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Geophysics: A reversal of geomagnetic polarity Geophysics: A reversal of geomagnetic polarity

The detailed behaviour of the geomagnetic field during reversals is documented by palaeomagnetists to constrain models of the geomagnetic dynamo. Reversals are studied by measuring the magnetic remanence preserved in rocks to obtain both the direction and intensity of the ancient magnetic field.
Authors
Edward A. Mankinen

Mapping nuclear craters on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands Mapping nuclear craters on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands

In 1984, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a detailed geologic analysis of two nuclear test craters at Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, on behalf of the Defense Nuclear Agency. A multidisciplinary task force mapped the morphology, surface character, and subsurface structure of two craters, OAK and KOA. The field mapping techniques include echo sounding, sidescan sonar imaging, single...
Authors
John C. Hampson

A note on the relationships between organic matter and some geotechnical properties of a marine sediment A note on the relationships between organic matter and some geotechnical properties of a marine sediment

An analysis of the relationship between organic matter and liquid and plastic limits, and grain‐specific gravity of a marine sediment was accomplished by making a stepwise adjustment in the organic content of that sediment. The sample used was from Santa Barbara Basin (off southern California) and is typical of fine‐grained marine sediments: it is a clayey silt with a common suite of...

A plate flexure approximation to postseismic and interseismic deformation A plate flexure approximation to postseismic and interseismic deformation

The rather large postseismic deformation that is associated with two‐dimensional dip‐slip faulting in the lithosphere is related to the bending of a free plate generated by dip‐slip faulting. In the absence of gravity, asthenosphere relaxation eventually permits the faulted lithosphere to assume the dihedral configuration of a faulted free plate. For thrust faulting, the faulted area is...
Authors
James C. Savage, Guohua Gu

Rate and depth of pedogenic-carbonate accumulation in soils: Formation and testing of a compartment model. Rate and depth of pedogenic-carbonate accumulation in soils: Formation and testing of a compartment model.

The rate and depth of pedogenic carbonate accumulation in soils formed in Quaternary alluvium may be viewed as a theoretical problem that involves the mutual interaction of several independent and dependent soil-forming variables. We propose a model for carbonate accumulation in which the soil column is defined by a vertical sequence of 1-cm2-area compartments, each with a specified...
Authors
Leslie D. McFadden, John Tinsley

Inversion of seismic refraction data in planar dipping structure Inversion of seismic refraction data in planar dipping structure

A new method is presented for the direct inversion of seismic refraction data in dipping planar structure. Three recording geometries, each consisting of two common-shot profiles, are considered: reversed, split, and roll-along profiles. Inversion is achieved via slant stacking the common-shot wavefield to obtain a delay time—slowness (tau—p) wavefield. The tau—p curves from two...
Authors
Bernd Milkereit, Walter D. Mooney, W.M. Kohler

The relocation of microearthquakes in the northern Mississippi Embayment The relocation of microearthquakes in the northern Mississippi Embayment

Three-component seismograms, recorded by a small array of digital instruments in the northern Mississippi embayment, consistently show a high-amplitude phase on the vertical component that arrives approximately 0.8 s before the shear wave. On the basis of its timing and apparent velocity, this phase is identified as an S-P conversion from the boundary between the unconsolidated Cenozoic...
Authors
M.C. Andrews, Walter D. Mooney, R.P. Meyer

Remote sensing of lunar pyroclastic mantling deposits Remote sensing of lunar pyroclastic mantling deposits

Mantling deposits on the Moon are considered to be pyroclastic units emplaced on the lunar surface as a result of explosive fire fountaining. These pyroclastic units are characterized as having low albedos, having smooth fine-textured surfaces, and consisting in part of homogeneous, Febearing volcanic glass and partially crystallized spheres. Mantling units exhibit low returns on...
Authors
Lisa R. Gaddis, Carle M. Pieters, B. Ray Hawke

Plasticity at crack tips in Gd3Ga5O12 garnet single crystals deformed at temperatures below 950°C Plasticity at crack tips in Gd3Ga5O12 garnet single crystals deformed at temperatures below 950°C

Single crystals of Gd3Ga5O12 have been strained under confining pressure (1 5 GPa) at temperatures below 950°C. No evidence for macroscopic plasticity was found, but transmission electron microscopy revealed dislocation generation at crack tips. Deformation mechanisms are different from those operating in the high-temperature regime: extending stacking faults in {110} planes and the 〈010...
Authors
H. Garem, J. Rabier, Stephen H. Kirby

Geomorphologic evidence for ground ice on Mars Geomorphologic evidence for ground ice on Mars

For ground ice to exist on Mars, two conditions have to be met. One is the presence of permafrost; the second is the availability of water. Because the mean temperature of Mars’surface is − 80 C., permafrost 1–3 km thick occurs over the entire planet. Remote-sensing measurements suggest that water presently exists in the atmosphere and in the polar caps; frost has been observed at the...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta
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