Implications for identification of principal stress directions from acoustic emission characteristics of granite under biaxial compression experiments

The rock fracture characteristics and principal stress directions are crucial for prevention of geological disasters.In this study,we carried out biaxial compression tests on cubic granite samples of 100 mm in side length with different intermediate principal stress gradients in combination with acoustic emission(AE)technique.Results show that the fracture characteristics of granite samples change from‘sudden and aggregated’to‘continuous and dispersed’with the increase of the intermediate principal stress.The effect of increasing intermediate principal stress on AE amplitude is not significant,but it increases the proportions of high-frequency AE signals and shear cracks,which in turn increases the possibility of unstable rock failure.The difference of stress in different directions causes the anisotropy of rock fracture and thus leads to the obvious anisotropic characteristics of wave velocity variations.The anisotropy of wave velocity variations with stress difference is probable to identify the principal stress directions.The AE characteristics and the anisotropy of wave velocity variations of granite under two-dimensional stress are not only beneficial complements for rock fracture characteristic and principal stress direction identification,but also can provide a new analysis method for stability monitoring in practical rock engineering.

Observation 20-s periodic signals on Mars from InSight,Sols 800-1,000

Seismometers of the InSight probe(Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigation,Geodesy and Heat Transport)currently operating on Mars have recorded not only seismic events but also high-frequency non-seismic periodic signals that appear to have been induced by variations in the Martian environment and the hardware.Here,we report an observation of a long-period signal with a dominant period of~20 s from Martian solar days(Sol)800 to Sol 1,000.This 20-s signal is detected mostly at quiet nighttime—from22:00 to 04:00 LMST(Local Mean Solar Time)—at the InSight landing site.The measurement of the particle motion suggests that this linearly polarized signal focuses on the horizontal plane with an angle of~30°from the north.By examining the temporal variation of the signal’s amplitude and polarization angle and its times of occurrence in relation to the planet’s atmospheric data,we suggest that this20-s signal may be relevant to wind and temperature variations on Mars.Furthermore,we study the possible influence of this 20-s signal on the noise autocorrelation and find that the stacked autocorrelograms can be quite different when the 20-s signal is present.

Implications for rock instability precursors and principal stress direction from rock acoustic experiments

The characteristics of rock instability precursors and the principal stress direction are very crucial for the prevention of geological disasters.This study investigated the qualitative relationship between rock instability precursors and principal stress direction through wave velocity in rock acoustic emission(AE)experiments.Results show that the wave velocity variation exhibits obvious anisotropic characteristics in 0%–20%and 60%–90%of peak strength due to the differences of stress-induced microcrack types.The amplitude of wave velocity variation is related to the azimuth and position of wave propagation path,which indicates that the principal stress direction can be identified by the anisotropic characteristics of wave velocity variations.Furthermore,the experiments also demonstrate that the AE event rate and wave velocity show quiet and stable variations in the elastic stage of rock samples,while they present a trend of active and unstable variations in the plastic stage.It implies that both the AE event rate and wave velocity are effective monitoring parameters for rock instability.The anisotropic characteristics of the wave velocity variation and AE event rate are beneficial complements for identifying the rock instability precursors and determining the principal stress direction,which provides a new analysis method for stability monitoring in practical rock engineering.

Seismic anisotropy beneath the Chinese Mainland: Constraints from shear wave splitting analyses

We use earthquakes recorded by the China National Seismic Network from 2015 to 2019 and measure shear wave splitting parameters of SKS to study the anisotropic characteristics beneath the mainland of China.In general,the fast directions change from nearly E-W in western China(northwest China and Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau)to nearly N-S in central China(Ordos and Sichuan-Yunnan),and then turn to approximately E-W in eastern China(North and South China).The delay times of slow wave in eastern China are about 1.0-1.7 s,larger than those in central and western China(about 0.6-1.0 s).In addition,the fast directions in eastern China are highly consistent with the plate motion direction and horizontal GPS velocities with respect to Eurasia,indicating that the observed anisotropy is mainly from the asthenosphere which is strongly coupled to the overlying lithosphere.However,the fast directions in western China are mostly in accord with the strike of the surface structures(such as faults),possibly due to the directional arrangement of crystal lattices caused by shear deformation under tectonic activities.

Notes on the variability of reflected inner core phases

Recent events beneath Central America have produced excellent sets of inner core reflection （PKiKP phase） at high frequency recorded by USArray ranging from 18° to 30°. However, the amplitude of this phase displays considerable scatter with a factor of six or more. Such scatter has been attributed to upper-mantle scattering and the Inner Core Boundary （ICB） in combination. Here, we show that neighboring events share upper-mantle scatterers beneath the receivers, and their ratio allows a clearer image of deep earth structure. Alter confirming some of the measured variation is indeed due to deep structure, we stacked nearby traces to reduce fine scale variations which are mostly due to shallow structure. Then, the remaining relatively large scale variation pattern of PKiKP phase is caused by the inner core boundary, as demonstrated by numerical experiments. After migration of data to the 1CB, we observe a consistent image. We find such a pattern can be explained by a patch of mushy material of a few kilometers high where the material changes gradually from that of the outer core to that of the inner core.

Deep diving with Donald V.Helmberger

It has been more than a year since Don left us.He left us so suddenly.We planned to have a phone call after he settled down at his new house.However,it never happened.Although he had some medical issues persistently in his last year,he had been so dedicated to science that he kept working on multiple papers about Earth’s deep interior.Our unfinished paper is about to provide an alternative explanation of the anomalous SPdKS+SKPdS,which has been routinely used to image the Ultralow Velocity Zone(ULVZ).I am so grateful to Don that he brought me into the deep Earth,taught me how to read seismograms,and always inspired and supported me as my family.

Donald V.Helmberger,the master mentor:Testimonials from former international students

Don trained many Ph.D.students over the〜5 decades of his career,at least 45 were advised or co-advised according to a Caltech account.A large number were international students including a high percentage of Chinese students.The contributors to this article graduated over a time span of 26 years,and we are now distributed in 6 countries across 14 time zones,yet we represent only a small fraction of his former students and postdocs.

Elasticity of high-pressure clinoenstatite under mantle conditions:Implications for the origin of the X-discontinuity

The X-discontinuity is characterized by 2–8% wave impedance contrasts and indistinguishable seismological Clapeyron slopes. Its origin is not yet entirely understood and attributed to a variety of plausible causes, among which the coesite-stishovite transition is a popular mechanism due to its large impedance contrasts. However, the sole coesite-stishovite transition is insufficient to explain indistinguishable seismological Clapeyron slopes of the X-discontinuity. The orthopyroxene(OPX) to high-pressure clinopyroxene(HPCPX) transition has been excluded as a candidate mechanism in recent seismic studies because it can only cause small impedance contrasts based on the first-order estimate from the Birch’s law without direct sound velocity measurements. In this study, we performed first-principles calculations to obtain the elasticity of high-pressure clinoenstatite at high pressure and temperature. Our results show that the impedance contrast caused by the OPX-HPCPX transition is ~5.7% for P wave and ~6.9% for S wave, which are much larger than the previous empirical estimation and hence cannot be ignored. Given that eclogite is subject to partial melting in hot or wet regions, which will promote the enrichment of orthopyroxene by consuming silica, we suggested that both the coesite-stishovite transition and the OPX-HPCPX transition may be dominant mechanisms for the X-discontinuity, with the former dominating where eclogite is hard to melt and the latter dominating where partial melting of eclogite occurs. The model is consistent with seismological observations, indicating the important role of the OPX-HPCPX transition in the X-discontinuity and extensive occurrence of partial melting of eclogite. The proposed origin of the X-discontinuity provides a plausible way to illuminate the melting situation of eclogite in the deep earth.