Epicentral distribution in 1997

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The exceptional Oder flood in summer 1997 — distribution patterns of the oder discharge in the Pomeranian Bight

The exceptional Oder flood in summer 1997 was a unique event in order to investigate the impacts on and the consequences for the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea of about 6.5 km³ additional water loaded with nutrients and contaminants and discharged within only 5 weeks. About 15 institutions participated in this investigation in both the Szczecin Lagoon and the Pomeranian Bight. The Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde studied the water and nutrient inflow, the spreading of the Oder discharge, and the impact of the discharge on the ecosystem. The main topic of the presented investigations is a detailed study of the spatial and temporal spreading of the extreme river discharge in the Pomeranian Bight and the southern Baltic Sea by satellite data, ship observations and continuous buoy measurements as well as numerical modelling. The meteorological conditions were characterized by mainly easterly winds which guided the outflowing riverine water along the German coast into the Arkona Sea. The spatial and temporal development of the distribution patterns of the Oder discharge was monitored by about 80 Sea Surface Temperature (SST) images of NOAA satellites. Shipborne measurements showed that the vertical extent of the Oder plume ranged between 5 and 7 metres. The concentrations of inorganic nutrients, except higher silicate, were comparable to typical winter/early spring values (seasonal maximum) in this region. The high dilution effect of the flood water reduced the concentration of contaminants and thus, prevented a direct negative impact of trace metals and chlorinated organic compounds on the marine environment. Coupled physical-biochemical modelling in combination with SST-images demonstrated the temporal development and satellite data in the visible spectral range delivered the maximum extent of discharged river water into the southern Arkona Sea where a further western transport was limited by the upwelling region off Hiddensee. Thus, all detected effects of the Oder flood were confined to the Pomeranian Bight and the southern Arkona Sea, without long-term consequences for the ecosystem.     

Analysis of the 1997 Zirkuh (Ghean-Birjand) aftershock sequence in east-central Iran

IntroductionThesouthernpartofKhorasanProvinceineast-centralIranisoneoftheseismicallyactiveregionsintheMiddleeast.Historicalreportsindicatedseveralearthquakeshavecausedseveredestructionsandhumanlossinthisregionduringthepastcenturies(Ambraseys,Melville,1982).Theinstrumentallyrecordedearthquakesaswellastheexistenceofseveralactivefaultsalsosug-gestedthattheregionhadahighpotentialofseismicactivities.OnMay10,1997at07:57:29.6GMT,12:27:29.6localtime,ashallowdestructiveearthquakewithoutanyfeltfores…     

A Review of Seismicity in 1997

Ⅰ. SURVEY OF GLOBAL SEISMICITY A total of 23 earthquakes with M_s ≥ 7.0 occurred over the world in 1997 according to the determination of the Chinese Seismic Station Network. The strongest one was the Kamchatka peninsula earthquake (M_s 7.9, December 5, 1997) (Fig. 1). Although the frequency and strength of global seismicity was lower compared with the higher activity state in 1995 and 1996, the frequency of seismicity was still obviously higher than the average level during this century.     

The anomalous variation of the lightning activity in southern China during the 1997/98 El Nio event

The El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a cli- mate anomaly responsible for worldwide weather im- pacts ranging from droughts to floods. It is of scien- tific importance to clarify the influences of the 1997/98 El Ni?o event (for simplicity, named the ENSO) on the regional and global lightning activity. Goodman et al.[1] noticed that during the El Ni?o ma- ture phase from December 1997 to February 1998, the total lightning frequencies recorded by LIS, lightning days and lightning ho…     

The anomalous variation of the lightning activity in southern China during the 1997/98 El Niño event

This paper presents the EOF analysis results of the lightning density (LD) anomalies for the different seasons in southeastern China and Indochina Peninsula by using the OTD/LIS database (June 1995 to Feb. 2003) of the global LD with 2.5Ü×2.5× resolution offered by Global Hydrology Resource Center. It is shown that the LD positive anomalies in the region occurred at the same time of NINO3 SSTA steep increase in the spring of 1997 and remained to be a higher level till the next spring, as well the corresponding anomaly percent maximum in different seasons was 89%, 30%, 45%, 498% and 55% successively from the beginning to the end of the 1997/98 El Niño event (ENSO). The centre of the LD positive anomalies for the spring or winter season is located at southeastern China and the adjacent coastal areas, but it for the summer or autumn season is located at the southern Indochina Peninsula and Gulf of Thailand, whose position for each season in the ENSO as contrasted with the normal years has a westward shift, and especially for winter or spring season a northward shift at the same time. In addition, an analysis of the interannual variations in the LD anomaly percent, convective precipitation and H-CAPE days in southern China shows that each among the three anomaly percents is correlative with the other for the positive anomaly zone and Kuroshio area. The relative variation of LD during the El Niño period is the highest among the three rates and is larger than that during the non-El Niño period, meaning that the response of lightning activities to the ENSO is the most sensitive in both areas. But the response of lightning activities and precipitation to the ENSO appears to be more complex and diversified either in Kuroshio area or in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and northwestern and northeastern China.     

Displacements and transformations of nitrate-rich and nitrate-poor water masses in the tropical Pacific during the 1997 El Niño

A Lagrangian analysis was applied to the outputs of a coupled physical-biogeochemical model to describe the redistribution of nitrate-rich and nitrate-poor surface water masses in the tropical Pacific throughout the major 1997 El Niño. The same tool was used to analyze the causes of nitrate changes along trajectories and to investigate the consequences of the slow nitrate uptake in the high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) region during the growth phase of the event. Three patterns were identified during the drift of water masses. The first mechanism is well known along the equator: oligotrophic waters from the western Pacific are advected eastward and retain their oligotrophic properties along their drift. The second concerns the persistent upwelling in the eastern basin. Water parcels have complex trajectories within this retention zone and remain mesotrophic. This study draws attention to the third process which is very specific to the HNLC region and to the El Niño period. During the 1997 El Niño, horizontal and vertical inputs of nitrate decreased so dramatically that nitrate uptake by phytoplankton became the only mechanism driving nitrate changes along pathways. The study shows that because of the slow nitrate uptake characteristic of the tropical Pacific HNLC system, nitrate in the pre-El Niño photic layer can support biological production for a period of several months. As a consequence, the slow nitrate uptake delays the gradual onset of oligotrophic conditions over nearly all the area usually occupied by upwelled waters. Owing to this process, mesotrophic conditions persist in the tropical Pacific during El Niño events.     

GPS monitoring of recent crustal movements in Kamchatka and the Commander Islands during 1997–2007

This is a review of the geodetic monitoring of the horizontal component of recent crustal movements (RCMs) in Kamchatka and the Commander Islands for the period 1979–2007. Examples are provided of the RCMs recorded in Kamchatka and the Commander Islands for the period 1997–2007 by the Kamchatka regional GPS network (KAMNET) set up by workers at the Kamchatka Branch of the RAS Geophysical Service (KB GS RAS) in collaboration with the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far East Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences to study the geodynamic processes that are occurring in the Kamchatka subduction zone. An interpretation of examples of recorded RCMs is given.     

An Upper Limit to Ground Deformation in the Island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, for the Period 1997–2006

Continuous monitoring of ground deformation in the volcanic island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, is based on GPS networks, since there are as yet no tiltmeter stations installed on the island. However, there is a world-class astronomical observatory on the island, the El Teide Observatory, where four tiltmeters, two aligned in the North-South and the other two in the East-West, are monitoring the movements of the solar telescope THEMIS. THEMIS (Heliographic Telescope for the Study of Solar Magnetism and Instabilites) is among the three largest solar telescopes in the world. Since THEMIS is located a few kilometers from the main volcanic structures of the island, in particular the El Teide-Pico Viejo stratovolcano, and the precision of the inclinometers is comparable to those used in geophysical studies, we carried out the analysis of the tilt measurements for the period 1997–2006. The tiltmeters at THEMIS are placed in the seventh floor of a tower, hence their sensitivity to geological processes is reduced compared to geophysical installations. However, THEMIS measurements are the only terrestrial data available in Tenerife for such a long period of observations, which include the sustained increase in seismic activity that started in 2001. In this sense, a significant change was found in the East-West tilt of approximately 35 μ-radians between the years 2000 and 2002. Some theoretical models were calculated and it was concluded that such tilt variation could not be due to dike intrusions, nor a volcanic reactivation below the El Teide-Pico Viejo volcano. The most likely explanation comes from dislocations produced by a secondary fault associated to a major submarine fault off the eastern coast of Tenerife. In any case, taking into account the nearly permanent data recording at THEMIS, they could be considered as a complement for any ground deformation monitoring system in the island.     

Study on geomagnetic effects of the March 9, 1997 solar eclipse in Mohe area, China

Introduction Study and observation of solar eclipse geomagnetic effects in China begun in 1936, and since then the total eclipse and total-annular eclipse occurred in Chongan of Fujian Province in 1941j, 1958, 1968, 1980, 1987, 1997 in succession. For these events, modern geomagnetic observations have been made with sufficient preparation. Plentiful solar eclipse data of geomagnetic field variation and research results have been obtained (ZHANG, et al, 1983, LIU, et al, 1986, YANG, DU, …     

Effects of 6 January 1997 space weather related processes in the low latitude thermosphere–ionosphere system

OI 630.0 nm dayglow data from Mt. Abu, India, along with ground based ionosonde data, were scrutinized for the 6–12 January 1997 space weather related event. The OI 630.0 nm dayglow intensities registered an enhancement by a factor of 2–2.5 on 11 January, in the morning hours, as compared to 9 and 12 January, i.e. one day later than when auroral activities were noted at unusual latitudes and on the day when the magnetosphere was compressed to <6R_E. The ionosonde data did not show any such dramatic increase in the F-region electron densities for the same period. Various plausible mechanisms that could cause the observed enhancement in the dayglow without altering the F-region of the ionosphere are discussed in the context of the actual measurements.     

Variations in sediment runoff in the lower reaches and the delta of the Kuban River in the XX–XXI centuries

Data of network and expedition measurements and information about water management arrangements were used to study in detail the peculiarities of along-channel and long-term variations in the major characteristics of suspended sediment runoff in the lower reach and the delta of the Kuban River. For characteristics periods, the annual volumes of actual and estimated sediment runoff and the contribution of economic activity in its variations are evaluated and possible changes in sediment runoff characteristics in the XXI century are forecasted. The specific features, values, and causes of sediment runoff transformation in Kuban delta in the past and the present are analyzed; sediment balance in the delta is calculated.     

Stress Drops of the 1997–1998 Colfiorito,Central Italy Earthquakes: Hints for a Common Behaviour of Normal Faults in the Apennines

Stress drop estimates of moderate-magnitude earthquakes in the Umbria–Marche region, in the northern Apennines, exhibit a large scatter. For the two M _w 5.7 and 6.0 main shocks of 26 September 1997 near Colfiorito, several papers resulted in stress drop estimates of 20 MPa, but values as low as 2–3 MPa were proposed as well. Also for the largest aftershocks (M _w > 4), estimates spread from < 1 MPa up to values ten times larger. We have critically revisited methods and data used in the literature. We have specifically faced the trade-off between source and propagation effects, as we believe that it is responsible for a part of the large scatter. To keep this trade-off under control, we have applied a methodology that combines the best fit of both source spectra after Empirical Green’s Function (EGF) deconvolution and observed ground motion spectra, finding that the results of the two different data sets converge independently at the same solution. We have used ground motions observed in the Colfiorito basin, where an accelerograph and a co-located seismological broad-band station recorded three clusters of earthquakes in a broad magnitude interval (1.7 ≤ M _w ≤ 6.0). We have found that the mainshock–aftershock sequences result in stress drops of 2–5 MPa at M _w ≥ 5.6, with an average tendency to decrease at smaller magnitudes where stress drop variability increases. These findings confirm the source scaling recently assessed through Empirical Green’s Function deconvolution for another well-monitored seismic sequence of normal-faulting earthquakes, which struck the city of L’Aquila in the central Apennines in April 2009. The similar scaling law of the two areas suggests common mechanisms of stress release for the shallow normal faults in the Apennines. The propensity of smaller earthquakes to increase in variability, with a tendency toward smaller stress drops, may reflect an effect of fault strength heterogeneities for smaller size ruptures.     

Ionospheric Alfvén Resonator Control over the Frequency-Variable Pc1 Event in Finland on May 14, 1997

The ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR) control mechanism over the EMIC wave transmission to the ground is demonstrated on a selected long-term frequency-variable subauroral Pcl event. The proper ionospheric plasma data obtained from EISCAT were accessible in a wide altitude range. Applying the numerical method of simulation of a realistic inhomogeneous IAR, the problem of appearance and disappearance of the ground Pc1 signal record was clarified on the basis of coincidence between the EMIC wave frequency spectrum and the IAR fundamental frequency peak (the frequency window). A shift of the signal source field line to lower latitudes during the development of the disturbance was noticed, and the signal frequency variation on the ground was modelled in the nonstationary IAR. Variation of the IAR altitude structure in the fundamental frequency was illustrated on altitude profiles of the normalized wave magnetic field amplitude in the horizontal and vertical components. Particular conditions of L - and R -wave mode incidence were assumed. The electron density vertical profile of IAR determines the effective resonator dimensions. In this way the IAR fundamental frequency window controls the signal within the ionosphere and on the ground.     

Sudden change in the resonance structure in the electromagnetic noise spectrum in the 0.1–10 Hz range during a substorm

The data of the geophysical observation complex at Barentsburg observatory on Spitsbergen archipelago, together with the data from other stations and satellite observations, were used to interpret a sharp increase in the frequency interval in the electromagnetic noise spectral resonance structure (SRS) in the 0.1–10 Hz range that took place during a substorm that occurred on December 24, 2005. It has been shown that such a change in SRS is related to a decrease in the electron density in the ionospheric F region, which agrees with the ionospheric Alfvén resonator theory. In turn, a decrease in electron density is probably related to the fact that the station was in the auroral cavity region related to the field-aligned current flowing into the ionosphere.     

Investigation of the SA evolution by using the CHAOS-4 model over 1997–2013

The temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the geomagnetic secular acceleration(SA) are investigated, based on CHAOS-4 core field model during the period of 1997–2013. The SA evolution on a short time scale is associated with the phenomenon of the geomagnetic jerk. More details of the global extent and the occurrence time of the successive jerks(the 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011 jerks) are obtained. The location, size and reversed polarity pattern for the 1999 jerk are similar to those for the 2003 jerk in the Asian-Indian sector. While the 2007 and 2011 jerks mainly take place in the Atlantic sector. The direction and speed of the shift for the four jerks are different, identified by the occurrence time of the jerks. The zonal motions of the SA patches exhibit an oscillation pattern in the Asian-Indian sector, whereas a purely westward drifting pattern is along the equator in the Atlantic sector. It is believed that the shift of the jerks is related to the motion of SA-B_r patches observed at the core-mantle boundary(CMB).     

Features and trends of the environmental change in the arid areas in Central Asia

RS-monitoring index systems of ecological environment changes at a large scale, based on empirical data and trends in environmental change in Central Asia, are developed using NOAA and MODIS data. Moreover, with the help of mathematical statistics and GIS spatial analysis, the degrees, hazards and distribution extent of various possible ecological problems are discussed, environmental changes in Central Asia in 1990 and 2005 are separately evaluated, and dynamic changes in the environment in Central Asia over a 15-year period are analyzed. The results reveal that during the 15-year period from 1990 to 2005, areas of degenerated vegetation in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirghizstan and Tadzhikistan were enlarged by 0.069×105 km2, 0.081×105 km2, 0.296×105 km2, 0.022×105 km2 and 0.112×105 km2, respectively. The ecological environment in Central Asia was in the state of significant degeneration and even deterioration. This study proves that NOAA and MODIS data can be used to successfully monitor the environment and provide useful results.