Imaging the Moho and Subducted Oceanic Crust at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, from Receiver Functions

Using teleseismic data recorded along a transect, which we call VEOX (for Veracruz-Oaxaca seismic line), of 46 broadband stations installed across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, we obtained receiver functions and stacked them to study the Moho topography and back projected them to visualize the subducted slab geometry beneath the isthmus. We observed a back-azimuth dependent Moho thickness across the transect, particularly beneath the Los Tuxtlas Volcanic Field. Also, we observed the Cocos plate which subducts with an angle of 26° between 140 and 310?km from the trench. Comparison with regional seismicity indicates that it occurs below the oceanic crust.     

Study of the earthquake of the January 23, 1880, in San Cristóbal,Cuba and the Guane fault

All available data on the January 23, 1880, earthquake near San Cristobal, Western Cuba, are compiled and presented here. The earthquake reached a maximum intensity of eight degrees (MSK) and caused three fatalities. It was accompanied by 65 aftershocks and was felt as far away as the Florida Keys. Twentieth century specialists has associated this event, in its day the strongest recorded (Ms = 6.2) in the region, with the Pinar fault. The Pinar fault is well expressed topographically as the boundary between the Guaniguanico Range in the north and an alluvial plain to the south. Most of the major damage caused by the earthquake was located on the alluvial plain, which in consequence has been considered the epicenter area. In the study presented here, the data compiled from the first reports of Father Benito Vines Martorell, S.J., and Pedro Salteraín y Legarra, indicate that the seismic structure was located in the alluvial plain, and that it was the Guane fault, and not the Pinar fault, that was responsible for the earthquake. The Guane fault, found below the alluvial sediments, extends NE-SW for over 110 km. Its eastern extreme, near San José de las Lajas (La Habana), is linked to another active fault which represents a seismoactive knot responsible for the earthquake of March 9, 1995 (I = 5 degrees, MSK). Seismic events of the Western Cuban region are related to the transpressive interaction of the North American and Caribbean Plates, damped by oceanic structures.     

Stability of (Cs,K)Al<Subscript>4</Subscript>Be<Subscript>5</Subscript>B<Subscript>11</Subscript>O<Subscript>28</Subscript> (londonite) at high pressure and high temperature: a potential neutron absorber material

The stability and the thermo-elastic behaviour of a natural londonite

Assessment of the topsoil heavy metals pollution in the Sarno River basin,south Italy

The Sarno River basin area is one of the most polluted in Europe and it is due to the waste products of the tomato industry, the leather tanneries and the pharmaceutical industry. This area also has been densely populated and urbanized since the Middle Bronze Age, as testified by the presence of numerous archeological sites, including the ancient Pompeii town, and environmental degradation that characterizes the area is absolutely unacceptable. This paper represents a detailed study to assess the potentially harmful element content of topsoils. In total, 283 soil samples were collected and analyzed, after an aqua regia extraction, by a combination of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for 53 elements. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to show the single-element geochemical distribution and the distribution of factor scores of the elemental associations resulting from R-mode factor analysis. Maps showing elements and the association factor score distributions have been obtained using GeoDAS and ArcGIS software. The assessment of the soil contamination was also carried out using the contamination factor and degree of contamination. The results obtained indicate that soil pollution has different anthropogenic sources. Specifically, Cr pollution derives from tanneries discharging wastewaters in the main water bodies of the basin while Cu contamination seems to depend on widespread agricultural practices. Tin, Pb, Hg, Zn, Cd, Sb anomalies are found mainly in urban and industrial areas, sometimes close to roads with high traffic levels while there is a substantial coincidence with background values for other elements (Co, Ni, Se, Tl and V).     

Relativistic positioning: errors due to uncertainties in the satellite world lines

Global navigation satellite systems use appropriate satellite constellations to get the coordinates of an user—close to Earth—in an almost inertial reference system. We have simulated both GPS and GALILEO constellations. Uncertainties in the satellite world lines lead to dominant positioning errors. In this paper, a detailed analysis of these errors is developed inside a great region surrounding Earth. This analysis is performed in the framework of the so-called relativistic positioning systems. Our study is based on the Jacobian (J) of the transformation giving the emission coordinates in terms of the inertial ones. Around points of vanishing J, positioning errors are too large. We show that, for any 4-tuple of satellites, the points with J=0 are located at distances, D, from the Earth centre greater than about 2R/3, where R is the radius of the satellite orbits which are assumed to be circumferences. Our results strongly suggest that, for D-distances greater than 2R/3 and smaller than 10⁵ km, a rather good positioning may be achieved by using appropriate satellite 4-tuples without J=0 points located in the user vicinity. The way to find these 4-tuples is discussed for arbitrary users with D<10⁵ km and, then, preliminary considerations about satellite navigation at D<10⁵ km are presented. Future work on the subject of space navigation—based on appropriate simulations—is in progress.     

Status of the Connection between Unidentified Egret Sources and Supernova Remnants: The Case of Cta 1

In this paper we briefly comment on the observational status of the possible physical association between unidentified EGRET sources and supernova remnants (SNRs) in our Galaxy. We draw upon recent results presented in the review by Torres et al. (2003), concerning molecular gas in the vicinity of all 19 SNRs found to be positionally coincident with EGRET sources at low Galactic latitudes. In addition, we present new results regarding the supernova remnant CTA 1. Our findings disfavor the possibility of a physical connection with the nearby (in projection) EGRET source. There remains possible, however, that the compact object produced in the supernova explosion be related with the observed γ-ray flux.     

A Collimated Stellar Wind Emanating from a Massive Protostar

We report multi-wavelength observations towards IRAS 16547–4247, a luminous infrared source with a bolometric luminosity of 6.2 × 10⁴ L _⊙. Dust continuum observations at 1.2-mm indicate that this object is associated with a dust cloud with a size of about 0.4 pc in diameter and a mass of about 1.3 × 10³ M _⊙. Radio continuum observations show the presence of a triple radio source consisting of a compact central object and two outer lobes, separated by about 0.3 pc, symmetrically located from the central source. Molecular hydrogen line observations show a chain of knots that trace a collimated flow extending over 1.5 pc. We suggest that IRAS 16547–4247 corresponds to a dense massive core which hosts near its central region a high-mass star in an early stage of evolution. This massive YSO is undergoing the ejection of a collimated stellar wind which drives the H₂ flow. The radio emission from the lobes arises in shocks resulting from the interaction of the collimated wind with the surrounding medium. We conclude that the thermal jets found in the formation of low-mass stars are also produced in high-mass stars.     

Nonlinear modelling of the seismic response of masonry structures: Calibration strategies

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - In this paper, a simple and practitioners-friendly calibration strategy to consistently link target panel-scale mechanical properties (that can be found in...     

基于PMF模型的湖北随县三里岗地区土壤重金属源解析

随着工矿业、农业的发展,许多国家和地区都已发现重金属污染问题,掌握土壤重金属的来源情况对于维护生态安全十分必要。本文对三里岗镇八种重金属元素进行了含量分析和半变异函数分析,并通过正定矩阵因子分解法结合源贡献率空间分布特征探究了土壤中8种重金属元素的来源。结果表明:As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Ni和Zn的土壤含量均超出全国背景值,内梅罗综合污染指数均值为073,说明研究区整体处于尚清洁水平。半变异函数分析显示8种重金属元素更多受到结构性因素的影响。PMF源解析所得到的4个来源分别解释为震旦系和白垩系地层母岩的影响、元古界地层与乡村道路交通排放的混合源、震旦系和寒武系地层母岩的影响以及奥陶系到志留系地层母岩的影响,说明自然源是研究区重金属的主要来源。此外,本文研究结果表明PMF模型在重金属源解析工作中可以发挥十分重要的作用。