake swarms located there in 1971–1972 and 1975 which were probably associated with submarine eruptions or intrusions. The swarms were located very close to Loihi's bathymetric summit, except for earthquakes during the second stage of the 1971–1972 swarm, which occurred well onto Loihi's southwest flank. The flank earthquakes appear to have been triggered by the preceding activity and possible rifting along Loihi's long axis, similar to the rift-flank relationship at Kilauea volcano. Other changes accompanied the shift in locations from Loihi's summit to its flank, including a shift from burst to continuous seismicity, a rise in maximum magnitude, a change from small earthquake clusters to a larger elongated zone, a drop in b value, and a presumed shift from concentrated volcanic stresses to a more diffuse tectonic stress on Loihi's flank. The 1971–1972 swarm began at depths of 20–50 km about 1 month before the shallow swarm started and suggests an upward migration of seismicity as the first stage of the 13-month swarm. The seismic ‘root’ of Kilauea volcano is well defined by earthquakes which plunge to the south and southwest to a depth of 50–60 km, terminating in a region in which earthquakes are associated with deep harmonic tremor and magma. The zone of these deeper earthquakes and tremor lies between Kilauea, Loihi, and Mauna Loa volcanoes, may feed magma to all three volcanoes, and probably locates the Hawaiian hot spot.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Rapid intrusion of magma into wet rock: Groundwater flow due to pore pressure increases

Analytical and numerical solutions are developed to simulate the pressurization, expansion, and flow of groundwater contained within saturated, intact host rocks subject to sudden heating from the planar surface of an igneous intrusion. For most rocks, water diffuses more rapidly than heat, assuring that groundwater is not heated along a constant-volume pressure path and that thermal expansion and pressurization adjacent to the intrusion drives a flow that extends well beyond the heated region. The forcing parameter for pressurization and flow is α Δ T , where α is a thermal expansion coefficient reflecting the overall expansion of water heated through the temperature difference Δ T between the initial ambient and intrusive values. Pore pressure increases due to heating are greatest when the intrusion is emplaced rapidly and where the intrusive contact is impervious to groundwater contained in stiff, impermeable rocks with high thermal diffusivities and porosities. The maximum velocity of water flowing in pores decays with the inverse square root of time and is insensitive to hydraulic properties of the host rocks. Pressures are lessened and flow directions are reversed with the onset of hydrothermal convection. This occurs at times ranging from hours to weeks after onset of intrusion. As magma rises into near-surface rocks, steam can be generated. Solutions indicate that pressure increases and velocities are sensitive to the overall amount of expansion rather than the behavior of the water-steam transition. Both the overall thermal expansion coefficient α and the temperature difference Δ T are greater in shallow (<1 km) environments than in deep (∼5 km) ones. Thus, for rocks with similar transport properties, pressure increases due to heating are greatest in shallow environments. Although solutions can be applied to rocks with a wide variety of properties, pressure increases are calculated for compliant quartz-rich sedimentary rocks with a porosities between 1 and 20% and permeabilities between 1 darcy and 1 μdarcy, subject to temperature increases of 500 and 1000 K at depths ranging from 0.1 to 5 km in a region of hydrostatic pressures and normal geothermal gradient. Such rocks, with porosities greater than 5%, permeabilities less than a 0.1 mdarcy, and drained hydrostatic compressibilities of 10 −4 /MPa, undergo pressure increases greater than 10 MPa (100 bars)for conditions typical of water table depths of 2.5 km and heating to 500 K above ambient. Similar rocks, but with permeabilities less than 1 mdarcy, undergo pressure increases of 10 MPa for conditions typical of 1 km water table depth. Rocks commonly considered to be good aquifers undergo pressure increases of less than 1 MPa, primarily because of their high permeability. Although these estimates neglect the effects of fracturing and brecciation that may accompany such pressure increases, calculations indicate that pressure increases due to heating of cool groundwater can lead to failure of host rocks by a phreatic mechanism.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Extension in the Rio Grande rift

A positive gravity anomaly along the axis of the Rio Grande rift reflects a volume of anomalous mass added at the base of the crust and intruded into the crust. Part of this volume can be associated with vertical uplift of the crust. The remainder of this anomalous volume, plus the volume of surficial graben fill, can be associated with horizontal crustal extension. The volume of crustal uplift in the Rio Grande rift is unknown, but this term can be eliminated by means of an independent equation provided by assumption of generalized isostatic equilibrium. The volume and mass equations combined provide a solution for extension of the crust in terms of the following parameters: total anomalous mass deficiency in the mantle lithosphere, total anomalous mass excess in the crust and its density contrast, total anomalous mass deficiency of surficial graben fill and its density contrast, and the volume of material eroded from the uplift. Using standard density estimates and masses determined by equivalent-source modeling of gravity profiles, I obtained 1-km extension at 37°N (Colorado-New Mexico border), 13-km extension at 35°N (Albuquerque, New Mexico), and 24-km extension at 33°N in southern New Mexico. These estimates are of necessity very poorly constrained and may be as much as ±60% in error. Taking results at face value, the best fitting Euler pole occurs at about 41°N, in north central Colorado. The calculated opening angle is 1.32°. For an approximately 30-m.y. duration of the extensional system (late Oligocene to the present), calculated average angular velocity is 7.8×10 −4 rad/m.y.; calculated average spreading half-rate at 33°N (for example) is a stately 0.04 cm/yr. The ratio of extension to uplift increases southward.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Nucleation and growth of strike slip faults in granite

Fractures within granodiorite of the central Sierra Nevada, California, were studied to elucidate the mechanics of faulting in crystalline rocks, with emphasis on the nucleation of new fault surfaces and their subsequent propagation and growth. Within the study area the fractures form a single, subparallel array which strikes N50°–70°E and dips steeply to the south. Some of these fractures are identified as joints because displacements across the fracture surfaces exhibit dilation but no slip. The joints are filled with undeformed minerals, including epidote and chlorite. Other fractures are identified as small faults because they display left-lateral strike slip separations of up to 2 m. Slickensides, developed on fault surfaces, plunge 0°–20° to the east. The faults occur parallel to, and in the same outcrop with, the joints. The faults are filled with epidote, chlorite, and quartz, which exhibit textural evidence of shear deformation. These observations indicate that the strike slip faults nucleated on earlier formed, mineral-filled joints. Secondary, dilational fractures propagated from near the ends of some small faults contemporaneously with the left-lateral slip on the faults. These fractures trend 25°±10° from the fault planes, parallel to the direction of inferred local maximum compressive stress. The faults did not propagate into intact rock in their own planes as shear fractures. Rather, adjacent faults were linked together by secondary, dilational fractures. Extensive secondary fracturing between faults produced larger fault zones that accommodate 10–100 m of left-lateral slip. As deformation progressed, faulting evolved from relatively short, closely spaced faults to longer, more widely spaced fault zones.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

A teleseismic analysis of the New Brunswick earthquake of January 9, 1982

The analysis of the New Brunswick earthquake of January 9, 1982, has important implications for the evaluation of seismic hazards in eastern North America. Although moderate in size ( m b 5.7), it was well-recorded teleseismically. Source characteristics of this earthquake have been determined from analysis of data that were digitally recorded by the Global Digital Seismograph Network. From broadband displacement and velocity records of P waves, we have obtained a dynamic description of the rupture process as well as conventional static properties of the source. The depth of the hypocenter is estimated to be 9 km from depth phases. The focal mechanism determined from the broadband data corresponds to predominantly thrust faulting. From the variation in the waveforms the direction of slip is inferred to be updip on a west dipping NNE striking fault plane. The steep dip of the inferred fault plane suggests that the earthquake occurred on a preexisting fault that was at one time a normal fault. From an inversion of bodywave pulse durations, the estimated rupture length is 5.5 km. Average properties of the rupture process were examined by a moment tensor analysis of long-period P and SH body waves. The long-period moment of this earthquake was 5.3 × 10 24 dyne cm. The static and dynamic stress drops are 41 and 65 bars, respectively, similar to those of many earthquakes with similar moment in regions that are more seismically active. The joint epicenter determination algorithm was used to locate, relative to the mainshock, the three teleseismically recorded aftershocks that occurred through March 31, 1982. The relocated hypocenters of the aftershocks are significantly different from each other and from that of the mainshock; they provide additional support for the source dimensions inferred from the waveform analysis.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Statistical averaging of marine magnetic anomalies and the aging of oceanic crust

Visual comparison of Mesozoic and Cenozoic magnetic anomalies in the North Pacific suggests that older anomalies contain less short-wavelength information than younger anomalies in this area. To test this observation, magnetic profiles from the North Pacific are examined from crust of three ages: 0–2.1, 29.3–33.1, and 64.9–70.3 m.y, B.P. For each time period, at least nine profiles were analyzed by (1) calculating the power density spectrum of each profile, (2) averaging the spectra together, and (3) computing a ‘recording filter’ for each time period by assuming a hypothetical seafloor model. The model assumes that the top of the source is acoustic basement, the source thickness is 0.5 km, and the time scale of geomagnetic reversals is according to Ness et al. (1980). The calculated power density spectra of the three recording filters are complex in shape but show an increase of attenuation of short-wavelength information as the crust ages. These results are interpreted using a multilayer model for marine magnetic anomalies in which the upper layer, corresponding to pillow basalt of seismic layer 2A, acts as a source of noise to the magnetic anomalies. As the ocean crust ages, this noisy contribution by the pillow basalts becomes less significant to the anomalies. Consequently, magnetic sources below layer 2A must be faithful recorders of geomagnetic reversals.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

In situ studies of velocity in fractured crystalline rocks

A study of the effects of macroscopic fractures on P and S wave velocities has been conducted in four wells drilled in granitic rock to depths between 0.6 and 1.2 km. The effect of macroscopic fractures is to decrease both V p and V s and increase V p / V s . In wells with a relatively low density of macroscopic fractures, the in situ velocity is similar to that of saturated core samples under confining pressure in the laboratory, and there is a clear correlation between zones with macroscopic fractures and anomalously low velocities. In wells with numerous macroscopic fractures, the in situ velocity is lower than that of intact samples under pressure, and there is a correlation between the rate at which in situ velocity increases with depth and the rate at which the velocity of laboratory samples increases with pressure. Differences in in situ P wave velocity between wells cannot be explained solely by differences in the degree of macroscopic fracturing, thus emphasizing the importance of composition and microcracks on velocity. In one highly fractured well the in situ P wave velocity is essentially the same for frequencies ranging from 10 Hz to 20 kHz; this suggests that the macrofractures affect velocity similarly over a broad frequency range. Chemical alteration of rock adjacent to macroscopic fractures appears to play an important role in reducing in situ velocities. Synthetic reflection seismograms generated from the velocity logs suggest that fracture zones are one possible source of deep-crustal reflectors observed on seismic reflection profiles.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Investigation of internal friction in fused quartz, steel, Plexiglass, and Westerly granite from 0.01 to 1.00 Hertz at 10-8 to 10-7 strain amplitude

A detailed evaluation on the method of internal friction measurement by the stress-strain hysteresis loop method from 0.01 to 1 Hz at 10 −8 to 10 −7 strain amplitude and 23.9°C is presented. Significant systematic errors in relative phase measurement can result from convex end surfaces of the sample and stress sensor and from end surface irregularities such as nicks and asperities. Preparation of concave end surfaces polished to optical smoothness having a radius of curvature >3.6×10 4 cm reduces the systematic error in relative phase measurements to <(5.5±2.2)×10 −4 radians. The values of Q E −1 (internal friction under uniaxial compression) determined from the relative phase measurements are | Q E −1 – Q s −1 |< 2.8×10 −3 for the tool steel sample and | Q E −1 – Q s −1 |< 2.2×10 −3 for the Westerly granite sample, where Q s −1 is the internal friction of the fused quartz stress sensor under uniaxial compression. These values are consistent with those inferred from the relative modulus dispersion data also presented in this paper. The polymethyl methacrylate (PMM, trade name Plexiglass) sample shows high values of internal friction ( Q E −1 ≅5×10 −2 ) with strong frequency dependence and with a maximum in Q E −1 at ≅0.4 Hz.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Crustal and upper mantle structure of the northern and central Sierra Nevada

Teleseismic data were recorded within the Sierra Nevada to look for lateral variations in the upper mantle. The data were collected at both temporary and permanent stations, and P wave residuals were computed. After correcting the P residual data for crustal and topographic effects, there is still a variation of as much as 0.5-0.6 s from the north end of the Sierra Nevada to Mono Lake, located east of the central part of the range. In addition, there are significant variations in travel time patterns, depending on the azimuth of wave arrivals. Two simple modeling approaches have been used to infer the upper mantle velocity structure from the observed variations in travel time. In the first, it is assumed that the velocity variations are distributed throughout a depth range of about 60–160 km. One model that fits the data indicates a north-to-south trend in upper mantle P velocities from about 7.9 km/s at the north end of the Sierra to 7.6 km/s near Mono Lake. Superimposed is a west-to-east trend from 7.85 km/s under the Sierra Nevada crest to 7.7 km/s east of Lake Tahoe. In the second modeling approach, a fixed velocity contrast is assumed between the lithosphere and asthenosphere with variations in travel time resulting from variations in lithospheric thickness. One model, consistent with the observations, indicates a thinning of the lithosphere from 110 km at the north end of the Sierra to 60 km near Mono Lake.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

The use of MAGSAT data to determine secular variation

A combined spatial and secular variation model of the geomagnetic field, labeled M061581, is derived from a selection of Magsat data. Secular variation (SV) data computed from linear fits to midnight hourly values from 19 magnetic observatories were also included in the analysis but were seen to have little effect on the model. The SV patterns from this new model are compared with those from the 1980 IGRF and with those for 1970 computed by the DGRF and with the 1960 patterns computed using the GSFC(12/66) model. Most of the features of the M061581 are identical in location and level with those of the 1980 IGRF. Together they confirm that the reversals in sign of field change seen over Asia and North America between 1965 and 1975 are reverting to the pre-1965 states. The M061581 model gives −32 nT/yr for the dipole decay rate, larger than the 70% increase already reported since 1965. This abnormally high value is interpreted as being a defect of the model because it appears to result from a much larger (−100 nT/yr) drop in field over the polar regions not indicated by the 1980 IGRF. This north polar decrease is shown to be of external origin as the result of a combination of the seasonal effect of the north polar ionospheric (counterclockwise) afternoon Sq p cell increasing in intensity from the beginning (November 1979) to the end (June 1980) of the Magsat data collection period, coupled with an enhancement of its effect as the orbit lowered from the 350– 550 km initial altitudes to near 200 km just prior to burnup. This experiment indicates that secular variation can be obtained from satellite data for intervals of less than a full year if corrections can be made for seasonal effects and that ‘annual snapshots’ of the field by a satellite would allow easy and accurate models of secular change without the use of any surface data.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

The 1979 Homestead Valley earthquake sequence, California: Control of aftershocks and postseismic deformation

The coseismic slip and geometry of the March 15, 1979, Homestead Valley, California, earthquake sequence are well constrained by precise horizontal and vertical geodetic observations and by data from a dense local seismic network. These observations indicate 0.52±0.10 m of right-lateral slip and 0.17±0.04 m of reverse slip on a buried vertical 6-km-long and 5-km-deep fault and yield a mean static stress drop of 7.2±1.3 MPa. The largest shock had M S = 5.6. Observations of the ground rupture revealed up to 0.1 m of right-lateral slip on two mapped faults that are subparallel to the modeled seismic slip plane. In the 1.9 years since the earthquakes, geodetic network displacements indicate that an additional 60±10 mm of postseismic creep took place. The rate of postseismic shear strain (0.53±0.13 μrad/yr) measured within a 30×30-km network centered on the principal events was anomalously high compared to its preearthquake value and the postseismic rate in the adjacent network. This transient cannot be explained by postseismic slip on the seismic fault but rather indicates that broadscale release of strain followed the earthquake sequence. We have calculated the postearthquake stress field caused by the modeled coseismic slip. We assume that failure is promoted when the sum of the shear stress plus 0.75 times the faultopening stress increases. Most aftershocks concentrate at points where the stresses are enhanced by 0.3 MPa (3 bars) or more; aftershocks are nearly absent where postearthquake stresses decrease by 0.3–0.5 MPa. Isolated off-fault clusters of aftershocks that locate at one fault length from the rupture plane are explainable by this hypothesis. We find that ground rupture and postseismic creep take place where near-surface stresses are calculated to increase within the preexisting fault zones. Two patches that extend 4 km from both ends of the seismic fault exhibited neither aftershocks nor measurable postseismic creep. The sensitivity of aftershocks and ground rupture to changes in stress that are less than 5% of the earthquake stress drop demonstrates that the region around the earthquakes was within a few percent of its failure threshold before the main shocks. The preearthquake stress field and the stress required for failure must also have been nearly uniform.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Subdivision of the Mg-suite noritic rocks into Mg-gabbronorites and Mg-norites

Mg-suite noritic rocks can be divided into two groups, the Mg-gabbronorites and the Mg-norites. The rocks of these groups differ in ratios of high-Ca pyroxene to total pyroxene, compositions of pyroxene and plagioclase, assemblages of Ti-, Nb-, and Zr-bearing minerals, compositions of chrome spinel, bulk-rock Ti/Sm and Sc/Sm, and measured ages. The two groups probably crystallized from different types of parent magmas. Two hypotheses are offered for the differences in composition of the parent magmas. One hypothesis ascribes the differences to compositional heterogeneity of the mantle source areas. The other hypothesis ascribes the differences to variations in extent of partial melting of the mantle source regions and variations in extent of assimilation of the anorthosite and the highly differentiated residual liquid that were produced during the primordial lunar differentiation.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Petrology and comparative thermal and mechanical histories of clasts in breccia 62236

Lunar breccia 62236 contains large lithic fragments of troctolite, norite, and anorthosite. The mafic phases, olivine, inverted pigeonite, and augite, fill interstitial areas between larger plagioclases and appear to be cumulate phases with extensive adcumulus growth. Pyroxene compositional homogeneity indicates that cation exchange during cooling was limited to an area of about 1 mm. Primary augite and pigeonite both contain 30 μm-wide lamellae of the other along ‘001’. Pigeonite inverted to orthopyroxene without retaining any crystallographic orientation and subsequently exsolved fine lamellae of augite on (100). Profiles across orthopyroxene-augite interfaces obtained in the analytical transmission electron microscope show an increase of ∼5% wollastonite in augite within 0.5 μm of the interface, suggesting that short-range cation exchange continued to temperatures below 500°C. The entire sample has undergone heterogeneous shock deformation. Shock melting of the troctolitic clast suggests pressures of 200–300 kb and well-developed basal twinning in augite from the norite clasts suggests pressures of 50–300 kbars. The present evidence indicates that 62236 contains parts of a slowly cooled microlayered adcumulate that has been heterogeneously shocked several times and combined into the present breccia.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Local gravity anomalies produced by dislocation sources

Rundle (1978) and Walsh and Rice (1979) have shown that the change in the vertical component of gravity is proportional to uplift for a spherical source of dilatation and for slip on an infinitely long dip-slip fault. In the first case, no free air gravity anomaly is produced and in the second case no Bouguer gravity anomaly. Gravity anomalies due to other dislocation sources in three dimensions are as follows: For strike-slip faulting the ratio of the gravity change to uplift depends upon position; however, the gravity change contours are roughly similar to those corresponding to a zero free air gravity anomaly. Nor is the ratio constant for dip-slip faulting except for the two special cases of dip slip on a vertical fault and horizontal slip on a horizontal fault, neither of which produce a Bouguer anomaly. The Bouguer anomaly produced by an open horizontal crack is the same as would be produced had the material within the crack been mined out without deforming the solid. If the horizontal crack were filled with material of density equal to the host rock (a good approximation to sill formation), no Bouguer anomaly is produced. For cracks of other inclinations the ratio of gravity change to uplift is not constant. Thus, dilatancy, in general, does not correspond to the absence of a free air anomaly, as might be suggested by the special case of a spherical source of dilatation. For two-dimensional models a cylindrical source of dilatation produces no free air gravity anomaly, dip-slip faulting produces no Bouguer anomaly, and open cracks produce a Bouguer anomaly equal to that which would be produced had the material within the crack been mined out without deforming the solid. A two-dimensional crack filled with material of density equal to that of the host rock would produce no Bouguer anomaly. Jachens et al. (1983) have reported temporal changes in gravity, elevation, and area strain along the San Andreas fault in southern California such that the Bouguer anomaly apparently remains unchanged and the uplift-to-strain ratio is about −100 km. Several dislocation mechanisms are proposed that fulfill these constraints, but these mechanisms appear to be rather contrived and are not regarded as satisfactory explanations.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Deformation of clinopyroxenite: Evidence for a transition in flow mechanisms and semibrittle behavior

A systematic suite of constant strain rate experiments was performed on a vacuum-dried, high-purity, fine-grained clinopyroxenite using NaCl and NaF as confining media in a Griggs-type piston-cylinder apparatus. The experiments were carried out over a range of temperatures from 400° to 1100°C, strain rates from 10 −3 to 10 −7 s −1 , and confining pressures from 170 to 1990 MPa. At T = 600°C and = 1.1 × 10 −5 s −1 , three modes of deformation occur with increasing confining pressure: (1) Macroscopic faulting associated with low strength and stress drops, (2) stable microfracturing and plastic deformation associated with pressure-dependent strength, and (3) plastic deformation (mechanical twinning and 〈001〉 slip) with high strengths which are insensitive to pressure variations. In experiments at P = 1500 MPa, within this high-pressure plastic mode, two regimes of flow are clearly defined. At low to intermediate temperatures and high strain rates, flow strengths are insensitive to changes in strain rate and temperature. Optical and transmission electron microscope observations indicate that plastic strain is accomplished by mechanical twinning on (100) and (001) and by {100}〈001〉 slip. In contrast, at high temperatures and low strain rates the flow stress is strongly dependent on temperature and strain rate. Specimens deformed in this regime show evidence of recovery, multiple slip, and recrystallization; and plastic strain is much more homogeneous. The flow data within each regime can be satisfactorily fit to thermally activated power laws. In the low-temperature regime n (the stress exponent) = 83 ± 16 and E * (the activation energy for flow) = 220 ± 40 kJ/mol. We believe that these parameters reflect flow dominated by the kinetics of dislocation glide associated with mechanical twinning and (100)〈001〉 slip. In the high-temperature regime, n = 5.3 ± 1.1 and E * = 380 ± 30 kJ/mol. These parameters describe creep by multiple slip accompanied by increased rates of diffusion and recovery.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Permeability of fault gouge under confining pressure and shear stress

The permeability of both clay-rich and non-clay gouges, as well as several pure clays, was studied as a function of confining pressures from 5 to 200 MPa and shear strain to 10. Permeability ranged over four orders of magnitude, from around 10 −22 to 10 −18 m 2 (1 darcy = 0.987 × 10 −12 m 2 ). The lowest values were characteristic of the montmorillonite-rich and finer grained non-clay gouges. Illite, kaolinite, and chlorite had intermediate permeabilities, while the highest values were typical of the serpentine and coarser grained non-clay gouges. Grain size was an important factor in determining permeability, particularly for the clay-rich samples. The coarse grained gouges were the most permeable and decreased in permeability after shearing. Conversely, the fine grained gouges had characteristically lower permeabilities that did not vary significantly after various amounts of shearing. The permeabilities of the non-clay samples were not significantly different than those of the clays. Therefore, comminuted rock flours can be equally as effective in reducing the flow of water as the characteristically low permeability clay gouges. The strengths of the samples were quite variable. The non-clay gouges were consistently the strongest, with yield points (beginning of nonelastic behavior) around 850 MPa, while montmorillonite had an anomalously low strength in relation to all the other gouges at 250 MPa. Strength of the saturated samples under drained (low pore pressure) conditions did not correlate with high or low permeability. However, the low permeabilities of these gouges could be a factor in the measured low shear stresses along fault regions if excess pore pressures were created as a result of shearing or compaction, and this pressure was unable to dissipate through a thick section of the material.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Modification of wave-cut and faulting-controlled landforms

From a casual observation that the form of degraded fault scarps resembles the error function, this investigation proceeds through an elementary diffusion equation representation of landform evolution to the application of the resulting equations to the modern topography of scarplike landforms. The morphologic observations can be analyzed either in the form of one or more cross-strike elevation profiles or in the form of the slope-offset plot, a point plot of maximum scarp slope versus scarp offset. Working with either or both of these data representations for nine geologic structures, which range in age from 3 to 400 ka B.P. and in offset from 1 to 50 m, we apply analytical solutions for the vertical initial value scarp, the vertical continuous offset scarp, and the finite slope, initial value scarp. The model calculations are intrinsically ambiguous, yielding as the final answer only the product κ t (in the case of the initial value problem) or the product κ A −1 (in the case of the repeated faulting problem); here t is the age of a single scarp-forming event, 2 A is the vertical slip rate, and κ is the “mass diffusivity.” A single profile across three sea cliffs along the Santa Cruz, California, coast is analyzed as three separate initial value problems. A reasonably constrained age for the sea cliff standing above the Highway 1 platform returns κ = 11 GKG (1 GKG = 1 m 2 /ka). With this κ, we can date the two older sea cliffs. In fact, we do the converse: age estimates for these two older sea cliffs based on a uniform rate of uplift both yield the same κ as for the lower sea cliff. We treat a single profile of the Raymond fault in Pasadena/San Marino in terms of the repeated faulting problem; for it the uplift rate of R. Crook and others yields κ = 16 GKG. The very substantial preexisting offset across the Raymond fault must have been buried/leveled some 230 ka B.P., when the modern topography began to form. Our analysis of the Lake Bonneville shoreline scarps reveals a dependence of κ t on 2a, suggestive of nonlinear modification processes. This appearance is treated with the finite slope initial value scarp model to determine κ=1.1 GKG for the Lake Bonneville shoreline scarps. The suggestion of M. N. Machette that approximately 100,000-year-old, meter-high scarps are “unobservable” in weakly consolidated alluvial terranes of the Basin and Range and Rio Grande Rift Valley provinces can be formulated as κ ≳ 1 GKG. The coincidence between this inequality and the Lake Bonneville shoreline κ is striking, and it suggests that the value of κ = 1 GKG may be generally applicable, as a good first approximation, to the modification of alluvial terranes within the semiarid regions of the western United States. The Lake Bonneville shoreline κ is the basis for dating four sets of fault scarps in west-central Utah. The Drum Mountains fault scarps can be modeled in several different circumstances, but the most likely interpretation is that these fault scarps formed as the result of a single episode of normal faulting 3.6 to 5.7 ka B.P. The younger age is associated with quite low initial slope angles (25°). The other three sets of fault scarps show no evidence for finite initial value slopes. Fault scarps along the eastern base of the Fish Springs Range are very young, 3 ka B.P. We estimate the age of fault scarps along the western flank of the Oquirrh Mountains to be 32 ka B.P., which meets the weak geologic constraint that they be older than the Lake Bonneville shoreline. Fault scarps along the northeastern margin of the Sheeprock Mountains are even older, 53 ka B.P. An intriguing consequence of our single-event analysis of these scarps is that an 11.5-m offset occurred in a single earthquake.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Spectral properties of ice‐particulate mixtures and implications for remote sensing: 1. Intimate mixtures

The spectral properties of water ice-particulate mixtures are studied for the purpose of deriving the ice and particulate abundances from remotely obtained spectra (particulates referring to nonicy materials in the form of grains). Reflectance levels and ice absorption band depths are a complex function of the single scattering albedo of the particulates embedded in the ice. The ice absorption band depths are related to the mean optical path length of photons in ice through Beers law, Fresnel reflection from the ice-crystal faces on the surface, and ice absorption coefficient as a function of wavelength. Laboratory spectra of many ice-particulate mixtures are studied with high-, medium-, and low-albedo particulates. From the laboratory spectra the band depth, the continuum reflectance, and the ratio of band depth to continuum reflectance are derived for each particulate albedo as a function of the logarithm of the particulate weight fraction in the sample. Ice band depths are dependent on the particulate albedo and increase with smaller weight fractions of particulates until the bands saturate and their depths decrease. The continuum reflectance is a complex function of the particulate albedo and wavelength of light, while the band depth to continuum reflectance ratio appear independent of particulate albedo such that, for a given grain size of particulate, a calibration curve to abundance of ice and particulates is derived. The derived abundance calibrations are accurate if the source of scattering is dominated by particulates and not ice-vacuum (air) interfaces. If ice-vacuum interfaces are dominant, then the derived particulate abundance is an upper limit. Theoretically produced frost spectra show similar curves of growth of band depth, continuum reflectance, and corresponding ratio versus the photon mean optical path length similar to that for intimate mixtures of ice and high-albedo particulates. In all scattering cases the ice absorption coefficients determine the path length needed to produce a given band depth; thus different absorptions are sensitive to different amounts of particulates, with the 3-μm fundamental being the most sensitive to the presence of ice (very low ice abundance) and the 1.04-μm overtone being the most sensitive to the presence of particulates (very high ice abundance).

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth↗