The stress-field in the alpine-mediterranean region

The neotectonic stress field in the Alpine-Mediterranean region is investigated. It is shown that information on this field can be obtained from insitu measurements, from earthquake fault plane solutions, from the orientation of joints and even from valley trends. The available data are collected and collated. It is shown that there is a general correspondence in any one area between these types of data. Maps showing the orientations of the principal stress directions are given.     

The principle of antagonism in the earth's evolution

It is shown that for a complete geological interpretation of the evolution of the Earth, the principle of antagonism between endogenic and exogenic forces must be consistently applied. Inasmuch as the nature of the endogenic forces is random, it is possible to distinguish between effects of the two types of forces by a statistical test for nonrandomness (or randomness). Examples are given. Thus it is, e.g., shown that the orientation of valley trends in Switzerland is non-random; therefore the pre-design of the Swiss valleys is of tectonic, not erosive origin.     

A geodynamic study of Peninsular India

SummaryA Geodynamic Study of Peninsular India An attempt was made to elucidate the geodynamic conditions existing at the present time in Peninsular India. Morphological, structural and seismic information was collected for this purpose, as well as data from in-situ stress measurements by the hydraulic fracturing method. Inasmuch as the seismic activity was mainly concentrated around Koyna, the latter region was especially scrutinized. It has been found that the morphological (valley trends), structural (joint orientations) and seismic (fault plane solutions of earthquakes) evidence are all consistent with a neotectonic stress field whose maximum compression acts horizontally NW-SE, and whose minimum compression acts horizontally NE-SW. This trend is also confirmed by data from in-situ stress measurements in the Kolar Gold Fields. The lineaments gleaned from landsat imageries do not fit this pattern, indicating that they may not be related to the neotectonic conditions existing in India at all.With 30 Figures     

High-characterization of Vadose Zone Dynamics in Limestone Underground Quarries by Time Domain Reflectometry

The aim of this paper is to study the vadose zone dynamics during a hydrological cycle. The application of the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) method to determine the water content of porous rock has been widely investigated. More than 657 point measurements of rock water content observed during a hydrological cycle and distributed among three abandoned underground quarries in Gironde, France show a permanently undersaturated limestone. Two periods of maximum water content correspond to two occurring effective precipitations. The dephasing and amplitude attenuation of the hydraulic wave with the depth can be modelled and explained by the physical properties of the porous medium. Maps of the spatial distribution of water content show the heterogeneity of water flow in a vadose zone.     

Packet Structure of Surface Eddies in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

A smoke visualization experiment has beenperformed in the first 3,m ofneutral and unstable atmospheric boundary layersat very large Reynolds number(Re > 10⁶). Under neutral atmosphericconditions mean wind profiles agreewell with those in the canonical flatplate zero-pressure-gradient turbulentboundary layer. The experiment was designedto minimize the temperaturedifference between the passive marker (smoke)and the air to ensure that anyobserved structures were due to vortical, ratherthan buoyant, motions. Imagesacquired in the streamwise–wall-normal planeusing a planar laser light-sheetare strikingly similar to those observed inlaboratory experiments at low to moderate Reynolds numbers. They reveal large-scaleramp-like structures withdownstream inclination of 3°–35°.This inclination isinterpreted as the hairpin packet growthangle following the hairpin vortexpacket model ofAdrian, Meinhart, and Tomkins.The distribution of this characteristicangle agrees with the results of experiments at far lower Reynolds numbers,suggesting a similarity in structures among low, moderate, and high Reynoldsnumber boundary layers at vastly different scales. These results indicate thatthe hairpin vortex packet model extends over a large range of scales. Theeffect of vertical heat transport in an unstable atmosphere on wall structuresis investigated in terms of the hairpin vortex packet model.     

Xxth International Congress of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

The XXth International Congress of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing was held at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICEC), Turkey, from 12th to 23rd July 2004. Reports are given on the Congress as a whole, including the General Assembly, some Technical Commission activities and the Congress Exhibition. Papers from the Congress are published in Volume XXXV of the International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences.     

Early Tertiary evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin of the Swiss Alps and adjoining areas

We present a new palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Helvetic zone based on the palinspastic restoration of 18 recently published and new retrodeformed structural cross‐sections through the Swiss Alps, Haute Savoie (France) and Vorarlberg (Austria). The reconstruction resulted in two palaeogeographic maps, one of the pre‐Mesozoic basement, the other for the sedimentary cover of the Helvetic shelf including the Nummulitic deposits of the Palaeocene–Eocene, which mark the onset of the North Alpine Foreland Basin of the Alps. Based on the palaeogeographic maps and a precise dating of the Nummulitic deposits, we established maps of the facies distribution including the estimated positions of the ancient coastlines and their evolution through time. The North Alpine Foreland Basin started as a narrow flysch basin in Palaeocene–Eocene times. Emplacement of the Penninic nappes led to the formation of a mélange on the active margin of this basin. This early foreland basin and its active margin migrated to the NW in Early Eocene times at a rate of about 10 mm yr^?1. The maps also reveal a general progressive north‐ and westward propagation of the Eocene coastline between 50–34 Ma and during the Oligocene until approximately 32 Ma. Coastline propagation reveals strongly varying rates both spatially and temporally, and is ca. 1–2 mm yr^?1 between 50 and 37 Ma and approximately 20 mm yr^?1 between 37 and 32 Ma. Evolution and orientation of the Tertiary coastlines infers that the early development of the North Alpine Foreland Basin was mainly controlled initially by eustatic sea‐level fluctuations superimposed on flexural subsidence. After 37 Ma, we suggest a tectonically controlled coastline evolution in response to the collision of the European and Adriatic margins.     

Peak displacement demand of small to moderate magnitude earthquakes in stable continental regions

A theoretical fault‐slip model has been developed for predicting the notional peak displacement demand (PDD) of earthquakes based on a limiting natural period of 5 s, for application in stable continental regions (SCRs). The developed theoretical expression is simple and robust. Importantly, it envelops predictions arising from a number of existing empirical and seismological (stochastic) models included in the comparison. The notional PDD prediction has been made initially for hard rock crustal conditions and at a reference source–site distance of 30 km. Factors have accordingly been introduced to correct for different distances and geological conditions in completing the PDD prediction model. Assuming displacement‐controlled behaviour, the predicted notional PDD may be compared with the displacement capacity of a structure, or component, for purposes of seismic stability assessment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.