Satellite motion in a Manev potential with drag

In this paper, we consider a satellite orbiting in a Manev gravitational potential under the influence of an atmospheric drag force that varies with the square of velocity. Using an exponential atmosphere that varies with the orbital altitude of the satellite, we examine a circular orbit scenario. In particular, we derive expressions for the change in satellite radial distance as a function of the drag force parameters and obtain numerical results. The Manev potential is an alternative to the Newtonian potential that has a wide variety of applications, in astronomy, astrophysics, space dynamics, classical physics, mechanics, and even atomic physics.     

Location Performance and Detection Threshold of the Spanish National Seismic Network

Spain is a low-to-moderate seismicity area with relatively low seismic hazard. However, several strong shallow earthquakes have shaken the country causing casualties and extensive damage. Regional seismicity is monitored and surveyed by means of the Spanish National Seismic Network, maintenance and control of which are entrusted to the Instituto Geográfico Nacional. This array currently comprises 120 seismic stations distributed throughout Spanish territory (mainland and islands). Basically, we are interested in checking the noise conditions, reliability, and seismic detection capability of the Spanish network by analyzing the background noise level affecting the array stations, errors in hypocentral location, and detection threshold, which provides knowledge about network performance. It also enables testing of the suitability of the velocity model used in the routine process of earthquake location. To perform this study we use a method that relies on P and S wave travel times, which are computed by simulation of seismic rays from virtual seismic sources placed at the nodes of a regular grid covering the study area. Given the characteristics of the seismicity of Spain, we drew maps for M _L magnitudes 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0, at a focal depth of 10 km and a confidence level 95 %. The results relate to the number of stations involved in the hypocentral location process, how these stations are distributed spatially, and the uncertainties of focal data (errors in origin time, longitude, latitude, and depth). To assess the extent to which principal seismogenic areas are well monitored by the network, we estimated the average error in the location of a seismic source from the semiaxes of the ellipsoid of confidence by calculating the radius of the equivalent sphere. Finally, the detection threshold was determined as the magnitude of the smallest seismic event detected at least by four stations. The northwest of the peninsula, the Pyrenees, especially the westernmost segment, the Betic Cordillera, and Tenerife Island are the best-monitored zones. Origin time and focal depth are data that are far from being constrained by regional events. The two Iberian areas with moderate seismicity and the highest seismic hazard, the Pyrenees and Betic Cordillera, and the northwestern quadrant of the peninsula, are the areas wherein the focus of an earthquake is determined with an approximate error of 3 km. For M _L 2.5 and M _L 3.0 this error is common for almost the whole peninsula and the Canary Islands. In general, errors in epicenter latitude and longitude are small for near-surface earthquakes, increasing gradually as the depth increases, but remaining close to 5 km even at a depth of 60 km. The hypocentral depth seems to be well constrained to a depth of 40 km beneath the zones with the highest density of stations, with an error of less than 5 km. The M _L magnitude detection threshold of the network is approximately 2.0 for most of Spain and still less, almost 1.0, for the western sector of the Pyrenean region and the Canary Islands.     

The role of dextral transpressional faulting in the evolution of an early Carboniferous mafic–felsic plutonic and volcanic complex: Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Wentworth plutonic complex, consisting of gabbro and granite, was emplaced in the earliest Carboniferous in the Cobequid shear zone of the northern Appalachians. The plutonic complex is coeval with a 5-km-thick pile of volcanic rocks. Early alkalic A-type granite correlates with thick felsic pyroclastics and minor basalt, which are overlain by 1.5-km-thick basalts that correlate with a large gabbro pluton that is intruded, in turn, by late granites. The basalt and gabbro are Fe-rich tholeiites. The geochemistry of the late granites suggests that they formed by differentiation of a granodioritic magma resulting from assimilation of early granite by the gabbroic magma. The Wentworth plutonic complex lies on the north side of the dextral Rockland Brook fault, near the western tip of wedge-shaped basement block of the Avalon terrane. Field observations of mesoscopic structures and map contacts show that the plutonic bodies at all structural levels are related to transpressive strike–slip faults. Dykes parallel to the mylonitic foliation in the Rockland Brook fault zone and at the contacts between igneous phases suggest that the plutons developed largely through dyke to pluton construction. The plutonism was initiated by dyking related to major faults under transpression that was partitioned into shear zone-bounded blocks, while the sinking of those blocks finally provided the space for mafic magma emplacement. Dyking was active over at least a 10-Ma time period. The overall location of plutonism in the Cobequid shear zone appears related to its position at the intersection of the shear zone bounding the southwestern margin of the Magdalen basin and the E–W transpressional contact of the Avalon and Meguma terranes. Magmatism enabled thermomechanical softening of the crust and the vertical and lateral extrusion of the wedge-shaped basement blocks, whose movement controlled the localisation of the voluminous magmatic activity.     

Stakeholders’ participation in the fisheries management decision-making process: Fishers’ perceptions of participation

Public participation is a key ingredient of good governance and there are many advantages of involving stakeholders in the decision-making process. The European Commission identified the lack of stakeholder involvement as one of the major weaknesses of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). As such, the 2002 Reform of the CFP aimed to improve its system of governance by increasing the involvement of stakeholders in decision-making. Over the last decade, Scottish inshore waters have seen an increase in management measures focused on involving fishers, delegating responsibilities and decentralizing management. The present document investigates commercial inshore fishers’ perceptions of participation in the decision-making process and attitudes towards a new management regime – the Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) – which aims to increase participation in and decentralization of inshore fisheries management. A survey was conducted, through face-to-face interviews, and ordered logistic and multiple regression models created to identify which characteristics influence fishers’ perceptions and attitudes. The present analysis concluded that, 5 years subsequent to the reform of the CFP, the majority of inshore fishers perceive themselves not to be consulted or involved in the decision-making process. However, and despite the fact that fishers are not completely certain of the potential of the IFGs to increase their participation in the management process, they have an overall positive attitude towards their implementation.     

Evaluation of atmospheric transport as a nonpoint source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in marine sediments of the Eastern Mediterranean

Coastal marine sediment, air and seawater samples were collected at six sampling stations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea distant from pollutant point sources. All sediment samples were analyzed to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) contents. The PAH contents of gaseous and seawater samples of the study were determined in order to evaluate the role of air–sea exchange as PAH nonpoint source to the marine sediments. The average concentration of the total PAHs (∑PAHs) in the sediments varied from 2.2 to 1056.2 ng g⁻¹ dry weight. The average BC and OC contents varied from 0.3 to 5.6 and from 2.9 to 21.4 mg g⁻¹ dry weight, respectively. ∑PAH concentration in the marine atmosphere varied from 20.0 to 83.2 ng m⁻³. Air–water exchange flux (F_A–W) estimation has indicated air transport as a significant source of PAHs to pristine marine sediments of Eastern Mediterranean. In addition, the significant correlation between the PAHs and the organic and soot carbon content further suggests the importance of atmospheric input of PAHs to the sediments.     

Changes of macrofaunal functional composition at sedimentary habitats in the vicinity of fish farms

The relationship of functional diversity and composition was studied in gradients of organically enriched sediments from four Mediterranean fish farms. Within-functional trait diversity was also used to examine the functional redundancy of specific functional traits. Characteristics considered to respond to different geochemical conditions of the sediment were chosen for the traits list of that organism and were classified into ecological and morphological traits. Each trait was split up into several categories chosen to encompass the range of possible attributes of all species. The abundance of species possessing the same code was summed for each sample. Functional codes analyses differentiated between the sediment types and the TOC states, confirming the sensitivity of the functional characteristics to the geochemistry of the sediment. Changes in species number and abundance in the compared sites determined the shifts of the functional processes and not the presence or absence of individual traits. The important functional codes for the homogeneity within the examined habitats were fewer in the disturbed areas indicating that the functioning of these ecosystems is significantly reduced.     

Geological evolution,regional perspectives and hydrocarbon potential of the northwest Phu Khanh Basin,offshore Central Vietnam

Seismic stratigraphic and structural analyses of the northwest Phu Khanh Basin, offshore Central Vietnam, based on 2-D seismic data, indicate that the initial rifting began during the latest Cretaceous? or Palaeogene controlled by left-lateral transtension along the East Vietnam Boundary Fault Zone (EVBFZ) and northwest–southeast directed extension east of the EVBFZ. Rifting stopped due to transpression during middle Oligocene times but resumed by left-lateral transtension during the Late Oligocene. Thick sequences of lacustrine and alluvial sediments were deposited during the Palaeogene rift periods. The Late Oligocene rifting ended due to inversion, triggered by right-lateral wrenching near the Palaeogene–Neogene boundary. Following the onset of this inversion regional uplift and volcanism took place in the southern half of the study area and contemporaneous subsidence and transgression took place farther north, leading to widespread carbonate deposition. As the right-lateral wrenching decreased during the early Neogene, thermal subsidence and siliciclastic sedimentation became dominant, resulting in the buildup and southward propagation of the shelf slope. Sediment accumulation and subsidence rates increased after the Middle Miocene times due to eastward tilting of Central Vietnam and the adjacent offshore area.     

Sensitivity analysis of pounding between adjacent structures

This article deals with sensitivity of the response of pounding buildings with respect to structural and earthquake excitation parameters. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is carried out by means of Monte Carlo simulations of adjacent single degree of freedom impacting oscillators. This sensitivity analysis, based on Sobol's method, computes sensitivity indexes which provide a consistent measure of the relative importance of parameters such as the dimensionless main excitation frequency, the mass and frequency ratios of the structures, and the coefficient of restitution. Moreover, the influence of nonlinear behavior of the impacting structures is also considered. The consequences of pounding on the structures themselves are analyzed in terms of maximum force and nonlinear demand amplification compared with the case without pounding. As for the influence of pounding on the floor response spectra, the quantity of interest is the maximum impact impulse. The overall conclusions of this analysis are that the frequency ratio is the most important parameter as far as the maximum force and nonlinear demand are concerned. Regarding the maximum impact impulse, the mass and frequency ratios are, in general, the most influential parameters, the mass ratio being predominant for low frequencies of the oscillator of interest.     

Circular plumes in Lake Pontchartrain estuary under wind straining

Circular shaped density plumes of low turbidity, low fecal indicator (Escherichia coli and enterococci) concentrations, and high salinity have been observed near the Industrial Canal in Lake Pontchartrain, north of the City of New Orleans. A conceptual model in polar coordinates and a numerical model are developed, together with data analysis, to illustrate the dense plume. It is demonstrated that the northward expansion of the plume occurs under northerly winds. The northward expansion of the plume occurs under northerly winds that drive downwind flow at the surface and upwind radial flow at the bottom. Northerly wind-induced straining, similar to tidal straining, promotes vertical stratification. As a result, the water becomes stratified near a thin bottom layer (<1 m), within which density currents are facilitated. The stability of the stratified plume suppresses wind-induced turbulent mixing inside the plume. The bottom water outside of the plume is more effectively stirred by the wind, the result being that the suspended sediment concentration outside of the plume area is much higher than inside. This contrast in mixing makes the plume visible from the surface by satellites even though the stratification is at the bottom. Laterally, wind stress produces a torque (vorticity) in areas of non-uniform depth such that upwind flow is developed in deep water and downwind flow in shallow water. The continuity requirement produces an upwind flow along the axis of the Industrial Canal (IC). The upwind flow is balanced by the downwind flow over the shallower peripheral areas along the coast.     

Is the European shipping industry aware of corporate social responsibility? The case of the Greek-owned short sea shipping companies

This paper attempts to clarify the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the European maritime sector and examines its application in the case of the Greek-owned short sea shipping companies. CSR is assessed in terms of a number of variables such as employees’ satisfaction, corporate productivity and efficiency, social welfare, awareness and social accountability of managers and directors, et al. Focus is given on the applicability of CSR to shipping companies of small and medium size. For this purpose a survey has been conducted. Based on the findings of the qualitative research performed, it is concluded that the application of CSR is restricted only to companies that either are subsidiaries of international conglomerates or owned by ship-owners personally aware of the corporate benefits derived from social responsible behaviour . Based on improved knowledge of managers’ and directors’ attitudes and views towards CSR solutions, the paper offers some ways forward for policy informing.