An Atlas of ShakeMaps and population exposure catalog for earthquake loss modeling

We present an Atlas of ShakeMaps and a catalog of human population exposures to moderate-to-strong ground shaking (EXPO-CAT) for recent historical earthquakes (1973–2007). The common purpose of the Atlas and exposure catalog is to calibrate earthquake loss models to be used in the US Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER). The full ShakeMap Atlas currently comprises over 5,600 earthquakes from January 1973 through December 2007, with almost 500 of these maps constrained—to varying degrees—by instrumental ground motions, macroseismic intensity data, community internet intensity observations, and published earthquake rupture models. The catalog of human exposures is derived using current PAGER methodologies. Exposure to discrete levels of shaking intensity is obtained by correlating Atlas ShakeMaps with a global population database. Combining this population exposure dataset with historical earthquake loss data, such as PAGER-CAT, provides a useful resource for calibrating loss methodologies against a systematically-derived set of ShakeMap hazard outputs. We illustrate two example uses for EXPO-CAT; (1) simple objective ranking of country vulnerability to earthquakes, and; (2) the influence of time-of-day on earthquake mortality. In general, we observe that countries in similar geographic regions with similar construction practices tend to cluster spatially in terms of relative vulnerability. We also find little quantitative evidence to suggest that time-of-day is a significant factor in earthquake mortality. Moreover, earthquake mortality appears to be more systematically linked to the population exposed to severe ground shaking (Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII+). Finally, equipped with the full Atlas of ShakeMaps, we merge each of these maps and find the maximum estimated peak ground acceleration at any grid point in the world for the past 35 years. We subsequently compare this “composite ShakeMap” with existing global hazard models, calculating the spatial area of the existing hazard maps exceeded by the combined ShakeMap ground motions. In general, these analyses suggest that existing global, and regional, hazard maps tend to overestimate hazard. Both the Atlas of ShakeMaps and EXPO-CAT have many potential uses for examining earthquake risk and epidemiology. All of the datasets discussed herein are available for download on the PAGER Web page (). T. I. Allen and M. G. Hearne—contracted through Synergetics Incorporated.     

Times of sand: Sedimentary history and archaeology at the Sigatoka Dunes,Fiji

The orthodox archaeological sequence at the Sigatoka Dunes site (VL 16/1) in Fiji proposes three phases of occupation spanning Fijian prehistory, each associated with a period of dune stability. It has been taken as the standard model of Fijian prehistory for more than 30 years. Recently, however, it has been argued that there is no stratigraphic support for three discrete levels and that the occupation history was fragmented, complex, and continuous within a volatile dune system. We present new data, from optical and radiocarbon dating, to argue that a three‐phase model, although somewhat more complex in detail, remains the most robust interpretation of site history. The longest stable phase (Level 2) began 2500–2300 cal yr B.P. and is possibly associated with relatively low ENSO frequency. Substantial sand dune accumulation began after ˜1300 cal yr B.P. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Radio spectra of some markarian galaxies

Radio spectra of 16 Markarian galaxies are studied between 2.7 and 15.5 GHz. The Seyfert-type galaxies have power-law spectra with an average spectral index of -0.82, except for MRK 348, which is an active galaxy with a complex spectrum. The galaxies with featureless optical spectra have rather flat radio spectra, similar to BL Lac-type objects.     

柴达木盆地北缘古生代超高压带中花岗质岩浆作用

祁连南缘古生代超高压变质带 (榴辉岩年龄为 4 6 6～ 4 95 Ma)上一套中高级变质岩系 (达肯大坂片麻岩 )中存在三类花岗岩组合 : 类 :石英二长闪长岩 -花岗闪长岩 -二长花岗岩 , 类 :二长花岗岩 -二云母花岗岩-含白云母花岗岩 -正长花岗岩 , 类 :花岗闪长岩 -二长花岗岩 -黑云母花岗岩。 类岩石组合中的二长花岗岩锆石SHRIMP年龄为 4 73Ma, 类岩石组合中的正长花岗岩锆石 SHRIMP年龄为 4 4 6 Ma, 类岩石组合中的二长花岗岩锆石 SHRIMP年龄为 397Ma。从三类花岗岩组合的组成矿物来看 , 类和 类的矿物组合主要为斜长石、角闪石、石英、碱性长石、黑云母 , 类的矿物组合为钾长石、石英、白云母、黑云母、斜长石 ;从岩石地球化学特征上看 , 类和 类花岗岩为 型花岗岩 ,岩石的 Si O2 =6 1%～ 6 9% ,Na2 O/ K2 O>1,ANK<1,δEu=0 .7～ 1.0 ; 类花岗岩为 S型花岗岩 ,岩石的 Si O2 =70 %～ 76 % ,Na2 O/ K2 O<1,ANK>1,δEu=0 .1～ 0 .3;从构造环境上看 , 类花岗岩形成于岛弧环境或活动大陆边缘 , 类花岗岩形成于同碰撞 , 类花岗岩形成于碰撞后。结合区域地质特征 ,我们认为 ,早奥陶世 ,南祁连洋板块向北俯冲于祁连陆块之下 ,规模不大的南祁连洋很快闭合 ,但俯冲下去的大洋板块仍拖动柴达木陆块继续俯冲 ,俯冲     

American pragmatism: Towards a geographical introduction

The purposes of the paper are to provide a historical and thematic review of some of the variants of American philosophical pragmatism (old and new), and to point to its potential relevance for geography. The paper is divided into three sections. The first, discusses the origins of American pragmatism focussing on four figures: John Dewey, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William James, and Charles Sanders Peirce. Following the argument of Louis Menand (2001) in The Metaphysical Club, I will suggest that pragmatism took on its peculiar American character as a response to the deep fissures and wounds caused by that country’s Civil War. That war produced a loss of faith, undermining notions of universal progress and absolute truth. Pragmatism was the reaction. The second section brings pragmatism to the present, by focussing on three connected contemporary American pragmatists: Richard Rorty, Richard Bernstein, and Richard Shusterman. The hallmark of their work, and which justifies treating them as a group, is a willingness to stretch pragmatism: first, by making linkages with other anti-foundational, practice-based philosophical traditions, especially those within Continental European philosophy, and which had been shut out of Anglo-American philosophy after the Second World War by the rise of analytic philosophy; and second, by applying pragmatist ideas to issues like the body and popular culture to which it had never been applied. Finally, in the conclusion the paper reflects on the prospects of tethering pragmatism to the work of human geographers. Given the anti-architectonic impulses of pragmatism, such a project cannot simply be one of holus-bolus transferring pragmatism to geography. A different approach is needed, and which is schematically outlined and briefly illustrated using the idea of place.     

Dielectric constants of crystalline and amorphous spodumene,anorthite and diopside and the oxide additivity rule

The dielectric constants and dissipation factors of LiAlSi₂O₆, CaAl₂Si₂O₈ and CaMgSi₂O₆ in both the crystalline (α-spodumene, anorthite, and diopside) and amorphous forms were determined at 1 MHz using a two-terminal method and empirically determined edge corrections. The results are: spodumene κ′ ₁₁=7.30 tan δ= 0.0007 κ′₂₂=8.463 tan δ= 0.0002 κ′₃₃ =11.12 tan δ= 0.0007 anorthite κ′ _a ^*=5.47 tan δ= 0.0009 κ′_b ^*=8.76 tan δ= 0.0010 κ′_c ^*=7.19 tan δ= 0.0013 diopside κ′₁₁=9.69 tan δ= 0.0016 κ′₂₂ = 7.31 tan δ= 0.0007 κ′₃₃=7.29 tan δ= 0.00019 LiAlSi₂O₆ κ′=8.07 tan δ= 0.047 amorphous CaAl₂Si₂O₈ κ′=7.50 tan δ= 0.0024 amorphous CaMgSi₂O₆ κ′=8.89 tan δ= 0.0021 amorphous The dielectric properties of a spodumene glass, progressively crystallized at different conditions, were also determined. As the crystallization temperature was increased from 720 to 920° C, κ′ increased from 6.22 to 6.44. The dissipation factor, tan δ, remained constant at 0.020. Similarly, as the crystallization time at 750° C increased from 0.5 hr to 6.0 hr, κ′ increased from 6.28 to 6.35. The deviations of the measured dielectric polarizabilities as determined from the Clausius-Mosotti equation from those calculated from the sum of oxide polarizabilities according to α _D(mineral, glass) = σ α _D(oxides) are +7.4% for α-spodumene, +1.2% for diopside, and +28.0, +19.6 and +15.9% for amorphous spodumene, anorthitie and diopside compositions, respectively. Positive deviations in α-spodumene and anorthite are consistent with lower than normal apparent cation bond valence sums and are believed to be evidence for loosely bonded “rattling” Li and Ca ions. Diopside, with Ca and Mg ions having normal bond valence sums, exhibits no abnormal deviation from additivity. Larger positive deviations in amorphous SiO₂, LiAlSi₂O₆, CaAl₂Si₂O₈ and CaMgSi₂O₆ are postulated to arise from a combination of loosely bonded cations and disordered O⁼ ions where the oxygen dielectric polarizability increased from its normal value of 2.0 ų in well-behaved oxides to 2.2–3.0 Å₃ in the amorphous phases.     

Land surface hydrology in a General Circulation Model N-global and regional fields needed for validation

Treatments of land surface processes in General Circulation Models are presently limited by the realism of the simulations of precipitation and surface radiation. We explore this thesis by examination of some of the climatological fields of a 6-year model simulation, using the Community Climate Model version 1 of the National Center for Atmospheric Research with addition of a diurnal cycle and coupled to a detailed treatment of land surface processes referred to as the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme. We examine July climatological surface fields over North America and note an excess of surface solar radiation over Eastern United States. Comparison with satellite derived cloud forcing suggests that the model underestimates the reduction of solar radiation by clouds over Eastern United States and in high latitudes, and so probably largely explaining the excess surface radiation. We consider the annual cycle of model hydrological fields (soil moisture, runoff, precipitation, evapotranspiration, net radiation) averaged over a box covering the central part of the United States (roughtly the Mississippi basin). The seasonal cycle of evapotranspiration over this box appears to be dominated by the variation of surface solar radiation and less related to that of precipitation.     

CO2 emission accompanying the fracture of calcite

Time resolved mass spectroscopy of the emissions accompanying the fracture of calcite (rhombohedral CaCO₃) show that the principle volatile product, CO₂, is released in bursts milliseconds after the fracture event. Similar measurements during the abrasion of calcite and during low temperature thermal decomposition of pulverized calcite show similar CO₂ bursts. We argue that the observed bursts reflect localized decomposition of the calcite during the relaxation of reversible plastic deformation created by fracture and abrasion. This implies that mechanical, non-thermal processes play an important role in producing the observed decomposition products.     

Integrating agriculture and energy to assess GHG emissions reduction: a methodological approach

Agriculture is responsible for approximately 25% of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This significant share highlights the fundamental importance of the agricultural sector in the global GHG emissions reduction challenge. This article develops and tests a methodology for the integration of agricultural and energy systems modelling. The goal of the research is to extend an energy systems modelling approach to agriculture in order to provide richer insights into the dynamics and interactions between the two (e.g. in competition for land-use). We build Agri-TIMES, an agricultural systems module using the TIMES energy systems modelling framework, to model the effect of livestock emissions and explore emissions reduction options. The research focuses on Ireland, which is an interesting test case for two reasons: first, agriculture currently accounts for about 30% of Ireland's GHG emissions, significantly higher than other industrialized countries yet comparable with global levels (here including emissions associated with other land-use change and forestation); second, Ireland is both a complete and reasonably sized agricultural system to act as a test case for this new approach. This article describes the methodology used, the data requirements, and technical assumptions made to facilitate the modelling. It also presents results to illustrate the approach and provide associated initial insights.

Policy relevance

Most of the policy focus with regard to climate mitigation targets has been on reducing energy-related CO₂ emissions, which is understandable as they represent by far the largest source of emissions. Non-energy-related GHG emissions – largely from agriculture, industrial processes, and waste – have received significantly less attention in policy discourse. Going forward, however, if significant cuts are made in energy-related CO₂ emissions, the role of non-energy-related GHG emissions will grow in importance. It is therefore crucial that climate mitigation analyses and strategies are not limited to the energy system. This article shows the value of using integrated energy and agriculture techno-economic modelling techniques to draw evidence for new comprehensive climate policy strategies able to discern between the full range of technical solutions available. It enables the production of economy-wide least-cost climate mitigation pathways.