Discretization error for the superposition of Gaussian beams

Summary. A high-frequency asymptotic integral expansion of a time-harmonic wavefield into Gaussian beams was derived in a previous paper by Klimeš. The discretization error caused by replacing this integral superposition by a discrete summation of Gaussian beams is estimated in this paper.     

Palynostratigraphy and vegetation characteristics of Neogene continental deposits interbedded with the Cappadocia ignimbrites (Central Anatolia, Turkey)

A palynological analysis of the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene successions of the Cappadocian Volcanic Province (Central Anatolia, Turkey) has been carried out with the aim of reconstructing the palaeovegetation and palaeoclimatic conditions. The samples are collected from outcrop sections from three different localities (A: Akda?, B: Bayramhac?l? and G: Güzelöz). The pollen spectra reveals the existence of a steppe vegetation dominated by Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia, typical of present day arid and semi-arid continental areas (i.e. Middle East), and Asteraceae Asteroideae in the A section (Late Miocene) developed in arid climatic conditions. The flora of the G (Early Pliocene) and lower part of the B (Late Miocene) sections reflects steppes on which Asteraceae Asteroideae was dominant. This flora also indicates arid conditions. The development of trees in the upper part of the B section was possibly related to local paleoenvironmental conditions rather than a climatic change. This study provides the first palynological data to reveal the presence of an Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia steppe already during the Late Miocene in Turkey.     

An analytical model of seismic travel times for a spherically asymmetric Earth

Summary A general analytical model for travel times of seismic waves propagating in a radially asymmetric Earth, is suggested. It is represented by a series of irreducible spherical tensor products with bipolar spherical coefficients. The main term of the series describes the travel times in a radially symmetric Earth, the others represent corrections due to the spherical assymmetry. The method of least squares is suggested for determining the bipolar spherical coefficients from observed seismic travel times. Since the proposed theory assumes that the analytical representation is related to the reference earth, the corrections to the non-zero focal depth and non-zero sea-level height of the seismographic station must be introduced.

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Impoverishment of recent floodplain forest mollusc fauna in the lower Ohře River (Czech Republic) as a result of prehistoric human impact

Analyses of fossil mollusc successions have rarely been used to study the development of floodplain forests during the Holocene. The Oh?e River, located in a prehistorically settled chernozem area in the Czech Republic, is partly situated in Cretaceous marlstones, yielding sediments suitable for fossilization directly in floodplain deposits. We analysed five fossil mollusc successions situated in the lower stretch of the Oh?e River and compared the results with recent mollusc assemblages studied along the entire 256 km of the river. Fossil samples were composed mostly of open‐country species throughout the Holocene or the whole preserved succession. Only some samples also contained woodland assemblages, but these were always greatly impoverished, with a very low frequency of strictly woodland species. Although the natural‐looking appearance of the present‐day floodplain forests of the lower river stretch has resulted in its being declared a nature reserve, modern floodplain forest mollusc assemblages there are also impoverished. This reduction in the distribution of strictly woodland species compared with modern assemblages in the upper stretch of the river seems to be the result of an ancient human settlement and continuous disturbances of the floodplain forest development since the Neolithic. Thus, fully developed floodplain forest assemblages occur recently only in the upper non‐impacted stretch of the river. Based on the studied fossil successions we can conclude that the lower Oh?e River floodplain was probably a mosaic of open and disturbed forest habitats throughout the Holocene. This area is part of a central European landscape island, where forests probably never fully developed and open patches from the early Holocene continually developed into an agricultural landscape.     

Earthquakes in the Czech Republic and Surrounding Regions in 1995–1999

In the time span from January 1995 to December 1999 the Czech National Seismological Network (CNSN), consisting of ten permanent digital broadband stations, several local networks and two data centers, detected and recorded 9530 regional natural seismic events, 27 greater than magnitude 2. Most of these events were located by the Czech Seismological Service (CSS), and the most prominent of them were analyzed in detail. A large number of quarry blasts were recorded as well but were not included in the analysis. We provide basic information on the configuration of the CNSN and on the way of routine data processing employed by the CSS in this paper. The over-all regional seismicity monitored by the CNSN in 1995–1999 is briefly reviewed. The main results of observations and evaluation of the local (NW-Bohemia/Vogtland, South Bohemia, Sudeten) and induced (Kladno, Píbram, Upper Silesia, Lubin/Poland) seismic activity within this period are presented in a condensed form. Finally, a summary on macroseismic observations on the territory of the Czech Republic in 1995–1999 is also presented.     

Magnetism of natural pyrrhotite,haematite and ilmenite

Summary The paper deals with the magnetic properties of the natural minerals haematite, ilmenite and pyrrhotite. The natural remanent magnetization J_n, the volume susceptibility , the specific magnetization of saturation _so, the Curie temperature , the A.C. demagnetization of natural remanent magnetization, the thermal demagnetization J_n, the temperature dependence of the specific magnetization of saturation, and several other parameters were determined for the individual sets of minerals. Since natural minerals can and do contain various heterogeneous and isomorphic admixtures, their magnetic properties may change depending on the content and type of these admixtures. Therefore, all the investigations of the magnetic properties described in this paper were carried out with extensive sets of minerals, representing various Czechoslovak and world localities. A number of interesting results were obtained from the executed experiments, e.g., the different stability of the natural remanent magnetization of haematite with respect to A.C. demagnetization, the presence and type of heterogeneous inclusions in ilmenite, the phase changes connected with the -transition in natural pyrrhotites, etc. The types of distributions of the investigated values of the magnetic properties were also determined.     

“Spectral ω2 model” and variable absorption coefficient

Summary Aki's spectral ² model[1] is used to estimate the amplitude field at epicentral distances up to 1000 km in the case of an absorption coefficient of seismic waves which varies with distance. Velocity spectra, the periods of the maximum of these spectra and the maximum velocity amplitudes are obtained. The results are compared with[2] and it is shown that the divergence of the amplitude field decreases if a variable absorption coefficient is used. The theoretical results, obtained in this case, approach the results seen in practice. The possibility of determining the limits of epicentral distances, at which the amplitude field may be considered as linear, is given.     

A multi-agent-based model for sustainable governance of urban flood risk mitigation measures

Natural Hazards - Consequences of urban floods increased and diversified in terms of social, economical and environmental effects, due to the dense and unplanned urbanization in areas at risk of...