Selecting time windows of seismic phases and noise for engineering seismology applications: a versatile methodology and algorithm

Seismic signal windowing is the preliminary step for many analysis procedures in engineering seismology (standard spectral ratio, quality factor, general inversion techniques, etc.). Moreover a noise window is often necessary for the data quality control through the signal-to-noise verification. Selecting the noise window can be challenging when large heterogeneous datasets are considered, especially when they include short pre-event noise signals. This study proposes a fully automatic and configurable (i.e., with default parameters that can also be user-defined) algorithm to windowing the noise and the P, S, coda and full signal once the P-wave (T _P ) and S-wave (T _S ) first arrivals are known. An application example is given on a KiK-net dataset. A Matlab language implementation of this algorithm is proposed as an online resource.     

Key structural parameters affecting earthquake ground motion in 2D and 3D sedimentary structures

Alluvial valleys generate strong effects on earthquake ground motion (EGM). These effects are rarely accounted for even in site-specific studies because of (a) the cost of the required geophysical surveys to constrain the site model, (b) lack of data for empirical prediction, and (c) poor knowledge of the key controlling parameters. We performed 3D, 2D and 1D simulations for six typical sedimentary valleys of various width and depth, and for a variety of modifications of these 6 “nominal models” to investigate sensitivity of EGM characteristics to impedance contrast, attenuation, velocity gradient and geometry. We calculated amplification factors, and 2D/1D and 3D/2D aggravation factors for 10 EGM characteristics, using a representative set of recorded accelerograms to account for input motion variability. The largest values of the amplification and aggravation factors are found for the Arias intensity and cumulative absolute velocity, the lowest for the root-mean-square acceleration. The aggravation factors are largest for the vertical component. For each model, at least one EGM characteristic exhibits a significant 2D/1D aggravation factor, while all EGM characteristics exhibit significant 2D/1D aggravation factor on the vertical component. For all investigated sites, there is always an area in the valley for which 1D estimates are not sufficient. 2D estimates are insufficient at several sites. The key structural parameters are the shape ratio and overall geometry of the sediment-bedrock interface, impedance contrast at the sediment-bedrock interface, and attenuation in sediments. The amplification factors may largely exceed the values that are usually considered in GMPEs between soft soils and rock sites.     

Sources of the predynastic grinding stones in the hu-semaineh region,upper Egypt,and their cultural context

Grinding stones excavated at the Predynastic site of HG in Upper Egypt were analyzed, and consist of igneous rocks (rhyolite porphyry, basalt, granite) and metamorphic rocks (marble, quartzite). These rocks were brought to the site in Predynastic times (ca. 4000–3000 B. C.) from the Dokkan Volcanics located in the Wadi Hammamat, possibly as far away as 150 km. This is further evidence for the widespread exchange network that existed in Predynastic Upper Egypt. Complex economic interaction, as evidenced by artifacts excavated at HG, was a prime force as the early state evolved in Egypt. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Site characterizations for the Iranian strong motion network

Twenty-six sites of the Iranian strong motion network, having provided numerous records of good quality, were selected for a site effect study with the objective of obtaining a reliable site categorization for later statistical work on Iranian strong motion data. For each site, superficial Vp and Vs profiles were measured with refraction techniques, microtremor recordings were obtained and analysed with the H/V technique and the available three-component accelerograms by the receiver function technique. The aggregation of these results allows the proposition of a four-class categorization based on the H/V spectral ratio of strong ground motions, which demonstrate a satisfactory correlation with the S-wave velocity profile. Iran has a particular geological and meteorological situation compared to other seismic countries such as Japan or California, a mountainous country with dry weather conditions and a low water table in most areas. These conditions result in a relatively small number of sites with low frequency amplification, while many sites exhibit moderate amplifications in the intermediate and high frequency range.     

Planktonic Foraminiferal and Alkenone Records of the Last Deglaciation from the Eastern Arabian Sea

The oxygen isotope record of planktonic foraminifera from tropical core MD77194 (Eastern Arabian Sea) exhibits a clear two-step deglaciation with a brief δ¹⁸O transient event. In the tropics, this δ¹⁸O maximum could correspond to a cooling or to a change in the δ¹⁸O content of sea water. In this study, past sea-surface temperature (SST) and primary production (PP) are reconstructed from foraminiferal transfer functions and compared to values estimated from alkenone measurements. SST and PP records from both proxies indicate a 1.5–2.5°C deglacial warming, coupled with a PP decrease, and a 0.5–1°C cooling during the Younger Dryas (YD). A detailed comparison between independent micropaleontological and geochemical proxies helps us identify potential biases and thus strengthen the paleo-reconstructions.     

Reconstruction of the last deglaciation: deconvolved records of δ18O profiles,micropaleontological variations and accelerator mass spectrometric14C dating

Bioturbation acts as a low-pass filter in displacing and reducing the amplitudes of stratigraphic signals. This often leads to a loss of high-frequency events in the stratigraphic record. In addition, when considering an isotopic signal ¹⁸O,¹⁴C measured in stratigraphic carriers, such as foraminifera, bioturbation and carrier abundance changes can create artifacts which may be falsely interpreted as leads or lags in the paleoclimatic record.We presenthere a model in which bioturbationis treated as a time-invariant filter whose impulse response function (IRF) is like that of a first-order system. The method involves first deconvoluting the abundance curves of the carriers and then the isotopic signals using the restored carrier abundances. This analysis was initially used to artificially generate ideal curves, with the aim of qualitatively modelling the effects of bioturbation. Following this, deconvolved curves were obtained using data from the core CH73-139C using ¹⁸O, A. M. S. C-14 ages, and abundances of two planktonic foraminifera:G. bulloides andN. pachyderma left-coiling. A comparison of the data with the unmixed curves enables separation of the bioturbation artifacts and the construction of a common deglaciation curve based on the restored signals.Importantly, the model emphasizes some severe limitations of mathematical analysis of stratigraphic signals.     

The precession phase of hydrological variability in the Western Pacific Warm Pool during the past 400 ka

The low-latitude hydrological cycle is a key climate parameter on different timescales, as it contributes to various feedback processes. Modelling studies suggest that the interhemispheric insolation contrast is the major factor controlling the cycle, although the influence of glacial conditions and the phase relationships relative to insolation forcing remain undetermined. In this work, we studied precipitation variability over Papua New Guinea (PNG, 3°S) for the past 400 ka using terrigenous fractions transported by the Sepik River to the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP). A multi-decadal to centennial resolution of the elemental content was obtained using X-ray fluorescence scanning of a marine sediment core using an age model based on ¹⁴C dates and benthic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O. Indicators of the coarse river particulate fraction (bulk and CaCO₃-free basis Ti concentrations, the log intensity ratios of Ti/K and Ti/Ca) displayed a dominant 23 ka periodicity without a clear glacial–interglacial trend. Our precipitation records showed a tight relationship with local summer insolation (3°S, January) with time-dependent lag of 0 to 4 ka. They were generally in anti-phase for U–Th dated Chinese speleothem δ¹⁸O records. Based on an analogy to modern climate, we propose that precipitation over PNG was primarily determined by interhemispheric insolation contrast, and the contribution of austral fall/winter precipitation added second-order variability that formed the lags. For the last four climate cycles, the WPWP hydrological cycle was closely associated with the eastern Asian monsoon, and the influence of glacial conditions on the low-latitude hydrological cycle was estimated to be limited.     

A revised calendar age for the last reconnection of the Black Sea to the global ocean

During the last decade, a debate arose regarding the timing and pattern of the last reconnection of the Black Sea “Lake” with the global ocean. On a geochemical basis, the radiocarbon age of Black Sea “Lake” surface water, during the time of reconnection, was determined to be ～8400 ¹⁴C a. BP. Despite the potential bias induced by the hard water effect in lakes, the reconnection age was calibrated without any reservoir age correction, which led to an estimate of ～9400 cal a. BP. Since knowledge for the actual calendar age has important hydrologic implications that would provide new insights regarding the mechanism of reconnection, determining the actual calendar age for the last reconnection remains important.Based upon modeling experiments and micropaleontological reconstructions, the Black Sea “Lake” reconnection occurred in two steps, as follows: 1) Initial Marine Inflow (IMI) followed by 2) a period of increasing basin salinity that led to the Disappearance of Lacustrine Species (DLS). In order to better define the actual calendar age for the last reconnection, a review of the sedimentary expressions of the IMI and DLS boundaries was performed in order to correlate them throughout the Black Sea sedimentary environments. This correlation reconciles the apparent inconsistency in the published radiocarbon dataset, and provides the atmospheric radiocarbon age of the last reconnection, which represents the reference for reservoir age calculations and which can be directly calibrated. We determine reservoir ages for the water column, as well as the reconnection calendar age to be 9000 cal a. BP.At the reconnection with the global ocean, Black Sea “Lake” reservoir ages were non-negligible and water-depth-dependent, consistent with a weak water column stratification during the Early Holocene. The calibrated age of Initial Marine Inflow (9000 cal a. BP) implies that the former Bosphorus sill was shallower by ～10 m than is commonly assumed in the literature. Compared to the sedimentary context of the Sakarya coastal plain, this result suggests that the level of the isolated Black Sea was below the former Bosphorus sill depth at the time of the last reconnection. Furthermore, a lag of ～900 yr between Initial Marine Inflow and the Disappearance of Lacustrine Species indicates that approximately ten centuries were needed to establish the currently observed two-way flow exchange with the global ocean.