Performance analysis of the spaceborne laser ranging system

The Spaceborne Laser Ranging System is a proposed short pulse laser on board an orbiting spacecraft.^1,2,3,4 It measures the distance between the spacecraft and many laser retroreflectors (targets) deployed on the Earth’s surface. The precision of these range measurements is assumed to be about ±2 cm (M. W. Fitzmaurice, private communication). These measurements are then used together with the orbital dynamics of the spacecraft, to derive the relative position of the laser ground targets. Assuming a six day observing period with 50% cloud cover, uncertainties in the baseline for target separations of 50 km to 1200 km were estimated to be on the order of 1 to 3 cm and the corresponding values in the vertical direction, ranged from 1 cm to 12 cm. By redetermining the measurements of the relative target positions, the estimated precision in the baseline for a target separation of 50 km is less than 0.3 cm and for a separation of 1200 km is less than 1 cm. In the vertical direction, the estimated precision ranged from 0.4 cm to 4.0 cm respectively. As a result of the repeated estimation of the relative laser target positions, most of the non-temporal effects of error sources as exemplified by the errors in geopotential are reduced. The Spaceborne Laser Ranging System’s capability of determining baselines to a high degree of precision provides a measure of strain and strain rate as shown byCohen, 1979. These quantities are essential for crustal dynamic studies which include determination and monitoring of strain near seismic zones, land subsidence, and edifice building preceding volcanic eruptions. It is evident that such a system can also be used for geodetic surveys where such precisions are more than adquate.     

Influence of Temporal Variations in River Discharge, pH, Alkalinity and Ca on the Speciation and Concentration of Heavy Metals in Some Mining Polluted Rivers

Dissolved (dialysis in situ) and total concentrations ofCu, Zn, Cd and Al in eight mining polluted rivers in the Røros area, central Norway, were determinedby atomic absorption spectrometry (flame and graphite furnace) and compared to pH, Caconcentration and alkalinity through seasonal variations in river discharge. Totalconcentrations of the metals were highest during early spring flood and during summer andautumn rain episodes. Dissolved concentrations also increased as the spring floodproceeded, but small discharge peaks within this 2 month period as well as a considerableautumn flood episode appeared to lower rather than to raise the dissolved metal concentrations.Consequently the dissolved fractions of Zn, Cd and Al showed a significant negative correlationwith river discharge, and were low at the discharge peaks. Possibly high sediment concentrationsoccurring at high flood conditions more than counteracted desorption induced by pHdecrease, and led to decreased dissolved fractions through adsorption. Cu speciationon the other hand seemed to be more closely linked to pH. Alkalinity and Ca concentration,both assumed to protect aquatic life from metal pollution, were significantly lowerduring episodes with high Cu and Al total concentrations.     

An integrated approach to investigate saline water intrusion and to identify the salinity sources in the Central Godavari delta, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Central Godavari delta is located along the Bay of Bengal Coast, Andhra Pradesh, India, and is drained by Pikaleru, Kunavaram and Vasalatippa drains. There is no groundwater pumping for agriculture as wells as for domestic purpose due to the brackish nature of the groundwater at shallow depths. The groundwater table depths vary from 0.8 to 3.4 m and in the Ravva Onshore wells, 4.5 to 13.3 m. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) surveys were carried out at several locations in the delta to delineate the aquifer geometry and to identify saline water aquifer zones. Groundwater samples collected and analyzed for major ions for assessing the saline water intrusion and to identify the salinity origin in the delta region. The results derived from ERT indicated low resistivity values in the area, which can be attributed to the existence of thick marine clays from ground surface to 12–15 m below ground level near the coast and high resistivity values are due to the presence of coarse sand with freshwater away from the coast. The resistivity values similar to saline water <0.01 Ω m is attributed to the mixing of the saline water along surface water drains. In the Ravva Onshore Terminal low resistivity values indicated up coning of saline water and mixing of saline water from Pikaleru drain. The SO ₄ ^?2 /Cl^?and Na⁺²/Cl^?ratios did not indicate saline water intrusion and the salinity is due to marine palaeosalinity, dilution of marine clays and dissolution of evaporites.     

Large-scale vertical hydroacoustic structure of the North Atlantic and its seasonal variability

A classification based on the number and types of large-scale acoustic waveguides is proposed for the mean seasonal profiles of sound speed propagation. A scheme for North Atlantic zoning, using typical curves of the sound speed vertical distribution, is given. The channel axis's position is shown not to depend on the water mass haline properties, being controlled by the temperature field vertical stratification.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Site response studies in Agartala Urban agglomeration

A systematic investigation using digital microearthquake recorders with short period SS-1 seismometers, covering 76 sites in and around Agartala city, has been carried out for site response (SR) studies in the area. In the northern part of the area, SR varies from 1.15 to 1.85 corresponding to peak frequency 0.76 to 0.93 Hz where soil is mostly semi-consolidated and stiffer than recent Quaternary deposits (Haora River formation). In the southern part of the area, SR varies from 1.12 to 2.42 corresponding to peak frequency from 0.71 to 0.85 Hz within the Dupitila formation (early Quaternary). It is observed that estimated SR from H/V increases from edges to middle of the Haora River valley and impedance contrast fallows the similar trend. This reflects that site response by H/V is influenced by impedance contrast, whereas computed amplification from 1-D model shows opposite trend. The maximum amplification at fundamental frequency of resonance, 1.04 Hz estimated from H/V by near to BH-7, is 2.5 times greater than the impedance contrast/ratio derived from 1-D model for same location. Relationship between resonance frequency and depth was obtained by applying quarter wavelength and Bard (2000) methodologies, which shows linearity, whereas H/V shows its nonlinearity characteristic in soil across the valley part of Haora River. Shear wave velocities, and subsequently, SPT index and factor of safety (by cyclic stress approach) were estimated from geotechnical parameters. Vs30 and site response data were used in this study for getting a first hand information about soil stiffness condition in the area. The estimation of SPT index and factor of safety could be a useful tool for delineating liquefied and none liquefied zones at various depth levels, especially where water table exists at a very shallow level. The expected liquefiable zone was observed at depths varying from 6–25 m beneath the soil bearing zones where percentage of fines is estimated to be more than 35% for the area. This knowledge about subsurface soil characteristics will be useful for the civil engineers/city planners, which can be taken into account at the time of constructing earthquake-resistant structures in the area.     

Distribution of hydrological observation network on the rivers of Russia before and after the economic reforms depending on the degree of territorial development

Studied is the relationship between the density of hydrological stations (HS) of the main state observation network on the rivers and the population density commonly used as an indicator of the territory development. Given is the minimal required number of HSs of the main network computed using the objectively substantiated method. The territorial distribution of HS density depending on the population density is analyzed on the basis of the data of 1992 with the number of HSs of the total network that can be taken as minimal required for the main network. For the first time obtained are the regional relations of these characteristics for the time moment when the spatial distribution of HS density was close to the year 1987 to the countrywide highest HS density for the whole observation period. Established is the relationship between the HS density and density of population aggregates.     

Persisting challenges for performance-based building assessment

Intense research and refinement of the tools used in performance-based seismic engineering have been made, but the maturity and accuracy of these methods have not been adequately confirmed with actual data from the field. The gap between the assumed characteristics of actual building systems and their idealized counterparts used for analysis is wide. When the randomly distributed flaws in buildings as they exist in urban areas and the extreme variability of ground motion patterns combine, the conventional procedures used for pushover or dynamic response history analyses seem to fall short of reconciling the differences between calculated and observed damage. For emergency planning and loss modeling purposes, such discrepancies are factors that must be borne in mind. Two relevant examples are provided herein. These examples demonstrate that consensus-based analytical guidelines also require well-idealized building models that do not lend themselves to reasonably manageable representations from field data. As a corollary, loss modeling techniques, e.g., used for insurance purposes, must undergo further development and improvement.