Silver and silver microparticles of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary sediment of Fish Clay Højerup (Stevns Klint,Denmark)

We report the occurrence of micrometer-sized silver particles in the red (“impact” or “ejecta”) layer of the Fish Clay. These appear to be embedded into the biogenic/abiogenic calcite matrix. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis indicates that these microparticles are composed of pure silver (>99% of the total weight). Scanning electron microscopy images reveal irregular and predominantly rounded shapes with rugged surfaces. Numerous silver microparticles are spherical, and some exhibit dendritic textures. These microparticles were probably originated during the Chicxulub asteroid impact event, or immediately afterwards, and dispersed globally.     

Circumstellar dust and variability of carbon stars

A sample of 35 variable carbon stars has been considered. The stellar temperatures, radii, absolute luminosities, masses, and mass loss rates have been estimated. Then the spherical circumstellar dust shells around the analysed stars are discussed and the differences in the infrared properties between semi-regular, irregular, and long-period variables are indicated.     

Ombla Spring,Croatia

Ombla Spring is located on the Adriatic coast near the town of Dubrovnik. The spring discharges at sea level. To eliminate the influence of the tide, a small dam was constructed 50 m downstream of the spring outlet. The spring water overflows the dam crest at an elevation of 2.40 m. Since 1897 the springwater has been used for the water supply for Dubrovnik.     

Towards a spatio-temporal multicriteria evaluation method: A suitability analysis of residential units in a 3D urban environment

Spatial multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) techniques aid urban planning management by analyzing decision problem alternatives for solutions to help inform decision-making. However, there is a lack of such methods that incorporate the temporal dimension, an important factor when analyzing the dynamic urban landscape and decisions surrounding its changes. A novel spatio-temporal MCE approach is proposed that operates in three-dimensional (3D) space and time to identify changing suitability values of decision alternatives. This space–time method is implemented to evaluate the suitability of residential units over a 15-year period in part of downtown City of Vancouver, Canada. The results indicate that the majority of units exhibit a decrease in suitability with time due to depreciation and reduction of assets like view and privacy from the construction of new buildings. The proposed method can be used by urban planners and developers to assist in long-term assessments of proposed development scenarios and their impact on existing urban infrastructure.     

Influence of construction on hydrogeological and environmental conditions in the karst region,eastern Herzegovina,Yugoslavia

The region of eastern Herzegovina and Dubrovnik coastal belt is one of the hydrogeologically and hydrologically most interesting regions of Yugoslavia karst. The main water course in the region is the Trebinjica river, the largest sinking river in Europe. All the poljes in the catchment area are temporary flooded, hydrologically separated, and closed karst entities. Enormous quantities of available water are not evenly disturbed neither in the time nor in the space. The Trebinjica Hydrosystem project uses the basic concept of total water regime organization and its multipurpose utilization. With the construction of seven dams, six artificial reservoirs, six tunnels (with total length, 57 km), and four canals (with total length 74 km) the natural regime of surface and underground waters has been completely changed.As a consequence of water regime disturbance, a lot of changes have been observed in the catchment area: changes in the karst aquifers; local changes of climate conditions; eolic erosion effect; influence on the karst underground and littoral belt; influence on the springs yield; influence on adjacent catchment area; pollution of karst aquifers and influence of storage reservoirs on seismicity—induced seismicity. This article presents influences observed after the first stage of hydrosystem construction.     

Analysis of precipitation series for Belgrade

Summary Precipitation is a very variable climatic element. It is highly variable, both spatially and temporally at different scales (interannual and intra-annual). The search for cyclicity in the climatic record can resolve some of the complexities of the atmospheric system. This paper takes the example of the Belgrade precipitation series (1889–2000) to illustrate how trend and spectral analysis can provide information on climate variability as expressed through this particular variable.The annual, seasonal and monthly precipitation series of the Belgrade-Observatory station were analyzed by means of the Mann-Kendall test and the spectral analysis. The power spectra were calculated using the autocorrelation spectral analysis, the maximum entropy spectral analysis and the multitaper method.The influence of large-scale phenomena such as the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the Belgrade precipitation series was investigated.     

On the origin of Triton

On dynamical grounds Neptune's satellite Triton is believed to be a captured body. We present nondynamical arguments in favour of this idea.     

HVSR of ambient noise in Ston (Croatia): comparison with theoretical spectra and with the damage distribution after the 1996 Ston-Slano earthquake

Horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of ambient vibrations measured in the ancient town of Ston (Croatia) on 99 locations, are shown to be well matched to the theoretical ones computed for body-waves as well as for the surface waves. This match is poorer for sites on the slopes of nearby hills. The ratios of measured peak horizontal ground acceleration during the damaging earthquake in 1996 (M _L = 6.0) and the ones obtained using empirical attenuation laws is approximately equal to the mapped value of the dynamic amplification factor determined on the basis of observed HVSR in the vicinity of the accelerometric station. The HVSR of the accelerogram is very similar to the HVSR of the ambient noise. The damage to the building stock in the old town centre caused by the earthquake series of 1996 is closely related to the estimated soil amplification and its fundamental frequency. More measurements in buildings are needed to arrive at confident conclusions about possible soil-structure resonance.