Nonlinear plasma wave processes observed in the polar cusp

We present observations of electric and magnetic field variations from proton (about few Hz) to electron cyclotron frequencies (about few kHz) obtained by STAFF instrument on Cluster satellites during two cusp crossings, at ∼6 R _E altitude, in September 2002. The cusp was identified by the presence of intensive fluxes of counter streaming electrons with low energies and broadband wave activity which is typical for this region. Special attention is given for the interval of measurements when the waveform of the magnetic field fluctuations was taken in this region by CLUSTER satellites. The wave has been processed using the wavelet and bispectral analysis. Results showing the cascade of turbulence and wave-wave interactions are presented in this paper. A three wave process can be responsible for the broadening of the wave spectra in the polar cusp.     

Ophiolites of the Eastern Peninsulas zone (Eastern Kamchatka): Age, composition, and geodynamic diversity

Abstract   The geological, geochemical and mineralogical data of dismembered ophiolites of various ages and genesis occurring in accretionary piles of the Eastern Peninsulas of Kamchatka enables us to discriminate three ophiolite complexes: (i) Aptian–Cenomanian complex: a fragment of ancient oceanic crust, composed of tholeiite basalts, pelagic sediments, and gabbroic rocks, presently occurring in a single tectonic slices (Afrika complex) and in olistoplaques in Pikezh complex of the Kamchatsky Mys Peninsula and probably in the mélange of the Kronotsky Peninsula; (ii) Upper Cretaceous complex, composed of highly depleted peridotite, gabbro and plagiogranite, associated with island arc tholeiite, boninite, and high-alumina tholeiitic basalt of supra-subduction origin; and (iii) Paleocene–Early Eocene complex of intra-island arc or back-arc origin, composed of gabbros, dolerites (sheeted dykes) and basalts produced from oceanic tholeiite melts, and back-arc basin-like dolerites. Formation of the various ophiolite complexes is related to the Kronotskaya intra-oceanic volcanic arc evolution. The first ophiolite complex is a fragment of ancient Aptian–Cenomanian oceanic crust on which the Kronotskaya arc originated. Ophiolites of the supra-subduction zone affinity were formed as a result of repeated partial melting of peridotites in the mantle wedge up to the subduction zone. This is accompanied by production of tholeiite basalts and boninites in the Kamchatsky Mys segment and plagioclase-bearing tholeiites in the Kronotsky segment of the Kronotskaya paleoarc. The ophiolite complex with intra-arc and mid-oceanic ridge basalt geochemical characteristics was formed in an extension regime during the last stage of Kronotskaya volcanic arc evolution.     

Geologic Setting, Field Survey and Modeling of the Chimbote, Northern Peru, Tsunami of 21 February 1996

—Whereas the coast of Peru south of 10°S is historically accustomed to tsunamigenic earthquakes, the subduction zone north of 10°S has been relatively quiet. On 21 February 1996 at 21:51 GMT (07:51 local time) a large, tsunamigenic earthquake (Harvard estimate M _w = 7.5) struck at 9.6°S, 79.6°W, approximately 130 km off the northern coast of Peru, north of the intersection of the Mendaña fracture zone with the Peru–Chile trench. The likely mechanism inferred from seismic data is a low-angle thrust consistent with subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American plate, with relatively slow rupture characteristics. Approximately one hour after the main shock, a damaging tsunami reached the Peruvian coast, resulting in twelve deaths. We report survey measurements, from 7.7°S to 11°S, on maximum runup (2–5m, between 8 and 10°S), maximum inundation distances, which exceeded 500 m, and tsunami sediment deposition patterns. Observations and numerical simulations show that the hydrodynamic characteristics of this event resemble those of the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami. Differences in climate, vegetation and population make these two tsunamis seem more different than they were. This 1996 Chimbote event was the first large (M _w >7) subduction-zone (interplate) earthquake between about 8 and 10°S, in Peru, since the 17th century, and bears resemblance to the 1960 (M _w 7.6) event at 6.8°S. Together these two events are apparently the only large subduction-zone earthquakes in northern Peru since 1619 (est. latitude 8°S, est. M _w 7.8); these two tsunamis also each produced more fatalities than any other tsunami in Peru since the 18th century. We concur with Pelayo and Wiens (1990, 1992) that this subduction zone, in northern Peru, resembles others where the subduction zone is only weakly coupled, and convergence is largely aseismic. Subduction-zone earthquakes, when they occur, are slow, commonly shallow, and originate far from shore (near the tip of the wedge). Thus they are weakly felt, and the ensuing tsunamis are unanticipated by local populations. Although perhaps a borderline case, the Chimbote tsunami clearly is another wake-up example of a "tsunami earthquake."     

Sumatra tsunami: lessons from modeling

The need for the combination of seismic data with real-time wave height information for an effective prediction of tsunami impact is emphasized in the paper. A preliminary, but comprehensive study of arrival times, wave heights and run-up values at a number of locations and tide gage stations throughout the Indian Ocean seaboard is presented. Open ocean wave height data from satellite observations are analyzed and used in the reconstruction of a tsunami source mechanism for the December 26, 2004 event. The reconstructed source is then used to numerically estimate tsunami impact along the Indian Ocean seaboard, including wave height, and arrival times at 12 tide gage stations, and inundation at 3 locations on the coast of India. The December 2004, as well as the March 28, 2005 tsunamis are investigated and their differences in terms of tsunami generation are analyzed and presented as a clear example of the need for both, seismic and real-time tsunami data for a reliable tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean.     

M TSU : Recovering Seismic Moments from Tsunameter Records

We define a new magnitude scale, M_TSU, allowing the quantification of the seismic moment M₀ of an earthquake based on recordings of its tsunami in the far field by ocean-bottom pressure sensors (``tsunameters') deployed in ocean basins, far from continental or island shores which are known to affect profoundly and in a nonlinear fashion the amplitude of the tsunami wave. The formula for M_TSU, M_TSU = log₁₀ M₀ − 20 = log₁₀ X (ω) + C_D^TSU + C_S^TSU + C₀, where X (ω) is the spectral amplitude of the tsunami, C_D^TSU a distance correction and C_S^TSU a source correction, is directly adapted from the mantle magnitude M_m introduced for seismic surface waves by Okal and Talandier. Like M_m, its corrections are fully justified theoretically based on the representation of a tsunami wave as a branch of the Earth's normal modes. Even the locking constant C₀, which may depend on the nature of the recording (surface amplitude of the tsunami or overpressure at the ocean floor) and its units, is predicted theoretically. M_TSU combines the power of a theoretically developed algorithm, with the robustness of a magnitude measurement that does not take into account such parameters as focal geometry and exact depth, which may not be available under operational conditions in the framework of tsunami warning. We verify the performance of the concept on simulations of the great 1946 Aleutian tsunami at two virtual gauges, and then apply the algorithm to 24 records of 7 tsunamis at DART tsunameters during the years 1994–2003. We find that M_TSU generally recovers the seismic moment M₀ within 0.2 logarithmic units, even under unfavorable conditions such as excessive focal depth and refraction of the tsunami wave around continental masses. Finally, we apply the algorithm to the JASON satellite trace obtained over the Bay of Bengal during the 2004 Sumatra tsunami, after transforming the trace into a time series through a simple ad hoc procedure. Results are surprisingly good, with most estimates of the moment being over 10²⁹ dyn-cm, and thus identifying the source as an exceptionally large earthquake.     

Plio-Pleistocene geological record and small mammal faunas, eastern shore of the Azov Sea, Southern European Russia

The shoreline of the Taganrog Gulf of the Azov Sea at the mouth of Don River provides a series of extended Upper Pliocene and Quaternary sections that have been actively studied in the last century. This extraglacial region had a complex sedimentary history combining subaerial aggradation with marine, fluvial, and deltaic sedimentation. The well-exposed stratigraphical sequence and abundant palaeontological record continuously attract geologists and highlight the region as one of international importance for the addressing of numerous problems of Late Pliocene and Quaternary stratigraphy and palaeogeography. Fossil mammalian faunas of the region include important Eurasian biostratigraphical markers such as Stenocranius ex gr. hintoni-gregaloides, Lagurini spp., and Mimomys savini. For many years, fossil remains of mammals provide decisive clues to the geological history of the region. Recent geological studies of reference sections have provided data on small mammals, palaeomagnetism and palaeogeographical reconstructions in the northeastern part of the Azovian Region. Mammalian assemblages indicate the presence of the Late Pliocene, late Early Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene levels and, in addition, provide a clear biostratigraphical context for the Early Middle Pleistocene transition.     

Jet Deflection by a Quasi-Steady-State Side Wind in the Laboratory

We present experimental data on the steady state deflection of a highly supersonic jet by a side-wind in the laboratory. The use of a long interaction region enables internal shocks to fully cross the jet, leading to the development of significantly more structure in the jet than in previous work with a similar setup (Lebedev et al., 2004). The ability to control the length of the interaction region in the laboratory allows the switch between a regime representing a clumpy jet or wind and a regime similar to a slowly varying mass loss rate. The results indicate that multiple internal oblique shocks develop in the jet and the possible formation of a second working surface as the jet attempts to tunnel through the ambient medium.     

Barents Sea upstream events impact the properties of Atlantic water inflow into the Arctic Ocean: Evidence from 2005 to 2006 downstream observations

Inflow of Atlantic water (AW) from Fram Strait and the Barents Sea into the Arctic Ocean conditions the intermediate (100–1000 m) waters of the Arctic Ocean Eurasian margins. While over the Siberian margin the Fram Strait AW branch (FSBW) has exhibited continuous dramatic warming beginning in 2004, the tendency of the Barents Sea AW branch (BSBW) has remained poorly known. Here we document the contrary cooling tendency of the BSBW through the analysis of observational data collected from the icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn over the continental slope of the Eurasian Basin in 2005 and 2006. The CTD data from the R.V. Polarstern cruise in 1995 were used as a reference point for evaluating external atmospheric and sea-ice forcing and oxygen isotope analysis. Our data show that in 2006 the BSBW core was saltier (by ～0.037), cooler (by ～0.41 °C), denser (by ～0.04 kg/m³), deeper (by 150–200 m), and relatively better ventilated (by 7–8 μmol/kg of dissolved oxygen, or by 1.1–1.7% of saturation) compared with 2005. We hypothesize that the shift of the meridional wind from off-shore to on-shore direction during the BSBW translation through the Barents and northern Kara seas results in longer surface residence time for the BSBW sampled in 2006 compared with samples from 2005. The cooler, more saline, and better-ventilated BSBW sampled in 2006 may result from longer upstream translation through the Barents and northern Kara seas where the BSBW was modified by sea-ice formation and interaction with atmosphere. The data for stable oxygen isotopes from 1995 and 2006 reveals amplified brine modification of the BSBW core sampled downstream in 2006, which supports the assumption of an increased upstream residence time as indicated by wind patterns and dissolved oxygen values.