Study on the lithology of stone chimes (stone musical instruments in ancient China) and Lingbi stone

The oldest extant musical instruments in the world are stone chimes. This music was created by the ‘eight tones’ that could be produced by these ‘stone’ voices. Although many of these stone chimes have been unearthed from sites predating the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China, their discussion in archaeological reports is usually not very thorough. In this paper, the ancient and modern samples are analysed from the point of view of lithology. The aim is to explore how the ancients chose to make these stones, and to check that the type of stone from which these ancient Chinese stone chimes are made is actually those recorded in previous studies. The results show that most of the ancient stone chimes in China are made of limestone. These chimes required a material with a single, homogeneous and compact mineral composition. Lingbi chimes (a kind of ‘lithophone’ produced in Lingbi county, China, are pure in composition and have a fine microcrystalline structure, which is the best choice for making stone chimes. This paper makes a systematic study of the lithology of Chinese stone chimes. The results supplement a significant lacuna in the study of ‘lithophone’ and ancient stone instruments both in China and on a more global scale.     

The Science of Cupules

As the apparently simplest of all petroglyphs, cupules are shown to be scientifically and culturally very complex phenomena. Despite being the most common motif in rock art, their meaning or purpose remains largely unknown. This paper explores their physical and production properties, including their technology, taphonomy, morphology, biomechanics and energy investment involved, leading to the formulation of the production coefficient. The various quantifiable factors involved in cupule production are examined, including the phenomenon of kinetic energy metamorphosis (KEM). The tribological products, tectonite laminae, a new geological phenomenon first identified in cupules, offer the possibilities of developing a direct dating method as well explaining several related geological features.     

Lithology and fluid prediction from amplitude versus offset (AVO) seismic data

Seismic reflection data as used in the oil industry is acquired and processed as multitrace data with source‐receiver offsets from a few hundred metres (short offset) to several kilometres (long offset). This set of data is referred to as ‘pre‐stack’. The traces are processed by velocity analysis, migration and stacking to yield a data volume of traces with ‘zero‐offset’. The signal‐to‐noise enhancement resulting from this approach is very significant. However, reflection amplitude changes in the pre‐stack domain may also be analysed to yield enhanced rock physics parameter estimates. Pre‐stack seismic data is widely used to predict lithology, reservoir quality and fluid distribution in exploration and production studies. Amplitude versus offset (AVO) data, especially anomalous signals, have been used for decades as indicators of hydrocarbon saturation and favourable reservoir development. Recently, enhanced quantification of these types of measurement, using seismic inversion techniques in the pre‐stack domain, have significantly enhanced the utility of such measurements. Using these techniques, for example, probability of the occurrence of hydrocarbons throughout the seismic data can be estimated, and as a consequence the many pre‐stack volumes acquired in a three‐dimensional (3D) can be survey, reduced to a single, more interpretable volume. The possibilities of 4D time lapse observation extend the measurements to changes in fluid content (and pressure) with time, and with obvious benefits in establishing the accuracy of dynamic reservoir models and improvements in field development planning. As an illustration, recent results from the Nelson Field (UK North Sea), are presented where we show the method by which probability volumes for oil sands may be calculated. The oil–sand probability volumes for three 3D seismic datasets acquired in 1990, 1997 and 2000 are compared and production effects in these data are demonstrated.     

Catastrophic Rock-Slope Failures in NW Scotland: Quantitative Analysis and Implications

126 postglacial catastrophic rock-slope failures (PRSFs) and 66 debris-free failure scarps (DFFSs) were identified using Google Earth? imagery on Lewisian Gneiss (LG), Torridon Sandstone (TS), Cambrian Quartzite (CQ) and Moine Schist (MS) terrains in NW Scotland. Normalisation of these data for area and gradient shows that RSF density on slopes ≥25° decreases in the sequence MS?>?LG?≈?CQ?>?TS. Most are apparently discordant with structure, suggesting that failure along slope-(sub)parallel joints was more common than failure along bedding or foliation planes. DFFSs represent failure scars from which runout debris has been removed by later glaciation. Eighteen were recorded outside the limits of the Loch Lomond Readvance, implying that they survived the last ice-sheet glaciation, and support the view that many steep upper rock slopes have been dominated by gravity-driven rock detachment rather than glacial erosion. We argue that many RSFs were probably triggered by Lateglacial earthquakes due to fault (re)activation by crustal rebound, as 74% of recorded PRSFs and DFFSs are located at or near slope crests. 44% of recorded PRSFs and DFFSs occur in cirques, suggesting that cirque enlargement during successive glacial-interglacial cycles involved deepening by glacial erosion, headwall retreat by rock-slope failure and removal of RSF debris during subsequent glaciation.