Speleoseismology: A critical perspective

Speleoseismology is the investigation of earthquake records in caves. Traces can be seen in broken speleothems, growth anomalies in speleothems, cave sediment deformation structures, displacements along fractures and bedding plane slip, incasion (rock fall) and co-seismic fault displacements. Where earthquake origins can be proven, these traces constitute important archives of local and even regional earthquake activity. However, other processes that can generate the same or very similar deformation features have to be excluded before cave damage can be interpreted as earthquake induced. Most sensitive and therefore most valuable for the tracing of strong earthquake shocks in caves are long and slender speleothems, such as soda straws, and deposits of well-bedded, water-saturated silty sand infillings, particularly in caves close to the earth's surface. Less easily proven is a co-seismic origin of an incasion and other forms of cave damage. The loads and creep movements of sediment and ice fillings in caves can cause severe damage to speleothems which have been frequently misinterpreted as evidence of earthquakes. For the dating of events in geological archives, it is important to demonstrate that such events happened at approximately the same time, i.e. within the error bars of the dating methods. A robust earthquake explanation for cave damage can only be achieved by the adoption of appropriate methods of direct dating of deformation events in cave archives combined with correlation of events in other geological archives outside caves, such as the deformation of lake and flood-plain deposits, locations of rock falls and active fault displacements.     

A Modeling System for Studying Climate Controls on Mountain Glaciers with Application to the Patagonian Icefields

A modeling system for investigating meteorological controls on glacier mass balance is described and applied to the Southern Patagonian Icefield. Output from a mesoscale atmospheric model is used to drive a glacier mass balance model using model precipitation and turbulent fluxes adjusted to account for the unrealistically low surface elevations of the icefield in the atmospheric model. Simulations of January and July conditionsproduce glacier equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) that are higher than the observed, but the ELA gradient is realistically simulated. The high ELAs are primarily due to underestimates of vertical temperature gradients in the atmospheric model and uncertainties in the ablation season length. The model shows that both winter and summerprecipitation, as well as summer temperatures, are important determinants of the mass balance of the Southern Patagonia glaciers. The position of the icefield on the continent is also relevant. On the western side of the icefield, precipitation rates are high and dominate the mass balance calculation. In the east, ablation is much more important for determining the mass balance, and this introduces an enhanced sensitivity to atmospheric temperature, wind speed, and atmosphericmoisture levels.     

Modelling the evolution of the space debris population

The current space activities are already disturbed and jeopardized by the growing number of orbiting debris. Those planned for the near future, such as the launch of large satellite constellations and the construction of the international space station, are even more sensitive to the evolution of the space environment. Therefore, a clear picture of the present situation in Earth orbit and its future evolution is needed. In this paper we describe in some details the work we have carried out on this problem in the last several years. Starting from the current population and simulating a reasonable scenario for the space activities in the next decades, we have obtained plausible quantitative models of the possible future space environment. We summarize some results concerning the effectiveness of possible mitigation measures and assess the robustness of these results, by checking how sensitively they depend upon the initial conditions and the choice of some model parameters. We also analyze the effect of the launch of a number of satellite constellations, showing the importance of the adoption of some debris prevention measures in their launch policies. Finally, we study the possible problems arising from the recent discovery of a new family of debris composed by drops of NaK coolant, that leaked outside the nuclear reactors of the Soviet RORSAT-class satellites. Our preliminary results indicate that these drops are going to cause an increasing number of small-scale, possible satellite-damaging impacts but, due to their small size, no additional catastrophic collisions; therefore their influence on the long-term evolution of the overall debris population is limited.     

Characterization of natural colloids from a river and spring in a karstic basin

 Colloids are known to transport contaminants over long distances in natural media. Despite this potentially harmful effect, very few studies have been undertaken in subsurface aquifers. This paper presents the first results of a study of natural colloids and particles in a karstic aquifer. The site was chosen for its coverage by clay layers and peat which deliver various and numerous particle types in water. The methodological part describes three methods used for size determination and sample fractionation of surface water and spring water. These methods have been adapted for the treatment of multiple samples due to the rapid discharge variation typical of karstic aquifers. The analysis of many particle size distributions (PSD) shows that they can be described by a Pareto law. The variation of the slope of the PSD at the spring is mainly dependent on discharge. This behavior is interpreted as a washing of the karstic drains during the first phase of high flow events. Fractionation of the samples allowed application of various characterization techniques to particle size classes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that most of the mineral particles originated from Quaternary deposits and limestones. However the use of scanning electron micrsocopy with energy-dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS) detailed the composition of individual particles and revealed particles not found by XRD. These techniques also showed the high complexity of the natural particles and the important place of coprecipitation in their formation. Consequences on the fluxes of particulate matter and its potential role as a carrier of contaminants are discussed. Received: 28 October 1996 · Accepted: 7 July 1997     

Growth and Production of the Ark Shell Scapharca inaequlvalvis (BRUGUIÈRE) in a Lagoon of the Po River Delta

Abstract. Scapharcu inuequivalvis is an Indopacific bivalve which has recently immigrated to the Adriatic Sea and has progressively replaced dominant species within some infauna communities. Density, growth, and secondary production of this Arcidae were investigated between 1984 and 1985 in a bed located in a brackish environment of the Northern Adriatic coast.     

The Crati Submarine Fan,Ionian Sea

The Crati Fan is located in the tectonically active submerged extension of the Apennines chain and foretrough. The small fan system is growing in a relatively shallow (200 to 450 m), elongate nearshore basin receiving abundant input from the Crati River. The fan is characterized by a short, steep, channelized section (inner or upper fan) and a smooth, slightly bulging distal section (outer or lower fan). The numerous subparallel channels head in the shelf or littoral zone and do not form branching distributary patterns. Sand and mud depositional lobes of the outer fan stretch over more than 60% of fan length.     

Forced vibrations of rectangular plates subjected to harmonic loading distributed over a rectangular subdomain

Quite frequently naval and ocean structural designers confront the problem of a plate or slab which supports a motor or engine which excites, dynamically, the structural element. Very often the excitation is treated as a concentrated force but, obviously, it acts over a finite area. The present study deals with the title problem for several combinations of boundary conditions by means of a variational approach and also using the finite element method. Dynamic displacement and bending moment amplitudes are determined.     

Subsurface structure across the axis of the Tongariro Volcanic Centre,New Zealand

The relationship between structure and volcanism in the Tongariro Volcanic Centre, New Zealand, is largely masked by a mantle of young volcanic deposits. Here we report the results of an integrated geophysical investigation (using gravity, multi-level aeromagnetic and magnetotelluric methods) of subsurface deposits and structures in the upper 1–2 km across the axis of the Tongariro Volcanic Centre. Modelling of these data across the Tama Lakes saddle shows that the outcropping volcanic deposits are up to 800 m thick, underlain by Tertiary sediments (of a few 10's to a few 100 m in thickness) and in turn lying above a basement of probable Mesozoic greywacke. Basement faulting is shown to be concentrated in the centre of the rift, which is 18 km wide at this location, but no vertical offset is resolved at the rift axis. Vertical displacements on basement faults of 250–300 m are modelled giving a minimum total basement subsidence of 650 m. A 5 km-wide, deep low resistivity zone occurs at the axis of the rift which is interpreted as either resulting from extensive fracturing and/or hydrothermal alteration within the basement. Steep-sided volcanic bodies with a high proportion of lavas/dykes coincide with the Waihi fault and the rift axis. Coincidence with the Waihi Fault suggests that this fault system may have provided magma pathways to the surface and a focus for dyke emplacement, which could have contributed to rift extension. The lack of offset at the rift axis may reflect the juvenile nature of faulting at this location, which is consistent with the notion of a migration of faulting towards the centre of the graben, alternatively, rifting may have been entirely accommodated by dyke emplacement.     

Orbit determination of space debris: admissible regions

The main problem in the orbit determination of the space debris population orbiting our planet is identifying which separate sets of data belong to the same physical object. The observations of a given object during a passage above an observing station are collectively called a Too Short Arc (TSA): data from a TSA cannot allow for a complete determination of an orbit. Therefore, we have to solve first the identification problem, finding two or more TSAs belonging to the same physical object and an orbit fitting all the observations. This problem is well known for the determination of orbits of asteroids: we shall show how to apply the methods developed for preliminary orbit determination of heliocentric objects to geocentric objects. We shall focus on the definition of an admissible region for space debris, both in the case of optical observations and radar observations; then we shall outline a strategy to perform a full orbit determination.