Do static stress changes of a moderate‐magnitude earthquake significantly modify the regional seismic hazard? Hints from the L'Aquila 2009 normal‐faulting earthquake (Mw 6.3, central Italy)

We investigated the Coulomb stress changes in the active faults surrounding a moderate‐magnitude normal‐faulting earthquake (2009 L'Aquila, Mw 6.3) and the associated variations in the expected ground motion on regional probabilistic seismic hazard maps. We show that the static stress variations can locally increase the seismic hazard by modifying the expected mean recurrence time on neighbouring faults by up to ~290 years, with associated variations in the probability of occurrence of the maximum expected earthquake of up to ~2%. Our findings suggest that the increase in seismic hazard on neighbouring faults following moderate‐magnitude earthquakes is probably not sufficient to necessitate systematic upgrades of regional probabilistic seismic hazard maps, but must be considered to better address and schedule strategies for local‐scale mitigation of seismic risk.     

La nuova carta magnetica d'Italia (Isogone al 1° gennaio 1940) dell'Istituto Geografico Militare

Riassunto L'Autore, accennato alla carta del Palazzo del 1892 e dimostrata la necessità di una più precisa carta rispondente alle accresciute esigenze civili e militari, tratta del nuovo rilievo magnetico d'Italia basato su ben 1529 stazioni eseguite dall'Istituto Geografico Militare dal 1932 al 1937 e quindi della nuova carta magnetica con le isogone al 1° gennaio 1940 testé pubblicata dallo stesso Istituto.

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Zusammenfassung Der Verf., nach Erwähnung der erdmagnetischen Karte von Palazzo des Jahres 1892 hervorhebt die Notwendigkeit einer genaueren den vermehrten zivilen und militärischen Ansprüchen entsprechender Aufnahme; eine solche neue erdmagnetische Aufnahme Italiens ist vom Istituto Geografico Militare in den Jahren 1932–1937 durchgeführt worden und zwar mit zusammen 1529 Stationen. Diese Arbeit wird beschrieben und erörtet besonders in Zusammenhang mit der hier vorgestellten neuen Isogonen-Kart, bezogen auf dem 1. Januar 1940.

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Résumé L'Auteur, après avoir mentionné la carte magnétique du Prof. Palazzo (1892) et démontré la nécessité d'une carte plus précise et plus correspondante à l'accroissement des exigences civiles et militaires, s'entretient sur le nouveau levé magnétique d'Italie, qui se base sur les observations de 1529 stations, esecutées par l'Istituto Geografico Militare entre 1932 et 1937; ensuite il illustre la nouvelle carte magnétique des isogones, au l.er Janiver 1940, qui vient d'être publiée par le même Institut et qui est jointe au présent mémoire.

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Quest'articolo è in parte un riassunto di quanto io stesso ebbi a scrivere in alcune memorie precedenti edite dall'Istituto Geografico Militare e dalla Società Italiana per il Progresso delle Scienze.     

中等传输距离下的无线功率传输链路第1部分:实现工作状态最优化

中程无线功率传输（WPT）可以采用几种不同的方式实现,如通过电感或电容耦合、谐振或非谐振网络实现.本文主要研究了通过感应耦合谐振器实现的WPT链路,而且只着重研究了利用2个谐振器的链路（直接链路）并工作在主谐振频率下的情况.研究结果表明,当工作在主谐振频率下,可以根据网络参数来对传输效率或负载功率进行优化.     

Spatiotemporal evolution of the completeness magnitude of the Icelandic earthquake catalogue from 1991 to 2013

In 1991, a digital seismic monitoring network was installed in Iceland with a digital seismic system and automatic operation. After 20 years of operation, we explore for the first time its nationwide performance by analysing the spatiotemporal variations of the completeness magnitude. We use the Bayesian magnitude of completeness (BMC) method that combines local completeness magnitude observations with prior information based on the density of seismic stations. Additionally, we test the impact of earthquake location uncertainties on the BMC results, by filtering the catalogue using a multivariate analysis that identifies outliers in the hypocentre error distribution. We find that the entire North-to-South active rift zone shows a relatively low magnitude of completeness M_c in the range 0.5–1.0, highlighting the ability of the Icelandic network to detect small earthquakes. This work also demonstrates the influence of earthquake location uncertainties on the spatiotemporal magnitude of completeness analysis.     

A review of the LATEX project: mesoscale to submesoscale processes in a coastal environment

The main objective of the LAgrangian Transport EXperiment (LATEX) project was to study the influence of coastal mesoscale and submesoscale physical processes on circulation dynamics, cross-shelf exchanges, and biogeochemistry in the western continental shelf of the Gulf of Lion, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. LATEX was a five-year multidisciplinary project based on the combined analysis of numerical model simulations and multi-platform field experiments. The model component included a ten-year realistic 3D numerical simulation, with a 1 km horizontal resolution over the gulf, nested in a coarser 3 km resolution model. The in situ component involved four cruises, including a large-scale multidisciplinary campaign with two research vessels in 2010. This review concentrates on the physics results of LATEX, addressing three main subjects: (1) the investigation of the mesoscale to submesoscale processes. The eddies are elliptic, baroclinic, and anticyclonic; the strong thermal and saline front is density compensated. Their generation processes are studied; (2) the development of sampling strategies for their direct observations. LATEX has implemented an adaptive strategy Lagrangian tool, with a reference software available on the web, to perform offshore campaigns in a Lagrangian framework; (3) the quantification of horizontal mixing and cross-shelf exchanges. Lateral diffusivity coefficients, calculated in various ways including a novel technique, are in the range classically encountered for their associated scales. Cross-shelf fluxes have been calculated, after retrieving the near-inertial oscillation contribution. Further perspectives are discussed, especially for the ongoing challenge of studying submesoscale features remotely and from in situ data.     

Plastic litter in sediments from the Croatian marine protected area of the natural park of Telaščica bay (Adriatic Sea)

This paper reports baseline levels of litter (macro, meso and microplastics) in sediments collected from different areas of the Croatian MPA of the Natural Park of Tela??ica bay (Adriatic Sea, GSA n. 17). The distribution of total abundance according to size, for all analysed locations evidences that microplastics are the dominant fraction concerning item's numbers. In all analysed samples no macroplastics were found, while microplastics are 88.71% and mesoplastics are 11.29% of the total.     

Determination of the seismic performance factors for post‐tensioned rocking timber wall systems

Post‐tensioned technologies for concrete seismic resistant buildings were first developed in the 1990s during the PREcast Seismic Structural Systems program. Among different solutions, the hybrid system proved to be the most resilient solution providing a combination of re‐centering and energy dissipative contributions respectively by using post‐tensioned tendons and mild steel reinforcement. The system, while providing significant strength and energy dissipation, reduces structural element damage and limits post‐earthquake residual displacements. More recently, the technology was extended to laminated veneer lumber (LVL) structural members, and extensive experimental and numerical work was carried out and allowed the development of reliable analytical and numerical models as well as design guidelines. On the basis of the experimental and numerical outcomes, this paper presents the evaluation of the seismic performance factors for post‐tensioned rocking LVL walls using the FEMA P‐695 procedure. Several archetype buildings were designed considering different parameters such as the building and story height, the type of seismic resistant system, the magnitude of gravity loads and the seismic design category. Lumped plasticity models were developed for each index archetype to simulate the behavioral aspects and collapse mechanisms. Non‐linear quasi‐static analyses were carried out to evaluate the system over‐strength factor; moreover, non‐linear time history analyses were performed using the incremental dynamic analysis concept to assess the collapse of each building. From the results of quasi‐static and dynamic analyses the response modification factor, R, system over‐strength factor, Ω₀, and deflection amplification factor, C_d, values of, respectively, 7, 3.5 and 7.5 are recommended. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delineation of flooding risk hotspots based on digital elevation model,calculated and historical flooding extents: the case of Ouagadougou

Delineation of flood risk hotspots can be considered as one of the first steps in an integrated methodology for urban flood risk management and mitigation. This paper presents a step-by-step methodology in a GIS-based framework for identifying flooding risk hotspots for residential buildings. This is done by overlaying a map of potentially flood-prone areas [estimated through the topographic wetness index (TWI)], a map of residential areas [extracted from a city-wide assessment of urban morphology types (UMT)], and a geo-spatial census dataset. The novelty of this paper consists in the fact that the flood-prone areas (the TWI thresholds) are identified through a maximum likelihood method (MLE) based both on inundation profiles calculated for a specific return period (T_R), and on information about the extent of historical flooding in the area of interest. Furthermore, Bayesian parameter updating is employed in order to estimate the TWI threshold by employing the historical extent as prior information and the inundation map for calculating the likelihood function. For different statistics of the TWI threshold, the map of potentially flood-prone areas is overlaid with the map of residential urban morphology units in order to delineate the residential flooding risk urban hotspots. Overlaying the delineated urban hotspots with geo-spatial census datasets, the number of people affected by flooding is estimated. These kind of screening procedures are particularly useful for locations where there is a lack of detailed data or where it is difficult to perform accurate flood risk assessment. In fact, an application of the proposed procedure is demonstrated for the identification of urban flooding risk hotspots in the city of Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, a city for which the observed spatial extent of a major flood event in 2009 and a calculated inundation map for a return period of 300 years are both available.