Anisotropies of in-phase,out-of-phase,and frequency-dependent susceptibilities in three loess/palaeosol profiles in the Czech Republic; methodological implications

The relationship between the anisotropy of frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility (fdAMS) and the anisotropy of out-of-phase magnetic susceptibility (opAMS) was investigated theoretically and also empirically at three loess/palaoesol profiles in Prague and in Southern Moravia. The data treatment was made in terms of mean susceptibility, degree of AMS, and orientations of principal susceptibilities. It has shown that the fdAMS and opAMS can serve as indicators of the preferred orientations of ultrafine magnetic particles that are on transition between superparamagnetic and stable single domain states in rocks, soils and environmental materials. In loess/palaeosol sequences, the fdAMS and opAMS correlate reasonably, because they are due to magnetic particles of similar grain sizes. The fdAMS and opAMS can be both coaxial with standard AMS (i.e. anisotropy of in-phase susceptibility - ipAMS) or non-coaxial indicating slightly different orientations of viscous magnetic particles.     

Chrystal and Proudman resonances simulated with three numerical models

The aim of this work was to study Chrystal and Proudman resonances in a simple closed basin and to explore and compare how well the two resonant mechanisms are reproduced with different, nowadays widely used, numerical ocean models. The test case was based on air pressure disturbances of two commonly used shapes (a sinusoidal and a boxcar), having various wave lengths, and propagating at different speeds. Our test domain was a closed rectangular basin, 300 km long with a uniform depth of 50 m, with the theoretical analytical solution available for benchmark. In total, 2250 simulations were performed for each of the three different numerical models: ADCIRC, SCHISM and ROMS. During each of the simulations, we recorded water level anomalies and computed the integral of the energy density spectrum for a number of points distributed along the basin. We have successfully documented the transition from Proudman to Chrystal resonance that occurs for a sinusoidal air pressure disturbance having a wavelength between one and two basin lengths. An inter-model comparison of the results shows that different models represent the two resonant phenomena in a slightly different way. For Chrystal resonance, all the models showed similar behavior; however, ADCIRC model providing slightly higher values of the mean resonant period than the other two models. In the case of Proudman resonance, the most consistent results, closest to the analytical solution, were obtained using ROMS model, which reproduced the mean resonant speed equal to 22.00 m/s— i.e., close to the theoretical value of 22.15 m/s. ADCIRC and SCHISM models showed small deviations from that value, with the mean speed being slightly lower—21.97 m/s (ADCIRC) and 21.93 m/s (SCHISM). The findings may seem small but could play an important role when resonance is a crucial process producing enhancing effects by two orders of magnitude (i.e., meteotsunamis).     

Seismic behaviour of masonry buildings built of low compressive strength units

Seismic behaviour of masonry buildings, built of low compressive strength units, is discussed. Although such materials have already been tested and approved for use from mechanical and thermal insulation point of view, the knowledge regarding their structural behaviour is still lacking. In order to investigate the resistance and deformation capacity of this particular type of masonry construction in seismic conditions, a series of eight walls and model of a two-storey full scale confined masonry building have been tested by subjecting the specimens to cyclic shear loads. All tests were conducted under a combination of constant vertical load and quasi static, cyclically imposed horizontal load. The behaviour of tested specimens was of typical shear type. Compared with the behaviour of plain masonry walls, the presence of tie-columns resulted into higher resistance and displacement capacity, as well as smaller lateral resistance degradation. The response of the model was determined by storey mechanism with predominant shear behaviour of the walls and failure mechanism of the same type as in the case of individual confined masonry walls. Adequate seismic behaviour of this particular masonry structural type can be expected under the condition that the buildings are built as confined masonry system with limited number of stories.     

Progress in Danube Loess and Paleoenvironment Study

Danube loess, located at the westernmost part of the widespread Eurasian loess belt, is one of the most well-preserved aeolian dust deposits in Europe with the basal age dating back over 1 Ma. Owing to its unique location and formation processes, Danube loess plays an important role in understanding the linkage of climate changes in different climate regimes over Eurasian continent and paleoclimatic changes in middle-high northern latitudes. Major research advances of the Danube loess, including compositions, provenance, chronology, stratigraphy and paleoenvironment changes were systematically reviewed and the focuses of future research were suggested. To better understand loess provenance, the compositions of sediments in all the potential source areas should be investigated, and methodological study of provenance indicators and application of multi-proxies approaches need to be carried out. Chronologically and stratigraphically, feldspar luminescence dating and tephrochronology methods should be widely used, and the establishment of a uniform stratigraphic framework and correlation scheme should be constrained by precise chronology. In terms of the paleoenvironment, it is necessary to conduct high-resolution multi-proxies reconstruction of paleoenviroment for the entire loess-paleosol sequence, extending from the last interglacial period (130 ka to present) to interval of last 1 Ma. The future progress in Danube loess is crucial to improving the study of continental paleoclimate comparison and paleoclimate dynamics over the Eurasian loess region.     

High-latitude dust deposition in snow on the glaciers of James Ross Island,Antarctica

High-latitude dust (HLD) depositions on four glaciers of James Ross Island (the Ulu Peninsula) were analysed. The deposition rate on the selected glaciers varies from 11.8 to 64.0 g m⁻², which is one order of magnitude higher compared to the glaciers in Antarctica or elsewhere in the world. A strong negative relationship between the sediment amount and altitude of a sampling site was found. This is most likely caused by the higher availability of aeolian material in the atmospheric boundary layer. General southerly and south-westerly wind directions over the Ulu Peninsula – with exceptions based on local terrain configuration – help to explain the significantly lower level of sediment deposition on San Jose Glacier and the high level on Triangular Glacier. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrophotometry was used to estimate the relative proportions of the main and trace (lithophile) elements in the sediment samples. Both the sediment amount and the XRF results are analysed in a depth profile at each locality and compared among the glaciers, suggesting long-range transport of fine mineral material from outside James Ross Island. The distribution of aeolian sediment among the glaciers corresponds well with the prevailing wind direction on the Ulu Peninsula. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pushover-based seismic risk assessment and loss estimation of masonry buildings

A pushover-based seismic risk assessment and loss estimation methodology for masonry buildings is introduced. It enables estimation of loss by various performance measures such as the probability of exceeding a designated economic loss, the expected annual loss, and the expected loss given a seismic intensity. The methodology enables the estimation of the economic loss directly from the results of structural analysis, which combines pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis of an equivalent SDOF model. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by means of two variants of a three-storey masonry building both of which have the same geometry, but they are built, respectively, from hollow clay masonry (model H) and solid brick masonry (model S). The probability of collapse given the selected design earthquake corresponding to a return period of 475 years was found to be negligible for model H, which indicates the proper behaviour of such a structure when designed according to the current building codes. However, the corresponding probability of collapse of model S was very high (46%). The expected total loss given the design earthquake was estimated to amount to 28 000 € and 290 000 €, respectively, for models H and S. The expected annual loss per 100 m² of gross floor area was estimated to amount to 75 € and 191 €, respectively, for models H and S. For the presented examples, it was also observed that nonstructural elements contributed more than 50% of the total loss.     

Experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of the ancient Protiron monument model

Throughout history, dry-stone masonry structures have been strengthened with different types of metal connectors in order to increase their resistance which enabled their survival, especially in the seismically active area. One such example is the ancient Protiron monument placed in the Peristyle square of the Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia. The Protiron was built at the turn of the 3rd century as a stone masonry structure with dowels embedded between its base, columns, capitals and broad gable. The stone blocks in the broad gable were connected by metal clamps during restoration at the beginning of the 20th century. In order to study the seismic performance of the strengthened stone masonry structures, an experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of a physical model of the Protiron was performed on the shaking table. The model was designed as a true replica model in a length scale of 1:4 and exposed to representative earthquake with increasing intensities up to collapse. The tests provided a clear insight into system behaviour, damage mechanism and failure under intensive seismic load, especially into the efficiency of connecting elements, which had a special role in increasing seismic resistance and protection of the structure from collapse. Additionally, this experiment provided valuable data for verification and calibration of numerical models for strengthened stone masonry structures.     

Formulation of risk-targeted seismic action for the force-based seismic design of structures

A risk-targeted design spectral acceleration and the corresponding seismic design action for the force-based design of structures is introduced by means of two formulations. The first one called direct formulation utilizes the seismic hazard function at the site of the structure. Because the seismic action defined in the codes is often associated with a designated return period, an indirect formulation is also introduced. It incorporates a risk-targeted safety factor that can be used to define a risk-targeted reduction factor. It is shown that the proposed formulations give analogical results and provide an insight into the concept of the reduction of seismic forces for the force-based seismic design of structures if the objective is defined by a target collapse risk. The introduced closed-form solution for the risk-targeted reduction factor can be used to investigate how the target collapse risk, the seismic hazard parameters, the randomness of the seismic action, and the conventional parameters (ie, the overstrength factor and the deformation and energy dissipation capacity) affect the seismic design forces in the case of force-based design. However, collaborative research is needed in order to develop appropriate models of these parameters. In the second part of the paper, the proposed formulations are demonstrated by estimating the risk-targeted seismic design action for a six-storey reinforced concrete building. By verifying the collapse risk of the designed structure, it is demonstrated that the risk-targeted seismic action, in conjunction with a conventional force-based design, provided structure with acceptable performance when measured in terms of collapse risk.     

Forecasting hourly particulate matter concentrations based on the advanced multivariate methods

In this study, several multivariate methods were used for forecasting hourly PM₁₀ concentrations at four locations based on SO₂ and meteorological data from the previous period. According to the results, boosted decision trees and multi-layer perceptrons yielded the best predictions. The forecasting performances were similar for all examined locations, despite the additional PM₁₀ spatio-temporal analysis showed that the sites were affected by different emission sources, topographic and microclimatic conditions. The best prediction of PM₁₀ concentrations was obtained for industrial sites, probably due to the simplicity and regularity of dominant pollutant emissions on a daily basis. Conversely, somewhat weaker forecast accuracy was achieved at urban canyon avenue, which can be attributed to the specific urban morphology and most diverse emission sources. In conclusion to this, the integration of advanced multivariate methods in air quality forecasting systems could enhance accuracy and provide the basis for efficient decision-making in environmental regulatory management.     

Equivalent-linear site response analysis on the site of the historical Trakošćan Castle,Croatia, using HVSR method

This paper presents a major extension of seismic vulnerability research project on the site of Trako??an Castle based on the initial horizontal-to-vertical-spectral-ratio (HVSR) results from Stanko et al. (2016). The estimated HVSR site frequencies and HV amplification at Trako??an Castle can only be used as an indication of the initial soil site frequency and amplification, so-called natural soil model, corresponding to the subsoil profile without the influence of an earthquake. The equivalent-linear (EQL) site response analysis has been carried out for different earthquake scenarios for a maximum input rock peak ground acceleration (PGA_ROCK) that corresponds to return periods of 95 (0.08 g), 475 (0.18 g) and 1000 years (0.31 g). The aim of the research is to evaluate structural seismic design responses and to determine type and degree of damage caused by local site effect, which is the result of an alluvial basin and topographic influences. The main objective of this research is the formation of local microseismic zones based on an EQL analysis: surface spectral acceleration and amplification maps at the predominant frequency. Based on the HVSR frequency response of the core structure of Trako??an Castle and the Tower itself (fundamental and higher frequency modes), maps of surface spectral acceleration and soil amplification at different frequencies (3, 5 and 10 Hz) are developed for different input PGA_ROCK levels (0.08, 0.18 and 0.31 g) to evaluate seismic response of the Castle. Observed amplifications are correlated with ground motion polarization and directionality of the ground motion from the alluvial basin to the hilltop. Shortening of predominant frequencies (lengthening of the period), particularly in the alluvial basin, has been observed with higher input PGA_ROCK in the EQL analysis. This effect is not manifested in the Trako??an hill, and predominant frequencies match HVSR frequencies. The use of certain geophysical survey methods at historical sites is a big problem, because terrain features (e.g. steep hills, mountains, ridges, slopes, cliffs) create lack of space and make it impossible to carry out geophysical investigation. Microtremor measurements at historical sites can overcome this limitation and provide local seismic response and vulnerability behaviour of historical monuments without destroying their authenticity. Also, computational modelling can greatly improve the results. The EQL site response analysis on the site of Trako??an Castle has confirmed and improved the results of seismic response and vulnerability based on HVSR method.