Tectonomagnetic study in the seismoactive area of Narmada-Son lineament,central India: Preliminary results on repeat field observations

Repeated measurements of the total geomagnetic field on the five profiles have revealed a picture of stress-induced tectonomagnetic effect in the form of secular variation of the total geomagnetic field in the tectonically and seismically active area of Jabalpur and adjoining areas of the Narmada-Son lineament (NSL), central India. For this experiment, a reference base station was established within the study area at Jabalpur. Using proton precession magnetometers with a sensitivity of 0.1 nT, simultaneous measurements of total geomagnetic field were made annually at the base and all field stations. Five cycles of repeated observations have been performed between 2003 and 2007. For data analysis, a difference method has been applied and the residuals have been calculated as secular variations of the total geomagnetic field with values ranging from ±0.1nT to about ±14.6nT/yr over the different stations. The anomalies in secular variation of the total geomagnetic field may be related to anomalous accumulation of tectonic stresses and tensions on the deep fault zones and crustal blocks due to recent geodynamic processes and active geological inhomogeneities in the NSL.     

A Chinese commitment to commit: can it break the negotiation stall?

Preparatory talks to the next round of negotiations seem to indicate that a comprehensive agreement to mitigate climate change will not be easily attainable, despite the intentions of the US administration and the high expectations surrounding the Copenhagen meeting. One key reason is to what extent fast growing economies, and especially China, should take actions to reduce their growth of emissions. This paper argues that a turning point for international negotiations on climate change could be achieved if China were to agree on carbon obligations in the future. Results from modelling work suggest that the optimal investment behaviour is to anticipate the implementation of a climate policy by roughly 10 years, and that thus future commitments—if credible—could lead to significantly earlier steps towards carbon mitigation. If fast growing economies, and foremost China, believe in the long term objective of global stabilization of carbon concentrations, it might be economically rationale to sign on future targets, provided developed countries take on immediate action. Such a provision could be beneficial for both the developing and developed world.     

Assessment of ground motion variability and its effects on seismic hazard analysis: a case study for iceland

Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) generally relies on the basic assumption that ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) developed for other similar tectonic regions can be adopted in the considered area. This implies that observed ground motion and its variability at considered sites could be modelled by the selected GMPEs. Until now ground-motion variability has been taken into account in PSHA by integrating over the standard deviation reported in GMPEs, which significantly affects estimated ground motions, especially at very low probabilities of exceedance. To provide insight on this issue, ground-motion variability in the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ), where many ground-motion records are available, is assessed. Three statistical methods are applied to separate the aleatory variability into source (inter-event), site (inter-site) and residual (intra-event and intra-site) components. Furthermore, the current PSHA procedure that makes the ergodic assumption of equality between spatially and temporal variability is examined. In contrast to the ergodic assumption, several recent studies show that the observed ground-motion variability at an individual location is lower than that implied by the standard deviation of a GMPE. This could imply a mishandling of aleatory uncertainty in PSHA by ignoring spatial variability and by mixing aleatory and epistemic uncertainties in the computation of sigma. Station correction coefficients are introduced in order to capture site effects at different stations. The introduction of the non-ergodic assumption in PSHA leads to larger epistemic uncertainty, although this is not the same as traditional epistemic uncertainty modelled using different GMPEs. The epistemic uncertainty due to the site correction coefficients (i.e. mean residuals) could be better constrained for future events if more information regarding the characteristics of these seismic sources and path dependence could be obtained.     

Middle-Late Jurassic syndepositional tectonics recorded in the Ligurian Briançonnais succession (Marguareis–Mongioie area,Ligurian Alps,NW Italy)

The Middle–Upper Jurassic succession of the Marguareis–Mongioie area (Ligurian Briançonnais Domain), developed in a protected shelf environment evolving into a pelagic plateau, bears clear evidence of synsedimentary tectonics such as: growth fault-related structures; neptunian dykes; marked lateral variations in stratigraphic thicknesses testifying to the juxtaposition of sectors characterized by different sedimentation and subsidence rates; discordant, anomalous stratigraphic contacts corresponding to paleoescarpments; nodular beds showing evidence of fluidification interpreted as seismites; and the occurrence of sand-sized quartz grains pointing to denudation of Permo-Triassic quartz-rich rocks. Such evidence documents an important Middle-Late Jurassic post-breakup tectonic activity, which was more effective in controlling the basin topography than the Early Jurassic syn-rift tectonic phase. Two main tectono-sedimentary stages, one occurring during the Bathonian, the other falling within the Callovian–Kimmeridgian interval, were reconstructed. The first stage can be referred to a fault-related activity occurring shortly after the initial stages of oceanic spreading of the Ligurian Tethys; the second can be genetically related to the far effects of the first rifting stage of the Bay of Biscay and the Valais basin.     

Energy performance evaluation of fishing vessels by fuel mass flow measuring system

A new fuel consumption monitoring system was set up for research purpose in order to evaluate the energy performance of fishing vessels under different operating conditions. The system has been tested on two semi-pelagic pair trawlers in the Adriatic Sea with an engine power of around 900 kW, and with length overall of around 30 m. Both vessels work with a gear of similar design and size, the differences between the two vessels are in the propeller design and the hull material: the first with a controllable pitch propeller (CPP) and a metal hull, the second with a fixed pitch propeller (FPP) and a wooden hull. The fuel monitoring system conceived at CNR-ISMAR Ancona (Italy) consists of two mass flow sensors, one multichannel recorder and one GPS data logger. The working time duration, the vessel speed, the total fuel consumption and the instant fuel rate were logged by the system. A typical commercial round trip for a semi-pelagic trawler consists of several fishing operations (steaming, trawling sailing, etc.). Fuel consumption rate and vessel speed data were used to identify energy performance under different vessel-operating conditions. The highest fuel demands were during the trawling (130 l/h at 4.4 kn) and the steaming (100–130 l/h at 11 kn) phases. Fuel savings of up to 15% could be obtained by reducing the navigation speed of half a knot.     

Spatial distribution patterns of the peppery furrow shell Scrobicularia plana (da Costa, 1778) along the European coast: A review

The bivalve Scrobicularia plana is an important species of shallow water benthic communities with a wide geographic distribution but also with a general patchy pattern, i.e. irregular in occurrence and in density. This review aims to determine the processes responsible for the species' spatial distribution pattern based on the available information on S. plana. Although several pre- and post-settlement processes are believed to influence spatial patterns of marine invertebrates, the general patchy distribution of S. plana seems to be determined by the existence of specific environmental conditions during settlement. Factors such as temperature, salinity, sediment type, hydrographic conditions and predation affect settlement and spat survival and not one but a combination of factors seems to explain the species distribution pattern. Future work should focus on determining the scale of patchiness, using hierarchical sampling, as well as the connectivity between populations by analysing the population genetic structure.     

An assessment of mixing-length closure schemes for models of turbulent boundary layers over complex terrain

The effectiveness of closure assumptions implemented in turbulent boundary-layer models is rather uncertain over complex terrain. Different closure schemes for Reynolds shear stress based on the mixing-length concept are compared with data from wind tunnel experiments over complex terrain and the results are analysed on the basis of second-order moment equations. A good estimation of the vertical momentum flux velocity scale turns out to be given by the standard deviation of the vertical velocity while the turbulent kinetic energy scaling gives less satisfactory results in regions where turbulence anisotropy is large. Fairly good results are given by closure models implementing a shear-limited mixing-length already proposed for non-logarithmic wind profiles, while large errors characterize traditional mixing-length formulations.     

Boundary-layer flow over analytical two-dimensional hills: A systematic comparison of different models with wind tunnel data

Two mass consistent models (MATHEW and MINERVE) and two dynamic linearized models (MS3DJH/3R and FLOWSTAR) are used to simulate the mean flow over two-dimensional hills of analytical shape and of varying slope. The results are compared with detailed wind tunnel data (RUSHIL experiment at US EPA). Different numerical experiments have been performed, varying input data and control parameters, to test the data-processing methodology and to evaluate the minimum input data (for mass consistent models only) necessary to obtain a reliable flow field. The models behave differently according to the physical assumptions made and numerical procedure used: an assessment is then made in order to identify the proper solution for the different conditions of topography and wind data.