1/f noise in the UV solar spectral irradiance

The investigation of the intrinsic properties of the solar spectral irradiance as a function of the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength is attempted by exploiting rare observations performed at the Villard St. Pancrace station of the Lille University of Sciences and Technology ranging from 278 to 400 nm with a step of 0.05 nm every half an hour from nearly sunrise to sunset. To achieve this goal, the modern method of the detrended fluctuation analysis was applied on the solar spectral irradiance values versus wavelength. This analysis revealed that the solar incident flux at the top of the atmosphere and the solar spectral irradiance at the ground during two overcast sky days fluctuate with the UV wavelength exhibiting persistent long-range power-law behavior. More interestingly, the exponent of the power-law relationship between the fluctuations of the solar spectral irradiance versus UV wavelength at both the top of the atmosphere and the ground is consistently close to unity (of 1/f-type) throughout the day. This 1/f behavior has been detected in many complex dynamical systems, but despite much effort to derive a theory for its widespread occurrence in nature, it remains unexplained so far. According to the above-mentioned findings we speculate that the 1/f property of the incident solar UV flux at the top of the atmosphere could probably drive both the 1/f behavior depicted in the atmospheric components and the solar UV irradiance at the Earth's surface. The latter could influence the UV-sensitive biological ecosystems, giving rise to a 1/f-type variability in the biosphere, which has already been proven by recent observational data. We finally propose that Wien approximation could be multiplied by a 1/f function of wavelength (e.g., of the type of the fractional Brownian motion) in order to reproduce the aforementioned 1/f feature of the solar UV flux.     

Additional evidence on some relationship between Seismic Electric Signals (SES) and earthquake focal mechanism

Investigating the period 1983–1994 for western Greece, a possible correlation between the selectivity characteristics of the SES (seismic electric signals of the VAN method) and earthquake parameters has been reported by Uyeda et al. [Uyeda, S., Al-Damegh, K.S., Dologlou, E., Nagao, T., 1999. Some relationship between VAN seismic electric signals (SES) and earthquake parameters, Tectonophysics, 304, 41–55.]. They found that the earthquake source mechanism changed from largely strike-slip type to thrust type at the end of 1987, and this coincided with a shift in the SES sensitive site from Pirgos (PIR) to Ioannina (IOA) VAN station. Here, we report the results for the period January 1, 2002–July 25, 2004, during which the SES sensitive site of PIR became again active, after a 10-year period of “quiescence”. This activation was followed by strike slip earthquakes (on August 14, 2003 and March 17, 2004 with magnitude 6.4 and 6.5, respectively) in the Hellenic arc, which provides additional evidence on the correlation reported by Uyeda et al. The SES activities recorded at PIR have been discriminated from “artificial” noise by employing the natural time-domain analysis introduced recently.     

Seasonal abundance of non-commercial demersal fish in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in relation to hydrographic and sediment characteristics

Fish-habitat associations were investigated for twenty-five non-commercial demersal species in the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean) using Generalized Additive Modeling techniques. Fishery related abundance indices, derived from experimental bottom trawl surveys, were linked to various habitat variables: substrate characteristics, area, season, depth, temperature and salinity. Depth was the most important factor for all species. Eleven species showed decreasing abundance with depth, while the remaining species were more abundant in specific depth zones either on the continental shelf or in the upper continental slope. Most species were associated with specific substratum characteristics such as the dry weight percentage of sand-gravel and the carbonate content. The dry weight percentage of sand-gravel in the sediments was selected as a predictor of the relative abundance of most (twenty three) species. Seasonal patterns in the relative abundance of species were observed, related in most cases to the seasonal differentiation of temperature. The effect of temperature was more pronounced in summer and autumn, when a marked thermocline is observed, while it was much less intense in winter. For most of the species, the preferable habitat was identified, that contributes valuable information for the successful implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.     

Urban impacts of ice storms: Toronto December 2013

In late December 2013, Eastern Canada was hit by a severe ice storm that covered Southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. Toronto, the largest city of Canada, was among the hardest hit. The freezing rain lasted for 3 days, leaving up to 30 mm coat of ice covering the ground and infrastructure. The urban forestry was badly hit as the ice accretion caused major tree failures and damage to the trees. Trees snapped as they were dormant and fragile during winter weather. In addition, tree limbs with branches heavily coated with ice brought down power lines. About 300,000 power customers (over a million people) were left without power for almost 3 days and tens of thousands for more than a week. The damages from the ice storm cost the city of Toronto over $106 million, while the cost of insured losses was in the range of $200 million. This short paper gives a brief overview of the ice storm, its impact on the city of Toronto, and the response and recovery measures that followed.     

A simple algorithm for simulating the solar ultraviolet radiation at the Earth's surface: An application in determining the minimum erythema dose

The purpose of this study is to present a new simple model algorithm for simulating the solar ultaviolet radiation reaching the surface of the Earth. The algorithm is capable of providing both the direct and diffuse solar ultraviolet radiation, for different atmospheric conditions, time, and geographic locations. An application of the model relates to the calculation of the minimum energy input of ultraviolet radiation to be received by a human to allow an erythema development.     

Laboratory experiments of tsunami runup on a circular island

Laboratory experiments of a 7.2-m-diameter conical island were conducted to study three-dimensional tsunami runup. The 62.5-cm tall island had 1 on 4 side slopes and was positioned in the center of a 30-m-wide by 25-m-long flat-bottom basin. Solitary waves with height-to-depth ratios ranging from 0.05 to 0.20 and source lengths ranging from 0.30 to 7.14 island diameters were tested in water depths of 32 and 42 cm. Twenty-seven capacitance wave gages were used to measure surface wave elevations at incident and four radial transects on the island slope. Maximum vertical runup measurements were made at 20 locations around the perimeter of the island using rod and transit. A new runup gage was located on the back or lee side of the island to record runup time series.     

Radio VHF Precursors of Earthquakes

On the basis of our analysis of a number of continuous observations made by the monitoring network on Crete, we assume that electrically active clouds are produced in an atmosphere above the sea on the eve of earthquake. These electrically active clouds, which occur at heights of 0.1–10 km, create the conditions for electrical discharges in an atmosphere that may be the source of the very high frequency (VHF) radio-emissions registered on Crete. We further suggest possible mechanisms of thunder electricity generation. We present the model of convection transport in which the first condition in the generation of thunder electricity is an atmosphere with a horizontal gradient of temperature. Base on this model, the occurrence of electrical charges on the surface of the sea and their transportation further upwards to heights of up to 10 km is due to pollution energy allocated within the bottom of the sea as gases and heat injection. The average flux density and power estimations of the VHF precursors were made for the Crete net situation to compare with published VHF data and radio star sources.