Inter-event times between the moderate-large earthquakes in Iran

Persian territory, which is dividable into major seismotectonic provinces, always suffers from damages of moderate and large earthquakes from ancient era to modern time. Therefore, temporal prediction of earthquake occurrence in this kind of area is an important topic. For this purpose, 628 moderate-large (5.5 ≤M_S≤ 8.2) earthquakes occurred in Persia during the period from 400 B.C. to 2015 C.E. were used. Considering the magnitudes of events preceding main shocks and the annual seismic moment release in seismic source areas in the provinces, we calibrated equations predicting inter-event time of occurrence of moderate and large earthquakes (M_W>5.5) in Iran. In each source area, inter-event times between moderate and large shocks with magnitudes equal to or larger than a certain cut-off magnitude (M_W5.5) were calculated. The inter-event times between the earthquakes were used to compute the relationships using multiple regression technique. Calculated relationships express the basic idea of the time predictable model predicting the occurrence time of the future main shock in a certain seismogen area. However, despite of unavoidable scatter in observations and uncertainties in the results, occurrence times of main shocks during the next years and decades in some source areas in Iran were determined.     

Characterization and photocatalytic activities of nanosized titanium dioxide thin films

Thin films of titanium dioxide with high surface area are prepared by sol-gel dip-coating technique. In this regards, Titania nano sols with high photocatalytic activity were prepared by dissolving titanium alkoxide in alcohol and water under acidic conditions. Photocatalytic activities of titanium dioxide thin films were measured in the presence of methylene blue. Microstructure and photocatalytic activity of the films, nanopowders and titanium dioxide sols were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, specific surface area, zeta sizer and ultraviolet-visible spectrometry techniques. Particle size analysis of sols showed that the mean particle sizes were 15 to 128 nm. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that anatase crystal structure was produced with crystallite size below 11 nm. Increasing mass percent of anatase phase and specific surface area, enhance the photocatalytic activity. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the addition of methylcellulose as a dispersant, not only produced rough texture in the thin film, but also enhanced photocatalytic activity. The thin films prepared by using nitric acid as a stabilizer, revealed higher photocatalytic activity, surface area and sol stability and these data were more than those prepared with acetic acid.     

High-resolution coastal hazard assessment along the French Riviera from co-seismic tsunamis generated in the Ligurian fault system

Natural Hazards - The French Riviera is a densely populated and touristic coast. It is also one of the most seismically active areas of the Western Mediterranean. This is evidenced by the Mw...