The Kefalonia Transform Zone (offshore Western Greece) with special emphasis to its prolongation towards the Ionian Abyssal Plain

Information concerning two seismic lines, the first located northwest of the Lefkada Island and the second from the deep Ionian basin to the gulf of Patras, is used to trace the Kefalonia Transform Zone (KTZ) and to explore its relation with the sedimentary sequences and the deeper geologic structures in the study area. In addition, sea bottom topography and fault plane solutions are combined in order to explore the prolongation of the KTZ into the Ionian Abyssal Plain (IoAP) and to describe its properties. The boundary between the subduction of the eastern Mediterranean oceanic crust under the overriding continental crust and the KTZ is well constrained by the seismic data in association with seismicity and regional stress field. The southern prolongation of the KTZ is located in the IoAP towards the direction between Kefalonia and Zakynthos Islands at depth greater than 15 km. The southern part of the KTZ exhibits a strike–slip motion with a thrust component according to fault plane solutions of moderate and strong earthquakes. The seismic section mostly confirms the existence of the thrust component and gives information about the tectonic status east and west of the KTZ.     

Analysis of Benthic Communities in the Cyclades Plateau (Aegean Sea) Using Ecological and Paleoecological Data Sets

Abstract. In the Cyclades plateau (Aegean Sea), a qualitative and quantitative analysis of macro-benthic fauna was carried out in 1986. Standard multivariate analysis techniques were applied to both ecological (living benthic fauna) and paleoecological data sets in order to distinguish distribution patterns.
Results showed that caution must prevail in drawing conclusions from a limited data set. The clearest classification was obtained using total living fauna, while the dead molluscan fauna gave a similar pattern; this indicates similar response to the environmental conditions of the area. In the analysis of the living molluscan fauna, the groups failed to show any clusters, probably as an effect of some impoverished sites.
In the two groups delineated, depth seems to be the major factor in the distribution of species.
The fact that two distinct data sets (subfossil assemblages and living communities), when treated separately, produce similar grouping indicates that the subfossil assemblages could be reliably used as a first approach for determination of the living communities' distribution patterns.     

Partial pressure and air–sea CO2 flux in the Aegean Sea during February 2006

Data on the distribution of fCO₂ were obtained during a cruise in the Aegean Sea during February 2006. The fCO₂ of surface water (fCO₂^sw) was lower than the atmospheric fCO₂ (fCO₂^atm) throughout the area surveyed and ΔfCO₂ values varied from ?34 to ?61 μatm. The observed under-saturation suggests that surface waters in the Aegean represent a sink for atmospheric CO₂ during the winter of 2006. Higher fCO₂^sw values were recorded in the ‘less warm’ and ‘less saline’ shallow northernmost part of the Aegean Sea implying that the lower seawater temperature and salinity in this area play a crucial role in the spatial distribution of fCO₂^sw.A first estimate of the magnitude of the air–sea CO₂ exchange and the potential role of the Aegean Sea in the transfer of atmospheric CO₂ was also obtained. The air–sea CO₂ fluxes calculated using different gas transfer formulations showed that during February 2006, the Aegean Sea absorbs atmospheric CO₂ at a rate ranging from ?6.2 to ?11.8 mmol m^?2 d^?1 with the shipboard recorded wind speeds and at almost half rate (?3.5 to ?5.5 mmol m^?2 d^?1) with the monthly mean model-derived wind speed. Compared to recent observations from other temperate continental shelves during winter period, the Aegean Sea acts as a moderate to rather strong sink for atmospheric CO₂.Further investigations, including intensive spatial and temporal high-resolution observations, are necessary to elucidate the role of the Aegean Sea in the process of transfer of atmospheric CO₂ into the deep horizons of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

A methodology for simple and fast streamflow modelling

ABSTRACT

During the last few decades, hydrological models have become very powerful, capable of spatially analysing the hydrological information and accurately representing the geomorphological characteristics of the studied area. However, one of the drawbacks of this heightened intricacy is the amount of time required to set up a hydrological model. In this study, a simple methodology that requires only a minimum set-up time is presented. This methodology employs linear regression to combine the outputs of simple hydrological models to simulate hydrological responses. Two kinds of simple hydrological models are employed. The first one represents the characteristics of the streamflow attributed to overland flow, and the second the characteristics of the streamflow attributed to interflow and baseflow. The methodology was tested in 4 case studies, and the results were encouraging. The best performance was achieved in the case study with data of fine time step with significant length.     

Multi-objective optimisation of a floating LNG terminal

The paper presents a comprehensive multi-objective hydrodynamic optimisation procedure and its application to the early design of a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal for improved seakeeping and wave attenuation characteristics on its lee side. Genetic algorithms are used to find the Pareto optima designs followed by multi-objective decision making procedures to select the optimum design among them. The paper addresses the definition of the relevant optimisation problem and the set-up and interface of relevant software tools, presents results of systematic studies with respect to the minimisation of the motion responses and wave elevation on the leeward side of free-floating terminals and concludes with analysis and critical review of the obtained results and their impact on terminal design.     

Algebraic estimation of the specific storage from slug tests in confined aquifers in the overdamped case

Hydrogeology Journal - A simple method is presented for estimating the specific storage of a confined aquifer from an overdamped slug test in a fully penetrating well. This method is based on the...     

Application of multivariate statistical procedures on major ions and trace elements in a multilayered coastal aquifer: the case of the south Rhodope coastal aquifer

Multivariate statistical techniques including cluster analysis and principal components analysis were applied on 22 variables consisted of 3 physicochemical parameters, 8 major ions and 11 trace elements. Samples were collected from the south Rhodope multilayered coastal aquifer in north Greece which is facing saltwater intrusion and anthropogenic contamination over the last 35 years. Cluster analysis grouped the variables into five main groups while principal components analysis revealed four distinct hydrochemical processes in the aquifer system, explaining 84.5 % of the total variance between the variables. The identified processes correspond to, saltwater intrusion and subsequent reverse cation exchange, the presence of deep connate groundwater masses, application of fertilizers in shallow wells and anthropogenic contamination with heavy metals nearby an improperly constructed landfill. The wells categorized with the above techniques were grouped and five constituent ratios Na/Cl, (Mg + Ca)/Cl, Ca/(HCO₃ + SO₄), Ca/SO₄ and Ca/Mg were utilized to identify the ones which enable the more accurate distinction between the group cases. The results of stepwise discriminant analysis showed that the calculated classification function can distinguish almost 80 % of groundwater samples with the Na/Cl ratio being the most statistically significant grouping variable. All the aforementioned statistical models managed to successfully identify numerous hydrochemical processes in a complex multilayered aquifer system and to explicitly attribute them for every investigated well, allowing a deeper insight into groundwater chemical characteristics with the use of an optimized smaller number of variables.     

Trophic State Index derivation through the remote sensing of Case-2 water bodies in the Mediterranean region

The main goal of this study is the derivation of Carlson’s Trophic State Index (TSI) through the remote sensing of four different Case-2 waters in the Mediterranean region such as Cyprus and Greece. TSI _SD is derived through extensive field ground campaign of Secchi Disk Depth measurements for the Asprokremmos Dam, located in Paphos District in Cyprus; Alyki Salt Lake, located in Larnaca District in Cyprus; and in Karla Lake, located in Volos District in Greece; and finally to three coastal water areas in the Limassol coastal area. Several regression models have been applied in order to develop the best regression model between the TSI _SD and in-band reflectance values for Landsat TM/ETM derived from spectroradiometric measurements using a GER-1500 field spectroradiometer over the main case study area in Asprokremmos Dam in Cyprus. Finally, we apply several regression models for Asprokremmos Dam for retrieving the suitable Landsat TM/ETM band or band combinations (obtained from field spectroradiometric measurements) in which TSI _SD can be determined. Indeed, the best regression model has been obtained by correlating ‘TSI Versus Band2/Band3’, with R²=0.89. All field TSI _SD and in-band reflectance values from the four different water bodies have been used to develop the best fitted model for the established TSI _SD Versus Band2/Band3 model. We find that the exponential regression model provides the best fitted equation over the four different water bodies.     

Ineffectiveness of Narrow CMEs for Cosmic Ray Modulation

Monthly coronal mass ejection (CME) counts, – for all CMEs and CMEs with widths >?30^°, – and monthly averaged speeds for the events in these two groups were compared with both the monthly averaged cosmic ray intensity and the monthly sunspot number. The monthly P _i-index, which is a linear combination of monthly CME count rate and average speed, was also compared with the cosmic ray intensity and sunspot number. The main finding is that narrow CMEs, which were numerous during 2007?–?2009, are ineffective for modulation. A cross-correlation analysis, calculating both the Pearson (r) product–moment correlation coefficient and the Spearman (ρ) rank correlation coefficient, has been used. Between all CMEs and cosmic ray intensity we found correlation coefficients r=??0.49 and ρ=??0.46, while between CMEs with widths >?30^° and cosmic ray intensity we found r=??0.75 and ρ=??0.77, which implies a significant increase. Finally, the best expression for the P _i-index for the examined period was analyzed. The highly anticorrelated behavior among this CME index, the cosmic ray intensity (r=??0.84 and ρ=??0.83), and the sunspot number (r=+?0.82 and ρ=+?0.89) suggests that the first one is a very useful solar–heliospheric parameter for heliospheric and space weather models in general.