USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
USGS2009

Elastic wave speeds and moduli in polycrystalline ice Ih, si methane hydrate, and sll methane-ethane hydrate

We used ultrasonic pulse transmission to measure compressional, P, and shear, S, wave speeds in laboratory-formed polycrystalline ice Ih, si methane hydrate, and sll methane-ethane hydrate. From the wave speed's linear dependence on temperature and pressure and from the sample's calculated density, we derived expressions for bulk, shear, and compressional wave moduli and Poisson's ratio from -20 to 15??C and 22.4 to 32.8 MPa for ice Ih, -20 to 15??C and 30.5 to 97.7 MPa for si methane hydrate, and -20 to 10??C and 30.5 to 91.6 MPa for sll methane-ethane hydrate. All three materials had comparable P and S wave speeds and decreasing shear wave speeds with increasing applied pressure. Each material also showed evidence of rapid intergranular bonding, with a corresponding increase in wave speed, in response to pauses in sample deformation. There were also key differences. Resistance to uniaxial compaction, indicated by the pressure required to compact initially porous samples, was significantly lower for ice Ih than for either hydrate. The ice Ih shear modulus decreased with increasing pressure, in contrast to the increase measured in both hydrates ?? 2009.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

Moderate rates of late Quaternary slip along the northwestern margin of the Basin and Range Province, Surprise Valley fault, northeastern California

The 86-km-long Surprise Valley normal fault forms part of the active northwestern margin of the Basin and Range province in northeastern California. We use trench mapping and radiocarbon, luminescence, and tephra dating to estimate displacements and timing of the past five surface-rupturing earthquakes on the central part of the fault near Cedarville. A Bayesian OxCal analysis of timing constraints indicates earthquake times of 18.2 ± 2.6, 10.9 ± 3.2, 8.5 ± 0.5, 5.8 ± 1.5, and 1.2 ± 0.1 ka. These data yield recurrence intervals of 7.3 ± 4.1, 2.5 ± 3.2, 2.7 ± 1.6, and 4.5 ± 1.5 ka and an elapsed time of 1.2 ± 0.1 ka since the latest surface-rupturing earthquake. Our best estimate of latest Quaternary vertical slip rate is 0.6 ?? 0.1 mm/a. This late Quaternary rate is remarkably similar to long-term (8-14 Ma) minimum vertical slip rates (>0.4-0.5 ± 0.3 mm/a) calculated from recently acquired seismic reflection and chronologic and structural data in Surprise Valley and the adjacent Warner Mountains. However, our slip rate yields estimates of extension that are lower than recent campaign GPS determinations by factors of 1.5-4 unless the fault has an unusually shallow (30°-35°) dip as suggested by recently acquired seismic reflection data. Coseismic displacements of 2-4.5 ± 1 m documented in the trench and probable rupture lengths of 53-65 km indicate a history of latest Quaternary earthquakes of M 6.8-7.3 on the central part of the. Surprise Valley fault.

California↗
USGS2009

Thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments

A thorough understanding of the thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments is necessary for evaluating phase transformation processes that would accompany energy production from gas hydrate deposits and for estimating regional heat flow based on the observed depth to the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. The coexistence of multiple phases (gas hydrate, liquid and gas pore fill, and solid sediment grains) and their complex spatial arrangement hinder the a priori prediction of the thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediments. Previous studies have been unable to capture the full parameter space covered by variations in grain size, specific surface, degree of saturation, nature of pore filling material, and effective stress for hydrate-bearing samples. Here we report on systematic measurements of the thermal conductivity of air dry, water- and tetrohydrofuran (THF)-saturated, and THF hydrate–saturated sand and clay samples at vertical effective stress of 0.05 to 1 MPa (corresponding to depths as great as 100 m below seafloor). Results reveal that the bulk thermal conductivity of the samples in every case reflects a complex interplay among particle size, effective stress, porosity, and fluid-versus-hydrate filled pore spaces. The thermal conductivity of THF hydrate–bearing soils increases upon hydrate formation although the thermal conductivities of THF solution and THF hydrate are almost the same. Several mechanisms can contribute to this effect including cryogenic suction during hydrate crystal growth and the ensuing porosity reduction in the surrounding sediment, increased mean effective stress due to hydrate formation under zero lateral strain conditions, and decreased interface thermal impedance as grain-liquid interfaces are transformed into grain-hydrate interfaces.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

Gas hydrate saturations estimated from fractured reservoir at Site NGHP-01-10, Krishna-Godavari Basin, India

During the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-Ol), one of the richest marine gas hydrate accumulations was discovered at Site NGHP-01-10 in the Krishna-Godavari Basin. The occurrence of concentrated gas hydrate at this site is primarily controlled by the presence of fractures. Assuming the resistivity of gas hydratebearing sediments is isotropic, th?? conventional Archie analysis using the logging while drilling resistivity log yields gas hydrate saturations greater than 50% (as high as ???80%) of the pore space for the depth interval between ???25 and ???160 m below seafloor. On the other hand, gas hydrate saturations estimated from pressure cores from nearby wells were less than ???26% of the pore space. Although intrasite variability may contribute to the difference, the primary cause of the saturation difference is attributed to the anisotropic nature of the reservoir due to gas hydrate in high-angle fractures. Archie's law can be used to estimate gas hydrate saturations in anisotropic reservoir, with additional information such as elastic velocities to constrain Archie cementation parameters m and the saturation exponent n. Theory indicates that m and n depend on the direction of the measurement relative to fracture orientation, as well as depending on gas hydrate saturation. By using higher values of m and n in the resistivity analysis for fractured reservoirs, the difference between saturation estimates is significantly reduced, although a sizable difference remains. To better understand the nature of fractured reservoirs, wireline P and S wave velocities were also incorporated into the analysis.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

Microseismicity at the North Anatolian Fault in the Sea of Marmara offshore Istanbul, NW Turkey

The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) below the Sea of Marmara forms a “seismic gap” where a major earthquake is expected to occur in the near future. This segment of the fault lies between the 1912 Ganos and 1999 İzmit ruptures and is the only NAFZ segment that has not ruptured since 1766. To monitor the microseismic activity at the main fault branch offshore of Istanbul below the Çınarcık Basin, a permanent seismic array (PIRES) was installed on the two outermost Prince Islands, Yassiada and Sivriada, at a few kilometers distance to the fault. In addition, a temporary network of ocean bottom seismometers was deployed throughout the Çınarcık Basin. Slowness vectors are determined combining waveform cross correlation and P wave polarization. We jointly invert azimuth and traveltime observations for hypocenter determination and apply a bootstrap resampling technique to quantify the location precision. We observe seismicity rates of 20 events per month for M < 2.5 along the basin. The spatial distribution of hypocenters suggests that the two major fault branches bounding the depocenter below the Çınarcık Basin merge to one single master fault below ∼17 km depth. On the basis of a cross-correlation technique we group closely spaced earthquakes and determine composite focal mechanisms implementing recordings of surrounding permanent land stations. Fault plane solutions have a predominant right-lateral strike-slip mechanism, indicating that normal faulting along this part of the NAFZ plays a minor role. Toward the west we observe increasing components of thrust faulting. This supports the model of NW trending, dextral strike-slip motion along the northern and main branch of the NAFZ below the eastern Sea of Marmara.

Istanbul↗
USGS2009

On near-source earthquake triggering

[1] When one earthquake triggers others nearby, what connects them? Two processes are observed: static stress change from fault offset and dynamic stress changes from passing seismic waves. In the near-source region ( r ≤ 50 km for M ∼ 5 sources) both processes may be operating, and since both mechanisms are expected to raise earthquake rates, it is difficult to isolate them. We thus compare explosions with earthquakes because only earthquakes cause significant static stress changes. We find that large explosions at the Nevada Test Site do not trigger earthquakes at rates comparable to similar magnitude earthquakes. Surface waves are associated with regional and long-range dynamic triggering, but we note that surface waves with low enough frequency to penetrate to depths where most aftershocks of the 1992 M = 5.7 Little Skull Mountain main shock occurred (∼12 km) would not have developed significant amplitude within a 50-km radius. We therefore focus on the best candidate phases to cause local dynamic triggering, direct waves that pass through observed near-source aftershock clusters. We examine these phases, which arrived at the nearest (200–270 km) broadband station before the surface wave train and could thus be isolated for study. Direct comparison of spectral amplitudes of presurface wave arrivals shows that M ∼ 5 explosions and earthquakes deliver the same peak dynamic stresses into the near-source crust. We conclude that a static stress change model can readily explain observed aftershock patterns, whereas it is difficult to attribute near-source triggering to a dynamic process because of the dearth of aftershocks near large explosions.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

The 2006-2007 Kuril Islands great earthquake sequence

[1] The southwestern half of a ∼500 km long seismic gap in the central Kuril Island arc subduction zone experienced two great earthquakes with extensive preshock and aftershock sequences in late 2006 to early 2007. The nature of seismic coupling in the gap had been uncertain due to the limited historical record of prior large events and the presence of distinctive upper plate, trench and outer rise structures relative to adjacent regions along the arc that have experienced repeated great interplate earthquakes in the last few centuries. The intraplate region seaward of the seismic gap had several shallow compressional events during the preceding decades (notably an M S 7.2 event on 16 March 1963), leading to speculation that the interplate fault was seismically coupled. This issue was partly resolved by failure of the shallow portion of the interplate megathrust in an M W = 8.3 thrust event on 15 November 2006. This event ruptured ∼250 km along the seismic gap, just northeast of the great 1963 Kuril Island (M w = 8.5) earthquake rupture zone. Within minutes of the thrust event, intense earthquake activity commenced beneath the outer wall of the trench seaward of the interplate rupture, with the larger events having normal-faulting mechanisms. An unusual double band of interplate and intraplate aftershocks developed. On 13 January 2007, an M W = 8.1 extensional earthquake ruptured within the Pacific plate beneath the seaward edge of the Kuril trench. This event is the third largest normal-faulting earthquake seaward of a subduction zone on record, and its rupture zone extended to at least 33 km depth and paralleled most of the length of the 2006 rupture. The 13 January 2007 event produced stronger shaking in Japan than the larger thrust event, as a consequence of higher short-period energy radiation from the source. The great event aftershock sequences were dominated by the expected faulting geometries; thrust faulting for the 2006 rupture zone, and normal faulting for the 2007 rupture zone. A large intraplate compressional event occurred on 15 January 2009 (M w = 7.4) near 45 km depth, below the rupture zone of the 2007 event and in the vicinity of the 16 March 1963 compressional event. The fault geometry, rupture process and slip distributions of the two great events are estimated using very broadband teleseismic body and surface wave observations. The occurrence of the thrust event in the shallowest portion of the interplate fault in a region with a paucity of large thrust events at greater depths suggests that the event removed most of the slip deficit on this portion of the interplate fault. This great earthquake doublet demonstrates the heightened seismic hazard posed by induced intraplate faulting following large interplate thrust events. Future seismic failure of the remainder of the seismic gap appears viable, with the northeastern region that has also experienced compressional activity seaward of the megathrust warranting particular attention.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Correction to “Constraints on the stress state of the San Andreas Fault with analysis based on core and cuttings from San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) drilling phases 1 and 2”

This article corrects: Constraints on the stress state of the San Andreas Fault with analysis based on core and cuttings from San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) drilling phases 1 and 2. Vol. 114, Issue B11, Article first published online: 5 NOV 2009.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

Experimental study of near-field air entrainment by subsonic volcanic jets

The flow structure in the developing region of a turbulent jet has been examined using particle image velocimetry methods, considering the flow at steady state conditions. The velocity fields were integrated to determine the ratio of the entrained air speed to the jet speed, which was approximately 0.03 for a range of Mach numbers up to 0.89 and Reynolds numbers up to 217,000. This range of experimental Mach and Reynolds numbers is higher than previously considered for high-accuracy entrainment measures, particularly in the near-vent region. The entrainment values are below those commonly used for geophysical analyses of volcanic plumes, suggesting that existing 1-D models are likely to understate the tendency for column collapse.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

Composition and variation of noise recorded at the Yellowknife Seismic Array, 1991-2007

We analyze seismic noise recorded on the 18 short-period, vertical component seismometers of the Yellowknife Seismic Array (YKA). YKA has an aperture of 23 km and is sited on cratonic lithosphere in an area with low cultural noise. These properties make it ideal for studying natural seismic noise at periods of 1-3 s. We calculated frequency-wave number spectra in this band for over 6,000 time windows that were extracted once per day for 17 years (1991-2007). Slowness analysis reveals a rich variety of seismic phases originating from distinct source regions: R g waves from the Great Slave Lake; L g waves from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans; and teleseismic P waves from the north Pacific and equatorial mid-Atlantic regions. The surface wave energy is generated along coastlines, while the body wave energy is generated at least in part in deep-water, pelagic regions. Surface waves tend to dominate at the longer periods and, just as in earthquake seismograms, L g is the most prominent arrival. Although the periods we study are slightly shorter than the classic double-frequency microseismic band of 4-10 s, the noise at YKA has clear seasonal behavior that is consistent with the ocean wave climate in the Northern Hemisphere. The temporal variation of most of the noise sources can be well fit using just two Fourier components: yearly and biyearly terms that combine to give a fast rise in microseismic power from mid-June through mid-October, followed by a gradual decline. The exception is the R g energy from the Great Slave Lake, which shows a sharp drop in noise power over a 2-week period in November as the lake freezes. The L g noise from the east has a small but statistically significant positive slope, perhaps implying increased ocean wave activity in the North Atlantic over the last 17 years. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Rheologic and structural controls on the deformation of Okmok volcano, Alaska: FEMs, InSAR, and ambient noise tomography

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data indicate that the caldera of Okmok volcano, Alaska, subsided more than a meter during its eruption in 1997. The large deformation suggests a relatively shallow magma reservoir beneath Okmok. Seismic tomography using ambient ocean noise reveals two low‐velocity zones (LVZs). The shallow LVZ corresponds to a region of weak, fluid‐saturated materials within the caldera and extends from the caldera surface to a depth of 2 km. The deep LVZ clearly indicates the presence of the magma reservoir beneath Okmok that is significantly deeper (>4 km depth) compared to previous geodetic‐based estimates (3 km depth). The deep LVZ associated with the magma reservoir suggests magma remains in a molten state between eruptions. We construct finite element models (FEMs) to simulate deformation caused by mass extraction from a magma reservoir that is surrounded by a viscoelastic rind of country rock embedded in an elastic domain that is partitioned to account for the weak caldera materials observed with tomography. This configuration allows us to reduce the estimated magma reservoir depressurization to within lithostatic constraints, while simultaneously maintaining the magnitude of deformation required to predict the InSAR data. More precisely, the InSAR data are best predicted by an FEM simulating a rind viscosity of 7.5 × 10 16 Pa s and a mass flux of −4.2 × 10 9 kg/d from the magma reservoir. The shallow weak layer within the caldera provides a coeruption stress regime and neutral buoyancy horizon that support lateral magma propagation from the central magma reservoir to extrusion near the rim of the caldera.

Alaska↗
USGS2010

Inelastic off-fault response and three-dimensional dynamics of earthquake rupture on a strike-slip fault

Large dynamic stress off the fault incurs an inelastic response and energy loss, which contributes to the fracture energy, limiting the rupture and slip velocity. Using an explicit finite element method, we model three-dimensional dynamic ruptures on a vertical strike-slip fault in a homogeneous half-space. The material is subjected to a pressure-dependent Drucker-Prager yield criterion. Initial stresses in the medium increase linearly with depth. Our simulations show that the inelastic response is confined narrowly to the fault at depth. There the inelastic strain is induced by large dynamic stresses associated with the rupture front that overcome the effect of the high confining pressure. The inelastic zone increases in size as it nears the surface. For material with low cohesion (~5 MPa) the inelastic zone broadens dramatically near the surface, forming a "flowerlike" structure. The near-surface inelastic strain occurs in both the extensional and the compressional regimes of the fault, induced by seismic waves ahead of the rupture front under a low confining pressure. When cohesion is large (~10 MPa), the inelastic strain is significantly reduced near the surface and confined mostly to depth. Cohesion, however, affects the inelastic zone at depth less significantly. The induced shear microcracks show diverse orientations near the surface, owing to the low confining pressure, but exhibit mostly horizontal slip at depth. The inferred rupture-induced anisotropy at depth has the fast wave direction along the direction of the maximum compressive stress.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Effect of clay content and mineralogy on frictional sliding behavior of simulated gouges: binary and ternary mixtures of quartz, illite, and montmorillonite

We investigated the frictional sliding behavior of simulated quartz-clay gouges under stress conditions relevant to seismogenic depths. Conventional triaxial compression tests were conducted at 40 MPa effective normal stress on saturated saw cut samples containing binary and ternary mixtures of quartz, montmorillonite, and illite. In all cases, frictional strengths of mixtures fall between the end-members of pure quartz (strongest) and clay (weakest). The overall trend was a decrease in strength with increasing clay content. In the illite/quartz mixture the trend was nearly linear, while in the montmorillonite mixtures a sigmoidal trend with three strength regimes was noted. Microstructural observations were performed on the deformed samples to characterize the geometric attributes of shear localization within the gouge layers. Two micromechanical models were used to analyze the critical clay fractions for the two-regime transitions on the basis of clay porosity and packing of the quartz grains. The transition from regime 1 (high strength) to 2 (intermediate strength) is associated with the shift from a stress-supporting framework of quartz grains to a clay matrix embedded with disperse quartz grains, manifested by the development of P-foliation and reduction in Riedel shear angle. The transition from regime 2 (intermediate strength) to 3 (low strength) is attributed to the development of shear localization in the clay matrix, occurring only when the neighboring layers of quartz grains are separated by a critical clay thickness. Our mixture data relating strength degradation to clay content agree well with strengths of natural shear zone materials obtained from scientific deep drilling projects.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2009

Mapping Curie temperature depth in the western United States with a fractal model for crustal magnetization

We have revisited the problem of mapping depth to the Curie temperature isotherm from magnetic anomalies in an attempt to provide a measure of crustal temperatures in the western United States. Such methods are based on the estimation of the depth to the bottom of magnetic sources, which is assumed to correspond to the temperature at which rocks lose their spontaneous magnetization. In this study, we test and apply a method based on the spectral analysis of magnetic anomalies. Early spectral analysis methods assumed that crustal magnetization is a completely uncorrelated function of position. Our method incorporates a more realistic representation where magnetization has a fractal distribution defined by three independent parameters: the depths to the top and bottom of magnetic sources and a fractal parameter related to the geology. The predictions of this model are compatible with radial power spectra obtained from aeromagnetic data in the western United States. Model parameters are mapped by estimating their value within a sliding window swept over the study area. The method works well on synthetic data sets when one of the three parameters is specified in advance. The application of this method to western United States magnetic compilations, assuming a constant fractal parameter, allowed us to detect robust long-wavelength variations in the depth to the bottom of magnetic sources. Depending on the geologic and geophysical context, these features may result from variations in depth to the Curie temperature isotherm, depth to the mantle, depth to the base of volcanic rocks, or geologic settings that affect the value of the fractal parameter. Depth to the bottom of magnetic sources shows several features correlated with prominent heat flow anomalies. It also shows some features absent in the map of heat flow. Independent geophysical and geologic data sets are examined to determine their origin, thereby providing new insights on the thermal and geologic crustal structure of the western United States.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Kiholo Bay, Hawaii, earthquake sequence of 2006: Relationship of the main shock slip with locations and source parameters of aftershocks

We study the source process of the Kīholo Bay earthquake ( M W 6.7), which occurred beneath the northwest part of the Island of Hawai‘i on 15 October 2006, and static stress drops of small earthquakes that occurred in 2006 and 2007 around the main shock including aftershocks. We relocate the aftershocks to determine the fault plane from the two nodal planes. The relocated aftershocks define an E‐W trending plane that dips to the south, in good agreement with one of the nodal planes given by the Global Centroid Moment Tensor solution. Waveform inversion is performed with multiple time windows to investigate the rupture speed and the slip distribution of the main shock. Waveforms of an aftershock with M W 5.2 are used to calculate empirical Green's functions. Our results indicate that the rupture propagated unilaterally to the west with a rupture speed greater than 3.0 km/s (63% of the shear wave velocity). This westward rupture is consistent with the fact that aftershocks are distributed predominantly to the west of the main shock epicenter. Most aftershocks are located on the edge of patches with a large slip, or asperities and some also occur inside the patches. We also estimate static stress drops of 39 earthquakes (2.5 < M L < 3.5) that occurred in 2006 and 2007 near the source region of the Kīholo Bay earthquake. Static stress drops range from 0.12 to 8.6 MPa and aftershocks around large slip patches of the main shock likely to have larger stress drops.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Supraslab earthquake clusters above the subduction plate boundary offshore Sanriku, northeastern Japan: Seismogenesis in a graveyard of detached seamounts?

Thousands of offshore repeating earthquakes with low‐angle thrust focal mechanisms occur along the subduction plate boundary of NE Japan. Double‐difference relocation methods using P ‐ and S ‐wave arrivals reveal clusters of events above these repeating events. To assure good depth control we restrict our study to events that are close to seismic stations. These “supraslab” earthquake clusters are regional features at depths of 25 to 50 km, and most of these clusters are below the depth of the forearc Moho, which we determined from converted waves. Seismicity over this depth range does not occur under the inland area of NE Japan except just below the vicinity of the arc volcanoes. Re‐entrants in the inner trench slope indicate that repeated collisions of seamounts have occurred in the past. Our preliminary interpretation of supraslab clusters is that they represent seismicity in seamounts detached from the Pacific plate during slab descent, driven by the resistance of seamounts to subduction. Detachment during slab descent probably occurs on the sedimented and hydrothermally altered seafloor on which seamounts were originally constructed since these are known as zones of weakness during active island growth. High fluid pressure produced during dehydration of clay minerals and other low‐temperature hydrous minerals could enable detachment at depths. Seamount crust is thus accreted to forearcs, possibly leading to a long‐term component of near‐coastal uplift. Supraslab earthquake clusters may be our most direct evidence of the fates of seamounts and suggest that tectonic underplating is actively occurring in this subduction system.

Northeastern Japan↗
USGS2010

Coherence of Mach fronts during heterogeneous supershear earthquake rupture propagation: Simulations and comparison with observations

We study how heterogeneous rupture propagation affects the coherence of shear and Rayleigh Mach wavefronts radiated by supershear earthquakes. We address this question using numerical simulations of ruptures on a planar, vertical strike-slip fault embedded in a three-dimensional, homogeneous, linear elastic half-space. Ruptures propagate spontaneously in accordance with a linear slip-weakening friction law through both homogeneous and heterogeneous initial shear stress fields. In the 3-D homogeneous case, rupture fronts are curved owing to interactions with the free surface and the finite fault width; however, this curvature does not greatly diminish the coherence of Mach fronts relative to cases in which the rupture front is constrained to be straight, as studied by Dunham and Bhat (2008a). Introducing heterogeneity in the initial shear stress distribution causes ruptures to propagate at speeds that locally fluctuate above and below the shear wave speed. Calculations of the Fourier amplitude spectra (FAS) of ground velocity time histories corroborate the kinematic results of Bizzarri and Spudich (2008a): (1) The ground motion of a supershear rupture is richer in high frequency with respect to a subshear one. (2) When a Mach pulse is present, its high frequency content overwhelms that arising from stress heterogeneity. Present numerical experiments indicate that a Mach pulse causes approximately an ω −1.7 high frequency falloff in the FAS of ground displacement. Moreover, within the context of the employed representation of heterogeneities and over the range of parameter space that is accessible with current computational resources, our simulations suggest that while heterogeneities reduce peak ground velocity and diminish the coherence of the Mach fronts, ground motion at stations experiencing Mach pulses should be richer in high frequencies compared to stations without Mach pulses. In contrast to the foregoing theoretical results, we find no average elevation of 5%-damped absolute response spectral accelerations (SA) in the period band 0.05–0.4 s observed at stations that presumably experienced Mach pulses during the 1979 Imperial Valley, 1999 Kocaeli, and 2002 Denali Fault earthquakes compared to SA observed at non-Mach pulse stations in the same earthquakes. A 20% amplification of short period SA is seen only at a few of the Imperial Valley stations closest to the fault. This lack of elevated SA suggests that either Mach pulses in real earthquakes are even more incoherent that in our simulations or that Mach pulses are vulnerable to attenuation through nonlinear soil response. In any case, this result might imply that current engineering models of high frequency earthquake ground motions do not need to be modified by more than 20% close to the fault to account for Mach pulses, provided that the existing data are adequately representative of ground motions from supershear earthquakes.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Glimpses of East Antarctica: Aeromagnetic and satellite magnetic view from the central Transantarctic Mountains of East Antarctica

Aeromagnetic and satellite magnetic data provide glimpses of the crustal architecture within the Ross Sea sector of the enigmatic, ice-covered East Antarctic shield critical for understanding both global tectonic and climate history. In the central Transantarctic Mountains (CTAM), exposures of Precambrian basement, coupled with new high-resolution magnetic data, other recent aeromagnetic transects, and satellite magnetic and seismic tomography data, show that the shield in this region comprises an Archean craton modified both by Proterozoic magmatism and early Paleozoic orogenic basement reactivation. CTAM basement structures linked to the Ross Orogeny are imaged 50–100 km farther west than previously mapped, bounded by inboard upper crustal Proterozoic granites of the Nimrod igneous province. Magnetic contrasts between craton and rift margin sediments define the Neoproterozoic rift margin, likely reactivated during Ross orogenesis and Jurassic extension. Interpretation of satellite magnetic and aeromagnetic patterns suggests that the Neoproterozoic rift margin of East Antarctica is offset by transfer zones to form a stepwise series of salients tracing from the CTAM northward through the western margin of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin to the coast at Terre Adélie. Thinned Precambrian crust inferred to lie east of the rift margin cannot be imaged magnetically because of modification by Neoproterozoic and younger tectonic events.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗