Counterclockwise rotation of the Anatolian block

Seismological and other data from the boundaries of Anatolia are used to discuss the motion and plate tectonics of this block. Models which include a rotation of Anatolia around a single pole are shown to be inconsistent with much of this data. In particular a westward motion of Anatolia, which is the most commonly used model, should be reconsidered. Models which use a single pole of rotation fail because they assume the North Anatolian Fault to be an ideal transform fault which describes all of the motion between Anatolia and the Black Sea. In effect, internal deformation in the form of extension in western Anatolia and for the most part strike-slip faulting in eastern Anatolia, are important and account for some of the relative motion. Thus, a more appropriate model for this region is one which not only stresses the dominance of the North Anatolian Fault, but also recognises the importance of internal deformation and the limitation of classic plate tectonic models which this deformation implies. The preferred model for the motion of Anatolia is a nonuniform, tight, counterclockwise rotation approximated by the shape of the North Anatolian Fault as well as by the faults which splay from it to the south. Such a model is consistent with data from the boundaries of Anatolia including the source mechanism of earthquakes and depth of Benioff zone along the southern boundary of the block. Counterclockwise rotation of Anatolia is the natural consequence of the collision of Arabia with eastern Anatolia, coupled with subduction in the eastern Mediterranean.     

Dipping basement reflectors along volcanic passive margins—new insight using data from the Kerguelen Plateau

Multichannel seismic reflection data from the Southern Kerguelen Plateau show many dipping basement reflectors associated with volcanic flows. These reflectors are quite similar in their shape to seaward-dipping basement reflectors observed along volcanic passive margins. On the Kerguelen Plateau the sources are updip of the basement reflectors, in the presently extinct and eroded volcanoes. We suggest that the same source/reflector geometry may also apply to the seaward-dipping basement reflectors observed along passive margins. We interpret these reflectors to be the result of volcanism on the passive margin which flowed in all directions into the newly created ocean basin at an early spreading stage.     

Using Lightning Data to Better Understand and Predict Flash Floods in the Mediterranean

One of the costliest natural hazards around the globe is flash floods, resulting from localized intense convective precipitation over short periods of time. Since intense convective rainfall (especially over the continents) is well correlated with lightning activity in these storms, a European Union FP6 FLASH project was realized from 2006 to 2010, focusing on using lightning observations to better understand and predict convective storms that result in flash floods. As part of the project, 23 case studies of flash floods in the Mediterranean region were examined. For the analysis of these storms, lightning data were used together with rainfall estimates in order to understand the storms?? development and electrification processes. In addition, these case studies were simulated using mesoscale meteorological models to better understand the local and synoptic conditions leading to such intense and damaging storms. As part of this project, tools for short-term predictions (nowcasts) of intense convection across the Mediterranean and Europe, and long-term forecasts (a few days) of the likelihood of intense convection, were developed and employed. The project also focused on educational outreach through a special Web site http://flashproject.org supplying real-time lightning observations, real-time experimental nowcasts, medium-range weather forecasts and educational materials. While flash floods and intense thunderstorms cannot be prevented, long-range regional lightning networks can supply valuable data, in real time, for warning the public, end-users and stakeholders of imminent intense rainfall and possible flash floods.     

Benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca-paleothermometry: a revised core-top calibration

Core-top samples from different ocean basins have been analyzed to refine our current understanding of the sensitivity of benthic foraminiferal calcite magnesium/calcium (Mg/Ca) to bottom water temperatures (BWT). Benthic foraminifera collected from Hawaii, Little Bahama Bank, Sea of Okhotsk, Gulf of California, NE Atlantic, Ceara Rise, Sierra Leone Rise, the Ontong Java Plateau, and the Southern Ocean covering a temperature range of 0.8 to 18°C were used to revise the Cibicidoides Mg/Ca-temperature calibration. The Mg/Ca-BWT relationship of three common Cibicidoides species is described by an exponential equation: Mg/Ca = 0.867 ± 0.049 exp (0.109 ± 0.007 × BWT) (stated errors are 95% CI). The temperature sensitivity is very similar to a previously published calibration. However, the revised calibration has a significantly different preexponential constant, resulting in different predicted absolute temperatures. We attribute this difference in the preexponential constant to an analytical issue of accuracy. Some genera, notably Uvigerina, show apparently lower temperature sensitivity than others, suggesting that the use of constant offsets to account for vital effects in Mg/Ca may not be appropriate. Downcore Mg/Ca reproducibility, as determined on replicate foraminiferal samples, is typically better than 0.1 mmol mol⁻¹ (2 S.E.). Thus, considering the errors associated with the Cibicidoides calibration and the downcore reproducibility, BWT may be estimated to within ±1°C. Application of the revised core-top Mg/Ca-BWT data to Cenozoic foraminiferal Mg/Ca suggests that seawater Mg/Ca was not more than 35% lower than today in the ice-free ocean at 50 Ma.     

A temporal-contextual analysis of urban dynamics using location-based data

The dynamics of urban activities in Jerusalem were studied by analyzing a large-scale semantically rich movement dataset. The semantic enrichment process was based on coupling movement trajectories sampled by GPS loggers with contextual data derived from trajectory-based digital activity dairies. Although the utility of such procedures in generating trajectory-specific semantic data was noted before, their application stays limited. In this paper, we promote the utilization of these procedures by demonstrating that they are not only feasible but also important for mobility studies. We discuss the characteristics of the semantic enrichment process and the manner by which it was applied within the large-scale analysis of urban dynamics. This application uncovered a time- and context-dependent array of centers in Jerusalem, resulting in a semantically rich characterization of urban dynamics. Such characterization provides otherwise unobtainable insights crucial for urban analysis. Wider implications for movement studies may be derived, as this application demonstrates how diary-based enrichment approaches hold the potential to advance bridging the semantic gap in mobility research.     

The Cosmolian program for simulating aeolian dynamics and its application to central Australia

The wide spatial coverage of sand dunes in continental interiors makes the understanding of their activity and accumulation history valuable for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and the interpretation of landscape evolution. Nevertheless, the study of aeolian landscape development at the million-year timescale is hampered by the complex interaction of factors determining dune migration and the inherently self-destructive nature of their chronostratigraphy, thus limiting the applicability of traditional dating methods. This study presents a standalone program that simulates aeolian transport based on luminescence-derived chronologies coupled with numerical modelling of the accumulation of cosmogenic nuclides. This integrative approach to modelling the history of aeolian landforms reveals phases of emergence of aeolian sand into the landscape, and provides a data-based scheme that facilitates the morphodynamical study of aeolian processes over multiple timescales and up to several millions of years. The application of the program for reanalysing previously reported data from the Australian Simpson Desert reveals multiple pulses of sand dispersion into central Australia at 3.8–3.4, 2.9–2.5 and 1.5–1 Ma, corresponding to pronounced changes in climatic conditions and landscape deformation events. The synchronicity of the results with the established environmental framework that would promote the production and aeolian distribution of sand exemplifies the applicability of process-based modelling in constructing a timeframe of key landscape evolution events in arid environments by studying aeolian deposits. The dependence of the parameters used to determine environmental settings on sand transportation patterns additionally makes the program a powerful tool to further investigate the triggers and mechanisms of aeolian processes.     

Runoff generative process and runoff yield from arid talus mantled slopes

Previous works dealing with the influence of a stone cover on runoff yield showed that runoff, attributed to the sealing effect of the topsoil by raindrops impact, was negatively related to the per cent of stone cover and stone size. These works were conducted on gentle slopes (3–11·5 degree) with a per cent of stone cover generally lower than 50 per cent, and composed of gravels. The present study deals with the runoff yield of steep talus slopes (26–36 degree) whose per cent of stone cover is very high (90–100 per cent), composed of cobbles and boulders. Three stimulated rainstorms were performed at various rainfall. intensities and durations on each one of six plots representative of the North eastern sector of Sinai. Although the contiguous stony cover prevented surface sealing by raindrops impact, runoff developed quite quickly on most slopes, and reached at peak discharge, after approximately ten minutes, up to 56 per cent of the rainfall. Differences between plots, in time lag, peak discharge and other hydrological variables, could be attributed mainly to the properties of the upper stony layer, with stone size as the most influential factor. Contrary to previous works, a positive relationship, was obtained between stone size to runoff yield. The result is explained by the process of water concentration. Each cobble and boulder behaves, on a smaller scale, like a bare rocky surface and yields per unit area water amounts beyond the infiltration rate of the limited uncovered areas. For a given stony cover the effect of water concentration is quicker with the big blocks than with gravels. A series of graphs trying to relate theoretically the relative importance of sealing and water concentration processes in runoff generation, at various conditions of stone cover and stone size, is proposed. The graphs enable to reconcile the results of the present study with those of previous works.     

APPLICATIONS OF SPATIAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION OF CLOUD SEEDING TO RAINFALL IN ISRAEL

The paper summarizes two decades of fitting existing techniques and developing new spatial methods in order to aid the cloud seeders in proving or disproving the value of deliberate rainfall augmentation in Israel. While the spatial regression and the distance correlation matrix (DISTCORMAT) techniques served to distinguish between deliberate rainfall enhancement and inadvertent urban climate modification, the composite correlation map revealed an increase of rainfall duration and an extension of the rainfall target area. Hydrological parameters were utilized to assess the effect of cloud seeding on water resources. Indirectly, the hydrological evidence supported the positive effect of the cloud seeding. Those findings also suggest that cloud seeding augments the rainfall intensity, but interpretation of the composite correlation map does not support this notion. [Key words: cloud seeding, spatial analysis techniques, DISTCORMAT technique, composite correlation map, multiple regression analysis, hydrological parameters, Israel.]     

The impact of planning on pedestrian movement: contrasting pedestrian movement models in pre-modern and modern neighborhoods in Israel

Most pedestrian movement volume models were constructed for urban areas that developed on the basis of pre-modern planning. In this paper, we confront neighborhoods that were built upon modern planning doctrines, combining the functional hierarchy of streets with the neighborhood unit concept, with neighborhoods that developed from pre-modem non-hierarchical street-based planning. We use space syntax analysis to investigate how their street network’s structural attributes interact with pedestrian movement distribution. The investigation was conducted in 14 neighborhoods from 4 cities in Israel by examining the correlation of observed pedestrian volume with models using different axial- and segment-based topological, angular, and metric syntactic attributes across different radii (scales). The results indicate that the street network and the distribution of pedestrian movement interact differently in the two neighborhood types. In pre-modern neighborhoods: (i) there is significantly more walking; (ii) the street network’s syntactic attributes tend to be much more consistent in their correlation with pedestrian volume across all scales; (iii) the correlation of pedestrian volume with these attributes and with commerce is relatively high; and (iv) pedestrian movement distribution is more predictable. We relate these differences to the absence of a self-organized circular causality between street network structure, commerce, and movement in modern planned neighborhoods.