地球内部物理

地球内部为人类提供了丰富的资源，因此深入研究地球内部各圈层的结构、物质组成和物理化学特征是当前地球科学发展的趋势和面临的艰巨任务，本文从地幔对流、地幔矿物物理学和地球磁场等不同学科，对地球内部物理过程的研究成果作了评述．

Formation, distribution, and nature of Picea mongolica in China

Picea mongolica is an endemic and endangered species in China. Ecosystem made of Picea mongolica is a special sandy forest ecosystem in China. It is found at ecotone between forest and steppe, or agricultural district and pastoral area. Based on investigation, this paper discussed the formation and distribution of Picea mongolica and studied its nature according to ecotone theory. It is clarified that Picea mongolica belongs to Picea meyeri series. That is to say, it became a local race through long-term adaptation to the local climate, then formed allopatric semi-species, and finally turned into a taxonomical species. Picea mongolica forest is a super zonal climax community developing in ecotone between forest zone and steppe zone.

Vegetation landscape structure and dynamics in sandy forest-steppe ecotone

Sandy forest-steppe ecotone in Baiyinaobao Natural Reserve of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China is one of the special landscape types in forest-steppe vegetation zone in China. Vegetation landscape types, landscape patches, and patch size were measured by the field investigation, forest photograph, and airscape. The structure of landscape patches in sandy forest-steppe ecotone, including composition structure, and size structure, was studied and the dynamics and transformation of landscape patches were analyzed. The data obtained in this study could provide theoretical basis for the research on vegetation landscape in forest-steppe ecotones and other vegetation types.

Research on the Probability of Earthquake Occurrence in the Daduhe Drainage Area

This paper applies the Seismic Hazard Analysis method for the cities of China to research on the probability of earthquake occurrence in the Daduhe drainage area,where the cascade dam system is located.This research is based on the potential seismic source scheme of the Seismic Ground Motion Parameter Zonation Map of China(2001),and uses Poisson distribution as an earthquake occurrence model.Earthquake magnitude obeys truncated exponential distribution.The spatial distribution function of the potential seismic source zone is taken as the first-class spatial probability distribution,and the homogeneous probability distribution in the potential seismic source zone as the second-class spatial probability distribution.Considering the seismic intensity attenuation relationship of western China,we compute the occurrence probability of an earthquake around magnitude 6.0(5.5～6.5),7.0(6.5～7.5)and over 7.5 in the Daduhe drainage area,where 22 series cascade dams will be built.The results can be used for hydropower plant planning,hydropower dam site selection and seismic fortification.

Differential patterns of SH and P wave velocity structures in the transition zone beneath northwestern Tibet

Triplicate waveform modeling is used to resolve SH （Vs） and P （Vp） wave velocity structures in the upper mantle transition zone （TZ） beneath northwestern （NW） Tibet. Focal depth move out stacking is proposed to enhance the identification of triplicate phases, and can be used to test consistency of our data. Our results show that the Vs and Vp structures are decorrelated, and that a large Vs jump occurred across the 660-km discontinuity, with a small Vs gradient above it. Conversely, the Vp model is characterized by a relatively small contrast across the discontinuity, accompanied by a high Vp gradient in the TZ. There seem no significant depth anomalies of the 660-kin discontinuity in both models. The seismic structures in TZ beneath NW Tibet are similar to recent studies beneath the central Qiangtang and western Lhasa terrains. Taking the lower TZ structures under India as references, Vs is normal but Vp appears slightly high, and thus a high ratio of Vp/Vs was indicated beneath NW Tibet. Combined results with experiment information from mineral studies, we suggest that the differential anomalies of Vp and Vs can be attributed to a chemical heterogeneity, such as increased A1 content in the lower TZ. Considering the tectonic evolution of Tibet, the chemical heterogeneity may be associated with subduction or detachment of the Tethys oceanic slab.

Prevalent thickening and local thinning of the mantle transition zone beneath the Baikal rift zone and its dynamic implications

The Baikal rift is the most seismically active continental rift in the world and is significant for studying the dynamics of continental rifts, although its precise dynamic mechanisms remain controversial. We calculated receiver functions (1748) from Global Seismographic Network seismic stations TLY and ULN and stacked receiver functions in different bins. Here we present discontinuities at depths of 410km and 660km and thickness of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) beneath the study area. The MTZ structure shows an obvious thickening (292km) in the Baikal rift zone except for an area of limited thinning (230km), whereas it is basically normal (250km) beneath the Mongolian area, to the southeast of the Baikal rift. Combining these results with previous findings, we propose that the large-scale thickening beneath the Baikal rift zone is likely to be caused by the Mesozoic collision between the Siberian Platform and the Mongolia-North China Block or magmatic intrusion into the lower crust, which would result in crust and lithosphere thickening. Thus, the lower crust becomes eclogitized and consequently detached into the deep mantle because of negative buoyancy. The detachment not only induces asthenosphere upwelling but also accelerates mantle convection of water detached from the subducted slab, which would increase mantle melting, while both processes promote the development of the rift. Our preliminary results indicate that the detachment and the consequent hot upwelling have an important influence on the development of the Baikal rift, and a small-scale mantle upwelling indicated by the located thinning may have destroyed the lithosphere and promoted this development.

Hydration effects on crystal structures and equations of state for silicate minerals in the subducting slabs and mantle transition zone

There are potentially huge amounts of water stored in Earth's mantle, and the water solubilities in the silicate minerals range from tens to thousands of part per minion(ppm, part per million). Exploring water in the mantle has attracted much attention from the societies of mineralogy and geophysics in recent years. In the subducting slab, serpentine breaks down at high temperature, generating a series of dense hydrous magnesium silicate(DHMS) phases, such as phase A, chondrodite, clinohumite, etc. These phases may serve as carriers of water as hydroxyl into the upper mantle and the mantle transition zone(MTZ). On the other hand, wadsleyite and ringwoodite, polymorphs of olivine, are most the abundant minerals in the MTZ, and able to absorb significant amount of water(up to about 3 wt.% H_2O). Hence, the MTZ becomes a very important layer for water storage in the mantle, and hydration plays important roles in physics and chemistry of the MTZ. In this paper, we will discuss two aspects of hydrous silicate minerals:(1) crystal structures and(2) equations of state(Eo Ss).

Experimental investigation of phase transformations of olivine and enstatite at the lower part of the mantle transition zone:Implications for structure of the 660 km seismic discontinuity

High-pressure polymorphs of olivine and enstatite are major constituent minerals in the mantle transition zone （MTZ）. The phase transformations of olivine and enstatite at pressure and temperature conditions corresponding to the lower part of the MTZ are import for understanding the nature of the 660 km seismic discontinuity. In this study, we determine phase transfor- mations of olivine （MgSi204） and enstatite （MgSiO3） systematiclly at pressures between 21.3 and 24.4 GPa and at a constant temperature of 1600~C. The most profound discrepancy between olivine and enstatite phase transformation is the occurency of perovskite. In the olivine system, the post-spinel transformation occures at 23.8 GPa, corresponding to a depth of 660 km. In contrast, perovskite appears at 〈23 GPa （640 km） in the enstatite splitting of the 660 km seismic discountinuity under eastern China. system. The -1 GPa gap could explain the uplifting and/orsplitting of the 660 km seismic discountinuity under eastern China.

Hugoniot equation of state of olivine and its geodynamic implications

Large olivine samples were hot-pressed synthesized for shock wave experiments. The shock wave experiments were carried out at pressure range between 11 and 42 GPa. Shock data on olivine sample yielded a linear relationship between shock wave velocity D and particle velocity u described by D=3.56(?0.13)+2.57(?0.12)u. The shock temperature is determined by an energy relationship which is approximately 790°C at pressure 28 GPa. Due to low temperature and short experimental duration, we suggest that no phase change occurred in our sample below 30 GPa and olivine persisted well beyond its equilibrium boundary in metastable phase. The densities of metastable olivine are in agreement with the results of static compression. At the depth shallower than 410 km, the densities of metastable olivine are higher than those of the PREM model, facilitating cold slab to sink into the mantle transition zone. However, in entire mantle transition zone, the shock densities are lower than those of the PREM model, hampering cold slab to flow across the "660 km" phase boundary.