Structure-specific selection of earthquake ground motions for the reliable design and assessment of structures

A decision support process is presented to accommodate selecting and scaling of earthquake motions as required for the time domain analysis of structures. Code-compatible suites of seismic motions are provided being, at the same time, prequalified through a multi-criterion approach to induce response parameters with reduced variability. The latter is imperative to increase the reliability of the average response values, normally required for the code-prescribed design verification of structures. Structural attributes like the dynamic characteristics as well as criteria related to variability of seismic motions and their compliance with a target spectrum are quantified through a newly introduced index, δ _sv–sc , which aims to prioritize motions suites for response history analysis. To demonstrate the applicability of the procedure presented, the structural model of a multi-story building was subjected to numerous suites of motions that were highly ranked according to both the proposed approach (δ _sv–sc ) and the conventional one (δ _conv ), that is commonly used for earthquake records selection and scaling. The findings from numerous linear response history analyses reveal the superiority of the proposed multi-criterion approach, as it extensively reduces the intra-suite structural response variability and consequently, increases the reliability of the design values. The relation between the target reliability in assessing structural response and the size of the suite of motions selected was also investigated, further demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed selection procedure to achieve higher response reliability levels with smaller samples of ground motion.     

Suprathermal oxygen and hydrogen atoms in the upper Martian atmosphere

The processes of kinetics and transport of hot oxygen and hydrogen atoms in the transition (from the thermosphere to the exosphere) region of the upper Martian atmosphere are studied. The reaction of dissociative recombination of the principal ionospheric ion O ₂ ⁺ with thermal electrons in the ionosphere of Mars served as the source of hot oxygen atoms. The process of momentum and energy transfer in elastic collisions between hot oxygen atoms and atmospheric hydrogen atoms with thermal energies was regarded as the source of hot hydrogen atoms. The kinetic energy distribution functions are determined for suprathermal oxygen and hydrogen atoms. It is shown that the exosphere is populated with a significant number of suprathermal oxygen atoms with kinetic energies ranging up to the escape energy of 2 eV (i.e., the hot oxygen Martian corona is formed). The transfer of energy from hot oxygen atoms to thermal hydrogen atoms creates an additional nonthermal flux of atomic hydrogen escaping from the Martian atmosphere.     

Deposition of finely disseminated gold mineralization in black shales: A hypothesis of microstructural control

The deposition of finely disseminated gold in the deposits hosted in black shales is considered. It is suggested that gold deposition is controlled by microstructure of pore space in host rocks. The pore space structure of tight shales indicates that most pore volume is occupied by nanopores with hundredths of micrometers in characteristic dimension. The balance calculations show that deposition of native gold in nanopore channels of filtration is hampered by shortage of number of atoms necessary to overcome a nucleation threshold of the future gold crystal in the pore volume. When ore-transporting solution meets on its way the cavities (pores, micro- and macrofractures), whose volume is sufficient to overcome the nucleation threshold, the excess content of ore component, which exceeds equilibrium concentration, is released with formation of crystallization centers and further precipitation of gold. The conditions of ore deposition are exemplified in the reference Sukhoi Log deposit hosted in black shales. On the basis on the PT conditions of ore deposition and physical features of fluid heat and mass transfer, it is suggested that ore disseminations were deposited at the early high-temperature stage under a fluid pressure close to lithostatic and at a host rock permeability markedly exceeding its present-day value.     

The possible influences of the increasing anthropogenic emissions in India on tropospheric ozone and OH

A 3-D chemical transport model (OSLO CTM2) is used to investigate the influences of the increasing anthropogenic emission in India. The model is capable of reproducing the observational results of the INDOEX experiment and the measurements in summer over India well. The model results show that when NOx and CO emissions in India are doubled, ozone concentration increases, and global average OH decreases a little. Under the effects of the Indian summer monsoon, NOx and CO in India are efficiently transported into the middle and upper troposphere by the upward current and the convective activities so that the NOx, CO, and ozone in the middle and upper troposphere significantly increase with the increasing NOx and CO emissions. These increases extensively influence a part of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and persist from June to September.     

Control over natural resources in ecological economical systems

We consider the problem of stable development of natural economical complexes from the viewpoint of basic balances in an ecological economical system. We construct a basic dynamical model of the complex capable of predicting various scenarios of the industrial development, consumption of natural resources, and pollution of the environment and propose a mechanism of control over the process of development by introducing rent payments for the use of natural resources and ecological fines for the pollution of the environment. The efficiency of the applied model is demonstrated by analysing the process of control over the concentration of biological resources in marine media as an example. We describe the results of numerical experiments performed to show the possibility of creation of the information technology of control over marine bioresources. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev