High rate GPS data on active volcanoes: an application to the 2005–2006 Mt. Augustine (Alaska,USA) eruption

Volcanic eruptions are usually preceded by measurable signals of growing unrest, the most evident of which are the increase in seismicity and ground deformation. It is also important to identify precursors of a possible renewal of the volcanic activity and to distinguish between an eruptive activity characterized by an intrusion (with the related destructive power) and a migration of magma stored in the main conduits. The 2005–2006 eruption at Mt. Augustine (Alaska, USA) is a good example of a massive migration of magmatic fluids from depth (about 1 km b.s.l.) under the effect of gas overpressure. The movements, recorded by High Rate GPS (HRGPS) data (15 s of sampling and processing rate) from the stations deployed on the volcano, define the dimensions and the characteristics of the shallow plumbing system. In this study, we propose a model of the different stages preceding the effusive phase (the ‘precursory phase’), where gas overpressure in the body of the volcano opens the terminal conduit.     

The European Large Area ISO Survey: optical identifications of 15-μm and 1.4-GHz sources in N1 and N2

We present the multiwavelength properties and catalogue of the 15 μm and 1.4 GHz radio sources detected in the European Large Area ISO Survey ( ELAIS ) areas N1 and N2. Using the optical data from the Wide Field Survey we use a likelihood ratio method to search for the counterparts of the 1056 and 691 sources detected at 15 μm and 1.4 GHz, respectively, down to flux limits of   S ₁₅= 0.5 mJy  and   S _1.4 GHz= 0.135 mJy  . We find that ∼92 per cent of the 15 μm ELAIS sources have an optical counterpart down to   r '= 24  . All mid-infrared (IR) sources with fluxes   S ₁₅≥ 3 mJy  have an optical counterpart. The magnitude distribution of the sources shows a well-defined peak at relatively bright magnitudes   r '∼ 18  . The mid-IR-to-optical and radio-to-optical flux diagrams are presented and discussed in terms of actual galaxy models. About 15 per cent of the sources are bright galactic stars; of the extragalactic objects ∼65 per cent are compatible with being normal or starburst galaxies and ∼25 per cent active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Objects with mid-IR-to-optical fluxes larger than 100 are found, comprising ∼20 per cent of the sample. We suggest that that these sources are highly obscured luminous and ultraluminous starburst galaxies and AGNs.     

Site-Specific Modeling of SH and P-SV Waves for Microzonation Study of Kolkata Metropolitan City, India

Kolkata, one of the oldest cities of India, is situated over the thick alluvium of the Bengal Basin, where it lies at the boundary of the zone III and zone IV of the seismic zonation map of India. An example of the study of site effects of the metropolitan Kolkata is presented based on theoretical modeling. Full synthetic strong motion waveforms have been computed using a hybrid method that combines the modal summation and finite difference techniques. The 1964 Calcutta earthquake, which was located at the southern part of Kolkata, is taken as the source region, with the focal mechanism parameters of dip?=?32°, strike?=?232° and rake?=?56°. Four profiles are considered for the computation of the synthetic seismograms from which the maximum ground acceleration (A _MAX) is obtained. Response spectra ratios (RSR) are then computed using a bedrock reference model to estimate local amplifications effects. The A _MAX varies from 0.05 to 0.17?g and the comparison of the A _MAX with the different intensity scales (MM, MSK, RF and MCS) shows that the expected intensity is in the range from VII to X (MCS) for an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 at an epicentral distance of about 100?km. This theoretical result matches with the empirical (historical and recent) intensity observations in Kolkata. The RSR, as a function of frequency, reaches the largest values (largest amplification) in the frequency range from 1.0 to 2.0?Hz. The largest site amplification is observed at the top of loose soil.     

The SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey – VI. 350-μm mapping of submillimetre galaxies

A follow-up survey using the Submillimetre High-Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC-II) at 350 μm has been carried out to map the regions around several 850-μm-selected sources from the Submillimetre HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES). These observations probe the infrared (IR) luminosities and hence star formation rates in the largest existing, most robust sample of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs). We measure 350-μm flux densities for 24 850-μm sources, seven of which are detected at ≥2.5σ within a 10 arcsec search radius of the 850-μm positions. When results from the literature are included the total number of 350-μm flux density constraints of SHADES SMGs is 31, with 15 detections. We fit a modified blackbody to the far-IR (FIR) photometry of each SMG, and confirm that typical SMGs are dust-rich  ( M _dust≃ 9 × 10⁸ M_⊙)  , luminous  ( L _FIR≃ 2 × 10¹² L_⊙)  star-forming galaxies with intrinsic dust temperatures of ≃35 K and star formation rates of  ≃400 M_⊙ yr⁻¹  . We have measured the temperature distribution of SMGs and find that the underlying distribution is slightly broader than implied by the error bars, and that most SMGs are at 28 K with a few hotter. We also place new constraints on the 350-μm source counts, N ₃₅₀(>25 mJy) ∼ 200–500 deg⁻².     

The SCUBA Half Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) – IX. The environment, mass and redshift dependence of star formation

We present a comparison between the SCUBA (Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array) Half Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) at 450 and  850 μm  in the Lockman Hole East with a deep Spitzer Space Telescope survey at  3.6–24 μm  conducted in guaranteed time. Using stacking analyses we demonstrate a striking correspondence between the galaxies contributing the submm extragalactic background light, with those likely to dominate the backgrounds at Spitzer wavelengths. Using a combination BRIzK plus Spitzer photometric redshifts, we show that at least a third of the Spitzer -identified submm galaxies at  1 < z < 1.5  appear to reside in overdensities when the density field is smoothed at 0.5–2 Mpc comoving diameters, supporting the high-redshift reversal of the local star formation–galaxy density relation. We derive the dust-shrouded cosmic star formation history of galaxies as a function of assembled stellar masses. For model stellar masses  <10¹¹ M_⊙  , this peaks at lower redshifts than the ostensible   z ∼ 2.2  maximum for submm point sources, adding to the growing consensus for 'downsizing' in star formation. Our surveys are also consistent with 'downsizing' in mass assembly. Both the mean star formation rates  〈d M _*/d t 〉  and specific star formation rates  〈(1/ M _*) d M _*/d t 〉  are in striking disagreement with some semi-analytic predictions from the Millenium Simulation. The discrepancy could either be resolved with a top-heavy initial mass function, or a significant component of the submm flux heated by the interstellar radiation field.     

Ground Motion Zoning of Santiago de Cuba: An Approach by SH Waves Modelling

— The expected ground motion in Santiago de Cuba basin from earthquakes which occurred in the Oriente fault zone is studied. Synthetic SH-waves seismograms have been calculated along four profiles in the basin by the hybrid approach (modal summation for the path source-profile and finite differences for the profile) for a maximum frequency of 1 Hz. The response spectra ratio (RSR) has been determined in 49 sites, distributed along all considered profiles with a spacing of 900 m. The corresponding RSR versus frequency curves have been classified using a logical-combinatorial algorithm. The results of the classification, in combination with the uppermost geological setting (geotechnical information and geological geometry of the subsoil) are used for the seismic zoning of the city. Three different main zones are identified, and a small sector characterized by major resonance effects, due to the particular structural conditions. Each zone is characterized in terms of its expected ground motion parameters for the most probable strong earthquake (M_S=7), and for the maximum possible (M_S=8).     

Seismic microzoning from synthetic ground motion parameters: case study, Santiago de Cuba

Synthetic seismograms (P-SV and SH waves) have been calculated along six profiles in Santiago de Cuba basin, with a cutoff frequency of 5 Hz, by using a hybrid approach (modal summation for a regional 1D structure plus finite differences for a local 2D structure embedded in the first). They correspond to a scenario earthquake of M_S=7 that may occur in Oriente fault zone, directly south of the city. As initial data for a seismic microzoning, the characterisation of earthquake effects has been made considering several relative (2D/1D) quantities (PGDR, PGVR, PGAR, DGAR, I_AR—ratios of peak ground values of displacement, velocity and acceleration, and of design ground acceleration and Arias intensity-, etc.) and functions representative of the ground motion characteristics in soil (2D) with respect to bedrock (1D). The functions are the response spectra ratio RSR(f), already routinely used in this kind of work, and the elastic energy input ratio E_IR(f), defined, for the first time, in this paper. These data, sampled at 115 sites within all the profiles have been classified in two steps, using logical combinatory algorithms: connected components and compact sets. In the first step, from the original ground motion parameters or functions extracted from the synthetic seismograms, nine sets have been classified and the partial results show the spatial distribution of the soil behaviour as a function of the component of motion. In the second step, the results of the classification of the nine sets have been used as input for a further classification that shows a spatial distribution of sites with a quasi-homogeneous integral ground motion behaviour. By adding the available geological surface data, a microzoning scheme of Santiago de Cuba basin has been obtained.