The dynamical equations of polar wander and the global characteristics of the lithosphere as extracted from rotational data

The initial value problem describing the linear responses of the spin axis of a layered viscoelastic planet from surface loading is studied by means of Laplace transform techniques. A complete solution of polar motion requires the usage of two classes of eigenspectra: one arising from viscoelastic relaxation of the mantle due to surface forcing, the other involving the gradual readjustment of the spin axis as a consequence of mantle viscoelasticity. Our analytical 4-layer model comprising an elastic lithosphere, a two-layer, adiabatically stratified, viscoelastic mantle and an inviscid core has been incorporated into this formalism in which rotational deformation and isostatic relaxation are taken into account for all times. From employing both sets of rotational data, polar variations from the 70 years of data from the International Latitude Service (I.L.S.) and the non-tidal deceleration of the length of the day (l.o.d.) an estimate of the globally averaged lithosphere of between 130 and 200 km is obtained from the long wavelength flexural mode due to the degree-two harmonic. This range of values may have strong implications on the mode of continental evolution.     

Adaptive POD model reduction for solute transport in heterogeneous porous media

We study the applicability of a model order reduction technique to the solution of transport of passive scalars in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media. Transport dynamics are modeled through the advection-dispersion equation (ADE) and we employ Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) as a strategy to reduce the computational burden associated with the numerical solution of the ADE. Our application of POD relies on solving the governing ADE for selected times, termed snapshots. The latter are then employed to achieve the desired model order reduction. We introduce a new technique, termed Snapshot Splitting Technique (SST), which allows enriching the dimension of the POD subspace and damping the temporal increase of the modeling error. Coupling SST with a modeling strategy based on alternating over diverse time scales the solution of the full numerical transport model to its reduced counterpart allows extending the benefit of POD over a prolonged temporal window so that the salient features of the process can be captured at a reduced computational cost. The selection of the time scales across which the solution of the full and reduced model are alternated is linked to the Péclet number (P e), representing the interplay between advective and dispersive processes taking place in the system. Thus, the method is adaptive in space and time across the heterogenous structure of the domain through the combined use of POD and SST and by way of alternating the solution of the full and reduced models. We find that the width of the time scale within which the POD-based reduced model solution provides accurate results tends to increase with decreasing P e. This suggests that the effects of local-scale dispersive processes facilitate the POD method to capture the salient features of the system dynamics embedded in the selected snapshots. Since the dimension of the reduced model is much lower than that of the full numerical model, the methodology we propose enables one to accurately simulate transport at a markedly reduced computational cost.     

Shaking table tests of a full-scale flat-bottom manufactured steel silo filled with wheat: Main results on the fixed-base configuration

This paper reports on a series of shaking table tests on a full-scale flat-bottom steel silo filled with soft wheat, characterized by aspect ratio of around 0.9. The specimen was a 3.64-m diameter and 5.50-m high corrugated-wall cylindrical silo. Multiple sensors were used to monitor the static and dynamic response of the filled silo system, including accelerometers and pressure cells. Numerous unidirectional dynamic tests were performed consisting of random signals, sinusoidal inputs, and both artificial and real earthquake records. The objectives of this paper are (i) to provide a general overview of the whole experimental campaign and (ii) to present selected results obtained for the fixed-base configuration. The measured data were processed to assess the static pressures, the dynamic overpressures (related to the effective mass) and the accelerations of monitored points on the silo wall, and to identify the basic dynamic properties (fundamental frequency of vibration, damping ratio, dynamic amplification factors) of the filled silo. The main findings are discussed and compared with the predictions given by available theoretical models and code provisions. It is found that the fundamental frequency slightly decreases with increasing acceleration, while it slightly increases with increasing compaction of the granular material. For close-to-resonance input, the dynamic amplification (in terms of peak values of accelerations) increases along the height of the silo wall up to values of around 1.4 at the top surface of the solid content. The dynamic overpressures appear to increase with depth (differently from the EN1998-4 expectations), and to be proportional to the acceleration.     

Sediment delivery processes and the spatial distribution of caesium-137 in a small Sicilian basin

The sediment delivery processes occurring in a small Sicilian basin are modelled using the spatially distributed SEDD model recently proposed by Ferro and Minacapilli. The model is applied by using soil data (grain-size distribution, organic matter content, etc.) of 129 samples uniformly distributed over the study area and compiling the available information (topographic map, soil data, etc.) into a Geographical Information System. Finally, the predictive capability of the distributed sediment delivery approach is tested experimentally using the caesium-137 measurement technique. The comparison between calculated sediment yield and the corresponding measured caesium-137 loss is used to validate the SEDD model at the scale of both the single morphological unit and the entire basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geophysical characterisation of Carlo's V Castle (Crotone, Italy)

The Carlo's V Castle, located in Crotone Town, on the Ionian coast of the Calabria Region (Italy), date back to the 13th century d.C. (Fig. 1). During its long life, the building changed several owners and sustained the damages and the consequent reconstructions due to the innumerable naval battles. Moreover, the castle suffered the action of the earthquakes which always afflict the region.With the principal aim of detecting the location, depth and geometry of the rests of destroyed structures, a systematic Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey was carried out in the area inside the boundary walls. The results are sixty-two one-meter-spaced, filtered and migrated radargrams arranged in four 3D data-sets. From each data-set, the most significant time-slice was extracted.To reduce the ambiguity in the GPR data interpretation, additional geophysical techniques, such as Magnetic (M), and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), were carried out with a partial superimposition with the GPR data. A comparison and a joint interpretation amongst different geophysical data pointed out some very remarkable features associated to buried remains and possible buried cannonballs.With the secondary aim to check the presence of an old military walkway linking two bastions a GPR profile was carried out on the sea side boundary wall. The GPR results are in agreement with an ERT survey carried out on the same profile and consistent with the presence of an underground passage.     

Silicic magmas from the continental Cameroon Volcanic Line (Oku, Bambouto and Ngaoundere): 40Ar-39Ar dates, petrology, Sr-Nd-O isotopes and their petrogenetic significance

The intraplate Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) straddles the African-South Atlantic continent-ocean boundary and is composed mainly of alkaline basic volcanic rocks. Voluminous silicic volcanics characterize the continental sector of the CVL. We present here new geochemical, isotopic (Sr-Nd-O) and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological data on the main silicic volcanic centres of the Western (Mt. Oku, Sabga and Mt. Bambouto) and Eastern (Ngaoundere plateau) Cameroon Highlands. The silicic volcanism of Mt. Oku, Sabga and Mt. Bambouto occurred between 25 and 15 Ma and is represented by voluminous quartz-normative trachytes and minor rhyolitic ignimbrites. At Mt. Bambouto central volcano about 700 m of silicic volcanics erupted in less than 2.7 million years. These silicic volcanics are associated with slightly to moderately alkaline basalts and minor basanites. In general, onset of the silicic volcanism migrated from NE (Oku: 25 Ma) to SW (Sabga: 23 Ma; Bambouto: 18 Ma; and Mt. Manengouba: 12 Ma). The silicic volcanism of the Ngaoundere plateau (eastern branch of the CVL) is instead dominated by nepheline-normative trachytes which are associated with strongly alkaline basalts and basanitic rocks. These Ne-trachytes are younger (11-9 Ma) than the Q-trachytes of the Western Highlands. The least differentiated silicic volcanics are isotopically similar (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr < 0.70380; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd > 0.51278) to the associated alkaline basalts suggesting differentiation processes without appreciable interaction with crustal materials. Such interactions may, however, have played some role in the genesis of the most evolved silicic volcanics which have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr as high as 0.705–0.714. Fractional crystallization is the preferred mechanism for genesis of the silicic melts of both Western and Eastern Highlands, as shown by modeling major and trace element variations. The genesis of the least evolved Q-trachytes from the Western Highlands, starting from slightly to moderately alkaline basalts, is compatible with fractionation of dominantly plagioclase, clinopyroxene and magnetite. Crystal fractionation may have occurred at low pressure and at QFM buffer f _O2conditions. Parental magmas of the Ngaoundere Ne-trachytes are likely instead to have been strongly alkaline basalts which evolved through crystal fractionation at higher P (6-2 kbar) and f _O2 (QFM + 2). The migration (25 to 12 Ma) of the silicic volcanism from NE to SW in the continental sector of the CVL is reminiscent of that (31-5 Ma) of the onset of the basic volcanism in the oceanic sector (Principe to Pagalu islands) of the CVL. These ages, and that (11-9 Ma) of the silicic volcanism of the Ngaoundere plateau, indicate that the Cameroon Volcanic Line as a whole may not be easily interpreted as the surface expression of hot-spot magmatism. Received: 24 February 1998 / Accepted: 22 September 1998     

Tracing nearshore bottom currents with sea-bed drifters

The experience acquired during 36 Woodhead drifter releases performed along the Tuscan coast is briefly reported. Without a costly apparatus, residual current patterns may be easily obtained with this method. Care should be taken, however, when sediment dispersal patterns are required, since weak currents which drag drifters slowly, displace only finer sediments.     

Relaxed Eddy Accumulation Simulations of Aerosol Number Fluxes and Potential Proxy Scalars

Direct eddy-covariance measurements of aerosol number fluxes obtained during the 2007 CHATS field experiment in Dixon, California, USA are compared with relaxed eddy accumulation simulations using temperature and water vapour concentration as proxy scalars. After a brief discussion of the limited time response of the aerosol measurement, the applicability of temperature and water vapour concentration as proxy scalars for aerosol number concentration is investigated by evaluating scalar and spectral correlation coefficients as simple measures of scalar similarity. In addition, the proportionality factor b, which compensates for the use of a constant sampling flow in relaxed eddy accumulation, is derived from the time series of aerosol number, temperature and water vapour, and its variability is analyzed. The reduction of the b factor due to application of a deadband, i.e. the rejection of data when the vertical wind speed is close to zero, is evaluated for all three studied scalars, and compared with published functional relationships. In this study, using temperature or water vapour as proxy scalars for aerosol number shows no advantage over the use of a constant b factor. Thus, it is suggested to apply a deadband H _REA  = w′/σ _w  = 0.6 to 0.8 (where w′ is the vertical velocity fluctuation and σ _w is its standard deviation), to use a theoretical b factor based on a parameterization that includes a stability dependence, and to calculate the deadband effect according to a derived relation for aerosol relaxed eddy accumulation.