Geodynamic interpretation of the earthquake distribution in the kermadec subduction zone

Summary The morphology of the Wadati-Benioff zone in the Kermadec region, based on the distribution of 1100 earthquake foci, verified the existence of an intermediate aseismic gap and its relation to active andesitic volcanism, and the non-uniformity of subduction due to the hampering effect of the main structural features of the subducting Pacific plate. Two cycles of the recently active subduction in the Tonga-Kermadec island arc were found.     

The Effects of Climate on Welfare and Well-Being in Russia

This paper measures the concepts of welfare and well-being in Russia on the basis of two large Russian household surveys, carried out in 1993 and 1994. Welfare refers to satisfaction with income and well-being refers to satisfaction with life as a whole. This paper investigates how climate conditions in various parts of Russia affect the cost of living and well-being. Climate equivalence scales have been constructed for both welfare and well-being.     

Early Paleozoic mantle diapirism in Galicia

Comparison of the geological outcrop and the Bouguer map of the Ordenes Complex in Galicia (NW Spain), gives substantial evidence for a subdivision of the peripheral belt into separate units. These units, high-grade metamorphic complexes, appear to have their origin in diapiric movements of upper-mantle material into a crystalline lower crust of continental type.     

Morphology and internal structure of a dormant landslide in a hilly area: The Collinabos landslide (Belgium)

This study attempts to reconstruct the history of the Collinabos landslide, a landslide with a fresh morphology that is representative for more than 150 dormant, deep-seated (> 3 m) landslides in the Flemish Ardennes (Belgium). A geomorphological map was created based on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-derived maps and detailed field surveys. The map showed that the landslide consisted of three zones with significant differences in surface topography. The northern landslide zone 1 is characterised by at least five reverse slopes, whereas zones 2 and 3, the southern landslide zones, have only two reverse slopes and a convex foot. Electric resistivity profiles measured in zones 1 and 2 revealed that the differences in surface topography were not related to differences in internal structure as both parts of the landslide were initiated as a rotational earth slide with a surface of rupture at 15 m deep, where the displaced material broke apart in two blocks. However, two shear surfaces of reactivations within landslide debris were only distinguished in the accumulation area of zone 1. The observed differences in surface morphology can be caused by a temporary conversion of a forest into cropland in zone 2. It is suggested that reverse slopes of smaller reactivations within landslide debris were obliterated during the agricultural activities. AMS radiocarbon dating of organic material found in ponds located in reverse slopes generally resulted in relatively recent dates (i.e. 1400–1950 Cal AD) suggesting that several of the small local reactivations occurred in that period. One dating at 8700–8440 Cal BP of organic matter collected in a reverse slope in zone 1 suggests that an initiation under periglacial conditions cannot be excluded for the Collinabos landslide. By combining different technologies, this study provides valuable information for a better understanding of dormant landslides.     

Long-term evolution of the aerosol debris cloud produced by the 2009 impact on Jupiter

We present a study of the long-term evolution of the cloud of aerosols produced in the atmosphere of Jupiter by the impact of an object on 19 July 2009 (Sánchez-Lavega, A. et al. [2010]. Astrophys. J. 715, L155-L159). The work is based on images obtained during 5 months from the impact to 31 December 2009 taken in visible continuum wavelengths and from 20 July 2009 to 28 May 2010 taken in near-infrared deep hydrogen-methane absorption bands at 2.1-2.3 μm. The impact cloud expanded zonally from ∼5000 km (July 19) to 225,000 km (29 October, about 180° in longitude), remaining meridionally localized within a latitude band from 53.5°S to 61.5°S planetographic latitude. During the first two months after its formation the site showed heterogeneous structure with 500-1000 km sized embedded spots. Later the reflectivity of the debris field became more homogeneous due to clump mergers. The cloud was mainly dispersed in longitude by the dominant zonal winds and their meridional shear, during the initial stages, localized motions may have been induced by thermal perturbation caused by the impact’s energy deposition. The tracking of individual spots within the impact cloud shows that the westward jet at 56.5°S latitude increases its eastward velocity with altitude above the tropopause by 5-10 m s⁻¹. The corresponding vertical wind shear is low, about 1 m s⁻¹ per scale height in agreement with previous thermal wind estimations. We found evidence for discrete localized meridional motions with speeds of 1-2 m s⁻¹. Two numerical models are used to simulate the observed cloud dispersion. One is a pure advection of the aerosols by the winds and their shears. The other uses the EPIC code, a nonlinear calculation of the evolution of the potential vorticity field generated by a heat pulse that simulates the impact. Both models reproduce the observed global structure of the cloud and the dominant zonal dispersion of the aerosols, but not the details of the cloud morphology. The reflectivity of the impact cloud decreased exponentially with a characteristic timescale of 15 days; we can explain this behavior with a radiative transfer model of the cloud optical depth coupled to an advection model of the cloud dispersion by the wind shears. The expected sedimentation time in the stratosphere (altitude levels 5-100 mbar) for the small aerosol particles forming the cloud is 45-200 days, thus aerosols were removed vertically over the long term following their zonal dispersion. No evidence of the cloud was detected 10 months after the impact.     

Lithoprobe east: results from reflection profiling of the continental margin: Grand Banks Region.

Summary. The 1985 Lithoprobe East profiles resolve deep crustal structure of the Grand Banks off eastern Canada. Basins are 7 to 20 km deep, and bounded by major faults traceable to Mono depth. The lower crust is reflective along much of the survey, and the top of this reflective layer has a variable depth. Prominent and often surprisingly flat Mono reflections are observed. Puzzling rotated fault blocks are imaged at the continent-ocean transition.