A global landslide catalog for hazard applications: method,results, and limitations

A systematic inventory of landslide events over the globe is valuable for estimating human and economic losses, quantifying the relationship between landslide occurrences and climate variations and for evaluating emerging global landslide prediction efforts based on remote sensing data. This study compiles a landslide catalog for rainfall-triggered events for several years, drawing upon news reports, scholarly articles, and other hazard databases to provide a landslide catalog at the global scale. While this database may only represent a subset of rainfall-triggered landslides globally, due to lack of reports, it presents a lower boundary on the number of events globally and provides initial insight into the spatiotemporal statistical trends in landslide distribution and impact. This article develops a methodology for landslide event compilation that can be used in evaluating global landslide forecasting initiatives and assessing patterns in landslide distribution and frequency worldwide.     

The pattern and structure of one-person households in England and Wales and France

"This paper examines the increase of one-person households during the 1980s in England and Wales and France set within the broader context of household change in Europe as a whole....One-person households vary geographically by age, with younger one-person households found especially in larger urban areas; older one-person households have a more varied distribution, although rural and traditional retirement areas have particular concentrations. Increases in numbers are a result of both compositional changes in the population (increasing numbers of divorced and never-marrieds as well as increasing numbers of elderly) and also an increasing propensity to live alone, especially among younger age groups."     

Seismotectonic implications of sand blows in the southern Mississippi Embayment

We explore seismically-induced sand blows from the southern Mississippi Embayment and their implications in resolving the question of near or distal epicentral source region. This was accomplished using aerial photography, field excavations, and cone penetration tests. Our analysis shows that three sand blow fields exhibit a distinct chronology of strong ground motion for the southern embayment: (1) The Ashley County, Arkansas sand blow field, near the Arkansas/Louisiana state border, experienced four Holocene sand venting episodes; (2) to the north, the Desha County field experienced at least three episodes of liquefaction; and (3) the Lincoln–Jefferson Counties field experienced at least one episode. Cone penetration tests (CPT) conducted in and between the sand blow fields suggest that the fields may not be distal liquefaction associated with New Madrid seismic zone earthquakes but rather are likely associated with strong earthquakes on local faults. This conclusion is consistent with the differences in timing of the southern embayment sand venting episodes and those in the New Madrid seismic zone. These results suggest that active tectonism and strong seismicity in intraplate North America may not be localized at isolated weak spots, but rather widespread on fault systems that are favorably oriented for slip in the contemporary stress field.     

A comprehensive variability study of the enigmatic WN8 stars: final results

As a conclusion of our all-sky variability survey of the 'enigmatic' variable WN8 stars, we have carried out coordinated multisite photometric and spectroscopic observations of WN8 stars in 1989 and 1994–1995. We confirm the leading role of the stellar core in restructuring the whole wind. This emerges as a statistical trend: the higher the level of the ∼continuum (i.e. ∼core) light variations, the higher the variability of the P Cygni edges of the optical emission lines. However, the form of the correlation between the light and profile variations is generally different for each individual star. The high level of activity of WN8 stars may be supported/induced by pulsational instability.     

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Education and Outreach (E/PO) Program: Changing Perceptions One Program at a Time

We outline the context and overall philosophy for the combined Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program, present a brief overview of all SDO E/PO programs along with more detailed highlights of a few key programs, followed by a review of our results to date, conclude a summary of the successes, failures, and lessons learned, which future missions can use as a guide, while incorporating their own content to enhance the public’s knowledge and appreciation of science and technology as well as its benefit to society.     

Effect of Bioremediation on the Microbial Community in Oiled Mangrove Sediments

Bioremediation was conducted in the field on a mature Rhizophora stylosa mangrove stand on land to be reclaimed near Fisherman’s Landing Wharf, Gladstone Australia. Gippsland crude oil was added to six large plots (>40 m²) and three plots were left untreated as controls. Bioremediation was used to treat three oiled plots and the remaining three were maintained as oiled only plots. The bioremediation strategy consisted of actively aerating the sediment and adding a slow-release fertilizer in order to promote oil biodegradation by indigenous micro-organisms. Oil addition stimulated the numbers of alkane-degrading bacteria slightly to levels of 10⁴–10⁵/g sediment. Bioremediation of the oiled sediment had a marked effect on the alkane-degrading population, increasing the population size by three orders of magnitude from 10⁵ to 10⁸ cells/g of sediment. An effect of bioremediation on the growth of aromatic-degraders was detected with numbers of aromatic-degraders increasing from 10⁴ to 10⁶ cells/g of sediment. Active aeration and nutrient addition significantly stimulated the growth of hydrocarbon-degraders in oiled mangrove sediment in the field.     

中国大陆现今垂直形变特征的初步探讨

利用GPS观测资料进行大范围的垂直形变特征研究是本文研究的重点。通过网络工程基准站和基本站的GPS观测资料，绘制了中国大陆的垂直速率等值线图像，并对中国大陆垂直运动特征进行了定性的分析，结果表明：中国大陆垂直运动在70％以上的区域表现为沉降运动，在青藏高原和除北京外的整个华北块体及燕山块体的垂直运动表现为隆升的趋势。中国大陆西北和东南、西南和东北的整体垂直运动呈一种斜对称状态。对基于GPS观测所得的等值线图与基于水观测所得的等值线图进行了比较，比较结果显示，除了华南块体外，二者在整体趋势上比较一致。