Observations of the phase SP at distances less than 40°

Summary. A detailed analysis of short-period shear waves using an array of three component seismometers near Tennant Creek in the centre of northern Australia has found only isolated samples of the phase Sp which, for a mode conversion at the crust/mantle boundary precedes the S arrival by about 6 s. Two strong phases commonly observed in the S wavetrain in the distance range 30–40° with a time separation of between 6 and 8 s have been determined to be the phases S and SP respectively. Contrary to the Jeffreys-Bullen seismological tables, SP is first generated at a minimum distance not of 40°, but rather in the vicinity of 20°.     

Illumina sequencing for the identification of filamentous bulking and foaming bacteria in industrial activated sludge plants

In this study, Illumina sequencing was used for the identification of bulking and foaming bacteria in industrial wastewater treatment plants. The reliable identification of bulking and foaming bacteria represents the first step in developing effective and specific control strategies to avoid disturbances in activated sludge systems. Illumina sequencing revealed 432 16S rRNA operational taxonomic units, representing phylotypes and including 21 bulking and foaming bacteria in the two investigated industrial wastewater treatment plants. Foaming represents the most severe problem in the cascade biology system. Up to 22.5% of all sequencing reads are bulking and foaming bacteria, including Chryseobacterium, Candidatus Microthrix parvicella and Gordonia sp. as the dominant bulking and foaming bacteria which are known for foam formation. Moreover, Illumina sequencing revealed an increase in Candidatus Microthrix parvicella and Gordonia sp. reads from activated sludge to foam and scum samples, indicating a preferred flotation and/or growth advantages in the foam and scum layers. Analyses of the taxonomic assignment and distribution showed that the phylum Actinobacteria is the most dominant phylum, underlining the key role of Actinobacteria in bulking and foaming. Multivariate data analysis was applied, revealing that the dominant bulking and foaming bacteria are positively correlated with the sludge age and influent flow and negatively correlated with the dissolved oxygen level and the temperature. In terms of developing a specific control strategy, the positive linear relationships to the fatty acid and surfactant sludge loadings are highlighted and the removal of lipid compounds from the wastewater influent could avoid an overgrowth of bulking and foaming bacteria.     

Parity and disparity between two Chama oysters: the reproductive biology of the Indo-Pacific C. pacifica Broderip,invasive to the Mediterranean Sea; and C. savignyi Lamy,indigenous to the Red Sea

The Indo-Pacific oyster Chama pacifica Broderip, 1835 (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Chamidae) is rarely found in the Northern Red Sea reefs of Eilat (Gulf of Aqaba), where it is outnumbered by its indigenous congener, Chama savignyi Lamy, 1921. The influx of Eritrean biota from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal has led to the formation of massive Chama oyster beds along the Eastern Mediterranean shore. However, unlike the Northern Red Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean Chama beds are dominated by C. pacifica oysters, whereas C. savignyi is absent from this region. In an attempt to understand this difference in their respective distribution, the reproductive biology of both species was compared. Histological analysis of the male and female gonads, monitored monthly from March 2009 to August 2010 in both regions, revealed a similar reproductive cycle, comprising six stages: onset of gametogenesis, advanced gametogenesis, ripe, ready to spawn, spent and sexual rest. Female gonads demonstrated an additional, seventh stage – restoration, coinciding with inferred spawning of ripe gametes. Both species were found to be dioecious spawners, with a single, annual, temperature-dependent inferred spawning period. Chama pacifica was found to reproduce efficiently in maximal Mediterranean seawater temperatures not experienced by the Northern Red Sea Chama populations. This study demonstrates the high invasive potential of an oyster species despite its rarity in its source region.     

The AzTEC mm-wavelength camera

AzTEC is a mm-wavelength bolometric camera utilizing 144 silicon nitride micromesh detectors. Here, we describe the AzTEC instrument architecture and its use as an astronomical instrument. We report on several performance metrics measured during a three-month observing campaign at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and conclude with our plans for AzTEC as a facility instrument on the Large Millimetre Telescope.     

Application of high resolution DEM data to detect rock damage from geomorphic signals along the central San Jacinto Fault

We analyze geomorphic properties extracted from LiDAR and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data to test whether the damage zone along the central San Jacinto Fault (SJF) zone can be resolved with remotely-sensed data in a quantitative fashion. The SJF is one of the most active faults in southern California, with well expressed geomorphology and a fast slip rate, as seen in the geology and by GPS. We use ArcMap and the TauDEM toolbox to compare several morphometric parameters, including drainage density (Dd), on both sides of the fault, using a 1 km and a 5 km buffer for the LiDAR and SRTM data, respectively. We also analyze the spatial patterns of Dd near the fault, using two different definitions of spatial Dd. The high resolution of the LiDAR data allows us to focus on a single fault, eliminating the effects of parallel nearby faults. From the LiDAR data we find that the highest Dd values occur in areas between two fault strands, followed generally by rocks on the northeast side of the fault, with the lowest Dd values occurring on the southwest side of the fault. The SRTM data shows a band of high Dd values centered on the main fault trace with ~ 1 km width. Our results indicate that there is a strong correlation between drainage density and proximity to the fault, with zones of structural complexity along the fault displaying the highest Dd. We interpret this to largely be an effect of degree of rock damage, as these are areas that are expected to be more damaged, and field observations support this contention. If we are correct, then it appears that the northeast side of the SJF is generally more damaged. South of the trifurcation area there is evidence that the signal is reversed on the larger scale, with more damage on the southwest side of the fault inferred from the SRTM data, possibly caused by extension between the Coyote Creek and Clark faults. The implications of the observed asymmetry could be geological evidence for rupture propagation direction, because a preferred propagation direction is predicted to produce asymmetric damage structure that would be recorded in the volume of rock surrounding a fault.     

Pre- and post-1998 ENSO records of shallow-water octocorals (Alcyonacea) in the Chagos Archipelago

When compared, principal octocorals collected in the Chagos Archipelago before and after the 1998 ENSO shared many common taxa. While a few discontinuities in their biodiversity revealed subtle changes in more persistent genera (Lobophytum, Sarcophyton), some fast-growing “fugitive” genera (e.g. Cespitularia, Efflatounaria, Heteroxenia) disappeared after the ENSO-related coral bleaching. Such transient fugitives might thus be eliminated from soft coral communities on isolated reef systems, possibly in the long term, by events of this nature. The appearance of Carijoa riseii, a species often considered a fouling organism, even an invasive, may well be indicative of reef degradation during the ENSO event. The post-ENSO recovery manifested by this fauna nevertheless gives cause for hope for their survival in the face of climate change.     

Decay of dynamic fracturing based on three-dimensional measurements of clastic-dike geometry

Several fundamental issues of fracture mechanics during the post-dynamic stage are yet not fully understood, including fracture arrest mechanisms, effects of the three-dimensional fracture propagation on fracture aperture and height relations, and the role played by fracture tips on fracture termination. We studied these issues in the seismically active Dead Sea basin, where clastic dikes (>10 m) and numerous smaller dikelets (<1 m) dynamically intruded the late-Pleistocene soft rock of the Lisan Formation. A three-dimensional study of the dikelets shows that they form arrest zones at the tips of the larger clastic dikes. Geometrically, the dikelets are divided into two parts: (1) the main dikelet, in which the aperture profile along the dikelet height is approximately elliptic; and (2) the elongated tip, in which the aperture profile along the tip height is approximately constant. The dikelet aspect ratio is defined as A/H, where A is dikelet aperture and H is dikelet height. A plot of A/H versus H describes power relations with two different zones: (1) Zone A, with a small variation of A/H, between 0.02 and 0.06, for dikelets in height range of 100–700 mm; and (2) Zone B, where the aspect ratio sharply increases to 0.23 in dikelets with heights less than 100 mm. We interpret that during deceleration, when the height of the elongated tip became greater than 1/10 of the dikelet height, inelastic conditions are dominant. Under these conditions, the fracture velocity decreases significantly and the dikelet aspect ratio increases. The present observations and analyses indicate that formation of elongated tips and dike (fracture) segmentation are essential for the decay of the dynamic fracturing.     

Highly-reduced dynamic orbits and their use for global gravity field recovery: A simulation study for GOCE

The so-called highly reduced-dynamic (HRD) orbit determination strategy and its use for the determination of the Earth’s gravitational field are analyzed. We discuss the functional model for the generation of HRD orbits, which are a compromise of the two extreme cases of dynamic and purely geometrically determined kinematic orbits. For gravity field recovery the energy integral approach is applied, which is based on the law of energy conservation in a closed system. The potential of HRD orbits for gravity field determination is studied in the frame of a simulated test environment based on a realistic GOCE orbit configuration. The results are analyzed, assessed, and compared with the respective reference solutions based on a kinematic orbit scenario. The main advantage of HRD orbits is the fact that they contain orbit velocity information, thus avoiding numerical differentiation on the orbit positions. The error characteristics are usually much smoother, and the computation of gravity field solutions is more efficient, because less densely sampled orbit information is sufficient. On the other hand, the main drawback of HRD orbits is that they contain external gravity field information, and thus yield the danger to obtain gravity field results which are biased towards this prior information.     

The Role of Heterogeneities as a Tuning Parameter of Earthquake Dynamics

We investigate the influence of spatial heterogeneities on various aspects of brittle failure and seismicity in a model of a large strike-slip fault. The model dynamics is governed by realistic boundary conditions consisting of constant velocity motion of regions around the fault, static/kinetic friction laws, creep with depth-dependent coefficients, and 3-D elastic stress transfer. The dynamic rupture is approximated on a continuous time scale using a finite stress propagation velocity (quasidynamic model). The model produces a brittle-ductile transition at a depth of about 12.5 km, realistic hypocenter distributions, and other features of seismicity compatible with observations. Previous work suggested that the range of size scales in the distribution of strength-stress heterogeneities acts as a tuning parameter of the dynamics. Here we test this hypothesis by performing a systematic parameter-space study with different forms of heterogeneities. In particular, we analyze spatial heterogeneities that can be tuned by a single parameter in two distributions: (1) high stress drop barriers in near-vertical directions and (2) spatial heterogeneities with fractal properties and variable fractal dimension. The results indicate that the first form of heterogeneities provides an effective means of tuning the behavior while the second does not. In relatively homogeneous cases, the fault self-organizes to large-scale patches and big events are associated with inward failure of individual patches and sequential failures of different patches. The frequency-size event statistics in such cases are compatible with the characteristic earthquake distribution and large events are quasi-periodic in time. In strongly heterogeneous or near-critical cases, the rupture histories are highly discontinuous and consist of complex migration patterns of slip on the fault. In such cases, the frequency-size and temporal statistics follow approximately power-law relations.on leave from CNRS Rennes, France