The Kefalonia Transform Zone (offshore Western Greece) with special emphasis to its prolongation towards the Ionian Abyssal Plain

Information concerning two seismic lines, the first located northwest of the Lefkada Island and the second from the deep Ionian basin to the gulf of Patras, is used to trace the Kefalonia Transform Zone (KTZ) and to explore its relation with the sedimentary sequences and the deeper geologic structures in the study area. In addition, sea bottom topography and fault plane solutions are combined in order to explore the prolongation of the KTZ into the Ionian Abyssal Plain (IoAP) and to describe its properties. The boundary between the subduction of the eastern Mediterranean oceanic crust under the overriding continental crust and the KTZ is well constrained by the seismic data in association with seismicity and regional stress field. The southern prolongation of the KTZ is located in the IoAP towards the direction between Kefalonia and Zakynthos Islands at depth greater than 15 km. The southern part of the KTZ exhibits a strike–slip motion with a thrust component according to fault plane solutions of moderate and strong earthquakes. The seismic section mostly confirms the existence of the thrust component and gives information about the tectonic status east and west of the KTZ.     

Brittle-Ductile Transition and Hoek–Brown mi Constant of Low-Porosity Carbonate Rocks

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - The mechanical behavior of low porosity carbonate rocks is investigated by a series of conventional triaxial compression tests performed at room...     

Earthquake Triggering along the Xianshuihe Fault Zone of Western Sichuan,China

Western Sichuan is among the most seismically active regions in southwestern China and is characterized by frequent strong (M 6.5) earthquakes, mainly along the Xianshuihe fault zone. Historical and instrumental seismicity show a temporal pattern of active periods separated by inactive ones, while in space a remarkable epicenter migration has been observed. During the last active period starting in 1893, the sinistral strike–slip Xianshuihe fault of 350 km total length, was entirely broken with the epicenters of successive strong earthquakes migrating along its strike. This pattern is investigated by resolving changes of Coulomb failure function (CFF) since 1893 and hence the evolution of the stress field in the area during the last 110 years. Coulomb stress changes were calculated assuming that earthquakes can be modeled as static dislocations in an elastic halfspace, and taking into account both the coseismic slip in strong (M 6.5) earthquakes and the slow tectonic stress buildup associated with major fault segments. The stress change calculations were performed for faults of strike, dip, and rake appropriate to the strong events. We evaluate whether these stress changes brought a given strong earthquake closer to, or sent it farther from, failure. It was found that all strong earthquakes, and moreover, the majority of smaller events for which reliable fault plane solutions are available, have occurred on stress–enhanced fault segments providing a convincing case in which Coulomb stress modeling gives insight into the temporal and spatial manifestation of seismic activity. We extend the stress calculations to the year 2025 and provide an assessment for future seismic hazard by identifying the fault segments that are possible sites of future strong earthquakes.     

First evidence for the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2, ‘Bonarelli’ event) from the Ionian Zone,western continental Greece

Integrated biostratigraphic (planktonic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils), chemostratigraphic (bulk C and O isotopes) and compound-specific organic geochemical studies of a mid-Cretaceous pelagic carbonate—black shale succession of the Ionian Zone (western Greece), provide the first evidence for the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2, ‘Bonarelli’ event) in mainland Greece. The event is manifested by the occurrence of a relatively thin (35 cm), yet exceptionally organic carbon-rich (44.5 wt% TOC), carbonate-free black shale, near the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary within the Vigla limestone formation (Berriasian–Turonian). Compared to the ‘Bonarelli’ black-shale interval from the type locality of OAE2 in Marche–Umbria, Italy, this black shale exhibits greatly reduced stratigraphic thickness, coupled with a considerable relative enrichment in TOC. Isotopically, enriched δ¹³C values for both bulk organic matter (−22.2‰) and specific organic compounds are up to 5‰ higher than those of underlying organic-rich strata of the Aptian-lower Albian Vigla Shale member, and thus compare very well with similar values of Cenomanian–Turonian black shale occurrences elsewhere. The relative predominance of bacterial hopanoids in the saturated, apolar lipid fraction of the OAE2 black shale of the Ionian Zone supports recent findings suggesting the abundance of N₂-fixing cyanobacteria in Cretaceous oceans during the Cenomanian–Turonian and early Aptian oceanic anoxic events.     

Probabilistic spatial risk assessment of heat impacts and adaptations for London

High temperatures and heatwaves can cause large societal impacts by increasing health risks, mortality rates, and personal discomfort. These impacts are exacerbated in cities because of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, and the high and increasing concentrations of people, assets and economic activities. Risks from high temperatures are now widely recognised but motivation and implementation of proportionate policy responses is inhibited by inadequate quantification of the benefits of adaptation options, and associated uncertainties. This study utilises high spatial resolution probabilistic projections of urban temperatures along with projections of demographic change, to provide a probabilistic risk assessment of heat impacts on urban society. The study focuses on Greater London and the surrounding region, assessing mortality risk, thermal discomfort in residential buildings, and adaptation options within an integrated framework. Climate change is projected to increase future heat-related mortality and residential discomfort. However, adjusting the temperature response function by 1–2 °C, to simulate adaptation and acclimatisation, reduced annual heat related mortality by 32–69 % across the scenarios tested, relative to a no adaptation scenario. Similar benefits of adaptation were seen for residential discomfort. The study also highlights additional benefits in terms of reduced mortality and residential discomfort that mitigating the urban heat island, by reducing albedo and anthropogenic heat emissions, could have.     

Permeability in flysch �� Distribution decrease with depth and grout curtains under dams

A considerable number of in situ permeability tests in flysch are processed to a depth of 120m with a good spatial distribution. The distribution of permeability values for the different litho-types of this formation, their comparison and their decrease with depth is discussed. The depth where a permeability of 3 to 5×10-7m/sec can be retained (the limit of a reasonable grouting under a high dam) may be twofold if the geological history of the formation could not contain a compressional tectonic process. This depth may reach 100m in some cases. The differences in the mean values of permeability among the various litho-types are minor, while the presence of siltstones, always present although with varied participation, dramatically controls the global permeability.     

Umbrella Arch Nomenclature and Selection Methodology for Temporary Support Systems for the Design and Construction of Tunnels

This paper argues that there is a requirement for standardized nomenclature and a selection methodology for a particular class of temporary support. The authors have chosen the term Umbrella Arch (UA) to define the method of support that acts as pre-support that is installed during the first pass of the excavation around and above the crown of the tunnel face. The UA supports the rock mass and the tunnel face predominately by transferring loading longitudinally through the interaction of the support and surrounding ground condition. There are three categories of UA. Categorization depends on the type of support element used. These elements include: (1) Spiles; (2) Forepoles; and (3) Grouted. These categories can be further divided into 11 sub-categories quantified by the amount of grout utilized in the installation. The sub-categories are justified by the employment of each sub-category within a support selection methodology for an UA; this was created by the authors based on experience and through a comprehensive literature search that included published papers as well as design reports. The collection of publications has resulted in 141 permutations of different temporary tunnel support in varying weak and difficult geological condition. The UA support selection methodology was created to aid tunnel designers in these conditions with the basic concepts for the appropriate selection process for an UA. Furthermore, the authors quantified the support selection methodology through the employment of other pre-existing design charts and empirical evidence to create a new design tool, the UA selection chart. Overall, this paper hopes to achieve the creation of an international standard with respect to UA and UA support element nomenclature and a better understanding for the selection of a particular UA sub-category.     

A Non-Extensive Statistical Physics View in the Spatiotemporal Properties of the 2003 (Mw6.2) Lefkada,Ionian Island Greece,Aftershock Sequence

Investigation of the spatiotemporal properties of the 2003 Lefkada seismic sequence is performed through non-extensive statistical physics. Information on highly accurate aftershock source parameters became feasible from the recordings of a portable digital seismological network that was installed and operated in the study area, during the evolution of the seismic sequence. Thus, the spatiotemporal distribution of aftershocks onto the main and neighboring fault segments was investigated in detail, enabling the recognition of four distinctive seismicity clusters separated by less active patches. The aftershock spatiotemporal properties are studied here, using the ideas of non-extensive statistical physics (NESP). The cumulative distribution functions of the inter-event times and the inter-event distances are presented using the data set in each seismicity cluster, and the analysis results in values for the statistical thermodynamic q _T and q _D parameters for each cluster, where q _T varies from 1.16 to 1.47 and q _D from 0.42 to 0.77 for the inter-event times and distances distributions, respectively. These values confirm the complexity and non-additivity of the spatiotemporal evolution of seismicity, and the applicability of the NESP approach in investigating aftershocks sequence. The temporal pattern is discussed using the closely connected to NESP approach of superstatistics, which is based on a superposition of ordinary local equilibrium statistical mechanics. The result indicates that the temporal evolution of the Lefkada aftershock sequence in clusters A, B and C is governed by very low number of degrees of freedom, while D is a less organized seismicity structure with a much higher number of degrees of freedom.     

Correlation of Static Stress Changes and Earthquake Occurrence in the North Aegean Region

A systematic analysis is made of static Coulomb stress changes and earthquake occurrence in the area of the North Aegean Sea, Greece, in order to assess the prospect of using static stress changes to construct a regional earthquake likelihood model. The earthquake data set comprises all events of magnitude M ≥ 5.2 which have occurred since 1964. This is compared to the evolving stress field due to constant tectonic loading and perturbations due to coseismic slip associated with major earthquakes (M ≥ 6.4) over the same period. The stress was resolved for sixteen fault orientation classes, covering the observed focal mechanisms of all earthquakes in the region. Analysis using error diagrams shows that earthquake occurrence is better correlated with the constant tectonic loading component of the stress field than with the total stress field changes since 1964, and that little, if any, information on earthquake occurrence is lost if only the maximum of the tectonic loading over the fault orientation classes is considered. Moreover, the information on earthquake occurrence is actually increased by taking the maximum of the evolving stress field since 1964, and of its coseismic-slip component, over the fault orientation classes. The maximum, over fault orientation classes, of linear combinations of the tectonic loading and the evolving stress field is insignificantly better correlated with earthquake occurrence than the maximum of the tectonic loading by itself. A composite stress-change variable is constructed from ordering of the maximum tectonic loading component and the maximum coseismic-slip component, in order to optimize the correlation with earthquake occurrence. The results indicate that it would be difficult to construct a time-varying earthquake likelihood model from the evolving stress field that is more informative than a time-invariant model based on the constant tectonic loading.