Evolution of seismic hazard maps in Turkey

A review on the historical evolution of seismic hazard maps in Turkey is followed by summarizing the important aspects of the updated national probabilistic seismic hazard maps. Comparisons with the predecessor probabilistic seismic hazard maps as well as the implications on the national design codes conclude the paper.     

Seismic performance of steel friction connections considering direct-repair costs

This study compares seismic losses considering initial construction costs and direct-repair costs for New Zealand steel moment-resisting frame buildings with friction connections and those with extended bolted-end-plate connections. A total of 12 buildings have been designed and analysed considering both connection types, two building heights (4-storey and 12-storey), and three locations around New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington). It was found that buildings with friction connections required design to a higher design ductility, yet are generally stiffer due to larger beams being required to satisfy higher connection overstrength requirements. This resulted in the frames with friction connections experiencing lower interstorey drifts on most floors but similar peak total floor accelerations, and subsequently incurring lower drift-related seismic repair losses. Frames with friction connections tended to have lower expected net-present-costs within 50 years of the building being in service for shorter buildings and/or if located in regions of high seismicity. None of the frames with friction connections in Auckland showed any benefits due to the low seismicity of the region.     

Assessing the Hydrochemical Conditions of the Tartar River

The paper gives the results of hydrochemical studies of the Tartar R.—the largest river in Nagornyi Karabakh Republic (NKR). Water quality was assessed with respect to the ecological standards of the Republic of Armenia in terms of major physicochemical characteristics and the concentrations of seven heavy metals. Water quality in the upper reaches of the Tartar R. was referred to the fifth class (poor quality), which is due to the effect of the dumps of the Sotck Gold Deposit and the pollution by agricultural, livestock, and municipal wastewaters. In the lower reaches of the Tartar R., the processes of dilution and self-purification neutralize the adverse effect of pollution sources on water quality, resulting in the improvement of water quality to the class not lower than medium, which is enough for the normal functioning of aquatic ecosystems, fishery, and irrigation. Thus, the Sarang Reservoir, which regulates the Tartar R. runoff, receives good-quality water.     

Water Resources Development in Vologda Oblast

Objective analysis of water resources development in the territory of Vologda oblast in period from 2005 to 2014 is given. It was found that water withdrawal from water sources decreased by 22.4%, wastewater discharge into water bodies decreased by 22.6%, and the total volume of recycling and successive water use increased by 2.0%. The dynamics of the distribution of water resources between economic sectors is given. Unreasonable water losses were identified in water use systems and their extent was assessed. The main directions in water economy in the production and domestic sectors are determined. Steps for improving the efficiency of water resources development in the region are proposed.     

Velocity Model of Western Volgo-Uralia from Receiver Functions

The results of studying the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle in the central part of the Russian platform from receiver functions are presented. The records of teleseismic waves by the Monakovo small-aperture seismic array in the region of the northwestern slope of the Tokmovskii Arch of the Volga–Kama anteclise are used. The modification of the P-receiver function method (Vinnik, 1977) suggested in (Sanina et al., 2014) for analyzing the receiver functions in the regions with a complexly structured upper part of the section and the presence of a thick sedimentary cover is applied. The method is based on separating the high- and low-frequency components of the seismic record and successive reconstruction of the V-s velocity section in the upper part of the crust, which is performed first and, next, the entire deep section of the crust and the mantle down to a depth of ~300 km. The positions of the seismic conversion boundaries in the crust and upper mantle beneath the Monakovo array are determined. The upper mantle velocity section constructed based on the observations at the Mikhnevo array (Sanina et al., 2014) is compared with the world data on the ancient Precambrian platform.     

On the Prospect of Detecting the Process of Earthquake Preparation in the Spectrum of Seismic Noise: A Laboratory Experiment

The results of laboratory experiments aimed at studying the pattern of the transition process of a model fault into a metastable state are presented. The experiments are conducted on a slider model installed onto a long granite base wherein vibrations are excited. The idea of the experiments is that the mechanical properties of the fault change under the transition into the metastable state. These changes can be detected by the detailed examination of the parameters of microseismic noise. The conducted experiments show that, despite the low Q-factor of the block–fault mechanical system, the spectrum of the recorded oscillations definitely contains the harmonic components corresponding to the eigenmodes of this system. In the model with the interblock contact filled with quartz sand, the fundamental mode of the free oscillations alters most noticeably in the frequency band 1000–1200 Hz, where the clear effect of the spectral peak’s migration towards lower frequencies is observed as the contact approaches the moment of dynamic failure, and the approximately initial value is recovered after the sliding stops. The revealed effect gives hope that the changes in the stress–strain state of the fault zone at the final stage of earthquake preparation can be detected by analyzing the parameters of low-frequency seismic noise. The segment of the record during and after the passage of surface waves from remote earthquakes is perhaps amongst the most favorable for determining the characteristic values of the region under study. These oscillations with a period of a few dozen seconds have significant amplitudes and durations, which promotes the excitation of the resonant vibrations of the blocks.     

Linear spin-up in a sliced cylinder

Abstract

spin-up and spin-down in a circular tank with a uniformly sloping bottom are studied experimentally and numerically for small values of the relative change in the angular velocity of the tank. Generally, the initial single-cell flow evolves into a number of smaller vortices. The evolution is compared with an analytical model based on an expansion of the flow field in linear Rossby waves (Pedlosky and Greenspan, 1967). Although it is possible to tune the experimental parameters in such a way that agreement with the theory is found, in most cases the experiments show shedding of vortices in the initial stage of the spin-up or spin-down, a phenomenon not described by the analytical model. Nonetheless, in such cases the analytical model still accounts for other observations: the alternating generation of cyclonic and anticyclonic vortices in the eastern part of the tank and their subsequent westward motion.     

Longshore current generation by obliquely incident internal waves

Abstract

It is shown that a significant longshore current of maximum amplitude v = (3 × 10^4/v ) cm sec^?1 (for typical oceanic values) can be forced between the breaker zone and shore by internal gravity waves obliquely incident on a plane beach. In the mean longshore momentum balance Reynolds stress terms appear which can be calculated to O (α), α being a bottom slope parameter, using a WKB approach. With appropriate assumptions being made about the amplitude behaviour of the motion after breaking, the divergence of these stresses does not vanish and forces a current whose magnitude is determined by a balance with viscous stresses derived from vertical eddy motions.     

Modeling Variably Saturated Subsurface Solute Transport with MODFLOW‐UZF and MT3DMS

The MT3DMS groundwater solute transport model was modified to simulate solute transport in the unsaturated zone by incorporating the unsaturated‐zone flow (UZF1) package developed for MODFLOW. The modified MT3DMS code uses a volume‐averaged approach in which Lagrangian‐based UZF1 fluid fluxes and storage changes are mapped onto a fixed grid. Referred to as UZF‐MT3DMS, the linked model was tested against published benchmarks solved analytically as well as against other published codes, most frequently the U.S. Geological Survey's Variably‐Saturated Two‐Dimensional Flow and Transport Model. Results from a suite of test cases demonstrate that the modified code accurately simulates solute advection, dispersion, and reaction in the unsaturated zone. Two‐ and three‐dimensional simulations also were investigated to ensure unsaturated‐saturated zone interaction was simulated correctly. Because the UZF1 solution is analytical, large‐scale flow and transport investigations can be performed free from the computational and data burdens required by numerical solutions to Richards' equation. Results demonstrate that significant simulation runtime savings can be achieved with UZF‐MT3DMS, an important development when hundreds or thousands of model runs are required during parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis. Three‐dimensional variably saturated flow and transport simulations revealed UZF‐MT3DMS to have runtimes that are less than one tenth of the time required by models that rely on Richards' equation. Given its accuracy and efficiency, and the wide‐spread use of both MODFLOW and MT3DMS, the added capability of unsaturated‐zone transport in this familiar modeling framework stands to benefit a broad user‐ship.     

Cost-efficient management of coastal aquifers via recharge with treated wastewater and desalination of brackish groundwater: application to the Akrotiri basin and aquifer,Cyprus

Abstract

We investigate the general methodology for an intensive development of coastal aquifers, described in a companion paper, through its application to the management of the Akrotiri aquifer, Cyprus. The Zakaki area of that aquifer, adjacent to Lemessos City, is managed such that it permits a fixed annual agricultural water demand to be met, as well as and a fraction of the water demand of Lemessos, which varies according to available surface water. Effluents of the Lemessos wastewater treatment plant are injected into the aquifer to counteract the seawater intrusion resulting from the increased pumping. The locations of pumping and injection wells are optimized based on least-cost, subject to meeting the demand. This strategy controls sea intrusion so effectively that desalting of only small volumes of slightly brackish groundwater is required over short times, while ～2.3 m³ of groundwater is produced for each 1 m³ of injected treated wastewater. The cost over the 20-year period 2000–2020 of operation is ～40 M€ and the unit production cost of potable water is under 0.2 €/m³. The comparison between the deterministic and stochastic analyses of the groundwater dynamics indicates the former as conservative, i.e. yielding higher groundwater salinity at the well. The Akrotiri case study shows that the proposed aquifer management scheme yields solutions that are preferable to the widely promoted seawater desalination, also considering the revenues from using the treated wastewater for irrigation.

Citation Koussis, A. D., Georgopoulou, E., Kotronarou, A., Mazi, K., Restrepo, P., Destouni, G., Prieto, C., Rodriguez, J. J., Rodriguez-Mirasol, J., Cordero, T., Ioannou, C., Georgiou, A., Schwartz, J. & Zacharias, I. (2010) Cost-efficient management of coastal aquifers via recharge with treated wastewater and desalination of brackish groundwater: application to the Akrotiri basin and aquifer, Cyprus. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1234–1245.