Determination of the reference symmetry axis of a generally anisotropic medium which is approximately transversely isotropic

For a given stiffness tensor (tensor of elastic moduli) of a generally anisotropic medium, we estimate to what extent the medium is transversely isotropic (uniaxial) and determine the direction of its reference symmetry axis expressed in terms of the unit reference symmetry vector. If the medium is exactly transversely isotropic (exactly uniaxial), we obtain the direction of its symmetry axis. We can also calculate the first–order and second–order spatial derivatives of the reference symmetry vector which may be useful in tracing the reference rays for the coupling ray theory. The proposed method is tested using various transversely isotropic (uniaxial) and approximately transversely isotropic (approximately uniaxial) media.     

Detection capability of seismic network based on noise analysis and magnitude of completeness

Assessing the detection threshold of seismic networks becomes of increased importance namely in the context of monitoring induced seismicity due to underground operations. Achieving the maximum possible sensitivity of industrial seismic monitoring is a precondition for successful control of technological procedures. Similarly, the lowest detection threshold is desirable when monitoring the natural seismic activity aimed to imaging the fault structures in 3D and to understanding the ongoing processes in the crust. We compare the application of two different methods to the data of the seismic network WEBNET that monitors the earthquake swarm activity of the West-Bohemia/Vogtland region. First, we evaluate the absolute noise level and its possible non-stationary character that results in hampering the detectability of the seismic network by producing false alarms. This is realized by the statistical analysis of the noise amplitudes using the ratio of 99 and 95 percentiles. Second, the magnitude of completeness is determined for each of the nine stations by analysing the automatic detections of an intensive swarm period from August 2011. The magnitude–frequency distributions of all detected events and events detected at individual stations are compared to determine the magnitude of completeness at a selected completeness level. The resulting magnitude of completeness M _c of most of the stations varies between ?0.9 and ?0.5; an anomalous high M _c of 0.0 is found at the most distant station, which is probably due to inadequate correction for attenuation. We find that while the absolute noise level has no significant influence to the station sensitivity, the noise stationarity correlates with station sensitivity expressed in low magnitude of completeness and vice versa. This qualifies the method of analysing the stationary character of seismic noise as an effective tool for site surveying during the seismic station deployment.     

Floods at the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains — A Polish-Swiss research project

The present paper introduces the topical area of the Polish-Swiss research project FLORIST (Flood risk on the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains), informs on its objectives, and reports on initial results. The Tatra Mountains are the area of the highest precipitation in Poland and largely contribute to flood generation. The project is focused around four competence clusters: observation-based climatology, model-based climate change projections and impact assessment, dendrogeomorphology, and impact of large wood debris on fluvial processes. The knowledge generated in the FLORIST project is likely to have impact on understanding and interpretation of flood risk on the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains, in the past, present, and future. It can help solving important practical problems related to flood risk reduction strategies and flood preparedness.     

Climate induced changes of Lithuanian rivers runoff in 1960–2009

The primary objective of this study was the evaluation of runoff regime changes over the last 50 years in Lithuanian rivers. These changes were compared with the Neman river runoff regime changes in 1812–2009. On the basis of daily water discharge data, trends in the annual, maximum and minimum runoff characteristics as well as changes in the seasonal pattern of runoff were estimated. Regression analysis and the Mann-Kendall test were used to determine changes in the long-term hydrological regime. The magnitude of changes was estimated using Theil-Sen estimator. 1960–2009 runoff changes in Lithuanian rivers can be related to climatic changes. Sharp increases of January and February runoff during 1960–2009 were the largest changes throughout the observation period 1812–2009. The rate off runoff decrease in April was also among the largest decreases recorded. Spring flood and cold season minimum flow dates have become earlier than used to be.     

Kamchatka subduction zone,May 2013: the Mw 8.3 deep earthquake,preceding shallow swarm and numerous deep aftershocks

A sequence of 98 teleseismically recorded earthquakes occurred off the east coast of Kamchatka at depths between 10-90 km around latitude 52.5°N and longitude 160°E on May 16–23, 2013. The swarm occurred along the northern limit of the rupture area of the 1952 M_w 9.0 great Kamchatka earthquake, the fifth largest earthquake in the history of seismic observations. On May 24, 2013 the strongest deep earthquake ever recorded of M_w 8.3 occurred beneath the Sea of Okhotsk at a depth of 610 km in the Pacific slab of the Kamchatka subduction zone, becoming the northernmost deep earthquake in the region. The deep M_w 8.3 earthquake occurred down-dip of the shallow swarm in a transition zone between the southern deep and northern shallow segments of the Pacific slab. Several deep aftershocks followed, covering a large, laterally elongated part of the slab. We suppose that the two described earthquake sequences, the May 16–23 shallow earthquake swarm and the May 24–28 deep mainshock-aftershock series, represent a single tectonic event in the Pacific slab having distinct properties at different depth levels. A low-angle underthrusting of the shallow part of the slab recorded by the shallow earthquake swarm activated the deep part; this process induced the deep mainshock-aftershock series only three days after the swarm. The domain of the subducting slab activated by the May 2013 earthquake occurrence was extraordinarily large both down-dip and along-strike.     

Incorporating intensity bounds for assessing the seismic safety of structures: Does it matter?

The closed‐form solution for assessing the proportion of the mean annual frequency of limit‐state exceedance as a function of integration limits is introduced, in order to study whether or not the mean annual frequency of limit‐state exceedance is overestimated if the lower and(or) upper integration limit of the risk equation are(is) not selected in a physically consistent manner. Simple formulas for assessing the threshold value of the lower and upper integration limits are also derived. These formulas can be used to quickly assess the significant range of ground motion intensity that affects the mean annual frequency of limit‐state exceedance. It is shown that the threshold values of the integration limits depend on the median intensity causing a limit‐state, the corresponding dispersion and the slope of the hazard curve in the log domain. For several reinforced concrete buildings located in a region with moderate seismicity, it is demonstrated that the mean annual frequency of collapse can be significantly overestimated when assessed by integrating the risk equation over the entire range of ground motion intensity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Absolute Sea Level Surface Modeling for the Mediterranean from Satellite Altimeter and Tide Gauge Measurements

Changes in the height of the ocean can be described through the relative and absolute sea level changes depending on the geodetic reference the sea level records are related to. Satellite altimetry provides absolute sea level (ASL) measurements related to the global geodetic reference, whereas tide gauges provide relative sea level (RSL) measurements related to the adjacent land. This study aims at computing the ASL surfaces for different time epochs from combined satellite altimeter and tide gauge records. A method of sea level data fusion is proposed to enable modeling of the impact of present and future sea level changes on the coast. Sea surface modeling was investigated for ten different gridding methods commonly used for the interpolation of altimeter data over the open ocean and extrapolation over the coastal zones. The performance of gridding methods was assessed based on the comparison of the gridded altimeter data and corrected tide gauge measurements. Finally, the sea level surfaces related to the GRS80 global reference ellipsoid were computed for the Mediterranean Sea over the altimeter period. In addition, the current sea level trends were estimated from both sea level measurements.