Shaking‐table tests of flat‐bottom circular silos containing grain‐like material

According to Eurocode 8, the seismic design of flat‐bottom circular silos containing grain‐like material is based on a rough estimate of the inertial force imposed on the structure by the ensiled content during an earthquake: 80% of the mass of the content multiplied by the peak ground acceleration. A recent analytical consideration of the horizontal shear force mobilised within the ensiled material during an earthquake proposed by some of the authors has resulted in a radically reduced estimate of this load suggesting that, in practice, the effective mass of the content is significantly less than that specified. This paper describes a series of laboratory tests that featured shaking table and a silo model, which were conducted in order to obtain some experimental data to verify the proposed theoretical formulations and to compare with the established code provisions. Several tests have been performed with different heights of ensiled material – about 0.5 mm diameter Ballotini glass – and different magnitudes of grain–wall friction. The results indicate that in all cases, the effective mass is indeed lower than the Eurocode specification, suggesting that the specification is overly conservative, and that the wall–grain friction coefficient strongly affects the overturning moment at the silo base. At peak ground accelerations up to around 0.35 g, the proposed analytical formulation provides an improved estimate of the inertial force imposed on such structures by their contents. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of halokinesis on prograding clinoforms: Insights from the Tiddlybanken Basin,Norwegian Barents Sea

Although the trajectory and geometry of clinoforms in different types of basins have been described in many studies, few studies discuss the influence of halokinesis on clinoforms in salt-related basins. In this study, we analyse the Lower Cretaceous clinoforms in the Tiddlybanken Basin, Norwegian Barents Sea to evaluate the impact of salt mobilization on the geometry and trajectory of clinoforms as well as its implications on sediment partitioning. To accomplish this objective, we use a multidisciplinary approach consisting of seismic and well-interpretation, 3D structural restoration, and forward stratigraphic modelling. The results show that salt mobilization affects prograding clinoforms by: (a) causing lateral variations in progradation rates, resulting in complex palaeogeography, (b) increasing slope angles, which affect the equilibrium of the clinoform profile and can trigger slope-readjustment processes and (c) producing lateral and temporal variations in accommodation space, leading to different clinoform trajectories, stacking patterns and reservoir distribution along the basin. Forward stratigraphic modelling shows that in salt-related basins and other tectonically active basins, the isolated use of conventional methods for clinoform analysis might lead to potential interpretation pitfalls such as misinterpretation of trajectories and overestimation of foreset angles, which can have negative consequences for exploration models.     

Application of the method of numerical simulation of ionospheric filtration of Pc1 signals to solving the inverse problem of ionospheric modelling

Summary The numerical method of simulating ionospheric filtration of ULF signals in the range of Pc1 frequencies has been applied to French geomagnetically conjugate observations of ULF signals made by the GEOS-1 satellite and at the observatory of Husafell (Iceland) [2]. The experimentally obtained variable values of the transmissivity of the Pc1 signal through the ionosphere [5] in the course of the micropulsation distrubance of 13.7. 1977 have been compared with the results of the numerical simulation taking into consideration the fundamental physical parameters of the high-latitude external ionosphere. This approximate form of solving the inverse problem of ionospheric modelling yielded quantitative estimates of the rapid variations of the concentration of charged particles in connection with the expected changes of their temperature. It is assumed that nonstationary states of the ionospheric plasma are caused by the very ion-cyclotron waves penetrating the ionosphere at high latitudes ( 70°) along the plasmapause.     

Geochemical and geochronological evidence for Early Triassic calc-alkaline magmatism in the Menderes Massif, western Turkey

Pan-African basement rocks and a Paleozoic cover series, which were intruded by the protoliths of leucocratic orthogneisses, have been recognized in the Menderes Massif, located in the western part of the Alpine orogenic belt of Turkey. This geochemical and geochronological study focuses on the evolution of the Menderes Massif at the end of Paleozoic time. Geochemical data suggest that the crustally derived leucocratic orthogneisses have chemical composition typical of calc-alkaline and S-type granite. Zircon grains which are euhedral with typical igneous morphologies were dated by the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb evaporation method. Single-zircon dating of three samples yielded mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 246LJ, 241LJ and 235Lj Ma. These ages are interpreted as the time of protolith emplacement in Triassic. Geological and geochronological data suggest that leucocratic granites were emplaced in a period following a metamorphic event related to the closure of the Paleo-Tethys. The leucocratic granites were metamorphosed during the Alpine orogenesis and transformed into orthogneisses. The similar Triassic magmatic event at 233DŽ Ma was also occurred, using single-zircon evaporation method, from granitic gneisses which rest upon the migmatites with tectonic contacts in Naxos, Cycladic complex. This indicates that the Menderes Massif and Cycladic complex had a common pre-Early Triassic magmatic evolution.     

Occupation horizons found in the search for the ancient Greek city of Helike

In 373 B.C. an earthquake and seismic sea wave destroyed and submerged Helike, the principal Greek city on the southwestern shore of the Gulf of Corinth. Our sonar survey of the seafloor in the area where ancient sources located Helike, southeast of Aigion, showed no evidence of a submerged city. We concluded that the site must now lie in the alluvial deposits of the adjacent coastal plain. Accordingly, we used bore hole drilling and geophysical techniques to look for buried occupation horizons on land. The bore hole cores yielded numerous ceramic fragments and remains of walls, ranging from near the surface to about 15 m deep, concentrated in an area of some 2 km² on the upper part of the delta between the Selinous and Kerynites Rivers. Ceramic and organic samples from the cores yielded ages ranging from Byzantine to Early Helladic times. A shallow auger hole brought to light a superb fragment of an architectural terracotta statue from an Archaic building, ca. 600 B.C. Near the center of the ceramic-bearing area, we discovered by magnetometry a large Roman building and began its excavation. It may belong to a Roman settlement that Pausanias visited at the site of Classical Helike. The deeper layers of the excavation yielded black-glazed vase fragments from the 5th century B.C. and potsherds from Protogeometric and Mycenaean times. The overall results suggest that most of the Roman to Classical horizons lie within about 6 m of the surface, whereas Bronze Age horizons range down to 15 m. While we have yet to determine by excavation whether the occupation horizons include the center of a city, this area appears to be a strong candidate for the site of ancient Helike. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Surface wave dynamics off Mumbai coast,north-eastern Arabian Sea

Ocean Dynamics - Directional wave data collected in the coastal area at 10-m water depth for a period of 1 year is used to describe the surface wave dynamics off Mumbai coast. Partitioning...     

Future projections of temperature-related climate change impacts on the railway network of Great Britain

Great Britain’s main line railway network is known to experience various temperature-related impacts, e.g. track buckling and overhead power line sag at high ambient temperatures. Climate change could alter the frequency of occurrence of these impacts. We have therefore investigated the climate change impact on various temperature-related issues, identified during workshops with rail industry specialists, using a perturbed physics ensemble (PPE) of the Met Office’s regional climate model (RCM), HadRM3. We have developed novel approaches to combine RCM data with railway industry knowledge, typically by identifying key meteorological thresholds of interest and analysing exceedance of these out to the 2040s. We performed a statistical analysis of the projected changes for each issue, via bootstrapping of the unperturbed PPE member. Although neither the PPE nor the bootstrapping analysis samples the full range of uncertainty in the projections, they nonetheless provide complementary perspectives on the suitability of the projections for use in decision-making. Our main findings include projected increases in the summertime occurrence of temperature conditions associated with (i) track buckling, (ii) overhead power line sag, (iii) exposure of outdoor workers to heat stress, and (iv) heat-related delays to track maintenance; and (v) projected decreases in the wintertime occurrence of temperatures conditions associated with freight train failure owing to brake problems. For (i), the statistical significance varied with track condition and location; for (ii) and (iii), with location; and for (iv) and (v), projected changes were significant across Great Britain. As well as assessing the changes in climate-related hazard, information about the vulnerability of the network to past temperature-related incidents has been summarised. Combining the hazard and vulnerability elements will eventually support a climate risk assessment for the industry.     

Untersuchungen über die Sedimentationsverhältnisse des Schwarzen Meeres und ihre Anwendung auf das nordkaukasische Erdölgebiet

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Modeling Solar Spectral Irradiance and Total Magnetic Flux Using Sunspot Areas

We show that daily sunspot areas can be used in a simple, single parameter model to reconstruct daily variations in several other solar parameters, including solar spectral irradiance and total magnetic flux. The model assumes that changes in any given parameter can be treated mathematically as the response of the system to the emergence of a sunspot. Using cotemporal observational data, we compute the finite impulse response (FIR) function that describes that response in detail, and show that the response function has been approximately stationary over the time period for which data exist. For each parameter, the impulse response function describes the physical evolution of that part of a solar active region that is the source of the measured variability. We show that the impulse response functions are relatively narrow functions, no more than 3 years wide overall. Each exhibits a pre-active, active, and post-active region component; the active region component dominates the variability of most of the parameters studied.     

Using DNA‐Stable Isotope Probing to Identify MTBE‐ and TBA‐Degrading Microorganisms in Contaminated Groundwater

Although the anaerobic biodegradation of methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) and tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA) has been documented in the laboratory and the field, knowledge of the microorganisms and mechanisms involved is still lacking. In this study, DNA‐stable isotope probing (SIP) was used to identify microorganisms involved in anaerobic fuel oxygenate biodegradation in a sulfate‐reducing MTBE and TBA plume. Microorganisms were collected in the field using Bio‐Sep® beads amended with ¹³C₅‐MTBE, ¹³C₁‐MTBE (only methoxy carbon labeled), or ¹³C₄‐TBA. ¹³C‐DNA and ¹²C‐DNA extracted from the Bio‐Sep beads were cloned and 16S rRNA gene sequences were used to identify the indigenous microorganisms involved in degrading the methoxy group of MTBE and the tert‐butyl group of MTBE and TBA. Results indicated that microorganisms were actively degrading ¹³C‐labeled MTBE and TBA in situ and the ¹³C was incorporated into their DNA. Several sequences related to known MTBE‐ and TBA‐degraders in the Burkholderiales and the Sphingomonadales orders were detected in all three ¹³C clone libraries and were likely to be primary degraders at the site. Sequences related to sulfate‐reducing bacteria and iron‐reducers, such as Geobacter and Geothrix, were only detected in the clone libraries where MTBE and TBA were fully labeled with ¹³C, suggesting that they were involved in processing carbon from the tert‐butyl group. Sequences similar to the Pseudomonas genus predominated in the clone library where only the methoxy carbon of MTBE was labeled with ¹³C. It is likely that members of this genus were secondary degraders cross‐feeding on ¹³C‐labeled metabolites such as acetate.