Simulation of the Arabian Sea Tsunami propagation generated due to 1945 Makran Earthquake and its effect on western parts of Gujarat (India)

The 1945 Tsunami generated due to Makran Earthquake in the Arabian Sea was the most devastating tsunami in the history of the Arabian Sea and caused severe damage to property and loss of life. It occurred on 28th November 1945, 21:56 UTC (03:26 IST) with a magnitude of 8.0 (M _w), originating off the Makran Coast of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea. It has impacted as far as Mumbai in India and was noticed up to Karvar Coast, Karnataka. More than 4,000 people were killed as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami. In this paper an attempt is made for a numerical simulation of the tsunami generation from the source, its propagation into the Arabian Sea and its effect on the western coast of India through the use of a numerical model, referred to as Tunami-N2. The present simulation is carried out for a duration of 300 min. It is observed from the results that the simulated arrival time of tsunami waves at the western coast of India is in good agreement with the available data sources. The paper also presents run-up elevation maps prepared using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) data, showing the possible area of inundation due to various wave heights along different parts of the Gujarat Coast. Thus, these results will be useful in planning the protection measures against inundation due to tsunami and in the implementation of a warning system.     

Snow interception modelling: Isolated observations have led to many land surface models lacking appropriate temperature sensitivities

When formulating a hydrologic model, scientists rely on parameterizations of multiple processes based on field data, but literature review suggests that more frequently people select parameterizations that were included in pre-existing models rather than re-evaluating the underlying field experiments. Problems arise when limited field data exist, when “trusted” approaches do not get reevaluated, and when sensitivities fundamentally change in different environments. The physics and dynamics of snow interception by conifers is just such a case, and it is critical to simulation of the water budget and surface albedo. The most commonly used interception parameterization is based on data from four trees from one site, but results from this field study are not directly transferable to locations with relatively warmer winters, where the dominant processes differ dramatically. Here, we combine a literature review with model experiments to demonstrate needed improvements. Our results show that the choice of model form and parameters can vary the fraction of snow lost through interception by as much as 30%. In most simulations, the warming of mean winter temperatures from −7 to 0°C reduces the modelled fraction of snow under the canopy compared to the open, but the magnitude of simulated decrease varies from about 10% to 40%. The range of results is even larger when considering models that neglect the melting of in-canopy snow in higher-humidity environments where canopy sublimation plays less of a role. Thus, we recommend that all models represent canopy snowmelt and include representation of increased loading due to increased adhesion and cohesion when temperatures rise from −3 to 0°C. In addition to model improvements, field experiments across climates and forest types are needed to investigate how to best model the combination of dynamically changing forest cover and snow cover to better understand and predict changes to albedo and water supplies.     

The moment tensors,focal mechanisms,and stresses on Sakhalin Island

We report determinations of the focal mechanisms for Sakhalin earthquakes during 2006 through 2015 by two different methods: the polarity of first motions using the FOCMEC program and the inversion of waveforms using the ISOLA program. We show that the resulting moment tensor solutions fairly well fit the tectonic crustal stresses for Sakhalin as determined by previous workers. We have examined the component of the moment tensor that involves a linear dipole. This is at its maximum in areas of active mud volcanism and industrial activities in oil-and-gas fields.     

Contribution of magnetic resonance sounding to aquifer characterization and recharge estimate in semiarid Niger

To improve the knowledge of the regionally important Continental Terminal 3 (CT3) aquifer in south-western Niger, fifteen magnetic resonance soundings (MRS) were carried out in December 2005 in the vicinity of wells and boreholes. The output MRS geophysical parameters, i.e. water content and decay constants versus depth, were compared to hydrogeological characteristics, i.e. water table depth, total porosity, specific yield and transmissivity estimated from direct measurements, pumping tests and transient groundwater modelling. The MRS-determined parameters were then used to estimate the rates of groundwater recharge.Contained in poorly consolidated Tertiary sandstones, the CT3 aquifer's water table has continuously risen by 4 m in total over the past four decades. Additionally, a significant portion of this increase has occurred in the past decade alone, with an annual rise now ranging between 0.1 and 0.3 m depending on the monitored well. Increase in groundwater recharge due to land clearance and deforestation explains this situation. According to previous estimations, the pre-clearing recharge ranged from 1 to 5 mm per year in 1950–60 s, while more recent recharge rates (1990s–2000s) range from 20 to 50 mm per year. These recharge values are directly affected by estimated aquifer specific yield value, while the spatial variation of rates of water table rise can be attributed to large scale hydrodynamic heterogeneities in the aquifer. However, few field measurements were available to confirm these assumptions.The main results of this study are: (1) The water table depth and aquifer transmissivity are estimated from MRS output parameters with an average accuracy of ± 10% and ± 9% respectively. (2) The MRS-determined water content is linked to both the total porosity and the specific yield of the aquifer, but no quantitative formulation can be proposed as yet. (3) Using the average MRS-determined water content over the investigated area, i.e. 13%, the groundwater recharge rates can be estimated to be ~ 2 mm per year in the 1950–1960s (pre-clearing period), and ~ 23 mm per year for the last decade. (4) The variations in specific yield and transmissivity cannot explain by themselves the spatial variability of the rise of the water table. (5) The ranges in transmissivity and water content obtained from MRS are more realistic than the groundwater modelling outputs. Therefore, MRS could be used to better constrain the aquifer parameters in groundwater modelling with a dense site network.Finally, this work illustrates how MRS can successfully improve characterisation and transient multi-year groundwater balance of commonly found sedimentary aquifers, particularly when integrated with well observations and pumping tests.     

Analysis of daily rainfall processes in lower extremadura (Spain) and homogenization of the data

Summary In this paper we analyze, from the point of view of stochastic processes, daily rainfall data recorded at the Badajoz Observatory (Southwestern Spain) since the beginning of the century. We attempt to identify any periodicities or trends in the daily rainfall occurrences and their dependence structure, and attempt to select the appropriate point stochastic model for the daily rainfall series.Standard regression analysis, graphical methods and the Cramer statistic show a rise in the number of cases of light rain (between 0.1 and 5 mm/d) and a decline in the number of cases of moderate to heavy rain (> 5 mm/d) in the daily rainfall at least at the 5% significance level.That the homogenization process was satisfactory is shown by the mean interarrival time of the homogenized series and the test of the rate of homogenized daily rainfall occurrences. Our analysis also shows that the behavior of the spectra of the homogenized daily rainfall counts is completely different from that of a Poisson process, so that the hypothesis of a non-homogeneous Poisson process is rejected.With 7 Figures     

Bioenergy consumption and economic growth in the EU-28 region: evidence from a panel cointegration model

GeoJournal - The purpose of this research is to examine the correlation between the bioenergy industry and economic outgrowth. This study investigates the growth hypothesis within the setting of...     

The population of cosmic voids

We consider the main population of cosmic voids in a heirarchical clustering model. Based on the Press-Schechter formalism modified for regions in the Universe with reduced or enhanced matter densities, we construct the mass functions for gravitationally bound objects of dark matter occupying voids or superclusters. We show that the halo mass functions in voids and superclusters differ substantially. In particular, the spatial density of massive (M ～ 10¹² M _⊙) halos is appreciably lower in voids than in superclusters, with the difference in the mass functions being greater for larger masses. According to our computations, an appreciable fraction of the mass of matter in voids should be preserved to the present epoch in the form of primordial gravitationally bound objects (POs) with modest masses (to 10% for M _PO < 10⁹ M _⊙) keeping baryons. These primordial objects represent “primary blocks” in the heirarchical clustering model. We argue that the oldest globular clusters in the central regions of massive galaxies are the stellar remnants of these primordial objects: they can form in molecular clouds in these objects, only later being captured in the central regions of massive galaxies in the process of gravitational clustering. Primordial objects in voids can be observed as weak dwarf galaxies or Lyα absorption systems.