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The role of water in gas hydrate dissociation The role of water in gas hydrate dissociation

When raised to temperatures above the ice melting point, gas hydrates release their gas in well-defined, reproducible events that occur within self-maintained temperature ranges slightly below the ice point. This behavior is observed for structure I (carbon dioxide, methane) and structure II gas hydrates (methane-ethane, and propane), including those formed with either H2O- or D2O-host...
Authors
S. Circone, L.A. Stern, S. H. Kirby

Evidence for liquefaction identified in peeled slices of Holocene deposits along the Lower Columbia River, Washington Evidence for liquefaction identified in peeled slices of Holocene deposits along the Lower Columbia River, Washington

Peels made from 10 geoslices beneath a riverbank at Washington's Hunting Island, 45 km inland from the Pacific coast, aid in identifying sand that liquefied during prehistoric earthquakes of estimated magnitude 8-9 at the Cascadia subduction zone. Each slice was obtained by driving sheetpile and a shutter plate to depths of 6-8 m. The resulting sample, as long as 8 m, had a trapezoidal...
Authors
K. Takada, B.F. Atwater

Stress field variations in the Swiss Alps and the northern Alpine foreland derived from inversion of fault plane solutions Stress field variations in the Swiss Alps and the northern Alpine foreland derived from inversion of fault plane solutions

This study is devoted to a systematic analysis of the state of stress of the central European Alps and northern Alpine foreland in Switzerland based on focal mechanisms of 138 earthquakes with magnitudes between 1 and 5. The most robust feature of the results is that the azimuth of the minimum compressive stress, S3, is generally well constrained for all data subsets and always lies in...
Authors
U. Kastrup, M.L. Zoback, N. Deichmann, Kenneth F. Evans, D. Giardini, A.J. Michael

Inverse kinematic and forward dynamic models of the 2002 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska Inverse kinematic and forward dynamic models of the 2002 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska

We perform inverse kinematic and forward dynamic models of the M 7.9 2002 Denali fault, Alaska, earthquake to shed light on the rupture process and dynamics of this event, which took place on a geometrically complex fault system in central Alaska. We use a combination of local seismic and Global Positioning System (GPS) data for our kinematic inversion and find that the slip distribution...
Authors
D. D. Oglesby, Douglas S. Dreger, R.A. Harris, N. Ratchkovski, R. Hansen

Depth to the Juan de Fuca slab beneath the Cascadia subduction margin– A 3-D model for sorting earthquakes Depth to the Juan de Fuca slab beneath the Cascadia subduction margin– A 3-D model for sorting earthquakes

We present an updated model of the Juan de Fuca slab beneath southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and northern California, and use this model to separate earthquakes occurring above and below the slab surface. The model is based on depth contours previously published by Fluck and others (1997). Our model attempts to rectify a number of shortcomings in the original model and...
Authors
Patricia A. McCrory, J. Luke Blair, David H. Oppenheimer, Stephen R. Walter

Photomosaics and logs of trenches on the San Andreas Fault, Thousand Palms Oasis, California Photomosaics and logs of trenches on the San Andreas Fault, Thousand Palms Oasis, California

We present photomosaics and logs of the walls of trenches excavated for a paleoseismic study at Thousand Palms Oasis (Fig. 1). The site is located on the Mission Creek strand of the San Andreas fault zone, one of two major active strands of the fault in the Indio Hills along the northeast margin of the Coachella Valley (Fig. 2). The Coachella Valley section is the most poorly understood...
Authors
Thomas E. Fumal, William T. Frost, Christopher Garvin, John C. Hamilton, Monique Jaasma, Michael J. Rymer

Photomosaics and logs of trenches on the San Andreas Fault at Arano Flat near Watsonville, California Photomosaics and logs of trenches on the San Andreas Fault at Arano Flat near Watsonville, California

We present photomosaics and logs of the walls of trenches excavated for a paleoseismic study at Arano Flat, one of two sites along the San Andreas fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Kelley-Thompson Ranch. At this location, the fault consists of a narrow zone along the northeast side of a low ridge adjacent to a possible sag pond and extends about 60-70 meters across a broad...
Authors
Thomas E. Fumal, Gordon F. Heingartner, Laura Samrad, Timothy E. Dawson, John C. Hamilton, John N. Baldwin

Thermal and chemical variations in subcrustal cratonic lithosphere: Evidence from crustal isostasy Thermal and chemical variations in subcrustal cratonic lithosphere: Evidence from crustal isostasy

The Earth's topography at short wavelengths results from active tectonic processes, whereas at long wavelengths it is largely determined by isostatic adjustment for the density and thickness of the crust. Using a global crustal model, we estimate the long-wavelength topography that is not due to crustal isostasy. Our most important finding is that cratons are generally depressed by 300...
Authors
Walter D. Mooney, John E. Vidale

Location and age database for selected foraminifer samples collected by Exxon Petroleum geologists in California Location and age database for selected foraminifer samples collected by Exxon Petroleum geologists in California

Most of the geologic maps published for central California before 1960 were made without the benefit of age determinations from microfossils. The ages of Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks in the mostly poorly exposed and structurally complex sedimentary rocks represented in the Coast Ranges are critical in determining stratigraphic succession or lack of it, and in determining whether the...
Authors
Earl E. Brabb, John M. Parker

Station corrections for the Katmai Region Seismic Network Station corrections for the Katmai Region Seismic Network

Most procedures for routinely locating earthquake hypocenters within a local network are constrained to using laterally homogeneous velocity models to represent the Earth's crustal velocity structure. As a result, earthquake location errors may arise due to actual lateral variations in the Earth's velocity structure. Station corrections can be used to compensate for heterogeneous...
Authors
Cheryl K. Searcy

Consequences of viscous drag beneath a transform fault Consequences of viscous drag beneath a transform fault

A transform fault is modeled as a vertical cut through an elastic layer (schizosphere) of thickness overlying a viscous substrate (plastosphere). We consider a steady transform motion accommodated in the schizosphere wholly by slip on the fault and in the plastosphere, insofar as possible, by viscous flow. For the case where the viscosity in the plastosphere is strain rate dependent but
Authors
James C. Savage, A.H. Lachenbruch
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