Local magnitude,surface wave magnitude and seismic energy

Summary The local magnitude M_L at the seismological station Pruhonice (PRU) was converted into surface wave magnitude M_S using the formula M_S=–3.2+1.45 M_L and the seismic wave energy was estimated using the relation log E (Joule)=1.2+2.0 M_L. It was proposed to apply the same conversion formulae at seismological stations Kaperské Hory (KHC) and Berggiesshübel (BRG) where the calibrating functions for local magnitudes were determined for the same set of earthquakes with common reference magnitudes as in the case of the PRU station.     

12-μm fine-structure emission line and continuum images of G333.6–0.2

We present high spatial resolution (∼0.8 arcsec) diffraction-limited 12.8-μm Ne  ii fine-structure emission line and 12.5-μm continuum images of the bright southern compact H  ii region G333.6–0.2, taken with the mid-infrared imaging polarimeter NIMPOL. The two images show remarkably similar, compact, yet asymmetric, flux distributions. The [Ne  ii ] image shows a complex structure near the ionizing source(s) which we interpret in terms of the ionization structure of the H  ii region. It is found that G333.6–0.2 is more likely to be excited by a cluster of O and B stars than by a single star.     

Mid-infrared polarization studies of SgrA: a three-dimensional study of the central parsec

Thermal emission from magnetically aligned dust grains produces the observed mid-infrared polarization in the northern arm and east–west bar of SgrA West; recent arcsecond-resolution imaging polarimetry at 12.5 μm of these ionized filaments is presented, which confirms and extends previous studies. A lower limit ∼2 mG is found for the magnetic field in the northern arm and the IRS16 complex appears to be displaced from the northern arm by ∼ 0.15 pc along the line of sight. It is shown that the physical conditions in the ionized filaments of the central parsec lead to a very uniform grain alignment that is directed along the local magnetic field. The position angle of polarized emission will then be at right angles to the projection of the field direction on the plane of the sky and its amplitude a measure of the component of field along the line of sight; this makes possible a partial reconstruction of the field in three dimensions. We present the first application of the use of polarimetry in this way. This partial reconstruction is compared with the H92α observations of Roberts et al. and the implications are that the northern arm and east–west bar do not define either an orbital path or a spiral arm but rather represent a tidally stretched structure in free fall about SgrA^★ with significant deviations from a single plane, and most likely represent the inner ionized rim of a more extended neutral cloud.     

Direct evidence of fluid mixing in the formation of stratabound Pb–Zn–Ba–F mineralisation in the Alston Block, North Pennine Orefield (England)

The North Pennine Orefield Alston Block has produced approximately 4 Mt Pb, 0.3 Mt Zn, 2.1 Mt fluorite, 1.5 Mt barite, 1 Mt witherite, plus a substantial amount of iron ore and copper ore from predominantly vein-hosted mineralisation in Carboniferous limestones. However, a significant proportion of this production (ca. 20%) came from stratabound deposits. Though much is known about the vein mineralisation, the relationship between the veins and the stratabound mineralisation is not well-understood. New petrographic, isotopic and fluid inclusion data derived from samples of stratabound mineralisation allow us to present a unified model that addresses the genesis of both the vein and stratabound styles of mineralisation. The mineralisation can be considered in terms of three episodes:

Ice elevation and areal changes of glaciers from the Northern Patagonia Icefield, Chile

High thinning rates (up to − 4.0 ± 0.97 m a^− 1) have been measured at Campo de Hielo Patagónico Norte (CHN) or Northern Patagonia Icefield, Chile between 1975 and 2001. Results have been obtained by comparing a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from regular cartography compiled by Instituto Geográfico Militar of Chile (IGM) based upon 1974/1975 aerial photographs and a DEM generated from Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite images acquired in September 2001. A complete cloud-free Landsat ETM+ satellite image mosaic acquired in March 2001 was used to update the available glacier inventory of the CHN, including all glaciers larger than 0.5 km² (48 new glaciers). A new delineation of ice divides was also performed over the accumulation areas of glaciers sharing the high plateau where the existing regular cartography exhibits poor coverage of topographic information. This updated glacier inventory produced a total ice area for 2001 of 3953 km², which represents a decrease of 3.4 ± 1.5% (140 ± 61 km² of ice) with respect to the total ice area of the CHN in 1979 calculated from a Landsat MSS satellite image. Almost 62% of the total area change between 1979 and 2001 took place in glaciers located at the western margin of the CHN, where the maximum area loss was experienced by Glaciar San Quintín with 33 km². At the southern margin, Glaciar Steffen underwent the largest ice-area loss (12 km² or 2.6% of the 1979 area), whilst at the eastern margin the greatest area loss took place in Glaciares Nef (7.9 km², 5.7% of the 1979 area) and Colonia (9.1 km², 2.7% of the 1979 area). At the northern margin of the CHN the lower debris-covered ablation area of Glaciar Grosse collapsed into a new freshwater lake formed during the late 1990s. The areal changes measured at the CHN are much larger than previously estimated due to the inclusion of changes experienced in the accumulation areas. The CHN as a whole is contributing melt water to global sea level rise at rates  25% higher than previous estimates.     

A multi-sensor evaluation of precipitation uncertainty for landslide-triggering storm events

Extreme precipitation can have profound consequences for communities, resulting in natural hazards such as rainfall-triggered landslides that cause casualties and extensive property damage. A key challenge to understanding and predicting rainfall-triggered landslides comes from observational uncertainties in the depth and intensity of precipitation preceding the event. Practitioners and researchers must select from a wide range of precipitation products, often with little guidance. Here we evaluate the degree of precipitation uncertainty across multiple precipitation products for a large set of landslide-triggering storm events and investigate the impact of these uncertainties on predicted landslide probability using published intensity–duration thresholds. The average intensity, peak intensity, duration, and NOAA-Atlas return periods are compared ahead of 177 reported landslides across the continental United States and Canada. Precipitation data are taken from four products that cover disparate measurement methods: near real-time and post-processed satellite (IMERG), radar (MRMS), and gauge-based (NLDAS-2). Landslide-triggering precipitation was found to vary widely across precipitation products with the depth of individual storm events diverging by as much as 296 mm with an average range of 51 mm. Peak intensity measurements, which are typically influential in triggering landslides, were also highly variable with an average range of 7.8 mm/h and as much as 57 mm/h. The two products more reliant upon ground-based observations (MRMS and NLDAS-2) performed better at identifying landslides according to published intensity–duration storm thresholds, but all products exhibited hit ratios of greater than 0.56. A greater proportion of landslides were predicted when including only manually verified landslide locations. We recommend practitioners consider low-latency products like MRMS for investigating landslides, given their near-real time data availability and good performance in detecting landslides. Practitioners would be well-served considering more than one product as a way to confirm intense storm signals and minimize the influence of noise and false alarms.     

Seismic activity in the region of northwest bohemia

Summary The seismic activity of the region is analysed on the basis of the recent microseismic and former macroseismic observations. Only microearthquakes in the narrow magnitude range of 0–1.2 were monitored during 1982–1988. The mean annual frequencies are of the same order as the figures extrapolated from the magnitude-frequency relationship obtained for earthquakes in the magnitude range 2.4–4.5 which occurred in the region before 1910. The recent stress release is very low but its annual average of 7 × 10 ³ J ^1/2 is close to the annual average of 23×10 ³ J ^1/2 of long-term macroseismic observations.     

Electrical conductance of sediments overlying the basement of the Czech Republic

Summary The data of borehole resistivity logs were collected, analysed, classified and a contour map of electrical conductance of the sedimentary complex overlying the crystalline basement of the Czech Republic was computer-generated. The map contributes to estimating the distortion fields produced by conductance variations in the surface layer. Information on the basement relief is also obtained from the contour map patterns.     

Astatism of a pendulum seismometer with a vertical plane of oscillation

Summary Formulae are derived for computing the coefficient of astatism of a seismometer, the pendulum of which, oscillating in the vertical plane, has its equilibrium position in general deflected from the horizontal plane. An ideal linear system with a zero and non-zero theoretical initial length of the spring is considered. These solutions include as special cases seismometers of vertical seismographs.