The Local Tsunami Alert System [``SLAT']: A Computational Tool for the Integral Management of a Tsunami Emergency

During a tsunami emergency numerous local authorities responsible for the security oflocal persons and businesses which function in the coastal zone are required to makecritical decisions within a very short time frame. It is known that the consequencesof the situation will depend on the quality and quantity of decisions which they makeor allow to occur at the critical time. Based on this concept, the Local System of Tsunami Alert (SLAT; Spanish) was developed. This is a computational tool designed for the automatic implementation of integral management for an emergency of this type.The System is able to immediately evaluate possible risks and determine thetype of alert represented (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Celeste) if relevantdata such as coordinates of the epicenter, magnitude, date, and origin of theearthquake (>6.5° on the Richter scale) threatening the Pacific areknown. Other relevant data include location of the coastal or marine epicentreand the superficial hypocenter. The relevant data may now be obtained fromthe internet from international seismological services, and fed into the programto give the most probable time for arrival of the first wave train at a given pointof interest, whether this be a port, bathing area, generating plant, or coastal city.The program also gives the time required for the first wave train to arrive at agiven coast, and displays a menu of previously planned actions to be taken accordingto the type of alert. It also permits dissemination of a bulletin with critical data and action plans by fax or e-mail to scattered users as well as for storage on the computer disc. The system is designed in a way that the user always confirms with authorities that anevent has in fact been generated. On a local scale, the user is required to prepare an operative emergency plan of action to be followed by his company, community, or municipality, to be followed for each type of alert.The System permits carrying out test exercises with the users, as well as simulationof past events. Knowledge concerning past events permits understanding correctdesign of emergency action plans for mitigation of potential present and future events.This software is specifically designed for the Pacific Coast of South America, and isprepared in Spanish, with the intention of improving responses of inhabitants of coastalareas to the potential threat from tsunamis.     

Electrical resistance tomography experiments at the Oregon Graduate Institute

Three controlled experiments were conducted at the Oregon Graduate Institute (OGI) with the purpose of evaluating electrical resistance tomography for imaging underground processes associated with in-situ site assessment and remediation. The OGI facilities are unique: a double-wall tank 10 m square and 5 m deep, filled with river bottom sediments and instrumented for geophysical and hydrological studies. At this facility, liquid contaminants could be released into the confined soil at a scale sufficiently large to represent real-world physical phenomena.In the first test, images of electrical resistivity were made before and during a controlled spill of gasoline into a sandy soil. The primary purpose was to determine if electrical resistivity images could detect the hydrocarbon in either the vadose or saturated zone. Definite changes in electrical resistivity were observed in both the vadose and saturated soils. The effects were an increase in resistivity of as much as 10% above pre-release values. A single resistive anomaly was imaged, directly below the release point, principally within the vadose zone but extending below the phreatic surface. The anomaly remained identifiable in tomograms taken two days after the release ended with clear indications of lateral spreading along the water table.The second test involved electrical resistance measurements before, during, and after air sparging in a saturated soil. The primary purpose was to determine if the electrical images could be used to detect and delineate the extent of the zone influenced by sparging. The images showed an increase of about 20% in resistivity over background values within the sparged zone and the extent of the imaged zone agreed with that inferred from other information.Electrical resistivity tomography measurements were made under a simulated oil storage tank in the third test. Comparison of images taken before and during separate releases of brine and water showed effects of changes induced by the water or brine. The simulated leak and its location were imaged as a conductive anomaly centered near the point of origin and were observed to spread with time during the release.     

Performance evaluation of a distributed hybrid test framework to reproduce the collapse behavior of a structure

A hybrid numerical and experimental simulation to collapse was conducted on a one‐half scale moment‐resisting frame building with two experimental substructures at different locations. An extensible hybrid test framework was used that adopts a generalized interface to encapsulate each numerical or tested substructure, through which only boundary displacements and forces are exchanged. Equilibrium and compatibility between substructures are enforced by an iterative quasi‐Newton procedure, while adopting a predictor‐and‐corrector method to avoid loading reversals on physically tested substructures. To overcome difficulties in controlling stiff axial and rotational deformations at the boundaries, the flexible test scheme employs either open‐loop or closed‐loop control at the boundaries: enforcing either compatibility or equilibrium, or both requirements at critical boundaries. The effectiveness of the extensible framework and its capability to simulate structural behavior through collapse is demonstrated by a geographically distributed test that reproduced the collapse behavior of a four‐story, two‐bay, steel moment frame previously tested on an earthquake simulator. A comparison of both experiments highlights the viability of the hybrid test as an effective tool for the performance evaluation of structural systems from the onset of damage through collapse. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Copper bioavailability in a coastal environment of Northern Chile: comparison of bioassay and analytical speciation approaches

An integrated approach including chemical speciation analyses and microalgal bioassays was used to assess the impact of copper from copper mining on a coastal area in Northern Chile. Dissolved copper ranged from <1 microg l(-1) at reference sites to 48 microgl(-1) at sites close to the mine discharge. Dissolved copper at sites closest to the discharge always exceeded seawater complexing capacities determined by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV), and consequently labile copper was always detected (1-37 microg l(-1)). Agreement between ASV-labile copper and copper retained by cation exchange (ALSA) columns was excellent. Measured labile copper also accurately predicted bioavailable copper determined by growth inhibition of Nitzschia closterium and enzyme inhibition in Dunaliella tertiolecta. Seawater from Caleta La Lancha had the highest dissolved and labile copper and was the most toxic to micro-algal growth and enzyme activity. Previous studies at this site confirmed it had the lowest level of biodiversity, suggesting that copper may have both direct and indirect effects on these communities.     

Functioning of a coastal karstic system with a submarine outlet,in southern Spain

A conceptual model of the functioning of a complex coastal karst aquifer in southern Spain is presented. The system has well developed conduits below sea level and is connected to the Mediterranean Sea. It discharges through two conduits 12 m below sea level, 20 km apart. The Moraig conduit is the main outlet; the discharge to the sea is brackish. The Toix conduit only discharges to the sea during heavy floods and lets in seawater the rest of the time. During the 1999–2000 hydrological year, both conduits were monitored by flowmeters and electrical conductivity-temperature probes. On the basis of the collected data, the hydrological relationship between the functioning of the system and the sea was characterised. The conceptual model assumes the existence of a huge reservoir called an “aquifer reservoir” which is supplied by (1) freshwater from rainfall and (2) seawater flowing into the Toix conduit. In addition, during heavy rainfall events, fast infiltration brings considerable amounts of freshwater into the Moraig conduit. This is typical of a “by-pass” mechanism. Salinity and flow rates were simulated with the use of a rainfall-discharge and a rainfall-salinity model. The simulation of flow and salinity time series can be used for water management purposes.     

Progressive glacial retreat in the Southern Altiplano (Uturuncu volcano, 22°S) between 65 and 14 ka constrained by cosmogenic He dating

This work presents the first reconstruction of late Pleistocene glacier fluctuations on Uturuncu volcano, in the Southern Tropical Andes. Cosmogenic ³He dating of glacial landforms provides constraints on ancient glacier position between 65 and 14 ka. Despite important scatter in the exposure ages on the oldest moraines, probably resulting from pre-exposure, these ³He data constrain the timing of the moraine deposits and subsequent glacier recessions: the Uturuncu glacier may have reached its maximum extent much before the global LGM, maybe as early as 65 ka, with an equilibrium line altitude (ELA) at 5280 m. Then, the glacier remained close to its maximum position, with a main stillstand identified around 40 ka, and another one between 35 and 17 ka, followed by a limited recession at 17 ka. Then, another glacial stillstand is identified upstream during the late glacial period, probably between 16 and 14 ka, with an ELA standing at 5350 m. This stillstand is synchronous with the paleolake Tauca highstand. This result indicates that this regionally wet and cold episode, during the Heinrich 1 event, also impacted the Southern Altiplano. The ELA rose above 5450 m after 14 ka, synchronously with the Bolling–Allerod.