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Volcanic Areas (volcanic + area)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Earth and Environmental Science60%

Selected Abstracts

The Significance of Crust Structure and Continental Dynamics Inferred from Receiver Functions in West Yunnan

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 6 2009
HE Chuansong
Abstract: In our study we collected the teleseismic record of 31 broadband stations and 9 PASSCAL stations in West Yunnan, as well as extracted more than a million receiver functions. Using the waveform model and stacking techniques, we calculated the earth crust thicknesses and Vp/Vs ratios below the stations and obtained 35 valid data points. At the same time, we evenly stacked the receiver functions at the same station and superimposed the two profiles' cross sections of the main tectonic units. The results show a clear difference between the crust thicknesses of different tectonic units. Because of the magma underplatting and delimanition of the lower crust in the role of deep process, the West Yunnan's crust can be divided two kinds,mafic-ultramafic and feldspathic crusts. The research also shows that the mafic-ultramafic crust corresponds to a good background of mineralization. The delamination of the lower crust is one of the leading causes for moderate to strong earthquake prone in central Yunnan. The thinner crust and high velocity ratio as well as the multimodal structure of Ps in the Tengchong volcanic area confirms existence of a deep process of the strong magma underplating. Due to the basic crust structure and nature, it is believed that the Honghe fault is a main suture of the Gondwana and Eurasia continents. [source]

Principal features of impact-generated hydrothermal circulation systems: mineralogical and geochemical evidence

GEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2005
MIKHAIL V. NAUMOVArticle first published online: 14 JUL 200
Abstract Any hypervelocity impact generates a hydrothermal circulation system in resulting craters. Common characteristics of hydrothermal fluids mobilized within impact structures are considered, based on mineralogical and geochemical investigations, to date. There is similarity between the hydrothermal mineral associations in the majority of terrestrial craters; an assemblage of clay minerals,zeolites,calcite,pyrite is predominant. Combining mineralogical, geochemical, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope data, the distinctive characteristics of impact-generated hydrothermal fluids can be distinguished as follows: (i) superficial, meteoric and ground water and, possibly, products of dehydration and degassing of minerals under shock are the sources of hot water solutions; (ii) shocked target rocks are sources of the mineral components of the solutions; (iii) flow of fluids occurs mainly in the liquid state; (iv) high rates of flow are likely (10,4 to 10,3 m s,1); (v) fluids are predominantly aqueous and of low salinity; (vi) fluids are weakly alkaline to near-neutral (pH 6,8) and are supersaturated in silica during the entire hydrothermal process because of the strong predominance of shock-disordered aluminosilicates and fusion glasses in the host rocks; and (vii) variations in the properties of the circulating solutions, as well as the spatial distribution of secondary mineral assemblages are controlled by tempera ure gradients within the circulation cell and by a progressive cooling of the impact crater. Products of impact-generated hydrothermal processes are similar to the hydrothermal mineralization in volcanic areas, as well as in modern geothermal systems, but impacts are always characterized by a retrograde sequence of alteration minerals. [source]

ON THE GEOCHRONOLOGICAL METHOD VERSUS FLOW SIMULATION SOFTWARE APPLICATION FOR LAHAR RISK MAPPING: A CASE STUDY OF POPOCATÉPETL VOLCANO, MEXICO

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2010
ESPERANZA MUÑOZ-SALINAS
ABSTRACT. Lahars are hazardous events that can cause serious damage to people who live close to volcanic areas; several were registered at different times in the last century, such as at Mt St Helens (USA) in 1980, Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) in 1985 and Mt Pinatubo (Philippines) in 1990. Risk maps are currently used by decision-makers to help them plan to mitigate the hazard-risk of lahars. Risk maps are acquired based on a series of tenets that take into account the distribution and chronology of past lahar deposits, and basically two approaches have been used: (1) The use of Flow Simulation Software (FSS), which simulates flows along channels in a Digital Elevation Model and (2) The Geochronological Method (GM), in which the mapping is based on the evaluation of lahar magnitude and frequency. This study addresses the production of a lahar risk map using the two approaches (FSS and GM) for a study area located at Popocatépetl volcano , Central Mexico. Santiago Xalitzintla, a town located on the northern flank of Popocatépetl volcano, where volcanic activity in recent centuries has triggered numerous lahars that have endangered local inhabitants, has been used for the case study. Results from FSS did not provide satisfactory findings because they were not consistent with lahar sediment observations made during fieldwork. By contrast, the GM produced results consistent with these observations, and therefore we use them to assess the hazard and produce the risk map for the study area. [source]

The hydroelectric problem of porous rocks: inversion of the position of the water table from self-potential data

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2004
A. Revil
SUMMARY The self-potential (SP) method is a fast and cheap reconnaissance tool sensitive to ground water flow in unconfined aquifers. A model based on the use of Green's functions for the coupled hydroelectric problem yields an integral equation relating the SP field to the distribution of the piezometric head describing the phreatic surface and to the electrical resistivity contrast through this phreatic surface. We apply this model to SP data measured on the south flank of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, a large shield volcano located on Réunion island, Indian ocean. The phreatic surface, inverted with the help of the Simplex algorithm from the SP data, agrees well with the available information in this area [one borehole and electromagnetic (EM) data]. This interpretation scheme, which we call electrography, has many applications to the crucial problem of water supply in volcanic areas where drilling is expensive. [source]

Non-impact origin of the crater-like structures in the Gilf Kebir area (Egypt): Implications for the geology of eastern Sahara

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 10 2008
Letizia ORTI
It has been previously suggested that they could be the result of meteoritic impacts. Here we outline the results of our geological and geophysical survey in the area. The proposed impact origin for these structures is not supported by our observations and analyses, and we suggest an alternative interpretation. The crater-like structures in Gilf Kebir area are likely related to endogenic processes typical of hydrothermal vent complexes in volcanic areas which may reflect the emplacement of subvolcanic intrusives. [source]