Scientific challenges and instrumentation for the International Meridian Circle Program

Earth's ecosystems and human activities are threatened by a broad spectrum of hazards of major importance for the safety of ground infrastructures,space systems...     

Envisat and SARAL/AltiKa Observations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet: A Comparison Between the Ku-band and Ka-band

The AltiKa altimeter onboard SARAL is a joint CNES/ISRO mission launched in February 2013 that has the same 35 days repeat orbit of the previous European altimeters, Envisat, and ERS-1/2. SARAL/AltiKa is thus a unique opportunity to extend the repeat observations of this orbit that have been surveyed since 1991. However, the altimeter operates in Ka-band, which is higher than the previous frequencies, and offers new paths of investigation. The penetration depth is theoretically reduced from around 10 m in Ku-band to less than 1 m in Ka-band, such that the volume echo originates from the near subsurface. Second, the sharper antenna aperture leads to a narrower leading edge that reduces the impact of the ratio between surface and volume echoes of the height retrieval. Indeed, the spatial and temporal observations of AltiKa at cross-over points and along-track indicate that the impact of backscatter changes on the height decreasesfrom 0.3 m/dB for the Ku-band to only 0.05 m/dB for the Ka-band. Therefore, the height measurement is stable over time. Moreover, the volume echo in the Ka-band results from the near subsurface layer and is mostly controlled by ice grain size, unlike the Ku-band.     

Reconstructing spatio-temporal patterns of debris-flow activity using dendrogeomorphological methods

Debris flows are a major threat in many parts of the Alps, where they repeatedly cause severe damage to infrastructure and transportation corridors or even loss of life. Nonetheless, the spatial behavior of past debris-flow activity and the analysis of areas affected during particular events have been widely neglected in reconstructions so far. It was therefore the purpose of this study to reconstruct spatio-temporal patterns of past debris flows on a forested cone in the Swiss Alps (Bruchji torrent, Blatten, Valais). The analysis of past events was based on a detailed geomorphic map (1:1000) of all forms related to debris flows as well as on tree-ring series from 401 heavily affected trees (Larix decidua Mill. and Picea abies (L.) Karst.) growing in or next to deposits. The samples were analyzed and growth disturbances related to debris-flow activity assessed, such as tangential rows of traumatic resin ducts, the onset of reaction wood or abrupt growth suppression or release.In total, 960 growth disturbances were identified in the samples, belonging to 40 different event years between A.D. 1867 and 2005. In addition, the coupling of tree-ring data with the geomorphic map allowed reconstruction of eleven formerly active channels and spatial representation of individual events. Based on our results we believe that before 1935, debris flows preferentially used those channels located in the western part of the cone, whereas the eastern part of the cone remained widely unaffected. The spatial representation of the 40 events also allowed identification of five different spatial patterns for debris flows at the study site.     

Numerical simulation of the propagation of P waves in fractured media

We study the propagation of P waves through media containing open fractures by performing numerical simulations. The important parameter in such problems is the ratio between crack length and incident wavelength. When the wavelength of the incident wavefield is close to or shorter than the crack length, the scattered waves are efficiently excited and the attenuation of the primary waves can be observed on synthetic seismograms. On the other hand, when the incident wavelength is greater than the crack length, we can simulate the anisotropic behaviour of fractured media resulting from the scattering of seismic waves by the cracks through the time delay of the arrival of the transmitted wave. The method of calculation used is a boundary element method in which the Green's functions are computed by the discrete wavenumber method. For simplicity, the 2-D elastodynamic diffraction problem is considered. The rock matrix is supposed to be elastic, isotropic and homogeneous, while the cracks are all empty and have the same length and strike direction. An iterative method of calculation of the diffracted wavefield is developed in the case where a large number of cracks are present in order to reduce the computation time. The attenuation factor Q ⁻¹ of the direct waves passing through a fractured zone is measured in several frequency bands. We observe that the attenuation factor Q ⁻¹ of the direct P wave peaks around kd = 2, where k is the incident wavenumber and d the crack length, and decreases proportionally to ( kd ) ⁻¹ in the high-wavenumber range. In the long-wavelength domain, the velocity of the direct P wave measured for two different crack realizations is very close to the value predicted by Hudson's theory on the overall elastic properties of fractured materials.     

A model for the Am (Km) planetary geomagnetic activity index and application to prediction

We studied the existence of dynamical stochastic relations in the evolution of the am index. A first analysis of the autocorrelation functions showed evidence of several seasonalities. We first used linear (ARMA) models, and it was found that these do not account for the whole internal dynamics of the data series. We then used various non-linear models to provide a better fit to reality. The forecast performances of the non-linear models are not significantly different from those of the linear model. We give a tentative explanation for the failure of the non-linear predictions. Finally, ARCH models were used in order to take into account the fact that the confidence interval for the predicted value depends on past observations.     

Synthetic SH seismograms in a laterally varying medium by the discrete wavenumber method

Summary. We present a new method to calculate the SH wavefield produced by a seismic source in a half-space with an irregular buried interface. The diffracting interface is represented by a distribution of body forces. The Green's functions needed to solve the boundary conditions are evaluated using the discrete wavenumber method. Our approach relies on the introduction of a periodicity in the source-medium configuration and on the discretization of the interface at regular spacing. The technique developed is applicable to boundaries of arbitrary shapes and is valid at all frequencies. Some examples of calculation in simple configurations are presented showing the capabilities of the method.