A modeling study of the physical processes affecting the development of seasonal hypoxia over the inner Louisiana-Texas shelf: Circulation and stratification

The physical processes affecting the development of seasonal hypoxia over the Louisiana-Texas shelf were examined using a high-resolution, three-dimensional, unstructured-grid, Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM). The model was forced with the observed freshwater fluxes from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, surface winds, heat fluxes, tides and offshore conditions. The simulations were carried out over a six-month period, from April to September 2002, and the model performance was evaluated against several independent series of observations that included tidal gauge data, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data, shipboard measurements of temperature and salinity, vertical salinity and sigma-t profiles, and satellite imagery. The model accurately described the offshore circulation mode generated over the Louisiana-Texas shelf by the westerly winds during summer months, as well as the prevalent westward flow along the coast caused by the easterly winds during the rest of the study period. The seasonal cycle of stratification also was well represented by the model. During 2002, the stratification was initiated in early spring and subsequently enhanced by the intensity and phasing of riverine freshwater discharges. Strong stratification persisted throughout the summer and was finally broken down in September by tropical storms. The model simulations also revealed a quasi-permanent anticyclonic gyre in the Louisiana Bight region formed by the rotational transformation of the Mississippi River plume, whose existence during 2002 was supported by the satellite imagery and ADCP current measurements. Model simulations support the conclusion that local wind forcing and buoyancy flux resulting from riverine freshwater discharges were the dominant mechanisms affecting the circulation and stratification over the inner Louisiana-Texas shelf.     

Stability analysis of historic underground quarries

This work, carried out at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Territory Engineering and Architecture (DICATeA) of the University of Parma, analyzes the stability conditions of the ancient underground quarries of Viggiù (Varese, Italy). The objective of the study is to verify the actual structural predisposition to instability phenomena of the old Viggiù quarries, within the context of a historical and cultural valorization and recovery of the ancient ornamental stone quarries. These quarries, that are now completely abandoned, could be used as a tourist attraction and/or as a teaching environment. They are a wonderful example of industrial architecture by presenting an audacious composition of filled in trenches and room and pillar techniques. An experimental campaign based on in situ measurements and laboratory measurements has been carried out to characterize the rock mass and to determine rock mass mechanical features. A numerical model of the entire rock mass has been developed in order to analyze the stability of the entire underground openings. A preliminary monitoring phase has been realized, aimed at controlling abandoned rock structure movements at the most significant discontinuities. Some measurements of the vertical stress in the pillars and in the walls have been performed, as well, and used for the model calibration. Once the model has been calibrated, the analysis of the actual stress and deformation conditions has been evaluated, the stability condition of the entire structure computed and a forecasting analysis of any intervention that could be realized to guarantee the underground public access has been performed.     

The sagging deep-seated gravitational movements on the eastern side of Mt. Amiata (Tuscany,Italy)

The eastern side of the Mt. Amiata volcano is affected by a series of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DsGSDs). The San Piero and the Podere Mezzavia DsGSDs affect the lower part of the slope. The main escarpments are located on the outer edges of the lava flows, but the landslides mostly affect the pre-volcanic Ligurian Terrains. A deeper movement, possibly exceeding 100 m in thickness, is evidenced by a long trench at the base of the main escarpment that indicates a sagging type movement. This deeper movement is responsible for the activation of a series of superficial rock and mud flows that show evidence of ongoing activity. The most likely location of the sliding surface is the tectonized contact between the Santa Fiora and Argille a Palombini Fms within the Ligurian units, although the superficial landslides prevent our determining with certainty if a clear-cut sliding surface already developed connecting the upper and the lower parts of the slope. These DsGSDs were activated along the flanks of a larger movement that affects the lava flow units cropping out in the middle slope of the volcano. A long main escarpment, secondary escarpments, trenches and borehole data suggest that the thickness could locally exceed 200 m and generate another sagging type movement. Up-slope and up-movement-facing counterscarps indicate the existence of a listric elongated spoon-shaped compound embryonic sliding surface. This sagging, which hosts the towns of Abbadia San Salvatore and Piancastagnaio, appears to be in a quiescent stage, according to preliminary monitoring with a global positioning system (GPS) network. The downcutting of the river network along the softer Pliocene terrains of the Radicofani basin is enhanced by the general uplift of the Apennines and seems to be the major factor in the activation of these DsGSDs.     

Scenario of the January 1997 West Bohemia Earthquake Swarm

In order to learn more about the nature of the dynamic processes taking place in the West Bohemia/Vogtland earthquake swarm region, we investigated the temporal and spatial variations of the source mechanisms of the January 1997 swarm beneath Nový Kostel (NKC). Visual analyses of WEBNET seismograms of over 800 events revealed that a specific feature of this swarm was the occurrence of eight classes of multiplet events. The result of single-source, absolute moment tensor inversion of the P and SH peak amplitudes of a subset of 70 events representing all multiplet classes indicated that eight statistically significant types of mechanisms occurred during the swarm. Two of them, types A and B in our denotation, comprised all M _L 1.3 events and predominated in the swarm. Type A were pure strike-slip mechanisms or strike-slip mechanisms containing a small normal component, with a nearly pure double-couple source. For class B events, oblique-thrust faulting and non-double-couple components significant at a fairly high confidence level were typical. Type A events predominated in the southern subcluster of the swarm, whereas most of type B events occurred in the subcluster northwards from NKC. This indicates that two major seismogenic planes were active during the swarm. The swarm essentially developed in four phases: in the first, type A events prevailed and the southern plane was active; during the second, characterised by the occurrence of both type A and B events (the former in the southern, the latter predominantly in the northern subcluster), the activity of the swarm culminated; in the third and fourth, the occurrence of type B events in the northern plane predominated, and only weak single events occurred southwards from NKC. Mechanisms of types AB , C , D , E , F and G , which were typical for M _L 1.2 events, occurred randomly throughout the swarm. Type AB events were identified in both the southern and northern clusters, type C , E , F and G mechanisms only southwards from NKC. Type D events exhibited a large scatter of hypocentres which fell in neither the southern nor the northern cluster. Focal mechanisms like those reported in this study and with analogous temporal and spatial variations were observed by other authors already fifteen years ago in the 1985/86 earthquake swarm and may, therefore, be typical for the region under study.     

Moments of external disturbing forces in the rotational motion of celestial bodies

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Intrinsic polarization and extinction features of early-type stars with emission lines due to X-ray irradiation

The explanation of intrinsic polarization and extinction of early-type stars with emission due to X-ray irradiation of silicate grains is given.     

Velocity anisotropy and symmetry of dunite fabric

Summary From the space distribution of P- and S-wave velocities, determined at a hydrostatic pressure of 1 GPa, complete sets of elastic constants were calculated for the Twin Sisters dunite. It was found that orthorhombic symmetry is a reasonable approximation for the dunite sample; with one exception the deviations of the individual constants, determined from different waves, do not exceed a few percent. As a seismological application a simple model of a 120 km thick lithosphere, formed by the dunite, was considered for calculating the differences in the time arrivals of SV and SH waves. The greatest time differences, about 3s, were obtained in the vertical plane containing the direction of the greatest P-wave velocity, however, for the real lithosphere we estimate effects which only cause differences of the order of 1s.     

Density inhomogeneities in the upper mantle of Central Europe and their gravitational effects

Summary Problems of occurrence of density inhomogeneities in the upper mantle are discussed and their gravitational effects in the region of Central Europe are investigated. Attention is namely devoted to the density contrast between the asthenosphere and the lower lithosphere, and its possible dependence on depth.

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