Recommendation for the discrimination of human-related and natural seismicity

Various techniques are utilized by the seismological community, extractive industries, energy and geoengineering companies to identify earthquake nucleation processes in close proximity to engineering operation points. These operations may comprise fluid extraction or injections, artificial water reservoir impoundments, open pit and deep mining, deep geothermal power generations or carbon sequestration. In this letter to the editor, we outline several lines of investigation that we suggest to follow to address the discrimination problem between natural seismicity and seismic events induced or triggered by geoengineering activities. These suggestions have been developed by a group of experts during several meetings and workshops, and we feel that their publication as a summary report is helpful for the geoscientific community. Specific investigation procedures and discrimination approaches, on which our recommendations are based, are also published in this Special Issue (SI) of Journal of Seismology.     

Upwelling age: an indicator of local tendency for coastal upwelling

A proxy named “upwelling age”, defined as the ratio of wind time scale to “advection time”, was developed to quantify the local tendency for coastal upwelling. The formulation of the “advection time” was derived from Ekman theory. A 3D numerical model was used to validate and refine the theoretical formula by simulating a total of 30 cases of different bottom topographies and wind stresses. The results agree reasonably well with the theoretical formulation although some modifications are necessary. The final formulation of the “advection time” was parameterized as a function of pycnocline depth, bottom slope, and wind stress.     

Experimental and analytical study of the bi‐directional behavior of the triple friction pendulum isolator

This paper presents a non‐linear, kinematic model for triple friction pendulum isolation bearings. The model, which incorporates coupled plasticity and circular restraining surfaces for all sliding surfaces, is capable of capturing bi‐directional behavior and is able to explicitly track the movement of each internal component. The model is general so that no conditions regarding bearing properties, which effect the sequence of sliding stages, are required for the validity of the model. Controlled‐displacement and seismic‐input experiments were conducted using the shake table at the University of California, Berkeley to assess the fidelity of the proposed model under bi‐directional motion. Comparison of the experimental data with the corresponding results of the kinematic model shows good agreement. Additionally, experiments showed that the performance of TFP bearings is reliable over many motions, and the behavior is repeatable even when initial slider offsets are present. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paleolimnological evidence of mining and demographic impacts on Lac Dauriat, Schefferville (subarctic Québec, Canada)

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of fossil diatoms and geochemical signals preserved in the sediments of Lac Dauriat (subarctic Quebec) were performed to evaluate the impacts of nearby mining activity and the expansion of the town of Schefferville on the water quality of the lake, and to reconstruct the changes of its trophic status. The presence of taxa typical of nutrient-enriched environments (e.g., Cyclostephanos invisitatus, Nitzschia gracilis, Nitzschia perminuta) and the low percentages of chrysophytes were indicative of the advanced state of eutrophication of the lake during the peak of mining activity, and were evidence of the negative impacts of municipal waste on the water quality of Lac Dauriat. Sedimentary analysis of metals, notably lead, mercury, cadmium, bismuth, cobalt, copper and zinc, showed maximum concentrations between 1940 and 1960 with mining era to pre-development enrichment factors ranging from 4.5 to 7.9. The changes seen in recent sediments reflected 3 distinct stages in the recent history of this ecosystem: (a) the non-perturbed, pre-mining (1882–1939), (b) the perturbed, mining period (1939–1977) with accelerated eutrophication, and (c) the post-mining period (1977–1999) with indications of natural recovery of the system after the installation of a water treatment plant in 1975, the closing of the mine in 1983, and the subsequent exodus of the town’s population. Despite the trajectory towards a return to the lake’s natural conditions, water resource managers and (paleo-)limnologists should be alarmed that the impacts of past human disturbance are still in evidence more than 20 years after the closure of the mines, and that Lac Dauriat has yet to reach its natural state of the period preceding extreme anthropogenic impact.     

Two-Micron All-Sky Survey J01542930+0053266: a new eclipsing M dwarf binary system

We report on Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) J01542930+0053266, a faint eclipsing system composed of two M dwarfs. The variability of this system was originally discovered during a pilot study of the 2MASS Calibration Point Source Working Data base. Additional photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey yields an eight-passband light curve from which we derive an orbital period of  2.639 0157 ± 0.000 0016  d. Spectroscopic followup confirms our photometric classification of the system, which is likely composed of M0 and M1 dwarfs. Radial velocity measurements allow us to derive the masses  (M₁= 0.66 ± 0.03 M_⊙; M₂= 0.62 ± 0.03 M_⊙)  and radii  (R₁= 0.64 ± 0.08 R_⊙; R₂= 0.61 ± 0.09 R_⊙)  of the components, which are consistent with empirical mass–radius relationships for low-mass stars in binary systems. We perform Monte Carlo simulations of the light curves which allow us to uncover complicated degeneracies between the system parameters. Both stars show evidence of Hα emission, something not common in early-type M dwarfs. This suggests that binarity may influence the magnetic activity properties of low-mass stars; activity in the binary may persist long after the dynamos in their isolated counterparts have decayed, yielding a new potential foreground of flaring activity for next generation variability surveys.     

RICE PRODUCER‐PROCESSOR NETWORKS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE*

ABSTRACT. Pressured by structural adjustment loan conditions, Côte d'Ivoire reduced state support for rice production and processing during the 1990s. In this article we examine how various actors in the rice commodity chain adapted to the macroeconomic reforms. Following a brief history of the rice sector, we present the results of fieldwork based on interviews conducted in 2002 of farmers, millers, traders, and workers in the state extension service and nongovernmental organizations. We found that, in the absence of state supports for farmers, private millers became the focal point of regional producer‐processor rice networks. The four networks identified became the sole source of domestic commercial rice when the state removed subsidies for fertilizer and modern seeds, privatized extension, and liberalized prices and imports. To increase their role in the national rice supply, the rice networks may need support through microlending and a focus on niche markets.     

Introduction

This is the second topical volume on “Recent Advances in Nuclear Explosion Monitoring” that started with Pure and Applied Geophysics Topical Volume 167 (2010), and again reports on the most recent advances in science and technology that have been achieved to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). This progress in the development and testing of new sensor technologies and analysis methodologies in all relevant scientific disciplines improves the capabilities in detection, location and characterization of CTBT-relevant events. In particular, the latter poses a challenge for smaller events, where natural or manmade but CTBT-irrelevant sources can generate false-positive events. The efficient discrimination of these events pursued at a minimum risk of missing a nuclear explosion is the overall challenge. The 29 papers of this volume can be structured into 16 waveform studies, eight in the field of radionuclide monitoring and related atmospheric backtracking, and five papers related to on-site inspection or overhead detection of relevant events, with many of these originally presented at a special session on “Research and Development in Nuclear Explosion Monitoring” at the most recent annual General Assemblies of the European Geosciences Union.     

LQR control with frequency‐dependent scheduled gain for a semi‐active floor isolation system

Floor isolation is an alternative to base isolation for protecting a specific group of equipment installed on a single floor or room in a fixed‐base structure. The acceleration of the isolated floor should be mitigated to protect the equipment, and the displacement needs to be suppressed, especially under long‐period motions, to save more space for the floor to place equipment. To design floor isolation systems that reduce acceleration and displacement for both short‐period and long‐period motions, semi‐active control with a newly proposed method using the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control with frequency‐dependent scheduled gain (LQRSG) is adopted. The LQRSG method is developed to account for the frequency characteristics of the input motion. It updates the control gain calculated by the LQR control based on the relationship between the control gain and dominant frequency of the input motion. The dominant frequency is detected in real time using a window method. To verify the effectiveness of the LQRSG method, a series of shake table tests is performed for a semi‐active floor isolation system with rolling pendulum isolators and a magnetic‐rheological damper. The test results show that the LQRSG method is significantly more effective than the LQR control over a range of short‐period and long‐period motions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.