Articles dans Web of Knowldege pour 2022

Résumé: Earthquake catalogs are essential to analyze the evolution of active fault systems. The background seismicity rate, or rate of earthquakes that are not directly triggered by other earthquakes, directly relates to the stressing rate, a crucial quantity for understanding the seismic hazards. Determining the background seismicity rate is challenging because aftershock sequences may dominate the seismicity rate. Classifying these events in earthquake catalogs-known as catalog declustering-is a common practice and most declustering solutions rely on spatiotemporal distances between events, such as the nearest-neighbor-distance algorithm, widely used in various contexts. This algorithm assumes that the nearest-neighbor distance (NND) follows a bimodal distribution related to the background seismicity and to the aftershocks. Constraining these two distributions is crucial to distinguish the aftershocks from the background events accurately. Recent work often uses linear splitting based on the NND, ignoring the potential overlap between the two populations and resulting in a biased identification of background earthquakes and aftershock sequences. We revisit this problem with machine-learning algorithms. After testing several popular algorithms, we show that a random forest trained with various synthetic catalogs generated by an Epidemic-Type Aftershock Sequence model outperforms approaches such as k-means, Gaussian-mixture models, and support vector machine classification. We apply our model to two different earthquake catalogs: the relocated Southern California earthquake center catalog and the GeoNet catalog of New Zealand. Our model capably adapts to these two different tectonic contexts, highlighting the differences in aftershock productivity between crustal and intermediate-depth seismicity.

Résumé: The additional work we have done using our new laser heating in the diamond anvil cell system since the publication of Andrault et al. (Phys Chem Mineral 47(2), 2020) leads us to the conclusion that there was a systematic bias in the determination of temperature. First, the temperature of the W-lamp used for the calibration of the optical system was overestimated by similar to 22 K at 2273 K. Then, we made the assumption that hot SiO2 was a grey-body (constant emissivity epsilon(lambda)), while the available measurements suggest instead that epsilon(lambda) of SiO2 is similar to that of tungsten. Applying these two corrections lowers the SiO2 melting temperatures significantly. In LMV, we performed a new experimental determination of the SiO2 melting temperature, at 5000 (200) K and similar to 70 (4) GPa, which is well compatible with the amplitude of the correction proposed. The reevaluation of the melting temperature profile does not affect largely the interpretations or the main conclusions presented in Andrault et al. (Phys Chem Mineral 47(2), 2020). Within the stability field of stishovite, the melting curve still presents a relatively sharp change of slope at P-T recalculated as similar to 40 GPa and similar to 4800 K. It is related to a change of the melt structure. At higher pressures, the melting curve is almost flat up to the subsolidus transition from stishovite to the CaCl2-form around 85 GPa, where the slope of the melting curve increases again up to similar to 120 GPa. We present corrected figures and tables of the original publication.

Résumé: The sedimentary infill of glacially overdeepened valleys (i.e., structures eroded below the fluvial base level) is an excellent but yet underexplored archive with regard to the age, extent, and nature of past glaciations. The ICDP project DOVE (Drilling Overdeepened Alpine Valleys) Phase 1 investigates a series of drill cores from glacially overdeepened troughs at several locations along the northern front of the Alps. All sites will be investigated with regard to several aspects of environmental dynamics during the Quaternary, with focus on the glaciation, vegetation, and landscape history. Geophysical methods (e.g., seismic surveys), for example, will explore the geometry of overdeepened structures to better understand the process of overdeepening. Sedimentological analyses combined with downhole logging, analysis of biological remains, and state-of-the-art geochronological methods, will enable us to reconstruct the erosion and sedimentation history of the overdeepened troughs. This approach is expected to yield significant novel data quantifying the extent and timing of Middle and Late Pleistocene glaciations of the Alps. In a first phase, two sites were drilled in late 2021 into filled overdeepenings below the paleolobe of the Rhine Glacier, and both recovered a trough filling composed of multiphase glacial sequences. Fully cored Hole 50681C reached a depth of 165m and recovered 10m molasse bedrock at the base. This hole will be used together with two flush holes (50681A, 50681B) for further geophysical cross-well experiments. Site 50682 reached a depth of 255m and bottomed out near the soft rock-bedrock contact. These two sites are complemented by three legacy drill sites that previously recovered filled overdeepenings below the more eastern Alpine Isar-Loisach, Salzach, and Traun paleoglacier lobes (50683, 50684, 50685). All analysis and interpretations of this DOVE Phase 1 will eventually lay the ground for an upcoming Phase 2 that will complete the pan-Alpine approach. This follow-up phase will investigate overdeepenings formerly occupied by paleoglacier lobes from the western and southern Alpine margins through drilling sites in France, Italy, and Slovenia. Available geological information and infrastructure make the Alps an ideal area to study overdeepened structures; however, the expected results of this study will not be restricted to the Alps. Such features are also known from other formerly glaciated mountain ranges, which are less studied than the Alps and more problematic with regards to drilling logistics. The results of this study will serve as textbook concepts to understand a full range of geological processes relevant to formerly glaciated areas all over our planet.

Résumé: This study takes advantage of the available information for an example, well-known, site in Greece (TST site at Euroseistest) to illustrate the epistemic variability in probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) estimates. The purpose is not to perform an exhaustive site-specific PSHA at this particular site, but to investigate the sensitivity of the results to the approach used for including site effects, from basic ones to more demanding and realistic ones, in order to better appreciate the “benefits” versus the required costs and efforts of each approach. The TST site, located at the center of the Mygdonian basin in North-Eastern Greece is characterised by soft shallow soils over thick, medium stiffness deposits with a complex underground geometry, resting on very hard bedrock. Three different levels are considered for the incorporation of site response, from level 0 (generic or partially generic) to site-specific ones, with linear (level 1) or non-linear (level 2) site response analysis. The basic methods rely on one or several site proxies (V-S30, V-SZ and f(0)), whereas the most complex ones couple site response assessment (instrumental or numerical, implying site-specific characterization or instrumentation) with various reference rock hazard adjustments (single-station sigma, host-to-target adjustments, depth correction). Results are compared in terms of Uniform Hazard Spectra for a 5000 years return period, a typical value for critical facilities. For each level, the epistemic uncertainties are described and their impacts on hazard estimates are quantified. The use of the V-S30 proxy in ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) leads to a clear underestimation of the hazard for the linear case (i.e., short return periods), especially around the site fundamental period, because of resonance and basin effects. On the other hand, soil nonlinearity largely impacts the hazard estimates, and linear amplification approach leads to an overestimation of the hazard, with unrealistic high levels at very long return periods. Sitespecific hazard estimates for thick, Euroseistest-like sites, with complex geometry and rheology, are thus shown to come up against several additional epistemic uncertainties implying a large approach-to-approach variability. This may lead to increased hazard estimates, counterbalancing the decrease due to the use of reduced, single-site aleatory uncertainty in reference rock hazard estimates. For the time being, it thus looks unrealistic to promise a systematic reduction in hazard estimates with site-specific studies, while it might also indicate that uncertainties in generic hazard estimates could presently be underestimated.

Résumé: Site response is a critical consideration when assessing earthquake hazards. Site characterization is key to understanding site effects as influenced by seismic site conditions of the local geology. Thus, a number of geophysical site characterization methods were developed to meet the demand for accurate and cost-effective results. As a consequence, a number of studies have been administered periodically as blind trials to evaluate the state-of-practice on-site characterization. We present results from the Consortium of Organizations for Strong Motion Observation Systems (COSMOS) blind trials, which used data recorded from surface-based microtremor array methods (MAM) at four sites where geomorphic conditions vary from deep alluvial basins to an alpine valley. Thirty-four invited analysts participated. Data were incrementally released to 17 available analysts who participated in all four phases: (1) two-station arrays, (2) sparse triangular arrays, (3) complex nested triangular or circular arrays, and (4) all available geological control site information including drill hole data. Another set of 17 analysts provided results from two sites and two phases only. Although data from one site consisted of recordings from three-component sensors, the other three sites consisted of data recorded only by vertical-component sensors. The sites cover a range of noise source distributions, ranging from one site with a highly directional microtremor wave field to others with omni-directional (azimuthally distributed) wave fields. We review results from different processing techniques (e.g., beam-forming, spatial autocorrelation, cross-correlation, or seismic interferometry) applied by the analysts and compare the effectiveness between the differing wave field distributions. We define the M index as a quality index based on estimates of the time-averaged shear-wave velocity of the upper 10 (V-S10), 30 (V-S30), 100 (V-S100), and 300 (V-S300) meters and show its usefulness in quantitative comparisons of V-S profiles from multiple analysts. Our findings are expected to aid in building an evidence-based consensus on preferred cost-effective arrays and processing methodology for future studies of seismic site effects.

Résumé: With the increasing resolution of operational forecasting models, the marginal ice zone (MIZ), the area where waves and sea ice interact, can now be better represented. However, the proper mechanics of wave propagation and attenuation in ice, and especially their influence on sea ice dynamics, still remain poorly understood and constrained in models. Observations have shown exponential wave energy decrease with distance in sea ice, particularly strong at higher frequencies. Some of this energy is transferred to the ice, breaking it into smaller floes and weakening it, as well as exerting a stress on the ice similar to winds and currents. In this article, we present a one-dimensional, fully integrated wave and ice model that has been developed to test different parameterizations of wave-ice interactions. The response of the ice cover to the wind and wave radiative stresses is investigated for a variety of wind, wave and ice conditions at different scales. Results of sensitivity analyses reveal the complex interplay between wave attenuation and rheological parameters and suggest that the compressive strength of the MIZ may be better represented by a Mohr-Coulomb parameterization with a nonlinear dependence on thickness.This article is part of the theme issue 'Theory, modelling and observations of marginal ice zone dynamics: multidisciplinary perspectives and outlooks'.

Résumé: Tephra layers preserved in marine sediments are strong tools to study the frequency, magnitude and source of past major explosive eruptions. Thirty-seven volcanoes from the Ecuadorian and Colombian arc, in the northern Andes, experienced at least one eruption during the Holocene. The volcanic hazard is therefore particularly high for the populated areas of the Andes and in particular cases for the coastal region, and it is crucial to document such events to improve hazard assessment. The age and distribution of deposits from major Holocene eruptions have been studied in the Cordillera, but no descriptions of distal fallouts have been published. In this study, we focused on 28 Holocene tephra layers recorded in marine sediment cores collected along the northern Ecuador-Southern Colombia margin. New lithological, geochemical and isotope data together with C-14 datings on foraminifers allow us to determine the age and volcanic source of marine tephra, and to propose a first land-sea correlation of distal tephra fallouts. We show that at least seven explosive eruptions from Guagua Pichincha, Atacazo-Ninahuilca, Cotopaxi, and Cerro Machin volcanoes left tephra deposits recorded in marine cores over 250 km away from their source. Volume estimates of emitted tephra range between 1.3 and 6.0 km(3) for the tenth century Guagua Pichincha, similar to 5 ka Atacazo-Ninahuilca, similar to 6.7 and similar to 7.9 ka Cotopaxi events, suggesting that they were eruptions of Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5. The distribution of these deposits also brings new constraints for a better evaluation of the volcanic hazard in Ecuador.

Résumé: The 17 August 1999 M(w)7.4 Izmit earthquake ruptured the western section of the North Anatolian Fault Zone and strongly altered the fault zone properties and stress field. Consequences of the co- and post-seismic stress changes were seen in the spatio-temporal evolution of the seismicity and in the surface slip rates. Thirteen years after the Izmit earthquake, in 2012, the seismic network Dense Array for North Anatolia (DANA) was deployed for 1.5 years. We built a new catalog of microseismicity (M < 2) by applying our automated detection and location method to the DANA data set. Our method combines a systematic backprojection of the seismic wavefield and template matching. We analyzed the statistical properties of the catalog by computing the Gutenberg-Richter b-value and by quantifying the amount of temporal clustering in groups of nearby earthquakes. We found that the microseismicity mainly occurs off the main fault and that the most active regions are the Lake Sapanca step-over and near the Akyazi fault. Based on previous studies, we interpreted the b-values and temporal clustering (a) as indicating that the Akyazi seismicity is occurring in high background stresses and is driven by the Izmit earthquake residual stresses, and (b) as suggesting evidence that an intricate combination of seismic and aseismic slip was taking place on heterogeneous faults at the eastern Lake Sapanca, near the brittle-ductile transition. Combined with geodetic evidence for enhanced north-south extension around Lake Sapanca following the Izmit earthquake, the seismicity supports the possibility of slow slip at depth in the step-over.

Résumé: The Colombian island of San Andres is a popular tourist destination located about 195 km offshore of the east coast of Nicaragua in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. Together with Providencia and Santa Catalina, San Andres is part of the UNESCO Seaflower Biosphere Reserve. With a 26 km(2) surface area and 78 000 inhabitants, San Andres is one of the most densely populated islands in the Caribbean with on average similar to 3000 inhabitants/km(2). The majority of the population and the mass tourism are concentrated in the low-elevation (0.5-6 m) areas, particularly in the north and along the east coast of the island. These areas are prone to flooding during storm events such as hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020. A review of the geological, environmental and the socio-economic situation of the island, and the record of tropical cyclones since 1911, shows why the local population has become increasingly vulnerable to storm events and rising sea level. Tropical cyclones may form locally in the southwestern Caribbean or originate in the eastern Caribbean/Atlantic Ocean. The latter tend to be stronger and cause more damage when they reach San Andres. The HURDAT2 dataset shows that the frequency of storm events affecting San Andres has increased in recent decades, with six storms over the past 20 years, including three category 4-5 hurricanes since 2007. Increasing storm frequency and intensity may be linked to increasing sea surface temperatures caused by anthropogenic global warming, although the changes described here may be limited to a relatively small geographical region, as opposed to representing basin wide tropical cyclone behavior. The growing population density since the 1950s has augmented the potential for disaster.

Résumé: Radar (SAR) satellites systematically acquire imagery that can be used for volcano monitoring, characterising magmatic systems and potentially forecasting eruptions on a global scale. However, exploiting the large dataset is limited by the need for manual inspection, meaning timely dissemination of information is challenging. Here we automatically process similar to 600,000 images of > 1000 volcanoes acquired by the Sentinel-1 satellite in a 5-year period (2015-2020) and use the dataset to demonstrate the applicability and limitations of machine learning for detecting deformation signals. Of the 16 volcanoes flagged most often, 5 experienced eruptions, 6 showed slow deformation, 2 had non-volcanic deformation and 3 had atmospheric artefacts. The detection threshold for the whole dataset is 5.9 cm, equivalent to a rate of 1.2 cm/year over the 5-year study period. We then use the large testing dataset to explore the effects of atmospheric conditions, land cover and signal characteristics on detectability and find that the performance of the machine learning algorithm is primarily limited by the quality of the available data, with poor coherence and slow signals being particularly challenging. The expanding dataset of systematically acquired, processed and flagged images will enable the quantitative analysis of volcanic monitoring signals on an unprecedented scale, but tailored processing will be needed for routine monitoring applications.

Résumé: The diffuse scattering signal of amorphous or liquid systems contains information on the local atomic structure, and this can be related to the density, compressibility, thermal expansion and other thermoelastic properties. However, the analysis and full exploitation of the diffuse scattering signal, in particular for systems under extreme conditions of high pressures and temperatures are difficult to handle. Amorpheus is a Python-based software allowing the determination of the structure factor and the radial distribution function of amorphous and liquid systems. Based on previously reported methodologies, Amorpheus stands out for the implementation of automatic algorithms allowing the user to choose the most suitable parameters for the data treatment and making possible systematic analysis of datasets collected in experiments carried out in Paris-Edinburgh press, multi-anvil apparatus or diamond anvil cell.

Résumé: A polarised radiative transfer model (POMEROL) has been developed to compute the polarisation measured by a virtual instrument in a given nocturnal environment. This single-scattering model recreates real-world conditions (among them atmospheric and aerosol profiles, light sources with complex geometries at the ground and in the sky, terrain obstructions). It has been successfully tested at mid-latitudes where sky emissions are of weak intensity. We show a series of comparisons between POMEROL predictions and polarisation measurements during two field campaigns in the auroral zone, in both quiet and active conditions. These comparisons show the strength of the model to assess the aerosol characteristics in the lower atmosphere by using a mesospheric line. They also show that three main upper atmosphere emissions must be polarised: the green atomic oxygen line at 557.7 nm and the 1st N-2(+) negative band at 391.4 nm (purple) and 427.8 nm (blue). This polarisation can be either created directly at the radiative de-excitation or may occur when the non-polarised emission crosses the ionospheric currents. We provide some of the potentialities it offers in the frame of space weather. These require refinements of the preliminary modeling approach considered in the present study.

Résumé: Surge-type glaciers are present in many cold environments in the world. These glaciers experience a dramatic increase in velocity over short time periods, the surge, followed by an extended period of slow movement, the quiescence. This study aims at understanding why only few glaciers exhibit a transient behavior. We develop a machine learning framework to classify surge-type glaciers, based on their location, exposure, geometry, climatic mass balance and runoff. We apply this approach to the Svalbard archipelago, a region with a relatively homogeneous climate. We compare the performance of logistic regression, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) machine learning models that we apply to a newly combined database of glaciers in Svalbard. Based on the most accurate model, XGBoost, we compute surge probabilities along glacier centerlines and quantify the relative importance of several controlling features. Results show that the surface and bed slopes, ice thickness, glacier width, climatic mass balance, and runoff along glacier centerlines are the most significant features explaining surge probability for glaciers in Svalbard. A thicker and wider glacier with a low surface slope has a higher probability to be classified as surge-type, which is in good agreement with the existing theories of surging. Finally, we build a probability map of surge-type glaciers in Svalbard. The framework shows robustness on classifying surge-type glaciers that were not previously classified as such in existing inventories but have been observed surging. Our methodology could be extended to classify surge-type glaciers in other areas of the world.

Résumé: Photochemical reactions are major pathways for the removal of Hg species from aquatic ecosystems, lowering the concentration of monomethylmercury (MMHg) and its bioaccumulation in foodwebs. Here, we investigated the rates and environmental drivers of MMHg photodegradation and inorganic Hg (IHg) photoreduction in waters of two high-altitude lakes from the Bolivian Altiplano representing meso- to eutrophic conditions. We incubated three contrasting waters in situ at two depths after adding Hg-enriched isotopic species to derive rate constants. We found that transformations mostly occurred in subsurface waters exposed to UV radiation and were mainly modulated by the dissolved organic matter (DOM) level. In parallel, we incubated the same waters after the addition of low concentrations of natural MMHg and followed the stable isotope composition of the remaining Hg species by compound-specific isotope analysis allowing the determination of enrichment factors and mass-independent fractionation (MIF) slopes (Delta Hg-199/Delta Hg-201) during in situ MMHg photodegradation in natural waters. We found that MIF enrichment factors potentially range from -11 to -19% and average -14.3 +/- 0.6% (1 SE). The MIF slope diverged depending on the DOM level, ranging from 1.24 +/- 0.03 to 1.34 +/- 0.02 for the low and high DOM waters, respectively, and matched the MMHg MIF slope recorded in fish from the same lake. Our in situ results thus reveal (i) a relatively similar extent of Hg isotopic fractionation during MMHg photodegradation among contrasted natural waters and compared to previous laboratory experiments and (ii) that the MMHg MIF recorded in fish is characteristic for the MMHg bonding environment. They will enable a better assessment of the extent and conditions conducive to MMHg photodegradation in aquatic ecosystems.

Résumé: This study investigates the effect of gluconate, a carboxylate anion, and three uncharged hexitols, D-sorbitol, Dmannitol and D-galactitol on the solubility of C-S-H. Thermodynamic modeling is used to determine the kind and amount of Ca-organic-silicate-OH complexes that potentially form in the conditions studied. All the organics form complexes with calcium and hydroxide. In addition, heteropolynuclear organics complexes with calcium, hydroxide and silicate are observed at high pH values and high calcium concentrations: Ca(2)Hex(2)(H3SiO4)(2)(OH)(2)(0), Ca(2)Hex(2)(H2SiO4)(OH)(2)(-2) and Ca(3)Gluc(2)(H3SiO4)(2)(OH)(2)(0), with the exception of mannitol. The strength of complexation with silicate decreases in the order gluconate > sorbitol > galactitol. The adsorption of the selected organics on portlandite and C-S-H systems follows the order gluconate > > sorbitol > mannitol similar to galactitol. For C-S-H, a typical Langmuir isotherm is found only when buffered with Ca(OH)(2). The adsorption on C-S-H increases with the Ca/Si ratio.

Résumé: How faulting processes lead to a large earthquake is a fundamental question in seismology. To better constrain this pre-seismic stage, we create a dense seismic catalog via template matching to analyze the precursory phase of the Mw 6.1 L'Aquila earthquake that occurred in central Italy in 2009. We estimate several physical parameters in time, such as the coefficient of variation, the seismic moment release, the effective stress drop, and analyze spatio-temporal patterns to study the evolution of the sequence and the earthquake interactions. We observe that the precursory phase experiences multiple accelerations of the seismicity rate that we divide into two main sequences with different signatures and features: the first part exhibits weak earthquake interactions, quasi-continuous moment release, slow spatial migration patterns, and a lower effective stress drop, pointing to aseismic processes. The second sequence exhibits strong temporal clustering, fast seismicity expansion, and a larger effective stress drop typical of a stress transfer process. We interpret the differences in seismicity behaviors between the two sequences as distinct physical mechanisms that are controlled by different physical properties of the fault system. We conclude that the L'Aquila earthquake is preceded by a complex preparation, made up of different physical processes over different time scales on faults with different physical properties.

Résumé: Deciphering the evolution of ecological interactions among the metabolic types during the early diversification of life on Earth is crucial for our understanding of the ancient biosphere. The stromatolites from the genus Conophyton cylindricus represent a datum for the Proterozoic (Meso to Neoproterozoic) on Earth. Their typical conical shape has been considered a result of a competition between microorganisms for space, light and nutrients. Well-preserved records of this genus from the “Paleontological Site of Cabeludo ”, Vazante Group, Sao Francisco Craton (Southern Brazil) present in situ fossilized biofilms, containing preserved carbonaceous matter. Petrographic and geochemical analyses revealed an alternation between mineral laminae (light grey laminae) and fossilized biofilms (dark grey laminae). The dark grey laminae comprise three different biofilms recording a stratified microstructure of microbial communities. These three biofilms composing the dark grey laminae tend to be organized in a specific pattern that repeats through the stromatolite vertical section. Iron and manganese are distributed differently along the dark and light grey laminae; X-ray absorption and luminescence data showed possible different areas with authigenic iron and iron provided from diagenetic infiltration. Cryptocrystalline apatite in the lowermost biofilms in each dark grey laminae may suggest past metabolic activity of sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. These findings suggest that the microorganisms reached a complex metabolic diversification in order to maintain an equilibrium situation between the three different biofilms along the vertical section of the structures, thus benefiting the whole microbial community. This means that the stromatolites from the Conophyton genus may have formed as a result of a greater complexity of interactions between microorganisms, and not only from competition between photosynthesizers.

Résumé: Both the kinematics and dynamics of topographic growth of the Tibetan Plateau remain debated, despite their significance for understanding the evolution of continental lithospheric geodynamics, climate, and biodiversity in Asia. Topographic swath profiles reveal the diversity of high-elevation, low-relief plateau surfaces or “relict landscapes” throughout the southeast Qiangtang, northeast Qiangtang, and Songpan-Garze-Yidun terranes in eastern Tibet, including the Zuogong, Markam, Litang, and Kangding plateaux from southwest to northeast. New geo-thermochronology data combined with morphotectonic analysis of the Qiangtang terrane underscore that the Lancangjiang thrust belt, separating the Zuogong and Markam plateaux, is a prominent tectonic and geomorphic boundary that limits high topography at mean elevations of >5000 m around the eastern Himalayan syntaxis. Inverse thermal-history modelling of thermochronological data reveals accelerated cooling at 40-35 Ma at rates of 1.2 +/- 0.4 mm/yr in the Zuogong plateau and contemporaneous slow cooling of 0.10 +/- 0.02 mm/yr in the Markam and Weixi plateaux in eastern Tibet, which is interpreted as recording activity of the Lancangjiang and Markam fold-and-thrust belts. These data, together with coeval cooling signals in the central and southeast Qiangtang terrane, indicate widespread crustal shortening and thickening throughout the terrane that likely led to surface uplift to near-present-day elevations by the late Eocene. Very slow cooling at a rate of <0.5 degrees C/Myr rules out significant tectonically-driven surface uplift and erosion of the Markam plateau since then. A second stage of rapid exhumation at ca. 20 Ma, at rates of 1.0-1.3 mm/yr, in the Zuogong plateau in the hanging wall of the Lancangjiang thrust, sharply contrasts to exhumation rates of 0.02 mm/yr for the Markam plateau in the footwall and suggests reactivation of the Lancangjiang thrust belt at that time. The transition to slow denudation after ca. 20 Ma for the Zuogong plateau in the southwest Qiangtang suggests tectonic and topographic stabilization of this low-relief surface at least 15-20 Myr later than the Markam plateau. In contrast, a compilation of existing low-temperature thermochronology data in the Songpan-Garze-Yidun terranes shows much older ages for stabilization of the low-relief surfaces in the Litang and Kangding plateaux by 80-60 Ma. We thus suggest that tectonic and topographic stabilization of plateau surfaces in eastern Tibet has occurred at 80-60 Ma, 40-35 Ma, and similar to 20 Ma in the Songpan-Garze-Yidun, northeast Qiangtang, and southwest Qiangtang, respectively. The southwestward piecemeal expansion of small plateaux suggests that the high-elevation, low-relief landscape of eastern Tibet has been constructed during distinct orogenic episodes prior to and during the early stages of India-Asia collision. A late stage of tectonic activity related to northward indentation of the Indian plate during the Neogene mostly remodeled the outer rims of the plateaux and the valleys that delineate transcurrent faults, while drainage expansion and integration triggered river incision in eastern Tibet.

Résumé: The International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics (ISAG) is an international conference that was held, on average, every 3-4 years in different European cities between 1990 (Grenoble) and 2008 (Nice). These symposia usually offer an opportunity for researchers from Latin American countries and Europe as well as other countries to review the state of knowledge in geosciences on the Andes. After a long period without an edition, the 8th ISAG was organized for the first time in a Latin American country, Ecuador, from 24th to 26th September 2019. The organizing committee led by Pablo Samaniego relied heavily on the Instituto Geofisico of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional (IG-EPN) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), in particular through its office in Quito, and through the Laboratoire Mixte International in France and Ecuador: “Seismes et Volcans dans les Andes du Nord”(LMI-SVAN); and the French Embassy in Ecuador. Field trips in tectonics, seismotectonics and volcanology at emblematic sites in Ecuador were organized by researchers from the IRD (Isterre and LMV), the Institut de Radio Protection Nucleaire (IRSN), IG-EPN and the University of Geneva. Four invited speakers gave presentations: Peter Molnar (University of Boulder) on the mechanisms of the Andes uplift, Suzanne Kay (Cornell University) on its magmatism, Victor Ramos (University of Buenos Aires) on the scientific approaches developed through time for the Andean orogeny and Eric Calais (Ecole Normale Superieure de Paris) on the difficulty of dialog between seismic risk specialists and the authorities in Haiti. The symposium also provided an opportunity for more than 250 participants to meet, with more than 80 oral presentations and over 150 posters. As a result of this conference, the Editor of the Journal of South American Earth Sciences proposed to the organizing committee to publish a special issue on the contours of these presentations. Following the peer review process, 19 papers are published in this special issue. These manuscripts reflect the various disciplinary fields, geophysics and deep imaging, tectonics, volcanism, geomorphology and seismic hazard, from the local scale to the Andes as a whole. Not surprisingly, a higher density of works is found in Ecuador and the northern Andes (Figure 1). As this collection of articles reflects the outlines of a symposium and not a specific scientific question, our aim here is not to develop a synthesis of current knowledge on the Andes. We therefore present these articles in sequence, by discipline, although this categorization may appear subjective since some articles are multidisciplinary.

Résumé: Applying seismic interferometry and network covariance matrix-based analyses to detect and locate the source of volcanic tremor during the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull effusive flank and explosive-effusive summit eruptions has provided new insights into this iconic event. The tremor source locations derived from the network covariance matrix approach were spatially distinct during the two eruptions. The tremor was radiated between the surface and 5-6 km depth during the effusive flank eruption, including an apparently progressive upward migration in early April 2010, but was strictly confined to the surface during the summit eruption. Each phase of the summit eruption left a distinct fingerprint in the seismic records. Effusive phases radiated continuous tremor between 0.6 and 5 Hz, whereas explosive phases produced tremor in a more pulsating fashion over a wider frequency band (0.2-10 Hz). A period of intermittent tremor bursts (called banded tremor) on 15 April, associated with formation of a new vent at the summit, was most likely generated by magma-gas-meltwater interaction within a subglacial enclosure. The banded tremor ceased following an abrupt draining of the newly formed subglacial cauldron, resulting in a large slurry glacial meltwater flood (jokulhlaup). This study highlights the importance of new data processing methodologies for future monitoring of volcanic tremor in real-time. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Résumé: Increasing the frequency range of physics-based predictions of earthquake ground motions requires to account for small-scale heterogeneities, which can only be described in a stochastic way. Although many studies have addressed the impact of random heterogeneities on ground motion intensity parameters obtained by numerical simulation, very few have verified the accuracy of their numerical solutions or controlled the scattering regime they were simulating. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of SH wave propagation in 2D random media which covers a broad range of propagation regimes from ballistic to diffusive. The coherent and incoherent parts of the wavefield are examined independently. The random media consist in correlated density and velocity fluctuations described by a von Karman autocorrelation function with a Hurst coefficient of 0.25 and a correlation length a = 500 m. The Birch correlation coefficient which relates density to velocity fluctuations takes 4 possible values between 0.5 and 1, and the standard deviation of the perturbations is either 5% or 10%. Spectral element simulations of SH wave propagation excited by a plane wave are performed for normalized wavenumbers (ka) up to 5. Analysis of the decay of the coherent wave amplitude, obtained through different averaging procedures, allows for a direct measure of the scattering attenuation, which we successfully compare with the predictions of the Dyson mean field theory. We also present the comparison between the energy envelopes measured from the synthetics and their theoretical counterpart provided by the radiative transfer theory and the diffusion approximation. Excellent agreement is found between numerical simulations and theoretical predictions of radiative transfer theory for the mean intensity. The numerical study highlights the difference of attenuation length between the mean field and the mean intensity. In the forward scattering regime, the peak intensity appears to decay exponentially over a length scale known as the transport mean free path. Furthermore, the fluctuations of intensity in the ballistic peak exhibit a transition from Log-normal to Exponential statistics. This transition occurs for a propagation distance of the order of the mean free path, which offers an alternative method of estimating this parameter.

Résumé: Passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) was recently used to monitor landslide displacement at a high spatio-temporal resolution but only measured 1D displacement. This study demonstrates the tracking of 2D displacements, using an array of antennas connected to an RFID interrogator. Ten tags were deployed on a landslide for 12 months and 2D relative localization was performed using a phase-of-arrival approach. A period of landslide activity was monitored through RFID and displacements were confirmed by reference measurements. The tags showed displacements of up to 1.2 m over the monitored period. The centimeter-scale accuracy of the technique was confirmed experimentally and theoretically for horizontal localization by developing a measurement model that included antenna and tag positions, as well as multipath interference. This study confirms that 2D landslide displacement tracking with RFID is feasible at relatively low instrumental and maintenance cost.

Résumé: The occurrence of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) and high-pressure (HP) rocks in the Himalayan orogen has been conventionally attributed to the different subduction dip angles along the strike. The western Himalayan UHP eclogites point to a steep continental subduction in the Eocene. The present-day geophysical data show low subduction dip angles of the Indian lithosphere beneath southern Tibet and Karakoram, implying that a shift from steep to low-angle subduction probably happened in the western Himalaya. However, the timing and mechanism of such a subduction-angle change are still unknown. Here we present a combined analysis of zircon geochronology and geochemistry of eclogites and gneiss in the Stak massif, western Himalaya. Metamorphic zircons equilibrated with garnet and omphacite show flat heavy rare earth element patterns without Eu anomalies and, thus, yield similar eclogite-facie ages of ca. 31 Ma. The Stak HP eclogite-facie metamorphism is at least 15 Ma younger than those measured in the western Himalayan UHP eclogites, but broadly contemporaneous with other Himalayan HP rocks. Therefore, all the Himalayan HP rocks record higher peak geothermal gradients and younger ages than those of the UHP rocks. Our new data, combined with the magmatic lull observed in the Kohistan-Ladakh-Gangdese arc and with the convergent rate of the Indian plate, suggest a change in subduction dip angle over time. Consequently, we suggest that the entire Indian continental lithosphere experienced an approximately coherent shift from steep to low-angle subduction after the breakoff of the Neo-Tethyan slab since the middle Eocene. This critical change in subduction geometry is interpreted to be responsible for the transition from continental subduction to collision dynamics.

Résumé: Oxygen isotope compositions of fossil foraminifera tests are commonly used proxies for ocean paleotemperatures, with reconstructions spanning the last 112 million years. However, the isotopic composition of these calcitic tests can be substantially altered during diagenesis without discernible textural changes. Here, we investigate fluid-mediated isotopic exchange in pristine tests of three modern benthic foraminifera species (Ammonia sp., Haynesina germanica, and Amphistegina Iessonii) following immersion into an O-18-enriched artificial seawater at 90 degrees C for hours to days. Reacted tests remain texturally pristine but their bulk oxygen isotope compositions reveal rapid and species-dependent isotopic exchange with the water. NanoSIMS imaging reveals the 3-dimensional intra-test distributions of O-18-enrichment that correlates with test ultra-structure and associated organic matter. Image analysis is used to quantify species level differences in test ultrastructure, which explains the observed species-dependent rates of isotopic exchange. Consequently, even tests considered texturally pristine for paleo-climatic reconstruction purposes may have experienced substantial isotopic exchange; critical paleo-temperature record re-examination is warranted.

Résumé: On 11 November 2019, an M-w 4.9 earthquake struck the middle Rhone valley (South-East France) producing moderate to severe damage in the town of Le Teil and its surroundings. This unexpected event stressed the vulnerability of the French cultural built heritage to a moderate seismic hazard. Commonly applied to modern civil engineering structures, passive seismic methods are still lacking on historic constructions to understand properly the different factors driving their dynamic behavior. In this article, the results of a two-month seismic monitoring survey carried out shortly after the Le Teil mainshock in a historic masonry tower are presented and discussed. Located only 5 km south of the epicenter, the Gate Tower of Viviers (eleventh century) was instrumented with four highly sensitive seismic nodes. Ambient vibrations, as well as aftershocks and quarry blasts from the nearby Le Teil quarry, were recorded and used in the analysis. Through vibration-based analysis, the article addresses three relevant aspects of the dynamic response of ancient masonry structures. We discuss first the differences in the building's response induced by the three reported types of vibrations, focusing on the particular signal characteristics of shallow aftershocks and quarry blasts. Then, we apply the Random Decrement Technique (RDT) to track the dynamic behavior variations over two months and to discuss the role of the environmental conditions in the slight fluctuations of the structural modal parameters (natural frequencies, damping coefficients) of unreinforced masonry structures. We also show evidence of the nonlinear elastic behavior under both weak seismic and atmospheric loadings. The correlation between the presence of heterogeneities in the construction materials and the nonlinear threshold supports the relevance of such types of monitoring surveys as a valuable tool for future modeling works and conservation efforts.

Résumé: Assessing the timing of great megathrust earthquakes is together crucial for seismic hazard analysis and deemed impossible. Geodetic instrumentation of subduction zones has revealed unexpected deformation patterns at subduction segments adjacent to those that hosted recent mega-earthquakes: coastal sites move landward with faster velocities than before the earthquake. Here, we show observations from the largest and best-monitored megathrust earthquakes, and from a scaled analog model, to reveal that these events create coseismic and postseismic deformation patterns typical of a complete gear-like rotation about a vertical axis, hereafter called twisting. We find that such twisting alters the interseismic velocity field of adjacent subduction segments depending on the time since the last earthquake. Early interactions accelerate while late interactions decelerate local kinematics. This finding opens the possibility of using megathrust earthquakes, the characteristics of the twisting pattern, and the ensuing geodetic velocity changes, as a proxy for estimating the timing of the seismic cycle at unruptured segments along the margin. Satellite geodesy and downscaled laboratory experiments reveal that great subduction earthquakes trigger step changes in kinematics of neighboring segments. This signal is potentially informative of the timing of the seismic cycle.

Résumé: Global mean sea level curves based on oxygen isotope data underestimate interstadial sea level by as much as 20 m, according to coral reef terrace analysis and a reassessment of the regional deformation pattern at the Huon peninsula, Papua New Guinea The history of sea level across the Quaternary is essential for assessing past and future climate. Global sea-level reconstructions are typically derived from oxygen isotope curves, but require calibration with geological constraints that are scarce prior to the last glacial cycle (>130 thousand years ago). Here we show that the coral reef terrace sequence at the Huon Peninsula (Papua New Guinea) provides such constraints up to similar to 420 thousand years ago, through a geometric analysis of high-resolution topographic data. We derive a northward tectonic tilt as regional deformation pattern, and estimate relative sea level for 31 Quaternary periods, including several periods for which no relative sea level data exists elsewhere. Supported by numerical reef models, these estimates suggest that oxygen isotope-based global mean sea-level curves systematically underestimate interstadial sea-level elevations, by up to similar to 20 m. Compared to those curves, our results imply a stronger degree of non-linearity between ice-sheet volumes and global temperatures within Quaternary glacial cycles.

Résumé: Andean societies have undergone abrupt climate changes that have affected their water resources and habitable or cultivable land. This is the case for Lake Titicaca, which has experienced fluctuations up to 20 metres during the last three millennia. Although paleoenvironmental reconstructions have provided valuable data on these lake level variations, their resolution is often not sufficient to assess their impact at the human time scale of land-use patterns. In this study, we provide a description of recent methodological developments in underwater archaeology that allows great advances in such reconstruction. Our results highlight that the level of the lake rose globally with multiple events of transgression and regression over the last two millennia. We also show that certain abrupt lake variation coincide with major transformations of the societies such as the emergence of the Tiwanaku state in the 6(th) century during a major transgression.

Résumé: The internal zones of the Western Alps arc are derived from an oceanic and continental subduction wedge developed beneath the Adria plate during its paleogene northward drift. Exhumation of the internal zones proceded from early Oligocene onwards due to westward extrusion of the Adria plate. The prominent fold-andthrust structures which follow the arc shape, either forward or backward verging, postdate the initial nappe stacking and overprint differently oriented older deformations which are relevant to proper retoration of this arcuate orogen to minimise overlap problems. We document this early stacking phase through outcrop-scale structural analysis at 55 sites between the Maurienne and Ubaye valleys, along with larger-scale examples of early structures. They consistently show an initial N- to NW tectonic transport, whose kinematic indicators are overprinted by either forward (W- to SW-directed) or backward (E- to NE-directed) deformation associated with post-nappe transport along the Penninic thrust. Accordingly, restoring the Brianconnais fold/thrust system must incorporate reconstruction of the nappe stack along the initial top N-NW direction of orogenic propagation, with careful consideration of their paleogeographic origin towards the S-SE. This stack was built during the Eocene Adria-Iberia collision, and overthrust the Subbrianconnais-Valaisan trough to the NW before involving the Dauphine '-Helvetic foreland. It includes different types of Paleozoic units, either Permo-Carboniferous sediments towards its base, or polymetamorphic basement above, which can be explained by inversion of a late Variscan basin and of its southern shoulder, whereas the uppermost Prepiedmont units result from inversion of the Tethyan margin toe. Mixed breccia, locally preserved close to the tectonic contact between the latter units and the overlying “Schistes Lustre ' s” oceanic nappes, are interpreted as olistostromes fed by both units in a very early collision stage. 39Ar/40Ar dating suggests that these shallow tectono-sedimentary formations were involved in the subduction wedge during the early Eocene, whereas younger (late Eocene) equivalent olistostromes mark the propagation of the Brianconnais stack over the external (Dauphine '/Helvetic) foreland. The Eocene orogenic wedge was rapidly exhumed during Oligocene westward indentation and radial spreading, in a markedly different tectonic context driven by extrusion around an Adriatic upper mantle indenter, which controlled development of the Western Alps arc in relation with the Ligurian sea opening.

Résumé: The Alto Tiberina Fault system, located in the Northern Apennines (Italy), consists of a low angle normal fault (LANF) which radiates micro-seismicity that can be explained by continuous creep. On top of the LANF, a network of syn- and antithetic high angle faults frequently hosts seismic swarms, one of which has been associated with a transient aseismic deformation signal. To study in detail the seismicity and its relationships with aseismic deformation processes occurring in this fault system, we apply template matching on seismic data recorded at an array of borehole stations, to derive a high-resolution earthquake catalog. Thanks to the additionally detected events, we are able to reveal time periods of increased spatial- and temporal clustering during an aseismic deformation event. This reflects the complex evolution of aseismic slip together with the complexity of the shallow fault system. Along the LANF, we observe a bimodal type of seismicity, with diffuse seismicity active continuously, and short-lived bursts of seismicity that could indicate rapid fluid releases. We additionally identify repeating earthquakes. These events not necessarily match a simple creep model and therefore open the possibility for new models to explain the seismicity along the LANF.

Résumé: This paper describes the new GNSS data and product services that have been developed within the context of the EPOS (European Plate Observing System) European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), which is part of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures. These services, optimized for Solid Earth research applications, endeavour to harmonise, and standardise Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data collection and processing. They have been implemented by the members of the GNSS Data & Products (EPOS-GNSS), one of the Thematic Core Services (TCS) of EPOS with the active support of national and pan-European infrastructures (in particular the Regional Reference Frame Sub-Commission for Europe (EUREF) of the International Association of Geodesy). The optimized use of data from dozens of diverse European GNSS networks, installed not specifically for geodynamic studies, created additional requirements from an organizational and technical point of view, the solutions for which we describe in this article. The data flows from data suppliers and analysis centers to the various TCS Data & Product Portals are described, as well as their integration into the overall EPOS system. This is made through GLASS (GNSS Linkage Advanced Software System), a dedicated software package developed since 2016, whose architecture and functionalities are detailed here. Time series and other GNSS products computed at the several analysis centers are described as are the quality control steps that are performed. Finally, several user cases are presented that demonstrate how different stakeholders (from data providers to scientists) can benefit from the efforts being carried out by the EPOS-GNSS community.

Résumé: The Pyrenees is a collisional orogen built by inversion of an immature rift system during convergence of the Iberian and European plates from Late Cretaceous to late Cenozoic. The full mountain belt consists of the pro-foreland southern Pyrenees and the retro-foreland northern Pyrenees, where the inverted lower Cretaceous rift system is mainly preserved. Due to low overall convergence and absence of oceanic subduction, this orogen preserves one of the best geological records of early orogenesis, the transition from early convergence to main collision and the transition from collision to post-convergence. During these transitional periods major changes in orogen behavior reflect evolving lithospheric processes and tectonic drivers. Contributions by the OROGEN project have shed new light on these critical periods, on the evolution of the orogen as a whole, and in particular on the early convergence stage. By integrating results of OROGEN with those of other recent collaborative projects in the Pyrenean domain (e.g., PYRAMID, PYROPE, RGF-Pyrenees), this paper offers a synthesis of current knowledge and debate on the evolution of this immature orogen as recorded in the synorogenic basins and fold and thrust belts of both the upper European and lower Iberian plates. Expanding insight on the role of salt tectonics at local to regional scales is summarised and discussed. Uncertainties involved in data compilation across a whole orogen using different datasets are discussed, for example for deriving shortening values and distribution.

Résumé: According to their respective temperature sensitivities, Apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) and apatite fission-track (AFT) thermochronology records the thermal evolution of the upper crust (<5 km) and is a key for distinguishing between different exhumation mechanisms through time-evolving rock uplift, and landscape evolution. We applied these methods to extract the thermal evolution of the upper crust in the Abancay Deflection at the northern edge of the Altiplano (southern Peru). We present 120 single-crystal AHe ages (from 31 samples) and 27 AFT central ages obtained from magmatic bodies across the study area. AHe ages range from 0.6 +/- 0.1 to 35.8 +/- 2.9 Ma with a satisfactory reproducibility of single-crystal AHe ages with less than 10% averaged dispersion. AFT ages range from 2.6 +/- 1.9 to 38.2 +/- 4.4 Ma with P(chi(2)) values >5%. This dataset allows exploring the crust evolution from the late-Eocene to the Quaternary. Data processed and interpreted in the related article published in Tectonics [6] are stored in PANGAEA repository (108 AHe single-grain ages and 27 AFT ages). We furthermore present in this article 12 extra single-grain AHe ages obtained after the related article publication. We also present the details of fission-track length measurements published in the related article. Thermochronological ages could be reused for testing He diffusion or fission track annealing processes or investigating the broader tectonic/geodynamic evolution of the Andes. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.

Résumé: Identifying the causes of flank destabilization of active volcanic edifices is key to prevent catastrophic events. The persistent seismicity recorded below the eastern flank of Piton de la Fournaise shield volcano (la Re ' union Island), both in between and during eruptive events, may give indications on the mechanical stability of this edifice. Whether this asymmetric “cup” shaped seismicity is linked to magma injections and whether it sparks a gravitational flank slide motivates this study. Here we model the elasto-plastic behavior of this volcanic edifice at crustal scale, with the 3D finite-element code Adeli. First, we test the influence of tensile failure, recently implemented in combination to a Drucker-Prager shear failure criterion; a pressurized cavity below a flat top surface triggers shear failure in general, with tensile failure restricted to the surface and cavity tip. Then we include the topography of Piton de la Fournaise in the gravity field. Considering first only elasticity, deviatoric stresses attain about 35 MPa below the volcanic edifice and displacements are maximum in the horizontal east-west direction, reaching 30 m near sea-level. Introducing plastic behavior produces a rather symmetric cup shape plastic domain around the volcano's summit, that extends at depth with reducing bedrock effective friction (which acts is a proxy for reduced standard friction due to pore fluid pressurization). An asymmetric listric shear zone develops down to -3 km (bsl) only if the tensile strength, cohesion and friction angle are set as low as 1.5 MPa, 3 MPa and 3 degrees, respectively; these values hence provide a lower bound for the edifice's effective strength. The second part of this study explores the influence of an internal overpressure, which is either applied as a vertical inflation source located about 500 m below the surface of the eastern flank, simulating a distal dike, or from a deeper ellipsoid simulating the magma reservoir located at depth ca. 0 km (near sea level) below the summit. The resulting strain pattern forms a cup-shaped shear zone dipping down below the eastern flanks of the edifice, reaching depth -2 km (bsl) if effective friction angle is <= 5 degrees. Whereas the deep base of the dike and the eastern edge of the magma reservoir coincide geometrically in the models, the inflating dike produces a shear zone 1 km shallower than does the inflating magma reservoir, the latter coinciding better with the shape of the observed seismic cup. Hence, we propose that this structure is a mechanical consequence of continuous magma supply in the reservoir, coherent with previous interpretations. This means that at least originally it did not need to form as a pre-existing weak zone or a magma-filled structure. However, this shear zone delimits an underlying domain in dilatation relative to a constricted hanging-wall; it may thus promote magma sills. It also branches to the surface with planar radial shear zones comparable to some observed eruptive fissures. The 3D kinematics of this shear zone does not rule out the possibility of a giant flank slide, although it does not appear today as imminent.

Résumé: Numerical experiments of seismic wave propagation in a laterally homogeneous layered medium explore subsurface imaging at subwavelength distances for dense seismic arrays. We choose a time-reversal approach to simulate fundamental mode Rayleigh surface wavefields that are equivalent to the cross-correlation results of three-component ambient seismic field records. We demonstrate that the synthesized 2-D spatial autocorrelation fields in the time domain support local or so-called focal spot imaging. Systematic tests involving clean isotropic surface wavefields but also interfering body wave components and anisotropic incidence assess the accuracy of the phase velocity and dispersion estimates obtained from focal spot properties. The results suggest that data collected within half a wavelength around the origin is usually sufficient to constrain the used Bessel functions models. Generally, the cleaner the surface wavefield the smaller the fitting distances that can be used to accurately estimate the local Rayleigh wave speed. Using models based on isotropic surface wave propagation we find that phase velocity estimates from vertical-radial component data are less biased by P-wave energy compared to estimates obtained from vertical-vertical component data, that even strong anisotropic surface wave incidence yields phase velocity estimates with an accuracy of 1 per cent or better, and that dispersion can be studied in the presence of noise. Estimates using a model to resolve potential medium anisotropy are significantly biased by anisotropic surface wave incidence. The overall accurate results obtained from near-field measurements using isotropic medium assumptions imply that dense array seismic Rayleigh wave focal spot imaging can increase the depth sensitivity compared to ambient noise surface wave tomography. The analogy to elastography focal spot medical imaging implies that a high station density and clean surface wavefields support subwavelength resolution of lateral medium variations.

Résumé: Collisional shortening in the external Western Alps was first accommodated by internal (distributed) deformation in the External Crystalline Massifs (ECM) and then on frontal crustal ramps (localized deformation). However, the timing of transition between these two periods is still under-constrained, mainly because the available dataset is incomplete in the Western Alps. We here provide new zircon and apatite fission-track (ZFT and AFT) and zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He (ZHe) data that constrain the early stages of cooling hence exhumation of the external Alpine wedge, as well as new Raman Spectroscopy of Carbonaceous Material (RSCM) data from the Belledonne massif. ZFT ages mainly range between 15 and 20 Ma, ZHe ages between 5 and 12 Ma, AFT ages between 2 and 10 Ma. Those data are integrated within inverse and forward thermal history modelling (HeFTy) along with literature data to constrain the late Oligocene-Miocene cooling history and suggest that exhumation of the Belledonne and the Pelvoux massifs may have started as early as ca. 27 Ma. This early exhumation was rather slow (similar to 50 m.Myrs(-1) +/- 2 m.Myrs(-1)) and may date the transition between the distributed and the localized mode of shortening, i.e., the initiation of the crustal ramps below these massifs. Further north, in the Mont Blanc and Aiguilles Rouges massifs, exhumation was active around 18 Ma, and started possibly earlier, around 20-25 Ma. From this time on (18 Ma), exhumation rates increased in all external massifs (similar to 500 +/- 40 m.Myrs(-1), both North and South). This age most likely corresponds to the end of the transition period between distributed and localized shortening with localisation along the frontal crustal ramps and the rapid associated exhumation, then cooling of the hangingwall (even considering that cooling may start a few Myrs later than exhumation if isoterms are advected). This timing notably corresponds to a transition between the two molasse mega-sequences in the foreland basin (Lower Marine/Freshwater Molasse and Upper Marine/Freshwater Molasse).

Résumé: This article was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal on 23 August 2021. With the author(s)' decision, the copyright of the article changed on 27 of January 2022 to (c) British Geological Survey, UKRI 2022 and the article is forthwith distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit . The original article has been corrected

Résumé: The physical processes that operate within, and beneath, a volcano control the frequency, duration, location and size of volcanic eruptions. Volcanotectonics focuses on such processes, combining techniques, data, and ideas from structural geology, tectonics, volcano deformation, physical volcanology, seismology, petrology, rock and fracture mechanics and classical physics. A central aim of volcanotectonics is to provide sufficient understanding of the internal processes in volcanoes so that, when combined with monitoring data, reliable forecasting of eruptions, vertical (caldera) and lateral (landslide) collapses and related events becomes possible. To gain such an understanding requires knowledge of the material properties of the magma and the crustal rocks, as well as the associated stress fields, and their evolution. The local stress field depends on the properties of the layers that constitute the volcano and, in particular, the geometric development of its shallow magma chamber. During this decade an increasing use of data from InSAR, pixel offset and structure-from-motion, as well as dense, portable seismic networks will provide further details on the mechanisms of volcanic unrest, magma-chamber rupture, the propagation of magma-filled fractures (dikes, inclined sheets and sills) and lateral and vertical collapse. Additionally, more use will be made of accurate quantitative data from fossil and active volcanoes, combined with realistic numerical, analytical and machine-learning studies, so as to provide reliable models on volcano behaviour and eruption forecasting.

Résumé: Present-day global warming raises important issues regarding sediment flux from glaciated catchments. The detrital export from such environments results from erosion processes operating in three geomorphic domains: the supraglacial rockwalls, the ice-covered substratum and the proglacial area, downstream from the glacier. The dominant process controlling present-day sediment export from glaciated catchments remains debated with most studies underlining the paraglacial dynamics in the glacier forefront. This study nuances these observations by quantifying the contribution from each geomorphic domain to the export of a glaciated catchment in the North face of Mont-Blanc (France). High resolution hydro-sedimentary flux data were acquired during eight years in two proglacial streams with contrasting glacio-hydrological characteristics, Bossons and Crosette streams. In the Bossons stream catchment, the sediment response highlights the initiation of the dendritic drainage network beneath the glacier, the short-lived evacuation of an annual storage during the early melt-season and its subsequent steadier regime. In addition, three years exhibit late melt season exports which are uncorrelated with temperature or rainfall. The evolution of the drainage network throughout the melt season explains the evacuation of the annual and pluri-annual subglacial sediment stocks. In addition, glacial retreat in link with higher melt rate allows for exporting a pluriannual sediment stock stored beneath the glacier. To conclude, the present-day sediment response in Bossons catchment displays distinct components with characteristic timescales and is dampened by intermediate storage controlled by drainage development and extreme events in the glacial and proglacial domains.

Résumé: Soil carbon dynamics is strongly controlled by depth globally, with increasingly slow dynamics found at depth. The mechanistic basis remains however controversial, limiting our ability to predict carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Here we combine radiocarbon and thermal analyses with long-term incubations in absence/presence of continuously 13C/14C-labelled plants to show that bioenergetic constraints of decomposers consistently drive the depth-dependency of soil carbon dynamics over a range of mineral reactivity contexts. The slow dynamics of subsoil carbon is tightly related to both its low energy density and high activation energy of decomposition, leading to an unfavourable 'return-on-energy-investment' for decomposers. We also observe strong acceleration of millennia-old subsoil carbon decomposition induced by roots ('rhizosphere priming'), showing that sufficient supply of energy by roots is able to alleviate the strong energy limitation of decomposition. These findings demonstrate that subsoil carbon persistence results from its poor energy quality together with the lack of energy supply by roots due to their low density at depth.

Résumé: Previously, it has been shown that probabilistic seismic risk assessments (PSRAs) at urban scale present important discrepancies when compared with analyses conducted using methodologies from regional or national PSRA. However, conducting site-specific urban-scale analyses for a considerable number of cities may not be feasible due to limitations in time, resources, and in some cases availability of information, and thus more general models or methodologies are used. This brings into the picture the importance of identifying and quantifying the possible biases, discrepancies, and uncertainties when using different methods, both in the hazard and vulnerability components. Regarding the latter, several sources of uncertainty and biases have been identified in 1) the selection of ground motion records, either by using a general pool of records such as the ones from FEMA P695 or by performing a site- or hazard-specific analysis that requires a significant effort, especially in areas with a poor history of seismic instrumentation and even more in regions with no evidence of previous PSRA at all; and 2) the fragility or vulnerability derivation nonlinear dynamic methods: incremental dynamic analysis [IDA], cloud analysis [CA], and multi-stripe Analysis [MSA], among others. Focusing on these sources of uncertainty and bias, and with the challenge to bring solutions for places with scarce information, in this study, we aim to explore the use of different vulnerability derivation assumptions for the three principal cities of Colombia: Bogota, Medellin, and Cali, where most of the economic growth is concentrated. This considers the different seismic hazard levels and tectonic environment contributions in each city. Afterward, a comparison between the results of the analysis without the hazard-specific record selection and the site-specific one for each city is performed to establish the cases in which the former is applicable without adding more biases or uncertainties in the process.

Résumé: The migration of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia during Early Pleistocene is cardinal to our comprehension of the evolution of the genus Homo. However, the limited consideration of the rapidly changing physical environment, together with controversial datings of hominin bearing sites, make it challenging to secure the robust timeline needed to unveil the behavior of early humans. Here, we reappraise the first appearance datum ofJavanese H. erectus by adding the most reliable age constraints based on cosmogenic nuclides Be-10 and Al-26 produced in situ to a compilation of earlier estimates. We find that H. erectus reached Java and dwelled at Sangiran, Java, ca. 1.8 Ma. Using this age as a baseline, we develop a probabilistic approach to reconstruct their dispersal routes, coupling ecological movement simulations to landscape evolution models forced by reconstructed geodynamic and climatic histories. We demonstrate that the hospitable terra firma conditions of Sundaland facilitated the prior dispersal of hominins to the edge of Java, where they conversely could not settle until the Javanese archipelago emerged from the sea and connected to Sundaland. The dispersal of H. erectus across Sundaland occurred over at least tens to hundreds kyr, a time scale over which changes in their physical environment, whether climatic or physiographic, may have become primary forcings on their behavior. Our comprehensive reconstruction method to unravel the peopling timeline of SE Asia provides a novel framework to evaluate the evolution of early humans.

Résumé: A review of the tectonic events recorded by sediments on the Andean continental margin of northern Peru and Ecuador and on the accreted oceanic terranes of Ecuador, allows to identify three tectonic events of late Campanian to late Paleocene age (-75 to-55 Ma). Each tectonic event resulted in the arrival of quartz-rich deposits on the oceanic units and in a sedimentary hiatus in the backarc zone (Oriente basin), which both indicate an uplift of the South-American continental margin. This is interpreted as the underplating of oceanic terranes beneath the Andean continental margin. After the Incaic contractional phase (-40 Ma), the Oriente Basin recorded a sharp increase in the subsidence rate, the westward migration of the depocenters and a drastic change in the detrital source around 25 Ma, which indicate the onset of its foreland basin evolution, driven by flexural subsidence. It is therefore proposed that the Ecuadorian Andes resulted first from the evolution of a western, west-verging orogenic wedge, made of accreted oceanic material (-75-40 Ma). Once this western wedge overthickened and submitted to strong vertical body forces, the strain related to ocean-continent convergence was transmitted to the continental plate, where a second, eastern, east-verging orogenic wedge formed about 25 Ma ago. This scenario accounts for the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Ecuadorian-north Peruvian margin, and explains why, in spite of a moderate elevation, the partly oceanic crustal root of the Ecuadorian Andes, is almost as thick as beneath the high-altitude Altiplano of southern Peru and Bolivia, where the crustal root is mainly of continental nature.

Résumé: In this study, we develop a novel method to automatically detect areas of snow avalanche debris using a color space segmentation technique applied to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image time series through January 2018 in the Swiss Alps. Debris avalanche zones are detected assuming that these areas are characterized by a significant and localized increase in SAR signal relative to the surrounding environment. We undertake a sensitivity study by calculating debris products by varying the D-M reference images (a stable reference image taken several weeks before the event). We examine the results according to the direction of the orbit, the characteristics of the terrain (slope, altitude, orientation), and also by evaluating the relevance of the detection with the help of an independent SPOT database by Hafner and Buhler [1] including 18 737 avalanche events. Small avalanches are not detected by SAR images, and depending on the orientation of the terrain some avalanches are not detected by either the ascending or the descending orbit. The detection results vary with the reference image; best detection results are obtained with some selected individual dates with almost 70% of verified avalanche events using the ascending orbit.

Résumé: Combined angular and energy dispersive diffraction is particularly well suited to experiments at high pressures in large-volume presses, and to the study of liquid or amorphous systems. This work describes the data acquisition, correction and reduction approach developed at the PSICHE beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron. The measured data were normalized for both the scattering volume and the effective incident energy spectrum. By optimizing the acquisition strategy, the measurement time and radiation dose are greatly reduced. The correction and reduction protocol outputs normalized scattering profiles that are suitable for pair distribution function or liquid structure analysis. These processes are demostrated with examples from a number of real experimental data sets.

Résumé: Ground-motion models (GMMs) are often used to predict the random distribution of Spectral accelerations (SAs) at a site due to a nearby earthquake. In probabilistic seismic hazard and risk assessment, large earthquakes occurring close to a site are considered as critical scenarios. GMMs are expected to predict realistic SAs with low within-model uncertainty (sigma(mu)) for such rare scenarios. However, the datasets used to regress GMMs are usually deficient of data from critical scenarios. The (Kotha et al., A Regionally Adaptable Ground-Motion Model for Shallow Crustal Earthquakes in Europe Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering 18:4091-4125, 2020) GMM developed from the Engineering strong motion (ESM) dataset was found to predict decreasing short-period SAs with increasing M-W >= M-h = 6.2, and with large sigma(mu) at near-source distances <= 30km. In this study, we updated the parametrisation of the GMM based on analyses of ESM and the Near source strong motion (NESS) datasets. With M-h = 5.7, we could rectify the M-W scaling issue, while also reducing sigma(mu). at M-W >= M-h. We then evaluated the GMM against NESS data, and found that the SAs from a few large, thrust-faulting events in California, New Zealand, Japan, and Mexico are significantly higher than GMM median predictions. However, recordings from these events were mostly made on soft-soil geology, and contain anisotropic pulse-like effects. A more thorough non-ergodic treatment of NESS was not possible because most sites sampled unique events in very diverse tectonic environments. We provide an updated set of GMM coefficients,sigma(mu), and heteroscedastic variance models; while also cautioning against its application for M-W <= 4 in low-moderate seismicity regions without evaluating the homogeneity of M-W estimates between pan-European ESM and regional datasets.

Résumé: Nanosized zinc sulfides (nano-ZnS) have size-dependent and tunable physical and chemical properties that make them useful for a variety of technological applications. For example, structural changes, especially caused by strain, are pronounced in nano-ZnS < 5 nm in size, the size range typical of incidental nano-ZnS that form in the environment. Previous research has shown how natural organic matter impacts the physical properties of nano-ZnS but was mostly focused on their aggregation state. However, the specific organic molecules and the type of functional groups that are most important for controlling the nano-ZnS size and strain remain unclear. This study examined the size-dependent strain of nano-ZnS synthesized in the presence of serine, cysteine, glutathione, histidine, and acetate. Synchrotron total scattering pair distribution function analysis was used to determine the average crystallite size and strain. Among the different organic molecules tested, those containing a thiol group were shown to affect the particle size and size-induced strain most strongly when added during synthesis but significantly reduced the particle strain when added to as-formed nano-ZnS. The same effects are useful to understand the properties and behavior of natural nano-ZnS formed as products of microbial activity, for example, in reducing environments, or of incidental nano-ZnS formed in organic wastes.

Résumé: Billions of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) passive tags are produced yearly to identify goods remotely. New research and business applications are continuously arising, including recently localization and sensing to monitor earth surface processes. Indeed, passive tags can cost 10 to 100 times less than wireless sensors networks and require little maintenance, facilitating years-long monitoring with ten's to thousands of tags. This study reviews the existing and potential applications of RFID in geosciences. The most mature application today is the study of coarse sediment transport in rivers or coastal environments, using tags placed into pebbles. More recently, tag localization was used to monitor landslide displacement, with a centimetric accuracy. Sensing tags were used to detect a displacement threshold on unstable rocks, to monitor the soil moisture or temperature, and to monitor the snowpack temperature and snow water equivalent. RFID sensors, available today, could monitor other parameters, such as the vibration of structures, the tilt of unstable boulders, the strain of a material, or the salinity of water. Key challenges for using RFID monitoring more broadly in geosciences include the use of ground and aerial vehicles to collect data or localize tags, the increase in reading range and duration, the ability to use tags placed under ground, snow, water or vegetation, and the optimization of economical and environ-mental cost. As a pattern, passive RFID could fill a gap between wireless sensor networks and manual mea-surements, to collect data efficiently over large areas, during several years, at high spatial density and moderate cost.

Résumé: When a liquid drop strikes a deep pool of a target liquid, an impact crater opens while the liquid of the drop decelerates and spreads on the surface of the crater. When the density of the drop is larger than the target liquid, we observe mushroom-shaped instabilities growing at the interface between the two liquids. We interpret this instability as a spherical Rayleigh-Taylor instability due to the deceleration of the interface, which exceeds the ambient gravity. We investigate experimentally the effect of the density contrast and the impact Froude number, which measures the importance of the impactor kinetic energy to gravitational energy, on the instability and the resulting mixing layer. Using backlighting and planar laser-induced fluorescence methods, we obtain the position of the air-liquid interface, an estimate of the instability wavelength, and the thickness of the mixing layer. We derive a model for the evolution of the crater radius from an energy conservation. We then show that the observed dynamics of the mixing layer results from a competition between the geometrical expansion of the crater, which tends to thin the layer, and entrainment related to the instability, which increases the layer thickness. The mixing caused by this instability has geophysical implications for the impacts that formed terrestrial planets. Extrapolating our scalings to planets, we estimate the mass of silicates that equilibrates with the metallic core of the impacting bodies.

Résumé: The Demerara and Guinea plateaus are conjugate Transform Marginal Plateaus (TMPs) formed at the junction of the Jurassic Central Atlantic Ocean and the Cretaceous Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. We compare their structure and evolution through a combined industrial/academic seismic dataset tied by well data. We show that these TMPs record a complete evolution history from the Jurassic Central Atlantic to the Equatorial Atlantic breakup and seafloor spreading phases. Both plateaus first formed as volcanic margins displaying successive SDR wedges migrating towards the newly forming Central Atlantic domain. In this context, Demerara and Guinea, conjugates of the Bahamas, seem to have formed in relation to plume activity at the southern end of the Central Atlantic domain. Our dataset suggests that the Demerara and Guinea plateaus initially represented two distinct extrusive centres separated by a crustal basement high. Later, during the Cretaceous Equatorial opening phase, both plateaus separated in a transform mode following this discontinuity. Deformation is notably asymmetric during this phase: Aptian to Albian folding, strike-slip, transtensive deformation and complex vertical movements on the Demerara side and only minor deformation on the Guinean side, except on its divergent Sierra Leone termination. The deformation is sealed on both plateaus by a regional upper Albian erosion unconformity. Extensional reactivation occurs on the Guinea side (probably through a general collapse?). To conclude, this study provides new insights into the nature and origin of TMPs and the key tectono-sedimentary archives they may contain to understand the polyphase breakup conditions of Gondwana.

Résumé: Phyllomanganates of the birnessite family are the most abundant manganese oxides on Earth and the strongest inorganic oxidants in the environment. Birnessite controls the oxidative scavenging of cobalt in soils, lake and marine sediments, and ferromanganese crusts and nodules, leading to enrichments of the order of one billion times the concentration in solution. However, a detailed mechanistic understanding of the enrichment processes is lacking. Here, we perform density functional theory calculations to explore the mechanisms of Co(II) to Co(III) oxidation on the layer edge and surface of birnessite nanoparticles. We show that Co(II) sorption on a layer edge is an unlikely oxidation pathway. In contrast, Co(II) sorbed on a Mn(IV) vacancy site exposed on the layer surface as an octahedral triple-corner sharing (TCS) complex enters the vacancy where it is oxidized to Co(III) by a layer Mn(IV) cation, which is reduced to Mn(III). The stepwise reaction proceeds as follows. The octahedral TCS complex is transformed into a smaller tetrahedral TCS complex, allowing Co(II) to cross the surface oxygen layer and to fill the empty octahedral Mn(IV) site. When in the octahedral vacancy, Co(II) is converted from the high-spin (t(2g)(5)e(g)(2)) to the low-spin (t(2g)(6)e(g)(1)) state and the Co(II) octahedron becomes strongly distorted by the Jahn-Teller effect. Afterward, the electron exchange reaction between Mn(IV) (t(2g)(3)e(g)(0)) and Co(II) (t(2g)(6)e(g)(1)) takes place, resulting in the formation of a regular low-spin Co(III) (t(2g)(6)e(g)(0)) octahedron and a Jahn-Teller distorted high-spin Mn(III) (t(2g)(3)e(g)(1)) octahedron. These findings refine previously proposed mechanisms of Co(II) oxidation by birnessite and fill gaps in our understanding of global Co sequestration in natural systems.

Résumé: Historic levels of drought, globally, call for sustainable freshwater management. Under pressing demand is a refined understanding of the structures and dynamics of groundwater systems. Here we present an unconventional, cost-effective approach to aquifer monitoring using seismograph arrays. Employing advanced seismic interferometry techniques, we calculate the space-time evolution of relative changes in seismic velocity, as a measure of hydrological properties. During 2000-2020 in basins near Los Angeles, seismic velocity variations match groundwater tables measured in wells and surface deformations inferred from satellite sensing, but the seismological approach adds temporal and depth resolutions for deep structures and processes. Maps of long-term seismic velocity changes reveal distinct patterns (decline or recovery) of groundwater storage in basins that are adjacent but adjudicated to water districts conducting different pumping practices. This pilot application bridges the gap between seismology and hydrology, and shows the promise of leveraging seismometers worldwide to provide 4D characterizations of groundwater and other near-surface systems. Characterization of groundwater systems is important for sustainable freshwater management. Here, the authors map the distribution of groundwater storage changes at several hundred meters below the metropolitan Los Angeles during 2000-2020, by developing a cost-effective method using ambient ground vibrations recorded by seismometers.

Résumé: Among primitive meteorites, CR chondrites have peculiar isotopic compositions, the origin of which is uncertain and may have involved contributions from primordial molecular cloud material or the chondrites' formation and agglomeration late during the evolution of the protoplanetary disk. Here, we report a comprehensive textural and isotopic characterization of type I CR chondrules and provide new insights on their formation conditions. We find that two chondrule populations characterized by different sizes and oxygen isotopic compositions co-exist in CR chondrites. The typically larger, O-16-poor (delta O-17 > -4 parts per thousand) chondrules (type I-CR chondrules) appear to have formed late out of a CR reservoir already populated by typically smaller, O-16-rich (delta O-17 < -4 parts per thousand) chondrules (type I-CO chondrules). Before formation of type I-CR chondrules, the CR reservoir was likely dominated by CI-like dust, in line with the proximity of CR with CI chondrites for many isotopic ratios. The CR reservoir thus may have largely belonged to the continuum shown by other carbonaceous chondrites, although some isotopic ratios maintain some originality and suggest isotopic variation of CI-like dust in the outer disk. Combined with literature data, our data (i) demonstrates that recycling processes are responsible for the singular compositions of CR chondrites and their chondrules for isotopic systems with drastically different geochemical behaviors (O, Cr, Te) and (ii) support the homogeneous distribution of Al-26 throughout the protoplanetary disk. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Résumé: The Western European Alps display measurable surface deformation rates from leveling and GNSS data. Based on the time-series analysis of 4 years of Sentinel-1 data, we propose for the first time an InSAR-based mapping of the uplift pattern affecting the Western Alps on a similar to 350 x 175-km-wide area. This approach provides a denser spatial distribution of vertical motion despite the high noise level inherent to mountainous areas and the low expected deformation signal. Our results show consistency with other geodetic measurements at the regional scale, and reveal smaller-scale spatial variations in the uplift pattern. Higher uplift rates are found within the external crystalline massifs compared to surrounding areas, in agreement with the variations expected from recent deglaciation and long-term exhumation data. This work brings the first InSAR-based geodetic clue of differential uplift within the Alpine belt in response to the surface and deep processes affecting the belt.

Résumé: The geometric properties of fractures influence whether they propagate, arrest, or coalesce with other fractures. Thus, quantifying the relationship between fracture network characteristics may help predict fracture network development, and perhaps precursors to catastrophic failure. To constrain the relationship and predictability of fracture characteristics, we deform eight one centimeter tall rock cores under triaxial compression while acquiring in situ X-ray tomograms. The tomograms reveal precise measurements of the fracture network characteristics above the spatial resolution of 6.5 μm. We develop machine learning models to predict the value of each characteristic using the other characteristics, and excluding the macroscopic stress or strain imposed on the rock. The models predict fracture development more accurately in the experiments performed on granite and monzonite, than the experiments on marble. Fracture network development may be more predictable in these igneous rocks because their microstructure is more mechanically homogeneous than the marble, producing more systematic fracture development that is not strongly impeded by grain contacts and cleavage planes. The varying performance of the models suggest that fracture volume, length, and aperture are the most predictable of the characteristics, while fracture orientation is the least predictable. Orientation does not correlate with length, as suggested by the idea that the orientation evolves with increasing differential stress and thus fracture length. This difference between the observed and expected relationship between orientation and length highlights the influence of mechanical heterogeneities and local stress perturbations on fracture growth as fractures propagate, link, and coalesce.

Résumé: Nonlinear anisotropic diffusion filters have been introduced in the field of image processing for image denoising and image restoration. They are based on the solution of partial differential equations involving a nonlinear anisotropic diffusion operator. From a mathematical point of view, these filters enjoy attractive properties, such as minimum-maximum principle, and an inherent decomposition of the images in different scales. We investigate in this study how these filters can be applied to help solving data-fitting inverse problems. We focus on seismic imaging using the full waveform, a well known nonlinear instance of such inverse problems. In this context, we show how the filters can be applied directly to the solution space, to enhance the structural coherence of the parameters representing the subsurface mechanical properties and accelerate the convergence. We also show how they can be applied to the seismic data itself. In the latter case, the method results in an original low-frequency data enhancement technique making it possible to stabilize the inversion process when started from an initial model away from the basin of attraction of the global minimizer. Numerical results on a 2D realistic synthetic full waveform inversion case study illustrate the interesting properties of both approaches.

Résumé: Approximately 2 yr (2010???2011) of continuous seismic records from a subset of the Antarctic component of the Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET-ANET) seismic network deployed in West Antarctica are used to compute the nine components of the correlation tensor between each pair of stations in the network. Rayleigh wave velocity information from the vertical and radial components was extracted in the form of group and phase velocity dispersion curves, whereas the transverse component provided complimentary Love wave velocity information. The multicomponent Rayleigh wave measurements (ZZ, RR, ZR, and RZ) were averaged and used to infer the measurement uncertainties. The Rayleigh and Love wave group and phase velocities were then regionalized in space using a 2D deterministic tomography. A transect that spans the West Antarctic rift system was extracted from the tomography at individual periods between 7 and 60 s for the four types of surface wave velocities (i.e., Rayleigh and Love phase and group velocities). A transdimensional Bayesian joint inversion algorithm was used to invert these four datasets for a 1D model of isotropic shear-wave velocity versus depth at each point along the transect. In this way, surface wave dispersion curves from multicomponent noise correlations were used to build a 2D isotropic shear-wave velocity model down to -55 km depth. In this model, the top of the large low-velocity zone beneath Marie Byrd Land was imaged (up to a 5% decrease in velocity at -50 km depth), which provides further evidence for a mantle hot spot beneath the crust that supports the high topography in this region. We also observed a large velocity contrast in the lower crust beneath Marie Byrd Land at a depth where previous long-period seismicity has been observed. This strong contrast occurs more shallow than in previous crustal models, which compared to our model identify a deeper Moho ( -5???10 km deeper) beneath Marie Byrd Land. This new model has implications for interpreting earthquake locations in this region and perhaps necessitates that we revisit past hypocenter estimation studies using updated velocity models for the region.

Résumé: Between August 2017 and March 2019, an intense seismic swarm was recorded in the Maurienne valley in the north of the Belledonne massif (Western French Alps). In order to study the spatiotemporal evolution of the Maurienne swarm, we created a high-resolution catalog based on template matching, double-difference relocation, and moment magnitudes. The catalog includes 71,064 events with a maximum moment magnitude of 3.5 and a magnitude of completeness of 0.7. The seismic activity is interpreted as the reactivation of an N80 strike-slip fault system called Fond de France. Moreover, earthquake relocation reveals the presence of a shallower fault system with the same strike, but opposite dip direction and smaller size. The presence of two distinct fault systems may explain the observed variation of the b-value with depth. The seismicity migrated asymmetrically in all directions during the course of about 15 months. Shorter migrations lasting 2-3 days are also observed. The different migration patterns suggest that the swarm is driven by several mechanisms, possibly pore-pressure diffusion, aseismic slip, and earthquake interactions.

Résumé: Motivated by some landslide models, and related estimation challenges, this paper presents an optimal estimation method for state and parameter in a special class of so-called ODE-PDE system based on the adjoint method for discrete-time asynchronous measurements. This system is described by a pair of coupled Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) and Partial Differential Equation (PDE), with a mixed boundary condition for the PDE. The coupling appears both in the ODE and in the Neuman boundary condition of the PDE. For this system, initial conditions or state variables and some empirical parameters are assumed to be unknown and need to be estimated. The Lagrangian multiplier method is used to connect the dynamics of the system and the cost function defined as the least square error between the simulation values and the available measurements. The adjoint state method is applied to the objective functional to get the adjoint system and the gradients with respect to parameters and initial state. The cost functional is optimised, employing the steepest descent method to estimate parameters and initial state. This general approach is illustrated by two application examples corresponding to two different landslide models that validate the presented optimal estimation approach. The first one is about state and parameter estimation in an extended sliding-consolidation landslide model, and the second one is in the viscoplastic sliding-consolidation landslide model.

Résumé: Elephants are currently the largest terrestrial mammals, along with their extinct ancestor the mammoth. These species are of great interest due to their geographic distribution and ecological importance. However, the bone mineral characteristics of their skeleton as well as their alteration during burial processes over millions of years have been poorly investigated. In the current research, we analyzed the compositional and structural mineral properties of different types (i.e., long and flat bones) of elephant and mammoth bones. For this purpose, we performed a comparative study between these bone types using complementary analytical techniques based on X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopic analysis. The chemical composition of the samples shows a relative loss of a considerable percentage of water and organic matter components for the fossilized bone, accompanied by a higher bone mineralization degree and the presence of other crystalline phases (i.e., calcite and pyrite) related to a certain degree of diagenesis alteration. Our results also show a variation in the crystalline properties of mammoth bone related to the recrystallization process during the dissolution-precipitation transformation through diagenetic burial. This research provides relevant information for understanding the mineral properties of different types of bones and their possible changes during diagenesis.

Résumé: On 29 July 1968, there was a violent reactivation of Arenal volcano. The resulting westward-directed lateral blast eruption left two villages destroyed and 78 people dead. The activity continued as a long-lasting, open-vent eruption that evolved into seven recognisable phases reflecting changes in magma supply, explosive activity and cone evolution, and ended in October 2010. Here, we review this activity, the geophysical approaches applied to understanding it and the open questions resulting from these insights. The eruptive dynamics were characterised by almost constant lava effusion, degassing, strombolian and vulcanian explosions and infrequent pyroclastic density currents. In this study, the total rock dense equivalent volume of lava and tephra erupted is calculated at 757+77 Mm(3), while the volume of the lava flow field is 527 +/- 58 Mm(3). Typical seismic activity included harmonic and spasmodic tremors, long-period events and explosion signals with frequent audible “booms”. The decline of the eruptive activity started in 2000, with a decrease in the number and size of explosive events, a shift from long to short lava flows along with the collapse of lava flow fronts and the subsequent formation of downward-rolling lava block aprons, the frequent growth of dome-like structures on the summit and a gradual decrease in seismic energy. Multiple geological and geophysical studies during this 42-year-long period of open-vent activity at Arenal resulted in many advances in understanding the dynamics of andesitic blocky lava flows, the origin and diversity of pyroclastic density currents and seismic sources, as well as the role of site effects and rough topography in modifying the seismic wavefield. The acoustic measurements presented here include two types of events: typical explosions and small pressure transients. Features of the latter type are not usually observed at volcanoes with intermediate to evolved magma composition. Explosions have different waveforms and larger gas volumes than pressure transients, both types being associated with active and passive degassing, respectively. This body of data, results and knowledge can inform on the type of activity, and associated geophysical signals, of open-vent systems that are active for decades.

Résumé: Orogens and volcanic arcs at continental plate margins are primary surface expressions of convergent plate tectonics. Although it is established that climate affects the shape, size, and architecture of orogens via orographic erosion gradients, the ascent of magma through the crust and location of volcanoes along magmatic arcs have been considered insensitive to erosion. However, available data reveal westward migration of late-Cenozoic volcanic activity in the Southern Andes and Cascade Range where orography drives an eastward migration of the topographic water divide by increased precipitation and erosion along west-facing slopes. Thermomechanical numerical modeling shows that orographic erosion and the associated leeward topographic migration may entail asymmetric crustal structures that drive the magma ascent toward the region of enhanced erosion. Despite the different tectonic histories of the Southern Andes and the Cascade Range, orographic erosion is a shared causal mechanism that can explain the late-Cenozoic westward migration of the volcanic front along both magmatic arcs.

Résumé: The idea of a planetary origin for the solar cycle dates back to the nineteenth century. Despite unsurmounted problems, it is still advocated by some. Stefani, Giesecke, and Weier (Solar Phys. 294, 60, 2019) thus recently proposed a scenario based on this idea. A key argument they put forward is evidence that the approximate to 11 years solar cycle is “clocked”, as if it were paced by an accurate clock inside the Sun. Their demonstration rests upon the computation of a ratio proposed by Dicke (Nature 276, 676, 1978) applied to the solar-cycle time series of Schove (J. Geophys. Res. 60, 127, 1955). I show that their demonstration is invalid, because the assumptions used by Schove to build his time series force a clocked behavior. I also show that instabilities in a magnetized fluid can produce fluctuation time series that are close to being clocked.

Résumé: The dynamic response of rocks to thermal, hydrodynamical, mechanical, and geochemical solicitations is of fundamental interest in several disciplines of geosciences, including geoengineering, geophysics, rock physics, hydrology, mineralogy, and environmental and soil sciences. From crystal shape to rock microstructure or pore space and fluid distribution, parameters characterizing the rock physico-chemical properties evolve at different time and spatial scales. X-ray micro-tomography (XMT), as a non-invasive and non-destructive imaging technique, offers an unprecedented opportunity to add the fourth dimension, i.e. time, to the three-dimensional spatial visualization of rock and mineral microstructures. The technique is increasingly used to explore dynamic processes in porous and fractured rocks, thanks to synchrotron sources and laboratory XMT scanners, new generations of detectors, and increasing computational power. Image processing allows for tracking the evolution of the fluid-fluid or fluid-mineral interfaces as well as measuring incremental deformations, as rocks deform and react through time under in situ conditions of the sub-surface. Here, we review recent advances in 4D X-ray micro-tomography applied to thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical (THMC) sub-surface processes where fluids, porosity, minerals, and rock microstructures evolve together.

Résumé: We derive a three-dimensional shear-wave velocity model of the Ligurian-Provence back-arc basin (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) using ocean-bottom seismometers (AlpArray OBSs) and land stations from permanent and temporary seismic networks. The quality of OBS continuous records is enhanced by a specific processing that reduces instrumental and seabed-induced noises (transients, tilt, compliance). To further improve the resolution of ambient-noise tomography in the offshore area, we compute the Rayleigh-wave part of the Green functions for OBS-OBS pairs by using onshore stations as virtual sources. 2-D group-velocity maps and their uncertainties are computed in the 4-150 s period range by a transdimensional inversion of Rayleigh-wave travel times. The dispersion data and their uncertainties are inverted for a probabilistic 3-D shear-wave velocity model that includes probability densities for V-s and for the depth of layer interfaces. The probabilistic model is refined by a linearized inversion that accounts for the water layer in the Ligurian Sea. Our S-wave velocity and layer boundary probability models correspond well to a recent, high-resolution P-wave velocity cross-section derived from controlled-source seismic profiling along the Ligurian-Provence basin axis. A joint interpretation of the P- and S-wave velocity sections along this profile reveals a thin, anomalous oceanic crust of low P-wave velocities but high S-wave velocities, intruded by a gabbroic body. The illuminated part of the upper mantle appears to be devoid of serpentinization.

Résumé: The increase in number and intensity of earthquakes during a pre-eruptive crisis is the main basis of seismic volcano monitoring. However, a strong understanding of how these seismic signals relate to magmatic processes in the magma plumbing systems prior to volcanic eruptions is crucial for these efforts. Here we compare the characteristics of a seismo-volcanic crisis prior to the 2010-2013 explosive-extrusive eruption of Kizimen volcano, Kamchatka with the timescales of processes in the magma plumbing system. These timescales are inferred from the numerical modelling of iron-magnesium intracrystalline interdiffusion in 88 zoned orthopyroxene crystals from dacites and silica-rich andesites collected after the eruption. We find that the eruptible magmas were assembled rapidly during a magma mixing process beginning around 1.5 years before the eruption, which is well correlated with the onset of the seismic crisis. We conclude that the observed seismic re-activation marked the onset of magma mixing and led to destabilization of the reservoir, followed by the eruption. Rapid magma mixing and destabilization prior to eruption can be recorded by correlating timescales of crystal diffusion and seismicity, according to a petrological study of Kizimen volcano, Russia

Résumé: We studied the along-dip influence of the Copiapo ridge subduction in the Atacama region, North-Central Chile by building a new seismicity catalog, including similar events and non-volcanic tremors (NVTs). We also obtained a 3-D tomographic model for P and S-waves velocity (and the implied Vp/Vs ratio). We identify along-dip segmentation involving four distinct segments: a locked seismogenic zone hosting ordinary seismicity and clusters of similar events; a transition zone with NVTs and low seismicity; an aseismic zone with slow-slip events; and a deep zone with abundant intraslab seismicity. The velocity models show differences among these zones, with low velocity anomalies of Vp and Vs coinciding with aseismic slip zones, indicating the possible presence of fluids. Due to the spatial distribution along-strike and along-dip of the aseismic zones, we propose that these differences in seismogenic behavior are generated by subduction of the heterogeneous seamounts associated with the Copiapo ridge.

Résumé: The Delaware Basin, Texas is currently a hot-spot of induced seismicity and ground deformation due to fluid extraction and injection associated with horizontal drilling techniques; however, the driving mechanism behind the seismicity and deformation remains under debate. Using vertical and east-west horizontal surface deformation measurements derived from Sentinel-1 interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), we show that the subsurface responds differently to oil and gas activity in the northern and southeastern portions of the basin. In the north, where there is little seismicity, deformation patterns display long-wavelengths and equidimensional patterns. In contrast, the southeast region hosts most of the seismicity and displays spatial deformation patterns with narrow linear features that strike parallel to the maximum principal horizontal stress and to trends in seismicity, suggesting movement along normal faults. We model a linear deformation feature using edge dislocations and show that the InSAR observations can be reproduced by slip on normal faults contained within the Delaware Mountain Group (DMG), the formation that hosts local wastewater injection and the majority of earthquakes. Our model consists of three parallel, high-angle normal faults, with two dipping toward one another in a graben structure. Slip magnitudes reach up to 25 cm and are spatially correlated with injection wells. Measured seismicity can only explain similar to 2% of the fault motion predicted by our fault model, suggesting that slip leading to the deformation is predominantly aseismic. We conclude that seismic and aseismic fault motion in the southeastern Delaware Basin is likely driven by wastewater injection near critically-stressed normal faults within the DMG.

Résumé: Classification of volcanic tremors and earthquakes is an important part of volcano monitoring. Conventional classification technique relies on visual characterization of the amplitudes, frequency, or duration of seismic signals. In some cases, such classification is difficult to be maintained continuously, especially during high eruptive activities. In the present study, we develop a classification technique based on analyses of seismic wave correlation. The technique is based on a measure of spatial coherence using the distribution width of eigenvalues from the seismic covariance matrix that is referred to as 'spectral width'. We use the spectral width characteristics to extract the frequencies where the seismic signals are the most spatially coherent. We analyse 6-month continuous seismic data at six seismic stations deployed on Sakurajima volcano, Japan. The classification is performed every 10 min to recognize volcanic tremor and B-type earthquakes, both of which show unclear onsets and are dominant at around 1-4 Hz. Their frequencies of high spatial coherence are different from each other, providing a basis for automatic classification of both types of seismic events. Our classification results show that an increase in seismic activity, particularly volcanic tremors, occurred during high eruptive activity and is well matched with the events that are routinely determined by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) based on visual examination of the data. We discuss the volcanic activities by combining our classification results with those from detections and location methods based on seismic correlation. Most of the source locations of volcanic tremor and B-type earthquakes are distributed at the same region with depths of less than 4 km beneath the active craters, which are almost consistent with the source locations of explosion earthquakes and B-type earthquakes determined from P-wave onsets in the previous studies. Also, the distribution of horizontal locations is spatially elongated at shallow depths above a dyke that is inferred to extend from Aira caldera at a depth of 7-9 km. We obtain deep and shallow sources for the tremor that occurred before and after an explosive eruption, respectively. We also obtain shallow sources beneath the active crater during a continuous tremor that accompanies increasing eruptive activity. The source locations of the classified volcanic tremor and B-type earthquakes may represent the movement of magma and gas from the shallow magma chamber at 5 km depth to the active craters.

Résumé: Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are important components in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial environments. The presence of iron in these minerals provides them a wide potential application in environmental and materials sciences. In this work, the role of Fe in the crystallographic properties of LDHs M2+:M3+ 2:1 with Mg:(Fe,Al), Mg:Fe, Zn:(Fe,Al), and Zn:Fe is investigated by means of quantum mechanical calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). Several relative proportions of Fe are studied. The cation ordering of these LDHs has been explored, finding useful insights for experimental synthetic paths of these minerals. The a and b cell parameters increase with the iron concentration. Some diffraction lines at high angle decrease in angle and increase in intensity with the increasing iron concentration. All of them agree with the experimental results. The iron substitutions tend to aggregate.

Résumé: In the limit of large magnetic Reynolds numbers, it is shown that a smooth differential rotation can lead to fast dynamo action, provided that the electrical conductivity or magnetic permeability is anisotropic. If the shear is infinite, for example between two rotating solid bodies, the anisotropic dynamo becomes furious, meaning that the magnetic growth rate increases toward infinity with an increasing magnetic Reynolds number.

Résumé: Most of the largest volcanic activity in the world occurs in remote places such as deep oceans or poorly monitored oceanic island arcs. Thus, our capacity of monitoring volcanoes is limited to remote sensing and global geophysical observations. However, the rapid estimation of volcanic eruption parameters is needed for scientific understanding of the eruptive process and rapid hazard estimation. We present a method to rapidly identify large volcanic explosions, based on analysis of seismic data. With this methodology, we promptly detect the 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga Ha'apai eruption. We then analyze the seismic waves generated by the volcanic explosion and estimate its important first-order parameters. We further relate the parameters with the volcanic explosivity index (VEI). Our estimate of VEI similar to 6 indicates that how the Hunga Tonga eruption is among the largest volcanic activity ever recorded with modern geophysical instrumentation and can provide new insights into the physics of large eruptions.

Résumé: lived radioisotope, is an important parameter in the safety assessment of radioactive nuclear waste disposal systems. Nonradioactive selenium is also an important contaminant of drainage waters from black shale mountains and coal mines. Highly mobile and soluble in its high oxidation states, selenate (Se(VI)O42-) and selenite (Se(IV)O32-) oxyanions can interact with magnetite, a mineral present in anoxic natural environments and in steel corrosion products, thereby being reduced and consequently immobilized by forming low-solubility solids. Here, we investigated the sorption and reduction capacity of synthetic nanomagnetite toward Se(VI) at neutral and acidic pH, under reducing, oxygen-free conditions. The additional presence of Fe(II)aq, released during magnetite dissolution at pH 5, has an effect on the reduction kinetics. X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses revealed that, at pH 5, trigonal gray Se(0) formed and that sorbed Se(IV) complexes remained on the nanoparticle surface during longer reaction times. The Se(0) nanowires grew during the reaction, which points to a complex transport mechanism of reduced species or to active reduction sites at the tip of the Se(0) nanowires. The concomitant uptake of aqueous Fe(II) and Se(VI) ions is interpreted as a consequence of small pH oscillations that result from the Se(VI) reduction, leading to a re-adsorption of aqueous Fe(II) onto the magnetite, renewing its reducing capacity. This effect is not observed at pH 7, where we observed only the formation of Se(0) with slow kinetics due to the formation of an oxidized maghemite layer. This indicates that the presence of aqueous Fe(II) may be an important factor to be considered when examining the environmental reactivity of magnetite.

Résumé: Rumurutiites (R chondrites) are rare, highly oxidized chondrites belonging to the noncarbonaceous superclan and characterized by low chondrule abundances. Although textural and chemical features of Rumurutiite chondrules resemble those of ordinary chondrites (OCs), their formation conditions and potential genetic link remain debated. Here, we report high-resolution elemental X-ray mapping analyses and in situ O isotopic measurements of olivine grains from five chondrules and eight isolated olivine grains (IOGs) in the NWA 12482 R3 chondrite. The chondrules show chemical zonings similar to their counterparts in ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites (CCs), implying that gas-melt interaction processes between chondrule precursors and SiO- and Mg-rich gas were operative throughout the circumsolar disk. Our isotopic data show that R chondrules are isotopically similar to ordinary chondrules, although differences in their abundances of relict olivine grains and chondrule textural characteristics suggest different formation environments, with R chondrules being formed from O-16-poorer precursors. As with chondrules in OCs, the O isotopic characteristics of R chondrules and IOGs suggest limited transport between CC and noncarbonaceous reservoirs.

Résumé: The theory of Green's function retrieval essentially requires homogeneously distributed noise sources. Even though these conditions are not fulfilled in nature, low-frequency (<1 Hz) surface waves generated by ocean-crust interactions have been used successfully to image the crust with unprecedented spatial resolution. In contrast to low-frequency surface waves, high-frequency (>1 Hz) body waves have a sharper, more localized sensitivity to velocity contrasts and temporal changes at depth. In general, their retrieval using seismic interferometry is challenging, and recent studies focus on powerful, localized noise sources. They have proven to be a promising alternative but break the assumptions of Green's function retrieval. In this study, we present an approach to model correlations between P waves for these scenarios and analyse their sensitivity to 3-D Earth structure. We perform a series of numerical experiments to advance our understanding of these signals and prepare for an application to fault monitoring. In the considered cases, the character of the signals strongly diverges from Green's function retrieval, and the sensitivity to structure has significant contributions in the source direction. An accurate description of the underlying physics allows us to reproduce observations made in the context of monitoring the San Jacinto Fault in California using train-generated seismic waves. This approach provides new perspectives for detecting and localizing temporal velocity changes previously unnoticed by commonly exploited surface-wave reconstructions.

Résumé: Lateglacial (19.0-11.7 ka ago) paleo-temperature records in the Western European Alps document several short-term cooling episodes within the general post-Last Glacial Maximum warming trend, in phase with North Hemisphere climatic oscillations. Alpine paleo-precipitation reconstructions are instead rare, and further constraints are needed in order to assess whether Lateglacial cold periods were associated with a modified atmospheric circulation pattern over the European Alps. The Alpine paleo-glacial record offers a quantitative framework to investigate Lateglacial paleoclimatic conditions and glacier sensitivity in response to both temperature and precipitation changes. Through the combination of 10Be surface-exposure dating of glacial landforms and deposits constraining ice front and surface, together with numerical glacier simulations (iSOSIA), our study aims to reconstruct in space and time the main Lateglacial ice stages and associated paleo-climatic conditions in three tributary valleys (Valpelline, Valsavarenche and Val di Cogne) located within the Dora Baltea catchment (north-western Italian Alps). Our dating-modelling approach reveals in all the three investigated sectors two distinct paleoglacier stages at ca. 13 and 11 ka, documenting respectively the ice configurations at the transition between the Oldest Dryas cold period and the Bolling-Allerod interstadial, and between the Younger Dryas cold period and the early Holocene warming. Numerical ice-simulation outcomes suggest a similar-to-today pre-cipitation pattern during the two ice stages, with either same absolute or homogeneously decreased precipitation values over the Dora Baltea catchment, although a unique quantitative solution of paleo-precipitation magnitudes could not be constrained from our dataset. Using present-day precipitation pattern and magnitude, our results provide paleo-temperature offsets from present-day between-3.3 and-3.8 degrees C for the older glacial stage, and-2.7 to-3.2 degrees C for the younger glacial stage, coinciding with the upper range of paleo-temperature reconstructions from other paleoclimatic proxies. Finally, Alpine glaciers' sensitivity to climate fluctuations differ significantly between the investigated catchments, with a much higher glacier sensitivity to changes in the Equilibrium Line Altitude in the northern (Valpelline) compared to the southern (Valsavarenche and Val di Cogne) tributaries, reflecting different topographic and/or climatic conditions between the three valleys.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Résumé: Due to global warming, the decline in the Arctic sea ice has been accelerating over the last 4 decades, with a rate that was not anticipated by climate models. To improve these models, there is the need to rely on comprehensive field data. Seismic methods are known for their potential to estimate sea-ice thickness and mechanical properties with very good accuracy. However, with the hostile environment and logistical difficulties imposed by the polar regions, seismic studies have remained rare. Due to the rapid technological and methodological progress of the last decade, there has been a recent reconsideration of such approaches. This paper introduces a methodological approach for passive monitoring of both sea-ice thickness and mechanical properties. To demonstrate this concept, we use data from a seismic experiment where an array of 247 geophones was deployed on sea ice in a fjord at Svalbard, between 1 and 24 March 2019. From the continuous recording of the ambient seismic field, the empirical Green function of the seismic waves guided in the ice layer was recovered via the so-called “noise correlation function”. Using specific array processing, the multi-modal dispersion curves of the ice layer were calculated from the noise correlation function, and then inverted for the thickness and elastic properties of the sea ice via Bayesian inference. The evolution of sea-ice properties was monitored for 24 d, and values are consistent with the literature, as well as with measurements made directly in the field.

Résumé: Generalized inversion techniques (GITs) have become popular for determining seismological parameters (e.g., source, attenuation, and site response), particularly in low-to-moderate seismicity regions. Indeed, GITs can potentially provide reliable site-response estimates when a minimum number of recordings is available, as well as valuable information about source parameters and regional attenuation characteristics. Significant advances have been made on GITs in which different approaches and hypotheses were investigated, such as the application of “nonparametric” and “parametric” inversion schemes. In this context, several scientific questions have arisen that depend on the final scope of the GITs: What is the optimal inversion strategy for a given dataset configuration? What is the impact of the different choices, assumptions, and implementations on the reliability of the results? Is it possible to quantify the associated epistemic uncertainties? Here, we have considered and compared the different approaches of GITs to improve the understanding of each for use in different applications. A methodological benchmark that includes different GIT methods and dataset configurations is set up to fulfill the objective, using a simple synthetic dataset, a French regional sparse dataset, and an Italian national dense dataset. The benchmark is developed in two phases: (1) phase I: a free phase with no common constraints; and (2) phase II: a constrained phase with unified reference conditions. Despite unifying the reference conditions in the different inversions, the variability was not reduced. Discrepancies are observed between different terms of GITs. Site responses appear to be the most robust estimates, compared to source and attenuation terms. The way that stress drops of earthquakes and quality factors for crustal attenuation are parameterized appears to lead to significant variability between different approaches. Finally, uncertainties are addressed by quantification of the inter-method variability for the different terms and parameters.

Résumé: Understanding the formation of iron sulfides at low temperatures is essential for interpretation of geochemical signatures recorded in sedimentary sulfide minerals related to the evolution of the Earth's surface environment. Observed variations in the precipitation of nanoparticulate metastable phases prior to the formation of the stable-phase pyrite have been discussed from a kinetic perspective only. Here, using the ab-initio thermodynamic scheme to integrate surface thermodynamics with solid-aqueous equilibria, we demonstrate that stability relations among iron sulfides are dependent on particle size. The lower surface energies of metastable mackinawite and greigite than pyrite can drive reversals in relative thermodynamic stability at the nanoparticle scale and also lead to faster nucleation rates of the metastable phases, which are dependent on aqueous Eh-pH and Fe(II)/H2S conditions. This study emphasizes the role of surface energy in the formation pathways of iron sulfides and their particle-size dependent redox equilibria in anoxic aqueous solutions. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.