Chemical composition of primary cosmic rays with energies from 10 to 10 eV

The chemical composition of primary cosmic rays with energies from 10¹⁵ to 10^16.5 eV, so called “knee” region, is examined. We have observed the time structures of air Čerenkov light associated with air showers at Mt. Chacaltaya, Bolivia, since 1995. The distribution of a parameter that characterizes the observed time structures is compared with that calculated with a Monte Carlo technique for various chemical compositions. Then the energy dependence of the average logarithmic mass numbers ln A of the primary cosmic rays is determined. The present result at 10^15.3 eV is almost consistent with the result of JACEE (A12) and shows gradual increase in ln A as a function of the primary energy (A24 at 10¹⁶ eV). Form the comparison of the observational results with several theoretical models, we conclude that the supernova explosion of massive stars is a plausible candidate for the origin of cosmic rays around the “knee” region.     

Observational tests of x-matter models

We study gravitational lensing statistics, matter power spectra and the angular power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation in x-matter models. We adopt an equation of state of x-matter which can express a wide range of matter from pressureless dust to the cosmological constant. A new ingredient in this model is the sound speed of the x-component, in addition to the equation of state w ₀ =  p _x0/ρ_x0. Except for the cosmological constant case, the perturbations of x-matter itself are considered. Our primary interest is in the effect of non-zero sound speed on the structure formation and the CMB spectra. It is found that there exist parameter ranges where x-matter models are consistent with all current observations. The x-matter generally leaves imprints in the CMB anisotropy and the matter power spectrum, which should be detectable in future observations.     

The Effect of the Great Barrier Reef on the Propagation of the 2007 Solomon Islands Tsunami Recorded in Northeastern Australia

The effect of offshore coral reefs on the impact from a tsunami remains controversial. For example, field surveys after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami indicate that the energy of the tsunami was reduced by natural coral reef barriers in Sri Lanka, but there was no indication that coral reefs off Banda Aceh, Indonesia had any effect on the tsunami. In this paper, we investigate whether the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) offshore Queensland, Australia, may have weakened the tsunami impact from the 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake. The fault slip distribution of the 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake was firstly obtained by teleseismic inversion. The tsunami was then propagated to shallow water just offshore the coast by solving the linear shallow water equations using a staggered grid finite-difference method. We used a relatively high resolution (approximately 250 m) bathymetric grid for the region just off the coast containing the reef. The tsunami waveforms recorded at tide gauge stations along the Australian coast were then compared to the results from the tsunami simulation when using both the realistic 250 m resolution bathymetry and with two grids having fictitious bathymetry: One in which the the GBR has been replaced by a smooth interpolation from depths outside the GBR to the coast (the “No GBR” grid), and one in which the GBR has been replaced by a flat plane at a depth equal to the mean water depth of the GBR (the “Average GBR” grid). From the comparison between the synthetic waveforms both with and without the Great Barrier Reef, we found that the Great Barrier Reef significantly weakened the tsunami impact. According to our model, the coral reefs delayed the tsunami arrival time by 5–10 minutes, decreased the amplitude of the first tsunami pulse to half or less, and lengthened the period of the tsunami.     

Wave height distribution in shallow water

Probability distribution of shallow water wave heights, obtained from a pressure type recorder, are examined. It is tested with the theoretical distributions of (a) Rayleigh, (b) Weibull, (c) Gluhovski, (d) Ibrageemov and (e) Goda. The best fit is shown by the Gluhovski probability density function with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.8. The functions of Weibull, Ibrageemov and Goda fit only half of the tested cases. The role of wave steepness in the wave height distribution is found to be negligible.     

High resolution velocity analysis of ocean bottom seismometer data by theτ-p method

A method of high resolution seismic velocity analysis for ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) records is applied to the study of the shallow oceanic crust, especially sedimentary and basement layers. This method is based on the direct-p mapping and the-sum inversion. We use data obtained from a 1989 airgun-OBS experiment in the northern Yamato Basin, Japan Sea and derive P- and S-wave velocity functions that can be compared with the seismic reflection profiles. Using split-spread profile records, we obtain interface dips and true interval velocities from the OBS data. These results show good agreement with the reflection profile records, the acoustic velocities of core samples, and sonic log profiles. We also present a method for estimating errors in the derived velocity functions by calculating covariance of the derived layers' thicknesses. The estimated depth errors are about 150 m at shallow depths, which is close to the seismic wavelength used. The high resolution of this method relies on accurate determination of shot positions by GPS, spatially dense seismic observations, and the use of unsaturated reflected waves arriving after the direct water wave that are observed on low-gain component records.     

Analysis of the Tsunami of December 26, 2004, on the Kerala Coast of India—Part II: Arrival Times

The Tsunami of December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean arrived on the coast of Kerala in southwest India some three hours after the tsunami was generated. The tsunami activity persisted throughout that day and, in some locations, even into the early morning of the next day. Based on interviews with eye witnesses, arrival times of tsunami waves are presented here followed by some preliminary analysis of the results.     

EXAMINATION OF THE RELIABILITY OF THE JMA SEISMIC OBSERVATION NETWORK AROUND THE SOUTHERN OKINAWA TROUGH

After the establishment of the seismic observation network of southern Okinawa in August,1988 by the JMA(Japan Meteorological Agency),many hypocenters of earthquakes have been located.However,due to the small number of observation stations and narrow configuration of the array,the hypocenters lo-cated contain some systematic errors.Numerical experiments on the extent of the errors and the reliabilityof the JMA seismic observation network showed that the obtained hypocenters deeper than 100 km werereliable,but that for the obtained hypocenters shallower than 100 km,only the epicenters were reliable.     

Modeling of seawater intrusion in a coastal aquifer of Karaburun Peninsula,western Turkey

Seawater intrusion is a major problem to freshwater resources especially in coastal areas where fresh groundwater is surrounded and could be easily influenced by seawater. This study presents the development of a conceptual and numerical model for the coastal aquifer of Karareis region (Karaburun Peninsula) in the western part of Turkey. The study also presents the interpretation and the analysis of the time series data of groundwater levels recorded by data loggers. The SEAWAT model is used in this study to solve the density-dependent flow field and seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer that is under excessive pumping particularly during summer months. The model was calibrated using the average values of a 1-year dataset and further verified by the average values of another year. Five potential scenarios were analyzed to understand the effects of pumping and climate change on groundwater levels and the extent of seawater intrusion in the next 10 years. The result of the analysis demonstrated high levels of electrical conductivity and chloride along the coastal part of the study area. As a result of the numerical model, seawater intrusion is simulated to move about 420 m toward the land in the next 10 years under “increased pumping” scenario, while a slight change in water level and TDS concentrations was observed in “climate change” scenario. Results also revealed that a reduction in the pumping rate from Karareis wells will be necessary to protect fresh groundwater from contamination by seawater.