The solar wind and the Sun–Earth link

Plasma streams out from the Sun in the form of the solar wind. Shadia Rifai Habbal and Richard Woo examine the workings of this enigmatic link between the Earth and the Sun.     

Optimal design of viscoelastic dampers using eigenvalue assignment

In this study a procedure for determining the optimum size and location of viscoelastic dampers is proposed using the eigenvalue assignment technique. Natural frequencies and modal damping ratios, required to realize a given target response, are determined first by the convex model. Then the desired dynamic structural properties are realized by optimally distributing the damping and stiffness coefficients of viscoelastic dampers using non‐linear programming based on the gradient of eigenvalues. This optimization method provides information on the optimal location as well as the magnitude of the damper parameters. The proposed procedure is applied to the retrofit of a 10‐story shear frame, and to a three‐dimensional structure with an asymmetric plan. The analysis results confirm that the responses of model structures retrofitted by the proposed method correspond well with the given target response. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination and application of the weights for landslide susceptibility mapping using an artificial neural network

The purpose of this study is the development, application, and assessment of probability and artificial neural network methods for assessing landslide susceptibility in a chosen study area. As the basic analysis tool, a Geographic Information System (GIS) was used for spatial data management and manipulation. Landslide locations and landslide-related factors such as slope, curvature, soil texture, soil drainage, effective thickness, wood type, and wood diameter were used for analyzing landslide susceptibility. A probability method was used for calculating the rating of the relative importance of each factor class to landslide occurrence. For calculating the weight of the relative importance of each factor to landslide occurrence, an artificial neural network method was developed. Using these methods, the landslide susceptibility index (LSI) was calculated using the rating and weight, and a landslide susceptibility map was produced using the index. The results of the landslide susceptibility analysis, with and without weights, were confirmed from comparison with the landslide location data. The comparison result with weighting was better than the results without weighting. The calculated weight and rating can be used to landslide susceptibility mapping.     

Determination of the elastic modulus set of foliated rocks from ultrasonic velocity measurements

Ultrasonic measurements of compressional and shear wave velocities under hydrostatic pressure up to 70 MPa were carried out on cylindrical specimens cored across and along the foliation planes. Our measurements revealed that the foliation of the metamorphic rocks induces a clear velocity anisotropy between two orthogonal directions; faster along the foliation plane and slower across the plane in most rock types. All velocity components monotonically increase with the confining pressure, probably due to the closure of microcracks distributed in rock specimens. We determined the complete set of dynamic moduli of foliated metamorphic rocks with two assumptions; transverse isotropy due to the foliation and ellipsoidal seismic energy propagation from a point source. The calculated elastic moduli referring to different directions could be valuable for the design of various engineering structures in planar textured rock mass.     

Probabilistic approach for active control of structures: experimental verification

In our previous study (Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 2003; 32 :2301), we have developed a probabilistic algorithm for active control of structures. In the probabilistic control algorithm, the control force is determined by the probability that the structural energy exceeds a specified target critical energy, and the direction of a control force is determined by the Lyapunov controller design method. In this paper, an experimental verification of the proposed probabilistic control algorithm is presented. A three‐story test structure equipped with an active mass driver (AMD) has been used. The effectiveness of the control algorithm has been examined by exciting the test structure using a sinusoidal signal, a scaled El Centro earthquake and a broadband Gaussian white noise; and, especially, experiments on control have been performed under different conditions to that of system identification in order to prove the stability and robustness of the proposed control algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the probabilistic control algorithm can achieve a significant response reduction under various types of ground excitations even when the modeling error exists. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Amphibole Ar/Ar Geochronology from the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt, South Korea and its Tectonic Implications

An understanding of the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB) in South Korea is central to unraveling the tectono-metamorphic evolution of East Asia. Amphibole-bearing rocks in the OMB occur as calcsilicate layers and lenses in psammitic rocks, in the psammitic rocks themselves, and in the mafic volcanic layers and intrusives. Most amphiboles fail to show ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages; those that do have ages ranging from 132 to 975 Ma. The disturbed age pattern and wide variation in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages can be related to metamorphic grade, retrograde chemical reactions, excess Ar and amphibole composition. The oldest age (975 Ma) can be interpreted either as an old igneous or metamorphic age predating sedimentation or a false age caused by excess Ar. The youngest age of 132 Ma and the disturbed age pattern found in amphiboles from rocks located close to Jurassic granitoids are the result of retrograde thermal metamorphic effects accompanying intrusion of the granitoids. Some medium- or coarse-grained amphiboles in the calcsilicates are aggregates of fine-grained crystals. As a result, they are heterogeneous and prove to be readily affected by excess Ar. A disturbed age pattern in amphiboles from the calcsilicates occurring in the high-grade metamorphic zone may also be the product of excess Ar. On the other hand, the disturbed pattern of amphiboles present in the calcsilicates from the low-grade metamorphic zone could arise from both excess Ar and mixed ages. However, amphiboles from psammitic rocks and some calcsilicates in the high-grade metamorphic zone and in intrusive metabasites display real plateau ages of 237 to 261 Ma. The temperature conditions in the high-grade metamorphic zone were higher than the argon closing temperature for amphibole, and the amphiboles in this zone give plateau ages only when they are homogeneous in composition, lack excess Ar, and have not been thermally affected by intrusion of the granitoids. The unmodified ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages prove rather younger than the age of the Late Paleozoic metamorphic event of 280 to 300 Ma, but they are close to muscovite K-Ar ages of 263 to 277 Ma. These ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole ages are interpreted as the time of cooling that followed the main regional, intermediate-P/T metamorphic climax. The results demonstrate that interpretation of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole ages in an area subjected to several metamorphic events can be accomplished only by undertaking a thorough tectono-metamorphic study, accompanied by detailed chemical analysis of the amphiboles.     

Cambrian Stem-group Cnidarians with a New Species from the Cambrian Series 3 of the Taebaeksan Basin, Korea

Five species, Lipopora lissa Jell and Jell, 1976, Lipopora daseia Jell and Jell, 1976, Tretocylichne perplexa Engelbretsen, 1993 from Australia, Cambroctoconus orientalis Park, Woo, Lee, Lee, Lee, Han and Chough, 2011 from China, and Cambroctoconus kyrgyzstanicus Peel, 2014 from Kyrgyzstan, belonging to the Cambrian stem-group cnidarians have been documented in the fossil record. Cambroctoconus coreaensis sp. nov., interpreted here as a stem-group cnidarian, from the Seokgaejae section in the Daegi Formation, Taebaek Group (Cambrian Series 3), Taebaeksan Basin, central-eastern Korean Peninsula, has a slender cup-shaped skeleton. A cladistic analysis produced 21 most parsimonious trees, which invariably placed the six stem-group cnidarians below the crown-group, but their relationships within the stem-group are unresolved. Nine out of the 21 trees suggest a monophyletic relationship for the Cambrian stem-group cnidarians, whereas in six other trees a monophyly of Cambroctoconus and Tretocylichne appeared as the sister-group to the crown-group cnidarians with Lipopora at the most basal branch. This result may reflect the fact that crown-group cnidarians evolved in the Precambrian, and suggests that the diversity of stem-group cnidarians was a result of an independent radiation in the Cambrian.     

Systematic Revision of Trilobites from the Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) Klimoli Formation of the Zhuozishan Area, Inner Mongolia, China

New morphologic information permits systematic revision of trilobites from the Middle Ordovician Klimoli Formation of the Zhuozishan area, Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia. The new assemblage is composed of 10 species of the Raphiophoridae, Nileidae, Asaphidae, and Telephinidae.? An asaphid, aff. Mioptychopyge lashachungensis (previously Paraptychopyge lashachungensis) displays an intermediate morphology between the Chinese nobiliasaphine genera Mioptychopyge and Zhenganites. The pygidial doublure is regarded as the most significant character to differentiate Symphysurus klimoliensis (previously Nileus klimoliensis) of the Nileidae from such closely allied taxa as Poronileus. A nileid, cf. Peraspis kujandensis displays typical nileid morphology, unlike the type species, Peraspis lineolata, which might turn out to be an asaphid. Ampyx gongwusuensis sp. nov. of the Raphiophoridae is the first record of the genus in the Zhuozishan area and reveals morphologic details that might be employed to resolve Ampyx taxonomy in China. Morphologic differences between A. gongwusuensis and Abulbaspis ordosensis might represent a case of sexual dimorphism.