3D adaptive tomography using Delaunay triangles and Voronoi polygons

The solutions of traveltime inversion problems are often not unique because of the poor match between the raypath distribution and the tomographic grid. However, by adapting the local resolution iteratively, by means of a singular value analysis of the tomographic matrix, we can reduce or eliminate the null space influence on our earth image: in this way, we get a much more reliable estimate of the velocity field of seismic waves. We describe an algorithm for an automatic regridding, able to fit the local resolution to the available raypaths, which is based on Delaunay triangulation and Voronoi tessellation. It increases the local pixel density where the null space energy is low or the velocity gradient is large, and reduces it elsewhere. Consequently, the tomographic image can reveal the boundaries of complex objects, but is not affected by the ambiguities that occur when the grid resolution is not adequately supported by the available raypaths.     

Eddy diffusivity derived from drifter data for dispersion model applications

Ocean transport and dispersion processes are at the present time simulated using Lagrangian stochastic models coupled with Eulerian circulation models that are supplying analyses and forecasts of the ocean currents at unprecedented time and space resolution. Using the Lagrangian approach, each particle displacement is described by an average motion and a fluctuating part. The first one represents the advection associated with the Eulerian current field of the circulation models while the second one describes the sub-grid scale diffusion. The focus of this study is to quantify the sub-grid scale diffusion of the Lagrangian models written in terms of a horizontal eddy diffusivity. Using a large database of drifters released in different regions of the Mediterranean Sea, the Lagrangian sub-grid scale diffusion has been computed, by considering different regimes when averaging statistical quantities. In addition, the real drifters have been simulated using a trajectory model forced by OGCM currents, focusing on how the Lagrangian properties are reproduced by the simulated trajectories.     

Reply to “Discussion 2 on ‘Introspection on improper seismic retrofit of Basilica Santa Maria di Collemaggio after 2009 Italian earthquake' by G.P.Cimellaro, A.M.Reinhorn and A.De Stefano” by Enzo Cartapati

The authors thank the discusser for the additional information,which is provided related to the historical interventions of the church through the centuries.This information was known to the authors,however they decided not to include it in the paper because of lack of space.Additional details regarding the retrofit interventions of the church can also be found in the MCEER report regarding the L'Aquila earthquake (Cimellaro et al.,2010).     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons loads into the Mediterranean Sea: estimate of Sarno River inputs

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution in the Sarno River and its environmental impact on the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea, Central Mediterranean Sea) were estimated. The 16 PAHs identified by the USEPA as priority pollutants and perylene were determined in the water dissolved phase (DP), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediments. Total PAHs concentrations ranged from 23.1 to 2670.4 ng L(-1) in water (sum of DP and SPM) and from 5.3 to 678.6 ng g(-1) in sediment samples. Source analysis revealed that PAHs mainly came from combustion process. Contaminant discharges of PAHs into the sea were calculated in about 8530 gd(-1) showing that this river should account as one of the main contribution sources of PAHs to the Tyrrhenian Sea.     

Can Cassini detect a subsurface ocean in Titan from gravity measurements?

Recent models of Titan's interior predict that the satellite contains an ocean of water and ammonia under an icy layer. Direct evidence for the presence of an ocean can be provided on the Cassini mission only by radio science determination of Titan Love number k₂. Simulations that use the five flybys T11, T22 T33, T45, and T68 (the latter two belonging to the extended mission) lead to the result that in the elastic case, where the Love number is real, k₂ will be determined with a one-sigma accuracy of 0.1. In the viscoelastic case, where k₂ is complex, the real and imaginary parts of k₂ will be determined with one sigma accuracies of 0.138 and 0.115, respectively. Ocean and oceanless models that include a viscoelastic rheology are built. In the viscoelastic case, there is a 93% probability to correctly predict the presence or absence of an ocean; this probability improves to 97% in the elastic case.     

The disc mass of spiral galaxies

We derive the disc masses of 18 spiral galaxies of different luminosity and Hubble type, both by mass modelling their rotation curves and by fitting their spectral energy distribution with spectrophotometric models. The good agreement of the estimates obtained from these two different methods allows us to quantify the reliability of their performance and to derive very accurate stellar mass-to-light ratio versus colour (and stellar mass) relationships.     

Do emissions and income have a common trend? A country-specific,time-series,global analysis, 1970–2008

This paper analyzes the relation between income and emissions in the period 1970–2008, for all world countries. We consider time-series of CO₂, SO₂ and GWP100, and use Vector Autoregressive models that allow for nonstationarity and cointegration. At 5 % significance level, income and emissions are found to be driven by unrelated random walks with drift (respectively by a common random walk with drift) in about 70 % (respectively 25 %) of cases; in the remaining cases the variables are trend-stationary. Tests of Granger-causality show evidence of both directions of causality. For the case of unrelated stochastic trends, we almost never find income driving emissions, as predicted by a consumption-function interpretation. These causality results and the absence of a common trend challenge the main implications of the Environmental Kuznets Curve, namely that the dominant direction of causality should be from income to emissions, and that for increasing levels of income, emissions should tend to decrease.