Effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>-nonextensive distribution of electrons on electron acoustic solitons

Ion acoustic shock waves (IASWs) are studied in a plasma consisting of electrons, positrons and ions. Boltzmann distributed positrons and superthermal electrons are considered in the plasma. The dissipation is taken into account the kinematic viscosity among the plasma constituents. The Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers (KdV–Burgers) equation is derived by reductive perturbation method. Shock waves are solutions of KdV–Burgers equation. It is observed that an increasing positron concentration decreases the amplitude of the waves. Furthermore, in the existence of the kinematic viscosity among the plasma, the shock wave structure appears. The effects of ion kinematic viscosity (η ₀) and the superthermal parameter (k) on the ion acoustic waves are found.     

Fast hyperbolic deconvolutive Radon transform using generalized Fourier slice theorem

The hyperbolic Radon transform has a long history of applications in seismic data processing because of its ability to focus/sparsify the data in the transform domain. Recently, deconvolutive Radon transform has also been proposed with an improved time resolution which provides improved processing results. The basis functions of the (deconvolutive) Radon transform, however, are time-variant, making the classical Fourier based algorithms ineffective to carry out the required computations. A direct implementation of the associated summations in the time–space domain is also computationally expensive, thus limiting the application of the transform on large data sets. In this paper, we present a new method for fast computation of the hyperbolic (deconvolutive) Radon transform. The method is based on the recently proposed generalized Fourier slice theorem which establishes an analytic expression between the Fourier transforms associated with the data and Radon plane. This allows very fast computations of the forward and inverse transforms simply using fast Fourier transform and interpolation procedures. These canonical transforms are used within an efficient iterative method for sparse solution of (deconvolutive) Radon transform. Numerical examples from synthetic and field seismic data confirm high performance of the proposed fast algorithm for filling in the large gaps in seismic data, separating primaries from multiple reflections, and performing high-quality stretch-free stacking.     

Seismic source zoning and maximum credible earthquake prognosis of the Greater Kashmir Territory,NW Himalaya

We present the seismic source zoning of the tectonically active Greater Kashmir territory of the Northwestern Himalaya and seismicity analysis (Gutenberg-Richter parameters) and maximum credible earthquake (m _max) estimation of each zone. The earthquake catalogue used in the analysis is an extensive one compiled from various sources which spans from 1907 to 2012. Five seismogenic zones were delineated, viz. Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis, Karakorum Seismic Zone, Kohistan Seismic Zone, Nanga Parbat Syntaxis, and SE-Kashmir Seismic Zone. Then, the seismicity analysis and maximum credible earthquake estimation were carried out for each zone. The low b value (<1.0) indicates a higher stress regime in all the zones except Nanga Parbat Syntaxis Seismic Zone and SE-Kashmir Seismic Zone. The m _max was estimated following three different methodologies, the fault parameter approach, convergence rates using geodetic measurements, and the probabilistic approach using the earthquake catalogue and is estimated to be M _w 7.7, M _w 8.5, and M _w 8.1, respectively. The maximum credible earthquake (m _max) estimated for each zone shows that Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis Seismic Zone has the highest m _max of M _w 8.1 (±0.36), which is espoused by the historical 1555 Kashmir earthquake of M _w 7.6 as well as the recent 8 October 2005 Kashmir earthquake of M _w 7.6. The variation in the estimated m _max by the above discussed methodologies is obvious, as the definition and interpretation of the m _max change with the method. Interestingly, historical archives (～900 years) do not speak of a great earthquake in this region, which is attributed to the complex and unique tectonic and geologic setup of the Kashmir Himalaya. The convergence is this part of the Himalaya is distributed not only along the main boundary faults but also along the various active out-of-sequence faults as compared to the Central Himalaya, where it is mainly adjusted along the main boundary fault.     

Effects of urbanization on river morphology of the Talar River,Mazandarn Province,Iran

In the present study, we investigate the effects of urbanization growth on river morphology in the downstream part of Talar River, east of Mazandaran Province, Iran. Morphological and morphometric parameters in 10 equal sub-reaches were defined along a 11.5 km reach of the Talar River after land cover maps were produced for 1955, 1968, 1994, 2005 and 2013. Land cover types changed extremely during the study period. Residential lands were found to have increased in area by about 1631%, while forest land and riparian vegetation decreased in by approximately 99.9 and 96.2%, respectively. The results of morphometric and morphological factors showed that average channel width (W) for all 11.5 km of the study river decreased by 84% during the study period, while the flow length increased by about 2.14%.     

Comparison of existing triangulation methods for regularly and irregularly spaced height fields

Over the last two decades, the Delaunay triangulation has been the only choice for most geographical information system (GIS) users and researchers to build triangulated irregular networks (TINs). The classical Delaunay triangulation for creating TINs only considers the 2D distribution of data points. Recent research efforts have been devoted to generating data-dependent triangulation which incorporate information on both distribution and values of input data in the triangulation process. This paper compares the traditional Delaunay triangulations with several variant data-dependent triangulations based on Lawson's local optimization procedure (LOP). Two USGS digital elevation models (DEMs) are used in the comparison. It is clear from the experiments that the quality of TINs not only depends on the vertex placement but also on the vertex connection. Traditonal two step processes for TIN construction, which separate point selection from the triangulation, generate far worse results than the methods which iteratively select points during the triangulation process. A pure data-dependent triangulation contains a large amount of slivers and steep triangles, which greatly affect the quality of TINs constructed. Among the triangulation methods tested, the classical Delaunay triangulation is still the most successful technique for constructing TINs for approximating natural terrain surfaces.     

A late Pleistocene long pollen record from Lake Urmia, NW Iran

A palynological study based on two 100-m long cores from Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran provides a vegetation record spanning 200 ka, the longest pollen record for the continental interior of the Near East. During both penultimate and last glaciations, a steppe of Artemisia and Poaceae dominated the upland vegetation with a high proportion of Chenopodiaceae in both upland and lowland saline ecosystems. While Juniperus and deciduous Quercus trees were extremely rare and restricted to some refugia, Hippophaë rhamnoides constituted an important phanerophyte, particularly during the late last glacial period. A pronounced expansion in Ephedra shrub-steppe occurred at the end of the penultimate late-glacial period but was followed by extreme aridity that favoured an Artemisia steppe. Very high lake levels, registered by both pollen and sedimentary markers, occurred during the middle of the last glaciation and late part of the penultimate glaciation. The late-glacial to early Holocene transition is represented by a succession of Hippophaë, Ephedra, Betula, Pistacia and finally Juniperus and Quercus. The last interglacial period (Eemian), slightly warmer and moister than the Holocene, was followed by two interstadial phases similar in pattern to those recorded in the marine isotope record and southern European pollen sequences.     

Assessment of a spatial multi-criteria evaluation to site selection underground dams in the Alborz Province,Iran

Most part of Iran is arid and semi-arid; thus in most parts of the region, groundwater is the only source of water. This research presents a method based on a spatial multi-criterion evaluation (SMCE) for designing possible sites of underground dams and ranks them according to their suitability. The method was tested for siting underground dams in the Alborz Province, Iran. At first, screening algorithm was applied using exclusionary criteria, and thirty-one potential areas were recognized in the study area. In the next step, a suitable gorge or valley was recognized using the combination of basic maps and extensive field surveys (long axis of tank level) in each potential area. Subsequently, the analytical hierarchy process was used as a powerful tool for decision-making in the SMCE in order to evaluate different criteria for underground dam sites. SMCE techniques were then applied to combine the criteria, and obtain a suitability map in the study area. These sites were then compared and ranked according to their main criteria such as water, storage, axis and socio-economics. All these criteria were assessed through geographical information system modelling. This method shows passable results and could be used for site selection of underground dams in other regions of Iran.